The ''Kitáb-i-ʻAhd'' ( literally "Book of My Covenant") is the Will and Testament of
Baháʼu'lláh
Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-Ê»AlÃ; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼà 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
Baháʼà Faith
The Baháʼà Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼà Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼà 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: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’à Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼà Faith from 1892 un ...
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 Baháʼà 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 (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
period had clearly signaled a high station for "the Branch of Holiness" and the ''
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The ''Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' () is the central religious text of the Baháʼà Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼà laws and practices, much of the content deals with other ...
'' has specified that this high station involved leadership of the Baháʼà 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: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’à Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼà Faith from 1892 un ...
.
[ Momen, Moojan (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: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’à Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼà Faith from 1892 un ...
as ''G͟husn-i-Aʻzam'' (meaning "Mightiest Branch" or "Mightier Branch") and his second eldest son
MÃrzá Muhammad Ê»AlÃ
MÃrzá Muhammad Ê»Alà ( 16 December 1853 – 10 December 1937) was the second surviving son of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼà Faith, and the first from Baháʼu'lláh's second wife Fatimih. He is well-known for an attempted sc ...
as ''GÍŸhusn-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 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 Ê»AlÃto 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 Baháʼà 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
The ''Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'' was a seminal document of the Baháʼà Faith, written in three stages by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906.
T ...
*
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The ''Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' () is the central religious text of the Baháʼà Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼà laws and practices, much of the content deals with other ...
(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