Baha'i Baby Names; Words to Whisper in Newborn's Ear
Seeker
My wife and I are having a baby in early 2003 and want to get some
suggestions and guidelines for giving the baby a Baha'i middle name.
For example, for a boy, would Badi or Husayn be too pretentious?
I know of many women who are named Tahirih, so that seems ok.
What about non-Persian Baha'i names? How does that strike everyone?
Is anyone aware of any guidelines as to naming a baby in the Baha'i
Faith?
Lastly, did this NG ever conclude that there really *is* a tradition
of whispering certain words or phrases in the baby's ear at birth? Or
is that just Baha'i folklore?
Thanks in advance,
Cousin
Robin Baylor or Fred Capp
>My wife and I are having a baby in early 2003 and want to get some
>suggestions and guidelines for giving the baby a Baha'i middle name.
Congrats, I hope that the child is intelligent & healthy, & that
you're up to the challenge.
>For example, for a boy, would Badi or Husayn be too pretentious?
>I know of many women who are named Tahirih, so that seems ok.
I used to know somebody whose middle name was Shoghi. His parents
were concerned that he might, for some reason, be taken from them. As
such, they wanted him to have a reason to seek out the Faith for
himself later. I've known a few Abbas's and several Ali's, both as
initial & secondary names. I also think of the millions of Muhammad's
that live in Moslem countries. I think, too, about the plenitude of
Jesus's in Hispanic cultures. I don't think that you have too much to
be worried about.
>What about non-Persian Baha'i names? How does that strike everyone?
Give us an example or three. We named our youngest daughter "Aminda,"
which is Esperanto for "Loveable"; is that similar to what you mean?
(BTW: her middle name is "Rose")
>Is anyone aware of any guidelines as to naming a baby in the Baha'i
>Faith?
Aside from wisdom & compassion, I've never heard of any.
>Lastly, did this NG ever conclude that there really *is* a tradition
>of whispering certain words or phrases in the baby's ear at birth? Or
>is that just Baha'i folklore?
Still Kitab-i-hearsay to me.
>Thanks in advance,
No problem.
--
Fredrick B. Capp
If communication were a strong point in this world,
Wal-mart would be selling maypoles by the million
& violence would be studied by professors as a quaint
historical conceit.
Thomas K. Dye
William P. Collins
names of early Western believers: for our son the middle name Breakwell (for
Thomas Breakwell) and for our daughter the middle name Greenleaf (for
Charles and Elizabeth Greenleaf).
There is no Baha'i tradition or custom of whispering something in a
newborn's ear. However, my wife and I spoke aloud the short obligatory
prayer just after each of our children was born.
Bill Collins
"Seeker" <cousi...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:22648967.02061...@posting.google.com...
john haukness
This is something that individually would differ from one Baha'i to another.
I mean everyone whispers to baby's because babys do not like loud noises and
whispering is a part of life. And of course everyone will whisper something
to a child or baby that they think is loving, funny, or meaningful. Like Ya,
Baha, el Abha or whisper, "God is Glorious". But don't make it
superstitious.
First and middle names are past traditions that carry on into the Baha'i
Faith, somethings don't change in the Baha'i Faith and this is one of them.
The reasons for parents picking names are as diverse reasons as the
divirsity of names to choose from. Abdu'l Baha picking names for Eastern and
for Western Baha'is was likely more of a courtesy on His part to the
believers. But certainly we can emulate that. I am not sure that He or The
Guardian did not suggest western names like Lua (Getsinger) or George
(Townsand) to Eastern Baha'is. But it sounds like a wondeful idea to me.
Marth (Root) or John (Esselmont) too. Seems every bit as fitting and
meaningful as the historical Persian Baha'i names. And no, Badi or Husayn
are in no ways pretentious, they are meaningful and appropriate names only.
Now you also have Keith (Kiellor) where we can give a boy a famous Hand of
the Cause Baha'i girl's name. Hows that for a twist!All the best, john
Matt Menge
> Hello,
>
> My wife and I are having a baby in early 2003 and want to get some
> suggestions and guidelines for giving the baby a Baha'i middle name.
>
> For example, for a boy, would Badi or Husayn be too pretentious?
> I know of many women who are named Tahirih, so that seems ok.
I would recommend using one of the last names of the Hands of the
Cause, like Collins, or Townshend, or Sears (for Amelia Collins,
George Townshend, and William Sears).
>
> What about non-Persian Baha'i names? How does that strike everyone?
Yes, especially with first names, Middle Eastern names are inviting
schoolyard abuse.
>
> Is anyone aware of any guidelines as to naming a baby in the Baha'i
> Faith?
I very much doubt that there are any.
>
> Lastly, did this NG ever conclude that there really *is* a tradition
> of whispering certain words or phrases in the baby's ear at birth? Or
> is that just Baha'i folklore?
Don't know.
