Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §90

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 90 of 268.

Source (Persian)

و اعلم انّ الرّعيّة امانات اللّه بينکم احفظوهم کما تحفظون انفسکم ايّاکم ان تجعلوا الذّئاب رعاة الاغنام و ان يمنعکم الغرور و الاستکبار عن التّوجّه الی الفقراء و المساکين * اطلع من افق الانقطاع باسمی ثمّ اقبل الی الملکوت بامر ربّک المقتدر القدير

Shoghi Effendi Translation

"Know of a truth that your subjects are God's trust amongst you. Watch ye, therefore, over them as ye watch over your own selves. Beware that ye allow not wolves to become the shepherds of the fold, or pride and conceit to deter you from turning unto the poor and the desolate. Arise thou, in My name, above the horizon of renunciation, and set, then, thy face towards the Kingdom, at the bidding of thy Lord, the Lord of strength and of might."

Translation Notes

اعلم

ʿ-l-m → ““Know”

literal: world; universe; the worlds

انّ

ʾ-n → “that your”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

الرّعيّة

r-ʿ-y → “subjects”

literal: to guard, watch over, regard, heed, respect, maintain; care; protection; guardianship; watchfulness

امانات

ʾ-m-n → “trustworthy” Distinctive

literal: to believe; to have faith; to be secure

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God’s”

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

بينکم

b-y-n → “amongst you”

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

احفظوهم

ḥ-f-ẓ → “Watch ye, therefore, over”

literal: guardian; preserver; keeper

کما

k-m → “loss” Distinctive

literal: as; like; how much; lane; street; quarter; abode

انفسکم

n-f-s → “your own selves”

literal: self; soul; psyche; person; essence

ايّاکم

w-q-y → “Fear” Distinctive

literal: beware; take heed; woe to you

تجعلوا

j-ʿ-l → “allow not”

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

الذّئاب

dh-ʾ-b → “wolves”

literal: wolf

رعاة

r-ʿ-y → “shepherd”

literal: to guard, watch over, regard, heed, respect, maintain; care; protection; guardianship; watchfulness

الاغنام

gh-n-m → “flock”

literal: booty; spoil; gain; treasure; advantage

يمنعکم

m-n-ʿ → “deter”

literal: forbidden; prevented; deprived

الغرور

gh-r-r → “pride”

literal: delusion, deceit; deluded, deceived

الاستکبار

k-b-r → “conceit”

literal: great; grand; mighty; large; greatness; majesty; sovereignty; arrogance

عن

ʿ-n → “from”

literal: from; about; concerning; away from

التّوجّه

w-j-h → “turning”

literal: face; countenance; direction; aspect

الی

ʾ-l-y → “towards”

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

الفقراء

f-q-r → “poor”

literal: poor; needy; the poor one; pauper

المساکين

s-k-n → “inmates” Distinctive

literal: stillness, rest, quietude, tranquility

اطلع

ṭ-l-ʿ → “Arise”

literal: rising; appearance; countenance; manifestation

من

m-n

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

افق

ʾ-f-q → “horizon”

literal: horizon; sphere; realm; quarter

الانقطاع

q-ṭ-ʿ → “renunciation”

literal: to be severed; to be cut off; to detach oneself; to abstain

باسمی

s-m-w → “in My name”

literal: heaven; sky

ثمّ

th-m-m → “then”

literal: then; thereafter; next; moreover

اقبل

q-b-l

literal: group; company; tribe; sort; kind

الملکوت

m-l-k → “Kingdom”

literal: kingdom; dominion; realm; sovereignty

بامر

ʾ-m-r → “at the bidding” Distinctive

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

ربّک

r-b-b → “thy Lord”

literal: by, with, through (preposition)

المقتدر

q-d-r → “strength” Distinctive

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

Fire Tablet

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 ¶