Prayers and Meditations — §340

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 340 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

سُبْحَانَكَ يا مَنْ تَسْمَعُ ضَجيْجَ المُنْقَطِعينَ وَصَرِيخَ المُخْلِصِينَ وَتَرَى ما وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ طُغاةِ خَلْقِكَ وَعُصاةِ بَرِيَّتِكَ، فَوَعِزَّتِكَ يا سُلْطانَ مَمالِكَ العَدْلِ وَمَلِيكَ مَدائِنِ الفَضْلِ إِنَّ البَلايا قَدْ وَرَدَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَلَى شَأْنٍ لا يُحْصِيها قَلَمُ الإِنْشآءِ، وَلَوْ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَذْكُرَ لا يَدْرِي ما يَذْكُرُ وَلكِنْ لَمَّا وَرَدَ فِي سَبِيلِكَ وَحُبِّكَ لَيَشْكُرونَكَ فِي كُلِّ الأَحْوالِ وَيَقُولُونَ يا مَحْبُوبَ قُلُوبِنا وَالمَذْكُورُ فِي صُدُورِنا لَوْ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Unto Thee be praise, O Thou Who inclinest Thine ear to the sighing of them that have rid themselves of all attachment to any one but Thee, and Who hearest the voice of the lamentation of those who are wholly devoted to Thy Self! Thou beholdest all that hath befallen them at the hands of such of Thy creatures as have transgressed and rebelled against Thee. Thy might beareth me witness, O Thou Who art the King of the realms of justice and the Ruler of the cities of mercy! The tribulations they have been made to suffer are such as no pen, in the entire creation, can reckon. Should any one attempt to make mention of them, he would find himself powerless to describe them.

Translation Notes

سُبْحَانَكَ

s-b-ḥ → “Unto Thee be praise” Distinctive

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

مَنْ

m-n → “Thou Who” Distinctive

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

تَسْمَعُ

s-m-ʿ → “inclinest Thine ear” Distinctive

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

ضَجيْجَ

ḍ-j-j → “sighing”

literal: clamor; outcry; noise; tumult

المُنْقَطِعينَ

q-ṭ-ʿ → “rid themselves of all attachment” Distinctive

literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain

وَصَرِيخَ

ṣ-r-kh → “cry”

literal: cry; outcry; clamour; to cry out

المُخْلِصِينَ

kh-l-ṣ → “wholly”

literal: sincere; devoted; pure one

وَتَرَى

r-ʾ-y → “Thou beholdest”

literal: standard; banner; flag; ensign; opinion; counsel; judgment; to see; to view; to perceive

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

وَرَدَ

w-r-d → “hath befallen”

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

عَلَيْهِمْ

ʿ-l-y → “them” Distinctive

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

طُغاةِ

ṭ-gh-y → “oppressors”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

خَلْقِكَ

kh-l-q → “Thy creatures”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

وَعُصاةِ

ʿ-ṣ-y → “as have transgressed and rebelled”

literal: disobey; transgress; rebel

بَرِيَّتِكَ،

b-r-ʾ

literal: to create; to create anew; to be free from; innocent; free from; clear of; to cure; to heal; to clear

فَوَعِزَّتِكَ

ʿ-z-z → “Thy might beareth me witness” Distinctive

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

سُلْطانَ

s-l-ṭ → “Thou Who art the King”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

مَمالِكَ

m-l-k → “of the realms” Distinctive

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

العَدْلِ

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

مَدائِنِ

m-d-n → “of the cities”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

الفَضْلِ

f-ḍ-l → “of mercy”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

أَنْ

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

البَلايا

b-l-w → “The tribulations”

literal: affliction; trial; calamity

قَدْ

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

شَأْنٍ

sh-ʾ-n

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

لا

l-ʾ → “no”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يُحْصِيها

ḥ-ṣ-y → “can reckon”

literal: count; enumerate; enumeration

قَلَمُ

q-l-m → “pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

الإِنْشآءِ،

n-sh-ʾ → “in the entire creation”

literal: creation; bringing into existence; establishment; God willing; if God wishes; please God

وَلَوْ

l-w → “If”

literal: were it not for; if not for; save for

يُرِيدُ

r-y-d

literal: will; intention; to will; to intend; to wish

يَذْكُرَ

dh-k-r → “mention” Distinctive

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

يَدْرِي

d-r-y → “know” Distinctive

literal: know; in; sea

وَلكِنْ

l-k-n

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

لَمَّا

l-m-ʾ

literal: when; certainly-not; when, since

فِي

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

سَبِيلِكَ

s-b-l

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

وَحُبِّكَ

ḥ-b-b

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

لَيَشْكُرونَكَ

sh-k-r

literal: thank; thankful; thanks

كُلِّ

k-l-l

literal: for us; to us

الأَحْوالِ

ḥ-w-l

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

وَيَقُولُونَ

q-w-l

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

قُلُوبِنا

q-l-b

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

صُدُورِنا

ṣ-d-r

literal: to issue, emanate, proceed; issued, emanating

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 ¶