Kitáb-i-Aqdas as Described and Glorified by Shoghi Effendi

by Cyrus Ala'i

Abstract:

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas may be regarded as the brightest emanation of the mind of Bahá'u'lláh, as the Mother Book of His Dispensation and the Charter of His New World Order. It is not an ordinary book, to be reviewed in a single paper, whatever the extent of it. Numerous articles and books have already been written, describing and investigating various facets of this extraordinary work which contains only some 10,000 words in its original Arabic edition and about 20,000 words in the English translation.

However, the commentaries of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, in particular those that appeared in his unique work God Passes By, are of exceptional value and are paramount for appreciating the importance and discovering the hidden treasures of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, a book designated by its Author as the "Source of True Felicity," the "Unerring Balance," the "Straight Path," and the "Quickener of Mankind."

In this paper, first, some basic facts about the Kitáb-i-Aqdas will be established. Thereafter, the commentaries of the Guardian, taken from forty-eight different pages of God Passes By and categorized in nine topics, will be studied and discussed.

These topics include: How the Kitáb-i-Aqdas was created and its magnitude; The previous tablets, heralding the creation of the Most Holy Book; Later treatises and tablets which are considered as the addenda to this mighty work; References to the rulers (kings and presidents) and to the learned (ecclesiastical leaders); The laws and ordinances; Prophecies and projections; The Bahá'í Faith is an independent religion; Covenant.