Tablet of the Holy Mariner — §33

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 33 of 57.

Source (Arabic)

إذا أمرت جارية من جواريها الأحلى فسبحان ربّي الأبهى

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Thereupon she summoned unto herself one maiden from her handmaidens, Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!

Translation Notes

أمرت

ʾamrt ʾ-m-r → “cause” Distinctive

literal: command; cause

This form usually rendered as “hast”, “thou”, “bidden” (16 occurrences)

hast 21% thou 14% bidden 14% prescribed 14% commanded 14% didst 7% hath 7% summoned 7%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §166: the Cause fire-tabletFire §17: Command gleaningsGWB §452: His bidding kitab-i-ahdAhd §7: a decree kitab-i-iqanKIQ §280: at Whose bidding prayers-and-meditationsP&M §586: Thou hast commanded me tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §33: summoned the-hidden-wordsHW §52: My command unto thee

جارية

járíh j-r-y → “have”

literal: flowing; flow; to flow

have 13% floweth 13% streamed 13% hath 13% streaming 13% stream 13% flowed 6% flowing 6% gush 6% uttered 6%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §232: have proceeded gleaningsGWB §152: gush kitab-i-iqanKIQ §34: be prayers-and-meditationsP&M §594: hath been made to flow tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §45: knoweth epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §206: floweth gleaningsGWB §17: streamed kitab-i-iqanKIQ §34: is

الأحلى

al-ʾaḥlى ḥ-l-w

literal: sweetness; sweetest; sweet

SE rendered أمرت (ʾamrt), جارية (járíh), جواريها (júáríhá), الأحلى (al-ʾaḥlى), فسبحان (fsbḥán), ربّي (rbbí), الأبهى (al-ʾabhى) as “summoned, maiden, handmaidens, Glorified be, my Lord, the All-Glorious”

most 30% sweet 30% sweetest 10% beauty 10% sweetness 10% sweeter 10%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §130: Most Sweet fire-tabletFire §41: sweet gleaningsGWB §152: sweetness prayers-and-meditationsP&M §292: the sweetness the-hidden-wordsHW §72: Sweeter gleaningsGWB §622: beauty prayers-and-meditationsP&M §531: of the sweetness gleaningsGWB §591: in the sweetest of languages

فسبحان

fsbḥán s-b-ḥ → “glorified be”

literal: glory; glory, praise; glory/praise

glorified 66% gracious 20% immeasurably 3% great 2% praise 2% all-glorious 2% \‘glorified 1% glory 1% high 1% immensely 1%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §80: Everything celebrateth gleaningsGWB §633: the All-Glorious kitab-i-iqanKIQ §230: kindness prayers-and-meditationsP&M §137: Glorified, immeasurably glorified tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §11: my Lord the-hidden-wordsHW §89: from on high epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §102: celebrateth gleaningsGWB §450: High is God exalted

ربّي

rbbí r-b-b → “my lord”

literal: Lord; lord

lord 94% exalted 3% all-glorious 3%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §189: by My Lord gleaningsGWB §687: Creator kitab-i-iqanKIQ §1: OUR LORD prayers-and-meditationsP&M §232: Essence tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §11: the All-Glorious the-hidden-wordsHW §25: of thy God will-and-testamentW&T §47: O epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §108: Lord

الأبهى

al-ʾabhى b-h-w → “the all-glorious”

literal: glory; most glorious; most-glorious

all-glorious 63% most 12% glorious 7% abhá 7% effulgent 5% immortality 2% glory 2% brightest 2%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §204: lights gleaningsGWB §200: of Immortality prayers-and-meditationsP&M §573: Thy Light the-hidden-wordsHW §22: effulgent glory will-and-testamentW&T §56: Glory of Glories epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §204: Thy most glorious light gleaningsGWB §201: all-glorious prayers-and-meditationsP&M §123: most effulgent

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 ¶

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 ¶

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 ¶

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 ¶