Prayers and Meditations — §535

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 535 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ يا إِلهِي أَنَا الَّذِيْ أَرَدْتُ رِضَائَكَ وَأَقْبَلْتُ إِلى شَطْرِ إِفْضالِكَ وَقَدْ جِئْتُكَ مُنْقَطِعًا عَمَّا سِواكَ وَلائِذًا بِحَضْرَتِكَ وَمُقْبِلاً إِلى حَرَمِ أَمْرِكَ وَكَعْبَةِ عِزِّكَ، أَيْ رَبِّ أَسْئَلُكَ بِنِدائِكَ الَّذِيْ بِهِ سَرُعَ المُوَحِّدُوْنَ إِلى ظِلِّ عِنايَتِكَ الكُبْرى وَهَرَبَ المُخْلِصُونَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ إِلى اسْمِكَ العَلِيِّ الأَبْهی، وَبِهِ نُزِّلَتْ آياتُكَ وَحُقِّقَتْ كَلِماتُكَ وَظَهَرَ بُرْهانُكَ وَأَشْرَقَتْ شَمْسُ جَمالِكَ وَثَبَتَتْ حُجَّتُكَ وَلاحَ دَلِيلُكَ، بِأَنْ تَجْعَلَنِي مِنَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ شَرِبُوا خَمْرَ الحَيَوانِ مِنْ أَيادِي إِحْسانِكَ، وَانْقَطَعُوا عَنِ الأَكْوانِ فِي سَبِيلِكَ وَأَخَذَهُمْ سُكْرُ خَمْرِ مَعارِفِكَ عَلَى شَأْنٍ سَرُعُوا إِلى مَشْهَدِ الفِدآءِ ناطِقِينَ بِثَنائِكَ وَذاكِريْنَ بِذِكْرِكَ، ثُمَّ أَنْزِلْ يا إِلهِي عَلَيَّ ما يَجْعَلُنِيْ مُطَهَّرًا عَنْ غَيْرِكَ ثمَّ خَلِّصْنِي مِنْ أَعْدائِكَ الَّذِيِنَ كَفَرُوا بِكَ وَبِآياتِكَ، وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God! I am the one who hath sought the good pleasure of Thy will, and directed his steps towards the seat of Thy gracious favors. I am he who hath forsaken his all, who hath fled to Thee for shelter, who hath set his face towards the tabernacle of Thy revelation and the adored sanctuary of Thy glory. I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Thy call whereby they who recognized Thy unity have sought the shadow of Thy most gracious providence, and the sincere have fled far from themselves unto Thy name, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, through which Thy verses were sent down, and Thy word fulfilled, and Thy proof manifested, and the sun of Thy beauty risen, and Thy testimony established, and Thy signs uncovered,—I beseech Thee to grant that I may be numbered with them that have quaffed the wine that is life indeed from the hands of Thy gracious providence, and have rid themselves, in Thy path, of all attachment to Thy creatures, and been so inebriated with Thy manifold wisdom that they hastened to the field of sacrifice with Thy praise on their lips and Thy remembrance in their hearts. Send down, also, upon me, O my God, that which will wash me from anything that is not of Thee, and deliver me from Thine enemies who have disbelieved in Thy signs.

Translation Notes

سُبْحَانَكَ

s-b-ḥ → “Praise be to Thee” Distinctive

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

اللَّهُمَّ

ʾ-l-h → “O Lord” Distinctive

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

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

أَنَا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

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

أَرَدْتُ

r-w-d → “hath sought” Distinctive

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

رِضَائَكَ

r-ḍ-y → “good pleasure”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

وَأَقْبَلْتُ

q-b-l → “before” Distinctive

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

شَطْرِ

sh-ṭ-r → “seat” Distinctive

literal: side, direction; half; to split

إِفْضالِكَ

f-ḍ-l → “of Thy gracious favors” Distinctive

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

وَقَدْ

q-d

literal: and indeed; and already; conjunction indicating completed action

جِئْتُكَ

j-y-ʾ

literal: come; came; to come

مُنْقَطِعًا

q-ṭ-ʿ → “hath forsaken” Distinctive

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

سِواكَ

s-w-y → “his all” Distinctive

literal: other than; besides; except; equal; alike

وَلائِذًا

l-w-dh → “my Refuge” Distinctive

literal: refuge; seeking refuge; haven

بِحَضْرَتِكَ

ḥ-ḍ-r → “to Thee for shelter”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

