Prayers and Meditations — §839

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 839 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

ما دَعَوْتُكَ بِهِ فِي هذِهِ اللَّيْلَةِ الْمُبارَكَةِ الَّتِيْ جَعَلْتَها حاكِيَةً عَنْ أَنِيسِ جَمالِكَ وَمُصاحِبِ وَجْهِكَ قَبْلَ ذِكْرِيْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ وَإِظهارِيْ فِي ساحَةِ قُدْسِكَ، بِحَيْثُ جَعَلْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ مَظْهَرَ أَمْرِكَ وَمَطْلَعَ فِعْلِكَ وَمَكْمَنَ عِلْمِكَ وَمَخْزَنَ حِكْمَتِكَ، وَأُشاهِدُ بِأَنَّ كُلَّ ما خُلِقَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَذُوِّتَ بِاقْتِدارِكَ لَوْ يُنْقَصُ مِنْهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ ظُهُوراتِ صِفاتِكَ وَأَسْمائِكَ لَنْ يَتِمَّ أَرْكانُ صُنْعِ صَمَدانِيَّتِكَ وَلَنْ يَكْمُلَ جَواهِرُ حِكْمَةِ رَبَّانِيَّتِكَ، لأنَّ حُرُوفاتِ النَّفْيِ مَعَ بُعْدِهِنَّ عَنْ نَفَحاتِ قُدْسِ عِرْفانِكَ وَمَعَ غَفْلَتِهِنَّ عَنْ بَدائِعِ إِشْراقِ فَجْرِ جَمالِكَ فِي سَمآءِ إِجْلا

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, O my Beloved! I swear by Thy glory! I recognize this very moment that Thou hast granted all for which I have supplicated Thee, in this blessed night which, as decreed by Thee, calleth to remembrance Him Who was the Companion of Thy beauty and the Beholder of Thy face, ere I had been mentioned by Thee, or called into being within the court of Thy holiness. I perceive that Thou hast made all things to be the manifestations of Thy behest, and the revelations of Thy handiwork, and the repositories of Thy knowledge, and the treasuries of Thy wisdom. I recognize, moreover, that were any of the revelations of Thy names and Thine attributes to be withheld, though it be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, from whatsoever hath been created by Thy power and begotten by Thy might, the foundations of Thine everlasting handiwork would thereby be made incomplete, and the gems of Thy Divine wisdom would become imperfect. For the letters of negation, no matter how far they may be removed from the holy fragrances of Thy knowledge, and however forgetful they may become of the wondrous splendors of the dawning light of Thy beauty, which are shed from the heaven of Thy majesty, must needs exist in Thy realm, so that the words which affirm Thee may thereby be exalted.

Translation Notes

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

دَعَوْتُكَ

d-ʿ-w → “summoned” Distinctive

literal: call, invocation, summons; to call, invite, summon

بِهِ

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

فِي

f-y → “in this”

literal: in; in-it; in it

هذِهِ

h-dh-ʾ → “this very moment that Thou hast granted”

literal: this; this (masculine); this (feminine)

اللَّيْلَةِ

l-y-l → “blessed night”

literal: night; darkness

الْمُبارَكَةِ

b-r-k

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful; blest; blessed word

الَّتِيْ

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

جَعَلْتَها

j-ʿ-l → “as decreed by Thee” Distinctive

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

حاكِيَةً

ḥ-k-y → “testify”

literal: telling; indicative; narrator; testifier; narrative; story; account; tale; to relate; one who relates; speaking of

عَنْ

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

أَنِيسِ

ʾ-n-s → “Him Who was the Companion”

literal: man; companion; human

جَمالِكَ

j-m-l → “Thy beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

وَمُصاحِبِ

ṣ-ḥ-b → “companions” Distinctive

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

وَجْهِكَ

w-j-h → “Thy face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

قَبْلَ

q-b-l → “ere”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

ذِكْرِيْ

dh-k-r → “mentioned” Distinctive

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

بَيْنَ

b-y-n → “within the court” Distinctive

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

يَدَيْكَ

y-d-y

literal: hand; power; action; possession

وَإِظهارِيْ

ẓ-h-r → “called into being”

