All glory be to this Day, the Day in which the fragrances
of mercy have been wafted over all created things,
a Day so blest that past ages and centuries can never
hope to rival it, a Day in which the countenance of
the Ancient of Days hath turned towards His holy seat.
Thereupon the voices of all created things, and beyond
them those of the Concourse on High, were heard calling
aloud: ’Haste thee, O Carmel, for lo, the
light of the countenance of God, the Ruler of the
Kingdom of Names and Fashioner of the heavens, hath
been lifted upon thee.’
Seized with transports of joy, and raising high her
voice, she thus exclaimed: ’May my life
be a sacrifice to Thee, inasmuch as Thou hast fixed
Thy gaze upon me, hast bestowed upon me Thy bounty,
and hast directed towards me Thy steps. Separation
from Thee, O Thou Source of everlasting life, hath
well nigh consumed me, and my remoteness from Thy
presence hath burned away my soul. All praise
be to Thee for having enabled me to hearken to Thy
call, for having honoured me with Thy footsteps, and
for having quickened my soul through the vitalizing
fragrance of Thy Day and the shrilling voice of Thy
Pen, a voice Thou didst ordain as Thy trumpet-call
amidst Thy people. And when the hour at which
Thy resistless Faith was to be made manifest did strike,
Thou didst breathe a breath of Thy spirit into Thy
Pen, and lo, the entire creation shook to its very
foundations, unveiling to mankind such mysteries as
lay hidden within the treasuries of Him Who is the
Possessor of all created things.’
No sooner had her voice reached that most exalted
Spot than We made reply: ’Render thanks
unto thy Lord, O Carmel. The fire of thy separation
from Me was fast consuming thee, when the ocean of
My presence surged before thy face, cheering thine
eyes and those of all creation, and filling with delight
all things visible and invisible. Rejoice, for
God hath in this Day established upon thee His throne,
hath made thee the dawning-place of His signs and
the dayspring of the evidences of His Revelation.
Well is it with him that circleth around thee, that
proclaimeth the revelation of thy glory, and recounteth
that which the bounty of the Lord thy God hath showered
upon thee. Seize thou the Chalice of Immortality
in the name of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, and give
thanks unto Him, inasmuch as He, in token of His mercy
unto thee, hath turned thy sorrow into gladness, and
transmuted thy grief into blissful joy. He, verily,
loveth the spot which hath been made the seat of His
throne, which His footsteps have trodden, which hath
been honoured by His presence, from which He raised
His call, and upon which He shed His tears.
