Gleanings — §201

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 201 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

ای نصیر این نه ایّامی است که عرفان عارفین و ادراک مدرکین فضلش را درک نماید تا چه رسد بغافلین و محتجبین و اگر بصر را از حجبات اکبر مطهّر سازی فضلی مشاهده نمائی که از اوّل لا اوّل الی آخر لا آخر شبه و مثل و ندّ و نظیر و مثال از برایش نه‌بینی ولکن لسان الله بچه بیان ناطق شود که محتجبان درک او نمایند و الأبرار یشربون من رحیق القدس علی اسمی الأبهی من ملکوت الأعلی و لم یکن لدونهم من نصیب

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Naṣír! The excellence of this Day is immensely exalted above the comprehension of men, however extensive their knowledge, however profound their understanding. How much more must it transcend the imaginations of them that have strayed from its light, and been shut out from its glory! Shouldst thou rend asunder the grievous veil that blindeth thy vision, thou wouldst behold such a bounty as naught, from the beginning that hath no beginning till the end that hath no end, can either resemble or equal. What language should He Who is the Mouthpiece of God choose to speak, so that they who are shut out as by a veil from Him can recognize His glory? The righteous, inmates of the Kingdom on high, shall drink deep from the Wine of Holiness, in My name, the all-glorious. None other besides them will share such benefits.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

نصیر

n-ṣ-r → “aid” Distinctive

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

این

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

نه

n-h-y

literal: end; ended; utmost

ایّامی

y-w-m → “Day”

literal: day; age; period; era

است

b-w-d → “is”

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

عرفان

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

ادراک

d-r-k → “comprehension” Distinctive

literal: to overtake; to catch; to reach; to attain; to perceive; to comprehend

فضلش

f-ḍ-l → “grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

نماید

n-m-ʾ → “hath” Distinctive

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

تا

t-y-y

literal: so that/until

رسد

r-s-d → “reached” Distinctive

literal: Persian verb رسیدن (to arrive/reach), not Arabic ر-س-د

بغافلین

gh-f-l → “have strayed” Distinctive

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

محتجبین

ḥ-j-b → “shut out”

literal: to veil oneself, to be veiled

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

بصر

b-ṣ-r → “vision” Distinctive

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

از

ʾ-z → “from its glory”

literal: from

اکبر

k-b-r → “grievous” Distinctive

literal: liver; soul; essence

مطهّر

ṭ-h-r → “pure” Distinctive

literal: to purify; to cleanse

سازی

s-ʾ-z

literal: make; make/construct; to make

مشاهده

sh-h-d → “behold”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

اوّل

ʾ-w-l → “beginning”

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

لا

l-ʾ → “no”

literal: no; not; negation particle

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

آخر

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

شبه

sh-b-h → “doubt” Distinctive

literal: doubt; uncertainty; suspicion; resemblance; semblance

ندّ

n-d-d

literal: peer; rival; not

نظیر

n-ẓ-r

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

مثال

m-th-l → “equal”

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

برایش

b-r-ʾ

literal: high; exalted; upper; to adorn; to arrange; to prepare; banners; standards

نه‌بینی

d-y-d

literal: see; to see; seen

ولکن

l-k-n → “however”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

لسان

l-s-n → “language” Distinctive

literal: tongue; language

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

بچه

ch-h → “For”

literal: how; by what means; with what

بیان

b-y-n

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

ناطق

n-ṭ-q → “spoken” Distinctive

literal: to speak; to utter; to pronounce; to articulate

شود

sh-w-d → “be”

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

او

h-w-w → “is”

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

الأبرار

b-r-r → “righteous”

literal: outside; out; forth

یشربون

sh-r-b → “drink”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

من

m-n → “from the”

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

رحیق

r-ḥ-q → “Wine”

literal: wine; pure drink; choice beverage (metaphorical for divine knowledge and love)

القدس

q-d-s → “Holiness”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

علی

ʿ-l-w → “in My” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

اسمی

s-m-w → “name”

literal: heaven; sky

الأبهی

b-h-w → “all-glorious”

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

ملکوت

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

لم

l-y-s → “not”

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

یکن

k-w-n → “will” Distinctive

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

لدونهم

d-w-n → “besides them”

literal: below; lower than; beneath

نصیب

n-ṣ-b → “share”

literal: share; portion; lot; fate

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 ¶