Gleanings — §453

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 453 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

وكم من امرأة بقت بغير زوج ومعين، وارتقيتم في الظّلم إلى مقام الّذي قتلتم الّذي ما تحرّف وجهه عن وجه الله العليّ العظيم، فيا ليت قتلتموه كما يقتل النّاس بعضهم بعضا بل قتلتموه بقسم الّذي ما رأت بمثله عيون النّاس وبكت عليه السّماء وضجّت أفئدة المقرّبين، أما كان ابن نبيّكم وأما كان نسبته إلى النّبيّ مشتهرا بينكم فكيف فعلتم به ما لا فعل أحد من الأوّلين، فوالله ما شهد عين الوجود بمثلكم تقتلون ابن نبيّكم ثمّ تفرحون على مقاعدكم وتكوننّ من الفرحين، وتلعنون الّذين هم كانوا من قبل وفعلوا بمثل ما فعلتم ثمّ عن أنفسكم لمن الغافلين، إذا فأنصف في

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Your iniquity waxed greater and greater until ye slew Him Who had never taken His eyes away from the face of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. Would that ye had put Him to death after the manner men are wont to put one another to death! Ye slew Him, however, in such circumstances as no man hath ever witnessed. The heavens wept sore over Him, and the souls of them who are nigh unto God cried out for His affliction. Was He not a Scion of your Prophet’s ancient House? Had not His fame as a direct descendant of the Apostle been spread abroad amongst you? Why, then, did ye inflict upon Him what no man, however far ye may look back, hath inflicted upon another? By God! The eye of creation hath never beheld your like. Ye slay Him Who is a Scion of your Prophet’s House, and rejoice and make merry while seated on your seats of honor! Ye utter your imprecations against them who were before you, and who have perpetrated what ye have perpetrated, and remain yourselves all the time unaware of your enormities!

Translation Notes

وكم

k-m-m → “How many”

literal: how many; how much

من

m-n

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

امرأة

m-r-ʾ

literal: me; to me (Persian object pronoun); man; person; woman; wife

بقت

b-q-y

literal: remaining; permanence; remain

بغير

gh-y-r

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

زوج

z-w-j

literal: to marry; to espouse

ومعين،

ʿ-w-n

literal: help; aid; helper; supporter

وارتقيتم

r-q-y → “ascended” Distinctive

literal: raise them; promote them; heal them; ascension; elevation; rise

في

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

الظّلم

ẓ-l-m

literal: wrongedness, oppression, meekness; state of being wronged or oppressed

إلى

ʾ-l-y

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

مقام

q-w-m

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

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

قتلتم

q-t-l → “death” Distinctive

literal: slayer; killer; murderer

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

تحرّف

ḥ-r-f → “deviation” Distinctive

literal: letter; character; edge

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

وجه

w-j-h → “face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

العليّ

ʿ-l-w → “the Most Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

العظيم،

ʿ-ẓ-m → “the Most Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

فيا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

ليت

l-y-t → “would”

literal: would that; oh that; expressing a wish

كما

k-m → “loss” Distinctive

literal: how many; how much

النّاس

n-ʾ-s → “men”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

بعضهم

b-ʿ-ḍ → “some”

literal: part; some; portion

بل

b-l

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

بقسم

q-s-m → “in such circumstances” Distinctive

literal: oath; division; kind; type

رأت

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest” Distinctive

literal: see; to see; see/behold

بمثله

m-th-l → “as”

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

عيون

ʿ-y-n → “eyes”

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence; to appoint; to designate; to specify; to determine

وبكت

b-k-y → “heavens wept”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

عليه

ʿ-l-y → “over” Distinctive

literal: upon; on; exalted

السّماء

s-m-w

literal: heaven; sky

وضجّت

ḍ-j-j → “sighing” Distinctive

literal: clamor; clamor/noise; noise

أفئدة

f-ʾ-d → “souls”

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

المقرّبين،

q-r-b → “nigh” Distinctive

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

أما

ʾ-m-m → “nations” Distinctive

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

كان

k-w-n → “Was He not”

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

ابن

b-n-y → “SON”

literal: son

نبيّكم

n-b-ʾ → “of your Prophet’s”

literal: prophet; messenger

وأما

ʾ-m-m → “nations” Distinctive

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

نسبته

n-s-b

literal: relation; relationship; connection; attribution; proportion

مشتهرا

sh-h-r → “well-known” Distinctive

literal: city; famous; month

بينكم

b-y-n → “amongst you”

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

فكيف

k-y-f → “Why, then” Distinctive

literal: how; in what manner

فعلتم

f-ʿ-l → “deeds” Distinctive

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

لا

l-ʾ → “no”

literal: no; not; negation particle

أحد

ʾ-ḥ-d → “man” Distinctive

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

الأوّلين،

ʾ-w-l

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

فوالله

w-l-h → “Rapture” Distinctive

literal: guardian; protector; friend; ally; lord; helper; first; primary; original

شهد

sh-h-d

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

الوجود

w-j-d → “of creation”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

ثمّ

th-m-m → “and” Distinctive

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

تفرحون

f-r-ḥ → “rejoice”

literal: to rejoice; to be glad; joy

مقاعدكم

q-ʿ-d → “your seats”

literal: rule; principle; foundation; basis

وتلعنون

l-ʿ-n → “accursed” Distinctive

literal: curse; cursed; accursed

هم

h-m-m

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

قبل

q-b-l → “were before”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

أنفسكم

n-f-s → “remain yourselves”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

الغافلين،

gh-f-l → “all the time unaware” Distinctive

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

إذا

ʾ-dh-n

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

فأنصف

n-ṣ-f

literal: justice; fairness; equity

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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268 ¶

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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

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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

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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 ¶

Prayers and Meditations

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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

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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 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

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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

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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

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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 ¶

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 ¶