Prayers and Meditations — §289

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 289 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

لنِّدآءَ وَأَجَابَكَ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَتَوَقَّفَ فِي أَقَلِّ مِنْ آنٍ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَعْرَضَ وَاتَّبَعَ هَويهُ، أَسْئَلُكَ يا إِلهِي بِاسْمِكَ الأَعْظَمِ بِأَنْ تَجْتَذِبَ الأُمَمَ بِالكَلِمَةِ الَّتِيْ جَعَلْتَها سُلْطانَ الكلِماتِ فِي أَيَّامِكَ وَبِها ظَهَر

Shoghi Effendi Translation

As soon as He revealed Himself, as bidden by Thee, and called Thy servants to turn in the direction of Thy gifts, and to set their faces towards the horizon of Thy knowledge, the signs of dissension appeared amongst them. Some responded to Thy call and, without the least hesitation, obeyed Thy summons. Others turned their backs to Thee, and followed the desires of a corrupt inclination.

Translation Notes

لنِّدآءَ

n-d-w → “call”

literal: call; voice; proclamation; forty; forty years

وَأَجَابَكَ

j-w-b → “answer” Distinctive

literal: answer, reply, response

غَيْرِ

gh-y-r → “without”

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

أَنْ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يَتَوَقَّفَ

w-q-f → “hesitation”

literal: to stop; to halt; to pause; to hesitate

فِي

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

أَقَلِّ

q-l-l → “least” Distinctive

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

وَمِنْهُمْ

m-n → “Others”

literal: from; out of; than (preposition and particle)

أَعْرَضَ

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turned their backs” Distinctive

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

وَاتَّبَعَ

t-b-ʿ → “followed”

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

هَويهُ،

h-w-y → “desires”

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h

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

بِاسْمِكَ

s-m-w

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

الأَعْظَمِ

ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; indeed; moment

تَجْتَذِبَ

j-dh-b

literal: attract; attraction; attract, draw

الأُمَمَ

ʾ-m-m

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair; people; nation; community; female servant; handmaiden; umma

بِالكَلِمَةِ

k-l-m

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

الَّتِيْ

ʾ-l-l

literal: who; which/that; which

جَعَلْتَها

j-ʿ-l

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

سُلْطانَ

s-l-ṭ

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

أَيَّامِكَ

y-w-m

literal: day; age; period; era

وَبِها

b-y-ʾ

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

ظَهَر

ẓ-h-r → “revealed”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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 ¶