Prayers and Meditations — §343
Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 343 of 858.
Source (Arabic)
ادِيَ خَلْقِكَ بِبَدائِعِ عِناياتِكَ وَمَواهِبِكَ وَلا تَقْطَعْ عَنْهُمُ الأَسْبابَ الَّتِيْ جَعَلْتَها وَسِيلَةً لِعِرْفانِ نَفْسِكَ، فَوَعِزَّتِكَ عِنْدَ قَطْعِها يَضْطَرِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ وَيَتَحَيَّرُ كُلُّ عاقِلٍ وَيَتَوَقَّفُ كُلُّ عارِفٍ إِلاَّ مَنْ أَخَذَتْهُ أَيادِي أَمْرِكَ وَظُهُوراتُ فَضْلِكَ وَشُئُوناتُ أَلْطافِكَ، فَوَعِزَّتِكَ يا إِلهِي لَوْ تَنْظُرُ إِلى عِبادِكَ بِما اكتَسَبُوا فِي أَيَّامِكَ
Shoghi Effendi Translation
The tenderness of Thy mercy, O my Lord, surpasseth the fury of Thy wrath, and Thy loving-kindness exceedeth Thy hot displeasure, and Thy grace excelleth Thy justice. Hold Thou, through Thy wondrous favors and mercies, the hands of Thy creatures, and suffer them not to be separated from the grace which Thou hast ordained as the means whereby they can recognize Thee. The glory of Thy might beareth me witness! Were such a thing to happen, every soul would be sore shaken, every man endued with understanding would be bewildered, and every possessor of knowledge would be dumbfounded, except those who have been succored through the hands of Thy Cause, and have been made the recipients of the revelations of Thy grace and of the tokens of Thy favors.
Translation Notes
تَقْطَعْ
literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain
وَسِيلَةً
literal: means, medium, instrument, intermediary
أَيادِي
literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen
أَمْرِكَ
literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order
وَظُهُوراتُ
literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation
