Kitáb-i-'Ahd — §2

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 2 of 16.

Source (Persian)

انظروا ثمّ اذکروا مَا أَنْزَلَهُ الرّحمن فی الفرقان ﴿ وَيْلٌ لِکُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالاً وَ عَدَّدَهُ ﴾ ثروت عالم را وفائی نه * آنچه را فنا اخذ نمايد و تغيير پذيرد لايق اعتنا نبوده و نيست مگر علی قدر معلوم * مقصود

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Earthly treasures We have not bequeathed, nor have We added such cares as they entail. By God! In earthly riches fear is hidden and peril is concealed. Consider ye and call to mind that which the All-Merciful hath revealed in the Qur’án: \‘Woe betide every slanderer and defamer, him that layeth up riches and counteth them.' Fleeting are the riches of the world; all that perisheth and changeth is not, and hath never been, worthy of attention, except to a recognized measure

Translation Notes

انظروا

n-ẓ-r → “Consider”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

ثمّ

th-m-m → “and” Distinctive

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

اذکروا

dh-k-r → “mentioned” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

مَا

m-ʾ → “that”

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

أَنْزَلَهُ

n-z-l → “hath revealed” Distinctive

literal: to descend, to be revealed

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m → “All-Merciful”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الفرقان

f-r-q

literal: faction; sect; group; company

وَيْلٌ

w-y-l → “\‘Woe”

literal: woe; alas; grief

لِکُلِّ

k-l-l → “every”

literal: for each; for every; to each

هُمَزَةٍ

h-m-z → “promptings” Distinctive

literal: whisper, prompt, instigating suggestion; temptation

لُمَزَةٍ

l-m-z → “defamer”

literal: backbiter; one who finds fault or disparages

الَّذِي

l-dh-y → “him that” Distinctive

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

جَمَعَ

j-m-ʿ → “all” Distinctive

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

مَالاً

m-w-l → “substance”

literal: hope; wish; desire; aspiration

عَدَّدَهُ

ʿ-d-d → “capacity” Distinctive

literal: numerous; many; multiple

ثروت

th-r-w → “riches”

literal: wealth, riches, affluence

عالم

ʿ-l-m → “of the world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

وفائی

w-f-y

literal: faithfulness; fidelity; fulfill

نه

n-h-y → “forbidden”

literal: end; ended; utmost

آنچه

ʾ-n → “all that”

literal: that; indeed; that, to

فنا

f-n-y → “perisheth” Distinctive

literal: to annihilate; to disappear; annihilation

اخذ

ʾ-kh-dh

literal: to take; to seize; to affect

نمايد

n-m-ʾ

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

تغيير

gh-y-r → “other” Distinctive

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

پذيرد

p-dh-r

literal: to accept; to receive; to acknowledge; to adopt

لايق

l-y-q → “worthy”

literal: worthy, befitting, appropriate, suitable

اعتنا

ʿ-n-y → “meaning” Distinctive

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from

نبوده

b-w-d → “hath never been”

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

مگر

m-g-r → “save through”

literal: matter; affair; thing

علی

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

قدر

q-d-r → “measure” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

مقصود

q-ṣ-d

literal: intention; purpose; aim; goal; to seek; to direct oneself

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

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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

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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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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 ¶

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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 ¶

Tablet of Aḥmad

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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 ¶

The Hidden Words

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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 ¶

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 ¶