O Lord so rich in bounty, so replete with grace,
Whose knowledge doth mine inmost heart and soul embrace!

At morn, the solace of my soul is none but Thee;
The knower of my loss and woe is none but Thee.

The heart that for a moment hath Thy mention known
Will seek no friend save longing pain for Thee alone.

Withered be the heart that sigheth not for Thee,
And better blind the eye that crieth not for Thee!

In all mine hours of deepest gloom, O Lord of might,
My heart hath Thy remembrance for a shining light.

Do, through Thy favour, breathe Thy spirit into me,
That what hath never been may thus forever be.

Consider not our merit and our worth,
O Lord of bounty, but the grace Thou pourest forth.

Upon these broken-winged birds whose flight is slow
Out of Thy tender mercy newfound wings bestow.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

ای خدای پرعطای ذو المنن
واقف جان و دل و اسرار من

در سحرها مونس جانم توئی
مطّلع بر سوز و حرمانم توئی

هر دلی پیوست با ذکرت دمی
جز غم تو می‌نجوید محرمی

خون شود آن دل که بریان تو نیست
کور به چشمی که گریان تو نیست

در شبان تیره و تار ای قدیر
یاد تو در دل چو مصباح منیر

از عنایاتت بدل روحی بدم
تا عدم گردد ز لطف تو قدم

در لیاقت منگر و در قدرها
بنگر اندر فضل خود ای ذو العطاء

این طیور بال و پر اشکسته را
از کرم بال و پری احسان نما

حضرت عبدالبهاء

The Rashḥ-i-‘Amá (The Clouds of the Realms Above) was part one in a two-part series of very early Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the form of Persian poems.

Today, we are thrilled to present you with the second part in this series, “O Lord so rich in bounty,” another poem (this one by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá) with an authorized translation into English. To be more precise, it is a short prayer originally written in the form of rhyming couplets, and it is actually the conclusion to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s extensive commentary on the Islamic hadith “I was a hidden treasure,” which He wrote as a young man and is perhaps the first major work we have from Him.

The authorized English translation uses the same rhyme scheme as the original Persian (AABB) and is set mostly to iambic hexameter, with the exceptions of one shift to trochaic hexameter (in the first line of the fourth verse) and another to iambic pentameter (in the first line of the penultimate verse).

Original Sources

  • The source for the original Persian text can be found here
  • The source for the English translation can be found here
  • A complete provisional translation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s commentary on the Islamic hadith “I was a hidden treasure” can be found here
  • A provisional translation of a little-known Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh on the circumstances that prompted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to write that commentary can be found here

Further References