سورة يوسف 

 The Surah of Joseph  or  Sūrat  Ḥusayn

سورة  حسين

 on Qur'ān 12:4 

Being revised 2009-10

There follows the fifth part of my provisional translation  of  the Qayyūm al-asmā’ (= QA) of the Bāb (mid. 1844/1260) with selected notes, the Sūrat Ḥusayn (The Surah of Ḥusayn). I began these translations in the early 1980s though I have not translated from a critical edition but consulted several good mss. The versification of the surahs of the QA is often uncertain. though in QA5 I do  tentatively count 42 verses and retain versification for the sake of reference and commentary though it is under revision. Select variant readings are indicated in red...  see the text-critical footnotes...

See further URL : Joseph in QA.5

Prov. trans.  Stephen N. Lambden

QAYYŪM AL-ASMĀ' 

The Surah of Joseph

[1]

بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم

إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ ِلأَبِيهِ يَاأَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ

`O my father! I saw eleven stars, and  the sun and the moon, I saw them bowing down before me!' "  (= Qur'ān 12:4)

[2]

  المع  

Alif- Lām- Mīm-`Ayn.

[3]

انّا نحن قد رايناه فی الرّؤيا تلك المقام عظيماً  

We, verily, saw him [Joseph =  Imam Ḥusayn] in the vision (al-ru'ya),  occupying that mighty station (maqām `azīm ^an ).

[4]

و انّا نحن قد نقّص عليك من ابناء الغيب من كتاب اللّه الحفيظ مشهوداً 

And We shall narrate for  thee [perhaps the Bab] something of the stories of the unseen (anbā' al-ghayb =  Q.12:102) contained and witnessed to in the Book of God, the Preserver.

[5]

و انّا نحن لمّا قد وجدناه من شيعتنا المخلصين  قد البسه اللّه كمثل جمالنا ظلّاً منيراً

And when We found him (Joseph) to be of Our party (shi`at ^an )  which is made up of sincere ones (al-mukhlisūn), God clothed him ("Joseph") according to the image of Our shaded and resplendent Beauty (ka-mithl jamīl ^an zill ^an munīr ^an).

[6]

و كلّا ثمّ كلّا ما اراد اللّه فی بطن الكتاب  من دوننا شيئاً علی الحقّ جميلاً  

A thousand times no! God did not desire that the inner depth of the Book (fi baṭn al-kitāb) signify, as befits the truth, any single thing characterized by beauty (jamīl ^an) aside from Us.

[7]

و قد قصد الرّحمن فی ذكر يوسف نفس الرّسول  و ثمرة البتول حسين بن علی بن ابي طالب مشهوداً  

By the mention of Joseph (in Q. sura 12) the All-Merciful certainly intended the Logos-Self of the Messenger (nafs al-rasūl  = Muhammad) and the  fruit of the [womb of the] Virgin (thamarat al-batūl = Fāṭima), manifestly, that is, (Imam) Ḥusayn son of `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib.

[8]

قد اراه اللّه فوق العرش بمشعره الفؤاد ان الشّمس و القمر و النّجوم قد كان لنفسه ساجدا للّه الحقّ مشهوداً  

God, furthermore, assuredly desired that the region above the heavenly Throne (fawq al-`arsh)  be considered the sacred domain of  the inmost Heart (mash`ar al-fū'ād) for the "sun" and the moon" and the "stars"  of their own selves (li-nafsihi)  did manifestly fall prostrate before [His Logos-Self']  God, the True One.

[9]

اذ قال حسين عليه السّلام لابيه يوماً انّی رأيت احد عشر كوكباً و الشّمس و القمر

 رأيتهم * بالاحاطة لی علی الحقّ للّه القديم  سجّادا

Then behold! Ḥusayn [= Joseph] one day said to his father [Imam `Alī = Jacob-Israel] `I saw eleven stars  and the sun and the moon, I saw them encircle me, bowing down, in very  truth, before God, the Ancient One!'  (cf. Q.12:4).

