visitation Tablets
Editorial introduction
Standing at a grave, we find that memory wants to speak in the second person: peace be upon you, light upon your dust. The Visitation Tablets give that instinct a sacred form, addressing the Báb, Imam Husayn, martyrs and particular believers by name, bearing witness to their virtues, and asking mercy both for the one remembered and for whoever remembers. The approach itself matters: turning the face toward the resting place, pausing in stillness, declaring the unity of God at the sanctuary gate. Yet presence is not only bodily. When the road is barred the heart may turn instead, and friends may recite on another’s behalf, weeping together over a distant grave. A narration in Sahih Muslim preserves a simple greeting for the graveyard that joins address, shared mortality and prayer, and sets off by contrast the richness of these particular commemorations [1]. The journey continues through eulogies that keep a life’s qualities alive, through reminiscences of those who served, and through the wider world of prayer, until remembrance returns the visitor to daily life with renewed fidelity and the will to serve.
O servant! Consecrate thy heart to the Sacred House, then visit it with manifest humility. When the way to thy Lord was barred, He ordained for the pilgrims to turn their hearts unto the seat of His mighty throne, for the people had blocked the path and prevented the servants from attaining the shore of impregnable glory. Therefore hath God accepted from them their turning toward the direction of the House with pure and luminous hearts.
Happy is thy condition, for thou art enjoying Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Everlasting Glory and hast left in this world kind and loving Remembrances. Happy are those souls who visit thy luminous resting-place and through thy commemoration receive and acquire spiritual Powers.
Glory be unto Thee, O God, Lord of the world and Master of nations! I beseech Thee by the Most Great Name through which Thy path was established and Thy balance was set up, and through which the ocean of grandeur surged and the mountains passed away, to forgive me and my father and whosoever hath believed in Thee and Thy signs. O my Lord! Thou seest me standing before the tomb of Thy friend and chosen one.
Radiant glory and effulgent splendour be upon all who seek out thy resting-place, who visit thee, and call thee to remembrance for the sake of God, the Lord of all worlds; and upon thee, upon thy beginning and thy end, upon thy outer and thy inner being, rest His light and mercy, his grace, his loving favours, his providence and blessings.
When thou desirest to commence thy visitation of the Dawning-Place of Names and their Source, the Day-Spring of Attributes and their Treasury, arise and turn thy face toward Paradise, the Place wherein was interred the First Name, which God made the Shrine of His hallowed, mighty and resplendent Temple. When thou hast turned thyself thither, pause in stillness and magnify thy Lord nineteen times, and at each magnification God shall open before thy face one of the gates of Ridvan and waft upon thee from the direction of Paradise the fragrance of glory. Thus hath the matter been decreed by One mighty and wise.
And when thou desirest to enter that sacred land, purify thyself and make wholesome what is with thee to the best of thy ability. Know thou that there is the most exalted horizon of the Throne and the ultimate summit of Paradise, and that God doth ever behold thee, and the Manifestations of His Self do ever illumine thee.
When thou hast performed such ablutions as thou art able, lie down for a while until thy strength returneth unto thee. Then arise and pray two rak'ahs in thy house, then walk in silence until thou reachest the first gate.
Know, O my brother, that the law of visitation is thus: When thou standest at the gate of the sanctuary, say: I bear witness that there is no God but God, alone without partner, One God, Single, Unique, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the Eternal, Who hath ever been, and before Whose existence nothing was, and Who shall ever be as He hath been, without mention of aught else.
When you enter the Blessed Shrine, pray in the small chamber near the abandoned well, then turn towards the Kaaba and say: I bear witness that there is no God but God, alone, with no partner, just as His Essence has testified to His Essence that there is no God but He, the Mighty, the Wise.
In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Praise be to God Who caused to shine forth that which illumined the essences of material things and permitted it to radiate when it spoke forth, and Who spread enlightenment without cause or decree from the people of the Covenant.
O God! Thou knowest that one of Thy believing servants hath beseeched me to bestow upon him an eloquent word and all-embracing mercy concerning the visitation of the chosen ones who act according to Thy command.
This is a prayer and visitation for the first to respond to his Lord, for the manifestations of His Self, and for the martyrs in His path.
Then say: "Peace be upon thee, O Abu-'Abdu'llah, and the mercy of God and His blessings. How can I describe thee, O my Master, when I am certain that all paths of existence are blocked before thee, and all attributes of things in thy presence return unto themselves?
