Gleanings — §100

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 100 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

محمّد وأوسطنا محمّد" باری معلوم و محقّق آنجناب بوده که جميع انبيا هياکل امر اللّه هستند که در قمايص مختلفه ظاهر شدند و اگر بنظر لطيف ملاحظه فرمائی همه را در يک رضوان ساکن بينی و در يک هوا طائر و بر يک بساط جالس و بر يک کلام ناطق و بر يک امر آمر اينست اتّحاد آن جواهر وجود و شموس غير محدود و معدود پس اگر يکی از اين مظاهر قدسيّه بفرمايد من رجوع کلّ انبياء هستم صادق است و همچنين ثابت است در هر ظهور بعد صدق رجوع ظهور قبل ...

Shoghi Effendi Translation

It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of Being, those Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable splendor! Wherefore, should one of these Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: “I am the return of all the Prophets,” He, verily, speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact, the truth of which is firmly established.…

Translation Notes

محمّد

ḥ-m-d

literal: praise; Muhammad; praised

وأوسطنا

w-s-ṭ

literal: middle; middle, midst; by means of

باری

b-r-y

literal: well; cistern; pit

معلوم

ʿ-l-m → “clear and evident”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

محقّق

ḥ-q-q

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

آنجناب

j-n-b → “to thee”

literal: excellency; side; presence

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

انبيا

n-b-ʾ → “Prophets”

literal: prophet; prophets

هياکل

h-y-k-l → “Temples”

literal: temple; structure; form; body

امر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

literal: God; Allah; deity; Divinity; divine nature; godhood

هستند

h-s-t → “are”

literal: to be; to exist

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

قمايص

q-m-ṣ → “robe” Distinctive

literal: shirt; shirt, garment; shirt/garment

مختلفه

kh-l-f → “divers”

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “appeared”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

شدند

sh-d → “was” Distinctive

literal: to not become; to not be

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

بنظر

n-ẓ-r → “with” Distinctive

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

لطيف

l-ṭ-f → “loving-kindness” Distinctive

literal: kindness; grace; gentleness; benevolence

ملاحظه

l-ḥ-ẓ → “observe”

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

فرمائی

f-r-m → “saith” Distinctive

literal: to say; to decree; to ordain; to command

همه

h-m-h → “all”

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

يک

y-k → “one”

literal: one; a single

رضوان

r-ḍ-w → “tabernacle”

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction

ساکن

s-k-n → “abiding”

literal: stillness, rest, quietude, tranquility

بينی

b-y-n → “thou wilt behold”

literal: building, structure, edifice; to build, construct; structure, edifice

هوا

h-w-ʾ → “atmosphere” Distinctive

literal: He; He is

طائر

ṭ-y-r → “soaring”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

بر

b-r-r → “upon”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

بساط

b-s-ṭ → “throne”

literal: carpet; mat; carpet of realm; expanse; table; surface

جالس

j-l-s → “seated”

literal: council; assembly; gathering; session

کلام

k-l-m → “speech”

literal: to blame; to find fault; blaming; fault-finding

ناطق

n-ṭ-q → “uttering”

literal: to speak; to utter; to pronounce; to articulate

اتّحاد

w-ḥ-d → “unity”

literal: unity; union; unification

آن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

جواهر

j-w-h-r → “Essences”

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

وجود

w-j-d → “Being”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

شموس

sh-m-s → “Luminaries”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

غير

gh-y-r

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

محدود

ḥ-d-d → “limitations” Distinctive

literal: iron; sharp, keen, acute

معدود

ʿ-d-d → “capacity” Distinctive

literal: numerous; many; multiple

پس

p-s → “From”

literal: then; then, therefore; therefore

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

قدسيّه

q-d-s → “Holiness”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

من

m-n → “from”

literal: from; out of; than (preposition and particle)

رجوع

r-j-ʿ → “return”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

صادق

ṣ-d-q → “truth” Distinctive

literal: to confirm; to verify; to acknowledge; to testify to truth

است

b-w-d → “is”

literal: to do; to make; to perform; to be; was

همچنين

ch-n-n → “In like manner”

literal: always; ever; forever; at all times; constantly

ثابت

th-b-t → “firmly”

literal: firm; steadfast; established; fixed

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “subsequent” Distinctive

literal: after; behind; distance

قبل

q-b-l → “former” Distinctive

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Bahá’u’lláh

The last outstanding Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, written around 1891 and addressed to Shaykh Muḥammad-Taqí of Iṣfahán. It calls upon that rapacious priest to repent, quotes the most celebrated passages from Bahá’u’lláh’s own writings, and adduces proofs establishing the validity of His Cause.

268 ¶

Fire Tablet

Bahá’u’lláh

Revealed in late 1871 during a period of severe hardship in ‘Akká, this Tablet takes the form of an anguished dialogue between Bahá’u’lláh and God. Questions about the sufferings of the faithful are answered with divine assurances, building to a crescendo of triumph over tribulation.

50 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

Bahá’u’lláh

The Book of the Covenant — Bahá’u’lláh’s Will and Testament, written entirely in His own hand and unsealed on the ninth day after His ascension. It designates ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and establishes what Shoghi Effendi called the mightiest Covenant in all religious history.

16 ¶

Kitáb-i-Íqán

Bahá’u’lláh

The principal doctrinal work of the Faith, revealed in Baghdad within the space of two days and two nights in response to questions from the Báb’s maternal uncle. Shoghi Effendi described it as occupying a position unequalled by any work except the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — a model of Persian prose, at once original, chaste, vigorous, and remarkably lucid.

291 ¶

Prayers and Meditations

Bahá’u’lláh

Published in 1938, this companion volume to Gleanings contains 184 prayers and meditations selected by Shoghi Effendi from Bahá’u’lláh’s devotional writings revealed across successive exiles from Baghdad to ‘Akká. Shoghi Effendi described it as a volume whose perusal would deepen the spirit of devotion and faith.

858 ¶

Tablet of Aḥmad

Bahá’u’lláh

Revealed in Adrianople and addressed to a believer named Aḥmad, this Tablet has been invested by Bahá’u’lláh with a special potency and significance. Its central imagery draws on the metaphor of fire and water: “Be thou as a flame of fire to My enemies and a river of life eternal to My loved ones.”

17 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

Bahá’u’lláh

Revealed during a visit to Mount Carmel, this Tablet addresses the mountain directly and prophesies its future as the world spiritual and administrative center of the Faith. Shoghi Effendi designated it one of three foundational Charters. Its imagery of the Ark and the dwellers therein prefigures the Universal House of Justice.

5 ¶

Tablet of the Holy Mariner

Bahá’u’lláh

Chanted aloud in the outskirts of Baghdad just weeks before the Declaration in the Garden of Riḍván, its gloomy prognostications aroused the grave apprehensions of all who heard it. Only the Arabic portion has an authorized translation; the Persian portion remains untranslated.

57 ¶

The Hidden Words

Bahá’u’lláh

Seventy-one Arabic and eighty-two Persian aphorisms revealed around 1858 while walking along the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad. Originally designated the “Hidden Book of Fáṭimih,” Shoghi Effendi described it as a marvelous collection of gem-like utterances occupying a position of unsurpassed preeminence among the ethical writings of the Faith.

160 ¶

Will and Testament

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in three parts between 1901 and 1908, opened and read after His passing on 28 November 1921. Shoghi Effendi designated it the Charter of the New World Order — the mightiest instrument forged to ensure the continuity of the three ages of the Bahá’í Dispensation.

59 ¶