Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §185

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 185 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ در اطوار نفوس تفکّر نما * ساکنين مدائن علم و حکمت متحيّر که ايا چه واقع شده ؟ حزب شيعه که خود را اعلم و ازهد و اتقی از جميع احزاب عالم ميشمردند در يوم ظهور اعراض نمودند و ظلمی از ان حزب ظاهر شد که شبه نداشته و ندارد * فی الجمله تفکّر لازم از اوّل ظهور ان حزب الی حين چه مقدار از علماء که امدند و يکنفس از ايشان بر کيفيّت ظهور اگاه نه * ايا اين غفلت را سبب چه بوده؟ لو نذکره لتنفطر ارکانهم * تفکّر لازم بل تفکّر هزار هزار سنه لازم شايد برشحی از بحر علم فائز شوند و بيابند انچه را که اليوم از ان غافلند *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! Ponder the behavior of men. The inmates of the cities of knowledge and wisdom are sore perplexed asking themselves why it is that the Shí‘ah sect, which regarded itself as the most learned, the most righteous, and the most pious of all the peoples of the world, hath turned aside in the Day of His Revelation, and hath shown a cruelty such as hath never been experienced. It is incumbent upon thee to reflect a while. From the inception of this sect until the present day how great hath been the number of the divines that have appeared, none of whom became cognizant of the nature of this Revelation. What could have been the cause of this waywardness? Were We to mention it, their limbs would cleave asunder. It is necessary for them to meditate, to meditate for a thousand thousand years, that haply they may attain unto a sprinkling from the ocean of knowledge, and discover the things whereof they are oblivious in this day.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

اطوار

ṭ-w-r → “rustling”

literal: states; conditions; stages; modes; phases; manner

نفوس

n-f-s → “of men”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

تفکّر

f-k-r → “to reflect” Distinctive

literal: thoughts; ideas; fancies; opinions

نما

n-m-ʾ → “hath” Distinctive

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

ساکنين

s-k-n → “inmates”

literal: stillness, rest, quietude, tranquility

مدائن

m-d-n → “cities”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

علم

ʿ-l-m → “of knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

حکمت

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

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

متحيّر

ḥ-y-r → “sore perplexed”

literal: bewildered; perplexed; confused; astounded; amazed; bewilderment; perplexity; wonder; amazement

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

ايا

ʾ-y-y

literal: does; is it that (interrogative particle); sign; verse; O! (vocative particle); him; them (object pronoun)

چه

ch-h

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

واقع

w-q-ʿ

literal: to fall, to occur, to happen; incident, event

شده

sh-d

literal: to become; to be

حزب

ḥ-z-b → “Shí‘ah sect”

literal: party; people; community

شيعه

sh-y-ʿ

literal: Shia; followers; follower

خود

kh-w-d

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

ازهد

z-h-d → “most righteous”

literal: to renounce; to abstain; to have no taste for

اتقی

w-q-y → “Fear” Distinctive

literal: to protect, safeguard, shield

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “of all”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

ميشمردند

sh-m-r → “which regarded itself”

literal: to count; to regard; to esteem; to consider

يوم

y-w-m → “Day”

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

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “of His Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

اعراض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “hath turned aside” Distinctive

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

نمودند

n-m-ود

literal: do; to do; do/make

ظلمی

ẓ-l-m → “cruelty”

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

ان

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

شبه

sh-b-h → “doubt” Distinctive

literal: doubt; uncertainty; suspicion; resemblance; semblance

نداشته

d-ʾ-sh-t → “hath never been experienced” Distinctive

literal: to have; to possess; to hold

ندارد

d-ʾ-r

literal: below; lower than; beneath

فی

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

الجمله

j-m-l

literal: beauty; comeliness

لازم

l-z-m → “It is incumbent upon thee”

literal: necessary, incumbent, obligatory, essential

اوّل

ʾ-w-l → “first”

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

الی

ʾ-l-y → “until the present day”

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

حين

ḥ-y-n → “moment”

literal: time; moment; while; season

مقدار

q-d-r

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

امدند

ʾ-m-d → “hope” Distinctive

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

ايشان

ʾ-y-sh

literal: that; it (object pronoun with suffix)

بر

b-r-r

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

کيفيّت

k-y-f → “how” Distinctive

literal: how; in what manner

اگاه

ʾ-g-h → “became cognizant”

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

نه

n-h-y

literal: end; ended; utmost

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

سبب

s-b-b → “cause”

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

بوده؟

b-w-d → “What could have been” Distinctive

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

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

نذکره

dh-k-r → “to mention”

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

لتنفطر

f-ṭ-r → “true Faith” Distinctive

literal: to split; to burst asunder; to cleave

ارکانهم

r-k-n → “foundations” Distinctive

literal: pillar; cornerstone; support; fundamental element; limb; member

بل

b-l

literal: rather; but; rather/nay

هزار

h-z-r → “thousand”

literal: thousand

سنه

s-n-h → “years”

literal: year; way; tradition; custom

شايد

sh-y-d → “that haply”

literal: perhaps, perchance, haply, maybe, possibly; to become; to be; to happen; to occur

برشحی

r-sh-ḥ → “sprinkling”

literal: explanation; commentary; to explain; to open

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “from the ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

فائز

f-w-z → “they may attain unto”

literal: benefit, profit, advantage; usefulness; bounty; effusion; grace

شوند

sh-w-d

literal: become; to become; became

بيابند

y-ʾ-b → “they may find”

literal: to find; to obtain; to discover

غافلند

gh-f-l → “they are oblivious”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

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 ¶