Love as fire: warmth, illumination, and transformation

O thou who art aflame with the fire of the love of God! This conflagration, even if its heat is scorching, in reality gives light to all the world. Indeed, if thou discernest truly thou wouldst see that this blazing fire is but a rose garden; it is the source of life-giving waters unto every tested servant.

He spoke, and His sweetest utterance is:

O Baha'u'llah, when Thy fire blazed forth It consumed the very existence of Thy lovers With but one spark cast upon hearts Thou didst raise a thousand Sinais in breasts

The Kawthar of love is concealed in these resplendent words. Outwardly, the word "fire" is mentioned, but inwardly it is light upon light. The flame of love is manifest and evident in the Sadratu'l-Bayan.

Blessed is the soul that hath been illumined and set aglow with the fire of divine love. This fire hath ever been and shall ever remain the reality of light.

By the fire of the Love of God the veil is burnt which separates us from the Heavenly Realities, and with clear vision we are enabled to struggle onward and upward, ever progressing in the paths of virtue and holiness, and becoming the means of light to the world.

There is nothing greater or more blessed than the Love of God! It gives healing to the sick, balm to the wounded, joy and consolation to the whole world, and through it alone can man attain Life Everlasting. The essence of all religions is the Love of God, and it is the foundation of all the sacred teachings.

In any case, the flame of love must needs be consuming; therefore patience and composure are necessary, and stillness and forbearance are essential....

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

This divine Fire burneth of itself, with neither fuel nor fume, that it might draw away such excess moisture and cold as are the cause of torpor and weariness, of lethargy and despondency, and lead the entire creation to the court of the presence of the All-Merciful. Whoso hath approached this Fire hath been set aflame and attained the desired goal, and whoso hath removed himself therefrom hath remained deprived.

Among these is attraction, and among these is enkindlement and combustion with the fire of the love of God. Thereby lethargy is transformed into warmth, and coldness into the flame of the fire of oneness.

Burn ye away the veils with the fire of My love, and dispel ye the mists of vain imaginings by the power of this Name through which We have subdued the entire creation.

Ignite, then, O my God, within my breast the fire of Thy love, that its flame may burn up all else except my remembrance of Thee, that every trace of corrupt desire may be entirely mortified within me, and that naught may remain except the glorification of Thy transcendent and all-glorious Being.

O servant! Burn away desires with the fire of the love of thy Lord, the Self-Sufficient, the Most Exalted.

I beseech Thee, O Illuminator of the world and He Who hath appeared through the Most Great Name, to cause the hearts of those who are sincere toward Thee to be set ablaze with the heat of Thy love, that they may cast aside their desires and hold fast unto that which Thou hast willed through Thy command.

He is the Ever-Living, the Ever-Abiding, the Self-Subsisting.

God testifieth to the unity of His Godhood and to the singleness of His own Being. On the throne of eternity, from the inaccessible heights of His station, His tongue proclaimeth that there is none other God but Him. He Himself, independently of all else, hath ever been a witness unto His own oneness, the revealer of His own nature, the glorifier of His own essence. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Beauteous.

He is supreme over His servants, and standeth over His creatures. In His hand is the source of authority and truth. He maketh men alive by His signs, and causeth them to die through His wrath. He shall not be asked of His doings, and His might is equal unto all things. He is the Potent, the All-Subduing. He holdeth within His grasp the empire of all things, and on His right hand is fixed the Kingdom of His Revelation. His power, verily, embraceth the whole of creation. Victory and overlordship are His; all might and dominion are His; all glory and greatness are His. He, of a truth, is the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful, the Unconditioned.

Praise be to Thee, to Whom the tongues of all created things have, from eternity, called, and yet failed to attain the heaven of Thine eternal holiness and grandeur. The eyes of all beings have been opened to behold the beauty of Thy radiant countenance, yet none hath succeeded in gazing on the brightness of the light of Thy face. The hands of them that are nigh unto Thee have, ever since the foundation of Thy glorious sovereignty and the establishment of Thy holy dominion, been raised suppliantly towards Thee, yet no one hath been able to touch the hem of the robe that clotheth Thy Divine and sovereign Essence. And yet none can deny that Thou hast ever been, through the wonders of Thy generosity and bounty, supreme over all things, art powerful to do all things, and art nearer unto all things than they are unto themselves.

Far be it, then, from Thy glory that anyone should gaze on Thy wondrous beauty with any eye save Thine own eye, or hear the melodies proclaiming Thine almighty sovereignty with any ear except Thine own ear. Too high art Thou exalted for the eye of any creature to behold Thy beauty, or for the understanding of any heart to scale the heights of Thine immeasurable knowledge. For should the birds of the hearts of them that are nigh unto Thee be ever enabled to soar as long as Thine own overpowering sovereignty can endure, or to ascend as long as the empire of Thy Divine holiness can last, they shall, in no wise, be able to transcend the limitations which a contingent world hath imposed upon them, nor pass beyond its confines. How, then, can he whose very creation is restricted by such limitations, attain unto Him Who is the Lord of the Kingdom of all created things, or ascend into the heaven of Him Who ruleth the realms of loftiness and grandeur?

Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, my Best-Beloved! Inasmuch as Thou hast ordained that the utmost limit to which they who lift their hearts to Thee can rise is the confession of their powerlessness to enter the realms of Thy holy and transcendent unity, and that the highest station which they who aspire to know Thee can reach is the acknowledgement of their impotence to attain the retreats of Thy sublime knowledge, I, therefore, beseech Thee, by this very powerlessness which is beloved of Thee, and which Thou hast decreed as the goal of them that have reached and attained Thy court, and by the splendours of Thy countenance that have encompassed all things, and by the energies of Thy Will whereby the entire creation hath been generated, not to deprive them that have set their hopes in Thee of the wonders of Thy mercy, nor to withhold from such as have sought Thee the treasures of Thy grace. Ignite, then, within their hearts the torch of Thy love, that its flame may consume all else except their wondrous remembrance of Thee, and that no trace may be left in those hearts except the gem-like evidences of Thy most holy sovereignty, so that from the land wherein they dwell no voice may be heard except the voice that extolleth Thy mercifulness and might, that on the earth on which they walk no light may shine except the light of Thy beauty, and that within every soul naught may be discovered except the revelation of Thy countenance and the tokens of Thy glory, that haply Thy servants may show forth only that which shall please Thee and shall conform wholly unto Thy most potent will.

Glory be to Thee, O my God! The power of Thy might beareth me witness! I can have no doubt that should the holy breaths of Thy loving-kindness and the breeze of Thy bountiful favour cease, for less than the twinkling of an eye, to breathe over all created things, the entire creation would perish, and all that are in heaven and on earth would be reduced to utter nothingness. Magnified, therefore, be the marvellous evidences of Thy transcendent power! Magnified be the potency of Thine exalted might! Magnified be the majesty of Thine all-encompassing greatness, and the energizing influence of Thy will! Such is Thy greatness that wert Thou to concentrate the eyes of all men in the eye of one of Thy servants, and to compress all their hearts within his heart, and wert Thou to enable him to behold within himself all the things Thou hast created through Thy power and fashioned through Thy might, and were he to ponder, throughout eternity, over the realms of Thy creation and the range of Thy handiwork, he would unfailingly discover that there is no created thing but is overshadowed by Thine all-conquering power, and is vitalized through Thine all-embracing sovereignty.

Behold me, then, O my God, fallen prostrate upon the dust before Thee, confessing my powerlessness and Thine omnipotence, my poverty and Thy wealth, mine evanescence and Thine eternity, mine utter abasement and Thine infinite glory. I recognize that there is none other God but Thee, that Thou hast no peer nor partner, none to equal or rival Thee. In Thine unapproachable loftiness Thou hast, from eternity, been exalted above the praise of any one but Thee, and shalt continue for ever, in Thy transcendent singleness and glory, to be sanctified from the glorification of any one except Thine own Self.

I swear by Thy might, O my Beloved! To make mention of any created thing beseemeth not Thy most exalted Self, and to bestow any praise upon any one of Thy creatures would be wholly unworthy of Thy great glory. Nay, such a mention would be but blasphemy uttered within the court of Thy holiness, and such praise would amount to no less than a transgression in the face of the evidences of Thy Divine sovereignty. For the mere mention of any one of Thy creatures would in itself imply an assertion of their existence before the court of Thy singleness and unity. Such an assertion would be naught but open blasphemy, an act of impiety, the essence of profanity and a wanton crime.

Wherefore, I bear witness with my soul, my spirit, my entire being, that should They Who are the Daysprings of Thy most holy unity and the Manifestations of Thy transcendent oneness be able to soar so long as Thine own sovereignty endureth and Thine all-compelling authority can last, they will fail in the end to attain unto even the precincts of the court wherein Thou didst reveal the effulgence of but one of Thy most mighty Names. Glorified, glorified be, therefore, Thy wondrous majesty. Glorified, glorified be Thine unattainable loftiness. Glorified, glorified be the pre-eminence of Thy kingship and the sublimity of Thine authority and power.

The highest faculties which the learned have possessed, and whatsoever truths they, in their search after the gems of Thy knowledge, have discovered; the brightest realities with which the wise have been endowed, and whatever secrets they, in their attempts to fathom the mysteries of Thy wisdom, have unravelled, have all been created through the generative power of the Spirit that was breathed into the Pen which Thy hands have fashioned. How, then, can the thing which Thy Pen hath created be capable of comprehending those treasures of Thy Faith with which, as decreed by Thee, that Pen hath been invested? How can it ever know of the Fingers that grasp Thy Pen, and of Thy merciful favours with which it hath been endowed? How can it, already unable to reach this station, be made aware of the existence of Thy Hand that controlleth the Fingers of Thy might? How can it attain unto the comprehension of the nature of Thy Will that animateth the movement of Thy Hand?

