Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §200

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 200 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ بايد علما با حضرت سلطان ايّده اللّه متّحد شوند و در ليالی و ايّام بما يرتفع به شأن الدّولة و الملّة تمسّک نمايند * اين حزب بتمام همّت بتهذيب نفوس و اصلاح امور متشبّث و مشغولند * يشهد بذلک ما نزّل من القلم الاعلی فی هذا اللّوح المبين * چه بسا از امور که سهل و اسان بنظر می‌ايد و لکن اکثری از ان غافل و باموريکه سبب تضييع ايّامست مشغول *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! It is incumbent upon the divines to unite with His Majesty, the Sháh - may God assist him - and to cleave day and night unto that which will exalt the station of both the government and the nation. This people are assiduously occupied in enlightening the souls of men and in rehabilitating their condition. Unto this testifieth that which hath been sent down by the Most Sublime Pen in this lucid Tablet. How often have things been simple and easy of accomplishment, and yet most men have been heedless, and busied themselves with that which wasteth their time!

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

بايد

b-y-d → “is incumbent” Distinctive

literal: by hand; with hands; eternal; perpetual; everlasting

علما

ʿ-l-m → “divines” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

با

b-ʾ-ʾ → “with”

literal: to; with; by

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “His Majesty”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “Sháh”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

ايّده

ʾ-y-d → “may God assist”

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

اللّه

ʾ-l-h

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

متّحد

w-ḥ-d → “unite”

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

شوند

sh-w-d

literal: become; to become; became

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ليالی

l-ʾ-l → “pearls”

literal: night; darkness

ايّام

y-w-m → “day”

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

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

يرتفع

r-f-ʿ → “will exalt”

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

به

b-h → “in” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

شأن

sh-ʾ-n → “station”

literal: affair; concern; matter; aspect; quality; state; affairs; matters; conditions; circumstances; affair, matter, station, rank, dignity; station; rank; importance; matter, affair, concern, dignity, rank

الدّولة

d-w-l → “government”

literal: state; government; dynasty; period of rule; dominion

الملّة

m-l-l → “nation”

literal: nation; people; religion; community

تمسّک

m-s-k → “cleave”

literal: musk; to seize; grip; to hold fast; to cling to; to grasp

نمايند

n-m-ʾ → “hath” Distinctive

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

اين

ʾ-y-n → “This”

literal: this; these

حزب

ḥ-z-b → “people”

literal: party; people; community

بتمام

t-m-m → “all”

literal: most complete; to complete; perfect; fullness

همّت

h-m-m

literal: them (feminine or general); by them; through them

بتهذيب

h-dh-b → “edify”

literal: refinement; polishing; edification; edifying; cultivation

نفوس

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche

اصلاح

ṣ-l-ḥ → “betterment”

literal: peace; reconciliation

امور

ʾ-m-r → “Cause” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

متشبّث

sh-b-th

literal: to cling to; to grasp; to hold fast

مشغولند

sh-gh-l → “occupied”

literal: to occupy; to engage; to busy; occupation

يشهد

sh-h-d → “testifieth”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

بذلک

dh-l-k → “Unto this”

literal: that; this; it; by that

نزّل

n-z-l → “sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

من

m-n → “by” Distinctive

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

القلم

q-l-m → “the Most Sublime Pen”

literal: pen; writing instrument

الاعلی

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this lucid”

literal: this; that

اللّوح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

المبين

b-y-n

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

چه

ch-h → “For”

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

بسا

b-s-y

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

سهل

s-h-l → “belittle”

literal: easy; to make easy; to regard as light

اسان

y-s-r → “left” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

بنظر

n-ẓ-r

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

می‌ايد

ʾ-y-d

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

لکن

l-k-n → “yet”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

اکثری

k-th-r → “most men”

literal: majority; multitude; abundance; multiplicity

ان

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

غافل

gh-f-l → “heedless”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

باموريکه

ʾ-m-r → “Cause” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

سبب

s-b-b

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

تضييع

ḍ-y-ʿ → “extermination”

literal: wasting; squandering; loss; harm

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 ¶