Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §31

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 31 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ براستی ميگويم ختم رحيق مختوم باسم قيّوم برداشته شد خود را محروم منما * اين مظلوم لوجه اللّه ميگويد تو هم لوجه اللّه در انچه نازل شده و ظاهر گشته تفکّر نما شايد از فيوضات فيّاض حقيقی در اين يوم مبارک نصيب برداری و محروم نمانی ليس هذا علی اللّه بعزيز * ادم خاکی از کلمه الهی عرشی شد و صيّاد ماهی دارای حکمت ربّانی گشت حضرت ابوذر راعی غنم بود سيّد امم شد *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

O Shaykh! Verily I say, the seal of the Choice Wine hath, in the name of Him Who is the Self-Subsisting, been broken; withhold not thyself therefrom. This Wronged One speaketh wholly for the sake of God; thou too shouldst, likewise, for the sake of God, meditate upon those things that have been sent down and manifested, that haply thou mayest, on this blessed Day, take thy portion of the liberal effusions of Him Who is truly the All-Bountiful, and mayest not remain deprived thereof. This indeed would not be hard for God. Dust-made Adam was raised up, through the Word of God, to the heavenly throne, and a mere fisherman was made the repository of Divine wisdom, and Abu Dhar, the shepherd, became a prince of the nations!

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

براستی

r-s-t → “Verily”

literal: truth; verily; truly

ميگويم

g-w-y → “I say”

literal: speech; utterance; saying; word

ختم

kh-t-m → “seal”

literal: to seal; to conclude; to end; seal

رحيق

r-ḥ-q → “Choice Wine”

literal: wine; pure drink; choice beverage (metaphorical for divine knowledge and love)

باسم

s-m-w → “in the name of”

literal: harm; strength; blame; hardship, adversity, tribulation, distress

قيّوم

q-w-m → “Self-Subsisting”

literal: rising; standing; resurrection; uprising; establishment

برداشته

b-r-d → “brother” Distinctive

literal: brother

شد

sh-d → “been broken”

literal: to become; to be

خود

kh-w-d → “their own”

literal: self; himself; herself; itself; own

را

r-ʾ-ʾ

literal: object marker; object-marker; to

محروم

ḥ-r-m → “deprived”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

منما

n-m-ʾ → “hath” Distinctive

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

اين

ʾ-y-n → “This”

literal: this; these

مظلوم

ẓ-l-m → “Wronged One”

literal: wrongedness, oppression, meekness; state of being wronged or oppressed

لوجه

w-j-h → “for the sake of”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

تو

t-w-w → “thou”

literal: you

هم

h-m-m → “endeavor” Distinctive

literal: them (pronoun + object marker)

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

انچه

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; indeed; that, to

نازل

n-z-l → “have been sent down”

literal: to descend, to be revealed

ظاهر

ẓ-h-r → “manifested”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

گشته

g-sh-t → “have been” Distinctive

literal: to become; to turn; to be

تفکّر

f-k-r → “meditate”

literal: thoughts; ideas; fancies; opinions; to think; to reflect; to contemplate

شايد

sh-y-d → “haply”

literal: perhaps, perchance, haply, maybe, possibly; to become; to be; to happen; to occur

از

ʾ-z

literal: from

فيوضات

f-y-ḍ → “grace” Distinctive

literal: flood; abundance; overflow; emanation; grace; overflowing; emanating; surplus

فيّاض

f-y-ḍ → “All-Bountiful”

literal: flood; abundance; overflow; emanation; grace; overflowing; emanating; surplus

حقيقی

ḥ-q-q → “truly” Distinctive

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

يوم

y-w-m → “Day”

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

مبارک

b-r-k → “blessed”

literal: blessed; auspicious; fruitful; blest; blessed word

نصيب

n-ṣ-b → “portion”

literal: share; portion; lot; fate

نمانی

m-ʾ-n → “remain”

literal: to remain; to stay; to be left

ليس

l-y-s → “not”

literal: is not; to be not

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “This indeed would”

literal: this; that

علی

ʿ-l-w

literal: highest; most high; supreme

بعزيز

ʿ-z-z → “hard” Distinctive

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

خاکی

kh-ʾ-k → “Dust-made”

literal: dust; earth; soil; ground

کلمه

k-l-m → “Word”

literal: word; utterance; speech

عرشی

ʿ-r-sh → “throne”

literal: of the Throne; companion of the Throne

صيّاد

ṣ-y-d → “fisherman”

literal: hunter; fowler

ماهی

m-ʾ-h

literal: moon; month

دارای

d-ʾ-r → “repository”

literal: veiling; concealment; to have; to possess; to hold

حکمت

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

ربّانی

r-b-b → “Divine”

literal: education; upbringing; training; cultivation

حضرت

ḥ-ḍ-r → “Him”

literal: presence; majesty; His/Your Excellency

راعی

r-ʿ-y → “shepherd”

literal: to guard, watch over, regard, heed, respect, maintain; care; protection; guardianship; watchfulness

غنم

gh-n-m

literal: booty; spoil; gain; treasure; advantage

بود

b-w-d

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

سيّد

s-y-d → “my Master” Distinctive

literal: master; lord; chief; my master

امم

ʾ-m-m → “nations”

literal: mother; to lead; to head; matter; affair; people; nation; community; female servant; handmaiden; umma

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 ¶