Henry Martyn (d.1812) - Revelation 12:6f. Persian Trans. Henry Martyn, 4th ed. 1837 + Image of Cornelius Van Dyck (d.1895), American born missionary translator of the Arabic Bible initiated by in the 19th century by Eli Smith (1801- 1857).
Preliminary Note
To the left (above), is an image from a painting of the Christian missionary Henry Martyn (b. Truro, Cornwall, England, 18 February 1781 – d. Tokat, Anatolia, Turkey, 16 October 1812). He visited Shiraz and Bushire for eleven months between 1811 and 1812, about eight years years before the birth of the Bab in Shiraz on October 20th 1819 CE. There he completed his Persian translation of the New Testament begun in India a while earlier. An edition was printed on behalf of the British and Foreign Bible Society at the Hindoostani Press in Calcutta, India, in 1816, three years before the birth of the Bab.The adjacent image (to the right) derives from the 4th 1837 (London, Richard Watts) edition of his Persian translation of a few verses of the 12th chapter of the `Book of Revelation’ (Rev. 12:6-7) or Apocalypse of John (Mukāshafāt Yuḥanna). This since, as will be seen below, it was party cited or paraphrased (in Arabic) by the Persian-born messianic claimant known as the Bab (d. Tabriz, Persia, 1850). This in an epistle to the 13th of his first eighteen major disciples known as the Ḥurūf al-ḥayy or `Letters of the Living’. Fifty or more years later in early 20th century Ottoman Palestine, this New Testament text was interpreted by `Abdu’l-Baha’. To the right of this image from the New Testament Apocalyse, the last book of the canonical Bible, is an image of the Protestant missionary, Cornelius Van Alen Van Dyck (b. Kinderhook, New York,13th August, 1818 – d., Beirut, Ottoman Syria, November 13, 1895). The latter was another Protestant missionary who completed an Arabic translation of the Bible by Eli Smith (1801-1857), during the 1850s and early 1860s (1st ed. 1865), with the expert assistance of the eminent Syrian Butrus al-Bustānī (1819–1883) and the Greek Catholic writer Nāṣīf al-Yāzijī (1800-1871). Among other translations of the Bible, It was quite frequently cited by Baha'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Baha' in the later years of the 19th century.
The Bab and the Bible : Some partial, exegetical Persian and Arabic citations of Revelation 12:6b [11: 3b], the 1260 or 1270 days = years AH [=1844 CE].
Stephen N. Lambden
In progress - under revision and correction last updated 31-03-2024.
The Bab very seldom cited the Bible, the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament though he did occasionally cite Islamic texts reflective of biblical texts, Islamo-biblica (see Lambden Ph.D 1980s/2002) found, for example, the Baṣā'ir al-darajāt of al-Ṣaffār al-Qummī, Abu Ja`far Muhammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Farrukh al-'Ash'ari al-Qummi (d.290/903) and certain works of Sayyid Ḥaydar al-Āmulī (b. Āmul, Mazandaran, 719/ 1319–d. Najaf, –787/1385) such as his (partially lost) Tafsir (Qur'an Commentary), the recently printed Tafsīr al-muḥīṭ al-a`ẓam wa'l-baḥr al-khidamm fi ta`wīl kitāb Allāh al-`azīz al-muḥkam. As we shall see, his paraphrastic. exegetical citation of the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation is an exception to this. To date I have found two or three examples of this in the writings of the Bab as I had anticipated in my 1980s [submitted 2002] doctoral thesis written in Newcastle upon Tyne several decades ago.
REVELATION 11:1f
The "two witnesses" and the "1260 days" of Revelation 11: 2-3.
Greek = 11:1 Καὶ ἐδόθη μοι κάλαμος ὅμοιος ῥάβδῳ, λέγων, Ἔγειρε καὶ μέτρησον τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας ἐν αὐτῷ.
¹And a reed was given to me, like a measuring rod, as he was saying, "Get up, and measure the temple of God along with the altar and those worshiping in it.
11:2 καὶ τὴν αὐλὴν τὴν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ναοῦ ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν καὶ μὴ αὐτὴν μετρήσῃς, ὅτι ἐδόθη τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν πατήσουσιν μῆνας τεσσαράκοντα δύο.
