Prayers and Meditations — §185

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 185 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

وَلا تُطْفِئِ السِّراجَ الَّذِيْ أُوقِدَ بِنارِكَ أَيْ رَبِّ لا تَمْنَعْ ماءَ الحَيَوانِ عَنِ الجَرَيانِ الَّذِيْ يُسْمَعُ مِنْ خَرِيرِهِ بَدائِعُ الأَلْحانِ فِيْ ذِكْرِكَ وَثَنائِكَ وَلا تَمْنَعِ العِبادَ عَنْ نَفَحاتِ هذا العَرْفِ الَّذِيْ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Roll not up, O my Lord, what hath been spread out in Thy name, and extinguish not the lamp which Thine own fire hath lit. Withhold not, O my Lord, the water that is life indeed from running down—the water from whose murmuring the wondrous melodies which extol and glorify Thee can be heard. Deny not, moreover, Thy servants the sweet fragrance of the breath which hath been wafted through Thy love.

Translation Notes

وَلا

w-l-y → “and”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تُطْفِئِ

ṭ-f-ʾ → “extinguish”

literal: extinguish; extinguishing; to extinguish

السِّراجَ

s-r-j → “lamp”

literal: lamp; light; illuminator

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

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

أُوقِدَ

w-q-d → “kindled”

literal: kindle; kindled; kindled, burning

بِنارِكَ

n-ʾ-r → “fire”

literal: light; illumination

أَيْ

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

رَبِّ

r-b-b → “my Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تَمْنَعْ

m-n-ʿ

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

ماءَ

m-w-h → “water”

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

الحَيَوانِ

ḥ-y-w → “life”

literal: life; living being; animal

عَنِ

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الجَرَيانِ

j-r-y → “flow”

literal: trade; commerce; business

يُسْمَعُ

s-m-ʿ → “can be heard”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

مِنْ

m-n → “from whose”

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

خَرِيرِهِ

kh-r-r → “murmuring”

literal: fall down; murmur; murmuring

بَدائِعُ

b-d-ʿ → “wondrous”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

الأَلْحانِ

l-ḥ-n → “melody” Distinctive

literal: melodies; songs; tunes

فِيْ

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

ذِكْرِكَ

dh-k-r → “extol” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

وَثَنائِكَ

th-n-y → “glorify” Distinctive

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

العِبادَ

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

نَفَحاتِ

n-f-ḥ → “breath” Distinctive

literal: breeze; fragrance; whiff; breath; emanation

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “the” Distinctive

literal: this; that

العَرْفِ

ʿ-r-f → “fragrance”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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 ¶

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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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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 ¶

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‘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 ¶