Kitáb-i-Íqán — §32

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 32 of 291.

Source (Persian)

و اينکه در مقام بيان و ذکر، تخصيص داده می شوند به بعضی از اسماء و صفات چنانچه شنيده ايد و می شنويد، نيست مگر برای ادراک عقول ناقصه ضعيفه و إلّا لم يزل و لايزال مقدّس بودهاند از هر اسمی و منزّه خواهند بود از هر وصفی. جواهر اسماء را به ساحت قدسشان راهی نه و لطائف صفات را در ملکوت عزّشان سبيلی نه. فَسُبحانَ اللّه مِن اَن يُعرَفَ اَصفياؤُه بِغَيرِ ذواتِهِم اَو يُوصَفَ اَولِياؤهُ بِغَيرِ اَنفُسِهِم. فَتَعالَی عَمّا يَذکُرُ العِبادُ فی وَصفِهِم و تعالَی عَمّا هُم يَعرِفُونَ.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

That these divine Luminaries seem to be confined at times to specific designations and attributes, as you have observed and are now observing, is due solely to the imperfect and limited comprehension of certain minds. Otherwise, they have been at all times, and will through eternity continue to be, exalted above every praising name, and sanctified from every descriptive attribute. The quintessence of every name can hope for no access unto their court of holiness, and the highest and purest of all attributes can never approach their kingdom of glory. Immeasurably high are the Prophets of God exalted above the comprehension of men, who can never know them except by their own Selves. Far be it from His glory that His chosen Ones should be magnified by any other than their own persons. Glorified are they above the praise of men; exalted are they above human understanding!

Translation Notes

اينکه

ʾ-y-n

literal: that, the fact that, this (demonstrative particle)

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

مقام

q-w-m

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

بيان

b-y-n → “utterance”

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

تخصيص

kh-ṣ-ṣ → “confined”

literal: specific matter; particularity; especially; in this matter

داده

d-ʾ-d

literal: below; lower than; beneath

می

m-y-y → “will be made”

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

شوند

sh-w-d → “be”

literal: become; to become; became

به

b-h → “to”

literal: by it; by him; with it

بعضی

b-ʿ-ḍ → “some”

literal: part; some; portion

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

صفات

w-ṣ-f → “attributes”

literal: attribute; quality; characteristic

چنانچه

ch-n-n → “likewise” Distinctive

literal: thus; in such manner; as

شنيده

sh-n-w → “heard”

literal: did not hear; has not heard

ايد

ʾ-y-d

literal: come; support; may aid

نيست

b-w-d → “is”

literal: is not; not to be; does not exist; negation, denial, banishment; to negate, deny, banish; contradiction; opposition; contrariety

مگر

m-g-r → “save through”

literal: matter; affair; thing

برای

b-r-y → “to”

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

ادراک

d-r-k → “comprehension” Distinctive

literal: veiling; concealment

عقول

ʿ-q-l → “minds”

literal: intellect; wise persons; to understand

ناقصه

n-q-ṣ → “imperfect”

literal: breaker; violator; one who breaks (covenant); covenant-breaker

ضعيفه

ḍ-ʿ-f → “limited”

literal: weak; feeble; imperfect

إلّا

ʾ-kh-r → “Otherwise”

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

لم

l-y-s

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

يزل

z-w-l → “at all times” Distinctive

literal: to pass away; to vanish; to disappear; to cease

مقدّس

q-d-s → “exalted”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

اسمی

s-m-w → “name”

literal: name

منزّه

n-z-h → “sanctified”

literal: exalted; sanctified; free from; removed from

خواهند

kh-w-ʾ-h

literal: to will; to want; shall; will (future auxiliary)

جواهر

j-w-h-r → “quintessence” Distinctive

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

ساحت

s-w-ḥ → “court”

literal: court; presence; domain; vicinity

راهی

r-w-h → “no access”

literal: way; path; road; deliverance; liberation; freedom

نه

n-h-y

literal: end; ended; utmost

لطائف

l-ṭ-f → “loving-kindness” Distinctive

literal: kindness; grace; gentleness; benevolence

ملکوت

m-l-k → “kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

عزّشان

ʿ-z-z → “glory”

literal: glory; mighty; might

سبيلی

s-b-l → “path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

فَسُبحانَ

s-b-ḥ → “Immeasurably high” Distinctive

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

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

مِن

m-n

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

اَن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يُعرَفَ

ʿ-r-f → “know” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

اَصفياؤُه

ṣ-f-w → “chosen Ones”

literal: chosen ones; chosen-ones; purity

بِغَيرِ

gh-y-r → “any other than”

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

ذواتِهِم

dh-w-t → “their own Selves”

literal: essence; essence, self; essence/self

اَو

h-w-w

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

اَولِياؤهُ

w-l-y → “men”

literal: guardianship; saints; possessors

اَنفُسِهِم.

n-f-s → “their own persons”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

فَتَعالَی

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

عَمّا

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: with them; in their company

يَذکُرُ

dh-k-r → “praise” Distinctive

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

العِبادُ

ʿ-b-d → “men”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

فی

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

هُم

h-m-m → “endeavor” Distinctive

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

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 ¶