Skip to main content

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §212

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 212 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ در اين بيان مقصود عالميان که بعاموص فرموده تفکّر نما قوله [ فاستعدّ للقاء الهک يا اسرائيل فانّه هو ذا الّذي صنع الجبال و خلق الرّيح و اخبر الانسان ما هو فکره الّذی يجعل الفجر ظلاما و يمشی علی مشارف الارض يهوه اله الجنود اسمه ] ميفرمايد فجر را تاريک مينمايد مقصود انکه اگر در حين ظهور مکلّم طور نفسی خود را صبح صادق داند بقوّت و قدرت الهی تاريک ميشود صبح کاذبست و خود را صادق ميداند ويل له و ويل لمن اتّبعه من دون بيّنة من اللّه ربّ العالمين *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! Reflect upon these words addressed by Him Who is the Desire of the world to Amos. He saith: "Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, for, lo, He that formeth the mountains and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of Hosts, is His name." He saith that He maketh the morning darkness. By this is meant that if, at the time of the Manifestation of Him Who conversed on Sinai anyone were to regard himself as the true morn, he will, through the might and power of God, be turned into darkness. He truly is the false dawn, though believing himself to be the true one. Woe unto him, and woe unto such as follow him without a clear token from God, the Lord of the worlds.

Translation Notes

قوله
qúlh q-w-l

literal: say; saying

SE rendered بعاموص (bʿámúṣ)فرموده (frmúdh)تفکّر (tfkkr)نما (nmá)قوله (qúlh)فاستعدّ (fástʿdd)للقاء (llqáʾ)الهک (al-hk)اسرائيل (isráʾíl) as “Amos, saith, Reflect, will, "Prepare, to meet, thy God, Israel”

words 27% saith 22% through 10% word 10% utterance 7% saying 5% speech 5% theme 5% sayings 5% argument 5%
اسرائيل
isráʾíl s-r-ʾ “songs”

literal: singers, songs

2 occurrences in corpus

ذا
dhá dh-w

literal: possessor; possessor of

SE rendered للقاء (llqáʾ)الهک (al-hk)اسرائيل (isráʾíl)فانّه (fánnh)ذا (dhá)صنع (ṣnʿ)الجبال (al-jbál)خلق (khlq)الرّيح (ar-ríḥ) as “to meet, thy God, Israel, He, formeth, the mountains, createth, the wind”

3 occurrences in corpus

الرّيح
ar-ríḥ r-y-ḥ “wind”

literal: wind

1 occurrence in corpus

انکه
inkh ʾ-n “that”

literal: that; indeed; that, to

SE rendered فجر (fjr)تاريک (tárík)مينمايد (mínmáyd)مقصود (mqṣúd)انکه (inkh)حين (ḥín)ظهور (ẓhúr)مکلّم (mkllm)طور (ṭúr) as “the morning, darkness, He maketh, By this is meant, that, the time, the Manifestation, Who conversed, on Sinai”

have 10% behold 10% will 10% such 10% either 10% \‘verily 10% verily 10% truth 10% \‘they 10% although 10%

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 ¶