Gleanings — §31

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 31 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

عرشه وتشرّف بقدومه وفاز بلقائه وفيه ارتفع ندائه وصعدت زفراته يا كرمل بشّري صهيون قولي أتى المكنون بسلطان غلب العالم وبنور ساطع به أشرقت الأرض ومن عليها إِيَّاكِ أن تكوني متوقّفة في مقامك أسرعي ثمّ طوفي مدينة اللّه الّتي نزلت من السّماء وكعبة اللّه الّتي كانت مطاف المقرّبين والمخلصين والملائكة العالين وأحبّ أن أبشّر كلّ بقعة من بقاع الأرض وكلّ مدينة من مدائنها بهذا الظّهور الّذي به انجذب فؤاد الطّور ونادت السّدرة الملك والملكوت للّه ربّ الأرباب هذا يوم فيه بشّر البحر والبَرّ وأخبر بما يظهر من بعد من عنايات اللّه المكنونة المستورة عن العقول والأبصار سوف تجري سفينة اللّه عليكِ ويظهر أهل البهاء الّذين ذكرهم

Shoghi Effendi Translation

“Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendor is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that hath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled in adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart, and the company of the most exalted angels. Oh, how I long to announce unto every spot on the surface of the earth, and to carry to each one of its cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation — a Revelation to which the heart of Sinai hath been attracted, and in whose name the Burning Bush is calling: ‘Unto God, the Lord of Lords, belong the kingdoms of earth and heaven.’ Verily this is the Day in which both land and sea rejoice at this announcement, the Day for which have been laid up those things which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart, hath destined for revelation. Erelong will God sail His Ark upon thee, and will manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the Book of Names.”

Translation Notes

عرشه

ʿ-r-sh

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

وتشرّف

sh-r-f

literal: honor; nobility; eminence; to honor

بقدومه

q-d-m

literal: ancientness; antiquity; foot; to come forward

وفاز

f-w-z

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

بلقائه

l-q-y

literal: opposite; facing; in front of; towards

وفيه

f-y → “in”

literal: faithfulness; loyalty; fulfillment; fidelity; to be faithful; faithful, loyal

ارتفع

r-f-ʿ

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

وصعدت

ṣ-ʿ-d

literal: ascent; ascension; rising; elevation

زفراته

z-f-r

literal: sigh; sob; lamentation

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

كرمل

k-r-m → “bounty”

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

بشّري

b-sh-r → “announce the joyful tidings”

literal: human; mankind; human nature

قولي

q-w-l → ““Call out” Distinctive

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

أتى

ʾ-t-y → “come”

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

المكنون

k-n-n → “hidden”

literal: to do; to make; to perform

بسلطان

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

غلب

gh-l-b → “all-conquering”

literal: to overcome, overpower, vanquish, prevail

العالم

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وبنور

n-w-r → “splendor”

literal: light; illumination

ساطع

s-ṭ-ʿ → “glowing”

literal: shining; radiant; splendid; emanating

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

أشرقت

sh-r-q → “revealed” Distinctive

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

الأرض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

ومن

m-n → “who” Distinctive

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

إِيَّاكِ

ʾ-y-y → “Beware lest” Distinctive

literal: beware (imperative); you; would that, I wish, if only (optative particle)

أن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تكوني

k-w-n → “was” Distinctive

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

متوقّفة

w-q-f → “hesitate”

literal: to stop; to halt; to pause; to hesitate

مقامك

q-w-m → “people” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

أسرعي

s-r-ʿ → “Hasten”

literal: hasten; hastened; hasten/hurry

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

طوفي

ṭ-w-f → “circumambulate”

literal: flood, deluge, tempest

مدينة

m-d-n → “City”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

الّتي

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

نزلت

n-z-l → “descended”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

السّماء

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

وكعبة

k-ʿ-b → “adored sanctuary”

literal: Kaaba; cube/Kaaba; Kaaba/lodestar

المقرّبين

q-r-b → “favored”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

والمخلصين

kh-l-ṣ → “pure in heart” Distinctive

literal: sincere; devoted; pure one

والملائكة

m-l-k → “angels”

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

العالين

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

وأحبّ

ḥ-b-b → “love”

literal: love; beloved; beloved ones

بقعة

b-q-ʿ → “spot”

literal: place; spot; ground; locality

وكلّ

k-l-l → “every”

literal: for us; to us

بهذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

الظّهور

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

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

انجذب

j-dh-b → “attracted”

literal: to be drawn, attracted, or pulled towards

فؤاد

f-ʾ-d → “heart”

literal: heart, innermost soul, mind; heart; inner consciousness; mind; one who benefits; advantageous

الطّور

ṭ-w-r → “rustling” Distinctive

literal: states; conditions; stages; modes; phases; manner

ونادت

n-d-y → “calling”

literal: call; voice; cry; summons; to call; to proclaim; to cry out; to summon

السّدرة

s-d-r → “Burning Bush”

literal: lote-tree; divine tree

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

يوم

y-w-m → “Day”

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

البحر

b-ḥ-r → “sea”

literal: sea; ocean

والبَرّ

b-r-r → “land”

literal: on; on, upon; upon

وأخبر

kh-b-r

literal: all-knowing; aware; well-informed; omniscient

بما

m-ʾ

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

بعد

b-ʿ-d

literal: after; behind; distance

عنايات

ʿ-n-y → “bounty”

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

المستورة

s-t-r

literal: to veil; to conceal; to cover; veil; covering

عن

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

العقول

ʿ-q-l → “mind”

literal: intellect; wise persons; to understand

والأبصار

b-ṣ-r → “eyes”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

سوف

s-w-f → “will”

literal: shall; will (future marker)

تجري

j-r-y → “sail”

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

سفينة

s-f-n → “Ark”

literal: ship; ship/ark; ship, ark

عليكِ

ʿ-l-y → “upon”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

أهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

البهاء

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious” Distinctive

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

ذكرهم

dh-k-r → “mentioned”

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

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 ¶