Prayers and Meditations — §558

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 558 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ يا إِلهِي لَمْ أَدْرِ أَيَّ نارٍ اشْتَعَلْتَ فِي صَدْرِيْ بِحَيْثُ يُسْمَعُ مِنْ كُلِّ أَرْكانِي زَفِيرُها وَيُشْهَدُ لَهِيبُها، لَوْ يَذْكُرُكَ لِسانِي بِأَنَّكَ أَنْتَ كُنْتَ قادِرًا فَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي قُدْرَةٍ يُخاطِبُنِي لِسانُ قَلْبِي "هذِهِ كَلِمَةٌ تَرْجِعُ إِلى شَكْلِها وَمِثْلِها وَإِنَّهُ لَهُوَ المُقَدَّسُ عَنْ ذِكْرِ العالَمِينَ" فَوَعِزَّتِكَ يا مَحْبُوبِي أَجِدُ فِي كُلِّ أَرْكانِيْ لِسانًا وَيَكُونُ ناطِقًا

Shoghi Effendi Translation

All praise be to Thee, O Lord, my God! How mysterious the Fire which Thou hast enkindled within my heart! My very limbs testify to the intensity of its heat, and evince the consuming power of its flame. Should my bodily tongue ever attempt to describe Thee as the One Whose strength hath ever excelled the strength of the most mighty amongst men, the tongue of my heart would address me, saying: “These are but words which can only be adequate to such things as are of the same likeness and nature as themselves. But He, of a truth, is infinitely exalted above the mention of all His creatures.”

Translation Notes

سُبْحَانَكَ

s-b-ḥ → “All 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)

لَمْ

l-y-s

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

أَدْرِ

d-r-y → “know”

literal: know; in; sea

أَيَّ

ʾ-y-y

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

نارٍ

n-ʾ-r → “Fire”

literal: light; illumination

اشْتَعَلْتَ

sh-ʿ-l → “which Thou hast enkindled” Distinctive

literal: to kindle, burn, be inflamed; to blaze

فِي

f-y → “within”

literal: in; in-it; in it

صَدْرِيْ

ṣ-d-r → “my heart”

literal: to issue, emanate, proceed; issued, emanating

بِحَيْثُ

ḥ-y-th → “such”

literal: where; in which; inasmuch as; in such wise that; whereby; in that; respect, aspect

يُسْمَعُ

s-m-ʿ

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

مِنْ

m-n

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

كُلِّ

k-l-l → “most mighty” Distinctive

literal: for us; to us

أَرْكانِي

r-k-n → “foundations” Distinctive

literal: pillar; cornerstone; support; fundamental element; limb; member

زَفِيرُها

z-f-r → “sighs” Distinctive

literal: sighs; sigh; sighing

وَيُشْهَدُ

sh-h-d → “testify”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

لَهِيبُها،

l-h-b → “undying” Distinctive

literal: fear; awe; majesty; reverence

لَوْ

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

يَذْكُرُكَ

dh-k-r → “attempt to describe” Distinctive

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

لِسانِي

l-s-n → “my bodily tongue” Distinctive

literal: tongue; language

بِأَنَّكَ

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

كُنْتَ

k-w-n → “hath ever excelled” Distinctive

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

قادِرًا

q-d-r → “strength” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

فَوْقَ

f-w-q

literal: above; over; beyond

ذِي

dh-w-y → “and” Distinctive

literal: possessor; possessor of; possessor/owner

يُخاطِبُنِي

kh-ṭ-b → “addressed” Distinctive

literal: address; addressing; addresses

قَلْبِي

q-l-b → “of my heart”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

كَلِمَةٌ

k-l-m → “words”

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

تَرْجِعُ

r-j-ʿ → “return” Distinctive

literal: return; returning; to return

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “to”

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

شَكْلِها

sh-k-l

literal: difficult; formation, constitution; difficult, problem

وَمِثْلِها

m-th-l → “same likeness”

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

لَهُوَ

h-w → “He”

literal: deviation; divergence; straying from the path; to be weak, to flag, to show reluctance

المُقَدَّسُ

q-d-s → “infinitely exalted”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

عَنْ

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

العالَمِينَ"

ʿ-l-m → “all His creatures.””

literal: world; knowledge; worlds

فَوَعِزَّتِكَ

ʿ-z-z

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

مَحْبُوبِي

ḥ-b-b

literal: love; affection

أَجِدُ

w-j-d

literal: creation; bringing into existence

ناطِقًا

n-ṭ-q

literal: to speak; to utter; to pronounce; to articulate

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