The Hidden Words — §103

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 103 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٢٨) ﴿ ای جوهر هوی ﴾ بسا سحرگاهان که از مشرق لا مکان بمکان تو آمدم و ترا در بستر راحت بغير خود مشغول يافتم و چون برق روحانی بغمام عزّ سلطانی رجوع نمودم و در مکامن قرب خود نزد جنود قدس اظهار نداشتم *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

. (28) O ESSENCE OF DESIRE! At many a dawn have I turned from the realms of the Placeless unto thine abode, and found thee on the bed of ease busied with others than Myself. Thereupon, even as the flash of the spirit, I returned to the realms of celestial glory and breathed it not in My retreats above unto the hosts of holiness.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

جوهر

j-w-h-r → “ESSENCE”

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

هوی

h-w-y → “OF” Distinctive

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

بسا

b-s-y → “greatly”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

سحرگاهان

s-ḥ-r → “dawn”

literal: dawn, daybreak; morning hour

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

از

ʾ-z → “from”

literal: from

مشرق

sh-r-q → “Dayspring”

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

لا

l-ʾ → “the” Distinctive

literal: no; not; negation particle

مکان

m-k-n → “Placeless”

literal: to do; to make; to perform; to be; was

تو

t-w-w

literal: you

آمدم

ʾ-y-d → “aid” Distinctive

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

ترا

t-r-r → “thee”

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

در

d-r-r → “on”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

بستر

b-s-t → “fettered” Distinctive

literal: much; many; very; greatly

راحت

r-w-ḥ → “ease”

literal: rest; ease; comfort; tranquility

بغير

gh-y-r → “others”

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

خود

kh-w-d → “their own”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

مشغول

sh-gh-l → “busied”

literal: to occupy; to engage; to busy; occupation

يافتم

y-ʾ-f → “found”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain; to attain; found; discovered; obtained

چون

ch-w-n → “As”

literal: since; when; as

برق

b-r-q → “flash”

literal: lightning; to flash; swiftness

بغمام

gh-m-m

literal: cloud; clouds

عزّ

ʿ-z-z → “glory”

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

سلطانی

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty” Distinctive

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

رجوع

r-j-ʿ → “returned”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

نمودم

n-m-w

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

مکامن

k-m-n → “repository” Distinctive

literal: repository; hiding-place; hiding place

قرب

q-r-b

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

نزد

n-z-d → “unto”

literal: near; beside; with; in the presence of

جنود

j-n-d → “hosts”

literal: hosts, armies, troops

قدس

q-d-s → “holiness”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

اظهار

ẓ-h-r → “breathed”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

نداشتم

d-ʾ-sh-t → “not”

literal: to have; to hold; to keep

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 ¶

Tablet of the Holy Mariner

Bahá’u’lláh

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 ¶

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 ¶