Bahá’í World/Volume 31/New Translations of Bahá’u’lláh's Writings
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New Translations '
of Bahé’u’lléh’sWritings
including subjects as varied as science, philosophy, laws for
human conduct, the spiritual nature of existence, and pro— nouncements about the Future of humanity. These divinely inspired writings create the foundation of the Bahé’i' Faith, but their intended application is universal. Bahei’u'lla’h wrote not to a select group of followers, but to the whole ofhumanity. The texts are the charter for a new world, and no being is outside the rejuvenating influence of Bahzi’u’lléh’s revelation. which He describes in these terms:
B ahd’u'lL’th's writings elucidate virtually every aspect ofexistence,
Say: In this day, the fertilizing winds of the grace of God have passed over all things. Every creature hath been endowed with all the potentialities it can carry.... Every tree hath been endowed with (he choicest Fruits, every ocean enriched with the most luminous gems. Man, himself, hath been invested with the gifts of understanding and knowledge. The whole creation hath been made the recipient of the revelation of the AJl—Merciful, and the earth the repository of things inscrutable to all except God, the Truth. the Knower of things unseen.‘
‘ Bahé’u'llaih, Summon: ofthr Lard quom ( Haifa: World Centre Publications, 2002). p. 23.
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100 THE BAHA’i WORLD 2002—2003
In 7.002. World Centre Publications issued two new volumes of English translations of Bahé'u’lléh’s writings, The Summon: aft/x Lard afHom and Gm asz'vim Myym'izs. These new publications not only represent a significant contribution to the understanding and history of the Bahé'f Faith, but also demonstrate the breaddl of Bahé'u'llfih's ministry, as they address issues ofhuman leadership, the nature of God’s appearance on earth, the meaning of past religious symbols, and the ceaseless journey of the soul towards its Lord.
The Summons 0fthe Lord of Hosts
The Summam of the Lord afHom is a 272—page compilation that collects English translations ofsix major works written by Bahai’u’lléh in the latter half of the nineteenth century. .
The book contains the Stiriy—i-Haykal (Stirih of the Temple), Slitiy—i-Ra'l's (Slirih of the Chief), Iawh-i-Ra'fs (Tablet of the Chief), Lawh-i-Fu'éd (Tablet to Fu’éd Pégé), Lawh-i‘Sulgén (Tablet to the Sultan), and Sfiriy—i—Muhik (Stirih to the Kings).2 Parts of each of these Tablets had been previously translated by Shoghi Effendi and published in other forms. but this is the first time each has appeared in its complete form.
Collectively, the works clearly enunciate Bahfi’u’lléh’s claim to prophethood and offer a prescription for peaceful and just leadership in the modern world.
The primary work in the volume. the Sdriy-i-Haykal, was de— scribed by Shoghi Effendj as one of Bahé'u'lléh’s “most challenging works” and sets the tone for the volume by establishing the divine source of Bahé’u’lléh’s mission.
“Never since the beginning of the world,” declares Bahé’u'lléh, “hath the message been so openly proclaimed.” That proclamation of His message and its divine source comes in passages such as the follow‘ing, where Bahé’u’lléh describes receiving the intimations of His mission and station:
2 The Lawh—i—Sultén is addressed to Négiri‘d—Dfn fihfih. the Shah ofI’ersia, and the lawh-i—Ra'ls and Sfiriy—i-Rn'fs are addressed to ‘Alf Péshzi, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
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While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice. calling above My head. Turning My face. I beheld a Maiden—the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lotd—suspended in the air before Me.... Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed a“ who ate in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: By God! This is the Best—Beloved of the worlds.j -
Throughout the St’ttiy—i—Haykal, Bahé’u'lléh explores the insepa— rable relationship between the Manifestation and God, in passages such as this:
Say: Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple of God, and in My beauty but His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in My self but His Self, and in My movement but His Movement. and in My acquiescence but His Acquiescence, and in My pen but His Pen, the Mighty, the All-Ptaiscd. There hath not been in My soul but the Truth, and in Myself naught could be seen but God.
Beware lest ye speak of duality in regard to My Self, for all the atoms of the earth proclaim that there is none other God but Him. the One, the Single, the Mighty. the Loving."