Best Regards,
Matt
Matt Menge
>
> What about non-Persian Baha'i names? How does that strike everyone?
Another thing you could try. Persian Baha'i names are often based on
concepts. For example Badi means 'wonderful', Tahirih means 'Pure'
and so forth. You could simply use words for 'wonderful' or 'pure' in
another language.
>
> Is anyone aware of any guidelines as to naming a baby in the Baha'i
> Faith?
One thing that Baha'u'llah did was re-name people. This suggests that
He didn't prefer giving people conventional names.
Best Regards,
Matt
Sizwe Cawe
How wonderful that you will be having a child in the near future and wish to
give it a "Baha'i name". There are quite a few Baha'i heroes out there.
Should you have a baby girl you might consider naming her in honour of one
of the women listed below:
Martha Root, Lua Getsinger, May Maxwell, Mary Sutherland Maxwell, Susan
Moody, Ella Bailey, Dorothy Baker, Amelia Collins, Clara Dunn, Loulie Albee
Mathews, Louisa Gregory, Agnes Alexander, Claire Gung, Effie Baker, Queen
Marie of Romania, Juliet Thompson, Lady Sara Louisa Blomfield, Marguerite
Sears, Phoebe Hearst, May Bolles, Elizabeth Stewart, Sarah Clock, Lillian
Kappes, Ethel Rosenberg, Laura Clifford Barney, Marion Jack, Helen Goodall,
Grace Ober, Alma Knobloch, Emily Scaramucci.
Kindest regards
Sizwe Cawe.
Hello,
Thanks in advance,
Cousin
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Sufi Baha'i
the Amr wa Khalq ( Revelation and Creation ), vol. iv,by Jinab-i-Fadil,
under heading of Salat al mulud ( Obligatory Prayer for the Newborn )
It is to be recited in the right ear thrice. I do not think
that the English translation is authorized. The `Arabic is by
the Bab. Other prayers are also given in that same section,
which provide an incredible source of material for reflexion
and deepening.
In English it is something like:
"I have come by God's command, have been made manifest for His
rememberance and have been created for the service of Him who is the
Almighty, the Well-Beloved."
cousi...@aol.com (Seeker) wrote in message news:<22648967.02061...@posting.google.com>...
> Hello,
Jane Hyman
thinking, looking a lists, etc. Both sons have rather standard western
names. Our second son has a middle name which is the name of one of the
Baha'i months. We asked one of the Persian Baha'is if it was OK. We got
some good suggestions. Whatever you do there is a good chance that the
child will not like it. ... be prepared for that
Best wishes,
Jane
----- Original Message -----
From: Seeker <cousi...@aol.com>
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
To: <bahai...@bcca.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 8:07 AM
Subject: Baha'i Baby Names; Words to Whisper in Newborn's Ear
khadooj
> > Lastly, did this NG ever conclude that there really *is* a tradition
> > of whispering certain words or phrases in the baby's ear at birth? Or
> > is that just Baha'i folklore?
Whispering in the baby's ear is Muslim tradition ,it is recommended
to whisper the Azaane in the right ear and the Eqama in the left ear.
The Azaan is the call to prayer it starts " Allah 'u' Akbar Allah'u'
Akbar....
The Bab who was a She'3a Muslim probably knew about it...
I'm a Sunni Muslim witch represent the majority, and naming a baby
Baha'u' Deen is well known from the grand Sufi Saint
Shah Naqshband.
Javan Barzakhi
news:aeijc0$g...@dispatch.concentric.net...
Baha'u' Deen is a nice name. I had never heard of it. I have always been
fascinated Shaykh Bahai name and how he adopted this name well before
Baha'u'llah's time. Even today in Islamic Iran there are streets and places
named after Seykh Bahai. Here is the story from "Explanation of the
Symbol of the Greatest Name" by A.Q. Faizi:
"At the time of Shah 'Abbas, the Persian King and contemporary of Queen
Elizabeth I, the greatest of all the divines of that age went to Persia from
Lebanon and established his residence in Isfahan which was then the royal
seat and the country's capital. This man had an encyclopaedic mind and he
wrote outstanding books on the arts, sciences, the literature and philosophy
of his age. There are many stories about him and his unique erudition and
genius. It is even said that he had invented a machine which reproduced
voices from distant lands. One of his discoveries was the Greatest Name, and
he adopted the name of "Bahá'í" for himself. Shaykh Bahá'í is unquestionably
the most renowned of all Persian divines. In one of his poetical works he
says, "The Greatest Name is unknown to man, but in the list of all the Names
of God it stands first." No doubt he had in mind the dawn prayer mentioned
above which opens with the name of Bahá."
