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His Writings |
The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh are most comprehensive in their
range, dealing with every phase of human life, individual and
social, with things material and things spiritual, with the interpretation
of ancient and modern scriptures, and with prophetic
anticipations of both the near and distant future.
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The range and accuracy of His knowledge was amazing. He
could quote and expound the Scriptures of the various religions
with which His correspondents or questioners were familiar, in
convincing and authoritative manner, although apparently He
had never had the ordinary means of access to many of the
books referred to. He declares, in Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf, that He had never read the Bayán, although in His own
Writings He shows the most perfect knowledge and understanding
of the Báb’s Revelation. (The Báb, as we have seen,
declared that His Revelation, the Bayán, was inspired by and
emanated from “Him Whom God shall make Manifest”!) With
the single exception of a visit from Professor Edward Granville
Browne, to whom in the year 1890 He accorded four interviews,
each lasting twenty to thirty minutes, He had no opportunities
of intercourse with enlightened Western thinkers, yet
His Writings show a complete grasp of the social, political and
religious problems of the Western World, and even His enemies
had to admit that His wisdom and knowledge were incomparable.
The well-known circumstances of His long imprisonment
render it impossible to doubt that the wealth of knowledge
shown in His Writings must have been acquired from some
spiritual source, quite independent of the usual means of study
or instruction and the help of books or teachers.
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Sometimes He wrote in modern Persian, the ordinary language
of His fellow countrymen, which is largely admixed with
Arabic. At other times, as when addressing learned Zoroastrians,
He wrote in the purest classical Persian. He also wrote
with equal fluency in Arabic, sometimes in very simple language,
sometimes in classical style somewhat similar to that of
the Qur’án. His perfect mastery of these different languages
and styles was remarkable because of His entire lack of literary
education.
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In some of His Writings the way of holiness is pointed out in
such simple terms that “the wayfaring men, though fools, shall
not err therein” (Isaiah xxv, 8). In others there is a wealth
of poetic imagery, profound philosophy and allusions to Muḥammadan,
Zoroastrian and other scriptures, or to Persian
and Arabic literature and legends, such as only the poet, the
philosopher or the scholar can adequately appreciate. Still
others deal with advanced stages of the spiritual life and are to
be understood only by those who have already passed through
the earlier stages. His works are like a bountiful table provided
with foods and delicacies suited to the needs and tastes of all
who are genuine truth seekers.
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It is because of this that His Cause had effect among the
learned and culture, spiritual poets and well-known writers.
Even some of the leaders of the Súfís and of other sets, and
some of the political ministers who were writers, were attracted
by His words, for they exceeded those of all other writers
in sweetness and depth of spiritual meaning.
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1. | When asked whether Bahá’u’lláh had made a special study of Western writings and founded His teachings in accordance with them ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that the books of Bahá’u’lláh, written and printed as long ago as the 1870’s, contained the ideals now so familiar to the West, although at that time these ideas had not been printed or thought of in the West. [ Back To Reference] |