Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §136

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 136 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا ايّها المعرض باللّه لو تری السّدرة بعين الانصاف لتری آثار سيوفک فی افنانها و اغصانها و اوراقها بعد ما خلقک اللّه لعرفانها و خدمتها تفکّر لعلّ تطّلع بظلمک و تکون من التّائبين * أظننت انّا نخاف من ظلمک ؟ فاعلم ثمّ ايقن انّا فی اوّل يوم فيه ارتفع صرير القلم الاعلی بين الارض و السّماء انفقنا ارواحنا و اجسادنا و ابنائنا و اموالنا فی سبيل اللّه العلیّ العظيم و نفتخر بذلک بين اهل الانشاء و الملأ الاعلی يشهد بذلک ما ورد علينا فی هذا الصّراط المستقيم * تاللّه قد ذابت الاکباد و صلبت الاجساد و سفکت الدّماء و الابصار کانت ناظرة الی افق عناية ربّها الشّاهد البصير * کلّما زاد البلاء زاد اهل البهاء فی حبّهم قد شهد بصدقهم ما انزله الرّحمن فی الفرقان بقوله ﴿فَتَمَنُّوا المَوْتَ إِنْ کُنْتُم صَادِقِينَ﴾ * هل الّذی حفظ نفسه خلف الاحجاب خيرٌ ام الّذی انفقها فی سبيل اللّه؟ انصف و لا تکن فی تيه الکذب من الهائمين * قد اخذهم کوثر محبّة الرّحمن علی شأن ما منعتهم مدافع العالم و لا سيوف الامم عن التّوجّه الی بحر عطاء ربّهم المعطی الکريم

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"O thou who hast turned away from God! Wert thou to look with the eye of fairness upon the Divine Lote-Tree, thou wouldst perceive the marks of thy sword on its boughs, and its branches, and its leaves, notwithstanding that God created thee for the purpose of recognizing and of serving it. Reflect, that haply thou mayest recognize thine iniquity and be numbered with such as have repented. Thinkest thou that We fear thy cruelty? Know thou and be well assured that from the first day whereon the voice of the Most Sublime Pen was raised betwixt earth and heaven We offered up Our souls, and Our bodies, and Our sons, and Our possessions in the path of God, the Exalted, the Great, and We glory therein amongst all created things and the Concourse on high. Unto this testify the things which have befallen Us in this straight Path. By God! Our hearts were consumed, and Our bodies were crucified, and Our blood was spilt, while Our eyes were fixed on the horizon of the loving-kindness of their Lord, the Witness, the All-Seeing. The more grievous their woes, the greater waxed the love of the people of Bahá. Unto their sincerity hath borne witness what the All-Merciful hath sent down in the Qur’án. He saith: \‘Wish ye, then, for death, if ye are sincere.' Who is to be preferred, he that hath sheltered himself behind curtains, or he that hath offered himself in the path of God? Judge thou fairly, and be not of them that rove distraught in the wilderness of falsehood. So carried away have they been by the living waters of the love of the Most Merciful, that neither the arms of the world nor the swords of the nations have deterred them from setting their faces towards the ocean of the bounty of their Lord, the Giver, the Generous.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

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

ايّها

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

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

المعرض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “who hast turned away”

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

باللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

literal: supplication; earnest entreaty; imploring

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

تری

r-ʾ-y → “Wert thou to look” Distinctive

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

السّدرة

s-d-r → “upon the Divine Lote-Tree”

literal: lote-tree; divine tree

بعين

ʿ-y-n → “with the eye”

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence; to appoint; to designate; to specify; to determine

الانصاف

n-ṣ-f → “fairness”

literal: justice; fairness; equity

آثار

ʾ-th-r → “signs”

literal: effect; trace; influence; imprint; sign; mark; vestige

سيوفک

s-y-f → “thy sword”

literal: sword

فی

f-y → “on” Distinctive

literal: alas; woe; oh

افنانها

f-n-n → “Afnán” Distinctive

literal: twigs; branches

اغصانها

gh-ṣ-n → “its branches”

literal: branch; twig

اوراقها

w-r-q → “its leaves”

literal: leaf, page, sheet, parchment, document

بعد

b-ʿ-d

literal: after; behind; distance

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

خلقک

kh-l-q → “God created thee” Distinctive

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

لعرفانها

ʿ-r-f → “for the purpose of recognizing”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

خدمتها

kh-d-m → “serve” Distinctive

literal: service; servitude; to serve

تفکّر

f-k-r → “Reflect” Distinctive

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

لعلّ

l-ʿ-l → “that haply”

literal: perhaps; perchance; hopefully

تطّلع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Dayspring” Distinctive

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

بظلمک

ẓ-l-m → “thine iniquity”

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

تکون

k-w-n → “be numbered”

