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Text, Translation and Commentary"
2. Introduction
4. Conclusion
1. Preface
This composition is known by the title Tafsir surat Yusuf (Commentary on the Sura of Joseph). It is also known as Ahsan al-Qisas (The Best of Stories) and Qayyum al-Asma' (Maintainer of the Divine Names).[3] Given that it is thus titled, those familiar with the history of Arabic literature will be lead to expect a work of scriptural exegesis that conforms more or less to a rather rigidly adhered to structure informed by a variety of traditionally held presuppositions and expectations.[4] Encountering this text by the Bab, however, will frustrate such expectations. It is no exaggeration to say that this purported exegesis has absolutely nothing in common with the formal representative works of scriptural exegesis in the Islamic tradition, apart from the nominal one found in the title. The deliberate use of the technical word tafsir (exegesis) to describe the work is a separate question unto itself. Employing it expresses the desire to maintain a link with the greater learned tradition. But it seems clear that one of the purposes for this is to break the very relationship it invokes.
This work by the Bab most certainly offers a distinctive reading -- which must be one of the functions of even the classical tradition -- of the Qur'an through its intense concern with the 12th chapter of the Qur'an, the Sura of Joseph. But how this reading is developed and presented could not really be more different and could not be imagined to deviate more from the classical tradition. In the first place, it is clear from the structure of the work that the author is introducing a new scripture or revelation by means of the Trojan horse of exegesis. So blatant is this assertion that one may well wonder why the literary fiction of tafsir had to be involved in the first place. In short, the work is structured like the Qur'an itself and divided into 111 suwar (chapters) each with 42 ayat (literally "divine portents or signs" < "holy verses"). In addition, each sura or chapter (but four in the main manuscript consulted for this discussion) is headed by some combination of mysterious disconnected letters. None of these features had until this time occurred outside of the Qur'an in Islamicate literature -- at least they had not been used together in a single work. To have done so would have indicated to the reader/audience that the author was claiming revelation, something Islamic religion holds cannot happen anymore because Muhammad was the last prophet and therefore the final revealer of God's word. There have been many instances, particularly within the Islamic mystical tradition, where this dogma has been teased and indeed violated. For example, Ibn Arabi's (d.1240) statement that his books are revelation.[5] But none of these earlier similar gestures have claimed quite so explicitly to be a new Qur'an.
Notes to Preface
[1] See Mahmoud Ayoub, "The Speaking Quran and the Silent Quran: A Study of the Principles and the Development of Imami Shi'i tafsir," Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Qur'an, edited by Andrew Rippin, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988, pp.177-198. The pioneering and essential work on this topic is Henry Corbin, En Islam iranien: Aspects spirituels et philosophiques 4 vols. Paris: Gallimard, 1978, especially volume 1. For Babism see: H.M. Balyuzi, The Bab: The Herald of the Days, (Oxford: George Ronald, 1973); Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, 1844-1850, (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989); Denis MacEoin, Sources for Early Babi History and Doctrine, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992); idem., Rituals in Babism and Baha'ism, (London: British Academic Press of I.B. Tauris/Univeristy of Cambridge Centre of Middle Eastern Studies, 1994); and idem., "The Trial of the Bab: Shi'ite Orthodoxy Confronts its Mirror Image." With four appendices. Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies, vol. 1, no. 1 (May, 1997)
[2] See the references below, Section II, note 1, especially my "The Terms". See also the recent study of a cognate phenomenon in the Jewish tradition: Martin S. Jaffee "A Rabbinic Ontology of the Written and Spoken Word: On Discipleship, Transformative Knowledge, and the Living Texts of Oral Torah," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 65.3 (Fall 1997) 525-549.
[3] Ahsan al-Qisas is probably a shortened version of Tafsir ahsan al-qisas (Commentary on "the Best of Stories" or "the Most Beautiful of Stories" as the epithet Best of Stories is an alternate title of the Surat Yusuf, the 12th chapter of the Qur'an and is taken from that chapter's 3rd verse: WE WILL RELATE TO THEE THE FAIREST OF STORIES IN THAT WE HAVE REVEALED TO THEE THIS QURAN, THOUGH BEFORE IT THOU WAST ONE OF THE HEEDLESS. As it happened, the change in sense brought about by the abbreviation suited the followers of the Bab, since his advent was for them the best possible story. As for the second alternate title of the work, it is somewhat more difficult to understand. Qayyum, a Quranic term meaning "the Everlasting" is one of the divine names. It is particularly pertinent to the concerns of Shi‘i messianism inasmuch as one of the many ways the expected savior is referred to is by the Arabic word al-Qa’im ("the one who arises"). Linguistically, both words share the same triliteral root. Theologically, both God, the Everlasting, and the hidden Imam, who will "arise" share the same spiritual reality. al-asma’ "names" might refer to the divine names that are already known implying, therefore in this title a reference to a reality heretofore unknown. On the other hand, "names" might be a way of referring simply to "the world of names" that is, this world below in contradistinction to the eternal immutable world of the Everlasting God. Finally, though, it is difficult to understand how this phrase can serve as a title of a text when it seems to refer to an actual being (unless this is the point). But in this instance I suspect that Qayyum al-asma’ is also an abbreviation of some kind. The actually history of the epithet Qayyum al-asma’ and therefore clues to a proper understanding of the term are not known to me. Alessandro Bausani offered Colui che s’erge sugli Attributi in his Persia Religiosa, da Zaratustra a Baha’u’llah, Milan: Il Saggiatore, 1959, p. 460. It is a matter of some comparative interest that the great Sunni Naqshbandi religious reformer, the so-called "Renewer of the Second Millenium" Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (d.1624), writing in an atmosphere charged with competing claims to religious authority amongst the Sunnis, Sufis, and Shi‘is ultimately relied upon his claim to Qayyumiya, to argue for the truth of his particular interpretation of Islam. See J.G.J ter Haar, Follower and heir of the Prophet: Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi 1564- 1624) as mystic Leiden : Het Oosters Instituut, 1992.
[4] On the description of the genre, see the brilliant discussion by Norman Calder, "Tafsir from Tabari to Ibn Kathir: problems in the description of a genre, illustrated with reference to the story of Abraham," Approaches to the Qur'an, edited by G.R. Hawting and Abdul-Kader A. Shareef, London & New York: Routledge, 1993, pp.101-140.
[5] Michel Chodkiewicz, "The Futahat Makkiyya and its Commentators: Some Unresolved Enigmas," The Legacy of Mediaeval Persian Sufism, edited by Leonard Lewisohn, foreword by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, introduction by S.H. Nasr, London & New York: Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications, 1992, pp.219-232.
2. INTRODUCTION
The Tafsir surat Yusuf is one of the more important of the Bab's works and this for a variety of reasons. In other publications I have described several features of the work and offered a few examples from the text itself.(1) Out of context, these features give but a limited picture of the work as a whole. It was thought advisable, therefore, to present at least one full sura of the work as a more or less typical example (Surat al-Nahl, #94, QA, pp.189-91). In it are found most of the distinguishing elements of this commentary (tafsir). This presentation is divided into two parts. The first is a discussion of the Quranic, Hadith and Shaykhi background of the two main symbols of the chapter: the BEES of Qur'an 16, and the SHIRT (qamis) of Joseph. The second part is an attempt to come to terms with the style and contents of the work through a verse by verse gloss. It is hoped that this translation and gloss will give an idea of the problems connected with the study of the work, and at the same time provide at least some of the reasons the work was so enthusiastically received.
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to airy thinness beat.
(John Donne, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning")
Idhhabu bi-qamisi hadha fa'lquhu `ala wajhi abi ya'ti basiran wa'tuni bi-ahlikum ajma`ina
"The Shi`ite school of the Mukhammisa was interested in interpreting in all of its symbolism, the mubahala scene. At the cemetery in Medina, at the bottom of the Baqi`, on the red dune, [Like the voice of the Adamites, in the mithaq -- like Moses on Sinai.] we see the Five standing under the Mantle, illuminated with thunderbolts and lightening flashes. Before them, together with the other initiated mawali, stands Salman pointing out the Five for the veneration of the amazed Najranian Christians. At the call of the Initiator, they recognize the Five in their glorious transfiguration (tajalli). Their halo of lightning flashes signifies that their authority is a divine "right," inducing them to affirm that their bodies are shadows (azilla, azlal) cast by Divine Light, silhouettes (ashbah) temporarily outlined in the divine emanation, exempted from the generation and corruption of suffering and death. It is the call (nida') of the Initiator that animates and sets the scene: the instrument of the divine Spirit, which discerns and reveals the divine secret, the seal of the prophetic mission that marks the Five: which raises Salman above the Prophet and the Imams, like Khidr above Moses in Sura 18: above prophesy, there is sanctity, and the initiated companions of Salman have access to it." (6)
It is clear that Shaykh Ahmad subscribed to this reading of 16:68-9 from his commentary on it, which is found in his Ziyara (Commentary on the `Visitation Prayer').(19) This commentary is a good example of the way in which the Akhbari tafsir tradition was used by al-Ahsa'i and his successors, in conjunction with the philosophical developments which had occurred by his time, to present the distinctive Shaykhi synthesis. Shaykh Ahmad repeats the identification of the BEES with Imams and the DRINK with their knowledge, and characteristically divides the latter into several grades and levels. None of the "hierarchization" so characteristic of the Bab's Commentary on the Sura of the Cow, is also found in his commentary on the sura of Joseph. The Shaykhi influence on this work by the Bab is to be seen in the manner in which the Bab takes for granted the very old Akhbari Qur'an interpretations preserved by and elaborated on by Shaykh Ahmad or Sayyid Kazim. Further, this influence is present only insofar as the general tendency toward a total "imamization" of the Qur'an was a major feature of that tradition. There is not a single khabar or hadith (saying of the Prophet or Imams) cited in the commentary on the Sura of Joseph, except in the "meta" sense in which the entire work is transmitted by Sayyid `Ali Muhammad as a single hadith on the authority of the hidden Imam. (20)
Endnotes for Introduction:
(2) In the early exegetical work Kitab asas al-ta'wil, (Introduction and edited by `Arif Tamir. Beirut: Dar al-Thaqafa, 1960) by the Isma`ili da`i, al-Qadi al-Nu`man(d.363/974), the interesting comment is made to the effect that the "front" and "back" of the shirt refer to exoteric and esoteric knowledge respectively ( p.144). (Cf. the early Sufi interpretation in Gerhard Böwering, The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam, Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1980, p.256.) The qamis in verse 12:93 is seen as representing imama (Asas, p.163).
