e tent of Thy Kingdom and give them a
portion of the divine bounty.

Bestow upon them the everlasting life and bless them with the new
teachings. Make every one a lighted torch and a warbling nightingale--the
king of the rose in the garden. Reveal to them Thine attractive beauty;
make each a growing tree on the shore of Thy guidance, bearing the fruit
of Thy grace. Thus may the East illumine the West and the West become the
East of the Supreme Heaven.

Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Almighty, and verily Thou art the
Precious, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient!

"O ye my divine friends!..."

O ye my divine friends!(32)

At a time when the sea of tests had become tempestuous and the waves of
calamity were heaving and the hosts of nations were in the utmost violence
and the people of oppression dealt with infinite injustice, some of the
calumniators, uniting with our unkind brother, wrote a letter replete with
false accusations and engaged in seditions and calumnies.

They confused the mind of the government and agitated the state
authorities. From this it is evident how a prisoner in this ruined walled
city would fare and how the conditions are so full of perplexity and
confusion as to baffle all description! Notwithstanding, this imprisoned
exile is in the utmost firmness and calmness, trusts in His Highness the
Peerless God, and wishes for every calamity and affliction in the path of
the love of God! (To us) the arrow of oppression is a rich flow of divine
bounty, and deadly poison is a swift-healing antidote.

We were in such a state when a letter came from the friends in America.
The whole of its contents showed an agreement on their part to be in unity
and harmony in all respects, and it was signed by all, determined to be
self-sacrificing in the path of the love of God, in order thus to secure
eternal life.

Upon perusing that letter and looking at the name signed to it, such a joy
and gladness came over Abdul-Baha as is beyond description, and he thanked
God that such friends are found in that country, who in utmost joy and
fragrance are in union and accord and one in agreement with each other.
The more this Covenant is strengthened, the happier, the better, the
sweeter it will be and it will thus attract the divine confirmations. If
the friends of God are wishing for confirmation in order to enjoy the
friendship of the Supreme Concourse, they must exert themselves to confirm
and strengthen this C