life, He arranged for the
publication of the original Arabic text of the Book in Bombay.

A word should be said about the style of language in which the
Kitab-i-Aqdas has been rendered into English. Baha'u'llah enjoyed a superb
mastery of Arabic, and preferred to use it in those Tablets and other
Writings where its precision of meaning was particularly appropriate to
the exposition of basic principle. Beyond the choice of language itself,
however, the style employed is of an exalted and emotive character,
immensely compelling, particularly to those familiar with the great
literary tradition out of which it arose. In taking up his task of
translation, Shoghi Effendi faced the challenge of finding an English
style which would not only faithfully convey the exactness of the text's
meaning, but would also evoke in the reader the spirit of meditative
reverence which is a distinguishing feature of response to the original.
The form of expression he selected, reminiscent of the style used by the
seventeenth-century translators of the Bible, captures the elevated mode
of Baha'u'llah's Arabic, while remaining accessible to the contemporary
reader. His translations, moreover, are illumined by his uniquely inspired
understanding of the purport and implications of the originals.

Although both Arabic and English are languages with rich vocabularies and
varied modes of expression, their forms differ widely from one another.
The Arabic of the Kitab-i-Aqdas is marked by intense concentration and
terseness of expression. It is a characteristic of this style that if a
connotation is obvious it should not be explicitly stated. This presents a
problem for a reader whose cultural, religious and literary background is
entirely different from that of Arabic. A literal translation of a passage
which is clear in the Arabic could be obscure in English. It therefore
becomes necessary to include in the English translation of such passages
that element of the Arabic sentence which is obviously implicit in the
original. At the same time, it is vital to avoid extrapolating this
process to the point where it would add unjustifiably to the original or
limit its meaning. Striking the right balance between beauty and clarity
of expression on the one hand, and literalness on the other, is one of the
major issues with which the translators have had to grapple and which has
caused repeated reconsideration of the rendering of certain passages.
Another majo