"Unto Thee be praise, O Lord my God! I entreat Thee, by Thy signs that have encompassed the entire creation, and by the light of Thy countenance that hath illuminated all that are in heaven and on earth, and by Thy mercy that hath surpassed all created things, and by Thy grace that hath suffused the whole universe, to rend asunder the veils that shut me out from Thee, that I may hasten unto the Fountain-Head of Thy mighty inspiration, and to the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation and bountiful favors, and may be immersed beneath the ocean of Thy nearness and pleasure.
Suffer me not, O my Lord, to be deprived of the knowledge of Thee in Thy days, and divest me not of the robe of Thy guidance. Give me to drink of the river that is life indeed, whose waters have streamed forth from the Paradise (Riḍván) in which the throne of Thy Name, the All-Merciful, was established, that mine eyes may be opened, and my face be illumined, and my heart be assured, and my soul be enlightened, and my steps be made firm.
Thou art He Who from everlasting was, through the potency of His might, supreme over all things, and, through the operation of His will, was able to ordain all things. Nothing whatsoever, whether in Thy heaven or on Thy earth, can frustrate Thy purpose. Have mercy, then, upon me, O my Lord, through Thy gracious providence and generosity, and incline mine ear to the sweet melodies of the birds that warble their praise of Thee, amidst the branches of the tree of Thy oneness.
Thou art the Great Giver, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate."
-Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 4-5 II
Where did you find the map? It may be something I can use somewhere. BTW that seems to suggest the area near 33°18'31" to 33° 18' 33" at, 44° 23' 32" and 44°25'13" and allowing for changing curves of the river.... Basically that's pretty much in the Green Zone - a much happier reason for the term.
ReplyDeleteOr do you think it's the "Al Gherarah" island in the next elbow to the south? From the map that seems to imply being "too far" out of town perhaps.
Here's a
ReplyDeletemap from 1944 (I guess) And I think I found the
1849 map. Here's a
1961 map which shows changes in the river....
The garden was not an island but on east bank of the river just outside the north gate of the walled city of Baghdad, this map calls it the Citadel.
ReplyDelete