# The Baha'i System of Transliteration *Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.* --- > The Bahá'í system of transliteration1 > > Bahá'í Studies Bulletin "##", %/"–( > pp. "+–%% > > Moojan Momen > > Source of the Bahá 'ı́ transliteration system.. .................................................................................... 78 > Some problems of the Bahá 'ı́ transliteration system.. ................................................................. 7; > Some peculiarities of the Bahá 'ı́ transliteration system.. ............................................................ 7; > Addenda.. .......................................................................................................................................................... 7> > > On @A March @CAD, Shoghi Effendi sent to the Bahá 'ı́s of America a listing of oriental terms and > phrases spelled according a standard system of transliteration. He asked them henceforward to keep > to this system in place of the previous arbitrary spellings that had been in use in Bahá 'ı́ publications.2 > It was also sent to the British National Assembly in a letter dated AD April @CAN;3 and to the German > National Spiritual Assembly on N November @CAN.4 This listing appeared in the Bahá'í Year Book in > @CAR (see Addendum @5). The list as published in the Bahá'í Year Book is not, however, exactly the > present system as it contains no underlined pairs of letters (e.g. sh, ch, etc.) and no dots under any > letters. This was however, probably for typographical reasons, since books appearing as early as @CAD > did use the full system (see below). In Volume A of the Bahá'í World, @CAR-@CAX, all of the features are > present (see Addendum A6). The listing as given in Volume A of the Bahá'í World remains substantially > the same in every subsequent volume with the exception of a few words added to the list over the > years. Also from Bahá'í World, Volume A onwards, a statement appears on the reverse of the title page > to the effect that 'The spelling of Oriental words and proper names in this issue of The Bahá'í World is > according to the system of transliteration established at one of the International Oriental Congresses." > From the June @CAD issue of Star of the West, we see attempts being made to introduce the system > although these are at first very patchy. The first books that appear to be trying to put the system into > use are Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era and Herrick's Unity Triumphant (the latter not > entirely consistently), both published in @CAD.7 Although some books appearing in @CA_ did not follow > the system,8 from this time on, books and other printed material published under Bahá 'ı́ auspices have > followed this system. > > Shoghi Effendi used a system of transcription, NOT transliteration.—M.W. Thomas (?@?A) > Bahá'í Administration, Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill., JKLM, p. NO; see also p. NM and p. AL, which seems to indicate > that the original list was later slightly amended. > Cited in Addendum Four below. See also letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, JJ November JK?A, Unfolding Destiny, > Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Trust, London, JKMJ, p. OK; there is also a note regarding accents on pp. NL–X. > The Light of Divine Guidance: the messages from the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith to the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, > Bahá 'ı́-Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain, JKM?, p. ?X. > Bahá'í Year Book vol. J (April JK?A–April JK?L), Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Committee, New York, JK?L, p. JOJ. > Bahá'í World, vol. ? (JK?L–JK?M), Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Committee, New York, JK?L, p. JOJ. > J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (George Allen and Unwin, London) and Elizabeth Herrick, Unity Triumphant: > the call of the Kingdom (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trü bner & Co, London). A pamphlet Bahá'í Manuscripts privately published > by Charles Mason Remey in JK?O also appears to be using the new system. However, Mohammed Ali Alkany, Lessons in > Religion (Boston: Tudor Press, JK?O) and Baha'i Scriptures (Brentano's, New York), both also published in JK?O, do not use > the system. > See for example The Wisdom of Abdul Baha, Baha'i Publishing Committee, New York. > > !" > Source of the Bahá'í transliteration system > Although the statement that the system is one "established at one of the International Oriental > Congresses" has appeared in Bahá 'ı́ publications since @CAX, it was for a long time not clear exactly > which of the International Oriental Congresses was meant. It would appear that Shoghi Effendi, on > whose instructions the statement was inserted, never specified which Oriental Congress was being > referred to. > Recently, I made an exhaustive search of the proceedings of the International Oriental Congresses > and found what I presumed Shoghi Effendi must have been referring to. The Congress concerned was > the @bth International Congress of Orientalists held at Geneva in @XC_. The Royal Asiatic Society had > been giving attention to the question of a uniform transliteration system for some time. In May @XCb, a > committee of the Society had been set up to consider the matter. They looked at a number of the > systems then current: > @. That used by F. Max Muller and the Oxford University Press for the Sacred Books of the East > series; > A. That adopted by the Government of India on the recommendation of Sir W. W. Hunter; > D. That suggested by Sir M. Monier-Williams and published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society > in @XCb; also presented to the Berlin Congress of Orientalists; > _. That adopted by the Socié té asiatique of France; > N. That adopted by the Deutsche Morgenlä ndische Gesellschaft; > R. That adopted by the Bengal Asiatic Society; > i. That adopted by the Pali Text Society. > This committee presented its report to the Royal Asiatic Society and it was adopted by the Council > of the Society in May @XC_. It was published in an Addendum to the Society's Journal in July @XC_. > The Tenth International Congress of Orientalists was held September @XC_, at Geneva. During the > opening session of the Congress, on _ September, on the motion of Lord Reay, president of the Royal > Asiatic Society and acting on behalf of it, a representative commission was appointed to look at the > subject of transliteration. > The Commission consisted of a number of very eminent figures: > Professor Charles-Adrien-Casimir Barbier de Maynard, who had occupied the chair in Turkish at > the Ecole spé ciale des langues orientales; then the Professor of Persian at the Collè ge de France (@XiN– > @XXN); and was at this time occupying the chair in Arabic of the Collè ge de France as well as being > deputy administrator of the Ecole des langues orientales and President of the Socié té asiatique; > Professor Dr Georg Bü hler, a German specialist on Sanskrit and India at the University of Vienna; > Professor Michael Jan De Goeje, specialist in Arabic and Islam at the University of Leiden; > Professor Albert Socin, specialist in Arabic and Kurdish at the University of Leipzig; Professor Ernst > Windisch, Sanskrit and Pali scholar from the University of Leipzig; > > !$ > As well as a number of less eminent persons who had taken a special interest in the subject of > transliteration: > Emile Senart, a French orientalist with a special interest in India; > James Burgess, who had been Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India and who > had published a paper on the subject of transliteration of Indian languages; > Lt-Col. George T. Plunkett, Director of the Science and Art Institutions, Dublin, who had been > on the Royal Asiatic Society committee on transliteration. > H. Thomson Lyon, a member of the Royal Asiatic Society and the author of an article on > transliteration of Arabic in the Society's journal for 7pqr. > As much work had already been done on the subject of transliteration by the Royal Asiatic Society, > the system that this commission recommended was very similar to the system already devised by the > Society. The report of this commission was presented to the Congress at its final session on @A > September @XC_ and was adopted by the Congress. > An addendum to the proceedings of the Congress (published by E.J. Brill, Leiden, @XCi) contains the > report of the Committee on Transliteration. This report suggests a transliteration system for Arabic, > Sanskrit and Pali (see Addendum Three for the English translation of this report published in Journal > of the Royal Asiatic Society, October @XCN, pp. XiC–XXA; the original is published in French; I have also > included the report of the sub-committee for the transliteration of the Arabic alphabet, pp. XXX–XXC).1 > Although the system adopted by the @XC_ Congress is not identical to the Bahá 'ı́ system, there are > sufficient points of similarity to make it likely that this is the system to which Shoghi Effendi was > referring. Shoghi Effendi has evidently used the permissible alternatives in every case where they > recommend single letters (e.g. sh instead of s; except for j where the alternative dj is primarily for the > French). The only major ways in which Shoghi Effendi has deviated from this system is that it > recommends al- in all cases for the Arabic definite article whereas Shoghi Effendi uses the double > consonant in the case of the "Sun letters": as-, ash-, ar-, etc. Also Shoghi Effendi uses v instead of w for > the Persian letter vá v. > I sent a report of my finding to the Universal House of Justice and received a reply dated AA October > @CXi (see Addendum Four). About a year later, I received a further letter dated @R October @CXX, > enclosing a copy of a page from a notebook kept by Shoghi Effendi at Oxford (see Addendum Five). > This notebook clearly indicates that Shoghi Effendi had considered a number of alternatives in > formulating the Bahá 'ı́ system and also confirms that it is indeed the @XC_ International Congress of > Orientalists that he was referring to. > On this page from Shoghi Effendi's notebook, there is also reference to a Council meeting of the > Royal Asiatic Society in October @XCR. This refers to an addendum to the October @XCR issue of the > Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in which the system adopted by the @CX_ International Congress of > Orientalists is approved by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society with a few minor emendations. > These emendations were principally to avoid any overlap between the Sanskrit and Arabic > transliteration systems (Addendum Six contains the system proposed by the Geneva Congress > together with the emendations suggested by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society). It will be seen > that the emendations include allowing for the Persian letter váv. > > For further information regarding the workings of the transliteration committee, see the report by G. T. Plunkett in > Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October JMKA, pp. MK@–K?. > > !% > Some problems of the Bahá'í transliteration system > In @CiX, I entered into correspondence with the Universal House of Justice over some problems > relating to the Bahá 'ı́ System of Transliteration. These problems which will be familiar to those who > have ever tried to use the Bahá 'ı́ system extensively are outlined in the text of my letter dated @N > August @CiX. This and the reply of the Universal House of Justice dated Ab October @CiX is given in > Addendum Seven. This led on to a further interchange of correspondence with a letter of mine dated A > November @CiX and a reply dated X March @CiC (Addendum Eight). > A reading of this correspondence reveals that a number of useful principles and amendments are > approved: > there is no need to transliterate the names of well-known places; > the use of -a to indicate the Arabic final h; > the freedom to choose Arabic or Persian forms of words and names; > the freedom to choose flat accents if desired, etc. > Some peculiarities of the Bahá'í transliteration system > One of the peculiarities of the Bahá 'ı́ transliteration system which is briefly alluded to in my letter > of @N August @CiX is the propensity to use the short vowel i in many situations where the standard > Persian pronunciation would be a. Examples of this are: siyyid, Karbilá , Mazindará n, and As dhirbá yjá n > where the normal pronunciation would give sayyid, Karbalá , Má zarandá n, and As dharbá yjá n. > This matter continued to puzzle me until one day I heard the late Hand of the Cause Mr Dhikru'llah > Khadem say that Shoghi Effendi spoke Persian with an Iṣ fahá nı́ accent. This was the result of Munı́rih > Khá num's marriage to 'Abdu'l-Bahá . Munı́rih Khá num was from Isfahan. She had passed on her > Iṣ fahá nı́ accent to her four daughters and they to their children. And so presumably all of 'Abdu'l- > Bahá 's grandchildren, including Shoghi Effendi, spoke with Iṣ fahá nı́ accents. I later asked a number of > other Iranians who had met Shoghi Effendi, including Mr Abu'l-Qá sim Afná n and Mr 'Alı́ Nakhjavá nı́, > and they also confirmed that Shoghi Effendi had an Iṣ fahá nı́ accent. It struck me that this was the > answer to the puzzle over this particular peculiarity. The substitution of an i for an a in the above > examples would lead precisely to an Iṣ fahá nı́ accent. Shoghi Effendi had written these words exactly > as he spoke them. > A number of other peculiarities remain unexplained. For example the persistent use of -iyyi- in > such words as Bahiyyih, Bá biyyih, etc. The original Persian has a doubled y, whereas the > transliteration seems to indicate three ys: i y, y. Consistency would demand that either the accent on > the first for else one of the two ys should be omitted. A number of much-used words and phrases also > appear to be inconsistent: Allá h-u-Abhá , which should surely be Allá hu Abhá ; Shı́'ih which in this form > is a collective noun but is often used as though it were an adjective (which should really be Shı́'ı́). This > in fact accords with Iranian pronunciation although incorrect grammatically. > > !& > Addenda > > 7. Transliteration system outlined in Bahá'í Year Book 7qvw–7qv;... ...................................................................... 7p > v. Transliteration system outlined in Bahá'í World, vol. v, 7qv;–7qvp.. ................................................................ .vr > x. Report of Committee on Transliteration of 7rth International Congress of Orientalists, Geneva in > 7pq8....................................................................................................................................................................................................... vv > 8. Universal House of Justice: Letter and Memorandum of Research Department, vv October 7qp>....... v> > Moojan Momen.. ............................................................................................................................................................... v> > The Universal House of Justice, vv October 7qp>.. ............................................................................................ vp > w. Universal House of Justice, enclosing a copy of a page from Shoghi Effendi's notebook, 7; October > 7qpp....................................................................................................................................................................................................... xv > ;. The Geneva Congress system as amended by the Royal Asiatic Society.. .......................................................... x8 > >. First Interchange of correspondence with the Universal House of Justice on transliteration, vr > October 7q>p.. ................................................................................................................................................................................... 87 > Moojan Momen, 7w August 7q>p.. ............................................................................................................................. 87 > The Universal House of Justice, vr October 7q>p.. ............................................................................................ 8x > p. Second interchange of correspondence with the Universal House of Justice on transliteration, p > March 7q>q.. ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8> > Moojan momen, v November, 7q>p.. ....................................................................................................................... 8> > The Universal House of Justice, p March 7q>q.. .................................................................................................. wr > q. 'Abdu'l-Bahá on transliteration.. .......................................................................................................................................... wx > > !' > :. > > Transliteration system outlined in Bahá'í Year Book :=>?–:=>A1 > [@D@] > List of oriental terms frequently used in Bahá 'ı́ literature, with modern transliteration and > arranged alphabetically > 'Abá dih Dhabı́h Kitá b-i-Aqdas Rahı́m > 'Abbá s Duzdá b Kurdistá n Rahmá n > 'Abdu'l-Bahá Fará n Lá hı́já n Rahmat > 'Abdu'l-Hamid Fá rs Lá r Rasht > 'Abdul-Husayn Firdawsı́ Lawh Rawhá nı́ > 'Abdu'llá h Ganjih Luristá n Ridvá n > Abu'l-Fadl Gı́lá n Mahbú bu'sh- Rú hu'llá h > Shuhadá > 'Adası́yyih Gul Mahmú d Sabzivá r > As dhirbá yjá n Gulastá n Maqá m Sadratul-Muntahá > Afná n Habı́b Má kú Samarqand > Aghsá n Hadı́th Malá yir Sangsar > 'Abd Há jı́ Mará ghih Sá rı́ > Ahmad Hamadá n Marhabá Shá h > Ahsá 'ı́ Haydar 'Alı́ Marv Shahid > Ahvá z Haykal Masá 'il Shahmı́rzá d > 'Akká Himmat-As bá d Mashhad Shá hrú d > 'Alı́ Husayn Mashı́yyat Sharaf > Allá h-u-Abhá Huvaydar Mashriqu'l-Adhká r Shaykh > Alvá h Ibrá him Má zindará n Shı́'ih > Alvá h-i-Salá tı́n 'Ilm Mihdı́ Shı́rá z > Amı́n Imá m Mı́lá n Shushtar > Amru'llá h Isqá n Mı́rzá Simná n > Anzalı́ Isrá n Mishkı́n-Qalam Sı́sá n > As qá 'Irá q Muhammad Sı́stá n > Aqdas 'Irá q-i-'Ajam Muhammarih Siyyid > 'Arabistá n Isfá há n Mujtahid Sú fı́ > Asmá 'Ishqá bá d Mulk Sulaymá n > 'Avá shiq 'Ishrá qá t Mullá Sultá n > Ayá di Ishtihá rd Munı́rih Sultá n-As bá d > Azal Islá m Mustaghá th Sultá nu'sh-Shuhadá ' > 'Azamat Ismá 'ı́lı́yyih Nabı́l Sunnı́ > 'Azı́z Istará bá d Najaf Sú ratu'l-Haykal > Bá b 'Izzat Najaf-As bá d Tabrı́z > Bá bu'l-Bá b Jalá l Ná qidı́n Tá hirih > Baghdá d Jamá l Ná siru'd-Dı́n Tajallı́yá t > Bahá Jamá l-i-Mubá rak Nawrú z Takı́ > Bahá 'ı́ Já sb Nayrı́z Tá kur > Bahá 'u'llá h Ka'bih Nishá bú r Tará zá t > Bahı́yyih Kalimá t Nú r Tarbı́yat > Bahjı́ Kamá l Pahlavı́ Tá shkand > Balú chistá n Karand Qá dı́yá n Tawhid > Bandar-'Abbá s Karbilá Qahqahih Thurayyá > Bá rfurú sh Ká shá n Qá 'im Tihrá n > Basrih Kaamu's-Sa'á yidih Qamsar 'Ulá > > Bahá'í Year Book, JK?A–JK?L, p. JOJ. > > !