Gleanings — §309

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 309 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

چنانچه ایّامی که غمام حایل است اگرچه ارض بنور شمس روشن است ولکن آن روشنی ضعیف بوده و خواهد بود و بعد از رفع سحاب انوار شمس بکمال ظهور مشهود و در دو حالت شمس در رتبهٴ خود علی حدّ واحد بوده هم‌چنین است آفتاب نفوس که باسم روح مذکور شده و میشود

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Consider again the sun when it is completely hidden behind the clouds. Though the earth is still illumined with its light, yet the measure of light which it receiveth is considerably reduced. Not until the clouds have dispersed, can the sun shine again in the plenitude of its glory. Neither the presence of the cloud nor its absence can, in any way, affect the inherent splendor of the sun. The soul of man is the sun by which his body is illumined, and from which it draweth its sustenance, and should be so regarded.

Translation Notes

چنانچه

ch-n-n → “likewise” Distinctive

literal: thus; in such manner; as

ایّامی

y-w-m

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

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

غمام

gh-m-m → “clouds”

literal: cloud; clouds

حایل

ḥ-w-l → “now” Distinctive

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

است

b-w-d → “is”

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

بنور

n-w-r → “with its light”

literal: light; illumination

شمس

sh-m-s → “sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

روشن

r-w-sh → “illumined”

literal: light; illumination; brilliance; clarity

ولکن

l-k-n → “yet” Distinctive

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

آن

ʾ-n → “the”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

ضعیف

ḍ-ʿ-f → “weakness” Distinctive

literal: weak; feeble; imperfect

خواهد

kh-w-h

literal: will; to wish; to want

بعد

b-ʿ-d

literal: after; behind; distance

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

رفع

r-f-ʿ → “raised”

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

سحاب

s-ḥ-b → “clouds”

literal: cloud; clouds

بکمال

k-m-l → “perfect”

literal: perfection; completeness; fully; with full; in complete

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “shine” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

مشهود

sh-h-d

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

دو

d-w

literal: two; run; running

رتبهٴ

r-t-b

literal: rank; station; degree; time; instance

خود

kh-w-d → “their own”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

علی

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

حدّ

ḥ-d-d

literal: iron; sharp, keen, acute

واحد

w-ḥ-d

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

آفتاب

ʾ-f-t-ʾ-b → “Day-Star”

literal: horizon, direction, region; horizon; sun

نفوس

n-f-s → “soul of man” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche

باسم

s-m-w

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

روح

r-w-ḥ

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

مذکور

dh-k-r

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

شده

sh-d

literal: to become; to be

میشود

sh-w-d → “should be so regarded” Distinctive

literal: perhaps, perchance, haply, maybe, possibly; to become; to be; to happen; to occur

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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 ¶