Kitáb-i-Íqán — §200

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 200 of 291.

Source (Persian)

مثل اينکه مذکور شد در سؤال از اهلّه که از سيّد وجود نمودند و آن حضرت به امر الهی جواب فرمود که "هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ للنّاسِ." بعد از استماع، نفی علم از آن حضرت نمودند.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

For instance, when Muhammad, the Lord of being, was questioned concerning the new moons, He, as bidden by God, made reply: “They are periods appointed unto men.” Thereupon, they that heard Him denounced Him as an ignorant man.

Translation Notes

مثل

m-th-l → “For instance” Distinctive

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

اينکه

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter” Distinctive

literal: that, the fact that, this (demonstrative particle)

مذکور

dh-k-r

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

شد

sh-d

literal: to become; to be

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

سؤال

s-ʾ-l → “was questioned”

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

اهلّه

ʾ-h-l → “people”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

سيّد

s-y-d → “my Master” Distinctive

literal: master; lord; chief; my master

وجود

w-j-d → “of being”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

نمودند

n-m-ود

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

آن

ʾ-n → “they that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “He” Distinctive

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

امر

ʾ-m-r

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

الهی

ʾ-l-h → “by God”

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

جواب

j-w-b → “made reply”

literal: answer, reply, response

فرمود

f-r-m

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

"هِيَ

h-y → ““They are”

literal: they (feminine), she

مَوَاقِيتُ

w-q-t → “periods appointed”

literal: time; appointed time; times

للنّاسِ."

n-ʾ-s → “unto men.””

literal: people; people, mankind; people/mankind

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “Thereupon” Distinctive

literal: after; behind; distance

استماع،

s-m-ʿ → “heard” Distinctive

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

نفی

n-f-y → “denial”

literal: is not; not to be; does not exist; negation, denial, banishment; to negate, deny, banish; contradiction; opposition; contrariety

علم

ʿ-l-m → “knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

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

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

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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

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 ¶