Four Valleys (Bahá'í)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Texts & Scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith Bahá'í literature
From The Báb
Persian Bayán · Arabic Bayán Writings of the Báb
From Bahá'u'lláh
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf Four Valleys Gems of Divine Mysteries Gleanings · Kitáb-i-Aqdas Kitáb-i-Íqán · Hidden Words Long Healing Prayer Seven Valleys Summons of the Lord of Hosts Tabernacle of Unity Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Tablet of the Holy Mariner
From `Abdu'l-Bahá
Paris Talks Secret of Divine Civilization Some Answered Questions Tablets of the Divine Plan Will and Testament
From Shoghi Effendi
The Advent of Divine Justice Bahá'í Administration God Passes By World Order of Bahá'u'lláh This box: view • talk • edit

The Four Valleys (Persian: چهار وادی‎ Chahár Vádí) is a book written in Persian by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. The Seven Valleys (Persian: هفت وادی‎ Haft-Vádí) was also written by Bahá'u'lláh, and the two books are usually published together under the title The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys. The two books are distinctly different and have no direct relation.

1 The Four Valleys
- 1.1 Vocabulary
- 1.2 Content
2 See also
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links

[edit] The Four Valleys

The Four Valleys was written around 1857 in Baghdad, in response to questions of Shaykh `Abdu'r-Raḥmán, the "honored and indisputable leader" of the Qádiríyyih Order of Sufism.^[1] He never identified as a Bahá'í, but was known to his followers as having high respect and admiration for Bahá'u'lláh.^[2]

In the book, Bahá'u'lláh describes four types of seekers of divine understanding: "Those who progress in mystic wayfaring are of four kinds."

The four are, roughly:

Those who seek via obedience to the revealed law
Those who seek via reason and the mind
Those who seek via their heart and love of God
Those who seek using all three

This last is considered the highest or truest form of seeking. (Ayman & Afnani)

[edit] Vocabulary

There is some difficulty in translating a text written in a poetic style, with references to concepts of Sufism that may be foreign in the West. Some names are left in their original Arabic form. For example, Maqsúd ("the Intended One") in this book is used in connection with the holy Kaaba in Mecca and serves as an adjective for it, i.e., it means "the intended Kaba", however, from the context it is clear that this is not a physical place but rather one of the stations on the path toward God.

[edit] Content

This tablet seems to contain many subjects, such as interpretation of scriptures, religious beliefs and doctrines of the past. The subjects addressed include: Mystical Writings, knowledge, divine philosophy, mysteries of creation, medicine, alchemy, etc.

Throughout the book Bahá'u'lláh is exhorting men to education, goodly character and divine virtues.

[edit] See also

The Seven Valleys

[edit] Notes

^ Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp. 122. ISBN 0877430209.
^ Wilmette Institute faculty notes

[edit] References

Bahá'u'lláh [1856-63] (1991). The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877432279.

Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430209.

Hatcher, J.S. (1997). The Ocean of His Words: A Reader's Guide to the Art of Bahá'u'lláh. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877432597.