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About the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh

edition online Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1985

(excerpted from the Bibliography for the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh: 1853-63
consult original bibliography for key to abbreviations and further information)


Name of Tablet Primary Sources Secondary sources: first key texts then supplementary texts
Hidden Words / Book of Fatimih / Hidden Book of Fatimih (Kalimat-i- Maknunih, Sahifiy-i- Fatimiyyih, Sahifiyyih- Maknuniyyih- Fatimiyyih) Written in Arabic and Persian in 1274 AH / 1857 AD. MaM 17-32; MaM 373-398; INBA 30; Law-gold 1-55. Five trans. by Shoghi Effendi with slight variants, published in many forms: the first in 1923, the second in 1924, the third in 1925, the fourth in 1929, with a final revision in 1954. Earlier trans. of Arabic HW in Kheirella and McNutt, 1894 and 1900; E.G. Browne first translated parts for his rendition of A Traveller's Narrative in 1891; a Mrs. Stannard rendered it in English in 1921; and Amin Fareed trans. and published it in 1905; also French transl. by Dreyfus, Oeuvre1 Quoted in Baha'u'llah's "Book of the River," available online at bahai-library.com/provisionals/river.html; Definition Messages 1963-86 743; mention in Promulgation of Universal Peace 46, 148, 457; Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha #17 and #181 (on interpretations of a number of symbols); Traveller's Narrative 68-69 (abridged Wilmette edition); mention Vignettes from the Life of Abdu'l-Baha 49; mentions in World Order of Baha'u'llah 46 (on Persian#63), 59-60 (on P.#77) and 116 (also on P.#77); discussion God Passes By 140; mentions (mostly regarding translation and publication) in Unfolding Destiny 14, 23, 55, 86-87, and general comments 429-30, 456; Directives of the Guardian 37 (on A.#13); The Light of Divine Guidance vol. 2 65-67 (on Arabic#1, A.#70, and A.#71, as well as comments on translation); Revelation of Baha'u'llah vol.1 71-83; brief mentions Rev. Baha'u'llah vol. 4 53, discussed in Baha'u'llah: King of Glory 159, sample of Mishqin-Qalam's calligraphy of the Tablet ibid. 161 and 251; mentions of dating and naming of Hidden Words in George Latimer's 1920 pilgrim's notes The Light of the World, 98; brief mentions of translation in Ruhiyyih Rabbani The Priceless Pearl 38, 205, 219; brief mention Dawnbreakers 9

Complete discussion in Diana Malouf Unveiling the Hidden Words and also her article "The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah: Translation Norms Employed by Shoghi Effendi," in The Vision of Shoghi Effendi; literary and symbolic analyses in John Hatcher Ocean of His Words 36-40, 108-111, 181-193; full coverage Julio Savi "The Love Relationship between God and Humanity: Reflections on Baha'u'llah's Hidden Words" in Scripture and Revelation, available online at bahai-library.com/articles/hiddenwords.savi.html; brief mentions in Bahiyyih Nakhjavani Asking Questions 3, 26; E.G. Browne discusses this Tablet and its mythological origins in the original Traveller's Narrative 122-126, available online at bahai-library.com/books/tn/tn.translation.html; coverage in Franklin Lewis' "Scripture as Literature," available only online at bahai-library.com/ conferences/scripture.lit.html; comments John Hatcher "The Validity and Value of an Historical-Critical Approach" in Scripture and Revelation 34 (on Persian#77), 39; David Hofman discusses George Townshend's role in the authorized translation in George Townshend 56-59, 78-79; discussion Stephen Lambden "Sinaitic Mysteries: Notes on Moses/Sinai Motifs" in Studies in Honor of the Late Hasan M. Balyuzi: Studies in the Babi and Baha'i Religions vol. 5 120-22 and Stephen Lambden "Apophatic Theology in Babi and Baha'i Scripture" in Revisioning the Sacred: Studies in the Babi and Baha'i Religions vol. 8 59; comments Stephen Lambden "The Word Bahá': The Quintessence of the Greatest Name of God" in Journal of Baha'i Studies 8:2 (1997-1998) [republished from Baha'i Studies Review 3.1 (1993)] 18 and n.10 (on P.#77), 38 (on intro), available online in two drafts, one at bahai-library.com/articles/baha.2.html and one at bahai-library.com/encyclopedia/greatest.name.html; brief mentions Ramona Brown Memories of Abdu'l-Baha 6, 28; Peter Smith The Babi and Baha'i Religions 64; Sen McGlinn "Commentary on Kitab-i Aqdas verse one," available online at bahai-library.com/essays/aqdas.verse1.html (on P.#19); calligraphic renditions of some Hidden Words by Mishqin Qalam reproduced in Julie Oeming Badiee and Heshmatollah Badiee "The Calligraphy of Mishkin-Qalam" in Journal of Baha'i Studies 3:4 (1990-1991) 5, 11, discussion ibid. passim; Jack McLean Dimensions of Spirituality 121-23 (on P.#19), 185-86 (on P.#26), 218, 244, 261 (on Arabic#55); symbolism of the Maiden in Hidden Words in Ross Woodman "In the Beginning was the Word: Apocalypse and the Education of the Soul" in Journal of Baha'i Studies 5:4 (1993-1994) 37, 43, 55; symbolism of creation of humankind Michael Sours "Baha'i Cosmological Symbolism and the Ecofeminist Critique" in Journal of Baha'i Studies 7:1 (1995) 30; brief discussion of Divine "Feminine" Ross Woodman "The Role of the Feminine in the Baha'i Faith" in Journal of Baha'i Studies 7:2 (1995) 95-96; Christopher Buck "A Symbolic Profile of the Baha'i Faith" Journal of Baha'i Studies 8:4 (1998) 30 (on P.#1), 32 (on A.#63); discussion on the place of the Hidden Words in the Baha'i Faith in Seena Fazel and Khazeh Fananapazir "The Station of the Kitab-i-Iqan" in Baha'i Studies Review 3:1 (1993), online at bahai-library.com/articles/station.iqan.html; see also student papers on Tablet at bahai-library.com/students


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