Principles for Progress: Essays on Religion and Modernity, 1875-1893 9789087283070, 9789400603202, 9789400603219

Table of contents :
‎Contents
‎Preface
‎General Introduction
‎Bābis and Bahāʾis
‎Reformists Writing in Persian
‎The Religious Intellectuals
‎Intellectual Position of Azali Authors
‎Ottoman and Arabic Reformist Writers
‎Newspapers
‎Masonic Lodges and Sufi Orders
‎Introductions to the Works of Abduʾl-Bahā
‎The Secret of Divine Civilization
‎A Traveller’s Narrative
‎The Art of Governance
‎The Secret of Divine Civilization
‎Translator’s Notes to The Secret of Divine Civilization
‎A Traveller’s Narrative written to illustrate the history of the Bāb
‎Translator’s Notes to Selections from A Traveller’s Narrative
‎The Art of Governance
‎Translator’s Notes to The Art of Governance
‎Further reading
‎References
‎Index

Citation preview

Principles for Progress

iranian studies series The Iranian Studies Series publishes high-quality scholarship on various aspects of Iranian civilisation, covering both contemporary and classical cultures of the Persian cultural area. The contemporary Persian-speaking area includes Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Central Asia, while classical societies using Persian as a literary and cultural language were located in Anatolia, Caucasus, Central Asia and the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent. The objective of the series is to foster studies of the literary, historical, religious and linguistic products in Iranian languages. In addition to research monographs and reference works, the series publishes English-Persian critical text-editions of important texts. The series intends to publish resources and original research and make them accessible to a wide audience.

chief editor A.A. Seyed-Gohrab (Leiden University) advisory board of iss A. Adib-Moghaddam (SOAS) F. de Blois (University of London, SOAS) D.P. Brookshaw (Stanford University) J.T.P. de Bruijn (Leiden University) N. Chalisova (Russian State University of Moscow) J.T.L. Cheung (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales) D. Davis (Ohio State University) M.M. Khorrami (New York University) A.R. Korangy Isfahani (Societas Philologica Persica) J. Landau (Harvard University) F.D. Lewis (University of Chicago) L. Lewisohn (University of Exeter) B. Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari (University of Tehran) S. McGlinn (unaffiliated) Ch. Melville (University of Cambridge) F. Melville (University of Cambridge) D. Meneghini (University of Venice) N. Pourjavady (University of Tehran) Ch. van Ruymbeke (University of Cambridge) A. Sedighi (Portland State University) S. Sharma (Boston University) K. Talattof (University of Arizona) Z. Vesel (CNRS, Paris) M.J. Yahaghi (Ferdowsi University of Mashhad) R. Zipoli (University of Venice)

principles for progress essays on religion and modernity

by

Abduʾl-Bahā

Critical editions, translation and introduction by

Sen McGlinn

Leiden University Press

Cover design: Tarek Atrissi Design Cover illustration: Page from Yuhanna Dawud, The River of Life. London, 1914. Lay-out: TAT Zetwerk, Utrecht isbn e-isbn e-isbn nur

978 90 8728 307 0 978 94 0060 320 2 (ePDF) 978 94 0060 321 9 (ePub) 635

© Sen McGlinn / Leiden University Press, 2018 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the editor of the book. This book is distributed in North America by the University of Chicago Press (www.press.uchicago.edu)

Contents

Preface



General Introduction Bābis and Bahāʾis Reformists Writing in Persian The Religious Intellectuals Intellectual Position of Azali Authors Ottoman and Arabic Reformist Writers Newspapers Masonic Lodges and Sufi Orders

       

Introduction to the Works of Abduʾl-Bahā The Secret of Divine Civilization A Traveller’s Narrative The Art of Governance

   

The Secret of Divine Civilization or Heavenly secrets as to the means of civilization Translator’s Notes to The Secret of Divine Civilization

 

Selections from A Traveller’s Narrative written to illustrate the history of the Bāb Translator’s Notes to Selections from A Traveller’s Narrative

 

The Art of Governance Translator’s Notes to The Art of Governance

 

Further reading References Indexes

  

Preface

This book presents three of the works of Abduʾl-Bahā dealing with social and political issues that deserve to be taken more seriously as contributions to reformist literature in the Islamic world during the period leading up to Iran’s Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911). It is intended for general readers, scholars in the field of Persian intellectual history and students of Persian political and religious history. These works, in chronological order, are The Secret of Divine Civilization, A Traveller’s Narrative and The Art of Governance. In recent years there have been signs of a softening in the anti-Bahāʾism which, in Abbas Amanat’s words, has long been “a social affliction – a kind of Iranian anti-Semitism, …” affecting Iranians of all backgrounds.1 Some of the texts translated here, especially the extracts from A Traveller’s Narrative, give an authoritative overview of Bahāʾi religious teachings, and will be an initial and indispensable source – along with the Tablets of Bahāʾuʾllāh Revealed after the Kitāb-e Aqdas and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf 2 – for those seeking primary material for an informed judgement. The failure to reach a modus vivendi between religion and politics has been the major cause of Iran’s aborted modernity, which has continued for more than a century past its 1 See his further analysis in the Introduction to Resurrection and Renewal, 2005 paperback edition, pp. xvi to xx; this quotation at p. xviii. For the origins of anti-Bahāʾism in Iran, see Sealy, In Their Place, Tavakoli-Targhi, “Anti-Bahāʾism and Islamism,” Amanat, “Historical Roots,” Chehabi, “Anatomy of Prejudice,” Yazdani, Religious Contentions. A compilation of statements by Iranian intellectuals rejecting anti-Bahāʾism, prepared by Ahang Rabbani in 2010, can be downloaded from https://bahai-library.com/rabbani _iranian_intellectuals_bahais. 2 “Tablet” is a Bābi-Bahāʾi term usually referring to a shorter work of scripture, whether a letter or an exposition of a theme. All the major Bahāʾi texts are available in electronic form, in Persian or Arabic and in English translation, from the Bahāʾi Reference Library at http://reference.bahai.org/en/. A more extensive guide to sources can be found in “Further Reading” in this volume.

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first tragic failure at the end of the Constitutional Revolution. Those Iranian intellectuals who are coming to regard the relationship between church and state as the central question to be resolved in Iran may well be willing to examine again what Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā were saying on this topic in the period leading to the Revolution. At the same time, in Iran and around the world, doctrinaire secularism has given way to an awareness that religions are part of our cultures, and neither religion nor culture is destined to wither away in a march towards progress enlightened by scientific consciousness. Public intellectuals must therefore consider how to preserve the gains of modernity and secularism in societies that are becoming post-modern and post-secular, in which the death of religion anticipated by the pioneers of modernism no longer looks likely. They may want to study Abduʾl-Bahā’s proposals for a pious, progressive and pluralist society, and the example he gives us of how a religious leader can contribute to fruitful movement in that direction. In addition to presenting the first parallel text translations of these works, the Persian texts incorporate notes on variants in the manuscript sources. The findings confirm the reliability of the published versions of the texts, and reveal an author who carefully checks and corrects his own works at publication, so far as possible. The exception is the last few pages of The Art of Governance (Resāleh-ye Siyāsiyyeh), where the most widely used edition, published in Tehran after Abduʾl-Bahā’s death, has errors that suggest that the editor was hurried at that point or that his work was completed by a less experienced hand. In the case of A Traveller’s Narrative, this is the first translation to be based on Abduʾl-Bahā’s corrected text, published in Bombay, rather than the earlier version given to E.G. Browne. Differences between these, and some other parallel texts, have been footnoted. I wish to express my thanks to Johan ter Haar and Asghar Seyed-Gohrab who, as my teachers and successive heads of the Department of Persian Studies at Leiden University, have helped me enormously. The image on the front cover is from a rare selection of works by Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā in Persian, Arabic and English: Yuhanna Dawud, The River of Life. Two surviving copies are known, one in the British Museum Library and one in the Leiden University Library. The page that is reproduced is from an undated letter of Abduʾl-Bahā addressed to “the People of the World.” This letter has not been published in any other collection. Sen McGlinn November 2017

General Introduction

Abduʾl-Bahā (Abbās Effendi, 1844-1921) was the son of Bahāʾuʾllāh (Mirzā Hosayn ʿAli Nuri, 1817-1892), the founder of the Bahāʾi Faith. His ideas cannot be separated from that framework. The network of Bahāʾi communities willing to practise and spread Abduʾl-Bahā’s ideas has also been a major factor in his influence and effectiveness.1 Moreover the Bahāʾi community was a precocious model for some of the reforms that Iranian modernists wanted to see in Iranian society: modern forms of education, the education and social participation of women and reliance on consultation among the people.2 From about 1867, Bahāʾuʾllāh sent letters to prominent world leaders that addressed the inadequacy of national and international governance. He also instructed Abduʾl-Bahā to write the first of the works translated here, The Secret of Divine Civilization, in support of the reforms that the Prime Minister, Mirzā Hosayn Khān, known as Moshir al-Dawleh and Sepahsālār, had initiated in Iran. Abduʾl-Bahā did so in 1875. Abduʾl-Bahā lived in tumultuous times: Iran, along with the wider area in which Persian was the language of culture, was feeling the impact of modernity3 and the influence of European (especially Russian) colonial 1 An excellent study (but after our period) of how the Bahāʾi community network was used to spread reformist ideas and effect change at the grassroots level in one province is Momen, “The Bahāʾis and the Constitutional Revolution: The Case of Sari.” Sari may be atypical: see Martin, Iran between Islamic Nationalism and Secularism for a survey of regional differences. 2 Bahāʾis were later to play a prominent role in spreading these reforms in the towns and villages of Iran: see Momen, “The Bahāʾis and the Constitutional Revolution.” 3 On the characteristics of “modernity” see Farzin Vahdat, God and Juggernaut, Chapter 1. In brief, intellectual modernity entails (1) the capacity to use one’s intelligence without the guidance of another and the willingness to act upon the results (freedom of ‘subjectivity’) and (2) recognition of the same capacity in all persons (universality). The first of these is accompanied by the relativisation of tradition and the religious-

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and commercial expansion, as well as being under pressure from its Sunni neighbour and rival, the Ottoman Empire. The need for modernisation was felt earlier in the Ottoman Empire, where a larger modernising intellectual network was connected with more diverse European influences than was the case in Iran at that time. The first Ottoman Constitution was promulgated in 1876. As Abbas Amanat notes: Throughout the Qajar era, the Ottoman Empire also served as a window to Europe and an important conduit for the adoption of Western-style administrative and other measures. Nearly all reform-minded political actors of the Qajar period were exposed at some stage in their careers to modernization efforts in the neighbouring Empire. These men looked upon the reforms of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II and the Tanzimat era [1839-1876] as models for state-sponsored reforms in their own country.4

It should be noted that modernisation in 1850 did not entail democratisation, or many of the features we associate today with the modern state. The Russian Empire was an absolute monarchy; the Ottoman Empire was only slightly more progressive. The British and Dutch Empires were democratic for wellto-do white non-Catholic males at home, but they ruled by decree across their vast domains. Absolute monarchs ruled in Spain and Austria, while France and Germany had elected legislatures whose authority was not secure against the monarch’s wishes. One should not imagine that there was an attractive and proven “western” model of secular democratic governance, which the backward peoples of the Middle East had difficulty in assimilating. The sun had gone down on the era of absolute monarchies around the world, but the dawn of liberty was still some way off. The first issue in all these countries, East and West, was how to strengthen the state, and it was in that dimension that the Middle East lagged behind Europe’s colonial powers.5 Iran’s position, and its weakness, made it a buffer state. The Russian Empire’s expansion to the South, which had begun early in the 19th century metaphysical worldview. But the modern age also entailed the centrality of the state in society, and the centralisation and efficiency of the state, the attempts of states to create and impose state ideologies or at least to invalidate ideologies seen as threatening, the supremacy of the rational-scientific paradigm of knowledge, mechanised mass warfare and colonial expansion. 4 Amanat, Pivot of the Universe 14. 5 Cole, Modernity and the Millenium 50.

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(and is referred to by Abduʾl-Bahā in his Art of Governance), clashed with Britain’s desire to preserve its imperial possessions in India. Russian expansion was also at the direct cost of Iran’s northern territories, lost in the Russo-Persian wars of 1805-1813 and 1826-1828. On the eastern border too, Iran was subject to slave raiding and other depredations by nomadic peoples from Afghanistan and from Central Asia. To quote Abrahamian’s succinct summary: … military defeats led to diplomatic concessions: diplomatic concessions produced commercial capitulations; commercial capitulations paved the way for economic penetration; and economic penetration, by undermining traditional handicrafts, was to cause drastic social dislocations.6

To resist the empires that threatened Iran, Iranians saw the need to adopt a great deal from them, beginning with military technologies and then manufacturing. What else to adopt, and how, was a question that has not been resolved to this day. Intellectual hesitancy was compounded by the weakness of Qājār rule, as compared to the diverse centripetal forces and sources of conflict in Qājār society. The Qājār court, operating through a mixture of royal absolutism and the networks of nomadic society – through coercion and exemplary punishments on the one hand, and nepotism and patronage on the other – was barely able to maintain a balance between opposing forces. It was by nature ill-equipped to deal with the increasingly important urban elite, notably the newly rich merchants and the Islamic clerics, whose resources from trade and from popular devotion made them relatively independent of the state, and even capable of protecting the masses from the worst excesses of the state. In short, the state and the leading classes in society lacked the combination of ideas and organisational and financial resources that would be required to lead Iran towards progress. These conditions, which prevailed more or less throughout the Qājār period, were aggravated during the reign of Mohammad Shah, the third of the dynasty (r. 1834-1848), in part because external pressures were increasing, but largely due to mismanagement by his premier, Hājji Mirzā Āqāsi, and the practice of auctioning provincial governorships. The governors, who had near-absolute powers within their provinces, but no security of tenure, naturally sought to recoup their investments as quickly as possible, at the

6

Between Two Revolutions 52.

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cost of long-term development and at the expense of the common people. The result was often revolt, but also violence and plundering between urban factions centring on competing figures within the urban elite, who had gained in stature what the Shah’s appointees had lost. Towards the end of Mohammad Shah’s reign, with nationalist sentiment spreading around the world, Persia’s unenviable position as a client of both Britain and Russia, who were competing for spheres of influence and trade, became a source of domestic dissatisfaction. Europeans were more visible in Persian cities, as diplomats, traders and missionaries, and European wares were in the marketplace, produced in factories and transported by rail and steamship at prices below those of Iran’s manufactured goods. Russian and British diplomats were seen meddling in domestic issues ranging from the succession to the throne to taxes, tariffs and the position of minorities. Yet a true Iranian nationalism could not emerge, because the population did not perceive the state as theirs. Abduʾl-Bahā’s advocacy of partnership between the state and the people, especially towards the end of The Art of Governance, relates to this situation. Under the conditions of the time, a strong nation would be impossible unless the common people and the various elites saw that their own interests were tied up with those of the state. What did emerge was outrage at the weak position of Islam, for the people did perceive Islam as their religion, and its loss of dominance even in its home territories was a scandal, for which reasons and remedies had to be sought. Not surprisingly, many looked to the Mahdi, who was expected to revive the fortunes of Islam when internal decay and external danger were at their worst. The three works translated here were written during the reign of Nāser alDin Shah, who succeeded Mohammad Shah in 1848 and reigned until 1896. Nāser al-Din Shah is the subject of Abbas Amanat’s masterly and readable political biography, Pivot of the Universe. Under the influence of his Prime Minister, Mirzā Taqi Khān Farāhāni, known as Amir Kabir, Nāser al-Din Shah began his reign as a centralising moderniser, but after he had ordered the execution of Amir Kabir in 1851 he became increasingly self-absorbed. One of the main planks of Amir Kabir’s reforms was to reduce the influence of the Islamic clerics, the ʿolamā or mullas, particularly by legal reforms that reduced the role of the sharia courts and disciplined dishonest sharia judges.7 Another, which earned him many enemies, was to remedy the state deficit by 7 Algar, Religion and State 129-133. On his reforms in general, and the exclusion of clerics from politics and administration in particular, see Abrahamian, Two Revolutions 57-58.

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centralising the collection of customs, rationalising taxes, charging import duties and cutting expenditure on state salaries and pensions. A third was the introduction of western-style education: he founded the Dār al-Fonun in Tehran (a technical institute and the forerunner of Iran’s first university) and a newspaper that served both as a news organ and as the state gazette. Both were intended to meet the need for an educated civil service and military class, rather than aiming at the education of the population. A printing office published 160 titles, many from or about Europe. The development of new industries and trade routes and the introduction of smallpox vaccination were other achievements of his administration. From 1858 to 1871, Nāser al-Din Shah ruled through a cabinet of Ministers and ministries which he supervised himself, without a Prime Minister. He also instituted a 25-member Consultative Council which was empowered to gather opinions from “sages of the nation” and to consult and decide – by majority vote – on internal affairs such as trade and agricultural development, education, industry, roads, government revenue and expenditure and sanitation.8 This was a modernisation programme on the model of Napoleon III, Tsar Alexander II, Wilhelm I of Prussia and the Ottoman Sultans Mahmud II and ʿAbd-al Majid I: modernisation by the decree of an enlightened despot, with the primary aim of strengthening the nation as a support for the ambitions of that despot. In line with this style of modernisation, the Council did not include any Qājār princes or clerics. This design appears to draw on advice from the British ambassador Charles Murray and the ideas of Malkom Khān (discussed below). Bahāʾuʾllāh’s approval of the Shah’s direct control of his Ministers can be seen in his advice to Sultan Abdulaziz: “Take heed that thou resign not the reins of the affairs of thy state into the hands of others,” as “none can discharge thy functions better than thine own self.”9 While Nāser al-Din Shah’s reforms in this period (1858-1871) appear to have been influenced by Hosayn Khān’s programme and the Resāleh-ye Majdiyyeh of Majd ol-Molk (1870, described below), they were more cautious because of his concern to appease conservative forces and preserve his royal prerogatives. Their effects were largely nullified by his disregard for the rule of law and the welfare of ordinary people. 8

Amanat, Pivot of the Universe 356. As translated in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahāʾuʾllāh 232. This work must have been composed around 1867, so there is a possible reference to the appointment of Mehmed Emin Āli Pasha as regent during the Sultan’s absence (he remained as Grand Vizier until 1871). 9

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From 1871, Nāser al-Din Shah again ruled through Prime Ministers, the first being the reformer Mirzā Hosayn Khān (1827-1881). He had been Persian ambassador in Istanbul for twelve years during the tanzimāt period. From 1863 to 1871, Malkom Khān was employed at that embassy, and the two appear to have developed their reformist views together.10 On returning to Iran, Hosayn Khān served briefly as Minister of Pensions and Endowments, and Minister of Justice, before being appointed Prime Minister in October 1871. He appointed Malkom Khān as his special advisor. He continued the reforms of the justice system he had begun as Minister, which had the effect of reducing not only the power of the clerics but also the judicial scope of the provincial governors, who were no longer allowed to impose corporal punishments.11 In 1872 he won the Shah’s agreement to the formation of a Cabinet in which ten Ministers would meet weekly, arguing that this measure had been found beneficial in other states. Opposition from clerical leaders, along with some princes and governors, led to his dismissal in 1873, just before Abduʾl-Bahā wrote The Secret of Divine Civilization. His reforms were more daring and more rapid than those that the Shah himself had been introducing, which may well have alarmed the Shah. Opposition to his reforms centred on the 1872 Reuter’s concession, allowing this financier to develop and exploit the forests, minerals and railways of Iran. The railways in particular – the benefits of which Hosayn Khān had seen in Istanbul – were opposed by clerical leaders as “destructive of both religion and state, and the integrity of the nation,” as they would bring westerners to Iran. Railway lines were ripped up, and travel by rail was declared harām.12 Hosayn Khān’s fall illustrates why, in the absence of a constitution and democracy, the tanzimāt approach of royal rule through an appointed Prime Minister was not a good vehicle for reform. Reform inevitably hurts the 10 Algar, Mirza Malkum Khan 63-66 discusses this period. Malkom had studied political science in Paris and had written a number of reformist works in Tehran, which will be discussed below, while Hosayn Khān had been ambassador in Istanbul for five years before Malkom arrived, and would have been thoroughly familiar with the ideas of Āli Pasha and Fuad Pasha. Malkom’s time at the embassy was briefly interrupted when he went to Egypt as Consul General (Algar doubts that he took up this appointment, but it is confirmed by British Foreign Office documents). He pressured some Iranian merchants there for money and returned to Istanbul with a considerable sum (see Momen, The Babi and Bahai Religions 260). His lost his position at the embassy again when his enemies in Tehran secured his dismissal for a period. 11 Algar, Religion and State 170. 12 Algar, Religion and State 175, 182.

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narrow interests of powerful social sectors. The enlightened despot, especially one surrounded by the trappings of royalty and divine right, is in a better position than a Prime Minister to persuade these offended groups not to undermine his programme, for to do so is an insult to his majesty. But Nāser al-Din Shah was becoming less interested in reform, less energetic, and more fearful. The promise of partial reform through an enlightened despot effectively came to an end in 1873, but the momentum towards a modern form of government and the modernisation of society did not. What could not be achieved by reforms from the throne could still be achieved by revolution. Despite its name, the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911 was as much nationalist and patriotic as it was political and democratic. The representatives of foreign powers, principally Russia and Britain, were seen to have an inordinate influence within the country, and Nāser al-Din Shah compounded this by appointing a Belgian, Jospeh Naus, as Minister of Customs and de facto Minister of Finance,13 and by selling foreigners commercial concessions allowing them to operate as monopolies within the country. In 1890, the Mullahs in Tehran began to preach publicly against the Shah. At the same time, reformers in Iran and in exile were publishing newspapers and distributing pamphlets calling for the end of the absolute monarchy. The immediate cause of unrest was a tobacco concession that Nāser al-Din Shah granted to a British entrepreneur, Major Talbot, in March 1890, in return for royalties. This was only one of many such concessions granted mainly to Russian and British interests, including one to run the state bank. The tobacco concession gave Major Talbot a complete monopoly over the production, sale and export of tobacco. As the details of the agreement became public, and particularly as the company’s agents began their work in Iran in the Spring of 1891, a storm of protest arose, from the Russians, from merchants (bazāris) and from the divines. There appears to have been a decided policy among the reformers to seek the involvement of the divines to mobilise popular support.14 13 Nikki Keddie and Mehrdad Amanat, “Iran under the late Qajars” in The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7, p. 200. Naus and two colleagues began their Customs reform in 1898. Educated Iranians must have noticed the similarity to the role of Rivers Wilson as Minister of Finance in Egypt from 1878, before the ʿUrābi Revolution (discussed on page 55 below) which ended with the British occupation. 14 I have discussed the details of the involvement of leading clerics in my Church and State, pp. 371-376. See also Algar, Religion and State 183 and 205-221.

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The texts collected here represent Abduʾl-Bahā’s social and political thinking in the reform period leading up to the Constitutional Revolution. They could be extended, without adding significant new themes, by translating the numerous letters he wrote during the revolutionary period itself. From about 1912 the focus of his writing shifted towards concerns about a massive mechanised war in Europe. During his travels in Europe and North America from 1911, he also addressed issues such as racism which are not explicit in the three texts translated here.

Bābis and Bahāʾis Since there are now good scientific histories of the messianic Bābi movement, notably Abbas Amanat’s Resurrection and Renewal,15 a brief mention of those aspects of its teachings and history relevant to the extracts from Abduʾl-Bahā’s A Traveller’s Narrative will suffice here. In Amanat’s words: … the Bābi ideas and loyalties … represented a form of religious modernity that was indigenous to its environment, engendered an independent religious order, and also became a powerful undercurrent in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-11.16

The movement emerged during the reign of Mohammad Shah (although it had its roots in the previous decades) and suffered severe persecution after 1848, during the reign of Nāser al-Din Shah. Babism has a large degree of historical and doctrinal continuity with the Bahāʾi Faith.17 Many of the early Bahāʾis of Iran and Iraq were converts from the Bābi religion. This is why, in A Traveller’s Narrative, Abduʾl-Bahā refers to both the Bābi and Bahāʾi faithful as “this community.”

15 Second edition in 2005. Resurrection and Renewal is certainly not the only useful work in the field, but it gives an overview that is quite sufficient to appreciate the context of A Traveller’s Narrative and includes a good bibliography of works up to 1985, supplemented on page xx by the names of recently active scholars. 16 Resurrection and Renewal, page ix. 17 The continuity is greatest in metaphysics and fundamental theology, strong in the area of religious law, and more tenuous in relation to the organisation of the religious community and the vision of society.

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The Bābi movement began in 1844, when Seyyed ʿAli Mohammad Shirāzi, who took the title Bāb (‘The Gate’), began to accept disciples in Shirāz. These disciples, largely from the messianic Shaykhi school, understood the Bāb to be making a messianic claim, although it was not immediately clear that he was claiming to be the promised Qāʾim of Shiah Islam. His claims naturally elicited opposition from “the powers of church and state,”18 although not in equal measure at each period. During the reign of Mohammad Shah, the opposition was based primarily on theological objections raised by the Islamic clerics, although the state became involved where the actions of some Bābis threatened security and order or, from 1848 onwards, amounted to uprisings against the state. Many of the Bābis had little information about the Bāb’s teachings, and those from a clerical background in particular felt they were destined to participate in the cataclysmic battle prophesied for the day of the Mahdi’s return. Others “interpreted the sovereignty of the Qāʾim as spiritual sovereignty, and ‘conquests’ as conquests of the cities of men’s hearts.”19 In the early years of the reign of Nāser al-Din Shah, his Prime Minister, Amir Kabir, instituted a policy of repression and then extermination. Several prominent clerics had already issued fatwas condemning the Bāb to death in the period 1844-1850, and Nāser al-Din Shah, in contrast to his predecessor, had a policy of respecting and appeasing the leading clerics. Moreover there had been Bābi uprisings at Fort Tabarsi, Zanjān and Nayriz that were a threat to order. The latter two uprisings were still in progress in June 1850, when Nāser al-Din Shah approved the execution of the Bāb. In response to this, in 1852 a small group of Bābis in Tehran attempted to assassinate the Shah.20 Amir Kabir then initiated a period of violent repression in which the entire community suffered indiscriminately. From September 1852, thousands of Bābis, including a large proportion of its intellectuals, were killed, often in brutal fashion.21 Bahāʾuʾllāh was first imprisoned and then exiled to Baghdad

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Abduʾl-Bahā, in my translation of A Traveller’s Narrative, p. 299 of this volume. Ibid. I have surveyed the diverse opinions about the Bāb’s political theology and the variety of beliefs among Bābis of various backgrounds in Church and State 79-87. 20 See Moojan Momen, “Millennialism and Violence.” 21 Figures differ quite widely but not improbably so, if we consider that those executed or killed in battle, largely men, are often known by name and counted, while the names of the women and children who died of hunger, mistreatment and forced marches went largely unrecorded. A figure of 4,000 men executed or killed in battle and over 10,000 other victims is plausible. 19

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in Ottoman Iraq, where there was already a Bābi community. However in April 1854, about a year after his arrival, he withdrew to live a solitary life in Kurdistan. He did not assume leadership of “this community” until his return to Baghdad two years later, when he set about clarifying the essential ideas of the new religion, and particularly its relationship to the state. The purpose of the community was “to reform the morals and improve the conduct of the human race” and not to establish an alternative state or to destroy Islam.22 During this period he wrote numerous longer and shorter works aimed at clarifying the Bābi teachings for its adherents and critics. One of these, the Book of Certitude, a long treatise in two parts composed in Baghdad in late 1860 or early 1861,23 defuses the issue of the sovereignty of the Qāʾim by defining two different types of sovereignty: temporal and spiritual.24 It was only after this work had been disseminated that he began to intimate to his followers that he was the successor to the Bāb, not merely as their de facto leader but as the recipient of divine revelation. Bahāʾuʾllāh left Baghdad, on the orders of the Ottoman government, in April 1863, going first to Istanbul and then to Edirne (December 1863 to August 1868) and finally to ʿAkkā, in Palestine, where he was at first imprisoned and later kept under house arrest until his death on May 29, 1892. When Bahāʾuʾllāh and his family arrived in ʿAkkā on August 31, 1868, his eldest son Abduʾl-Bahā was 24 years old, but already prominent within the community, noted for his leadership and for his spoken and written exposition of social and religious questions. During the years of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s close detention, Abduʾl-Bahā acted in effect as his chief steward. Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Testament named him as the leader of what was by that time called the Bahāʾi community.25 The three works translated here were all written in ʿAkkā: it was not until 1908 that the Young Turk revolution freed him from Ottoman

22 Abduʾl-Bahā, in my translation of A Traveller’s Narrative, page 301 of this volume: “from this community we have seen no opposition to the government and nothing prejudicial to the nation.” “Nation” in this passage translates mellat, which at that time was used primarily to refer to a religious community (in this case Islam, in other contexts, the Bābi-Bahāʾi community), rather than the citizens of a country. The latter usage became common only in the course of the Constitutional Revolution. 23 Also known as the Kitāb-i Iqān or Ketāb-e Iqān. Ahang Rabbani (personal communication) has shown that it was written just before January 17, 1861. 24 I have discussed the details of the argument in Church and State 150-163. 25 In his “Book of the Covenant,” translated in Tablets of Bahāʾuʾllāh 216-222.

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restrictions and allowed him to move to Haifa, and later to travel to Egypt, Europe and North America in the period before the First World War. As the designated head of the Bahāʾi community, Abduʾl-Bahā was a significant religious leader in the Middle East, but he was also an intelligent and well-read intellectual, a master of Persian, Arabic and Turkish and conversant with several other languages. Despite his long imprisonment, he was in contact with other prominent figures and modernist intellectuals in Iran, the Ottoman Empire and, in a few cases, in Europe, and he was, in the words of his father, “anxiously concerned with the needs of the age.”26 He stands out among Iranian modernists of the time in two respects: first, his sincere belief that religion was not only part of the problem that modernity presented to traditional societies, but also part of the solution and, second, his critique of the dark side of European modernity at the time: its nationalism, militarism and colonialism, the oppression of the masses by their leaders, and the chaos of the system of unfettered national sovereignty. These critiques were already present in the works of Bahāʾuʾllāh.27 Bahāʾuʾllāh, who described himself as a world-reformer, advocated a world order based on mutual security which would guarantee peace, substantial disarmament, parliamentary democracy, an international auxiliary language, and many other reforms that follow from the premise of the oneness of humanity. In a letter addressed to Queen Victoria around 1868, he commended the British constitutional monarchy and elected parliament. In a visionary section of his Kitāb-e Aqdas, he foresees a popular democracy ruling in Tehran, and in a later section he addresses members of parliament throughout the world, on the assumption that authority will in the future lie with these bodies.28 He was among the first Persian intellectuals to propagate the ideas of constitutionalism and democracy. In contrast to the first generation of secular Iranian reformers, the writings of Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā were built up and developed from existing native concepts and vocabulary, Persian and Islamic.29 While Abduʾl-Bahā’s appeals to Islamic sources are a significant part of the argument in these 26

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahāʾuʾllāh 213. On Bahāʾuʾllāh’s critique of modernity, see Juan Cole, Modernity and the Millennium. 28 Paragraphs 93 and 189 respectively. Because the book is partly a compilation of preexisting texts, it is not possible to date these sections precisely. It was compiled in 1873, but may have been amended or supplemented by Bahāʾuʾllāh later (particularly in the last paragraphs). 29 Guity Nashat, The Origins of Modern Reform in Iran, 1870–80, pp. 162-163. 27

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works, he does not go so far as some other pious modernisers of the period, who sought to trace the origins of “western” ideas back to Islamic precedents in great detail.30 Bahāʾi influence on the modernising discourse up to 1892 is difficult to quantify, since, as Momen writes: It is very difficult to obtain firm evidence of the influence of the Bahāʾis on Nineteenth-Century Iran mainly because … those so influenced would never admit to this since any degree of association with what was regarded as a heretical and religiously-obnoxious sect would be a bar to one’s advancement in public life or the acceptance of one’s views.31

There is already an extensive literature on the context and reception of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s and Abduʾl-Bahā’s socio-political thinking in modernist networks: a reiteration would be beyond the scope of this volume, which is intended to encourage a close reading of the texts themselves. The fact or probability of personal meetings or correspondence between Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā on the one hand, and reform-minded intellectuals such as Seyyed Jamāl al-Din Afghāni, Mirzā Malkom Khān, Mirzā Hosayn Khān Moshir al-Dawleh, Midhat Pasha, Mohammad ʿAbduh, Rashid Ridā and Safvet Pasha on the other hand has been documented, notably by Juan Cole and Necati Alkan (see their indexes). Other modernisers had demonstrable contact with the Bahāʾi community, if not with Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā themselves. Whatever Bahāʾi influence there was, it had its effect in competition and interaction with Azali involvement. The two groups were at this time so closely connected that anything purporting to be an overview that omitted the Azalis would be reasonably suspected of bias. The Azali role in the Constitutional Revolution, and a previous abortive Azali revolution in 1852, has been outlined by MacEoin in “Azali Babism” in the Encyclopaedia Iranica (updated 2011), in the works cited there, and also in Bayat’s “Iran’s First Revolution,” and, for an earlier period, Adamiyyat in Andishehhā-ye Mirzā Āqā Khān Kermāni. Bahāʾi engagement (and, at times, deliberate disengagement) with Iran’s Constitutional Revolution continued after 1892, and after the Revolution itself, but is not relevant as background to the three texts translated here. It 30 See for example McGlinn and Seyed-Gohrab (tr. and introduction), One Word – Yak Kaleme by Mirzā Yusof Khān Mustashār ad-Dowla Tabrizi. 31 “The Bahāʾi Influence on the Reform Movements” 48.

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has been discussed for example by Kavian Milani, in “Bahāʾi discourses on the Constitutional Revolution.” Moojan Momen illustrates how the Bahāʾi networks served to spread progressive ideas to the provinces in “The Bahāʾis and the Constitutional Revolution.” For Shiraz, we have Cole’s “The Provincial Politics of Heresy and Reform in Qajar Iran.” The difficulty of untangling the Bahāʾi and Azali roles, even in this later period, is discussed by Momen in “The Constitutional Movement and the Bahāʾis of Iran: The Creation of an ‘Enemy Within.’ ” Themes and Motifs in Abduʾl-Bahā’s Treatises The arguments of the individual treatises will be discussed in the introductions to each work below. Here I will draw attention to some pervasive characteristics of these works and of Persianate culture at the time. The first is the sense of Iran as a backward nation under threat from more advanced neighbours, and what might be characterised as an ethical nationalism in response. In medieval Persian literature, orderly rule and the security of the kingdom were linked to the moral qualities of the rulers, especially the Shah, but also the Islamic judges and tribal leaders. If the ruler was just and wise the kingdom would prosper, while the weaknesses of the kingdom would indicate shortcomings or a lack of zeal on the part of the ruler. As Iran confronted the centralised, bureaucratic and powerful modern states, which more effectively mobilised the energies of their subjects for collective ends, the people of Iran came to see their backwardness as a collective moral failing. In The Secret of Divine Civilization Abduʾl-Bahā says “O people of Iran! Rouse yourself a little from appetite’s intoxication. Wake from lassitude and lethargy … [from] sloth and ignorance.” The older Persianate motifs of masculine honour and moral refinement were transposed to the collective level and the honour – or in this case the shame and dishonour – of the nation. Associated with this is the term zeal or effort (hemmat) towards worthy goals. Calls for the leaders of the people, or the people as a whole, to exhibit zeal were made by all the reformist writers discussed below. Ignorance is a key theme, with two overtones: one is the need for modern education and knowledge of the world, while the other is “the days of ignorance,” that is, the supposed backward state of the Arabs before the coming of Mohammad. To be ignorant as a people, that is, to be unfamiliar with the techniques of modernity, is to be akin to the Arabs who, in AbduʾlBaha’s words, “in the days of ignorance, were so untamed and heedless that

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they would bury their seven-year-old daughters alive.”32 In context, this was a powerfully motivating argument, since Persian chauvinism despised the Arabs, while Islamic chauvinism despised the polytheists of Arabia. Virtue is another key theme; it comprises both character and behaviour, and is closely related to the concept of civilization. To be civilized is to be moral, and also to be urbanised, having the virtues necessary to collective life. The idea that the well-being of the nation depended on the moral qualities of its people, rather than of individual rulers, dovetailed with the need for codified law and constitutional government33 to express a generalised morality and responsibility, as well as with the need for mass literacy. For Abduʾl-Bahā, the moral qualities of the people, and of public officials, are closely related to religion. Religious faith hardly featured, if at all, in the Persianate idea of the chivalrous virtue of the ruler, but it is central to Abduʾl-Bahā’s vision of a virtuous and educated people. This is discussed most explicitly in The Secret of Divine Civilization (see page 251), but it also underlies his critique of the barbarous civilizations of modern Europe. In contrast to Malkom Khān (see below), Abduʾl-Bahā was not confident that humanity, unguided by religion, will exhibit innate human virtue (ādamiyyat). Another contrast is that Abduʾl-Bahā is quite comfortable using the term sharia, religious law, in a positive sense, although he also uses qānun (codified law) some 30 times in the three texts translated here. For AbduʾlBahā, the codification of the various kinds of law is a step to fair, transparent, consistent and understandable administration of the law, rather than an assault on the concept of religious law. Another key theme for Abduʾl-Bahā is the need for harmony between the rulers and the ruled. That is, he is strongly opposed to revolution. At the time, it was by no means self-evident that the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional rule of some sort could be achieved without revolution. The waves of European revolutions in 1830 and 1848 had not produced democracy in most of the affected states, but they had led to reforms in several countries, and to constitutional and parliamentary rule in Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as short-lived republics in Sicily and the creation 32

The Secret of Divine Civilization, page 241 below. The term translated as constitutional government is hokumāt-e mashruteh, while constitutional monarchy is saltanat-e mashruteh. Mashruteh means “subject to limits.” The word was used by Namik Kemal before 1876, but does not appear to be used by Abduʾl-Bahā until about 1906. 33

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of the Second Republic in France. The principles of popular sovereignty and the rule of law had been established, and new democratic constitutions, such as the Belgian Constitution, served as models for other countries. Revolution (and revolt, in the Belgian case) must have appeared to be the normal path of progress, and peaceful transition the exception. But Abduʾl-Bahā expresses strong dismay at the deposition of Sultan Abdulaziz and caution about popular councils which in some cases have “caused the spirit of restlessness to spread amongst the people.”34 His ideal is harmony between obedient subjects and conscientious rulers. “When the government is a shepherd to the people, and the people take on the duties of citizens” the government will be able to maintain order and security, and society will prosper. Another theme that appears in all three works, with increasing emphasis over time, is the need for the separation of “church” and state. Abduʾl-Bahā proposes an ideal of pious and virtuous secularity, based on harmonious cooperation between the political and religious orders, each working in its own sphere for the elevation of society. What appears to be an identical ideal has been propounded recently, by Naser Ghobadzadeh, as “religious secularity.” He points to similar ideals in the work of Nasr Abu Zayd and Mohammad Arkoun.35 Freedom of religion for all minorities is a related theme. Abduʾl-Bahā among the Intellectuals In The Secret of Divine Civilization (1875), Abduʾl-Bahā refers to the need for “beneficial articles and books” to be “printed and distributed throughout the kingdom” to educate the elite, in the first instance, and public opinion as well (see page 277). As we will see, there were already a number of authors writing in Persian, and even more writing in Arabic and to some extent in Turkish, whose analysis of the problems of the Middle East and of solutions for political and social development could be called either modernist or progressive. Some of these would be familiar to some of his readers – bearing in mind that educated readers of Persian in that age could also read Arabic as a matter of course. The reverse is almost true: his intended readership would include the Arabic and Turkish elites, who learned Persian as the language of literature. 34

See page 115 below. These and some similar contemporary references can be found in Ghobadzadeh, Religious Secularity 9-11. 35

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The survey below of the existing modernist and progressive literature in the three languages, based on secondary literature, will extend just past 1892, when The Art of Governance was written. It is of course partial: “may the learned make good its deficiencies and the discerning overlook its shortcomings.”36 By ending around 1892 it excludes a number of actors who played key roles in the Constitutional Revolution, but could not be considered part of the intellectual landscape at the time Abduʾl-Bahā was writing. The first section is devoted to secular Persian authors favouring reforms, arranged chronologically by date of birth, while the religious actors on both sides are reviewed separately. This survey could easily be extended to include the European writers who were most influential in this circle, such as Voltaire and Francis Bacon. Abduʾl-Bahā certainly knew of Voltaire’s work directly, and we may assume he knew of a much wider literature of progressive thinking through citations in the Arabic, Persian and Turkish writers. My purpose in positioning Abduʾl-Bahā “among the intellectuals” is not to demonstrate Bahāʾi influence on intellectual evolution in the Middle East – a task for a historian – but rather to sketch the intellectual and political landscape in which Abduʾl-Bahā wrote, and his expected readers lived, to assist the reader to appreciate the translated texts. That landscape is trilingual: Persian, Arabic and Turkish. Abduʾl-Bahā was not only fluent in speaking and literary composition in all three languages, he was an Ottoman citizen living in the Ottoman Empire as it evolved from absolutism towards its own democratisation, dissolution and, in the case of Egypt, occupation by the British Empire. He read the books and newspapers in all three languages that were conveying observations of European life and political theory. The fact that he wrote his main socio-political works in Persian has led some historians who are concerned primarily with Iran to treat Abduʾl-Bahā simply as “a Persian intellectual.” Mohebbi for example, in his 1958 thesis, cited Bahaism and The Secret of Divine Civilization in particular as “having an influence on the lead-up to Constitutional Monarchy in Iran.”37 That is true – the question is how much influence – but it does not demonstrate the native Iranian source of Constitutional thinking that Mohebbi seeks to prove. Abduʾl-Bahā could just as well be understood as relaying European and Ottoman experience and ideas to Iran, for he was a cosmopolitan Persian intellectual living in the Levant.

36 37

Browne, Press and Poetry 166. L’influence Religieuse sur le Droit Constitutionnel de L’Iran 79-95 and 148.

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Reformists Writing in Persian Before turning to the writers, we should note two of Nāser al-Din Shah’s Prime Ministers: Mirzā Taqi Khān Farāhāni, posthumously known as Amir Kabir, and Mirzā Hosayn Khān, whose reforms were the immediate context for The Secret of Divine Civilization. They are also part of the intellectual context of Abduʾl-Bahā’s works, as they embody a concept of what progress would mean for Iran. They were responsible for the Dār alFonun (Polytechnic college) in Tehran, an institute which, among other things, translated or wrote many works, many of them practical manuals but including works of history and three works on “rights,” one of them, on international rights, composed by Hosayn Khān himself. Works by Afghāni, Jalāl al-Din Mirzā, Malkom Khān, Mostashār al-Dawleh and Tālebov, writers who will be mentioned below, were published there, along with travel literature about Europe, and critical literature about Iran, such as the “Travel diary of Ibrāhim Beg” and Hajji Bābā by Robert Moirier.38 An earlier reforming Prime Minister, who is also a noted writer, may be mentioned here: Mirzā Abuʾl-Qāsem Farāhāni, known as Qāʾem-Maqām (1779-1835). He was Prime Minister only briefly, in 1834-35, but held other offices before that, including assisting the reforming Crown Prince, Abbās Mirzā, who unfortunately died in 1833 before ascending the throne. AbduʾlBahā’s grandfather, Mirzā Abbās Nuri, known as Mirzā Bozorg (d. 1839), was close to Qāʾem-Maqām.39 Bahāʾuʾllāh admired his prose style, among other things. Bahāʾuʾllāh wrote in a variety of styles, but a link between the direct simplicity of his Ketāb-e Iqān (Book of Certitude) and the prose model consciously created by Qāʾem-Maqām is plausible. Qāʾem-Maqām was one of the first influential figures to argue that the dominance of the West, and Russia in particular, was due to their form of government. Note that there is no reference to democracy and the rule of law here: Russia was an absolute monarchy, but a relatively efficient and effective one. Drawing on Russian, French and Ottoman models, Abbās Mirzā and Qāʾem-Maqām modernised the army,40 courts, bureaucracy and tax collection, and sent the first students abroad to study western technologies. 38 There is an extensive list of the publications in Browne, Press and Poetry, 157-166. See also John Gurney and Negin Nabavi, “Dār al-Fonun” in Encyclopaedia Iranica; A. SeyedGohrab, “Modern Persian Prose” 133-160. 39 Juan Cole, “Bahāʾuʾllāh,” in Encyclopaedia Iranica. 40 The Ottoman precedents they drew on predate the Tanzimāt period. Sultan

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The last of these measures, beginning with five students sent to England, one to study languages41 and four to study military disciplines, proved to have a lasting effect. One notable innovation was a court for taxation affairs, where tax assessments were reviewed.42 Protective tariffs and decrees against the use of foreign cloth were intended to sustain the local economy.43 Another achievement was protecting the rights of Jewish and Armenian Christian minorities, not on the basis of citizenship and equal rights, but rather on the basis of the rights of minorities under Islamic law. He even allowed a missionary school in Tabriz, to serve both Muslims and Christians. The Persian-speaking intelligentsia, in the second half of the 19th century, with the exception of the students who had studied at the Dār al-Fonun, were a diverse group who had come by their ideas from diverse sources: … they constituted in the nineteenth century a mere stratum, for they were too few and too heterogeneous to form a social class: some were aristocrats, even royal princes, others civil servants and army officers, and yet others clerics and merchants. But, despite occupational and social differences, they formed a distinct stratum, for they shared a common desire for fundamental economic, political, and ideological change.44

This stratum, along with the Bahāʾi communities which shared the same desire, is the primary audience for Abduʾl-Bahā. Within this group, it is in the first place the writers who constituted his intellectual environment, given that he was living as a prisoner in Palestine. The first writer to mention is Mir Abduʾl-Latif Mosavi Shushtari (17591805), a Persian from a clerical family with a traditional religious education who later became a merchant and travelled to India. His travel diary for those years (1798-1801), Tohfat al-ʿAlām, was written in 1801 after his return to Iran, with an addendum added in 1804. As well as noting astonishing facts about India – such as the free mixing of men and women – it provides a second-hand, but comprehensive, account of French and especially English political history and systems of government as he had learned about them Selim III’s Nezām-e Cedid (New Order) decree of 1793 authorised a “new model army” to be established with the help of French advisors. 41 This was Mirzā Saleh, to be discussed below. See Vahdat, God and Juggernaut 28. 42 See Hamid Algar, Religion and State in Iran Chapter 4. 43 Abrahamian, Two Revolutions 52. 44 Abrahamian, Two Revolutions 61.

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from sources in India. He identifies as key factors the separation of church and state, the rule of law and equality in the law, modern technological innovations, the end of the absolute power of the monarch, elections, and the principle of consultation involving both nobles and commoners. He also describes Freemasonry, and gives it the name faramushi (a word-play using the Persian word for forgetfulness).45 His priority in expressing these ideas in Persian is indubitable, but the extent to which his work was known remains to be researched.46 It is notable that his word for parliament, edalat-khāneh or House of Justice, was used in the same sense during the Constitutional Revolution in Iran, and in its Arabic form by Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā to refer to the elected councils of laymen that they envisaged administering the affairs of Bahāʾi communities.47 For Shushtari, edalat (justice) would not imply a court of law: the term has the connotation of the distribution of recognition or resources among recipients according to the rights of each, making it a good choice for the British Houses of Parliament, with Lords, clerics and commons all represented.48 Mirzā Abu Tāleb Khān Isfahāni’s Masir Tālebi fi balād Afrānji reports his travels in 1798-1803, including a two-year residence in England and a shorter stay in France, and includes a detailed biography of Shushtari, with whom he was close (Isfahāni was born in India in 1752; his father was from Isfahan). It was published in 1804 and 1812 (Calcutta). He wrote for an Indian readership and was influential there. I have no information on his relevance to the development of terminology for, and understanding of, the principles of modern government among Iranian audiences. He is mentioned here because it is plausible that his correspondence with Shushtari is the source of the latter’s terminology.49 45

Algar, “Freemasonry (ii) In the Qajar Period.” Encyclopaedia Iranica. His book was published in Tehran in 1847 and in Hyderabad in 1877/78: Bahāʾuʾllāh’s first use of the term Bayt al-ʿadl dates from around 1870 (the sections of the Ketāb-e Aqdas being compiled in 1873). 47 The “Houses of Justice” were formed and operating in Abduʾl-Bahā’s time: women were included in the West, with his consent, from 1912. See: Lee et al. “The Service of Women.” 48 I have drawn on Fazeli’s brief account in Politics of Culture in Iran 30-31. 49 See Fisher, “From India to England,” 166-169. Fisher mentions three previous travel writers from India to England, but for the reasons he explains none could have significantly affected Abduʾl-Bahā’s intellectual landscape. Naghmeh Sohrabi discusses and translates more accounts in Taken for Wonder. I have not considered these here, either because their later date makes them irrelevant, or because they are written for courtly audiences and 46

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Mirzā Sāleh Shirāzi (b. circa 1798), one of the five students sent to England in 1815 by ʿAbbās Mirzā, joined a Masonic lodge while there50 and wrote admiringly of English society, which he called the “land of freedom.”51 His journals have since been published.52 While their distribution at the time is unclear, it seems very probable that Abbās Mirzā and Qāʾem-Maqām at least would have read them when Mirzā Sāleh returned to Iran in 1819, bringing one of Iran’s first printing presses with him,53 and that they would have heard reports from all the students sent to England. In addition to the direct observations of Europe in the travel literature in Persian (and in Arabic and Turkish, which I have omitted), travel and travel literature are in themselves an important element in the evolution of modernity in East and West. One of the key elements in both modernity and postmodernity is the awareness of the Others as persons, and the resulting relativisation of traditional authorities and separate cultural and religious identities. Majd ol-Molk Sinaki (b. 1809, not to be confused with his son, Majd olMolk II) was a well-read man of letters and a political notable who served as a diplomat in Istanbul, a Consul in Astrakhan (Russia), and in various senior posts in Tehran between 1851 and 1880. For three years he worked with Amir Kabir in the Foreign Office, and grew to admire his vision and incorruptibility. In 1858-59 he was sent to Baghdad, where Bahāʾuʾllāh and a considerable Bābi community lived in the period 1853-63. One of his tasks there was to bring order to the affairs of the Iranian community in the city. During his time with the Foreign Office he supervised the publication of an Official Newsletter, for circulation to the embassies. Each issue focussed on a particular theme, and was written partly in rhyming verse, of such quality that he must have composed it himself.

would probably not have been known to Abduʾl-Bahā and the Ottoman reformers who constituted his immediate context. 50 Abdul-Hadi Hairi reports this occurring in 1817 (“Farāmush-khāna,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition), while his memoirs put the date at 4 November 1818, and it is implied that he was elevated to the rank of Master just before he left, in 1819 (1968 edition (see note below), 189, 372, 374). 51 Hairi, “Āzādi,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. 52 Gozāresh-e Safar-e Mirzā Sāleh Shirāzi, ed. H. Shahidi, Tehran, 1983; Safar-nameh-ye Mirzā Sāleh Shirāzi, [no details] 1968. 53 The first press is said to have been set up in Tabriz in 1812: Bakhash, Iran: Monarchy, Bureaucracy and Reform 3.

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His only book, the pseudonymous Kashf al-Gharāʾeb (Disclosure of wonders), became known as the “Treatise of Majd” (Resāleh-ye Majdiyyeh) once his authorship was known. It was written in 1870, a famine year in Iran. To judge by references to it and the multiple surviving copies, it must have been widely distributed in manuscript form. The book contains a biting critique of the corruption and incompetence of the governing machinery. It attributed Iran’s weakness to the lack of the rule of law and advocated modern political institutions, as well as the new idea of popular nationalism as the prerequisite for progress. Like Abduʾl-Bahā a few years later, Majd olMolk criticises the contradictory legal judgements of the clerical courts, and advocates a national assembly to bring order to affairs.54 Mirzā Fath ʿAli Ākhundzādeh or Akhundov was born in what is now Azerbaijan (1812). His Letters of Kamāl al-Dawleh and Jamāl al-Dawleh was originally written in Azeri Turkish, and was translated into Persian by Ākhundzādeh (with the help of Mirzā Yusof Khān: see below). It was circulated in manuscript from the late 1860s. Abduʾl-Bahā was an eloquent writer in Turkish, and corresponded occasionaly in Azeri Turkish, so he might have read this at an early age. Ākhundzādeh’s didactic plays were also circulated in Persian translations from the 1870s.55 He devoted a great deal of energy to alphabet reform, eventually arguing for the total replacement of the Arabic script. He had an interest in “pure” Persian, that is, removing all the vocabulary derived from Arabic. Another important theme is compulsory universal education, including women and the rural population.56 Ākhundzādeh, an avowed atheist, attributes Iran’s backwardness in the first place to despotism, and the decline in the people’s morality that, in his opinion, despotism had produced. He contrasts progress to ignorance, which creates stasis. Religion, and particularly the Bābi and Bahāʾi Faiths, is antithetical to reason.57 Citing Thomas Buckle,58 Voltaire and Ernest 54 There are brief treatments in Hāʾeri, Shiʿism and Constitutionalism in Iran 2829; Bayat, Iran’s First Revolution 37; Kashani-Sabet, Frontier Fictions 82; Nader Sohrabi, Revolution and Constitutionalism 295. The Resāleh-ye Majdiyyeh and its distribution and impact deserve a proper study, with a translation. I have drawn on the Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies’ web page (in Persian): http://www.iichs.org/index.asp ?id=82&doc_cat=7 (11 Sept. 2017). 55 See S. Talajooy, “A History of Iranian Drama (1850-1941),” in A.A. Seyed-Gohrab (ed.), Literature of the Early Twentieth Century 353-410. 56 Vahdat, God and Juggernaut 44. 57 Vahdat, God and Juggernaut 44-5. 58 An English polymath and historian who produced a Eurocentric theory of the causes of civilization based on case studies from world history.

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Renan,59 he blames religion, and Islam in particular, for backwardness and oppression, although he exempts Zoroastrianism and Ismaʾilism from the general condemnation. Ākhundzādeh also blamed Iran’s backwardness on Nāser al-Din Shah’s ignorance of the principles of progress and his susceptibility to flattery and general mismanagement. Like Abduʾl-Bahā, Ākhundzādeh argues for the separation of church and state, but in his case this is based on anticlericalism and a rejection of religion itself. He adopts western critiques of Islam, for example on polygamy, yet he also supports the social segregation of the sexes, necessary to protect the honour of men. In addition to his published work, Ākhundzādeh – and the same is true of the others discussed here – exchanged letters with other leaders of thought and political actors. He influenced Jalāl al-Din Mirzā and Āqā Khān Kermāni (see below).60 One of his Zoroastrian correspondents, Mānekji Limji Hātariā, was also a correspondent of Bahāʾuʾllāh, another advocate of alphabet reform who sometimes wrote in “pure” Persian. Another correspondent was Malkom Khān (see below), whom Ākhundzādeh believed to be an undeclared ally in the battle against religion, only appealing to religious sentiment as a cover for westernisation. Ākhundzādeh’s links with Mirzā Yusof Khān have already been noted. For some years he lived in the same city as Tālebov (see below), but definite links have not been established. In short, the reformminded intellectual world of the Middle East in those days was a small village, its intellectual output confined to a few centres linked by good communications. Moreover, many of those who will be discussed below were linked in another way, as “Freemasons,” in the sense that Malkom Khān propagated that network. It is safer to assume that all the principal actors knew one another’s works than to think of any of them working in isolation. Mānekji Limji Hātariā (b. 1813) was an Indian Zoroastrian merchant who, as emissary of the Parsis of India, was active in Iran from 1854 to 1890. He was highly effective in improving the conditions of life for the Zoroastrians, notably in the provision of fire temples, funerary towers, schools, and relief for orphans, the aged and destitute. The schools, for boys and girls, used a western-style curriculum. He also encouraged the formation of an elected council to govern community affairs in the major cities. Eventually he 59 On Renan and Matthew Arnold’s distinction between Semite and Indo-European strands of religion, and the unsuitability of the former for the modern age see Nash, “Aryan and Semite.” 60 Ahmad Ashraf, “Iranian identity (iv) 19th-20th centuries” in Encyclopaedia Iranica.