(3) Fritz Meier, "Some Aspects of Inspiration by Demons in Islam," in The Dream and Human Society, edited by G. von Grunebaum, and Roger Caillois. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1966, (pp. 421-29) p.421.
(4) `Umar Suhrawardi (632/1234), `Awarif al-ma`arif, Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-`Arabi, 1403/1982 (this edition wrongly gives the author as `Abd al-Qahir Suhrawardi (d.1168). These quotations (my translation) are from pp.95-102. The title of Suhrawardi's book, "The Fragrances of divine knowledge(s)" is a perfect example of the correlation between these two substances that was perceived to really exist (language is sacred and reflects reality, indeed composes reality) as opposed to being accidentally "punned" upon by clever writers. See also the many examples in Shaykhi-Babi-Baha'i works where the two are joined together, demonstrating the spiritual axiom: the more one loves, the more one knows and vice versa. One of the few places (if not the only one) in English where this identity of knowledge and love coexist in the same lexical "site" is in the discredited "slang" word from African American culture, towit: "to dig". This poetic "obective correlative" of separation, reunion and desire is a distinctively Islamic feature or variation on the Biblical account. Indeed, in Genesis 45:26, Jacob has to be convinced by the brothers that Joseph is still alive. The Baha'i tradition maintains the importance of the Islamic version of the story (Aqdas, p.20). The faculty of scent functions here much as the faculty of taste does in other contexts. It may be that Shi`ism has opted for the olfactory metaphor because of the way it connotes presence more powerfully that "taste". Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i (d.1826), for example, maintained that he was able to distinguish sound hadiths from weak ones by "detecting their perfume", thus obviating the necessity for the whole impressive cultural monument to scholarship, the Science of Hadith (EII, 4, 259). This is perhaps another example of his modernism (verging on iconoclasm) so fascinatingly discussed in Cole, "The Individual".
(5) See the "hadith al-kisa'," Mafatih al-jinan, `Abbas al-Qummi, compiler, Beirut: Mu'assasat al-A`lami li'l-Matbu`at, n.d.appendix, pp.1-4; cf. also Momen, p.14.
(6) Massignon, vol. 1, p.300; For kathib al-ahmar in Shaykhi works see, e.g., see Qasida, pp. 41, 66, 74. In its primary (zahir) intention, the Red Sandhill marks one of the stages of the Hajj ceremony.
(7) Nur, v.2, p.462, #187. The compiler adds that a similar tradition is found in al-Kafi. This tradtion from al-Kafi is found in Burhan v.2, p.269 #1. Nur, 2, p.463, #191, quotes the Ikmal al-din of Ibn Babuya (Muhammad ibn `Ali Ibn Babawayh or Babuyah (d.991), Kitab ikmal al-din wa itmam al-ni`ma fi ithbat al-raj`a, Najaf: Matba'at al-Haydariyya, 1389/1970.): "When the Qa'im comes forth the shirt of Joseph will be on him, and he will have the staff of Moses and the ring of Solomon" The heavenly origin of this shirt was also taught by the early exegete al-Kalbi (d.767) as what Wansbrough, Quranic Studies, Oxford, 1977, p.134 terms "a reflex of Rabbinic descriptions" of the robe in Genesis.
(8) Anwar, p.271.
(9) Anwar, p.110.
(10) Anwar, pp. 294-5. In discussing the connotations of "deception" which the word carries, Isfahani refers to Qur'an 6:72 THOSE WHO DO NOT CLOTHE THEIR FAITH IN DARKNESS, and says that this refers to those who did not confuse the walaya with the walaya of "so-and-so and so-and-so". It might be asked whether fulan wa fulan is an editorial substitution for more derogatory appellations, such as Abu al-Dawahi and Abu al-Shurur used so frequently by the Bab in his earlier Tafsir surat al-Baqara (see Lawson, "Interpretation", p. 237).
(11) Qasida, p.68. The verse is: a'taytu ma lam yahza Ya`qub bihi idh ja'ahu bi-shadha al-qamis al-shamal.
(12) Qasida, p.68
(13) In some cases, however, several suras continue a running commentary on large sections of the Qur'an; in these instances, therefore, the introduction of what appears to be unlikely material in commenting on this or that verse of sura 12, is but the continuation of a theme begun much earlier in the work. This is not the case in the present context.
(14) Furat ibn Ibrahim b. Furat al-Kufi, Tafsir Furat al-Kufi, Najaf: al-Matba`at al-Haydariya, [1353/1934]; see also Dhari`a, v.4, pp.298-300; Fuat Sezgin,Geschichte des Arabischen Schriftums. v.1. Leiden: Brill, 1968, p.539 gives a probable death date of 922.
(15) Tafsir Furat, p.84.
(16) al-`adhab, cf. Anwar, p.230.
(17) Cf. the tafsir of this verse by al-Sharif al-Radi (d. 1016), Talkhis al-bayan fi majazat al-Qur'an wa'l-hadith, Cairo: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-`Arabiyya, 1374/1955, p.193. Here the author glosses the BEES as none other than the ulama themselves, symbolizing the beginning of what may be called the second historical phase of Shi`i scriptural exegesis.
(18) See Safi, p.250 which quotes traditions with other interpretations from a-Kafi, the Kitab al-khisal of Ibn Babawayh (381/991), the Kitab majma` al-bayan of Tabarsi (548/1153), in addition to the tradition in the Tafsir of al-Qummi ascribed to al-Sadiq: "We, by God, are the BEES whom God inspired to TAKE HOUSES FROM THE MOUNTAINS, that is to take a shi`a from the `Arabs, and from THE TREES, that is [to take a shi`a] from among the Persians, and THAT WHICH THEY BUILD, [means to take a shi'a] from among the mawali and COMES FORTH FROM THEIR BELLIES A DRINK OF DIVERSE HUES means the knowledge (`ilm) which comes from us to you." Safi also cites a similar hadith from the Tafsir al-`Ayyashi, the author of which (d. early 4th/10th cent.) was a contemporary of al-Qummi and had converted from Sunnism to Shi`ism, see Ayoub, "The Speaking Qur'an and the Silent Qur'an," p. 6. Later exegesis, while including similar hadiths, also cites a tradition which specifies that the inspiration intended here is ilham, as opposed to the wahi explicitly stated in the text. This reflects theological disputes about the nature and degrees of divine inspiration, one position is that wahi is a technical term which can only be used as descriptive of the inspiration which comes to a prophet. (Nur, v.3, pp.64-5 & Burhan, v.2, pp.375-6). The predominant tendency of the interpretation of this verse was seen by the author of Anwar to be the identification of the BEES with the Imams, and the DRINK with their knowledge. See the respective articles in this work on nahl (p.320) and sharab (pp.192-3). Cf. also the eighteenth century Isma`ili tafsir under the title Ismailitischer Kommentar zum Koran, Abschnitt 11-20, Arabische Handschrift Ambrosiana H 76, Rudolph Strothmann (intro. & ed.) Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1955: Diya' al-Din Ibn Hibat Alllah, Mizaj al-tasnim. , p.126, where allusions to imama are read in the verse.
(19) Ziyara, pp. 69-70. Rashti also mentions the Surat al-nahl in Qasida, pp.31-2, and says that al-nahl itself is another name for divine knowledge (muntahal al-`ilm; note that muntahal "alias" is derived from the same root as nahl!), and that one may find in the sura an explanation of various states of the BEES and the details of the blessings which God bestowed upon his servant (i.e., Muhammad).
