Prayers and Meditations — §780

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 780 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

إِلاَّ ما يُصْعِدُهُمْ إِلى سَماءِ قُرْبِكَ وَمَقَرِّ عِزِّ تَوْحِيدِكَ، وَوَضَعْتَ الْحُدُوْدَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَجَعَلْتَها مَطْلَعَ عَدْلِكَ وَمَظْهَرَ فَضْلِكَ بَيْنَ خَلْقِكَ وَحِصْنَ حِمايَتِكَ بَيْنَ بَريَّتِكَ لِئَلا يَظْلِمَ أَحَدٌ أَحَدًا فِي أَرْضِكَ، طُوْبى لِمَنْ نَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوى وَاتَّبَعَ ما رُقِمَ مِنْ قَلَمِكَ الأَعْلى حُبًّا لِجَمالِكَ وَطَلَبًا لِرِضائِكَ إِنَّهُ مِمَّنْ فازَ بِكُلِّ الْخَيْرِ وَاتَّبَعَ الْهُدی، أَيْ رَبِّ أَسْئَلُكَ بِاسْمِكَ الَّذِيْ بِهِ عَرَّفْتَ نَفْسَكَ عِبادَكَ وَبَرِيَّتَكَ وَاجْتَذَبْتَ أَفْئِدَةَ الْعارِفِيْنَ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I testify, O my God, that Thou hast, from eternity, sent down upon Thy servants naught else except that which can cause them to soar up and be drawn near unto Thee, and to ascend into the heaven of Thy transcendent oneness. Thou hast established Thy bounds among them, and ordained them to stand among Thy creatures as evidences of Thy justice and as signs of Thy mercy, and to be the stronghold of Thy protection amongst Thy people, that no man may in Thy realm transgress against his neighbor. How great is the blessedness of him who, for love of Thy beauty and for the sake of Thy pleasure, hath curbed the desires of a corrupt inclination and observed the precepts laid down by Thy most exalted Pen! He, in truth, is to be numbered with them that have attained unto all good, and followed the way of guidance.

Translation Notes

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يُصْعِدُهُمْ

ṣ-ʿ-d → “soar up”

literal: ascent; ascension; rising; elevation

إِلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

literal: to; to, toward; to, until

سَماءِ

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

قُرْبِكَ

q-r-b

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

وَمَقَرِّ

q-r-r → “acknowledged” Distinctive

literal: matter; affair; thing

عِزِّ

ʿ-z-z → “oneness” Distinctive

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

تَوْحِيدِكَ،

w-ḥ-d → “oneness”

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

وَوَضَعْتَ

w-ḍ-ʿ → “low” Distinctive

literal: lawgiver; one who establishes; founder

الْحُدُوْدَ

ḥ-d-d → “bounds”

literal: iron; sharp, keen, acute

بَيْنَهُمْ

b-y-n → “among them”

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

وَجَعَلْتَها

j-ʿ-l → “ordained them” Distinctive

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

مَطْلَعَ

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Dayspring”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

عَدْلِكَ

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

وَمَظْهَرَ

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

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

فَضْلِكَ

f-ḍ-l → “mercy” Distinctive

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

خَلْقِكَ

kh-l-q → “creatures”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

وَحِصْنَ

ḥ-ṣ-n → “stronghold”

literal: fortress, stronghold, fortified place

حِمايَتِكَ

ḥ-m-y → “protection”

literal: to protect; to guard; to preserve; to defend

بَريَّتِكَ

b-r-ʾ → “Thy people”

literal: to create; to create anew; to be free from; innocent; free from; clear of; to cure; to heal; to clear

لِئَلا

l-y-l → “that” Distinctive

literal: night; darkness

يَظْلِمَ

ẓ-l-m → “Wronged One” Distinctive

literal: wronged; injustice; darkness

أَحَدٌ

ʾ-ḥ-d → “no man” Distinctive

literal: one; anyone; oneness

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

أَرْضِكَ،

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

طُوْبى

ṭ-w-b → “How great is the blessedness”

literal: happiness; blessedness; felicity

لِمَنْ

m-n → “him who” Distinctive

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

نَهَى

n-h-y → “forbidden”

literal: end, limit, utmost, extreme; final; the end, limit, utmost bound; Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing; end; limit; terminus

النَّفْسَ

n-f-s → “the desires” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche

عَنِ

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الْهَوى

h-w-y → “of a corrupt inclination” Distinctive

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

وَاتَّبَعَ

t-b-ʿ → “observed” Distinctive

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

رُقِمَ

r-q-m → “recorded”

literal: written; inscribed; marked; recorded

قَلَمِكَ

q-l-m → “Thy”

literal: pen; writing instrument

الأَعْلى

ʿ-l-w → “most exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

حُبًّا

ḥ-b-b → “for love”

literal: love; affection

لِجَمالِكَ

j-m-l → “Thy beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

وَطَلَبًا

ṭ-l-b → “theme” Distinctive

literal: seeker, one who seeks; those who seek

لِرِضائِكَ

r-ḍ-y → “Thy pleasure”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

إِنَّهُ

ʾ-n-n → “He”

literal: I, verily; behold I

فازَ

f-w-z → “attained”

literal: to attain; to gain; to succeed; to win

بِكُلِّ

k-l-l → “unto all”

literal: all; every; whole; entirety; entire; completely

الْخَيْرِ

kh-y-r → “good”

literal: goodwill; benevolence; kindness; good; goodness; benefit; better; best

الْهُدی،

h-d-y → “the way of guidance”

literal: guidance; to guide; direction; leading rightly; this; this one

أَيْ

ʾ-y-y → “O”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

رَبِّ

r-b-b → “my God, that Thou hast, from eternity, sent down upon Thy” Distinctive

literal: Lord; lord; divine

أَسْئَلُكَ

s-ʾ-l

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

الَّذِيْ

l-dh-y

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

بِهِ

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

عَرَّفْتَ

ʿ-r-f

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

عِبادَكَ

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

وَاجْتَذَبْتَ

j-dh-b → “be drawn”

literal: to draw, attract, pull; to be enraptured

أَفْئِدَةَ

f-ʾ-d

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Bahá’u’lláh

The last outstanding Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, written around 1891 and addressed to Shaykh Muḥammad-Taqí of Iṣfahán. It calls upon that rapacious priest to repent, quotes the most celebrated passages from Bahá’u’lláh’s own writings, and adduces proofs establishing the validity of His Cause.

268 ¶

Fire Tablet

Bahá’u’lláh

Revealed in late 1871 during a period of severe hardship in ‘Akká, this Tablet takes the form of an anguished dialogue between Bahá’u’lláh and God. Questions about the sufferings of the faithful are answered with divine assurances, building to a crescendo of triumph over tribulation.

50 ¶

Gleanings

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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 ¶