Baha’s Writings
Verses or Exercise Papers
4. Baha’s Writings
4.2 Expurgation of Baha’s Writings
Baha applied the axe to his own revelations, an operation euphemistically termed expurgation.
In. J.R.A.S April 1892, P. 313, footnote 1, Prof. Browne makes the following observations on his notice of Baha's Sura-i-Haykal "the possibility of such recension or re-arrangement must always be borne in mind. That the sanctity of the sacred text is now considered to be violated by the publication of a 'revised version' is clearly shown by the very considerable alterations and suppressions made in the text of the Epistle to the king of Persia.(now Iran) by the author of the Traveller's Narrative."
The author of the Traveller’s Narrative was Sir Abbas Effendi himself, who held himself out as a traveller, and interviewed himself for himself to support his tales in the Traveller’s Narrative.
The sanctity of the sacred texts was violated not by Sir Abbas Effendi, author of the Traveller’s Narrative, but by his own father Baha.
Prof. Browne had no access to Baha’s specific revelation, authorizing the expurgation of his revelations or sacred texts, which covered the Aqdas, the Iqan, the Sura-i-Haykal and other sacred texts.
After Baha’s death occurred events which rent the Bahai sect in twain.
The majority followed Sir Abbas Effendi and named themselves the steadfast (al-Thabitin) or the Covenanters; and the minority followed Baha’s second son Mirza Muhammad Ali and call themselves the Unitarians (Ahl-i-Tawhid).
In the polemical warfare that censured both factions of the Bahais accused the chief of the rival faction of having tampered with Baha’s “sacred texts”.
The text of Baha’s revelation of expurgation is extracted from a tract written by a Mirza Muhammad Ali in denunciation of allegations of tampering with Baha’s sacred texts preferred against his chief by the rival faction. The writer’s name appears in ciphers, apparently as a safeguard against foul play at the hands of the rival faction.
هو
صحیفة الحب والوفاق فی بیان کلمات مرکز المیثاقه
غرة مکرم 1217
پس بنابر این کتاب اقدس و کتاب ایقان که این نسخه بعد با نسخ قبل کمال تباین و تفاوت دارد و منتهای تغییر یافته باید گفته شود که تحریف شده این تغییرات از نزد خود بوده و حکمت بالغه او شده چنانچه در جواب زین العابدین میفرماید اما در باره کتاب و اختلاف نسخ مرقوم فرموده بودید هذا ما اشرقه من افق البیان فی الجواب یا نری آیات بشأنی نازل که احدی قادر بر ثبت آن در حین نزول نبوه و آنچه در عراق و ادرنه نازل ابداَ مراجعه نشده باشد که عبد حاضر لدی العرش بهر قوه مراعات نموده ولکن معذلک در بعضی مواقع بد شده و آنچه کتاب استنساخ نموده اند بسیاری مخالف بوده حال عند الناس معلوم نیست که کدام از ساحت اقدس مغایر قوم نازل و کدام از عدم توجه کتاب معلوم است که آنچه از نزد خود نازل شده حق لایرید فیه و لکون چون جناب ناظر علیه اراده نمدند بعضی از کبت را طبع نمایند لذا به غضن اکبر و عبد حاضر امر نمودیم که متابقة نماید و آنچه مقایر قوم باشد معروض دادند چه که ناس اکثری عارف نبوده و نیست و بر کیفیت تنزیل مطلع نه این مراعات بواسطه آن شده است که سبب هلاک نفوس نگردد اگر چه لایرید الظالمین الملک فساداً و سوره هیکل در ارض سر نازل و بعد در این ارض تجدید شد هذا ما ترحم من قبل انه لهو المجد العلیم الخبیر انتهی « 127» « کتبه »
The expurgation over, Mirza Muhammad Ali proceeded to Bombay in 1890, when he had the following sacred texts printed four years before Baha's death in 1892.
The book of Iqan
The book of Mubin, Tablets of Baha'u'llah [Surat-i-Haykal];
The book of Iqtedar, tablets of Baha'u'llah;
The book of Aqdas;
The Ishraqat, Tarazat, Tajaliat
If the term is to be permitted they partake of the nature of 'authorised version.' These Bombay editions are listed in the Bahai World 1926-1928, Vol. III. Bahai publication committee. New Text P. 200 See also Materials for the study of BÂBi Religion by Prof. Edward Browne. P. 195
Baha's revelation to expurgate his revelations speak for itself. Anti expurgation transcripts of these books have remained in the possession of their owners. It will thus be seen that discrepancies and inconsistencies do exist between the sacred text as sent down and the expurgated versions of them.
As Baha clearly states in his revelation to expurgate his revelations, advantage was taken by him of scribes' Lupsus Calamis to overhaul his original revelations and to weed out the tares or offensive and noxious passages in them.
Allusions made towards the end of Aqdas (p. 73 English version) to the "Rising-place of deviation" and to the "One who seduced there" which he condemns the allegation as false and devoid of foundation, refer to Subh-i Azal, and Hajji Sayyid Muhammad
of Isfahan respectively.
Hajji Sayyid Muhammad of Isfahan Subh-i Azal's brother-in-law. Mirza Riza Quli of Tafrish and Mirza Aqa Beg entitled kaj Kulah (skew cap) were murdered by Baha's men at Acre in January 1872.- Materials for the study of the BÂBi Religion by Prof. Browne p. 55
To sum up, the Aqdas was written at the request of Baha’s followers (P.S); the Aqdas was completed in 1872(P.73); the Aqdas was expurgated; and the Aqdas was printed in 1890 subsequent to expurgation.
If Baha condemned the original revelation because it contained offensive passages; if Sir Abbas Effendi condemns his own Kashf-al-Ghita because it boomeranged on Baha; and if Shoghi Effendi condemned the second half of the Nabil's Narrative because it carries the history of BÂBi movement from the time of Baha's arrival at Baghdad upon expulsion from Iran up to Baha's death at Acre in 1892, embodying the events of Baghdad and the Edirne periods of the BÂBi exiles (Shoghi Effendi’s Introduction to the Dawn Breakers - Nabil's Narrative, P xxxviii) it is no wonder that Bahais, following the precedents established by the triumutrate have the translation of the Aqdas, not because the translated version of the text is wrong, but because of obvious reasons not far to seek.