Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §159

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 159 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا قلمی الاعلی اذکر الرّقشاء الّتی بظلمها ناحت الاشياء و ارتعدت فرائص الاولياء کذلک يامرک مالک الاسماء فی هذا المقام المحمود * قد صاحت من ظلمک البتول و تظنّ انّک من آل الرّسول کذلک سوّلت لک نفسک يا ايّها المعرض عن اللّه ربّ ما کان و ما يکون * انصفی يا ايّتها الرّقشاء بایّ جرم لدغت ابناء الرّسول و نهبت اموالهم أکفرت بالّذی خلقک بامره کن فيکون ؟ قد فعلت بابناء الرّسول ما لا فعلت عادٌ و ثمود بصالح و هود و لا اليهود بروح اللّه مالک الوجود * أتنکر آيات ربّک الّتی اذ نزّلت من سماء الامر خضعت لها کتب العالم کلّها ؟ تفکّر لتطّلع بفعلک يا ايّها الغافل المردود * سوف تاخذک نفحات العذاب کما اخذت قوما قبلک انتظر يا ايّها المشرک باللّه مالک الغيب و الشّهود * هذا يوم اخبر به اللّه بلسان رسوله تفکّر لتعرف ما انزله الرّحمن فی الفرقان و فی هذا اللّوح المسطور * هذا يوم فيه اتی مشرق الوحی بآيات بيّنات الّتی عجز عن احصائها المحصون * هذا يوم فيه وجد کلّ ذی شمّ عرف نسمة الرّحمن فی الامکان و سرع کلّ ذی بصر الی فرات رحمة ربّه مالک الملوک * يا ايّها الغافل تاللّه قد رجع حديث الذّبح * و الذّبيح توجّه الی مقرّ الفداء و ما رجع بما اکتسبت يدک يا ايّها المبغض العنود * أظننت بالشّهادة ينحطّ شان الامر ؟ لا و الّذی جعله اللّه مهبط الوحی ان انت من الّذين هم يفقهون * ويل لک يا ايّها المشرک باللّه و للّذين اتّخذوک اماما لانفسهم من دون بيّنة و لا کتاب مشهود * کم من ظالم قام علی اطفاء نور اللّه قبلک و کم من فاجر قتل و نهب الی ان ناحت من ظلمه الافئدة و النّفوس * قد غابت شمس العدل بما استوی هيکل الظّلم علی اريکة البغضاء و لکنّ القوم هم لا يشعرون * يا جاهل قد قتلت ابناء الرّسول و نهبت اموالهم قل هل الاموال کفرت باللّه ام مالکها علی زعمک ؟ انصف يا ايّها الجاهل المحجوب * قد اخذت الاعتساف و نبذت الانصاف بذلک ناحت الاشياء و انت من الغافلين * قد قتلت الکبير و نهبت الصّغير هل تظنّ انّک تأکل ما جمعته بالظّلم ؟ لا و نفسی کذلک يخبرک الخبير * تاللّه لا يغنيک ما عندک و ما جمعته بالاعتساف يشهد بذلک ربّک العليم * قد قمت علی اطفاء نور الامر سوف تنخمد نارک امرا من عنده انّه هو المقتدر القدير * لا تعجزه شئونات العالم و لا سطوة الامم يفعل ما يشاء بسلطانه و يحکم ما يريد * تفکّر فی النّاقة مع انّها من الحيوان رفعها الرّحمن الی مقام نطق السن العالم بذکرها و ثنائها انّه هو المهيمن علی من فی السّموات و الارض لا اله الّا هو العزيز العظيم * کذلک زيّنّا افاق سماء اللّوح بشموس الکلمات * نعيما لمن فاز بها و استضاء بانوارها و ويل للمعرضين و ويل للمنکرين و ويل للغافلين الحمد للّه ربّ العالمين *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"O My Supreme Pen! Call Thou to remembrance the She-Serpent (Imam-Jum'ih of Iṣfahán) whose cruelty hath caused all created things to groan, and the limbs of the holy ones to quake. Thus biddeth Thee the Lord of all names, in this glorious station. The Chaste One (Fáṭimih) hath cried out by reason of thine iniquity, and yet thou dost imagine thyself to be of the family of the Apostle of God! Thus hath thy soul prompted thee, O thou who hast withdrawn thyself from God, the Lord of all that hath been and shall be. Judge thou equitably, O She-Serpent! For what crime didst thou sting the children of the Apostle of God (King of Martyrs and Beloved of Martyrs), and pillage their possessions? Hast thou denied Him Who created thee by His command \‘be, and it was'? Thou hast dealt with the children of the Apostle of God as neither Ad hath dealt with Hud, nor Thamud with Salih, nor the Jews with the Spirit of God (Jesus), the Lord of all being. Gainsayest thou the signs of thy Lord which had no sooner been sent down from