woe betide him who standeth
aloof from Thee, who denieth Thee and repudiateth Thy signs in this
Revelation wherein the faces of the exponents of denial have turned black
and the faces of the exponents of truthfulness have turned white, O Thou
Who art the Possessor of all names and attributes, Who holdest in Thy
grasp the empire of whatever hath been created in heaven and on earth!

Praise be to Thee, therefore, O my God--such praise as Thou didst ascribe
to Thine own Self, and which none except Thee can either comprehend or
reckon. Thou art He, O my Lord, Who hath made known His own Self unto me,
at a time when Thy servants have failed to recognize Thee--servants who, by
virtue of the ties that bind them to Thee, have been ruling over all that
dwell on earth and have been vaunting themselves over its peoples. Were I,
O my God, to exercise from pole to pole supreme dominion over the earth,
and were I to be offered all the treasures it containeth, and were I to
expend them in Thy path, I would still be powerless to attain unto this
station, unless I were assisted and strengthened by Thee. And were I to
glorify Thee, O my God, so long as the glory of Thy majesty endureth and
the influence of Thy sovereignty and power will last, such a glorification
could never be compared with any of the praises which Thou, as a token of
Thy grace, hast taught me, and wherewith Thou hast bidden me to extol Thy
virtues. If such be the excellence of each one of the praises which Thou
hast taught me, how immeasurably greater must be the excellence of the
station of the One Who hath known Thee, Who hath entered Thy Presence, and
pursued steadfastly the path of Thy Cause!

I have clearly perceived, and I am wholly persuaded, that Thou hast from
everlasting been immeasurably exalted above the mention of all beings, and
wilt continue unto everlasting to remain far above the conception of Thy
creatures. None can befittingly praise Thee except Thine own Self and such
as are like unto Thee. Thou hast, verily, been at all times, and wilt
everlastingly continue to remain, immensely exalted beyond and above all
comparison and likeness, above all imagination of parity or resemblance.
Having, thus, recognized Thee as One Who is incomparable, and Whose nature
none can possess, it becometh incontrovertibly evident that whosoever may
praise Thee, his praise can befit only such as are of his own nature, and
are subject to his own limitations, and it can in no