Tablet of Aḥmad — §15

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 15 of 17.

Source (Arabic)

فَٱحْفَظْ يَا أَحْمَدُ هَذَا ٱلْلَّوْحَ ثُمَّ ٱقْرَاْهُ فِي أَيَّامِكَ وَلَا تَكُنْ مِنَ ٱلْصَّابِرِينَ فَإِنَّ اللهَ قَدْ قَدَّرَ لِقَارِئِهِ أَجْرَ مِائَةَ شَهِيدٍ ثُمَّ عِبَادَةِ ٱلْثَّقَلَينِ كَذَلِكَ مَنَنَّا عَلَيْكَ بِفَضْلٍ مِنْ عِنْدِنَا وَرَحْمَةٍ مِنْ لَدُنَّا لِتَكُوْنَ مِنَ ٱلْشَّاكِرِينَ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Learn well this Tablet, O Ahmad. Chant it during thy days and withhold not thyself therefrom. For verily, God hath ordained for the one who chants it, the reward of a hundred martyrs and a service in both worlds. These favors have We bestowed upon thee as a bounty on Our part and a mercy from Our presence, that thou mayest be of those who are grateful.

Translation Notes

فَٱحْفَظْ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “protect” Distinctive

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

يَا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

أَحْمَدُ

ḥ-m-d → “thanks”

literal: praise; to praise

هَذَا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

ٱلْلَّوْحَ

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

ثُمَّ

th-m-m → “and” Distinctive

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ٱقْرَاْهُ

q-r-ʾ → “read” Distinctive

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

أَيَّامِكَ

y-w-m → “thy days”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

وَلَا

w-l-y

literal: no; not; negation particle

تَكُنْ

k-w-n → “be”

literal: to be; existence

مِنْ

m-n → “from”

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

ٱلْصَّابِرِينَ

ṣ-b-r → “patience”

literal: patience; forbearance; endurance; to be patient

فَإِنَّ

ʾ-n-n → “For verily” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اللهَ

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

قَدْ

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

قَدَّرَ

q-d-r → “ordained”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

أَجْرَ

ʾ-j-r → “recompense”

literal: wage; recompense; reward; wage, reward, recompense

مِائَةَ

m-y-h → “Government Official”

literal: water; waters

شَهِيدٍ

sh-h-d → “martyrs” Distinctive

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

عِبَادَةِ

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

ٱلْثَّقَلَينِ

th-q-l → “her burdens” Distinctive

literal: weight; heavy; weighty testimony

كَذَلِكَ

dh-l-k → “Thus”

literal: thus; likewise; also

مَنَنَّا

m-n-n → “of” Distinctive

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

عَلَيْكَ

ʿ-l-y → “upon thee”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

بِفَضْلٍ

f-ḍ-l → “bounty” Distinctive

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

عِنْدِنَا

ʿ-n-d

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

وَرَحْمَةٍ

r-ḥ-m → “mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

لَدُنَّا

l-d-n

literal: from; on the part of; from before; near

ٱلْشَّاكِرِينَ

sh-k-r → “Render thanks” Distinctive

literal: thank; thankful; thanks

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

Fire Tablet

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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 ¶

Kitáb-i-Íqán

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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 ¶

Prayers and Meditations

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Published in 1938, this companion volume to Gleanings contains 184 prayers and meditations selected by Shoghi Effendi from Bahá’u’lláh’s devotional writings revealed across successive exiles from Baghdad to ‘Akká. Shoghi Effendi described it as a volume whose perusal would deepen the spirit of devotion and faith.

858 ¶

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 ¶