Gleanings — §557

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 557 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

ایقان حضرت منّان وارد شود و بدایع حکمت حضرت سبحانی را در آن شهر روحانی مشاهده کند و جمیع علوم مکنونه را از اطوار ورقهٔ شجرهٔ آن مدینه استماع نماید و از تراب آن مدینه تسبیح و تقدیس ربّ الأرباب بگوش ظاهر و باطن

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Therein he will discern the wonders of His ancient Wisdom, and will perceive all the hidden teachings from the rustling leaves of the Tree that flourisheth in that City. With both his inner and outer ear, he will hear from its dust the hymns of glory and praise ascending unto the Lord of Lords, and with his inner eye will he discover the mysteries of “return” and “revival.”

Translation Notes

ایقان

y-q-n → “certitude”

literal: certitude; conviction; certainty; faith

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “of His” Distinctive

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

منّان

m-n-n

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

وارد

w-r-d

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

شود

sh-w-d

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

بدایع

b-d-ʿ

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

حکمت

ḥ-k-m → “ancient Wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

آن

ʾ-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

شهر

sh-h-r → “City”

literal: city; month; fame, renown

روحانی

r-w-ḥ

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

مشاهده

sh-h-d → “will perceive”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

کند

k-r-d

literal: to do; to make; to act; to dig, excavate; slow

جمیع

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

علوم

ʿ-l-m → “teachings”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

مکنونه

k-n-n → “hidden”

literal: to do; to make; to perform

از

ʾ-z → “from”

literal: from

اطوار

ṭ-w-r → “rustling”

literal: states; conditions; stages; modes; phases; manner

ورقهٔ

w-r-q → “leaves”

literal: leaf, page, sheet, parchment, document

شجرهٔ

sh-j-r → “Tree”

literal: tree

مدینه

m-d-n

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

استماع

s-m-ʿ → “hear”

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

نماید

n-m-ʾ → “will” Distinctive

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

تراب

t-r-b → “dust”

literal: dust; earth; soil

تسبیح

s-b-ḥ → “hymns of glory”

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

تقدیس

q-d-s → “holy” Distinctive

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

بگوش

g-w-sh → “ear”

literal: ear; to hear, listen

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “outer” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

باطن

b-ṭ-n → “inner”

literal: inner; hidden; inward; esoteric

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

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

Bahá’u’lláh

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 ¶