Prayer in the evening and night

In the evening, O my God, I remember Thee with the hosts of those near unto Thee, and at dawn I call upon Thee, O my Hope, with the melodies of the sincere ones.

O my God, my Lord and my Goal! Thy servant desires to sleep in the shelter of Thy mercy and rest beneath the canopy of Thy grace, seeking aid through Thy protection and guardianship. O Lord! I beseech Thee by Thine eye that slumbereth not to guard mine eye from beholding aught beside Thee. Then increase its light for the vision of Thy signs and for gazing toward the horizon of Thy Revelation. Thou art He before Whose manifestations of might the very essence of power hath waxed feeble. There is no God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Conquering, the Unconstrained.

… O my God, my God! How can I choose sleep while the eyes of them that long for Thee are wakeful because of their separation from Thee, and how can I lie at rest on the couch while the hearts of Thy lovers are sore troubled by their remoteness from Thy presence? O my Lord, I have entrusted my spirit and my entire being into the right hand of Thy might and Thy protection, and I lay my head on my pillow through Thy power, and lift it up according to Thy will and Thy good-pleasure. Thou art, in truth, the Preserver, the Keeper, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.

By Thy might! I ask not, whether sleeping or waking, but that which Thou dost desire. I am Thy servant and in Thy hands. Do Thou graciously aid me to do what will shed forth the fragrance of Thy good pleasure. This, truly, is my hope and the hope of them that enjoy near access to Thee. Praised be Thou, O Lord of the worlds!

O thou who art cheered through the Fragrances of God! When thou desirest and yearnest for meeting in the world of vision; at the time when thou art in perfect fragrance and spirituality, wash thy hands and face, clothe thyself in clean robes, turn toward the court of the Peerless One, offer prayer to Him and lay thy head upon the pillow. When sleep cometh, the doors of revelation shall be opened and all thy desires shall become revealed.

How sweet, how delicious, how satisfying, how spiritual is prayer in the middle of nights! While all the eyes are closed, the eyes of the worshipper are wide open. While all the ears are stopped, the ears of the devotee are attuned to the Subtle music of God! While the majority of the people are fast sleep, the adorer of the Ideal Beloved is wakeful.

If thou desirest that God may open thine eye, thou must supplicate unto God, pray to and commune with Him at midnight, saying:

O Lord, I have turned my face unto Thy kingdom of oneness and am immersed in the sea of Thy mercy. O Lord, enlighten my sight by beholding Thy lights in this dark night, and make me happy by the wine of Thy love in this wonderful age. O Lord, make me hear Thy call, and open before my face the doors of Thy heaven, so that I may see the light of Thy glory and become attracted to Thy beauty.

"Verily, thou art the Giver, the Generous, the Merciful, the Forgiving!"

When you desire to engage in prayers at dawn, you must recite supplications from the Supreme Pen in the evening and at sunrise.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which Thou didst deliver Adam from Satan, and Noah from the flood, and Abraham from the fire, and Moses from Pharaoh, and the Spirit from the Jews, and Muhammad from the Abu-Jahl of the age; and by Thy Name through which the breezes of Thy bounty wafted over the bodies of all created things, and the sun of Thy grace shone upon all who dwell in earth and heaven; and by Thy Name through which every poor one was enriched at the gate of Thy wealth, and every abased one was exalted through the manifestations of Thy mighty glory, and every remote one drew near to the wonders of Thy grace and favors; and by Thy Name through which the sun rose from the horizon of Thy providence, and the pavilion of glory was raised in the kingdom of Thy beneficence, and the trees of unity were planted in the paradise of Thy grace and bounty; and furthermore by Thy Name through which all faces were turned toward Thy face, and all souls were drawn to the shore of Thy holy nearness and meeting, and the birds of the hearts of them who are nigh unto Thee soared in the atmosphere of Thy reunion and glory, and the hearts of the holy ones drank from the cups of Thy divine oneness - that Thou mayest look, O my Beloved, with the glance of Thy favor upon these who have kept vigil on this Night which Thou hast made a festival for Thy creation, wherein Thou didst manifest Thyself by Thy Name the All-Merciful unto all creation, and wherein the Beauty of Thy Lordship was established upon the throne of forgiveness.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by this Night and by those who have kept vigil therein, that Thou mayest send down upon these souls every most perfect good, every most excellent bounty, every most abundant wealth, every most beauteous beauty, every most manifest manifestation, every most steadfast utterance, every most enduring sovereignty, every most perfect word, every most ancient providence, every most powerful sign, every most great name, every most excellent beneficence, every most resplendent glory, every most brilliant radiance, every most powerful might, every most clear permission, every most wondrous book, and every most gentle fruit. For they, O my God, have gathered around Thee on a day when the dwellers of earth have turned away from Thy presence, and have sought the sanctuary of Thy knowledge after all others rejected it. I beseech Thee, O my God, to change their sorrow into joy from Thy presence, and their grief into gladness from Thy court. Send down upon them, O my God, from the clouds of Thy mercy that which will cause to grow from their hearts the plants of Thy knowledge and wisdom. Make them, O my Beloved, so steadfast in Thy love and Thy Cause that should all who are in the heavens and on earth endeavor to prevent them, they would pay no heed to any of them, but would turn with their inner and outer beings toward the court of Thy bounty and grace. Honor them, O my Beloved, with Thy presence on the Day when Thou wilt be established upon the throne of eternity, when the feet of the wise shall slip, and the dwellers of earth and heaven shall tremble.

