The following glosses on Arabic terms in the Kitab-i-Aqdas are excerpted from the section of notes accompanying each sentence. Since the following definitions refer back to the passage where they were first used, back-links have been provided so the reader can see the context of each definition. This glossary is not comprehensive, but just covers some points that I found especially interesting, or points out where a word may have various meanings. Initial ayns and hamzas are ignored in this English alphabetization.

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1. Abdu'l-Baha (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): The "Servant of Baha", Abbas Effendi (1844-1921), the eldest son and appointed Successor of Baha'u'llah, and the Centre of His Covenant.

2. Abjad (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): The ancient Arabic system of allocating a numerical value to letters of the alphabet, so that numbers may be represented by letters and vice versa. Thus every word has both a literal meaning and a numerical value.

3. amr (notes from sentences 2 and 3): amr is sometimes translated as "laws." Here it is given in a verbal phrase: mA amara bi-hi man ladA al-maqSUd, "that which was commanded by him who is the desired one." The authorized translation renders it slightly differently here: "every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world." In other places, the authorized and the Elder editions translate amr as "Cause," but my Hans Wehr dictionary does not offer this definition, giving instead "order, command, instruction; decree, imperative; power, authority."

4. Bab, The (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): Literally the "Gate", the title assumed by Mirza Ali-Muhammad (1819-1850) after the Declaration of His Mission in Shiraz in May 1844. He was the Founder of the Babi Faith and the Herald of Baha'u'llah.

5. Baha (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): Baha means Glory. It is the Greatest Name of God and a title by which Baha'u'llah is designated. Also, the name of the first month of the Baha'i year and of the first day of eac h Baha'i month.

6. Baha'u'llah (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): The "Glory of God", title of Mirza Husayn-'Ali (1817-1892), the Founder of the Baha'i Faith.

7. bayAn (note from sentence 6): Baha'u'llah says that the "sea of bayAn" has swelled, likely a double entendre. BayAn means, among other things, "declaration, anouncement; clearness, plainness; elucidation, explanation," and can be translated as such because it immediately follows "wisdom," i.e. the explanations provided by revelation. However, as the name of the central book of the Babi religion was likewise BayAn, it is likely that Baha'u'llah here intends a double meaning. The Quran of Muhammad is also sometimes called the BayAn.

   Bayan (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): The Bayan ("Exposition") is the title given by the Bab to His Book of Laws, and it is also applied to the entire body of His Writings. The Persian Bayan is the major doctrinal work and principal repository of the laws ordained by the Bab. The Arabic Bayan is parallel in content but smaller and less weighty. References in the annotations to subjects found in both the Persian Bayan and the Arabic Bayan are identified by use of the term "Bayan" without further qualification.

8. hAja (note from sentence 6): While the verb mAja can, in some forms, mean simply "to ripple," "to wave," or "to undulate," here it has the stronger sense of "heaving, rolling, surging, being agitated," hence the Elder translation as "raged." The second verb, hAja, can also have this sense of violent agitation, especially in reference to seas. This phrase--the verbs mAja and hAja (note the rhyme) and the noun nasama, "breeze, "breath," "waft," and even "wind"--provides a clear and consistent image of a sea swelling or even roiling under the breath of the words spoken by the Merciful. This is emphasized in the authorized translation which departs from the literal "seize the opportunity" to continue with the image: "Hasten to drink your fill."

9. hamaj (note from sentence 4): The Arabic words which the authorized version renders "abject and foolish"--hamaj and ra`A`--were somewhat difficult to translate with exalted language, for they are most colorful terms. Wehr renders them as follows: hamaj: "small flies, gnats; riffraff, rabble, ragtag; savages, barbarians. ra`A`: "rabble, mob, riffraff, scum; ragtag; rowdies, hooligans."

10. hawA: See HudUd, below.

11. HudUd (notes from sentences 4 and 5): The term HudUd means "edge, border; boundary, limit" and by extension "ordinance, statute, punishment." In possessive construct with allAh, the Hans Wehr dictionary gives "the bounds or restrictions that God has placed on man's freedom of action." In sentence five, Baha'u'llah contrasts the HudUd allAhi, the HudUd of God, with the HudUd al-nafsi, the HudUd of self. The authorized translation renders these "precepts laid down by God" and "dictates of your evil passions," resp. In Sufism especially, the nafs is the seat of the lower desires, the animalistic passions, and often has an immediately negative connotation. Consequently, the authorized version adds the adjective "evil." This reading is also justified by the second Arabic term, hawA, which means "love, affection; passion; desire, longing, craving; whim, caprice." Thus, where the Arabic literally reads "the restrictions of the self and of passion," the authorized translation gives "the dictates of your evil passions and corrupt desires." In the Arabic text it is clear that these HudUd al-nafs are paralleled with the previously mentioned HudUd allAh, and the first two sentences of verse two are thus an exhortation to abandon natural law in favor of divine law, so to speak.

