Gleanings — §188

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 188 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

قل یا ملأ الیهود إن تریدوا أن تصلبوا الرّوح مرّة أُخری تالله هذا لهو الرّوح قد ظهر بینکم فافعلوا به ما تشاؤون لأنّه أنفق روحه في سبیل الله ولا یخاف من أحدٍ ولو یجتمع علیه کلّ من في السّموات والأرض إن أنتم توقنون قل یا ملأ الإنجیل إن تریدوا أن تقتلوا محمّدًا رسول الله تالله إنّ هذا ذاته قد ظهر بالحقّ فافعلوا به ما أردتم لأنّه یشتاق لقآء محبوبه في ملکوت عزّه وکذلك کان الأمر إن أنتم تعلمون قل یا ملأ الفرقان إن تریدوا أن تعلّقوا هیکل عَلِيٍّ الّذي نزل من عنده البیان تالله إنّ هذا لمحبوبه الّذي قد ظهر باسم آخر وقد أتی علی ظلل المعاني بسلطان من عنده وإنّه لهو الحقّ علّام الغیوب وانتظر منکم ما فعلتم بظهور قبلي ویشهد بذلك کلّ شيء إن أنتم تسمعون أن یا ملأ البیان إن تریدوا أن تسفكوا دم الّذي به بشّرتم بلسان عَلِيٍّ ثمّ من قبله بلسان محمّد ثمّ من قبله بلسان الرّوح فها هو هذا بینکم وما عنده من ناصر لیمنعکم فیما تریدون أن تعملون.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Jews! If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you. Deal with Me as ye wish, for I have vowed to lay down My life in the path of God. I will fear no one, though the powers of earth and heaven be leagued against Me. Followers of the Gospel! If ye cherish the desire to slay Muḥammad, the Apostle of God, seize Me and put an end to My life, for I am He, and My Self is His Self. Do unto Me as ye like, for the deepest longing of Mine heart is to attain the presence of My Best-Beloved in His Kingdom of Glory. Such is the Divine decree, if ye know it. Followers of Muḥammad! If it be your wish to riddle with your shafts the breast of Him Who hath caused His Book the Bayán to be sent down unto you, lay hands on Me and persecute Me, for I am His Well-Beloved, the revelation of His own Self, though My name be not His name. I have come in the shadows of the clouds of glory, and am invested by God with invincible sovereignty. He, verily, is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. I, verily, anticipate from you the treatment ye have accorded unto Him that came before Me. To this all things, verily, witness, if ye be of those who hearken. O people of the Bayán! If ye have resolved to shed the blood of Him Whose coming the Báb hath proclaimed, Whose advent Muḥammad hath prophesied, and Whose Revelation Jesus Christ Himself hath announced, behold Me standing, ready and defenseless, before you. Deal with Me after your own desires.

Translation Notes

قل

q-w-l → “O” Distinctive

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

یا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

ملأ

m-l-ʾ → “Concourse”

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

الیهود

y-h-d → “people of Israel”

literal: Jews; the Jews

إن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تریدوا

r-w-d → “desire” Distinctive

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

تصلبوا

ṣ-l-b → “crucified” Distinctive

literal: reunion; union; meeting; connection

الرّوح

r-w-ḥ → “spirit”

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

مرّة

m-r-r → “once”

literal: to pass; to pass by; to go

أُخری

ʾ-kh-r → “again”

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

تالله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

لهو

h-w → “He”

literal: to distract; to divert; to amuse

قد

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

ظهر

ẓ-h-r → “been made manifest” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

بینکم

b-y-n → “unto you”

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

فافعلوا

f-ʿ-l → “Deal”

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

تشاؤون

sh-y-ʾ → “will” Distinctive

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

لأنّه

ʾ-n-n → “for” Distinctive

literal: I, verily; behold I

أنفق

n-f-q → “sacrificed” Distinctive

literal: hypocrisy; sedition; discord; betrayal

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in a day; during a day; one day after another

سبیل

s-b-l → “path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

ولا

w-l-y

literal: no; not; negation particle

یخاف

kh-w-f → “fear”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

أحدٍ

ʾ-ḥ-d → “one”

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

ولو

l-w → “If”

literal: were it not for; if not for; save for

یجتمع

j-m-ʿ → “all” Distinctive

literal: to gather, assemble, come together

علیه

ʿ-l-y → “against Me”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

السّموات

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

والأرض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

أنتم

n-t-m

literal: you

توقنون

y-q-n

literal: to be certain; to know with certainty

الإنجیل

n-j-l

literal: Gospel; the Good Tidings

تقتلوا

q-t-l → “slay”

literal: slayer; killer; murderer

محمّدًا

ḥ-m-d → “thanks”

literal: praise; Muhammad; praised

رسول

r-s-l → “Apostle”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

ذاته

dh-w-t → “Self is His Self”

literal: self; essence; being

أردتم

r-y-d → “desire” Distinctive

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

یشتاق

sh-w-q → “longing”

literal: longing; yearning; longing, yearning

لقآء

l-q-y → “presence”

literal: opposite; facing; in front of; towards

محبوبه

ḥ-b-b → “Best-Beloved”

literal: love; affection

ملکوت

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

عزّه

ʿ-z-z → “Glory”

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

وکذلك

k-dh-l → “Thus”

literal: that; thus; likewise

کان

k-w-n → “is”

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

الأمر

ʾ-m-r → “decree” Distinctive

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

تعلمون

ʿ-l-m → “know”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

الفرقان

f-r-q → “separation” Distinctive

literal: faction; sect; group; company

تعلّقوا

ʿ-l-q

literal: suspended; attachment; hang

هیکل

h-y-k-l → “form”

literal: temple; structure; form; body

عَلِيٍّ

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

نزل

n-z-l → “sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

عنده

ʿ-n-d

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

أتی

ʾ-t-y → “come”

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

ظلل

ẓ-l-l → “shadows of the clouds”

literal: to take shelter; to dwell in shadow

المعاني

ʿ-n-y → “of glory” Distinctive

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

بسلطان

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

الحقّ

ḥ-q-q → “Truth”

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

الغیوب

gh-y-b → “things unseen”

literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable; stranger; foreign; alien; separated

وانتظر

n-ẓ-r → “Consider” Distinctive

literal: look; looking; view

منکم

m-n → “from you” Distinctive

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

قبلي

q-b-l → “before Me”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

ویشهد

sh-h-d → “witness”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

بذلك

dh-l-k → “To this”

literal: that; this; it; by that

شيء

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

تسمعون

s-m-ʿ → “hearken”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

تسفكوا

s-f-k → “shed”

literal: to shed; to spill; bloodshed; to shed (blood)

دم

d-m-m → “blood”

literal: breath; moment; instant

بشّرتم

b-sh-r → “announce” Distinctive

literal: human; glad-tidings; herald

بلسان

l-s-n → “tongue”

literal: tongue; language

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

فها

w-j-h → “face”

literal: so; thus; here is (conjunction + demonstrative)

ناصر

n-ṣ-r → “aid” Distinctive

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

لیمنعکم

m-n-ʿ

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

تعملون.

ʿ-m-l → “deeds” Distinctive

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

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 ¶