Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §133

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 133 of 268.

Source (Persian)

انصف باللّه بایّ برهان استدلّ علماء اليهود و افتوا به علی الرّوح اذ اتی بالحقّ و بایّ حجّة انکر الفريسيّون و علماء الاصنام اذ اتی محمّدٌ رسول اللّه بکتاب حکم بين الحقّ و الباطل بعدل اضاء بنوره ظلمات الارض و انجذبت قلوب العارفين * و انّک استدللت اليوم بما استدلّ به علماء الجهل فی ذاک العصر يشهد بذلک مالک مصر الفضل فی هذا السّجن العظيم * انّک اقتديت بهم بل سبقتهم فی الظّلم و ظننت انّک نصرت الدّين و دفعت عن شريعة اللّه العليم الحکيم * و نفسه الحقّ ينوح من ظلمک النّاموس الاکبر و تصيح شريعة اللّه الّتی بها سرت نسمات العدل علی من فی السّموات و الارضين * هل ظننت انّک ربحت فيما افتيت لا و سلطان الاسماء يشهد بخسرانک من عنده علم کلّ شیء فی لوح حفيظ *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"Judge thou fairly, I adjure thee by God. What proof did the Jewish doctors adduce wherewith to condemn Him Who was the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ), when He came unto them with truth? What could have been the evidence produced by the Pharisees and the idolatrous priests to justify their denial of Muḥammad, the Apostle of God when He came unto them with a Book that judged between truth and falsehood with a justice which turned into light the darkness of the earth, and enraptured the hearts of such as had known Him? Indeed thou hast produced, in this day, the same proofs which the foolish divines advanced in that age. Unto this testifieth He Who is the King of the realm of grace in this great Prison. Thou hast, truly, walked in their ways, nay, hast surpassed them in their cruelty, and hast deemed thyself to be helping the Faith and defending the Law of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. By Him Who is the Truth! Thine iniquity hath made Gabriel to groan, and hath drawn tears from the Law of God, through which the breezes of justice have been wafted over all who are in heaven and on earth. Hast thou fondly imagined that the judgment thou didst pronounce hath profited thee? Nay, by Him Who is the King of all Names! Unto thy loss testifieth He with Whom is the knowledge of all things as recorded in the preserved Tablet.

Translation Notes

انصف

n-ṣ-f → ““Judge thou fairly” Distinctive

literal: justice; fairness; equity

باللّه

ʾ-l-h → “I adjure thee by God”

literal: supplication; earnest entreaty; imploring

بایّ

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

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

برهان

b-r-h → “proof”

literal: proof, evidence, demonstration, argument

استدلّ

d-l-l → “proof” Distinctive

literal: to argue; to demonstrate; proof

علماء

ʿ-l-m → “doctors” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

اليهود

y-h-d → “people of Israel”

literal: Jews; the Jews

افتوا

f-t-y → “pronounce”

literal: slander; calumny; fabrication; false accusation

به

b-h → “unto”

literal: to; with it; with

علی

ʿ-l-w → “over” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الرّوح

r-w-ḥ → “Spirit”

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

اذ

ʾ-dh-dh → “whilst”

literal: when; since

اتی

ʾ-t-y → “come”

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

بالحقّ

ḥ-q-q → “with truth”

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

حجّة

ḥ-j-j → “evidence” Distinctive

literal: path, way; clear path

انکر

n-k-r → “denial”

literal: denial; rejection; repudiation; wrong; evil; to deny; to reject

الفريسيّون

f-r-s → “send”

literal: Persian; Persia

الاصنام

ṣ-n-m → “idols”

literal: idol; statue

محمّدٌ

ḥ-m-d → “thanks”

literal: praise; Muhammad; praised

رسول

r-s-l → “Apostle”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

بکتاب

k-t-b → “with a Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

حکم

ḥ-k-m → “judged” Distinctive

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

بين

b-y-n → “between” Distinctive

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

الباطل

b-ṭ-l → “falsehood”

literal: falsehood, false; vain, null

بعدل

ʿ-d-l → “with a justice”

literal: justice; equity

اضاء

ḍ-w-ʾ → “shineth” Distinctive

literal: to shine; to be illuminated; to light up

بنوره

n-w-r → “light”

literal: light; illumination

ظلمات

ẓ-l-m → “darkness”

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

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

انجذبت

j-dh-b → “enraptured”

literal: to draw, attract, pull; to be enraptured

قلوب

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

العارفين

ʿ-r-f → “such as had known Him”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

انّک

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اليوم

y-w-m → “in this day”

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

بما

m-ʾ

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

الجهل

j-h-l → “foolish”

literal: ignorant; foolish; the ignorant ones

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in a day; during a day; one day after another

ذاک

dh-l-k → “that”

literal: that; this; it; by that

العصر

ʿ-ṣ-r → “age”

literal: age; era; century; period of time

يشهد

sh-h-d → “testifieth”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

مالک

m-l-k → “King”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

مصر

m-ṣ-r → “meads”

literal: matter; affair; thing

الفضل

f-ḍ-l → “grace”

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

السّجن

s-j-n → “Prison”

literal: prison, imprisonment; to imprison

العظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

اقتديت

q-d-y → “walked”

literal: to follow; to imitate; to follow the example of

بهم

h-m → “all”

literal: them (feminine or general); by them; through them

بل

b-l → “nay”

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

سبقتهم

s-b-q → “surpassed”

literal: to precede; to surpass; to excel

ظننت

ẓ-n-n → “idle fancies” Distinctive

literal: conjecture; think; suppositions

نصرت

n-ṣ-r → “helping” Distinctive

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

الدّين

d-y-n → “Faith”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

دفعت

d-f-ʿ → “repel” Distinctive

literal: to push; to repel; to ward off; to avert; to impel

عن

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

شريعة

sh-r-ʿ → “Law”

literal: law; legislation; religious law; canon; ordinance

نفسه

n-f-s → “By Him” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ينوح

n-w-ḥ → “groan”

literal: to wail; to lament; lamentation

من

m-n → “from”

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

النّاموس

n-m-s → “The Most Great Law”

literal: the law, Gabriel; law

الاکبر

k-b-r

literal: great; grand; mighty; large; greatness; majesty; sovereignty; arrogance

تصيح

ṣ-y-ḥ → “cry out” Distinctive

literal: cry; shout; cry out

الّتی

ʾ-l-l

literal: who; which/that; which

بها

b-h-w → “All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

سرت

s-r-y → “wafted”

literal: flow, pass; moved; flowing/permeating

نسمات

n-s-m → “breezes”

literal: breeze; gentle wind; fragrance

السّموات

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

الارضين

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

هل

h-l → “people” Distinctive

literal: interrogative particle; whether; is it that

ربحت

r-b-ḥ → “profited”

literal: profit, gain; profited

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “King”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

بخسرانک

kh-s-r → “loss”

literal: loss; ruin; to suffer loss

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “with Whom” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

شیء

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

لوح

l-w-ḥ → “preserved Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

حفيظ

ḥ-f-ẓ

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

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 ¶