The Hidden Words — §22

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 22 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٢١) ﴿ يَا ابْنَ البَشَرِ ﴾ قَدَّرْتُ لَكَ مِنَ الشَّجَرِ الأَبْهَى الْفَواكِهَ الأَصْفى، كَيْفَ أَعْرَضْتَ عَنْهُ وَرَضِيتَ بِالَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَى، فارْجِعْ إِلَى مَا هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكَ فِي الأُفُقِ الأَعْلَى.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

(21) O SON OF MAN! Upon the tree of effulgent glory I have hung for thee the choicest fruits, wherefore hast thou turned away and contented thyself with that which is less good? Return then unto that which is better for thee in the realm on high.

Translation Notes

يَا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

ابْنَ

b-n-y → “SON”

literal: son

البَشَرِ

b-sh-r → “OF MAN”

literal: human; mankind; human nature

قَدَّرْتُ

q-d-r → “power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

لَكَ

l → “His is”

literal: for; for you; for him

مِنَ

m-n → “Upon the tree of”

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

الشَّجَرِ

sh-j-r

literal: tree

الأَبْهَى

b-h-w → “effulgent glory” Distinctive

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

الْفَواكِهَ

f-k-h → “the choicest fruits”

literal: fruit; botanical fruit or produce

الأَصْفى،

ṣ-f-w

literal: pure one; chosen one; selected one; elite; purity; clarity; sincerity; pure; sincere

كَيْفَ

k-y-f → “wherefore” Distinctive

literal: how; in what manner

أَعْرَضْتَ

ʿ-r-ḍ → “hast thou turned away”

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

عَنْهُ

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

وَرَضِيتَ

r-ḍ-y → “and contented thyself”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction

بِالَّذِي

ʾ-l-l → “with that which”

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

هُوَ

h-w → “is”

literal: He; He is

أَدْنَى،

d-n-w → “world” Distinctive

literal: lowest; base; mean; of little account

فارْجِعْ

r-j-ʿ → “Return”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

إِلَى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

مَا

m-ʾ → “that”

literal: what; which; that which; relative pronoun; interrogative

خَيْرٌ

kh-y-r → “better”

literal: goodwill; benevolence; kindness; good; goodness; benefit; better; best

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الأُفُقِ

ʾ-f-q → “the realm” Distinctive

literal: horizons; regions; quarters; skylines

الأَعْلَى.

ʿ-l-w → “on high”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

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

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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

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 ¶