20 QA, p. 1.
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1 In the name of God the Merciful the Compassionate.
 | The basmala is the phrase, “In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate,” which in Arabic begins with the letter ba’, equivalent to “b,” which in turn is made up of two elements, a boat-like cursive form with a single point underneath it; the single point differentiates it from a number of other similarly-shaped letters. The basmala heads all but one of the 114 chapters or suras of the Qur'an and is used by Muslim writers to begin a wide variety of compositions. |
al-Sadiq said: The ba' [of the basmala] is the glory of God
The basmala is also considered a prayer in its own right, a source of divine knowledge and healing. It is said to contain, in addition to all the knowledge in the Qur'an itself, all the knowledge of the previous scriptures. It has been seen as a means of salvation and protection. Opinion has been divided as to whether the basmala, which head all but one of the chapters (suwar) of the Qur'an, should be counted in the total number of verses, but Shi`i scholars have tended to treat it as an independent verse. al-Sadiq is also supposed to have said that the basmala is "the greatest verse in the Book of God." (3) It has also been identified as the "Greatest Name of God" (ism allah al-a`zam) (4) or as being "closer to the Greatest Name than the pupil of the eye is to the white." (5) For these reasons it has been counted as a separate verse of the chapters in the Bab's tafsir.(6)
Two other traditions, not mentioned by Ayoub in the article referred to above, appear to have particular bearing on the Bab's veneration of the basmala. The first has been referred to by E.G. Browne in his discussion of the Bab's claim to be a personification of the letter ba': "All existing things have appeared from the ba' of the basmala."(7) The other is the famous statement from `Ali , the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, and the first Imam of the Shi`is:
All that is in the world is in the Qur'an, and all that is in the
The point under the ba' is significant not only for the way it represents what may be thought of as an Islamicate sacred unified field theory by virtue of its divine simplicity, but it is also important to the "theosophers" of Islam because of the way it illustrated the basic unity of being orientation that characterizes so much of Islamic thought after the 13th century. Namely, Being, the par excellence sacred value and reality, although insensible as such is present throughout creation in the same way that the point is present throught the written language. The number nineteen, which has such significance in the Babi religion, is the number of letters in the basmala. The Bab instructed his first followers to remain silent about his claims until a total of eighteen persons had recognized his station of their own accord.(9) Each of these eighteen Letters of the Living (huruf al-hayy or hurufat al-hayy) and the Bab, represent something like separate incarnations of one of the nineteen divine letters of the formula, just as each of the Imams were said to represent one of the twelve letters of the shahada.(10)
The Letters of the Living are themselves regarded as identical with the sabiqun (foremost believers) referred to in the early works of the Bab and his followers, both in the literal sense of their having preceded others in the recognition of the Bab and in the more esoteric sense of their identity with the first group of mankind to respond to God's pre-eternal covenant (see Endnote 6). This latter group is itself identified in Shi`i literature with Muhammad and the Imams, and it is clear that the Bab regarded the Letters of the Living as the return of the Prophet, his daughter Fatima, the twelve Imams and the original four emissaries (abwab) of the hidden Imam in the century after his occultation.(11)
These first disciples formed the first Unity (wahid) of the movement, each successive Unity of believers was to have also been composed of nineteen members.(12) In relation to the letters of the living, the Bab occupied the rank of ba', which according to Rashti is a "cloak" for the point. In his discussion of the mysteries of the set of disconnected letters: kaf ha' ya' `ayn sad [Qur'an 19: 1] (which he here refers to as al-ism al-akbar"the Greatest Name"), he also calls it the "compriser of the two existents" (jami`at al-wujudayn): the `ayn is absolute existence, while the sad represents limited existence (al-wujud al-muqayyad). Thus it -- the entire verse or "portent" comprised only of these disconnected letters -- represents the station of complete integration (maqam al-jam`). He then says that all of its "stations" are condensed in the point, which signifies the maqam jam` al-jam` "the station of the integration of complete inetgration". (This is perhaps a reference to the "incorporation" of the hidden Imam.) "This point is the one under the ba', which represents the hidden dimension of the ba', while the ba' is its shell (qishr), exterior (zahir), and cloak ( 'aba)."(13) The Commentary on the Sura of Joseph is quite explicit in several places in its direct reference to the Bab as the "point," (al-nuqta) which in the context of tradition, automatically entails the ba'.
In relation to the eighteen Letters of the Living, the Bab also occupied the rank of the nuqta (Point) concealed by the "cloak" of the ba'. This is clear from such of his titles as al-nuqtah al-ula (the Primal Point), hadrat-i nuqta-yi bayan (His Holiness the Point of the Bayan), and so forth.(14) This rank of nuqta, already appropriated by the Bab in this early work, is a good indication that the Bab actually claimed the equivalent of prophetic status at the time of its composition, a status which later became more frequently denoted by the term mazhar, "manifestation".(15) However, the rank suggested by the word nuqta appears to go quite beyond other definitions of nubuwa or prophethood, being in fact analogous with the divine unity and simplicity itself.
The Bab' s calendar, constructed much later, of nineteen months of nineteen days is another example of the function of the number nineteen.( 16) The importance of the number is also indicated by Rashti. In his discussion of the basmala, he quotes the Prophet: "The letters are nineteen." Rashti says that this means that all the letters of the alphabet are actually only nineteen, rejecting the apparent reality that there are twenty-eight. They appear to be twenty-eight, according to Rashti, only because of their various states and stations.(17) So, according to this Shaykhi leader, the number of the basic elements and components of consciousness itself obeys the "divine law" of nineteen.
The number nineteen is also mentioned in Qur'an 74:27-31:
AND WHAT WILL TEACH THEE WHAT IS SAKAR? IT SPARES NOT, NEITHER LEAVES ALONE SCORCHING THE FLESH; OVER IT ARE NINETEEN. WE HAVE APPOINTED ONLY ANGELS TO BE MASTERS OF THE FIRE, AND THEIR NUMBER WE HAVE FIXED ONLY AS A TRIAL FOR THE UNBELIEVERS . . .
This verse was quoted by Rashti in his last testament and has been understood as a prophecy of the eventual zuhur or messianic appearance of the Bab and his first followers.(18) It would serve no useful purpose to survey the venerable and extremely intricate tradition of the "science of letters" (`ilm al-huruf) in Muslim scholarship. The interested reader should see the masterful and suggestive study of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i's letter interpretation by Juan Cole ("The World as Text"). This article conveys the assumptions and more importantly the mental and spiritual ambience of a strong tradition in Islamic scholarship and letters which is one of the more important keys to the Bab's Writings. Suffice it for the present to quote Corbin, and mention one or two fundamental works of this subject:
2 GO, TAKE THIS SHIRT OF MINE AND DO THOU CAST IT ON MY FATHER'S FACE, AND HE SHALL RECOVER HIS SIGHT; THEN BRING ME YOUR FAMILY ALL TOGETHER. [12:93]
The first explanation of its appearance here as not only a verse to be "commented upon," but as a verse of the Bab's Sura of the Bees is in keeping with the basic structure of the work as described elsewhere. It appears that by assigning an already existing Quranic verse a new function, namely as one of forty-two which make up the exegetic unit (or sura), the Bab may be seen to claim a kind of authority which enables him to reorder and revalorize the Quranic revelation. Such is even more apparent in the following verses which paraphrase, without cue, whole passages of the Quranic text. Many of these direct quotations from the Qur'an are presented in capital letters, but there is much in the Bab's work that is originally from the Qur'an, for example, the divine epithets, which I have not put in caps. Indeed, the Qur'an undergirds, both lexically and notionally so much of Islamicate culture that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish it. This is one of the important lessons of the Commentary on the Sura of Joseph. Frye in his The Great Code traced the enormous impact of the Bible on Western literature; it remains for an appropriate analog that treats the Qur'an as a literary influence in the Muslim world to be written. In any case, such a manipulation of the basic elements of scripture would not have been taken lightly by his Muslim audience. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, such manipulation cannot have been taken lightly by the Bab either, who was unquestionably aware of the serious implications such an act would have.
3 Kaf Ha' `Ayn = 20 + 5 + 70 (95)
Almost every chapter contains as its third verse a set of disconnected mysterious letters. Precedent for counting it as a separate verse is taken from the Qur'an. Some of these sets of disconnected letters are Quranic, some are names, and others are neither. The manuscripts differ with regard to some of these sets, as is the case here. F11, f.162b reads kaf mim `ayn with a fatha over each letter (20 + 40 + 70 = 130). QA appears to be either kaf ha' mim `ayn or simply kaf ha' `ayn. In any case, it bears a certain resemblance to the Quranic kaf ha' `ayn sad discussed by Rashti, and may be meant to suggest it.
4 Indeed we REVEALED UNTO THE BEES, SAYING: TAKE FROM THE MOUNTAINS [16:68] (which are) citadels -- the abode for affirming the sanctity of God -- the sign of this luminous one, AND OF TREES [16:6.8] places for affirming that there is no god but God (al-tahlil) the sign of this Easterner AND OF WHAT THEY ARE BUILDING [16:68] in the path of affirming the unity of God (al-tawhid) the threadbare garment of this Westerner belonging to God, the Exalted. And He is God, Witness over all things.
Most of the suras of this commentary have a reference to the act of revelation in their fourth verse. This sura follows the same pattern. But as we have seen, the word nahl also has important meaning in Shi`i exegesis. In addition, there is also a semantic and syntactical correlation between the verse to be commented upon and this one, namely the two imperatives "go with" or "take" (idhhabu)[ 12:93] and "take" or "choose" (ittakhidhi). This parallel is continued in the verse by the use of the three expressions al-barqi hadha ("this luminous one"), al-sharqi hadha (this Easterner), and al-gharbi hadha ("this Westerner"), which may be seen as exegetic equivalencies for qamisi hadha ("this shirt") [12:93]. The image of light here connected with "East" and "West" is of course an echo of the Light Verse [24:35], which is similarly alluded to several times in this sura, as it is throughout the commentary. The Bab's claim to be both Eastern and Western represents a variation on the Quranic description of the Blessed Olive Tree as NEITHER EASTERN OR WESTERN. "Citadels" (qusuran) parallels the Quranic buyut (HOUSES), as does the singular "abode" (al-maskin). "This threadbare garment" translates sahq al-gharbi hadha. Another possible reading is suhq "remoteness". The epithet al-`ali (the Exalted: actually found eight times in the Qur'an) in addition to continuing the rhyme, is undoubtedly intended to suggest the Bab's name, `Ali Muhammad and the relationship/participation with that name and the name of `Ali, the first Imam, himself. The shirt is not only a divine remnant (viz., baqiyat allah), but the Bab as custodian of the symbol, is also the remnant by association. More radically (and probably more accurately) the Bab, `Ali Muhammad Shirazi, is the qamis or shirt in the same way that the ba' was said by Sayyid Kazim Rashti to be the cloak for the point. But these symbols, it cannot be emphasized too strongly, are not univocal. They may and do mean several different things at once. This is the source of their evocative and rhetorical power. The command to TAKE MY SHIRT AND CAST IT ON MY FATHER'S FACE is more fully explained in verse 40.
