Gleanings — §160

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 160 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

إنّک أیقن بأنّ ربّک في کلّ ظهور یتجلّی علی العباد علی مقدارهم مثلاً فانظر إلی الشّمس فإنّها حین طلوعها عن أفقها تکون حرارتها وأثرها قلیلة وتزداد درجة بعد درجة لیستأنس بها الأشیآء قلیلاً قلیلاً إلی أن یبلغ إلی قطب الزّوال ثمّ تنزل بدرایج مقدّرة إلی أن یغرب في مغربها...

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Know of a certainty that in every Dispensation the light of Divine Revelation hath been vouchsafed unto men in direct proportion to their spiritual capacity. Consider the sun. How feeble its rays the moment it appeareth above the horizon. How gradually its warmth and potency increase as it approacheth its zenith, enabling meanwhile all created things to adapt themselves to the growing intensity of its light. How steadily it declineth until it reacheth its setting point.

Translation Notes

إنّک

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أیقن

y-q-n → “Know of a certainty”

literal: certainty; certitude; be certain

بأنّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

ربّک

r-b-b → “Divine Revelation” Distinctive

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

کلّ

k-l-l → “every”

literal: for us; to us

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “Dispensation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

یتجلّی

j-l-w → “hath been vouchsafed”

literal: effulgence; manifestation; revelation; manifestation, revelation, appearance

علی

ʿ-l-w → “unto”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

العباد

ʿ-b-d → “men”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

مقدارهم

q-d-r → “power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

مثلاً

m-th-l → “Consider”

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

فانظر

n-ẓ-r → “Consider”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

إلی

ʾ-l-y → “until it reacheth”

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

الشّمس

sh-m-s → “the sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

فإنّها

ʾ-n-n → “that” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

حین

ḥ-y-n → “moment”

literal: time; moment; while; season

طلوعها

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Dayspring” Distinctive

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

عن

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

أفقها

ʾ-f-q → “horizon”

literal: horizon, direction, region; horizon; sun

تکون

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

حرارتها

ḥ-r-r → “its warmth”

literal: to set free; to write down; to compose; حرارة (heat) is from ح-ر-ر but distinct semantic development from ‘free/write’

وأثرها

ʾ-th-r → “signs” Distinctive

literal: effect; trace; influence; imprint; sign; mark; vestige

قلیلة

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

وتزداد

z-y-d → “increase”

literal: increase; excess; more; additional; to increase; to grow; to be added

درجة

d-r-j → “grades”

literal: degree; level; rank; step

بعد

literal: after; behind; distance

لیستأنس

ʾ-n-s → “man” Distinctive

literal: familiar; intimate; companionship; to be acquainted with; companion; intimate friend; to be intimate with; to keep company; to console

بها

literal: by it; by him; with it

الأشیآء

sh-y-ʾ → “all created things”

literal: thing; something

أن

literal: that; those; he; she; it

یبلغ

b-l-gh → “teach” Distinctive

literal: reach; reached; attainment

قطب

literal: pole; axis; pivot; supreme point

الزّوال

literal: to pass away; to vanish; to disappear; to cease

ثمّ

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

تنزل

n-z-l → “sent down” Distinctive

literal: to descend, to be revealed

یغرب

gh-r-b → “setting”

literal: west; sunset; place of setting

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