The Primal Point’s Will and Testament

 

Translation and Commentary

by: Sepehr Manuchehri

September 2004

 

 

Introduction

 

This paper provides an analytical examination of a vital piece of Babi literature most commonly referred to as the Will and Testament of the Bab.

 

Draft extracts from this paper were first posted in instalments on the Tarikh list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tarikh/) in February and March 2004 that generated a lively discussion[1].

 

Whilst this document is an important Babi work and has been available in several MS copies, it has not yet given the attention it deserves by generations of Babi scholars[2]. Indeed it may be a pre-requisite to study this tablet first prior to analysing the events of the Middle Babi period.

 

This paper is only the first step in uncovering the contents of the tablet. There may be issues that are exaggerated, sidelined, simplified or completely missed. I hope the readers will bless me with their comments and suggestions for improvement.

 

 

Available Versions

 

I first came across what I perceived at the time to be the only complete copy of this work in 1995. It was a facsimile of a copy maintained in the Iranian National Baha’i Archives (INBA) along with several other lesser-known tablets by the Primal Point.

 

I then discovered extracts of this tablet in a work by Mirza Yahya Nuri (hereby known as ‘Subh-e Azal’) entitled Mustaqyaz. In more recent times other complete versions of the tablet have become available in one form or the other.

 

It needs to be emphasised that the original of this tablet has not yet surfaced. Therefore it is not possible to verify which of the existing copies are closer to the original.

 

This paper takes in to account four versions of this document. In the following section each version is briefly discussed and reason(s) for their inclusion highlighted:

 

 

1. Mustaqyaz version (hereby known as ‘Version 1’):

 

http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/areprint/azal/M-R/M/mustayqz/ms378.jpg

 

Mustaqyaz was written in 1855-1856. Through this book, selections from this tablet were for the first time confirmed and widely circulated within in the Babi community. The significance of this version lies in its status as the first public announcement of the document.

 

Furthermore Mustaqyaz was written by the recipient of this tablet. Its publication was no more than a few years after the execution of the Bab. Therefore the margin of error by subsequent generations of scribes is substantially reduced and the extracts quoted may be closest to the original.

 

The disadvantage of relying on the Mustaqyaz version is that Subh-I Azal only quotes certain verses and infers the existence of unquoted verses by writing ‘until it says’ in between the passages. Selections from the tablet are contained on pages 378 to 380 of Mustaqyaz and are identified in Table 1 below.

 

 

2. Introduction to Motammem Al-Bayan (hereby known as ‘Version 2’):

http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/areprint/azal/M-R/mutammim/vesayat2.gif

 

The online version of Motammem Al-Bayan includes a manuscript facsimile of a copy of this tablet published in Tehran during mid 1940’s. A brief introductory note precedes the text of Motammem Al-Bayan. A copy of the tablet in question comes in three pages. 

 

In the introductory note number 3, the publisher of Motammem Al-Bayan confirms the following:

 

 “This is one of the tablets issued to Subh-e Azal by the Bab. Because the original tablet was not available, a copy of the text in the hand writing of His Holiness the Eternal Fruit is hereby presented.”[3]

 

There are minor differences between Version 1 and Version 2, which may point to yet another copy/variation of the MS in Subh-e Azal’s possession. Unlike Version 1, this copy is a complete set.

 

 

3. INBA No 64 version (hereby known as ‘Version 3’):

 

http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/areprint/bab/inba64/64IBA095.gif

 

The header of the tablet has the title: ‘Will and Testament of His Holiness the Primal Point may all other spirits be sacrificed for Him’.

 

After the conclusion of the tablet there is a note by the scribe. Parts of the note appear to be missing from the scan so their verification is at this point not possible. The legible portions of the message read:

 

“The above will and testament was taken from an old manuscript (without) points (Nuqteh)[4]. During the copying process extreme care was taken in comparing (the two copies). Up on instructions from Jenab-e Afnan from the Holy Family (*illegible*) Sayyid Habibu’llah Afnan.”

 

The note is signed - presumably by the checker/scribe and dated 14^th Shahr Al-Nur, Year 100 of the Badi calendar in Shiraz (1944)[5].