This is a Visitation Tablet revealed by My Most Glorious Pen in the Most Exalted Horizon for His Holiness the Prince of Martyrs, Husayn ibn 'Ali - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for him.
He it is Who accepteth from his visitor through the true visitation of Himself, and Who hath called unto his place of martyrdom in truth by His throne -- there is no God but He -- without similitude in truth, and God hath not ordained for his mystery any interpretation upon a single letter. He it is Who hath promised His visitor the meeting with Himself, and God's promise was in truth, upon truth, fulfilled. He it is Who hath ordained the fourfold in the fourfold from the paths of visitation in the visitation, in truth upon truth, and the matter in the Mother Book was decreed around the Fire.
Then say: Peace be upon Thee, O Essence of Eternity in the exaltation of Glory! Peace be upon Thee, O Camphor of Pre-existence in the ascendancy of Beauty! Peace be upon Thee, O Pure Essence of Bounty in the immunity of Perfection! Peace be upon Thee, O Essence of Mystery in the exaltation of Most Holy Action! Peace be upon Thee, O Pure Embodiment of Command at the ultimate pinnacle of might and justice!
Thereafter, seek permission at the gates of that House, then enter by God's leave and say before the Letter Sin or whomsoever thou willest:
The Glory be upon thee, O Essence of God! Then the Majesty be upon thee, O Camphor of God! Then the Beauty be upon thee, O Soul of God! Then the Grandeur be upon thee, O Being of God! Then the Light be upon thee, O Entity of God!
Visitation for the last [to ascend], upon him be the Glory of God, the Sovereign, the Subduer
Praise be to God, besides Whom there is no other god, the Most Constraining, the Most Constraining!
This is the Tablet of Visitation which hath been sent down from the Kingdom of Eternity for the Name of God Who was called Hasan and was related to His Self, the All-Compelling, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting. Blessed are they who visit him and are among the visitors and draw nigh through him unto God, the Mighty, the Beloved.
I testify that Thou didst hear the call of the Divine Lote-Tree before all others, and didst turn unto it, detached from all that hath been created in the kingdom of creation, and didst drink from the first cup proffered by the hands of grace betwixt earth and heaven. My spirit be a sacrifice unto Thee, O Source of good deeds and Manifestation of clear signs!
The first wave of exaltation from the ocean of grace of thy Lord, the Compassionate, be upon thee [Vahid] who art the essence of the Qur'an and possessor of the mysteries of the Bayan.
We have immortalized thy mention by My Most Exalted Pen in the Crimson Scroll which none but God, the Creator of all things, hath beheld, and We have remembered thee in this Tablet with that which shall cause those near unto God to remember thee and cause the sincere ones to turn toward thy resting-place.
Blessed art thou, and felicity be unto thee and unto him who presenteth himself before thy grave and reciteth that which the All-Bountiful hath revealed concerning the final end.
Whoever wishes to visit the handmaiden who was martyred, let them recite this Visitation Prayer:
In the Name of God, the Most Exalted, the Most High
O Supreme Pen! Joy did not overtake thee in the days of thy Lord, the Most High, that thou mightest warble upon the branches of the Divine Lote-Tree with the melodies of Baha. Rather, thou wert touched by the supreme calamity whereupon the earth and heaven wailed.
O handmaiden of God! We have come to visit thee and have approached thy resting place, and we beseech God to grant thee at all times what He hath ordained in the highest Paradise for the people of Baha. Verily, He doeth what He willeth by His command, and He is the Mighty, the All-Bestowing.
This is a visitation prayer revealed by God, the Lord of Names, for His loved ones (Jinab-i-Ashraf, Basir and Mirza Muhammad-'Ali) who turned to the place of detachment for martyrdom and were martyred in the path of God in the land of Za.
Blessed is he who visits My Name Husayn, concerning whom My Most Exalted Pen has spoken, and who says before his grave:
"By God! Through you the tale of sacrifice was renewed, and the Concourse on High lamented, and the Lote-Tree of the Far Boundary cried out.
That which hath been revealed in the visitation (prayer) for Mirza ‘Ali-Muhammad, who was martyred in the path of God.
