Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §157

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 157 of 268.

Source (Persian)

هل السّلطان اطّلع و غضّ الطّرف عن فعلک ام اخذه الرّعب بما عوت شرذمة من الذّئاب الّذين نبذوا صراط اللّه وراءهم و اخذوا سبيلک من دون بيّنة و لا کتاب ؟ انّا سمعنا بانّ ممالک الايران تزيّنت بطراز العدل فلمّا تفرّسنا وجدناها مطالع الظّلم و مشارق الاعتساف * انّا نری العدل تحت مخالب الظّلم نسأل اللّه ان يخلّصه بقوّة من عنده و سلطان من لدنه انّه هو المهيمن علی من فی الارضين و السّموات * ليس لاحد ان يعترض علی نفس فيما ورد علی امر اللّه ينبغی لکلّ من توجّه الی الافق الاعلی ان يتمسّک بحبل الاصطبار و يتوکّل علی اللّه المهيمن المختار * يا احبّاء اللّه اشربوا من عين الحکمة و طيروا فی هواء الحکمة و تکلّموا بالحکمة و البيان کذلک يامرکم ربّکم العزيز العلّام * *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"Hath the Sháh been informed, and chosen to close his eyes to thine acts? Or hath he been seized with fear at the howling of a pack of wolves who have cast the path of God behind their backs and followed in thy way without any clear proof or Book? We have heard that the provinces of Persia have been adorned with the adornment of justice. When We observed closely, however, We found them to be the dawning-places of tyranny and the daysprings of injustice. We behold justice in the clutches of tyranny. We beseech God to set it free through the power of His might and His sovereignty. He, verily, overshadoweth all that is in the heavens and on earth. To none is given the right to protest against any one concerning that which hath befallen the Cause of God. It behooveth whosoever hath set his face towards the Most Sublime Horizon to cleave tenaciously unto the cord of patience, and to put his reliance in God, the Help in Peril, the Unconstrained. O ye loved ones of God! Drink your fill from the well-spring of wisdom, and soar ye in the atmosphere of wisdom, and speak forth with wisdom and eloquence. Thus biddeth you your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

Translation Notes

هل

h-l → “people” Distinctive

literal: interrogative particle; whether; is it that

السّلطان

s-l-ṭ → “Sháh”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

اطّلع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “been informed”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

غضّ

gh-ḍ-ḍ → “chosen”

literal: lower, close; lower/overlook

الطّرف

ṭ-r-f → “eyes”

literal: extremity; end; edge; outskirt; periphery

عن

ʿ-n → “to”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

فعلک

f-ʿ-l → “thine acts”

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

ام

ʾ-m-m → “Or” Distinctive

literal: mother

اخذه

ʾ-kh-dh → “hath he been seized”

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

الرّعب

r-ʿ-b → “with fear”

literal: fear; terror; fright

بما

m-ʾ → “at”

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

عوت

ʿ-w-y → “howling”

literal: to shield; to cover; to protect; to howl; to cry out

شرذمة

sh-r-dh → “pack”

literal: pack; band; group of scattered individuals

من

m-n → “of”

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

الذّئاب

dh-ʾ-b → “wolves”

literal: wolf

الّذين

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

literal: those who; the ones who (relative pronoun)

نبذوا

n-b-dh → “cast”

literal: to cast; to reject; to abandon; to throw away

صراط

ṣ-r-ṭ → “path”

literal: path, way, straight path

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

وراءهم

w-r-ʾ → “behind their backs”

literal: behind; beyond; after

اخذوا

ʾ-kh-dh → “laid hold” Distinctive

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

سبيلک

s-b-l → “thy way” Distinctive

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

دون

d-w-n → “without”

literal: below; lower than; beneath

بيّنة

b-y-n → “clear proof” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

کتاب

k-t-b → “Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

انّا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

سمعنا

s-m-ʿ → “that” Distinctive

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

بانّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; indeed; moment

ممالک

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

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

تزيّنت

z-y-n → “have been adorned”

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

بطراز

ṭ-r-z → “with the adornment”

literal: ornament; adornment; embroidery; stripe

العدل

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

فلمّا

l-m-m → “No sooner”

literal: when; as soon as; thereupon

تفرّسنا

f-r-s → “send” Distinctive

literal: Persian; Persia

وجدناها

w-j-d → “We found them”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

الظّلم

ẓ-l-m → “tyranny”

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

مشارق

sh-r-q → “daysprings”

literal: honor; nobility; eminence; to honor

الاعتساف

ʿ-s-f → “injustice”

literal: oppression; tyranny; wrongdoing; unjust treatment

نری

r-ʾ-y → “We behold” 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

تحت

t-ḥ-t → “in” Distinctive

literal: under; under, beneath; beneath

مخالب

kh-l-b → “clutches”

literal: talons, claws, clutches

نسأل

s-ʾ-l → “We beseech God”

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

يخلّصه

kh-l-ṣ → “wholly” Distinctive

literal: sincere; pure; sincere ones

بقوّة

q-w-y → “through the power”

literal: strength; power; might; piety; fear of God; godliness

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “His might” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

لدنه

l-d-n

literal: from; on the part of; from before; near

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “He, verily”

literal: that; indeed; moment

هو

h-w

literal: He; He is

المهيمن

h-m-n → “the Help in Peril”

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

علی

ʿ-l-w → “overshadoweth” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

فی

f-y → “in”

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

الارضين

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

السّموات

s-m-w → “heavens”

literal: heaven; sky

ليس

l-y-s → “is not”

literal: is not; to be not

لاحد

ʾ-ḥ-d → “one”

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

يعترض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “protest”

literal: objection, protest, denial; cavil

نفس

n-f-s

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ورد

w-r-d → “hath befallen”

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

امر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

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

ينبغی

n-b-gh → “It behooveth”

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

لکلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for each; for every; to each

توجّه

w-j-h → “hath set his face” Distinctive

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

الافق

ʾ-f-q → “the Most Sublime Horizon”

literal: horizons; regions; quarters; skylines

يتمسّک

m-s-k → “cleave tenaciously unto”

literal: hold fast; clinging; cling

بحبل

ḥ-b-l → “cord”

literal: cord; rope; bond; connection

الاصطبار

ṣ-b-r → “patience”

literal: patience; forbearance; endurance; to be patient

يتوکّل

w-k-l → “ministers” Distinctive

literal: trust; agents; rely upon

المختار

kh-y-r → “Unconstrained”

literal: west; the western region

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

احبّاء

ḥ-b-b → “loved ones”

literal: love; affection

اشربوا

sh-r-b → “Drink your fill”

literal: to drink; to imbibe

عين

ʿ-y-n → “well-spring”

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

الحکمة

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

طيروا

ṭ-y-r → “soar ye”

literal: bird; birds; flying creature; flying; flight

هواء

h-w-y → “atmosphere”

literal: air; atmosphere; void

تکلّموا

k-l-m → “speak forth”

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

کذلک

dh-l-k → “Thus”

literal: thus; likewise; also

يامرکم

ʾ-m-r → “biddeth”

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

ربّکم

r-b-b → “your Lord”

literal: Lord; Master; Sustainer; Cherisher

العزيز

ʿ-z-z → “Almighty”

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

العلّام

ʿ-l-m → “All-Knowing”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

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 ¶