QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ'
Part XII
سورة العاشوراء
Sūrat al-`Āshūrā'
(The Surah of `Āshūrā')
`Āshūrā' indicates the 10th of the month of Muḥarram, the date of the maytrydom of the third Imam Husayn ibn Abi Talib in 61/680 CE.
on
Qur'ān 12:11
Translation Stephen N. Lambden
1982-2020 - Last Updated 04-05-2020.
[1]
بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
[2]َ
"They said, [O Our] Father, what ails thee, that thou trusteth us not with Joseph? Surely we are his sincere well-wishers. [Send him forth with us tomorrow, to frolic and play, surely we shall be watching over him"] (Q. 12:11. trans. Arberry).
[3]
كنسن
K-N [S]-N
Abjad = 20+50 [60] +50 = 12[3]0.
[4]
The Exalted Dhikr-Allah (Remembrance of God) [`Aliyy/`Ali] is He who hath, in very truth, ever been [reckoned one] articulate (natiq an) and evident [recogized] (mashud an) within the Mother [Archetypal] Book (umm al-kitab] about the Theophanic [Sinaitic] Fire (al-nar). [5] God did indeed divinely inspire (w-h-y) me [to utter the words], "I, verily, I am indeed God! No God is there except I Myself". It was ordained that the Bounty (al-fadl) of the Dhikr be even as My Bounty (fadli) unto all the worlds [of God] (al-a`lamin jami` an). [6] And We, verily, with the permission of God, decreed for the believers (al-mu'minin) in the Abode of the Hereafter (dar al-akhira), Paradise after Paradise (jannat min al-jannat) surrounded by luxuriant trees [foilage] (alfaf an) [see Q. 78:16] in the land of Ridwan (Beatitude) elevated about the [Celestial] House [of God, the Ka`ba] (al-bayt). [7] And We, indeed, decreed according to the Decree of the Book, the very the Decree of the Book, the All-Encompassing (muhit an) Hellfire (al-jahhim) for the unbelievers (al-kafirun). [8] Then By thy Lord, the True One! (al-haqq). We did indeed, with the permission of God [Himself], so alter the "bodies" (ajsad) of the unbelievers (al-kafirun) as to be make them [something] other than their [own] "bodies" (ajsad), pre-existent (al-qadim) and ever- changing (tabdil an) within that sarcophagus [ark] (al-tabut) within the Abyssmal Depth of Hellfire. [9] [This a] retribution (al-jaza') according to what they wrote [for themselves] with their own hands, for they were disbelieving in God and in His sublime verses which originated with the Bab (Gate) [himself]. [10] They [were so negligent as to] put faith, in Truth, in very Truth, in their own selves (anfus) as but a [hellish] refuge (ma'w an), a Bab (bab an) aside from the Sublime Logos-Self of God (nafs Allah). [??] [11] God, in very Truth, expounded thy verses unto the people of earth and heaven, unto the totality of the pleroma (bi'l-kull `ala al-kull) all gathered up before the Bab. [12] Some in very Truth, failed to believe in God and in His verses aside, that is, from the [true] believers who are the forerunners (al-sabiqin), a few among the people of the Bab. [13] Most of the people were counted among the unbelievers (al-mushrikin) for the True One did see them ??, with the permission of the All-Merciful, ordained as such according to the decree of the Book (hukm al-kitab). [14] They did not believe in God or in His Dhikr (Remembrance) in line with the Truth which is pristine (al-khalis), save, that is, for a small company [scant remnant] among the initially selected ones (al-aqallin al-awwalin). [15] We indeed made thee, in Truth, in very Truth, to be an advocate [helper] (`ad.d an) for the servants [of God] and a mighty (al-shadid) mountain [obstacle] (sadda) for the nations (al-bilad). This with the permssion of God, the Ancient (al-qadim). [16] By God! the True One! None among the [Muslim-religious] believers, be they male or female, followed thee [the Bab] save there was [inscribed] upon their neck[s] the Covenant of God (`ahd Allah) and, in very Truth, Our covenant (`ahd) about the Pure (tahir an) and Unsullied (naqiy an), Pristine [Babi] religion [of God] (al-din al-khalis).[17] God Who, no God is there save Him, bestoweth Bounty towards God though Thou art indeed the One intended. He is indeed the True One, God Who hath ever been Powerful over all things. [18] He is the True One, no God is there except Him, the Mighty Possessor of Wrathful Severity [Resurrecting Power] (dhu'l-ba's [al-ba`ath] al-`azim), One Powerful indeed (shadid an) [cf. Q. 48:16; 4:84b; 57:25].
