Tablet of the Holy Mariner
Bahá’u’lláh
Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh on the fifth day of Naw-Rúz 1863 at Mazra’iy-i-Vashshásh, in the outskirts of Baghdad, just weeks before His declaration in the Garden of Riḍván. Shoghi Effendi first published an English translation in May 1922 in Star of the West under the title ‘Song of the Holy Mariner’ — one of his very first translations after becoming Guardian. Only the Arabic portion has an authorized translation; the Persian portion remains untranslated. In God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi wrote that its ‘gloomy prognostications had aroused the grave apprehensions of His Companions’ and that ‘oceans of sorrow surged in the hearts of the listeners when the Tablet of the Holy Mariner was read aloud to them.’ He described it as the Tablet ‘in which Bahá’u’lláh prophesies the severe afflictions that are to befall Him.’
Each paragraph below pairs the original Arabic text with Shoghi Effendi’s English rendering. Click any passage to view the full parallel text.
Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi
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 ¶
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 ¶
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 ¶
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 ¶
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 ¶
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 ¶
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-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 ¶
Prayers and Meditations
Bahá’u’lláh
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 ¶
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 ¶