Tafsīr al-ḥurūfāt
al-muqaṭṭa`āt
(Commentary on the Isolated Letters)
or
Lawḥ-i āyah-yi nūr
(Tablet about
the Light Verse)
of Mīrzā Ḥusayn `Alī Nūrī Bahā'-Allāh
(1817-1892).
Being revised 2007-8
A
brief introduction and provisional translation.
Stephen N. Lambden
Now being further revised
2007
A more detailed introduction and partially
annotated translation and reproduction of a good [Haifa supplied] Arabic mss
will erelong appear in the [new] periodical, Syzygy: A Journal of Bābī-Bahā'ī
Studies 2/1. The forthcoming translation corrects and
supersedes two earlier (partial) postings on H-Bahā'ī (from Wed, 10 Sep 1997
12:37; April 1998) of about one third of the translation. These earlier versions
should be consigned to the Bābī-Bahā'ī geniza (`sacred repository'). The version
posted here is also still in progress and will doubtless contains errors in need
of correction. It was last slightly revised early 2004.
Incorporated below are a few (rather
speedily pasted together) details from my paper `Light, Letters and Alchemy:
Dimensions of the Lawḥ-i ḥurūfāt al-muqaṭṭa`āt
("Tablet of the Isolated [Isolated] Letters") of Mīrzā Ḥusayn `Alī
Bahā'-Allāh (1817-1892 CE).' first
(partially) presented at the last Californian Bosch Bahā'ī Mysticism Conference
(1998) and from my Traces from the Musk Scented
Pen.. In making the translation I
have consulted three further mss. along with the (only) printed text (it is
riddled with errors) found in vol. 4 of `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāvarī's
compilation Mā'idih-yi āsmānī 4: 49-88.
INTRODUCTORY
NOTE
The forty or more page wholly Arabic mid-Iraq period (? c. 1857-8?) scriptural tablet of Mīrzā Ḥusayn `Alī Bahā'-Allāh
(1917-1892 CE) known as the Lawḥ-i āyah-yi nūr ("Tablet about the Light
Verse [Q. 24:35]") in various sources is also entitled Tafsīr [Lawḥ-i] ḥurūfāt
al-muqaṭṭa`āt ("Commentary [Tablet] on the Isolated Letters"). This since it
(among other things) contains a detailed non-literal exegesis of both the
well-known and much commented upon qur'ānic Light Verse (Q. 24:35) and select
al-ḥurūfāt al-muqaṭṭa`āt (loosely, `isolated letters'). It was written in reply
to questions posed by the early Bābī-believer and Bahā'ī martyr [Ḥajjī] Āqā
Mīrzā [Āqā] Rikab-Sāz Shīrāzī, about whom relatively little seems to be
known.
Rikab-Sāz Shīrāzī was presumably a trader in saddles / riding equipment.
He is
known to have been much occupied with copying and studying Bābī-Bahā'ī scripture
despite illness in his later years. It was in the context of clerical and
local governmental anti-Bahā'ī activity that a fatwa for his death was issued by
the Shīrāzī mujtahid Shaykh Ḥusayn-i Nazim, stigmatized as al-Ẓālim (`The
Tryant') by Bahā'-Allāh. He was put to death in Shiraz in 1288/1871 along with
Mashadī Muhammad Nabīl and Mashadī [Rafi`] Ja`far-i Khayyāt (Mazandarani, ZH
VI:857-9; Ishrāq Khāvarī, Ganj, 21-2; GPB:200).
To date the text of the Lawḥ-i ḥurūfāt.. has neither been befittingly published (no critical edition
exists) nor authoritatively translated by Bahā'ī agencies. A complete though
wholly inadequate printing of the Arabic exists in volume 4 pages 49-86 of Ishrāq
Khavrari's compilation of Bahā'ī scripture entitled Mā'idih-yi
āsmanī -- the mss
source on which this printing is based is not indicated (cf. also the partial
printing in Ganj, 46-49). Three futher mss. texts are known to the present
writer including (at least) one (Haifa supplied) in the hand of Bahā'-Allāh's
important amanuensis Zayn al-Muqarrabīn This is not to say that the following
prov. trans' is based upon a critical edition; there being probable errors in
all mss seen.
In various of his writings Bahā'-Allāh
himself has made occasional reference to the Lawḥ-i ḥurūfāt. In, for example,
the Arabic 1868 Lawḥ-i Ra'is ("Tablet of the Leader", namely Mehmed Emin `Alī
Pāshā [1815-1871]) it is written:
"We, verily, have clarified all that We
have mentioned in the Tablets which We revealed when we made reply to the one
who asked about the isolated letters (al-ḥurūfāt al-muqaṭṭa`āt) of the Furqan (= Qur`ān). Refer ye thereto that ye may be illumined in the light of
what hath been sent down from the heavenly realm of God (jabarūt Allāh), the
Mighty, the Praised One" (MAM: [87-102]100).
And in another Persian Tablet we read,
"And
additionally thou hast enquired about the isolated letters (ḥurūfāt-i muqaṭṭa`āt). During the day of the sojurn
in `Iraq unnumbered [scriptural] traces respecting these matters (maqāmat) were
sent down a few of which have been sent.." (Mazandarni, Asrar 3:90)
Very brief notices have been given the
Tablet by Shoghi Effendi (GPB: 140) and a few other Bahā'ī writers,
including Fāḍil-i Māzandarānī (Asrar.. 3:90-9X), Ishrāq Khāvarī, Ganj: 21-2,
45-49 trans. Habīb Taherzadeh The Bahā'ī World XIV [1963-8] 627) and Adib
Taherzadeh RB I:125-128). Details of the Sitz im Leben (`setting in life';
circumstances of composition) are not supplied in the texts of any manuscripts
known to the present writer. Some details can be gleaned from an examination of
the text itself.
Āqā Mīrzā Āqā is the main addressee ("O my brother" LII:6 etc).
Other pericopes [paragraphs] are also addressed to:
-
The "concourse of
lovers" = Bābī believers + mystics..
-
"O concourse of the
Bayān" X4
-
"O people!.."
several times addressed.
-
"O concourse of the Criterion" (=
Qur'ān)
= Muslims.
-
"O Assemblage occupied with
the Alchemical Task
[Divine Artistry] (malā' al-san`a)!
Within the Lawḥ-i hurufāt Bahā'-Allāh
refers to this Tablet as divine revelation:
"Hearken then unto what is revealed
(w-ḥ-y) unto thee in this blessed [Sinaitic] Spot (buq`a[t] al-mubārkah)
from this all-eternal [Sinatic] Tree [Bush] (al-shajarat al-sarmadiyya) which is
not consumed by Fire (ma qabasa `anhā al-nār) [cf. Exodus 3:2b?]. Unto this
do none draw nigh except such as circumambulate about its domain and, with His
consent, sacrifice themselves in His path thereafter rendering thanks."
Following a 4-5 page cosmologically and mystico-alphabetically oriented prolegomenon, the person who communicated Aqā
Mīrzā Aqā (= Rikab-Saz]'s letter to Bahā'-Allāh (possibly Aqā Mirzā
Āqā himself
?)