حَرَمِ

ḥ-r-m → “tabernacle”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

أَمْرِكَ

ʾ-m-r → “of Thy revelation” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

وَكَعْبَةِ

k-ʿ-b → “adored sanctuary”

literal: Kaaba; cube/Kaaba; Kaaba/lodestar

عِزِّكَ،

ʿ-z-z → “of Thy glory”

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

أَيْ

ʾ-y-y

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

رَبِّ

r-b-b → “O my Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l → “I beseech Thee”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

بِنِدائِكَ

n-d-y → “by Thy call”

literal: servants; bondsmen; slaves

سَرُعَ

s-r-ʿ → “have sought” Distinctive

literal: speed; swiftness; haste

المُوَحِّدُوْنَ

w-ḥ-d → “they who recognized Thy unity”

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

ظِلِّ

ẓ-l-l → “shadow”

literal: to take shelter; to dwell in shadow

عِنايَتِكَ

ʿ-n-y → “gracious providence” Distinctive

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

الكُبْرى

k-b-r

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

وَهَرَبَ

h-r-b → “have fled”

literal: to flee; to escape

المُخْلِصُونَ

kh-l-ṣ → “the sincere”

literal: sincere; devoted; pure one

مِنْ

m-n → “far from”

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

أَنْفُسِهِمْ

n-f-s → “themselves”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

اسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “Thy name”

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

العَلِيِّ

ʿ-l-w → “the Most Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الأَبْهی،

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious”

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

وَبِهِ

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

نُزِّلَتْ

n-z-l → “were sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

آياتُكَ

ʾ-y-y → “Thy verses” Distinctive

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

وَحُقِّقَتْ

ḥ-q-q → “fulfilled”

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

كَلِماتُكَ

k-l-m → “Thy word”

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

وَظَهَرَ

ẓ-h-r → “manifested”

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

بُرْهانُكَ

b-r-h → “Thy proof”

literal: proof, evidence, demonstration, argument

وَأَشْرَقَتْ

sh-r-q → “risen” Distinctive

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

شَمْسُ

sh-m-s → “sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

جَمالِكَ

j-m-l → “of Thy beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

وَثَبَتَتْ

th-b-t → “established”

literal: established; establish; affirmation

حُجَّتُكَ

ḥ-j-j → “Thy testimony”

literal: path, way; clear path

وَلاحَ

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet” Distinctive

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

دَلِيلُكَ،

d-l-l → “proof” Distinctive

literal: to argue; to demonstrate; proof

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “to grant that”

literal: that; indeed; moment

هُمْ

h-m-m

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

شَرِبُوا

sh-r-b → “have quaffed”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

خَمْرَ

kh-m-r → “wine”

literal: wine; dough; wine/intoxication

الحَيَوانِ

ḥ-y-w → “that is life indeed”

literal: life; living being; animal

أَيادِي

y-d-y → “hands”

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

إِحْسانِكَ،

ḥ-s-n → “most excellent” Distinctive

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

عَنِ

ʿ-n → “of”

literal: with them; in their company

الأَكْوانِ

k-w-n → “all attachment to Thy creatures” Distinctive

literal: be; was; to be

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

سَبِيلِكَ

s-b-l → “Thy path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

وَأَخَذَهُمْ

ʾ-kh-dh → “arrested” Distinctive

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

سُكْرُ

s-k-r → “with” Distinctive

literal: to become drunk; intoxication; inebriation

مَعارِفِكَ

ʿ-r-f

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

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

مَشْهَدِ

sh-h-d → “witness” Distinctive

literal: witness; observation; witnessed

الفِدآءِ

f-d-y → “of sacrifice”

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem

ناطِقِينَ

n-ṭ-q → “with”

literal: speak; speaking; spoke

بِثَنائِكَ

th-n-y → “Thy praise”

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy; glorification; praise, commendation, eulogy

وَذاكِريْنَ

dh-k-r → “and”

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

ثُمَّ

th-m-m → “then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يَجْعَلُنِيْ

j-ʿ-l → “make”

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

مُطَهَّرًا

ṭ-h-r → “pure” Distinctive

literal: to purify; to cleanse

غَيْرِكَ

gh-y-r → “not of Thee”

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

أَعْدائِكَ

ʿ-d-w → “Thine enemies”

literal: when; if; whenever; at that time

كَفَرُوا

k-f-r → “have disbelieved”

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

وَإِنَّكَ

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; indeed; moment

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t

literal: you (masculine singular)

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 ¶