QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ'
Part XIV
سورة القدس
Sūrat al-Quds
(The Surah of Holiness)
on
Qur'ān 12:13
Translation Stephen N. Lambden
1982-2020 - In progress. Last updated 04-02-2020.
[1]
بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
[2]
"He [Jacob-Israel] said, ` It grieves me that you should go with him, and I fear the wolf may eat him, while you are heedless of him." (Q.12:13. trans. Arberry).
[3]
المط
A-L-M-Ṭ
[Abjad = 1+30+40 = 80]
[4] The Dhikr-Allah (Remembrance of God) through the Greatest Word (al-kalimat al-akbar) is manifestly (mashhud an) overseeing [presiding over] (waqif an) the vicinity of the [Sinaitic, theophanic] Fire (al-nar]. [5] So heaken ye unto that which He inspired thee (w-h-y) from thy Lord. He indeed is the True One (al-haqq). No God is there except Him. He hath ever been One Powerful over all things. [6] God hath indeed sent down [revealed] the Book (al-kitab) in which is clarification (tibyan) of everything (kulli shayin) [see Q. 16:89], a Mercy (rahmat) and an expression of Good-News (bushra') [cf. Q. 12:19] for Our Primordial [Shi`i religious] Party (shi`atina al-awwalin). This from one who hath ever been manifestly (mashhud an) evident through the Elevated Dhikr-Allah (Remembrance of God) by means of that Bab (Gate) [which is] in the vicinity of the [Sinaitic, theophanic] Fire (al-nar). [7] God, thy Master (mawla), the True One (al-haqq) will indeed see thee when situated upon His celestial Throne (`arsh) on the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyama), [firmly seated] above a Script upraised (khatt al-istiwa'). This thou shall indeed bear witness on account of His powerful destiny (qudrat) for He was indeed raised up (sawa') above all the worlds. [8] Wherefore shall the people become truely aware of the Cause of God, the True One! This, in Truth, in very Truth, through the gravitas [instrumentality] of the Gate (sha`n al-bab), One Powerful (`azim an), Mighty about the theophanic Fire (hawl al-nar).
[9] Indeed! On that latter-Day (al-yawm) thou shalt within thyselves bear witness to the [divine] Servitude (al-`ubudiyya) yet thou shalt not find for thyselves any single thing [for help], even, in Truth, in very Truth, in evidence a mere particle [atom's weight] (dharra) of the skin of a date-stone (al-qitmir)! [10] And thou shall not be capable of actualizing or willing anything at all for God Himself hath willed whatsoever He Willeth for He expresses His Will, in Truth, in very Truth, through the Wondrous Dhikr-Allah (messianic Remembrance of God) through the descent of the Point of the theophanic Fire (min nuqtat al-nar tanzil an).
[11] We, we have indeed, with the permission of God, related the story of the Book (qasas al-kitab) regarding a Powerful Soul (nafs quwiyy), One All-Knowing in the Mother Book (umm al-kitab). [12] God hath ever been Determinative (qadir an) of everything. [13] He assuredly hath decreed for thee the Cause (al-amr) which, in very Truth, commeth from God as something especially blessed (mubaraka an). [14] Will thou not then conceal (k-t-m) the Truth/True One (al-haqq) and differentiate it from falsehood (al-batil)? Otherwise thou shall not prove capable of believing in God, One Praiseworthy, thy Creator! He is indeed the One who hath, in Truth, in very Truth, elevated His servants (`ibad) as One Mighty, a Witness. [15] So shall the All-Merciful (al-rahman) assuredly cause thee, at the [Day of] Resurrection (al-qiyama), to experience hellfire (al-nar), the very blazing Fire of Gehenna (nar al-hajjim sa'ir an) [cf. Q. 4:55, etc.]. [16] Such is the reward (jaza') of those who disbelieve in the verses of the Book which originates with God, the True One (al-haqq), that which was revealed unto Our servant (`abd) [the Bab]. Relative to that thou art, aside from th Truth, just [in roaring hellfire] braying like an ass (shahiq an) in disbelief (kufur an).
[17]
O Servants of God!
