''Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh'' is a compilation of selected
tablets and extracts from tablets by
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 ...
.
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...
,
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The work consists of "a selection of the most characteristic and hitherto unpublished passages from the outstanding works of the Author of the Baháʼí Revelation," according to Shoghi Effendi.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-Íqán''
In addition, works partially translated in ''Gleanings'' were published more completely in the following compilations:
*''The
Summons of the Lord of Hosts
The ''Summons of the Lord of Hosts'' is a collection of the Tablet (religious), tablets of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith, that were written to the kings and rulers of the world during his exile in Adrianople and in the early ye ...
''
*''The
Tabernacle of Unity''
*''
Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh 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
/ref>
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
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last queen of Romania from 10 October 1914 to 20 July 1927 as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born int ...
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
{{Baháʼí-stub