Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §158

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 158 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا غافل لا تطمئنّ بعزّک و اقتدارک مثلک کمثل بقيّة اثر الشّمس علی رؤوس الجبال سوف يدرکها الزّوال من لدی اللّه الغنيّ المتعال قد اخذ عزّک و عزّ امثالک و هذا ما حکم به من عنده امّ الالواح * اين من حارب اللّه و اين من جادل بآياته و اين من اعرض عن سلطانه و اين الّذين قتلوا اصفياءه و سفکوا دماء اوليائه ؟ تفکّر لعلّ تجد نفحات اعمالک يا ايّها الجاهل المرتاب * بکم ناح الرّسول و صاحت البتول و خربت الدّيار و اخذت الظّلمة کلّ الاقطار * يا معشر العلماء بکم انحطّ شأن الملّة و نکس علم الاسلام و ثلّ عرشه العظيم * کلّما اراد مميّزٌ ان يتمسّک بما يرتفع به شأن الاسلام ارتفعت ضوضاؤکم بذلک منع عمّا اراد و بقی الملک فی خسران کبير *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"O heedless one! Rely not on thy glory, and thy power. Thou art even as the last trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top. Soon will it fade away as decreed by God, the All-Possessing, the Most High. Thy glory and the glory of such as are like thee have been taken away, and this verily is what hath been ordained by the One with Whom is the Mother Tablet. Where is he to be found who contended with God, and whither is gone he that gainsaid His signs, and turned aside from His sovereignty? Where are they who have slain His chosen ones and spilt the blood of His holy ones? Reflect, that haply thou mayest perceive the breaths of thine acts, O foolish doubter! Because of you the Apostle (Muḥammad) lamented, and the Chaste One (Fáṭimih) cried out, and the countries were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all regions. O concourse of divines! Because of you the people were abased, and the banner of Islam was hauled down, and its mighty throne subverted. Every time a man of discernment hath sought to hold fast unto that which would exalt Islam, ye raised a clamor, and thereby was he deterred from achieving his purpose, while the land remained fallen in clear ruin.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

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

غافل

gh-f-l → “heedless”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تطمئنّ

ṭ-m-n → “confidence” Distinctive

literal: be tranquil; be at peace; be composed; be assured

بعزّک

ʿ-z-z → “on thy glory”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

اقتدارک

q-d-r → “thy power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

مثلک

m-th-l → “Thou art even as”

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

بقيّة

b-q-y → “eternal” Distinctive

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal

اثر

ʾ-th-r

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

الشّمس

sh-m-s → “sunlight”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

علی

ʿ-l-w → “upon” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

رؤوس

r-ʾ-s → “leadership” Distinctive

literal: chief; leader; head; president; beginning

الجبال

j-b-l → “the mountain-top”

literal: mountain; nature, constitution; to create, to form

سوف

s-w-f → “Ere long will”

literal: shall; will (future marker)

يدرکها

d-r-k → “comprehend” Distinctive

literal: to overtake; to catch; to reach; to attain; to perceive; to comprehend

الزّوال

z-w-l

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

من

m-n → “from”

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

لدی

l-d-y → “by” Distinctive

literal: with; in the presence of; from; by

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

الغنيّ

gh-n-y → “the All-Possessing”

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

قد

q-d → “We have been”

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

اخذ

ʾ-kh-dh → “arrested”

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

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

حکم

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

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

به

b-h → “by” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “with Whom” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

امّ

ʾ-m-m → “Mother”

literal: mother

الالواح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

حارب

ḥ-r-b → “contended”

literal: warfare; combat; fighting; hostility

جادل

j-d-l → “conflict” Distinctive

literal: to argue; to dispute; to contend; argument

بآياته

ʾ-y-y → “His signs”

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

اعرض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turned aside” Distinctive

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

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

سلطانه

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

الّذين

l-dh-y

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

قتلوا

q-t-l → “have slain”

literal: slayer; killer; murderer

اصفياءه

ṣ-f-w → “His chosen ones”

literal: pure one; chosen one; selected one; elite; purity; clarity; sincerity; pure; sincere

سفکوا

s-f-k → “spilt”

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

دماء

d-m-y → “blood”

literal: blood

اوليائه

w-l-y → “of His holy ones” Distinctive

literal: guardian; protector; friend; ally; lord; helper; first; primary; original

تفکّر

f-k-r → “Reflect” Distinctive

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

لعلّ

l-ʿ-l → “haply”

literal: perhaps; perchance; hopefully

تجد

w-j-d → “thou mayest perceive”

literal: monarch; crowned ruler; king

نفحات

n-f-ḥ → “breaths” Distinctive

literal: breeze; fragrance; whiff; breath; emanation

اعمالک

ʿ-m-l → “thine acts”

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

ايّها

ʾ-y-y

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

الجاهل

j-h-l → “foolish”

literal: ignorant; foolish; the ignorant ones

المرتاب

r-y-b → “doubter”

literal: doubt, suspicion, uncertainty; doubt; suspicion

بکم

k-m-m → “How many”

literal: be dumb/silent; speechless

ناح

n-w-ḥ → “lamented”

literal: to wail; to lament; lamentation

الرّسول

r-s-l → “the Apostle (Muḥammad)”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

صاحت

ṣ-y-ḥ → “cried out”

literal: to cry out, shout, proclaim

البتول

b-t-l → “have been afflicted”

literal: virgin; pure woman; the pure one (epithet of Mary)

خربت

kh-r-b → “most desolate” Distinctive

literal: ruin; desolation

الدّيار

d-w-r → “far” Distinctive

literal: land; region; place; abode; dwelling

اخذت

ʾ-kh-dh → “laid hold”

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

الظّلمة

ẓ-l-m → “darkness” Distinctive

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

کلّ

k-l-l → “upon all”

literal: for us; to us

الاقطار

q-ṭ-r → “drop” Distinctive

literal: drop; region; country; rainfall

معشر

ʿ-sh-r → “concourse”

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

العلماء

ʿ-l-m → “of divines”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

انحطّ

ḥ-ṭ-ṭ → “abased”

literal: to decline; to debase

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

الملّة

m-l-l

literal: nation; people; religion; community

نکس

n-k-s → “was hauled down”

literal: to reverse; to overturn; to debase

الاسلام

s-l-m → “resignation” Distinctive

literal: resignation; submission; surrender; submissiveness

ثلّ

th-l-l → “subverted”

literal: overthrow; band

عرشه

ʿ-r-sh → “its mighty throne”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

العظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

اراد

r-y-d → “hath sought”

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

مميّزٌ

m-y-z → “distinguish” Distinctive

literal: to distinguish; to differentiate; to discern

ان

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

يتمسّک

m-s-k → “to hold fast”

literal: hold fast; clinging; cling

يرتفع

r-f-ʿ → “would exalt”

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

ضوضاؤکم

ḍ-w-ḍ → “clamor”

literal: tumult; clamor; commotion

بذلک

dh-l-k → “thereby” Distinctive

literal: that; this; it; by that

منع

m-n-ʿ → “was he deterred” Distinctive

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

الملک

m-l-k → “the land” Distinctive

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

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

خسران

kh-s-r → “loss”

literal: loss; ruin; to suffer loss

کبير

k-b-r

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

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 ¶