Skip to main content

Prayers and Meditations — §647

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 647 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

احاطه نموده و انوار اسم اعظمت بر كلّ تابيده، عبادت را از بدايع فضلت محروم منما و آگاهى بخش تا بر وحدانيّتت گواهى دهند و شناسائى ده تا بسويت بشتابند، رحمتت ممكنات را احاطه نموده و فضلت كل را اخذ كرده، از امواج بحر بخششت بحور طلب و طمع ظاهر هر چه هستى توئى ما دونت لايق ذكر نه إِلاَّ بِالدُّخُولِ فِي ظِلِّكَ وَالوُرُودِ فِي بِساطِكَ، در هر حال آمرزش قديمت را ميطلبيم و فضل عميمت

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Lift not the veil, O Thou Who art the Concealer! From eternity the tokens of Thy bounty have encompassed the universe, and the splendors of Thy Most Great Name have been shed over all created things. Deny not Thy servants the wonders of Thy grace. Cause them to be made aware of Thee, that they may bear witness to Thy unity, and enable them to recognize Thee, that they may hasten towards Thee. Thy mercy hath embraced the whole creation, and Thy grace hath pervaded all things. From the billows of the ocean of Thy generosity the seas of eagerness and enthusiasm were revealed. Thou art what Thou art. Aught except Thee is unworthy of any mention unless it entereth beneath Thy shadow, and gaineth admittance into Thy court.

Translation Notes

احاطه

literal: to encompass, surround, envelop, embrace

نموده

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

انوار

literal: type; kind; species

اسم

literal: name; title; designation

اعظمت

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

بر
b-r-r “righteous” Distinctive

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

كلّ

literal: for us; to us

تابيده،
t-ʾ-b “Orb” Distinctive

literal: shining; resplendent

عبادت

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

را

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

از

literal: from

بدايع

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

فضلت

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

محروم

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

منما

literal: do; show; make

آگاهى

literal: aware; cognizant; informed; apprised; awareness; knowledge; consciousness

بخش
b-kh-sh “grace” Distinctive

literal: to grant; to give; to forgive; to bestow

تا

literal: so that/until

وحدانيّتت

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

گواهى

literal: promised; the Promised One

دهند
d-h “imputed” Distinctive

literal: to give; to provide; to yield; to grant; to bestow

شناسائى

literal: to recognize, know, distinguish

ده
d-ʾ-d “of equity” Distinctive

literal: میدهند is Persian verb from دادن (to give), not Arabic د-و-ن

بسويت
s-w-y “God” Distinctive

literal: level; equal; straight; upon a throne; resting upon; toward; to; direction of; other than; besides; except

بشتابند،

literal: to hasten; to hurry; hastily

رحمتت

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

ممكنات

literal: establishment; confirmation; empowerment; firm settlement; place; possibility; being (negated as ‘non-being’)

اخذ

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

كرده،

literal: to do; to make; to perform; deed; action; conduct; behavior

امواج

literal: wave; billows; surge

بحر

literal: sea; ocean

طلب
ṭ-l-b “eagerness” Distinctive

literal: seeker, one who seeks; those who seek

طمع
ṭ-m-ʿ “emboldeneth” Distinctive

literal: to covet; to desire greedily; to make hopeful

ظاهر

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

هر

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

چه

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

هستى
h-s-t “have” Distinctive

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

توئى

literal: thou, you (singular)

ما

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

دونت

literal: below; lower than; beneath

لايق

literal: worthy, befitting, appropriate, suitable

ذكر

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

نه

literal: end; ended; utmost

إِلاَّ

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

بِالدُّخُولِ

literal: to enter; to admit; to bring in

فِي
f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

ظِلِّكَ

literal: to take shelter; to dwell in shadow

وَالوُرُودِ
w-r-d “hath befallen” Distinctive

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

بِساطِكَ،

literal: cradle; bed; couch; resting place

در

literal: in; in, at; radiant

حال

literal: state; condition; circumstance

آمرزش

literal: forgiven; forgiveness

قديمت

literal: ancient; step; eternity

عميمت

literal: generality; general; general, universal

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