[10]

اللّه الّذی لا اله الّا هو اصدق الحديث علی الحقّ بالحقّ بديعأ

God, Who,  no God is there except Him, is, in very Truth, most confirmatory of this wondrous narrative (al-ḥadīth).

[11]

لعلّ النّاس قد كانوا بايات ربّهم علی الحقّ بالحقّ صبورا

This perchance the people might, as befits  the very truth, evince steadfastness (ṣabūr ^an) regarding the signs (āyāt, 'verses'] of  their Lord. 

  [12]

الحمد للّه الّذی قد عبّر رؤية  / * رؤيا  الحسين/ *يا بالحقّ علی ارض الفؤاد حول الحقّ مشهوداً

Praise be to God Who hath interpreted the vision (ru`yat)  of Ḥusayn  as something, in very truth witnessed within the land of the  inmost Heart  (arḍ al-fū'ād)  about the precincts of the True One.

[13]

و انّ اللّه قد قدّر شهادته بشهادة التّوحيد لنفسه عن نفسه علی الحقّ بالحقّ مقبولاً

 And God,  verily, reckoned his [Ḥusayn's] martyrdom [testimony] (shahāda) the  very testimony of the Divine Unity (shahādat al-tawḥīd), approved, in very truth, by His own Logos-Self (nafs) on the basis of His Logos-Self (nafs).

[14]

لان اللّه قد اشهده بنفسه بشهادة التّوحيد من نفسه علی الحقّ بالحقّ مشهوداً

God, did indeed, enable him [Ḥusayn],   in very truth, to witness openly  through his own Logos-Self (bi-nafsihi) unto the testimony of the Divine Unity (shahādat al-tawḥīd).

 [15]

و لقد اخبر الحكيم عن سرّ رؤيته فيما قد نزّل فی القرآن علی حبيبه الحقّ مستوراً

The Wise  One (al-ḥakīm) hath assuredly given notice of the hidden mystery of his [Joseph's]   vision (rūya) in terms of what was sent down  in the Criterion  (al-furqān) unto His Beloved [Muhammad], the True One,

انّ القرآن الفجر قد كان مشهوداً

for the Qur'ān is   manifestly the (light of) Dawn (al-fajr).

[16]

و لقد سجدوا نجوم العرش فی كتاب اللّه لقتل الحسين علی / *ب  الحقّ بالحقّ  / علی الحقّ

 و قد كان عدتّهم فی امّ الكتاب احدی و عشرا

The stars of the heavenly Throne (nujum al-`arsh), in very truth according to the Book of   God, prostrated at the killing of Ḥusayn  (li-qaṭl al-Ḥusayn), their  number being eleven in the Archetypal [Mother] Book (umm al-kitāb).

[17]

 و هو اللّه الّذی قد جعل التّوحيد فی حقايق الاشيإ من اشعّته علی الحقّ بالحقّ رغبة و كرهاً

He is God, Who deposited  [tokens of] the Divine Unity (al-tawḥīd) in the realities of things (ḥaqā'iq al-ashyā'), through, in very truth, radiant beams (ashi``a), covetous  and under compulsion (raghbat wa kurhan ^an ).

[18]

و هو الّذی قد خلق الحروف لنفسه  علی الحقّ بالحقّ مثالاً   

He is indeed the One Who, in very   truth, created the letters [of the alphabet] (al-ḥurūf) after the Archetypal image of  His own Logos-Self  (bi-nafsihi `ala al-ḥaqq bi'l-ḥaqq mithāl ^an ).

[19]

و هو الّذی قد/ قدّر حروف الهويّة لاحديّته علی الحقّ الاكبر احدی و عشراً

He is indeed the One Who, according to the Most Great Truth, decreed   that the letters of the Divine Ipseity (ḥurūf al-huwiyya) ( = the  "H" and "W" of huwa  =    هو  "He is [God])  be expressive His Oneness (aḥadiyya) and compute at eleven  (abjad  ﻫ + و = "h" +"w" = 5 + 6 = 11).

