Tablet of the Holy Mariner — §55

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 55 of 57.

Source (Arabic)

إذا خرجن عن الغرفات حوريّات ما وقعت على جمالهنّ عيون أحد من أهل جنان الاسناء فسبحان ربّي الأبهى

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Thereupon the maids of heaven hastened forth from their chambers, upon whose countenances the eye of no dweller in the highest paradise had ever gazed. Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!

Translation Notes

إذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

خرجن

kh-r-j → “hastened forth”

literal: bringing out, taking out, expulsion, extraction

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الغرفات

gh-r-f → “chambers”

literal: chamber; room; elevated chamber

حوريّات

ḥ-w-r → “maids of heaven”

literal: maiden of paradise; houri

ما

m-ʾ → “no” Distinctive

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

وقعت

w-q-ʿ → “occurred” Distinctive

literal: to fall, to occur, to happen; incident, event

على

ʿ-l-w → “upon” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

جمالهنّ

j-m-l → “countenances”

literal: beauty; comeliness

عيون

ʿ-y-n → “eye”

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence; to appoint; to designate; to specify; to determine

أحد

ʾ-ḥ-d → “one”

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

من

m-n → “of”

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

أهل

ʾ-h-l

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

جنان

j-n-n → “paradise”

literal: garden; paradise; heaven

الاسناء

s-n-y → “years” Distinctive

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy

فسبحان

s-b-ḥ → “Glorified”

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

ربّي

r-b-b → “our Lord”

literal: divine; of God; lordly

الأبهى

b-h-w → “Most High” Distinctive

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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 ¶

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16 ¶

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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 Aḥmad

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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

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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 ¶

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 ¶