What follows is a provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of passages from a Tablet of ʻAbduʼl-Bahá, the original text of which is published in Yádnámiy-i-Miṣbáḥ-i-Munír, p. 390.
O kind friend! Two letters from thee have arrived. . . . A translation is like unto a husk, whereas the original is even as a pith, for the [divine] phrases are of the utmost eloquence and clarity, and it is not possible to render them [perfectly]. The idea is that seekers should be able to inhale a hint from the fragrance of those gardens. The original is the Word of God, whereas the translation is the utterance of humanity. “How vast is the difference between heaven and earth!”*
Upon thee be the Glory of the All-Glorious.
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* An Arabic saying.
A typescript of the original Persian and Arabic text of these passages appears below.
Adib Masumian 