Glorified, glorified be Thou, O my God! How can I ever hope to ascend into the heaven of Thy most holy will, or gain admittance into the tabernacle of Thy Divine knowledge, knowing as I do that the minds of the wise and learned are impotent to fathom the secrets of Thy handiwork--a handiwork which is itself but a creation of Thy will?

Praise be to Thee, O Lord, my God, my Master, my Possessor, my King. Now that I have confessed unto Thee my powerlessness and the powerlessness of all created things, and have acknowledged my poverty and the poverty of the entire creation, I call unto Thee with my tongue and the tongues of all that are in heaven and on earth, and beseech Thee with my heart and the hearts of all that have entered beneath the shadow of Thy names and Thine attributes, not to shut us from the doors of Thy loving-kindness and grace, nor to suffer the breeze of Thy bountiful care and favour to cease from being wafted over our souls, nor to permit that our hearts be occupied with any one except Thee, or our minds to be busied with any remembrance save remembrance of Thy Self.

By the glory of Thy might, O my God! Wert Thou to set me king over Thy realms, and to establish me upon the throne of Thy sovereignty, and to deliver, through Thy power, the reins of the entire creation into my hands, and wert Thou to cause me, though it be for less than a moment, to be occupied with these things and be oblivious of the wondrous memories associated with Thy most mighty, most perfect, and most exalted Name, my soul would still remain unsatisfied, and the pangs of my heart unstilled. Nay, I would, in that very state, recognize myself as the poorest of the poor, and the most wretched of wretches.

Magnified be Thy name, O my God! Now that Thou hast caused me to apprehend this truth, I beseech Thee by Thy Name which no scroll can bear, which no heart can imagine and no tongue can utter--a Name which will remain concealed so long as Thine own Essence is hidden, and will be glorified so long as Thine own Being is extolled--to unfurl, ere the present year draw to a close, the ensigns of Thine undisputed ascendancy and triumph, that the whole creation may be enriched by Thy wealth, and may be exalted through the ennobling influence of Thy transcendent sovereignty, and that all may arise and promote Thy Cause.

Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Highest, the All-Glorious, the All-Subduing, the All-Possessing.

It is the divine fire which, when kindled in the breasts, consumeth all things besides God. The hearts of the lovers are aflame with this fire.

Now praise be to God that you have been set ablaze by the fire of the love of God and have burnt away the veil of vain imaginings.

O Lord! These pure souls are enamored of Thee and bewildered by Thee. They have been set ablaze with the fire of Thy love and have burned away the veil of vain imaginings. They have grasped the truth, are self-sacrificing for Thee, and tearful from separation from Thee. Make these souls the manifestations of Thine endless favors and the recipients of Thy freely-given aid. And upon them be the Most Glorious Glory.

Then by My power break the seal of the vessel of My musk that perchance they may find and know and understand, then learn and remember, then perceive and attain and behold this dawning Dayspring and this gleaming Moon and this rising Star and this rain-laden Cloud and this surging Ocean and this upraised Heaven and this exalted House and this manifest Grace and this hidden Mystery and this mentioned Symbol. Perchance they may shatter and rend asunder and burn and cut themselves off from and flee their idols, their veils, their glory, away from all save their Lord, away from their own selves.

Although in the world of existence the Outpourings of the Almighty are infinite yet the Greatest Divine Outpouring is the "Love of God." This is the dominant, transcendental Power which rises above all the natural susceptibilities of the world of humanity.

… Therefore, man cannot win victory over these physical emotions save through the "Power of the Love of God."

The Fire of the Love of God is like unto the lightening which strikes upon the head of nature, emasculating it of its virility and leaving it fallen on the ground - a lifeless corpse. Consequently the greatest Power in the World of existence is the "Love of God"...

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If love did not exist, what of reality would remain? It is the fire of the love of God which renders man superior to the animal. Strengthen this superior force through which is attained all the progress in the world.

Were it not for the Fire of the Love of God, how could the life of man become a flame of sanctity and severance?

O thou lover of the Beauty of the All-Glorious! Though fire in the physical world hath a powerful effect, the fire of the love of God hath even keener consequences and is possessed of so incomparable and penetrating a flame that no physical fire can be its equal. Physical fire doth spread through contact with solid matter but the fire of the love of God pierceth the very heart of all things and can ignite a conflagration across the whole world.

O living flame of heavenly love! Thine heart hath been so fired with the love of God that from ten thousand leagues afar its warmth and radiance may be felt and seen. The fire lit by mortal hand imparteth light and warmth to but a little space, whereas that sacred flame which the Hand of God hath kindled, though burning in the east, will set aflame the west and give warmth to both the north and the south; nay, it shall rise from this world to glow with the hottest flame in the realms on high, flooding with light the Kingdom of eternal glory.

