The writings of Baháʼu'lláh are the corpus of texts written or narrated by Baháʼu'lláh, which are regarded as sacred scripture in the Baháʼí Faith. Baháʼu'lláh was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith; he was born in Persia and later exiled for being a follower of the Báb, who in 1844 had declared himself to be a Manifestation of God and forerunner of "Him Whom God shall make manifest". Baháʼu'lláh first announced his claim to be a Manifestation of God in 1863 and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire, exiled first to Baghdad, followed by Istanbul, Edirne, where he began proclaiming his mission, and finally Acre. His teachings revolve around the principles of unity and religious renewal, ranging from moral and spiritual progress to world governance.
Overview Baháʼu'lláh's writings, also referred to as Tablets, were written over a forty-year period beginning before he declared his mission in 1863. Almost 20,000 separate works with a total of around seven million words are currently catalogued at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa, Israel, a majority of which are preserved authenticated copies. His writings constitute a vast body of work, of which approximately two-thirds is in Arabic and the remainder is either in Persian or a mixture of both Arabic and Persian passages. They include treatises; correspondence with individuals; comments on passages from the Bible, the Qur’an, Islamic Hadith, Sufi poets, historians and philosophers; and many thousands of prayers, some of which are stand-alone tablets and others of which are part of larger tablets.See Prayer in the Baháʼí Faith The majority of his writings were dictated to Mírzá Áqá Ján, his amanuensis; eyewitnesses described the experience of witnessing the revelation of Baháʼu'lláh's words as overwhelming and said Baháʼu'lláh spoke so rapidly that Mírzá Áqá Ján sometimes had difficulty keeping up. Sometimes Baháʼu'lláh uttered over 1000 verses in less than an hour without any apparent forethought, and on occasion during the early years this continued over extended periods lasting day and night, often involving visionary experiences. In order to copy down everything that Baháʼu'lláh said at these times, Mírzá Áqá Ján developed his own style of speed writing. After, a clear version was prepared, forming the basis of a formal copy to be given to the recipient. When texts were assigned to individuals in Persia they were often sent to a copyist linked together on one document, and then re-copied as separate items. The abundance of hand copied texts undoubtedly accounts for the fact that Baháʼu'lláh's writings, either in the original or in trusted transcriptions, have survived for posterity.
Content The underlying theme running through Baháʼu'lláh's writings is the precept of unity in diversity: one God at the root of various concepts of a deity, unity of the prophets in spite of apparent differences in their messages, unity of religion despite seemingly contradictory beliefs, and unity of humanity which has forever suffered and continues to suffer conflicts between tribes, religious factions, and nations.
The majority of Baháʼu'lláh's writings consist of comparatively short replies to correspondence from his followers, who, during the early period of his ministry, lived primarily within Shi’ite Islamic boundaries. As news began to spread of the Baháʼí movement, and as a result of Baháʼu'lláh's several exiles, — which included Baghdad in Iraq before he was moved to Istanbul, Edirne, and finally the prison city of Acre in Palestine, — correspondence widened to include members of minority Islamic and mystical groups, Jews, Zoroastrians and Christians, including Pope Pius IX, several crowned heads of Europe, as well as correspondents in Central Asia and India, religious and secular rulers of the Persian and Ottoman empires, and the various state leaders of North America.
History One of Baháʼu'lláh's first known Tablets dates from 1852, at the time of his imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran following false accusations against him in connection with the failed assassination attempt on the life of the Shah. Bearing the title Rashḥ-i-‘Amá [The Clouds of the Realms Above], it is a poem of 20 verses written in Persian, and is among the few that he wrote before being exiled from Persia to Baghdad.
Baháʼu'lláh was first exiled in 1853 to Baghdad, accompanied by his family and close companions. Following the attempted assassination of the Shah, Baháʼu'lláh's half brother, Azal Mírzá Yahyá, had fled into the mountains and forests of northern Persia in fear for his life, later disguising himself and joining Baháʼu'lláh in Baghdad.
Baháʼu'lláh's writings from that time onwards can be divided into three periods. Shoghi Effendi referred to these periods as the Vernal years, covering the exile to Baghdad; Summertime, being the exiles in Istanbul and Edirne; and the Harvest Season, which covers Baháʼu'lláh's exile in Acre. Baháʼu'lláh's writings also fall into three categories: the first following on from the proclamation of his mission in Edirne; the second including laws and ordinances, most of which were already listed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas ("The Most Holy Book"); and the third comprising writings which affirm or reaffirm the basic beliefs and principles of his faith.
