Kitáb-i-Íqán — §174

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 174 of 291.

Source (Persian)

باری، همان قسمی که در اوّل لا اوّل صدق آخريّت بر آن مربّی غيب و شهود می آيد همان قسم هم بر مظاهر او صادق می آيد. و در حينی که اسم اوّليّت صادق است همان حين اسم آخريّت صادق. و در حينی که بر سرير بدئيّت جالس اند همان حين بر عرش ختميّت ساکن. و اگر بصر حديد يافت شود مشاهده می نمايد که مظهر اوّليّت و آخريّت و ظاهريّت و باطنيّت و بدئيّت و ختميّت، اين ذوات مقدّسه و ارواح مجرّده و انفس الهيّه هستند. و اگر در هوای قدس "کَانَ اللّهُ وَ لَم يَکُن مَعَهُ مِن شَیءٍ" طائر شوی جميع اين اسماء را در آن ساحت معدوم صِرف و مفقود بَحت بينی و ديگر هيچ به اين حجبات و اشارات و کلمات محتجب نشوی. چه لطيف و بلند است اين مقام که جبرئيل، بی دليل سبيل نجويد و طير قدسی بی اعانت غيبی طيران نتواند.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Even as in the “Beginning that hath no beginnings” the term “last” is truly applicable unto Him who is the Educator of the visible and of the invisible, in like manner, are the terms “first” and “last” applicable unto His Manifestations. They are at the same time the Exponents of both the “first” and the “last.” Whilst established upon the seat of the “first,” they occupy the throne of the “last.” Were a discerning eye to be found, it will readily perceive that the exponents of the “first” and the “last,” of the “manifest” and the “hidden,” of the “beginning” and the “seal” are none other than these holy Beings, these Essences of Detachment, these divine Souls. And wert thou to soar in the holy realm of “God was alone, there was none else besides Him,” thou wilt find in that Court all these names utterly non-existent and completely forgotten. Then will thine eyes no longer be obscured by these veils, these terms, and allusions. How ethereal and lofty is this station, unto which even Gabriel, unshepherded, can never attain, and the Bird of Heaven, unassisted, can never reach!

Translation Notes

باری،

b-r-y → “Briefly”

literal: well; cistern; pit

همان

h-m → “all” Distinctive

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

قسمی

q-s-m → “swear” Distinctive

literal: oath; division; kind; type

که

k-h → “that hath”

literal: that; who; who, that

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

اوّل

ʾ-w-l → ““Beginning”

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

لا

l-ʾ → “no”

literal: no; not; negation particle

صدق

ṣ-d-q → “applicable” Distinctive

literal: to confirm; to verify; to acknowledge; to testify to truth

آخريّت

ʾ-kh-r → ““last””

literal: lastness; end; finally

بر

b-r-r → “unto”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

آن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

مربّی

r-b-b → “Educator”

literal: father; paternal

غيب

gh-y-b → “invisible”

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

شهود

sh-h-d → “visible”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

می

m-y-y → “will be made”

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

آيد

ʾ-y-d

literal: come; support; may aid

هم

h-m-m

literal: endeavor; effort; also

مظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “Manifestations”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

او

h-w-w → “His”

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

حينی

ḥ-y-n → “time”

literal: time; moment; while; season

اسم

s-m-w → “Exponents” Distinctive

literal: name; title; designation

سرير

s-r-r → “seat”

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

بدئيّت

b-d-ʾ → “Source” Distinctive

literal: beginning; beginning, origin; origin

جالس

j-l-s → “established”

literal: council; assembly; gathering; session

اند

b-w-d → “are”

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

عرش

ʿ-r-sh → “throne”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

ختميّت

kh-t-m → “Seal”

literal: seal; sealed; end

ساکن.

s-k-n → “inmates” Distinctive

literal: stillness, rest, quietude, tranquility

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

بصر

b-ṣ-r → “discerning” Distinctive

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

حديد

ḥ-d-d → “limitations” Distinctive

literal: iron; sharp, keen, acute

يافت

y-f-t → “have kept both” Distinctive

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

شود

sh-w-d → “be”

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

نمايد

n-m-ʾ → “will” Distinctive

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

باطنيّت

b-ṭ-n → ““hidden,””

literal: inward; inner; hidden

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

ذوات

dh-w-w → “Dhi’l-Jawshan” Distinctive

literal: possessor of; one having; those having

مقدّسه

q-d-s → “holy”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

ارواح

r-w-ḥ → “Essences”

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

مجرّده

j-r-d → “Detachment”

literal: neck; throat

انفس

n-f-s → “Souls”

literal: self; soul; souls

الهيّه

ʾ-l-h → “divine”

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

هستند.

h-s-t → “are”

literal: to be; to exist

هوای

h-w-y → “desire”

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

"کَانَ

k-w-n → “be” Distinctive

literal: is; to be (third person singular present); to be one; oneness; unity

لَم

l-y-s → “not”

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

مَعَهُ

m-ʿ → “notwithstanding”

literal: معه = مع + ه (with him), preposition, not from root ع-م-م

مِن

m-n

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

شَیءٍ"

sh-y-ʾ → “things” Distinctive

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

طائر

ṭ-y-r → “soar”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

شوی

sh-d-n → “hath been” Distinctive

literal: be; become

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

ساحت

s-w-ḥ → “Court”

literal: court; presence; domain; vicinity

معدوم

ʿ-d-m → “nothingness”

literal: nonexistent; void; nullified

صِرف

ṣ-r-f → “utterly”

literal: pure; absolute; to turn away; to expend

مفقود

f-q-d → “forgotten”

literal: to lose; to miss; lost; missing

بَحت

b-ḥ-t → “utter”

literal: mere; pure; absolute; sheer

بينی

b-y-n → “utterance” Distinctive

literal: building, structure, edifice; to build, construct; structure, edifice

ديگر

d-g-r → “another”

literal: home; place; land; abode

هيچ

h-y-ch → “no”

literal: nothing; any; not a single

به

b-h → “by” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

حجبات

ḥ-j-b → “veils”

literal: to veil oneself, to be veiled

اشارات

sh-y-r → “allusions”

literal: explanation; commentary; to explain; to open

کلمات

k-l-m → “terms” Distinctive

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

نشوی.

sh-d

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

چه

ch-h → “For”

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

لطيف

l-ṭ-f → “ethereal”

literal: kindness; grace; gentleness; benevolence

بلند

b-l-n-d → “lofty”

literal: high; lofty; raised; to raise

مقام

q-w-m → “station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

جبرئيل،

j-b-r → “dominion”

literal: might; might/omnipotence; dominion

بی

b-y → “unshepherded”

literal: without; is; to

دليل

d-l-l → “proof”

literal: to argue; to demonstrate; proof

سبيل

s-b-l

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

نجويد

j-s-t → “have clung”

literal: seek; sought; to seek

اعانت

ʿ-w-n → “aid”

literal: help; aid; helper; supporter

نتواند.

t-w-ʾ-n → “unto Thy weak creatures” Distinctive

literal: to be able, can; power, strength

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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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.

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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.

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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 ¶