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رَشْح عَمَاء AN EARLY POEM OF MĪRZĀ ḤUSAYN `ALĪ, BAHĀ'-ALLĀH: THE RASHḤ-I `AMĀ' ("THE SPRINKLING OF THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING").
Below is a slightly revised and expanded reprint of my 1984 translation and commentary upon the Rashḥ-i `amā' which was originally published in Bahā'ī Studies Bulletin 3:2 Sept.1984 [rev.1997/2001/3]. For the Rashh-i `ama texts and translations see the Bahā'-Allāh page on this Website. This revision takes account of the text printed in Ishrāq Khāvarī's (comp.) Mā'idih-yi āsmanī 4:184-6 and three other versions including the Haifa supplied mss. copy in the hand of Bahā'-Allāh's major amanuensis Zayn al-Muqarribīn which is probably a (later?) post-1863 recension of the Rashḥ-i `amā' text. AN EARLY POEM OF MIRZĀ ḤUSAYN `ALĪ, BAHĀ'- ALLĀH: THE RASHḤ-I `AMĀ’ رَشْح عَمَاء ("THE SPRINKLING OF THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING").
Stephen N. Lambden Revised from Bahā'ī Studies Bulletin 3:2 (Sept.1984) rev.1997/8. Copyright: Newcastle upon Tyne: Hurqalya Publications.
Bahā'-Allāh's Rashḥ-i `amā’ is a Persian poem of nineteen or more couplets (19 [+1]) which takes its name from the opening words of its first hemistich. Widely regarded by Bahā'īs as the earliest extant example of waḥy, (divine revelation, Bahā'ī scripture) it was apparently composed during the time of its author's imprisonment in the Siyah Chal ("Black Pit’) dungeon in Tehran, during the latter half of the year 1852 (early 1269 AH). It was, Bahā'-Allāh has explicitly stated in his later writings, during the "year nine" (1269 AH/ Oct. 15th 1852 = October 4th 1853 CE) that he underwent profound mystical experiences and resolved to attempt a regeneration of the demoralized Bābī community.
ADD ESW + It seems likely, as most Bahā'ī writers have maintained, that the Rashh-i `ama’ is expressive of Bahā'-Allāh's own assumption of a leading role within the Bābī community a few years after the execution of the Bāb on July 9th 1850. To what extent, however, Bahā'-Allāh therein alludes to the theophanic status he later explicitly (allusively from the mid.-late 1850s?) claimed is not clear bearing in mind the extravagant claims made by many leading Bābīs in the 1850s, the poetic nature of this work, and the probability that he is representing himself as a channel through which the celestial and eschatological Bābī spirit flows. He certainly makes no explicit claim to be man yuẓhiru-hu Allāh ("Him whom God would make manifest" , the expected Bābī messiah) and could be understood to be representing himself as a leading Bābī rather than claiming to be the inaugurator of a new (though essentially secret) religious dispensation. In his The Revelation of Bahā'u'llāh the well-known Bahā'ī writer Adib Taherzadeh (d. 2000) has expressed the opinion that the Rashḥ-i `ama’ "may well prove impossible to translate". Such is not exactly the case even bearing in mind the fact that certainty in translation is seldom possible. A literalistic translation is not too difficult though a multiplicity of possible renderings offer themselves. The task of translation is not at all "impossible" though there exist several (three or four?) variant textual traditions. It would seem likely that Bahā'-Allāh himself at different times re-worked or re-revealed the Rashḥ-i `amā’ as he did, for example, with his Sūrat al-haykal ("Surah of the Temple", 1867-8+1869+1873?). The text in the hand of Zayn al-Muqarribīn (as will be seen) may be among his latest recensions. While translation of the Persian of the Rashh-i `amā’ is not too difficult it is not straightfoward determining a "precise" contextual meaning or (initially Babi) Sitz im Leben (setting in life). The basic sense of most lines of the Rashh-i `amā’ seems clear enough though there are various expressions that could be understood and translated in a variety of ways (e.g. line 11a see below). In this (still beta) provisional translation of one text little attempt has been made to be anything but as literalistic as is reasonably possible. I may well of course have completely misunderstood the sense of a number of the more abstruse parts of this beautiful poem and would be delighted to receive alternative renderings and suggestions. As yet there is no critical edition[s] of the Rashh-i `ama'. The four texts available to me are far from consistent. As far as I am aware the Persian text has to date only been printed in `Abd al-Hamid Ishrāq Khāvarī's compilation Mā'idih-yi asmani 4:184-6.This latter text is obviously divergent from other mss versions. It is not, however, in complete agreement with the divergent and (earlier?) text photostatically reproduced in INBMC 36: 60-1 or with all other extant manuscript versions. The text translated below is slightly different from the Haifa supplied unpublished mss in the hand of Zayn al-Muqarribīn (see above hyperlink). Actual and probable variant readings in the (not very legible) INBMC 36:460-461) and in other manuscripts lead me to suppose that the Zayn text represents a developed tradition -- the Rashḥ-i `ama perhaps having gone through two or more recensions -- perhaps stemming from Bahā'-Allāh himself (?). Textual variants will be registered and commented upon in the detailed exegetical notes (in the forthcoming BSB). If in attempting to translate the Rashḥ-i `amā' I have "attempted the impossible", it was certainly with my `head in the clouds' that the somewhat extended section on the use of the term `ama’ (lit. `cloud') in Bābī-Bahā'ī scripture was written (see BSB 3/2:42-114). I hope it contains some points of interest for those who do not share my fascination with the byways of Bābī-Bahā'ī doctrine. TRANSLATION OF THE RASH Ḥ-I `AMĀ'رَشْح عَمَاء REVISED PROVISIONAL TRANSLATION OF THE RASH Ḥ-I `AMĀ'Text Mā'idih 4:184-6 Revised from Bahā'ī Studies Bulletin 3:2 (Sept.1984) ____________________________