[fn.1]
is mentioned allusively by means of the phrase letter
حرف
القاف
ḥarf al-qāf
ق
qāf
("The [Arabic letter] "q"). [fn.2]
[1] We received a communication [kitāb
letter] from [through?] the letter "Q" (min ḥarf al-qāf) who had journeyed from
his self and emigrated unto God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. [2] He
attained unto the regions of holiness and entered the Egypt of certitude (miṣr
al-īqān) in a region [`locale' maqām ) wherein the Fire of God (nār
Allāh) blazed up beyond the veils of Light and in which the Luminary of Singleness (sirāj
al-aḥadiyya) was ignited in a mighty, concealed Lāmp [cf. Q. 24:35]. [3] Thus
are those to be preferred who have left their homes for the love of God above
those who failed to turn towards the precincts of holiness in the City which
those who are nigh unto God have circumambulated. [4] In his letter there was
enquiry about mysteries (asrār) which none among the creatures hath anticipated;
the veil on the face of which none among humankind hath drawn aside and which
hath not been comprehended by the mystic knowers..." (Mā'idih, 4:52 etc).
The implication
here seems to be that someone had travelled to Iraq
(Baghdad?), the "Egypt of certitude" (miṣr al- īqān), the abode of the "True
Joseph" (= Bahā'-Allāh) and attained the presence of Bahā'-Allāh, "a mighty,
concealed Lamp (miṣbāḥ)." A "letter" (kitāb) was delivered enquiring
about various arcane mysteries which had long remained undivulged. The Lawḥ-i
ḥurūfāt is, in the light of human capacity and the dictates of wisdom, a
disclosure or resolution of these long-secreted "mysteries" (asrār), mysteries
pertaining that is, to
1) the Qur'ānic `Light
verse' (Q. 24:35):
اللَّهُ
نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ
God
is the Light of the heavens and of the earth
مَثَلُ
نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ
The
likeness of His Light is even as [the light streaming from]
a niche
(mishkat) containing a lamp (al-miṣbāḥ);
الْمِصْبَاحُ
فِي زُجَاجَةٍ
the lamp
(al-miṣbāḥ) is in a glass (zujājat),
الزُّجَاجَةُ
كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ
the
glass even as a resplendent Star (kawkāb durriya)
يُوقَدُ
مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونِةٍ
enkindled from the oil
(zaytūn), of a blessed Tree (shajarat mubāraka)
لاَ شَرْقِيَّةٍ
وَلاَ غَرْبِيَّةٍ
[an
olive] neither of the East nor of the West.
يَكَادُ
زَيْتُهَا يُضِيءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ
Its oil
(zaytuhā) well nigh radiates forth even though it [Fire] hardly touches
it.
نَارٌ
نُورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ
It is
Light upon Light [and]
يَهْدِي
اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ
God
guideth unto His Light whomsoever He willeth.
وَيَضْرِبُ
اللَّهُ الأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
And God
[does indeed] strike similitudes (al-amthāl) for the people for God is
aware of it all things.
2) the al-ḥurūfāt al-muqaṭṭa`āt (`isolated
letters') A.L.M. (Alif.
Lām, Mīm) in the Sūrat al-Baqāra ("The Surah of
the Cow" 2:1) and
3) various
alchemical processes such as the secret of the production of gold.
The major and
minor themes of the Lawḥ-i ḥurūfāt are all the central concerns of theoretical and
practical mysticism. The Lawḥ-i ḥurūfāt .. begins with a qabbalistic-cosmological exposition of the creation of the letters of the
alphabet (ḥurūfāt) in pre-eternity; the coming to be of the archetypes of the
letters of the Arabic alphabet in terms of the emergence of the "Primordial
Point" (al-nuqṭa al-awwaliyya) and the first letter "A" (al-alif).
Then, following a
few paragraphs on the purpose of creation and the exalted status of the Bāb and
leading Bābīs, Bahā'-Allāh dwells on the theme of continuing divine guidance.
The rest of the Lawḥ-i ḥurūfāt ..., though there are a number of significant
digressions, largely consists of replies to (Rikab Saz's) two (or three?)
questions about;
1) The mysteries of a "Light verse" (ayah-yi nūr);
"Then know thou that that which thou
hast asked concerning the "Light Verse" [Qur'ān 24:35] which was sent down upon
Muhammad..."
This section is basically an esoteric
exegesis of Qur'ān 24:35 (cf. 14:5) which is partly rewritten or paraphrased by
Bahā'-Allāh. The mention in Qur'ān 14:5 of "the light" (al-nūr) and the "days
of God" (ayyām Allāh) doubtless led Bahā'-Allāh to take this verse as a prophecy
of the future advent of Muhammad (4-5 pages; Ma'idih 4:53-57) around whom the
non-literal exegesis revolves.
2) On the isolated, detached or
disconneted letters Alif. Lām. Mīm (Qur'ān 2:1), etc; their qabbalistic-cosmological,
chronological, eschatological and other significances.
3) The secrets of the alchemical
production of "gold" along with notice that concern with "gold" and "silver"
only increases poverty!
Among the important though minor secondary
themes of the Tablet one may note:
-
a) the state of the Bābis and the
condition of Bahā'-Allāh.
-
b) The mi`rāj of the believer.
-
c) The secret of
`ilm al-jafr (loosely, "letter mysticism"; "qabbalistic divination"; "occult prognostication",
"number-letter esotericism")
-
d) The Jabirean theory of the
balances-natures.
-
e) Eschatology and the issue of
the khātam al-nabiyyīn ("Seal of the Prophets").
SELECT
ENDNOTES
[1]
The Arabic is a little ambiguous
and could be translated in more than= one way. I have translated it as if
(Hajji) Āqā Mīrzā Āqā [Rikab-Saz] took his letter to Bahā'-Allāh himself though
it may well be, as Mazandarani suggests, that it was delivered by a certain
Hajji Muhammad Bāqir Nabil Musaffir-i Hamadāni (Asrār, IV:462; cf. ibid III:90).
Aqā Mirzā Aqā may be the one referred to as the
حرف
القاف
ḥarf al-qāf
( "the letter Qāf
ق )
in view of an allusion to his (double)
designation Āqā (= Per. `elder [brother]' , `master') the central letter of
which is "q" (qāf). Worth noting is the fact that there is reference in a Tablet
of Bahā '-Allāh to Hajji Dhabih in the following manner: "And it hath dawned
forth to he who hath believed in God and His verses with the name of "Q" after
"A" (fi ism al-qāf ba`d al-alif) = Āqā (cited Māzandarāni Athar, 4:462). Another
Tablet of Bahā '-Allāh begins,
In my Name, the One given
to Remembrance and the One Remembered! (bism al-dhakir al-madhkur)
O letter "Q" between two
letter "A"s! (ḥarf al-qāf bayn al-alfayn)
Hearken unto the Call of the Confluence of the Two Seas
(majma`al-bhave
to aḥrayn) from these two elevated Names
(min hadhayn al-ismayn =
al-a`liyyayn) [= Ḥusayn+`Alī ?]..."
