Gleanings — §491

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 491 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

للموحّدين، أخالفتك يا سلطان في شيء أو عصيتك في أمر أو مع وزرائك الّذين كانوا أن يحكموا في العراق بإذنك؟ لا فوربّ العالمين، ما عصيناك ولا إيّاهم في أقلّ من لمح البصر ولا أعصيك من بعد إن شاء الله وأراد ولو يرد علينا أعظم

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Have I, O King, ever disobeyed thee? Have I, at any time, transgressed any of thy laws? Can any of thy ministers that represented thee in ‘Iráq produce any proof that can establish My disloyalty to thee? No, by Him Who is the Lord of all worlds! Not for one short moment did We rebel against thee, or against any of thy ministers. Never, God willing, shall We revolt against thee, though We be exposed to trials more severe than any We suffered in the past.

Translation Notes

للموحّدين،

w-ḥ-d

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

أخالفتك

kh-l-f → “contrary” Distinctive

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “King”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

أو

h-w-w

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

عصيتك

ʿ-ṣ-y → “sinner” Distinctive

literal: disobedience; disobey; disobedient

أمر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

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

مع

m-ʿ

literal: with; together with; alongside

وزرائك

w-z-r → “ministers”

literal: minister; vizier

الّذين

l-dh-y → “that”

literal: those who; the ones who (relative pronoun)

كانوا

k-w-n → “be” Distinctive

literal: be; was; to be

أن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يحكموا

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

literal: wisdom; wise; judgment

العراق

ʿ-r-q → “vein”

literal: Iraq; sweat

بإذنك؟

ʾ-dh-n

literal: ear; permission; leave; to permit; to allow; to listen

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

فوربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

العالمين،

ʿ-l-m → “of all worlds”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

ما

m-ʾ

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

ولا

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: friend; lord; guardian

إيّاهم

ʾ-y-y → “signs”

literal: does; is it that (interrogative particle); sign; verse; O! (vocative particle); him; them (object pronoun)

أقلّ

q-l-l → “less”

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

من

m-n

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

لمح

l-m-ḥ → “twinkling”

literal: to glance; to glimpse; to perceive

البصر

b-ṣ-r → “eyes” Distinctive

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “after”

literal: after; behind; distance

شاء

sh-y-ʾ → “willing”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

وأراد

r-y-d

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

ولو

l-w → “If”

literal: were it not for; if not for; save for

يرد

w-r-d → “hath befallen” Distinctive

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

علينا

ʿ-l-y → “upon”

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

أعظم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “more severe” Distinctive

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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

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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

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

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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 ¶