Transcript:Firuz Kazemzadeh/Speaking on the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
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[0:00] In all religious literature there is no scripture like the Bahá’í sacred writings. And among Bahá’í sacred writings there is no book like the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. Referring to the epistle to the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf on page 219 of God Passes By Shoghi Effendi says that this was the last outstanding Tablet revealed by the pen of Bahá’u’lláh, in which he quotes some of the most characteristic and celebrated passages of His own Writings and adduces proofs establishing the validity of His cause. This is precisely why the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf is so important. The Prophet Himself, the Manifestation Himself, sums up the main points of His religion and presents them to the world.
[1:03] Now the external circumstances of the Revelation of this Tablet are quite simple. There lived in the city of Isfahan a certain Shaykh, which means a religious leader, a divine, Muhammad-Taqiy. He was the son of another Shaykh of another famous religious leader, Shaykh Muhammad Báqir, both father and son, both Shaykh Muhammad Báqir and Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy hated the Bábís and later the Bahá’ís. In fact, Shaykh Muhammad Báqir was the divine who condemned two Bahá’í brothers to death. These two Bahá’í brothers, merchants in Isfahan, were famous for the purity of their lives, for their devotion to their Faith, for their kindness and for their generosity. However, Shaykh Muhammad Báqir found it possible to send them to their death. The two brothers are now known to us as the King of the Martyrs and the Beloved of the Martyrs. It was for perpetrating this martyrdom, for perpetrating this terrible murder of the two brothers that Bahá’u’lláh named Shaykh Muhammad Báqir the wolf, and therefore his son became known to the Bahá’ís as the son of the wolf and was so addressed by Bahá’u’lláh in the Tablet.
[2:45] The son of the wolf, Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy, became one of the most prominent of Muslim clergyman. And throughout his life, he continued to persecute the Bahá’ís. Of course, there's nothing unusual in Bahá’u’lláh addressing an enemy. Many of the Tablets revealed by Bahá’u’lláh throughout His 30 year... throughout His mission were addressed precisely to the enemies of His Person and of His Faith. For instance Násiri'd-Dín Sháh, the ruler of Persia, ‘Abdu’l-Hamid, the Sultan of Turkey. These were enemies and they were all addressed by Bahá’u’lláh. However, even among the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, this one is strikingly unusual. Let us take a closer look.
[3:45] As we read the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf we should keep in mind the distinction between Bahá’í scriptures and the scriptures of the great religions of the past. The Old Testament for instance, or the New Testament do not represent a verbatim record of the sayings of the Prophets. The Old Testament and the New were written long after the facts that they described. For instance, if you look into the New Testament, you will find the epistles of Saint Peter. Now these were not written by Saint Peter, most of them in fact were written by people who have never been properly identified. They represent therefore an oral tradition which was committed to writing many, many years after the events that are being described. In all religious literature before the behind Bahá’í Faith, there's only one Holy Book that is authentic, and that is the Qur’án. But even the Qur’án was not composed by Muhammad directly. The Prophet dictated, He spoke, His sayings were taken down and then after His death they were organized and shaped into a book by His disciples. The Bahá’í Scriptures, of course, are all authentic. And the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf is an example of this authenticity. Here we are dealing with a text which was composed and prepared by Bahá’u’lláh Himself.
[5:40] The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf was written about a year before Bahá’u’lláh’s death. It was His last major work. And as one reads through the book, one gains the impression that here indeed is a summary of the Bahá’í Faith. But just think of it, the summary was made by the Prophet of God. Here Bahá’u’lláh put into one book all the salient characteristics of the Bahá’í Faith, the basic principles, the history, the prayers, the exhortations, the meditations, it is all here encompassed between the covers of this rather short book. And of course, this phenomenon is absolutely without precedent in the history of religious literature.
