Gleanings — §151

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 151 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

قَیَافَا که اقضی القضاة بود حکم بر کفر نمودند و فتوای قتل دادند و هم‌چنین در ظهور رسول روح ما سواه فداه علمای مکّه و مدینه در سنین اوّلیّه بر اعراض و اعتراض قیام نمودند و نفوسی که ابدًا اهل علم نبودند بایمان فائز شدند قدری تفکّر فرمائید بلال حبشی که کلمه‌ئی از علم نخوانده بود بسماء ایمان و ایقان ارتقا نمود و عبدالله أُبَيّ که از علما بود بنفاق برخاست راعی غنم بنفحات آیات بمقرّ دوست پی‌برد و بمالک امم پیوست و صاحبان علوم و حکم ممنوع و محروم اینست که میفرماید: "حتّی یصیر

Shoghi Effendi Translation

In like manner, when Muḥammad, the Prophet of God — may all men be a sacrifice unto Him — appeared, the learned men of Mecca and Medina arose, in the early days of His Revelation, against Him and rejected His Message, while they who were destitute of all learning recognized and embraced His Faith. Ponder awhile. Consider how Balál, the Ethiopian, unlettered though he was, ascended into the heaven of faith and certitude, whilst ‘Abdu’lláh Ubayy, a leader among the learned, maliciously strove to oppose Him. Behold, how a mere shepherd was so carried away by the ecstasy of the words of God that he was able to gain admittance into the habitation of his Best-Beloved, and was united to Him Who is the Lord of Mankind, whilst they who prided themselves on their knowledge and wisdom strayed far from His path and remained deprived of His grace. For this reason He hath written: “He that is exalted among you shall be abased, and he that is abased shall be exalted.” References to this theme are to be found in most of the heavenly Books, as well as in the sayings of the Prophets and Messengers of God.

Translation Notes

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

اقضی

q-ḍ-y

literal: requirement; exigency; what demands or calls for; to require; to necessitate; to demand

حکم

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

کفر

k-f-r

literal: to disbelieve, reject; unbelief, ingratitude; to deny, to disbelieve, to reject

نمودند

n-m-ود → “hath” Distinctive

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

فتوای

f-t-y

literal: fatwa; legal decision; pronouncement

قتل

q-t-l

literal: slayer; killer; murderer

دادند

d-ʾ-d

literal: to give; to grant; to issue

هم‌چنین

ch-n-n → “In like manner”

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

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

رسول

r-s-l → “Apostle”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

روح

r-w-ḥ

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

ما

m-ʾ

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

سواه

s-w-y

literal: other than; other-than; besides

فداه

f-d-y → “sacrifice”

literal: alas; woe; oh

علمای

ʿ-l-m → “learned men” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

مدینه

m-d-n → “city”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

سنین

s-n-n → “in the early days” Distinctive

literal: year; years

اوّلیّه

ʾ-w-l

literal: guardian; protector; friend; ally; lord; helper; first; primary; original

اعراض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “and rejected” Distinctive

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

قیام

q-w-m → “arose”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

نفوسی

n-f-s → “they who” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ابدًا

ʾ-b-d

literal: in place of; instead of; to change; to alter (preposition or verb stem)

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

نبودند

b-w-d → “were destitute of all learning”

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

بایمان

ʾ-m-n → “recognized and embraced His Faith”

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure

فائز

f-w-z → “recognized and embraced His Faith” Distinctive

literal: benefit, profit, advantage; usefulness; bounty; effusion; grace

شدند

sh-d → “was” Distinctive

literal: to not become; to not be

قدری

q-d-r → “Ponder awhile”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

تفکّر

f-k-r → “Ponder awhile”

literal: thoughts; ideas; fancies; opinions; to think; to reflect; to contemplate

فرمائید

f-r-m → “he” Distinctive

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

بلال

b-l-l → “Balál”

literal: by God; with God; in God

حبشی

ḥ-b-sh → “Ethiopian”

literal: Ethiopian; Abyssinian

کلمه‌ئی

k-l-m → “words”

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

بسماء

s-m-w → “ascended into the heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

ایمان

ʾ-m-n → “of faith”

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure

ایقان

y-q-n → “and certitude”

literal: certainty; certitude; conviction; faith

ارتقا

r-q-y

literal: raise them; promote them; heal them; ascension; elevation; rise

نمود

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to become; to be

عبدالله

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

أُبَيّ

ʾ-b-w → “fathers” Distinctive

literal: father; paternal; his father; to refuse; to decline

بنفاق

n-f-q → “sacrificed” Distinctive

literal: hypocrisy; sedition; discord; betrayal

برخاست

kh-y-z → “arisen” Distinctive

literal: arise; arose; arisen

راعی

r-ʿ-y → “mere shepherd”

literal: to guard, watch over, regard, heed, respect, maintain; care; protection; guardianship; watchfulness

غنم

gh-n-m → “flock” Distinctive

literal: booty; spoil; gain; treasure; advantage

بنفحات

n-f-ḥ → “fragrance”

literal: breeze; fragrance; whiff; breath; emanation

آیات

ʾ-y-y → “signs”

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

بمقرّ

q-r-r → “gain admittance into the habitation”

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

دوست

d-w-s-t → “of his Best-Beloved”

literal: friend; beloved; to befriend

بمالک

m-l-k → “Lord”

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

امم

ʾ-m-m

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair; people; nation; community; female servant; handmaiden; umma

پیوست

p-y-w → “joined”

literal: join; joined

صاحبان

ṣ-ḥ-b

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

ممنوع

m-n-ʿ

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

محروم

ḥ-r-m → “deprived”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

اینست

h-s-t → “are” Distinctive

literal: is; be; are

"حتّی

ḥ-t-y

literal: until; even

یصیر

ṣ-y-r → “interposed themselves” Distinctive

literal: to become; to turn into; to grow

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

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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 ¶