| Texts and scriptures of theBaháʼí Faith |
|---|
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| FromBaháʼu'lláh |
| Fromthe Báb |
| FromʻAbdu'l-Bahá |
| FromShoghi Effendi |
Gems of Divine Mysteries (Jawáhiru'l-Asrár,Arabic:جواهر الاسرار) is a lengthy Arabic epistle[1] byBaháʼu'lláh, the founder of theBaháʼí Faith.[2] Thetablet (as Baháʼu'lláh's works are often called) was written during his time inBaghdad (1853-1863) inArabic, and was published in English in 2002.[2]
The work was written in reply to a question from Siyyid Yúsuf-i-Sidihí Isfahání, a religious leader of theShiʻas inNajaf,[1] who had asked the question of how the promisedMahdi could have been "transformed"[3] (meaning: the return of the Promised One in a different human guise) into Ali-Muhammad the (Báb).[3] The work was written on the same day as the question had been received and delivered through an intermediary.[3]
According to a compilation published in 2000 by researchers at the Wilmette Institute, Siyyid Yúsuf-i-Sidihí Isfahání, who was residing in Karbila when the tablet was written,[3] recognized the divinity of Baháʼu'lláh after reading the tablet.[1] When he met Baháʼu'lláh later, he became aBabi.[1] His friends rejected him for becoming a Babi and he could no longer stay in their home.[1]
Baháʼu'lláh himself states that he took "the opportunity provided by" the question "to elaborate on a number of subjects". The introduction of the published English translation lists some of these topics, some of which are: "rejection of theProphets of the past," "danger of a literal reading of scripture," "the meaning of the signs and portents of the Bible concerning the advent of the newManifestation," "the continuity of divine revelation," "intimations of Baháʼu'lláh's approaching declaration," and the significance or meanings of terms such as "Day of Judgement" and "the Resurrection."[3]
Similar themes as those presented in theGems of Divine Mysteries can be found in theSeven Valleys and in theKitáb-i-Íqán.[3]
The governing body of the Baha'i Faith global community, theUniversal House of Justice, announced in April 2001, as part of its ongoing five-year plan, that theCentre for the Study of the Texts — at theBaháʼí World Centre — would "focus on translations into English from the Holy Texts."[4] The publication ofGems of Divine Mysteries was one of the projects undertaken in fulfilment of that five-year plan.[3]