هو الله He is God [1] رشح عما از جذبه ما ميريزدسّر وفا از نغمه ما ميريزد On account of Our Rapture the Sprinkling of the Cloud of Unknowing raineth down; The Mystery of Fidelity poureth forth from Our Melody. [2] از باد صبا مشك خطا گشته پديداين نفحه خوش از جعده ما ميريزد The musk of Cathay hath appeared from the Zephyr;this sweet-scented Breeze wafteth down from Our ringlet. [ 3]شمس طراز از طلعت حق كرده طلوعسّر حقيقت بين كز وجهه ما ميريزد The Ornamented Sun hath arisen from the Countenance of the True One; See thou that the Mystery of Reality raineth down from Our Face! [ 4] بحر صفا از موج لقا كرده خروش اين طرفه عطا از جذبه ما ميريزدOut of a Wave of the Ocean of the Meeting with God the Sea of Purity hath cried out; On account of Our Rapture this Precious Favour poureth forth. [5]بهجت مل از نظره گل شد ظاهر اين رمز مليح از رنّه را ميريزدAt the sight of the Rose was the delight of the wine apparent;This sweet Cipher raineth down through the ringing sound of[the letter] "R" ( ر = rā').[ 6]نقره ناقوری جذبه لاهوتیاين هردو بيك نفحه از جوّ سما ميريزد The Stunning Trump! The Divinely Celestial Rapture!In the Firmament of Heaven they twain rain down as a Single Breath [Blast].
[ 7]دور انا هو از چهره ما كرده بروز كور هوهو از نفحه ما ميريزدOn account of Our Visage the dispensation of "I am He" hath commenced; The cycle of "He is He" poureth forth from Our Trumpet-Blast .
[ 8] كوثر حق از كاسه دل گشته هويدا وين ساغر شهد از لعل بها ميريزدFrom the Goblet of the Heart, the Kawthar of Reality hath appeared. Out of the vermilion lips of Bahā' this cup of Honey poureth forth.
[ 9]يوم خدا از جلوه رب شد ظاهر اين لغز حديث از غنه طا ميريزدThe "Day of God" hath been fully realized on account of the Effulgence of the Lord; Through the warbling of [the letter ] ط (= ṭā') "Ṭ"this New Beauty poureth forth.
[1 0]طفح بهائی بين رشح عمائی بينكين جمله زيك نغمه از لحن خدا ميريزدObserve the Glorious Overflowing! Behold the Beclouded Sprinkling ! Through the Melody of God all this poureth forth as a single Song.
[1 1]ماهی سرمد بين طلع منزه بينصدر ممرّد بين كز عرش علا ميريزد Observe the Eternal Moon! Behold the Pristine Ascendant Sun! See thou that the Pure Breast sprinkles forth from the elevated Throne[1 2]نخله طوبی بين رنّه ورقا بين غنّه ابهی بين كز لمع صفا ميريزد Observe the Blessed Palm-Tree !Behold the cooing of the Dove !See thou that the All-Glorious lament rains down from the brilliancy of Purity [1 3]آهنگ عراقی بين د فّ حجازی بينكف الهی بين كز جذبه لا ميريزد Observe the Iraqi Harmony! Behold the Hijazi Tambourine! See
thou that the rapture of "No (
lā'
diffuses out from from the Divine hand [1 4] طلعت لاهوتی بين حوری هاهوتی بين جلوه ناسوتی بين كز سّر عما ميريزدObserve the Deified Countenance! Behold the God-like Maiden! See thou that the terrestrial Effulgence raineth down from themystery of the Cloud of Unknowing! [15]
وجهه باقی بين چهره ساقی بين رق زجاجی بين كز كوبه ء ما ميريزدObserve the All-Enduring Face! Behold the Visage of the Cupbearer! See thou that the sparkling Draught rains down from Our Goblet! [1 6] آتش موسی بين بيضه بيضا بينسينه سينا بين كز كفّ سنا ميريزد Observe the Fire of Moses! Behold the snow-white Brightness ! See thou that the Sinaitic bosom pours down from the radiant palm . [1 7] ناله مستان بين حالت بستان بين جذبه هستان بين كز صحن لقا ميريزدObserve the state of the Intoxicated! Behold the verdure of Orchard! See thou that the rapture of existence pours forth from theCourt of the Meeting with God ![1 8]غنچه هائی بين طرزه بائی بين رنّه فائی بين كز كلك بها ميريزد
Observe
the letter "H"-like (
Behold the letter "B"-like (
See thou that the timbre of the Flute reverberates through the hollow-reed of Bahā ! [ 19]طفّ ظهوراست اين رشح طهوراست اين غنّ طيوراست اين كز عين فنا ميريزد This is the overflowing Theophany! This is the sprinkling of Manifestation! Such is the warbling of the heavenly birds which warble forth from the Fount of mystical death COMMENTARY
The following notes are not intended to be an extended commentary on the Rashḥ-i `amā'. Only a few points of doctrinal and philological interest will be noted along with the several important variant readings contained in a number of unpublished manuscripts -- including that reproduced in the Iran National Bahā'ī Archives Manuscript (Xerox) Collection Vol. 36 (see above).[1] هُوَ This heading Ar. Huwa is translated "He is God". It is the third person masculine pronoun هُوَ = huwa meaning "He is" and preceeds its object اللَّهُ Allāh, the Islamic proper Name of God. This phrase is very common in Islamic literatures. It is also often prefixed to thousands of Persian and Arabic Tablets of Bahā-`Allāh and `Abd al-Bahā' . Examples include:`Abd al-Bahā' has, a number of times, explained its basic significance in Bābī -Bahā'ī scripture.
