Prayers and Meditations — §298

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 298 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

يْبِكَ بِأَعْلامِ نَصْرِكَ لِيَنْصُرُنَّهُمْ فِي مَمْلَكَتِكَ وَيَحْفَظُنَّهُمْ مِنْ أَعْدائِكَ، وَأَسْئَلُكَ يا إِلهِي بِاسْمِكَ الَّذيْ بِهِ أَمْطَرَتِ السَّحَابُ وَجَرَتِ الأَنْهارُ وَاشْتَعَلَتْ نَارُ الحُبِّ فِي الأَشْطَارِ بِأَنْ تَنْصُرَ عَبْدَكَ الَّذيْ أَقْبَلَ إِلَيْكَ وَنَطَقَ بِذِكْرِكَ وَأَرَادَ نُصْرَتَكَ، ثُمَّ أَثْبِتْهُ يا إِلهِي عَلَى حُبِّكَ وَدِينِكَ، هذا خَيْرٌ لَهُ عَمَّا خُلِقَ فِي أَرْضِكَ لأنَّ الدُّنْيا وَما خُلِقَ فِيها تَفْنَى وَما عِنْدَكَ يَبْقى بِدَوامِ أَسْمائِكَ الحُسْنی، فَوَعِزَّتِك لَوْ تكُونُ الدُّنْيَا باقِيَةً بِدَوَامِ مَلَكُوتِكَ لا يَنْبَغِيْ أَنْ يَتَوَجَّهَ إِلَيْها مَنْ شَرِبَ خَمْرَ الوِصالِ مِنْ أَيادِي رَحْمَتِكَ، فَكَيْفَ بَعْدَ عِلْمِهِ بِفَنَائِها وَإِيقانِهِ بِزَوالِها، وَإِنَّ تَغْيِيرَها وَتَغْيِيرَ ما فِيها فِي كُلِّ الأَحْيَانِ لَبُرْهانٌ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I entreat Thee, O my God, by Thy name through which the clouds have rained down their rain, and the streams have flowed, and the fire of Thy love hath been kindled throughout Thy dominion, to assist Thy servant who hath turned towards Thee, and hath spoken forth Thy praise, and determined to help Thee. Fortify, then, his heart, O my God, in Thy love and in Thy Faith. Better is this for him than all that hath been created on Thine earth, for the world and whatsoever is therein must perish, and what pertaineth unto Thee must endure as long as Thy most excellent names endure. By Thy Glory! Were the world to last as long as Thine own kingdom will last, to set their affections upon it would still be unseemly for such as have quaffed, from the hands of Thy mercy, the wine of Thy presence; how much more when they recognize its fleetingness and are persuaded of its transience. The chances that overtake it, and the changes to which all things pertaining unto it are continually subjected, attest its impermanence.

Translation Notes

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in it; in them

وَيَحْفَظُنَّهُمْ

ḥ-f-ẓ

literal: protection; protect; preserve

مَنْ

m-n → “from”

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

أَعْدائِكَ،

ʿ-d-w

literal: when; if; whenever; at that time

وَأَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l → “I entreat Thee” Distinctive

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h → “O my God”

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

بِاسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “by Thy name”

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

الَّذيْ

l-dh-y → “through which”

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

بِهِ

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

أَمْطَرَتِ

m-ṭ-r → “have rained down their rain”

literal: rain

السَّحَابُ

s-ḥ-b → “the clouds”

literal: cloud; clouds

وَجَرَتِ

j-r-y → “have flowed”

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

الأَنْهارُ

n-h-r → “the streams”

literal: river; to flow

وَاشْتَعَلَتْ

sh-ʿ-l → “been kindled”

literal: to kindle, burn, be inflamed; to blaze

نَارُ

n-ʾ-r → “fire”

literal: fire; blaze; flame

الحُبِّ

ḥ-b-b → “of Thy love”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

الأَشْطَارِ

sh-ṭ-r → “the direction”

literal: side, direction; half; to split

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تَنْصُرَ

n-ṣ-r → “to assist”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

عَبْدَكَ

ʿ-b-d → “Thy servant”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

أَقْبَلَ

q-b-l → “hath turned towards”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

وَنَطَقَ

n-ṭ-q → “hath spoken”

literal: to speak; to utter; to pronounce; to articulate

بِذِكْرِكَ

dh-k-r → “forth Thy praise”

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

وَأَرَادَ

r-y-d → “desire” Distinctive

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

ثُمَّ

th-m-m → “Fortify, then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

أَثْبِتْهُ

th-b-t

literal: firm; steadfast; established; fixed

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “in” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

وَدِينِكَ،

d-y-n → “in Thy Faith”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “Better is this”

literal: this; that

خَيْرٌ

kh-y-r

literal: goodwill; benevolence; kindness; good; goodness; benefit; better; best

لَهُ

h-w → “is”

literal: for them both; to both of them (dual pronoun)

عَمَّا

ʿ-n

literal: with them; in their company

خُلِقَ

kh-l-q → “that hath been created”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

أَرْضِكَ

ʾ-r-ḍ → “on Thine earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

لأنَّ

ʾ-n → “for” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الدُّنْيا

d-n-w → “the world”

literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with

وَما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

تَفْنَى

f-n-y → “must perish”

literal: annihilation; perishing; extinction; cessation; the threshold

عِنْدَكَ

ʿ-n-d → “pertaineth unto Thee”

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

يَبْقى

b-q-y → “must endure” Distinctive

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal; permanence; duration; continuance

بِدَوامِ

d-w-m → “as long as”

literal: always; continually; perpetually; constantly

الحُسْنی،

ḥ-s-n → “most excellent”

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

فَوَعِزَّتِك

ʿ-z-z → “By Thy Glory”

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

لَوْ

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

تكُونُ

k-w-n → “be”

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

باقِيَةً

b-q-y

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal; permanence; duration; continuance

مَلَكُوتِكَ

m-l-k → “Thine own kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يَنْبَغِيْ

n-b-gh → “behooveth”

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

أَنْ

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يَتَوَجَّهَ

w-j-h → “their affections” Distinctive

literal: face; attention; turning

إِلَيْها

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

literal: one; a single

شَرِبَ

sh-r-b → “have quaffed”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

خَمْرَ

kh-m-r → “wine of”

literal: wine; dough; wine/intoxication

الوِصالِ

w-ṣ-l → “Thy presence” Distinctive

literal: reunion; union; meeting; connection

أَيادِي

y-d-y → “hands”

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

رَحْمَتِكَ،

r-ḥ-m → “of Thy mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

فَكَيْفَ

k-y-f → “how much more when”

literal: how; in what manner

بَعْدَ

b-ʿ-d

literal: after; behind; distance

عِلْمِهِ

ʿ-l-m → “knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وَإِيقانِهِ

y-q-n → “and are persuaded” Distinctive

literal: certainty; certitude; conviction; faith

بِزَوالِها،

z-w-l → “at all times” Distinctive

literal: to pass away; to vanish; to disappear; to cease

وَإِنَّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تَغْيِيرَها

gh-y-r → “other” Distinctive

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

كُلِّ

k-l-l → “are continually subjected”

literal: for us; to us

الأَحْيَانِ

ḥ-y-n

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

لَبُرْهانٌ

b-r-h-n → “testimonies” Distinctive

literal: proof, evidence, demonstration, argument

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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 ¶