Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §86

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 86 of 268.

Source (Persian)

بما فعلت تختلف الامور فی مملکتک و يخرج الملک من کفّک جزاء عملک اذا تجد نفسک في خسران مبين و تأخذ الزّلازل کلّ القبائل هناک الّا بان تقوم علی نصرة هذا الامر و تتّبع الرّوح فی هذا السّبيل المستقيم * اعزّک غرّک لعمری انّه لا يدوم و سوف يزول الّا بان تتمسّک بهذا الحبل المتين * قد نری الذّلّة تسعی وراءک و انت من الغافلين * ينبغی لک اذا سمعت النّداء من شطر الکبرياء تدع ما عندک و تقول لبّيک يا اله من فی السّموات و الارضين *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"For what thou hast done, thy kingdom shall be thrown into confusion, and thine empire shall pass from thine hands, as a punishment for that which thou hast wrought. Then wilt thou know how thou hast plainly erred. Commotions shall seize all the people in that land, unless thou arisest to help this Cause, and followest Him Who is the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) in this, the Straight Path. Hath thy pomp made thee proud? By My Life! It shall not endure; nay, it shall soon pass away, unless thou holdest fast by this firm Cord. We see abasement hastening after thee, whilst thou art of the heedless. It behooveth thee when thou hearest His Voice calling from the seat of glory to cast away all that thou possessest, and cry out: \‘Here am I, O Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on earth!'

Translation Notes

بما

m-ʾ → “that” Distinctive

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

فعلت

f-ʿ-l → “thou hast done”

literal: to do, act, make; deed, action

تختلف

kh-l-f → “thrown into confusion” Distinctive

literal: opposing; contrary; conflicting

فی

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

مملکتک

m-l-k → “thy kingdom” Distinctive

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

يخرج

kh-r-j → “banished” Distinctive

literal: bringing out, taking out, expulsion, extraction

من

m-n → “from”

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

کفّک

k-f-f → “thine hands”

literal: separated; detached; parted

جزاء

j-z-y → “recompense”

literal: part; portion; component; section; volume

عملک

ʿ-m-l → “deeds”

literal: to work; to act; to do; to perform

اذا

ʾ-dh-n → “ears”

literal: when; if; whenever; then suddenly

تجد

w-j-d → “being” Distinctive

literal: monarch; crowned ruler; king

نفسک

n-f-s → “souls” Distinctive

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

خسران

kh-s-r → “loss”

literal: loss; ruin; to suffer loss

مبين

b-y-n

literal: to manifest; to make clear; clear, evident; in; among; between; at this moment

تأخذ

ʾ-kh-dh → “Commotions shall seize”

literal: to take; to seize; to affect; to grasp

الزّلازل

z-l-z-l

literal: to shake; to quake; to be shaken; to be moved

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

القبائل

q-b-l → “before” Distinctive

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

هناک

h-n-k → “Assemblies”

literal: there; in that place; happy; congratulation

الّا

ʾ-kh-r → “end”

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

بان

ʾ-n-n

literal: that; those; he; she; it

تقوم

q-w-m → “thou arisest”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

علی

ʿ-l-w → “to”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

نصرة

n-ṣ-r → “help”

literal: aid, help, succor, victory, support

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

الامر

ʾ-m-r → “Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

تتّبع

t-b-ʿ → “followest”

literal: to follow; to obey; to pursue

الرّوح

r-w-ḥ → “Him Who is the Spirit”

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

السّبيل

s-b-l → “path”

literal: captive; prisoner; captivity; to journey; to move; course

اعزّک

ʿ-z-z → “glory” Distinctive

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

غرّک

gh-r-r → “pride” Distinctive

literal: vanity; delusion; pride

لعمری

ʿ-m-r → “By My Life”

literal: life; age; duration; by the life of (oath)

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “that”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

لا

l-ʾ → “not”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يدوم

d-w-m → “as long as” Distinctive

literal: continuance; continuance/duration; everlasting

سوف

s-w-f → “Ere long will”

literal: shall; will (future marker)

يزول

z-w-l → “pass away”

literal: to pass away; to vanish; to disappear; to cease

تتمسّک

m-s-k → “thou holdest fast”

literal: hold fast; clinging; cling

الحبل

ḥ-b-l → “firm Cord”

literal: love; affection

المتين

m-t-n

literal: firm, strong, robust, steadfast

قد

q-d → “We have been”

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

نری

r-ʾ-y → “see”

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

الذّلّة

dh-l-l → “abasement”

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

تسعی

s-ʿ-y → “to strive” Distinctive

literal: endeavor; effort; striving; exertion; endeavour

وراءک

w-r-ʾ → “them” Distinctive

literal: behind; beyond; after

انت

ʾ-n-t → “Thou”

literal: you (masculine singular)

الغافلين

gh-f-l → “the heedless”

literal: heedlessness; negligence; inattention

ينبغی

n-b-gh → “It behooveth”

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

لک

l → “His is”

literal: for us; to us

سمعت

s-m-ʿ → “thou hearest”

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

النّداء

n-d-y → “His Voice”

literal: call; voice; cry; summons

شطر

sh-ṭ-r → “seat” Distinctive

literal: side, direction; half; to split

الکبرياء

k-b-r → “of glory”

literal: greatest; greater; grandeur

تدع

w-d-ʿ → “to cast away”

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

عندک

ʿ-n-d → “thou possessest” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

تقول

q-w-l → “cry out” Distinctive

literal: to say; to speak; saying

لبّيک

l-b-y → “\‘Here am I”

literal: at your service; here am I; here I am (response)

يا

y-ʾ → “O”

literal: O; or

اله

ʾ-l-h → “Lord”

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

السّموات

s-m-w → “heaven”

literal: heaven; sky

الارضين

ʾ-r-ḍ → “all that is on earth”

literal: earth; land; ground; country

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 ¶