The Hidden Words — §150

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 150 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٧٣) ﴿ ای دوست من ﴾ تو شمس سمآء قدس منی خود را بکسوف دنيا ميالای * حجاب غفلت را خرق کن تا بی پرده و حجاب از خلف سحاب بدر آئی و جميع موجودات را بخلعت هستی بيارائی *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

(73) O MY FRIEND! Thou art the daystar of the heavens of My holiness, let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend asunder the veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge resplendent and array all things with the apparel of life.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

دوست

d-w-s-t → “FRIEND”

literal: friend; beloved; to befriend

من

m-n → “MY” Distinctive

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

تو

t-w-w → “thou”

literal: you

شمس

sh-m-s → “daystar”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

سمآء

s-m-w → “heavens”

literal: heaven; sky

قدس

q-d-s → “holiness”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

خود

kh-w-d → “their own”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

بکسوف

k-s-f → “eclipsed”

literal: eclipse; obscuring; darkening

دنيا

d-n-w → “world”

literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with

ميالای

ʾ-l-y → “besmirch”

literal: to befoul; to besmirch; to defile; to soil; to stain

حجاب

ḥ-j-b → “veil”

literal: to veil oneself, to be veiled

غفلت

gh-f-l → “heedlessness”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

خرق

kh-r-q → “Rend asunder”

literal: miracle; extraordinary occurrence; to tear; to breach

کن

k-w-n

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

تا

t-y-y → “that”

literal: so that/until

بی

b-y

literal: without; is; to

پرده

p-r-d

literal: to engage in; to undertake; to deal with

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

خلف

kh-l-f → “from behind”

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

سحاب

s-ḥ-b → “clouds”

literal: cloud; clouds

بدر

b-d-r → “worst” Distinctive

literal: awake; vigilant; to awaken

آئی

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

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

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

موجودات

w-j-d → “things”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

بخلعت

kh-l-ʿ → “robe”

literal: robe; garment of honor; investiture

هستی

h-s-t → “is”

literal: is; be; are

بيارائی

ʾ-r-ʾ → “array”

literal: Persian form from آراستن (ārāstan) ‘to adorn/invest’, root ا-ر-ا, not ر-ء-ي (to see)

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 ¶