Prayers and Meditations — §766

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 766 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

الأَبْهى وَمُتَشَبِّثًا بِذَيْلٍ تَشَبَّثَ بِهِ مَنْ فِي الآخِرَةِ وَالأُولی، أَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْئَلُكَ بِجَمالِكَ المُشْرِقِ مِنْ أُفُقِ البَقآءِ الَّذِيْ إِذا ظَهَرَ سَجَدَ لَهُ مَلَكُوتُ الجَمالِ وَكَبَّرَ عَنْ وَرائِهِ بِأَعْلى النِّدآءِ أَنْ تَجْعَلَنِي فانِيًا عَمَّا عِنْدِي وَباقِيًا بِما عِنْدَكَ، تَرَانِي يا إِلهِي مُتَمَسِّكًا بِاسْمِكَ الأَقْدَسِ الأَنْوَرِ الأَعَزِّ الأَعْظَمِ العَلِيِّ الأَبْهى وَمُتَشَبِّثًا بِذَيْلٍ تَشَبَّثَ بِ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy Beauty that shineth forth above the horizon of eternity, a Beauty before which, as soon as it revealeth itself, the kingdom of beauty boweth down in worship, magnifying it in ringing tones, to grant that I may die to all that I possess and live to whatsoever belongeth unto Thee. Thou seest me, O my God, holding to Thy Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous, the Most Mighty, the Most Great, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious, and clinging to the hem of the robe to which have clung all in this world and in the world to come.

Translation Notes

الأَبْهى

b-h-w → “Glorious”

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

وَمُتَشَبِّثًا

sh-b-th → “clinging”

literal: to cling to; to grasp; to hold fast

بِذَيْلٍ

dh-y-l → “hem”

literal: hem; skirt; tail; border

بِهِ

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

مَنْ

m-n → “all” Distinctive

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

فِي

f-y → “in this”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الآخِرَةِ

ʾ-kh-r → “world”

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

وَالأُولی،

ʾ-w-l → “this world”

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

أَللَّهُمَّ

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

إِنِّي

ʾ-n-n

literal: I, verily; behold I

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

بِجَمالِكَ

j-m-l → “by Thy Beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

المُشْرِقِ

sh-r-q → “shineth forth above” Distinctive

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

أُفُقِ

ʾ-f-q → “horizon”

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

البَقآءِ

b-q-y → “eternity”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which, as soon as”

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

إِذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

ظَهَرَ

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

سَجَدَ

s-j-d

literal: mosque; place of prostration

لَهُ

h-w

literal: for them both; to both of them (dual pronoun)

مَلَكُوتُ

m-l-k → “kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

وَكَبَّرَ

k-b-r → “grandeur” Distinctive

literal: great; grand; mighty; large; greatness; majesty; sovereignty; arrogance

عَنْ

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

وَرائِهِ

w-r-ʾ

literal: standard; banner; flag; ensign; opinion; counsel; judgment; to see; to view; to perceive

النِّدآءِ

n-d-y → “voice”

literal: call; voice; cry; summons

أَنْ

ʾ-n → “to grant that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تَجْعَلَنِي

j-ʿ-l → “make” Distinctive

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

فانِيًا

f-n-y → “shall perish” Distinctive

literal: annihilation; perishing; extinction; cessation; the threshold

عِنْدِي

ʿ-n-d → “I possess” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

بِما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

تَرَانِي

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest me”

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

يا

y-ʾ → “O my”

literal: O; or

مُتَمَسِّكًا

m-s-k → “holding to”

literal: musk; to seize; grip; to hold fast; to cling to; to grasp

بِاسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “Thy Name”

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

الأَقْدَسِ

q-d-s → “Most Holy”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

الأَنْوَرِ

n-w-r → “Most Luminous”

literal: light; illumination

الأَعَزِّ

ʿ-z-z → “Most Mighty”

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

الأَعْظَمِ

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Most Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

العَلِيِّ

ʿ-l-w → “Most Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

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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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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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 ¶