Baha'u'llah's Arabic

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Irish
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:43 am

Baha'u'llah's Arabic

Postby Irish » Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:42 am

I have question for someone who is familiar with the style of Hadrat-i-Baha'u'llah's writings in the original Persian and Arabic.

I know that Hadrat-i-Bab was said to write in very unconventional Arabic, and that He frequently broke the rules of classical grammar. Did Hadrat-i-Baha'u'llah also do this?

For example, I read in prayer yesterday the word "fardaniyyatika", which has been traslated as "Thy Oneness". Now, is "fardaniyya" a proper Arabic word. "Fardiyya" mean "individuality", and "fardan" mean "single". I suppose that "fardaniyya" could be the nisba adjective of "fardan", in which case it would mean "singleness/ Oneness". But, is Hadrat-i-Baha'u'llah making up a new word here? Or is it a persian-Arabic word?

Irish
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:43 am

Postby Irish » Fri Nov 24, 2006 6:10 am

I have heard that Baha'u'llah's Arabic Writings are not allowed to be translated in Persian. I'm mean, I'm sure they are translated all the time in the minds of the Persian believers, but I have heard the it has been a policy of the Master, the Guardian and the House, to never allow a printed Persian translation of the Arabic tablets.

I would be helpful for me to know if this is true. It can be hard to tell which language some of the Tablets were originally revealed in, especially as Baha'u'llah sometimes mixed Persian and Arabic in the same Tablet, sometimes even in the same sentence! However, if this was true, then if I found a printed Tablet which was completely in Persian, then I could be sure it was originally revealed in that language.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that the Persian Writings have often been printed in Arabic translation (e.g. the Persian Hidden Words).

Mark

Irish
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:43 am

Postby Irish » Tue Nov 28, 2006 6:41 am

I asked a native Arabic speaker about the "yu3izzaruhu" sentence; she said that she had heard that Arabic is a language where everyone word can mean one thing, but also, in unusual circumstances, it's exact opposite. If true, that would seem to be a logical answer. Why would Baha'u'llah say that we must "censor/rebuke" a just, fairminded sovereign who is helping the Baha'is? This being strange, it is logical to think that He meant us to do the exact opposite.

Another example is in the Long Obligatory Prayer, where it says "hubbuka adnaanii", which means "your love has made me weak/feeble", but Shoghi Effendi has translated it as "Thy love hath enriched me".

Has anyone else heard about this?

Irish
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:43 am

Postby Irish » Tue Dec 05, 2006 3:45 pm

I know that the Kitab-i-Iqan is in Persian, and the title is a Persian construction, but I want to know about the word Iqan. It is supposed to be an Arabic word, right? Is it supposed to come from the root ya' qaf nun. Well, is it Persian variant of an Arabic word or is it supposed to be pure Arabic? One Arab speaker I know has never heard of it. In Arabic, the word "yaqiin" means "certitude", not "iiqaan".


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