"The Sources of "Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah"

"The Sources of Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah"

The following is from a few sources:

First, Vahid Ra'fati compiled it under the title "The Sources of Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah," published in Andalib magazine, vol.4 no.13, (Winter 1984-1985), pp. 59-71 [Institute for Baha'i Studies in Persian, in Dundas, Ontario, Canada]. Elham Afnan then translated this portion from English into Persian. Second, Denis MacEoin posted an expanded version to the Internet in April, 1997. The notes listed in the text and included at the end are his. They are not to be considered authoritative, since they may constitute personal opinions of one independent scholar. Finally, I compiled the two and added obvious data where missing, such as some translations of some titles and publication information. The information here is not complete and I may have introduced errors.

An "xx" indicates entry not applicable (e.g. that the Kitab-i-Aqdas had no single recipient) or that the information is not known. If downloading it for personal use, save it in a monospaced "typewriter" font, such as Courier, to preserve table appearance. Anyone wishing to expand this list may request from me the original, in MSWord table form.

More information about each of the Tablets listed here can be found in the Leiden List of the Writings of Baha'u'llah.-J.W.

# Name of Tablet or Addressed to: Published in: Opening words:

1 (To Aqa Muhammad Aqa Muhammad Hasan xx Hasan) 2 Huwa 'l-shahid a group of Baha'is Athar-i qalam-i a'la al-sami' al-'alim (AQA) v2, 60 al-hakim 3 (To Ustad Muhammad Ustad Muhammad xx Salmani) Salmani 4 (To Ghulam Husayn) Ghulam-Husayn xx 5 Qawluhu ta'ala Jamal Iqtidarat, 220-22 bi-ruhi ki dar qalam-i a'la mastur ast 6 xx xx xx 7 Surat al-qamis Mirza Sadiq AQA v4, 50-51 8 xx xx xx 9 Bi-nam-i khudavand-i Husayn Majmu'a-yi athar-i binanda-yi dana) mubaraka (MAM) 268-69 10 xx Baha'is of xx Khurasan 11 Lawh-i Karmil xx Tablets of Baha'u'llah 12 Ridvan al-'adl Muhammad Rida xx (Paradise of Justice) Shahmirzadi 13 Kitab-i iqan Siyyid Muhammad, Kitab-i-Iqan Khal-i-Akbar 14 Lawh-i Ridvan xx Ayyam-i tis'a, 254-61 (Passage on p. 29, 'Canst thou discover ... All-Glorious') quoted in another tablet, MA, 7, 186 15 xx Mirza Dhabih xx 16 xx Mirza Asadu'llah xx 17 Bismi 'llah al-ra'uf xx Kitab al-haykal 252-54 al-rahim 18 Bismi 'llah al-baqi xx Kitab al-haykal 249-51 bi-la zawal 19 Kitab-i iqan Siyyid Muhammad Kitab-i-Iqan 20 xx Muhammad Ibrahim xx Khalil, Qazvini Muballigh 21 Lawh-i Salman #1 Shaykh Salman MAM, 144-45 Hindijani 22 Kitab-i iqan Siyyid Muhammad Kitab-i-Iqan 23 xx Abbas, Faruq xx 24 Madinat al-tawhid Salman Hindijani Ma'ida-yi asmani (The City of the (MA), 4, 313-29 Oneness of God) 25 xx xx xx 26 Lawh al-tawhid Salman Hindijani MAM, 307-11 (Tablet of the Oneness of God) 27 Huwa 'llah al-bahi xx MAM 338-42 al-abha) 28 Bismi 'lladhi a group of Baha'is MAM 221-22 irtafa'a 'alam al-hidaya bayna 'l-biriyya 29 Huwa 'l-'aziz xx MAM 368-71 30 xx `Ali Nur Isfahani xx 31 Surat al-'ibad Siyyid Mihdi AQA 4, 24-25 (Tablet of the People) Dahaji 32 Lawh-i Rida' Rida MA v1, 77-78/MAM, 333-34 