The ''Kitáb-i-ʻAhd'' ( ar, ﻛﺘﺎﺏ ﻋﻬﺪﻱ literally "Book of My Covenant") is the Will and Testament of
Baháʼu'lláh
Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
, the founder of the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
, where he selects his son
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: , 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
as his successor. It was written at least one year before Baháʼu'lláh died in 1892. An English translation is included in the ''
Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The ''Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' are selected tablets written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and published together as of 1978. The current edition bears the title ''Fountain of Wisdom ...
'', published in 1978.
While the ''
Tablet of the Branch'', composed in the
Adrianople
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
period had clearly signaled a high station for "the Branch of Holiness" and the ''
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Arabic: The Most Holy Book) is the central religious text of the Baháʼí Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼí laws and practices, much of the con ...
'' has specified that this high station involved leadership of the Baháʼí community after Baháʼu'lláh's passing, it was only with the unsealing of the ''Kitáb-i-ʻAhd'' after the passing of Baháʼu'lláh in 1892 that it was confirmed that the Branch referred to was indeed
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: , 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
.
[ ]Momen, Moojan
Moojan Momen is a retired physician and historian specializing in Baháʼí studies who has published numerous books and articles about the Baháʼí Faith and Islam, especially Shia Islam, including for Encyclopædia Iranica*
*
* the British Li ...
(1995).
The Covenant
'.
Designation of Succession
In the ''Kitáb-i-ʻAhd'', Baháʼu'lláh refers to his eldest son
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: , 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
as ''G͟husn-i-Aʻzam'' (meaning "Mightiest Branch" or "Mightier Branch") and his second eldest son
Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí
Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí ( fa, 1853–1937) was one of the sons of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was the eldest son of his father's second wife, Fatimih Khanum, later known as Mahd-i-'Ulya, whom Baháʼu'lláh m ...
as ''G͟husn-i-Akbar'' (meaning "Greatest Branch" or "Greater Branch").
Baháʼu'lláh designates his successor with the following verses:
The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán Afnán ( ar, ﺍﻓﻨﺎﻥ, "Branches"), is a term in literature of the Baháʼí Faith referring to maternal relatives of the Báb, and is used as a surname by their descendants. This name is also mentioned in the Quran.
The Báb's wife was name ...
and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: 'When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.' The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch Abdu'l-Bahá Thus have We graciously revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful. Verily God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch uḥammad ʻAlíto be beneath that of the Most Great Branch Abdu'l-Bahá He is in truth the Ordainer, the All-Wise. We have chosen 'the Greater' after 'the Most Great', as decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
See also
*
Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh
In the Baháʼí Faith there are two covenants, deemed the 'greater' and 'lesser'. The greater covenant refers to an agreement of progressive revelation: that God will send messengers about every thousand years, and it is humanity's duty to rec ...
*
Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
*
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Arabic: The Most Holy Book) is the central religious text of the Baháʼí Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼí laws and practices, much of the con ...
(The Most Holy Book)
Notes and references
;Notes
;Citations
Further reading
*
External links
A compendium on the Kitáb-i-ʻAhd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tablets Of Baha'u'llah Revealed After The Kitab-i-Aqdas
Works by Baháʼu'lláh
1892 documents