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Bābī-Bahā’ī Studies, Islamo-Biblica and Beyond

 

SELECT BABI-BAHA'I RELATED, BIBLIOGRAPHIES, NOTES AND PAPERS
of
Dr. Stephen N. Lambden

Stephen N. Lambden, UCMerced.

In progress and being reorganized. Last updated 16-09-2025.

 Some Cosmological Aspects of Shi`i-Shaykhi and Babi-Baha'i Gnosis.

Stephen Lambden, UC Merced. In Progress 2025-6.  In Progress and Correction  2025-6.

The various "Worlds", "Universes or Supra-Terrestrial Realms  according to Qur'amic and Post-Quranic Abrahamic- Islamic cosmology.

Based on various writings of Ibn al-`Arabi (638/1240)

  • (1) `alam al-amr   "The world of the Command" :     (Rasa'il Ibn `Arabi. Beirut: Dar Sadir,  1997, Istilihat, p. 539)
  • (2) `alam al-khalq  "The world of the creation" :       (Rasa'il Ibn `Arabi. Beirut: Dar Sadir,  Istilihat, p. 539)

Worth noting here is the use of al-amr in connection with the definition of al-Kursi, the celestial "Pedestal" or "Footstall" of God :

al-kursi -i [ndicates] the foundation of the Divine Command (mawdi` al-amr) and of the Prohibition [Culmination] (al-nahy).

Some furthe cosmological definitions in the Istilihat al-Sufiyya of Ibn al-`Arabi: 

Under the letter "M" (mim), the Great Shaykh, Ibn al-`Arabi includes several realms associated with the  world of the dominion or kingdom [of God] , commencing with the word al-mulk which is defined as the `alam al-shahada, the world of the testimony. attestation etc.  They follow definitions of al-barzakh and al-jabarut (see below):

  • al-Malakut  [indicates] the World of the Unseen (`alam al-ghayb) - cf. Q. 
  • al-Malik al-Mulk [indicates that] "He is the Real One (huwa al-haqq) in the state expressing the metaphorical conditions (mujazat) of the servant (al-`abd) according to the nature of His Command (al-amr) relative to him. (Rasa'il, p.540).
  • al-Mulk = "The Dominion",, "The Kingdom of God" indicates the world-Universe which is Shahada
  • Mulk and Malakut
  • The world of the Kingdom or Kingdom of God = `ālam al-mulk wa'l-malakūt
  • Nasut
  • Jabarut
  • Jabarut :In the opinion of [`Ali ibn] `Abi Talib (d.40/661) it signifies the world of the Divine Grandeur (`alam al-`azimat) and in the opinon of many others it is indicative of the world of  the Intermediate [the intermediate world] (`alam al-wast)  
  • Lahut,  the Divine World
  • Hahut  the World of the Divine Ipseity, a transcendent realm which is the abode of the Deity or Godhead  cf. huwiyya = "He-ness"; the linking of H and W in Arabic.

On     Barzakh   and      Hūrqalyā (Arabic = هورقليا = h-w-r-q-l-y-a  

The term Barzakh and its Islamic and Babi-Baha'i Interpretations

Barzakh  in the Qur'an

  • Barzakh  in the Qur'an (1) 
  • Barzakh  in the Qur'an (2) 
  • Barzakh  in the Qur'an (3) 

Some Notes on al-Barzakh in Select Islamic Philosophers, Theologians and Mystics

  • Barzakh in the Rasa'il Ikhwan al-safa' (XX the cent CE).
  • Barzakh  in the writings of al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111). 
  • Barzakh  in the writings of Shihab al-Din Yahya Suhrawardi (d.    /   ). 
  • Barzakh  in the writings of  Muhyi al-Din ibn al-`Arabi (d. 638 /1240). 

al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya sect. 63 (as above) "On the Gnosis of the Eternity of the People  (fi'l-ma`rifat baqa' al-nas) in the Barzakh between the mortal world and [that of the Awakening on the Day of]  Resurrection (bayn al-dunya wa'l-ba`th)." Towards a Tentative Translation of section 63 by Stephen Lambden

Some further Barzakh references in the al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya  of Ibn al-`Arabi (d.638/1240). 

