Gleanings — §295

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 295 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

یعتکفوا حین الظّهور بشيء عمّا خلق بین السّموات والأرضین وقال یا قوم إنّي قد أظهرت نفسي لنفسه وما نزّلت البیان إلّا لإثبات أمره اتّقوا الله ولا تتعرّضوا به کما اعترضوا عَلَيَّ ملأ الفرقان وإذا سمعتم ذکره فاسعوا إلیه وخذوا ما عنده لأنّ دونه لن یغنیکم لو تتمسّکوا بحجج الأوّلین والآخرین فلمّا قضت أشهر معلومات وسنین معدودات قد شقّت سمآء القضآء

Shoghi Effendi Translation

A few believed in Him; few of Our servants are the thankful. These He admonished, in all His Tablets — nay, in every passage of His wondrous writings — not to give themselves up in the Day of the promised Revelation to anything whatever, be it in the heaven or in the earth. “O people!” said He, “I have revealed Myself for His Manifestation, and have caused My Book, the Bayán, to descend upon you for no other purpose except to establish the truth of His Cause. Fear ye God, and contend not with Him as the people of the Qur’án have contended with Me. At whatever time ye hear of Him, hasten ye towards Him, and cleave ye to whatsoever He may reveal unto you. Naught else besides Him can ever profit you, no, not though ye produce from first to last the testimonies of all those who were before you.”

Translation Notes

یعتکفوا

ʿ-k-f → “Seclude not yourselves” Distinctive

literal: to seclude oneself; to devote oneself; to be occupied with

حین

ḥ-y-n → “moment”

literal: time; moment; while; season

الظّهور

ẓ-h-r → “of the promised Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

بشيء

sh-y-ʾ → “to anything whatever” Distinctive

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

عمّا

ʿ-n

literal: with them; in their company

خلق

kh-l-q

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

بین

b-y-n → “be it in” Distinctive

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

السّموات

s-m-w → “the heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

والأرضین

ʾ-r-ḍ → “or in the earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

وقال

q-w-l → “said He”

literal: to say; to speak; saying

یا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

قوم

q-w-m → “people!””

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

إنّي

ʾ-n-n → “that” Distinctive

literal: I, verily; behold I

قد

q-d → “We have been”

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

نفسي

n-f-s → “Myself”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

وما

m-ʾ → “and” Distinctive

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

نزّلت

n-z-l → “have caused” Distinctive

literal: to descend, to be revealed

إلّا

ʾ-kh-r → “no other purpose except”

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

لإثبات

th-b-t → “to establish” Distinctive

literal: firm; steadfast; established; fixed

أمره

ʾ-m-r → “truth of His Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

اتّقوا

w-q-y → “Fear ye”

literal: to fear; to frighten; afraid

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

ولا

w-l-y → “and”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تتعرّضوا

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turned away” Distinctive

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

کما

k-m → “as”

literal: as; like; how much; lane; street; quarter; abode

عَلَيَّ

ʿ-l-w → “with Me” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

ملأ

m-l-ʾ → “people of” Distinctive

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

الفرقان

f-r-q → “the Qur’án”

literal: faction; sect; group; company

وإذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

سمعتم

s-m-ʿ → “ye hear”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

ذکره

dh-k-r → “of Him” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

فاسعوا

s-ʿ-y → “to strive” Distinctive

literal: endeavor; effort; striving; exertion; endeavour

إلیه

ʾ-l-y → “besmirch”

literal: to; to him; besmirch

وخذوا

ʾ-kh-dh → “arrested” Distinctive

literal: will; to wish; to want

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “He may reveal unto you” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

لأنّ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

دونه

d-w-n → “Naught else besides Him” Distinctive

literal: below; lower than; beneath

لن

l-n → “neither”

literal: will not (negation of future)

یغنیکم

gh-n-y → “wealth” Distinctive

literal: to be independent of; to be in no need of; to dispense with

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

تتمسّکوا

m-s-k → “cleave” Distinctive

literal: hold fast; clinging; cling

بحجج

ḥ-j-j → “testimonies”

literal: path, way; clear path

الأوّلین

ʾ-w-l → “from first”

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

والآخرین

ʾ-kh-r → “to last”

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

فلمّا

l-m-m

literal: when; as soon as; thereupon

قضت

q-ḍ-y

literal: requirement; exigency; what demands or calls for; to require; to necessitate; to demand

أشهر

sh-h-r

literal: city; famous; month

معلومات

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وسنین

s-n-h

literal: year; way; tradition; custom

معدودات

ʿ-d-d → “few” Distinctive

literal: numerous; many; multiple

شقّت

sh-q-q

literal: hardship; difficulty; toil

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 ¶