Metal pen nib belonging to Bahá’u’lláh
Photo Credit: © Bahá’í International Community
Arabic Devotional Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Provisional Translations by Stephen Lambden
Excerpt from a Tablet Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh
Say: O my God! O my God! I beseech Thee by the blood of Thy chosen ones, through which the faces of the Supreme Concourse and the companions of the Crimson Ark hath been dyed crimson, to make me one who crieth out in Thy Name and is steadfast in the Cause. Thou art indeed One Mighty, Powerful, Bounteous.
Prayer of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed for Jinab-i Aqa Mirza Aqa
He is the All-Hearing, the Listener!
Say: Glorified be Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Bounty and by means of Thy hosts and by virtue of the Light which sheds splendor upon the Cities of Thy Knowledge and of Thy Wisdom, that Thou may ordain for me that which will draw me nigh unto Thee! Then write down for me that which will make me one that singeth out Thy melodies and is one firmly established in Thy love. Thou art indeed One All-Powerful, Mighty and Most Excellent.
Lovers, look! Your Beloved just unveiled her face!
Prayer of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Revealed for a Physician
Jinab-i Aqa Mirza Habib, the Doctor, Upon him be the Glory of God, the All-Glorious!
He is God!
O my God, O my God! I verily have turned unto Thee and my whole being is thoroughly imbued through the oceans of Thy healing. O Lord, assist me in the service of Thy servants and the treatment of Thy dependents. Assist me likewise, to sacrifice myself for the healing of every malady, the quenching of every thirst, and the soothing of every agony. And if Thou dost not assist me in my sacrifice, I would be naught but the fountainhead of disease and be one unable to cure the infirmities of a single soul. Lord, Lord! Assist me and magnify my ability in Thy healing of the sick. Thou verily art the Healer, the Sufficer, the One Who Cures every sickness and disease. Thou art indeed One supremely Powerful over all things.
Bio: Dr. Stephen Lambden received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2002, where he submitted a thesis about Islamo-biblica (Isra’iliyyat, Israelitica) and the emergence of the Bábí-Bahá’í Interpretation of the Bible. He has specialized in Abrahamic religious texts and Semitic languages (Hebrew, Arabic, etc) and has lectured in Bábí-Bahá’í Studies at Newcastle University and elsewhere. He is currently a Research Scholar at University of California, Merced. Among his many publications are contributions to Encyclopedia Iranica, Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, and a recent contribution on “Islam” to the Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture (Oxford, 2006).