Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — §91

Persian source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 91 of 268.

Source (Persian)

( الی ان قلنا ) زيّن جسد الملک بطراز اسمی و قم علی تبليغ امری هذا خير لک ممّا عندک و يرفع اللّه به اسمک بين الملوک انّه علی کلّ شیء قدير * امش بين النّاس باسم اللّه و سلطانه لتظهر منک اثاره بين العالمين *

Shoghi Effendi Translation

And further We have said: "Adorn the body of Thy kingdom with the raiment of My name, and arise, then, to teach My Cause. Better is this for thee than that which thou possessest. God will, thereby, exalt thy name among all the kings. Potent is He over all things. Walk thou amongst men in the name of God, and by the power of His might, that thou mayest show forth His signs amidst the peoples of the earth."

Translation Notes

الی

ʾ-l-y

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

ان

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

قلنا

q-w-l → “have said”

literal: little; few; scanty; small in quantity

زيّن

z-y-n → ““Adorn”

literal: to adorn; ornament; beauty

جسد

j-s-d → “body”

literal: body; corpse; physical form

الملک

m-l-k → “kingdom”

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

بطراز

ṭ-r-z → “with the ornament”

literal: ornament; adornment; embroidery; stripe

اسمی

s-m-w → “My name”

literal: name; title; designation

قم

q-w-m → “arise”

literal: station; rank; standing place

علی

ʿ-l-w → “to”

literal: highest; most high; supreme

تبليغ

b-l-gh → “teach”

literal: servant; slave; worshipper

امری

ʾ-m-r → “My Cause”

literal: command; cause; matter; affair

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this for thee”

literal: this; that

خير

kh-y-r → “Better is”

literal: goodwill; benevolence; kindness; good; goodness; benefit; better; best

لک

literal: for us; to us

عندک

ʿ-n-d → “possessest” Distinctive

literal: obstinacy; opposition; enmity

يرفع

r-f-ʿ → “exalt”

literal: to be raised, elevated, exalted, lifted up

اللّه

ʾ-l-h → “God”

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

به

b-h → “as”

literal: by it; by him; with it

بين

b-y-n → “among”

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

انّه

ʾ-n-n → “Potent is He”

literal: I, verily; behold I

کلّ

k-l-l → “all”

literal: for us; to us

شیء

sh-y-ʾ → “things”

literal: thing; something; to will; to wish; to desire; to open; to unfold; to reveal

قدير

q-d-r → “power”

literal: power; might; decree; measure; worth

امش

m-sh-y → “Walk thou”

literal: mother

النّاس

n-ʾ-s

literal: companionship; fellowship; familiarity; to keep company

سلطانه

s-l-ṭ → “His might” Distinctive

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

لتظهر

ẓ-h-r → “that thou mayest show forth” Distinctive

literal: manifestation; appearance; to appear; to manifest; to display; to reveal; ظهور here means ‘backs’ (plural of ظهر), different semantic use than manifestation

منک

m-n → “from”

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

اثاره

ʾ-th-r → “His signs”

literal: effect; trace; influence; imprint; sign; mark; vestige

العالمين

ʿ-l-m → “the peoples of the earth” Distinctive

literal: world; universe; the worlds

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 ¶