Religion:Kitabu'l-Asmá'
The Kitabu'l-Asmá' or Book of Divine Names (also known as the Chahar Sha`n (The [Book of the] Four Grades))[1] is a book written by the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, in Arabic[2] during his imprisonment in Máh-Kú and Chihriq in Iran (1847-1850). With a total volume of more than 3,000 pages, it is the largest revealed scripture in religious history.[3] At least twenty-six manuscripts exist,[1][4] and much of the text has not yet been located.[3] Some extracts are available in English in the volume Selections from the Writings of the Báb.[2]
Contents
The text is divided in nineteen unities (Vahid) and 361 gates (Báb; chapters).[3] and consists largely of "lengthy variations of invocations of the names of God'.[2] Each name is discussed in four different parts, each part written in a different 'mode of revelation':[5] divine verses, prayers, commentaries, and rational arguments.[6] The 361 chapters symbolize "all things" (Kull-i-Shay’) and the days of the year of the Badi' calendar.[7] Where the materials about the calendar are located in the Kitabu'l-Asmá' is needs further research.[1]
The Báb gives explanations about many divine names and attributes[5] and describes how humanity can be spiritualized by recognizing the Manifestation of God.[3]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lambden, Stephen (2018). Kitab al-asma' - The Book of Names.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Smith, Peter (2000). "Names, Book of". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 258. ISBN 1-85168-184-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=pYfrAQAAQBAJ.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Saiedi 2008, pp. 36
- ↑ Denis MacEoin (1992). The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History. Leiden: Brill. pp. 91–92. ISBN 90-04-09462-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=xqV9-zmMxsUC.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Saiedi 2008, pp. 45
- ↑ Saiedi 2008, pp. 337
- ↑ Saiedi 2008, pp. 336
References
- Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 978-1-55458-035-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=XTfoaK15t64C.
Further reading
- The Báb (1976). Selections from the Writings of the Báb. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. 129–149. ISBN 1-931847-30-4. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/tb/SWB/.
External links
Online manuscripts (only a fraction of the size of the complete work):
- Kitabu'l-Asma' (2010; 481 pages)
- Kitab-i-Asma' (2005; 481 pages)
- INBA, Vol. 29 Tablets of the Bab - "The book of Names - Kitab-i-Asma" (336 pages)
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