QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ'
Part XVII
[17]
سورة الباب
Sūrat al-Bab
(The Surah of the Gate)
on
Qur'ān 12: 16
Translation Stephen N. Lambden
1982-2020 - last updated 15-03-2020.
[1]
بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
[2]
(Qur'an 12:16)
"And they [Joseph's brothers] came at nightfall to their father [Jacob] weeping" (Qur'an 12:16. Trans Arberry).
[3]
المعرا
A-L-M-`-R-A
[Abjad = 1+30+40+70+200+1= 342]
[4] This Book hath no doubt within it for it is a guidance from God, the Truth (al-haqq) unto all the worlds. [5] And We made it a guidance unto Our servants through that Bab (Gate), in very Truth, according to that Bab (Gate), for such was assuredly witnessed about the Cosmic Water (al-mā'). [6] And [therein do ] We give good tidings of a Logos-Soul [Persona] (nafs) from Our Logos-Souls (anfus) who was, in very truth, purified (zakiyy an) about the theophanic Fire (al-nār ).
[7] And since theTrue One hath come unto you then follow him for God hath indeed, in very truth, made him to be a Bounty as reckoned in the Book. [8] We Indeed made him, with the permission of God, the Exalted, One all-Knowing (`alim an) [established] about the Point of the [Sinatic] theophanic Fire (nuqṭat al-nār). [9] We, we did indeed direct him on the part of God, who, no God is there save Him. And God is One Powerful over all things (kull shay').
[10]
يا عباد اللّه
O Servants of God!
They did question one another about him, about something, but you were unable, in very truth, to elicit an answer! And weep ye not for he was indeed one tranquil [established] (sākin an), praiseworthy (maḥmūd an) in the Cause of God which cometh from Us. [11] We indeed enabled thee to vision the Cause (al-amr) in thy truthful sleep state (manām). And should these persons be raised up unto the realm of the unseen (al-ghayb) they would assuredly quarrel together about the Cause. But God thy Lord is the True One who hath ever been All-Knowing about what is [hidden] in the breasts [of humankind]. [12] And We do not, even to a minute degree, alter for a people their well-being (al-ni`mat), save some had already precipitated such a change amongst themselves as befits Our Benificence. (ala'). [13] Yet shall they taste the torment of burning hellfire (`adhab al-sa`ir) which, relative to this Bab (Gate), cannot [in the least] be averted (mardud an) [cf. Q. 11:76; 79:10). Thy Lord, God hath ever been Powerful and All-Knowing with respect to His servants.
[14] Wherefore shall We destroy the tyrannical evildoers (al-zalimin) like those of the family of Pharoah. This with such justice (`adl) as befits the severity of the punishment (ashadd al-`adhab) and the mighty evil of the torment deserved (ba's al-tankil). [15] And thou shalt not weep over the vain speculations of such as accuse [us] of falsehood (bi-zann al-mukadhdhabin) in thy presence but trust in God (ittakala `ala Allah), thy Lord for He is indeed, in Truth, the Hearing, the All-Knowing. And thy Lord hath ever been Powerful (qadir an) over all things (kull shay').
[16]
يا اهل الارض
O People of the Earth!
Do not allow anything to cause thee to act hypocritically in the Path of God, the True One.This lest he [they] discover him dead (mawt?) within the hands of the Guardian Angel [Preserver] (hafiz) preserved (hafiz an) in that Gate (dhalik al-bab).
[17]
يا اهل الارض
O People of the Earth!
Believe ye in the Light (al-nur) which God sent down with Me [the Bab] expressive of the Pure Truth (bi'l-haqq al-khalis) and follow ye not the machinations [footsteps] of Satan (khutuwat al-shaytan)! This lest he command thee to disbelief in God (al-shirk), thy Lord, for God doth not forgive disbelief in Him let alone in anything else besides that unto whomsoever He willeth. And He is God who hath ever been All-Knowing of every thing (kull shay'). [18] God hath indeed written down for the true believers, the migrants [emigrants, helpers] (al-muhajirin), the forgiveness of the [messianic] Dhikr (Remembrance) and the Greatest Ridwan (ridwan al-a`zam) as accords with the decree of the Book (hukm al-kitab), by virtue of the decree of the Book (hukm al-kitab), as ordained through the Bab (Gate).
[19] We decreed for the blood relations (al-arham) that some among them are far superior (ahaqq) to others. The since God so decreed in the Mother [Archetypal] Book (umm al-kitab), so inscribed as pertains to the mystery of the Bab (sirr al-bab mastur an).
[20]
يا ايّها المؤمنون
O Thou Believers!