33 Lawh-i Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim MA, v8, 172-73 Muballigh 34 xx xx xx 35 Bismi 'llah xx MAM, 236-38 al-muqtadir 'ala ma yusha' 36 Bi-ism-i mahbub-i Fath-i-A`zam MA, yakta (Note 5) v.7,130-31/Iqtidarat p.93 37 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 38 Lawh-i Ibrahim (Note Muhammad Ibrahim MA, v.8, 173 6) Muballigh 39 Surat al-damm (Tablet Muhammad Zarandi AQA, 4, 64-65. Prov. of the Blood) (Nabil-i-A`zam) trans. Juan Cole, posted to Internet 40 xx xx xx 41 xx Abu'l-Hasan in xx Shin (possibly Shiraz) 42 Hidden Words xx Hidden Words 43 Lawh-i dunya (Note 7) Ali Akbar Ayadi, MAM, 286-98/Darya-yi (Tablet of the World) Abu'l-Hasan Amin danish 84-100. Tablets of Baha'u'llah 44 xx Mashhadi Isma`il xx (Zarqan) 45 Bismi 'llah al-aqdas Muhammad Rida Kitab al-haykal, 307 al-abha 46 xx Mirza `Ali Naqi xx 47 xx xx xx 48 xx Dhabih xx 49 xx xx xx 50 Lawh-i siraj `Ali Muhammad MA, v.7, 57-58 Suraj 51 Bismi 'llah al-abda' Aqa Siyyid MA, v.4, 87 al-amna' al-aqdas Muhammad (Yazd) al-abha 52 Lawh-i Ashraf Ashraf MAM, 212-14 53 Lawh-i Nasir Nasir MAM, 170 54 xx Jinab-i-Muhammad xx 55 Lawh-i ard-i Ta' xx xx (Tihran) 56 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 57 Lawh-i hajj (Baghdad Muhammad Zarandi Adi'a-yi Hadrat-i House) (Nabil-i-A`zam) Mahbub 99-104 58 xx Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin xx 59 xx xx xx 60 Lawh al-sahab (Tablet xx MA, 4, 168 of the Cloud) 61 (Title/1st lines not Muhammad Ibrahim Amr va khalq, 4, known) Muballigh 472-73 62 xx xx xx 63 Bismi 'l-mazlum a group of Baha'is AQA, 2, pp. 87-88 al-zahir fi 'l-sijn al-a'zam 64 xx a group of Baha'is xx 65 Surat al-muluk xx AQA - Alwah-i nazila (Tablet to the Kings) khitab bi-muluk wa ru'usha-yi ard 17-23 66 Surat al-muluk xx AQA - Alwah-i nazila 23-34 67 Lawh al-amr (Tablet Mulla `Ali Kitab al-haykal 243-44 of the Commandment) Bajistani 68 Huwa'l-sami' al-basir xx Ishraqat 284-45 69 xx xx xx 70 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 71 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 72 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 73 Lawh-i Hadi Hadi MAM 355-56 74 xx xx xx 75 Lawh-i Nasir Nasir MAM 186-88 76 xx Ahmad Quli Khan xx 77 xx Muhammad Ibrahim xx Muballigh 78 Lawh-i 'Abd al-Razzaq `Abdu'r-Razzaq Iqtidarat 72-73 79 Lawh-i Wafa' Muhammad Husayn MA, v1, 63-64 in Shin (Shiraz) [titled Vafa, "Fidelity"] 80 Lawh-i 'Abd al-Razzaq Abdu'r-Razzaq Iqtidarat 68-71 81 Lawh- 'Abd al-Vahhab `Abdu'l-Vahhab Ishraqat 215-17/MAM 163-65 82 xx Muhammad `Ali xx 83 Lawh-i Hadi Hadi MAM 351-53 84 Bi-ism-i mahbub-i xx Iqtidarat 158-59 'alamiyan 85 Bi-nam-i khudavand-i xx Darya-yi danish 101-3 bi manand 86 Bi-nam-i dust-i bi nam Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin MA, v1, 73-75/Iqtidarat 228-31 87 Lawh-i 'Abd al-Razzaq Abdu'r-Razzaq Iqtidarat 74-77 88 Ridvan al-'adl Siyyid Muhammad MA, 4, 160 (Paradise of Justice) Rida Shahmirzadi 89 Tafsir-i Sura-yi wa Shaykh Mahmud, MAM, 8-9 'l-shams (Commentary Mufti of `Akka on the Surih of Va'sh-Shams) 90 Kitab-i iqan Siyyid Muhammad Kitab-i-Iqan 91 Kitab-i iqan Siyyid Muhammad Kitab-i-Iqan 92 xx xx xx 93 Commentary on verse Shaykh Salman Prov. trans. Juan from Sa'di Cole, posted