Kitáb-i-'Ahd — §13

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 13 of 16.

Source (Persian)

يا أغصانی و أفنانی و ذوی قرابتی نوصيکم بتقوی اللّه و بمعروف و بما ينبغی و بما يرتفع به مقاماتکم * براستی ميگويم تقوی سردار اعظم است از برای نصرت امر الهی * و جنوديکه لايق اين سردار است اخلاق و اعمال طيّبه طاهره مرضيّه بوده و هست *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O ye My Aghṣán, My Afnán and My Kindred! We exhort you to fear God, to perform praiseworthy deeds and to do that which is meet and seemly and serveth to exalt your station. Verily I say, fear of God is the greatest commander that can render the Cause of God victorious, and the hosts which best befit this commander have ever been and are an upright character and pure and goodly deeds.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

أغصانی

gh-ṣ-n → “Aghṣán” Distinctive

literal: branch; twig

أفنانی

f-n-n → “Afnán”

literal: twigs; branches

ذوی

dh-w-y

literal: possessor of; one having; those having

قرابتی

q-r-b → “Kindred”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

نوصيکم

w-ṣ-y → “We exhort you”

literal: counsel; commandment; bequest; will; testament; admonition; command

بتقوی

t-q-y → “to fear”

literal: strength; power; might; piety; fear of God; godliness

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

بمعروف

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

literal: what; which; that which; relative pronoun; interrogative

ينبغی

n-b-gh → “behooveth”

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

يرتفع

r-f-ʿ → “serveth to exalt” Distinctive

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

مقاماتکم

q-w-m → “your station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

براستی

r-s-t → “Verily”

literal: truth; verily; truly

ميگويم

g-w-y → “I say”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

تقوی

w-q-y → “fear of”

literal: to protect, safeguard, shield

سردار

s-r-d → “tabernacle” Distinctive

literal: commander, leader, chief, general

اعظم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “greatest” Distinctive

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

است

b-w-d → “is”

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

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

برای

b-r-y

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

نصرت

n-ṣ-r → “aid”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

امر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

جنوديکه

j-n-d → “hosts”

literal: hosts; army; host

لايق

l-y-q → “worthy”

literal: worthy, befitting, appropriate, suitable

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

اخلاق

kh-l-q → “character”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

اعمال

ʿ-m-l → “deeds”

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

طيّبه

ṭ-y-b → “goodly”

literal: good; pure; sweet; fragrant; virtuous

طاهره

ṭ-h-r → “pure”

literal: to purify; to cleanse

مرضيّه

r-ḍ-y → “upright”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

هست

h-s-t → “are”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

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