²And the outer courtyard of the temple you shall exclude, and not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.
Text and Trans from David Robert Palmer, `The Revelation of John part... The Ancient Greek Text, alternating verse by verse with A new English translation from the Greek (Dec. 2020).http://bibletranslation.ws/palmer-translation/
Greek = 11:3 καὶ δώσω τοῖς δυσὶν μάρτυσίν μου, καὶ προφητεύσουσιν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα περιβεβλημένοι σάκκους.
Trans. ³And I will give authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth."
Authorized (King James) Version (1611)
Revelation 11:3 "And I will give power unto my two witnesses (μάρτυσίν, martysin), and they shall prophesy (προφητεύσουσιν, prophēteusousin) a thousand (Gk. χιλίας, chilias) two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth (περιβεβλημένοι, peribeblēmenoi)".
Revelation 11:3 Walton Polyglot - Arabic - Revelation 11:3 in vol. V, 1656 CE
The Cleveland Yorkshire born English Anglican priest Bishop Brian Walton (1600 – 29 November 1661) produced the muli-volume polyglot Bible in the 1650s incorporating the Bible in nine languages Hebrew, Aramaic, Samaritan, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Ethiopic, Greek and Latin. Its title is Biblia sacra polyglotta: complectentia textus originales, hebraicum, cum pentateucho samaritano, chaldaicum, graecum: versionumque antiquarum, samaritanae, graecae, vulg. lat. quicquid comparari poterat. 6 vols.; London,1653-57, Its fifth volume contained and Arabic as well as a Persian version of the New Testament.
ARABIC - WALTON-REV. 11:1-4
Rev 11:3b "and the holy city (al-madinat al-muqaddasa) shall they tread under foot forty and two months (ithnayni wa arba`in shahr an)."
PERSIAN - WALTON
Revelation 11:3 Walton Polyglot - Persian version Revelation 11:3 in vol. VII 1656 CE
Henry Martyn Persian
KJV 11:1 "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God (qud[u]s-i khudā), and the altar (madhbaḥ), and them that worship (`abadat) therein. [2] But the court (qasr) which is without the temple (birun-i haykal) leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles (ummat-ha): and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months (chihal va du mah) [42 x 30 = 1260 days].
Revelation 11:1ff Persian translation - Henry Martyn (1st ed. St, Petersburg, 1815; Calcutta: BFBS, 1816 + 1837 4th ed. + later editions).
Revelation 11:1-4 From the Calcutta, Hindoostani Press, BFBS, 1816 Printing.
- Translation with select transliteration: ""And there was given to me a reed (na'y) like unto a rod (`asa); and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God (haykal-i khuda), and the altar, and them that worship therein. [2] But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months (chihal va du mah) [42 x 30 = 1260 days].
Revelation 11:3 Persian translation - Robert Bruce (1st ed. 18XX + 1895 + later editions).
Revelation 11:3 "
Revelation 11:3, Arabic Translation - Cornelius Van Alen Van Dyck, 1865.
٣ وساعطي لشاهدَيَّ فيتنَّبآن الفًا ومايتين وستّين يومًا لابسين مسوحًا.
"And I will give power (wa sau`tiya) unto my two witnesses (li-shāhidayya), and they shall prophesy (sa-yatannabayni) a thousand (alfan) two hundred (wa mi'atayni) and threescore [sixty] days (wa sitina yawman), clothed in sackcloth (labisayni musukha)".
Robert Bruce (b. Cherleville, Co. Cork [Ireland] 1833 - d. Little Dean, Gloucestershire [UK], 1915) was a CMS Missionary in Persia from 1869-1893. He was a one-time Lecturer in Persian at University College London (1895-6), vicar at Durham (1896-XXXX) and Rector of Little Dean Gloucester (UK) (from 1903). His Bible translation work was carried out with assistance of others including, for example, Karapet Ohaness from Julfa (Persia). The Bruce translation was first published in 1882 :
- 1882 كتاب العهد الجديد Kitab-i `Ahd-i Jadīd (The New Testament in Persian. [London] : British and Foreign Bible Society, 1882. Revised with others from the verson of Henry Martyn (and others) + Reprints 1890, etc.
