QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ'
Part VI
[6]
سورة الشهادة
Sūrat al-shahāda
(The Surah of the Testimony)
on
Qur'ān 12:5.
Translation Stephen N. Lambden 1982-2016
[1]
بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
[2]
"He [Joseph's father] replied, `My [dear little] son! Narrate not thy vision (ru’ya) unto thy brothers, lest they make a plot against thee: for Satan (al-shayt*an) is a manifest enemy unto humankind (al-insan)" ( = Q.12:5).
[3]
آلمرس
A-L-M-R-A [S]
(Alif - Lām- Mīm- Rā’- Alif)
(Abjad = 272 [332])
[4]
The Remembrance (Dhikr) of the Mercy of thy Lord is His elevated servant (`abd) [or: His servant `Alí]). [5] We do intone [verses] for We, indeed, sent down the Book upon Our servant [the Bāb] to the end that the people might witness the exalted Remembrance of God (dhikr Allāh al-`aliy) in that Gate [the Bāb] (dhalik al-bāb). [6] On this His Day God hath desired naught for the servants except the revealed wisdom of the True One (Ḥikmat al-Ḥaqq ). [7] If ye love God then follow Him and God will love you. The reward of [meted out by] the Most-Great Remembrance of God (dhikr Allāh al-akbar) is inscribed in His Book by the hand of the True One. [8] Whoso doeth but an atoms weight of good shall, in very truth, be recompensed by Us with an ample reward on the Day of Resurrection. [9] And whoso doeth but an atoms weight of evil shall We, by the leave of God, cause to taste of the hell-fire which God, the Ancient One, hath named the scorching wind (samum) (cf. Q. 15: 27, 52:27, 56:41).
[10]
Behold, `Alī said, `O my [dear little] son [Ḥusayn]! Do not disclose what God hath enabled thee to vision about thy circumstances (amrika) unto thy brothers (Q.12:4a): [keep silent] as an act of compassion towards them and, in very truth, as an expression of patience before God, the Exalted. And He, God, is Mighty, Worthy of Praise. [11] If thou [Ḥusayn] did inform them [the brothers] about thy [future] status (amrika) manifest in the vision, [disclosing] even a fraction of that which God hath ordained for thee, they [the brothers] will certainly plot against thee (Q.12:5b) and thereby manifestly kill their own selves out of a [misguided] love of God (muhabbat Allah) abstracted from [love for] thy Self, the True One. [12] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed for thy [Jospeh= Ḥusayn’s] sake; namely, that [He might] in very truth, [see] thy blood dye the earth crimson [through martyrdom]. [13] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed that He might see thy [Ḥusayn’s] hair tinged with thy blood and, as ill befits the Truth, thy person slain [and lying] upon the earth and thy body naked upon the earth. [14] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed that He might see thy [Ḥusayn’s] daughters and thy womenfolk, as ill befits the Truth, captive in the hands of the infidels. [15] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed that He might see the faces of thy [Ḥusayn’s] fellow Shi`is at thy sides reddened with the dye of their persons [their blood] and, as ill befits the Truth, their wounded torsos discarded about the earth. [16] So disclose nothing of that which God hath ordained for thy [Husayn's] being as regards the secreted mystery of the martyrdom [testimony] of the Divine Oneness (shahādat al- ahadiyiyya), for thine own sake, not even a single letter of a portion of the account [of the vision, al-qawl). [17] If thou should inform them [the brothers] of but the slightest portion of thy circumstances (amr) which are, in very truth, secreted in mystery, they [the brothers] would at that very moment sacrifice themselves before thee [Joseph / Ḥusayn] for the love of God (muhabbat Allah), yearning deeply for God on account of [reunion with?] thine own self [Joseph/ Ḥusayn]. And God, as befits the Truth, is well-disposed towards His servants. [18] God it is who, no God is there except Him, confirms this wondrous episode [narrative regarding Joseph= Ḥusayn](al hadíth ) perchance the people, as befits the truth, might render praise and be thankful for the verses of their Lord, the All-Merciful regarding the ways of the Gate (subul al-bāb).