to Internet 94 xx Jinab-i-Hashim xx 95 xx Ni`matu'llah xx 96 Huwa 'l-shahid xx xx al-sami' al-'alim (See Note 1) 97 Lawh-i siraj `Ali Muhammad MA, v7, 18 Suraj 98 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 99 xx Mulla `Ali-Akbar xx Ayadi 100 Lawh-i 'Ali 'Ali Ishraqat 291-96 101 Bismi 'llah al-abha Ustad Darya-yi danish 1/Amr Shir-Muhammad wa khalq v.3, 1 (where it is headed Bismi'llah al-rahman al-rahim) 102 Lawh man sa'ada Abu'l-Fada'il MAM 365-67 ila'llah 103 xx xx xx 104 Hidden Words xx Hidden Words 105 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 106 Lawh-i Manakji Manakji Sahib Darya-yi danish 3-4 107 Lawh-i Malik-i Paris Napoleon III Kitab al-haykal 74. Proclamation of Baha'u'llah 108 Siyyid xx xx Yusuf-i-Isfahani (Sidihi) 109 xx Kamal xx (Kamali'd-Din-i-Na raqi) 110 Lawh-i Maqsud Mirza Maqsud Darya-yi danish, 20-26 111 Lawh-i ittihad Siyyid Asadu'llah Adi'a-yi Hadrat-i (Tablet of Unity) (Port Said) Mahbub 407-9 112 Lawh-i Maqsud Mirza Maqsud Darya-yi danish, 14-16 [the passage 'The great Being saith ... reward and punishment' is from a tablet published in MA, v.4, p. 109] Also in separtely published text (Egypt), 5-7 113 Surat al-muluk xx AQA Alwah-i nazila 49-65 114 Surat al-muluk xx AQA Alwah-i nazila 35-49 115 Lawh-i Dhabih Dhabih Iqtidarat 323-8 116 Surat al-muluk xx AQA Alwah-i nazila 11-17 117 Lawh-i Maqsud Mirza Maqsud Darya-yi danish 16-20/Egyptian text 8-12. Tablets of Baha'u'llah 118 Surat al-muluk xx AQA Alwah-i nazila 7-11 119 Lawh-i malika (Tablet Queen Victoria Kitab al-haykal to the Queen) 84-85. Proclamation of Baha'u'llah 120 Lawh-i malika [Note Queen Victoria Kitab al-haykal 8] (Tablet to the 82-83. Proclamation Queen) of Baha'u'llah 121 xx Javad xx 122 Lawh-i Maqsud Mirza Maqsud Darya-yi danish 12-13/Egyptian text 3-4. Tablets of Baha'u'llah 123 xx xx xx 124 Lawh-i Hadi Hadi MAM, 346-9 125 Kitab-i iqan Siyyid Muhammad Kitab-i-Iqan 126 Huwa 'l-mubayyin Mirza Haydar `Ali Ishraqat 137-40/ESW al-hakim 13-15 127 xx Ibrahim Muballigh xx 128 Surat al-bayan Muhammad Ibrahim AQA, 4, 112-14 (Tablet of Utterance) Muballigh 129 Surat al-bayan xx AQA, 4, 108-11 130 Tablet to Mirza Badi' `Andalib and some Epistle to the Son of Allah of the Baha'is the Wolf/also cited in letter to 'Andalib in AQA, 2, 17-18 (see note 2) 131 Huwa 'l-shahid `Ali-Akbar Ishraqat 278-80 al-sami' al-khabir 132 Epistle to the Son of Shaykh Epistle to the Son of the Wolf Muhammad-Taqi the Wolf Mujtahid-i-Isfahan i 133 xx Shakh Salman xx 134 Bi-ism-i mahbub-i xx Iqtidarat 162-63 'alamiyan 135 xx Muhammad Baqir, xx Letter of the Living 136 xx Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq xx 137 xx xx xx 138 Lawh-i siyam (Tablet xx Tasbih wa tahlil 50-53 of the Fast) 139 xx Nabil-i-A`zam xx 140 xx Muhammad-`Ali xx 141 xx xx xx 142 Letter to Muhammad Muhammad-`Ali MA, 4, 111-13 'Ali 143 Haji Faraj xx xx 144 xx xx xx 145 Surat al-bayan Muhammad Ibrahim AQA, 4, 114-15 Muballigh 146 xx Muhammad Mustafa xx Baghdadi 147 Bismi 'lladhi xx MAM 230-31/Iqtidarat bi-dhikrihi tuhyi 216-18 qulub ahl al-mala' al-a'la 148 Lawh-i Salman 1 Salman MAM 143-44 149 xx xx xx 150 xx Isma'il-i-Sabbagh xx 151 Lawh-i 'ashiq wa xx Darya-yi danish 29-31 ma'shuq 152 Lawh-i Ahmad (Farsi) >