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even succeeded in having the jezya tax on religious minorities abolished.61 Although he does not appear to have written significant works on reform and modernisation, the impressive list of his own achievements for the Iranian Zoroastrian community (much abbreviated here) could be taken as a programme for social and economic progress, and would have been known to other intellectuals.62 From 1877 to 1882, his secretary in Tehran was Mirzā Abuʾl-Fazl Golpāygāni, an Islamic scholar who had recently converted to the Bahāʾi Faith. Hātariā met Bahāʾuʾllāh in Baghdad in 1854 and corresponded with him through Golpāygāni in the late 1870s, when Bahāʾuʾllāh was imprisoned in ʿAkkā. Mirzā Yusof Khān, known as Mostashār al-Dawleh (b. 1813), is known as the author of One Word / Yak Kalame, which has been published by the Leiden University Press in a sister volume to the present translations. One Word, written about 1870, is based largely on his observations of French government. The “one word” of his title is qānun, codified law, but his book really covers the codification of just and effective administration, including elections, appointment on merit, trial by jury, freedom of the press, universal education, the trias politica and the end of absolute rule, and equality under a secularised law “irrespective of … ethnicity and religion.” In addition to its breadth, the work is distinguished by the lengths the author goes to to find Quranic precedents for these features of western governance. Ākhundzādeh attacked the work bitterly, because it argued for the compatibility of religious law and modernity.63 Jalāl al-Din Mirzā (b. 1827) was a son of Fath-ʿAli Shah who had a modern education, including French, and moved in the circle of Malkom Khān and the European instructors of the Dār al-Fonun (Polytechnic) in Tehran. Leaving aside the possibility that he participated in writing the anonymous reformist pamphlets of the time, his contribution to the intellectual development of reform theory was indirect, through a nationalist history of Iran written in “pure” Persian and focusing on the glories of the pre-Islamic period. Moreover, the Arab invasion was treated as a catastrophe parallel to the Mongol invasion. Ākhundzādeh – with whom he corresponded – admired his history. The first three volumes were published in Tehran in the period from 1868 to 1871, and republished in Vienna in 1880.

61

Vera B. Moreen, “Jezya,” in Encyclopaedia Iranica. I have drawn on the article “Hataria, Manekji Limji” in Encyclopaedia Iranica. 63 Algar, “Ākundzāda” in Encyclopaedia Iranica. 62

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Mirzā Malkom Khān (b. 1833-4) is again older than Abduʾl-Bahā (b. 1844). Born into an Armenian Christian family, he was sent to France to study, first in Armenian schools and then in the Polytechnique where, on the advice of Amir Kabir, he studied political science.64 In France he was attracted to Freemasonry, Saint-Simon’s ideas of social engineering, Comte’s Religion of Humanity, and Mirabeau.65 On his return to Iran, he converted to Islam and obtained a position as teacher and interpreter in the Dār al-Fonun (whose mainly European instructors needed an interpreter) and founded a semisecret society of progressive thinking (the Farāmush-khāneh), modelled on Freemasonry.66 He was writing and publishing while still in his youth, by the standards of the time. His Ketābcheh-ye Gheybi, also known as the Daftare Tanzimāt, dates from 1859, making it the second reformist treatise to be published in Persian that shows familiarity with French and English liberal thought (after Shushtari’s work). It argued for a move from absolutism to separate legislative and executive councils (both appointed by the Shah) and other forms of consultation including respect for public opinion, for freedom of religion, equality before the law, the review of existing laws by a “reform council” (majles-e tanzim) to produce a single code of law (qānun), standardised administrative procedures, a professional army in addition to conscription, an independent tax department (thus, independent of provincial governors), roads and railways built by European engineers, a European-style education system with primary, secondary and tertiary levels, a state development bank, and the suppression of bribery.67 These should be adopted from Europe, just as Iran had adopted the telegraph – a telling point since Malkom himself was responsible for the first telegraph line in Iran and was rewarded with a commendation in the Gazette.68 The framework for this 64

Algar, Religion and State 185. Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Count of Mirabeau (1749–1791): a vehement writer and orator and critic of corruption, who spent some time in England. In the early years of the French Revolution, as President of the National Assembly, he favoured a constitutional monarchy based on the British model. 66 And as for its ideology, perhaps also on the Jacobin club (Society of the Friends of the Constitution), since Malkom had studied the political theory of that period. The Farāmush-khāneh also drew on the Futuwwa associations of the Islamic world which, however, lacked the element of secrecy. The most extensive study of the Farāmush-khāneh is Zarcone, Secret et Sociétés Secrètes 119-131. 67 The contents are reviewed in detail by Algar in Mirza Malkum Khan 27-33, noting some inconsistencies that suggest Malkom’s grasp of political economy was weak. 68 This was in 1858, soon after his return to Iran: Algar Mirzā Malkum Khān 25-26. 65

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reform is an enlightened despotism (whereas Abduʾl-Bahā hopes that this will develop into a democracy). The formation of separate legislative and executive councils was incorporated in the reforms of Mirzā Hosayn Khān, whom he assisted as an advisor from 1871. Like Abduʾl-Bahā, he writes with a strong sense of urgency and impatience with conservatism. Appealing to the concept of innate human nobility (ādamiyyat), he calls for energetic effort on the part of public officials, in contrast to the sleep of negligence. Like Yusof Khān, he goes to some lengths to find Quranic roots for the aspects of European governance he wished to implement (in contrast to Ākhundzādeh’s use of pre-Islamic legitimation). Abduʾl-Bahā is likely to have read the Ketābcheh-ye Gheybi, and probably met the author, since Malkom had contact with Bahāʾuʾllāh in Baghdad in late 1861 or early 1862, when both were exiles there.69 The similarities between this work and The Secret of Divine Civilization are sufficient to make one wonder whether the echoes – starting with the title, the device of writing anonymously, and the praise of the Shah – might be deliberate. Perhaps Abduʾl-Bahā’s intended readers would have recognised his work as a contribution in the same genre as Malkom’s volume. Abduʾl-Bahā responds more extensively to the religious objections to reform, but these objections were less well articulated in 1859 when Malkom was writing. Malkom also wrote a number of shorter works on administrative, educational, financial and military reforms. During his time at the Iranian embassy in Istanbul (1863-1871) he wrote further short works for Iranian readers on international relations, alphabet reform, rationalisation of the military and other changes – based on European models – needed to enable Iran to resist foreign domination.70 Abbas Amanat credits Malkom with introducing into Persian a number of important terms: qānun (codified law and, later, constitution); eslāhāt (reforms), majles-e shurā (consultative council), mellat and melli (in the sense of nation and national rather than pertaining to a religious community), and hoquq-e mellat (the rights of the people).71 This overstates the seminal 69 Balyuzi, Bahāʾuʾllāh 151. Algar states that Malkom Khān was exiled in 1863/4 (Religion and State in Iran 191), while his secret society was outlawed on September 18, 1861. But in Mirzā Malkom Khān, Algar states that Malkom arrived in Baghdad late in 1861 (p. 58) and was expelled from Baghdad to Istanbul around April or May 1862. (p. 59). 70 Algar, Mirza Malkum Khan 67-70. Missing from this list is his 1876 Ruh al-Islām yā Sirāt-e Mostaqim on the subject of Islamic politics. 71 “Constitutional Revolution i; Intellectual Background” in Encyclopaedia Iranica.

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quality of Malkom’s vocabulary, as all these terms are Arabic loan words, used in Ottoman and other Arabic discussions that were available to Persian intellectuals independent of Malkom’s publications. The 1856 Tanzimāt decree Hatt-i Humayun, for example, was called an islāhāt. It granted universal citizenship and allowed minorities to be appointed to senior posts. Algar says that “virtually the whole political vocabulary of Persian in the period may be said to have been derived from Ottoman Turkish,”72 and this vocabulary was available to anyone who could understand Turkish (one of the major languages of Iran). The travel diaries, and a possible newspaper, of Mirzā Saleh may also prove to have provided some of the vocabulary, if their distribution can be attested. Malkom’s claim to priority rests on his having studied political economy, and having lived for longer in Paris and then in Istanbul than any other Iranian reformist intellectual at the time, and on his ability as a writer and his numerous publications. From 1890, Malkom published the Persian-language reformist newspaper Qānun in London. Copies of Qānun, and possibly of a number of short political works he wrote in the same period, reached Bahāʾuʾllāh and AbduʾlBahā in Palestine. The major theme is the virtue of codified law, but the argument again embraces standardised and transparent administrative procedures that would apply even to the Shah’s prerogatives. He asks, for example, “By what law was this minister dismissed? By what law was that idiot given a robe of honour?”73 He moved from advocating the codification of existing laws to arguing for a national consultative assembly of 100 mojtaheds and other learned persons to formulate laws.74 In his 1891 article “Persian Civilisation” he succinctly expresses the needs of Asia as “justice, freedom, and representative government,”75 but this is addressed to a western audience and perhaps with a little help from his interpreter. The same article is full of praise for the Shah. In contrast to Abduʾl-Bahā, whose Art of Governance comes after the first editions of Qānun (and might in part be a response to Malkom), Malkom advocated an alliance between reformers and the ʿolamā (Islamic divines) as a tactical need. He was himself a humanist. This alliance – discussed in the 72

Algar, Mirza Malkum Khan 27. Abrahamian, Two Revolutions 68. 74 Qānun No. 6, July 1890, cited in Abrahamian, Two Revolutions 69. This is strikingly similar to Abduʾl-Baha’s proposal in The Secret of Divine Civilization: see page 149 of this volume. 75 Page 239. 73

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secondary literature as the “religious-radical alliance” – became a feature of the policy of the Revolutionary Committee in Tehran, comprised largely of Azalis (discussed below under “religious intellectuals”) and those influenced by Malkom and Afghāni who, beginning in May 1904, set out to overthrow “despotism.” Abd al-Rahim Tālebov (b. 1834) began writing reformist works only in his old age, just after the three works by Abduʾl-Bahā translated here. He says that the form of his Ketāb-e Ahmad (Istanbul, 1893, but also published at the Dār al-Fonun in Tehran)76 was inspired by Rousseau’s Emile. It is presented as daily discussions between the author and his young son on diverse topics, and was very popular. From the mid-1890s it was used as a text in some of the new-style schools being established in Tehran and presumably elsewhere. Abduʾl-Bahā would have found Tālebov’s thinking congenial, but it is hard to imagine Tālebov chatting with the anti-religious Ākhundzādeh, although they must have met in Tbilisi. Tālebov’s first work was a biography of Mohammad; he cites the Quran in support of reforms, and he rejected Persian chauvinism entirely. Tālebov puts mass education first – meaning both moral refinement and an understanding of the new sciences, for boys and girls – and political reforms such as codified law second. Qānun, when it is the collective will of a sharia-abiding community, is also the Will of God; therefore it is unnecessary to find Quranic precedents for every reform. Tālebov, like Abduʾl-Bahā, is selectively critical of European superficial civilization. He rightly notes that militarism is the antithesis of true humanity, but he also uses his critique of European social mores – such as women’s dress, the mixing of the sexes and dancing – in support of Islamic (not Persian) chauvinism. Europe is very much the Other, not to be imitated uncritically, even if its sciences, administration and railways are admired. He advocated taming the international order in a League of Nations based on the oneness of the human race.77 His later works were more systematic in proposing reforms and developing a political theory based on popular sovereignty, which was capable of producing a new sharia because “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”78 He made a very significant contribution to the Constitutional movement, even being elected – without campaigning – to the first Parliament, but this takes us beyond our period.79 76

Browne, Press and Poetry 161. Browne gives no dates. Vahdat, God and Juggernaut 50. 78 Vahdat, God and Juggernaut 51. 79 I have drawn on Cyrus Masroori’s article “Tālebuf ” in Encylcopaedia Iranica. 77

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Mirzā Mohammad-ʿAli Mahallāti, known as Hāj Sayyāh (‘the traveller,’ b. 1836), set out to travel the world in 1859, visiting many countries around the world and meeting prominenti such as Pius IX, Garibaldi, Bismark and Tsar Alexander II. Everywhere he went, he observed the educational institutions, publishers and newspapers. He also travelled extensively in Iran, and worked closely with Afghāni (see below) and Malkom Khān. His travelogues and prison diary, describing both Iran and the countries he visited, focus on the themes of education and self-serving clerics. In 1891, he was arrested in Tehran along with some “Bābis” and a number of associates of Malkom Khān in connection with a letter-writing campaign. He shared a prison cell with Mostashār al-Dawleh. On his release, 20 months later, he was able to use the United States citizenship that he had obtained while there to win some security from further persecution. He must still have been associated with reformist circles, since he heard of the impending assassination of Nāser al-Din Shah in 1896 and passed on a warning, which was ignored. After our period, in the reign of Mozaffar al-Din Shah, he was an influential public notable, and he played a behind-the-scenes role in the Constitutional Revolution. As context for the texts translated here, his importance is that he, like Mostashār al-Dawleh, wrote accounts in Persian of the forms of society and governance in the West (and in Japan). His commentaries on the oppression by governors and veniality of the divines within Iran are framed more in terms of human rights than is the case with his contemporaries, whose arguments focus on the backwardness of Iran and the danger to the nation.80 Seyyed Jamāl al-Din Afghāni (b. 1838-9), who, despite his name, was an Iranian and probably followed the Shaykhi school of Shiah Islam,81 initially appealed to nationalism (in India82 and Egypt) but is best known for his later (1884) advocacy of pan-Islamism, which would unite reformers in the Turkish, Arabic and Persian-speaking world (the latter including India) against the colonial powers. His works, as Keddie has observed, are a “mass of contradictions,” varying according to the audience he is addressing, for he 80 See Hāj Sayyāh, An Iranian in Nineteenth Century Europe. I have also drawn on Ali Ferdowsi’s article, “Hajj Sayyah” in Enclyopaedia Iranica. 81 Cole, Modernity and the Millenium 74. 82 In India, his nationalism involved unity of Muslims and Hindus, rather than the international unity of Muslims. At that time, he even preferred unity based on a common language to unity based on religion, since the latter is more changeable (translated in Keddie, Islamic Response 56).

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does not work at the level of principle but presents whatever may motivate his audience to the political action he desires.83 Arguing against secular approaches to modernity, which he labelled “naturist,” meaning materialist, he proposed a rationalised Islam as part of a modern Islamicate society. Islam had a role in inculcating virtue for the masses, since only the elite could understand truth, but equally important was the conviction Islam gave of Islamic peoples’ moral superiority, necessary to combat paralysis induced by the West’s obvious material superiority. The latter argument has parallels in Abduʾl-Baha’s The Secret of Divine Civilization, which was written five years earlier.84 At first favouring enlightened despotism, and a role for himself as advisor to the despot, he later (1879) advocated consultative assemblies, and apparently sought a role for himself as Prime Minister of Egypt.85 Despite his critique of secular reformers (and those he mislabelled as secularists, such as Ahmad Khān, mentioned below), his “Islam” is denatured: he was expelled from Istanbul in 1870 for propounding the idea that philosophers could attain to the rank of prophethood, and the prophets were the philosophers of their time. It is plausible that he was the target of arguments that Abduʾl-Bahā made to refute this idea.86 In a speech reported in Egypt in 1879, he called for the education of women, as the first educators of the next generation. So far as I know, this was before Abduʾl-Bahā had given the same pragmatic justification, although Bahāʾuʾllāh had previously made the education of girls a religious duty for his followers.87 At some time between 1877 and 1879 (during the publication of Al-Mesr newspaper in Egypt), Abduʾl-Bahā wrote to him in response to one of his 83 Keddie, Religion, Politics and Society 28-32; An Islamic Response to Imperialism 45, and also 19, 23n (“expedient”), 36, 58 and throughout. Keddie refers to his “delusions of grandeur, paranoic tendencies [and] distortions of reality” (33). 84 In Haqiqat-e mazhab-e Naychiri va bayan-e hal-e Naychirian, Haydarabad, 1881. 85 Cole, Colonialism and Revolution 151. 86 See Min Makatib-e Hazrat-e Abduʾl-Bahā, Vol. 1 207, section 110. The specific reference to attaining the rank of the prophets is in a parallel text available only in English, in Star of the West, Vol. 3, no. 4 (May 17, 1912) 18-19. Keddie suggests that the idea had its roots in Shaykhi ideas, with which he was familiar, but the Shaykhi “perfect man” is a world removed from Afghāni’s idea of a scientific elite filling the shoes of the prophets of old. See An Islamic Response to Imperialism, especially pages 11 (n), and 16-17 for the contents and outcome of this lecture. 87 I have drawn on N.R. Keddie’s article “Afgani, Jamal-al-din” in Encyclopaedia Iranica, as well as An Islamic Response.

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articles in Al-Mesr, and forwarded to him a treatise by Midhat Pasha (see below). Abduʾl-Bahā’s undated letter praising Afghāni’s writing is translated in Cole’s Modernity and the Millennium (p. 74). Given that Afghāni was exiled from Egypt in 1879, when he spoke in favour of constitutional rule, the most likely scenario is that the letter was written late in 1879, at which time Midhat Pasha, already in exile, was in Europe. While there, Midhat Pasha wrote, among other things, a pamphlet defending reforms in the Ottoman Empire. It seems probable that this is what Abduʾl-Bahā – connected to Europe through the Bahāʾi network – was passing on to Afghāni who was still in Egypt. In 1881 Afghāni “reciprocated” by writing a hostile article on Babism for an Arabic encyclopaedia edited by Butrus Bustāni. Although there were many secular voices in Persian in favour of reform (eslāh) in the pre-constitutional period, many of them arguing that reforms such as voting were in accordance with religious principles, the discourse as a whole was focused more on the pragmatic strengthening of the nation than on principles such as popular sovereignty and political participation or the rule of law. When the Pahlavi autocracy (later, monarchy) was established, few of these intellectuals opposed it, and many welcomed it. They saw that the rule of law and freedom of speech were more basic to European power than steam engines and artillery, but were not deeply committed to the dignity of the common man which was the foundation of universal male suffrage, or to the rule of law, minority rights and freedom of speech as ends rather than means. The same may be said of Afghāni and the Ottoman reformers, who readily turned to Sultan Abdulhamid II in the hope he would be an enlightened despot.

The Religious Intellectuals The first figure who must be mentioned is Mortezā Ansāri (1799-1864), who wrote extensively on political theology with such effect that his shadow lies over the period of Abduʾl-Bahā’s writings and the Constitutional Revolution itself. He was recognised as the leader of the Shiah from 1849. He was an ascetic, and a prolific and readable author, and had numerous students. In his view, there was no legitimate worldly authority in the absence of the Hidden Imām – neither kings nor divines could fill the gap. The clerics had authority (based on their objective knowledge, not their virtue),88 but no author88

Amanat, “Between the madrasa and the marketplace,” 100-101. There being no

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ity in the political sphere. Therefore they could not grant legitimacy to a king. It was sinful for them to cooperate with a king, or engage in politics in any way. The Shaykhi leader Karim Khān Kermāni (1810-1873) should also be mentioned, as he wrote prolifically in opposition to educational reforms, such as European-style primary education and the Dār al-Fonun, cultural contact with Europeans, the unveiling of women and the mixing of Muslims with other religious groups. It is tempting to think that he might have been a prime target of The Secret of Divine Civilization, for he is the archetype of the reactionary cleric, but at the end of his life he had withdrawn from public life and he died before The Secret of Divine Civilization was composed.89 While the next generation of religious intellectuals played a large and visible role in the events of the Constitutional Revolution on both sides, their theoretical and textual contribution was sparse (leaving aside the work of Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā).90 One reason for their reticence in the field of political theory was that Ansāri’s thinking had achieved such dominance that political theology had virtually vanished from the seminaries: the divines were not only overawed by his reputation, but also ill-equipped to present an argument.91 Nevertheless, we may assume that Abduʾl-Bahā knew of their views and activities. From 1864, Mirzā Mohammad Hasan Shirāzi (b. 1816), a Persian divine living in Iraq, was widely recognised as the leading clerical authority in the Persian-speaking part of the Shiah world. He wrote little, but taught many. He was a secret Bābi and later, apparently, a Bahāʾi. He was a second cousin of the Bāb,92 and had converted to the new Faith in his youth, when he met

institutional method of determining who has this authority, each emulator decides who to emulate: religious authority is granted by the follower. Ansāri’s relegation of virtue to a secondary qualification contrasts with Abduʾl-Bahā’s exegesis of the Tradition “As for him who is one of the divines …” (see page 145 below), which places virtue and practice first. This key tradition does not mention extensive knowledge as a qualification for leadership. In practice, Ansāri’s own prominence owed as much to his evident virtue as to the accessibility of his explanations of complex points of law (ibid., 112113). 89 Bayat, Mysticism and Dissent 85-86. 90 Gheissari, Iranian Intellectuals 11. 91 Naser Ghobadzadeh, Religious Secularity 34. 92 Amanat, “Clerical Leadership” 116.

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the Bāb in Isfahan.93 It is likely that he was at least part of the intended audience of Abduʾl-Bahā’s Art of Governance, written just after Shirāzi’s fatwa on the tobacco concession (see below). As I have noted elsewhere, the text of The Art of Governance shows that it was “in part addressed to the leading clerics, arguing that they should not accept the authority to direct the worldly affairs of the nation that reformers [such as Afghāni and Malkom] were endeavouring to thrust upon them.” The context was opposition to the foreign monopoly on tobacco trading, mentioned above. At one of the demonstrations against this in Isfahan, those present swore to stop smoking. The Isfahan divines apparently wrote to Shirāzi for support, and rumours spread that he had ordered a consumer boycott. In December 1891 a fatwa from Shirāzi was circulated.94 It directed all believers to abstain from smoking. As a result, the tobacco boycott quickly spread from Isfahan to the rest of the country, and the Shah was forced to cancel the concession and pay a large sum in damages. After this event, Shirāzi refrained from intervening in matters of policy, although he continued to seek redress for the victims of disorder and persecution.95 Ākhund Mohammad-Kāzem Khorāsāni (b. 1839), another key proConstitutionalist mojtahed, but living in Iraq, was a student of Shirāzi, teaching in Najaf, where he attracted a large number of students. On Shirāzi’s death he was recognised as a great religious leader, and towards the end of his life as a “centre of emulation.” During the constitutional revolution he used his status to support parliamentary government through letters, fatwas and telegrams, often co-authored with other clerics. He did not write 93 See Soroush Shahidinejad, “Hujjatuʾl-Islām Mirzā-yi Shirāzi und seine Beziehung zur Bahāʾi-Religion” in Zeitschrift für Bahāʾi-Studien, Band 2012, 25; Balyuzi, Eminent Bahāʾis Chapter 19. A fuller account is given in Mirzā Habib’s Tarikh-e Amry Fars va Shiraz, translated by Ahang Rabbani in Genesis of the Babi-Bahai Faiths 127-134 and 293-294. 94 Although all secondary sources agree the fatwa was issued early in December, Necati Alkan (private communication, January 2004) reports finding a document in the Bashbakanlik Archive in Istanbul (Yildiz Perakende Evraki Askeri Maruzat, no. 86/54) mentioning the fatwa, and dated 31 October 1892. This would allow time for it to reach Tehran and be printed by Ashtiyani, and for news of it to reach Abduʾl-Bahā before the composition of The Art of Governance. 95 I have drawn on Hamid Algar’s article “Hasan Shirazi” in Encylopaedia Iranica. See also Amanat, “Between the madrasa and the marketplace,” 116-119, where Shirāzi’s prominence and decision to intervene against the tobacco monopoly is explained in terms of his links to the merchant class in Iran.

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any systematic work on political principles.96 Later he sought to depose the Shah and to encourage British intervention in support of the Parliament. A noteworthy feature of his politics is that he argued that the temporal authority of the Prophet and Imāms was limited, although they had unlimited authority in religious matters.97 In Khorāsāni’s view, in the absence of infallible leaders it is the people who rule, since everyone has an equal or at least not essentially different status.98 The “people” however does not include the religious scholars, for – as he warned the activist mojtahed Naʿini – if they took on direct political leadership, their reputation would suffer and Islam would be harmed. While his political writings are largely ad hoc, his achievements in founding schools and periodicals, and encouragement for local trades and discouragement of imports, indicate the line of development he had in mind.99 Seyyed Abdollāh Behbahāni (b. 1840) was a student of Shirāzi active as a prominent mojtahed in Tehran from 1870. He opposed the tobacco boycott and received rewards from both the Shah and the British, but later became a leader in the Constitutional movement, along with another Tehran mojtahed, Mohammad Tabātabāʾi. That, however, comes after our period. Fazl-Allah Nuri (b. 1843), a student of Shirāzi, was active in Tehran as a divine (adjudicating disputes and teaching) from about 1882. A few years later he became involved in political issues regarding the legitimacy of the Shah alienating Muslim land and economic rights to non-believers. He obtained from Shirāzi an opinion – undated as far as I know – which upheld the right of the Shah to rule and the duty of the divines to protect the faithful. Church and state were therefore partners in governance. After our period he was to play a significant role in supporting a Constitution and Parliament as a means of protecting Iran and Islam from foreign domination. He later aligned with Mohammad ʿAli Shah, particularly opposing giving non-Muslims equality or allowing a free press. He drafted a constitutional amendment introducing a “guardians’ council” (avant la lettre) of religious scholars to vet parliamentary legislation. By mid-1907 he was spearheading opposition to constitutional 96 The Siyasat-nameh-ye Khorāsāni is a compilation of documents edited by Mohsen Kadivar. 97 This position was probably not known until after the period of Abduʾl-Bahā’s works translated here: it appears identical to the argument in Sermon on the Art of Governance. 98 Farhang Rajaee, Islamism and Modernism 218. The relevant fatwa is translated in Mir-Hosseini and Tapper, Islam and Democracy in Iran 91. 99 I have drawn on A. Hairi’s article “Akhund Khorāsāni” in Encyclopaedia Islamica.

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government in Tehran. He continued to argue for a complementarity in governance between the senior clerics, representing the principle of religion (nabovvat), and the state (saltanat): but “the state” became the person of the Shah. In July 1909, when the Shah had abdicated, Nuri was tried and executed.100 Shaykh Mohammad Ismāʿil Gharavi Mahallāti (b. 1853) argued that in the absence of the Imām, an Islamic state was impossible. Of the remaining choices, constitutional government was preferable to an absolute monarchy, for the sake of justice and to strengthen the state from infidels. Parliament should not intervene in religious matters. Mohammad-Hosayn Nāʿini (b. 1859/60) was a student of Khorāsāni, and the principal theoretician in support of constitutional rule, guided by the religious scholars. He argued that living under an absolute autocrat was a form of slavery. He disagreed with Khorāsāni, holding out the possibility of a legitimate, sharia-compliant state in the absence of the Imām. Since the senior clerics, as deputies of the Imām’s religious and political authority, could give legitimacy to temporal rule (which Khorāsāni had denied), they could give legitimacy to a parliament as well. They could in fact rule directly, but this was not advisable under present circumstances.

Intellectual Position of Azali Authors The prominence of Azalis in the immediate prelude to the constitutional revolution has already been mentioned, but it comes after the period of the three texts translated here. As activists and as authors they fall between the reformists (some pious and some anti-religious) and the religious intellectuals, because they first concealed their religious affiliations, and as time passed abandoned them. MacEoin writes of this group: It would be a mistake to overstress the importance of their Bābi affiliation in their wider activities. Like other Azalis of this period, they seem to have used Babism as a motif for dissent, much as Malkom Khān or Afghāni (and indeed Āqā Khān at times) used Islam.101

100 101

I have drawn on Vanessa Martin’s article “Nuri, Fazl-Allāh” in Encyclopaedia Iranica. Quoted from The Messiah of Shiraz 593, see also 594-595.

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Āqā Khān Kermāni (b. 1853),102 an Azali and son-in-law of the Azali leader Sobh-e Azal, is a prominent example in this group. His more political works (with the possible exception of some essays in the Persian-language newspaper Akhtar, published in Istanbul) come after our period, by which time he was writing as a secular reformer motivated primarily by revolutionary antimonarchical sentiment.103 He shared Ākhundzādeh’s conviction that Iran’s Islamic past was responsible for its present decline, and Malkom Khān’s tactic of enlisting the aid of the clerics against the Shah. He wrote to Malkom Khān that one must make use of the “half-alive class” of ‘olamā “as long as they are in a dancing mood.”104 His associate Shaykh Ahmad Ruhi (b. 1856), also a son-in-law of Sobh-e Azal, joined him in trying to mobilise the religious scholars of Iran against Nāser al-Din Shāh. The two were executed following the Shāh’s assassination in 1896.105 These authors were clearer about the wrongs they opposed, notably Iranian despotism (Kermāni admired Napoleon), than about the forms of governance they advocated. An example of their approach is Roʾyā-ye Sādeqa (The True Dream, circa 1895),106 a lampoon in which the notorious Āqā Najafi of Isfahān, the governor Prince Soltān Masʾud Mirzā known as Zell al-Soltān, and other notables of the city are tried on Judgment Day. The book has three authors, the youngest being Hājj Mirzā Ahmad Kermāni (Majd al-Islām) (b. 1871), who arrived in Isfahan in 1890 (hence the dating of the book). In Isfahan he found a circle of Azali reformers: Āqā Khān Kermāni and Shaykh Ahmad Ruhi, mentioned above, and his two co-authors: Seyyed Mirzā Nasrollāh Beheshti (Malek-al-Motakallemin) (b. 1864) and Seyyed Jamāl-al-Din Wāʾez Isfahāni (or Hamadāni, b. 1862). One positive theme in The True Dream is the need for modern education, including foreign

102 Not to be confused with Aqa Karim Khān Kermāni (b. 1810), a Shaykhi leader and opponent of the Bābi movement. 103 He was a vigorous writer, but few works have survived. Fereydoun Adamat has published an analysis and collected works, Andishehhā-ye Mirzā Āqā Khān Kermāni (1978), which I have not consulted. 104 Bayat, Iran’s First Revolution 56, 57. 105 Vahdat, God and Juggernaut 37. Pages 36-42 provide an overview of his thought. 106 Published in bilingual format by the Leiden University Press (2017). The dating of the composition – but not the more relevant distribution – of The True Dream could be refined if we knew the dates of Malek-al-Motakallemin’s arrival and departure from Isfahan. We may assume that the work was not distributed before Abduʾl-Bahā’s The Art of Governance was written.

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languages. Of these three, Malek-al-Motakallemin was already an author, his Men al-khalq ela al-haqq (From the creatures to God) was published in India around 1890. It focused on a critique of the clerical class. Jamāl al-Din was later (1900) to present a coherent proposal for increasing the country’s economic independence.107 The merchant class was seriously discontented and became a principal actor in the revolution to come. I have the impression that the intellectuals from an Azali background were more sensitive than other actors to the needs of the merchants for capital (a national bank), modernised commercial law and customs relief, but that will require further research.

Ottoman and Arabic Reformist Writers In addition to these authors in Persian, Abduʾl-Bahā would have known the Tanzimāt reforms in the Ottoman Empire and the earlier army reforms of Selim III, modernist writers in Arabic, and the European press and political discourse as it was reflected in Arabic newspapers. He would have observed that the leading Ottoman clerics took part in the decision-making process for administrative reforms and functioned within the framework of state administration, in contrast to the situation in Iran, although they lost this influence in the course of the Tanzimāt reforms.108 The Tanzimāt reforms (closely observed in Istanbul by Iran’s ambassador, and later Prime Minister, Hosayn Khān, and his advisor Malkom Khān) included codes of law and state-administered courts, resulting in the virtual secularisation of Ottoman law.109 Another early source is the Indian scholar Syed (Seyyed) Ahmad Khān (b. 1817), writing mainly in Urdu, and sometimes in Persian, but some of his works were available at an early date in English translations (he travelled himself to England in 1869-70 and published a travel diary). He believed that Muslim societies could not progress unless they adopted western education and sciences. He also renewed Islamic scholarship using source critical methods (for the first time in many centuries) to show that much that was received as Islamic law and teaching was based on weak texts and arbitrary 107 Lebās al-taqwā (The robe of virtue), Shiraz, 1900, cited in Amanat, “Constitutional Revolution i. Intellectual background” Encyclopaedia Iranica. 108 Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 27. 109 Algar, Religion and State 171-172.

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interpretations.110 Exegesis should therefore be based on the Quranic text and reason, rather than the interpretive tradition, and this reinterpretation of the universal text of the Quran would have to be made anew in each generation, taking scientific progress into account, since the Quran could not contain anything contrary to the law of nature. The miracles and supernatural passages of the Quran are to be read metaphorically, and the text approached in a literary rather than literal way, in the light of pre-Islamic literature.111 He condemned taqlid (the rigid application of precedents) and the role he allowed for reason in matters of doctrine is reminiscent of the early Islamic Muʾtazalite school. His legal interpretations allowed moderate interest on loans. He was also critical of colonial policies, although he argued for acquiring the European sciences and techniques, and said that British rule was a boon for India “in the long run.”112 Cabinet government, as a modification of absolute monarchy, entered the Middle East with the 1841 establishment of the Ottoman Meclis-e Maarif-e Umumiye, part of the Tanzimāt reforms referred to above. It strengthened the state by abolishing tax farming and extending legal protection for life, honour and property to all. Provincial governors were to govern with advisory councils. Education and infrastructure were also improved and made subject to central planning. The subsequent extension of the reforms, up to 1859, did not create a Constitution or give anyone except the appointed members of the councils a vote. Models and terminology of a more democratic reformism were also in the air, and available to Persian intellectuals, assuming they could read Arabic, from mid-century. Egypt created a House of Representatives (majles asshurā an-nuwwāh, meeting of deputies) in 1866. Viceroy (Khedive) Ismaʿil (1863-79) defined its purpose, with support from Quranic verses regarding consultation, as a place for the ruler to consult with his subjects – not for the subjects to consult among themselves! It was made up of village headmen and guild representatives appointed by the Khedive, and had only advisory powers. The clerics had no role: their endowments had been 110 His source-critical methods were enriched by his engagement with Biblical “Higher Criticism” in relation to the Quranic reference to the corruption (tahrif ) of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, which he understood in the sense of misinterpretation (as did Bahāʾuʾllāh). See Troll, Sayyid Ahmad Khān Chapters 2 and 3. He wrote an Islamic commentary on the Bible. 111 Zayd, Reformation of Islamic Thought 28-31. 112 Troll, Sayyid Ahmad Khān 20, 154.

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confiscated by Mohammad ʿAli, Ismaʿil’s grandfather, so they were largely reduced to poorly paid state officials.113 Ten years later, a Constitution was installed in Egypt, setting out a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, elected and appointed (an earlier constitutional experiment, in Tunisia, will be described below). The first “speaker” of the Lower House was Ahmed Vefik Pasha, who had previously been the Ottoman ambassador in Tehran, and in that function provided Bahāʾuʾllāh with two warm letters of recommendation in 1853, when Bahāʾuʾllāh, who had been ordered to leave Iran, was setting out for Ottoman territory in Baghdad.114 Ismaʿil ruled as an enlightened autocrat, taxing and borrowing heavily for infrastructure and agricultural development, with the benefits going primarily to the nobles (and Ismaʿil and his family in the first rank) and foreign merchants and financiers. Although the country advanced, there were grounds for discontent, and the Deputies began to consider a greater role for themselves in restraining autocracy. Ismaʿil’s schools were producing more graduates than there were jobs, and those who had government jobs suffered from high inflation and pay arrears in the 1870s.115 Literacy increased to four or five percent, and there were newspapers which the underpaid and unemployed, and the clerics, could read. Political journalism developed. The Egyptian elite was divided, between those seeking further integration into the European economy and diplomatic sphere, and pro-Ottoman groups. Surprisingly, it was the latter who, from the mid-1870s, favoured more consultative government as a way of reducing European penetration, while the Europhiles favoured autocracy, or an appointed cabinet, for the sake of continuity in the markets and international relationships. Some clerics close to the court produced arguments in favour of the adoption of European military and industrial advances, while rejecting political borrowing, in the time of Mohammad ʿAli. We will return to these, beginning with Tahtāwi, below. Britain’s power, as against the French and Russian Empires, was often attributed to its Cabinet, constitutional constraints and Parliament. So the question arose, in view of the developments in Tunisia and Egypt, whether a similar order should be established in Istanbul.116 But before turning to 113

Cole, Colonialism and Revolution 30-36. Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 58. 115 Cole, Colonialism and Revolution 77-81, 83. 116 Cole, Modernity and the Millennium 52. 114

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the Young Ottomans, we should note the contact in an earlier generation between Bahāʾuʾllāh and Mehmed Namik Pasha (b. 1804), Viceroy of Iraq during part of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s stay there. Namik Pasha had been sent by the Sultan to Paris to study, and later to St. Petersburg as a military attaché and London as Ambassador. He had participated in a reorganisation of the Ottoman army in 1834. From 1861, as Viceroy, he initiated numerous reforms in fields such as taxation, irrigation, roads and education. In 1863 he had the task, on orders from Istanbul, of removing Bahāʾuʾllāh and his companions, including Abduʾl-Bahā, from Baghdad. The exile was prompted by the Iranian ambassador in Istanbul, Mirzā Hosayn Khān – the author of the reforms that Abduʾl-Bahā was later to support in The Secret of Divine Civilization.117 Hosayn Khān was influential through his friendship with Āli Pasha, who played a role drafting the first Ottoman Constitution. As a way of resisting this pressure, Namik Pasha had granted Bahāʾuʾllāh and some of his companions Ottoman citizenship, but he could not refuse to obey a direct order from Sultan Abdulaziz, when it came. He did provide the Bahāʾis with generous funds and letters to the various Ottoman authorities they would encounter on the journey. He also arranged the pension they would receive during their stay in Istanbul. The Young Ottomans were modern Islamic reformers, in contrast to the secular modernisers Fuad Pasha and Āli Pasha, who sought to strengthen the state along the lines of Napoleon or Peter I.118 To the Young Ottomans, and to Bahāʾuʾllāh, the two Pashas and Sultan Abdulaziz were tyrants, and their reforms did not go far enough. The Young Ottomans were founded as a secret society in 1865, with the aim of transforming Ottoman society by reforming (and preserving) the Empire by adopting constitutional government, which should continue to be rooted in some way in Islam. The leading figures initially were Namik Kemal and Ziya Pasha. From a small core, the secret society grew to have branches in other countries, the most important being those in Egypt and France. It published a number of influential periodicals with names such as “science,” “freedom” and “revolution.” From 1865, key figures fled from Ottoman control, going mainly to France and England. One suspected Young Ottoman, who was exiled to ʿAkkā early in 1869, was Sariyerli Hoca Sādik Efendi, a preacher who, according to a 117 The circumstances are given in more detail in Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 59-65, with reference to the relevant Ottoman archives. 118 The comparison to Napoleon was made by the Young Ottomans: see Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 92.

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French report from Istanbul, had preached “democracy, liberty, equality [and] brotherhood between all men, be they Christian or Moslem, Greek or Ottoman.”119 He argued (as one might expect of a cleric) that the clerics are the guardians of their civilization, and the Ottomans should not imitate European secularism – a critique of Āli Pasha and Fuad Pasha.120 When Fuad Pasha and Āli Pasha died, in 1869 and 1871 respectively, some of the Young Ottomans, such as Namik Kemal, returned to Istanbul, but in 1873 Sultan Abdulaziz banished Namik Kemal to Cyprus (where Bahāʾis and Azalis were already living in exile), while Menapirzade Nuri Bey and Ismail Hakki Effendi, a young theology student, were sent to ʿAkkā, and the historian Ebuzziya Tevfik and the novelist Ahmed Midhat went to Rhodes. Ebuzziya Tevfik knew of the Bahāʾis and received communications from Nuri Bey and Hakki Effendi via Bahāʾuʾllāh. Menapirzade Nuri Bey reports that Abduʾl-Bahā gave books to him and Hakki Effendi to help them to pass the time in their imprisonment in ʿAkkā.121 Hakki Effendi “paints a vivid picture of the Bahāʾis in ʿAkkā as cosmopolitan intellectuals who had their children tutored in European languages and took a keen interest in the international press.” The Bahāʾis by that time had a reasonably systematised “postal service,” necessary to link their own widely scattered membership. Namik Kemal, in Cyprus, knew both the Azalis and Bahāʾis there, and corresponded extensively with Abduʾl-Baha, who later burned the correspondence for fear of government searches.122 Namik Kemal writes scathingly of the Azalis in Cyprus.123 Meanwhile the Empire was in crisis: excessive taxation and incipient nationalism led to peasant revolts in the Balkans and Bulgaria, and reports of Turkish atrocities in suppressing the revolts provided Russia with an excuse to invade. On May 30, 1876, a palace coup that included Midhat Pasha 119 Cole, Modernity and the Millennium 58, and Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 88, both citing Mardin’s translation in Young Ottoman Thought. Ahmet Shamil Gurer (“Tanzimat Döneminde Sariyerli Hoca Sādik Efendi Vakasi,”) found no evidence that he had links with the Young Ottomans. 120 In his Tanzir-i Telemak, as summarised in Gurer, op. cit. 121 Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 99. 122 Cole, Modernity and Millennium 69. The cited translation is on the same page. See also Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 101. He may have corresponded directly with Bahāʾuʾllāh as well: there is a reference to an unidentified “Bahāʾi of high ethical standards” in his collected correspondence, whom the editor thinks is Bahāʾuʾllāh. See Dissent and Heterodoxy 102. 123 Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 100.

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deposed Sultan Abdulaziz, who later committed suicide. Abduʾl-Bahā refers regretfully to this in The Art of Governance: the reference could be either to the Sultan’s deposition or to the rumour that he was murdered. Abdulaziz was replaced by Sultan Murad V, who was close to the Young Ottomans and was expected to bring about constitutional government. However his mental health quickly declined, and after three months he was declared unfit to rule and was replaced by Sultan Abdulhamid II (reigned from September 1, 1876). In December 1876 a Constitution was drafted, under the leadership of Midhat Pasha, which for the first time envisaged a parliamentary system. The power of the Sultan was circumscribed in a constitutional monarchy with regular elections and an upper and lower house. The Cabinet was to be appointed by the Sultan. For present purposes (considering the message of The Art of Governance) a significant feature was the lack of any role for religious leaders. However the first Ottoman constitutional period lasted barely a year before Abdulhamid took back absolute authority, citing social unrest and the disastrous defeat by Russia. He reigned as an absolute monarch until he was overthrown by the Young Turk revolution in 1908. Namik Kemal (b. 1844), a central ideological figure in the Young Ottoman movement, emphasised the importance of Islam, fatherland and freedom. The last entails freedom of thought and the state’s respect for the political rights of the individual, which are protected by fundamental rules and by the process of consultation.124 From 1860, he and other reformist intellectuals such as Mohammad ʿAbduh and Bahāʾuʾllāh were advocating parliamentary rule and the rule of the people.125 In the early 1870s, Namik Kemal and other Young Ottomans also began to write in favour of pan-Islamic solidarity. By then there was general disillusionment with the West as a model, in the Ottoman Empire, since the Tanzimāt innovations had not prevented military defeat by Russia and growing economic dependence on the West.126 In 1876 he was released from exile in Cyprus, and found it necessary to deny rumours circulating in Istanbul that he had become a “Bahāʾi.”127 A patron of the Young Ottomans, Ahmed Shefik Midhat Pasha, avoided exile and, in 1878, became governor of the province of Syria, which included 124

Jahanbakhsh, Islam, Democracy and Religious Modernism 29. Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 67-69, 98. 126 Keddie, Islamic Response 22-23. 127 Cole, Modernity and Millennium 69. Another exile, Ahmed Effendi, is reported to have become a Bābi or Bahāʾi while on Cyprus. Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 102, notes the ambiguity of this report. 125

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Beirut and ʿAkkā. He had previously been governor of Baghdad from 186972 (thus after Bahāʾuʾllāh’s departure), and established military and civilian schools. He encountered some 70 Bahāʾi prisoners in Mosul in 1869, and set some or all of them free.128 He was also pressed by the Iranian government, as governor of Baghdad, to remove “Bābis” from the city in 1870: he did not do so. Back in Istanbul, he held various senior posts briefly, in each case clashing with the Sultan because of his support for constitutional government. In 1876 he joined with the Young Ottomans in drafting the Constitution, noted above. Midhat Pasha met Abduʾl-Bahā twice in ʿAkkā in May 1880, during his inspection of the Palestine region,129 when he stayed in Bahāʾuʾllāh’s “Ridvan Garden” just outside ʿAkkā. He was very much impressed by Abduʾl-Baha’s fluency in Turkish and the cogency of his answers on theological questions. Abduʾl-Baha’s eloquence is mentioned by a number of Ottoman intellectuals who met him. One writes, “Abbās Effendi’s firm grasp and proficiency in each of the Arabic, Turkish and Persian Languages is indeed astonishing.”130 In the elite society of the time, such eloquence created a presumption that one’s person and ideas should be taken seriously. On his return to Beirut, Midhat Pasha pressed Abduʾl-Bahā to go to Beirut, which he did in June 1880.131 While there, Abduʾl-Bahā also met the Egyptian progressive cleric Mohammad ʿAbduh, who was later to become the Grand Mufti of Egypt. The two became friends. Later (the date is uncertain), Abdullah Cevdet,132 one of the founders of the Young Turk movement, was to become a Bahāʾi, and another founder, Ishak Sukuti, “had a deep interest in the Bahāʾi philosophy 128

Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 109. Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 111. 130 Abdulgani Seni, translated in Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 112-113. 131 While Alkan dates this visit in June 1880, Balyuzi, (Bahāʾuʾllāh 378-379) dates what must be the same event, in which Abduʾl-Bahā met both Midhat Pasha and ʿAbduh, “sometime in 1879.” Balyuzi elsewhere dates Abduʾl-Bahā’s meeting with them both “in 1878” (Edward Granville Browne 5). McCants (“Abduh’s knowledge of the Bahāʾi teachings” 278-279) dates it in 1879. Midhat Pasha did not become Governor until 22 November 1878. Assuming that Alkan’s dating is correct, ʿAbduh must have either slipped away from his internal exile in a village in the Nile delta to visit Beirut, or immediately on the ending of his exile he made a short trip to Beirut before taking up his work in Cairo. The undated description of Abduʾl-Bahā’s arrival in Beirut is in Rabbani (Shoghi Effendi), God Passes By 193. 132 Not to be confused with Cevdet Pasha, a reformer from the Tanzimāt era. 129

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and studied its works,”133 suggesting that contacts between Abduʾl-Bahā and the Ottoman progressive intellectuals continued, whether directly or through the Bahāʾi community network. In following the Young Ottomans and Young Turks, we have bypassed some earlier developments in the Arabic world. To avoid beginning with the egg, we will start with Mohammad ʿAbduh’s teacher, Shaykh Refāʿa Rāfe atTahtāwi (1801-1873). After a traditional education and a position as imam in the army, he was attached as an imam to the first group of Egyptian military students sent to France to acquire modern training, beginning in 1826. He learned French, and recorded his self-education and observations in Takhlis al-Ibriz fi Talkhis Pariz (Refinement of gold in a review of Paris), published in 1834. France was then a limited constitutional monarchy. Tahtāwi witnessed the July Revolution of 1830, a popular – at least in Paris – revolt against Charles X’s perceived attempt at rolling back citizens’ political rights under the Charter134 of Louis XVIII (which Tahtāwi admired and translated). On his return to Egypt five years later, he worked in government service again and, in 1835, became the first Director of the School of Languages, which also involved supervising a translation programme: Tahtāwi and his students translated some 2,000 volumes.135 His own reading in Paris had included authors such as Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu. His economic thinking, described below, suggests that in Paris or later he encountered the work of Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825). He also became the Editor of Egypt’s first official newspaper. In addition to familiarising the Egyptian public with the way of life in France, he reconceptualised the role of religious scholars, whom he saw as religious intellectuals working for the nation rather than as custodians of a tradition. He preached the opening of the gate of ejtehād, which is to say, the reinterpretation of the tradition in the light of contemporary needs.136 It was legitimate to choose, among the rulings of the established schools of Islamic law, the one best suited to the circumstances, rather than choosing one or other school and following it consistently in all things. This “choosing the best” was and is known as eslehat, the same word 133 Hanioglu, Young Turks in Opposition 356 n. 345, based on correspondence in 1898. Sukuti was imprisoned in Rhodes, where Ebuzziya Tevfik had been in correspondence with Bahāʾuʾllāh, but this may be coincidental. There was a Bahāʾi community in Istanbul as well. 134 La Charte Constitutionnelle of 1791. 135 Husry, Three Reformers 12. 136 Zayd, Reformation of Islamic Thought 24.

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that is used in the Tanzimāt and Iranian modernist spheres to mean reform. Here it is a technical term in jurisprudence, giving the jurisprudent a limited scope in modifying the sharia. A related term, al-masāleh (the common good) gives the standard for selecting good innovations and rejecting bad. Tahtāwi may also have been the first to use the term mashura (consulting) to describe the parliamentary system, and to describe the three branches of legislative, executive and judiciary. He was the first writer to use the term watan (homeland) in the sense he had encountered in Europe: a country defined by political boundaries, rather than the landscape and towns familiar from one’s childhood.137 Tahtāwi provided a religious justification for strong central rule in which the legislature, judiciary and executive are departments of the monarchy. He rejected republican government, since subjects without a monarch would be a logical absurdity, and favoured primogeniture over “primitive” democracy. He assumed the rule of law, that being the sharia, but this provided only the principles of governance, while the monarch had wide discretion in determining the content of positive law in his realm. De facto, the only constraint on arbitrary rule is the ruler’s own wisdom. He should uphold the kānun by respecting his predecessors’ decrees: he lacks the authority to annul them, but has unlimited power.138 Tahtāwi popularised the theme of civilizational progress, and argued for the adoption of European sciences which, he said, the Europeans themselves had derived from Muslims in previous centuries.139 He also recognised Europe’s superiority in virtues such as truthfulness, justice and equity, patriotism and the spirit of commerce and adventure that had led them to colonise and Christianise the New World where, he laments, there are no Muslims, as they lack the energy to struggle (using the term jihād).140 Europe’s superiority in material and moral spheres is not due to Christianity, however – otherwise Egypt’s Copts would have the same qualities – but to secular rationalism and the rejection of tradition. Above all, Tahtāwi admired the justice and equity he saw in France. He argued for the rule of law, using the word kānun, in the earlier Ottoman sense of the ruler’s (and his predecessors’) just rulership embodied in

137

Husry, Three Reformers 30. Cole, Colonialism and Revolution 39-40. 139 Husry, Three Reformers 19. 140 Husry, Three Reformers 14-15. 138

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administrative legislation.141 To live in equality under a law that binds both the ruler and the ruled is liberty. Tahtāwi’s kānun (qānun in Persian texts) is more like the English constitution – compounded of documents such as the Magna Carta and the notion of the ancient rights of the Anglo-Saxons – than the Civil Code of the French, Swiss or Belgians, which served as models for later reformers in the Middle East. Accumulating as it does over generations, the kānun does need to be codified, but his concept is not identical to the rationally-based codes compiled by experts on the basis of reason, which is what qānun meant for the Persian reformers, including Abduʾl-Bahā. Their usage comes from the One Word of Mostashār al-Dawleh, and is a codified law newly created, as often as necessary, based on rational considerations regarding the needs of the times. Like Abduʾl-Bahā, Tahtāwi was actively religious (he wrote a biography of Mohammad), anti-revolutionary, and argued for universal education. His description of the mutuality of rights between the ruler and the citizens142 is similar to that of Abduʾl-Bahā in the works translated here, and his inclusion of the reformation of agriculture and industry in his plan for political modernisation resembles The Secret of Divine Civilization, although his labour-centred theory of value and critique of large landholding has no parallel that I know of in Abduʾl-Bahā’s writings.143 Abduʾl-Bahā is likely to have known his Parisian journal (publ. 1834), his thematic summary of his own views on modernisation, published in 1869,144 a book on the education of girls and boys, published in 1873, and some of his numerous articles in the Gazette that he edited. Khalil Ghanem or Ganem (1847-1903) was a Lebanese Christian, fluent in French and English as well as Arabic and Turkish, who held high office in Beirut and Istanbul. He assisted Midhat Pasha in researching forms of 141

Cole, Colonialism and Revolution 40. Husry, Three Reformers 25. 143 Husry, Three Reformers 27-28. Marx’s Das Capital was published in German in 1867, so Tahtāwi must have developed his labour-based theory of value independently. Abduʾl-Bahā does make a plea for fair living wages and a social welfare net, but this is not based on an economic theory of value, and centres on industrial slavery rather than the low wages paid to agricultural labour (in Egypt). Cole, in Colonialism and Revolution 42, suggests that it owes something to Saint-Simon’s vision of industrial society, which Tahtāwi, an agricultural landowner himself, generalises so that it includes plantation agriculture. 144 Manāhej al-albāb al-mesriyya fi mabāhej al-ādāb al-ʿasriyya (Curriculum for Egyptian minds regarding the joys of modern ways). 142

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constitutional rule that would be suitable for the Ottoman context, and played a role in the Young Turk movement. His 1879 book on political economy (Ketāb al-eqtesād al-siyāsi) has been credited with being the first systematic treatment of economics in Arabic. His thinking was previously published in the newspaper Al-Mesr,145 so it is not impossible that he may have influenced The Secret of Divine Civilization. He argues for progressive taxation and profit sharing – both themes in Abduʾl-Bahā’s later teaching – and for free trade and the permissibility of interest on loans, both Bahāʾi teachings from the time of Bahāʾuʾllāh. He was later (1893) to found a bilingual Turkish-French newspaper, Al-Helāl-Le Croissant, in which he attacked Ottoman despotism and demanded a constitutional regime, but this comes after the period of Abduʾl-Baha’s texts.146 As I noted above, clerics in Egypt had been reduced largely to poorlypaid state employees. They had not entirely lost their status however, and they were aware of, and shared, the various grounds for dissatisfaction with Ismaʿil’s autocratic rule, however much their political theology might have supported monarchical absolutism and obedience to it. In 1879, the most prominent of Egypt’s Sufi shaykhs, ʿAli al-Bakri, held meetings of notables and divines in his home to stir up religious feeling against the Cabinet, which included an Englishman, Rivers Wilson. “Mosque preachers, worried that the foreign-influenced cabinet might turn Egypt over to European control [for the country was virtually bankrupt, due to Ismaʿil’s European borrowings], began denouncing Riyad Pasha as a friend of the Christians and [therefore] an apostate.”147 Here we have a precedent for the policy of Afghāni and other Iranian constitutionalist activists of involving the clerics in their schemes (Afghāni was expelled from Egypt in the course of the year). The preachers demanded the reinstatement of the short-lived first Ottoman Constitution. A National Manifesto was produced: 19 of its signatories were clerics, 28

145 According to the review in Journal des Économistes Vol. 40, April-June 1881, 315, when Al-Mesr was late in printing the next part of the work, a high official was sent from the Khedive to ask the reason, and large numbers of subscribers from Syria and Egypt voiced their displeasure. Al-Mesr never completed the work’s serialisation, leading to its printing in book format. I have not discovered the precise dates of the partial serialisation. 146 It was much appreciated in Iran as well. It is conceivable that Abduʾl-Bahā knew of his earlier newspapers. French was at any rate not a foreign country for him, since the young people in Abduʾl-Bahā’s entourage were instructed, on his orders, in French by private tutors and visiting Bahāʾis. 147 Cole, Colonialism and Revolution 105.