- 1895 (further revised edition) ʻAhd-i Jadīd (The New Testament). London : British and Foreign Bible Society [B. & F.B.S.] 1895.
- 1901. Kitāb-i ʻAhd-i Jadīd, yaʻnī ʼInjīl-i Muqaddas-i Khudāvand va Najātʹ dahandah-i mā ʻĪsá Masīḥ kih ʼaz zabān-i ʼaṣlī-i Yūnānī tarjumah shudah ʼast. London: Brritish and Foreign Bible Society ( B&FB.S.], 1895 and 1901. A revision of the version of other earlier 19th cent translations of Henry Martyn [NT]; William Glen [OT], by Rev. ; Robert Bruce, Rector of Little Dean Gloucester.
Revelation 11:1-2 Persian revised translation of the Henry Martyn version (see above) the Scottish Protestant missionary Robert Bruce (1833-1915). Text below from the 1895 London printed edition issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society:
Revelation 11:1 : "And there was given to me a reed (na'y) like unto a rod (`asa); and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God (quds [qudus]-i khudā), and the altar (madhbaḥ),, and them that worship therein. [2] But the court (sahn) which is without the temple (kharij-i quds-ra birun) leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles (ummat-ha dadih): and the holy city (shahr-i muqaddas) shall they tread under foot forty and two months (chihal va du mah) [42 x 30 = 1260 days]..
Revelation 11:3f - Persian Bruce Trans.
[3] "And I will give power unto my two witnesses (du shāhid), and they shall prophesy (nubuwwat namayand) for a period (muddat) of a thousand (hizār) two hundred (duvist) and threescore [sixty] days (va shast ruz ), clothed in sackcloth [hair-cloth] (balās [= Per. palās] dar bar kardah)". [4] These they are the two Olive Trees (darakht-i zaytun) and the two Candlesticks [lamp stands] (du chirāghdān) that stand in the presence of the God of the earth (hadur-i khudavand-i zamin)".
Revelation 11:4
Palmer Greek text and trans.
11:4 οὗτοί εἰσιν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καὶ αἱ δύο λυχνίαι αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἑστῶτες.184
⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth
KJV "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
New King James Version [1979 NT + 1982 Bible]
New King James Version [1979 NT + 1982 Bible].
Persian Text cited مفاوضات Mufawadāt... (Some Answered Questions). (c,1905).
Revelation 11:1-2
و نئی مثل عصا بمن داده شد و مرا گفت برخيز و قدس خدا و مذبح و آنانيرا كه در آن عبادت ميكنند پيمايش نما و صحن خارج قدسرا بيرون انداز و آنرا مپيما زيرا كه بامّتها داده شده است و شهر مقدّسرا چهل و دو ماه پايمال خواهند نمود "
"And he gave to me a reed (nay') like unto a rod (aṣā) [and I said, " ] and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple [sanctuary] of God (qud[u]s-i khudā), and the altar (madhbaḥ), and them that worship therein. [2] But the court which is without the temple (sahn-i kharif-i qudus-ra birun andaz) leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles (ummat-ha): and the holy city (shahr-i muqaddas) shall they tread under foot forty and two months (chihal va du mah) [42 x 30 = 1260 days]..
از اين نی مقصود انسان كامليست "By this "reed" (نئی , na'y) is intended the (Per.) انسان كامل Insān-i kāmil (Ar. al-insān al-kāmil), the Perfect Man [Human]
Rev. 11:3
REVELATION 12:6
ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Apocalypse of John, Revelation 12:6 Greek
- καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἔφυγεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, ὅπου ἔχει ἐκεῖ τόπον ἡτοιμασμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα ἐκεῖ τρέφωσιν αὐτὴν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα.
- ⁶ "And the woman fled to the desert, to where she has a place prepared there by God, so that there they might take care of her for 1,260 days."
ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ
The Revelation of John - Greek text and English translation (immediately above) from `The Revelation of John part of The Holy Bible The Ancient Greek Text,alternating verse by verse with A new English translation from the Greek by David Robert Palmer with translator's footnotes and Greek textual variant footnotes'. December 2020 Edition http://bibletranslation.ws/palmer-translation
Revelation 12:6 with select transliteration
[6] "Then the woman (Gk. γυνὴ, gynē) fled into the wilderness (ἔρημον, erēmon), where she has a place [spot. location] (τόπον, topon) prepared by God (Θεοῦ, Theou), that they should feed [sustain] (τρέφωσιν, trephōsin) her (Gk. αὐτὴν, autēn) there one thousand (Gk. χιλίας, chilias) two hundred and sixty days (ἡμέρας, hēmeras)".