the heaven of His Cause than all the books of the world bowed down before them? Meditate, that thou mayest be made aware of thine act, O heedless outcast! Ere long will the breaths of chastisement seize thee, as they seized others before thee. Wait, O thou who hast joined partners with God, the Lord of the visible and the invisible. This is the day which God hath announced through the tongue of His Apostle. Reflect, that thou mayest apprehend what the All-Merciful hath sent down in the Qur’án and in this inscribed Tablet. This is the day whereon He Who is the Dayspring of Revelation hath come with clear tokens which none can number. This is the day whereon every man endued with perception hath discovered the fragrance of the breeze of the All-Merciful in the world of creation, and every man of insight hath hastened unto the living waters of the mercy of His Lord, the King of Kings. O heedless one! The tale of the Sacrifice (Ishmael) hath been retold, and he who was to be offered up hath directed his steps towards the place of sacrifice, and returned not, by reason of that which thy hand hath wrought, O perverse hater! Didst thou imagine that martyrdom could abase this Cause? Nay, by Him Whom God hath made to be the Repository of His Revelation, if thou be of them that comprehend. Woe betide thee, O thou who hast joined partners with God, and woe betide them that have taken thee as their leader, without a clear token or a perspicuous Book. How numerous the oppressors before thee who have arisen to quench the light of God, and how many the impious who murdered and pillaged until the hearts and souls of men groaned by reason of their cruelty! The sun of justice hath been obscured, inasmuch as the embodiment of tyranny hath been stablished upon the throne of hatred, and yet the people understand not. O foolish one! Thou hast slain the children of the Apostle and pillaged their possessions. Say: Was it, in thine estimation, their possessions or themselves that denied God? Judge fairly, O ignorant one that hath been shut out as by a veil from God. Thou hast clung to tyranny, and cast away justice; whereupon all created things have lamented, and still thou art among the wayward. Thou hast put to death the aged, and plundered the young. Thinkest thou that thou wilt consume that which thine iniquity hath amassed? Nay, by Myself! Thus informeth thee He Who is cognizant of all. By God! The things thou possessest shall profit thee not, nor what thou hast laid up through thy cruelty. Unto this beareth witness Thy Lord, the All-Knowing. Thou hast arisen to put out the light of this Cause; ere long will thine own fire be quenched, at His behest. He, verily, is the Lord of strength and of might. The changes and chances of the world, and the powers of the nations, cannot frustrate Him. He doeth what He pleaseth, and ordaineth what He willeth through the power of His sovereignty. Consider the she-camel. Though but a beast, yet hath the All-Merciful exalted her to so high a station that the tongues of the earth made mention of her and celebrated her praise. He, verily, overshadoweth all that is in the heavens and on earth. No God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Great. Thus have We adorned the heaven of Our Tablet with the suns of Our words. Blessed the man that hath attained thereunto, and been illumined with their light, and woe betide such as have turned aside, and denied Him, and strayed far from Him. Praised be God, the Lord of the worlds!"

