Kitáb-i-Íqán — §66

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 66 of 291.

Source (Persian)

و قوله : "حينَئِذٍ تَظهَرُ عَلامَةُ ابنِ الإنسانِ فِی السَّماء." می فرمايد: بعد از کسوف شمس معارف الهيّه و سقوط نجوم احکام مثبته و خسوف قمر علم که مربّی عباد است و انعدام اعلام هدايت و فلاح و ظلمت صبح صدق و صلاح، ظاهر می شود علامت ابن الانسان در آسمان. و مقصود از سماء، سماء ظاهره است که قريب ظهور آن فَلَک سماوات معدلت و جريان فُلک هدايت بر بحر عظمت، در آسمان نجمی بر حسب ظاهر پيدا می شود که مبشّر است خلق سماوات را به ظهور آن نيّر اعظم. و همچنين در آسمان معنی نجمی ظاهر می شود که مبشّر است اهل ارض را به آن فجر اقوم اکرم. و اين دو علامت در سماء ظاهره و سماء باطنه قبل از ظهور هر نبيّ ظاهر گشته چنانچه شنيدهاند.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

And now, concerning His words: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” By these words it is meant that when the sun of the heavenly teachings hath been eclipsed, the stars of the divinely-established laws have fallen, and the moon of true knowledge—the educator of mankind—hath been obscured; when the standards of guidance and felicity have been reversed, and the morn of truth and righteousness hath sunk in night, then shall the sign of the Son of man appear in heaven. By “heaven” is meant the visible heaven, inasmuch as when the hour draweth nigh on which the Day-star of the heaven of justice shall be made manifest, and the Ark of divine guidance shall sail upon the sea of glory, a star will appear in the heaven, heralding unto its people the advent of that most great light. In like manner, in the invisible heaven a star shall be made manifest who, unto the peoples of the earth, shall act as a harbinger of the break of that true and exalted Morn. These twofold signs, in the visible and the invisible heaven, have announced the Revelation of each of the Prophets of God, as is commonly believed.

Translation Notes

قوله

q-w-l → “concerning His words”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

"حينَئِذٍ

ḥ-y-n → “moment”

literal: time; time/moment; then

تَظهَرُ

ẓ-h-r → “appear”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

عَلامَةُ

ʿ-l-m → “sign” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

ابنِ

b-n-y → “Son”

literal: son

الإنسانِ

ʾ-n-s → “man”

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

فِی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

السَّماء."

s-m-w → “heaven.””

literal: heaven; sky

می

m-y-y

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

فرمايد:

f-r-m

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

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “when” Distinctive

literal: after; behind; distance

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

کسوف

k-s-f → “eclipsed”

literal: eclipse; obscuring; darkening

شمس

sh-m-s → “sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

معارف

ʿ-r-f → “teachings”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

الهيّه

ʾ-l-h → “heavenly” Distinctive

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

سقوط

s-q-ṭ → “fallen”

literal: dropping; omitting; falsifying; interpolating

نجوم

n-j-m → “stars”

literal: star

احکام

ḥ-k-m → “laws”

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

مثبته

th-b-t → “divinely-established”

literal: firm; steadfast; established; fixed

خسوف

kh-s-f → “disruption” Distinctive

literal: sinking; subsidence; disruption

قمر

q-m-r → “moon”

literal: moon

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

مربّی

r-b-b → “educator”

literal: father; paternal

عباد

ʿ-b-d

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

است

b-w-d

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

انعدام

ʿ-d-m → “nothingness” Distinctive

literal: nonexistent; void; nullified

هدايت

h-d-y → “guidance”

literal: guidance; to guide; direction; leading rightly; this; this one

فلاح

f-l-ḥ → “husbandman” Distinctive

literal: felicity; prosperity; farmer

ظلمت

ẓ-l-m → “Wronged One” Distinctive

literal: wrongedness, oppression, meekness; state of being wronged or oppressed

صبح

ṣ-b-ḥ → “morn”

literal: morning, dawn; daybreak

صدق

ṣ-d-q → “truth”

literal: to confirm; to verify; to acknowledge; to testify to truth

صلاح،

ṣ-l-ḥ → “betterment” Distinctive

literal: peace; reconciliation

شود

sh-w-d

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

مقصود

q-ṣ-d → “meant”

literal: intention; purpose; aim; goal; to seek; to direct oneself

قريب

q-r-b → “hour draweth nigh”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

آن

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

فَلَک

f-l-k → “Ark”

literal: ship; ark; orbit; sphere; heaven

معدلت

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

جريان

j-r-y → “sail” Distinctive

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

بر

b-r-r → “upon”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “sea” Distinctive

literal: sea; ocean

عظمت،

ʿ-ẓ-m → “glory” Distinctive

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

حسب

ḥ-s-b

literal: according to; in accordance with; as regards

پيدا

p-y-d → “measure of the revelation” Distinctive

literal: stable; lasting; permanent (negated: unstable; transient); apparent; visible; manifest

مبشّر

b-sh-r → “heralding”

literal: human; mankind; human nature

خلق

kh-l-q → “people” Distinctive

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

نيّر

n-w-r → “Day-star”

literal: fires; blazes; luminary; celestial body; light-giver

همچنين

ch-n-n → “In like manner”

literal: always; ever; forever; at all times; constantly

معنی

ʿ-n-y → “loving-kindness” Distinctive

literal: meaning; sense; significance

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “peoples”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

فجر

f-j-r → “workers of iniquity” Distinctive

literal: dawn; dayspring; to break (of dawn)

اقوم

q-w-m → “people” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

اکرم.

k-r-m → “bounty” Distinctive

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field; honor; generosity; nobility

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

دو

d-w

literal: two; run; running

باطنه

b-ṭ-n → “invisible”

literal: inner; hidden; inward; esoteric

قبل

q-b-l

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

نبيّ

n-b-ʾ → “Prophets”

literal: prophet; messenger

گشته

g-sh-t → “have been” Distinctive

literal: become; became; to become

شنيدهاند.

sh-n-w

literal: most ugly; most abominable; most heinous

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