Black StoneḤajaru’l-Aswad. Set about five feet from the ground in NE corner of the Ka‘bih, the stone is an irregular oval about seven inches in diameter, reddish brown. Encircled by a gold or silver band, it has an undulated surface and is composed of about fifteen smaller stones joined by cement and surrounded by a brownish border. Sacred object of great antiquity (and never one of the pagan Arabs’ idols) it is kissed during the rites of the ḥajj (pilgrimage).
Book, CrimsonReferred to in SW 32 as capable of fully disclosing and redoubling “that force which is hid in men”; identified as Bahá’u’lláh’s “Book of My Covenant” in GPB 238.
Books, theZoroastrian Holy Writ (GPB 230).
Branch, Most Great‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Búshihrboo-shairPersian town near north end of Persian Gulf.
Buzurgboz-orgGreat.
C
Caliphcay-liff or ca-leefSelf-styled vicar of the Prophet of Islám (PDC 99). Sultanate and Caliphate were “the twin pillars of Sunní Islám.” (WOB 173). The Caliphate, now abolished, was “the mightiest institution of Islám.” (WOB 196). The founders of the Caliphate “usurped the authority of the lawful successors” of Muḥammad (WOB 178). “The cardinal point wherein the Shi’ites (as well as the other sects included under the more general term of Imamites) differ from the Sunnites is the doctrine of the Imámate. According to the belief of the latter, the vicegerency (khiláfat) of the Prophet is a matter to be determined by the choice and lection of his followers, and the visible head of the Musulmán world is qualified for the lofty position which he holds less by any special divine grace than by a combination of orthodoxy and administrative capacity. According to the Imámite view, on the other hand, the vicegerency is a matter altogether spiritual; an office conferred by God alone, first by His Prophet, and afterwards by those who so succeeded him, and having nothing to do with the popular choice or approval...the Caliph...is merely the outward and visible Defender of the Faith: the Imám of the Shi’ites is the divinely-ordained successor of the Prophet, one endowed with all perfections and spiritual gifts, one whom all the faithful must obey, whose decision is absolute and final, whose wisdom is super-human, and whose words are authoritative.” Browne, E.G., A Traveller’s Narrative, 296.
CaravanseraiInn for caravans
Chihríqcheh-reekFortress to which the Báb was transferred about April 10, 1848; designated by Him Jabal-i-Shadíd, the Grievous Mountain.
Chinár-Súkhtihcheh-nawr-sook-teh“Burnt Plane-Tree” quarter, native quarter of Vaḥíd at Nayríz.
City, theAlso “The Great City,” Constantinople, called by Muslims “The Dome of Islám.” The traditional seat of both Sultanate and Caliphate.
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