Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §5

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 5 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و قل الهی الهی و مقصودی و معبودی و سيّدی و سندی و غاية املی و رجائی ترانی مقبلا اليک و متمسّکا بحبل جودک و متشبّثا بذيل عطائک و معترفا بتقديس نفسک و تنزيه ذاتک مقرّا بوحدانيّتک و فردانيّتک اشهد انّک انت الفرد الواحد الاحد الصّمد ما اتّخذت لنفسک شريکا فی الملک و لا نظيرا فی الارض قد شهدت الکائنات بما شهد به لسان عظمتک قبلها انّک انت اللّه لا اله الّا انت لم تزل کنت مقدّسا عن ذکر عبادک و متعاليا عن وصف خلقک * ای ربّ تری الجاهل قصد بحر علمک و العطشان کوثر بيانک و الذّليل خباء عزّک و الفقير کنز غنائک و السّائل مشرق حکمتک و الضّعيف مطلع قدرتک و المسکين سماء کرمک و الکليل ملکوت ذکرک

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"O God, my God, and my Desire, and my Adored One, and my Master, and my Mainstay, and my utmost Hope, and my supreme Aspiration! Thou seest me turning towards Thee, holding fast unto the cord of Thy bounty, clinging to the hem of Thy generosity, acknowledging the sanctity of Thy Self and the purity of Thine Essence, and testifying to Thy unity and Thy oneness. I bear witness that Thou art the One, the Single, the Incomparable, the Ever-Abiding. Thou didst not take unto Thyself a partner in Thy dominion, nor didst Thou choose a peer for Thyself upon earth. All created things have borne witness unto that which the Tongue of Thy grandeur hath testified ere their creation. Verily Thou art God; there is none other God but Thee! From everlasting Thou wast sanctified from the mention of Thy servants, and exalted above the description of Thy creatures. Thou beholdest, O Lord, the ignorant seeking the ocean of Thy knowledge, the sore athirst the living waters of Thine utterance, the abased the tabernacle of Thy glory, the poor the treasury of Thy riches, the suppliant the dawning-place of Thy wisdom, the weak the source of Thy strength, the wretched the heaven of Thy bounty, the dumb the kingdom of Thy mention.

Translation Notes

قل

q-w-l

literal: heart; to turn; to overturn

الهی

ʾ-l-h → ““O God, my God”

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

مقصودی

q-ṣ-d → “my Desire”

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

معبودی

ʿ-b-d → “my Adored One”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

سيّدی

s-y-d → “my Master”

literal: master; lord; chief; my master

سندی

s-n-d → “my Mainstay”

literal: mainstay; support; prop; document

غاية

gh-w-y → “Desire”

literal: verse; sign; miracle; proof; sign, verse, miracle, token, indication; ayah; he; him; it

املی

ʾ-m-l → “my utmost Hope”

literal: hope; expectation; aspiration; desire; wish; to hope; to wish

رجائی

r-j-w → “in the hope” Distinctive

literal: hope; expectation

ترانی

r-ʾ-y → “Thou seest me”

literal: to see; to perceive; to look; to see, to observe, to behold; to view; vision; dream; sight; ل is prefix; verb تری (you see) is from ر-ا-ي

مقبلا

q-b-l → “turning towards”

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

اليک

ʾ-l-y → “towards” Distinctive

literal: one; a single

متمسّکا

m-s-k → “holding fast”

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

بحبل

ḥ-b-l → “cord”

literal: cord; rope; bond; connection

جودک

j-w-d → “Thy bounty”

literal: generosity; bounty; liberality

متشبّثا

sh-b-th → “clinging to”

literal: to cling to; to grasp; to hold fast

بذيل

dh-y-l → “hem”

literal: hem; skirt; tail; border

عطائک

ʿ-ṭ-w → “Thy generosity”

literal: the letter Ṭá; refers to Ṭihrán (also spelled Ṭehran)

