The Tafsīr Sūrat al-Baqara
The Islamic
background
The Sūrat al-Baqara
(Surah of the Cow) is the lengthy second Surah of the Qur'ān. It
derives its name from the episode of Moses and the Israelite
fashioning of the `Golden Calf' which to some degree is rooted in the
biblical account (see ). Islamic
traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and others laud the
greatness of this opening major chapter of the Qur'an.
The Tafsīr Sūrat al-Baqara
(Commentary on the Surah of the Cow) of the Bāb.
The Tafsir Sūrat al-Baqara
(Surah of the Cow = TSB) of the Bab is incomplete or unfinished and
dates to 1259 AH or Nov- Dec. 1843 some six months before he
'declared his mission' before Mullā Ḥusayn Bushrū'ī on May 22nd [23rd]
1844 CE. This is clear from its sometimes detached prolegomenon
sometimes found before the Bab's closely associated Tafslr on the Sūrat
al-Fātiha (Q.1) which is extant certain mss. (including INBA
6004C, 6012C, and 6014C).
This early date is also implicit in its contents as well something
mentioned in various secondary historical sources including the
Nuqtat
al-kāf
ascribed to
Mlrzā Jāni Kāshānī
(d. )
and Tārīkh-i Jadīd (New History) which was written around
1297/1880 by Mirza Husayn Hamadani (d. /
) (T-Jadid, 34-9 esp.35; MacEoin, Sources 153ff).
Mss.Tafsīr Sūrat al-Baqara
(Commentary on the Surah of the Cow).
In his Sources MacEoin lists the
following 15 complete or partial mss:
The Tafsīr Sūrat al-Baqara
Trans. Stephen Lambden
In the Name
of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Praised be to God Who manifested himself (tajalla) unto the spheres of
existent Being (al‑mumkināt) through the ornament of the disengaged
Point (bi‑ṭaraz al‑nuqṭat al‑mumfaṣilat) [sprung] out of the
Abyss of
Origination (lujjat al‑ibdā’) ‑‑ unto, in and towards Existent Being...
Through it He created Duality (zawjiyya) and He created "I‑ness"
[Individuality] (al‑aniyya), And the Divine Will (al‑mashiyya) was
mentioned through the Dhikr of the Eternal [cosmic] alphabet, (bi‑dhikr
al‑handasah al‑azaliyya) which is other than God. And it, it is indeed (fa‑hiya
hiya) the Primordial Eternity (al‑azaliyya al‑awwaliyya) without
termination of eternality. Nay rather! It, it is [indeed] the Dawning
Place of the Sun of the Divine Oneness (shams al‑ahadiyya) glistening
forth from the Eternal Perpetuity (al‑ṣamadāniyya al‑bāqiyya) through
the Eternity of the Divine Ipseity (bi‑baqā’ al‑huwiyya) [which is] of
the Empyreal domain (al‑jabarūtiyya).
So Oh! Truly wondrous Ornament
(fa‑ya na`ma al‑ṭarāz) of the Snow‑white [letter] "A" (alif al‑bayḍā’)
coming into being subsequent to the [primordial phenomenon of the]
differentiated Point [itself sprung] out of the Creative Reality. Thus, it, it is indeed of the
Ornament of Bahā’ ("Glory‑Beauty") (al‑ṭarāz al‑bahā’) in the Pillar of
Laudation (rukn al‑thanā’)! Then indeed it, it is
assuredly the Yellow Ornament (al‑ṭarāz al‑safrā’) in the Snow‑White
Pillar (rukn al‑baydā’)! Wherefore indeed it, it is the
Ornament of Origination (al‑ṭarāz al‑badā’) in the Green Pillar (rukn
al‑khuḍrā’)! Then [also] it is assuredly
the Ornament of Origination (al‑ṭarāz al‑badā’) in the Soul of the
Crimson Pillar ( fī nafs al‑ḥamrā’)! Shouldst thou say Crimson (al‑ḥamrā’)
then would it be ornamented [coloured as] Yellow through the [effect of
the] Snow‑White (al‑safrā’ bi’l‑bayḍā’). And shouldst thou say Green
(al‑khuḍrā’) it would [indeed] be ornamented [coloured as] Snow‑White
(al‑bayḍā’) through the [effect of] the Crimson (bi’l‑ḥamrā’).
So
Oh! Blessed be this [Reality] for it, it is [1] [the power] of
pre-eternal reddenning (muḥammirat azaliyya), [2] the [power] of
perpetual whitening (mubayyiḍat ṣamadiyya), [3] [the] originative
greenness (mukhaḍḍirat a[i]badiyya); [4] and the [power] of heavenly
yellowing (muṣaffirat malakūtiyya). Again, It, it is assuredly the
reiteration of the Point in the outstretched [letter] "A" through the
pre‑existent creative Power. And "no God is there except Him"
(INBMC
69/II:2‑3).
