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QA V [5] Sura Yusuf (The Surah of Joseph) on Q. 12:4.

 

THE  QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ'  OF  THE BĀB.

Surah   V (5)

    سورة يوسف

 The Surah of Joseph  or  Sūrat  Ḥusayn

سورة حسين

on Qur'ān 12:4 

Trans. Stephen N. Lambden

1980s-2020 -last revised 03-12-2019.

UNDER REVISION AUGUST 2022

There follows the fifth part of my provisional translation  of  the Qayyūm al-asmā’ (= QA) of the Bāb (mid. 1844/1260) with selected notes, the Sūrat Ḥusayn (The Surah of Ḥusayn). I began these translations in the early 1980s though I have not translated from a critical edition but consulted several good mss. The versification of the surahs of the QA is often uncertain. though in QA5 I do  tentatively count 42 verses and retain versification for the sake of reference and commentary though it is under revision. Select variant readings are indicated in red...  see the text-critical footnotes...

See further URL : Joseph in QA.5

Prov. trans.  Stephen N. Lambden

QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ' 

Part   V

The Surah of Joseph

سورة يوسف

on

Qur'ān 12:4  

[1]

بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم

       In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

[2]

"Behold, Joseph said to his father:

`O my father! I saw eleven stars, and  the sun and the moon, I saw them bowing down before me!'"  (= Qur'ān 12:4)

[3]

  المع  

Alif- Lām- Mīm-`Ayn.

[4] We, verily, saw him [Joseph =  Imam Ḥusayn] in the vision (al-ru'ya),  occupying that mighty station (maqām `azīm an). [5] And We shall narrate for  thee something of the stories of the unseen (anbā' al-ghayb =  Q.12:102) contained and witnessed to in the Book of God, the Preserver. [6] And when We found him (Joseph) to be of Our party (shi`at an)  which is made up of sincere ones (al-mukhlisūn), God clothed him ("Joseph") according to the image of Our shaded and resplendent Beauty (ka-mithl jamīl an zill an munīr an). [7] A thousand times no! God did not desire that the inner depth of the Book (fi baṭn al-kitāb) signify, as befits the truth, any single thing characterized by beauty (jamīl an) aside from Us.

[8]

By the mention of Joseph (in Q. sura 12) the All-Merciful certainly intended the Logos-Self of the Messenger (nafs al-rasūl  = Muhammad) and the  fruit of the [womb of the] Virgin (thamarat al-batūl = Fāṭima), manifestly, that is, (Imam) Ḥusayn son of `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib. [9] God, furthermore, assuredly desired that the region above the heavenly Throne (fawq al-`arsh)  be considered the sacred domain of  the inmost Heart (mash`ar al-fū'ād) for the "sun" and the moon" and the "stars"  of their own selves (li-nafsihi)  did manifestly fall prostrate before [His Logos-Self']  God, the True One. [10]  Then behold! Ḥusayn [= Joseph] one day said to his father [Imam `Alī = Jacob-Israel] `I saw eleven stars  and the sun and the moon, I saw them encircle me, bowing down, in very  truth, before God, the Ancient One!'  (cf. Q.12:4). [11] God, Who,  no God is there except Him, is, in very Truth, most confirmatory of this wondrous narrative (al-ḥadīth). [12] This perchance the people might, as befits  the very truth, evince steadfastness (ṣabūr an) regarding the signs (āyāt, 'verses'] of  their Lord. 

[13]

