Китаб-и-Агдас

Baha'u'llah, the Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas

Among all the scriptures Baha'u'llah, comprising more than a hundred volumes, the Kitab-i-Aqdas is extremely importance. "To build anew the whole world" - that is the claim and challenge of His Message, and the Kitab-i-Aqdas is the Charter of the future world civilization that Bahá'u'lláh has come to adopt. The provisions of the Kitab-i-Aqdas is directly based on the foundations laid by past religions, for, as Bahá'u'lláh said, "This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future." In this revelation the idea last raised to a new level of understanding, and social laws, harmonized with the requirements of the emerging century, intended to bring humanity to a world civilization, the greatness of which is still difficult to imagine.

"Do not think - says Baha'u'llah Himself - that we have given you only a set of laws. No - We have printed more sophisticated wine fingers of might and power. " His Book of Laws is His "most weighty evidence given by all the people, and the proof, the phenomenon of the All-Merciful all things in the heavens and all that is on earth."

With regard to the laws themselves, when their careful examination reveals that they cover three areas: the relationship of man to God; material and spiritual aspects of life are directly related to human well-being; the relationship between people and between man and society. They can be grouped under the following headings: prayer and fasting; civil laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance; a number of other laws, precepts, prohibitions and exhortations; cancellation of some of the laws and regulations of previous Dispensations. The distinguishing feature of these laws - the brevity of language. They form the core of a wide range of laws, which are destined to appear in the ages to come. For further development of legislation implement the Universal House of Justice on the basis of the powers given to it by Bahá'u'lláh Himself. In one of His Tablets' Abdu'l-Bahá explains this situation:

Critical issues that form the basis of the Law of God, clearly written in the Book, whereas subsidiary laws are left to the discretion of the House of Justice. The wisdom of this is that every era is different, because change is a necessary feature and an integral feature of the world, as well as time and space. Therefore the House of Justice and will act according to the time conditions ...

Just as the Bab revealed Bayan about the middle period of his Mission, Baha'u'llah revealed the Kitab-i-Aqdas around 1873 - about twenty years after in a Tehran prison Siyah-Chal He received news of His Revelation. In one of the Tablets He indicates that even after the Book of Aqdas was revealed, some time he hid it before you send to friends in Iran. On further says Shoghi Effendi:

After Bahá'u'lláh outlined in the Kitab-i-Aqdas the fundamental laws of His Covenant, shortly before the end of his mission, followed by the declaration of certain precepts and principles that make up the very core of His Faith, confirmation of previously announced to them the truth, development and explanation of some of the established of the law, the phenomenon new prophecies and warnings, as well as the introduction of the subsidiary Law Code, intended to complement the commandments of His Most Holy Book. They were recorded in numerous Tablets, which He continued to reveal until the last days of His earthly life ...

A few years after it has been opened The Most Holy Book, Bahá'u'lláh commanded to send her manuscript copies of Iranian Baha'is, and in 1308 Hijri (1890-1891.), At the end of his life, he has ordered the publication of the original Arabic text Bombay Books.

(From the introduction to Ktab-i-Aqdas, made by the Universal House of Justice, 1992)