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Notes:
The scattered use of special marks in the text is in most cases not an error; see below

Add or read quotations or links pertaining to this work here (includes cross-reference table to updated translations in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.


Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha:
Volumes 1-3

by Abdu'l-Bahá

1915/1919
original written in Persian and Arabic.

Volume I

Frontispiece

In reality thou art spiritually hungry and athirst for the Water of Life. Therefore I send thee spiritual food and bestow upon thee the Water of Life Eternal. That food is the divine advices and exhortations revealed in the Tablets and the spiritual outpourings of the Breath of the Holy Spirit. I hope ere long it will reach thee and thou wilt behold what an exhilaration and beatitude it produceth and what cheerfulness and serenity and what heavenly emotions it createth!”

Abdul-Baha Abbas.

Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas
Volume I
Published by
BAHAI PUBLISHING SOCIETY
P. O. Box 283
CHICAGO, U.S.A.


First edition, May 1915
Second edition, February 1919

               CONTENTS
  
     Introduction................. i  
     Volume I..................... 1  
     Volume II.................. 239  
     Volume III................. 485  


Click on any of the numbers below to go directly to a specific page:
i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730

+i

Introduction

This book is a reproduction of the Tablets of Abdul-Baha as contained in the archives of the House of Spirituality1 of Bahais of Chicago from the recipients for the purpose of safe preservation in accordance with the purpose mentioned in the following letter sent out by that Body:

March 21, 1908.

To the Friends of God in the Light of El-Abha, throughout America.

Greeting:—

For a number of years the House of Spirituality has been gathering copies of Tablets, received by the Friends in America from Abdul-Baha Abbas, for sacred preservation in its archives, in accord with permission from him to do so in a Tablet addressed to it dated April 21, 1903, as follows: “As to the compiling of the Tablets in a Book for the House of Spirituality, this depends upon the consent of the receivers of the Tablets; if the owners of the Tablets consent, copies should be kept and collected in the House of Spirituality and it will be acceptable.”

Although many Tablets, both published and unpublished, were known to be in circulation among the believers, and notwithstanding


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the restriction to collect only copies sent in with the consent of the recipients, yet, in the spring of 1907, through the hearty response and co-operation in this endeavor about 500 copies of different Tablets had been received, acknowledge and filed with data concerning each in a safety deposit vault equipped with all modern appliances for protection.

We believe the Friends everywhere will be further interested in knowing that at that time a draft of the Tablets was made by the Librarian of the House of Spirituality for the Bahai Publishing Society (who contemplated issuing same in book form), with all references to personalities eliminated, and said compilation was taken by Mr. Agnew to the presence of Abdul-Baha, who inquired especially as to elimination of all names of persons and everything of a clearly personal nature, and as to whether the recipients of the Tablets had consented to publication of them, etc.—to all of which he gave approval and instructed the Publishing Society to proceed with the work.

The purpose of this communication is therefore twofold: First, that the endeavor be continued to preserve a copy of every Tablet obtainable; and second, that it be accomplished at the earliest possible moment in order to make the forthcoming Volumes of Tablets (now being prepared by the Publishing Society) as complete as possible, for only the Tablets in the archives of the House will be used, as therein is recorded the desire of the recipients.

In sending copies of Tablets, kindly see in so far as possible that together with each is given: (1) Full name of recipient (2) present address, mentioning street number, city or town, and state, (3) on or about date translation, (4) name of translator, (5) clearly state whether or not permission to publish all or only a portion of same is granted. Should there be any doubt as to whether or not a copy of any certain Tablet is already in the archives, you may be assured in knowing that every Tablet received has been acknowledged on a special printed form, signed by the Librarian.

Concerning this important matter the following words of Abdul-Baha will be of interest to all: “Verily know, that the Tablets (Book) of Abdul-Baha and his address is a hidden mystery and concealed fact; no one is informed of its greatness and importance at these times. But in the course of times and future centuries, the signs thereof will be manifested, the lights thereof will dawn, the fragrance thereof will be diffused, and the greatness, the


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importance thereof will be known. The truth I say unto thee, that each leaflet from Abdul-Baha will be a wide-spread Book; nay, rather, a glistening Gem on the Glorious Crown. Know thou Its value and hold great Its station!”

