Revelation, Text and Standing

Baha'u'llah revealed the Kitab-i-Iqan near the end of his Baghdad exile, in the period before the declaration in the garden of Ridvan in 1863, and the tradition that the whole work was revealed within two days and nights is itself part of Bahai teaching on the mode of revelation, writing at speed without revision being counted among its signs. The original is in Persian, seeded throughout with Arabic verses of the Quran and Islamic traditions that the argument expounds; the uncle who received it was won over and remained a believer. The autograph in the hand of Abdu'l-Baha, with marginal corrections by Baha'u'llah, is preserved in the Bahai archives.

Within the community's literature the book holds a defined station: Shoghi Effendi, who translated it into English in 1931, described it as the most important book written on the spiritual significance of the Bahai Faith and as occupying a position unequalled by any work except the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the book of laws, the two forming a pair often characterised as the book of certitude and the book of commandments. Its interpretive method, prophecy fulfilled spiritually, unity of the Manifestations, revelation as progressive and unending, supplies the doctrinal basis for the faith's engagement with every other religion, and passages from it are read in Bahai devotional gatherings worldwide. Printed editions and translations now exist in the major languages of the Bahai world community.