The Surat al-Kifāya
(Surah of the
Sufficiency)
of
Bahā'-Allāh.
Prov. trans.
Stephen N. Lambden 1986 / rev. 2000.
Arabic text [mss.] translated from INBMC 36:277-280.
Last revised
Jan 2006.
The Arabic Sūrat al-kifāya ("The Sura of the
Sufficiency") of Bahā-Allāh remains unpublished and unstudied. It is nowhere listed or
referred to by Shoghi
Effendi. A photocopy of the difficult ms. can be found in INBMC
36:277-280. In my loose chronological listing of Bahā-Allāh's major
titled Tablets I have supposed that Surat al-kifāya might date from the earliest Iraq
period (2TB1) or date to the pre-Kurdistan (1856 CE) Iraq period, especially since it has much
in common with the definitely early Lawḥ-i kull al-ta`ām (Tablet of All Food).
This
dating is, however, highly speculative. In 1988/9 I requested a copy from Haifa
wondering if they had a better mss than that reproduced in INBA 36 and it appears
that they do not because I received a slightly enlarged photocopy of the INBMC 36
ms. from the BWC in 1984.
The Surat
al-kifāya was primarily addressed to one
designated as the ḥarf al-jud ("the Letter of [the Divine] Bounty/
Bountiful One") whose identity is uncertain. The designation ism al-jūd
("the name of the Bountiful One") and Ism Allah al-jūd (= "the Name of God,
the Bountiful One"; Mazandarani, Asrar 3:57ff)) was applied in many
Tablets of Bahā-Allāh to Āqā / Mīrzā Muhammad Jawād Qazvini (d.191? CE),
ultimately an opponent of `Abd al-Baha' (one of the so-called ahl al-tawhid
or muwahhidun, "Unitarians", cf. Browne, Materials.. viiiff). He
was certainly in Baghdad prior to 1862 though it is not at all clear if he was
ever designated harf al-jud or might be the one so designated in the
Surat al-kifāya.
Many other Jawād's might be suggested if it could be
legitimately argued that the harf al-jūd is another Bābī named Jawad
including, Hajji Siyyid Jawad Karbalā'ī (d. Kirman c. 1882/3) an early Bābī and
Bahā'ī of great learning and importance (cf. Sulaymani Masabih 2:471ff). Alternatively, perhaps
Mīrzā Wahhab-i Khurasānī who was
known as Mīrzā Jawad (see Fayḍī, K. la`ālī 302-3). The working out of the identity of this ḥarf al-jūd
is obviously important for the dating of the Surat al-kifāya.
The Surat al-kifāya seems
essentially an early (c. 1852-4?) defense of the leadership role and Bābī
authority of Baha'-Allah's half-brother Mīrzā Yaḥyā Nūrī (c. 1834 -Cyprus,1914). Much of the arcane terminology centers around his various titles
many of which derive from the Bāb himself. e.g. nūr = abjad 256... ;
I:9 ṭal`at Allāh = Yaḥyā ; XIII:1 ṭal`at
al-nūr, etc.
There is also a fairly clear
reference at XI:4 to Yaḥyā's early (or future?) Kitab al-nūr ( The Book of
Light, c. 1854) several mss. copies of which are still extant; in, for example,
the British Museum [Library]). Yaḥyā' is
pictured in the Surat al-kifāya as the source of Bābī
knowledge. As Bahā'-Allāh categorically stated in many of his post-1863
scriptural Tablets, he upheld the sublimity of Yaḥyā's station before he became
subversive and inadequately self-obsessed. He kept much of this Bābī-Azalī
rebellion secret for two decades or more (c.1846-66), before, that is he more openly announced
his own theophanic status (1863+6,etc). The issue of Mīrzā Yaḥyā's
remaining outwardly hidden and isolated in the face of the need for a manifest
centre of Bābī authority and revelation, is obvious. Despite his
obfuscation Yaḥyā must be viewed by the early, post (July 9th)1850
Bābīs as a centre of Bābī gnosis.
