edited and formatted by Jonah Winters;
contributed by and posted with permission of translator
Sermon of the Gulf [Khutbih-i-Tutunjiyyih] of the Imam
'Ali
introduction and translation by Khazeh Fananapazir
General Introduction
The Founders of World Religions, the Manifestations of God, relate their claims
and their utterances to the language and beliefs of the peoples to whom they
come. The Manifestations transcend to a variable degree as They see fit to a
wider context: e.g. Jesus Christ stated at the outset: "Think not that I have
come to destroy the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to
fulfil." The Qur'án repeatedly states that it confirms the Gospel and
the Torah, affirming that the Prophet's advent has been mentioned in the Torah
and the Evangel. The Bábí and Bahá'í Revelations
are also intimately related to the Islamic background and the Judaeo-Christian
heritage. As the Guardian says, "[The Bahá'ís]
must strive to obtain from sources that are authoritative and unbiased a sound
knowledge of the history and tenets of Islam, the source and background of
their Faith, and approach reverently and with a mind purged from pre-conceived
ideas the study of the Qur'án which, apart from the sacred scriptures of
the Bábí and Bahá'í Revelations, constitutes the
only Book which can be regarded as an absolutely authenticated repository of
the Word of God."[1]
But what is most remarkable is the frequent reference to particular verses and
traditions (hadiths) of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For example,
there are many references to the Messianic passages of Isaiah. The passages of
Matthew 24 and St John's reference to the Comforter and the Spirit of Truth are
innumerable. From the Qur'án we have multiple references to the "Meeting
with God" or "attaining to the Presence of God" on the Day of Judgement.
The Particular Significance of the Sermon of the Gulf
[Khutbih-i-Tutunjiyyih or Khutbatu't-Tutunjiyyah]
One reference stands unique in that Bahá'u'lláh Himself calls it
the Qutb, or "Pivot," around which "all the glad tidings of the past
revolve." That is in a passage from a sermon that was delivered by the Imam
'Ali ( d. 656 AD) called the "Sermon of the Twin Gulfs," the "Khutbah"
of "Tutunjiyyah." This Narration was referred to by Henri Corbin as the
"prone sur ou entre deux golfes". The author of the book that contains
the Sermon of the Two Gulfs, Hafiz Rajab al Bursi, held a very high view of the
station of the Imams, highly evocative of the position held by Shaykh Ahmad and
Siyyid Kazim, the precursors of the Bábí Cause at a later
century. At the time of the Safavi renaissance of Shi'ih Islam, Bursi was
considered to have exaggerated views of the station of the Imams. But the
writings of Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i and Siyyid Kazim Rashti[2] also accorded a very high station to the Imams. They are
referred to as "Mazahir," the "manifestations of God's names and
attributes," by Shaykh Ahmad in his Sharh az-Ziyarat. In this regard
Husayn the Son of the Imam Ali (the Author of this Sermon) is addressed to in a
Tablet of Visitation revealed by Bahá'u'lláh as the One through
Whom the Command of the Letters "B" and "E" came to be realised. He is also
referred to as the Mystery of Revelation in the World of God's Command
[jabarut]. Both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh affirm in
their writings the validity of these traditions which have their provenance
from Bursi. Further, in the Kitáb-i-Iqán
Bahá'u'lláh, in expounding the twin cardinal
principles of the Unity of the Prophets and infinity of the Revelatory Process
(the Iqan reference to this is given below), adduces further references which
are to be found only in Bursi, the source of the Sermon of the Two Gulfs.
Bahá'u'lláh's Writings thus not only affirm the importance of
these utterances of the Imam 'Ali but also assert the central and seminal
anticipation of this Sermon which was fulfilled by His Advent. He says, in a
Tablet starting with the words "the essence of praise..." (jawhar-i
hamd), that the Sermon under our consideration as the "blessed sermon of
Tutunjiyyah "and refers to it as having shone forth from dayspring of absolute
sanctity and guardianship". He says that it has not been commented on in the
wondrous Persian tongue and that the purpose of the Imam 'Ali in this sermon
has been the announcement of the Promise "Anticipate ye the Advent of Him Who
was the speaker with Moses on Mount Sinai." Bahá'u'lláh then goes
on to say that this promise is the Pivot [qutb] around which all wisdom
and utterance revolve. With this precise promise all the peoples have been
vouchsafed the glad tidings of the Manifestation of God.
