Skip to main content

Gleanings — §601

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 601 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

مشکوة بیان را این کلمه بمثابهٴ مصباح است ای اهل عالم همه بار یک دارید و برگ یک شاخسار بکمال محبّت و اتّحاد و مودّت و اتّفاق سلوک نمائید قسم بآفتاب حقیقت نور اتّفاق آفاق را روشن و منوّر سازد حقّ آگاه گواه این گفتار بوده و هست جهد نمائید تا باین مقام بلند اعلی

Shoghi Effendi Translation

The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Daystar of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words.

Translation Notes

مشکوة
sh-k-w “complain” Distinctive

literal: niche; chamber; recess

بیان

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

را

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

این

literal: this; these

کلمه

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

بمثابهٴ

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

مصباح

literal: morning, dawn; daybreak

است

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

ای
ʾ-y-y “signs” Distinctive

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

اهل

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

عالم

literal: world; universe; the worlds

همه

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

بار

literal: well; cistern; pit

یک

literal: one; a single

دارید
d-ʾ-r “repository” Distinctive

literal: to have; to hold; to possess; to maintain

برگ

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

شاخسار

literal: branch; twig; limb

بکمال

literal: perfection; completeness; fully; with full; in complete; to complete, perfect, fulfill

محبّت

literal: love; affection

اتّحاد

literal: unity; union; unification

مودّت

literal: affection; love; friendship

اتّفاق
w-f-q “aid” Distinctive

literal: accord, agreement, harmony; to agree, accord with

سلوک

literal: conduct; behavior; way; path; spiritual wayfaring

نمائید

literal: to show, to display, to manifest, to exhibit; to manifest; to display; to show

قسم

literal: oath; division; kind; type

بآفتاب

literal: horizon, direction, region; horizon; sun

حقیقت

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

نور

literal: light; illumination

آفاق
ʾ-f-q “whole earth” Distinctive

literal: horizon, direction, region; horizon; sun

روشن
r-w-sh “light” Distinctive

literal: light; illumination; brilliance; clarity

سازد

literal: to make; to create; to cause

آگاه

literal: aware; cognizant; informed; apprised; awareness; knowledge; consciousness

گواه

literal: witness; to testify; presence

گفتار

literal: utterance; speech; word; discourse

هست

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

جهد

literal: effort; striving; exertion; endeavor

تا

literal: so that/until

باین

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

مقام

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

بلند

literal: high; lofty; raised; to raise

اعلی

literal: highest; most high; supreme

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 ¶