Gleanings — §620

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 620 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

ن ثمّ ذَكِّر النّاس بما نطق الرّوح في هذا اللّوح الدّرّيّ المبين قل يا قوم لا تفسدوا في الأرض ولا تحاربوا مع أحد أن اصبروا في كلّ الأمور وتوكّلوا على الله وكونوا من المتوكّلين أن انصروا ربّكم الرّحمن بسيوف الحكمة والبيان وإنّ هذا شأن الإنسان ومن دون ذلك لا ينبغي لله الملك السّبحان ولكنّ النّاس غفلوا عن ذلك وكانوا من الغافلين أن افتحوا يا قوم مصاريع القلوب بمفاتيح الذِّكر من هذا الذِّكر الحكيم ما أراد الله من الأرض وما عليها إلّا قلوب عباده وجعلها عرش

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Arise to aid thy Lord at all times and in all circumstances, and be thou one of His helpers. Admonish, then, the people to lend a hearing ear to the words which the Spirit of God hath uttered in this irradiant and resplendent Tablet. Say: Sow not, O people, the seeds of dissension amongst men, and contend not with your neighbor. Be patient under all conditions, and place your whole trust and confidence in God. Aid ye your Lord with the sword of wisdom and of utterance. This indeed well becometh the station of man. To depart from it would be unworthy of God, the Sovereign Lord of all, the Glorified. The people, however, have been led astray, and are truly of the heedless.

Translation Notes

ثمّ

th-m-m → “then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ذَكِّر

dh-k-r → “mention”

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

النّاس

n-ʾ-s → “the people”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

بما

m-ʾ

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

نطق

n-ṭ-q → “uttered” Distinctive

literal: to speak; to utter; to pronounce; to articulate

الرّوح

r-w-ḥ → “the Spirit”

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

اللّوح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

الدّرّيّ

d-r-r → “in”

literal: veiling; concealment; to have; to possess; to hold

المبين

b-y-n → “amongst” Distinctive

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

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 → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تفسدوا

f-s-d

literal: corruption; ruin; discord; mischief; decay

الأرض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “men” Distinctive

literal: earth; land; ground; country

ولا

w-l-y

literal: friend; lord; guardian

تحاربوا

ḥ-r-b → “contend”

literal: warfare; combat; fighting; hostility

مع

m-ʿ → “notwithstanding”

literal: with; together with; alongside

أحد

ʾ-ḥ-d → “neighbor” Distinctive

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

أن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اصبروا

ṣ-b-r → “Be patient”

literal: patience; forbearance; endurance; to be patient

كلّ

k-l-l → “all conditions”

literal: for us; to us

الأمور

ʾ-m-r

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

وتوكّلوا

w-k-l → “ministers” Distinctive

literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority; to rely; to trust; to place trust in

على

ʿ-l-w → “in” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

وكونوا

k-w-n → “be thou”

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

انصروا

n-ṣ-r → “Aid ye”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

ربّكم

r-b-b → “your Lord”

literal: Lord; Master; Sustainer; Cherisher

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

بسيوف

s-y-f → “with the sword”

literal: sword

الحكمة

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

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

وإنّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

شأن

sh-ʾ-n → “station”

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

الإنسان

ʾ-n-s → “of man”

literal: familiar; intimate; companionship; to be acquainted with; companion; intimate friend; to be intimate with; to keep company; to console

ومن

m-n → “To depart from”

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

دون

d-w-n → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: below; lower than; beneath

ذلك

dh-l-k

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

ينبغي

n-b-gh → “becometh” Distinctive

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

الملك

m-l-k → “the Sovereign Lord” Distinctive

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

السّبحان

s-b-ḥ → “the Glorified”

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

ولكنّ

l-k-n → “however”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

غفلوا

gh-f-l → “heedless” Distinctive

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

عن

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

افتحوا

f-t-ḥ

literal: opening; opening up; conquests; revelations; disclosure

مصاريع

ṣ-r-ʿ

literal: slain; slain/prostrate; door

القلوب

q-l-b

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

أراد

r-y-d

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

عليها

ʿ-l-y

literal: upon; on; exalted

إلّا

ʾ-kh-r

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

عباده

ʿ-b-d

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

وجعلها

j-ʿ-l

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

عرش

ʿ-r-sh

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

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 ¶