Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §246

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 246 of 268.

Source (Persian)

* و همچنين در مقام ديگر ميفرمايد [ اگر در اين حين ظاهر شود من اوّل عابدين و اوّل ساجدينم ] انتهی * يا قوم انصاف دهيد مقصود حضرت اعلی انکه قرب ظهور ناس را از شريعه باقيه الهيّه منع ننمايد چنانچه اصحاب يحيی را از اقرار بروح منع نمود * مکرّر فرموده و ميفرمايد [ بيان و انچه در او نازل شده شما را از ان ساذج وجود و مالک غيب و شهود منع ننمايد ] مع اين حکم محکم اگر کسی ببيان تمسّک نمايد از ظلّ سدره مبارکه عليا خارجست انصفوا يا قوم و لا تکونوا من الغافلين *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

In another connection He, likewise, saith: "Were He to appear this very moment, I would be the first to adore Him, and the first to bow down before Him." Be fair, O people! The purpose of the Most Exalted One (the Báb) was to insure that the proximity of the Revelation should not withhold men from the Divine and everlasting Law, even as the companions of John (the Baptist) were prevented from acknowledging Him Who is the Spirit (Jesus). Time and again He hath said: "Suffer not the Bayán and all that hath been revealed therein to withhold you from that Essence of Being and Lord of the visible and invisible." Should any one, considering this binding injunction, cling unto the Bayán, such a one hath, verily, passed out of the shadow of the blessed and exalted Tree. Be fair, O people, and be not of the heedless.

Translation Notes

همچنين

ch-n-n → “likewise”

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

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

ديگر

d-g-r

literal: home; place; land; abode

ميفرمايد

f-r-m → “saith”

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

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

اين

ʾ-y-n → “this Chapter”

literal: this; these

حين

ḥ-y-n → “moment”

literal: time; moment; while; season

شود

sh-w-d

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

من

m-n → “I” Distinctive

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

اوّل

ʾ-w-l → “first”

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

عابدين

ʿ-b-d → “adore”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

ساجدينم

s-j-d → “worship” Distinctive

literal: mosque; place of prostration

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

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

قوم

q-w-m → “people”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

انصاف

n-ṣ-f → “fair”

literal: justice; fairness; equity

دهيد

d-h → “imputed” Distinctive

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

مقصود

q-ṣ-d → “purpose”

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

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “His Majesty”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

اعلی

ʿ-l-w → “One” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

انکه

ʾ-n → “to” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

قرب

q-r-b → “proximity”

literal: place of sacrifice; altar

ظهور

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

ناس

n-ʾ-s → “men”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

شريعه

sh-r-ʿ → “Law”

literal: law; legislation; religious law; canon; ordinance

باقيه

b-q-y → “everlasting”

literal: remaining; everlasting; eternal; immortal; permanence; duration; continuance

الهيّه

ʾ-l-h → “Divine”

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

منع

m-n-ʿ → “withhold”

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

ننمايد

n-m-ʾ → “withhold”

literal: to appear; to show; to display; to exhibit

اصحاب

ṣ-ḥ-b → “companions”

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

يحيی

ḥ-y-y → “life” Distinctive

literal: life; living; shame

اقرار

q-r-r → “acknowledged”

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

بروح

r-w-ḥ → “Spirit”

literal: to go; to depart; to rest; spirit; soul

مکرّر

k-r-r → “Time and again”

literal: to repeat; to reiterate

بيان

b-y-n → “Bayán” Distinctive

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

او

h-w-w

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

نازل

n-z-l → “revealed”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

شده

sh-d → “was”

literal: to become; to be

شما

sh-m-ʾ → “you”

literal: you (plural); your

ساذج

s-dh-j → “Essence”

literal: simplicity, artlessness, plainness; simple soul or being

وجود

w-j-d → “Being”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

مالک

m-l-k → “Lord”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

غيب

gh-y-b → “invisible”

literal: the unseen; the invisible; the hidden; the unknowable; stranger; foreign; alien; separated

شهود

sh-h-d → “visible”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

مع

m-ʿ

literal: with; together with; alongside

حکم

ḥ-k-m → “injunction” Distinctive

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom; firm; solid; strengthened

کسی

k-s → “him”

literal: someone; anyone; a person

ببيان

b-y-n → “Bayán”

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

تمسّک

m-s-k → “cleave”

literal: musk; to seize; grip

ظلّ

ẓ-l-l → “shadow”

literal: to take shelter; to dwell in shadow

سدره

s-d-r → “Tree”

literal: lote-tree; divine tree

مبارکه

b-r-k → “blessed”

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

خارجست

kh-r-j → “passed out”

literal: go out; exit; outside

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تکونوا

k-w-n → “be”

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

الغافلين

gh-f-l → “heedless”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

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 ¶