Authorized (King James) Version (1611) "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days." (Rev. 12:6)
New King James Version [1979 NT + 1982 Bible]. "Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days".
Persian translation - Henry Martyn (1st ed. Russian Bible Society, St.Petersburg 1815+1816 + Calcutta, India, 1816; 4th ed. 1837 + later editions).
From the 12th chapter of the Mukāshifāt-i Yuḥanna (The Revelation of John) in the Persian translation of Henry Martyn (d. Tokat, Turkey, 19th October, 1812). Image above from 4th ed. 1837 in `The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Translated from the original Greek into Persian by the Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D [fourth edition]. London: Richard Watts for the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1837'. 628pp. Presentation copy with Gold edges and coverwork (Lambden personal library).
Translation of Henry Martyn Persian text with select Persian transliteration
"The woman (zan) took refuge in [fled into] (garikht) the wilderness (biyābān), and in that place (makāni) she had somewhere prepared [allocated, determined] (mu`ayyan) by God (khudā), that they should feed [nourish] (bi-parvarānad) her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days (hizar va duvist va shast ruz) ".
Arabic Translation - Walton Polyglot 17th century, (1653-57) Revelation in vol. VII 1656 CE
The Cleveland Yorkshire born English Anglican priest Bishop Brian Walton (1600 – 29 November 1661) produced the muli-volume polyglot Bible in the 1650s incorporating the Bible in nine languages Hebrew, Aramaic, Samaritan, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Ethiopic, Greek and Latin. Its title is Biblia sacra polyglotta: complectentia textus originales, hebraicum, cum pentateucho samaritano, chaldaicum, graecum: versionumque antiquarum, samaritanae, graecae, vulg. lat. quicquid comparari poterat. 6 vols.; London,1653-57. Its fifth volume contained and Arabic as well as a Persian version of the New Testament.
Arabic Translation - Cornelius Van Alen Van Dyck, 1865
٦ والمرأَة هربت الى البرّية حيث لها موضعٌ مُعَدٌّ من اللّٰه لكى يعولوها هناك الفاً ومايتين وستين يومًا
Arabic Bible (Smith & Van Dyke, 1865). (Rev 12:6).
♦
Persian Text Revelation 12:6 cited Mufawadat... ("Some Answered Questions"). (c. 1905). (Rev. 11:3).
Expository Citations of Revelation 12:6b [11:3b] , the 1260 or 1270 days-years, in the Writings of the Bab
In at least two of his writings the Bab cites or paraphrases and interprets the reference to 1260 sometimes understood as 1270 days taken as years AH [= 1844 CE] of the New Testament Book of Revelation, at 12:6b [cf.11: 3b], He once cites this text as deriving from the Qur'anic `Isa ibn Maryam, Jesus son of Mary. This citation is presumably an indirect reference to the New Testament Rev 12:6b (or 11:3b) though this or a similar Persian or Arabic version is also occasionally cited without any clear source or biblical attestation. In the quite lengthy Arabic epistle of the Bab addressed to the thirteenth of the eighteen Huruf al-Hayy, 'Letters of the Living' named Muhammad Baqir Tabrizi (d. c. 1881 CE), first printed in the Kashf al-Ghita `an hiyal al-a'da of Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani, Mirza Siyyid Mihdi Gulpaygani and others (printed then withdrawn in the early 20th century) such a citation is found.
Note about the Scriptural Tablet of the Bab to Muhammad Baqir Tabrizi
“The form of a Blessed Letter of His Holiness the Primal Point (nuqṭa’-awwali [ulya]), exalted be his Supreme Remembrance (dhikr-i a`lā), in reply to a question of Mulla Baqir, the Letter of the Living (ḥarf-i ḥayy) about the sacred existence of [the messianic] Man Yuẓhiru-hu Allāh (“Him whom God shall make manifest”)… “ (Persian introductory note in Gulpaygānī et al., Kashf al-Ghiṭā’, Appendix, p. X).
