Gleanings — §564

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 564 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

ای دوستان باخلاق مرضیّه و اعمال طیّبه حقّ جلّ جلاله را نصرت نمائید الیوم هر نفسی ارادهٴ نصرت نماید باید به ما له ناظر نباشد بل به ما عند الله لیس له ان ینظر الی ما ینفعه بل بما ترتفع به کلمة الله المطاعة قلب باید از شئونات نفس و هوی مقدّس باشد چه که سلاح فتح و سبب اوّلیّهٴ نصر تقوی الله بوده و هست او است درعی که هیکل امر را حفظ میکند و حزب الله را نصرت مینماید لازال رایت تقوی مظفّر بوده و از اقوی جنود عالم محسوب بها فتح المقرّبون مدن القلوب باذن الله ربّ الجنود...

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O friends! Help ye the one true God, exalted be His glory, by your goodly deeds, by such conduct and character as shall be acceptable in His sight. He that seeketh to be a helper of God in this Day, let him close his eyes to whatever he may possess, and open them to the things of God. Let him cease to occupy himself with that which profiteth him, and concern himself with that which shall exalt the all-compelling name of the Almighty. He should cleanse his heart from all evil passions and corrupt desires, for the fear of God is the weapon that can render him victorious, the primary instrument whereby he can achieve his purpose. The fear of God is the shield that defendeth His Cause, the buckler that enableth His people to attain to victory. It is a standard that no man can abase, a force that no power can rival. By its aid, and by the leave of Him Who is the Lord of Hosts, they that have drawn nigh unto God have been able to subdue and conquer the citadels of the hearts of men.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

دوستان

d-w-s-t → “friends”

literal: friend; beloved

باخلاق

kh-l-q → “conduct and character”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

مرضیّه

r-ḍ-y → “Thy pleasure” Distinctive

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

اعمال

ʿ-m-l → “deeds”

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

طیّبه

ṭ-y-b → “goodly”

literal: good; pure; sweet; fragrant; virtuous

حقّ

ḥ-q-q → “one true God”

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

جلّ

j-l-l → “exalted”

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

را

r-ʾ-ʾ → “His glory, by your”

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

نصرت

n-ṣ-r → “Help” Distinctive

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

نمائید

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to show, to display, to manifest, to exhibit; to manifest; to display; to show

الیوم

y-w-m → “in this Day”

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

هر

h-r

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

نفسی

n-f-s → “He that seeketh” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ارادهٴ

r-w-d → “purpose” Distinctive

literal: will; want; desire

باید

b-y-d → “should”

literal: by hand; with hands; eternal; perpetual; everlasting

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

له

h-w

literal: for them both; to both of them (dual pronoun)

ناظر

n-ẓ-r

literal: neck; slaves; those held in bonds

نباشد

b-w-d

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

بل

b-l

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

عند

ʿ-n-d

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

الله

ʾ-l-h → “of God”

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

لیس

l-y-s

literal: is not; to be not

ان

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الی

ʾ-l-y

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

ینفعه

n-f-ʿ → “profiteth him”

literal: benefits; profits; advantages

ترتفع

r-f-ʿ → “shall exalt” Distinctive

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

کلمة

k-l-m → “words”

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

المطاعة

ṭ-w-ʿ

literal: obedient; obedience; to obey

قلب

q-l-b → “heart”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

از

ʾ-z → “from all evil”

literal: from

شئونات

sh-ʾ-n → “in such wise” Distinctive

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

هوی

h-w-y → “desires”

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

مقدّس

q-d-s → “holy”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

چه

ch-h

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

که

k-h → “for” Distinctive

literal: that; who; who, that

سلاح

s-l-ḥ → “arms”

literal: weapon; arms; armor

فتح

f-t-ḥ → “open”

literal: opening; opening up; conquests; revelations; disclosure

سبب

s-b-b → “primary instrument” Distinctive

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

اوّلیّهٴ

ʾ-w-l

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

تقوی

w-q-y → “fear”

literal: to protect, safeguard, shield

هست

h-s-t → “is” Distinctive

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

او

h-w-w

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

درعی

d-r-ʿ → “shield”

literal: shield; armor; mail

هیکل

h-y-k-l

literal: temple; structure; form; body

امر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

حفظ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “protect”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

میکند

k-r-d

literal: do; to do; do, make

حزب

ḥ-z-b → “people”

literal: party; people; community

لازال

z-w-l

literal: necessary, incumbent, obligatory, essential

رایت

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest” Distinctive

literal: to see; to perceive; to look

مظفّر

ẓ-f-r → “triumph”

literal: triumph, success; nail, claw; nails

اقوی

q-w-y → “power” Distinctive

literal: strength; power; might; piety; fear of God; godliness

عالم

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

محسوب

ḥ-s-b

literal: according to; in accordance with; as regards

بها

b-h-w → “All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: glory; most glorious; most-glorious

المقرّبون

q-r-b → “they that have drawn nigh”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

مدن

m-d-n → “citadels” Distinctive

literal: city; town

باذن

ʾ-dh-n → “by the leave” Distinctive

literal: ear; permission; leave; to permit; to allow; to listen

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord of”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

الجنود...

j-n-d → “Hosts”

literal: hosts, armies, troops

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 ¶