Sūrat al-nuṣḥ (The Surah of Counsel) of Baha'-Allah.
Introduction and Beta Translation Stephen Lambden UC Merced.
last Updated 18-04-2021.
The Text
- INBMC 36:242-268.
Beta Translation Stephen Lambden UC Merced.
last Updated 18-04-2021.
The Sūrat al-Nuṣḥ (The Sūrah of the Counsel) of His Holiness Bahā’u’llāh in honor of Jināb-i Sayyid Ja`far-i Yazdī .
“This is the Ṣūrat al-Nuṣḥ (The Sūrah of the Counsel) unto whomsoever desireth that they might seek counsel from God, the Powerful, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.”
“In the Name of God, the Exalted, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Elevated, the Beloved One.”
So glorified be He who hath, in very truth, sent down the verses unto the Prophets (al-nabiyyūn) and the sent Messengers (al-mursalīn) and who, this very moment, revealeth unto the substance [hidden retreats?] of the people (makān al-nās) something of the religion of God (dīn Allāh). This that they might be instructed thereby and that He might announce for them the Path of God (ṣirat Allāh) and thereby clarify all things, through a Guidance and a Remembrance for such as are situated in the Garden of Paradise (jannat al-firdaws). These are such as have entered therein with the permission of God, ones guided along the Path of Salvation (al-najat) and enabled to attain unto the Shores of Holiness (shāṭi al-quds) in the proximity of God (jiwār Allāh), the Help in Peril, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting.
O Letter Jīm! [“J” = Ja`far]
Heaken ye unto that which the Dove of the Cause (ḥamām al-amr) cast upon thee during those days when [a faction of] the [Bābī] people were gathered about he who is an infidel (kufr) and an abomination (baghḍā’) [Mīrzā Yaḥyā Nūrī], one without, that is, either [Divine] permission or a Book [letter = a directive] from God, the Mighty, the Hidden. They determined they might remove [exile] him from the region [land] just as they removed [exiled] him the first time. Thus do We cast upon thee something of the mysteries of the [Bābī] Cause (min asrār al-amr) to the end that thou, during the Days of God (ayyām Allāh), might know something regarding the mysteries of the Dawning Places [of Guidance] (asrār maṭla`ūn).
Then know thou that We did make mention of thee [Ja`far] aforetime and [now] this very moment do We mention thee [again], one who did detach from him [Yaḥyā] the souls (al-alwāḥ) of such as disbelieved in him then did evince munificence [liberality] towards him, the one Unique (al-mawḥid) [cf. Yaḥya = 28 = Waḥīd]. This along with such as soar aloft in the atmosphere of nearness and make mention of God in the language of mystery (bi-lisān al-sirr). Before such is His Face (wajh) and for they are the fruits of the Tree of the Spirit (shajarat al-rūḥ). Hence at every moment are they sustained thereby. They do not commit fanciful speculation about God neither do they deign to converse save with the express permission of God, the Help in Peril, the Holy One. And should they enquire about anything