[19]
The brothers of Joseph [Ḥusayn] discovered a trace (ḥarf an lit. `letter’) of the hidden mystery of his [Joseph's = Ḥusayn’s future?] situation ("Cause", amr ) despite its being the mystery deeply veiled by the glorious mystery. [ 20] In consequence, the ordinances of the Prophets (sunnan al-nabiyyīn) and the witnesses [martyrs] (al-shuhadā') about killing in His Path (al-qaṭl fi sabilihi), were carried out. And God is witness unto all things. [21] After the slaughter of Joseph the unbelief of Satan increased and on this account was he [Satan] reckoned one cursed on the part of the All-Merciful and His sanctified ones (as*fiyā) for such was, in very truth, stipulated in all the [scriptural] Tablets (al-alwāḥ). [22] And subsequent to his unbelief he [Satan], as ill befits the Truth, hatched a terrible plot against the Most-Great Word (al-kalimat al- akbar). [23] But God will cancel out his [Satan's] plot before it is realized and will cast him [Satan] into the tempestuous ocean of shadows (baḥr al-ẓulumāt) with waves piled one upon another [cf. Q. 24:40]. [24] And He will inform such as have oppressed Us that they shall not be able to outstrip [or: compete with] Us over even a letter of the knowledge of the Book. By virtue of God, the Exalted, We, in very truth, encompass [with Our knowledge] all the worlds. [25] In the Mother Book (umm al-kitab) God secretly reckoned thee [the Bāb] among the five [immaculate ones?], they who are hidden and mysteriously concealed (al-khamsat al khifayya al-mustasirr sirr an). [26] God hath indeed taught thee the knowledge which even thine heart hath been unable to fathom. [27] We assuredly informed thee of the unprecedented knowledge of things innovative (`ilm al-bida’ ) which cometh from the All-Merciful. [28] That which God hath not willed hath not come about and forms no part of the of the knowledge of thy Lord. [29] God hath, in very truth, uttered a narrative (hadíīh an = the story of Joseph in the Q.?).
[30]
And did We not, in very truth, O servants of God, make a firm contract [covenant] with you about Our True covenant (`ahd)? [31] Yet do ye utter about God, the True One what is contrary, in very truth, to the assured and secure Most Great Truth (al-ḥaqq al-akbar). [32] We, verily, took a strong pact (mithāqan ghalíz*an) with you in the [primordial] domain of the proto-particles [of humanity in potentia] (mashad al-dharr). [33] It concerned love for Our Shī`ī [Islāmic ]party which is something wondrous according to the Truth. [34] The Cause (al-amr), which is of God, the Exalted, is weighty indeed. God, verily, hath, as befits the Most Great Truth, desired for you a Cause (amr an) as determined in this Book. [35] The people, however, evince, as ill befits the Truth, a heedless and contentious attitude towards this Most Great Gate (al-bāb al-akbar), towards Our mighty Cause (amr). [36] And He, God, is One Exalted, Mighty. God is One Who is able to dispense with you. [37] And God is He Who hath encompassed [with His knowledge] all things. [38] Did not Our Remembrance (dhikr) , in very truth, frequently inform you servants of God about Our Mighty Cause (amr)?
[39]
O ye people of the earth!
Fear ye God as regards this Leaf [the Bāb] sprung up from this Tree of the Divine Oneness (shajarat al-aḥadiyya) for he, in very truth, is assuredly the True One, whose truth is attested by God and by His chosen ones. And God, verily, is witness unto all things. [40] God hath ordained that the servants should serve none but Him through the Gate (al-bāb). Such is the pure religion according to the best, undeviating Path [unto God].
[41]
[42]
VERSIFICATION UNDER REV
Arabic and English trans. Stephen Lambden UCMerced.
QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ'
Part VI
[6]
سورة الشهادة
Sūrat al-shahāda
(The Surah of the Testimony).
on
Qur'ān 12:5
Translation Stephen N. Lambden 1982-2016
[1]
بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
[2]
"He [Joseph's father] replied, `My [dear little] son! Narrate not thy vision (ru’ya) unto thy brothers, lest they make a plot against thee: for Satan (al-shayt*an) is a manifest enemy unto humankind (al-insan)" ( = Q.12:5).
