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.
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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 the qualities and grades of four types of mystical wayfarers: "Those who progress in mystic wayfaring are of four kinds."
The four are, roughly:
- Those who journey first in the valley of self transformed to God-pleasing attributes.
- Those who journey by rejecting self and patterning their lives after Divine reason.
- Those who journey purely by the love of God.
- Those who journey in what is termed a "secret" and "bottmless sea."
This last is considered the highest or truest form of mystic union.[2][3]
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.[2]
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.
See also
Notes
- ^ Effendi 1944, p. 122
- ^ a b c Ayman & Afnani
- ^ Taherzadeh 1976, p. 104
References
- Ayman, Iraj; Afnani, Muin. "Four Valleys - Wilmette Institute faculty notes". http://bahai-library.com/?file=wilmette_chahar_vadi_notes. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- Bahá'u'lláh (1991) [1856-63]. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877432279. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/SVFV/. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430209. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- 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.
- Taherzadeh, A. (1976), The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853-63, Oxford, UK: George Ronald, ISBN 0853982708, http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha'i/Others/ROB/V1/Cover.html
External links
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