The Archive
Papers of the Irfán Colloquia
1,070 papers · 355 authors · 90 sessions online · English, Persian & German · 1993–2018. Browse by volume →
- Catholic Orthodoxy and Bahá’í theology On some basic Christian Catholic beliefs on divine revelation, how the Baha'i Faith views Christianity, and theological differences and similarities between the two.
- Two Episodes from the Life of Bahá’u’lláh in Iran This paper looks at the events that occurred to Baha'u'llah during the time that he lived in Iran. Particular attention is given to two historical episodes where close attention to the text of two Tablets of Baha'u'llah leads to some conclu…
- An Analytical perspective of economic impact of unity Unity of humankind is Bahá'u'lláh's main mission. This analytical presentation focuses on economic consequences of unity. Economists are concerned about the opportunity cost of resources allocated to war, in both real and monetary values. A…
- Ancient poems as a means of Revelation, in an early Tablet by Bahá’u’lláh This paper offers a personal translation of a Persian Tablet revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in the 'Iraqí period. The Tablet is rich in quotations from ancient Iranian poets. Our paper examines the importance of poetry in the history of the Faith …
- Days of Remembrance: Notes on Two Tablets The purpose of this article is to present a study of two tablets revealed by Bahá'u'lláh and collected, along with forty-three others, in Days of Remembrance, a beautiful book published by the Universal House of Justice to commemorate the b…
- From the cave to the Khanqah: Baha’u’llah in Kurdistan, a reconsideration After spending a meaningful period in the caves of Sargalu mountains in Kurdistan, Baháu'lláh decided to end his solitude and return to society. This crucial transition has few versions which describes how Baháu'lláh transformed from an unk…
- Religious Clergy in the Baha’i Writings From the beginning of the Bab's ministry in 1844 and up to the present, the Babi Movement and then the Baha'i Faith have faced the opposition of the Shi'i clergy. The bloodiest and most tragic events in Babi/Baha'i history have often been t…
- Station of Baha’u’llah elucidated in the Writings of `Abdu’l-Bahá The main objective of this presentation is to explore the systemic nature of the revelations of God and the cohesive relationships between the various components of the messages conveyed by the Manifestations of God. In another word, the pu…
- The Concept of Education in the Writings of Baha’u’llah The term "education" in the writings of Baha'u'llah is based on a number of elements such as the nature and the ontological dimensions of human, and objectives and goals that are considered for education. There are different words that are …
- The Mathnaví by Rúhu’lláh Varqá, the martyr: A few notes on its historical context and poetical content A tentative translation of the Mathnaví by Rúá��u'lláh Varqá, the martyr, is presented. It is accompanied by a few historical remarks on the short life of this heroic child and a concise commentary of the content of his poem. After a few wo…
- The Situation of Iran in the 19th Century as Reflected in the Baha’i Writings Taking into account the length of time and variety of events in 19th century Iran on the one hand, and on the other hand the vast amount of Baha'i writings which reflect the situation of Iran and Iranians, requires that we limit our study b…
- Women Advance: The Relationship between the Bahá’í Teachings and the Women’s Movement This is a preliminary exploration of the relationship between the advancement of women and the Bahá'í teachings on the equality of women and men. It traces the emergence and development of the women's movement from its roots in the 18th cen…
- A Comparison between the commentary and interpretation of an Islamic Tradition by `Abdu’l-Bahá and Ayatu’llah Khomeini There is an Islamic Shi`i Tradition, attributed to the Eleventh Shi`i Imam, Hasan al-`Askari, in which he quotes the sixth Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq. It is very well-known among Shi`i Islamic scholars because it is the basis of their claim that …
- A Study of the Role of Religion in Wealth and Poverty The association between religion, material well-being and poverty is fundamental in exploring how religious affiliation affect the quality of life of its members. Doctrines of well-being and prosperity in the major world religions provide v…
- Bahá’u’lláh’s Lawá��-i-Liqá’ (Tablet of the Divine Presence) Presenting a provisional English translation of one of Bahá'u'lláh's tablets, the Lawá��-i-Liqá' (the Tablet of the Divine Presence) with notes on its content and the historical circumstances of its revelation. It is published in Ma'idiyih …
- Bahá’u’lláh’s Lawh-i Istintáq (Tablet of the Interrogation) and the Murder of Three Azalís in Akka in 1872 One of the saddest events in Bahá'u'lláh's life was the murder of three followers of His half-brother Mirza Yahya "Subh-i Azal" in 'Akka in 1872 by seven Bahá'ís. Like their master, Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani, Aqa Jan Kaj-Kulah and Mirza Rida…
- Exploration of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Address to Stanford University At the invitation of David Starr Jordan, the president of Stanford University, who had for the first time in history, and since, closed the university so that all might be able to attend, `Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk in which he discussed sever…
- Fabrics and Garments in the Bahá’í Writings In the Súriy-i-Qalam (Surih of the Pen), Baha'u'llah writes: "Adorn, then, your souls with the silken vesture of certitude and your bodies with the broidered robe of the All-Merciful"�". In another Surih, which is entitled the "Súriy-i-Qamí…
- Financial Enterprises of the Early Eastern Bahá’ís The financial and economic history of the Eastern Bahá'ís, and the ways through which the financial needs of their communities were met, is a key research area in the wider history of Bahá'í development. The emergence of historical document…
- Major themes of the Tablets of the World and Maqsud and their intrinsic relationships to the Secret of Divine Civilization of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Among the tablets of Bahá'u'lláh addressing some of the major issues of our age are the Lawḥ-i-Dunyá and Lawḥ-i-Maqṣud. While in Adrianople, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was asked by Bahá'u'lláh to write a treatise dealing with the crisis of the world a…
- Meta-History and the Bahá’í Writings The doctrine of progressive revelation is a "grand narrative" or meta-historical account of humanity's spiritual and psycho-social progress over the length of human existence. In other words, this teaching presents the story of the unfoldin…
- Mindfulness Meditation on Metaphors of Leadership and Empowerment used by `Abdu’l-Bahá� and Shoghi Effendi in Relation to Realization of the Tablets of Divine Plan "The Tablets of the Divine Plan, described by Shoghi Effendi as "the Charter of the New World Order", had been penned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá over the period of a year, from March 1916 to March 1917, during the course of the First World War. Histor…
- Myths and Symbolism in the Bahá’í Writings: The Case of Joseph The Bahá'í Writings contain vast numbers of mythical, allegorical, and symbolic expressions. These enrich Bahá'í literature and connect the writings of the Faith to the religious and literary heritage of humankind. Their purpose is to conve…
- Personal transformation through teaching in the Tablets of the Divine Plan When it comes to tools for personal transformation we are used to consider traditional, self-directed methods such as praying, studying the Sacred Word, and deepening our understanding of it. In the Bahá'í Faith, an important additional ele…
- Poetry in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Writings and Utterances As Shoghi Effendi pointed out, "the Prophets of God do not teach the arts," which are "an expression of the people." However, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who Himself wrote a few poems in Persian and in Turkish, has left good guidance on the issue of poet…
- Renewed Physical and Spiritual Healing, Understanding The Nature of Disease: A doctor’s perspective This paper is an attempt to explore both physical and spiritual healing based on `Abdu'l-Bahá`s writing. "The cause of entrance of disease into human body" `Abdu`l-Bahá explains is either physical one or is the effect of the excitement of t…
- Responses to Injustice With the widespread oral history and written accounts of the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran, significant attention and sympathy have been directed to the cause of the emancipation of the Iranian Bahá'ís. While there are qualitative descript…
- Role of the Bahá’í Faith in a World Government Right answers can only follow the right questions. Anything else would be an exercise in word games. Hence, the process of finding answers starts with defining the issues that characterize the question. This paper is more about defining and…
- Some Ottoman Documents about Babis and Bahá’ís in the Ottoman Empire This talk will give an overview of some documents from the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul about various topics involving Bábís and Bahá'ís, such as the Bábí disciple and poetess Tahirih "Qurratu'l-'Ayn" in Karbala, the death of Mirza 'Ali Mar…
- State of Meditation To come in touch with reality is the purpose of the art of meditation. Most of religious practice is verbal: verbal prayers, sermons, and lectures. On the other hand, meditation is contemplative and experiential: inner silence, listening, a…
- Tablets of the Divine Plan - Heading the Call: The Early Travels of the Mother of the Bahá’ís of South America, Leonora Stirling Holsapple, 1921 to1927 The little-known story of the Mother of the Bahá'í of South America, Leonora Stirling Holsapple [Armstrong], who, having witnessed the unveiling of the Tablets of the Divine Plan in New York City as a 23 year old young woman in April 1919, …
- Tablets of the Divine Plan, the Fountainhead of Guidance for the Development and Crystallization of the Bahá’í Worldwide Community The Divine Plan, Shoghi Effendi affirms, is "a Plan holding within it the seeds of the world's spiritual revival and ultimate redemption" (Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith). This presentation charts the course of the unfolding stages of the…
- Tablets of the Divine Plan: Virtues of Effort, Magnanimity, and Sanctity Following `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to America He wrote The Tablets of the Divine Plan which laid out His vision of the spiritual conquest of the planet. In this paper we will review the virtues He mentioned in these Tablets and their context. I…
- Text, Context and Intertext: Challenge and Promises of Computer-aided Research This paper proposes to view the work of the exegete primarily as one of determining referencing within various levels of the text, namely its context, the environment of the text, and the appearance of intertext in which subsets of the text…
- The Dawn of a New Creation: The Difference in Understanding Creation in Western Philosophy, Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith On Monday, October 23rd 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá talking in Paris, France, about the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh reaching the West stated this. Then shall humanity put on a new garment in the radiance of the love of God, and it shall be the dawn of…
- The Financial Relationship between Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’í Community The purpose of this presentation is to examine some aspects of Bahá'u'lláh's financial relationship with the Bahá'í community during His ministry. This talk is organized around the following four subject matters: Various ways and means conn…
- The Hidden Words as andarz literature The andarz literature is a type of wisdom literature which was used in Iran since before the Islamic conquest. Its traces can be found in prominent Iranian works, for example, the Sh�h n�ma, as well as in the more distant Arabic literature.…
- The Transformative Power of the Maid of Heaven: An Exploration of Grammar, Gender and Poetics in Bahá’u’lláh’s Ode of the Dove pact of the Maid of Heaven on the soul of Bahá'u'lláh. She is so powerful that she transforms everyone and everything touched by her radiance. The Ode also foreshadows the trials and sufferings endured by Bahá'u'lláh in His love for her bea…
- Theology of Tahirih as Revealed in Her Poems She is most commonly designated Qurratu'l-Ayn (Solace of the Eyes), certainly the most well-known woman in Bahá'í history, and the most controversial. `Abdu'l-Bahá recognizes her as a saint with these words in Memorials of the Faithful: "A …
- Tracing Themes found in the Tablets of the Divine Plan This paper examines the main themes in the Tablets of the Divine Plan and traces them through the successive teaching Plans of the Universal House of Justice, particularly in the period 1996 through 2016.
- Twin Shining Lights, Part 1: Shaykh Ahmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Ahsa’i Shaykh Ahmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Ahsa'i was born in eastern Arabia (now Saudi Arabia) in the mid. 18th century, during the sacred seventh Islamic month of Rajab, in the year 1166 AH., or sometime during May, 1753 CE. His exact birthdate is u…
- Twin Shining Lights, Part 2: Sayyid Kazim al-Rashti Like the Bab, Sayyid Kazim al-Husayni al-Rashti was a descendent of the third, martyred Imam Husayn (d. 60/680). Little is known about his early life save that he was born in Rasht, a city in northern Persia. His precise year of birth remai…
- “He-She-It Is”� (Huwa): The re-created Basmala in Babi-Baha’i Literary Commencements "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate" بِس�'مِ اللهِ الر�'َ��'منِ الر�'َ�ِيمِ "In the Name of God, the Inaccessible, the Most Holy" بِس�'مِ اللهِ الامنع الاقدس "In the Name of God, the Glorious, the All-Glorious" بِس�'مِ الله…
- A Look at the Imagery and Parables Used in the Persian Tablet of Ahmad The Persian Tablet of Aḥmad is neither a long Tablet by any standard nor is a short Tablet. It was revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople in the second year of His sojourn in that city, and is addressed to a believer in the cause of the Báb…
- A Review and Content Analysis of Aflakiyyih, `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet of the Universe Abdu'l-Bahá in the "Lawh-i-Aflákiyyih" translated as "Tablet of the Universe" describes different aspects of what he refers to as "the holy realities" and the reality as "established in both the hidden and manifest worlds", The realities th…
- Alwah-i-Salman: An Introductory Review This presentation includes introducing Shaykh Salman who served as the messenger between the Blessed Beauty and believers, a general review of some of the important Tablets of Baha'u'lláh addressed to Sheykh Salman, and content analysis of …
- An Homage to Memorials of the Faithful and to Eight of Its Heroes Memorial of the Faithful is described as an inspiring "book of prototypes," that not only portrays "all of the archetypes that the various personality theorists have given us in this century" and "all the human dichotomies" that we may find…
- Examining Inherent Oneness of Phenomena In this session, we will examine conceptualizations of a number of phenomena (science, religion, physical and abstract things, ...) at different levels of granularity. We will look at these through the lens of systems theory. The goal is to…
- Haj Mehdi Arjmand: A Biographical Review Annual sessions of Irfan Colloquia were established about 18 years ago in honor and memory of Haj Mehdi Arjmand. Irfan has enjoyed continuous support and sponsorship of the grandchildren of Haj Mehdi Arjmand. Haj Mehdi Arjmand is arguably o…
- Historical and Cultural Motifs in Baha’u’llah’s Tablet to Nasir al-Din Shah This tablet is the longest amongst Baha' Allah's tablets which are addressed to kings and rulers. Although the tablet was composed in Edirne, it was revealed to the public during Baha' Allah's stay in Akko, in 1869. The tablet is addressed …
- Holy Places and Historic Sites Mentioned in Memorials of the Faithful Memorials of the Faithful is not merely a book devoted to the hagiography of some believers and historical narrative of their lives, rather a depository of matchless beauty in Persian writing, an exquisite text of profound meaning, and a te…
- Islamic and Baha’i Interpretations of the tradition “He who knoweth himself knoweth his Lord” The purpose of interpretation is to reveal the inner meaning of a verse of Quran or a tradition. Historically, various methods of interpretation have been utilized to arrive at the inner meaning and real purpose of the verses of Quran or tr…
- Meaning, Essence, and Latency in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Concepts such as meaning, essence, inmost self, hidden and manifest, inner meaning, depth of understanding, etc. permeate Bahá'í Sacred Writings. For example, Bahá'u'lláh states: "The Purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, in re…
- Memorials of the Faithful: An Introduction Composed in Farsi by Abdu'l-Baha in 1915 and translated into English by Marzieh Gail, "Memorials of the Faithful" is an anthology of biographies of some early believers of the east. During those tumultuous years of WWI when people of the ea…
- Memorials of the Faithful: Hagiography and Models to Set Examples in a Religious Community This paper presents a mode of suggesting examples of life to a religious community, which is that of hagiography: the story of the lives of the saints. In the Christian world, the life of Jesus was the example against which saints were meas…
- Memorials of the Faithful: Promptings of the Spirit The occasion of the 100th anniversary of the publication of 'Abdu'l-Baha's eulogies of a select number of early believers offers an appropriate opportunity, to consider, beyond the particulars of the lives and experiences of these friends, …
- Memorials of the Faithful: The Democratization of Sainthood This paper considers the literary genre and literary history behind Memorials of the Faithful (Tadhkiratu'l-Vafa) as well as examining what is new about the book. The paper will first consider the genre of hagiography in Christianity and Ju…
- Memorials of the Faithful: The Virtues of Inner and Outer Transformation Abdu'l-Baha wrote "The most vital duty, in this day, is to purify your characters, to correct your manners, and improve your conduct". This paper will investigate the virtues identified for the faithful individuals mentioned in Memorials of…
- Nietzsche and the Baha’i Writings: An Introductory Exploration First appearances to the contrary, the Baha'i Writings and Nietzsche's philosophy share a surprising number of features in common that allow Baha'is to re-vision Nietzsche from a new perspective. The basis of this re-visioning are the Arist…
- Parallels in the Ministries of Táhirih and St. Paul In the preface to Memorials of the Faithful `Abdu'l-Bahá's work that immortalizes the lives of sixty-nine early Bahá'ís Marzieh Gail, the translator, states that the book is more than a collection of brief biographies of early Bahá'ís; it…
- Phenomenon of Newly Emerging Entities and the Twofold Process The following words of Bahá'u'lláh launch this session: I testify that no sooner had the First Word proceeded, through the potency of Thy will and purpose...than the whole creation was revolutionized, and all that are in the heavens and all…
- Provisional Translation of the Persian Tablet of Aá��mad and a Review of Its Contents The Persian Tablet of Aá��mad is one of the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed in Adrianople addressed to a person by the name Aá��mad who is a native of Káshán, a city in the Central Iran. It may not be regarded as a lengthy Tablet but it con…
- Reflections on the Memorials of the Faithful: From the Background of Early Christian Experiences Memorials of the Faithful is a unique book for many reasons. A number of early Bábís and Bahá'ís have been described in this book and they have all been faithful to the Covenant in the Faith. The author is 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Centre of the Co…
- Rethinking Human Nature: The New Homo Economicus This presentation describes a short history of the assumptions underlying the nature of man within the discipline of Economics, and the exciting new developments in behavioral economics, which incorporates psychology and economics. Behavior…
- Significance of some Historical and Holy Places Cited in the Memorials of the Faithful "Memorial of the Faithful" is not merely a book devoted to the biography of some believers and historical narrative of their lives, rather a depository of matchless beauty in Persian writing, an exquisite text of profound meaning, and a tes…
- The Báb’s Tablet to Mullá á��asan Gawhar: A Provisional Translation and Notes Among the Writings of The Báb there are epistles and letters addressed to prominent Shaykhís during His ministry, including the infamous á��ájí Karím Khán Kirmání. When The Báb tasked one of His disciples, one of the Letters of the Living (…
- The Concept of “Faithfulness”� in the Baha’i Texts in English Translation The Bahá'í texts touch on many facets of faithfulness: being faithful as an individual; God being faithful to His people; believers being faithful to the Covenant established by Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'u'lláh calling the believers of a former era…
- The History of the Concept of Religion: Its Effect on Discourses Pertaining to the Bahá’í Faith The current concept of religion imposes itself in a way that impedes the way in which the Baha'i religion can present itself in the discourses of the West and places where its discourses dominate. This paper presents Foucault's idea of effe…
- The Language of the Heart: From Dream Language towards Understanding the Language of the Heart The Bahá'í Religion could justifiably be called the "Religion of the Heart." Statistically for example in the Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh the heart is the most frequently used word after God. God 995, Heart 236, Revelation 22…
- The Relevance of Abdu’l-Baha’s Secret of Divine Civilization and Treatise on Politics on the Future of Iran The appreciation and practical implications of the concept of Modernity and Renewal in all aspects of humanity seems to be at the core of creating a New World Order as `Abdu'l-Bahá envisions for the future of the World as a whole and the fu…
- The Rise of Extreme Inequality in Wealth: Implications of Converging Trends in Amorality and Globalization The tremendous strides made in globalization, especially since WWII, have converged with a trend in growing amorality as the fabric of international business conduct in society. This convergence has led to extreme inequality within majority…
- The Universal Masculine and Feminine Why did God create man first? Because She wanted to start with something simple. Just because something sounds funny, doesn't mean it is not true. But the concepts of masculinity and femininity are not just related to men and women. Rather …
- To Study and to Teach: Twin Duties in service to the Cause of God Drawing from numerous examples from the Holy Texts, Shoghi Effendi singles out these two major obligations as ever incumbent upon the believers with respect to the propagation of the Cause. The presentation will draw attention to some of th…
- “Auferstehung”: die Unsterblichkeit des Logos und die Wirklichkeit nach der Wirklichkeit. Eine transreligiöse Interpretation aus Bahai-Perspektive
- “Das Buch der Gewissheit” Zur Frage der Souveränität des Verheißenen
- “Kunst und Erziehung” In Zitaten, Erfahrungen, Gedanken, Fragen und Antworten”fotopoetisch” gesehen - aus einer Bahá’í-Perspektive
- “Teilnahme am öffentlichen Diskurs” - Die Verantwortung der Baha’i-Gemeinden
- “The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order...”: Insights from the Science of Chaos These prophetic words of Bahá'u'lláh, launch and illumine this session. This statement attributes the prevailing world disequilibrium, turbulence, and disorder to the destabilizing impact of the emerging new world order- introduced by the R…
- A Comparative Study of Súriy-i-Sabr and Qayyúmu’l-Asmá: Clarification of References to Calf, Sámirí, Satan, and Idol Worshipers This paper takes a closer look at Súriy-i-Sabr (Surih Sabr) - a significant Tablet which is sometimes referred to by other names, and was revealed on the first day of Ridván 1863. In order to better understand the contents of this Tablet, t…
- A Comparative Study of Various Meanings and Scopes of `Irfán in the Works of Ibn `Arabí and in the Bahá’í Writings The purpose of this presentation is to provide a comprehensive study of the concept of `Irfán and its various stages in the works of Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi born in Murcia, Al-Andalus, in 1165 as is compared with the same concepts in the works…
- A Review of Abdu’l-Hamid Ishraq Khavari’s Moházirát (a three volume book) One of the most interesting set of books that Mr. Abdul-Hamid Ishraq-khavari has authored in Persian is the three volumes of Moházirát (literally meaning Lectures, but more appropriately perhaps could be called Dialogues). Two of the three …
- A Review of the Tablets of Baha’u’lláh Addressed to Hand of the Cause Ibn Abhar See also A Review of the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá addressed to Hand of the Cause Ibn Abhar.
- A Review of the Writings of `Abdu’l-Bahá addressed to Hand of the Cause Ibn Abhar See also A Review of the Tablets of Baha'u'llah addressed to Hand of the Cause Ibn Abhar.
- Abdu’l-Bahás Werk “Das Geheimnis göttlicher Kultur” (Risaliyyih madaniyyih) im iranischen Reformdiskurs
- An Examination of the Baha’i teachings on shared prosperity and poverty eradication The goal of shared prosperity captures two key elements, economic growth and equity. Without sustained economic growth, poor people are unlikely to increase their living standards. Effective corrective action will require a number of approa…
- Anmerkungen zu einigen Bestimmungen im Kitab-i-Aqdas und zu ihrem zeitgeschichtlichen Hintergrund
- Bábí-Bahá’í Scripture and Belief in E. G. Browne’s A Year Amongst the Persians E. G. Browne's A Year Amongst the Persians has long been hailed as a classic in nineteenth century travel literature. Leaving his native England in 1887, Browne spent a year traveling in Iran, meeting diverse peoples in cities and towns inc…
- Baha’u’llah, The Divine Physician
- Breaking Through Cultural Barriers: Migration and Change in the Baha’i Faith
- Buddhism and the Baha’i Faith
- Challenges and Problems Faced by Translators of the Bahá’í Writings
- Der Begriff der Wahrheit in Wissenschaft und Religion. Zur Methodenfrage
- Die Siebenschläferlegende in der christlich-islamischen Tradition und in den Babi-Baha’i-Schriften
- Knowledge of God and Knowledge of Self in One’s Spiritual Transformation, Powered by Love of God We live in a time of chaos, in an ever changing world in which the only constant is the change, rich in potential for new possibilities. A new world order is being born. We need new ideas, new ways of seeing, and new relationships to help u…
- Knowledge of God and the Afterlife The key to an enduring happiness is the knowledge of God. My talk will focus on this statement from Bahá'u'lláh in The Kitáb-i-Íqán: What "oppression" is greater than that which hath been recounted? What "oppression" is more grievous…
- Life and Times of the Guardian Through His Writings and His Plans This presentation offers a new look at the events of the life of the Guardian as can be deciphered through His writings, messages and actions. Focus is given on short term vs. long term goals accomplished, or designed to be accomplished, by…
- Mastering Bahá’í Way of Life: Process or Event? "Let deeds, not words, be your adorning." [Persian Hidden Words #5] Having knowledge of Bahá'í way of life while necessary for conducting life as recommended in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, does not, by itself, guarantee actualization of su…
- Meditation
- On the Existence and Qualities of Human Soul In comparing animals and humans, or as put more modernly, comparing humans with other animals, the questions of the existence, nature, and necessity of a human soul often come up. The question of existence of the human soul may be explored …
- Quäker und Bahá’í: Eine vergleichende religionssoziologische Studie
- Reflections on the Words of Wisdom and the Meaning of Faith The Bahá'í Faith teaches the existence of a personal God--a God who has a will, a purpose, and has a relationship with us. The core of religious faith is the mystic feeling that unites us to God. Words of Wisdom, one of Bahá'u'lláh's short …
- Religiöse und wissenschaftliche Sichtweisen begegnen sich in der Spiritualität
- Sáqí, bi-dih ábí O Cup-Bearer, give me a drop: A hymn to love offered by the Blessed Beauty This is one among eight Persian poems Bahá'u'lláh signed "Dervish." They were most probably written in Kurdistan, where Bahá'u'lláh remained from 10 April 1854 to 19 March 1856. It is a ghazal, meaning a mystical "song" or "elegy of love" a…
- Some New, Little-known, or Unstudied Writings of Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) "God testifieth unto His Own Self, through His Own Self (li nafsī bi-nafsī) that I, verily, am One that liveth in the Abhá Horizon (bi innani ana hayy fi al ufuq al abha). Wherefore doth He cry out from the Light of the Horizon in all thing…
- Some New, Little-known, or Unstudied Writings of the Báb (1819-1850) As is well-known, the B�b wrote, dictated or revealed many thousands of Arabic and Persian verses. The roughly 500 page Islamic holy book, the Arabic Qur'�n, contains just over 6,200 verses. In various of his writings, the Báb himself has s…
- Some New, Little-Known, or Unstudied Writings of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh No abstract provided, but see also Some New, Little-known, or Unstudied Writings of the Báb (1819-1850) and Some New, Little-known, or Unstudied Writings of Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892) .
