Kitáb-i-Íqán — §143

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 143 of 291.

Source (Persian)

و اين فقر و غنا و ذلّت و عزّت و سلطنت و قدرت و مادون آن که نزد اين همج رعاع معتبر است در آن ساحت مذکورنيست. چنانچه می فرمايد: "يَا اَيُّهَا النّاسُ انتُمُ الفُقَرَاءُ إلَی اللّه و اللّهُ هُوَ الغَنِيُّ." پس مقصود از غنا، غنای از ما سوی است و از فقر، فقر باللّه.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

This poverty and these riches, this abasement and glory, this dominion, power, and the like, upon which the eyes and hearts of these vain and foolish souls are set,—all these things fade into utter nothingness in that Court! Even as He hath said: “O men! Ye are but paupers in need of God; but God is the Rich, the Self-Sufficing.” By ‘riches’ therefore is meant independence of all else but God, and by ‘poverty’ the lack of things that are of God.

Translation Notes

اين

ʾ-y-n → “This”

literal: this; these

فقر

f-q-r → “poverty”

literal: poor; needy; the poor one; pauper

غنا

gh-n-y → “riches”

literal: to be independent of; to be in no need of; to dispense with

ذلّت

dh-l-l → “abasement”

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

عزّت

ʿ-z-z → “glory”

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

سلطنت

s-l-ṭ → “dominion” Distinctive

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

قدرت

q-d-r → “power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

مادون

d-w-n → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: below; lower than; beneath

آن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

نزد

n-z-d

literal: near; beside; with; in the presence of

همج

h-m-j → “abject”

literal: vain; base-born; worthless; confused rabble

رعاع

r-ʿ-ʿ → “foolish”

literal: rabble; base people; contemptible; foolish; vile

معتبر

ʿ-b-r → “tears” Distinctive

literal: credible; reliable; worthy of trust; esteemed

است

b-w-d

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

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ساحت

s-w-ḥ → “Court”

literal: court; presence; domain; vicinity

مذکورنيست.

dh-k-r → “mentioned” Distinctive

literal: mention; mentioned; remembrance

چنانچه

ch-n-n → “Even as”

literal: thus; in such manner; as

می

m-y-y → “will be made”

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

فرمايد:

f-r-m → “said”

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

اَيُّهَا

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

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

النّاسُ

n-ʾ-s → “men”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

انتُمُ

n-t-m → “you”

literal: you

إلَی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

هُوَ

h-w → “is”

literal: He; He is

پس

p-s → “From”

literal: then; then, therefore; therefore

مقصود

q-ṣ-d → “is meant”

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

از

ʾ-z → “By” Distinctive

literal: from

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

سوی

s-w-y → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: worst; evil; bad; other than; besides; save; except

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-’Ahd

Bahá’u’lláh

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

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 ¶