Gleanings — §579

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 579 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

فقوا إنّه ما من إله إلّا هو له الخلق و‌الأمر يعطي من يشاء و‌يمنع عمّن يشاء وإنّه لهو المعطي الباذل العزيز الكريم قل يا ملأ البهاء بلّغوا أمر اللّه لأنّ اللّه كتب لكلّ نفس تبليغ أمره و‌جعله أفضل الأعمال لأنّها لن يقبل إلّا بعد عرفان اللّه المهيمن العزيز القدير و‌قدّر التّبليغ بالبيان لا بدونه كذلك نزل الأمر من جبروت اللّه العليّ الحكيم إيّاكم أن لا تحاربوا مع نفس بل ذكّروها باليبان الحسنة و‌الموعظة البالغة إن كانت متذكّرة فلها وإلّا فأعرضوا عنها ثمّ اقبلوا إلی شطر

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Say: Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Bahá, for God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds. Such a deed is acceptable only when he that teacheth the Cause is already a firm believer in God, the Supreme Protector, the Gracious, the Almighty. He hath, moreover, ordained that His Cause be taught through the power of men’s utterance, and not through resort to violence. Thus hath His ordinance been sent down from the Kingdom of Him Who is the Most Exalted, the All-Wise. Beware lest ye contend with anyone, nay, strive to make him aware of the truth with kindly manner and most convincing exhortation. If your hearer respond, he will have responded to his own behoof, and if not, turn ye away from him, and set your faces towards God’s sacred Court, the seat of resplendent holiness.

Translation Notes

فقوا

f-q-h → “doctors” Distinctive

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

إنّه

ʾ-n-n

literal: I, verily; behold I

ما

m-ʾ

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

من

m-n → “from”

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

إله

ʾ-l-h

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

إلّا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

هو

h-w → “is”

literal: He; He is

الخلق

kh-l-q

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

و‌الأمر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

يعطي

ʿ-ṭ-y

literal: bounty; gift; bestowal; grace; bountifulness

يشاء

sh-y-ʾ → “will”

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

و‌يمنع

m-n-ʿ

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

عمّن

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الباذل

b-dh-l

literal: to give; to bestow; to expend

العزيز

ʿ-z-z → “Gracious” Distinctive

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

الكريم

k-r-m

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field

قل

q-w-l → “Say”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

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

ملأ

m-l-ʾ → “people” Distinctive

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

البهاء

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

أمر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause of God”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

لأنّ

ʾ-n → “for” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

كتب

k-t-b → “hath prescribed” Distinctive

literal: book; scripture; writing

لكلّ

k-l-l → “unto every one”

literal: for each; for every; to each

نفس

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

تبليغ

b-l-gh → “proclaiming” Distinctive

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

و‌جعله

j-ʿ-l → “make” Distinctive

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

أفضل

f-ḍ-l → “most meritorious” Distinctive

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

الأعمال

ʿ-m-l → “all deeds”

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

لأنّها

null

literal: that, it; to be; indeed

لن

l-n

literal: will not (negation of future)

يقبل

q-b-l → “is acceptable”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “after”

literal: after; behind; distance

عرفان

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

المهيمن

h-m-n → “Supreme Protector” Distinctive

literal: the Protector; the Overseer; the Guardian; inspiration; revelation; intuition

القدير

q-d-r → “the Almighty”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

بالبيان

b-y-n → “utterance”

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

لا

l-ʾ → “and not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

بدونه

d-w-n → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: below; lower than; beneath

كذلك

dh-l-k → “Thus”

literal: thus; likewise; also

نزل

n-z-l → “been sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

جبروت

j-b-r → “dominion”

literal: compelled; forced; constrained

العليّ

ʿ-l-w → “Most Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الحكيم

ḥ-k-m → “the All-Wise”

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

إيّاكم

w-q-y → “Fear” Distinctive

literal: beware; take heed; woe to you

أن

ʾ-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تحاربوا

ḥ-r-b → “contend”

literal: warfare; combat; fighting; hostility

مع

m-ʿ → “with”

literal: with; together with; alongside

بل

b-l → “nay”

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

ذكّروها

dh-k-r → “strive to make him”

literal: mention; remembrance; mentioned

الحسنة

ḥ-s-n → “most excellent” Distinctive

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

و‌الموعظة

w-ʿ-ẓ → “counsels” Distinctive

literal: admonish; counsels; admonition

كانت

k-w-n

literal: you (masculine singular)

فلها

l-h-w → “for him”

literal: to distract; to divert; to amuse

وإلّا

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: friend; lord; guardian

فأعرضوا

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turn ye away” Distinctive

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

عنها

ʿ-n-n → “from him”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

ثمّ

th-m-m → “and” Distinctive

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

إلی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

literal: to; to, toward; to, until

شطر

sh-ṭ-r → “God’s sacred Court” Distinctive

literal: side, direction; half; to split

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 ¶