A true and abiding dominion--reflection on the first Hidden Word from the Arabic

 O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting. 

Recitation and transliteration by the Utterance Project:

In the original Arabic (from here):

يَا ابْنَ الرُّوحِ

فِي أَوَّلِ القَوْلِ امْلِكْ قَلْباً جَيِّداً حَسَناً مُنيراً لِتَمْلِكَ مُلْكاً دائِماً باقِياً أَزَلاً قَدِيماً.

Transliteration (by Daniel Pschaida, based on that of Adib Masumanian):

Yá'bna'r-rúḥ

Fí awwali'l-qawl

Imlik qalban jayyidan ḥasanan muníran

li-tamlika mulkan dá’iman báqíyan azalan qadíman

Transliterations with Shoghi Effendi’s translations just after in parenthesis (I bolded the three places words of the Arabic root M-L-K to highlight why I believe the central theme of this Hidden Word is a reflection on worthy possessions/dominion):

Yá'bna'r-rúḥ (O Son of Spirit!)

Fí awwali'l-qawl (My first counsel is this)

Imlik (Possess) qalban (heart) jayyidan (pure) ḥasanan (kindly) muníran (radiant)

li-tamlika (That thine may be) mulkan (a sovereignty)

dá’iman báqíyan (imperishable) azalan (everlasting) qadíman (ancient)

The eighteenth of the nineteen Bahá’í months, each named after an attribute or perfection of God, which humanity is called upon to reflect in the gem-like mirror of our own hearts, is Dominion (Mulk). Likewise, in my understanding, this first Hidden Word is an invitation to humanity to a true understanding about possessions—that which we are to give real concern and pursue to have dominion over.

The root-word for dominion M-L-K in this Hidden Word occurs three times, which I bolded above.  Instead of those traditional pursuits of humanity—land or territory, wealth or riches, or power and subjugation of other peoples, it is three key qualities or virtues of the human heart that Bahá’u’lláh prioritizes as His first counsel. Even justice, love, and knowledge, which are soon mentioned in the immediate subsequent Hidden Words, are mentioned second to these.  

• Yá ibn al-rúḥ (pronounced Yá'bna'r-rúḥ): Likely the most common address of human beings in the Hidden Words, O Son of Spirit! Bahá’u’lláh envisions the human reality in our spiritual core as our truest reality, capacity, and purpose, over being first and foremost a biological, economic, linguistic, social, or even psycho-emotional being. This verse hearkens to the creation of the human being in the 2nd chapter of Genesis of the Bible in which YHWH "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being/soul" and Qur'an 38:72  “I have proportioned him (sawwaytuhu) and breathed (nafakhtu) into him (fíhi) of My spirit (rúḥí)”.

"O Son of Spirit! Possess a pure...heart." --Bahá’u’lláh

"He is God! O God, my God! Bestow upon me a pure heart like unto a pearl." --'Abdu'l-Bahá

• jayyidan: The first attribute Bahá’u’lláh enjoins us to possess of our heart is purity--"Possess a pure...heart." Hans Wehr translates jayyid to mean "good, perfect, faultless; outstanding, excellent, first-rate." It is etymologically linked with the also adjective jawád "openhanded, liberal, generous, magnanimous" and the noun júd "openhandedness, liberality, etc." Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh says, "The greater the effort exerted for the refinement of this sublime and noble mirror" of the heart, "the more faithfully will it be made to reflect the glory of the names and attributes of God, and reveal the wonders of His signs and knowledge." (p. 261) Bahá’u’lláh says in the Book of Certitude, "When the channel of the human soul is cleansed of all worldly and impeding attachments, it will unfailingly perceive the breath of the Beloved across immeasurable distances, and will, led by its perfume, attain and enter the City of Certitude." (p. 196) 'Abdu'l-Bahá says that "purity of intent" or "purity of motive" is an essential prerequisite of consultation. In the 129th selection of Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, He says, "To be pure and holy in all things is an attribute of the consecrated soul and a necessary characteristic of the unenslaved mind... Once the individual is, in every respect, cleansed and purified, then will he become a focal centre reflecting the Manifest Light" and devotes this entire Tablet to inward and outward purity. In a simple prayer by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, we supplicate (transliterations of key, related-words, in parenthesis), "He is God! O God, my God! Bestow upon me a pure heart (qalb-é-ṣáfí) like unto a pearl (durr)."  

