Towards the Summit of Reality: An Introduction to the Study of Baha'u'llah's Seven Valleys and Four Valleys

by Julio Savi

During his sojourn in Sulaymaniyah in the 1850s Bahá'u'lláh came into contact with eminent Sufi leaders. In the Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, epistles revealed for two of them, He sets forth the foundations of a renewed spiritual path. 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the Seven Valleys as a guide for human conduct .

This major new study focuses on the historical, doctrinal and literary background of the Seven Valley and the Four Valleys, and on Bahá'u'lláh s revision of Sufi concepts in the light of the teachings of His new Revelation.

Genres: Baha I

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Gwendolyn Neal]

Offers a lot of good information about Sufism and Baha'u'llah's audience and context, and clears up the symbols and stories Western readers might not know about. Beyond this, Savi presents some of his own exegesis, which I found reasonable but preachy. It makes sense though, since he probably knows that only Bahá'ís are reading this. I think the first and the last sections are great reads for Bahá'ís interested in mysticism, but the rest maybe better serves as a reference work; I skipped the longer lists of symbols and Arabic technical terms, though I'm sure these would be helpful if I had the specific interest.