Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §186

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 186 of 268.

Source (Persian)

قد کنت ماشيا فی ارض الطّاء مشرق آيات ربّک سمعت حنين المنابر و مناجاتها مع اللّه تبارک و تعالی نادت و قالت يا اله العالم و سيّد الامم تری حالنا و ما ورد علينا من ظلم عبادک * قد خلقتنا و اظهرتنا لذکرک و ثنائک اذا تسمع ما يقول الغافلون علينا فی ايّامک * و عزّتک ذابت اکبادنا و اضطربت ارکاننا آه آه ياليت ما خلقتنا و ما اظهرتنا *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

I was walking in the Land of Ta (Ṭihrán) - the dayspring of the signs of thy Lord - when lo, I heard the lamentation of the pulpits and the voice of their supplication unto God, blessed and glorified be He. They cried out and said: "O God of the world and Lord of the nations! Thou beholdest our state and the things which have befallen us by reason of the cruelty of Thy servants. Thou hast created us and revealed us for Thy glorification and praise. Thou dost now hear what the wayward proclaim upon us in Thy days. By Thy might! Our souls are melted and our limbs are trembling. Alas, alas! Would that we had never been created and revealed by Thee!"

Translation Notes

قد

q-d → “I”

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

کنت

k-w-n → “was”

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

ماشيا

m-sh-y → “walking”

literal: way; manner; gait; to walk; to go; to proceed

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “Land”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

الطّاء

ṭ-y-y → “traverse”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

مشرق

sh-r-q → “dayspring of”

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

آيات

ʾ-y-y → “signs”

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

ربّک

r-b-b → “thy Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

سمعت

s-m-ʿ → “heard”

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

حنين

ḥ-n-n → “lamentation”

literal: trial, tribulation, ordeal, testing

المنابر

n-b-r → “the pulpits”

literal: pulpit; elevated platform for preaching

مناجاتها

n-j-w → “deliver” Distinctive

literal: saved; rescued; surviving; supplication; intimate communion; private prayer; invocation

مع

m-ʿ → “notwithstanding”

literal: with; together with; alongside

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

تبارک

b-r-k → “blessed”

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful; blest; blessed word

تعالی

ʿ-l-w → “glorified”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

نادت

n-d-y → “cried out” Distinctive

literal: you (singular/plural pronoun)

قالت

q-w-l → “said”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

اله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

العالم

ʿ-l-m → “the world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

سيّد

s-y-d → “my Master” Distinctive

literal: master; lord; chief; my master

الامم

ʾ-m-m → “the nations”

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

تری

r-ʾ-y → “beholdest”

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

حالنا

ḥ-w-l → “our state”

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

ورد

w-r-d → “have befallen”

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

علينا

ʿ-l-y → “us”

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

من

m-n → “from”

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

ظلم

ẓ-l-m → “cruelty”

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

عبادک

ʿ-b-d → “Thy servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

خلقتنا

kh-l-q → “created”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

اظهرتنا

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

لذکرک

dh-k-r → “for Thy glorification” Distinctive

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

ثنائک

th-n-y → “praise”

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

اذا

ʾ-dh-n

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

الغافلون

gh-f-l → “the wayward”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

ايّامک

y-w-m → “Thy days”

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

عزّتک

ʿ-z-z → “Thy might”

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

ذابت

dh-w-b → “are melted”

literal: to melt; to waste away

اکبادنا

k-b-d → “Our souls”

literal: liver; soul; essence

اضطربت

ḍ-r-b → “tremble”

literal: to be disturbed; to tremble; to be troubled; to be shaken

ارکاننا

r-k-n → “foundations” Distinctive

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

آه

ʾ-h → “Alas”

literal: alas

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

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 ¶