What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The original text has not been published; a typescript of it was shared with me by Marc Soudon, who received it from the National Bahá’í Archives of France.
This prayer was written to commemorate the passing of Gabriel Sacy (20 November 1858 – 21 March 1903), an Egyptian Catholic and Martinist who seems to have become a Baháʼí around the turn of the twentieth century, apparently under the guidance of Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl Gulpáygání, who was also living in Egypt at the time. Sacy spoke seven languages, studied at the Syrian Protestant College (now the American University of Beirut), and worked as the head of the personnel office at the Ministry of Finance in Cairo. E.G. Browne writes that Sacy “had become a fervent Baháʼí with a very remarkable faculty for interpreting the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, especially those of the Book of Daniel and Revelation, in support of the Bábí and Bahá’í claims” (Materials for the Study of the Bábí Religion, pp. 185–86).
Prayer for Jibrán Effendí Ṣáṣí [Gabriel Sacy]
He is God!
O my God, O my God! Thou hast destined for this, Thy servant, successive calamities and trials, and ordained that he should be immersed in a sea of tribulations. No day passeth but that the hand of Thy decree proffereth unto me a cup brimming with afflictions, and no night cometh but that Thou makest me to hear cries of lamentation at the ascension of one of Thy loved ones. By Thy glory! My patience hath [dwindled away][1] and my fortitude [come to an end],[2] such that I can scarcely endure these most grievous calamities. O my Lord! Pour forth upon me patience in what Thou hast ordained for this servant of Thine, that I may bear this succession of tribulations and persevere under Thine irrevocable decrees.
O my Lord! Verily, one of Thy servants who turned toward the Kingdom of Thy sanctity—who communed with Thy remembrance, acknowledged Thy oneness, and confessed Thy singleness; who devotedly set his face unto Thy countenance and detached himself from all but Thy kingdom; who lifted up his voice in Thy name, guided others to Thy path, and acquired the light of Thy knowledge; who was set ablaze with the fire of Thy love and illumined by the splendors of Thy wisdom; who arose to serve Thee, diffused Thy fragrances, and chanted Thy verses; who composed a proof of Thy Revelation and established an evidence of the dawning of Thy lights; who was my companion in servitude unto Thee, my partner in worship of Thee, my intimate in Thy dominion, and my helper in Thy service—hath ascended unto Thee, risen unto Thy kingdom, sought refuge in the haven of Thy mercy, and soared unto Thy holy garden, leaving me alone in Thy land.
O God, my God! Cause him to dwell in the abodes of Thy providence, shelter him in the precincts of the house of Thy compassion, and admit him into the meadows of Thy bounty. Make him immortal in the Paradise of Thy generosity, nourish him with Thy presence, and grant him lodging in Thy court. Look upon him perpetually with the glances of Thy clemency, and encompass him with the tender mercies of Thy forgiveness and pardon. Keep safe his progeny in the stronghold of Thy protection, guard them through Thy preservation and watchful care, and make them the inheritors of Thy love and the friends of Thy loved ones, that they may be graciously aided, through Thy strength and power, to kindle the lamp of their noble and illustrious father, and that their feet may remain firm in Thy mighty Cause.
O God, my God! His children are weak and young; make them great in Thy Cause, distinguished in Thy knowledge, and generous among Thy creation. Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty, the Bountiful, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
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[1] The original word is in brackets.
[2] The original word is in brackets.
A typescript of the original Arabic text of this prayer appears below (all punctuation and short vowel marks mine).
Adib Masumian 