Bahá'u'lláh then goes on to say that in this day the Speaker of
the Mount is manifest and that the Speaker gives call to this utterance "Verily
I am God."
The Sermon of the Twin Gulfs is important for Bahá'í studies on
several grounds, including:
- It shows how in the pre-Bábí/Baha'i Era various skills of
interpretation were needed to overcome the various objections that were raised
to its high theophanic claims. Further that these interpretative skills have
continued to be needed.
- As He asserts Himself in the Tablet of Jawhar-i-hamd ("The Essence of
Praise") and the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf the Tutunjiyyah is a
source text of the claim of Bahá'u'lláh to be the Speaker on
Sinai.
The Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali) - peace be upon him - moreover, saith
in the Khutbiy-i-Tutunjiyyih: "Anticipate ye the Revelation of Him Who
conversed with Moses from the Burning Bush on Sinai."[3]
Siyyid Kazim and the four approaches of the divines before and at the same
time of the Babi/Baha'i Revelations
Siyyid Kazim Rashti showed great respect for this Sermon and wrote a very large
commentary on it, which is one of his longest works. He says that the
Tutunjiyyih is the pre-eminent instance of the Wisdom that "Not everything that
a man knoweth can be disclosed nor can everything that he can disclose be
regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to
the capacity of those who hear it." He divides the ulama into four
different groups in relation to this sermon and, interestingly, this
subdivision was germane to all religious classes in the fervour of millennial
expectation.
- The first group rejects the likes of these traditions and has dropped them
from the view of credibility, saying that these traditions are based on a
single line of narration (akhbar ahad) and thus cannot be the basis of
law or action. These traditions, they say, all are in the book of Bursi and
since the latter was charged with extreme views in his day this should militate
against their acceptance. Another reason they would be unacceptable in that
they attempt to elevate the contingent above the level of contingency. They
appear also to assert divine Lordship of a created being necessitating also
that the Godhead devolves divine powers to the created being all of which would
contravene the Qur'ánic text which says: "is there any Creator other
than God? Show me then what they have created. He is the One Who has created
you Who will put you to death and will resurrect you. Does He have any
partners?"[4]
- The second position that Siyyid Kazim in his celebrated Sharh
mentions existed with regard to the hermeneutics of this Sermon. This position
suggested one should remain non-judgmental about it on the grounds that these
types of utterance exist but that human mind cannot comprehend it.
- The third position in regard to these sermons is the position held by the
monists and the admireres of Ibn Arabi in Shí'ih Islam such as
Mullá Muhsin Fayd. Fayd-e-Kashanui says: "When the effulgences of the
Essence of God (dhat) overpower any one such that person's entity,
actions, attributes are all obliterated in the rays of oneness with the Divine
Essence in this state he will see himself one with all Essences. In this state
the light of the distinguishing mind becomes subsumed under the Light of
Pre-existent Essence and all contingence is lifted up. Then Fayzi Kashani
says:" This explains the utterance of 'Ali in the Sermon of the Tutunjiyyah: I
am the First Adam and the First Noah."
- The fourth group -- and Siyyid Kazim Rashti considers himself of this group
-- are those who accept this essential belief: namely they recognise the one
being as having many "stations" and these "stations" are the "treasuries" of
that entity's existence. God says: "There is nothing of which We do not have
that thing's treasuries [khazaa'in]." Qur'án 15:21 "Our First is
Muhammad, Our Last is Muhammad, our all is Muhammad." Siyyid Kazim states that
his hermeneutic principle is the verse of the Qur'án: "Creation has many
modes [atwaar] of existence." [71:14] These include a mode of brevity
and expansion; a mode of simplicity and the mode of complexity; and modes of
imagination and abstraction. As to the first group, i.e. those who attributed
the sermon to the heresy of extremism, Siyyid Kazim says their views are hasty
and erroneous inasmuch as there are many similar utterances that are
universally accepted by the Shí'ites. Examples are the prayer of the
month of Rajab included in all Shí'ite anthologies; acceptance of the
innumerable references to the Imams as "Hand of God, the Eye of God, Whose
utterances are of God"; and the traditions of the two Jabirs. The same argument
applies to the second group who are the hesitants in regard to their
acceptance. As to the monistic sufistic explanations, here too Siyyid Kazim and
indeed before him Shaykh Ahmad dispute pantheistic conclusions because
rationally their arguments would entail alteration and transformation in the
essence or Dhat of God and this position is untenable.
