Baháüàliterature includes the books, letters, and recorded public talks of the BaháüàFaith's founders, the clarifying letters of Shoghi Effendi, the elucidations of the Universal House of Justice, and a variety of commentary and history published by Baháüàauthors.
The Faith's scriptural texts are the writings of the Báb, Baháüu'lláh, and ûAbdu'l-Bahá, written in Arabic or Persian in the late 19th and early 20th century Middle East. The religion's most prominent doctrinal foundation comes from the Kitáb-i-ÃÂqán (Book of Certitude), a work composed by Baháüu'lláh in 1861. Later in 1873, he wrote the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book), which is the central text of the BaháüàFaith. Some Answered Questions is a compilation of table talks between ûAbdu'l-Bahá and a western pilgrim that was recorded in the original Persian language. From 1910-13, ûAbdu'l-Bahá traveled through Europe and North America giving many public talks that were recorded by stenographers and published under the titles Paris Talks and The Promulgation of Universal Peace.
The writings of the Báb and Baháüu'lláh are regarded as divine revelation, superseding but not in conflict with the Qur'an, Bible, and other major religious works. The writings and talks of ûAbdu'l-Bahá and the writings of Shoghi Effendi are regarded as authoritative interpretation, and those of the Universal House of Justice as authoritative legislation and elucidation. Some measure of divine guidance is assumed for all of these texts. Individual Baháüàauthors cannot provide authoritative or inspired interpretations in the context of Baháüàreligious doctrine, and their works are reviewed by Baháüànational offices for accuracy and dignity.
The BaháüàFaith relies extensively on its literature. Literacy is strongly encouraged so that believers may read the texts for themselves. Doctrinal questions are routinely addressed by returning to primary works.
Generally speaking, the literary form of a particular book can generally be observed by noting the author and/or title.
BaháüÃÂs believe that the founders of the religion, The Báb and Baháüu'lláh, received revelation directly from God. As such their works are considered divinely inspired. These works are considered to be "revealed text" or revelation.
ûAbdu'l-Bahá was appointed by Baháüu'lláh to be his successor and was authorized by him to interpret the religion's "revealed text." The works of ûAbdu'l-Bahá are therefore considered authoritative directives and interpretation, as well as part of Baháüàscripture. He, along with The Báb and Baháüu'lláh, is considered one of the "Central Figures" of the religion.
Likewise Shoghi Effendi's interpretations and directives are considered authoritative, but are not considered to expand upon the "revealed text", or to be scripture.
In the Baháüàview, the Universal House of Justice does not have the position to interpret the founders' works, nor those of ûAbdu'l-Bahá or Shoghi Effendi. However, it is charged with addressing any question not addressed in those works. As such its directives are considered authoritative, as long as they are in force (the Universal House of Justice may alter or revoke its own earlier decisions as needed), and are often collected into compilations or folios.
The works of the Central Figures, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice taken together are the of the Baha'i Faith.
A special category of works consist of the prayers of the Central Figures. These were often included in original letters and have been collected into various prayer books. Baháüu'lláh's Prayers and Meditations is a significant volume. As BaháüÃÂs are to pray, meditate, and study sacred scripture daily, these books are common.
Shoghi Effendi's only book, God Passes By, is a central text covering the history of the faith from 1844 to 1944. Nabil-Zarandi's Dawn Breakers covers the Bábàperiod extensively through to Baháüu'lláh's banishment from Persia in 1853.
Ruhiyyih Rabbani's Ministry of the Custodians details the interregnum between Shoghi Effendi's death in 1957 and the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963.
Other authors have revisited the early periods of the religion in the Middle East or addressed historical periods in other places. Some of these contain significant amounts of biographical data and can be considered biographies. Notably, Balyuzi's and Taherzadeh's works have focused on the history and biographies of the central figures of the religion and their significant contemporaries.
One of the earliest introductory texts available in English is Esslemont's Baháüu'lláh and the New Era. This book, originally published in 1923, has undergone several revisions over time to update, correct, and clarify its contents though ûAbdu'l-Bahá was able to personally review several of its chapters. More than sixty years later, it remains in the top ten of cited Baháüàbooks.
Several other introductory texts are available. Hatcher & Martin's The BaháüàFaith: The Emerging Global Religion, Momen's A Short Introduction to the BaháüàFaith, and Smith's The BaháüàReligion are some examples.
Of considerable importance to the Baháüàcommunity worldwide is the Ruhi series of study materials inspired, and largely produced, by the Baháüàcommunity of Colombia. These books form the core texts used in "Study Circles" and "Training Institutes" by Baháüàcommunities around the world.
A few of Baháüu'lláh's works may classify as apologia. In addition to being significant doctrinal works, his Kitáb-i-ÃÂqán (Book of Certitude) and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf address both Islamic and Baháüàaudiences.
During Baháüu'lláh's lifetime, both NabÃÂl-i-Akbar and MÃÂrzá Abu'l-Faá¸Âl Gulpáygánàwere noteworthy Shiûa scholars who accepted the religion. NabÃÂl-i-Akbar was well versed in, and wrote on Shiûa issues. MÃÂrzá Abu'l-Faá¸Âl wrote extensively on both Christian and Shiûa apologia, most notably in his book The Brilliant Proof.