( > Bá tú m Kawthar Qasr-i-Shı́rı́n 'Ulamá > Bayá n Ká zim Qawl Urú mı́yyih > Bayt Ká zimayn Qayyú m Vahı́d > Bı́rjand Kirmá n Qazvı́n Vá hid > Bismi'llá h Kirmá nshá h Qú chá n Valı́ > Bukhá rá Khalkhá l Quddú s Varqá > Burú jird Khá nigayn Qudrat Vazı́r > Bú shir Khaylı́-Khú b Qum Yá -Bahá 'u'l-Abhá > Bushrú yih Khurá sá n Qur'á n Yahyá > Bushrú 'ı́ Khuy Qurratu'l-'Ayn Yazd > Chihrı́q Kitá b-i-'Ahd Rafsinjá n Zanjá n > Dawlat-As bá d Zaynu'l-Muquarrabı́n > > !) > >: > > Transliteration system outlined in Bahá'í World, vol. >, :=>A–:=>E1 > [A@D] > > Transliteration of oriental terms frequently used in Bahá 'ı́ literature > Arranged alphabetically > As bá dih Balú chistá n 'Ilm Lá hı́já n > 'Abbá s Bandar-'Abbá s Imá m Lá r > 'Abdu'l-Bahá Bá rfurú sh Isqá n Lawḥ > 'Abdu'l-Ḥamı́d Baṣ rih Isrá n Luristá n > 'Abdu'l-Ḥusayn Bá ṭúm 'Irá q > 'Abdu'llá h Bayá n 'Irá q-i-'Ajam Maḥ bú bu'sh-Shuhadá ' > Abu'l-Faḍ l Bayt Iṣ fahá n Maḥ mú d > 'Adası́yyih Birjand 'Ishqá bá d Maqá m > As dhirbá yjá n Bismi'llá h Ishrá qá t Má kú > Afná n Bukhá rá Ishtihá rd Malá yir > Aghṣ án Burú jird Islá m Mará ghih > 'Ahd Bú shir Ismá 'ı́lı́yyih Marḥ abá > Aḥ mad Bushrú yih Istará bá d Marv > Aḥ sá 'ı́ Bushrú 'ı́ 'Izzat Masá 'il > Ahvá z Mashhad > 'Akká Chihrı́q Jalá l Mashı́yyat > 'Alı́ Jamá l Mashriqu'l-Adhká r > Allá h-u-Abhá Dawlat-As bá d Jamá l-i-Mubá rak Má zindará n > Alvá ḥ Dhabı́h Já sb Mihdı́ > Alvá ḥ -i-Salá ṭın > ́ Duzdá b Mı́lá n > Amı́n Ka'bih Mı́rzá > Amru'llá h Fá rá n Kalimá t Mishkı́n-Qalam > Anzalı́ Fá rs Kamá l Muḥ ammad > As qá Firdawsı́ Karand Muḥ ammarih > Aqdas Karbilá Mujtahid > 'Arabistá n Ganjih Ká shá n Mulk > Asmá ' Gı́lá n Kawmu'ṣ -Ṣ a'á yidih Mullá > 'Avá shiq Gul Kawthar Munı́rih > Ayá dı́ Gulastá n Ká ẓ im Mustaghá th > Azal Ká ẓ imayn > 'Aẓ amat Ḥabı́b Kirmá n Nabı́l > 'Aziz Ḥadı́th Kirmá nshá h Najaf > Ḥá jı́ Khalkhá l Najaf-As bá d > Bá b Hamadá n Khá niqayn Ná qiḍ ı́n > Bá bu'l-Bá b Ḥaydar-'Alı́ Khaylı́-Khú b Ná ṣ iru'd-Dı́n > Baghdá d Haykal Khurá sá n Nawrú z > Bahá Himmat-As bá d Khuy Nayrı́z > Bahá 'ı́ Ḥusayn Kitá b-i-'Ahd Nı́shá bú r > Bahá 'u'llá h Huvaydar Kitá b-i-Aqdas Nú r > Bahı́yyih Kurdistá n > Bahjı́ Ibrá hı́m > > The Bahá'í World: A Biennial International Record, vol. II, JK?L–JK?M, pp. ?JO–N. The spelling [often the Persian forms] of > the Oriental words and proper names used in this book and The Dawn-Breakers is as used by Shoghi Effendi. > > *+ > [A@_] > Pahlavı́ Rasht Sı́sá n Thurayyá > Rawhá nı́ Sı́stá n Ṭ ihrá n > Qá dı́yá n Riḍ vá n Siyyid > Qahqahih Rú ḥ u'llá h Ṣ ú fı́ 'Ulá > Qá 'im Sulaymá n 'Ulamá > Qamsar Sabzivá r Sulṭán Urú mı́yyih > Qasr-i-Shı́rı́n Sadratu'l-Muntahá Sulṭán-As bá d Vaḥ ı́d > Qawl Qayyú m Samarqand Sulṭánu'sh-Shuhadá ' Vá ḥ id > Qazvı́n Sangsar Sunnı́ Valı́ > Qú chá n Sá rı́ Sú ratu'l-Haykal Varqá > Quddú s Shá h Vazı́r > Qudrat Shahı́d Tabrı́z > Qum Shahmı́rzá d Ṭ á hirih Yá -Bahá 'u'l-Abhá > Qur'á n Shá hrú d Tajallı́yá t Yaḥ yá > Qurratu'l-'Ayn Sharaf Tá kur Yazd > Shaykh Taqı́ > Rafsinjá n Shı́'ih Ṭ ará zá t Zanjá n > Raḥ ı́m Shı́rá z Tarbı́yat Zaynu'l-Muqarrabı́n > Raḥ má n Shushtar Tá shkand > Raḥ mat Simná n Tawḥ ı́d > > Guide to the transliteration and pronunciation of the Persian alphabet1 > > ‫ا‬ á ‫خ‬ kh ‫ص‬ ṣ ‫ك‬ k > ‫ب‬ b ‫د‬ d ‫ض‬ ḍ ‫گ‬ g > ‫پ‬ p ‫ذ‬ dh ‫ط‬ ṭ ‫ل‬ l > ‫ت‬ t ‫ر‬ r ‫ظ‬ ẓ ‫م‬ m > ‫ث‬ th ‫ز‬ z ‫ع‬ ' ‫ن‬ n > ‫ج‬ j ‫ژ‬ zh ‫غ‬ gh ‫و‬ v/w > ‫چ‬ ch ‫س‬ s ‫ف‬ f ‫ي‬ y > ' > ‫ح‬ ḥ ‫ش‬ sh ‫ق‬ q ‫ء‬ > (Hamza) > > th pronounced as s a as in account > dh pronounced as z á as in arm > zh pronounced as j (French) i as e in best > ṣ pronounced as s ı́ as ee in meet > ḍ pronounced as z u as o in short > ṭ pronounced as t ú as oo in moon > ẓ pronounced as z aw as in mown > > See also The Dawn-Breakers, p. LXO. > > *! > H: > > Report of Committee on transliteration of > :Kth International Congress of Orientalists > held at Geneva in :E=O1 > [XiC] > Tenth International Congress of Orientalists, > held at Geneva. > Report of the Transliteration Committee. > (Translation) > The Committee appointed by the Congress to select a system for the transliteration of the Sanskrit > and Arabic Alphabets has held several meetings. After having examined and discussed the systems > which have hitherto been used, and taken note of the various improvements which have been > suggested by members of the Congress and other savants, the Committee submit for the approval of > the Congress, and with a view to general adoption by Orientalists, the systems shown in the two > tabular forms annexed to this report. > They have taken as a basis for their work the report presented by a special committee appointed by > the Royal Asiatic Society of London, and the systems of transliteration usually adopted in France, in > Germany, and by the Bengal Asiatic Society. They do not pretend to have discovered a perfectly > scientific system; it was necessary to give weight to established usages, and also to take into > consideration the varying pronunciations which the letters of the Arabic alphabet have received in > different Muhammadan countries. This is one reason for the alternative modes of transliteration > proposed for certain letters, but the number > [Page XXb] > for which these alternative methods are suggested bas been kept as small as possible, and it is hoped > that the Orientalists of every country will endeavour to still further reduce this number by conforming > as much as possible to the system recommended by the Committee. > As regards the transliteration of Sanskrit, the differences of opinion have been much less, and only > in the case of a very small number of letters has any difficulty arisen. In these instances the > Committee have chosen from among the various equivalents proposed those which on the whole seem > best suited for practical use. > To obtain uniformity each country and each society must make some concessions, and the > Committee hope that the systems now proposed will be unanimously adopted and brought into > general use. > > Barbier de Meynard, G. T. Plunkett, > G. Bü hler, Emile Senart, > J. Burgess, Socin > M. J. de Goeje, Windisch > H. Thompson Lyon, > Geneva, @b September, @XC_. > > Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October JMKA, pp. MXK–MM@, MM? & MMM–K. The page with the Sanskrit and Pali alphabets > has been omitted. > > ** > [XXb] > Transliteration of the Sanskrit and Pali alphabets > … > [XX@] > > *" > [XXA] > Transliteration of Arabic alphabet1 > > Recommended Recommended > ‫ ا‬at beginning of word omit; hamza elsewhere ' ‫'ع‬ > ‫ب‬b ‫ غ‬g (D underdots) permissible gh > ‫ت‬t ‫ف‬f > ‫ ث‬t (D underdots) permissible th ‫ق‬q > ‫ ج‬j permissible dj ‫ک‬k > ‫ح‬h ‫ل‬l > ‫ خ‬t (D underdots) permissible kh ‫م‬m > ‫د‬d ‫ن‬n > ‫ ذ‬d (D underdots) permissible dh ‫و‬w > ‫ر‬r ‫ه‬h > ‫ز‬z > vowels a, i, u > ‫س‬s > lengthened ‫ آ‬ā , ِ ‫ي‬, ı̄, ‫ ُو‬ú > ‫ ش‬s (D underdots) permissible sh > diphthongs ‫ ﯾﺎ‬ay and ‫ وا‬aw > ‫ ص‬ṣ > e and o may be used in place of ı̄ and ū > ‫ ض‬ḍ > … ü and ö in Turkish > ‫ ط‬t (A underdots) or ṭ > ‫ ل‬of article ‫ ال‬to be always l. > ‫ ظ‬z (A underdots) ẓ > > Additional in Persian > ‫پ‬p > ‫ چ‬c (D underdots) permissible ch > ‫ ژ‬z (D underdots) permissible zh > ‫گ‬g > … > > Only information regarding Arabic and Persian, and some Turkish, has been included. > > *$ > [XXX] > Proposals of the Sub-committee for > the transliteration of the Arabic alphabet > @. The Committee agree upon the following: > ‫ ب‬b — ‫ ت‬t — ‫ ح‬ḥ — ‫ د‬d — ‫ ر‬r —‫ ز‬z — ‫ س‬s — ‫ ص‬ṣ — ‫ ف‬f — ‫ ق‬q — ‫ ک‬k — ‫ ل‬l — ‫ م‬m — ‫ ن‬n — ‫ ه‬h — ‫ پ‬p > A. For ‫ ج‬they recommend j, but will allow dj to be used as a substitute, > D. For ‫ض‬ḍ , but allow ẓ in India. > _. For ‫ ط‬t̤ and for ‫ ظ‬z̤ . This is to avoid upsetting the Indian accepted system—elsewhere ṭ and ẓ will > suffice, > N. For ‫ ي‬y whenever ‫ ي‬is a consonant. Whilst fully appreciating the reasons why German > Orientalists have preferred j the Committee feel obliged to adopt the character accepted > throughout India and by English, French, and many other writers and scholars. > R. ‫ ا‬at the commencement of a word need not be transliterated, hamzah in the middle or at the end > of a word to be represented by ' above the line. > i. For ‫ ' ع‬above the line (a comma reversed). > > *% > [XXC] > > X. For ‫چ ژ غ ش ذ خ ث‬ > t h d s g z c (all with D underdots) > but agree that th kh dh sh gh zh ch may be used as substitutes for the above. > They consider that t, h, etc., (with D underdots) are better than [the same letters with D overdots], > or any others in which the mark is placed above the consonant, as in this position the mark may > be taken for the accent of a vowel, the cross of a t, etc. > … > C. For ‫ و‬as a consonant w. > @b. For ‫ ك‬in Persian, Hindustani, and Turkish g. > That in Turkish books for beginners, if it be thought necessary to mark when the ‫ ک‬is to be > pronounced as y, the sign ᶄ should be used. > @@. … > @A. … > @D. The ‫ ل‬of the article ‫ ال‬to be transliterated l. > > @_. That the vowel-points be a, i, u > The Lengthened vowels ‫ آ‬ā , ِ ‫ي‬, ı̄, ‫ ُو‬ú . That e and o may be used in place of ı̄ and ū in these > languages in which it may be necessary. That ü and ö may be also used in Turkish, …. > That the so-called diphthongs ‫ ﯾﺎ‬ay and ‫ وا‬aw. > > G. T. Plunket > > *& > O: > > Universal House of Justice: > Letter and memorandum of Research Department, >> October :=EV > > Wixamtree, Sand Lane > Northill > Biggleswade > Beds. SG@X CAD > England > Dear Baha'i friends, > In @CiX, I conducted some correspondence with you regarding the question of the Bahá 'ı́ system of > transliteration. At that time I wrote to you that I had been unable to find which Congress of > Orientalists it was that Shoghi Effendi had been referring to when he stated that the Bahá 'ı́s should > use the system approved by the International Congress of Orientalists. As I had some time to spare in > the Library of the School of African and Oriental Languages recently, I had another look through the > reports of the various annual congresses and on this occasion. I went back further than I had done > previously. I believe I have now found the Congress to which Shoghi Effendi was referring. > The tenth International Congress of Orientalists was held in Geneva in @XC_. In the published > proceedings of this Congress, there is an addendum giving the result of the proceedings of a > Commission charged with finding a transcription system. The enclosed photocopies show their > recommendations. You will see that Shoghi Effendi has used this system utilising their permissible > alternatives in all cases where they recommend single letters. The only ways in which Shoghi Effendi > has deviated from this system is that it recommends "al-" in all cases for the Arabic definite article, > whereas Shoghi Effendi uses the doubled consonant in the case of the