The text of the Stiriy-i—Haykal also includes letters addressed to some of the most powerful individual monarchs of the time: Napoleon III. Czar Alexander II, Queen Victoria, Né§iri’d—Dln fla’h, and Pope Pius IX. In each, Bahé'u’lla’h describes His station as a Manifestation of God and challenges the rulers to acknowledge that station. .
Bahé'u'lléh's address to Nésiti'd—Dln Slih is the longest of these letters. Known as the Lawh—i—Sultfin, it is directed to the Shah ofPer— sia, an enemy of the Bahi’t's who ordered the martyrdom of the Bib and the imprisonment ofBahfi’u’Iléh in the Sfyéh-Qltzfl, among other abuses to the community. In the address to one whom Bahé’u'lléh called the “Prince of Oppressots," He outlines the abuses that He has suffered at the Shah’s command and challenges the sovereign to
‘ Bahi'u'lléh, Summons, pp. 5—6. ‘ lbid.. pp. 23—24.
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accept His revelation. He also offers to meet with the Muslim clergy, and [0 provide whatever definitive proofs of the new revelation they would require to test Bahfi'u’lléh’s claim.
After the completion of the Stitiy-i-Haykal, Bahé'u'llah instruct- ed that the work be written in the fotm of a pentacle, symbolic of the human temple. He added 3 Concluding paragraph that Shoghi Effendi described as “words which reveal the importance He at- tached to those Messages, and indicate their direct association with the prophecy of the Old Testament":5
Thus have We built the Temple with the hands of power and might. could ye but know it. This is the Temple promised unto you in the Book. Draw ye nigh unto it. This is that which prof- iteth you, could ye but comprehend it. Be fair, 0 peoples of the earth! Which is preferable, this, or a temple which is built of clay? Set your faces towards it. Thus have ye been commanded by God, the Help in Peril. the Self—Subsisting.“
Another major work included in The Summon: of the Lord of Host; is the Stitiy-i-Muhik, described by Shoghi Efiendi as “the most momentous Tablet revealed by Baha’u’lléh in which He, for the first time, directs His words collectively to the entire company of the monarchs of East and \West.”7 In it, Bahé’u’lléh outlines require- ments For rulers, including reduction of armaments, the resolution of international conflicts, and reduction of expenditures that place unnecessary strain on their subjects.
“Lay not aside the fear ofGod, O kings of the earth, and beware that ye ttansgrcss not the bounds which the Almighty hath fixed. Be vigilant, that ye may not do injustice to anyone, be it to the extent of a grain of mustard seed. Tread ye the path of justice, for this, verily, is the straight path," Baha’u’lléh asserts in a statement outlining the requirements of just leadership."
" Shoghi Eflcndi, The Promised Day I: Came (Wilmette. 1L: Bahé'l Publishing Trust, 1996), p. 47.
“ Baha'u'liéh. Summons, p. 137.
7 Shoghi Efi'endi. GodPasm By (Wilmette, IL: Bahé’f Publishing Trust. 1995). p. 171.
" Baha‘u’lléh, Summum. p. (88.
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The Stiriy-i-Ra’is, which addresses the Ottoman Prime Minister ‘Ah’ Péshd, exposes the ways in which the Minister misused his power and betrayed the trust of the people. The Lawh—i—Ra’is contains passages addressed to the same Minister and includes a vehement portrayal of the depth of his depravity, saying. “ [T] he fury of God’s wrath hath so encompassed you that ye shall never take heed.”"
The lnwh-i—Fu'éd, which refers to the Ottoman Minister Fu’éd Pfifié. “describes the spiritual consequences of the abuse of power, and foretells the imminent downfall of his colleague, ‘Alf Péflé, and the overthrow of the Sultan himself—prophecies that were widely circulated and whose dramatic Fulfillment added greatly to the pres- tige of their Author."'”
Gem: of Divine Mysteries
Gem: 0fDivine Mytterie: (a translation of the Arabic title Javéhiru‘l— Asrér) was written in Arabic during Bahé’u’lléh’s banishment to Iraq, where He was exiled from [853 until 1863. Though a relatively small volume, it is an important early epistle that explores the human quest for spiritual enlightenment and the symbols used throughout the history of religious revelation.