- Symbolism and Metaphor in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi A unique characteristic of the work of the Guardian is His use of symbolism. An examination of His writings, plans and directives reveals continual use of metaphor in almost all of His major and minor works. Questions such as why eight pron…
- Tablets of The Holy Mariner and their Integral Relationship with Lawh-i-Howdaj The purpose of this presentation is to correlate the two Tablets of Holy Mariner with Lawh-i-Howdaj of Bahá'u'lláh who was revealed in response of Mirza Aqa Jan about the two Tablets of Holy Mariner. Moreover, some of the Tablets of `Abd'u'…
- The Bab’s letters to Muhammad Sháh
- The Baha’i Way of Life: A Research Proposal "Let deeds, not words, be your adorning." Having knowledge of the Bahá'í way of life while necessary for conducting life as recommended in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, does not, by itself, guarantee actualization of such knowledge in the da…
- The Concept of Politics in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Treatise on Politics This presentation aims at exploring 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Treatise on Politics, which was written in the latter part of the 19th century. Circumstances leading to the writing of this treatise are examined and various themes discussed therein are e…
- The Narrative of the Plagues of Exodus Understood Through the Baha’i Writings The Biblical Book of Exodus describes that the Lord commissioned Moses to go to Pharaoh [who is not specifically identified] to call for the release of the Israelites who were under oppression in Egypt. When Pharaoh refused to cooperate, Eg…
- The Ode of the Nightingale (Qáá��ídíy-i-Varqá’íyyih): Its Significance and Similarities with Tá’íyyih Ibn-i-Fárid The Ode of the Nightingale (alternatively, The Ode of the Dove) is unique among the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh for a number of reasons. First, this Sacred Scripture is entirely in Arabic and in the form of poetry (qáá��ídíh). Second, it is amo…
- The Tetrarchic Self: Correlating Freud’s Transference with the Four States of Bahá’u’lláh In Lights of 'Irfán, Book 6 (2005; presented in Bosch 2003), this writer has taken the statement of Bahá'u'lláh in the Seven Valleys as the "Mother Verse," and further developed this idea in most of his later papers. Bahá'u'lláh explains th…
- Women and Wisdom in Scripture In this paper the treatment of women in religion, the direct and indirect influence of the Babi and Bahá'í Faiths in raising awareness about women's plight and transforming attitudes towards them across the globe, the role of linguistic bia…
- “At Dawn the Friend Came to my bed”�: An early fruit of the Supreme Pen This paper attempts to analyse a poem revealed by the Blessed Beauty, both in its form and in its contents. This poem seems a qaá��ídih. The features of qaá��ídih are briefly explained. Some of the literary devices used in the poem are desc…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá and the Peace Movement in America 'Abdu'l-Bahá defined as one of the purposes of His travels in the West the establishment of "the spiritual foundations of international peace." During this period He personally met with various leaders of the peace movement such as Edward C…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Articulation of the Bahá’í Concept of Peace During His Western Travels A primary teaching of the Bahá'í Faith is that world peace is not only possible but inevitable. The Bahá'í writings describe two stages in the achievement of world peace: the Lesser Peace, which is a political peace agreed by national gover…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s contacts with the Theosophical and Spiritualist movements In the first decades of the twentieth century two alternative religious movements, the Theosophical Society and spiritualism were at their peak. Some of the early Bahá'ís in the West either had belonged to one of these movements or still re…
- A New Approach to Proof of God and Soul Based on Bahá’í Writings Probably the most ancient and fundamental question of all times on the individual and the collective mind is: "Is there a God?" The answer to this question has profound implications, and indeed direct impact on the life of mankind and how i…
- Baha’i-Beiträge zu interreligiösen Konferenzen 1893–1936
- Carmel Calling Jerusalem: History and Prophesy Related to Carmel, Mount Carmel and the Tablet of Carmel "It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it" (Isaiah 2:2) "Call out to …
- Conflict Transformation: A Case Study of the Universal House of Justice Messages to the Bahá’ís in Iran In the Old Testament, the history of conflict is as old as human history, starting from the Genesis. This talk comprises of two parts: it will first cover the gradual developments of how humans have been dealing with conflicts both on inter…
- Consultation in the Bahá’í Faith: A Review of its Developmental Process This paper looks at consultation in the Bahá'í Faith. It starts from the mention of this process in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and the manner in which this was initially put into practice in Iran in the late 1870s. It then looks at the ways in which…
- Das heiligste Buch (Bahá’u’lláh: Kitáb-i-Aqdas): Die Charta der neuen Weltordnung
- Das Ringen um Fortschritt im Iran des 19. Jh. und die Rolle der Babi-Bewegung
- Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh Gleaming through the Tablet of Patience This paper takes a closer look at Súriy-i-Sabr (Surih Sabr), to which references are made by other names. This Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh, which has been revealed on the first day of Ridván 1863, and has great significance among the Writings of …
- Die Bahai-Religion und moderne Philosophie
- Die Grundrechte (Grundgesetz, Art. 1-19) aus der Bahá’í-Perspektive
- Ego: Scientific Investigation of the Spiritual Man: Body, Mind, and Spirit Spaces This third talk on scientific investigation of the spiritual man concentrates on body, mind, and spirit spaces. These are dimensions not yet fully captured by science: the inner and the outer dimensions of reality. Anthropology notes that t…
- Ethics and the Bahá’í Writings: A Philosophical Survey The Bahá'í Writings promise an ethical renewal for all the peoples and cultures in the world and ethical guidance for the future personal, social and spiritual evolution of humankind. This paper pursues a philosophical examination of the Wr…
- Finding a Trace of the Traceless Friend: Reflection on Bahá’í Scholarship as a Journey in the Valley of Search In this presentation the attempt is made to shed some light at Bahá'í Scholarship from the First Valley of the Seven Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh, the Valley of Search. The combination of finding a "trace" of a "traceless friend" indicates the my…
- Forgiveness: Its meaning and merits from religious as well as scientific viewpoint Forgiveness has been historically the business of religion. Forgiveness is a complex and deeply personal, cultural and religious phenomenon. In recent years science has shown interest to understand the psychological, social and physical ben…
- Franz von Assisi, Vorläufer des religiösen Dialogs?: Ein Visionär, Denker und Aussteiger im Jahre 1219 und seine Aktualität bis heute aus einer Bahá’í Perspektive
- How Economics and Business is Addressed in the Bahá’í Faith Bahá'í principles are multi-dimensional in their concepts application. The Bahá'í principle of "solution of the economic problems" (`Abdu'l-Bahá, 1979, p. 32) does not refer to a Bahá'í economic system but can refer to reforms and developme…
- Im Wesen nichts Neues?: Jesus in den Schriften Bahá’ulláhs
- Integration of Centralization and Decentralization in the Bahá’í Administrative Order The Universal House of Justice is a unique institution in the field, and discipline, of Public Administration. It is the only international governing council whose members, every five years, are internationally elected by all the members of…
- Justice, Rights, Unity: Foundations of a Prosperous Civilization This presentation examines the relationships between Unity, Justice, and Rights from a Bahá'í perspective compared to the way these themes are conceptualized today. Through an exploratory approach, various assumptions about social formation…
- Knowing Self, Knowing God: Discovering One’s Own Innermost Divine Reality How our belief systems and perspectives on Human Nature will impact the political doctrines and governing principles, and various meanings, applications and the implications of "Self-Knowledge" and how such a knowledge is equivalent to the …
- Laozi and the Bahá’í Faith (Part II) Bahá'u'lláh admonishes Bahá'ís (and all human beings) to converse with adherents of all religions in the spirit of understanding and love, because all religions emanate from one source and all human beings are created from the same dust and…
- Leadership and Succession in Taoist-Buddhist Temples While there is a large body of research on religion, there is very little on the internal structure of religious organizations. More specifically, on the topic of leadership and succession, a keyword search on Amazon produced more than 7000…
- Major Debates and Disputations of Belief in History and the Bahá’í Dispensation Religious and scientific differences of views and opinions throughout human history have resulted in incalculable debates and disputations. Despite its short life, the Bahá'í history has also witnessed some major debates of its own. A brief…
- Man’s Station in the Universe: A Scientist’s Journey The Universe is very simple: mostly made of hydrogen, helium and energy. However, the earth contains amazing complexity that is nearly unique in the universe. Unique circumstances have made possible organic chemistry and life on earth, lead…
- Preliminary Contemplation on What May Be Considered as a Bahá’í Theology Basic beliefs are probably the main source for particular social actions and interactions. Therefore, it is necessary to understand these basic beliefs and insights to be able to interpret and understand those actions and interactions prope…
- Religion, Revelation and Peace: Approximations between Whitehead and Bahá’í Thought A.N. Whitehead is one of the most interesting philosophers of the 20th century. Being a mathematician (writing the Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell, his student and colleague) and a philosopher of science, he became convinced tha…
- Scientific Insights into “Here Am I”: Consciousness and Space-Time In the Long Obligatory Prayer of Bahá'u'lláh there is a passage: "� I entreat Thee by Thy footsteps in this wilderness and by the words 'Here am I, Here am I' which Thy chosen ones have uttered in this immensity "�
- Shoghi Effendi’s Diary Letters The purpose of this presentation is to provide an introduction and overview of a unique collection of 143 diary letters written by Shoghi Effendi from February to November 1919. This collection of diary letters is written in a critical stag…
- Sind Religion und Wissenschaft miteinander vereinbar oder prinzipiell gegensätzlich?
- Spirit, Mind, and the Universe This presentation will cover the concepts of spirit, soul, mind, and the universe. We will explore each concept and discuss their relationships. As much as possible, we will try to correlate the Bahá'í conceptualization of these concepts wi…
- Successorship and the Election of the Universal House of Justice: The Universal House of Justice 1963 2013 The advent of the 50th Anniversary of the election of the Universal House of Justice is an appropriate time to recall the bewilderment of the Bahá'í world at the sudden passing of the beloved Guardian in November 1957, the pivotal role play…
- The Bábí-Bahá’í Theology of ‘Adl (Justice) and the Lawh-i Ridván al-’Adl of Bahá’u’lláh "This is the Ridwan al `Adl ("Paradise of Justice"). It was indeed made manifest through the Divine Bounty (al-fadl) for God hath ornamented it with His Mighty, Incomparable [Scriptural] Traces (al-athar)." In the Name of God, the Promoter …
- The Development of the Baha’i Community: 1963 2013 While the growth of the Bahá'í Community under the guidance of the Universal House of Justice in the 50 years since 1963 expands over a wide range, it could be perceived in terms of two parallel sets of activities. On the one hand we have w…
- The Forces of Evolution "The Forces of Evolution" is related to and a continuation of a previous presentation on "General Theory of Evolution and Human Evolution." While keeping in mind the principle of "Harmony of Science and Religion," we will discuss the import…
- The Greatest Holy Leaf’s Unparalleled Role in Religious History and the Significance of the Arc, the Site of Her Resting Place Biography of a most remarkable woman in the history of religion, described by Shoghi Effendi as Abdu'l-Baha's "competent deputy, His representative and vicegerent, with none to equal her." The site Shoghi Effendi chose for her burial place …
- The Last Refuge: Fifty Years of the Ministry of the Universal House of Justice This paper focuses on the emergence of the Universal House of Justice and studies the experience of the Bahá'í world community with its supreme body since its inception. As a corollary, the organizational structure of Bahá'í polity and its …
- The Last Refuge: Fifty Years of the Ministry of the Universal House of Justice This paper focuses on the emergence of the Universal House of Justice and studies the experience of the Bahá'í world community with its supreme body since its inception. As a corollary, the organizational structure of Bahá'í polity and its …
- The Meanings and the Stations of Tawhid in the Bábí and Bahá’í Writings The two aspects of divine unity and the progressive and non-linear continuity of all revelations are among the foremost fundamental verities of all the religions of God. The purpose of this research is to underscore the significance of the …
- The Universal House of Justice: A Unique Institution in the Annals of Religion Never before in the annals of the world's religions has the world encountered an institution remotely resembling the Universal House of Justice. Its uniqueness is apparent in a number of different ways: its origins which lie in the express …
- Verschwörungstheorien und weltanschauliche Konfliktlinien als Ursache der Verfolgung der Bahai in der Islamischen Republik Iran
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Egypt: Early September 1910 5 December 1913 `Abdu'l-Bahá discontinuously sojourned in Egypt from early September 1910 to 5 December 1913. This paper is a concise study of the historical and political background of this sojourn and of its chronicle. Egyptian cities and towns visited b…
- “Vier Täler”: Eine Analyse im Rahmen der mystischen Werke Bahá’u’lláhs Unter den frühen Schriften Bahá'u'lláhs gehören neben dem Buch der Gewissheit und den Verborgenen Worten, die Sieben Täler und die Vier Täler zu den bekanntesten, zumal sie auch in deutscher Übersetzung vorliegen. Die letzteren beiden …
- `Abdu’l-Bahá in Chicago This presentation will be a historical account on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Chicago based on documents, notes and materials published in newspapers and arranged chronologically and thematically. It will focus on the purpose of His visit in va…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá in Naples The journey that leads Abdu'l-Bahá from Alexandria to New York City is marked by the episode happened in Naples that scored in a negative way the beginning of the journey of the Master with his grandson, Shoghi Effendi.Throughout this artic…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’ and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution Addressing Ṭihrán in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh predicts that "[e]relong will the state of affairs within thee be changed, and the reins of power fall into the hands of the people." Elsewhere in His Writings, Queen Victoria is praised f…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Elucidation of the Concept of the Oneness of Humanity During His Western Travels The central teaching of the Bahá'í Faith is the oneness of humankind. Although wholly associated with the Bahá'í Faith today, it was a very difficult concept for Bahá'ís in earlier times to put into practice in their personal lives. As `Abd…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s First Public Talk in America: Church of Ascension, New York This is one of the first talks delivered by `Abdu'l-Bahá during the first few days after His arrival in New York and the beginning of his travels in North America. This talk is also the first talk that he delivered in a church and to a cong…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s First Public Talk in America: Church of Ascension, New York This is one of the first talks delivered by `Abdu'l-Bahá during the first few days after His arrival in New York and the beginning of his travels in North America. This talk is also the first talk that he delivered in a church and to a cong…
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Visit to North America: An Illustrated Story `Abdu'l-Bahá spent the majority of his stay while in North America in or near the city of New York, which he announced to be the City of the Covenant and where he proclaimed Lua Getsinger to be the Herald, and himself as the Center of the C…
- A Review of the style, the content and the context of Bahá’u’lláh’s Súratu’n-Nush (Exhortation) In this session we will examine the style, the content and the context of the Súratul-Nus'h. We will study the intent of its Author, Bahá'u'lláh, as He addresses one of His prominent believers and survivor of the Nayriz Massacare Seyyed Jaa…
- Abdu’l-Bahá’s Visit to North America: An Illustrated Story
- An Officer and an Academic: Alexander Grigorevich Tumanskii and His Contribution to Russian Historiography on and Policy towards the Bábí-Bahá’í Religion Official Russian attitude towards the Bábí-Bahá'í religion seems to have changed dramatically between the mid to the end of the nineteenth century. At first, in the formative years of the Bábí movement in Iran in the 1840s, Tsarist Russia s…
- Awakening: The Birth and Tribulations of a Bahá’í Community in Iran In 1850, Nayriz was a sleepy farm town in the Fars province of Iran. Most people tended their farms by day and mingled with family and friends at night under the dim light of kerosene lamps. Life for the inhabitants of Nayriz was peacefulb…
- Child Education and Development: Comparing guidance given by `Abdu’l-Bahá during his North American visit with some academic theories of the time This presentation will systematically examine the guidance and advice that `Abdu'l-Bahá gave to various audiences throughout his talks during His North America travels in 1912. The structure and content of these passages will be analyzed an…
- Collective Security in the Talks of `Abdu’l-Bahá The principle of collective security as adumbrated by Bahá'u'lláh and elaborated upon by `Abdu'l-Bahá is a prerequisite for a lasting peace of the kind that has hitherto eluded humanity. Its application requires that the international commu…
- Concept of Self-Knowledge in Bahá’í Writings: An exploration to discover self in light of current psychological findings The main objectives of this presentation are the discussions of the significance, meaning, application and the implications of the concept of gaining a true knowledge/insight about one's own self and how it impacts intra/inter personal rela…
- Concept of Unity in Bahá’í Writings
- Connection and Disconnection between Bahá’í Faith and Enlightenment Philosophy in Islam One of the most significant and influential philosophical schools in Islamic world that developed in Iranian culture in the twelfth century is the Illumination School of Suhravardi. Shihabud'din Suhravardi (1155-1191), known in the history …
- Correlation of Concept of Spirit with Mathematics, Psycholinguistics, and Science David Bohm, one of the most influential scientists and philosophers of the 20th century, believed that the widespread crisis that humanity is experiencing, be it in the scientific, social, psychological, or political spheres of life, is due…
- Die Briefe des Báb an die Könige und Herrscher seiner Zeit "Die Bábí-Religion ist in den letzten Jahren als eine der wichtigsten gesellschaftlichen Bewegungen in der iranischen Geschichte, zumindest in persischen Publikationen, wieder mehr in das Blickfeld der Forschung geraten. Besodners oft wird …
- Die Menschenrechte des Kindes: Die UN-Kinderrechtskonvention und das Bahá’í-Konzept von Menschheit und Mensch Der Vortrag verfolgt zwei Wege. Zum einen geht es um eine Rezeption der UN-Kinderrechtskonvention vor dem Hintergrund dessen, was in den Bahá'í-Schriften über den Menschen und seine Bestimmung sowie über die Menschheit und ihre Entwicklungs…
- Eine Auseinandersetzung mit dem Buch “Religion und Religionskritik” von Michael Weinrich Eine Auseinandersetzung und Begegnung mit dem Arbeitsbuch von Michael Weinrich (UTB Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht 2011). Das Buch führt in die Fülle der unterschiedlichen Positionen zu Religion und Religionskritik ein, dokumentiert exemplarische Tex…
- Ethics Based on Science Alone? In 2010, Sam Harris published The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values in order to demonstrate that values, ethics, morality do not require more than an empirical basis. There is no need for any appeal to a transcendental…
- Exploring and Comparing the Concept of Value: Economic, Social and Spiritual Viewpoints This presentation explores the relationship between economic, social, and spiritual values. The term "value" is freely used in all three domains to connote a concept. Upon reflection, however, "value" appears to imply drastically divergent …
- Exploring Learning Processes within a Collaborative Study Circle: Cultural-historical activity theory perspective on individual and social transformation This study explores learning processes within a collaborative study group, engaged on a path of individual and social transformation. The topic opens up a window on processes in learning communities beyond school-related education. How does…
- Eyewitness Account of the Massacre of Bahá’ís in Nayriz on Naw-Ruz 1909 At the turn of the twentieth century the people of Iran, tired of despotic regimes and the inordinate influence of the clergy, demanded changes in the way the country was governed. Their struggles for democratic reform bore fruit when Muzaf…
- Historical Background of Bahá’u’lláh’s Súratu’n-Nush (Exhortation) In 1850, Nayriz was a sleepy farm town in the Fars province of Iran. Most people tended their farms by day and mingled with family and friends at night under the dim light of kerosene lamps. Life for the inhabitants of Nayriz was peacefulb…
- International Unity and Universality of Education: Guidelines Given in the Talks of `Abdu’l-Bahá Talks delivered by `Abdu'l-Bahá during his travels in Europe and America includes a number of guidelines on various educational subjects. In view of the fact that those talks were essentially aimed at promoting peace and unity and preventin…
- Interreligiöser Dialog und die Stellung der Bahá’í-Religion gegenüber anderen Glaubensrichtungen Haus der Religionen, Forum der Religionen und Rat der Religionen in Hannover. In einer pluralistisch geprägten Gemeinschaft, die ein weitgehend konfliktfreies Zusammenleben ihrer Mitglieder anstrebt, sehen sich alle gesellschaftsbildenden E…
- Kitáb-i-Iqán, From Bábí to Bahá’í Dispensation Even though the "Persian Bayán" is the mother-book of the Bábí Dispensation, the Báb left it incomplete. The Báb prophesied that "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest" will complete it. The revelation of the Kitáb-i-Iqán fulfilled this prophecy…
- Life Lessons from `Abdu’l-Bahá: Vision of a Bahá’í Community This presentation is based on a compilation of short "one liners" extracted by the presenter from the talks and Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá on how He wanted us and our youth and children to conduct our personal and social lives. These one line…
- Naturrecht oder Offenbarung: Zur Grundlage ethischer Normen Wir leben in einer Zeit, in der ethische Normen, deren Gültigkeit jahrhundertelang außer Frage stand, einerseits radikal infrage gestellt werden. Andererseits ist das Interesse an ethischen Fragen in den letzten Jahren deutlich gewach…
- Reason and the Bahá’í Writings Unlike the scriptures of other religions, the Baha'i Writings have a great deal to say about the importance of reason. Indeed, they tell us that "in this age the peoples of the world need the arguments of reason" (`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answere…
- Ridwan Renewed: The Semitic-Abrahamic religions and Babi-Baha’i concepts of Ridvan "And a Ridwan from God is supremely great" (Qur'an 9:72b) "O people of the earth! ... God promised both the male and female believers among the people of the covenant (ahl al-`ahd) what pertains to the [messianic] Dhikr (Remembrance) the mo…
- Role of Principles in the Bahá’í Faith: Principles and Fashion Are moral laws and values relative or absolute? Is living according to long-established moral values old-fashioned? How did past religions fall into ritualistic imitations? Should we be more conservative or progressive? And more generally, …
- Role of Religion in the Progress of Civilization Today, the majority of intellectuals and scholars believe that religion no longer has any validity. It is generally regarded as superstition or a phenomenon of the past which has no longer efficiency for the modern world. However, fair-mind…
- Shared Leadership and Bahá’í Community Life Bahá'í Faith presents a new approach to social structure of the community. Today, God has ordained a major paradigm shift in society where no longer an individual may exercise authority and power over others. Bahá'u'lláh has abrogated the p…
- Shared Leadership and Bahá’ís Community Life Bahá'í Faith presents a new approach to social structure of the community. Today, God has ordained a major paradigm shift in society where no longer an individual may exercise authority and power over others. Bahá'u'lláh has abrogated the p…
- Shi`i and Babi-Baha’i Imamology: Some introductory Notes on the Twelver Imams and traditions attributed to them in Shi`i and Babi-Baha’i scriptural sources The names Muhammad, Imam `Ali, and Fatima More or less from its origins in the decades after the passing of the Arabian Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-11/632) in 632 CE., the Muslim world came to be divided into Imami Shi`i and related factions a…
- Shoghi Effendi’s “Diary Letters”: An introduction and overview The purpose of this presentation is to provide an introduction and overview of a unique collection of 143 diary letters written by Shoghi Effendi from February to November 1919. This collection of diary letters is written in a critical stag…
- Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed in Honor of Hand of the Cause Jináb-i-Ibn-i-Abhar Approximately thirty Tablets revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in honour of Ibn-i-Abhar, a Hand of the Cause of God, have so far been identified. These range in length from as little as four lines to fifteen pages. While most of the longer Tablets we…
- The Bab’s Sahifah-yi `adliyyah in Historical Context In 1844, Sayyid `Ali Muhammad Shirazi, "the Bab" (1819-1850), put forth the first of several messianic claims that expanded considerably over time: that he was the representative of the Hidden Imam, and later explicitly claiming to be a man…
- The Dao of Bahá: Laozi and the Bahá’í Faith Not only advises Baha'u'llah the people of Baha to converse with adherents of all religions in the spirit of understanding and love, but he invokes the oneness of God, humanity, and creation as inherent reasons: all religions emanate from o…
- The Inebriation of His Enrapturing Call During the two years when Bahá'u'lláh lived in isolation in Kurdistan, He composed a number of poems, in which He gave vent to the mighty emotions aroused in His great heart by the mystical experiences He had while confined in the Síyáh-Chá…
- The Organic Function of Prophecy in Baha’i Context: An essay in memoriam of the hundredth anniversary of `Abdu’l-Bahá’s journey to America with excerpts from Some Answered Questions and other religious scriptures In this, the twelfth year of the twenty first century, the world scene is dauntingly confusing and one may wonder why this is so when we have such abundance of material bounty at our disposal. The Middle East is in turmoil with issues of ex…
- The Rise and Fall of the Bahá’í Settlements in the Jordan Valley, 1880s-1950s Among the religious communities that were active in the nineteenth century in Palestine, the Bahá'í community was one of the smallest. Since 1868, this religious community established their presence at the Haifa/Acre bay. The Bahá'í holy pl…
- The Synopsis of the Shared Concepts and Themes in the Persian Bayán and the Kitáb-i-Iqán The Persian Bayan is identified as the "mother book" of the dispensation of Bayan by Baha'u'llah, and the Kitab-i-Iqan has been referred to by Shoghi Effendi as "the most important work of Baha'u'llah after the Kitab-i-Aqdas" and the comple…
- Toleranz in der Bahá’í-Religion Als eine neuzeitliche Religionsstiftung verbindet die Bahai-Lehre die traditionellen religiösen Inhalte mit dem modernen abendländischen Denken. Nach einer kurzen Erläuterung der Grundprinzipien und einem kurzen historischen Überblick …
- Understanding Economic Moral Hazard and Its Implications in the Writings of `Abdu’l- Bahá The role of society and governments in resolving financial crises and addressing the persistence of poverty and unemployment, including their prevalence in the wealthiest countries of the world, is now under the widest scrutiny since the In…
- Understanding Reality: Bahá’u’lláh’s “Four States” of Man, Seen as Tetrarchic Structure - A New Concept of Philosophy and Theology This presentation tries to follow `Abdu'l-Bahá's statement that we have to follow Bahá'u'lláh's new principles and forget the old patterns of thought in order to find the peace of the heavenly kingdom, not only in the world, but primarily a…
- Uniting Space and Time: Ritual and the Bahá’í Faith The Bahá'í Faith has very few communal rituals. There is almost no structure or set form to the regular meetings of the community or to such ceremonial occasions as weddings and funerals. Furthermore, there are textual instructions in the a…
- Unity and Universality of Education Recommended in the Talks of `Abdu’l-Bahá Talks delivered by `Abdu'l-Bahá during his travels in Europe and America include a number of guidelines on various educational subjects. In view of the fact that those talks were essentially aimed at promoting peace and unity and preventing…
- Unity and Universality of Education: Guidelines Given in the Talks of `Abdu’l-Bahá Talks delivered by `Abdu'l-Bahá during his travels in Europe and America include a number of guidelines on various educational subjects. In view of the fact that those talks were essentially aimed at promoting peace and unity and preventing…
- Was sagt uns die Zahlensymbolik? Das uralte religiös und mystisch motiviertes Interesse in die Zahlendeutung als Zugang zu religiösen Wahrheiten wird vom heutigen aufgeklärten Menschen kaum ernst genommen. Die Bahá'í- Religion, die sich als Religion für das moderne Zeitalt…
- Women’s poetry in early Qajar Iran: Some context to Táhirih’s poetry In this paper I seek to answer the following questions: What contribution did women make circa 1800-1830 to the production of poetry in Iran? To what extent did women act as patrons for female and male poets in this period? What training di…
- Yin-Yang Cosmology and the Bahá’í Faith The yin-yang concept is a pivotal theory in traditional Chinese thought influencing many aspects of Chinese civilization, government, architecture, personal relationships and ethics. The literacies of this paradigm has astounding similariti…
- “Ich schrieb Buchstaben der Nähe auf jeden Fleck Erde”: Bahá’u’lláhs Schilderungen der Himmlischen Jungfrau in den Schriften der Bagdader Periode
- `Abdu’l-Bahá The Mystery of God Even though "Abdu'l-Baha" was the title preferred by the Center of the Covenant of Baha'u'llah Himself, His titles and appellations are many. Among them "the Trust of God," "this sacred and glorious being," "this Branch of Holiness," "the L…
- 1913 - ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Stuttgart: Die Fundierung der deutschen Bahá’í-Gemeinde
- Abbás Effendí: Centenary of His Visit to Egypt (1910-1913) 'Abdu'l-Bahá `Abbás (23 May 1844 - 28 November 1921), known to the Arab and Islamic worlds as Abbas Effendi, and to the west as `Abdul-Bahá, was the greatest middle-eastern mind that explained the spiritual and material issues in a contempo…
- Abdu’l-Baha in Edinburgh
- Abdu’l-Bahá in New York 1912 : An Illustrated Narrative `Abdu'l-Bahá, the eldest Son and appointed successor of Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, visited United States of America for 239 days from April 11, 1912 to December 5, 1912. During that sojourn He spent 85 days in the…
- Abdu’l-Bahá: The Mystery of God Even though "`Abdu'l-Bahá" was the title preferred by the Center of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh Himself, His titles and appellations are many. Among them "the Trust of God," "this sacred and glorious being," "this Branch of Holiness," "the …
- Abdu’l-Baha’s Commentaries on the Qur’an In Islamic civilization, no books can be found with more influence and vitality than the Quran. The book that has been the source of everything in that civilization. The book that has fascinated thousands of believers throughout the centuri…
- Abdu’l-Bahá’s Encounter with Modernity during His Western Travels Having spent almost His whole life as a prisoner and an exile in the Middle East, `Abdu'l-Bahá, son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, was set free in 1908. He travelled from the Middle East to Europe in 1911 and to Europe and…
- Abdu’l-Baha’s Visit to Montreal, 1912 Based on historical records, interviews, and retracing the steps of `Abdu'l-Baha in Montreal, this paper explores the known facts and assumptions of His Visit to Montreal in late August and early September 1912. Record keeping of His Visit …
- Apocalyptic Thinking and Process Thinking: A Baha’i Contribution to Religious Thought The key feature of classical religious apocalyptic thinking is that affairs are static until they are suddenly moved from one state to another by God. Thus the change in affairs is sudden and immediate and it is supernaturally directed and …
- Authoritative Interpretations in the Bahá’í Faith: `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Initiative There are two categories of interpretations of the Writings and Teachings in the Bahá'í Faith, authoritative and individual. The former is confined to the interpretations by the Founders and then Centers of the Covenant of the Bahá'í Faith,…
- Baha’i View on the “New Atheism” and its “Moral Landscape,” A The new century has witnessed an unprecedented surge of technological advances leading to new neurological studies that have opened uncharted frontiers in the study of the brain and its functions. Armed with such findings, Neurologists/biol…
- Bahá’u’lláh’s Persian poems written before 1863 A provisional list of Bahá'u'lláh's Persian poems written before 1863 is provided. These poems are described as an early fruit of the mystical experiences Bahá'u'lláh had in the Síyáh-Chál of Teheran in October 1852. Those experiences produ…
- Book of Proverbs meets the Hidden Words: Some preliminary notes Both the book of Proverbs (Mishley) and the Hidden Words (Kalimát-i Maknúnah) contain short lyrical verses that are to be considered as personal guidelines for human life. The book of Proverbs is to be found in the Bible between Psalms and …
- Buddhist Doctrine of Nothingness `Emptiness' is one of the key concepts of Buddhism and especially of Mahayana Buddhism where we find numerous sutras and schools of interpretation dedicated to this subject. The differences among these schools notwithstanding, they all agre…
- Childhood Malnutrition and Poverty: The Baha’i Perspective Despite advances in agriculture and medicine over the last century, over 3.9 million children under 5 die each year as a direct result from hunger and malnutrition. Millions more are permanently affected. While malnutrition clearly debilita…
- Deganawidah The Peacemaker - Many Messengers of God : A Native American Perspective Indigenous people from oral traditions such as the inhabitants of North and South America, Africa and the Island Nations have not had their Messengers of God universally "recognized" by theologians, scholars and other academics. The Bahá'í́…
- Die frühe Bahá’í-Geschichte: Anmerkungen zur Quellenlage und zu Herausforderungen für künftige Forschung
- Die Gesellschaft zur ideologischen Bekämpfung der Bahá’í (Hojjatiyeh): Hintergründe ihrer Entstehung, ihre Methoden und ihr gegenwärtiger Einfluss im Iran
- Die Verwirklichungschancen von Fähigkeiten als Maßstab von Gerechtigkeit?: Der Capability-Approach im Spiegel der Bahá’í-Ethik Ein Beitrag zur Anknüpfung der Bahá'í-Ethik an den aktuellen Gerechtigkeitsdiskurs.
