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Tablets of Baha'-Allah to Ḥakīm Lālih-zār or Mulla Eleazar and to Ḥakīm Āqā Jān and others of Hamadan

"Blessed be the chosen ones (awliya') in the Land of al-Ha' and al-Mim [= Hamadan]! We make mention of those who have believed therein in times past. This with a remembrance which is incomparable even to the very gold of this world (dhahab al-`alam) and the treasures of the nations (kunuz al-umam). [cf. Haggai 2:7]. Thy Lord is indeed On Who Certifies [Assists] (al-mu'in) at every moment. No God is there except Him, the Ultimately Real (al-haqq), the  One Possessed of Certainty (al-yaqin)". (Tablet to Baha'-Allah cited Ishraq Khavari, T. Hamadan, p.11).

 

 

Hakim Aqa Jan and an extract from his Genealogical Table.

Tablets of Baha'-Allah to the Persian Jews Ḥakīm Lālih-zār (Per. "Tulip Garden") (d.c. 1305/ 1887-8) or Mullā Eleazar (אֶלְעָזָר Eleazar, "[My] El-God Assists", Exodus 6:23, the third son of Aaron) and to his son  Ḥakīm Āqā Jān of Hamadan who were of a priestly (Cohen), Aaronic descent. The following Persian Tablet forms a kind of Ziyarat-Namah (Visitation Tablet) for the father  of one, Ḥakīm Āqā Jān, often reckoned the first Jewish Baha'i (see below) :

Text as printed on page 47 in the volume وارثان كليم : تاريخ حيات و خدمات احباء كليمى همدان   Varithan-i Kalim [Varessan-i-Kalim], Life and Services of the Early Jewish Background Believers in Hamadan. Century Press Publications : Bundoora, Australia,  161 BE., 2004 CE.,   by ثابتى, حبيب الله,  Dr. Habibullah Sabeti. The same text can also be found in `Abd al-Hamid Ishraq Khavari, Tarikh-i Amriyi Hamadan (ed. Vahid Rafati), Germany: Mu`assasat-i Matbu`at-i Baha'i Alman, 161 BE.,/ 2004, page 258-9. In this latter volume Ishraq Khavari states that "Mulla Eliāzār - Eleazar  after Hakim Aqa Jan came to [the Baha'i Faith] faith [in 1876] had attained gnosis-`irfan of Jamal-i Qidam" (the Blessed Beauty = Baha'Allah). His association with Tahirah should also be noted in this connection.

Ḥakīm Lālih-zār or Mullā Eleazar his brother and father had encountered Tahirah, Qurrat al-`Ayn (d. 1852) during the Babi era when when she was in hiding in their homes in and nearby Hamadan. A learned and highly respected Jew, this Mulla Eleazar  had two sons, Ḥakīm Āqā Jān - traditionally the first Jewish Baha;i - and Ḥakīm  Eli . He also fathered seven daughters who were named [1] Marwārīd (Pearl); [2] Shākh-Nabāt ("Rock Candy"); [3] Hannah; [4] Gawhar (Gemstone); [5] Esther; [6] Khātūn (Lady-Queen) and [7] Tāwūs (Peacock) (see T-Hamadan, pages 30 esp. fn.2; 71, 113, 258-9).

The Persian Tablet  of Baha'-Allah to Ḥakīm Lālih-zār - Mullā Eleazar (d. c. 1305/ 1887-8).

Trans. Stephen Lambden 29-09-2021 - In Progress.

For Jinab-i  Lālih-zār :

In My Name! The One who Crieth out betwixt Heaven and Earth!

If God so Wills by virtue of the Divine Bounty (`ināyat-i ilāhi), thou would attain unto that which this very Day (al-yawm) is beloved (mahbub) of (nazd) "the Lord of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob" (Baha'u'llah). I swear by the Sun of the Bayan of the All-Merciful (aftāb-i bayān-i rahmān) that the [human] eye (chashm) was created  for the sake of gazing upon this Mighty [eschatological] Day (yawm-i `aziz)! Ears (ādhān) came into existence (bi-wujud) for the sake of hearkening during these [latter, eschatological] Days (ayām)! The human temple [persona] (haykal) exists for the sake of this Wondrous Day (ruz-i badi`) while the human soul (jan) exists for the sake of the comprehension of this Incomparable Cause (amr-i mani`)! Thou shouldst strive that thou might drink deep of the Divine River Jordan (urdan-i ilahi) [experience  a new baptism] and that thou should be enabled to circumambulate the Reality of the [Israelite-Islamic] Masjid al-Aqsa (masjid-i aqsa-i haqiqi, "the Furthermost Mosque", the new "Holy of Holies" = Baha'u'llah]!. Whomsoever this Day riseth up in a state of complete, upright rectitude for the sake of the Cause of the Ruler of the creatures (mālik al-ānām) hath forever been and will forever be reckoned one prostrate (sājjid), humble (khādi`), ambulant [wandering, circumambulatory] (tā'if) and prayerful (rāki`). Unto this doth testify the Wronged One Himself (al-mazlum) [Baha'-Allah] in this Evident Prison (al-sijjin al-mubin)

O Lālih-zār!

Rejoice in remembrance of Me! for the Victory of God (nusrat Allah) is more beloved than everything else (ahabb min kull shay') in a Mighty Book [Letter-Tablet] (kitab `azim)! And praise be unto Myself, One Mighty (al-`aziz), One All-Knowing (al-alim)!

 

Select Tablets of Baha'-Allah for Ḥakīm Āqā Jān Hamadani,

 

Ḥakīm Āqā Jān

 

Ḥakīm Āqā Jān

 

 

 

 

 

 

Select Bibliography

`Abd al-Hamid Ishraq Khavari,

  • Tarikh-i Amri-yi Hamadan (ed. Vahid Rafati), Germany: Mu`assasat-i Matbu`at-i Baha'i Alman, 161 BE.,/ 2004,

ثابتى, حبيب الله,  Dr. Habibullah Sabeti.

  • وارثان كليم : تاريخ حيات و خدمات احباء كليمى همدان   Varithan-i Kalim [Varessan-i-Kalim], Life and Services of the Early Jewish Background Believers in Hamadan. Century Press Publications : Bundoora, Australia,  161 BE., 2004 CE.,

Yuhanna Khan Hafizi

  • Tarikh-i Hayat-i Yuhanna Khan Hafizi.

Ā Ī Ū ā ī ū Ḍ ḍ ḥ Ḥ ṣ Ṣ ṭ Ṭ ẓ Ẓ  

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