 إصطلاحة الصوفية

Ibn al-`Arabi in his al-Istilahat al-sufiyya ("Sufi Lexicon") under the letter ` (`ayn) refers to two realms or "worlds" (`alam) commencing with the word "world" (first letter `) along with succinct definitions of these two realms, They are as printed within Rasa'il ibn al-`Arabi. ed. Muhammad Shihab al-Din `Arabi, Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1997. See Rasa'il Ibn `Arabi. Beirut: Dar Sadir,  Istilahat al-sufiyya, pp. 529-541). Other printings:

  • Kitāb Iṣṭilaḥāt al-Ṣūfiyya (“The Book of the Technical Terms of the Sufis”). Kamāl al-Dīn 'Abd al-Razzāq al- Kāshānī; ed. Aloys Sprenger. Calcutta, 1845. 167, IX pp.
  • Iṣṭilaḥāt al-Ṣūfiyya, ed. A. Sprenger, rep. in A Glossary of Sufi Technical Terms. London: The Octagon Press, 1991.
  • Iṣṭilaḥāt = [Kitāb] Iṣṭilaḥāt al-Ṣūfiyya. Muwaffaq Fawzī al-Jabr. Damascus: al-Ḥikmah, 1415/1995 and Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 2005.

The succinct definition of al-Barzakh in the Istilahat al-Sufiyya  (The Sufi Lexicon") attributed to Ibn al-`Arabi (d. 638/1240). 

 

`Abd al-Razzaq al-Kashani (d. c. 730/XXXX) and the Istilahat al-Sufiyya  attributed to him.

The succinct definition of al-Barzakh in the Istilahat al-Sufiyya  attributed to `Abd al-Razzaq al-Kashani (d. c. 730/XXXX). ed.  Muwaffaq Fawdi al-Jabr. [Beirut] Dar Sadir, 1416/1990. Bab al-ba', page 19,

  • [39] al-Barzakh. It is a "Partition" (ha'il) between two things (al-shi'iayn) and there are interfaces within it, something of the "World of Similitudes" (`alam al-mithal) ( a`ny;  most obedient, humbly submissive), an "Obstacle" [Screening] (al-hajiz) between Things Densely Corporeal (al-ajsad al-kathifa) and the Magnificent "World of the Spirits" (`alam al-arwah al-majda).  
  • [40] al-Barzakh al-Jami`, "The Universal / Comprehensive Barzakh". This is the [Divine] Presence expressing Oneness (al-hadrat al-wahidiyya) and the Primordial Entification (al-ta`yin al-awwal) which is the foundation of the Barzakh (asl al-barzakh) in its entireity kulli-ha). Wherefore then is it named the Primal Barzakh, the Most Great (al-a`zam) and the Greatest (al-akbar)!
  • Barzakh  in the writings of  Muhyi al-Din ibn al-`Arabi (d. 638 /1240). 

 Hūrqalyā (Arabic) = هورقليا = h-w-r-q-l-y-a  

For such as might wonder, Hūrqalyā (Arabic هورقليا = h-w-r-q-l-y-a [sic.], pointing uncertain) is a seven letter Arabic transliterated loanword probably originating in an Islamic context with Shihāb al-Dīn Yaḥyā Suhrawardī (d. [executed] Aleppo 587/1191) who is viewed as the founder of the Ishrāqī or Illuminationist school of Islamic philosophy. I have a lengthy paper in press (due 2024 after a fifteen year blockage!) which argues that etymologically and conceptually this word (to simplify) derives (probably as orally transmitted with a supplementary adjective) from a Hebrew (הָרָקִיעַ, hā-rāqîa`), Aramaic-Syriac or Mandaic form of   רָקִיעַ rāqîa`, a  word which is often indicative of a luminous, firmament or interworld spanning or linking "heaven" and "earth".  

