TO BE RECITED DAILY, IN
THE MORNING, AT NOON,
AND IN THE EVENING
Whoso
wisheth to pray, let him wash his hands, and while he washeth,
let him say:
Strengthen
my hand, O my God, that it may take hold of Thy Book with such
steadfastness that the hosts of the world shall have no power
over it. Guard it, then, from meddling with whatsoever doth
not belong unto it. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most
Powerful.
And
while washing his face, let him say:
I
have turned my face unto Thee, O my Lord! Illumine it with the
light of Thy countenance. Protect it, then, from turning to
anyone but Thee.
Then
let him stand up, and facing the Qiblih (Point of Adoration,
i.e. Bahjí, Akká), let him say:
God
testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His are the
kingdoms of Revelation and of creation. He, in truth, hath
manifested Him Who is the Dayspring of Revelation, Who
conversed on Sinai, through Whom the Supreme Horizon hath been
made to shine, and the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no
passing hath spoken, and through Whom the call hath been
proclaimed unto all who are in heaven and on earth: "Lo,
the All-Possessing is come. Earth and heaven, glory and
dominion are God's, the Lord of all men, and the Possessor of
the Throne on high and of earth below!"
Let
him, then, bend down, with hands resting on the knees, and
say:
Exalted
art Thou above my praise and the praise of anyone beside me,
above my description and the description of all who are in
heaven and all who are on earth!
Then,
standing with open hands, palms upward toward the face, let
him say:
Disappoint
not, O my God, him that hath, with beseeching fingers, clung
to the hem of Thy mercy and Thy grace, O Thou Who of those who
show mercy art the Most Merciful!
Let
him, then, be seated and say:
I
bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art
God, and that there is none other God beside Thee. Thou hast,
verily, revealed thy Cause, fulfilled Thy Covenant, and opened
wide the door of Thy grace to all that dwell in heaven and on
earth. Blessing and peace, salutation and glory, rest upon Thy
loved ones, whom the changes and changes of the world have not
deterred from turning unto Thee, and who have given their all,
in the hope of obtaining that which is with Thee. Thou art, in
truth, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.
(If
anyone choose to recite instead of the long verse these words:
"God testifieth that there is none other God but Him, the
Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting," it would be
sufficient. And likewise, it would suffice were he, while
seated, to choose to recite these words: "I bear witness
to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and that
there is none other God beside Thee."