Gleanings — §590

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 590 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

ربّك أن افدي نفسكِ في سبيله لأنّا خلقناكِ له ولذا أخذنا عنكِ العهد في ذرّ البقاء عند معشر المقرّبين و‌لا تجزعي عن رمي الظّنونات من أهل الإشارات دعيهم بأنفسهم لأنّهم اتّبعوا همزات الشّياطين ثمّ صحي بين الأرض

Shoghi Effendi Translation

If Thou smellest from anyone the smell of the love of Thy Lord, offer up Thyself for him, for We have created Thee to this end, and have covenanted with Thee, from time immemorial, and in the presence of the congregation of Our well-favored ones, for this very purpose. Be not impatient if the blind in heart hurl down the shafts of their idle fancies upon Thee. Leave them to themselves, for they follow the promptings of the evil ones.

Translation Notes

ربّك

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

افدي

f-d-y → “offer up”

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem; to sacrifice oneself for

نفسكِ

n-f-s → “Thyself”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

في

f-y → “from time immemorial” Distinctive

literal: in; in-it; in it

سبيله

s-b-l → “path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

لأنّا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

خلقناكِ

kh-l-q → “created Thee”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

له

h-w → “is”

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

ولذا

l-dh-y → “and” Distinctive

literal: therefore; for this reason; hence; so

أخذنا

ʾ-kh-dh → “laid hold” Distinctive

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

عنكِ

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

العهد

ʿ-h-d

literal: covenant; testament; promise; command

ذرّ

dh-r-r

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

البقاء

b-q-y

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal

عند

ʿ-n-d → “in the presence” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

معشر

ʿ-sh-r → “congregation”

literal: association; companionship; social interaction; عشرين (twenty) is from numeral root ع-ش-ر, distinct from ‘association’ meaning

المقرّبين

q-r-b → “Our well-favored ones”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

و‌لا

w-l-y → “Be not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تجزعي

j-z-ʿ → “impatient”

literal: to grieve; to be dismayed; grief, dismay

رمي

r-m-y → “shafts” Distinctive

literal: to throw; to cast; Aramaic/Persian proper name reference; to throw, cast, shoot; to pelt; to shoot

الظّنونات

ẓ-n-n → “idle fancies”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

من

m-n

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

أهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

الإشارات

sh-y-r → “allusions”

literal: explanation; commentary; to explain; to open

دعيهم

w-d-ʿ → “entrusted” Distinctive

literal: leave; deposit; deposited

لأنّهم

ʾ-n-n → “that” Distinctive

literal: that; because; inasmuch as

اتّبعوا

t-b-ʿ → “follow”

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

همزات

h-m-z → “promptings”

literal: whisper, prompt, instigating suggestion; temptation

الشّياطين

sh-ṭ-n → “evil ones”

literal: satanic; devilish; of or pertaining to Satan

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

صحي

ṣ-ḥ-w

literal: to awake, wake up; to recover; to become sober

بين

b-y-n

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

الأرض

ʾ-r-ḍ

literal: earth; land; ground; country

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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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

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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 ¶