Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §11

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 11 of 268.

Source (Persian)

الها معبودا مقصودا کريما رحيما * جانها از تو و اقتدارها در قبضه قدرت تو * هر که را بلند کنی از ملک بگذرد و بمقام و رفعناه مقاما عليّا رسد و هر که را بيندازی از خاک پست‌تر بلکه هيچ از او بهتر * پروردگارا با تباه‌کاری و گناه‌کاری و عدم پرهيزکاری مقعد صدق ميطلبيم و لقاء اوليائت را ميجوئيم امر امر تو و حکم ان تو و عالم قدرت زير فرمان تو هر چه کنی عدل صرف است بل فضل محض * يک تجلّی از تجلّيات اسم رحمانت رسم عصيان را از جهان براندازد و محو نمايد و يک نسيم از نسائم يوم ظهورت عالم را بخلعت تازه مزيّن نمايد * ای توانا ناتوانانرا توانائی بخش و مردگانرا زندگی عطا فرما شايد تو را بيابند و بدريای اگاهيت راه يابند و بر امرت مستقيم مانند * اگر از لغات مختلفه عالم عرف ثنای تو متضوّع شود همه محبوب جان و مقصود روان چه تازی چه پارسی اگر از ان محروم ماند قابل ذکر نه چه الفاظ چه معانی * ای پروردگار از تو ميطلبم کلّ را راه نمائی و هدايت فرمائی توئی قادر و توانا و عالم و بينا * نسأل اللّه ان يؤيّدک علی العدل و الانصاف و يعرّفک ما کان مستورا عن العيون و الابصار انّه هو العزيز المختار *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"My God, the Object of my adoration, the Goal of my desire, the All-Bountiful, the Most Compassionate! All life is of Thee, and all power lieth within the grasp of Thine omnipotence. Whosoever Thou exaltest is raised above the angels, and attaineth the station: \‘Verily, We uplifted him to a place on high!'; and whosoever Thou dost abase is made lower than dust, nay, less than nothing. O Divine Providence! Though wicked, sinful, and intemperate, we still seek from Thee a \‘seat of truth,' and long to behold the countenance of the Omnipotent King. It is Thine to command, and all sovereignty belongeth to Thee, and the realm of might boweth before Thy behest. Everything Thou doest is pure justice, nay, the very essence of grace. One gleam from the splendors of Thy Name, the All-Merciful, sufficeth to banish and blot out every trace of sinfulness from the world, and a single breath from the breezes of the Day of Thy Revelation is enough to adorn all mankind with a fresh attire. Vouchsafe Thy strength, O Almighty One, unto Thy weak creatures, and quicken them who are as dead, that haply they may find Thee, and may be led unto the ocean of Thy guidance, and may remain steadfast in Thy Cause. Should the fragrance of Thy praise be shed abroad by any of the divers tongues of the world, out of the East or out of the West, it would, verily, be prized and greatly cherished. If such tongues, however, be deprived of that fragrance, they assuredly would be unworthy of any mention, in word or yet in thought. We beg of Thee, O Providence, to show Thy way unto all men, and to guide them aright. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing."

Translation Notes

الها

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

معبودا

ʿ-b-d → “Object of my adoration”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

مقصودا

q-ṣ-d → “Goal of my desire”

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

کريما

k-r-m → “All-Bountiful”

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

رحيما

r-ḥ-m → “Most Compassionate”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

جانها

j-ʾ-n → “All life”

literal: soul; life; spirit; self

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

تو

t-w-w → “thou”

literal: you

اقتدارها

q-d-r → “all power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

قبضه

q-b-ḍ → “grasp of”

literal: grasp; grip; control; seize

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

بلند

b-l-n-d → “lofty”

literal: high; lofty; raised; to raise

کنی

k-r-d → “made” Distinctive

literal: to do; to make; to speak; to abstain; to refrain from; to avoid; allusion; insinuation; indirect reference

ملک

m-l-k → “above the angels” Distinctive

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

بگذرد

g-dh-r

literal: to place, to put, to leave, to set, to pass

بمقام

q-w-m → “station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

رفعناه

r-f-ʿ → “\‘Verily, We uplifted him”

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

عليّا

ʿ-l-w → “on high” Distinctive

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

رسد

r-s-d → “attaineth”

literal: Persian verb رسیدن (to arrive/reach), not Arabic ر-س-د

بيندازی

ʾ-n-d-z → “Thou dost abase”

literal: to cast down; to overturn; to throw

خاک

kh-ʾ-k → “lower than dust”

literal: dust; earth; soil; ground

پست‌تر

p-s-t

literal: low; abased; vile; base; mean

بلکه

b-l-k → “nay”

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

هيچ

h-y-ch → “any”

literal: nothing; any; not a single

او

h-w-w

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

بهتر

b-h-t-r

literal: better; best

پروردگارا

r-b-b → “O Divine Providence” Distinctive

literal: Lord; Divine Providence; Sustainer

با

b-ʾ-ʾ → “have clung”

literal: to; with; by

تباه‌کاری

t-b-ʾ-h → “wicked”

literal: ruin; destruction; wickedness

گناه‌کاری

g-n-ʾ-h → “sinful”

literal: sin; transgression; fault

عدم

ʿ-d-m

literal: nonexistent; void; nullified

پرهيزکاری

p-r-h-y-z → “intemperate”

literal: abstinence; piety; temperance; God-fearing

مقعد

q-ʿ-d → “\‘seat”

literal: rule; principle; foundation; basis

صدق

ṣ-d-q → “of truth”

