Prayers and Meditations — §16

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 16 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

سُبْحانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ يا إِلهِي وَعِزَّتِكَ مِنْ تَتابُعِ البَلايا مُنِعَ القَلَمُ الأَعْلى مِنْ إِظْهارِ ما هُوَ المَسْتُورُ عَنْ أَنْظُرِ بَرِيَّتِكَ، وَمِنْ تَرادُفِ القَضَايا مُنِعَ لِسانُ الإِمْضآءِ عَنْ بَدائِعِ ذِكْرِكَ وَثَنائِكَ، إِذًا يا إِلهِي بِهذا اللِّسانِ الكَلِيلِ أَدْعُوكَ، وَبِهذا القَ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God! I swear by Thy might! Successive afflictions have withheld the pen of the Most High from laying bare that which is hidden from the eyes of Thy creatures, and incessant trials have hindered the tongue of the Divine Ordainer from proclaiming the wonders of Thy glorification and praise. With a stammering tongue, therefore, I call upon Thee, O my God, and with this my afflicted pen I occupy myself in remembrance of Thy name.

Translation Notes

سُبْحانَكَ

s-b-ḥ → “Praise be to Thee” Distinctive

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

اللَّهُمَّ

ʾ-l-h → “O Lord” Distinctive

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

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

وَعِزَّتِكَ

ʿ-z-z → “I swear by Thy might”

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

مِنْ

m-n → “from”

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

تَتابُعِ

t-b-ʿ → “follow” Distinctive

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

البَلايا

b-l-w → “afflictions” Distinctive

literal: affliction; trial; calamity

مُنِعَ

m-n-ʿ → “have withheld” Distinctive

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

القَلَمُ

q-l-m → “the pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

الأَعْلى

ʿ-l-w → “Most High”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

إِظْهارِ

ẓ-h-r → “laying bare” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

هُوَ

h-w → “is”

literal: He; He is

المَسْتُورُ

s-t-r → “hidden”

literal: to veil; to conceal; to cover; veil; covering

عَنْ

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

أَنْظُرِ

n-ẓ-r → “eyes”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

بَرِيَّتِكَ،

b-r-ʾ → “Thy creatures”

literal: to create; to create anew; to be free from; innocent; free from; clear of; to cure; to heal; to clear

تَرادُفِ

r-d-f → “rank on rank” Distinctive

literal: succession; following/ranged

القَضَايا

q-ḍ-y → “decree”

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

لِسانُ

l-s-n → “tongue”

literal: tongue; language

الإِمْضآءِ

m-ḍ-y → “passed” Distinctive

literal: pass; execution; past

بَدائِعِ

b-d-ʿ → “wonders”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

ذِكْرِكَ

dh-k-r → “glorification” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

وَثَنائِكَ،

th-n-y → “praise”

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy; glorification; praise, commendation, eulogy

إِذًا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

بِهذا

h-dh-ʾ → “With a” Distinctive

literal: this; that

الكَلِيلِ

k-l-l

literal: all; every; whole; entirety

أَدْعُوكَ،

d-ʿ-w → “summoned” Distinctive

literal: call, invocation, summons; to call, invite, summon

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

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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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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 ¶