When thou approachest the land of Kha, drawest nigh unto it and perceivest its fragrance, arise before the tomb of the Glorious One and visit it with that which the Mighty, the All-Praised hath mentioned, and say:
The essence of fragrance that hath been diffused from the garment of the mercy of our Lord, the Most High, the All-Glorious, be upon thee, O thou who hast turned unto the Most Exalted Horizon and who hast spoken in praise of the Lord of Names in the kingdom of creation!
When thou desirest to visit the land of Ya and beholdest the darkness and light of that city, pause, facing towards it, and say: The resplendent Light shining from the horizon of God's mercy, and the perfumed Spirit made manifest by the command of God, Lord of all beings, be upon you, O company of martyrs and dawning-places of submission in the realm of creation and sources of resignation before the faces of the enemies.
And when thou desirest to visit that verdant and blessed sanctuary containing a body that endured hardships in the path of God, approach it and say:
Upon thee be the glory of God and His lights. May He cast upon thee the hem of His robe and perfume thy tomb with the rain of His mercy and His mysteries.
O unique, peerless, and glorious martyr! I salute your pure dust and your holy, blessed, and fragrant resting place through the holy breaths that waft over you from the Supreme Concourse and the lights that fall upon you from the Abha Kingdom and the rainfall that perfumes your expansive precinct.
Greet ye that luminous tomb and that pure and sanctified resting-place and say: "May the resplendent light shedding from the Realm of Glory and the ray shining from the Abha Kingdom envelop thy sweet-smelling mausoleum and spark upon thy resting-place that is fragrant with ambergris.
May the fragrant breeze and the musk-laden perfume wafting from the Abha Paradise pass over your illumined grave and your perfumed tomb, O Samandar, O white falcon, O greatest eagle soaring to the heights!
By God the True One, hearts love you, breasts are gladdened by your remembrance, and souls are stirred by praise of you. God's mercy be upon one who visits your grave, God's aid be upon one who walks in the vicinity of your resting place and shows humility, submission and reverence at your tomb, for the sake of God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.
May God have mercy on one who visits your tombs like palaces and seeks blessings at your resting places enfolded in robes of light, who communes there with his Lord, the Mighty, the All-Forgiving, and wishes for your radiant blessings upon every patient and grateful servant.
The Light radiating from the Most Glorious Kingdom and the Beam shining forth from the Supreme Concourse. May it encompass your uttermost Tree and your furthest Tree, and may it encircle your radiant, pure, and brilliant tomb whose precincts are perfumed, for you hastened to the place of sacrifice in the path of your Beloved, the Luminary of the highest horizon.
The holy fragrance and the human essence from the thicket of praise and the blessed, spacious garden, the circumambulation point of the people of Baha, has wafted over you and perfumed your pure tomb and your fragrant dust, O you who turned to God, who was attracted to the beauty of God, who was illumined by the lights of God, who received bounty from the Kingdom of God, who was martyred in the path of God, and who was slain in the love of God.
Blessed is the one who visits you and draws near to your grave and seeks blessing from your remembrance and is moved by your martyrdom. And greetings and praise be upon you so long as the breeze continues to blow from the source of God's bounty.
Mercy be upon him who falls prostrate upon thy dust in submission to God, and grace be upon him who circles round thy spot in humility before the Lord of Grandeur. My spirit be a sacrifice for thee, and upon thee be greetings and praise.
May the brilliant, radiant light from the Kingdom of existence envelope that spot whereupon thy pure blood was shed and where thy luminous, blessed spirit was poured forth.
May the rain pouring from the cloud of God's mercy and the downpour descending from the clouds of God's forgiveness visit your hilltop which was illumined by your pure form, and your dust which was perfumed by the fragrances of your Lord's forgiveness, the Pardoning, the Forgiving. May successive layers of light continue to descend upon your grave among the graves.
May the light shining from the Most Exalted Center and the All-Glorious Kingdom descend upon your pure spirit, your radiant body, and your illumined grave, and envelop your darkened resting place, O glorious martyr and sacrificial offering in the path of your Lord, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Well is it with thee and with whosoever visiteth thy resting-place at dawn and eventide, in the daytime and the night season. This, verily, is but a token of the grace of thine incomparable Lord.
Blessed is the seeker who seeks your tomb, and the lover who visits your grave and recites what the tongue of your Lord has uttered.
Blessed is he who speaketh in praise of thee, who remembereth thy sacrifice and virtuous qualities, who visiteth thy resting-place and reciteth that which hath been sent down from the Pen of Grace in the Most Great Prison.
