Kitáb-i-Íqán — §219

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 219 of 291.

Source (Persian)

پس ای حبيب من، بايد جهدی نمود تا به آن مدينه واصل شويم و به عنايت الهيّه و تفقّدات ربّانيّه کشف سُبُحات جلال نمائيم تا به استقامت تمام جان پژمرده را در ره محبوب تازه نثار نمائيم و صد هزار عجز و نياز آريم تا به آن فوز فائز شويم. و آن مدينه کتب الهيّه است در هر عهدی. مثلاً در عهد موسی تورات بود و در زمن عيسی انجيل و در عهد محمّد رسول اللّه فرقان و در اين عصر بيان و درعهد مَن يَبْعَثُهُ اللّه کتاب او که رجوع کلّ کتب به آن است و مهيمن است بر جميع کتب. و در اين مدائن، ارزاق مقدّر است و نعم باقيه مقرّر. غذای روحانی بخشد و نعمت قدمانی چشاند. بر اهل تجريد نعمت توحيد عطا فرمايد، بی نصيبان را نصيب کرم نمايد و آوارگان صحرای جهل را کأس علم عنايت کند. و هدايت و عنايت و علم و معرفت و ايمان و ايقان کلّ من فی السّموات و الارض در اين مدائن مکنون و مخزون گشته.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Wherefore, O my friend, it behooveth Us to exert the highest endeavour to attain unto that City, and, by the grace of God and His loving-kindness, rend asunder the “veils of glory”; so that, with inflexible steadfastness, we may sacrifice our drooping souls in the path of the New Beloved. We should with tearful eyes, fervently and repeatedly, implore Him to grant us the favour of that grace. That city is none other than the Word of God revealed in every age and dispensation. In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus the Gospel; in the days of Muhammad the Messenger of God the Qur’án; in this day the Bayán; and in the dispensation of Him Whom God will make manifest His own Book—the Book unto which all the Books of former Dispensations must needs be referred, the Book which standeth amongst them all transcendent and supreme. In these cities spiritual sustenance is bountifully provided, and incorruptible delights have been ordained. The food they bestow is the bread of heaven, and the Spirit they impart is God’s imperishable blessing. Upon detached souls they bestow the gift of Unity, enrich the destitute, and offer the cup of knowledge unto them who wander in the wilderness of ignorance. All the guidance, the blessings, the learning, the understanding, the faith, and certitude, conferred upon all that is in heaven and on earth, are hidden and treasured within these Cities.

Translation Notes

پس

p-s → “From”

literal: then; then, therefore; therefore

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

حبيب

ḥ-b-b → “my” Distinctive

literal: love; affection

من،

m-n → “from”

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

بايد

b-y-d → “must”

literal: by hand; with hands; eternal; perpetual; everlasting

جهدی

j-h-d → “Strive” Distinctive

literal: effort; striving; exertion; endeavor

نمود

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to become; to be

تا

t-y-y → “to” Distinctive

literal: so that/until

به

b-h → “unto”

literal: by it; by him; with it

آن

ʾ-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

مدينه

m-d-n → “City”

literal: city; month; fame, renown

واصل

w-ṣ-l → “attain”

literal: reunion; union; meeting; connection

شويم

sh-w → “been” Distinctive

literal: become; to become; became

عنايت

ʿ-n-y → “grace”

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

الهيّه

ʾ-l-h → “of God”

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

تفقّدات

f-q-d → “forgotten” Distinctive

literal: to lose; to miss; lost; missing

ربّانيّه

r-b-b → “His” Distinctive

literal: divine; of God; lordly

کشف

k-sh-f → “unveiled” Distinctive

literal: unveiling; disclosure; revelation

سُبُحات

s-b-ḥ → ““veils”

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

جلال

j-l-l → “glory””

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

استقامت

q-w-m → “steadfastness”

literal: sickness; disease; ailment

تمام

t-m-m → “all”

literal: most complete; to complete; perfect; fullness

جان

j-ʾ-n → “souls”

literal: soul; life; spirit; self

پژمرده

p-zh-m → “despondent” Distinctive

literal: withered; wilted; drooping; faded

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ره

r-w-h

literal: path; way; path, way

تازه

t-ʾ-z

literal: fresh; new; renewed

نثار

n-th-r → “threw down”

literal: scattering; sacrifice; offering; to scatter or lay down

صد

ṣ-d

literal: hundred

هزار

h-z-r

literal: thousand

عجز

ʿ-j-z

literal: to be unable; to fail; to be exhausted; impotence; أعجاز (roots of trees/extremities) is Pattern II plural, distinct from ‘inability’ forms

