“O forbearing physician! Heal thou the sick with joy and fellowship, and delight their hearts and souls as much as thou canst…”

What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a passage from a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the original text of which has been published in Makátíb-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. 5, pp. 225–26. The full Tablet was written for various Bahá’ís in Rasht, but this particular passage was addressed to Mírzá Áqáy-i-Ḥakím in that city.

O forbearing physician! Heal thou the sick with joy and fellowship, and delight their hearts and souls as much as thou canst. Through gladness of spirit, cure thou the countless illnesses and ailments, for when the heart is rejoiced, it exerteth a great influence upon the body. The physician—by bringing happiness, glad-tidings, and good cheer—can provide a mighty remedy.

A typescript of the original Persian text of this passage appears below (all punctuation and short vowel marks mine).

ای حکیمِ حلیم! بیماران را به روح و ریحان معالجه نما، و تا توانی، دل و جان شادمان کن. به سرورِ روحانی امراض و عللِ بی‌پایان را تداوی کن، زیرا قلب چون فرح یابد، تأثیرِ عظیمی در جسم و تن نماید؛ و طبیب به تفریح و تبشیر و تسریرِ روحانی، علاجِ عظیم تواند. ع ع