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Our three illustrated chronologies on the lives of the three Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith:

The Utterance Project was started with three aims:

To extol the beauty of the spoken utterances of The Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the original Arabic and Persian;

To connect people with the languages in which the Bahá’í Holy Scriptures were originally revealed by providing subtitles and transliteration;

And to spark an interest in learning these languages among a wide variety of people.

Although the English translations of Bahá’í scripture are exceptional in their quality, there are musical and poetic characteristics of the revealed Persian and Arabic that cannot be reproduced faithfully in other languages without compromising the integrity of the original meaning. Certain words or spiritual concepts which sound nothing alike in English (or any other language) often rhyme perfectly in the original text. Similarly, certain ideas that can be expressed concisely in Persian and Arabic require wordier translations to unpack the full meaning in English. 

Ideally, because the chosen excerpts are spoken clearly and accompanied by subtitles and transliterations, the viewer will experience hearing the words and understanding them as they are being spoken in the original language of revelation. The written and transliterated Arabic and Persian are also provided with the hope that the viewer may eventually come to recognize certain sounds in their written forms. 

We hope these videos achieve their goal in making Arabic and Persian seem more approachable, and will make each person feel that it is entirely within their reach to access the wealth and beauty of the Bahá’í Holy Writings in their original languages.

Thank you for your interest in the Utterance Project!

The-Utterance-Team-2

8 months ago

The Utterance Project
We are delighted to bring you our longest publication yet, the Lawḥ-i-Náqús of Bahá’u’lláh. Regarding this special Tablet, Adib Taherzadeh has written:“A beautiful tablet in Arabic and in Bahá’u’lláh’s own hand was revealed in Constantinople [Istanbul] on the eve of the 5th of Jamádíyu’l-Avval 1280 A.H. (19 October 1863), the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb. This Tablet, because of its opening verse, is known as Lawh-i-Náqús (Tablet of the Bell) and is also referred to as the Subhánika-Yá-Hú. It was revealed following a request made through ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by one of Bahá’u’lláh’s companions, Áqá Muhammad-‘Alíy-i-Tambákú-Furúsh-i-Isfahání. The revelation of this Tablet on such an auspicious occasion brought immense joy to the hearts of those who were celebrating that historic festival” (The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, vol. 2, pp. 18–19) Click link in bio for YouTube channel to view video See MoreSee Less
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8 months ago

The Utterance Project
We are delighted to bring you our longest publication yet, the Lawḥ-i-Náqús of Bahá’u’lláh. Regarding this special Tablet, Adib Taherzadeh has written:“A beautiful tablet in Arabic and in Bahá’u’lláh’s own hand was revealed in Constantinople [Istanbul] on the eve of the 5th of Jamádíyu’l-Avval 1280 A.H. (19 October 1863), the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb. This Tablet, because of its opening verse, is known as Lawh-i-Náqús (Tablet of the Bell) and is also referred to as the Subhánika-Yá-Hú. It was revealed following a request made through ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by one of Bahá’u’lláh’s companions, Áqá Muhammad-‘Alíy-i-Tambákú-Furúsh-i-Isfahání. The revelation of this Tablet on such an auspicious occasion brought immense joy to the hearts of those who were celebrating that historic festival” (The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, vol. 2, pp. 18–19). See MoreSee Less
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11 months ago

The Utterance Project
In commemoration of July 4 (Independence Day in America), we are sharing our latest publication, a prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for the confirmation of the American government. Unlike His other, more well-known prayer for America (“…Let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees, and render this just government victorious…”), with which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá concluded one of His talks in that country, the prayer featured in this video has an authenticated original text (in Arabic). The original prayer is preceded by a note in Persian, also written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself, indicating that it was written in supplication of confirmation of the American government. An earlier translation of this prayer—published in Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 11 (27 September 1917), p. 141—is accompanied by a prefatory note stating that it was “revealed about the year 1900.”Click on the YouTube link in our bio to listen to this beautiful prayer! See MoreSee Less
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11 months ago

The Utterance Project
In commemoration of July 4 (Independence Day in America), we are sharing our latest publication, a prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for the confirmation of the American government. Unlike His other, more well-known prayer for America (“…Let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees, and render this just government victorious…”), with which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá concluded one of His talks in that country, the prayer featured in this video has an authenticated original text (in Arabic). The original prayer is preceded by a note in Persian, also written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself, indicating that it was written in supplication of confirmation of the American government. An earlier translation of this prayer—published in Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 11 (27 September 1917), p. 141—is accompanied by a prefatory note stating that it was “revealed about the year 1900.” See MoreSee Less
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12 months ago

The Utterance Project
Introducing The Blessed Beauty, a dual fully-illustrated chronology of the life and Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, written and illustrated by Violetta Zein. To access the new chronology, click on "Our links" and click on "The Blessed Beauty" See MoreSee Less
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