[20]
And God did proffer Our wilaya (`the trust of divine responsibility' / the burden of imamocentric Divine providence) [Q. 33:72 has al-imama ("trust")] unto the heavens and the earth, and [unto] the mountains (al-jibal) [see Q. 33:72] but they refrained from bearing the burden and were sorely fearful thereof. Yet humanity (al-insan) did bear it [by means of], the Mighty Dhikr-Allah (Remembrance of God), this Elevated one (hadha `aliyy an [`Ali]).] [21] Such was indeed somethng preserved (al-hafiz) in the Book of God (kitab Allah) as opposed to [what pertains to] the one tryannical (al-zulum an) [cf. Q. 33:72b], [possessing] a name which is everywhere in evidence [all-encompassing] (ism al-muhit). [22] And amongst the people are such as have no comprehension of the Book, according to the [very] Decree of the Book (hukm al-kitab) [and] as is evident from the Decree of the Book (hukm al-kitab), an ignoramus al-jahul an)[cf. Q. 33:72b].
[23]
God did indeed explain His Mystery (sirr) betwixt the Mount (al-tur) [Sinai] and the Point of [the Sinaitic] Fire (nuqtat al-nar) though He made no mention of anything but he who brought the Dhikr (Remembrance) from before the Bab (Gate), earnestly supplicating (raghib an) unto God, the One Praisewrthy (al-hamid). And God hath ever been Powerful over all things (shadid an). [24] Ane He is the One Who had [manifestly] originated thy Logos-Self (nafs), the True One (al-haqq), a [Divine] Manifestation (mazhar an) of Our Grandeur (`azimat) according to the Knowledge of the Book (`ilm al-kitab) ordained in accordance with the Decree of the Book (hukm al-kitab). [25] And We did indeed fashion thee in the Mother [Archetypal] Book (umm al-kitab) before God, the Exalted, the All-Wise. [26] And God, verily, made thee to be a Manifestation of Our [World of] Similitudes [Archetypal Images] (mazhar al-amthalina) [though] without any hint of allusion [thereto] or [any] delimitation [thereof] (al-tahdid). And God hath ever been Powerful over all things (qadiran)
[27]
God, verily, concealed the [eschatological] time period [passage] (marr) of His servant in the Pivot [Axis] of the [Sinaitic] Fire (qutb al-nar), and [likewise] from this Book (al-kitab) for God so stipulated [this] with respect to the knowledge of the unseen (`ilm al-ghayb), regarding, that is, its [remaining a] secreted mystery (min sirrihi al-mustasirr) pertaining to the Mystery inscribed in the vicinity of the Mystery (`ala al-sirr hawl al-sirr mastur an). [28] The All-Merciful will support (n-f-q) thee, in Truth, in very Truth, in the dissimulation of Our Cause (kitman amrina).
[29]
When the brothers of Joseph said unto their father [Jacob-Israel] upon the Greatest Panorama (`ala mashhad al-akbar), `What ails thee?' Do you not know us with respect to the knowledge of Joseph for We are witnesses [martyrs] (shuhada') before God, al-Qayyum (the Self-Subsisting). And God hath ever been witness (shahid an) unto all things. [30] And God did indeed make us relative to [the third Imam] Husayn (d. 61/680) through the concealed Mystery of the Divine Oneness (sirr al-ahadiyya), secreted away about the evidently manifest (mashhud an) [Sinaitic] Fire (al-mastura hawl al-nar). [31] God indeed announced through that verse [12:10?] the locus of `Ali (d. 40/661) [an elevated decree] (hukm `Ali /`aliyy) and his sons [progeny] (abna') [the twelver Imams] what accords with the of [mystery of ] the Divine Oneness (al-ahadiyya) veiled up [concealed] within the Theophanic Cloud of the Divine Ipseity (`ama' al-huwiyya), secreted away [that is] within the mystery of the Throne of Eternality (al-mustasirra fi sirr al-`arsh al-abadiyya) oriented luminously towards the East (al-mustasharaqa) through the Light of Pre-Eternity (al-azaliyya) as accords with the decree which is All-Perpetual (hukm al-samadaniyya) inscribed (mastur an) about the [Celestial] Watery Expanse (al-ma').
