Prayers and Meditations — §403

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 403 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

يا إِلهِي عَبْدَكَ الَّذِيْ آمَنَ بِكَ عَلَى نُصْرَةِ أَمْرِكَ، ثُمَّ احْفَظْهُ فِي كَنَفِ حِفْظِكَ وَحِمايَتِكَ فِي الآخِرَةِ وَالأُولى وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الحَاكِمُ عَلَى ما تَشآءُ لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ الغَفُورُ الْكَرِيمُ.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Make steadfast Thou, O my God, Thy servant who hath believed in Thee to help Thy Cause, and keep him safe from all dangers in the stronghold of Thy care and Thy protection, both in this life and in the life which is to come. Thou, verily, rulest as Thou pleasest. No God is there save Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h → “O my God”

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

عَبْدَكَ

ʿ-b-d → “Thy servant”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

آمَنَ

ʾ-m-n → “hath believed”

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “to”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

نُصْرَةِ

n-ṣ-r → “help”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

أَمْرِكَ،

ʾ-m-r → “Thy Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

ثُمَّ

th-m-m → “then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

احْفَظْهُ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “Make steadfast Thou” Distinctive

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

كَنَفِ

k-n-f → “shelter”

literal: shelter; shelter/protection; regions

وَحِمايَتِكَ

ḥ-m-y → “Thy protection”

literal: to protect; to guard; to preserve; to defend

الآخِرَةِ

ʾ-kh-r → “life which is to come” Distinctive

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

وَالأُولى

ʾ-w-l → “this life”

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

وَإِنَّكَ

ʾ-n-n → “that” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

الحَاكِمُ

ḥ-k-m → “rulest” Distinctive

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

ما

m-ʾ

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

تَشآءُ

sh-y-ʾ → “pleasest”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

لا

l-ʾ → “No”

literal: no; not; negation particle

إِلهَ

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

الغَفُورُ

gh-f-r → “the Ever-Forgiving”

literal: to forgive; forgiveness

الْكَرِيمُ.

k-r-m → “the Most Generous”

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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59 ¶