Gleanings — §577

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 577 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

من المحترقين قل يا قوم لا ترتكبوا ما يضيّع به‌حرمتكم و‌حرمة الأمر بين العباد و‌تكوننّ من المفسدين و‌لا تقربوا ما ينكره عقولكم أن اجتنبوا الإثم وإنّه حرّم عليكم في كتاب الّذي لن يمسّه إلّا

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Say: Commit not, O people, that which will bring shame upon you or dishonor the Cause of God in the eyes of men, and be not of the mischief-makers. Approach not the things which your minds condemn. Eschew all manner of wickedness, for such things are forbidden unto you in the Book which none touch except such as God hath cleansed from every taint of guilt, and numbered among the purified.

Translation Notes

من

m-n → “of”

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

المحترقين

ḥ-r-q

literal: burn; burned; burning

قل

q-w-l → “Say”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

قوم

q-w-m → “people”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

ترتكبوا

r-k-b → “Commit”

literal: to ride; to commit; to undertake

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يضيّع

ḍ-y-ʿ → “wasteth” Distinctive

literal: wasting; squandering; loss; harm

به‌حرمتكم

ḥ-r-m → “deprived” Distinctive

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

الأمر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair

بين

b-y-n → “utterance” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

العباد

ʿ-b-d → “men”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

و‌تكوننّ

k-w-n

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

المفسدين

f-s-d → “mischief-makers” Distinctive

literal: corruption; ruin; discord; mischief; decay

و‌لا

w-l-y → “not”

literal: friend; lord; guardian

تقربوا

q-r-b → “Approach”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

ينكره

n-k-r → “denied” Distinctive

literal: deny; denial; deniers

عقولكم

ʿ-q-l → “minds”

literal: intellect; wise persons; to understand

أن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اجتنبوا

j-n-b → “thee” Distinctive

literal: to avoid; to shun; to keep away from

الإثم

ʾ-th-m → “done wickedly” Distinctive

literal: sin; sinful

وإنّه

h-w → “is” Distinctive

literal: deviation; divergence; straying from the path; to be weak, to flag, to show reluctance

عليكم

ʿ-l-y → “unto you”

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

كتاب

k-t-b → “Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

الّذي

l-dh-y → “which”

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

لن

l-n → “neither”

literal: will not (negation of future)

يمسّه

m-s-s → “touch”

literal: touch; touch/afflict; touched

إلّا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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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

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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 ¶

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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 ¶

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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

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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

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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 ¶