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Notes: Outline prepared as part of Wilmette Institute notes and commentary on the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh. |
Name of Tablet in Arabic or Persian:
Lawh-i-Tajallíyát
Translation into English:
Tablet of Effulgences ("Tajallíyát" can be translated effulgences, splendors, radiances, etc.)
Significance of Name:
The Tablet expounds upon four 'Tajallíyát' which, in the words of the _Basic Bahá'í Dictionary_ 122, are "the knowledge of God, which is attainable only through His Manifestation; steadfastness in the Cause of God through faith in His wisdom; the value of those arts and sciences which profit mankind, 'not those which begin with words and end with words'; and recognition of Divinity in its Manifestation."
Tablet was revealed in:
The first couple pages were revealed in Arabic, and the remainder in Persian. Bahá'u'lláh Himself explains: "We shall now cease using the eloquent language. [Arabic] Truly thy Lord is the Potent, the Unconstrained. We would fain speak in the Persian tongue that perchance the people of Persia, one and all, may become aware of the utterances of the merciful Lord, and come forth to discover the Truth." (p. 49)
Name of Recipient:
Revealed in honour of Ustad `Alí-Akbar, a martyr of Yazd who had been instrumental in the design and building of the first House of Worship, in Ishqabad.
Reason for Revelation of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh doesn't specify any specific reasons for which this Tablet was revealed. But given the importance of the Tablet, its topics, and the clearly organized way in which the four Tajalli are presented, it seems possible that Bahá'u'lláh might have been referring to four questions He had been asked earlier, or to four topics under discussion in the Bahá'í community.
Date of Revelation:
Around AH 1303 (AD 1885-86)
Place of Revelation:
Revealed while Bahá'u'lláh was living at Bahji, near Akká
Role of Amanuensis or Secretary:
Presumably transcribed by Mírzá Áqá Jan. Bahá'u'lláh also included some pages of "revelation writing" of the Tablet along with its transcription. One of these pages has been reproduced in Taherzadeh's _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 1, facing page 110.
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
3. Mystical Writings.
5. Tablets dealing with subjects of learning and
knowledge, divine philosophy, mysteries
of creation, medicine, alchemy, etc.
6. Tablets exhorting men to education, goodly character
and divine virtues.
III. Literary Genre of Tablet:
1. Letter (or essay) to an individual.
Voice of Tablet: [?] Bahá'u'lláh
Tablet's relationship to other tablets: This Tablet is just one of the twenty-seven Tablets Bahá'u'lláh revealed in his honor. Abdu'l-Bahá also revealed Tablets for him. As well, since this Tablet has been included in the compilation "Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Aqdas," most of which include further elaboration on the teachings of the Aqdas, it is possible that this Tablet could be seen as complementing the Most Holy Book.
Biography or bio note of the recipient of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh provides a detailed biography of Alí-Akbar in _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 4, pp. 118-125
Lawh-i-Tajallíyát
Translation into English:
Tablet of Effulgences ("Tajallíyát" can be translated effulgences, splendors, radiances, etc.)
Significance of Name:
The Tablet expounds upon four 'Tajallíyát' which, in the words of the _Basic Bahá'í Dictionary_ 122, are "the knowledge of God, which is attainable only through His Manifestation; steadfastness in the Cause of God through faith in His wisdom; the value of those arts and sciences which profit mankind, 'not those which begin with words and end with words'; and recognition of Divinity in its Manifestation."
Tablet was revealed in:
The first couple pages were revealed in Arabic, and the remainder in Persian. Bahá'u'lláh Himself explains: "We shall now cease using the eloquent language. [Arabic] Truly thy Lord is the Potent, the Unconstrained. We would fain speak in the Persian tongue that perchance the people of Persia, one and all, may become aware of the utterances of the merciful Lord, and come forth to discover the Truth." (p. 49)
Name of Recipient:
Revealed in honour of Ustad `Alí-Akbar, a martyr of Yazd who had been instrumental in the design and building of the first House of Worship, in Ishqabad.
Reason for Revelation of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh doesn't specify any specific reasons for which this Tablet was revealed. But given the importance of the Tablet, its topics, and the clearly organized way in which the four Tajalli are presented, it seems possible that Bahá'u'lláh might have been referring to four questions He had been asked earlier, or to four topics under discussion in the Bahá'í community.
Date of Revelation:
Around AH 1303 (AD 1885-86)
Place of Revelation:
Revealed while Bahá'u'lláh was living at Bahji, near Akká
Role of Amanuensis or Secretary:
Presumably transcribed by Mírzá Áqá Jan. Bahá'u'lláh also included some pages of "revelation writing" of the Tablet along with its transcription. One of these pages has been reproduced in Taherzadeh's _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 1, facing page 110.
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
3. Mystical Writings.
5. Tablets dealing with subjects of learning and
knowledge, divine philosophy, mysteries
of creation, medicine, alchemy, etc.
6. Tablets exhorting men to education, goodly character
and divine virtues.
III. Literary Genre of Tablet:
1. Letter (or essay) to an individual.
Voice of Tablet: [?] Bahá'u'lláh
Tablet's relationship to other tablets: This Tablet is just one of the twenty-seven Tablets Bahá'u'lláh revealed in his honor. Abdu'l-Bahá also revealed Tablets for him. As well, since this Tablet has been included in the compilation "Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Aqdas," most of which include further elaboration on the teachings of the Aqdas, it is possible that this Tablet could be seen as complementing the Most Holy Book.
Biography or bio note of the recipient of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh provides a detailed biography of Alí-Akbar in _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 4, pp. 118-125
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