Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §242

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 242 of 268.

Source (Persian)

مجدّد ميگويم و التماس ميکنم ببصر حديد در انچه نازل شده ملاحظه نما نفحات بيان اين ظهور غير بيانات قبل است * اين مظلوم لازال مبتلی بوده و مقرّ امنيکه در کتب حضرت اعلی و يا غير نظر نمايد نداشته * بعد از ورود در عراق بامر حضرت پادشاه ايران ايّده اللّه دو ماه او ازيد فاصله ميرزا يحيی وارد شد * ذکر نموديم ما را حسب الامر باينجا فرستاده‌اند تو خوبست در ايران باشی و ميرزا موسای اخوی را ميفرستيم بطرف ديگر چه که اسم شما در ديوان نيامده ميتوانيد بخدمتی قيام نمائيد * بعد اين مظلوم دو سنه منقطعا عن العالم هجرت کرد از بغداد * بعد از رجوع مشاهده شد توقّف کرده و سفرش در عهده تاخير مانده اين مظلوم بسيار محزون شد * حقّ شاهد و گواه که در جميع احيان بنشر امر مشغول بوده‌ايم سلاسل و اغلال منع ننمود کند و حبس از اظهار باز نداشت * و در ان ارض بر منع از فساد و اعمال غير مرضيّه غير طيّبه قيام نموديم و ليلا و نهارا بجميع اطراف الواح ارسال شد و مقصودی جز تهذيب نفوس و اعلای کلمه مبارکه نبوده

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Again I repeat, and plead with thee to carefully scrutinize that which hath been revealed. The breezes of utterance in this Revelation are not to be compared with those of former ages. This Wronged One hath been perpetually afflicted, and found no place of safety in which He could peruse either the writings of the Most Exalted One (the Báb) or those of any one else. About two months after Our arrival in ‘Iráq, following the command of His Majesty the Sháh of Persia - may God assist him - Mírzá Yaḥyá joined Us. We said unto him: "In accordance with the Royal command We have been sent unto this place. It is advisable for thee to remain in Persia. We will send Our brother, Mírzá Musa, to some other place. As your names have not been mentioned in the Royal decree, you can arise and render some service." Subsequently, this Wronged One departed from Baghdád, and for two years withdrew from the world. Upon Our return, We found that he had not left, and had postponed his departure. This Wronged One was greatly saddened. God testifieth and beareth Us witness that We have, at all times, been busied with the propagation of this Cause. Neither chains nor bonds, stocks nor imprisonment, have succeeded in withholding Us from revealing Our Self. In that land We forbad all mischief, and all unseemly and unholy deeds. Day and night We sent forth Our Tablets in every direction. We had no other purpose except to edify the souls of men, and to exalt the blessed Word.

Translation Notes

مجدّد

j-d-d → “new” Distinctive

literal: new, novel, renewed; novelty, innovation

ميگويم

g-w-y → “I say”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

التماس

l-t-m → “plead”

literal: supplication; request; to ask; to implore

ميکنم

k-r-d → “made” Distinctive

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

ببصر

b-ṣ-r → “eyes” Distinctive

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

حديد

ḥ-d-d → “limitations” Distinctive

literal: iron; sharp, keen, acute

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

انچه

ʾ-n → “that which”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

نازل

n-z-l → “been revealed”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

شده

sh-d → “been revealed”

literal: to become; to be

ملاحظه

l-ḥ-ẓ

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

نما

n-m-ʾ → “hath” Distinctive

literal: to show, display, exhibit; to grow, develop

نفحات

n-f-ḥ → “breezes”

literal: breeze; fragrance; whiff; breath; emanation

بيان

b-y-n → “utterance”

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

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this”

literal: this; these

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

غير

gh-y-r → “other”

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

قبل

q-b-l → “former ages” Distinctive

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

است

b-w-d → “are”

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

مظلوم

ẓ-l-m → “This Wronged One”

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

لازال

z-w-l → “at all times”

literal: necessary, incumbent, obligatory, essential

مبتلی

b-l-w → “perpetually afflicted”

literal: trial; affliction; tribulation; testing

مقرّ

q-r-r → “acknowledged” Distinctive

literal: matter; affair; thing

امنيکه

ʾ-m-n → “faith”

literal: faith; believer; believe

کتب

k-t-b → “writings” Distinctive

literal: book; scripture; writing

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “him”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

اعلی

ʿ-l-w → “Most Exalted One”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

نظر

n-ẓ-r → “Consider”

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

نداشته

d-ʾ-sh-t → “have”

literal: to have; to possess; to hold

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “after Our”

literal: after; behind; distance

از

ʾ-z → “in” Distinctive

literal: from

ورود

w-r-d → “arrival”

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

عراق

ʿ-r-q → “vein”

literal: Iraq; sweat

بامر

ʾ-m-r → “command” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

پادشاه

p-ʾ-d-sh-ʾ-h → “Sháh”

literal: king; monarch; shah

ايّده

ʾ-y-d → “may God assist”

literal: hand; power; strength; (plural) hands; agents; helpers; to assist, to support, to aid, to strengthen