Extract from the Tablet of the Bab to Muhammad Baqir Tabrizi
“The Supreme Remembrance (al-dhikr al-akbar) [the Bab] is above every expression of greatness (fawq kull kabīr). Such was indeed stipulated by Jesus son of Mary (`Isā ibn Maryam) as was promised about him [the Bab ] through mention [of a period of] "one thousand, two hundred and seventy years" [days> years - 1,270 = 1,260 AH] up till the commencement of the appearance of the [post-Islamic religion of the] Bayān (ilā ẓuhūr al-bayān)” (cited Gulpayigani et al, Appendix, p. 6-7).
الف و مائتين و سبعين سنة الى اوّل ظهور البيان...
Here the time period 1,260 days is interpretively rendered as 1, 270 years, not days as in the original Greek and most translations from Persian and Arabic! In transliteration this phrase reads as follows : alf wa mi[ā]’tayni wa saba`in sana [sitīna yawm an ] (“a thousand, two hundred and seventy years [sixty days]”). In his interpretive paraphrase the Bab glosses or interprets "days" (Per. Ruz Ar. ) as sana, “years”.
The Haykal al-Dīn (Book of the Temple of Religion) of the Bab (1850 CE).
The (Lawḥ‑i ) Haykal al‑dīn (1266/early‑mid 1850) is an Arabic compendium of Bābī law in 8 wāḥids ("unities"), each except the last having 19 babs. It has been published by the Azali Babis in the mid. 1960s. Baha'i sources seem to neither cite nor recognize this important text representative of the latest thought of the Bāb. Within the Haykal al-Din are many examples of the labyrinthine and novel legalistic enactments of the Bāb, many of which are eschatologically charged or designed to `prepare the way' for the advent of man yuẓhiru-hu Allāh. In order to give some idea of the teachings and laws formulated by the Bāb during the latest period of his life the following lines summarize a few sections of the Haykal al‑dīn. It is in the Persian exposiory Tafsir on the Haykal al-Din of the Bab himself, that the Book of Revelation is cited without being explicitly identified as the words of Jesus contained in Revelation 12:6b (cf. 11:3) but interpreted in this light (see below).
The Arabic Haykal al-Din commences as follows, with its bold claim to Divinity:
HAYKAL AL-DIN
(THE TEMPLE OF RELIGION)
al-Wāḥid al-Awwal (The first Unity).
Yā Huwa
O He - He is!
Bismillāh al-amna` al-aqdas.
In the name of God the Inaccessible the Most Holy
I verily, I am indeed God! No God is there except I, Myself. Whatsoever is other than Me is My creation. Say: O my creation! Thou shouldst serve me. I created thee, provided for thee and gave thee security. I bestowed life upon thee, raised thee up and made thee to be a manifestation of mine own Logos-Self (nafs). This such that thou might, in My sight, divulge my verses (āyātī). So do thou supplicate me, all of My creation, for such is My religion, the Straight Path, Mighty and Transcendent. I created all things (kull shay’) for thee and I made thee to be a Sovereign (sulṭān) over all the worlds...
The Bayān is Our Proof (ḥujjat) unto All-things (kull shay’) containing His verses which are inimitable for all the worlds. This applies to all of Our verses be they of the past or of those to come for they are the likeness of that which Thou, this moment, is evocative of all of Our Proof (hujjat). We cause to enter whomsoever We willeth into Our Sacred, Mighty Paradises (jannat quds `azim). Such is that which We originate in every dispensation (zuhur) through the Logos-Command (min al-amr), a Logos-Command (amr an) which cometh from Us for We, We are indeed of the Wise Ones (al-hakimin). We did not originate any religion (din) except it was created subsequent to a promise which cometh from Us! We were indeed above everything, One expressive of compelling Power (al-qahirin).