Then, O my God, leave them not to themselves. Take their hands with the power of Thy grace and gather them before the sovereign of the might of Thy bountifulness. Then raise them up, O my Beloved, unto that which Thou hast purposed for them through the sovereignty of Thy mighty dominion, for this is the good than which there is no likeness in creation nor equal in invention. Verily, Thou art powerful over this, mighty and omnipotent. Glory be unto Thee, O my Beloved! I beseech Thee by Thy hidden Name, and by Thy treasured Sign, and by Thy guarded Secret, that Thou deprive not these souls of the surging waves of the sea of Thy oneness, and cause them, O my Desire, to embark upon the ark of Thy glorious might.

O My Hope! Withhold not from them that which Thou hast, and send down upon them that whereby their spirits may be calmed, their hearts reassured, their souls established, their tongues loosed, their minds soar, their eyes be gladdened, their ears hear, and their hearts be enraptured, that they may be drawn, O my Beloved, by the breezes of Thy days, which none have attained save those whom Thou hast chosen for the recognition of Thy Self, elected for Thy Revelation and inspiration, approved for the manifestation of Thy Cause and sovereignty, and made the dawning-places of Thy Cause in Thy lands, the daysprings of Thy divine sustenance amongst Thy creatures, and the manifestations of Thy lordship between Thy heaven and Thy earth. Thou art, verily, the Powerful over what Thou willest, and the Dominant over what Thou desirest. None can resist Thy command or reverse Thy decree. Thou doest what Thou willest by Thy sovereignty and ordainest what Thou desirest by Thy will. Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, the Giver, the Bountiful, the Beloved, the Generous.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which the oceans of Thy names surged in the kingdom of Thy attributes, and the sun of Thy decree shone forth from the horizon of Thy judgment, to gather these beneath the shade of the tree of Thy oneness. Then grant them, O my God, from the wonders of Thy bounties which Thou hast sent down at all times from the heaven of Thy will and concealed from the eyes of Thy creatures, that they may delight in secret as they have delighted openly in the wondrous gifts of Thy divine unity. Send down, O my Beloved, into their hearts that which will purify them from all else but Thee and draw them near to the sanctuary of Thy good-pleasure and the source of Thy will, that they may speak naught except in Thy love, turn to none save in devotion to Thee, face no direction but the direction of Thy mercy and bounty, raise not their hands save toward the heaven of Thy might and generosity, and open not their eyes save unto the wondrous splendors of the lights of Thy countenance.

O Beloved! Give them to drink from the cups of everlasting life by the hand of this Youth in this paradise, that they may be severed from the idols of Satan and unite in Thy Cause in these days, remembering Thee at eventide and at dawn beneath the canopy of Thy grace, O Thou Bestower! O Thou Who sendeth down the Revelation, and bringeth the contingent world into being! I beseech Thee, O my Beloved, to remove discord from among these, then clothe them in the robe of Thy grace and the garments of Thy favors, in such wise that they may speak only of the wondrous traces of Thy divine sovereignty, and there may appear from them naught but that which will guide all created things to the court of Thy holy love, whereby the servants may ascend to the atmosphere of nearness to Thy unity, rise unto the heaven of Thy uniqueness, gather in the precincts of Thy mercy, and be as one soul before the sanctuary of Thy grandeur.

Then I beseech Thee, O my God, to purify their hearts from the dust of contingent things and the soil of created things, that the mirrors of their hearts may be cleansed and there may be reflected therein the wondrous splendors of the lights of Thy luminous beauty. Verily, Thou art the Giver, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, and verily, Thou art wise over all things.

Bless, then, O my God, those who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs and in Thy Beauty which shineth between Thy earth and Thy heaven. Thou art, verily, the Lord of forgiveness and mercy, and the Lord of grandeur and majesty. Then, O my God, detach Thy servants from all else but Thee and draw them to the court of Thy glory. Verily, Thou art the Forgiving, the Resurrector, the Life-Giver, the Almighty, the Powerful.

I beseech Thee, O my God, in this hour of the night of the middle of the month of Sha'ban, to send down upon the Tree of God - its root, branch, twigs, leaves and fruits - from every most glorious glory, from every most exalted majesty, from every most beauteous beauty, from every most mighty grandeur, from every most brilliant light, from every most extensive mercy, from every most perfect word, from every most complete perfection, from every most great name, from every most mighty might, from every most effectual will, from every most penetrating knowledge, from every most far-reaching and powerful capacity that Thou possessest, from every matter most beloved and cherished by Thee in the Mother Book, from every most impregnable loftiness, from every most enduring sovereignty, from every most glorious dominion, from every most exalted elevation, from every most ancient bounty, from every most wondrous sign, from every most elevated evidence, and from all that Thou hast loved or lovest as befitteth the sublimity of Thy oneness, the exaltation of Thy singleness, the inaccessibility of Thy Self-Subsistence, the elevation of Thy Self-Sufficiency, the independence of Thy grandeur, the majesty of Thy light, and the holiness of Thy eternity.

O Thou Who hearkens to every call! This servant calleth upon Thee in the watches of the night and throughout the day.