Kitáb-i-Íqán — §287

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 287 of 291.

Source (Persian)

وَ اَختِمُ القَولَ بقَولِه تعالی: "وَ مَنْ يَعْشُ عن ذِکْرِ الرَّحمَنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرينٌ." " وَ مَنْ اَعرَضَ عَنْ ذِکْرِی فإنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْکاً."

Shoghi Effendi Translation

We conclude Our argument with His words—exalted is He—“And whoso shall withdraw from the remembrance of the Merciful, We will chain a Satan unto him, and he shall be his fast companion.” “And whoso turneth away from My remembrance, truly his shall be a life of misery.”

Translation Notes

اَختِمُ

kh-t-m → “conclude”

literal: to seal; to conclude; to end; seal

القَولَ

q-w-l → “Say” Distinctive

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

تعالی:

ʿ-l-w → “is He—“And” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

"وَ

w-w-w

literal: and; quotation mark

مَنْ

m-n → “whoso” Distinctive

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

يَعْشُ

ʿ-sh-w → “daytime” Distinctive

literal: evening; night; evening/afternoon

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

ذِکْرِ

dh-k-r → “remembrance” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

الرَّحمَنِ

r-ḥ-m → “Merciful”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

نُقَيِّضْ

q-y-ḍ → “chain”

literal: assign/appoint

لَهُ

h-w → “is”

literal: for them both; to both of them (dual pronoun)

شَيطَاناً

sh-ṭ-n → “Satan”

literal: Satan; devil; evil one; accursed one

قَرينٌ."

q-r-n → “centuries” Distinctive

literal: century; century, age; centuries

اَعرَضَ

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turneth away”

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

فإنَّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

مَعِيشَةً

ʿ-y-sh → “living” Distinctive

literal: living; livelihood; life/livelihood

ضَنْکاً."

ḍ-n-k → “misery.””

literal: miserable/straitened

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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729 ¶

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16 ¶

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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 ¶

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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 ¶

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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 ¶