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army officers and many of the others were urban notables. Graduates of Ismaʿil’s new schools do not feature: they had not yet attained the social rank that would make them signatories, but they could express their dissatisfaction through newspapers and salons.148 This coalition of discontent succeeded in getting the European members expelled from the Cabinet, but Egypt’s European creditors simply dismissed Ismaʿil and replaced him with his son, Tawfiq, who abolished consultative bodies and reverted to fully absolutist rule, with European backing. Naturally, the clerics and the army, whose funding had been reduced, resented the European domination. From these conditions emerged Egypt’s 1879-82 ʿUrābi Revolution, which ended, in 1882, with the country under British military control. The importance of the developments already outlined for us is that they lie between Abduʾl-Baha’s Secret of Divine Civilization and The Art of Governance, and provided a dramatic example – more telling than the Ottoman state at that time – of the potential for involving clerics to mobilise the population against the government, and also of the complete loss of national and cultural independence that could result from taking foreign loans and granting Capitulations to European traders. Foreigners could take their seats in Cabinet, and taxes could be raised to a brutal level enforceable only by providing tax collectors with whips, while European merchants were exempt from taxation. Given the Egyptian example, the reactions of Iranians, even before 1882, to the Reuter concession and the Tobacco monopoly, the state bank and foreign loans, and to the appointments of foreigners in tax collection and other functions in Iran, are entirely understandable. In 1857, Bay Mohammad proclaimed a “treaty of trust” for the Ottoman vassal state of Tunisia, guaranteeing equality and justice before the law. In 1860, he installed a Constitution of sorts. This was not a constitutional monarchy, since the Bay retained full executive power and appointed the members of the consultative legislature, but the judicial power was to apply the law independently using a codified law.149 A former head of the Tunisian Grand Council, Khayr al-Din al-Tunisi (b. circa 1820, d. 1889) wrote a work on politics and administration that was published in Istanbul 1867.150 Written following a long stay in Europe, it advocated constitutional government, 148

Cole, Colonialism and Revolution 106. Husry, Three Reformers 34. 150 Aqwam al-masālik fi maʿrefat ahwāl al-mamālek (The surest path to understanding the conditions of countries). An English translation by Leon Carl Brown was published in 1967 (Harvard University Press). 149

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the parliamentary system and modernisation of the educational system. Returning to government in Tunisia, he reduced taxes, raised import duties and lowered export taxes, and dramatically increased the scope of agriculture, for example by providing tax relief for new plantations of dates and olives, as well as founding a modern college and a public library.151 In 1877, he was summoned to Istanbul and appointed Prime Minister, a post that he held for only eight months. He was an advocate of the Tanzimāt modernisation but, as Prime Minister, wary of the effects of granting full civil liberties in a state as diverse as the Ottoman Empire. Even if Abduʾl-Bahā was unaware of his book when it was first published, he would certainly have read about it, and probably read it, when Khayr al-Din was Prime Minister of the Ottoman Empire. It was quoted and praised by Tahtāwi, in his “Curriculum for Egyptian minds” (see note 144 above). The Introduction, of some 100 pages, was also reprinted separately, in 1876 and 1881, in Istanbul and Cairo respectively, and in a Turkish translation in Istanbul in 1878.152 It presents Khayr al-Din’s political thinking, while the remainder describes the political systems he has observed. Starting with the demonstrable strength and prosperity of the West, Khayr al-Din advocates the adoption of Western practices, and – like Abduʾl-Bahā – against the belief that it is religiously forbidden to imitate non-Muslims. The arguments are that Western innovations are in fact early Muslim practices, borrowed particularly during the Crusades (as attested by fair-minded European historians), and that borrowing itself is one aspect of the superiority of the West. Like Abduʾl-Bahā, he points to the advice of Salmān the Persian, followed by Mohammad, in the battle of al-ahzab, and to the use of Greek logic by the earliest Muslim theologians. On these points, it is possible that Abduʾl-Bahā has borrowed Khayr al-Din’s arguments in The Secret of Divine Civilization. He criticised the export of raw materials to the West, and the import of European luxuries and manufactures.153 A society should produce the major part of its own needs. He was also critical of the capitulations that gave European traders privileges in Middle Eastern countries.154 Europe’s superiority is due primarily to justice and liberty, giving security and scope for individual effort, from which other advances flow. Liberty 151

Husry, Three Reformers 34-36. Islahi, Economic Ideas 10. The title, ‘Introduction’ (moqaddemah) is a reference to Ibn Khaldun’s work of the same name, to which he refers. 153 Husry, Three Reformers 39. 154 Islahi, Economic Ideas 9. 152

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(hurriyya) no longer refers to not being a slave, but rather to scope for civil and political participation. It entails security of life, property and honour and scope for individual initiative, as well as freedom of public speech and participation in politics. Liberty therefore depends on a system of laws that protect the weak and bind the rulers, but laws are not enough: despotic governments such as the Russian and Papal States have laws but no liberty, as the laws are implemented at the whim of an absolute ruler, and because they have no parliament. A force that restrains is necessary to society, but this restraining power must itself be restrained, by either a religious law or a rationally-derived law.155 Government must be accountable, according to the Islamic principle of “summon to the good … and forbid what is wrong.” The people who “loosen and bind” must have a share of the king’s powers and be guardians of the law, so that they can make the state accountable. Parliament fills this role, along with a free press and an educated public opinion. It appears that he also considered the divines among those who loosen and bind: he does at any rate hope for a partnership between statesmen and clerics, in which the latter ensure that progressive measures chosen are also in accordance with the religious law. Divines have a religious duty to cooperate with political actors to determine the public good.156 Khayr al-Din makes the connection between the Islamic concept of shura and parliamentary government, although the rare monarch who is both wise and of good character and capable in administration could dispense with consultation with those who loosen and bind. His economic ideas included promoting joint stock companies and a national bank and commercial banking, but without mentioning the question of charging interest on loans. He describes and advocates European systems of patents and copyrights. Mohammad ʿAbduh (1849-1905) graduated from Al-Azhar University (in 1877), where he encountered Afghāni, who was teaching private students in Cairo, and where he joined Kawkab Al-Sharq (Star of the East), an Arabic language Freemasons’ lodge that included a number of Egyptian and foreign notables, and Afghāni. After graduation, he taught texts in philosophy, history, political science and Arabic at Al-Azhar and other institutions in Cairo for two years. One of his texts was a translation of François Guizot’s 1828 History of Civilization in Europe, which notes in passing the borrowing of the compass, printing and

155 156

Husry, Three Reformers 45-46. Islahi, Economic Ideas 6.

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gunpowder from the East during the Crusades, but focuses much more on the relativisation of religious and social traditions in Europe due to intercultural contacts. Guizot also recounts the defeat of absolutism in the English Civil War and its aftermath (1642-1660), and the French Enlightenment. From this, he adopted and taught “the negative impact on the individual of absolutism and theocratic rule … and the positive impact on society as a whole of individual reason.”157 These themes are repeated in his later Beirut lectures and the book Resālat al-Tawhid which was compiled from the lectures (1885). Another text was Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddima, an influential introduction to the sociological dynamics in history. When Afghāni was expelled from Egypt in 1879, ʿAbduh, who was treated as his disciple, was sent in internal exile to his own village.158 A year later he returned to Cairo to become editor of Egypt’s official gazette.159 In 1882 he was exiled for three years for his support for the failed ʿUrābi Revolution, going briefly to Beirut and Damascus, and then to Paris where he joined Afghāni in founding an anti-clerical, anti-British, pro-caliphate Arabic newspaper,160 which lasted just a few months. Bahāʾuʾllāh notes that Afghāni sent him copies of this newspaper “to make amends for his past actions,”161 referring presumably to Afghāni’s hostile reference to the Bābis in the Persian version of Refutation of the Materialists162 and his encyclopaedia article on the Bābis, mentioned above. One wonders whether it might have been ʿAbduh, rather than Afghāni, who decided to send the papers. ʿAbduh left Paris for Tunis, where he wrote to Afghāni that he would no longer support the latter’s anti-colonial activities, as the interests of Muslims and Europeans were intimately connected. They seem to have had no contact from that time on.163 He then returned to Beirut to teach history and theology 157

Sedgwick, Muhammad ʿAbduh 16-17. “Muhammad ʿAbduh’s knowledge” 275, compare to 279. 159 Kerr, Islamic Reform. 104. 160 The newspaper’s name, Al-Orwa al-Wothqa (the strong handle) was a term previously used by Afghāni to refer to the Ottoman Sultan’s claimed caliphate. The paper ran to 18 issues, of four pages each, in editions of 900. (Sedgwick, Muhammad ʿAbduh 44, 50). 161 Tablets of Bahāʾuʾllāh 95. 162 Written in Persian and published by the Dar al-Fonun in Tehran, but best known in its 1885 Arabic translation by ʿAbduh and Arif Effendi, who removed the hostile reference to “Babis” (meaning both Bābis and Bahāʾis). See McCants, “Muhammad ʿAbduh’s knowledge …” 280. 163 Sedgwick, Muhammad ʿAbduh 57-59, discusses this break. 158

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at the Sultaniyyah school for three years in 1884-88 (dates uncertain). He also founded a society for reconciliation between the Abrahamic faiths. During this time he says that Abduʾl-Bahā “visited frequently.”164 One of ʿAbduh’s students in Beirut, Shakib Arslān, says that Abduʾl-Bahā was: … foremost among those [ʿAbduh] honoured … even though the Bābi way is different from what the Shaykh believes and is the creed that asSayyid Jamāl al-Din refuted so strongly. But he [ʿAbduh] revered ʿAbbās Effendi’s knowledge, refinement, distinction, and high moral standards and ʿAbbās Effendi similarly honoured ʿAbduh.165

In 1888 ʿAbduh returned to Egypt when, thanks to the patronage of Lord Cromer, he was appointed as a judge in Egypt’s newly-established “native courts.” He continued to correspond with Abduʾl-Bahā. His student, Rashid Ridā, claimed to have copies of Abduʾl-Bahā’s letters, which may yet come to light.166 One letter has been found, from Abduʾl-Bahā to ʿAbduh, probably in 1887.167 In this letter, ʿAbduʾl-Bahā says, in metaphorical language, that Islam cannot be reformed except by a new revelation. The letter begins with an allusion, in poetic terms, to the revelation of Bahāʾuʾllāh, the “mystic dove” who speaks in the Garden of God, causing a stirring in the realities of all things. This is the day in which “the earth shall shine with the light of her Lord.” (Quran 36:69). ʿAbduh should turn to the “Blessed Tree that speaks upon Mount Sinai” and then “draw forth your hand … amongst the concourse of the righteous.” This appears to be a summons to ʿAbduh to declare his faith in Bahāʾuʾllāh publicly. ʿAbduh should “remove this tattered 164 According to Rashid Ridā, as cited in McCants, “Muhammad ʿAbduh’s knowledge …” 279. 165 Translated in McCants, “Muhammad ʿAbduh’s knowledge …” 277-278. 166 Cole, “Muhammad ʿAbduh and Rashid Rida” 12. 167 McCants says it was written around 1885, in response to a book or letter (ketāb) that ʿAbduh had sent to Bahāʾuʾllāh. The letter is translated by McCants in “Muhammad ʿAbduh’s knowledge …” 292-295. McCants suggests (p. 282) that the ketāb might have been a copy of Afghāni and ʿAbduh’s newspaper, but Bahāʾuʾllāh believed (rightly or wrongly) that the copy of that newspaper which he received was sent by Afghāni, not ʿAbduh. Moreover by 1885 ʿAbduh had broken with Afghāni, and would have had no reason to send Bahāʾuʾllāh back copies of their newspaper. If the ketāb that was sent was not the newspaper, but simply a letter, then the dating “around 1885” can be revised, to some time before October 1887, since ʿAbduh replied on October 17, 1887.

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and threadbare garment” [Islam] and listen to “the melodies of the birds of holiness … [that] give life to the mouldering bone.” He should “abandon this mortal life” [political concerns?] and “scatter the seeds of wisdom.” By examining [Islamic] history he should see the need for “a firmer foundation … a more perfect bestowal … [that is] more redeeming in spirit for the body of mankind.” If he does so he will “attain immortality.” As for “this noble community” [Islam], “Nothing save a divine power can renew its tattered garment.” ʿAbduh’s reply expresses the most extravagant gratitude to Abduʾl-Bahā for the insights he has offered. He says that when he returned to Beirut he found a letter (ketāb) from Abduʾl-Bahā waiting for him, containing many sections. This is presumably Abduʾl-Baha’s rather long letter just outlined, and he says that he longs to go to ʿAkkā, but he does not respond to Abduʾl-Bahā’s call to embrace the Bahāʾi Faith.168 ʿAbduh also discussed Abduʾl-Bahā in his correspondence with Tolstoy, but all we know of that is that it must have been a positive comment, since Rashid Ridā, an active anti-Bahāʾi polemicist, saw fit to delete it.169 His roles at Al-Azhar, where he recommended changes to the curriculum, and his achievements as Grand Mufti come after our period. His genuine Islamic piety and the nobility of his character are often mentioned as factors in his influence. Before attending Al-Azhar, he had been strongly influenced by the Madaniyyah Sufi order that rejected taqlid (in the Sunni sense of strictly following historical precedents).170 ʿAbduh employed a source-critical approach to exegesis similar to that of Seyyed Ahmad Khān, but selectively: he would reject traditions that were contrary to the explicit text of the Quran, or to reason, or that contained

168 Translated by McCants in “Muhammad ʿAbduh’s knowledge …” (295-296). It is possible that ʿAbduh did not realise he was being called to embrace the Bahāʾi Faith. McCants himself did not draw this conclusion, but the meaning of the “tattered garment” is clear. Compare this letter to a similar letter Abduʾl-Bahā wrote to a Swedenborgian who had become a Bahāʾi and proposed remaining within the “New Jerusalem” Church. Abduʾl-Bahā’s answer contains many of the motifs we see in his letter to ʿAbduh, but with a different metaphor: “once a bird has grown its wings, it remains on the ground no more, but soars upward into high heaven – except for those birds that are tied by the leg …” (See “Abduʾl-Baha’s Tablet of Emanuel” at https://senmcglinn.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/ abdul-bahas-tablet-of-emanuel/, September 30, 2017). 169 McCants, “Muhammad ʿAbduh’s knowledge …” 291. 170 See further in Sedgwick, Muhammad ʿAbduh, Chapter 1.

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magical, satanic or angelic elements.171 He sought a balance between reason and revelation, using the categories of “the general good” and “necessity” to provide flexibility in the religious law. Reason and revelation are not two distinct powers applied to two spheres, collective and individual, but complementary approaches applicable in all spheres. Reason and revelation are different paths to truth that cannot contradict one another although their functions differ. This formulation is similar to that of Abduʾl-Bahā, in works written after our period, and the possibility of influence in one direction or the other should be examined. In many respects his thinking is strikingly similar to that of Syed Ahmad Khān, but at a less principled and systematic level. His legacy has been claimed by widely diverse currents in Islamic thought. As Kerr remarks: ʿAbduh’s historical role was simply to … expose a musty tradition to fresh currents. His intention may have been more specific, but the effect was not. … the teachings of ʿAbduh and his circle rested on intellectual foundations that were … vague and unsystematic. Their social and psychological impact was immense, but it was ambiguous.172

On the question of political reforms, he could both argue – early in his career – for representative government and assert that “only a just dictator can cause the East to progress,” meaning by that, apparently, the Ottoman Sultan.173

171

Zayd, Reformation of Islamic Thought 29. Kerr, Islamic Reform 17. 173 Kerr, Islamic Reform 135-136. Kerr (148-152) also discusses the 1902 work Al-islam wa ʿn-nasrāniyya maʿa l-elm wa ʿl madaniyya, which gives a coherent view of government in an Islamic society, as a purely civil matter (prefiguring the work of ʿAli ʿAbd al-Raziq in Al-islam wa usul al-hukm), but this falls after our period. Also outside our period is an exchange, in 1897, between ʿAbduh and his leading student, Mohammad Rashid Ridā (1865-1935), about the Bahāʾi leaders and teachings. Ridā was hostile to the Bahāʾis, for example agitating for the expulsion of Bahāʾi students from Al-Azhar, while ʿAbduh considered them “a progressive and creative Muslim group, and Abduʾl-Bahā a truly great man” (translated in Cole, “Muhammad ʿAbduh and Rashid Rida.” This quotation is Cole’s summary, p. 9). 172

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Newspapers I will not enumerate the reformist and revolutionary newspapers and journals of the period in Persian, Arabic and Turkish, because there were so many. Particular newspapers have been mentioned in passing above, since many of our authors founded newspapers or contributed to them. Khalil Ghanem founded not only Le Croissant, as noted, but also an Arabic paper, al-Bassir, a French journal La Jeune Turquie (origin of the name “Young Turks”) and he was involved in Kashf al-Niqāb and Moushir in Arabic, Mechveret in Turkish and probably others. He is a striking example of a general rule: the reformist authors’ daily bread came wrapped in newsprint, in two senses: the newspapers gave them intellectual sustenance, and an audience and income. In Iran, printing began in 1812 in Tabriz, and 1819 in Tehran, when Mirzā Sāleh returned from Europe with a printing press. However a printing press, and a free press, are two different things. Still, the government-controlled press within Iran conveyed not only government announcements but also news from the West: an election here, a constitutional crisis or revolution there. Such news unintentionally affects the climate of public opinion, for it says that absolute monarchy is not the only path possible, and that the alternatives are not easy. However Abduʾl-Bahā had better direct sources for his news and opinions: the Arabic and Turkish press and the Persian reformist newspapers published outside Iran. From the 1860s, clandestine “jellygraph” (hectograph) publications known as “night letters” voiced criticism of the government, and later of conservative clerics.174 This “beastly sticky” printing technique was suitable only for print runs of less than 100 copies, but compared to moveable type printing it was a revolution, especially for non-latin scripts. Lithographs were used for larger print runs, but the need for a press and stones meant that lithograph publications, like typeset newspapers, were mainly printed outside Iran and smuggled in. Akhtar was printed in Istanbul, Sorayyā and Parvaresh in Cairo, Habl ol-Matin in Calcutta, Al-ʿOrwa al-Wothqā in Paris.

174

Browne, Press and Poetry 21-22, 108.

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Masonic Lodges and Sufi Orders A brief mention should be made of the Masonic and quasi-masonic lodges, which were very important in Istanbul and Cairo, and briefly in Tehran, in linking the various reformers mentioned above and Europeans living in these cities. They are part of Abduʾl-Bahā’s context in a negative sense: he had no known contact with them, whereas most of the other prominent men discussed above did. The secret society that Malkom Khān established in Tehran in 1858 when he first returned from his studies in France has been mentioned above. Known as the Farāmush-khāneh (House of forgetfulness),175 it had no direct link with any Masonic order, and should be considered as Malkom’s own attempt to devise a secret society along Masonic or Jacobin Club lines, under his own leadership (he also received the membership fees), suitable for the Iranian context and serviceable to propagate modernising ideas. It was accused of propagating republicanism, in the French sense of the abolition of the monarchy, but this must be a terminological confusion, as the term jamhur refers ambiguously to any collective. Malkom’s writings at the time – which the members would have known – advocated constitutional monarchy, not a republic. The meetings in Tehran were in the house of Jalāl al-Din Mirzā, mentioned above, and included some of the students and European instructors at the Dār al-Fonun and, by one account, merchants and clerics. It was dissolved by the Shah in October 1861, but had a successor, the League of Humanity, also initiated by Malkom, which had branches in several cities.176 Prior to Malkom’s Farāmush-khāneh, most of the Iranians who went to Europe throughout the 19th century became Freemasons there, and some influential Europeans in Iran were masons, so the idea was in the air, and this model of organisation would not have been strange to the elite in Tehran.177

175 The name was current before Malkom’s time: it is used in Mirzā Saleh’s travel diaries, referred to above, as the name for a Masonic Lodge. He did not originate the term. Abduʾl-Latif Shushtari, in the late 18th century, knew of it, but chose to transliterate the English as Frāmisun (Zarcone, Secret et Sociétés Secrètes 13). “Forgetfulness” was then explained as meaning telling no secrets, whereas Malkom explained it as the members forgetting the distinctions and differences between them. 176 See Algar, Mirza Malkum Khan 36-53. On the participation of merchants and clerics, and others see pp. 43 and 48-51. On the League of Humanity see p. 55. 177 Abdul-Hadi Hairi, “Āzādi,” and “Farāmush-Khāna”, in Encyclopaedia of Islam,

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In the Ottoman Empire, there were lodges attached to the French or English orders in major cities by 1800, but it was not until about 1850 that Muslims began to join. In Egypt, French Freemasonry arrived with Napoleon, followed in 1838 by Italian Freemasonry, brought by revolutionaries following the crushing of the revolutions in the United Italian Provinces. Muslim elites, under the impression that Freemasonry played a major role in progressive European circles, began to join what was seen as a Christian association, in Egypt and Istanbul. In 1865 a French lodge in Istanbul decided to translate its rituals and bylaws into Turkish, and many Muslims were recruited: intellectuals, court figures and civil servants of a liberal or progressive persuasion, including Namik Kemal178 and Sultan Murad V. An Italian lodge in the same period was propagating the ideas of Garibaldi and the carbonari revolutionary societies, and an Ottoman carbonari society, the Patriotic Alliance, was the origin of the Young Ottomans society (1876).179 The lodges were repressed by Abdulhamid II when he replaced Murad V in 1876, and exiled many liberal intellectuals.180 For the Young Ottomans and Young Turks, and generally in the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia, Freemasonry and the Carbonari were regarded as the ideal model for a secret fraternity that would give its members the benefits of mutual support at home and when travelling, and as the most effective means for preparing “the people” for a change in the social and political system, and then coordinating their battle with conservative forces.181 The Bahāʾis had no need for this: they had a larger fraternal network that was more geographically spread, down to village level, with practical connections to the common people who were to be led to accept modernisation. What Freemasonry had, and the Bahāʾis largely lacked, was connections with the diplomatic services, where membership of Freemasonry seems to have been the rule rather than the exception. For the Young Ottomans and for Freemasons in Iran in general, the secret society was

Second Edition. Abu Tāleb Khān Isfahāni, mentioned above in relation to Persian travel literature, visited a lodge in London but declined to be initiated because of the riotous and licentious behaviour he observed there. 178 Zarcone notes that Namik Kemal had elaborated the essence of his programme before he joined the Lodge (Secret et Sociétés Secrètes 28). 179 Zarcone, Secret et Sociétés Secrètes 30. 180 Zarcone, Secret et Sociétés Secrètes 7-11. 181 Paraphrased from Zarcone, Secret et Sociétés Secrètes 29.

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a way to consolidate the ruling elite’s acceptance of constitutional reforms, while for the Young Turks it was part of their struggle against reactionary rulers. Russian progressive and revolutionary ideas, including republicanism, also reached Iran via Persians living or studying in Russia182 and exiled Decembrists living in Tbilisi following the failed 1825 revolution. The Southern Society of Decembrists and its predecessors borrowed much from Freemasonry, and most of the Iranian adepts of the Farāmushkhāneh and other lodges had lived for some years in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Sufi orders were another part of the intellectual landscape, and another means of transmitting ideas, in the Ottoman Empire. Alkan notes several studies showing the influence of the “Renewing Naqshbandi” in the drafting of the Tanzimāt decrees, including the claimed membership of Sultan Abdulmejid I, and in the implementation of Tanzimāt in Iraq. The leader of this order met Bahāʾuʾllāh in Iraq, and admired him, and the governors of Baghdad at that period had sent positive reports about Bahāʾuʾllāh, so the Sultan’s protective attitude to Bahāʾuʾllāh is not surprising.183 An indication of the scope and quality of the “Renewing Naqshbandi” order is that Syed Ahmad Khān in India and his parents were part of the same order.184 Before Bahāʾuʾllāh left Baghdad, he directed his followers to grow their hair in the fashion of the Bektashi order. The resemblances were not only in hair style: Bektashis were known for their tolerant ideas and support for the oppressed, and a culture of literature and music. They were intellectually influential in the Ottoman Empire, linked from 1826 with Freemasons, and at a later period to the Young Turks group. The reformers Namik Kemal and Mustafa Fazl Bey (an Egyptian prince and sponsor of the Young Ottomans) were both Bektashis and Freemasons.185 Abduʾl-Bahā, who kept his hair long from then on, would only need to keep silent to be mistaken for a Bektashi shaykh in the society of his times.

182 The reformist Hasan Melikzade Zerdabi (b. 1837) for example: Zarcone, Secret et Sociétés Secrètes 33. 183 Dissent and Heterodoxy 29-30, 39, 58-59. The universalist ethical teachings of Bahāʾuʾllāh given during that period would also have been agreeable to the Sultan’s policy of forming one people out of the disparate religious and ethnic communities of the Empire. 184 Troll, Sayyid Ahmad Khān 31; a summary of the order’s practice is on page 32. 185 Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 103-104.

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The Mevlevi order was also influential in the centres of power: from Selim III on, the modernising Sultans favoured it. Āli Pasha, Fuad Pasha and Midhat Pasha were close to the order’s leader, Osman Selahaddin Dede Effendi.186

186

Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy 77.

Introductions to the Works of Abduʾl-Bahā

The Secret of Divine Civilization The earliest of the works by Abduʾl-Bahā included here is the Resāleh-ye madaniyyeh (Treatise on Civilization), also known in Arabic as Asrār algheybiyya le asbāb al-madaniyyah (Heavenly secrets as to the means of civilization), and known in English as The Secret of Divine Civilization. Composed in 1875, it supports the administrative and broader social reforms of Mirzā Hosayn Khān, but looks mainly for organic reform from below, and especially through the efforts of Iranian intellectuals to waken and educate the masses. Abduʾl-Bahā gives virtuous and progressive Islamic clerics a leading role among these intellectuals; indeed most of his appeals are directed specifically to them. This is an important counter to a commonly expressed view that the Bahāʾi Faith, which has no clergy itself, is anti-clerical in principle. Relatively innovative elements in Abduʾl-Bahā’s programme include the need for a system of global collective security based on law and backed by force, and the suggestion that public officials should be chosen in periodic elections, rather than being appointed by the Shah, so as to give the public a supervisory role and inhibit corruption. Abduʾl-Bahā not only has definite reforms in mind, he also brings a sociological perspective regarding what makes reform possible without fragmenting society, and a comparative historical perspective. This perspective ranges from observations on the shape of society in medieval Europe to seeing what lessons can be learned from the Paris commune and the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian war. This was the second reformist treatise in Persian to be printed and distributed in Iran, after Mostashār al-Dowleh’s Yek Kalameh. Mirzā Fath ʿAli Ākhundzādeh’s Letters of Kamāl al-Dawleh was a few years earlier, and circulated in manuscript from the late 1860s. E.G. Browne has noted its wide dissemination,1 although I do not know of any evidence of how its message was received outside the Bahāʾi community. 1

“The Bābis of Persia” JRAS 21, 1889, 944, A Year among the Persians 328. In addition

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Its importance to Bahāʾuʾllāh’s project is indicated by the fact that, when the Hasani Zivar Press became available in Bombay, this was the second printed publication Bahāʾuʾllāh commissioned (the first being his Kitāb-e Iqān, or Book of Certitude). The paucity of references to this work on the part of Persian intellectuals of the period and since may reflect their unwillingness to be associated with the Bahāʾis, or in some cases genuine ignorance about its authorship. Adamiyat and Nateq, for example, know it from a defective manuscript, and refer to it as an unpublished, anonymous, and untitled work (in a footnote they call it the Resāleh-ye Siyāsi).2 They describe its author as an advocate of western progress, but note his critiques of western “civilization.”3 The primary influence is clearly Abduʾl-Bahā’s father, Bahāʾuʾllāh, who had already published many of the views that Abduʾl-Bahā expounds, and who had asked Abduʾl-Bahā to write a work on the causes of development and underdevelopment. As noted above, Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā had extensive contacts with the most prominent reformers in the Muslim world in the 1860s and 1870s, and were part of the reform debate.4 Mutual influences are both possible and likely, but they are not immediately evident in the works translated here. Style By contemporary English standards, Qājār prose is ornate and – especially in texts that lack punctuation – difficult to read. Yet, thanks largely to the style and critical contribution of Qāʾim Maqām (1779-1835), Qājār prose is

to the availability of printed copies, extracts have been printed in newspapers. See for example Mohammad ʿAli Chalungar, Ruznāmeh-ye Anjuman-e muqaddas-e melli-ye Isfahān, 6 Shaʿbān 1325/ 15 September 1907, see pp. 268-269. My thanks to Saghar Sadeghian for this reference. 2 Adamiyat and Nateq, Afkār-e ejtemāʿi wa siyāsi … see p. 114, and note 1. They date their manuscript 1292/1913 and provide a partial paraphrase that includes a few citations, which are so inaccurate as to suggest that it is at least a copy of a copy. 3 Pages 115 and 117. The last section they quote from this manuscript is not by AbduʾlBahā. The explanation may be that there is a version of The Secret of Divine Civilization published anonymously together with Ahmad Faqihi’s Hedāyat al-Moktafi, as noted in Danishpazhouh’s Annotated Bibliography item 36. 4 See Cole, “Iranian Millenarianism and Democratic Thought” and Modernity and the Millennium; Momen, ‘Bahāʾi influence,’ Alkan, Dissent and Heterodoxy.

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refreshingly accessible when compared to earlier Persian prose, which was burdened by courtly tropes and a mannered imitation of classical authors.5 The Secret of Divine Civilization is written in prose of high literary quality, making extensive use of alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, parallelism and literary figures, yet it reads quite easily. The thought, style and vocabulary, when compared to Abduʾl-Bahā’s other works, shows beyond doubt that AbduʾlBahā is the author, although it was initially circulated without the author’s name. At some points, aspects of the style hint that it may have been dictated to a secretary. Like The Art of Governance, it is structured in two parts, the argument being interrupted by a “mirror for princes” story of the moral education of King Noʿmān III (r. ca. 580-602) through the virtue of a Christian. This may be intended as a historical parallel, in which that King’s two mourned victims correspond to Amir Kabir (executed on the orders of Nāser al-Din Shah in 1852), while the virtuous Christian corresponds to Mirzā Hosayn Khān, in whom Nāser al-Din had again found a trustworthy and progressive Prime Minister.6 Argument At the time the treatise was written, reform from above still appeared to be possible in Iran, despite the dismissal of Mirzā Hosayn Khān. AbduʾlBahā expresses the hope that recent initiatives taken by the Shah would produce justice, impartiality, learning, civilization and progress. Whether he in fact thought that the situation presented new opportunities, or said these things rather in the hope of prompting the continuation of Mirzā Hosayn Khān’s administrative and social reforms, is a moot point. However, the book is intended not as an appeal to the court alone, but for a wide audience. Abduʾl-Bahā, like his father, emphasised social transformation through the mobilisation of the masses and a moral and religious revival which would create the social conditions to sustain reforms. There is a strong emphasis on the need for energy, effort, resolve and confidence to

5 See Safiʿi Kadkani, “Persian Literature (Belles-Lettres) from the time of Jāmi to the present day,” in George Morrison (ed.), History of Persian Literature 173-174. 6 This was not the only occasion on which Nāser al-Din Shah ordered the execution of an intimate during a moment of rage. In 1859 the eunuch slave Bashir, who had been responsible for his care as an infant, suffered the same fate (Amanat, Pivot of the Universe 37).

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enable Iranians to transform their country. That emphasis is repeated in the closing passages of The Art of Governance. Abduʾl-Bahā advocates a range of governmental and social reforms which could be broadly called “Western,” but he is also sharply critical of some aspects of Western civilization. He calls European culture morally superficial, as evidenced by Europe’s militarism, the oppression of the masses, class and cultural conflicts and civil wars. He endorses borrowing ideas from other countries and refers to European models and the Meiji restoration in Japan, yet he bases his own argument primarily on the values of reason, wisdom, mind, intellect and the innate capacity for building civilization, which the Persian peoples had demonstrated in the past. This could be characterised as a primarily indigenous,7 yet global-minded, approach to institutional reforms within the framework of a broader social development which would be based on individual moral development and persevering effort, which in turn would be sustained by mass education and a revival of true religion. Abduʾl-Bahā’s genuine reliance on religion to provide the social bases for development contrasts with some other prominent figures of the reform movement, who used Islam cynically as a means of making reforms palatable. He criticises reformers who line their own pockets,8 and emphasises that the members of consultative bodies must be virtuous. Yet he does not rely on virtue alone: the people also need to know what justice is, and pursue it and obtain it. His emphasis on education is similar to the position taken by his friend Mohammad ʿAbduh in Egypt, while his concern for legal reform and a codified law resembles that in Mirzā Yusof Khān’s Yek Kalameh. The repeated references to technical innovations perhaps look back to the reforms of Amir Kabir. The weight that Abduʾl-Bahā puts on the harmful effects of religious zealotry (illustrated by the mirror for princes episode mentioned above) is reminiscent of Mirzā Fath ʿAli Ākhundzādeh (1812-1878),9 but without his anti-clericism. Abduʾl-Bahā presents an optimistic picture of the contribution that progressive Islamic clerics could make if they were to

7 Note that this is not the same as nativism. Abduʾl-Bahā draws on the resources of Iranian history, religion and culture, but in The Secret of Divine Civilization in particular, he is arguing against Iranian nativism (and religious dogmatism) and in favour of critical cosmopolitan borrowing. 8 Perhaps a reference to Malkom Khan’s alleged corruption during his time as ConsulGeneral in Egypt, see the note on page 14 above. 9 See pages 29 and 30 above.

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concern themselves with the needs of the nation. The substantial section which addresses the clerics (the divines) is presented as an explanation of the Islamic tradition: “As for him who is one of the divines, protecting his self, defending his faith, opposing his passions and obeying the commandments of his Lord: let the common people imitate him.”10 At the same time, by attributing the European Dark Ages to the collusion of divines and rulers, he implicitly makes the separation of church and state, and their cooperation, a condition for progress in Iran, a theme he discusses in detail in The Art of Governance. Editions and Translations The Persian text was lithographed by a Bahāʾi-run press in Bombay in 1299/1882 (described in Rosen et al., 253-255) and bound in one volume with a letter Bahāʾuʾllāh addressed to Mānekji Sāheb in 1878.11 The latter is written in “pure” Persian without the use of Arabic loan words. Viktor Rosen reproduces the frontispiece of this edition and attributes the authorship of the whole text to Bahāʾuʾllāh (ibid., 253), who ordered its publication. This edition has not been consulted. A second printing in 1310/1892 has a different frontispiece and is bound without the Lowh-e Mānekji-Sāheb. The copy of this to which Browne refers12 is now in the Cambridge University Library (Moh. 436.d.6) and has been consulted. The colophon states that the scribe was Morteza al-Hosayni Mir Baraqāni (also known as Baraghāni and alHosayni al-Baraqāni), a professional with no known Bahāʾi connections. The widely-used Bahāʾi-Verlag edition of 1984 is a reproduction of the typeset Cairo 1911 edition, with some diacritics added. Since the Cairo edition is rare, and the copy consulted was missing several pages, I have used the 1984 reproduction. Since Abduʾl-Bahā’s practice was to review and correct the editions of his works, the 1911 Cairo edition, the last he corrected, has been taken as the master text, rather than the earlier Bombay printing which Browne knew. The 1911 Cairo edition and the 1984 reproduction include a short appendix by Abduʾl-Bahā on the Mamluk Sultan al-Ashraf Salāh al-Din 10 The sources, variants and translation of this tradition are discussed in page 145 note 39 below. 11 Translated as the “Tablet to Mānikchi Sāhib,” in Tabernacle of Unity, Bahāʾi World Centre, 2006. Online at http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/TU/tu-3.html (accessed June 10, 2014). 12 In “The Babis of Persia,” JRAS 21, 1889, p. 944.

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(Saladin) Khalil b. Qalawun (r. 1290-1293), explaining that his reference to Saladin the victorious Ayyubi King “who completely expelled the crusaders” is not to the more famous Saladin the Great, who liberated Jerusalem. This point had been misunderstood in Dawud’s 1910 translation. This appendix is part of the evidence that Abduʾl-Bahā supervised the 1911 edition closely. The first English translation of 1910 by Johanna Dawud is entitled The Mysterious Forces of Civilisation. This translation is poor, with some of Dawud’s own enlargements about conditions in Persia being incorporated into the text, and some typesetting errors. The 1918 edition of this translation corrects incidental mistakes, but apparently without reference to the original. Sections translated by Shoghi Effendi were published in the biennial record The Bahāʾi World, in 1928 (Vol. 2, pp. 52-53), and with revisions in The World Order of Bahāʾuʾllāh (p. 37-38) 1938. It was Shoghi Effendi who first used the title The Secret of Divine Civilization (with that spelling, despite his general preference for British English). In her 1957 English translation, Marzieh Gail adopted the title and one section translated by Shoghi Effendi, but not the others.13 She evidently relied on Dawud’s translation, since she sometimes repeats his mistakes with Arabic and Islamic vocabulary. Mana Kia has characterised her translation as “interpretive,” but, with the exception of her softening of Abduʾl-Baha’s reference to praiseworthy conquests, this is not fair.14 It is a conscientious translation, and a good one considering the limited research facilities available to translators at the time. Gail appears not to have been familiar with the reforms of Mirzā Hosayn Khān, with the result that specific references to these reforms are lost. For example, majles-e mamālek-e mahruseh is translated by Gail as “consultative assemblies in foreign states,” whereas the reference is to the provincial councils that then existed in Iran. In general, Gail universalises Abduʾl-Bahā’s thought, and casts it as hopes for the future rather than specific commentary on the condition and potential of Iran in 1875. A 1986 Arabic translation by Bahiyya Farajuʾllāh Gulick with a brief introduction by Suheil Badi Bushruʾi is published online.15 A Turkish translation entitled İlahi Medeniyetin Sırrı was published under Bahāʾi auspices in Ankara in 2014. This has not been consulted, but I have consulted a partial English translation and commentary by Oliver Scharbrodt, published in Bentlage et al., Religious Dynamics under the Impact of Imperialism and Colonialism (2015). 13

See the translator’s notes beginning on page 291 for the details. Civilizing Emotions, 163 n. 44. 15 http://reference.bahai.org/ar/t/ab/SDC/download.html, accessed Nov. 14, 2013. 14

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A Traveller’s Narrative The second work excerpted here is A Traveller’s Narrative.16 This has, in my view, been undervalued because it has been treated as a work of Bābi history. I suggest it should rather be considered an introductory text on the Bahāʾi Faith. It consists of a historical background, shaped to correct misconceptions; a survey of Bahāʾi ethical, social and political principles; and substantial quotations from key Bahāʾi texts in these areas. Once its genre is recognised, it becomes clear why it gives the impression of being skilfully compiled rather than composed, and how precious it is as an authoritative statement of the broad lines of Bahāʾi social and political thinking, from the earliest generations of the religion and from an authoritative author. The book, and particularly the sections excerpted here, can also be placed among the Persian reformist literature. Abduʾl-Bahā adopts the pose of a traveller and eyewitness to recent controversial events in Iran, promising historical facts which would be of interest to educated readers, and slips a reformist message about what should be done in Iran within the envelope of this genre. The historical sections serve not only as an initial gambit to interest readers: they illustrate the disorder which results when the state interferes in matters of conscience, and when reactionary clerics have a strong influence on public life. From internal evidence, it appears that A Traveller’s Narrative was written late in 1889 or early in 1890. (See the translator’s note on page 335). The manuscript handed to Browne is dated in the colophon January 10, 1890, and was given to him about April 15, 1890. The corrected manuscript in the hand of Meshkin Qalam that is reproduced in the Bombay edition is dated December 9, 1890. The possibility that the work was written specifically to be given to Browne on his arrival cannot be excluded, since Browne says that he carried a letter of introduction to a Bahāʾi agent in Beirut, and he might, in the course of obtaining that letter, have informed his contacts that he was intending to visit Bahāʾuʾllāh.

16 Maqaleh-yi shakhsi sayyāh, not to be confused with the Sayyāh-ye Guyad, a satirical work by the Persian reformist thinker Malkom Khān, which has been translated by Hamid Algar in his Mirza Malkum Khan, also under the title “A Traveller’s Narrative” (University of California Press, 1973).

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Readership At a time when much in the Bahāʾi teachings was not clearly understood, a work such as this would serve to consolidate thinking within the Bahāʾi community. However as indicated above, A Traveller’s Narrative appears to fall within the genre of Bahāʾi introductory and apologetic works, with a significant element of refutation of past misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the Bābi and Bahāʾi movements. A very early copy, perhaps the first to be made, was given to Browne, and the references to Europe in the opening pages suggest that a European readership was intended. On the other hand, the allusion to the genre of travel literature in Persian, in the first few pages, and the fact that it was published as an anonymous work suggests that it was written primarily for Persian readers seeking introductory information about the Bahāʾi Faith. For European readers, the text would have more interest and authority if the author’s name was known. There is no necessary contradiction here: given the censorship and limited publishing facilities in Iran, Abduʾl-Bahā might have seen an anonymous publication by Browne as a way of getting the text into the hands of Iranian readers. Style The style is somewhat more prosaic than The Secret of Divine Civilization, and considerably less rhetorical than The Art of Governance. It would be a good choice for students seeking an initial familiarisation with AbduʾlBahā’s prose. It exhibits Abduʾl-Bahā’s original turn of phrase, elegance of expression, and the persuasiveness of his rhetoric, with less use of literary quotations and rhetorical parallelism than the other works translated here. It has a higher proportion of Arabic vocabulary than one would consider typical for a traveller’s narrative, but is not so strongly Arabicised as some Persian theological texts of the period. As compared to Qājār literary texts, it is virtually shorn of adornment and affectation. As Browne has noted, it continues the Bābi practice of often using the past participle and an auxiliary verb where one would expect the past tense. Argument In the historical section, the persecution of the Bābi community is blamed on both bad governors, especially the Vizier, Amir Kabir, and reactionary

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Islamic clerics, who have no capacity for administration (siyāsiyyeh), while the Shah is exempted. Abduʾl-Bahā states: The Prime Minister, acting entirely on his own without consultation or permission, sent commands to all quarters to chastise and torture the Bābis. Magistrates and governors sought a pretext for meddling, officials sought a means of benefiting from the situation, and celebrated divines from pulpit tops incited mob attacks. The powers of church and state joined hands to eradicate and exterminate this community.

This gives Abduʾl-Bahā an opportunity to argue the virtues of freedom of conscience, as good practical statecraft. Oppression only drew attention to the Bāb’s claims, and where they could the Bābis defended themselves, leading to warfare. The disorder culminated in the execution of the Bāb, and the miraculous events associated with it,17 and the deaths of more than four thousand Bābis.18 The attempt of two Bābis to assassinate the Shah is described in indirect terms, as if the words “to kill the Shah” are too horrifying to set down. Bahāʾuʾllāh’s exile to Baghdad follows. Abduʾl-Bahā says that the Bābis were innocent of the political charges against them, and have been misunderstood, since when they speak of the sovereignty of the Qāʾim they mean a spiritual sovereignty, not an actual government. Moreover some of the Bābis themselves misunderstood the Bāb’s message, “and their ignorance led to disorder in some places.” But the writings of the Bāb consisted of scriptural commentaries and sermons, not – it is implied – calls for revolution. The narrative then shifts back, to the youth and early life of Bahāʾuʾllāh, who is the central figure in the remainder of the book. In Baghdad, Bahāʾuʾllāh made it clear to all that the Bāb’s aims were purely spiritual, not political. With the political question largely resolved, the Bahāʾis’ main problem was with clerical opponents, but Abduʾl-Bahā then emphasises that his words do not apply to all clerics, for “the learned who

17 Browne’s translation at this point suggests that the entire Armenian (Christian) regiment formed the firing squad, but Abduʾl-Bahā speaks of one fauj (company) from the Armenian fauj of the army at Urumiyyeh. Fauj is evidently used loosely to refer to a subdivision within a larger military force. Browne translates the same word a few lines later as “bodyguard” and then again as “regiment.” However many soldiers were present, one would assume that the majority, on such an occasion, would be allocated to crowd control. 18 The figure is in line with the sum of reports from various places, but may not include the women and children who were directly killed or died of maltreatment and starvation.

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practise and the wise who are just, they are as the spirit unto the body of the world.” Abduʾl-Bahā then turns to citations from Bahāʾuʾllāh to support his argument that the Bahāʾis do not seek any form of worldly dominion, and are not opposed to monarchy. He provides a compilation of essential Bahāʾi political teachings, taken from the writings of Bahāʾuʾllāh, and emphasises the duty of government to refrain from interfering in questions of religious belief. Such interference weakens the kingdom, whereas granting freedom of conscience to all subjects strengthens it, as can be seen from the example of the British Empire, and the backwardness of medieval Europe under clerical domination. As Cole has noted, Abduʾl-Bahā’s advocacy of freedom of religion and conscience in this work, extending to “the Shaykhis, the Sufis, the Alawites, and others,” “is far more thoroughgoing than that of either Locke or of the Ottoman Tanzimāt reformers” and “further even than most European states of the late nineteenth century had gone.”19 Editions and Translations The 2001 Bahāʾi Verlag edition of the Persian text lists five previous editions of the work, but I will consider only the “Bombay edition” and Browne’s 1891 edition and translation. Browne’s edition is a photo-lithographic facsimile of a manuscript in the hand of Zaynuʾl-Muqarrabin, which was presented to Browne by Abduʾl-Bahā. It was printed in two volumes at Cambridge University, and reprinted by Philo Press in one volume in 1975. Since the latter is readily accessible, and I have in fact used it, this version of the text is called the Philo Press edition in the notes. The Bombay edition is in the hand of Meshkin Qalam, whose colophon dates it Friday, December 5, 1890. That however is the date on which he finished copying the text, not the date of publication. The edition itself does not contain any information about where or when it was published: it is inferred that it would have been soon after the copying was completed, and in Bombay, since other Bahāʾi books of the period were published there. It would appear that a 1962 Tehran edition was a reprint of the Bombay edition.20 The Bahāʾi Verlag edition is based on the Bombay, rather than on Browne’s (Philo Press) edition, and with good reason: the Bombay edition was published under the author’s supervision and was altered by him to

19 20

Cole, Modernity and the Millennium 47, 39. This is on the authority of the Introduction to the 2001 Bahāʾi Verlag edition.

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include the full text of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Tablet to Nāser al-Din Shah, and other small differences. I too have used the Bombay edition as my master text.

The Art of Governance Abduʾl-Bahā wrote his Resāleh-ye Sīyasīyyeh, translated here as The Art of Governance, in 1892/93, and had it published in 1893, according to IshraqKhavari, or in 1896, according to the colophon in my copy.21 This is just after the period of the Tobacco Protest, which had demonstrated the political power of the Islamic clerics, when the forces leading to the 1906-1911 constitutional revolution were already evident. It was a period in which Bābis and Bahāʾis were actually involved in political events, and in which many actors who may have had little to do with these groups were denounced as “Bābis” to undermine their social status and political credibility. At the same time, ideas that we would recognise today as the precursors to political Islam were spreading, and leading Islamic clerics were becoming involved in politics, in Iran and in the Ottoman Empire. The centuries-old modus vivendi between the rulers of Islamic lands and the clerics was no longer taken as self-evident. Abduʾl-Bahā writes of the politicised divines: They have taken God’s clear Faith as a pretext and have stirred up a seditious commotion. … Gracious God! They claim to be shepherds, but have the characters of wolves; they recite the Quran, and wish to behave like wild animals. … Therefore it has become necessary to briefly clarify the most basic fundamentals of the Faith of God, and to remind the friends to be alert and watchful.

However The Art of Governance does not contain specific references to the events or personalities of the time. Abduʾl-Bahā seeks rather to set out the principles underlying the ideal relationship between religion and politics (in the broad sense) and between the government and the people.

21 Ishraq-Khavari, Daʾirat al-Maʿarif-i Bahāʾi under “Resaleh” (volume 9, gif 100). The colophon to the Bombay edition of which I have a copy states that it was published on 1 Muharram 1314, or June 13, 1896.

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Readership From the statement of the author’s purpose at the beginning of The Art of Governance, and from the last paragraphs, it is evident that the text is written primarily for Bahāʾis, to warn them against the activities of one or more persons close to the Bahāʾi community who were attempting to involve the Bahāʾi community in political schemes against the government. With less certainty, it would appear from the historical examples and the scriptural sources that Abduʾl-Bahā uses that this person was disputing the legitimacy of worldly government and proposing to replace it with a religious government. Abduʾl-Bahā therefore seeks to clarify the Bahāʾi teachings on politics and to warn the Bahāʾis not to become involved in any revolution against the Shah. But it is also in part addressed to the leading clerics, arguing that they should not accept the authority to direct the worldly affairs of the nation that reformers were endeavouring to thrust upon them, and to the Shah and his ministers. The book was in fact presented to the Shah and leading notables.22 In addressing the audience at court, Abduʾl-Bahā’s purpose was on the one hand to make it clear that the Bahāʾis had nothing to do with those Azalis (Bābi followers of the claimant Sobh-e Azal) who were involved in attempts to mount a revolution, and on the other hand to point out that, although the Islamic clerics had for a generation been telling the Shah that the new religion was a threat and should be suppressed, it was actually other “parties” that threatened the throne – implicitly referring not only to the secular revolutionaries, but to some leading anti-Bahāʾi clerics such as Āqā Mohammad Najafi. Style The Persian original is certainly best appreciated when read out loud. Many sections are written in exhortatory style, in rhyming Persian prose with a declamatory rhythm. The overall effect of the original is of a persuasive Persian sermon in high rhetorical style, the first half dealing with exegesis of scripture and the second with the contemporary application of the scriptural principles. The structure of the language, with the sustained use of two-part sentences and the frequent use of paired synonyms, reflects Abduʾl-Bahā’s theme: that God’s guidance for the world acts through a two-fold order,

22

Balyuzi, Eminent Bahāʾis 176.

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religious and political. In his words, “This prohibition and prevention, rules and restraints, leading and impelling, is divided into two types.” Argument Abduʾl-Bahā himself wrote later that “The treatise outlines the sacred rights of government, and the rights of the people that are to be respected, as well as the relationship between the shepherd and the flock, the ties between the governor and the governed, and the necessary relations between the leader and the led.”23 Another equally important theme is that religious leaders must not be involved in politics. In combination with the freedom of religion from state interference, for which Abduʾl-Bahā argues in A Traveller’s Narrative, this is recognisably the same as the separation of church and state. However a third important theme in The Art of Governance is that the religious order and political governance are complementary. A similar point was made in The Secret of Divine Civilization, which enlarged on the educational and exemplary role of virtuous clerics. Abduʾl-Bahā begins with the fact, which he takes to be self-evident, that social well-being requires leadership. This leadership is of two types: the secular and the religious. Both of these are divinely mandated. He proves this first with Bahāʾi scriptural texts, and then, in the second half of the “sermon,” with four historical examples, and concludes that the political role of religious leaders should be limited to explaining the implications of religious teaching to the government, when the government asks for their opinions. This argument is reinforced by the observation that clerics have themselves been oppressors. The implication is that certain reformists’ attempts to enlist the divines in support of the people’s cause is unwise as a tactic, as well as being wrong in principle. However virtuous divines are excluded from these strictures: they are “the educators of souls, they bring glad tidings to the hearts / They are a guide to the nations, the heralds of God among the children of Adam.” Abduʾl-Bahā then turns to the complementarity of religious teachings and the social order that is sustained by government. Both have direct divine mandates, proven this time not with Bahāʾi scriptural texts but with verses from the Quran. Finally, Abduʾl-Bahā warns against

23 The letter is dated June 22, 1907. A full translation and source can be found in my Church and State, p. 378.

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revolution, by stressing the mutual obligations that exist between the rulers and the ruled, and the benefits that both enjoy if they recognise that they need one another. Editions and Translations The Art of Governance was first published in Persian in 1893 or 189624 in Bombay, as a lithograph in the hand of Meshkin Qalam. I have used this as the master text, since the next edition, a typeset version printed in Tehran by Mohammad Labib in 1935, could not have been checked by Abduʾl-Bahā, although Labib may have used a correction sheet issued by Abduʾl-Bahā. An electronic edition in Persian published by the Bahāʾi World Centre has also been consulted.25 The first translation I am aware of is La Politique, an unpublished French translation by H. Dreyfus.26 An English translation by Juan Cole entitled “Abduʾl-Bahā’s ‘Treatise on Leadership’” has been published electronically.27 A German translation by Soroush Shahidinejad with assistance from Armin Eschraghi appeared in the 2013 issue of the Zeitschrift für Baháʾí-Studien, together with a supplementary paper, being a detailed description of the social and political circumstances of the time. My translation was initially published electronically, under the title Sermon on the Art of Governance, in Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Bahāʾi Texts, vol. 7, no. 1 (March 2003),28 but without a critical edition of the Persian text. My translation has of course been updated as I have done the source-critical work and studied further texts by Abduʾl-Bahā. Because Abduʾl-Bahā is known as a Bahāʾi author, and because The Art of Governance maintains that religious leaders should not play any political role, the text is virtually unobtainable in Iran at present. The Islamic Republic tries to block access 24 The 1896 and 1935 editions are available online at http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/ areprint/vol2/siyasi.htm. That page notes that “It may have been published the following year [1893] in Bombay, but the first attested printed edition is at the Dutt Prasad Press in Bombay on 1 Muharram 1314/June 12, 1896.” 25 Downloaded from http://reference.bahai.org/fa/t/ab/; available as at June 10, 2014. The edition states that it is based on the 1934 [sic] Tehran edition. 26 It is undated, but was probably translated around 1920. It is available online at http:// www.bahai-biblio.org/centre-doc/saint/abd-politique.htm (accessed on June 10, 2014). 27 Published in Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Bahāʾi Texts, vol. 2, no. 2 (May 1998), available online at https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/trans/vol2/siyascom.htm (accessed June 10, 2014). 28 http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/trans/vol7/govern.htm (accessed June 10, 2014).

