Prayers and Meditations — §661

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 661 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

يا إِلهِي أَصْبَحْتُ فِي جِوارِكَ وَالَّذِيْ اسْتَجارَكَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَكُونَ فِي كَنَفِ حِفْظِكَ وَحِصْنِ حِمايَتِكَ، أَيْ رَبِّ نَوِّرْ باطِنِيْ بِأَنْوارِ فَجْرِ ظُهُورِكَ كما نَوَّرْتَ ظاهِرِيْ بَنُورِ صَباحِ عَطائِك.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I have wakened in Thy shelter, O my God, and it becometh him that seeketh that shelter to abide within the Sanctuary of Thy protection and the Stronghold of Thy defense. Illumine my inner being, O my Lord, with the splendors of the Dayspring of Thy Revelation, even as Thou didst illumine my outer being with the morning light of Thy favor.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

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

إِلهِي

ʾ-l-h → “my God”

literal: God; Allah; deity; Divinity; divine nature; godhood

أَصْبَحْتُ

ṣ-b-ḥ → “I have wakened”

literal: morning, dawn; daybreak

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

جِوارِكَ

j-w-r → “Thy shelter” Distinctive

literal: to neighbor; to adjoin; to dwell near

وَالَّذِيْ

dh-w-y → “and” Distinctive

literal: who; which; that which

اسْتَجارَكَ

j-y-r → “shelter”

literal: seeker-of-protection; to seek protection

يَنْبَغِي

n-b-gh → “becometh” Distinctive

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

أَنْ

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يَكُونَ

k-w-n → “be”

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

كَنَفِ

k-n-f → “shelter”

literal: shelter; shelter/protection; regions

حِفْظِكَ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “of Thy protection”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

وَحِصْنِ

ḥ-ṣ-n → “and the Stronghold”

literal: fortress, stronghold, fortified place

حِمايَتِكَ،

ḥ-m-y → “protection”

literal: to protect; to guard; to preserve; to defend

أَيْ

ʾ-y-y → “O my” Distinctive

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

رَبِّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

نَوِّرْ

n-w-r → “Illumine” Distinctive

literal: light; illumination

باطِنِيْ

b-ṭ-n → “my inner being”

literal: inner; hidden; inward; esoteric

فَجْرِ

f-j-r → “of the Dayspring”

literal: dawn; dayspring; to break (of dawn)

ظُهُورِكَ

ẓ-h-r → “of Thy Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

كما

k-m → “loss” Distinctive

literal: as; like; how much; lane; street; quarter; abode

عَطائِك.

ʿ-ṭ-w → “bounty”

literal: bounty; gift; bestowal; grace; bountifulness

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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Gleanings

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729 ¶

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16 ¶

Kitáb-i-Íqán

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291 ¶

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17 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

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5 ¶

Tablet of the Holy Mariner

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57 ¶

The Hidden Words

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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 ¶

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‘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 ¶