Prayers and Meditations — §3

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 3 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

أَسْئَلُكَ يا إِلهِي بِهِمْ وَبِالزَّفَراتِ الَّتِيْ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ فِيْ فِراقِكَ، بِأَنْ تَحْفَظَهُمْ مِنْ شَرِّ أَعْدائِكَ، وَتَرْزُقَهُمْ ما قَدَّرْتَه لأَوْلِيائِكَ الَّذِينَ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I beseech Thee, O my God, by them and by the sighs which their hearts utter in their separation from Thee, to keep them safe from the mischief of Thine adversaries, and to nourish their souls with what Thou hast ordained for Thy loved ones on whom shall come no fear and who shall not be put to grief.

Translation Notes

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l → “I beseech”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h → “my God”

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

بِهِمْ

h-m → “all”

literal: them (feminine or general); by them; through them

وَبِالزَّفَراتِ

z-f-r → “by the sighs”

literal: sighs; sigh; sighing

الَّتِيْ

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

تَخْرُجُ

kh-r-j → “banished” Distinctive

literal: bringing out, taking out, expulsion, extraction

مِنْ

m-n → “in” Distinctive

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

قُلُوبِهِمْ

q-l-b → “their hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

فِيْ

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

فِراقِكَ،

f-r-q → “their separation from Thee”

literal: faction; sect; group; company

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تَحْفَظَهُمْ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “them safe”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

شَرِّ

sh-r-r → “mischief”

literal: evil; harm; wickedness

أَعْدائِكَ،

ʿ-d-w → “of Thine adversaries”

literal: hostility, aggression, enmity, transgression

وَتَرْزُقَهُمْ

r-z-q → “partake” Distinctive

literal: sustenance; provision; to grant livelihood

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

قَدَّرْتَه

q-d-r → “Thou hast ordained” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

لأَوْلِيائِكَ

w-l-y → “for Thy loved ones”

literal: guardian; protector; friend; ally; lord; helper; first; primary; original

الَّذِينَ

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

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

لا

l-ʾ → “no”

literal: no; not; negation particle

خَوْفٌ

kh-w-f → “fear”

literal: to fear; to be afraid; fear

عَلَيْهِمْ

ʿ-l-y → “upon”

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

هُمْ

h-m-m

literal: them (feminine or general); by them; through them

يَحْزَنُونَ.

ḥ-z-n → “be put to grief”

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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Gleanings

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16 ¶

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291 ¶

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17 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

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5 ¶

Tablet of the Holy Mariner

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57 ¶

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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 ¶

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59 ¶