Gleanings — §508

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 508 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

بين الخلائق أجمعين، إنّ الله قد أودع زمام الخلق بأيديكم لتحكموا بينهم بالحقّ وتأخذوا حقّ المظلوم عن هؤلاء الظّالمين، وإن لن تفعلوا بما أمرتم في كتاب الله لن يذكر أسماؤكم عنده بالعدل وإنّ هذا لغبن عظيم، أتأخذون حكم أنفسكم وتدعون حكم الله العليّ المتعالي القادر القدير، دعوا ما عندكم وخذوا ما أمركم الله به ثمّ ابتغوا الفضل من عنده وإنّ

Shoghi Effendi Translation

God hath committed into your hands the reins of the government of the people, that ye may rule with justice over them, safeguard the rights of the downtrodden, and punish the wrongdoers. If ye neglect the duty prescribed unto you by God in His Book, your names shall be numbered with those of the unjust in His sight. Grievous, indeed, will be your error. Cleave ye to that which your imaginations have devised, and cast behind your backs the commandments of God, the Most Exalted, the Inaccessible, the All-Compelling, the Almighty? Cast away the things ye possess, and cling to that which God hath bidden you observe. Seek ye His grace, for he that seeketh it treadeth His straight Path.

Translation Notes

الخلائق

kh-l-q → “the people” Distinctive

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

أجمعين،

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

إنّ

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

قد

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

أودع

w-d-ʿ → “committed”

literal: deposit, trust, pledge

زمام

z-m-m → “reins”

literal: reins; bridle; control; governance

بأيديكم

y-d-y → “into your hands”

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

لتحكموا

ḥ-k-m → “rule”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

بينهم

b-y-n → “over them” Distinctive

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

بالحقّ

ḥ-q-q → “truth”

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

وتأخذوا

ʾ-kh-dh → “arrested” Distinctive

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

المظلوم

ẓ-l-m → “the downtrodden” Distinctive

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

عن

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

هؤلاء

literal: these

وإن

ʾ-n-n → “If”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

لن

l-n → “neither”

literal: will not (negation of future)

تفعلوا

f-ʿ-l → “deeds” Distinctive

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

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

أمرتم

ʾ-m-r → “prescribed”

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

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

كتاب

k-t-b → “Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

يذكر

dh-k-r → “mention” Distinctive

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

أسماؤكم

s-m-w → “names”

literal: heaven; sky

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “in His sight” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

بالعدل

ʿ-d-l → “with those of the unjust”

literal: justice; equity

هذا

literal: this; that

لغبن

gh-b-n → “deceit”

literal: mutual loss, mutual deception; reckoning

عظيم،

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Most Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

أنفسكم

n-f-s → “your imaginations”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

العليّ

ʿ-l-w → “Most Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

القدير،

q-d-r → “Almighty”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

ثمّ

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ابتغوا

b-gh-y → “becometh” Distinctive

literal: befit; transgression; befit, be proper

الفضل

f-ḍ-l → “grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

من

m-n

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

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