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

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

قلمی

q-l-m → “Pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

الاعلی

ʿ-l-w → “Supreme” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

اذکر

dh-k-r → “Call Thou to remembrance”

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

الرّقشاء

r-q-sh → “She-Serpent”

literal: serpent

بظلمها

ẓ-l-m → “whose cruelty”

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

ناحت

n-w-ḥ → “groan”

literal: to wail; to lament; lamentation

الاشياء

sh-y-ʾ → “all created things”

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

ارتعدت

r-ʿ-d → “quake”

literal: trembled; quaked; shook

فرائص

f-r-ṣ → “limbs”

literal: opportunity; chance

الاولياء

w-l-y → “the holy ones”

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

کذلک

dh-l-k → “Thus”

literal: thus; likewise; also

يامرک

ʾ-m-r → “Cause” Distinctive

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

مالک

m-l-k → “Lord”

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

الاسماء

s-m-w → “all names”

literal: heaven; sky

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: alas; woe; oh

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

المقام

q-w-m → “station”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

المحمود

ḥ-m-d → “glorious”

literal: praise; to praise

قد

q-d → “We have been”

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

صاحت

ṣ-y-ḥ → “hath cried out”

literal: to cry out, shout, proclaim

من

m-n → “from”

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

البتول

b-t-l → “have been afflicted”

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

تظنّ

ẓ-n-n → “thou dost imagine”

literal: fancy; supposition; vain imagination; idle conjecture

آل

ʾ-w-l → “this world” Distinctive

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

الرّسول

r-s-l → “the Apostle”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

سوّلت

s-w-l → “prompted”

literal: to tempt; to entice; to make (something) seem fair or appealing

لک

literal: for us; to us

نفسک

n-f-s → “thyself”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ايّها

ʾ-y-y → “O”

literal: sign; signs; verse

المعرض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turned away”

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

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “from God”

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

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

کان

k-w-n → “hath been”

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

انصفی

n-ṣ-f → “equitably”

literal: justice; fairness; equity

ايّتها

ʾ-t-y

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

بایّ

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

literal: sign; signs; verse

جرم

j-r-m → “crime”

literal: crime; sin; boldness

لدغت

l-d-gh → “sting”

literal: to bite, sting; bite, sting (of serpent)

ابناء

b-n-y → “children”

literal: son; foundation; sons

نهبت

n-h-b → “pillage”

literal: to plunder, rob, despoil; plunder, booty, spoil

أکفرت

k-f-r → “infidels” Distinctive

literal: to disbelieve, reject; unbelief, ingratitude; to deny, to disbelieve, to reject

بالّذی

ʾ-l-l → “which”

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

خلقک

kh-l-q → “created” Distinctive

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

بامره

ʾ-m-r → “by His command” Distinctive

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

فيکون

k-w-n → “and it was”

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

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

عادٌ

ʿ-w-d → “habits”

literal: custom; habit; usage

بصالح

ṣ-l-ḥ → “betterment”

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

هود

h-w-d → “Jews”

literal: cradle; bed; couch; resting place

اليهود

y-h-d

literal: Jews; the Jews

بروح

r-w-ḥ → “Spirit of God”

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

الوجود

w-j-d → “of all being”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

أتنکر

n-k-r → “denied” Distinctive

literal: denial; rejection; repudiation; wrong; evil; to deny; to reject

آيات

ʾ-y-y → “signs”

literal: sign; signs; verse

اذ

ʾ-dh-dh

literal: when; since

نزّلت

n-z-l → “sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

خضعت

kh-ḍ-ʿ → “submissiveness” Distinctive

literal: humility; submissiveness; lowliness

لها

l-h-w → “for him”

literal: to it; towards it; unto it

کتب

k-t-b → “all the books”

literal: book; scripture; writing

العالم

ʿ-l-m → “of the world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

کلّها

k-l-l → “all”

literal: all; every; whole; entirety; entire; completely

تفکّر

f-k-r → “Meditate”

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

لتطّلع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “be made aware” Distinctive

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

بفعلک

f-ʿ-l → “thine act”

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

الغافل

gh-f-l → “heedless”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

المردود

r-d-d → “reject”

literal: rejected; repudiated

سوف

s-w-f → “Ere long will”

literal: shall; will (future marker)

تاخذک

ʾ-kh-dh → “seize”

