Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §29

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 29 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ انّا سمعنا انّ جنابک اعرضت عنّا و اعترضت علينا حيث امرت النّاس بسبّي و افتيت علی سفک دماء العباد * للّه درّ من قال \[ طَوْعًا لِقَاضٍ أَتَی فِی حُکْمِهِ عَجَبًا أَفْتَی بِسَفْکِ دَمِی فِی الحِلِّ وَ الحَرَمِ ] براستی ميگويم انچه در سبيل الهی وارد شود محبوب جان است و مقصود روان * سمّ مهلک در سبيلش شهديست فائق و عذابش عذبيست لائق * در لوح حضرت سلطان ذکر شده و نفسه الحقّ لا اجزع من البلايا فی سبيله و لا من الرّزايا فی حبّه قد جعل اللّه البلاء غادية لهذه الدّسکرة الخضراء و ذبالة لمصباحه الّذی به اشرقت الارض و السّماء *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! We have learned that thou hast turned away from Us, and protested against Us, in such wise that thou hast bidden the people to curse Me, and decreed that the blood of the servants of God be shed. God requite him who said: "Willingly will I obey the judge who hath so strangely decreed that my blood be spilt at Hill and at Haram!" Verily I say: Whatever befalleth in the path of God is the beloved of the soul and the desire of the heart. Deadly poison in His path is pure honey, and every tribulation a draught of crystal water. In the Tablet to His Majesty the Sháh it is written: "By Him Who is the Truth! I fear no tribulation in His path, nor any affliction in My love for Him. Verily God hath made adversity as a morning dew upon His green pasture, and a wick for His lamp which lighteth earth and heaven."

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

انّا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

سمعنا

s-m-ʿ → “have learned” Distinctive

literal: heard, hearkened to, acceptable, worthy of attention

جنابک

j-n-b → “thou”

literal: to avoid; to shun; to keep away from

اعرضت

ʿ-r-ḍ → “hast turned away”

literal: to turn away; to avert; to abstain; heedless

عنّا

ʿ-n → “from Us”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

علينا

ʿ-l-y → “Us”

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

حيث

ḥ-y-th → “in such wise that”

literal: where; in which; inasmuch as; in such wise that; whereby; in that; respect, aspect

امرت

ʾ-m-r → “hast bidden”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair; Cause (of God); to command; to order

النّاس

n-ʾ-s → “people”

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

بسبّي

s-b-b → “to curse Me”

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

افتيت

f-t-y → “pronounce”

literal: to give a legal judgment; to decree; to issue a fatwa

علی

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

سفک

s-f-k → “shed”

literal: to shed; to spill; bloodshed; to shed (blood)

دماء

d-m-y → “blood”

literal: blood

العباد

ʿ-b-d → “servants”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

للّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

درّ

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

من

m-n → “who” Distinctive

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

قال

q-w-l → “said”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

طَوْعًا

ṭ-w-ʿ → “obey” Distinctive

literal: obedient; obedience; to obey

لِقَاضٍ

q-ḍ-y → “decree” Distinctive

literal: requirement; exigency; what demands or calls for; to require; to necessitate; to demand

أَتَی

ʾ-t-y

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

فِی

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

حُکْمِهِ

ḥ-k-m

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

عَجَبًا

ʿ-j-b → “strangely”

literal: wonder; amazement; marvelous; strange

أَفْتَی

ʾ-f-t → “Daystar” Distinctive

literal: sun; calamity; calamity, misfortune

بِسَفْکِ

s-f-k

literal: to shed; to spill; bloodshed; to shed (blood)

الحِلِّ

ḥ-l-l → “place” Distinctive

literal: place; location; spot

الحَرَمِ

ḥ-r-m → “deprived” Distinctive

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

براستی

r-s-t → “Verily”

literal: truth; verily; truly

ميگويم

g-w-y → “I say”

literal: say; to say; as-if

سبيل

s-b-l → “path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

وارد

w-r-d → “befalleth” Distinctive

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

شود

sh-w-d

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

محبوب

ḥ-b-b → “beloved”

literal: love; affection

جان

j-ʾ-n → “soul”

literal: soul; life; spirit; self

است

b-w-d → “is”

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

مقصود

q-ṣ-d → “desire”

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

روان

r-w-ḥ

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

سمّ

s-m-m → “poison”

literal: name; title; designation

مهلک

h-l-k → “consumed” Distinctive

literal: to destroy; to ruin; to cause to perish; perishing; destroyer; lost

شهديست

sh-h-d → “witness” Distinctive

literal: witness; observation; witnessed

فائق

f-w-q → “above” Distinctive

literal: above; above, over; above/beyond

عذابش

ʿ-dh-b → “chastisement” Distinctive

literal: torment, punishment, chastisement

لائق

l-y-q

literal: worthy, befitting, appropriate, suitable

لوح

l-w-ḥ → “Tablet”

literal: tablet; panel; divine decree; revelation

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “Majesty”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

سلطان

s-l-ṭ → “Sháh”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

ذکر

dh-k-r

literal: remembrance; mention; memory; invocation; reminders; commemorations

شده

sh-d → “was”

literal: to become; to be

نفسه

n-f-s → “I”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

الحقّ

ḥ-q-q → “Truth”

literal: truth; right; that which is true or just

لا

l-ʾ

literal: no; not; negation particle

اجزع

j-z-ʿ → “fear”

literal: be-impatient; dismay; to be impatient/distressed

البلايا

b-l-w → “tribulation”

literal: affliction; trial; calamity

الرّزايا

r-z-y → “the trials”

literal: calamity; disaster; affliction; misfortune; mystery; secret; hidden thing

قد

q-d

literal: verily; indeed; certainly (particle of emphasis)

جعل

j-ʿ-l → “hath made”

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

غادية

gh-d-w → “at morn” Distinctive

literal: morning; morning-dew

لهذه

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; this (masculine); this (feminine)

الدّسکرة

d-s-k-r → “pasture”

literal: pasture

الخضراء

kh-ḍ-r → “green”

literal: green; verdant; greenness

ذبالة

dh-b-l → “wick”

literal: wick

لمصباحه

ṣ-b-ḥ → “lamp”

literal: morning, dawn; daybreak

الّذی

l-dh-y

literal: who; which; that which; the one who

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

اشرقت

sh-r-q → “lighteth” Distinctive

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

السّماء

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

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 ¶