Each book links to a free PDF from bahai.org. Where available, tap the headphones icon to listen to the audiobook on YouTube (narrated by Ocean Reader).
"Yet every human being and every group of individuals, irrespective of whether they are counted among His followers, can take inspiration from His teachings, benefitting from whatever gems of wisdom and knowledge will aid them in addressing the challenges they face."
Featured writings
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh · 1857/58
The Hidden Words
A work consisting of short passages revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Persian and Arabic during His exile in Baghdad, translated by Shoghi Effendi.
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compiled by Shoghi Effendi · 1935
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh
A compilation of selected tablets and extracts drawn from the whole range of Bahá'u'lláh's writings, made and translated by Shoghi Effendi and first published in 1935.
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Shoghi Effendi · 1938
The Advent of Divine Justice
A letter written by Shoghi Effendi to the Baháʼís of North America, dated 25 December 1938.
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The library
Sacred writings & letters
Bahá'u'lláh
The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys
Two works written in Baghdad after Bahá'u'lláh returned from Kurdistan in 1856, addressed to the Sufi mystics He had been in contact with in Sulaymáníyyih.
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Bahá'u'lláh · c. 1891
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
A Tablet addressed to Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Najafí, revealed at the Mansion of Bahjí and translated by Shoghi Effendi.
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compiled by Shoghi Effendi · 1938
Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh
A selection of prayers and meditations revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, compiled and translated by Shoghi Effendi.
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ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá · 1904–06
Some Answered Questions
Transcriptions of table talks given by ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá in ʻAkká in response to questions posed by Laura Dreyfus-Barney. The extensively retranslated edition was published in 2014.
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ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá · 1916–17
Tablets of the Divine Plan
Fourteen letters addressed by ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá to the North American Baháʼí community as a whole and by region.
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Bahá'u'lláh · 1868–70
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts
A collection of Bahá'u'lláh's tablets addressed to the kings and rulers of the world — including Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Czar Alexander II, Pope Pius IX, and the Sháh of Persia — proclaiming His mission and calling them to justice.
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Bahá'u'lláh · c. 1873
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
Bahá'u'lláh's book of laws, written in Arabic while imprisoned in ʻAkká. The first authorized English translation was published in 1992, annotated and accompanied by supplementary Writings.
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Bahá'u'lláh · 1861/62
The Kitáb-i-Íqán
A treatise revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad in response to questions posed by one of the maternal uncles of the Báb, translated by Shoghi Effendi and first published in English in 1931.
Where should a new reader of the Bahai writings begin?
Most new readers are pointed to The Hidden Words of Baháʼu'lláh — a short book of pearl-like verses on the essential relationship between the soul and God. From there, Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh gives a broad selection of His teachings, and Some Answered Questions by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (also spelled 'Abdul-Baha') is a clear, question-and-answer introduction to Baháʼí belief. The Kitáb-i-Íqán is the classic doctrinal text.
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (often written 'Kitab-i-Aqdas' or simply 'the Aqdas') is the 'Most Holy Book' of the Baháʼí Faith — the book of laws revealed in Arabic by Baháʼu'lláh around 1873 while He was imprisoned in ʻAkká. It sets out laws of worship, marriage, inheritance, and community life, and outlines the institutions of the future Baháʼí Administrative Order. The first authorized English translation was published in 1992.
What is the Kitab-i-Iqan?
The Kitáb-i-Íqán, or 'Book of Certitude', is Baháʼu'lláh's principal doctrinal work, revealed in Baghdad in 1861/62 in response to questions posed by one of the Báb's uncles. It explains the nature of divine revelation, why humanity fails to recognize its Manifestations when they appear, and how the prophecies of past religions are fulfilled in the coming of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh.
Are the Hidden Words a book of prayers?
Not exactly. The Hidden Words is a collection of short, ethical and mystical verses in Persian and Arabic — Baháʼu'lláh described it as 'the inner essence' of the guidance revealed by the Prophets of the past. Many Baháʼís read from it daily alongside their prayers, but it is a book of spiritual counsel rather than a formal prayer book. For prayers, see 'Prayers and Meditations by Baháʼu'lláh'.
The classic English translations of the Baháʼí writings were made by Shoghi Effendi (1897–1957), the Guardian of the Faith and great-grandson of Baháʼu'lláh, who studied at Oxford. His renderings — of The Hidden Words, the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Gleanings, Prayers and Meditations, and many others — set the literary tone in which the Baháʼí writings are read today. Later works, including the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, have been translated under the direction of the Universal House of Justice.
What is the Bahai holy book?
The Baháʼí Faith holds all of Baháʼu'lláh's revealed writings to be sacred scripture, but the single 'Most Holy Book' is the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — His book of laws. The Kitáb-i-Íqán (Book of Certitude) is His central doctrinal work. Baháʼís also treat as scripture the writings of the Báb, and the authoritative interpretations of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi.
Alternate spellings and search terms: Kitab-i-Aqdas, Kitab i Aqdas, the Aqdas, Kitab-i-Iqan, Book of Certitude, Hidden Words, Gleanings, Bahai holy book, Bahai bible, Bahaullah, Baha'u'llah, Abdul-Baha, Shoghi Effendi.
