Prayers and Meditations — §518

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 518 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

تَرَى يا إِلهِي عِبادَكَ تَمَسَّكُوا بِأَسْمائِكَ وَيَدْعُونَها فِي اللَّيالِي وَالأَيَّامِ، وَإِذا ظَهَرَ مَنْ خُلِقَ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ الأَسْمآءِ وَجَبَرُوتُ البَقآءِ انْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِهِ وَكَفَرُوا بِآياتِكَ الْكُبْرى إِلى أَنْ أَخْرَجُوهُ مِنْ دِيارِهِ وَأَدْخَلُوهُ إِلى أَخْرَبِ بِلادِكَ بَعْدَ الَّذِيْ عُمِّرَتِ الدُّنْيا لِنَفْسِهِ وَيَكُونُ جالِسًا فِي هذا السِّجْنِ الأَعْظَمِ، وَمَعَ هذَا البَلآءِ الَّذِيْ ما رَأَتْ شِبْهَهُ عَيْنُ الإِبْداع يَدْعُو النَّاسَ إِلَيْكَ يا مالِكَ الاخْتِر

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Thou seest, O my God, how Thy servants have been cleaving fast to Thy names, and have been calling on them in the daytime and in the night season. No sooner, however, had He been made manifest through Whose word the kingdom of names and the heaven of eternity were created, than they broke away from Him and disbelieved in the greatest of Thy signs. They finally banished Him from the land of His birth, and caused Him to dwell within the most desolate of Thy cities, though all the world had been built up by Thee for His sake. Within this, the Most Great Prison, He hath established His seat. Though sore tried by trials, the like of which the eye of creation hath not seen, He summoneth the people unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Fashioner of the universe!

Translation Notes

تَرَى

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest”

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h → “my God”

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

عِبادَكَ

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

تَمَسَّكُوا

m-s-k → “cleaving fast” Distinctive

literal: musk; to seize; grip

بِأَسْمائِكَ

s-m-w → “to Thy names”

literal: to name, to nominate, to designate, to appoint; name; noun; to name, to appoint, to designate

وَيَدْعُونَها

d-ʿ-w → “calling on them”

literal: call, invocation, summons; to call, invite, summon

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

اللَّيالِي

l-y-l → “the daytime”

literal: night; darkness

وَالأَيَّامِ،

y-w-m → “Day”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

وَإِذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

ظَهَرَ

ẓ-h-r → “been made manifest” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

مَنْ

m-n → “from”

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

خُلِقَ

kh-l-q → “created”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

بِكَلِمَةٍ

k-l-m → “word”

literal: words; utterances; locutions

عِنْدِهِ

ʿ-n-d → “possess” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

مَلَكُوتُ

m-l-k → “kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

وَجَبَرُوتُ

j-b-r → “heaven”

literal: compelled; forced; constrained

البَقآءِ

b-q-y → “eternity”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal; permanence; duration; continuance

انْفَضُّوا

f-ḍ-ḍ → “silver” Distinctive

literal: to break away; to scatter; to disperse

حَوْلِهِ

ḥ-w-l → “now” Distinctive

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

وَكَفَرُوا

k-f-r → “disbelieved”

literal: to disbelieve, reject; unbelief, ingratitude; to deny, to disbelieve, to reject

بِآياتِكَ

ʾ-y-y → “greatest of Thy signs”

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

الْكُبْرى

k-b-r

literal: great; grand; mighty; large; greatness; majesty; sovereignty; arrogance

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

أَنْ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أَخْرَجُوهُ

kh-r-j → “banished”

literal: go out; exit; outside

دِيارِهِ

d-w-r → “land of”

literal: home; place; land; abode

وَأَدْخَلُوهُ

d-kh-l → “enter”

literal: enter; entered; entering

أَخْرَبِ

kh-r-b → “most desolate”

literal: ruin; desolation

بِلادِكَ

b-l-d → “of Thy cities”

literal: city; land; country

بَعْدَ

b-ʿ-d → “after”

literal: after; behind; distance

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

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

عُمِّرَتِ

ʿ-m-r → “By My life” Distinctive

literal: life; age; duration; by the life of (oath)

الدُّنْيا

d-n-w → “the world”

literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with

لِنَفْسِهِ

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

وَيَكُونُ

k-w-n → “hath established” Distinctive

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

جالِسًا

j-l-s

literal: council; assembly; gathering; session

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

السِّجْنِ

s-j-n → “Most Great Prison”

literal: prison, imprisonment; to imprison

الأَعْظَمِ،

ʿ-ẓ-m → “the”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

وَمَعَ

m-ʿ → “notwithstanding”

literal: with; together with; alongside

البَلآءِ

b-l-w → “trials” Distinctive

literal: trial; affliction; tribulation; testing

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

شِبْهَهُ

sh-b-h → “like” Distinctive

literal: doubt; uncertainty; suspicion; resemblance; semblance

عَيْنُ

ʿ-y-n → “eye”

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence; to appoint; to designate; to specify; to determine

الإِبْداع

b-d-ʿ → “creation”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

النَّاسَ

n-ʾ-s → “the people”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

الاخْتِر

kh-y-r → “good” Distinctive

literal: good; better; choose

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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