God did not send down a sign [verse] (ayat) in the Book (al-kitab), in the horizons (al-ufaq), or in the [human] selves (al-anfus), save that He might, in very Truth [cf. Q. 41:53], instruct the people that the [messianic] Dhikr (Remembrance) is indeed the True One (haqq) from God. And He is indeed God who hath ever been, in very Truth, relative to every thing (kull shay'), One Pre-Existent [Ancient of Days] (al-qadim), One All-Knowing (`alim an).
[21]
يا اهل الارض
O People of the Earth!
By thy Lord! who no God is there except Him! God did not cause to any person to subsist (li-nafs) after the [realization of the messianic] Dhikr (Remembrance) and this Book, a [certain] Hujjat (Proof). So be ye, as accords with the Truth before God, One Praiseworthy (al-hamid), [persons] patient (sabur an) regrading this Bab (Gate)! [22] Now in Truth shall He destroy [even] the ones destroyed [those consumed] (al-halikun) [cf. Q. 12:85b; 28:88], this with indisputable evidence (`an bayyina)! So too shall He enliven the believers (al-muminin) with plain evidence (bi'l-bayyina)! And He is indeed God who hath ever been, Powerful over every thing (kull shay').
[23]
يا اهل العرش
O people of the Divine Throne (ahl al-`arsh)!
Hearken ye unto My Call from the precincts of the theophanic Fire (hawl al-nar), "I, verily, I am God, no God is there except I Myself"! So serve ye Me and rise up in prayer (al-salat) before the Greatest Dhikr (Remembrance) (al-dhikr al-akbar), purified [before God], distinct from other people (khalis an min dun al-nas). Thy Lord is indeed God, the True One, nigh the True One (al-haqq li-haqq). Such as summon one aside from Him are assuredly, as accords with Divine Justice (bi'l-`adl), companions of hellfire (ashab al-nar). The Dhikr (Remembrance) hath ever been situated upon the Purified Path (al-sirat al-khalis) by virtue of the Upright Alphabetical Line (al-khatt al-qayyim), straight indeed about the theophanic Fire (hawl al-nar mustaqim an).
[24]
يا اهل الارض
O People of the Earth!
Fear ye God! That Satan prove unable to seduce (gharra) thee away from the True One [Truth] (al-haqq) [cf. Q. 82:5; 57:13]. The Dhikr (Remembrance) is, in very Truth, the True One. And thou shalt not summon any aside from him, lest ye be, as accords with the decree of the True One (hukm al-haqq), written down among the people of hellfire (ahl al-nar) within the Mother [Archetypal] Book!
[25]
يا اهل الارض
O People of the Earth!
Will ye not ponder upon the creation of the heavens and of the earth even though within these twain there is a Gates (bab)* unto the Dhikr (Remembrance), [one way beyond] any corruption ( لفسدتاً = li-fasdat an) [cf. Q. 23:71]. God is indeed He who governs the worldly dominion (dabbar al-mulk) through His Gate (bab). the True One (al-haqq). And God hath ever been All-Knowing of all things(kull shay').
[26]
يا ايّها المؤمنون
O thou True Believers!
Fear ye the Day of the True One (yawm al-haqq)! We had assembled thee about the theophanic Fire (al-nar) and We questioned thee about what thou had committed relative to the Dhikr (Remembrance)! So By the True One! We it was who caused the unbelievers (al-mushrikin) to experience the raging hellfire (harr al-nar), a most severe, mighty punishment (ashadd al-`adhhab `azim an). [27] Yet shall we recompence the patient ones (al-sabirin), according to the decree of the Book (al-kitab) and the decree of the Bab (Gate) with the most comely of garments (ahsan al-thawab), elevated in the land of Za`faran-Saffron. [28] And We sent him down unto the people with veracity (bi'l-sidq), yet not unto the people save with submission and weakness [incapacity] (al-taslim wa'l-`ajz). There is naught that pertains to the Dhikr (Remembrance) save the wondrous (badi` an) exposition of the Truth (bayan min al-haqq) from God, the Elevated (al-`aliyy).
[29] He is indeed the [promised messianic] Dhikr (Remembrance) from before God [who has appeared] to the end that He might give thee the good-news of His promised advent (wa`d) and might warn thee regrading his vengeance (niqma) for such is inscribed in the Mother [Archetypal] Book (umm al-kitab) as accords with what hath forever been in the depth of the Book (sirr al-kitab), preserved (mahfuz an) above the Point of the theophanic Fire (nuqtat al-nar). [30] He is indeed the [promised messianic] Dhikr (Remembrance) from betwixt thy hands [fulfilling Thy purpose], from Thy right-hand side (min al-ayman) and, in very Truth, with the permission of God, from Thy left-hand side (shama'il) [cf. Q. 7:17; 16:18; 18:18; 56:40, etc] . This perchance the people might be befittingly mindful (madhkur an) of the signs-verses which are wondrous (bi-ayat al-badi`) within this Book, as befits the Truth, about this Bab (Gate). Such hath ever been for thee [sing.= people?] an established [known] position [station] (maqam an) upon the [Straight] Path.
