Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §219

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 219 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا معشر المنصفين در امواج بحر بيان و علم الهی نظر نمائيد و تفکّر کنيد تا بلسان ظاهر و باطن شهادت دهيد بانّ عنده علم کلّ شیء فی الکتاب لا يعزب عن علمه من شیء انّه اظهر ما کان مکنونا اذ استوی علی عرش البيان فی الماب * انچه نازل شده کلمه بکلمه در ارض ظاهر گشته و ميشود از برای احدی مجال اعراض و اعتراض نه و لکن چون انصاف مخذول و مستور اکثری باوهامات خود تکلّم مينمايند *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O concourse of the fair-minded! Observe and reflect upon the billows of the ocean of the utterance and knowledge of God, so that ye may testify with your inner and outer tongues that with Him is the knowledge of all that is in the Book. Nothing escapeth His knowledge. He, verily, hath manifested that which was hidden, when He, upon His return, mounted the throne of the Bayán. All that hath been sent down hath and will come to pass, word for word, upon earth. No possibility is left for anyone either to turn aside or protest. As fairness, however, is disgraced and concealed, most men speak as prompted by their own idle fancies.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

معشر

ʿ-sh-r → “concourse”

literal: association; companionship; social interaction; عشرين (twenty) is from numeral root ع-ش-ر, distinct from ‘association’ meaning

المنصفين

n-ṣ-f → “of the fair-minded”

literal: justice; fairness; equity

در

d-r-r → “upon”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

امواج

m-w-j → “billows”

literal: wave; billows; surge

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “of the ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

بيان

b-y-n → “utterance”

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

علم

ʿ-l-m → “knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

الهی

ʾ-l-h → “of God”

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

نظر

n-ẓ-r → “Observe” Distinctive

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

نمائيد

n-m-ʾ → “may” Distinctive

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

تفکّر

f-k-r → “reflect” Distinctive

literal: thoughts; ideas; fancies; opinions; to think; to reflect; to contemplate

کنيد

k-r-d → “made” Distinctive

literal: do; to do; do, make

تا

t-y-y → “so that”

literal: so that/until

بلسان

l-s-n → “tongues”

literal: tongue; language

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “outer” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

باطن

b-ṭ-n → “inner”

literal: inner; hidden; inward; esoteric

شهادت

sh-h-d → “testify”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

دهيد

d-h → “imputed” Distinctive

literal: to give; to provide; to yield; to grant; to bestow

بانّ

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “with Him” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

شیء

sh-y-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الکتاب

k-t-b → “the Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يعزب

ʿ-z-b → “escapeth”

literal: to escape; to be hidden from; to be distant from

عن

ʿ-n

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

من

m-n → “of”

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

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “He, verily”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

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

اذ

ʾ-dh-dh → “whilst”

literal: when; since

استوی

s-w-y → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: level; equal; straight; upon a throne; resting upon; toward; to; direction of; other than; besides; except

علی

ʿ-l-w → “upon His return” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

عرش

ʿ-r-sh → “throne”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

الماب

ʾ-w-b

literal: between; amongst

انچه

ʾ-n → “All that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

نازل

n-z-l → “been sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

شده

sh-d

literal: to become; to be

کلمه

k-l-m → “word”

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

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “upon earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

گشته

g-sh-t → “hath”

literal: become; became; to become

ميشود

sh-w-d

literal: perhaps, perchance, haply, maybe, possibly; to become; to be; to happen; to occur

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

برای

b-r-y → “for”

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

احدی

ʾ-ḥ-d → “anyone”

literal: oneness; unity; absolute unicity; singleness of divine essence

مجال

m-j-l → “room”

literal: scope; room; opportunity; field

اعراض

ʿ-r-ḍ → “turn aside” Distinctive

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

نه

n-h-y → “No” Distinctive

literal: end; ended; utmost

لکن

l-k-n → “however”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

چون

ch-w-n → “As”

literal: since; when; as

مخذول

kh-dh-l → “Abase”

literal: to abandon; to forsake; abandoned; forsaken; defeated

مستور

s-t-r → “concealed”

literal: to veil; to conceal; to cover; veil; covering

اکثری

k-th-r → “most”

literal: majority; multitude; abundance; multiplicity

باوهامات

w-h-m → “by their own idle fancies”

literal: to imagine, suppose; fancy, idle imagination

خود

kh-w-d

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

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 ¶