Prayers and Meditations — §745

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 745 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

عَلَى شَأْنٍ يَرَى اللِّسانَ عاجِزًا عَنِ الذِّكْرِ وَالبَيانِ وَالقَلْبَ قاصِرًا عَنِ العِرْفانِ، لأنَّهُ يَرى مَرَّةً يَجْرِيْ مِنْهُ مآءُ الحَيَوانِ فِي الإِمْكانِ وَسُمِّيَ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ بِالصُّورِ وَيَقُومُ بِهِ مَنْ فِي القُبُورِ وَطَوْرًا تَظْهَرُ مِنْهُ النَّارُ كأَنَّها أُوْقِدَتْ مِنْ نارِ الظُّهُورِ وَتَكَلَّمَ الكَلِيْمُ فِي الطُّورِ، فَما أَعْجَبَ شُئُوناتِ قُوَّتِكَ وَما أَعْظَمَ ظُهُوراتِ قُدْرَتِكَ، كُلُّ عَلِيمٍ اعْتَرَفَ بِالجَهْلِ عِنْدَ إِشْراقاتِ أَنْوارِ شَمْسِ عِلْمِكَ، وَكُلُّ قَوِيٍّ اعْتَرَفَ بِالعَجْزِ عِنْدَ أَمْواجِ بَحْرِ قُوَّتِكَ، وَكُلُّ غَنِيٍّ اعْتَرَفَ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I swear by Thy glory and Thy sovereignty which overshadow the kingdoms of earth and of heaven! Were any of Thy chosen Ones and Thy Messengers to meditate on the manifold evidences of Thy most exalted Pen—a Pen which is driven by the fingers of Thy will—and were he to muse on its mysteries, and its tokens, and all that it showeth forth, he would be so perplexed that his tongue would fail to extol and describe Thee, and his heart would be utterly unable to understand Thee. For he would, at one time, discover that from this Pen there floweth out unto all created things the water that is life indeed, and that the Pen itself hath been named by Thee the trumpet whereby the dead speed out of their sepulchers. At another time he would find that there proceedeth from this Pen such fire as Thine own Revelation can kindle, and as He Who conversed with Thee (Moses) on Sinai hath perceived.

Translation Notes

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “I swear by Thy glory” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

شَأْنٍ

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

يَرَى

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest” Distinctive

literal: ability; capability; capacity

اللِّسانَ

l-s-n → “his tongue”

literal: tongue; language

عاجِزًا

ʿ-j-z → “fail”

literal: to be unable; to fail; to be exhausted; impotence; أعجاز (roots of trees/extremities) is Pattern II plural, distinct from ‘inability’ forms

عَنِ

ʿ-n → “to”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الذِّكْرِ

dh-k-r → “extol and describe” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

وَالبَيانِ

b-y-n → “Thee, and” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

وَالقَلْبَ

q-l-b → “his heart”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

قاصِرًا

q-ṣ-r → “powerlessness” Distinctive

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

العِرْفانِ،

ʿ-r-f → “understand Thee.” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

لأنَّهُ

ʾ-n-n → “For” Distinctive

literal: I, verily; behold I

مَرَّةً

m-r-r → “at one time”

literal: to pass; to pass by; to go

يَجْرِيْ

j-r-y → “floweth out”

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

مِنْهُ

m-n → “from this Pen there”

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

مآءُ

m-w-h → “water”

literal: water; shelter; refuge; dwelling; abode; essence

الحَيَوانِ

ḥ-y-w → “is life indeed”

literal: life; living being; animal

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الإِمْكانِ

m-k-n → “all created things”

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

وَسُمِّيَ

s-m-y → “hath been named”

literal: to name, to nominate, to designate, to appoint; name; noun; to name, to appoint, to designate

عِنْدِكَ

ʿ-n-d → “Thee”

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

بِالصُّورِ

ṣ-w-r → “trumpet”

literal: to imagine; to conceive; to suppose

وَيَقُومُ

q-w-m → “people” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

بِهِ

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

القُبُورِ

q-b-r → “sepulchres”

literal: Cyprus (toponym)

وَطَوْرًا

ṭ-w-r → “At another time”

literal: states; conditions; stages; modes; phases; manner

تَظْهَرُ

ẓ-h-r → “there proceedeth” Distinctive

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

النَّارُ

n-ʾ-r → “such fire”

literal: fire; blaze; flame

أُوْقِدَتْ

w-q-d → “kindled” Distinctive

literal: kindle; kindled; kindled, burning

وَتَكَلَّمَ

k-l-m → “Who conversed” Distinctive

literal: all; every; whole; entirety

فَما

m-ʾ

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

أَعْجَبَ

ʿ-j-b

literal: wonder; strange; wonder, marvel

قُوَّتِكَ

q-w-y

literal: strength; power; might

أَعْظَمَ

ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

قُدْرَتِكَ،

q-d-r

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

عَلِيمٍ

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

بِالجَهْلِ

j-h-l

literal: ignorant; foolish; the ignorant ones

إِشْراقاتِ

sh-r-q

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

أَنْوارِ

n-w-r

literal: light; illumination

شَمْسِ

sh-m-s

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

وَكُلُّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

أَمْواجِ

m-w-j

literal: wave; billows; surge

بَحْرِ

b-ḥ-r

literal: sea; ocean

غَنِيٍّ

gh-n-y

literal: to be independent of; to be in no need of; to dispense with; rich; wealthy; needless

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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160 ¶

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59 ¶