Gleanings — §617

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 617 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

قل خَلِّصُوا أنفسكم يا قوم ثمّ طَهِّرُوها عن التّوجّه إلى غيري وبذكري يُطَهَّر كلّ شيء إن أنتم من العارفين قل اليوم لو يخلّصنّ كلّ الأشياء عن حجبات النّفس والهوى ليلبس الله كلّها قميص يفعل ما يشاء في ملكوت الإنشاء ليظهر آية سلطانه في كلّ شيء فتعالى من هذا السّلطان المقتدر المهيمن

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Say: Deliver your souls, O people, from the bondage of self, and purify them from all attachment to anything besides Me. Remembrance of Me cleanseth all things from defilement, could ye but perceive it. Say: Were all created things to be entirely divested of the veil of worldly vanity and desire, the Hand of God would in this Day clothe them, one and all, with the robe “He doeth whatsoever He willeth in the kingdom of creation,” that thereby the sign of His sovereignty might be manifested in all things. Exalted then be He, the Sovereign Lord of all, the Almighty, the Supreme Protector, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.

Translation Notes

قل

q-w-l → “Say”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

خَلِّصُوا

kh-l-ṣ → “wholly” Distinctive

literal: sincere; devoted; pure one

أنفسكم

n-f-s → “your souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

يا

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

قوم

q-w-m → “people”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

ثمّ

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

طَهِّرُوها

ṭ-h-r → “purify”

literal: to purify; to cleanse

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

التّوجّه

w-j-h → “face” Distinctive

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

إلى

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

غيري

gh-y-r → “besides”

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

وبذكري

dh-k-r → “Remembrance”

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

كلّ

k-l-l → “all things”

literal: for us; to us

شيء

sh-y-ʾ → “all things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

إن

literal: that; those; he; she; it

أنتم

literal: you

من

m-n

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

العارفين

ʿ-r-f → “perceive” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

اليوم

y-w-m → “this Day”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

حجبات

ḥ-j-b → “veil”

literal: to veil oneself, to be veiled

والهوى

h-w-y → “desire”

literal: desire; vain desire; inclination; passion; whim; realm; region

ليلبس

l-b-s → “clothe”

literal: garment; clothing; raiment; vesture

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

قميص

q-m-ṣ → “robe”

literal: garment; shirt; tunic

يفعل

f-ʿ-l → “doeth”

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

ملكوت

m-l-k → “kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

الإنشاء

n-sh-ʾ → “creation,””

literal: creation; bringing into existence; establishment; God willing; if God wishes; please God

ليظهر

ẓ-h-r → “manifested” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

آية

ʾ-y-y → “sign”

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

سلطانه

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

فتعالى

ʿ-l-w → “Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

هذا

literal: this; that

المقتدر

q-d-r → “Almighty”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

المهيمن

h-m-n → “Protector”

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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