What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet from ʻAbduʼl-Bahá, the original text of which is published in Muntakhabáti az Makátíb-i-ʻAbduʼl-Bahá, vol. 3, p. 104 (passage no. 151). I am grateful to Naeem Nabiliakbar for helping me to appreciate some of the subtle nuances in this Tablet that were not immediately obvious to me, and also to Sen McGlinn, Jack McLean, Ismael Velasco, Farhan Yazdani, and Dawn Jensen Nobile for their suggested improvements to this translation.
O selfless lover of the Traceless Friend! A thousand mystics have sought that Friend yet remained deprived and distant from His Face; yet thou hast found Him, thou hast recognized Him. Thou hast engaged thyself in service, and secured a glorious station; indeed, thou hast hoisted the standard of success and prosperity. How strange the story—how novel the news!
They who have sought have failed to find, while they who have sat have attained their Goal. By God! Theirs was the quest of the quenched, not the parched; theirs the search of ponderers, not lovers.
The thinkers, as they glean their precious grain,
Think not of Laylí’s mystery arcane
This joy belongs alone to that Majnún
Who burns his field and relishes the boon*
A lover in stillness is better than a contemplator in motion. The glory of God rest upon thee.
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* Passage from a ghazal by Saʻdí: https://ganjoor.net/saadi/divan/ghazals/sh12/
A typescript of the complete Persian text of this Tablet appears below.
Adib Masumian 