Gleanings — §123

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 123 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

ظهور بر اتلال قلوب و افئده برافرازد و از این کلمات و اشارات معلوم و ثابت شد که لابدّ در عالم ملک و ملکوت باید کینونت و حقیقتی ظاهر گردد که واسطهٴ فیض کلّیّه و مظهر اسم الوهیّت و ربوبیّت باشد تا جمیع ناس در ظلّ تربیت آن آفتاب حقیقت تر

Shoghi Effendi Translation

From the foregoing passages and allusions it hath been made indubitably clear that in the kingdoms of earth and heaven there must needs be manifested a Being, an Essence Who shall act as a Manifestation and Vehicle for the transmission of the grace of the Divinity Itself, the Sovereign Lord of all. Through the Teachings of this Daystar of Truth every man will advance and develop until he attaineth the station at which he can manifest all the potential forces with which his inmost true self hath been endowed. It is for this very purpose that in every age and dispensation the Prophets of God and His chosen Ones have appeared amongst men, and have evinced such power as is born of God and such might as only the Eternal can reveal.

Translation Notes

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “manifest”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

اتلال

t-l-w

literal: stirring; agitation; prostration

قلوب

q-l-b

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

افئده

f-ʾ-d

literal: heart, innermost soul, mind; heart; inner consciousness; mind; one who benefits; advantageous

برافرازد

f-r-ʾ-z

literal: to kindle, to light, to inflame

از

ʾ-z → “From the foregoing”

literal: from

این

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

کلمات

k-l-m

literal: words; utterances; locutions

اشارات

sh-y-r

literal: explanation; commentary; to explain; to open

معلوم

ʿ-l-m → “indubitably clear” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

ثابت

th-b-t

literal: firm; steadfast; established; fixed

شد

sh-d → “it hath been made”

literal: to become; to be

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

لابدّ

b-d-d → “must needs”

literal: must, necessarily, needs must, there is no escape

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ملک

m-l-k → “earth” Distinctive

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

باید

b-y-d → “be”

literal: by hand; with hands; eternal; perpetual; everlasting

کینونت

k-w-n → “be” Distinctive

literal: rancour; grudge; enmity; being; existence (as philosophical term)

حقیقتی

ḥ-q-q → “truth” Distinctive

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

گردد

g-r-d → “become”

literal: become; to become; make

واسطهٴ

w-s-ṭ → “meridian” Distinctive

literal: mediator; intermediary; means; to mediate

فیض

f-y-ḍ → “grace”

literal: flood; abundance; overflow; emanation; grace

کلّیّه

k-l-l → “all”

literal: all; every; whole; entirety; entire; completely

اسم

s-m-w

literal: name; title; designation

الوهیّت

ʾ-l-h → “Divinity”

literal: Divinity; divine nature; godhood

ربوبیّت

r-b-b → “Sovereign Lord” Distinctive

literal: divine; of God; lordly

باشد

b-w-d

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

تا

t-y-y

literal: so that/until

جمیع

j-m-ʿ → “every man”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

ناس

n-ʾ-s → “men”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

ظلّ

ẓ-l-l → “shadow”

literal: to take shelter; to dwell in shadow

تربیت

r-b-y → “education”

literal: education; upbringing; training; cultivation

آن

ʾ-n → “this” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

آفتاب

ʾ-f-t-ʾ-b → “Day-Star”

literal: horizon; sun

تر

t-r-r

literal: more (comparative suffix)

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 ¶