Prayers and Meditations — §248

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 248 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

يا مَحْبُوبِي حِينَئِذٍ قَدْ فَدَيْتُ نَفْسِي لِمَظاهِرِ نَفْسِكَ وَأَنْفَقْتُ رُوحِي لِبَدائِعِ مَطالِعِ جَمالِكَ، كأَنِّي فَدَيْتُ رُوحِي لِرُوحِكَ وَذاتِي لِذاتِكَ وَجَمالِي لِجَمالِكَ وَأَنْفَقْتُ كُلَّ ذلِكَ فِي سبِيلِكَ وَسَبِيلِ أَوْلِيائِكَ، وَلَوْ أَنَّ الجَسَدَ يَحْزُنُ عِنْدَ نُزُولِ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

By the glory of Thy might, O Thou my Well-Beloved! To have sacrificed my life for the Manifestations of Thy Self, to have offered up my soul in the path of the Revealers of Thy wondrous Beauty, is to have sacrificed my spirit for Thy Spirit, my being for Thy Being, my glory for Thy glory. It is as if I had offered up all these things for Thy sake, and for the sake of Thy loved ones.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

مَحْبُوبِي

ḥ-b-b → “O Thou my Well-Beloved” Distinctive

literal: love; affection

حِينَئِذٍ

ḥ-y-n

literal: time; moment; while; season

قَدْ

q-d

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

فَدَيْتُ

f-d-y → “To have sacrificed”

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem; to sacrifice oneself for

نَفْسِي

n-f-s → “my life” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

لِمَظاهِرِ

ẓ-h-r → “for the Manifestations”

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

وَأَنْفَقْتُ

n-f-q → “sacrificed” Distinctive

literal: hypocrisy; sedition; discord; betrayal

رُوحِي

r-w-ḥ → “my soul”

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

لِبَدائِعِ

b-d-ʿ → “wondrous”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

مَطالِعِ

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Revealers” Distinctive

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

جَمالِكَ،

j-m-l → “Beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

كأَنِّي

ʾ-n-n → “It is as if” Distinctive

literal: I, verily; behold I

وَذاتِي

dh-w-t → “my being”

literal: essence; self; being

كُلَّ

k-l-l → “all these things”

literal: for us; to us

ذلِكَ

dh-l-k

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

فِي

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

سبِيلِكَ

s-b-l → “for Thy sake” Distinctive

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

وَسَبِيلِ

s-б-l → “path”

literal: path; path, way; path/way

أَوْلِيائِكَ،

w-l-y → “Thy loved ones”

literal: guardian; protector; friend; ally

وَلَوْ

l-w

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

أَنَّ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الجَسَدَ

j-s-d

literal: body; corpse; physical form

يَحْزُنُ

ḥ-z-n

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

عِنْدَ

ʿ-n-d → “possess” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

نُزُولِ

n-z-l

literal: to descend, to be revealed

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