Bahá'í Prayers
Forgiveness
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I beseech
Thee by Thy Chosen Ones, and by the
Bearers of Thy Trust, and by Him Whom Thou
hast ordained to be the Seal of Thy Prophets and
of Thy Messengers, to let Thy remembrance be
my companion, and Thy love my aim, and Thy
face my goal, and Thy name my lamp, and Thy
wish my desire, and Thy pleasure my delight.
I am a sinner, O my Lord, and Thou art the
Ever-Forgiving. As soon as I recognized Thee, I
hastened to attain the exalted court of Thy loving-kindness.
Forgive me, O my Lord, my sins which
have hindered me from walking in the ways of
Thy good pleasure, and from attaining the shores
of the ocean of Thy oneness.
There is no one, O my Lord, who can deal
bountifully with me to whom I can turn my face,
and none who can have compassion on me that I
may crave his mercy. Cast me not out, I implore
Thee, of the presence of Thy grace, neither do
Thou withhold from me the outpourings of Thy
generosity and bounty. Ordain for me, O my
Lord, what Thou hast ordained for them that love
Thee, and write down for me what Thou hast
written down for Thy chosen ones. My gaze hath,
at all times, been fixed on the horizon of Thy gracious
providence, and mine eyes bent upon the
court of Thy tender mercies. Do with me as beseemeth
Thee. No God is there but Thee, the
God of power, the God of glory, Whose help is
implored by all men.
- Bahá'u'lláh
I am He, O my Lord, that hath set his face towards
Thee, and fixed his hope on the wonders
of Thy grace and the revelations of Thy
bounty. I pray Thee that thou wilt not suffer me
to turn away disappointed from the door of Thy
mercy, nor abandon me to such of Thy creatures
as have repudiated Thy Cause.
I am, O my God, Thy servant and the son of
Thy servant. I have recognized Thy truth in Thy
days, and have directed my steps towards the
shores of Thy oneness, confessing Thy singleness,
acknowledging Thy unity, and hoping for Thy
forgiveness and pardon. Powerful art Thou to do
what Thou willest; no God is there beside Thee,
the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving.
- Bahá'u'lláh
Thou seest me, O my Lord, with my face
turned towards the heaven of Thy bounty
and the ocean of Thy favor, withdrawn from all
else beside Thee. I ask of Thee, by the splendors
of the Sun of Thy revelation on Sinai, and the effulgences
of the Orb of Thy grace which shineth
from the horizon of Thy Name, the Ever-Forgiving,
to grant me Thy pardon and to have mercy
upon me. Write down, then, for me with Thy
pen of glory that which will exalt me through Thy
Name in the world of creation. Aid me, O my
Lord, to set myself towards Thee, and to hearken
unto the voice of Thy loved ones, whom the
powers of the earth have failed to weaken, and the
dominion of the nations has been powerless to
withhold from Thee, and who, advancing towards
Thee, have said: "God is our Lord, the Lord
of all who are in heaven and all who are on earth!"
- Bahá'u'lláh
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Every
time I venture to make mention of Thee, I
am held back by my mighty sins and grievous
trespasses against Thee, and find myself wholly
deprived of Thy grace, and utterly powerless to
celebrate Thy praise. My great confidence in Thy
bounty, however, reviveth my hope in Thee, and
my certitude that Thou wilt bountifully deal with
me emboldeneth me to extol Thee, and to ask of
Thee the things Thou dost possess.
I implore Thee, O my God, by Thy mercy that
hath surpassed all created things, and to which all
that are immersed beneath the oceans of Thy
names bear witness, not to abandon me unto my
self, for my heart is prone to evil. Guard me, then,
within the stronghold of Thy protection and the
shelter of Thy care. I am he, O my God, whose
only wish to what Thou hast determined by the
power of Thy might. All I have chosen for myself
is to be assisted by Thy gracious appointments
and the ruling of Thy will, and to be aided with the
tokens of Thy decree and judgment.
I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Beloved
of the hearts which long for Thee, by the Manifestations
of Thy Cause and the Daysprings of
Thine inspiration, and the Exponents of Thy
majesty, and the Treasuries of Thy knowledge,
not to suffer me to be deprived of Thy holy Habitation,
Thy Fane and Thy Tabernacle. Aid me, O
my Lord, to attain His hallowed court, and to circle
round His person, and to stand humbly at His
door.
Thou art He Whose power is from everlasting
to everlasting. Nothing escapeth Thy knowledge.
Thou art, verily, the God of power, the God of
glory and wisdom.
Praised be God, the Lord of the worlds!
