Prayers and Meditations — §334

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 334 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

عَلَى ما تَشاءُ وَالحاكِمُ عَلَى ما تُرِيدُ لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ المَلِكَ المُتَعالِ المُقْتَدِرُ المُعْطِ العَلِيمُ الحَكِيمُ.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Powerful art Thou to do what Thou pleasest and to ordain what Thou willest. No God is there but Thee, the All-Possessing, the All-Highest, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Translation Notes

عَلَى

ʿ-l-w → “Powerful art Thou” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

تَشاءُ

sh-y-ʾ

literal: thing; something

وَالحاكِمُ

ḥ-k-m → “to ordain”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

تُرِيدُ

r-y-d → “Thou willest.” Distinctive

literal: want; desire; will

لا

l-ʾ → “No”

literal: no; not; negation particle

إِلهَ

ʾ-l-h → “God”

literal: God; Allah; deity; Divinity; divine nature; godhood

إِلاَّ

ʾ-kh-r → “but” Distinctive

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

أَنْتَ

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

المَلِكَ

m-l-k → “All-Possessing” Distinctive

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

المُقْتَدِرُ

q-d-r → “Almighty”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

المُعْطِ

ʿ-ṭ-y → “All-Bountiful”

literal: bounty; gift; bestowal; grace; bountifulness

العَلِيمُ

ʿ-l-m → “All-Knowing”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

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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 ¶

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 ¶

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 ¶

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 ¶