Sun letters—"as-", "ash-", "ar-", > etc., also Shoghi Effendi uses "v" instead of "w" for the Persian letter "vav". You will also note that the > recommendation, is for flat accents [macrons] rather than accute. Unfortunately, the brief description > on these pages gives no indication of what should be done with respect to the Persian idafa [iḍ á fa] and > other difficult situations which I highlighted in my previous correspondence. Shoghi Effendi > presumably devised his own solutions to these cases. > With warmest Baha'i greetings, > Dr Moojan Momen > > *' > The Universal House of Justice > Bahá 'ı́ World Centre > > Department of the Secretariat > AA October @CXi > Dr Moojan Momen > Wixamtree; Sand Lane > Northill, > Biggleswade > Beds. SG@X CAD > England > > Dear Bahá 'ı́ Friend, > The Universal House of Justice read with great interest your letter of @C July @CXi about your > discovery of further information in connection with the Bahá 'ı́ system of transliteration, and referred > the matter to the Research Department. We are now directed to send you the enclosed copy of the > memorandum prepared by that Department in response. > The House of Justice hopes that the results of the research done at the World Centre will be of > assistance to you in your endeavours to solve the riddle of the source of the transliteration system on > which Shoghi Effendi based the method now in use in Bahá 'ı́ texts. > > With loving Bahá 'ı́ greetings, > [signed Ethna Archibald] > For Department of the Secretariat > Enclosure > > *( > Memorandum > [@] > To: The Universal House of Justice Date: AA October @CXi > From: The Research Department > The Bahá'í transliteration system > With his letter dated @C July @CXi, Dr Moojan Momen forwarded the report of a Commission > "charged by the [Tenth International] Congress of Orientalists] to adopt a system of transliteration for > the Sanskrit and Arabic languages", which includes a transliteration system for Arabic upon which > Shoghi Effendi may have based the method now used in Bahá 'ı́ texts. > The Research Department has compared the system proposed by the Transcription Commission > with that described in The Bahá'í World volumes and agrees with Dr Momen's observation that the > two systems are very similar. It is indeed possible that the beloved Guardian adapted the > Commission's proposal for his use. His secretary wrote in response to a query from an individual > believer: > As to the origin of the transliteration used by Shoghi Effendi, this was decided upon by an > international congress of orientalists and is now adhered to by the most eminent scholars. (@C > June @CD@) > The variations between the Commission's transliteration system and that used in Bahá 'ı́ texts could > be explained by postulating that, where the Commission permitted alternative transliterations, Shoghi > Effendi adopted the variant which was easiest to reproduce on the typewriters of the day, e.g., th > instead of t [D underdots] for ‫ث‬, j instead of dj for ‫ج‬, ṭ instead of t̤ for ‫ط‬. > With regard to the use of an acute accent (´) instead of a macron (¯) on long vowels, it is interesting > to note that carbon copies of early letters typewritten by Shoghi Effendi or on his behalf held in the > World Centre Archives show that the accent on long vowels was generally made by typing a straight > apostrophe above the letter in question. This involved only backspacing, rather than the backspacing > and movement of the platen required to place a dash above the letter. On AD April @CAN, the Guardian's > secretary wrote on his behalf to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles regarding the > revision of a folder as follows: > … Shoghi Effendi is desirous that the horizontal accents over the long vowels in the Persian and > Arabic transliterated words should be replaced by vertical or nearly vertical ones, if possible, > thus: > Bah ' or Bahá 'ı́ instead of Bahā 'ı̄ > > *) > [A] > and again, on AD January @CAR: > With regard to the accent on the letter a in the transliteration of Persian names and words and > the difficulty of the publishers in having a vertical mark, Shoghi Effendi feels that in case having > the regular vertical mark means too much trouble and expense it would be justified to replace it > by the horizontal dash on the a, but if the trouble and expense would not be much, for the sake > of uniformity throughout transliterations everywhere, it would be best to have the regular > vertical mark. > Other variations between Bahá 'ı́ transliteration and the system offered by the Commission occur, > as is pointed out by Dr Momen: whereas the Commission recommends that the Lám of the Arabic > definite article ‫ ال‬always be "l", the Guardian chose to assimilate the Lám of the definite article of the > following consonant, when this is one of the "sun" letters, resulting in a doubling of that consonant. > Furthermore, ‫ و‬is transliterated as w when it occurs as an element of a diphthong, as in "Naw-Rú z", > but generally as a v when it occurs as a consonant, e.g., "Riḍ vá n". Examples of consonantal vá vs > represented by w are rare, but do occur: "An-Nú ru'l-Abhá -Fı́-Mufá wadá t-i-'Abdu'l-Bahá " (The Bahá'í > World, vol. N (New York: Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Committee, @CDR), p. _i_) and "waqf property" (God Passes > By, rev. ed. (Wilmette, Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Trust, @CXi), p. DNi). > Shoghi Effendi enclosed a "list of the best known and most current Bahá 'ı́ terms, and other Oriental > names and expressions, all properly and accurately transliterated" with his letter to the Western > believers dated @A March @CAD. (The letter is published in Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages > MNOO–MNQO, rev. ed. (Wilmette, Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Trust, @Ci_), pages D_–_D.) The "full code" mentioned > in the postscript to this letter was included with a letter dated C April @CAD addressed to the National > Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. This indicates that the system upon which the > Bahá 'ı́ system is based existed prior to @CAD. > It is our understanding that, according to the proceedings of succeeding International Congresses, > the problem of transliteration was not discussed again until the Thirteenth Congress in Leyden, @CD@, > which was after the Bahá 'ı́ transliteration system had been promulgated. > In this connection, the choice of language in the note regarding transliteration on the verso of the > title page in The Bahá'í World: A Biennial International Record, vol. A, "April @CAR–April @CAX"(New > York, Bahá 'ı́ Publishing Committee, @CAX) is also of interest: > NOTE: The spelling of the Oriental words and proper names used in this issue of The Bahá'í > World is according to the system of transliteration established at one of the International > Oriental Congresses. > This note states that the system was "established" at one of the International Oriental Congresses, > not "adopted". As we have no record that the Transcription Commission's recommendation was > endorsed or adopted by the Tenth Congress, or by later Congresses, this may be an additional support > for the hypothesis that the transliteration system adopted by Shoghi Effendi is based on this > recommendation. > > "+ > [D] > In support of the above hypothesis, it would be of value to ascertain, if possible: > Whether the Tenth, or a later, International Congress dealt with the system put forward by the > Transcription Commission. > The membership of the Commission, since the universality and practicality of the system was > emphasized by the Guardian's secretaries. > ______________________________________________ > > "! > ?: > > Universal House of Justice: > Enclosing a copy of a page from Shoghi Effendi's notebook > > The Universal House of Justice > Bahá 'ı́ World Centre > > Department of the Secretariat > > @R October @CXX > Dr Moojan Momen > Wixamtree, Sand Lane > Northill, Biggleswade > Beds. SG@X CAD > England > Dear Bahá 'ı́ Friend, > We wrote to you on AA October @CXi on behalf of the Universal House of Justice concerning the > Bahá 'ı́ system of transliteration, and enclosed a memorandum from the Research Department on this > subject. We are now directed by the House of Justice to send you the enclosed copy of a page copied > from a notebook kept by Shoghi Effendi when he was at Oxford University. > As you will note, the annotation made by Shoghi Effendi confirms your own conclusion about the > International Congress of Orientalists of @XC_. Shoghi Effendi also makes reference to the Council of > the Royal Asiatic Society held in October @XCR. > With loving Bahá 'ı́ greetings, > [signed Ethna Archibald] > For Department of the Secretariat > Enclosure > > "* > Handwritten copy of a page from Shoghi Effendi's notebook has been omitted. > > "" > A: > > The Geneva Congress system > as amended by the Royal Asiatic Society > [N] > Table II > Transliteration of the Arabic alphabet > Adopted by the Geneva Congress. > [Notes in square brackets refer to pp. R, i.] > ‫ ا‬at beginning of word omit; hamza elsewhere ' [' ‫ غ‬g (D underdots) permissible gh > or, Note X] ‫ف‬f > ‫ب‬b ‫ق‬q > ‫ت‬t ‫ک‬k > ‫ ث‬t (D underdots) permissible th ‫ل‬l > ‫ ج‬j permissible dj ‫م‬m > ‫ ح‬ḥ ‫ن‬n > ‫ خ‬h (D underdots) kh ‫و‬w > ‫د‬d ‫ه‬h > ‫ ز‬d (D underdots) dh ‫ي‬y > ‫ر‬r > ‫ز‬z ‫ﻓﻘﮑﻠﻤﻦ‬ > ‫س‬s > vowels a, i, u > ‫ ش‬s (D underdots) permissible sh > lengthened ‫ آ‬ā , ِ ‫ي‬, ı̄, ‫ ُو‬ú > ‫ ص‬ṣ [see Note @] > diphthongs ‫ ﯾﺎ‬ay and ‫ وا‬aw > ‫ ض‬d [see Note A] > e and o may be used in place of ı̄ and ū > ‫ ذ‬ḍ > … ü and ö in Turkish > ‫ ط‬t̤ or ṭ [only t̤, Note D] > ‫ ل‬of article ‫ ال‬to be always l. > ‫ ظ‬z̤ or ẓ > ‫'ع‬ > > ________________________ > > "$ > Persian > [R] > Opening words of the Gulistā n: > > Minnat ḣudā ı̄rā 'azza wa jalla kih t̤ū'ataṣ mū jili-i-qurbatast. Wa biṡ ukr andaraṡ mazı̄d-i-ni'mat. Har > nafa-i-kih farū