Prayers and Meditations — §172

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 172 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

بِاسْمِكَ اجْعَلْهُ مَخْصُوصًا بَيْنَ العِبادِ لِخِدْمَتِكَ، أَيْ رَبِّ أَنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنِّي ما أَرَدْتُ فِيْ أَمْرٍ نَفْسِي بَل أَمْرَكَ وَما تَوَجَّهْتُ إِلى أَحَدٍ إِلاَّ لأَمْرِكَ وَإِظْهارِ عِنايَتِكَ، أَسْئَلُكَ بِاسْمِكَ المَحْزُونِ الَّذِيْ يَنْطِقُ الحِينَ بِأَنْ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى أَحِبَّتِكَ ما هُو المَخْزُونُ فِيْ سَمآءِ عَطائِكَ وَمَواهِبِكَ لِيَأْخُذَهُمُ الشَّوْقُ وَالانْجِذابُ فِيْ عَهْدِكَ يا رَبَّ الأَرْبابِ، ثُمَّ اقْضِ لَهُ وَلَهُمْ ما يَقْتَضِي لاسْمِكَ الوَهَّابِ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Exalted though this station may be, O my God, and however excellent this position—for who else except Thyself hath the power to show forth what may be deemed worthy of Thine exaltation and befit Thy greatness—yet Thou art He Who is the All-Bountiful, the Most Compassionate. All the atoms of the earth testify that Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, the Benevolent, the Great Giver, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise. Look, then, upon him, O my God, with the eyes of Thy loving-kindness, and cast upon him the glance of Thy generosity. Enrapture him, moreover, with the sweet melodies of Him Who is the Fountainhead of Thy Revelation, in such wise that he may wholly surrender his will to Thy pleasure, and fix his hopes upon the things Thou didst ordain in Thy Tablets. Strengthen, then, his heart by Thy name, the Almighty, the Faithful, that he may draw forth the hand of power, and with it help Thy Cause when the light of Thy beauty is manifested and the Daystar of Thy majesty is risen.

Translation Notes

بِاسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “by Thy name”

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

اجْعَلْهُ

j-ʿ-l → “make” Distinctive

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

مَخْصُوصًا

kh-ṣ-ṣ → “this” Distinctive

literal: specific matter; particularity; especially; in this matter

بَيْنَ

b-y-n → “utterance” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

العِبادِ

ʿ-b-d

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

لِخِدْمَتِكَ،

kh-d-m

literal: service; servitude; to serve

أَيْ

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

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

رَبِّ

r-b-b → “O my God” Distinctive

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

تَعْلَمُ

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

أَنِّي

ʾ-n-n

literal: I, verily; behold I

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

أَرَدْتُ

r-w-d → “will” Distinctive

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

فِيْ

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

أَمْرٍ

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

نَفْسِي

n-f-s → “Thyself” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

بَل

b-l

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

أَمْرَكَ

ʾ-m-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

تَوَجَّهْتُ

w-j-h

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

أَحَدٍ

ʾ-ḥ-d

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

literal: end; hereafter; other

وَإِظْهارِ

ẓ-h-r → “manifested” Distinctive

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

عِنايَتِكَ،

ʿ-n-y → “Thy loving-kindness”

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

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

المَحْزُونِ

ḥ-z-n

literal: sorrow; grief; sadness; anguish

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

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

يَنْطِقُ

n-ṭ-q

literal: to speak; to utter; to pronounce; to articulate

الحِينَ

ḥ-y-n

literal: time; moment; while; season

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “that he may wholly surrender his”

literal: I, verily; behold I

تُنَزِّلَ

n-z-l

literal: to descend, to be revealed

عَلَيْهِ

ʿ-l-y → “upon him”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

وَعَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “upon him” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

أَحِبَّتِكَ

ḥ-b-b

literal: love; beloved; beloved ones

هُو

h-w → “He Who”

literal: He; He is

المَخْزُونُ

kh-z-n

literal: to store, to treasure; storehouse, depository, treasury

عَطائِكَ

ʿ-ṭ-w → “Thy generosity”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

لِيَأْخُذَهُمُ

ʾ-kh-dh → “laid hold” Distinctive

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

الشَّوْقُ

sh-w-q

literal: to encourage; to incite; yearning; enthusiasm

وَالانْجِذابُ

j-dh-b

literal: to draw, attract, pull; to be enraptured

عَهْدِكَ

ʿ-h-d

literal: covenant; testament; promise; command

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

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

ثُمَّ

th-m-m → “then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

اقْضِ

q-ḍ-y → “decree” Distinctive

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

وَلَهُمْ

l-h-m

literal: inspiration; divine inspiration; revelation

الوَهَّابِ

w-h-b → “gifts” Distinctive

literal: gift; grant; bestowal

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

Fire Tablet

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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 ¶

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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 ¶