Gleanings — §467

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 467 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

وكنّا فيه إحدى عشر سنين إلى أن جاء سفيركم الّذي لن يحبّ القلم أن يجري على اسمه وكان أن يشرب الخمر ويرتكب البغي والفحشاء وفسد في نفسه وأفسد العراق ويشهد بذلك أكثر أهل الزّوراء لو تسئل عنهم وتكون من السّائلين، وكان أن يأخذ أموال النّاس بالباطل وترك كلّ ما أمره الله به وارتكب كلّ ما نهاه عنه إلى أن قام علينا بما اتّبع نفسه وهواه وسلك منهج الظّالمين، وكتب إليك ما كتب في حقّنا وأنت قبلت منه واتّبعت هواه من دون بيّنة ولا برهان مبين، وما تبيّنت وما تفحّصت وما تجسّست ليظهر لك الصّدق عن الكذب والحقّ عن الباطل وتكون على بصيرة منيرة فاسئل عنه عن السّفراء الّذين كانوا في العراق وعن ورائهم عن والي البلدة ومشيرها ليحصحص لك الحقّ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

For eleven years We dwelt in that land, until the Minister representing thy government arrived, whose name Our pen is loath to mention, who was given to wine, who followed his lusts, and committed wickedness, and was corrupt and corrupted ‘Iráq. To this will bear witness most of the inhabitants of Bag̱hdád, wert thou to inquire of them, and be of such as seek the truth. He it was who wrongfully seized the substance of his fellowmen, who forsook all the commandments of God, and perpetrated whatever God had forbidden. Eventually, he, following his desires, rose up against Us, and walked in the ways of the unjust. He accused Us, in his letter to thee, and thou didst believe him and followed in his way, without seeking any proof or trustworthy evidence from him. Thou didst ask for no explanation, nor didst thou attempt either to investigate or ascertain the matter, that the truth might be distinguished from falsehood in thy sight, and that thou mightest be clear in thy discernment. Find out for thyself the sort of man he was by asking those Ministers who were, at that time, in ‘Iráq, as well as the Governor of the City (Bag̱hdád) and its high Counselor, that the truth may be revealed to thee, and that thou mayest be of the well-informed.

Translation Notes

وكنّا

k-w-n → “be”

literal: to be; existence

فيه

f-y → “in” Distinctive

literal: alas; woe; oh

إحدى

ʾ-ḥ-d → “none”

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

عشر

ʿ-sh-r → “associated” Distinctive

literal: association; companionship; social interaction; عشرين (twenty) is from numeral root ع-ش-ر, distinct from ‘association’ meaning

سنين

s-n-n → “years”

literal: year; years

إلى

ʾ-l-y → “until”

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

أن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

جاء

j-y-ʾ → “come”

literal: to come; to arrive; to happen

سفيركم

s-f-r → “Minister”

literal: embassy, envoy, intercession

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

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

لن

l-n → “neither”

literal: will not (negation of future)

يحبّ

ḥ-b-b

literal: love; affection

القلم

q-l-m → “pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

يجري

j-r-y → “flow”

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

على

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

اسمه

s-m-w → “name”

literal: heaven; sky

يشرب

sh-r-b → “quaffed” Distinctive

literal: to drink; to imbibe

الخمر

kh-m-r → “wine”

literal: wine; intoxicating drink

ويرتكب

r-k-b → “perpetrated” Distinctive

literal: to ride; to commit; to undertake; composition; combination; structure

البغي

b-gh-y

literal: to seek; to desire; to rebel; to transgress

والفحشاء

f-ḥ-sh → “committed wickedness”

literal: indecency; wickedness; iniquity; obscenity

وفسد

f-s-d → “mischief” Distinctive

literal: corruption; ruin; discord; mischief; decay

نفسه

n-f-s → “thyself”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

العراق

ʿ-r-q → “vein”

literal: Iraq; sweat

ويشهد

sh-h-d → “will bear witness” Distinctive

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

بذلك

dh-l-k → “To this”

literal: that; this; it; by that

أكثر

k-th-r → “most of”

literal: majority; multitude; abundance; multiplicity

أهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

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

الزّوراء

z-w-r → “visit”

literal: falsification; distortion; forgery

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

عنهم

ʿ-n-d → “possess”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

من

m-n → “from”

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

يأخذ

ʾ-kh-dh → “seized”

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

أموال

m-w-l → “substance”

literal: hope; wish; desire; aspiration

النّاس

n-ʾ-s → “of his fellowmen”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

بالباطل

b-ṭ-l → “wrongfully”

literal: falsehood, false; vain, null

وترك

t-r-k → “renounce”

literal: to leave; to abandon; to forsake

كلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

أمره

ʾ-m-r → “commandments” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

نهاه

n-h-y → “forbidden”

literal: end; limit; terminus

قام

q-w-m → “rose up”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

علينا

ʿ-l-y → “against Us”

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

اتّبع

t-b-ʿ → “following his desires”

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

وهواه

h-w-y

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

وسلك

s-l-k → “walked”

literal: conduct; walk; traveler

منهج

n-h-j → “ways”

literal: path; way; method; manner

الظّالمين،

ẓ-l-m → “of the unjust” Distinctive

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

وكتب

k-t-b → “Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

حقّنا

ḥ-q-q → “truth” Distinctive

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

وأنت

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

قبلت

q-b-l → “before” Distinctive

literal: before; acceptance; approach

دون

d-w-n → “any” Distinctive

literal: below; lower than; beneath

بيّنة

b-y-n → “proof” Distinctive

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

ولا

w-l-y → “or” Distinctive

literal: no; not; negation particle

برهان

b-r-h → “trustworthy evidence”

literal: proof, evidence, demonstration, argument

تفحّصت

f-ḥ-ṣ → “investigation” Distinctive

literal: investigation; to examine, investigate; examine

تجسّست

j-s-s

literal: to spy, investigate; investigate

ليظهر

ẓ-h-r → “be distinguished” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

لك

l → “His is”

literal: for us; to us

الصّدق

ṣ-d-q → “truth”

literal: to confirm; to verify; to acknowledge; to testify to truth

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الكذب

k-dh-b → “falsehood”

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

بصيرة

b-ṣ-r → “discernment”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

منيرة

n-w-r

literal: light; illumination

فاسئل

s-ʾ-l → “I beseech Thee”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

ورائهم

w-r-ʾ

literal: mankind; people; human beings; behind; after

البلدة

b-l-d → “the City”

literal: city; land; country

ومشيرها

sh-w-r → “high Counselor”

literal: indication; consultation; consult

ليحصحص

ḥ-ṣ-ṣ → “may be revealed”

literal: become-clear; portion

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 ¶