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Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §237

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 237 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا هادی حميّه جاهليّه قبل عباد بيچاره را از صراط مستقيم منع نمود * در حزب شيعه تفکّر نما هزار و دويست سنه يا قائم گفتند و بالآخره جميع بر شهادتش فتوی دادند و شهيدش نمودند مع انکه بحقّ جلّ جلاله و حضرت خاتم و اوصياء قائل و مقرّ و معترف بودند * حال قدری فکر لازم که شايد معلوم شود سببی که ما بين حقّ و خلق حائل شد چه بوده و علّت اعتراض و انکار چه عملی شده *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Hádí! The blind fanaticism of former times hath withheld the hapless creatures from the Straight Path. Meditate on the Shí‘ah sect. For twelve hundred years they have cried "O Qá’im!", until in the end all pronounced the sentence of His death, and caused Him to suffer martyrdom, notwithstanding their belief in, and their acceptance and acknowledgment of, the True One - exalted be His glory - and of the Seal of the Prophets, and of the Chosen Ones. It is now necessary to reflect a while, that haply that which hath come between the True One and His creatures may be discovered, and the deeds which have been the cause of protest and denial be made known.

Translation Notes

يا

literal: O; or

هادی

literal: guidance; to guide; direction; leading rightly; this; this one

حميّه

literal: to protect; to guard; to preserve; to defend

جاهليّه
j-h-l “foolish” Distinctive

literal: ignorant; foolish; the ignorant ones

قبل

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

عباد

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

بيچاره

literal: helpless; wretched; hapless; unfortunate

را

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

از

literal: from

صراط

literal: path, way, straight path

مستقيم

literal: rising; standing; resurrection; uprising; establishment

منع
m-n-ʿ “withheld” Distinctive

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

نمود
n-m-ʾ “may” Distinctive

literal: to become; to be

در

literal: in; in, at; radiant

حزب

literal: party; people; community

شيعه

literal: Shia; followers; follower

تفکّر

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

هزار

literal: thousand

دويست
d-w “two” Distinctive

literal: friend; beloved; to befriend

سنه

literal: year; way; tradition; custom

گفتند
g-f-t “said” Distinctive

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

بالآخره

literal: the hereafter, the next life, the world to come; last, latter; the next life, the hereafter; delay; postponement

جميع

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

بر

literal: on; on, upon; upon

شهادتش

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

فتوی

literal: fatwa; legal decision; pronouncement

دادند
d-ʾ-d “of equity” Distinctive

literal: to give; to grant; to issue

نمودند
n-m-ود “hath” Distinctive

literal: do; to do; do/make

مع

literal: with; together with; alongside

انکه

literal: that; indeed; that, to

بحقّ
ḥ-q-q “True One” Distinctive

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

جلّ

literal: majesty; glory; exaltation; magnificence

حضرت

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

خاتم

literal: to seal; to conclude; to end; seal

اوصياء
w-ṣ-y “testaments” Distinctive

literal: admonition; admonish; testament

قائل

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

مقرّ
q-r-r “acceptance” Distinctive

literal: matter; affair; thing

معترف

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

بودند

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

حال

literal: state; condition; circumstance

قدری

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

لازم

literal: necessary, incumbent, obligatory, essential

که
k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

شايد

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

معلوم
ʿ-l-m “knowledge” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

شود

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

سببی

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

ما

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

بين
b-y-n “between” Distinctive

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

خلق

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

شد
sh-d “hath come” Distinctive

literal: to become; to be

چه

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

علّت

literal: for us; to us

اعتراض

literal: objection, protest, denial; cavil

انکار
n-k-r “denial” Distinctive

literal: denial; rejection; repudiation; wrong; evil; to deny; to reject

عملی

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

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

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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