Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §180

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 180 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ مکرّر گفتيم حضرت پادشاه را در سنين معدودات نصرت نموده‌ايم * سالهاست در ايران امر مغايری ظاهر نشده زمام مفسدين احزاب در قبضه اقتدار مقبوض احدی از حدّ تجاوز ننمود * لعمر اللّه اين حزب اهل فساد نبوده و نيستند قلوبشان بنور تقوی منوّر و بطراز محبّة اللّه مزيّن همّشان اصلاح عالم بوده و هست * و اراده انکه اختلاف از ميان برخيزد و نار ضغينه و بغضا خاموشی پذيرد تا جميع ارض قطعه واحده مشاهده گردد *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! We have time and again stated that for a number of years We have extended Our aid unto His Majesty the Sháh. For years no untoward incident hath occurred in Persia. The reins of the stirrers of sedition among various sects were held firmly in the grasp of power. None hath transgressed his limits. By God! This people have never been, nor are they now, inclined to mischief. Their hearts are illumined with the light of the fear of God, and adorned with the adornment of His love. Their concern hath ever been and now is for the betterment of the world. Their purpose is to obliterate differences, and quench the flame of hatred and enmity, so that the whole earth may come to be viewed as one country.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

مکرّر

k-r-r → “time and again”

literal: to repeat; to reiterate

گفتيم

g-f-t → “said”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “His Majesty”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

پادشاه

p-ʾ-d-sh-ʾ-h → “Sháh”

literal: king; monarch; shah

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

سنين

s-n-n → “number of years”

literal: year; years

معدودات

ʿ-d-d → “capacity” Distinctive

literal: numerous; many; multiple

نصرت

n-ṣ-r → “aid”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

نموده‌ايم

n-m-ود → “hath” Distinctive

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

سالهاست

s-l → “For years”

literal: year; way; tradition; custom

امر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

مغايری

gh-y-r → “others” Distinctive

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

نشده

sh-d → “was” Distinctive

literal: to become; to happen; to occur

زمام

z-m-m → “reins”

literal: reins; bridle; control; governance

مفسدين

f-s-d → “stirrers of sedition”

literal: corruption; ruin; discord; mischief; decay

احزاب

ḥ-z-b → “various sects” Distinctive

literal: party; people; community

قبضه

q-b-ḍ → “grasp”

literal: grasp; grip; control; seize

اقتدار

q-d-r → “power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

احدی

ʾ-ḥ-d → “None”

literal: oneness; unity; absolute unicity; singleness of divine essence

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

حدّ

ḥ-d-d → “limits”

literal: iron; sharp, keen, acute

تجاوز

j-w-z → “transgressed”

literal: to transgress; to exceed; to overstep; to cross over

ننمود

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

literal: do; show; make

لعمر

ʿ-m-r → “By God”

literal: life; age; duration; by the life of (oath)

اللّه

ʾ-l-h

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

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

اهل

ʾ-h-l

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

نبوده

b-w-d → “been”

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

نيستند

h-s-t → “are they now” Distinctive

literal: is not; not to be; does not exist; negation, denial, banishment; to negate, deny, banish; contradiction; opposition; contrariety

قلوبشان

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

بنور

n-w-r → “light”

literal: light; illumination

تقوی

w-q-y → “fear of God”

literal: to protect, safeguard, shield

بطراز

ṭ-r-z → “adornment”

literal: ornament; adornment; embroidery; stripe

محبّة

ḥ-b-b → “love”

literal: love; affection

مزيّن

z-y-n → “adorned”

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

همّشان

h-m-m → “endeavor” Distinctive

literal: all; together; also; even

اصلاح

ṣ-l-ḥ → “betterment”

literal: peace; reconciliation

عالم

ʿ-l-m → “world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

اراده

r-w-d → “purpose” Distinctive

literal: to will; to intend; to wish; will, volition, intention, desire

انکه

ʾ-n

literal: that; indeed; that, to

اختلاف

kh-l-f → “differences”

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

ميان

m-y-n

literal: between; among; amid; in the midst of

برخيزد

kh-y-z → “arisen” Distinctive

literal: arise; arose; arisen

نار

n-ʾ-r → “flame”

literal: fire; blaze; flame

ضغينه

ḍ-gh-n → “enmity”

literal: rancor, hatred, malice, spite

بغضا

b-gh-ḍ → “hatred”

literal: hatred; enmity; animosity

خاموشی

kh-m-sh → “quench”

literal: to extinguish; to quench; to silence; silent

پذيرد

p-dh-r

literal: to accept; to receive; to acknowledge; to adopt

تا

t-y-y

literal: so that/until

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “whole” Distinctive

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

قطعه

q-ṭ-ʿ

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

واحده

w-ḥ-d → “one”

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

مشاهده

sh-h-d → “witness”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

گردد

g-r-d → “were” Distinctive

literal: become; to become; make

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet

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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

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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

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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

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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 ¶