The praise which hath dawned from Thy most august Self, and the glory which hath shone forth from Thy most effulgent Beauty, rest upon Thee, O Thou Who art the Manifestation of Grandeur, and the King of Eternity, and the Lord of all who are in heaven and on earth! I testify that through Thee the sovereignty of God and His dominion, and the majesty of God and His grandeur, were revealed, and the Daystars of ancient splendor have shed their radiance in the heaven of Thine irrevocable decree, and the Beauty of the Unseen hath shone forth above the horizon of creation. I testify, moreover, that with but a movement of Thy Pen Thine injunction “Be Thou” hath been enforced, and God’s hidden Secret hath been divulged, and all created things have been called into being, and all the Revelations have been sent down.
I bear witness, moreover, that through Thy beauty the beauty of the Adored One hath been unveiled, and through Thy face the face of the Desired One hath shone forth, and that through a word from Thee Thou hast decided between all created things, causing them who are devoted to Thee to ascend unto the summit of glory, and the infidels to fall into the lowest abyss.
I bear witness that he who hath known Thee hath known God, and he who hath attained unto Thy presence hath attained unto the presence of God. Great, therefore, is the blessedness of him who hath believed in Thee, and in Thy signs, and hath humbled himself before Thy sovereignty, and hath been honored with meeting Thee, and hath attained the good pleasure of Thy will, and circled around Thee, and stood before Thy throne. Woe betide him that hath transgressed against Thee, and hath denied Thee, and repudiated Thy signs, and gainsaid Thy sovereignty, and risen up against Thee, and waxed proud before Thy face, and hath disputed Thy testimonies, and fled from Thy rule and Thy dominion, and been numbered with the infidels whose names have been inscribed by the fingers of Thy behest upon Thy holy Tablets.
Waft, then, unto me, O my God and my Beloved, from the right hand of Thy mercy and Thy loving-kindness, the holy breaths of Thy favors, that they may draw me away from myself and from the world unto the courts of Thy nearness and Thy presence. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, truly, hast been supreme over all things.
The remembrance of God and His praise, and the glory of God and His splendor, rest upon Thee, O Thou Who art His Beauty! I bear witness that the eye of creation hath never gazed upon one wronged like Thee. Thou wast immersed all the days of Thy life beneath an ocean of tribulations. At one time Thou wast in chains and fetters; at another Thou wast threatened by the sword of Thine enemies. Yet, despite all this, Thou didst enjoin upon all men to observe what had been prescribed unto Thee by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
May my spirit be a sacrifice to the wrongs Thou didst suffer, and my soul be a ransom for the adversities Thou didst sustain. I beseech God, by Thee and by them whose faces have been illumined with the splendors of the light of Thy countenance, and who, for love of Thee, have observed all whereunto they were bidden, to remove the veils that have come in between Thee and Thy creatures, and to supply me with the good of this world and the world to come. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.
Bless Thou, O Lord my God, the Divine Lote-Tree and its leaves, and its boughs, and its branches, and its stems, and its offshoots, as long as Thy most excellent titles will endure and Thy most august attributes will last. Protect it, then, from the mischief of the aggressor and the hosts of tyranny. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most Powerful. Bless Thou, also, O Lord my God, Thy servants and Thy handmaidens who have attained unto Thee. Thou, truly, art the All-Bountiful, Whose grace is infinite. No God is there save Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.
Bahá’u’lláh
