Letters and Essays, 1886-1913

translated from the Arabic and Persian and
annotated by Juan R.I. Cole

                         Contents

Foreword, by Alessandro Bausani ................................ ix
Editor's Note .................................................. xi

Part I: Iran, 1886-1888
        On the Meaning of Civilization .......................... 3 
	On the Resurrection Day ................................. 7 
	Why Moses Could Not See God ............................ 15 
	Against Blind Obedience ................................ 37

Part II: The Russian Empire, 1892
	A Treatise for Alexander Tumansky ...................... 43

Part III: Palestine, 1894
	On Meeting 'Abdu'l-Bahá ................................ 87

Part IV: Egypt, 1895-1914
	The Bab and the Babi Religion .......................... 95
	A Letter to Tripoli ................................... 111
	On Tests and Trials ................................... 135 
	On Perfection and Imperfection ........................ 139
	On the Reaction in Egypt to His Writings .............. 147 
	On the Meaning of Angels .............................. 155 
	The Reality of the Holy Spirit ........................ 171
	Did Moses Prophesy Muhammad? .......................... 173 
	A Commentary on the Saying "Knowledge Is 27 Letters" .. 181

                         About

The letters written from 1886-1888, in Southwestern Iran, are among the few documents which throw light on Abú'l Fadl's early Bahá'í career. Also available for the first time in English is "A Treatise for Alexander Tumansky," written for the noted orientalist — a major work which provides an invaluable summary of the life of Bahá'u'lláh, as well as unique information on the controversial histories Táríkh-i Jadíd and Naqtatu'l-Káf. There is the courageous defense of the Bahá'í Faith that Abú'l Fadl was able to publish in the Egyptian press, the first article of its kind.

And finally, the letters collected from the last years of his life that show his scholarship at its most profound and most mature. The startling modernity of Abú'l Fadl's thought is as challenging today as it was when first written. This book is required reading for any serious student of the Bahá'í religion. [Kalimat, 1985]