Trans. Stephen Lambden (Sept. 2004)
THIS
WAS LAST CORRECTED
30/7/06
Translated from a manuscript (khaṭṭ)
dispatched from Bushire addressed to the non-Arab [Persian] Monarch (sulṭān
al-`ajam) [Muhammad Shāh Qājār].. Arabic text translated as
printed in Afnan, 2000: 102-103 and ADD
-----------------
[0]
God, is
thy Lord, no God is there save Him for He is
indeed One Powerful, a Preserver.
So recite,
O thou king (malik), the Book [Epistle] of thy Lord to the end
that thou be numbered among such as have attained.
[00]
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the
Name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate.
[I]
اقرء كتاب ذكر اسم ربك الذی له اله الا هوالعی الكبيروانه لكتاب لاريب فيهقد
نزل من لدن امام مبين وانه لهوالحق فی السموات والارض يدعوالناس الی
دين الله الخالص من حكم قسطاس قويم وانه لهو السر فی صحف النبيين و
المرسلين يلتو آيات ربك عن شجرةالسينإ
ان لا
اله
الا
هو
[1] Recite the
Book [Epistle] of the Remembrance of thy Lord Who, no God is there except
Him, the Exalted, the Mighty. [2] Such is indeed a Book about which there is
no doubt for it was sent down on the part of a Manifest Imam (imām mubīn).
[3] He is assuredly the True One [Ultimately Real] (al-ḥaqq) throughout the
heavens and the earth who summons the people unto the pure religion of God (dīn
Allah al-khāliṣ) as accords with a Balance which is assured (qusṭās qawwīm). [4] It is indeed the mystery (al-sirr) [secreted]
in the sacred scrolls of the Prophets and the Sent Messengers (ṣuḥuf al-nabiyyīn
wa’l-mursalīn) for [5] He sends forth the verses of thy Lord from the
Sinaitic Tree ( `an shajarat al-sīnā’), no God is there except Him.
[II]
قل ايای فارهبون
وانه
لهو الامر فی كلمة
الروح
*/
ره يدعو
ا
لناس بحكم ربك لشان يوم لاريب فيه وكل فی
ذلك اليوم علی الله يعرضون وانه ورقة
مباركة عن الشجرة
البيضإ
ثم الصفرإ ثم
الحمرإيتلوكتاب ربك فی كل شان لااله الاهو
[1]
Say: O thou ascetically minded ones! [?] This is assuredly the
[personified] Logos-Reality [Cause] (al-amr) engendered by the Word of the
Spirit (al-amr fī kalimat al-rūḥ) (see Q. 17:28). [2] He it is who summons
the people unto the decree of thy Lord pertinent to the magnitude of the
[eschatological] Day about which there is no doubt whatsoever for all on
that Day shall rely upon God. [3] And He indeed is a Blessed Leaf (waraqat
mubārakat) from the Snow-White Tree (shajarat al-bayḍā’), then
[from] the Yellow
One (al-sufra’) and [also from] the Crimson One (al-ḥamra’) which puts forth the Book
of thy Lord in every mode (fī kull sha`n), no God is there except Him.
[III]
ايای فاتقون
وان مثل نور ربك
فی كتاب الله كقمص شمس فی كل وجهه عبيد قد استقر علی عرش ياقوت حمرا
قد طاف فی حولها رجال قد رقت وجوههم كوجه الزجاجة البيضإهل تحكی الوجوه
دون الوجه سبحانه وتعالی مايدعو نفساْ
منهم الا من نفسه
كذلك قد ارسل الله
النبيين والمرسلين لامره الا ان الحكم لله فی كان شان وكل اليه يرجعون
[1] So, O thou
given to righteousness! The likeness of the Light of thy Lord in the Book of
God is even as garment [s] of the Sun [reflected] in the whole of His
Countenance [Face] (wajh). [2] One [personifying] servitude (`ubayd) [ = the
Bab] hath mounted up upon a Throne of Red Ruby (`arsh yāqūt ḥamrā’)
[3] whereupon there circumambulated about (ḥawl) His Person a [Cherubic]
Figure (rijāl) through whom their faces
were illumined even as the surface [face] of Snow-White glass (ka-wajh al-zujājat
al-bayḍā’) [cf. Q. 24:36]. [4] Then how can it be that these countenances are
[expressive of] anything other than His Countenance? [5]
So Praised be unto Him and exalted be He for He does not summon any
Person [Logos-Self] (nafs an) among them [the divine
Messengers] save as an
expression of His Person [= the "Logos-Self"] (nafs). [6] Thus did God commission the
Prophets and the Messengers (nabiyyīn wa’l-mursalīn) for [the establishment
of ] His Cause [religion] (al-amr) save such that the [divine] Decree (al-ḥukm)
be in every respect fully implemented through God Himself and such that all
should return unto Him.