5 THEN EAT OF ALL MANNER OF [16: 69] divine allusions (al-isharat) MADE SMOOTH [16:69] in the path of the Remembrance, this Gate THERE COMES FORTH FROM THEIR BELLIES [16:69] the water of the elixir which is one in terms of its blessings, although it is OF DIVERSE HUES WHEREIN IS HEALING FOR [16:69] believers. Verily God is Powerful over all things.
Having established this semantic relationship between the two verses, the Bab merely extends the comparison by paraphrasing 16:69. Here, "divine allusions" may be considered a synonym for the `ulum al-a'imma "knowledge of the imams," which early exegesis saw as the meaning of the (rhyming) Quranic (thamarat=) FRUITS. Here also, reference could be made to the commentary on 16:69 by Shaykh Ahmad, who elaborated the significance of "the sciences of the Imams" by explaining thamarat/FRUITS as the perfection, or realization of those things which had been deposited in the Imams.(20) The Bab seems to be saying that by the appearance of the "Remembrance" (himself), these various divine teachings have become accessible (SMOOTH = dhululan) for the faithful. "Path" (sabil) is merely a substitute for the Quranic PATHS (= subul). As a singular noun, it emphasizes exclusivity.(21)
6 God is the creator of everything through His power. And God, in very truth, is Apprised of everything which men do.
This verse takes as its cue the first part of 12:70: wa allahu khalaqakum / AND GOD CREATED YOU. The second sentence of the verse introduces the very frequent phrase `ala 'l-haqq bi 'l-haqq (lit. "upon the Truth, in the Truth"), which is translated here as "in very truth." This lamentably pallid translation is merely for convenience inasmuch as the meaning of the phrase, which occurs hundreds of times throughout the commentary, is dependent upon the various contexts in which it appears. It seems to be something of a short rhythmic and multi-vocal refrain (reminiscent of dhikr or Sufi meditation formulae), the function of which is to fill out the measure of a given verse. In many instances, it is clear that `ala al-haqq bi 'l-haqq directly refers to God -- Who is al-Haqq par excellence in the Islamic mystico-philisophical tradtion. In other cases it means that the Bab is "truly speaking the truth" or some variation of this. Elsewhere, it connotes inevitability. In all cases it also always resonates "the Absolute". The plural verb ya`maluna,(="men do"), since it precedes the subject should technically be in the singular, and reflects, perhaps, Persian grammatical norms.
7 O believers! Fear God concerning this Most Great Word protected in the divine fire. Indeed he is, in very truth, accounted by God the Exalted as a witness.
The vocative address is used in varying forms throughout the sura (and the commentary), as will be seen below. The Quranic FEAR GOD (=ittaqu 'llaha), also frequently employed, shares the same root with another important word in Shi 'ism, namely taqiya or pious dissimulation which became institutionalized because of Shi`ism's status as a minority and frequently despised religion. The ungrammatical dhalika kalimat al-akbar (= "that is the most great Word") is quite characteristic of the language of this commentary. Dhalika (lit. "that") here bears the same ambiguity of Qur'an 2:2: dhalika 'l-kitab, which is generally understood as THIS IS THE BOOK. However, it has been the subject of much debate by exegetes, because of its obvious meaning THAT IS THE BOOK.(22) Shi`i exegesis has also seen the demonstrative as referring to the (missing) "book of `Ali."(23) This uncertainty is reflected in recent English Qur'an translations: THAT IS THE BOOK (Arberry), THIS IS THE SCRIPTURE (Pickthall), THIS IS A PERFECT BOOK (Maulawi Sher `Ali), THIS IS THE BOOK (Yusuf Ali), and THIS BOOK . . .(Maulavi Muhammad Ali).(24) It may be that the Bab is exploiting this ambiguity as a function of taqiya. Here it could simultaneously refer to the Bab and to the remote hidden Imam. Alternatively, it could simply mean THIS.
The ungrammatical Kalimat al-akbar ("Most Great Word") may be thought to allude to the Bab's station specifically, in line with a hadith ascribed to al-Sadiq: nahnu kalimat allah("We are the word of God"), or the one ascribed to `Ali: ana al-kalimat al-kubra ("I am the most great word"), which occurs in one of the many theopathic sermons ascribed to him. The text of this particular sermon is found in the Kitab al-Kashf. In it `Ali declares from the pulpit: "I am the Christ who heals the blind and the leprous, creating birds and dispersing clouds." Meaning [says the commentator]: `I am the second Christ (al-masih al-thani),- I am he and he is Me.' At this a man stood up and asked: "O Commander of the Faithful, was the Torah written in a foreign language or in Arabic?" `Ali said: "[In a] foreign language, but its meaning is Arabic, namely that the Christ is the Qa'im bi 'l-haqq [one who arises for (in or by) the Truth], and the king of this world and the next. The Qur'an itself confirms this in the verse: PEACE BE UPON ME THE DAY I WAS BORN, AND THE DAY THAT I DIE, AND THE DAY THAT I AM RAISED UP ALIVE [19:33] Thus `Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus the son of Mary) is of me and I am of him, and he is the Most Great Word of God (kalimat allah al-kubra). He is the testifier and I am the one testified to."(25) "witness" translates precisely the same word above as "testifier" (=shahid) does here. It is also important to note that the same root, in slightly different form means "martyr". Such a cluster of meanings is of course highly (and deeply) appreciated in a Shi`i milieu.
The elative and superlative al-akbar ("the greater" "the greatest") is used elsewhere with masculine nouns, as in bab allah al-akbar ("the most great gate of God"), where the Bab himself appears to be intended. Such grammatical liberties as the one in this verse where the masculine (al-akbar) and feminine (al-kalima) genders are "wrongly" mixed are found, for example, in the Arabic translations of the New Testament, namely , John 1: 1: fi 'l-bad` kana al-kalima wa'l-kalima kana `inda `llah wa kana 'l-kalimatu allaha (where the feminine "Word" that was with God and is God is referred to by a masculine verb). They are explained by the rule that a feminine noun may sometimes represent a masculine subject, e.g. khalifatun (caliph), `allamatun (great scholar), and rawiyatun (relater of the Prophet's sayings).(26) As can been seen in the reproduction of the manuscript, the Bab was capable of maintaining grammatical gender agreement. Here the phrase bi'l-haqq `ala 'l-haqq refers to the veracity of the Bab as the kalimat allah al-akbar or Most Great Word of God and "witness/martyr" through God's incontrovertible will.
8 O people of the veils! Hearken to the call of God from the tongue of the most great Remembrance: VERILY VERILY I AM GOD [28:30] THERE IS NO GOD BUT HIM [passim]. Indeed, the likeness of the Remembrance is as gold softened in fire which flows in rivulets through all the hidden places by the will of God, the Exalted. And he is God -- Mighty, Ancient.
The ahl al-hujub, "People of the veils" may be taken as a general address to all those who have been veiled from recognizing the Bab. Or, given the exegetical equivalence hijab/bab, it may refer paradoxically to those who have recognized the Bab. This equivalence of "veil" and "gate" is elaborated by Sayyid Kazim Rashti. In several places Rashti appears to use the terms bab and hijab interchangeably. Thus, in speaking of the Fatiha (Sura 1 of the Qur'an), he says that a proper reading of it will name the one who is the bab al-abwab, "the gate of gates" and the first veil of the al-nafas al-rahmani, "the breaths of the Merciful". (Qasida, p.28) Here, bab al-abwab is one of the many names of the Holy Spirit, al-ruh al-qudus, who as a primordial creature (and also a creative principle), recites both "books", the book of creation and the Qur'an proper. Commenting on a verse of the actual ode: hadha riwaq madinat al-`ilm al-lati min babi-ha qad dalla man la yadkhulu "This is the curtain (veil) of the city of knowledge which is its gate. It will guide the one who has not entered", Rashti says that three important words here are: al-riwaq, al-madina, and al-bab, the exoteric meaning of which requires no interpretation, but "I will mention that which has overflowed to me from the Sea of Light (bahr al-nur) and that which has come to me through the praise of God from the World of Felicity (`alam al-surur) which has not been mentioned before, except by way of allusions. He then defines al-riwaq, "curtain" as "threshold (janab)", "gate of the gate (bab al-bab)", and "veil of the veil (hijab al-hijab)". Further, he calls it/him:
The pole around which the days revolve, the full moon which illumines the darkness (badr al-zalam) . . . the one who combines [in his] person those teachings (jami` al-kalim) about piety and justice which refute, on behalf of true religion, the corruption of the exaggerators (tahrif al-ghalin) . . . [He is] the judge over the flock and the rightful successor of the Imam (khalifat al-imam) . . . the tree of piety (shajarat al-taqwa), he without whom the traces of prophecy would have been effaced and without whom the pillars of walaya would have crumbled . . . [He is] the one who knows, without having to learn (al-`alim bi-ghayr al-ta`allum), the understander (al-`arif) of all the mysteries of Being in both the invisible and visible world, the dawning place of the [single] point of knowledge (matla` al-`ilm) which the ignorant have multiplied. . . . [He is] the one who knows the secret of the one and the many . . . and the secret of integration (sirr al-jam`) and the integration of integration (jam` al-jam`) and the mystery of reward and punishment. . . . and the mystery of that soul, which if known, God is known.(Qasida, p.96.)
