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The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
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Pages 92-98
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LONG OBLIGATORY PRAYER
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Whoso wisheth to recite this prayer, let him stand up
and turn unto God, and, as he standeth in his place, let
him gaze to the right and to the left, as if awaiting the
mercy of his Lord, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate.
Then let him say:
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O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the
Maker of the heavens! I beseech Thee by them Who are
the Daysprings of Thine invisible Essence, the Most
Exalted, the All-Glorious, to make of my prayer a fire
that will burn away the veils which have shut me out
from Thy beauty, and a light that will lead me unto the
ocean of Thy Presence.
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Let him then raise his hands in supplication toward
God--blessed and exalted be He--and say:
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O Thou the Desire of the world and the Beloved of
the nations! Thou seest me turning toward Thee, and
rid of all attachment to anyone save Thee, and clinging
to Thy cord, through whose movement the whole
creation hath been stirred up. I am Thy servant, O my
Lord, and the son of Thy servant. Behold me standing
ready to do Thy will and Thy desire, and wishing
naught else except Thy good pleasure. I implore Thee
by the Ocean of Thy mercy and the Day-Star of Thy
grace to do with Thy servant as Thou willest and
pleasest. By Thy might which is far above all mention
and praise! Whatsoever is revealed by Thee is the desire
of my heart and the beloved of my soul. O God, my
God! Look not upon my hopes and my doings, nay
rather look upon Thy will that hath encompassed the
heavens and the earth. By Thy Most Great Name, O
Thou Lord of all nations! I have desired only what Thou
didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love.
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Let him then kneel, and bowing his forehead to the
ground, let him say:
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Exalted art Thou above the description of anyone
save Thyself, and the comprehension of aught else
except Thee.
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Let him then stand and say:
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Make my prayer, O my Lord, a fountain of living
waters whereby I may live as long as Thy sovereignty
endureth, and may make mention of Thee in every
world of Thy worlds.
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Let him again raise his hands in supplication, and say:
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O Thou in separation from Whom hearts and souls
have melted, and by the fire of Whose love the whole
world hath been set aflame! I implore Thee by Thy
Name through which Thou hast subdued the whole
creation, not to withhold from me that which is with
Thee, O Thou Who rulest over all men! Thou seest, O
my Lord, this stranger hastening to his most exalted
home beneath the canopy of Thy majesty and within
the precincts of Thy mercy; and this transgressor
seeking the ocean of Thy forgiveness; and this lowly
one the court of Thy glory; and this poor creature the
orient of Thy wealth. Thine is the authority to
command whatsoever Thou willest. I bear witness that
Thou art to be praised in Thy doings, and to be obeyed
in Thy behests, and to remain unconstrained in Thy
bidding.
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Let him then raise his hands, and repeat three times the
Greatest Name. Let him then bend down with hands
resting on the knees before God--blessed and exalted be
He--and say:
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Thou seest, O my God, how my spirit hath been
stirred up within my limbs and members, in its
longing to worship Thee, and in its yearning to
remember Thee and extol Thee; how it testifieth to that
whereunto the Tongue of Thy Commandment hath
testified in the kingdom of Thine utterance and the
heaven of Thy knowledge. I love, in this state, O my
Lord, to beg of Thee all that is with Thee, that I may
demonstrate my poverty, and magnify Thy bounty and
Thy riches, and may declare my powerlessness, and
manifest Thy power and Thy might.
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Let him then stand and raise his hands twice in
supplication, and say:
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There is no God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.
There is no God but Thee, the Ordainer,
both in the beginning and in the end. O God, my God!
Thy forgiveness hath emboldened me, and Thy mercy
hath strengthened me, and Thy call hath awakened me,
and Thy grace hath raised me up and led me unto Thee.
Who, otherwise, am I that I should dare to stand at the
gate of the city of Thy nearness, or set my face toward
the lights that are shining from the heaven of Thy
will? Thou seest, O my Lord, this wretched creature
knocking at the door of Thy grace, and this evanescent
soul seeking the river of everlasting life from the hands
of Thy bounty. Thine is the command at all times, O
Thou Who art the Lord of all names; and mine is
resignation and willing submission to Thy will, O
Creator of the heavens!