- Erziehung als Dialog: Die Pädagogik Martin Bubers im Vergleich zu Bahá’í-Konzepten
- Exploring the Theme of Mystical Love The theme of Love is one of the fundamental concepts in Sufism. From the fifth/eleventh century onward, when the focus of Sufism turns gradually from asceticism to speculative mysticism, the concept of love assumes a central role in the Suf…
- First We Must Speak of Logical Proofs: Some Reflections on `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Discourse in America This essay reflects upon the positioning of Abdu'l-Bahá's discourses in the United States as examples of interfaith dialogue and attempts to draw some paradigmatic conclusions from them about current Bahá'í efforts at interfaith discourse. …
- From Nabi (Prophet) and Rasul (Messenger) to Mazhar-i Ilahi (`Manifestation of God’): A Babí-Bahá’í Trajectory through the Biblical-Islamic Prophets and Messengers "God... created 124,000 nabí (prophets) and I [Muhammad] am the most noble of them... and God created 124,000 wasi (successors) and `Alí is the most noble of them..." (Muhammad through Imam Rida' cited Bihar 2 11:30-31).
- Fundamental Verities in the Writings of the Báb: 1. Unsealing the Sealed Wine -- Slaying the Dragon of Dogmatism in the Writings of the Báb One of the challenges and obstacles in the path of progress of mankind has been dealing with the Myths and Symbols used by the past generations and religions that have been carried over to the present time. These myths and symbols are point…
- Fundamental Verities in the Writings of the Báb: 2. The Principle of Individual Investigation of Truth in the Writings of the Báb The principle of individual investigation of truth is one of the fundamental verities mentioned in the Writings of the Báb. According to the writings of the Báb, everyone should on his/her own, investigate the truth and make his/her own cho…
- Harmony of Science and Religion in 10 Best Parenting Skills This presentation will consider two sources to find out "What Makes a Good Parent": The Baha'i Faith's approach to parenting and some scientific findings regarding this most important educational issue. A recent article in Scientific Americ…
- Health and Healing: A Bahá’í Perspective There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the treatment of physicians; the second consisteth in prayers offered by the spiritual ones to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used …
- Herausragender Orientalist und Opfer seiner Zeit: Eine Reflexion über Edward G. Browne und das 19 Jahrhundert
- I know Not How to Sing Thy Praise: Reflections on a Prayer of Bahá’u’lláh This prayer of Bahá'u'lláh (PM 122) gives access to the basic question of theology about "God" for this day and age, where practical and theoretical atheism and irreligion has captured at least halve of mankind, not only in the East but als…
- Kant’s Universal Peace and the Bahá’í Vision of a Future World Order In 1795, Immanuel Kant published Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch in which he outlined the practical steps necessary to end war among nation-states. Though focused on Europe, its intent was global and included, among other things, th…
- Liebe deine Nächste: Auf der Suche nach einer universellen Moral
- Nikolaus von Kues: Ein Vordenker der Bahá’í-Religion?
- On Sustainability and Prevalence of Violence We are witnessing that violence, in the forms of violent thoughts and deeds, is widely and abundantly spreading in all corners of the world. However despite the measures adopted and the efforts exerted to reverse this trend and occasional p…
- On the Tablet of All Food The Tablet of All Food (Lawh-i-Kullu't-Ta'ám) is the first emanation of the Pen of Bahá'u'lláh in response to an inquiry and `one of the first fruits of His Divine Pen'. It was revealed in response to Haji Mirzá Kamálu'd-Din's questions on …
- Orientals Meeting in the West: Foes Become Friends When `Abdu'l-Bahá `Abbás travelled to Europe and North America in 1911-1913, many of his father's followers, from both `East' and `West' showered him with devotion befitting the current head of their religion. At the same time, several othe…
- Overture to Universal Peace: An exposition based on the talk by `Abdu’l-Bahá, New York City, December 4, 1912 A century ago the Bahá'í Faith "lit up the western sky" with a fresh new way of presenting spiritual proofs as articulated by `Abdu'l-Bahá that began when He set forth upon the shores of the North American Continent. At the conclusion of Hi…
- Philosophical concepts in the Talks of `Abdu’l-Bahá
- Race, Religion and Progress in the Talks and Actions of Abdu’l-Bahá The nineteenth century dialogue among civilizations focused on several themes; among them, race, religion, and progress were particularly prominent. Race and religion related to the question of which culture was the best fitted to shape the…
- Some notes on the historical background of Bahá’u’lláh’s Epistle to the Son of the Wolf In 1891 Bahá'u'lláh addressed a long message to the powerful Shiite leader residing in Isfahan, Nadjafí II. Shoghi Effendi translated the work under the title "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf" and described it as "the last outstanding Tablet…
- Synopsis of the Shared Concepts and Themes in the Persian Bayán and the Kitáb-i-Iqán The Persian Bayán is identified as the "mother book" of the dispensation of Bayán by Bahá'u'lláh, and the Kitáb-i-Iqán has been referred to by Shoghi Effendi as "the most important work of Bahá'u'lláh after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas" and the comple…
- Technology and the Bahá’í Faith This is an interactive presentation allowing input from all participants. We shall go over the many resources that Bahá'ís have available to them through the medium of technology. We shall be going over multiple ways how we can use technolo…
- The Bábí-Bahá’í Transformation and Interpretation of the Islamic Basmala "The Basmala is closer to the Greatest Name (al-ism al-a`zam) than the black of the eye is to its white." (A well-known Islamic tradition)
- The Choice of the West for Abdu’l-Bahá’s Epoch-Making Trip When `Abdu'l-Bahá gained freedom, after fifty-eight years of exile and confinement, He made preparations for a momentous trip. By August 1910, when He began His trip, the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh had spread beyond the borders of lands gripped i…
- The Fragility of Goodness: Hexis and Praxis in the Historical Figure of `Abdu’l-Bahá This paper seeks to understand how internal goodness of character or soul may be preserved from interference from the world and how character (hexis) and activity (práxis) may survive the sobering perspective of immense moral failure on the…
- The Genetic basis of our uniquely human ability: The gift of speech and language Recent advances in neuroscience and brain imaging techniques, have enabled studies of higher order cognitive functions, and unique human attributes such as consciousness, perception, language, and memory. There is growing awareness among ne…
- The Institution of the Nineteen Day Feast: Administrative and Social Psychological Perspective One of the innovative measures in the Baha'i Faith is the institution of the Nineteen Day Feast. This injunction is revealed in the Book of Aqdas (#57). This verse starts with these words "It has been enjoined upon you" which means you are …
- The Institution of the Nineteen Day Feast: An Administrative and Social-Psychological Perspective One of the innovative measures in the Bahá'í Faith is the institution of the Nineteen Day Feast. This injunction is revealed in the Book of Aqdas (#57). This verse starts with these words" It has been enjoined upon you" which means you are …
- The New Atheism and the Bahá’í Writings In this paper we shall examine four of the foundational works of the new atheism movement which has become a strong presence in current debates about the role of God and religion in human existence both past and present, and the role of rel…
- The Spirit of `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey to the West and its Multidimensional Significance For the first time in the history of religion, the Leader of a religion, appointed by the Founder of the religion to be His Successor, traveled to a different continent to personally bring its message to a new society. The significance of `…
- Towards Building a Teaching Strategy: Abdul-Bahá’s Public Addresses in the West In His public addresses in the West, our Beloved Master has clearly set before us an example1of a teaching strategy. In this paper we try to use our analysis of `Abdul-Bahá's language when speaking to various types of audience, level of emp…
- Towards of World Federation: It Is Time to Implement Abdu’l-Bahá’s Advice It was almost a century ago, during His historic trip to the United States, that `Abdu'l-Bahá advised a high official in the service of the federal government that he could best promote the interests of his government and people, if he stro…
- Unsealing the Sealed Wine: Slaying the dragon of dogmatism in the Writings of the Báb The principle of individual investigation of truth is one of the fundamental verities mentioned in the writings of the Bab. According to the writings of the Bab, everyone should on his/her own, investigate the truth and make his/her own dec…
- Valleys: Their representation in Bahá’í and other religious writings In literature, whether religious or secular, valleys and other natural phenomena, such as clouds, rain, oceans, rivers and so on are used metaphorically. Valleys are topographical formations that are connected naturally with mountains. Vall…
- Zum Verhältnis von Ethik und Ästhetik: Friedrich Schillers moralphilosophische Reflexionen aus der Bahá’í-Perspektive
- بهاد ضیافت نوزده روزه از نظر نظن اداری و روانشناسی اجتماعی
- حقّ جهانوندی در آثار بهائی
- سرّ الله الاقوم: بحثی در القاب و نعوت حضرت عبد البهاء
- شرح نزول بر خی از الواح حضرت عبذالبهاء
- گزارشی مصوّر از سفر حضرت عبدالبهاء به نیو یورک در سال 1912
- مجموعه منحصر بفرد از آثار حضرت نقطه اولی
- مراحل تدریجی دعوت حضرت باب Also published in Safini-yi Irfan volume 8.
- مروری بر رساله “فی تشخیض الغاء” از آثار حضرت تا ب
- مروری بر رساله “فی تشخیض الغناء” از آثار حضرت باب
- مفاهیم اصو لی هماهنگ و مشترک در کتاب بیان فارسی و کتاب ایقان
- ملاحظاتی پیرامون سوابق تاریخی جامعه بهائیان بادکوبه
- موجبات کزینش مغرب زمین بر ای سفر های تاریخ ساز حضرت عبد البهاء Also presented in English.
- “Brief an den Sohn des Wolfes”: Eine Einführung in Bahá’u’lláhs letztes großes Werk
- “Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts”: Gotthold Ephraim Lessings wichtigstes religionsphilosophisches Werk und seine Berührungspunkte mit der Bahá’í-Lehre
- “Singe die Gärten, mein Herz, die du nicht kennst”: Rainer Maria Rilke - Dichter, Mystiker und ein Bahá’i im Geiste?
- A Brief Overview of Bahá’í Scripture
- A Brief review of `Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to North America `Abdu'l-Bahá Abbás visited North America from April 11 to December 5, 1912. His eight-month sojourn took Him to some 38 localities in 15 states and the province of Quebec, Canada. Because His North American trip followed on an earlier Europ…
- A Comparative Review of Martin Heidegger’s book “Being and Time” and `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Main Teaching in Europe The work "Being and Time" by the famous German philosopher Martin Heidegger is, beyond any doubt, one of the most innovative philosophical books of the twentieth century. Its deep and wide influences on the western philosophical thought hav…
- A Comparative Review of Zakat and Huquq’u’lláh The four pillars of the Islamic Religion are the Obligatory Prayer, which includes ablution and washing, Zakat, Fasting, Pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Ka`bba) in Mecca. Zakat is of two kinds, compulsory, and voluntary. The compulsory is a…
- A Comparative Review of Zakat and Huqúq’u’lláh The four pillars of the Islamic Religion, are the Obligatory Prayer, which includes ablution and washing, Zakat, Fasting, Pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Kabba) in Mecca. Zakat is of two kinds, compulsory, and voluntary. The compulsory is a…
- A New Concept of God in Some Answered Questions
- A Survey of the References in the Press to `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Visit to the West Presence of `Abdu'l-Bahá in Western countries aroused great interest in the general public and the media. Leading newspapers, journals, magazines and specialized periodicals paid considerable attention to the personality of `Abdu'l-Bahá and…
- Abdu’l-Bahá and the Middle East The First World War led to major changes in the political landscape of the Middle East. The fall of the Ottoman Empire and its destruction by the allies, the October Revolution in Russia and the Soviet expedition to Gilan, British occupatio…
- Analysis of the Genre of Bahá’í Literature Commonly Called “Pilgrim’s Notes” This paper will first look at the value of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's talks and in particular those He gave in the West. Then the question of provenance and sources will be looked at followed by a discussion on the shortcomings of oral talks and presen…
- Aspects of the Harmony between Science and Religion as Described in `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Talks This paper analyzes definitions of science and religion and the relations between science and religions as expounded in the discourses `Abdu'l-Bahá pronounced during His visits to Europe and America. It also studies the concepts of intellec…
- Attributes of Abdu’l-Baha seen through the eyes of two westerners: Lady Blomfield and Howard Colby Ives One way of looking at `Abdu'l-Bahá's legacy is by retelling of anecdotes about His encounters with the diverse array of those whom he met, taught and counseled in the course of his journeys. Such accounts have significance as inspirational …
- Authoritative Interpretations in the Baha’i Faith: `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Initiative There are two categories of interpretations of the Writings and Teachings in the Bahá'í Faith, authoritative and individual. The former is confined to the interpretations by the Founders and then Centers of the Covenant of the Bahá'í Faith,…
- Authoritative Interpretations in the Bahá’í Faith: `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Initiative There are two categories of interpretations of the Writings and Teachings in the Bahá'í Faith, authoritative and individual. The former is confined to the interpretations by the Founders and then Centers of the Covenant of the Bahá'í Faith,…
- Bahá’í-Identität
- Baha’u’llahs Suren der Wallfahrt zu den Heiligen Häusern in Bagdad und Schiraz
- Deutschsprachiges Irfan-Kolloquium geht online: Vorstellung der neuen Website See http://irfan-forum.eu.
