Kitáb-i-'Ahd — §11

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 11 of 16.

Source (Persian)

کذلک أظهرنا الأمر فضلا من عندنا و أنا الفضّال الکريم قد قدّر اللّه مقام الغصن الأکبر بعد مقامه إنّه هو الأمر الحکيم * قد اصطفينا الأکبر بعد الأعظم أمرا من لدن عليم خبير *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Thus have We graciously revealed unto you our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful. Verily God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch [Muḥammad-‘Alí] to be beneath that of the Most Great Branch [‘Abdu’l-Bahá]. He is in truth the Ordainer, the All-Wise. We have chosen \‘the Greater' after \‘the Most Great', as decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

Translation Notes

کذلک

dh-l-k → “Thus”

literal: thus; likewise; also

أظهرنا

ẓ-h-r → “have We graciously revealed”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

الأمر

ʾ-m-r → “Will” Distinctive

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair

من

m-n → “from”

literal: from; out of; than (preposition and particle)

عندنا

ʿ-n-d → “our”

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

أنا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الفضّال

f-ḍ-l → “Gracious”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

الکريم

k-r-m → “bounty” Distinctive

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field; honor; generosity; nobility

قد

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

قدّر

q-d-r → “ordained”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

مقام

q-w-m → “station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

الغصن

gh-ṣ-n → “Branch”

literal: branch; twig

الأکبر

k-b-r → “Greater”

literal: great; grand; mighty; large

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “after”

literal: after; behind; distance

إنّه

ʾ-n-n → “He is in truth”

literal: I, verily; behold I

هو

h-w

literal: He; He is

الحکيم

ḥ-k-m → “All-Wise”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

اصطفينا

ṣ-f-w → “chosen”

literal: chosen ones; chosen-ones; purity

الأعظم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

أمرا

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair

لدن

l-d-n → “by”

literal: from; on the part of; from before; near

عليم

ʿ-l-m → “All-Knowing”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

خبير

kh-b-r → “All-Informed”

literal: all-knowing; aware; well-informed; omniscient

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 ¶

Fire Tablet

Bahá’u’lláh

Revealed in late 1871 during a period of severe hardship in ‘Akká, this Tablet takes the form of an anguished dialogue between Bahá’u’lláh and God. Questions about the sufferings of the faithful are answered with divine assurances, building to a crescendo of triumph over tribulation.

50 ¶

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-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 ¶