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to websites containing such Bahāʾi texts. It is hoped that the present edition will fill a need in Iran, in addition to the readerships that were mentioned earlier, as it is a crucial work in the development of Iranian modernism and its message continues to be relevant today.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬ ‫اي‬ ‫اﴎار اﻟﻐﯿﺒﯿﻪ ﻻﺳـﺒﺎب اﳌﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬ The Secret of Divine Civilization or Heavenly secrets as to the means of civilization

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‫ﺑﺴﻢ اّهلل اﻟّﺮﲪﻦ اﻟّﺮﺣﲓ‬ ‫ﺑﺪاﯾﻊ ﲪﺪ و ﺛﻨﺎ و ﺟﻮاﻣﻊ ﺷﮑﺮ و ﺳـﭙﺎس درﮔﺎﻩ اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎری را زساﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ از ﺑﲔ ﰷﻓ ّﻪء ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ‬ ‫ﮐﻮﻧّﯿﻪ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ را ﺑﺪاﻧﺶ و ﻫﻮش ﮐﻪ ﻧّﲑﯾﻦ اﻋﻈﻤﲔ ﻋﺎﱂ ﮐﻮن و اﻣﲀﻧﺴﺖ ﻣﻔﺘﺨﺮ و ﳑﺘﺎز ﻓﺮﻣﻮد و‬ ‫از ﻧﺘﺎﰀ و ا ٓاثر ا ٓن ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ ﻋﻈﻤﯽ در ﻫﺮ ﻋﴫ و ﻗﺮﱏ ﻣﺮا ٓت ﰷﺋﻨﺎت را ﺑﺼﻮر ﺑﺪﯾﻌﻪ و ﻧﻘﻮش ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ‬ ‫ﻣﺮﺗﺴﻢ و ﻣﻨﻄﺒﻊ ﳕﻮد ﭼﻪ اﮔﺮ ﺑﺪﯾﺪﻩء ﭘﺎک در ﻋﺎﱂ وﺟﻮد ﻧﮕﺮی ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ از ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﻓﮑﺮ و‬ ‫داﻧﺶ ﻫﯿﲁ ﻋﺎﱂ در ﻫﺮ دوری ﲜﻠﻮﻩ و ﻃﻮری ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ و ﺑﻠﻄﺎﺋﻒ ﲞﺸﺎﯾﺶ ﺟﺪﯾﺪی ﻣﺘﺒﺎﻫﯽ و ﻣﻔﺘﺨﺮ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ا ٓﯾﺖ ﮐﱪای ﺧﺪاوﻧﺪ ﰉ ﳘﺘﺎ در ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﻨﺶ و ﴍف ﺑﺮ ﲨهلء ﳑﮑﻨﺎت ﺳـﺒﻘﺖ و ﭘﯿﺸﯽ داﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫و ﺣﺪﯾﺚ ﴿ ٔاّول ﻣﺎ ﺧﻠﻖ اّهلل اﻟﻌﻘﻞ ﴾ ﺷﺎﻫﺪ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻄﻠﺐ و در ﺻﺪر اﳚﺎد در ﻫﯿﲁ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ ﻣﻦ ﺣﯿﺚ‬ ‫اﻟّﻈﻬﻮر ﻣﺸّﺨﺺ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﭘﺎک و ﻣّﲋﻩ اﺳﺖ ﺧﺪاوﻧﺪی ﮐﻪ ابﴍاﻗﺎت اﻧﻮار اﯾﻦ ﻟﻄﯿﻔﻪء رّابﻧّﯿﻪ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻇﻠﲈﱏ را ﻏﺒﻄﻪء ﻋﻮاﱂ ﻧﻮراﱏ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﻣﻮد ﴿ و ٔاﴍﻗﺖ ﻻرض ﺑﻨﻮر ر ّﲠﺎ ﴾ ﻣﺘﻌﺎﱃ و ﻣﻘّﺪس اﺳﺖ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎری ﮐﻪ ﻓﻄﺮت اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ را ﻣﻄﻠﻊ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻓﯿﺾ انﻣﺘﻨﺎﻫﯽ ﻓﺮﻣﻮد ﴿ اﻟّﺮﲪﻦ ﻋّﲅ اﻟﻘﺮا ٓن ﺧﻠﻖ الاﻧﺴﺎن ﻋﻠ ّﻤﻪ اﻟﺒﯿﺎن ﴾‬

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[Preamble] Prodigies of praise and thanks, manifold expressions of gratitude and thankfulness, are due to the court of God’s Oneness, for out of all the realities of existence, He singled out the human reality and honoured it with knowledge and understanding, the two most luminous lights in this world, and in the entire creation. Through the effects and products of that supreme endowment, He has painted new images and imprinted wondrous forms on the mirror of creation in every age and dispensation. For if we cast a pure eye upon the realm of existence, it is apparent that in every cycle the body of the world is adorned with a certain quality and splendour and is honoured through the new virtues bestowed upon it through emanations from knowledge and insight. This great sign of God has no peer in His creation and has been honoured above all created things. The tradition which says, “Before all else, God created reason” bears witness to this fact. From the dawn of creation, it was ordained that reason should be manifest in the human temple. Pure and blameless is He who has made our world of darkness the envy of the worlds of light, through the radiance of this heavenly bounty. As it is written: “The earth shone by the light of her Lord.”1 Holy and exalted is He, Who has decreed that the innate nature of human beings should become the source of this boundless grace. As it is written: “The God of mercy taught the recitation of His Word: He created human beings and taught them articulate speech.”2

1 2

Quran 39:69. Quran 55:1-4.

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‫ﴬع‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ای ﻫﻮﴰﻨﺪان ﺑﺸﮑﺮاﻧﻪء اﯾﻦ ﻓﻀﻞ اﻋﻈﻢ ابﯾﺪ دﺳﺖ ﻧﯿﺎز ﺑﺒﺎرﮔﺎﻩ رّب ﰉ اﻧﺒﺎز ﺑﺮاﻓﺮاﺧﺖ و ﺗ ّ‬ ‫و اﺑﳤﺎل ﳕﻮد ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮﻓّﻖ ﺑﺮ ا ٓن ﮔﺮدﱘ ﮐﻪ در اﯾﻨﻌﻬﺪ و ﻋﴫ ﺳـﻨﻮﺣﺎت رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ از وﺟﺪان ﻧﻔﻮس اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﻃﺎﻟﻊ و ﻻﰁ ﮔﺮدد ات اﯾﻦ انر ﻣﻮﻗﺪﻩء رّابﻧّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮدوع در اﻓﺌﺪﻩء ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ ﶊﻮد ﳕﺎﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﺪﯾﺪﻩء ﺑﺼﲑت ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ا ٓاثر و اﻓﲀر و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻓﻨﻮن و ﺣﲂ و ﻋﻠﻮم و ﺻﻨﺎﺋﻊ و ﺑﺪاﺋﻊ‬ ‫ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪء ﻣﺘﻨّﻮﻋﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ از ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﻋﻘﻞ و داﻧﺶ اﺳﺖ ﻫﺮ ﻃﺎﯾﻔﻪ و ﻗﺒﯿهلء ﮐﻪ در اﯾﻦ ﲝﺮ ﰉ ﭘﺎاين ﺑﯿﺸﱰ‬ ‫ﺗﻌّﻤﻖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ از ﺳﺎﺋﺮ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻣﻠﻞ ﭘﯿﺸﻧﱰﺪ ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﻫﺮ ﻣﻠ ّﱴ در ا ٓﻧﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ از اﻓﻖ ﻣﻌﺎرف‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﴰﺲ ﻣﴩق ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ ﴿ ﻫﻞ ﯾﺴـﺘﻮی اّذلﯾﻦ ﯾﻌﻠﻤﻮن و اّذلﯾﻦ ﻻﯾﻌﻠﻤﻮن ﴾ و ﴍاﻓﺖ و ﻣﻔﺨﺮت‬ ‫اﻧﺴﺎن در ا ٓﻧﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺑﲔ ﻣٔﻼ اﻣﲀن ﻣﻨﺸﺎٔ ﺧﲑی ﮔﺮدد در ﻋﺎﱂ وﺟﻮد ا ٓاي ﻧﻌﻤﱴ اﻋﻈﻢ از ا ٓن ﻣﺘﺼَّﻮر‬ ‫اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻧﺴﺎن ﭼﻮن در ﺧﻮد ﻧﮕﺮد ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﮐﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺘﻮﻓﯿﻘﺎت اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت‬ ‫و ﻣﻨﻔﻌﺖ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ ﻻ واّهلل ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ّذلت و ﺳﻌﺎدﰏ اّﰎ و اﮐﱪ از اﯾﻦ ﻧﻪ‬ ‫ات ﺑﮑﯽ ﺑﭙﺮ ﻧﻔﺲ و ﻫﻮی ﭘﺮواز ﳕﺎﺋﲓ و اتﺑﮑﯽ در اﺳﻔﻞ هجﻞ ﺑﻨﮑﺒﺖ ﮐﱪی ﭼﻮن اﱈ ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﻪ ﺑﴪ ﺑﺮﱘ‬ ‫ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر ﭼﺸﻢ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ در ا ٓﻓﺎق ﺑﻨﮕﺮﱘ و ا ٓچنﻪ وﺳـﯿهلء ﲤّﺪن و اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ ﺑﺎ ٓن ﺗﺸﺒﺚ‬ ‫ﳕﺎﺋﲓ و ﮔﻮش اﺣﺴﺎن ﺷﺪﻩ ات ﳇﲈت ﺣﳬّﯿﻪء ﻋﻘﻼ و دااناين را اﺳـامتع ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﭘﻨﺪ ﮔﺮﻓﺘﻪ ﳈﺮ ّﳘﺖ‬ ‫ابﺟﺮای ﻣﻘﺘﻀﯿﺎت ا ٓن ﺑﺮﺑﻨﺪﱘ ﺣﻮاس و ﻗﻮای ابﻃﻨّﯿﻪ ﻋﻄﺎ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﮐﻪ در اﻣﻮر ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪء ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﺖ‬ ‫ﴏف ﳕﺎﺋﲓ و ﺑﻌﻘﻞ دورﺑﲔ ﺑﲔ اﺟﻨﺎس و اﻧﻮاع ﻣﻮﺟﻮدات ﳑﺘﺎز ﺷﺪﻩ‬

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O you who are wise! Out of gratitude for this supreme grace, raise your suppliant hands to the court of the one God, and humble yourselves and be lowly before Him, for we have lived to see the day, in this dispensation, when waves of heavenly power dawn and radiate from the conscience of humanity, so that the flame of the Lord’s fire may be rekindled in human hearts. Every discerning eye will see that all these works, these concepts, knowledge, useful arts and philosophical systems, these sciences, industries and inventions – have all emanated from reason and knowledge. Any people, of whatever race, that has ventured deeper into this shoreless sea has progressed more than other races and peoples. The happiness and pride of any people lie in this, that it rises like the sun from the horizon of knowledge. “Should they be equal, those who know and those who do not know?”3 And the honour and distinction of the human person lies in this: that he is the source of some good among the whole assembly of contingent beings. Is any boon greater than this conceivable in the world of existence: that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of advantages and happiness, for the human race? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight. How long shall we be carried away on the wings of self and desire? How long shall we spend our lives in the depths of disgrace, in ignoble ignorance, like uncivilized people? God has given us eyes, that we may search all regions and lay hold of whatever is conducive to civilization, whatever will benefit humanity. He has given us ears, that we may listen to the counsels of the knowledgeable and wise, be guided by them, and gird up the loins of endeavour to implement whatever this implies. The senses and interior faculties have been conferred so that we may dedicate ourselves to matters of benefit to human society. Among all the species of creation, we have been distinguished by far-seeing reason.

3

Quran 39:9.

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‫داﲚًﺎ ﻣﺴـﳣّﺮًا در اﻣﻮر ﳇّّﯿﻪ و ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﻪ و همّﻤﻪ و ﻋﺎدﯾﻪ ﻣﺸﻐﻮل ﮔﺮدﱘ ات ﲨﯿﻊ در ﺣﺼﻦ ﺣﺼﲔ داانﰃ‬ ‫ﳏﻔﻮظ و ﻣﺼﻮن ابﺷـﲓ و در ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﺣﯿﺎن ﲜﻬﺖ ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺎس ﺟﺪﯾﺪی ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ و ﺻﻨﻊ ﺑﺪﯾﻌﯽ‬ ‫اﳚﺎد و ﺗﺮوﱕ ﳕﺎﺋﲓ‬ ‫ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر اﻧﺴﺎن ﴍﯾﻒ و ﻋﺰﯾﺰ اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ ﺑﺎ ٓچنﻪ ابﯾﺪ و ﺷﺎﯾﺪ ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر رذﯾﻞ و ذﻟﯿﻞ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫اﮔﺮ از ﻣﻨﻔﻌﺖ ﲨﻬﻮر ﭼﺸﻢ ﭘﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ در ﻓﮑﺮ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذاﺗّﯿﻪ و اﻏﺮاض ﴯﺼّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﲻﺮ ﮔﺮاﳕﺎﯾﻪ را ﺑﮕﺬراﻧﺪ‬ ‫اﻋﻈﻢ ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺳﻌﺎدت اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و اوﺳﺖ ﻣﺪرک ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ا ٓايت ا ٓﻓﺎﻗﯿّﻪ و اﻧﻔﺴـّﯿﻪ اﮔﺮ ﲰﻨﺪ ّﳘﺖ ﺑﳱﻤﺘﺎ را‬ ‫در ﻣﯿﺪان ﻋﺪل و ﲤّﺪن ﺟﻮﻻن دﻫﺪ ﴿ ﺳﲊﳞﻢ ا ٓايﺗﻨﺎ ﰱ اﻻٓﻓﺎق و ﰱ ٔاﻧﻔﺴﻬﻢ ﴾‬ ‫و اﮐﱪ ﺷﻘﺎوت ﺷﻘﺎوت ﺑﴩﯾﺴﺖ اﮔﺮ ﰷﻫﻞ و ﶏﻮد و ﻣﻨﺠﻤﺪ و ﻣﳯﻤﮏ در ﺷﻬﻮات ﻧﻔﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺎﻧﺪ در‬ ‫ﴬﻩ ﭘﺴﺖﺗﺮ اﻓﺘﺪ ﴿ ٔاوﻟﺌﮏ ﰷﻻﻧﻌﺎم ﺑﻞ ﱒ‬ ‫اﯾﻨﺼﻮرت در درﰷت اﺳﻔﻞ ﺗﻮّﺣﺶ و‪ 4‬انداﱏ از ﺣﯿﻮاانت ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﴍ اّدلوا ّٓب ﻋﻨﺪ اّهلل اﻟّﺼّﻢ اﻟﺒﲂ اّذلﯾﻦ ﻻﯾﻌﻘﻠﻮن ﴾‬ ‫ٔاﺿّﻞ ﴾ ﴿ اّن ّ‬ ‫ابری ابﯾﺪ داﻣﻦ ّﳘﺖ ﺑﳬﺮ ﻏﲑت زد و از ﻫﺮ هجﺖ ابﺳـﺒﺎب ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﻣﻌﺎرف و‬ ‫ﲤّﺪن و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و ﻋّﺰت و ﴍف و ﻋﻠّﻮ ﻣﲋﻟﺖ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﳕﻮد‬

‫‪4‬‬ ‫‪, at the end of one line and the beginning of the‬و ‪The Bombay edition doubles the‬‬ ‫‪following.‬‬

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Unceasing and unswerving, we should throw ourselves into general and particular issues, current matters and great questions, so that we may all be safe and secure in the impregnable stronghold of understanding. We should continually be establishing new foundations for human happiness and creating and disseminating innovative technologies. How noble and precious an individual is if he sets to work on what could and should be done; how wretched and contemptible he is if he shuts his eyes to the welfare of society and focuses his precious life on his inborn desires and interests. The greatest happiness is the happiness of humanity, and it is achieved when one who understands the signs in the world and in human beings spurs the steed of extraordinary aspirations in the arena of civilization and justice. As it is written: “We will show them Our signs in the world and within themselves.”5 The greatest misery is a human misery, that a man should remain indolent, inert, apathetic and immersed in sensual appetites. When he is in this condition, uncultured and ignorant to the extreme, he falls lower than the vermin. So it is written: “They are like the grazing beasts: nay, they stray even more … For the vilest beasts in God’s sight are the deaf, the dumb, who understand not.”6 We must gird the robe of high ideals with the belt of zeal. We must, by all possible means, seize on the causes of the peace and well-being, happiness and attainment, culture and industry, the dignity, nobility and high station of the entire human race.

5 6

Quran 41:53. Quran 7:179; 8:22.

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‫ات از زﻻل ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪ و ﺳﻠﺴﺎل هجﺪ و ﮐﻮﺷﺶ اراﴇ ﻗﺎﺑﻠّﯿﺎت اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﺑﺮايﺣﲔ ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ ذاﺗّﯿﻪ و ﺷﻘﺎﺋﻖ‬ ‫ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ ﲪﯿﺪﻩ ﴎﺳﱫ و ﺧّﺮم ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ رﺷﮏ ﮔﻠﺴـﺘﺎن ﻣﻌﺎرف اﺳﻼف ﮔﺮدد و اﯾﻨﻘﻄﻌﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪء‬ ‫اﯾﺮاﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﺳـﻨﻮح ﮐﲈﻻت اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ا ٓﯾﻨﻪء هجﺎن ﳕﺎی هجﺎن ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺷﻮد و ﺟﻮﻫﺮ‬ ‫ذﮐﺮ و ﺛﻨﺎ ﻣﻄﻠﻊ ﻋﲅ دلّﱏ و ﻣﴩق وىح اﻟﻬـﯽ و ﻋﱰت ﻃﺎﻫﺮﻩاش را ﻻﯾﻖ و زساﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ از اﺷّﻌﻪء‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻃﻌﻪء ﺣﳬﺖ ابﻟﻐﻪ و ﻣﻌﺎرف ﳇّّﯿﻪاش ﺳّﲀن ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﻪء اﻗﻠﲓ ﯾﱶب و ﺑﻄﺤﺎ ﺧﺎرق اﻟﻌﺎدﻩ در اﻧﺪک‬ ‫زﻣﺎﱏ از ﺣﻀﯿﺾ هجﻞ و انداﱏ ابﻋﲆ درﺟﻪء ﻋﲅ و داانﰃ ﻋﺮوج و ﺻﻌﻮد ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ در ﲾﺮ‬ ‫اﻣﲀن ﭼﻮن ﳒﻮم ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺑﺪرﺧﺸـﯿﺪﻧﺪ و ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﻓﻨﻮن و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻋﻠﻮم و ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﺮ اوﱃ الاﺑﺼﺎر ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و واﰣ ﺑﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ ﭼﻮن در اﯾﻦ اّايم رٔای هجﺎن ا ٓرای ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﯽ ﺑﺮ ﲤّﺪن و ﺗﺮّﰵ و‬ ‫ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ اﻫﺎﱃ اﯾﺮان و ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﯾ ّﺖ و ا ٓابدی ﺑدلان ﻗﺮار ايﻓﺘﻪ و ﺑﴫاﻓﺖ ﻃﺒﻊ ﯾ َِﺪ ﳝﲔ رﻋّﯿﺖ‬ ‫ﭘﺮوری و ﻋﺪاﻟﺖ ﮔﺴﱰی را از ا ٓﺳـﺘﲔ ّﳘﺖ ﰷﻣهل و ﻏﲑت اتّﻣﻪ ﺑﺮا ٓوردﻩ ات ابﻧﻮار ﻋﺪل ا ٓﻓﺎق اﯾﺮان را‬ ‫ﳏﺴﻮد ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﴍق و ﻏﺮب ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ و ﻧﺸﺎٔﻩء اوﻻی اﻋﺼﺎر اّوﻟّﯿﻪء ﳑﺘﺎزﻩء اﯾﺮان در ﻋﺮوق و ﴍاين‬ ‫اﻫﺎﱃ و ﻣﺘﻮّﻃﻨﲔ اﯾﻦ داير ﴎاين ﳕﺎﯾﺪ‬

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Thus, through the pure waters of undefiled intent and the pure draughts of diligence and struggle, the soil of human capacity may grow green with the sweet-smelling herbs of inward attainments and the mystic anemones of commendable morals. The human race will then be the envy of the garden of our renowned forefathers. When the blessed region of Iran is, in every respect, the focal point of human perfections, the “mirror of the world”7 will reflect the civilized world. The highest praise and honour are due to the fountainhead of inspired knowledge, the dawning point of divine inspiration,8 and his holy family. Through the shining rays of his consummate wisdom and comprehensive knowledge, the uncivilized inhabitants of the region around Medina and Mecca were drawn from the depths of barbarism and ignorance and were raised to the pinnacles of science and knowledge. In a short time they were shining like stars of happiness and civilization in the midst of the opulence of the contingent world, and became the centre of useful arts, accomplishments, sciences and all that distinguishes the human being.

[The author’s purpose] It is evident to perceptive observers that, since the world-adorning thoughts of the Shah are at present fixed on the civilization and progress and peace and security of the people of Iran and on the development and cultivation of their lands, he has, of his own accord, drawn the “right hand” of welleducated subjects who spread justice from the “sleeve” of universal aspirations and unstinting zeal, so that Eastern and Western countries may envy Iran for the light of justice that shines there, and so the youthful vigour which characterised the first epochs of Iran may again course through the veins and arteries of her people.

7 8

The mirror of the world: Iran. Mohammad.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﻟﻬﺬا اﯾﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ ﻻزم داﻧﺴـﺘﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺸﮑﺮاﻧﻪء اﯾﻦ ّﳘﺖ ﳇّّﯿﻪ ﳐﺘﴫی در ﺑﻌﴣ ﻣﻮاّد ﻻزﻣﻪ ﻟﻮﺟﻪ اّهلل ﻣﺮﻗﻮم‬ ‫ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و از ﺗﴫﱖ اﰟ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ اﺣﱰاز ﳕﻮدﻩ ات واﰣ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﺪی ﺟﺰ ﺧﲑ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ و‬ ‫ﻧﺪارم ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﭼﻮن دﻻﻟﺖ ﺑﺮ ﺧﲑ را ﻋﲔ ﲻﻞ ﺧﲑ داﻧﺴـﺘﻪ ﻟﻬﺬا ﺑﺪﯾﻦ ﭼﻨﺪ ﳇﻤﻪء ﻧﺼﺤّﯿﻪ اﺑﻨﺎی وﻃﻦ‬ ‫ﺧﻮﯾﺶ را ﭼﻮن انﰠ اﻣﲔ ﻟﻮﺟﻪ اّهلل ﻣﺘﺬﮐّﺮ ﻣﯿامنﱘ و رّب ﺧﺒﲑ ﺷﺎﻫﺪ و ﮔﻮاﻩ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺟﺰ ﴏف ﺧﲑ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺼﺪی ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ا ٓوارﻩء ابدﯾﻪء ﳏّﺒﺔ اّهلل ﺑﻌﺎﳌﯽ اﻓﺘﺎدﻩ ﮐﻪ دﺳﺖ ﲢﺴﲔ و ﺗﺰﯾﯿﻒ و ﺗﺼﺪﯾﻖ‬ ‫و ﺗﮑﺬﯾﺐ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﮐﻮاتﻩ اﺳﺖ ﴿ اﻧ ّﲈ ﻧ ُﻄﻌﻤﲂ ﻟﻮﺟﻪ اّهلل ﻻ ﻧﺮﯾﺪ ﻣﻨﲂ ﺟﺰاء و ﻻ ﺷﮑﻮرًا ﴾‬ ‫دﺳﺖ ﭘﳯﺎن و ﻗﲅ ﺑﲔ ﺧﻂ ﮔﺬار‬ ‫اﺳﺐ در ﺟﻮﻻن و انﭘﯿﺪا ﺳﻮار‬

‫‪9‬‬

‫‪9‬‬ ‫‪ which is corrected as shown in the Cairo edition. Some‬ﮔﺬر ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬ ‫‪.‬ﮔﺰار ‪versions of the Mathnavi have‬‬

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In all gratitude for these comprehensive aspirations, this servant has felt himself obliged to write a brief statement on certain crucial issues, for the sake of God. To demonstrate that the common good is, and always has been, my only motivation, I have withheld my name. In the belief that leading others to good is itself a good deed, in these pages I will offer a few words of advice to the people of my native land. Like a trustworthy counsellor, I speak for the sake of God alone. The omniscient Lord knows and bears me witness that the goal of this wanderer in the wilderness of God’s love is the good, and the good alone, for he finds himself in a world in which general praise or condemnation, agreement or contradiction, cannot touch him. “We nourish you for the sake of God; seeking neither recompense nor thanks from you.”10 The hand is veiled, but see: the pen is writing, The horse leaps forward, yet the rider is unseen.11

10 11

Quran 76:9. Rumi, Mathnavi 2.1303.

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‫ای اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان ﻗﺪری در رايض ﺗﻮارﱗ اﻋﺼﺎر ﺳﺎﻟﻔﻪ ﺳﲑ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ و ﴎ ﲜﯿﺐ ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ ﻓﺮو ﺑﺮدﻩ ﺑﺒﴫ‬ ‫ﻋﱪت ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﮐﻨﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﲤﺎﺷﺎی ﻋﻈﳰﯽ اﺳﺖ در ازﻣﻨﻪء ﺳﺎﺑﻘﻪ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ اﯾﺮان ﲟﲋهلء ﻗﻠﺐ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﭼﻮن‬ ‫ﴰﻊ اﻓﺮوﺧﺘﻪ ﺑﲔ اﳒﻤﻦ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﻣﻨّﻮر ﺑﻮد ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدﺗﺶ ﭼﻮن ﺻﺒﺢ ﺻﺎدق از اﻓﻖ ﰷﺋﻨﺎت ﻃﺎﻟﻊ و ﻧﻮر‬ ‫هجﺎن اﻓﺮوز ﻣﻌﺎرﻓﺶ در اﻗﻄﺎر ﻣﺸﺎرق و ﻣﻐﺎرب ﻣﻨﺘﴩ و ﺳﺎﻃﻊ ا ٓوازﻩء هجﺎن ﮔﲑی اتﺟﺪاران اﯾﺮان‬ ‫ﺣّﱴ ﺑﺴﻤﻊ ﳎﺎورﯾﻦ داﯾﺮﻩء ﻗﻄﺒّﯿﻪ رﺳـﯿﺪﻩ و ﺻﯿﺖ ﺳﻄﻮت ﻣﻠﮏ اﳌﻠﻮﮐﺶ ﻣﻠﻮک ﯾﻮانن و روﻣﺎن را‬ ‫ﺧﺎﺿﻊ و ﺧﺎﺷﻊ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﻮد ﺣﳬﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺘﺶ ﺣﮑﲈی اﻋﻈﻢ ﻋﺎﱂ را ﻣﺘﺤّﲑ ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻪ و ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪاش‬ ‫دﺳـﺘﻮر اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻮک ﻗﻄﻌﺎت ارﺑﻌﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ اﯾﺮان ﻣﺎﺑﲔ ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﻌﻨﻮان هجﺎﻧﮕﲑی ﳑﺘﺎز و‬ ‫ﺑﺼﻔﺖ ﳑﺪوﺣﻪء ﲤّﺪن و ﻣﻌﺎرف ﴎاﻓﺮاز در ﻗﻄﺐ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﻋﻠﻮم و ﻓﻨﻮن ﺟﻠﯿهل ﺑﻮد و ﻣﻨﺒﻊ ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و‬ ‫ﺑﺪاﯾﻊ ﻋﻈﳰﻪ و ﻣﻌﺪن ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ و ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ ﲪﯿﺪﻩء اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ داﻧﺶ و ﻫﻮش اﻓﺮاد اﯾﻦ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩ ﺣﲑت‬ ‫ﲞﺶ ﻋﻘﻮل هجﺎﻧﯿﺎن ﺑﻮد و ﻓﻄﺎﻧﺖ و ذﰷوت ﲻﻮم اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﯾﻔﻪء ﺟﻠﯿهل ﻣﻐﺒﻮط ﲻﻮم ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن‬

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[A summons to the people of Iran] O people of Iran! Stroll for a while in the gardens of history, from the times of the honoured forefathers. Rest your chin on the chest of contemplation, and gaze with the eye of regret, for what a glorious spectacle it is. In times past, Iran was as the heart of the world; she shone like a bright candle among all the regions of the world. Her power and blessedness rose like the true dawn above the horizons of the contingent world, and the world-illuminating rays of her learning were bright and clear in the Orient and Occident. The fame of Iran’s monarchs conquered the world, reaching even the inhabitants of the polar regions. Word of the authority of the king of kings taught modesty and humility to the kings of Greece and Rome, and the wisdom of her governments astonished the greatest philosophers of the world. Iran’s law codes became the copy-book for all the kings of the four continents.†12 The Iranian people were known among all peoples as the “world-conquering” ones, and were esteemed for the praiseworthy qualities of their civilization and sciences. As the pivot of the world, Iran was the centre of sciences and beautiful crafts, the fountainhead of great works and inventions, the mine of praiseworthy human virtues and perfections. The knowledge and wisdom of the individual members of this excellent nation dazzled the minds of all peoples, while the discernment and genius so common in this glorious race were the envy of all the people of the world.

12 † Throughout the translation, the † mark indicates a point discussed in the notes at the end of the translation. In this case see page 291.

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‫ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ از ا ٓچنﻪ در ﺗﻮارﱗ ﻓﺎرﺳـّﯿﻪ ﻣﻨﺪرج و ﻣﻨﺪﳎﺴﺖ در اﺳﻔﺎر ﺗﻮراة ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم ﻧﺰد ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻞ اروﭘﺎ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ دون ﲢﺮﯾﻒ ﮐﺘﺎب ﻣﻘّﺪس ﻣﺴّﲅ اﺳﺖ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﮐﻪ در زﻣﺎن ﮐﻮرش ﮐﻪ در ﮐﺘﺐ ﻓﺎرﺳـّﯿﻪ ﲠﻤﻦ ﺑﻦ‬ ‫اﺳﻔﻨﺪاير ﻣﻮﺳﻮم ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﯾﺮان از ﺣﺪود داﺧﻠّﯿﻪء ﻫﻨﺪ و ﭼﲔ ات اﻗﴡ ﺑﻼد ﳝﻦ و ﺣﺒﺸﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﻘﺴﻢ‬ ‫ﺑﺴـﯿﺼﺪ و ﺷﺼﺖ اﻗﻠﲓ ﺑﻮد ﺣﳬﺮاﱏ ﻣﯿﳮﻮد و در ﺗﻮارﱗ روﻣﺎن ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﻏﯿﻮر اب ﻟﺸﮑﺮ ﰉ‬ ‫ﭘﺎاين ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ روﻣﺎن را ﮐﻪ ﲜﻬﺎن ﮔﲑی ﻣﺸﻬﻮر ﺑﻮد اب ﺧﺎک ﯾﮑﺴﺎن ﳕﻮدﻩ زﻟﺰهل در ارﰷن ﲨﯿﻊ‬ ‫ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺪاﺧﺖ و ﻧﻈﺮ ﺑﺘﺎرﱗ اﰉ اﻟﻔﺪا ﮐﻪ از ﺗﻮارﱗ ﻣﻌﺘﱪﻩء ﻋﺮﰉ اﺳﺖ اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﺳـﺒﻌﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ را‬ ‫ﴫف ا ٓورد و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در ا ٓن اترﱗ و ﻏﲑﻩ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﮐﻪ از ﻣﻠﻮک ﭘﯿﺸﺪاداين ﻓﺮﯾﺪون ﮐﻪ ﰱ‬ ‫در ﻗﺒﻀﻪء ﺗ ّ‬ ‫اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﺑﮑﲈﻻت ذاﺗّﯿﻪ و ﺣﲂ و ﻣﻌﺎرف ﳇّّﯿﻪ و ﻓﺘﻮﺣﺎت ﻣﺘﻌّﺪدﻩء ﻣﺘﺘﺎﺑﻌﻪ ﻓﺮﯾﺪ ﻣﻠﻮک ﺳﻠﻒ و ﺧﻠﻒ ﺑﻮد‬ ‫اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﺳـﺒﻌﻪ را ﻣﺎﺑﲔ اوﻻد ﺛﻼﺛﻪء ﺧﻮد ﺗﻘﺴـﲓ ﻓﺮﻣﻮد‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ از ﻣﻔﺎد ﺗﻮارﱗ ﻣﻠﻞ ﻣﺸﻬﻮرﻩ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و ﻣﺜﺒﻮﺗﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﳔﺴـﺘﲔ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﱴ ﮐﻪ در ﻋﺎﱂ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺷﺪﻩ‬ ‫و اﻋﻈﻢ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﱴ ﮐﻪ ﺑﲔ ﻣﻠﻞ ﺗﺸﮑﯿﻞ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﲣﺖ ﺣﳬﺮاﱏ و دﳞﲓ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ اﯾﺮاﻧﺴﺖ‬

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In addition to what is recorded in Persian histories, the Old Testament, which has been accepted without alterations as the sacred Text for all European peoples, states that in the time of Cyrus, who is known in Iranian works as Bahman son of Isfandiyar, the ruler of Iran governed over 360 provinces, extending from the inner confines of India and China to the farthermost reaches of Yemen and Ethiopia. The Greek histories also record that this proud King and his immense army levelled the edifice of the Greeks’ world-embracing rule to the ground. He made the pillars of all the world’s governments quake. According to the history of Abuʾl-Fida, which is one of the reliable Arabic histories, he had the seven climes of the world in his grasp. Likewise, it is recorded in this same history and elsewhere that Feraydun, a king of the Pishdadiyan Dynasty, whose inherent perfections, judgement, extensive knowledge, and his numerous and uninterrupted victories, made him unique among all rulers of all ages, divided the seven climes among his three sons. In short, it has been established from the annals of the world’s most illustrious peoples that the first government that was established on earth, and the greatest Empire that took shape among the nations, was the magisterial throne and royal crown of Iran.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﺣﺎل ای اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان ابﯾﺪ ﻗﺪری از ﺳﮑﺮ ﻫﻮی ﲠﻮش ا ٓﻣﺪﻩ و از ﻏﻔﻠﺖ و ﰷﻫﲆ ﺑﯿﺪار ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﺑﻨﻈﺮ‬ ‫اﻧﺼﺎف ﻧﻈﺮ ﮐﻨﲓ ا ٓاي ﻏﲑت و ﲪّﯿﺖ اﻧﺴﺎن ﻗﺎﺋﻞ ﺑﺮ ا ٓن ﻣﯿﺸﻮد ﮐﻪ ﭼﻨﲔ ﺧّﻄﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﺸﺎٔ ﲤّﺪن ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫و ﻣﺒﺪء ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﲎ ا ٓدم ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﻣﻐﺒﻮط ا ٓﻓﺎق و ﳏﺴﻮد ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻞ ﴍق و ﻏﺮب اﻣﲀن ﺣﺎل ﳏّﻞ‬ ‫ﺗﺎّٔﺳﻒ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﺷﻌﻮب ﮔﺮدد و در ﺗﻮارﱗ اﻋﺼﺎر ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪ ذﮐﺮ ﻋﺪم ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﺘﺶ ات اﺑﺪ اﻻٓابد در ﺻﻔﺤﻪء‬ ‫روزﮔﺎر ابﰵ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﻠ ّﺘﺶ اﴍف ﻣﻠﻞ ﺑﻮدﻩ ﺣﺎل اب اﯾﻦ اﺣﻮال اﺳﻒ اﺷـامتل ﻗﻨﺎﻋﺖ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و‬ ‫ﻣﻊ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﻗﻠﳰﺶ ﻣﺮﻏﻮﺑﱰﯾﻦ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﺑﻮدﻩ ﺣﺎل ﺑﻨﮑﺒﺖ ﻋﺪم ﺳﻌﯽ و ﮐﻮﺷﺶ و انداﱏ ﰉﻣﻌﺎرفﺗﺮﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﮐﺸﻮرﻫﺎی ﻋﺎﱂ ﴰﺮدﻩ ﮔﺮدد ا ٓاي اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان در ﻗﺮون ﭘﯿﺸﲔ ﴎ دﻓﱰ داانﰃ و ﻋﻨﻮان ﻣﻨﺸﻮر داﻧﺶ و‬ ‫ﻫﻮش ﻧﺒﻮدﻧﺪ و از اﻓﻖ ﻋﺮﻓﺎن ﺑﻔﻀﻞ رﲪﻦ ﭼﻮن ﻧّﲑ اﻋﻈﻢ ﻃﺎﻟﻊ و ﻣﴩق ﻧﻪ ﺣﺎل ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﺑﺪﯾﻦ ﺣﺎل‬ ‫ﴈ درﮔﺎﻩ‬ ‫ﭘﺮ ﻣﻼل اﮐﺘﻔﺎ ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﻫﻮای ﻧﻔﺴﺎﱏ ﺧﻮد ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﻣﯿامنﺋﲓ و از ا ٓچنﻪ ﺳﻌﺎدت ﮐﱪی و ﻣﺮ ّ‬ ‫اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ ﺣﴬت ﮐﱪايﺳﺖ ﭼﺸﻢ ﭘﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ابﻏﺮاض ﴯﺼّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذﻟ ّّﯿﻪء ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﮔﺮﻓﺘﺎر ﺷﺪﱘ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﺧّﻄﻪء ﻃّﯿﺒﻪ ﭼﻮن ﴎاج وّﻫﺎج ابﻧﻮار ﻋﺮﻓﺎن و ﺿﯿﺎء ﻋﻠﻮم و ﻓﻨﻮن و ﻋﻠّﻮ ﻣﲋﻟﺖ و ﲰّﻮ ّﳘﺖ و‬ ‫ﺣﳬﺖ و ﴭﺎﻋﺖ و ﻣﺮّوت ﻧﻮراﱏ ﺑﻮد ﺣﺎل از ﮐﺴﺎﻟﺖ و ﺑﻄﺎﻟﺖ و ﲬﻮدت و ﻋﺪم ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ و ﻧﻈﻢ و‬ ‫ﻗﻠ ّﺖ ﻏﲑت و ّﳘﺖ اﻫﺎﱃ ﭘﺮﺗﻮ اﻗﺒﺎﻟﺶ ﻣﮑّﺪر و ﻇﻠﲈﱏ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﴿ ﺑﮑﺖ اﻟّﺴﻤﻮات اﻟﺴـّﺒﻊ و الارﺿﻮن‬ ‫اﻟﺴـّﺒﻊ ﻋﲆ ﻋﺰﯾﺰ ذّل ﴾‬

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O people of Iran! Rouse yourselves a little from appetite’s intoxication. Wake from lassitude and lethargy. Let us look at the matter fairly. Can anyone with energy and aspirations accept that such a blessed land, which was the cradle of world civilization, the source of glory and joy for all humanity, emulated by the regions and envied by the peoples of East and West, should have become the object of the pity of all peoples? What contemporary histories have recorded about the feebleness of her civilization will remain forever in the book of time, although her inhabitants were once the noblest of peoples. Will you now countenance her pitiable condition, when her territories were once the most desirable of all? Because of the calamity of sloth and ignorance she is now considered the least advanced of the world’s countries. Were not the people of Iran, in previous centuries, the epitome of knowledge and imprimatur of wisdom and judgement? Did they not, by God’s grace, rise from the horizons of knowledge and shine like the sun? How can we be satisfied with this apathetic condition, moving according to our own selfish desires? Having closed our eyes to the greatest happiness, to that which is pleasing in God’s sight, we have all become absorbed in our individual interests and petty personal advantage. This fairest of lands was once a lamp, bright with the rays of insight, with the lights of sciences, crafts, nobility and lofty ambition, wisdom, valour and chivalry. Today, her bright fortune has been tarnished and overshadowed because of the idleness, sloth and immobility of her inhabitants, their lack of order and discipline, of energy and ambition: “The seven heavens and the seven earths weep over the mighty when he is brought low.”

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫‪100‬‬

‫ﳘﭽﻮ ﮔﲈن ﻧﺮود ﮐﻪ اﻫﺎﱃ اﯾﺮان در ذﰷء ﺧﻠﻘﯽ و ﻓﻄﺎﻧﺖ و دﻫﺎء ﺟﺒّﲆ و ادراک و ﺷﻌﻮر ﻓﻄﺮی و‬ ‫ﻋﻘﻞ و ﳖـﯽ و داﻧﺶ و اﺳـﺘﻌﺪاد ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ از ﻣﺎدون دون و ﭘﺴﺖﺗﻧﺮﺪ اﺳـﺘﻐﻔﺮ اّهلل ﺑﻠﮑﻪ در ﻗﻮای ﻓﻄﺮﯾ ّﻪ‬ ‫ﺳـﺒﻘﺖ ﺑﺮ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ داﺷـﺘﻪ و داﻧرﺪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ اﯾﺮان ﲝﺴﺐ اﻋﺘﺪال و ﻣﻮاﻗﻊ ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪ‬ ‫و ﳏﺎﺳﻦ ﺟﻐﺮاﻓﯿﺎ و ﻗّﻮﻩء اﻧﺒﺎﺗّﯿﻪ ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء ﲢﺴﲔ را داﺷـﺘﻪ وﻟﮑﻦ ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ و ﺗﻌّﻤﻖ ابﯾﺪ و هجﺪ و‬ ‫ﮐﻮﺷﺶ ﺷﺎﯾﺪ و ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ و ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﻻزم و ّﳘﺖ ﰷﻣهل و ﻏﲑت اتّﻣﻪ واﺟﺐ‬ ‫اﻻٓن ﺑﲔ ﻗﻄﻌﺎت ﲬﺴﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ ﲝﺴﺐ ﻧﻈﻢ و ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ و ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ و ﲡﺎرت و ﺻﻨﺎﻋﺖ و ﻓﻨﻮن و ﻋﻠﻮم و‬ ‫ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺣﳬﺖ ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪ ﻗﻄﻌﻪء اوروپ و اﮐﱶ ﻣﻮاﻗﻊ اﻣﺮﯾﮏ ﺷﻬﺮت ايﻓﺘﻪ و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در ازﻣﻨﻪء‬ ‫ﻗﺪﳝﻪ ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﱰﯾﻦ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﺟﺎﻫﻞ و ﰷﻫﻠﱰﯾﻦ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و اﱈ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﺣ ّﱴ ﺑﻠﻘﺐ ﺑﺮاﺑﺮﻩ ﮐﻪ ﲟﻌﲎ وﺣﺸﯽ‬ ‫ﴏف ابﺷﺪ ﻣﻠﻘّﺐ ﺑﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و از اﯾﻦ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ از ﻗﺮن ﺧﺎﻣﺲ ﻣﯿﻼد ات ﻗﺮن ﺧﺎﻣﺲ ﻋﴩ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻘﺮون‬ ‫ﻣﺘﻮّﺳﻄﻪ ﺗﻌﺒﲑ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ در ﻣﯿﺎن دول و ﻣﻠﻞ اوروپ وﻗﺎﺋﻊ ﻋﻈﳰﻪ و اﻣﻮر ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮﻩء ﺷﺪﯾﺪﻩ و ﺣﺮﰷت‬ ‫ﻣﻮﺣﺸﻪ و ﺣﻮادث ﻣﺪﻫﺸﻪ ﺑﺸﺎٔﱏ وﻗﻮع ايﻓﺘﻪ ﮐﻪ اﻫﻞ اوروپ ا ٓن ﻗﺮون ﻋﴩﻩ را ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﻋﺼﺎر‬ ‫ﺗﻮّﺣﺶ ﻣﯿﺸﻤﻧﺮﺪ‬

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It should not be imagined that the people of Iran are disadvantaged or inferior to others in native wit and perceptiveness, in the understanding and sagacity they are born with, in the intelligence, prudence, wisdom and other capacities given by nature. God forbid! On the contrary, they have been, and still are, in the first rank among the peoples and kindreds of the world in terms of their natural capacities. Moreover, the kingdom of Iran has been especially blessed, by virtue of her temperate climate and natural beauties, her geographical advantages and fertility. What is required is reflection and action. Instruction, motivation and a call to service are needed. Wide-ranging aspirations and utter commitment will be vital. Of the five continents of the globe, Europe and most sections of America are today renowned for their orderliness, good administration, commerce, manufacturing and the useful arts, sciences, learning and philosophy. Yet in ancient times they were the most uncivilized people in the world, the most ignorant and brutish of the tribes and nations. They were even nicknamed “the barbarians,” meaning utterly savage. Following this, from the fifth century in the Christian calendar until the fifteenth, in the period known as the Middle Ages, there were such terrible struggles and atrocities between the governments and peoples of Europe, along with barbarising movements and catastrophes that turned the ranks of society upside-down, that the Europeans rightly consider those ten centuries to be the “Dark Ages.”

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﺑﻨﺎء ﻋﲆ ذﻟﮏ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﺳﺎس ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و اﺻﻼﺣﺎت و ﺗﺮّﰵ در اوروپ از ﻗﺮن ﺧﺎﻣﺲ ﻋﴩ ﻣﯿﻼد‬ ‫ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺷﺪﻩ و ﲨﯿﻊ ﲤّﺪن ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﺑﺘﺸﻮﯾﻖ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﺧﺮدﻣﻨﺪان و ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ داﺋﺮﻩء ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺑﺬل ﺳﻌﯽ و‬ ‫اﻇﻬﺎر ﻏﲑت و اﻗﺪام و ّﳘﺖ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ و ﻣﯿّﴪ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﺑﻔﻀﻞ اﻟﻬـﯽ و ّﳘﺖ روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪء ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﻧﺒّﻮت ﳇّّﯿﻪ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﭘﻨﺎﻩ اﯾﺮان ﴎادق ﻋﺪل را ﺑﺮ ا ٓﻓﺎق‬ ‫ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﮐﺸـﯿﺪﻩ و ﺻﺒﺢ ﻧّﯿﺎت ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪء ﺷﻬﺮايری از ﻣﴩق ﳘﻢ ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪء هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ دﻣﯿﺪﻩ و ارادﻩ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ در اﯾﻦ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﻋﻈﲓ اﳌﻨﻘﺒﻪ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ اﺳﺎس ﻋﺪل و ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﺗﺸﯿﯿﺪ ارﰷن ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫و ﲨﯿﻊ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻪ اﻟّﱰّﰵ را از ﺣّﲒ ﻗّﻮﻩ ﲟﻘﺎم ﻓﻌﻞ ا ٓرد ات ﻋﴫ اتﺟﺪاری رﺷﮏ اﻋﺼﺎر ﺳﺎﻟﻔﻪ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫و ات ﲝﺎل ﭼﻮن ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﯿﺸﺪ ﮐﻪ ﴎوری ﮐﻪ زﻣﺎم ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻣﻮر در ﮐﻒ ﮐﻔﺎﯾﺖ اوﺳﺖ و اﺻﻼح ﺣﺎل‬ ‫ﲨﻬﻮر ﻣﻨﻮط ﲠّﻤﺖ ﺑﻠﻨﺪ او ﭼﻨﺎﻧﮑﻪ ابﯾﺪ و ﺷﺎﯾﺪ ﭼﻮن ﭘﺪر همﺮابن در ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و راﺣﺖ و‬ ‫ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ اﻓﺮاد اﻫﻞ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﺳﻌﯽ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ را ﳎﺮی ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ و ﺑﺮ وﺟﻪ ﻣﻄﻠﻮب ا ٓاثر رﻋّﯿﺖ ﭘﺮوری واﰣ و‬ ‫ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﮔﺮدد ﻟﻬﺬا ﺑﻨﺪﻩ و اﻣﺜﺎل اﯾﻦ ﺑﻨﺪﻩ ﺳﺎﮐﺖ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫وﻟﮑﻦ ﺣﺎل ﭼﻮن ﻣﺸﻬﻮد اﺑﺼﺎر اوﱃ اﻟﺒﺼﺎﺋﺮ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﮐﻪ ذات ﺧﴪواﻧﻪ ﺑﴫاﻓﺖ ﻃﺒﻊ ارادﻩ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﺗﺸﮑﯿﻞ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻋﺎدﻻﻧﻪ و ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺗﺮّﰵ ﲻﻮم ﺗﺒﻌﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ذلا ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺻﺎدﻗﻪ دﻻﻟﺖ ﺑﺮ اﯾﻦ اذﰷر‬ ‫ﳕﻮد‬

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From this we see that, in reality, the basis of civilization, reforms and progress was laid in Europe from the fifteenth century of the Christian era. All of the civilization we see has been made possible, and achieved, by motivating capable people and calling them to service, by expanding the frontiers of knowledge through the liberal application of effort, and by showing energy, courage and ambition.

[Present opportunities] Today, through the grace of God and the spiritual effects of the Manifestation of universal prophethood, the fair-minded Shah of Iran has raised the pavilion of justice over the provinces, and the first fruits of his sincere intentions are being harvested.13 The decision has been made to lay a foundation of justice and impartiality in the lands of pre-eminent glory and to raise the pillars of learning and civilization. All the means conducive to progress are to be moved from the realm of potential to the level of action, so that the reign of this King may be the envy of past ages. This servant and those like him have remained silent because there has not been (as there should be), a leader holding the reins of all affairs in his capable hands, the betterment of social conditions depending on his high resolve, directing the people of the kingdom like a loving father as they make strenuous efforts in the fields of education, civilization, and the peace and security of persons, and providing training and setting an example for his subjects, in the chosen path. Now, however, it has become clear to the discerning that the embodiment of Khusrau, the Shah, has of his own accord determined to plan a just government and lay the foundations of progress for all his subjects. This expression of sincere intentions has evoked the present statement.

13 Literally: the first light from his sincere intentions is breaking in the East of his initiatives.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫و ﲺﺐ در اﯾﻨﺴﺖ ﲜﺎی ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﺑﺸﮑﺮاﻧﻪء اﯾﻦ ﻧﻌﻤﺖ ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﺗﻮﻓﯿﻘﺎت رّب اﻟﻌّﺰة اﺳﺖ ﻗﯿﺎم‬ ‫ﴪت در ﻫﻮای ﺧﻮش ﺷﺎدﻣﺎﱏ ﭘﺮواز ﮐﻨﻨﺪ و ﺑﺪرﮔﺎﻩ اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ دﻋﺎ و ﻧﯿﺎز ا ٓﻧرﺪ‬ ‫ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﲜﻨﺎح ﳑﻨﻮﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﯾﻮﻣًﺎ ﻓﯿﻮﻣًﺎ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎﺻﺪ ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪء ﺷﻬﺮايری ﻣﺰداد ﮔﺮدد ابﻟﻌﮑﺲ ﺑﻌﴣ ﻧﻔﻮس ﮐﻪ ﻋﻘﻮل و اﻓﲀرﺷﺎن‬ ‫ﺑﻌﻠﻞ اﻏﺮاض ذاﺗّﯿﻪ ﳐﺘّﻞ و روﺷـﻨﺎﰃ رٔای و ﺗﺼّﻮراﺗﺸﺎن ﺑﻐﺒﺎر ﺧﻮدﭘﺮﺳـﱴ و ﻇﻠﲈت ﻣﻨﻔﻌﺖ ﴯﺼّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﳏﺠﻮب و ﻣﮑّﺪر ّﳘﺘﺸﺎن ﻣﴫوف ﺷﻬﻮات ﻧﻔﺴـّﯿﻪ و ﻏﲑﺗﺸﺎن ﳏّﻮل ﺑﺮ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ رايﺳـّﯿﻪ ﻋََﲅ ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮت‬ ‫ﺑﺮاﻓﺮاﺧﺘﻪ و ا ٓﻏﺎز ﺷﲀﯾﺖ ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ات ﲝﺎل ﻣﺘﺸّﮑﯽ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ﭼﺮا ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﺑﻨﻔﺲ ﻧﻔﯿﺲ ﺧﻮد‬ ‫در ﻓﮑﺮ ﺧﲑ ﲻﻮم و ﺑﺘﺤّﺮی راﺣﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ ﲨﻬﻮر ﻧﭙﺮدازد ﺣﺎل ﮐﻪ ابﯾﻦ ّﳘﺖ ﮐﱪی ﻗﯿﺎم ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ‬ ‫اﻋﱰاض دﯾﮕﺮ ﮐﻨﻨﺪ ﺑﻌﴣ ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ اﻓﲀر ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩء ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺑﻌﯿﺪﻩ اﺳﺖ و ﻣﻨﺎﰱ ﻣﻘﺘﻀﯿﺎت ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪ و‬ ‫اﻃﻮار ﻗﺪﳝﻪء اﯾﺮان و ﺑﺮىخ ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن انس را ﮐﻪ از اﺳﺎس ﻣﺘﲔ دﯾﻦ و ارﰷن ﴍع ﻣﺒﲔ ﺑﯿﺨﻧﱪﺪ و ﻗّﻮﻩء‬ ‫اﻣﺘﯿﺎزﯾ ّﻪ ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ ﲨﻊ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺑﻼد ﮐﻔﺮﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ اﺻﻮل ﻣﺮﻋّﯿﻪء ﴍﻋّﯿﻪ ﴿ و ﻣﻦ‬ ‫ﺗﺸـّﺒﻪ ﺑﻘﻮم ﻓﻬﻮ ﻣﳯﻢ ﴾‬

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It is strange that not all have offered their thanks for this bounty, which is in reality a favour from Almighty God, by arising and flying on the wings of gratitude and joy in the air of jubilant celebrations, pleading and praying to the court of God’s guidance that these noble purposes may be strengthened from day to day. Quite the contrary: there are some whose minds and ideas have been corrupted by personal interests, whose clarity of thought and vision have been clouded by the dust of conceit and darkened by self-interest. Their ambition is wasted on selfish desires; they devote their energies to obtaining leadership. They have raised the flag of opposition and launched into complaints. Previously they complained “why does the Shah not commit himself to thinking about the public welfare and seeking the peace and wellbeing of society?” But now that he has embarked on this great endeavour they have other objections. Some say, “these modern ideas from faraway places are incompatible with the present needs and the time-honoured customs of Iran.” A few wretches have rallied the common folk, who know nothing of the secure foundations of religion, the pillars of religious law, and have no power of discrimination. They say, “these codes of law come from the lands of disbelief, and are contrary to the principles of the religious Law, which we observe. ‘He who imitates a people is one of them.’ ”14

14 A well-known and influential Islamic tradition, included in Abu Dāwud’s Sunan (tradition 4031).

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‫ﻗﻮﻣﯽ ﺑﺮا ٓﻧﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ابﯾﺪ اﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﻣﻮر اﺻﻼﺣﯿّﻪ را ﺑﺘﺎّٔﱏ ﺷﯿﺌًﺎ ﻓﺸﯿﺌًﺎ اﺟﺮا ﳕﻮد ﺗﻌﺠﯿﻞ ﺟﺎﯾﺰ ﻧﻪ و ﺣﺰﰉ ﺑﺮا ٓﻧﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ابﯾﺪ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﲆ ﳕﻮد ﮐﻪ اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان ﺧﻮد اﳚﺎد اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﻻزﻣﻪء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻌﺎرف ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ و‬ ‫ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ اتّﻣﻪء ﰷﻣهل ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﻟﺰوم اﻗﺘﺒﺎس از ﺳﺎﺋﺮ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻧﻪ ابری ﻫﺮ ﮔﺮوﻫﯽ ﲠﻮاﰃ ﭘﺮواز ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ای اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان ﴎﮔﺮداﱏ ات ﺑﮑﯽ و ﺣﲑاﱏ ات ﭼﻨﺪ و اﺧﺘﻼف ا ٓراء و ﻣﻀﺎددت ﺑﯿﻔﺎﯾﺪﻩ و ﰉﻓﮑﺮی و‬ ‫ﺑﯿﺨﱪی ات ﭼﻪ زﻣﺎن ابﰵ اﻏﯿﺎر ﺑﯿﺪار و ﻣﺎ ﲞﻮاب ﻏﻔﻠﺖ ﮔﺮﻓﺘﺎر ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﻠﻞ در اﺻﻼح اﺣﻮال ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء‬ ‫ﺧﻮد ﻣﯿﮑﻮﺷـﻨﺪ و ﻣﺎ ﻫﺮ ﯾﮏ در دام ﻫﻮی و ﻫﻮس ﺧﻮد ﻣﺒﺘﻼ ﴿دﻣﺒﺪم ﻣﺎ ﺑﺴـﺘﻪء دام ﻧﻮﱘ﴾‬ ‫و ﺧﺪاوﻧﺪ ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن ﺷﺎﻫﺪ و ﮔﻮاﻩ اﯾﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ در ﺑﺴﻂ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻀﺎﻣﲔ ﻣﻘﺼﺪ ﻣﺪاﻫﻨﻪ و ﺟﻠﺐ ﻗﻠﻮب‬ ‫و ﭼﺸﻢ ﲟﲀﻓﺎت ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ از هجﱴ ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ و ﻧﺪارم ﺑﻠﮑﻪ اﺑﺘﻐﺎًء ﳌﺮﺿﺎت اّهلل ﻣﯿﮕﻮﱘ ﻧﻈﺮ از ﻋﺎﱂ و ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن‬ ‫ﺑﺴـﺘﻪ ﺑﺼﻮن ﺣﲈﯾﺖ ﺣﴬت اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ اﻟﺘﺠﺎ ﳕﻮدﻩام ﴿ ﻻ ٔاﺳـﺌﻠﲂ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﺟﺮًا اّن ٔاﺟﺮی اّﻻ ﻋﲆ اّهلل ﴾‬ ‫ابری اﺷﺨﺎﴅ ﮐﻪ ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪ اﯾﻦ اﻓﲀر ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﺣﺎل ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ اﺳﺖ و ﲟﻘﺘﻀﯿﺎت ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪ و روش‬ ‫اﺣﻮال اﯾﺮاﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﻨﺎﺳﺒﱴ ﻧﺪارد ﰱ اﶺهل ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﯽ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﻧﲒ در ﻗﺮون ﺳﺎﺑﻘﻪ ﺑﺮ اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻮال ﺑﻮدﻩ‬

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One group insists that such reforms should be implemented cautiously, little by little, haste being inadmissible. Another group says “we must use the means that the people of Iran themselves produce. They will introduce reforms of administration and public education and a completely perfect civilization. There is no need to borrow from other peoples.” So it is: each group gives vent to idle chatter. O people of Iran! How long will you wander? How long must your confusion last? How long will it go on, this useless, thoughtless, ignorant antagonism? Others are alert, and we slumber in negligence. All the nations are making every effort to better the fortunes of their peoples, while each of us is trapped in our self and passion, and “at every step we stumble into a new snare.”15 The Lord of the world sees and bears witness that this servant has no ulterior motive in developing this theme. He does not seek to win followers or attract patronage from any quarter. Rather, I am moved by an earnest desire to win God’s acceptance, for turning my gaze from the world and its peoples, I have sought refuge in the sheltering care of the One Lord. “No recompense do I ask of you for this … my recompense is of God alone.”16

[Objections to reform] † Those who say that these modern concepts are suited to the conditions of other peoples and not to Iran’s present requirements and way of life are, essentially, overlooking the fact that in past centuries other nations were as we are now.

