Tafsír-i-Hú

Tafsír-i-Hú, provisionally translated as Commentary on the phrase He Is, is an Arabic Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh. It has not yet been officially translated but a provisional translation exists.

Subject and structure

J. A. McLean states that the Tablet is a highly theosophical discussion of the Arabic phrase Hú, or Huwa, meaning 'He is', which covers the divine Identity, Essence, Names, and Attributes of God. He also states that it explains that the Manifestation of God is the locus of the Names and Attributes of God and the mechanism by which God communicates with Creation.

Stephen Lambden writes that the beginning of the Tablet indicates that it also concerns the status of the "Mirrors" of the Bábi dispensation and Mirza Yahya. Lambden states that the Tablet is revealed in Bábi style.

History

Lambden notes that the Tablet was likely revealed prior to the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh, placing it in the Baghdad period. McLean places the date of its revelation as 1859, shortly after the revelation of the Hidden Words in 1858.

McLean states that the Tablet was revealed to explain a passage from the Báb and was addressed to a "Mirror" of the Bábi dispensation who was probably Mirza Yahya.

According to Lambden it has not been officially published. His provisional translation is based on a typed version from the Bahá'í World Centre.

Provisional Translation

• Provisional translation by Stephen N. Lambden

References

• J. A. McLean, Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, p 60-62.