Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §13

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 13 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا سلطان انّی کنت کاحد من العباد و راقدا علی المهاد مرّت عليّ نسائم السّبحان و علّمنی علم ما کان ليس هذا من عندی بل من لدن عزيز عليم * و امرنی بالنّداء بين الارض و السّماء بذلک ورد عَلَیَّ ما ذرفت به دموع العارفين * ما قرأت ما عند النّاس من العلوم و ما دخلت المدارس فاسأل المدينة الّتی کنت فيها لتوقن بانّی لست من الکاذبين * هذه ورقة حرّکتها ارياح مشيّة ربّک العزيز الحميد هل لها استقرار عند هبوب ارياح عاصفات لا و مالک الاسماء و الصّفات بل تحرّکها کيف تريد * ليس للعدم وجود تلقاء القدم قد جاء امره المبرم و انطقنی بذکره بين العالمين * انّی لم اکن الّا کالميّت تلقاء امره قلّبتنی يد ارادة ربّک الرّحمن الرّحيم *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding to flow. The learning current amongst men I studied not; their schools I entered not. Ask of the city wherein I dwelt, that thou mayest be well assured that I am not of them who speak falsely. This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised, have stirred. Can it be still when the tempestuous winds are blowing? Nay, by Him Who is the Lord of all Names and Attributes! They move it as they list. The evanescent is as nothing before Him Who is the Ever-Abiding. His all-compelling summons hath reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst all people. I was indeed as one dead when His behest was uttered. The hand of the will of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful, transformed Me."

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “King”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

انّی

ʾ-n-n → “I”

literal: I, verily; behold I

کنت

k-w-n → “was”

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

کاحد

w-ḥ-d → “but”

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

من

m-n → “a”

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

العباد

ʿ-b-d → “man” Distinctive

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

راقدا

r-q-d → “asleep”

literal: to sleep; to slumber; sleeping

علی

ʿ-l-w → “exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

المهاد

m-h-d → “couch”

literal: preparation; smoothing; paving the way; to prepare

مرّت

m-r-r → “At one time” Distinctive

literal: to pass; to pass by; to go

نسائم

n-s-m → “breezes”

literal: breeze; gentle wind; fragrance

السّبحان

s-b-ḥ → “the All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted

علّمنی

ʿ-l-m → “taught Me”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

ما

m-ʾ → “of” Distinctive

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

ليس

l-y-s → “is not”

literal: is not; to be not

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “This thing”

literal: this; that

عندی

ʿ-n-d → “Me”

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

بل

b-l → “but”

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

لدن

l-d-n → “by”

literal: from; on the part of; from before; near

عزيز

ʿ-z-z → “Almighty”

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

امرنی

ʾ-m-r → “Cause” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

بالنّداء

n-d-y → “lift up My voice”

literal: call; voice; cry; summons; to call; to proclaim; to cry out; to summon

بين

b-y-n → “between” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

السّماء

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

بذلک

dh-l-k → “for this there”

literal: that; this; it; by that

ورد

w-r-d → “befell”

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

ذرفت

dh-r-f → “to flow”

literal: to shed, to pour forth (tears, etc.)

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

دموع

d-m-ʿ → “tears of every man”

literal: tears

العارفين

ʿ-r-f → “understanding”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

قرأت

q-r-ʾ → “Read thou” Distinctive

literal: Quran; read; recitation

النّاس

n-ʾ-s

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

دخلت

d-kh-l → “entered”

literal: to enter; to admit; to bring in

المدارس

d-r-s → “schools”

literal: school; place of study

فاسأل

s-ʾ-l → “Ask”

literal: ask; ask/request; ask/beseech

المدينة

m-d-n → “the city”

literal: city; town

الّتی

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

فيها

f-y

literal: in it; in them

لتوقن

y-q-n → “thou mayest be”

literal: to be certain; to know with certainty

بانّی

ʾ-n-n → “that I am”

literal: I, verily; behold I

الکاذبين

k-dh-b → “falsehood” Distinctive

literal: denial; belying; falsification; rejection; liar; lying; false

ورقة

w-r-q → “leaf”

literal: leaf, page, sheet, parchment, document

حرّکتها

ḥ-r-k → “stirred”

literal: movement; motion; trembling; activity; حراک is unusual; possible typo or dialectal. Standard Arabic would be حرك or اهتزاز for ‘trembling’

ارياح

r-w-ḥ → “winds”

literal: to throw; to cast; Aramaic/Persian proper name reference; to throw, cast, shoot; to pelt; to shoot

مشيّة

sh-y-ʾ → “will”

literal: way; manner; gait; to walk; to go; to proceed

ربّک

r-b-b → “thy Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

الحميد

ḥ-m-d → “All-Praised”

literal: praise; to praise

هل

h-l → “people” Distinctive

literal: interrogative particle; whether; is it that

لها

l-h-w

literal: to it; towards it; unto it

استقرار

q-r-r → “still”

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

هبوب

h-b-b → “blowing”

literal: blowing; onset; rushing of wind

عاصفات

ʿ-ṣ-f → “tempestuous”

literal: wind-storm; tempest; violent wind

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

مالک

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

الصّفات

w-ṣ-f → “Attributes”

literal: attribute; quality; characteristic

کيف

k-y-f → “how”

literal: how; in what manner

تريد

r-y-d → “desire” Distinctive

literal: to will; to intend; to wish; will, volition, intention, desire

للعدم

ʿ-d-m → “evanescent”

literal: nonexistent; void; nullified

وجود

w-j-d

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

تلقاء

l-q-y → “before”

literal: opposite; facing; in front of; towards

القدم

q-d-m → “Ancient of Days”

literal: ancientness; antiquity; foot; to come forward

قد

q-d

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

جاء

j-y-ʾ → “hath reached”

literal: to come; to arrive; to happen

المبرم

b-r-m

literal: to bind firmly; compelling, irresistible, immovable

انطقنی

n-ṭ-q → “caused Me to speak”

literal: speak; speaking; spoke

بذکره

dh-k-r → “His praise”

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

لم

l-y-s

literal: is not; to be not

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

کالميّت

m-w-t → “as one dead”

literal: death; dead; to die

قلّبتنی

q-l-b → “hearts” Distinctive

literal: heart; hearts; turn

يد

y-d-y → “hand”

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

ارادة

r-w-d → “will”

literal: to will; to intend; to wish; will, volition, intention, desire

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m → “Compassionate”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

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 ¶