But for the tribulations which are sustained in Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be recognized; and were it not for the trials which are borne for love of Thee, how could the station of such as yearn for Thee be revealed?  Thy might beareth Me witness!  The companions of all who adore Thee are the tears they shed, and the comforters of such as seek Thee are the groans they utter, and the food of them who haste to meet Thee is the fragments of their broken hearts.  How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy Word!  Let me quaff in Thy Cause, O my God and my Master, whatsoever Thou didst desire, and send down upon me in Thy love all Thou didst ordain.  By Thy glory!  I wish only what Thou wishest, and cherish what Thou cherishest.  In Thee have I, at all times, placed My whole trust and confidence.  Thou art verily the All-Possessing, the Most High.  Raise up, I implore Thee, O my God, as helpers to this Revelation such as shall be counted worthy of Thy Name and of Thy sovereignty, that they may remember Thee among Thy creatures, and hoist the ensigns of Thy victory in Thy land, and adorn them with Thy virtues and Thy commandments.  No God is there but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.”

Thereupon the voice of the true Faith was lifted up, calling aloud again and again and saying:  “O concourse of the earth!  By God!  I am the true Faith of God amongst you.  Beware that ye deny Me not.  God hath manifested Me with a light that hath encompassed all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth.  Judge ye equitably, O people, My manifestation, and the revelation of My glory, and the radiance of My light, and be not of them that act unjustly.”

O Shay_kh_!  This Wronged One beseecheth God—­blessed and glorified be He—­ to make thee the one who will open the door of justice, and reveal through thee His Cause among His servants.  He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous.

O Shay_kh_!  Entreat thou the one true God to sanctify the ears, and the eyes, and the hearts of mankind, and to protect them from the desires of a corrupt inclination.  For malice is a grievous malady which depriveth man from recognizing the Great Being, and debarreth him from the splendors of the sun of certitude.  We pray and hope that through the grace and mercy of God He may remove this mighty obstacle.  He, verily, is the Potent, the All-Subduing, the Almighty.

At this moment a Voice was raised from the right-hand of the Luminous Spot:  “God!  There is none other God but Him, the Ordainer, the All-Wise!  Recite Thou unto the Shay_kh_ the remaining passages of the Lawh-i-Burhan (Tablet of the Proof) that they may draw him unto the horizon of the Revelation of his Lord, the God of Mercy, that haply he may arise to aid My Cause with perspicuous signs and exalted testimonies, and may speak forth amongst men that which the Tongue of Testimony hath spoken:  ‘The Kingdom is God’s, the Lord of the worlds!’”