View source for Selections from the Writings of the Báb

{{short description|Bahá'í compilation of texts by the Báb, published in 1976}}
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{{Infobox book
| name              = Selections from the Writings of the Báb
| image             = Selectionfromthebab.jpg
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| author            = Research Department of the Universal House of Justice
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| translator        = Habib Taherzadeh
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| language          = English
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| genre             = [[Anthology]]
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| publisher         = Baháʼí Publishing Trust
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| pub_date          = 1976 
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| pages             = 223 
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| isbn              = 978-0853980667
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'''''Selections from the Writings of the Báb''''' is an [[anthology]] in English that features translated works of the [[Báb]], the founder of [[Bábism]] and the [[Precursor (religion)|forerunner-Prophet]] of the [[Baháʼí Faith]]. It was compiled and published in 1976 by the [[Universal House of Justice]]. 
== Composition ==
{{See also|Baháʼí review}}
This book is primarily based on a similar [[Persian language|Persian]] book published in Tehran with the title ''Montaḵabāt-e āyāt az āṯār-e Hażrat-e Noqṭa-ye Ūlā'', although the English translation was published a year earlier than the Persian version.{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1988}}{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1992|1pp=2–3}} The Báb's writings were reviewed by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, and the selected passages were translated by Habib Taherzadeh, with the assistance of a translating committee.{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1992|1p=4}} 

[[Denis MacEoin]] describes the book as a "heavily edited selection of passages".{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1988}} According to the scholar, the editorial stance of the [[Baháʼí administration]] in selecting the content of the book was intended to present a "tendentious" and "partisan viewpoint" regarding the Báb, specifically his precursor role in relation to [[Baháʼu'lláh]], rather than accurately representing [[Teachings of the Báb|his teachings]] and wider thought.{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1992|1pp=3, 5}} 
== Content ==
{{Babi texts and scriptures}}
The book contains excerpts from four of Báb's works, including ''[[Qayyūm al-asmā]]'', ''[[Persian Bayán]]'', ''[[Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih]]'' and ''[[Kitábu'l-Asmáʼ]]''.{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1992|1pp=4–5}} Not any of the sections deal with legal prescriptions.{{Sfnm|1a1=Browne|1y=1987|1p=318}} MacEoin argues that this can be explained by the evident reluctance of the Baháʼís to publish the complete texts of the Báb's works, as instructed by [[ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]].{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1992|1p=3}} The Baháʼí perspective is that the laws of [[Bábism]] have been abrogated, superseded, and canceled in favor of their own. As a result, they refrain from preaching ''[[Bayán]]''.{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1992|1p=3}}

== Reception ==
[[Denis MacEoin]], in his book ''The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History'', mentions several points that he deems as flaws in the book, writing "lack of an introduction, the virtual absence of notes, and the failure to indicate identity, provenance, condition, and location of manuscripts used or the reasons for their choice... no indication as to whether a given passage was translated on the basis of one or more manuscripts; and, in several cases, the original is only vaguely identified as a prayer or tablet".{{Sfnm|1a1=MacEoin|1y=1992|1p=5}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}
== References ==
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=MacEoin|first=D. M.|editor-last=Yarshater|editor-first=Ehsan|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|title=BAYĀN|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bayan-declaration-elucidation-term-applied-to-the-writings-of-the-bab-q|edition=Online|date=December 15, 1988|orig-year=}}
* {{cite book |last=MacEoin |first=Denis |year=1992 |title=The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History: A Survey |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |isbn=978-90-04-09462-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xqV9-zmMxsUC }}
* {{cite book |last=Browne |first=Edward Granville |author-link=Edward Granville Browne |year=1987 |title=Selections from the Writings of E.G. Browne on the Bábí and Baháʼí Religions |url=http://www.grbooks.com/show_book.php?book_id=179 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014094708/http://grbooks.com/show_book.php?book_id=179 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-10-14 |chapter=A Summary of the Persian Bayan |chapter-url=http://zhurnal.lib.ru/s/suhanow_w_n/bayan_en.shtml |editor-first=Moojan |editor-last=Momen |publisher=George Ronald |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=0-85398-247-3|page=318}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Saiedi |first=Nader |year=2008 |title=Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |location=Canada |isbn=978-1-55458-056-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L22SqPOZWnUC}}

==External links==
*[http://bahai9.com/wiki/Selections_from_the_Writings_of_the_B%C3%A1b Compendium on ''Selections from the Writings of the Báb'']
*[https://www.bahai.org/the-bab/quotations ''Selections from the Writings of the Báb''] - Excerpts

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selections From The Writings Of The Bab}}
[[Category:Bábí texts| ]]
[[Category:1976 anthologies]]
[[Category:English-language non-fiction books]]