The Hidden Words — §45

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 45 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٤٤) ﴿ يَا ابْنَ العَرْشِ ﴾ سَمْعُكَ سَمْعِي فَاسْمَعْ بِهِ، وَبَصَرُكَ بَصَرِي فَأَبْصِرْ بِهِ؛ لِتَشْهَدَ فِي سِرِّكَ لِي تَقْدِيسًا عَلِيًّا، لأَشْهَدَ لَكَ فِي نَفْسي مَقامًا رَفِيعًا.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

(44) O SON OF THE THRONE! Thy hearing is My hearing, hear thou therewith. Thy sight is My sight, do thou see therewith, that in thine inmost soul thou mayest testify unto My exalted sanctity, and I within Myself may bear witness unto an exalted station for thee.

Translation Notes

يَا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

ابْنَ

b-n-y → “SON”

literal: son

العَرْشِ

ʿ-r-sh → “OF THE THRONE”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

سَمْعُكَ

s-m-ʿ → “Thy hearing”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

بِهِ؛

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

وَبَصَرُكَ

b-ṣ-r → “Thy sight”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

لِتَشْهَدَ

sh-h-d → “thou mayest testify” Distinctive

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

سِرِّكَ

s-r-r → “mysteries” Distinctive

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

لِي

ʿ-l-y → “unto My” Distinctive

literal: for us; to us

تَقْدِيسًا

q-d-s → “sanctity”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

عَلِيًّا،

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

لَكَ

l → “His is”

literal: for us; to us

نَفْسي

n-f-s → “Myself”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

مَقامًا

q-w-m → “station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

رَفِيعًا.

r-f-ʿ → “exalted”

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

Fire Tablet

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50 ¶

Gleanings

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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

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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

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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 ¶