The term Barzakh and its Babi-Baha'i Interpretations

The term Barzakh and its Islamic and Babi-Baha'i Interpretations

Barzakh in the Writings of the Bab,

The word Barzakh occurs four times in the Persian Bayan:  

Persian Bayan II:7  (p.31ff) - فی بيان يوم القيمة  On the Exposition of the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyama) - twice though not in the II:7 of the Arabic Bayan : 

Page 32

و ان هذا  ما وعدنا اللّه من مظهر نفسه اطاعت او كرديد ثمرهء بيان نزد خداوند ترحّم بر خود كرده اگر نصرت نمی كنيد مظهر ربوبيت را را ظاهر كرده ايد و الا لايق ذكر نيستيد لن ندعو معه شيئا و بانچه بر او هستيدمحزون نكرده كه ظاهر ميشود بمثل آنكه من ظاهر شدم و عود می فرمايد 

خلق بيان را و حال آنكه در قلوب شما خطور نكرده دون ايمان خودتان سرعت كنيد در اجابت خدا و تصديق بايات او كه او است اجابت من يظهره   

Persian Bayan II:8  (p.34ff) twice- and again not in the parallel section of the Arabic Bayan: 

Such is indicative in the Book of God (Kitab Allah) of the fruit of knowledge (thamarat-i `ilm) without action (bila `amal), And if death (mawt) 

  اينست ثمره علم بلا عمل در كتاب اللّه و اگرموت را فهميده از اقرار خود تخلف نمی ورزيده باينكه اقرار كند كه او حق است و از شئون محقق حق محتجب شود و اين موتی است كه در يوم قيامت نفع می بخشد كل را بعد از آن در برزخ الی ان يطلع اللّه شمس الحقيقة و انما المراد بالبرزخ بين الظهورين لا ما هو المعروف بين الناس بعد موت اجساد هم فاّن هذا دون ما يكلف به الناس لان بعد موتهم لا يعلم ما يقضی عليهم الا اللّه و ان ما هم به يؤمرون لابد ان يعلمون و هر گاه كسی در بحر موت سير نمايد عجائب ما لا نهاية بما لا نهايه ملاحظه می نمايد مثلا اگر در زمان رسول خدا كسی ميت شده بود ميديد كل شئونی كه بمن لم يومن بمحمّد ص راجع ميشود از عالم تجرد گرفته تا عالم تحدّد نفی محض و نار بحت است

REPETITION X2

و اگر موت را فهميده از اقرار خود تخلف نمی ورزيده باينكه اقرار كند كه او حق است و از شئون محقق حق محتجب شود و اين موتی است كه در يوم قيامت نفع می بخشد كل را بعد از آن در برزخ الی ان يطلع اللّه شمس الحقيقة و انما المراد بالبرزخ بين الظهورين لا ما هو المعروف بين الناس بعد موت اجساد هم فاّن هذا دون ما يكلف به الناس لان بعد موتهم لا يعلم ما يقضی عليهم الا اللّه و ان ما هم به يؤمرون لابد ان يعلمون و هر گاه كسی در بحر موت سير نمايد عجائب ما لا نهاية بما لا نهايه ملاحظه می نمايد مثلا اگر در زمان رسول خدا كسی ميت شده بود ميديد كل شئونی كه بمن لم يومن بمحمّد ص راجع ميشود از عالم تجرد گرفته تا عالم تحدّد نفی محض و نار بحت است و كل شئونی كه بمن يؤمن بمحمّد راجع ميشود از عالم تجرد الی منتهی التحدّد از شئون شجره اثبات و جنّت نبوت بوده و اوّل ميت نبوده و ثانی ميّت بوده و اوّل چون كه ميّت نشده فانی شده در نفی و ثانی چونكه ميّت شده باقی مانده در اثبات چه امروز ظاهر است ثمره ميّت شدن مؤمنين كه

 اينست ثمره علم بلا عمل در كتاب اللّه و اگر موت را فهميده از اقرار خود تخلف نمی ورزيده باينكه اقرار كند كه او حق است و از شئون محقق حق محتجب شود و اين موتی است كه در يوم قيامت نفع می بخشد كل را بعد از آن در برزخ الی ان يطلع اللّه شمس الحقيقة و انما

