Posted by Allyson Vanstone (195.229.41.162) on June 24, 2003 at 04:13:46:

Baha'u'llah says that Arabic and Persian are like honey and milk.
Arabic is the honey that embellishes Persian.
Baha'u'llah has set an example to the Persians in matters of language and style. Regrettably, this present generation in Iran is much too overwhelmed by the forces of nationalism to overcome the corruption of the language.
There is one exception to the policy of encouraging the translation of the Baha'i authoritative writings, and that involves translation of Baha'i scripture from Arabic to Persian. For over a thousand years, Persians have written many of their religious and philosophical works in Arabic, and when they write such works in Persian, they use a heavily Arabicized vocabulary and style. Hence translating texts from pure Arabic into a mixture of Arabic and Persian is not done. Iranian Baha'is are expected to learn enough Arabic to read and comprehend the overwhelming Arabic Baha'i prayers and scriptures in the original. When it is necessary, footnotes offering a Persian explanation of an Arabic text often are provided.

this topic is closed - post at bahai-library.com/forum