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

من

m-n → “with” Distinctive

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

التّائبين

t-w-b → “such as have repented”

literal: to repent; to turn back; to return

أظننت

ẓ-n-n → “idle fancies” Distinctive

literal: fancy; supposition; vain imagination; idle conjecture

انّا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

نخاف

kh-w-f → “fear”

literal: to fear; to be afraid; fear

فاعلم

ʿ-l-m → “Know thou”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

ثمّ

th-m-m

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ايقن

y-q-n → “certitude” Distinctive

literal: certainty; certitude; be certain

اوّل

ʾ-w-l → “first”

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

يوم

y-w-m → “day”

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

ارتفع

r-f-ʿ → “was raised”

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

صرير

ṣ-r-r → “voice”

literal: creaking sound; shrill voice; grating noise

القلم

q-l-m → “Pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

الاعلی

ʿ-l-w → “the Most Sublime” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

بين

b-y-n → “betwixt” 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

انفقنا

n-f-q → “sacrificed” Distinctive

literal: hypocrisy; sedition; discord; betrayal

ارواحنا

r-w-ḥ → “Our souls”

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

اجسادنا

j-s-d → “Our bodies”

literal: body; corpse; physical form

ابنائنا

b-n-y → “Our sons”

literal: son; foundation; sons

اموالنا

m-w-l → “substance” Distinctive

literal: hope; wish; desire; aspiration

سبيل

s-b-l → “in the path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

العظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “the Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

نفتخر

f-kh-r → “We glory therein”

literal: boast; pride; glory

بذلک

dh-l-k → “this”

literal: that; this; it; by that

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

الانشاء

n-sh-ʾ

literal: creation; bringing into existence; establishment; God willing; if God wishes; please God

الملأ

m-l-ʾ → “the Concourse”

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

يشهد

sh-h-d → “testify”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

ورد

w-r-d → “things which have befallen”

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

علينا

ʿ-l-y → “Us”

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

هذا

h-dh-ʾ

literal: this; that

الصّراط

ṣ-r-ṭ → “straight Path”

literal: path, way, straight path

المستقيم

q-w-m

literal: rising; standing; resurrection; uprising; establishment

قد

q-d → “We have been”

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

ذابت

dh-w-b → “consumed”

literal: to melt; to waste away

الاکباد

k-b-d → “hearts”

literal: liver; soul; essence

صلبت

ṣ-l-b → “crucified”

literal: to crucify; to be firm, steadfast; cross, crucifix

سفکت

s-f-k → “spilt”

literal: to shed; to spill; bloodshed; to shed (blood)

الدّماء

d-m-y → “blood”

literal: breath; moment; instant

الابصار

b-ṣ-r → “eyes”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

ناظرة

n-ẓ-r → “Consider” Distinctive

literal: neck; slaves; those held in bonds

الی

ʾ-l-y → “on” Distinctive

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

افق

ʾ-f-q → “horizon”

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

عناية

ʿ-n-y → “loving-kindness”

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

ربّها

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: love; affection

کلّما

k-l-l → “more” Distinctive

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

زاد

z-y-d → “waxed greater and greater” Distinctive

literal: increase; excess; more; additional; to increase; to grow; to be added

البلاء

b-l-w

literal: trial; affliction; tribulation; testing

البهاء

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

حبّهم

ḥ-b-b → “love”

literal: love; affection

بصدقهم

ṣ-d-q → “Unto their sincerity” Distinctive

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

انزله

n-z-l → “hath sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m → “the All-Merciful”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

الفرقان

f-r-q → “the Qur’án”

literal: faction; sect; group; company

بقوله

q-w-l → “He saith”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

﴿فَتَمَنُّوا

m-n-y → “\‘Wish ye, then”

literal: wish/desire; desire; wish

المَوْتَ

m-w-t → “death”

literal: death; dead; to die

هل

h-l → “people” Distinctive

literal: interrogative particle; whether; is it that

الّذی

l-dh-y → “he that” Distinctive

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

حفظ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “protect”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

نفسه

n-f-s → “himself”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

خلف

kh-l-f → “behind”

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

الاحجاب

ḥ-j-b → “veils”

literal: stone; rock

خيرٌ

kh-y-r → “good”

literal: goodwill; benevolence; kindness; good; goodness; benefit; better; best

ام

ʾ-m-m → “or” Distinctive

literal: mother

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تيه

t-y-h → “wilderness”

literal: wilderness

الکذب

k-dh-b → “falsehood”

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

الهائمين

h-y-m → “them that rove distraught”

literal: the Protector; the Overseer; the Guardian; inspiration; revelation; intuition

اخذهم

ʾ-kh-dh → “laid hold”

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

کوثر

k-w-th-r → “living waters”

literal: abundance; river of paradise; the Kawthar

شأن

sh-ʾ-n → “in such wise”

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

منعتهم

m-n-ʿ → “have deterred”

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

مدافع

d-f-ʿ → “repel” Distinctive

literal: repulsion; repelling; defense

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

التّوجّه

w-j-h → “setting their faces” Distinctive

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

عطاء

ʿ-ṭ-w → “bounty”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

المعطی

ʿ-ṭ-y → “Giver”

literal: bounty; gift; bestowal; grace; bountifulness

الکريم

k-r-m → “Generous”

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field; honor; generosity; nobility

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 ¶