Gleanings — §675
Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 675 of 729.
Source (Arabic)
کند چه شبها که رفت و چه روزها که درگذشت و چه وقتها که بآخر رسید و چه ساعات که بانتها آمد و جز باشتغال دنیای فانی نفسی برنیامد سعی نمائید تا این چند نفسی که باقی ماند باطل نشود عمرها چون برق میگذرد و فرقها بر بستر تراب مقرّ و منزل گیرد
Shoghi Effendi Translation
Night hath succeeded day, and day hath succeeded night, and the hours and moments of your lives have come and gone, and yet none of you hath, for one instant, consented to detach himself from that which perisheth. Bestir yourselves, that the brief moments that are still yours may not be dissipated and lost. Even as the swiftness of lightning your days shall pass, and your bodies shall be laid to rest beneath a canopy of dust. What can ye then achieve? How can ye atone for your past failure?
Translation Notes
بآخر
literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement
فانی
literal: annihilation; perishing; extinction; cessation; the threshold
