The Baha'i Studies Listserv On 13 Jan 2009 at 15:54, Benjamin La Framboise wrote:
> I hope that my questions aren't too bothersome. Not bothersome, but I wanted first of all to show what insights we can get *without* reference to the Persian terms, just by reading the English carefully, because once I do refer to the originals, that takes us into a field that only some Bahais can check for themselves: those who can't at least read the Persian/Arabic script and use a dictionary will just have to take my word for it. But I heard your questions, I was just putting them off. The two most common words translated as century are `asr and qarn, both Arabic in origin, the roots are ` S R and Q R N. According to Wehr's dictionary, the verb `asara means to squeeze, and an `asr (the plural in the Bahai writings is a`saar) is a pressing, the act of pressing, an age, time period, epoch, afternoon. It's the term used for afternoon prayers. The stone age is `asr al-hajarii. The verb qarana means to connect or yoke together; qarn (plural quruun) is the horn of an animal, the summit or top of various things, and a century. In Persian, according to Steingass' dictionary dating from the 1880's, it means yoking together, the horns of an animal, a decade (in hadith, ten qarn makes one century), a generation, an age, a heat (of a race), and so on. 1. Shoghi Effendi's translations of `asr: A fleeting moment in this Day [yaum], excelleth centuries [quruun wa a`asaar] of a bygone day (ADJ 78) The holy ones of past ages and centuries [a`saar wa quruun].. (DOB 110) throughout all ages and centuries [a`saar wa 'aqraan] (Iqan 6) the eye of past ages and centuries [qaruun wa a`saar] (GPB 99) every age and century ['ahaad wa a`saar] (Iqan 81) in the annals of the past [`asr-ii az a`saar = any age of the ages] (ADJ 77) Centuries [qarnhaa], nay ages [a`saar] must pass (WOB 167) bygone ages [a`saar] have never witnessed (Gleanings 319) the ages [waqt wa zamaan wa quruun wa a`saar] in which they were promulgated (ESW 13) the days [a`saar] of every Manifestation (Iqan 118) your lost centuries [a`saar] (Aqdas, translated in Gleanings 138) generate, through successive ages [a`saar] (Gleanings 142) revolution of ages and centuries [al-quruun wa al-a`saar] (Gleanings 155) if, at one time [`asr], through the care of an able physician (Gleanings 255) no age ['asr] or dispensation [`ahdii] (GPB 28) this wondrous age ['asr] (PDC 120) has any age [`asr] witnessed (Gleanings 182) a new life is in this age [`asr] stirring (Gleanings 196) the divines of every age [`asr] (Iqan 16) this glorious century [`asr] (WOB 36) the learned men of that generation [`asr] (Gleanings 83) the divines of his day [`asr] (Gleanings 83) in every age and cycle [`ahd wa `asr] (Iqan 13) the point of adoration unto His Dispensation [`asr] (Iqan 51) the days [`asr wa `ahd] of Muhammad (Iqan 149) the divines and doctors living in the days [`asr] (Iqan 164) This is far from exhaustive. 2. Shoghi Effendi's translations of qarn throughout all ages and centuries [a`saar wa 'aqraan] (Iqan 6) ages [quruun] rolled away (Gleanings 145) past ages and centuries [al-quruun va al-a`saar] (Gleanings 14) Ye shall act as former generations [al-quruun] have acted (PDC 4) past ages and centuries [al-quruun] the revolution of ages and centuries [al-quruun va al-a`saar] in bygone ages [al-quruun] asked us (Gleanings 132) each day is reckoned as one century [qarn] (DOB 102) this divinely-illumined century [qarn] (DOB 110) Ere the close of this century and this age [qarn wa `asr] (DOB 111) this wondrous revelation, this glorious century [duur wa qarn] (PDC 119) this wondrous age, this glorious century [`asr ...wa qarn] (PDC 120) past ages [quruun] have been deprived, for this century [qarn] - the century [qarn] of light (PDC 120 - this is the "7 candles of unity" tablet.) the unity of nations, a unity which in this century [qarn] will be securely established (ditto) ere the close of this century [qarn] and of this age [`asr] (WOB 205) in every dispensation [qarn], the light of divine guidance (WOB 36) when Christ appeared, twenty centuries [qarn] ago (SAWB 44) This is a reasonably complete list. In all of this, there is just the one instance where qarn is translated as century and means 100 years, and that is the last one, where the reference is to twenty centuries. There are several others, including the Candles of Unity, where qarn is translated as century and is equivalent to 'age' or era or dispensation, and there are some where qarn or quruun is translated as age/ages (including the 7 Candles of Unity again). In the talks of Abdu'l-Baha, he uses `asr more than qarn: the corresponding texts in PUP have "century" but I understand it to mean an era. I can't cite you Shoghi Effendi's translations on that, or anyone else's, since most of these talks have not been translated. Sen ------- End of forwarded message ------- __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[email protected] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [email protected] Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
