Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §261

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 261 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و قال ابن مسعود رضی اللّه عنه انّ النّبيّ - صلّی اللّه عليه و سلّم - قال الا انّ افضل السّواحل عسقلان و انّ عکّاء افضل من عسقلان و فضل عکّاء علی عسقلان و علی جميع السّواحل کفضل محمّد علی جميع الانبياء الا اخبرکم بمدينة بين جبلين فی الشّام فی وسط المرج يقال لها عکّاء الا و انّ من دخلها راغبا فيها و فی زيارتها غفر اللّه له ما تقدّم من ذنبه و ما تاخّر و من خرج منها غير زائر الا لم يبارک اللّه له فی خروجه * الا و انّ فيها عينا يقال لها عين البقر من شرب منها شربة ملأ اللّه قلبه نورا و امّنه من العذاب الاکبر يوم القيامة *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Ibn-i-Mas'ud - may God be pleased with him - hath stated: "The Prophet - may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him - hath said: \‘Of all shores the best is the shore of Askelon, and ‘Akká is, verily, better than Askelon, and the merit of ‘Akká above that of Askelon and all other shores is as the merit of Muḥammad above that of all other Prophets. I bring you tidings of a city betwixt two mountains in Syria, in the middle of a meadow, which is called ‘Akká. Verily, he that entereth therein, longing for it and eager to visit it, God will forgive his sins, both of the past and of the future. And he that departeth from it, other than as a pilgrim, God will not bless his departure. In it is a spring called the Spring of the Cow. Whoso drinketh a draught therefrom, God will fill his heart with light, and will protect him from the most great terror on the Day of Resurrection.'"

Translation Notes

قال

q-w-l → “Say” Distinctive

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

ابن

b-n-y → “SON”

literal: son

رضی

r-ḍ-y → “good-pleasure” Distinctive

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

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

عنه

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

انّ

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

النّبيّ

n-b-ʾ → “Prophet”

literal: prophet; prophets

صلّی

ṣ-l-y → “blessings”

literal: blessings; prayers; salutations

عليه

ʿ-l-y → “upon Him”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

سلّم

s-l-m → “salutations”

literal: resignation; submission; surrender; submissiveness

الا

ʾ-kh-r

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

افضل

f-ḍ-l → “grace” Distinctive

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

السّواحل

s-w-ḥ → “shores”

literal: shore; coast; beach

من

m-n → “from”

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

علی

ʿ-l-w → “above” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

جميع

j-m-ʿ → “all other”

literal: to gather; to assemble; group; number

محمّد

ḥ-m-d → “thanks”

literal: praise; Muhammad; praised

الانبياء

n-b-ʾ → “Prophets”

literal: prophet; prophets

اخبرکم

kh-b-r → “bring you tidings”

literal: all-knowing; aware; well-informed; omniscient

بمدينة

m-d-n → “city”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

بين

b-y-n → “betwixt” Distinctive

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

جبلين

j-b-l → “two mountains”

literal: mountain; mountains; the mountains

وسط

w-s-ṭ → “meridian”

literal: mediator; intermediary; means; to mediate

المرج

m-r-j → “meadow”

literal: return; place of return; pasture

لها

l-h-w

literal: to it; towards it; unto it

دخلها

d-kh-l → “entereth”

literal: to enter; to admit; to bring in

راغبا

r-gh-b → “spurred him on” Distinctive

literal: to desire, wish for; to turn away from; to be inclined towards

فيها

f-y → “in”

literal: in it; in them

زيارتها

z-w-r → “visit”

literal: because; since; for; inasmuch as

غفر

gh-f-r → “forgive”

literal: to forgive; forgiveness

له

h-w → “his”

literal: for them both; to both of them (dual pronoun)

ما

m-ʾ

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

تقدّم

q-d-m → “past”

literal: ancient; step; eternity

ذنبه

dh-n-b → “sins”

literal: sin; crime; offense; fault

تاخّر

ʾ-kh-r → “future”

literal: except; but; if not; lo; now; at this time; save; only; unless

خرج

kh-r-j → “departeth”

literal: bringing out, taking out, expulsion, extraction

غير

gh-y-r → “other”

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

لم

l-y-s → “not”

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

يبارک

b-r-k → “bless”

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful

عينا

ʿ-y-n → “spring”

literal: eye; fountain; spring; essence

البقر

b-q-r → “of Aynu’l-Baqar”

literal: to split; to cleave; to explain in detail; the Splitter

شرب

sh-r-b → “drinketh” Distinctive

literal: to drink; to imbibe

ملأ

m-l-ʾ → “Concourse”

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

قلبه

q-l-b → “heart”

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

نورا

n-w-r → “light”

literal: light; illumination

امّنه

ʾ-m-n → “faith” Distinctive

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure

العذاب

ʿ-dh-b → “chastisement”

literal: torment, punishment, chastisement

الاکبر

k-b-r → “most great” Distinctive

literal: great; grand; mighty; large

يوم

y-w-m → “Day”

literal: day; age; period; era; a day

القيامة

q-w-m → “Resurrection”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

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 ¶