Gleanings — §5

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 5 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

توصف بوصفٍ أو تثنّى بثنآءٍ وكلّما أمرت به عبادك من بدايع ذكرك وجواهر ثنائك هذا من فضلك عليهم ليصعدن بذلك إلى مقرّ الّذي خلق في كينونيّاتهم من عرفان أنفسهم وإنّك لم تزل كنت

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Far, far from Thy glory be what mortal man can affirm of Thee, or attribute unto Thee, or the praise with which he can glorify Thee! Whatever duty Thou hast prescribed unto Thy servants of extolling to the utmost Thy majesty and glory is but a token of Thy grace unto them, that they may be enabled to ascend unto the station conferred upon their own inmost being, the station of the knowledge of their own selves.

Translation Notes

توصف

w-ṣ-f → “affirm of Thee, or attribute”

literal: to describe, characterize; description

أو

h-w-w → “or” Distinctive

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

تثنّى

th-n-y → “glorify”

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy; glorification; praise, commendation, eulogy

وكلّما

k-l-l → “Whatever” Distinctive

literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority; to rely; to trust; to place trust in

أمرت

ʾ-m-r → “prescribed” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

عبادك

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

من

m-n → “of their own”

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

بدايع

b-d-ʿ → “wondrous”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

ذكرك

dh-k-r → “mention” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

وجواهر

j-w-r → “precincts of Thy court” Distinctive

literal: jewel; essence; gem; substance

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

فضلك

f-ḍ-l → “grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

عليهم

ʿ-l-y → “unto them” Distinctive

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

ليصعدن

ṣ-ʿ-d → “ascend”

literal: ascent; ascension; rising; elevation

بذلك

dh-l-k → “that they may be enabled to” Distinctive

literal: that; this; it; by that

إلى

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

مقرّ

q-r-r → “acknowledged” Distinctive

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

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

خلق

kh-l-q → “conferred” Distinctive

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

كينونيّاتهم

k-w-n → “be”

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

عرفان

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

أنفسهم

n-f-s → “selves”

literal: self; soul; psyche

وإنّك

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

لم

l-y-s

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

تزل

z-w-l

literal: for us; to us

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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 ¶

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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 ¶

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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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57 ¶

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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 ¶