mirā vad mumidd-i-ḣiyū tast. Wa ċ ūn bar niaya-i-mufarriq-i-ż āt. Pas dar har nafzaı̄ dū > ni'mat maujū da: Wa bar har ni'matı̄ ṡ ukrı̄ wā jib.1 > (@@) > The Council would take this opportunity of suggesting the following scheme for the transliteration > of Hebrew. > … > > Overdots used for O underdots. > > "% > [R] > Additional in Persian, Hindi, and Pashtū > ‫پ‬p > ‫ چ‬c (D underdots) permissible ch > ‫ ژ‬z (D underdots) permissible zh > ‫گ‬g > … > The above scheme contains, it will be seen, two schemes: one for the transliteration of Sanskrit, > Pā li, and the allied alphabets, and one for the transliteration of Arabic and the allied alphabets. These > two tables are inconsistent with one another on several points. In applying the Congress scheme, > therefore, to the transliteration of Hindi *which is written both with Sanskrit and Arabic letters) the > same word would have to be transliterated differently aocordizilt to the alphabet before the > transliterator. These points are as follows > @. The sound represented in English by sh is represented in the first table by s̜ , and in the second by > s (D underdots) (sh being permissible). On the other hand, the s̜ is used in the first table for the > Sanskrit (?) (sh) and in the second for ‫( ص‬z). The practical difficulties arising from this > discrepancy are, however, so small that the Council would merely point out the discrepancy. > A. The sign ḍ is used in the Sanskrit table for (?), (the cerebral d), and in the Arabic table for ‫ض‬ > (dad). This discrepancy could be avoided by selecting d̤ for the dā d, > > "& > [i] > D. The alternative transliteration ṭ allowed for ‫ ط‬in the second table clashes with the use of the same > sign in the first table. This alternative transliteration might be dropped out of Table II. > _. The diphthongs ai and au in the first table are replaced by ay and aw in the second. It would be > better to adhere to the first table. > N. The transliteration w for the ‫ و‬in the Arabic table clashes with that proposed for the ठ in the > Sanskrit table. Both v and w might be allowed for each of these letters. > R. The sound represented by ch in the English orthography is transliterated c in the Sanskrit table, > and c (D unnderdots) (ch being permissible) in the second table. It would be more consistent to > adopt c throughout. > There are also one or two other matters which are worthy of notice. > i. The signs z and ẓ, and ḍ and ẓ are each of them used in Table II as the transliteration of two > different letters. > X. No sign has been suggested in the Arabic table for the transliteration of the waṣ la. The comma > above the line ' used in the table to represent the hamza might be used for the waṣ la, and either a > stroke or a circle above the line (' or °) might be used for the hamza. > C. No sign has been suggested in the Arabic table for the silent t. The sign h̤ might be used to > represent this letter. > @b. A stroke beneath the line (thus k̩ or m̩) might be suggested to signify that a letter written in any > alphabet to be transliterated is not to be pronounced. > > "' > [X] > Subject to the suggestions above made, which will, the Council hopes, meet with the approval of > Continental scholars, the following passages would illustrate the scheme as adopted by the Congress. > Sanskrit > … > > "( > [C] > Pāli > … > Arabic > Opening chapter of the Qur'ā n: > ‫ِ ٱﻟﱠﺮْﺣَﻤٰـِﻦ ٱﻟﱠﺮِﺣﯿِﻢ‬T‫ِﺑْﺴِﻢ ٱﱠ‬ Bismi'llā hi'l-raḥ mā ni'l-raḥ ı̄mi > ‫ب ٱْﻟﻌَٰـﻠَِﻤﯿَﻦ‬ِ ّ ‫ِ َر‬T‫ٱْﻟَﺤْﻤﺪُ ِ ﱠ‬ al-ḥ amdu lillā hi rabbi-'l-'ā lamı̄n > ‫ٱﻟﱠﺮْﺣَﻤٰـِﻦ ٱﻟﱠﺮِﺣﯿِﻢ‬ al-raḥ mā ni'l-raḥ ı̄mi > ‫َﻣٰـِﻠِﻚ ﯾَْﻮِم ٱﻟ ِﺪّﯾِﻦ‬ mā liki yawmi'l-dı̄ni > ‫ِإﯾﱠﺎَك ﻧَْﻌﺒُﺪُ َوِإﯾﱠﺎَك ﻧَْﺴﺘ َِﻌﯿُﻦ‬ ı̄yyā ka na'budu wa-ı̄yā ka nasta'ı̄nu > ‫ط ٱْﻟُﻤْﺴﺘ َِﻘﯿَﻢ‬َ ‫ﺼَٰﺮ‬ّ ِ ‫ٱْھِﺪﻧَﺎ ٱﻟ‬ Ihdinā 'l-ṣ irā t̤a'l-mustaqı̄ma > ‫ﻀﺎ ٓ ِﻟّﯿَﻦ‬ > ‫ب َﻋﻠَْﯿِﮭْﻢ َوَﻻ ٱﻟ ﱠ‬ ِ ‫ﻀﻮ‬ ُ ‫ﺖ َﻋﻠَْﯿِﮭْﻢ َﻏْﯿِﺮ ٱْﻟَﻤْﻐ‬ > َ ‫ط ٱﻟﱠِﺬﯾَﻦ أ َْﻧﻌَْﻤ‬ > َ ‫ﺻَٰﺮ‬ > ِ ṣ irā t̤a'llaḍ ı̄na an'amta 'alaihim ghairi'l-maghd̤ ū bi > 'alaihim wa lā 'l-d̤ ā lı̄na > Qur'ā n C:@ > ‫ﺳﻮِﻟ ِٓۦﮫ ِإﻟَﻰ ٱﻟﱠِﺬﯾَﻦ َﻋٰـَﮭﺪﺗ ﱡﻢ ِّﻣَﻦ ٱْﻟُﻤْﺸِﺮِﻛﯿَﻦ‬ > ُ ‫ِ َوَر‬T‫ﺑََﺮآَءة ٌ ِّﻣَﻦ ٱﱠ‬ Barā 'atun mina'llahi wa rasū lihi ilā alladhı̄na > 'ā hadtum mina 'l-mush'rikı̄n > Qur'ā n @b:i_1 > ِ ‫ﺳًﻼ ِإﻟَٰﻰ ﻗَ ۡﻮِﻣِﮭۡﻢ ﻓََﺠۤﺎُءوُھﻢ ِﺑﭑۡﻟﺒَ ِﯿّﻨَٰـ‬ > ‫ﺖ ﻓََﻤﺎ َﻛﺎﻧُﻮ۟ا ِﻟﯿُۡﺆِﻣﻨُﻮ۟ا‬ ُ ‫ﺛ ُﱠﻢ ﺑَﻌَۡﺜﻨَﺎ ِﻣۢﻦ ﺑَۡﻌِﺪِهۦ ُر‬ thumma ba'athnā min ba'dihi rusulan ilā > Û¡ > ‫ب ٱﻟُﻤۡﻌﺘ َِﺪﯾَﻦ‬ ۡ ۚ ۟ > ِ ‫ِﺑَﻤﺎ َﻛﺬﱠﺑُﻮا ِﺑ ِۦﮫ ِﻣﻦ ﻗَۡﺒُﻞ َﻛﺬَ ِٰﻟَﻚ ﻧَﻄﺒَُﻊ َﻋﻠَٰﻰ ﻗُﻠُﻮ‬ qawmihim fajā 'ū hum bi'l-bayinā ti famā kā nū > liyu'minū bimā kadhabū bihi min qablu kadhā lika > naṭba'u 'alā qulū bi l-muʿtadı̄n2 > [@b] > Notes: > Hamza at the beginning of a word is omitted, as prescribed on p. N. Only the vowel is written. Ex. > asad, a lion; plural usad. Insān, a humen being. > Hamza elsewhere = a stroke ' or circle °. > Waṣ la is represented by an apostrophe. See Note X, p. i. The diphthongs have been written ai and > au, not ay and aw. See Note _, p. i. > > The Arabic quoted text appeared to contain errors and the source is not Qur'á n J@:JN. Only Qur'á n X:J@J and J@:XN > resembled the quoted text.—M.W.T. > Transliteration may not match the original.—M.W.T. > > ") > [Repeat of page DX] > > $+ > V: > > First interchange of correspondence with the > Universal House of Justice on transliteration > > The Universal House of Justice > P.O. Box @NN > Haifa, Israel @N August @CiX > Dear Bahá 'ı́ Friends, > I am in the process of editing a book to be published by George Ronald. This will be a collection of > essays by Prof. F. Kazemzadeh, Denis MacEoin, Peter Smith and myself, and is provisionally entitled > Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History. It is hoped that it will stimulate some interest in the academic > community and the essays are being written with this in mind. > In connection with this book, a problem has arisen over the matter of transliteration. As you are no > doubt aware, the system of transliteration at present in general use in the academic community is > somewhat different to that used in Bahá 'ı́ books. No system of transliteration is completely > satisfactory but the present Bahá 'ı́ system suffers from great inconsistencies and it is these > inconsistencies which have been the principle cause of criticism such as that levelled by Elwell-Sutton > at Balyuzi's Muḥammad and the Course of Islám in a recent issue of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic > Society (a copy is enclosed for your information). The Bahá 'ı́ system is said to be based on a system > worked out at one of the Congress of Orientalists. However I have been unable to find any such > system in the Proceedings of these Congresses. In any case, it is not so much in the basic system as in > its application that inconsistencies arise in present Bahá 'ı́ usage. > The principal problems are as follows: > @. The system ought to be consistent as to whether it is a system of transcription of pronunciation > (i.e. it conveys the information of how a word sounds) or a system of transliteration (i.e. it > conveys the information of how a word is written). The main problem of the Bahá 'ı́ system lies in > the fact that it has taken a system that was designed for the transliteration of Arabic words and > has applied it to the transcription of Persian pronunciation. In making this transformation, the > Bahá 'ı́ system has fallen between the two stools and is at present neither entirely a system of > transliteration (thus you have Abu'l-Qasim and Dhi'l-Ḥijjih rather than Abú 'l-Qá sim and Dhú 'l- > HÌ£ijjih) nor a system of transcription of the Persian pronunciation (thus the letters > > $! > d, dh, and th have no resemblance to the Persian pronunciation which is z, z and s respectively; > Mazindará n is pronounced Mazandará n etc.). > A. The Bahá 'ı́ system uses Persian pronunciation and usage even in Arabic expressions and the > names of Arabs and Arabic books. Thus Ibnu'l-'Arabı́ wrote al-Futuḥátu'l-Makkíya and not > Futúḥat-i-Makkíyyih as it appears in Bahá 'ı́ books. Similarly Shaykh Aḥ mad was an Arab and > should be called al-Aḥ sá 'i and not i-Aḥ sá 'ı́. But there are inconsistencies even in this usage in > Bahá 'ı́ books; thus we have Kitá b-i-Aqdas but Kitá bu'r-Rú ḥ (both of which are Arabic books). > D. In the Persian iḍáfa construction after a word ending in -ih or the long vowels, -ú , -á , -ı́, the yi > sound follows the ending and is not a part of it; thus rı́shiy-i-dirakht implies that rı́shih has had an > h changed to a y, whereas the h has gone and the buffer sound yi has been added. Rı́shi-yi-dirakht > conveys the structure of this construct better. Similarly, one would have 'Alı́-yi-Basṭámı́. > _. Normal Bahá 'ı́ usage is inconsistent as regards the use of final hamza; thus we have Qayyú mu'l- > Asmá ' and Siyyidu'sh-Shuhadá ' but 'Abdu'l-Bahá and 'Ulamá (with no final hamza indicated). > N. The Bahá 'ı́ system looks somewhat strange and antiquated with oblique accent marks instead of > flat ones which are almost universal now, e.g. Bá b instead of Bā b. > Thus the present Bahá 'ı́ system has many inconsistencies, and while this is acceptable in the corpus > of books that exist at present, it presents great problems and confusion to a writer who wishes to > transliterate a word that has not previously been transliterated in a Bahá 'ı́ publication. Thus this > system which was originally introduced in order to eliminate variation and confusion in > transliteration in Bahá 'ı́ books may in fact in the long run itself create variation and confusion. This is > not to say however that the Bahá 'ı́ system does not have some advantages over the system currently > in use among orientalists; thus, for example, the use of underlining sh, dh, etc., is more scientific than > omitting this as orientalists do and of course the Bahá 'ı́ system is a better guide to Persian > pronunciation than the system used by orientalists. > If it is desired, however, to have