Praise be unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of the world
and the Ruler of the nations! I testify that Thou hast from eternity been
sanctified above the mention of all created things and exalted beyond the
loftiest descriptions of Thy creatures. Whensoever Thy devoted servants sought
to ascend unto the station of Thy recognition, the hosts of Thy knowledge
barred their way; and whensoever Thy near ones desired to gain admittance to
the heaven of Thy nearness, the overpowering majesty of Thine utterance kept
them back. We bear witness that the loftiest of the divine names are but
servants at Thy door, and that their most glorious manifestations bow down
before Thy countenance and are humbled in Thy presence. Thou art, in truth, He
Who can neither be described in letters, nor evoked by words, nor even
contained within the hidden meanings they conceal. For these are all
circumscribed by the inherent limitations of speech which characterize all the
utterances of the peoples of the world.
