Kitáb-i-Íqán — §265

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 265 of 291.

Source (Persian)

حال قدری تفکّر نمائيد، آيا چنين تصرّف و احاطه از احدی در امکان ظاهر شده؟ و جميع اين قلوب منزّهه و نفوس مقدّسه به کمال رضا در موارد قضا شتافتند و در مواقع شکايت، جز شُکر از ايشان ظاهر نه و در مواطن بلا، جز رضا از ايشان مشهود نه. و اين رتبه هم معلوم است که کلّ اهل ارض چه مقدار غلّ و بغض و عداوت به اين اصحاب داشتند. چنانچه اذيّت و ايذای آن طلعات قدسی معنوی را علّت فوز و رستگاری و سبب فلاح و نجاح ابدی می دانستند. آيا هرگز در هيچ تاريخی از عهد آدم تا حال چنين غوغائی در بلاد واقع شد و آيا چنين ضوضائی در ميان عباد ظاهر گشت؟ و با اين همه ايذاء و اذيّت، محلّ لعن جميع ناس شدند و محلّ ملامت جميع عباد. و گويا صبر در عالم کون از اصطبارشان ظاهر شد و وفا در ارکان عالم از فعلشان موجودگشت.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Reflect: Who in this world is able to manifest such transcendent power, such pervading influence? All these stainless hearts and sanctified souls have, with absolute resignation, responded to the summons of His decree. Instead of complaining, they rendered thanks unto God, and amidst the darkness of their anguish they revealed naught but radiant acquiescence to His will. It is evident how relentless was the hate, and how bitter the malice and enmity entertained by all the peoples of the earth towards these companions. The persecution and pain they inflicted on these holy and spiritual beings were regarded by them as means unto salvation, prosperity, and everlasting success. Hath the world, since the days of Adam, witnessed such tumult, such violent commotion? Notwithstanding all the torture they suffered, and manifold the afflictions they endured, they became the object of universal opprobrium and execration. Methinks patience was revealed only by virtue of their fortitude, and faithfulness itself was begotten only by their deeds.

Translation Notes

حال

ḥ-w-l → “Reflect” Distinctive

literal: state; condition; circumstance

تفکّر

f-k-r

literal: thoughts; ideas; fancies; opinions; to think; to reflect; to contemplate

نمائيد،

n-m-ʾ → “will” Distinctive

literal: to show, to display, to manifest, to exhibit; to manifest; to display; to show

آيا

ʾ-y-y → “signs”

literal: does; is it that (interrogative particle); sign; verse; O! (vocative particle); him; them (object pronoun)

چنين

ch-n-n → “likewise” Distinctive

literal: such; thus; in this manner; like this

تصرّف

ṣ-r-f → “treatment”

literal: to turn; to dispose; to manage affairs

احاطه

ḥ-w-ṭ → “encompassed”

literal: to encompass, surround, envelop, embrace

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

احدی

ʾ-ḥ-d

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

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

امکان

m-k-n → “world” Distinctive

literal: establishment; confirmation; empowerment; firm settlement; place; possibility; being (negated as ‘non-being’)

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “manifest”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “All”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

قلوب

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

منزّهه

n-z-h → “sanctified”

literal: exalted; sanctified; free from; removed from

نفوس

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche

مقدّسه

q-d-s → “sanctified”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

به

b-h → “with” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

کمال

k-m-l → “absolute”

literal: perfection; completeness; fully; with full; in complete; to complete, perfect, fulfill

رضا

r-ḍ-y → “Thy pleasure” Distinctive

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

موارد

w-r-d → “hath befallen” Distinctive

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

قضا

q-ḍ-y → “decree”

literal: requirement; exigency; what demands or calls for; to require; to necessitate; to demand

شتافتند

sh-t-f → “responded”

literal: to hasten; to rush

مواقع

w-q-ʿ → “occurred” Distinctive

literal: to fall, to occur, to happen; incident, event

شکايت،

sh-k-w → “complained”

literal: complaint; lamentation; protestation

جز

j-z → “but” Distinctive

literal: except

شُکر

sh-k-r → “thanks”

literal: thankfulness, gratitude; to give thanks, be grateful; manifest; evident; apparent; clear

