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Abstract: Short Tablet for an Iranian Baháʼí named Yúnis (Jonah), discussing the story of Jonah and the whale. Translated in the early 20th century by Ameen Fareed.
Notes: Source for the translation: Dwight Barstow collection, no. 116 (see below). Source for the original Persian text: Muntakhabátí az Makátíb-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, vol. 6, p. 223 (no. 314). |
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1. English translation
He is El-Abha! O thou fish of the fathomless ocean! As His Highness, Jonah (Upon him be peace!) became familiar with the interior of the “great fish” of nature and its elements, and suffered from the darkness of the depths of the sea of the world, so he was separated from the World of the Kingdom of Existence where are the Lights of the Placeless, and became a dweller in the world of place. Therefore the real meaning of Jonah is his reality (the essence of man); the fish is the corporeal body, the human temple and his outward form; the sea is the contingent world and the natural, dark qualities. As he was cast into this narrow and dark condition, he cried out from the bottom of his heart: "O Thou Holy Being! Verily I repent unto Thee!” (This caused him to be saved.)Thus, thou also, as thou art cast into the depths of the sea, supplicate and beseech to God, so that thou mayst draw nigh unto the shore of safety and enter the shade of the blessed tree, which is the comfort of the heart and the rest of the soul.
- (Signed) Abdul Baha Abbas
2. English translation (scan)
(from dwight_barstow_collection_101-150.pdf [39 MB])
Download: abdul-baha_tablet_jonah_whale.pdf.
3. Persian original
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