Exploring the Kitab-i-Aqdas

The Kitab-i-Aqdas is considered the most important and sacred text of the Baha'i Faith, a religion with some eight million adherents, found in nearly every country of the world. It sets out the laws, teachings, and institutions that shape and influence individual and collective life for members of the Baha'i community. Despite the Kitab-i-Aqdas's significance, it has not been extensively researched. Exploring the Kitab-i-Aqdas: The Laws and Teachings of the Baha'i Faith now offers a comprehensive academic study of the text.

This important new publication explores and analyzes the significance and history of the Kitab-i-Aqdas; its language, style, and translation; and its theological and spiritual foundations, including its conceptions of God, religion, and human beings. The book, moreover, examines the Kitab-i-Aqdas's provisions for succession, interpretation, and administration within the Baha'i religion; its devotional and other personal laws; its ordinances for promoting unity; its perspectives on justice and law; and its addresses to the world's political and religious leaders. Academically rigorous yet eminently clear and accessible, Exploring the Kitab-i-Aqdas is an essential read for students of religion and Middle East studies.