a system that transcribes Persian pronunciation, there is in > existence a much better, more consistent system, > > $* > see H. Busse's History of Persia under Qajar Rule. On the other hand it would involve fewer changes in > the present system and be more in keeping with the present trend among orientalists if the Bahá 'ı́ > system were to be altered so as to become consistently a system of transliteration. > Consequently, for the book that I am now editing, and for any future books aimed at the non-Bahá 'ı́ > academic community, I would like to propose using the present Bahá 'ı́ system but with the following > alterations made so as to make it a system of transliteration, to eliminate inconsistencies, and to bring > it more into line with the system currently in use as far as the format is concerned. > @. To standardize all names and expressions using the Arabic iḍ á fa construction so that they are > connected by u (which is what the Arabic grammatical form requires). This would only affect a > very few names such as Ná ṣ iru'd-Dı́n (instead of Ná ṣ iri'd-Dı́n). > A. To transliterate all Arabic names and expressions according to Arabic usage and grammar and > not Persian, e.g. Shaykh Aḥ mad al-Aḥ sá 'ı́, Yá Ṣ á hiba'z-Zamá n (instead of Ṣ á hibu'z-Zamá n). > D. In words and names derived from Arabic which end in o in Arabic and o in Persian, to be > transliterated -a where an Arabic name or expression is intended (e.g. Madina) and -ih for Persian > names (e.g. Rú zbih). > _. To keep more closely to grammatical form in Arabic names and expressions, e.g. Mu'tamadu'd- > Dawlih (instead of Mu'tamidu'd-Dawlih), Abu-Badı́' (instead of Aba-Badı́'). > N. To use flat accents [macrons] instead of acute, e.g. Bā b instead of Bá b. > R. To separate more clearly the components of a Persian iḍ á fa construction in which the first > component ends in -ih, -á , -ú , -ı́. e.g. 'Alı́-yi-Kanı́ rather than 'Alı́y-i-Kanı́. > i. To eliminate certain usages such as Mazandará n (rather than Mazindará n). > X. Common place-names such as Baghdad and Shiraz require no transliteration. > > $" > C. To drop the final hamza in all cases, e.g. Qayyú mu'l-Asmá . > @b. To use w for the silent ‫و‬, e.g. Khwá razm. > This seems a very large list of alterations but in practical terms, the effects that it will have on > Bahá 'ı́ texts would be very slight. The suggested change in accenting would not alter the appearance > of the text greatly and the other changes occur relatively infrequently. Thus for example, I counted > only AN changes (other than accenting) in the Prologue and first three chapters (NC pages) of Balyuzi's > The Báb. > Thus with comparatively minor changes in form, one can remove most of the problems and > inconsistencies in the present Bahá 'ı́ system and bring the system more into line with that followed by > most other publications in this field. This is particularly important in a work of the nature of that > which I am editing since it is our intention to send the book to a number of learned journals for review > and it would be regrettable if this and other books published were to be met with the same sort of > criticism as that which has been levelled by Ellwell-Sutton. > If you desire any clarification of the points raised in this letter, I will be in Haifa during the summer, > Warmest Bahá 'ı́ greetings, > M. Momen > > $*b > The Universal House of Justice > Bahá 'ı́ World Centre > > Department of the Secretariat > Ab October @CiX > > Dr Moojan Momen > @_/@N Shelby Row > Cambridge > England > Dear Bahá 'ı́ Friend, > Your letter of @N August @CiX making various recommendations about the transliteration of Arabic > and Persian terms into the Roman alphabet was referred by the Universal House of Justice to an ad > hoc committee. > The report of that committee has now been presented and the Universal House of Justice has > instructed us to send you the enclosed copy for your comments, which it will be glad to receive. > For Department of the Secretariat > Enclosure > With loving Bahá 'ı́ greetings, > [signed Loraine Kerfoot] > > $" > Memorandum > > To: The Universal House of Justice Date: @D October @CiX > > From: Ad hoc Committee > > Subject: Transliteration—Dr Moojan Momen's letter of @N August @CiX > There is no doubt that a number of inconsistencies and anomalies have crept into the practice of > Bahá 'ı́s in transliteration [of] Arabic and Persian terms. We feel Dr Momen's letter presents a very > helpful approach to overcoming these, although we differ with him in a number of his specific > recommendations. We shall make a few general observations first on the matter of transliteration and > shall then comment on the recommendations listed on page D of his letter. > @. It is of great practical value to Bahá 'ı́s to have a system that can transliterate both Arabic and > Persian. Our Holy Writings are in both languages and thus the same term sometimes appears in > Persian and sometimes in Arabic. While, therefore, the system is basically one of transliteration, > we feel that it is an advantage rather than otherwise for it to be able to indicate in various minor > ways the difference between Persian and Arabic usages, especially in the pronunciation of vowels. > A. It must be remembered that the system is for use not merely for English publications, but for > publications in all those languages using the Roman alphabet, except for Turkish. If, therefore, we > are to consider the current usage of orientalists, we should consider that of orientalists writing in > German, French, Spanish, Italian, etc., as well as those writing in English. > D. The primary purpose, however, is not for scholarly works, but to provide a system which can be > used by all Bahá 'ı́s writing in the Roman alphabet. In other words, while it should be possible for > scholars to know immediately from the transliterated form how a word was written in the > original text, the system is primarily intended for use by laymen. This influences our views in a > number of ways, which will be apparent in our specific comments below. It is for this reason, for > example, that we favour showing the assimilation of the Arabic definite article in the spelling, as > the present system does, although this is a departure from strict "transliteration". > _. An important factor is continuity. The present system is now well known to those Bahá 'ı́s who > use the Roman alphabet, therefore any changes should be minimal. > N. On Dr Momen's ten specific recommendations we have the following comments. > w.7 We do not see the virtue in standardising the spelling of names as suggested. This is one of > the instances where we value the ability of the present system to indicate the Persian > pronunciation of what is otherwise an Arabic word. The Persians say "Ná ṣ iri'd-Dı́n" and we > prefer it to be spelt that way. > > $$ > [Memorandum: Dr Momen's letter @N.X.iX, Page A] > w.v Here again, the same applies, as Persians generally, when pronouncing Arabic words, do > not normally observe Arabic grammatical rules. > w.x We agree with this recommendation: to use the ending -a when the word is in an Arabic > context and -ih when it is in a Persian one. > w.8 Our comment is the same as in w.7 above. > w.w Here we refer to our point x above. The system is intended for day-to-day use by ordinary > Bahá 'ı́s, and only secondarily by orientalists. Far more typewriters use the acute accent > than the flat accent [macron]. Although the acute accents may look strange and antiquated > to orientalists, they are much more familiar and natural to the average reader. Here, > however, since the purpose of the accent is merely to indicate a long vowel, we see no > objection to permitting Bahá 'ı́ orientalists to use the horizontal accent [macron] (or indeed > a circumflex or any other accent) in their scholarly works if they so wish, although, as > stated above, we prefer the acute accent and this should be retained for general Bahá 'ı́ > usage. > w.; We do not agree with this recommendation, but perhaps Dr Momen would like to discuss it > with his publishers. We feel that the effect on the average reader of spelling 'Alı́y-i-Kanı́ as > 'Alı́-yi-Kanı́ might be to cause him to stress the 'yi' unconsciously. > w.> We see no reason to eliminate certain usages in transliterating place-names, as some are > pronounced in two ways and both are good usage. A similar case in English is the alternate > spellings 'farther' and 'further'. > w.p The Guardian himself left untransliterated place-names such as Mecca which have a well- > established English usage. Others, such as Baghdá d, Shı́rá z and 'Akká he did transliterate. > We feel this is a matter of judgement that must be left to the author and publisher and may > well vary from country to country, or even from book to book depending upon the context > and the audience for which it is written. > w.q The hamza is dropped in Persian but not in Arabic. Thus, Qayyú m'l-Asmá ', being an Arabic > form, needs a hamza at the end, but the Persian form, Qayyú m-i-Asmá does not require it. > In quotations from the Writings one should use the Arabic or Persian forms of such names > in accordance with the original. If the original uses Arabic, one should transliterate > accordingly, and so with Persian. In original writing an author, we feel, should be free to > use either as he wishes, as both are current in Bahá 'ı́ literature. Thus, although the Most > Holy Book is written in Arabic, it is much more common to refer to it in other places by the > Persian variant of its name, the Kitá b-i-Aqdas, and this, we feel, is entirely permissible. > > $% > [Memorandum: Dr Momen's letter @N.X.iX, Page D] > w.7r As such silent letters are very rare we feel it can be left to the decision of individual authors > and publishers whether or not they should be transliterated. Our preference h to omit > them. > ____________________________ > > $& > E: Second interchange of correspondence > with