15 16

From Rumi’s Mathnavi, 1:375. Quran 6:90; 11:29.

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‫ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ و ﺗﻨﻈﲓ و ﺗﺸﺒّﺜﺎت ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﺮّﰵ ا ٓن ﳑﺎﻟﮏ و اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ا ٓاي اﻫﻞ اوروپ‪ 17‬از‬ ‫ﴐی ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و اي ﺧﻮد ابﻟﻌﮑﺲ ﺑﮑﲈل ﻋﻠّﻮ ﻣﲋﻟﺖ ﺟﺴﲈﻧّﯿﻪ انﺋﻞ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ و اي ا ٓن‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﺗﺸﺒّﺜﺎت ّ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﭼﻨﺪ ﻗﺮن اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ اﯾﺮان ﺑﺮ روش ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﺑﺮ اﺻﻮل ﻣﻌﺘﺎدﻩ ﻣﺸﯽ ﮐﺮدﻩ‬ ‫ﭼﻪ ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ و ﺗﺮّﰵ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﺷﺪ‬ ‫و اﮔﺮ اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ات ﲝﺎل ﲟﺤﮏ ﲡﺮﺑﻪ ﻧﺮﺳـﯿﺪﻩ ﺑﻮد ﳏﳣﻞ ﮐﻪ ﳏّﻞ ﺗﻮّﱒ ﺑﻌﴣ ﻧﻔﻮس ﰷﻫهل ﮔﺮدد ﯾﻌﲎ‬ ‫اﺷﺨﺎﴅ ﮐﻪ ﺷﻌهلء ﻧﻮراﱏ ﻋﻘﻞ ﻫﯿﻮﻻﰃ در زﺟﺎﺟﻪء ﻓﻄﺮﺗﺸﺎن ﶏﻮد اﺳﺖ ﺣﺎل ﻧﻪ ﭼﻨﺎﻧﺴﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ‬ ‫ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﺎت اﯾﻦ ﮐﯿﻔﯿّﺎت ﲤﻧّﺪ ّﯿﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﻣﺮارًا و ﮐﺮارًا ﲡﺮﺑﻪ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ و ﻓﻮاﺋﺪش درﺟﻪء وﺿﻮح ايﻓﺘﻪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻫﺮ اﻋﲈی ﻏﱯّ ادراک ﳕﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﭼﺸﻢ اﻋﺘﺴﺎف را ﺑﺴـﺘﻪ ﺑﻨﻈﺮ ﻋﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎف ابﯾﺪ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﻮد ﮐﻪ ﮐﺪام ﯾﮏ از اﯾﻦ اﺳﺎس‬ ‫ﳏﲂ ﻣﺘﲔ و ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺣﺼﲔ رزﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﺎﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺘﻀﯿﺎت ﺣﺴـﻨﻪء ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻨﺎﰱ ﻟﻮازم ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪء اﯾﺮان و‬ ‫ﳐﺎﻟﻒ ﺻﻮاﱀ ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﺴـﻨﻪ و ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء ﲨﻬﻮر اﺳﺖ ا ٓاي ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ داﺋﺮﻩء ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺗﺸﯿﯿﺪ ارﰷن ﻓﻨﻮن‬ ‫ﴬﻩ اﺳﺖ زﯾﺮا ﮐﻪ اﻓﺮاد ﻫﯿﺌﺖ اﺟامتﻋّﯿﻪ را از ﺣّﲒ اﺳﻔﻞ‬ ‫و ﻋﻠﻮم انﻓﻌﻪ و ﺗﺮوﱕ ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ ﰷﻣهل از اﻣﻮر ﻣ ّ‬ ‫هجﻞ ابﻋﲆ اﻓﻖ داﻧﺶ و ﻓﻀﻞ ﻣﺘﺼﺎﻋﺪ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﻋﺎدهل ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ اﺣﲀم اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ ﰷﻓﻞ ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﺣﻘﻮق ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ‬ ‫را در ﲢﺖ ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ ﻗﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﳏﻔﻮظ داﺷـﺘﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺣّﺮﯾ ّﺖ ﺣﻘﻮق ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء اﻓﺮاد اﻫﺎﱃ ﻣﺒﺎﯾﻦ و ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ ﻓﻼح و‬ ‫ﳒﺎح اﺳﺖ‬

‫‪17‬‬ ‫‪. This‬اوروب ‪Here and in several places later, the Cairo edition has an Arabic spelling,‬‬ ‫‪has been silently corrected.‬‬

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See how these systems and procedures and social programmes have contributed to the advancement of those countries! Were the people of Europe harmed by the adoption of such measures? Or did they rather reach the highest degree of material development? Is it not true that for several centuries public life in Iran has followed familiar patterns, according to the customary principles? What benefits and progress have resulted? If these things had not been tested in practice, there might be some excuse for the suspicions of certain indolent people, that is, people in whom the bright flame of reason, in the lamp of their native intelligence, has been extinguished. But this is not the case. Rather, every one of these elements of civilization has been put to the test in other countries time and again, and their benefits demonstrated so plainly that every dullard understands. Now, in all justice and fairness, and excluding prejudices, we should consider which of these solid foundations and sound, well-established institutions fail to satisfy our present needs, are contrary to the requirements of Iran’s political interests or to the pious duty of approving good and forbidding evil for the generality of the people. Are increasing the scope of education, strengthening the pillars of useful arts and sciences, and the promotion of more advanced industry among the harmful things, because individuals lift society from the depths of ignorance to the highest reaches of knowledge and human excellence? And what of the establishment of just and fair codes of law, consistent with the Divine commandments, which safeguard human happiness and provide effective guarantees for the rights of public life (which is to say, liberty within laws for every individual inhabitant): is this contrary to salvation and everlasting happiness?

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‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﺑﻌﻘﻞ دورﺑﲔ از ﻗﺮاﺋﻦ اﺣﻮال ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪ و ﻧﺘﺎﱕ اﻓﲀر ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ وﻗﻮﻋﺎت ازﻣﻨﻪء اﺳـﺘﻘﺒﺎﻟّﯿﻪ را ﮐﻪ‬ ‫در ﺣّﲒ ﻗّﻮﻩ اﺳﺖ ابﻟﻔﻌﻞ ادراک ﳕﻮدﻩ در اﻣﻨّﯿﺖ ﺣﺎل اﺳـﺘﻘﺒﺎل ﺑﺬل هجﺪ و ﺳﻌﯽ ﳕﻮدن ﻣﻨﺎﰱ اﻃﻮار‬ ‫ﺣﮑاميﻧﻪ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ اّﲢﺎد اب اﱈ ﳎﺎورﻩ و ﻋﻘﺪ ﻣﻌﺎﻫﺪات ﻗﻮﯾ ّﻪ اب دول ﻋﻈﳰﻪ و ﳏﺎﻓﻈﻪء ﻋﻼﻗﺎت‬ ‫ودادﯾ ّﻪ اب دول ﻣﺘﺤﺎﺑ ّﻪ‪ 18‬و ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ داﺋﺮﻩء ﲡﺎرت اب اﱈ ﴍق و ﻏﺮب و ﺗﮑﺜﲑ ﻣﺪﻓﻮﻋﺎت ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪء ﳑﻠﮑﺖ‬ ‫و ﺗﺰﯾﯿﺪ ﺛﺮوت اّﻣﺖ ﳐﺎﻟﻒ ﻋﺎﻗﺒﺖ اﻧﺪﯾﺸﯽ و رٔای ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ و ﻣﻨﺤﺮف از ﳖﺞ ﻗﻮﳝﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﴫف ﮐﯿﻒ ﯾﺸﺎء ﴾‬ ‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﺣّﲀم وﻻايت و ﻧﻮاىح ﳑﻠﮑﺖ را از ﺣّﺮﯾ ّﺖ ﻣﻄﻠﻘﻪء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪء ﴿ ﯾﺘ ّ‬ ‫ابزداﺷـﺘﻪ ﺑﻘﺎﻧﻮن ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻣﻘﯿّﺪ و اﺟﺮاا ٓت ﻗﺼﺎﺻّﯿﻪ ﭼﻮن ﻗﺘﻞ و ﺣﺒﺲ و اﻣﺜﺎﻟﻬﺎ ﻣﻨﻮط ابﺳﺘﯿﺬان از‬ ‫درابر ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﻣﺪار و در ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﻋﺪﻟّﯿﻪء ﻣﻘّﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﲢﻘﯿﻖ و ﺗﻌﯿﲔ درﺟﺎت ﺷﻘﺎوت و‬ ‫ﺟﻨﺎﯾﺖ و ﻗﺒﺎﺣﺖ ﺟﺎﱏ و اﺟﺮاء ﻣﺎ ﯾﺴـﺘﺤّﻖ ﻣﴩوط ﺑﺼﺪور ﻓﺮﻣﺎن ﻋﺎﱃ ﳕﻮدن ﳐّﺮب اﺳﺎس رﻋّﯿﺖ‬ ‫ﭘﺮوری اﺳﺖ‬ ‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﺳّﺪ اﺑﻮاب رﺷﻮت و ِﺑﺮﻃﯿﻞ ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم ﺑﺘﻌﺒﲑ ﻣﻠﯿﺢ ﭘﯿﺸﮑﺶ و ﺗﻌﺎرف ﻣﻌّﱪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن‬ ‫ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ اﺳﺖ‬

‫‪18‬‬ ‫‪ (well-disposed) is clear in the Bombay edition (page 21), and the Cairo edition‬ﻣﺘﺤﺎﺑ ّﻪ‬ ‫)‪, yet an electronic edition available at the Bahāʾi Reference Library (April 2012‬ﻣﺘﺤﺎﺑﻪ ‪has‬‬ ‫‪ (belligerent).‬ﻣﺘﺤﺎرﺑﻪ ‪has‬‬

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Is it contrary to the dictates of wisdom to use far-sighted reason and an investigation of present conditions, and the results of the thoughts of all the world’s people, to truly understand future events which are in the realm of potential and, to the best of our abilities, shape them from the security of present conditions? As for seeking the means of unity with neighbouring peoples, making effective treaties with the great powers, fostering friendly ties with welldisposed governments, increasing the scope of trade with the nations of East and West, developing the kingdom’s natural resources and increasing the wealth of our people: is this contrary to prudence, or right reason, or established custom? Or again, if the governors of the provinces and regions of the kingdom, having been deprived of complete executive freedom, of which it is said, “he is free to do as he pleases,”19 are bound to apply an impartial code of law, or if the implementation of rulings under retributive law, such as death and detention and the like, is subject to an application for permission to the central judicial authorities, and the decision, in the judicial tribunals of the capital, is made conditional on royal confirmation following investigation and the determination of the seriousness of the crime and the amount of suffering and bodily harm involved, and the granting of a document of entitlement for the plaintiff, does this demolish the foundations of “taking good care of the subjects”? Or, if bribery and corruption, known today euphemistically as gifts and “oiling the wheels” are forever excluded, does this bring down the edifice of justice?

19 From a commentary by the Hanbali jurist Ibn al-Jawzi, in his book Seyd al-Khater, where he applies this maxim of property law to the theodicy problem.

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‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻋﺴﮑﺮﯾ ّﻪ را ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻓﺪاﺋﯿﺎن دوﻟﺖ و ﻣﻠ ّﺘﻨﺪ و ﺟﺎﻧﺸﺎن در ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﺣﯿﺎن در ﻣﻌﺮض‬ ‫ﺗﻠﻒ از ذﻟ ّﺖ ﮐﱪی و ﻣﺴﮑﻨﺖ ﻋﻈﻤﯽ ﳒﺎت دادﻩ در ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ ﻣﺎ ٓﰻ و ﻣﺸﺎرﺑﺸﺎن و ﺗﻨﻈﲓ اﻟﺒﺴﻪ و‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺎﮐﻨﺸﺎن ﮐﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ و در ﺗﻌﻠﲓ ﻓﻨﻮن ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪ ﺑﺼﺎﺣﺒﺎن ﻣﻨﺎﺻﺐ ﻋﺴﮑﺮﯾ ّﻪ و در ﺗﺪارک اﮐﲈل همّﻤﺎت و‬ ‫ا ٓﻻت و ادوات انرﯾ ّﻪ ﮐﲈل ﺳﻌﯽ و اﻫامتم را ﻣﺒﺬول داﺷﱳ از اﻓﲀر ﺳﻘﳰﻪ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫و اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﮔﻮﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻫﻨﻮز اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﻣﺬﮐﻮرﻩ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ابﯾﺪ و ﺷﺎﯾﺪ در ﺣّﲒ وﺟﻮد ﻧﯿﺎﻣﺪﻩ اﮔﺮ اﻧﺼﺎف‬ ‫دﻫﺪ اﯾﻦ ﻗﺼﻮر از ﻧﺘﺎﰀ ﻋﺪم اّﲢﺎد ا ٓراء ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ و ﻗﻠ ّﺖ ّﳘﺖ و ﻏﲑت ﻣﺘﻨﻔّﺬان و ﺑﺰرﮔﺎن ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﺻﺪور‬ ‫ايﻓﺘﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺑﴗ ﻣﱪﻫﻦ و واﲵﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ات ﲨﻬﻮر اﻫﺎﱃ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻧﺸﻮﻧﺪ و اﻓﲀر ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ در ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﳰﯽ‬ ‫ﻗﺮار ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ و داﻣﻦ ﻋﻔّﺖ و ﻋﺼﻤﺖ اﻓﺮاد اوﻟﯿﺎء اﻣﻮر ﺣّﱴ اﻫﻞ ﻣﻨﺎﺻﺐ ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﻪ از ﺷﺎﺋﺒﻪء اﻃﻮار ﻏﲑ‬ ‫ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ ﭘﺎک و ﻣﻄّﻬﺮ ﻧﮕﺮدد اﻣﻮر ﺑﺮ ﳏﻮر ﻻﺋﻖ دوران ﻧامنﯾﺪ و اﻧﺘﻈﺎم اﺣﻮال و ﺿﺒﻂ و رﺑﻂ اﻃﻮار ات‬ ‫ﺑﺪرﺟﻪء ﻧﺮﺳﺪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ وﻟﻮ ﮐﲈل هجﺪ ﻣﺒﺬول ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﺧﻮد را ﻋﺎﺟﺰ ايﺑﺪ از اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺪار رٔاس ﺷﻌﺮی‬ ‫از ﻣﺴﻠﮏ ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﲡﺎوز ﳕﺎﯾﺪ اﺻﻼح ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮل اتّم رخ ﻧامنﯾﺪ‬ ‫و از اﯾﻦ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ﻫﺮ اﻣﺮ ﺧﲑی ﮐﻪ وﺳـﯿهلء اﻋﻈﻢ ﺳﻌﺎدت ﻋﺎﱂ ابﺷﺪ ﻗﺎﺑﻞ ﺳﻮء اﺳـﺘﻌﲈل اﺳﺖ و‬ ‫ﺣﺴﻦ و ﺳﻮء اﺳـﺘﻌﲈل ﺑﺴـﺘﻪ ﺑﺪرﺟﺎت ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪء اﻓﲀر و اﺳـﺘﻌﺪاد و دايﻧﺖ و ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻋﻠّﻮ ّﳘﺖ و‬ ‫ﲰّﻮ ﻏﲑت ﻣﺘﺤّﲒان و ﻣﺘﻨﻔّﺬان اﻫﺎﱃ اﺳﺖ‬

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Or again, if the soldiery, who are a living sacrifice to the state and the people and brave death at every turn, have been delivered from extreme misery and poverty, and arrangements are made for their food and drink, clothing and housing, and efforts have been made to instruct their officers in military science, for the provision of all necessities, equipment, and accurate firearms, is this an unhealthy idea? Should anyone say that the above-mentioned reforms have not been put into effect in the proper way, he should consider the matter impartially and know that this powerlessness has arisen from the lack of unified public opinion, and the absence of zeal and high aspirations on the part of influential people and the nobility. It is clear beyond dispute that affairs will not turn on the pivot appropriate to this age while the mass of the inhabitants are uneducated, and public opinion has not focussed on a single strong point, and those who bear responsibilities, even minor officials, have not purified and sanctified the robe of virtue and self-discipline† from the least suspicion of unseemly conduct. We will not be able to see the full effect of the anticipated reforms until conditions are so ordered, and conduct is so well disciplined, that an individual, even with the utmost effort, is unable to deviate by so much as a hair’s breadth from impartiality. Furthermore, any good thing, even if it is the greatest instrument for the world’s happiness, can be a cause of harm. The outcome, good or bad, depends on the varying degrees of enlightenment, capacity, faith, impartiality, noble aspirations and sublime devotion of those who lead and influence the population.

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‫و ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ا ٓچنﻪ ﺑﺮ ﻧﻔﺲ ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﺑﻮد ا ٓن را ﺟﺎری و ﺳﺎری ﻓﺮﻣﻮد ﺣﺎل اﳒﺎم اﻣﻮر و ﻣﺼﺎﱀ‬ ‫ﻋﺒﺎد در ﮐﻒ ﮐﻔﺎﯾﺖ ﻧﻔﻮس ﳎﳣﻌﻪ در ﳎﺎﻟﺲ اﻓﺘﺎد و اﮔﺮ ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس ﺑﻄﺮاز ﻋﺼﻤﺖ و ﻋﻔّﺖ ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﯾﻌﲎ اذايل ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ را ابﺷـﯿﺎی انﻻﯾﻘﻪ ﻧﯿﺎﻻﯾﻨﺪ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪات اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس را ﻣﺒﺪٔا ﺧﲑات ﻋﺎﱂ ﮔﺮداﻧﺪ و‬ ‫ا ٓچنﻪ ﻣﺼﻠﺤﺖ انس اﺳﺖ از ﻟﺴﺎن و ﻗﲅ ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس ﺟﺎری ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ و ﲨﯿﻊ ﺑدلان ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﻋﻠّﯿﻪء اﯾﺮان از‬ ‫اﻧﻮار ﻋﺪﻟّﯿﻪء ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس اثﺑﺘﻪء راﲯﻪ ﻣﻨّﻮر ﮔﺮدد ﺑﺸﺎٔﱏ ﮐﻪ اﺷّﻌﻪء ا ٓن ﻧﻮر ﲨﯿﻊ ﻋﺎﱂ را اﺣﺎﻃﻪ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ ﻟﯿﺲ‬ ‫ﻫﺬا ﻋﲆ اّهلل ﺑﻌﺰﯾﺰ ﴾‬ ‫و اّﻻ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﻧﺘﺎﰀ ﻏﲑ ﻣﻘﺒﻮهل ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﺷﻮد ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ در ﺑﻌﴣ ﻣﺪن از ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﺟﻨﺒّﯿﻪ ﺑﺮٔای اﻟﻌﲔ ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ‬ ‫ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﺗﺸﮑﯿﻞ ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ا ٓن ﲨﻊ ﺳﺒﺐ ﭘﺮﯾﺸﺎﱏ ﲨﻬﻮر و ا ٓن اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ اﺣﺪااثت‬ ‫ﴬﻩ ﺷﺪ ﺗﺸﮑﯿﻞ ﳎﺎﻟﺲ و ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﳏﺎﻓﻞ ﻣﺸﻮرت اﺳﺎس ﻣﺘﲔ و ﺑﻨﯿﺎن رزﯾﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻣ ّ‬ ‫وﻟﮑﻦ از ﻟﻮازم اﯾﻦ اﺳﺎس اﻣﻮر ﭼﻨﺪﯾﺴﺖ اّول ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ابﯾﺪ اﻋﻀﺎی ﻣﻨﺘﺨﺒﻪ ﻣﺘﺪﯾّﻦ و ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل و‬ ‫ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ّﳘﺖ و ﻋﻔﯿﻒ اﻟﻨّﻔﺲ ابﺷـﻨﺪ اثﻧﯿًﺎ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣّﻄﻠﻊ ﺑﺮ دﻗﺎﺋﻖ اواﻣﺮ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و واﻗﻒ ﺑﺮ اﺻﻮل ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﺴـﻨﻪء‬ ‫ﻣﻘﻨّﻨﻪء ﻣﺮﻋّﯿﻪ و ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﺮ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺿﺒﻂ و رﺑﻂ همﺎّم داﺧﻠّﯿﻪ و رواﺑﻂ و ﻋﻼﻗﺎت ﺧﺎرﺟﯿّﻪ و ﻣﺘﻔّﲍ در ﻓﻨﻮن‬ ‫انﻓﻌﻪء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ و ﻗﺎﻧﻊ ﲟﺪاﺧﻞ ﻣﻠﮑﯽ ﺧﻮد ابﺷـﻨﺪ‬

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[The provincial councils I] In truth, what his Majesty has announced is now being undertaken. The outcome of these matters, and the interests of the people, are now in the hands of persons functioning in councils. If these individuals are adorned with the ornaments of incorruptibility and self-denial, that is, if they do not pollute the sacred robe with any unseemly thing, the divine assistance will certainly make them a source of good in the world. What is beneficial to the people will flow from their lips and pens, and every corner of this noble country of Iran will be steadily illumined by the light of their justice. So much so, that the rays of that light will encompass the whole earth. “This is not difficult for God.”20 Otherwise it is clear that the results will prove unacceptable. For it has been unmistakably demonstrated in some cities in foreign countries† that, following the establishment of councils, those bodies caused the spirit of restlessness to spread amongst the people, and those humanitarian reforms have led to harmful results. The formation of councils and the establishment of consultative assemblies constitute the sure and solid foundation of the political edifice, but for this structure to be firmly founded several requisites must be fulfilled. First, the elected members must be pious, Godfearing, high-minded and chaste. Second, they must be fully acquainted with every minute detail of the Divine Ordinances, must be well-versed in principles that are lofty, sanctioned and recognised, must be skilful in internal administration and the conduct of foreign relations, must be conversant with sciences that are beneficial for society, and content with their own financial standing.

20 A variant on a verse that appears twice in the Quran, at Surah 14:20 and 25:17. In both cases the foregoing words, not quoted by Abduʾl-Baha, are the same: “If He wills it, He snatches you away, and brings on a new creation. This is not difficult for God.”

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‫و ﳘﭽﻮ ﮔﲈن ﻧﺮود ﮐﻪ وﺟﻮد ﭼﻨﲔ اﻋﻀﺎﰃ ﻣﺸﲁ و ﳑﺘﻨﻊ اﺳﺖ ﺑﻌﻨﺎايت ﺣﻖ و ﺧﺎّﺻﺎن ﺣﻖ و ّﳘﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﻠﻨﺪ اﲱﺎب ﻏﲑت ﻫﺮ ﻣﺸﳫﯽ ا ٓﺳﺎن اﺳﺖ و ﻫﺮ ﺻﻌﺐ ﻣﺴـﺘﺼﻌﱮ اﻫﻮن از ﳊﻈﺎت اﻋﲔ و اﻧﻈﺎر‬ ‫و اّﻣﺎ اﮔﺮ اﻋﻀﺎی ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﺑﺮ ﻋﮑﺲ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪ دون و اندان و ﺑﯿﺨﱪ از ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﳑﺎﻟﮏ و ﺑدلان و ﭘﺴﺖ ّﳘﺖ و ﰉ ﻏﲑت ﺟﺎﻫﻞ و ﰷﻫﻞ و ﻃﺎﻟﺐ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ابﺷـﻨﺪ ﲦﺮﻩ و‬ ‫ﻓﻮاﺋﺪی ﺑﺮ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﻣﱰﺗ ّﺐ ﻧﺸﻮد ﻣﮕﺮ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ زﻣﺎن ﺳﺎﺑﻖ اﮔﺮ ﻣﺴﮑﲔ ﻓﻘﲑی ﲜﻬﺖ اﺣﻘﺎق و‬ ‫ﲢﺼﯿﻞ ﺣﻘﻮق ﺧﻮد ﺑﺸﺨﺺ واﺣﺪ ﻫﺪﯾﻪ ای ﺗﻘﺪﱘ ﻣﯿﳮﻮد ﺑﻌﺪ ابﯾﺪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻋﻀﺎی ﳎﻠﺲ را راﴇ ﮐﻨﺪ و‬ ‫اّﻻ اﺣﻘﺎق ﺣﻘﻮﻗﺶ ﻣﺘﺼّﻮر ﻧﮕﺮدد‬ ‫و ﭼﻮن ﻧﻈﺮ دﻗﯿﻖ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ ﻋﻠ ّﺖ ﻋﻈﲈی ﺟﻮر و ﻓﺘﻮر و ﻋﺪم ﻋﺪل و ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ و‬ ‫اﻧﺘﻈﺎم اﻣﻮر از ﻗﻠ ّﺖ ﺗﺪﯾّﻦ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ و ﻋﺪم ﻣﻌﺎرف ﲨﻬﻮر اﺳﺖ ﻣﺜًﻼ اﮔﺮ اﻫﺎﱃ ﻣﺘﺪﯾّﻦ و در ﻗﺮاﺋﺖ و‬ ‫ﮐﺘﺎﺑﺖ ﻣﺎﻫﺮ و ﻣﺘﻔّﲍ ابﺷـﻨﺪ اﮔﺮ ﻣﺸﳫﯽ رخ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ اّوًﻻ ﲝﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﳏﻠ ّّﯿﻪ ﺷﲀﯾﺖ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ اﮔﺮ اﻣﺮی ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ‬ ‫ﻋﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎف ﺑﯿﻨﻨﺪ و روش و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ را ﻣﻨﺎﰱ رﺿﺎی ابری و ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﺷﻬﺮايری‬ ‫ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﮐﻨﻨﺪ داوری ﺧﻮد را ﲟﺠﺎﻟﺲ ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪ رﺳﺎﻧﻨﺪ و اﳓﺮاف ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﳏﻠ ّّﯿﻪ را از ﻣﺴﻠﮏ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ‬ ‫ﴍع ﻣﺒﲔ ﺑﯿﺎن ﮐﻨﻨﺪ و ﺑﻌﺪ ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪ ﺻﻮرت اﺳﺘﻨﻄﺎق را از ﳏّﻞ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺑﻄﻠﺒﻨﺪ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ا ٓﻧﺸﺨﺺ‬ ‫ﻣﺸﻤﻮل اﻟﻄﺎف ﻋﺪل و داد ﮔﺮدد‬

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Let it not be imagined that such members would be impossible to find. Through the grace of God and His chosen ones, and the high endeavours of determined people, every difficulty is made easy; every problem, however complex, will prove simpler than blinking an eye. If, on the contrary, the members of these councils lack these qualities, if they are low-minded and ignorant, unfamiliar with the laws of government and the statesmanship of cities and nations, slack, devoid of all sense of responsibility, foolish, negligent and self-seeking, then no abiding results can be achieved through the establishment of councils. Whereas in former times the poor and needy, in order to ensure the vindication of their rights, had to offer gifts to a single individual, today they have to satisfy all the members of the council; otherwise their rights will never be secured. Should any man reflect, it will be evident and manifest that the fundamental cause of oppression, corruption, injustice and maladministration lies in the neglect of true religion, and the lack of sufficient knowledge among the mass of the people. For example, where the population is pious, proficient in reading and writing, and well-schooled, and a difficulty presents itself, they can in the first place complain to the local authorities. If they consider the ruling contrary to justice and equity, or if they see that the conduct of the authorities is incompatible with the Divine good pleasure and the king’s justice, they can themselves take their case to higher councils and describe the deviation of the local authorities from the straight path of the religious law. The higher councils could then request depositions from the place concerned. Such a people will undoubtedly be surrounded by the blessings of justice and equity.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫وﻟﮑﻦ ﺣﺎل اﮐﱶ اﻫﺎﱃ از ﻗﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﻌﺎرف زابن و ﺑﯿﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﺗﻔﻬﲓ ﻣﻘﺎﺻﺪ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﮐﻪ در اﻃﺮاف و اﮐﻨﺎف از وﺟﻮﻩ و اﰷﺑﺮ اﻫﺎﱃ ﻣﻌﺪودﻧﺪ ﭼﻮن ﺑﺪاﯾﺖ ﺗﺸﮑﯿﻼت و‬ ‫ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺴﺎت ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ اﺳﺖ از ﻋﺪم ﺗﺮّﰵ در درﺟﺎت ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪء ﻣﻌﺎرف ﻫﻨﻮز ّذلت ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﭘﺮوری و ﺣﻼوت‬ ‫ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﮔﺴﱰی را چنﺸـﯿﺪﻩ و از ﻣﻌﲔ ﻋﺬب ﻓﺮات ﺻﺪق ﻃﻮﯾ ّﺖ و ﺧﻠﻮص ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻧﻨﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ و ﮐﲈ ﻫﻮ‬ ‫ﺣﻘّﻪ ادراک ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ ﴍف اﻧﺴﺎن و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﳇّّﯿﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻣﲀن ﻋّﺰت ﻧﻔﺲ و ّﳘﺖ ﺑﻠﻨﺪ و ﻣﻘﺎﺻﺪ‬ ‫ارﲨﻨﺪ و ﻋﺼﻤﺖ ﻓﻄﺮﯾ ّﻪ و ﻋﻔّﺖ ﺧﻠﻘﯿّﻪ اﺳﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺑﻠﻨﺪ اﺧﱰی و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری را در ﲨﻊ زﺧﺎرف دﻧﯿﻮﯾ ّﻪ‬ ‫ابّي ﳓﻮ ﰷن داﻧﺴـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﻗﺪری اﻧﺼﺎف ﻻزم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻧﺴﺎن ﰱ اﶺهل ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن او را ﺑﻔﻀﻞ و ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ‬ ‫ﮐﱪی اﻧﺴﺎن ﺧﻠﻖ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ و ﲞﻠﻌﺖ ﴿ ﻟﻘﺪ ﺧﻠﻘﻨﺎ الاﻧﺴﺎن ﰱ ٔاﺣﺴﻦ ﺗﻘﻮﱘ ﴾ ﴎاﻓﺮاز داﺷـﺘﻪ و ﺑﺘﺠﻠ ّﯿﺎت‬ ‫رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ از ﺻﺒﺢ اﺣﺪﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺴﺘﴩق ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﻣﻨﺒﻊ ا ٓايت اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و همﺒﻂ اﴎار ﻣﻠﮑﻮﺗّﯿﻪ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ و در ﲾﺮ‬ ‫اﺑﺪاع ابﻧﻮار ﺻﻔﺎت ﰷﻣهل و ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪ ﻣﺴـﺘﻨﲑ ﺷﺪﻩ ﺣﺎل ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﯾﻦ رداء ﻣﻄّﻬﺮ را ﺑﮑﺜﺎﻓﺎت‬ ‫اﻏﺮاض ﻧﻔﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﺑﯿﺎﻻﯾﺪ و اﯾﻦ ﻋّﺰت ﺟﺎوﯾﺪ را ﺑﺬّل ﺷﺪﯾﺪ ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ ٔا ﺗﺰﰪ اﻧّﮏ ﺟﺮم ﺻﻐﲑ و ﻓﯿﮏ‬ ‫اﻧﻄﻮی اﻟﻌﺎﱂ الاﮐﱪ ﴾‬

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At present, however, because of their inadequate schooling, most of the population lack even the vocabulary to express what they want. Similarly, there are some people in the remoter parts of the country who are considered leaders of the people: because it is still early days for the new institutions and because of a lack of progress in the higher levels of education thus far, they have not experienced the pleasure of promoting impartiality or the sweetness of dispensing justice. They have not drunk from the fresh-flowing springs of sincere intent and purity of motive. They have not understood, as they must, that man’s supreme honour and the happiness of the entire contingent world lie in the grandeur of the soul: in high resolve and noble intentions, innate freedom from sin and natural immaculacy. They have, rather, imagined that grandeur and nobility are obtained by accumulating earthly vanities by any means.

[Man’s high station] A man should reflect a while, and be just: the Lord of the worlds, in His great tenderness and grace, has made him a human being and, as a robe of honour, gave him the words: “Verily, We created man with the best stature.”21 He illumined him with divine splendours, shining from the horizon of divine unity, and made him the wellspring of the signs of God and the repository of the mysteries of heaven. On the morning of creation he was bathed in the beams of ideal attributes and the outpourings of God’s grace. How can he stain this sanctified garment with the filth of selfish desires, or exchange this everlasting honour for utter infamy? “You think yourself a puny form, yet the universe is folded within you.”22

21

Quran 95:4. From a poem attributed to the Imām ʿAli. The previous line reads “Your illness comes from within, but you do not see, the cure lies within you but you do not know.” 22

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‫و اﮔﺮ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﺧﺘﺼﺎر و ﻣﺮاﻋﺎت ﺻﺪد ﻣﻘﺼﺪ اﺻﲆ ﻧﺒﻮد ﶍﲆ از ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ در ﺑﯿﺎن ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ‬ ‫و ﻋﻠّﻮ ﻣﲋﻟﺖ و ﲰّﻮ ﻣﻨﻘﺒﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺮﻗﻮم ﻣﯿﺸﺪ ﴿ اﯾﻦ زﻣﺎن ﺑﮕﺬار ات وﻗﺖ دﮔﺮ ﴾‬ ‫در ﻗﻄﺐ اﻣﲀن ﺷﺎٔن اﻋﻈﻢ و ﻣﻘﺎم اﮐﱪ ارﻓﻊ اﳀﻢ ﻇﺎﻫﺮًا و ابﻃﻨًﺎ اّوًﻻ و ا ٓﺧﺮًا اﻧﺒﯿﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ راﺳﺖ و‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﮐﱶﺷﺎن ﲝﺴﺐ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺟﺰ ﻓﻘﺮ ﴏف ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ و ﮐﺬﻟﮏ ﻋّﺰت ﳇّّﯿﻪ اوﻟﯿﺎی ﺣّﻖ و ﻣﻘّﺮابن‬ ‫درﮔﺎﻩ اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ را ﳐﺘّﺺ و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﺑﺪًا در ﻓﮑﺮ ﻏﻨﺎی ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺧﻮد ﻧﺒﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻣﻠﻮک ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﺳﻠﻮﰽ ﮐﻪ ﺻﯿﺖ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ و ﻋﺪاﻟﺖ ا ٓﺳﲈﻧﯿﺸﺎن ا ٓﻓﺎق ﰷﺋﻨﺎت را ﻓﺮا ﮔﺮﻓﺘﻪ و‬ ‫ا ٓوازﻩء ﺣﻘﻮق ﭘﺮوری و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮارﯾﺸﺎن اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﺳـﺒﻌﻪ را اﺣﺎﻃﻪ ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﻓﮑﺮ ﺗﻮاﻧﮕﺮی و ﻏﻨﺎی ﻓﺎﺣﺶ‬ ‫ذاﰏ ﺧﻮد ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻏﻨﺎی ﲨﻬﻮر رﻋﺎاي را ﻋﲔ ﻏﻨﺎی ﺧﻮد ﴰﺮدﻩ ﺛﺮوت و وﺳﻌﺖ ﲻﻮم اﻓﺮاد اﻫﺎﱃ را‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﯾ ّﺖ ﺧﺰاﺋﻦ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ داﻧﺴـﺘﻪ اﻓﺘﺨﺎرﺷﺎن ﺑﺬﻫﺐ و ﻓّﻀﻪ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺑﺮوﺷـﻨﺎﰃ رٔای و ﺑﻠﻨﺪی ّﳘﺖ‬ ‫هجﺎن ا ٓرای ﺑﻮدﻩ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ وزرای ﻣﮑّﺮم و والكی ﻣﻔّﺨﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ رﺿﺎی ﺣﻖ را ﺑﺮ رﺿﺎی ﺧﻮد ﻣﻘّﺪم داﺷـﺘﻪ و در ﻓﻨﻮن‬ ‫ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ ﻋَِﲅ همﺎرت ﳇّّﯿﻪ را ﺑﺮ اﺗﻼل ﺣﳬﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺘّﯿﻪ ﺑﺮاﻓﺮاﺷـﺘﻪ در اﳒﻤﻦ داﻧﺶ ﭼﻮن ﻣﺼﺒﺎح ﻣﻌﺎرف‬ ‫اﻓﺮوﺧﺘﻪ و از اﻃﻮار و اﻓﲀر و رﻓﺘﺎرﺷﺎن ا ٓاثر دوﻟﺖ ﺧﻮاﻫﯽ واﰣ و ﻧﺘﺎﰀ ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﯾ ّﺖ ﭘﺮوری ﻻﰁ‬

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Were it not our purpose to be brief and concentrate on the main subject, we would write a summary of heavenly themes, explaining the human person, and his high station and the sublime gift of being human. “Let this be, for another time.”23 At the zenith of creation, the highest rank and station, the greatest elevation, outwardly and inwardly, in the beginning and in the end, is that of the Prophets of God, although outwardly most of them have had nothing but pure poverty. In the same way, a pre-eminent glory has been vouchsafed especially to the Holy Ones and those who are nearest to the Threshold of God, although such as these have never for a moment concerned themselves with outward wealth. Likewise, the just kings whose world-wide fame and heavenly justice have reached to the horizons of the world, whose own stature and their promotion of rights have re-echoed across the seven climes, gave no thought to power and ill-gotten gains. Rather, they considered that the wealth of the generality of their subjects was the spring from which their own wealth flowed. They knew that the wealth and opportunity of every individual inhabitant generates growth in the royal treasury. They took no pride in gold and silver, but rather in how their noble aspirations had adorned the world. Yet again, there have been eminent and honourable Ministers and officials who knew that God’s good pleasure came before their own, who raised the flag of comprehensive skill in the arts of public administration on the hills of wisdom in the art of governance. They shone in the learned world like lamps of knowledge; their thinking, their attitudes and their acts clearly showed their devotion to the state, and the results were the country’s evident development.

23 A line from Rumi’s Mathnavi 1.131: “As for this separation, this broken heart, … let this [story] be, for another time.”

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‫ﺑﻮﻇﯿﻔﻪء زﻫﯿﺪﻩء ﺧﻮد ﻗﻨﺎﻋﺖ ﳕﻮدﻩ روز و ﺷﺐ ﻣﺸﻐﻮل ﺑﳣﺸﯿﺖ همﺎّم اﻣﻮر و اﺣﺪاث و اﳚﺎد وﺳﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫ﺗﺮّﰵ ﲨﻬﻮر ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺑﻔﮑﺮ اثﻗﺐ و رٔای ﺻﺎﺋﺐ دوﻟﺖ ﻣﺘﺒﻮﻋﻪء ﺧﻮد را ﻣﻄﺎع دول ﻋﺎﱂ و ﻣﻘّﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ را ﻣﺮﮐﺰ رﺗﻖ و ﻓﺘﻖ ﻋﻈﺎﰂ اﻣﻮر ﻣﻠﻞ و اﱈ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ ﺑﻮﺻﻮل اﻋﲆ ﻣﺮاﰵ ﻣﻔﺨﺮت ذاﺗّﯿﻪ و اﲰﯽ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﺎرج ﺣﯿﺜﯿ ّﺖ ﻓﻄﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺘﺒﺎﻫﯽ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫و ﮐﺬﻟﮏ ﻣﺸﺎﻫﲑ ﻋﻠﲈی ﳓﺎرﯾﺮ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻔﻀﺎﺋﻞ ﻋﻠﻤّﯿﻪ و ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ ﲪﯿﺪﻩ ﻣﻮﺻﻮف و ﺑﻌﺮوة اﻟﻮﺛﻘﺎی ﺗﻘﯽ‬ ‫ﻣﺘﺸﺒّﺚ و ﺑﺬﯾﻞ ُﻫﺪی ﻣﺘﻮّﺳﻞ و ﻣﳣّﺴﮏ و ﻣﺮا ٓت ﲣّﯿﻼﺗﺸﺎن ﺑﺼﻮر ﻣﻌﺎﱏ ﳇّّﯿﻪ ﻣﺮﺗﺴﻢ و زﺟﺎﺟﻪء‬ ‫ﺗﺼّﻮراﺗﺸﺎن از ﴰﺲ ﻣﻌﺎرف ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﻣﻘﺘﺒﺲ و در اّايم و ﻟﯿﺎﱃ ﺑﺘﺪﻗﯿﻖ و ﲢﻘﯿﻖ ﻋﻠﻮم انﻓﻌﻪ ﻣﺸﻐﻮل و‬ ‫ﺑﱰﺑﯿﺖ و ﺗﻌﻠﲓ اﻧﻔﺲ ﻣﺴـﺘﻌّﺪﻩء ﻣﺘﻌﻠ ّﻤﻪ ﻣﺎٔﻟﻮف اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ در ﻣﺬاق ﻋﺮﻓﺎﻧﺸﺎن ﮔﻨﺞ ابد ا ٓورد ﺧﴪوان ﺑﻪ ﻗﻄﺮﻩ‬ ‫ای از زﻻل ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺑﯿﺎن ﺑﺮاﺑﺮی ﻧﮑﻨﺪ و ﻗﻨﺎﻃﲑ ﻣﻘﻨﻄﺮﻩء ذﻫﺐ و ﻓّﻀﻪ اب ﺣّﻞ ﻣﺴـﺌهل ای از ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫ﻏﺎﻣﻀﻪ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﲆ ﻧامنﯾﺪ ذلاﺋﺬ اﻣﻮر ﺧﺎرﺟﻪ را ﭼﻮن ﻣﻼﻋﺐ ﺻﺒﯿﺎن اﻧﮕﺎﻧرﺪ و ﳇﻔﺖ زﺧﺎرف زاﺋﺪﻩ را ﻻﺋﻖ‬ ‫دوانن و ﺟﺎﻫﻼن ﴰﻧﺮﺪ ﭼﻮن ﻃﯿﻮر ﺷﮑﻮر ﲝﺒﻮب ﭼﻨﺪی ﻗﻨﺎﻋﺖ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻧﻐﲈت ﺣﳬﺖ و ﻣﻌﺎرﻓﺸﺎن‬ ‫ﺣﲑت ﲞﺶ ﻣﺪارک و ﺷﻌﻮر اﺟّهلء ﻓﻀﻼی اﱈ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﴎوران ﺧﺮدﻣﻨﺪان از اﻫﺎﱃ و ﻣﺘﺤّﲒان ﻣﺘﻨﻔّﺬان وﻻايت و ﻧﻮاىح ﮐﻪ ارﰷن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖاﻧﺪ ﻋﻠّﻮ‬ ‫ﻣﲋﻟﺖ و ﲰّﻮ ﺷﺎٔن و ﺳﻌﺎدﺗﺸﺎن در ﺧﲑﺧﻮاﻫﯽ ﲻﻮم و ﺗﻔﻘّﺪ و ﲡّﺴﺲ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﻋﲈر ﳑﻠﮑﺖ و ﺛﺮوت و‬ ‫ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ رﻋّﯿﺖ اﺳﺖ‬

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Content with a modest stipend, they consecrated their days and nights to achieving progress in important matters and devising methods to ensure the progress of the people. Through unfailing insight and effective advice they made the governments they served examples followed by all the governments of the world. They made their capitals mighty centres of power in the affairs of peoples and nations. They vied in attaining the greatest personal distinction and a reputation for outstanding merit. Similarly, consider those famed and accomplished divines who have been extolled for their erudition and commendable qualities. They have clung to “the most trustworthy hand-hold”24 and grasped the hem of divine guidance and held it fast. The mirrors of their minds faithfully reflected the forms of transcendent realities, and the lamp of their thoughts derived its light from the sun of universal knowledge. Day and night, they engaged in meticulous research into the useful sciences. They were quick to nurture and teach those with the capacity to be taught. Given their discerning taste, the unearned treasures of kings would certainly not have compared, for them, to a single drop of the crystal waters of knowledge and exposition. They would not have accepted a hundred hundredweight of gold and silver for the solution to one abstruse question. They considered the delights that lay outside their work as toys for children, and the burdens of great wealth as fit for the ignorant and base. They are content, like birds who give thanks for a handful of seeds, yet the melodies of their wisdom and learning dazzled the minds of the most learned men among the kindreds of the world. In the same way, there are sagacious leaders among the people and influential personalities in the provinces and districts who are pillars of government. Their high rank and station and their happiness lie in their being the well-wishers of the people, in their seeking the means of advancement for the nation and the people’s prosperity and comfort.

24 Quran 31:22. “Whoever submits his whole self to God, and is a doer of good, has indeed grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold.”

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‫ﻣﺜًﻼ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﴯﴡ از اﰷﺑﺮ وﻻﯾﱴ ﻏﯿﻮر و ﻫﻮﴰﻨﺪ و ﭘﺎک دل و داﻧﺸﻤﻨﺪ و ﺑﻔﻄﺎﻧﺖ‬ ‫ﻓﻄﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﻮﺻﻮف و ﺑﺬﰷء و دراﯾﺖ ﺧﻠﻘﯿّﻪ ﻣﻌﺮوف و از ارﰷن ﻫﯿﺌﺖ وﻻﯾﺖ ابﺷﺪ ﺣﺎل ﻋّﺰت ﳇّّﯿﻪ و‬ ‫ﺳﻌﺎدت ﴎﻣﺪﯾ ّﻪ و ﺷﺎٔن و ﴍف دﻧﯿﻮی و ُاﺧﺮوﯾﺶ در ﭼﻪ ﭼﲒ اﺳﺖ ا ٓاي در ﻣﻼزﻣﺖ ﺻﺪاﻗﺖ و‬ ‫راﺳـﱴ و ﻏﲑت و ﲪّﯿﺖ ﭘﺮوری و اﺑﺘﻐﺎء ﻣﺮﺿﺎت اﻟﻬـﯽ و اﺳـﺘﺠﻼب ﺣﺴﻦ اﻧﻈﺎر ﺧﴪوی و اﺳﱰﺿﺎء‬ ‫ﺧﺎﻃﺮ ﲨﻬﻮر اﻫﺎﱃ اﺳﺖ و اي ﺧﻮد ﲜﻬﺖ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در ﺷﺎم ﻋﯿﺶ همّﯿﺎ و ﺳﻔﺮﻩء همﻨّﺎﰃ ﺣﺎﴐ ﺳﺎزد در‬ ‫روز ﺑﺘﺨﺮﯾﺐ وﻃﻦ و ﺑﻼد و اﺣﺮاق ﻗﻠﻮب ﻋﺒﺎد ﻣﺸﻐﻮل ﮔﺮدد و ﺧﻮد را در درﮔﺎﻩ ﺣﴬت ﮐﱪاي ﻣﺮدود‬ ‫و از درابر ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﻣﺪار ﻣﻄﺮود و در ﻧﺰد ﲨﻬﻮر اﻫﺎﱃ ﺑﺪانم و ذﻟﯿﻞ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﻓﻮاّهلل ﻋﻈﺎم ابﻟﯿﻪ در ﻗﺒﻮر از‬ ‫ﭼﻨﲔ ﻧﻔﺲ و اﻣﺜﺎل او ﲠﱰ اﺳﺖ ﭼﻪ ﻓﺎﺋﺪﻩ ﮐﻪ از ﻣﻮاﺋﺪ ﺳﲈﺋّﯿﻪء ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ چنﺸـﯿﺪﻩ و از ﭼﺸﻤﻪء‬ ‫ﺻﺎﰱ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ ﻋﻮاﱂ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﻧﻨﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩاﻧﺪ‬ ‫و اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﺪ از ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ اﯾﻦ ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﻋﺪل و ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ ﳎﺎل اﻧﲀر ﻧﻪ وﻟﮑﻦ ات ّﳘﺖ‬ ‫ارﰷن و اﻋﻀﺎی ﻣﻨﺘﺨﺒﻪ ﭼﻪ ﺑﻈﻬﻮر رﺳﺎﻧﺪ اﮔﺮ ﺑﻨﯿ ّﺖ ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪ ﻣﻮﻓ ّﻖ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﻧﺘﺎﰀ ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ و اﺻﻼﺣﺎت‬ ‫ﻏﲑ ﻣﱰﻗّﺒﻪ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد و اّﻻ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ همﻤﻞ و ﻣﻌّﻮق ﻣﺎﻧﺪ و اﻣﻮر ﺑﳫّﯽ ﳐﺘّﻞ ﺷﻮد‬ ‫ٔاری اﻟﻒ ابٍن ﻻﯾﻘﻮم ﲠﺎدم‬ ‫ﻓﮑﯿﻒ ﺑﺒﺎٍن ﺧﻠﻔﻪ اﻟﻒ ﻫﺎدم‬

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For example, consider this. Suppose an individual is one of the pillars of authority. He is zealous, prudent, pure-hearted, wise, and is known for his innate intelligence, quick wit and natural perspicacity, and he is made a pillar of authority. In what does his honour, abiding happiness, his rank and station in this world and the next lie? Is it in consistency in truthfulness and righteousness, dedication and resolve in caring for his charges, and the desire to obtain God’s approval, and in seeking favour in the eyes of the king and the approval of the people? Or would it, rather, lie in this: scheming in the dark of night to gain a few contemptible crumbs, and destroying his country and breaking the hearts of men by day, earning rejection from the Lord of Grandeur, banishment from the court of justice, and infamy and wretchedness in the eyes of the whole population? By God, mouldering bones in the graveyard are better than such a one, and those like him. Of what value are they who have never tasted the heavenly food of human virtue, who have never drunk the pure waters bestowed on the worlds of men?

[The provincial councils II] It is evident that the object in establishing these councils is to bring about justice and impartiality. This is undeniable. However the outcome depends on the aspirations of the pillars and members who are chosen. If their intentions are sincere, no doubt desirable results and improvements beyond expectations will be forthcoming. If not, it is certain that the matter will be neglected and obstructed and affairs will be in complete disarray. “I see a thousand builders unequal to one destroyer; what then of the builder who is followed by a thousand who destroy?”

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‫ابری از ﺗﻔﺎﺻﯿﲆ ﮐﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﺷﺪ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﯾﻦ ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ اﻗ ّ ًﻼ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری و‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻘﺒﺖ و ﺗّذلذ و راﺣﺖ اﻧﺴﺎن در ﺛﺮوت ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ در ﻋﻠّﻮ ﻓﻄﺮت و ﲰّﻮ ّﳘﺖ و وﺳﻌﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎت و ﺣّﻞ ﻣﺸالكﺗﺴﺖ ﻓﻨﻌﻢ ﻣﺎ ﻗﺎل‬ ‫ﻋّﲇ ﺛﯿﺎب ﻟﻮ ﯾُﺒﺎع ﲨﯿﻌﻬﺎ ﺑﻔﻠٍﺲ ﻟﲀن اﻟﻔﻠﺲ ﻣﳯّﻦ ٔاﮐﱶا‬ ‫و ﻓﳱّﻦ ﻧﻔﺲ ﻟﻮ ﯾُﻘﺎس ﲠﺎ ﻧﻔﻮس اﻟﻮری ﰷﻧﺖ ٔاﺟّﻞ و ٔاﮐﱪا‬ ‫و ﺑﻨﻈﺮ اﯾﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ ﭼﻨﺎن ﻣﯽا ٓﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ اﻧﺘﺨﺎب اﻋﻀﺎی ﻣﻮﻗّﺘﻪ در ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﳏﺮوﺳﻪ ﻣﻨﻮط ﺑﺮﺿﺎﯾﺖ و‬ ‫اﻧﺘﺨﺎب ﲨﻬﻮر ابﺷﺪ اﺣﺴﻦ اﺳﺖ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻀﺎی ﻣﻨﺘﺨﺒﻪ از اﯾﻦ هجﺖ ﻗﺪری در اﻣﻮر ﻋﺪل و داد را‬ ‫ﻣﺮاﻋﺎت ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺒﺎدا ﺻﯿﺖ و ﺷﻬﺮﺗﺸﺎن ﻣﺬﻣﻮم ﮔﺮدد و از درﺟﻪء ﺣﺴﻦ ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ اﻫﺎﱃ ﺳﺎﻗﻂ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻮ ﻇّﻦ و ﮔﲈن ﻧﺮود ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از اﯾﻦ ﳇﲈت ﻣﺬّﻣﺖ ﻏﻨﺎ و ﻣﺪح ﻓﻘﺮ و اﺣﺘﯿﺎج اﺳﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻏﻨﺎ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﳤﺎی ﳑﺪوﺣﯿّﺖ را داﺷـﺘﻪ اﮔﺮ ﺑﺴﻌﯽ و ﮐﻮﺷﺶ ﻧﻔﺲ ﺧﻮد اﻧﺴﺎن در ﲡﺎرت و زراﻋﺖ و ﺻﻨﺎﻋﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﻔﻀﻞ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد و در اﻣﻮر ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ ﴏف ﺷﻮد و ﻋﲆ اﳋﺼﻮص اﮔﺮ ﴯﴡ ﻋﺎﻗﻞ و ﻣﺪﺑّﺮ‬ ‫ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﲆ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﲨﻬﻮر اﻫﺎﱃ ﺑﱶوت و ﻏﻨﺎی ﳇّﯽ ﺑﺮﺳﺎﻧﺪ ّﳘﱴ اﻋﻈﻢ از اﯾﻦ ﻧﻪ و ﻋﻨﺪ اّهلل اﮐﱪ‬ ‫ﻣﺜﻮابت ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﻫﺴﺖ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ّﳘﺖ ﺳﺒﺐ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ و ﺳّﺪ اﺣﺘﯿﺎﺟﺎت ﲨﻊ ﻏﻔﲑی از‬ ‫ﻋﺒﺎد ﺣّﻖ ﮔﺮدد‬

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The purpose of the foregoing was that it should at least be clear that the honour, happiness, grandeur and attainments, the pleasure and peace, of an individual have never consisted of his personal wealth, but rather of his excellent character, his high resolve, the breadth of his learning and his ability to solve difficult problems. As it has been said: “if my garments were sold for a penny, the penny would be the greater, yet within them is a soul which, if weighed against the souls of all men, would prove greater and nobler.”25 In the present writer’s view it would be preferable if the selection of the non-permanent members of the Provincial Councils depended on the consent or choice of the people. For the chosen members will, as a result, be conscientious in questions of justice and equity, lest their reputations should suffer and they fall into disfavour with the public. It should not be imagined that these words express scorn for wealth or praise for poverty and need. Wealth is very praiseworthy if it is acquired by an individual’s own efforts and the grace of God, in commerce, agriculture or industry, and if it is spent for good purposes. Above all, if a wise and prudent individual were to seize on the means which can universally enrich the population, there could be no undertaking greater than this, none that will be more richly rewarded by God, for this noble aspiration would supply the needs and ensure the comfort and well-being of a vast number of God’s servants.

