First, Vahid Ra'fati compiled it under the title "The Sources of Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh," published in Andalib magazine, vol.4 no.13, (Winter 1984-1985), pp. 59-71 [Institute for Bahá'í Studies in Persian, in Dundas, Ontario, Canada]. Elham Afnan then translated this portion from English into Persian. Second, Denis MacEoin posted an expanded version to the Internet in April, 1997. The notes listed in the text and included at the end are his. They are not to be considered authoritative, since they may constitute personal opinions of one independent scholar. Finally, I compiled the two and added obvious data where missing, such as some translations of some titles and publication information. The information here is not complete and I may have introduced errors.
An "xx" indicates entry not applicable (e.g. that the Kitab-i-Aqdas had no single recipient) or that the information is not known. If downloading it for personal use, save it in a monospaced "typewriter" font, such as Courier, to preserve table appearance. Anyone wishing to expand this list may request from me the original, in MSWord table form.
As well, I've included another table of Sources, provided by Faruq Izadinia. I have not converted Izadinia's table to html; readers will have to download it in RTF format. I have not correlated the two tables, because some information conflicts between the two, and I don't have the knowledge to determine which one is correct in each case. Any readers who are familiar with the original sources and can reconcile the two tables are encouraged to email . More information about each of the Tablets listed here can be found in the Leiden List of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh.-J.W.
# |
Name of Tablet or Opening words: | Addressed to: | Published in: |
1 | (To Aqa Muhammad Hasan) | Aqa Muhammad Hasan | xx |
2 | Huwa 'l-shahid al-sami' al-'alim al-hakim | a group of Bahá'ís | Athar-i qalam-i a'la (AQA) v2, 60 |
3 | (To Ustad Muhammad Salmani) | Ustad Muhammad Salmani | xx |
4 | (To Ghulam Husayn) | Ghulam-Husayn | xx |
5 | Qawluhu ta'ala bi-ruhi ki dar qalam-i a'la mastur ast | Jamal | Iqtidarat, 220-22 |
6 | xx | xx | xx |
7 | Surat al-qamis | Mirza Sadiq | AQA v4, 50-51 |
8 | xx | xx | xx |
9 | Bi-nam-i khudavand-i binanda-yi dana) | Husayn | Majmu'a-yi athar-i mubaraka (MAM) 268-69 |
10 | xx | Bahá'ís of Khurasan | xx |
11 | Lawh-i Karmil | xx | Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh |
12 | Ridvan al-'adl (Paradise of Justice) | Muhammad Rida Shahmirzadi | xx |
13 | Kitab-i iqan | Siyyid Muhammad, Khal-i-Akbar | Kitab-i-Iqan |
14 | Lawh-i Ridvan | xx | Ayyam-i tis'a, 254-61 (Passage on p. 29, 'Canst thou discover ... All-Glorious') quoted in another tablet, MA, 7, 186 |
15 | xx | Mirza Dhabih | xx |
16 | xx | Mirza Asadu'llah | xx |
17 | Bismi 'llah al-ra'uf al-rahim | xx | Kitab al-haykal 252-54 |
18 | Bismi 'llah al-baqi bi-la zawal | xx | Kitab al-haykal 249-51 |
19 | Kitab-i iqan | Siyyid Muhammad | Kitab-i-Iqan |
20 | xx | Muhammad Ibrahim Khalil, Qazvini Muballigh | xx |
21 | Lawh-i Salman #1 | Shaykh Salman Hindijani | MAM, 144-45 |
22 | Kitab-i iqan | Siyyid Muhammad | Kitab-i-Iqan |
23 | xx | Abbas, Faruq | xx |
24 | Madinat al-tawhid (The City of the Oneness of God) | Salman Hindijani | Ma'ida-yi asmani (MA), 4, 313-29 |
25 | xx | xx | xx |
26 | Lawh al-tawhid (Tablet of the Oneness of God) | Salman Hindijani | MAM, 307-11 |
27 | Huwa 'llah al-bahi al-abha) | xx | MAM 338-42 |
28 | Bismi 'lladhi irtafa'a 'alam al-hidaya bayna'l-biriyya | a group of Bahá'ís | MAM 221-22 |
29 | Huwa 'l-'aziz | xx | MAM 368-71 |
30 | xx | 'Ali Nur Isfahani | xx |
31 | Surat al-'ibad (Tablet of the People) | Siyyid Mihdi Dahaji | AQA 4, 24-25 |
32 | Lawh-i Rida' | Rida | MA v1, 77-78/MAM, 333-34 |
33 | Lawh-i Ibrahim | Muhammad Ibrahim Muballigh | MA, v8, 172-73 |
34 | xx | xx | xx |
35 | Bismi 'llah al-muqtadir 'ala ma yusha' | xx | MAM, 236-38 |
36 | Bi-ism-i mahbub-i yakta (Note 5) | Fath-i-A'zam | MA, v.7,130-31/Iqtidarat p.93 |
37 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
38 | Lawh-i Ibrahim (Note 6) | Muhammad Ibrahim Muballigh | MA, v.8, 173 |
39 | Surat al-damm (Tablet of the Blood) | Muhammad Zarandi (Nabil-i-A'zam) | AQA, 4, 64-65. Prov. trans. Juan Cole, posted to Internet |
40 | xx | xx | xx |
41 | xx | Abu'l-Hasan in Shin (possibly Shiraz) | xx |
42 | Hidden Words | xx | Hidden Words |
43 | Lawh-i dunya (Note 7) (Tablet of the World) | Ali Akbar Ayadi, Abu'l-Hasan Amin | MAM, 286-98/Darya-yi danish 84-100. Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh |
44 | xx | Mashhadi Isma'il (Zarqan) | xx |
45 | Bismi 'llah al-aqdas al-abha | Muhammad Rida | Kitab al-haykal, 307 |
46 | xx | Mirza 'Ali Naqi | xx |
47 | xx | xx | xx |
48 | xx | Dhabih | xx |
49 | xx | xx | xx |
50 | Lawh-i siraj | 'Ali Muhammad Suraj | MA, v.7, 57-58 |
51 | Bismi 'llah al-abda' al-amna' al-aqdas al-abha | Aqa Siyyid Muhammad (Yazd) | MA, v.4, 87 |
52 | Lawh-i Ashraf | Ashraf | MAM, 212-14 |
53 | Lawh-i Nasir | Nasir | MAM, 170 |
54 | xx | Jinab-i-Muhammad | xx |
55 | Lawh-i ard-i Ta' (Tihran) | xx | xx |
56 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
57 | Lawh-i hajj (Baghdad House) | Muhammad Zarandi (Nabil-i-A'zam) | Adi'a-yi Hadrat-i Mahbub 99-104 |
58 | xx | Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin | xx |
59 | xx | xx | xx |
60 | Lawh al-sahab (Tablet of the Cloud) | xx | MA, 4, 168 |
61 | (Title/1st lines not known) | Muhammad Ibrahim Muballigh | Amr va khalq, 4, 472-73 |
62 | xx | xx | xx |
63 | Bismi 'l-mazlum al-zahir fi 'l-sijn al-a'zam | a group of Bahá'ís | AQA, 2, pp. 87-88 |
64 | xx | a group of Bahá'ís | xx |
65 | Surat al-muluk (Tablet to the Kings) | xx | AQA - Alwah-i nazila khitab bi-muluk wa ru'usha-yi ard 17-23 |
66 | Surat al-muluk | xx | AQA - Alwah-i nazila 23-34 |
67 | Lawh al-amr (Tablet of the Commandment) | Mulla 'Ali Bajistani | Kitab al-haykal 243-44 |
68 | Huwa'l-sami' al-basir | xx | Ishraqat 284-45 |
69 | xx | xx | xx |
70 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
71 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
72 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
73 | Lawh-i Hadi | Hadi | MAM 355-56 |
74 | xx | xx | xx |
75 | Lawh-i Nasir | Nasir | MAM 186-88 |
76 | xx | Ahmad Quli Khan | xx |
77 | xx | Muhammad Ibrahim Muballigh | xx |
78 | Lawh-i 'Abd al-Razzaq | 'Abdu'r-Razzaq | Iqtidarat 72-73 |
79 | Lawh-i Wafa' | Muhammad Husayn in Shin (Shiraz) [titled Vafa, "Fidelity"] | MA, v1, 63-64 |
80 | Lawh-i 'Abd al-Razzaq | Abdu'r-Razzaq | Iqtidarat 68-71 |
81 | Lawh- 'Abd al-Vahhab | 'Abdu'l-Vahhab | Ishraqat 215-17/MAM 163-65 |
82 | xx | Muhammad 'Ali | xx |
83 | Lawh-i Hadi | Hadi | MAM 351-53 |
84 | Bi-ism-i mahbub-i 'alamiyan | xx | Iqtidarat 158-59 |
85 | Bi-nam-i khudavand-i bi manand | xx | Darya-yi danish 101-3 |
86 | Bi-nam-i dust-i bi nam | Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin | MA, v1, 73-75/Iqtidarat 228-31 |
87 | Lawh-i 'Abd al-Razzaq | Abdu'r-Razzaq | Iqtidarat 74-77 |