Gems is in the form of a letter written in reply to questions asked of Bahé’u’lkih about the Promised One of Islam. Bahé’u'lléh used the queStions as an opportunity to elaborate a number of related subjects.
The book relates closely to another of the major works of Bahé‘u'lléh, the Kitéb-i—fqén, which gives an exploration of the progression of divine revelation and the tribulations sustained by the Manifestations of God. Specifically, it addresses the cause of the rejection of the Prophets of the past, the danger of a literal read— ing of scripture, the meaning of the signs and portents in the Bible concerning the advent of the new Manifestation, and the continuity of divine revelation.
" lbid., p. 164. "’ Universal House of Justice, introduCtion to The Summons afrhe Lard of How. p. vi.
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Bahé'u’iléh explains many of the symbolic terms used in past revelations, such as “resurrection” and "Day ofjudgment,” symbolic terms that have been misunderstood and have created a barrier be- tween mankind and God’s divinely appointed Messengers. In His description of the true meaning of resurreCtion, Bahé’u’lléh says,
[H]e who had believed in God and in the Manifestation of His beauty was raised from the grave of heedlessness, gathered to— gether in the sacred ground of the heart, quickened to the life of Faith and certitude, and admitted into the paradise of the divine presence. What paradise can be loftier than this. what ingathering mightier, and what resurrection greater? indeed, should a soul
be acquainted with these mysteries, he would grasp that which none other hath fathomed.“
Germ Further describes the quest for unity with God. In this, it bears similarity to The Scum Valleys, a primarily mystical work of Bahé'u’lléh that describes seven stages, described as a series ofvalleys, through which a seeker’s soul progresses as it grows closer to God.
Gem: explains these seven stages using an extended metaphor of a progression of cities called “the Garden of Seaxch.” “the City of Love and Rapture," “the City of Divine Unity,” “the Garden of Wonderment," “the City of Absolute Nothingness," “the City of Immortality,” and “the City that hath no name or description.”
In this final city, where the seeker achieves the apex of re— union,
How the oceans of eternity, whilst this city itself revolveth round the seat of eternity. Therein the sun of the Unseen shineth re- splendent above the horizon of the Unseen, a sun that hath its own heavens and its own moons, which partake of its light and which rise from and set upon the ocean of the Unseen. Nor can I wet hope to impart even a dewdrop of that which hath been decreed therein, as none is acquainted with its mysteries save God, its Creator and Fashioner, and His Manifestations.l2
“ Bahé’u'lldh, Gem: afDim'm Mysteries (Haifa: World Centre Publications, 2002). pt 42. ‘3 Ibid.. p. 77.
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Rendering the Translations
These newly issued volumes are the first full translations published since the release of the the first authorized English translation of the Kita'b—i—Aqdas. Bahé’u’lléh’s book of laws. in 1992. The preparation of translations from the original Persian or Arabic was undertaken by the Research Department of the Universal House ofjustice. The English renderings are a result of combined efforts of a number of translators, all of whom strive to Follow the pattern established by Shoghi Effendi.
In some cases, Bahé’u’lléh would Himself write the Tablets, but ‘ it was typical for Him to reveal verses aloud to an amanuensis. The dictation was sometimes recorded in what has been called “revela~ tion writing”—a shorthand script written with extreme quickness owing to the speed with which the words were uttered. These origi— nal “revelation writing” drafts were later revised and approved by Bahé'u'lléh.
These “revelation drafts,” as well as the many other transcriptions of Bahá’u’lláh's writings, are held in the International Bahá’í Archives in Haifa. The collection encompasses approximately 17,000 items, some of which are in Bahá’u’lláh's own handwriting. while others are transcriptions made either by Bahá’u’lláh's amanuenses or by other known scribes. under Bahá’u’lláh’s direction.
The thousands of epistles revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, when taken together, constitute a volume more than 70 times the size of the Qur'an and more than 5 times the size of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Though less than to percent of Bahá’u’lláh's writings have been translated, those completed represent works of major significance.
The work of the Research Department to study and translate the remaining bulk of the writings of the Faith is ongoing, with new volumes planned for future release that will continue to contribute to understanding of the Faith both for those among its followers as well as the historians and scholars who study it.
