Gleanings — §369

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 369 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

سلطنت و غلبهٴ او آیات تکوینیّه و آفاقیّه که مظاهر اسماء و صفات او تعالی شأنه هستند در یک مقام مقدّسند از قرب و بعد تا چه رسد بذاته تعالی... ولکن مقصود شاعر از این بیت که دوست نزدیکتر از من بمن است

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Behold, how immeasurably exalted is the Lord your God above all created things! Witness the majesty of His sovereignty, His ascendancy, and supreme power. If the things which have been created by Him — magnified be His glory — and ordained to be the manifestations of His names and attributes, stand, by virtue of the grace with which they have been endowed, exalted beyond all proximity and remoteness, how much loftier must be that Divine Essence that hath called them into being?…

Translation Notes

سلطنت

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

غلبهٴ

gh-l-b → “ascendancy” Distinctive

literal: to overcome, overpower, vanquish, prevail

او

h-w-w → “His”

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

آیات

ʾ-y-y

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

تکوینیّه

k-w-n → “been”

literal: be; was; to be

آفاقیّه

ʾ-f-q → “horizon” Distinctive

literal: horizon; horizons; horizonal/external

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

مظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “manifestations”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

اسماء

s-m-w → “names”

literal: name

صفات

w-ṣ-f → “attributes”

literal: attribute; quality; characteristic

تعالی

ʿ-l-w → “magnified be His glory” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

شأنه

sh-ʾ-n → “station”

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

هستند

h-s-t → “is”

literal: to be; to exist

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

یک

y-k

literal: one; a single

مقام

q-w-m

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

مقدّسند

q-d-s → “exalted”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

قرب

q-r-b → “proximity”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “remoteness”

literal: after; behind; distance

تا

t-y-y

literal: so that/until

چه

ch-h

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

رسد

r-s-d

literal: Persian verb رسیدن (to arrive/reach), not Arabic ر-س-د

بذاته

dh-w-t → “Divine Essence”

literal: essence, self, being, substance; with preposition ‘by’

ولکن

l-k-n

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

مقصود

q-ṣ-d

literal: intention; purpose; aim; goal; to seek; to direct oneself

شاعر

sh-ʿ-r

literal: hair

این

ʾ-y-n

literal: this; these

بیت

b-y-t

literal: house; household; family; verse

دوست

d-w-s-t

literal: friend; beloved; to befriend

نزدیکتر

n-z-d

literal: near; beside; with; in the presence of

من

m-n

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

بمن

m-n-y

literal: through whom; remain; from

است

b-w-d

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

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Kitáb-i-Íqán

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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 ¶

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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 ¶

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5 ¶

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57 ¶

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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 ¶

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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 ¶