The exalted Báb quoted the famous verse of the Tutunjiyyah re the
anticipation of the Speaker of Sinai in his Seven Proofs. In the writings of
Mirza Abu'l-Fadl the Sermon of the two Gulfs is referred to frequently but this
matter has not been discussed previously. Thus in his Fara'id page 308 he
writes that the sanctified reality of Most Great Spirit is single and one and
it does not ontologically become plural or multiple because the "Mirrors" are
multiple nor should it epistemologically be allowed to become so.
Herein follows the translation of this Khutbah. The Imam asserts belief in the
divine unity and that there is no deity but the One God and the Prophethood of
Muhammad but adds the necessity of loyalty to the Imamate as the repository of
salvation. This point has echoes throughout religious scripture. Of especial
interest for those with knowledge of Christian Scriptures, Jesus claimed
eternal life included both belief in Him as well as God:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)
The first paragraph of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas refers to this mighty
and primary theme. The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the
recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of
His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the
world of creation."[5]
A brief explanation of the "I"
The Imam 'Ali then makes a series of statements all commencing with the pronoun
"I": "I am the First I am the Last. I was with Noah. I am the Builder I am the
destroyer. I am the Agent whereby Jesus spoke in His Cradle. I am the Word the
Word through Which all things were consummated." Bahá'u'lláh has
explained that these utterances refer to the World of Command or Revelation
('Aalam-i Amr) [c.f. Who representeth the Godhead in the World of
Revelation and Creation both the Iqan and the Aqdas.]
The title Tutunjiyyih itself is a reference to the passage wherein the Imam
says: "I am the One that standeth upon the Two Tutunjs [Gulfs]." Siyyid Kazim
explains that these two gulfs represent the Gulf of Prophethood and the Gulf of
Wilayat, or Imamate. In the Athar-i Qalam-i Á'lá volume 2
Bahá'u'lláh says that the utterances of the Sermon were taught to
Imam 'Ali by the Messenger of God (Muhammad) [tilka kalimatun `allamahu
Rasul'ullah], so that although Ali utters these statements in fact it is
the Prophet who utters them. The key verse of prophecy that the Manifestation
to be anticipated is the Speaker on Sinai is a clear reference to the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh being at once the "essence, the promise, the unifier,
and the reconciler" of all previous revelations and that in unnumbered passages
He claimed His utterance to be the Voice of Divinity the Call of God Himself.[6] It is eschatologically focused because all the
previous Faiths have spoken of the coming of the "Lord of the Vineyard", the
"Day that hath seen the coming of the Best-beloved Him Who through all eternity
hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World." Shoghi Effendi explains that this
Dispensation will mark the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution
of man's collective life on this planet.[7]
TEXTS AND TRANSLATION
translation of the Sermon of the Gulf ("Al-Khutbah
al-Tutunjiyyah") of Imam 'Ali as printed in Hafiz Rajab al-Bursi's Mashariq
Anwar al-Yaqín fi Asrár Amir Mu'minín (Beirut: Dar
al-Andalus 1978 pp 160-170)
The sermon (khutbah) [delivered by Imam 'Ali] which is designated That
of the Gulf (al-Tutunjiyyah) has an exterior level (zahir) which
is elegant (aniq) and an interior level (batin) which is deep
('amiq). Let him who reads it beware lest he think ill of it for therein
something of the sanctity of the Creator (tanzih al-Khaliq) is reflected
which no one of the creatures can bear. The Commander of the Faithful [Imam
'Ali] delivered it between Kufah and Medina. He said:
Praise be to God Who hath rent asunder the firmaments (al-ajwaa) and
opened the atmosphere (al-hawa) and suspended the vast expanses of the
universe and caused the Splendour (diyaa) to shine, and quickened the
dead and caused the living to die. I give Him praise such praise as shone and
became uplifted, a praise that was radiant and effulgently luminous, a praise
that ascendeth to heaven in its sending there and which goeth to the high
sphere (jaww) unto its equinoctial summit (i'tidaaluhu). He
created the heavens without pillars (bila da'aaim) and set them upright
without supports. He then adorned the heavens with light-giving planets and
caused to be imprisoned in the spheres many a dark cloud. He created the oceans
and the mountains upon the collision of concomitant ever-flowing currents: He
opened their gates and their mighty waves were huge! I give praise unto Him and
to Him all praise is due. I testify that there is no God but Him and I bear
witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger and that God chose him
from the Supreme Company and sent Him unto the Arab peoples and He was
appointed - He that was truly guided Himself - to guide others - He was indeed
Talismanic and of the essence (hulaahilan Telasmiyyan). Muhammad raised
up the evidences and sealed the Messages and Moslems obtained sight from Him.
