Prayers and Meditations — §146

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 146 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

مآءِ قَدْ تَحَيَّرَ أُولُوا النُّهَى مِنْ بَحْرِ عِلْمِكَ وَسَمآءِ حِكْمَتِكَ وَشَمْسِ فَضْلِكَ، إِنَّ الَّذِيْ خُلِقَ بِإِرادَتِكَ كَيْفَ يَقْدِرُ أَنْ يَعْ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

By Thy life, O Thou the Possessor of all names! The minds of the profoundest thinkers are sore perplexed as they contemplate the ocean of Thy knowledge, and the heaven of Thy wisdom, and the Luminary of Thy grace. How can he who is but a creation of Thy will claim to know what is with Thee, or to conceive Thy nature?

Translation Notes

مآءِ

m-w-h → “water”

literal: water; shelter; refuge; dwelling; abode; essence

قَدْ

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

تَحَيَّرَ

ḥ-y-r → “sore perplexed” Distinctive

literal: bewilderment; perplexity; wonder; amazement

أُولُوا

ʾ-w-l → “this world”

literal: guardian; protector; friend; ally; lord; helper; first; primary; original

النُّهَى

n-h-y → “forbidden”

literal: end, limit, utmost, extreme; final; the end, limit, utmost bound; Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing; end; limit; terminus

مِنْ

m-n → “as they contemplate” Distinctive

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

بَحْرِ

b-ḥ-r → “ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

عِلْمِكَ

ʿ-l-m → “of Thy knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وَسَمآءِ

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

حِكْمَتِكَ

ḥ-k-m → “of Thy wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

وَشَمْسِ

sh-m-s → “Luminary” Distinctive

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

فَضْلِكَ،

f-ḍ-l → “of Thy grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

إِنَّ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

خُلِقَ

kh-l-q → “creation”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

بِإِرادَتِكَ

r-w-d → “of Thy will”

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

كَيْفَ

k-y-f → “How can”

literal: how; in what manner

يَقْدِرُ

q-d-r → “power” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

يَعْ

w-ʿ-y

literal: retentive; vessel, goblet; attentive

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 ¶

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16 ¶

Kitáb-i-Íqán

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The principal doctrinal work of the Faith, revealed in Baghdad within the space of two days and two nights in response to questions from the Báb’s maternal uncle. Shoghi Effendi described it as occupying a position unequalled by any work except the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — a model of Persian prose, at once original, chaste, vigorous, and remarkably lucid.

291 ¶

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 ¶