Skip to main content

Kitáb-i-Íqán — §218

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 218 of 291.

Source (Persian)

و مجاهدين فی اللّه بعد از انقطاع از ما سوی چنان به آن مدينه انس گيرند که آنی از آن منفکّ نشوند. دلائل قطعيّه را از سنبل آن محفل شنوند و براهين واضحه را از جمال گل و نوای بلبل اخذ نمايند. و اين مدينه در رأس هزار سنه اَو اَزيد اَو اقلّ تجديد شود و تزيين يابد.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

They that valiantly labour in quest of God’s will, when once they have renounced all else but Him, will be so attached and wedded to that City that a moment’s separation from it would to them be unthinkable. They will hearken unto infallible proofs from the Hyacinth of that assembly, and receive the surest testimonies from the beauty of its Rose and the melody of its Nightingale. Once in about a thousand years shall this City be renewed and re-adorned.

Translation Notes

از

literal: from

SE rendered مجاهدين (mjáhdín)اللّه (al-lh)از (iz)انقطاع (inqṭáʿ)از (iz)سوی (súy)چنان (chnán) as “They that valiantly labour, of God’s, from, renounced, but, so”

23 occurrences in corpus

انس
ins ʾ-n-s

literal: man; companion; human

SE rendered سوی (súy)چنان (chnán)مدينه (mdính)انس (ins)گيرند (gírnd)آنی (ání)از (iz)منفکّ (mnfkk) as “but, so, City, will be, a moment’s, separation”

fellowship 17% men 17% enjoyed 17% commune 17% joyful 17% communion 17%
گيرند
gírnd g-y-r “abide” Distinctive

literal: take; takes; to take

This form usually rendered as “will” (2 occurrences)

abide 33% will 33% walk 33%
نشوند
nshúnd sh-d

literal: become; to become; became

SE rendered گيرند (gírnd)آنی (ání)از (iz)منفکّ (mnfkk)نشوند (nshúnd)دلائل (dláʾl)قطعيّه (qṭʿíʿh)از (iz)سنبل (snbl) as “will be, a moment’s, from, separation, proofs, infallible, Hyacinth”

have 36% hath 14% may 14% made 12% become 5% mayest 5% can 5% will 3% mentioned 3% had 3%
نوای
núáy n-w-y “melody”

literal: melody

2 occurrences in corpus

اَزيد
azíd z-y-d

literal: increase; more; increased

SE rendered مدينه (mdính)رأس (rʾas)هزار (hzár)سنه (snh)اَزيد (azíd)اقلّ (iqll)تجديد (tjdíd)تزيين (tzíyn) as “City, Once in, about a thousand, years, renewed, re-adorned”

waxed 20% increase 13% increasing 13% increased 13% grievous 7% greater 7% did 7% “thus 7% will 7% shall 7%
اقلّ
iqll q-l-l

literal: less; little

SE rendered رأس (rʾas)هزار (hzár)سنه (snh)اَزيد (azíd)اقلّ (iqll)تجديد (tjdíd)تزيين (tzíyn) as “Once in, about a thousand, years, renewed, re-adorned”

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 ¶