(27) The exhortation to "heed the call" (isma`u nida' or some variation, is a frequent imperative in the commentary. In this instance, the Bab refers to himself as "the Most Great Remembrance of God" (dhikr allah al-akbar), which is also used many times in the work. "The Call" (al-nida') is a major topic in Shi`i eschatology (see above, introduction), being classified as one of "the five signs" announcing the appearance of the Mahdi. It is explained as follows:
"The Cry" (al-sayha/al-nida'); it appears as though there will actually be two "cries" of supernatural origin that will be heard before the coming of the Mahdi. One cry will come from the sky, calling men to defend the Cause of the imam, and the other will come from the depths of the earth (sometimes this is seen as the voice of Iblis), inviting people to join the ranks of the Enemy of the Imam; these cries will be heard during the month of Ramadan.(28)
The quotation of Qur'an 28:30, VERILY, VERILY, I AM GOD (inni ana 'llah ) is also frequent throughout the commentary. It suggests that the Bab is claiming revelation by comparing his rank to that of Moses.(29) It is difficult to determine whether it is meant to be read as the direct speech of God, the hidden Imam, or the Bab. The result of the ambiguity, however, permits the Bab to "participate" in the declaration. By referring to the "likeness of the Remembrance," the Bab anticipates 16:74-6 in which the word SIMILITUDES occurs. The SIMILITUDE which the Bab "strikes" is original, and quite characteristic of his opulent imagery. "Gold softened" translates al-dhahab al-ma'ila, and is dhahab al-muma' in F11, f. 162b. "Flowing through all the hidden places" translates sayyala ila kulli 'l-ghuyub and perhaps takes its cue from 13:17, a verse in which God "strikes a similitude" which employs the image of VALLEYS FLOWING ACCORDING TO THEIR MEASURE (fa-salat awdiyatun bi-qadari-ha; n.b. also the root dh h b in this verse), and THAT OVER WHICH THEY KINDLE FIRE ( wa mimma yuqiduna `alayhi fi 'l-nar). The image continues the mention of sharab, BEVERAGE, in 16:69. Ghuyub ("hidden places") is also read as echoing the measure of the Quranic buyut, HOUSES in 16:68. It shares the same lexical root with al-ghayb, THE UNSEEN (e.g. Qur'an 2:3) and al-ghayba, the Occultation of the Imam. On the personal existential level, al-ghayb may refer to the spiritual interior of the individual.
9 O people of the Throne! Hearken to my call from the precincts of the tomb (al-darih) from the tongue of this Tree which grows on the exalted SINAI, and which is covered with golden holy leaves: `VERILY VERILY I AM GOD, THERE IS NO GOD BUT HIM! There is no soul who has suffered anything in the path of the Remembrance, whether through warfare or loss of wealth, but that We have written down for him the Gardens of Eden and Ridwan in truth. Verily God is Powerful over all things.'
The ahl al-`arsh or "people of the throne" could have several implications, but the intention here may be simply "people of the world." That the "call" is being sent out from the "precincts of the tomb" (min hawl al-darih), may be evidence that the Bab wrote portions of this work during his pilgrimage, as Denis MacEoin has suggested.(30) "Tomb" may also have a purely symbolic meaning in line with the strong martyrdom theme in Shi`ism and the special sanctity of the tombs of the martyr Imams which would be automatically evoked by anyone speaking on their behalf. "The tongue of this Tree which grows on the exalted SINAI" translates lisan hadhihi al-shajara al-manbata al-tur. Again, the reference is to the revelatory experience of Moses on Sinai and may be seen to reflect the language of 23:20: wa shajaratan takhruju min tur sayna' tanbutu bi'l-duhn wa sibghin li'l-akilin: AND A TREE ISSUING FROM THE MOUNT OF SINAI THAT BEARS OIL AND RELISH FOR ALL TO EAT. In this case, it is also possible to translate the Bab's words as "this Tree which produces" leaving the objects OIL and RELISH understood. Al-mutawarraq bi 'l-warqa' al-safra' al-mani, "covered with golden holy leaves" is distinctive imagery, which modifies "Tree" (i.e. the Bab).(31) It is important to note the yoking of the two Quranic phrases (1) VERILY VERILY I AM GOD (28:30) and (2) THERE IS NO GOD BUT HIM(passim) in a single, apparently contradictory utterance. This is an excellent example of the ambivalence, ambiguity and amphibole of post-Safavid "polyvalent" high theosophical apophaticism. It expresses the "now-you-see-it-now-you-don't" aspect of divine manifestation (tajalli) akin to Buddhist "void" theological aniconism.
10 Indeed, we have power to move the earth in this HOUR [passim] by the order of the Remembrance, and could, in truth, hold it aloft [cf. 35:41, 22:65] by means of a single supplication from him and him alone. Otherwise, the earth with its people would, in very truth burn completely (sakhina maskhunan). And He is God, Powerful over all things.
This verse continues the "call" initiated in verse 8, the speaker is either the hidden Imam or God. These two are functionally the same, but "tonally" different as indicated in the previous verse. The phrase wa numsikuha `ala 'l-haqq bi 'l-du`a min nafsihi offers another example of the `ala 'l-haqq bi 'l-haqq formula. "Burn completely" translates sakhina maskhunan, which fills out the distinctive Quranistic (saj`) rhyme used here and throughout the work.
11 And verily GOD HAS FAVORED SOME OF YOU OVER OTHERS [16:71] with knowledge of the Remembrance. WHAT, AND DO YOU DENY GOD' S BLESSING [16:71] by lying? Indeed he is the truth from God which, in very truth is now FULFILLED.
This verse continues the paraphrase of sura 16 FULFILLED is the Quranic mas'ulan. [passim, cf. esp. 25:16: kana `ala rabbika wa`dan mas'ulan, IT IS A PROMISE BINDING UPON THY LORD and 33:15: wa kana `ahdu 'llah mas'ulan, AND A COVENANT WITH GOD MUST SURELY BE ANSWERED FOR].
12 GOD HAS APPOINTED FOR YOU OF YOURSELVES WIVES [16:72] in truth. And GOD HAS ORDAINED [16:72] that the women who are believers be as leaves on the lote-trees encircling the Gate. And God is Knower of all things.
Wa inna 'llah qad ja`ala nisa' al-mu'minat (both manuscripts) might be translated as "God has ordained women, that is believing women." The paraphrase continues with the Bab's own imagery of leaves and trees waraqat min al-shajara al-sidar. This usage was continued by Baha'u'llah, who referred to the females of his family as leaves and the males as branches (aghsan or afnan).(32)
13 O believers! Fear God and never say concerning the glorious Mystery of God, the Unfastener, in the precincts of that which is (forever) unfastened anything but the truth. For God has imposed upon the people of the Cloud the veil of faithfulness. And God is Witness over all things.
Sirr allah al-muhallil *hawl al-hall al-muhallal* (*---* portion is missing from F11, f. 163a)without shadda over al-hall. This is very problematic. Both manuscripts provide dots under the ha' of al-muhallil, and QA places a dot under al-hall. It might also be read al-jall/jull with the meaning of "great" or "major portion" ; al-jill could give the meaning of "carpet" or "garment," the latter would of course extend the textile metaphor of the qamis. It could also be read al-jul (perhaps for the Persian gul, "rose"); al-muhallil would also give the meaning of "lawgiver" or "one who makes things right." Since there is no dot under al-muhallil it was thought that the other dots served the function suggested at verse 5. In any case, the "Mystery of God" appears to refer to the Bab himself. The phrase fa-inna allah qad a `hada (sic) `ala ahl al- `ama satra al-wafa' ( FI1, f. 163a: fa-inna allah qad ashhada ) employs the important mystico/philosophical category/image of "the Cloud". Ibn `Arabi, inspired by a hadith, used the word al-`ama to designate one of the ontological modes of Absolute Being (al-haqq al-mutlaq, al-wujud al-mutlaq). Thus it designates a stage Izutsu translates as "abysmal darkness" between the absolute transcendance of Being Itself and the existentiation and individuation of created things (al-ashya'). Here it is used to refer to, if you will, the holiness of silence and hiddeness, in possible addition to the "cloud" as the mediatrix of the sacred faculty of imagination as discussed by Corbin.(33) The verse seems also to be an exhortation to taqiya.
14 O Solace of the Eye! Speak forth the melody of the beloved from the Throne and cloak (uqmus) the words with the shirt (qamis) of divine breezes. Indeed,God desires that your proclamation concerning this Red Dove be not naked. And God is your Preserver.
Ya qurrata'l-`ayn ("O Solace of the Eye") indicates that the Bab is now being addressed by the hidden Imam. It should not be seen as referring to the famous disciple of the Bab, the poetess, Tahireh.(34) The language is found in the Qur'an [19:26; 20:40;. 25:74; 28:9 &13; 32: 17; 33: 51], with the meaning of general consolation or comfort. The epithet is also traceable to the hadith from the Prophet in which he speaks of prayer as being the "consolation of my eye" (qurrat `ayni).(35) Its frequent use in this work by the Bab also undoubtedly refers to the restoration of Jacob's sight by the qamis and the consolation of his heart which came from reunion with Joseph. "Red Dove" (al-warqa' al-hamra') is another title for the Bab. The exhortation to "cloak the words" refers to the allusive nature of the commentary in general. The implication being that those who have the capacity to understand the obscure language will do so because of their spiritual readiness for the advent of the Imam. Others will simply fail to appreciate its significance. This theme is found also in a later work by Baha'u'llah:
The purpose underlying all these symbolic terms and abstruse allusions, which emanate from the revealers of God' s holy cause, has been to test and prove the peoples of the world; that thereby the earth of the pure and illuminated hearts may be known from the perishable and barren soil. From time immemorial such has been the way of God amidst His creatures.(36)
15 O concourse of lights! Hear my call from the precincts of the point of water at the center of the dust! `God! there is no god but Him, the Lord of all worlds.' And He is God, Mighty, Wise.