He is intimate to thine anguish and a partner in thy grief, and he humbly supplicates and offers this prayer to the Court of Oneness:

O Sun of Truth and Essence of Divinity! Play upon these lowly servants of Thine, merge us together in the fire of love, make us intimate companions, of one breath and one voice, until we raise up such a melody in the garden of longing that this contingent world will be set into commotion thereby.

Or like two pieces of iron: they are dark and cold but, when heated in the fire of love, they become so hot that when they touch each other they unite into one piece and are so bright you cannot tell the iron from the fire. They are one in it.

O thou who art enkindled with the fire that illumineth the world! It is near sunset and the sun is setting. The place is not well-lit, and this servant is weary in hand and eye, nay in all limbs, from excessive writing. Nevertheless, from the fire of love for the friends of God, the heart is so aflame and the spirit so joyous that it will not let the fingers of the pen rest, and waves of longing surge from the ocean of the heart onto the shores of these pages. O how I long for you, O friends of God!

O thou that art aglow with the Fire that burneth in the Sacred Tree!

At this morning hour, when the Light that shineth from the Abha Kingdom is shedding its splendour upon the regions of the world and the sweet savours of the Lord wafted from the Realms of Holiness are diffusing their fragrance amongst the holy ones on earth, this yearning one is so stirred with the sweet remembrance of the loved ones of God and so aflame with the desire of their meeting that he finds no way to still his longings or to calm his restless soul.

O thou spiritual temple whose heart is drawn unto the Horizon of Certainty!

Verily, I am now in the Assembly of the beloved of God, whose hearts are kindled with a burning, blazing and flaming fire from the fragrance of God, and I have mentioned thee with a heart overflowing with thy love.

O spiritual friend! In this moment, as I became occupied with thy remembrance, I was set ablaze with the fire of love. My heart burned, yet the thirsty heart was not quenched. The spirit was renewed and divine confirmations were obtained. The remembrance of loved ones is the cause of joy and delight, and the mention of friends is like the fragrance of a rose garden. May my Lord make thee successful.

O my loving friends! The fire of your longing is so intensely ablaze that its heat has affected the horizons and its ardor has influenced the hearts of those dwelling near the Holy Shrine. This is not mere flame - it is bounty. This is not mere heat - it is love. This is not mere longing - it is illumination.

Soon will our handful of days, our vanishing life, be gone, and we shall pass, empty-handed, into the hollow that is dug for those who speak no more; wherefore must we bind our hearts to the manifest Beauty, and cling to the lifeline that faileth never. We must gird ourselves for service, kindle love's flame, and burn away in its heat. We must loose our tongues till we set the wide world's heart afire, and with bright rays of guidance blot out the armies of the night, and then, for His sake, on the field of sacrifice, fling down our lives.

Loose thy tongue and teach, and let thy face be bright with the fire of God's love.

Whosoever I send to America must at first gain the regenerative power of the second birth, be baptized with the water of universal ideals and be a living torch of the Fire of the Love of God.

This (Covenant) is the Ark of Noah, its moving power is the fire of the love of God.

Day and night kindle the fire of love and like a candle with tearful eyes burn in the fire of the love of God, until from your kindling and burning, lights may shine forth upon those regions and the banner of the Covenant may wave over those horizons.

O bird of the spiritual meadow, strike up a melody and raise a call that will ignite the fire of love for the Beloved of creation in the heart of existence, and raise such a flame that the coldness of the physical worlds of the handmaidens of God will be transformed into the spiritual heat of the love of God, and the frozen state of hearts will be changed to melting.

Take the path of the lovers and run in pursuit of the yearning ones. Heave a heart-burning sigh and set that realm ablaze with the fire of the love of God.

Among the handmaidens, shine forth like a candle, turn thine eyes away from the world and all within it, and burn like aloe and ambergris in the fire of the love of the Beauty of Baha, until the darkness of night becomes day and "We have made the sign of the night to pass away and We have made the sign of the day manifest" becomes evident.

I beg of God that He may make [that place] a center of merciful events and a point whereon the lordly favors may fall; and that He may make thee so ablaze with the fire of His love that the flame of the love of God may pervade all those parts.

It is hoped that through the heat and flame of the fire of the love of God they will blaze forth in such wise as to illuminate all the surrounding regions and districts.

Speak forth the verses of thy Lord whereby hearts are melted and the breasts of them that have advanced towards God are set aflame.

O loved ones! Come ye, let us draw from out the heart a sigh, and cast upon men's souls a fire.

And you must ignite and enkindle all the manifest and veiled countenances with the kindled fire of love, so that the effect of the kindled fire of God may appear from the source of flowing sweet water, and its fruit may emerge from the tree of existence - how much more so for the sanctified ones of the chambers of glory and the purified ones of the lofty pavilions who are attracted by the warbling of the Spirit's dove and gladdened by the singing of the bird of light.

Recite the Obligatory Prayer and supplications as much as thou art able, so that day by day thou mayest attain to increased firmness and steadfastness and find greater joy and gladness. Thus the circle of divine knowledge will grow wider, and the fire of the love of God will burn brighter within thee.