المراد بالبرزخ بين الظهورين لا ما هو المعروف بين الناس بعد موت اجساد هم  فاّن هذا دون ما يكلف به الناس لان بعد موتهم لا يعلم ما يقضی عليهم الا اللّه و ان ما هم به يؤمرون لابد ان يعلمون و هر گاه كسی در بحر موت سير نمايد عجائب ما لا نهاية بما لا نهايه ملاحظه می نمايد مثلا اگر در زمان رسول خدا كسی ميت شده بود ميديد كل شئونی كه بمن لم يومن بمحمّد ص راجع

 ... The term Barzakh indicates [the time period] between two [successive] Theophanies [Manifestations] (bayn al-zuhurayn) ... 

Barzakh in Select further Writings of the Bab

Barzakh in the Writings of `Abdu'l-Baha' 

Barzakh in the Writings of Baha'u'llah

 

 

ABRAHAMIC AND BABI-BAHA'I THEOLOGY AND PROPHETOLOGY.

Jesus and Christian origins

Islamic Origins and Cyclic Schemata.

Central Figures and Successors of the Baha'i Religion after 1892 CE.

THE BAHA'I RELIGION AND THE ASIAN AND ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS

  • The Baha'i Religion, Hinduism and the Hindu sacred writings: Some Introductory Notes.
  • The Baha'i Religion, Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian sacred writings : Some Introductory Notes.
  • Zoroastrian Eschatology, Apocalyptic and Messianism : Some Notes on Babi-Baha;i Fulfillments.
  • The Baha'i Religion, Judaism and the Hebrew Bible: Some Introductory Notes.
  • The Baha'i Religion, Jewish messianisms and Notes on Babi-Baha'i Fulfillments.
  • The Baha'i Religion, Christianity and the New Testament: Some Introductory Notes.
  • The Baha'i Religion,  Christianity and Christian Doctrines.
  • The Babi-Baha'i view of the Bible : An annotated Compilation.
  • The Baha'i  Interpretations of the Bible : An annotated Compilation.
  • The Baha'i Christology, Some Introductory Notes.
  • The Babi-Baha'i Relgons, Islam Muhammad, Islam and the Qur'an, Some Introductory Notes,
  • The Babi-Baha'i view of the Prophet Muhammad.
  • The Babi-Baha'i view of the Qur'an and Hadith.

 

الاسم الاعظم

Biblical, Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Babi-Baha'i views of the Mightiest or Greatest Name of God.

بهاء الدين محمد بن حسين عاملي

Bahā' al-Dīn al-`Āmilī = Shaykh Bahā'ī

Muḥammad ibn ʻIzz al-Dīn Ḥusayn ibn ʻAbd al-Ṣamad al-`Āmilī al-Jubā'ī, (b. 953-1030 AH = 1547-1621 CE) on the Mightiest Name of God. 

در رموز اسم اعظم  

Dar rumūz-i ism-i a`ẓam

("On the Secrets of the Mightiest Name [of God]") trans. Stephen Lambden revised 2016. Beta version : PDf. Dar Rumuz.pdf

ESCHATOLOGICAL DOXOPHANY:

The Motif of the Divine theophanic Radiance and its Messianic Associations.

The Word Baha' and its cognates in Abrahamic and Babi-Baha'i Literatures.

 

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  • The Voice of God and the Supreme Pen:  Some Aspects of the `Letters to Kings and Rulers' of  Muhammad, the Bab (d. 1850) and Baha'-Allah (d. 1892). Early Incomplete Web1 Recension PDf. Voice of God.pdf

  • Alleged Letters of Jesus addressed to Rulers
  • Letters ascribed to Muhammad addressed to the Kings and rulers of his day.
  • Letters of the Bab addressed to the kings and rulers of his day
  • Letters of Baha'-Allah addressed to the kings and rulers of his day.

THE TRANSCENDENCE OF THE KHATAM AL-NABIYYIN (" SEAL OF THE PROPHETS")

THROUGH THE LIQA' ALLAH / AL-RABB

(THE ENCOUNTER-MEETING WITH GOD/ THE LORD).