25

From a poem attributed to the great jurist Al-Shafiʾi.

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‫ﺛﺮوت و ﻏﻨﺎ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﳑﺪوح اﮔﺮ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻏﲎ ابﺷﺪ وﻟﮑﻦ اﮔﺮ اﺷﺨﺎص ﻣﻌﺪودﻩ ﻏﻨﺎی‬ ‫ﻓﺎﺣﺶ داﺷـﺘﻪ و ﺳﺎﺋﺮﯾﻦ ﳏﺘﺎج و ﻣﻔﺘﻘﺮ و از ا ٓن ﻏﻨﺎ اﺛﺮ و ﲦﺮی ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﺸﻮد اﯾﻦ ﻏﻨﺎ از ﺑﺮای ا ٓن ﻏﲎ‬ ‫﴿ ﺧﴪان ﻣﺒﲔ ﴾ اﺳﺖ وﱃ اﮔﺮ در ﺗﺮوﱕ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﻣﲀﺗﺐ اﺑﺘﺪاﺋّﯿﻪ و ﻣﺪارس و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و‬ ‫ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ اﯾﺘﺎم و ﻣﺴﺎﮐﲔ ﺧﻼﺻﻪ در ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﴏف ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ا ٓن ﴯﺺ ﻋﻨﺪ اﳊّﻖ و اﳋﻠﻖ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮارﺗﺮﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﺳّﲀن زﻣﲔ و از اﻫﻞ اﻋﲆ ﻋﻠ ّﯿ ّﲔ ﳏﺴﻮب‬ ‫و اّﻣﺎ ﺣﺰﰉ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮا ٓﻧﻨﺪ اﯾﻦ اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ و ﺗﺸﮑﯿﻼت ﺳﺪﯾﺪﻩ ابﻟﻘّﻮﻩ و ابﻟﻔﻌﻞ ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ رﺿﺎی ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر‬ ‫و ﻣﻨﺎﰱ اواﻣﺮ ﺷﺎرع ﳐﺘﺎر و ﳐﺎﻟﻒ اﺳﺎس ﴍع ﻣﺘﲔ و ﻣﺒﺎﯾﻦ ﺳﲑت ﺣﺒﯿﺐ رّب اﻟﻌﺎﳌﲔ اﺳﺖ ﻗﺪری‬ ‫ﺗﺪﺑّﺮ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﳐﺎﻟﻔﺖ از ﭼﻪ هجﺖ اﺳﺖ ا ٓاي ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮﺗﺶ از هجﺖ اﻗﺘﺒﺎس از ﻣﻠﻞ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ابﯾﻦ واﺳﻄﻪ وﺟﻪ ﻣﺸﺎﲠﺖ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﴿ و ﻣﻦ ﺗﺸـّﺒﻪ ﺑﻘﻮم ﻓﻬﻮ ﻣﳯﻢ ﴾ وارد ﴿ ٔاّوًﻻ ﴾ اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ﻇﺎﻫﺮﻩء‬ ‫ﺟﺴﲈﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳـﺒﺎب ﲤﻧّﺪ ّﯿﻪ و وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻓﻨﻮن ﺣﳬﺖ ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪ و ﺗﺸﺒّﺜﺎت ﺗﺮّﰵ اﻫﻞ ﺣﺮف و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ‬ ‫ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ و ﺿﺒﻂ و رﺑﻂ همﺎّم اﻣﻮر ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﺑﻮدﻩ دﺧﲆ ابﺳﺎس ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﳇّّﯿﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻏﻮاﻣﺾ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ‬ ‫ﻋﻘﺎﺋﺪ دﯾﻨﯿّﻪ ﻧﺪارد‬

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Wealth is most commendable, provided the entire population is wealthy. If, however, a few have inordinate riches while the rest are needy and impoverished, and no fruit or benefit accrues from that wealth, then it is “a manifest loss”26 for its possessor. If, on the other hand, it is expended for the promotion of knowledge, the establishment of elementary and other schools and of industries, and care for orphans and the poor – in brief, if it is dedicated to the welfare of society – its possessor will stand out before God and man as the most excellent of all who live on earth and will be accounted as one of the people of paradise.

[On learning from other peoples] As to that party who maintain that these new reforms and powerful and active institutions are contrary to the good pleasure of God and contravene the laws of the source of authority and run counter to the fundamentals of the inviolable law and to the ways of Mohammad, the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds – let them consider how this could be the case. Does the offence lie in the fact of borrowing from foreign peoples, which would lead to assimilation, since “He who imitates a people is one of them”?27 In the first place these matters relate to the outward and physical causes of civilization, the implements of science and the techniques of natural philosophy and ensuring the progress of all those engaged in crafts and industries, and what should and should not be done in the important affairs of the state. They have no direct application to universal spiritual questions or the subtle mysteries of religious doctrine.

26

Quran 22:11. A well-known Islamic tradition, recorded for example in the Sunan collection of Abu Dāwud. 27

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‫و اﮔﺮ ﮔﻔﺘﻪ ﺷﻮد در اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ﻧﲒ اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﻧﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮل دﻟﯿﻞ ﺑﺮ هجﻞ و انداﱏ ﻗﺎﺋﻞ اﺳﺖ ا ٓاي ﺣﺪﯾﺚ‬ ‫ﻣﺸﻬﻮر ﴿ اﻃﻠﺒﻮا اﻟﻌﲅ و ﻟﻮ ابﻟّﺼﲔ﴾ را ﻓﺮاﻣﻮش ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻫﻞ ﺻﲔ در درﮔﺎﻩ‬ ‫اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ از ﻣﺮدودﺗﺮﯾﻦ انس ﳏﺴﻮب ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﺒﺪﻩء اﺻﻨﺎم و ﻏﺎﻓﻞ از ﻋﺒﻮدﯾ ّﺖ ﺧﺒﲑ ﻋّﻼم ﺑﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و‬ ‫اﻫﻞ اوروپ اﻗ ّ ًﻼ از اﻫﻞ ﮐﺘﺎب و ﻣﻘّﺮ و ﻣﻌﱰف ﺑﻌﺰﯾﺰ وّﻫﺎﺑﻨﺪ و در ا ٓﯾﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪء ﴿ و ﻟﺘﺠﺪّن ٔاﻗﺮﲠﻢ‬ ‫ﴫح ﭘﺲ ﻃﻠﺐ ﻋﲅ و ﻣﻌﺎرف از ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اّﻣﺖ اﳒﯿﻞ ﺟﺎﺋﺰ‬ ‫ﻣﻮّدة ﻟّذلﯾﻦ ا ٓﻣﻨﻮا اّذلﯾﻦ ﻗﺎﻟﻮا اّان ﻧﺼﺎری ﴾ ﻣ ّ‬ ‫و ﻣﻮاﻓﻖﺗﺮ اﺳﺖ ﺣﺎل ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﺗﻌّﲅ از ﻋﺒﺪﻩء اواثن ﻣﻘﺒﻮل ﻋﻨﺪ اّهلل و ﺗﻌّﲅ از اﻫﻞ ﮐﺘﺎب ﻣﺒﻐﻮض درﮔﺎﻩ‬ ‫ﮐﱪايﺳﺖ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در ﻏﺰوﻩء اﺣﺰاب اﺑﻮﺳﻔﯿﺎن ﺑﲎ ﮐﻨﺎﻧﻪ و ﺑﲎ ﳂﻄﺎن و ﺑﲎ ﻗﺮﯾﻈﻪء ﳞﻮد را اب ﺧﻮد ﻣﺘّﻔﻖ ﳕﻮدﻩ‬ ‫اب ﰷﻓّﻪء ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻗﺮﯾﺶ ﺑﺮ اﻃﻔﺎء ﴎاج اﻟﻬـﯽ ﮐﻪ در ﻣﺸﲀة ﯾﱶب ﺑﺮاﻓﺮوﺧﺘﻪ ﺑﻮد ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭼﻮن در‬ ‫ا ٓﻧﺰﻣﺎن ارايح اﻣﺘﺤﺎن و اﻓﺘﺘﺎن از ﻫﺮ هجﺖ ﺑﻘّﻮﻩء ﺷﺪﯾﺪﻩ در ﻫﺒﻮب ﺑﻮد ﺑﻘﻮهل ﺗﻌﺎﱃ ﴿ اﱂ ٔاﺣﺴﺐ اﻟﻨّﺎس‬ ‫ٔان ﯾﱰﮐﻮا ان ﯾﻘﻮﻟﻮا ا ٓﻣﻨّﺎ و ﱒ ﻻﯾﻔﺘﻨﻮن ﴾ و ﻣﺆﻣﻨﲔ ﻗﻠﯿﻞ و اﻋﺪا ﲠﺠﻮم ﲻﻮﻣﯽ ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳـﺘﻪ ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻣﴩق ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ را ﺑﻐﺒﺎر ﻇﲅ و ﺟﻮر ﺗﲑﻩ ﮔﺮداﻧﻨﺪ‬

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And if it be said that borrowing is also unacceptable in these matters, this saying would prove the ignorance of the speaker. Have they forgotten the well-known tradition: “Seek after knowledge, even unto China”? Yet it is certain that, in the court of divine unity, the people of China were accounted as the most rejected, because they worshipped idols and were heedless of the ways of worshipping the omniscient Lord. The Europeans are at least “Peoples of the Book.” They confess and acknowledge the Almighty, the Bounteous, and are specifically referred to in the sacred verse, “You will find that the nearest in friendship to the believers are those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ ”28 It is therefore quite permissible and indeed more appropriate to acquire science and education from Christian countries. How could learning from idol-worshippers be acceptable to God, and learning from the People of the Book be repugnant to Him? Furthermore, in the Battle of the Confederates, Abu Sufyān had formed an alliance with the Bani Kinānih, the Bani Qahtān and the Jewish tribe of Bani Qurayza. They rose up, with all the tribe of Quraysh, to put out the Divine Light that was burning in the lamp of Medina. In those days the winds of bitter trials and violent commotions were blowing most powerfully from every direction. Then He – exalted be He – said: “Alif Lam Mīm; Do men think when they say ‘We believe’ they will be let alone and not be tested?”29 The believers were few and their enemies were preparing to attack in concert, so as to obscure the shining Sun of Truth with the dust of oppression and tyranny.

28 29

Quran 5:85. Quran 29:1-2.

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‫ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠﲈن ﲝﻀﻮر ﻣﻄﻠﻊ وىح اﻟﻬـﯽ و همﺒﻂ ﲡﻠ ّﯿﺎت ﻓﯿﺾ انﻣﺘﻨﺎﻫﯽ ﺣﺎﴐ ﻋﺮض ﳕﻮد ﮐﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﺳـّﯿﻪ ﲜﻬﺖ ﳏﺎﻓﻈﺖ و ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ ﺧﻮد از اﻋﺪا ابﻃﺮاف ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﺣﻔﺮ ﺧﻨﺪق ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و اﯾﻦ ﲜﻬﺖ ﳏﺎﻓﻈﻪ‬ ‫از ﳗﻮم ﺑﻐﱴ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ و ﻣﻔﯿﺪ ا ٓاي ا ٓن ﻣﻨﺒﻊ ﻋﻘﻞ ﳇّﯽ و ﻣﻌﺪن ﺣﳬﺖ و ﻋﲅ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ از‬ ‫ﻋﺎدات ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﴍﮐّﯿﻪء ﮐﻔﺮﯾ ّﻪء ﳎﻮس اﺳﺖ و اﻫﻞ ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪ را اﺗ ّﺒﺎع ﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﻧﻪ و اي ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﻮّﺣﺪﯾﻦ را‬ ‫ﴎﯾﻌًﺎ ﲝﻔﺮ ﺧﻨﺪق اﻣﺮ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ ﺣ ّﱴ ﺑﻨﻔﺲ ﻣﺒﺎرک ا ٓﻟﺖ ﺣﻔﺮ را ﺑﺮداﺷـﺘﻪ و ﲟﻌﺎوﻧﺖ اﲱﺎب و اﺣﺒﺎب‬ ‫ﻗﯿﺎم ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫و از اﯾﻦ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ در ﮐﺘﺐ ﰷﻓ ّﻪء ﻓﺮق اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪ از ﺗﻮارﱗ و ﻏﲑﻩ ﮐﻪ ﻋﻠﲈی ﻋﻈﺎم و ﻣﻮّرﺧﲔ ﳀﺎم ﺗﺼﻨﯿﻒ‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻃﻠﻮع ﻧّﲑ ا ٓﻓﺎق از ﻣﴩق ﲩﺎز ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ از ٔاﺷّﻌﻪء ﺳﺎﻃﻌﻪاش ﻫﯿﺌﺖ‬ ‫ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء اﻣﲀن ﻣﺴـﺘﻨﲑ و ﺗﻐﯿﲑ و ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﳇّﯽ در ارﰷن ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﲋول ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﻣﺒﺎﱏ‬ ‫ﺣﲂ رّابﻧّﯿﻪ ﭘﯿﺪا ﺷﺪ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء ﺳﲈﺋّﯿﻪ در ﺑﻌﴣ اﺣﲀم ﻣﻄﺎﺑﻖ ﻋﺎدات ﻣﺎٔﻟﻮﻓﻪء ٔاﻫﻞ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ انزل‬ ‫ﺷﺪ از ا ٓﳒﻤهل ﺣﺮﻣﺖ و رﻋﺎﯾﺖ اﺷﻬﺮ ﺣﺮام و ﺣﺮﻣﺖ اﰻ ﳊﻢ ﺧﲋﯾﺮ و اﻋﺘﺒﺎر ﺷﻬﻮر ﳃﺮﯾ ّﻪ و اﺳﲈﺋﺸﺎن‬ ‫و ﻏﲑ از اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ﮐﺜﲑﻩاﯾﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﯿﻨﻪ و ﺑﻌﺒﺎرﺗﻪ از ﮐﺘﺐ ﻧﻘﻞ ﻣﯿﺸﻮد‬

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Then Salmān (the Persian) came into the presence of the Prophet – the dayspring of divine revelation, the repository of infinite splendours – and submitted that, in Persian territories, people dig a trench around the borders of their lands for security and protection from enemies, and that this gave very effective and beneficial protection against surprise attacks. Did that wellspring of universal wisdom, that source of the knowledge of divine mysteries, reply that this was one of the customs of idolatrous, blasphemous Zoroastrian territories, which could not be adopted by monotheists? Or did He direct all those monotheists to quickly dig a trench? He even, in His Own blessed person, took hold of the tools and set to work to assist the Companions and the faithful. It is moreover a matter of record in the books of the various Islamic schools, based on the reports of historians and others which have been compiled by the leading divines and best chroniclers, that after the Light of the World had risen over Hijāz and, in reality, had illumined and changed the social life of humanity and transformed all the pillars of the world through the revelation of a new God-given religious law and by laying the foundations of religious institutions, some of the commandments revealed in the heavenly and holy religious law were in accordance with the customs of the days of ignorance. For example, the prohibitions and observances of the months of religious truce, the prohibition on eating pork, and the lunar calendar, with the names of the months. In addition, there are many matters that are more or less similar to what had previously been handed down in the scriptures.

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‫﴿ و ﰷﻧﺖ اﳉﺎﻫﻠّﯿﺔ ﺗﻔﻌﻞ اﺷـﯿﺎء ﺟﺎءت ﴍﯾﻌﺔ الاﺳﻼم ﲠﺎ ﻓﲀﻧﻮا ﻻﯾﻨﮑﺤﻮن الاّﻣﻬﺎت و اﻟﺒﻨﺎت و ﰷن‬ ‫ٔاﻗﺒﺢ ﳽء ﻋﻨﺪﱒ اﳉ ّﻤﻊ ﺑﲔ الاﺧﺘﲔ و ﰷﻧﻮا ﯾﻌﯿﺒﻮن اﳌﱱّوج ابﻣﺮٔاة ٔاﺑﯿﻪ و ﯾﺴﻤﻮﻧﻪ اﻟّﻀﲒن و ﰷﻧﻮا ﳛّﺠﻮن‬ ‫اﻟﺒﯿﺖ و ﯾﻌﳣﺮون و ﳛﺮﻣﻮن و ﯾﻄﻮﻓﻮن و ﯾﺴﻌﻮن و ﯾﻘﻔﻮن اﳌﻮاﻗﻒ ﳇّﻬﺎ و ﯾﺮﻣﻮن اﶺﺎر و ﰷﻧﻮا ﯾﮑﺒﺴﻮن‬ ‫ﰱ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﺛﻼﺛﺔ اﻋﻮام ﺷﻬﺮًا و ﯾﻐﺘﺴﻠﻮن ﻣﻦ اﳉﻨﺎﺑﺔ و ﰷﻧﻮا ﯾﺪاوﻣﻮن ﻋﲆ اﳌﻀﻤﻀﺔ و الاﺳـﺘﻨﺸﺎق و ﻓﺮق‬ ‫اﻟّﺮٔاس و اﻟّﺴﻮاک و ﺗﻘﻠﲓ الاﻇﻔﺎر و ﻧﺘﻒ الاﺑﻂ و ﰷﻧﻮا ﯾﻘﻄﻌﻮن ﯾﺪ اﻟّﺴﺎرق اﻟﳰﲎ ﴾‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﻧﻌﻮذ ابّهلل ﻣﯿﺘﻮان ﲞﺎﻃﺮ ا ٓورد ﮐﻪ ﭼﻮن در ﺑﻌﴣ اﺣﲀم ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻏّﺮا اب ﻋﺎدات اﻫﻞ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﻄﺮود ﲨﯿﻊ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒاﻧﺪ وﺟﻪ ﻣﺸﺎﲠﺖ دارد ﻧﻘﴡ وارد اﺳﺖ و اي ﺧﻮد ﺗﺼّﻮر ﻣﯿﺘﻮان ﮐﺮد ﮐﻪ اﺳـﺘﻐﻔﺮ‬ ‫اّهلل ﺣّﻖ ﻏّﲏ ﻣﻄﻠﻖ اﺗ ّﺒﺎع ا ٓراء ﮐﻔﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ ﺣﳬﺖ ابﻟﻐﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ا ٓاي از ﻗﺪرت ﺣﻖ ﺑﻌﯿﺪ و ﳑﺘﻨﻊ‬ ‫ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ را ﻣﻦ دون ﻣﺸﺎﲠﺖ ﻋﺎدﰏ از ﻋﺎدات اﱈ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ انزل ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﺣﳬﺖ ﳇّّﯿﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ ﻋﺒﺎد از ﻗﯿﻮد ﺗﻌّﺼﺒﺎت ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ ا ٓزاد ﺷﻮﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ اﻗﻮاﱃ را ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم وﺳـﯿهلء‬ ‫ﲣﺪﯾﺶ اذﻫﺎن و ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺶ وﺟﺪان ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﺮ زابن ﻧﺮاﻧﻨﺪ‬

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One authority has written: There were practices of the days of ignorance which entered Islamic law. They would not marry a mother and her daughter, and the most shameful of acts in their view was to lie between two sisters. They would stigmatise a man marrying the wife of his father, calling him a rival in drawing water. They performed the pilgrimage to the House at Mecca, and the minor pilgrimage. They would consecrate themselves for pilgrimage, and circumambulate, and run between the hills, pausing at all the stoppingplaces, and casting the stones. They would intercalate one month in every three years and perform complete ablutions after intercourse. They would customarily rinse their mouths and nostrils with water, part their hair, use chewing-sticks, pare their nails and pluck the armpits. And they would cut off the right hand of a thief.30

Can one, God forbid, accept that because some of the luminous laws of religion resemble the customs of those who lived in the days of ignorance, who were outcasts to all peoples, there is some harm in this? Or, God forgive me, can one imagine that God, the self-sufficient, the unrestrained, was obliged to comply with pagan doctrines? The consummate heavenly wisdom takes many forms. Would it have been impossible for God to reveal a religious law which bore no resemblance whatever to any practice of the days of ignorance? Rather, the purpose of His comprehensive wisdom was to free the people from the chauvinistic laws of the days of ignorance and to silence these arguments which today confuse the mind and trouble the conscience of the downtrodden.

30 The quotation, in Arabic, is from the Epitome of Human History (Mukhtasar taʾrikh al-bashar), written about 1329 AD by the Syrian prince and savant Abuʾl-Fidā, here summarising a section of Religions and Sects (Al-Milal wa al-Nihal), written about 1127 AD by the Persian scholar Mohammad b. ʿAbd al-Karim al-Shahrastani.

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‫وﻟﮑﻦ ﺑﻌﴣ از ﻧﻔﻮس ﮐﻪ از ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﮐﺘﺐ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﺟﻮاﻣﻊ ﲱﻒ ﻧﻘﻠّﯿﻪ و اترﳜّﯿﻪ ﮐﲈ ﻫﯽ اّﻃﻼع ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ‬ ‫ﺧﻮاﻫﻨﺪ ﮔﻔﺖ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﮐﯿﻔﯿّﺎت و ﻋﺎدات از ﺳﲍ ﺟﻠﯿهلء ﺣﴬت ﺧﻠﯿﻞ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﻟّﺴﻼم اﺳﺖ و در ﻣﯿﺎن‬ ‫اﻗﻮام ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ ابﰵ و ﺑﺮ ﻗﺮار ﺑﻮد و در ﻣﺪﻟﻮل ا ٓﯾﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪء ﴿ اﺗ ّﺒﻊ ﻣّةل اﺑﺮاﻫﲓ ﺣﻨﯿﻔًﺎ ﴾ داﺧﻞ ﻟﮑﻦ در‬ ‫ﲨﯿﻊ ﮐﺘﺐ و ﲱﻒ ﻓﺮق اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻣﺴّﲅ و ﻣﺬﮐﻮر اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﺣﱰام اﺷﻬﺮ ﺣﺮام و اﻋﺘﺒﺎر اﺷﻬﺮ‬ ‫ﳃﺮﯾ ّﻪ و ﻗﻄﻊ ﳝﲔ ﺳﺎرق از ﺳﲍ ﺣﴬت ﺧﻠﯿﻞ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﻟّﺴﻼم ﻧﯿﺴﺖ و از اﯾﻦ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ اﻻ ٓن ﮐﺘﺎب ﺗﻮراة‬ ‫ﻣﻮﺟﻮد و ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﺣﴬت اﺑﺮاﻫﲓ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﻟّﺴﻼم در او ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﮐﻨﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﯾﻘﯿﻨًﺎ ﺧﻮاﻫﻨﺪ ﮔﻔﺖ ﺗﻮراة ﻧﲒ ﳏﺮﻓّﺴﺖ زﯾﺮا در ا ٓﯾﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ وارد ﴿ ﳛّﺮﻓﻮن اﻟﳫﻢ ﻋﻦ ﻣﻮاﺿﻌﻪ ﴾ و ﺣﺎل‬ ‫ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﲢﺮﯾﻒ در ﻣﻮاﺿﻊ ﻣﻌﻠﻮﻣﻪ واﻗﻊ و در ﮐﺘﺐ ﻋﻠﻤّﯿﻪ و ﺗﻔﺴﲑﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر اﮔﺮ ﺑﺘﻔﺼﯿﻞ اﯾﻦ ﻣﺴـﺌهل‬ ‫ﺑﭙﺮدازﱘ از ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﺻﲆ ﺗﺎٔﻟﯿﻒ اﯾﻦ رﺳﺎهل ابزﻣﺎﻧﲓ ذلا اﺧﺘﺼﺎر اوﱃ‬ ‫و دﯾﮕﺮ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در ﺑﻌﴣ رواايت ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮىخ اﺧﻼق ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ و ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ را از وﺣﻮش اﻗﺘﺒﺎس‬ ‫ﮐﻨﯿﺪ و ﻋﱪت ﮔﲑﯾﺪ ﭘﺲ ﭼﻮن ﺗﻌّﲅ اﺧﻼق ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ از ﺣﯿﻮان ﺻﺎﻣﺖ ﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﺑﻮﺟﻪ اوﱃ از ﻣﻠﻞ اﺟﻨﺒّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ اﻗ ّ ًﻼ از ﻧﻮع اﻧﺴﺎن و ﺑﻨﻔﺲ انﻃﻘﻪ و ﻗّﻮﻩء ﳑّﲒﻩ ﳑﺘﺎز اﮐﺘﺴﺎب و اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﻓﻨﻮن ﺟﺴﲈﻧّﯿﻪ ﺟﺎﺋﺰ‬

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Some who are not aware of the subtleties of the heavenly books or of the great diversity of traditional and historical materials that are available will say that these reports and customs were among the exalted precepts of His Holiness Abraham (peace be upon him) and were preserved and enforced among the people of the age of ignorance. As a proof text they will cite the Quran, saying “Follow the rite of Abraham, a man of pure faith.”31 Yet all the books and treatises of the schools of Islam accept and record that the observance of the months of truce and the lunar calendar and cutting off the right hand of a thief were not among the precepts of the Friend of God (peace be upon him). In any case, the Pentateuch exists to this day, and contains the religious law of Abraham. Let them refer to it. Of course, they will then say that the Torah has been altered, since a Quranic verse states: “They remove the words [of scripture] from their place.”32 However the instances of “moving from their place” are known and are recorded in scientific texts and commentaries. If we entered into the finer points of this question we would not be addressing the original purpose for writing this treatise, and “brevity comes first.” In any case, several traditions state that certain virtues and good habits of animals offer a beneficial lesson. Since it is permissible to study the qualities of dumb animals, it is certainly permissible to learn from the achievements and lessons in material sciences and techniques of foreign peoples, who are at least human and are distinguished by the rational faculty and the power of discernment.

31 32

Quran 16:123. Quran 4:46.

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‫و اﮔﺮ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﺷﻮد ﮐﻪ در ﺣﯿﻮاانت اﯾﻦ ﺻﻔﺎت ﳑﺪوﺣﻪ ﺧﻠﻘﯿﺴﺖ اﯾﻦ اﺻﻮل و اﺳﺎس ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻋﻠﻮم‬ ‫و ﺣﳬﺖ ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ چبﻪ ﺑﺮﻫﺎن ﻣﯿﺘﻮان ﮔﻔﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻏﲑ ﺧﻠﻘﯽ اﺳﺖ ﴿ ﻫﻞ ﻣﻦ ﺧﺎﻟﻖ ﻏﲑ‬ ‫اّهلل ﻗﻞ ﺳـﺒﺤﺎن اّهلل ﴾‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﲨﯿﻊ اﻓﺎﺿﻞ ﻋﻠﲈی ﻣﺘﻔﻨّﻨﲔ و اﰷﺑﺮ ﻓﻘﻬﺎی ﰷﻣﻠﲔ در ﺑﻌﴣ ﻓﻨﻮﱏ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺒﺪء و ﻣﺒﺪع ا ٓن ﺣﮑﲈی‬ ‫ﯾﻮانن ﭼﻮن ارﺳﻄﻮ و ﻏﲑﻩ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﺗﺘﺒّﻊ ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﻣﻌﺎرف ﺣﳬّﯿﻪ ﭼﻮن ﻋﲅ ﻃّﺐ و رايﴇ و ﺟﱪ‬ ‫و ﺣﺴﺎب را از ﮐﺘﺐ ﯾﻮانﻧّﯿﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻓﻮز و ﻓﻼح ﴰﺮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﻓّﻦ ﻣﻨﻄﻖ را ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻋﻠﲈ ﺗﺘﺒّﻊ و ﺗﺪرﯾﺲ‬ ‫ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﺆّﺳﺲ ا ٓﻧﺮا از ﺻﺎﺑﺌﲔ ﻣﯿﺸﻤﻧﺮﺪ و اﮐﱶی ﺗﴫﱖ ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﻋﺎﱂ ﳓﺮﯾﺮی در‬ ‫ﻓﻨﻮن ﺷـّﱴ همﺎرت ﰷﻣهل داﺷـﺘﻪ ﻟﮑﻦ در ﻓّﻦ ﻣﻨﻄﻖ ﺗﺘﺒّﻊ ﲤﺎم ﻧﯿﺎﻓﺘﻪ اﻋامتد ﳇّﯽ ﺑﺮ اﻗﻮال و ﻧﺘﺎﰀ ﻓﮑﺮﯾ ّﻪ و‬ ‫اﺳـﺘﻨﺒﺎط ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﳇّّﯿﻪء او ﻧﻪ‬ ‫ﭘﺲ ابﯾﻦ دﻻﺋﻞ واﲵﻪ و ﺑﺮاﻫﲔ ﻣﺘﻘﻨﻪ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﮔﺸﺖ ﮐﻪ اﮐﺘﺴﺎب اﺻﻮل و ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ و‬ ‫اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺻﻨﺎﺋﻊ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﳐﺘﴫًا ﴿ ﻣﺎ ﯾﻨﺘﻔﻊ ﺑﻪ اﻟﻌﻤﻮم ﴾ از ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﺟﺎﺋﺰ ات اﻓﲀر ﲻﻮم‬ ‫ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر انﻓﻌﻪ ﮔﺮدد و ﺑﮑﲈل ّﳘﺖ ﺑﺮ اﮐﺘﺴﺎب و اﺟﺮاء ا ٓن ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﻩ ات ﺑﻌﻮن اﻟﻬـﯽ در اﻧﺪک‬ ‫ﻣّﺪﰏ اﯾﻦ اﻗﻠﲓ ﭘﺎک َﴎور اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﮔﺮدد‬

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While it might be observed that God created the praiseworthy qualities of animals, by what proof can they claim that the essential principles and foundations of civilization, the human sciences and natural philosophy in other countries, are not created by God? “Is there any Creator save God?”33 “Say: Praised be God!” Moreover, all the most distinguished divines who are accomplished in many disciplines, and the foremost among those who are expert in all aspects of Islamic law, have taken courses in techniques originating with, and created by, Greek philosophers such as Aristotle. They have regarded the acquisition of classical learning such as medicine, mathematics, algebra and arithmetic from Greek texts as a rare privilege. By the same token, every one of the divines has studied and teaches the science of logic, although they consider its founder to have been a Sabean. Most of them have insisted that if a scholar has thoroughly mastered a variety of sciences but has not completed his studies of logic, one cannot entirely rely upon his statements, conclusions and deductive reasoning. These indubitable facts and convincing arguments prove that it is religiously permissible to acquire from other countries the principles and institutions of civilization and to profit from universal science and technology. In brief, “whatever benefits all” is permissible. When public attention focuses on these beneficial things and every effort is made to acquire and implement them, then, with divine assistance, this Sacred Land may within a brief period become the first of nations.

33

Quran 35:3.

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‫ای ﺧﺮدﻣﻨﺪان ﺑﻌﲔ ﻋﻘﻞ و ﺗﺪﺑّﺮ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ا ٓاي ﳑﮑﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺗﻔﻨﮓ و ﺗﻮپ ﻋﺎدی اب ﺗﻔﻨﮓ ﻫﲊی‬ ‫ﻣﺎرﰏ و ﺗﻮپ ﮐﺮوپ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﲆ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﺣﺎل اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﺑﮕﻮﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺎ را ﳘﲔ ا ٓﻻت انرﯾ ّﻪء ﻗﺪﳝﻪ ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﻟﺰوم ابﺳـﺘﺤﺼﺎل اﺳﻠﺤﻪ و ا ٓﻻﰏ ﮐﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﺟﻨﺒّﯿﻪ اﳚﺎد ﺷﺪﻩ ﻧﻪ ا ٓاي اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮل را ﻫﯿﭻ ﻃﻔﲆ ﺑﺴﻤﻊ‬ ‫ﻗﺒﻮل اﺳـامتع ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و اي ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﺎ ات ﲝﺎل اﺣﲈل اﻣﺘﻌﻪ و اﺟﻨﺎس ﲡﺎرﺗّﯿﻪ را از ﳑﻠﮑﱴ ﲟﻤﻠﮑﱴ ﺑﻮاﺳﻄﻪء‬ ‫ﺣﯿﻮاانت ﻧﻘﻞ ﻣﯿﮑﻨﲓ ﳏﺘﺎج ﺑﲀﻟﺴﮑﻪء ا ٓﺗﺸﯽ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ و ﻧﯿﺴﺘﲓ ﭼﻪ ﴐور ﻣﺸﺎﲠﺖ ابﱈ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﲜﻮﺋﲓ ا ٓاي اﯾﻦ‬ ‫الكم ﻗﺮﯾﻦ اذﻋﺎن ﻫﯿﭻ ﻫﻮﺷـﯿﺎری ﮔﺮدد ﻻ و اّهلل ﻣﮕﺮ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻧﻈﺮ ﺑﺒﻌﴣ اﻏﺮاض ﮐﻪ در ﻗﻠﻮب ﺧﻮد‬ ‫ﮐامتن ﳕﻮدﻩ اﻣﻮر ﺑﺪﳞّﯿﻪ را اﻧﲀر ﳕﺎﺋﲓ‬ ‫ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﺟﻨﺒّﯿﻪ اب ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در ﻓﻨﻮن و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺻﻨﺎﺋﻊ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﮐﲈل همﺎرﺗﺮا انﺋﻞ ﻣﻊ ذﻟﮏ از ﯾﮑﺪﯾﮕﺮ اﻗﺘﺒﺎس‬ ‫ﻣﯿﮑﻨﻨﺪ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﯾﺮاﻧّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء اﺣﺘﯿﺎج را داﺷـﺘﻪ ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﺟﺎﺋﺰ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ همﻤﻞ و ﻣﻌّﻄﻞ ﲟﺎﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﻋﻠﲈی ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری ﮐﻪ ﺳﺎﻟﮏ ﺑﺮ ﺧﻂ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ و ﻣﳯﺞ ﻗﻮﱘ و واﻗﻒ ﺑﺮ اﴎار ﺣﳬﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻣّﻄﻠﻊ ﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء رّابﻧّﯿﻪ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ و ﻗﻠﻮب ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﺸﺎن ﲝﻠﯿﻪء ﺗُﻘﯽ ﻣﺘﺤّﲆ و وﺟﻮﻩ ﻧﴬﻩﺷﺎن ابﻧﻮار‬ ‫ﻫﺪی روﺷﻦ و ﻣﻨﲑ ﻣﻠﺘﻔﺖ اﺣﺘﯿﺎﺟﺎت ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪ و انﻇﺮ ﺑﺮ ﻣﻘﺘﻀﯿﺎت زﻣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﺑﮑﲈل ﺟّﺪ ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ‬ ‫و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﲤّﺪن و ﻣﻌﺎرف ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ ﴿ ﻫﻞ ﯾﺴـﺘﻮی اّذلﯾﻦ ﯾﻌﻠﻤﻮن و اّذلﯾﻦ ﻻ ﯾﻌﻠﻤﻮن و ﻫﻞ ﺗﺴـﺘﻮی‬ ‫اﻟّﻈﻠﲈت و اﻟﻨّﻮر ﴾‬

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O you who are wise, reflect with reason and clear vision! Can an ordinary musket compare with a Martini-Henry rifle, or an ordinary cannon with a Krupp gun? Now, suppose that someone advanced a similar argument, saying “our ancient firearms are suitable for us, there is no need to obtain any arms or equipment invented in foreign countries.” Would even a child listen to him? Or if someone were to say, “We have always used animals to transport merchandise from one country to another. Why do we need steam engines? Why should we try to ape other peoples?” Would any intelligent person accept this sentiment? No, certainly not! Yet there are those who deny the obvious because of some wicked plans they hide in their hearts. Foreign nations learn from one another, even though they themselves have achieved excellence in all kinds of technology, scholarship and industry. How could it be permissible for the kingdom of Iran, which suffers the direst need, to be left neglected and lying fallow?

[The station of the divines] Those eminent divines who are steadfast in the straight path and are versed in the secrets of divine wisdom and informed of the inner realities of the sacred Books; whose blessed hearts are adorned with the ornament of righteousness and whose luminous faces shine with the lights of guidance, who are aware of present needs and see the requirements of the age, are undoubtedly devoting all their energies to encouraging the advancement of learning and civilization. “Are they equal, those who know, and those who do not know? … Or is the darkness equal with the light?”34

34

Quran 39:9 and 13:16.

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‫ﻋﻠﲈ ﴎاج ﻫﺪاﯾﺘﻨﺪ ﺑﲔ ﻣٔﻼ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﳒﻮم ﺳﻌﺎدﺗﻨﺪ ﻣﴩق و ﻻﰁ از اﻓﻖ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ و اﱈ ﺳﻠﺴﺒﯿﻞ ﺣﯿﺎﺗﻨﺪ‬ ‫اﻧﻔﺲ ﻣﯿّﺘﻪء هجﻞ و انداﱏ را و ﻣﻌﲔ ﺻﺎﰱ ﮐﲈﻻﺗﻨﺪ ﺗﺸـﻨﮕﺎن ابدﯾﻪء ﻧﻘﺺ و ﮔﻤﺮاﻫﯽ را ﻣﻄﻠﻊ ا ٓايت‬ ‫ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪﻧﺪ و ﻣّﻄﻠﻊ ﺑﺮ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﻗﺮا ٓن ﳎﯿﺪ ﻃﺒﯿﺐ ﺣﺎذقاﻧﺪ ﺟﺴﻢ ﻣﻌﻠﻮل ﻋﺎﱂ را و ﺗﺮايق ﻓﺎروق اﻋﻈﻤﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻣﺴﻤﻮﻣﻪء ﺑﲎ ا ٓدم را ﺣﺼﻦ ﺣﺼﲔاﻧﺪ ﻣﺪﯾﻨﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ را و ﮐﻬﻒ ﻣﻨﯿﻌﻨﺪ ﻣﻀﻄّﺮﯾﻦ و‬ ‫ﻣﻀﻄﺮﺑﲔ هجﺎﻟﺖ را ﴿ اﻟﻌﲅ ﻧﻮر ﯾﻘﺬﻓﻪ اّهلل ﰱ ﻗﻠﺐ ﻣﻦ ﯾﺸﺎء ﴾‬ ‫وﻟﮑﻦ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن از ﺑﺮای ﻫﺮ ﳽء ﻋﻼﰂ و ا ٓاثری ﺧﻠﻖ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ و ﳏﮏ و اﻣﺘﺤﺎﱏ ﻣﻘّﺮر داﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ﻋﺎِﻟﻢ رّابﱏ را ﮐﲈﻻت ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و ﻇﺎﻫﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﻻزم و ﺣﺴﻦ اﺧﻼق و ﻧﻮراﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻓﻄﺮت و ﺻﺪق ﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻓﻄﺎﻧﺖ‬ ‫و ذﰷوت و ﻓﺮاﺳﺖ و ﳖـﯽ و ﻋﻘﻞ و ﲩﯽ و زﻫﺪ و ﺗﻘﻮای ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ و ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل ﻗﻠﱮ واﺟﺐ و اّﻻ ﴰﻊ‬ ‫ﰉﻧﻮر ﻫﺮ ﭼﻨﺪ ﺑﻠﻨﺪ و ﻗﻄﻮر ابﺷﺪ ﺣﲂ اﲺﺎز ﳔﻞ ﺧﺎوﯾﻪ و ﺧﺸﺐ ﻣﺴـﻨّﺪﻩ داﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫انز را روﰃ ﺑﺒﺎﯾﺪ ﳘﭽﻮ ورد ﭼﻮن ﻧﺪاری ﮔﺮد ﺑﺪﺧﻮﰃ ﻣﮕﺮد‬ ‫زﺷﺖ ابﺷﺪ روی انزﯾﺒﺎ و انز ﲯﺖ ابﺷﺪ ﭼﺸﻢ انﺑﯿﻨﺎ و درد‬

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The divines are the lamp of guidance among the people of the world. They are stars of good fortune rising and shining above the horizons of nations and religions. They are the fount of life for souls dead of ignorance and folly, the pure spring of perfections for those who thirst in the wastes of imperfections and errors. They are the dawning place of the emblems of Divine Unity and aware of the realities of the glorious Quran. They are skilled physicians for the ailing body of the world, the sure antidote to the poison that has corrupted human society. They are the strong citadel in the city of humanity, an unassailable sanctuary for the sorely afflicted and distracted victims of ignorance. “Knowledge is a light which God casts in the heart of whoever He wills.”35 However the Lord of all creatures has created signs and marks for every thing, a touchstone and a specified test for it. A religious scholar should have both inward and outward perfections; he must possess a good character, an enlightened nature, sincere motives, as well as intellectual power, brilliance and discernment, intelligence, understanding and acumen, devoutness, reverence, and a heartfelt fear of God. For an unlit candle, however tall and thick it may be, is no better than a barren palm tree36 or timber propped up.37 For coquetry, the face should be a flower, if you’re without, do not turn sour. How obscene, when plain Jane tries to flirt! Pain in a blind eye’s a double hurt.38

35

A well-known tradition, attributed to Imām Sādiq. Quran 54:20, “We sent against them a furious wind, on a day of violent disaster, uprooting men as if they were the stumps of uprooted palm trees.” 37 Quran 63:4: “When you look at them, their bodies are pleasing, when they speak, you listen to their words. They are just like timber propped up.” Bahāʾuʾllāh uses the same phrase in his Ketāb-e Iqān, and Shoghi Effendi translates it as “pompous and hypocritical leaders.” 38 From Rumi’s Mathnavi, 1.1906-7. Rumi borrowed both verses from a ghazal of Sanaʾi, where they are not consecutive, and has altered the second. 36

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‫در رواﯾﺖ ﲱﯿﺤﻪ وارد ﴿ و ٔاّﻣﺎ ﻣﻦ ﰷن ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻠﲈء ﺻﺎﺋﻨًﺎ ﻟﻨﻔﺴﻪ ﺣﺎﻓﻈًﺎ دلﯾﻨﻪ و ﳐﺎﻟﻔًﺎ ﻟﻬﻮاﻩ و ﻣﻄﯿﻌًﺎ ﻻﻣﺮ‬ ‫ﻣﻮﻻﻩ ﻓﻠﻠﻌﻮام ان ﯾﻘّدلوﻩ ﴾ و ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ ﳇﲈت ﻣﴩﻗﻪ ﺟﺎﻣﻊ ﲨﯿﻊ ﴍاﺋﻂ ﻋﻠﻤّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﻟﻬﺬا ﴍح ﶍﲆ‬ ‫در ﺗﺮﲨﻪء اﯾﻦ رواﯾﺖ ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﻣﯿﺸﻮد و ﻫﺮ ﮐﺲ ﮐﻪ داﻧرﺪﻩء اﯾﻦ ﺷـﺌﻮانت رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﻣﺪﻟﻮل‬ ‫اﯾﻦ رواﯾﺖ ﲱﯿﺤﻪ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﻧﺴﺒﺖ ﻋﲅ از او ﻣﻨﻘﻄﻊ و ﻣﻨﺴﻠﺐ و ﻣﻄﺎﻋّﯿﺖ ﻣﻮّﺣﺪﯾﻦ را ﻻﺋﻖ و زساوار ﻧﻪ‬ ‫اّول ﳇﻤﻪء اﯾﻦ ﴍاﺋﻂ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ ﴿ ﺻﺎﺋﻨًﺎ ﻟﻨﻔﺴﻪ ﴾ اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﺪ ﺣﻔﻆ ﻧﻔﺲ از‬ ‫ﺑﻼاي و ﳏﻦ ﺟﺴﲈﻧّﯿﻪ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ زﯾﺮا اﻧﺒﯿﺎ و اوﻟﯿﺎ ّ ً‬ ‫الك و ﻃّﺮًا ﻣﻌﺮض اﻋﻈﻢ ﺷﺪاﺋﺪ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﻫﺪف ﺳﻬﺎم ﺑﻠّﯿﺎت و‬ ‫اذّايت ﻣﻠﻞ و اﱈ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﲜﻬﺖ ﺧﲑ ﲨﻬﻮر اﻧﻔﺎق ﺟﺎن ﳕﻮدﻩ ﲟﺸﻬﺪ ﻓﺪا ﲜﺎن و دل ﺷـﺘﺎﻓﺘﻨﺪ و ﺑﮑﲈﻻت‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و ﺻﻮرﯾ ّﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ را ﺑﺮداء ﺟﺪﯾﺪ ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ ذاﺗّﯿﻪ و ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪء اﮐﺘﺴﺎﺑّﯿﻪ ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﺻﲆ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ از ﻧﻘﺎﺋﺺ ابﻃﻨّﯿﻪ و ﻇﺎﻫﺮﯾ ّﻪ و اﺗ ّﺼﺎف ابوﺻﺎف ﮐﲈﻟّﯿﻪء ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و ﺻﻮرﯾ ّﻪ‬ ‫ﺑﻮدﻩ‬ ‫اّول ﺻﻔﺖ ﮐﲈﻟّﯿﻪ ﻋﲅ و ﻓﻀﻠﺴﺖ و ﺟﺎﻣﻌّﯿﺖ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎم اﻋﻈﻢ اﻗﻮم ا ٓﮔﺎﻫﯽ ﮐﲈ ﻫﯽ ﺑﺮ ﻏﻮاﻣﺾ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫اﻟﻬـﯽ و ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﺣﲂ ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪء ﴍﻋّﯿﻪء ﻗﺮا ٓﱏ و ﻣﻀﺎﻣﲔ ﺳﺎﺋﺮ ﮐﺘﺐ ﺳﲈوی و وﻗﻮف ﺑﺮ ﺿﻮاﺑﻂ و‬ ‫رواﺑﻂ ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﲤّﺪن ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩ‬

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An authoritative tradition states: “As for him who is one of the divines, protecting his self, defending his Faith, opposing his passions and obeying the commandments of his Lord: let the common people imitate him.”39 Since these luminous words enfold all the requirements of scholarship, the meaning of the holy tradition should be briefly explained. Whoever has not attained to these stations of spiritual power and is not an exemplary embodiment of this sound tradition shall be stripped of the title of learning. It is neither required nor fitting that the faithful should obey him.

[The first requirement: protecting his self] The first of these requirements is “protecting his self.” It is obvious that this does not refer to protecting oneself from the trials and tribulations of the world, for all the Prophets and saints, time and again, encountered the worst of the world’s adversities and were targets for the cruelties and aggressions of nations and peoples. Sacrificing their lives for the welfare of the people, they threw themselves, with heart and soul, onto the field of sacrifice, and through their inward and outward perfections they adorned the life of the world in a new robe of excellent qualities, both acquired and inborn. Therefore, the primary meaning is, in fact, protection from inward and outward imperfections, and to be distinguished by the inward and outward attributes of perfection. The first attribute of perfection is knowledge and wisdom. If these are to be called comprehensive, that eminent station entails an accurate awareness of the subtleties of theology, of the implications of the religious Law given in the Quran for the guidance of society and of the contents of other heavenly books, and experience of the progressive and civilized agreements and obligations that characterise a favoured people.

39 A very well-known Shiah tradition, variously ascribed to Imām al-ʾAskari or Imām Sādiq. It is also cited by Bahāʾuʾllāh in his Tablet to the Shah, circa 1867 (see Summons of the Lord of Hosts paragraph 232). Bahāʾuʾllāh refers to the fuquha or experts in the religious law, while Abduʾl-Bahā cites the tradition in its more usual form, with ʿolamā, translated here as “the divines.”

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‫و اّﻃﻼع ﺑﺮ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ و اﺻﻮل و رﺳﻮم و اﺣﻮال و اﻃﻮار و ﻗﻮاء ﻣﺎّدی و ادﰉ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻣﻠﻞ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ‬ ‫و ﺟﺎﻣﻌّﯿﺖ ﻓﻨﻮن انﻓﻌﻪء ﻋﴫﯾ ّﻪ و ﺗﺘﺒّﻊ در ﮐﺘﺐ اترﳜّﯿﻪء اﻋﺼﺎر ﺳﺎﻟﻔﻪء ﻣﻠﻞ و دول اﺳﺖ ﭼﻪ اﮔﺮ‬ ‫ﴯﺺ ﻋﺎﱂ وﻗﻮف ﺑﺮ ﻣﻀﺎﻣﲔ ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ و ﺟﺎﻣﻌّﯿﺖ ﺣﳬﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪ و ﻋﻠﻮم ﴍﻋّﯿﻪ و ﻓﻨﻮن‬ ‫ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻌﺎرف ﻋﴫﯾ ّﻪ و اّﻃﻼع ﺑﺮ وﻗﺎﺋﻊ ﻋﻈﳰﻪء ﻗﺮون ﺳﺎﻟﻔﻪء ﻣﻠﻞ و دول ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ ابﺷﺪ ﻋﻨﺪ‬ ‫اﻟﻠ ّﺰوم ﻋﺎﺟﺰ ﻣﺎﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﻨﺎﰱ ﺻﻔﺖ ﺟﺎﻣﻌّﯿﺖ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﺜًﻼ ﻋﺎِﻟﻢ رّابﱏ اﮔﺮ در ﳏﺎورﻩ اب ﴯﺺ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤﯽ از اﳊﺎن ﺟﻠﯿﻞ اﳒﯿﻞ ﺑﯿﺨﱪ ابﺷﺪ ا ٓچنﻪ از ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﻗﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﳕﺎﯾﺪ اﺑﺪًا ﻣﺴﻤﻮع و ﻣﻘﺒﻮل ا ٓن ﴯﺺ ﻧﯿﻔﺘﺪ وﻟﮑﻦ اﮔﺮ ا ٓن ﴯﺺ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ا ٓچنﻪ‬ ‫در دﺳﺖ اوﺳﺖ و ﻣﺴﺘﻨﺪ ﺑﺮ ا ٓن اﯾﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮار از ﻗّﺴﯿﺴﲔ اّﻣﺖ اﳒﯿﻞ ا ٓﮔﺎﻩﺗﺮ و ﺑﺮ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﮐﺘﺐ‬ ‫ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ ﻣّﻄﻠﻊ و داانﺗﺮ اﺳﺖ ابﻟّﻄﻮع ا ٓچنﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﻗﺒﻮل ﮐﻨﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺟﺰ اﻗﺮار ﻣﻔّﺮی از ﺑﺮای او ﻧﻪ‬ ‫ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ رٔاس اﳉﺎﻟﻮت ﭼﻮن ﲝﻀﻮر ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻓﻠﮏ ﻋﺮﻓﺎن و ﻧّﲑ اوج ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ و اﯾﻘﺎن ﺣﴬت رﺿﺎ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﴩف ﺷﺪ اﮔﺮ در اﺳـﺌهل و اﺟﻮﺑﻪ ا ٓن ﻣﻌﺪن ﻋﲅ ابدّهل و ﺑﺮاﻫﲔ ﻣﺎٔﻟﻮﻓﻪء رٔاس اﳉﺎﻟﻮت ﺑﯿﺎن‬ ‫اﻟّﺴﻼم ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﳕﯿﻔﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ اﻗﺮار و اﻋﱰاف ﺑﺮ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری ا ٓن ﺣﴬت ﳕﯽ ﳕﻮد‬ ‫و از اﯾﻦ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ را دو ﻗﻮﻩء اﻋﻈﻢ اﻗﻮم ﻻزم ﻗّﻮﻩء ﺗﴩﯾﻌّﯿﻪ و ﻗّﻮﻩء ﺗﻨﻔﯿﺬﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﻗّﻮﻩء‬ ‫ﺗﻨﻔﯿﺬﯾ ّﻪ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﻣﺮﺟﻊ ﻗّﻮﻩء ﺗﴩﯾﻌّﯿﻪ دااناين ﻫﻮﴰﻨﺪ ﺣﺎل اﮔﺮ اﯾﻦ رﮐﻦ رﮐﲔ و اﺳﺎس ﻣﺘﲔ‬ ‫ﺟﺎﻣﻊ و ﰷﻣﻞ ﻧﺒﺎﺷﺪ ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﻓﻼح و ﳒﺎح از ﺑﺮای ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺗﺼّﻮر ﮔﺮدد‬

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He should in addition be informed as to the laws and principles, the accepted standards, conduct and manners, and the material and cultural forces in the political systems of other nations, and of all the useful branches of learning of the day, and be schooled in the historical records of bygone governments and peoples. For if a learned individual has no knowledge of the sacred Scriptures and the entire field of divine and natural philosophy and the fields of study relating to religious law, the arts of government and contemporary scholarship, and is not informed of the great deeds of previous nations and peoples, he might be found lacking in a crisis, and this is inconsistent with the term “comprehensive.” For example, if a Muslim divine is in dialogue with a Christian, and he knows nothing of the majestic melodies of the Gospel, whatever he may expound of the realities of the Quran will never be heard and accepted by that person. However, should the Christian observe that, with respect to what the Christian possesses and relies on, this illustrious scholar is more knowledgeable than the Christian divines, and has a better understanding of the realities of the scriptures, then he will accept his explanation, indeed he would have no other recourse. A case in point is the occasion when the Jewish Exilarch40 was honoured by attaining the presence of that sun of the heaven of divine wisdom, that daystar in the realms of guidance and certitude, the Imām Reza (peace be upon him). If the Imām, that source of learning, had not employed answers and arguments familiar to the Exilarch, the latter would not have acknowledged the greatness of His Holiness. The guidance of society,† moreover, is based upon two great and lofty agencies, one which promulgates the religious law, and one which is the executive agency. The centre of the executive agency is the government, while wise scholars are the point of reference for the promulgation of religious law. If this firm pillar and mighty foundation is not comprehensive and perfect, how can we expect well-being and success for society?

