Will and Testament — §59

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

Source (Persian)

و علیکم البهآء الأبهی

Shoghi Effendi Translation

The Glory of Glories rest upon you!

Translation Notes

علیکم

ʿlíkm ʿ-l-y → “upon you”

literal: upon; on

unto 83% upon 17%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §217: Upon him gleaningsGWB §622: fall upon kitab-i-iqanKIQ §132: glorified is He prayers-and-meditationsP&M §778: the path the-hidden-wordsHW §42: reveal unto thee will-and-testamentW&T §59: upon you epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §106: in gleaningsGWB §242: on justice

البهآء

al-bháʾ b-h-w → “the glory”

literal: glory

glory 82% faith 9% splendor 9%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §204: are verily glorious gleaningsGWB §661: of Glory prayers-and-meditationsP&M §239: the brightest realities the-hidden-wordsHW §22: effulgent glory will-and-testamentW&T §56: Glory of Glories epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §120: (bloodmoney)gleaningsGWB §186: the Faith prayers-and-meditationsP&M §761: Most Glorious

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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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 ¶

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 ¶