Skip to main content

Gleanings — §3

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 3 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

تك وظهرت بإبداعك فسبحانك سبحانك من أن تشار بذكرٍ أو توصف بثناءٍ أو بإشارة لأنّ كلّ ذلك لم يكن إلّا وصف خلقك وبعث بأمرك واختراعك وكلّما يذكرك الذّاكرون أو يعرج إلى هوآء عرفانك العارفون يرجعنّ إلى النّقطة الّتي خضعت لسلطانك وسجدت لجمالك وذوّتت بحركةٍ من قلمك بل استغفرك يا إلهي عن ذلك لأنّ بذلك يثبت النّ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Exalted, immeasurably exalted, art Thou above the strivings of mortal man to unravel Thy mystery, to describe Thy glory, or even to hint at the nature of Thine Essence. For whatever such strivings may accomplish, they never can hope to transcend the limitations imposed upon Thy creatures, inasmuch as these efforts are actuated by Thy decree, and are begotten of Thine invention. The loftiest sentiments which the holiest of saints can express in praise of Thee, and the deepest wisdom which the most learned of men can utter in their attempts to comprehend Thy nature, all revolve around that Center Which is wholly subjected to Thy sovereignty, Which adoreth Thy Beauty, and is propelled through the movement of Thy Pen.

Translation Notes

تك
ʿ-z-z

literal: glory; mighty; might

وظهرت
ẓ-h-r

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

بإبداعك
b-d-ʿ

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

فسبحانك
s-b-ḥ → “Exalted, immeasurably exalted” Distinctive

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted

من
m-n → “above”

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

أن
ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تشار
sh-w-r

literal: indication; consultation; consult

بذكرٍ
dh-k-r → “mention”

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

أو
h-w-w → “is”

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

توصف
w-ṣ-f → “describe”

literal: to describe, characterize; description

بثناءٍ
th-n-y → “glory”

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy; glorification; praise, commendation, eulogy

بإشارة
sh-y-r → “hint”

literal: to point to; to indicate; to gesture

لأنّ
ʾ-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

كلّ
k-l-l → “whatever such strivings” Distinctive

literal: for us; to us

ذلك
dh-l-k → “whatever such strivings” Distinctive

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

لم
l-y-s → “not”

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

يكن
k-w-n → “never can hope” Distinctive

literal: is; to be (third person singular present); to be one; oneness; unity

إلّا
ʾ-kh-r

literal: end; hereafter; other

خلقك
kh-l-q → “creatures”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

وبعث
b-ʿ-th → “sent down” Distinctive

literal: to send; to raise up; to dispatch

بأمرك
ʾ-m-r → “by Thy decree” Distinctive

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

واختراعك
kh-t-r → “Unconstrained” Distinctive

literal: invention; creation; origination

يعرج
ʿ-r-j → “ascend”

literal: to ascend, climb, mount

إلى
ʾ-l-y → “to”

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

هوآء
h-w-y

literal: air; atmosphere; void

عرفانك
ʿ-r-f → “comprehend” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

يرجعنّ
r-j-ʿ → “return”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

النّقطة
n-q-ṭ → “Point”

literal: point; dot; spot; region; area

الّتي
ʾ-l-l → “Which”

literal: who; which/that; which

خضعت
kh-ḍ-ʿ → “submissiveness” Distinctive

literal: humility; submissiveness; lowliness

لسلطانك
s-l-ṭ → “to Thy sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

وسجدت
s-j-d → “worship” Distinctive

literal: prostrate; mosque; prostrated

لجمالك
j-m-l → “Thy Beauty”

literal: beauty; comeliness

وذوّتت
dh-w-t → “Essence” Distinctive

literal: essence; self; being

بحركةٍ
ḥ-r-k → “through the movement”

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

قلمك
q-l-m → “Thy Pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

بل
b-l

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

استغفرك
gh-f-r

literal: to forgive; forgiveness

يا
y-ʾ

literal: O; or

إلهي
ʾ-l-h

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

عن
ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

يثبت
th-b-t

literal: firm; steadfast; established; fixed

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