- Die Herrlichkeit Gottes und der “Prophet des Massenzeitalters”: Ein Vergleich der Visionen von Bahá’u’lláh und Alexis de Tocqueville bezüglich Religion, Demokratie und Freiheit in der Moderne
- Ethical Economics for Today and Tomorrow Our starting point is the quote of Bahá'u'lláh: "The source of all learning is the knowledge of God." This is also the call for the harmony of science and religion. After completing a formal training in economics and then numerous years of …
- From al-Mulk (the Dominion) to al-Mu’minin (the Believers): Some Further Thoughts on the Surah Titles of the Qayyúm al-`asmá of the Báb The around 400 page Arabic Qayyum al-asma' (mid. 1844 CE) of the Báb, Sayyid `Ali Muhammad Shirazi, (d. 1850 CE) is not an easy book to comprehend. It is a kind of commentary on the qur'anic story of Joseph (Q. 12) but much more besides. On…
- From the Jabulqa of God’s Power to the Jabulqa of Superstition: The Twelfth Imam in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and `Abdu’l-Bahá’ Employing radical hermeneutics, Bahá'u'lláh asserts in His Gems of Divine Mysteries that the Báb appeared "from the Jabulqá of God's power and from the Jabulsá of His mercy," glossing these arcane names as "cities of the unseen in the super…
- Fundamental Concepts in the Writings of the Báb
- Gender Equality and its influence on the coming together of the world of humanity Bahá'u'lláh in His Arabic Hidden Words has proclaimed: Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you…
- Hidden Words and Bahá’í Political Philosophy
- Historical Development: Sociological and Bahá’í Perspective In a letter dated 4 January 2009 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia, the Universal House of Justice intimates that in forthcoming plans, the arena of social discourses will become a third area of action (next to …
- Homeland Earth An attempt will be made to review and discuss some of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh on His grand vision for the unification of mankind and achievement of world unity as crystallized in His statement: "The earth is but one country and Mankind …
- Ibn al-`Arabi in the Baha’i Writings Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) is considered the greatest Islamic mystic and philosopher. Due to the range of his influence, both within the Islamic community and outside its circle, he has been called the greatest Muslim after Prophet Muhammad. The…
- Important Personalities that Met `Abdu’l-Bahá in France
- In the Beginning: An Analysis of the Opening Chapters of the Báb’s Qayyum al-asma In his Qayyum al-asmá, the Báb discusses numerous themes and addresses various audiences of people. The purpose of this paper is to examine more closely the themes and the addressees in the opening chapters of this important text. Chapter O…
- Laqá Alláh: From Meeting Alláh to Attainment unto the Presence of God The phrase liqá'ullah appears in full three times in the Qur'án and its literally meaning is "meeting God". Yet the Qur'án lacks in elaborating the exact nature of this meeting. The commentators of the Qur'án suggested a wide range of exege…
- Lawh-i-Ashraf: Einführung in eine bislang unübersetzte Schrift Bahá’u’lláhs
- Mayflowers in the Ville Lumière: The Dawning of Bahá’í History in the European Continent Against the background of the Paris of the fin de siècle and of the Belle í�poque, with its magnificent intellectual and artistic efflorescence, a young American lady becomes the catalyst for the spiritual awakening of a group of ear…
- Methodologies and the Challenges Posed and Overcome in the Research of the History of the Talks of Abdu’l-Bahá in France
- Moral Dimension of Economics: A Bahá’í Perspective Economics is often associated with material life and economic science attempts to avoid normative judgment. Recent developments in both the economic science and economic reality, however, suggest that ignoring certain moral dimensions in ec…
- Perfection and Refinement: Toward an Aesthetic of the Báb In this paper, I divide the arts into three major divisions: the plastic arts, those arts produced by using materials that can be molded or changed in some way, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, wood-and metal- working, pottery, et…
- Plotinus and the Bahá’í Writings: Parts 1 and 2 This paper summarizes, builds on and expands the ideas presented in "Neoplatonism and the Baha'i Writings" in order to demonstrate how the work of Plotinus and his successors complements and offers new insights into the philosophy embedded …
- Prayers and Tablets of Visitation Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh
- Preparing Baha’i Communities in the East and the West to Embrace Gender Equality The oneness of humankind is the pivotal principle of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation. Its realization is impossible without restoring to women their rights. Gender equality is an essential prerequisite of the unity of humankind and one of the most…
- Progressive Revelation in Persian Bayán The two aspects of divine unity and the progressive and non-linear continuity of all revelations are among the foremost fundamental verities of all the religions of God. The purpose of this research is to underscore the significance of the …
- The Bahá’í Faith: A Shift of Paradigm Since the mid 19th-Century and the emergence of the age of science and technology, every aspect of human life on earth has been revolutionized and great progress has been achieved in all areas of human endeavor: travel and transportation, c…
- The Concept of Progressive Revelation in the Writings of the Báb The two aspects of divine unity and the progressive and non-linear continuity of all revelations are among the foremost fundamental verities of all the religions of God. The purpose of this research is to underscore the significance of the …
- The Duty of Kindness and Sympathy Towards Strangers and Foreigners: As enjoined in `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Paris Talks and as reflected in the Italian “Charter on the Values and Significance of Citizenship and Integration” The abandonment of racial, religious and nationalistic prejudice is one of the central issues in the talks `Abdu'l-Bahá delivered during His travels in the West. A ground-breaking concept in those days when the Western world was still "heav…
- The Essence of Man: Towards a Bahá’í Understanding of Human Nature and Psychology I. Towards Understanding Human Nature This presentation is a commentary on a section from Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to Mírzá Hádí, translated by Shoghi Effendi in the Gleanings of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, (GWB 164-165) about "the essence of …
- The Genesis of Bábí Ritual as Exemplified in the Khasa’il-Sab`a (‘The Seven Directives’) of the Báb This very brief work of the Báb, the Risala Khasa'il-i Sab`ah ('The Treatise of the Seven Directives") is, aside from certain surahs of the Qayyúm al-asma' and a few other pre-1845 CE writings, one of the earliest legal-ritualistic writings…
- The Mystery of Divinity: Traditional Views in Comparison to those in Some Answered Questions In the normal course of events we share an endless chain of ideas with the use of definitive terms in efforts to get our points across whether metaphorical or real. And we do this with great confidence in our own understanding of such terms…
- The Two Wings of Humanity: `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Articulation of the Equality of Women and Men During His Western Travels Having spent almost His whole life as a prisoner and an exile in the Middle East, `Abdu'l-Bahá, son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, was set free in 1908. He travelled from the Middle East to Europe in 1911 and to Europe and…
- The Usage of Simile of Ocean and Sea by Bahá’u’lláh and Some Comparative Notes There is hardly a major work by Bahá'u'lláh in which there is no reference to a large body of water. Whereas clouds where applied whenever some mystical idea of concealment was intended, the sea and the ocean are used for many purposes, and…
- Vom Umgang mit Verlust, Trennung und Tod: Die Umsetzung der Bahá’í-Lehre in die Praxis
- Von Báb zu Bahá’u’lláh: Die Situation der Bábí-Gemeinde 1850-1863
- Ziyarat and the Tablets of Visitation Ziyarat, in its typical usage in the Arabic and Persian languages, means "to visit." As a matter of religious terminology, the term refers specifically to the act of visiting a holy person or holy site with the intention of paying respect, …
- A Mathematical Model to Investigate Non-Material Realities The Bahá'í Faith is the first major religion that encourages its followers to seriously and deliberately make a good use of the human rational and intellectual powers to get a more profound understanding of the multi-layered language of the…
- A Review of the History and Content of AntiBahá’í Publications This presentation explores the historical context as well as the content of some of the accusations published against the Faith. Most of these accusations surfaced in Persian publications and later on some of them were either translated int…
- An Overview of the Bahá’í Writings on Iran (Part 1) This presentation is based on the speaker's study of issues related to the social situation of Iran, drawing on the published Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, and as described in the presenter's book Uzá'-i- Ijtimá…
- An Overview of the Bahá’í Writings on Iran (Part 2) This presentation is based on the speaker's study of issues related to the social situation of Iran, drawing on the published Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, and as described in the presenter's book Uzá'-i- Ijtimá…
- Bahá’í-Gemeindeordnung und das deutsche Grundgesetz: eine Auseinandersetzung mit den demokratischen Elementen der Bahá’í-Weltordnung
- Bahá’u’lláhs Tafel über Medizin: Eine homöopathische Sichtweise
- Bahá’u’lláhs Weisungen zur Staatsführung: die ‘Worte des Paradieses’
- Beginning a Conversation: Scriptural Reasoning and the Bahá’í Faith Scriptural reasoning (SR) is a recent and increasingly important interfaith movement, influencing both the academic study of, and interreligious relationships, between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, although members of other faiths are b…
- Beginning a Conversation: Scriptural Reasoning and the Bahá’í Faith (ed. note: this article was listed in the program as "A Review of Some Aspects of the Tablet of Wisdom" but the abstract provided was for "Beginning a Conversation: Scriptural Reasoning and the Bahá'í Faith." I've used the latter. -J.W., 20…
- Beyond Athens and Jerusalem: ReVisioning the ScienceReligion Conflict The clash between science and religion has been highlighted in recent years by the prominent attacks of a generation of "new atheists" on the coherence of belief in God and the viability of religion as a social institution. However, both si…
- Beyond the Concept of Evil: A Methodology for Multidisciplinary and Multicultural Ethical DecisionMaking Ethical decisions have been historically based on considerations of "good" and "evil", but this dualistic outlook is no longer valid facing the complex issues in today's modern medicine. The dualistic outlook has been rejected by `Abdu'lBa…
- Celestial Fire: Bahá’u’lláh as the Messianic Theophany of the Divine Fire (átar) in Zoroastrianism One of the foundational philosophical premises at the heart of Bahá'í ontology is that the structure of 'being' (wujúd) is one of 'process' and 'becoming' rather then static and fixed. This dynamic ontology in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh is…
- Consensus Decision-Making: Bahá’í Perspective This paper reviews the historical development of multilateral diplomacy and highlights the main systems of group decisionmaking employed by major international players among organizations and corporations. It then analyses different parame…
- Crystallization of the Bahá’i Worldwide Community See also Dynamics of Growth: A Baha'i Approach. "Outward forms and symbols must be used to convey intellectual conceptions". SAQ, p. 81 Large Scale growth is an imperative if the Bahá'í Faith is to fulfill its mission, as the begetter of a …
- Das Pflichtgebet im Islam und im Bahá`ítum: Ein religionswissenschaftlicher Vergleich
- Dashavatara and Progressive Revelation: A Comparative Study of Hinduism and the Bahá’í Faith In this thesis, the phenomenon of the Divine Revelation from Hindu and from the Bahá'í points of view is studied in the background of the Religion as an eternal process. The Hindu concept of Ten Mahavatars, called Dashavataras, is mentioned…
- Distributive Justice: A Bahá’í Perspective Distributive Justice has been one of the main concerns of moral philosophy. Many philosophers have offered conceptions of justice that would be applicable to the distribution of wealth and income. The issue gained significant momentum in th…
- Divine Origin of the Bahá’í Faith On May 7th of this year, Mr. Ataollah Mohajerani , former minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in the cabinet of Mr. Mohammad Khatami, called the Bahá'í faith a semi-religion or a "man-made" religion. This occurred in a press conference…
- Early Ishmaelite Philosophy and the BábíBahá’í Religions From the earliest days of the advent of the BábíBahá'í religions both polemical and scholarly sources have noted similarities between Ismai'ili thought and that of the BábíBahá'í religions. In light of the apparent similarities and corres…
- Early Writings of Bahá’u’lláh: Where was God before Creation? The Origins of Some Terms Two early Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, probably the earliest, Rashh-i-'Amá and Lawh Kull at-Ta'ám, one in Persian the other in Arabic, were translated into English and studied by Stephen Lambden and extensively researched by Wahid Ra'fati (in Pe…
- Elements of Immortality: A Nexus of Proofs by `Abdu’l-Bahá in Some Answered Questions This paper will approach this marvelous mystery in four steps that are based on objective reasoning by `Abdu'l-Bahá. [I] The spirit of man is examined; [2] An investigation of immortality of the spirit is pursued; [3] The proof with respect…
- Evolution of Epitaphs: from Islamic Inscriptions to Bahá’í Scripts The idea behind this paper is to bring together my two major interests of studying: Arabic Epigraphy and the Bahá'í Faith. These two fascinating subjects come across at Epitaphs. Epitaphs in any religion has there owns unique language. In t…
- Faith and Reason in “Some Answered Questions” The relation of faith and reason has been and still is one of the most complex problems in theology and philosophy. Generally the problem has centered about religious faith and knowledge, but because all knowledge falls short of apodictic c…
- Fortschreitende Gottesoffenbarung: Eschatologische Hinweise über das Kommen einer neuen Offenbarung im Koran
- Fotopoesie: ein Versuch Poesie zu hören, zu sehen und zu fühlen, ein Wechselspiel von Bildern, Musik und Worten
- Gateways to the Qayyúm al-Asmá’ of the Báb: Some Introductory Notes Based on an Examination of its Surah The around 400-page Arabic Qayyum al-asma' (mid. 1844 CE) of Sayyid `Alí-Muhammad Shírazi, the Báb (d. 1850 CE) is not an easy book to comprehend. It is a kind of commentary on the Qur'anic story of Joseph (Q. 12) but much more besides. One…
- Geschichte der Bábí-Religion Fortsetzung
- Hidden Words: Dawn of the Revelation of Laws and Ordinances The Hidden Words were revealed by Bahá'u'lláh around 1858. It was about five years prior to openly making known His mission and His station to the friends during the days that He stayed at Ridvan Garden. It was also about fourteen years bef…
- Interpretations of Holy Texts Provided in Some Answered Questions: An Analytical Review In the Writings of the Exalted Báb and in the Books and Tablets of the Blessed Beauty and `Abdu'l-Bahá, the interpretations and elucidations of the Holy texts of the past as well as explanations of, and commentary about, numerous Islamic tr…
- Kitáb-i-Badí` - Die umfangreichste Offenbarungsschrift Bahá’u’lláhs: Eine Einführung in den geschichtlichen Hintergrund und die wichtigsten Themen
- Kreationismus, Intelligent Design, Evolutionismus: Kein Widerspruch
- Metaphysics Reconsidered: A Dialog between `Abdu’l-Bahá and August Forel Age-old and unresolved philosophical debates over the purpose and essence of life, the nature and form of existence, the scope and structure of knowledge, the origins and models of morality or the theistic arguments over the presence and at…
- Minimalism and the Bahá’í Faith Following the last year introduction to the basic tenets of the Bahá'í epistemology at Irfán colloquium, we continue our discussion of minimalism and its relevance to the Bahá'í Faith. In its restricted domain, minimalism stands for an epis…
- Mysteries of Alast: The Realm of Subtle Entities (`Alam-i Amr) and the Primordial Covenant in the BábíBahá’í Writings One of the more esoteric terms in Shí`í-Shaykhí thought that has found its way into the vast corpus of the Bábí-Bahá'í sacred scriptures is called `the realm of subtle entities' or `álam-i dharr (lit. world of particles). The source of insp…
- Names and Attributes of God God has numerous personal and associated names and attributes within Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian, Islamic) religious scripture and related exegetical texts. The third word in the Hebrew Bible is the personal Name of God Elohim (Genesis 1:1…
- Neo-Platonism and the Bahá’í Faith This paper will analyze The Enneads of Plotinus and, to a lesser extent, Proclus' The Elements of Theology in order to identify how their teachings agree with and differ from the Baha'i Writings. Our analysis will begin but not end with an …
- Reality Concealed Behind the Veil Tree of life in Kabala of Judaism is a mystical symbol to describe the path to God as well as the manner in which God created the world and can be identified with the tree of life mentioned in the Book of Genesis which granted everlasti…
- Resurrection: Hell and Heaven The concepts of Resurrection, Heaven and Hell and Purgatory are rooted in the ancient belief systems of most religious traditions of the world. Some of these concepts are to be found with significant contradictions in names, descriptions an…
- Soul, Spirit, Mind and Intellect, from Antiquity to a Bahá’í Perspective: An Intertextual Trajectory from Biblical Times and Hellenistic Antiquity to the Islamic and Bábí-Bahá’í Psychology "The soul is the cause or source of the living body. The terms cause and source have many senses. But the soul is the cause of its body alike in all three senses which we explicitly recognize. It is (a) the source or origin of movement, it …
- Tahirih’s Insight into the Inner Nature of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh There are those who speak about Tahirih's eloquence and charm, the very qualities which garnered her universal veneration. There are those who believe that Tahirih was perhaps the world's first "suffragette", the very element which reverber…
- The “Point of the Beginning” and the “Seal of the Prophets”: An analysis of the well-known Qur’anic verse (33:40) and of the consequences of its misinterpretation by Islamists It is revealed in Chapter 18 verse 109 of the Qur'an that "If the ocean were ink wherewith to write out the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted than would the words of my Lord, even if we added another ocean like it, for i…
- The Báb’s Commentary on the Hadith of Kumail: What is Reality? According to this Tradition, Kumayl asked the Imam `Ali: "What is Reality?" `Ali at first demurred from answering and gave what appeared to be evasive responses. But after two or three such exchanges, he eventually gave a series of replies …
- The Dynamics of Growth: Factors which Impact the Growth of the Bahá’í Faith: Application of Analogies and Metaphors See also Crystallization of the Bahá'i Worldwide Community. The Bahá'í Faith, has achieved an impressive worldwide expansion for a religion which had its beginning in mid nineteenth century. Despite this remarkable spread, the Bahá'í Faith …
- The Evolution of Man: Unity of Mankind The origin and the theory of evolution of man have received great attention and has been subject of an ongoing debate within the scientific and religious communities. The position of any of these two groups seems to be irreconcilable and ha…
- The Land of Za’farán (ard-i-za’farán) in the Bábí-Bahá’í Scriptures One of the more obscure visionary landscapes in the spiritual topography of Islamic gnosis and mysticism, which has also found mention in the Bábí-Bahá'í scriptures, is a perfumed and redolent earth, called the land of Saffron/Za'farán, or …
- The New Concept of God in “Some Answered Questions” Undoubtedly, God is a fundamental conception for religions in general and Abrahamic religions in particular. Prior to Renaissance, this conception was clear and acceptable for religious people, but after Renaissance God of Abrahamic religio…
- The Origin and Evolution of Mankind as Elucidated in the Writings of `Abdu’l-Bahá See also Part I Part IIDiscussion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's statements in regard to the evolution of man: 'Abdu'l-Bahá's statements concern philosophical issues rather than scientific ones. "The materialistic philosophers of the West ... the philo…
- The Path of God: Declaration Towards a Global Ethic and the Bahá’í Faith, Parts 1 and 2 1. PART I In this first part of the presentation, the Global Ethic will be compared with the Bahá'í Faith; this comparison was suggested by the commentary of the German theologian Hans Küng, who prepared the text of the `Declaration Towards…
- The Unity of Man and God in Gems of Divine Mysteries, the KitábiIqán and the Seven Valleys There is a connection between the concept of unity [tawhíd] of man with God and the path that the manifestation of God suggests to him in order to develop this process which will ultimately lead to his purification. A careful study of Gems …
- Theory of the Origin and the Evolution of Mankind: A Scientific Perspective See also Part II The origin and the theory of evolution of man have received great attention and been the subject of an ongoing debate within the scientific and religious communities. The position of any of these two groups seems to be irre…
- Unity in Diversity: Toward a Correlation of the Bahá’í Perspective with current empirical findings in the social science literature As a global community uniquely and entirely centred on the achievement of unity (while emphatically rejecting uniformity), whose "watchword" is bindingly said in its authoritative writings to be "unity in diversity", the Baha'i community ma…
- Vorurteile, Normen, Wertesysteme im Wandel: Grundlagenerziehung in den Religionen und die Aufgabe der Bahá’í
- War Goethe ein Bahá’i im Geiste?: Versuch einer undogmatischen Symbiose aus dem Geist “großer” Menschen der Vergangenheit mit einer Religion von heute
- Wie das Wissen zur Falle werden kann: Die zweierlei Arten von Wissen im Buch der Gewissheit
- `Abdu’l-Bahá and Professor T. K. Cheyne Some time after October 23, 1913, `Abdu'l-Bahá sent a Tablet to a certain Professor T. K. Cheyne (1841-1915) in Oxford, England. The early American Bahá'í magazine Star of the West published the complete Tablet in its Persian section and in…
- A Commentary on Fire Tablet The Fire Tablet presents the best exemplar of a spiritual journey, one taken by Bahá'u'lláh from His human station upward to His divine seat, where His clay of self is melted in reunion with God. The reader of the Tablet is invited to accom…
- A Comparative Study of Early American Baha’is interpretation of Bible and Interpretations in Some Answered Questions
- A Comparison of Western Democracies with the Concept of Governance in `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Writings The twentieth century witnessed the emergence of many forms of governments, some of which subsequently collapsed or changed. The origin of democratic governments in the modern times goes back to about 300 years ago. By the end of the twenti…
- A Review of a Number of the Scientific Concepts Presented in Some Answered Questions The Bahá'í Faith acknowledges that although the Manifestations of God are the repositories of all truth, including scientific facts, their principal roles have been the education of mankind and the establishment of ethics for the creation o…
- And It Came to Pass: the Báb and the Fulfillment of Shí’í Islamic Messianism (Part 1) The Báb fixed very, very precisely, to the exact minute, the time of the onset of the New age and non-literally understood "Day of Resurrection" (yawm al-qiyáma). According to Persian Bayán the "Day of God" commenced on the evening of May 2…
- And It Came to Pass: the Báb and the Fulfillment of Shí’í Islamic Messianism (Part 2) See full abstract under Part One, above.
- Another Modern-Day Messiah: Sulayman Al-Murshid and the political theology of ‘Alawi separatism in French Mandatory Syria This presentation begins by briefly reviewing the 'Alawis as a heterodox Shi'i movement and their theology and Shared features with Bábí and Bahá'í theology would be noted. Then it would treat the French policies towards the 'Alawis after W…
- Baha’i Perspectives on Human Rights
- Beantwortete Fragen Eine philosophische Perspektive
- Beyond the Concept of Evil: A Methodology for Multidisciplinary and Multicultural Ethical Decision-Making Ethical decisions have been historically based on considerations of "good" and "evil", but this dualistic outlook is no longer valid facing the complex issues facing modern medicine. The dualistic outlook has been rejected by 'Abdu'l-Bahá i…
- Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: Chapter 31 of Some Answered Questions In Chapter 31 of "Some Answered Questions", 'Abdu'l-Bahá gives a commentary on a verse from the Gospel of St Mathew: "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy G…
- Comprehension of Truth From the Perspective of Elucidations in “Some Answered Questions” Comprehension of truth and its methods have attracted the thinkers since ancient time in the history of thought. Epistemology is one of the classical fields of knowledge. Man, based on the method which gains his knowledge, is depended to a …
- Glimpses into the Life of Laura Dreyfus-Barney: Part 1 This paper is an attempt to present glimpses into the life of Laura Dreyfus-Barney (1879-1974), a keenly intelligent woman with an inquisitive mind. She made several trip to Akka and during her visits requested 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who was confine…
- Glimpses into the Life of Laura Dreyfus-Barney: Part 2 See Part 1, above.
- Globalisierung vor dem Hintergrund der Baha’i-Schrift
- Gründe für den großen Erfolg der Sendung des Báb in der Frühzeit des Glaubens
- Health, Science and Technology Concepts in “Some Answered Questions” The paper will survey two talks in "Some Answered Questions" in which the topics of medicine and different treatment modalities are discussed. 'Abdu'l-Bahá stresses the inadequacy of present day knowledge of medical science and emphasizes t…
- Holy Spirit in Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith `Abdu'l-Bahá frequently prayed for the friends that the Holy Spirit would assist them in all their endeavors. "At present, thou hast a lofty aspiration, and hast the desire to engage in every service. My hope is, that through a heavenly pow…
- Identifying Roots and Mechanisms of Religious Prejudice: Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings on the 12th Imám The alleged physical existence of a 12th Imam who remains in hiding until the end of time lies at the heart of Twelver-Shiite theology and remains a key issue for legitimizing claims to both political as well as spiritual authority. Bahá'u'…
- In the Heart of All that is: Part 1 The "Heart," and the "City of the Heart," are central concepts in the Bahá'í Writings; and this presentation attempts to review a certain aspect of it. The title of the paper is taken from a prayer of `Abdu'l-Bahá; and another text from the…
- In the Heart of All that is: Part 2 See full abstract under Part One, above.
- Iranian Baha’is from Jewish Background: Recipients of Collective and Individual Tablets
- Islam aus Sicht der Baha`i - Einige Gedanken zu aktuellen Konflikten
- Labor Strikes and Disputes from the Perspective of Some Answered Questions In this paper the general question of labor-management dichotomy will be discussed from an economic perspective, based on the lesson number 78 in Some Answered Questions. Specifically, there are at least fifteen fundamental economic issues …
- Last Tablet of `Abdu’l-Bahá for the Bahá’ís in America: A Commentary Firmness in the Covenant is the heart of the last Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to America. Through this tablet 'Abdu'l-Bahá protects His faithful followers from the defection caused by egocentric drives and selfish aspiration of certain violators…
- Laura Barney Dreyfus, Author of Some Answered Questions
- Mani - Ein Prophet für 1000 Jahre: Auf den Spuren einer verschollenen gnostischen Weltreligion
- Methods and Qualities of the Seekers of Reality in “Some Answered Questions” in the light of Bahá’í Scriptures In "Some Answered Questions", 'Abdu'l-Bahá illustrates a number of criteria and qualities of the seekers of Reality. He mentions the senses, the method of reason, the text of the Holy Scriptures and the bounty of the Holy Spirit. He emphasi…
- News and Reviews from India No abstract was provided.
- On Science and Religion: Technology Ethical Issues and the Bahá’í Faith The essential harmony of science and religion is an underpinning principle of the Bahá'í Faith. For Bahá'ís, the absence of this vital principle reduces religion to a mere set of superstitions, bankrupt beliefs and ruinous rituals. Religion…
- Peace: Building a New Science on Classical Foundations The first premises of the normative field of peace studies can be said to be that "conflict is natural" and, as such, conflict is held to be necessary, inherent, basic, essential, beneficial and inevitable. Moreover, conflict is considered …
- Queen Mary of Romania and the Baha’i Faith
- Revelation and Reason in Some Answered Questions: A Correlation Method for Science and Religion Dialogue
- Some Answered Questions: A Philosophical Perspective By identifying and examining the philosophical positions explicitly and implicitly embedded in Some Answered Questions, this paper calls attention to the philosophical foundations of the Bahá'í teachings. The goal is to understand these tea…
- Some Answered Questions: Educational and Psychological Perspectives
- Some mystical themes in Some Answered Questions
- Spiritual Impact of Story Telling: A Psychological Analysis The phenomenon of telling and listening to stories is as old as the history of civilization. The great civilizers of humanity; its divine teachers have used story telling to educate and transform human reality. The stories of Job and Joseph…
- Spiritual Self George Herbert Mead (1934) is known as an eminent social psychologist who has made presentations and has written extensively about the concept of 'social self'. Through reviewing Mead's (1934) notion of self, this article endeavours to prov…
- Text, Author, Reader and the Relationship with the Sacred The purpose of this paper is to present the relationship which is going to be established between the reader, the author of a text, and the text itself. In this specific context we refer to a particular kind of text, namely the Sacred Text,…
- The Bahá’í Worldview on Unity of Religions: The Application of Principles and Insights from History
- The Concept of Holy and Sacred The concept that an object belonging to a Holy Person is also holy and sacred is a fascinating one. In this paper the concept or belief that a house, a piece of land, water and the like could be holy will be examined. The questions that mus…
- The Khutbas or literary “Sermons” of the Báb The Arabic word khutba has a range of senses in Islamic literatures. It is only loosely and inadequately defined by the western Christian terms "sermon", "homily" or "oration", etc. Within Islamic literary history khutba can indicate a much…
- The Long Obligatory Prayer: The Mystical Dimension Prayer and fasting have a long history in the religious life of humanity. The focus of this talk is prayer in general and specifically the Long Obligatory Prayer revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. An attempt will be made to put into historical and sy…
- The Use of Metaphors in the Kitáb-i-Iqán and Some Answered Questions `Abdu'l-Bahá states that one must use sensible metaphors in describing abstract intellectual and spiritual concepts. This method has been used amply in most of the Bahá'í Writings, and especially in the Kitáb-i-Iqán and Some Answered Questi…
- Was heißt “Fundamentalismus”? Fundamentalismus in Religion und Politik
- World Peace and Promise of World Peace This paper is advanced in four steps: (1) A statement of the problem regarding world peace is presented in the form of a challenge facing mankind that must be clearly identified as the most critical before any strategy for achieving peace c…
- “نظری بر آثار مبارÚ©ه در Ú©تاب “پیÚ© راستان
- A Brief review of the collection of the Writings addressed to Mulla Sadiq Muqaddas and his descendents
- A New look at Buddhism
- A review of Baha’u’lláh’s Tablet to Hertick
- A Review of the Mystical themes in the Long Obligatory Prayer
- A Soliloquy Performance: “Like a moth...” written by Sandra Jenkins
- Apocalyptic and the Bahá’í Writings
- Arts and the Sacred in Native America: Multimedia presentation
- Avoda Zara: Jewish Orthodoxy and the Bahá’í Faith
- Bahá’ al-Dín al-`Ahmili: A Bahá’í before Bahá’u’lláh and an initiate of the al-ism al-a`zam
- Bahá’ al-Dín al-`Amilí (d. 1030/1621): A Bahá’í before Bahá’u’lláh and an initiate of the al-ism al-a`zam (“The Greatest Name of God”)
- Bahá’í Plan of Action
- Baha’i-Offenbarung als Theokratie?: Die Aufklärung eines Missverständnisses
- Baha’is in Nazi Germany
- Bahá’u’lláh’s “Most Sublime Vision” This paper has been updated and published as Occasional Papers Volume 2.
- Comparative notes on Global Salvation in Judaism and in the Baha’i Faith
- Conferred Infallibility and the Will and Testament of `Abdu’l-Bahá: “Intrinsic characteristics and historical perspectives”
- Confucianism and the Baha’I Faith
- Das Gottesbild in den Baha’i-Schriften: Eine philosophisch-theologische Betrachtung
- Die ‘Grösste Trennung’: Baha’u’llahs Verkündigung gegenüber Mirza Yahya und den Babis
- Energie und Moral aus der Baha’i-Perspektive: Die Auseinandersetzung mit der Problematik von Energieversorgung, Umweltkatastrophen und wirtschaftlichen Motiven aus moralischer Sicht
- First Tablet in the second series of the Tablets of Divine Plan
- From Desolation to Deification: Some Comments on the Theological and secular meanings of the Arabic word Baha’ in Islamic and Bábi-Baha’i Literatures.
- Healthy personality in the light of Bahá’í Writings
- Heart, Brain, and Spirit
- Joseph and the Motif of the Garment of Joseph in the Qayyūmu’l-Asmá’ and other Bábí-Bahá’i Sacred Writings.
- Khutbah al-Jidda (Oration at Jeddah) of the Bab
- Long Obligatory Prayer, Mirror Neurons and Recent Findings in Neuroscience: A look at changes in human brain and character
- Man is man: `Abdu’l-Bahá on Human Evolution
- Maryam, Bahá’u’lláh’s loyal friend, loving cousin and faithful believer
- Messages of Shoghi Effendi on First Seven Year Plan: The first stage of the implementation of the goals of the Tablets of Divine Plan
- Panel Discussion on Minimalism and the Bahá’í Faith
- Panel Presentation on Post-Modernism and the Bahá’í Faith
- Persian title yet-to-be entered
- Persian title yet-to-be entered
- Postmodernism and the Bahá’í Faith
- Prayers and rituals in the Bahá’í Faith: A Tablet to Jináb-i-Mullá `Alí-Akbar fí Ardi’l-Alif
- Proactive Baha’i Theology: Shoghi Effendi’s Dispensation of Baha’u’llah
- Relativism and the Baha’i Writings
- Sacred Feminine at the Heart of the Bahá’í Faith: Multimedia presentation
- Schöpfung und Erziehung als Kontinuum
- Shoghi Effendi and Globalization
- Suratu’l-Mulk and the Suratu’i-Muluk: Part 3 See also Part 1 and Part 2.
- Suratu’l-Mulk and the Surau’i-Muluk, Part 2: Some Further Considerations See also Part 1 and Part 3.
- System Theory?
