Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §146

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 146 of 268.

Source (Persian)

در احاديث قبل هم ذکر شده انچه که علماء ديده و شنيده‌اند * نسأل اللّه تبارک و تعالی ان يؤيّدک يا شيخ علی التّمسّک بما نزل من سماء عطاء اللّه ربّ العالمين * علماء بايد با حضرت سلطان متّحد شوند و بانچه سبب حفظ و حراست و نعمت و ثروت عباد است تمسّک نمايند * سلطان عادل عند اللّه اقربست از کلّ * يشهد بذلک من ينطق فی السّجن الاعظم * اللّه لا اله الّا هو الفرد الواحد المقتدر العليم الحکيم *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Moreover, in the traditions of old, references have been made which the divines have seen and heard. We beseech God - blessed and glorified be He - to aid thee, O Shaykh, to lay fast hold on that which hath been sent down from the heaven of the bounty of God, the Lord of the worlds. The divines must needs unite with His Majesty, the Sháh, and cleave unto that which will insure the protection, the security, the welfare and prosperity of men. A just king enjoyeth nearer access unto God than anyone. Unto this testifieth He Who speaketh in His Most Great Prison. God! There is none other God but Him, the One, the Incomparable, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Translation Notes

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

احاديث

ḥ-d-th → “traditions”

literal: events, occurrences, accidents, changes and chances

قبل

q-b-l → “of old”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

هم

h-m-m

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

ذکر

dh-k-r → “references” Distinctive

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

شده

sh-d → “been made”

literal: to become; to be

انچه

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

علماء

ʿ-l-m → “divines”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

ديده

d-y-d → “seen”

literal: to give; to grant; to present; justice; judgment; to see; sight; eye; seen

شنيده‌اند

sh-n-w → “heard”

literal: most ugly; most abominable; most heinous

نسأل

s-ʾ-l → “beseech”

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

تبارک

b-r-k → “blessed”

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful; blest; blessed word

تعالی

ʿ-l-w → “glorified”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

يؤيّدک

ʾ-y-d → “aid”

literal: to support, assist, strengthen, confirm; to support; to assist; to strengthen; to aid; confirmation; support; strengthening

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

التّمسّک

m-s-k → “lay fast hold” Distinctive

literal: musk; to seize; grip

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

نزل

n-z-l → “sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

من

m-n → “from”

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

سماء

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

عطاء

ʿ-ṭ-w → “bounty”

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

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

بايد

b-y-d → “must needs”

literal: by hand; with hands; eternal; perpetual; everlasting

با

b-ʾ-ʾ → “with”

literal: to; with; by

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “His Majesty”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “Sháh”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

متّحد

w-ḥ-d → “unite”

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

شوند

sh-w-d

literal: become; to become; became

بانچه

b-ch-h → “that which”

literal: building, structure, edifice; to build, construct; structure, edifice

سبب

s-b-b → “cause”

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

حفظ

ḥ-f-ẓ → “protection”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

حراست

ḥ-r-s → “protect” Distinctive

literal: to guard, protect, watch over

نعمت

n-ʿ-m → “favor” Distinctive

literal: bliss; bounty; grace; comfort; felicity

ثروت

th-r-w → “riches”

literal: wealth, riches, affluence

عباد

ʿ-b-d → “men”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

است

b-w-d → “is”

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

نمايند

n-m-ʾ → “will” Distinctive

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

عادل

ʿ-d-l → “just”

literal: justice; equity

عند

ʿ-n-d → “unto” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

اقربست

q-r-b → “nearer access”

literal: nearness; near; bring near

از

ʾ-z → “in” Distinctive

literal: from

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

يشهد

sh-h-d → “testifieth”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

بذلک

dh-l-k → “this”

literal: that; this; it; by that

ينطق

n-ṭ-q → “speaketh”

literal: to speak; to utter; to pronounce; to articulate

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

السّجن

s-j-n → “Most Great Prison”

literal: prison, imprisonment; to imprison

الاعظم

ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

اله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “but” Distinctive

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

هو

h-w → “is”

literal: He; He is

الفرد

f-r-d → “One, the Incomparable”

literal: unique; singular; incomparable

المقتدر

q-d-r → “Almighty”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

الحکيم

ḥ-k-m → “All-Wise”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

Gleanings

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Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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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

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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 ¶

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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

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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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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 ¶