The Sparrow

Gunjishk (Sparrow)
گنجشک

G (گ) = Gáf, n (ن) = Nún, j (ج) = Jím, sh (ش) = Shín, k (ک) = Káf

Baha’u’llah, Seven Valleys:



Káf or Gáf ک گ

referreth to Kuffi ("free"), that is, "Free thyself from that which thy passion desireth; then advance unto thy Lord."

Nún ن

referreth to Nazzih ("purify"), that is, "Purify thyself from all else save Him, that thou mayest surrender thy life in His love."

Jím ج

is Jánib ("draw back"), that is, "Draw back from the threshold of the True One if thou still possessest earthly attributes."

Shín ش

is Ushkúr ("thank")—"Thank thy Lord on His earth that He may bless thee in His heaven; albeit in the world of oneness, this heaven is the same as His earth."

Káf ک


referreth to Kuffi, that is: "Take off from thyself the wrappings of limitations, that thou mayest come to know what thou hast not known of the states of Sanctity."


Wert thou to harken to the melodies of this mortal Bird (This is a reference in the traditional Persian style to Bahá’u’lláh Himself), then wouldst thou seek out the undying chalice and pass by every perishable cup.

Peace be upon those who walk in the Right Path!

Baha'u'llah in New Testament - Revisited

Since this article was so popular, here I've included the Arabic Revelation 21:23 along with its transliteration. The first is the pre-1858 AD version and the second one is the post-1858 AD of the verse 23.

Revelation 21:23 in English:

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.


Revelation 21:23 before 1858 AD:

وَلَمْ تَكُنِ الْمَدِينَةُ فِي حَاجَةٍ إِلَى نُورِ الشَّمْسِ أَوِ الْقَمَرِ، لأَنَّ بهاء اللهِ يُنِيرُهَا، وَالْحَمَلَ مِصْبَاحُهَا

Revelation 21:23 before 1858 AD:

valm takon al-madinaha fey hájateh 'ela nure ash-shams 'ave al-ghamre, la'anna Bahá'u'lláh yoneiro há, val-hamala mesbáhohá.

Revelation 21:23 after 1858 AD:

وَلَمْ تَكُنِ الْمَدِينَةُ فِي حَاجَةٍ إِلَى نُورِ الشَّمْسِ أَوِ الْقَمَرِ، لأَنَّ مَجْدَ اللهِ يُنِيرُهَا، وَالْحَمَلَ مِصْبَاحُهَا

Revelation 21:23 after 1858 AD:

valm takon al-madinaha fey hájateh 'ela nure ash-shams 'ave al-ghamre, la'anna Majd'u'lláh yoneiro há, val-hamala mesbáhohá.

Tablet of the Master `Abdu'l-Bahá to Karbalái Muhammad Salmáni

(provisionally translated by Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir)


He is God!

His honour Karbalái Muhammad Salmáni,
upon Him be the Glory of God the Most Glorious One!

O thou the servant of Bahá!

Praise be to God that thou art
a candle in the heart of the assembly of love,
a light in the meeting place of divine love,
the fruit upon the tree of grace,
a flowering bud in the rose garden of divine mercy.

Thou art stirred by the breezes of the garden of paradise and art verdant by the gentle winds of heavenly bounty.

Now that thou art confirmed in this grace thou must pass the days of thy life to obtain that which will attract divine nearness, nearness to the divine threshold.

This nearness does not consist in physical
nearness but it resides in supplication, in prayer,
in servitude of the world of God. The more you strive
in this servitude the more divine nearness will be
realized and you will become close to Him.

As much as is possible you should acquire those
attributes and characteristics, so that you may
become
utterly evanescent
and nothingness itself in the Path of God,
so much so that
even a trace of being may not remain within you,
and that one should be as a dead corpse before the
hands of the washer of the dead, utterly ephemeral,
having no thought or remembrance of the self and ego,
become as nothing face to face with the observance of
the divine ordinances, attracted and enamoured of the
commandments of the All-Merciful, to move by that
strength, to be distinguished by those qualities.

This is the station of self-annihilation in God and
being everlasting through God, and upon thee be the
Glory [the Bahá’].

AA.

Tablet of the Master `Abdu'l-Bahá to Ustádh Muhammad Sádeq Salmáni

(provisionally translated by Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir)

By hand of his honour Qaabel [the one who is the recipient of the divine mercy], upon him be the glory of the Most Glorious One. To Kooshakak his honour, Ustádh Muhammad Sádeq Salmáni, his honour Karabalái
Muhammad Salmáni, and the friends of God, upon them all be the Glory of the Most Glorious.

He is God!

