Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §150

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 150 of 268.

Source (Persian)

حقّ اگاه و معشر امناء گواه که اين مظلوم لا زال تحت خطر عظيم بوده و لو لا البلايا فی سبيل اللّه ما لذّ لی بقائی و ما نفعنی حياتی * و لا يخفی علی اهل البصر و النّاظرين الی المنظر الاکبر بانّی فی اکثر ايّامی کنت کعبد جالس تحت سيف علّق بخيط واحد و لا يدری متی ينزل أينزل فی الحين او بعد حين و فی کلّ ذلک نشکر اللّه ربّ العالمين *و لسان سرّ در ليالی و ايّام باين مناجات ناطق * سبحانک يا الهی لو لا البلايا فی سبيلک من اين يظهر مقام عاشقيک و لو لا الرّزايا فی حبّک بایّ شیء يثبت شان مشتاقيک * و عزّتک انيس محبّيک دموع عيونهم و مؤنس مريديک زفرات قلوبهم و غذاء قاصديک قطعات اکبادهم * و ما الذّ سمّ الرّدی فی سبيلک و ما اعزّ سهام الاعداء لاعلاء کلمتک * يا الهی و سيّدی اشربنی فی امرک ما اردته و انزل عَلَیَّ فی حبّک ما قدّرته * و عزّتک لا اريد الّا ما تريد و لا احبّ الّا ما انت تحبّ * توکّلت عليک فی کلّ الاحوال انّک انت الغنیّ المتعال * اسألک يا الهی ان تظهر لنصرة هذا الظّهور من کان قابلا لاسمک و سلطانک ليذکرک بين خلقک و يرفع اعلام نصرک فی مملکتک و يزيّنهم باخلاقک و اوامرک لا اله الّا انت المهيمن القيّوم *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

The one true God well knoweth, and all the company of His trusted ones testify, that this Wronged One hath, at all times, been faced with dire peril. But for the tribulations that have touched Me in the path of God, life would have held no sweetness for Me, and My existence would have profited Me nothing. For them who are endued with discernment, and whose eyes are fixed upon the Sublime Vision, it is no secret that I have been, most of the days of My life, even as a slave, sitting under a sword hanging on a thread, knowing not whether it would fall soon or late upon him. And yet, notwithstanding all this We render thanks unto God, the Lord of the worlds. Mine inner tongue reciteth, in the day-time and in the night-season, this prayer: "Glory to Thee, O my God! But for the tribulations which are sustained in Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be recognized; and were it not for the trials which are borne for love of Thee, how could the station of such as yearn for Thee be revealed? Thy might beareth Me witness! The companions of all who adore Thee are the tears they shed, and the comforters of such as seek Thee are the groans they utter, and the food of them who haste to meet Thee is the fragments of their broken hearts. How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy Word! Let me quaff in Thy Cause, O my God and my Master, whatsoever Thou didst desire, and send down upon me in Thy love all Thou didst ordain. By Thy glory! I wish only what Thou wishest, and cherish what Thou cherishest. In Thee have I, at all times, placed My whole trust and confidence. Thou art verily the All-Possessing, the Most High. Raise up, I implore Thee, O my God, as helpers to this Revelation such as shall be counted worthy of Thy Name and of Thy sovereignty, that they may remember Thee among Thy creatures, and hoist the ensigns of Thy victory in Thy land, and adorn them with Thy virtues and Thy commandments. No God is there but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting."

Translation Notes

حقّ

ḥ-q-q → “one true God”

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

اگاه

ʾ-g-h → “cognizant”

literal: aware; cognizant; informed; apprised; awareness; knowledge; consciousness

معشر

ʿ-sh-r → “associated” Distinctive

literal: association; companionship; social interaction; عشرين (twenty) is from numeral root ع-ش-ر, distinct from ‘association’ meaning

امناء

ʾ-m-n → “trustworthy”

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure; trust; trustworthiness; covenant; deposit; believer, faithful

گواه

sh-h-d → “testify”

literal: witness; to testify; presence

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

مظلوم

ẓ-l-m → “Wronged One”

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

لا

l-ʾ → “for”

literal: no; not; negation particle

زال

z-w-l → “at all times”

literal: to pass away; to vanish; to disappear; to cease

تحت

t-ḥ-t → “with” Distinctive

literal: under; under, beneath; beneath

خطر

kh-ṭ-r → “momentous” Distinctive

literal: danger; peril; risk; to cross the mind

عظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

بوده

b-w-d → “been faced” Distinctive

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

لو

l-w → “But” Distinctive

literal: if; would that; O that

البلايا

b-l-w → “the tribulations”

literal: affliction; trial; calamity; trial, tribulation, affliction, calamity; yes; indeed; verily

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

سبيل

s-b-l → “path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “of God”

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

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

لذّ

l-dh-dh → “held no sweetness”

literal: therefore; for this reason; hence; so

لی

ʿ-l-y → “upon”

literal: for us; to us

بقائی

b-q-y → “life would have”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal; permanence; duration; continuance

نفعنی

n-f-ʿ → “profited Me”

literal: benefits; profits; advantages

حياتی

ḥ-y-y → “life” Distinctive

literal: life; vitality; living

يخفی

kh-f-y

literal: hiddenness, concealment, obscurity

علی

ʿ-l-w → “upon the” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

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

البصر

b-ṣ-r → “with discernment”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

النّاظرين

n-ẓ-r → “whose eyes are fixed”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

