Gleanings — §158

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 158 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

إشارات المعرضين لو یحلّ ما حرّم في أزل الآزال أو بالعکس ليس لأحد أن يعترض عليه والّذي توقّف في أقلّ من آنٍ إنّه من المعتدين والّذي

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time immemorial had been forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been regarded as lawful, to none is given the right to question His authority. Whoso will hesitate, though it be for less than a moment, should be regarded as a transgressor.

Translation Notes

إشارات

sh-y-r

literal: explanation; commentary; to explain; to open

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

یحلّ

ḥ-l-l → “place” Distinctive

literal: for us; to us

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

حرّم

ḥ-r-m → “had been forbidden”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

في

f-y → “from time immemorial” Distinctive

literal: in; in-it; in it

أزل

ʾ-z-l → “everlasting”

literal: eternity; pre-eternity; without beginning; eternal; everlasting; from eternity

أو

h-w-w → “is”

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

بالعکس

ʿ-k-s

literal: opposite; reverse; contrary; conversely

ليس

l-y-s → “is not”

literal: is not; to be not

لأحد

ʾ-ḥ-d → “to none”

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

أن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يعترض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turned away” Distinctive

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

عليه

ʿ-l-y → “upon”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

والّذي

dh-w-y → “and” Distinctive

literal: who; which; that which

توقّف

w-q-f → “hesitate”

literal: to stop; to halt; to pause; to hesitate

أقلّ

q-l-l → “less”

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

من

m-n → “from”

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

إنّه

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: I, verily; behold I

المعتدين

ʿ-d-w → “enemies” Distinctive

literal: transgressor; insolent; arrogant one

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

Fire Tablet

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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 ¶

The Hidden Words

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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 ¶

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 ¶