Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §115

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 115 of 268.

Source (Persian)

ای ربّ لا تمنع عبادک عن باب فضلک و لا تطردهم عن بساط قربک * ايّدهم علی کشف سبحات الجلال و خرق حجبات الاوهام و الآمال * انّک انت الغنیّ المتعال لا اله الّا انت العزيز الفضّال *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

We pray to God to graciously assist them that have been led astray to be just and fair-minded, and to make them aware of that whereof they have been heedless. He, in truth, is the All-Bounteous, the Most Generous. Debar not Thy servants, O my Lord, from the door of Thy grace, and drive them not away from the court of Thy presence. Assist them to dispel the mists of idle fancy, and to tear away the veils of vain imaginings and hopes. Thou art, verily, the All-Possessing, the Most High. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the Gracious.

Translation Notes

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تمنع

m-n-ʿ → “Debar”

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

عبادک

ʿ-b-d → “Thy servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

باب

b-w-b → “door”

literal: door; gate; chapter; way; manner

فضلک

f-ḍ-l → “Thy grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

تطردهم

ṭ-r-d → “drive them”

literal: cast out; driven away; expelled

بساط

b-s-ṭ → “court”

literal: carpet; mat; carpet of realm; expanse; table; surface

قربک

q-r-b → “Thy presence”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

ايّدهم

ʾ-y-d → “Assist” Distinctive

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

کشف

k-sh-f → “unveiled” Distinctive

literal: unveiling; disclosure; revelation

سبحات

s-b-ḥ → “Glorified” Distinctive

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted

الجلال

j-l-l

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

خرق

kh-r-q → “rent asunder”

literal: miracle; extraordinary occurrence; to tear; to breach

حجبات

ḥ-j-b → “veils”

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

الاوهام

w-h-m → “idle fancy” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الآمال

ʾ-m-l → “Ponder” Distinctive

literal: hope; expectation; aspiration; desire; wish; to hope; to wish

انّک

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

انت

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

الغنیّ

gh-n-y → “the All-Possessing”

literal: to be independent of; to be in no need of; to dispense with

المتعال

ʿ-l-w → “the Most High”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

اله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “but” Distinctive

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

العزيز

ʿ-z-z → “the Almighty”

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet

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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

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 ¶