Gleanings — §260

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 260 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

فانظر ماذا تری إذا انصعق فلمّا أفاق قال آمنت بالله العزیز المحمود إذهب إلی القوم قل فاسألوا ما شئتم إنّه لهو المقتدر علی ما یشآء لا یعجزه ما کان وما یکون قل یا معشر العلمآء أن اجتمعوا علی أمر ثمّ اسألوا ربّکم الرّحمن إن أظهر لکم بسلطان من عنده آمنوا ولا تکوننّ من الّذین‌هم یکفرون قال الآن طلع فجر العرفان وتمّت حجّة الرّحمن قام ورجع إلی القوم بأمرٍ من لدی الله العزیز المحبوب

Shoghi Effendi Translation

“Witness! What is it thou seest?” He was dumbfounded. And when he came to himself, he said: “I truly believe in God, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised.” “Go thou to the people, and tell them: ‘Ask whatsoever ye please. Powerful is He to do what He willeth. Nothing whatsoever, be it of the past or of the future, can frustrate His Will.’ Say: ‘O ye congregation of the divines! Choose any matter ye desire, and ask your Lord, the God of Mercy, to reveal it unto you. If He fulfill your wish, by virtue of His sovereignty, believe ye then in Him, and be not of those that reject His truth.’” “The dawn of understanding hath now broken,” said he, “and the testimony of the All-Merciful is fulfilled.” He arose and returned unto them that sent him, at the bidding of God, the All-Glorious, the Well-Beloved.

Translation Notes

فانظر

n-ẓ-r → “Consider”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

تری

r-ʾ-y → “seest?””

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

إذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

انصعق

ṣ-ʿ-q → “dumbfounded”

literal: to be thunderstruck; to be dumbfounded; to swoon

فلمّا

l-m-m

literal: when; as soon as; thereupon

أفاق

ʾ-f-q

literal: horizons; regions; quarters; skylines

قال

q-w-l → “said”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

آمنت

ʾ-m-n → ““I truly believe”

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

بالله

ʾ-l-h → “in God”

literal: supplication; earnest entreaty; imploring

العزیز

ʿ-z-z → “the All-Glorious”

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

المحمود

ḥ-m-d → “the All-Praised.””

literal: praise; to praise

إذهب

dh-h-b → “gold” Distinctive

literal: religion; creed; doctrine; belief; sect

إلی

ʾ-l-y → “to the” Distinctive

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

القوم

q-w-m → “people”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

فاسألوا

s-ʾ-l → “‘Ask”

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

شئتم

sh-y-ʾ → “please”

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

إنّه

ʾ-n-n → “Powerful is He”

literal: I, verily; behold I

لهو

h-w → “He”

literal: to distract; to divert; to amuse

المقتدر

q-d-r

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

علی

ʿ-l-w → “to do” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

یعجزه

ʿ-j-z → “can frustrate”

literal: to be unable; to fail; to be exhausted; impotence; أعجاز (roots of trees/extremities) is Pattern II plural, distinct from ‘inability’ forms

کان

k-w-n → “of the past” Distinctive

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

یا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

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

معشر

ʿ-sh-r → “ye congregation”

literal: association; companionship; social interaction; عشرين (twenty) is from numeral root ع-ش-ر, distinct from ‘association’ meaning

العلمآء

ʿ-l-m → “the divines”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

إن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اجتمعوا

j-m-ʿ → “all” Distinctive

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

أمر

ʾ-m-r

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ربّکم

r-b-b → “your Lord”

literal: Lord; Master; Sustainer; Cherisher

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m → “the God of Mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

أظهر

ẓ-h-r → “reveal”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

لکم

l-k-m → “unto you”

literal: for you, to you, your (dative pronoun)

بسلطان

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

من

m-n → “from”

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

عنده

ʿ-n-d

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

آمنوا

ʾ-m-n → “believe ye” Distinctive

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

ولا

w-l-y → “be not”

literal: friend; lord; guardian

الّذین‌هم

l-dh-y

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

یکفرون

k-f-r → “reject”

literal: to disbelieve, reject; unbelief, ingratitude; to deny, to disbelieve, to reject

الآن

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: I, verily; behold I

طلع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Dayspring” Distinctive

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

فجر

f-j-r → “dawn” Distinctive

literal: dawn; dayspring; to break (of dawn)

العرفان

ʿ-r-f → “understanding”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

وتمّت

t-m-m → “fulfilled.””

literal: most complete; to complete; perfect; fullness

حجّة

ḥ-j-j → “testimony”

literal: path, way; clear path

ورجع

r-j-ʿ → “returned”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

بأمرٍ

ʾ-m-r → “bidding” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

لدی

l-d-y

literal: with; in the presence of; from; by

المحبوب

ḥ-b-b → “the Well-Beloved”

literal: love; affection

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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.

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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 ¶

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‘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 ¶