"O my God! This is Thy servant and the son of..."
(The Prayer for the Dead is to be used for Baha'is over the age of
fifteen. "It is the only Baha'i obligatory prayer which is to be recited
in congregation; it is to be recited by one believer while all present
stand. There is no requirement to face the Qiblih when reciting this
prayer."--A Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)
O my God! This is Thy servant and the son of Thy servant who hath believed
in Thee and in Thy signs, and set his face towards Thee, wholly detached
from all except Thee. Thou art, verily, of those who show mercy the most
merciful.
Deal with him, O Thou Who forgivest the sins of men and concealest their
faults, as beseemeth the heaven of Thy bounty and the ocean of Thy grace.
Grant him admission within the precincts of Thy transcendent mercy that
was before the foundation of earth and heaven. There is no God but Thee,
the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.
Let him, then, repeat six times the greeting "Allah-u-Abha," and then
repeat nineteen times each of the following verses:
We all, verily, worship God.
We all, verily, bow down before God.
We all, verily, are devoted unto God.
We all, verily, give praise unto God.
We all, verily, yield thanks unto God.
We all, verily, are patient in God.
(If the dead be a woman, let him say: This is Thy handmaiden and the
daughter of Thy handmaiden, etc. ...)
--Baha'u'llah
"Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! Abase not..."
Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! Abase not him whom Thou hast exalted
through the power of Thine everlasting sovereignty, and remove not far
from Thee him whom Thou hast caused to enter the tabernacle of Thine
eternity. Wilt Thou cast away, O my God, him whom Thou hast overshadowed
with Thy Lordship, and wilt Thou turn away from Thee, O my Desire, him to
whom Thou hast been a refuge? Canst Thou degrade him whom Thou hast
uplifted, or forget him whom Thou didst enable to remember Thee?
Glorified, immensely glorified art Thou! Thou art He Who from everlasting
hath been the King of the entire creation and its Prime Mover, and Thou
wilt to everlasting remain the Lord of all created things and their
Ordainer. Glorified art Thou, O my God! If Thou ceasest to be merciful
unto Thy servants, who, then, will show mercy unto them; and if Thou
refusest to succor Thy loved ones, who is there that can succor them?
Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou! Thou art adored in Thy truth,
and Thee do we all, verily, worship; and Thou art manifest in Thy justice,
and to Thee do we all, verily, bear witness. Thou art, in truth, beloved
in Thy grace. No God is there but Thee, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting.
--Baha'u'llah
"He is God, exalted is He, the Lord of loving-kindness..."
He is God, exalted is He, the Lord of loving-kindness and bounty!
Glory be unto Thee, Thou, O my God, the Lord Omnipotent. I testify to
Thine omnipotence and Thy might, Thy sovereignty and Thy loving-kindness,
Thy grace and Thy power, the oneness of Thy Being and the unity of Thine
Essence, Thy sanctity and exaltation above the world of being and all that
is therein.
O my God! Thou seest me detached from all save Thee, holding fast unto
Thee and turning unto the ocean of Thy bounty, to the heaven of Thy favor,
to the Daystar of Thy grace.
Lord! I bear witness that in Thy servant Thou hast reposed Thy Trust, and
that is the Spirit wherewith Thou hast given life to the world.
I ask of Thee by the splendor of the Orb of Thy Revelation, mercifully to
accept from him that which he hath achieved in Thy days. Grant then that
he may be invested with the glory of Thy good-pleasure and adorned with
Thine acceptance.
O my Lord! I myself and all created things bear witness unto Thy might,
and I pray Thee not to turn away from Thyself this spirit that hath
ascended unto Thee, unto Thy heavenly place, Thine exalted Paradise and
Thy retreats of nearness, O Thou who art the Lord of all men!
Grant, then, O my God, that Thy servant may consort with Thy chosen ones,
Thy saints and Thy Messengers in heavenly places that the pen cannot tell
nor the tongue recount.
O my Lord, the poor one hath verily hastened unto the Kingdom of Thy
wealth, the stranger unto his home within Thy precincts, he that is sore
athirst to the heavenly river of Thy bounty. Deprive him not, O Lord, from
his share of the banquet of Thy grace and from the favor of Thy bounty.
Thou art in truth the Almighty, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful.
O my God, Thy Trust hath been returned unto Thee. It behooveth Thy grace
and Thy bounty that have compassed Thy dominions on earth and in heaven,
to vouchsafe unto Thy newly welcomed one Thy gifts and Thy bestowals, and
the fruits of the tree of Thy grace! Powerful art Thou to do as Thou
willest, there is none other God but Thee, the Gracious, the Most
Bountiful, the Compassionate, the Bestower, the Pardoner, the Precious,
the All-Knowing.
I testify, O my Lord, that Thou hast enjoined upon men to honor their
guest, and he that hath ascended unto Thee hath verily reached Thee and
attained Thy Presence. Deal with him then according to Thy grace and
bounty! By Thy glory, I know of a certainty that Thou wilt not withhold
Thyself from that which Thou hast commanded Thy servants, nor wilt Thou
deprive him that hath clung to the cord of Thy bounty and hath ascended to
the Dayspring of Thy wealth.
There is none other God but Thee, the One, the Single, the Powerful, the
Omniscient, the Bountiful.
--Baha'u'llah
"O my God! O Thou forgiver of sins, bestower..."
O my God! O Thou forgiver of sins, bestower of gifts, dispeller of
afflictions!
Verily, I beseech Thee to forgive the sins of such as have abandoned the
physical garment and have ascended to the spiritual world.
O my Lord! Purify them from trespasses, dispel their sorrows, and change
their darkness into light. Cause them to enter the garden of happiness,
cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy
splendors on the loftiest mount.
--'Abdu'l-Baha
"O my God! O my God! Verily, Thy servant,..."
O my God! O my God! Verily, Thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy
divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee
and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with
the fire of Thy love, hath been immersed in the depths of the ocean of Thy
knowledge, hath been attracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon Thee, hath
turned his face unto Thee, hath offered his supplications to Thee, and
hath been assured of Thy pardon and forgiveness. He hath abandoned this
mortal life and hath flown to the kingdom of immortality, yearning for the
favor of meeting Thee.
O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme
mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his
existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of
light in the world of mysteries.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Powerful, the Forgiver and the
Bestower.
--'Abdu'l-Baha
"O Thou forgiving Lord! Although some souls have..."
O Thou forgiving Lord!
Although some souls have spent the days of their lives in ignorance, and
became estranged and contumacious, yet, with one wave from the ocean of
Thy forgiveness, all those encompassed by sin will be set free. Whomsoever
Thou willest Thou makes a confidant, and whosoever is not the object of
Thy choice is accounted a transgressor. Shouldst Thou deal with us with
Thy justice, we are all naught but sinners and deserving to be shut out
from Thee, but shouldst Thou uphold mercy, every sinner would be made pure
and every stranger a friend. Bestow, then, Thy forgiveness and pardon, and
grant Thy mercy unto all.