Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §265

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 265 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و عن النّبيّ - صلّی اللّه عليه و سلّم - انّه قال فی عکّاء نوافل و فواضل يخصّ اللّه بها من يشاء * من قال فی عکّاء سبحان اللّه و الحمد للّه و لا اله الّا اللّه و اللّه اکبر و لا حول و لا قوّة الّا باللّه العلیّ العظيم کتب اللّه له الف حسنة و محا عنه الف سيّئة و رفع له الف درجة فی الجنّة و غفر له ذنوبه * و من قال فی عکّاء استغفر اللّه غفر اللّه له ذنوبه کلّها و من ذکر اللّه فی عکّاء بالغدوّ و الاصال و العشیّ و الابکار کان عند اللّه افضل من نقل السّيوف و الرّماح و السّلاح فی سبيل اللّه تعالی *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

The Prophet - may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him - is stated to have said: "In ‘Akká are works of supererogation and acts which are beneficial, which God vouchsafed specially unto whomsoever He pleaseth. And he that saith in ‘Akká: \‘Glorified be God, and praise be unto God, and there is none other God but God, and most great is God, and there is no power nor strength except in God, the Exalted, the Mighty,' God will write down for him a thousand good deeds, and blot out from him a thousand evil deeds, and will uplift him a thousand grades in Paradise, and will forgive him his transgressions. And whoso saith in ‘Akká: \‘I beg forgiveness of God,' God will forgive all his trespasses. And he that remembereth God in ‘Akká at morn and at eventide, in the night-season and at dawn, is better in the sight of God than he who beareth swords, spears and arms in the path of God - exalted be He!"

Translation Notes

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

النّبيّ

n-b-ʾ → “Prophet”

literal: prophet; prophets

صلّی

ṣ-l-y → “may the blessings”

literal: blessings; prayers; salutations

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

عليه

ʿ-l-y → “be upon”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

سلّم

s-l-m → “salutations”

literal: resignation; submission; surrender; submissiveness

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: I, verily; behold I

قال

q-w-l → “said”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

نوافل

n-f-l → “works of supererogation”

literal: supererogatory work; voluntary act

فواضل

f-ḍ-l → “grace” Distinctive

literal: grace; bounty; generosity; excellence

يخصّ

kh-ṣ-ṣ → “vouchsafed specially unto”

literal: specific matter; particularity; especially; in this matter

بها

b-h-w

literal: by it; by him; with it

من

m-n → “whomsoever” Distinctive

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

يشاء

sh-y-ʾ → “He pleaseth” Distinctive

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

سبحان

s-b-ḥ → “\‘Glorified”

literal: glorified; the All-Praised; exalted; dawn; daybreak; morning

الحمد

ḥ-m-d → “praise”

literal: praise; to praise

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

اله

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “but” Distinctive

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

اکبر

k-b-r → “most great” Distinctive

literal: great; grand; mighty; large

حول

ḥ-w-l → “power”

literal: states; conditions; circumstances; situations; affairs

قوّة

q-w-y → “strength”

literal: power; strength; force

العلیّ

ʿ-l-w → “Exalted”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

العظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Mighty” Distinctive

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

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)

الف

ʾ-l-f → “thousand”

literal: word; expression; utterance; to reconcile; to compose; to compile; to unite

حسنة

ḥ-s-n → “good deeds”

literal: goodness; beauty; excellence; good deed

محا

m-ḥ-w → “blot out”

literal: to efface; to obliterate; to blot out; to cause to disappear

سيّئة

s-w-ʾ → “evil deeds”

literal: evil; evil_deeds; evil deeds

رفع

r-f-ʿ → “raised”

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

درجة

d-r-j → “grades”

literal: degree; level; rank; step

الجنّة

j-n-n → “Paradise”

literal: garden; paradise; heaven

غفر

gh-f-r → “will forgive”

literal: to forgive; forgiveness

ذنوبه

dh-n-b → “sin”

literal: sin; crime; offense; fault

کلّها

k-l-l → “all”

literal: all; every; whole; entirety; entire; completely

ذکر

dh-k-r → “remembereth” Distinctive

literal: remembrance; mention; memory

بالغدوّ

gh-d-w → “at morn”

literal: morning; to go forth in the morning; early part of the day

الاصال

ʾ-ṣ-l → “principles” Distinctive

literal: evening; afternoon; noble; ancient; nightfall; genesis

العشیّ

ʿ-sh-w → “the daytime”

literal: evening; daytime; afternoon

الابکار

b-k-r → “at morn” Distinctive

literal: repetition; repeatedly; time and again; pulley; virgin; early morning

کان

k-w-n → “is”

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

عند

ʿ-n-d → “in the sight” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

نقل

n-q-l → “altereth not” Distinctive

literal: removal; transition; displacement; migration; transfer; change

السّيوف

s-y-f → “swords”

literal: sword

الرّماح

r-m-ḥ → “spears”

literal: spears; spear, lance; spear

السّلاح

s-l-ḥ → “arms”

literal: weapon; arms; armor

سبيل

s-b-l → “path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

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 ¶