[1] (a)رَشْح عَمَاء اَز جَذْب مَا مِريِزَد rashḥ-i `amā' āz jadhbih-yi mā mīrīzad On account of Our Rapture theSprinkling of the Cloud of Unknowing (rashḥ-i `amā' ) raineth down In this opening line Bah ā'-Allāh indicated that it is "from" or "on account of" (Per.) اَز (āz) his جَذْب jadhbih, "rapture" alternatively, `spiritual ecstacy', `winning-ways' (or possibly `enraptured Self') that the رَشْح عَمَاءrashḥ-i `amā' , the "Sprinkling of the Cloud of Unknowing" diffuses, trickles, sprinkles or rains down. The implication may be that his mystical experiences whilst imprisoned in the Sīyāh Chāl ("Black Pit") dungeon in Tehran had precipitated the outpouring of grace from the sphere of the Unseen, the Divine Cloud. His deep communion with God had actualized the outpouring of spiritual favors from the realm or cloud of the dark mist enveloping his occulted Beloved or Logos-Self.The iḍāfa (genitive) construction رَشْح عَمَاء rashḥ-i `amā' has been somewhat arbitrarily or subjectively translated `Sprinkling of the Cloud of Unknowing'. This translation was first used by Denis MacEoin and always seemed to me to be particularly apt. The phrase `Cloud of Unknowing' is, of course, the title of an anonymous 14th century English mystical treatise. There may, in fact, be some connection between the Islamic mystical concept of عَمَاء`amā` and early Jewish ideas of a transcendent, beclouded or occulted Deity. In the angelology of the Samaritan (proto-Judaic faction) the divine (kabod, the theophanous or radiant "glory" ADD (see JSS 2002).Also of central background interest in connection with the tradition of عَمَاء`amā` (cited above) are various pre-Islamic Patristic Christian expressions of apophatic (negative) theology, theological meditations upon that fact that the spiritual aspirant can only befittingly affirm what God is not, thereby experiencing the `way of negation'. The writings of Gregory of Nyssa (c.330-395) contain important materials in this respect. For him Exodus 24:15ff and 20:21 (among other texts) have to do with the sublimity of the experience of God's incomprehensibility. The former text refers to the "thick darkness" or "dark cloud" (Heb.) ADD (araphel) where "God was".... My reasons for feeling fairly happy with this the not wholly literal rendering رَشْح عَمَاء rashḥ-i `amā' as sprinkling of the Cloud of Unknowing' are, that (1) for Bābīs the recently martyred Bāb existed in a hidden spiritual world and was considered the hidden or "occulted" source of Divine inspiration; (2) the unknown nature of Bahā'-Allāh's messianic secret at the time of the composition of the the Rashḥ-i `amā' and (3) the fact that in various Sufi and certain Bābī-Bahā'ī texts `amā' is indicative of the depths of God's interiority, the incomprehensible hiddenness of His essence (dhāt), the enwrapped and beclouded nature of the ultimate Reality of the Divinity. رَشْح rashḥ ("sprinkling") The governing verbal noun رَشْح = rashḥ is derived from an Arabic triliteral root R-SH-Ḥ. The basic verbal form signifies, `to sweat', `to leak', `to percolate', `to trickle', `to distill', `to exude', 'to drop', ' to moisten' or to 'sprinkle', etc. Hence rashḥ = "a sprinkling"; alternatively, "a showering", "a dewdrop" (Lane2 1:1087-1088; Steingass [Beirut, 1970] 578; Weir4 [1979], 394; etc). Though رَشْح = rashḥ is not found in the Qur'ān the governing verbal noun rashḥ ("sprinkling") occurs quite frequently in both verbal and nominal forms in Bābī-Bahā'ī scripture. It has its most important background in Islamic literatures. A significant occurrence in the imperfect verbal form yarshḥahu is to be found in the well-known Shī`ī Ḥadīth Kumayl or Ḥadīth al-ḥaqīqa. Before making five pronouncements as to the deep secrets of ḥaqīqa ("Ultimate reality") Imām `Alī at one point said to his fellow traveler Kumayl ibn Ziyād al-Nakha'i (d. c. /681?) in response to his imploring him for guidance,
