Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §119

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 119 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و قبل از ايشان جناب کاظم و من معه و در آخر حضرت اشرف کلّ شربت شهادت را بکمال شوق و اشتياق نوشيدند و برفيق اعلی شتافتند * و همچنين در عهد سردار عزيز خان جناب عارف باللّه ميرزا مصطفی و من معه را اخذ نمودند و برفيق اعلی و افق ابهی فرستادند * باری در هر بلدی اثار ظلم ظاهر و مشهود ظلميکه شبه و مثل نداشته مع ذلک نفسی بر دفاع قيام ننمود * در حضرت بديع که حامل لوح حضرت سلطان بوده تفکّر نما که چگونه جان داد * ان فارس مضمار انقطاع اکليل ثمين حيات را نثار دوست يکتا نمود *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Before them one named Káẓim and they who were with him, and after them, his honor Ashraf, all quaffed the draught of martyrdom with the utmost fervor and longing, and hastened unto the Supreme Companion. In like manner, at the time of Sardár ‘Azíz Khán, that godly man, Mírzá Mustafa, and his fellow-martyrs, were arrested, and despatched unto the Supreme Friend in the All-Glorious Horizon. Briefly, in every city the evidences of a tyranny, beyond like or equal, were unmistakably clear and manifest, and yet none arose in self-defence! Call thou to mind his honor Badi, who was the bearer of the Tablet to His Majesty the Sháh, and reflect how he laid down his life. That knight, who spurred on his charger in the arena of renunciation, threw down the precious crown of life for the sake of Him Who is the Incomparable Friend.

Translation Notes

قبل

q-b-l → “Before”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

ايشان

ʾ-y-sh → “Prophets”

literal: that; it (object pronoun with suffix)

جناب

j-n-b → “thee”

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

من

m-n → “they who were with” Distinctive

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

معه

m-ʿ → “notwithstanding”

literal: معه = مع + ه (with him), preposition, not from root ع-م-م

در

d-r-r → “at” Distinctive

literal: in; in, at; radiant

آخر

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “his honor” Distinctive

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

اشرف

sh-r-f → “honored” Distinctive

literal: honor; nobility; eminence; to honor

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

شربت

sh-r-b → “quaffed the draught”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

شهادت

sh-h-d → “of martyrdom”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

بکمال

k-m-l → “with the utmost”

literal: perfection; completeness; fully; with full; in complete; to complete, perfect, fulfill

شوق

sh-w-q → “longing”

literal: to encourage; to incite; yearning; enthusiasm

نوشيدند

n-w-sh

literal: drank; quaffed; to drink

برفيق

r-f-q → “unto the Supreme”

literal: companion; friend; associate; the Exalted Companion

اعلی

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

شتافتند

sh-t-f → “responded”

literal: to hasten; to rush

همچنين

ch-n-n → “In like manner”

literal: always; ever; forever; at all times; constantly

عهد

ʿ-h-d → “Covenant”

literal: covenant; testament; promise; command

سردار

s-r-d → “tabernacle” Distinctive

literal: commander, leader, chief, general

عزيز

ʿ-z-z → “glory” Distinctive

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

خان

kh-w-n → “disloyalty” Distinctive

literal: blood; betray; betrayal, disloyalty

عارف

ʿ-r-f

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

باللّه

ʾ-l-h

literal: supplication; earnest entreaty; imploring

مصطفی

ṣ-f-w → “Thy chosen ones”

literal: attribute; quality; characteristic

اخذ

ʾ-kh-dh → “arrested”

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

نمودند

n-m-ود → “hath” Distinctive

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

افق

ʾ-f-q → “All-Glorious Horizon”

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

ابهی

b-h-w

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

فرستادند

f-r-s → “send” Distinctive

literal: Persian; Persia

باری

b-r-y → “Briefly”

literal: well; cistern; pit

هر

h-r → “every”

literal: whatever; all that; whatever thing

بلدی

b-l-d → “city”

literal: city; land; country

اثار

ʾ-th-r → “signs”

literal: effect; trace; influence; imprint; sign; mark; vestige

ظلم

ẓ-l-m → “of a tyranny”

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

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “clear and manifest”

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

شبه

sh-b-h

literal: doubt; uncertainty; suspicion; resemblance; semblance

مثل

m-th-l

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

نداشته

d-ʾ-sh-t

literal: to have; to possess; to hold

ذلک

dh-l-k

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

نفسی

n-f-s → “none” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

بر

b-r-r → “in” Distinctive

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

دفاع

d-f-ʿ → “repel”

literal: repulsion; repelling; defense

قيام

q-w-m → “arose”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

ننمود

n-m-ʾ

literal: is not; not to be; does not exist; negation, denial, banishment; to negate, deny, banish; contradiction; opposition; contrariety

بديع

b-d-ʿ → “wondrous”

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

حامل

ḥ-m-l → “bearer”

literal: to bear; to endure; to carry; to tolerate

لوح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “Sháh”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

بوده

b-w-d → “was”

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

تفکّر

f-k-r → “reflect” Distinctive

literal: thoughts; ideas; fancies; opinions; to think; to reflect; to contemplate

چگونه

ch-g-n → “how”

literal: how; in what manner

جان

j-ʾ-n → “his life” Distinctive

literal: soul; life; spirit; self

داد

d-ʾ-d → “of equity”

literal: to give; to grant; to present; justice; judgment; to see; sight; eye; seen

ان

ʾ-n → “That knight”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

مضمار

ḍ-m-r → “arena”

literal: racing ground; course; arena

انقطاع

q-ṭ-ʿ → “of renunciation”

literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain

اکليل

k-l-l → “all” Distinctive

literal: for us; to us

ثمين

th-m-n

literal: eighty; precious/valuable; eighth

حيات

ḥ-y-y → “of life”

literal: life; vitality; living

نثار

n-th-r → “threw down”

literal: scattering; sacrifice; offering; to scatter or lay down

دوست

d-w-s-t → “Incomparable Friend”

literal: friend; beloved; to befriend

يکتا

y-k-t

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

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 ¶