The Tafsīr Sūrat al-`Aṣr
of the Bab.
ADD HERE
In his Tafsīr Sura wa’l-`aṣr
(" Commentary on the Surah of `By the Afternoon [Declining Day]', Q. 103)
the Bab makes an interesting and instructive interpretation of the Lawḥ al-Ḥafīz
or Lawḥ al-Mahfuz
"[I swear] by the
`Aṣr. Indeed mankind is in a state of loss Except those who
believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one
another to endurance" (Q. 103).
"Then regarding the
23rd letter which is [the letter] "L" (al-lām). It signifieth on
this level al-lawḥ al-a`ẓam (the Most Great Tablet) in which
exist all
modalities (al-shu’ūn).
[2] Then [additionally it] signifieth the lawḥ al-amr (Tablet of the Command)
for God did not send down [reveal] a single thing except He had it penned
therein.
[3] Then [additionally it] signifies the Lawḥ al-Ḥafīz ("Preserved Tablet")
which indicates the actions [deeds] of the totality of all the creatures such as
have been encompassed in the knowledge of God.
[4] Then [additionally it] signifieth the Lawḥ which God hath assuredly created through the
knowledge of `Azrā’īl through the constriction of all who are possessed
of a spirit [soul] (bi-qaby rūḥ kull
dhiya rūḥ). For he gazeth upon it [Lawḥ] at
every moment. And he followeth the amr (Cause-command) of His Lord in accordance
with what hath been stipulated, with the permissionof God -- exalted
and glorified be He -- in the dictates (aḥkam) of that Lawḥ".
At the very
outset of the Bab’s commentary, the lawh mahfuz (Preserved Tablet)
is presented as
the "Greatest Tablet" (al-lawḥ al-akbar). This work of
the Bab reflects
Islamic esoteric traditions; as well, most notably, as the
sometimes arcane Khuṭba al-ṭutunjiyya (The Sermon of the Gulf) ascribed
to Imam `Ali (d.40/661), an oration which both the Bab and Bahā’-Allāh, like Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā`ī and Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī, regarded very highly.
