Prayers and Meditations — §30

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 30 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

أَيْ رَبِّ لا تَمْنَعْنِي عَمَّا قَدَّرْتَهُ لإِمائِكَ اللاَّئِي يَطُفْنَ فِيْ حَوْلِكَ وَيَتَجَلَّى عَلَيْهِنَّ فِيْ كُلِّ حِينٍ شَمْسُ جَمالِكَ وَأَنْوارُ وَجْهِكَ، إِنَّكَ لَمْ تَزَلْ كُنْتَ مُعِينَ مَنْ أَرادَكَ وَمُعْطِيَ مَنْ سَئَلَكَ،

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Withhold not from me, O my Lord, the things Thou didst ordain for such of Thy handmaidens as circle around Thee, and on whom are poured continually the splendors of the sun of Thy beauty and the beams of the brightness of Thy face. Thou art He Who from everlasting hath succored whosoever hath sought Thee, and bountifully favored him who hath asked Thee.

Translation Notes

أَيْ

ʾ-y-y → “O”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

رَبِّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تَمْنَعْنِي

m-n-ʿ → “Withhold”

literal: prevent; prevented; prevention

عَمَّا

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: with them; in their company

قَدَّرْتَهُ

q-d-r → “ordain”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

لإِمائِكَ

ʾ-m-y → “handmaidens”

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

يَطُفْنَ

ṭ-w-f → “circle”

literal: circle; circling; circumambulate

فِيْ

f-y → “of” Distinctive

literal: in; in-it; in it

حَوْلِكَ

ḥ-w-l → “around”

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

وَيَتَجَلَّى

j-l-w → “revelation” Distinctive

literal: effulgence; manifestation; revelation; manifestation, revelation, appearance

عَلَيْهِنَّ

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

كُلِّ

k-l-l → “continually”

literal: for us; to us

حِينٍ

ḥ-y-n → “continually” Distinctive

literal: time; moment; while; season

شَمْسُ

sh-m-s → “sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

جَمالِكَ

j-m-l → “beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

وَأَنْوارُ

n-w-r → “splendors”

literal: light; illumination

وَجْهِكَ،

w-j-h → “face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

إِنَّكَ

ʾ-n-n → “Thou art He” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

لَمْ

l-y-s

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

تَزَلْ

z-w-l → “everlasting”

literal: cease; to cease; decline

كُنْتَ

k-w-n → “be” Distinctive

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

مُعِينَ

ʿ-y-n → “eyes” Distinctive

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence

مَنْ

m-n → “whosoever” Distinctive

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

أَرادَكَ

r-y-d → “sought”

literal: will, volition, intention, desire

وَمُعْطِيَ

ʿ-ṭ-w → “bounty” Distinctive

literal: bounty; gift; bestowal; grace; bountifulness

سَئَلَكَ،

s-ʾ-l → “asked”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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

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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 ¶