[20]

و هو الّذی قد جعل الائمّة كلمته التّوحيد فی الرّقوم سطراً

He is indeed the One Who made the [twelve] Imams to be an expression of  His  Word of the Divine Unity (kalimatihi al-tawḥīd = lā ilāha illa Allāh,  "There is no God but God" [consisting of 12 Arabic letters]  inscribed in  the Divine Record (al-raqūm). 

[21]

و هو الّذی قد حكم بسجدة الشّمس و القمر و النّجوم فی امّ الكتاب علی حكم الكتاب مسطوراً

He is indeed the One Who decreed the prostration of the sun, the moon and the stars according to the decree of the Book inscribed in the Archetypal Book (umm al-kitāb). 

[22]

اللّه الّذی لا اله الا هو و قد كان اللّه موليكم الحقّ اصدق القائلين حديثاً 

God Who, no God is there except Him, your Patron, the True One, is the most confirmatory of the utterances expressive of the [secret of the Joseph] narrative (ḥadīth ^an).

[23]

و انّ اللّه قد اراد بالشّمس فاطمة و بالقمر محمّداً  و بالنّجوم ائمة الحقّ فی امّ الكتاب معروفاً

By the   mention of the "sun", God intended Fāṭima, by the "moon" Muhammad, and   by the "stars" the [twelve] Imams of the True One, as is confirmed in the Archetypal Book (umm al-kitāb). 

[24]

فهم الّذين يبكون علی يوسف باذن اللّه سجّدا و قياماً

They are the ones who, by the leave of God, wept over the plight of Joseph in both their prostration and their uprising (cf. Q. 12:16).

[25]

و انّ النّاس يبكون بمثل ظلّ الفئ علی الحسين باذن اللّه الحقّ سجّداً سوإً

Wherefore the people, by the leave of God, the True One, wept over Ḥusayn  like a laden cloud (ẓill al-fai' ), whether prostrate or upright  (sujjad ^an  siwā' ^an).

[26]

و من يسجد من دون الرّحمن او يشرك مع اللّه فی العبادة شيئاً

And such as fall prostrate before other than the All-Merciful or  join partners with God  in servitude to anything aside from Him,

[27]

فحقّ علی اللّه ان يدخله النّار خالداً ابداً

justly deserve that God cause them to  enter hellfire, therein to abide forever.

[28]

انّ هذا لهو الحقّ جزا من ربّكم بما كنتم بايات ربّنا عنيداً

This is assuredly the Truth from your Lord, a punishment for your resistance to the signs  [verses] of your Lord.

[29]

اللّه الّذی لا اله الا هو الحقّ و كان اللّه ربّ العالمين بالحقّ معبوداً

God is He Who, no God is there except Him.

He, in   very truth, is the God Who is worshipped as Lord of all the worlds.

[30]

 و انّ فی بدعالايات و السّاعات و الانفس و الافاق آيات لاولی الالباب منكم من كان بذكر اللّه العلیّ شهيداً

And in  the production of verses (al-āyāt), the eschatological "hours" (al-sa`āt), the   "souls" (al-anfus) and the "horizons" (al-ufāq) are signs for those possessed of  insight amongst you, such that is, who bear witness unto the Exalted Remembrance of God (dhikr-Allāh al-akbar) (cf. Qur'ān 41:53).

[31]

اتّقوا اللّه و لاتقولوا فی ذكر اللّه الاكبر بشیء من دون اللّه

 فانّا نحن قد اخذنا ميثاقه عن كلّ نبی و امّته بذكره و ما نرسل المرسلين الا بذلك العهد القيّم اً

Then Fear ye God!

And   breathe not a word about the Most-Great Remembrance of God (dhikr-Allah al-akbar) unless, that is, it pertains to God Himself.  We, verily, took a covenant  (mithāq) with every Prophet (nabī) and his community regarding His Remembrance  (dhikr). And We did not send down the sent Messengers (al-mursalīn) except to ratify that firm covenant (al-`ahd).

