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XXII (32) سورة الحیّ Sūrat al-Ḥayy ("The Surah of the Living One")
on Qur'ān 12:31
Text and Translation in progress and correction 2007-8 Introductory Note The thirty second part of my provisional translation of the Qayyūm al-asmā’ (= QA) of the Bāb (mid. 1844/1260) with selected notes was begun in the early 1980s and is now being corrected. I have not translated from a critical edition but consulted several good mss. The versification of the surahs is sometimes uncertain. The Bāb himself stated that there should be forty-two verses in each surah of the QA as accords with the abjad numerical value of lī meaning "before me" in Q. 12:4b (Ar. لي = l + ī = 30+10= 40) and another two representative of "the sun and the moon" (40+2 = 42). This figure is explicitly confirmed in the Bāb's Khuṭba al-dhikriyya (" The Sermon of the Remembrance") where it is stated in the context of an imamologically numbered categorization of the early works (dating from 1260-1262 AH):
The same 42 mode of surah versification of the QA., is evident in certain mss. of this work; most notably the early 1261 (QA ms. 1261) Muhammad Mahdī ibn Karbalā'ī, mss. where QA1 and 2 (and other surah headings) have following words after the surah title and in between the basmala, wa hiya ithnā' [tāni] wa arba`ūn "and it [the Surah] has forty two verses". Yet, having said this, in QA32 I have versified very tentatively, especially in the last few verses. QA 32 is entitled `The Surah of the Living' or the `Surah of the Living One' (surat al-hayy). The word حیّ Ḥayy is one of the most important Names of God, of the `Essence of God' (dhāt Allāh), and is among the traditional ninety-nine 'Most Beautiful' Names spoken about by the prophet Muhammad according to both Sunni and Shi`i collections of tradition. Ḥayy has an abjad numerical value of 18 : H = 8 and Y = 10 total = 18. The Bab's first disciples were called the hurufat al-Hayy as they were 18 in number. Aside from this al-hayy has a key position among the most centrally important Names of God. It is several times paired in the Qur'an, as very frequently in Babi and Baha'i sacred writings, with the Name of God al-qayyum ("the Self-Subsisting"). God is often called الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ al-hayy al-qayyum = "the Living, the Self-Subsisting". A key example is found towards the beginning of the qur'anic آية الكرسى (`Throne Verse', ayat al-kursī) (Q. 2:255).
The Qur'anic Context: Zulaykha and the women of the court (Q. 12:23ff)
ADD NOTES HERE
QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ' Part XXXII (32) سورة الحیّ Sūrat al-Ḥayy ("The Surah of the Living One") on Qur'ān 12:31 _____________ Trans. Stephen N. Lambden. [1-2] بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
كهيعق Kāf-Hā-Ya'-`Ayn-Qāf K-H-Y-`-Q [Abjad = 205] [4-5]
[4] The Remembrance (Dhikr) is the Power of God (dhikr qudrat Allāh) in the Greatest Word (kalimat al-akbar) who is this Youth (al-ghulām). Unto him, the believers (al-mu'minūn) said , `In very truth, are you One Elevated [`Alī] (`aliyy an) [5] Say: He is God, [Who is] One, no God is there except Him. Neither wakefulness nor sleep distract Him for He is indeed the One Who created human servants (al-`ibād) through His Power, in truth a Bounty according to the way of the Bāb. And He is God, Who hath ever been a Witness unto all things.[6-9] و انّا نحن قد اغرسنا بايدينا فی جنّة الخلد للذّكر الاكبر هذا الغلام علی ارض المقدّسة اشجاراً علی هيكل السّدس فی الثّلث مرفوعا الی السّماء العرش متروّحاً علی هيئة الرّيحان ريحانا تاللّه لقد وجد الذّكر من ثمراتها يوم البدء كل الاثمار ما لارأت عين الا عينه و لاسمعت اذن الا سمعه و لاخطر علی قلب انسان الا قلبه و انّه قد كان فی امّ الكتاب علی الحقّ بالحقّ حكيما و انّا نحن بنينا بايدينا للذكر الاكبر هذ الفتی العربیّ فی جنّة الفردوس قصراً محمّراً عن قطعة الياقوت مرفوعاً الی سماء العرش كالمرآت المخلّصة تحكی بعضها عن الكل و ذلك الفوز الاكبر قد كان فی كتاب اللّه البدء مكتوبا ً فسوف تجد ذلك القصر عند ربّك فی ارض من الزّعفران البيضاء علی مطلع القدس وسيعاً [6] And We indeed planted with Our own hands in the Paradise of Eternity (jannat al-khuld) for the Greatest Remembrance (al-dhikr al-akbar) [who is] this Youth (al-ghulām), Trees (ashjār an) of sixfold Configuration (haykal) in threefold [form] (haykal al-suds fi'l-thulth) [= letter "w" و = wāw abjad 6 with 3 letters?] upon sacred soil, raised aloft towards that Heaven which is the Divine Throne (al-`arsh) , wafting an aromatic scent in the form of sweet basil (al-raiḥān). [7] By God! He did indeed discover the Remembrance (al-dhikr) through their fruits (thamarāt), on the day of the budding of all of their fruits, the like of which no eye had ever seen save His, and no ear had ever heard except His, for [such a thing] had never occurred to the human heart except unto His heart! And He was, in very truth, One reckoned Wise in the Mother Book (umm al-kitāb).