Letter to the son of the wolf

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The letter to the son of the wolf is part of the revelatory work of Baha'u'llah , the founder of the Baha'i religion . The Persian-language epistle , which was written shortly before his death in 1892, is considered a summary of his teaching and is therefore one of the most important holy scriptures of the Baha'i.

The letter to the son of the wolf is addressed to the then leading mujtahid from Isfahan, the Shiite Sheikh Muhammad-Taqi Nadjafi (born April 19, 1846 Isfahan ; † July 5, 1914 ibid), who studied in Najaf and was an opponent of the Baha'i -Belief did not shrink from violence against the Baha'i. Together with his father, the Muslim cleric Sheikh Muhammad-Baqir († December 1883 in Najaf), whom Baha'u'llah called "wolf", he was responsible for the deaths of many Baha'i. Although the letter is primarily addressed to the son of the "wolf", this is by no means the focus; Rather, Baha'u'llah addresses all of humanity. In the book he looks back on his life, summarizes his ethical, metaphysical, theological and social teachings and thus also counteracts the attacks on his followers.

The first German version was based on the English translation by Shoghi Effendi . In 2010 the Verlag der Weltreligionen published a German translation from the original for the first time, which was provided with a detailed commentary and provided a lot of background information, making a lot of things easier for Western readers to understand, which "makes the volume an introduction to the youngest world religion at the same time".

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Baha'u'llah begins the letter with praise to God and then extols himself as the “Supreme Mediator”, the “Most Exalted Pen” and the “dawn” of God's “most excellent names” and “most glorious qualities”. After clearly disclosing his claim to the addressee, Baha'u'llah Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi asks to purify his soul and to recite the following special prayer for forgiveness of sins and divine guidance. The letter contains an anthology as Baha'u'llah cites numerous passages from his own writings. He asks the addressee to heed and check the messages contained therein. One of the scriptures quoted is "The Letter of Evidence", which was originally intended for the addressee's father, Shaykh Muhammad-Baqir, and is reproduced in full in the messages from Akka . There are also passages from the “Words of Paradise”, the Radiance (Tajallíyát) and the “Table of Splendor” (Ishráqát), which are also fully reproduced in the messages from Akka. The quoted passage from the sura of the temple (Súratu'l-Haykal) and the cited passage from the epistles to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to Napoléon III. of France , to the Tsar Alexander II of the Russian Empire and to Shah Naser al-Din of Persia can all be found fully translated into Claims and Annunciation . Furthermore, there are text passages from the Kitab-i-Aqdas . Further text passages come from previously little known letters. The sources of some text passages could not yet be identified. Baha'u'llah also describes the deaths of numerous Baha'i martyrs. A considerable amount is dedicated to Mirza Yahya ( Subh-i-Azal ) and his followers, who are addressed in the work as the “people of the Bayans ”. The activities of the clergyman Mirza Hadi Dawlat-Abadi from Isfahan and various others are also presented.

literature

Editions of the work