[31-2]

و ما نحكم بالحقّ بشیء الا بعد عهده فی ذلك الباب الاعظم

 فسوف يكشف اللّه الغطإ عن بصائركم  فی الوقت المعلوم هنالك انتم لتنظرنّ الی ذكر اللّه العلیّ شديد

 We, in truth, shall not judge anything save in the light of His [taking of a] covenant (`ahd) about that   Most-Great Gate (al-bāb al-a`ẓam). Erelong, at a designated time, God will  remove the veil from your eyes. Then ye shall assuredly gaze intently upon the Exalted Remembrance of God (Dhikr-Allāh).

[33-34]

و قال المشركون انّا نحن قد ظلمنا علی انفسنا من بعد ما حذّرنا اللّه نفسه فی كتابه

و انتم قد كنتم فی ذلك اليوم فی قطب النّار موقوفاً هنالك لاتستطيعون الخروج

  The polytheists say, `We did indeed oppress our own selves after God cautioned us about [the fear of ] His own Self.' And thou [polytheists], on that Day, shall be consigned to the midst of hellfire, stuck  (mawqūf ^an), unable to emerge therefrom.

[35]

و اذا قد سئلتم من المالك مإ ليذيقنّكم الماء من فی صفوة النّار حرّا فوق الحرّ و الماء من صفوة الزّقوم

When thou ask for water from the Ruler [of hell] (al-malik), water will be proffered thee that thou might taste the water in the choicest region of hellfire which is supremely hot; water, that is, which is of the quintessence of Zaqqūm (the infernal  tree).

[35-6]

فاذا شربتم قطرة منها تقطعت الاعضإ من اجسادكم و تمنّنون الموت

 و ما قدّر اللّه لكم ذلك جزإ لشرككم باللّه فی الدّنيا و انّ اللّه قد كان بكل شیء محيطاً

Then, when thou drink but a drop of it, the limbs of thy bodies will  drop off and thou shalt wish for death. This punishment hath God ordained for  thee on account of thy joining partners with God in this world. And God's  knowledge encompasseth all things.

[37]

و انّ الّذين يوفون بعهد اللّه و لايشترون شيئا من الايات بشیء من الباطل فاولئك علی هدی من ذكر اللّه العلیّ

و اولئك هم اصحاب الجنّة حقّاً فی كتاب اللّه و قد كانت  الحكم فی امّ الكتاب مسطوراً

Those who are faithful to the covenant  of God (`ahd Allāh) and do not barter away the least part of the signs of God for some modicum of falsehood shall receive guidance from the Exalted  Remembrance of God (dhikr Allah).

[38]

اولئك الّذين يؤمنون باللّه و باياته علی الحقّ بالحقّ مخلصاً و نقيّاً

Such (faithful ones) are truly reckoned in the Book of  God as the inmates of the Garden (jannat = Paradise],  and the judgment is inscribed  in the Archetypal [Mother] Book.

[39]

فسوف يجزيهم اللّه يوم القيمة علی ضعف الثّواب و حسن الماب علی الحقّ بالحقّ مرتفعاً

These [righteous ones] are those who have   truly believed in God and in His verses, being sincere and  pure.  God will, as befits the truth, assuredly reward them with a double  portion and exalt them to the best place of return.

[40]

ان هذا لهو الحقّ من ربّكم جزإ موفوراً

This is assuredly the Truth from your Lord, an ample reward.

[41]

و انّ هذا لهو الجنّة قد قدّر اللّه جزإ لاعمالكم عمّا كنتم تعلمون فی دين اللّه الحقّ بالحقّ محموداً

And this is assuredly the Garden (al-janna) [Paradise] which God hath ordained as a reward for your actions in  terms of  that which you know, in truth, about the praiseworthy religion of God, the  True One.

[42]

افتظنّون انّ غير ذكرنا هذا لهو الحقّ من عند اللّه و ما كان هو من عند اللّه علی الحقّ

 افتقولون علی اللّه الكذب ما لكم كيف تكفرون باللّه الحميد جهرةً كثيراً

Do ye imagine that someone other than this Our Remembrance  (dhikr) is the True One from God or that he hath not, in very truth, come  from God? Or do ye then utter a lie against God? What ails thee that most  of  thee have manifestly disbelieved in God, One worthy of Praise? 

 

 

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