Praise be to God Who hath interpreted the vision (ru`yat)  of Ḥusayn  as something, in very truth witnessed within the land of the  inmost Heart  (arḍ al-fū'ād)  about the precincts of the True One. [14]  And God,  verily, reckoned his [Ḥusayn's] martyrdom [testimony] (shahāda) the  very testimony of the Divine Unity (shahādat al-tawḥīd), approved, in very truth, by His own Logos-Self (nafs) on the basis of His Logos-Self (nafs). [15] God, did indeed, enable him [Ḥusayn],   in very truth, to witness openly  through his own Logos-Self (bi-nafsihi) unto the testimony of the Divine Unity (shahādat al-tawḥīd).  [16] The Wise  One (al-ḥakīm) hath assuredly given notice of the hidden mystery of his [Joseph's]   vision (rūya) in terms of what was sent down  in the Criterion  (al-furqān) unto His Beloved [Muhammad], the True One, for the Qur'ān is   manifestly the (light of) Dawn (al-fajr). [17] The stars of the heavenly Throne (nujum al-`arsh), in very truth according to the Book of   God, prostrated at the killing of Ḥusayn  (li-qaṭl al-Ḥusayn), their  number being eleven in the Archetypal [Mother] Book (umm al-kitāb). [18] He is God, Who deposited  [tokens of] the Divine Unity (al-tawḥīd) in the realities of things (ḥaqā'iq al-ashyā'), through, in very truth, radiant beams (ashi``a), covetous  and under compulsion (raghbat wa kurhan an ). [19] He is indeed the One Who, in very   truth, created the letters [of the alphabet] (al-ḥurūf) after the Archetypal image of  His own Logos-Self  (bi-nafsihi `ala al-ḥaqq bi'l-ḥaqq mithāl an ). [20] He is indeed the One Who, according to the Most Great Truth, decreed   that the letters of the Divine Ipseity (ḥurūf al-huwiyya) ( = the  "H" and "W" of huwa  =    هو  "He is [God])  be expressive of His Oneness (aḥadiyya) and compute at eleven  (abjad  + و = "h" +"w" = 5 + 6 = 11).

[21] He is indeed the One Who made the [twelve] Imams to be an expression of  His  Word of the Divine Unity (kalimatihi al-tawḥīd = lā ilāha illa Allāh,  "There is no God but God" [consisting of 12 Arabic letters]  inscribed in  the Divine Record (al-raqūm). [22] He is indeed the One Who decreed the prostration of the sun, the moon and the stars according to the decree of the Book inscribed in the Archetypal Book (umm al-kitāb).  [23] God Who, no God is there except Him, your Patron, the True One, is the most confirmatory of the utterances expressive of the [secret of the Joseph] narrative (ḥadīth an). [24] By the   mention of the "sun", God intended Fāṭima, by the "moon" Muhammad, and   by the "stars" the [twelve] Imams of the True One, as is confirmed in the Archetypal Book (umm al-kitāb). [25] They are the ones who, by the leave of God, wept over the plight of Joseph in both their prostration and their uprising (cf. Q. 12:16). [26] Wherefore the people, by the leave of God, the True One, wept over Ḥusayn  like a laden cloud (ẓill al-fai' ), whether prostrate or upright  (sujjad an  siwā' an). [27] And such as fall prostrate before other than the All-Merciful or  join partners with God  in servitude to anything aside from Him,  [28] justly deserve that God cause them to  enter hellfire, therein to abide forever. [29] This is assuredly the Truth from your Lord, a punishment for your resistance to the signs  [verses] of your Lord. [30] God is He Who, no God is there except Him. He, in   very truth, is the God Who is worshipped as Lord of all the worlds. [31] And in  the production of verses (al-āyāt), the eschatological "hours" (al-sa`āt), the   "souls" (al-anfus) and the "horizons" (al-ufāq) are signs for those possessed of  insight amongst you, such that is, who bear witness unto the Exalted Remembrance of God (dhikr-Allāh al-akbar) (cf. Qur'ān 41:53).

[32]

Then Fear ye God!

And breathe not a word about the Most-Great Remembrance of God (dhikr- Allah al-akbar) unless, that is, it pertains to God Himself.  We, verily, took a covenant  (mithāq) with every Prophet (nabī) and his community regarding His Remembrance  (dhikr). And We did not send down the sent Messengers (al-mursalīn) except to ratify that firm covenant (al-`ahd). [33] We, in truth, shall not judge anything save in the light of His [taking of a] covenant (`ahd) about that   Most-Great Gate (al-bāb al-a`ẓam). Erelong, at a designated time, God will  remove the veil from your eyes. Then ye shall assuredly gaze intently upon the Exalted Remembrance of God (Dhikr-Allāh). [34] The polytheists say, `We did indeed oppress our own selves after God cautioned us about [the fear of] His own Self.' And thou [polytheists], on that Day, shall be consigned to the midst of hellfire, stuck  (mawqūf an), unable to emerge therefrom. [35] When thou ask for water from the Ruler [of hell] (al-malik), water will be proffered thee that thou might taste the water in the choicest region of hellfire which is supremely hot; water, that is, which is of the quintessence of Zaqqūm (the infernal  tree). [36] Then, when thou drink but a drop of it, the limbs of thy bodies will  drop off and thou shalt wish for death. This punishment hath God ordained for  thee on account of thy joining partners with God in this world. And God's  knowledge encompasseth all things. [37] Those who are faithful to the covenant  of God (`ahd Allāh) and do not barter away the least part of the signs of God for some modicum of falsehood shall receive guidance from the Exalted  Remembrance of God (dhikr Allah). [38] Such (faithful ones) are truly reckoned in the Book of  God as the inmates of the Garden (jannat = Paradise],  and the judgment is inscribed  in the Archetypal [Mother] Book. [39] These [righteous ones] are those who have   truly believed in God and in His verses, being sincere and  pure.  God will, as befits the truth, assuredly reward them with a double  portion and exalt them to the best place of return. [40] This is assuredly the Truth from your Lord, an ample reward. [41] And this is assuredly the Garden (al-janna) [Paradise] which God hath ordained as a reward for your actions in  terms of  that which you know, in truth, about the praiseworthy religion of God, the  True One. [42] Do ye imagine that someone other than this Our Remembrance  (dhikr) is the True One from God or that he hath not, in very truth, come  from God? Or do ye then utter a lie against God? What ails thee that most  of  thee have manifestly disbelieved in God, One worthy of Praise? 

