Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §177

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 177 of 268.

Source (Persian)

اگر قدری تفکّر نمائی شهادت ميدهی بر حکمت و قدرت و سلطنت حقّ جلّ جلاله * معدودی که از امر اگاه نه و با ما نبوده‌اند گفته‌اند انچه را که اشياء کلّها و نفوس مطمئنّه راضيه مرضيّه گواهی داده‌اند بر کذب ان نفوس غافله * حال اگر ان جناب همّت فرمايند حقيقت امر بر عالميان کشف شود و ناس را از اين ظلمات مظلم صيلم نجات بخشد * لو لا البهاء من يقدر ان ينطق امام وجوه الانام و لو لاه من يقدر ان يتکلّم بما امر به من لدی اللّه ربّ الجنود

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Wert thou to ponder a while, thou wouldst bear witness unto the wisdom, and the power, and the sovereignty of God, exalted be His glory. The few who were unaware of this Cause, and had not met Us, have spoken in such a manner that all things, and those souls who are well assured, pleased, and pleasing unto God, have testified unto the imposture of these heedless ones. Wert thou now to exert thyself, the truth of this Cause would be made apparent unto mankind, and the people would be delivered from this grievous and oppressive darkness. Who else but Bahá can speak forth before the face of men, and who else but He can have the power to pronounce that which He was bidden by God, the Lord of Hosts?

Translation Notes

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

قدری

q-d-r → “while”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

تفکّر

f-k-r → “ponder”

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

نمائی

n-m-ʾ → “may”

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

شهادت

sh-h-d → “wouldst bear witness” Distinctive

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

ميدهی

d-h-d → “wouldst bear witness”

literal: to give; to provide; to yield; to grant; to bestow

بر

b-r-r → “unto”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

حکمت

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

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

سلطنت

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

حقّ

ḥ-q-q → “God”

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

جلّ

j-l-l → “exalted”

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

معدودی

ʿ-d-d → “few”

literal: numerous; many; multiple

که

k-h → “which”

literal: that; who; who, that

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

امر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

اگاه

ʾ-g-h → “unaware”

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

نه

n-h-y → “forbidden”

literal: end; ended; utmost

با

b-ʾ-ʾ

literal: to; with; by

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

نبوده‌اند

b-w-d → “was” Distinctive

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

گفته‌اند

g-f-t → “spoken”

literal: utterance; speech; word; discourse

انچه

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

اشياء

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

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

کلّها

k-l-l → “all”

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

نفوس

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

مطمئنّه

ṭ-m-n → “well assured”

literal: to be at peace; to be reassured; to settle down

راضيه

r-ḍ-y → “Thy pleasure” Distinctive

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

داده‌اند

d-ʾ-d → “of equity” Distinctive

literal: give; grant; bestow; award

کذب

k-dh-b → “falsehood”

literal: denial; belying; falsification; rejection; liar; lying; false

غافله

gh-f-l → “heedless”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

حال

ḥ-w-l → “now”

literal: state; condition; circumstance

جناب

j-n-b → “thyself”

literal: to avoid; to shun; to keep away from

همّت

h-m-m → “exert”

literal: them (feminine or general); by them; through them

فرمايند

f-r-m → “saith” Distinctive

literal: to say; to decree; to ordain; to command

عالميان

ʿ-l-m → “mankind”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

کشف

k-sh-f → “unveiled” Distinctive

literal: unveiling; disclosure; revelation

شود

sh-w-d → “would be”

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

ناس

n-ʾ-s → “people”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

ظلمات

ẓ-l-m → “grievous and oppressive”

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

صيلم

ṣ-y-l-m

literal: oppressive

نجات

n-j-w → “delivered”

literal: you (singular/plural pronoun)

بخشد

b-kh-sh → “delivered”

literal: to grant; to give; to forgive; to bestow

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

لا

l-ʾ

literal: no; not; negation particle

البهاء

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

من

m-n → “Who” Distinctive

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

ينطق

n-ṭ-q → “speak forth”

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

امام

ʾ-m-m → “before”

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair; people; nation; community; female servant; handmaiden; umma

وجوه

w-j-h → “face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

الانام

ʾ-n-m → “the peoples of the”

literal: people; mankind; human beings

لاه

ʾ-h

literal: alas

يتکلّم

k-l-m → “words” Distinctive

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

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

لدی

l-d-y

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

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: Lord; lord; divine

الجنود

j-n-d → “Hosts”

literal: hosts, armies, troops

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 ¶