THE SūRAT
AL-KIFĀYA
(SURAH OF THE SUFFICIENCY)
[0]
This is the
Sūrat al-kifāya (Sura of the Sufficiency).
It was assuredly
sent down on the part of the True One (min al-ḥaqq) regarding the question of
knowledge (fī jawāb al-`ilm).
In the Name of God, who, no God is there except Him.
And He is God who was Powerful over all things.
[I]
[1]
O people of
the letter "H" (al-hā')!
[2]
Hearken unto the melody of the Crimson Leaf (waraqat
al-ḥamrā') in the Paradise of the Divine Cloud (jannat al-`amā')
for He, verily,
is the Light [of] the Radiant Temple [Sinaitic] (haykal
al-sa[i]nā')
Who acteth on behalf of God, as a Manifest Light unto the worlds
(nūr an mubīn an).
[4]
Bear witness unto the Countenance of the theophany (ṭal`at al-ẓuhūr)
through the Robe of Light (qamīṣ al-nūr)
which is evident
beyond Mount Qāf, at the right-hand side of the Mount [Sinai] (al-ṭūr).
[5]
He,
assuredly, is the True One (al-ḥaqq) who hath ever been the very essence of the
divine Unicity (jawhar al-aḥadiyya)
which is the Camphor Fount (`ayn al-kafur).
[6]
Emerge ye, at the behest of God, from your dwelling places then enter the
garden of the inmost heart (ḥadiqat al-fū'ād)
[7]
This is indeed the Abode of Light (bayt
al-nūr) at this the time of heedlessness before the Citadel [Object] of Fervent Devotion
(madīnat al-ghayūr).
[8]
This is but a
dewdrop from the oceans of the divine Logos-Command (aḥbar al-amr)
which hath been inscribed in the Tablet of Life
(lawḥ al-hayāt), the very essence of the celestial Fire
(jawhar al-nūr).
[9]
If thou should desire to attain the presence of the Countenance of God (ṭal`at Allāh = Yaḥyā ?)
then rise up
unto the heaven of the atmosphere (hawā ' al-samā')so that thou may hearken
unto the Call of the Almighty Bird (dīk al-jabbār),
[saying]
`There is none other God save Him, the One, the Subduer'.
And He is God Who hath ever been of All-Encompassing Power over all things.
[II]
[1]
O people of the earth!
[2]
Hearken unto the Call of the Leaf of the Divine Ipseity
(waraqat al-huwiyya) which springeth up from the Tree of all-Eternity
(shajarat al-azaliyya),
[3]
[and] which groweth up within the All-Enduring Realm
(min arḍ al-ṣamadiyya) warbling captivating divine verses to the effect that,
[4]
`He, assuredly is the True One (al-ḥaqq); no God is there save Him'.
He is God Who hath ever been independent of all the worlds.
[III]
[1]
O denizens of the Celestial Cloud!
(ahl al-`amā')
[2]
This is the Paradise of the Divine Oneness
(jannat al-aḥadiyya),
the Orchard of Eternality
(ḥadīqat al-azaliyya).
[3]
Then dwell therein with the
permission of God;
there is none other God save Him.
And He is God
Who hath ever
been cognizant of all things.
[4]
So hearken ye unto the melody of the ecstasy
inducing Voice
(taghannā al-injidhāb)
which cometh from the Countenance (ṭal`at) of One seated upon the Couch of Divine Nearness
(sarīr al-iqtirāb),
[5]
the Point of
the Theophany (nuqṭat al-ẓuhūr), the Inmost Secret (sirr al-buṭūn), the Secreted
Essence of the Book
(mustassir al-kitāb).
[6]
This to the effect that He is indeed the
True One
(al-ḥaqq)
besides Whom there is none other.
And He is God Who hath ever been witness unto all
things.
[IV]
[1]
Wherefore doth God reorient thee towards the
two motionless [letter] "A"s
[Bahā'-Allāh and Yaḥya?]
(alifayn al-rākidayn)
to the end that ye may
realize that
he hath ever been powerful over all things.
