Prayers and Meditations — §659

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 659 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

و مطيع تابيده، اى رحيمى كه ساذج رحمت بابت را ساجد و جوهر عنايت كعبهء امرت را طائف از تو سؤآل مينمائيم فضل قديمت را ميطلبيم و جود جديدت را ميجوئيم كه بر مظاهر وجود رحم فرمائى و از فيوضات ايّامت محروم نسازى جميع

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O God of mercy, before Whose door the quintessence of mercy hath bowed down, and round the sanctuary of Whose Cause loving-kindness, in its inmost spirit, hath circled, we beseech Thee, entreating Thine ancient grace, and seeking Thy present favor, that Thou mayest have mercy upon all who are the manifestations of the world of being, and to deny them not the outpourings of Thy grace in Thy days.

Translation Notes

مطيع

ṭ-w-ʿ

literal: to obey; to comply with

تابيده،

t-ʾ-b

literal: shining; resplendent

اى

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

رحيمى

r-ḥ-m → “mercy” Distinctive

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

كه

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

ساذج

s-dh-j → “quintessence”

literal: pure; simple; unadulterated; quintessence

بابت

b-w-b → “door”

literal: door; gate; opening; chapter; way

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

ساجد

s-j-d → “worship” Distinctive

literal: mosque; place of prostration

جوهر

j-w-h-r → “Essences”

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

عنايت

ʿ-n-y → “loving-kindness”

literal: bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention

كعبهء

k-ʿ-b → “sanctuary”

literal: Kaaba; cube/Kaaba; Kaaba/lodestar

امرت

ʾ-m-r → “Cause” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

طائف

ṭ-w-f → “hath circled”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

تو

t-w-w

literal: you

سؤآل

s-ʾ-l

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

مينمائيم

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to show, to display, to manifest, to exhibit; to manifest; to display; to show

فضل

f-ḍ-l → “grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

قديمت

q-d-m → “ancient”

literal: ancient; step; eternity

ميطلبيم

ṭ-l-b → “theme” Distinctive

literal: seeker, one who seeks; those who seek

جود

j-w-d → “favor”

literal: generosity; bounty; liberality

جديدت

j-d-d → “new” Distinctive

literal: new; renewal; renew

ميجوئيم

j-s-t → “have clung” Distinctive

literal: to seek; to quest; to look for; to search for

بر

b-r-r → “upon”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

مظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “manifestations”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

وجود

w-j-d → “world of being”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

فرمائى

f-r-m → “saith” Distinctive

literal: to say; to decree; to ordain; to command

فيوضات

f-y-ḍ → “outpourings”

literal: flood; abundance; overflow; emanation; grace

ايّامت

y-w-m → “Thy days”

literal: day; days; today

محروم

ḥ-r-m → “deprived”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

نسازى

s-ʾ-z

literal: make; make/construct; to make

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

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 ¶