[8] And We did indeed establish with Our own hands for the Greatest Remembrance (al-dhikr al-akbar), this Arabian Youth (al-fatā al-`arabī), in the Garden of Paradise (jannat al-firdaws) a Crimson hued Citadel (qaṣr an muḥammar an) hewn out of Ruby (yaqut), raised up aloft towards the heaven of the Divine Throne (samā' al-`arsh) [appearing] like unto purified mirrors (al-mirāt al-mukhliṣat), to impart but a portion thereof for such [an edifice] is [in reality expressive of] the Supreme Achievement (al-fawz al-akbar). It hath indeed been written up in the Book of God (kitāb Allāh al-bida') which is Generative (al-ba/ida'). [9] Thou shall come to discover that Citadel ( qaṣr an) nigh thy Lord in the land of Za`fārān (Saffron) which is Snow-White (al-bayḍā'), spacious (wasī`an). above the Dawning-Place of Holiness (maṭla` al-quds). [10-21] يا قرّة العين فادع النّاس الی دين اللّه العلیّ كما قد شاء اللّه فی حقّك انّه قد كان بالعالمين محيطاً و ذكّرهم بايّام اللّه الّذی قد كان فی هذ الباب ذكراً علی الذّكر عظيماً و احذر النّاس من عذاب اللّه الاكبر الّذی قد كان فی امّ الكتاب فی قطب النّار تنكيلاً فسوف تجد بالحقّ علیّ الحقّ جزائك عندنا ممّا لم يقدّر اللّه كمثله شيئا و لا علی الحقّ نظيراً و انّا نحن قد كشفنا الاغيار من عين عبدنا الّذی قد كان فی هذه الايّام علی الحقّ الاكبر كما قد شاء اللّه فی حقّه انّه قد كان بالعالمين حليماً فلقد رأی كل ما قد رأيناه فی مكانه بلا كيف و لا اشارة محدودة من دون الحدّ و قد كان الكلّ لديه علی الحقّ بالحقّ مشهوداً
فاستغفروا للّه فی اسحاركم فسوف تجدون اللّه ربّكم الرّحمن بالحقّ غفّاراً و علی الباب رحيماً و انّا قد جعلنا اللّيل لكم علی الباب لباساً و اليوم علی الذّكر لدی الذكر ثباتاً و اذكروا اللّه فی هذا الباب ذكراً كثيراً ممّا قد كان عند ربّكم الرّحمن محموداً و سبّحوه فی ذلك الباب بكرة و اصيلاً فسوف تجدون اعمالكم عند اللّه فی لوح قد كان من ايدی الذّكر علی الحقّ بالحقّ مكتوباً [10] O Qurrat al-`Ayn! [= the Bāb] Call the people unto the Exalted Religion of God (dīn Allāh) even as God hath willed respecting thy Truth (ḥaqq). He, verily is One Who encompasses all the worlds. [11] So remind them [the people] of the Days of God (ayyām Allāh) Who hath ever been mindful (dhikr an) of this Gate (bāb) according to a mighty recollection (al-dhikr `azīm an). [12] And warn the people about the greatest torment of God (`aḍab Allāh al-akbar) which was [registered] in the Mother Book (umm al-kitab) as being tortuous (tankīl an) at centre of hellfire (quṭh al-nār). [13] Thou shalt, in very truth, find thy portion to be with Us, something such that God Himself could not, in any way, estimate its like or, in truth, produce anything comparable. [14] And We disclosed things unique (al-aghyār) which, in the estimation of Our servant (`abd) [the Bab], were, during these days, in very truth, the greatest (al-akbar) just as God Himself hath willed regarding His Truth (ḥaqq). He was indeed One Gentle (ḥalīm) with respect to all the worlds. [15] He indeed saw everything that We did see in its place (makān) without knowing how and without any delimiting allusion (ishāra maḥdūda) outside of any measure determined (min dun al-ḥadd). All such was, in very truth, proximate unto Him and witnessed. [16] Thus God would have thee beware (ḥ-dh-r) of His Own Self (nafs)! except, that is, they should act after the [earlier] example, after the manner (mithl an) of the [previous four] Gates (abwāb). He is God, Who, no God is there except Him. Nothing is like unto Him. God hath ever been all-encompassing of all the worlds. [17] So seek ye forgiveness before God! at thy dawn times (asḥār an) when you shall indeed find God, thy Lord, the All-Merciful, in very truth, forgiving and mercifully inclined towards the Gate (al-bāb). [18] We, verily, we made the night for thee to be a garment (libās an) and the day an enfolding [thereof] (thibāt an). [19] And they do recollect (dh-k-r) God in this Gate (bāb) with a comprehensive recollection (dhikr an kathīr an) of that which hath ever been praiseworthy (maḥmūd an) before thy Lord, the All-Merciful. [20] And they do genuinely (aṣīl an) glorify Him in this Gate (al-bab) in the morning time (bukra). [21] Thou shalt discover thy deeds before God, in very truth, written up in a Tablet (lawḥ) by the hands of the Remembrance (al-dhikr).
