The notes on this page will carry information that is most likely to be updated with each release, excepting the first few paragraphs. The notes will make reference to any points of especial note in the latest and in previous releases, will include notes on work currently in progress and indications of the progress toward goals.

This is also the proper place to acknowledge with deep love and affection my wife, without whose patience, understanding and support this labour of love would not be possible. Work over the years has required the strenuous exercise of many many hours - the evenings on return from work after tea and conversation; the often late evenings and the frequent sleepless nights; the early mornings when, with the household asleep I snuck from my bed to return to development; the regular mutterings and exclamations as problems were pondered and solutions discovered; the material costs of purchase of the latest editions of Books seen to be necessary; not to mention my ongoing participation in the Bahá’í community in its activities and in the discharge of duties and tasks both appointed and volunteered. To simply say “Thank you” is so utterly inadequate; there are no words that can suitably express my sentiments and emotions.

Pop-ups are used extensively throughout the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Project. Their purpose is to allow access to the information held via the chosen link, without leaving the place where the link is found. They will need to be allowed.

A list will also be found at the bottom of this page of items included in the A-Z indices which are not in the original hardcopy. These will be removed as they are transferred to the ‘Comprehensive’ indices. This will return the existing A-Z to correctly reflect that found in the original, while retaining them in a readily accessible place. Should a future edition of the hardcopy include these entries in the A-Z, they will be added to this online version then.

Design considerations and goals (which, as a general rule, will remain fairly static), and the reason(s) for constructing this HTML version of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, will be found on the ‘WhatWhy’ page.

Advice of errors, constructive comments and suggestions for future enhancements are always welcome. Contact can be made via the feedback link at the bottom of each page, or alternatively using the contact link on the ‘Other’ page.

It must be remembered that the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Project is a concept, not a product, albeit it is a concept that must behave as a product. It is an effort that, to achieve all the goals, for it to reach the point where it is the full-grown tool envisaged, cannot be completed in my own lifetime—instead, small examples are put forward in the hope that, after my death, others can, under the auspices of their local or national Houses of Justice (known today as Spiritual Assemblies) and/or of the Universal House of Justice, carry it forward, whether in its current form or in another, to the stage (and yet further) where all Houses of Justice and their dependancies can find it a useful tool to assist in their deliberations, while the individual may find in it one more valuable resource to aid in their personal development and to guide them in their relationship with God and with society. For the Law of God is greater than “thou shall” and “thou shall not”—it is a Cord that binds us to the Source of All, an unfailing protection and an unerring advisor; to quote from the Text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Paragraph 5):

Having said that, collaborators are needed to assist in the further development of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Project. Though some capacity for collaborators to assist in the creation of HTML pages exists, the primary task required is in the development of indices. This is not something that can be automated, it can only be done with a human mind and the spirit of understanding, a capacity to examine context and evaluate relevance. The existing indices for the Kitab-i-Aqdas must be completely redeveloped. Indices must be created for every one of the compilations that appear within the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Project, cross-referenced to and from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Now that “Lights of Guidance” is available, the indices for that too must be redeveloped in a similar way, again cross-referenced to and from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. All these separate indices must become amalgamated within the new ‘Comprehensive’ indices, the purpose being that the Kitáb-i-Aqdas becomes the core and all the addition material – the compilations, letters and otherwise – exist to provide illumination and extra guidance on the content and meaning of the Text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. If interested, please send me an email at collaborators@aqdasproject.com. For those who may be interested in building HTML pages, start by having a look at the first (and very rough) draft of the developers guide.

The Study Guide now being complete, attention has turned to the ‘Comprehensive’ indices. These are intended to carry a completely remodelled version of the original A-Z, including new entries, and to cross-link between other volumes and works included in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Project. They are built on the concept of Themes and Subjects. Themes have subjects, and subjects can themselves become Themes with subjects of their own. No subject should appear more than once in the indices, as many Themes may link to the one subject. By only allowing a subject to appear once within the indices, should there be updates or changes these only need to be updated in one place, not in multiple places (with the attendant risk of missing one).

The creation and inclusion of the dictionary continues slowly. The goal is to include the dictionary in at least one new Paragraph with each release, more if other tasks allow the time. It has already, even at this early stage, undergone a number of incarnations, and though (for the moment) satisfied with the design, it is possible that the future will see changes. Due to the enormity of the task, it will come to full fruition over only over a lengthy period. Information on accessing the dictionary from a word is found on the ‘Navigation’ page. The dictionary can also be accessed separately from the secondary menu on the ‘Table of Contents’ page.

Audio recordings of the Paragraphs have been completed, and planning is under way to record the ‘Questions and Answers’. It is not intended at this stage to make audio recordings of the Notes, though this is liable to change if need is perceived.

The inclusion of the Texts referenced throughout the Notes has, for the moment, been completed. It is fully recognised that there are still a number of quotes which could have been included, most specifically from the works of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi. These have been put to one side for inclusion at a later date, when the full text of the relevant volumes has been included. In most instances it will require a large segment of the relevant chapter, more than there is time currently available to do.

It must at this point be noted that the choice of inclusions in the current ‘Related’ indices is subjective; for many entries in the A-Z, not all references appeared to be specifically relevant to the Paragraph being forward-indexed. By the same token, it is certain, with this first effort at forward-indexing of the Most Holy Book, that much that is specifically related to a verse has not been indexed. With time, these will become obvious and included.

Work on the addition of Texts on similar themes as the Paragraphs of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is moving very slowly - one could almost say it has come to a standstill. Priority has moved to building the ‘Comprehensive’ indices, and in the process ensuring that already included material is properly indexed before going ahead and adding more.

The inclusion of letters and other documents giving decisions, guidance and advice from the Universal House of Justice has also been, for the moment, put to one side. Questions have arisen in this one’s mind about the formatting, the content and the style. Examining the various compilations available, it is felt that it may be best to first include and index those references, and later, when more time becomes available, to return to the inclusion of the full text of the letters and other documents from the Universal House of Justice. Those documents already included, however, will for the moment remain just as they are in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Project while all the ramifications are carefully weighed and examined.

All changes and updates have been tested under Windows (Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2) and Linux (Firefox and Konqueror).

Warmest greetings

Romane

The following references have been added to and will be found in the A-Z indices. During the construction, various references were found indexed in one part of the alpha-listings but not in another or, as in the case for the entries for e.g. ‘Peace’, appear to have been missed when the index was first built for the hardcopy version. Once again, it is certain that many entries have still to be located and added. It was felt a record needed to be available to be able to distinguish differences between the original and the online version. Should these entries ever become part of an edition of the hardcopy, then they will be removed from here.