Transfer interrupted!

-yi danish 116-18 (note 3) 153 Lawh-i Ahmad (Farsi) Ahmad-i-Kashani MAM 315-16, 320-22, 324-27 328-29/Darya-yi danish 114-15, 119-21, 123-26, 128-29 (note 4) 154 Lawh-i Salman 1 Salman MAM 153-4 155 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 156 Huwa 'l-muqtadir 'ala xx Kashf al-ghita' 146-7 ma arada 157 xx xx xx 158 Lawh-i Malik-i Paris Napoleon III Kitab al-haykal. Proclamation of Baha'u'llah 159 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas 160 Lawh-i Shaykh Fani Shaykh Fani Ganj-i shayigan 177-79 161 Commentary on verse Shaykh Salman Prov. trans. Juan from Sa'di Cole, posted to Internet 162 xx xx xx 163 xx Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin xx 164 xx xx xx 165 xx Sister of the xx Wife of the Bab 166 al-Kitab al-aqdas xx Kitab-i-Aqdas

MacEoin's notes:

1. Part of this tablet ['Centre your energies... dumbfounded] is quoted in Risala-yi rahnama-yi tabligh, p. 6, where the opening line is cited. It is stated there that the passage is taken from a collection of tablets transcribed in Shiraz, p. 349.

2. This item is not, as Raf'ati states, addressed to 'Andalib, but to Mirza Badi' Allah ('One of our sons').

3. The order in which the Gleanings text has been arranged does not follow the original.

4. There are long lacunae between the translated sections making up the Gleanings passage.

5. (To section 36): This passage comes from a reply to questions from a Christian priest. The Iqtidarat text quotes it as from a previous tablet.

6. There should be no lacunae between 'created things' and 'In like manner'.

7. (Section 43) There should be lacunae marks on p. 95, between 'holy Book' and 'O people of Justice!'

8. For a Persian trans. of part of this section ('Regard the world' to end], apparently by 'Abbas Effendi, see Amr wa khalq v. 3, pp. 219-221.

9. The passage 'We pray God... with him' has an analogue on p.243 and also in Iqtidarat p. 142.

Further remarks:

There are some variant translations by Shoghi Effendi (and, I'm sure, more than I have noted): p. 95 'It is not his to boast', cf. p. 249 and World Order of Baha'u'llah p. 41; p. 138 'Verily... angels', cf. Baha'i Administration p. 16; pp. 215-16 cf. WOB p. 32; p. 217, cf. WOB p. 41; p. 249, cf. WOB p. 41; p. 243, cf. p.339 and p.345

I have Qur'anic sources for all but three of the analogues from sections XVII and XVIII, if anyone needs them.

Not all the above information may be correct: I'm using material I haven't really looked at closely in many years, so there's room for error. But I hope this brings us closer to a properly edited text. It is certainly of major importance to be able to compare Shoghi Effendi's often very free translations with the originals.

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