God manifested His Religion through Him, may the salutation of God be upon Him
and His Pure Family.
People! turn ye repentantly unto My faction (shi'ah) and adhere to a
pledge of fealty to Me. Remain steadfast and persevering in the Faith with the
best certainty. Adhere steadfastly to the Successor of your Prophet in Whom
resides your salvation and in Whose love on the Day of Resurrection is your
safe haven! In Me resides the Hope and I am the One to be hoped for. I am the
One that standeth upon the Two Gulfs! (tutunj) I am the One that looketh
unto the Twin Rising-Places [or "Orients"] and the Twin Setting Places [or
"Occidents"]. I truly did see with My own eyes [the Bounty of] God and the
Paradise! And this was as the seventh Heaven was moving in its orbit and there
in the great surging seas were the stars and their own orbits. I saw also the
earth rolled up as a short garment would be rolled up and it was within a shell
on the right sided Gulf which faces the East and the Twin Gulfs.
Further out there are the Twin Bays (khalij) of water as if they are to
the left of the Twin Gulfs and I saw that the Circle that embraces these and
the Paradise and all that there is therein were naught but a ring on the finger
of Thy Lord. And in truth I saw the Sun when it was setting and it was like
unto a bird that seeketh its nest. And if it were not for the friction of the
head of Paradise and the mixing up of the Twin Gulfs and the Music of the
spheres all that are in heavens and the earth would hear the ebullition of heat
caused by the Sun's descent into the Black water - and that is the Warm
Fountain. I know of the wonders of God's Work what no one knows but God and I
know what has been and what will be and what has been in the First Sprinkling
with those who preceded the First Adam. All was disclosed (kushifa) for
Me[8] and I knew and all was taught Me and I
have learnt.
So hearken and do not raise a clamour. Were it not for My fear that you might
say "'Ali has become possessed or apostatised from His Faith" I shall disclose
unto you what and whereat they are and what you shall encounter on the day of
Resurrection. All that knowledge was entrusted unto Me and thus I knew and the
knowledge of all this was hidden from all the Prophets except the Lord of this
Dispensation (Shari'ah)9 of yours (Peace be upon Him and His
Family). He taught Me His knowledge and I taught Him My knowledge.
Verily We are the Warners from immemorial times and We shall be unto
everlasting Warners from God. Through Us will perish He that is going to perish
and by Us have obtained salvation all that have obtained salvation and you
shall not encompass that ability that is Ours. By the righteousness of Him
Whose power causeth the seed to germinate and Who breatheth the spirit of life
into all things, by Him Who alone hath power and grandeur! To Me have the winds
and the air and the birds of air been conquered; the world and all that is
therein was presented to me but I turned away from it. I turned upside down the
world and it was tilted away from Me. How can subsequent events overcome Me?
I know all that is above the supreme Paradise and that which is below the
seventh Ocean, that which is in the highest heavens and that which is between
them and that which is below them. All this knowledge is derived from an
all-embracing knowledge and not from chronicled knowledge. I swear by the Lord
of the Great throne! If I wished I could inform you of your forefathers and all
your predecessors as to where they were, and from whom they were and where they
are now and how they came to be where they are! How many of you are eating the
property of his brother and is drinking of the fountainhead of his father and
yet he longeth for him and wishes that they were with him! O would that you
knew! O would that ye knew! When that which is hidden be manifest and that
which is in the breasts were attained and conscience were to disclose its
hidden things, I swear by God you will have returned to clay, and you will have
had your "returns," and how many signs there are between these "returns" how
many those that have died or that have been slain. (I know those that are in
the craw of birds and those that are in the belly of beasts and all mankind are
between those that have already gone and those that are being urged on). And if
it were to be revealed to you all that is with Me from time immemorial unto the
end that has no end you shall truly see many and wondrous events, many strange
handiworks and all that I comprehend.
