ngs
pertaining to Thy creatures to keep him back from Thee, neither will he be
dismayed at the refusal of all the dwellers of Thy realm to acknowledge
Thee. Before all who are in heaven and on earth such a man will cry aloud,
and announce unto the people the tumult of the Ocean of Thy bounty and the
splendors of the Luminaries of the heaven of Thy bestowals.

Happy indeed is the man that hath turned towards the sanctuary of Thy
presence, and rid himself of all attachment to any one except Thyself. He
is truly exalted who hath confessed Thy glory, and fixed his eyes upon the
Day-Star of Thy loving-kindness. He is endued with understanding who is
aware of Thy Revelation and hath acknowledged Thy manifold tokens, Thy
signs, and Thy testimonies. He is a man of insight whose eyes have been
illumined with the brightness of Thy face, and who, as soon as Thy call
was raised, hath recognized Thee. He is a man of hearing who hath been led
to hearken unto Thy speech, and to draw nigh unto the billowing ocean of
Thine utterances.

Behold Thou this stranger, O my Lord, who hath hastened to attain his most
exalted Home in the shelter of Thy shadowing mercy, and this ailing soul
who hath set his face towards the ocean of Thy healing.

Look, then, O Thou my God Who settest my soul on fire, upon the tears I
shed, and the sighs I utter, and the anguish that afflicteth my heart and
the fire that consumeth my being. Thy glory beareth me witness, O Thou,
the Light of the world! The fire of Thy love that burneth continually
within me hath so inflamed me that whoever among Thy creatures approacheth
me, and inclineth his inner ear towards me, cannot fail to hear its raging
within each of my veins.

I am so carried away by the sweetness of Thine utterances, and so
inebriated with the wine of Thy tender mercies, that my voice can never be
stilled, nor can my suppliant hands any longer desist from being stretched
out towards Thee. Thou seest, O my Lord, how mine eyes are fixed in the
direction of Thy grace, and mine ears inclined towards the kingdom of
Thine utterance, and my tongue unloosed to celebrate Thy praise, and my
face set towards Thy face that surviveth all that hath been created by Thy
word, and my hands raised up towards the heaven of Thy bounty and favor.

Wilt Thou keep back from Thee the stranger whom Thou didst call unto his
most exalted Home beneath the shadow of the wings of Thy mercy, or cast
away the wretched creature that