40 The leader of the Jewish diaspora, a hereditary office recognised by the Arab conquerers of Iraq.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫وﻟﮑﻦ ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ اوان ﭼﻨﲔ ﻧﻔﻮس ﰷﻣهلء ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻪ اندر اﻟﻮﺟﻮد اﺳﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ابﻧﺘﻈﺎم‬ ‫ﺣﺎل در ﻏﺎﯾﺖ درﺟﻪء اﺣﺘﯿﺎج ذلا ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻋﻠﻤّﯿﻪ ﻻزم ﮐﻪ اﻋﻀﺎی اﯾﻦ ﳎﻠﺲ ﻫﺮ ﭼﻨﺪ ﻧﻔﺲ در‬ ‫ﻓ ّﲎ از ﻓﻨﻮن ﻣﺬﮐﻮرﻩ ﻣﺎﻫﺮ ابﺷـﻨﺪ و ابﻗﺪام و هجﺪ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ در ﲨﯿﻊ اﺣﺘﯿﺎﺟﺎت ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪ و اﺳـﺘﻘﺒﺎﻟّﯿﻪ ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ ﳕﻮدﻩ‬ ‫اﻣﻮر را در ﻧﻘﻄﻪء اﻋﺘﺪال و ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﳰﯽ ﻣﺮﮐﻮز ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫اّوًﻻ ﭼﻮن ات ﲝﺎل اﺣﲀم ﴍﻋّﯿﻪ را در ﻣﺮاﻓﻌﺎت و ﳏﺎﮐﲈت ﻣﺪار ﻣﻌّﯿﲎ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ زﯾﺮا ﻫﺮ ﯾﮏ از ﻋﻠﲈء ﻧﻈﺮ‬ ‫ﺑﺮٔای و اﺟﳤﺎد ﺧﻮد ﻧﻮﻋﯽ ﺣﲂ ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ ﻣﺜًﻼ دو ﻧﻔﺲ ﻣﺮاﻓﻌﻪ ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ ﯾﮑﯽ از ﻋﻠﲈء ﺣﲂ ﲟّﺪﻋﯽ و دﯾﮕﺮی‬ ‫ﲟّﺪﻋﯽ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ دﻫﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ اﺣﯿﺎًان در ﻣﺎّدﻩء واﺣﺪﻩ دو ﺣﲂ ﳐﺎﻟﻒ از ﯾﮏ ﴯﺺ ﳎﳤﺪ ﺻﺎدر ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اّول‬ ‫ﭼﻨﺎن ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺷﺪﻩ ﺑﻮد و ﺣﺎل ﭼﻨﲔ و ﺷـﳢﻪ ای ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺶ ﰷﻓ ّﻪء اﻣﻮر همّﻤﻪ‬ ‫واﻗﻊ و از اﯾﻦ ﻓﺘﻮر ﻋﻈﳰﯽ در اﺳﺎس ﻫﯿﺌﺖ اﺟامتﻋّﯿﻪ ﻃﺎری ﮔﺮدد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻫﯿﭻ ﯾﮏ از ﻣّﺪﻋﯽ و ﻣّﺪﻋﯽ‬ ‫ﻋﻠﯿﻪ ﻣﺎٔﯾﻮس از دﻋﻮای ﺧﻮد ﻧﮕﺸـﺘﻪ ﻣﺎدام اﻟﻌﻤﺮ ﻣﱰّﺻﺪ اﺧﺬ ﺣﲂ اثﱏ ﳐﺎﻟﻒ ﺣﲂ اّول ﺷﺪﻩ ﲨﯿﻊ ﲻﺮ‬ ‫ﺧﻮد را ﺑﺮ ﳉﺎج ﻣﯿﮕﺬاﻧرﺪ و از اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ اوﻗﺎت ﺧﻮد را ﺑﳫّﯽ ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ ﻣﻌﺎﻧﺪﻩ و ﻣﻨﺎزﻋﻪ ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ از اﻣﻮر‬ ‫انﻓﻌﻪء ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ و اﺷﻐﺎل ﺧﻮد ابزﻣﺎﻧﻨﺪ و ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﯾﻦ ﴯﺼﲔ ﺣﲂ ﻣﯿّﺖ را داﻧرﺪ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ﻫﯿﺌﺖ‬ ‫اﺟامتﻋّﯿﻪ را ذّرﻩ ای ﺧﺪﻣﺖ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﻨﺪ‬

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However, since at present such broadly accomplished individuals are rarely found, and the government and society are now in dire need of order, it is essential to establish a learned institution. The members of this assembly should each be proficient in one of the branches of knowledge that have been mentioned. Let them consider all present and future exigencies, with firm resolution and untiring energy, and compile the laws in one fulcrum, one authoritative centre. Up to now the ordinances of the religious law have not had a decisive role in law suits and legal arguments, because each of the divines has given specific rulings in the light of his own views and interpretations. For example, two men will go to law, and one of the divines will find for the plaintiff and another for the defendant. Sometimes, two conflicting decisions may even emerge in a single case, from the same learned divine, on the grounds that it first appeared in one light, and then in the other. There can be no doubt that these problems have confused every important issue, and that this grievous weakness in the foundations of social life is a catastrophe. For neither the plaintiff nor the defendant ever loses faith in his appeal. Throughout their lives, they live in hope of securing a new verdict which reverses the preceding one. They spend their lives in litigation, and because their days are completely devoted to arguments and litigation, they pay no heed to beneficial undertakings and their personal affairs. Indeed, these two might just as well be dead, for they can do no particle of good for their government or for society.

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‫وﻟﮑﻦ اﮔﺮ ﺣﲂ ﻗﺎﻃﻌﯽ در ﻣﯿﺎن ابﺷﺪ دﯾﮕﺮ ﳏﻘﻮق ﳏﮑﻮم اﺑﺪًا اﻣﯿﺪ اﺳـﺘﺤﺼﺎل اﻣﺮ اثﱏ ﻧﺪارد ﻟﻬﺬا‬ ‫راﺣﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ ﺟﺴـﺘﻪ ابﺷﻐﺎل و ﺧﺪﻣﺎت ﺧﻮد و ﻏﲑ ﻣﺸﻐﻮل ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﻧﻈﺮ ابﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ وﺳـﯿهلء ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ اﻫﺎﱃ و اﮐﱪ واﺳﻄﻪء ﺗﺮّﰵ ﲨﻬﻮر اﻋﺎﱃ و اداﱏ اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ‬ ‫اّﱒ اّﰎ اﺳﺖ ذلا ابﯾﺪ ﻋﻠﲈﰃ ﮐﻪ واﻗﻔﻨﺪ ﺑﺮ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﴍﻋّﯿﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ در اﯾﻦ ﳎﻠﺲ ﮐﺒﲑ اّوًﻻ ﯾﮏ ﻣﳯﺞ ﻗﻮﱘ‬ ‫و ﴏاط ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﳰﯽ ﲜﻬﺖ ﻗﻄﻊ دﻋﺎوی ﲻﻮم ﺗﻌﯿﲔ و ﺗﺎٔﻟﯿﻒ ﳕﻮدﻩ ابﻣﺮ ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠﻄﺎن در ﲨﯿﻊ وﻻايت‬ ‫ﻣﻨﺘﴩ ﮔﺮدد و ﺑﺮ ﻣﻮﺟﺐ ا ٓن ﺣﲂ ﺟﺎری ﺷﻮد ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ همّﻢ را اﻫامتم ﻻزﻣﺴﺖ‬ ‫و اثﱏ ﺻﻔﺖ ﮐﲈﻟّﯿﻪ ﻋﺪل و ﺣﻘّﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ و ا ٓن ﻋﺪم اﻟﺘﻔﺎت و اﻟﱱام ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذاﺗّﯿﻪ و ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﴯﺼّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد‬ ‫و ﺑﺪون ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ و ﻣﺮاﻋﺎت هجﱴ از هجﺎت ﺑﲔ ﺧﻠﻖ اﺟﺮاء اﺣﲀم ﺣﻖ ﳕﻮدن و ﻧﻔﺲ ﺧﻮد را ﭼﻮن‬ ‫اﻓﺮاد ﺑﻨﺪﮔﺎن ﻏّﲏ ﻣﻄﻠﻖ ﴰﺮدن وﺟﺰ اﻣﺘﯿﺎز ﻣﻌﻨﻮی در اﻣﺮی از اﻣﻮر ﺗﻔّﺮد از ﲨﻬﻮر ﳒﺴﱳ و ﺧﲑ‬ ‫ﲻﻮم را ﺧﲑ ﺧﻮﯾﺸﱳ داﻧﺴﱳ ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ را ﲟﲋهلء ﴯﺺ واﺣﺪ ﭘﻨﺪاﺷﱳ و ﻧﻔﺲ ﺧﻮد‬ ‫را ﻋﻀﻮی از اﻋﻀﺎی اﯾﻦ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﳎّﺴﻤﻪ اﻧﮕﺎﺷﱳ و اﱂ و ﺗﺎٔﺛّﺮ ﻫﺮ ﺟﺰﰃ ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﺎٔﻟ ّﻢ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﺟﺰاء ﻫﯿﺌﺖ‬ ‫ابﻟﺒﺪاﻫﻪ ﺗﯿﻘّﻦ ﳕﻮدن اﺳﺖ‬

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If there was a conclusive verdict, the litigant who lost the case in a proper process would no longer hope for a new ruling and, his peace of mind being restored, he could busy himself with promoting his own interests and those of others. Since this all-important matter is the primary means for securing the peace and tranquillity of the people, and the most effective instrument for the progress of high and low alike, the first requirement for the divines in the great consultative body, who understand questions of religious law, is to formulate a definite procedure, a straight path for settling all legal claims. This instrument should be published throughout the country by order of the King, and so put into effect. This important question must be pursued vigorously. The second characteristic of perfection is justice and impartiality. That entails not being concerned or preoccupied with one’s own advancement and selfish advantages for oneself, but to implement the laws without considering or heeding any particular interest. It means regarding oneself as one of those who are completely self-sufficient, and never seeking to be singled out from others, in any matter, except by spiritual distinction. It means considering the welfare of the people as one’s own. In short, it means regarding the social body as a single individual, and one’s own self as one of its limbs. It means knowing with implicit certainty that the grief and suffering of any member of that body is the grief of all its members.

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‫و اثﻟﺚ ﺻﻔﺖ ﮐﲈﻟّﯿﻪ ﺑﺼﺪق ﻃﻮﯾ ّﺖ و ﺧﻠﻮص ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺑﱰﺑﯿﺖ ﲨﻬﻮر ﭘﺮداﺧﺘﻪ در ﺗﻌﺎﻟﲓ ﻣﻌﺎرف ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ و‬ ‫ﺗﺪرﯾﺲ ﻋﻠﻮم انﻓﻌﻪ و ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ ﺑﺮ ﺗﺮﻗّﯿﺎت ﻋﴫﯾ ّﻪ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﺑﺮ ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ دواﺋﺮ ﺻﻨﺎﺋﻊ و ﲡﺎرت و ﺗﺮﻏﯿﺐ‬ ‫اّﲣﺎذ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﺛﺮوت اﻫﺎﱃ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﺑﺬل هجﺪ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ و ﺳﻌﯽ ﻣﻨﯿﻊ ﳕﻮدﻧﺴﺖ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﲻﻮم انس از اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر‬ ‫همّﻤﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﺰﻣﻨﻪء ﻫﯿﺌﺖ اﺟامتﻋّﯿﻪ را ﺑﺮء ﻓﻮرﯾﺴﺖ ﺑﯿﺨﻧﱪﺪ‬ ‫ابﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﻠﲈی ﻫﻮﴰﻨﺪ و دااناين ﺧﺮدﻣﻨﺪ ﺧﺎﻟﺼًﺎ ﳐﻠﺼًﺎ ّهلل ﺑﻮﻋﻆ و ﻧﺼﯿﺤﺖ ﲻﻮم ﺑﺮﺧﻧﲒﺪ ات دﯾﺪﻩء‬ ‫اﻫﺎﱃ از اﯾﻦ ﮐُﺤﻞ ﺑﯿﻨﺶ ﻣﻌﺎرف روﺷﻦ و ﺑﺼﲑ ﮔﺮدد زﯾﺮا اﻟﯿﻮم انس ﺑﻈﻨﻮن و اوﻫﺎم ﺧﻮد ﭼﻨﲔ ﺗﺼّﻮر‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻔﴗ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮﻗﻦ ابّهلل و ﻣﺆﻣﻦ ﺑﺎ ٓايت و رﺳﻞ و ﮐﺘﺐ و ﴍاﺋﻊ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل‬ ‫اﺳﺖ ابﯾﺪ ﻣﻌّﻄﻞ و ﻣﻌّﻮق ﲟﺎﻧﺪ و ﺑﺒﻄﺎﻟﺖ و ﺑﻄﺎﺋﺖ اّايم ﺑﮕﺬراﻧﺪ ات از ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﻋﻨﺪ اّهلل ﳏﺴﻮب ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﮐﻪ از دﻧﯿﺎ و ﻣﺎﻓﳱﺎ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ دل ﺑﻌﺎﱂ اﺧﺮوی ﺑﺴـﺘﻪاﻧﺪ و از ﺧﻠﻖ ﺑﻌﯿﺪ ﺷﺪﻩ ﲝّﻖ ﺗﻘّﺮب ﺟﺴـﺘﻪاﻧﺪ ﭼﻮن‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﺑﯿﺎن ﻣﻔّﺼًﻼ در اﯾﻦ ﮐﺘﺎب در ﻣﻮﻗﻊ دﯾﮕﺮ ذﮐﺮ ﺧﻮاﻫﺪ ايﻓﺖ ﻟﻬﺬا در اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎم ﺗﺮک اوﱃ‬

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The third characteristic of perfection is to arise with complete sincerity and purity of purpose to educate the masses. It is to devote the utmost effort and unbending commitment to public education, teaching the useful sciences, encouraging contemporary advances, developing trade and industry, and urging the adoption of measures by which the country’s population may be enriched. For the people in general are ignorant of these important matters, which offer an immediate remedy for society’s chronic ills. It is essential that the wise divines and men of knowledge and intelligence, acting wholly for the sake of God, should arise to advise and admonish the masses so that, thanks to this collyrium, the population may become renowned for their clarity of vision and discernment. For today the people are so sunk in their idle fancies and imaginations that they suppose that any faithful believer in God and His signs, and in the Messengers and sacred books and the religious law, anyone who is a manifestation of the fear of God, ought to remain idle and uninvolved, and devote his days to absurdities and sloth so as to be considered in the sight of God as one who having turned from the world and all it contains, having set his heart on the life to come and having isolated himself from his fellow-creatures, is seeking to draw nearer to God. Since this theme will be developed elsewhere in the present text, in another connection, I will leave it for the moment.41

41 The need for “men of knowledge” to “advise and admonish the masses” is taken up again at page 277 below.

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‫ابری اثﱏ ابﰵ ﺻﻔﺎت ﮐﲈﻟّﯿﻪ ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل و ﳏّﺒﺔ اّهلل ﰱ ﳏّﺒﺔ ﻋﺒﺎدﻩ و ﺣﲅ و ﺳﮑﻮن و ﺻﺪق و ﺳﻠﻮک‬ ‫و رﰘ و ﻣﺮّوت و ﺟﻼدت و ﴭﺎﻋﺖ و ﺛﺒﺎت و اﻗﺪام و هجﺪ و ﮐﻮﺷﺶ و ﮐﺮم و ﲞﺸﺶ و وﻓﺎ و ﺻﻔﺎ‬ ‫و ﲪّﯿﺖ و ﻏﲑت و ّﳘﺖ و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری و ﺣﻘﻮق ﭘﺮوری و اﻣﺜﺎل ذﻟﮏ ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﻓﺎﻗﺪ اﯾﻦ اﺧﻼق ﺣﺴـﻨﻪء‬ ‫اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ انﻗﺺ اﺳﺖ و اﮔﺮ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﻫﺮ ﯾﮏ از اﯾﻦ ﺻﻔﺎت را ﺑﯿﺎن ﳕﺎﺋﲓ ﴿ ﻣﺜﻨﻮی ﻫﻔﺘﺎد ﻣﻦ ﰷﻏﺬ ﺷﻮد ﴾‬ ‫و اثﱏ ﳇﻤﻪء اﯾﻦ ﴍاﺋﻂ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء ﻋﻠﻤّﯿﻪ ﴿ ﺣﺎﻓﻈًﺎ دلﯾﻨﻪ ﴾ اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﺪ از اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﳇﻤﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﺤﴫ در اﺳـﺘﻨﺒﺎط اﺣﲀم و ﻣﺮاﻋﺎت ﻋﺒﺎدات و اﺟﺘﻨﺎب از ﮐﺒﺎﺋﺮ و ﺻﻐﺎﺋﺮ و اﺟﺮاء‬ ‫اﺣﲀم ﴍﻋّﯿﻪ و ابﯾﻦ وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﳏﺎﻓﻈﻪء دﯾﻦ اّهلل ﳕﻮدن ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ را از ّ‬ ‫ﰻ هجﺎت ﳏﺎﻓﻈﻪ‬ ‫ﳕﻮدن و در اﻋﻼء ﳇﻤﺔ اّهلل و ﺗﮑﺜﲑ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ دﯾﻨﯿّﻪ و ﺗﺮوﱕ دﯾﻦ اﻟﻬـﯽ و ﻏﻠﺒﻪ و اﺳـﺘﻌﻼﺋﺶ ﺑﺮ ﺳﺎﺋﺮ‬ ‫اداين از اّﲢﺎد ﲨﯿﻊ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ و وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﺳﻌﯽ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ را ﻣﺒﺬول داﺷﱳ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫و ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﮔﺮ ﻋﻠﲈی اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪ در اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ابﯾﺪ و ﺷﺎﯾﺪ اﻗﺪام ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ ات ﲝﺎل ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫در ﻇّﻞ ﳇﻤﻪء وﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ داﺧﻞ ﻣﯿﺸﺪﻧﺪ و ﺷﻌهلء ﻧﻮراﻧّﯿﻪء ﴿ ﻟﯿﻈﻬﺮﻩ ﻋﲆ اّدلﯾﻦ ﳇّﻪ ﴾ ﭼﻮن ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب در‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺐ اﻣﲀن ﻃﺎﻟﻊ و ﺑﺮ ﲨﯿﻊ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﻻﰁ ﻣﯿﮕﺸﺖ‬

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Other characteristics of perfection are to fear God and to love God by loving His servants, showing forbearance and calmness, sincerity and good morals, clemency and generosity of spirit, resolution and courage, trustworthiness and energy, to strive and exert oneself, to be bountiful, gracious, faithful, with pure motives, to have determination and a sense of honour, dedication and nobility, a concern for the rights of others, and so forth. Whoever is lacking in these praiseworthy human qualities is imperfect. If I were to explain the realities of each one of these characteristics, “the poem would require seventy mann of paper.”42

[The second requirement: defending his Faith] The second phrase in these sanctified conditions of learning is that he should be “one who defends his Faith.” It is obvious that these blessed words do not refer exclusively to drawing out the implications of the commandments, observing the forms of worship, avoiding greater and lesser sins, implementing the religious law, and by these means protecting the Faith of God. Rather it means protecting the people in every way, exalting the Word of God, expanding the religious community, promoting the Faith of God and devoting every effort to its ascendancy and superiority in relation to other religions, by a combination of all ways and means. In truth, if Muslim divines had taken the measures they could and should have taken, by now all the world’s peoples would have entered under the shade of the unity and oneness of God, and the bright fire of “that he might reveal it above all religion”43 would have risen like the sun in the midmost heart of the world, and cast its light on all regions.

42 From Rumi’s Mathnavi, 2.4442. The mann or maund is a measure of weight. Some citations of this verse have tā rather than mann. 43 The verse appears three times in the Quran, at 9:33, 48:28 and 61:9. The last of these reads, “It is He who has sent his Messenger with guidance and the true religion, that he might reveal it above all religion, although those who join partners with God detest it.”

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‫در ﻗﺮن ﺧﺎﻣﺲ ﻋﴩ ﻣﯿﻼد ﻟﻮﻃﺮ ﮐﻪ اّول ﯾﮑﯽ از اﻋﻀﺎی اﺛﻨﺎ ﻋﴩ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻣﺬﻫﺒّﯿﻪء ﻗﺎﺗﻮﻟﯿﮏ در ﻣﺮﮐﺰ‬ ‫ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﭘﺎپ ﺑﻮد و ﻣﺆّﺧﺮًا ﳏﺪث ﻣﺬﻫﺐ ﭘﺮوﺗﺴـﺘﺎن ﮔﺸﺖ در ﺑﻌﴣ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﮐﻪ ﻋﺪم ﲡﻮﯾﺰ ﺗﺰوﱕ‬ ‫رﻫﺎﺑﲔ و ﺗﻌﻈﲓ و ﺗﮑﺮﱘ ﺻﻮر ﺣﻮارﯾ ّﲔ و رؤﺳﺎی ﺳﻠﻒ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤّﯿﲔ و ﻋﺎدات و رﺳﻮم ﻣﺬﻫﺒّﯿﻪء زاﺋﺪﻩ‬ ‫ﺑﺮ اﺣﲀم اﳒﯿﻞ اب ﭘﺎپ ﳐﺎﻟﻔﺖ ﳕﻮد‬ ‫اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در ا ٓن زﻣﺎن اﻗﺘﺪار ﭘﺎپ‪ 44‬ﺑﺪرﺟﻪ ای ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻮک اوروپ از ﺳﻄﻮﺗﺶ ﻣﱱﻟﺰل و‬ ‫ﻣﻀﻄﺮب و ﺿﺒﻂ و رﺑﻂ اﻣﻮر همّﻤﻪء ﻗﻄﻌﻪء اوروپ در ﳝﲔ ﻗّﻮت و ﻗﺪرﺗﺶ ﻣﻮدوع و ﻣﺮﺗﺒﻂ وﻟﮑﻦ‬ ‫ﭼﻮن در اﯾﻦ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﮐﻪ ﺟﻮاز ﺗﺰوﱕ رؤﺳﺎی دﯾﻨﯿّﻪ و ﻋﺪم ﲭﻮد و ﺗﻌﻈﲓ ﺑﺮ ﲤﺜﺎل و ﺻﻮر ﻣﻌﻠ ّﻘﻪء‬ ‫در ﮐﻨﺎﺋﺲ و اﺑﻄﺎل ﻋﺎدات رﲰّﯿﻪء زاﺋﺪﻩ ﺑﺮ ﻣﻀﺎﻣﲔ اﳒﯿﻞ ﻟﻮﻃﺮ ﳏّﻖ و ﳏﻘّﻖ ﺑﻮد و ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﻻزﻣﻪء‬ ‫ﺗﺮوﱕ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﳕﻮد در ﻇﺮف اﯾﻦ ﻗﺮون ارﺑﻌﻪ و ﮐﴪی اﮐﱶ اﻫﺎﱃ اﻣﺮﯾﮏ و ﭼﻬﺎر ﲬﺲ ﻗﻄﻌﻪء ا ٓﳌﺎن و‬ ‫اﻧﮕﻠﯿﺲ و ﺑﺴـﯿﺎری از اﻫﺎﱃ ﳕﭽﻪ ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ﺗﻘﺮﯾﺒًﺎ دوﯾﺴﺖ و ﭘﻨﺠﺎﻩ ﮐﺮور از ﻣﺬاﻫﺐ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩء ﻧﺼﺎری در‬ ‫ﻣﺬﻫﺐ ﭘﺮوﺗﺴـﺘﺎن داﺧﻞ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ‬

‫‪.‬ﭘﺎب ‪The Cairo edition has‬‬

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Martin Luther lived in the fifteenth century. He was originally one of the twelve members of a Catholic religious body at the centre of Papal government.† Later he launched the Protestant religious tradition. He had differences with the Pope on a number of issues, such as not permitting the religious orders to marry, revering images of the Apostles and the early leaders of the Church, and bowing before them, and other customs and ceremonies of the Church added to the ordinances of the Gospel. At that time the power of the Pope was so great that all the kings of Europe shook and trembled before his majesty, and control of all Europe’s important matters had been entrusted to his mighty hands. Yet since Luther was teaching the plain truth as regards the freedom of religious leaders to marry, not bowing or prostrating oneself before the images and representations hanging in the churches, and the abrogation of customary ceremonials which had been added to what is explicit in the Gospel, and since the necessary means for promoting his views were resolutely applied, over the past four hundred and something years most of the inhabitants of America, fourfifths in the regions of Germany and England, and many of those in Austria, totalling about one hundred and twenty-five million people drawn from other Christian churches, have joined the Protestants.

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‫و ﻫﻨﻮز رؤﺳﺎی اﯾﻦ ﻣﺬﻫﺐ ﺑﮑﲈل ّﳘﺖ در ﺗﺮوﳚﻨﺪ و ﺣﺎل در ﺳﻮاﺣﻞ ﴍﻗﯿّﻪء اﻓﺮﯾﮏ ﺑﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﺣّﺮﯾ ّﺖ و‬ ‫ا ٓزادی ﺳﻮدان و زﻧﮕﯿﺎن را وﺳـﯿهل ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻣﲀﺗﺐ و ﻣﺪارس ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﮐﺮدﻩ ﺑﺘﻌﻠﲓ و ﺗﺪرﯾﺲ و ﲤﺪﯾﻦ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ‬ ‫ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﻪء ﴏﻓﻪء اﻓﺮﯾﮏ ﻣﺸﻐﻮﻟﻨﺪ و در ابﻃﻦ ﻣﻘﺼﺪ اﺻﻠﯿﺸﺎن ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﴣ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪء زﻧﮕﯿﺎن‬ ‫را داﺧﻞ در ﻣﺬﻫﺐ ﭘﺮوﺗﺴـﺘﺎن ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﻫﺮ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ ای در ارﺗﻔﺎع ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺧﻮد ﻣﺸﻐﻮل و ﻣﺎ در ﺧﻮاب ﻏﻔﻠﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﺪﻫﻮش‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﴯﺺ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﻧﺒﻮد چبﻪ ﻫﻮاﰃ ﭘﺮواز ﻣﯿﮑﻨﺪ و چبﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﺪی ﻣﺘﺤّﺮک‬ ‫ﲠّﻤﺖ و ﻏﲑت رؤﺳﺎی ﻣﺬﻫﺒﺶ ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر ﺗﺮوﱕ ﺷﺪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل اﮔﺮ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩء ﺣّﻖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪات اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻄﻠﻊ ﺗﻮﻓﯿﻘﺎت رّابﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ ﲠّﻤﺖ اتّﻣﻪ و‬ ‫ﻏﲑت ﰷﻣهل ﻣﺘﻮّﺳﻼ اﱃ اّهلل و ﻣﻨﻘﻄﻌًﺎ ّﲻﺎ ﺳﻮاﻩ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﺗﺮوﱕ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﺑﺬل ﺳﻌﯽ و اﻗﺪام ﮐﻨﻨﺪ‬ ‫اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ اﻧﻮار ﺣّﻖ ﻣﺒﲔ ﺑﺮ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﺳﺎﻃﻊ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫و ﺑﻌﴣ ﻧﻔﻮس ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﻣﻮر اّﻃﻼﻋﯽ ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ و ﻧﺒﺾ ﻋﺎﱂ در دﺳﺘﺸﺎن ﻧﻪ و ﻧﺪاﻧﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﺰﻣﻨﻪء‬ ‫ﺑﻄﻼن را ﭼﻪ ﻓﺎروق اﻋﻈﻢ ﺣﻘّﯽ ﻻزم ﳘﭽﻪ ﮔﲈن ﻣﯿﮑﻨﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺗﺮوﱕ ﺑﺴـﯿﻒ ﻣﻨﻮط اﺳﺖ و ﲝﺪﯾﺚ ﴿ اان‬ ‫ﻧﱯّ ابﻟﺴـّﯿﻒ ﴾ اﺳـﺘﺪﻻل ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﮔﺮ ﺑﻨﻈﺮ دﻗﯿﻖ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﮐﻪ در اﯾﻦ ﻋﴫ ﺳـﯿﻒ واﺳﻄﻪء ﺗﺮوﱕ ﻧﻪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ وﺣﺸﺖ و دﻫﺸﺖ و اﴰﱥاز ﻗﻠﻮب و ﻧﻔﻮس‬ ‫ﮔﺮدد‬

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The leaders of this religious tradition are still making every effort to promote it. Today, on the East coast of Africa, they are ostensibly introducing the means of liberty and freedom for the Blacks and Ethiopians. They have established schools and colleges and are educating, training and civilizing completely benighted African tribes, while inwardly their primary purpose is to convert some of the Ethiopian tribes who are Muslims to Protestantism. Every community is engrossed in advancing its own people, while we in our negligence sleep on!45 Although it was not clear what ambition impelled this man, or what purpose moved him, is it not astonishing to see how the zealous efforts of the movement’s leaders have spread it far and wide? Now if the illustrious community of the True One, a community in which the aid and assistance of God is manifest, which is the source of the Lord’s blessings, was to devote unstinting effort and utter determination, clinging firmly to God and detached from all beside God – if this community was to make resources available, invest effort and move into action – it is certain that His divine light would envelop the whole earth. There are some who are unaware of the reality of things, who cannot feel the pulse of the world beneath their fingers, who do not acknowledge the chronic ill of these delusions, which must be treated with the sovereign remedy of reality. They rely on spreading religion by the sword, and cite the tradition, “I am a Prophet by the sword,” as proof. But truly, if they were to consider the matter carefully, it would be evident that in this day and age the sword is not a means by which religion can be spread, rather it causes consternation and alarm, and strikes terror in people’s hearts.

45 Compare to Bahāʾuʾllāh’s description of the vigour of Christian mission, in a tablet to Mānekji Limji Hātariā (Tabernacle of Unity 41).

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‫و در ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪء ﻏّﺮا اﻫﻞ ﮐﺘﺎب را ﺑﻘّﻮﻩء ﻗﺎﻫﺮﻩ اﺟﺒﺎر ﺑﺮ اﻗﺮار و اﳝﺎن ﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﻧﻪ و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ‬ ‫دﻻﻟﺖ و ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ ﻓﺮﯾﻀﻪء ذّﻣﺖ ﻫﺮ ﻣﺆﻣﻦ ﻣﻮّﺣﺪ اﺳﺖ و ﺣﺪﯾﺚ ﴿ اان ﻧﱯّ ابﻟﺴـّﯿﻒ ﴾ و ﮐﺬﻟﮏ‬ ‫ﺣﺪﯾﺚ ﴿ اﻣﺮت ان ٔاﻗﺎﺗﻞ اﻟﻨّﺎس ﺣّﱴ ﯾﻘﻮﻟﻮا ﻻ اهل اّﻻ اّهلل ﴾ در ﺣّﻖ ﻣﴩﮐﲔ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ از ﮐﱶت‬ ‫ﺗﻮّﺣﺶ و انداﱏ از درﺟﻪء ﺑﴩﯾ ّﺖ ﺳﺎﻗﻂ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ وارد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﳝﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﺑﴬب ﺳـﯿﻒ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﰉ اﻋﺘﺒﺎر و ﺑﺴﺒﺐ اﻣﺮ ﺟﺰﰃ ﻣﻨﻘﻠﺐ ﺑﮑﻔﺮ و ﺿﻼل ﻣﯿﺸﻮد ﭼﻨﺎﻧﮑﻪ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ اﻃﺮاف‬ ‫ﻣﺪﯾﻨﻪء ﻣﻨّﻮرﻩ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻋﺮوج ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب اوج ﻧﺒّﻮت ﲟﻌﺎرج ﴿ ﰱ ﻣﻘﻌﺪ ﺻﺪق ﻋﻨﺪ ﻣﻠﯿﮏ ﻣﻘﺘﺪر ﴾ دوابرﻩ‬ ‫ﺑﺪﯾﻦ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ ﺑﺮﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﻣﺮﺗّﺪ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ زﻣﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻔﺤﺎت ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪء روح اّهلل ﺧّﻄﻪء ﻓﻠﺴﻄﲔ و ﺟﻠﯿﻞ و ﺳﻮاﺣﻞ ﳖﺮ‬ ‫اردن و ﺟﻮاﻧﺐ اورﺷﻠﲓ را ﻣﻌّﻄﺮ ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻪ و اﳊﺎن ﺟﻠﯿﻞ اﳒﯿﻞ ﲟﺴﺎﻣﻊ روﺣﺎﻧﯿﺎن در ا ٓﻣﺪﻩ در ا ٓن زﻣﺎن‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ و اوروپ و اﻓﺮﯾﮏ و اﻣﺮﯾﮏ و اوﻗﯿﺎﻧﻮس ﮐﻪ ﺟﺰاﺋﺮ ﲝﺮ ﳏﯿﻂ اﺳﺖ ﳎﻮس‬ ‫و ﺑﺖ ﭘﺮﺳﺖ و ﻏﺎﻓﻞ از ﺧﻄﺎب ﯾﻮم اﻟﺴﺖ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﻣﻘّﺮ وﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ و اﻟﻮﻫّﯿﺖ ﺟﺰ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﻮﺳﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ﺑﻌﺪ از ﺑﻌﺜﺖ اﻧﻔﺎس ﻃّﯿﺒﻪء ﻃﺎﻫﺮﻩء روح ﲞﺶ ا ٓﳓﴬت در ﻣّﺪت ﺳﻪ ﺳﺎل ﺣﯿﺎت ﺟﺎوداﱏ ﺑﺮ اﻫﺎﱃ‬ ‫ا ٓﻧﺪاير ﻣﺒﺬول داﺷﺖ و ﺑﻮىح اﻟﻬـﯽ اّس اﺳﺎس ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻋﯿﺴﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﮐﻪ در ا ٓن ﻋﴫ ﻣﻌﺠﻮن ﺑﺮء اﻟّﺴﺎﻋﻪء‬ ‫ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻣﻌﻠﻮهلء ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﺑﻮد ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺷﺪ‬

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According to the religious law, it is not permissible to use compulsion to induce the People of the Book to acknowledge and accept Islam. Yet leading and guiding others is obligatory for every believer in the unity of God. The traditions “I am a Prophet by the sword” and “I was ordered to fight all people until they say, ‘There is no other God but God’ ” referred to the idolaters of the days of ignorance, who had fallen below the ranks of humanity through an excess of barbarism and ignorance. A faith born of sword thrusts has little credibility, and may turn to unbelief and error for some trifling reason. For example, when the Sun of Prophethood (Mohammad) had ascended to the heights of “in the seat of truth, in the presence of One who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty,”46 the people and tribes around the radiant city, Medina, apostatised, returning to the religion of the days of ignorance. Or again, consider this: when the holy breaths of the Spirit of God (Jesus) perfumed the shores of Palestine and Galilee, the banks of the Jordan and the regions around Jerusalem, and the majestic notes of the Gospel were heard by spiritual souls, all the peoples of Asia and Europe, of Africa and America, and of Oceania (the islands of the world’s oceans), were fireworshipers or idolaters, paying no heed to the Voice that pronounced the primordial Covenant.47 Only the people of Moses affirmed the oneness and transcendence of God. Following his declaration, the pure and reviving breaths of Jesus conferred eternal life on the inhabitants of those regions for a period of three years. Thanks to the inspiration of God, the foundation was laid for Christian religious law, which was then the prescription, suited to the hour, for the distempered body of humanity.

46 47

Quran 54:55. See Quran 7:172.

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‫اﮔﺮ ﭼﻪ در زﻣﺎن ا ٓﳓﴬت اﻧﻔﺲ ﻗﻠﯿهل ﻣﻘﺒﻞ اﱃ اّهلل ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻣﺆﻣﻦ ﻣﻮﻗﻦ ﻋﺒﺎرت از‬ ‫دوازدﻩ ﻧﻔﺮ رﺟﺎل ﺣﻮارﯾ ّﲔ و ﭼﻨﺪ ﻧﺴﺎء ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ و ﯾﮑﯽ از ﺣﻮارﯾ ّﲔ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺴّﻤﯽ ﺑﳱﻮذای‪ 48‬اﲯﺮﯾﻮﻃﯽ ﺑﻮد‬ ‫ﻧﲒ ﻣﺮﺗّﺪ ﺷﺪﻩ ايزدﻩ ﻧﻔﺮ ابﰵ ﻣﺎﻧﺪﻧﺪ ابری ﺑﻌﺪ از ﺻﻌﻮد ا ٓﳓﴬت ابﻓﻖ ﻋّﺰت اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻗﻠﯿهل ابﺧﻼق‬ ‫ﺣﺴـﻨﻪء روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و روش و ﺣﺮﰷت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺒﻌﻮث ﺷﺪﻩ ﺑﻘّﻮﻩء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻧ ََﻔﺲ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤﺎﰃ ﲠﺪاﯾﺖ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻦ ﻋﲆ الارض ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و در ا ٓﻧﺰﻣﺎن ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻞ اﺻﻨﺎﻣﯿّﻪ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﳞﻮد ﺑﮑﲈل ﻗّﻮت و اﻫامتم ﺑﺮ‬ ‫اﻃﻔﺎی ﴎاج اﻟﻬـﯽ ﮐﻪ در زﺟﺎﺟﻪء ﺧّﻄﻪء اورﺷﻠﲓ ﻣﺸـﺘﻌﻞ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺘﻨﺪ ﴿ ﯾﺮﯾﺪون ان ﯾﻄﻔﺌﻮا ﻧﻮر‬ ‫اّهلل ابﻓﻮاﻫﻬﻢ و ﯾﺎٔﰉ اّهلل اّﻻ ان ﯾّﱲ ﻧﻮرﻩ و ﻟﻮ ﮐﺮﻩ اﻟﲀﻓﺮون ﴾‬ ‫و ﻫﺮ ﯾﮏ از اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ را ﺑﺒﺪﺗﺮﯾﻦ ﻋﺬاﰉ ﺷﻬﯿﺪ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺟﺴﻢ ﻣﻄّﻬﺮ ﺑﻌﴣ را ﺑﺴﺎﻃﻮر‬ ‫ﻗّﺼﺎﰉ رﯾﺰﻩ رﯾﺰﻩ ﳕﻮدﻩ و در ﮔﻠﺨﳯﺎ ﺑﺴﻮﺧﺘﻨﺪ و ﺑﻌﴣ اﺗﺒﺎع و اﺷـﯿﺎع اﯾﻦ اﺷﺨﺎص ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ را ﺑﻌﺪ از‬ ‫ﺷﮑﻨﺠﻪ و ﻋﺬاب ﻧزﺪﻩ زﯾﺮ ﺧﺎک دﻓﻦ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ اب وﺟﻮد اﯾﻦ ﻋﻘﻮابت ﺷﺪﯾﺪﻩ اﺑﺪًا در ﺗﺒﻠﯿﻎ اﻣﺮ اّهلل ﻓﺘﻮر‬ ‫ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ ﺑﺪون ﺳّﻞ ﺳـﯿﻒ و ﺧﺮاﺷـﯿﺪن روی ﻧﻔﴗ ابﻻﺧﺮﻩ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻋﯿﺴﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﻋﺎﱂ را‪ 49‬اﺣﺎﻃﻪ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫در ﻗﻄﻌﻪء اوروپ و اﻣﺮﯾﮏ از اداين ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ اﺛﺮی ابﰵ ﳕﺎﻧﺪ و در ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ و اﻓﺮﯾﮏ و ﺟﺰاﺋﺮ ﲝﺮ ﳏﯿﻂ‬ ‫ّﰖ ﻏﻔﲑی از اﻫﺎﱃ اﻟﯿﻮم در ﻇّﻞ اﳒﯿﻞ داﺧﻠﻨﺪ‬

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‫‪ .‬ﳞﻮدا ‪The Bombay edition spells this‬‬ ‫‪ with a following‬م ‪The copyist of the Bombay edition tends to combine a terminal‬‬ ‫‪, rendering the latter invisible. This has not been noted in every instance.‬ر‬ ‫‪49‬‬

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It is true that only a few souls turned to God in the time of Jesus. In fact the only ones who could be considered true believers were the twelve male disciples and a number of women, and one of the disciples, known as Judas Iscariot, apostatised, leaving eleven souls. In brief, after the ascension of Jesus to the realm of glory, these few souls were “resurrected” to saintly characters and to behaviour and endeavours consecrated to God. They arose by the power of God and the breaths of the Messiah to guide all the world’s inhabitants. At that time, followers of all the idolatrous religions, and the Jewish community, rose up with all their power and perseverance to put out the lamp of God, kindled within the glass of Jerusalem and its environs. “Fain would they put out the light of God with their mouths! But though the infidels hate it, God will perfect His light.”50 They martyred every one of these blessed souls with the fiercest torments. Indeed, they chopped the sanctified bodies of some of them to pieces with butchers’ cleavers, to be burned in furnaces, while some of the followers and companions of these saintly souls were racked and tortured, and then buried alive. Despite these severe punishments, they never failed to teach the Cause of God, without drawing the sword or injuring anyone in the slightest way. The Christian community has spread so widely in the world over time that no traces of other religions remain in Europe and America, and in Asia and Africa and the oceanic islands, a great multitude have now sought the shadow of the Gospel.

50

Quran 9:32.

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‫ﺣﺎل ابﯾﻦ ادّهلء واﲵﻪء ﻻﳛﻪ اثﺑﺖ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﮔﺸﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺗﺮوﱕ دﯾﻦ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺑﮑﲈﻻت اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و اﺧﻼق‬ ‫ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ و ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ و روش و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﺑﴫاﻓﺖ ﻓﻄﺮت اﻗﺒﺎل اﱃ اّهلل ﳕﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺒﻮل درﮔﺎﻩ اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ ﺑﻮدﻩ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﺲ از اﻏﺮاض ﴯﺼّﯿﻪ و ﻃﻤﻊ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذاﺗّﯿﻪ ﻣّﱪا و ﺑﺼﻮن ﺣﲈﯾﺖ‬ ‫ﺣّﻖ اﻟﺘﺠﺎ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﺼﻔﺖ اﻣﺎﻧﺖ و ﺻﺪاﻗﺖ و ﭘﺮﻫﲒﰷری و ﺣﻘﻮق ﭘﺮوری و ّﳘﺖ و وﻓﺎ و دايﻧﺖ و‬ ‫ﺗُﻘﯽ ﺑﲔ ﺧﻠﻖ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﮔﺮدد و ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﺻﲆ از اﻧﺰال ﴍاﺋﻊ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء ﺳﲈﺋّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺳﻌﺎدت اﺧﺮوی و ﲤّﺪن‬ ‫دﻧﯿﻮی و ﲥﺬﯾﺐ اﺧﻼق ابﺷﺪ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد و اّﻻ ﺑﴬب ﺳـﯿﻒ ﺑﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻣﻘﺒﻞ و در ابﻃﻦ ﻣﻐّﻞ و ﻣﺪﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫در اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎم ﺣﲀﯾﱴ ﮐﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻋﱪت ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﮔﺮدد ذﮐﺮ ﳕﺎﺋﲓ در ﺗﻮارﱗ ﻋﺮﺑّﯿﻪ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﮐﻪ ﻗﺒﻞ از ﺑﻌﺜﺖ ﻧﺒﻮی‬ ‫ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﻟّﺴﻼم ﻧﻌﲈن ﺑﻦ ﻣﻨﺬر ﶆّﻲ ﮐﻪ ﯾﮑﯽ از ﻣﻠﻮک ﻋﺮب ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻘّﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺘﺶ ﻣﺪﯾﻨﻪء ﺣﲑﻩ‬ ‫ﺑﻮدﻩ روزی از ﮐﱶت ﲡّﺮع اﻗﺪاح ﻣﺪام ﻋﻘﻠﺶ زاﺋﻞ و ﺷﻌﻮرش ابﻃﻞ ﮔﺸﺖ در ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳﮑﺮ و ﺑﳱﻮﳽ‬ ‫ﺑﻘﺘﻞ ﺧﺎدل ﺑﻦ ﻣﻀﻠ ّﻞ و ﲻﺮ ﺑﻦ ﻣﺴﻌﻮد ﳇﺪﻩ ﮐﻪ دو ﻧﺪﱘ و اﻧﯿﺲ و در ﳏﻔﻞ اﻧﺲ اير و ﺟﻠﯿﺴﺶ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﻣﺎن داد و ﭼﻮ ن از ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﺴـﱴ و ﺳﮑﺮ ﲠﻮش ا ٓﻣﺪ ﺑﭙﺮﺳﺶ ﺣﺎل دو ﻧﺪﱘ ﭘﺮداﺧﺖ ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ واﻗﻌﻪ را‬ ‫ﺑﯿﺎن ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﺑﻐﺎﯾﺖ ﳏﺰون و دﳋﻮن ﺷﺪ از ﺣّﺐ ﺷﺪﯾﺪ و ﺗﻌﻠ ّﻖ ﺧﺎﻃﺮ ﻋﻈﲓ ﮐﻪ ابﯾﻦ دو ﻧﺪﱘ داﺷﺖ ﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺎﺑﺮﺷﺎن دو ﺑﻨﺎء ﻋﺎﱃ ﻣﺴّﻤﯽ ﺑﻐﺮّاين ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻪ‬

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These conclusive and lucid proofs demonstrate beyond any doubt that the Faith of God must be promoted through human perfections, through good morals and a saintly character, and spiritual behaviour. If an individual converts to belief in God, in accordance with his own natural disposition, he will be accepted at the Threshold of Oneness, for such a person has transcended personal interest and selfish motivations, and has taken refuge under the sheltering protection of God. He will become known among men for trustworthiness and truthfulness, moderation and respect for the rights of others, diligence and fidelity, piety and the fear of God. Thus the essential purpose for which the sanctified religious law is sent down from heaven – which is happiness in the next world and civilization in this world, and the refinement of character – will be realised. In contrast, the use of the sword produces an apparent believer who is inwardly a traitor and turncoat.

[The exemplary story of Hanzala and King Noʿman] I will relate a story here that may serve as an example to all. Arabian chronicles tell how, before the declaration of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Noʿman,51 son of Mundhir the Lakhmite – an Arab king in the days of ignorance, whose throne was in the city of Hira – had one day taken so much strong drink that reason deserted him, and his mind played him false. In this drunken and insensible condition, he ordered the deaths of his two boon companions and much-loved friends, Khalid ibn Mudallil and Amr ibn Masʾud-Kaldih, who were his guests and comrades in carousing. When he came to himself after his intoxication, he inquired after his two great friends. When they told him what had occurred, he was grieved beyond measure. His heart was broken. Because of his great love for them, and to honour the memory of these two companions, he erected two lofty monuments on their graves, which were known as “the smeared with blood.”

51 King Noʿman III, who reigned from approximately 580 to 602 CE. The story that follows parallels the account of the poet Abuʾl-Faraj in the Kitābuʾl Aghani, translated by Reynold Nicholson, in A Literary History of the Arabs (1907), p. 43. From that account, it appears that the monuments were stone pillars, which could be literally smeared over with blood.

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‫و ﺑﯿﺎدﮔﺎر اﯾﻦ دو ﻧﺪﱘ ﯾﻮم ﺑﺆس و ﯾﻮم ﻧﻌﲓ در ﻫﺮ ﺳﺎﱃ ﻗﺮار داد و در اﯾﻦ دو روز ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﲝﺸﻤﺖ ﲤﺎم‬ ‫ا ٓﻣﺪﻩ ﻣﺎ ﺑﲔ ﻏﺮّاين ﻧﺸﺴـﺘﻪ در ﯾﻮم ﺑﺆس ﻧﻈﺮش ﺑﺮ ﻫﺮ ﮐﻪ اﻓﺘﺎدی ﲜﺎن اﻣﺎن ﻧﯿﺎﻓﱴ و در ﯾﻮم ﻧﻌﲓ ﻫﺮ‬ ‫وارد و واﻓﺪی را ﻣﻈﻬﺮ اﺣﺴﺎن و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﰉﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﺳﺎﺧﱴ و اﯾﻦ ﻗﺎﻋﺪﻩ و ﻗﺎﻧﻮن ﻣﺴـﳣّﺮ و ﺑﳰﲔ ﺷﺪﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﲂ ﺑﻮد‬ ‫ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ روزی ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ اﺳـﱮ ﶊﻮد انم ﺳﻮار و ﺑﻘﺼﺪ ﺷﲀر ﻋﺰم ﲱﺮا ﳕﻮد انﮔﺎﻩ از دور ﮔﻮری ﺑﻨﻈﺮش‬ ‫درا ٓﻣﺪ در ﻋﻘﺐ ا ٓن ﮔﻮر ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ اﺳﺐ ﺑﺮاﻧﮕﯿﺨﺖ و اتﺧﺖ ات از ﺧﯿﻞ و ﺟﯿﺶ ﺧﻮد دور و وﻗﺖ ﺑﯿﮕﺎﻩ‬ ‫ﺷﺪ ﻣﺎٔﯾﻮس ﮔﺸﺖ انﮔﺎﻩ ﺳﻮاد ﺧﳰﻪ ای‪ 52‬در ابدﯾﻪ ﭘﯿﺪا ﺷﺪ ﻋﻨﺎن ﺑﺪان ﺟﺎﻧﺐ ﻣﻌﻄﻮف داﺷﺖ ات ﺑﺪر‬ ‫ﺧﳰﻪ رﺳـﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﻣﻮد همﲈن ﻣﯿﻄﻠﺒﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﺧﺪاوﻧﺪ ﺧﳰﻪ ﺣﻨﻈهل ﺑﻦ اﰉ ﻏﻔﺮاء ﻃﺎﰃ ﮔﻔﺖ ﺑﲆ و اﺳـﺘﻘﺒﺎل ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻧﻌﲈن را ﻓﺮود ا ٓوردﻩ و اب زوﺟﻪء‬ ‫ﺧﻮد ﮔﻔﺖ در انﺻﯿﻪء اﯾﻦ ﴯﺺ ا ٓاثر ﺑﺰرﮔﯽ ابﻫﺮ ﲥّﯿﺎٔ ﺿﯿﺎﻓﱴ ﮐﻦ و در همﲈن ﻧﻮازی ّﳘﱴ و ﻏﲑﰏ ﳕﺎ‬ ‫زن ﮔﻔﺖ ﮔﻮﺳﻔﻨﺪی دارﱘ ذﰆ ﳕﺎ و ﻣﻦ ﲜﻬﺖ اﺣﺘﯿﺎط ﭼﻨﲔ روزی ﻗﺪری ا ٓرد ذﺧﲑﻩ ﳕﻮدﻩام‬

‫‪52‬‬ ‫‪ as shown; it is not in the Bombay edition‬ﺳﻮاد ‪The Cairo edition (page 56) inserts‬‬ ‫‪(p. 63). I have adopted it on the assumption that it is a marginal addition by ʿAbduʾl‬‬‫‪Bahā, to clarify that it is the black tent of a nomad (a poor man) that the King sees. The‬‬ ‫‪ is not present in the Bombay or Cairo edition, but it is required by the sense,‬ی ‪indefinite‬‬ ‫‪and has been inserted in the electronic text supplied by the Bahāʾi World Centre.‬‬

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He set apart two days in every year, in memory of these two companions: the Day of Evil and the Day of Bounty. On these two appointed days he would issue forth with pomp and sit between the “smeared with blood.” On the Day of Evil, if his eye fell on any soul, that person’s life was forfeit, but on the Day of Bounty whoever approached him would be overwhelmed with limitless favours and riches. This was a firm rule that was always strictly implemented. One day the King mounted his horse, called Mahmud (the Praised), and set out on the plains to hunt. Suddenly in the distance he caught sight of a wild ass.53 Noʿman spurred his horse in pursuit, and sped on until both his foot soldiers and cavalry had been left behind. As the evening drew on, he was in despair. Then he saw the black mark of a tent in the wilderness, and he turned his horse toward it. When he reached the entrance of the tent he asked, “Will you receive a guest?” The head man of that tent was Hanzala ibn Abi Ghafra Taʾi. “I will,” he replied, and he stepped forward and helped Noʿman to dismount. He said to his wife, “There are signs of greatness in this person. Prepare a banquet and make every effort to be hospitable.” His wife said, “We have one ewe. Sacrifice it. Also, I have a little flour, set aside as a precaution for a day such as this.”

53

An onager, larger and more horse-like than a donkey.

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‫ﭘﺲ ﺣﻨﻈهل ﮔﻮﺳﻔﻨﺪ را دوﺷـﯿﺪﻩ ﻗﺪىح ﺷﲑ ﻧﺰد ﻧﻌﲈن ﺑﺮدﻩ ا ٓﻧﮕﺎﻩ ﮔﻮﺳﻔﻨﺪ را ذﰆ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻣﺎﺋﺪﻩ ای ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ‬ ‫داد و ا ٓﻧﺸﺐ را ﻧﻌﲈن از ﳏّﺒﺖ و اﻟﻔﺖ ﺣﻨﻈهل ﺑﮑﲈل ﺧﻮﺷـﻨﻮدی و ﴎور ﺑﴪ ﺑﺮد و ﭼﻮن ﲾﺮ ﻃﺎﻟﻊ‬ ‫ﺷﺪ ﻧﻌﲈن ﻋﺰم ﻋﺰﳝﺖ ﻓﺮﻣﻮد ﲝﻨﻈهل ﺧﻄﺎب ﳕﻮد ﮐﻪ ﺗﻮ در ﺿﯿﺎﻓﺖ و همﲈن ﻧﻮازی ﻣﻨﳤﺎی ﺟﻮاﳕﺮدی را‬ ‫ا ٓﺷﲀر ﳕﻮدی ﻣﻦ ﻧﻌﲈن ﺑﻦ ﻣﻨﺬر و ﻗﺪوم ﺗﺮا ﺑﮑﲈل اﺷﺘﯿﺎق ﻣﻨﺘﻈﺮم‬ ‫ﻣّﺪﰏ ﮔﺬﺷﺖ ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﳂﻂ و ﻏﻼء ﻋﻈﳰﯽ در داير ﻃّﻲ روی ﳕﻮد‪ 54‬ﺣﻨﻈهل ابﺣﺘﯿﺎج ﺷﺪﯾﺪ ﻣﺒﺘﻼ ﺷﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﺪﯾﻦ ﺳﺒﺐ ﲝﻀﻮر ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﺷـﺘﺎﻓﺖ از ﻏﺮاﺋﺐ اﺗ ّﻔﺎﻗﺎت ﯾﻮم ﺑﺆس در ﭘﯿﺸﮕﺎﻩ ﺣﻀﻮر ﻧﻌﲈن ﺣﺎﴐ ﮔﺸﺖ‬ ‫ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﺑﻐﺎﯾﺖ ا ٓزردﻩ ﺧﺎﻃﺮ ﺷﺪﻩ ا ٓﻏﺎز ﻋﺘﺎب ﳕﻮد ﮐﻪ ﭼﺮا ﭼﻨﲔ روزی ﲝﻀﻮر رﻓﯿﻖ ﺧﻮد ﺷـﺘﺎﻓﱴ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫روز ﺑﺆس ﯾﻌﲎ ﲯﱴ اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ اﻣﺮوز ﻧﻈﺮم ﺑﺮ ﯾﮕﺎﻧﻪ ﻓﺮﻧزﺪم ﻗﺎﺑﻮس اﻓﺘﺪ ﲜﺎن اﻣﺎن ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ اﮐﻨﻮن ﺣﺎﺟﱴ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ داری ﲞﻮاﻩ‬ ‫ﺣﻨﻈهل ﮔﻔﺖ از ﯾﻮم ﺑﺆس ﺑﯿﺨﱪ ﺑﻮدم و ﻧﻌﻤﺖ دﻧﯿﺎ ﲜﻬﺖ ﺣﯿﺎة و ﺑﻘﺎﺳﺖ و ﭼﻮن ﻣﺮا در اﯾﻦ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ‬ ‫ﭼﺸـﯿﺪن ٔاكس ﻫﻼک ﻣﻘّﺮر از ﺧﺰاﺋﻦ ارض ﭼﻪ ﻓﺎﺋﺪﻩ ﻣﺘﺼّﻮر‬ ‫ﻧﻌﲈن ﮔﻔﺖ از اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ ﭼﺎرﻩ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﭘﺲ ﺣﻨﻈهل ﺑﺮ زابن راﻧﺪ ﻣﺮا ﭼﻨﺪان اﻣﺎن دﻩ ﮐﻪ ﺑﲋد ﻋﯿﺎل ﺧﻮد ﻋﻮدت ﳕﺎﱘ و وﺻﯿ ّﺖ اﺟﺮا ﳕﺎﱘ و در‬ ‫ﺳﺎل ا ٓﯾﻨﺪﻩ ﯾﻮم ﺑﺆس ﺣﺎﴐ ﮔﺮدم‬

‫‪.‬ﳕﻮدﻩ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 64) has‬‬

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Hanzala milked the ewe and took a cup of milk to Noʿman, then he slaughtered her and prepared a table. Through his kindness and fellowship, Noʿman enjoyed perfect hospitality that night and was well contented. When dawn came, Noʿman made ready to leave. He said to Hanzala, “You have shown yourself a true gentleman, in feeding me and offering the utmost hospitality. I am Noʿman, son of Mundhir, and I shall eagerly await your arrival.” Time passed, until there was a great famine in the Tayy region, making food expensive. Hanzala was in dire need, so he hastened to the King’s presence. By strange coincidence, he arrived at the King’s court on the Day of Evil. The King was greatly troubled in spirit. He began with a reproach, saying, “Why did you come to your dear friend on this day, the Day of Evil, the day of hardship? Today, should my glance fall on my only son, Qabus, his life would be forfeit. Now, if you are in need of anything, ask it.” Hanzala said, “I knew nothing of the Day of Evil. As for the bounties of this world, they are meant for the living, who have a future. Since it is decreed that I must taste the cup of death this very hour, what can the world’s treasuries avail me now?” Noʿman said, “There is no escape from this decree.” “Give me sufficient respite to return to my kindred and implement my own Will,” said Hanzala, “I will be here next year, on the Day of Evil.”