The prayer referred above is explained in the same document:
"There is a very powerful prayer which the Shi'ah Muslims chant as a dawn
prayer during the month of the fast. The faithful believer awakens at dawn
to catch the melody of its tune as it is chanted from the minarets of
mosques or, in these days, is broadcast from the radio stations. In
introducing this prayer, Imam Rida has said, 'I swear by God that the
Greatest Name is found in this prayer. Had you known this, you would have
fought with swords to possess this prayer.' The opening words of this prayer
read as follows: 'O God! My God! I beseech Thee by Thy Bahá, Thy Bahá in its
entirety. I beseech Thee by all Thy Bahá.' The prayer then goes on
mentioning other Names of God including 'Beauty', 'Splendour', and all the
Names which are a part of the Bahá'í calendar. '"
Regards,
Javan.
Rick Dangerous
voices from distant lands"
Can anyone elaborate on this??? This line reminded me that i've been
wanting to find out about the following passage from the Tablets of
Baha'u'llah (pg150)
"Know thou, moreover, that the people aforetime have produced things which
the contemporary men of knowledge have been unable to produce. We recall
unto thee Murtús who was one of the learned. He invented an apparatus which
transmitted sound over a distance of sixty miles. Others besides him have
also discovered things which no one in this age hath beheld. Verily thy Lord
revealeth in every epoch whatsoever He pleaseth as a token of wisdom on His
part. He is in truth the supreme Ordainer, the All-Wise.
-- Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh
Does anyone know *anything* about this guy Murtus, when he lived, where he
lived, and what the heck he was doing building radios "aforetime". --I'm
sure Mr Morse would have been real dissapointed when St Peter told him that
the special place in heaven reserved for "the inventor of the telegraph" was
already taken by this guy Murtus.
There is archealogical evidence to back up the fact that learned Islamic uh
'engineers' were playing around with electricity in Baghdad about 800 years
ago. I remember seeing a photo of a crude chemical "battery" cell made out
of a clay/ceramic jar on show in some middle eastern museum.
Anyone know anything about this? got any pointers to more info i could look
at??
Sufi Baha'i
Baha ul-Din Zakariya, who must be the one who invented the radio.
It's in presnt day Pakistan, it's location described as:
Multan Division lies between north latitude 29'-22' and 30'-45 and
east longitude 71'-4' and 72'-4'55. It is located in a bend created by
five confluent rivers. The Sutlej separates it from Bahawaipur
District and the Chenab from Muzaffargarh district.
The Baha'i Faith is full of links to Sufi.
"Javan Barzakhi" <barz...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<pTHosD.A....@bounty.bcca.org>...
Brent Poirier
Bayan. Moojan Momen wrote a book titled "Materials for the Study of
the Babi and Baha'i Religions" and in it included excerpts from the
Bayan translated by E.G. Browne. I cannot locate my copy of that book
so can only paraphrase from memory. As I recall, the Bab stated that
in the future, parents will name their children with the names of God,
giving as examples Jud'u'llah and Baha'u'llah, and that the time will
come that everything on earth will therefore reflect the qualities of
God, even the names of people.
I think that this is likely an element in why the Bab named the months
and days of the week after the qualities of God; so that everything
reflects His names.
I do not know whether this is a teaching of the Bab that will be
carried into the future; I don't know if it was endorsed by
Baha'u'llah. It is interesting to note that Baha'u'llah named his son
Abbas, who later took the title `Abdu'l-Baha -- so the Manifestation
Himself did not always follow this course of action.
The Bab named His son Ahmad.
It might also be interesting to use some of the Baha'i search engines
to see what names `Abdu'l-Baha gave to the children of western
Baha'is. I know that he gave the name "Joseph" to Joseph Ioas, the
youngest brother of Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas, at the parents'
request for a name. He also gave spiritual names to a number of adult
Baha'is, such as Saffa and Vafa Kinney, Lua Getsinger, Sabet or Thabet
to Thornton Chase, and the like. The Greatest Holy Leaf gave the name
Ruhaniyyih to Ruth Moffett. I do not personally know of instances of
Shoghi Effendi giving names to the friends.
Brent
Brett
> of whispering certain words or phrases in the baby's ear at birth? Or
> is that just Baha'i folklore?
Although I can't provide specific words or phrases, I thought you
might be interested in the following:
"The great importance attached to the mother's role derives from the
fact
that she is the first educator of the child. Her attitude, her
prayers,
even what she eats and her physical condition have a great influence
on the child when it is still in the womb. When the child is born, it
is she who has been endowed by God with the milk which is the first
food designed for it, and it is intended that, if possible, she should
be with the baby to train and nurture it in its earliest days and
months. This does not mean that the father does not also love, pray
for, and care for his baby, but as he has the primary responsibility
of providing for the family, his time to be with his child is usually
limited, while the mother is usually closely associated with the baby
during this intensely formative time when it is growing and developing
faster than it ever will again during the whole of its life. As the
child grows older and more independent, the relative nature of its
relationship with its mother and father modifies and the father can
play a greater role."
(23 August 1984 to two believers, quoted in compilation on Women,
available on-line at:
http://bahai-library.org/compilations/women/women.html )
Brett