الاکبر

k-b-r

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

بانّی

ʾ-n-n → “that I”

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

اکثر

k-th-r → “most of”

literal: majority; multitude; abundance; multiplicity

ايّامی

y-w-m → “days of My”

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

کنت

k-w-n → “have been” Distinctive

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

کعبد

ʿ-b-d → “servants” Distinctive

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

جالس

j-l-s → “sitting”

literal: council; assembly; gathering; session

سيف

s-y-f → “sword”

literal: sword

علّق

ʿ-l-q → “hanging”

literal: attachment; connection; relationship

بخيط

kh-y-ṭ → “on a thread”

literal: thread; thread, rope

واحد

w-ḥ-d

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

يدری

d-r-y

literal: know; in; sea

ينزل

n-z-l → “sent down” Distinctive

literal: to descend, to be revealed

الحين

ḥ-y-n → “moment”

literal: time; moment; while; season

او

h-w-w → “or” Distinctive

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

بعد

b-ʿ-d

literal: after; behind; distance

کلّ

k-l-l → “all this”

literal: all; every; all, every

ذلک

dh-l-k

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

نشکر

sh-k-r → “render thanks”

literal: thankfulness, gratitude; to give thanks, be grateful; manifest; evident; apparent; clear

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: love; affection

العالمين

ʿ-l-m → “of the worlds”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

لسان

l-s-n → “Mine inner tongue”

literal: tongue; language

سرّ

s-r-r

literal: throne; couch; seat of authority

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ليالی

l-ʾ-l → “pearls”

literal: night; darkness

باين

b-y-n

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

مناجات

n-j-w → “this prayer”

literal: saved; rescued; surviving; supplication; intimate communion; private prayer; invocation

ناطق

n-ṭ-q → “spoken” Distinctive

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

سبحانک

s-b-ḥ → ““Glory to Thee” Distinctive

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

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

من

m-n → “from”

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

يظهر

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

مقام

q-w-m → “station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

عاشقيک

ʿ-sh-q → “Thy true lovers”

literal: love, passion, ardor

الرّزايا

r-z-y → “the trials”

literal: calamity; disaster; affliction; misfortune; mystery; secret; hidden thing

حبّک

ḥ-b-b → “love of Thee”

literal: lover; one who loves

بایّ

ʾ-y-y → “how” Distinctive

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

شیء

sh-y-ʾ

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

يثبت

th-b-t

literal: firm; steadfast; established; fixed

شان

sh-ʾ-n → “that they”

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

مشتاقيک

sh-w-q → “longing” Distinctive

literal: longing; yearning; desirous

عزّتک

ʿ-z-z → “Thy might”

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

انيس

ʾ-n-s → “companions”

literal: familiar; intimate; companionship; to be acquainted with; companion; intimate friend; to be intimate with; to keep company; to console

دموع

d-m-ʿ → “tears they shed”

literal: tears

عيونهم

ʿ-y-n

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

مريديک

r-y-d → “such as seek Thee”

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

زفرات

z-f-r → “sighs”

literal: sigh; sob; lamentation

قلوبهم

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

غذاء

gh-dh-w → “food”

literal: food; nourishment; sustenance

قاصديک

q-ṣ-d → “purpose” Distinctive

literal: intention; purpose; aim; goal; to seek; to direct oneself

قطعات

q-ṭ-ʿ → “detachment” Distinctive

literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain

اکبادهم

k-b-d

literal: liver; soul; essence

سمّ

s-m-m → “bitterness”

literal: name; title; designation

الرّدی

r-d-y → “mantle” Distinctive

literal: will; intention; to will; to intend; to wish

سهام

s-h-m → “shafts”

literal: arrow; dart; shaft; portion; share

الاعداء

ʿ-d-w → “of Thine enemies”

literal: when; if; whenever; at that time

کلمتک

k-l-m → “Thy Word”

literal: words; utterances; locutions

سيّدی

s-y-d → “my Master”

literal: master; lord; chief; my master

اشربنی

sh-r-b → “quaff”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

امرک

ʾ-m-r → “Thy Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

قدّرته

q-d-r → “didst ordain”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

literal: end; hereafter; other

انت

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

توکّلت

w-k-l → “placed My whole trust”

literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority; to rely; to trust; to place trust in

الاحوال

ḥ-w-l

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

انّک

ʾ-n-n → “Thou art verily”

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

الغنیّ

gh-n-y → “the All-Possessing”

literal: to be independent of; to be in no need of; to dispense with; rich; wealthy; needless

اسألک

s-ʾ-l → “I implore Thee” Distinctive

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

ان

ʾ-n → “as” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this Revelation”

literal: this; that

قابلا

q-b-l → “before” Distinctive

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

لاسمک

s-m-w → “Thy Name”

literal: heaven; sky

سلطانک

s-l-ṭ → “of Thy sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

ليذکرک

dh-k-r → “remember Thee”

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

بين

b-y-n → “among”

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

خلقک

kh-l-q → “Thy creatures”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

يرفع

r-f-ʿ → “raised” Distinctive

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

نصرک

n-ṣ-r → “Thy victory”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

مملکتک

m-l-k → “Thy land”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

يزيّنهم

z-y-n → “adorn them”

literal: to adorn; ornament; beauty; adornment; embellishment; decoration

اله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

المهيمن

h-m-n → “the Help in Peril”

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

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 ¶