و انّا نحن قد انزلنا الكتاب علی الكلمة الاكبر و لقد جعلناه بالحقّ نقطة وسطا علی العدل ليكون الذّكر عليكم سلطانا من عندنا علی الحقّ بايات محكمات و لقد امضينا حكمه باذن اللّه علی الحقّ بالحقّ حول الماء مقضيّاً و انّ هذا لهو الحقّ فی امّ الكتاب لدينا بالحقّ البديع علی الكلمة المنيع من نقطة النّار علی جبل البرد مبعوثاً و انّا نحن قد اخّرنا علی كلمتنا يعقوب فی امر يوسف حزنا علی الحقّ و قد كان الامر فی امّ الكتاب عظيماً و ذلك لمّا قد وقف فی امرنا عند مطلع قدرتنا فی هذا الفتی العربیّ اقرب من لمح العين و قد كان العين منه فی امّ الكتاب قريباً [22] And We, indeed, sent down the Book (al-kitāb) upon the Greatest Word (al-kalimat al-akbar), and We, in truth, did make him a mediatory Point (nuqṭa wasṭ an) for justice (al-`adl) to the end that the Remembrance (al-dhikr) might, in very truth, be a Sovereign (sulṭān an) before Us proffering firmly established verses (āyāt muḥkamat). And We shall indeed, with the permission of God, in very truth, cause his pre-ordained ( maqḍiyy an ) Wisdom (ḥikma) to radiate forth about the Watery Expanse (al-mā') [23] And such is assuredly the Truth in the Mother Book (umm al-kitāb) which is before Us, in truth it is Wondrous (al-badī`) with respect to the Impenetrable Word (al-kalimat al-manī`) commissioned (mab`ūth an) from the Point of Fire (nuqṭat al-nār) upon a Mountain of Ice (jabal al-bard). [24] And We, verily, held back Our Word (kalimat) [which is] Jacob (Ya`qūb), in very truth, one weeping (ḥuzn an) at the circumstance [command] (amr) of Joseph, for, in the Mother Book (umm al-kitāb), this circumstance [command] (al-amr) hath even been something mighty (`aẓīm an). [25] And that one, when he had halted at Our command (al-amr) nigh the Dawning-place of Our Power within this Arabian Youth (al-fatā al-`arabī), he was closer than the twinkling of an eye [thereto] for the eye [ of Jacob] was, in the Mother Book (umm al-kitab), reckoned nigh indeed [to visioning Joseph]! يا اهل الارض و السّماء انتم و ما انتم عليه من سرّ البديع لقد كنتم فی امّ الكتاب لدی الذّكر كمثل ذرّة من صغائر القطمير قطميراً و ما جعلكم اللّه عند عبدنا الا علی هيئة التّثليث فی شكل من التّربيع فی بحر من الدّم الغليظ الذّی قد كان حول الباب موجوداً
يا ايّها المؤمنون ان انتم لاتعلمون من حكمه انّا علی الحقّ نعلّمكم حكمه فی صبره و قد كان الحكم فی امّ الكتاب عظيماً اتّقوا اللّه و لاتقربوا فی وصفه من دماء انفسكم فانّه قد كان فی الحكم من عند الحكيم علی الحقّ مشهوداً فلمّا قد سمعت اخت الحسين بالوقوف لشيعة جدّه فی يوم العاشورا اعتزالاً عن اللّه الّذی لا اله الا هو قد ارسلت الی نفوسهنّ آيه الحبّ و قد اعتدت لهنّ صلاح الحرب و اتت لكلّ واحدة منهنّ سيفاً عن الحقّ للّه الحقّ ملفوفاً ثمّ قالت يا اخی فاظهر عليهنّ من جلالتك اقلّ من سمّ الابرة للّه الّذی لا اله الا هو و انّه قد كان عن العالمين غنيّاً فلمّا رأيته اكبرنه و قطعن انفسهنّ فی بين ايديه شوقاً الی اللّه الّذی لا اله الا هو و انّه قد كان بالعالمين محيطاً و قلن حاش للّه ما هذا الحسين سرّ اللّه العلیّ بشراً انّ هذا لهو الحقّ و انّ هذا ملك قد كان علی اهل السّموات و الارض علی الحقّ بالحقّ كريماً