1853–1863, Baghdad Baháʼu'lláh's arrival in Baghdad in early April 1853 marked a turning point for the Bábí movement, which to all intents and purposes had collapsed into near obscurity, and for his outgoing and authoritative personality Bahá’u’lláh was soon recognised by the Bábís as being a religious leader in his own right. Baháʼu'lláh's texts during his first year of exile in Baghdad, two of which are mentioned below, included the promotion of the Cause of the Báb, enigmatic references to his own prophetic claim, and acknowledgment of Azal, his half brother, as nominal head of the Bábí community. Texts from this period include:
Khutbiy-i-Salavat [‘Sermon of Salutations’], acclaims the Cause of the Báb, exhorting his followers to look for and direct their gaze towards the ‘countenance of light’. Lawh-i-Kullu't-Ta'ám [Tablet of All Food], a symbolic Arabic commentary on the Qur'anic verse "All food was allowed to the children of Israel" [Qur’an 3:93]
Finding the Bábí community in Iraq in disarray, Baháʼu'lláh began encouraging and reuniting the believers, his popularity and the respect he received causing mounting tension and disunity due to Azal's resentment, manifested in the spreading of rumours concerning Baháʼu'lláh's character and motives. And so, on 10 April 1854 Baháʼu'lláh departed Baghdad for Sulaymaniyah, in the mountains of Kurdistan, his reason being "to avoid becoming a subject of discord among the faithful, a source of disturbance unto Our companions, the means of injury to any soul, or the cause of sorrow to any heart." During Baháʼu'lláh's two year withdrawal to Sulaymaniya he became aware of the nature of his mission, which he expressed through poems, prayers and meditations, a few of which survived, including:
Qaṣídiy-i-Izz-i-Varqá’íyyih [Ode of the Dove], a symbolic representation of Bahá’u’lláh's internal reflection as He communes with the Holy Spirit dwelling within Him and which speaks through Him. Sáqí az Ghayb-i Baqá [The Cupbearer from the Eternal Unseen], a brief ode touching on his messianic secret, asking for purity of heart and dedication to love and sacrifice as the prerequisite for the spiritual journey. Baz Av-u-Bidih Jamih [At dawn the Friend came to my bed], a short ode focused on celebration of divine love and appealing for immortal life offered in service to God.
On returning from the mountains of Kurdistan in 1856 Baháʼu'lláh set to work on reuniting the dispirited and divided Bábí community, his writings focused on offering the Bábís a deeper understanding of their new religion, in the process appealing to a growing number of devoted disciples. Key to Baháʼu'lláh's revival of the Bábí community and his position as leader were his writings, His diverse style including obscure language as used by many of the Bábís, clear and assertive religious poetry, and direct, coherent prose. A considerable number of his writings consisted of letters addressed to individuals which were guaranteed a wide distribution by copyists. Whilst much of his output clarified new elements in regard to Bábí tradition, a major theme during this period was Baháʼu'lláh's awareness of the divine presence, the significance of which he had first become aware during his four months of imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran. Of particular note in these writings is the Bábí-Baháʼí understanding of God's messengers, referred to as the Manifestations of God, Baháʼu'lláh stressing their underlying unity and the continuity of divine revelation. A number of Baháʼu'lláh's writings from this period demonstrate a knowledge of sections of the Bible which, in conjunction with his defence of Jews and Christians from a Muslim assertion that they had falsely altered Muslim scriptures, were extremely uncommon in nineteenth-century Muslim writing. Writings from this period include:
Kalimat-i Maknunih (Hidden Words), unlike the majority of Baháʼu'lláh's works, this was not addressed to a specific person. It consists of two collections, one in Arabic, one in Persian, of mystical and ethical aphorisms. which Baháʼu'lláh declared had descended from the divine world, completing the revelations of God's previous messengers. Haft Vádi (The Seven Valleys), written for Shaykh Muhiyu’d-din, the Qadi (leader) of the Khaniqayn Sufi Order, Haft Vádi follows the structure of The Conference of the Birds, the classic Sufi text by Faridu’d-din Attar, and describes seven stages along the path towards spiritual enlightenment. Kitab-i-Iqan [The Book of Certitude] Written in response to questions by one of the Báb's maternal uncles, Hájí Mírzá Sayyid Muhammad, a Biblical and Qur’anic interpretation outlining the Baháʼí concept of progressive revelation through a succession of Manifestations. Aṣl-i-Kullu'l-K͟hayr (Words of Wisdom), a collection of moral aphorisms including the essence of faith, wisdom, religion, love and wealth, centred on belief in God and submission to him. Chahár-Vádi (The Four Valleys), addressed to the leader of the Kurdish Qádiri Sufis, Shaykh ‘Abdu’r-Rahmán Tábabáni of Kirkuk, a mystical treatise describing four paths to God, being the self, reason, love and the heart. Hurúfát-i-'Álín [The Exalted Letters], reflections on death and the human soul. Javáhiru’l-Asrár (Gems of Divine Mysteries), written in response to questions from Siyyid Yusuf-i-Sidihi Isfahani, a leader of the Shi’as in Najaf, addressing the question of how the Promised One of Islam, the Báb, could materialize as an ordinary human being, and interpreting Qur’anic beliefs such as the Resurrection and Day of Judgment. Lawh-i-Maryam [Tablet to Maryam], addressed to one of Bahá’u’lláh’s cousins to whom he describes events including his exile to Baghdad, withdrawal to Sulaymaniyah, and his efforts to rejuvenate the disheartened Bábí community on His return. He also touches on the as yet unrevealed nature of his station, recognition of which depends on purity of heart, and announces his withdrawal from the community. Madínatu’r-Ridá[The City of Contentment], explaining contentment - with God and His decree, with one’s self, with fellow believers and with trials and tribulations in the world. Madinatu’t-Tawhid [The City of Unity], addressed to Shaykh Salman, who for 40 years carried messages from Baháʼu'lláh to his believers in Persia, this tablet forms a theological discussion on the concept of divine unity from various perspectives. Ṣaḥífiy-i-Shaṭṭíyyih [Book of the River], focusing on the power and sovereignty of the Cause of God and comparing its progress with the movement of the river Tigris.