Through the eye of the heart we have grasped the essential
identity between the kernel of belief and the touba tree in Paradise,
(into which that kernel will grow). We have risen to make a journey extending
far into the realms beyond being. On this journey Your holy Book has guided our
spirits, setting out a vision of Your Names and Attributes, and leading to
eternity. You have described to us the journey to Yourself, mapped it out in
the minutest detail, and pictured it in the mi‘raj (Ascension) of Your
holy Servant, peace and Your blessings be upon him, his miraculous ascent
through the Seven Heavens to Your Presence. That journey is possible to any man
or woman who has knowledge of You through his or her spirit. If we have gone
too far in touching the latch of the gates of Your mysteries, we ask
forgiveness for the discourtesies of our coarse, immature souls that are
ignorant of rules and proprieties.
O Creator, Most High and Most Beautiful, Who brought us into
this existence and allowed us to feel the infinite pleasure thereof. You have
opened to us vast worlds as a book. You have made our consciousness the shore
at which Your Divine mysteries lap, and so enabled us to have a sense of those
mysteries. If You had not unfolded to us as in a book these magnificent worlds,
if You had not disclosed Yourself to us, according to our capacity to
understand, by sending Prophets, we would not have known You at all.
If You had not established connections between nature and
our inner experiences, and endowed us with an innate perception by means of
which we might arrive at true knowledge and true gnosis, we could never hope to
know Your Divine Essence or anything sure about You. How, then, could we have
felt admiration for Your Path? We are Your bonded servants, and the recurrent
flashes reflected in our consciousness are rays from Your Existence. Whatever
we own is entirely by Your gift and favor. We declare this once more,
confessing that we are Your obedient slaves, who never look for release, but
rather long to renew our bonds.
O Ruler of hearts, on the remembrance and meditation of Whom
hearts are fixed, we strive to determine the ways leading to Your Presence and
the windows opening upon Your Existence. Sometimes we seek by delving into the
reality of things and events, and sometimes by relying upon our intuition. Our
goal is to communicate what we receive from You to those whose hearts are sick
and whose minds are barren, and to remain faithful to the sublime truths that
have been shown there in the clearest possible way.
No doubt we have committed errors and indulged our fancies
and whims, for we have not been able to offer the most manifest truths in their
essential purity.
If we have made mistakes, we made them while seeking You and
trying to guide others. If we have made mistakes, we have made them on the way
to You. But a mistake is still a mistake. With broken hearts, spirits doubled
up, and necks in chains, we appeal to Your generous judgment. We make this
confession, knowing that Your unbounded Mercy always overcomes Your Wrath. It
is not becoming for Your humble slaves, especially those You have favored, to
commit mistakes. Yet since they do, graciously permit me to remark that mercy
and forgiveness are becoming most of all to You.
O Ruler of my heart. To the Ruler belongs the Royal manner
that befits Him, just as servitude befits a slave. If You forgive us, we should
wish to study the book of Your universe anew so as to pay attention to the
voices that tell of You. We should wish to witness the signs of Your Existence,
and to be enraptured by the songs about You, so that we may reach Your holy
realm. By Your Graciousness, assist those who are in need!
