But custom ever change at my command. May I be ne’er abandoned by thy grace, May my obedience ever perfect be; And bend my wishes to the mood of prayer, That they may burst in flowers of happiness. Cast, when I kneel, my intellect to earth, That thus my prayer may never be disturbed. When I am set on honor’s lofty seat, Give me the strength to bear prosperity. Keep me untainted by hypocrisy, And in thy service make my mind sincere. Grant daily growth to my obedience, May it be nourished on the Prophet’s lore, And let my tongue flow ever in thy praise. IV HYMN OF PRAISE TO THE LORD OF LORDS, TO THE GLORY OF HIS CREATURES, AND TO THE PROPHETS He, the first cause of all created things; The bloom of planetary elements; In all the treasures of his mighty heart, Is the great light that lights existences; And in the order of celestial things He is the circle’s first and utmost line; And he, the all-respected, all-beloved, Mahomet, Mustapha, and Mahmoud named, Sprung from the house of Haschim, Koreish’ stem, First published to the world the Monuments. From out God’s secret treasure-house he came, Like to the light of morning in the East, To be on earth the prophets’ guide, to be The great director of the pure in heart. When on the world his features cease to shine, It seems as if the sun was veiled in heaven; And when his grandeur does not rear itself, The very heavens no longer soar aloft. Without the shadow of his mightiness, The throne itself would totter in decay. When he is wroth, he in confusion throws The water’s torrent and the dust of earth; His dazzling existence could not fail, But both the worlds of heaven and earth were gone. The world and all therein exist for him; Angels and men and demons of the air; And the nine heavens their being owe to him; For him the heavens their revelations make; He is the world’s foundation, cause, and end, And he preserves the beauty of the world. His law remains the age’s guiding light; And in his countenance does Allah shine. Mankind in guilt and dire perplexity Had wandered blindly from the way of truth. Until the loving-kindness of his law Recovered them, and brought them to the path, Before the splendor of his law arose, The human race was separate from God. Mahomet showed the path that led to God; He was the polestar in the arch of night; The leader of the pilgrims on their way; The refuge of the rulers of the world: For when Mahomet on the earth appeared, He shone the candle of intelligence. Mahomet, called the prophets’ prince to be, Was first in excellence of holiness. Mahomet rules the future of the world; In him existence is not bound by space; Mahomet is the source of light to all; The guide and guardian of the universe.