Thanking you in advance, we are your fellow servants in the Vineyard of El-Abha,

The House of Spirituality

“A sufficient number of Tablets having been gathered together,…”

A sufficient number of Tablets having been gathered together, they have been entrusted to the Baha’i Publishing Society for publication in this concrete form for the enlightenment of the English-speaking world.

The Tablets appear in the book in the order received and filed in the archives, i.e. the first to respond to the above letter sent out by the House of Spirituality appear first in the book, and, so far as possible, all the Tablets to any one person or to a family or to an assembly have been placed together.

Regarding publications, the following Tablet from Abdul-Baha was received by this Society in October, 1906:

“He is God!…”

He is God! O ye heavenly Assemblage!

Your letter was received and its contents became known. Ye have written concerning the printing and publication of the Tablets.

The translation of the Surat-ul-Hykl1 is of the utmost difficulty. It must be translated by a committee who are exceedingly efficient both in Persian and English, exercising the closest and most minute attention.


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Otherwise the text would not become intelligible. The same rule applieth to other Writings and Tablets. For the present the organization of such a committee of translators is not possible and there is no other means than the translations made by individuals. In the future, God willing, means will be brought about. Translations will be made by a committee composed of two most erudite Persians and two learned Americans, all of them having the utmost proficiency in both languages and possessing a certain knowledge of sciences and arts. Then others from among the scholars and thinkers must assist. At that time Tablets will be translated correctly and published. What ye have in your hands and what is already printed will impart a certain degree of information. Whatever matter the spiritual Boards of Council in New York, Chicago, Washington and Kenosha unanimously deem advisable to print and publish, ye may print and publish; and have the utmost union and oneness with each other.

Regarding the Tablets of Abdul-Baha: Each of them is important. Print ye those which are in detail.

As to the question of annihilation and destruction of the Spirits2 : Mr. Phelps hath not not fully understood the matter or else the translator hath made some mistake. It was not intended to convey the idea that the unbelieving souls are absolutely annihilated. Nay, rather, it was meant that the existence of the evil spirits in comparison to the existence of the sanctified souls was like unto annihilation. As you clearly behold, the existence


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of mineral in comparison with the existence of man is like unto non-being. When the body of man is destroyed and disintegrated, it returneth to the mineral.

Concerning the income of the printing and publishing society, as ye write, it must be expended for charitable purposes.

O ye believers of God! I am pleased with you and seek for your assistance and confirmation. I hope that ye may, day by day, add to your love, steadfastness, purity of intention and service to the Cause of God.

Upon ye be greeting and praise!

Abdul-Baha Abbas.

“These Tablets were originally written in Persian and all…”

These Tablets were originally written in Persian and all bear the caption, “He is God!”3 and close with expressions of good will, such as, “Upon ye be greetings and praise!” These expressions have been omitted from this compilation; also such portions as are clearly of a personal nature, as well as names of persons, as instructed by Abdul-Baha.

Omission of names of persons has been designated by the sign, thus ….….; omission of purely personal portions of the text have been designated by the sign, thus ***. The translator’s interpolations are enclosed in parentheses, thus ( ); editor’s interpolations are enclosed in brackets, thus [ ]. For messages within Tablets a special sign has been found necessary and these messages are enclosed within this special sign, thus ~ ~. Quotations are shown by the usual sign, thus “ ”.

The great labor of translating these Tablets from the original language has been entrusted to the following translators,


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whose inestimable service is hereby gratefully acknowledged: Anton Haddad, Mirza S. M. Raffie, Mirza Housein Rouhy, Ali Kuli Khan, Dr. Ameen U. Fareed, H. S. M. Taki Manshadi, Mirza Ahmad Esphahani, Mrs. Getsinger, Miss Barney and Mirza Moneer Zane.

The House of Spirituality desires to thank all who have assisted in this matter of gathering in copies of Tablets for preservation in its archives, and requests the Bahais everywhere to continue the endeavor as outlined in the circular letter sent out by that Body, as herein quoted. Address such communications to the Librarian of the House of Spirituality, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill.

Only a portion of the Tablets now on file with the House of Spirituality are contained in this volume. Other volumes will be issued as soon as possible. Tablets coming in will take their place in order according to the date received and appear in forth-coming volumes.

The Bahai Publishing Society.

Feast of Naurooz, March 21, 1909.