In the course of commenting upon a line of the Khuṭba al-ṭutunjiyya (The Sermon of the Gulf) ascribed to Imām `Alī (d. 40/661), the second Shaykhi leader Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī (d. 1260/1844) has occasion to cite and comment upon that line from the Ḥadīth Kumayl in which the word rashḥ occurs. Commenting upon rashḥ he writes: He [Imam `Alī] says `Yea! What sprinkles (yarshaḥu) from you overflows abundantly from me". This rashḥ ("sprinkling") is [by virtue of] the ink (al-midād) through which He delineated created things (al-khalq) through the prophets (al-anbiyā) and other besides them in view of the fact that they created through the sprinkling (al-rashḥ [of the ink of the Divine Pen]) and a sprinkling of the sprinkling (rashḥ al-rashḥ) and a sprinkling of the sprinkling of the sprinkling (rashḥ rashḥ al-rashḥ).. . (Sh-ṭutunjiyya 239). Among the verbal and nominal forms deriving from the root R-SH-Ḥ found in the writings of the Bāb... ADD In the following oath from a Persian Tablet of Bah ā-Allāh its author uses the plural form of rashḥ in association with the `Ocean of mystic meanings' :... I swear by the sprinklings (rashḥāt) of the Ocean of Mystic Meaning! (baḥr-i ma`ānī) ).. (INBA 8/2:450) It is likely that the word rashḥāt ("sprinklings") here indicates the effusions or "sprinklings" of "drops" (articulations) of divine revelation replete with interior meaning. Bahā'-Allāh would thus seem to swear by his own power of divine revelation.The Arabic verbal noun `amā' عَمَاء The governed noun `amā' is derived from the Arabic root amiya the basic sense of which is `to become blind, to be obscure'. `Amā' could thus be translated "blindness", "secrecy", "obscurity" (etc.) though it also has the sense of `cloud', possibly `heavy and thick clouds (which hide and obscure) or (the opposite!) light diaphanous clouds.Tradition has it that the Prophet Muhammad was asked, `Where was our Lord before He created the creation [and the heavens and the earth]?' He is said to have replied:
This reply probably originally expressed the conviction that God was hidden and self-subsisting in His own Being. It perhaps indicated that before His work of creation God was in obscurity, enshrouded in the `cloud' of His own Being, enwrapped or enveiled in a dark mist. In the theosophical Sufism of the school of Ibn al-`Arabi (d. 6xx/1270) `amā' became a key cosmological-theological term. It occurs fairly frequently in the writings of the Great Shaykh. In his massive Futuhat al-Makkiyya ("Meccan Openings"), for example, Ibn al-`Arabi's Kitāb al-isfār `an natā'ij al-asfār (Book of the Journeyings fromthe Consequences of the Journeys) begins with the standard basmala and a beatitude upon the Prophet Muhammad and continues:
The B āb and Bahā'-Allāh were both significantly influenced by the tradition regarding `ama' and its interpretation in theosophical Sufism. Bahā'-Allāh's earliest extant work is entitled, Rashḥ-i `amā' ("The Sprinkling of the Divine Cloud" 1269/ late 1852). The term `amā' (loosely = "cloud") is quite frequent in their writings. In Bābī-Bahā'ī scripture (as in Sufi interpretations) it is sometimes (though not always) indicative of the hidden and unknowable essence of God.In one of his early epistles the B āb comments in some detail on the `tradition of `amā' which is quoted in the form: "God was in `amā' (a "cloud") above it air and below it air". He states that this tradition indicates God's isolated independence. The term al-`amā' ("the cloud") only inadequately indicates the divine dhāt ("Essence"). In this interpretation, the Bāb seems to underline God's absolute otherness to such an extent that the term `amā' only indirectly hints at His transcendent unknowability. God's nafs ("Logos-Self") and dhāt ("Essence") are probably to be thought of as created and hypostatic realities indicative of, yet ontologically distinguishable from, His uncreated and absolute Ipseity. For the Bāb `amā' ("cloud") indicates God's absolute otherness. It is derived from al-`amī or al-`amān ("blindness", "unknowing") for vision is blinded before God's Face and eyes are incapable of beholding His Countenance.For the B āb the `ḥadīth of `amā' also enshrines the mysteries surrounding the Sinaitic theophany (see Qur'ān 7:142). It was not the dhāt al-azal, the eternal unknowable Essence of God that appeared in the celestial realm of `amā' (malakūt al-`amā') and radiated forth through the Divine Light on Mount Sinai, but an amr (= lit. "command" = "Logos") which God created from nothing. The theophany on the Mount was not the manifestation of `amā'` as God's absolute essence -- not a monistic type `theophany of he Divine Essence' (tajall) al-dhāt) -- but the disclosure of the Divine Light (nūr) "unto, through and in His Logos-Self (nafs), the Manifestation of God. The Bāb clarifies his interpretation of the modes of the divine theophany including the `theophany of the Divine Essence' (tajallīal-dhāt) found in certain Sufi treatises. Such a theophany does not involve a manifestation of the Divine Essence understood as a "cloud" or anything else.
[1b] سِّر وَفَاء از نَغمِه ما ميريزد Sirr-i vafā āz naghmih-yi mā mīrīzad"The mystery of Fideity poureth forth from Our melody" In the second hemistich of the first line of the Rash-i `amā' the genitive construction سِّر وَفَاء sirr-i vafā= parallels and rhymes with rashḥ-i `amā'. Here translated "Mystery of Fidelity" it might also be rendered "Secret of Faithfulness" or perhaps, something like, "Inwardly Loyal [One]". It is probably expressive of God's absolute faithfulness in connection with the pre-eternal covenant or that aspect of His Being which is indicative of His continuing to guide mankind. That the "Mystery of Fidelity" poureth forth from "Our Melody" may be understood to signify that Bahā'-Allāh's revealing divinely inspired verses (`melodies') is expressive of and originates in the sphere of the mystery of God's loyal pledge to guide His creatures. The terms sirr and vafā' are extremely common in the writings of the Bāb and Bahā'-Allāh though the genitive expression sirr-i vafā' (Per. / Arab. = sirr al-wafā') is not. It is, however, found in Bahā'-Allāh's Lawḥ-i kull al-ṭa`ām (A Tablet of All Food, c. 1854 CE);"Since at this moment the Ant of Servitude hideth in the Vale of the Divine Unicity ( The paragraph in which these lines occur is, unfortunately, obscure. It appears that Bah ā'-Allāh expresses his desire to explain Qur'ān 3:87 (still further, to Mīrzā Kamāl al-Dīn Naraqī ) despite his inner mysticl withdrawal towards God in the light of his being oppressed by his fellow Bāb) s.In the Bāb's writings the genitive expression ADD (wādī al-ah. adī ya) is indicative of the Sinaitic heights in which the pre-eternal covenant was made and the celestial sphere which is the mystic retreat of exalted beings (i.e. the Hidden Imam, the Bāb) who represent God. As the "Ant of Servitude" Bahāu'llāh has inwardly withdrawn into this heavenly realm. This during the "Night" (= the period following the Bāb's martyrdom?) with "mystic fidelity" (or "the Trusted Secret", "Interior Loyalty" or "Heartfelt Loyalty"). The implication may be that during a period of spiritual darkness (= "Night") Bahā'-Allāh's mystic withdrawal is an expression of his inner loyalty to the Bāb (who exists in the celestial realm).On the other hand the phrase al-sirr al-wafā' might allude to the person of the Bāb himself or that sphere which is expressive of his (the Bāb's) continuing to be the focal centre of inspiration; one mystically faithful with respect to continuing to guide leading Bāb's.Only a detailed study of the terms used in the opening line of the Rashḥ-i `amā= as they occur in Bab) -Bahā') scripture will serve to clarify its meaning -- though it should be borne in mind that there is always the danger of reading too much into an essentially poetical work. It may be that the expressions rashḥ-i `amā= and sirr-i wafā' (in line 1) are indicative of the Bāb as the celestial source of divine inspiration and guidance; the one who, subsequent to his martyrdom (185ā) existed in the exalted heavenly realm or `cloud of unknowing' (`amā') and is inwardly faithful (wafā') in terms of being a source of guidance.In certain Bābī and Bahā'ī texts the sphere of `amā= is associated with celestial beings and with the person of the occulted or hidden (and expected 12th) Imam, Imam Ḥusayn, the Dhikr ("Remembrance" = the Bāb) as well as with such leading Bābīs as Bahā'-Allāh. Wafā' in many such texts is also used in connection with the sphere of transcendent realities, the sphere of the `Sinaitic mysteries' or that heavenly realm where the primordial divine theophany took place and the pre-eternal covenant was made. Sirr-i wafā', if it is not an allusion to the person of the Bāb, could be indicative of the secret of that sphere in which God or exalted beings are faithful to, or mindful of, the primordial covenant regarding the truth of the Bābī religion or the person of Bahā'-Allāh.In his Muṣibāt-i ḥurūfāt-i `allīyyīn ("The Calamities of] The Exalted Letters" c. 1857/8?) Bahā'-Allāh speaks of the adverse effect his sufferings had upon his power of Divine Revelation, upon the naghamāt al-wafā' ( "melodies of fidelity") uttered by the "Nightingale [Dove] of the Command" (warqā' al-amr = Bahā'-Allāh) (Ad`īyih 229).At the beginning of his difficult 77th Persian Hidden Word' ( text in Ad`ī yih, 47ā-2; Shoghi Effendi [trans.] Hidden Words, 48-9) there is reference to the "beauty of the immortal Being" (jamāl haykal-i baqā' = Bahā'-Allāh himself?) repairing from the "emerald height of fidelity" (`aqabih-i zumurradī -yi wafā') unto the region of the sidrat al-muntahā (`The Lote-Tree of the Extremity' which exists in the all-highest Paradise) where he weeps in the presence of exalted beings. This on account of the fact that he waited expectant on the "hill of faithfulness" (`aqabih-i wafā') but did not inhale the "fragrance of fidelity" (ra'iḥih-i wafā') from "them that dwell on earth" (ahl-i arḍ). Written in about 1857 this `Hidden Word' almost certainly has to do with Bahā'-Allāh's disillusionment with his fellow Bāb) s (and contemporaries in general) and his claims and role in his attempts to regenerate them. His being on the "emerald height of fidelity" or expectantly waiting on the "hill of faithfulness" probably indicates his mystically dwelling in that sphere where a pre-eternal covenant was made regarding his person and which his contemporaries had forgotton -- they did not turn to him; Bahā'-Allāh did not inhale the "fragrance of fidelity" to the Bāb or his person from those around him. The time, however, as the latter half of this abstruse text indicates, had not arrived for the full disclosure of his claims. This explanation makes sense inasmuch as emerald is the third of the four colours mentioned in the B āb's writings (details cannot be given here) and qadr the third of the seven `Causes of Creation' (see for example Sahifa- yi- `adliyya, 161). In the light of the foregoing it should also be noted that the genitive expression "atmosphere of fidelity" (hawā' al-wafā') occurs in the Arabic section of Bahā'-Allāh's `Tablet of the Holy Mariner' (Lawḥ-i mallāḥ al-quds, 1863. ; see Mā= idih 4:335f [337]).Perhaps then, the second hemistich of the first line of the rashḥ-i `amā` indicates that Bahā'-Allāh's revealing verses is a sign of the truth of the primordial covenant regarding divine guidance.[ 2]از باد صبا مشك خطا گشته پديداين نفحه خوش از جعده ما ميريزد The musk of Cathay hath appeared from the Zephyr;this sweet-scented Breeze wafteth down from Our ringlet.
