Kitáb-i-Íqán — §175

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 175 of 291.

Source (Persian)

حال قول حضرت امير را ادراک نما که فرموده: "کَشفُ سُبُحاتِ الجَلالِ مِن غَيرِ إشارَةٍ." و از جمله سبحات مجلّله علمای عصر و فقهای زمان ظهورند که جميع، نظر به عدم ادراک و اشتغال و حبّ به رياست ظاهره، تسليم امراللّه نمی نمايند بلکه گوش نمی دهند تا نغمه الهی را بشنوند. بل "يَجعَلُونَ اَصَابِعَهُم فِی آذَانِهِم." و عباد هم چون ايشان را مِن دون اللّه وليّ خود اخذ نمودهاند منتظر ردّ و قبول آن خشب های مسنّده هستند زيرا از خود بصر و سمع و قلبی ندارند که تميز و تفصيل دهند ميانه حقّ و باطل.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

And, now, strive thou to comprehend the meaning of this saying of ‘Alí, the Commander of the Faithful: “Piercing the veils of glory, unaided.” Among these “veils of glory” are the divines and doctors living in the days of the Manifestation of God, who, because of their want of discernment and their love and eagerness for leadership, have failed to submit to the Cause of God, nay, have even refused to incline their ears unto the divine Melody. “They have thrust their fingers into their ears.” And the people also, utterly ignoring God and taking them for their masters, have placed themselves unreservedly under the authority of these pompous and hypocritical leaders, for they have no sight, no hearing, no heart, of their own to distinguish truth from falsehood.

Translation Notes

حال

ḥ-w-l → “now”

literal: state; condition; circumstance

قول

q-w-l → “saying” Distinctive

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

امير

ʾ-m-r → “Commander of the Faithful”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

ادراک

d-r-k → “comprehend”

literal: to overtake; to catch; to reach; to attain; to perceive; to comprehend

نما

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

فرموده:

f-r-m

literal: to say; to decree; to ordain; to command

"کَشفُ

k-sh-f → “unveiled” Distinctive

literal: unveiling; revealed; revelation

سُبُحاتِ

s-b-ḥ → “veils of glory”

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted

الجَلالِ

j-l-l

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

مِن

m-n

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

غَيرِ

gh-y-r

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

إشارَةٍ."

sh-y-r → “allusions” Distinctive

literal: sign; allusion; allusions

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

جمله

j-m-l

literal: beauty; totality; beautiful

علمای

ʿ-l-m → “divines”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

عصر

ʿ-ṣ-r → “days”

literal: age; era; century; period of time

فقهای

f-q-h → “doctors”

literal: to understand; to comprehend; insight; jurisprudence

زمان

z-m-n

literal: time; age; era; period

ظهورند

ẓ-h-r → “Manifestation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

جميع،

j-m-ʿ

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

نظر

n-ẓ-r → “because of” Distinctive

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

به

b-h → “for” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

عدم

ʿ-d-m → “nothingness”

literal: nonexistent; void; nullified

اشتغال

sh-gh-l → “busied”

literal: to occupy; to engage; to busy; occupation

حبّ

ḥ-b-b → “love”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

رياست

r-ʾ-s → “leadership”

literal: ostentation; hypocrisy; vainglory; ruin

تسليم

s-l-m → “submit”

literal: resignation; submission; surrender; submissiveness

نمی

n-h-y → “forbidden”

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

بلکه

b-l-k → “nay”

literal: nay; but rather; on the contrary; but

گوش

g-w-sh → “ears”

literal: ear; hearing; to listen

دهند

d-h → “imputed” Distinctive

literal: to give; to provide; to yield; to grant; to bestow

تا

t-y-y

literal: so that/until

نغمه

n-gh-m → “Melody”

literal: melody; tone; note

الهی

ʾ-l-h → “divine”

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

بشنوند.

sh-n-w

literal: most ugly; most abominable; most heinous

بل

b-l

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

"يَجعَلُونَ

j-ʿ-l → “make” Distinctive

literal: make; made; to make

اَصَابِعَهُم

ṣ-b-ʿ → “fingers”

literal: finger; digit

فِی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

آذَانِهِم."

ʾ-dh-n → “ears.””

literal: permission; ear; ears

عباد

ʿ-b-d → “people”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

هم

h-m-m → “endeavor” Distinctive

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

چون

ch-w-n → “As”

literal: since; when; as

ايشان

ʾ-y-sh → “Prophets”

literal: that; it (object pronoun with suffix)

دون

d-w-n

literal: below; lower than; beneath

وليّ

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: guardian; protector; friend; ally; lord; helper; first; primary; original

خود

kh-w-d → “their”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

اخذ

ʾ-kh-dh → “arrested”

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

نمودهاند

n-m-w → “have”

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

ردّ

r-d-d

literal: rejected; repudiated

قبول

q-b-l

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

آن

ʾ-n → “their”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

خشب

kh-sh-b → “pompous and hypocritical leaders”

literal: wood/timber

های

null

literal: and; that; in

مسنّده

s-n-d

literal: mainstay; support; prop; document

هستند

h-s-t → “are”

literal: to be; to exist

زيرا

z-y-r → “inasmuch as”

literal: because; since; for; inasmuch as

بصر

b-ṣ-r → “sight”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

سمع

s-m-ʿ → “hearing”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

قلبی

q-l-b → “heart”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

ندارند

d-ʾ-sh-t → “have no”

literal: cycle; dispensation; age; turn; round

تميز

m-y-z → “distinguish”

literal: to distinguish; to differentiate; to discern

تفصيل

f-ṣ-l

literal: detail; distinction; differentiation; to detail; to separate

ميانه

w-s-ṭ

literal: between; among; amid; in the midst of

حقّ

ḥ-q-q → “truth”

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

باطل.

b-ṭ-l → “falsehood”

literal: falsehood, false; vain, null

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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160 ¶

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59 ¶