laid down, by the revelation of further prophecies and warnings,
and by the establishment of subsidiary ordinances designed to
supplement the provisions of His Most Holy Book. These were
recorded in unnumbered Tablets, which He continued to reveal until
the last days of His earthly life...


Among such works is the Questions and Answers, a compilation made by
Zaynu’l-Muqarrabín, the most eminent of the transcribers of Bahá’u’lláh’s
Writings. Consisting of answers revealed by Bahá’u’lláh to questions put
to Him by various believers, it constitutes an invaluable appendix to the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas. In 1978 the most noteworthy of the other Tablets of this
nature were published in English as a compilation entitled Tablets of
Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

Some years after the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh had
manuscript copies sent to Bahá’ís in Iran, and in the year 1308 A.H.
(1890-91 A.D.), towards the end of His life, He arranged for the
publication of the original Arabic text of the Book in Bombay.

A word should be said about the style of language in which the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas has been rendered into English. Bahá’u’lláh enjoyed a superb
mastery of Arabic, and preferred to use it in those Tablets and other
Writings where its precision of meaning was particularly appropriate to
the exposition of basic principle. Beyond the choice of language itself,
however, the style employed is of an exalted and emotive character,
immensely compelling, particularly to those familiar with the great
literary tradition out of which it arose. In taking up his task of
translation, Shoghi Effendi faced the challenge of finding an English
style which would not only faithfully convey the exactness of the text’s