THE SHRINE OF THE BÁB

Words of Tribute by Shoghi Effendi

Unto thee, O Queen of Carmel, be the purest and most tender salutations, and upon thee rest the fairest and most gracious blessings! Glorified be He Who has ordained the place of thy Seat and honoured it with His footsteps, and has made mention of thee in His Holy Writ. How great is the potency of thy might, a might which has bewildered the souls of the favoured ones of God and His Messengers!

I behold thee as in a dream, established upon thy glorious throne, robed in white, crowned in gold, resplendent with the lights shining within thee and around thee, calling aloud in ringing tones and lifting up thy voice between earth and heaven.

I see the souls of the holy ones and of the dwellers of the realms above hastening towards thee with utmost devotion, love and attraction, pointing to thee, circling around thee, inhaling the fragrance of thy blossoms and flowers, seeking blessing from the earth of thy precincts, and bowing their foreheads to the ground in recognition of the majesty and glory which surround the Trust of God reposing in thy heart, and the Pearl that lies enshrined within thy bosom.

Blessed, immeasurably blessed is the one who visits thee and circles around thee, who serves at thy threshold, waters thy flowers, inhales the fragrance of holiness from thy roses, celebrates thy praise and magnifies thy station for the love of God, He Who has created thee in this most hallowed and luminous, this most exalted, august and wondrous age.