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MARTYRS AND THEIR FAMILIES “He is God! O Lord my God! O Thou Helper of the…” |
With utmost lowliness I raise my suppliant
hands to Thy kingdom of beauty and fervently
call upon Thee with my inner tongue, saying: O
God, my God! Aid me to adore Thee, strengthen
my loins to serve Thee; assist me by Thy grace in
my servitude to Thee; suffer me to remain steadfast
in my obedience to Thee; pour forth upon me
the liberal effusions of Thy bounty, let the glances
of the eye of Thy loving-kindness be directed
towards me, and immerse me in the ocean of Thy
forgiveness. Grant that I may be confirmed in my
allegiance to Thy Faith, and bestow upon me a
fuller measure of certitude and assurance, that I
may wholly dispense with the world, may turn
my face with entire devotion towards Thy face, be
reinforced by the compelling power of proofs and
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testimonies, and, invested with majesty and power,
may pass beyond every region of heaven and
earth. Verily Thou art the Merciful, the All-Glorious,
the Kind, the Compassionate.
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O Lord! These are the survivors of the martyrs,
that company of blessed souls. They have sustained
every tribulation and displayed patience in
the face of grievous injustice. They have forsaken
all comfort and prosperity, have willingly submitted
to dire suffering and adversity in the path of
Thy love, and are still held captive in the clutches
of their enemies who continually torment them
with sore torment, and oppress them because they
walk steadfastly in Thy straight path. There is no
one to help them, no one to befriend them. Apart
from the ignoble and the wicked, there is no one
to associate and consort with them.
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O Lord! Fill their ears with the verses of divine
assistance and of a speedy victory, and deliver
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them from the oppression of such as wield terrible
might. Withhold the hands of the wicked and
leave not these souls to be torn by the claws and
teeth of fierce beasts, for they are captivated by
their love for Thee, entrusted with the mysteries
of Thy holiness, stand humbly at Thy door and
have attained to Thine exalted precinct.
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O Lord! Graciously reinforce them with a new
spirit; illumine their eyes by enabling them to
behold Thy wondrous evidences in the gloom of
night; destine for them all good that aboundeth
in Thy Kingdom of eternal mysteries; make them
as brilliant stars shining over all regions, luxuriant
trees laden with fruit and branches moving in the
breezes of dawn.
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—‘Abdu’l-Bahá
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