The Kitáb-i-Íqán : The Book of Certitude
Glossary and Notes
Amalekites
Expelled in early times from Babylonia, they spread through Arabia to Palestine and Syria and as far as Egypt, to which they gave several of its Pharaohs.
Arba‘ín
A collection of Shí‘íh traditions.
Áthím
Sinner.
‘Aválim
A compilation of Shí‘íh traditions.
Báb
Literally Gate: the title assumed by Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad of Shíráz (b. October 20, 1819; d July 9, 1850) after the declaration of His mission on 23 May 1844. He is the Qá’im and Mihdí of Islám and the Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh.
Bábí
Of or pertaining to the Báb; used to refer to followers of the Báb.
Baghdád
Founded by the Caliph at Manṣúr in ad 762 on the site of a Christian village on the western bank of the Tigris. It remained for 500 years the seat of the Abbasid Government.
Bahá
Literally Glory, Splendor, Light: refers to Bahá’u’lláh (Mírzá Ḥusayn-‘Alí) Who had not yet declared Himself but had been already designated by this title.
Bahá’u’lláh
The Glory of God: title of Mírzá Ḥusayn-‘Alí (b. November 12, 1817; d. May 29, 1892) the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith.
Baní-Háshim
Literally Sons of Háshim (great grandfather of Muḥammad): clan of Quraysh from which Muḥammad was descended.
Baṭḥá
A reference to Mecca; Baṭḥá is the central quarter and lowest part of Mecca, which lies in the immediate vicinity of the Ka‘bih (Kaaba), Islám’s most sacred Shrine
Bayán
Literally exposition, explanation, lucidity, eloquence, utterance: title given by the Báb to His Revelation and to two of His writings, one in Persian, the other in Arabic. The former is His chief docinal work. It is described in Shoghi Effendi’s God Passes By (pp.24-25) as a “monumental repository of the laws and precepts of the new Dispensation and the treasury en-
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