(Tablet cited Mazandarani , Asrar, IV:230f).
[2]
The phrase
ḥarf al-qāf (="The [Arabic letter] qāf ) could be understood in
several different ways. The Arabic letter "Q" has quite a range of senses. In
various Tablets of Bahā'-Allāh the isolated letter qāf ("Q") refers to such
places as Qazvin (in Iran) or Qumm (in Iraq) from which a number of Bābīs and
Bahā'īs originated or resided. IsLāmic esoteric and other Bābī and Bahā'ī
literatures extend further the multifarious senses of the Arabic[-Persian]
letter qāf, "Q". Full details cannot be set down here. In his Commentary on the
"Light Verse" (Q. 24:35 ) for example, the Bāb at one point says, "Know that I,
verily, am the [letter] "Q" (qāf) of the Glorious Qur'ān through this Five [=
his being the Bāb = abjad 5 [x20]=3D 100 = abjad qāf) (fi hadha al-khamsa).."
(Browne Coll,= Ms f.21 (9), 000). See also Aḥmad ibn `Alī al-Būnī,
Shams
al-ma`arif al-kubra wa lata'if al-ma`arif (4 vols in 1) Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Thāqāfiyya.
np.nd. [Cairo, 19XX] [Vol 4:504-5]...
Tafsīr [al-] ḥurūfāt al-muqaṭṭa`āt
(Commentary on the Isolated Letters)
Prov. trans.
Stephen N. Lambden (April 1998 -> 2004).
This translation to some extent corrects and supersedes
my earlier posting on H-Bahā'ī (from Wed, 10 Sep 1997 12:37) of about one third
of the translation. The earlier version should be binned or consigned to the
Bābī-Bahā'ī geniza (`sacred repository'). The version posted here is also
still in progress and will doubtless contains errors in need of correction. At
this stage I shall gradually type out the Zayn mss. and only indicate
alternative readings with an asterisk (*).
This in preparation for a semi-critical edition based on four printed and
mss. versions to appear in Syzygy 2:1 (forthcoming) . It will be obvious that
the occasional transliteration will be inadequate and highly selective. In
making the translation I have consulted three further mss along with the (only)
printed text (it is riddled with errors) found in vol. 4 of `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq
Khāvarī's compilation Ma'idih-yi āsmanī.., 49-88.
Tafsīr
al-ḥurūfāt al-muqaṭṭa`āt
(Commentary on the Isolated Letters)
Arabic text according to a
mss. in the hand of Zayn al-Muqarrabīn in a BWC, Haifa supplied photocopy.
[0]
لأ اله الا هوالعلىالاعلى*
There is no God except Him, the Elevated, the
Transcendent
[or Ma'idih 4:XX =]
بسم اللّه البهیّ الابهی
[In the Name of God,
the Splendid, the All-Glorious]
[I]
[1]
الحمد
للّه الّذی خلق الحروفات فی عوالم العَمَاء
خلف سُرادقات القدس
فی
رفارف الاسنی*
ثم ّ اسقاهن ّ من كأوس البقآء
فيما
قدر فی الواح القضآء* .
Praise be to God
who created the letters
(al-ḥurūfāt) in the worlds
of the divine Cloud (`awālim al-`amā') beyond the pavilions of holiness
(surādiqāt al-qūds) in the lofty heights of the most resplendent
sphere (rafā'rif al-asnā)
then gave them to drink from the
Goblet of eternal subsistence as
ordained in the Tablets of the divine Decree (alwāḥ al-qiḍā').
[2]
ليحيی بهن افئدة المقرّبين فی جبروت القضإء
This that He might bring life to the
inmost hearts of those who are nigh unto God
in the Omnipotent
sphere of
Divine realization (jabarūt al-qiḍā').
[3]
ثمّ
اقمصهن قميص السوداء
لما
قدر بتقديره الازلية
فی
مكمن القدَر علی قباب الحمراء
فيما سب العلم
بان
يستر ماء
الحيوان فی ظلمات عوالم الاسماء
عند سدرة المنتهی
He then clothed the letters in a
black robe in accordance with what was decreed
through the measure of His eternality respecting the
possibilities of divine foreordination (qadar). This relative to the
[fate regulating] crimson domes (qibāb al-ḥamrā')
and to the status of [explicit] knowledge for He has concealed the
Water of Life in the shadows of the
worlds of Names nigh unto the Lote-Tree of the Extremity (sidrat al-muntahā'). [4] He then caused them
[the letters] to descend into the Kingdom of the Divine Will
(malakūt
al-inshā') in the atmosphere of the Divine Decree
(hawa' al-qiḍa') whereupon a great Cry was heard
from the Most-Exalted Realm thus addressing the
Primordial Pen
(al-qalam al-awwalī), [5] `O Pen! Set down the mysteries of
pre-existence (asrār al-qidam) upon the Perspicuous, Snow-White Tablet (al-lawḥ
al-munīr al-bayḍā').'
[II]
[1] On account of this Cry
(al-nidā') was the Pen stupefied with
intense yearning for 70,000 years according to the computations of such as calculate
these things. [2] When it recovered from its having swooned away according to the further operations of the Divine Decree, it wept crimson tears
for 70,000 years. [3] Then it stood up erect between the hands of God at a time
which was neither preceded by the decree of firstness in the beginning nor by
the decree of lastness in the end. [4] While it was burning in the fire of
separation on account of the cessation of the most-sweet Cry, there appeared
within its tears a black hue (lawn al-sawda') in the heavenly sphere of fidelity
(jabarūt al-wafā'). [5] A black teardrop sprinkled down upon the Tablet whereupon the Point
(al-nuqṭa) was made manifest in the world of
origination (`ālam al-badā'). [6] This Point assumed the primordial shape
upon
the mirrors of the letters in the beings of the Names. [7] The [Arabic letter]
أ "A"
(al-alif) received it [within itself] before all the other letters, in the [pre-eternal] elemental particles of things (fi dharr al-ashyā') for thus did
this Divine Point take on the form of this Eternal [Arabic letter]
أ "A"
(alif). [8] This inasmuch as the merciful breezes blew upon it from the Source of Singleness
whereupon the Countenance of the Divine Singularity
(wajh al-wahidiyya) was disclosed from behind the Green Veils. [9] The substance (body, temple,
form.. haykal) of the Point was made manifest in the shape of the letter
أ "A" (al-alif) "A" and rose up from the Tablet for the promotion of the Most-Exalted,
Most-Great Cause of God in the world of Names and Attributes.
[10] This is a
station (maqām) [by virtue of] which the reality of the Divine Will
(al-mashiyya) was clothed in the nominal robe and invested in the garment of qualificative
attributes in the City of Grandeur.