[2]
Should thou
become aware of the Evident Temple
(haykal al-jahr)
within thine inmost
Heart (fū'ād)
[3]
thou would surely find composure from God
such that thou would bear witness that God is assuredly the All-Sufficient
Who hath ever been a
mawlā ("Patron") over the totality of the worlds.
[4]
Enter ye then the House of Light (bayt al-nūr), the Snow-White Land (arḍ al-bayḍā'), the Crimson Pillar (rukn al-ḥamrā'),
the
Firmly Established Abode
(tamakkun al-dār) (cf. Q.10:25) which is the Abode
of the Hereafter ,
[eschatological era]
(dār al-ākhira),
the Primal Mystery
(sirr al-ūlā) which
is assuredly the Source of Life
(al-ḥaywān)
inscribed in the Mother Book
(umm al-kitāb).
[V]
[1]
Should thou become aware of but a
single melody of the Divine
Utterance
[2]
thou would assuredly find repose
and be
protected from grandiose suppositions
(al-subuḥāt)
and vain allusions
(al-ishārāt); from the dissent of the veiled One (fitna al-`amīyā').
[VI]
[1]
O people of the Concourse!
Hearken ye unto the songs of the Ant of endless Duration
(nimlat
al-ṣamadiyya)
[2]
which warbleth with the verses of the Divine Unicity
(āyāt al-aḥadiyya) indicative of the fact that
[3]
`He is indeed the True One (al-ḥaqq), the Point of the
Divine Cloud [Beclouded Realm]
(nuqṭat al-`amā'),
the locus of the Divine Ipseity' (jawhar al-huwiyya).
[4]
So exalted be God, the King, the True One, Who hath ever been powerful over
all things.
[VII]
[1]
This is the Call of the Hoopoe of Servitude (hudhud al-`ubudiyya)
[Bahā'-Allah]
in the heaven of manifest Justice (samā' al-`adl) who stands before the
All-Glorious one (al-jalāl) [= Yaḥyā ?]
[2]
He, verily, is the one Hidden (al-ghayb), though the
Pure Wine of the Theophany (sirf al-ẓuhūr),
the Mystery of the All-Beauteous One (sirr al-jamāl).
[3]
So praised be He, He is God Who hath ever been witness unto all things.
[VIII]
[1]
O denizens of the Celestial Cloud (ahl al-`amā')!
Guard [purify] thyselves lest ye
be agitated within on account of
the delusive Grandiosity (al-subuḥāt)
and
Subtle Profundities (al-ishārāt)
[2]
and their negative [prohibitory] aspects and their authoritative tone for
[3]
such is an expression of justice (ḥukm al-`adl)
from the clouds of the divine Graciousness (ghamām al-faḍl)
inasmuch as the same hath ever been revealed according to a heaven sent wisdom
(ḥukm min al-samā?).
[IX]
[1]
O ye denizens of the realms of Being! (ahl al-akwān)
Eat ye of the succulent fruit (thamarat al-muthmirat)
of the Crimson Tree (shajarat al-ḥamrā')
which hath been
planted in the land of realization (arḍ al-imḍā'),
[2]
the Point of Origination (nuqṭat al-badā'),
[3]
the Mystery of the [eschatological] end-time(sirr al-khatm)
and the secreted mystery of the
Divine Decree (mustasirr al- qaḍā') [= Yaḥyā ?]
[X]
[1]
Such is the decree of the Book which originates with God and hath ever been sealed up (makhtūm)
in the Mother Book (umm al-kitāb).
[2]
Issue forth then from your habitations in order that you might be
present in the Sanctum of holiness
(ḥaram al-quds),
the Intimate threshold of the celestial Cloud (`amā ' al-uns)
[3]
whose decree hath, with the express permission of God, the Exalted One,ever been witnessed in
the Tablet of the Heart (lawḥ al-fu'ād).
[XI]
[1]
So Bear thou witness! O concealed Letter (ḥarf al-ghayb)
that the Logos-Soul of Knowledge (nafs al-`ilm) is the pristine wine of the Theophany (ṣirf al-ẓuhūr)
expressed in the Book of God (kitāb Allāh) a single letter of which hath not been grasped by anyone.
