Kitáb-i-'Ahd — §1

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 1 of 16.

Source (Persian)

اگر افق اعلی از زخرف دنيا خالی است و لکن در خزائن توکّل و تفويض از برای ورّاث ميراث مرغوب لا عدل له گذاشتيم * گنج نگذاشتيم و بر رنج نيفزوديم * ايم اللّه در ثروت خوف مستور و خطر مکنون *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Although the Realm of Glory hath none of the vanities of the world, yet within the treasury of trust and resignation We have bequeathed to Our heirs an excellent and priceless heritage

Translation Notes

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

افق

ʾ-f-q → “Realm” Distinctive

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

اعلی

ʿ-l-w → “of Glory” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

زخرف

z-kh-r-f → “vanities”

literal: ornament; adornment; decoration; falsehood

دنيا

d-n-w → “of the world”

literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with

خالی

kh-l-w → “bygone”

literal: empty; vacant; void; devoid

است

b-w-d → “hath” Distinctive

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

لکن

l-k-n → “yet”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

خزائن

kh-z-n → “treasury” Distinctive

literal: to store, to treasure; storehouse, depository, treasury

توکّل

w-k-l → “trust”

literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority

تفويض

f-w-ḍ → “commit”

literal: to delegate; to entrust; to resign; resignation to God’s will

برای

b-r-y → “Briefly” Distinctive

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

ورّاث

w-r-th → “share” Distinctive

literal: Torah; the Jewish scripture

مرغوب

r-gh-b → “spurred him on” Distinctive

literal: to desire, wish for; to turn away from; to be inclined towards

لا

l-ʾ

literal: no; not; negation particle

عدل

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

له

h-w

literal: for them both; to both of them (dual pronoun)

گذاشتيم

g-dh-sh → “decree” Distinctive

literal: to leave; to pass; to abandon

گنج

g-n-j

literal: treasure; to fit, contain, hold

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

رنج

r-n-j

literal: hardship, toil, suffering, trouble

نيفزوديم

f-z-ʾ

literal: to increase; to add; to augment; to enhance

ايم

h-s-t → “have” Distinctive

literal: days; times; periods; epochs; sign; gesture; indication; hint

اللّه

ʾ-l-h

literal: God; Allah; deity; Divinity; divine nature; godhood

ثروت

th-r-w

literal: wealth, riches, affluence

خوف

kh-w-f

literal: to fear; to be afraid; fear

مستور

s-t-r

literal: to veil; to conceal; to cover; veil; covering

خطر

kh-ṭ-r

literal: danger; peril; risk; to cross the mind

مکنون

k-n-n

literal: to do; to make; to perform

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

Gleanings

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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-Íqán

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291 ¶

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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 ¶

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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

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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

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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 ¶

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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 ¶

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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 ¶