Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §1

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 1 of 268.

Source (Persian)

﴿ بسم اللّه الفرد الواحد المقتدر العليم الحکيم ﴾

Shoghi Effendi Translation

﴾ In the name of God, the One, the Incomparable, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise ﴿

Translation Notes

بسم

bsm s-m-w → “in the name of”

literal: name; names

SE expanded to “In the name of”

heaven 35% name 27% names 16% heavens 13% all 4% most 2% “heaven 1% heavenly 1% whose 1% through 1%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §159: the heaven fire-tabletFire §36: heavenly gleaningsGWB §39: particular names kitab-i-iqanKIQ §224: guidance prayers-and-meditationsP&M §529: Thy Friend tablet-of-carmelCarmel §4: Names.’tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §12: my Lord the-hidden-wordsHW §146: unto the heaven

الفرد

al-frd f-r-d → “the one, the incomparable”

literal: oneness

SE expanded to “the One, the Incomparable”

one 47% incomparable 47% peerless 7%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §5: Thy oneness fire-tabletFire §17: lonely gleaningsGWB §384: singleness kitab-i-iqanKIQ §191: essential prayers-and-meditationsP&M §136: and oneness tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §2: Peerless tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §51: forlorn will-and-testamentW&T §5: the All-Highest Paradise

الواحد

al-wáḥd w-ḥ-d

literal: one; oneness

SE rendered بسم (bsm), اللّه (al-lh), الفرد (al-frd), الواحد (al-wáḥd), المقتدر (al-mqtdr), العليم (al-ʿlím), الحکيم (al-ḥkím) as “In the name of, God, the One, the Incomparable, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise”

one 50% incomparable 14% vahid 7% creature 7% sixth 7% single 7% nineteen 7%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §125: unity fire-tabletFire §43: By Thine aloneness gleaningsGWB §128: people.”kitab-i-iqanKIQ §118: that prayers-and-meditationsP&M §499: that have recognized Thy unity tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §2: believers in the Divine Unity tablet-of-the-holy-marinerMariner §51: lone the-hidden-wordsHW §69: dust

المقتدر

al-mqtdr q-d-r → “the all-powerful”

literal: power; powerful

almighty 31% powerful 20% potent 16% most 10% all-powerful 9% omnipotent 4% god 4% lord 3% power 2% strength 1%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §144: of Thine omnipotence fire-tabletFire §48: Ordainer gleaningsGWB §657: hath power kitab-i-ahdAhd §2: measure kitab-i-iqanKIQ §260: would be powerless prayers-and-meditationsP&M §791: Thine irrevocable Purpose tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §8: are not tablet-of-carmelCarmel §5: of His might

الحکيم

al-ḥkím ḥ-k-m → “the all-wise”

literal: wisdom; wise

all-wise 79% wisdom 5% all-wise.” 3% wise 3% sages 2% embodiments 2% ḥakím 2% name 2% shall 2%

epistle-to-the-son-of-the-wolfESW §67: judge gleaningsGWB §99: the Divine Command kitab-i-ahdAhd §6: rulership kitab-i-iqanKIQ §269: uphold prayers-and-meditationsP&M §358: Thy commandments tablet-of-ahmadAhmad §1: the Wise the-hidden-wordsHW §13: My command will-and-testamentW&T §34: government

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet cover

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 ¶

Gleanings cover

Gleanings

Bahá’u’lláh

A compilation of 166 selections from Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablets, spanning the Baghdad, Adrianople, and ‘Akká periods (1853–1892). George Townshend assisted with English refinement. Shoghi Effendi wrote that it gives the friends a splendid opportunity to acquire knowledge and understanding of the Faith.

729 ¶

Kitáb-i-'Ahd cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