نياز

n-y-ʾ-z → “All-Sufficing”

literal: also; likewise; and; as well; too

آريم

ʾ-r-d

literal: to hope; to expect

فائز

f-w-z → “attain”

literal: to attain; to gain; to succeed; to win

کتب

k-t-b → “Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

است

b-w-d → “is”

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

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

عهدی.

ʿ-h-d → “dispensation”

literal: covenant; testament; promise; command

مثلاً

m-th-l

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

تورات

t-w-r → “second”

literal: Torah, Pentateuch, the Book of Moses

زمن

z-m-n → “days”

literal: time; age; era; period

انجيل

n-j-l → “Gospel”

literal: Gospel; the Good Tidings

محمّد

ḥ-m-d → “thanks”

literal: praise; Muhammad; praised

رسول

r-s-l → “Messenger”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

فرقان

f-r-q → “Qur’án”

literal: faction; sect; group; company

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

عصر

ʿ-ṣ-r → “day”

literal: age; era; century; period of time

بيان

b-y-n → “Bayán” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

يَبْعَثُهُ

b-ʿ-th → “will make manifest”

literal: to send; to raise up; to dispatch

او

h-w-w → “is”

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

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

رجوع

r-j-ʿ → “referred” Distinctive

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

مهيمن

h-y-m-n → “Help in Peril”

literal: Guardian; Preserver; Protector; Overseer

بر

b-r-r → “righteous” Distinctive

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

ارزاق

r-z-q → “sustenance”

literal: sustenance; provision; to grant livelihood

مقدّر

q-d-r → “power” Distinctive

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

نعم

n-ʿ-m → “delights” Distinctive

literal: bliss; bounty; grace; comfort; felicity

باقيه

b-q-y → “incorruptible”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal; permanence; duration; continuance

مقرّر.

q-r-r → “ordained” Distinctive

literal: abode; place; established

غذای

gh-dh-w → “food”

literal: food; nourishment; sustenance

روحانی

r-w-ḥ → “spiritual”

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

بخشد

b-kh-sh → “grace” Distinctive

literal: to grant; to give; to forgive; to bestow

قدمانی

q-d-m → “Ancient of Days”

literal: ancient; step; eternity

چشاند.

ch-sh-ʾ → “impart”

literal: taste

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

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

تجريد

j-r-d

literal: neck; throat

توحيد

w-ḥ-d → “Unity”

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

عطا

ʿ-ṭ-w → “bestow”

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

فرمايد،

f-r-m → “saith”

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

بی

b-y

literal: without; is; to

نصيبان

n-ṣ-b → “portion” Distinctive

literal: share; portion; lot; fate

کرم

k-r-m → “bounty”

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field; honor; generosity; nobility

آوارگان

ʾ-w-ʾ-r → “wander”

literal: wanderers; wanderer

صحرای

ṣ-ḥ-r → “wilderness”

literal: desert; wilderness

جهل

j-h-l → “ignorance”

literal: ignorant; foolish; the ignorant ones

کأس

k-ʾ-s → “cup”

literal: cup; chalice; goblet

علم

ʿ-l-m → “knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

کند.

k-r-d → “made” Distinctive

literal: to do; to make; to act; to dig, excavate; slow

هدايت

h-d-y → “guidance”

literal: guidance; to guide; direction; leading rightly; this; this one

معرفت

ʿ-r-f → “understanding”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

ايمان

ʾ-m-n → “faith”

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

ايقان

y-q-n → “certitude”

literal: certainty; certitude; conviction; faith

فی

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

السّموات

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

مکنون

k-n-n → “hidden”

literal: to do; to make; to perform

مخزون

kh-z-n → “treasured”

literal: to store, to treasure; storehouse, depository, treasury

گشته.

g-sh-t

literal: become; became; to become

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

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

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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.

858 ¶

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

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

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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 ¶