o are severed from all else save
Thee and who long to serve Thy Sacred Threshold and who stand to work in
Thy Cause, and enable me to be one of Thy maid-servants who have attained
to Thy good pleasure. verily, Thou art the Gracious, the Generous!

"O my Lord!..."

O my Lord!(279)

Thou knowest that the people are encircled with pain and calamities and
are environed with hardships and trouble. Every trial doth attack man and
every dire adversity doth assail him like unto the assault of a serpent.
There is no shelter and asylum for him except under the wing of Thy
protection, preservation, guard and custody.

O Thou the Merciful One! O my Lord! Make Thy protection my armory, Thy
preservation my shield, humbleness before the door of Thy Oneness my
guard, and Thy custody and defense my fortress and abode. Preserve me from
the suggestions of myself and desire, and guard me from every sickness,
trial, difficulty and ordeal.

Verily, Thou art the Protector, the Guardian, the Preserver, the Sufficer,
and verily, Thou art the Merciful of the Most Merciful!

"O thou who art advancing unto God!..."

O thou who art advancing unto God!

Verily, I read thy letter and noted its contents. Rest assured in the
bounty of thy Lord. Verily, He confirmeth whomsoever He willeth in all
aspects and conditions.

I supplicate God to sustain thee and thine honorable husband, to open for
you the door of comfort and rest and protect you from the harm of every
hateful one.

If thou wishest to guide the souls, it is incumbent on thee to be firm, to
be good and to be imbued with praiseworthy attributes and divine qualities
under all circumstances. Be a sign of love, a manifestation of mercy, a
fountain of tenderness, kind-hearted, good to all and gentle to the
servants of God, and especially to those who bear relation to thee, both
men and women. Bear every ordeal that befalleth thee from the people and
confront them not save with kindness, with great love and good wishes.

"O thou lamp glowing with the fire of the Love of..."

O thou lamp glowing with the fire of the Love of God!

Know that the garden drew near and the paradise hath been adorned with the
sweet-basils of the knowledge of God. Be, therefore, a gilly-flower of
fragrant smell in the Garden of El-Abha, that, through thy perfumed
breaths, the spirits and hearts be quickened and animated.

O thou friend of Abdul-Baha! I do mention thee now while my hea