I am the Master (sahib) of the First Creation before the First Noah,
and if you were to know what was between Adam and Noah of wondrous events that
I wrought and of nations that I caused to perish. And the true Word of Thy Lord
was fulfilled in them and evil is that which they worked" I am the Master of
the First Flood! I am the Master of the Second Flood! I am the Master of the
Deluge of Iram! I am the Master of the Secret Mysteries! I am the Lord of 'Ad
and its gardens! I am the Lord of Thamud and its wondrous signs! I am the One
that destroyed it, I am the One that caused the Earthquakes! I am the One that
caused their Return and their Perdition! I am the Builder of those
civilisations and their Destroyer! I cause their Expiry and I cause them to be
quickened! I am the First and the Last! I am the External and Manifest and I am
the Internal and Hidden! I am with the Cycle (kawr) before the Cycle
began! I am the Companion of the Dispensation (dawr) before the
Dispensation started! I was with the Pen before the Pen and I am with the
Tablet prior to the Tablet being revealed! I am the Lord of the First
Pre-existence! I am the Lord of Jabulqa and of Jabulsa! I am the Master of
Highest Stage (rafraf) and of Bahram! I am the One Who organised
existence when there was no heaven as you have them now nor earth as you know
it now!
The Son of Suwairama said: "Are you, are you indeed that One?!"
'Ali replied: "I am, I am that One! There is no other God But God Who is My
Lord and the Lord of all created things. Unto Him belongs the Creation and the
World of Revelation (amr). He it is Who has ordained all matters in His
Wisdom and heavens and earth are upraised in His Power. Methinks the weak ones
amongst you are saying; "Is this not the son of Abu-Talib Whom the forces of
Syria had overshadowed yesterday and He would not go out to fight them and sent
them Muhammad and Ibrahim?" But truly and assuredly I shall fight Syria many
times and I shall slay them many times. I shall fight their armies at Siffin
and I shall bring a new life unto the believer until that thirst for justice in
my chest be allayed. I shall fight for 'Ammar Yassir and for Uways of Qaran
many times. Let none say when? How? and in what manner? and with whose
assistance? How shall it be when you shall see the Master of Syria saweth men
with saws and cutteth them with trowels? But I shall make him taste a painful
retribution.
But rejoice now for the cause of all creation reverts unto Me on the morrow.
Let not this claim appear extravagant inasmuch as We have been vouchsafed the
knowledge of all fates and of all tribulations. and the knowledge of
interpretation and of the Revelation and the decisive Discourse
(Faslu'l-Khitab) and knowledge of all future calamities and
catastrophes. There is nothing whose knowledge escapes Us. This is truth and I
shall see this One [pointing to Husayn, Peace be upon Him] when His Light shall
flow forth of His eyes and I shall be present with Him a lengthy time that
shall witness earthquakes and eclipses. They that are believers will revolt in
His company from every corner. I swear by God! If I wished I would tell you of
their names every one of them and their descent from both parents, until the
Day of whose time is promised.
Then 'Ali said: "O Jabir! You are with the Truth now and you shall be with the
True One hereafter and in that true Cause you shall die.
O Jabir! When the Bell shall cry loud, when the stupor of the Nightmare shall
enshroud men, when the Cow shall speak, on that day there shall happen
wondrous, exceedingly wondrous Events, when the Fire shall be ignited in My
sight, when the Banner of the House of 'Uthman shall appear in the Black
Valley, when Basra shall be thrown into confusion and they shall seek to
conquer each other and each party shall seek the other, when the armies of
Khurasan shall begin to move, and when Shu'ayb the son of Salih of Tamim shall
be followed in Taliqan, and Sa'id of Shusha shall be obeyed in Khuzistan, and
the banner shall be raised up by the Amalekites of the Kurds, and the Arabs
shall seek victory over Armenia and the Slavs, and Heraclitus shall submit to
the patriarchs of Sinan in Constantinople, anticipate ye then the Revelation of
the Speaker of Mount Sinai.[10] This will appear
with manifest signs visible unto all, clearly perspicuous to them.
