Prayers and Meditations — §171

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 171 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

هذا شَأْنٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَقامٌ عَظِيمٌ، لأنَّ غَيْرَكَ كَيْفَ يَقْدِرُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِما يَكُونُ لائِقًا لِحَضْرَتِكَ وَمُسْتَحِقًّا لِجَلالِكَ وَلكِنْ أَنْتَ الْكَرِيمُ وَأَنْتَ الرَّحِيمُ يَشْهَدُ كُلُّ الذَّرَّاتِ بِأَنَّكَ أَنْتَ الغَفُورُ العَطُوفُ المُعْطِ العَزِيزُ الحَكِيمُ، يا إِلهِي فَانْظُرْ إِلَيْهِ بِطَرْفِ عِنايَتِكَ وَلِحاظِ مَكْرُمَتِكَ، ثُمَّ اجْذِبْهُ بِنَغَماتِ مَصْدَرِ وَحْيِكَ عَلَى مَقامٍ يَكُونُ بِكُلِّهِ فانِيًا فِيْ رِضائِكَ وَآمِلاً بِما قَدَّرْتَهُ فِيْ أَلْواحِكَ، ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ قَلْبَهُ قَوِيًّا بِاسْمِكَ القَوِيِّ الأَمِينِ لِيُخْرِجَ يَدَ الْقُوَّةِ وَيَنْصُرَ بِها أَمْرَكَ عِنْدَ ظُهُورِ نُورِ جَمالِكَ وَطُلُوعِ شَمْسِ إِجْلالِكَ، أَيْ رَبِّ لَمَّا سَمَّيْتَهُ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

And now, having confessed the things Thou didst cause to flow down from my Pen, I implore Thee, by Thy name which Thou hast raised up above every other name, and hast caused to overshadow all that are in heaven and all that are on earth, to cast not away him that hath turned towards Thee, and to deny him not the wonders of Thy grace and the hidden evidences of Thy mercy. Let the hands of Thine omnipotence kindle in his heart a lamp that will enable him to shine brightly in Thy days, and to cry out with such vehemence in Thy name that no timidity will deter him from soaring in the atmosphere of Thy love, and from ascending to the horizon of rapture and longing for Thee, and that the pursuits of Thy creatures will not withhold him from magnifying Thy word, that Thou mayest behold him sanctified as Thou wishest and as beseemeth Thy majesty and glory.

Translation Notes

هذا

h-dh-ʾ

literal: this; that

شَأْنٌ

sh-ʾ-n

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

كَبِيرٌ

k-b-r

literal: great; grand; mighty; large; greatness; majesty; sovereignty; arrogance

وَمَقامٌ

q-w-m

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

عَظِيمٌ،

ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

لأنَّ

ʾ-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

غَيْرَكَ

gh-y-r → “other” Distinctive

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

كَيْفَ

k-y-f

literal: how; in what manner

يَقْدِرُ

q-d-r

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

أَنْ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يَأْتِيَ

ʾ-t-y

literal: to come; to arrive; to approach; verse; sign; miracle

بِما

m-ʾ

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

يَكُونُ

k-w-n

literal: to do; to make; to perform; to be; was

لائِقًا

l-y-q → “beseemeth” Distinctive

literal: worthy, befitting, appropriate, suitable

لِحَضْرَتِكَ

ḥ-ḍ-r → “him” Distinctive

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

وَمُسْتَحِقًّا

ḥ-q-q

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

لِجَلالِكَ

j-l-l → “majesty and” Distinctive

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

وَلكِنْ

l-k-n

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

الْكَرِيمُ

k-r-m

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field; honor; generosity; nobility

الرَّحِيمُ

r-ḥ-m → “mercy” Distinctive

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

يَشْهَدُ

sh-h-d

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

كُلُّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

الذَّرَّاتِ

dh-r-r

literal: self; essence; being

بِأَنَّكَ

ʾ-n-n → “Thee”

literal: that; indeed/verily; indeed

الغَفُورُ

gh-f-r

literal: to forgive; forgiveness

العَطُوفُ

ʿ-ṭ-f

literal: compassionate; kindness/compassion; kindness

المُعْطِ

ʿ-ṭ-y

literal: bounty; gift; bestowal; grace; bountifulness

العَزِيزُ

ʿ-z-z → “glory” Distinctive

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

الحَكِيمُ،

ḥ-k-m

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h

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

فَانْظُرْ

n-ẓ-r → “behold” Distinctive

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

إِلَيْهِ

ʾ-l-y

literal: to; to him; besmirch

بِطَرْفِ

ṭ-r-f

literal: extremity; end; edge; outskirt; periphery

عِنايَتِكَ

ʿ-n-y → “Thy grace” Distinctive

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

وَلِحاظِ

l-ḥ-ẓ

literal: observation; observe; observation, consideration

ثُمَّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

اجْذِبْهُ

j-dh-b → “rapture”

literal: attract; attraction; attract, draw

بِنَغَماتِ

n-gh-m

literal: melody; tone; note

مَصْدَرِ

ṣ-d-r

literal: to issue, emanate, proceed; issued, emanating

وَحْيِكَ

w-ḥ-y → “Revelation”

literal: revelation; inspiration; divine communication

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

فانِيًا

f-n-y

literal: annihilation; perishing; extinction; cessation; the threshold

فِيْ

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

رِضائِكَ

r-ḍ-y

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction

وَآمِلاً

ʾ-m-l

literal: hope; expectation; aspiration; desire; wish; to hope; to wish

أَلْواحِكَ،

l-w-ḥ

literal: description; tablet; manifesto

اجْعَلْ

j-ʿ-l

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

قَلْبَهُ

q-l-b → “his heart”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

قَوِيًّا

q-w-y

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

بِاسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “in Thy name that no timidity will deter him from soaring in the atmosphere of Thy love, and from ascending to the horizon of”

literal: to name, to nominate, to designate, to appoint; name; noun; to name, to appoint, to designate

الأَمِينِ

ʾ-m-n

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

لِيُخْرِجَ

kh-r-j

literal: bringing out, taking out, expulsion, extraction

يَدَ

y-d-y → “hands”

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

وَيَنْصُرَ

n-ṣ-r

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

بِها

b-h-w

literal: by it; by him; with it

أَمْرَكَ

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

عِنْدَ

ʿ-n-d

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

ظُهُورِ

ẓ-h-r

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

نُورِ

n-w-r

literal: light; illumination

جَمالِكَ

j-m-l

literal: beauty; comeliness

وَطُلُوعِ

ṭ-l-ʿ

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

شَمْسِ

sh-m-s

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

أَيْ

ʾ-y-y

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

رَبِّ

r-b-b

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

لَمَّا

l-m-ʾ

literal: when; certainly-not; when, since

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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59 ¶