Prayers and Meditations — §27

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 27 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

بِاسْمِكَ الأَعْظَمِ وَسُلْطانِكَ الأَقْدَمِ بِأَنْ تَنْظُرَ أَحِبَّتَكَ الَّذِينَ اضْطَرَبَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِيما وَرَدَ عَلَى مَظْهَرِ نَفْسِكَ، وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ المُقْتَدِرُ عَلَى ما تَشاءُ وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ العَلِيمُ الحَكِيمُ.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I implore Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, and Thy most ancient sovereignty, to look upon Thy loved ones whose hearts have been sorely shaken by reason of the troubles that have touched Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine own Self. Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Translation Notes

بِاسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “by Thy”

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

الأَعْظَمِ

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Most Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

وَسُلْطانِكَ

s-l-ṭ → “Thy most ancient sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

الأَقْدَمِ

q-d-m

literal: ancientness; antiquity; foot; to come forward

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “to” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تَنْظُرَ

n-ẓ-r → “look upon”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

أَحِبَّتَكَ

ḥ-b-b → “Thy loved ones”

literal: love; beloved; beloved ones

الَّذِينَ

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

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

اضْطَرَبَتْ

ḍ-r-b → “have been sorely shaken” Distinctive

literal: to be disturbed; to tremble; to be troubled; to be shaken

قُلُوبُهُمْ

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

فِيما

f-y → “in”

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

وَرَدَ

w-r-d → “troubles that have touched” Distinctive

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “Him” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

مَظْهَرِ

ẓ-h-r → “Manifestation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

نَفْسِكَ،

n-f-s → “of Thine own Self”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

وَإِنَّكَ

ʾ-n-n → “that” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

المُقْتَدِرُ

q-d-r → “Powerful”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

تَشاءُ

sh-y-ʾ → “pleaseth Thee”

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

العَلِيمُ

ʿ-l-m → “the All-Knowing”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

الحَكِيمُ.

ḥ-k-m → “the All-Wise”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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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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 ¶