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Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §109

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 109 of 268.

Source (Persian)

لا زال مصلح عالم را مفسد دانسته‌اند و گفته‌اند انچه را که کلّ شنيده‌اند * هر هنگام نيّر ظهور از افق سماء اراده الهی اشراق نمود جمعی بانکار و برخی باعراض و حزبی بمفتريات تمسّک جستند و عباد را از شريعه عنايت مالک ايجاد محروم ساختند * چنانچه حال نفوسيکه اين مظلوم را نديده‌اند و معاشرت نکرده‌اند گفته و ميگويند انچه را که ان جناب شنيده و ميشنوند * بگوئيد ای قوم امروز افتاب بيان از افق سماء فضل مشرق و نور ظهور مکلّم طور امام اديان ساطع و لامع صدر و قلب و سمع و بصر را بکوثر بيان رحمن مقدّس و مطهّر سازيد و بعد توجّه نمائيد لعمر اللّه از جميع اشياء نداء قد اتی الحقّ اصغا کنيد طوبی للمنصفين و هنيئا للمقبلين * از جمله نسبت بسدره مبارکه گفته‌اند انچه را که هر عالم بصيری و هر عارف خبيری بر کذبش گواهی دهد * البتّه ان جناب آياتی که در باره حضرت کليم نازل شده ملاحظه و قرائت نموده‌اند قوله تبارک و تعالی ﴿قَالَ أَلَمْ نُرَبِّکَ فِيْنَا وَلِيدًا وَ لَبِثْتَ فِيْنَا مِنْ عُمُرِکَ سِنِينَ وَ فَعَلْتَ فَعْلَتَکَ الَّتِی فَعَلْتَ وَ أَنْتَ مِنَ الکَافِرِينَ * قَالَ فَعَلْتُهَا إِذًا وَ أَنَا مِنَ الضَّالِّينَ * فَفَرَرْتُ مِنْکُم لَمَّا خِفْتُکُم فَوَهَبَ لِی رَبِّی حُکْمًا وَ جَعَلَنِی مِنَ المُرْسَلِينَ﴾ *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Men have, at all times, considered every World Reformer a fomenter of discord, and have referred unto Him in terms with which all are familiar. Each time the Day-Star of Divine Revelation shed its radiance from the horizon of God's Will a great number of men denied Him, others turned aside from Him, and still others calumniated Him, and thereby withheld the servants of God from the river of loving providence of Him Who is the King of creation. In like manner, they who, in this day, have neither met this Wronged One nor associated with Him have said, and even now continue to say, the things thou hast heard and hearest still. Say: "O people! The Sun of Utterance beameth forth in this day, above the horizon of bounty, and the radiance of the Revelation of Him Who spoke on Sinai flasheth and glisteneth before all religions. Purge and sanctify your breasts, and your hearts, and your ears, and your eyes with the living waters of the utterance of the All-Merciful, and set, then, your faces towards Him. By the righteousness of God! Ye shall hear all things proclaim: \‘Verily, He the True One is come. Blessed are they that judge with fairness, and blessed they that turn towards Him!'"

Translation Notes

لا

literal: no; not; negation particle

زال

literal: to pass away; to vanish; to disappear; to cease

مصلح
ṣ-l-ḥ “betterment” Distinctive

literal: peace; reconciliation

عالم
ʿ-l-m “knowledge” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

را

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

مفسد
f-s-d “mischief” Distinctive

literal: corruption; ruin; discord; mischief; decay

دانسته‌اند

literal: this world; earthly life; temporal realm; lowest; base; mean; of little account; to know; to be acquainted with

گفته‌اند

literal: utterance; speech; word; discourse

انچه

literal: that; those; he; she; it

که

literal: that; who; who, that

کلّ

literal: for us; to us

شنيده‌اند

literal: most ugly; most abominable; most heinous

هر

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

هنگام

literal: time; when; occasion

نيّر
n-w-r “Day-Star of” Distinctive

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

ظهور

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

از

literal: from

افق

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

سماء

literal: heaven; sky

اراده

literal: to will; to intend; to wish; will, volition, intention, desire

الهی

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

اشراق

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

نمود
n-m-ʾ “may” Distinctive

literal: to become; to be

جمعی
j-m-ʿ “great number” Distinctive

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

بانکار

literal: denial; rejection; repudiation; wrong; evil; to deny; to reject

برخی

literal: to rise; to stand up; to arise; to rebel

باعراض
ʿ-r-ḍ “turned aside” Distinctive

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

حزبی
ḥ-z-b “people” Distinctive

literal: party; people; community

بمفتريات

literal: slander; calumny; fabrication; false accusation

تمسّک

literal: musk; to seize; grip; to hold fast; to cling to; to grasp

جستند

literal: to seek; to cling; to grasp; to strive

عباد

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

شريعه

literal: law; legislation; religious law; canon; ordinance

عنايت

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

مالک

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

ايجاد

literal: creation; bringing into existence

محروم

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

ساختند

literal: to build; to construct; to make

چنانچه
ch-n-n “In like manner” Distinctive

literal: thus; in such manner; as

حال

literal: state; condition; circumstance

نفوسيکه
n-f-s “they who” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; souls