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

نفحات

n-f-ḥ → “breaths” Distinctive

literal: breeze; fragrance; whiff; breath; emanation

العذاب

ʿ-dh-b → “chastisement”

literal: torment, punishment, chastisement

کما

k-m → “loss” Distinctive

literal: as; like; how much; lane; street; quarter; abode

اخذت

ʾ-kh-dh → “seized” Distinctive

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

قبلک

q-b-l → “before”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

انتظر

n-ẓ-r → “Wait”

literal: look; looking; view

المشرک

sh-r-k → “joined partners”

literal: partner; associate; sharer; companion

الغيب

gh-y-b → “the visible” Distinctive

literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable; stranger; foreign; alien; separated

الشّهود

sh-h-d → “the invisible”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

يوم

y-w-m → “Day”

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

اخبر

kh-b-r → “announced”

literal: all-knowing; aware; well-informed; omniscient

به

b-h → “in” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

بلسان

l-s-n → “through the tongue”

literal: tongue; language

لتعرف

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge” Distinctive

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m → “the All-Merciful”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

الفرقان

f-r-q → “Qur’án”

literal: faction; sect; group; company

اللّوح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

المسطور

s-ṭ-r → “inscribed”

literal: written; inscribed; recorded

اتی

ʾ-t-y → “come”

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

مشرق

sh-r-q → “Dayspring”

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

الوحی

w-ḥ-y → “Revelation”

literal: revelation; inspiration; divine communication

بيّنات

b-y-n → “among” Distinctive

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

احصائها

ḥ-ṣ-y → “number”

literal: unnumbered, innumerable, countless, beyond count; to count; to enumerate; to be reckoned

ذی

dh-w-y → “and” Distinctive

literal: possessor; possessor of; possessor/owner

شمّ

sh-m-m

literal: smell; smelling; Syria

نسمة

n-s-m → “breeze”

literal: breeze; breezes; breeze/breath

الامکان

m-k-n → “in the world of creation”

literal: establishment; confirmation; empowerment; firm settlement; place; possibility; being (negated as ‘non-being’)

سرع

s-r-ʿ → “hastened”

literal: speed; swiftness; haste

بصر

b-ṣ-r → “of insight”

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

فرات

f-r-t → “living waters”

literal: sweet water; river; the Euphrates

رجع

r-j-ʿ → “return”

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

حديث

ḥ-d-th → “traditions”

literal: events, occurrences, accidents, changes and chances

الذّبح

dh-b-ḥ

literal: to slaughter, sacrifice; slaughter, sacrifice

توجّه

w-j-h → “directed” Distinctive

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

مقرّ

q-r-r → “acknowledged” Distinctive

literal: matter; affair; thing

الفداء

f-d-y → “offered up” Distinctive

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem; to sacrifice oneself for

اکتسبت

k-s-b → “wrought”

literal: to acquire, earn, gain; to bring upon (oneself); to gain; to acquire; earning; livelihood

يدک

y-d-y → “thy hand”

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

المبغض

b-gh-ḍ → “perverse hater”

literal: hatred; enmity; animosity

العنود

ʿ-n-d → “Thee”

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

ينحطّ

ḥ-ṭ-ṭ → “abased”

literal: decline; abase, degrade, descend

شان

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

جعله

j-ʿ-l → “made”

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

مهبط

h-b-ṭ → “Repository of His Revelation”

literal: landing place; descent; alighting place

ان

ʾ-n → “that thou mayest”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

انت

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

هم

h-m-m

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

يفقهون

f-q-h → “comprehend”

literal: to understand; to comprehend; insight; jurisprudence

ويل

w-y-l → “Woe betide thee”

literal: woe; alas; grief

للّذين

l-dh-y → “which” Distinctive

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

اماما

ʾ-m-m → “before”

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair

دون

d-w-n → “without”

literal: below; lower than; beneath

کم

k-m-m → “how many”

literal: how many

اطفاء

ṭ-f-ʾ → “put out”

literal: to extinguish, put out, quench; to be extinguished; to perish; to go out

