Kitáb-i-Íqán — §108

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 108 of 291.

Source (Persian)

قسم به خدا ای مخدوم من، اگر قدری در اين عبارات تفکّر فرمائی ابواب حکمت الهيّه و مصاريع علم نامتناهی را بر وجه خود گشوده يابی.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I swear by God, O esteemed and honoured friend! Shouldst thou ponder these words in thine heart, thou wilt of a certainty find the doors of divine wisdom and infinite knowledge flung open before thy face.

Translation Notes

قسم

q-s-m → “swear”

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem

به

b-h → “by” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

خدا

kh-d-ʾ → “God”

literal: God; the Divine

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

مخدوم

kh-d-m → “serve” Distinctive

literal: service; servitude; to serve

من،

m-n

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

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

قدری

q-d-r

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

عبارات

ʿ-b-r

literal: expression; phrase; utterance; statement; passage; wording

تفکّر

f-k-r → “ponder”

literal: thoughts; ideas; fancies; opinions

فرمائی

f-r-m

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

ابواب

b-w-b → “doors”

literal: door; gate; chapter; way; manner

حکمت

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

الهيّه

ʾ-l-h → “divine”

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

مصاريع

ṣ-r-ʿ

literal: slain; slain/prostrate; door

علم

ʿ-l-m → “knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

نامتناهی

m-n-ʿ → “infinite”

literal: the end, limit, utmost bound; Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

بر

b-r-r → “righteous” Distinctive

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

وجه

w-j-h → “face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

خود

kh-w-d → “their own”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

گشوده

g-sh-ʾ → “Redeemer” Distinctive

literal: to open; to unlock; opened

يابی.

y-ʾ-b → “find”

literal: find; rare; perceive/find

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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Fire Tablet

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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-’Ahd

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The Book of the Covenant — Bahá’u’lláh’s Will and Testament, written entirely in His own hand and unsealed on the ninth day after His ascension. It designates ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and establishes what Shoghi Effendi called the mightiest Covenant in all religious history.

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 ¶