The Baha'i Studies Listserv On Behalf Of Iskandar Hai, M.D. Sent: 29 December 2010 19:01
Unfortunately, this list has long ceased to be a list for Baha'i studies. Best regards, Iskandar The only way this list would have useful purpose is for folk to read some texts together and ask questions and be positive. We should also stop using hurtful words like “Haifan Baha’is” that was used by someone last week.. Firouz Anaraki wanted us to discuss this passage from the Most Holy Book http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/KA/ka-8.html http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/KA/ka-8.html 177 Take heed that ye dispute not idly concerning the Almighty and His Cause, for lo! He hath appeared amongst you invested with a Revelation so great as to encompass all things, whether of the past or of the future. Were We to address Our theme by speaking in the language of the inmates of the Kingdom, We would say: "In truth, God created that School ere He created heaven and earth, and We entered it before the letters B and E were joined and knit together." Such is the language of Our servants in Our Kingdom; consider what the tongue of the dwellers of Our exalted Dominion would utter, for We have taught them Our knowledge and have revealed to them whatever had lain hidden in God's wisdom. Imagine then what the Tongue of Might and Grandeur would utter in His All-Glorious Abode! 178 This is not a Cause which may be made a plaything for your idle fancies, nor is it a field for the foolish and faint of heart. By God, this is the arena of insight and detachment, of vision and upliftment, where none may spur on their chargers save the valiant horsemen of the Merciful, who have severed all attachment to the world of being. These, truly, are they that render God victorious on earth, and are the dawning-places of His sovereign might amidst mankind. 179 Beware lest aught that hath been revealed in the Bayan should keep you from your Lord, the Most Compassionate. God is My witness that the Bayan was sent down for no other purpose than to celebrate My praise, did ye but know! In it the pure in heart will find only the fragrance of My love, only My Name that overshadoweth all that seeth and is seen. Say: Turn ye, O people, unto that which hath proceeded from My Most Exalted Pen. Should ye inhale therefrom the fragrance of God, set not yourselves against Him, nor deny yourselves a portion of His gracious favour and His manifold bestowals. Thus doth your Lord admonish you; He, verily, is the Counsellor, the Omniscient. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 83) I wanted perhaps also that we have a slow read of one of the pamphlets presenting the Bahai Teachings to Moslems. In The Promised Day Is Come1, Shoghi Effendi writes of the attitude of the Baha'i Faith towards Islam, from which the following excerpt is taken: As to Muhammad, the Apostle of God, let none among His followers who read these pages, think for a moment that Islam, or its Prophet, or His Book, or His appointed Successors, or any of His authentic teachings, have been, or are to be in any way, or to however slight a degree, disparaged. The lineage of the Bab, the descendant of the Imam Husayn; the divers and the striking evidences, in Nabil's Narrative, of the attitude of the Herald of our Faith towards the Founder, the Imams, and the Book of Islam; the glowing tribute paid by Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Iqan to Muhammad and His lawful Successors, and particularly to the "peerless and incomparable" Imam Husayn; the arguments adduced, forcibly, fearlessly, and publicly by 'Abdu'l-Baha, in churches and _____ 1. pp. 108-9 _____ page x synagogues, to demonstrate the validity of the Message of the Arabian Prophet; and last but not least the written testimonial of the Queen of Rumania, who, born in the Anglican faith and not withstanding the close alliance of her government with the Greek Orthodox Church, the state religion of her adopted country, has, largely as a result of the perusal of these public discourses of 'Abdu'l-Baha, been prompted to proclaim her recognition of the prophetic function of Muhammad - all proclaim, in no uncertain terms, the true attitude of the Baha'i Faith towards its parent religion. It is with this attitude toward Islam and its Book that this compilation is offered. The task of presenting logical proofs and arguments regarding the meanings enshrined within the Qur'an is somewhat complex, however, because there is no reliable translation of the Book. As the Qur'an was revealed in Arabic, translations that have been made were necessarily based on "interpretations". Indeed, the titles given to English versions of the Qur'an, such as The Koran Interpreted, a translation by A. J. Arberry, and The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, an explanatory translation by M. M. Pickthall, indicate that an "interpretation" of the Qur'an has been translated, not the Book itself. The greater part of the Qur'an is comprised of verses that are "figurative" (Mutashabihat), as compared with the "clear" or "perspicuous" (Muhkamat) verses which cover the laws and ordinances. While it was undoubtedly a relatively straightforward matter to translate the clear verses, translation of the figurative verses required interpretations, which were provided by the Muslim clergy, 'ulama (lit. learned). In many _____ page xi cases this resulted in translations devoid of beauty or lacking the richness of meaning conveyed by the original Arabic text. An example may be found in the opening verses of the Surih of the Fig (XCV) [95], which reads: I swear by the fig and by the olive, By Mount Sinai, And by this inviolate soil! In the verses cited, God swears by the fig and the olive, by Mount Sinai and inviolate soil. The literal translation is correct, but the reader of English might well ask: "What relationship is there between figs and olives, a mountain, and inviolate soil, that God should swear by them, all in one sequence of verses?" The beauty and meaning conveyed by these verses becomes more readily apparent when one considers passages revealed by Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Iqan2 concerning four Manifestations: Abraham, Who appeared on the Mount of Figs, Jesus, on the Mount of Olives, Moses on Mount Sinai, and Muhammad in Mecca, the inviolate soil. An example of a more subtle problem may be identified in the translation of the Surih of Power (XCVII) [97]. In some English translations of the Qur'an, the Arabic word "qadr" has been translated as "power", although it has a more profound connotation than the English word choice implies. The term "decree" provides a closer rendering of the Arabic original3 its usage resulting in the following translation: Verily, We have caused It to descend on the night of decree. And who shall teach thee what the night of decree is? _____ 2. See Kitab-i-Iqan pp. 62-5 3. The translations of J. M. Rodwell and A. J. Arberry use the word "power". Sale's translation of the Qur'an, however, uses "Al Kadr" [Qadr] within the English text, addressing the problem by providing the following footnote: "The word Al Kadr [Qadr] signifies power, and honor or dignity and also the divine decree: and the night is so named either from its excellence above all other nights in the year, or because, as the Mohammedans believe, the divine decrees for the ensuing year are annually on this night fixed and settled ..." _____ page xii The night of decree excelleth a thousand months: Therein descend the angels and the spirit by permission of their Lord for every matter; And all is peace till the breaking of the morn, Interpretations of the Qur'an, developed over time by the 'ulama, have been an ongoing source of disagreement and today present an obstacle to Muslims in understanding the Faith of Baha'u'llah. The main point of opposition is the Muslim belief that there shall be no further Divine Revelation after Islam. The verses in the Qur'an that prove the legitimacy of the Declaration of the Bab, as well as those which anticipate the glad tidings of the Message of Baha'u'llah, have been interpreted and subsequently understood in a manner that precludes acceptance of the Baha'i Faith. The argument that the Muslims present to the Baha'is is essentially the same as that leveled by the Jews at the Christians, and in turn by the Jews and Christians at the Muslims. Moreover, it is one which has been adopted by both the Sunni and Shi'ih Muslims, the two principal sects which together constitute the vast majority of those of Islamic persuasion. __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:arch...@mail-archive.com Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:leave-549196-27401.54f46e81b66496c9909bcdc2f7987...@list.jccc.edu Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to ly...@list.jccc.edu Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
