''The Four Valleys'' ( ''Chahár Vádí'') is a book written in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Báb ...

, 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 ...

. The '' Seven Valleys'' ( ''Haft-Vádí'') was also written by Baháʼu'lláh, and the two books are usually published together under the title ''The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys''. The two books are distinctly different and have no direct relation. In February 2019 an authorized translation of both titles was published by the

Baháʼí World Centre The Baháʼí World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baháʼí Faith, representing sites in or near the cities of Acre and Haifa, Israel. Much of the international governance and coordination of the ...

in the collection ''The Call of the Divine Beloved''.

Background

The ''Four Valleys'' was written after March 1856 in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Baháʼu'lláh had recently returned from the mountains of Kurdistan where he had spent two years studying with various

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

sheikhs using the pseudonym ''Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani''. The ''Four Valleys'' was written in response to questions of S͟hayk͟h ʻAbdu'r-Rahman-i-Talabani, the "honored and indisputable leader" of the Qádiríyyih Order of

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

. He never identified as a Baháʼí, but was known to his followers as having high respect and admiration for

.Ayman & Afnani

Vocabulary

There is some difficulty in translating a text written in a poetic style, with references to concepts of

that may be foreign in the West. Some names are left in their original Arabic form. For example, Maqsúd ("the Intended One") in this book is used in connection with the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and serves as an adjective for it, i.e., it means "the intended Kaba", however, from the context it is clear that this is not a physical place but rather one of the stations on the path toward God. Throughout the book Baháʼu'lláh exhorts men to education, goodly character and divine virtues. In the book, Baháʼu'lláh describes the qualities and grades of four types of mystical wayfarers: "Those who progress in mystic wayfaring are of four kinds." The four are, roughly:Ayman & Afnani *Those who journey through strict observance of religious laws. *Those who journey to God through the use of logic and reason. *Those who journey purely by the love of God. *Those who journey by combination of the three approaches of obedience, reason, and inspiration. This last is considered the highest or truest form of mystic union.

Notes

References

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External links

Compendium on the Four Valleys
{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Valleys Works by Baháʼu'lláh 1857 books

Background

Vocabulary

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links