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A Radiant Gem - A Biography of Jináb-i-Fádil-i-Shírází

by Houri Faláhi-Skuce

202 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1398; ISBN 1-4120-1029-2; US$23.50, C$26.50, EUR19.00, £13.50

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about the book      a brief bio of the author      excerpt      catalogue info

About the Book     Born in 1863, Shaykh Muhammad-Ibráhím was already, by his early twenties, a profoundly erudite Islamic mystic. His thirst for spiritual knowledge and his deep longing to reach the sublime heights of the ineffable, launched him on an arduous quest which led him, often by visions and dreams, to eventually embrace a Faith he once would have denounced as heresy, and to join a community of people he would at one time have considered "unclean". Numerous were the strange occurrences and unexpected events with which the path of his search lay strewn, including the mysterious arrival of a man with a Book which, upon his reading of it, unraveled for Shaykh Muhammad-Ibráhím intricate and incomprehensible questions which had long baffled his mind.     Arriving on foot in Akká, Palestine some years later he was rewarded for the purity of his longing and his earnest and steadfast search by attaining the presence of a personage he had seen in one of his exalted dreams -- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the beloved Master. It was then, during the first time Shaykh Muhammad-Ibráhím attained His presence, that the Master bestowed upon him the title, "Fádil" (Learned) and it was during Fádil's subsequent four month stay in Akká that he became the recipient of a knowledge that tranformed his soul.     His return to Írán on the instructions of 'Abdu'l-Bahá opened Fádil's life to experiences readers will find fascinating. Particularly engaging are some accounts of the many encounters he had with Muslim clergy when he refuted their claims, defeated their arguments and proved the truth of the Bahá'í teachings.     A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of many Tablets 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed in honor of Jináb-i-Fádil. These Tablets and some prayers, provisionally translated into English, have been reviewed and approved by the Universal House of Justice. From a letter addressed to the author by Jináb-i-'Alí-Muhammad Varqá, Hand of the Cause of God. "...Indeed it is a wonderful idea to collect the memories of this great servant of Bahá'u'lláh as the present generation is deprived of having sufficient information regarding his life and the great services which he rendered in the teaching field... I supplicate the Blessed Beauty to assist you in completing your task in introducing such a brilliant star to the Bahá'ís worldwide." The following was received some time after the above: "...I am delighted to learn that your task of writing a biography of your dear grandfather and my great teacher, Jináb-i-Fádil-i-Shírází, to whom I owe a great esteem, has borne fruit, and it will soon be available to all the Bahá'í friends. I look forward to receiving a copy of this publication, one which I am sure will immortalize the life of Jináb-i-Fádil-i-Shírází, in the annals of Bahá'í history..." From the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada: "The reviewers (for the National Literature Committee) asked that you be congratulated on producing such a fine work... the book is thoroughly engrossing for the reader and provides a great deal of information about this believer, his family and the circumstances of the Persian Bahá'í community in his day. Both the tone and the text of the manuscript are imbued with dignity and reverence. This volume will enrich the literature of the Faith and will undoubtedly prove inspirational for those who read it." If you are a bookseller or distributor and are interested in a discounted price on books books please contact the author at skucehb@shaw.ca for quotes. Ordering books from within the UK and EU countries: Trafford Publishing (UK) Limited order desk Enterprise House, Wistaston Road Business Centre Wistaston Road, CREWE, UK CW2 7RP local rate number 0845 230 9601 phone 01270 251396, fax 01270 254983 Email orders.uk@trafford.com

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A Brief Bio of the Author Houri Faláhi-Skuce is the grand daughter of Jináb-i-Fádil-Shírázi. and was born in Tihrán, Írán. In her early teens she left Írán to attend boarding school in England. After graduating from high school she pioneered with her family to Lausanne, Switzerland in 1956, where she earned a diploma in several branches of medical laboratory technology while also serving on the Local Spiritual Assembly. Her work later took her to Basel where she served on the Spiritual Assembly with famed painter, Mark Tobey. In 1967 she pioneered to Canada to help form the first Spiritual Assembly in the area of North Bay, Ontario. Having married William Skuce, a Canadian artist, the couple, at the request of the National Spiritual Assembly, moved to Canada's Northwest Territories where they served three years as directors of Bahá'í House, Yellowknife. Pioneering then, to Fort Smith, NWT, they helped form its first Spiritual Assembly in 1971. By 1974 they had left the North and were homefront pioneering in Colwood, British Columbia, helping to form the first Spiritual Assembly there. In 1980 Houri, with her husband and their daughter Anisa, pioneered to Costa Rica, Central America where, during her eighteen years in that country, Houri served on Local Assemblies, the National Spiritual Assembly and enjoyed the bounty of attending four International Bahá'í Conventions as a delegate from Costa Rica. Moving back to Canada's West Coast in 1998, she was appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly to serve on the School Committee of Maxwell International Bahá'í School in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, a community where, until the time of publication, she has served on its Local Spiritual Assembly.

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Excerpt

An incident further indicating 'Abdu'l-Bahá's special regard for Fádil occurred next morning after Fádil, in the company of a group of believers, arrived in the presence of the Master. With the Master was a noted Bahá'í physician, Dr. Yunis Khán-i-Afroukhtih. 'Abdu'l-Bahá turned to him and remarked in a spiritually playful way, "Fádil was introduced to the Faith by us; let us now see the difference between one that we have taught and one taught by yourself". In deference, the amiable doctor humbly observed, "Your Honour, whatever we deliver is like a copper coin, what you deliver is 'gawhar-i-shab chirágh' (a radiant gem)". page 66

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Catalogue Information

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