Prayers and Meditations — §769

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 769 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

خِرَةِ وَالأَولی، أَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَسْئَلُكَ بِالحَرْفِ الَّتِي إِذا خَرَجَتْ مِنْ فَمِ مَشِيَّتِكَ ماجَتِ البِحارُ وَهاجَتِ الأَرْياحُ وَظَهَرَتِ الأَثْمارُ وَتَطاوَلَتِ الأَشْجارُ وَمَحَتِ الآثارُ وَخُرِقَتِ الأَسْتارُ وَسَرُعَ المُخْلِصُونَ إِلى أَنْوارِ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِمِ المُخْتارِ أَنْ تُعَرِّفَنِي ما كانَ مَكْنُونًا فِي كَنائِزِ عِرْفانِكَ وَمَسْتُورًا فِي خَزائِنِ عِلْمِكَ، تَرَانِي يا إِلهِي مُتَمَسِّكًا بِاسْمِكَ الأَقْدَسِ الأَنْوَرِ الأَعَزِّ الأَعْظَمِ العَلِيِّ الأَبْهى وَمُتَشَبِّثًا

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I beseech Thee, O my God, by that Letter which, as soon as it proceeded out of the mouth of Thy will, hath caused the oceans to surge, and the winds to blow, and the fruits to be revealed, and the trees to spring forth, and all past traces to vanish, and all veils to be rent asunder, and them who are devoted to Thee to hasten unto the light of the countenance of their Lord, the Unconstrained, to make known unto me what lay hid in the treasuries of Thy knowledge and concealed within the repositories of Thy wisdom. 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

خِرَةِ

ʾ-kh-r → “come”

literal: last; final; recent; to buy; to purchase

وَالأَولی،

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

إِنِّيْ

ʾ-n-n → “I beseech Thee”

literal: I, verily; behold I

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

بِالحَرْفِ

ḥ-r-f → “by that Letter”

literal: letter; character; edge

الَّتِي

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

إِذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

خَرَجَتْ

kh-r-j → “proceeded out”

literal: bringing out, taking out, expulsion, extraction

مِنْ

m-n → “of”

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

فَمِ

f-m-m → “mouth”

literal: mouth

مَشِيَّتِكَ

sh-y-ʾ → “of Thy will”

literal: thing; something

ماجَتِ

m-w-j → “surged” Distinctive

literal: wave; waves; surge

البِحارُ

b-ḥ-r → “the oceans”

literal: sea; ocean

وَهاجَتِ

h-y-j → “wafted forth”

literal: zenith; apex; summit; height

الأَرْياحُ

r-y-ḥ → “the winds”

literal: rest; ease; comfort; tranquility; wind; breeze; spirit; fragrance; scent; aroma

وَظَهَرَتِ

ẓ-h-r → “revealed”

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

الأَثْمارُ

th-m-r → “the fruits”

literal: fruit; the fruit

وَتَطاوَلَتِ

ṭ-w-l → “stretched out”

literal: long; lengthy; protracted

الأَشْجارُ

sh-j-r → “the trees”

literal: tree

وَمَحَتِ

m-ḥ-w → “blot out”

literal: erasure; effaced; effacement

الآثارُ

ʾ-th-r → “writings”

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

وَخُرِقَتِ

kh-r-q → “rent asunder”

literal: miracle; extraordinary occurrence; to tear; to breach

الأَسْتارُ

s-t-r → “all veils”

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

وَسَرُعَ

s-r-ʿ

literal: speed; swiftness; haste

المُخْلِصُونَ

kh-l-ṣ → “devoted” Distinctive

literal: sincere; devoted; pure one

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

أَنْوارِ

n-w-r → “light”

literal: light; illumination

وَجْهِ

w-j-h → “of the countenance” Distinctive

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

رَبِّهِمِ

r-b-b → “of their Lord”

literal: divine; of God; lordly

المُخْتارِ

kh-y-r → “the Unconstrained”

literal: west; the western region

أَنْ

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تُعَرِّفَنِي

ʿ-r-f → “make known unto me”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

كانَ

k-w-n → “lay” Distinctive

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

مَكْنُونًا

k-n-n → “hid”

literal: to do; to make; to perform

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

كَنائِزِ

k-n-z → “treasures” Distinctive

literal: treasure; treasures; hoard

خَزائِنِ

kh-z-n → “repositories” Distinctive

literal: to store, to treasure; storehouse, depository, treasury

عِلْمِكَ،

ʿ-l-m → “of Thy wisdom”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

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”

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 → “the Most Holy”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

الأَعَزِّ

ʿ-z-z → “the Most Mighty”

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

الأَعْظَمِ

ʿ-ẓ-m → “the Most Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

العَلِيِّ

ʿ-l-w → “the Most Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الأَبْهى

b-h-w → “the Most Glorious” Distinctive

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

وَمُتَشَبِّثًا

sh-b-th → “and clinging to”

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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291 ¶

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17 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

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5 ¶

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57 ¶

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160 ¶

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‘Abdu’l-Bahá

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59 ¶