Gleanings — §522

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 522 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

يا معشر الأمراء لمّا صرتم سحابا لوجه الشّمس ومنعتموها عن الإشراق أن استمعوا ما ينصحكم به القلم الأعلى لعلّ تستريح به أنفسكم ثمّ الفقراء والمساكين، نسأل الله بأن يؤيّد الملوك على الصّلح إنّه لهو القادر على ما

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O ye rulers of the earth! Wherefore have ye clouded the radiance of the Sun, and caused it to cease from shining? Hearken unto the counsel given you by the Pen of the Most High, that haply both ye and the poor may attain unto tranquillity and peace. We beseech God to assist the kings of the earth to establish peace on earth. He, verily, doth what He willeth.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

معشر

ʿ-sh-r

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

الأمراء

ʾ-m-r → “rulers of the earth”

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

لمّا

l-m-ʾ → “When”

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

صرتم

ṣ-y-r → “interposed themselves” Distinctive

literal: to become; to turn into; to grow

سحابا

s-ḥ-b → “clouds”

literal: cloud; clouds

لوجه

w-j-h

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

الشّمس

sh-m-s → “the radiance of the Sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

ومنعتموها

m-n-ʿ

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

عن

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الإشراق

sh-r-q → “shining”

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

أن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

استمعوا

s-m-ʿ → “Hearken unto”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

ينصحكم

n-ṣ-ḥ → “counsel given”

literal: counsel; advice; admonition

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

القلم

q-l-m → “the Pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

الأعلى

ʿ-l-w → “of the Most High”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

لعلّ

l-ʿ-l → “that haply”

literal: perhaps; perchance; hopefully

تستريح

r-w-ḥ → “may attain unto tranquillity”

literal: rest; ease; comfort; tranquility; wind; breeze; spirit; fragrance; scent; aroma

أنفسكم

n-f-s → “souls” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

الفقراء

f-q-r → “the poor”

literal: poor; needy; the poor one; pauper

والمساكين،

s-k-n → “inmates” Distinctive

literal: stillness, rest, quietude, tranquility

نسأل

s-ʾ-l → “We beseech”

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

بأن

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يؤيّد

ʾ-y-d

literal: support; strengthen; assist

الملوك

m-l-k → “the kings of the earth”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

الصّلح

ṣ-l-ḥ → “betterment” Distinctive

literal: peace; reconciliation

إنّه

ʾ-n-n → “He, verily”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

لهو

h-w

literal: to distract; to divert; to amuse

القادر

q-d-r → “power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

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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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 ¶