The Universal House of Justice has received your email
letter of 29 December 2008, asking why such terms as “Alláh-u-Abhá” and “Yá
Bahá’u’l-Abhá” are used by Bahá’ís rather than being translated into their
native tongues, and has asked us to respond as follows.
The House of Justice on another occasion has clarified that
the Greatest Name is to be used in its original language for the recitation of
“Alláh-u-Abhá” 95 times a day, as well as for its use in the Long Obligatory
Prayer and the Prayer for the Dead. It has also clarified that to translate
words such as “Alláh-u-Abhá”, “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá”, “Mashriqu’l-Adhkár” and
“Ḥazíratu’l-Quds” into one’s native language is not acceptable. One exception
to this is the alternative use of the words “Right of God” or their equivalent
into other languages while the term “Huqúqu’lláh” gradually becomes a part of
Bahá’í vocabulary.
In general, one should bear in mind that all translations
are, to some degree, inadequate. For instance, the beloved Guardian has pointed
out in ... God Passes By that the word “Bahá” signifies at once the “Glory”,
the “Splendour” and the “Light” of God; there is no single word in English
which can express all these. It is, of course, desirable that there be no loss
of meaning through translation; thus, it is preferable that certain terms
directly related to the Manifestation of God remain in their original form.
(From a letter dated 22 February 2009 written on behalf of the Universal House
of Justice to an individual believer)
- The Universal House of Justice (Quoted by the Office of Correspondence
of the Universal House of Justice’s in a letter dated 19 May 2015 written on
behalf of the Universal Houser of Justice to an individual believer; published
in ‘Lights of 'Irfán’ Book 17)