12. Huququ'llah (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): The "Right of God". Instituted in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, it is an offering made by the Baha'is through the Head of the Faith for the purposes specified in the Baha'i Writings.

13. ilhAm (note from sentence 3): The common name Persian name Elham, transliterated as al-ilhAm, means "inspiration, instinct, illumination."

14. imkAn (note from sentence 5): ImkAn, "the possible," is a term for all creation which occurs often in Kitab-i-Aqdas.

15. `inAya (note from sentence 8): `inAya, often translated as "providence," can be a concept whose meaning is often not really understood. The American Heritage dictionary gives these meanings for "providence":
        1. Care or preparation in advance; foresight.
        2. Prudent management; economy.
        3. The care, guardianship, and control exercised by a deity; divine direction
    These meanings are paralleled by the Arabic term `inAya, which can mean "concern for; care, solicitude, providence; heed, notice, attention," all having a connotation of God's sense of loving care for his creation.

16. khizAnah (note from sentence 9): khazA'in (plural of khizAnah) means "treasure houses; vaults, coffers, safeboxes; treasuries."

17. mAja: See hAja, above.

18. mAlik (note from sentence 8): The word mAlik is the active participle of malaka, which means "to possess, acquire; to be the owner of; to control, dominate, rule over; to exercise power." Many Arabic words relating to kingship derive from this root. Perhaps "master" is the English word that catches the most similarities in meaning.

19. maqAma (note from sentence 3): Of interest is the term maqAma, "site, location, station," or even "place where a saint is buried." It literally means "place of standing," and the verbal root here--QWM--is where we get familiar words like Qa'im (the Bab) and Qayyum.

20. mashriq (note from sentence 2): The two terms which the authorized version translates as "Dayspring" and "Fountain"--mashriq and maTla`--are virtually identical in meaning. The root of mashriq refers equally to "east" and to "sun," and with the prefix of place, ma-, means the "place of the sunrise." The root of maTla` refers to ascendence and appearance, and with the prefix of place, ma-, means both the rising place of celestial bodies or the opening or beginning of something, as in a poem. In this fashion the authorized version renders the two "Dayspring" and "Fountain," resp., and in my literal version I chose "dawning-place"and "rising-place."

21. Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): Literally "the Dawning-place of the praise of God", the designation of the Baha'i House of Worship and its dependencies.

22. Mithqal (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): A unit of weight, equivalent to a little over 3 1/2 grammes, used in the Kitab-i-Aqdas with reference to quantities of gold or silver for various purposes, usually in amounts o f 9, 19 or 95 mithqals. The equivalents of these in the metric system and in troy ounces (which are used in the measurement of precious metals), are as follows:
    • 9 mithqals = 32.775 grammes = 1.05374 troy ounces
    • 19 mithqals = 69.192 grammes = 2.22456 troy ounces
    • 95 mithqals = 345.958 grammes = 11.12282 troy ounces
    This computation is based on the guidance of Shoghi Effendi, conveyed in a letter written on his behalf, which states "one mithqal consists of nineteen nakhuds. The weight of twenty-four nakhuds equals four and three-fifths grammes. Calculations may be made on this basis." The mithqal traditionally used in the Middle East had consisted of 24 nakhuds but in the Bayan this was changed to 19 nakhuds and Baha'u'llah confirmed this as the size of the mithqal referred to in the Baha'i laws (Q and A 23).

23. maTla`: See mashriq, above.

24. nafaqa (note from sentence 9): nafaqa means "to sell well; find a brisk market; to use up, to exhaust one's stores," and in Form IV, the form used here, means "to spend, expend, disburse; consume, use up, exhaust, dissipate." It refers to the total dissipation of the khazA'in (plural of khizAnah) the "treasure houses; vaults, coffers, safeboxes; treasuries."

25. nafs: See HudUd, above.

26. Nakhud (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): A unit of weight. See "mithqal".

27. Qayyumu'l-Asma' (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): The Bab's commentary on the Surih of Joseph in the Qur'an. Revealed in 1844, this work is characterized by Baha'u'llah as "the first, the greatest, and mightiest of all books" in the Babi Dispensation.

28. ra`A`: See hamaj, above.

29. Shoghi Effendi (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957), Guardian of the Baha'i Faith from 1921-1957. He was the eldest grandson of Abdu'l-Baha and was appointed by Him as the Head of the Faith.

30. Siyah-Chal (note from glossary in Authorized Edition): Literally "the Black Pit". The dark, foul-smelling, subterranean dungeon in Tihran where Baha'u'llah was imprisoned for four months in 1852.

31. thabata (note from sentence 9): The verb thabata as used here (form IV) has the primary meaning of "establish," but with the connotations of proving a truth, as in "to corroborate, confirm, substantiate; to bear witness."

32. ufq (note from sentence 3): I believe that the term I translated as "horizon" can be vocalized as either ufq or ufuq. This is an interesting term: besides "horizon," its connotations are of distant lands, far reaches.