Gleanings — §259
Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 259 of 729.
Source (Arabic)
أن یا قلم القِدم واذکر للأُمم ما ظهر في العراق إذ جآء رسول من معشر العلمآء وحضر تلقآء الوجه وسأل من العلوم أجبناه بعلم من لدنّا إنّ ربّك لعلّام الغیوب قال نشهد عندك من العلوم ما لا أحاطه أحد إنّه لا یكفي المقام الّذي ینسبونه النّاس إلیك فأتنا بما یعجز عن الاتیان بمثله من علی الأرض كلّها کذلك قضي الأمر في محضر ربّك العزیز الودود
Shoghi Effendi Translation
Tell out to the nations, O Pen of the Ancient of Days, the things that have happened in ‘Iráq. Tell them of the messenger whom the congregation of the divines of that land had delegated to meet Us, who, when attaining Our presence, questioned Us concerning certain sciences, and whom We answered by virtue of the knowledge We inherently possess. Thy Lord is, verily, the Knower of things unseen. “We testify,” said he, “that the knowledge Thou dost possess is such as none can rival. Such a knowledge, however, is insufficient to vindicate the exalted station which the people ascribe to Thee. Produce, if Thou speakest the truth, what the combined forces of the peoples of the earth are powerless to produce.” Thus was it irrevocably decreed in the court of the presence of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, the Loving.
Translation Notes
معشر
literal: association; companionship; social interaction; عشرين (twenty) is from numeral root ع-ش-ر, distinct from ‘association’ meaning
الغیوب
literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable; stranger; foreign; alien; separated
ینسبونه
literal: relation; relationship; connection; attribution; proportion
یعجز
literal: to be unable; to fail; to be exhausted; impotence; أعجاز (roots of trees/extremities) is Pattern II plural, distinct from ‘inability’ forms
كلّها
literal: all; every; whole; entirety; entire; completely
