THE
QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ' OF
THE BĀB.
Part XVII
[17]
سورة
الباب
Sūrat al-Bāb
(The
Surah of the Gate)
on
Qur'ān 12:16
IN PROGRESS APRIL 2006
Spanning 2-3 pages of Arabic text Qayyūm al‑asmā'
surah XVII
(17) is entitled the Sūrat al-Bab (The Surah of the Gate).
This (non-qur'anic) title reflects Shi`i
imamological and messianic perspectives and alludes to the early
title of Sayyid `Ali Muhammad Shirazi, known as he Bāb or Gate to
the hidden Imam and to Divine knowledge. In neo-qur'anic
fashion it commences with the basmalah then cites (as
verse 2) Qur'an 12:16 which, in its original context, has to do
with Joseph's brothers returning to their
father Jacob-Israel to report the loss of Joseph to a wolf (see
Q.12:17ff). Verse 3 (of the QA) consist of the six isolated
letters A-L-M-`-R-A ( an extension of the qur'anic A-L-M )
having an abjad value of 242.
For the Bab
the first verbal word
commencing Q. 12:16, namely
َجَا
indicating "to come", straightway resonates with reminders
of the coming or advent of the messianic Bab through whom
communication with the occulted Dhikr is possible.
سورة الباب
[1]
بسم اللّه الرحمن الرحيم
In
the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
[2]
(Qur'an
12:16)
وَجَاؤُواْ أَبَاهُمْ عِشَاء يَبْكُونَ
"And they
[Joseph's brothers] came at nightfall to their father [Jacob]
weeping" (al-malik);
[3]
آلمعرآ
[abjad = 242]
A-L-M-`-R-A
[4]
ذلك الكتاب لاريب فيه هدی من عند اللّه الحقّ للعالمين
جميعاً
This Book hath no
doubt within it for it is a guidance from God, the Truth (al-haqq)
unto all the worlds.
[5]
و انّا نحن قد جعلناه هدی لعبادنا من كان فی ذلك الباب علی
الباب علی الحقّ بالحقّ حول المإ مشهوداً
And We made it a
guidance unto Our servants through that Bab (Gate), in very
Truth, according to that Bab (Gate),
for such was
assuredly witnessed about the Cosmic Water (al-mā').
[6]
و انّا نحن نبشرك بنفس من نفسنا الّذی قد كان علی الحقّ بالحقّ حول
النّار زكيّاً
And [therein do ] We give
good tidings of a Logos-Soul [Personna] (nafs) from Our
Logos-Souls (anfus)
who was, in very truth,
purified (zakiyy an ) about the [Sinaitic] Fire (al-nār
).
[7]
فاذا جإكم الحقّ
فاتّبعوه و انّ اللّه قد جعلناه فی الكتاب منّا علی الحقّ
بالحقّ محسوبا
And since theTrue One
hath come unto you then follow him for God hath indeed, in very
truth, made him to be a Bounty as reckoned in the Book.
[8]
و انا نحن قد جعلناه علی علم الكتاب باذن اللّه العلیّ من
نقطة النّار عليماً
We Indeed made him, with
the permission of God, the Exalted, One all-Knowing (`alim
an)
[established] about the
Point of the [Sinatic] Fire (nuqṭat al-nār).
[9]
و انّا نحن قد سددناه من عند ؟ اللّه الّذی لا اله الّا هو و كان
اللّه علی كلّ شیء قديراً
[10]
يا عباد اللّه
ان تسئلوه من
شیء و لا يجيبكم علی الحقّ فلاتحزنوا فانّه قد كان بامر اللّه من
عندنا علی الحقّ بالحقّ ساكناً محموداً
O
Servants of God!
They
did question one another about him, about something, but
you were unable, in very truth, to achieve an answer!
And
weep ye not for he was indeed one tranquil [established] (sākin
an), praiseworthy (maḥmūd an) in the Cause
of God which cometh from Us.
[11]
و انّا قد
اريناك من الامر فی منامك الحقّ و لو تطّلعهم بالغيب لتنازعوا علی
الامر و انّ اللّه ربّك الحقّ قد كان بما فی الصّدور عليماً
We
indeed enabled thee to vision the Cause (al-amr) in thy truthful
sleep state (manām).
And
should these persons be raised up unto the realm of the
unseen (al-ghayb) they would assuredly quarrel together about
the Cause.
But God
thy Lord is the True One who hath ever been all-Knowing about
what is [hidden] in the breasts [of humankind].
[12]
و انّا
لانغيّر علی قوم بشیء من النّعمة الّا قد سبقت الانفس منهم
بالتّغيير علی آلائنا
فذوقوا عذاب
السّعير بما كنتم عن ذلك الباب مردوداً انّ ربّكم اللّه قد كان
بعباده قويّاً و عليماً
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36]
[37]
[38]
[39]
[40]
يا اهل الارض
لاتسلكوا مع
الذّكر الاكبر ممّا قد فعلت الاميّة بالحسينٌ علی غير الحقّ فی
الارض المقدّسة تاللّه الحقّ
انّه
هو الحقّ و كان اللّه عليه شهيداً
O
Peoples of the Earth!
Contend
ye not with the [messianic] Supreme Remembrance (al-dhikr al-akbar)
after the manner of what the `Umayyads, bereft of the Truth,
committed
against [Imam] Ḥusayn (martyred 650 CE) in the Sacred Land (al-ard
al-muqaddas)
[Karbala
in Ottoman Iraq = the "Holy Land"]
By God!
He was indeed the True One and God Himself was
indeed a witness unto this.
(cf.
SWB ADD).
[41]
و لقد
جاؤنا المؤمنون
عِشَاء
بعد الكتاب تعلمون خبيراً
We did
indeed bring the believers "at the commencement of nightfall' (
`ishā') (=Q. 12:16b) to the end that they come to a
distinct
knowledge
of the Book.
[42]
و قل
للمؤمنين لاتتّبعوا الشّيطان فانّه قد كان فی كتاب اللّه للمؤمنين
عدوّاً مبيناً
And Say
ye unto the believers,
`Follow
ye not Satan (al-shayṭān) for he was accounted a manifest
enemy for the believers in the Book of God.
______________________________________________
SELECT
CRITICAL NOTES
[5] Mss.