88 | Ridvan al-'adl (Paradise of Justice) | Siyyid Muhammad Rida Shahmirzadi | MA, 4, 160 |
89 | Tafsir-i Sura-yi wa'l-shams (Commentary on the Surih of Va'sh-Shams) | Shaykh Mahmud, Mufti of 'Akka | MAM, 8-9 |
90 | Kitab-i iqan | Siyyid Muhammad | Kitab-i-Iqan |
91 | Kitab-i iqan | Siyyid Muhammad | Kitab-i-Iqan |
92 | xx | xx | xx |
93 | Commentary on verse from Sa'di | Shaykh Salman | Prov. trans. Juan Cole, posted to Internet |
94 | xx | Jinab-i-Hashim | xx |
95 | xx | Ni'matu'llah | xx |
96 | Huwa 'l-shahid al-sami' al-'alim (See Note 1) | xx | xx |
97 | Lawh-i siraj | 'Ali Muhammad Suraj | MA, v7, 18 |
98 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
99 | xx | Mulla 'Ali-Akbar Ayadi | xx |
100 | Lawh-i 'Ali | 'Ali | Ishraqat 291-96 |
101 | Bismi 'llah al-abha | Ustad Shir-Muhammad | Darya-yi danish 1/Amr wa khalq v.3, 1 (where it is headed Bismi'llah al-rahman al-rahim) |
102 | Lawh man sa'ada ila'llah | Abu'l-Fada'il | MAM 365-67 |
103 | xx | xx | xx |
104 | Hidden Words | xx | Hidden Words |
105 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
106 | Lawh-i Manakji | Manakji Sahib | Darya-yi danish 3-4 |
107 | Lawh-i Malik-i Paris | Napoleon III | Kitab al-haykal 74. Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh |
108 | Siyyid Yusuf-i-Isfahani (Sidihi) | xx | xx |
109 | xx | Kamal (Kamali'd-Din-i-Na raqi) | xx |
110 | Lawh-i Maqsud | Mirza Maqsud | Darya-yi danish, 20-26 |
111 | Lawh-i ittihad (Tablet of Unity) | Siyyid Asadu'llah (Port Said) | Adi'a-yi Hadrat-i Mahbub 407-9 |
112 | Lawh-i Maqsud | Mirza Maqsud | Darya-yi danish, 14-16 [the passage 'The great Being saith ... reward and punishment' is from a tablet published in MA, v.4, p. 109] Also in separately published text (Egypt), 5-7 |
113 | Surat al-muluk | xx | AQA Alwah-i nazila 49-65 |
114 | Surat al-muluk | xx | AQA Alwah-i nazila 35-49 |
115 | Lawh-i Dhabih | Dhabih | Iqtidarat 323-8 |
116 | Surat al-muluk | xx | AQA Alwah-i nazila 11-17 |
117 | Lawh-i Maqsud | Mirza Maqsud | Darya-yi danish 16-20/Egyptian text 8-12. Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh |
118 | Surat al-muluk | xx | AQA Alwah-i nazila 7-11 |
119 | Lawh-i malika (Tablet to the Queen) | Queen Victoria | Kitab al-haykal 84-85. Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh |
120 | Lawh-i malika [Note 8] (Tablet to the Queen) | Queen Victoria | Kitab al-haykal 82-83. Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh |
121 | xx | Javad | xx |
122 | Lawh-i Maqsud | Mirza Maqsud | Darya-yi danish 12-13/Egyptian text 3-4. Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh |
123 | xx | xx | xx |
124 | Lawh-i Hadi | Hadi | MAM, 346-9 |
125 | Kitab-i iqan | Siyyid Muhammad | Kitab-i-Iqan |
126 | Huwa 'l-mubayyin al-hakim | Mirza Haydar 'Ali | Ishraqat 137-40/ESW 13-15 |
127 | xx | Ibrahim Muballigh | xx |
128 | Surat al-bayan (Tablet of Utterance) | Muhammad Ibrahim Muballigh | AQA, 4, 112-14 |
129 | Surat al-bayan | xx | AQA, 4, 108-11 |
130 | Tablet to Mirza Badi' Allah | 'Andalib and some of the Bahá'ís | Epistle to the Son of the Wolf/also cited in letter to 'Andalib in AQA, 2, 17-18 (see note 2) |
131 | Huwa 'l-shahid al-sami' al-khabir | 'Ali-Akbar | Ishraqat 278-80 |
132 | Epistle to the Son of the Wolf | Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi Mujtahid-i-Isfahani | Epistle to the Son of the Wolf |
133 | xx | Shakh Salman | xx |
134 | Bi-ism-i mahbub-i 'alamiyan | xx | Iqtidarat 162-63 |
135 | xx | Muhammad Baqir, Letter of the Living | xx |
136 | xx | Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq | xx |
137 | xx | xx | xx |
138 | Lawh-i siyam (Tablet of the Fast) | xx | Tasbih wa tahlil 50-53 |
139 | xx | Nabil-i-A'zam | xx |
140 | xx | Muhammad-'Ali | xx |
141 | xx | xx | xx |
142 | Letter to Muhammad 'Ali | Muhammad-'Ali | MA, 4, 111-13 |
143 | Haji Faraj | xx | xx |
144 | xx | xx | xx |
145 | Surat al-bayan | Muhammad Ibrahim Muballigh | AQA, 4, 114-15 |
146 | xx | Muhammad Mustafa Baghdadi | xx |
147 | Bismi 'lladhi bi-dhikrihi tuhyi qulub ahl al-mala' al-a'la | xx | MAM 230-31/Iqtidarat 216-18 |
148 | Lawh-i Salman 1 | Salman | MAM 143-44 |
149 | xx | xx | xx |
150 | xx | Isma'il-i-Sabbagh | xx |
151 | Lawh-i 'ashiq wa ma'shuq | xx | Darya-yi danish 29-31 |
152 | Lawh-i Ahmad (Farsi) | Ahmad-i-Kashani | MAM 317-19/Darya-yi danish 116-18 (note 3) |
153 | Lawh-i Ahmad (Farsi) | Ahmad-i-Kashani | MAM 315-16, 320-22, 324-27, 328-29/Darya-yi danish 114-15, 119-21, 123-26, 128-29 (note 4) |
154 | Lawh-i Salman 1 | Salman | MAM 153-4 |
155 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
156 | Huwa 'l-muqtadir 'ala ma arada | xx | Kashf al-ghita' 146-7 |
157 | xx | xx | xx |
158 | Lawh-i Malik-i Paris | Napoleon III | Kitab al-haykal. Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh |
159 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
160 | Lawh-i Shaykh Fani | Shaykh Fani | Ganj-i shayigan 177-79 |
161 | Commentary on verse from Sa'di | Shaykh Salman | Prov. trans. Juan Cole, posted to internet |
162 | xx | xx | xx |
163 | xx | Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin | xx |
164 | xx | xx | xx |
165 | xx | Sister of the Wife of the Bab | xx |
166 | al-Kitab al-aqdas | xx | Kitab-i-Aqdas |
MacEoin's notes:
1. Part of this tablet ['Centre your energies... dumbfounded] is quoted in Risala-yi rahnama-yi tabligh, p. 6, where the opening line is cited. It is stated there that the passage is taken from a collection of tablets transcribed in Shiraz, p. 349.
2. This item is not, as Raf'ati states, addressed to 'Andalib, but to Mirza Badi' Allah ('One of our sons').
3. The order in which the Gleanings text has been arranged does not follow the original.
4. There are long lacunae between the translated sections making up the Gleanings passage.
5. (To section 36): This passage comes from a reply to questions from a Christian priest. The Iqtidarat text quotes it as from a previous tablet.
6. There should be no lacunae between 'created things' and 'In like manner'.
7. (Section 43) There should be lacunae marks on p. 95, between 'holy Book' and 'O people of Justice!'
8. For a Persian trans. of part of this section ('Regard the world' to end], apparently by 'Abbas Effendi, see Amr wa khalq v. 3, pp. 219-221.
9. The passage 'We pray God... with him' has an analogue on p.243 and also in Iqtidarat p. 142.
Further remarks:
There are some variant translations by Shoghi Effendi (and, I'm sure, more than I have noted): p. 95 'It is not his to boast', cf. p. 249 and World Order of Bahá'u'lláh p. 41; p. 138 'Verily... angels', cf. Bahá'í Administration p. 16; pp. 215-16 cf. WOB p. 32; p. 217, cf. WOB p. 41; p. 249, cf. WOB p. 41; p. 243, cf. p.339 and p.345
I have Qur'anic sources for all but three of the analogues from sections XVII and XVIII, if anyone needs them.
Not all the above information may be correct: I'm using material I haven't really looked at closely in many years, so there's room for error. But I hope this brings us closer to a properly edited text. It is certainly of major importance to be able to compare Shoghi Effendi's often very free translations with the originals.