Gleanings — §42

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 42 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

را رد و طرد نمايند و از اهل ايمان ندانند چه بر سر آن نفس ميايد چنانچه بر سر اين بنده آمد و ديده شد اينست که آن حضرت فرمود: "ما أُوذي نبيّ بمثل ما أُوذيت" و در فرقان نسبتها که دادند و اذيّتها که به آن حضرت نمودند همه مذکور است " فارجعوا إليه لعلّکم بمواقع الأمر تطّلعون" حتّی قسمی بر آن حضرت سخت شد که احدی با آن حضرت و اصحاب او چندی معاشرت نمينمود و هر نفسی که خدمت آن حضرت ميرسيد کمال اذيّت را باو وارد مينمودند ...

Shoghi Effendi Translation

For this reason did Muḥammad cry out: “No Prophet of God hath suffered such harm as I have suffered.” And in the Qur’án are recorded all the calumnies and reproaches uttered against Him, as well as all the afflictions which He suffered. Refer ye thereunto, that haply ye may be informed of that which hath befallen His Revelation. So grievous was His plight, that for a time all ceased to hold intercourse with Him and His companions. Whoever associated with Him fell a victim to the relentless cruelty of His enemies.…

Translation Notes

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

رد

r-d-d

literal: rejected; repudiated

طرد

ṭ-r-d

literal: cast out; driven away; expelled

نمايند

n-m-ʾ → “hath” Distinctive

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

اهل

ʾ-h-l

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

ايمان

ʾ-m-n

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

ندانند

d-ʾ-n

literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with

چه

ch-h → “For”

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

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

سر

s-r-r

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

آن

ʾ-n → “His” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

نفس

n-f-s

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ميايد

ʾ-y-d

literal: sign; verse; miracle; token; verses; signs; proofs

چنانچه

ch-n-n

literal: thus; in such manner; as

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

بنده

b-n-d

literal: servants; bondsmen; slaves

آمد

ʾ-m-d

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

ديده

d-y-d

literal: to give; to grant; to present; justice; judgment; to see; sight; eye; seen

شد

sh-d → “was”

literal: to become; to be

اينست

h-s-t → “hath” Distinctive

literal: is; be; are

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “Him”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

فرمود:

f-r-m → “saith” Distinctive

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

أُوذي

ʾ-dh-y → “injury” Distinctive

literal: harm; hurt; injury; persecution

نبيّ

n-b-ʾ → “Prophet”

literal: prophet; messenger

بمثل

m-th-l

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

ما

m-ʾ

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

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

فرقان

f-r-q → “Qur’án”

literal: unique; singular; incomparable

نسبتها

n-s-b → “calumnies” Distinctive

literal: relation; relationship; connection; attribution; proportion

دادند

d-ʾ-d → “of equity” Distinctive

literal: to give; to grant; to issue

اذيّتها

ʾ-dh-y → “injury”

literal: harm; hurt; injury; persecution

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

نمودند

n-m-ود

literal: do; to do; do/make

همه

h-m-h → “all”

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

مذکور

dh-k-r → “recorded”

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

است

b-w-d → “are”

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

فارجعوا

r-j-ʿ → “Refer”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

إليه

ʾ-l-y → “besmirch”

literal: to; to him; besmirch

لعلّکم

ʿ-l-l → “cause” Distinctive

literal: perhaps; perchance; hopefully

بمواقع

w-q-ʿ

literal: to fall, to occur, to happen; incident, event

الأمر

ʾ-m-r → “Revelation”

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

تطّلعون"

ṭ-l-ʿ → “may be informed”

literal: rising-place; dawning-place; countenance

حتّی

ḥ-t-y

literal: to be necessary, inevitable; determined

قسمی

q-s-m → “swear” Distinctive

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem

سخت

s-kh-t

literal: hard, difficult, severe; harshness

احدی

ʾ-ḥ-d → “none”

literal: oneness; unity; absolute unicity; singleness of divine essence

با

b-ʾ-ʾ → “with”

literal: to; with; by

اصحاب

ṣ-ḥ-b → “companions”

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

او

h-w-w → “is”

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

چندی

ch-n-d → “while”

literal: some; several; a few; how many

معاشرت

ʿ-sh-r → “associated”

literal: association; companionship; social interaction

هر

h-r → “His” Distinctive

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

خدمت

kh-d-m → “serve”

literal: service; servitude; to serve

کمال

k-m-l

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

باو

ʾ-w-w

literal: sale; to sell; to swear allegiance; to pledge; to make covenant

وارد

w-r-d → “befallen” Distinctive

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

مينمودند

n-m-w

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

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 ¶