[III]
[1]
When this upright letter
أ "A"
(al-alif) was established
upon the Luminous Tablet it was again transfigured
with renewed splendor
whereupon the isolated letters (al-ḥurūfāt al-muqaṭṭa`āt) shone forth in the primordial theophanies (awwal al-ẓuhūrāt) in order that they might be an evidence of
the worlds of incomparability and command in the Citadels of origination. [2] Then there appeared from these
[Isolated] Letters
which shone forth from
the Primordial [letter]
أ "A"
(al-alif
al-awwliyya) in the first of the theophanies,
the worlds of
delineation and multiplicity. [3] They were differentiated, separated and
isolated
then gathered together, reconciled, united and linked together.
[4]
Then assembled words and compounded letters
appeared in the worlds of creation in
the forms of Names and Attributes (hayākil al-asmā' wa'l-ṣifāt).
[IV]
[1]
Wherefore was the
completion of the creation of
the worlds of dominion and the Predestined
Ornament (ṭarāz al-qadariyya) among the manifestations of existing beings, to the end that all things
might demonstrate, through the tongue of their inmost realities, that He, verily, is
the Eternal, the Enduring, the Creator, the Powerful, the Mighty, the
Sovereign. [2] And [they might testify to the fact]
that `Alī before Muhammad [the Bāb] is the Manifestation of the Divine Essence
(maẓhar al-dhāt)
and the
Manifestation of the Divine Attributes
(maẓhar al-ṣifāt) from whom existence
derives and unto whom beings
return. [3] And that he [the Bāb]
is the one from whose
beneficent Logos-Self (nafsihi al-mannn) is the Breath of the All-Merciful
(nafas
al-rahman) for thereby were
created the realities of the essences and the
receptive dispositions (ḥaqā'iq al-jawhariyyāt al-qābiliyyāt) in the world of
being as well as the
manifestations of existing beings in the worlds
of existence. [4] The Mirrors [of the Bayān] that speak of Him and the Letters
[of the Living] that cry out about Him are foremost in the creation of God;
the source of
outward things and the refuge [point of return] for the servants [of
God] in the
[eschatological] Day of Dispersion. [5] In this way God hath
distinguished them above the rest of
the creatures in the worlds of
preexistence (`awālim al-qidam). [6] Through them it was that the Lights shone
forth, the moons gleamed,
the suns shed splendor
and the stars were
evident.
[7] They all testify of Him and demonstrate Him such that there is
no distinction between Him and
between them except that they were created by His
Command, were raised up in accordance with His Intention,
and were assembled
through His Power. [8] They are those through whom is the cyclic scheme
(tadūr
al-adwār); the revolving of the spheres of existence (takūr al-akwār)
and [the ones]
through whom the Trees of the Divine
Unity sprung up and the incomparable
fruits were made manifest.
[V]
[1] Through them are the rains of
detachment sent down until the Point returns to its original station after revolving
around itself and arriving at its
place whereupon the end returns unto
the beginning. [2] Then the Primal Call
was raised up
from the Furthermost
Tree
with the splendor of the Sun once again.
[3] And this is that
which the Dove hath sung in the midst
of Eternity in this singular Night in which
[4] the Fire of the
Divine Oneness hath been ignited from the Tree of
Sinai in the shade of the
most-ancient Name [5] and the Eternal Secret which [or who] was named the Living
(al-ḥayy), the Pre-existent (al-qadim) in the Qayyūm al-asmā' [6] in order that every
manifestation may bear witness in the secret
recesses of their hearts unto the secret
things, that He, verily, is the Mighty, the Powerful, the Protector, the Bestower.
[VI]
[1]
This is a book from the "B"
( ب
al-bā')
before the "H"
(ﻫ
al-hā') [= Bahā'-Allāh] unto
those who have believed in God and have attained unto the lights of guidance for the purpose of
bringing them unto the Pavilion of
Holiness
(surādiq al-quds) and
drawing them nigh unto a Seat (maq`ād) to which none who disbelieve in God have
attained. [2] And to this testify the Embodiments of Names
(hayākil
al-asmā') in the Cities of Attributes
(madā'in al-ṣifāt) and beyond them also
the angels of holiness. [3] Say:
`In the cooing of
the Dove upon the branches,
the soaring of the
Doves of Holiness,
the surging of the
Sea of Singleness,
the uplifting of the
Clouds of Wisdom, the descent of the
Rains,
the gushing of the
Rivers from the rocks
[4]
and in the
establishment of the Temple of Eternity upon the
Throne of Lights
are signs unto those
who gaze upon
the realities of
things with the eye of God.'
[5]
Ponder therefore,
O concourse of
lovers,
upon the creation of
the heavens and of the earth,
then within
yourselves that you might be guided by the
Manifestations of Power
unto the Lights of
Guidance in the Days of
the Divine Countenance.
[VII]
[1]
We received a communication
[letter] (kitāb) from the letter
"Q" حرف
القاف ( ḥarf al-qāf
= ق
qāf
) who had journeyed from his self
and emigrated unto God,
the Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
[2] He attained unto the regions of holiness
and entered the Egypt of certitude
(miṣr al-īqān) in a place wherein the Fire of
God (nār Allāh) blazed up beyond the veils of Light and in which the Luminary of
Singleness (sirāj al-aḥadiyya ) was ignited in a mighty, concealed Lamp. [3] Thus are those to be preferred who have left their homes
for the love of God above those who failed to turn towards the precincts of holiness in the City which those who are nigh unto God have circumambulated.
[4] In his letter there was
enquiry about mysteries (asrār) which none
among the creatures hath anticipated; the veil on the face of which none among humankind hath drawn aside
and which
hath not been comprehended by the mystic knowers.
[VIII]
[1] Then know thou that
that which thou hast asked concerning the
"Light Verse" [Qur'ān 24:35] which was sent down
upon Muhammad, the Messenger
of God aforetime, concerns a verse the
comprehension of which the worlds
cannot sustain. [2] Even if
whatever lieth within God's knowledge became "Pens" and all that has been decreed became oceans of "Ink"
and the Fingers of
Might wrote [its mysteries] for all time,
this would not
suffice to exhaust even a single letter of the meaning of
this honorable and blessed verse which hath been revealed by the Tongue of
Grandeur. [3] Nevertheless, I shall cause to be
sprinkled down upon thee a dewdrop from the
fathomless ocean of the sea of
knowledge and wisdom in order that thou
might be amongst those who have hastened to the plains of knowledge
and who have drunk deep of the goblet of Divine Favour from the hand of the
Youth seated upon
the Throne of Paradise.
[IX]
[1] When, for Moses, the appointed term
in the Midian of the
Divine Will was completed he returned to his people
and entered the environs of Sinai
in the Holy Vale at the right-hand side
of the region of Paradise
by the precincts of
the Eternal Realm.
[2] He heard the Call from the Most-Exalted Realm,
from the
retreat of the Divinity Ipseity (shaṭr al-huwiyya ), [3] O
Moses! Behold! What do You see? I verily, am God! your Lord and the Lord
of your fathers, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob.` [4] Then Moses veiled his
face out of the fear of God, the Mighty, the Powerful, the
Self-Subsisting.