- Tablet of the Temple
- Tablet of Wisdom (Lawh-i-Hikmat): A study of Pre-Islamic sources on the relation of Greek Philosophers and Jewish sages
- Tablet to Jináb-i-Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar fí ardi’l-álif
- Textzusammenhang und Auslegung: Ein Fallbeispiel anhand eines Briefes Shoghi Effendis
- The Concept of justice in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi
- The Impact of two major works of Shoghi Effendi during a most turbulent period in 20th Century history
- The Master and the Professor: A Tablet of ‘Abdu’l Baha to T. K. Cheyne
- The Place of Mountains in the Monotheistic Religions
- The Rise of justice in the spiritual and secular life of man: An exposition on excerpts from The Advent of Divine Justice by Shoghi Effendi
- The Spiritual Quest for Identity: Reframing Race, Sexuality and Gender
- Towards a Theory of Baha’i Jurisprudence
- Vertrauenswürdigkeit ist das weite, breite Tor zur Ruhe und Sicherheit des Volkes: Eine Betrachtung im wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Kontext
- الواح تبلیغی در رابطه با استقرارشجره لاشرقیّه و لا غربیه در بسیط غبرا
- برنامه بهائی برای اقدام
- پسامدرنیزم و امر بهائی
- سفرهای حضرت عبدالبهاء به اروپا و آمریکا و ترویج جهان گرایی
- سلامت نفس از دیدÚ©اه آئین بهائی
- سیر کمال در اشعار مولوی
- مروری بر مضامین سورةالبیان
- معصیت و رستگاری
- مفهوم عدالت در آثار حضرت ولّی امرالله
- موضوع بعداً اضافه میشود
- نظری بر “نقشه هفت ساله اول”در آثار حضرت ولّی امرالله
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Writings in Turkish: A Preliminary Survey
- “Dispensation of Baha’u’llah” in the Light of Prevailing Conditions From 1926-1936, the beloved Guardian addressed seven messages to the Bahá'ís of the West. These messages have been compiled and published under the title of "The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh." One of these letters is named 'The Dispensation o…
- “مروری بر مندرجات “دور بهايی
- “نظری بر پيام ” ظهور عدل الهی
- A Comparative Study of Two Istidlaliyyih Texts: The Báb’s Dal’il-i- Sab’ah (Seven Proof) and Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i Iqán
- A Comparative Study of Two Istidlaliyyih Texts: The Báb’s Dal’il-i- Sab’ah (Seven Proofs) and Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i Iqán
- A preliminary survey of the press references to the Bábi and Bahá’í religions 1844-1932
- A review of the concepts of “Manifestation of God” in the Bábi and Baha’i scripture
- A review of The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah by Shoghi Effendi
- Alchemy in the Baha’i Writings: An Introduction
- An Open dialogue on “Poatmodernism and the Baha’i Faith”
- Ansätze einer neuen politischen Theorie Die Auseinandersetzung mit den Sendschreiben Bahá’u’lláhs an die Herrscher der Welt
- Baha’i Faith and Buddhism: Steps Towards an Ontological Rapprochement.
- Baha’i Writings and Buddhism: An Ontological Rapprochement Bahá'u'lláh teaches the essential oneness of all religions revealed by divinely sent Manifestations, one of Whom is the Buddha. This paper seeks to provide detailed illustrations of these teachings by showing that two different and apparent…
- Baha’u’llah in Edirne (Adrianopel) - Wichtige Ereignisse und dort offenbarte Schriften
- Baha’u’llah’s message to Pope Pius IX
- Baha’u’lláh’s Tablet to Maryam, the Crimson Leaf: An introduction and a provisional translation
- Baha’u’llahs Sendschreiben an die Könige und Herrscher - ein Überblick
- Baha’u’llahs Sendschreiben an Papst Pius IX
- Baron Rosen’s archives in the Russian Academy of Sciences Baron V. R. Rosen after his death left behind a vast collection of unpublished materials which among other things are of extreme value for the study of the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths as well as for research on the Bábí and Bahá'í studies in Eur…
- Biblical echoes in the Du`a al-simat (Prayer of the Signs): with some notes on the Commentary of Sayyid Kazim al-Husayni al-Rashti (d.1259/1843) and Babi-Baha’i intertextualities
- Birth and Early Development of Spiritual Assemblies in North America: A Study in the Writings of `Abdu’l-Baha The development of spiritual assemblies in North America started in 1899, just a few years after the same process was initiated in Iran. The early American Bahá'ís based their organization on four sources: (1) the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, which was a…
- Comparing the Dolgorukov Memoirs with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as ways of persecuting religious minorities
- Concept of charity in the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha
- Das Symbol des ‘Größten Namens’ und die Weltordnung Bahá’u’lláhs
- Die Bábí- und Bahá’í-Religion im Spiegel deutschsprachiger Veröffentlichungen der Jahre 1844 - 1921
- Die deutsche Ausgabe des Buches “The Summons of the Lord of Hosts” und die Übersetzungsproblematik
- For the Betterment of the World: Isl’ah-i-’Álam and the City of God
- For the Betterment of the World: Isl’ah-i-’Álam and the City of God
- From the Surat al-mulk to the Surat al-muluk, Part 1: Kingship and Religious Authority in Two Babi-Bahai Texts See also Part 2 and Part 3. The opening chapter of the Bab's Qayyum al-asma' (early 1844), one of his earliest writings, is known as the Surat al-mulk, or the Surah of the Dominion. In this weighty text, the Bab addresses kings in general, …
- Gottes Wort - der Schlüssel zur Welt
- Just War: From the Bahá’í Perspective This paper introduces the subordination of the individual will to that of the society as the social philosophy of the Bahá'í faith hence the consequences and implications of this attitude in the Bahá'í writings. Some Bahá'í views will there…
- Martyrdom in the Bábi Faith
- Millennial Expectation in Early Shaykhism: A review of the literature
- Minimalism and the Baha’i Faith: Part II
- Politisch-soziale Verhältnisse in den europäischen Großmächten zur Zeit der Entstehung der Sendschreiben Bahá’u’lláhs an die Könige und Herrscher der Welt
- Qur’anic Commentaries in the Bahá’í Writings
- Rural Development: A Bahá’í Perspective
- Shoghi Effendi, Ubiquitous Talisman of the Faith
- Sin and Salvation: Cogitations on Bahá’í and Christian Belief
- Some Aspects of the Shi`i-Shaykhí Universe and of the Persian and Arabic Writings of Sayyid Kázim al-Husayní al-Rashtí "Within the bosom of Islam (sadr al-islám) many were submerged in the ocean of idle fancies and vain imaginings. Subsequent to the Seal of the Prophets (khátam-i anbiyá') [= Muhammad] and to the purified [Twelver] Imams (a'imih-yi táhirín) …
- Super Babies: The Prophets of God Details of the early lives of the Messengers of God are sparse at best. Nevertheless, a common thread in religious scripture seems to be that the Divine Physicians showed remarkable talents even as young children. At the same time, we have …
- Tabernacle of Unity: A Book Review The purpose of this presentation is to familiarize the audience with the background and contents of a collection of five Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh that is being recently translated and published by the Universal House of justice, entitled The …
- Taking the Metaphors in the Bahá’í Writings to Heart The presentation will examine the significance and the role of metaphors, stories, parables and art in human transformation and happiness from a religious as well as scientific and psychotherapeutic perspective. References from the Bahá'í W…
- The Bahá’í Faith and the Challenges of the Modern Agriculture
- The Baha’is in Sari and the Constitutional Revolution in Iran
- The Form and Content of False Accusations in recent months
- The Grandeur of Islam and the Magnificence of the Qur’an: The Bab’s Dala’il-i Sab`ah (Seven Proofs and the Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i iqan (Book of Certitude) With the now widespread negative attitudes towards the Islamic religion and its founder Prophet Muhammad (d. 632 CE), it is fitting that Bahá'ís remind themselves of the grandeur of Islam and the magnificence of the Qur'án. They have the du…
- The Image of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the memoirs of Badi’ Bushru’i
- The Presence of the Heroic in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi and Nabil In his main historical works, God Passes By and The Promised Day Is Come, and unlike detached, "objective" academic histories, Shoghi Effendi made strong moral judgments of the characters he portrayed. Those who opposed the Bahá'í Faith and…
- The Sidrah (Lote Tree) and Sidrat al-Munataha (Lote Tree of the Extremity): Some Aspects of their Islamic and Babi-Baha’i Interpretation
- The Word is the master key for the whole world
- What is new about the Baha’i Faith?
- آيا تمدن سرزمين چين محروم از تعاليم مربيان الهی بوده است؟
- اهداف و وظايف محافل روحانی
- پاسخ به اعتراضات و حملات و شبهات جاری نسبت به امر و جامعه بهايی
- طرح حضرت عبدالبها برای ايرانی آباد
- فلسفه مينيماليسم و امر بهايی Also presented in English.
- مروری بر سوابق و محتويات لوح غنا
- مروری بر مفاهيم من يظهره الّله و مظهر ظهور الهی در آثار بابی و بهايی
- مروری بر مفاهيم و مندرجات لوح بشارات
- معتقدات بهائی در معرض نقد يا مخالفت؟
- A Comparative study of some of the Isma’íli and Bahá’í Theological concepts The talk explores the following subjects: the history of the Ismaili Movement/sect, their theology (Alamout- some of the key events, Hasan 'Ala zekrihi salam - and Post Alamout, sufi disguise), The Fatemis, the role of Nasir Khosrow and Has…
- A Historical review of the evolution of the concept of Guardianship
- A Study of `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Guidance About Governing Bodies
- Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablets to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace at the Hague In 1915, a year after the First World War, a group of people from 13 countries (12 European countries and the United States), constituted themselves as the Central Organization for a Durable Peace in Holland at The Hague. They published the…
- Alchemy in the Baha’i Writings: An Introduction
- American Indian Spirituality and the Baha’i Faith
- Art of Rhetoric in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi Shoghi Effendi's use of rhetoric, demonstrated mainly through epistolary, and also through table talks to pilgrims (1922-1957), corresponds to the ancient purpose of this "great prince" (Longinus) as speech/writing that aims to persuade and…
- Attributes of God: Jamal (Beauty) and Kamal (Perfection)
- Baha’i and Buddhism: Steps Towards an Ontological Rapprochement
- Bahá’í Faith in the Arabic Speaking Middle East, Part I (1753-1863) Even with this limitation, the paper would be more of a survey rather than an in-depth study. In future, at least two more papers might be prepared covering the periods 1868 -1892, and 1892 -1921. Beyond the academic aspect, the underlying …
- Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet to Manekji Sahib Also presented in Persian.
- Baha’u’llah’s teachings from the letter of negation (there is no God but God) to the letter of affirmation (He is God) How the letter of negation has affected the emphasis of Baha'i mysticism, resulting in a spiritual culture of interaction with the world rather than seclusion.
- Bahá’u’lláhs ‘Tablet vom Tigris’ (Sahífih-yi Shattíyih)
- Basic approaches to the problem of religious diversity: Exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism.
- Bridging between the gist of the epistemology of the Baha’i Faith and “Minimalism” The concepts of truth/reality in philosophy are closely related to the question of viable ways to obtain the knowledge of such concepts, with any degree of certainty. In this brief discussion, there will be an attempt to contrast the two do…
- Concept of “Process” in the Baha’i Writings
- Concept of Life in the Writings of Abdu’l-Bahá
- Concept of Truth-Seeking in the Course of History This presentation explores and compares the treatment of the problem of "truth" and the coterminous problem of "unity" amongst several ancient Greek, Neoplatonic, and Islamic thinkers, and then attempts to connect these various strands to t…
- Contemplating the beauty: Nature and the manifestation of God The purpose of this paper is to show how contemplation of Nature, and Beauty is a way of being in touch with the Manifestation of God. Our society seems to have neglected the idea of beauty as it was originally intended in the past: of cour…
- Das Konzept des Bösen aus Sicht der Bahá’í-Schrift
- Developing interreligious dialogue in the Bahai community: Further considerations In this paper, we suggest that the Bahá'í concept of continuity of revelation could form the basis of a deeper interreligious dialogue with other world religions. We attempt to apply it to central differences in the dialogue between Muslims…
- Die Schriften des Báb: Eine Einführung (voraussichtlich)
- Dimensions of Imam Ali’s Khutba al-Tutunjiyya (Sermon of the Gulf) and its Shaykhí, Bábí, and Bahá’í Interpretations Note: please see Lambden's website for a version of this abstract with proper diacritics and Arabic lettering The literary form of the Khutba, an Arabic word meaning `Sermon', `Oration', `Homily' or `Discourse', is important within Shi`i Is…
- Ein mystisches Gedicht Bahá’u’lláhs: offenbart im Síyáh Chál (Rashh-i-Amá)
- Englishing Scripture in the 21st Century: Comparative strategies for translating Bahá’u’lláh’s poetry
- Further Explorations in Baha’i Ontology: Ontologies of self and change In this paper/presentation, we shall continue our exploration of Bahá'í ontology that we began in "Bahá'í Ontology: An Initial Reconnaissance." We shall examine, among other things, issues related to becoming and change; substance, soul, se…
- Geistige und soziale Stršmungen in Deutschland zur Entstehungszeit der Baha’i-Religion
- General introduction to the English and Persian/Arabic Writings of Shoghi Effendi: Summary of the major themes The writings of Shoghi Effendi, written over a period of 36 years (1921-1957), constitute a unique collection of religious writings. These writings can be studied from several perspectives including their forms and content. From the perspec…
- Jails and Torture in Qajar Period in Tehran
- Lawh-i-Hikmat (Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet of Wisdom): Spiritual Materialism vs. Dialogical Thinking This commentary on Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet results in these tentative and preliminary conclusions: The primary focus of Bahá'í studies must by on the Writings of the Faith, and the philosophical understanding and interpretation need to follow …
- Letters of Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad Shirazi ‘the Báb’ to Muhammad Shah Qajar (Part I) The purpose of this paper is to examine Tablets of the Báb to Muhammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834-1848), whose reign covered the earlier years of the Báb's ministry (1844-1850). The Báb addressed at least four epistles to Muhammad Shah, most of wh…
- Letters of Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad Shirazi ‘the Báb’ to Muhammad Shah Qajar (Part II) The purpose of this paper is to examine the later Tablets of the Báb to Muhammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834-1848), whose reign covered the earlier years of Sayyid `Alí Muhammad the Báb's ministry (1844-1850). The Báb addressed at least four epistl…
- Mary Magdalene and the Resurrection of Jesus: Some ancient and modern traditions and Baha’i and Perspectives New Testament scholars generally regard Mary Magdalene a female contemporary of Jesus, one of his ardent admirers, and a Jewish woman who was the most important female figure within the New Testament relative to the genesis of the Jesus mov…
- Messianische Hintergründe deutscher Auswanderung in den Kaukasas (1817)
- Mysteries within Mysteries: Some Notes on the Teachings of the Báb’s Kitáb-i-Panj Sha’n Note: please see Lambden's website for a version of this abstract with proper diacritics and Arabic lettering In the Name of God,the Deity Most Divine (al-a'ilah), the Supreme Deity (al-a'ilah). I, verily am God, no God is there except Me, …
- New circusí as metaphorical embodiment of the mystical and the aesthetic with special reference to La Cirque du Soleil Self-indulgent, bourgeois kitsch or a new multi-media art form to rank with grand opera: is the 'new circus' an art form worthy of serious consideration? In recently discovering this new art form I have been deeply affected by its potential…
- Out of Jewish Roots: Studies of Prayer Patterns in Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Bahá’í Worship
- Persian title yet-to-be entered General introduction to the English and Persian/Arabic Writings of Shoghi Effendi which would include a brief summary of the major themes, as well as His major Writings and collections of His Writings.
- Persian title yet-to-be entered An analysis of the Kitab-i-Ahad and its relationship to passages in Kitab-i-Aqdas, Will and Testament, One Thousand verses and Dispensation of Baha'u'llah.
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- Persian title yet-to-be entered Includes a systematic method for studying the messages of the Universal House of Justice.
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- Persian title yet-to-be enterede Commentary of the Bab on Man Arafa Nafsieh fa qad Araf Rabeh and its relationship to the commentaries of Baha'u'llah and Master on the same topic.
- Religion and Exclusivism: A Baha’i Perspective The author presents a survey of the Bahá'í teachings on exclusivism on the ground of his understanding of the open letter addressed by the Universal House of Justice to the world's religious leaders in 2002 and the recent commentary prepare…
- Sabaeanism and African Traditional Religion and Some Christian Islamic and Bahá’í References According to the Bahá'í teachings, Sabaeanism is the oldest among the nine existing, major religions of the world. Two religious groups are referred to as Sabaeans - one group traces its origin to Seth and Enoch, and the other group is made…
- Seeds of Revelation and the Mystic Bond Between the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh: An Exposition on Excerpts From The Persian Bayán In the Persian Bayán, the Báb advised His followers on a number of subjects about essential elements of faith that covered a broad spectrum. They included attributes, conditions, warnings, spiritual reality, principles, nature of prayer, ex…
- Some Aspects of the Tafsir al-Bismillah from Abdu’l-Baha During His lifetime `Abdu'l-Bahá penned several illuminating and demanding commentaries on the meaning of specific Qur'ánic verses as well as Islamic traditions. His amazing exposition on the holy Islamic tradition "Kuntu Kanzan Makhfían", …
- Surat al-Dhikr of the Qayyúm al-Asmá’ (chapter 108): A provisional translation and commentary In this paper a preliminary and highly provisional attempt is made to understand and translate a Surah of the Qayyum al-Asma, the first book that the Báb revealed after His declaration in 1844. The 108th Surah, which is called the Surah of …
- Tahirih: A Portrait in Poetry
- Tahrif (“scriptural falsification”) and Tanzil (“divine revelation”): Some aspects of divine guidance through sacred Scripture One of the major features of the age-old polemical interaction between major Abrahamic peoples and religions of the Book has been the question of the sacredness, veracity and inspired or revealed nature of specific scriptures in the form of…
- The Analysis of the content of Kitab-i-Ahd and Relating it to the Passages in Kitab-i-Aqdas, Will and Testament, Tablet of One Thousand Verses and Dispensation of Baha’u’llah The analysis of the content of Kitab-i-Ahd and Relating it to the Passages in Kitab-i-Aqdas, Will and Testament, Tablet of One Thousand Verses and Dispensation of Baha'u'llah.
- The Arts and The Sacred in Native America
- The Báb and Baha’u’llah, John the Baptist, and Jesus in a Tablet Revealed in Adrianople
- The Commentary of the Báb on `Man Arafa Nafsieh fa qad Araf Rabehí in relation to the commentaries of Bahá’u’lláh and the Master 1) "Man Arafa Nafseih fa qad Araf Rabeh": The one who knows his own Self, that shall assuredly lead to the recognition of His Lord. The purpose of this presentation is to look at the significance of this Tradition in the Islamic scriptures …
- The Covenant Renewed: Perspective in Religious Revelation and History From the very beginning of time, God has had a special relationship with His creation, in which He has showered guidance and love upon mankind, promising that as long as man remains faithful and obeys Him, he will be safe from all spiritual…
- The Image of the Prophet of Islam in Muslim and Bahá’í Writings The Prophet Muhammad, the Founder of Islam, was born in 570 A.D. in Mecca amongst one of the least cultured and developed societies of His age and died in 632 A.D. in Medina. The image of this great Manifestation of God reaches us from thre…
- The Image of the Prophet of Islam in Muslim and Bahá’í Writings
- The Justification of the Binding Nature of Bahá’í Ethics Since human beings make conscious decisions, there have been questions such as "What is right and what is wrong thing to do?" or "How should I be?" Ethics are of no use, however, if people do not feel bound to adhere to them. So a different…
- The Khutba al-Tutunjiyya (Sermon of the Gulf) ascribed to Imam `Ali: Shaykhi, Babi and Baha’i Interpretations
- The Newly-Born Babe of That Day: Mysticism in the age of the maturity of humankind The author analyzes three dynamics conducive from the mysticism of nascent religions, involving the whole community of believers, to the mysticism of periods of spiritual decline, involving only elites of believers, estranged from organized…
- The Return of Apologetics: Apologetics parallels in the early Christianity, Islam and Bahá’í Faith The parallels between Christian, Baháíi and Muslim apologetics in the early phases of these religions based on their Holy Writ as well as the works of Abul-Fadl, Justin Martyr, Origen, at-Tabarí etc.
- The Style in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi
- Translation of the Baha’i Writings: Challenges and Opportunities
- Vital Role of the Universal House of Justice in destiny of humanity
- Voicing Authority: A Baha’i Perspective What significance does authenticity have for an artist and how might this understanding enhance an artist's practice? Drawing upon the work of three contemporary thinkers, Ken Wilber, Charles Taylor and John Miller, this presentation examin…
- Von Abraham bis Bahá’u’lláh: Der Bund Gottes in den Weltreligionen
- Zur Problematik historischer Forschung (voraussichtlich)
- اشعار حضرت طاهره
- اهمیت انصاف در اصول اخلاق بهایی
- سخنی در بارة لوح ملاّّ عبدالرزاق
- صفات خدا: جمال و Ú©مال
- لوح حضرت بهاءالله به مانکجی صاحب Also presented in English.