ايشان

ʾ-y-sh → “Prophets”

literal: that; it (object pronoun with suffix)

نه

n-h-y → “forbidden”

literal: end; ended; utmost

مواطن

w-ṭ-n

literal: homeland; native country; dwelling place

بلا،

b-l-w → “tribulations” Distinctive

literal: no; not; negation particle

مشهود

sh-h-d → “revealed” Distinctive

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

رتبه

r-t-b

literal: rank; station; degree; time; instance

هم

h-m-m

literal: endeavor; effort; also

معلوم

ʿ-l-m → “evident”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

است

b-w-d → “is”

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

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “peoples”

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

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

چه

ch-h → “For”

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

مقدار

q-d-r → “how” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

غلّ

gh-l-l → “malice”

literal: one who envies; envious; malicious

بغض

b-gh-ḍ → “hate”

literal: hatred; enmity; animosity

عداوت

ʿ-d-w → “enmity”

literal: hostility, aggression, enmity, transgression

اصحاب

ṣ-ḥ-b → “companions”

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

داشتند.

d-ʾ-sh → “have been”

literal: to have; to hold; to keep

اذيّت

ʾ-dh-y → “persecution” Distinctive

literal: harm; hurt; injury; persecution; torment

آن

ʾ-n → “these”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

طلعات

ṭ-l-ʿ → “beings”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

معنوی

ʿ-n-y → “spiritual”

literal: meaning; sense; significance

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

علّت

ʿ-l-l → “cause”

literal: cause; reason; sick

فوز

f-w-z → “attain” Distinctive

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

رستگاری

r-s-t → “Verily” Distinctive

literal: steadfast; firm; firmly rooted; established

سبب

s-b-b

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

فلاح

f-l-ḥ

literal: felicity; prosperity; farmer

نجاح

n-j-ḥ → “success”

literal: success/prosperity

ابدی

ʾ-b-d → “never” Distinctive

literal: eternity; perpetuity; eternal; ابدیّه means ‘eternal’ from root أ-ب-د (eternity), not ب-د-ل (to change/exchange)

می

m-y-y

literal: what; which; that which; relative pronoun; interrogative

دانستند.

d-ʾ-n-s-t → “regarded”

literal: to know; know; known

هرگز

h-r-g

literal: never; at no time; never ever

هيچ

h-y-ch

literal: nothing; any; not a single

تاريخی

ʾ-r-kh

literal: history; historical record; to date

عهد

ʿ-h-d → “days” Distinctive

literal: covenant; testament; promise; command

تا

t-y-y → “so that”

literal: so that/until

غوغائی

gh-w-gh → “tumult”

literal: tumult

بلاد

b-l-d

literal: city; land; country

ضوضائی

ḍ-w-ḍ → “clamor” Distinctive

literal: tumult; clamor; commotion

ميان

m-y-n

literal: between; among; amid; in the midst of

عباد

ʿ-b-d

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

گشت؟

g-sh-t → “were”

literal: to become; to turn; to be

با

b-ʾ-ʾ

literal: to; with; by

همه

h-m-h → “all”

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

ايذاء

ʾ-dh-y → “woes”

literal: harm; hurt; injury; persecution; torment

محلّ

ḥ-l-l → “place”

literal: place; location; spot

لعن

l-ʿ-n → “accursed”

literal: to curse; to revile; curse

ناس

n-ʾ-s

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

شدند

sh-d → “became”

literal: to become; to be

ملامت

l-w-m → “blame”

literal: blame; blamer; blaming

گويا

g-w-y → “Methinks”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

صبر

ṣ-b-r → “patience”

literal: patience; forbearance; endurance; to be patient

کون

k-w-n → “was” Distinctive

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

وفا

w-f-y → “faithfulness”

literal: faithfulness; covenant-keeping; loyalty

ارکان

r-k-n

literal: pillar; cornerstone; support; fundamental element; limb; member

فعلشان

f-ʿ-l → “deeds”

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

موجودگشت.

m-w-j-d

literal: existent

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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50 ¶

Gleanings

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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

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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

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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 ¶