[X]
[1]
Again was Moses summoned before the shores of
the Ocean of Grandeur in the Crimson Dome: "Lift up. O
Moses, Your head!". [2] When he lifted it up he saw a Light,
blazing and luminous
from the Furthermost Tree in the Verdant [Green] Vale.
[3] Wherefore
was he guided by the Most-Great Guidance from the Fire kindled from the Eternal Lote-Tree. [4] Then did he doff the sandals of desire
and detached himself from the dominion
of this [primary] world and the hereafter. [5] All this was what
God had decreed for him even as thou hath been informed in the scriptural Tablets. [6]
Wherefore was his Cause raised up
and his remembrance exalted. [7] He was among those who turned their faces
by the lights of the Fire
towards the paths of
Justice. [8] And this is what was ordained for
Moses son of `Imran
in the Dome
of Time (qubbat al-zamān) [as thou would know] if thou are of
such as are informed. [9] Thus hath borne witness the Paran of Love nigh the Paran of Fire in the Horeb of Holiness
and the Sinai of Nearness if thou should scan the Pages of Justice
(ṣaḥā'if
al-`adl) with the eye of God.
[XI]
[1]
When the
veils of Singleness were uncovered and the lights of the Divine Unity shone
forth in the Muhammedan
countenance [= Muhammad] the Fire of the Divine Ipseity (nār al-huwiyya) was ignited for His
Logos-Self, in His Logos-Self,
through His Logos-Self and the
Fire of the [Divine] Lote-Tree blazed up in
his breast. [2] He was seized by
the pangs of love and the yearnings of
desire on all sides and he heard the
Call of God from the Tree of
[the Perfect] Man (shajarat al-insān) in his inmost Being, `He, verily is Thou
[Who] art God, the King, the
Protector, the Mighty, the Holy'. [3] This is what was
ordained for Muhammad in the realm
of the Spirit
in a realm [station]
unto which
the hearts of those
of old did not draw nigh.
[4] Thus do we mention unto thee
something of the mysteries of knowledge and
the jewels of wisdom perchance the people might be enkindled and illumined by
the Fire of God in the Lote-Tree of the Remembrance (sidrat al-dhikr).
[XII]
[1] When Muhammad the
Messenger of God desired to make mention of this most-exalted
station in order that he might inform them [his people, the Jews]
of the
mysteries of the Divine Unity (asrār al-aḥadiyya) in the Tree of his
Logos-Self (shajarat
nafsihi) and might enable them to be independent of the Fire
which shone forth
in the Sinai of the Decree (sina' al-ḥukm) upon the Moses of the Cause
(mūsā al-amr), God inspired unto
him this luminous verse [Q. 24:35] that it might be a
proof unto those who were given the Torah
and a guidance unto those who were guided
by
the lights of guidance in the Muhammedan Lote-Tree. [2] And God commanded
Moses to announce unto the
people this [Muhammadan] Sinai in this Aḥmadian spot (al-buq`a
al-aḥmadiyya). [3] Unto this beareth witness
that which was revealed in the Book:
"We
verily sent Moses with Our signs [and the command to] `Bring out the [thy]
people from the darkness into the light and announce unto them the Days of God" (cf. Qur'ān
14:5).
[4] This is that which
was inscribed in the Tablets if you are of
those who are informed. [5] He indeed is the one
who gave tidings unto the people concerning His
[eschatological] Days; how attainment unto
his station might be realized [as would be clear] should thou be
numbered among such as comprehend.
[XIII]
[1] Know thou that when
Moses became aware of the Fire of the
Tree (nār al-shajara) about the shore of
the right-hand side of the [sacred] Vale he was guided by it
and was among those who, with the permission
of God, have entered the Blessed Spot (buq`at
al-mubāraka). [2] Aforetime it was the case that if Muhammad
became familiar with some reality or something interacted
[touched] with him
as Fire (min nar) he made it Light (nūr) unto whomsoever are in the heavens and upon the
earth. [3] And he guideth unto this Light (al-nūr) whomsoever he willeth among
His creatures. [4] Such is what was
inscribed in the [Archetypal] Book
(al-kitab) and which thou recite through the Criterion (al-furqan = the Qur'ān). [5] Then know thou that the locus (maqām) of the "Niche" (mishkat) in this [Light] verse (Q.
24:35) is His Logos-Self
(nafs; = Muhammad) and that the "Lamp" (miṣbāḥ) is his resplendent heart
(qalbihi al-munīr). [6] The "Glass" (zijaj)
is his sanctified Person [Temple, Body] (haykalihi al-qudsiyya) in which the Lamp of the
Divine Singularity (siraj al-aḥadiyya) shines forth. [7] The "Light"
(al-nūr) is ignited and radiates splendor from Muhammad,
for from him derives the splendor of all who are in the heavens and on the earth. [8] Wherefore do We
mention this unto thee that thou might be illuminated by means of this "Light"
(al-nūr) in the [eschatological] Days of the Spirit
(ayyam al-rūḥ).
[XIV]
[1]
After this "Light" (al-nūr) had shone forth in the
Muhammedan "Lamp" (miṣbāḥ
al-muhammadiyya), was ignited in the Aḥmadian "Niche"
(mishkat al-aḥmadiyya) and
the creation of the Unique One
(al-aḥadiyya : the Bāb) was completed throughthe
creation of the pre-existent Temple (haykal al-qadmiyya), God hath decreed that he might remind the people about the Encounter with Him
[God] at
the time of the latter resurrection
(qiyāmat al-ukhra) and give them tidings of a
Holy, Laudable Reality in a locale in which the concourse of
the Elevated Ones
and the Spirits of the cherubic Beings (`those who are nigh unto God')(arwāḥ al-muqarribīn)shall be gathered together. [2]
Therein shall be uplifted the clouds of Divine Bounty
and through the rejoicing of God
the believers shall be made to greatly rejoice. [3]
This is what was promised in mighty, Preserved Tablets
(alwāḥ `izz maḥfūẓ) in
which He says, exalted be His sovereignty,
"The Day when your Lord shall come
or certain of the signs of your Lord"
(cf. Q. 6:156).
[4] And this is what all
who are in the heavens and on the earth were promised about him [= the Bāb] to
the end that all might bear witness within themselves that this One is certainly
the True One (al-ḥaqq); no God is there except Him. [5] He undoubtedly is the
Ultimately Real (al-ḥaqq), the One Aware of things Unseen (`allām al-ghuyūb).
[XV]
[1]
Then know [thou of] the station of he who came in the garment of
`Alī [= the Bāb or `a sublime robe'; bi-qamīṣ `alīyy] upon clouds of Light
(ghamam
min al-nūr) and that Muhammad, the Messenger of God
was an announcer of the
glad-tidings of the Encounter [Meeting]
with Him on a Day in which the righteous
shallgreatly rejoice on his account.
[2] Know also that after he came
unto them with manifest signs
the slanderers spoke against
him and treated him in such wise
that the Pen is loathe to dwell upon it.
