Gleanings — §729

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

Source (Arabic)

من يدّعي أمرا قبل إتمام ألف سنة كاملة إنّه كذّاب مفتر نسئل الله بأن يؤيّده على الرّجوع إن تاب إنّه هو التّوّاب وإن أَصَرَّ على ما قال يبعث عليه من لا يرحمه إنّه شديد العقاب من يأوّل هذه الآية أو يفسّرها بغير ما نزّل في الظّاهر إنّه محروم من روح الله ورحمته الّتي سبقت العالمين خافوا الله ولا تتّبعوا ما عندكم من الأوهام اتّبعوا ما يأمركم به ربّكم العزيز الحكيم...

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God, ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying impostor. We pray God that He may graciously assist him to retract and repudiate such claim. Should he repent, God will, no doubt, forgive him. If, however, he persisteth in his error, God will, assuredly, send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible, indeed, is God in punishing! Whosoever interpreteth this verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created things. Fear God, and follow not your idle fancies. Nay, rather follow the bidding of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise.

Translation Notes

من

m-n → “Whoso” Distinctive

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

يدّعي

d-ʿ-y → “claims” Distinctive

literal: claim; claimant; claims

أمرا

ʾ-m-r → “Revelation”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

قبل

q-b-l → “ere”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

إتمام

t-m-m → “all” Distinctive

literal: most complete; to complete; perfect; fullness

ألف

ʾ-l-f → “thousand”

literal: word; expression; utterance; to reconcile; to compose; to compile; to unite

سنة

s-n-h → “years”

literal: year; way; tradition; custom

كاملة

k-m-l → “utmost” Distinctive

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

إنّه

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: I, verily; behold I

كذّاب

k-dh-b → “lying”

literal: denial; belying; falsification; rejection; liar; lying; false

مفتر

f-r-y → “impostor”

literal: slander; calumny; fabrication; false accusation

نسئل

s-ʾ-l → “We pray”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

الله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

بأن

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: I, verily; behold I

يؤيّده

ʾ-y-d → “graciously assist”

literal: support; strengthen; aid

على

ʿ-l-w → “to”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الرّجوع

r-j-ʿ → “return”

literal: deputy; representative; vicegerent; substitute

إن

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تاب

t-w-b → “repent”

literal: to repent; to turn back; to return

هو

h-w → “He”

literal: He; He is

وإن

ʾ-n-n → “If”

literal: I, verily; behold I

أَصَرَّ

ṣ-r-r → “persisteth”

literal: creaking; insistence; persists

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

قال

q-w-l

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

يبعث

b-ʿ-th → “send down”

literal: sent; send; resurrection

عليه

ʿ-l-y → “with him” Distinctive

literal: upon; on; exalted

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يرحمه

r-ḥ-m → “mercy” Distinctive

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

شديد

sh-d-d

literal: strong; severe; intense; violent

العقاب

ʿ-q-b → “retribution”

literal: outcome; end; result; consequence

يأوّل

ʾ-w-l → “this world” Distinctive

literal: first; beginning; family

هذه

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; this (masculine); this (feminine)

الآية

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof

أو

h-w-w

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

يفسّرها

f-s-r → “interpreted” Distinctive

literal: interpretation; inquiry; commentary

بغير

gh-y-r

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

نزّل

n-z-l

literal: to descend, to be revealed

في

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

الظّاهر

ẓ-h-r

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

محروم

ḥ-r-m → “deprived”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

روح

r-w-ḥ → “Spirit”

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

الّتي

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

سبقت

s-b-q → “encompasseth” Distinctive

literal: to precede; to surpass; to excel

العالمين

ʿ-l-m → “all created things” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

خافوا

kh-w-f → “Fear”

literal: will; to wish; to want

ولا

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: friend; lord; guardian

عندكم

ʿ-n-d → “God” Distinctive

literal: vessel; container; circumstance; adroitness

الأوهام

w-h-m → “idle fancies”

literal: to imagine, suppose; fancy, idle imagination

اتّبعوا

t-b-ʿ → “follow”

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

يأمركم

ʾ-m-r → “bidding” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

ربّكم

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: Lord; Master; Sustainer; Cherisher

العزيز

ʿ-z-z → “Almighty”

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

الحكيم...

ḥ-k-m → “All-Wise”

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

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 ¶