Gleanings — §464

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 464 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

يا ملأ المبغضين، إنّا ندعوكم إلى الله ونذكّركم بأيّامه ونبشّركم بلقائه ونقرّبكم إليه ونلقيكم من بدايع حكمته وأنتم تطردوننا وتكفّروننا بما صفت لكم ألسنتكم الكذبة وتكوننّ من المدبرين، وإذا أظهرنا بينكم ما أعطانا الله بجوده تقولون إن هذا إلّا سحر مبين كما قالوا أمم أمثالكم من قبل إن أنتم من الشّاعرين، ولذا منعتم أنفسكم عن فيض الله وفضله ولن تجدوه من بعد إلى أن يحكم الله بيننا وبينكم وهو أحكم الحاكمين، ومنكم من قال إنّ هذا هو الّذي ادّعى

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I know not the path ye have chosen and which ye tread, O congregation of My ill-wishers! We summon you to God, We remind you of His Day, We announce unto you tidings of your reunion with Him, We draw you nigh unto His court, and send down upon you tokens of His wondrous wisdom, and yet lo, behold how ye reject Us, how ye condemn Us, through the things which your lying mouths have uttered, as an infidel, how ye devise your devices against Us! And when We manifest unto you what God hath, through His bountiful favor, bestowed upon Us, ye say, “It is but plain magic.” The same words were spoken by the generations that were before you and were what you are, did ye but perceive it. Ye have thereby deprived yourselves of the bounty of God and of His grace, and shall never obtain them till the day when God will have judged between Us and you, and He, verily, is the best of Judges.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

ملأ

m-l-ʾ → “Concourse”

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

المبغضين،

b-gh-ḍ → “ill-wishers”

literal: hatred; enmity; animosity

إنّا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

ندعوكم

d-ʿ-w → “summon”

literal: call, invocation, summons; to call, invite, summon

إلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

ونذكّركم

dh-k-r → “mention” Distinctive

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

بأيّامه

y-w-m → “His Day”

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

ونبشّركم

b-sh-r → “announce unto you tidings”

literal: human; mankind; human nature

بلقائه

l-q-y → “Presence”

literal: opposite; facing; in front of; towards

ونقرّبكم

q-r-b → “draw you nigh unto”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

إليه

ʾ-l-y

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

من

m-n → “of”

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

بدايع

b-d-ʿ → “wondrous”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

حكمته

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

وأنتم

n-t-m → “you”

literal: you (plural)

تطردوننا

ṭ-r-d → “Cast me” Distinctive

literal: cast out; driven away; expelled

وتكفّروننا

k-f-r → “repudiated” Distinctive

literal: to disbelieve, reject; unbelief, ingratitude; to deny, to disbelieve, to reject

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

صفت

w-ṣ-f → “attributes”

literal: attribute; quality; characteristic

لكم

l-k-m → “your lying”

literal: for you, to you, your (dative pronoun)

ألسنتكم

l-s-n → “mouths”

literal: tongue; language

الكذبة

k-dh-b

literal: denial; belying; falsification; rejection; liar; lying; false

وتكوننّ

k-w-n

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

المدبرين،

d-b-r

literal: deliberation; consideration; prudence; management; planning; counsel

وإذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

أظهرنا

ẓ-h-r → “We manifest” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

بينكم

b-y-n → “unto you”

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

أعطانا

ʿ-ṭ-y → “of Thy bounty” Distinctive

literal: giver; give; bounty

بجوده

j-w-d → “through His bountiful favor”

literal: generosity; bounty; liberality

تقولون

q-w-l → “ye say”

literal: to say; to speak; saying

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “is”

literal: this; that

إلّا

ʾ-kh-r → “but” Distinctive

literal: end; hereafter; other

سحر

s-ḥ-r → “dawn” Distinctive

literal: dawn, daybreak; morning hour

كما

k-m → “loss” Distinctive

literal: as; like; how much; lane; street; quarter; abode

أمم

ʾ-m-m → “before” Distinctive

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

أمثالكم

m-th-l → “that were before you”

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

قبل

q-b-l

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

الشّاعرين،

sh-ʿ-r → “did ye but perceive”

literal: indicating; hair; perceive

ولذا

l-dh-y → “which”

literal: therefore; for this reason; hence; so

منعتم

m-n-ʿ → “deprived” Distinctive

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

أنفسكم

n-f-s → “yourselves”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

عن

ʿ-n → “of”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

فيض

f-y-ḍ → “grace”

literal: flood; abundance; overflow; emanation; grace

وفضله

f-ḍ-l → “and of His grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

ولن

l-n → “neither”

literal: will not (negation of future)

تجدوه

w-j-d → “being” Distinctive

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “after”

literal: after; behind; distance

وهو

h-w → “He”

literal: He; He is

ادّعى

d-ʿ-y

literal: to claim; to allege; claim; assertion; to assert

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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