Prayers and Meditations — §577

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 577 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ يا إِلهِي أَسْئَلُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ الَّتِي أَحاطَتِ المُمْكِناتِ وَبِسُلْطانِكَ الَّذِي اسْتَعْلى عَلَى المَوْجُوداتِ وَبِكَلِمَتِك الَّتِيْ كانَتْ مَكْنُونَةً فِي عِلْمِكَ وَبِها خَلَقْتَ سَمائَكَ وَأَرْضَكَ بِأَنْ تَجْعَلَنا مُسْتَقِيمِينَ عَلَى حُبِّكَ وَرِضائِكَ وَناظِرِينَ إِلى وَجْهِكَ وَناطِقِينَ بِثَناءِ نَفْسِكَ، ثُمَّ اجْعَلْنا يا إِلهِي ناشِرِي آثارِكَ بَيْنَ بَرِيَّتِكَ وَحافِظِي دِينِكَ فِي مَمْلَكَتِكَ، وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ كُنْتَ مِنْ دُونِ ذِكْرِ شَيْءٍ وَتَكُونُ بِمِث

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Glorified be Thy name, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by Thy power that hath encompassed all created things, and by Thy sovereignty that hath transcended the entire creation, and by Thy Word which was hidden in Thy wisdom and whereby Thou didst create Thy heaven and Thy earth, both to enable us to be steadfast in our love for Thee and in our obedience to Thy pleasure, and to fix our gaze upon Thy face, and celebrate Thy glory. Empower us, then, O my God, to spread abroad Thy signs among Thy creatures, and to guard Thy Faith in Thy realm. Thou hast ever existed independently of the mention of any of Thy creatures, and wilt remain as Thou hast been for ever and ever.

Translation Notes

سُبْحَانَكَ

s-b-ḥ → “Glorified”

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 → “O”

literal: O; or

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l → “beseech”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

بِقُدْرَتِكَ

q-d-r → “Thy power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

الَّتِي

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

أَحاطَتِ

ḥ-w-ṭ → “encompassed”

literal: to encompass, surround, envelop, embrace

المُمْكِناتِ

m-k-n → “all created things”

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

وَبِسُلْطانِكَ

s-l-ṭ → “Thy sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

الَّذِي

l-dh-y → “that hath” Distinctive

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

اسْتَعْلى

ʿ-l-w → “exalted” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

المَوْجُوداتِ

w-j-d → “the entire creation”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

وَبِكَلِمَتِك

k-l-m → “Thy Word”

literal: word; words; speak

كانَتْ

k-w-n → “was” Distinctive

literal: you (masculine singular)

مَكْنُونَةً

k-n-n → “hidden”

literal: to do; to make; to perform

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

عِلْمِكَ

ʿ-l-m → “wisdom”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وَبِها

b-y-ʾ → “by their aid”

literal: love; affection

خَلَقْتَ

kh-l-q → “Thy creatures” Distinctive

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

سَمائَكَ

s-m-w → “Thy heaven”

literal: name; heaven; names

وَأَرْضَكَ

ʾ-r-ḍ → “Thy earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

بِأَنْ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تَجْعَلَنا

j-ʿ-l → “to be” Distinctive

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

مُسْتَقِيمِينَ

q-w-m → “steadfast”

literal: station; people; place

حُبِّكَ

ḥ-b-b → “love”

literal: love; beloved; beloved ones

وَرِضائِكَ

r-ḍ-y → “obedience to Thy pleasure”

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

وَناظِرِينَ

n-ẓ-r → “to fix our gaze” Distinctive

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

وَجْهِكَ

w-j-h → “face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

وَناطِقِينَ

n-ṭ-q → “spoken” Distinctive

literal: speak; speaking; spoke

بِثَناءِ

th-n-y

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

نَفْسِكَ،

n-f-s → “souls” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ثُمَّ

th-m-m → “then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ناشِرِي

n-sh-r → “to spread abroad”

literal: spreading; spread; diffusion

آثارِكَ

ʾ-th-r → “signs”

literal: effect; trace; influence; imprint

بَيْنَ

b-y-n → “among”

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

بَرِيَّتِكَ

b-r-ʾ → “creatures”

literal: to create; to create anew; to be free from; innocent; free from; clear of; to cure; to heal; to clear

وَحافِظِي

ḥ-f-ẓ → “guard”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

دِينِكَ

d-y-n → “Faith”

literal: religion; faith; creed

مَمْلَكَتِكَ،

m-l-k → “realm”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

وَإِنَّكَ

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you

مِنْ

m-n → “from”

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

دُونِ

d-w-n → “of”

literal: below; lower than; beneath

ذِكْرِ

dh-k-r → “mention”

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

شَيْءٍ

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

بِمِث

m-th-l

literal: like; likeness; example

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 ¶