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Let him then raise his hands thrice, and say:
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Greater is God than every great one!
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Let him then kneel and, bowing his forehead to the
ground, say:
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Too high art Thou for the praise of those who are
nigh unto Thee to ascend unto the heaven of Thy
nearness, or for the birds of the hearts of them who are
devoted to Thee to attain to the door of Thy gate. I
testify that Thou hast been sanctified above all
attributes and holy above all names. No God is there
but Thee, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious.
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Let him then seat himself and say:
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I testify unto that whereunto have testified all
created things, and the Concourse on high, and the
inmates of the all-highest Paradise, and beyond them
the Tongue of Grandeur itself from the all-glorious
Horizon, that Thou art God, that there is no God but
Thee, and that He Who hath been manifested is the
Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol, through
Whom the letters B and E (Be) have been joined and
knit together. I testify that it is He whose name hath
been set down by the Pen of the Most High, and Who
hath been mentioned in the Books of God, the Lord of
the Throne on high and of earth below.
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Let him then stand erect and say:
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O Lord of all being and Possessor of all things
visible and invisible! Thou dost perceive my tears and
the sighs I utter, and hearest my groaning, and my
wailing, and the lamentation of my heart. By Thy
might! My trespasses have kept me back from drawing
nigh unto Thee; and my sins have held me far from the
court of Thy holiness. Thy love, O my Lord, hath
enriched me, and separation from Thee hath destroyed
me, and remoteness from Thee hath consumed me. I
entreat Thee by Thy footsteps in this wilderness, and
by the words "Here am I. Here am I" which Thy
chosen Ones have uttered in this immensity, and by the
breaths of Thy Revelation, and the gentle winds of the
Dawn of Thy Manifestation, to ordain that I may gaze
on Thy beauty and observe whatsoever is in Thy Book.
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Let him then repeat the Greatest Name thrice, and bend
down with hands resting on the knees, and say:
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Praise be to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast
aided me to remember Thee and to praise Thee, and
hast made known unto me Him Who is the Dayspring
of Thy signs, and hast caused me to bow down before
Thy Lordship, and humble myself before Thy Godhead,
and to acknowledge that which hath been uttered
by the Tongue of Thy grandeur.
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Let him then rise and say:
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O God, my God! My back is bowed by the burden
of my sins, and my heedlessness hath destroyed me.
Whenever I ponder my evil doings and Thy benevolence,
my heart melteth within me, and my blood
boileth in my veins. By Thy Beauty, O Thou the
Desire of the world! I blush to lift up my face to Thee,
and my longing hands are ashamed to stretch forth
toward the heaven of Thy bounty. Thou seest, O my
God, how my tears prevent me from remembering
Thee and from extolling Thy virtues, O Thou the Lord
of the Throne on high and of earth below! I implore
Thee by the signs of Thy Kingdom and the mysteries of
Thy Dominion to do with Thy loved ones as becometh
Thy bounty, O Lord of all being, and is worthy of Thy
grace, O King of the seen and the unseen!
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Let him then repeat the Greatest Name thrice, and kneel
with his forehead to the ground, and say:
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Praise be unto Thee, O our God, that Thou hast
sent down unto us that which draweth us nigh unto
Thee, and supplieth us with every good thing sent
down by Thee in Thy Books and Thy Scriptures.
Protect us, we beseech Thee, O my Lord, from the
hosts of idle fancies and vain imaginations. Thou, in
truth, art the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
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Let him then raise his head, and seat himself, and say:
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I testify, O my God, to that whereunto Thy
chosen Ones have testified, and acknowledge that
which the inmates of the all-highest Paradise and those
who have circled round Thy mighty Throne have
acknowledged. The kingdoms of earth and heaven are
Thine, O Lord of the worlds!
(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh, CLXXXIII)
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