[6:38] Let us now open the book on page one. Look at the first paragraph. Here in this very first paragraph directly and powerfully is stated the Bahá’í view of the unknowable nature of God and the Bahá’í belief in Revelation:
| “ | Praise be to God, the Eternal that perisheth not, the Everlasting that declineth not, the Self-Subsisting that altereth not. He it is Who is transcendent in His sovereignty, Who is manifest through His signs, and is hidden through His mysteries. He it is at Whose bidding the standard of the Most Exalted Word hath been lifted up in the world of creation, and the banner of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth” raised amidst all peoples. He it is Who hath revealed His Cause for the guidance of His creatures, and sent down His verses to demonstrate His Proof and His Testimony, and embellished the preface of the Book of Man with the ornament of utterance through His saying: “The God of Mercy hath taught the Qur’án, hath created man, and taught him articulate speech.” No God is there but Him, the One, the Peerless, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Beneficent. |
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[8:14] The second paragraph, in a highly poetic form, gives us a glimpse of the nature of Manifestation, and it is then in the third paragraph in the middle of page two that Bahá’u’lláh begins to address the Shaykh, the recipient of the Epistle.
| “ | Give ear, O distinguished divine, unto the voice of this Wronged One. He verily, counselleth thee for the sake of God... He, in truth, is the All-Possessing, the Exalted. Know thou that the ear of man hath been created that it may hearken unto the Divine Voice on this Day that hath been mentioned in all the Books, Scriptures, and Tablets. Purify thou, first, thy soul with the waters of renunciation, and adorn thine head with the crown of the favor [correct word: fear] of God, and thy temple with the ornament of reliance upon Him. Arise, then, and, with thy face set towards the Most Great House, the Spot round which, as decreed by the Eternal King, all that dwell on earth must circle, recite... |
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[9:30] And here at the beginning, at the top of page three is a long recitation which Bahá’u’lláh recommends to Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy. Now read pages three, four, five six and, uh, seven and eight, in fact, to the top off page nine. And as you read you may just as well turn off your cassette recorder. Now that you have read this passage, doesn't it seem that Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy somehow has become greater than himself? That he is an archetype, that he exemplifies the enemies of God, that he exemplifies those people who throughout history have rejected the Messengers of God and Their teachings. He has committed every sin. He has perpetrated every cruelty against God and against the faithful. And yet God has not rejected him. Even Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy, even the enemies, even those who commit the worst crimes are given a chance. Even he can receive God's love. The choice is up to him. But of course he must seek God. Bahá’u’lláh does not dwell on the past. He invites the Shaykh and in him all those who want to find the truth, to purify themselves. The Shaykh and all humanity must pray for purity of ear[?] and for detachment. Read the prayer begins at the bottom of page nine with the words “My God, the Object of my adoration, the Goal of my desire, the All-Bountiful, the Most Compassionate!” Had the Shaykh recited this prayer he would not have rejected Bahá’u’lláh’s invitation to reflect and to ponder the truth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation.
[12:00] Every day of our lives, we and all the other men on earth are faced essentially with the same choice. We are presented today with the same prayer and it is up to us to accept or to reject the invitation of Bahá’u’lláh, to investigate His truth. By the middle of page 11 of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, the spiritual mold has been established. Now Bahá’u’lláh presents His Own claim to being the Revealer of the Word of God. He does this by quoting the famous passage from the tablet addressed more than 30 years earlier to the Shah of Persia. Many if not most of you remember those stirring words:
| “ | “O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding to flow. The learning current amongst men I studied not; their schools I entered not. Ask of the city wherein I dwelt, that thou mayest be well assured that I am not of them who speak falsely. This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised, have stirred. Can it be still when the tempestuous winds are blowing? Nay, by Him Who is the Lord of all Names and Attributes! They move it as they list. The evanescent is [as] nothing before Him Who is the Ever-Abiding. His all-compelling summons hath reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst all people. I was indeed as one dead when His behest was uttered. The hand of the will of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful, transformed Me.” |
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[14:36] And then with a great force Bahá’u’lláh begins to expound the essentials of His faith. He speaks of justice and equity and of unity of religions. Read the last line on page 13 and on to page 14. Do you see what is happening here? The Shaykh has actually been left behind. Bahá’u’lláh no longer speaks to him, He speaks to us:
| “ | Gird up the loins of your endeavor, O people of Bahá, that haply the tumult of religious dissension and strife that agitateth the peoples of the earth may be stilled, that every trace of it may be completely obliterated. For the love of God, and them that serve Him, arise to aid this sublime and momentous Revelation. |
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[15:35] And then again on page 15: “Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship.” Now these exhortations obviously are directed not at the Shaykh but at humanity itself and at those who have followed Bahá’u’lláh and who believed in Him. The Shaykh of course is mentioned again later on, but he seems to be only an excuse. He is only an episode. It is the evil, the denial, the hatred in him that evokes Bahá’u’lláh’s compassion.