And We, verily, made the Gates of this Religion (abwab dhalik al-din) to be according to the number of all things - Kull shay' (= 361). This according to the likeness of the number of the "condition" (mithl `adad al-hawl = [31]+8+6+30 = 42) such that for every day (yawm) there exists a Gate (bab an).This such that everything might enter therein, into its Supreme Paradise (jannat al-a`la). And this to the end that there be in every computation a Wāhid (= 19 = abjad 6+1+8+4 = 19) expressive of a Dhikr (Remembrance) [mention] of a "Letter" (harf) of the Primordial Letters (min huruf al-ulya) before God, the Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth as well as Lord of Everything - Kull shay' - the Lord of what is seen and of what is not seen, the [very] Lord of all the worlds. And We, We do indeed express a Divine Ordinance (al-fard).
After this prolegomenon the opening. first Wahid (literary Unity) is as follows:
Bāb al-awwal (The First Gate).
God hath indeed testified unto his own Logos-Self for He indeed, no God is there except Him, is the Lord of All-things (kulli shay’). Whatsoever is other than Him was created for Him. Before Him all are His servants and the Essence of the Seven Letters (dhāt ḥurūf al-sab`a) is the Gate of God (bāb Allāh) unto whomsoever is in the heavens and upon the earth as well as whatsoever lieth between them. All do indeed obtain guidance from the verses of God which originate with Him.
Now in every Bāb (Gate) is the Dhikr (Remembrance) of the Name of the True One (dhikr ism al-ḥaqq) which originates with Us. And the Dhikr (Remembrance) is one of the Letters of Living (ḥurūf al-ḥayy) since they have returned again unto the primary Life (ḥayyat al-ūlā) through Muhammad, the Messenger of God, along that is with those who bear witness on behalf of God (shahadā min `ind Allāh). Then also the gates of guidance who were created in the eschatological era (al-nishāt al-ākhira) just as God had promised in the Qur’ān. Until, that is, there shall be made manifest the number of Wāḥid (=19) in the Primary [Islamic] Wāḥid (= 19). This is a Divine Bounty from before Us for We are indeed among such as are Gracious (fāḍilīn).
This is the Primary Wāḥid (“Unity” =19) of the Wāḥid of Enumeration (= 19) which is indicated in the [first] month of Bahā’ ("Glory" = abjad 9, the first month BE). It indeed resulted in the genesis of Us (badā' anā) for such was Creation (al-khalq) through Him! We assuredly caused "All" to return [be restored] through Him, as promised on Our part for We are indeed supremely powerful above All (kull) [everything]. Wherefore was everything numbered (`-d-d) by means of ennumeration (al-a`dād) by virtue of that Wāhid (bi-dhalik al-wāhid), "Unity" ( = abjad 19) for subsequent to this [ennumeration] nothing needed to be computed (h-s-y) and prior to this the Letters of the Wāhid (Divine Unicity) had not attained perfection in the Primordial Verse (fi'l-ayat al-ulya). And they [the letters] were present by virtue of the proximity of their inmost hearts (qarb afi'idatihim) relative, that is to "Us" [betwixt Our hands]! Naught was visioned therein save al-Wāhid, the "Unity" ( = abjad 19), outside [that is] of any [further] computation. Wherefore does God expound the computation of kull shay' ("Everything") in the Book (al-kitab) perchance the people might be thankful during the days of their Lord.
The Persian Tafsir upon two parts of the Arabic Haykal al-Din
After the completion of the Haykal al-Din the Bab was asked to explain aspects of its meaning or the meaning of two of its portions. This he did just a few weeks before his martyrdom on July 9th 1850 in a Persian Tafsir or Commentary. The first Persian Tafsir section (loosely translated by Stephen Lambden) reads as follows :
Yā Huwa
O He - He is!
The Isolated [Apophatic] Essence (jawhar-i mujarrad) expresses this Vāhid, the "Unity" ( = abjad 19). It is that which God, Exalted and Glorified be He, hath forevermore, always been and will forever remain in the exaltation of His Pre-Eternity (`uluv-i azal) and the sublimity of His Own Pre-Existence (sumuv-i qidam-i khud). And Creation (khalq) for evermore hath always been and would forever remain locked in the frozen locale of its own realms of being (dar suqi`a`-i imkān-i khud). And yet in every era (zamān) God, exalted and glorified be He, ordained the appearance of a Book (kitab) and a [messianic] Proof (hujjat) for the creatures. And He stated [in the words of Jesus, Revelation 12:6b; cf. 11:3],
"And in the year one thousand, two hundred and seventy [Gk. "sixty" = 1260 AH]" after the rising up [commissioning] of Muhammad, the Messenger of God (rasul Allāh) [ in -10 AH = c.612 CE], a Book (kitāb) - the Bayān - and a Proof (hujjat) - the "Essence of the Seven Letters" [the Bāb] (dhāt-i huruf-i sab`) [=`Ali Muhammad = 7 letters, 3+4) - was established".
