Gleanings — §172

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 172 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

نازل یا حزب الله بخود مشغول نباشید در فکر اصلاح عالم و تهذیب امم باشید اصلاح عالم از اعمال طیّبهٴ طاهره و اخلاق راضیهٴ مرضیّه بوده ناصر امر اعمالست و معین

Shoghi Effendi Translation

In one of the Tablets these words have been revealed: O people of God! Do not busy yourselves in your own concerns; let your thoughts be fixed upon that which will rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts and souls of men. This can best be achieved through pure and holy deeds, through a virtuous life and a goodly behavior. Valiant acts will ensure the triumph of this Cause, and a saintly character will reinforce its power. Cleave unto righteousness, O people of Bahá! This, verily, is the commandment which this wronged One hath given unto you, and the first choice of His unrestrained Will for every one of you.

Translation Notes

نازل

n-z-l → “revealed”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

یا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

حزب

ḥ-z-b → “people”

literal: party; people; community

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

بخود

kh-w-d → “your own concerns”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

مشغول

sh-gh-l → “busy”

literal: to occupy; to engage; to busy; occupation

نباشید

b-w-d → “Do not” Distinctive

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

در

d-r-r → “upon that”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

فکر

f-k-r → “thoughts” Distinctive

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

اصلاح

ṣ-l-ḥ → “betterment”

literal: peace; reconciliation

عالم

ʿ-l-m → “of mankind” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

تهذیب

h-dh-b → “edify”

literal: refinement; polishing; edification; edifying; cultivation

امم

ʾ-m-m → “before” Distinctive

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

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

اعمال

ʿ-m-l → “deeds”

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

طیّبهٴ

ṭ-y-b → “pure”

literal: good; pure; sweet; fragrant; virtuous

طاهره

ṭ-h-r → “pure”

literal: to purify; to cleanse

اخلاق

kh-l-q → “character”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

راضیهٴ

r-ḍ-y → “Thy pleasure” Distinctive

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

ناصر

n-ṣ-r → “ensure the triumph”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

امر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

معین

ʿ-y-n → “eyes” Distinctive

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence

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 ¶