THE LAWH-I XXXX
("TABLET OF THE HAIR")
OF
BAHA'-ALLAH
WITH
THE INTERLINEAR ARABIC TEXT AND OCCASIONAL EXPOSITORY NOTES.
Stephen Lambden
(Ohio University)
IN PROGRESS
2007-8
The
undoubtedly authentic Arabic scriptural Tablet of Baha'-Allah popularly
known in the West as the 'Tablet of the Hair' takes its name from the
words which follow its opening
huwa al-aziz ("He is the Almight"), namely
ADD "My hair is my Messenger" ADD ARABIC It probably dates to the
Sinaitic
Mysteries, 128-9
'It has
been noted that Baha'u'llah associates the zulf or "ringlets" of the
Divine Beloved with the flames of the Sinaitic Fire. Though most
likely written considerably later than the MathnawĪ, there are a
number of his writings in which his own "ringlets," "locks," and
"tresses" of hair are linked with Sinaitic imagery. In one epistle
he speaks of his hair as "My Messenger," "My Phoenix," "My Cord,"
and "My Veil" while introducing paragraphs expressive of his
position as intermediary between God and man. While Sufi poets
celebrated [p.129] the tresses of the Divine Beloved, Baha'u'llah
came to express his claims in terms of the symbolic senses of his
flowing locks of hair:
My hair is My Phoenix. Therefore hath it set itself upon the blazing
fire of My Face and receiveth sustenance from the garden of My
Countenance. This is the station wherein the Son of `Imrān [Moses]
removed from the feet of selfish desire the coverings of attachment
to all else but Him and was illumined by the splendors of the Light
of Holiness in the undying Fire kindled by God, the Potent, the
Gracious, the Ever-Forgiving.
O denizens of the everlasting Realm! Let your ears be attentive to
the stirrings of this restless and agitated hair, as it moveth upon
the Sinai of Fire, within the precincts of Light, this celestial
Seat of divine Revelation. Indeed, there is no God besides Me . .
.178
Every single hair of Mine head calleth out that which the Burning
Bush uttered on Sinai (= from the 2nd Tablet to Napoleon III cited
ESW:53).
As the Being who spoke from the Burning Bush or Sinaitic Fire
Baha'-Allah pictures his hair as having uttered the declaration of
divinity heard by Moses.
In my 1987-8 article on
the Sinaitic Mysteries I cited the following note from the American
Baha'i news:
Note: This tablet was
printed in the December 1938 issue of the U.S. Baha'i News, No.
121 p. 11, in which the accompanying note states: "This is the Tablet
read by Mrs. Thomas Collins in presenting at the Convention the
Guardian's gift of locks of Baha'u'llah's Hair. The Tablet is shared
with the believers with the Guardian's permission." Though the
translation had been approved by Shoghi Effendi, it was more recently
sent to the Baha'i World Center to verify its authenticity. The
translation given here is an authorized translation from the Baha'i
World Center ADD URL:
TABLET OF THE HAIR
[I]
HE IS THE ALMIGHTY
My hair is my Messenger.
It is calling aloud
at all times upon the branch of fire within the hallowed and luminous Garden
of Paradise, that perchance the inmates of the realm of creation may detach
themselves from the world of dust and ascend unto the retreats of nearness —
the Spot where the Fire seeketh illumination from the light of the
countenance of God, the Glorious, the Powerful.
O ye that have consecrated yourselves to this Fire!
Sing ye melodies, pour out sweet
tones, rejoice with exceeding gladness and make haste to attain the presence
of Him Who is the Object of adoration, bearing witness that no God is there
besides God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, the All-Compelling.
[II]
HE IS THE GOD OF WISDOM
My hair is My Phoenix.
Therefore hath it
set itself upon the blazing fire of My Face and receiveth sustenance from
the garden of My Countenance. This is the station wherein the Son of "Imran"
(Moses) removed from the feet of selfish desire the coverings of the
attachment to all else but Him and was illumined by the splendours of the
Light of holiness in the undying Fire kindled by God, the Potent, the
Gracious, the Ever-Forgiving.
[III]
HE IS THE MOST EXCELLENT, THE BEST BELOVED!
A lock of My hair is My Cord. He who layeth fast hold on it shall never to
all eternity go astray,
for therein is his
guidance to the splendours of the Light of His beauty.
[IV]
HE IS GOD
My hair is My Veil whereby I conceal My beauty, that haply the eyes of the
non-believers among My servants may not fall upon it.
Thus do We conceal
from the sight of the ungodly the glorious and sublime beauty of Our
Countenance
[V]
HE IS THE ETERNAL
My hair beareth witness for My beauty that verily I am God and that there is
none other God but me. In My ancient eternity I have ever been God, the One,
the Peerless, the Everlasting, the Ever-living, the Ever-Abiding, the
Self-Subsistent.
[VI]
O denizens of the everlasting Realm!
Let your ears be attentive to the
stirrings of this restless and agitated hair, as it moveth upon the Sinai of
Fire, within the precincts of Light, this celestial Seat of divine
Revelation. Indeed there is no God besides me. In My most ancient
pre-existence I have ever been the King, the Sovereign, the Incomparable,
the Eternal, the Single, the Everlasting, the Most Exalted.
[VII]
O peoples of the heavens and of the earth!
Were ye to sanctify your ears ye
would hear My hair proclaim that there is none other God except Him, and
that He is One in His Essence and in everything that beareth relationship
unto Him. And yet how fiercely have you cavilled at this beauty; not
withstanding that the outpourings of His grace have encompassed all that
dwell in the billowing oceans of His Revelation and Creation. Be ye fair
therefore in your judgement concerning His upright Religion, for the love of
this Youth who is riding high upon the snow-white She-Camel betwixt earth
and heaven; and be ye firm and steadfast in the path of Truth.