[31]
فاتّقوا اللّه يا اولی الالباب
So Fear ye God! O possessors of insight!
This regarding the Mystery of God (sirr Allah) secreted about the [Alphabetical] Script (mustasirr `ala al-satr) in this Book. God hath indeed decreed this to be hidden away nigh the Theophanic Fire (hawl al-nar). [32] God hath not desired from thee any compensation (jaza') in this Book respecting the Dhikr (Remembrance) neither, in Truth in very Truth, any gratitude (shakur an). [33] This save, that is, loving affection (muwadda) towards the kinfolk [relatives of the Bab] (al-qurba); towards whomsoever among thee, nigh the Bab (hawl al-bab), hath been inscribed within the Mother [Archetypal] Book (umm al-kitab). [34] And We, we desired that He make, with the permission of God, the Exalted, the believers to be witnesses [martyrs] (shuhada') upon earth. And God hath ever been Powerful over all things (kull shay').
[35] And God made the Dhikr (Remembrance) to be one Excellent [Good] (khayr an) among thee, among thyselves for thyselves, in order that he might communicate the verses of God (ayat Allah) among thee, might purify thee and cause thee to emerge from among those tyrannical (al-zalimat) unto the Light (al-nur). And He is God who hath ever been witness (shahid an) unto all things. [36] That one is among the children of the unseen (abna' al-ghayb). We divinely inspired him to the end that the people be aware, in Truth, of the wondrous Dhikr (Remembrance) (al-dhikr al-badi`) through that Bab (Gate) about the theophanic Fire (al-nar).
[37]
فسبحان
So Glorified be unto He who, no God is there except Him, [38] God hath indeed bestowed upon His servant (`abd) [the Bab] what He hath never, in Truth, in very Truth, conferred upon anyone among all the previous gates (al-abwab). [39] And We did not bestow upon thee any knowledge (al-`ilm), in Truth, in very Truth, through the Greatest Dhikr (Remembrance) (al-dhikr al-akbar), save a little (qalil an), a mere modicum [of a letter] (al-harf) situated about the Watery Expanse (al-ma').
[40]
يا اهل الارض
لاتسلكوا مع الذّكر الاكبر ممّا قد فعلت الاميّة بالحسينٌ علی غير الحقّ فی الارض المقدّسة تاللّه الحقّ انّه هو الحقّ و كان اللّه عليه شهيداً
O Peoples of the Earth!
Contend ye not with the Supreme Remembrance (al-dhikr al-akbar) after the manner of what the `Umayyads, bereft of the Truth, committed against [Imam] Ḥusayn (martyred 61/680) in the Sacred Land (al-ard al-muqaddas) [Karbala in Ottoman Iraq = the "Holy Land"] By God! He was indeed the True One and God Himself was indeed a witness unto this (cf. SWB).
[41]
و لقد جاؤنا المؤمنون عِشَاء بعد الكتاب تعلمون خبيراً
We did indeed bring the believers [save] "at the commencement of [Shi`i-Shaykhi] nightfall' ( `ishā') (= Q. 12:16b) to the end that they come to a distinct knowledge of the Book.
[42]
و قل للمؤمنين
لاتتّبعوا الشّيطان فانّه قد كان فی كتاب اللّه للمؤمنين عدوّاً مبيناً
And Say ye unto the believers, `Follow ye not Satan (al-shayṭān) for he was accounted a manifest enemy for the believers in the Book of God.
♦
Select Notes and Comments
Stephen Lambden
QA XVI:17 = text uncertain...
O People of the Earth!
Do not allow anything to cause thee to act hypocritically in the Path of God, the True One. This lest He discover him dead (mawt) within the hands of the Guardian Angel [Preserver] (hafiz) preserved (hafiz an) in that Gate (dhalik al-bab).
See Q.34:21 etc. Kassis, 518-9].
QA XVII:26 - mss texts here differ
O People of the Earth!
Will ye not ponder upon the creation of the heavens and of the earth for within these twain is a Gate [two Gates] (baban) / or
within these twain there may be signs [verses] (ayat)
relating to the Dhikr (Remembrance), [way beyond] any corruption (? لفسدتاً = li-fasdat an) [cf. Q. 23:71]. God is indeed He who governs the worldly dominion (dabbar al-mulk) through His Gate (bab). the True One (al-haqq). And God hath ever been All-Knowing of everything (kull shay').
