The Hidden Words — §120

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 120 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٤٤) ﴿ ای رفيق عرشی ﴾ بد مشنو و بد مبين و خود را ذليل مکن و عويل برميار * يعنی بد مگو تا نشنوی و عيب مردم را بزرگ مدان تا عيب تو بزرگ ننمايد و ذلّت نفسی مپسند تا ذلّت تو چهره نگشايد * پس با دل پاک و قلب طاهر و صدر مقدّس و خاطر منزّه در ايّام عمر خود که اقلّ از آنی محسوبست فارغ باش تا بفراغت از اين جسد فانی بفردوس معانی راجع شوی و در ملکوت باقی مقرّ يابی *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

(44) O COMPANION OF MY THRONE! Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so that, free and content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom for evermore.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

رفيق

r-f-q → “unto the Supreme”

literal: companion; friend; associate; the Exalted Companion

عرشی

ʿ-r-sh → “OF MY”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

بد

b-d-d → “no evil”

literal: bad; necessarily; necessary

مشنو

sh-n-w → “Hear”

literal: most ugly; most abominable; most heinous

مبين

b-y-n → “utterance” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

خود

kh-w-d → “their own”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

ذليل

dh-l-l → “abasement” Distinctive

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

مکن

k-r-d → “not”

literal: establishment; confirmation; empowerment; firm settlement; place; possibility; being (negated as ‘non-being’)

عويل

ʿ-w-l → “wailing” Distinctive

literal: howling; wailing; crying out

برميار

y-ʾ-r → “friends” Distinctive

literal: to create; to create anew; to be free from; innocent; free from; clear of; to cure; to heal; to clear

يعنی

ʿ-n-y

literal: that is; meaning; i.e.

مگو

g-w-y → “I say” Distinctive

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

تا

t-y-y → “so that”

literal: so that/until

عيب

ʿ-y-b → “faults”

literal: defect; fault; flaw

مردم

m-r-d → “people”

literal: rebellion; mutiny; revolt

بزرگ

b-z-r-g → “great” Distinctive

literal: great; large; important; grandeur

مدان

d-ʾ-n → “considered” Distinctive

literal: to know; to be aware

تو

t-w-w → “thou”

literal: you

ننمايد

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to appear; to show; to display; to exhibit

نفسی

n-f-s → “anyone”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

مپسند

p-s-n-d → “praiseworthy” Distinctive

literal: pleasing, acceptable, approved; praised

چهره

ch-h-r

literal: face; countenance

نگشايد

g-sh-ʾ → “Redeemer” Distinctive

literal: to open; to disclose; to reveal

پس

p-s → “From”

literal: then; then, therefore; therefore

با

b-ʾ-ʾ → “with”

literal: to; with; by

دل

d-l → “thy heart”

literal: to argue; to demonstrate; proof

پاک

p-ʾ-k → “cleanse”

literal: pure; clean; sanctified; holy

قلب

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

طاهر

ṭ-h-r → “pure”

literal: to purify; to cleanse

صدر

ṣ-d-r → “breasts”

literal: to issue, emanate, proceed; issued, emanating

مقدّس

q-d-s → “holy”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

خاطر

kh-ṭ-r → “momentous” Distinctive

literal: danger; peril; risk; to cross the mind

منزّه

n-z-h → “sanctified”

literal: exalted; sanctified; free from; removed from

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ايّام

y-w-m → “days”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

عمر

ʿ-m-r → “life” Distinctive

literal: life; age; duration; by the life of (oath)

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

اقلّ

q-l-l → “less”

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

آنی

ʾ-n-n → “that” Distinctive

literal: I, verily; behold I

محسوبست

ḥ-s-b → “accounted” Distinctive

literal: according to; in accordance with; as regards

فارغ

f-r-gh → “free” Distinctive

literal: free; detached; empty; unoccupied

باش

b-w-d → “is” Distinctive

literal: be, exist; do not be (in negative imperative)

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

جسد

j-s-d → “bodies” Distinctive

literal: body; corpse; physical form

فانی

f-n-y → “mortal” Distinctive

literal: annihilation; perishing; extinction; cessation; the threshold

بفردوس

f-r-d-w-s → “paradise”

literal: paradise; garden

معانی

ʿ-n-y → “mystic” Distinctive

literal: that is; meaning; i.e.

راجع

r-j-ʿ → “return”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

شوی

sh-d-n → “hath been” Distinctive

literal: be; become

ملکوت

m-l-k → “kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

باقی

b-q-y → “eternal”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal; permanence; duration; continuance

مقرّ

q-r-r → “abide” Distinctive

literal: matter; affair; thing

يابی

y-ʾ-b

literal: find; rare; perceive/find

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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

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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

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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

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

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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 ¶

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 ¶