[3]
And God beareth witness unto
this even if thou do not so
testify. [4] They disbelieved in him and
denied him and among them was one who
slandered God accusing him of enchanting
the people. [5] Thus were they veiled from
the Encounter with God; did not assist him in his
Cause and failed to turn in the
direction of the Countenance unto which those who are nigh
unto God have turned.
[XVI]
[1]
And thou, O Concourse of the Bayān! Render thanks unto God
in that he hath bestowed his
bounty upon thee in such wise that thou hast
been enabled to known His Logos-Self
(nafs = the Bāb) and were ennobled through attaining
the Encounter with God (liqā'-Allāh). [2] He, in very truth, raised
thee up and sent down unto thee that which enabled thee to be free of those who
disbelieved and inclined to associate
gods with God even though all expected the advent
of His Days and all were heirs to the promise of His coming.
[3] Wherefore know that We have, in very truth, awakened
thee, raised thee up and ennobled thee
through the divine Grace inasmuch as We gave thee a refuge in the precincts of
knowledge (shāṭī al-`ilm), instructed thee in the paths of gnosis
(subul
al-`irfān) and drew thee nigh unto a Fire
(nār) through which the hearts of
those who have believed in God,
their Lord and trusted in Him were at every moment made to
blaze
[XVII]
[1]
Then know that the
significance of the [Light] verse (Q. 24:35) cannot be [understood] except
that We should instruct thee
through the Truth [through the
True One?] since none shall comprehend it
save those who were patient
in God
and inasmuch as
none shall understand it
except those who were
sincere.
[2]
This is
from the [divine] Bounty which hath neither beginning nor end.
[3]
Yet
thou, O thou hopeful petitioner, during these days in which the Sun of Bounty
hath shone forth from
the Dawning-Place of
Singularity (mashriq al-aḥadiyya )
and the Lamp of the Divine Ipseity
(siraj al-huwiyya)
hath shed splendor in the Niche of Holiness
(mishkat al-qudsiyya),
shall not
witness [the significance of] this [Light] verse
save in a Temple (haykal)
which God has secreted beyond
the Pavilion of Might
in the
beloved heights of divine nearness.
[4]
Do thou not
witness how God hath caused His Logos-Self
(nafs)
to radiate through the Fire of His
Own Logos-Self (nafs),
in the Eternal "Niche"
(mishkat al-baqā') and preserved it in
the "Lamp" of Power
(miṣbāḥ al-qudrat)
between the earth and the heavens;
lest
the breezes of ungodliness should blow upon it and there be manifest therefrom
the Light (al-nūr)
from behind the 70, 000 veils
[of light and darkness]
according to a
prescribed measure [to the extent of the eye of-the needle]
and [how] He caused to radiate from
the Glasses the possibilities of existence
(zujajat wujud al-mumkinat).
[5]
This in such wise that they
may all give account about God,
their Creator
in view of the theophany (tajallī) upon them
of this Divine Light
(al-nūr al-ilāhiyya).
[XVIII]
[1]
This is what We bring to thine
attention of the wonders of hidden
knowledge
in order that at every moment
thou might render thanks unto
God thy Lord as also
all the believers.
[2]
This to the end that thou
might be contented within thyself in that thou be oriented
towards a region upon which not a single
footstep
of the creatures hath
attained; save those, that is,
those who are at every moment
consumed by the fire of love
and unto which none have drawn nigh
except such as are detached from all that is within the
mighty domain of the
Divine command (jabarut al-amr)
and in the world of creation
and who,
with the permission of God, tread the paths of
submission.
[3]
Thus have We
given thee sufficient through that which We have expounded
for thee relative to this
sanctified verse.
[4]
We have abridged the elucidation of its
significances in that We have previously
commented upon it in diverse ways and modes
which have astonished the intellects of mystic knowers.
[5]
Be satisfied with what hath
been sent down for thee in this blessed Night (cf. laylat al-qadr)
which God hath set aside among nights as one in which He hath decreed every
affair as something ordained
[sealed] before
One Mighty, Self-Subsisting.
[6]
If this be deemed that which
the Pen of Might hath written down
upon these
Perspicuous Tablets,
then return unto what was
previously inscribed by a mighty, evident Finger, since in the Lote-Tree of
the Words (sidrat al-kalimat)
through the
Fire of Singleness (nūr al-aḥadiyya ) hath blazed forth,
and none shall grasp it save
such as profess the unity of
God
[7]
On its branches are
Doves all of which were created from the Fire of the Divine Ipseity
(nūr al-huwiyya);
and none doth hear their
cooing save those who are detached.
[8]
By God!
If thou should make careful
observation thou would assuredly become
informed of all branches of knowledge
according to what hath been
inscribed in these Tablets and be free from all except
Him. This, verily, is the certain
truth.
[XIX]
[1]
Now regarding that which thou enquired
of the isolated letters
(hurufat al-muqaṭṭa`āt)
in the writings and the scriptures
(al-ṣaḥā'if
wa'l-zubūrāt).
[2]
Know thou that every single one of these letters
are assuredly signs
(ayat) unto such as are informed.
[3]
In them are ciphers (rumuzat), allusions (isharat),
deep significances (ma`ānī) and testimonies (dalalat)
not a letter of which can be grasped
save by those who tread
the path of God's
good-pleasure
and delight in the Riḍwān of knowledge
[4]
From
all eternity hath their mysteries been hidden
in the Storehouses of
Infallibility
(kanā'iz al-`ismat),
sealed with the Seal of Power
(bi-khitm al-qudrat) and veiled in the Veil of Might
(bi-qina' al-`izzat);
[5]
though at this moment
hath their Seal been broken
in view thy capacity, and thy desire
and in accordance with what
the people are capable of understanding.
[6]
This such that those to whom hath been given the guidance
which cometh from God,
might assuredly testify that everything created
exists by virtue of an
Embodied Reality
[theophany] ( fi
haykal) who, in very truth,
crieth out [Divine guidance], for around Him do circumambulate
all the Elevated Letters (al-hurufat al-`a[i]liyya) and the
compounded words
(al-kalimat al-jami`ah)
as thou would realize if thou should [truly] comprehend.
[XX]
[1]
Then know thou that those
letters in the station of the Names give testimony unto eternal
levels of Being without beginning (al-kaynunat
al-azaliyyat), the realities of the Divine Oneness
(al-haqā'iq al-aḥadiyyat) and the pristine sublimities of the Divine Ipseity (sawazij al-huwiyya) the like
of which thou dost recite in the Criterion (al-furqān= the Qur'ān). [2] He
[God] saith -- magnified be His Light -- at the commencement of the
Book [= the Qur'an]:
ADD ARABIC
"Alif, Lām,
Mīm. ["A"- "L"- "M"].
This is a
Book about which there is no doubt. It is a
guidance unto the pious" (Q. 2:1-2).
[3]
In this place
God hath designated His Beloved One [= Muhammad]
by these extended,
isolated letters (al-hurūfat al-munbasit al-muqaṭṭa`āt)
as a means of confirming such
as hath soared upon the wings of
detachment in the atmosphere of the Spirit.
