[178] Glory be unto Thee, O Thou whose mercy hath encompassed all things, whose gift is made perfect, whose power hath encircled the world, whose proof is demonstrated, whose signs have become manifest, whose words are promulgated, whose arguments are established and whose ensigns are hoisted! Praise be unto Thee for that which Thou hast bestowed! Thanks be unto Thee for that which Thou hast granted! Glorification behooveth Thee for Thou hast manifested Thyself! Glory be unto Thee Glory be unto Thee! How inaccessible is Thy station! How manifest is Thy proof and how all-embracing is Thy munificence!
Verily the dark night hath been spreading its wings over all the regions and the face of the heaven and earth was hidden behind the clouds of inky gloom and blackness—wherefore the sights were veiled from beholding the most great signs and inner perceptions were blinded and unable to find the fire of divine guidance; souls were wandering in the desert of error and heedlessness and the possessors of intelligence were lost in the wilderness of amazement and skepticism, crying and weeping as a mother bereft of her babe—bewailing and lamenting like unto a thirsty one in the midst of a vast and boundless Sahara!
But through Thy greatest bounty, the glorious dawn broke and the lightning of guidance flashed from the Supreme Horizon upon the face of heaven! Then the First Point (the Bab) appeared among mankind with the glad-tidings of Thy Manifestation, the fragrances of Thy Holiness and the verses of Thy Singleness, spreading Thy good news, heralding Thy Name, declaring and praising Thee in numerous epistles!
Thine is favor for this gift which hath cheered the souls of the pure ones! Thine is generosity for Thou hast enabled every righteous and devoted one to adore Thee by causing the Sun of Truth to shine upon all the regions of existence! Thine is glory and excellence! Thine is power and beauty! Thine is sovereignty and authority! Thine is dominion and kingdom! Thine is exaltation and omnipresence! Thine is divinity and lordship! For thou hast manifested Thy bounty from the horizon of emanation, rent asunder the veil and raised the covering from Thy illumined countenance in the promised day and shone forth upon the world of being with the rays gleaming from the dawn of revelation!
Then the “Resurrection” appeared, the “Day ofd Judgment” became manifest, the “earth” heaved and shook, the “mountains” were levelled, the “seas” boiled, the “sun” was eclipsed, the “luminaries” were darkened, the “stars” scattered, the “signs” became known, the “bridge” expanded, the “conditions” were fulfilled, the “balance” was set up, the “fire” burned fiercely and the “paradise” became begemmed!—wherefore the devoted ones entered into delectable gardens with beatitude and the veiled ones were left to amuse themselves with their own imaginations; the possessors of perception beheld the lights and those whose eyes were weak vanished in gloomy darkness before the appearance of the mid-day Sun!
Then those whose ears were unstopped and open rejoiced in listening to the call, while the deaf (or ignorant) were astonished , crying out, “What is the cause of this acclamation and rejoicing?” Then the fluent speakers loosened their tongues in thanksgiving and glorification, while the dumb became as hard and lifeless stones; then the souls were purified, the hearts were attracted, the breasts were dilated, the characters were sanctified, the secret thoughts became manifest and the realities stepped into the arena of existence; they sought illumination, were guided, became ablaze, enflamed and enkindled, called forth and proclaimed, saying:
“Glad-tidings be unto the righteous ones! Rejoicing be unto the perceiving ones! Happiness be unto the favored ones! Joy be unto the yearning ones! Cheerfulness be unto the attracted ones! Exhilaration be unto the longing ones!
Glory be unto Him who hath arisen from the Brightest Dawn!
Glory be unto Him who hath shone forth the Manifest Light!
Glory be unto Him who showered Glorious Outpourings upon the contingent beings!