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THE  QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ'  OF  THE BĀB.

Part   V

سورة يوسف

 The Surah of Joseph  or  Sūrat  Ḥusayn

سورة حسين

on Qur'ān 12:4 

 

إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ ِلأَبِيهِ يَاأَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ

 Select variant readings andText Critical Notes.

In Progress 2020.

[10]

اذ قال حسين عليه السّلام لابيه يوماً انّی رأيت احد عشر كوكباً و الشّمس و القمر

 رأيتهم * بالاحاطة لی علی الحقّ للّه القديم  سجّادا

Then behold! Ḥusayn [= Joseph] one day said to his father [Imam `Alī = Jacob-Israel] `I saw eleven stars  and the sun and the moon, I saw them encircle me, bowing down, in very  truth, before God, the Ancient One!'  (cf. Q.12:4).

[12]

الحمد للّه الّذی قد عبّر رؤية / * رؤيا الحسين/ *يا بالحقّ علی ارض الفؤاد حول الحقّ مشهوداً

Praise be to God Who hath interpreted the vision (ru`yat) of Ḥusayn as something, in very truth, witnessed within the land of the inmost Heart (arḍ al-fū'ād) about the precincts of the True One.

This verses strongly suggests that the Bab's own vision of Imam Husayn has influenced his interpretation of the qur'anic Joseph story. Imam Husayn like Joseph who returned out of the "pit" and from "Egypt" to Jacob in Canaan, is expected to return in eshcatological times as a messianic figure by Shi`i muslims.

  [13]

الحمد للّه الّذی قد عبّر رؤية  / * رؤيا  الحسين/ *يا بالحقّ علی ارض الفؤاد حول الحقّ مشهوداً

Praise be to God Who hath interpreted the vision (ru`yat)  of Ḥusayn  as something, in very truth witnessed within the land of the  inmost Heart  (arḍ al-fū'ād)  about the precincts of the True One.

[17]

و لقد سجدوا نجوم العرش فی كتاب اللّه لقتل الحسين علی /  الحقّ بالحقّ  / علی الحق و قد كان عدتّهم فی امّ الكتاب احدی و عشراّ

The stars of the heavenly Throne (nujum al-`arsh), in very truth according to the Book of   God, prostrated at the killing of Ḥusayn  (li-qaṭl al-Ḥusayn), their  number being eleven in the Archetypal [Mother] Book (umm al-kitāb).

[18]

و هو الّذی قد خلق الحروف لنفسه / * بنفسه علی الحقّ بالحقّ مثالاً /*مثلاً

He is indeed the One Who, in very truth, created the letters [of the alphabet] (al-ḥurūf) after the image of His own Logos-Self (bi-nafsihi `ala al-ḥaqq bi'l-ḥaqq mithāl an ).

 

[20]

و هو الّذی قد/ قدّر حروف الهويّة لاحديّته علی الحقّ الاكبر احدی و عشراً

He is indeed the One Who, according to the Most Great Truth, decreed   that the letters of the Divine Ipseity (ḥurūf al-huwiyya) ( = the  "H" and "W" of huwa  =    هو  "He is [God])  be expressive His Oneness (aḥadiyya) and compute at eleven  (abjad  ﻫ + و = "h" +"w" = 5 + 6 = 11).

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

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