[4]
O
Muhammad!
That "Book"
(hadha kitāb) is indicative of the Book of thine own Logos-Self
(kitāb nafsika) which deriveth from a Hidden, Preserved Book
(kitāb ghayb maḥfūẓ)
which hath not been understood by anyone save God.
[5]
All the
Books (kutub) derive therefrom if thou art of such as are confirmed.
[6]
And
this is from a[n Archetypal] Book in which is distinguished
the knowledge of all that hath been and will be
and by means of which the rightly-guided ones are guided.
[7]
All that which was revealed
from the beginning which hath no
beginning
of the various Books and the Scriptures
(al-kutub wa'l-zubur) are but
a letter of "that Book"
(dhalik al-kitāb).
[8]
And none are informed of this
save such as have [mi`rāj-like] ascended on the Buraq
[celestial Steed] of Might
(buraq al-`izz) unto the atmosphere of divine
nearness
(haw'a al-qurb).
[9]
Everything is capable of
being registered on the level of description
(maqam al-wasf)
except this Hidden Book
(al-kitab
al-maknūn) which is abstracted beyond
all that can be characterized
and all that those who
describe things can depict.
[10]
And He creates from it all
that hath been and will be through His saying
ADD ARABIC
"Be! And it is!"
(Q.6:73 etc).
[XXI]
[1]
Then know that ["that] "Book"
(kitāb)
signifies the Logos-Self (nafs) of
Muhammad
in which all mysteries (asrār)
hath been inscribed
by the Pen of God
(qalām
Allāh),
the Protector, the Mighty,
the Self-Subsisting.
[2]
This to the end
that thou should testify to the fact that
there is no God except Him,
the King, the
Protector, the Beloved One.
[3]
Thus has it been sent down aforetime,
ADD ARABIC
"Read! the Book of thine
own Self"
(cf. Q. 17:15).
[4]
This is a "Book" which
suffices those who have believed
and which enables them to attain unto
the
precincts of a Treasured Name
[5]
And on another level
reference is made to a Book
which was, in very truth,
sent down upon him
and which
God made to be a Distinguisher
[Criterion] (al-furqan)
between such as have believed
and such as have disbelieved
in their Lord,
as accords with [divine]
justice.
[XXII]
[1] And on another level
know thou that God named His
Beloved One [Muhammad] by means of the composite
letters (al-hurūfāt al-murakkabat) and the compounded words (al-kalimat al-jami`at) the like of which thou do
utter through his Names, Muhammad, Aḥmad and Maḥmud in the Kingdom of Names
(malakūt
al-asmā'). [2] Thus He named him by means of extended letters (al-hurūfāt al-munbasīṭa) and Isolated characters
(al-ruqūmāt al-muqaṭṭa`ah[āt]) in order that all
possessed of some knowledge of God might acknowledge that all the Most-Beautiful
Letters (al-hurufat al-abha') and the Most Beautiful Names (al-asma al-husnā') were created for him such that nothing appears from the Beloved One [=
Muhammad] except that He hath thereby intended His Beloved
[Muhammad / Baha'-Allah]. [3] And this indeed is His Beloved One
as thou would realize if thou should observe
with the eye of the spirit. [4] The utterance is confirmed
in the light of that which
the Dove of Timeless Eternality (warqa' al-azaliyya) daily crieth out, `Supplicate ye!
for his are
the Most Beautiful Names (al-asmā' al-husna').' [5] This indeed is what was sent
down aforetime and which thou dost recite
during his days; the same also do most of the
people recite (see Q. 7:179[180]).
[XXIII]
[1]
Then know thou that God is the One Who created
by means of these extended,
Isolated letters
(al-hurufat al-munbasitah al-muqatta`ah)
aspects of a Name
of His Beloved One
(fi ism habibihi)
which is an expression of the
essential realities
of the extendedness
(jawhariyyat al-munbasitah)
and of the subtle,
elevated, pristine characteristics
(al-sadhijat al-rafi`ah` al-latifah)
the like
of which thou do witness in the Mirrors
which reflect the Muhammadan Sun
[= the Twelver Imams]
(shams al-muhamadaniyya).
[2]
Wherefore did He create in
his Name
through the Sacred Words
(al-kalimat al-mubarakah)
the Blessed Definitive
Temples
(hayakil al-mahdud)
from the elements of the
Divine Singularity
(`anasir al-wahidiyya)
wholly in accordance with
their respective degrees
of reflecting this Sun
(al-shams).
[3]
Then ponder upon the creation
of the heavens
and of the earth
in order that thou might be
aware that
every [Divine] Name
is in the shadow of his [Muhammad's
?] Name
and every [Divine] Attribute
(ṣifāt)
is but a shadow of his Attribute.
[4]
Be assured that everything
lies within the grasp of his power
and is
created from the Letters of his Name
(hurufat ismihi)
and be thou reckoned among
such as have
discerned with the eye of God
(`ayn Allāh)
the manifestations of
Divine artistry
(mazāhir al-sana`).
[XXIV]
[1]
And on another level
the [isolated letter]
ا "A"
represents the Absolute
Divinity
(al-uluhiyya al-muṭaqah).
[2]
The [isolated letter]
ل
"L"
(al-lām)
represents the Absolute
Wilāya
("Providential
Overseership")
al-wilāya
al-muṭlaqah)
which is realized through His
"Logos- Self"
(nafs);
actualized (al-qa'ima)
through His saying,
"Thy waliyy ("Patron") is [only]
God" (Q. 5:55a).
[3]
This is by virtue of the
Mighty,
Praiseworthy Trusteeship
(wilāya al-`aziz al-maḥmūd).
[4]
The [isolated, Isolated
letter]
م "M"
(al-Mīm)
is expressive of the
Muhammandan Actuality [Beingness]
(al-kaynūnah al-muhammadiyya)
and the Aḥmadī Modality
(al-ṭarāz al-aḥmadiyya).
[5]
And God addressed him
[Muhammad] by means of these [isolated] letters
to the end that all
might attain certitude for everything that He
expounds is of importance,
is communicated through created languages
or made meaningful relative
to
the earthly originated
domain (arḍ al-inshā'iyya).
[6]
All of this appears in the Muhammadan garment
(qamīṣ al-muhammadiyya)
and
thus doth the Dove (al-warqā') warble forth
on every level the melodies of the Spirit
perchance thou might
comprehend something of what is
communicated unto thee.
[XXVI]
[1]
By God!
If I desired to expound these three
levels
[of interpretation]
relative to these three [isolated] letters [A-L-M]
[numerous]
scriptural Tablets (al-alwah) would in no wise suffice
[to register their sigificances];
insufficient
ink would be available
such that it would prove necessary to select on every
level
something of what thou art capable of apprehending.
[2]
This inasmuch as
the moment for the Pen
(al-qalām)
to write even a [single] letter is
beyond my grasp
in the light of [the actions of] such as have disbelieved
and
added gods to God.