O ye enkindled ones with the fire of the Divine Covenant! One can in no wise imagine any tranquillity or real prosperity in this narrow region of earthly existence for it is oppressive, constricted, and laden with sorrows...

The world of real tranquillity is the world of the Kingdom of Him Who is the Lord of All Creation. It is that which has true expansion the dominion of generosity, of bounty, and of liberal grace. Thou shalt always be veiled of the lights of those spiritual spheres as long as thou are beholden to this world of dust. And thou shalt ever remain oblivious and negligent of the Sublime World as long as thine heart is attached to the terrestrial realm.

So ye should utterly focus your eyes unto the other world, of matchless glory, and ye must needs obtain attachment to that other realm. In this wise all your days will be past in joy upon joy and at all times ye will be surrounded by joy of spirit and conscience. This is the counsel of ‘Abdu’l-Baha.

AA.

Sports

Shoghi Effendi writes in 1914:

"Athletics refresh the body, tranquilize and enlighten the mind, and develop moral character."

"Sports, in general, have had an important and estimable function in life and will inevitably in future be regarded as the indispensable factor for intellectual and moral growth."

See http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=shoghieffendi_functions_sports_life.

2007 is the year of Boston.

Boston Red Sox world champions.

New England Patriots possibly the best team of all time in football.

Baha'u'llah in the New Testament

Some Christians ask "if Baha'u'llah is the promised One of the New Testament, then where does the New Testament mention Him by name?"

Well, Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir found the word "Baha'u'llah" in the Arabic language translation of the Bibles of 1833 and 1858 (http://bahaistudies.net/kf/bibles.html). For those that do not read Arabic, I'll make it easy by demonstrating it below.

Its should be noted that these 1833 and 1858 versions of the Bible were published before the public declaration of Baha'u'llah in 1863. (Unfortunately, today's version of the Arabic translation of the Bible, unlike the 1833 and 1858 versions, doesn't use the word "Baha'u'llah" anymore.)

First, lets look at the verse in English. In Revelation 21:10, we read about the coming of the New Jerusalem.

NASB: And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God
GWT: He carried me by his power away to a large, high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.
KJV: And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God


Then a few verses after the New Jerusalem is described, we get to this Revelation 21:23 where the word Baha'u'llah بهاءالله shows up.


NASB: And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
GWT: The city doesn't need any sun or moon to give it light because the glory of God gave it light. The lamb was its lamp.
KJV: And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.


The phrase "glory of God" in bold in the above verse is the English Translation of the word "Baha'u'llah". Before I show you the photocopy of this verse from the 1858 version of the Bible, lets first see what Baha'u'llah looks like in Arabic:

بهاءالله

Below is the photocopy of the Bible of 1858 of Revelation Chapter 21. I have put a red box around the word Baha'u'llah بهاءالله, which is translated into English as "glory of God" in Revelation 21:23.





Unfortunately, today's version of the Arabic translation of the Bible doesn't use the word "Baha'u'llah" for "Glory of God" anymore. It now uses the word "Majd'u'llah". Majd'u'llah looks like this in Arabic:

Muhammad - First and Last

These Quranic verses suggest that Muhammad is not the last prophet nor that the Quran is the last Book in a literal sense.

** (Point 1) Quranic verses (listed below) demonstrate that even though the Quran does state that Muhammad is the last, he is also considered to be the first. Since the Quran considers Muhammad as both the first and the last, then "last" should not be taken literally.

** (Point 2) The Quran states that Moses is also the first, so if there are more than one firsts (Moses, Adam, Muhammad), then there are more also than one lasts. Neither first nor last is outwardly literal.

In support of Baha'u'llah's statement in the Iqan, I offer the following Qur'anic verses. First read what Baha'u'llah writes:

Why should Muhammad, that immortal Beauty, Who hath said: “I am the first Adam” be incapable of saying also: “I am the last Adam”? For even as He regarded Himself to be the “First of the Prophets”—that is Adam—in like manner, the “Seal of the Prophets” is also applicable unto that Divine Beauty. It is admittedly obvious that being the “First of the Prophets,” He likewise is their “Seal.” (Baha'u'llah - The Kitab-i-Iqan)

Now to the Quranic verses:

006.014
YUSUFALI: Say: ... but I am commanded to be the first of those who bow to Allah (in Islam)...
PICKTHAL: ...I am ordered to be the first to surrender (unto Him).
SHAKIR: ...I am commanded to be the first who submits himself...
أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ
awwala man aslama

006.163
YUSUFALI: ...I am the first of those who bow to His will.
PICKTHAL: ...I am first of those who surrender (unto Him).
SHAKIR: ...I am the first of those who submit.
أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
awwalu almuslimeena

039.012
YUSUFALI: And I am commanded to be the first of those who bow to Allah in Islam.
PICKTHAL: And I am commanded to be the first of those who are muslims (surrender unto Him).
SHAKIR: And I am commanded that I shall be the first of those who submit.
أَوَّلَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
awwala almuslimeena

Moses is also considered the first. So if there are more than one 'first's, there can also be more than one 'last's.

007.143
YUSUFALI: When Moses came... He said: "... to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe."
PICKTHAL: And when Moses came... he said: ...I turn unto Thee repentant, and I am the first of (true) believers.
SHAKIR: And when Musa came.... He said: ... I turn to Thee, and I am the first of the believers.
أَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
awwalu almumineena

Shoghi Effendi's Translations and Interpretations

Year 2007 is the 50th anniversary of the passing of Shoghi Effendi.

Here you will find raw analysis of Shoghi Effendi's translation and interpretation of the Long Obligatory Prayer of Baha'u'llah from Arabic into English.

يا إِلهَ الأَسْمآءِ
O Thou Who art the Lord of all names

وَ فاطِرَ السَّماءِ
and the Maker of the heavens!

أَسْئَلُکَ بِمَطالِعِ غَيْبِکَ
I beseech Thee by them Who are the Daysprings of Thine invisible Essence,

الْعَلِيِّ الْأَبْهی
the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious,

بِأَنْ تَجْعَلَ صَلاتِی ناراً لِتُحْرِقَ حُجُباتِيَ الَّتِی مَنَعَتْنِی عَنْ مُشاهَدَةِ جَمالِکَ
to make of my prayer a fire that will burn away the veils which have shut me out from Thy beauty,

وَ نُوراً يَدُلُّنِيْ إِلی بَحْرِ وِصالِکَ
and a light that will lead me unto the ocean of Thy Presence.

.......................

يا مَقْصُودَ الْعالَمِ وَ مَحْبُوبَ الْأُمَمِ
O Thou the Desire of the world and the Beloved of the nations!

تَرانِی مُقْبِلاً إِلَيْکَ مُنْقَطِعاً عَمَّا سِواکَ مُتَمَسِّکاً بِحَبْلِکَ الَّذِيْ بِحَرَکَتِهِ تَحَرَّکَتِ المُمْکِناتُ
Thou seest me turning toward Thee, and rid of all attachment to anyone save Thee, and clinging to Thy cord, through whose movement the whole creation hath been stirred up.

أَيْ رَبِّ أَنَا عَبْدُکَ وَ ابْنُ عَبْدِکَ
I am Thy servant, O my Lord, and the son of Thy servant.

أَکُوْنُ حاضِراً قائِماً بَيْنَ أَيادِيْ مَشِيَّتِکَ وَ إِرادَتِکَ وَ ما أُرِيْدُ إِلَّا رِضَائَکَ
Behold me standing ready to do Thy will and Thy desire, and wishing naught else except Thy good pleasure.

أَسْئَلُکَ بِبَحْرِ رَحْمَتِکَ وَ شَمْسِ فَضْلِکَ
I implore Thee by the Ocean of Thy mercy and the Daystar of Thy grace

بِأَنْ تَفْعَلَ بِعَبْدِکَ ما تُحِبُّ وَ تَرْضی
to do with Thy servant as Thou willest and pleasest.

وَ عِزَّتِکَ الْمُقَدَّسَةِ عَنِ الذِّکْرِ وَ الثَّناءِ
By Thy might which is far above all mention and praise!

کُلُّ ما يَظْهَرُ مِنْ عِنْدِکَ هُوَ مَقْصُودُ قَلْبِی وَ مَحْبُوبُ فُؤآدِيْ
Whatsoever is revealed by Thee is the desire of my heart and the beloved of my soul.

إِلهِيْ إِلهِيْ
O God, my God!

لا تَنْظُرْ إِلی آمالِی وَ أَعْمالِيْ
Look not upon my hopes and my doings,

بَلْ إِلی إِرادَتِکَ الَّتِيْ أَحاطَتِ السَّمَواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ
nay rather look upon Thy will that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth.

وَ اسْمِکَ الْأَعْظَمِ يا مالِکَ الْأُمَمِ
By Thy Most Great Name, O Thou Lord of all nations!

ما أَرَدْتُ إِلَّا ما أَرَدْتَهُ
I have desired only what Thou didst desire,

وَ لا أُحِبُّ إِلَّا ما تُحِبُّ
and love only what Thou dost love.