[2a] ā z bād-i ṣabā kha; āgushtih padīd(a) The Musk of Cathay hath appeared from the Zephyr;
In this line Bah ā'-Allāh apparently alludes to his inspired verses as a gentle breeze or zephyr (bād-i sabā') out of which the fragrance of the "Musk of Cathay" (mishk-i khaṭā) had wafted. The English word musk (derived from the Persian mishk or mushk) denotes an odoriferous resin obtained from the male musk-deer or the scent derived from it. Khaṭā Cathay describes that region in China from which high quality musk was obtained. In classical Persian poetry the "Divine Beloved" is commonly pictured as a beautiful woman or maiden with musk-scented hair. In his Halih halih halih yā bishārat, Bahā-Allāh speaks of the "Maid of Eternity" (ḥūr-i baqā`) appearing with "musky tresses" (gīsū-yi mishkīn). Here it is from or on account of his "Ringlet" (ja`dih) that a perfumed or sweet-scented breeze is diffused. He, in other words, represents himself as a beautiful houri (A divine maiden) worthy of spiritual love. Such sensual imagery is not uncommon in Bahā'-Allāh's poetical writings.
Line 2b This may commence "This Sweet-Scented Melody.." if the Zayn al-Muqarribīn text reads naghmih-yi khush -- this seems to be the reading though it is not impossible that it is nafḥih-yi khush in agreement with other mss.
[ 3]شمس طراز از طلعت حق كرده طلوعسّر حقيقت بين كز وجهه ما ميريزد The Ornamented Sun hath arisen from the Countenance of the True One; See thou that the Mystery of Reality raineth down from Our Face! [3a] Shams-i ṭaz āz az ṭal`at-i ḥaqq kardih ṭalū`" The Ornamented Sun hath arisen from the Countenance of the True One"
Here it is on account of or from the طلعت حق ( "Countenance of the True One") (= Bahā'-Allāh?) that theشمس طراز ("Sun of Oppulence" = the reality of Bahā'-Allāh's self-disclosure) has arisen.[3b] سّر حقيقت بين كز وجهه ما ميريزد Sirr-i ḥaqiqat bīn kaz vajhih mā mīrīzad " See Thou that the Mystery of Reality raineth down from Our Face."
It is on account of or from وجهه ما "Our Face" (= Bahā'-Allāh) that the سّر حقيقت ("Mystery of Reality" sirr-i ḥaqīqat is revealed. The genitive expression sirr-i ḥaqīqat probably derives from the Xth line of the well-known ḥadīth Kumayl where we read:ADD In his commentary on the ḥadīth Kumayl the Bāb
[3b] Alternate reading 3b. ms. See thou that the Mystery of Reality raineth down from the Visage of [the letter] ﺙ (thā')Line 3b mss.The Ornamented Sun hath arisen from the Countenance of the True One; See thou that the Mystery of Reality raineth down from the Visage of the letter ث (thā')
The reference to thamarih (="Fruit" [of the Bayan) here could be to the person (wajh "Face, Visage") of the Bab or possibly to Yahyā who was also known by this disignation. In, for example, his epistle to (the perenially messianic) "Lord of Glory (rabb al-jalil)" [= man yuzhiruhu'llah ]) the Bab writes
The probably very early variant in the 2nd hemistitch here Visage of [the letter] ث (thā') is a most probably an allusion to the Bab or Mirza Yahya as al-thamara, the "Fruit". If the former the following is an example of an epistle of the Bab to (the perenially messianic) "Lord of Glory (rabb al-jalil)" ,man yuzhiruhu'- Allah, ("Him whom God shall make manifest") the Bab writes
ث "Thā"..
[ 4] بحر صفا از موج لقا كرده خروش اين طرفه عطا از جذبه ها ميريزدOut of a Wave of the Ocean of the Meeting with God the Sea of Purity hath cried out; On account of Our Rapture this Precious Favour poureth forth.