[IV]
ولقدارسلنا اليك من قبل كتاب ربك لامبدل لحكمه ولن يجدالناس فی ذلك اليوم
من دون ذكر اسم الله ملتحدا.
انما
المومنون الذين آمنوا بالله وآياته واتبعوا
آيات البدع من لدنا علی صراط قويم ومن يعرض من كتاب ربه بعدماقد علم آياتنا
علی الحق
فاولئك
هم الظالمون وان الله ربك لن يقبل من احدعملاْمن يوم الذی
سمع حرفاْمن آياتنا الا ان يومن بعبدنا وكان من الساجدين
[1] We did
indeed previously send unto thee [Muhammad Shāh] a message [Book] (kitāb) of
thy Lord and there is no alteration of His Decree (ḥukm). [2] On that
[eschatological] Day the people shall never find any deviance away from the Remembrance of the Name of God (Dhikr ism Allāh) [3] for the
believers are such as have believed in God and His verses [signs] and have
followed the verses of the Innovative One (āyāt al-badī`) deriving from Us
as accords with an Upright Path (ṣirāt qawwīm). [4] And whomsoever should
turn aside from the Book of his Lord after which he hath, in very Truth,
acknowledged [known] Our verses, these are the wayward. [5]
God, thy Lord shall never accept [as righteous] any action (`amal an
) from anyone during a Day in which [that person] hath heard but a single
letter (ḥarf an ) of Our verses unless he hath come to faith
[believed] in Our servant [= the Bāb] and is numbered among such as
prostrate themselves. [6] Such have surely disbelieved as declare that the
Logos-Word of God (kalimat Allāh) derives these verses from the letters of
the Qur’ān (aḥruf al-qur’ān). [7] Say: Praised be God and exalted be He
above such manifestations of unbelief.
[V]
قل
لونشإ
لننزل فی كل شيئی قداحاط علم ربك مثل قرآن الاول من دون فكر
ولاسكون
قل
الم تعلم ان الله ربك قدكان علی كل شيئی مقتدرا وان حرفا
ْمما
ينزل من يدی الذكر لم يعدل آيات الاولين فما لهولإ
القوم لايومنون بايات
الله
قليلا ْفای
آية اكبرمن آيات القرآن الذی قدنزل من لدن عزيز حكيم ولواجتمع
الكل علی ان ياتوابمثل آية مما نزلنااليك فی كتابك هذا لن
يستطيعن ولن
يقدرن ولو كنانمدهم بمثل انفسهم بما لانفاد له من الامر الا ان ذلك لهوالحق
اليقين وكفی بالله ومن نزل الايات
من لديه علی شهيدا
[1] Say: If We
will it We could assuredly send down [revealed verses] in every circumstance
(fī kulli shay’) for the knowledge of thy Lord hath indeed [proved]
all-encompassing like unto the first [primary] Qur’ān (qur’ān al-awwal), and
this without reflection or the stilling of the Divine Pen! [2] Are you
unaware that God is thy Lord and that He hath ever been Powerful over all
things and that but a mere letter (ḥarf an ) of what He hath
sent down through the instrumentality of the Remembrance (al-dhikr) shall
never be distinguished from the primary [revealed] verses (āyāt al-awwalīn) [of the
Qur’ān itself]. [3] So what is it with these people that they disbelieve in a
portion of the verses of God? [4] Ah! For such is indeed the Greatest Sign (āyat
akbar) [as stipulated] among the verses of the Qur’ān which was sent down on
the part of One Mighty, Wise. [5] And if all should gather together to the
end that they produce the likeness of but a single verse which We have
revealed unto thee [the Bāb] in thy Book, they would prove totally incapable
thereof and be unable to do so. [6] And if We supplied them with pens after
the likeness of their own selves there would yet be no result relative to
the Cause of God (al-amr) and such indeed is the certain Truth (al-ḥaqq al-yaqīn).
