The formulation by Bahá’u’lláh, in His Kitáb-i-Aqdas, of the
fundamental laws of His Dispensation was followed, as His Mission
drew to a close, by the enunciation of certain precepts and
principles which lie at the very core of His Faith, by the
reaffirmation of truths He had previously proclaimed, by the
elaboration and elucidation of some of the laws He had already
laid down, by the revelation of further prophecies and warnings,
and by the establishment of subsidiary ordinances designed to
supplement the provisions of His Most Holy Book. These were
recorded in unnumbered Tablets, which He continued to reveal until
the last days of His earthly life...
Among such works is the Questions and Answers, a compilation made by
Zaynu’l-Muqarrabín, the most eminent of the transcribers of Bahá’u’lláh’s
Writings. Consisting of answers revealed by Bahá’u’lláh to questions put
to Him by various believers, it constitutes an invaluable appendix to the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas. In 1978 the most noteworthy of the other Tablets of this
nature were published in English as a compilation entitled Tablets of
Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Some years after the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh had
manuscript copies sent to Bahá’ís in Iran, and in the year 1308 A.H.
(1890-91 A.D.), towards the end of His life, He arranged for the
publication of the original Arabic text of the Book in Bombay.
A word should be said about the style of language in which the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas has been rendered into English. Bahá’u’lláh enjoyed a superb
mastery of Arabic, and preferred to use it in those Tablets and other
Writings where its precision of meaning was particularly appropriate to
the exposition of basic principle. Beyond the choice of language itself,
however, the style employed is of an exalted and emotive character,
immensely compelling, particularly to those familiar with the great
literary tradition out of which it arose. In taking up his task of
translation, Shoghi Effendi faced the challenge of finding an English
style which would not only faithfully convey the exactness of the text’s
meaning, but would also evoke in the reader the spirit of meditative
reverence which is a distinguishing feature of response to the original.
The form of expression he selected, reminiscent of the style used by the
seventeenth-century translators of the Bible, captures the elevated mode
of Bahá’u’lláh’s Arabic, while remaining accessible to the contemporary
reader. His translations, moreover, are illumined by his uniquely inspired
understanding of the purport and implications of the originals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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