- مفهوم “شیعه” در آثار بهایی
- “Weder vom Osten noch vom Westen”: Islam und der Westen in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s “Das Geheimnis göttlicher Kultur”
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Commentary on the Islamic Tradition of “Hidden Treasure” (Kuntu Kanz): Historical Background
- `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet of the Universe - Aflákiyyih
- A Bahá’í Perspective on Superstition and Idol Worship: Some of its Implications in Some Selected Beliefs and Concepts In this article, a number of Bahá'í texts would be discussed and a (some) Bahá'í definition (definitions) (or understanding) of the concepts "superstition" and "idol worship" would be derived. With these shades of understanding as the yards…
- A Review of the Bahá’í Writings on the Concept of Reincarnation Belief in reincarnation, that is, the return of man's spirit or some aspects of his reality to the material world after death, has risen from 21% to 25% in the U.S. over the past decade. Believers in this concept are now found amongst the a…
- A Survey of the Tablets of `Abdu’l-Bahá in the National Bahá’í Archives, Wilmette `Abdu'l-Bahá addressed thousands of tablets to Bahá'ís in the United States, many of which ended up in the National Bahá'í Archives in Wilmette, either as originals, facsimiles, or copies of translations. While the originals have been colle…
- Abdu’l-Bahá’s “Tablet of the Two Calls” The earth seemed unearthly. We were accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there--there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were--No, they were not inhuman. Well, you kn…
- Abdu’l-Bahá’s “Tablet of the Two Calls” The earth seemed unearthly. We were accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there--there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were--No, they were not inhuman. Well, you kn…
- Abdu’l-Bahá’s Commentary on the “Hidden Treasure”
- Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet of Two Calls This Tablet introduces new ideas on subjects such as concept of progress, duties of governmental and religious institutions, concept of happiness, state of nature, human nature, and the attitude of the people towards government. These subje…
- Autobibliography in the Writings of the Báb: An Analysis of the Sources and their Theological Significance This paper will discuss four of the Báb's autobibliographical works; the Kitáb al-Fihrist, al-Kitáb al-`Ulamá, al-Khutba al-Dhikriyya, and al-Khutba fí'l-Jidda. I will relate my analysis of these texts to antecedents in Islamic - and especi…
- Bahá’í-Religion und die islamische Mystic (Sufitum)
- Beauty and Wonder from a philosophical and spiritual point of view The purpose of this paper is to focus the attention of the reader on the concept of beauty and the implication this has in one's life. Contemplating the beauty means coming closer to Bahá'u'lláh, one of His titles being the Blessed Beauty, …
- Chinese Tea and Spiritual Wayfaring in the Early Writings of the Bab Iranians knew of Chinese tea as early as the eleventh century AD and had started drinking it by the thirteenth century, after the Mongol invasion. However, coffee, not tea, was the beverage of choice for most Iranians until the nineteenth c…
- Der Anspruch des Bäb in Seinen früheren Schriften: Studien zum Schrifttum des Bäb 2. Teil
- Die Ethik der Forschung und des wissenschaftlichen
- Die Koran-Auslegungen des Báb: Studien zum Schrifttum des Báb 1. Teil
- Dynamic shift in theological and social aspects of religious systems: Reflections on the contributions of Persian Bayán and Kitáb-i-Iqán Aside from having very prominent positions among the writings of the Primal Point and the Blessed Beauty, both Persian Bayán and Iqán have revolutionized both abstract thinking and practical implications of almost every major theological do…
- Gentechnik und Ethik im Rahmen der Bio-Politik: Auf der Suche nach einem ethisch vertretbaren Standpunkt
- History, Mythos and Kerygma: Provisioning the Tale of the Promised Qa’im
- Interpretation of the Opening Words of the Qurían: A Comparative Study of the Islamic, Babi and Bahá’i Commentaries on “Bismillih”
- Ismailis, Yesterday and Today Yesterday The talk explores the following subjects: the history of the Ismaili Movement/sect, their theology (Alamout-some of the key events, Hasan 'Ala zekrihi salam- and Post Alamout, sufi disguise,) the Fatemis, the role of Nasir Khosrow…
- Louhelen Schoolís Plan and Programs
- Love: Why Creation Exists? The main gist of this presentation is about Love, Divine love, the purpose for creation and Love in the Writings. Basically God creates out of love. In the unapproachable station of His unknowable Oneness, The main gist of this presentation…
- Metaphors as Maieutics of Learning This paper examines the mappings of meanings of sets of metaphors in the Bahá'í writings to argue that they create spaces for reflection and creativity in a `maieutic' function of serving as midwives of learning. Building on Hatcher's (1987…
- Ontology: A Basic Survey, Explications and Commentary Like the sacred scripture of all religions, the Bahá'i Writings embody an ontology, that is, they contain teachings about the nature of what exists and the structure of reality. This paper is an initial survey and explication of the ontolog…
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- Power and the Bahá’í Community More than fifty years ago, Shoghi Effendi was writing that the thinking world has already caught up with the "great and universal principles enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh". He suggested that Baha'is needed to find ways of presenting to the worl…
- Preliminary Account of Shi’i Esoteric Commentary on the ‘Hadith-e Haqiqat’ The hadíth on the nature of ultimate reality is attributed to Hazrat 'Alí in conversation with Kumail ibn Ziyad al-Nakha'i, who figures in the Nahj al-Balagha as a confidante and recipient of the Imam's esoteric wisdom, and to whom is also …
- Prophetology in the Baháíi Faith and the Three Other Monotheistic Religions: A Comparative Approach Prophetology is an essential part in the theology of each of the four monotheistic religions. It deals with the unique nature, relevance, and credibility of the prophet as such, however also with the distinguishing features between previous…
- Role-models and anti-models: Islam and `the West’; in `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Treatise on Civilisation 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Treatise on Civilisation, known among the Bahá'ís as The Secret of Divine Civilisation, is one of the most interesting pieces of Bahá'í literature, Although Bahá'ís consider it to belong to the corpus of sacred scripture of t…
- Secularization: A Bahá’í Perspective What happens when the meaning of life no longer depends on divine Revelations? Does the search for transcendence end in the pursuit of worldly objectives? The modern man is frustrated. Dethroning of religion has not been successful in creat…
- Shoghi Effendi: An approach to his artistic contribution to style in English literature and to standards in translation As the 50th anniversary of Shoghi Effendi's passing approaches, it is timely to advance the assessment of his wide literary legacy, and particularly his contribution to the field of translation and to the development of high standards in ca…
- Signs of Prophethood: An exposition on a Tablet by `Abdu’l-Bahá In a rather short but particularly moving and powerful tablet `Abdu'l-Bahá defines a series of signs that show incontrovertible evidence of the Lord of Hosts. In a compressed form they cover a vast array of proofs as they apply to the reali…
- Spiritualizing Pedagogy: Mystical and Ontological Aspects of Bahá’í-inspired Education Can we create a spiritualizing pedagogy in a world that is culturally and religiously very diverse? Does the post-modern assertion that there can no longer be a (satisfying) grand narrative render such a project futile? In this presentation…
- Textual Resurrection: Book, Imam, and Cosmos in the Qur’án Commentaries of the Báb The Báb was a strong reader - some would say a strange reader - of the canonical texts of Islam. The bulk of his earliest writings were in the form of commentaries on these texts. In my presentation, I will discuss the radical notions of te…
- The Báb’s Dalá’il Sab`ah (Seven Proofs): Some Introductory Notes It was perhaps towards the middle or latter part of his nine-months imprisonment at Mákú (The Open Mountain) between July 1847 and April 1848 in Persian province of Adhirbayjan (in the NW of Iran), that the Báb revealed the Persian and the …
- The Báb’s Tablets to Muhammad Shah The purpose of this paper is to examine one or more Tablets of the Báb to Muhammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834-1848), whose reign covered the earlier years of Sayyid `Alí-Muhammad the Báb's ministry (1844-1850). The Báb addressed at least four epis…
- The Future of the Global Economy: How Much of it is Worth Preserving? This paper looks at the future of globalization and the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, from governments and corporations, to organizations of civil society and individuals. The paper views the process of globalization i…
- The God of the Bible and the God of Qur’án Christian theologians are writing many books against Islám. The objections they raise against Islám can be compared to a gigantic tree rooted in this concept: Alláh, as described in the Qur'án, does not resemble the true God. He is someone …
- The Import of Shoghi Effendi’s Writings for Bahá’i Studies This paper assesses the importance of Shoghi Effendi Studies for the developing field of Bahá'í Studies. It argues that the English-language writings of Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (1897-1957). the former head and Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith (1…
- The Life and Times of August Forel Swiss psychiatrist and entomologist, Dr. August Henri Forel, was the recipient of one of the most famous and well-studied Tablets from `Abduíl-Bahá on the subject of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, written in the last …
- The Persian Bayán: Form and Content (themes)
- The Spirituality of Cinematic Experience Cinema has been referred to as the one true art form developed in the 20th Century. What kind of connections might cinematic art be said to have with the social and spiritual teachings of the Bahá'í Faith? Mainly with reference to narrative…
- The St. Petersburg 19th Century Orientalist Collection of materials on the Babi and Bahá’i Faiths: Primary and other Sources
- Translation of al-Kitab al-Aqdas into Hebrew: Some notes on contents and style This paper deals with the issue of choosing the linguistic style for the translation of the Aqdas. It analyzes the contents of the Aqdas, both the mystical and the legal, and show that it must serve as the decisive factor for the choice of …
- True of Thyself: Firstness and Lastness, Outwardness and Inwardness (Ken Wilber’s Integral Philosophy seen in the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s mystical writings)
- كنز المخفية
- مروری بر حقيقت روح و موضوع تناسخ
- مروری بر مضامين لوح هودج
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Commentary on Bismilláh
- `Abdu’l-Baha and the Daughters of Ibn-i-Asdaq This paper is a study of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's tablets to the daughters of Hand of the Causen of God, Ibn-i Asdaq: Laqá'iyya, Huviyya, Rúhá and Talí`a. A number of these tablets will be discussed in detail and translations of them provided in Engl…
- Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet addressed to Abul-Fadl Gulpayegani in relation to the ascension of Bahá’u’llah
- An Early Shaykhi Reaction to the Claims of the Bab
- An Introduction to the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
- An Introductory Review of Bahá’u’lláh’s Lawh-i-Qina’ In 1867–68, Bahá'u'lláh addressed Karim Khan Kirmání in his Lawh-i Qiná` (Tablet of the Veil) in response to Kirmání's Risálah dar Javáb-i Su'alát-i Mulla Jamal-i Bábí (A Treatise in Response to Mulla Jamal-i-Bábí's Questions). The Lawh-i Q…
- Apologetik und interreligioser Dialog -- ein Widerspruch? Zur Person: Studium der Orientalistik, Neugermanistik, Philosophie und Islamwissenschaften an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (1978 - 1985). 1987 Promotion zum Dr. phil., Mitautorin von Schaefer, Towfigh, Gollmer "Desinformation als Methode - D…
- Báb’s Commentary on the Hadith al-Haqíqa (The Hadith about the Ultimate Reality): or the Tradition of Kumayl ibn Ziyad, al-Nakha’i The Hadíth al-Haqíqa ("Tradition concerning Ultimate Reality") or Hadíth Kumayl is the record of an alleged (Arabic) conversation between the first Shí'í Imám, `Alí b. Abí Tálib (d.40/661) and his Shí`í associate, the one-time governor of H…
- Baghdad-Periode aus historischer Sicht: Welche politische und soziale. Entwicklungen gab es im Osmanischen Reich wahrend dieser Periode? Zur Person: Necati Alkan studierte Arabischer Philologie, Islamwissenchaften und Geschichte. Derzeit beendet er seine Dissertation ueber die Babis und Bahá'is im Osmanischen Reich gemäß osmanisch-tuerkischer Quellen, zur Erlangung des…
- Baha’i Writings and the Process of Philosophy According to the Bahá'í Writings, all parts of creation are in a perpetual state of flux, actualizing their potentials, growing or decaying, advancing or retreating. History, both biological and human-cultural, is an evolutionary process th…
- Bahá’í-Beiträge zu einer kulturübergreifenden Bioethik Zur Person: geboren 1956, Bahá'í seit 1973, verheiratet, 2 Kinder Studium der Physik mit Schwerpunkt Biophysik und Genetik an den Universitäten Köln und Gießen. Diplomarbeit (1981) und Dissertation (1986) über die Risiken ultraviolett…
- Book of Bayan (Panel)
- Confucianism and Modern Chinese Morality
- Die Bahá’i-Religion als ein Phänomen der Moderne: Was verbindet die Bahá’i-Offenbarung mit der deutschen Philosophie und der neuzeitlichen Geistesgeschichte? Zur Person: Sie ist im Iran, lebt seit 1967 in Europa. Das Studium der Politikwissenschaft, Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie an der Universität Trier. Promoviert in Politikwissenschaft. Die speziellen Forschungsgebiete: Politische Ethik, Fr…
- Die frühesten Schriften Bahá’u’lláhs: eine übersicht (im Iran und Irak entstandene Schriften)
- Die historischen Ereignisse der Periode Teheran/Baghdad in der Bahá’i-Geschichte und eine allgemeine Einfuhrung in das Schrifttum dieser Zeit.
- Die wichtigsten Ereignisse der Bagdad-Periode: Zum historischen Hintergrund der frühesten Schriften Bahá’u’lláhs
- Divine Philosophy The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of the Manifestation of God as it is developed through the Sacred Writings of the main religions of the world. The powerful impact on civilization of Christ, Moses, the Buddha, or Muhammad…
- Early References to the Bábi and Bahá’í Religions in Spain (See also Part 2, Part 3, and Part 3, corrected.) This presentation will examine the sources for Bábí and Bahá'í history available in Span covering the years 1844 to 1947 (when the Bahá'í faith was established in Spain) discovered by the au…
- Evolution oder Schöpfung: zwei sich ausschließende Konzepte? Zur Person: Studium der Physik und Chemie in Hannover und Göttingen, Dissertation in präbiotischer Evolution, Forschungsarbeiten an der DNS-Struktur, und an biologischen Ionenkanälen. Zur Zeit Systemarchitekt in einer jungen Startup-Softwar…
- Exploring Insights from the Rational and the Sacred in Moral Action: Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals and the Limits of Pure Reason The story of the "deep and still existing dichotomy between the rational and the sacred"1 which arose during the Enlightenment, can be seen reflected in the work of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). His compelling insights into the necessity of a …
- From Secret of Divine Civilization to Treatise on Politics The book of Madaníyyah, "The Secret of Divine Civilization", was written by the Master in Akka in 1875 at the instruction of Bahá'u'lláh. In a Tablet, written in the voice of Bahá'u'lláh's secretary, it is stated that one day the Blessed Be…
- Globalization and the New World Order: Rethinking Social and Economic Development and the environment Much of the debate on the policy and institutional requirements of successful social and economic development in recent years is taking place against the background of the forces of globalization. Few issues in recent years have come to cap…
- Health and Nutrition in the Writings of `Abdu’l-Baha This paper will survey 'Abdu'l-Bahá's writings on medicine and health. It will discuss the teachings on a number of interesting and diverse areas including: the importance of health for spiritual development the material and spiritual signi…
- Kaleidoscope: Angelology and Colour Mysticism in Babi-Baha’i Scripture "Say: O my God! O my God! I supplicate Thee by the blood of Thy chosen Ones through whom the Countenances of the Supreme Concourse (mala' al-a`la) and the companions of the Crimson Ark (ashab al-safinat alhamra') hath been dyed crimson (ahm…
- Kuntu Kanz (Panel)
- Lawh-i-Aflakiyyih (Tablet of Universe) Also presented in Persian.
- Legal terms in the translations of Shoghi Effendi and in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas This presentation is in two halves. In the first half, the words which Shoghi Effendi renders as "law" or "laws" in his translations of the Baha'i scriptures are examined. The following terms are found: Sharí'ah or Sharí'at (plural shará'i'…
- Logic Chopping or Mystical Union: In what direction might Bahá’í-inspired philosophy of education go? ".the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which unites man with God.." LofG p.544 Logic-chopping = to bandy words; to altercate. "Chop-logic" is dialectic banter in which confinement to particular meanings of words leads to ludic…
- Model and Idols: Towards a New Philosophy of Community of Mind
- Of Camels, Sheep and the Prophet Muhammad: A Dream Interpretation by `Abdu’l-Baha Dream interpretation is an ancient and universal practice. Countless books have been written on the subject since the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks called it egkoimesis and the Romans incubatio. During the period of cla…
- On grading religions: A Baha’i perspective on developing interreligious dialogue though Baha'i texts explicitly affirm the validity of the major world religions, the idea of grading religious movements and theological developments is not alien to them. For example, aspects of Shiite and Sufi thought, some of Luther's re…
- Panel Presentation on “Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’” The Qayyúm al-Asmá' of the Báb, with special reference to the Súrat al-Mulk (QA.1 'The Surah of the Dominion') and the Surat Husayn (QA. 5 'The Surah of Husayn') Stephen N. Lambden The Qayyúm al-Asmá' is the first major work of Sayyid 'Ali …
- Pantheism: A Crossroads of Science and Religion There are two belief systems of pantheism. One school of thought, that of the ancient philosophers and Súfís, and their followers, believes that 'God is not a separate being, but is either the entire natural order or an aspect of the entire…
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- References to Karim Khan Kirmani and the Irshád al-’Avám in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán This paper will provide an introduction to Karim Khan Kirmani, his life, and his works, in order to contextualize his complex relationship to the Bábá and Bahá'í religions and their founders. The topic will be narrowed down by a closer exam…
- Religion als Gefahr für die psychische? Zur Person: Bernardo Fritzsche studierte Medizin in Sucre/Bolivien. In der Abteilung für medizinische Psychologie der Philips-Universität Marburg arbeitete er an seiner Dissertation über psychologisch orientierte Therapien zur Behandlung ch…
- Service, Joy and Sacrifice: An Essay on Commentaries by ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ Throughout the many talks that 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave to all types of audiences in His travels, He consistently interspersed the subjects of service and sacrifice. These presuppose basic choices that one must make in changing one's life from pre…
- Strong Readers of Sacred Texts: Babi-Bahá’i Semiotics
- Struktur des Kitab-i-Íqan: Universalisierung christlicher und islamischer Apologetik im Buch der Gewissheit Zur Person: Nach dem Studium der Elektrotechnik, der Promotion und einer betriebswirtschaftlichen Ausbildung war der Referent zuletzt in der strategischen Geschäftsplanung eines gro�en europäischen Halbleiterherstellers tätig. Heute arbeite…
- Tablet of the Seeker and Prerequisites of the Mi’ráj: The Kitáb-i-Iqán and the Irshád al-’Avám The much-loved so-called "Tablet of the True Seeker" in Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb-i Íqán contains a list of spiritual qualities necessary to attain the status of the "true seeker." Immediately before this section, Bahá'u'lláh makes referen…
- Tablett der Weisheit Zur Person: Sasha Dehghani wurde in Teheran geboren. Seit dem Abitur - Abschluß in Giessen (Hessen) studiert er an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität von Jena (FSU) Islamwissenschaft, Religionswissenschaft und Politikwissenschaft. Sei…
- The Approach of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the Problem of Tolerance Many times during our lives, we have faced the following question: "Is it necessarily a sign of intolerance to think that certain things are intolerable?" Or else in a different manner:" Does being tolerant mean tolerating everything?" A ph…
- The Bab’s Commentary on the Ultimate Reality The Hadíth al-haqíqa ("Tradition concerning Ultimate Reality") or Hadíth Kumayl is the record of an alleged (Arabic) conversation between the first Shí`í Imam, `Alí b. Abí Tílib (d.40/661) and his Shí`í associate, the one-time governor of H…
- The Báb’s Response to a Question about Lawh-i-Mahfúz (Preserved Tablet) In this presentation a synopsis and partial translation will be given of the brief (2 page), relatively unknown Arabic treatise of the Báb on the meaning of al-lawh al-mahfuz (The Preserved Tablet). This along with some aspects of the Islam…
- The Bab’s Sermon at Jeddah
- The Concept and Significance of “Manifestation” in the Writings of the Bab
- The Images of Christ in the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: (cross-published as Occasional Papers Vol. 1) `Abdu'l-Bahá in his talks and letters addressed to the believers of the West referred most of the time to Christ. His audience being in majority Christians could better relate to, and understand, the Master's message through Christian examp…
- The Long Obligatory Prayer: A linguistic and theological exploration This paper will look at the Baha'i concept of obligatory prayer, introduce the history and significance of the Long Obligatory Prayer, and carry out a detailed commentary on some of the allusions and implications of the text of this importa…
- Uber Grundlagen und Ziele der Bahá’i-Gelehrsamkeit Zur Person: geboren in einer Bahá'í-Familie wuchs ich in Stuttgart auf. Studium der Psychologie an den Universitäten Tübingen und München mit Abschluß als Diplom-Psychologin. Anschließend Weiterbildung zur Klinischen Psychologin…
- Unity and Progressive Revelation: Comparing Bahá’í Principles with the Basic Concepts of Teilhard de Chardin About a decade before Teilhard de Chardin's death (1881-1955) and the posthumous publishing of his books, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith wrote these words in 1949: "The world has at least the thinking worldcaught up by now…
- Verborgene Worte von Bahá’u’llah Zur Person: Geb. 1934, ab 1957 Architekturstudium an der TU Graz, 1964-69 Praxis und wissenschaftliche Tätigkeiten in der BRD. 1969-75 Proffessor für Architektur und Raumordnung an der Universität Teheran/Iran. Seit 1975 wieder in í–sterrei…
- Versöhnung und Dienstbarkeit als Grundkategorien des Wirkens der Bahá’i-Gemeinde in der Welt Zur Person: Ulrich Gollmer, Studium der Politikwissenschaften, Geschichte und Soziologie (MA). Seit 1980 als Lektor im Bahá'í-Verlag. Mitautor von Schaefer, Towfigh, Gollmer "Desinformation als Methode - Die Bahá'ismus-Monographie des F. Fi…
- مظهریت در آثار حضرت اعلی
- نظری اجمالی بر مندرجات صحیفۀ عدلیه
- نظری بر محتوای لوح مبارک افلاکیه Also presented in English.
- Alwah-i-Hizar Bayti (Tablets of One Thousand Lines)
- An Exposition of the Tablet of the World (Lawh-i-Dunyá) In an effort to fully appreciate the historical significance of the Tablet of the World, this essay first portrays the developing conditions in Persia and in the world that preceded the Lawh-i-Dunyá. It then expounds the salient points of t…
- An Introduction to the Writings of the Bab Scope of the Writings of the Báb In term of the number of works in the light of statements made by the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi Various modes Major woks of different periods The challenges concerning the authenticit…
- Aspects of the Prophetology (nubuwwa) and Theophanology (mazhariyya) of the Báb, Some
- Bahá’i Theology and a Global Theology of Religion
- Bahá’u’lláh’s Lawh-i-Maqsud: Counsels on Education, Leadership, Justice and Peace The Lawh-i-Maqsud, addressed by Bahá'u'lláh to a certain Mirza Maqsúd (a Persian believer residing in Syria), is a momentous tablet revealed in the late Akká period, circa 1880-1881 at Bahji. Dictated to His scribe-in-attendance (Mírzá Aqá …
- Call into Being: A Prolegomena to a Baha’i Existentialism
- Commentary on Bahá’u’lláh’s Epistemological Approach to Cosmological Questions in the Lawh-i-Hikmat Metaphysical questions concerning cosmology (i.e., the nature and structure of the universe) and cosmogony (i.e., the origin of the universe ) are of perennial interest and are discussed throughout the Bahá'í Writings. Bahá'u'lláh occasiona…
- Comments and Interventions
- Comparable Laws: Two Different Dispensations: The Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Bayán Is there a relationship between the laws revealed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and those revealed in the Bayan? What are the laws that were revealed in the Bayan, and abrogated by Bahá'u'lláh? Which ones does His Holiness Bahá'u'lláh corroborate? D…
- Consultative Seminar on Translation of Scripture: Linking the Persian Bayán to Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Aqdas
- Conversion Accounts in Babi-Baha’i Chronicles
- Earthing Heaven
- Epistle to the Son of the Wolf According to the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, this magnificent Tablet was revealed one year before Bahá'u'lláh's ascension. Among the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh this Tablet occupies a significant position; for , that reason Shoghi Effendi…
- From Madaniyyih to Siyassiyyih: A Baha’i Vision of Governance
- Lawh-i-Ard-i-Bá and its relation to the Station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Lawh-i-Ard-i-Bá was revealed in Akká in 1879 in honor of 'Abdu'l-Bahá at the wake of the 'opening of the doors of the Prison city'. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had traveled to Beirut referred to as Ard-i-Bá (Land of Bá), 'Bá' being the letter 'B' in the…
- Lawh-i-Ittihád (Tablet of Unity) This Tablet was revealed in the later years of Akká period by Bahá'u'lláh in honor of Siyyid Asadu'lláh, from the city of Rasht. In this Tablet five levels or aspects of unity are described: unity of religion, unity of speech, unity of deed…
- Motif of Joseph’s Garment in Islamo-Biblical and Babi-Baha’i Scripture: With a translation and Commentary on the Surat al-Qamis of Baha’u’llah
- Prophetic Law: Linking the Persian Bayán to Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Aqdas
- Qayyum al-Asma` as mytho-historical symbol in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi
- Quaternities of the Writings of the Bab: A Study in Babi and Baha’i Symbolism
- Social Justice According to the Divine Standard The purpose of every religion has been to promote unity among all the peoples of the world. All the major religions have taught the "Golden Rule" as a standard for social justice at the interpersonal level. Justice at this level appears as …
- Surah Al-Shams, The Sun This Tablet was revealed in response to queries of Shaykh Mahmúd, the religious judge of Akká. He had requested for an explanation of a Surah (chapter) of the Qur'án called the Sun. This Tablet is revealed entirely in Arabic. Shaykh Mahmúd …
- Súrah al-Sultán, The King This relatively long Tablet which is entirely in Arabic appears to have been revealed in Akká because in one passage Bahá'u'lláh refers to His calamities and exile in a land where no one was allowed to enter, which is reference to pilgrims …
- Súrat Adh-Dhir, Surah 108 of Qayyumu’l-Asma
- Súrat al-qamis (Súrah of the Garment) of Bahá’u’lláh
- Súrih-yi-Vafá (Tablet to Vafá) Among the tablets revealed in Akká after the revelation of Kitáb-i-Aqdas is the tablet to Vafá known as Muhammad Husayn of Shiráz. The Tablet holds essential keys to a few important themes in the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. These weighty sub…
- Tablet of Bismilih This Tablet is revealed in Akká partly in Persian and partly in Arabic. From the content appears that it is revealed to. some one who had harbored some enmity towards the Faith. Bahá'u'lláh admonishes him to turn his face towards the messag…
- Tablet to the Pope During the last years of Edirne period and early years of Akká era, Bahá'u'lláh's public declaration of His station to the rulers and monarchs of the time attained its zenith. Never before, during any of the past dispensations, were the lea…
- Tafsir-i-Súri-yi Núr (Commentary on Qur’an’s Chapter of Light)
- The Arc of New Covenant
- The Aristotelian Substratum of the Bahá’í Writings
- The Bab’s Commentary on the Verse of Light
- The Bab’s Risala fi’l-jasad al-nabi (Treatise upon the Body of the Prophet Muhammad)
- The Bab’s Tablet to Sultan Abdulmecid: Some Notes on Early Bábís in the Ottoman Empire
- The Bab’s Treatise on the Translocation of the Body of the Prophet Muhammad: An Introduction, Translation and Commentary
- The Chapter of the Slave: Some problems in the translation and analysis of the Surat al-Abd, Chapter 109 of the Qayyumu’l-Asma’
- The Ocean of Acceptance At the heart of the covenant are the acts of recognition and obedience. Bahá'u'lláh states "The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws ... …
- The Order of Bahá’u’lláh (nazm-i-Bahá’u’lláh) in the Báb’s Persian Bayan
- The Role of “the Feminine” in the Writings of the Bab
- Uncovering the Secret of the Line (sirr as-satr) See a later, expanded version of this paper at bahai-library.com/mccants_grammar_divine.
