Prayers and Meditations — §169
Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 169 of 858.
Source (Arabic)
إِلهِي كُلَّما أَتَفَكرُ فِيْ عَظَمَتِكَ وَسُلْطانِكَ أَجِدُ نَفْسِي أَعْصَی العُصاةِ فِيْ مَمْلَكَتِكَ، وَكُلَّما أَنْظُرُ مَقاماتِكَ الَّتِيْ جَعَلْتَها مَخْصُوصَةً لِنَفْسِكَ أَرى وُجُودِي أَذْنَبَ مَنْ فِيْ أَرْضِكَ، لَوْلا سَتْرُ اسْمِكَ السَتَّارِ وَعَفْو اسْمِكَ الغَفَّارِ وَعَرْفُ اسْمِكَ الرَّحْمنِ لَتَرَى الأَصْفِيآءَ فِيْ مَواقِفِ الذُّنُوبِ وَالعِصْيانِ، لَكَ الحَمْدُ بِما سَبَقَتْهُمْ رَحْمَتُكَ وَأَحاطَهُمْ فَضْلُكَ وَأَلْطافُكَ، وَبَعْدَ اعْتِرافِي بِما أَجْرَيْتُهُ مِنْ قَلَمِي أَسْئَلُكَ
Shoghi Effendi Translation
I swear by Thy glory, O my God! Every time I muse on Thy glory and Thy sovereignty I find myself as the most guilty among them that have transgressed against Thee in Thy realm, and every time I contemplate the heights in which none except Thee can abide, I discover that I am the most sinful of all the creatures that dwell in Thy land. Had it not been for Thy name, the Concealer, and for Thy name, the Ever-Forgiving, and for the sweet savors of Thy name, the Most Merciful, all Thy chosen ones had been reckoned amongst the perverse and the wicked.
Translation Notes
كُلَّما
literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses
وَسُلْطانِكَ
literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control
مَمْلَكَتِكَ،
literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership
مَخْصُوصَةً
literal: specific matter; particularity; especially; in this matter
أَرى
literal: Persian form from آراستن (ārāstan) ‘to adorn/invest’, root ا-ر-ا, not ر-ء-ي (to see)
اسْمِكَ
literal: to name, to nominate, to designate, to appoint; name; noun; to name, to appoint, to designate
الرَّحْمنِ
literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy
