Baha'i Library Forum

There is also this quote which, while allowing for consideration of "diversity" (as well as age distribution and gender), qualifies it by saying it should be "among the pool of those whom the elector believes to be qualified to serve": "From among the pool of those whom the ...

I'll venture to say that the following quote is fairly well known to Baha'is: "… If any discrimination is at all to be tolerated, it should be a discrimination not against, but rather in favour of the minority, be it racial or otherwise. Unlike the nations and peoples of the earth, be they of t...

Can I request answers from Assemblies in written or electronic form, as Universal House of Justice practising? As Bruce says, why not? There are no restrictions listed in such Writings as "Any person can refer a matter to the Assembly for consultation whether the other party wishes to or not.&...

I am not aware of any quotations on the exact procedures. I do recall hearing, however, that the Universal House of Justice is to be cc'd by the National Spiritual Assembly whenever a Local Spiritual Assembly writes to them (with suggestions?); if this is the case, perhaps it is due to the fact that...

Thanks for adding the source, Don--forgot that. As far as your suggestion, Prometheus, for making an invitation to NSAs to view the site "by individuals before sending any requests to the Universal House of Justice", there is at least a quotation which does indeed advise our making use of ...

Interesting...Thanks for the "legal" perspective. "Estrangement" is listed as one possible factor for divorce at http://bahai9.com/wiki/Divorce#Conditions_for_divorce , but it is very clear that "divorce is strongly condemned, and should be viewed as 'a last resort' when 'ra...

As far as question #1 and #3, there is this: "According to the guidance of the House of Justice, letters received at the Bahá'í World Centre are sent to various Departments, according to their topic. For instance, all the letters related to the Research Department are sent to that Department so...

Hi Jonah, Indeed a delicate question, and I hope one by which the questioner can find a loving resolution. Here is a wiki page on the topic: http://bahai9.com/wiki/Satisfying_one%27s_marriage_partner (and its child link, http://bahai9.com/wiki/Physical_and_spiritual_in_marriage ). Notice the quotes ...

Also, in response to Bruce, although there is no requirement for such standing, the Writings do encourage a respect for rank (see http://bahai9.com/wiki/Rank , e.g., "respect for the rank ... of others are virtues which contribute to the harmony and well-being of every community"). On a re...

Thank you for those illuminating quotations, Iranpour! In case you were not aware, one can make one's posts more readable by enclosing quotations therein within code blocks like this: [quote]Put a quote inside of these tags...[/quote] This will then set off quotations into their own styling which is...

Interesting question... The question came up for me with prostration being a tradition in some Chinese families at Chinese new year, but that was more clearly addressed as per the quotation you cited. As far as usage in the Writings, my personal opinion is that the many references there are most lik...

Thanks a lot, Brent. Would be something else... :)

Hi Paula, Here is another such quote: "These Arab tribes were in the lowest depths of savagery and barbarism, and in comparison with them the savages of Africa and wild Indians of America were as advanced as a Plato. The savages of America do not bury their children alive as these Arabs did the...

Yes. :) And there is also the old joke about why the nightingale is named "Lo" :)

Now we just need a modern dictionary explaining the explanatory words used within his dictionary! :) And an example of him using "humble". :) And certainty that he never used words in a manner not formulaicly spelled out in his dictionary. "Savage" is a very good example word. I ...

Definitions, as provided by dictionaries, typically include connotations beyond a main meaning, including this one which also doesn't fit: e.g., "modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc." 1 ). As it is not the central meaning (or at least not the only meaning), one ca...

I might also add some Hidden Words along these lines where, if spoken by a normal human being, might be seen in terms of "pride", while in God's case, the connotation of a lack of merit, or a lack of manners, of course does not apply: "O SON OF SPIRIT! There is no peace for thee save ...

Yes, I think you are correct, but I think there are at least two ways of looking at this. Given the limits in precision of human language, humility is not only definable as the absence of pride, but also potentially connoting deference or lack of authority. Adib Taherzadeh seems to argue from this p...

Thank you, HuangRan, that was also informative. Despite Dr. Momen's response , I don't see how the source of the prayer being from one of the Imams would negate the possibility that these are attributes of God. Every good quality is no doubt an attribute of God (since again, 'Abdu'l-Baha tells us th...

Thank you for the helpful insights and information, Don. On the point about an authoritative statement, the notes to the Aqdas, do state: "The Báb named the months after certain attributes of God." (note 147 ). Page 11 of the Aqdas refers to "members of ... Committees whom we commissi...

In case any are interested (and the quotes David gave earlier still need to be incorporated, etc.), I've added a few quotes at http://bahai9.com/wiki/Life_after_death/soul on a somewhat related topic (page still needs more organization), of the position of either those who have not heard of the Fait...

As mentioned at http://bahai-library.com/scripture_search, you can upload a sidebar for Firefox. Wanted to announce that it is now working again: http://bahai-library.com/tools/searchsidebar.html I've also created a little tool at http://brett-zamir.me/wikidata/ which lets you browse the under-appre...