نور

n-w-r → “light”

literal: light; illumination

فاجر

f-j-r → “workers of iniquity” Distinctive

literal: wage; recompense; reward; wage, reward, recompense

قتل

q-t-l → “death”

literal: slayer; killer; murderer

الافئدة

f-ʾ-d → “the hearts”

literal: heart, innermost soul, mind; heart; inner consciousness; mind; one who benefits; advantageous

شمس

sh-m-s → “sun”

literal: sun; daystar; manifestation of divine light

العدل

ʿ-d-l → “justice”

literal: justice; equity

استوی

s-w-y → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: level; equal; straight; upon a throne; resting upon; toward; to; direction of; other than; besides; except

هيکل

h-y-k-l → “form”

literal: temple; structure; form; body

اريکة

r-w-k → “throne”

literal: throne, couch

لکنّ

l-k-n → “yet”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

يشعرون

sh-ʿ-r → “consciousness” Distinctive

literal: hair

جاهل

j-h-l → “foolish”

literal: ignorant; foolish; the ignorant ones

قل

q-w-l → “Say”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

هل

h-l → “people” Distinctive

literal: interrogative particle; whether; is it that

کفرت

k-f-r → “denied”

literal: to disbelieve, reject; unbelief, ingratitude; to deny, to disbelieve, to reject

ام

ʾ-m-m → “or” Distinctive

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair

زعمک

z-ʿ-m → “chief” Distinctive

literal: leader; chief; champion; one who claims or takes responsibility

المحجوب

ḥ-j-b → “by a veil”

literal: to veil oneself, to be veiled

الاعتساف

ʿ-s-f → “tyranny”

literal: oppression; tyranny; wrongdoing; unjust treatment

نبذت

n-b-dh → “cast away”

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

الکبير

k-b-r

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

الصّغير

ṣ-gh-r → “the young”

literal: smallness; insignificance; youth; to belittle

تأکل

ʾ-k-l → “consume”

literal: eat; consume

جمعته

j-m-ʿ → “all”

literal: all; all, entire; group

يغنيک

gh-n-y → “wealth” Distinctive

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

تنخمد

kh-m-d → “quenched”

literal: to extinguish, quench, suppress

نارک

n-ʾ-r → “thine own fire”

literal: fire; blaze; flame

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “He”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

هو

h-w → “is”

literal: He; He is

المقتدر

q-d-r → “the Lord” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

تعجزه

ʿ-j-z → “frustrate”

literal: to be unable; to fail; to be exhausted; impotence; أعجاز (roots of trees/extremities) is Pattern II plural, distinct from ‘inability’ forms

سطوة

s-ṭ-w → “dominion”

literal: might; force; severity; oppression; tyranny

بسلطانه

s-l-ṭ → “power of His sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

يحکم

ḥ-k-m → “ordaineth”

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

يريد

r-y-d

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

النّاقة

n-w-q → “the She-Camel”

literal: she-camel

مع

m-ʿ

literal: with; together with; alongside

انّها

null

literal: that, it; to be; indeed

الحيوان

ḥ-y-w → “life”

literal: life; living being; animal

رفعها

r-f-ʿ → “exalted”

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

نطق

n-ṭ-q

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

بذکرها

dh-k-r → “made mention of her”

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

ثنائها

th-n-y → “celebrated her praise”

literal: praise; commendation; eulogy; glorification; praise, commendation, eulogy

المهيمن

h-m-n → “the Help in Peril”

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

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “on earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

اله

ʾ-l-h → “God is”

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

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “but” Distinctive

literal: end; hereafter; other

العزيز

ʿ-z-z → “the Almighty, the”

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

العظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

زيّنّا

z-y-n

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

افاق

ʾ-f-q → “heaven” Distinctive

literal: horizons; regions; quarters; skylines

الکلمات

k-l-m → “of Our words”

literal: words; utterances; locutions

نعيما

n-ʿ-m → “Blessed”

literal: bliss; bounty; grace; comfort; felicity

فاز

f-w-z → “attained”

literal: to attain; to gain; to succeed; to win

بها

b-h-w → “All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: glory; most glorious; most-glorious

استضاء

ḍ-w-ʾ → “illumined with their light”

literal: evening; night

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 ¶