Posledneye Slovo Bekha-Ully [Baha'u'llah's Last Word]

by Aleksandr Grigor’evich Tumanski

About: In the Kitáb-i ‘Ahdí (“Book of My Covenant”), Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892) designated His eldest son, ‘Abbás Effendí, known as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1844–1921), as successor, interpreter, and exemplar. Bahá’u’lláh died on 29 May 1892 (at 3:00 a.m.) in Bahjí (near ‘Akká), Palestine (now modern-day Israel), and the Kitáb-i ‘Ahdí was read aloud nine days later. In 1893, Russian orientalist, Aleksandr Grigor’evich Tumanski (1861–1920) published this document, in the original Persian, with Russian translation, together with a eulogy composed by the celebrated Bahá’í poet, Mírzá ‘Alí-Ashraf-i Láhíjání, known by his sobriquet, ‘Andalíb (“Nightingale”; d. 1920). Since ‘Andalíb was an eyewitness to the events he describes, his eulogy may be treated as a historical source. Tumanski’s scholarly publication of the Kitáb-i ‘Ahdí is discussed in the context of Russian scholarly and diplomatic interests by Christopher Buck and Youli A. Ioannesyan, “The 1893 Russian Publication of Bahá’u’lláh’s Last Will and Testament: An Academic Attestation of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Successorship,” Baha’i Studies Review 19 (cover date, 2013; publication date, May 2017): 3–44 (edited by Steve Cooney). [-C. Buck, 2021]