Did there not come unto thee a primordial Prophet (nabi' al-awwali)? He assuredly at times (mirar an) informed thee, in Truth, in very Truth, of a directive (hukm) from God. [18] He is indeed one who is without comparison. And He is God who hath ever been One Mighty and Wise. [19] Aside from this We may never be able to guide thee through such ordinances (sunan) as of those who came before thee for thou would prove unable to discover amongst thyselves, in Truth, in very Truth, Our alternative (tabdil an) practise [tradition](sunnat). [20] This is the Practise [tradition] of God (sunnat Allah) which was assuredly violated before thee. [21] So by thy Lord! The people shall prove unable to discover the renewed [transformed] (tahwil an) practise [tradition](sunnat) of God, The One Mighty! [22] We, we indeed bestow bounty upon whomsoever We will through the Dhkir-Allah (Remembrance of God), upon whomsoever is responsive (fi'l-ijaba) to the Exalted (al-`aliyy) Dhkir-Allah (Remembrance of God), in Truth, in very Truth, one nigh the Bab (hawl al-bab) mentioned within the Mother [Archetypal] Book (umm al-kitab).
[23] We, we indeed raised aloft, in Truth, in very Truth, a Locale (makan an) evidently associated with Holiness (al-quds). [24] This to the end that he [Quddus] might, in Truth constitute a sign (ayat) unto whomsoever, with the permission of God, the Pre-Existent [Ancient of Days] (al-qadim), hath come before thee and after thee, in Truth, one Mighty, Mighty indeed! (bi'l-haqq al-`azim `azim an). [25] And he, with Our permission, shall be Witness (al-shahid) amongst thee for the Greatest Dhkir-Allah (dhikr Allah al-akbar, "Remembrance of God"), shall see thee on the Day of Resurrection (al-qiyama) regardless of what thou thyselves estimate regarding him with respect that is, with the permission of God, to both thy secret and thy public persona. This is in the light of that which is, in Truth, in very Truth, so calculated, something well-guarded (hafiz an) within the Book (al-kitab). [26] So be ye patient (sabr) in God for He hath ever been One All-Knowing with respect to all the worlds.
[27]
Be ye patient O Dhkir-Allah ("Remembrance of God")!
Be patient before God!
With an all-surrounding (jami` an) patience (sabr), in Truth, Most Elevated (a`la)! [28] For We, we indeed made thee, with the permission of God, relative to the people, to be one Exalted (al-`aliyy), a Watcher (raqib an), a Reckoner (hasib an). [29] So shall God make prophesy about them upon the earth, such that is as are remote (ba`ida), with the permission of God, in truth, in very Truth, One Praiseworthy, near at hand (qarib an). [30] Yet by they Lord! We are not near to them, to they themselves; for there is not for their own selves any real patience, insight ((basir an) regarding the Dhkir-Allah ("Remembrance of God"), in Truth, One Inaccessible [Remote, Withdrawn] (mani`). [31] This [eschatological] Day We shall cause to befall [disclose] (k-sh-f) the Calamity through the Calamity [see Q. 68:20f] for We shall summon the people, with the permission of the Dhikr (Remembrance) nigh the Gate (hawl al-bab), humbled (kha shi`) before the Truth (al-haqq), in very Truth, destroyed in loss (thabur an).
[32] This [eschatological] Day is indeed the True One (haqq) relative to thy Lord. So shall whomsoever He willeth enable me to be transported unto God, in Truth in very Truth, His Lord the All-Sufficient, on a Pathway (sabil an), that is, unto the Truth (al-haqq). [33] So indeed shall the All-Merciful summon them all to prostration before His Own Logos-Self (li-nafsihi) yet they shall in no wise prove capable thereof. Whomsoever believeth in thee aside from God Himself, is, in very Truth, one intimately Guided (wali an). Such is indicative of the Wilaya (Imami providence) nigh God, the True One (al-haqq). For thee this was never something from other than from God; in Truth, in very Truth, evidently an expression of Divine Mercy (rahmat). [34] So indeed shall God enable thee to witness His signs [verses] (ayat) within the garment of the Sun (fi q-m-s [qamis] al-shams), in Truth, in very Truth, something near at hand (qarib an) according to the decree of the Book (hukm al-kitab) in the pathways of the Bab (Gate) (fi subul al-bab). [35] He will magnify [celebrate, glorify] though the thunderclap (al-ra`d) expressive of His Praise as will the Angels in view of the terror of His fearful dread (al-mala'ikat min khayfati-hi)! And He is God who hath ever-been One All-Surrounding (al-muhit an) of everything (kull shay').