A Brief Summary of Milani's An Introduction to Bahá'í-Muslim Apologetics

Summary written by Hajir Moghaddam

TITLE: The Proof Based on Establishment (Dalíl-i-taqrír) and the Proof Based on Verses (H.ujjiyyat-i-ayát) - An Introduction to Bahá'í-Muslim Apologetics by Kavian Sadeghzade Milani and Leila Rassekh Milani

Intro and Material:
- Early core group of Babis and Baha'is were mysteriously prepared to accepted the Bab and Baha'u'llah based on messianic expectation.
- Polemic argumentation did not play a role in their conversion.
- There was great difficulty conveying the Message to Muslim population in the Middle East.
- Islam has a systematic and well-defined theological framework.
- Baha'i teachers gradually developed solid textual arguments and interpretations of the Qur'an.
- Most of the concepts that the teachers developed were found in the writings of the Bab and Baha'u'llah.
- Study focuses on the historical and theological development of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpáygání's dalíl-i-taqrír (proof based on establishment) and hujjiyyat-i-ayát (proof based on verses).
- This includes Kitáb al-Fará'id (The Book of Priceless Pearls) and the Fasl ul-Khitáb (That which Separates Between Truth and Falsehood).
- The Fará'id is the best apologetic defense of the Bahá'í Faith ever written.
- All other apologetic works in Persian rely on this book.
- A number of anti-Baha'i polemic were developed as a refutation of the Fará'id.
- dalíl-i-taqrír - the thesis: If a person claims to found a religion and that religion gains influence and becomes established, it is proof of its truth.

dalíl-i-taqrír overview:

1. Concept of the Manifestation of God.
- God has undisputed sovereignty over creation and the Manifestations of God are possessors of God's attributed, including sovereignty. Therefore, the Manifestations will achieve sovereignty in nasut over the enemies. In other words, a divinely inspired religion cannot be permanently stopped.

2. Definition of dalíl-i-taqrír
- a divinely inspired religion cannot be stopped
- "Should a person claim to be the founder of a religion, and proceed to establish a religion, and claim a relationship between that religion and God (Blessed and Exalted be He), and that religion gains influence in the world and becomes established, this is sufficient proof regarding its truth." (Abu'l-Fadl)
- requires that false claimants disappear
- counter-claimants of Jesus, Muhammad, and Baha'u'llah faced rapid demise
- false religions have existed before and they have disappeared
- "Conversely, non-establishment and lack of influence indicate the falsity of a fading and temporary claim" (Abu'l-Fadl)
- Abu'l-Fadl is so confident of the validity of the dalíl-i-taqrír that he claims that without it the truth of no religion can be established
- "if one ignores the proof of establishment, then it is in no wise possible for one to distinguish between Truth and falsehood." (Abu'l-Fadl)


Scriptural sources for dalíl-i-taqrír:

1. Writings of Baha'u'llah
-- Kitáb-i-Íqán, pages 107-108 : Muhammad's sovereignty "is today apparent and manifest amongst the people" and the Qa'im's sovereignty will "in due time reveal itself" (written in 1852).
-- Kitáb-i-Íqán, pages 110-111 : Sovereignty of Muhammad is Islam's establishment and ascendancy.
-- Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, LII : Proofs for validity of Baha'u'llah's mission are (1) "His own Self", (2) "His Revelation", (3) establishment of "the words He hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth".
-- Promised Day is Come, page 87 : "If this Cause be of God, no man can prevail against it; and if it be not of God, the divines amongst you, and they that follow their corrupt desires, and such as have rebelled against Him, will surely suffice to overpower it."

2. Qur'an
-- Qur'án, XVII.81 : "And say: Truth has come and falsehood hath vanished. Verily falsehood is by its nature bound to perish."
-- Qur'án, XXXVII.171-172 : "Our Word had already been given before to Our servants, the Messengers, That they would be assisted, And that certainly Our hosts shall be victorious."
-- Qur'án, XIV.24-26 : "Do you not see how God compareth a good Word with a good tree whose roots are firm and branches in the sky, Which yields, by the leave of its Lord, its fruits in all seasons. God presents similitudes to men that they might reflect. An evil word is like a rotten tree torn out of the earth. It has no stability."
-- Qur'án, XXI.18 : "Verily, We set the truth against falsehood, which shatters it, and falsehood disappears. Woe unto you for what you attribute to God!"
-- Qur'án, IX,32-33 : "Fain, they wish to extinguish the light of God by their mouths; but God will not have it so, for He wills to perfect His light, albeit the unbelievers be averse. It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the True Religion in order to make it victorious over every other religion, even though the unbelievers be averse."

3. Bible
-- Proverbs 19:5-9 : "A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape...A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish."
-- I. Corinthians 4:11 : "For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
-- I John 5:4 : "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
-- Matthew 15:13 : "Every tree, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up."
-- Acts 5:33-39 : "But if it be of God, ye can not overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."