Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §20

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 20 of 268.

Source (Persian)

مشکاة بيان را اين کلمه بمثابه مصباح است * ای اهل عالم همه بار يک داريد و برگ يک شاخسار بکمال محبّت و اتّحاد و مودّت و اتّفاق سلوک نمائيد قسم بافتاب حقيقت نور اتّفاق افاق را روشن و منوّر سازد * حقّ اگاه گواه اين گفتار بوده و هست

Shoghi Effendi Translation

The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light are these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Day-Star of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth. The One true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words.

Translation Notes

مشکاة

sh-k-w → “complain” Distinctive

literal: niche; chamber; recess

بيان

b-y-n → “utterance”

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

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

کلمه

k-l-m → “words”

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

بمثابه

m-th-l

literal: like; example; parable; similitude

مصباح

ṣ-b-ḥ

literal: morning, dawn; daybreak

است

b-w-d → “is”

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

ای

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “ye” Distinctive

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

عالم

ʿ-l-m

literal: world; universe; the worlds

همه

h-m-h → “all”

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

بار

b-ʾ-r → “fruits”

literal: well; cistern; pit

يک

y-k → “one”

literal: one; a single

داريد

d-ʾ-r → “repository” Distinctive

literal: to have; to hold; to possess; to maintain

برگ

b-r-g → “leaves”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

شاخسار

sh-ʾ-kh → “branch”

literal: branch; twig; limb

بکمال

k-m-l → “utmost”

literal: perfection; completeness; fully; with full; in complete; to complete, perfect, fulfill

محبّت

ḥ-b-b → “love”

literal: love; affection

اتّحاد

w-ḥ-d → “harmony”

literal: unity; union; unification

مودّت

w-d-d → “friendliness”

literal: affection; love; friendship

اتّفاق

w-f-q → “aid” Distinctive

literal: accord, agreement, harmony; to agree, accord with

سلوک

s-l-k → “walk”

literal: conduct; behavior; way; path; spiritual wayfaring

نمائيد

n-m-ʾ

literal: to show, to display, to manifest, to exhibit; to manifest; to display; to show

قسم

q-s-m → “swear”

literal: to sacrifice; to ransom; to redeem

بافتاب

sh-m-s → “Day-Star” Distinctive

literal: horizon; sun

حقيقت

ḥ-q-q → “Truth”

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

نور

n-w-r → “light”

literal: light; illumination

افاق

ʾ-f-q → “whole earth” Distinctive

literal: horizon; sun

روشن

r-w-sh → “light” Distinctive

literal: light; illumination; brilliance; clarity

سازد

s-ʾ-z → “illuminate”

literal: to make; to create; to cause

اگاه

ʾ-g-h → “cognizant”

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

گواه

sh-h-d → “testifieth”

literal: witness; to testify; presence

گفتار

g-f-t → “words”

literal: utterance; speech; word; discourse

هست

h-s-t → “are”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

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 ¶