Prayers and Meditations — §392

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 392 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

تِكَ، يا إِلهِي أَشْرِبْنِي فِي أَمْرِكَ ما أَرَدْتَهُ وَأَنْزِلْ عَلَيَّ فِي حُبِّكَ ما قَدَّرْتَهُ، وَعِزَّتِكَ ما أُرِيْدُ إِلاَّ ما تُرِيْدُ وَلا أُحِبُّ إِلاَّ ما أَنْتَ تُحِبُّ، تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَيْكَ فِي كُلِّ الأَحْوالِ، أَسْئَلُكَ يا إِلهِي أَنْ تُظْهِرَ لِنُصْرَةِ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy word! Let me quaff in Thy Cause, O my God, whatsoever Thou didst desire, and send down upon me in Thy love all Thou didst ordain. By Thy glory! I wish only what Thou wishest, and cherish what Thou cherishest. In Thee have I, at all times, placed my whole trust and confidence.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h → “my God”

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

أَشْرِبْنِي

sh-r-b → “Let me quaff”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

أَمْرِكَ

ʾ-m-r → “Thy Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

أَرَدْتَهُ

r-y-d → “Thou didst desire”

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

وَأَنْزِلْ

n-z-l → “send down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

عَلَيَّ

ʿ-l-w → “upon me” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

حُبِّكَ

ḥ-b-b → “Thy love”

literal: love; affection

قَدَّرْتَهُ،

q-d-r → “Thou didst ordain”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

وَعِزَّتِكَ

ʿ-z-z → “By Thy glory”

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

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

وَلا

w-l-y → “and”

literal: no; not; negation particle

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

تَوَكَّلْتُ

w-k-l → “ministers” Distinctive

literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority; to rely; to trust; to place trust in

عَلَيْكَ

ʿ-l-y

literal: upon; on; exalted

كُلِّ

k-l-l → “all times, placed my whole”

literal: for us; to us

الأَحْوالِ،

ḥ-w-l

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

أَنْ

ʾ-n → “to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy word”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تُظْهِرَ

ẓ-h-r

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

لِنُصْرَةِ

n-ṣ-r

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

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 ¶

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16 ¶

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291 ¶

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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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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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‘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 ¶