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QA. VIII [8] Sūrat al-tawḥīd (The Surah of the Divine Unity) on Qur'ān 12:7

 

THE

QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ' OF THE BĀB.

Part  VIII

[8]

سورة التوحيد

Sūrat al-tawḥīd

(The Surah of the Divine Unity)

on Qur'ān 12:7

Translation Stephen Lambden

1982-2021- last updated 06-04-2021.

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بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

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"Verily, in Joseph and his brothers are signs (āyāt) for such as pose questions (al- sā'ilīn)" (Q.12:7)

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A-L-M-Ṣ (Alif - Lām - Mīm- Ṣād)

[3] Praise be to God Who hath raised aloft the verses in His Mighty Book. And He, God, watcheth over all things. [4]  We, verily, have manifested the verses in that Book unto the people of the realm of the inmost hearts (ahl al-af'idat) among such as are possessed of intelligence; those, that is, who are incomparable in the vicinity of the Gate (al-bāb).  [5] God raised Joseph aloft through Our Name and, in the Book, made him a Walī ("Intimate Overseer") stationed in the vicinity of the [Sinaitic, theophanic] Fire (nār).  [6] And God, verily, made Joseph and his brothers [twelve in number] the Word of the Divine Unity (kalimat al-tawḥīd = lā ilāha illā Allāh = 12 letters) for both the All-Merciful decreed twelve letters. [7] In the Mother Book which is with thy Lord, this Word was written in the [cosmic] line inscribed in the vicinity of the [alphabetical] row (fī al-saṭr al-musattār ḥawl al-satr mastúr an ).  [8] God especially chose the letter "H" (Arabic, al-hā' ) for Joseph as a reward (jazā') for his incomparable rising up in truth upon the earth  on behalf of the All-Merciful on an appointed [eschatological] Day. 

[9]  God, verily, established the Divine Unity (al- tawḥīd) for the sake of such as ask questions (li'l-sā'ilīn) through Our Gate (bi-bābina). [10]  So too for such as, by Our leave, are established within the abyss of the Divine Unicity (lujjat al-aḥadiyya)  those in very truth firmly established around the Gate (al-bāb).  [11]  God is He Who, no God is there except Him, the True One. He, in very truth, is the God who is worshipped.  [12]  Be ye fearful, O servants of God, of a Day when, by the leave of God, the Exalted, you shall be questioned in the vicinity of the Fire (al-nār). [13]  None among you will be able to speak except there be before him, by the leave of the Remembrance (al-dhikr),  Our overseeing [guardian] angels (ready to record his words, Q. 50:18) .[14]  Our servant, in Truth, shall not, that Day, be concealed from the sincere servants of God. [15] God, verily, created the Day of Resurrection for you (pl.) according to times rightly determined. [16] On the Day of Separation (yaum al-fas*l) the Balance (al-mīzān) will, by the leave of God as befits the Truth,  be set between Our hands, each measure being weighed according to the Upright Trace [established Path] (al-khaṭṭ al-qā'im). [17]  On that Day We will inform you of that which you comitted, whether publicly or secretly, relative to the religion of God.

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O servants of God!

Did We not make a covenant with you about Our Word; in truth a manifest covenant (`ahd)? Even so do some among you utter deceitful letters about Our servant! [20]  Praised be He besides Whom there is none other God. He, God, is One Who[se knowledge] encompasseth all the worlds.  [21]  Naught did God desire in bringing you into being except that you should prostrate before the All-Merciful according to the way of the promised Gate (al-bab).  [22]  He, verily, is the One Who created the believers from water reckoned sweet in the Mother Book (cf.Q.77:20, 27).  [23]  And He is the One Who made the realities of the unbelievers from salt water, reckoned bitter in the depth of the blazing hell (asl al-jahīm) [24]  God, verily, made the verses of Our servant [ the Bab] elevated, as befits the Truth,  for such as desire God and for His patrons who are sincere and pure towards the Gate (al-bāb). [25]  We, assuredly established Our Word (al-kalimat) on the earth as a witness unto the believers. [26] And We raised him up unto an holy station as one foreseen. [27]  We, verily, determined that he appear on Our part and, in very truth, made him to be one well established. [28]  God, verily, established him upon a Firm Path as ordained in accordance with the unsullied Truth. [29]  God, verily, set him upon the Balance (al-mīzān) owing to the decree of the Book and according to the decree of the Book,  as an object of contemplation for such as are, in the estimation of God, the Exalted, possessed, in very truth, of insight.  [30]  He furthermore is an object of recollection [admonition] for such as are,  in the vicinity of the [Sinaitic] Fire through the Fire of the All Wise, possessed of patience in the estimation of the All-Merciful.

[31]  By the name Joseph God, verily, intended Our Exalted Word (al-kalimat al-akbar),  made manifest in the vicinity of the [Sinaitic, theophanic] Fire (al-nār). [32]  He, verily is the one who, by the leave of God, sent His verses unto thee in truth, in a state of fear (khā'if an), in very truth one Awesome-Monastic (rahbān an) an object of admonition (tadhkira) for such as might be mindful or fearful of the All-Merciful (al-rahman)  as accords with His wisdom (hikma) which is the Truth regarding such as hath ever been, in very truth, so ordained (maqdiyy an). 

[33]  He is the One Who hath taught you [pl.] of such of His signs as the genesis of the hereafter (nash'at al-akhira)  perchace the people might, in very truth, be content with God and with His signs.  [34]  So, by the Lord of the heaven and of the earth,  He, verily, is the True One from Us and He, verily, took Our covenant (`ahd) by the leave of God with all the worlds, mayhap the people would say: `If God in His absence hath sent a man [or: `herald of good tidings'] ) unto Us, His Remnant (baqiyyat), then We did but follow him and have been guided by his judgement unto the True One Who is rightly guided."

[35]

Be ye fearful O servants of God

of a Day [which is coming], for the decree of the Book is assuredly ordained in the Mother Book. [36] Do not entertain vain speculations about the Most-Great Remembrance of God (dhikr Allāh al-akbar) and Our Word for,  by thy Lord the True One!, you do not know even a letter of his knowledge which God, in very truth, taught him in ancient times  from the Mother Book.  [37]  Then recollect the Remembrance of God, the All-Merciful at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of night,  just as God hath commanded you aforetime in His Book, for the decree of God hath been ordained in the Mother Book (cf. Q.11:111).

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Versification to be corrected