Such phrases as "from the precints of the point of water at the center of the dust" (min hawl nuqtat al-ma' `ala markaz al-turab) are amongst the most characteristic and allusive features of this work . They indicate the Bab's station as the point from which proceeds all of the antithetical terms such as good and evil, saved and damned, up and down, left and right, cold and hot, and so forth -- in other words, consciousness. This is reminiscent and reflective of the distinctive "imamology" of such pieces as the Khutbat al-tatanjiya, "Sermon of the Two Gulfs" which begins with the Imam saying: "I am the presider over the two gulfs" and on which Kazim Rashti wrote an extensive metaphysical commentary in support of the above-mentioned imamology. The Bab also devoted a separate work to this "Sermon", but even if he had not, much of his early writing is intimately connected with it in any case. The vocabulary elements here deserve some notice. min, = "from" or "of"; hawla together with min is a very frequent preposition in this work = "around", "about" "from the precincts, vicinity". It derives from the verb hala from which come nouns meaning "state" and "condition". In its prepositional form here it evokes circularity. This leads to the next word nuqta ="point" discussed above. In this context, the reader is "moved" instantly from somewhere in a circle to its center point. al-ma' = water. The most precious element on earth (particularly for those living in arid regions) and highly symbolic of an extremely dense cluster of moral, ethical, religious and spiritual themes. One could easily devote an entire study to the "semiotics of the elements" in the Qur'an. Indeed, the job has already been begun by none other than Mulla Sadra (d.1640) in his spiritual typology of water and related liquids in scripture (EII, vol. 1, p. 316n). Similarly, and a fortiori the same kind of "elemental" reading of this Commentary is bound to produce important insights into the function, content and meaning of this highly unusual -- yet somehow perfectly natural -- composition. `ala is another prepositon meaning "on," "upon," "above," "over". It can also mean "incumbent upon" or "dominant". It is derived from the same root as the frequent divine epithet "the Exalted" which shares (and not accidentally, according to Shi`ism) the same root with the name of the first Imam, `Ali ibn Abi Talib. markaz = "center of a circle" (or center, as in "headquarters" or "station". (`Abdu'l-Baha' is known to Baha'is as the markaz of the Covenant.) al-turab ="the dust" or "earth". Thus, in this phrase, the Bab directs the reader to the conjunction or "coincidence" of opposites motif, over which he demonstrates his obvious control. Other examples of this at once disconcerting and effective "trope" are mentioned by me in an earlier publication. The frequency and nature of this image in this work helps us to come to terms with a distinctively Islamic "apocalyptic imagination" and, as such, should not be dismissed or underestimated. The word, by the way, for "dust" also appears in one of the nicknames for the first Imam, `Ali: Abu Turab = "Dusty" (lit. "Father of Dust") a term of mock annoyance and affection, given him by the Prophet, which in later literature acquired cosmological significance as "Progenitor of Creation".(37)
16 Verily, verily I am the Fire from the precincts of Sinai, and I speak the truth, and am praiseworthy.
This is another reference to the Quranic description of Moses' experience on Sinai. It would seem that God is continuing the address begun in verse 15, which was being transmitted through the "point of water at the center of the dust" (i.e the Bab). But it should be remembered that by thus being a channel for revelation, the Bab is also touched by the "Fire," and is also in this way the fire itself. inni ana "Verily, verily I am . . ." is a frequent signal of revelation used throughout the commentary in combination with other "substantives" (as in the verse immediately following) and not just as it is found in (though always inspired by and reflective of) the Quranic VERILY, VERILY I AM GOD (28:30) already discussed above.
17 Verily, verily I am the Light above Sinai -- raised up.
The use of the predicate marfu`an, "elevated, raised up" (cf. qa'im, "one who arises/will arise") which technically refers to God as the source of revelation by virtue of its passive construction, also alludes to the lineage of the Bab as a Sayyid, or descendant of the family of Hashim. For example, describing a hadith or saying as marfu`, indicates an authentic isnad (chain of transmission, "spiritual pedigree") that goes back to the Prophet Muhammad who is the historical manifestation of the logos-like nur muhammadiya "Muhammadan Light" or haqiqa muhammadiya "Muhammadan Reality".(38)
18 Verily, verily I am the Reddened Point which revolves around God, its creator. And I am in truth beloved.
According to the hierarchies in the Bab's "Commentary on the Sura of the Cow", red symbolizes corporeality. This usage may be meant to allude to the embodiment of the hidden Imam. (39) Once again, the motifs of circularity and center are invoked. It is also possible to translate al-nuqtat al-muhammara by the more elegant "Crimson Point" if we retain the passive aspect of the original. God is the only doer. All else is acted upon or done to. Islamic literature luxuriates in this "conceit" and this has lead to the widespread misreading of Islamic culture as one in which individual volition has no place.
19 Verily, verily I am the Sapling -- the glory with the most great truth, and am the intended one (maqsud) at the head of (fawq) the source of the ruby stream which flows upon Sinai.
Ja`far al-Sadiq interpreted one of `Ali's statements: "I have planted their trees" (ana gharastu ashjaraha) as meaning that the Imams from his progeny are the trees of repentance and the lote-tree beyond which there is no passing.(40) Either from this interpretation, or other similar ones, the word ghars seems to have acquired a life of its own, as a symbol for the zuhur or appearance of the Qa`im or Shi`ite messiah, e.g.:
In the year ghars [1260] the earth shall be illumined by His light, and in gharasa [1265] the world shall be suffused with its glory [?al-baha']. If thou livest until the year gharasi [1270], thou shalt witness how the nations, the rulers, the peoples, and the Faith of God shall all have been renewed.(41)
The appositional wa inni ana al-ghars al-baha' is also conditioned by the previously-mentioned exegesis of the basmala, where the ba' is seen to stand for the divine attribute baha' or glory. This is borne out in the following verse which continues this subsidiary commentary on the basmala by proceeding to the next element, namely the letter sin (the "s" in bismillah).
20 Verily, verily I am the Splendour -- the praise; none but the Praise itself, being single and unique, perceives the splendour.
In the two commentaries referred to earlier, as well as several others, the sin of the basmala is interpreted as the sana' allah - the splendour of God. The allusion to and alliterative (therefore real) association with Sinai (sayna, sina' [Qur'an 23:20]) is clear. Cf. also the "single soul" passages in the Qur'an [4: 1, 6:98, 7: 189, 31:28, 39:6].
21 O people of the earth! Praised be God, the Truth! verily. God HAS MADE [16:72] the mystery of this Gate profound.
The use of the verb ja`ala ("he has made/done/appointed") need not, of course, be an invocation of the Qur'an. However, in light of the foregoing, it would appear that the Bab intends a reference to 16:72 and therefore a remote but for that no less profoundly engaged continuation ("Like gold to airy thiness beat.") of the paraphrase begun in verse 3.
22 To describe him in Arabic he is comely -- as is witnessed.
This is a kind of enjambment with verse 21: aniqan rhyming with the above `amiqan "profound". (Cf. also line 1 of the Khutbat al-tatanjiya.) In a hadith of the Prophet, he is quoted as referring to the Quran in the following words: "Its literal meaning (zahir) is beautiful (aniq) and its hidden meaning (batin) is profound (`amiq)."(42) Here, then, is yet another example of that apparently inexhaustible and quintessentially Shi`i motif of the Imam as the embodied Qur'an and the Qur'an as the inlibrated Imam. This verse may also be read as a parenthesis, mashhudan "witnessed" (same root as martyr) referring to the sirr hadha 'l-Bab "the mystery of this Gate" in the above verse. This is an allusion to the proverbial physical beauty of Joseph, which the Bab is said to have shared. The Prophet said: "God created beauty (husn) in a hundred parts and gave Joseph ninety-nine." It should be noted that in this context physical beauty is a reflection of moral beauty, most dramatically represented in the case of Joseph in the Quranic episode in which he resists (with the asistance of God) the wiles of the Egyptian woman and as a result of which moral athleticism he is unjustly imprisoned [Qur'an 21-35]. (43)
23 Indeed, in these verses are SIMILITUDES [16:74] for THOSE POSSESSED OF MINDS [passim], those who in the precincts of the Gate are in very truth prostrating.
Prostrating at the gate is taken from Qur'an 7:161: ENTER THE GATE PROSTRATING and also implies the "gate of forgiveness" [cf. hitta, Qur'an 2:58] and the "city of knowledge" hadiths, wherein the Prophet says that he is the city of knowlege and `Ali is the gate to the city, along with all those other less immediate associations mentioned in Lawson, "The Terms".
24 What! Do you worship [paraphrase of Qur'an 16:71] one BESIDE GOD WHO POSSESSES [Qur'an 16:73] nothing, while sovereignty is God's (wa 'l-mulk li-llah, [Qur'an, passim]), the Exalted both before and after; in the MOTHER BOOK [Qur'an 3:6 & 13:39], it is all written (maktub) about the cause of the Gate.
The MOTHER BOOK umm al-kitab is the repository of God's pre-eternal decree. That is, the Bab's mission has been ordained from before the beginning of time. It is also a reference to the Fatiha, which is referred to by several exegetes as the umm al-kitab, and thus continues the symbolism of the basmala. Umm al-kitab may also refer to the Imam himself; as such it becomes a symbol of the sirr or divine conscience mentioned above in verse 12.(44) In short, umm al-kitab designates the Imams as the source for understanding the Book. Maktub also means "ordained".
