Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §187

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 187 of 268.

Source (Persian)

قلوب مقرّبين از اين کلمات محترق و زفرات مخلصين از ان متصاعد * مکرّر علمای اعلام را لوجه اللّه نصيحت نموديم و بافق اعلی دعوت فرموديم که شايد در ايّام ظهور از امواج بحر بيان مقصود عالميان قسمت برند و بالمرّه محروم نمانند *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

The hearts of them that enjoy near access to God are consumed by these words, and from them the cries of such as are devoted to Him are raised. Time and again have We, for the sake of God, admonished the distinguished divines, and summoned them unto the Most Sublime Horizon, that perchance they might, in the days of His Revelation, obtain their portion of the ocean of the utterance of Him Who is the Desire of the world, and remain not utterly deprived thereof.

Translation Notes

قلوب

q-l-b → “hearts”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

مقرّبين

q-r-b → “near”

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

از

ʾ-z → “by” Distinctive

literal: from

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

کلمات

k-l-m → “words”

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

محترق

ḥ-r-q → “are consumed”

literal: to burn; to be consumed by fire; burning

زفرات

z-f-r → “sighs”

literal: sigh; sob; lamentation

مخلصين

kh-l-ṣ → “such as are devoted”

literal: sincere; devoted; pure one

ان

ʾ-n → “them”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

متصاعد

ṣ-ʿ-d → “ascend” Distinctive

literal: ascent; ascension; rising; elevation

مکرّر

k-r-r → “Time and again”

literal: to repeat; to reiterate

علمای

ʿ-l-m → “distinguished divines”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

لوجه

w-j-h → “for the sake of”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

نصيحت

n-ṣ-ḥ → “admonished”

literal: counsel; advice; admonition

نموديم

n-m-ʾ → “have We” Distinctive

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

بافق

ʾ-f-q → “horizon”

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

اعلی

ʿ-l-w → “Most Sublime” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

دعوت

d-ʿ-w → “summoned”

literal: call; invitation; claim

فرموديم

f-r-m

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

که

k-h → “that”

literal: that; who; who, that

شايد

sh-y-d → “perchance”

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

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ايّام

y-w-m → “days”

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

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “of His Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

امواج

m-w-j → “ocean”

literal: wave; billows; surge

بحر

b-ḥ-r

literal: sea; ocean

بيان

b-y-n → “utterance”

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

مقصود

q-ṣ-d → “Desire”

literal: intention; purpose; aim; goal; to seek; to direct oneself

قسمت

q-s-m → “their portion”

literal: oath; division; kind; type

برند

b-r-d → “obtain”

literal: to arrive; to reach; to attain; to come

بالمرّه

m-r-r → “utterly”

literal: to pass; to pass by; to go

محروم

ḥ-r-m → “deprived”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

نمانند

m-ʾ-n → “remain not”

literal: to remain; to stay; to be left

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 ¶