For when the lamp of the love of God is lit in a heart, its flame grows day by day until it becomes entirely a piece of fire. In the Qur'an it states: "That those who believe may increase in their faith." When the Bab and Baha'u'llah ascended, the friends of God in Iran blazed a hundred times more brightly and manifested the utmost sanctity and holiness.

The forge, though filled with fire, yet needs the bellows in order to heat silver and gold, so that solid metal may become liquefied and glow.

If these metaphors match reality, the fire of the love of God will blaze forth, that soul will be confirmed, and will shine like a star from the horizon of truth.

I implore Thee, O Thou Who causest the dawn to appear, by Thy Lamp which Thou didst light with the fire of Thy love before all that are in heaven and on earth, and whose flame Thou feedest with the fuel of Thy wisdom in the kingdom of Thy creation, to make me to be of those who have soared in Thine atmosphere, and surrendered their will to Thy decree.

This is a lamp lighted by the fire of Thy love and ablaze with the flame which is ignited in the tree of Thy mercy.

Thou art He the fire of Whose love hath set ablaze the hearts of them who have recognized Thy unity, and the splendors of Whose countenance have illuminated the faces of such as have drawn nigh unto Thy court.

O thou who art fallen upon the divine path! The sea of bounty is surging and the fire of love is blazing.

The Fire of the Love of God was set aglow, the sea of the Love of God began to move and its waves arose heavenward, the Cloud of the Love of God poured down, the breeze of the Love of God wafted and the rosegardens of the hearts of men were adorned with the flowers and hyacinths of the Love of God.

That melody at times appears in the form of water, speaking "Verily, I am the Quickener of the world," and at times is manifest as the fire of attraction, uttering "Verily, I am the Attracter of hearts." Blessed are the illumined hearts that have been quickened by the water of divine bounty and attracted by the fire of His love.

Glorified be God for this fiery thread and this divine cord! At times I behold it as fire, for by it are consumed the hearts of the sincere. At times I behold it as breezes, for by it are stirred the hearts of the believers. And at times there issueth from it a sound like unto melodies that draw unto them the hearts of the lovers.

When divine love, like wine, causes the world-reflecting cup of the hearts of God's loved ones to overflow with infinite bounties, and when the delicacy of the cup and the purity of the joy-giving wine unite, it becomes "light upon light" and bewilders the recesses of consciousness.

When in any external entity the element of fire becomes dominant, intense burning becomes manifest, and likewise in any luminous reality when the element of the fire of attraction prevails, flame and eruption result.

The candle is aflame and the heart in melting anguish. None knoweth what is the cause of this, and what its reason. Some maintain that the source and essence of elemental fire is the warmth in the hearts of lovers and the sighs of yearning souls.

14 And if, by the help of the Creator, he findeth on this journey a trace of the traceless Friend, and inhaleth the fragrance of the long-lost Joseph from the heavenly herald, he shall straightway step into the VALLEY OF LOVE and be consumed in the fire of love. In this city the heaven of rapture is upraised, and the world-illuming sun of yearning shineth, and the fire of love is set ablaze; and when the fire of love is ablaze, it burneth to ashes the harvest of reason.

… Be as naught, if thou wouldst kindle the fire of being and be fit for the pathway of love.

The wise glean but scattered ears from Layli's secret,

For this bounty belongs to Majnun alone, who burns the harvest.

The vicissitudes of time, which have appeared through God's irrevocable decrees, have separated companions who shared the same nest, and what beloved ones have been separated from their Beloved, and what lovers have been consumed in separation from their Loved One! The fire of love for Layli blazed forth and effaced from existence the maddened and infatuated souls.

A thousand ways I tried My love to hide--

But how could I, upon that blazing pyre Not catch fire!

O thou, who art enraptured by the True Beloved and art a lover of the Divine Beauty! The children of men, who exist in this visible world, each and every one sighed and bewailed, and lamented by day and by night thinking that they were enamoured with a thousand true beloved ones and filled with the ecstasy of the beauty of Layla. At one time, they would be beset with heart-consuming sighs. At another time they would raise lamentations early at daybreak full of anguish and sorrow. And yet another time they would be with eyes full of tears, a consumed heart, and a concealed grief, like unto a blazing candle glowing with the flaming fire.

Let us become wandering and possessed, free and infamous, that we may kindle a fire of love for the Most Glorious Beauty in the pole of the horizons.

O spiritual friend! The time has come for you to forget both stranger and kin, to become utterly bewildered and impassioned, and to be enthralled and intoxicated with that Loving Friend.

O sign of the love of God! If thou couldst know in what state of excitement this heart is at this moment, thou wouldst rend thy garment and become swift-moving in the path of God. Thou wouldst kindle the fire of longing and consume the liver of all horizons, and wouldst sacrifice thy soul freely in the path of the Beloved. This is the time, the time of flame and fire, and the season of fervor and longing and burning.