"Possess a...kindly...heart." --Bahá’u’lláh 

'Abdu'l-Bahá says, "Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help." --'Abdu'l-Bahá

• ḥasanan: The second attribute Bahá’u’lláh enjoins us to possess of our heart is kindliness--"Possess a...kindly...heart." Lane's dictionary translates ḥasan as "good, goodly, beautiful, comely, or pleasing." Wehr includes these meanings along with the related "lovely; pretty, nice; good, agreeable; excellent, superior, exquisite." In the 3rd & 4th forms of the root-verb and its derivative nouns we get the meanings of kindliness, benevolence, charitability, amicability, or friendliness. A ḥasanah is a "good deed" or "benefaction." Bahá’u’lláh says, "All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. The Almighty beareth Me witness: To act like the beasts of the field is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance, mercy, compassion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and kindreds of the earth." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 214) 'Abdu'l-Bahá says, "Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help." (Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 1)

"Possess a...radiant heart." --Bahá’u’lláh 

Munírih K͟hánum (1847-1938), born Fáṭimih Nahrí. Before she became engaged to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’u’lláh had a dream of her standing "luminous" or radiant and so gave her the name “Munírih"--the same third attribute Bahá’u’lláh enjoins upon us in this first Hidden Word. Mother of nine children, stalwart supporter of her husband 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Munírih Khánum was also passionate about education, having been well-educated herself. She raised funds and had a school built for girls in Haifa, Israel. She wrote, “The education of girls is a matter of the greatest importance. Hence, the friends of the All-Merciful, and the beloved maidservants of the Lord, in all cities and countries must take action and endeavor to their utmost capacity to carry out this weighty injunction.” It would seem that like "enlightenment," education and radiance/luminosity are intimately connected, where if someone is well-educated and dedicating to using their education to serving humanity, 'Abdu'l-Bahá calls this "light upon light" (núr 'alá núr). 

• muníran: The third attribute Bahá’u’lláh enjoins us to possess of our heart is radiance--"Possess a...radiant heart." From the root-noun núr "light" or "light beam" these root-letters also form a verb (and nouns) that means to flower, blossom, or bloom. Hans Wehr's dictionary defines munír as "luminous, radiant, brilliant, shining; enlightening, illuminative, radiantly bright." Bahá’u’lláh says, "O people of Baha! Ye are the dawning-places of the love of God and the daysprings of His loving-kindness" (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 27) and "O people of Justice! Be as brilliant as the light, and as splendid as the fire that blazed in the Burning Bush. The brightness of the fire of your love will no doubt fuse and unify the contending peoples and kindreds of the earth..." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 95). In a first prayer taught to children (transliterations of key, related-words, in parenthesis), "O God, guide me, protect me, make of me a shining (róshan) lamp (seráj) and a brilliant (derakhshandih) star (sitárih). Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful." - 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Baha'i Prayers, p. 36) 

"that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting." --Bahá’u’lláh 

Diamonds are the hardest type of mineral and above any worldly possessions, power, fame or prestige, a pure, kindly, and radiant heart is the most durable, everlasting substance, that Bahá’u’lláh commends upon us. 

li-tamlika mulkan: Reinforcing the first amlik (Possess), this is the 2nd and 3rd usage from the root M-L-K referring to possession or dominion. Translated as that thine may be a sovereignty, in my reading, Bahá’u’lláh is making it entirely clear that this Hidden Word is a meditation on that which is uniquely worthy to pursue as a possession or power of our being.

dá’iman báqíyan ("imperishable") azalan ("everlasting") qadíman ("ancient"): These four adjectives describe the pure, kindly, and radiant heart to be that which is singularly rooted in God's first purposes (i.e. ancient), that which does not come to an end (i.e. everlasting), and that which does not break down or deteriorate (i.e. imperishable). While we can remove such qualities from our hearts by our choices, mindset, attitudes, and actions, no one else can take these away from us. And it has been God's purpose in His creation of the universe from His beginning Primal Will that we develop such attributes as these.

• Note: Shoghi Effendi did not include a word-for-word translation of dá’iman, which is a very common Arabic word meaning "always," yet its meaning is contained within the three attributes he did translate. In the middle word of the middle verse of the Long Healing Prayer, in the Arabic is God's name/perfection of Daymún, of the same root as dá’iman, and translated there as "Ever-Abiding" (although not be confused with "Abiding" [báqí] in the repeating line "Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One"). Although happy coincidence, rather than shared linguistic history, dá’iman and Daymún sound very close to the English word "diamond."  Likewise, Bahá’u’lláh calls our soul a "gem-like reality" which is to be cleansed and illumined with God's gracious light and elsewhere the individual virtues of our soul are also referred to as jewels, gems, and diamonds: "Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 259)