Gleanings — §389

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 389 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

از برای نعمت مراتب لانهایه بوده و خواهد بود در کتاب پروردگار تو و پروردگار عالمیان اوّل نعمتی که بهیکل انسانی عنایت شد خرد بوده و هست و مقصود از او عرفان حقّ جلّ جلاله بوده اوست مدرک و اوست هادی و اوست مبیّن و در رتبهٴ ثانیه بصر است چه که آگاهی عقل از گواهی بصر بوده و خواهد بود و همچنین سمع و فؤاد و سایر نعمتها که در هیکل انسانی ظاهر و مشهود است تعالی تعالی قادری که این قوی را در شخص انسانی خلق فرمود

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Know thou that, according to what thy Lord, the Lord of all men, hath decreed in His Book, the favors vouchsafed by Him unto mankind have been, and will ever remain, limitless in their range. First and foremost among these favors, which the Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding. His purpose in conferring such a gift is none other except to enable His creature to know and recognize the one true God — exalted be His glory. This gift giveth man the power to discern the truth in all things, leadeth him to that which is right, and helpeth him to discover the secrets of creation. Next in rank, is the power of vision, the chief instrument whereby his understanding can function. The senses of hearing, of the heart, and the like, are similarly to be reckoned among the gifts with which the human body is endowed. Immeasurably exalted is the Almighty Who hath created these powers, and revealed them in the body of man.

Translation Notes

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

برای

b-r-y

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

نعمت

n-ʿ-m → “gift” Distinctive

literal: bliss; bounty; grace; comfort; felicity

مراتب

r-t-b → “in rank”

literal: rank; station; degree; time; instance

لانهایه

n-h-y → “utmost” Distinctive

literal: end, limit, utmost, extreme; final; the end, limit, utmost bound; Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing; end; limit; terminus

بوده

b-w-d → “have been” Distinctive

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

خواهد

kh-w-h → “will”

literal: will; to wish; to want

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

کتاب

k-t-b

literal: book; scripture; writing

پروردگار

r-b-b → “thy Lord”

literal: Lord; Sustainer; Provider; Creator

تو

t-w-w → “thou”

literal: you

عالمیان

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

اوّل

ʾ-w-l → “First and foremost”

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

بهیکل

h-y-k-l → “form”

literal: Bahá’í; of Bahá; splendor; glory; splendor, glory, radiance, majesty; Bahá (the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh)

انسانی

ʾ-n-s → “upon man”

literal: human; mankind; of humanity

عنایت

ʿ-n-y → “loving-kindness”

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

شد

sh-d → “hath conferred” Distinctive

literal: to become; to be

خرد

kh-r-d → “purchased” Distinctive

literal: smallness, littleness, minuteness; childhood

هست

h-s-t → “is” Distinctive

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

مقصود

q-ṣ-d → “purpose”

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

او

h-w-w → “is”

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

عرفان

ʿ-r-f → “know and recognize”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

حقّ

ḥ-q-q → “one true God”

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

جلّ

j-l-l → “exalted”

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

مدرک

d-r-k → “comprehend” Distinctive

literal: to overtake; to catch; to reach; to attain; to perceive; to comprehend

هادی

h-d-y → “guidance”

literal: guidance; to guide; direction; leading rightly; this; this one

مبیّن

b-y-n → “utterance” Distinctive

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

ثانیه

th-n-y → “praise” Distinctive

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy

بصر

b-ṣ-r → “power of vision” Distinctive

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

چه

ch-h

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

آگاهی

ʾ-g-h → “cognizant” Distinctive

literal: aware; cognizant; informed; apprised; awareness; knowledge; consciousness

عقل

ʿ-q-l → “understanding”

literal: intellect; wise persons; to understand

گواهی

sh-h-d

literal: promised; the Promised One

همچنین

ch-n-n → “likewise”

literal: always; ever; forever; at all times; constantly

سمع

s-m-ʿ → “senses of hearing”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

فؤاد

f-ʾ-d → “of the heart”

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

سایر

s-y-r → “journeying” Distinctive

literal: captive; prisoner; captivity; to journey; to move; course

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

تعالی

ʿ-l-w → “Immeasurably exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

قادری

q-d-r → “Almighty”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

این

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

قوی

q-w-y

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

شخص

sh-kh-ṣ → “man”

literal: person, individual, self; movement, stirring

خلق

kh-l-q → “hath created”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

فرمود

f-r-m → “revealed” Distinctive

literal: to say; to decree; to ordain; to command

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 ¶