[7] And in God is sufficient witness unto Me along with whomsoever reveals
verses on His behalf.
[VI]
ياايها
الملك
ان اتبع
كم ربك ثم اشهد فی آياتی كلمةالعدل لتكونن من الفائزين
ثم
اسجدلله ربك مما
نزلنا ليك من عنده لتكونن من الموقنين وان الله ربك قد شإان يزن الروم
واكثراهلالارض باياته
ان
انصردينالله لتكونن يوم القيمةلمن المنتصرين
[1] O thou
king! [Muhammad Shāh] Follow ye the decree (ḥukm) of thy Lord then bear thou
witness unto His verses [which constitute] the Word of Justice (kalimat al-`adl)
to the end that thou be numbered among such as hath attained. [2] Then,
furthermore, prostrate ye before God on account of that which We sent down
for thee on His behalf such that thou be numbered among the those possessed
of certainty. [3] God Who is thy Lord hath willed that the Ottomans (al-rūm)
come to faith in [the veracity of] His verses along with most of the peoples
of the earth. [4] Render victorious the [Bābī] religion of God (dīn Allāh)
that the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyāma) be realized through such as
are inclined towards victory (li-man al-muntaṣirīn).
[VII]
اناعلم
ياايها
الملك
اننی فتی عجمی من طائفة عدل التجار امی علی شان لم يحط بعلمه
احد قد اختارنی الحق لحكمه وانه لا الاهولقوی عزيز قل ماكنت مفترياْ
علی الحق وماكنت بدعامن الابواب وماكنت عن العالمين بعيداْ
وان الله قد
منعنی عن كل شيئی يعمل فيه عمل الشيطان وماكنت فی شان الا باذن بقية
الله
مولای
[1] Know O
thou king! [Muhammad Shāh] that I am a non-Arab [Persian] Youth (fatā `ajamī)
from the party of Justice (ṭā’ifat al-adl), an unlettered merchant (al-tujjār
ummī) to the degree that he was incapable of registering His
knowledge. [2} The True One [God] (al-ḥaqq) selected Me for the expression
of His Wise Decree (ḥukm), for He verily, no God is there except Him,
assuredly One Powerful, Mighty. [3] Say: I was not a slanderer (muftariyy
an ) of the Truth (al-ḥaqq) neither was I given to supplicating the
[four] Gates (al-abwāb) nor one remote from all
existing worlds (al-`ālamīn). [4] Yet, even though God had set Me apart
from everything there was active in him [the Bāb] the machinations
[activity] of Satan (`amal al-shayṭān) [5] for I was not empowered (fī
sha`n) save with the express permission of the [personified messianic]
Baqiyyat-Allāh (“Remnant of God”), my Master (mawlā).