- “By the Fig and the Olive”: A Tablet of `Abdu’l-Bahá in Ottoman-Turkish on the Quranic Sura 95 For the first time an Ottoman-Turkish Tablet by `Abdu'l-Bahá will be presented. The original text appears in a collection of Tablets and Prayers by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Ottoman-Turkish . `Abdu'l-Bahá comments on the verse By the Fig and the Oliv…
- “For The Love of My Beauty”: Love, Art and Attainment in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh This presentation examines the importance of beauty in the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh as a name and attribute of God. It explores the relationship of beauty, artful expression, and love to the spiritual progress of the soul and human society…
- A Prolegomenon to the Study of Babi and Bahá’i Scriptures: The importance of Henry Corbin to Babi and Bahá’i Studies During his lifetime Henry Corbin was the foremost Western authority on the Islamic philosophy of Persia and ranks among the most influential Islamicists of the 20th century. His work has unique relevance in understanding the philosophical c…
- A Short Review of the Mystical Meanings of Some of the Terms Used in Bahá’u’lláh’s and Rumi’s Mathnavis A number of terms and expressions with mystical connotations are used in both Bahá'u'lláh's and Rumi's Mathnavis. These terms carry various levels of meanings and interpretations. An attempt will be made to present some of these meanings an…
- Alwáh-i-Ra’ís (Tablets Addressed to the Ottoman Prime Minister) A brief historical background of the revelation of these Tablets, Súrih-i-Ra'ís and Lawh-i-Ra'ís, and their addressees will be followed by the topical analysis of their contents. Ra'ís, which means the head, president or ruler, refers to th…
- An Introduction to Kabalistic Mysticism
- Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet to Manikji Sahib: Introduction and provisional translation Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch Bahá'u'lláh
- Cherubim, Seraphim and Demythologization: Some aspects of Babi-Bahá’i angelology and the mala’ al-a`la (Supreme Concourse) The English word "angel" derives from the Greek angelos and basically signifies, like the Biblical Hebrew mal'akh which it often translates, `messenger'. On the most basic level angels are divine messengers though the word "angel" indicates…
- Cosmos and Chaos: Myth, Creation, and the Bahá’í Administrative Order One of the most significant developments in the 20th century study of religion has been the increasing attention given to the importance of myth, a term used here in its sense of "sacred narrative". As an instrument in the structuring of a …
- Exposition on the Fire Tablet by Bahá’u’lláh (Lawh-i-Qad Ihtaráqa’l-Mukhlisun): An Exegesis This tablet reveals a mystical intercourse between the twin stations of Bahá'u'lláh, human and divine, that expresses a powerful message of victory and great promise. To understand the Fire Tablet it is essential to know of events and condi…
- Hallowing of the critical and the blessedness of creativity: via `spiritualization as dialectical process’ as the mystical heart of education "The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of mystery." Huston Smith 1 If the purpose of the Revelation of Bahá'u'llah is to bring about the spiritualization of humankind then the processes of education and learning must …
- Kitáb-i-`Ahdí (Bahá’u’lláh’s Book of Testament) The Lord willed the spiritual creation of man through divine education and purification so that he would become worthy of recognizing some aspects of His stations. Bahá'u'lláh in tablet states that love has been the primal reason behind the…
- Knowledge, Certitude, and the Mystical Heart: The Hidden Essence of God’s Word In the first lines of the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Bahá'u'lláh writes of attaining "true understanding." He notes that those who thirst for certitude must "cleanse themselves of all that is earthly," and "Then will they be made worthy of the ef…
- Lawh-i- Karmil (Tablet of Carmel) In the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahá'u'lláh, after citing the prophetic references made in the Psalms and the Books of Isaiah and Amos, concerning Akka, Jerusalem, Palestine and Zion, states: " Carmel, in the Book of God, hath been d…
- Ling Ming Tang and the Influence of Babi and Bahá’i Teaching This paper is based on the written and oral sources from Ling Ming Tang, a Sufi Order in Northwest China and explores the possible historical linkage between the followers of Babi and Bahá'i Movements in Iran and the believers of a Qadiriyy…
- Markiz al-Marakiz: Qazvin and the Babi/Bahá’í historiographical tradition During the Safavid era, the city of Qazvin became an important center of historical writing. This was partly a result of Shah Tahmasp moving the capital city from Tabriz to Qazvin. Consequently, several historians composed their chronicles …
- Mystical Themes in Bahá’í Obligatory Prayer Prayer is an act of reverent petition to God. It is an act of devotion, confession, praise and thanksgiving. It is about communion with the Object of our adoration. Prayer means adoration, praise of man for God and special attention to Him,…
- Mysticism and the Bahá’i Community In this paper, we will examine five characteristic features that are common to mystical orders whether these be in Buddhism, Christianity or Islam: 1. A hierarchical structure with a leader who is regarded as being farthest along the spirit…
- Mysticism in the African Traditional Religion and the Bahá’i Faith: classification of Concepts and Practices Both African Traditional Religion (ATR) and the Bahá'i Faith (BF) originate from the same source, God, but at different times in the evolution of humankind. The former precedes the latter in time. Since God is the source of mysteries and is…
- Notes about the Lawh-i-Ra’is and the Lawh-i-Fuád, Some
- Seven Valleys and the Scientific Method The Seven Valleys, which in the words of Shoghi Effendi "describes the seven stages which the soul of the seeker must needs traverse ere it can attain the object of its existence", is Bahá'u'llah's "greatest mystical composition". And yet, …
- Súriy-i-Haykal (Súrih of the Temple): A Review Súriy-i-Haykal (Súrih of the Temple) has been designated by the Beloved Guardian as one of the most challenging works of Bahá'u'lláh. This Tablet was first revealed in Adrianople, then with a few minor changes was re-revealed in 'Akká aroun…
- Tablet of Glad-Tidings as a “Proclamatory Aqdas,” The On 22 January 1891, Bahá'u'lláh ordered the Tablet of Glad-Tidings (Lawh-i-Bishárát) to be sent to E. G. Browne at Cambridge. The prefatory note by one of Bahá'u'lláh's sons, Mírzá Badí`u'lláh, written on folio 1a of F.25(9) in the Browne M…
- Tablet of Visitation for the Báb Most Bahá'ís know of only one Tablet of Visitation for the Báb, which is comprised of several brief selections from Bahá'u'lláh's writings compiled by Nabíl at the request of `Abdu'l-Bahá. In a well-known volume of Persian and Arabic Tablet…
- Tablets Surah Al-Shams, The Sun: This Tablet was revealed in response to queries of Shaykh Mahmúd, the religious judge of Akka. He had requested for an explanation of a surah (chapter) of the Qur'an called the Sun. This Tablet is revealed entirely …
- Tablets of Salman II and Pisar-’Amm (The Issue of Sufferings of the Manifestations of God) Lawh-i-Salman This short Tablet was revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in honor of Salman in the first few months after His sojourn to 'Akká (1867). The Tablet opens with a description of unspeakable hardships engulfing Bahá'u'lláh and His companions.…
- Tablets with Mystical and Philosophical Themes: Hikmat (Wisdom), Ru’ya (Dream), and Burhan (Reason) Tablet of Hikmat (Wisdom): This Tablet is arguably the most important philosophical Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh. In the early centuries of Islam, in particular during the Abbasid dynasty, many works of famous Greek philosophers were translated in…
- The Mystical Dimensions of the Bahá’i Administrative Order Writing in the 1930's Shoghi Effendi stated that there are features and relationships in the Bahá'i Administrative Order that will be defined and analyzed by future generations. This article is a study of one such feature; that is, the myst…
- The Mystical Heart of Knowing: Toward a worthy, Baha’i-inspired, epistemological model (God's) purpose, however, is to enable the pure in spirit and the detached in heart to ascend, by virtue of their own innate powers, unto the shores of the Most Great Ocean. (Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Page: 71) The larger the island of knowle…
- The Parable of Majnun and Layli The story of Layli (Layla) and Majnun is the classic love tale of the Middle East which is also prized by Sufi mystics as a profound spiritual allegory of the soul's search for and ultimate union with God. The Persian poet Nizami collected …
- Theological Responses to Modernity in 19th Century Middle East: The Examples of Bahá’u’llah and Muhammad ‘Abduh This paper discusses two theological responses to Western modernity in 19th century Middle East. It presents the responses that are given by Bahá'u'llah (1817-1892) and Muhammad 'Abduh (1849-1905). 'Abduh is undoubtedly one of the most infl…
- True Unity: Divinity and Manifestation One of the basic principles of Bahá'í theology, and an essential factor in the Bahá'í belief system, is the principle of true unity as mentioned and interpreted in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. One can hardly find a Tablet in which this uniq…
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Commentary on the Qur’ánic Verses Concerning the Overthrow of the Byzantines: The Stages of the Soul This paper is a translation and commentary upon a work of' 'Abdu'l-Bahá in which lie give a mystical commentary upon the first few words of the thirtieth Surah of the Qur'án, the Surah of' Rum. These words refer to the overthrow of the Byza…
- A Presentation on the Tablet of Ishráqát The Tablet of Ishráqát is primarily a discussion of the functions of the Universal House of Justice. Different parts of the tablet constitute an organic whole and a coherent discourse. The paper will emphasize the unity of the tablet, the q…
- A Review of Kitáb-i-Badí’ (The New Book) Kitáb-i-Badí', one of the longest writings of Bahá'u'lláh in Persian, was revealed in Adrianople in defense of His Cause. This book addresses the accusations brought against Him and His cause in a letter by a Bábí, Mírzá Mehdi, who had lent…
- A Solution to the Ethnic Identity Problems in Swedish Schools with the Help of Bahá’í Material The center of the Christian Syrian community in Sweden in the town of Sodertalje, situated 45 kilometers southwest of Stockholm. The Syrian-Orthodox church in this town has two bishops who are spiritual guides to a community of growing affl…
- Apophatic Scholarship: When the Pen Breaks and the Ink Leaves but a Blot If God is beyond the description of aught except Himself; if the Word of God transcends words and letters; if true Understanding shatters discourse, what point is there to Scripture, let alone to scholarship. If knowledge is but a point whi…
- British Bahá’ís and the Western Mystical Tradition This paper is taken from a larger work that applies Sperber and Wilson's theory of the principle of relevance to the Bahá'ís in the British Isles prior to 1930. The theory is based in linguistics but goes beyond that discipline to explore t…
- Correlating Mystical Experience to the Knowledge of God In the dual perspective of philosophical theology and the psychology of religion, this paper makes the argument that mystical experience and theology ("the knowledge of God") are not two distinct and unrelated forms of activity, but rather …
- Defining Bahá’í: A Sect, a New and Independent World Religion, or the Changeless Faith of God? Who is to define whether Bahá'í is an Islamic sect, a new religious movement, a religion, a new and independent world religion, or the changeless Faith of God? According to some researchers (Pike & Harris) one useful and important methodolo…
- Fundamentalism and the Bahá’í Faith: The Chapter Karen Armstrong Might Have Written in Her Book The Battle for God We live in a troubled world characterized by warring ideologies as well as warring peoples. Such conflicts traditionally include rationalism and faith, where "faith" is seen as "Churchianity" and its jurisprudence and authority as repressiv…
- Justice, Fairness and the Meekness of God This presentation would discuss the distinction and confluences of the concepts of fairness and justice as are found in the Bahá'í Writings. While justice is an attribute primarily urged upon rulers, scholars and the learned have been given…
- Keys to the Proper Understanding of Islam in The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, Shoghi Effendi's concise statement of the fundamental verities of Bahá'í belief, contains a number of important keys which lead Bahá'ís to a more complete understanding of Islam. The Dispensation makes direc…
- Lawh-i-Ahmad in Persian: A Question of Faith and Volition This majestic Tablet in Persian was revealed in Adrianople as an exhortation to Hájí Mirza Ahmad of Káshán, a half brother of Hájí Mírzá Jání and Hájí Muhammad Ismá'íl (Dhabíh). Deeper delving into this Tablet strengthens my understanding t…
- Mysticism East and West Although it would be inaccurate to suggest that all religions are identical in their teachings and their world-view, nevertheless, in the area of mysticism we have the greatest degree of unity and similarity of views among the mystics from …
- Perception Into Faith: A Radical Discontinuity Within Unity Attaining eternal life has concerned the human soul for millennia. Using statements from many Scriptures, but especially the Bahá'í Writings, this paper will argue that entering into eternal life is both a change of being and of perception,…
- Persianate Historiography and Family Trees: The Use of Genealogy in Safavid Chronicles and Select Bábí-Bahá’í Sources In 1501, Shah Ismá'íl (r. 1501-1524) proclaimed Twelver Shi'ism the official state religion of Iran and at the same time, established the Safavid ruling dynasty. Over the next two centuries, the Safavids proclaimed their right to rule based…
- Point, Pillar and Manifestation: Parallels That Never Met? Kabbalah and the Bábí-Bahá’í Faiths Kabbalah (Qabbalah, Cabbalah), the systematic mystical thought in Medieval Judaism, has very ancient roots in Biblical as well as in early post-Biblical sources. However, when it burst as a daring doctrine in Provence and Spain early in the…
- Religious Unity Towards the Challenge of Religious Diversity Although the principle of religious unity is one of the central themes of the Bahá'í religion, few works have been carried out in order to contribute to develop a Bahá'í theology of religions, which would both develop this concept together …
- Some of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed in Akká Tablet of Hádí The recipient of this Tablet is Hádí Qazvíní who was one of the Letters of the Living. Sadly this person broke the Covenant during the time of Bahá'u'lláh and joined Yahyá Azal. This person should not be confused with another…
- Súrihs of Hájj: Pilgrimage to the Two Houses During the period of Adrianople, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Hájj (Súrih of Pilgrimage) for visiting the House of the Báb in Shiráz and sent it to Nabíl-i-A'zam. After Nabíl-i-A'zam carried out the instructions of Bahá'u'lláh in Shiráz…
- Súriy-i-Haykal (Súrih of the Temple): A Review Súriy-i-Haykal (Súrah of the Temple) has been designated by the Beloved Guardian as one of the most challenging works of Bahá'u'lláh. This Tablet was first revealed in Adrianople, then with a few minor changes was re-revealed in Akká around…
- Súriy-i-Ra’ís (Tablet/Treatise to His Excellency) Addressed to ‘Alí Páshá, The Grand Vizir of the Ottomans The Súriy-i-Ra'ís was revealed in Arabic in honor of Hájí Muhammad Isma'il-i-Kashani, i.e., Dhabíh; (sacrifice) and Anís (companion). It was revealed when Bahá'u'lláh and His companions were banished from Adrianople to 'Akká and were under …
- Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh to the Christians The writings of Bahá'u'lláh during the 'Akká period seem to fall into three categories. The first comprises the writings that constitute the sequel to his Proclamation in Adrianople. The second is the Revelation of the Most Holy Book, the K…
- Tablets Pertaining to the Covenant: Adrianople 1863-1868 One of the unique aspects of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is the establishment of the divinely ordained institution of the Covenant. The period of Adrianople was a time of unprecedented trials and tremendous tests for the followers of the …
- The Báb’s Epistle on the Spiritual Journey towards God One of the earliest, if not the earliest, extant compositions of the Báb is a brief discussion of the mystic quest, entitled Risála fi's-Sulúk. This work is extremely important for the light it sheds on the Báb's relationship to the Shaykhi…
- The Background and Significance of Bábí-Bahá’í Interpretations of hurufat al-muqatta’at, the Mysterious Arabic Letters of the Qur’án Both Sunni and Shí'í Islamic traditions and sources contain numerous passages which dwell upon the secret, mysterious nature of those letters of the Arabic alphabet which open or occur before 29 of the 114 (=6x19) súrahs of the Qur'án, the …
- The Concept of the “Perfect Man” (Pole) in Sufism and the Bahá’í Notion of the Manifestation of God This paper aims to trace some of the analogies and essential differences between the concept of the "Perfect Man" (Pole) in Sufism and the Bahá'í notion of the Manifestation of God based on the Bahá'í Writings and the works of prominent Suf…
- The Firm Cord of Servitude Many works on mysticism from a psychological point of view adopt a view that is psycho-physiological. A true psychology takes the psyche/soul as an independent and autonomous reality. 'Abdu'l-Bahá informs the Baha'i teacher that they must b…
- The Firm Cord of Servitude Many works on mysticism from a psychological point of view adopt a view that is psychophysiological. A true psychology takes the psyche/soul as an independent and autonomous reality. 'Abdu'l-Bahá informs the Bahá'í teacher that they must be…
- The Human Intellect: A Bahá’í-Inspired Perspective The term intellect has been used very loosely in psychology, from being equivalent to everything rational to being a generic term covering cognitive processes as a whole. Even in everyday language we hear the term used in a loose cognitive …
- The Issue of Issac/Ishmael: A Sacrifice Controversy Jews and Christians believe that God, as recorded in the Book of Genesis, instructed Abraham to sacrifice His son Isaac, whereas Muslims believe that it was His other son, Ishmael, who was supposed to be sacrificed. The question has been po…
- The Lawh-i-Amváj (“Tablet of the Waves” [Billows]) of Bahá’u’lláh, Alwáh-i-Mustagath, Lawh-i-Baqá The Lawh-i-Amvaj (Tablet of the Waves [or Billows])[1] of Bahá'u'lláh has been published in Majmu`ih-yi alwah-i-mubarakih-yi hadrát-i-Bahá'u'lláh.[2] It also exists in numerous unpublished manuscripts. This Tablet was apparently written for…
- The Most Great Separation Amongst the climatic events that stand out in Bahá'í history stands one that took place during Bahá'u'lláh's exile in Adrianople known as the Most Great Separation. It was during this period when Bahá'u'lláh's seditious half-brother, Mirza …
- The Mystic Cup: The Essential Mystical Nature of the Bahá’í Faith The concept of the "mystic cup" and its heavenly draught is a fine thread woven throughout Bahá'í sacred writings, repeatedly disclosing the fundamentally mystic character of the Bahá'í Faith. However, in the u.s. Bahá'í community there is …
- The Tablet of Laylatu’l-Quds This lucid and splendid tablet was revealed in Adrianople in answer to Darvish Sadeq 'Alí. The content of Lawh-i-Laylatu'l Quds opens a view to numerous themes in the Bahá'í dispensation. The topics presented are: the servitude and humblene…
- The Three Stages of Divine Revelation In a summary of the major themes of the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Shoghi Effendi states that Bahá'u'lláh "adumbrates and distinguishes between the three stages of divine Revelation." This paper locates Bahá'u'lláh's discussion of three kinds of …
- Theological and Rhetorical Significance of Mathnavíy-i-Mubárak Bahá'u'lláh composed several formal poems in rhyme and meter. One of these poems, the Mathnavíy-i-Mubárak, concerns Bahá'u'lláh's disclosure of his station to the Bábís and to humanity. Bahá'u'lláh's Mathnaví alludes to the world-famous Mat…
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Explanation of the Teachings of Baha’u’llah: Tablets and Talks Translated into English (1911-1920) For the past three generations, many of the Western adherents of the Bahá'í Faith have first encountered the teachings of this religion in introductory pamphlets that listed twelve Bahá'í principles. This study examines the actual sources o…
- A Journey Through The Four Valleys One of the writings of the Blessed Beauty revealed during the Baghdad era was the epistle known as The Four Valleys. In a brief examination of this book we will comment on its composition, form, principal message, and the teachings it enshr…
- A Journey Through The Seven Valleys This epistle of the Blessed Beauty was addressed to Shaykh Múhyi'd-Dín, the judge of Khániqayn, a town northeast of Baghdad near the Iranian border, and was revealed during the Baghdad era circa 1862 A.D. It is in the language of the Sufís …
- A Study of the Meaning of the Word “Al-Amr” in the Qur’án and in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh The word "amr" in Persian or "al-amr" in Arabic has a range of meaning that covers several words in English. In two instances the precise meaning has become a source of controversy and it is therefore necessary to examine this matter more c…
- Alwah-i-Ra’ís (Tablets Addressed to the Ottoman Prime Minister) A brief historical background of the revelation of these Tablets, Súrih-i-Ra'ís and Lawh-i-Ra'ís, and their addressees will be followed by the topical analysis of their contents. Ra'ís, which means the head, president or ruler, refers to th…
- An Overview of the Tablets Revealed in the Early ‘Akká Period Among the published books and tablets revealed by Bahá'u'lláh about forty-seven could be documented that belong to the early 'Akká period. Thirty of them have specific titles or designations and the other seventeen lack such designations. I…
- Bahá’u’lláh’s Lawh-i-Hertik or the Tablet to Hardegg: Tablets to Christians, Part I Lawh-i-Hertik, as the Tablet addressed to Georg David Hardegg is usually called, contains in an open and straightforward manner the proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh as the Promised One and the return of the Father to earth. The recipient, one of…
- Chronological Issues in the Lawh-i-Hikmat of Bahá’u’lláh, Some Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom) was written by Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká and addressed to Mulla Muhammad-'Alí (Nabíl-i-Qa'iní), a former mujtahid in the Ithna 'Ashari sect of Shi'i Islam and a distinguished Bahá'í scholar and teacher. In this T…
- Common Teachings in Chinese Culture and the Bahá’í Faith: From Material Civilization to Spiritual Civilization The Chinese culture is one of the oldest civilizations with five thousand years of history. The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest independent world religion of just 155 years. These two civilizations, from different places and times, have many t…
- Content and Context in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas The divine laws and ordinances could be studied from various angles and by using different approaches. Such studies may cover interrelationships (of the laws), comparison (with specific religion, a number of religions, civic laws, or cultur…
- Developing Criteria for a Fair Comparison of Religions in Inter-religious Dialogues Interreligious dialogues (IRDs), with more than 250 worldwide organizations, have grown increasingly important since the first Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago in 1893. They offer many opportunities to present the Bahá'í …
- From Alwáh to Ziyara: The Literary Forms of the Writings of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh The extensive Persian and Arabic writings of Sayyid 'Alí Muhammad, the Báb (1819-1850), and Mírzá Husayn 'Alí Núrí, Bahá'u'lláh (18171892), are extant in a variety of literary forms believed by their authors and by their followers (the Bábí…
- Kitáb-i-Aqdas from the Viewpoint of Shoghi Effendi Kitáb-i-Aqdas--the Most Holy Book--may well be regarded as the brightest emanation of the mind of Bahá'u'lláh, as the Mother Book of His Dispensation and the Charter of His New World Order. Kitáb-i-Aqdas is not an ordinary book, to be revie…
- Lawh-i-Ru’yá (Tablet of Vision) The Lawh-i-Ru'yá was revealed in the House of 'Udi Khammar in 'Akká for an apparently Bahá'í believer referred to by Bahá'u'lláh as "My Name" (=Husayn?). In various sources this Tablet is said to date nineteen years prior to the ascension o…
- Lawh-i-Tibb (Tablet of Medicine) The Arabic and Persian text of Bahá'u'lláh's 'Tablet of Medicine' (Lawh-i-Tibb) is to be dated to the early 'Akká period of his ministry (early 1870s?). It was addressed to a Bahá'í named Mírzá Muhammad Ridá'-yi Tabib-i Yazdí, a physician o…
- Metaphysics: Historical Perspectives and Bahá’í Horizons In the long history of (mainly Western) philosophy, no subject has been so ill-defined and yet so controversial as metaphysics. Indeed, over the last few hundred years, much debate has centered around the question of whether such a subject …
- Mystical Themes in the Tablets Revealed During the Baghdad Period: Gems of Mysteries, Maid of Heaven, Ode of Varqá’íyyih, Tablet of All Food Poem of Rashh-i-'Amá This poem is perhaps the first extant Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh revealed in the Siyáh-Ch`I of Tehran shortly after the experience of divine Revelation. We know from what Nabíl has recorded that there had been many other wri…
- Seven Valleys of Bahá’u’lláh and Farid ud-Din Attar This mystical work, written by Bahá'u'lláh in the late 1850's before his proclamation, follows his period of withdrawal and seclusion in the mountains of Kurdistan. The seven stages (valleys) is a traditional Eastern mystical concept used t…
- Tablets Enunciating the Three Realms of God, Manifestations and Creation One of the distinctive features of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is clear delineation of the three realms of existence and clarification of our relationship with each one of them. This aspect of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh differentiates …
- Tablets Revealed on the Topics Related to Covenant, Tests, and Difficulties A number of Tablets revealed in Baghdad period deal with distinctive features of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh and various aspects of the Covenant. They also cover such other topics as tests and tribulations and the difficulties that the be…
- Tablets with Mystical and Philosophical Themes Tablet of Hikmat (Wisdom) This Tablet is arguably the most important philosophical Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh. In the early centuries of Islam, in particular during the Abbasid dynasty, many works of famous Greek philosophers were translated int…
- Tafsír-i-Hurúfát-i-Muqatta’ih: Commentary on the “Isolated Letters” Twenty-nine Súrihs of the Qur'án start with one or more letters of the Arabic alphabet right after the invocation (In the Name of God the Beneficent the Merciful). These letters are known as the "Isolated Letters." Muslims believe that thes…
- The “Openness” of Differing Perspectives in Buddhist and Bahá’í Metaphysics Bahá'í theology incorporates a number of important doctrines regarding other religious traditions. Among these doctrines are the claims that the world's religions originate from the same ultimate source, that they are similar in propounding…
- The Bedrock of Bahá’í Belief: The Doctrine of Progressive Revelation According to Ninian Smart, the doctrinal dimension is (together with the experiential, mythic, ethical, ritual, and social) a major dimension of any religion. Thus, it is arguably true that doctrinal studies (usually known as "systematic th…
- The Book of Revelation Revealed in Glory: A Summary of Glorious Revelation The presently titled "The Book of Revelation Revealed in Glory" interprets the Book of Revelation through a Bahá'í lens in the tradition of Ruth Moffett's Keys to the Book of Revelation and Robert Riggs' The Apocalypse Unsealed, and writing…
- The Concept of Sacred Justice in Hebrew Eschatology While Bahá'í students of prophecy have paid considerable attention to Biblical references to "Glory" as a motif in end-of-the-age imagery, they have devoted noticeably less printed space to discussions of references to "Justice" and "Judgme…
- The Doctrine of the Most Great Infallibility of the Manifestation of God One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, as cited by the beloved Guardian in God Passes By, is that "[it] enunciates the doctrine of the 'Most Great Infallibility' of the Manifestation of God; asserts this infallibili…
- The Fire Tablet (Lawh-i-Ihtiraq) and the Tablet of the Land of Ba (Lawh-i-Arz-i-Ba) These are two tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed in the early 'Akká period and relating to specific historical episodes. In this presentation, therefore, we will discuss both the content and the historical context of these tablets. The first t…
- The Most Great Prison: An Historical Outlook on the City of ‘Akká 'Akká is one of the most ancient cities of the world, which has been inhabited without interruption since the early ages. Its strategic position on the military route connecting Asia with Africa, as well as its significance as one of the be…
- The Ode of Varqá’íyyih The revelation of Bahá'u'lláh's great ode in Arabic to the Maid of Heaven, known as the Qasídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih, constitutes the defining moment of Bahá'u'lláh's sojourn in Sulaymáníyyih, a period described by the Blessed Beauty himself as "t…
- The Rank of Bahá’u’lláh in Relation to the Other Manifestations of God One of the most interesting questions in Bahá'í theology is concerning the concept of Manifestation and especially the relation between Bahá'u'lláh and the other divine Manifestations. There are some quotations in the Writings of Bahá'u'llá…
- Transliteration of Oriental Terms in the English Bahá’í Literature In his letter of March 12, 1923 to the Western Bahá'í Shoghi Effendi wrote: "On another page is given the list of the best known and most current Bahá'í terms, and other Oriental names and expressions, all property and accurately transliter…
- Unsealing the Significance of Allegories in the Bible Using the Book of Certitude (Kitáb-i-Iqán) The Bahá'í Dispensation began with the Báb's unsealing the symbols in the Sarah of Joseph. These interpretations in the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá' foreshadow Bahá'u'lláh's fuller explanations of Scriptural symbology two decades later in the Kitáb-i-Iq…
- A Brief Overview of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh during the Istanbul-Adrianople Period The immensity of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation during the Adrianople period, as testified by Himself and recorded by eyewitnesses, is beautifully summarized by Shoghi Effendi in the following paragraph: A period of prodigious activity which, in …
- A Comparative Study of Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith While the concept of numerous Manifestations of God initiating a like number of dispensations characterized by moral advance followed by decline is a commonplace in Bahá'í thinking, Christian theology on the whole depicts a rather different…
- An Analytical Study of the Covenant in the Lawh-i-Ahmad (Arabic) The Tablet of Ahmad is identified as one of the more powerful of Bahá'u'lláh's Writings. I would like to explore the nature of this power through a close examination of the vocabulary and style of the text. The starting point for this discu…
- An Overview of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh During the Istanbul-Adrianople Period The immensity of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation during the Adrianople period, as testified by Himself and recorded by eyewitnesses, is beautifully summarized by Shoghi Effendi in the following paragraph: A period of prodigious activity which, in …
