This insightful and expert analysis provides a refreshing and supremely logical perspective of this mysterious work of Baha'u'llah. Perfect for deepenings and personal study.

Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, commended this Commentary to several pilgrims, on one occasion expressing himself as 'well pleased' with its description of the principles of the Administrative Order, while a letter written on his behalf states that it 'should be distributed, as it contains excellent material.' He included it in The Bahá'í World, vol. IX.

This edition has been brought up to date and considerably expanded by adding an Epilogue which gives an account of the interregnum (1957-63) between the Guardianship and the election of the Universal House of Justice. It also demonstrates the inviolability of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, and that the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá remains, in the Guardian's words, 'the Charter of the New World Order which is at once the glory and the promise of this most great Dispensation.'

Shoghi Effendi called the Kitáb-i-Íqán 'Bahá'u'lláh's masterly exposition of the one unifying truth underlying all the Revelations of the past'. Bahá'u'lláh Himself stated that 'all the Scriptures and the mysteries thereof are condensed into this brief account'. The study of this important work of Bahá'u'lláh is vital to an understanding of the basic truths of our Faith.

The materials gathered together in this Study Companion are intended to stimulate study of Bahá'u'lláh's Book of Certitude, the Kitáb-i-Íqán. With repeated use in classes, they have evolved over a number of years into their present form, which may be used for both individual and group study. It is intended that these notes will assist the student of the Íqán to acquire a broader vision of its fundamental themes and truths and prove a convenient point of reference for explanations not always at hand.

The Study Companion includes: * annotations to the Íqán; * major themes of the Íqán identified by Shoghi Effendi; * a new index to the Íqán, as well as * a suggested course of study for the Íqán

About the series:

'To deepen in the Cause means to read the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and the Master so thoroughly as to be able to give it to others in its pure form.' (Written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)

This new series of Study Companions to all the major works of Bahá'u'lláh is designed to help believers old and new to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Bahá'í Revelation so that they may nourish their own souls and transmit the verities of the Faith more perfectly to others.

This is a seven-lesson study guide focusing on the Covenant of Baha'u'llah. This study guide takes the student through the nature, meaning and origin of the Covenant, and what our attitude should be toward it. This program is good for individual or group study.

National Teaching Committee, USA; Soft cover; 86 pages;

Author: National Race Unity Committee

A 19-lesson study guide to The Power of Unity. This is based on a four-step method of learning (prayer, meditation, study, and action), intending to stimulate active change. The lessons lend themselves to study by individuals or groups through weekend study groups, workshops or schools.

Baha'i Publishing Trust, USA; Booklet; 51 pages; 7 1/2" X 10"

For Baha'is, "the most important principle of faith is firmness in the Covenant..." Gain a deeper understanding of the features, history, and implications of this "instrument designed by the Lord of the Age for the unification and pacification of the nations and peoples of the earth" with Essence of the Covenant: Features, History, and Implications.

The Essence of the Covenant discusses the features, history, and implications of the "essence" of Baha'u'llah's Covenant: the continuity of divine guidance through the Baha'i Faith's authorized institutions. This text explores such themes as the purpose of the Covenant, the station and function of ‘Abdu'l-Baha, the scriptural foundation and authority of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice, the break in the line of Guardians, the infallibility of the Universal House of Justice, and the individual's relationship to the Covenant.

Similar in format to its predecessor volumes – The Path Toward Spirituality and Raising the Call – this book is ideal for personal or group study, containing detailed explanations, quotations for reflection, illustrations, and study questions.

New Edition! With useful information on arranging one's affairs, this compilation has been thoroughly researched and answers many questions Baha'is have about the Baha'i laws as well as dignified ways to assist those who are preparing for passage. There are suggestions for individuals, Local Spiritual Assemblies, families and funeral directors as well as a selection of readings such as the Obligatory Prayer for the Departed.

'While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning my face, I beheld a Maiden - the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord - suspended in the air before Me' (Bahá'u'lláh) With these words, Bahá'u'lláh recalls the first moments of His Revelation, placing the image of a holy woman at the centre of His Cause. Again and again, throughout the course of His 40-year ministry, Bahá'u'lláh returns to that image in His Writings. The four essays in this book examine the meaning of that image of the Maiden as a key symbol in Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation, and shows how it is a gift from God, to help connect each individual believer to the life of the spirit.

Bahá'u'lláh's great Book of Laws, His Most Holy Book, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, contains the laws that are to provide the foundation of a just society and facilitate the development of virtuous individuals for the next thousand years. The laws revealed by Bahá'u'lláh are uniquely fashioned to address this particular period of humanity's social and spiritual evolution.

Yet many of the laws brought by Bahá'u'lláh have their roots in the laws of earlier dispensations and their origin can be discerned in the holy books that assisted people to conduct their affairs from the very beginning of human civilization.

Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani and Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing trace the evolution of the major laws found in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas through the Old and New Testaments, the Qur'án and the writings of the Báb. Their straightforward account places the laws of Bahá'u'lláh in their historical context and provides fresh insights into their significance for building a new world order.

Revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople and sent to Mírzá Ahmad Yazdí who was travelling from Baghdád to see Him, the Tablet of Ahmad is one of the prayers identified by Shoghi Effendi as having been invested with a 'special potency and significance'.

H. Richard Gurinsky explores the Tablet of Ahmad to discover its significance and importance in the lives of Bahá'ís today. Taking each verse in turn, he reflects on the many levels of meaning that every phrase holds and draws the reader into a deep meditation on the import of Bahá'u'lláh's words.

*** REPRINTING IN NOVEMBER (George Ronald) ***

Udo Schaefer, Nicola Towfigh & Ulrich Gollmer

In the early 1980s, a pseudo-academic monograph on the Bahá'í Faith was published in Germany, under the auspices of the church. Claiming to be the standard work on the new religion, but actually written by an embittered former Bahá'í, it distorted public opinion of the Bahá'í Faith throughout German-speaking Europe, by presenting it as an authoritarian cult with totalitarian goals. Schaefer, Towfigh and Gollmer's reply has succeeded in changing attitudes to the Faith, and has been lauded as 'a mine of information on Bahá'í theology, practice and ethics, and the Bahá'í vision of the socio-political organization of the human family.' It sets new standards for serious study of the Bahá'í Faith.

This book is designed to take readers through an easy to follow study program on the Bahá'í Faith. It can be used as a textbook for a Bahá'í study class. Each chapter can be covered over one or two classes. Alternatively, readers may use this book for personal study.

'Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie in its depths.' (Bahá'u'lláh) A new edition of this stimulating study that applies the tools of literary criticism to His Writings, and how we can read the Word of God with increased confidence and imagination. Suitable for use as a text book by training institutes, this is not for academics only, but for every reader who longs to dive deeper into this Most Mighty Ocean.

Third in a series of study guides on major themes of the creative word, this volume examines the importance and meaning of Baha'u'llah's revelation. Lessons are organized around four themes that Shoghi Effendi urges us to study:

1) Glorifying Baha'u'llah's "Long Awaited Day"

2) "Unprecedented Claim" Baha'u'llah Had Made

3) "Mysterious Forces" Baha'u'llah Has Released

4) "Station" attained by those who recognize his revelation.

This study guide focuses on the spiritual mission of the Baha'i Faith and our role in that mission, providing an overview of 50-plus years of effort to fulfill Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan through a series of national, international and global plans that began in 1937. Also offered are indispensable perspectives for communities, institutions and individuals in planning and initiating work on the Three Year Plan.

Bahá’u’lláh established the Universal House of Justice in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as the supreme administrative body of the Bahá’í Faith. Its Constitution was hailed by Shoghi Effendi as the ‘Most Great Law of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh’.

Guy Sinclair’s study guide provides: * insights into how this remarkable document was developed; * annotations giving the source of each line of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws; * a short compilation on the station of the Universal House of Justice; * questions and exercises about the Constitution as well as * the full texts of the Constitution of the Universal House of Justice, the By-Laws of a Local Spiritual Assembly and the Model Declaration of Trust and By-Laws for a National Spiritual Assembly.

Deepen yourself by finding the answers to 2000 questions based on 21 works of the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.

Includes David Hofman's essay 'Shoghi Effendi, Expounder of the Word of God'.

'At last somebody has had the foresight and energy to compile a set of questions that span the works of Shoghi Effendi . . . a truly monumental study born out of intense collaboration among youth from many countries.'

Review Panel of the United Kingdom.

In this remarkable and pioneering work, Mr McLaughlin has taken one short passage from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, and provided a set of fascinating, thought-provoking and inspiring notes for the reader.

Bahá'u'lláh Himself called this passage 'these perspicuous verses' and in fact they appear no fewer than three times in His revealed Word. As Mr McLaughlin remarks, 'This Tablet stands as a pinnacle from which salient points of past Revelation may be viewed. About it are spread the fertile plains, towering peaks and flowing streams of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. Each word of these verses is a signpost leading to riches in His Word.'

The focus of the training manuals in this series is on team-building. Their contents have been developed and field-tested by a group of capable and experienced educationists working for the Foundation of Advancement of Science. They aim at providing the heads and administrative staff of an institution with basic guidelines on ways and means of conducting their affairs effectively through intimate team work, in a healthy and friendly atmosphere.

The focus of the training manuals in this series is on team-building. Their contents have been developed and field-tested by a group of capable and experienced educationists working for the Foundation of Advancement of Science. They aim at providing the heads and administrative staff of an institution with basic guidelines on ways and means of conducting their affairs effectively through intimate team work, in a healthy and friendly atmosphere.

For those readers who have wanted to know what those French footnotes say in the Dawnbreakers, here is the translation.

Baha'i Publishing Trust of the United States; Softcover; 83 pages; 6" X 9"

Photographer: Kevin Schuler

Part of a Series on Major Themes of the Creative Word.

While first better understanding the word of man, the reader makes a steady progression into the understanding of the Word of God through a series of exercises.

National Teaching Committee, USA Softcover; 70 pages; 7 1/2" X 10"