اَلثَّناءُ الَّذِي ظَهَرَ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ الْأَعْلَى وَالْبَهاءُ الَّذِي طَلَعَ مِنْ جَمَالِكَ الْأَبْهَى عَلَيْكَ يَا مَظْهَرَ الْكِبْرِيَاءِ وَسُلْطَانَ الْبَقَاءِ وَمَلِيْكَ مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاءِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ بِكَ ظَهَرَتْ سَلْطَنَةُ اللّهِ وَاقْتِدَارُهُ وَعَظَمَةُ اللّهِ وَكِبْرِيَائُهُ، وَبِكَ أَشْرَقَتْ شُمُوسُ الْقِدَمِ فِي سَماءِ الْقَضاءِ وَطَلَعَ جَمالُ الْغَيْبِ عَنْ أُفُقِ الْبَدَاءِ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ بِحَرَكَةٍ مِنْ قَلَمِكَ ظَهَرَ حُكْمُ الْكافِ وَالنُّونِ وَبَرَزَ سِرُّ اللّهِ الْمَكْنُونُ وَبُدِئَتِ الْمُمْكِناتُ وَبُعِثَتِ الْظُّهُوراتُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ بِجَمالِكَ ظَهَرَ جَمالُ الْمَعْبُودِ وَبِوَجْهِكَ لَاحَ وَجْهُ الْمَقْصُودِ وَبِكَلِمَةٍ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فُصِّلَ بَيْنَ الْمُمْكِناتِ وَصَعَدَ الْمُخْلِصُونَ إِلَى الذُّرْوَةِ الْعُلْيا وَالْمُشْرِكُونَ إِلَى الدَّرَكاتِ السُّفْلى، وَأَشْهَدُ بِأَنَّ مَنْ عَرَفَكَ فَقَدْ عَرَفَ اللّهَ وَمَنْ فازَ بِلِقائِكَ فَقَدْ فازَ بِلِقاءِ اللّهِ، فَطُوبَى لِمَنْ آمَنَ بِكَ وَبِآياتِكَ وَخَضَعَ بِسُلْطانِكَ وَشُرِّفَ بِلِقائِكَ وَبَلَغَ بِرِضائِكَ وَطافَ فِي حَوْلِكَ وَحَضَرَ تِلْقَاءَ عَرْشِكَ. فَوَيْلٌ لِمَنْ ظَلَمَكَ وَأَنْكَرَكَ وَكَفَرَ بِآياتِكَ وَجاحَد بِسُلْطَانِكَ وَحارَبَ بِنَفْسِكَ وَاسْتَكبَرَ لَدى وَجْهِكَ وَجادَلَ بِبُرْهَانِكَ وَفَرَّ مِنْ حُكُومَتِكَ وَاقْتِدَارِكَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ فِي أَلْواحِ الْقُدْسِ مِنْ إِصْبَعِ الْأَمْرِ مَكْتُوبًا
فَيا إِلَهِي وَمَحْبُوبي فَأَرْسِلْ إِلَيَّ عَنْ يَمِينِ رَحْمَتِكَ وَعِنَايَتِكَ نَفَحاتِ قُدْسِ أَلْطَافِكَ لِتَجْذِبَنِي عَنْ نَفْسِي وَعَنِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَى شَطْرِ قُرْبِكَ وَلِقَائِكَ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْمُقْتَدرُ عَلَى مَا تَشَاءُ وَإِنَّكَ كُنْتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيءٍ مُحِيطًا، عَلَيْكَ يَا جَمَالَ اللّهِ ثَنَاءُ اللّهِ وَذِكْرُهُ وَبَهَاءُ اللّهِ وَنُورُهُ، أَشْهَدُ بِأَنَّ مَا رَأَتْ عَيْنُ الإِبْدَاعِ مَظْلُومًا شِبْهَكَ كُنْتَ فِي أَيّامِكَ فِي غَمَراتِ الْبَلَايَا، مَرَّةً كُنْتَ تَحْتَ السَّلَاسِلِ وَالْأَغْلَالِ وَمَرَّةً كُنْتَ تَحْتَ سُيُوفِ الْأَعْداءِ وَمَعَ كُلِّ ذَلِكَ أَمَرْتَ النَّاسَ بِمَا أُمِرْتَ مِنْ لَدنْ عَلِيمٍ حَكِيمٍ، رُوْحِيْ لِضُرِّكَ الْفِدَاءُ وَنَفْسِي لِبَلَائِكَ الْفِدَاءُ أَسْئَلُ اللّهَ بِكَ وَبِالَّذِينَ اسْتَضَائَتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ مِنْ أَنْوارِ وَجْهِكَ وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا أُمِرُوا بِهِ حُبًّا لِنَفْسِكَ أَنْ يَكْشِفَ السُّبُحَاتِ الَّتِي حَالَتْ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ خَلْقِكَ وَيَرْزُقَنِي خَيْرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْمُقْتَدرُ الْمُتَعالِي الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
صَلِّ اللَّهُمَّ يَا إِلَهِي عَلَى السِّدْرَةِ وَأَوْرَاقِهَا وَأَغْصَانِهَا وَأَفْنَانِهَا وَأُصُوْلِهَا وَفُرُوعِهَا بِدَوَامِ أَسْمَائِكَ الْحُسْنى وَصِفَاتِكَ الْعُلْيا ثُمَّ احْفَظْهَا مِنْ شَرِّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ وَجُنُودِ الظَّالِمِينَ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْمُقْتَدرُ الْقَديرُ، صَلِّ اللَّهُمَّ يَا إِلَهِي عَلَى عِبَادِكَ الْفَائِزينَ وَإِمَائِكَ الْفَائِزاتِ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْكَرِيمُ ذو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ، لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الْكَرِيمُ
حضرة بهاءالله
Shortly after the Ascension of Baháʼuʼlláh on 29 May 1892, and at the instruction of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Nabíl-i-Zarandí, an Apostle of Baháʼuʼlláh and author of the narrative that would later become known as The Dawn-Breakers, selected excerpts from four Writings of Baháʼuʼlláh and concatenated them into this Tablet of Visitation. The U.S. Baháʼí prayer book includes the following prefatory note to this Writing: “This Tablet is read at the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. It is also frequently used in commemorating Their anniversaries.”
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Further References