This is a mention that hath been sent down for him amid the surging waves of thy Lord's favors. Blessed is he who visiteth him with this perspicuous mention.
The Ancient Beauty was well pleased with 'Abdu's-Salih, and after his ascension revealed a Visitation Tablet in his honor, also delivering an address concerning him, which was taken down and published together with other Scriptures.
In truth, he ended his days in trials and tribulations in the path of God, drank from the cup of every affliction and tasted the poison of every ordeal until he reached a station that became the envy of the chosen ones, and a special Visitation Tablet was revealed from the Supreme Pen. No bounty equals or parallels this favor. That Visitation Tablet was recited and the special grace and bounty became clear and evident.
O steadfast one in the Covenant! This is the visitation prayer for His Holiness Mirza Isma'il Khayyat. The friends must each recite it on behalf of 'Abdu'l-Baha with complete detachment, attraction, and burning with the fire of the love of God.
O My trusted one! Thou knowest how devoted a soul was His Holiness Ismu'llah al-Asdaq, upon him be the Glory of God, the Most Glorious, and to what extent he served the Sacred Threshold, and how pure, sincere and radiant he was. Therefore 'Abdu'l-Baha penned a Tablet of Visitation for that illustrious personage, to be recited at his pure resting-place.
Previously, a special visitation tablet was written specifically for that noble person, and a copy of it is being sent so that you may recite it.
Regarding the visitation tablet for one who has attained the presence of his Lord "in the seat of truth, in the presence of the potent King" - God willing, a complete version will be written later.
O Hands of the Cause of God! This visitation prayer should be recited by me along with a group of the loved ones of God at the fragrant resting place of that promulgator of God's Cause on a special day, and you should disseminate this visitation prayer among all the loved ones.
On behalf of 'Abdu'l-Baha, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of each of these two distinguished ones, if possible the friends should go to the luminous resting place of Haji and the perfumed wilderness of Hashim and recite this prayer of visitation on behalf of 'Abdu'l-Baha.
A prayer of visitation has been written for that martyr of the plain of trial. The divine friends should recite it on behalf of 'Abdu'l-Baha.
Apparently some did not arrive, including one letter stating that you should immediately travel to Hamadan to identify and repair the holy resting place of the Most Truthful Name of God there, and recite a visitation prayer on behalf of Abdul-Baha. If none was revealed by the Supreme Pen, this servant would write and send one so that you and a group could visit by proxy.
A prayer of visitation is being written for that pure soul martyred in God's path. Some of the friends should journey with perfect wisdom to that fragrant tomb and, on behalf of Abdul-Baha, visit it with complete humility.
First, on behalf of 'Abdu'l-Baha, a few of the friends should visit the luminous resting place of the servant of Baha and recite this, then deliver it to Jinab-i-Mirza Baqir.
Upon receipt of the Visitation Tablet, the loved ones of God should, on behalf of this servant, proceed to the place of martyrdom of that wronged one and recite that Visitation Tablet.
From the longing in the heart of that spiritual friend, tears flowed in the Holy Shrine and hearts were set aflame. With weeping eyes, we collectively recited the Visitation Tablet on your behalf.
I swear by your precious life that at midnight I will arise and, facing the Holy Shrine, will perform the visitation with utmost supplication and entreaty on behalf of all.
Yesterday I placed my face upon the Blessed Threshold and performed the visitation on your behalf and supplicated for confirmation in teaching the Cause of God.
It behooveth him who visiteth thee to say before thy tomb: "My God, my God! I beseech Thee by the clamor of Thy yearning ones and the cry of those who long for Thee, and by the hearts that are entangled in separation from Thee, and by the livers that melted in remoteness from Thee, and by the breasts that faced the arrows in Thy path, and by the spirits that ascended in yearning for meeting Thee, to forgive me and him who visiteth this station which was mentioned by Thy Most Exalted Pen, and ordain for me and for him the good of the hereafter and the former life and what Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones.
Then if, on that Day -- on the Day of Friday -- thou shouldst stand before Him Whom God shall make manifest, blessed art thou! For He shall suffice thee in lieu of visiting the Letters of the Unity and from performing every work of righteousness. Yet though all are capable of attaining unto this, they shall deprive themselves of that supreme bounty and that most great attainment. Though they were to expend all that is upon the earth, it would not equal in recompense the weight of a single atom thereof, did they but know.
For thought and discussion