And the Gates of Religion (abwāb-i din) expressive of nineteen (`adad nuzdih), a Vāhid, the "Unity" ( = abjad 19), shall be realized. And in the Primal Vāhid, the "Unity" ( = abjad 19) is established [an expressiion of] the Oneness of the Divine Essence (tawhid-i dhāt) and of the Divine Attributes (sifāt), the Divine Actions (af`āl) and the [mode of the divinizing theology of human] Servitude (`ibādat). And the midmost-heart of this Gate (bab) is man yuẓhiru-hu Allāh (Him whom God shall make manifest) and His "Letters of the Living" (huruf-i hayy-i u) through whom is established a Vāhid, the "Unity" ( = abjad 19)! And prior to His appearence there was established the [era of the] Essence of the Seven Letters (dhat-i huruf-i sab`) [ = `Ali Muhammad, 3+4 letters, indicating the Bab] with the Primordial Letters [of the Living] (huruf-i ulya). Such had precedence relative to the Divine Unity (dar tawhid). And in its essence this Vāhid, the "Unity" ( = abjad 19) was the equivalent of [Per. hamān) one and the same as] the Vāhid, the "Unity" ( = abjad 19) of the Qur'an. They were ever the "Outer" [Exoteric] (zāhir) and the "Inner" [Esoteric] (bātin) as well as the "First" (al-awwal) and the "Last" (ākhir). The Subsequent Hujjat (messianic "Proof") [the Bab] in its essence is [even as] the previous Hujjat (messianic "Proof") [Muhammad]. This such that the two distinguishing criterion (furqān) is this [chronological] difference amounting to one thousand, two hundred and seventy years (hizār va duvist va haftād sāl) [cf. Revelation 12:6b + 10 adapted to years] which are words expressive of advancement (kalimat taraqqi namud) by means of their [inner] spirits (arwāḥ). In every particular dispensation [divine theophany] (zuhuri) there is a decree of finality ["lastness"] (ḥukm-i ākhir) on account of [the alleged finality of] an illustrious personage (nabah) manifested in a previous dispensation (bi-zuhur-i qabl).
Furthermore, in this [particular] dispensation [theophany] (zuhuri) one with the station of the supremely great degree of Greatness (maqam-i takbir-i a`zam), one bearing the Name of the Wise One of the Final Era (ḥakim-i ākhir), the Essence of the Seven Letters (dhat-i ḥuruf-i sab`ah) [the Bab], never did appear [as a final messenger]! Indeed! it was such that subsequently [no less than] eight Vāḥids [8 x19 = 152] of the Mirrors of God (mirāt Allāh) were established on their own particular seat [chair, throne] (maq`ad-i khud).
Appendix : The Twenty + References to the Islamic dispensation spanning 1260 or 1270 (lunar) years (AH) in the Persian Bayan.
There are more than twenty (around 22) references in the Persian Bayan to the 1,260 or more often (in his own computation)1270 years which for the Bab separated the initial call of the Prophet Muhammmad in c. 512 CE ( or c. -10 AH) and the time of the messianic declaration of the Bab in 1260 AH or (adjusted by the Bab) 1270 AH. The two successive eras commenced with the prophet calls of Muhammad, ten years before the Hijra) and that of the Bab in 1260 AH/1844.
According to Persian Bayan II:7 (p.30f) the call or declaration of the religious mission of the Bab took place on (Thursday) the 5th of (the fifth Islamic month) Jumadī al-Awwal 1260 AH or on the evening of 22nd of May 1844, two hours and eleven minutes after sunset. The precise point in time and deeply symbolic messianic figures were believed by him and his devoted followers to have mystically inaugurated the eschaton, the final age or long-awaited millennium. Its onset was Indicative of a new “Dawn” (al-fajr), the new post-Islamic eschatological era!.
The two hours and eleven minutes in the evening of May 22nd 1844.
