A practical guide to navigating the Phelps Project, the Baha’i Library Online, and the AI translations
Someone recently told me on Facebook that he couldn’t find the translation of Lawh‑i‑Sarraj, which I have been discussing in recent blog posts. That didn’t surprise me. Finding this tablet, or any tablet in the Phelps AI‑translation collection, is not straightforward. Unless you know how the system works, nothing is easy to find.
Update — June 2026: I’ve added two notes at the end of this post: a direct link to the correct Netlify volume for Lawh‑i‑Sarraj, and a link to Steve Phelps’s newly released PDF edition. These make the process simpler than described below.
This post explains the basics of the Phelps Project, how it connects to the Baha’i Library Online, and finally, how to locate Lawh‑i‑Sarraj (or any other tablet) in the Phelps AI‑translation collection.
An Overview of the Phelps Project
Over many years, Steven Phelps has created a four‑part digital environment that allows readers to study the Baha’i writings at scale. Each of the project’s four tools lives on its own platform, with its own data structures and logic. These are the four pillars.
Pillar 1 — The Inventory (a catalogue of the writings)
A Partial Inventory of the Works of the Central Figures of the Baha’i Faith (the Inventory) lists every known tablet of the Bab, Baha’u’llah, and ‘Abdu’l‑Baha, whether authenticated or provisional. It has two large volumes, in PDF:
- Volume 1: thousands of catalog entries
- Volume 2: a subject index
Each entry follows a consistent format. Every work has an ID or PIN, a unique identifier assigned by Phelps, which combines an author code with a number. For example, the PIN for Lawh‑i‑Sarraj is BH00006, where BH indicates Baha’u’llah. Entries also record first lines, dates, recipients, subject categories, word counts, and manuscript relationships.
The latest version of the Inventory (May 2025) can be browsed or downloaded from the Loom of Reality website: https://blog.loomofreality.org/?page_id=252.
Pillar 2 — The Loom of Reality (a thematic map of the writings)
The Loom of Reality is a thematic index of over 6,000 passages, mostly from the Baha’i Reference Library, arranged into a structured hierarchy of topics. It can be accessed at: https://loom.loomofreality.org.
The homepage is split into two, with a description of the resource on the left and an interactive “Outline of Topics” on the right. The outline offers five broad subject areas, and includes the options to browse by topic or source, or use the Search box.
The Loom’s quotations now appear inside the Partial Inventory Explorer (see below), but they haven’t yet been fully linked to Inventory PINs. This means the Explorer includes Loom material, though the integration is still in progress.
Pillar 3 — The Partial Inventory Explorer (a search database)
Released in mid‑2025, the Partial Inventory Explorer is an interactive resource that functions like an AI chatbot. Users can type keywords, ask questions, or browse subject categories. The Explorer draws on data from the Inventory, official translations, AI‑generated extracts, and secondary sources.
It is hosted in Google’s NotebookLM:
https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/5eff8d63-61c9-4a96-80ad-779cbe11d156
Crucially, the Explorer can reveal the PIN of a tablet, which is essential for finding its translation in the AI‑translation collection.
Pillar 4 — The AI Translations (the text of the writings)
A large collection of AI translations of Baha’u’llah’s writings, generated by Phelps, has been made publicly accessible through a Netlify site created by an individual volunteer:
https://bhcollection.netlify.app
From this site, readers can view partial or full translations of the 11,924 works of Baha’u’llah listed in the Inventory. (Translations of the Bab and ‘Abdu’l‑Baha are not hosted in this way.)
Phelps, who is knowledgeable in Arabic and Persian, has added editorial notes to some translations. These AI translations are provisional, consistent in style and vocabulary, and surprisingly readable. Where official translations are available, these have been included and not an AI translation.
The entire set can be downloaded in PDF or DOCX format.
The Public Home for the Phelps Tools
Recently, several components of the Phelps Project have been mirrored on the Baha’i Library Online, giving them a public interface. This does not replace the Phelps platform; rather, it gives the tools a second home and extends some of their features, offering a stable, navigable library environment that makes them accessible to a wider audience.
The Library hosts:
- The Inventory: https://bahai-library.com/inventory/
- The Partial Inventory Explorer: https://bahai-library.com/phelps_partial_inventory_explorer
- The Loom index: https://bahai-library.com/phelps_loom_reality_topics
However — and this is key — the AI‑translation collection (Pillar 4) is not hosted on the Library.
It is only available on the Netlify site.
How to Find Lawh‑i‑Sarraj (or any other tablet)
Finding Lawh‑i‑Sarraj is not straightforward because the AI translations are stored on Netlify. They cannot be accessed through the Partial Inventory Explorer or the Baha’i Library.
In addition, the Netlify files are organised only by PIN, not by title. The Netlify interface also hides the file browser behind a very small, easily overlooked control.
Here is the procedure.
Step 1 — Ask the Partial Inventory Explorer for the PIN
Open the Explorer:
https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/5eff8d63-61c9-4a96-80ad-779cbe11d156
In the chat box, type:
“What is the PIN for Lawh‑i‑Sarraj?”
The Explorer will reply with BH00006, a short description, and an excerpt.
You can find the PIN in the Inventory PDF, but the Explorer is faster and more user‑friendly.
Step 2 — Go to the Phelps AI‑Translation Site
Visit: https://bhcollection.netlify.app/
At first glance, it looks like a simple webpage with no navigation. This is where most users get stuck.
Step 3 — Open the hidden file browser (the tiny box in the top left)
In the top left corner is a small box labelled “Phelps Collection – Baha’u’llah” with a tiny down‑arrow that is barely visible. It does not look like a navigation element.
Click the box. A list of 16 files appears, each covering a range of PINs:
- Collection BH00001 to BH00019.html
- Collection BH00020 to BH00068.html
- …
- Collection BH11108 to BH11924.html
Each file contains dozens or hundreds of tablets. All files are large.
Step 4 — Identify which file you need
Because Lawh‑i‑Sarraj has PIN BH00006, it appears in the first file:
Collection BH00001 to BH00019.html
Click the file to open it, or download it and open it locally.
Step 5 — Find the tablet within the file
The easiest method is to use the Find function in your browser or other software.
Phelps uses a clear convention to mark the beginning and end of each tablet:
- === START BH00006 ===
- === END BH00006 ===
Search for START BH00006 and you will be taken directly to the tablet.
Scrolling is not practical in these very large files. File number 1 begins with long works such as the Kitab‑i‑Aqdas and Kitab‑i‑Iqan, so searching by PIN is essential.
Conclusion
The research ecosystem developed by Steven Phelps is vast. Its tools were built at different times, for different purposes, and only recently have they begun to interlock. Understanding the whole system in any depth requires some familiarity with metadata structures. If the edges feel blurry, that’s fine — you don’t need the details, only a doorway into it.
Update – June 2026
Since writing this guide, I’ve learned that each Netlify file has its own stable URL. If you want to go directly to the file that contains Lawh‑i‑Sarraj (BH00006), you can use this link:
https://bhcollection.netlify.app/Collection%20BH00001%20to%20BH00019.html
Within that file, search for START BH00006.
The rest of the instructions in this post still apply when locating other tablets.
Steve Phelps has now made a new 192‑volume, parallel‑text edition of the writings publicly available. Each volume presents the original text and an AI‑assisted translation side by side, with the translations arranged in chronological order rather than by PIN. The paragraphs are also numbered, and the translations have been cleaned up.
The full set can be accessed here: https://blog.loomofreality.org/?page_id=252
For readers who wish to consult this edition, Lawh‑i‑Sarraj appears in Volume 34, pp. 93-174.