Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §221

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 221 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و همچنين نقطه اولی ميفرمايد [ بچشم او او را ببينيد و اگر بچشم غير ملاحظه کنيد هرگز بشناسائی و اگاهی فائز نشويد ] انتهی و اين فقره مخصوص است باين ظهور اعظم طوبی للمنصفين * و همچنين ميفرمايد [ نطفه يک ساله ظهور او اقوی است از کلّ بيان ] * اين بشارتهای بيان و کتب قبل مکرّر در کتب عديده باسامی مختلفه ذکر شده لعلّ النّاس ينصفون فيما اشرق و لاح من افق ارادة اللّه ربّ العرش العظيم*

Shoghi Effendi Translation

In like manner, the Primal Point saith: "Behold ye Him with His own eyes. Were ye to behold Him with the eyes of another, ye would never recognize and know Him." This referreth to naught else except this Most Great Revelation. Well is it with them that judge fairly. And likewise, He saith: "The year-old germ that holdeth within itself the potentialities of the Revelation that is to come is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces of the whole of the Bayán." These glad-tidings of the Bayán and of the Books of former times have been repeatedly mentioned under divers names in numerous books, that perchance men might judge equitably that which hath arisen and shone forth above the horizon of the will of God, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.

Translation Notes

همچنين

ch-n-n → “In like manner”

literal: always; ever; forever; at all times; constantly

نقطه

n-q-ṭ → “Point”

literal: point; dot; spot; region; area

اولی

ʾ-w-l → “Primal”

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

ميفرمايد

f-r-m → “saith”

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

بچشم

ch-sh-m → “with His own eyes”

literal: eye; vision; sight

او

h-w-w → “is”

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

ببينيد

d-y-d → “seen” Distinctive

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

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

غير

gh-y-r → “another”

literal: without; besides; other than; except; other; different

ملاحظه

l-ḥ-ẓ → “behold Him” Distinctive

literal: assembly; multitude; chiefs; to fill; people of rank; fullness, assembly

کنيد

k-r-d

literal: do; to do; do, make

هرگز

h-r-g → “never”

literal: never; at no time; never ever

بشناسائی

sh-n-kh-t → “recognize and know”

literal: to recognize, know, distinguish

اگاهی

ʾ-g-h

literal: aware; cognizant; informed; apprised; awareness; knowledge; consciousness

فائز

f-w-z

literal: benefit, profit, advantage; usefulness; bounty; effusion; grace

نشويد

sh-w-d → “ye would” Distinctive

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

انتهی

n-h-y

literal: end, limit, utmost, extreme; final; the end, limit, utmost bound; Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing; end; limit; terminus

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

فقره

f-q-r

literal: poor; needy; the poor one; pauper

مخصوص

kh-ṣ-ṣ

literal: specific matter; particularity; especially; in this matter

است

b-w-d → “is”

literal: to be; are (third person plural present copula)

باين

b-y-n → “utterance”

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

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “Most Great Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

اعظم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Most Great Revelation”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

طوبی

ṭ-w-b → “Well is it”

literal: happiness; blessedness; felicity

للمنصفين

n-ṣ-f → “that judge fairly” Distinctive

literal: justice; fairness; equity

نطفه

n-ṭ-f → “germ”

literal: germ; seed; sperm; drop; genesis

يک

y-k → “one”

literal: one; a single

ساله

s-n-h → ““The year-old” Distinctive

literal: year; annual; old

اقوی

q-w-y → “power” Distinctive

literal: strength; power; might; piety; fear of God; godliness

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

کلّ

k-l-l → “whole of the Bayán”

literal: for us; to us

بيان

b-y-n → “whole of the Bayán” Distinctive

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

بشارتهای

b-sh-r → “These glad-tidings”

literal: human; mankind; human nature

کتب

k-t-b → “Books of former times”

literal: book; scripture; writing

قبل

q-b-l

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

مکرّر

k-r-r → “have been repeatedly”

literal: to repeat; to reiterate

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

عديده

ʿ-d-d

literal: numerous; many; multiple

باسامی

s-m-w → “names”

literal: heaven; sky

مختلفه

kh-l-f → “divers”

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

ذکر

dh-k-r

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

شده

sh-d

literal: to become; to be

لعلّ

l-ʿ-l → “haply”

literal: perhaps; perchance; hopefully

النّاس

n-ʾ-s → “men”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

فيما

f-y → “in”

literal: in a day; during a day; one day after another

اشرق

sh-r-q → “hath arisen and shone forth”

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

لاح

l-w-ḥ

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

من

m-n → “above the horizon”

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

افق

ʾ-f-q

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

ارادة

r-w-d → “of the will”

literal: to will; to intend; to wish; will, volition, intention, desire

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

العرش

ʿ-r-sh → “of the Mighty Throne”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

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 ¶