“Verily I approach Thee, O my God, in the darkest hour...”
Verily I approach Thee, O my God, in the darkest hour of this dark night, and pray Thee with my inmost heart, while I am moving by Thy fragrances, which are being diffused from Thy Kingdom of Abha, and say[158] :
O my Lord, I have not words enough to praise Thee, nor can the birds of meditation ever ascend to the Kingdom of Thy sanctity. Thou art, in Thine entity, sanctified from every praise and commendation, and art purified, in Thyself, from the thanksgiving of the people of emanation. Thou hast been eternally in the sanctity of Thyself exalted beyond the comprehension of the knowing among the Supreme Concourse, and Thou shalt be permanently in the purity of Thine essence, incomprehensible beyond the knowledge of the praisers among the dwellers in the exalted Realm of Might!
O my God, O my God, because of Thine incomprehensibility, how can I ever mention Thee by any praise, or glorify Thee by any commendation! Thou art, O my God, exalted and sanctified from all praises and glorification, O Thou, my beloved!
O my God, O my God, have pity on my impotence, my abasement, my indigence, my shame, and my humility. Give me the cup of Thy forgiveness and Thy gift, move me by the breath of Thy love, dilate my breast by the light of Thy knowledge, purify my person by the mysteries of Thy singleness, and quicken me through the breezes of the garden of Thy mercy so that I may sever myself from all beside Thee, lay hold of the hem of the mantle of Thy majesty, forget aught else save Thee, be associated with the fragrance of Thy days, be enabled to continue faithful in the threshold of Thy sanctity and stand up in the service of Thy Cause, be submissive and lowly before Thy beloved ones and to account myself as nothing in the presence of Thy chosen ones. Verily, Thou art the Helper, the Assister, the Exalted, the Generous!
O my God, O my God, I beg of Thee, by the effulgence of the light of Thy countenance, whereby all the regions of the world are illumined; by the glances of the eye of Thy mercy, which comprehends all things; by the billows of the sea of Thy favor, wherewith all parts are overflowing; by the rains from the clouds of Thy gift, which are falling upon the essence of the created beings; by the radiance of Thy mercy, which overpowers existence—to strengthen Thy chosen ones to faithfulness, to enable Thy beloved ones to serve Thine exalted Threshold, to encircle them through the hosts of Thy power, which have encompassed all things, and to assist them through Thy numerous armies from the Supreme Concourse.
O my God, these are lowly souls in Thy doorway and poor ones before Thy court, humbly seeking Thy grace and in need of Thy confirmation, turning toward the Kingdom of Thy Singleness, and yearning for the bounties of Thy gift. O my Lord, refine their consciences through the lights of Thy sanctity, and purify their hearts through the gift of Thy confirmation, dilate their breasts through the fragrances of joy and happiness, which are being diffused from Thy Supreme Concourse, and illumine their sight by witnessing Thy chief signs. Make them signs of sanctity and standards of purity waving on the apex of the contingent world, unto all creatures; so that their words may take effect in the hearts though they are even as flint. May they stand up to serve Thee, to devote themselves unto the Kingdom of Thy divinity, to turn unto the realm of the might of Thy self-subsistence, to spread Thy signs, to become illumined through Thy lights, to unfold Thy mysteries, to direct Th servants unto the running water, and the fountain of Tassnime[159] which is gushing and springing out in the midst of the paradise of Thy singleness; to unfold the sail of devotion on board the Ark of Deliverance and sail on the sea of Thy knowledge, to spread the wings of unity and soar up towards the kingdom of Thy Singleness, to become servants whom the Supreme Concourse may commend, and whom the people of Thy Kingdom of Abha may praise, to hear the invisible heralds who announce the chief glad-tidings; to pray Thee at the dawn with with most wonderful invocations, while yearning after Thy visit—O my mighty Lord!—to weep every morn and eve, longing for the entrance into the shadow of Thy great mercy!
O my Lord, assist them in all cases, and help them under all circumstances, through the angels of Thy sanctity, who are Thine invisible hosts, and overwhelm all the armies of the inferior concourse. Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Omnipotent, the Comprehending, and Thou art the Almighty!
O pure God, O loving God! We are wandering around Thy abode and longing for the gift of Thy meeting, and are loving Thy characteristics. We are helpless, humble, lowly, and weak; confer Thy mercy upon us, favor us with Thy gifts, overlook our shortcomings, and conceal our endless faults. We are Thine, whatever we might be (good or bad), and whatever we may say or hear is but Thy commendation. We seek but Thy face, and we search but Thy path. Thou art the loving God, while we are but sinners and love Thee passionately. O Thou Cloud of Mercy (shower upon us) a few drops! O Flower-garden of Favor (send to us) some fragrances! O Sea of Gifts (flow over us) Thy waves! O Sun of Grace (pour on us) some radiances! Have pity on us, and show us favor. We swear by Thy Beauty that we are full of errors, and we have no deeds, but hopes. Except Thy concealing veil should cover us, and Thy preservation and protection should favor us, these weak souls have not enough power to employ themselves in Thy service, and the indigent ones have not enough wealth to show a rich appearance. Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty!