Revelation of Baha'u'llah 1863-68 study notebook

STUDY NOTEBOOK

your course catalogue, containing all instructions, forms, and related material

This sample study notebook is from the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh 1863-68 course

                Table of Contents

        Objective ..........................................1
        Tasks...............................................1
        Texts...............................................1
        Course Completion Levels............................1
        Course Components...................................2
                  Readings..................................2
                  Discussion................................2
                  Completion of a Learning Project..........2
        Completion of Course................................3
        Grading.............................................3
        University Credit...................................3
        Collaboration with Fellow Students..................3
        Study Schedule             (see Schedule of homework)
        The Study Notebook..................................9
        Learning Projects: Summary.........................10
        Learning Projects: Descriptions of the Types.......12
        Learning Project Forms.............................14
        Studying the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh.............26
        A Note on Unauthorized Translations................28
        A Note on the Construction of Persian Names........29

NOTE: If, after reading this course syllabus, you do not understand part of it, please call or e-mail the Wilmette Institute or your advisor/mentor. No set of instructions is unambiguous. You will do the Wilmette Institute a favor--as well as yourself--by asking questions.

Wilmette Institute
Studies in the Bahá'í Faith Program
Exploring the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh Course Series
The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: 1863-68

OBJECTIVE: To study the writings of Bahá'u'lláh during the Constantinople and Adrianople periods (1863-68) in order to understand them better, be able to apply the understanding to the entire revelation, and explain the writings to others better.

TASKS: Read each tablet or any excerpts from it that are available; organize information on each tablet in a useable form; and complete a series of learning projects that help facilitate study of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh and explaining it to others.

TEXTS: The course uses the following texts:

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh
The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh
The Bahá'í Scriptures: A Compilation of Descriptions and Commentaries; 1863-68: Bahá'u'lláh's
Writings, Adrianople Period (supplied by the Wilmette Institute; also available online, here)

NOTE: No English translation exists at all for some of the tablets studied in this course. If an authorized translation of the tablet in part or full is available, for example a part of the tablet appears in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, it is a listed in the unit's reading assignment. Some individuals have created their own translations of tablets, such as can be found on the worldwide web. Those translations, which have not been reviewed by the Bahá'í World Centre, are not part of the reading assignments for the course, because their quality is unknown.

COURSE COMPLETION LEVELS. The Wilmette Institute is gradually instituting a system of three proficiency levels for its courses. The introductory level is designed for those who do not need college credit and want a basic course that will help them teach the Faith more effectively. The intermediate level is designed for learners who want to be challenged to go more deeply into study of the materials of the course. It is designed to be completed at the level of a third or fourth-year undergraduare course at a university. The advanced level is designed to be completed at the level of a graduate course.

The syllabus below gives the completion requirements for the introductory and intermediate levels. If neither level is specified in a particular sentence, it applies to both levels. Anyone wishing to complete the course at the advanced level should contact the Institute to obtain the requirements for written projects.

COURSE COMPONENTS. The course consists of the following 4 components:

1. Readings. The course involves reading:

Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh from the Constantinople and Adrianople periods. Unfortunately, many tablets are still untranslated, although written descriptions of them exist.
Descriptions and commentaries on tablets. We have made a strenuous effort to find everything significant in English on the tablets revealed during this period.

NOTE: You do not have to purchase Adib Taherzadeh's four-volumes on The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh for this course. The Wilmette Institute has, with permission of the publisher, extracted material from those volumes that is directly relevant to the course and included it in the compilation supplied by the Wilmette Institute. The Taherzadeh volumes remain useful as a source of supplemental information about the recipients and themes of the tablets.

2. Discussion. Talking about what one learns is an important part of the assimilation process, especially if one can ask questions to clarify the facts and concepts. Discussion can occur four ways:

The course's listserver "edirne" (for those who have e-mail). Listserver postings will be mailed every two weeks to those who do not have e-mail. Students at the introductory level with e-mail are encouraged to make a minimum of three postings to "edirne"; students at the introductory level are required to do so. The postings can be a brief observation or question about a tablet. Students without e-mail can fax their observation or question to their mentor or offer their comments during the conference calls.
A local study group (for those who are members of such a group). Faculty will be pleased to call study groups to assist in the discussion and answer questions. In some cases, study questions are available.
Conference calls with fellow students. Conference calls are offered almost every week. You are urged to participate in one as early in the course as possible. It is impossible to read through the entire course package and understand it completely, even if the course materials are written clearly and unambiguously. By asking questions, you will do the Wilmette Institute a service as well as bringing yourself peace of mind. You will also be pleased to discover that your fellow students are just as enthusiastic but confused about the course as you are.
Conversations with one's mentor/advisor. Your mentor is always available by telephone and e-mail:
Iraj Ayman, 847-733-3501 (CST); iayman@usbnc.org
Robert Stockman, 847-733-3425 (CST); rstockman@usbnc.org
Jonah Winters, 919-968-3850 (EST); winters@bahai-library.org

3. Completion of a Learning Project. Each unit (of which the course has eight, not including the final project) requires completion of some sort of learning project. See the attached list of the twelve types of learning projects you can do, complete with forms to complete. Among the twelve are: firesides, deepenings, children's classes, essays, and artistic projects. Students are encouraged to complete a tablet study outline when possible. If one is uncertain what project to do, the fastest and easiest is the learning self-assessment.

Note: The objective of the course--to study the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh in order to understand it better and be able to give it to others--is more important that the specific tasks listed here. If you would like to design a different set of tasks to accomplish the objective, speak to your mentor/advisor. The Wilmette Institute is happy to consider other plans to fulfill the course objective.

COMPLETION OF COURSE. All courses have deadlines, and students should follow them as closely as possible. It is especially important that students keep up with the reading assignments so that they may discuss them the same time as everyone else. But the Wilmette Institute recognizes that its students have busy lives and cannot always keep the deadlines. If students cannot meet a deadline, they should discuss it with their mentor/advisor and arrange for an extension.

UNIVERSITY CREDIT. The intermediate level of the course has been designed to meet the standards of undergraduate university courses, even though the Wilmette Institute is not accredited to give such credit. However, it is often possible for students to obtain credit through a local university of their choice. Information is available from the Wilmette Institute. If you wish to take the course at a Master's degree level of difficulty, speak to your advisor. This generally entails completion of a 20-page paper in addition to the other requirements.

GRADING. Advisor/mentors will review homework and give students suggestions and advise about improving it as well as an "evaluatory adjective" (outstanding; very good; satisfactory). Students may take the course for a grade, but normally take it pass/fail.

COLLABORATION WITH FELLOW STUDENTS. Collaboration on the completion of homework exercises is encouraged. Individual learning projects, however, should be submitted, so that a record of each student's learning can be made. For example, two students could conduct a fireside or deepening together, but each should turn in a form about the event.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION. Once the student completes the course, he or she will receive a certificate of completion, which will specify the course's name, the level it was completed at, and the year.

The Study Notebook

The materials for the correspondence course on the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh have been sent to you in the form of this Notebook. Developing the Notebook--adding your notes and work on various learning projects to its sections--is the core task to accomplish during this course. As you continue to study the writings after the course ends, you should continue to add to the Notebook; we hope the course will help you develop study habits. One way to continue your study is to do more than one learning project for each tablet or group of tablets.

We strongly encourage you to complete a Tablet Study Outline for each work by Bahá'u'lláh. (This may be difficult to do for untranslated tablets, but for them partial tablet study outlines are possible). If you add photocopied material from published sources to your Notebook, you should include information about the author, full title, publisher, date and place of publication, and page numbers on the photocopy. This will help you later to cite the publication properly, should you write about the Tablet, do additional research in that source, or refer others to your sources. If you are including unpublished material by other people in your Notebook (such as notes and written comments by your classmates) you should be sure to include the person's full name, date, and a few words where or how you got the document. If you include material you found on the web, be sure to include the site's address.

Learning Projects: Summary

The Wilmette Institutes wants its correspondence courses to be as interesting and useful to its students as possible, while simultaneously challenging them to stretch their abilities and experiences and develop new habits of regular study of the Bahá'í writings. To accommodate a wide range of learning styles of its students, the Institute has identified twelve types of learning projects, classified in four categories:

I. Artistic Projects
1. Poetry and Short Stories
2. Songs, Paintings, Sculpture, Dance
3. Dramatic Presentations

II. Literary Projects
4. Essays
5. Reaction/Comparison Papers
6. Tablet Study Outlines
7. Learning Self-Assessment

III. Presentational Projects
8. Firesides
9. Deepenings/Classes

IV. Other Projects
10. Knowledge Maps
11. Combinations of the Learning Projects
12. Inventing your own Learning Projects

Descriptions of each of the twelve follow. The Institute wants its students to exercise a full range of their abilities, hence it strongly encourages students to complete at least one exercise from each category during the course. It also recognizes that not all twelve types might be appropriate for every reading assignment; students must use their judgment. If you have questions, let us know.

Following the descriptions are generic forms for each learning project. The forms need not be followed rigidly; you may retype them, change the spacing between items, add your own items to them, and in some cases you may wish to drop items that are not relevant to your particular project. The important thing is to be creative and do something that will result in learning something new, for reading alone rarely results in deep or permanent learning. It is also important to aim your learning project to capture a central or significant aspect of the reading, and not explore an obscure or minor aspect.

Whenever you submit a learning project, PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME!

Learning Projects: Descriptions of the Types

I. Artistic Projects

Artistic projects involve expressing the ideas learned in the course, or ideas inspired by the course, in artistic form. These projects, if presented to others, might overlap with the presentational projects (see III).

1. Poetry and Short Stories. For a poem or story to serve as a learning project for this course, it must relate to the material being studied, either by using the material directly or by being inspired by the material. There is no required minimum length for the work. It should, however, be accompanied by a 1-2 page explanation that describes how it was created and how it uses the material of the course. A reporting form is included at the end of this section to complete. In some cases an audio or videotape might be an appropriate item to include when describing the project.

2. Songs, Painting, Sculpture, Dance. For any of these efforts to serve as a learning project for this course, it must relate to the material being studied, either by using the material directly or by being inspired by the material. There is no required minimum length or size for the work. It should, however, be accompanied by a 1-2 page explanation that describes how the work was created and how it uses the material of the course. A reporting form is included at the end of this section to complete. In some cases an audio or videotape might be an appropriate item to include when describing the project.

3. Dramatic Presentations. A dramatic presentation might involve a skit, monologue, or other form. It could be primarily theatrical or educative. A reporting form is included at the end of this section to complete. In some cases an audio or videotape might be an appropriate item to include when describing the project.

II. Literary Projects

Literary projects primarily focus on writing something about the reading assignments of each week. They help you systematically develop your understanding of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, though they usually do not involve presenting your new learning to others.

4. Essays. An essay is a short written piece that explores some theme or aspect of the reading assignment. You may write an essay on one of the questions provided, or define your own question. Each essay should be at least two full pages in length; no maximum length is set, though evaluators may not read beyond the first five pages. Each essay should have the following sections:

A. Please write out the question you are answering at the top of the page.

B. The opening paragraph should provide your thesis statement or summarize your argument.

C. Most of the text will be the "body" of your essay, where you state your argument and present your evidence for it.

D. The essay should close with conclusions or a wrap-up.

5. Reaction/Comparison Papers. Papers of this sort give your reaction to some aspect of the readings, or compare them to something else. By "reaction" we do not mean a description of how you "feel" about something you have read; rather, the paper should offer reasoned comments about some aspect of the course. It is usually easiest to write a reaction paper by taking some ideas from outside the class, or texts read elsewhere, and applying them to a reading or idea from the class. For example, one might relate a passage in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh to a biblical or qur'ánic text, or an idea or principle to biblical or qur'ánic ideas and principles. One might comment about the impact an idea or principle in one of Bahá'u'lláh's tablets could have on a current international problem or practice.

If one is offering a comparison, the easiest structure to follow is "X is similar to Y, but X is also different from Y, and here's how." If you are exploring the potential impact of a principle, state the principle, state the practice or problem it might impact on, and then state how the principle might change the practice or solve the problem.

6. Tablet Study Outlines. The Wilmette Institute encourages its students to complete a tablet study outline for each work of Bahá'u'lláh being studied. The outline serves as a convenient format for acquiring all the basic information about each tablet. Completing the outline constitutes a minimal amount of work to complete the course; ideally, after assembling the minimal information on each tablet, you should do something with it, either by writing about it or presenting about it.

7. Learning Self-Assessment. The purpose of the learning self-assessment form is to allow a student to record what he or she has learned and pass the information on to the mentor. It is a very helpful project for adult learners and a useful format for communicating a summary of what one learned to others.

III. Presentational Projects

8. Firesides. A fireside is here defined as any presentation developed primarily for a non-Bahá'í audience. It need not have a large audience and formal venue; a presentation over lunch to one person is fine. For the purposes of this course, however, the presentation should be planned, not spontaneous. A reporting form is included at the end of this section; it offers further details.

9. Deepenings/Classes. A deepening/class is here defined as any presentation developed primarily for a Bahá'í audience. It need not have a large audience and formal venue; a presentation over lunch to one person is fine. For the purposes of this course, however, the presentation should be planned, not spontaneous. A reporting form is included at the end of this section; it offers further details.

Note: for both firesides and deepenings, you may submit to us a plan for a fireside or deepening without actually giving it. We encourage you to give it, of course, but we will accept plans for presentations that have not yet been delivered to an audience.

IV. Other Projects

10. Knowledge Maps. A knowledge map is a presentation of important information in visual form. It might be a chart, graph, illustration, timeline, outline, list, or some other format. In some cases a knowledge map may need to be accompanied by a brief (1-2 page) explanation of what the knowledge map expresses and how it was created. To give you some ideas of what this can include, many sample knowledge maps can be found at http://wilmetteinstitute.org/projects.

11. Combinations of the Learning Projects. You may wish to complete a learning project that involves part of the work of two or more of the types of projects. For example, in the course of planning a fireside on a particular tablet you may wish to complete the tablet study outline for that tablet. You may wish to include a poem or song in a deepening or class. You may wish to use a knowledge map exercise in a presentation. Please do not hesitate to complete all or parts of two learning projects in the course of a week's work. Be creative in learning about the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh in ways that are useful to you and your community. But when you submit work to us, please provide us at least two pages about the project you completed and please be sure to explain it clearly, so that we can evaluate the work effectively and offer you useful comments about it. Feel free to adapt or modify any of the existing forms for learning projects to create your own form.

12. Inventing your own Learning Projects. The ten types of learning projects above seem fairly comprehensive, but no doubt students can think of other types of projects to complete. For example, the form on planning a deepening or class may not be adequate for a children's class; one might consider such a class a distinctively different type of project. Feel free to invent your own type of learning project. But please provide us at least two pages about the project you completed and please be sure to explain it clearly, so that we can evaluate the work effectively and offer you useful comments about it. Feel free to adapt or modify any of the existing forms for learning projects to create your own form.

Learning Project Forms

Forms for each type of learning project follow. The forms need not be followed rigidly; you may retype them, change the spacing between items, add your own items to them, and in some cases you may wish to drop items that are not relevant to your particular project.

I.1-3 Artistic Presentations

NAME______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

Note: if appropriate, you may wish to submit an audio or videotape with this form.

1. Type of artistic presentation: ___________________

2. Please describe briefly how you were inspired to produce this work

3. What steps did you go through in completing this work?

4. If you presented the work, please complete the following:

A. Where presented: __________________________________________________

B. When presented: ___________________________

C. Who sponsored the presentation? _________________________________

D. How many attended? _____________________ How many Bahá'ís? ________

5. What obstacles or problems did you overcome in the course of creating this work?

6. Please attach to this form a 1-2 page description of how the artistic work expresses ideas studied in this course.

II.4. Essays

NAME_______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

1. Please state the question you are answering.

2. Your essay should be at least two pages, double spaced, typed, with standard margins. References to Bahá'í scripture may be parenthetical (for example, Gleanings, p. 25). If you are not using the latest American editions of Bahá'í scripture, please add a "Bibliography" at the end of your essay and list the Bahá'í scriptural works you are using, complete with edition number and publisher. References to works other than Bahá'í scripture may be parenthetical (for example, Jones, page 16) but must be accompanied by a bibliography listing full name of author, full title, full name of editor or translator (if applicable), edition number, publisher, place of publication, date of publication, and page number. Without this information a reference is useless, because the reader will not be able to find the quotation or information being referenced.

The essay should open with a thesis statement or summary of your argument. It should be followed by a body, constituting most of the essay, where you make your point, and a conclusion where you wrap up your argument. You may want to divide the paper up with subtitles about every page to mark the different parts of the paper. If you are uncertain how to do this, call your faculty advisor, or make an effort and submit it asking for advice how to improve it. (You can always revise and resubmit it a second time).

II.5. Reaction/Comparison Papers

NAME_______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

Your paper should be three to four pages, double spaced, typed, with standard margins. References to Bahá'í scripture may be parenthetical (for example, Gleanings, p. 25). If you are not using the latest American editions of Bahá'í scripture, please add a "Bibliography" at the end of your essay and list the Bahá'í scriptural works you are using, complete with edition number and publisher. References to works other than Bahá'í scripture may be parenthetical (for example, Jones, page 16) but must be accompanied by a bibliography listing full name of author, full title, full name of editor or translator (if applicable), edition number, publisher, place of publication, date of publication, and page number. Without this information a reference is useless, because the reader will not be able to find the quotation or information being referenced.

The paper should open with a thesis statement or summary of the purpose of your paper. It should be followed by a body, constituting most of the paper, where you make your point, and a conclusion where you wrap up your argument. You may want to divide the paper up with subtitles about every page to mark the different parts of the paper. If you are uncertain how to write a paper of this sort, call your faculty advisor, or make an effort and submit it asking for advice how to improve it. (You can always revise and submit it a second time).

II.6. Tablet Study Outline

NAME_______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

(Type this study outline into your computer and increase or decrease the spacing between lines as needed. We can also provide it to you by e-mail. Some tablets are short and the study materials on them will be short. Others may require many pages of discussion. Not all of the items below will apply to every tablet. In many cases not all of the information is currently available.)

Name of Tablet in Arabic or Persian:

Translation into English:

Significance of Name:

Tablet was revealed in: Arabic Persian Mixture of Both (circle one)

Name of Recipient:

Reason for Revelation of the Tablet:

Questions asked that are answered in Tablet (if known):

Date of Revelation:

Place of Revelation:

Role of Amaneuensis or Secretary:

Other Tablets revealed at about the same time:

Style, subject, and genre of the Tablet (see attached list, below; more than one may apply):

Voice of Tablet (who is speaking? Bahá'u'lláh? God? Other Figures? Are there several voices?)

Outline Contents of Tablet (if possible)

List the principal themes of the Tablet, in what you perceive to be their order of importance, and state their relevance to (a) individuals, (b) families, (c) groups of people, (d) humanity) (On back; attach pages as necessary. For longer works, this could be many pages in length.)

Comment on the Tablet's relationship to any other tablets.

In several paragraphs, record your personal responses to the Tablet.

Elsewhere in the Notebook you may wish to assemble a biography or bio note of the recipient of the Tablet (who may have received many tablets). Assemble biographies of other individuals prominently mentioned in the Tablet.

Instructions regarding tone/style/genre (see above)

"In the Súriy-i-Haykal (Súrih of the Temple) revealed in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh states that in this Dispensation the verses of God have been revealed in nine different styles or categories. A well-known Bahá'í scholar, Jináb-i-Fáil-i-Mázindarání, after careful study of the Writings, has enumerated these styles" (Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh vol. 1, pages 42-43). The following is a slight adaptation of Mázandarání's nine categories:

I. Tone of Tablet

1. Tablets with the tone of command and authority.

2. Those with the tone of servitude, meekness and supplication.

II. Subject Covered by Tablet

1. Writings dealing with interpretation of the old Scriptures, religious beliefs and doctrines of the past.

2. Writings in which laws and ordinances have been enjoined for this age and laws of the past abrogated.

3. Mystical Writings.

4. Tablets concerning matters of government and world order, and those addressed to the kings.

5. Tablets dealing with subjects of learning and knowledge, divine philosophy, mysteries of creation, medicine, alchemy, etc.

6. Tablets exhorting men to education, goodly character and divine virtues.

7. Tablets dealing with social teachings.

III. Literary Genre of Tablet (not discussed by Mázandarání above):

1. Letter to an individual. This is often revealed by epistolary style, in other words, there are greetings to the person, exhortations, and usually an opening and a closing that sound like a letter. See the opening and closing several pages of the Four Valleys for an example; especially read footnote 9.

2. Essay or book revealed as a letter to an individual. This may be difficult to separate from the first category. Among the defining characteristics are length, elaborate arguments, and a complex internal structure (division into chapters or sections).

3. Essay or book, not revealed to a specific person. This category is very rare.

4. Poem. These works are often not translated into English.

5. Prayer.

II.7. Learning Self-Assessment: Reporting Form

NAME _______________________ COURSE _______________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE __________________

1. Summarize material learned.

2. Summarize understanding and insight gained (comparisons, contrasts, analysis, synthesis, interpretation).

3. Summarize skills acquired or improved.

4. Summarize new feelings or attitudes experienced.

5. Summarize changes in values and beliefs.

6. Summarize ways you can apply or use what you have gained.

III.8-9 Presentational Projects (Firesides, Deepenings, and Classes)

NAME_______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

Please attach a 1-2 page outline or description of the contents of the presentation, and a list of references used. If you gave handouts to your audience, please attach copies.

1. Describe the event.

2. Please provide the following information about the event:
A. Where held: __________________________________________________
B. When held: ___________________________
C. Who sponsored it? _________________________________
D. How many attended? _____________________ How many Bahá'ís? ________

3. How many persons were involved in speaking or presenting at the event? _______

4. How did you decide to hold the event? What steps did you take to plan it?

5. Please outline the learning goals of the event, or the information conveyed.

6. How was the knowledge presented (lecture, study group, etc.)?

7. What obstacles or problems did you overcome in planning the event?

8. Other comments.

IV.10. Knowledge Maps

NAME_______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

Please submit the knowledge map with answers to the following:

1. How did you conceive of the knowledge map?

2. What is the knowledge map designed to present?

3. What problems did you overcome in developing the knowledge map?

4. How do you plan to use the knowledge map (if applicable)?

5. Other comments.

IV.11. Combinations of the Learning Projects

NAME_______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

You will need to invent your own form for a combined learning project. If it involved a presentation, use appropriate parts of the "presentation" form. If it included artistic presentations, utilize the form for them. If you had to organize information in a script or outline, include it. If you are uncertain what to include, write a narrative explaining the learning project you completed.

IV.12. Inventing your own Learning Projects

NAME_______________________ COURSE ___________________________

ADVISOR/MENTOR ____________________________&NBSP; &NBSP; &NBSP; DATE _________________

You will need to invent your own form if you invented your own learning project. If it involved a presentation, use appropriate parts of the "presentation" form. If it included artistic presentations, utilize the form for them. If you had to organize information in a script or outline, include it. If you are uncertain what to include, write a narrative explaining the learning project you completed.

Studying the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh

Bahá'u'lláh revealed over 15,000 tablets in His life. Some were long (several hundred pages) but most are a page or two, written to a specific individual to answer a question or convey encouragement. Shoghi Effendi translated about a thousand pages into English in His lifetime. Gleanings contains 166 extracts, Prayers and Meditations 184, but some tablets provided more than one extract, so the total number of tablets that the Guardian used was less than the sum of the extracts in the two books (350). Since the Guardian did not assemble a list of his sources, it has been necessary to search for the original tablets he used, and they have not all been identified yet. Subsequently the Universal House of Justice has overseen production of Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, rendering into English 500 more pages of revelation. It appears that less than 500 of the 15,000 tablets--a relatively small percentage of the total revelation--have been partially translated and published in English. Since the works were selected by the Guardian and Universal House of Justice, we can be sure that the works available are the most significant and useful texts. We can also be sure that in subsequent centuries our understanding of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh will undergo significant expansion and deepening.

A search for references to all the tablets discussed in English and Persian by Bahá'í writers shows that only about 360 tablets even have names. In some cases the names were given by Bahá'u'lláh Himself (like the Hidden Words), 'Abdu'l-Bahá, or Shoghi Effendi. In other cases the name is derived from a prominent theme (such as the Tablet to the Christians). Many tablets are named for their recipients (like the Tablet to Queen Victoria) but some individuals (like Salmán) received dozens of tablets and thus naming the tablets for their recipients can be confusing. A few tablets (such as the Lawh-i-Ra'ís [Adrianople period] and the Súriy-i-Ra'ís [early Akka period] are perpetually confused, and even Shoghi Effendi appears to use the two names interchageably.

Taherzadeh's four-volume Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh provides historical information on and summaries of only about 86 tablets. At least one prominent tablet is absent: the Kitáb-i-'Ahd, presumably because its date of revelation is unknown (and Taherzadeh's survey covers the revelation chronologically).

The Wilmette Institute's course on the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh draws from all existing sources in English about Bahá'u'lláh's tablets. Because a topical organization of so many extracts is extremely difficult and discussion of individual extracts without historical context is difficult, the Wilmette Institute has chosen to review Bahá'u'lláh's writings chronologically. But this approach produces a different set of frustrations: many of the published extracts of Bahá'u'lláh's writings cannot be studied at all in a chronologically structured course because it is not known what tablet they come from or when they were revealed; some tablets are described by Taherzadeh but there are no translated extracts, or only a paragraph or two available. Students often ask where they can find translations of tablets when none are listed in the course materials, but if no translation is listed, that means no authorized translation is known to exist.

The Wilmette Institute is creating courses on individual works of Bahá'í scripture that also examine related texts by Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Such courses allow one to take a work and read it in the context of the other works of Bahá'í scripture. Courses have been created on the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Kitáb-i-Íqán and could be created on Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, the Hidden Words, the Seven Valleys, the Four Valleys, the tablets to the kings and rulers, and tablets revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

A Note on Unauthorized Translations

Increasingly, Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís with training in the Arabic and Persian languages are translating the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh into English. With the advent of the internet and worldwide web, it has become easier to dissemininate these personal translations to many people. Most of these translations have never been submitted to the Universal House of Justice for checking, correction, and approval. As a result their accuracy and reliability vary greatly one from another.

The Wilmette Institute does not assign unauthorized translations to its students, unless it has received specific permission from the Universal House of Justice to use a specific translation (permission that has been granted in some cases). Wilmette Institute students are free to read and use unauthorized translations in their personal study; there are no restrictions on Bahá'ís using them. However, please remember that since the translation is not authorized, it has not been checked for accuracy. The translation may be useful for acquiring a general sense of the content of a tablet, but should not be read as if it were reliable at a word-by-word level.

A Note on the Construction of Persian Names

In times past the people of Persia had no surnames, but in many instances they were known by the name of the district, city, town, or even the village from which they came: for example, Khurásání, Mázindarání, Tihrání, Isfahání, and Shírází.

There were also various honorific prefixes and suffixes by which a person was distinguished. A descendant of the Prophet Muammad had (and has) the prefix of "Siyyid." At times, "Mírzá" took the place of "Siyyid," and at times the two were used together. "Mírzá" by itself did not denote any particular ancestry, except when placed after a proper name to mark royal descent.

The suffix "Khán" served at one time as a title, but with passing years, it became merely honorific, even meaningless, and at no time was it a surname.

The prefix "Hájí" or "Háj" indicated then, as now, one who had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Mashhadí and Karbilá'í, as prefixes, marked pilgrimage to Mashhad or Karbilá, but as suffixes pointed out nativity.

There were also innumerable titles conferred by the sovereign in Írán, consisting of diverse combinations, sometimes ludicrous, sometimes grammatically impossible. Occasionally they indicated a definite rank and profession. As time passed, these titles multiplied absurdly, until they were swept away by legislation in the 1920's.

Finally, a person was often distinguished from others by a combination of prefixes and suffixes attached to his name which, if omitted, might cause him to be taken for another person.

Today the situation is much changed, but for the period described in this book, the author can identify people only by the names they then used, however difficult they may be.

(from Hasan Balyuzi, The Bab, pages xiii-xiv)

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