[2]
Such
hath ever, on the part of God, the Lord of all the worlds, been inscribed in the Tablet of the Divine Decree
(lawḥ al-amr).
[3]
With Him is the knowledge of the heavens and of the earth and what lieth between them as well as the knowledge of
all things
(`ilm kulli shay'i)
for He Who is God hath ever been knowledgeable of
all things (kulli shay').
[4]
He it is Who, through the knowledge of what is
being sent down from heaven, whatsoever is drawn out from the earth
as well as
that which rageth about upon it, goeth forth from it and approacheth it was
assuredly part of His knowledge
which hath ever been preserved on the part of God, the Exalted, in the Book of Light (kitāb al-nūr)
[of Yaḥyā?]
[5]
Then bear witness that
the essence of origination (jawhar al-ibdā`) is He Who is the locus of
knowledge (jawhar al-`ilm)
in the realms of existence (al-imkān).
[6]
Wherefore
is it that the essence of knowledge regarding the Divine Essence (al-`ilm fī al-dhāt)
is [focused in] the very Logos-Self of the Divine Essence (nafs al-dhāt).
[7]
No one knoweth how He is
save Him for He is God Who hath ever been witness of all things (kulli shay').
[8]
He is the One Who giveth victory unto whomsoever He pleaseth through the
[exalted?] angels of Light (malā'ikat al-nūr).
[XII]
[1]
Such an one is assuredly the divine Theophany (al-ẓuhūr), the Pillar of Praise (rukn al-tamḥīd),
the Mystery of
divine Glorification (sirr al-tamjīd)
[2]
about the figurehead [brow] of aloneness (jibhat al-tajrīd), the
cloud of Isolated Uniqueness (`amā' al-tafrīd)
who yet hath ever, in very truth, been manifestly apparent. (mashūd
an).
[3]
With him is the knowledge of the scriptural Tablets (`ilm al-alwāḥ) and the knowledge of all things
(`ilm kull shay') in the Book of the Spirit (kitāb al-rūḥ)
[4]
though the people are without the capacity to witness even a token (ramz
an) thereof though God is He Who hath ever been
knowledgeable of
all things (kull shay').
[5]
So praised be unto He with whom is the Kingdom of
the verses (malakūt al-āyāt) which He sendeth down in
whatever manner he pleaseth by virtue of a command on His part;
He is God who hath ever been the One
Who taketh account (ḥāsīb) of all things.
[XIII]
[1]
O people of the earth!
Should ye desire to become informed of the Reality of Knowledge (ḥaqq
al-`ilm) [then] become ye informed of
the Countenance of Light (ṭal`at al-nūr, = Yaḥyā )
[2]
Say:
`Praised be to God! He is God Who hath ever been exalted beyond the
knowledge [gnosis] of the totality of the
Azalīs [proto-Azalī Bābīs?] ( `ilm al-azaliyyīn jamī`an).
[XIV]
[1]
O Letter of the Divine Bounty! (ḥarf al-jūd)
[2]
Say: `Praised be God! He is God, who hath ever been sanctified above the description of such
as are cut off [from him]
[3]
By the True One!
He hath ever been known (ma`rūf an)
by virtue of the Logos-Self of the True One (bi-nafs al-ḥaqq).
[XV]
[1]
O denizens of the Concourse!
Suppose ye not through evil supposition and utter ye not that which ye do not carry out; should, that is,
ye aspire to become informed
(khabīr an) of even a letter
of the Book of the Divine Cause (bi-ḥarf min kitāb al-amr)!
[XVI]
[1]
O Countenance of the Divine Bounty! (ṭal`at al-jūd),
Bear thou witness unto the fact that the Essence of thy Divine Bounty
(jawhar jūdika)
hath never ceased to be that Divine Bounty (al-jūd) which is prostrate before God, the All-Mighty, the One (al-waḥīd).
