Gleanings — §227

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 227 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

قل الّذین ارتکبوا الفحشآء وتمسّکوا بالدّنیا إنّهم لیسوا من أهل البهآء هم عباد لو یردون وادیًا من الذّهب یمرّون عنه کمرّ السّحاب ولا یلتفتون إلیه أبدًا أَلَا إنّهم منّي لیجدنّ من قمیصهم الملأ الأعلی عرف التّقدیس...ولو یردن علیهم ذوات الجمال بأحسن الطّراز لا ترتدّ إلیهنّ أبصارهم بالهوی أولئك خُلقوا من التّقوی كذلك یعلّمكم قلم القِدم من لدن ربّکم العزیز الوهّاب

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Say: He is not to be numbered with the people of Bahá who followeth his mundane desires, or fixeth his heart on things of the earth. He is My true follower who, if he come to a valley of pure gold, will pass straight through it aloof as a cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause. Such a man is, assuredly, of Me. From his garment the Concourse on high can inhale the fragrance of sanctity.… And if he met the fairest and most comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least shadow of desire for her beauty. Such a one, indeed, is the creation of spotless chastity. Thus instructeth you the Pen of the Ancient of Days, as bidden by your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.

Translation Notes

قل

q-w-l → “Say”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

الّذین

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

literal: those who; the ones who (relative pronoun)

ارتکبوا

r-k-b → “perpetrated”

literal: to ride; to commit; to undertake

الفحشآء

f-ḥ-sh → “wickedness”

literal: indecency; wickedness; iniquity; obscenity

وتمسّکوا

m-s-k → “cleave” Distinctive

literal: musk; to seize; grip; to hold fast; to cling to; to grasp

بالدّنیا

d-n-w → “on things of the earth” Distinctive

literal: to know; to understand

إنّهم

ʾ-n-n → “He”

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

لیسوا

l-y-s → “is not”

literal: is not; to be not

من

m-n → “from”

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

أهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

البهآء

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious” Distinctive

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

هم

h-m-m → “endeavor” Distinctive

literal: endeavor; effort; also

عباد

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

یردون

w-r-d → “come”

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

وادیًا

w-d-y → “valley”

literal: valley

الذّهب

dh-h-b → “gold”

literal: religion; creed; doctrine; belief; sect

یمرّون

m-r-r → “At one time” Distinctive

literal: to pass; to pass by; to go

عنه

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

کمرّ

k-m-r → “loins”

literal: loins; waist; to gird

السّحاب

s-ḥ-b

literal: cloud; clouds

ولا

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: no; not; negation particle

یلتفتون

l-f-t

literal: to turn; to attend; to heed

إلیه

ʾ-l-y

literal: to; to him; besmirch

أبدًا

ʾ-b-d → “never”

literal: in place of; instead of; to change; to alter (preposition or verb stem)

أَلَا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

لیجدنّ

w-j-d → “inhale”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

قمیصهم

q-m-ṣ → “garment”

literal: garment; shirt; tunic

الملأ

m-l-ʾ → “Concourse”

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

الأعلی

ʿ-l-w → “on high”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

عرف

ʿ-r-f → “fragrance”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

التّقدیس...ولو

q-d-s → “sanctity.…”

literal: holiness; holy; sanctified

علیهم

ʿ-l-y

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

ذوات

dh-w-w → “Dhi’l-Jawshan” Distinctive

literal: possessor of; one having; those having

الجمال

j-m-l → “beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

بأحسن

ḥ-s-n → “most comely” Distinctive

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

الطّراز

ṭ-r-z

literal: all; all together; -ward; fresh; tender; new

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

ترتدّ

r-d-d → “reject”

literal: to turn back; to turn; to revert

إلیهنّ

ʾ-l-y

literal: to; to him; besmirch

أبصارهم

b-ṣ-r → “eyes”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

بالهوی

h-w-y → “desire”

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

أولئك

ʾ-w-l → “first” Distinctive

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

خُلقوا

kh-l-q → “creation”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

التّقوی

w-q-y → “Fear”

literal: to protect, safeguard, shield

كذلك

dh-l-k → “Thus”

literal: thus; likewise; also

یعلّمكم

ʿ-l-m → “instructeth”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

قلم

q-l-m → “Pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

القِدم

q-d-m → “Ancient of Days”

literal: ancientness; antiquity; foot; to come forward

لدن

l-d-n → “by”

literal: from; on the part of; from before; near

ربّکم

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: Lord; Master; Sustainer; Cherisher

العزیز

ʿ-z-z → “Almighty”

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

الوهّاب

w-h-b → “gifts” Distinctive

literal: gift; grant; bestowal

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

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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 ¶