What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá written in 1919 at the request of several Bahá’ís, among them Ḥájí Mihdí Námí, when they were all in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The original text has not been published; this facsimile, which served as the basis for the typescript I prepared underneath the translation below, was supplied to me by Lili Mahvash, the great-granddaughter of Ḥájí Mihdí Námí.
A fervent and humble supplication at the threshold of God, the Peerless One, to implore pardon for all those who have ascended to the celestial Kingdom, upon them be the Glory of God, the All-Glorious
O Lord, O Absolver of our sins, Thou Who showest pardon and forgiveness, compassion and mercy to His sincerely dedicated servants! Thou knowest full well that Thy loved ones were firm in Thy perspicuous Faith, standing in Thy mighty Cause with such steadfastness as to make the limbs of the violators to tremble and the members of the Covenant-breakers to quake. They turned with devotion to Thy Holy Face and drew upon the splendors of the Ancient Sun, whose lights shine with brilliance throughout the East and the West. They offered up, in Thy Path, all that was precious to them, setting themselves towards Thee and yearning for martyrdom before Thy presence.
Lord! They were sore athirst indeed; now have they arrived at the streaming waters of Thy mercy and found refuge in the shelter of Thy bounty, having been guided by the glowing fire that blazeth in the Burning Bush of Thy Lordship. They unloosed their tongues to mention Thee with most wondrous proofs, presenting clear evidences and lucid arguments for the Revelation of Him Who was the Manifestation of Thy Self in this contingent realm. Never did they slacken in their servitude at Thy most exalted Threshold, nor were they ever subdued by the grievous intensity of the calamities, the overwhelming power of the afflictions, or the crushing force of the trials and tribulations they faced. They soared with yearning wings to the most exalted summit, longing for Thy presence and begging for death, reuniting them as it would with their highest Aspiration.
Proffer unto them, O Lord, the chalice of faithfulness. Gather them together in the immortal realm and grant them a lofty seat of truth in the Abhá Kingdom, that they may immerse themselves in seas of light and oceans of mysteries, and enter the assemblage of splendors as souls submerged in the vast and deep waters of Thy presence.
Thou, verily, art the Pardoner; Thou, verily, art the Loving; Thou, verily, art the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
24 December 1919
Haifa
A typescript of the original Arabic text of this Tablet appears below (vocalization mine).
Adib Masumian 