Prisoners in Iran

Bahá’u’lláh instructs that believers must detach themselves and recite this prayer nine times:

He is, in truth, the Omnipotent, the Unconstrained! O Lord of Names and Fashioner of the Heavens!  Free Thy lovers from the prison of the enemy. Verily, Thou art the Sovereign Ordainer of Thine irrevocable decree. He who alone shineth resplendent on the horizon of creation. O Everlasting Root! By the life of the All-Glorious, deprive them not of hope, nay rather aid and assist them. Verily, Thou rulest as Thou pleasest and within Thy grasp lie the kingdoms of creation. The fangs of Thine enemies have been whetted, ready to

bite into the flesh of Thy lovers.  Protect these companions, O Thou Who rulest over all humankind and art the Judge on the Day of Judgement. 

I entreat Thee, O Lord of Names and Creator of the heavens, by the blood spilt in Thy Path, and by the heads carried aloft on spears for the sake of Thy love, and by the souls that have melted in their separation from Thy loved ones, and by the hearts broken for the exaltation of Thy Word, to grant that the dwellers of Thy realm may unite together in their allegiance to Thine incomparable Word so that they may all acknowledge Thy unity and Thy oneness. There is no God but Thee, the Omnipotent, the Most Exalted, the Knowing, the Wise.

Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who beholdest all things and art hidden from all things! From every land Thou hearest the lamentations of them that love Thee, and from every direction Thou hearkenest unto the cries of such as have recognized Thy sovereignty. Were their oppressors to be asked: "Wherefore have ye oppressed them and held them in bondage in Baghdad and elsewhere? What injustice have they committed? Whom have they betrayed? Whose blood have they spilled, and whose property have they plundered?" they would know not what to answer. Thou knowest full well, O my God, that their only crime is to have loved Thee. For this reason have their oppressors laid hold on them, and scattered them abroad. Aware as I am, O my God, that Thou wilt send down upon Thy servants only what is good for them, I nevertheless beseech Thee, by Thy name which overshadoweth all things, to raise up, for their assistance and as a sign of Thy grace and as an evidence of Thy power, those who will keep them safe from all their adversaries.

Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou art, verily, the Supreme Ruler, the Almighty, the Help  in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

O God, my God!  Thou seest Thy loved ones turning their hearts to Thee, and holding fast onto the cord of Thy ordinances and laws.  I beseech thee by the waves of the sea of Thine utterance, and by Him through whom Thous didst adorn the heavens of Thy might, to graciously protect them by the aid of Thy hosts.  O God!  Thou beholdest Thy lovers in Iran in the clutches of hate and enmity.  I beg of Thee, by Thy mercy which hath preceded the contingent world, to raise up from the earth those who will be moved to aid and protect them, and to preserve their rights and the restitution due to them by those who broke Thy Covenant and Testament, and perpetrated such acts as made the inmates of the cities of Thy justice and equity to lament.  Thou art, verily,  the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. 

[The following is a provisional translation of a very moving and well-known prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for the protection of Bahá’í prisoners. It was revealed approximately two months before His ascension and may be one of the last prayers set down by His pen.]

He is the All-Glorious! O God, my God! Verily, Thou seest Thy servants acting with sincerity toward the whole of mankind, even the ill-disposed enemy. They are serving the entire human race with pure hearts and sanctified breasts and are exposed to grave danger. Darts are aimed at them, arrows directed towards them. Spears are pointed at them, swords drawn against them. O Lord! They are victims of tyranny, at the mercy of the enemy. They are prisoners in the hands of blood-thirsty wolves and ravenous dogs from amongst the wicked. They have no refuge, no haven save the stronghold of Thine all-encompassing protection. Shelter them, O my Lord, with the eye of Thy loving-kindness neath the shadow of Thy shield and protection and guard them in the shelter of Thy care from the wickeddoers among Thy people. O Lord! They have no helper except Thee, no protector besides Thee. Ordain, O my Lord, all manner of affliction for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Make me a target for the darts of men and protect Thy faithful servants from the wickedness of the ignoble. Grant that I may offer up my life for the whole body of Thy lovers so that my heart may find rest, my soul may be quieted, and my eyes may be solaced in the arena of supreme martyrdom. Verily, Thou art the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Most Exalted. O ye beloved of the Lord! Be calm and composed.