Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §87

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 87 of 268.

Source (Persian)

يا ملک قد کنّا بامّ العراق الی ان حمّ الفراق توجّهنا الی ملک الاسلام بامره فلمّا اتيناه ورد علينا من اولی النّفاق ما لا يتمّ بالاوراق * بذلک ناح سکّان الفردوس و اهل حظائر القدس و لکن القوم فی حجاب غليظ.

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"O King! We were in ‘Iráq, when the hour of parting arrived. At the bidding of the King of Islam (Sulṭán of Turkey) We set Our steps in his direction. Upon Our arrival, there befell Us at the hands of the malicious that which the books of the world can never adequately recount. Thereupon the inmates of Paradise, and they that dwell within the retreats of holiness, lamented; and yet the people are wrapped in a thick veil!"

Translation Notes

يا

y-ʾ → “O ye”

literal: O; or

ملک

m-l-k → “King”

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

قد

q-d

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

کنّا

k-w-n → “were” Distinctive

literal: to be; existence

بامّ

ʾ-m-m → “in”

literal: rooftop; command; behest

العراق

ʿ-r-q → “vein”

literal: Iraq; sweat

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

ان

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

حمّ

ḥ-m-m → “Doves” Distinctive

literal: dove; doves; arrived/decreed

الفراق

f-r-q → “separation”

literal: faction; sect; group; company

توجّهنا

w-j-h → “We set Our steps”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

الاسلام

s-l-m → “resignation” Distinctive

literal: resignation; submission; surrender; submissiveness

بامره

ʾ-m-r → “At the bidding” Distinctive

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

فلمّا

literal: when; as soon as; thereupon

اتيناه

ʾ-t-y → “come” Distinctive

literal: to come; to arrive; to bring; to go; coming; arrival; the one coming; to give; Revelation; came; gave; brought

ورد

w-r-d → “there befell”

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

علينا

ʿ-l-y → “Us at the hands”

literal: exalted; highest; supreme; most high; upon you; on; over; Ali (name); upon

من

m-n → “of the”

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

اولی

ʾ-w-l → “first” Distinctive

literal: first; beginning; at first; the first; former; possessors of; those who have; masters of

النّفاق

n-f-q → “sacrificed” Distinctive

literal: hypocrisy; sedition; discord; betrayal

ما

m-ʾ → “that”

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

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

يتمّ

t-m-m → “all” Distinctive

literal: most complete; to complete; perfect; fullness

بالاوراق

w-r-q → “leaf” Distinctive

literal: leaf, page, sheet, parchment, document

بذلک

dh-l-k → “Thereupon”

literal: that; this; it; by that

ناح

n-w-ḥ → “lamented”

literal: to wail; to lament; lamentation

سکّان

s-k-n → “inmates”

literal: stillness, rest, quietude, tranquility

الفردوس

f-r-d-w-s → “Paradise”

literal: unique; singular; incomparable

اهل

ʾ-h-l → “people”

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

حظائر

ḥ-ẓ-r → “dwellers of the habitations of holiness”

literal: enclosure; enclosures; courts

القدس

q-d-s → “of holiness”

literal: holy, sacred, sanctified

لکن

l-k-n → “and yet”

literal: but; however; yet; nevertheless

القوم

q-w-m → “people”

literal: rising; standing; uprising; resurrection

فی

f-y

literal: in; in-it; in it

حجاب

ḥ-j-b → “veils”

literal: to veil oneself, to be veiled

غليظ.

gh-l-ẓ → “thick”

literal: thick; coarse; gross; heavy; grievous; harsh

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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