Gleanings — §527

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 527 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

(لوح الملكة فيكتوريا) يا أصحاب المجالس في هناك وديار أخرى تدبّروا وتكلّموا فيما يُصلح به العالم وحاله یا أصحاب المجلس في هناک ودیار أُخری، تدبّروا وتکلّموا فیما یصلح به العالم وحاله لو أنتم من المتوسّمین فانظروا العالم کهیکل إنسان إنّه خلق صحیحاً کاملاً فاعترته الأمراض بالأسباب المختلفة المتغایرة وما طابت نفسه في یوم بل اشتدّ مرضه بما وقع تحت تصرّف أطبّآء غیر حاذقة الّذین رکبوا مطیّة الهوی وکانوا من الهائمین وإن طاب عضو من أعضائه في عصر من الأعصار بطبیب حاذق بقیت أعضآء

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O ye the elected representatives of the people in every land! Take ye counsel together, and let your concern be only for that which profiteth mankind, and bettereth the condition thereof, if ye be of them that scan heedfully. Regard the world as the human body which, though at its creation whole and perfect, hath been afflicted, through various causes, with grave disorders and maladies. Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the treatment of ignorant physicians, who gave full rein to their personal desires, and have erred grievously. And if, at one time, through the care of an able physician, a member of that body was healed, the rest remained afflicted as before. Thus informeth you the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Translation Notes

(لوح

l-w-ḥ

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

الملكة

m-l-k

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

أصحاب

ṣ-ḥ-b → “companions”

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

المجالس

j-l-s

literal: council; assembly; gathering; session

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in a day; during a day; one day after another

هناك

h-n-k

literal: there; in that place; happy; congratulation

وديار

d-w-r → “land”

literal: land; region; place; abode; dwelling

أخرى

ʾ-kh-r → “end” Distinctive

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

تدبّروا

d-b-r → “Take ye counsel together”

literal: deliberation; consideration; prudence; management; planning; counsel

وتكلّموا

k-l-m

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

يُصلح

ṣ-l-ḥ → “profiteth”

literal: peace; reconciliation

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

العالم

ʿ-l-m → “mankind” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

وحاله

ḥ-w-l → “bettereth the condition thereof” Distinctive

literal: state; condition; circumstance

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

أنتم

n-t-m → “you”

literal: you

من

m-n → “of”

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

المتوسّمین

w-s-m → “them that scan heedfully”

literal: to discern; to observe; to recognize; to perceive

فانظروا

n-ẓ-r → “Regard”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

کهیکل

h-y-k-l → “form” Distinctive

literal: temple; structure; form; body

إنسان

ʾ-n-s

literal: man; human being; mankind

إنّه

ʾ-n-n

literal: I, verily; behold I

خلق

kh-l-q → “creation”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

صحیحاً

ṣ-ḥ-ḥ → “whole”

literal: sound; correct; whole; healthy; perfect

کاملاً

k-m-l → “perfect”

literal: perfection; completeness; fully; with full; in complete; to complete, perfect, fulfill

فاعترته

ʿ-r-w → “which is afflicted”

literal: to seize; to afflict; to befall

الأمراض

m-r-ḍ → “maladies”

literal: illness, disease; sickness

بالأسباب

s-b-b → “through various causes”

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

المختلفة

kh-l-f

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

وما

m-ʾ → “Not” Distinctive

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

طابت

ṭ-y-b → “goodly” Distinctive

literal: good; pure; sweet; fragrant; virtuous

نفسه

n-f-s → “it” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

یوم

y-w-m → “day”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

بل

b-l → “nay”

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

اشتدّ

sh-d-d → “tribulations” Distinctive

literal: strong; severe; intense; violent

وقع

w-q-ʿ → “fell”

literal: to fall, to occur, to happen; incident, event

تحت

t-ḥ-t → “under”

literal: under; under, beneath; beneath

تصرّف

ṣ-r-f → “treatment”

literal: to turn; to dispose; to manage affairs

أطبّآء

ṭ-b-b → “physicians”

literal: physician, doctor; one who practices medicine

غیر

gh-y-r → “other”

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

حاذقة

ḥ-dh-q → “able”

literal: skilled; expert; proficient; dexterous

الّذین

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

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

رکبوا

r-k-b → “gave full rein”

literal: to ride; to commit; to undertake

مطیّة

ṭ-y-y → “traverse”

literal: mount; the letter Ta; traverse

الهوی

h-w-y → “desires”

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

وکانوا

k-w-n → “have erred” Distinctive

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

الهائمین

h-y-m → “them that rove distraught”

literal: the Protector; the Overseer; the Guardian; inspiration; revelation; intuition

وإن

ʾ-n-n → “And if”

literal: I, verily; behold I

عضو

ʿ-ḍ-w → “member”

literal: limb; member; organ

عصر

ʿ-ṣ-r → “time”

literal: age; era; century; period of time

بقیت

b-q-y → “remained”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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Bahá’u’lláh

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

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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 ¶