[4a] بحر صفا از موج لقا كرده خروشbaḥr-i ṣaf ā āz mawj-i liqā' kardih khurūshOut of a Wave of the Ocean of the Meeting with God the Sea of Purity hath cried out. In the first hemistich of this line Bahā'-Allāh probably represents himself as one of the waves (sing. mauj = wave, billow, surging) of the eschatological بحر صفا baḥr-i safa, the "encounter" or "meeting" with God; the liqā= Allāh predicted in the Qur'ān.Qur 'ān 13:12
In B ābī-Bahā'ī theology the "meeting with God" is understood to mean attaining the presence of his mazhar-i ilahi the "Divine Manifestation". The ADD the eschatological "Encounter with God" was interpreted by the Bāb in terms of attaining the "meeting" with him (Dalā'il-i Sab`ih 31ff and 57).To attain the presence of Bah ā'-Allah is to experience the "meeting with God". In view of this the "Sea of Purity" (baḥr-i safā') has cried out (karda khurūsh) or perhaps raised a shout in announcement of this means of attaining the "meeting with God".In place of kardih khurūsh (so Mā'idih 4) INBMC 36 (see above) has karih ẓuhūr, "has been made manifest". If this is the correct reading the implication would be that the "Sea of Purity" ((baḥr-i safā') represents Bahā'-Allāh whose presence is an expression, a "wave" of the "Meeting with God" (mauj-i liqā'): the first hemistich of line 4 might thus be translated;ā'-Allāh ?] hath been manifested"
[4b] اين طرفه عطا از جذبه ها ميريزد
The second hemistich of line 4 probably indicates that on account of Bah ā'-Allāh's rapture از جذبه ها āz jazdhbih mā; cf. line 1) the _ Bik _ sZi (; urfa-i `a; ā' ) "Precious Favour" of the "meeting with God" (through him? ) is available.Though the text is unclear it may be that INBMC has the reading "On account of the Rapture of [the one represented by the letter] "H" (hā') this Precious Favour raineth down ADD. If this is the case it may be that Bahā'-Allāh is representing himself or the Bāb as the letter x (= the first letter of HUWA = "He is" indicative of Divinity) whose rapture is related to the appearance of the "Precious Favour" (see also on lines 5, 7, 9 and 13).
[ 5]بهجت مل از نظره گل شد ظاهر اين رمز مليح از رنّه را ميريزدAt the sight of the Rose was the delight of the wine apparent;This sweet Cipher raineth down through the ringing sound of[the letter] "R" ( ر = rā').
In the first hemistich of this line Bahā'-Allāh probably represents himself as the "Rose" (ADD gull) at whose sight delight of the "Wine" (biḥjat-i muli ) of spiritual intoxication derives its potency. In his Lawḥ-i gull-i ma`naw) (A Tablet of the Ideal Rose" c.1865-6) similar imagery is used. Bahā'-Allāh is pictured as the `Ideal Rose' in the `Divine Riḍwān' to whom the `nightingales' (= the Bābi's) should turn (see AQA. 4:336-8).i [5b] ramz-i mal) āz rannih-rā mirizad Here it is syntactically and metrically extremely unlikely that the (rā= = the letter ADD) of [] is the Persian suffix marking the direct object of the verb ADD used in order to maintain the rhyme. As INBMC., indicates (having ADD [= ḥamza] indicative of the genitive) ADD is a genitive construction and should be read rannih-' rā' meaning "Joyful Song [or wailing?] of the (Persian[Arabic]) letter = rā'). The question thus arises as to what or whom is meant by the letter A R . Several possibilities present themselves. It is most likely that the A R indicates the initial letter of an Arabic/Persian word indicative of either an abstract reality or a person (e.g. the Bāb or a leading Bāb) ) with this title. A definite possibility is that the "R" of [ ] indicates ADD = Rabb = "Lord" understood as the (heavenly) Bāb himself (or Bahā'-Allāh as his A return" ?). Both A Lord" and Bāb have identical abjad (numerical) values [202] -- a point made explicitly by the Bāb in his Letter to Muammad Shāh (see INBMC 64:[103-126], 110). A Lord" = The significance of A R" of [_ ]CZ could also be considered in the light of the following. A R" (Rā'), being the first letter of b_ _ Z (= ra'ī s = "Chief"), could be seen to be an allusion to Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā') 's interpretation of the ¯ M element in such Sh) `) forms of the al-ism al-a`- am ("greatest name" of God) as
For Shaykh Aḥmad the has been understood to be an inverted letter wāw [ ] with an `extended tail' . It is alluded to in al-Kitāb al-aqdas (c. 1873) of Bahā'-Allāh as the sirr al-tankīs li-ramz al-ra'īs the "mystery of inversion before the Symbol of the Ruler" .
This might at first sight seem a somewhat unlikely suggestion but it must be borne in mind that -: (1) Shaykh Amad's description of the ¯ M in the Sh) `) greatest name diagram as the sirr al-tank) s li-ramz al-ra') s was understood by Bahā'-Allāh (in his later writings) to allude to his own advent and was related (by Shaykh Aḥmad himself as well as Bahā') writers) to the commencement of the dispensation of the Qā'im (the Bāb) . (2) Bahā'-Allāh apparently represents himself as "this Sweet Cipher" ( S_ ḥḥ `ḥZ _ _ A [) n ramz-i mal) ḥ]) -- the word ramz ("cipher") being in genitive relationship with ra') s (= "chief") in Shaykh Aḥmad's statement. (3) In line with Shaykh Aḥmad's relating the sirr al-tank) s li-ramz al-ra') s with sucessive cycles of divine disclosure and the advent of the Qā'im lines 6-9 those following line (5) of the Rashḥ-i `amā' are oriented around the theme of the new cycle of fulfillment; d) If [_ ] B_ _ I YO (= "Rapture of Hā'") is the correct reading in line 4 then [_ ]CZ _ YZ (= "Joyful Song of Rā'") (cf. the expression S_ ḥḥ `ḥZ "Sweet Cipher") would parallel each other and might be taken to indicate the letters · and _ ( ¯ M = _ ) which together spell _ _ (cf. lines 7 & 8).