[36] There is not any single thing except it giveth glory [s-b-h II] through His praise (hamd)! And thou do not know of the knowledge of the Book (`ilm al-kitab), in Truth im very Truth, anything at all, even a single letter! [37] God is He Who, no God is there except Him. He hath indeed divinely inspired Me [the Bab] for He indeed is the True One which cometh from God yet God did not ordain for Our Words (kalimat) anything regarding the Book constituting an alteration (tabdil an) respecting the Point of th Bab (nuqtat al-bab). And He is God, the True One (al-haqq), Who hath ever been a Witness (shahid an) unto everything. [38] And We, we indeed made the verses in that Book (al-kitab), with the permission of God, the Praiseworthy (al-hamid), in Truth, in very Truth, to be abundantly clear (muhkam an), something decreed [sealed up] (ma[k]htum an). [39] We did not send down therein even a single letter expressive of things allegorical (sh-b-h VI; tashabiha an) for God revealed for the believers in this Book (al-kitab), matters which are of evident clarity (mashhud an) with respect to the Bab.
[40] And I, I was one whom He made to be greatly saddened that they have been inhibited therefrom after God had indeed, in Truth, in very Truth, made matters manifestly clear in that Book (al-kitab), so very elevated (rafi` an) before Him. [41] He [Joseph = Husayn = the Bab] was fearful lest the wolf (al-dhi`b) would eat [consume] him and thou would, aside from the Truth, prove remote (ba`ida) on account of the machinations of Satan (zann al-shaytan). [42] If there were no fear (al-khawf) on account of His Cause (amr), bearing in mind that God knows what is within thine inmost breasts (al-sudur) pertaining to what is other than the Truth, it would yet be evident that the Cause (al-amr) itself is even as the Sun centered (markaz an) in Point at Midday (nuqtat al-nahar).
♦
SELECT NOTES AND COMMENTS
Stephen Lambden
[7] God, thy Master (mawla), the True One (al-haqq) will indeed see thee when situated upon His celestial Throne (`arsh) on the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyama), [firmly seated] above a Script upraised (khatt al-istiwa') .... The "script upraised" here may indicate the first Arabic letter "A" from which the letter "B" is sometimes thought to be derived. Note Bab = B+A+B.
[23] We, we indeed raised aloft, in Truth, in very Truth, a Locale (makan an) evidently associated with Holiness (al-quds). [24] This to the end that he [Muhammad `Ali Barfurushi, Quddus?] might, in Truth constitute a sign (ayat) unto whomsoever, with the permission of God, the Pre-Existent [Ancient of Days] (al-qadim), hath come before thee and after thee, in Truth, one Mighty, Mighty indeed! (bi'l-haqq al-`azim `azim an). [25] And he [Quddus/Husayn?], with Our permission, is the Witness [Martyr] (al-shahid) amongst thee...
[31] This [eschatological] Day We shall disclose [cause to befall] (k-sh-f) the Calamity through the Calamity
[see Q. 68:20]
or the angeic Driver through the angelic Driver
or anguish upon anguish ](al-sa'iq bi'l-sa'iq)
[see Q. 75:29b-30; 50:21a]
for We shall summon the people, with the permission of the Dhikr (Remembrance) nigh the Gate (hawl al-bab), humbled (kha shi`) before the Truth (al-haqq), in very Truth, destroyed in loss (thabur an).
[32] This [eschatological] Day is indeed the True One (haqq) relative to thy Lord. So shall whomsoever He willeth beget issue of me [? akhdh VIII cf. Q. 2:110; 9:.... or more probably,
take/transport me [cf. Q. 18:85] unto God, in Truth in very Truth, His Lord the All-Sufficient. that being a Pathway (sabil an) unto the Truth (al-haqq).
