Gleanings — §281

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 281 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

يا ملأ الأرض تالله الحقّ قد انفجرت من الأحجار الأنهار العذبة السّآئغة بما أخذتها حلاوة بيان ربّكم المختار وأنتم من الغافلين دعوا ما عندكم ثمّ طيروا بقوادم الانقطاع فوق الإبداع كذلك يأمركم مالك الاختراع الّذي بحركة قلمه قلّب العالمين

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O peoples of the earth! God, the Eternal Truth, is My witness that streams of fresh and soft-flowing waters have gushed from the rocks, through the sweetness of the words uttered by your Lord, the Unconstrained; and still ye slumber. Cast away that which ye possess, and, on the wings of detachment, soar beyond all created things. Thus biddeth you the Lord of creation, the movement of Whose Pen hath revolutionized the soul of mankind.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

ملأ

m-l-ʾ → “peoples” Distinctive

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

الأرض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “of the earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

تالله

ʾ-l-h → “God, the Eternal Truth”

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

الحقّ

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

قد

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

انفجرت

f-j-r → “workers of iniquity” Distinctive

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

من

m-n → “from”

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

الأحجار

ḥ-j-r → “stone”

literal: stone; rock

الأنهار

n-h-r → “streams”

literal: river; to flow

العذبة

ʿ-dh-b → “fresh”

literal: torment, punishment, chastisement

السّآئغة

s-w-gh → “soft-flowing”

literal: evening; night

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

أخذتها

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

حلاوة

ḥ-l-w → “sweetness”

literal: sweetest; most sweet; most pleasant

بيان

b-y-n → “words”

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

ربّكم

r-b-b → “your Lord”

literal: Lord; Master; Sustainer; Cherisher

المختار

kh-y-r → “the Unconstrained”

literal: west; the western region

وأنتم

n-t-m → “you”

literal: you (plural)

الغافلين

gh-f-l → “heedless”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

دعوا

w-d-ʿ → “Cast away”

literal: call, invocation, summons; to call, invite, summon

عندكم

ʿ-n-d → “possess”

literal: vessel; container; circumstance; adroitness

ثمّ

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

طيروا

ṭ-y-r → “soar”

literal: bird; birds; flying creature; flying; flight

بقوادم

q-d-m → “Ancient of Days” Distinctive

literal: ancientness; antiquity; foot; to come forward

الانقطاع

q-ṭ-ʿ → “detachment”

literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain

فوق

f-w-q → “beyond”

literal: above; over; beyond

الإبداع

b-d-ʿ → “wondrous” Distinctive

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

كذلك

dh-l-k → “Thus”

literal: thus; likewise; also

يأمركم

ʾ-m-r → “biddeth”

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

مالك

m-l-k → “Lord”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

الاختراع

kh-r-ʿ → “creation”

literal: invention; creation; origination

الّذي

l-dh-y → “the” Distinctive

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

بحركة

ḥ-r-k → “movement”

literal: movement; motion; trembling; activity; حراک is unusual; possible typo or dialectal. Standard Arabic would be حرك or اهتزاز for ‘trembling’

قلمه

q-l-m → “Pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

قلّب

q-l-b → “revolutionized” Distinctive

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

العالمين

ʿ-l-m → “soul of mankind” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

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