 

This copy is obviously made from a manuscript owned by the Afnan family. It is significant because of two reasons:

 

Firstly its discovery in 1944 proved that apart from the MS available to Subh-e Azal and the scribe of MMB (Bayani community) at least one other manuscript was in circulation within Baha’i families.

 

It is particularly noteworthy that this copy was found at approximately the same time as the publication of Version 2 above.

 

Secondly, its discovery in the Afnan collection may point an earlier MS owned by Sayyid Ali Afnan[6] or the Bab’s immediate family residing in Shiraz. It could suggest that the Bab or Subh-e Azal chose to send an early copy of the original MS to Shiraz.

 

The Baha’i scribe notes that the original did not contain any points/dots in the handwriting, which could suggest that this MS was from either Sayyid Husayn Yazdi or the Bab.

 

 

4. Independent version (hereby known as ‘Version 4’):

 

http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/areprint/bab/S-Z/vasaya/vasaya.htm

 

This version is a modern typed script of an MS in private hands. It is not clear whether this MS was copied from the original or one of the subsequent copies made by generations of Babi/Bayani scribes overtime.

 

It can safely be concluded that the MS used for this version is not the same as the other 3 versions above as it contains varying degrees of differences with each one.

 

This version is also significant because it indicates the presence of at least one other surviving MS presumably tracing back to the 1850’s[7].

 

 

Verse Numbering

 

None of the above versions have verse numbers. I have inserted verse numbers in order to provide reference points throughout the text for easier tracking of the contents. Some verses appear longer than others simply because there is a carry over of contents between one, two or three phrases.

 

Therefore the reader must bear in mind that my verse numbering system is not always related to one per sentence, but in some cases takes into account the overall tone and message of a number of sentences taken together.

 

 

Miscellaneous Versions

 

Other than the four versions mentioned above, extracts from this tablet have been quoted in a number of works including:

 

• Nuqtat al-Kaf: ed E G Browne, Leiden: EJ Brill 1910. Reprinted East Lansing, Mi: H-Baha’i 1997. Whilst not quoting any of the verses in full, the author focuses on the general tone of the letter particularly verses 5, 25, 27, 30, 32 and 34.

 

• Sultan `Izziyyih Khanum Nuri. Tanbih an-Na'imin. (Tehran, n.p.). Republished in digital facsimile. East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2000, page 31-32.The author only quotes verses 1-8 in full.

 

• Mulla Isma`il "Mirza Mustafa Katib" Isfahani, Pasokh Nameh. Typescript from Ms. in private hands. Digitally reprinted in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2001, page 77-78. The author only quotes verses 1-8, 38 and 39 in full.

 

• Mulla Muhammad Ja`far Niraqi. Tadhkirat al-Ghafilin. MS. British Manuscript Project, University of Michigan, 1322 (6). Published in digital facsimile. East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2000, pages 101-103. Includes verses 1-23 in full.

 

As the above authors have not quoted the tablet in its entirety, I have elected to exclude their respective versions from the scope of this study.

 

Therefore it appears since 1850 this document has existed or referred to in one form or another, itemised as follows:

 

• 1849 - Original
• 1855/6 - Mustaqyaz (Version 1)
• 1892 - 1904 Tanbih al-Na’imin
• 1910 – Nuqtat al-Kaf
• 1913 – Tadhkirat al-Ghafilin
• 1919 - Pasokh Nameh
• 1945 – Afnan copy discovered and verified (Version 3)
• 1945 – Introduction to Motammem Al-Bayan (Version 2)
• 1976/7 – INBA 64 finalised (Version 3)
• 2004 – Typescript of an Independent copy (Version 4)

 

 

Comparison of the selected Versions

 

Table 1 below provides a summary of comparisons made between the four versions.

 

For each verse the applicable variation(s) within each version are quoted.

 

Where the content of a particular verse are identical across all versions, they are noted as ‘Same’ and highlighted in yellow.

 

Verses not quoted in Version 1 are noted as ‘Not quoted’ and highlighted in black.

 

Where verses from various versions agree they have been identified as required.