25 SO STRIKE NOT ANY SIMILITUDES FOR GOD [16:74]. He is the truth LIKE UNTO HIM THERE IS NAUGHT [Qur'an 42:11]. And He is God, Mighty, Wise.
This is a direct quotation from sura 16 and continues the paraphrase. In the religious outlook represented in this work the paradoxes and ambiguities of monotheism are in evidence to a very high degree. The veneration of the Imam constantly threatens to "ripen" into idolatry and incarnationsism. One of the ways this highly creative tension is maintained and the equipoise of this figure-ground shifting of transcendence and immanence remains alive and supple is through repeated references to Qur'anic and other scriptural assertions of the uniqueness and transcendent solitude of the Absolute. God is not to be compared with anything. The second quotation is thought to be especially apposite to the task of tawhid because it contains a negation of a double nature: laysa ka-mithlihi shay', lit. "no thing is like His likeness". A "thing" is in that large class designated by the phrase "whatever is other than God".
26 GOD HAS STRUCK A SIMILITUDE concerning TWO MEN, ONE OF THEM [Qur'an 16:76] presiding over the divine cause (qa'im `ala al-amr) COMMANDING JUSTICE [Qur'an 16:75] and good deeds; and the other standing over Hell, summoned by the Fire to the Fire. And both of these two are upon the truth, if you confess even one letter of the book AND YOUR LORD IS THE MERCIFUL ONE AND AWARE OF WHAT YOU DO [Qur'an passim].
The thrust of the Quranic verse, which means to distinguish between two men, one being good, the other bad, is transformed by the Bab. The implication appears to be that the two are actually one. As such, it is an allusion to the themes and language of the Khutbat al-tatanjiya.
27 This DAY God has written for His servant a reward -- indeed! -- in a line of the leaf of the White Scroll. God is Knower of all things.
Allah qad kataba'l-yawma li-`abdihi jaza' `ala 'l-khatt haqqa min waraqati'l-musattarati 'l-bayda. HIS SERVANT occurs seven times in the Qur'an and in all but one of these (when it refers to Zakariya, Qur'an 19:2, the sura that is headed by Kaf Ha Ya `Ayn Sad, commented upon by Rashti; see above) it designates the prophet Muhammad. Thus it has become one of the countless honorifics used for him. The verse then is an intentional "confusion" of Muhammad, the hidden Imam and the Bab, all of whom in the last analysis are, according to Shaykhi theology, equivalent. This repeated, periodic and rhythmic raising of enigmas, puzzles and solutions that are meant to be resolved in the next breath is one of the chief literary features of this work. According to the four-colour hierarchy adopted by the Bab in an earlier work, white represents the highest level. If this same hierarchy is adhered to in this verse, then the "white scroll" would be a synonym for the MOTHER BOOK, discussed earlier. The choice of language may be partially determined by another factor: Shaykh Ahmad was very attached to a particular hadith or khabar from the Imam. His commentary on it was influential in the subsequent Shaykhi school, chiefly because it provided the necessary theory for the distinctive doctrine of the Fourth Support and the general predominance of the motif of quaternity particularly as it is manifested in a four-tiered ontology. The color hierarchy mentioned above is another example of this quaternity. The hadith is actually composed of two similar statements from the sixth Imam, Ja`far al-Sadiq. Because of its obscurity, the translations of both versions are followed by a transliteration. The point I wish to emphasize here is not so much the sense of the statements, but their sound. Both are strongly sibilant and the basic meaning carried by this sibilance is "mystery/secrecy/hiddeness". It happens that the word for "scroll" (al-musattara) above closely approximates (in its Persian pronunciation only) one of these words for mystery (viz, al-mustasirr). I think the choice of the words "white scroll" is partly determined by the implied similarity, even though philologically each word comes from a completely different etymological root. This is a possible example of the Bab being technically "wrong" though musically correct where al-musataara provides a perfectly cogent improvisation on al-mustasirr (as is evident below, both share the common feature of whiteness). It calls to mind the ridiculous examination of him by Shaykhi ulama and others in the presence of the Crown Prince, the future Nasiruddin Shah in Tabriz just prior to his execution when he was asked to conjugate and parse certain pons asinorum -type Arabic words and phrases. He responded to the request with the question, "You would ask the jeweller the price of straw?" In any case, the hadith in question is as follows:
[A] Our cause is the truth, and the truth of the truth. It is the exoteric and it is the esoteric of the exoteric, and it is the esoteric of the esoteric. It is the secret, and the secret of the secret - a secret enveloped in a secret and the secret of that which is veiled by the secret.
(amruna huwa al-haqq wa haqq al-haqq wa huwa al-zahir wa batin al-zahir wa batin al-batin wa huwa al-sirr wa sirr al-sirr wa sirr al-mustasirr wa sirr muqanna` bi'l-sirr)
[B] Our cause is a veiled secret, a secret which can only speak of a secret, a secret above a secret, a secret which remains enveloped in the secret.
(amruna sirr mustasirr wa sirr la yufiduhu illa sirr wa sirr `ala sirr wa sirr muqanna` bi'l-sirr)
This hadith (along with two others) plays an important part in Shaykh Ahmad's commentary on one of the verses of the Ziyarat al-jami`a: "Peace be upon you, O members of the family of the Prophet, you who are [collectively] the repository of the prophetic message (mawdi` al-risala)." Shaykh Ahmad refers to this tradition in detailing four ontological levels (maqamat) of Imama, the quality of leadership of the Muslim community:
[1] The station of "a secret veiled by the secret" (sirr muqanna` bi'l-sirr).
[2] The station of "the secret of the secret" (sirr al-sirr) or "the esoteric of the esoteric" (batin al-batin). (These two stations correspond to "the truth of the truth" (haqq al-haqq) in version A.)
[3] The station of "the secret" (al-sirr) or "the esoteric of the exoteric" (batin al-zahir). (This corresponds to "the secret which can only speak of another secret" (sirr la yufiduhu illa sirr) in version B.)
[4] The station of "the exoteric" (al-zahir), or "the veiled secret" (sirr mustasirr). (Stations 3 & 4 correspond to "the truth" (al-haqq) in version A.)
These levels correspond to the colors white, yellow, green, red (from top to bottom).(45)
28 And [has written for] THE SERVANT WHO DOES WELL (`ala al-`abd al-fa`il bi'l-istiwa', cf. Qur'an 17:76) TWO GARDENS [Qur'an 18:32-3;.34:15-6; 55:54] according to a true line (`ala khatt al-istiwa') and for the bearer of the goblet of water [He has written] a goblet of the pure river of KAWTHAR And God is Witness over all things.
This may also be an allusion to Joseph's "two fellow-prisoners"[Qur'an2:36-42], one of whom was to POUR WINE FOR HIS LORD [Qur'an 12:41]. The other, according to Joseph's interpretation of the dream, was to be crucified. The khatt al-istiwa' occurs many times throughout this work. The dictionary definition "equator" is helpful insofar as it connotes a dividing line which "orders" (cf. istiwa' in the Qur'an passim). The Imam, in this sense, may be regarded as the line between good and evil. The term figures in the Aphorisms of the early Muslim mystic and martyr al-Hallaj, in which along with several other distinctive terms, the editors of the collection detected "some Isma`ili Gnostic borrowings" although they offer no definition.(46) The term figures prominently in the literature of the Hurufi movement (from the 14th century) that centered on arcane letter symbolism. Here it refers primarily to the (center) part in the hair which had symbolic value: "It is the median, regulatory line symbolizing thus harmony, justice, equity and truth, etc. ...".(47) al-Hallaj (executed 922) designated it the source of the alphabet (48) i.e., the alif, a single vertical stroke of the pen. The alif, because of its upright vertical posiiton is also symbolic of the Qa'im. KAWTHAR is the name of one of the rivers of Paradise. It means abundance. It is also the word by which one of the shorter Quranic suras is known and in explanation of which the Bab would later compose one of his more important tafsirs.(49)
29 And with GOD BELONGS THE UNSEEN [Qur'an 16:77]. All unseen things are visible to the Truth. And God ordained ONLY THAT THE CAUSE [Qur'an 16:77] of the Remembrance BE CLOSEST to the divine CAUSE [Qur'an 16:77]. And He is God, Powerful over all things.
The language here substitutes the Quranic TO GOD BELONGS THE UNSEEN OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH with: "And with GOD . . .". The word ghuyub, used above in verse 8 "hidden places" follows where one would be led to expect the Quranic HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. The Bab's substitution of "with" for TO is of course not accidental. His prepositon also connotes "in the presence of" and "according to" where TO denotes possession. Thus the hidden Imam is at once referred to as being in the divine presence and "validated" by God. This idea of proximity and presence it further asserted by BE CLOSEST. The Quranic HOUR (al-sa`a) is replaced with another Quranic noun, dhikr, REMEMBRANCE, one of the titles of the Bab. This is in keeping with the hermeneutic equivalence HOUR/ walaya.(50) Similarly, CAUSE may also represent the Imam.(51)
30 And we have BROUGHT YOU FORTH FROM THE WOMBS [Qur'an 16:78] to aid the Truth during the day of the Remembrance. And we have GIVEN YOU HEARING, AND SIGHT, AND HEARTS SO THAT YOU MIGHT BE GRATEFUL FOR [Qur'an 16:78] the truth of the Remembrance concerning the STRAIGHT BALANCE, straight.
