A Short Prayer of Baha’u’llah on the Purpose of His Mission

What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a prayer of Baháʼuʼlláh, a facsimile of which, written in the hand of Baháʼuʼlláh, appears on this page of the front matter of The Revelation of Baháʼuʼlláh, vol. 4.

He it is Who heareth and is ready to answer

Thou knowest, O my God, that my sole aim in the kingdom of earth hath been to rehabilitate the world and edify the souls of its peoples, that the fire of hatred may be quenched with the water of Thy providence, and the light of unity shine forth through Thy nurturing and wisdom.

O Lord! Aid the rulers of the earth and its learned ones to turn* whereunto Thou hast bidden them by Thy bounty and loving-kindness, and teach them, O my God, what Thou hast purposed for them through Thy grace. Make known unto them Thy manifest and straight Path, and Thy resplendent and conspicuous Cause.

With Thy most exalted Pen, ordain for Thy loved ones, O Lord, that which will profit them in this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the Lord of all men, the Possessor of the throne on high and of earth below.

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* The usage of the preposition علی (ʻalá) with the gerund القبول (al-qabúl) indicates it that refers not to acceptance, in which case it would have been followed by the preposition بـ (bi) instead, but rather the act of turning towards something.

A complete typescript of the Arabic text of this prayer appears below. 

هو السّامع المجيب

تعلمُ يا إلهي بأنّي ما أردتُ في المُلك إلاّ إصلاحَ العالم وتهذيبَ نفوس الأمم لعلّ تخمدَ نار البغضآء بمآء تدبيرك ويسطعَ نور الاتّحاد بتربيتك وحكمتك.

أي ربِّ أيّدْ أمرآءَ ألأرض وعلمآئَها على القبول على ما تأمرهم بجودك وعنايتك، وعلّمْهم يا إلهي ما أردتَ لهم بفضلك وعرّفْهم سبيلَك الواضحَ المستقيمَ وأمرك اللّائحَ المبين.

أي ربِّ قدِّرْ لأوليائك من قلمك الأعلى ما ينفعُهم في الآخرة والأولى. إنّك أنت مولى الورى وربُّ العرش والثّرى.