Kitáb-i-ʻAhd
The Kitáb-i-ʻAhd (Arabic: ﻛﺘﺎﺏ ﻋﻬﺪﻱ literally "Book of My Covenant") is the Will and Testament of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, where he selects his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as his successor. It was written at least one year before Baháʼu'lláh died in 1892. An English translation is included in the Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, published in 1978.
While the Tablet of the Branch, composed in the Adrianople period had clearly signaled a high station for "the Branch of Holiness" and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has specified that this high station involved leadership of the Baháʼí community after Baháʼu'lláh's passing, it was only with the unsealing of the Kitáb-i-ʻAhd after the passing of Baháʼu'lláh in 1892 that it was confirmed that the Branch referred to was indeed ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
Designation of Succession
In the Kitáb-i-ʻAhd, Baháʼu'lláh refers to his eldest son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as G͟husn-i-Aʻzam (meaning "Mightiest Branch" or "Mightier Branch") and his second eldest son Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí as G͟husn-i-Akbar (meaning "Greatest Branch" or "Greater Branch").
Baháʼu'lláh designates his successor with the following verses:
See also
- Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh
- Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
- Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book)
Notes and references
- Notes
- Citations
Further reading
- Baháʼu'lláh (1994) [1873-92]. "Kitáb-i-ʻAhd". Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-174-4.