''Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh'' is a compilation of selected
tablets and extracts from tablets by
Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
.
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that over ...
,
Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 to 1957, made the selection and performed the translation, which was first published in 1935.
The work consists of "a selection of the most characteristic and hitherto unpublished passages from the outstanding works of the Author of the Baháʼí Revelation," according to Shoghi Effendi. The passages come from the whole range of Baháʼu'lláh's writings, dated from about 1853 to 1892.
The book can be divided in five parts:
*The "Day of God" (sec. 1-18)
*The Manifestation of God (sec. 19-69)
*The soul and its immortality (sec. 70-99)
*The World Order and the Most Great Peace (sec. 100-121)
*The duties of the individual and the spiritual meaning of life (sec. 122-166)
Among others, passages from the following works are included:
*''
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf''
*''The
Hidden Words''
*''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 co ...
''
*''The
Kitáb-i-Íqán
The ''Kitáb al-Íqán or Kitáb-i-Íqán'' ( fa, كتاب ايقان, ar, كتاب الإيقان "Book of Certitude") is one of many books held sacred by followers of the Baháʼí Faith; it is their primary theological work. One Baháʼí sch ...
''
In addition, works partially translated in ''Gleanings'' were published more completely in the following compilations:
*''The
Summons of the Lord of Hosts''
*''The
Tabernacle of Unity''
*''
Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh
Tablet may refer to:
Medicine
* Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill"
Computing
* Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...
Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas''
The book was published without a list of which passages were derived from which works of Baháʼu'lláh, but such a list has been reconstructed subsequently and is on the web.
Sources of Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah
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Because of its broad selection, ''Gleanings'' is one of the first works of Baháʼu'lláh many people read. Rúḥíyyih Rabbání, Shoghi Effendi's widow, called it "a magnificent gift" to the Western Baháʼís. Queen Marie of Romania wrote that "even doubters would find a powerful strength in it, if they would read it alone, and would give their souls time to expand." The work has been translated into many languages.
Notes
References
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Further reading
Related documents on Baháʼí Library Online
External links
A compendium on Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llahThe Gleanings in many languages
(incl. bilingual view)
Muntakhabátí-az-Áthár-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-Bahá’u’lláh
(Persian/Arabic edition on bahai.org)
Works by Baháʼu'lláh
Essay collections
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