Prayers and Meditations — §2

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 2 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

بِ إِلَيْكَ، كأَنَّ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ أَضاءَ سِرَاجُ حُبِّكَ وَمِصْباحُ وُدِّكَ. لا يُقَلِّبُهُمُ البَلايا عَنْ أَمْرِكَ، وَلا القَضَايا عَنْ رِضائِكَ.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Methinks, the lamp of Thy love is burning in their hearts, and the light of Thy tenderness is lit within their breasts. Adversities are incapable of estranging them from Thy Cause, and the vicissitudes of fortune can never cause them to stray from Thy pleasure.

Translation Notes

إِلَيْكَ،

ʾ-l-y → “towards” Distinctive

literal: one; a single

كأَنَّ

k-w-n → “be”

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

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

قُلُوبِهِمْ

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

أَضاءَ

ḍ-w-ʾ → “shineth” Distinctive

literal: to shine; to be illuminated; to light up

سِرَاجُ

s-r-j → “lamp”

literal: lamp; light; illuminator

حُبِّكَ

ḥ-b-b → “of Thy love”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

وَمِصْباحُ

ṣ-b-ḥ → “light”

literal: morning, dawn; daybreak

وُدِّكَ.

w-d-d → “fellowship” Distinctive

literal: loving; affection; affection, friendliness

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

البَلايا

b-l-w → “Adversities” Distinctive

literal: affliction; trial; calamity

عَنْ

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

أَمْرِكَ،

ʾ-m-r → “Thy Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

وَلا

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: friend; lord; guardian

القَضَايا

q-ḍ-y → “decree”

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

رِضائِكَ.

r-ḍ-y → “Thy pleasure”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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Gleanings

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729 ¶

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16 ¶

Kitáb-i-Íqán

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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 ¶