Kitáb-i-Íqán — §103

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 103 of 291.

Source (Persian)

لطائف و جواهر اين باب آنکه بر صاحبان نفوس زکيّه و مرايای قدسيّه مبرهن و واضح شود که شموس حقيقت و مرايای احديّت در هر عصر و زمان که از خيام غيب هويّه به عالم شهاده ظهور می فرمايند برای تربيت ممکنات و ابلاغ فيض بر همه موجودات، با سلطنتی قاهر و سطوتی غالب ظاهر می شوند. چه که اين جواهر مخزونه و کنوز غيبيّه مکنونه محلّ ظهور يَفعَلُ اللّهُ ما يَشاءُ وَ يَحکُمُ ما يُريد اند.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

THE significance and essential purpose underlying these words is to reveal and demonstrate unto the pure in heart and the sanctified in spirit that they Who are the Luminaries of truth and the Mirrors reflecting the light of divine Unity, in whatever age and cycle they are sent down from their invisible habitations of ancient glory unto this world, to educate the souls of men and endue with grace all created things, are invariably endowed with an all-compelling power, and invested with invincible sovereignty. For these hidden Gems, these concealed and invisible Treasures, in themselves manifest and vindicate the reality of these holy words: “Verily God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.”

Translation Notes

لطائف

l-ṭ-f → “loving-kindness” Distinctive

literal: kindness; grace; gentleness; benevolence

جواهر

j-w-h-r → “Essences”

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

باب

b-w-b → “words”

literal: door; gate; chapter; way; manner

آنکه

ʾ-n → “is”

literal: that; indeed; that, to

بر

b-r-r → “unto”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

صاحبان

ṣ-ḥ-b → “they”

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

نفوس

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

زکيّه

z-k-y → “may purify”

literal: pure; sanctified; chaste

مرايای

r-ʾ-y → “Mirrors”

literal: to guard, watch over, regard, heed, respect, maintain

قدسيّه

q-d-s → “sanctified” Distinctive

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

مبرهن

b-r-h-n → “testimonies” Distinctive

literal: human; mankind; human nature

واضح

w-ḍ-ḥ → “evident”

literal: clear; evident; manifest; obvious

شود

sh-w-d → “are” Distinctive

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

شموس

sh-m-s → “Luminaries”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

حقيقت

ḥ-q-q → “truth”

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

احديّت

ʾ-ḥ-d → “Unity”

literal: oneness; uniqueness; absolute unity; singularity of God

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

عصر

ʿ-ṣ-r → “age”

literal: age; era; century; period of time

زمان

z-m-n → “earth” Distinctive

literal: time; age; era; period

از

ʾ-z → “from their”

literal: from

خيام

kh-y-m → “tabernacle”

literal: tent; encampment

غيب

gh-y-b → “invisible”

literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable; stranger; foreign; alien; separated

هويّه

h-w-y → “desires”

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

به

b-h → “unto”

literal: by it; by him; with it

عالم

ʿ-l-m → “world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

شهاده

sh-h-d

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

می

m-y-y

literal: present continuous marker; continuous-marker

فرمايند

f-r-m → “He” Distinctive

literal: to say; to decree; to ordain; to command

برای

b-r-y → “to”

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

تربيت

r-b-y → “education”

literal: education; upbringing; training; cultivation

ممکنات

m-k-n → “created things”

literal: to do; to make; to perform; to be

ابلاغ

b-l-gh → “teach” Distinctive

literal: reach; reached; attainment

فيض

f-y-ḍ → “grace”

literal: flood; abundance; overflow; emanation; grace

همه

h-m-h → “all”

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

موجودات،

w-j-d

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

با

b-ʾ-ʾ → “with”

literal: to; with; by

سلطنتی

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

قاهر

q-h-r → “supreme”

literal: to overpower; to vanquish; wrath; might; force; compulsion; overwhelming

سطوتی

s-ṭ-w → “dominion”

literal: power; might/power; might

غالب

gh-l-b → “ascendancy” Distinctive

literal: to overcome, overpower, vanquish, prevail

چه

ch-h → “For”

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

مخزونه

kh-z-n → “hidden” Distinctive

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

کنوز

k-n-z → “Treasures”

literal: treasure; treasure-trove; hidden store; treasury

غيبيّه

gh-y-b → “invisible”

literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable; stranger; foreign; alien; separated

مکنونه

k-n-n → “hidden”

literal: to do; to make; to perform

محلّ

ḥ-l-l → “place”

literal: place; location; spot

يَفعَلُ

f-ʿ-l → “doeth”

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

اللّهُ

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يَشاءُ

sh-y-ʾ → “willeth”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

يَحکُمُ

ḥ-k-m → “ordaineth”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

يُريد

r-y-d → “He”

literal: will; intention; to will; to intend; to wish

اند.

b-w-d → “are”

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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.

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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.

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Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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16 ¶

Prayers and Meditations

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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 ¶