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

ميطلبيم

ṭ-l-b → “still seek”

literal: seeker, one who seeks; those who seek

لقاء

l-q-y → “long to behold”

literal: opposite; facing; in front of; towards

اوليائت

w-l-y

literal: friend; lord; guardian

ميجوئيم

j-s-t

literal: to seek; to quest; to look for; to search for

امر

ʾ-m-r → “It is Thine to command” Distinctive

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

حکم

ḥ-k-m → “all sovereignty” Distinctive

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

ان

ʾ-n → “belongeth to Thee”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

عالم

ʿ-l-m → “realm of might” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

زير

z-y-r

literal: because; since; for; inasmuch as

فرمان

f-r-m-ʾ-n → “boweth before Thy behest”

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

چه

ch-h → “or”

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

عدل

ʿ-d-l → “pure justice”

literal: justice; equity

صرف

ṣ-r-f

literal: pure; absolute; to turn away; to expend

است

b-w-d → “is”

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

بل

b-l → “nay”

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

فضل

f-ḍ-l → “very essence of grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

محض

m-ḥ-ḍ

literal: pure; unmixed; absolute; sheer

يک

y-k → “One”

literal: one; a single

تجلّی

j-l-w → “revelation”

literal: effulgence; manifestation; revelation; manifestation, revelation, appearance

اسم

s-m-w → “Name”

literal: name; title; designation

رسم

r-s-m

literal: form; custom; tradition; design; symbol

عصيان

ʿ-ṣ-y → “transgressed”

literal: disobey; transgress; rebel

جهان

j-h-ʾ-n → “world”

literal: world; universe

محو

m-ḥ-w → “blot out”

literal: to efface; to obliterate; to blot out; to cause to disappear

نمايد

n-m-ʾ → “may”

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

نسيم

n-s-m → “breath”

literal: breeze; gentle wind; fragrance

يوم

y-w-m → “Day”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

ظهورت

ẓ-h-r → “Thy Revelation”

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

بخلعت

kh-l-ʿ → “robe”

literal: robe; garment of honor; investiture

تازه

t-ʾ-z

literal: fresh; new; renewed

مزيّن

z-y-n → “adorn”

literal: to adorn; ornament; beauty; adornment; embellishment; decoration

ای

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

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

ناتوانانرا

t-w-ʾ-n → “unto Thy weak creatures”

literal: to be able, can; power, strength

بخش

b-kh-sh → “Vouchsafe”

literal: to grant; to give; to forgive; to bestow

مردگانرا

m-r-d → “them who are as dead”

literal: rebellion; mutiny; revolt

زندگی

z-n-d

literal: prison; jail

عطا

ʿ-ṭ-w

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

فرما

f-r-m → “saith” Distinctive

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

شايد

sh-y-d → “haply”

literal: perhaps, perchance, haply, maybe, possibly; to become; to be; to happen; to occur

بيابند

y-ʾ-b → “they may find”

literal: to find; to obtain; to discover

بدريای

d-r-y-ʾ → “be led”

literal: sea; ocean

اگاهيت

ʾ-g-h → “cognizant” Distinctive

literal: aware; cognizant; informed; apprised; awareness; knowledge; consciousness

راه

r-h → “guide” Distinctive

literal: way; path; road

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

امرت

ʾ-m-r → “Thy Cause” Distinctive

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

مانند

m-ʾ-n

literal: to remain; to stay; to be left

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

لغات

l-gh-w → “divers tongues”

literal: vain; word; vain, idle, useless

مختلفه

kh-l-f

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

عرف

ʿ-r-f → “fragrance of Thy praise”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

ثنای

th-n-y

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy; glorification; praise, commendation, eulogy

متضوّع

ḍ-w-ʿ → “diffuse”

literal: emitting fragrance; diffusing; exuding

شود

sh-w-d

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

همه

h-m-h

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

محبوب

ḥ-b-b → “prized and greatly cherished” Distinctive

literal: love; affection

روان

r-w-ḥ

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

تازی

ʿ-r-b → “Arabic” Distinctive

literal: Arabic; Arab; Bedouin

پارسی

p-ʾ-r-s → “out of the West”

literal: to will; to intend; to desire; to display; to show; to present

محروم

ḥ-r-m → “be deprived”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

قابل

q-b-l → “be unworthy”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

ذکر

dh-k-r → “mention”

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

نه

n-h-y

literal: end; ended; utmost

الفاظ

l-f-ẓ → “words”

literal: word; utterance; expression

معانی

ʿ-n-y → “loving-kindness” Distinctive

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

کلّ

k-l-l → “unto all men”

literal: for us; to us

هدايت

h-d-y → “to guide”

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

توئی

b-ود → “Thou art”

literal: thou, you (singular)

بينا

b-y-n → “utterance” Distinctive

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

نسأل

s-ʾ-l

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

يؤيّدک

ʾ-y-d

literal: to support, assist, strengthen, confirm; to support; to assist; to strengthen; to aid; confirmation; support; strengthening

الانصاف

n-ṣ-f

literal: justice; fairness; equity

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

کان

k-w-n

literal: to do; to make; to perform; to be; was

مستورا

s-t-r

literal: to veil; to conceal; to cover; veil; covering

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

العيون

ʿ-y-n

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence; to appoint; to designate; to specify; to determine

الابصار

b-ṣ-r

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

انّه

ʾ-n-n

literal: I, verily; behold I

هو

h-w

literal: He; He is

العزيز

ʿ-z-z

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

المختار

kh-y-r

literal: west; the western region

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘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 ¶