From: hakim@bigq.enet.dec.com (Kamran Hakim)
Subject: Re: RE: Baha'i prespective...
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 10:09:13 GMT


Hooshyar Naraghi writes:

HN> How do you know, jenAb-e mohaghegh? :-)  Have you done any studies of the
HN> Baha'i Faith specially the writings of Baha'u'llah to report such obviousity?
HN> I know, you were reading the sentence and interpreted it as it stands.

In article <i.716490703@home>, Mohaghegh replies:

M>Easy, there is a place in Iran called "Tehran". At old time "Tehran" was
M>spelled with "Ta". The writer had used "arze Ta" in other places, where it could
M>have meant only "Tehran". Do you need a reference?

Wonderful observation Mohaghegh. You are correct about the usage of the
terms "arze Ta", "arze Ya", "arze Mim" etc... referring to the specific
cities. As a result the term "arze Ta" refers IN THE MAJORITY OF CASES
to Tihran. I will offer the following example to demonstrate YOUR POINT:

"Hearken, O servant [Addressing Shaikh Najafi, surnamed by Baha'u'llah as
the Son of the Wolf. KH], unto the voice of this Wronged One, Who hath endured
grievous vexations and trials in the path of God, the Lord of all Names, until
such time as He was cast into prison, in the Land of Ta (Tihran) [This is a 
reference to Siah Chal prison in Tehran where Baha'u'llah was imprisoned for
four months KH]. He summoned men unto the most sublime Paradise, and yet they
seized Him and paraded Him through cities and countries."
				Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, page 78

Having agreed with you on the literal please allow me to offer the more
universal meaning of "arze Ta". Please note that in the quotation from
the Book of Aqdas I had offered, it was mentioned that the land of Ta
will be ruled by a just king:

"Let nothing grieve thee, O Land of Ta (Tihran) [This is the manner by 
which Baha'u'llah addresses Iran in His Writings. KH] for God hath chosen 
thee to be the source of the joy of all mankind. He shall, if it be His 
                                                 ^^^^^^^^
Will, bless thy throne with one who will rule with justice, who will gather
      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
together the flock of God which the wolves have scattered..... 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

					Ketab-i Aqdas

It is rather absurd that among all the CITIES in Iran Tehran, the capital 
of Iran was chosen to have a just ruler and a king. Furthermore, the
wolves [i.e. the religious leaders of Iran] did not scatter the believers
[i.e. the flock of God] just from Tehran, but from every city and village
in Iran. It would be the function of this ruler to "gather together" the
scattered believers in Iran and not just Tehran. Baha'u'llah is using
the capital Tehran to address Iran in this specific quotation. Let us 
examine whether this usage is valid elsewhere in His Writings? He reveals:

"Say: O King of Berlin [Baha'u'llah is referring to the Emperor of Germany,
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kaiser Wilhelm I, KH]! Give ear unto the Voice calling from this manifest 
Temple [Baha'u'llah is referring to Himself as the Temple]: Verily, there is
none other God but Me, the Everlasting, the Peerless, the Ancient of Days. 
Take heed lest pride debar thee from recognizing the Dayspring of Divine 
Revelation, lest earthly desires shut thee out, as by a veil, from the 
Lord...."
			Synopsis of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, page 20

Moreover;

"O King of Paris [Baha'u'llah is referring to Napoleon III, KH]! Tell the 
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
priest to ring the bells no longer. By God, the True One! The Most Mighty 
Bell hath appeared in the form of Him Who is the Most Great Name [Baha is
the most great Name of God, KH], and the fingers of the will of Thy Lord, 
the Most Exalted, the Most High, toll it out in the heaven of Immortality, 
in His name, the All-Glorious. Thus have the mighty verses of Thy Lord been
again sent down unto thee...." 
				Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, page 46

Furthermore;

"O Queen of London [Baha'u'llah is addressing Queen Victoria, KH]! Incline
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
thine ear unto the voice of thy Lord, the Lord of all mankind, calling the 
from the Divine Lote-Tree: Verily, no God is there but Me, the Almighty,
the All-Wise!"
				The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, page 33

Please note that in the three quotations I have offered above, the kings
and the queen of countries we know as Germany, France and England have
been identified with the CAPITAL CITY of each country. The same applies
to the following quotation from the Book of Aqdas about Iran:

"Let nothing grieve thee, O Land of Ta (Tihran) for God hath chosen 
thee to be the source of the joy of all mankind. He shall, if it be His 
Will, bless thy throne with one who will rule with justice..."
					The Book of Aqdas

Mohaghegh if you need further demonstration of this point I will be very
happy to supply more information.

Abdu'l-Baha makes the following statements about Iran, NOT TEHRAN:

"Aghebat khaheed dAnest IrAn veerAn gardad va dolat va mellat beh nahAyat-eh
mashaghat oftad. LAken mA IrAn rA roshan namoodim va IrAnian rA ezzat-eh
abadi-eh khAsteem. Har chand IrAn alAn gom-nAm ast vali in amr-eh azim
`Aghebat ahl-eh IrAn rA sarvar-eh `Alam-eh emkAN konad."

Also:

"MezAghi IrAniAn beh kolli tagh-eer kard-eh. Mashrab-eh dini namAndeh va
`Aghebat mashAreb-eh nA-shAyest-eh niz dar Iran taseer khAhad bakhsheed
valy mot-maen bAsheed the ghovveyeh amr-o-llah `Aghebat ghAleb gardad va
amvaji az in bahr-eh bi pAyAn barkhizad va in kaf-hA rA az daryA be sahrA
indAzad"

Also:

"Amma IrAn laysa lah-ol amAn ella be-dkhool-eh fi zell-e rahmAn."

Warm regards,

Kamran Hakim
Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian