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"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
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The
Writings of Bahá'u'lláh |
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In addition to several longer works,
Bahá'u'lláh
wrote a vast number of documents known as "Tablets,"
most of them addressed to individuals among His followers. He
has Himself estimated that the collected Tablets constitute
over a hundred volumes. Moving easily between Persian and
Arabic, both of which languages Bahá'u'lláh employed with
superb mastery, the Writings are also characterized by a wide
range of styles.
The heart of Bahá'u'lláh's ethical teachings is to be found
in a small book entitled The
Hidden Words, a
compilation of aphorisms dating from the earliest days of His
mission. The work He describes as a distillation of the
spiritual guidance contained in the successive revelations of
God.
Bahá'u'lláh's principal exposition of His doctrinal message
is a book entitled the "Kitab-i-lqan"
(The Book of
Certitude). In laying out the entire panorama of the Divine
purpose, the "Iqan" deals with the great questions
which have always lain at the heart of religious life: God,
the nature of humanity, the purpose of life, and the function
of Revelation.
Among the best known of Bahá'u'lláh's mystical writings is a
small work entitled The
Seven Valleys.
In poetic language, it traces the stages of the soul 's
journey to union with its Creator.
Foremost among Bahá'u'lláh's
writings is the "Kitab-i-Aqdas"
("The Most
Holy Book"). Revealed during the darkest days of His
imprisonment in Acre, the "Aqdas", "Mother
Book" of the Bahá'í dispensation, is the chief
repository of the laws and institutions which Bahá'u'lláh
designed for the World Order He conceived.
The process of translating the sacred writings into other
languages is on-going. The standard for the work of
translation into English was established by Shoghi Effendi,
who headed the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 to 1957. [See page
55.] Educated at Oxford, he was able to provide translations
that reflect not only a brilliant command of the English
language, but also an authoritative exposition of the Texts'
meaning.
In undertaking the challenge of finding an English style which
would faithfully convey the exalted and emotive character of Bahá'u'lláh's
use of Persian and Arabic, Shoghi Effendi chose a slightly
archaic form of English which echoes the King James version of
the Bible. He also chose, in accordance with this style, to
use the masculine pronoun for references to God--although Bahá'u'lláh's
teachings make clear that no gender can be attached to the
Creator. Shoghi Effendi also chose to make extensive use of
diacritical marks as a guide to the pronunciation of Arabic
and Persian names, a practice that is followed throughout the
Bahá'í community today.
The result is a style that acts as bridge between modern
English and the Persian and Arabic style in which Bahá'u'lláh
wrote. Accordingly, Shoghi Effendi's English translations, and
not the Arabic or Persian originals, are used for the work of
translation into other Western languages.
Selections from Bahá'u'lláh's Writings have been translated
into more than 800 languages.
Question:
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| Excerpted
from The Bahá'ís, a publication of the Bahá'í
International Community.
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