يا اهل العماء لاتقولوا للّذين يريدون اللّه و يأتونه من بابه اولئك يتراودنّ فتیً مليحاً عربيّا ليشغفون بنفسه عن انفسهم انّا لنريهم فی ضلال قد كان علی غير الحقّ مبيناً انّ ذلك قد كان مكراً من انفسكم فسوف نكشف عنكم الغطاء بعد اعتدادنا لكم و متكأ علی الرّفرف الحمراء و اعطائنا لانفسكم سكينا علی لون الخضرإ الّذی قد كان للعالمين منيراً فسوف يقول اللّه لذكرنا اخرج علی الخلق بجمال ربّك اقل ّ من سمّ الابرة علی الحقّ هنالك قد اكبروه و يقطعون انفسهم بنفی ايديهم عن الحدّين و قد قالوا حاش للّه ما هذا بشراً انّ هذا لهو المتحرّك فی ارض اللّه باذنه و انّه الحقّ من عند اللّه علی الحقّ بالحقّ و انّه قد كان فی امّ الكتاب ملكاً كريماً و انّكم ان تدخلوا لجّة الاحديّة باذن اللّه فی سبيل الباب فتشهدنّ انفسكم بقطع انفسكم للّه الحقّ بالحقّ و هو اللّه قد كان بعباده المؤمنين رحيماً [35] O People of the Divine Cloud (al-`amā')! [35] Do not communicate with such are deniers of God and bring through His Gate (bāb) such things as do tempt the handsome (malīḥ), Arabian Youth (fata). This such hat they might enamour (sh-f-gh) his Person (nafs) with their own selves. We do indeed see them in such manifest error as hath ever been contrary to the Truth. [36] It was indeed something deceptive (makr an) from themselves. [37] Yet shall We unveil for thee this decption (ghiṭā) after We have provided for thee a cushion (muttakā an) upon the Crimson Height (al-rafraf al-ḥamrā'). [38] And We have presented unto thy selves a place of repose (sakīnā') which is of green color (`alā lawn khuḍrā') and which hath ever been luminous (munīr an) relative to all the worlds. [39] So God will say unto Our Remembrance (dhikr), `Come ye forth unto the creatures with the Beauty (bi-jamāl) of thy Lord! Yet only, in very truth, to an infinitesimal degree, for they shall magnify Him and He will sever their own selves through the discarding of their hands at their extremities. [40] And they indeed shall reply, 'God save us! This is no mere mortal (bashar an)' [see Q. 12:31b] rather he is one moving about (mutaḥarrik) in the land of God (arḍ Allāh) for He is indeed, in very truth, the True One (al-ḥaqq) from God. [41] And He hath ever been [written up] the Mother Book (umm al-kitāb) as a Noble Angel" (malak an karīm an).' [Q.12:31b]. [42] And thou, if thou, with the permission of God, should enter the Abyss of the Divine Oneness (lujjat al-aḥadiyya) in the Path of the Bāb thou shall indeed witness thy selves, in very truth, with thy selves detached before God, the True One. And He is God Who hath ever been Merciful unto the servants [of God].
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SELECT TEXT CRITICAL NOTES I wonder if verse QA 32: 27 might be read and translated as follows : [27] For God did not make thee [of any significance] before Our transcendent (reading al-a`la] servant [the Bab] who exists according to threefold form (`ala hi`at al-tathlīth) [= `Alī] in the fourfold shape (fi shakl min al-tarbī`) [= Muhammad] in an ocean of congealed blood (baḥr min al-damm al-ghalīẓ), which hath ever been found round about the Gate (bāb).
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