Prayers and Meditations — §767

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 767 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

هِ مَنْ فِي الآخِرَةِ وَالأُولی، أَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْئَلُكَ بِمَظْهَرِ اسْمِكَ المَحْبُوبِ الَّذِيْ بِهِ احْتَرَقَتْ أَكْبادُ العُشَّاقِ وَطارَتْ أَفْئِدَةُ مَنْ فِي الآفاقِ أَنْ تُوَفِّقَنِي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ بَيْنَ خَلْقِكَ وَثَنائِكَ بَيْنَ بَرِيَّتِكَ، ت

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I beseech Thee, O my God, by the Manifestation of Thy Name, the Well-Beloved, through Whom the hearts of Thy lovers were consumed and the souls of all that dwell on earth have soared aloft, to aid me to remember Thee amongst Thy creatures, and to extol Thee amidst Thy people. 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

مَنْ

m-n → “all in” Distinctive

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

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الآخِرَةِ

ʾ-kh-r → “O my” Distinctive

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

وَالأُولی،

ʾ-w-l → “in the world to come” Distinctive

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 → “I”

literal: I, verily; behold I

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l → “beseech Thee”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

بِمَظْهَرِ

ẓ-h-r → “by the Manifestation”

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

اسْمِكَ

s-m-w → “of Thy Name”

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

المَحْبُوبِ

ḥ-b-b → “the Well-Beloved”

literal: love; affection

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y → “which”

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

بِهِ

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

احْتَرَقَتْ

ḥ-r-q → “were consumed”

literal: to burn; to be consumed by fire; burning

أَكْبادُ

k-b-d → “hearts”

literal: liver; soul; essence

العُشَّاقِ

ʿ-sh-q → “of Thy lovers”

literal: love, passion, ardor

وَطارَتْ

ṭ-y-r → “have soared aloft”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

أَفْئِدَةُ

f-ʾ-d → “souls”

literal: heart, innermost soul, mind; heart; inner consciousness; mind; one who benefits; advantageous

الآفاقِ

ʾ-f-q → “horizon” Distinctive

literal: horizon, direction, region; horizon; sun

أَنْ

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تُوَفِّقَنِي

w-f-q → “aid me”

literal: accord, agreement, harmony; to agree, accord with

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “to”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

ذِكْرِكَ

dh-k-r → “remember Thee” Distinctive

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

بَيْنَ

b-y-n → “amongst”

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

خَلْقِكَ

kh-l-q → “Thy creatures”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

وَثَنائِكَ

th-n-y → “to extol Thee” Distinctive

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy; glorification; praise, commendation, eulogy

بَرِيَّتِكَ،

b-r-ʾ → “Thy people”

literal: high; exalted; upper

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

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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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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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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 ¶