- German Pietism and the Expectation of the Messiah, 1817 in the Caucasus In 1817, the year in which Bahá'u'lláh was born in the city of Núr on the shores of the Caspian, a large group of German Pietists from the State of Wurttemberg set out on a long and distressing journey to the Caucasus, expecting the advent …
- Globalization and Bahá’í Relations to World System of Society The development of the Bahá'í religion and its teachings on the unification of the world is historically and conceptually congruent with the onset of globalization, as it is viewed by the sociologist of religion, Roland Robertson, one of th…
- How Bahá’u’lláh Taught Christians: The Rhetoric and Pedagogy of Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings to Followers of Jesus Christ In order to create a real unity among the followers of the world's religions, the message of Bahá'u'lláh had to go beyond verbal affirmations of unity. Members of those religions would have to hear and accept the station of Bahá'u'lláh. Chr…
- Introducing Kitáb-i-Badí’ Kitáb-i-Badí' (The New Book) is one of the most important writings of Bahá'u'lláh which should be considered as his main apologia. This wonderful book is revealed in Adrianople and responds to the distortions, objections, and accusations of…
- Lawh-i-Sultán Lawh-i-Sultán is the lengthiest of Bahá'u'lláh's addresses to Kings and Rulers of the earth. It was revealed in Adrianople and it was the only Tablet which was hand carried by a courier (Badí') to the Monarch of Iran in person. A brief biog…
- Lawh-i-Sultán: Tablet to the King of Persia The Lawh-i-Sultan of Iran, Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to Nasiri'd-Din Shah, is the longest among several of His letters addressed to the kings and rulers of the world. This Tablet has been revealed partly in the Persian and partly in the Arabic l…
- Principles of Bahá’í Theology in the Tablet of Salmán Two Tablets revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, addressed to Salmán, have so far been published. Both of them are revealed in Persian. A short biography of Shaykh Salmán whom Bahá'u'lláh named "Messenger of the Merciful" is recorded by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in…
- Principles of Bahá’í Theology in the Tablet of Salmán Two Tablets revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, addressed to Salmán, have so far been published. Both of them are revealed in Persian. A short biography of Shaykh Salmán whom Bahá'u'lláh named "Messenger of the Merciful" is recorded by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in…
- Religion and the Arts: The Cyclical Theory in the Bahá’í Faith Art is a sensitive indicator of the spiritual state of a society. It can, because of its sensitivity, pick up changes before they are evident in other areas. In the Christian world, the art of the Renaissance had picked up the change to a m…
- Sociopolitical Conditions of the Ottoman Empire in the Nineteenth Century Ottoman Society in the nineteenth century was a society in transition. The modernization process initiated by the social and administrative reforms of the Tanzimat, changes in patterns of social and religious organization (Millet-system), i…
- Tablet to the Kings: Human Rights and Collective Security The magnificent scientific and technological achievements of the twentieth century have led to its characterization as the Atomic Age, the Space Century, the Computer Century, the Communications Century, and so on. The impact of each one of…
- The Bahá’í Position on Christianity The Divine Origin of Christianity is Unconditionally Acknowledged The Greatest Virtues of Humanity The Station of Christ The Bahá'í Faith Glorifies Christ Christ's Words Can Never Be Altered Christ Sacrificed Himself for Our Sake We Must Al…
- The Best of Stories (Ahsan al-Qasas): Joseph Motifs and the Bábí-Bahá’í Interpretation of the Joseph Narrative The person and story of Joseph is important in both the Bible (Genesis 37-50) and the Qur'án (sura 12) where the account of this patriarch-prophet is the longest qur'anic narrative an aspect of the "best of stories" (ahsan al-qasas). In S…
- The Chain of Prophecy: Progressive Revelation as a Theory of Relativity From a scientific perspective, the 19-20th centuries witnessed unprecedented paradigm shifts with the emergence of the theory of evolution and the quantum and relativity theories. Today, these three highly successful theories are well estab…
- The Dangers of Silence and the Practice of Responsible Apologetics Until the publication of "Des information als Methode" ("Disinformation as Method") (1995) by Udo Schaefer, Nicola Towfiqh and Ulrich Gollmer, the monograph of Bahá'í and "covenant breaker" Frederico Ficicchia's German language edition of T…
- The Practice of Pilgrimage: A Comparative Review Pilgrimage is an expression of religious belief that exists in most religions throughout history. It has been an important part in the creation of a religious identity, as it has made it possible for the individual believer to show his or h…
- The Tablet of the Fear of God [Righteousness, Piety...] The fairly brief (4-5pp) wholly Arabic Lawh al-Tuqá (Persian Lawh-i-Tuqá Tablet of the Fear of God [Righteousness, Piety...]) is published in the original Arabic but it has neither been translated into any other language nor commented upo…
- The Third Copernican Revolution: “Transparent Dialogue and Relational Theology” Unity and Diversity and The Development of a Global Vision of God’s Relationality This paper is in two parts. The first part is a reflection on praxis and seeks to examine elements of inter-religious dialogue from a Bahá'í perspective. It focuses on both practical and theoretical insights gained while completing a theolo…
- A Comparison of Mass Movements in Hindu Villages: Bahá’í and Christian Most studies of mass movements in India have dealt with the conversion of tribal peoples or untouchables to one of the great literate traditions: either Christianity, Islam, Hinduism (the Sanskritized tradition), or Buddhism. Conversion in …
- African Religion and the Bahá’i Faith Both African religion and the Bahá'í Faith consider religion, in essence, as acts and sentiments that enable man to turn to his Creator. This definition of religion is one of the similarities between the two religions. This paper attempts t…
- African Traditional Religion: A Bahá’i View Many things African have largely been misunderstood by Westerners. African Traditional Religion is one such thing that largely remains unappreciated, in this case not so much because the African peoples are themselves not much understood, b…
- Ascertaining the Validity of Islamic Hadíth: A Personal Prospective The validity of Islamic Hadíth is questioned, scrutinized, rejected by some scholars of theology, and admitted, recognized, accepted by others. The Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, have referred to some hadíths in their sacred writings. …
- Bahá’i World Centre, seen from the perspective of the history of the religions One reason for building religious centres is their function as symbols of the visions of that faith. A building or group of buildings has not only a practical function, but it has a message to people. This is true for any building and it is…
- Buddy, Can You Spare a Paradigm?: The Bahá’í Faith and the New Age Movement "Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of fellowship and friendliness," is the counsel given to Bahá'ís by Bahá'u'lláh. In the midst of shifting world views in our increasingly pluralistic society, this becomes an even gre…
- Monotheistic Religion in Africa: The Example of the Swazi People Following the encouraging mass conversions in the Teso and Tilling areas of eastern Uganda in the 1950's, the failure of the Bahá'i Faith to penetrate very far into the majority of African cultures 40 years later gives us cause to ponder wh…
- New Age Movement and the Bahá’i Faith Although the New Age Movement (NAM) has been promulgated by its adherents and has been severely attacked by the Evengelical Churches during a few decades in this century, the NAM has only recently caught the attention of various scholars of…
- Qa’im (Ariser) and Qayyum (Deity Self-Subsistent): The background and significance of twin messianic advents in Babi-Bahá’i scripture According to the Bahá'i poet and historian Nabil-i Zarandi, the Shaykhi leader Sayyid Kazim Rashti (d. 1260/1843[4]) predicted that ".. after the Qa'im the Qayyúm will be made manifest" (Dawnbreakers, 41). It is clear from numerous passages…
- Religion and Science in Harmony: A New Reality Humanity has witnessed two accelerated trends in its affairs in the twentieth century. One is the rapid growth in scientific and technological achievements which has opened new possibilities, never dreamt of before. The other is the decline…
- Salvation: Staticity into Motion Since the beginning of monotheistic religious tradition, salvation has been represented in fragments; through art and literature, as the River Styx, the Pearly Gates, the Resurrection, the Garden of Paradise. In the Bahá'í Faith, this fragm…
- Scripture in the Perspective of Comparative Religion and the Bahá’i Faith In both the field of comparative religion and in Bahá'i Studies, scripture is not a simple term to define. From a sociological point of view, a text becomes scripture when a group of people begin to treat it as such, by venerating it and vi…
- Scripture in the Perspective of Comparative Religion and the Bahá’í Faith In both the field of comparative religion and in Bahá'í Studies, scripture is not a simple term to define. From a sociological point of view, a text becomes scripture when a group of people begin to treat it as such, by venerating it and vi…
- Sectarianism and the Bahá’i Faith A striking difference between the Bahá'i Faith and other religions and creeds is the built-in unity of the Bahá'i community protecting it from schism and sectarianism. Communities belonging to other religions are usually divided into sects,…
- Sectarianism and the Bahá’í Faith A striking difference between the Bahá'í Faith and other religions and creeds is the built-in unity of the Bahá'í community protecting it from schism and sectarianism. Communities belonging to other religions are usually divided into sects,…
- Sufi stages of the soul in The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys of Bahá’u’llah The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys are addressed to two Sufi leaders and therefore their style and content are conceived according to the understanding of their addressees. If we want to have a better understanding of the two epistles, …
- Taiping and other Chinese Messianic Movements in the Nineteenth Century Bahá'i sources generally refer to an upsurge of messianic movements in the early part of the 19th century. The Seventh-Day Adventists in the USA and the German Templers who arrived in Haifa in 1868 are usually given as examples of such move…
- The Bahá’i Approach to Other Religions: The Example of Buddhism In this paper, we examine the way that the Bahá'i scriptures approach other religions. We look at the way that Bahá'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Bahá approach the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions and extrapolate from that the general principle…
- The Blind Men and the Elephant: Differing Perspectives in Buddhist and Bahá’í Metaphysics Bahá'í theology incorporates a number of important doctrines regarding other religious traditions. Among these doctrines are the claims that the world's religions originate from the same ultimate source, that they are similar in propounding…
- The Hidden Treasure This presentation is an attempt to explain the basic ideas of Bahá'í 'irfán as revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and the Guardian and to explain what the concepts of "the Most Holy Outpouring," "the Holy Outpouring," "Search,"…
- “استنتاجاتی ازآثار مبارÚ©ه درباره “تربیت معنوی
- Bahá’u’llah’s Surat al-ism (Sura of the Name) Presentation of and commentary on a provisional translation of Bahá'u'llah's Surat al-ism (Sura of the Name), a tablet revealed in 1867.
- Bahá’u’llah’s tablet to Pope Pius IX The paper offers an overview of the tablet's context as one of a series of messages penned by Manifestations to religious and political leaders and surveyed the tablet's contents, including possible allusions to the First Vatican Council (1…
- Christianity and the Bahá’i Faith: An Historical and Doctrinal Overview
- Discordant World Views within Bahá’í Studies and the Detraction They Encourage Bahá'í studies appears to be at a critical juncture in its evolution, not the least reason being the Faith's emergence from obscurity. Accompanying such emergence is inevitable academic scrutiny of the Bahá'í religion. Such scrutiny forces …
- Immortality and the Afterlife: Some Christian, Bahá’i, and Modern Western Secular Perspectives One part of this paper discussed cryonics (freezing people at the point of death in the hope that in the future they can be thawed and revived) and its possible implications for Bahá'i theology.
- In Quest of the Ocean of True Understanding: The Mystical Paradigm of Bahá’u’llah’s Book of Certitude The importance of earlier tablets by Bahá'u'llah in understanding the Kitab-i-Iqan, that the Iqan's literary paradigm is that of a mystic journey of the seeker, and that the paradigm shaped Bahá'u'llah's replies to the questions that prompt…
- Millennialism in the Bahá’i Faith: Progressive and Catastrophic Themes Review of the different aspects of the Bahá'i vision of the future; most are optimistic and progressive.
- The Continuity of Consciousness and Phenomena Any worthwhile and comprehensive study of natural phenomena inherently involves or leads to a study of the observer himself and of a fundamental, relativistic, and all-encompassing reality. An aspect of our natural desire to explore and dis…
- The Dream of Uniting the Nations: The Culminating Vision of the Hebrew Bible That the primary source of organized opposition to the Bahá'í community and its expansion in the western world has been Christian clergy scarcely needs to be stated. That this opposition will be of benefit to the Bahá'í community and its ex…
- The God of Bahá’u’llah Bahá'u'llah's concept of God and its ability to reconcile Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and some Buddhist notions of the Ultimate.
- The Good Tree: Distinguishing the Bahá’í Faith From Destructive Cults For many Americans, the horror of the events of 1993 in Waco, Texas and other tragedies like it has fostered skepticism and fear of any new or unfamiliar religious group. For this reason, it is important that there be Bahá'í literature to d…
- The Mission of Religion: A Bahá’i Perspective A study of some sixty passages in the Bahá'i scriptures that state different purposes of religion.
- The New World Order and the Convergence of Religious and Secular Opposition The Bahá'í concept of world order has two goals: spiritual transformation of the human race and renewal of culture and civilization. The first goal describes a divinely ordained process that marks "the healing of the nations" and the "spiri…
- The Question of Exclusivism: A Scientific Perspective This study looks at the dogma of exclusivism, instituted by many Christian denominations, with the aim of demonstrating that this doctrine is no longer viable. The operating principles necessitating a shift in scientific "paradigma," as dis…
- The Theology of Church and State in the Bahá’í Order: Analytical Foundations for a Rational Synthesis of Scientific, Traditional, and Religious Cosmologies Because the Bahá'í Faith offers a definite model for both the political and spiritual transformation of the human world, it is liable to be criticized and evenfeared on the sensitive issue of the ideal relation that it proposes between reli…
- Understanding Exclusivist Bahá’i Texts There is a series of approaches to apparently exclusivist passages in Bahá'u'llah's writings that minimize their tendency to exclude non-Bahá'is.
- Understanding the Bahá’í Faith through Study of the Christian Faith Any discussion of the Bahá'í Faith with Christians will reveal certain common criticisms of it. The purpose of this paper is not to discuss specific criticisms and responses in detail, but to illustrate an approach to responding to criticis…
- تحول جامعه بهائی در نیم قرن اخیر
- حاج محمد کریم خان کرمانی در آثار بهائی با توجه به لوح مبارک قناع
- سوابق تاریخی و مضامین لوح شکرشکن
- سیر و سلوÚ© در مثنوی مبارÚ©
- کتاب مستطاب اقدس سرچشمه موسسات عمده بهایی
- مروری بر لوح مدینه التوحید
- مسایل مهمی که در جامعه معاصر مطرح است
- مضامینی از کتاب م ستطاب پنج شان
- معرفی آثار قلم اعلی درÚ©تاب قرن بدیع
- معرفی برنامه ها و اقدامات موسسه معارف بهائی
- معرفی خدمات دفتر اموراحبای ایرانی /آمریکایی
- A Brief Review of the Writings of Mullá Husayn
- A Study on the Lawh-i-Burhán
- Biography of Haj Mehdi Arjmand and a General Review of his Works
- Choice Wine: The Kitab-i-Aqdas and the Development of Baha’i Law Near the beginning of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh issues this warning:Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witnes…
- Considerations Relating to the Inheritance Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Some This presentation will suggest some considerations which might be borne in mind when interpreting the inheritance laws. There has been much discussion about the equity, or lack of equity, concerning the way in which male and female heirs ar…
- E.G. Browne’s Misconceptions When thinking of the well-known British orientalist Edward Granville Browne (1862-1926), Baha'is in the West usually remember the wonderful description of his impressions when he had an audience with Baha'u'llah in Bahji. Thus many Western …
- Eschatology and Messianic Hope in Hinduism: A Bahá’í Perspective What is known as Hinduism has no single founder. It has evolved over a period of ten thousand years or more, absorbing and assimilating elements of many of the religions and cultural movements of India and neighboring countries. All the key…
- Experiences with Anti-Baha’i Polemic in German-speaking Countries From the beginning of this century, criticism against the Baha'i Faith has been voiced in German-speaking Europe almost exclusively by Protestant theologians, their Catholic counterparts preferring a policy of simply ignoring the Faith. Two…
- Getting to Justice: The Creation of Justice through the Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas Ms. Hanson gave as one example the impact the inheritance laws could have on the distribution of wealth in society.
- Institute for Baha’i Studies Presentation of the Institute for Baha'i Studies and its activities. The Institute is an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly dedicated to sponsoring rigorous, academic-quality scholarship on the Baha'i Faith.
- Memorial Funds and Fostering Baha’i Scholarship
- Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl’s Contribution to Baha’i Polemic and Replies to Anti-Baha’i Polemic
- Notes on the Book of Certitude, Some
- Obedience to Divine Law: Evolution of the Individual’s Perception Religion is the outer expression of divine reality and is progressive. The divine utterance is revealed to humankind by each Manifestation according to humanity's capacity at the time. In Islam Muhammad said "Say. If ye love God, then follo…
- Panel Discussion: Kitab-i-Aqdas: Current Research and Future Directions The Saturday evening session was devoted to a panel discussion on "The Kitab-i-Aqdas: Current Research and Future Directions." The session began with introductory remarks by the three panelists: Dr. Jena Khadem, Dr. Moojan Momen, and Mr. Ch…
- Paradoxes and Facts of the Anti-Baha’i Polemic on the Territory of the European Part of the Former U.S.S.R. I. Preamble 1) A brief survey of the history of the beginning of the Baha'i Faith in Russia. 2) The role of Kiev, Ukraine (as the former Kiev, Russia), in the general context of teaching the Faith among the Slav population of the C.I.S. II.…
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- Possible Criticisms of the Baha’i Faith from a Feminist Perspective The claim of the Baha'i Faith to uphold the equality of men and women as a principle attracts attention from others who would also claim to be advancing the cause of sex equality, albeit from different perspectives. The purpose of this pape…
- Prerequisites for the Study of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
- Punishment in the Baha’i Faith
- Redefining a Social Contract Why do we work? Why do we have an obligation to work? And why do we feel we have to work well? Such questions have intrigued the minds of individuals as diverse as the Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece and the avaricious French aristocra…
- Relationship of the Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas to the Laws of the Bayan of the Bab This paper discusses the relationship of the legislation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas to that of the Persian Bayán. My thesis is that Bahá'u'lláh was not an innovative legislator, but derived His laws from the laws of the Báb. Furthermore, all of t…
- Religious Definitions and Religious Polemics: Baha’i in Popular Handbooks of Religion For the general public popular handbooks are important sources of information on the various religious groups in contemporary Western society, including Baha'i. These books reach a wide circle of readers, and it is of interest to study how …
- Sacralizing the Secular: The Proclamatory Aqdas as a Response to Modernity The preeminent Bahá'í scripture "The Most Holy Book" exhibits a certain textual and ideological extensibility through the phenomenon of "re-revelation"-a term coined by Taherzadeh (Revelation 4:372). This study will examine the Tablet of Gl…
- Secrets of Divine Knowledge and Wisdom
- Taqiyyih and Kitman: Reflections on the Practice of Dissimulation in the Babi and Baha’i Religions Enemies of the Baha'i Faith, sometimes even scholarly critics writing not necessarily in polemical terms in opposition to the Faith, often mingle true and correct information with false and incorrect information about the Cause. Out of a se…
- The Kitab-i-Aqdas: Questions of Structure and Style Although the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has several common features which can compare with the Quríán particularly. it differs in several fundamental structural and stylistic elements from it. The Koran is comprised of, among other things, sermons, narr…
- The Legal Basis of Islamic Opposition to the Baha’i Faith From its inception as the Babi movement in 1844, the Baha'i Faith has been the subject of attacks from Muslim religious leaders in different parts of the Islamic world. This paper is an attempt to look at the basis for these attacks in Isla…
- The Limits of Discourse in the Baha’i community and their Consequences All human communities must set limits on their internal discourse in order to maintain cohesion and some degree of internal order. The Baha'i Faith is no exception. The limits to discourse in the Baha'i community are determined by the overr…
- The Model of Penology in the Kitab-i-Aqdas One of the most surprising features of the long-awaited translation into English of The Kitáb-i-Aqdas is that the work is precisely as Bahá'u'lláh Himself had noted, not a "mere code of laws" (21). As Martha L Schweitz has pointed out, the …
- The Position of Mírzá Yahyá Núrí Subh-i-Azal: Some aspects of Azalí Anti-Baha’i Polemic and Baha’i Apologetics The exact nature of the position of Mirza Yahya Nuri, Subh-i-Azal ("The Morn of Eternity," 1830-1912) following the martyrdom of the Bab (1850) has long been a subject of Baha'i-Azali debate. The Bab wrote a number of Tablets to Mirza Yahya…
- The Relationship between Content and Context in the Kitab-i-Aqdas Universality of the laws of the Aqdas in spite of the varying contexts in which they are expressed. Also, the matter of the infallibility of the Manifestations and the historical circumstances of the revelation of specific universal laws. O…
- Translation of some of `Abdu’l-Baha’s tablets in honor of Haj Mehdi Arjmand A short presentation by Ms. Tandis Arjmand, great-granddaughter of Haj Mehdi Arjmand, who was a prominent Baha'i teacher and scholar in Iran. Ms. Arjmand quoted in English translation some of `Abdu'l-Baha's tablets in honor and admiration o…
- احوال و خدمات حاج مهدی ارجمند
- انگیزۀ “حوریّه” یا “دئینا” و “دین” و ردّپای فکر مزدیسنا در لوح ملاحالقدس
- صحیفۀ بینالحرمین
- مفاهیم نار در آثار حضرت بهاءاللّه
- An Examination of Androgyny and Sex Specification in the Kitab- i-Aqdas The purpose of this paper is to consider the use of male definitions and standpoints in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in relation to the Bahá'í principle of equality of the sexes, to evaluate the concept of mutatis mutandis and the laws to which it doe…
- Bahá’i marriage laws in a historical perspective Bahá'i marriage laws in a historical perspective, especially regarding bigamy.
- Bahá’i Parables Parables are a traditional vehicle of communication in revelatory writing, exemplified most clearly in the parables of Jesus. The advantage of a parable is that one draws out its meaning as a consequence of a concrete story which the reader…
- Church and State in the World Order of Bahá’u’llah Because the Baháíí Faith offers a definite model for both the political and spiritual transformation of the human world, it is liable to be criticized and even feared on the sensitive issue of the ideal relation which it proposes between re…
- Cultivating a Bahá’i Response to Homosexuality The material here has been removed at the request of the author who wishes to be unnamed.
- Entombed in a Dead Language: The Saints Raising out of their Graves Baháíuílláh tells us of the two-fold language of scripture: the clear and the obtuse, the literal and the symbolic: "... this symbolic language, more eloquent than any speech, however direct . . . " A small, but increasing, number of Christ…
- European Themes in the Kitab-i-Aqdas Christian Europe became involved in the Baháíí Revelation on the night when the Báb declared His mission and revealed Surat al-Mulk, the first chapter of the Qayyúm al-Asmá, to Mullá Husayn. The scope of the relationship between Europe and …
- Experience of Taking the Most Holy Book to the Masses Using Structured Educational Material, On The During the last year a number of seminars and other educational events specifically focused on the Kitáb-i-Aqdas have taken place in Russia. The experience gained reflects great interest and expectations on the part of believers and non-bel…
- Haj Mehdi Arjmand A talk about Haj Mehdi Arjmand (1860-1940) by one of his great granddaughters, Ms. Nikoo Mahboubian
- Huququ’llah, Zakat, and Khums The roots of these three laws are to be found in the Qur'án. They were developed by the Báb in the Bayán, and subsequently by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and some of His other writings. However many details were left unmentioned in ord…
- Inheritance Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas Laws encapsulate principles. In some cases they appear to conflict. Although the equality of men and women is among the major social principles of the Baháíí Faith, Bahá'u'lláh's legislation does not treat men and women identically in every…
- Mythoi: Stories of the Origin, Fall, and Redemption of Man In Some Answered Questions (p. 122-126), 'Abdu'l-Bahá discusses the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and interprets some of the primary symbols of that story. He adds that the story contains divine mysteries and universal meanin…
- Panel Discussion: Baha’i Penal Laws This morning was devoted to a panel discussion led by Payam Akhavan and Sama Payman about Bahá'i penal laws. Much of the presentation focused on a document about capital punishment by the Bahá'i International Community and comments on the p…
- Parallels between the Kitab-i-Iqan and the Kitab-i-Aqdas Parallels between the Kitab-i-Iqan and the Kitab-i-Aqdas.
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- Reading With or Against the Book, or the Avoidance of Interpretive Chaos In the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Bahá'u'lláh quotes the following saying: "The most grievous of all veils is the veil of knowledge" (180). And yet one of the fundamental principles of the Bahá'í Faith is the independent investigation of truth. T…
- Resurrection of Divine Wisdom: A Study of the Ontology of Greek Philosophical Theology and Jewish Theology in the Context of Wisdom Revelation and its Realization in the Bahá’i Religion in the Lawh-i-Hikmat Bahá'u'lláh posits that the sages (philosophers) of Greece gained their wisdom from the teachers of the east, such as the prophets, both minor and major, of Israel. In addition, the claim is made that all knowledge come…
- Scripture as Literature: The Writings of Bahá’u’llah in their Literary Context The writings of Mírzá Husayn-'All Núrí, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-92), are said to number about 15,000 books and letters, and constitute the primary scripture of the Baháíí religion. Because of Bahá'u'lláh's claim to be a Manifestation of God (mazh…
- Service of Women on the Universal House of Justice Bahá'u'lláh often stated that men and women are equal; it is not easy to understand, therefore, why women cannot serve on the Universal House of Justice. 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said that the exclusion "is for a wisdom of the Lord God's which will…
- The Distinguishing Features of the Kitab-i-Aqdas as Compared to the Bayan Distinguishing Features of the Kitab-i-Aqdas as Compared to the Bayan
- The General Nature of Divine Laws The wisdom and rationale of any one of the Baháíí laws will be more clearly and thoroughly understood when it is studied in the light of the context of the total body of the laws and guidelines revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. It is vitally importa…
- The History of Writing and Transmission of the Kitab-i-Aqdas No Manifestation of God comes into a vacuum. Baháíuílláh came into the social setting of Iran. Most of his followers were Iranians who had entered the new religion from a background of Shi'i Islam. Inevitably, Shi'i Islam colored the views …
- The Inner Dimensions of Revelation "For they [the Prophets] have been made manifest In the uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly attain' (Gleanings, 54), declares Bahá'u'lláh. This paper will explore the process by which the human st…
- The Koranic Roots of Some Legal and Theological Terms in the Kitab-i-Aqdas Great similarities exist between the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Koran, not only in relation to matters of style and structure but also in using legal terms and theological termini technici of Koranic origin. Many passages of the Aqdas are formul…
- The Love Relationship Between God and Humanity: A Commentary on Bahá’u’llah’s Hidden Words The poetical-spiritual atmosphere of The Hidden Words and their theological-philosophical content are briefly examined. Through those aphorisms the human adventure upon the earth is described. Man's material and spiritual creation is explai…
- The Terms Revelation, Interpretation, and Elucidation in the Bahá’i Writings The release of the English translation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas invites a closer examination of the Bahá'í teachings and raises an entirely new series of questions about the nature of Bahá'í law. Often these questions are based on assumptions a…
- The Tree of Peace and the Coming of Bahá’u’llah Deganawida, known by Many simply as the Great Peacemaker, was the 15th century prophet whose divine inspiration founded the Six Nations Confederacy. This Confederacy, hailed as one of history's greatest achievements, was the primogenitor of…
- The Validity and Value of An Historical-Critical Approach to the Revealed Word of Bahá’u’llah From a Bahá'í perspective, the Manifestations Wield such influence that it would not be exaggerating to say that human history is organized around their appearances. Indeed, Bahá'u'lláh explains that in the station of unity the Manifestatio…
- در بارۀ احکام بیانو خطابات به اهل بیان در کتاب مستطاب اقدس
- نغمات عرفان
- Daéna-Dén-Din: The Zoroastrian Heritage of the ‘Maid of Heaven’ in the Tablets of Baha’u’llah
- Prophecy in the Johannine Farewell Discourse: The Advents of the Paraclete, Ahmad, and the Comforter (Mu’azzí)
- The Baha’i Faith and Higher Biblical Criticism
- The Day and Days of God
- The Tafsír Súratu’l-Asr of the Bab
- Thomas Kelly Cheyne
- Understanding Exclusivist Texts: Bahai approaches to Christian scriptures There is a series of approaches to apparently exclusivist passages in Bahá'u'llah's writings that minimize their tendency to exclude non-Bahá'is.
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