[MANUSCRIPT / THE BAHÂ’Î FAITH / MAGIC BY PRAYERS] [Evrâd-i Bahâiyye, fazileti ve havassi] [i.e., Prayers of Bahaism and virtues and spells]

ANONYMOUS.

Manuscript, [N.p.], [ca. 19^th century].

Original manuscript written in naskh script in black and red ink on polished paper. Marginalia accompanies the main text occasionally. Contemporary quarter brown calf. 12mo. (16 x 11 cm). In Arabic and Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). [100] p., two magical tables, and a drawing. Wear to the spine with loose pages, age-toning, and foxing on marginalia and some pages. Otherwise, a good copy.

Scarce Bahâ’î manuscript including the virtue of Bahâullah and the Bahâ’î Faith with magical practices and spells by prayers for the protection from evil and even good. The manuscript begins with a basmalah and a praise to the master “Sheikh Pîr Muhammad Bahâ’î hazretleri”. The introduction is in Ottoman Turkish. The second and the longest chapter begins after that again with basmalah including prayers in Arabic in the Bahâ’î tradition. The third and last chapter includes the magical practices mostly in Ottoman Turkish, accompanied by a strange hand drawing in a totem shape consisting of letters and numerals. Besides that, two more tables of magical practices are included in the manuscript’s last chapter.  

This early 19^th century manuscript is a classical collection of a Bahâ’î who believes the Bahâ’î Faith began with the mission entrusted by God to two Divine Messengers: The Bâb and Bahâ’u’llâh.

The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced ongoing persecution since its inception.

The Baháʼí Faith has three central figures: the Báb (1819-1850), executed for heresy, who taught that a prophet similar to Jesus and Muhammad would soon appear; Baháʼu'lláh (1817-1892), who claimed to be that prophet in 1863 and had to endure both exile and imprisonment; and his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (1844-1921), who made teaching trips to Europe and the United States after his release from confinement in 1908. After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá died in 1921, the leadership of the religion fell to his grandson Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957). Baháʼís annually elect local, regional, and national Spiritual Assemblies that govern the religion's affairs, and every five years an election is held for the Universal House of Justice, the nine-member governing institution of the worldwide Baháʼí community that is located in Haifa, Israel, near the Shrine of the Báb. (Wikipedia).