Gleanings — §129

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 129 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

من قلم عزّ منیر...و همچنین سبب عدم ظهور مظاهر عدل و مطالع فضل باسباب قدرت ظاهریّه و غلبهٴ ملکیّه همین شئونات فصل و تمیز بوده چه اگر آن جوهر قدم علی ما کان علیه ظاهر شود و تجلّی فرماید احدی را مجال انکار و اعراض نماند بلکه جمیع موجودات از مشاهدهٴ انوار او منصعق بلکه فانی محض شوند دیگر در این مقام مقبل الی الله از معرض بالله منفصل نگردد چنانچه

Shoghi Effendi Translation

That the Manifestations of Divine justice, the Daysprings of heavenly grace, have when they appeared amongst men always been destitute of all earthly dominion and shorn of the means of worldly ascendancy, should be attributed to this same principle of separation and distinction which animateth the Divine Purpose. Were the Eternal Essence to manifest all that is latent within Him, were He to shine in the plentitude of His glory, none would be found to question His power or repudiate His truth. Nay, all created things would be so dazzled and thunderstruck by the evidences of His light as to be reduced to utter nothingness. How, then, can the godly be differentiated under such circumstances from the froward?

Translation Notes

من

m-n

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

قلم

q-l-m

literal: pen; writing instrument

عزّ

ʿ-z-z → “glory”

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

همچنین

ch-n-n → “likewise”

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

سبب

s-b-b → “cause”

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

عدم

ʿ-d-m → “nothingness”

literal: nonexistent; void; nullified

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “appeared” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

عدل

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

مطالع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Daysprings”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

فضل

f-ḍ-l → “grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

قدرت

q-d-r → “power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

غلبهٴ

gh-l-b → “ascendancy” Distinctive

literal: to overcome, overpower, vanquish, prevail

ملکیّه

m-l-k → “dominion”

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

همین

h-m-n → “Help in Peril” Distinctive

literal: the same; that very

شئونات

sh-ʾ-n → “in such wise” Distinctive

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

تمیز

m-y-z

literal: to distinguish; to differentiate; to discern

بوده

b-w-d → “been”

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

چه

ch-h

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

آن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

جوهر

j-w-h-r → “Essence”

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

قدم

q-d-m → “Eternal” Distinctive

literal: ancientness; antiquity; foot; to come forward

علی

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

ما

m-ʾ

literal: what; which; that which; relative pronoun; interrogative

کان

k-w-n

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

علیه

ʿ-l-y

literal: upon; on; exalted

شود

sh-w-d

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

تجلّی

j-l-w → “revelation”

literal: effulgence; manifestation; revelation

فرماید

f-r-m → “He” Distinctive

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

احدی

ʾ-ḥ-d → “none”

literal: oneness; unity; absolute unicity; singleness of divine essence

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

مجال

m-j-l

literal: scope; room; opportunity; field

انکار

n-k-r → “repudiate”

literal: denial; rejection; repudiation; wrong; evil; to deny; to reject

اعراض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turned away”

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

نماند

m-ʾ-n

literal: to remain; to stay; to be left

بلکه

b-l-k → “Nay”

literal: nay; but rather; on the contrary; but

جمیع

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

موجودات

w-j-d → “things”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

مشاهدهٴ

sh-h-r

literal: city; famous; month

انوار

n-w-r → “light”

literal: type; kind; species

او

h-w-w

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

منصعق

ṣ-ʿ-q → “thunderstruck”

literal: to be thunderstruck; to be dumbfounded; to swoon

فانی

f-n-y → “nothingness”

literal: annihilation; perishing; extinction; cessation; the threshold

محض

m-ḥ-ḍ → “wholly”

literal: pure; unmixed; absolute; sheer

دیگر

d-g-r

literal: home; place; land; abode

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

این

ʾ-y-n

literal: this; these

مقام

q-w-m

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

مقبل

q-b-l → “before” Distinctive

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

الی

ʾ-l-y

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

الله

ʾ-l-h → “Divine”

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

منفصل

f-ṣ-l → “separated” Distinctive

literal: detail; distinction; differentiation; to detail; to separate

نگردد

g-r-d → “were” Distinctive

literal: not to become; to not turn; to remain unchanged

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

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50 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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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

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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 ¶

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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

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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

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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

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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 ¶

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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 ¶

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‘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 ¶