Thou Source of
everlasting life, hath well nigh consumed me, and my remoteness from Thy
presence hath burned away my soul. All praise be to Thee for having
enabled me to hearken to Thy call, for having honored me with Thy
footsteps, and for having quickened my soul through the vitalizing
fragrance of Thy Day and the shrilling voice of Thy Pen, a voice Thou
didst ordain as Thy trumpet-call amidst Thy people. And when the hour at
which Thy resistless Faith was to be made manifest did strike, Thou didst
breathe a breath of Thy spirit into Thy Pen, and lo, the entire creation
shook to its very foundations, unveiling to mankind such mysteries as lay
hidden within the treasuries of Him Who is the Possessor of all created
things."

No sooner had her voice reached that most exalted Spot than We made reply:
"Render thanks unto thy Lord, O Carmel. The fire of thy separation from Me
was fast consuming thee, when the ocean of My presence surged before thy
face, cheering thine eyes and those of all creation, and filling with
delight all things visible and invisible. Rejoice, for God hath in this
Day established upon thee His throne, hath made thee the dawning-place of
His signs and the day spring of the evidences of His Revelation. Well is
it with him that circleth around thee, that proclaimeth the revelation of
thy glory, and recounteth that which the bounty of the Lord thy God hath
showered upon thee. Seize thou the Chalice of Immortality in the name of
thy Lord, the All-Glorious, and give thanks unto Him, inasmuch as He, in
token of His mercy unto thee, hath turned thy sorrow into gladness, and
transmuted thy grief into blissful joy. He, verily, loveth the spot which
hath been made the seat of His throne, which His footsteps have trodden,
which hath been honored by His presence, from which He raised His call,
and upon which He shed His tears.

"Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was
hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is
manifest; His all-encompassing splendor is revealed. Beware lest thou
hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that
hath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled
in adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart, and the company of the
most exalted angels. Oh, how I long to announce unto every spot on the
surface of the earth, and to carry to each one of its cities, the
glad-tidings of this Revelati