infidelity the sublime
mansion of fidelity, and this dungeon of envy a delectable paradise.

O ye friends, endeavor with life and heart that this world may become the
mirror of the world of the Kingdom; that the earthly kingdom be filled
with the bounty of the heavenly; that the voice of the Supreme Concourse
may be raised in commendation, and that the traces of the bounty and grace
of the Beauty of Abha may envelop the earth!

His honor, Ameen(169), hath praised highly the honored servants and the
maid-servants of the Manifest Light; commending each one separately and
eulogizing the firmness and steadfastness of all; that--praise be to
God!--the friends and maid-servants of the Merciful in all Persia are in
perfect resignation and firm and steadfast, like unto a firm and solid
foundation, and in an absolute state of ecstasy and attraction are engaged
in spreading the fragrance of the Lord of Lords.

Through this news, at this time of great jeopardy, much happiness was
realized, for the supreme hope and desire of this oppressed one is the
spirituality of the hearts and the radiance of the beings of the friends.
When this gift is obtained every ordeal is for him as an abundant bounty
and a great shower.

O my God! O my God! Thou seest me drowned in the sea of ordeals, seized
upon by the fire of infidelity, with tears flowing in the dark night
rolling in the bed of sleeplessness, mine eyes expectant to see the dawn
of the lights of Faith. And when I am anxious, as the fish whose bowels
are inflamed upon the dust, I anticipate the manifestation of Thy bounties
from all sides!

O Lord! Surround the friends in other regions with Thy great bounties and
uplift those who are weak among Thy chosen, through Thy strength and
providence, in every remote place!

O Lord, verily they are the captives of Thy love and the prisoners of Thy
host, the birds of the atmosphere of Thy guidance, the fish of the sea of
Thy providence, the stars of the horizon of Thy bounty, the army of the
fortress of Thy law, the banners of Thy remembrance, the eyes of Thy
mercy, the fountains of Thy grace and the springs of Thy generosity.
Therefore, guard them with the eye of kindness, confirm them in promoting
Thy Word, strengthen their hearts in Thy love, reinforce their backs in
Thy service, make firm their loins in Thy servitude, spread through them
Thy fragrances, reveal through them Thy signs, manifest through them Thy
proofs, accomplish through