the Universal House of Justice on transliteration > > NX Birdwood > Road > Cambridge > CB@ DSU > A November > @CiX > Universal House of Justice > P.O. Box @NN Haifa > Israel > Dear Bahá 'ı́ Friends, > Thank you for your letter of Abth October @CiX forwarding the report of the ad hoc committee on > transliteration. > It is somewhat difficult for me to comment on this report since the whole of the report is based on > premises which differ from those of my original letter. My primary consideration in drafting this > letter was to eliminate the inconsistencies which arise from the fact that the present Bahá 'ı́ system is > neither wholly a system of transliteration of the written word nor wholly a system of transcription of > pronunciation; it is perched somewhere between the two stools and must inevitably fall between > them on occasion (as is pointed out, in the review by Elwell-Sutton of Mr Balyuzi's book Muḥammad > and the Course of Islám). I feel that as there is unquestionably going to be a great growth in the > volume of literature produced by Bahá 'ı́ scholars and as this will involve increasing use of names and > terms borrowed from Persian and Arabic sources, it is important to eliminate inconsistencies at this > stage rather than have to do it later. > The ad hoc committee, on the other hand, seems to regard the ability of the present system to > include elements of Persian pronunciation as being of greater importance despite the inconsistencies > that such a flexibility entails. The ad hoc committee also considers that the present system aids the > layman although I must admit that when the inconsistencies of the present system allow for example > both Futú ḥ á t-i-Makkı́vvih (God Passes By, p. @AA) and Futú ḥ á ta'l-Makkı́yyah (Balyuzi, Muḥammad and > the Course of Islám, p. AXb) and even Mará ghihı́ and Maraghi'ı́ in the same book (The Dawn-Breakers, > Wilmette @CRA, pp. ARb, _A_, _D@ and RXN), I wonder whether the present system is being of service > even to the layman. > Having made these general comments, I will now pass on to consider the specific points made by > the committee. > @. See above. > A. The systems in general use among French and German orientalists are even further removed > from the Bahá 'ı́ system than the system used by English-speaking orientalists. The proposals of > my original letter would tend to close the gap a little. > > $' > D. I have made no objection to showing the assimilation of the Arabic definite article since the > correct form in the Arabic is to place a shadda over the first letter of the word the definite article > of which is to be assimilated, in my opinion both al-Shams and ash-Shams are correct > transliterations of ‫ اﻟﺸﻤﺲ‬and since the Bahá 'ı́ system has favoured the latter, I see no objection to > continuing it. > _. I have borne in mind the factor of continuity in putting forward these proposals, in that I have > kept them to the minimum necessary to ensure consistency. Otherwise there would have been a > large number of other points I would like to have raised: for example, I doubt whether there is > any benefit in indicating the iḍáfa in Persian names. Why not just Mullá Ḥusayn Bushrú 'ı́? After > all you do not write Ṭ ará ẓ u'llá h-yi-Samandarı́, although this is how Persians would pronounce the > name. > N.@ In fact neither i nor u correctly transcribes the sound made by Persians in the middle of Ná ṣ iru'd- > Dı́n. Most Persians elide this vowel into a very short indistinguishable sound. The point is made > clear by referring to a title that has not previously been transliterated. If one were to take the > title ‫ﺻﺎرم اﻟﺪوﻟﺔ‬, Persians would disagree as to whether this should be transliterated Ṣ á rimu'd- > Dawlih or Ṣ á rimi'd-Daulih. Whereas the truth is that the connecting vowel is an intermediate > sound and either u or i would do. Thus inconsistencies will inevitably arise and both forms may > turn up in different writers' works. Lastly, may I point out that the voluminous encyclopaedic > dictionary 'Alı́ Akbar Dihkhudá 's Lughat Náma1 points this word thus: Ná ṣ iru'd-Dı́n, in over @bb > entries under this name including Ná ṣ iru'd-Dı́n Shá h (Volume for pp. @NX-@RR). > N.A The committee's comment on this point was: "Here again, the same applies, as Persians generally, > when pronouncing Arabic words, do not normally observe Arabic grammatical rules." I would > ask the question why when transliterating a word from Arabic into Latin characters for an English > book we are obliged to approach the matter from the point of view of how a Persian would have > pronounced the Arabic word. I realise that the Bahá 'ı́ Faith originated in Persia but I wonder to > what extent we are justified in Persianising everything. Shaykh Aḥ mad was an Arab and > undoubtedly called himself Shaykh Aḥ mad al-Aḥ sá 'ı́. Similarly we have Persianised Turkish > names. Thus I doubt whether Kibrisi Mehmed Paşa knew any Persian at all but his name has been > Persianised to Muḥ ammad Pá shá y-i-Qibrisı́. The logical extension of this would be to have Luvá y- > i-Gitsingir and Hippulı́t-i-Dirayfú s. Moreover I wonder how Arabs and Turks feel about this > Persianisation of their language and their names. > If the aim is to bring everything to the way Persians would pronounce it, why not adopt a system > designed particularly for that. There is in existence a very good system which transliterates ḍ as ż , i as > e, u as o, etc., much closer to the Persian pronunciation than the present Bahá 'ı́ system. > > ‫ﻟﻐﺎت ﻧﺎﻣﮫ ﻋﻠﯽ اﮐﺒﺮ دھﺨﺪا‬, "Dictionary of 'Alı́ Akbar Dihkhudá ". > > $( > N.N I query the statement that "Far more typewriters use the acute accent than the flat accent". > Typewriters in England and America are certainly not sold with an acute accent mark, whereas all > typewriters have a hyphen mark which can be moved up to form a horizontal accent. > N.R This point is fully explained in point D on page A of my previous letter. Despite the committee's > comment, I feel that the greater clarity of Mullá 'Alı́-yi-Kanı́ overrides the advantages of Mullá > 'Alı́y-i-Kanı́. For example I wonder how many lay Bahá 'ı́s will, immediately recognize that the > first component of, Qibliy-i-'As lam is the word Qiblih with which they are probably familiar. > N.i I would accept the committee's point that both usages occur. But once again some degree of > definition and consistency is required. A useful standard would be Dikhudá 's Lughat-Náma > (despite its incompleteness) or for geographical names Farhang-i-Jugráfiyá'i-yi-Írán (published > by the Geographical Committee of the Iranian Army General Staff). The latter work gives > Mazandaran incidentally. > In conclusion, I can only repeat the point made at the beginning of this letter: the principal point is > whether we are interested in eliminating inconsistencies or maintaining some degree of flexibility > with regard to pronunciation. I think the point regarding Persianisation is also worth further > consideration as it affects other areas also. > With loving Bahá 'ı́ greetings > M. Momen > ______________________________________________ > > $) > The Universal House of Justice > Bahá 'ı́ World Centre > > Department of the Secretariat > X March @CiC > > Dr Moojan Momen > @_@N Shelby Row > Cambridge > England > Dear Bahá 'ı́ Friend, > Consideration of your letter of A November @CiX was delayed due to pressures of the work load at > the World Centre, but the Universal House of Justice now instructs us to send you the enclosed copy of > the report of the ad hoc committee. > With loving Bahá 'ı́ greetings, > [signed Loraine Kerfoot] > For Department of the Secretariat > Enclosure > > %+ > Memorandum > > To: The Universal House of Justice Date: Ai February @CiC > > From: Ad Hoc Committee > > Subject: Transliteration—Dr Moojan Momen's letter of A November @CiX > The committee found it helpful to receive Dr Momen's further comments and agrees that our > earlier report, being based on premises different from those on which his letter of @N August @CiX was > based, brings us to different conclusions which we hope we set out clearly in our report of @D October. > It is our feeling, however, that we are not too far apart in our thinking and that the .results to which > our premises necessarily lead offer a considerable amount of leeway to scholars. > With respect to obvious errors, such as the erroneous transliteration of Mará ghihı́ in the third > paragraph of Dr Momen's letter of A November @CiX, these require correction and it would be very, > useful if Dr Momen would draw to the attention of the World Centre any such errors which appear in > basic Bahá 'ı́ works. > We wish to comment on a few of the numbered points in Dr Momen's letter: > No. _: We feel that Dr Momen has illustrated perfectly the type of flexibility which the Committee > regards as desirable and which the Universal House of Justice has permitted; e.g. > - Place names and other words that have a current form in a western language do not have to > be transliterated—for instance, Mecca, Islam, etc. > - In many cases we use personal names as the individuals transliterate them; e.g. Zikru'llá h > Khá dem, Jalá l Khá zeh, etc. > - It is useful to leave the iḍ á fa in such cases as Mullá Ḥusayn-i-Bushrú 'ı́, where the iḍ á fa > designates the geographical area from which he came. In the second example Dr Momen > gives, the iḍ á fa may be dropped, since "Samandarı́" is not merely a descriptive word but is Mr > Samandarı́'s surname. > No. N.