Seven Valleys and Four Valleys should be regarded as independent Tablets, as they were revealed to different persons.

–SHOGHI EFFENDI

The Bahá'í Faith came into being in Shíráz, Persia, the night of May 22, 1844. 'Alí Muhammad, a descendant of Muhammad, stunned His young guest, Mullá Husayn, by declaring Himself to be a Messenger of God. He assumed the title of Báb or Gate. Like John the Baptist, He claimed to be the Herald of One greater than Himself. Beyond this, He claimed to be an independent Prophet with authority to change existing religious practices and to reveal prayers and laws. His message would be supplanted by that of "Him Whom God shall manifest."
The Báb was born in Shíráz, Persia, the city of the poets Háfiz and Sa'dí, on October 20, 1819. When He was a child, His goodness and innate knowledge amazed His teacher. Later, His sense of probity and justice as a merchant set a standard for the business community.
The years following the Báb's Declaration were filled with turmoil. In a single year, the ferociously fanatical and ignorant Persian Muslims murdered 4,000 adherents of His Cause. The first to

believe in Him was shot from ambush; His greatest disciple, Quddús, was torn to pieces in the public square of Bárfurúsh (Bábul). Táhirih, the most outstanding Bábí woman, bravely and defiantly cried out to her captors, "You can kill me as soon as you like but you cannot stop the emancipation of women."
Among the Báb's many books, some written while a prisoner in the mountains of Ádhirbáyján, the most widely known are the Persian Bayán and the Arabic Bayán. These works were translated into French by A. L. M. Nicolas, the Persian-born French consul at Tabríz who was fascinated by the life and teachings of the Prophet of Shíráz.
It was for the love of Bahá'u'lláh, the Glory of God, that the Báb sacrificed His life. His dramatic martyrdom took place in the windswept barracks square of Tabríz at noon on July 9, 1850.

The central figure in the second period of Bahá'í history was Bahá'u'lláh, the One foretold by the Báb. He was born in Tihrán, Persia, on November 12, 1817. His given name was Husayn 'Alí; later He assumed the title Bahá'u'lláh, meaning "Glory of God."
Husayn 'Alí was of a noble, respected, and wealthy family. A career in government service

was open to Him, but He was not interested in politics. His kingdom was not of this world. Turning His back on a life of luxury, He early championed the Cause of the Báb. He knew that this action would lead to privation, suffering, and persecution for Himself and His loved ones. The blow fell in August 1852 when He was incarcerated in the Black Pit of the capital of Persia. In this underground dungeon. He was surrounded by thieves and murderers. Heavy chains and fetters cut into His flesh. Amidst the horror, agony, and gloom of this place, the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh was bom. The "Most Great Spirit" appeared to Him in a dream, and on every side were heard these words: "Verily, we shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy pen. Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art in safety. Erelong will God raise up the treasures of the earth–men who will aid Thee through Thyself and through Thy name, wherewith God hath revived the hearts of such as have recognized Him."
In January 1853, Bahá'u'lláh and His family were banished from Persia. He chose Baghdád as the place of exile. The midwinter journey followed a tortuous route through the icy mountains of Kirmánsháh westward to the city astride the Tigris. As the years went by, the popularity of Bahá'u'lláh grew, and leaders of thought would

gather informally around Him along the riverside and seek His views.
He would walk along the Tigris, sometimes resting at a mosque that remains as a witness of those days, and compose The Hidden Words, lovely verses that sum up the essentials of religion. His foremost work in Baghdád was The Book of Certitude. This dealt with the theme of progressive revelation, the doctrine that Prophets reveal teachings according to the needs and capacity of the people. His influence waxed too strong to suit the rulers of Persia and Turkey, and they decided to send Him farther from His homeland.
On April 22, 1863, He left His home, crossed the Tigris, and pitched His tent in a garden which He named the Garden of Ridván or Paradise. Here He declared to His trusted friends that He was the Manifestation of God, sent to earth to bring the long-promised reign of righteousness.
Exile followed in Constantinople and in Adrianople, where Bahá'u'lláh publicly proclaimed His mission. In Adrianople in 1863, He revealed the Tablet of the Kings (Súriy-i-Mulúk), warning the kings of East and West that disobedience to God would lead to their downfall.
Bahá'u'lláh was finally exiled in 1868 to the ancient prison at 'Akká, Palestine, the St. Jean d'Acre of the Crusaders. In the Holy Land, He wrote the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, or Most Holy Book. In

it He prescribes obligatory prayers, sets the dates for fasting and festivals, and condemns backbiting, idleness, and cruelty to animals. The book forbids the use of opium and alcohol for other than scientific purposes and prohibits slavery, begging, and monasticism. It ordains monogamy and interdicts gambling. The writing of a testament is held to be a duty. Every Bahá'í is commanded to obey his government. Among the Bahá'í virtures are spotless cleanliness, chastity, trustworthiness, hospitality, courtesy, and justice.

The Seven Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh may be regarded as the summit of achievement in the realm of mystical composition. This profound essay was written in response to questions of Shaykh Muhyi'd-Dín, the judge of Khániqín, a town situated near the Persian border northeast of Baghdád. The judge was evidently a student of Súfí philosophy, a variety of mysticism that developed as a movement within Islám. The goal of the Súfí was to attain the Presence of God through meditation and prayer, contemplation and ecstacy. A special terminology was developed to explain the stages of spiritual progress. Some Súfís embraced the doctrine that they could approach God directly without assistance from Muhammad or other Prophets. This view logically led to the tenet that the Súfís were

exempt from the laws of religion and that for them, even if not for the multitude, conscience was a safe guide. The greatest of the Persian mystics, Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí and al-Ghazzálí, contested this theory, affirming that only through obedience to the laws of God as revealed by His Messengers could one attain unto the Divine Presence.
Shaykh Muhyi'd-Dín was doubtless conversant with the writings of the twelfth century Persian Súfí, Faridu'd-Dín 'Attár. 'Attár's most esteemed work was the Mantiqu't-Tayr or Language of the Birds. In it the journey of the soul is traced through Seven Valleys: Search, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unification, Bewilderment, and Annihilation. Bahá'u'lláh employed a similar, although not identical, pattern in His Persian Seven Valleys which delineates the seven stages of progress of the soul toward the object of its being. Bahá'u'lláh wrote this work after His return to Baghdád from the mountains near Sulaymáníyyih, The subject is essentially timeless and placeless, the inner verities of religion. The spiritual realities are the same in all the established religions, and they constitute the foundation of faith. This is the purport of the declaration of Bahá'u'lláh concerning His Faith: "This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future."
The Four Valleys, an epistle written in Baghdád

after the composition of The Seven Valleys, was addressed to the learned Shaykh 'Abdu'r-Rahmán of Karkúk, a city of 'Iráqí Kurdistán. It sets forth four ways in which the Unseen is seen, the four stages of the human heart, and the four kinds of mystic wayfarers in quest of the Intended One, the Praiseworthy One, the Attracting One, the Beloved. The four divine states are given in this verse from the Qur'án (57:3): "He is the first and the last; the Seen and the Hidden; and He knoweth all things."

–ROBERT L. GULICK, JR.
February 1, 1975