O my Lord, bathe me in the radiance of Your Light, unveiling for me all that is concealed within me, so that I may witness my existence in all its true perfection from Your standpoint, not from mine. Let me thus come close to You by my own attribute being dispelled from me, as You come close to me by the effulgence of Your Light upon me. 0 my Lord, possibility is my true attribute, non-existence my very substance and poverty my real abode; Your Existence is my sole cause, Your Power my very agent and You my only goal! Your Knowledge is all that I need from You in my not- knowing. You are just as I know You and yet far beyond what I know! You are with every thing, and yet with You there is no thing! You have ordained stations for the spiritual journey, arranged degrees for the beneficial and the harmful, and established the paths of Goodness. In all of this we are by virtue of You, while You are without [need of] us. For You are pure Good, sheer Generosity, unlimited Perfection. I ask of You, by Your Name with which You pour forth light upon the receptacles and with which You dispel the darkness of obscurities: fill my being with light from Your Light, which is the substance of every light and the true goal of every desire, so that nothing may obscure me from what You have deposited in each atom of my being. Grant me the gift of a tongue of veracity that can give expres- sion to the witnessing of Truth, and distinguish me with clarity and eloquence from the all-inclusive Words. Protect me in all my utterances from claiming that which is not mine by rights, and make me speak according to inner vision , I and those who follow me. O God, I take refuge in You from any speech that creates confusion or results in discord or sows doubt. It is from You that all words are received; it is from You that all wisdoms are obtained.
Ibn Arabi