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

ساحَةِ

s-w-ḥ

literal: court; plaza; courtyard; open space; domain; presence

قُدْسِكَ،

q-d-s → “Thy holiness”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

بِحَيْثُ

ḥ-y-th

literal: where; in which; inasmuch as; in such wise that; whereby; in that; respect, aspect

كُلَّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

شَيْءٍ

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

أَمْرِكَ

ʾ-m-r → “Thy behest” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

وَمَطْلَعَ

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Dayspring”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

فِعْلِكَ

f-ʿ-l → “deeds” Distinctive

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

وَمَكْمَنَ

k-m-n → “repository”

literal: repository; treasury; hidden place; to hide; to conceal; latency; concealment

عِلْمِكَ

ʿ-l-m → “Thy knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وَمَخْزَنَ

kh-z-n → “treasuries” Distinctive

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

حِكْمَتِكَ،

ḥ-k-m → “Thy wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

وَأُشاهِدُ

sh-h-d → “I perceive” Distinctive

literal: witness; observation; witnessed

بِأَنَّ

ʾ-n-n → “that Thou”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

خُلِقَ

kh-l-q → “hath been created”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

بِقُدْرَتِكَ

q-d-r → “by Thy power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

وَذُوِّتَ

dh-w-t → “Essence” Distinctive

literal: essence; essence, self; essence/self

لَوْ

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

يُنْقَصُ

n-q-ṣ → “imperfect” Distinctive

literal: deficient; deficiency; decrease

مِنْهُ

m-n → “from”

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

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

خَرْدَلٍ

kh-r-d → “purchased” Distinctive

literal: smallness, littleness, minuteness; childhood

صِفاتِكَ

w-ṣ-f → “Thy names and Thine attributes”

literal: attribute; quality; characteristic

لَنْ

l-n → “neither”

literal: will not (negation of future)

يَتِمَّ

t-m-m → “be made incomplete” Distinctive

literal: most complete; to complete; perfect; fullness

أَرْكانُ

r-k-n → “foundations”

literal: pillar; cornerstone; support; fundamental element; limb; member

صُنْعِ

ṣ-n-ʿ → “Thine everlasting handiwork”

literal: fashioning; making; creation; artifice

صَمَدانِيَّتِكَ

ṣ-m-d

literal: eternal; eternal, absolute; eternal, everlasting

يَكْمُلَ

k-m-l → “become imperfect”

literal: perfection; completeness; fully; with full; in complete; to complete, perfect, fulfill

جَواهِرُ

j-w-h-r → “gems”

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

رَبَّانِيَّتِكَ،

r-b-b

literal: Lord; lord; divine

لأنَّ

ʾ-n → “For” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

حُرُوفاتِ

ḥ-r-f → “letters”

literal: letter; character; edge

النَّفْيِ

n-f-y → “denial”

literal: is not; not to be; does not exist; negation, denial, banishment; to negate, deny, banish; contradiction; opposition; contrariety

مَعَ

m-ʿ → “notwithstanding”

literal: with; together with; alongside

بُعْدِهِنَّ

b-ʿ-d → “far”

literal: after; behind; distance

نَفَحاتِ

n-f-ḥ → “holy fragrances”

literal: breeze; fragrance; whiff; breath; emanation

عِرْفانِكَ

ʿ-r-f → “Thy knowledge”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

غَفْلَتِهِنَّ

gh-f-l → “forgetful”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

بَدائِعِ

b-d-ʿ → “wondrous”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

إِشْراقِ

sh-r-q → “splendors” Distinctive

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

فَجْرِ

f-j-r → “dawning light” Distinctive

literal: dawn; dayspring; to break (of dawn)

سَمآءِ

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: name; title; designation

إِجْلا

j-l-w → “revelation” Distinctive

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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Gleanings

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729 ¶

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16 ¶

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291 ¶

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17 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

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5 ¶

Tablet of the Holy Mariner

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57 ¶

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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 ¶

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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 ¶