Effulgences: Tablet study outline
Exported from Holy-Writings.com on 2026-06-20 - 1 clipping

Name of Tablet in Arabic or Persian: 
Lawh-i-Tajallíyát

Translation into English: 
Tablet of Effulgences ("Tajallíyát" can be translated effulgences, splendors, radiances, 
etc.)

Significance of Name: 
The Tablet expounds upon four 'Tajallíyát' which, in the words of the _Basic Bahá'í 
Dictionary_ 122, are "the knowledge of God, which is attainable only through His 
Manifestation; steadfastness in the Cause of God through faith in His wisdom; the 
value of those arts and sciences which profit mankind, 'not those which begin with 
words and end with words'; and recognition of Divinity in its Manifestation."

Tablet was revealed in: 
The first couple pages were revealed in Arabic, and the remainder in Persian. 
Bahá'u'lláh Himself explains: "We shall now cease using the eloquent language. 
[Arabic] Truly thy Lord is the Potent, the Unconstrained. We would fain 
speak in the Persian tongue that perchance the people of Persia, one and all, may 
become aware of the utterances of the merciful Lord, and come forth to discover the 
Truth." (p. 49)

Name of Recipient:
Revealed in honour of Ustad `Alí-Akbar, a martyr of Yazd who had been instrumental 
in the design and building of the first House of Worship, in Ishqabad.

Reason for Revelation of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh doesn't specify any specific reasons for which this Tablet was revealed. 
But given the importance of the Tablet, its topics, and the clearly organized way in 
which the four Tajalli are presented, it seems possible that Bahá'u'lláh might have been 
referring to four questions He had been asked earlier, or to four topics under 
discussion in the Bahá'í community.

Date of Revelation:
Around AH 1303 (AD 1885-86)

Place of Revelation:
Revealed while Bahá'u'lláh was living at Bahji, near Akká

Role of Amanuensis or Secretary:
Presumably transcribed by Mírzá Áqá Jan. Bahá'u'lláh also included some pages of 
"revelation writing" of the Tablet along with its transcription. One of these pages has 
been reproduced in Taherzadeh's _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ vol. 1, facing page 110.

Style, subject, and genre of the Tablet: [?]
        I.  Tone of Tablet
                1.  Tablets with the tone of command and authority.
        II.  Subject Covered by Tablet
                3.  Mystical Writings.
                5.  Tablets dealing with subjects of learning and 
                        knowledge, divine philosophy, mysteries 
                        of creation, medicine, alchemy, etc.
                6.  Tablets exhorting men to education, goodly character 
                        and divine virtues.
        III.  Literary Genre of Tablet:
                1.  Letter (or essay) to an individual. 

Voice of Tablet: [?]
Bahá'u'lláh

Tablet's relationship to other tablets:
This Tablet is just one of the twenty-seven Tablets Bahá'u'lláh revealed in his honor. 
Abdu'l-Bahá also revealed Tablets for him. As well, since this Tablet has been included 
in the compilation "Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Aqdas," most of which 
include further elaboration on the teachings of the Aqdas, it is possible that this 
Tablet could be seen as complementing the Most Holy Book.

Biography or bio note of the recipient of the Tablet:
Taherzadeh provides a detailed biography of Alí-Akbar in _Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh_ 
vol. 4, pp. 118-125
-- Effulgences: Tablet study outline (Used by permission of the curator)