[3]
And this since the shackling of this Youth
(al-ghulām) [Bahā'-Allāh]
seems something conspired within their breasts;
the Youth who reposes in the
region of Iraq
(shatr al-`Iraq),
summons all unto progress
and orients himself towards
the horizon of
the Divine Singularity
(afaq al-aḥadiyya )
by virtue of the splendours
of the radiance of the [mystic] Horizons
[4]
These matters do We mention
unto thee
relating to the
mysteries of the Cause (asrar al-amr)
perchance thou
might be attentive.
[5]
Wherefore!
By he in whose hand is the
Logos-Self of Ḥusayn!
If it were not for the fact that the dangerous ways
of the practitioners of dissimulation
(ahl al-nifaq = [proto-] Azali
Bābis?)
had inhibited me
mention would have been made in
the
scriptural Tablet (al-lawh)
of
that which would enable thee to be detached from
all that is in the heavens and
on the earth
and enable thee to attain unto a station which no ear
hath ever
heard and no eye hath ever perceived.
[6]
Such an ever-flowing bounty
can never by surpassed! even if it should flow out
from the
beginning which hath no beginning
unto the end for which no end can be
perceived.
[7]
This in that the Fountainhead of this Divine Watercourse
this Ocean of the Divine
Singularity
(al-bahr
al-aḥadiyya )
is none other than the Reality of the Lordly Bounty
(haqiqat fadl
al-rabbaniyya),
the very Beingness of the knowledge of Perpetuity
(kaynunah `ilm
al-samadaniyya).
[8]
In view of this how could it ever be that this delicious,
ever-flowing Reality could be exhausted?
[9]
Nay rather! By my
Lord!
it shall never cease; neither shall it pass away
for there shall be made
manifest through it
what shall give testimony unto Us
and in addition also the
witness of
the denizens of the
Supreme Concourse
(sukkan mala' al-a`la).
[10]
How can the Bounty of God ever be terminated?
Or the Divine Grace be cut off on His part?
[11]
Nay! By the very Lord of the
of the heavens
and of the earth!
His Mercy hath ever preceded all things
and His Bounty hath forever circumambulated all existence!
[XXVI]
[1]
Say: O People!
This is an expression of His
Bounty which He sends down unto thee,
the rains of divine Wisdom
from the
clouds of knowledge.
[2]
It's effect wafts over all realms of
possible being to the end that they might be enabled
to enter the Riḍwān of Holiness (riḍwān al-quds) and be clothed in garment of Eternal
Subsistence
(qamīṣ al-baqā').
[3]
Ponder ye, therefore,
upon the mysteries of this
Divine Bounty.
[4]
Say: `O people!
You were asleep upon the bedclothes
and failed
to rise up from the couches of heedlessness
(maqā'id al-ghaflat) when there
dawned forth the Sun of the Divine Love (shams al-ḥubb).
[5]
When, that is, all mouldering bodies (al-ajsad al-ramīmah)
were resuscitated through its energizing
effect you were as a frozen ice-mountain
(al-jabal al-bard)
failing to melt down with the
beaming radiance of this celestial [Sinaitic] Fire (al-nar)
when all
who dwelt within the lofty heights of Paradise (rafārif al-khuld) were set ablaze thereby.
[XXVII]
[1]
Say: O People!
Thou failed to hearken unto this servant
(al-`abd)
possessed
of certitude in God
(al-muqin bi-Allāh)
for,
through this Luminary
(al-siraj)
didst thou become aware of
the gradations of mystical love
(marātib al-ḥubb).
[2]
How magnificently is he enkindled
with the Fire of Love
(nūr al-ḥubb)
and
how fiercely does he at every moment burn up
through the fire of His [Own] Logos-Self
(nar al-nafsihi).
[3]
Wherefore, should thou be set ablaze
through the wonders
of the Remembrance
(bada'`i al-dhikr).
[4]
So hearken thou [within thine
own selves]
and supplicate God within [regarding His mystery] (fi sirrihi)
with
a tongue dedicated unto Him
[5]
[Wherefore] say,
`O my God and my Master (sayyid)!
I supplicate Thee through Thy Luminary (siraj)
whom Thou didst make to be
sanctified above the Lamp
(al-miṣbāḥ)
in that Thou raised me up
in the assemblage of
the lovers
in a locale wherein
mention is made
of the Name of God,
the Mighty, Help in Peril, the One Promised.'
[6]
The One that is, Who, in very
truth,
shall come upon a
cloud-canopy of fire
(`ala zill min al-nar)
and about whom circumambulate
the angels of the sacred
Cause
(mala'ikat al-amr).
[7]
At this will the cloud[s]
of holiness be upraised
and the Dove (al-warqa')
warble out accents the like which
of shall enrapture
the inmost hearts of the
cherubic beings
who are nigh unto God (af'idat al-muqarribīn).
[XXVIII]
[1]
Say: O People!
Hearken unto My Speech!
Realize the importance (qadr) of
these days
and hold ye firm unto the brilliant, hidden Thread
(al-khayt).
[2]
Be
not entrapped by this mortal world
(al-dunya')
and its embellishments
and do not allow thyself to be saddened by adversity
or disoriented
on account of what may harm thee
through such as have disbelieved and turned
away from God,
the Mighty, the Beloved One.
[3]
Be among the choicest of
creatures
who would not be held back
by any hindrance of the
hinderer,
veiled by the baseness of the censurer
or witheld by antagonisms of an antagonist;
even though, as thou wouldst
realize,
all who dwell on earth should oppose them.
[4]
Such persons are among those who
do not orient themselves
in the direction of any single Countenance
and are unconcerned with anything
in the created domain
(al-mulk).
[5]
And were such persons to chance upon cities of gold
they
would assuredly,
even as the lightening, flee therefrom.
[6]
They would in no
way be entangled therewith
but render glory in the exuberance of their
detachment
[7]
These are such that when the verses of thy Lord
are recited unto them,
the Fire of the Divine Singularity (nūr
al-aḥadiyya )
is generated within their hearts
and their limbs are made to quake
with spiritual yearning
(al-shawq).
[8]
Their very countenances prostrate before God,
the King, the Help in Peril,
the Mighty, the Most Holy.
[9]
Everything aforementioned,
regarding such as is evidenced in
the inmost disposition
of
those who are truly detached, do We cast upon thee
perchance thou might
with thine own eyes speedily attain unto the shore of the
Divine Bounty
(shaṭī` al-fadl).
[XXIX]
[1]
Then know thou that on another level
God intends by these [isolated]
letters
(al-ḥurūfāt)
the mysteries indicative of the[chronological] fulfillment [of prophecy]
(asrār ilā nihāyāt)
by means of which He alludes unto
the period of the
concealment of the [expected eschatological] Beauty
(ikhfā'
al-jamāl)
behind pavilions of Glory
(surādīqat al-jalāl) the like of which is
evidenced in
the recorded traces (āthār) of the [twelver] Imams of the Criterion
(a'imma al-furqān).
[2]
[Thus,