اللّه

ʾ-l-h

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

دو

d-w → “two months”

literal: two; run; running

ماه

m-ʾ-h

literal: moon; month

او

h-w-w

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

ازيد

z-y-d

literal: increase; excess; more; additional; to increase; to grow; to be added

فاصله

f-ṣ-l

literal: detail; distinction; differentiation; to detail; to separate

يحيی

ḥ-y-y → “life” Distinctive

literal: greeting; salutation; tribute; to make alive; to revive

ذکر

dh-k-r → “mention”

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

ما

m-ʾ

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

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

حسب

ḥ-s-b → “accounted” Distinctive

literal: according to; in accordance with; as regards

باينجا

j-ʾ → “unto this place”

literal: here, this place; place

فرستاده‌اند

f-r-s-t → “despatch” Distinctive

literal: Persian; Persia

تو

t-w-w → “thou”

literal: you

خوبست

kh-w-b → “fast asleep” Distinctive

literal: ill-wisher; malevolent; those who wish harm

اخوی

ʾ-kh-w → “brother”

literal: brother; اخواني (my brethren) is from أ-خ-و (brother), not خ-و-ن (blood/treachery)

بطرف

ṭ-r-f → “eyes”

literal: extremity; end; edge; outskirt; periphery

ديگر

d-g-r → “other”

literal: home; place; land; abode

چه

ch-h

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

که

k-h → “that We”

literal: that; who; who, that

اسم

s-m-w → “names”

literal: name; title; designation

شما

sh-m-ʾ → “your”

literal: you (plural); your

ديوان

d-w-n → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: court; wall; register

نيامده

ʾ-m-d → “hope” Distinctive

literal: to not come; to not arrive; reaching; arrival; attainment; to bring, to produce; to present

ميتوانيد

t-w-ʾ-n → “unto Thy weak creatures” Distinctive

literal: powerful; power; can, able

بخدمتی

kh-d-m

literal: service; servitude; to serve

قيام

q-w-m → “arise and render some service”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

سنه

s-n-h

literal: year; way; tradition; custom

منقطعا

q-ṭ-ʿ → “detachment” Distinctive

literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

العالم

ʿ-l-m → “world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

هجرت

h-j-r

literal: to emigrate, migrate, forsake; migration, emigration

رجوع

r-j-ʿ

literal: return; reference; place of return; resort

مشاهده

sh-h-d → “found” Distinctive

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

توقّف

w-q-f → “hesitated”

literal: to stop; to halt; to pause; to hesitate

سفرش

s-f-r → “Embassy” Distinctive

literal: embassy, envoy, intercession

عهده

ʿ-h-d

literal: covenant; testament; promise; command

تاخير

ʾ-kh-r → ““last”” Distinctive

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

مانده

m-ʾ-n → “remain” Distinctive

literal: to remain; to stay; to be left

بسيار

b-s-r → “SON” Distinctive

literal: much; many; very; greatly

محزون

ḥ-z-n → “saddened”

literal: sorrow; grief; sadness; anguish; to grieve; to sorrow; to be sad

حقّ

ḥ-q-q → “God testifieth”

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

احيان

ḥ-y-n → “times”

literal: greeting; salutation; tribute; to make alive; to revive

بنشر

n-sh-r → “spreading”

literal: to scatter; to spread; to unfold; to disseminate

امر

ʾ-m-r → “this Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

مشغول

sh-gh-l → “been busied”

literal: to occupy; to engage; to busy; occupation

سلاسل

s-l-s-l → “chains”

literal: chain; links; succession

اغلال

gh-l-l

literal: one who envies; envious; malicious

منع

m-n-ʿ → “in withholding”

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

حبس

ḥ-b-s → “cast Him into prison” Distinctive

literal: to confine; to detain; prison

باز

b-ʾ-z

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

ارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “land”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

بر

b-r-r → “righteous” Distinctive

literal: on; on, upon; upon

فساد

f-s-d → “mischief”

literal: corruption; ruin; discord; mischief; decay

اعمال

ʿ-m-l → “unseemly and unholy deeds”

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

مرضيّه

r-ḍ-y

literal: good-pleasure, consent, satisfaction; satisfaction; pleasure; approval; contentment

طيّبه

ṭ-y-b

literal: good; pure; sweet; fragrant; virtuous

ليلا

l-y-l → “Day and night”

literal: night; darkness

نهارا

n-h-r

literal: river; to flow

بجميع

j-m-ʿ → “in every direction”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

الواح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablets”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

ارسال

r-s-l → “sent forth” Distinctive

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

مقصودی

q-ṣ-d → “purpose”

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

جز

j-z → “apart from”

literal: except

تهذيب

h-dh-b → “edify”

literal: refinement; polishing; edification; edifying; cultivation

نفوس

n-f-s → “souls”

literal: self; soul; psyche

کلمه

k-l-m → “Word”

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

مبارکه

b-r-k → “blessed”

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful; blest; blessed word

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 ¶