اين

literal: this; these

مظلوم

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

نديده‌اند

literal: see; seen; to see

معاشرت

literal: association; companionship; social interaction; عشرين (twenty) is from numeral root ع-ش-ر, distinct from ‘association’ meaning

نکرده‌اند

literal: to do; to make; to perform; deed; action; conduct; behavior

ميگويند
g-w-y “I say” Distinctive

literal: utterance; speaking; the one who speaks

جناب

literal: to avoid; to shun; to keep away from

ميشنوند

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

بگوئيد

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

ای
ʾ-y-y “signs” Distinctive

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

قوم

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

امروز

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

افتاب

literal: horizon, direction, region; horizon; sun

بيان

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

فضل

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

مکلّم

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

طور
ṭ-w-r “rustling” Distinctive

literal: states; conditions; stages; modes; phases; manner

امام

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair; people; nation; community; female servant; handmaiden; umma

اديان

literal: religion; faith; creed

ساطع

literal: shining; radiant; splendid; emanating

لامع

literal: shining; radiant; gleaming

صدر

literal: to issue, emanate, proceed; issued, emanating

قلب

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

بصر

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

بکوثر

literal: abundance; river of paradise; the Kawthar

رحمن

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

مقدّس

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

مطهّر

literal: to purify; to cleanse

بعد
b-ʿ-d “then” Distinctive

literal: after; behind; distance

توجّه
w-j-h “faces” Distinctive

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

لعمر

literal: life; age; duration; by the life of (oath)

اشياء

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

نداء
n-d-y “proclaim” Distinctive

literal: call; voice; proclamation; forty; forty years

قد
q-d

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

اتی

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

الحقّ
ḥ-q-q “True One” Distinctive

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

اصغا

literal: to listen, hear; to give ear

طوبی

literal: happiness; blessedness; felicity

للمنصفين

literal: justice; fairness; equity

هنيئا

literal: blessed

للمقبلين

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

جمله

literal: beauty; totality; beautiful

نسبت

literal: relation; relationship; connection; attribution; proportion

بسدره

literal: lote-tree; divine tree

مبارکه

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful; blest; blessed word

عارف

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

خبيری

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

بر

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

کذبش

literal: liar; denial; falsehood

گواهی

literal: promised; the Promised One

دهد
d-h

literal: to give; to grant; to yield

البتّه
b-t-t “Verily” Distinctive

literal: certainly; certainly, definitely; absolute

آياتی

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

در

literal: in; in, at; radiant

باره

literal: outside; out; forth

حضرت

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

نازل

literal: to descend, to be revealed

شده

literal: to become; to be

ملاحظه

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

قرائت

literal: Qur’an; recitation; to read, recite; to read; to recite

نموده‌اند

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

تبارک

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful; blest; blessed word

تعالی

literal: highest; most high; supreme

نُرَبِّکَ

literal: divine; of God; lordly

فِيْنَا
f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

وَلِيدًا

literal: born; child; be born

لَبِثْتَ

literal: remain

مِنْ

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

سِنِينَ

literal: year; years

فَعَلْتَ

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

الَّتِی
ʾ-l-l “that” Distinctive

literal: who; which/that; which

أَنْتَ

literal: you (masculine singular)

الکَافِرِينَ

literal: to disbelieve, reject; unbelief, ingratitude; to deny, to disbelieve, to reject

إِذًا

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

الضَّالِّينَ

literal: error; error/misguidance; error, misguidance

فَفَرَرْتُ

literal: flee; flight; refuge

لَمَّا

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

خِفْتُکُم

literal: fear; fearful; to fear

فَوَهَبَ

literal: gift; grant; bestowal

لِی

literal: upon; on; exalted

حُکْمًا

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

جَعَلَنِی

literal: make; made; to make

المُرْسَلِينَ﴾

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

Source: Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

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729 ¶

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16 ¶

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291 ¶

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Prayers and Meditations

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858 ¶

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17 ¶

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5 ¶

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57 ¶

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160 ¶

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59 ¶