HEARING, SIGHT, AND HEARTS have been interpreted as standing for nubuwa "prophethood", imama "imamate", and walaya "authority/allegiance/guardianship", and while this interpretation need not be primary here, it undoubtedly operates on some level.(52) Fi 'l-qistas al-qayyim mustaqiman ("concerning the STRAIGHT BALANCE, straight") is a variant of Qur'an 17:35 and 26: 182, and perhaps a retroactive incorporation of more material from Qur'an 16:76, e. g.: huwa `ala siratin mustaqimin, HE IS ON A STRAIGHT PATH.
31 And we have made THE BIRDS OBEDIENT IN THE AIR OF HEAVEN [Qur'an 16:79]. Is there any but God who HOLDS THEM ALOFT [Qur'an 16:79] in truth? Verily God is Witness over all things.
In addition to continuing the paraphrase, this verse also reflects the image in verse 10 above. One of the suras of the Tafsir surat al-Yusuf is entitled Surat al-tayr, Sura of the Bird (number 86). In a later work, the Tafsir surat al-kawthar , the Bab refers to himself as "this bird" hadha 'l-tayr. The epithet occurs in the course of his explanation of the letter "w" (waw of the word walaya, which is, as mentioned earlier the central distinguishing religious notion in Shi`ism, meaning the continuation of post-prophetic religious authority, allegiance, guardianship and love. The Bab's method, in this commentary, is to comment on each letter of the Quranic Surat al-kawthar with reference to the four levels of Being and the colour hierarchy mentioned earlier. A brief excerpt from this commentary will not be out of place here:
Concerning the waw :
[1] In the forest of the land of "Yellow" it refers to Absolute Universal Pre-Eternal walaya;
[2] The walaya which has been individualised in the soul of the form of abstraction which claims for itself to itself the [divine] Self, to be also the moon of the [divine] light and the sun of [divine] manifestation and the tree of al-kafur and the wine of manifestation and the source of the river of al-kawthar and the name of God the Living the Forgiving, and he who speaks in the forest of the land of "Yellow";
3] Then there is the walaya which has been individualized shining, luminous, glittering, paradisaic, unique -- glimmering with the light of the secondary pre-eternity which alludes to and warbles subtleties in this LAMP that which has not been heard by any but God and he whom He desires. It is visible in the number of the letters of la ilah illa llah, "there is no god but God"and appears from the tree which grows upon the land of "Green";
[4] Then there is the walaya which has dawned from the splendours of the light of the Morning of Eternity which has spoken in the HEART of this bird fu'ad hadha al-tayr, i.e., himself, the Bab) whom the Satans have cast into prison and waxed proud before (whom God has created in the likeness of THOSE COMMUNITIES WHICH HAVE PASSED AWAY), even though none of them were able to understand a single letter of the manifestation of the the traces of His power in the places of the appearances (mazahir) of these individual lofty letters . Verily the PRACTICE (sunna) of God is governed by His RULE (hukmihi), ordained by Truth. AND THEN {ON THAT DAY} ALL WALAYA WILL BELONG TO GOD, THE TRUTH. HE IS THE BEST OF REWARDERS AND THE BEST OF PUNISHERS [Qur'an 18:44].(53)
32 O RISING OF THE MORN [97:5]! Mention the name of your Lord, He other than whom there is no god. He is Exalted, Wise.
RISING OF THE MORN (matla` al-fajr) is Quranic. In fact, it ends the quintessentially important Sura laylat al-qadr, "Sura of the Night of Power". The Night of Power is the "time" of the revelation of the Qur'an. Althought there is no agreement as to the exact date of this in tradition, it is nonetheless held to have occurred during Ramadan, the month of fasting. The phrase could also be translated as "O place where the dawn appears" since the noun matla` is a so-called noun of place in Arabic (like the cognate term mazhar). The vocative adresses the hidden Imam/the Bab as the place where the divine light appears, emphasizing that no matter how important the Imam or "manifestation" may be, it is God who cause divinity to "appear" in them. They are thus somewhat passive. It nonetheless alludes to a very high spiritual rank. According to Anwar, "In the Traditions the figurative interpretation (ta 'wil) of DAWN (fajr) is the Qa'im or Promised One and its/his appearance is the Resurrection (qiyama), just as MORNING (subh) refers to the Imams and the lights of their knowledge."(54) It is also of some interest that the word matla` came to have a technical application in scriptural exegesis as one of four hermeneutic dimensions of a text (along the lines of the Philo-inspired medieval scheme: historia, allegoria, tropologia, anagoge). According to a statement from Ja`far al-Sadiq every Quranic aya has an exterior meaning (zahir, an interior meaning (batin), a legal meaning (hadd) and a spiritual meaning (matla`). These four meanings operate simultaneously, or polyvocally, at any given verse. For an example of a related use of this important term in the works of Sayyid Kazim Rashti, see the commentary on verse 8 above. (55)
33 O HOUR of the DAWN! Mention, BEFORE THE RISING OF THE SUN [Qur'an 20: 130, 50:39] from the place where the Gate appears, that the DAY which belongs to God is CLOSER THAN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE [Qur'an 16:77]. And the judgment has already been ordained in the MOTHER BOOK.(56)
"The Hour of Dawn" or sa`at al-fajr does not occur in the Qur'an, but combines two Quranic words, and may be thought, therefore, to combine the above-mentioned interpretations of these words. It addresses the Bab. DAY is an allusion to the same word in Qur'an 16:80, the use of which would continue the paraphrase, just as "sun" may be seen in connection with SHADE, zilalan of Qur'an 16:81. SUN has of course other implications. It may stand for rasul (messenger of God), `Ali, or "each Imam, specifically the Qa'im."(57). It is undoubtedly the last which is intended. The sense is that the Qa'im has not yet fully arisen; that is, he has not yet been universally recognized. Alternatively, it may allude to another individual as Qa'im. However, min matla` al-bab ("from the place where the gate appears" -- or, "the shining appearance of the Gate") seems to suggest otherwise. CLOSER THAN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE [Qur'an 16:77] in this context refers to,precisely, THE CAUSE (or perhaps better EVENT/amr) OF THE HOUR. The Arabic is: wa ma amru al-sa`ati illa ka-lamhi al-basar 'aw huwa aqrabu. lamh, TWINKLING OF AN EYE resonates with the event in Sura 27 of the Qur'an ("The Ants") in which the throne of the Queen of Sheba appears in the court of Solomon in A TWINKLING OF AN EYE although the Arabic vocabulary is completely different in this instance [Qur'an 27:40], both instances have in common the view of "time" as something God expresses absolute power through and by means of - a sacrament, if you will. The mystics have made much of such Quranic references, particularly in regard to the distinctively Islamic idea of perpetual creation and destruction of the world -- the "occasionalism" of the theologians. Through this "vision" the activities of world, which might appear to those without knowledge as a sequence of events in a causal chain, are actually the result of God's instantaneous destruction and recreation of the cosmos. Each "atom of time" therefore is a NEW CREATION, khalq jadid[13:5; 14:19; 17:49, 17:98; 32:10; 34:7; 35:16;50:15]. In the later Baha'i thought, this Quranic notion becomes "a new race of men".(58)
34 O people of the earth! Listen to the call of this upright soul in the AIR [16:79] of the cloud: `Praised be God, He who has taught me through this Gate -- the PATH of those who affirm divine unity -- a just word. And that is from the BOUNTY of God to me. And He is Self-sufficient above all the worlds.'
The speaker here is presented as the hidden Imam, who designates the Bab as al-nafs al-qa'im, "the soul who arises". As such, it is a good example of the manipulation by the author of such terminology to indicate his own claim to be the "promised one." This device here as elsewhere, resembles the qul, SAY! verses of the Qur'an, enabling the Bab (and Muhammad before him) to speak on behalf of a higher authority while at the same time participating in this authority. As mentioned earlier, the variety of voices which speak throughout the commentary should be thought of as representing separate aspects or "levels" of the soul of the Bab, which for the purposes of rhetorical effect, are separately emphasized in this or that passage. "Cloud" refers again to the divine source of the Bab's message as discussed above at verse 13. In his commentary on the Sura of the Cow, the Bab interpreted fadl, BOUNTY as the Qa'im.(46b)
35 O people of `Arafat! Be firm in the precincts of the straight one and listen to my call about this blood-stained shirt which has been rent with 4,000 darts of the people of idolatry (shirk) from among my servants. `Verily , verily I am the one slain at the two slaughters [or rivers]. Verily, verily I am the one slaughtered by the two swords, and verily, verily I have been flung down (al-matruh) upon the two earths, and verily, verily I speak in the two stations: "There is no god but God alone, there is no god but Him. {*Exalted is God, the Lofty, He other than whom there is no god.*}" And He is God, Mighty, Wise.'
The portion between brackets, {*...*}, is missing from F11. Verses 35-42 make up the fourth section of a given sura/ chapter of the Tafsir surat Yusuf (as described in Lawson, "Interpretation", p.250) which returns to the verse/aya of the Qur'an being commented upon. In this case, these verses are a sequenced reprisecommentary and paraphrase of the Quranic
Idhhabu bi-qamisi hadha fa'lquhu `ala wajhi abi ya'ti basiran wa'tuni bi-ahlikum ajma`ina
GO, TAKE THIS SHIRT, AND DO YOU CAST IT ON MY FATHER'S FACE, AND HE SHALL RECOVER HIS SIGHT; THEN BRING ME YOUR FAMILY ALL TOGETHER.
The reference to `Arafat could be another indication that the Bab wrote part of the work during his pilgrimage. But it probably "simply" refers to the holiness of `Arafat itself which is one of the sacred places of the Islamic pilgrimage where on an appointed day during the pilgrimage, all pilgrims gather together for the prescribed "sermon of the day of `Arafat". Thus, it refers to an assemblage of the pious awaiting a message at a predetermined time. (Note that the word shar