Prayers and Meditations — §220

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 220 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

حِكَ، وَإِذًا يا إِلهِي قَدْ تَوَجَّهْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَتَمَسَّكْتُ بِعُرْوَةِ عَطْفِكَ وَجُوْدِكَ وَتَشَبَّثْتُ بِذَيْلِ أَلْطافِكَ وَمَواهِبِكَ، أَسْئَلُكَ بِأَنْ لا تُخَيِّبَنِيْ عَمَّا قَدَّرْتَهُ لِعِبادِكَ الَّذِيِنَ هُمْ أَقْبَلُوا إِلى حَرَمِ وَصْلِكَ وَكَعْبَةِ لِقائِكَ وَصامُوْا فِي حُبِّكَ، وَلَوْ إِنِّيْ يا إِلهِي أَعْتَرِفُ بِأَنَّ كُلَّ ما يَظْهَرُ مِنِّيْ لَمْ يَكنْ قابِلاً لِسُلْطانِكَ وَلا يَلِيْقُ لِحَضْرَتِكَ، وَلكِنْ أَسْئَلُكَ بِاسْمِكَ الَّذِيْ بِهِ تَجَلَّيْتَ على كُلِّ الأَشْياءِ بِأَسْمائِكَ الْحُسْنى فِي هذَا الظُّهُورِ الَّذِيْ أَظْهَرْتَ جَمالَكَ بِاسْمِكَ الأَبْهی، بِأَنْ تُشْرِبَنِيْ خَمْرَ رَحْمَتِكَ وَرَحِيقَ مَكْرُمَتِكَ الَّذِيْ جَرَى عَنْ يَمِيْنِ مَشِيَّتِكَ لأَتَوَجَّهَ بِكُلِّيْ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنْقَطِعَ عَمَّا سِواكَ عَلَى شَأْنٍ لا أَرَى الدُّنْيا وَما خُلِقَ فِيها إِلاَّ كيَوْمِ ما خَلَقْتَها، ثُمَّ أَسْئَلُكَ يا إِلهِي بِأَنْ تُنْزِلَ مِنْ سَمآءِ إِرادَتِكَ وَسَحابِ رَحْمَتِكَ ما يُذْهِبُ عَنَّا رَوائِحَ العِصْيانِ يا مَنْ سَمَّيْتَ نَفْسَكَ بِالرَّحْمنِ، وَإِنَّكَ أَن

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Thou seest me then, O my God, with my face turned towards Thee, cleaving steadfastly to the cord of Thy gracious providence and generosity, and clinging to the hem of Thy tender mercies and bountiful favors. Destroy not, I implore Thee, my hopes of attaining unto that which Thou didst ordain for Thy servants who have turned towards the precincts of Thy court and the sanctuary of Thy presence, and have observed the Fast for love of Thee. I confess, O my God, that whatever proceedeth from me is wholly unworthy of Thy sovereignty and falleth short of Thy majesty. And yet I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which Thou hast revealed Thy Self, in the glory of Thy most excellent titles, unto all created things, in this Revelation whereby Thou hast, through Thy most resplendent Name, manifested Thy beauty, to give me to drink of the wine of Thy mercy and of the pure beverage of Thy favor, which have streamed forth from the right hand of Thy will, that I may so fix my gaze upon Thee and be so detached from all else but Thee, that the world and all that hath been created therein may appear before me as a fleeting day which Thou hast not deigned to create.

Translation Notes

وَإِذًا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h → “my God”

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

قَدْ

q-d

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

تَوَجَّهْتُ

w-j-h → “face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

إِلَيْكَ

ʾ-l-y → “towards” Distinctive

literal: one; a single

وَتَمَسَّكْتُ

m-s-k → “cleave” Distinctive

literal: hold fast; clinging; cling

بِعُرْوَةِ

ʿ-r-w → “which is afflicted” Distinctive

literal: handle; rope; firm bond; connection

عَطْفِكَ

ʿ-ṭ-f → “of Thy gracious providence”

literal: tenderness; affection; mercy; compassion

وَجُوْدِكَ

j-w-d → “and generosity” Distinctive

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

وَتَشَبَّثْتُ

sh-b-th → “and clinging” Distinctive

literal: cling; clinging; clinging/holding fast

بِذَيْلِ

dh-y-l → “to the hem”

literal: hem; skirt; tail; border

أَلْطافِكَ

l-ṭ-f → “of Thy tender mercies” Distinctive

literal: kindness; grace; gentleness; benevolence

وَمَواهِبِكَ،

w-h-b → “and bountiful favors”

literal: gift; grant; bestowal

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l → “Destroy not, I implore Thee”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

بِأَنَّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تُخَيِّبَنِيْ

kh-y-b

literal: to fail, be disappointed; disappointed, frustrated

عَمَّا

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: with them; in their company

قَدَّرْتَهُ

q-d-r → “didst ordain”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

لِعِبادِكَ

ʿ-b-d → “for Thy servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

الَّذِيِنَ

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

literal: those who; the ones who (relative pronoun)

هُمْ

h-m-m

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

أَقْبَلُوا

q-b-l → “have turned towards”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

حَرَمِ

ḥ-r-m → “deprived” Distinctive

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

وَصْلِكَ

w-ṣ-l → “and” Distinctive

literal: reunion; union; meeting; connection

وَكَعْبَةِ

k-ʿ-b → “and the sanctuary”

literal: Kaaba; cube/Kaaba; Kaaba/lodestar

لِقائِكَ

l-q-y → “of Thy presence”

literal: opposite; facing; in front of; towards

وَصامُوْا

ṣ-w-m → “and have observed the Fast”

literal: fasting; to abstain from food

فِي

f-y → “for” Distinctive

literal: in it; in them

حُبِّكَ،

ḥ-b-b → “love of Thee”

literal: love; affection

وَلَوْ

l-w → “And” Distinctive

literal: were it not for; if not for; save for

إِنِّيْ

ʾ-n-n → “I”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أَعْتَرِفُ

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يَظْهَرُ

ẓ-h-r → “proceedeth” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

مِنِّيْ

m-n → “from me”

literal: from me; mine; by me; sustenance; benefaction; refuge

لَمْ

l-y-s → “is”

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

يَكنْ

k-w-n

literal: is; to be (third person singular present); to be one; oneness; unity

لِسُلْطانِكَ

s-l-ṭ → “of Thy sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

وَلا

w-l-y → “and”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يَلِيْقُ

l-y-q → “worthy”

literal: worthy, befitting, appropriate, suitable

لِحَضْرَتِكَ،

ḥ-ḍ-r → “of Thy majesty” Distinctive

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

وَلكِنْ

l-k-n

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

بِاسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “by Thy Name”

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

بِهِ

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

تَجَلَّيْتَ

j-l-w → “revelation” Distinctive

literal: effulgence; manifestation; revelation; manifestation, revelation, appearance

على

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الأَشْياءِ

sh-y-ʾ → “all created things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

الْحُسْنى

ḥ-s-n → “most excellent”

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

هذَا

h-dh-ʾ → “in this”

literal: this; that

جَمالَكَ

j-m-l → “Thy beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

الأَبْهی،

b-h-w → “glory” Distinctive

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

تُشْرِبَنِيْ

sh-r-b → “to give me to drink”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

خَمْرَ

kh-m-r → “of the wine”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

رَحْمَتِكَ

r-ḥ-m → “of Thy mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

وَرَحِيقَ

r-ḥ-q → “wine”

literal: wine; pure drink; choice beverage (metaphorical for divine knowledge and love)

مَكْرُمَتِكَ

k-r-m → “of Thy favor”

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

جَرَى

j-r-y → “have streamed forth”

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

يَمِيْنِ

y-m-n → “right hand”

literal: right hand; oath; right side

بِكُلِّيْ

k-l-l → “so” Distinctive

literal: for us; to us

وَأَنْقَطِعَ

q-ṭ-ʿ → “and be so detached” Distinctive

literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain

سِواكَ

s-w-y → “all else but Thee” Distinctive

literal: other than; besides; except; equal; alike

شَأْنٍ

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

أَرَى

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest” Distinctive

literal: Persian form from آراستن (ārāstan) ‘to adorn/invest’, root ا-ر-ا, not ر-ء-ي (to see)

الدُّنْيا

d-n-w → “that the world”

literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with

خُلِقَ

kh-l-q → “hath been created”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r → “as a” Distinctive

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

كيَوْمِ

y-w-m → “fleeting day”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

ثُمَّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

تُنْزِلَ

n-z-l

literal: to descend, to be revealed

إِرادَتِكَ

r-w-d

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

وَسَحابِ

s-ḥ-b

literal: cloud; clouds

يُذْهِبُ

dh-h-b

literal: religion; creed; doctrine; belief; sect

رَوائِحَ

r-w-ḥ

literal: narration; tradition; fragrance; to grow; to spring forth; to sprout

العِصْيانِ

ʿ-ṣ-y

literal: disobey; transgress; rebel

سَمَّيْتَ

s-m-y

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

نَفْسَكَ

n-f-s → “Self”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

أَن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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The last outstanding Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, written around 1891 and addressed to Shaykh Muḥammad-Taqí of Iṣfahán. It calls upon that rapacious priest to repent, quotes the most celebrated passages from Bahá’u’lláh’s own writings, and adduces proofs establishing the validity of His Cause.

268 ¶

Fire Tablet

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Revealed in late 1871 during a period of severe hardship in ‘Akká, this Tablet takes the form of an anguished dialogue between Bahá’u’lláh and God. Questions about the sufferings of the faithful are answered with divine assurances, building to a crescendo of triumph over tribulation.

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 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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The Book of the Covenant — Bahá’u’lláh’s Will and Testament, written entirely in His own hand and unsealed on the ninth day after His ascension. It designates ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and establishes what Shoghi Effendi called the mightiest Covenant in all religious history.

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 ¶