hat they have sundered every tie in Thy path. Such of Thy
servants as dwell in Thy land and have transgressed against Thee have
assailed them, and banished them from Thy cities, and made them captives,
and delivered them into the hands of workers of iniquity among Thy people
and the perverse amidst the wicked doers in Thy realm. And finally, they
were made to abide in this place with which no other place, however
loathsome, in all Thy dominion, can compare. They were seized with such
trials that the clouds weep over them and the thunder groaneth by reason
of the manifold tribulations that have afflicted them in their love for
Thee and for the sake of Thy pleasure.

Thou knowest full well, O my God, that there is no one on Thine earth who
can claim to be related to Thee except these, some of whom have suffered
martyrdom for Thy sake, while the rest have been permitted to survive.
Though for such as are like unto us, O my God, it beseemeth not to claim
to be related to Thee, inasmuch as our misdeeds and our waywardness have
hindered us from reaching the depths of the ocean of Thy oneness, and from
immersing ourselves beneath the waters of Thy transcendent mercy, yet our
tongues, O my God, bear witness, and our hearts testify, and our limbs
confess that Thy mercy hath enveloped all created things and Thy
compassion surpassed all that are in heaven and all that are on earth.

I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, through which all created things
were rent asunder and the whole creation was shaken, to send down from the
clouds of Thy mercy that which will purge them from every ordeal and from
whatever is hateful to Thee. Raise them up, then, to such heights that no
amount of tribulation will keep them back from Thy wondrous remembrance,
nor any trouble hinder them from turning toward the court of Thy
transcendent oneness.

By Thy might, O Well-Beloved of Baha and His heart's Desire! I myself cry
out, under all conditions, unto Thee saying: "Would I had, ere this day,
drawn nigh unto Thee!" When I hear, however, the sighs of such of Thy
people as are wholly devoted to Thee, and those of Thy servants as enjoy
near access to Thy court, who have taken no other friend than Thee, and
sought no refuge except Thee, and have chosen for themselves, in Thy path,
what no man hath chosen in the days of the Manifestations of Thy
transcendent unity and the Day-Springs of Thy most holy sovereignty, then
my heart is saddened and my soul i