Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §42

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 42 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و در مقام ديگر * لا تسبّوا احدا بينکم قد جئنا لاتّحاد من علی الارض و اتّفاقهم يشهد بذلک ما ظهر من بحر بيانی بين العباد و لکنّ القوم اکثرهم فی بعد مبين * ان يسبّکم احدٌ او يمسّکم ضرٌّ فی سبيل اللّه اصبروا و توکّلوا علی السّامع البصير * انّه يشهد و يری و يعمل ما اراد بسلطان من عنده انّه هو المقتدر القدير * قد منعتم عن النّزاع و الجدال فی کتاب اللّه العزيز العظيم * تمسّکوا بما تنتفع به انفسکم و اهل العالم کذلک يامرکم مالک القدم الظّاهر بالاسم الاعظم انّه هو الامر الحکيم*

Shoghi Effendi Translation

And again in another connection: "Revile ye not one another. We, verily, have come to unite and weld together all that dwell on earth. Unto this beareth witness what the ocean of Mine utterance hath revealed amongst men, and yet most of the people have gone astray. If anyone revile you, or trouble touch you, in the path of God, be patient, and put your trust in Him Who heareth, Who seeth. He, in truth, witnesseth, and perceiveth, and doeth what He pleaseth, through the power of His sovereignty. He, verily, is the Lord of strength, and of might. In the Book of God, the Mighty, the Great, ye have been forbidden to engage in contention and conflict. Lay fast hold on whatever will profit you, and profit the peoples of the world. Thus commandeth you the King of Eternity, Who is manifest in His Most Great Name. He, verily, is the Ordainer, the All-Wise."

Translation Notes

در

d-r-r → “in”

literal: in; in, at; radiant

مقام

q-w-m → “connection”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

ديگر

d-g-r → “another”

literal: home; place; land; abode

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

تسبّوا

s-b-b → “cause” Distinctive

literal: cause; reason; means; instrument

احدا

ʾ-ḥ-d → “one”

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

بينکم

b-y-n → “utterance” Distinctive

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

قد

q-d → “We have been”

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

جئنا

j-y-ʾ → “have come” Distinctive

literal: come; came; to come

لاتّحاد

w-ḥ-d → “to unite” Distinctive

literal: Divine unity; monotheism; belief in the oneness of God

من

m-n → “all” Distinctive

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

علی

ʿ-l-w → “on” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

اتّفاقهم

w-f-q → “aid” Distinctive

literal: accord, agreement, harmony; to agree, accord with

يشهد

sh-h-d → “beareth witness”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

بذلک

dh-l-k → “Unto this”

literal: that; this; it; by that

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

ظهر

ẓ-h-r → “revealed”

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

العباد

ʿ-b-d → “men”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

لکنّ

l-k-n → “yet”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

اکثرهم

k-th-r → “most”

literal: majority; multitude; abundance; multiplicity

فی

f-y → “of” Distinctive

literal: in; in-it; in it

بعد

b-ʿ-d → “after”

literal: after; behind; distance

ان

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

او

h-w-w → “or” Distinctive

literal: he; it (third person pronoun); refuge; shelter; dwelling place; abode; lamentation, cry, woe; melody, song

يمسّکم

m-s-s → “touch”

literal: musk; to seize; grip; to hold fast; to cling to; to grasp

ضرٌّ

ḍ-r-r → “harm”

literal: harm; hardship; affliction

سبيل

s-b-l → “path”

literal: path; way; road; cause; means

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

اصبروا

ṣ-b-r → “be patient”

literal: patience; forbearance; endurance; to be patient

توکّلوا

w-k-l → “put your trust”

literal: agency; representation; trusteeship; delegated authority; to rely; to trust; to place trust in

السّامع

s-m-ʿ → “heareth”

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

البصير

b-ṣ-r → “eyes” Distinctive

literal: sight; insight; discernment; spiritual perception

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “He”

literal: I, verily; behold I

يری

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest” Distinctive

literal: ability; capability; capacity

يعمل

ʿ-m-l → “deeds” Distinctive

literal: deed; deeds; work

اراد

r-y-d → “pleaseth” Distinctive

literal: to will, to intend, to wish, to desire; to want; to intend; to desire

بسلطان

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty”

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

عنده

ʿ-n-d → “His” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

هو

h-w → “is”

literal: He; He is

المقتدر

q-d-r → “Lord of strength” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

منعتم

m-n-ʿ → “forbidden”

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

النّزاع

n-z-ʿ → “contention”

literal: to pull out; to deprive; to contest; to wrench away

الجدال

j-d-l → “conflict”

literal: to argue; to dispute; to contend; argument

کتاب

k-t-b → “Book”

literal: book; scripture; writing

العزيز

ʿ-z-z → “Mighty”

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

العظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

تمسّکوا

m-s-k → “Lay fast hold” Distinctive

literal: musk; to seize; grip; to hold fast; to cling to; to grasp

تنتفع

n-f-ʿ → “will profit”

literal: benefits; profits; advantages

به

b-h → “on” Distinctive

literal: by it; by him; with it

انفسکم

n-f-s → “you”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “peoples”

literal: people; inhabitants; family; kin; worthy; deserving; my family; my people; my kin

العالم

ʿ-l-m → “world”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

يامرکم

ʾ-m-r → “commandeth”

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

مالک

m-l-k → “King”

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

القدم

q-d-m → “Eternity” Distinctive

literal: ancientness; antiquity; foot; to come forward

بالاسم

s-m-w → “in”

literal: to name, to nominate, to designate, to appoint; name; noun; to name, to appoint, to designate

الحکيم*

ḥ-k-m → “All-Wise”

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

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

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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 ¶