[32]
Despite this the people did indeed disbelieve in God after Husayn rose up in the land of Taff (ard al-Taff) [Karbala], one of excellence (muballig an) expressive of the station of love (maqam al-hubb) for His Own Logos-Self (li-nafsihi), one Peerless (mutafarrid an) in the sight of God, the Ancient One (al-qadim). And God hath ever been aware (`alim an) of all things. [33] So indeed did the people turn away from God and from the [eschatological] cloaks [garments] of the two Paradises (thawab al-jannatayn), an expression of the unbelief of Satan, one accursed (mal`un an). [34] They indeed trod the path of their unbelief, as envoys of the Satanic ones going aside from the True One, turning away from God, the True One. And He is God Who hath ever been One Mighty, Praiseworthy. [35] God is indeed the One Who, no God is there except Him, the Verifier of the [Dream] Event (al-sadiq fi'l-hadith), in Truth, in very Truth, through the All-Thankful [Grateful] (mashkur an) tongue of the Bab (lisan al-bab).
[36]
Yet shall He chastise such as made war against [the 3rd Imam] Husayn in the Land of the Euphrates (ard al-firat), punishing them with a most severe chastisement and, in Truth, in very Truth, the Mighty (`azim an), forceful vengence of the exemplary punishment (ba's al-nakah). [37] What then is it with thee, O hosts of Satan (junud al-shaytan)? Has not the very True One [Truth], come unto thee, in line with His Generosity [Liberality, Magnanimity] (jawad) on the Day of `Āshūrā' (10th Muharram)? This after He had informed thee, in Truth, in very Truth,about the Greatest Cause of God (amr Allah al-akbar), in Truth, in very Truth, forcefully [powefully] (shadid an) through His [own messianic] Logos-Self (min nafsihi). [38] Will ye not then, in very Truth, seek the [cosmic] Watery Expanse (al-ma') which, in very Truth, is indicative of His Logos-Self (li-nafsihi) and of His smallest one (asghar), in very Truth, a mere infant fit for suckling (ti`fl al-radi`), of humble disposition (khadi` an) upon earth and, in very Truth, interdicted [held apart] (al-mani`) on account of weakness (da`if an) relative to the Mighty Cause (al-amr al-`azim).
[39]
O people of infidelity!
Is there not amongst thee any soul capable of fearing God relative to His Own Logos- Self (nafs) and who might thus attain the [Cosmic] Watery Expanse nigh [above] the [Cosmic] Watery Expanse as, in Truth, in very Truth, one weak amidst those especially delicate [tender, slim] (rummaq al-araq) before God, the True One, but the merest droplet (qutrat qalil an). God is He Who knoweth the very heart (qalb) of [Imam] Husayn, his being parched [hot] (harr) on account of his severe thirst (al-atish al-`azim) and his [consequent] fortitude [patience] (sabr) in God, the One, the Ancient. And God was, in very truth, ever a witness unto this circumstance [of Imam Husayn].
[40]
By God! the True One! We found his heart on that day [of `Āshūrā'] to be severly parched [burning] (ahrar) for [need of] a droplet (qatra`at) [of water], weaponry [? an iron point] (al-hadida), feverish (al-mahammat) on account of the Ancient [Sinaitic] Fire (bi'l-nar al-qadima). And God doth in no wise testify unto His Own Logos-Self (nafs), save through his martyrdom (shahadat) [or His shahada = the twelve letters of `There is no God but God'] through His Own Logos-Self (nafs). So be ye watchful for [observant of] the punishment of God (akhd Allah), in Truth, in very Truth, the One Elevated (al-`aliyy), Severe (shadid an) in the land of Hellfire (al-jahim).
[41]
God will indeed kill-destroy a people (qawm an) - for they did kill him [Husayn] at the termination [of the episode of Karbala] (muntaha) - though not merely according to the consequences of the tyranny [injustice, of Karbala] (mablagh al-zulm) for [they shall be made to experience] that which is fitting for these unbelievers (al-mushrikin). We shall indeed Our very selves cast them aside (r-m-y) through the Most Great Power of God (qudrat Allah al-akbar) in the land of the [eschatological] gathering (al-hashr), in very truth, [shall they be ones] obliterated (fana an). We shall indeed decree that the perpetual (da'im an), undying (khalid an), eternally (abad an) greatest hellfire (al-nar al-akbar) come upon them.
[42]
The True One (al-haqq), in very Truth, saith, `We shall never [totally] fill Gehenna (the Abode of Hellfire) with them as an ongoing retribution (jaza') for that which they committed before God, the True One. We shall never, in Truth, in very Truth, decree the cessation of the [recurring] eternal, everlasting punishment (al-`adhab sarmad adab), in very Truth, upon them. So by God! This will not in the least measure be recinded even to the degree of an atom's weight of the skin of a date-stone (dharrat al-qitmir), a mere date-stone (qitmir an)!
