BB00288: Tafsir-i-Vav-i-Va’s-Safat II

In the name of God, the Most High, the Most Exalted, the Most Great

Glorified art Thou, in Whose hand is the kingdom of all things. There is none other God but Him, the One, the Proud, the Bestower. To God belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them. Therefore gather unto thyself the means—the means of the heavens and of the earth and of all that lieth between them—that thou mayest ascend unto thy Lord, the Proud, the Mighty, the Munificent.

The promise draweth nigh and the Command hath come, and unto God returneth the Command in the beginning and in the return. Remember then thyself within thyself, for He is the Truth, the Lord of Lords.

God hath testified of Himself that there is no God but Him—no God but I, the Single, the One, the Individual, the Self-Subsisting, the Bountiful. Then He beareth witness unto His First Remembrance that verily He is the Truth, the Messenger of God in the kingdom of the heavens and earth, and all shall be questioned concerning Him. And those who are witnesses after Him—these are the Imams who guide with truth and all return unto Him. And verily Fatimih is the Tree which was created in Paradise, and all shall be questioned concerning her.

Lord! I testify that I am the first of them that believe in the Alif made manifest through the Manifestation in Thy Most Great and Most Exalted Name. And thereafter I give thanks unto God, my Lord, for having removed the veil from thy countenance in thy secret, and for having regarded thee in thy heart, and for having made thee witness the creation of thyself and all things beneath the shadow of the light of His exalted and mighty countenance.

Know, then, that the geometry of thy name consisteth of four thousand letters, and it is a book of the Jafr of ʿAli—upon Him be peace—from which are drawn forth the mysteries of what hath been and what shall be. It is, according to the science of the people of letters, a circle that falleth not, and, in the sight of those who ponder, a circle of manifestation. Unfold, therefore, thy book and extract what thou desirest, for within it is inscribed every thing that was and shall be, even unto the very instant wherein thy spirit shall depart.

Verily thy Lord revealed Himself upon the mighty Mount and said: “Return thou unto Be!”—and it returned swifter than the twinkling of an eye; and all that are in the heavens and on the earth were seized with a swoon, save the Alif descending into the four tens of four thousand points of manifestation, even unto the bearer of the greatest trumpet, Israfil. Then did God cause the dwellers of Paradise to enter their abode, and the denizens of the fire unto their appointed place. Thereafter He brought into being another creation, and fashioned Israfil, the angels, and the Spirit, and commanded him to blow life anew into the trumpet. At that breath all things were quickened.

The first whom God chose at that blast was “the Most High”—the first Believer; and the “Most Great” was the last, for thus was decreed His judgment in the Book. And verily the latter is the very essence of the former, for the two Alifs—the last and the first—are one and the same; and when they move, naught is but He, and when they are conjoined, the name of “the Beloved” is made manifest. This is the essence of all the mysteries within mysteries within mysteries.

In the outward sense, His name is al-Ali al-Azim—“the Most High, the Most Great”—the first Believer and the last. They descended from the name of Muhammad and ʿAli through seventy thousand worlds, each world enduring six aeons of unending ages. Know, then, that which I have taught thee, and give thanks for what I have bestowed upon thee. For God created thee for His own Self, that thine heart might cling to naught save Him. Draw thou not near the Tree, for it was created for God alone, and none may gaze upon it save with the glance of awe. It is the House of Obedience, the House of Disobedience, and the House of Piety. Say: Holy, Holy!—the Kingdom of the Twelvefold Geometry of Glory—wherein the Most Holy standeth at the center of number, and the Seeker of Forgiveness at its end.

There, by reason of its abundance, it became joined to the letter Faʾ, and thus are the eight angels who bear the Throne revealed, that the name of the Seeker of Pardon might appear. Know, therefore, that all these are universal gates for thine ascent unto the rising of Reality. This pertaineth to the world of Command, whereas what is sent down in thy scriptures belongeth to the world of Creation. Strive, then, to rectify what thou canst, and gather the hearts of the righteous together like unto that mighty Mount, that the Fire of God, kindled within those foundations, may blaze forth.

Intercede with him whom God hath made ruler over that land on behalf of him who is imprisoned, that perchance God, through that deed, may deliver him from some of his transgressions. And know that every Makr Allah—every divine stratagem—is the Sovereign, the Most Holy, for its letters equal in meaning the number of Makr. Recite, therefore, at all times, and be with that Living One by the life of thy Lord; purify thy heart for the manifestation of God. Convey greeting to those who believe in Our signs, and say to him whose name God hath called Isma’il:

“Burden not thy soul with hardship, for God is indeed the All-Bounteous.”

And to him who is with thee, say:

“The promise of God is come. Speak with him, that he may bear witness to his station. Honour him who descendeth unto thee, and assign unto him a place of glory among thy loved ones. Take heed when thy companion is warned.”

For I have written the replies to all thy letters, both before and after, upon those sent pages. Preserve, then, their originals, for thou shalt assuredly be questioned concerning them, and they shall be seen by the Keeper of all names and attributes.

Commit all thy affairs unto God, even as the first letter of His Name is Ayn and the last is Mim, for al-Ali al-Azim is verily Ali alone. Al-ʿAli, when stripped of all relations, is none other than He. And if thine heart should again incline to aught else, thou wouldst be dispersed upon the billows of multiplicity. Beware! beware! Live thou in the living remembrance of Him, that thou mayest extinguish every lamp until the Sun of thine inmost heart arise, whereupon thou shalt behold what thou lovest—and thou shalt love none but God.

Is it not sufficient for thee that thy Lord is, of all things, the Encompassing One? Glorified be God, the Lord of the heavens and of the earth, the Lord of all the worlds! And peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of all creation.