Kitáb-i-Íqán — §67

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 67 of 291.

Source (Persian)

از جمله خليل الرّحمن که قبل از ظهور آن حضرت، نمرود خوابی ديد و کَهَنه راخواست. اخبار دادند بر طلوع نجمی در سماء. و همچنين شخصی در ارض ظاهر شد که مردم را بشارت می داد به ظهور آن حضرت.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Among the Prophets was Abraham, the Friend of God. Ere He manifested Himself, Nimrod dreamed a dream. Thereupon, he summoned the soothsayers, who informed him of the rise of a star in the heaven. Likewise, there appeared a herald who announced throughout the land the coming of Abraham.

Translation Notes

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

جمله

j-m-l → “Prophets was Abraham,” Distinctive

literal: beauty; totality; beautiful

خليل

kh-l-l → “Friend”

literal: Abraham

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m → “mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

قبل

q-b-l → “Ere”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “manifested” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

آن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

حضرت،

ḥ-ḍ-r → “Himself”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

خوابی

kh-w-b → “fast asleep” Distinctive

literal: ill-wisher; malevolent; those who wish harm

ديد

d-y-d → “seen”

literal: to give; to grant; to present; justice; judgment; to see; sight; eye; seen

کَهَنه

k-h-n → “soothsayers”

literal: poor; needy; the poor one; pauper

راخواست.

kh-w-s-t → “will continue forever” Distinctive

literal: to ask; to request; to summon

اخبار

kh-b-r → “informed” Distinctive

literal: news; inform; informed

دادند

d-ʾ-d

literal: to give; to grant; to issue

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

طلوع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “rise”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

نجمی

n-j-m → “star”

literal: star

در

d-r-r → “in the”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

سماء.

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

همچنين

ch-n-n → “Likewise”

literal: always; ever; forever; at all times; constantly

شخصی

sh-kh-ṣ → “man”

literal: person, individual, self; movement, stirring

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “land”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

شد

sh-d

literal: to become; to be

مردم

m-r-d

literal: rebellion; mutiny; revolt

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

بشارت

b-sh-r → “announced”

literal: human; mankind; human nature

می

m-y-y

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

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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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16 ¶

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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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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 ¶