“For the information of those who know little or nothing…”

For the information of those who know little or nothing of the Bahai Revelation, we quote the following account translated from the (French) Encyclopaedia of Larousse:—

Bahaism the religion of the disciples of Baha’o’llah, an outcome of Babism.—Mirza Husain Ali Nuri Baha’o’llah was born at Teheran in 1817 A. D. From 1844 he was one of the first adherents of the Bab, and devoted himself to the pacific propagation of his doctrine in Persia. After the death of the Bab he was, with the principal Babis, exiled to Baghdad, and later to Constantinople and Adrianople, under the surveillance of the Ottoman Government. It was


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in the latter city that he openly declared his mission. He was “He whom God would make manifest,” whom the Bab had announced in his writings, the great Manifestation of God, promised for the last days; and in his letters to the principal Rulers of the States of Europe he invited them to join him in establishing religion and universal peace. From this time, the Babis who acknowledged him became Bahais. The sultan then exiled him (1868 A. D.) to Acca in Palestine, where he composed the greater part of his doctrinal works, and where he died in 1892 A. D. (May 29). He had confided to his son, Abbas Effendi Abdul-Baha, the work of spreading the religion and continuing the connection between the Bahais of all parts of the world. In point of fact, there are Bahais everywhere, not only in Mohammedan countries, but also in all the countries of Europe, as well as in the United States, Canada, Japan, India, etc. This is because Baha’o’llah has known how to transform Babism into a universal religion, which is presented as the fulfillment and completion of all the ancient faiths. The Jews await the Messiah, the Christians the return of Christ, the Moslem the Mahdi, the Buddhists the fifth Buddha, the Zoroastrians Shah Bahran, the Hindoos the reincarnation of Krishna, and the Atheists—a better social organization! Baha’o’llah represents all these, and thus destroys the rivalries and the enmities of the different religions; reconciles them in their primitive purity, and frees them from the corruption of dogmas and rites. For Bahaism has no clergy, no religious ceremonial, no public prayers; its only dogma is belief in God and in his Manifestations (Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, et al., Baha’o’llah). The principal works of Baha’o’llah are the Kitab-ul-Ighan, the Kitab-ul-Akdas, the Kitab-ul-Ayd, and numerous letters or tablets addressed to sovereigns or to private individuals. Ritual holds no place in the religion, which must be expressed in all the actions of life, and accomplished in neighborly love. Every one must
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have an occupation. The education of children is enjoined and regulated. No one has the power to receive confession of sins, or to give absolution. The priests of the existing religions should renounce celibacy, and should preach by their example, mingling in the life of the people. Monogamy is universally recommended, etc. Questions not treated of are left to the civil law of each country, and to the decisions of the Bait-ul-Adl, or House of Justice, instituted by Baha’o’llah. Respect toward the Head of the State is a part of respect toward God. A universal language, and the creation of tribunals of arbitration between nations, are to suppress wars. “You are all leaves of the same tree, and drops of the same sea,” Baha’o’llah has said. Briefly, it is not so much a new religion as Religion renewed and unified, which is directed today by Abdul-Baha.—(Nouveau Larousse Illustre, supplement, p. 66.)

“Just as this book was going to press the introduction to…”

Just as this book was going to press the introduction to it appearing on the following page was received from Abdul-Baha.


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“He is God!…”

He is God!

O Thou Almighty Lord!

Strengthen all mankind that they may do according to the instructions and teachings recorded in these writings, so that wars and strifes may be eliminated from the world of man; that the roots of enmity may be destroyed and the foundations of love and affection be established; that the hearts may be filled with love and the souls be attracted; that wisdom may advance and the faces become brightened and illumined; that there be no more wars and strifes and that reconciliation and peace appear; that the Unity of the world of man may pitch its tent on the “apex of the horizons,” so that peoples and parties become as one nation, that different continents become as one continent and the whole earth as one land; that the sects of antagonizing and dogmatic religions be unified; that the world of creation be adorned and all the people of the earth abide in unity and peace.

Verily, Thou art the Giver, the Bestower, the Beholder!

(signed) Abdul-Baha Abbas.




1See pages 1 and 6 of Tablets.

1Surat-ul-Hykl, by Baha’o’llah, a portion of which was translated by Anton Haddad, published in 1900. The retranslation of this book has not yet been undertaken.

2Referring to passage in “The Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi” (Abdul-Baha) by Myron T. Phelps, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York.

3This is a usage of the people of the East. The purpose is that in every matter the commencement should be in the Name of God.




Volume I
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