Prayers and Meditations — §571

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 571 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

الأَبْهی، فَوَعِزَّتِكَ إِنَّ السِّهامَ فِي سَبِيلِكَ دِيْباجٌ لِهَيَاكِلِنا وَالرِّماحَ فِي حُبِّكَ حَرِيرٌ لأبْدانِنا، فَوَعِزَّتِكَ لا يَنْبَغِي لأَحِبَّائِكَ إِلاَّ ما سُطِرَ مِنْ قَلَمِ تَقْديِرِكَ فِي هذا اللَّوْحِ العَزِيزِ العَظِيمِ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I swear by Thy might! The arrows that transfix us in Thy path are the ornaments of our temples, and the spears which pierce us in our love for Thee are as silk unto our bodies. By the glory of Thy might! Nothing whatsoever can beseem Thy servants except what the pen of Thine irrevocable decree hath traced in this priceless and exalted Tablet.

Translation Notes

الأَبْهی،

b-h-w → “I”

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

فَوَعِزَّتِكَ

ʿ-z-z → “swear by Thy might”

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

إِنَّ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

السِّهامَ

s-h-m → “arrows” Distinctive

literal: arrow; dart; shaft; portion; share

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

سَبِيلِكَ

s-b-l → “Thy path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

دِيْباجٌ

d-b-j → “preamble”

literal: brocade; silk; preamble; adornment

لِهَيَاكِلِنا

h-y-k-l → “our temples”

literal: temple; body; edifice; structure

وَالرِّماحَ

r-m-ḥ → “spears”

literal: spears; spear, lance; spear

حُبِّكَ

ḥ-b-b → “our love for Thee”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

حَرِيرٌ

ḥ-r-r → “heat” Distinctive

literal: heat; writing; freedom

لأبْدانِنا،

b-d-n → “our bodies”

literal: body; bodies; their bodies

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يَنْبَغِي

n-b-gh → “behooveth”

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

سُطِرَ

s-ṭ-r → “recorded” Distinctive

literal: written; inscribed; recorded

مِنْ

m-n

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

قَلَمِ

q-l-m → “pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

تَقْديِرِكَ

q-d-r → “irrevocable decree”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

اللَّوْحِ

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

العَظِيمِ

ʿ-ẓ-m → “exalted” Distinctive

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

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 ¶