Will and Testament — §15

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 15 of 59.

Source (Persian)

حواریّون حضرت روح بکلّی خود را و جمیع شئونرا فراموش نمودند و ترک سر و سامان کردند و مقدّس و منزّه از هوی و هوس گشتند و از هر تعلّقی بیزار شدند و در ممالک و دیار منتشر شدند و بهدایت من علی الأرض پرداختند تا جهانرا جهان دیگر کردند و عالم خاک را تابناک نمودند و بپایان زندگانی در ره آن دلبر رحمانی جانفشانی کردند و هر یک در دیاری شهید شدند فبمثل هذا فلیعمل العاملون

Shoghi Effendi Translation

The disciples of Christ forgot themselves and all earthly things, forsook all their cares and belongings, purged themselves of self and passion and with absolute detachment scattered far and wide and engaged in calling the peoples of the world to the Divine Guidance, till at last they made the world another world, illumined the surface of the earth and even to their last hour proved self-sacrificing in the pathway of that Beloved One of God. Finally in various lands they suffered glorious martyrdom. Let them that are men of action follow in their footsteps!

Translation Notes

حواریّون

ḥ-w-r → “Maid of Heaven” Distinctive

literal: maiden of paradise; houri

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “of” Distinctive

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

روح

r-w-ḥ → “spirit”

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

بکلّی

k-l-l → “all”

literal: all; every; whole; entirety; entire; completely

خود

kh-w-d → “their own”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

جمیع

j-m-ʿ → “all earthly things”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

شئونرا

sh-ʾ-n → “station” Distinctive

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

فراموش

f-r-sh → “bed”

literal: to forget; forgetfulness

نمودند

n-m-ود → “hath” Distinctive

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

ترک

t-r-k

literal: to leave; to abandon; to forsake

سر

s-r-r → “mysteries” Distinctive

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

سامان

s-ʾ-m → “belongings”

literal: arrangement; order; equipment; goods; belongings; affairs

کردند

k-r-d → “made” Distinctive

literal: to do; to make; to perform; deed; action; conduct; behavior

مقدّس

q-d-s → “purged” Distinctive

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

منزّه

n-z-h → “sanctified”

literal: exalted; sanctified; free from; removed from

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

هوی

h-w-y → “desire”

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

هوس

h-w-s → “passion”

literal: passion; lust; inordinate desire; whim; folly

گشتند

g-sh-t

literal: to become; to turn; to be

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

تعلّقی

ʿ-l-q

literal: attachment; connection; relationship

بیزار

b-z-r

literal: free from, disgusted with, weary of, averse to

شدند

sh-d → “was” Distinctive

literal: to not become; to not be

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ممالک

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

دیار

d-w-r → “far” Distinctive

literal: in; far; lands

منتشر

n-sh-r

literal: to scatter; to spread; to unfold; to disseminate

بهدایت

h-d-y → “Divine Guidance”

literal: guidance; to guide; direction; leading rightly; this; this one

من

m-n → “in their footsteps” Distinctive

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

علی

ʿ-l-w → “of the world” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الأرض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “of the world” Distinctive

literal: earth; land; ground; country

پرداختند

p-r-d-kh-t → “engaged”

literal: engage

تا

t-y-y → “so that”

literal: so that/until

جهانرا

j-h-ʾ-n → “world”

literal: world; universe

دیگر

d-g-r → “another”

literal: home; place; land; abode

عالم

ʿ-l-m → “earth” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

خاک

kh-ʾ-k → “DUST”

literal: dust; earth; soil; ground

تابناک

t-ʾ-b → “Orb” Distinctive

literal: shining; resplendent

بپایان

p-ʾ-y → “feet” Distinctive

literal: end; conclusion; termination

زندگانی

z-n-d-g → “tasted” Distinctive

literal: prison; jail

ره

r-w-h → “no access” Distinctive

literal: path; way; path, way

آن

ʾ-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

دلبر

d-l → “Beloved”

literal: beloved; charmer; heart-ravisher

رحمانی

r-ḥ-m → “mercy” Distinctive

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

جانفشانی

j-ʾ-n → “lives” Distinctive

literal: sacrifice of life; self-immolation; devotion

یک

y-k → “one”

literal: one; a single

دیاری

d-y-r → “country” Distinctive

literal: home; place; land; abode

شهید

sh-h-d → “suffered glorious martyrdom” Distinctive

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

فبمثل

m-th-l

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

هذا

h-dh-ʾ

literal: this; that

فلیعمل

ʿ-m-l → “deeds”

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

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.

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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

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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

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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 ¶

The Hidden Words

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Seventy-one Arabic and eighty-two Persian aphorisms revealed around 1858 while walking along the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad. Originally designated the “Hidden Book of Fáṭimih,” Shoghi Effendi described it as a marvelous collection of gem-like utterances occupying a position of unsurpassed preeminence among the ethical writings of the Faith.

160 ¶