Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §204

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 204 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ قصد شاطیء بحر اعظم فرما ثمّ ادخل فی السّفينة الحمراء الّتي قدّرها اللّه لاهل البهاء فی قيّوم الاسماء و انّها تمرّ علی البرّ و البحر من دخل فيها نجی و من اعرض هلک * اذا دخلت و فزت ولّ وجهک شطر کعبة اللّه المهيمن القيّوم و قل : اللّهمّ انّی اسألک من بهائک بأبهاه و کلّ بهائک بهیّ * اذا تفتح علی وجهک ابواب الملکوت و تری ما لا رأت العيون و تسمع ما لا سمعت الآذان * انّ المظلوم يعظک کما وعظک و ما اراد لک الّا الدّخول فی بحر احديّة اللّه ربّ العالمين * هذا يوم فيه تنادی کلّ الاشياء و تبشّر النّاس بهذا الظّهور الّذی به ظهر ما کان مکنونا مخزونا فی علم اللّه العزيز الحميد *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! Seek thou the shore of the Most Great Ocean, and enter, then, the Crimson Ark which God hath ordained in the Qayyum-i-Asmá’ for the people of Bahá. Verily, it passeth over land and sea. He that entereth therein is saved, and he that turneth aside perisheth. Shouldst thou enter therein and attain unto it, set thy face towards the Kaaba of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, and say: "O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy most glorious light, and all Thy lights are verily glorious." Thereupon, will the doors of the Kingdom be flung wide before thy face, and thou wilt behold what eyes have never beheld, and hear what ears have never heard. This Wronged One exhorteth thee as He hath exhorted thee before, and hath never had any wish for thee save that thou shouldst enter the ocean of the unity of God, the Lord of the worlds. This is the day whereon all created things cry out, and announce unto men this Revelation, through which hath appeared what was concealed and preserved in the knowledge of God, the Mighty, the All-Praised.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

قصد

q-ṣ-d → “purpose” Distinctive

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

شاطیء

sh-ṭ-ʾ → “shore”

literal: shore; bank; coast; beach

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “Most Great Ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

اعظم

ʿ-ẓ-m

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

فرما

f-r-m → “He” Distinctive

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

ثمّ

th-m-m → “then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

ادخل

d-kh-l → “enter”

literal: to enter; to admit; to bring in

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in it; in them

السّفينة

s-f-n → “Ark”

literal: ship; ship/ark; ship, ark

الحمراء

ḥ-m-r → “Crimson”

literal: to be red; to redden

الّتي

ʾ-l-l → “which”

literal: who; which/that; which

قدّرها

q-d-r → “ordained”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

لاهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

literal: to distract; to divert; to amuse

البهاء

b-h-w → “the All-Glorious” Distinctive

literal: splendor; glory; magnificence; Bahá (Proper Name in Bahá’í texts)

قيّوم

q-w-m → “people” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

الاسماء

s-m-w → “heaven” Distinctive

literal: heaven; sky

انّها

null → ““death””

literal: that, it; to be; indeed

تمرّ

m-r-r → “At one time” Distinctive

literal: matter; affair; thing

علی

ʿ-l-w → “over” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

البرّ

b-r-r → “land”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

من

m-n → “from”

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

نجی

n-j-w → “deliver” Distinctive

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

اعرض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turneth aside”

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

هلک

h-l-k → “perisheth”

literal: to destroy; to ruin; to cause to perish; perishing; destroyer; lost

اذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

فزت

f-w-z → “attain”

literal: to attain; to gain; to succeed; to win

ولّ

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: friend; lord; guardian

وجهک

w-j-h → “face”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

شطر

sh-ṭ-r → “towards”

literal: side, direction; half; to split

کعبة

k-ʿ-b → “adored sanctuary”

literal: Kaaba; cube/Kaaba; Kaaba/lodestar

المهيمن

h-m-n → “Help in Peril”

literal: the Protector; the Overseer; the Guardian; inspiration; revelation; intuition

قل

q-w-l → “say”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

انّی

ʾ-n-n → “I”

literal: I, verily; behold I

اسألک

s-ʾ-l → “beseech”

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

تفتح

f-t-ḥ → “open”

literal: opening; opening up; conquests; revelations; disclosure

ابواب

b-w-b → “doors”

literal: door; gate; chapter; way; manner

الملکوت

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

تری

r-ʾ-y → “behold”

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

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

العيون

ʿ-y-n → “eyes”

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence; to appoint; to designate; to specify; to determine

تسمع

s-m-ʿ → “hear”

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

الآذان

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

انّ

ʾ-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

المظلوم

ẓ-l-m → “This Wronged One”

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

يعظک

w-ʿ-ẓ → “counsels” Distinctive

literal: one; any; each

کما

k-m → “as”

literal: as; like; how much; lane; street; quarter; abode

اراد

r-y-d → “had any wish” Distinctive

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

لک

l → “His is”

literal: for us; to us

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

احديّة

ʾ-ḥ-d → “unity” Distinctive

literal: oneness; uniqueness; absolute unity; singularity of God

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: Lord; lord; divine

العالمين

ʿ-l-m → “worlds”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “This”

literal: this; that

يوم

y-w-m → “day”

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

تنادی

n-d-y → “cry out”

literal: call; voice; cry; summons; to call; to proclaim; to cry out; to summon

الاشياء

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

تبشّر

b-sh-r → “announce”

literal: human; mankind; human nature

النّاس

n-ʾ-s → “men”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

الظّهور

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

الّذی

l-dh-y → “which”

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

به

b-h

literal: to; with it; with

کان

k-w-n → “was”

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

مکنونا

k-n-n → “hidden”

literal: to do; to make; to perform

مخزونا

kh-z-n → “preserved”

literal: to store, to treasure; storehouse, depository, treasury

العزيز

ʿ-z-z → “Mighty”

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

الحميد

ḥ-m-d → “All-Praised”

literal: praise; to praise

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 ¶