[2]
No God is there save Him. He is God Who hath ever been witness unto all things
[XVII]
[1]
Say: Hast thou not born witness unto that which God sent down aforetime and also thereafter,
unto a younger Beloved One (ḥabīb al-aqall =
Mirza Yaḥya? )
[2]
for he is none other than the Logos-Self of the
Beloved One (nafs al-maḥbūb)
[XVIII]
[1]
This in that the Covenant of God (`ahd Allāh)never taketh hold of the iniquitous
(al-ẓālimīn)
such that is, as are given to denial (al-mumkirīn).
[2]
This inasmuch as xxxxxx ?? is assuredly the one before whom
prostrates
all such as inhabit the heavens and the earth, and what lieth between them.
[3]
And He is God Who hath ever been a Sustainer (muqīṭ
an)
of all things.
[4]
So praised be He in Whose hand is the Kingdom of the Invisible (malakūt al-ghayb)
and the powerful Dominion of the Visible (jabarūt al-shuhūd)
[5]
He makes manifest whomsoever He wills through a command on His part.
And He, verily, is the True One (al-ḥaqq). There is none other God save Him.
[6]
He is God Who hath ever been independent of all the worlds
[7]
He is assuredly the One before Whose knowledge not a single thing,
whether in the heavens or on the earth, or what lieth between them, remaineth hidden.
[8]
And He is God
Who hath ever encompassed all things.
TO BE COMPLETED AND CORRECTED
Select notes on the Surat al-kifāya
VI:1 Here Bahā'-Allāh clearly refers to himself as "this lowly,
this forsaken ant". As far as I am aware the only other writing in
which Bahā'-Allāh refers to himself as nimla(t) an "ant" is the Lawḥ-i
kull al-ṭa`ām (Tablet of All Food, c. 1854). The exact source of the motif of the "ant" as applied by Bahā'-Allāh to himself is not clear. It may be that it is rooted in the Bāb's exegesis of Qur'ān
27:15ff (Tafsīr
surat al-baqara, 92) Obscure interpretations of qur'ānic verses and
prophetological stories are fairly common in Bābī-Bahā'ī scripture. No less
obscure, for example, than Bahā'-Allāh's referring to himself as an "ant" is the
Bāb 's equating Imām Alī with the "gnat" mentioned in Qur'ān
2:26. Such metaphorical images may seem obscure, but a close
study of the use of Arabic terms indicative of divine attributes in the Lawḥ-i
kull al-ṭa`ām leads to the conclusion that leading Bābīs are alluded to
themselves in highly evocative ways.
Several of the writings of Bahā'-Allāh of the Iraq period contain
allusions to the exalted status of Quddus and Mirza Yahya. Towards the end of the
Sahifa-yi shaṭṭiyya (c. 1857-8?) for example, we have the following Bābī confession of
faith:
..He verily, no god is there except Him. Alī before
Muhammad [= the Bāb ] is the Essence of God (dhāt Allāh) and His
All-Enduring Being. Muhammad before `Ali [= Mirza Muhammad `Ali
Barfurushi, Quddūs] is the Treasury of the Cause of God (ma`dan amr Allāh)
and His Perpetual Essence. The Countenance of the Living One (tal`at al-ḥayy
= Mirzā Yaḥyā?) is the Hidden Retreat of the decree of God (makman
ḥukm
Allah) and his upright bounty. The Letters of the Living (ḥuruf al-ḥayy)
are the first to believe in God and His signs [verses]. And we, one and
all, hold fast unto them".
Worth noting is the fact that the
Surat al-kifāya contains several passages
parallel to parts of the Lawḥ-i
kull al-ṭa`ām ...
ADD
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fayḍī, Muhammad `Alī.
Kitab La`alī-yi dirakhshan [Tehran 123
Badā`]
( pp. 302-3).
Sulaymani, Azizullah. (ed) Masabih hidayat Vol.2 Tehran:
BPT [ n.d.]
BAHA'U'LLAH baha'u'llah Bahá'u'lláh
Baha'-Allah Bahá
