Prayers and Meditations — §744

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 744 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

القُصُورِ عَنِ العِرْفانِ وَبِالعَجْزِ عَنِ الصُّعُودِ إِلى سَمآءٍ فيها تَجَلَّتْ شَمْسٌ مِنْ شُمُوسِ مَظاهِرِ عِلْمِكَ وَمَشارِقِ حِكْمَتِكَ ما لأَحَدٍ وَذِكْرُ هذا المَقامِ الأَعْلى وَالمَقَرِّ الأَسْنى المَقامِ الَّذِيْ جَعَلْتَهُ فَوْقَ عِرْفانِ خَلْقِكَ وَشَهاداتِ عِبادِكَ، لَمْ يَزَلْ كانَ مَسْتُورًا عَنِ الإِدْراكَ وَالعُلُومِ وَمَخْتومًا بِخِتامِ اسْمِكَ القَّيُّومِ، وَعِزَّتِكَ وَسَلْطَنَتِكَ المُهَيْمِنَةِ عَلَى المُلْكِ وَالمَلَكُوتِ لَوْ أَحَدٌ مِن أَصْفِيائِكَ وَسُفَرآئِكَ يَتَفَكَّرُ فِي شُئُوناتِ قَلَمِكَ الأَعْلى الَّذِيْ تُحَرِّكُهُ إِصْبَعُ إِرادَتِكَ وَيَتَفَكَّرُ فِي أَسْرارِهِ وَآثارِهِ وما يَظْهَرُ مِنْهُ لَيَتَحَيَّرُ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I swear by Thy glory, O Thou Who art the Lord of all being and the Possessor of all things visible and invisible! Every man of understanding hath been so bewildered at Thy knowledge, and every man endued with insight been so perplexed in his attempt to fathom the signs of Thy great glory, that all have recognized their powerlessness to visualize, and their impotence to soar into, the heaven wherefrom one of the Luminaries of the Manifestations of Thy knowledge and of the Daysprings of Thy wisdom hath shone forth. Who is he that shall befittingly describe this most sublime station and this most august seat—the seat which, as decreed by Thee, transcendeth the comprehension of Thy creatures and the testimonies of Thy servants, and which hath everlastingly been hid from the understanding and the knowledge of men, and been closed with the seal of Thy name, the Self-Subsisting.

Translation Notes

القُصُورِ

q-ṣ-r → “powerlessness”

literal: shortcoming; negligence; falling short; to be deficient

عَنِ

ʿ-n → “to”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

العِرْفانِ

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

وَبِالعَجْزِ

ʿ-j-z → “impotence”

literal: unable; powerlessness; inability

الصُّعُودِ

ṣ-ʿ-d → “ascend”

literal: ascent; ascension; rising; elevation

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

سَمآءٍ

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

فيها

f-y → “wherefrom” Distinctive

literal: in it; in them

تَجَلَّتْ

j-l-w → “hath shone forth”

literal: manifestation; manifest; manifested

شَمْسٌ

sh-m-s → “sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

مِنْ

m-n → “of”

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

مَظاهِرِ

ẓ-h-r → “Manifestations”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

عِلْمِكَ

ʿ-l-m → “of Thy knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وَمَشارِقِ

sh-r-q → “and of the Daysprings”

literal: honor; nobility; eminence; to honor

حِكْمَتِكَ

ḥ-k-m → “of Thy wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

لأَحَدٍ

ʾ-ḥ-d → “that” Distinctive

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

وَذِكْرُ

dh-k-r → “shall befittingly describe” Distinctive

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

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

المَقامِ

q-w-m → “most sublime station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

الأَعْلى

ʿ-l-w → “and this most august” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

وَالمَقَرِّ

q-r-r → “seat—the”

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

الأَسْنى

s-n-w → “years” Distinctive

literal: most beautiful; finest; highest

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

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

جَعَلْتَهُ

j-ʿ-l → “make” Distinctive

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

فَوْقَ

f-w-q → “by Thee, transcendeth” Distinctive

literal: above; over; beyond

خَلْقِكَ

kh-l-q → “of Thy creatures”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

وَشَهاداتِ

sh-h-d → “witness” Distinctive

literal: witness; observation; witnessed

عِبادِكَ،

ʿ-b-d → “of Thy servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

لَمْ

l-y-s → “not”

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

يَزَلْ

z-w-l → “everlastingly”

literal: cease; to cease; decline

كانَ

k-w-n → “been”

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

مَسْتُورًا

s-t-r → “hid”

literal: to veil; to conceal; to cover; veil; covering

الإِدْراكَ

d-r-k → “the understanding”

literal: to overtake; to catch; to reach; to attain; to perceive; to comprehend

وَمَخْتومًا

kh-t-m → “Seal”

literal: to seal; to conclude; to end; seal

وَعِزَّتِكَ

ʿ-z-z → “I swear by Thy” Distinctive

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

وَسَلْطَنَتِكَ

s-l-ṭ

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

المُهَيْمِنَةِ

h-m-n

literal: the Protector; the Overseer; the Guardian; inspiration; revelation; intuition

المُلْكِ

m-l-k → “the Lord” Distinctive

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

لَوْ

l-w

literal: if; would that; O that

أَحَدٌ

ʾ-ḥ-d

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

أَصْفِيائِكَ

ṣ-f-w

literal: pure one; chosen one; selected one; elite; purity; clarity; sincerity; pure; sincere

وَسُفَرآئِكَ

s-f-r

literal: ambassador; embassy; ambassador, minister

يَتَفَكَّرُ

f-k-r

literal: reflection; reflect; contemplation

شُئُوناتِ

sh-ʾ-n

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

قَلَمِكَ

q-l-m

literal: pen; writing instrument

تُحَرِّكُهُ

ḥ-r-k

literal: movement; motion; trembling; activity; حراک is unusual; possible typo or dialectal. Standard Arabic would be حرك or اهتزاز for ‘trembling’

إِصْبَعُ

ṣ-b-ʿ

literal: finger; digit

إِرادَتِكَ

r-w-d

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

أَسْرارِهِ

s-r-r

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

وَآثارِهِ

ʾ-th-r → “signs”

literal: effect; trace; influence; imprint; sign; mark; vestige

لَيَتَحَيَّرُ

ḥ-y-r → “perplexed” Distinctive

literal: perplexed; bewilderment; bewildered

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

Fire Tablet

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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 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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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

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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

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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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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

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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 ¶

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 ¶