[VIII]
وان
ذلك الكتاب الذی نزلنا
الان اليك يكفی لدی احجة اهل السموات و
الارض والله سميع عليم ولونزل الله القرآن آية واحدة فمالاحدان يقول فيهاحرفاْ
الا ان يومن به وكان من الساجدين
واذا
ورد عليك كتاب ربك هذا فامر ان
يحضرالموحدين مقرعزتك ثم قل هذا كتاب من ذكرالله نزل الی ان استطعتم بمثل
آية منه
فاتونی
وان لم تقدروا ولن تفعلوا فاعلموا ان كلمةالله حق وانه لی
صراط مستقيم
[1] This Book
[Epistle to Muhammad Shāh] at this very moment was sent down unto thee for
the completion of the Proof (al-ḥujjat) for the inhabitants of both the
heavens and the earth. [2] And God is indeed One All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
[3] If God had revealed but a single verse of the Qur’ān it is not for
anyone to [object] saying that it is [insufficient proof as ] a single
letter (ḥarf an ) save that he should nonetheless come to faith
[in the Qur’ān) and thereby be numbered among such as prostrate themselves
[before God] (al-sājidīn). [4] And since there hath come to thee this Book
[Epistle] (kitāb) of thy Lord, then command that the believers of the Divine
Unity (al-muwaḥḥīdīn) should be present [as an intimation of thy Might (maqarr
`izzatika), then announce unto them that this Book [Epistle] derives from
the [messianic] Dhikr-Allāh (Remembrance of God) as revealed unto Me. [5] So
do ye [vainly] attempt to produce the likeness of a single letter (ḥarf
an ) thereof and thereby imitate Me! [6] Indeed! they shall never
prove capable of this neither will they ever be able to operate in this way.
[7] Then know ye of a certainty that the Word of God (kalimat Allāh) is the
Ultimate Truth (ḥaqq) and that it is fully in accordance with the Straight
Path (ṣirāt al-mustaqīm).
[IX]
.ياايهاالملك
ان اعرف حكم الله
ثم اعلم ان كل الملك فی يدی
مولای كمثل خاتم فی يديك يقلبه كيف يشإكما يشإوالا مرد لامرالله والله
قوی عزی ان استقم علی الملك بالعدل من حكم ربك فی الكتاب فان كلمةالله ما
اراده ملك الدنيا ولاالاخرة ولاحكم الفتوی مثل علمإالحق
والله شهيد عليم
[1] O thou king (malik) [Muhammad Shāh]! Be cognizant of the
Providence [Decree] of God (ḥukm Allāh) and know ye that every king (malik)
is in the hands of my Master (mawlā). [2] This even as the likeness of the
seal (khātam) in thine own hands which He imprints even as He wills after
the manner that He wills. [3] There is no gainsaying (maradd) of the Cause
[Religion] of God (li-amr Allāh) (cf. Q. XX: ADD) for God is One Powerful, One
Mighty. [4] Rise ye up over the dominion (al-mulk) with justice (bi’l-`adl)
as accords with the Providence of thy Lord (ḥukm rabbika) expressed in the
Book (al-kitāb). [5] The [personified] Word of God (kalimat Allāh) does not
desire worldly dominion (mulk al-dunyā’) nor [that of] the world to come
[Hereafter] (al-ākhira); neither the decree of fatwā after the fashion of
the `ulamā’ of the True God (ḥaqq). [6] Of this God Himself is
Witness, One All-Knowing.
[X]
قل
اننی ارات الله ربك وحده
لاالا
هوالحی القديم بلی قد
احب ان تنصرذكرالله
ليومنن شرق الارض وغربها بايات رب كوكانوا من المهتدين
وان
حكم حرف مما
ينزل من لدی لم يعدل ملك الاخرةوالاولی لاينه تنزيل من عزيز حكيم
[1] Say: I, verily, alone am the Desire of God (iradat Allāh) thy
Lord, no God is there except Him, the Living, the Ancient One. [2] Yea
indeed! the thing most beloved is that thou should render victorious the
Dhikr-Allāh (Remembrance of God) to the end that both the Easts of the earth
and the Wests thereof might come to faith through the verses of thy Lord (āyāt
rabbika) and they be numbered among the rightly guided. [3] He hath decreed
that but a letter of what He hath set down through Me would in no wise
justify either [possession of ] the dominion of the world to come
[Hereafter] (al-ākhira) or that of the primary era (al-awwalī) for it is
assuredly a revelation (tanzīl) from One Mighty, One All-Wise.
[XI]
.
