Gleanings — §573
Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 573 of 729.
Source (Arabic)
مستقيم ثمّ اعلموا بأنّ الدّنيا هي غفلتكم عن موجدكم واشتغالكم بما سويٰه والآخرة ما يقرّبكم إلی اللّه العزيز الجميل وكلّما يمنعكم اليوم عن حبّ اللّه إنّها لهي الدّنيا أن اجتنبوا منها لتكوننّ من المفلحين إنّ الّذي لن يمنعه شيء عن اللّه لا بأس عليه لو يزيّن نفسه بحلل الأرض وزينتها وما خلق فيها لأنّ اللّه خلق كلّ ما في السّموات والأرض لعباده الموحّدين كُلُوا يا قوم ما أحلّ اللّه عليكم ولا تحرّموا أنفسكم عن بدايع نعمائه ثمّ اشكروه وكونوا من الشّاكرين يا أيّها المهاجر إلی اللّه بلّغ النّاس رسالات ربّك لعلّ يمن
Shoghi Effendi Translation
Know ye that by “the world” is meant your unawareness of Him Who is your Maker, and your absorption in aught else but Him. The “life to come,” on the other hand, signifieth the things that give you a safe approach to God, the All-Glorious, the Incomparable. Whatsoever deterreth you, in this Day, from loving God is nothing but the world. Flee it, that ye may be numbered with the blest. Should a man wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants as truly believe in Him. Eat ye, O people, of the good things which God hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves from His wondrous bounties. Render thanks and praise unto Him, and be of them that are truly thankful.
Translation Notes
الدّنيا
literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with
وكلّما
literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority; to rely; to trust; to place trust in
