Fire Tablet — §45

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 45 of 50.

Source (Arabic)

تَرَى القُلُوبَ مُلِئَتْ مِنَ البَغْضَاءِ وَلَكَ الإِغْضَاءُ يَا سَتَّارَ العَالَمِينَ *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Thou seest the hearts are filled with hate, and to overlook is Thine, O Thou Concealer of the sins of the worlds.

Translation Notes

البَغْضَاءِ

al-baghḍáʾ b-gh-ḍ → “with hate”

literal: hatred; hatred, enmity; enmity

hate 40% hatred 27% cruelty 7% enmity 7% malicious 7% rancour 7% bitter 7%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §159: perverse hater gleaningsGWB §175: enmity and hatred prayers-and-meditationsP&M §559: the hatred the-hidden-wordsHW §95: Him whom I abhor will-and-testamentW&T §35: their rancour epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §117: one who would hate Us gleaningsGWB §163: cruelty prayers-and-meditationsP&M §841: Thine enemies

الإِغْضَاءُ

al-ʾighḍáʾ gh-ḍ-w

literal: overlooking

SE rendered البَغْضَاءِ (al-baghḍáʾ), وَلَكَ (walak), الإِغْضَاءُ (al-ʾighḍáʾ), سَتَّارَ (sattár), العَالَمِينَ (al-ʿálamín) as “with hate, and to overlook is, Thou Concealer, of the worlds”

overlook 50% restrained 50%

fire-tabletFire §45: to overlook prayers-and-meditationsP&M §252: restrained from beholding

سَتَّارَ

sattár s-t-r → “thou concealer”

literal: concealed

concealer 67% “the 11% thou 11% concealest 11%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §93: may conceal fire-tabletFire §45: Concealer of the sins gleaningsGWB §323: recorded kitab-i-ahdAhd §9: lieth concealed kitab-i-iqanKIQ §178: lie as yet unravelled prayers-and-meditationsP&M §769: veils the-hidden-wordsHW §128: meaning epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §111: curtains

العَالَمِينَ

al-ʿálamín ʿ-l-m → “of the worlds”

literal: world; worlds

SE expanded to “of the worlds”

worlds 52% all 31% world 6% whole 3% entire 2% earth 2% men 2% creatures 1% creation 1% people 1%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §182: knowing fire-tabletFire §49: all the worlds gleaningsGWB §109: leaders kitab-i-ahdAhd §2: recognized kitab-i-iqanKIQ §198: realm of prayers-and-meditationsP&M §100: and knowest full well tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §17: of all the worlds tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §13: which we have taught

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Bahá’u’lláh

The last outstanding Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, written around 1891 and addressed to Shaykh Muḥammad-Taqí of Iṣfahán. It calls upon that rapacious priest to repent, quotes the most celebrated passages from Bahá’u’lláh’s own writings, and adduces proofs establishing the validity of His Cause.

268 ¶

Gleanings

Bahá’u’lláh

A compilation of 166 selections from Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablets, spanning the Baghdad, Adrianople, and ‘Akká periods (1853–1892). George Townshend assisted with English refinement. Shoghi Effendi wrote that it gives the friends a splendid opportunity to acquire knowledge and understanding of the Faith.

729 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

Bahá’u’lláh

The Book of the Covenant — Bahá’u’lláh’s Will and Testament, written entirely in His own hand and unsealed on the ninth day after His ascension. It designates ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and establishes what Shoghi Effendi called the mightiest Covenant in all religious history.

16 ¶

Kitáb-i-Íqán

Bahá’u’lláh

The principal doctrinal work of the Faith, revealed in Baghdad within the space of two days and two nights in response to questions from the Báb’s maternal uncle. Shoghi Effendi described it as occupying a position unequalled by any work except the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — a model of Persian prose, at once original, chaste, vigorous, and remarkably lucid.

291 ¶

Prayers and Meditations

Bahá’u’lláh

Published in 1938, this companion volume to Gleanings contains 184 prayers and meditations selected by Shoghi Effendi from Bahá’u’lláh’s devotional writings revealed across successive exiles from Baghdad to ‘Akká. Shoghi Effendi described it as a volume whose perusal would deepen the spirit of devotion and faith.

858 ¶

Tablet of Aḥmad

Bahá’u’lláh

Revealed in Adrianople and addressed to a believer named Aḥmad, this Tablet has been invested by Bahá’u’lláh with a special potency and significance. Its central imagery draws on the metaphor of fire and water: “Be thou as a flame of fire to My enemies and a river of life eternal to My loved ones.”

17 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

Bahá’u’lláh

Revealed during a visit to Mount Carmel, this Tablet addresses the mountain directly and prophesies its future as the world spiritual and administrative center of the Faith. Shoghi Effendi designated it one of three foundational Charters. Its imagery of the Ark and the dwellers therein prefigures the Universal House of Justice.

5 ¶

Tablet of the Holy Mariner

Bahá’u’lláh

Chanted aloud in the outskirts of Baghdad just weeks before the Declaration in the Garden of Riḍván, its gloomy prognostications aroused the grave apprehensions of all who heard it. Only the Arabic portion has an authorized translation; the Persian portion remains untranslated.

57 ¶

The Hidden Words

Bahá’u’lláh

Seventy-one Arabic and eighty-two Persian aphorisms revealed around 1858 while walking along the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad. Originally designated the “Hidden Book of Fáṭimih,” Shoghi Effendi described it as a marvelous collection of gem-like utterances occupying a position of unsurpassed preeminence among the ethical writings of the Faith.

160 ¶

Will and Testament

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in three parts between 1901 and 1908, opened and read after His passing on 28 November 1921. Shoghi Effendi designated it the Charter of the New World Order — the mightiest instrument forged to ensure the continuity of the three ages of the Bahá’í Dispensation.

59 ¶