Persian Bayan I:1 (Exordium, page 5):
كه هزار و دويست وهفتاد سال گذشت اين شجره بمقام ثمر رسيده...
... With the passing of a period of one thousand two hundred and seventy years this [Islamic] Tree (shajarat) attained unto the station of yielding its fruit (thamara) [the Bab] ...
Persian Bayan I:2 (page 12 ):
از حين نزول قرآن تا حين نزول بيان كه هزار و دويست و هفتاد سال گذشت
"... From the moment of the descent of the Qur'an until the moment of the descent of the Bayan there had passed one thousand, two hundred and seventy years..."
Persian Bayan II:7 (page 30-31) - 1260 AH = 1270 AH :
و از حين ظهور شجره بيان الی ما يغرب قيامت رسول اللّه ص هست كه در قرآن خداوند وعده فرموده كه اوّل آن بعد از دو ساعت و يازده دقيقه از شب پنجم جمادی الاولی سنه هزار و دويست و شصت كه سنه هزار و دويست و هفتاد بعثت ميشود اوّل يوم قيامت قرآن بود و الی غروب شجره حقيقت قيامت قرآن است زيرا كه شيئی تا بمقام كمال نرسد قيامت اون نميشود و كمال دين اسلام الی اوّل ظهور منتهی شد و از اوّل ظهور تا حين غروب اثمارشجره اسلام آنچه هست ظاهر ميشود و قيامت بيان در ظهور من يظهره اللّه است زيرا كه امروز بيان در مقام نطفه است و در اوّل ظهور من يظهره اللّه آخر كمال بيان است ظاهر ميشود
"From the moment of the manifestation of the Tree of the Bayan until that of the setting of the Resurrection of the Messenger of God (qiyamat-i rasul Allah) - peace and blessings be upon him - ...
Persian Bayan II:7 (page 32-33):
و از لقای او بلقای او مستبعد نگشته و تسع تسع عشر عشر آنی از يوم قيامت بهتر است از آنچه سنين ما بين القيا متين ميگذرد زيرا كه ثمره اين سنين در يوم قيامت ظاهر ميشود چنانچه ثمره هزار و دويست و هفتاد سال اسلام از اوّل اين ظهور تا آخر اين ظهور كه اوّل غروب شمس حقيقت است خواهد شد و اوّل اين ظهور تا ظهور من يظهره اللّه راجع ميشود ثمره آن بقيامت اخری كه ظهور او است
ای اهل بيان ترحّم بر خود نموده و طول ليل خود را در يوم قيامت باطل نكرده چنانچه محتجبين قرآن كرده كه هزار و دويست هفتاد سال افتخارباسلام كنند و در يوم اخذ ثمره كه يوم قيامت است حكم بر غير اسلام ۳۲ بر ايشان شود كه ايشان بهمين حكم باطل ميشوند الی قيمة الاخری چه
Thus, from the Encounter-Meeting with Him [God] (liqa-yi u) up till the [subsequent] Encounter-Meeting with Him [God] (liqa-yi u)...
That is to say, the "Fruit" (thamara) of the Islamic dispensation [Islam was generated] through one thousand, two hundred and seventy years (هزار و دويست و هفتاد hizar va duwist va haftad), from the commencement, that is, of this [Islamic] dispensation (zuhur) until its termination (akhir-i in zuhur) which is the beginning of the setting of the Sun of Reality (shams-i haqiqat) which [also] marks the beginning of this [Babi] dispensation (zuhur) until, that is, the [future] dispensation (zuhur) of man yuẓhiru-hu Allāh (Him whom God shall make manifest) for such is its return (raji`). The "Fruit" (thamara) of that [previous era] is realized through the eschatological [latter] resurrection (bi-qiyamat-i ukhra) which is His [subsequent] Dispensation [or Theophany] (zuhur-i u).
O people of the Bayan! ...
The commencement of that [Day of the resurrection of Islam] was after two hours and eleven minutes on the evening of the 5th of Jumādī al-awwāl [= May 22nd 1844 CE] of the year one thousand, two hundred and sixty, corresponding to the year one thousand, two hundred and seventy [years AH; after the initial call of Muhammad ten years before the Hijra]...” (Persian Bayan II.7).
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