Gleanings — §526

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 526 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

حتم به من لدن عليم أمين، أن اتّحدوا يا معشر الملوك به تسكن أرياح الاختلاف بينكم وتستريح الرّعيّة ومن حولكم إن أنتم من العارفين، إن قام أحد منكم على الآخر قوموا عليه إن هذا إلاّ عدل مبين...

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should anyone among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.

Translation Notes

حتم

ḥ-t-m

literal: to be necessary, inevitable; determined

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

من

m-n → “of them”

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

لدن

l-d-n

literal: from; on the part of; from before; near

عليم

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

أمين،

ʾ-m-n

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

إن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اتّحدوا

w-ḥ-d → “Be united”

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

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

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

الملوك

m-l-k → “kings”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

تسكن

s-k-n → “inmates” Distinctive

literal: dwelling; inhabitants; dwell

أرياح

r-w-ḥ → “spirit” Distinctive

literal: rest; ease; comfort; tranquility

الاختلاف

kh-l-f → “discord”

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

بينكم

b-y-n → “amongst you”

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

الرّعيّة

r-ʿ-y → “peoples”

literal: to guard, watch over, regard, heed, respect, maintain; care; protection; guardianship; watchfulness

حولكم

ḥ-w-l

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

أنتم

n-t-m → “you”

literal: you

العارفين،

ʿ-r-f → “that comprehend” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

قام

q-w-m → “take up arms” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; resurrection; uprising; establishment

أحد

ʾ-ḥ-d → “anyone”

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

على

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الآخر

ʾ-kh-r → “another” Distinctive

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

عليه

ʿ-l-y → “against him”

literal: upon; on; exalted

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

إلاّ

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

عدل

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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

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

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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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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 ¶