Skip to main content

Prayers and Meditations — §295

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 295 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

يا إِلهِي قَدْ كادَ أَنْ يَصْفَرَّ ما نَبَتَ فِي رِضْوانِ عِزِّ فَرْدَانِيَّتِكَ فَأَيْنَ أَمْطارُ سَحَابِ رَحْمَتِكَ، وَعَرَّتْ أَغْصانُ سِدْرَةِ وَحْدَانِيَّتِكَ مِنْ حُلَلِ العِزَّةِ وَالعِرْفانِ، فَأَيْنَ رَبِيعُ أَلْطافِكَ وَمَوَاهِبِكَ، قَدْ تَوَقَّفَتْ فُلْكُ أَمْرِكَ عَلَى بَحْرِ الإِمْكانِ فَأَيْنَ أَرْيَاحُ جُودِكَ وَإِحْسَانِكَ، وَأَحَاطَتْ سِرَاجَ أ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Faded now is all that erstwhile flourished in the Paradise of Thy transcendent oneness, O my God! Where are the rain-giving clouds of Thy mercy? Shorn are the branches of the Tree of Thy unity of the vesture of Thy majesty and wisdom; where is the springtime of Thy gifts and bounties? Motionless lies the Ark of Thy Cause on the sea of Thy creation; where are the winds of Thy grace and favors? Encompassed on every side is Thy Lamp by the tempests of discord blowing from every land; where is the globe of Thy graciousness and protection?

Translation Notes

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)

كادَ
k-w-d

literal: almost; to almost; almost, nearly

أَنْ
ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يَصْفَرَّ
ṣ-f-r → “yellowed” Distinctive

literal: yellow; trumpet; yellowed

ما
m-ʾ → “that”

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

نَبَتَ
n-b-t → “bringeth forth” Distinctive

literal: to grow, to spring forth, to produce; plant, growth

فِي
f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

رِضْوانِ
r-ḍ-w → “Paradise”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

عِزِّ
ʿ-z-z → “of” Distinctive

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

فَرْدَانِيَّتِكَ
f-r-d → “transcendent oneness” Distinctive

literal: unique; singular; incomparable

فَأَيْنَ
ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

أَمْطارُ
m-ṭ-r → “rain-giving”

literal: rain

سَحَابِ
s-ḥ-b → “clouds”

literal: cloud; clouds

رَحْمَتِكَ،
r-ḥ-m → “of Thy mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

وَعَرَّتْ
ʿ-r-y → “Rid” Distinctive

literal: strip; devoid; strip/rid

أَغْصانُ
gh-ṣ-n → “branches”

literal: branch; twig

سِدْرَةِ
s-d-r → “Tree”

literal: lote-tree; divine tree

وَحْدَانِيَّتِكَ
w-ḥ-d → “Thy unity”

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

مِنْ
m-n → “of”

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

حُلَلِ
ḥ-l-l → “place” Distinctive

literal: place; location; spot

وَالعِرْفانِ،
ʿ-r-f → “wisdom” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

رَبِيعُ
r-b-ʿ → “springtime”

literal: four; quarter; group of four

أَلْطافِكَ
l-ṭ-f → “Thy gifts” Distinctive

literal: kindness; grace; gentleness; benevolence

وَمَوَاهِبِكَ،
w-h-b → “gifts”

literal: gift; grant; bestowal

تَوَقَّفَتْ
w-q-f → “hesitated” Distinctive

literal: aware; standing; stopping

فُلْكُ
f-l-k → “Ark”

literal: ship; ark; orbit; sphere; heaven

أَمْرِكَ
ʾ-m-r → “Thy Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

عَلَى
ʿ-l-w → “on” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

بَحْرِ
b-ḥ-r → “sea” Distinctive

literal: sea; ocean

الإِمْكانِ
m-k-n → “Thy creation”

literal: establishment; confirmation; empowerment; firm settlement

أَرْيَاحُ
r-w-ḥ → “winds”

literal: rest; ease; comfort; tranquility

جُودِكَ
j-w-d → “Thy grace” Distinctive

literal: generosity; bounty; liberality

وَإِحْسَانِكَ،
ḥ-s-n → “and favors”

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

وَأَحَاطَتْ
ḥ-w-ṭ → “Encompassed”

literal: to encompass, surround, envelop, embrace

سِرَاجَ
s-r-j → “Thy Lamp”

literal: lamp; light; illuminator

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