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Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §135

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 135 of 268.

Source (Persian)

اعلم انّ العالم من اعترف بظهوری و شرب من بحر علمی و طار فی هواء حبّی و نبذ ما سوائی و اخذ ما نزّل من ملکوت بيانی البديع * انّه بمنزلة البصر للبشر و روح الحيوان لجسد الامکان تعالی الرّحمن الّذی عرّفه و اقامه علی خدمة امره العزيز العظيم * يصلّی عليه الملأ الاعلی و اهل سرداق الکبرياء الّذين شربوا رحيقی المختوم باسمی القویّ القدير * انّک ان تَکُ من اهل هذا المقام الاعلی فأت بآية من لدی اللّه فاطر السّماء * و ان عرفت عجز نفسک خذ اعنّة هواک ثمّ ارجع الی مولاک لعلّ يکفّر عنک سيّئاتک الّتی بها احترقت اوراق السّدرة و صاحت الصّخرة و بکت عيون العارفين * بک انشقّ ستر الرّبوبيّة و غرقت السّفينة و عقرت النّاقة و ناح الرّوح فی مقام رفيع * أتعترض علی الّذی اتاک بما عندک و عند اهل العالم من حجج اللّه و آياته افتح بصرک لتری المظلوم مشرقا من افق ارادة اللّه الملک الحقّ المبين * ثمّ افتح سمع فؤادک لتسمع ما تنطق به السّدرة الّتی ارتفعت بالحقّ من لدی اللّه العزيز الجميل * انّ السّدرة مع ما ورد عليها من ظلمک و اعتساف امثالک تنادی باعلی النّداء و تدعو الکلّ الی سدرة المنتهی و الافق الاعلی * طوبی لنفس رأت الآية الکبری و لاذن سمعت نداءها الاحلی و ويل لکلّ معرض اثيم *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"Know thou that he is truly learned who hath acknowledged My Revelation, and drunk from the Ocean of My knowledge, and soared in the atmosphere of My love, and cast away all else besides Me, and taken firm hold on that which hath been sent down from the Kingdom of My wondrous utterance. He, verily, is even as an eye unto mankind, and as the spirit of life unto the body of all creation. Glorified be the All-Merciful Who hath enlightened him, and caused him to arise and serve His great and mighty Cause. Verily, such a man is blessed by the Concourse on high, and by them who dwell within the Tabernacle of Grandeur, who have quaffed My sealed Wine in My Name, the Omnipotent, the All-Powerful. If thou be of them that occupy such a sublime station, produce then a sign from God, the Creator of the heavens. And shouldst thou recognize thy powerlessness, do thou rein in thy passions, and return unto thy Lord, that perchance He may forgive thee thy sins which have caused the leaves of the Divine Lote-Tree to be burnt up, and the Rock to cry out, and the eyes of men of understanding to weep. Because of thee the Veil of Divinity was rent asunder, and the Ark has foundered, and the She-Camel was hamstrung, and the Spirit (Jesus) groaned in His sublime retreat. Disputest thou with Him Who hath come unto thee with the testimonies of God and His signs which thou possessest and which are in the possession of them that dwell on earth? Open thine eyes that thou mayest behold this Wronged One shining forth above the horizon of the will of God, the Sovereign, the Truth, the Resplendent. Unstop, then, the ear of thine heart that thou mayest hearken unto the speech of the Divine Lote-Tree that hath been raised up in truth by God, the Almighty, the Beneficent. Verily, this Tree, notwithstanding the things that befell it by reason of thy cruelty and of the transgressions of such as are like thee, calleth aloud and summoneth all men unto the Sadratu'l-Muntaha and the Supreme Horizon. Blessed is the soul that hath gazed on the Most Mighty Sign, and the ear that hath heard His most sweet Voice, and woe to whosoever hath turned aside and done wickedly.

Translation Notes

البديع
al-bdíʿ b-d-ʿ

literal: wondrous; wonders

SE rendered اخذ (ikhdh), نزّل (nzzl), ملکوت (mlkút), بيانی (bíání), البديع (al-bdíʿ), بمنزلة (bmnzlh), البصر (al-bṣr), للبشر (llbshr) as “taken, hath been sent down, the Kingdom, My wondrous utterance, even as, an eye, unto mankind”

العظيم
al-ʿẓím ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; great; greatness

SE rendered اقامه (iqámh), خدمة (khdmh), امره (imrh), العزيز (al-ʿzíz), العظيم (al-ʿẓím), يصلّی (yṣllí), عليه (ʿlíh), الملأ (al-mlʾ), الاعلی (al-áʿlí) as “caused him to arise, serve, His great and mighty Cause, blessed, Concourse, on high”

great 42% most 20% mighty 13% grievous 11% immense 5% dire 2% sublime 2% glorious 2% infinite 2% azim 1%
المختوم
al-mkhtúm kh-t-m

literal: seal; sealed

SE rendered الکبرياء (al-kbríáʾ), الّذين (adh-dhín), شربوا (shrbúá), رحيقی (rḥíqí), المختوم (al-mkhtúm), باسمی (básmí), القویّ (al-qúyy), القدير (al-qdír) as “of Grandeur, who, quaffed, sealed Wine, in My Name, Omnipotent, All-Powerful”

sealed 77% seal 8% sealed-up 8% closed 8%
لدی
ldí l-d-y

literal: at; with; near

SE rendered المقام (al-mqám), الاعلی (al-áʿlí), فأت (fʾat), بآية (báyh), لدی (ldí), اللّه (al-lh), فاطر (fáṭr), السّماء (as-smáʾ), عرفت (ʿrft) as “sublime station, produce, a sign, God, the Creator, the heavens, recognize”

before 29% when 24% sight 18% face 12% through 6% after 6% beside 6%
اعنّة
iʿnnh ʿ-n-n → “rein”

literal: rein

1 occurrence in corpus

عقرت

literal: hamstring; hamstring, wound

2 occurrences in corpus

النّاقة

literal: she-camel

2 occurrences in corpus

المنتهی
al-mnthí n-h-y

literal: end; utmost; ended

SE rendered تدعو (tdʿú), الکلّ (al-kll), سدرة (sdrh), المنتهی (al-mnthí), الافق (al-áfq), الاعلی (al-áʿlí), طوبی (ṭúbí), لنفس (lnfs) as “summoneth, all men, Sadratu'l-Muntaha, Supreme Horizon, Blessed, the soul”

الاحلی
al-áḥlí ḥ-l-w

literal: sweetness; sweetest; sweet

SE rendered لاذن (ládhn), سمعت (smʿt), نداءها (ndáʾhá), الاحلی (al-áḥlí), ويل (wíl), لکلّ (lkll), معرض (mʿrḍ), اثيم (ithím) as “the ear, heard, most sweet Voice, woe, to, turned aside, done wickedly”

Source: Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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