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Notes: Outline prepared as part of Wilmette Institute notes and commentary on the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh. Add or read quotations or links pertaining to this work here. |
Tablet of Ahmad, Arabic (Lawh-i-Ahmad):
Tablet study outline
by Jonah Winters
1999Original written in Arabic.
Name of Tablet in Arabic or Persian:
Lawh-i-Ahmad (Arabic)
Translation into English:
Tablet of/for Ahmad (Arabic). Shoghi Effendi translated this Tablet in 1924 with the assistance of Dr. Esslemont. It has been published in many prayer books and in _Prayers and Meditations_.
Significance of Name:
Named after its recipient
Tablet was revealed in:
Arabic
Name of Recipient:
Ahmad, a native of Yazd
Reason for Revelation of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh explains the story as follows: "After Bahá'u'lláh's departure from Constantinople, Ahmad remained in Baghdad and served the Faith in that city with great devotion. However, in his heart he was longing to attain the presence of his Lord again. After some time, he could no longer bear to stay away and so he set off for Andrianople. When he arrived in Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh sent him a Tablet which is now universa<. On reading this Tablet, Ahmad knew what was expected of him. He surrendered his own will to Bahá'u'lláh's and instead of completing his journey to Andrianople and attaining the presence of his Lord, he returned to Persia with the sole purpose of teaching and propagating the Message of Bahá'u'lláh to the Bábí community." ( _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 2, 113)
Questions asked that are answered in Tablet:
N/A
Date of Revelation:
1865, just before Bahá'u'lláh was poisoned
Place of Revelation:
It was revealed in Adrianople, and Ahmad received the Tablet in Constantinople.
Role of Amanuensis or Secretary:
Bahá'u'lláh wrote this Tablet Himself; as Taherzadeh mentions, "a cursory glance at the original Tablet makes it clean that Bahá'u'lláh wrote this before He was poisened by Mírzá Yahyá" [i.e., His handwriting wasn't shaky]. Manuscripts of the Tablet in the hand of 'Abdu'l-Bahá also exist.
Other Tablets revealed at about the same time:
Bahá'ulláh revealed the Tablet of the Holy Mariner in March 1863, the Lawh-i-Ayyub in April 1863, the Súriy-i-Hawdaj in May 1863, the Mathnavi-i-Mubarak and the Tablet of the Bell in autumn 1863, and the Súriy-i-Amr and the Tablet of Bahá circa March 1866, just before the Most Great Separation.
Style, subject, and genre of the Tablet: [?]
I. Tone of Tablet
1. Tablets with the tone of command and authority.
II. Subject Covered by Tablet
1. Writings dealing with interpretation of the old Scriptures, religious beliefs and doctrines of the past.
3. Mystical Writings.
6. Tablets exhorting men to education, goodly character and divine virtues.
III. Literary Genre of Tablet:
1. Letter to an individual.
5. Prayer.
Voice of Tablet: [?]
Bahá'u'lláh
Outline Contents of Tablet:
[The following outline is adapted from that provided by one student]:
(1) Refers to Himself as the "Nightingale of Paradise" and proclaims
the greatness of His Revelation...
(2) Proclaims the Himself as "that Most Great Beauty through
whom truth shall be distinguished from error and the wisdom
of every command shall be tested."
(3) Proclaims unequivocally the truth of the Báb's Revelation, calls
Him the "King of the Messengers" and His Book [the Persian
Bayán] the "Mother Book," and calls everyone to obedience to its
laws.
(4) Refering to Himself again as the "Nightingale", He states that He
has issued His call and it is now up to everyone to either
"turn aside" from His counsel or to "choose the path" to
their Lord.
(5) Warns that if the people deny the truth of what He saying, then
they can never offer proof even of their belief in God.
(6) Tells Ahmad to remember His bounties as well as His days and His
sufferings in "this remote prison" [Adrianople]
(7) Counsels Ahmad to steadfastness in His love, thereby fortifying him
to be able to withstand anything in His Path.
(8) Counsels him in the matter of how he should be to others: "a flame
of fire" to His enemies and a "river of life eternal" to
His loved ones.
(9) Counsels him to have certitude.
(10) Tells him not to be troubled by afflictions or degradation
suffered in His Path, but rather to "rely upon God."
(11) Speaks about the blindness of the people who are "bereft of
discernment," blaming it on their delusions and their
superstitions.
(12) Warns that "he who turneth away from this Beauty hath also turned
away from the Messenges of the past and showeth pride towards
God from all eternity to all eternity."
(13) Promises special blessings to those who read and chant this
Tablet.
(14) Praises and glorifies God.
Principal themes of the Tablet:
The identification of Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation, that He is "The One Whom God shall make manifest"; a tribute to the Báb, whose followers Bahá'u'lláh is here concerned with teaching; the proof of a Manifestation is His Words; steadfastness enables Bahá'u'lláh's followers to be able to withstand any test in His Path; one must not be troubled by afflictions by rely upon God; one who turns away from Bahá'u'lláh also turns away from all previous Manifestations; special blessings come to those who read and chant this Tablet.
Tablet's relationship to other tablets:
A second "Tablet of Ahmad" was revealed in Persian at about the same time. This one was for a different Ahmad, Hájí Mírzá Ahmad of Kashan, who later became a follower of Mírzá Yahyá.
This other Tablet also counsels reliance upon God and mentions the blindness of the people, though in the Persian one Bahá'u'lláh includes the recipient in the category of heedless ones.