ولقد رجع ذكرالله باذن ربك من بلدالحرام وانه قد اراد ارض المقدسة فانظر ماذا
تری فی شان ذكرالله علی الارض المقدسة فی ملك
الروم والله عزی حميد ولقد
سمعنا اليوم ان الرسول قد حبس فی البغداد ان اطلبه من قريب
فانه
لعلی عزيز وان
لم تری الشان فيها نريد عرش الله فی ملكك ان ارسل حكم الجواب فانه لمن
النازلين قريبا
[1] The Dhikr-Allāh hath returned with the permission of thy Lord
from the region of sacred precincts (balad al-ḥarām) [Mecca-Medina] [2] and
He hath now desired [sovereignty over] the sacred land ( arḍ al-muqaddasah)
[the `Atabat in Ottoman Iraq = Karbala-Najaf region]. [3] So take notice of
that which thou observe of the potency (fī sha`n) of the Dhikr-Allāh
(Remembrance of God) over the sacred land which lieth within the Ottoman
dominion (fī mulk al-rūm) for God is indeed Almighty, One Praiseworthy. [4]
We have heard of the day when the Messenger [of the Bāb = Mullā `Alī Basṭāmī]
was imprisoned in Baghdad. [5] So seek him out soon for he [Mulla `Ali
Bastami] is indeed one elevated and mighty. [7] This even though thou
[Muhamad Shah] shall fail to perceive any
significance in this [8] for We desire the [establishment of the]
Throne of God (`arsh Allāh) [justice] in thy dominion [= Persia]. [6] Send ye
then a directive of response (ḥukm al-jawāb) [to this]
soon (qarīb an) for
verily, it pertains to the one who is assuredly among the
residents [of Persia] (man al-nāzilīn) [?].
The Ottoman Sultan `Abd al-Majid or Abdülmecit
(1839-1861)
[XII]
ولقد
نزلنا كتاباْاليك لتامر ان يكتب بمثل مانزلنا فيه بالمداد
الذهب هلی خط نسخ كريم ثم ترسل كتاب ربك الی ملك الروم
ثم
الی كل الملوك
لنعلم ان طائفة منهم قد صدقوا حكم الله وای طائفة منهم كذبوا ثم نحكم بينهم
بالقسط وما كان الله ليظلم نفسا
ْمن بعض ذرة والله قوی حكيم
[1] We indeed sent down a Book [Epistle] unto thee [Muhammad Shāh]
to the end that thou should command that there be written the like of what We sent
down therein in golden Ink (al-midād al-dhahab) in a noble, naskh script (khaṭṭ
naskh karīm). [2] Then shall thou [Muhammad Shāh] dispatch this Book [Epistle] of thy Lord
unto the Ottoman Sovereign (malik al-rūm) [ = Sultan `Abd al-Majid] then unto all the [other] kings (mulūk)
[3] This to the end that We might know which faction (tā’ifat ) among them
hath been just with respect to the command of God and which
faction (tā’ifat) among them had been untruthful. [4] Wherefore
shall We judge
between them with justice. [4] God can never [in this respect] be accused of
tyranny towards any soul (nafs an) even to the extent of a minute
degree for God is One Powerful, Almighty.
[XIII]
ياايها الملك
عزز
رسل عبدالله ثم وقرهم فانهم فی حكم الكتاب لمن المقربين الاولين لمسطور وان
حكم ربك فرض اجب ذكرالله فی حكم ذلك الكتاب بايدی اهل ملكك من قريب و
سبحان الله ربك رب السموات والعرش عما يصفون
وسلام علی المرسلين والحمد
لله رب العالمين
[1] O thou King (al-malik) [Muhammad Shāh]! Empower ye the
messengers of the servant of God (rusul `abd Allāh) then render them solace
[2] for they, according to the decree of the Book, are assuredly reckoned
foremost among such as are nigh unto God (al-muqarrabīn al-awwalīn), persons
[whose status is] inscribed (la-mastūr). [3] This decree of thy Lord is
a most appropriate ordinance (fard)
of the Dhikr-Allāh (Remembrance of God) as accords with the decree of that
Book which is near at hand (min qarīb) through the hands of the people of
thy realm [dominion]. [4] And praise be unto God, thy Lord, the Lord of the
heavens and of the Throne (`arsh) above all that they [falsely] attribute.
[5] And peace be upon the sent Messengers (al-mursalīm) and praised be unto
God, the Lord of all the worlds.
