prayer for pilgrims
Editorial introduction
A bird has flown from the nests of its homeland, its wings grown weary, until it alights in a verdant garden: this is how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes a pilgrim arriving. The prayers for pilgrimage know the whole road, the plains and mountains crossed, the seas, the heat and cold, the need for protection, and they know also the ache of those who left home longing to arrive and were prevented by the hands of others. One supplication does not even know whether arrival has been decreed, and asks only to be accepted either way. Psalm 84 sings the same longing, with sparrows nesting near the altar and pilgrims gaining strength as they go [1]. What is asked for at the threshold is not only a merciful glance but prosperity in one’s affairs, forgiveness for oneself and those represented by the journey, steadfastness afterwards, and deeds that carry the visit into ordinary life. So the pilgrim’s prayer opens onto pilgrimage itself, the law that ordains it and the permission that governs a visit, and onto the wider life of prayer that makes any arrival an inward one.
My God, my God! This is a bird that has flown from the nests of its homeland, seeking the flight-realm of the holy birds in the luminous spot. Its wings have grown weary, and its primary and secondary feathers have become exhausted, until it alighted in this verdant garden and was honored to move to these groves and meadows that bring joy to eyes and vision.
O Lord! Their souls have yearned for the luminous spot and their hearts have longed for the white land, hoping that the breezes of faithfulness might waft over them from the blessed garden whose surroundings are perfumed.
O my God, my God! Thou seest Thy sincere servants in religion and Thy near ones who are attracted to the manifest Light. They have traversed plains, heights and valleys, crossed rivers, deserts and mountains, plunging through the depths of seas to reach the Spot of Light, the Dawning-place of signs, the Center of mysteries, the circumambulating place of the righteous and the kissing place of the free, enkindled with the fire of Thy love, their hearts throbbing with love for Thy Oneness.
O my God! O my God! This is Thy servant who hath turned his face toward Thee, hath put his trust in Thee, hath believed in Thee and in Thy most wonderful Verses. Verily he hath traversed seas and countries, making his way to the holy and radiant Land and the fragrant and exalted Threshold, prostrating himself before Thy most exalted Word and drawing nigh unto Thy most lofty Court of mercifulness.
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Preserve Thou Thy loved ones who have sought to attain Thy presence and to visit Thy Beauty, and who have therefore traversed the paths of land and sea in heat and cold.
I know not, O my God and my Lord, whether Thou hast ordained for Thy servant to turn toward the lights of Thy countenance, to stand before Thy throne, to stand at Thy gate, and to enter the place which Thou hast made the circling-point of Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, or whether Thy irrevocable decree hath prevented me from this most great bounty, O Master of nations.
These are Thy servants who have left their homes out of longing to meet Thee, and have forsaken their native lands yearning for the court of Thy mighty throne, the visitation of Thy beauty and presence before Thee. They have been prevented therefrom by reason of what the hands of Thy creatures have wrought.
When thou desirest to turn toward the direction before which all directions have bowed down, say: "O my Lord! I have desired Thy presence and Thy meeting, and to stand before Thy door which hath been opened unto all who are in Thy heaven and on Thine earth. … Accept, then, what I have done and perform in Thy path out of longing for Thy beauty and passionate love for Thee.
I bear witness, O my God, my Purpose and my Desire, that Thou didst strengthen me and assist me until I traversed land and sea and attained unto Thy gate, which Thou hast opened unto the faces of all who are in Thy earth and Thy heaven.
O Thou Who rulest over whatsoever Thou willest!
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Thou seest a servant from among Thy servants who hath left his home, turning towards Thy countenance and drawing nigh unto the ocean of Thy mercy and the heaven of Thy grace, until he attained Thy presence and stood before Thy face and heard Thy verses.
O my Lord! This is a servant who hath turned toward the Kingdom of Thy mercifulness and held fast to the cord of Thy lordship and been honored at the Blessed Spot. O my Lord! Make him to be embraced by the glances of the eye of Thy mercy.
O Lord! This servant of Thine has hastened from the furthest lands to Thy fragrant and radiant Threshold, that he might prostrate himself before Thee in worship, O Lord of Lords!
Lord, open the doors before his face, bestow upon him through Thy mercy beyond measure, make his affairs prosper in their beginning and end, forgive him and me and all the loved ones, and make us among those who have inherited the Book and understood the excellence of divine discourse and drunk from the springhead of certitude a cooling draught.
I implore God to illumine this blessed ground with a light radiating from the Kingdom of Abha and to confirm those who make pilgrimages to this holy ground through the grace of His Mercy, supplicating God to pardon and forgive their sins and to admit them into the depths of the sea of His Mercy forever.
O my God, my Lord, my Support! I beseech Thee, by this most pure sepulcher, to ordain for me and for them that visit it the good of this world and the world to come.
O Lord! Accept from him his circumambulation around the refuge of Thy angels in the morning and evening, and the dawning-place of the dwellers of the highest paradise, and the resort of the holy temples in the early hours and at sunset. Aid him and strengthen him and make all his hopes easy of fulfillment and make his feet firm in the Covenant and Testament.
O my Lord! This is a branch from among the branches of Thy Tree of Divine Unity, and a twig from among the twigs of the Tree of Thy Oneness. He has arisen to represent Thy servant and has visited Thy Sacred House and circled round Thy holy sanctuary, O my Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing. O Lord! Ordain for him abundant reward and great bounty in Thy Most Glorious Kingdom and Thy exalted Companion. Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Most High.
I beseech God to grant the reward of pilgrimage. Verily our Lord is the Forgiving, the Generous.
However, We have pardoned him and We beseech God to assist him to visit His House and draw him nigh unto Him and enable him to do that which He loves and is pleased with.
I beseech God that the results and effects of your privilege of visiting the Sacred Shrine become manifest and apparent, and in that clime the fragrances of the Paradise of Delights may waft and the breeze of divine gifts may blow from the direction of grace, clothing the friends in garments of joy from head to toe - and may you be the cause of this abundant blessing.
Say: My God, my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued the hearts of Thy servants and illumined their hearts with the light of Thy knowledge, to enable me to visit Thy Sacred House and to act in such wise as would cause my remembrance to endure amongst all remembrances. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Supreme, the Unconstrained.
For thought and discussion