- Bahá'u'lláh
Lauded be Thy name, O my God and the God of
all things, my Glory and the Glory of all
things, my Desire and the Desire of all things, my
Strength and the Strength of all things, my King
and the King of all things, my Possessor and the
Possessor of all things, my Aim and the Aim of
all things, my Mover and the Mover of all things!
Suffer me not, I implore Thee, to be kept back
from the ocean of Thy tender mercies, nor to be
far removed from the shores of nearness to Thee.
Aught else except Thee, O my Lord, profiteth
me not, and near access to anyone save Thyself
availeth me nothing. I entreat Thee by the plenteousness
of Thy riches, whereby Thou didst dispense
with all else except Thyself, to number me
with such as have set their faces towards Thee, and
arisen to serve Thee.
Forgive, then, O my Lord, Thy servants and
Thy handmaidens. Thou, truly, art the Ever-Forgiving,
the Most Compassionate.
- Bahá'u'lláh
O God our Lord! Protect us through Thy
grace from whatsoever my be repugnant
unto Thee, and vouchsafe unto us that which
well beseemeth Thee. Give us more out of Thy
bounty, and bless us. Pardon us for the things we
have done, and wash away our sins, and forgive us
with Thy gracious forgiveness. Verily, Thou art
the Most Exalted, the Self-Subsisting.
Thy loving providence hath encompassed all
created things in the heavens and on the earth,
and Thy forgiveness hath surpassed the whole
creation. Thine is sovereignty; in Thy hand are the
Kingdoms of Creation and Revelation; in Thy
right hand Thou holdest all created things, and
within Thy grasp are the assigned measures of forgiveness.
Thou forgivest whomsoever among
Thy servants Thou pleasest. Verily, Thou art the
Ever-Forgiving, the All-Loving. Nothing whatsoever
escapeth Thy knowledge, and naught is
there which is hidden from Thee.
O God our Lord! Protect us through the potency
of Thy might, enable us to enter Thy wondrous
surging ocean, and grant us that which well
befitteth Thee.
Thou art the Sovereign Ruler, the Mighty
Doer, the Exalted, the All-Loving.
- The Báb
Praise be unto Thee, O Lord. Forgive us our
sins, have mercy upon us and enable us to
return unto Thee. Suffer us not to rely on aught
else besides Thee, and vouchsafe unto us, through
Thy bounty, that which Thou lovest and desirest
and well beseemeth Thee. Exalt the station of
them that have truly believed, and forgive them
with Thy gracious forgiveness. Verily, Thou art
the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
- The Báb
I beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every
mention but the mention of Thee, and for
every praise but the praise of Thee, and for every
delight but delight in Thy nearness, and for every
pleasure but the pleasure of communion with
Thee, and for every joy but the joy of Thy love
and of Thy good-pleasure, and for all things pertaining
unto me which bear no relationship unto
Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of lords, He Who
provideth the means and unlocketh the doors.
- The Báb
Glory be unto Thee, O God. How can I make
mention of Thee while Thou art sanctified
from the praise of all mankind. Magnified be
Thy Name, O God, Thou art the King, the Eternal
Truth; Thou knowest what is in the heavens
and on the earth, and unto Thee must all return.
Thou hast sent down Thy divinely ordained Revelation
according to a clear measure. Praised art
Thou, O Lord! At Thy behest Thou dost render
victorious whomsoever Thou willest, through
the hosts of heaven and earth and whatsoever existeth
between them. Thou art the Sovereign, the
Eternal Truth, the Lord of invincible might.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord, Thou forgivest at
all times the sins of such among Thy servants as
implore Thy pardon. Wash away my sins and the
sins of those who seek Thy forgiveness at dawn,
who pray to Thee in the daytime and in the night
season, who yearn after naught save God, who
offer up whatsoever God hath graciously bestowed
upon them, who celebrate Thy praise at
morn and eventide, and who are not remiss in
their duties.
- The Báb
O Thou forgiving Lord! Thou art the shelter
of all these Thy servants. Thou knowest
the secrets and art aware of all things. We are all
helpless, and Thou art the Mighty, the Omnipotent.
We are all sinners, and Thou art the Forgiver
of sins, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
O Lord! Look not at our shortcomings. Deal with
us according to Thy grace and bounty. Our shortcomings
are many, but the ocean of Thy forgiveness
is boundless. Our weakness is grievous, but
the evidences of Thine aid and assistance are clear.
Therefore, confirm and strengthen us. Enable us
to do that which is worthy of Thy holy Threshold.
Illumine our hearts, grant us discerning eyes
and attentive ears. Resuscitate the dead and heal
the sick. Bestow wealth upon the poor and give
peace and security to the fearful. Accept us in Thy
kingdom and illumine us with the light of guidance.
Thou are the Powerful and the Omnipotent.
Thou art the Generous. Thou art the Clement.
Thou art the Kind.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá