Prayers and Meditations — §24

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 24 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

ِ البَلايا فِيْ سَبِيلِكَ، بَلْ حُزْنِي فِيْ تَأْخِيرِكَ فِيمَا قَضَيْتَهُ فِيْ أَلْواحِ أَمْرِكَ وَصَحائِفِ قَضائِكَ وَتَقْدِيرِكَ، وَإِنَّ دَمِي يُخاطِبُنِي فِيْ كُلِّ الأَحْيانِ وَيَقُولُ يا طَلْعَةَ الرَّحْمنِ إِلى مَتى حَبَسْتَنِي فِيْ حِصْنِ الأَكْوانِ وَسِجْنِ الإِمْكانِ بَعْدَ الَّذِيْ وَعَدْتَنِي بِأَنْ تَحْمَرَّ الأَرْضُ مِنِّي وَتُصْبَغَ وُجُوهُ أَهْلِ مَلإِ الفِرْدَوْسِ مِنْ رَشَحاتِي، وَأَنَا أَقُولُ أَنِ اصْبِرْ ثُمَّ اسْكُنْ لأنَّ ما تُرِيدُ يَظْهَرُ فِيْ سَاعَةٍ، وَيَتِمُّ فِيْ سَاعَةٍ أُخْرى، وَلكِنْ ما أَنَا عَلَيْهِ فِيْ سَبِيلِ اللّهِ لأَشْرَبَ فِيْ كُلِّ حِينٍ كَأْسَ القَضَاءِ وَلا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يَنْقَطِعَ القَضَاءُ وَالبَلاءُ فِيْ سَبِيلِ رَبِّيَ العَلِيِّ الأَبْهی، وَإِنَّكَ أَرِدْ ما أُرِيدُ، وَلا تُرِدْ ما تُرِيدُ، ما حَبَسْتُكَ لِحِفْظِي بَلْ لِقَضاءٍ بَعْدَ قَضَاءٍ وَبَلاءٍ بَعْدَ بَلاءٍ، قَدِ انْعَدَمَ حَبِيبٌ يُمَيِّزُ بَيْنَ الشَّهْدِ وَالسَّمِّ فِيْ حُبِّ مَحْبُوبِهِ، كُنْ راضِيًا بِما قَضَى اللَّهُ لَكَ، وَإِنَّهُ يَحْكُمُ عَلَيْكَ ما يُحِبُّ وَيَرْضی، لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُو العَلِيُّ الأَعْلی.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

My blood, at all times, addresseth me saying: “O Thou Who art the Image of the Most Merciful! How long will it be ere Thou riddest me of the captivity of this world, and deliverest me from the bondage of this life? Didst Thou not promise me that Thou shalt dye the earth with me, and sprinkle me on the faces of the inmates of Thy Paradise?” To this I make reply: “Be thou patient and quiet thyself. The things thou desirest can last but an hour. As to me, however, I quaff continually in the path of God the cup of His decree, and wish not that the ruling of His will should cease to operate, or that the woes I suffer for the sake of my Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, should be ended. Seek thou my wish and forsake thine own. Thy bondage is not for my protection, but to enable me to sustain successive tribulations, and to prepare me for the trials that must needs repeatedly assail me. Perish that lover who discerneth between the pleasant and the poisonous in his love for his beloved! Be thou satisfied with what God hath destined for thee. He, verily, ruleth over thee as He willeth and pleaseth. No God is there but Him, the Inaccessible, the Most High.”

Translation Notes

فِيْ

f-y → “at” Distinctive

literal: in a day; during a day; one day after another

بَلْ

b-l → “but to enable me to sustain”

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

حُزْنِي

ḥ-z-n

literal: sorrow; grief; sadness; anguish; to grieve; to sorrow; to be sad

تَأْخِيرِكَ

ʾ-kh-r

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

أَلْواحِ

l-w-ḥ

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

أَمْرِكَ

ʾ-m-r

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

وَصَحائِفِ

ṣ-ḥ-f

literal: page; tablet; scroll; book

وَتَقْدِيرِكَ،

q-d-r

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

وَإِنَّ

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; indeed/verily; indeed

دَمِي

d-m-y → “My blood”

literal: breath; moment; instant

يُخاطِبُنِي

kh-ṭ-b → “addressed” Distinctive

literal: address; addressing; addresses

كُلِّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

الأَحْيانِ

ḥ-y-n → “times”

literal: greeting; salutation; tribute; to make alive; to revive

وَيَقُولُ

q-w-l → “saying: “O”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

طَلْعَةَ

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Dayspring” Distinctive

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

الرَّحْمنِ

r-ḥ-m → “the Most Merciful” Distinctive

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

حَبَسْتَنِي

ḥ-b-s → “cast Him into prison” Distinctive

literal: imprison; prison; imprisoned

حِصْنِ

ḥ-ṣ-n → “stronghold”

literal: fortress, stronghold, fortified place

وَسِجْنِ

s-j-n → “Prison”

literal: prison, imprisonment; to imprison

الإِمْكانِ

m-k-n → “all created things”

literal: establishment; confirmation; empowerment; firm settlement; place; possibility; being (negated as ‘non-being’)

بَعْدَ

b-ʿ-d → “after”

literal: after; behind; distance

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

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

وَعَدْتَنِي

w-ʿ-d

literal: promised; promise; to promise

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “that Thou shalt”

literal: that; indeed/verily; indeed

تَحْمَرَّ

ḥ-m-r → “Crimson” Distinctive

literal: red; crimson; red/crimson

الأَرْضُ

ʾ-r-ḍ

literal: earth; land; ground; country

مِنِّي

m-n

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

وَتُصْبَغَ

ṣ-б-gh → “sprinkle me”

literal: dyed

وُجُوهُ

w-j-h → “faces”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

أَهْلِ

ʾ-h-l

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

مَلإِ

m-l-ʾ → “Concourse”

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

الفِرْدَوْسِ

f-r-d-w-s → “Paradise”

literal: Paradise; garden; the highest paradise

رَشَحاتِي،

r-sh-ḥ → “sprinkling”

literal: sprinkling; sprinkle; drop

وَأَنَا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اصْبِرْ

ṣ-b-r → “patient and”

literal: patience; forbearance; endurance; to be patient

ثُمَّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

اسْكُنْ

s-k-n → “quiet thyself”

literal: foundation; basis; groundwork; founder; establisher; to found; to establish; we have founded

لأنَّ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

تُرِيدُ

r-y-d → “thou desirest” Distinctive

literal: to will; to intend; to wish; will, volition, intention, desire

يَظْهَرُ

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

سَاعَةٍ،

s-w-ʿ

literal: hour; moment

وَيَتِمُّ

t-m-m

literal: most complete; to complete; perfect; fullness

وَلكِنْ

l-k-n → “As to me, however”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

عَلَيْهِ

ʿ-l-y

literal: upon; on; exalted

سَبِيلِ

s-b-l → “in the path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

اللّهِ

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

لأَشْرَبَ

sh-r-b → “quaff continually” Distinctive

literal: to drink; to imbibe

كَأْسَ

k-ʾ-s → “cup”

literal: cup; chalice; goblet

القَضَاءِ

q-ḍ-y → “of His decree”

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

وَلا

w-l-y → “not that” Distinctive

literal: no; not; negation particle

يَنْقَطِعَ

q-ṭ-ʿ → “cease to operate”

literal: to cease; to be cut off; to break off

وَالبَلاءُ

b-l-w → “woes I suffer” Distinctive

literal: affliction; trial; calamity; trial, tribulation, affliction, calamity; yes; indeed; verily

رَبِّيَ

r-b-b → “my Lord”

literal: divine; of God; lordly

العَلِيِّ

ʿ-l-w → “the Most Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الأَبْهی،

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious”

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

تُرِدْ

r-d-d

literal: rejected; repudiated

لِحِفْظِي

ḥ-f-ẓ → “for my protection”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

قَدِ

q-d → “We have been”

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

انْعَدَمَ

ʿ-d-m → “Perish”

literal: non-existence; non-existent; nonexistent

حَبِيبٌ

ḥ-b-b → “that lover”

literal: love; affection

يُمَيِّزُ

m-y-z → “distinguish” Distinctive

literal: distinction; distinguished; distinguish

بَيْنَ

b-y-n → “between” Distinctive

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

الشَّهْدِ

sh-h-d → “witness”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

وَالسَّمِّ

s-m-m → “and the poisonous”

literal: poison; eye/hole; poisons

كُنْ

k-w-n → “Be thou”

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

راضِيًا

r-ḍ-y → “satisfied”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction

لَكَ،

l → “His is”

literal: for us; to us

وَإِنَّهُ

h-w → “is” Distinctive

literal: deviation; divergence; straying from the path; to be weak, to flag, to show reluctance

يَحْكُمُ

ḥ-k-m → “ruleth over thee” Distinctive

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

لا

l-ʾ → “No”

literal: no; not; negation particle

إِلهَ

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r → “but” Distinctive

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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 ¶