Now is the time to kindle the flame and be consumed by the fire which rageth in the world; now is the hour to set thy heart alight therewith.

Be aflame and full of fire, and be ignited with the kindled fire.

O two faithful servants of the peerless Lord! Give thanks unto God that on this triumphant day you have become moths to the brightly-burning candle and have been consumed by the world-enkindling fire of love.

The moths of the flower-garden of the Merciful circled round that Incandescent Lamp, and they feared no one save God.

Quench the thirst of those who are parched in the desert of longing with the living waters in this exalted Paradise, and cause the moths of love and affection to circle round the brilliant lamp and burn their wings in the heat of its luminous flame, that they may become the manifestation of 'We shall surely give them a good life' and the dawning-place of 'Nay, they are alive and are provided sustenance from their Lord.'

It is my prayer that thou mayest become a moth that burns its wings in the flaming candle of the love of God, a salamander of love and desire in the fiery path of God.

O my loving friends! Jinab-i-Za'ir Aqa Nasru'llah has astonished his listeners with his praises and tributes about you, and brought joy and delight to the friends, for those assured souls are verses of unity and manifestations of the grace of detachment. From the intensity of love they are like kindled flames and burnt moths.

When this bounty appears, the fire of the love of God will blaze forth in such wise as to melt the very liver of the horizons.

The fire of Thy love that burneth continually within me hath so inflamed me that whoever among Thy creatures approacheth me, and inclineth his inner ear towards me, cannot fail to hear its raging within each of my veins.

How mysterious the Fire which Thou hast enkindled within my heart! My very limbs testify to the intensity of its heat, and evince the consuming power of its flame.

For Thy call hath seized me and Thy voice hath kindled such fire in all my limbs that should anyone examine my entire frame, they would find no place therein save that which burneth with the flame of Thy love and the fire of Thy affection.

Thy Fire is burning in me, O My Lord, and I feel its glowing in every member of my weak body.

My enkindlement is obtained from the Fire of the Love of God.

His honor the Trustee, out of the heat and eagerness and burning of your pleasure-seeking soul in the fire of the love of God, had written.

O thou maid-servant of God: The tongues have spoken of thy attraction to God, and the pens have testified to thy burning by the Fire of the Love of God.

And the glory be upon thee, O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the love of God.

O Isma'il! God willing, mayest thou be favored by divine grace and be enkindled in thy youth with the fire of the love of God.

Thou hast thus occupied thyself by day and by night in praise of Him and in prayer to Him at morn and at eventide, and hast been enkindled with the fire of His love both in the gloomy hours of the night and in the brilliant light of the day.

Grant, O my Lord, that the fire of Thy love and the heat produced by the fast enjoined by Thee may inflame them in Thy Cause, and make them to be occupied with Thy praise and with remembrance of Thee.

Let him again raise his hands in supplication, and say:

O Thou in separation from Whom hearts and souls have melted, and by the fire of Whose love the whole world hath been set aflame!

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Burn night and day with the fire of the love of God and raise heart-consuming lamentations.

When the fire of separation flames up and the heat of yearning casts its sparks, he cries out and laments, brings forth weeping eyes and hidden sighs and a burning heart, begins to wail and moan, and becomes companion to distress and restlessness.

In truth, no fire hath been or is greater than the fire of separation. Its flames melt the world of existence, and its sparks consume all that is. Yet in the estimation of the dwellers in the cities of yearning and the lovers, no bounty hath been or is more beloved than this, nor any gift more desired. They would freely sacrifice a hundred thousand lives to attain unto this fire.

In this hour when the bride of love hath emerged from behind the veil, and the fire of separation hath blazed forth from heart and soul, and cast patience from its throne, as the countenance of the Friend hath been unveiled - we are in separation, yet wagering our lives in hope of union, though even in union there is fear of separation.

The fire of separation, after the comfort of the days of union and communion, has burned the soul and melted the heart.

O thou who gazest toward the holy sanctuary of the Lord!

The heart-burning lament which thou didst raise from the world-consuming fire of love melted the hearts of the friends of God and raised the banner of sorrows upon the standards of hearts.

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From the love of Baha, set ablaze a soul-consuming flame

In the world's beginning and end

Have mercy on your flame-filled heart

From praise of Truth, strike but a drop of dew

Upon your fatally wounded breast

Apply the balm of God's favors

At all events, it was meant to be prose but became verse, meant to be joy but turned to cries and laments of pain and grief.

This sorrowful servant, seated in the land of grief, nourished by the essence of sorrow, drinking from the springs of sadness, rained upon by showers of anguish from the clouds of woe, and drenched by torrents of grief from the heavens of tribulation, calls out to you and all who are with you with a mournful voice, bidding you to act upon all that hath been inscribed in the testaments, both past and future. Be not deprived of the outpourings of the boundless breezes of mercy, and remain not distant from the rapturous melodies of the eternal Dove, for whatsoever hath appeared of the wondrous and manifold bounties shall pass away, and whatsoever melodious and delicate songs are heard shall vanish.

