Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §12

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 12 of 268.

Source (Persian)

استدعا انکه در انچه ظاهر شده تفکّر نمايند و بعدل و انصاف تکلّم فرمايند شايد تجلّيات انوار افتاب صدق و صفا پرتو افکند و از تاريکی نادانی نجات بخشد و عالم را بنور دانائی روشن فرمايد * اين مظلوم مدارس نرفته مباحث نديده لعمری انّی ما اظهرت نفسی بل اللّه اظهرنی کيف اراد * در لوح حضرت سلطان ايّده اللّه تبارک و تعالی اين کلمات از لسان مظلوم جاری *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

We beseech God to aid thee to be just and fair-minded, and to acquaint thee with the things that were hidden from the eyes of men. He, in truth, is the Mighty, the Unconstrained. We ask thee to reflect upon that which hath been revealed, and to be fair and just in thy speech, that perchance the splendors of the day-star of truthfulness and sincerity may shine forth, and may deliver thee from the darkness of ignorance, and illumine the world with the light of knowledge. This Wronged One hath frequented no school, neither hath He attended the controversies of the learned. By My life! Not of Mine own volition have I revealed Myself, but God, of His own choosing, hath manifested Me. In the Tablet, addressed to His Majesty the Sháh - may God, blessed and glorified be He, assist him - these words have streamed from the tongue of this Wronged One:

Translation Notes

استدعا

d-ʿ-w → “beseech”

literal: call, invocation, summons; to call, invite, summon

انکه

ʾ-n → “to” Distinctive

literal: that; indeed; that, to

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “been revealed”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

شده

sh-d → “was”

literal: to become; to be

تفکّر

f-k-r → “reflect” Distinctive

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

نمايند

n-m-ʾ → “may”

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

بعدل

ʿ-d-l → “just”

literal: justice; equity

انصاف

n-ṣ-f → “fair”

literal: justice; fairness; equity

تکلّم

k-l-m → “speech” Distinctive

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

فرمايند

f-r-m → “He” Distinctive

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

شايد

sh-y-d → “perchance”

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

تجلّيات

j-l-w

literal: effulgence; manifestation; revelation

انوار

n-w-r → “splendors”

literal: light; illumination

افتاب

ʾ-f-t-ʾ-b → “Day-Star”

literal: horizon, direction, region; horizon; sun

صدق

ṣ-d-q → “truthfulness”

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

صفا

ṣ-f-w → “sincerity”

literal: pure one; chosen one; selected one; elite; purity; clarity; sincerity; pure; sincere

پرتو

p-r-t → “radiance”

literal: ray; radiance; reflection; beam of light

افکند

f-k-n

literal: to cast, throw, scatter; to shed (light)

از

ʾ-z → “from the eyes of men”

literal: from

تاريکی

ẓ-l-m → “darkness” Distinctive

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

نادانی

d-ʾ-n → “ignorance”

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

نجات

n-j-w → “deliver”

literal: you (singular/plural pronoun)

بخشد

b-kh-sh

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

عالم

ʿ-l-m → “world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

روشن

r-w-sh → “illumined”

literal: light; illumination; brilliance; clarity

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

مدارس

d-r-s → “schools”

literal: school; place of study

نرفته

r-f-t

literal: to go; to pass; to have gone

مباحث

b-ḥ-th → “attended the controversies”

literal: dissertations; discussions; inquiries

نديده

d-y-d

literal: Persian verb دیدن (to see), not Arabic د-ي-د

لعمری

ʿ-m-r → “By My life”

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

انّی

ʾ-n-n → “thee”

literal: I, verily; behold I

ما

m-ʾ

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

نفسی

n-f-s → “Myself”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

بل

b-l → “but”

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

کيف

k-y-f

literal: how; in what manner

اراد

r-y-d

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

لوح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “His Majesty”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “Sháh”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

ايّده

ʾ-y-d → “assist”

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

تبارک

b-r-k → “blessed”

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

تعالی

ʿ-l-w → “glorified”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

کلمات

k-l-m

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

لسان

l-s-n → “tongue”

literal: tongue; language

جاری

j-r-y → “streamed”

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

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 ¶