If the third of these three proposed explanations of A R" is correct then it may be deduced that Bahā'-Allāh is alluding to himself as the "Cipher" (ramz) of the "Chief" (ra') s = the Bāb? or God?) whose divine commission is related to the "mystery of inversion" (sirr al-tank) s) understood to be indicative of a new phase in the Bāb) dispensation. Alternatively Bahā'-Allāh may be representing himself as the "Chief" (ra') s > rā') whose "joyful song" (revealing verses ?) is expressive of the "sweet Cipher" (ramz-i mal) ḥ) of his secret theophanic status.Alternative reading in BWC Haifa ms. [5] * The Treasury of Love (ganjinih-yi ḥubb) appeareth hid in the Bosom; This Love's Treasure (ganj-i mahabbat) cascades as Pearls of Fidelity (durr-i vafāmīrīzad).
SELECT NOTES ON VARIANT TEXTS AND TRANSLATION
3] The Ornamented Sun hath arisen from the Countenance of the True One; See thou that the Mystery of Reality raineth down from the Visage of the letter ﺙ (thā')Line 5 occurs in the Zayn al-Muqarribīn mss. but not in the printed and other mss versions I have seen. Line 11a. Here the sense of the initial phrase ṣarmad-i mahi might be "Eternal Fish" or (less probably) "Eternal Enigma" ṣarmad-i ma-hi[ya]. Whatever the case I seek some precedent or parallel in Bābī-Bahā'ī or Sufi literature(s). For now I have retained the "Moon" sense of mahi especially since as the following words seen to contain allusion to a radiant, pristine or clear ascendant reality = the Sun [of Prophethood?). Allusion to the appearance of the "moon of wilāya" and the "Sun of nubuwwa" (in the Bab-then Bahā'-Allāh?) may very well be present SELECT NOTES ON THE TEXT AND TRANSLATION *..* = significant textual differences in selected mss.
Line 2b This may commence "This Sweet-Scented Melody.." if the Zayn al-Muqarribīn text reads naghmih-yi khush -- this seems to be the reading though it is not impossible that it is nafḥih-yi khush in agreement with other mss.3B The Ornamented Sun hath arisen from the Countenance of the True One; See thou that the Mystery of Reality raineth down from the Visage of the letter ﺙ (thā')NB. Line 4 xx-i ha'
The reference to thamarih (="Fruit" [of the Bayan) here could be to the person (wajh "Face, Visage") of the Bab or possibly to Yahyā who was also known by this disignation. In, for example, his epistle to (the perenially messianic) "Lord of Glory (rabb al-jalil)" [= man yuzhiruhu'llah ]) the Bab writes
Line 5 occurs in the Zayn al-Muqarribīn mss. but not in the printed and other mss versions I have seen. Line 11a. Here the sense of the initial phrase ṣarmad-i mahi might be "Eternal Fish" or (less probably) "Eternal Enigma" ṣarmad-i ma-hi[ya]. Whatever the case I seek some precedent or parallel in Bābī-Bahā'ī or Sufi literature(s). For now I have retained the "Moon" sense of mahi especially since as the following words seen to contain allusion to a radiant, pristine or clear ascendant reality = the Sun [of Prophethood?). Allusion to the appearance of the "moon of wilāya" and the "Sun of nubuwwa" (in the Bab-then Bahā'-Allāh?) may very well be present [l3] Observe the Iraqi Harmony! Envisage the *sound* of the tambourine (daff-i nava'i bin)! See thou the Divine Hand! *which, through Our striking, soundeth forth! (darabih-yi ma mirizad)
Line 2b This may commence "This Sweet-Scented Melody.." if the Zayn al-Muqarribīn text reads naghmih-yi khush -- this seems to be the reading though it is not impossible that it is nafḥih-yi khush in agreement with other mss.
Line 5 occurs in the Zayn al-Muqarribīn mss. but not in the printed and other mss versions I have seen.
Line 8 =كور هو هو از طفحه ما / با ميريزدLine 11a Here the sense of the initial phrase ṣarmad-i mahi might be "Eternal Fish" or (less probably) "Eternal Enigma" ṣarmad-i ma-hi[ya]. Whatever the case I seek some precedent or parallel in Bābī-Bahā'ī or Sufi literature(s). For now I have retained the "Moon" sense of mahi especially since as the following words seen to contain allusion to a radiant, pristine or clear ascendant reality = the Sun [of Prophethood?). Allusion to the appearance of the "moon of wilāya" and the "Sun of nubuwwa" (in the Bab-then Bahā'-Allāh?) may very well be present Line 2b Line 4 In INBAMC 36 جذبه ها* ?اين طرفه عطا از جذبه ما /ها* ميريزد Line 5 occurs in the Zayn al-Muqarribīn mss. but not in the printed and other mss versions I have seen.Line 11a. كفّ الهی بين كز ضربه (ما( ثا ميريزد Line 14b ,INBAMC 36 Line 19b , INBAMC 36اين غنّ طيوراست اين كز عين * فنا / صفا ميريزد |
)
)
rosebud! 
) ringlet!