While Townshend's Christ and Baháüu'lláh may also be regarded as an apologetic response to Christian concerns, Udo Schaefer, et al.'s Making the Crooked Straight is a decidedly apologetic response to Ficicchia's polemical Der BaháüÃÂsmus - Religion der Zukunft? (BaháüÃÂsm â Religion of the future?), a book which was published and promoted by the Evangelische Zentralstrelle für Weltanschauungsfragen (Central Office of the Protestant Church for Questions of Ideology) in the 1980s. This organization has since revoked its affiliation with Ficicchia and now recognizes the BaháüàFaith as an important partner in inter-religious dialogue.
Baháüu'lláh occasionally would write himself, but normally the revelation was dictated to his secretaries, whose tracts are sometimes recorded in what has been called revelation writing, a shorthand script written with extreme speed owing to the rapidity of the utterance being transcribed. Afterwards, Baháüu'lláh revised and approved these drafts. These revelation drafts and many other transcriptions of the writings of Baháüu'lláh's, some of which are in his own handwriting, are kept in the International BaháüàArchives in Haifa, Israel.
Some large works, for example, the Kitáb-i-ÃÂqán, were revealed in a very short time, as in a night, or a few days.
Baháüu'lláh wrote many books, tablets, and prayers, of which only a fraction have so far been translated into English. He revealed thousands of tablets with a total volume more than 70 times that of the Qurüan and more than 15 times that of the Bible. Over 7000 tablets and other works have been collected of an estimated 15,000 texts. Considering the great scope and volume of Baháüu'lláh's writings which Bahá'ÃÂs possess, it is interesting Baháüu'lláh's amanuensis MÃÂrzá ÃÂqá Ján reported that on numerous occasions (especially while in Baghdad) Baháüu'lláh expressly ordered that hundreds of thousands of his recorded verses be "obliterated and cast into the river" as Baháüu'lláh felt people at that time were not yet ready for them. Though a small percentage of Bahá'u'lláh's original writings have been translated into English, those completed include many of his most important works.
Most Baháüàliterature, including all the writings of Baháüu'lláh, was originally written in either Persian or Arabic. English translations use the characteristic Baháüàorthography developed by Shoghi Effendi to render the original names. His work was not just that of a translator, as he was also the designated interpreter of the writings, and his translations are used as a standard for current translations of the Baháüàwritings.
A style guide, available at the bahai.org website, gives a glossary and pronunciation guide of names and concepts as used within the BaháüàFaith, including,
The question of the authenticity of given texts is of great concern to BaháüÃÂs. As noted, they attach considerable importance to the writings of those they consider to be authoritative figures. The primary duty of the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and the International BaháüàLibrary is the collection, cataloguing, authentication, and translation of these texts.
By way of comparison, "pilgrims' notes" are items or sayings that are attributed to the central figures but have not been authenticated. While these may be inspirational, they are not considered authoritative. Some of ûAbdu'l-Bahá's collected talks (e.g. ûAbdu'l-Bahá in London, Paris Talks, and The Promulgation of Universal Peace) may fall into this category, but are awaiting further authentication. The Star of the West, published in the United States from 1910 to 1924, contains many pilgrim's notes and unauthenticated letters of ûAbdu'l-Bahá.
There is no Baháüàcorollary to Islamic Hadith; in fact, BaháüÃÂs do not consider Hadith authoritative.
The Baháüàcommunity seeks to expand the body of authenticated and translated texts. The 1992 publication of the English translation of Baháüu'lláh's The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and the more recent Gems of Divine Mysteries (2002), The Summons of the Lord of Hosts (2002), and The Tabernacle of Unity (2006) are significant additions to the body of work available.
At the same time there is concerted effort to re-translate, edit, and even redact works that are not authenticated. For example, ûAbdu'l-Bahá on Divine Philosophy, published in 1916, was not reprinted at the direction of Shoghi Effendi. Also, early editions of Esslemont's Baháüu'lláh and the New Era contained several passages that could not be authenticated, or were incorrect. These have been reviewed and updated in subsequent editions. This practice has been criticized by observers, but is considered an integral part of maintaining the integrity of the texts.
Bábàtexts are proving very difficult to authenticate, despite the collection of a variety of documents by E.G. Browne in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Browne's principal correspondents were Azalis, whom he considered to be the genuine followers of the Báb. Compounding the difficulties of collecting reliable manuscripts at such a distance â Browne was at Cambridge â was the widespread Azali practice of taqiyya (dissimulation), or concealing one's beliefs. Browne appears to have been unaware of this. Azali taqiyya rendered many early Bábàdocuments unreliable afterwards, as Azali BábÃÂs would often alter and falsify Bábàteachings and history.
In contrast, dissimulation was condemned by Baháüu'lláh and was gradually abandoned by the early BaháüÃÂs.
The list below is incomplete. William P. Collins, in his Bibliography of English-language Works on the Bábàand BaháüàFaiths, 1844âÂÂ1985, gives a list of 2,819 items, which includes multiple editions.
For ease of browsing, the bibliography is sub-divided by author.
The Universal House of Justice has prepared several compilations of extracts from the Central Figures and Shoghi Effendi.
These are original works of the Universal House of Justice and its agencies as distinct from compilations.
These sites focus on Baháüàtexts and related documents:
These sites contain online or downloadable searchable databases of collected world religious works. English and French language versions contain extensive BaháüÃÂ, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, and other religious texts. Large libraries of Baháüàtexts are available in other, generally European, languages: