Prayers and Meditations — §57

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 57 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

يا مالِكَ مَمالِكَ الإِنْشآءِ وَسُلْطَانَ الأَسْمآءِ بِأَنْ تَكْتُبَ اسْمِي مِنَ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَزَلْ طَافُوا حَوْلَ سُرادِقِ مَجْدِكَ وَتَشَبَّثُوا بِذَيْلِ عِنايَتِكَ وَتَمَسَّكُوا بِحَبْلِ عُطُوفَتِكَ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I entreat Thee, O Thou Who art the Ruler of the kingdoms of creation and the Author of all names, to write down my name with the names of them who, from eternity, have circled round the Tabernacle of Thy majesty, and clung to the hem of Thy loving-kindness, and held fast the cord of Thy tender mercy.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

مالِكَ

m-l-k → “Ruler” Distinctive

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

الإِنْشآءِ

n-sh-ʾ → “creation”

literal: creation; bringing into existence; establishment; God willing; if God wishes; please God

وَسُلْطَانَ

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

الأَسْمآءِ

s-m-w → “names”

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

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تَكْتُبَ

k-t-b

literal: book; books; write

مِنَ

m-n → “with the names of”

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

الَّذِينَ

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

literal: those who; the ones who (relative pronoun)

لَمْ

l-y-s → “not”

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

يَزَلْ

z-w-l → “at all times” Distinctive

literal: cease; to cease; decline

طَافُوا

ṭ-w-f

literal: circle; circling; circumambulate

حَوْلَ

ḥ-w-l → “round”

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

سُرادِقِ

s-r-d-q → “Tabernacle”

literal: pavilion; tabernacle; canopy; tent

مَجْدِكَ

m-j-d → “majesty”

literal: glory; majesty; magnificence

وَتَشَبَّثُوا

sh-b-th → “clung”

literal: cling; clinging; clinging/holding fast

بِذَيْلِ

dh-y-l → “hem”

literal: hem; skirt; tail; border

عِنايَتِكَ

ʿ-n-y → “loving-kindness”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

وَتَمَسَّكُوا

m-s-k → “held fast” Distinctive

literal: musk; to seize; grip; to hold fast; to cling to; to grasp

بِحَبْلِ

ḥ-b-l → “cord”

literal: cord; rope; bond; connection

عُطُوفَتِكَ

ʿ-ṭ-f → “of Thy loving providence”

literal: compassionate; kindness/compassion; kindness

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

Fire Tablet

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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

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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 ¶

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 ¶