writings

The Bahá’í Sacred Writings for use in Rust projects and APIs.

Source

All of the Writings are downloaded directly from https://www.bahai.org/library. The downloaded HTML is included in the html folder.

Structure

Each type of Writings has its own struct, e.g. HiddenWord, PrayerParagraph, and GleaningsParagraph, which are hopefully explanatory of the unit the struct represents. In this way, an excerpt from the Writings can be precisely referenced.

The ref_id in each struct represents the exact reference ID at which the struct points to at https://www.bahai.org/r/`ref_id`. For example, Persian Hidden Word #3 can be accessed directly at https://www.bahai.org/r/607855955. Hence, its struct will have ref_id == "607855955". This is a String, not a u32 or other integer type, because www.bahai.org currently requires leading zeroes, and to ensure future compatibility, it is not assumed integers of a fixed length will always be used.

The text field of each struct is the exact plain text as extracted from the downloaded HTML.

Other fields of each struct have their own documentation, depending on the type.

Usage

Embed All

When ::all() is invoked on one of the structs implementing the EmbedAllTrait, the HTML for that Work is parsed into the relevant structs once (very fast) and stored in a LazyLock<T>.

Example: Hidden Words

use writings::{HiddenWord, HiddenWordKind, EmbedAllTrait as _};

let hw = HiddenWord::all()
    .iter()
    .find(|hw| hw.kind == HiddenWordKind::Persian && hw.number == Some(37))
    .cloned()
    .unwrap();

assert_eq!(
    hw,
    HiddenWord {
        ref_id: "998408191".to_string(),
        kind: HiddenWordKind::Persian,
        number: Some(37),
        prelude: Some(concat!("In the first line of the Tablet it is recorded and written,",
            " and within the sanctuary of the tabernacle of God is hidden:").to_string()),
        invocation: Some("O My Servant!".to_string()),
        text: concat!("Abandon not for that which perisheth an everlasting dominion,",
            " and cast not away celestial sovereignty for a worldly desire. This is the river",
            " of everlasting life that hath flowed from the wellspring of the pen of the merciful;",
            " well is it with them that drink!").to_string(),
    }
);

Example: Gleanings

use writings::{GleaningsParagraph, EmbedAllTrait as _};

let gleanings = GleaningsParagraph::all()
    .iter()
    .filter(|hw| hw.text.contains("all things visible and invisible"))
    .cloned()
    .collect::<Vec<_>>();

assert_eq!(gleanings.len(), 3);

let results = gleanings.iter().map(|g| (g.number, g.roman.as_str(), g.paragraph)).collect::<Vec<_>>();
assert_eq!(results, vec![
    (11, "XI", 3),
    (49, "XLIX", 1),
    (90, "XC", 2),
]);

assert!(gleanings[0].text.starts_with(concat!("No sooner had her voice reached that most exalted Spot",
    " than We made reply: “Render thanks unto thy Lord, O Carmel. The fire of thy separation from Me was",
    " fast consuming thee, when the ocean of My presence surged before thy face, cheering thine eyes and",
    " those of all creation, and filling with delight all things visible and invisible.")));

Example: Prayers

use writings::{PrayerKind, PrayerParagraph, EmbedAllTrait as _};

let prayer = PrayerParagraph::all()
    .iter()
    .find(|p| {
        p.kind == PrayerKind::General
            && p.section
                .iter()
                .any(|s| s.contains("Western States")
            && p.paragraph == 2)
    })
    .cloned()
    .unwrap();

assert_eq!(
    &prayer.text,
    concat!(
        "O God! O God! This is a broken-winged bird and his flight is very slow—assist him so that he may",
        " fly toward the apex of prosperity and salvation, wing his way with the utmost joy and happiness",
        " throughout the illimitable space, raise his melody in Thy Supreme Name in all the regions,",
        " exhilarate the ears with this call, and brighten the eyes by beholding the signs of guidance."
    )
);

Languages

Currently, only English is available in this crate. If reliable authoritative sources can be found for other languages, it is hoped they will be added. عربي (Arabic) and فارسی (Farsi / Persian) will be added if there is demand and someone versed in these languages can help ensure the accuracy of the implementation.

TODO: More docs...

License: MIT AND Bahá’í International Community License