THE ISOLATED OR DISCONNECTED LETTER OF THE QUR'AN

The Islamic Basmala and the Neo-Basmalas of the Bab and Baha'-Allah

  • The Islamic Basmala, its Abrahamic religious roots, and its Shaykhi Interpretations within select writings of Shaykh Ahmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Ahsa'i (d.1241/1826) and Sayyid Kazim al-Husayni al-Rashti (d. 1259/1843).
  • The Basmala and the Neo-Basmalas in the writings of the Bab, Baha'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Baha' : Some Notes on Babi and Baha'i Commentaries of the Qur'anic "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate" (Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim) and its many reconfigurations. 2023-4.

  • Shi`i and Babi-Baha'i Imamology: Some introductory Notes on the Twelver Imams and traditions attributed to them in Shi`i and Babi-Baha'i scriptural sources. Presented at the Irfan Colloquia Session #109 (English), Bosch Bahá'í School: Santa Cruz, California, USA May 16–20, 2012.
  • Abstract
  • The Bābī-Baha’i Demythologization of Shī`ī messianism: On the question of the reality of the twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, the  alleged son of  the 11th Imam, Ḥasan al-`Askarī   (d. 260/874) and Narjis Khanum.

  • "The Messianic Roots of Babi-Baha’i Globalism.” in Margit Warburg et al. eds.  Baha'i and Globalisation.  RENNER (Research Network on New Religions) and the University of Copenhagen, Departments of Sociology and the History of Religions (August 21-24, 2001), 2005. PDf. Messianic Roots.pdf

  • Some Notes upon the Bābī and Bahā'ī Interpretations of portions of the Qur'ānic Sūrat al-Kahf (Surah of the Cave), Q. 18.

IMMORTAL HEROINES

No Veiling Save Light : 

Some aspects of Abrahamic and Bābī-Bahā'ī theological-aesthetics

KALEIDOSCOPE:

Some Aspects of Angelology, Light, and Throne-Color Mysticism in Bābī and Bahā'ī Scripture.

ANGELOLOGY

 

ALCHEMY

Alchemy: An Encyclopedia article

Alchemical Gnosis in Bābī-Bahā'ī Scripture

لَبَّيْكَ

 

World Religions and Babi-Baha'i Concepts of Wisdom

Dimensions of Bahā’ī  Soteriology: Some Notes on the Bahā’ī theology of the Salvific and Redemptive role of Bahā'-Allāh.

The Epistemology of `Abdu'l-Bahā and the Four Criterion of Truth

مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى

A Scriptural Tablet of `Abd al-Bahā' commenting upon Qur'an 53:11:

"The inmost heart (al-fū'ād) lieth not about what it envisions". 

BABI-BAHA'I BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND STUDIES

19th cent. View of Acre and Mt.Carmel.

Palestine-Israel,  Western Galilee,

  • Acre (Akko = `Akka')
  • Haifa, Mount Carnel...  

Thomas K. Cheyne (1841-1915),

Thomas Kelly Cheyne (1841-1915)

 

Frances E. Godfrey (1844-1907),  

The first wide of Thomas K. Cheyne and the third daughter of the Revd D. R. Godfrey, fellow of Queen's College, Oxford,

  • Some Biographical Notes ...

Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne (1860-1931). 

The Poetess Elizabeth Gibson Chyene (1869-1931).

The first wife of TKC was Frances E. Godfrey (1844-1907), the third daughter of the Revd D. R. Godfrey, fellow of Queen's College, Oxford, and rector of Stow, Norfolk, whom he married on 31st January 1882. His second wife was the poetess Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne (1869-1931) daughter of John Pattinson Gibson (a chemist of Hexham) whom he married (aged 69) on August 28th [19th] 1911 about four years after the death of his first wife. Elizabeth Gibson was the sister of the `War Poet'  Wilfred Wilson Gibson (b. Hexham 1878-1962). Both  of T.K. Cheyne's marriages were childless.

 

 

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