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Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf is the last major work of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith, written in 1891 just before his death in 1892.[1] It is a letter written to "the son of the Wolf," Shaykh Muhammad Taqi known as Áqá Najafi (1846-1914),[2]: 281  a Muslim cleric in Isfáhán, where his family was the most powerful clerical family.[2][3] Baháʼu'lláh called the father, Shaykh Muhammad Báqir (1819-1883),[2] the Wolf because of his responsibility for the execution of the Nahrí brothers in Isfahan in 1879.[4][5] The father and son were known for their persecution of the Baháʼís.[2]

Background

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Shaykh Muhammad-Baqir, given the title of 'The Wolf'

In the book, Baháʼu'lláh admonishes Áqá Najafi ('Son of Wolf') and calls upon him to repent. His father Shaykh Muhammad Báqir, ('Wolf') and Mír Muḥammad Ḥusayn, the Imám Jum'ih of Isfahán, surnamed ('She-Serpent') were the conspirators against two brothers, Muhammad-Husayn Nahrí and Muhammad-Hasan Nahrí. The brothers came from an aristocratic and established mercantile family in Isfahan. The Imám-Jum'ih of the city owed the brothers money and – when the two asked for a payment – he devised a plan to rid his debt. After confronting Shaykh Muhammad-Baqir and Sultán-Mas'úd Mírzá, the son of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh of this issue, the three devised a plan to imprison the brothers on account of their Baháʼí Faith. The two brothers were subsequently arrested, paraded around Isfahan with crowds jeering abuse, and publicly executed in a humiliating manner. Baháʼu'lláh wrote several tablets lamenting the loss of the two brothers, and denouncing the treachery that provoked their murder. One such tablet, Lawh-i-Burhán, addressed to Shaykh Muhammad Báqir accuses him and his accomplice Mír Muḥammad Ḥusayn of the persecution of the Baháʼís.

Baháʼu'lláh was heartbroken by the death of the brothers – he had met the two whilst a prisoner in Adrianople. He eulogized the two, naming them the "King of Martyrs" and the "Beloved of Martyrs", and the "Twin Shining Lights".

Content

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In this book Baháʼu'lláh described historical events such as His "arrest in Níyávarán and of the kind of chains that bound Him and of the machinations against Him by members of the Persian embassy in Constantinople.[3] He also wrote about his suggestion to Kamál Páshá, a Turkish official, that his government convene a gathering to plan for a world language and script.[3] In the book entitled God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi gave the date of this meeting as 1863.[3][6] Nothing ensued until 1891 when Baha'u'llah made known that a fit for purpose new language, i.e. Esperanto, has been devised.[7]

In this work Baháʼu'lláh quotes extensively from his own previously revealed scriptures. This makes a large portion of the work a summary of excerpts on critical concepts expressed in previous works in a condensed form.[1]

Crimson Book

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In the Epistle to the Son of Wolf Baha'u'llah alluded to His own Will and Testament — the Kitáb-i-'Ahd — as the Crimson Book.[6]: 238  In this document he named his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as his successor.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Baháʼu'lláh (1988) [1892]. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf (Paperback ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-182-5.
  2. ^ a b c d Momen, Moojan (2013). "Commentary on a Passage in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf" (PDF). Haj Mehdi Armand Colloquium. Lights of Irfan. Wilmette, IL. pp. 281–288. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Gail, Marzieh (May 1946). "Baháʼu'lláh's Epistle to the Son of the Wolf". National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States. World Order. Wilmette, IL. pp. 33–39. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. ^ Hatcher, John S. (1997). The Ocean of His Words: A Reader's Guide to the Art of Baháʼu'lláh. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-259-7.
  5. ^ Taherzadeh, Adib (1987). Mazra'ih & Bahji 1877-92. The Revelation of Baháʼu'lláh. Vol. 4. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-270-8.
  6. ^ a b Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-020-9. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  7. ^ Paul Desailly, Baha'u'llah was an esperantist, Feb 14, 2022.
  8. ^ Momen, Moojan (1995), The Covenant
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