A Study of Baha’u’llah’s
Kitab-i-Iqan, The Book of Certitude
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Shoghi Effendi: Unfolding Destiny, 430
As to the date of the Íqán, I think it can be calculated
from the actual text and I have it in my papers as 1278 A.H., i.e. 1861 A.D.
You will find that in the text itself. It was written in answer to questions
put by a distinguished Bábí.
(from a letter written by the Guardian 16 May 1932)
Also,
“Foremost among the priceless treasures cast forth from the
billowing ocean of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation ranks the Kitáb-i-Iqán (Book of
Certitude), revealed within the space of two days and two nights, in the
closing years of that period (1278 A.H.--1862 A.D.). It was written in
fulfillment of the prophecy of the Báb, Who had specifically stated that the
Promised One would complete the text of the unfinished Persian Bayán, and in
reply to the questions addressed to Bahá'u'lláh by the as yet unconverted maternal
uncle of the Báb, Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad, while on a visit, with his
brother, Hájí Mírzá Hasan-`Alí, to Kárbilá.”
-- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p.138
Later research indicates that the Kitab-i-Iqan was probably revealed between 15 to 17 January 1861. In a letter dated 17th January 1861, written in Baghdad by Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad to His son Vakilu’d-Dawlih, he states that he returned to Baghdad from Karbila and that he had already attained the presence of Baha’u’llah. Full details can be found in an article entitled “The Conversion of the Great-Uncle of the Bab”, by Ahang Rabbani in the World Order vol. 30, no. 3, Spring of 1999. The issue is further discussed in Logos and Civilization by Nader saiedi, pp. 114-5.