Gleanings — §190

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 190 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

... ثمّ اعلم بأنّ هذا الغلام کلّما یکون ناظرًا إلی نفسه یجدها أحقر الوجود وکلّما یرتدّ البصر إلی تجلّیات الّتي ظهرت منها یجدها سلطان الغیب والشّهود فسبحان الّذي بعث مظهر نفسه بالحقّ وأرسله علی کلّ شاهد ومشهود ...

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Know verily that whenever this Youth turneth His eyes towards His own self, he findeth it the most insignificant of all creation. When He contemplates, however, the bright effulgences He hath been empowered to manifest, lo, that self is transfigured before Him into a sovereign Potency permeating the essence of all things visible and invisible. Glory be to Him Who, through the power of truth, hath sent down the Manifestation of His own Self and entrusted Him with His message unto all mankind.

Translation Notes

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

اعلم

ʿ-l-m → “Know”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

بأنّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

الغلام

gh-l-m → “Youth”

literal: youth; boy; servant; the Youth (Bahá’u’lláh)

کلّما

k-l-l → “all” Distinctive

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

یکون

k-w-n

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

ناظرًا

n-ẓ-r → “turneth His eyes” Distinctive

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

إلی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

نفسه

n-f-s → “His own self”

literal: soul; self; person; essence

یجدها

w-j-d → “findeth it”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

أحقر

ḥ-q-r → “most contemptible”

literal: to despise, belittle, deem insignificant

یرتدّ

r-d-d → “reject” Distinctive

literal: rejection; rejected; refutation

البصر

b-ṣ-r

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

تجلّیات

j-l-w → “revelation” Distinctive

literal: effulgence; manifestation; revelation

الّتي

ʾ-l-l

literal: who; which/that; which

ظهرت

ẓ-h-r → “hath been empowered to” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

منها

m-n

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

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “sovereign Potency” Distinctive

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

الغیب

gh-y-b → “invisible”

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

والشّهود

sh-h-d → “visible”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

فسبحان

s-b-ḥ → “Glory be” Distinctive

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

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

بعث

b-ʿ-th → “hath sent down”

literal: to send; to raise up; to dispatch

بالحقّ

ḥ-q-q → “through the power of truth”

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

وأرسله

r-s-l

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

علی

ʿ-l-w → “unto”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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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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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 ¶