معترفا

ʿ-r-f → “acknowledging the”

literal: to confess; to acknowledge; to recognize

بتقديس

q-d-s → “holy” Distinctive

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

نفسک

n-f-s → “Thy Self” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

تنزيه

n-z-h → “purity”

literal: exalted; sanctified; free from; removed from

ذاتک

dh-w-t → “Thine Essence”

literal: essence; self; being

مقرّا

q-r-r → “acknowledged” Distinctive

literal: stability; firmness; establishment

بوحدانيّتک

w-ḥ-d → “Thy unity”

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

فردانيّتک

f-r-d → “Thy oneness”

literal: unique; singular; incomparable

اشهد

sh-h-d → “I bear witness”

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

انّک

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

انت

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

الاحد

ʾ-ḥ-d → “one”

literal: one; anyone; oneness

الصّمد

ṣ-m-d → “the Ever-Abiding”

literal: eternal, self-sufficient, divine, the Eternal

اتّخذت

ʾ-kh-dh → “laid hold” Distinctive

literal: take; take/seize; seize

شريکا

sh-r-k → “partner”

literal: partner; associate; sharer; companion

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

الملک

m-l-k → “Thy dominion”

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

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

نظيرا

n-ẓ-r → “Consider” Distinctive

literal: sight; view; spectacle; appearance

الارض

ʾ-r-ḍ → “upon earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

قد

q-d

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

الکائنات

k-w-n → “All created things”

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

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

به

b-h

literal: by it; by him; with it

لسان

l-s-n → “Tongue”

literal: tongue; language

عظمتک

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Thy grandeur” Distinctive

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

اله

ʾ-l-h → “other 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

لم

l-y-s

literal: to reproach; blame; censure

تزل

z-w-l → “From everlasting”

literal: for us; to us

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

ذکر

dh-k-r → “mention”

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

متعاليا

ʿ-l-w → “exalted above”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

وصف

w-ṣ-f → “description”

literal: to describe, characterize; description

خلقک

kh-l-q → “Thy creatures”

literal: character; moral traits; disposition; conduct

ای

ʾ-y-y → “O”

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

ربّ

r-b-b → “Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

الجاهل

j-h-l → “the ignorant” Distinctive

literal: ignorant; foolish; the ignorant ones

بحر

b-ḥ-r → “ocean”

literal: sea; ocean

علمک

ʿ-l-m → “Thy knowledge”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

العطشان

ʿ-ṭ-sh → “the sore athirst”

literal: thirsty, athirst

کوثر

k-w-th-r → “living waters”

literal: abundance; river of paradise; the Kawthar

بيانک

b-y-n → “Thine utterance”

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

الذّليل

dh-l-l → “the abased”

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

خباء

kh-b-ʾ → “tabernacle”

literal: to hide; to conceal; tent; pavilion; chamber; tabernacle; hiding place

عزّک

ʿ-z-z → “Thy glory”

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

الفقير

f-q-r → “the poor”

literal: poor; needy; the poor one; pauper

کنز

k-n-z → “treasury”

literal: treasure; treasure-trove; hidden store; treasury

غنائک

gh-n-y → “Thy riches”

literal: to be independent of; to be in no need of; to dispense with; rich; wealthy; needless

السّائل

s-ʾ-l → “the suppliant”

literal: question; problem; issue; matter; asking; petition; request

مشرق

sh-r-q → “dawning-place” Distinctive

literal: radiance; splendor; dawn; illumination

حکمتک

ḥ-k-m → “Thy wisdom”

literal: government; rule; governance; wisdom

الضّعيف

ḍ-ʿ-f → “weakness” Distinctive

literal: weak; feeble; imperfect

مطلع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “source” Distinctive

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

قدرتک

q-d-r → “Thy strength” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

سماء

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

کرمک

k-r-m → “Thy bounty”

literal: Carmel (Mount Carmel); vineyard, fruitful field; honor; generosity; nobility

الکليل

k-l-l → “the dumb”

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

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 ¶