Prayers and Meditations — §725

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 725 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

َما يَتَوَجَّهُ طَرَفُ طَرْفِي إِلى سَمائِكَ يُذَكِّرُنِي بِعُلُوِّكَ وَارْتِفاعِكَ وَسُمُوِّكَ وَاسْتِعْلائِكَ، وَكُلَّما أَلْتَفِتُ إِلى الأَرْضِ إِنَّها تُعَرِّفُنِيْ ظُهُوراتِ قُدْرَتِكَ وَبُرُوزاتِ نِعْمَتِكَ، وَكُلَّما أَنْظُرُ البَحْرَ يُكُلِّمُنِيْ فِي عَظَمَتِكَ وَاقْتِدارِكَ وَسَلْطَنَتِكَ وَكِبْرِيائِكَ، وَلَمَّا أَتَوَجَّهُ إِلى الجِبالِ تُرِينِي أَلْوِيَةَ نَصْرِكَ وَأَعلامَ عِزِّكَ وَعِزَّتِكَ، يا مَنْ فِي قَبْضَتِكَ زِمامُ العالَمِ وَأَزِمَّةُ الأُمَمِ، قَدْ أَخَذَتْنِيْ حَرارَةُ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I am well aware, O my Lord, that I have been so carried away by the clear tokens of Thy loving-kindness, and so completely inebriated with the wine of Thine utterance, that whatever I behold I readily discover that it maketh Thee known unto me, and it remindeth me of Thy signs, and of Thy tokens, and of Thy testimonies. By Thy glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence.

Translation Notes

َما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يَتَوَجَّهُ

w-j-h → “face” Distinctive

literal: face; attention; turning

طَرَفُ

ṭ-r-f → “mine eyes”

literal: extremity; end; edge; outskirt; periphery

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

سَمائِكَ

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

يُذَكِّرُنِي

dh-k-r → “call to mind”

literal: mention; remembrance; mentioned

بِعُلُوِّكَ

ʿ-l-w → “Thy highness”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

وَارْتِفاعِكَ

r-f-ʿ → “Thy loftiness”

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

وَكُلَّما

k-l-l → “every time”

literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority; to rely; to trust; to place trust in

أَلْتَفِتُ

l-f-t → “turn”

literal: to turn; to attend; to heed

الأَرْضِ

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

إِنَّها

null → ““death””

literal: that, it; to be; indeed

تُعَرِّفُنِيْ

ʿ-r-f → “recognize”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

ظُهُوراتِ

ẓ-h-r → “evidences” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

قُدْرَتِكَ

q-d-r → “Thy power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

وَبُرُوزاتِ

b-r-z → “revelation” Distinctive

literal: appearance; manifestation; coming forth

نِعْمَتِكَ،

n-ʿ-m → “Thy bounty”

literal: bliss; bounty; grace; comfort; felicity

أَنْظُرُ

n-ẓ-r → “gaze”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

البَحْرَ

b-ḥ-r → “the sea”

literal: sea; ocean

يُكُلِّمُنِيْ

k-l-m → “speaketh to me”

literal: word; words; speak

فِي

f-y → “of Thy” Distinctive

literal: in; in-it; in it

عَظَمَتِكَ

ʿ-ẓ-m → “majesty”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

وَسَلْطَنَتِكَ

s-l-ṭ → “Thy sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

وَكِبْرِيائِكَ،

k-b-r → “Thy grandeur”

literal: greatest; greater; grandeur

وَلَمَّا

l-m-ʾ → “When”

literal: did not; has not (negative particle with past tense)

الجِبالِ

j-b-l → “the mountains”

literal: mountain; nature, constitution; to create, to form

تُرِينِي

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest” Distinctive

literal: see; to see; see/behold

أَلْوِيَةَ

l-w-y → “ensigns”

literal: banners

نَصْرِكَ

n-ṣ-r → “Thy victory”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

وَأَعلامَ

ʿ-l-m → “standards”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

عِزِّكَ

ʿ-z-z → “Thine omnipotence” Distinctive

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

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

مَنْ

m-n

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

قَبْضَتِكَ

q-b-ḍ

literal: grasp; grip; control; seize

زِمامُ

z-m-m

literal: reins; bridle; control; governance

الأُمَمِ،

ʾ-m-m

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair; people; nation; community; female servant; handmaiden; umma

قَدْ

q-d

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

أَخَذَتْنِيْ

ʾ-kh-dh

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

حَرارَةُ

ḥ-r-r

literal: to set free; to write down; to compose; حرارة (heat) is from ح-ر-ر but distinct semantic development from ‘free/write’

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

Gleanings

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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 ¶

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16 ¶

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291 ¶

Tablet of Aḥmad

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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

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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

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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 ¶