Yes, that is valid about God doing whatever He willeth, and yes, you are correct about the passage in Century of Light not being absolutely unequivocal (though it would seem strange that they would mention a thousand years specifically if they did not equate this with the length of the Dispensation;...

Yes, you are correct that that quote is only a pilgrim's note, but as I referenced earlier, there are other quotations which do indicate the possibility for thousands of years: "...the Promised One of Bahá'u'lláh will appear after one thousand or thousands of years." ('Abdu'l-Bahá, cited i...

FYI, just came across a pilgrim's note published in Star of the West mentioning the next Manifestation possibly not coming for even 20,000 years--which I added to the end of http://bahai9.com/wiki/Him_Who_will_be_sent_down_unto_you_after_Me#The_Future_Manifestation_of_God_may_come_after_a_thousand_o...

Baha'u'llah did not indicate a Qur'anic source for this, but stated: "Once in about a thousand years shall this City be renewed and re-adorned." (Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Iqan, par. 218 ) This does not mean it needs to always be literally this way (the text states "about"). The Baha'...

Not following the thread closely, but see http://bahai9.com/wiki/Idr%C3%ADs (and maybe also http://bahai9.com/wiki/Prophets )

Thank you for the confirmation, Bruce, though it is more accurate to say all official Baha'i Writings, i.e., ("Sacred Text, the works of the Guardian, books produced by World Centre Publications or the Bahá'í International Community. Permission from independent Bahá'í publishers is required bef...

And besides that, I can't see Farzam Arbab getting litigious on us for releasing a book full of quotations on the Writings! :)

The Writings are published under open copyright. The vast majority of the book is from the Writings. One small quote is from the U.S. Spiritual Assembly, a few are small excerpts from other works (all of which should fall under "fair use"). So, given that it has taken me, sorry to say, yea...

Posted now at http://bahai-library.com/nyc_unrestrained_as_wind

Also, as far as OCR, for those without OCR software, Google docs can do this for you for smaller files.

Thanks very much, Don. I should clarify that by wanting ones that are not "online" I mean ones not in proofread text form (so the files can be quickly opened and their content can be readily copy-pasted without plugins or extra software). Feel free to add any image or OCR improvements over...

Hi, In Mahmud's Diary, I came across this line (for April 15, 1912 (mistakenly labeled as April 13)): "The Persian servants and American believers were with `Abdu'l-Bahá when He was at His hotel. A photographer with a movie camera received permission to photograph Him, together with His compani...

Hi, Was just wondering whether other people knew of any authoritative works of the Writings online (primary sources, but also potentially compilations if they contain Writings not available elsewhere) which are not yet online (for English)? The only such major works I can think of and are aware of s...

Hello Huang Ran,

It is possible I think that the "Who" refers to Baha'u'llah reflecting in His authoritative role, and the "his" is Baha'u'llah in His human role, with the former looking objectively at the trials of the latter, but not sure about this.

Best wishes,
Brett

Hello Paula,

Below the Submit button on the edit page, there is an option to upload a file. It appears this functionality has not been disabled, so it appears it should work if you click "Browse" to add your image through that.

Best wishes,
Brett

It may differ whether you are paying Huququ'llah or contributing to the International Baha'i Fund or some other special Fund. You might be able to get the address from http://contact.bahai.org/ . However, you may wish to ask your National Spiritual Assembly as they may be able to offer this informat...

Hi Paula, Knowing there are a number of works by Robert Stockman on the history of the Faith in the U.S. (in which he no doubt makes some mention of this too), I noticed in http://bahai-library.com/stockman_bahais_united_states, that there is a reference to "The Bahá'í Faith and American Protes...

Does anyone have other references seeming to suggest he did exist? He is mentioned in the Dawn-breakers, a work edited by Shoghi Effendi, at http://bahai-library.com/books/dawnbreakers/preface/prefislam.html , but this is only a quotation of a secular source summing up Shi'ih belief. Mention is also...

I don't have any information on 'Abdu'lláh Buní, but as far as the placement of this information, I think the context makes clear that 'Abdu'l-Bahá is trying to rouse the people of Iran for their backwardness and opposition to progress, pointing out the ignorant inconsistency if not hypocrisy of how...

I for one am not aware of such letters. If the person is not 100% sure of their recollection, could it be the announcement of an Office of Social and Economic Development? http://bahai-library.com/uhj_messages_1963-86_full#601

Hi, Although there are of course passages such as in Gleanings, sec. 22 , which reference the Manifestations of God being "regarded as one soul and the same person" and the tradition cited there of "I am all the Prophets", the following quotation indicates the normal meaning of s...

Please use direct links rather than shortened links (or post both) so people know the sites to which they are being redirected.

