Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §126

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 126 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ وارد شد بر اين مظلوم انچه که شبه و مثل نداشته و کلّ را بکمال تسليم و رضا لاجل تهذيب نفوس و ارتفاع کلمة اللّه حمل نموديم * در ايّاميکه در سجن ارض ميم بوديم ما را يک يوم بدست علما دادند ديگر معلومست که چه وارد شد * و اگر وقتی ان جناب در انبار حضرت سلطان وارد شوند از نائب و رئيس ان محلّ بطلبند که ان دو زنجير را که يکی بقره کهر و يکی بسلاسل معروفست بنمايند * قسم بنيّر عدل که چهار شهر اين مظلوم در يکی از اين دو معذّب و مغلول * و حزنی ما يعقوبُ بثّ أَقَلُّهُ * و کلّ بلا ايّوب بعض بليّتی

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! That which hath touched this Wronged One is beyond compare or equal. We have borne it all with the utmost willingness and resignation, so that the souls of men may be edified, and the Word of God be exalted. While confined in the prison of the Land of Mim (Mázindarán) We were one day delivered into the hands of the divines. Thou canst well imagine what befell Us. Shouldst thou at sometime happen to visit the dungeon of His Majesty the Sháh, ask the director and chief jailer to show thee those two chains, one of which is known as Qara-Guhar, and the other as Salasil. I swear by the Day-Star of Justice that for four months this Wronged One was tormented and chained by one or the other of them. "My grief exceedeth all the woes to which Jacob gave vent, and all the afflictions of Job are but a part of My sorrows!"

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

وارد

w-r-d → “touched” Distinctive

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

شد

sh-d → “hath” Distinctive

literal: to become; to be

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

مظلوم

ẓ-l-m → “Wronged One”

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

انچه

ʾ-n → “That which”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

شبه

sh-b-h → “doubt” Distinctive

literal: doubt; uncertainty; suspicion; resemblance; semblance

مثل

m-th-l → “equal” Distinctive

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

نداشته

d-ʾ-sh-t → “have no”

literal: to have; to possess; to hold

کلّ

k-l-l → “it all”

literal: for us; to us

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

بکمال

k-m-l → “utmost”

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

تسليم

s-l-m → “resignation”

literal: resignation; submission; surrender; submissiveness

رضا

r-ḍ-y → “Thy pleasure” Distinctive

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

لاجل

ʾ-j-l → “so that”

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

تهذيب

h-dh-b → “edify”

literal: refinement; polishing; edification; edifying; cultivation

نفوس

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ارتفاع

r-f-ʿ → “exalted”

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

کلمة

k-l-m → “Word”

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

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

حمل

ḥ-m-l → “borne”

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

نموديم

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

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

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ايّاميکه

y-w-m → “Day”

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

سجن

s-j-n → “prison”

literal: prison, imprisonment; to imprison

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “Land”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

ميم

m-y-m → “Mim”

literal: the letter M; Egypt; water (as homophone)

بوديم

b-w-d → “We were”

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

يک

y-k → “one”

literal: one; a single

بدست

d-s-t → “into the hands”

literal: hand; control, power, authority

علما

ʿ-l-m → “divines” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

دادند

d-ʾ-d → “of equity” Distinctive

literal: to give; to grant; to issue

ديگر

d-g-r

literal: home; place; land; abode

چه

ch-h → “For”

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

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

وقتی

w-q-t → “at sometime”

literal: time; occasion; moment; period

جناب

j-n-b → “thee”

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

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “His Majesty”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “Sháh”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

شوند

sh-w-d

literal: become; to become; became

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

نائب

n-w-b → “repent” Distinctive

literal: deputy; representative; vicegerent; substitute

رئيس

r-ʾ-s → “leadership”

literal: chief; leader; head; president; beginning

محلّ

ḥ-l-l

literal: place; location; spot

بطلبند

ṭ-l-b → “ask”

literal: seeker, one who seeks; those who seek

دو

d-w → “two”

literal: two; run; running

زنجير

z-n-j-r → “chains”

literal: chain

يکی

w-ḥ-d → “one”

literal: one; any; each

بسلاسل

s-l-s-l → “chains”

literal: chain; links; succession

معروفست

ʿ-r-f → “is known as”

literal: knowledge; know; knower

قسم

q-s-m → “swear”

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem

بنيّر

n-y-r → “Day-Star”

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

عدل

ʿ-d-l → “Justice”

literal: justice; equity

چهار

ch-h-r → “noon-tide” Distinctive

literal: four; fourth

شهر

sh-h-r → “months”

literal: city; month; fame, renown

معذّب

ʿ-dh-b → “tormented”

literal: punishment; torment; tormented

مغلول

gh-l-l → “chained”

literal: one who envies; envious; malicious

حزنی

ḥ-z-n → ““My grief”

literal: sorrow; grief; sadness; anguish

يعقوبُ

ʿ-q-b → “retribution”

literal: behind; heels; height

بثّ

b-th-th → “gave vent”

literal: lamentation; grief/distress; grief

أَقَلُّهُ

q-l-l → “less”

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

بلا

b-l-w → “tribulations” Distinctive

literal: no; not; negation particle

بعض

b-ʿ-ḍ → “some”

literal: part; some; portion

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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 ¶