O but how many a wondrous sign I seek not to mention and how many indications
I have left undivulged! for I cannot find one who can bear them. I am the One
Who ordered Satan to bow down Adam![11] I am the
One Who raised Idris to a high station. I am the Agent whereby Jesus was
enabled to speak in His cradle while yet a Babe! I am the One who flattens the
valleys and Who sets the Earth to order and I am the One Who has divided it
into five parts, namely, land, sea, mountains, built, and unbuilt. I am the One
Who separated the Red Sea from Tarjim, and separated Aqim from Him. I separated
all from all! I am Tirathia, Janbutha, Barhilion, Aliuthoutha.[12] I bring out of the Ocean that which is stored in it that
it shall be cleared away by the horses and men. take from it what you desire
and leave what you wish to leave. He then gave 'Ammar-ibn-Yassir 12000 men who
loved God and His Apostle and each had 12000 battalions of angels to support
them saying: Rejoice for you are the best of brethren to each other for after
this there shall be a star (tarfatan) through which ye shall know some
of the expounded matter. The Mysteries of Evidence shall become clear to you
when Bahram and Keyvan (stars) shall rise together and become conjoined
with exactness. When shakings and earthquakes shall succeed each other swiftly
and banners shall be lifted up from the shores of Oxus to the Desert of Babylon
know ye then that I am the One Who causeth the winds the blow, I am the One Who
lifts your oppressions!
I am the Master of the Mount Sinai! I am that Manifest Light! I am that
Perspicuous and dazzling Evidence (that light of which an infinitesimal part
was disclosed unto Moses) and all that was vouchsafed unto Me by God the Lord
Of Glory.
I am the Master of the Gardens of eternal delight! I am the One that causeth
the Rivers to flow from the Water that emanates from the divine current, and
other Rivers which are of milk, and Rivers of pure Honey, and Rivers that flow
with wine, a delight unto those who partake. I am the One that hath
overshadowed hell when it was made to blaze and have overlooked its several
compartments: firstly the Hell of Sa'ir when it blazeth forth then the Hell of
Saqar and its fire and lastly the nethermost Hell which has been preserved for
the transgressor all of these have been preserved in the Valley of Desolation.
Again I swear by the Lord Who bringeth Dawn, He Who is the Lord of all
creation! Within it is kept eternally both Jibt and Taghut and their servants
and whomsoever disbelieveth in the Lord of this world and the Kingdom on high.
I am the Maker and Sustainer (sani') of all the Regions of this world
by the Command of the One Who is the All-Knowing the All-Wise. I am the Word
through Which all things are consummated and through which the Universes are
brought into being. I am the One Who has made the regions of the earth to be
four and the islands to be seven: the Region of the South to be the Depository
of all Bounty, the Region of the North to be Powers and Sovereignty, the Region
of Sheba to be the Seat of earthquakes, and the Desert Region to be the Seat of
many a catastrophe. So Woe unto the cities from those transgressors who will
come to destroy and pervert justice. Woe shall be when calamities come to
transpire from that Government of eunuchs, imbeciles, and effeminate rulers. On
that Day all Regions will bring forth false claimants claiming falsehoods. Oh!
On that Day expect eagerly your Supreme salvation and you shall see men
accepting it by troops. On that Day God will make of the gravel of Najaf
treasures of gold and all of that will be sprinkled where the believer shall
step his foot on it and with that same dust of gold the unbeliever and the
hypocrite shall be exchanged and bartered. Then shall the value of red ruby be
as nothing and similarly other jewels and pearls. This shall be a most evident
sign and when it shall transpire the Light of God shall shine and His Glory
(BAHÁ') shall be effulgent and all that you wish for shall be
made manifest and all that is your highest desire shall become apparent.
O You who in your desires resemble cattle and the beasts of the field! How
shall it be with you when the banners of the sons of Kenan shall come upon you
and also that of 'Uthman the son of 'Anbatha in the battle fields of Syria?