Thanks,
Brett

I started an openly collaborative wiki page on the Baha'i Faith and Tolstoy: http://bahai9.com/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy

Best wishes,
Brett

As far as historical accuracy of works like God Passes By, see http://bahai-library.com/uhj_self-defen ... ibility#s4

Yes, have been in touch, thanks!

Best wishes,
Brett

Have been available for a while at http://bahai-library.com/taylor_power_unity and http://bahai-library.com/taylor_pupil_eye

Hello and welcome Clint, As far as the article, the first part is about the relationship to cancer. While BW may have brought this up, the Baha'i Writings do not assert (nor deny) any kind of link to it, so this is not very relevant I think. And Baha'is, indeed should not feel that our Faith calls t...

Possibly the difference is due to the belief that it was a Revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel and not some invention of Muhammad the man. While Baha'is do not contest this, I don't think there is any objection to saying Muhammad "wrote" it either, since He was the vehicle, as we...

Hi...A very delayed reply...See http://bahai9.com/wiki/Companionate_marriage for some quotes. Seems the phrase can be used with different connotations.

Best wishes,
Brett

Hi Commander, I've included a number of quotations (including those found by Pace9) at http://bahai9.com/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_Cycle There are quite a few references in the Writings to "Universal Cycle" and "Universal Manifestation" which may have some more generic information ...

Hi, It shouldn't be too difficult to write a program to convert the diacriticized letters to a Romanized transliteration (assuming all are actually present), and also to provide a word-by-word translation if one can obtain a open source online dictionary (and the dictionary could also help with tran...

Hello Commander, Baha'is believe so also: "In regard to your question concerning the authenticity of the Qur'án. I have referred it to the Guardian for his opinion. He thinks that the Qur'án is, notwithstanding the opinion of certain historians, quite authentic, and that consequently it should ...

And these do not need to be for topics for which you know there to be quotations. The goal is to see if we can find potentially relevant quotations, even for topics which one might think were not covered in the Writings. Also, I should clarify that these would not be open-ended or purely inspiration...

Hi there, Although I make no promises here, if anyone has any requests for compilations (in the process of a desire to see content at http://bahai9.com grow correspondingly), it may influence priorities... The quotes should be based on authoritative or generally recognized semi-authoritative texts, ...

Posted quotes on Europe to a wiki compilation format:

http://bahai9.com/wiki/Europe
http://bahai9.com/wiki/Integration_of_Europe

Hi!

http://bahai-library.com/quran/quranoutlines.html or http://bahai-library.com/nsa_introduction_study_quran might be of use (I found some searching for "death" and "hereafter").

Godspeed on your thesis!

Best wishes,
Brett

p.s. Note the difference in Surah/verse numbering.

Per http://www.bahai9.com/wiki/Genealogies , there is also: http://bahai-library.com/gonzales_genea ... ghieffendi

Best wishes,
Brett

Ok, if they've now settled on a standard--but see this and this

Hi and welcome! You are right that there is an inconsistency (one other type I have noticed was "Shi'ih" and "Shi'ah". I think that since the authorized interpreter, Shoghi Effendi, used different capitalization in different places, you might just choose according to your own pre...

Jonah, you still haven't given us back the posting numbers. Please do this. Bruce This is now added. Jonah and I are busy with other items in life and also may have our own priorities as far as Baha'i projects, so we cannot always immediately respond to requests (if implementing them at all). Howev...

Hi, This talk about six days of creation (mislabeled in the introduction as five days of creation) by Albert Windust, an early American Baha'i, is now at: http://bahai-library.com/zamir/barstow2.html#133a Based on the pilgrim's note you found, I wonder whether at least some of this, if not all, is i...

This doesn't answer regarding the seven days specifically, but I think you may find a general answer at http://www.bahai-library.com/zamir/barstow2.html#143 where it begins: Regarding thy question as to the beginning of Creation: Know thou that the Truth (GOD) has eternally ever been, and so also ha...

Hello and welcome Orion! Yes, cohabitation before marriage is forbidden in the Baha'i Faith, and for the purpose of protecting the believers, those who violate it could be subject to administrative sanctions (not being permitted to e.g., contribute to the Baha'i Funds, attend Feasts where administra...

RSS feed is back up again.

RSS feed is back up again, though the detailed one is at feed.php with the less detailed on at rss.php

Hello Audacity, The limitation of 95 days for Eastern believers is only in the case of engagements (where a firm decision has been taken)--NOT for courtship. In the context of the society in which your family now lives, a society in which materialism, self-centeredness and failing marriages are all ...

With the RSS feed being down, I haven't noticed messages for a while, so sorry to reply late on this. I believe there still is a dedicated office to refugees in the U.S. Baha'i National Center. While they might not have resources to support more than the needs of the strained Baha'i community, perha...

Have a couple wiki stubs on the topic:
http://bahai9.com/wiki/Conception and http://bahai9.com/wiki/Preexistence_of_the_soul

Search found 1375 matches