The Hidden Words — §139

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 139 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٦٢) ﴿ ای پسر خاک ﴾ از خمر بی مثال محبوب لا يزال چشم مپوش و بخمر کدره فانيه چشم مگشا * از دست ساقی احديّه کأوس باقيه برگير تا همه هوش شوی و از سروش غيب معنوی شنوی * بگو ای پست فطرتان از شراب باقی قدسم چرا بآب فانی رجوع نموديد *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

(62) O SON OF DUST! A dewdrop out of the fathomless ocean of My mercy I have shed upon the peoples of the world, yet found none turn thereunto, inasmuch as every one hath turned away from the celestial wine of unity unto the foul dregs of impurity, and, content with mortal cup, hath put away the chalice of immortal beauty. Vile is that wherewith he is contented.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

پسر

b-s-r → “SON”

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

خاک

kh-ʾ-k → “DUST”

literal: dust; earth; soil; ground

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

بی

b-y → “fathomless”

literal: without; is; to

مثال

m-th-l

literal: weight; heavy; weighty testimony

محبوب

ḥ-b-b

literal: love; affection

لا

l-ʾ

literal: no; not; negation particle

يزال

z-w-l

literal: cease; to cease; decline

چشم

ch-sh-m

literal: eye; vision; sight

مپوش

p-w-sh → “clothed it with the mantle” Distinctive

literal: hidden, concealed, covered

بخمر

kh-m-r → “from the celestial wine”

literal: wine; intoxicating drink

کدره

k-d-r → “angry” Distinctive

literal: turbidity; turbidness; cloudiness; murkiness

فانيه

f-n-y → “mortal cup” Distinctive

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

مگشا

g-sh-ʾ → “Redeemer” Distinctive

literal: to open; to unfold; to reveal

دست

d-s-t

literal: hand; control, power, authority

ساقی

s-q-y

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

احديّه

ʾ-ḥ-d → “none”

literal: oneness; unity; absolute unicity; singleness of divine essence

کأوس

k-ʾ-s → “chalice” Distinctive

literal: cup; cup/goblet; cup, chalice

باقيه

b-q-y → “immortal beauty”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal

برگير

g-r-f

literal: to take; to seize; to grasp; to hold; to seek

تا

t-y-y → “so that”

literal: so that/until

همه

h-m-h → “every”

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

هوش

h-w-sh

literal: unconsciousness; senselessness

شوی

sh-d-n

literal: be; become

سروش

s-r-w-sh

literal: cypress (tree); call, voice; joy

غيب

gh-y-b

literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable

معنوی

ʿ-n-y

literal: meaning; sense; significance

شنوی

sh-n-w

literal: hear; to hear; heard

بگو

g-w-y

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

پست

p-s-t

literal: to descend, to be revealed

فطرتان

f-ṭ-r

literal: creator; the one who splits/creates

شراب

sh-r-b

literal: wine; intoxicating drink

باقی

b-q-y

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal

قدسم

q-d-s → “holy” Distinctive

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

چرا

ch-r-ʾ

literal: why; wherefore

بآب

b-w-b

literal: door; gate; chapter; way; manner

رجوع

r-j-ʿ

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

نموديد

n-m-ʾ → “hath” Distinctive

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

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 ¶