Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §262

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 262 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و عن أنس بن مالک رضی اللّه عنه قال قال رسول اللّه - صلّی اللّه عليه و سلّم - انّ فی السّواحل مدينة معلّقة تحت ساق العرش يقال لها عکّاء من بات فيها مرابطا احتسابا للّه تعالی کتب اللّه له ثواب الصّابرين و القائمين و الرّاکعين و السّاجدين الی يوم القيامة *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Anas, son of Malik - may God be pleased with him - hath said: "The Apostle of God - may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him - hath said: \‘By the shore of the sea is a city, suspended beneath the Throne, and named ‘Akká. He that dwelleth therein, firm and expecting a reward from God - exalted be He - God will write down for him, until the Day of Resurrection, the recompense of such as have been patient, and have stood up, and knelt down, and prostrated themselves, before Him.'"

Translation Notes

عن

ʿ-n → “of”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

أنس

ʾ-n-s → “OF MAN” Distinctive

literal: familiar; intimate; companionship; to be acquainted with; companion; intimate friend; to be intimate with; to keep company; to console

بن

b-n-y → “son”

literal: that; in that; because

مالک

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty; possessions; property; ownership

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

قال

q-w-l → “said”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

رسول

r-s-l → “Apostle”

literal: to send; dispatch; transmission

صلّی

ṣ-l-y → “may the blessings”

literal: blessings; prayers; salutations

عليه

ʿ-l-y → “be upon”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

سلّم

s-l-m → “His salutations”

literal: resignation; submission; surrender; submissiveness

انّ

ʾ-n → “is” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in it; in them

السّواحل

s-w-ḥ

literal: shore; coast; beach

مدينة

m-d-n → “city”

literal: religion; faith; creed; belief

معلّقة

ʿ-l-q → “dependent”

literal: attachment; connection; relationship

تحت

t-ḥ-t → “beneath”

literal: under; under, beneath; beneath

ساق

s-w-q

literal: leg; shank; to drive; to lead

العرش

ʿ-r-sh → “the Throne”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

لها

l-h-w

literal: to it; towards it; unto it

من

m-n → “from”

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

بات

b-t-t

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

مرابطا

r-b-ṭ → “firm”

literal: connection; attachment; link; bond

احتسابا

ḥ-s-b → “accounted” Distinctive

literal: according to; in accordance with; as regards

تعالی

ʿ-l-w → “exalted be He”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

کتب

k-t-b → “will write down” Distinctive

literal: book; scripture; writing

له

h-w → “is”

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

ثواب

th-w-b → “raiment” Distinctive

literal: reward, recompense

الصّابرين

ṣ-b-r → “have been patient”

literal: patience; forbearance; endurance; to be patient

القائمين

q-w-m → “have stood up”

literal: rising; standing; resurrection; uprising; establishment

الرّاکعين

r-k-ʿ → “knelt down”

literal: bowing; bending in worship

السّاجدين

s-j-d → “worship” Distinctive

literal: prostrate; mosque; prostrated

الی

ʾ-l-y → “until”

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

يوم

y-w-m → “Day”

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

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 ¶