Skip to main content

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

می
m-y-y “will”

literal: present continuous marker; continuous-marker

3 occurrences in corpus

آيد
áyd ʾ-y-d

literal: may aid

SE rendered آخريّت (ákhrírt)بر (br)مربّی (mrbbí)غيب (ghíb)شهود (shhúd)می (mí)آيد (áyd)همان (hmán)قسم (qsm)بر (br)مظاهر (mẓáhr)صادق (ṣádq) as ““last”, unto, Educator, invisible, visible, in, Manifestations, applicable”

assist 50% may 17% aid 17% “seal.” 17%
هيچ
hích h-y-ch “no”

literal: any

SE rendered صِرف (ṣirf)مفقود (mfqúd)بَحت (baḥt)بينی (bíní)ديگر (dígr)هيچ (hích)حجبات (ḥjbát)اشارات (ishárát)کلمات (klmát) as “utterly, forgotten, completely, find, longer, no, veils, allusions, terms”

5 occurrences in corpus

نشوی
nshúy sh-d

literal: become; to become; became

SE rendered حجبات (ḥjbát)اشارات (ishárát)کلمات (klmát)محتجب (mḥtjb)نشوی (nshúy)چه (chh)لطيف (lṭíf)بلند (blnd)مقام (mqám) as “veils, allusions, terms, obscured, How, ethereal, lofty, station”

have 36% hath 14% may 14% made 12% become 5% mayest 5% can 5% will 3% mentioned 3% had 3%
بی

literal: without; is; to

5 occurrences in corpus

سبيل
sbíl s-b-l

literal: path; way; path/way

SE rendered مقام (mqám)جبرئيل، (jbrʾíl،)بی (bí)دليل (dlíl)سبيل (sbíl)نجويد (njúyd)طير (ṭír)قدسی (qdsí)بی (bí)اعانت (iʿánt)غيبی (ghíbí) as “station, Gabriel, unshepherded, attain, Bird, Heaven, unassisted”

path 72% way 12% straight 3% sake 3% road 2% means 2% state 2% door 2% self 2% path!” 2%

Source: Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