The Four Valleys

The Four Valleys (Persian: چهار وادی‎ Chahár Vádí) is a book written in Persian by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The Seven Valleys (Persian: هفت وادی‎ Haft-Vádí) was also written by Baháʼu'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.

Texts and scriptures
of the
Baháʼí Faith
From the Báb
From Baháʼu'lláh
From ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
From Shoghi Effendi

In February 2019 an authorized translation of both titles was published by the Baháʼí World Centre in the collection The Call of the Divine Beloved.[1]

Background

The Four Valleys was written around 1857 in Baghdad. Baháʼu'lláh had recently returned from the mountains of Kurdistan where he had spent two years studying with various Sufi sheikhs using the pseudonym Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani.[2][3] The Four Valleys was written in response to questions of S͟hayk͟h ʻAbdu'r-Rahman-i-Talabani, the "honored and indisputable leader" of the Qádiríyyih Order of Sufism.[4] He never identified as a Baháʼí, but was known to his followers as having high respect and admiration for Baháʼu'lláh.[5]

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.[5]

Content

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

Throughout the book Baháʼu'lláh exhorts men to education, goodly character and divine virtues.

In the book, Baháʼu'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:[5]

  • Those who journey through strict observance of religious Laws.
  • Those who journey to God through the use of logic & reason.
  • Those who journey purely by the love of God.
  • Those who journey by combination of the three approaches of obedience, reason, and inspiration.

This last is considered the highest or truest form of mystic union.[5][6]

See also

Notes
  1. BWNS. A collection of Bahaʼu'lláh's mystical writings published. 6 February 2019.
  2. Smith 2008, p. 17
  3. Balyuzi 2000, p. 116
  4. Effendi 1944, p. 122
  5. Ayman & Afnani
  6. Taherzadeh 1976, p. 104

References
  • Ayman, Iraj; Afnani, Muin. "Four Valleys - Wilmette Institute faculty notes". Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  • Baháʼu'lláh (1991) [1856-63]. The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-227-9. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  • Balyuzi, Hasan (2000). Baháʼu'lláh, King of Glory. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-328-3.
  • Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-020-9. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  • Hatcher, J.S. (1997). The Ocean of His Words: A Reader's Guide to the Art of Baháʼu'lláh. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-259-7.
  • Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-86251-6.
  • Taherzadeh, A. (1976), The Revelation of Baháʼu'lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853-63, Oxford, UK: George Ronald, ISBN 0-85398-270-8

Further reading
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