Gleanings — §30

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 30 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

ها إلى ذاك المقام الأعلى قلنا يا كرمل أحمدي ربّك قد كُنْتِ محترقة بنار الفِراق إِذًا ماج بحر الوصال أمام وجهك بذلك قرّت عينك وعين الوجود وابتسم ثغر الغيب والشّهود طوبى لَكِ بما جعلكِ اللّه في هذا اليوم مقرّ عرشه ومطلع آياته ومشرق بيّناته طوبى لعبد طاف حولكِ وذكر ظهوركِ وبروزكِ وما فزتِ به من فضل اللّه ربّك خذي كأس البقاء بإسم ربّك الأبهى ثمّ اشكريه بما بدّل حزنك بالسّرور وهمّك بالفرح الأكبر رحمة من عنده إنّه يحبّ المقام الّذي استقرَ فيه

Shoghi Effendi Translation

No sooner had her voice reached that most exalted Spot than We made reply: “Render thanks unto thy Lord, O Carmel. The fire of thy separation from Me was fast consuming thee, when the ocean of My presence surged before thy face, cheering thine eyes and those of all creation, and filling with delight all things visible and invisible. Rejoice, for God hath in this Day established upon thee His throne, hath made thee the dawning-place of His signs and the dayspring of the evidences of His Revelation. Well is it with him that circleth around thee, that proclaimeth the revelation of thy glory, and recounteth that which the bounty of the Lord thy God hath showered upon thee. Seize thou the Chalice of Immortality in the name of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, and give thanks unto Him, inasmuch as He, in token of His mercy unto thee, hath turned thy sorrow into gladness, and transmuted thy grief into blissful joy. He, verily, loveth the spot which hath been made the seat of His throne, which His footsteps have trodden, which hath been honored by His presence, from which He raised His call, and upon which He shed His tears.

Translation Notes

ها

w-j-h → “face”

literal: He; He is

إلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

ذاك

dh-l-k → “that most exalted Spot”

literal: that; this; it; by that

المقام

q-w-m → “the spot” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

الأعلى

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

قلنا

q-w-l → “We made reply” Distinctive

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

كرمل

k-r-m → “bounty”

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field; honor; generosity; nobility

أحمدي

ḥ-m-d → “thanks”

literal: praise; to praise

ربّك

r-b-b → “thy Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

قد

q-d → “We have been”

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

كُنْتِ

k-w-n → “was”

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

محترقة

ḥ-r-q → “consuming”

literal: to burn; to be consumed by fire; burning

بنار

n-ʾ-r → “fire”

literal: fire; blaze; flame

الفِراق

f-r-q → “of thy separation”

literal: faction; sect; group; company

إِذًا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

ماج

m-w-j → “surged”

literal: wave; billows; surge

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

الوصال

w-ṣ-l → “of My presence”

literal: reunion; union; meeting; connection

أمام

ʾ-m-m → “before”

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair; people; nation; community; female servant; handmaiden; umma

قرّت

q-r-r → “acknowledged” Distinctive

literal: coolness; comfort; delight; comfort of the eye

عينك

ʿ-y-n → “thine eyes”

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence; to appoint; to designate; to specify; to determine

الوجود

w-j-d → “of all creation”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

وابتسم

b-s-m → “hath smiled”

literal: in the name of; by the name of (Islamic formulaic opening)

ثغر

th-gh-r

literal: mouth; countenance; opening

الغيب

gh-y-b → “invisible”

literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable; stranger; foreign; alien; separated

والشّهود

sh-h-d → “visible”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

طوبى

ṭ-w-b → “Rejoice” Distinctive

literal: happiness; blessedness; felicity

لَكِ

literal: for; for you; for him

جعلكِ

j-ʿ-l → “hath made thee”

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

في

f-y → “in”

literal: alas; woe; oh

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

اليوم

y-w-m → “Day”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

عرشه

ʿ-r-sh → “His throne”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

ومطلع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “dawning-place”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

آياته

ʾ-y-y → “His signs”

literal: verse; sign; miracle; testimony; token

ومشرق

sh-r-q → “dayspring”

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

بيّناته

b-y-n → “evidences”

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

لعبد

ʿ-b-d → “with him” Distinctive

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

طاف

ṭ-w-f

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

حولكِ

ḥ-w-l → “circleth around thee”

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

وذكر

dh-k-r → “mention”

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

ظهوركِ

ẓ-h-r → “revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

وبروزكِ

b-r-z → “Revelation”

literal: appearance; manifestation; coming forth

وما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

فزتِ

f-w-z

literal: to attain; to gain; to succeed; to win

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

من

m-n

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

فضل

f-ḍ-l → “bounty”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

خذي

ʾ-kh-dh → “Seize thou”

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

كأس

k-ʾ-s → “Chalice”

literal: cup; chalice; goblet

البقاء

b-q-y → “of Immortality”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal

بإسم

s-m-w → “in the name”

literal: harm; strength; blame; hardship, adversity, tribulation, distress

الأبهى

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious”

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

اشكريه

sh-k-r → “give thanks unto”

literal: thank; thankful; thanks

بدّل

b-d-l → “hath turned”

literal: in place of; instead of; to change; to alter (preposition or verb stem)

حزنك

ḥ-z-n → “thy sorrow”

literal: sorrow; grief; sadness; anguish; to grieve; to sorrow; to be sad

بالسّرور

s-r-r → “into gladness”

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

وهمّك

h-m-m → “endeavor” Distinctive

literal: to imagine, suppose; fancy, idle imagination

بالفرح

f-r-ḥ → “into blissful joy”

literal: to rejoice; to be glad; joy

الأكبر

k-b-r

literal: great; grand; mighty; large

رحمة

r-ḥ-m → “His mercy”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “thee” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

إنّه

ʾ-n-n → “He, verily”

literal: I, verily; behold I

يحبّ

ḥ-b-b → “loveth”

literal: love; affection

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

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

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

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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 ¶