O Lord, my God and my Haven in my distress! My Shield and my Shelter in my woes! My Asylum and Refuge in time of need and in my loneliness my Companion! In my anguish my Solace, and in my solitude a loving Friend! The Remover of the pangs of my sorrows and the Pardoner of my sins!
Wholly unto Thee do I turn, fervently imploring Thee with all my heart, my mind and my tongue, to shield me from all that runs counter to Thy will in this, the cycle of Thy divine unity, and to cleanse me of all defilement that will hinder me from seeking, stainless and unsullied, the shade of the tree of Thy grace.
Have mercy, O Lord, on the feeble, make whole the sick, and quench the burning thirst.
Gladden the bosom wherein the fire of Thy love doth smolder, and set it aglow with the flame of Thy celestial love and spirit.
Robe the tabernacles of divine unity with the vesture of holiness, and set upon my head the crown of Thy favor.
Illumine my face with the radiance of the orb of Thy bounty, and graciously aid me in ministering at Thy holy threshold.
Make my heart overflow with love for Thy creatures and grant that I may become the sign of Thy mercy, the token of Thy grace, the promoter of concord amongst Thy loved ones, devoted unto Thee, uttering Thy commemoration and forgetful of self but ever mindful of what is Thine.
O God, my God! Stay not from me the gentle gales of Thy pardon and grace, and deprive me not of the wellsprings of Thine aid and favor.
‘Neath the shade of Thy protecting wings let me nestle, and cast upon me the glance of Thine all-protecting eye.
Loose my tongue to laud Thy name amidst Thy people, that my voice may be raised in great assemblies and from my lips may stream the flood of Thy praise.
Thou art, in all truth, the Gracious, the Glorified, the Mighty, the Omnipotent.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
إِلَهِي وَمَوْئِلِي عِنْدَ لَهْفِي وَمَلْجَأي وَمَهْرَبِي عِنْدَ اضْطِرَابِي وَمَلاذِي وَمَعَاذِي عِنْدَ اضْطِرَارِي وَأَنِيسِي فِي وَحْشَتِي وَسَلْوَتِي فِي كُرْبَتِي وَجَلِيسِي فِي غُرْبَتِي وَكَاشِفُ غَمَّتِي وَغَافِرُ حَوْبَتِي إِنِّي أَتَوَجَّهُ إِلَيْكَ بِكُلِّيَّتِي وَأَتَضَرَّعُ إِلَيْكَ بِحَقِيقَتِي وَكَيْنُونَتِي وَهُوِيَّتِي وَجِنَانِي وَلِسَانِي أَنْ تَحْفَظَنِي عَنْ كُلِّ شَأْنٍ يُخَالِفُ رِضَاكَ فِي دَوْرِ فَرْدَانِيَّتِكَ وَتُطَهِّرَنِي مِنْ كُلِّ وَضَرٍ يَمْنَعُنِي عَنِ التَّنْزِيهِ وَالتَّقْدِيسِ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةِ رَحْمَانِيَّتِكَ رَبِّ ارْحَمِ الضَّعِيفَ وَاشْفِ الْعَلِيلَ وَأَرْوِ الْغَلِيلَ واشْرَحْ صُدُوراً اِشْتَعَلَتْ فِيهَا نَارُ مَحَبَّتِكَ وَاضْطَرَمَ فِيهَا لَهِيبُ عِشْقِكَ وَشَوْقِكَ وأَلْبِسْ هَيَاكِلَ التَّوْحِيدِ حُلَلَ التَّقْدِيسِ وتَوَجَّنِي بِإِكْلِيلِ مَوَاهِبِكَ وَنَوِّرْ وَجْهِي بِضِيَاءِ شَمْسِ مَرَاحِمِكَ وَوَفِّقْنِي عَلَى خِدْمَةِ عَتَبَةِ قُدْسِكَ وامْلَأْ قَلْبِي بِمَحَبَّةِ خَلْقِكَ وَاجْعَلْنِي آيَةَ رَحْمَتِكَ وَسِمَةَ عِنَايَتَكَ وَمُوَفَّقاً عَلَى التَّأْلِيفِ بَيْنِ أَحِبَّتِك وَخَالِصاً لِوَجْهِكَ وَنَاطِقاً بِذِكْرِكَ وَنَاسِياً لِشُئُونِي وَمُتَذَكِّراً لِشُئُونِكَ رَبِّ رَبِّ لَا تَقْطَعْ عَنِّي نَفَحَاتِ عَفْوِكَ وَفَضْلِكَ وَلَا تَحْرُمْنِي عَنْ مَعِينِ عَوْنِكَ وَجُودِكَ وَاحْفَظْنِي فِي ظِلِّ جِنَاحِ حِمَايَتِكَ وَارْعَنِي بِعَيْنِ حِمَايَتِكَ وأَنْطِقْنِي بِثَنَائِكَ بَيْنَ بَرِيَّتِكَ حَتَّى يَرْتَفِعَ ضَجِيجِي فِي الْمَحَافِلِ الْعُلْيَا وَيَنْحَدِرَ مِنْ فَمِي ذِكْرُكَ انْحِدَارُ السُّيُولِ مِنَ الْأَتْلَالِ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْكَرِيمُ الْمُتَعَالُ وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْقَدِيرُ
حضرة عبدالبهاء
Today is a very important but not well-known anniversary: 110 years ago today, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave the first public speech of His life, at the age of 67 in front of an audience of 2,000 Westerners, at the City Temple in London. For more information on the talk, to read the Master’s address, and to see photographs of the location, please head over to “The Extraordinary Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Part V” or click this link.
To mark this very special anniversary, we have chosen a particularly eloquent prayer that begs for Bahá’u’lláh’s confirmations in public speaking. However, this prayer is very special in quite an unexpected way. Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, the widow of Shoghi Effendi and Hand of the Cause was the representative of the Universal House of Justice for decades at innumerable events worldwide. Amatu’l-Bahá was famous for her eloquence in public speaking, and, as Violette Nakhjavani tells us in “A Tribute to Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum.”
When asked, she attributed her power of public speaking to the fact that at the beginning of her marriage Shoghi Effendi had recommended that she memorize the beautiful prayer of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which begins, “O Lord, my God and my Haven in my distress! My shield and my Shelter in my woes! …” and which concludes with the poignant sentence: “Loose my tongue to laud Thy name amidst Thy people, that my voice may be raised in great assemblies and from my lips may stream the flood of thy praise.” You can read the full text here.
Linguistic note: The long “ee” (í) sound you hear repeatedly at the ends of many of the words in this prayer is a marker denoting the first-person singular possessive, “my.”
Original Sources
Further References