Fire Tablet — §47

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 47 of 50.

Source (Arabic)

أَتَنُوْحُ أَوْ أَنُوْحُ بَلْ أَصِيْحُ مِنْ قِلَّةِ نَاصِرِيْكَ يَا مَنْ بِكَ ارْتَفَعَ نَوْحُ العَالَمِينَ *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Dost Thou wail, or shall I wail? Rather shall I weep at the fewness of Thy champions, O Thou Who hast caused the wailing of the worlds.

Translation Notes

أَتَنُوْحُ

ʾatanúḥ n-w-ḥ → “groan” Distinctive

literal: lament; lamentation; Noah

This form usually rendered as “dost” (1 occurrences)

groan 20% lamented 18% lament 13% groaned 9% have 9% mourn 7% groaneth 7% wail 7% bewail 7% sigh 4%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §7: which fire-tabletFire §47: wailing gleaningsGWB §67: bewail kitab-i-iqanKIQ §7: prayerfully exhorted prayers-and-meditationsP&M §420: crieth will-and-testamentW&T §5: lamenting epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §132: wept fire-tabletFire §47: Dost

أَصِيْحُ

ʾaṣíḥ ṣ-y-ḥ → “i”

literal: cry; shout; cry out

cry 20% hath 20% cried 13% shout 13% drawn 7% caused 7% sore 7% herald 7% great 7%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §133: drawn tears fire-tabletFire §47: I gleaningsGWB §83: The Herald kitab-i-iqanKIQ §10: a great cry tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §37: a cry epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §159: hath cried out gleaningsGWB §402: shout tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §47: cried aloud

قِلَّةِ

qillah q-l-l → “fewness”

literal: few

summit 50% fewness 50%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §134: the fraction fire-tabletFire §47: fewness gleaningsGWB §552: of kitab-i-iqanKIQ §256: a few prayers-and-meditationsP&M §245: Who art the Source the-hidden-wordsHW §91: handful epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §126: exceedeth fire-tabletFire §42: independence

نَاصِرِيْكَ

náṣirík n-ṣ-r → “aid” Distinctive

literal: help; victory; helper

This form usually rendered as “champions” (1 occurrences)

aid 22% victory 18% help 17% triumph 14% succor 6% assist 6% ascendancy 5% helped 4% helper 4% extended 3%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §149: upholder and fire-tabletFire §28: championed gleaningsGWB §428: Offer up kitab-i-ahdAhd §13: can render kitab-i-iqanKIQ §91: Christians prayers-and-meditationsP&M §354: succor will-and-testamentW&T §5: triumphant assistance epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §161: Help him

ارْتَفَعَ

irtafaʿ r-f-ʿ → “raised”

literal: raise; raised

raised 30% hath 26% lifted 17% planted 4% hast 4% calleth 4% more 4% could 4% lord 4%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §205: upraised fire-tabletFire §47: hast caused gleaningsGWB §440: of glory kitab-i-ahdAhd §13: serveth to exalt kitab-i-iqanKIQ §84: become prayers-and-meditationsP&M §166: have caused tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §16: dispel the-hidden-wordsHW §61: that I may rise

العَالَمِينَ

al-ʿálamín ʿ-l-m → “worlds”

literal: world; worlds

worlds 53% all 31% world 5% whole 3% earth 2% men 2% creation 2% entire 1% people 1% peoples 1%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §126: canst well imagine fire-tabletFire §3: Enchanter gleaningsGWB §715: world,”kitab-i-iqanKIQ §114: not prayers-and-meditationsP&M §665: the realm of tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §17: of all the worlds tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §13: we have taught thee the-hidden-wordsHW §57: is My knowledge

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 ¶