Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §32

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 32 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا شيخ امروز روز علوم و فنون ظاهره نبوده و نيست چه که ملاحظه شد نفسی که بيک کلمه از ان علوم اگاه نه بر کرسيّ عقيان در صدر مجلس عرفان مستوی و صاحب علوم و دارای فنون محروم * مقصود از اين علوم علومی است که از لفظ ابتدا شود و بلفظ منتهی گردد و لکن علوميکه اثر و ثمر از ان ظاهر و سبب راحت و اسايش عباد است عند اللّه مقبول بوده و هست * لو تسمع ندائی تدع ما عندک و تتوجّه الی مقام ماج فيه بحر الحکمة و البيان و هاج عرف عناية ربّک الرّحمن *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

This Day, O Shaykh, hath never been, nor is it now, the Day whereon man-made arts and sciences can be regarded as a true standard for men, since it hath been recognized that He Who was wholly unversed in any of them hath ascended the throne of purest gold, and occupied the seat of honor in the council of knowledge, whilst the acknowledged exponent and repository of these arts and sciences remained utterly deprived. By "arts and sciences" is meant those which begin with words and end with words. Such arts and sciences, however, as are productive of good results, and bring forth their fruit, and are conducive to the well-being and tranquility of men have been, and will remain, acceptable before God. Wert thou to give ear to My voice, thou wouldst cast away all thy possessions, and wouldst set thy face towards the Spot wherein the ocean of wisdom and of utterance hath surged, and the sweet savors of the loving-kindness of thy Lord, the Compassionate, have wafted.

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ

literal: O; or

شيخ

sh-y-kh → “Shaykh”

literal: elder; elder/shaykh; sheikh

امروز

r-w-z → “This Day”

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

علوم

ʿ-l-m → “arts and sciences” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

فنون

f-n-n

literal: twigs; branches

ظاهره

ẓ-h-r → “Revelation” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

نبوده

b-w-d → “never been”

literal: to be; to exist; to have been

چه

ch-h

literal: what; what/for; whatsoever, that which

که

k-h

literal: that; who; who, that

ملاحظه

l-ḥ-ẓ → “recognized” Distinctive

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

شد

sh-d → “been”

literal: to become; to be

نفسی

n-f-s → “He” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

بيک

y-k → “one”

literal: one; a single

کلمه

k-l-m → “words”

literal: words; utterances; locutions; word; utterance; speech; sayings; verses

از

ʾ-z → “of”

literal: from

ان

ʾ-n → “them”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

اگاه

ʾ-g-h → “cognizant”

literal: aware; cognizant; informed; apprised; awareness; knowledge; consciousness

بر

b-r-r

literal: on; on, upon; upon

کرسيّ

k-r-s → “seat”

literal: throne, seat; chair

عقيان

ʿ-q-y-ʾ-n → “purest gold”

literal: disobey; transgress; rebel

در

d-r-r

literal: in; in, at; radiant

صدر

ṣ-d-r → “breasts”

literal: to issue, emanate, proceed; issued, emanating

مجلس

j-l-s → “seated” Distinctive

literal: council; assembly; gathering; session

عرفان

ʿ-r-f → “knowledge”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

مستوی

s-w-y → “except Thee” Distinctive

literal: level; equal; straight; upon a throne; resting upon; toward; to; direction of; other than; besides; except

صاحب

ṣ-ḥ-b → “companions” Distinctive

literal: possessor; those who have; companion; followers

دارای

d-ʾ-r → “repository”

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

محروم

ḥ-r-m → “utterly deprived”

literal: sanctity, inviolability, dignity, honor, respect

مقصود

q-ṣ-d → “meant”

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

اين

ʾ-y-n

literal: this; these

لفظ

l-f-ẓ → “words” Distinctive

literal: word; utterance; expression

ابتدا

b-d-ʾ → “begin”

literal: beginning; primacy; originality; origin; principle; starting point; commencement; start; inception; creation

شود

sh-w-d

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

منتهی

n-h-y → “end”

literal: stinking, foul-smelling; stench

گردد

g-r-d → “was” Distinctive

literal: become; to become; make

لکن

l-k-n → “however”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

اثر

ʾ-th-r → “signs” Distinctive

literal: effect; trace; influence; imprint; sign; mark; vestige

ثمر

th-m-r → “fruit”

literal: fruit; the fruit

سبب

s-b-b → “conducive” Distinctive

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

راحت

r-w-ḥ → “spirit” Distinctive

literal: rest; comfort; ease; relief

اسايش

ʾ-s-y → “well-being”

literal: shadow; shade; shelter; protection

عباد

ʿ-b-d → “men”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

عند

ʿ-n-d → “before”

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

مقبول

q-b-l → “acceptable”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

هست

h-s-t → “is” Distinctive

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

لو

l-w → “If”

literal: if; would that; O that

تسمع

s-m-ʿ → “give ear” Distinctive

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

ندائی

n-d-y → “voice”

literal: call; voice; cry; summons; to call; to proclaim; to cry out; to summon

تدع

w-d-ʿ → “cast away”

literal: call, invocation, summons; to call, invite, summon

ما

m-ʾ

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

تتوجّه

w-j-h → “set”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

مقام

q-w-m → “Spot” Distinctive

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

ماج

m-w-j → “surged”

literal: wave; billows; surge

فيه

f-y → “in” Distinctive

literal: alas; woe; oh

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

الحکمة

ḥ-k-m → “wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

البيان

b-y-n → “utterance”

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident

هاج

h-y-j → “wafted”

literal: to set in motion, to excite, to stir; to blow (of winds)

عناية

ʿ-n-y → “loving-kindness”

literal: to concern; to mean; to turn away from; bounty; loving-kindness; grace; divine care; attention; meaning; significance; inner sense

ربّک

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

الرّحمن

r-ḥ-m → “Compassionate”

literal: merciful, compassionate; pertaining to divine mercy

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 ¶