What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá published in ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd Ishráq-Khávarí, Qámús-i-Tawqí‘-i-Maní‘-i-Naw-Rúz-i-108-i-Badí‘, p. 85. This Tablet was addressed to Áqá ‘Abbás-‘Alí Kázirúní (also known as Ghulám-Ḥusayn), a resident of Rangoon who was part of the wide-ranging operation to safely transport and inter the Báb’s remains on Mount Carmel. He is mentioned in the Persian account (ibid., p. 84) of the marble sarcophagus that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had instructed the Bahá’ís of Rangoon to build for housing the Báb’s remains.
A beautiful Persian chant of the prayer that makes up the second half of this Tablet is available here.
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Rangoon
To Áqá ‘Abbás-Alí, upon him be the Glory of God, the Most Glorious
He is the All-Glorious!
O thou whose service is met with acceptance and whose efforts are deserving of praise! Thou didst watch over that sacred casket which became the niche for the Lamp of that holy Temple and the concealed receptacle for that sanctified Body.* This was a service that the chosen ones of God had yearned and longed to render; thou wert aided and assisted to accomplish it. Raise thy hands in gratitude and say:
O Thou Bestower! What a bounty was this Thou didst graciously grant, and what a favor was this Thou didst freely confer? I was abased; Thou didst exalt me. I was as one dead; Thou didst endue me with new life. I was obscure; Thou didst make me renowned. I was nameless in this nether world; Thou didst make me famed in the realm above. I was worthless; Thou didst cause me to become, in the kingdoms of earth and heaven, a leader of the distinguished till the end of time. All thanks be to Thee, and praise! All bounty is Thine, and grace! Praised be Thou under all conditions!
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* It would seem that, in this metaphorical description, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is referring to the divine reality of the Báb as “the Lamp” (siráj), His physical form as “the holy Temple” (haykal-i-muqaddas), and the casket as both “the niche” (mishkát) and “the concealed receptacle” (maḥall-i-satr) that contains His sacred remains. The analogy of the niche and the lamp is somewhat reminiscent of the “Verse of Light” in the Qur’án (24:35).
A typescript of the original Persian text of this Tablet appears below (all punctuation and short vowel marks mine).
Adib Masumian 