Know truly that shall never be discerned by one related to Umayya or to 'Ady."
Then He wept loudly (the salutations of God be upon Him!) and later exclaimed;
"O alas for the nations! Soon shall some hypocrites say that 'Ali claimed
Lordship (rububiyyat) for Himself but you should bear witness thus:
"'Ali truly is a created Being, a Servant, nourished of divine sustenance and
he that denies this let him be accursed of God."
Imam `Ali then descended and said; "I take refuge unto him Who hath the
Kingdoms of earth and Heaven! I seek succour from Him Who possesses all Power
and Grandeur, all Sovereignty and Authority from all that I fear and pray to
avoid!" O people! None shall utter these words but when tribulations and
calamities befall him the same will God dissipate through this prayer."
Jabir said: "Only those Words?" and the Imam 'Ali added thereunto another
thirteen words and left.
Addendum
Two important quotations from Bursi (the compiler of the above Hadith) which
Baha'u'llah quotes in the Kitab-i-Iqan and again emphasise the point of
the reliability of Bursi as a narrator are the following:
Furthermore, among the "veils of glory" are such terms as the
"Seal of the Prophets" and the like, the removal of which is a supreme
achievement in the sight of these base-born and erring souls. All, by reason of
these mysterious sayings, these grievous "veils of glory," have been hindered
from beholding the light of truth. Have they not heard the melody of that bird
of Heaven,(1) uttering this mystery: "A thousand Fatimihs I have espoused, all
of whom were the daughters of Muhammad, Son of Abdu'llah, the 'Seal of the
Prophets?'" Behold, how many are the mysteries that lie as yet unravelled
within the tabernacle of the knowledge of God, and how numerous the gems of His
wisdom that are still concealed in His inviolable treasuries! Shouldest thou
ponder this in thine heart, thou wouldst realize that His handiwork knoweth
neither beginning nor end. The domain of His decree is too vast for the tongue
of mortals to describe, or for the bird of the human mind to traverse; and the
dispensations of His providence are too mysterious for the mind of man to
comprehend. His creation no end hath overtaken, and it hath ever existed from
the "Beginning that hath no beginning"; and the Manifestations of His Beauty no
beginning hath beheld, and they will continue to the "End that knoweth no end."
Ponder this utterance in thine heart, and reflect how it is applicable unto all
these holy Souls.
and
Likewise, strive thou to comprehend the meaning of the melody
of that eternal beauty, Husayn, son of Ali, who, addressing Salman, spoke words
such as these: "I was with a thousand Adams, the interval between each and the
next Adam was fifty thousand years, and to each one of these I declared the
Successorship conferred upon my father." He then recounteth certain details,
until he saith: "I have fought one thousand battles in the path of God, the
least and most insignificant of which was like the battle of Khaybar, in which
battle my father fought and contended against the infidels." Endeavour now to
apprehend from these two traditions the mysteries of "end," "return," and
"creation without beginning or end."[13]
Both the above quotations indicating utterances of "high Imamology" are from
the self-same Bursi in his book Alfayn as quoted by the late Ishraq Khavari.
Khazeh Fananapazir 16 July 2000.
Notes:
[1] Advent of Divine Justice page 49. On
the attitude of the Bahá'í Faith towards its parent religion see
also Promised Day is Come 109.
[2] Bahá'u'lláh called Shaykh
Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i and Siyyid Kazim Rashti the "twin resplendent lights," Nurayn
Nayyirayn
[3] Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf, page 42.
[4] Qur'an 35:3.
[5] Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, page
19.
[6] Shoghi Effendi, World Order of
Baha'u'llah 113.
[7] World Order of Baha'u'llah 163.
[8] Or, in the S.K. version, "All was rendered
possible (kuyyifa) for Me."
9 Muhammad.
[10] Note this key utterance: "...anticipate ye
then the Revelation of the Speaker of Mount Sinai."
[11] Or, "I was present when Satan was ordered
to bow down to Adam."
[12] This sounds very close to
Alitheia, "Truth," in Greek. Other terms seem also to be Greek
sounding.
[13] Baha'u'llah, The
Kitáb-i-Íqán, pages 166-168.