Prayers and Meditations — §459

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 459 of 858.

Source (Arabic)

لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ مَحْبُوبِي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ مَقْصُودُ العَارِفِينَ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

No God is there beside Thee, Thou alone art my Beloved in this world and in the world which is to come. Thou alone art the Desire of all them that have recognized Thee.

Translation Notes

إِلهَ

ʾilh ʾ-l-h → “god”

literal: god; o god

god 88% lord 8% thou 3% there 1% sovereign 1% one 1%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §133: I adjure thee by God fire-tabletFire §41: after God gleaningsGWB §725: O my God”kitab-i-ahdAhd §10: the divine Testator kitab-i-iqanKIQ §212: of His grace prayers-and-meditationsP&M §824: remain tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §31: “By the Lord the-hidden-wordsHW §154: heaven

مَحْبُوبِي

maḥbúbí ḥ-b-b → “my beloved”

literal: love; beloved; beloved ones

beloved 62% best-beloved 17% well-beloved 11% thou 4% one 2% divine 2% delight 2%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §129: because of their love fire-tabletFire §7: of Thy love gleaningsGWB §38: the love kitab-i-iqanKIQ §12: His beloved One prayers-and-meditationsP&M §111: all them that are dear to Thee tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §40: the Beloved One the-hidden-wordsHW §24: Our desire will-and-testamentW&T §48: Beloved One

الدُّنْيَا

ad-dunyá d-n-w → “this world”

literal: world; world/this life

world 78% life 6% things 4% earth 4% earthly 2% world’s 1% desire 1% worldliness 1% worldly 1% “the 1%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §85: world gleaningsGWB §595: mortal man kitab-i-iqanKIQ §130: or low prayers-and-meditationsP&M §840: the lowliest the-hidden-wordsHW §56: with this world epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §171: this world’s gleaningsGWB §426: the things of this world kitab-i-iqanKIQ §251: sordid

وَالآخِرَةِ

wálákhirah ʾ-kh-r → “and in the world”

literal: end; hereafter; other

SE expanded to “and in the world”

world 32% end 20% next 19% finally 6% another 5% hath 5% life 5% last 4% new 2% latter 2%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §56: the world to come gleaningsGWB §70: heaven kitab-i-iqanKIQ §178: no end prayers-and-meditationsP&M §62: elsewhere the-hidden-wordsHW §96: While there is yet will-and-testamentW&T §42: of late epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §174: At length gleaningsGWB §573: The “life to come,” on the other hand,

مَقْصُودُ

maqṣúd q-ṣ-d → “alone art the desire”

literal: intended; purpose; desired

SE expanded to “alone art the Desire”

purpose 28% desire 26% meant 20% goal 5% meaning 4% desired 3% who 3% object 3% intended 3% thou 3%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §212: the Desire gleaningsGWB §562: ambition kitab-i-ahdAhd §10: The object kitab-i-iqanKIQ §279: The one object prayers-and-meditationsP&M §666: cherished the-hidden-wordsHW §76: seeketh will-and-testamentW&T §47: my heart’s Desire epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §228: the Desire of their hearts

العَارِفِينَ

al-ʿárifín ʿ-r-f

literal: knowledge; know; knower

SE rendered وَإِنَّكَ (waʾinnak), مَقْصُودُ (maqṣúd), العَارِفِينَ (al-ʿárifín) as “Thou, alone art the Desire”

all 22% have 17% comprehend 13% every 10% such 8% who 8% know 8% understand 5% perceive 5% initiated 3%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §97: the breeze gleaningsGWB §87: could ye but comprehend it kitab-i-ahdAhd §13: perform praiseworthy deeds kitab-i-iqanKIQ §257: unrenowned prayers-and-meditationsP&M §296: them that have recognized Thee tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §12: to see the-hidden-wordsHW §3: shalt know epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §84: know it

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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 ¶

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 ¶

The Hidden Words

Bahá’u’lláh

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 ¶