The Hidden Words — §109

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 109 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٣٤) ﴿ ای اهل رضوان من ﴾ نهال محبّت و دوستی شما را در روضه قدس رضوان بيد ملاطفت غرس نمودم و بنيسان مرحمت آبش دادم حال نزديک بثمر رسيده جهدی نمائيد تا محفوظ ماند و بنار امل و شهوت نسوزد *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

(34) O DWELLERS OF MY PARADISE! With the hands of loving and kindness I have planted in the holy garden of paradise the young tree of your love and friendship, and have watered it with the goodly showers of My tender grace; now that the hour of its fruiting is come, strive that it may be protected, and be not consumed with the flame of desire and passion.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

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

رضوان

r-ḍ-w → “OF MY PARADISE”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

من

m-n

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

نهال

n-h-l → “saplings” Distinctive

literal: young plant; sapling; tree

محبّت

ḥ-b-b → “love”

literal: love; affection

دوستی

d-w-s-t → “friendship”

literal: friend; beloved; to befriend

شما

sh-m-ʾ → “your”

literal: you (plural); your

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

روضه

r-w-ḍ → “holy garden”

literal: garden; meadow; enclosed garden

قدس

q-d-s

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

بيد

y-d-y → “With the hands”

literal: it is necessary; it behooves; one must

ملاطفت

l-ṭ-f → “loving-kindness” Distinctive

literal: kindness; grace; gentleness; benevolence

غرس

gh-r-s → “planted”

literal: to plant; to implant

نمودم

n-m-w → “I have”

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

بنيسان

n-y-s → “men” Distinctive

literal: building, structure, edifice; to build, construct; structure, edifice

مرحمت

r-ḥ-m → “My tender grace” Distinctive

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

آبش

m-w-h → “watered”

literal: to give drink; to water, irrigate; to water

دادم

d-ʾ-d

literal: to give; to grant; to present; justice; judgment; to see; sight; eye; seen

حال

ḥ-w-l → “now that”

literal: state; condition; circumstance

نزديک

n-z-d → “unto” Distinctive

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

بثمر

th-m-r → “of its fruiting”

literal: fruit; the fruit

رسيده

r-s-d → “reached”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

جهدی

j-h-d → “strive” Distinctive

literal: effort; striving; exertion; endeavor

نمائيد

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to show, to display, to manifest, to exhibit; to manifest; to display; to show

تا

t-y-y → “so that”

literal: so that/until

محفوظ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “protected”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

ماند

m-ʾ-n

literal: to remain; to stay; to be left

بنار

n-ʾ-r → “flame”

literal: fire; blaze; flame

امل

ʾ-m-l → “desire”

literal: hope; expectation; aspiration; desire; wish; to hope; to wish

شهوت

sh-h-w

literal: desire; lust; passion; appetite

نسوزد

s-w-z → “Cast” Distinctive

literal: burning; to burn; fire

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 ¶