TABLET OF THE SACRED NIGHT, PART I 
From Baha'u'llah, "Lawh Laylat al-Quds," in A.H.
Ishraq-Khavari, ed., Risalih-'i Tasbih va Tahlil (New Delhi: Baha'i Publishing Trust,
1982), pp. 174-181:
This Tablet descended from the Realm of Holiness on the Sacred Night.
His Word, Exalted may He be:
He is the Most Glorious
Praise be to Thee, O my God.
I call upon Thee by Thy Name,
whereby Thou didst save Adam from Satan,
and didst deliver Noah from the deluge,
Abraham from the flames,
Moses from Pharaoh,
it of God (Jesus) from the Pharisees,*
Muhammad from the Abu Jahl of that time;
And by Thy Name,
by means of which the breezes of Thy munificence
wafted over the bodies of contingent beings
and the sun of Thy loving-kindness rose
on all who dwell upon the earth and in the heavens;
And by Thy Name,
whereby every poor one
standing before the gate of the cities+ of Thy wealth
gained self-sufficiency,
everyone abased before the manifestations of Thy grandeur
gained honor,
and everyone remote from the wonders of Thy grace and beneficence
drew nigh;
And by Thy Name, whereby the Daystar dawned
above the horizon of thy glorious Providence,
the pavilions of splendor were raised in the realm of Thy charity,
and the trees of divine Unity were planted
in the garden of Thy benevolence;
Then by Thy Name, whereby all faces turned
toward the Countenance of Oneness,
all souls advanced toward the shore
of Thy majestic Nearness and Presence,
whereby the hearts of the Near Ones were launched
like birds into the atmosphere of Thine imposing Greatness,
and the intellects of the Sanctified Ones quaffed
from the chalice of Thy Sublimity.
By Thy Name I beseech Thee to look, O my Beloved,
with Thy generous gaze, upon these persons,
who are sleepless during this Night
that Thou hast designated a festival for Thy creatures,
wherein Thou shonest forth by Thy Name, the All-Merciful,
upon the entire contingent world, and wherein
the Beauty of Thy Divinity mounted the Throne of Forgiveness.
Praise be to Thee!
I beseech Thee by this Night, and by them
who remained wakeful during it
to send down upon them the most perfect good,#
the finest beneficence,
the richest treasure,
the most exquisite beauty,
the most evident revelation,
the soundest utterance,
the most enduring sovereignty,
the most flawless word,
the most ancient grace,
the most potent sign,
the Greatest Name,
the most ideal benevolence,
the most glorious Glory,
the most sublime splendor,
the most mighty power,
the most clear authorization,
the most abiding Book,
the most fruitful fruits.
For they have, O my God,
gathered around Thee on the Day
whereon all the inhabitants of earth
have scattered and deserted Thee.
They have set out for Thy shrine
when all have turned away from it.
I ask Thee at this time, O my God,
to transform their grief into a joy
that Thou bestowest upon them,
and their distress into a delight
that deriveth from Thee.
Then impart to them, O my God,
from the clouds of Thy mercy,
showers whereby there shall grow in their breasts
the plants of wisdom and the herbs of the garden
of Thy divine Unity.
Then render them, O my Beloved,
unswerving in Thy love and Thy Cause
in such wise that were all the denizens of the heavens to hinder them,
they would pay no heed to any of them,
but would set out, both secretly and publicly,
toward the domain of Thy loving-kindness and graciousness.
Then honor them, O my Beloved, with Thy Most Great Presence
on the Day whereon Thou seatest Thyself, by Thy Beauty,
upon the Throne of Eternity,
the Day whereon the feet of the wise stumble
and all those dwelling on earth and in heaven are perturbed.
Therefore, O My God, leave them not by themselves;
take their hands by the supremacy of Thy grace,
then resurrect them in the presence of Thy regal generosity.
Send them forth, O my Beloved, to that
which Thou didst desire for them by the majesty of Thine eternity.
For this is that Good that shall never
have any peer or likeness in all creation;
and verily, Thou art Powerful over all things.
ART TWO