Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §254

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 254 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا هادی کتابش نزد تو حاضر است انکه اسمش را مستيقظ گذارده بخوان اگر چه ديده ای و لکن مکرّر مشاهده نما لعلّک تتّخذ لنفسک فی خباء الصّدق مقاما رفيعا *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Hádí! His book which he hath entitled "Mustayqiz" is in thy possession. Read it. Although thou hast seen the book, peruse it again, that haply thou mayest obtain for thyself a lofty seat beneath the canopy of truth.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

هادی

h-d-y → “guidance”

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

کتابش

k-t-b → “His book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

نزد

n-z-d → “unto”

literal: near; beside; with; in the presence of

تو

t-w-w

literal: you

حاضر

ḥ-ḍ-r

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

است

b-w-d → “is”

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

انکه

ʾ-n

literal: that; indeed; that, to

اسمش

s-m-w → “which he hath entitled”

literal: name

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

مستيقظ

y-q-ẓ → ““Mustayqiz”

literal: awakened; awakening; title of a work

گذارده

g-dh-r

literal: to place, leave; to set

بخوان

kh-w-ان → “Read it”

literal: to read; to call; to recite

اگر

ʾ-g-r → “were they”

literal: although; even if; though; notwithstanding

چه

ch-h

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

ديده

d-y-d → “seen”

literal: to give; to grant; to present; justice; judgment; to see; sight; eye; seen

ای

ʾ-y-y → “signs” Distinctive

literal: O; vocative particle; oh (vocative particle)

لکن

l-k-n

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

مکرّر

k-r-r → “again”

literal: to repeat; to reiterate

مشاهده

sh-h-d → “witness”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

نما

n-m-ʾ

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

لعلّک

l-ʿ-l → “that haply thou mayest”

literal: cause; reason; illness; defect

تتّخذ

ʾ-kh-dh → “laid hold” Distinctive

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

لنفسک

n-f-s → “for thyself”

literal: self; soul; psyche

فی

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

خباء

kh-b-ʾ → “Tabernacle”

literal: tent; pavilion; chamber; tabernacle; hiding place

الصّدق

ṣ-d-q → “of truth”

literal: to confirm; to verify; to acknowledge; to testify to truth

مقاما

q-w-m → “seat” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

رفيعا

r-f-ʿ → “lofty”

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet

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50 ¶

Gleanings

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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

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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 ¶