The Hidden Words — §66

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 66 of 160.

Source (Arabic)

(٦٥) ﴿ يَا ابْنَ الإِنْسانِ ﴾ عَظَمَتِي عَطِيَّتِي إِلَيْكَ، وَكِبْرِيائِي رَحْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ، وَما يَنْبَغِي لِنَفْسِي لا يُدْرِكُهُ أَحَدٌ وَلَنْ تُحْصِيَهُ نَفْسٌ؛ قَدْ أَخْزَنْتُهُ فِي خَزائِنِ سِرِّي وَكَنائِزِ أَمْرِي تَلَطُّفًا لِعِبادِي وَتَرَحُّمًا لِخَلْقِي.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

(65) O SON OF MAN! My majesty is My gift to thee, and My grandeur the token of My mercy unto thee. That which beseemeth Me none shall understand, nor can anyone recount. Verily, I have preserved it in My hidden storehouses and in the treasuries of My command, as a sign of My loving-kindness unto My servants and My mercy unto My people.

Translation Notes

يَا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

ابْنَ

b-n-y → “SON”

literal: son

الإِنْسانِ

ʾ-n-s → “OF MAN”

literal: familiar; intimate; companionship; to be acquainted with; companion; intimate friend; to be intimate with; to keep company; to console

عَظَمَتِي

ʿ-ẓ-m → “majesty”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

عَطِيَّتِي

ʿ-ṭ-w → “bounty” Distinctive

literal: bounty; gift; giving

إِلَيْكَ،

ʾ-l-y → “towards” Distinctive

literal: one; a single

وَكِبْرِيائِي

k-b-r → “grandeur”

literal: great; grand; mighty; large; greatness; majesty; sovereignty; arrogance

رَحْمَتِي

r-ḥ-m → “mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

عَلَيْكَ،

ʿ-l-y → “unto thee” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

وَما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يَنْبَغِي

n-b-gh → “beseemeth”

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

لِنَفْسِي

n-f-s → “Me” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يُدْرِكُهُ

d-r-k → “comprehend” Distinctive

literal: to overtake; to catch; to reach; to attain; to perceive; to comprehend

أَحَدٌ

ʾ-ḥ-d → “anyone”

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

وَلَنْ

l-n → “neither”

literal: will not (negation of future)

تُحْصِيَهُ

ḥ-ṣ-y → “reckon” Distinctive

literal: unnumbered, innumerable, countless, beyond count; to count; to enumerate; to be reckoned

قَدْ

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

أَخْزَنْتُهُ

kh-z-n → “preserved”

literal: to store, to treasure; storehouse, depository, treasury

فِي

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

سِرِّي

s-r-r → “mysteries” Distinctive

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

وَكَنائِزِ

k-n-z → “treasures” Distinctive

literal: treasure; treasures; hoard

أَمْرِي

ʾ-m-r → “command”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

تَلَطُّفًا

l-ṭ-f → “loving-kindness”

literal: kindness; subtle; kindness, grace

لِعِبادِي

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

لِخَلْقِي.

kh-l-q → “people”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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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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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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

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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

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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 ¶