Skip to main content

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §202

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 202 of 268.

Source (Persian)

اميد انکه دولت ايران بان تمسّک فرمايد و اجرا دارد * حال خطّ بديعی و لسان جديدی اختراع شده اگر طالب باشند ارسال شود * مقصود انکه کلّ تمسّک نمايند باموريکه از زحمت و مشقّت بکاهد و ايّام در انچه سزاوار است صرف شود و بانتها رسد انّ اللّه هو المؤيّد العليم و المدبّر الخبير *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

We fain would hope that the Persian Government will adopt it and carry it out. At present, a new language and a new script have been devised. If thou desirest, We will communicate them to thee. Our purpose is that all men may cleave unto that which will reduce unnecessary labor and exertion, so that their days may be befittingly spent and ended. God, verily, is the Helper, the Knower, the Ordainer, the Omniscient.

Translation Notes

اميد

literal: to remain; to stay; to be left

انکه

literal: that; those; he; she; it

دولت

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

بان

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تمسّک

literal: musk; to seize; grip

فرمايد

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

اجرا

literal: trade; commerce; business; to flow; to run; to be in effect; flowing

دارد
d-ʾ-r “repository” Distinctive

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

حال

literal: state; condition; circumstance

خطّ

literal: line; writing; path; course

بديعی

literal: to create; most wondrous; excel

لسان
l-s-n “language” Distinctive

literal: tongue; language

جديدی

literal: new, novel, renewed; novelty, innovation

اختراع

literal: west; the western region

شده

literal: to become; to be

اگر

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

طالب
ṭ-l-b “theme” Distinctive

literal: seeker, one who seeks; those who seek

باشند
b-w-d “is” Distinctive

literal: to be; to exist; to remain

ارسال
r-s-l “Apostle” Distinctive

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

شود

literal: to come; to go; to arrive; came

مقصود

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

کلّ

literal: for us; to us

نمايند

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

باموريکه
ʾ-m-r “Cause” Distinctive

literal: life; age; duration; by the life of (oath)

از

literal: from

زحمت

literal: hardship; toil; labor; trouble; suffering

مشقّت
sh-q-q “discord” Distinctive

literal: hardship; difficulty; toil

بکاهد

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

ايّام

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

در

literal: in; in, at; radiant

سزاوار

literal: worthy; fitting; deserving; appropriate; suitable

صرف
ṣ-r-f “treatment” Distinctive

literal: pure; absolute; to turn away; to expend

بانتها

literal: end; limit; terminus

رسد
r-s-d “reached” Distinctive

literal: Persian verb رسیدن (to arrive/reach), not Arabic ر-س-د

اللّه

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

هو

literal: He; He is

المؤيّد
ʾ-y-d “assist” Distinctive

literal: to support; to assist; to strengthen; to confirm

العليم
ʿ-l-m “Knower” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

المدبّر

literal: deliberation; consideration; prudence; management; planning; counsel

الخبير

literal: all-knowing; aware; well-informed; omniscient

Source: Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 cover

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 ¶