Skip to main content

Gleanings — §568

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 568 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

وأظهرنا الأمر وبلّغناه إلی مقام کلّ اعترفوا بسلطنة الله وقدرته إلّا الّذین کان في صدورهم غلّ الغلام وکانوا من المشرکین ومع هذا الظّهور الّذي أحاط الممکنات وهذا الإشراق الّذي ما سمعوا شبهه في الآفاق اعترضوا عَلَيَّ ملأ البیان ومنهم من أعرض عن الصّراط وکفر بالّذي آمن به وبغی علی الله المقتدر المهیمن العليّ العظیم ومنهم من توقّف لدی الصّراط وعلّق أمر الله بساذجه بتصدیق الّذي خلق بقولي وبذلک حبط أعماله وما کان من الشّاعرین ومنهم من قاس نفس الله بنفسه وغرّته الأسمآء إلی مقام حارب بوجهي وافتی علی قتلي ونسبني بکلّ ما کان في نفسه

Shoghi Effendi Translation

And yet, notwithstanding this Revelation whose influence hath pervaded all created things, and despite the brightness of this Light, the like of which none of them hath ever beheld, witness how the people of the Bayán have denied and contended with Me. Some have turned away from the Path of God, rejected the authority of Him in Whom they had believed, and acted insolently towards God, the Most Powerful, the Supreme Protector, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. Others hesitated and halted in His Path, and regarded the Cause of the Creator, in its inmost truth, as invalid unless substantiated by the approval of him who was created through the operation of My Will. Thus have their works come to naught, and yet they failed to perceive it. Among them is he who sought to measure God with the measure of his own self, and was so misled by the names of God as to rise up against Me, who condemned Me as one that deserved to be put to death, and who imputed to Me the very offenses of which he himself was guilty. Wherefore, do I plead My grief and My sorrow to Him Who created Me and entrusted Me with His Message.

Translation Notes

مقام
mqám q-w-m

literal: station; place

SE rendered وأظهرنا (wʾaẓhrná)الأمر (al-ʾamr)وبلّغناه (wbllghnáh)مقام (mqám)اعترفوا (iʿtrfúá)بسلطنة (bslṭnh)الله (al-lh) as “And yet, Revelation, God”

station 55% connection 12% place 6% most 5% seat 5% such 5% spot 3% another 3% court 2% instance 2%
اعترفوا
iʿtrfúá ʿ-r-f

literal: knowledge; know

SE rendered الأمر (al-ʾamr)وبلّغناه (wbllghnáh)مقام (mqám)اعترفوا (iʿtrfúá)بسلطنة (bslṭnh)الله (al-lh) as “Revelation, God”

الغلام
al-ghlám gh-l-m

literal: youth; servant; youth, boy

SE rendered صدورهم (ṣdúrhm)غلّ (ghll)الغلام (al-ghlám)وکانوا (wkánúá)المشرکین (al-mshrkín)ومع (wmʿ) as “notwithstanding”

youth 74% officers 5% mine 5% celestial 5% servant 5% such 5%
وکانوا
wkánúá k-w-n “be”

literal: be; was; to be

SE rendered صدورهم (ṣdúrhm)غلّ (ghll)الغلام (al-ghlám)وکانوا (wkánúá)المشرکین (al-mshrkín)ومع (wmʿ) as “notwithstanding”

have 40% who 20% joined 10% occupy 10% represented 10% busied 10%
شبهه
shbhh sh-b-h

literal: doubts; likeness

SE rendered وهذا (whdhá)الإشراق (ash-shráq)سمعوا (smʿúá)شبهه (shbhh)الآفاق (al-áfáq)اعترضوا (iʿtrḍúá)ملأ (mlʾ) as “despite the brightness of this, Light,, hath ever beheld, denied and contended, the people”

night 14% doubted 14% shadow 14% obscurities 14% self-same 14% doubt 14% like 14%
الآفاق
al-áfáq ʾ-f-q

literal: horizon; horizons; horizons/regions

SE rendered الإشراق (ash-shráq)سمعوا (smʿúá)شبهه (shbhh)الآفاق (al-áfáq)اعترضوا (iʿtrḍúá)ملأ (mlʾ)البیان (al-bíán) as “Light,, hath ever beheld, denied and contended, the people, Bayán”

world 47% whole 13% everywhere 7% earth 7% horizon 7% all 7% dominions 7% hast 7%
لدی
ldí l-d-y “in”

literal: at; with; near

SE rendered العليّ (al-ʿlíl)العظیم (al-ʿẓím)ومنهم (wmnhm)توقّف (túqqf)لدی (ldí)الصّراط (aṣ-ṣráṭ)وعلّق (wʿllq)أمر (ʾamr)الله (al-lh)بساذجه (bsádhjh) as “Most Exalted, Most Great, Others, hesitated and halted, in, His Path, regarded, Cause, of the Creator, in its inmost truth”

before 36% sight 18% guidance 9% face 9% when 9% after 9% beside 9%
بقولي
bqúlí q-w-l

literal: say; saying

SE rendered الله (al-lh)بساذجه (bsádhjh)بتصدیق (btṣdíq)خلق (khlq)بقولي (bqúlí)وبذلک (wbdhlk)حبط (ḥbṭ)أعماله (ʾaʿmálh) as “of the Creator, in its inmost truth, substantiated by the approval, was created, Thus, come to naught, their works”

words 31% speech 23% say 15% “call 8% outlay 8% statement 8% ‘call 8%
حبط
ḥbṭ ḥ-b-ṭ “shall” Distinctive

literal: nullify; vain; failed/became vain

This form usually rendered as “come” (1 occurrences)

shall 50% come 50%
حارب
ḥárb ḥ-r-b

literal: fight; war; warfare

SE rendered وغرّته (wghrrth)الأسمآء (as-smáʾ)مقام (mqám)حارب (ḥárb)بوجهي (bújhí)وافتی (wáftí)قتلي (qtlí)ونسبني (wnsbní) as “was so misled, the names, Me, condemned, to be put to death, imputed”

contended 50% risen 50%

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