[3]
آلمرس
A-L-M-R-A [S]
(Alif - Lām- Mīm- Rā’- Alif)
(Abjad = 272 [332])
[4]
ذكر رحمة ربّك عبده عليّاً
The Remembrance (Dhikr) of the Mercy of thy Lord is His elevated servant (`abd) [or: His servant `Alí]).
[5]
و انّا نحن قد انزلنا الكتاب علی عبدنا ليكون النّاس بذكر اللّه العلیّ فی ذلك الباب شهيداً
We do intone [verses] for We, indeed, sent down the Book upon Our servant [the Bāb] to the end that the people might witness the exalted Remembrance of God (dhikr Allāh al-`aliy) in that Gate [the Bāb] (dhalik al-bāb).
[6]
و انّ اللّه ما اراد من العباد فی يومه هذا و انّ حكمه الحقّ تنزيلاً
On this His Day God hath desired naught for the servants except the revealed wisdom of the True One (Ḥikmat al-Ḥaqq ).
[7]
ان كنتم تحبّون اللّه فاتّبعوه يحببكم اللّه و قد كان جزإ ذكر اللّه الاكبر فی كتابه علی ايدی الحقّ مسطوراً
If ye love God then follow Him and God will love you. The reward of [meted out by] the Most-Great Remembrance of God (dhikr Allāh al-akbar) is inscribed in His Book by the hand of the True One.
[8]
فمن يعمل مثقال ذرّة من الخير فانّا نوفّينه يوم القيمة جزإ علی الحقّ بالحقّ موفورا
Whoso doeth but an atoms weight of good shall, in very truth, be recompensed by Us with an ample reward on the Day of Resurrection.
[9]
و من يعمل مثقال ذرّه من الشّرّ فانّا نذيقنّه باذن اللّه **
And whoso doeth but an atoms weight of evil shall We, by the leave of God, cause to taste of the hell-fire which God, the Ancient One, hath named the scorching wind (samum) (cf. Q. 15: 27, 52:27, 56:41).
[10] Behold, `Alī said, `O my [dear little] son [Ḥusayn]! Do not disclose what God hath enabled thee to vision about thy circumstances (amrika) unto thy brothers (Q.12:4a): [keep silent] as an act of compassion towards them and, in very truth, as an expression of patience before God, the Exalted. And He, God, is Mighty, Worthy of Praise. [11] If thou [Ḥusayn] did inform them [the brothers] about thy [future] status (amrika) manifest in the vision, [disclosing] even a fraction of that which God hath ordained for thee, they [the brothers] will certainly plot against thee (Q.12:5b) and thereby manifestly kill their own selves out of a [misguided] love of God (muhabbat Allah) abstracted from [love for] thy Self, the True One. [12] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed for thy [Jospeh= Ḥusayn’s] sake; namely, that [He might] in very truth, [see] thy blood dye the earth crimson [through martyrdom]. [13] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed that He might see thy [Ḥusayn’s] hair tinged with thy blood and, as ill befits the Truth, thy person slain [and lying] upon the earth and thy body naked upon the earth. [14] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed that He might see thy [Ḥusayn’s] daughters and thy womenfolk, as ill befits the Truth, captive in the hands of the infidels. [15] God, verily, hath willed what He hath willed that He might see the faces of thy [Ḥusayn’s] fellow Shi`is at thy sides reddened with the dye of their persons [their blood] and, as ill befits the Truth, their wounded torsos discarded about the earth. [16] So disclose nothing of that which God hath ordained for thy [Husayn's] being as regards the secreted mystery of the martyrdom [testimony] of the Divine Oneness (shahādat al-ahadiyiyya), for thine own sake, not even a single letter of a portion of the account [of the vision, al-qawl). [17] If thou should inform them [the brothers] of but the slightest portion of thy circumstances (amr) which are, in very truth, secreted in mystery, they [the brothers] would at that very moment sacrifice themselves before thee [Joseph / Ḥusayn] for the love of God (muhabbat Allah), yearning deeply for God on account of [reunion with?] thine own self [Joseph/ Ḥusayn]. And God, as befits the Truth, is well-disposed towards His servants. [18] God it is who, no God is there except Him, confirms this wondrous episode [narrative regarding Joseph= Ḥusayn](al hadíth ) perchance the people, as befits the truth, might render praise and be thankful for the verses of their Lord, the All-Merciful regarding the ways of the Gate (subul al-bāb).