Therefore, with pure striving and the essence of endeavor, walk ye upon the path of the exalted and glorious Living One, and thereafter find repose upon the carpet of glory and the throne of power. Ere long shall ye drink the cup of evanescence from the hand of the cupbearer of eternity, and quaff the chalices of love from the hand of the celestial maiden. Make ye ready, that perchance ye may not waste the blessing of life and be accounted among the heedless. Strive then with utmost power, that haply some service may proceed from you that shall win the good-pleasure of the King of the realms of blindness and the Sovereign of light.

I swear by God, Who hath seated this servant upon the throne of sorrow, that this station is greater than whatsoever existeth in the highest heavens and the lowest earth. Strive, while life endureth and ye have not yet departed from this mortal cage, that ye may not commit that which would be a cause of remorse and regret. This servant, despite all the afflictions ye have heard about--and verily none greater than these hath appeared in all creation--passeth not a moment without feeling shame and embarrassment before the holy countenances and the faces of the near ones, for no service hath proceeded from this sorrowful servant that might bring joy to Their presence. How fitting is this verse in this regard:

How can I lift my face in shame before my Friend, When no worthy service from my hand did descend?

But I call upon the Intended One in this state wherein from the clouds of love the drops of yearning pour down as torrential rain, and from the winds of grace the breezes of tenderness flow forth in melting streams, while the cauldron of longing sings its melodies, and the dove of separation warbles its tunes, and the hoopoe of affection takes wing in flight, and the peacock of oneness arrays itself in splendor, and the owl of gloom trills its song, and the salamander burns in the fire of desire, and the fish in the ocean of love's radiance is submerged, while the heavens of union are lifted up and the stars of attainment are obscured, and the sun of manifestation is veiled and the light of emergence is concealed, and the earth of sorrow is spread wide and the tree of despair is planted firm, and the mountains of tranquility are crushed and the seas of concealment overflow, and the brilliance of hope is darkened, and the eye of the beloved waits expectantly - perchance the nightingale of faithfulness might sing upon the branches of the tree of extinction, and the nightingale of radiance might take wing among the boughs of the Lote-Tree of Sinai, and the leaf of the dove might warble upon the leaves of the tree of eternity, that haply the withered tree might bear fruit and the fallen Lote-Tree might be replanted, and the silenced nightingale might burst into song, and the wing-clipped hoopoe might soar to the holy heights, and the extinguished fire might blaze forth, and the stagnant stream might flow again, that we might be nourished from the cups of joy and delight, and taste the fruits of the tree of love, and gaze into the polished mirror.

But God knows that at this moment such tears have rained from my eyes and such drops have streamed down my face like the rain of mercy that the sighs of my eyes have stopped the pen from moving and the flood of tears has prevented ink from marking the page. How excellent are these words:

My weeping makes Noah's flood seem but like my tears, And the fire of Abraham is as my passion's burning;

Were it not for my sighs, my tears would drown me, And were it not for my tears, my sighs would consume me;

Jacob's grief expressed not the least of my sorrow, And all Job's afflictions are but a portion of my tribulation.

And if what afflicts Me were to befall the mountains, and were Mount Sinai to bear them before the Divine Manifestation, verily it would have crumbled to dust. Yet, despite all these tribulations and afflictions, these trials both hidden and manifest, I remain expectant and watchful for successive favors and manifest bounties, that perchance the Cup-Bearer of the Countenance of Glory might, from the crimson chalice, give Me to drink the wine of destiny, so that the hoopoe of sorrow might be gladdened by the fragrances from the city of Sheba, and become enchanted by the cooing of the Dove of Glory. Perchance this darkened mirror might be illumined by the Countenance of Beauty, and this blackened stone might be made to shine by the Face of Majesty. Haply this dejected heart might find solace, and this grieving soul might attain unto glad-tidings. Wherefore I say: There is no power nor strength except through God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. We are God's, and unto Him shall we return.

None can love Me save those who are brought nigh, for My love is a fire that consumeth the hearts - how then can any draw near unto it?

Though -- as Thou beholdest me, O my God -- I be dwelling in a place within whose walls no voice can be heard except the sound of the echo, though all the gates of ease and comfort be shut against us, and thick darkness appear to have compassed us on every side, yet my soul hath been so inflamed by its love for Thee, that nothing whatsoever can either quench the fire of its love or abate the consuming flame of its desire.

I know not what fire Thou hast kindled within me by the hands of Thy power, such that the waters of hardship in Thy love cannot extinguish it, nor can the seas of trials in Thy remembrance and praise.

Let thy soul glow with the flame of this undying Fire that burneth in the midmost heart of the world, in such wise that the waters of the universe shall be powerless to cool down its ardor.

I know not, O my God, what the Fire is which Thou didst kindle in Thy land. Earth can never cloud its splendor, nor water quench its flame.

