Kitáb-i-Íqán — §212

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 212 of 291.

Source (Persian)

و چون مفهوم گشت که تغنّيات ورقاء هويّه را احدی ادراک ننمايد الّا اهلش لهذا بر هر نفسی لازم و واجب است که مشکلات مسائل الهيّه و معضلات اشارات مطالع قدسيّه را بر صاحبان افئده منيره و حاملان اسرار احديّه عرضه دارد تا به تأييدات ربّانی و افاضات الهی حلّ مسائل شود نه به تأييدات علوم اکتسابی. " فَاسْئَلُوا اَهلَ الذِّکْرِ إن کُنْتُمْ لا تَعْلَمونَ."

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Inasmuch as it hath been clearly shown that only those who are initiated into the divine mysteries can comprehend the melodies uttered by the Bird of Heaven, it is therefore incumbent upon every one to seek enlightenment from the illumined in heart and from the Treasuries of divine mysteries regarding the intricacies of God’s Faith and the abstruse allusions in the utterances of the Day-springs of Holiness. Thus will these mysteries be unravelled, not by the aid of acquired learning, but solely through the assistance of God and the outpourings of His grace. “Ask ye, therefore, of them that have the custody of the Scriptures, if ye know it not.”

Translation Notes

چون

ch-w-n

literal: since; when; as

مفهوم

f-h-m → “understanding” Distinctive

literal: understanding; comprehension; to understand; to comprehend

گشت

g-sh-t → “hath been”

literal: to become; to turn; to be

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

تغنّيات

gh-n-y → “wealth” Distinctive

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

ورقاء

w-r-q → “Bird of Heaven”

literal: leaf, page, sheet, parchment, document

هويّه

h-w-y

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

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

احدی

ʾ-ḥ-d → “none”

literal: oneness; unity; absolute unicity; singleness of divine essence

ادراک

d-r-k → “comprehend”

literal: to overtake; to catch; to reach; to attain; to perceive; to comprehend

ننمايد

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to appear; to show; to display; to exhibit

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

اهلش

ʾ-h-l → “people”

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

لهذا

l-dh-ʾ → “therefore”

literal: therefore; for this reason; hence; so

بر

b-r-r → “upon”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

نفسی

n-f-s → “one”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

لازم

l-z-m → “incumbent”

literal: necessary, incumbent, obligatory, essential

واجب

w-j-b

literal: incumbent; obligatory; necessary; required

است

b-w-d → “is”

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

مشکلات

sh-k-l → “difficult” Distinctive

literal: formation; constitution; establishment; composition; to form; to establish

مسائل

s-ʾ-l → “I implore Thee” Distinctive

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

الهيّه

ʾ-l-h → “of God’s”

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

معضلات

ʿ-ḍ-l

literal: difficult problems; perplexing questions; complicated issues

اشارات

sh-y-r → “abstruse allusions”

literal: explanation; commentary; to explain; to open

مطالع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Dayspring”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

قدسيّه

q-d-s → “of Holiness”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

صاحبان

ṣ-ḥ-b → “companions” Distinctive

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

افئده

f-ʾ-d

literal: heart, innermost soul, mind; heart; inner consciousness; mind; one who benefits; advantageous

منيره

n-w-r

literal: light; illumination

حاملان

ḥ-m-l → “bear”

literal: to bear; to endure; to carry; to tolerate

اسرار

s-r-r → “divine mysteries”

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

عرضه

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turned away” Distinctive

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

دارد

d-ʾ-r → “repository” Distinctive

literal: to have; to hold; to possess; to maintain

تا

t-y-y → “so that”

literal: so that/until

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

تأييدات

ʾ-y-d → “assistance of”

literal: to support, assist, strengthen, confirm; to support; to assist; to strengthen; to aid; confirmation; support; strengthening

ربّانی

r-b-b → “God”

literal: education; upbringing; training; cultivation

افاضات

f-y-ḍ → “grace” Distinctive

literal: flood; abundance; overflow; emanation; grace; overflowing; emanating; surplus

حلّ

ḥ-l-l → “place” Distinctive

literal: place; location; spot

شود

sh-w-d

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

نه

n-h-y → “not” Distinctive

literal: end; ended; utmost

علوم

ʿ-l-m → “acquired learning”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

اکتسابی.

k-s-b

literal: to acquire, earn, gain; to bring upon (oneself); to gain; to acquire; earning; livelihood

فَاسْئَلُوا

s-ʾ-l → “beseech” Distinctive

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

الذِّکْرِ

dh-k-r → “mention”

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

إن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

کُنْتُمْ

k-w-n → “ye”

literal: to do; to make; to perform; to be; was

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

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 ¶