[19] The brothers of Joseph [Ḥusayn] discovered a trace (ḥarf an lit. `letter’) of the hidden mystery of his [Joseph's = Ḥusayn’s future?] situation ("Cause", amr ) despite its being the mystery deeply veiled by the glorious mystery. [ 20] In consequence, the ordinances of the Prophets (sunnan al-nabiyyīn) and the witnesses [martyrs] (al-shuhadā') about killing in His Path (al-qaṭl fi sabilihi), were carried out. And God is witness unto all things. [21] After the slaughter of Joseph the unbelief of Satan increased and on this account was he [Satan] reckoned one cursed on the part of the All-Merciful and His sanctified ones (as*fiyā) for such was, in very truth, stipulated in all the [scriptural] Tablets (al-alwāḥ). [22] And subsequent to his unbelief he [Satan], as ill befits the Truth, hatched a terrible plot against the Most-Great Word (al-kalimat al- akbar). [23] But God will cancel out his [Satan's] plot before it is realized and will cast him [Satan] into the tempestuous ocean of shadows (baḥr al-ẓulumāt) with waves piled one upon another [cf. Q. 24:40]. [24] And He will inform such as have oppressed Us that they shall not be able to outstrip [or: compete with] Us over even a letter of the knowledge of the Book. By virtue of God, the Exalted, We, in very truth, encompass [with Our knowledge] all the worlds. [25] In the Mother Book (umm al-kitab) God secretly reckoned thee [the Bāb] among the five [immaculate ones?], they who are hidden and mysteriously concealed (al-khamsat al khifayya al-mustasirr sirr an). [26] God hath indeed taught thee the knowledge which even thine heart hath been unable to fathom. [27] We assuredly informed thee of the unprecedented knowledge of things innovative (`ilm al-bida’ ) which cometh from the All-Merciful. [28] That which God hath not willed hath not come about and forms no part of the of the knowledge of thy Lord. [29] God hath, in very truth, uttered a narrative (hadíīh an = the story of Joseph in the Q.?).
[30] And did We not, in very truth, O servants of God, make a firm contract [covenant] with you about Our True covenant (`ahd)? [31] Yet do ye utter about God, the True One what is contrary, in very truth, to the assured and secure Most Great Truth (al-ḥaqq al-akbar). [32] We, verily, took a strong pact (mithāqan ghalíz*an) with you in the [primordial] domain of the proto-particles [of humanity in potentia] (mashad al-dharr). [33] It concerned love for Our Shī`ī [Islāmic ]party which is something wondrous according to the Truth. [34] The Cause (al-amr), which is of God, the Exalted, is weighty indeed. God, verily, hath, as befits the Most Great Truth, desired for you a Cause (amr an) as determined in this Book. [35] The people, however, evince, as ill befits the Truth, a heedless and contentious attitude towards this Most Great Gate (al-bāb al-akbar), towards Our mighty Cause (amr). [36] And He, God, is One Exalted, Mighty. God is One Who is able to dispense with you. [37] And God is He Who hath encompassed [with His knowledge] all things. [38] Did not Our Remembrance (dhikr) , in very truth, frequently inform you servants of God about Our Mighty Cause (amr)?
[39]
O ye people of the earth!
Fear ye God as regards this Leaf [the Bāb] sprung up from this Tree of the Divine Oneness (shajarat al-aḥadiyya) for he, in very truth, is assuredly the True One, whose truth is attested by God and by His chosen ones. And God, verily, is witness unto all things. [40] God hath ordained that the servants should serve none but Him through the Gate (al-bāb). Such is the pure religion according to the best, undeviating Path [unto God].
[41]
[42]
VERSIFICATION UNDER REVISION
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