I know not, O my God, what the Fire is with which Thou didst light the Lamp of Thy Cause, or what the Glass wherewith Thou didst preserve it from Thine enemies. … Should water at any time touch it, the hands of Thy power would, as decreed in Thy Tablets, transmute that water into a fuel that would feed its flame.

The restlessness of every sea hath been stilled, but not the restlessness of this Ocean which moveth at the bidding of the winds of Thy will. The flame of every fire hath been extinguished except the Flame which the hands of Thine omnipotence have kindled, and whose radiance Thou hast, by the power of Thy name, shed abroad before all that are in Thy heaven and all that are on Thy earth.

Although in truth the people of that land did not fall short and sacrificed their lives, and due to the intensity of afflictions and abundance of calamities and increasing martyrdoms in the early days of the Cause, outwardly there came about some quiet and silence, yet in secret the fire of love is blazing intensely. God willing, may this flame become world-consuming and this radiance become world-illumining.

This is the fire of the love of God that made the Exalted One - may my spirit be offered up for Him - the target of a thousand bullets. This is the fire of the love of God that made the sweet Christ the adornment of the cross. This is the fire of the love of God that made the Prince of Martyrs the martyr of the plain of Karbila.

Verily he attained unto the lights of the Countenance and was set ablaze by the fire of the love of God to such degree that he was martyred in His path.

Through His pure will, retaliation became the cause of life, and the fire became the Manifestation of His verses.

O My dearly loved friend! When the light of the Morn of Divine guidance flasheth and glisteneth from the horizon of truth, the radiant heart of man partaketh of it through the Divine light, the lamp of His bounty beameth forth and sheddeth the light of Oneness, the fire of love is kindled and consumeth the souls of men.

The purpose is that in all conditions you become aflame with love for the Glory of Glories and like the radiance of Sinai bestow illumination.

Should but a breath from this garden reach thy nostrils, the pen would fall from thy hand and thy letter would be torn asunder, nay rather, it would be consumed by the flame of the fire of the love of God.

Thus mayest thou attain an eternal countenance and behold an everlasting beauty, seek the joy and gladness of the divine world, inhale the holy fragrances of the Abha Kingdom, breathe in the breezes from the garden of the Supreme Concourse, and become so enkindled as to consume the world of existence with the fire of the love of the Lord of Bounty.

O thou handmaid of God who art believing in the kingdom of God! May God enkindle thee with the fire of Love and Attraction. Turn thou towards the kingdom of God, commune with thy God and say: Praise be to Thee, O God of the Kingdom and Lord of omnipotence; for Thou hast guided me to the Tabernacle, the heavenly Jerusalem, the divine holy of Holies. Verily, Thou art the Granter, the Liberal.

O thou who art attracted unto God!

Verily, I remember thee in my prayer and supplication to God, and implore my Lord to make thee a flame of the Fire of the Love of God.

O Lord of all worlds! Cause me to burn with the fire of Thy love in this world, and in the next world make me successful through beholding Thy moon-like countenance.

By Thy glory, O Thou Who enkindleth the fire of love in the hearts of them that love Thee and causeth the flames to rage throughout all regions!

I beseech Thee by Thy Name which Thou hast made a light unto them that have drawn nigh unto Thee and a fire unto them that have turned away, and hast made it a blazing lamp unto them that have sought Thine all-highest horizon and held fast unto Thy path, O Lord of all names, to aid Thy Afnan even as Thou didst aid them through Thy power that hath subdued all things and Thy might that hath encompassed all that are in earth and heaven.

The Tongue of Grandeur proclaimeth and saith: O God of the world and Lord of eternity! I beseech Thee by the fire wherewith the hearts of Thy chosen ones were set ablaze in Thy days, and by the light whereby the faces of Thy creation were illumined, and by the Name which Thou hast made the balance of Thy Cause and the path of Thy sovereignty amongst Thy creatures, that Thou mayest open, through the key of Thy craftsmanship, unto every atom a door leading to Thy presence and a way unto the ocean of Thy reunion.

This is a remembrance from the Tree of Love which has descended upon the shore of the heart, and a fire from the treasury of nearness which is ignited in the Mount of the Tablet....

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May the fire of the remembrance of the Wronged One, God willing, add to the warmth of thy love and ignite thee in such wise that it shall never be extinguished or grow cold.

Say: This is the Lamp of holiness, kindled by the love of God; be ye illumined by it, O companions of the All-Merciful!

Before the divine fire enters the soul and becomes one with its depths, the Holy Spirit wounds it, destroying and consuming the imperfections of its evil habits. The soul suffers greatly in this, for in this state of purification the flame does not burn brightly but in darkness, and if it gives any light at all it is only to show up and make the soul experience its own weaknesses and defects. It is not a refreshing, peaceful fire, but a consuming and searching one that makes the soul grieve at the sight of itself. The soul perceives its own smallness in comparison with the immensity of the flame.

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