@: The standardization of "u" rather than "i", as in the examples given by Dr Momen, could be > recommended to the Universal House of Justice as it is admittedly inconsistent in Bahá 'ı́ > books at present. In all such cases the Committee recommends following the vowel pointing > used in some reasonably authoritative Persian dictionary such as Dihkhudá 's Lughat-Náma. > No. N.A: The Committee's recommendation was, not to Persianize indiscriminately, but to leave > Bahá 'ı́s free to use either the Arabic or Persian form as they prefer and, in translations, to use > whatever is the form used in the original. The original Writings of the Faith, in Persian, are > permeated with Arabic to the point where the two languages at times seem inter-laced. > > %! > To: The Universal House of Justice February Ai, @CiC > Page A > No. N.A (cont'd.): > Turkish, of course, presents a special case, as that language now has its own official Romanized > spelling. > As to the transliteration of the Persian form of western names, this would not be relevant in > cases where the correct western name is known beyond doubt, but it might be an excellent > safeguard in the many instances where it is uncertain. In instances of ambiguity perhaps the > transliteration of the original could be given in a footnote if not set out in the body of the text. > No. N.N: The Committee referred not only to English and American usage but to usage of all western > languages having the Roman alphabet. It is felt that to acquire in English-speaking countries a > typewriter with an acute accent does not present a real difficulty. > No. N.i: The Committee gratefully acknowledges Dr Momen's recommendation concerning reference > works to establish standards and increase consistency. > ________________________________________________________ > > %* > =: 'Abdu'l-Bahá on transliteration > > I am grateful to Stephen Lambden for drawing my attention to an important preliminary to the > development of the Bahá 'ı́ transliteration system. This was a statement by 'Abdu'l-Bahá regarding the > spelling of the name of "Bahá 'u'llá h" and of "Mashriqu'l-Adhká r". This was published in the Star of the > West shortly before 'Abdu'l-Bahá 's passing (George Ronald reprint, vol. i), Star of the West, XII:@b, X > September @CA@, pp. @RX–@ib). > STAR OF THE WEST > Tablet from Abdul-Baha regarding spelling of Sacred Name > To the maid-servant of God, Miss Jean Masson (Chicago)—Unto her be the Glory of God, the Most > Glorious!—Care of his honor, Mr. Roy Wilhelm (New York): > He is God! > O thou harbinger of the Kingdom! > Thy letter has been received. Its contents indicate that thou art occupied in writing a book in > answer to the one who has written against the Truth. Thou asked as to how ye should spell in English > the blessed name of His Holiness, BAHA 'ULLAH and also Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar. Ye should spell them > thus: BAHA 'ULLAH and Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar. > It is my hope that in writing this book thou wilt be confirmed. The language, however, must be > very lenient and mild. Thou shouldst write it with the utmost politeness. Thou shouldst not look at > the expressions of that hostile person, because he was a man full of prejudice and very impolite. > Anybody who is endowed with a slight sense of fairness understands that what this person has > written is based on the utmost self-interestedness and enmity. This very fact is a sufficient proof > showing his fallacy. > Unto thee be the Glory of Abha! > (Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS > (Translated by Aziz 'Ullah Khan S. Bahadur, Haifa, Palestine, April AC, @CA@.) > __________________ > Haifa, > Palestine, > May @i, @CA@. > Miss Jean Masson, > My dear Bahai sister: > I am sorry your letter to the Master was kept so long unanswered. It was due partly to the sickness > of the Beloved and partly to his thousand-sided occupation. However, I am glad at last there offered > some opportunity when your letter was presented and a Tablet was revealed. > > %" > [Star of the West, p. @RC] > As to the spelling of the two names, BAHA 'ULLAH and Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar, the standard is given by > the Master in this same Tablet of yours. The explanation is that BAHA 'ULLAH is composed of two > words, Baha and Allah (Glory and God). BAHA 'ULLAH means the Glory of God. Now the U signifies of. > This vowel, when introduced between these two words, joins them together, but in pronunciation the > A of Allah is dropped and replaced by the same U-vowel. We put an apostrophe between the two > words in order to show that a letter, i.e., A, is dropped and we capitalize the U because it replaces the A > of Allah which is in capital. > Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar is also composed of two words, Mashreq and El-Azkar (Mashreq—dawning > place; El—the; Azkar—mentions or prayers or communes). Again U signifies of. When we put these > two words together the E of El is dropped in pronunciation and so that U-vowel takes its place. We > put an apostrophe to show that the letter E is dropped and we capitalize the U-vowel because it > replaces the E of El which is in capital. > I had the pleasure of reading your pamphlet on the Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar. I admired the style of your > writing and the tactfulness you have exhibited in it. It is sanctioned by the Master. You will kindly > send us many copies for distribution. It is written in a way that will not arouse jealousy in the outside > readers. > Will you kindly remember me to our revered sisters, Mrs True, Arna True, Dr Appel and Mrs > Houser? Also to our dear brother, Dr Bagdadi. > With Bahai love and greeting, I remain, > Your brother in the Covenant of God, > Aziz 'Ullah S. Bahadur. > _______________________________ > The Tablet above concerning the spelling of the sacred name, BAHA 'ULLAH, and of Mashreq 'Ul- > Azkar, settles conclusively a matter that has long created among American believers a friendly > divergence of opinion. > The original spelling of the name of the Blessed Perfection, as given to Americans, was, as we know, > BAHA ULLAH, sometimes BEHA ULLAH. Some of us, in the early days of the Cause in the West, found > difficulty in its correct pronunciation. We did not seem to understand, some of us, that 'a' and 'u' have > other sounds in the English language besides long 'a' and long 'u', hence that most sacred name was > often, out of our ignorance, pronounced incorrectly and sometimes irreligiously. > If there is one name that is the perfection of the beautiful, the musical, pronounced, enunciated > correctly and sacredly, it is BAHA 'ULLAH. Pronounced incorrectly, irreverently, it is sacrilegious. So > to aid us in our ignorance, our difficulty in the enunciation of Arabic letters, one of the friends, Mr Roy > Wilhelm, I believe, supplicated Abdul-Baha to settle the difficulty, suggesting that the letter 'o' instead > of `u' would aid Americans in arriving at the correct pronunciation. > Abdul-Baha responded to the effect that the name of the Blessed Beauty should be spelled > BAHA'O'LLAH. This Command has been adhered to religiously by most of the friends in America, > though some have always regarded the original spelling, BAHA ULLAH, with deepest reverence and > longing. > European Bahais seem never to have adopted the American spelling, nor have European scholars > outside the Bahai ranks. Manifestly the new spelling was given only to Americans to aid us in our > immaturity, our Bahai childhood. Today, however, we have passed beyond the period of our infancy > in the Bahai Cause. Persian and Arabic terms and words have grown singularly and beautifully > familiar to us. And many of us have felt for long that we have > > %$ > [Star of the West, p. @ib] > matured sufficiently to be given the correct spelling, at least of BAHA 'ULLAH. We have felt also that a > unified spelling of the sacred names throughout the Bahai world would make for the universal > unification, which is one of the basic principles of the Bahai Cause. We have felt, also, not only that > there should be a standardized spelling in all Bahai literature, but that Bahai literature should be the > most perfect literature in the world, so elevating it above all criticism by scholars and the unfriendly. > Being engaged upon a most important work in the interest of the Bahai Cause, a work which, when > completed, must compete scholastically, as well as historically, with all literature inimical to the Cause, > I supplicated Abdul-Baha for the correct spelling of BAHA 'ULLAH and Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar. Mashreq > 'Ul-Azkar has also passed through various etymological changes in our American terminology in our > effort to arrive at its correct spelling. > In response to this supplication came the Tablet above, with the very clear letter of explanation by > Aziz 'Ullah S. Bahadur, stating explicitly the correct spelling of both words. > "Ye should spell them thus: BAHA 'ULLAH and Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar." > The Star of the West, standing as it does for the pure Teachings, the pure creative Word, is the > logical medium for the dissemination throughout the Bahai world of this explicit instruction as to the > spelling of the two names. It is vastly important that we should have a standardized spelling of all > oriental Bahai terminologies and at some future date, through this same medium, a list will be given > with the correct spelling from the pen of the supreme Authority, Abdul-Baha. > As to the pronunciation of BAHA 'ULLAH and Mashreq 'Ul-Azkar, not much need be said. But let us > remind ourselves that by accenting the final syllables of the words we express in our voice somewhat > of the reverence that is in our hearts. > Let us remind ourselves also that the first 'a' in Baha corresponds in sound most closely to the 'a' in > 'ask', and the 'U' in 'Ullah to the 'u' in `full'. > Divided into syllables, then, we have: > BA-HA' 'UL-LAH'. > Mash-req' 'Ul-Az-kar'. > I am sure it is as deep a satisfaction to every American Bahai, as to myself, to have revealed the > authorized spelling of these two names, that of the Manifestation of God and the great Bahai > Institution. > Jean Masson > > %% > > — *The Baha'i System of Transliteration (Used by permission of the curator)*