Biography or bio note of the recipient of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh provides a detailed biography of Ahmad in _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 2, 107-115.
Lawh-i-Ahmad (Arabic)
Translation into English:
Tablet of/for Ahmad (Arabic). Shoghi Effendi translated this Tablet in 1924 with the assistance of Dr. Esslemont. It has been published in many prayer books and in _Prayers and Meditations_.
Significance of Name:
Named after its recipient
Tablet was revealed in:
Arabic
Name of Recipient:
Ahmad, a native of Yazd
Reason for Revelation of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh explains the story as follows: "After Bahá'u'lláh's departure from Constantinople, Ahmad remained in Baghdad and served the Faith in that city with great devotion. However, in his heart he was longing to attain the presence of his Lord again. After some time, he could no longer bear to stay away and so he set off for Andrianople. When he arrived in Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh sent him a Tablet which is now universa<. On reading this Tablet, Ahmad knew what was expected of him. He surrendered his own will to Bahá'u'lláh's and instead of completing his journey to Andrianople and attaining the presence of his Lord, he returned to Persia with the sole purpose of teaching and propagating the Message of Bahá'u'lláh to the Bábí community." ( _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 2, 113)
Questions asked that are answered in Tablet:
N/A
Date of Revelation:
1865, just before Bahá'u'lláh was poisoned
Place of Revelation:
It was revealed in Adrianople, and Ahmad received the Tablet in Constantinople.
Role of Amanuensis or Secretary:
Bahá'u'lláh wrote this Tablet Himself; as Taherzadeh mentions, "a cursory glance at the original Tablet makes it clean that Bahá'u'lláh wrote this before He was poisened by Mírzá Yahyá" [i.e., His handwriting wasn't shaky]. Manuscripts of the Tablet in the hand of 'Abdu'l-Bahá also exist.
Other Tablets revealed at about the same time:
Bahá'ulláh revealed the Tablet of the Holy Mariner in March 1863, the Lawh-i-Ayyub in April 1863, the Súriy-i-Hawdaj in May 1863, the Mathnavi-i-Mubarak and the Tablet of the Bell in autumn 1863, and the Súriy-i-Amr and the Tablet of Bahá circa March 1866, just before the Most Great Separation.
Style, subject, and genre of the Tablet: [?]
I. Tone of Tablet
1. Tablets with the tone of command and authority.
II. Subject Covered by Tablet
1. Writings dealing with interpretation of the old Scriptures, religious beliefs and doctrines of the past.
3. Mystical Writings.
6. Tablets exhorting men to education, goodly character and divine virtues.
III. Literary Genre of Tablet:
1. Letter to an individual.
5. Prayer.
Voice of Tablet: [?]
Bahá'u'lláh
Outline Contents of Tablet:
[The following outline is adapted from that provided by one student]:
(1) Refers to Himself as the "Nightingale of Paradise" and proclaims
the greatness of His Revelation...
(2) Proclaims the Himself as "that Most Great Beauty through
whom truth shall be distinguished from error and the wisdom
of every command shall be tested."
(3) Proclaims unequivocally the truth of the Báb's Revelation, calls
Him the "King of the Messengers" and His Book [the Persian
Bayán] the "Mother Book," and calls everyone to obedience to its
laws.
(4) Refering to Himself again as the "Nightingale", He states that He
has issued His call and it is now up to everyone to either
"turn aside" from His counsel or to "choose the path" to
their Lord.
(5) Warns that if the people deny the truth of what He saying, then
they can never offer proof even of their belief in God.
(6) Tells Ahmad to remember His bounties as well as His days and His
sufferings in "this remote prison" [Adrianople]
(7) Counsels Ahmad to steadfastness in His love, thereby fortifying him
to be able to withstand anything in His Path.
(8) Counsels him in the matter of how he should be to others: "a flame
of fire" to His enemies and a "river of life eternal" to
His loved ones.
(9) Counsels him to have certitude.
(10) Tells him not to be troubled by afflictions or degradation
suffered in His Path, but rather to "rely upon God."
(11) Speaks about the blindness of the people who are "bereft of
discernment," blaming it on their delusions and their
superstitions.
(12) Warns that "he who turneth away from this Beauty hath also turned
away from the Messenges of the past and showeth pride towards
God from all eternity to all eternity."
(13) Promises special blessings to those who read and chant this
Tablet.
(14) Praises and glorifies God.
Principal themes of the Tablet:
The identification of Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation, that He is "The One Whom God shall make manifest"; a tribute to the Báb, whose followers Bahá'u'lláh is here concerned with teaching; the proof of a Manifestation is His Words; steadfastness enables Bahá'u'lláh's followers to be able to withstand any test in His Path; one must not be troubled by afflictions by rely upon God; one who turns away from Bahá'u'lláh also turns away from all previous Manifestations; special blessings come to those who read and chant this Tablet.
Tablet's relationship to other tablets:
A second "Tablet of Ahmad" was revealed in Persian at about the same time. This one was for a different Ahmad, Hájí Mírzá Ahmad of Kashan, who later became a follower of Mírzá Yahyá.
This other Tablet also counsels reliance upon God and mentions the blindness of the people, though in the Persian one Bahá'u'lláh includes the recipient in the category of heedless ones.
Biography or bio note of the recipient of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh provides a detailed biography of Ahmad in _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 2, 107-115.
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