Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §103

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 103 of 268.

Source (Persian)

( الی ان قلنا ) انّا نذکرک لوجه اللّه و نحبّ ان يعلو اسمک بذکر ربّک خالق الارض و السّماء انّه علی ما اقول شهيد * قد بلغنا انّک منعت بيع الغلمان و الاماء هذا ما حکم به اللّه فی هذا الظّهور البديع * قد کتب اللّه لک جزاء ذلک انّه موفّی اجور المحسنات و المحسنين ان تتّبعی ما ارسل اليک من لدن عليم خبير * انّ الّذی اعرض و استکبر بعد ما جاءته البيّنات من لدن منزل الآيات ليحبط اللّه عمله انّه علی کلّ شیء قدير * انّ الاعمال تقبل بعد الاقبال * من اعرض عن الحقّ انّه من احجب الخلق کذلک قدّر من لدن عزيز قدير *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

And further We said: "We make mention of thee for the sake of God, and desire that thy name may be exalted through thy remembrance of God, the Creator of earth and of heaven. He, verily, is witness unto that which I say. We have been informed that thou hast forbidden the trading in slaves, both men and women. This, verily, is what God hath enjoined in this wondrous Revelation. God hath, truly, destined a reward for thee, because of this. He, verily, will pay the doer of good, whether man or woman, his due recompense, wert thou to follow what hath been sent unto thee by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. As to him who turneth aside, and swelleth with pride, after that the clear tokens have come unto him, from the Revealer of signs, his work shall God bring to naught. He, in truth, hath power over all things. Man's actions are acceptable after his having recognized (the Manifestation). He that turneth aside from the True One is indeed the most veiled amongst His creatures. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Almighty, the Most Powerful.

Translation Notes

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

قلنا

q-w-l → “We said”

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

انّا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

نذکرک

dh-k-r → “make mention”

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

لوجه

w-j-h → “for the sake”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “of God”

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

نحبّ

ḥ-b-b → “desire”

literal: love; affection

يعلو

ʿ-l-w → “may be exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

اسمک

s-m-w → “thy name”

literal: to name, to nominate, to designate, to appoint; name; noun; to name, to appoint, to designate

ربّک

r-b-b → “of God” Distinctive

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

خالق

kh-l-q → “Creator”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “of earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “He, verily”

literal: I, verily; behold I

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

شهيد

sh-h-d → “witness”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

قد

q-d → “We have been”

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

بلغنا

b-l-gh → “teach” Distinctive

literal: to reach; to attain; to deliver; to proclaim

منعت

m-n-ʿ → “thou hast forbidden”

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

بيع

b-y-ʿ → “trading”

literal: sale; to sell; to swear allegiance; to pledge; to make covenant

الغلمان

gh-l-m → “Youth”

literal: youth; boy; servant; the Youth (Bahá’u’lláh)

الاماء

ʾ-m-w → “Thy handmaidens” Distinctive

literal: handmaiden, maidservant, female slave

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “This, verily”

literal: this; that

حکم

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

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

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الظّهور

ẓ-h-r → “wondrous Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

البديع

b-d-ʿ

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

کتب

k-t-b → “Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

لک

l → “His is”

literal: for us; to us

جزاء

j-z-y → “recompense”

literal: part; portion; component; section; volume

ذلک

dh-l-k → “because of this”

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

موفّی

w-f-y → “fidelity” Distinctive

literal: faithfulness; fidelity; fulfill

اجور

ʾ-j-r → “recompense” Distinctive

literal: wage; recompense; reward; wage, reward, recompense

المحسنات

ḥ-s-n → “most excellent” Distinctive

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

تتّبعی

t-b-ʿ → “wert thou to follow”

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

ارسل

r-s-l → “hath been sent”

literal: messenger; send; messengers

من

m-n → “by Him” Distinctive

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

لدن

l-d-n → “by”

literal: from; on the part of; from before; near

عليم

ʿ-l-m → “All-Knowing”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

خبير

kh-b-r → “All-Informed”

literal: all-knowing; aware; well-informed; omniscient

الّذی

l-dh-y → “which”

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

اعرض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turneth aside”

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

استکبر

k-b-r → “swelleth with pride”

literal: great; grand; mighty; large; greatness; majesty; sovereignty; arrogance

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “after that”

literal: after; behind; distance

جاءته

j-y-ʾ → “have come unto him”

literal: to come; to arrive; to happen

البيّنات

b-y-n → “the clear tokens”

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

منزل

n-z-l → “Revealer of signs”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

الآيات

ʾ-y-y

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

ليحبط

ḥ-b-ṭ → “shall God bring to”

literal: to nullify; to frustrate; to make void

عمله

ʿ-m-l → “his work” Distinctive

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

شیء

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

قدير

q-d-r → “Most Powerful”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

تقبل

q-b-l → “are acceptable”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

الحقّ

ḥ-q-q → “the True One” Distinctive

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

احجب

ḥ-j-b → “most veiled”

literal: to veil oneself, to be veiled

عزيز

ʿ-z-z → “is the Almighty”

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 ¶