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‫ﻧﻌﲈن ﺿﺎﻣﲎ ﺧﻮاﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ در وﻋﺪﻩ ﳐﺎﻟﻔﺖ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﺿﺎﻣﻦ را ﺑﻘﺘﻞ رﺳﺎﻧﺪ ﺣﻨﻈهل ﻣﺘﺤّﲑاﻧﻪ ﲠﺮ ﻃﺮف‬ ‫ﻧﮕﺮﯾﺴﺖ ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻧﻈﺮش ﺑﺮ ﴍﯾﮏ ﺑﻦ ﲻﺮ و ﺑﻦ ﻗﯿﺲ ﺷﯿﺒﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﯾﮑﯽ از ﺧّﺪام ﻧﻌﲈن ﺑﻮد اﻓﺘﺎد و اﯾﻦ‬ ‫اﺑﯿﺎت را ﲞﻮاﻧﺪ‬ ‫اي ﴍﯾﲀ اي اﺑﻦ ﲻﺮو ﻫﻞ ﻣﻦ اﳌﻮت ﳏﺎهل‬ ‫اي ٔاﺧﺎ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﺼﺎب اي اﺧﺎ ﻣﻦ ﻻ ٔاﺧﺎ هل‬ ‫اي ٔاﺧﺎ اﻟﻨّﻌﲈن ﻓﯿﮏ ال ﯾﻮم ﻋﻦ ﺷـﯿﺦ ﮐﻔﺎهل‬ ‫اﺑﻦ‪ 55‬ﺷﯿﺒﺎن ﮐﺮﱘ ٔاﻧﻌﻢ اﻟّﺮﲪﻦ ابهل‬

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‫ﴍﯾﮏ ﮔﻔﺖ ای ﺑﺮادر ﲜﺎن ﺟﻮاﳕﺮدی ﻧﺘﻮان ﳕﻮد ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﻩ ﻣﺘﺤّﲑ ﻣﺎﻧﺪ ﭘﺲ ﴯﴡ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮﺳﻮم ﺑﻘﺮاد ﺑﻦ‬ ‫اﺟﺪع ﳇﱯّ ﺑﻮد ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺖ و ﮐﻔﺎﻟﺖ ﳕﻮد ﻣﴩوط ابﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﯾﻮم ﺑﺆس ﺳـﻨﻪء ا ٓﺗﯿﻪ ﺣﻨﻈهل را ﺗﺴﻠﲓ‬ ‫ﻧامنﯾﺪ ﻫﺮ ﺣﲂ ﮐﻪ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ارادﻩ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ در ﺣّﻖ او ﺟﺎری ﮐﻨﺪ ﭘﺲ ﻧﻌﲈن ﭘﺎﻧﺼﺪ ﺷﱰ ﲝﻨﻈهل اﺣﺴﺎن‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻩ رواﻧﻪ ﺳﺎﺧﺖ‬

‫‪55‬‬ ‫‪ (Where is …),‬اﯾﻦ ‪, the Cairo edition (p. 59) has‬اﺑﻦ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 66) has‬‬ ‫‪hence Gail’s translation.‬‬ ‫‪56‬‬ ‫‪, an amendment‬ابّهل ‪The electronic edition provided by the Bahāʾi World Centre has‬‬ ‫‪I have not adopted. My thanks to Omid Ghaemmaghami for help with this verse.‬‬

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Noʿman then demanded a guarantor, who would be put to death if Hanzala should break this promise. Hanzala was looking around, as one who is bewildered, when his eye fell on Sharik son of ʿAmr, son of Qays, one of the Shayban people,57 who was one of Noʿman’s servants. To him, he recited these lines: “O Sharik, son of ʿAmr! Is there any escape from death? O brother of every afflicted one! O brother of him who has no brother! O brother, your blood today is surety for the Shaykh. Son of Shayban the bountiful: may the bounties of the Merciful shower upon him!”

Sharik answered, “O my brother, a man cannot be generous with his life.” The victim remained in his bewilderment. Then a man named Qarad, son of Ijda the Kalbite, came forward and gave the surety, the condition being that if Hanzala failed to surrender himself on the Day of Evil of the following year the King might inflict whatever fate he wished on Qarad. Noʿman gave Hanzala five hundred camels and dismissed him.

57 Apparently a reference to the Banu Shayban, who in pre-Islamic times were pastoral nomads.

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‫در ﺳـﻨﻪء ﺑﻌﺪ روز ﺑﺆس ﭼﻮن ﺻﺒﺢ ﺻﺎدق از اﻓﻖ ﻣﴩق ﴎ ﺑﺮا ٓورد ﻧﻌﲈن اب ﺣﺸﻤﺖ ﰉﭘﺎاين ﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﻋﺎدت ﻣﺎٔﻟﻮﻓﻪ ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ ﲟﺤﻞ ﻏﺮّاين ﳕﻮد و ﻗﺮاد را ﲠﻤﺮاﻫﯽ ا ٓورد ات ﻣﻌﺮض ﲯﻂ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﯽ ﮔﺮدد ارﰷن‬ ‫دوﻟﺖ ﺑﺸﻔﺎﻋﺖ زابن ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ ات ﻏﺮوب همﻠﺖ ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺣﻨﻈهل ﻋﻮدت ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ را‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺼﺪ ﭼﻨﺎن ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ از هجﺖ ﭘﺎس ﳏّﺒﺖ ﺣﻨﻈهل را ﺑﻘﺘﻞ ﺿﺎﻣﻦ از ﻫﻼﮐﺖ ﳒﺎت دﻫﺪ‬ ‫ابری ﭼﻮن ﻗﺮﯾﺐ ﺑﻐﺮوب ﺷﺪ ﻗﺮاد را ﺑﺮﻫﻨﻪ ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻪ ات ﮔﺮدن ﻧزﻨﺪ انﮔﺎﻩ از دور ﺳﻮاری ﭘﺪﯾﺪ ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﺑﴪﻋﺖ ﲤﺎم ﻣﯿﺘﺎﺧﺖ ﻧﻌﲈن ﺑﺴـّﯿﺎف ﮔﻔﺖ ﻣﻨﺘﻈﺮ ﭼﻪ ﻫﺴـﱴ وزرا ﮔﻔﺘﻨﺪ ﺷﺎﯾﺪ اﯾﻦ ﺳﻮار ﺣﻨﻈهل ابﺷﺪ‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﻧﺰدﯾﮏ ﺷﺪ ﺣﻨﻈهلء ﻃﺎﰃ ﺑﻮد‬ ‫ﻧﻌﲈن را ا ٓﻣﺪن او ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﻧﯿﻔﺘﺎد ﮔﻔﺖ ای ﺟﺎﻫﻞ اﲪﻖ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ از ﭘﻨﺠﻪء ﻣﺮگ ﮔﺮﳜﱴ ابر دﯾﮕﺮ‬ ‫ﭼﺮا درا ٓوﳜﱴ‬ ‫ﺣﻨﻈهل ﮔﻔﺖ وﻓﺎی ﺑﻌﻬﺪ زﻫﺮ ﻫﻼﻫﻞ ﻫﻼﮐﺖ را در ﻣﺬاق ﻣﻦ ﺷﲑﯾﻦ و ﮔﻮارا ﳕﻮد‬ ‫ﻧﻌﲈن ﺳﺆال ﳕﻮد ابﻋﺚ ﺑﺮ اﯾﻦ ﺣّﻖ ﮔﺬاری و وﻓﺎ ﭘﺮوری و ﻣﺮاﻋﺎت ﻋﻬﺪ و ﭘامين ﭼﻪ اﻣﺮی ﺑﻮد‬ ‫ﺣﻨﻈهل ﮔﻔﺖ اﻗﺮارم ﺑﻮﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و اﳝﺎﱎ ﺑﮑﺘﺐ ﻣﲋهلء ﺳﲈوﯾ ّﻪ‬

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In the following year, on the Day of Evil, as soon as the true dawn broke on the eastern horizon, Noʿman set out with great pomp, as was the usual custom, and made for the “smeared with blood.” He took Qarad with him, to be subject to the King’s displeasure. The leading men of the kingdom interceded for Qarad, asking for a stay of execution until sunset, since Hanzala might yet return. However the King hoped to save Hanzala from his fate, out of love for him, by executing the guarantor. As the sun began to set, they stripped Qarad, who was to be beheaded. Suddenly a rider appeared in the distance, galloping at top speed. Noʿman said to the swordsman, “What are you waiting for?” But his advisors said, “This horseman could be Hanzala.” And when he drew near, they saw it was Hanzala Taʾi. His arrival did not please Noʿman. “You stupid fool,” he said, “You’ve slipped away from the claws of death, why challenge death a second time?” “Faithfulness to my vow makes death’s deadly poison sweet to my palate and light on the stomach.” “What motivates such rectitude and faithfulness, such regard for your vow and your word?” “I confess God’s unity and put my faith in the Books sent down from heaven.”

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‫ﻧﻌﲈن ﮔﻔﺖ چبﻪ دﯾﻦ ﻣﺘﺪﯾ ّﲎ‬ ‫ﺟﻮاب داد ﮐﻪ ﺑﻨﻔﺲ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤﺎﰃ ﻧزﺪﻩ و در ﴏاط ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ روح اّهلل ﭘﻮﯾﻨﺪﻩام‬ ‫ﻧﻌﲈن ﮔﻔﺖ ﻧﻔﺤﺎت ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪء روح اّهلل را ﺑﺮ ﻣﺸﺎم ﻣﻦ ﻋﺮﺿﻪ ﮐﻦ‬ ‫ﺣﻨﻈهل ﯾﺪ ﺑﯿﻀﺎی ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ را از ﺟﯿﺐ ﳏّﺒﺔ اّهلل ﺑﺮا ٓورد اﻧﻮار اﳒﯿﻞ ﺑﺮ ﺑﴫ و ﺑﺼﲑت ﺣﺎﴐﯾﻦ اﴍاق‬ ‫ﳕﻮد و ﭼﻮن ﺣﻨﻈهل ﭼﻨﺪ ا ٓايت اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ از اﳒﯿﻞ ابﳊﺎن ﺟﻠﯿﻞ ﺗﻼوت ﳕﻮد ﻧﻌﲈن و ﲨﯿﻊ وزراﯾﺶ از ﺑﺖ و‬ ‫ﺑﺖ ﭘﺮﺳـﱴ ﺑﲒار و در دﯾﻦ اﻟﻬـﯽ اثﺑﺖ و راﰞ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﺑﺮ زابن راﻧﺪﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺻﺪ ﻫﺰار اﻓﺴﻮس ﮐﻪ ات ﲝﺎل‬ ‫ازﯾﻦ رﲪﺖ ﰉ ﭘﺎاين ﻏﺎﻓﻞ و ﳏﺠﻮب و از اﯾﻦ ﻏﲈم ﻓﻀﻞ رﲪﻦ ﻣﺎٔﯾﻮس و ﳏﺮوم ﺑﻮدﱘ و ﻓﻮرًا ﻏﺮّاين را‬ ‫ﺧﺮاب ﳕﻮدﻩ از ﻇﲅ و اﻋﺘﺴﺎف اندم و اﺳﺎس ﻋﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎف را اﺳـﺘﻮار ﳕﻮد‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﴯﴡ از اﻫﻞ ابدﯾﻪ ﲝﺴﺐ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﮔﻤﻨﺎم و ﺑﳰﻘﺎم ﭼﻮن ﺑﺼﻔﱴ از ﺻﻔﺎت‬ ‫ﳐﻠﺼﲔ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺷﺪ ﭼﻨﲔ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﻏﯿﻮر را اب ّﰖ ﻏﻔﲑی از ﻇﻠﻤﺖ ﺷﺎم ﺿﻼﻟﺖ ﳒﺎت دادﻩ ﺑﺼﺒﺢ‬ ‫ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ دﻻﻟﺖ ﳕﻮد و از ابدﯾﻪء ﻫﻼﮐﺖ ﺑﺖ ﭘﺮﺳـﱴ ﺧﻼص ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﺴﺎﺣﻞ ﲝﺮ وﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ وارد ﮐﺮد‬ ‫و ﺳﺒﺐ اﺑﻄﺎل ﭼﻨﲔ ﻋﺎداﰏ ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ا ٓﻓﺖ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﺖ و ﳐّﺮب ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ‬

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“What Faith do you profess?” “The breaths of Jesus brought me to life. I walk the straight path of the Spirit of God.” “Then give me the hallowed fragrances of the Spirit of God.”

Hanzala drew the white hand of guidance from the bosom of the love of God.58 The sight and insight of the beholders was illumined by the light of the Gospel. When he had recited some verses from the Gospel in majestic tones, Noʿman and all his advisors abandoned idols and idol-worship and became firm and steadfast in the Faith of God. They said, “A thousand times alas, that up to now we were oblivious of this infinite mercy, we were veiled, and far from the beneficent cloud of God’s grace.” The “smeared with blood” were immediately demolished. The King was ashamed of his injustice and tyranny and established justice and fairness. Observe how one individual, a man of the desert, a man to outward seeming lowborn and unsung, because he demonstrated just one trait of the sincere ones, was able to deliver this haughty King and a vast company from the dark night of wandering and lead them to the morning of guidance; to save them from the waste places of idolatry and bring them to the shores of the oneness of God; to occasion the abolition of such customs, which were in reality a calamity for human society and destroyed the roots of civilization.

58 In Quran 27:12, God tells Moses “Put your hand into your bosom, and it will come forth white without stain.” The miracle became a metaphor for an argument that convinces the hearer and motivates to action.

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‫ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ و ﺗﻌّﻤﻖ ﻻزم و ﺗﻌﻘّﻞ و ﺗﺪﺑّﺮ واﺟﺐ اﺳﺖ ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ﻗﻠﺐ در ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء اﺣﺰان و ﺗﺎّٔﺳﻒ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫از ﻫﯿﭻ وﺟﻪ ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ ﲻﻮم را ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ ا ٓچنﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم ﻻﺋﻖ و زساوار اﺳﺖ ﳕﯿﺒﯿﻨﺪ ﴰﺲ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﺑﺮ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ا ٓﻓﺎق‬ ‫ﻣﴩق و ﻣﺎ در ﻇﻠﲈت ﻫﻮای ﺧﻮد ﮔﺮﻓﺘﺎر و ﲝﺮ اﻋﻈﻢ از ّ‬ ‫ﰻ هجﺎت ﻣﳣّﻮج و ﻣﺎ از ﺗﺸـﻨﮕﯽ ﺳﻮﺧﺘﻪ و‬ ‫اﻓﴪدﻩ و انﺗﻮان ﻣﻮاﺋﺪ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ از ﺳﲈء اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ انزل و ﻣﺎ در ﻣﻔﺎزﻩء ﳂﻂ ﴎﮔﺸـﺘﻪ و ﺣﲑان ﴿ ﻣﻦ ﻣﯿﺎن‬ ‫ﮔﻔﺖ و ﮔﺮﯾﻪ ﻣﯿﺘﲌ ﴾‬ ‫و از ﲨهل اﺳـﺒﺎب ﳇّّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ اﺟﺘﻨﺎب اداين ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﺑﺘﺪﯾّﻦ ﺑﺪﯾﻦ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ و ﲪّﯿﺖ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ ﻣﺜًﻼ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺧﻄﺎب اﻟﻬـﯽ ﲜﲈل ﻧﻮراﱏ و ﻓﻠﮏ رﺣﲈﱏ ﴎور اﻫﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ﴿ و ﺟﺎدﳍﻢ‬ ‫ابﻟ ّﱴ ﻫﯽ اﺣﺴﻦ ﴾ وارد و ﲟﺪارا و ﻣﻼﲚﺖ ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮر ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ا ٓن ﴭﺮﻩء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪء ﴿ ﻻ ﴍﻗﯿّﻪ و ﻻ ﻏﺮﺑّﯿﻪء‬ ‫﴾ ﻧﺒّﻮت ﻇّﻞ اﻟﻄﺎف ﺑﯿﳯﺎﯾﺖ را ﺑﺮ ﴎ ﲻﻮم اﻫﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻓﮑﻨﺪﻩ و ﲟﻼﻃﻔﺖ ﮐﱪی و ﺧﻠﻖ ﻋﻈﲓ رﻓﺘﺎر‬ ‫و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﺣﴬت ﻣﻮﳻ و ﺣﴬت ﻫﺎرون ﻋﻠﳱﲈ اﻟّﺴﻼم در ﺧﻄﺎب و ﻋﺘﺎب‬ ‫ﺑﻔﺮﻋﻮن ذی الاواتد ابﻣﺮ ﴿ ﻗﻮﻻ هل ﻗﻮًﻻ ﻟّﯿﻨًﺎ ﴾ ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮر‬

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[The destructive effects of bigotry] Reflection and deep thought are required: ponder and reflect. I grieve and lament with all my heart, for I do not see the generality of the people anywhere focussing on that which is suited to and worthy of the present day. The Sun of Reality has risen above all horizons, but we are caught in the darkness of our own desires. A powerful ocean is surging on all sides, while we are parched, smouldering and powerless. God has sent down a table from heaven, while we have taken refuge in a barren desert, and wander bewildered there. “I’m distracted between speaking and weeping.”59 Bigotry and unreasoning zealotry are among the basic problems that have caused those of other religions to shun conversion to the Faith of God. Take as your example the Word of God that came to the radiant beauty, the Ark intended by God for the happiness of the world’s people, “Debate with them in the best way.”60 He was commanded to be kindly and conciliatory. Accordingly, that Blessed Tree of prophethood, “neither of the East nor of the West”61 cast the shadow of boundless favours over all the peoples of the earth, and showed extreme kindness and magnanimity in his dealings. Similarly, his Holiness Moses and the saintly Aaron (peace be upon them) were commanded when addressing and reproving Pharaoh, the Lord of the Stakes,62 “speak to him a gentle speech.”63

59 From the ending of Book III of Rumi’s Mathnavi (4709). The line continues, “Shall I weep, or shall I speak, or what shall I do?” 60 Quran 6:125: “Call people to the path of your Lord with wisdom and praiseworthy counsels, and debate with them in the best way, for your Lord knows who has strayed from His path, and He knows who is guided.” 61 Quran 24:35. 62 Quran 38:12 and 89:10. 63 Quran 20:44.

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‫اب وﺟﻮد ﺷﻬﺮت ﺳﲑ‪ 64‬ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪء اﻧﺒﯿﺎ و اوﻟﯿﺎء اﻟﻬـﯽ ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ را ات ﻗﯿﺎم‬ ‫اﻟّﺴﺎﻋﻪ ُاﺳﻮﻩء ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ اﺳﺖ ﻣﻊ ذﻟﮏ ﺑﻌﴣ از اﯾﻦ ﺗﻠّﻄﻔﺎت و ﺗﻌّﻄﻔﺎت ﻓﻮق اﻟﻌﺎدﻩ ﻏﺎﻓﻞ و ﳏﺠﻮب و‬ ‫از ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﳏﺮوم و همﺠﻮر ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ از اﻫﻞ ﺳﺎﺋﺮ اداين ﮐﲈل اﺟﺘﻨﺎب و اﺣﱰاز را‬ ‫ﳎﺮی و اﺑﺪًا ﺗﻌﺎرﻓﺎت ﻋﺎدﯾ ّﻪ را ﻧﲒ ﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﳕﯿﺪاﻧﻨﺪ اب وﺟﻮد ﻋﺪم ﺟﻮاز اﻟﻔﺖ و ﻣﻌﺎﴍت ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﻣﯿﺘﻮان‬ ‫ﻧﻔﴗ را ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ ﳕﻮدﻩ از ﻇﻼم ﻓﺎﱏ ﻻ ﺑﺼﺒﺢ ﻧﻮراﱏ اّﻻ ﻣﻨّﻮر ﻓﺮﻣﻮد و از اﺳﻔﻞ هجﻞ و ﺿﻼل ﺑﺼﻌﻮد‬ ‫اﻋﲆ اﻓﻖ ﻋﲅ و ﻫﺪی ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﳕﻮد‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﺑﻌﲔ اﻧﺼﺎف ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﺣﻨﻈهل اب ﻧﻌﲈن اﺑﻦ ﻣﻨﺬر اب ﮐﲈل ﳏّﺒﺖ و ﺻﺪاﻗﺖ و همﺮابﱏ و‬ ‫همﲈن ﭘﺮوری ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﳕﯿﮑﺮد ا ٓن ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ و ّﰖ ﻏﻔﲑ از ﻣﴩﮐﲔ را ﺑﻮﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﻣﻘّﺮ و ﻣﻌﱰف‬ ‫ﻣﯿﮕﺮداﻧﯿﺪ اﺟﺘﻨﺎب و اﺣﱰاز و ﺧﺸﻮﻧﺖ ﺳﺒﺐ اﴰﱥاز ﻗﻠﻮب و ﻧﻔﻮس ﮔﺮدد و ﳏّﺒﺖ و ﻣﻼﻃﻔﺖ و‬ ‫ﻣﺪارا و ﻣﻼﲚﺖ ﺳﺒﺐ اﻗﺒﺎل ﻧﻔﻮس و ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ ﻗﻠﻮب ﺷﻮد اﮔﺮ ﴯﴡ از ﻣﺆﻣﻨﲔ ﻣﻮّﺣﺪﯾﻦ در ﺣﲔ ﻣﻼﻗﺎت‬ ‫اب ﻧﻔﴗ از ﻣﻠﻞ اﺟﻨﺒّﯿﻪ اﻇﻬﺎر اﺣﱰاز ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﳇﻤﻪء ﻣﻮﺣﺸﻪء ﻋﺪم ﲡﻮﯾﺰ ﻣﻌﺎﴍت و ﻓﻘﺪان ﻃﻬﺎرت را‬ ‫ﺑﺮ زابن راﻧﺪ ا ٓن ﴯﺺ اﺟﻨﱮ از اﯾﻦ ﳇﻤﻪ ﭼﻨﺎن ﳏﺰون و ﻣﮑّﺪر ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﺷّﻖ اﻟﻘﻤﺮ ﻧﲒ ﺑﯿﻨﺪ اﻗﺒﺎل‬ ‫ﲝّﻖ ﻧامنﯾﺪ‬

‫‪َ as Gail translates it.‬ﺳﲑ ‪ِ, not‬ﺳَﲑ ‪The Bombay edition marks this‬‬

‫‪64‬‬

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Despite the renown of the good qualities of the prophets and chosen ones, who are truly salutary exemplars in every aspect of human life until the hour strikes, some people have remained veiled and heedless of these extraordinary favours and mercies, and so have remained far from the inner significances of the Holy Books. They practise the complete avoidance and shunning of the adherents of other religions, and do not consider the customary courtesies permissible under any circumstances. Where contact and fellowship are forbidden, how can the path of the soul be illumined, from the mortal darkness of “there is no God” to the bright dawn of “except God?”65 How can such a person be encouraged and motivated to ascend from the depths of ignorance and error to the exalted horizon of knowledge and guidance? Consider justly: if Hanzala had not shown Noʿman son of Mundhir the utmost kindness, trustworthiness, affection and hospitality, how could he have brought that King and a large number of idolaters to recognise and acknowledge the unity of God? Shunning, revulsion and disdain make hearts and minds recoil, while kindness and courtesy, forbearance and conciliation cause minds to open and hearts to change. If any one of those who uphold the unity of God, in the course of meeting someone from a foreign nation, were to display revulsion and should express the dreadful idea that association is not permitted, that such contact makes one unclean, the foreigner would be so grieved and angered by this idea that he would never embrace the truth, even if he were to see the splitting of the moon.66

65 A reference to the Islamic confession of faith, beginning: “I testify that there is no God but God …” 66 Quran 54:1, “The hour approached and the moon was split; in truth, they see such a miracle, and they turn away …”

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫در ﻗﻠﺐ ا ٓن ﴯﺺ ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ ﻗﻠﯿﲆ اﱃ اّهلل ﺑﻮدﻩ از ا ٓن ﻧﲒ ﭘﺸـامين ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﺑﳫّﯽ از ﺷﺎﻃﯽ ﲝﺮ اﳝﺎن ﺑﺒﺎدﯾﻪء‬ ‫ﻏﻔﻠﺖ و ﺑﻄﻼن ﻓﺮار ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﭼﻮن ﲟﲈﻟﮏ و وﻃﻦ ﺧﻮد رﺳﺪ در ﲨﯿﻊ روزانﻣﻪ ﻫﺎ درج ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻓﻼن‬ ‫ﻣﻠ ّﺖ در ﴍاﺋﻂ اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﲟﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء ﻗﺼﻮﻧرﺪ‬ ‫اﮔﺮ ﻗﺪری ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ در ا ٓايت و ﺑﯿ ّﻨﺎت ﻗﺮا ٓﻧّﯿﻪ و رواايت ﻣﺎٔﺛﻮرﻩ از ﳒﻮم ﺳﲈء اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ ﳕﺎﺋﲓ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ‬ ‫ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﺑﺼﻔﺎت اﳝﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺘّﺼﻒ و ابﺧﻼق روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺘﺨﻠ ّﻖ ابﺷﺪ ﻣﻈﻬﺮ رﲪﺖ ﻣﻨﺒﺴﻄﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﰻ ﳑﮑﻨﺎت و ﻣﴩق اﻟﻄﺎف رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﲜﻬﺖ ّ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ ﺑﺮای ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻮﺟﻮدات ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺻﻔﺎت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء‬ ‫اﻫﻞ اﳝﺎن ﻋﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎف و ﺑﺮدابری و ﻣﺮﲪﺖ و ﻣﮑﺮﻣﺖ و ﺣﻘﻮق ﭘﺮوری و ﺻﺪاﻗﺖ و اﻣﺎﻧﺖ و‬ ‫وﻓﺎداری و ﳏّﺒﺖ و ﻣﻼﻃﻔﺖ و ﻏﲑت و ﲪّﯿﺖ و اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ ﭘﺲ اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﭘﺎک و‬ ‫ﻣﻘّﺪس ابﺷﺪ ﻣﺘﺸﺒّﺚ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﲆ ﺷﻮد ﮐﻪ ﺟﻠﺐ ﻗﻠﻮب ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﺑﺼﻔﺎت ﺣّﻖ ﲨﯿﻊ ﻋﺎﱂ را‬ ‫ﺑﴫاط ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ ﮐﺸﺎﻧﺪ و از ﮐﻮﺛﺮ ﺣﯿﺎت اﺑﺪﯾ ّﻪ ﭼﺸﺎﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﻣﺎ از ﲨﯿﻊ اﻣﻮر ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ ﭼﺸﻢ ﭘﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ ﺳﻌﺎدت اﺑﺪﯾ ّﻪء ﲨﻬﻮر را ﻓﺪای ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﻣﻮﻗّﺘﻪء ﺧﻮد ﻣﯿامنﺋﲓ و‬ ‫ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ و ﲪّﯿﺖ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ را وﺳـﯿهلء ﻋّﺰت و اﻋﺘﺒﺎر ﺧﻮﯾﺸﱳ ﻣﯿﺸﻤﺮﱘ ابﯾﻦ ﻗﻨﺎﻋﺖ ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ ﺑﺘﮑﻔﲑ و‬ ‫ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ﯾﮑﺪﯾﮕﺮ ﻣﯿﮑﻮﺷـﲓ و ﭼﻮن ﺧﻮاﻫﲓ ﮐﻪ اﻇﻬﺎر ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺖ و داانﰃ و زﻫﺪ و ورع و ﺗﻘﻮای اﻟﻬـﯽ ﳕﺎﺋﲓ‬ ‫ﺑﻄﻌﻦ و ﺳّﺐ اﯾﻦ و ا ٓن ﭘﺮدازﱘ‬

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The fruit of this shunning would be that if his heart was even slightly inclined towards God, he would repent that inclination completely. He would flee from the shore of the sea of faith into the wastes of heedlessness and falsehood. On arriving in his own country he would record it in all the newspapers, saying that such and such a people entirely lack human qualities. If we reflect a little on the verses and reasoning in the Quran, and the traditions handed down from those stars of the heaven of unity, it will be evident and indubitable that if a soul is adorned with the attributes of faith and endowed with spiritual qualities he is the manifestation of the all-pervading mercies of God for all beings, and the dayspring of the bounties of the Merciful for the entire creation. For the sanctified qualities of the people of faith are justice, fair-mindedness, forbearance, friendliness, generosity, concern for the rights of others, truthfulness, trustworthiness, faithfulness, love, loving-kindness, devotion, determination and humanity. Therefore, if an individual is truly stainless and holy, he will cling to those means that attract the hearts of all the world’s peoples. He will draw the entire world to the straight path through heavenly virtues and give them to drink from the river of everlasting life. Today we have closed our eyes to all beneficial things. We have sacrificed the abiding happiness of society for our own short-term interests. We regard bigotry and thoughtless zealotry as the way to boost our own standing and credibility and, not content with this, we try to label one another infidels, and we plot each other’s ruin. When we wish to put on a show of learning, wisdom, piety, punctiliousness and the fear of God, we find fault with others and vilify them.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﮐﻪ ﻋﻘﯿﺪﻩء ﻓﻼن ابﻃﻞ اﺳﺖ و ﲻﻞ ﻓﻼن انﻗﺺ ﻋﺒﺎدت زﯾﺪ ﻗﻠﯿﻞ اﺳﺖ و دايﻧﺖ ﲻﺮو ﺿﻌﯿﻒ اﻓﲀر‬ ‫ﻓﻼن ﻣﺸﺎﺑﻪ اﻃﻮار ﻓﺮﻧﮓ اﺳﺖ و اﴎار ﻓﻼن ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ انم و ﻧﻨﮓ ﺻﻒ ﺟﲈﻋﺖ دوش ﭘﯿﻮﺳـﺘﻪ ﻧﺒﻮد و‬ ‫اﻗﺘﺪای ﺑﺸﺨﺺ دﯾﮕﺮ ﺟﺎﺋﺰ و ﺷﺎﯾﺴـﺘﻪ ﻧﻪ در اﯾﻦ ﻣﺎﻩ ﴯﺺ ﺗﻮاﻧﮕﺮی ﲝﺪاﺋﻖ ابﻗﯿﻪ ﻧﺸـﺘﺎﻓﺖ و ﺧﲑات‬ ‫و ﻣّﱪاﰏ در ﭘﯿﺸﮕﺎﻩ ﻣﺴـﻨﺪ ﭘﯿﻐﻤﱪی ﺣﺎﴐ ﻧﮕﺸﺖ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﺧﺮاب ﺷﺪ و اﺳﺎس دايﻧﺖ اتر و‬ ‫ﻣﺎر ﺑﺴﺎط اﳝﺎن ﻣﻨﻄﻮی ﺷﺪ و اﻋﻼم اﯾﻘﺎن ﳐﺘﻔﯽ ﮔﺸﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﻀﻼﻟﺖ اﻓﺘﺎد و در رّد ﻣﻈﺎﱂ ﻓﺘﻮر و‬ ‫رﺧﺎوت ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﺷﺪ روزﻫﺎ و ﻣﺎﻫﻬﺎ ﺑﴪ ا ٓﻣﺪ و ﻋﻘﺎر و ﺿﯿﺎع در دﺳﺖ ﻣﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎل ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ابﰵ ﻣﺎﻧﺪ‬ ‫در اﯾﻦ ﺷﻬﺮ ﻫﻔﺘﺎد ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪ ﻣﺮﺗ ّﺐ ﺑﻮد و ﺣﺎل روز ﺑﺮوز ﻗﻠ ّﺖ ايﻓﺘﻪ ﺑﯿﺴﺖ و ﭘﻨﺞ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ‬ ‫ايدﮔﺎر ﻣﺎﻧﺪ روزی دوﯾﺴﺖ اﺣﲀم ﻣﺘﻀﺎّدﻩ و ﻓﺘﺎوای ﻣﺘﺒﺎﯾﻨﻪ از ﯾﮏ ﻣﺼﺪر ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و ﺣﺎل ﲡﺎوز از‬ ‫ﭘﻨﺠﺎﻩ ﳕﯿامنﯾﺪ ّﰖ ﻏﻔﲑی از ﻋﺒﺎد اّهلل ﲜﻬﺖ ﳏﺎﳈﻪ ﴎﮔﺮدان و ﺣﺎل در ﻣﺎٔﻣﻦ راﺣﺖ ﻣﺴﱰﱖ و در اﻣﺎن‬ ‫ﯾﮑﺮوز ﻣّﺪﻋﯽ ﻣﻐﻠﻮب و ﻣّﺪﻋﯽ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ ﻏﺎﻟﺐ و روز دﯾﮕﺮ ﻣّﺪﻋﯽ ﻏﺎﻟﺐ و ﻣّﺪﻋﯽ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ ﻣﻐﻠﻮب ﺣﺎل اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﻣﺴﻠﮏ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ ﻧﲒ ﻣﱰوک ﺷﺪ اﯾﻦ ﭼﻪ دايﻧﺖ ﮐﻔﺮﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﭼﻪ ﺿﻼﻟﺖ ﴍﮐّﯿﻪ وا وﯾﻼ وا ﴍﯾﻌﺘﺎ‬ ‫وا دﯾﻨﺎ وا ﻣﺼﯿﺒﺘﺎ ای ﺑﺮادران ﻣﺆﻣﻨﲔ زﻣﺎن زﻣﺎن ا ٓﺧﺮ اﺳﺖ و روز ﻗﯿﺎﻣﺖ ﻧﺰدﯾﮏ‬

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“So-and-so’s doctrines are in error,” we say, “and so-and-so’s conduct falls short. The religious observances of Zayd are few and far between, and Amr’s faith is weak. So-and-so’s opinions smack of Europe. So-and-so treats name and fame as religious mysteries. The faithful were not shoulder to shoulder in the congregation, and it is not permissible or fitting to pray behind soand-so. No rich man has hastened to the garden of eternity this month, and no charity or good works have been offered in memory of the Prophet. The edifice of the religious law has been destroyed; the foundations of piety have been blown to the winds. The carpet of faith has been rolled up; the ensigns of certitude are no more to be seen. The world has fallen into error: as a result we are soft and remiss in polemics on the obscure points of doctrine. Days and months have gone by, and great houses and estates are still in the hands of last year’s owners. There used to be seventy conflicting jurisdictions in this city, functioning in good order, but, the number having dwindled day by day, just twenty-five remain as a memento. Two hundred contradictory judgments and distinct opinions were put forth each day from a single source, but now it is no more than fifty. A vast host of God’s servants were driven to distraction by litigation, but now they live in peace and security. On one day the plaintiff would be defeated and the defendant victorious, the next day the plaintiff would be victorious and the defendant defeated, but now this straight path has also fallen into disuse. This is making piety out of blasphemy; it is such idolatrous error! Alas! Woe for such a religious law! Woe for such a religion! Woe for such calamities! O Brothers in the Faith! These are the last days! The day of judgment is nigh!”

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ابری ابﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﳇﲈت ﲣﺪﯾﺶ اذﻫﺎن ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن اﻫﺎﱃ و ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺶ ﻗﻠﻮب درﻣﺎﻧﺪﮔﺎن ﻣﺴﺎﮐﯿﲎ ﻣﯿﺸﻮد ﮐﻪ از‬ ‫ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﻣﻮر و اﺳﺎس اﯾﻦ اﻗﻮال ﺧﱪ ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ و ﳕﯿﺪاﻧﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺻﺪ ﻫﺰار اﻏﺮاض ﻧﻔﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ در ﲢﺖ ﻧﻘﺎب‬ ‫اﻗﻮال ﺗﻌّﺼﺒّﯿﻪء ﺑﻌﴣ ﻣﺴـﺘﻮر ﻟﻬﺬا ﮔﲈن ﻣﯿﮑﻨﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻗﺎﺋﻞ را ﻏﲑت دﯾﻨﯿّﻪ و ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل ﺑﺮ ا ٓن داﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻗﺎﺋﻞ ﭼﻮن در ا ٓابدی ﲻﻮم ﺧﺮاﰉ ﺧﺼﻮﴅ ﺧﻮد را ﻣﯽ ﺑﯿﻨﺪ ﻓﺮايد ﮐﻨﺪ‪ 67‬و در ﺑﯿﻨﺎﰃ‬ ‫دﯾﮕﺮان ﮐﻮری ﺧﻮد را ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ انهل و ﻓﻐﺎن ا ٓﻏﺎز ﮐﻨﺪ ﻟﮑﻦ دﯾﺪﻩء ﺑﺼﲑت ﻻزم ﮐﻪ ادراک ﮐﻨﺪ‬ ‫اﮔﺮ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻠﻮب ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل ﺑﻮد اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ راﲘﻪء ﻃّﯿﺒﻪاش ﭼﻮن ﻣﺸﮏ ﺟﺎن ﻋﺎﱂ را ﻣﻌّﻄﺮ ﻣﯿﳮﻮد ﻫﯿﭻ‬ ‫اﻣﺮی در ﻋﺎﱂ ﲟّﺠﺮد ﻗﻮل ﺗﺼﺪﯾﻖ ﻧﺸﻮد‬ ‫وﻧرﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺟﻐﺪان دﻏﻞ اﻓﺮوﺧﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫ابﻧﮓ ابزان ﺳﻔﯿﺪ ا ٓﻣﻮﺧﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫ابﻧﮓ ﻫﺪﻫﺪ ﮔﺮ ﺑﯿﺎﻣﻮزد ﻗﻄﺎ‬ ‫راز ﻫﺪﻫﺪ ﮐﻮ‪ 68‬و ﭘﯿﻐﺎم ﺳـﺒﺎ‬

‫‪.‬ﮐﻨﺪ ‪ rather than‬ﮐﺘﺪ ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬ ‫‪ here, which, if translated as “say what of,” does not alter‬ﮔﻮ ‪The Cairo edition has‬‬ ‫‪the meaning, and is phonetically more elegant. The Bombay edition does not distinguish‬‬ ‫‪, and I‬ﮐﻮ ‪. The electronic text provided by the Bahāʾi World Centre has‬گ ‪ and‬ک ‪between‬‬ ‫‪have retained this. And God knows best.‬‬ ‫‪67‬‬ ‫‪68‬‬

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With words such as these they disturb the minds of the helpless masses and trouble the hearts of the impoverished people, who know nothing of the true state of affairs and the basis for such talk, and are unaware that a hundred thousand selfish purposes are concealed behind the zealous talk of certain individuals. So they imagine that the speaker is motivated by religious fervour and the fear of God, when the speaker, seeing that the progress of society would entail his own personal ruin, raises a hue and cry. He foresees his own blindness in the awareness of the other, so he raises a lament and complaint. The keenest insight is required to see that if these hearts were manifestations of the fear of God, undoubtedly its wholesome fragrance would, like musk, be perfuming the soul of the world. Nothing in the world can be verified by words alone. Surely these owls have sparked a deceit, They’ve learned the gyrfalcons’ call, forsaken their screech. If the grouse should learn the hoopoe’s cry, What then of the hoopoe’s secret, and Sheba’s reply?69

69 The hoopoe bird is the messenger between Solomon and Bilqis or Balkys, the Queen of Sheba. The story is found in Quran 27:20-44, and in the Midrash Esther. The lines are quoted from Rumi’s Mathnavi 4.1700-1701, although the more common version has ravens rather than owls.

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‫و ﻋﻠﲈی رّابﱏ ﮐﻪ از ﮐﺘﺎب وىح اﻟﻬـﯽ اﺳـﺘﻨﺒﺎط ﻣﻌﺎﱏ و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺣﲂ انﻣﺘﻨﺎﻫﯽ ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و ﻗﻠﺐ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﲑﺷﺎن همﺒﻂ اﻟﻬﺎم ﻏﯿﱮ رّابﻧﯿﺴﺖ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﺗﻔّﻮق ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺑﯿﻀﺎی ﺣّﻖ را ﺑﺮ ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﻠﻞ در ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﺑﮑﲈل‬ ‫ﺟّﺪ و هجﺪ ﻃﺎﻟﺐ و در ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻪ اﻟّﱰّﰵ ﲟﻨﳤﺎی ّﳘﺖ ﺳﺎﻋﯽ و‪ 70‬ﳎﺎﻫﺪ و اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ از اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺎﺻﺪ ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ ﻏﺎﻓﻞ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﻣﻘﺒﻮل درﮔﺎﻩ اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ در ﮐﲈل ﻧﻘﺺ ﲠﯿﺌﺖ اتّﻣﻪ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و در ﻣﻨﳤﺎی‬ ‫ﻓﻘﺮ ﺑﳫﻤﻪء ﻏﻨﺎ انﻃﻖ‬ ‫ﮔﺮ ﴐﯾﺮی ﻟ َﻤُﱰ اﺳﺖ و ﺗﲒ ﺧﺸﻢ‬ ‫ﮔﻮﺷﺖ ﭘﺎرﻩ اش‪ 71‬دان ﮐﻪ او را ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﭼﺸﻢ‬ ‫از ﻣﻘّدل ات ﳏﻘّﻖ ﻓﺮﻗﻬﺎﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﮐﲔ ﭼﻪ داود اﺳﺖ و ا ٓن دﯾﮕﺮ ﺻﺪاﺳﺖ‬

‫ﻋﲅ و داﻧﺶ و ﭘﺎﰽ و زﻫﺪ و ورع و ا ٓزادﮔﯽ ﲠﯿﺌﺖ و ﻟﺒﺎس ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ و ﻧﯿﺴﺖ در زﻣﺎن ﺳـﯿﺎﺣﺖ ﳇﻤﻪء‬ ‫ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ای از ﴯﺺ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری اﺳـامتع ﳕﻮدم ﮐﻪ ات ﲝﺎل ﺷﲑﯾﲎ ا ٓن ﳇﻤﻪ از ﰷﱈ ﻧﺮﻓﺘﻪ و ا ٓن اﯾﻨﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﻧﻪ ﻫﺮ ﻋﲈﻣﻪ ای دﻟﯿﻞ زﻫﺪ و ﻋﻠﻤﺴﺖ‬ ‫و ﻧﻪ ﻫﺮ الكﻫﯽ ﻋﻠ ّﺖ هجﻞ و ﻓﺴﻖ‬ ‫ای ﺑﺴﺎ الكﻩ ﮐﻪ ﻋَﲅ ِﻋﲅ ﺑﺮاﻓﺮاﺧﺖ‬ ‫و ای ﺑﺴﺎ ﻋﲈﻣﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺣﲂ ﴍع ﺑﺮاﻧﺪاﺧﺖ‬

‫‪70‬‬ ‫‪The page numbering in the Bombay edition omits pages 75 and 76 here, but the‬‬ ‫‪catchword shows that no text is missing.‬‬ ‫‪71‬‬ ‫‪ .‬ﭘﺎرش ‪, the Cairo edition‬ﭘﺎرﻩ اش ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬

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The doctors of divinity, who have derived innumerable meanings and insights and precepts from the book of divine revelation and whose illumined hearts are repositories for inspiration from the unseen world of God, certainly desire that the true people of God should rank above all peoples in every respect, and they toil and struggle unstintingly to that end. They strive with all their might for whatever leads to progress. Anyone who neglects these high purposes is certainly not accepted in the court of Oneness. Rather, he makes a show of perfection while being full of imperfections. He claims independent means, while actually being destitute. Though a blind man be sturdy and quick to anger, In light of his blindness, you pay him no heed. The mimic is far from the mystic master: One sings as King David, the other’s just bluster.72

Knowledge, understanding, purity, piety, scrupulousness and freedom do not lie in appearances and dress. Once in the course of my travels I heard an eminent person make the following excellent remark, the wit and charm of which remain in memory: Not all turbans are evidence of piety and learning; not all hats are signs of ignorance and sin. How many a hat has held the banner of learning aloft, how many a turban has brought to nought the judgment of God’s Law!

72

Rumi, Mathnavi 2.485 and 2.493.

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‫و ﳇﻤﻪء اثﻟﺚ از اﯾﻦ ﳇﲈت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ ﳇﻤﻪء ﴿ ﳐﺎﻟﻔًﺎ ﻟﻬﻮاﻩ ﴾ وارد ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر اﯾﻦ ﻋﺒﺎرت ﺷﺎﻣﻞ ﻣﻌﺎﱏ ﺟﻠﯿهل‬ ‫اﺳﺖ از ﺟﻮاﻣﻊ اﻟﳫﻢ و ﻋﺒﺎرات ﺳﻬﻞ ﳑﺘﻨﻌﺴﺖ اّس اﺳﺎس اﺧﻼق ﳑﺪوﺣﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﰱ‬ ‫اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﯾﻦ ﳇﻤﻪ ﴰﻊ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻋﻈﻢ اﺧﻼق روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪء ﻧﻮراﻧّﯿﻪء ﺑﲎ ا ٓدم اﺳﺖ ﻣﻌّﺪل ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﺧﻼق و‬ ‫ﺳﺒﺐ اﻋﺘﺪال ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﲤﺎم ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻫﻮای ﻧﻔﺲ ا ٓﺗﺸﯽ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺻﺪ ﻫﺰار ﺧﺮﻣﻦ وﺟﻮد ﺣﮑﲈی داﻧﺸﻤﻨﺪ را ﺳﻮﺧﺘﻪ و درايی ﻋﻠﻮم‬ ‫و ﻓﻨﻮﻧﺸﺎن اﯾﻦ انر ﻣﺸـﺘﻌهل را ﶏﻮد ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ و ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر واﻗﻊ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻔﴗ ﲜﻤﯿﻊ ﺻﻔﺎت ﺣﺴـﻨﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ا ٓراﺳـﺘﻪ و ﺑﺰﯾﻮر ﻋﺮﻓﺎن ﭘﲑاﺳـﺘﻪ ﻟﮑﻦ اﺗ ّﺒﺎع ﻫﻮی ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪء ا ٓن ﴯﺺ را از ﻫﯿﺌﺖ اﻋﺘﺪال ﺧﺎرج‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﺣّﲒ اﻓﺮاط اﻧﺪاﺧﺖ ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪ را ﺑﻨﯿ ّﺖ ﻓﺎﺳﺪﻩ ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﳕﻮد و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ اﺧﻼق در ﻣﻮاﺿﻊ‬ ‫ﴬ‬ ‫ﻻﺋﻘﻪ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﻧﮕﺸﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺑﻘّﻮت ﻫﻮی و ﻫﻮس از ﻣﺴﻠﮏ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ انﻓﻊ ﻣﻨﺤﺮف ﲟﳯﺞ ﻏﲑ ﲱﯿﺢ ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﻣﺘﺤّﻮل ﮔﺸﺖ اﺧﻼق ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ ﻋﻨﺪ اّهلل و ﻋﻨﺪ ﻣﻘّﺮﺑﲔ درﮔﺎﻫﺶ و ﻧﺰد اوﱃ الاﻟﺒﺎب ﻣﻘﺒﻮل و ﳑﺪوحﺗﺮﯾﻦ‬ ‫اﻣﻮر ﻟﮑﻦ ﺑﴩط ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﺳـﻨﻮﺣﺶ ﻋﻘﻞ و داﻧﺶ و ﻧﻘﻄﻪء اﺳﺘﻨﺎدش اﻋﺘﺪال ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ابﺷﺪ و اﮔﺮ‬ ‫ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ﮐﲈ ﻫﻮ ﺣﻘّﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﮔﺮدد ﰷر ﺑﺘﻄﻮﯾﻞ اﳒﺎﻣﺪ و ﻣﻮﺿﻮع و ﶊﻮل از ﻣﯿﺎن ﺑﺮود‬

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[The third requirement: opposing his passions] The third phrase in the hallowed words is “opposing his passions.” See how these words contain within themselves sublime mysteries! They are the epitome of that compendium of meanings and fluent style, the Quran. They are the foundation of a praiseworthy character. Indeed, these words are as a candle for the world and the strongest basis, for the children of Adam, for a spiritual and enlightened character. They balance all virtues, they ensure true moderation in all good human practices. For selfish passions are a flame that has consumed a hundred thousand hayricks, the harvest of the lives of wise sages. Once it was kindled, the sea of their arts and sciences could not quench it. How often an individual adorned with every worthy attribute of humanity and ornamented with the jewel of spiritual understanding has, because of passion, allowed his own good practices to pass beyond moderation, reaching the point of excess. He exchanges sincere motives for corrupt ones, and his abilities are no longer exhibited in worthy ways, rather the force of passions and desires draws him from the straight and salutary path into a wider but unstable road that is pernicious and treacherous. †An upright character is of all things the most praiseworthy in the sight of God, in the eyes of His chosen ones, and of all men of understanding, providing its directing force is wisdom and knowledge, and its standard true moderation. Were the implications of this subject to be developed as they deserve the work would grow too long and the main theme would be lost to view.

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‫ابری در اﯾﻦ ﲝﺮ ﻫﺎﺋﻞ ﻫﻮی ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ اوروپ اب اﯾﻦ ﳘﻪ ﲤّﺪن و ﺻﯿﳤﺎ ﻫﺎﻟﮏ و ﻣﺴـﺘﻐﺮق و از‬ ‫اﯾﻦ هجﺖ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻗﻀﺎايی ﲤﻧّﺪ ّﯿﻪﺷﺎن ﺳﺎﻗﻂ اﻟﻨّﺘﯿﺠﻪ اﺳﺖ ﺑﻌﴣ از اﯾﻦ ﳇﻤﻪ ﺗﻌّﺠﺐ ﻧامنﯾﻨﺪ و اﺳﺘﯿﺤﺎش‬ ‫ﻧﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﭼﻮﻧﮑﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﺪ اﺻﲆ و ﻣﻄﻠﺐ ﳇّﯽ از ﺑﺴﻂ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ اﻋﻈﻢ و وﺿﻊ اﺻﻮل و اﺳﺎس اﻗﻮم ﲨﯿﻊ‬ ‫ﺷـﺌﻮن ﲤّﺪن ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ در ﺗﻘّﺮب درﮔﺎﻩ ﮐﱪاي و راﺣﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ اﻋﲆ و‬ ‫ادﱏ از اﻓﺮاد ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ اﺳﺖ و وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﻋﻈﳰﻪء اﯾﻦ دو ﻣﻘﺼﺪ اﺧﻼق ﺣﺴـﻨﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫و ﲤّﺪن ﺻﻮری ﰉﲤّﺪن اﺧﻼق ﺣﲂ ﴿ ٔاﺿﻐﺎث‪ٔ 73‬اﺣﻼم ﴾ داﺷـﺘﻪ و ﺻﻔﺎی ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﰉﮐﲈل ابﻃﻦ ﴿‬ ‫ﮐﴪاب ﺑﻘﯿﻌﺔ ﳛﺴـﺒﻪ اﻟّﻈﻤﺎ ٓن ﻣﺎًء ﴾ اﻧﮕﺎﺷـﺘﻪ ﮔﺮدد زﯾﺮا ﻧﺘﯿﺠﻪ ای ﮐﻪ رﺿﺎﯾﺖ ابری و راﺣﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ‬ ‫ﲻﻮﻣﯿﺴﺖ از ﲤّﺪن ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺻﻮری ﺑامتﻣﻪ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﺸﻮد‬ ‫و اﻫﺎﱃ اوروپ در درﺟﺎت ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪء ﲤّﺪن اﺧﻼق ﺗﺮّﰵ ﻧﳮﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ از اﻓﲀر و اﻃﻮار ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء‬ ‫ﻣﻠﻞ اوروپ واﰣ و ا ٓﺷﲀر اﺳﺖ ﻣﺜًﻼ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم اﻋﻈﻢ ا ٓﻣﺎل دول و ﻣﻠﻞ اوروپ ﺗﻐﻠ ّﺐ‬ ‫و اﲷﺤﻼل ﯾﮑﺪﯾﮕﺮ اﺳﺖ و در ﮐﲈل ﮐﺮﻩ ابﻃﻦ ابﻇﻬﺎر ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء اﻟﻔﺖ و ﳏّﺒﺖ و اّﲢﺎد ﻣﺸﻐﻮل‬ ‫و ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ﻣﺸﻬﻮرﻩء ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ا ٓﺷـﱴ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ ﭘﺮور در ﺗﺪارک همّﻤﺎت ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪ و ازدايد ﻗّﻮﻩء ﻋﺴﮑﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﺑﯿﺸﱰ‬ ‫از ﻣﻠﻮک ﺟﻨﮓا ٓور ﺑﺬل هجﺪ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺻﻠﺢ و ا ٓﺷـﱴ ﻣﻦ دون ﻗّﻮﻩء ﺷﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﻣﯿّﴪ ﻧﮕﺮدد‬

‫‪73‬‬ ‫‪ here, which is not found in the received Quranic‬و ‪The Bombay edition (p. 79) inserts‬‬ ‫‪text. This is corrected in the Cairo edition.‬‬

The Secret of Divine Civilization

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In short, in this tumultuous sea of unbridled passions all the peoples and kindreds of Europe, with all their accomplishments, with all their fame, are lost and submerged. Hence the outcome of their civilization is null and void. Let no man wonder or question the truth of this saying, since the essential purpose and general goal of promulgating fundamental laws and fixing standards and principles for peoples should be the promotion of the common weal and happiness, and the true happiness of the human race lies in man’s nearness to God, and in the welfare and happiness of all the members of human society, both high and low, and human virtues are the greatest means of accomplishing these two objectives. A superficial culture, without a cultivated morality, falls under the rubric of “a confused medley of dreams,”74 and external lustre without inner perfection is “like a mirage in the desert, which a thirsty man mistakes for water.”75 For results acceptable to God and conducive to the peace and well-being of man could never be fully achieved through a merely external civilization. The inhabitants of Europe have not advanced to the higher planes of moral civilization, as is clearly demonstrated by the opinions and conduct of most of the peoples of Europe. Notice, for example, how the supreme desire of European governments and peoples today is to conquer and obliterate one another, and how, while raging inwardly, outwardly they exhibit the highest degree of harmony, friendship and unity. There is the well-known case of the king who is fostering peace and tranquillity while devoting more effective efforts to preparing armaments and multiplying military forces than the belligerent kings, on the ground that peace and reconciliation are not practicable without great strength.

74 75

Quran 12:44 and 21:5. Quran 24:39.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫‪192‬‬

‫در ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﲠﺎﻧﻪ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻟﯿًﻼ و ﳖﺎرًا ﲨﯿﻌًﺎ ‪ 76‬ابﻋﻈﻢ ﺟّﺪ و هجﺪ در ﺗﺪارﰷت ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪ ﻣﯿﮑﻮﺷـﻨﺪ و اﻫﺎﱃ‬ ‫ﻣﺴﮑﲔ ا ٓچنﻪ ﺑﻌﺮق ﺟﺒﲔ ﭘﯿﺪا ﮐﺮدﻩ اﮐﱶش را ابﯾﺪ اﻧﻔﺎق اﯾﻦ راﻩ ﮐﻨﻨﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر ا ٓﻻف از ﻧﻔﻮس ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﴬﻩء ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﮐﻪ ﺑﯿﺸﱰ از ﭘﯿﺸﱰ‬ ‫ﺻﻨﺎﺋﻊ انﻓﻌﻪ را ﺗﺮک ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺷﺐ و روز ﺑﮑﲈل ّﳘﺖ در اﳚﺎد ا ٓﻟﺖ ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﺳﺒﺐ ﺳﻔﮏ دﻣﺎء اﺑﻨﺎء ﺟﻨﺲ اﺳﺖ ﻣﺸﻐﻮﻟﻨﺪ‬ ‫و ﻫﺮ روز ا ٓﻟﺖ ﺣّﺮاﻗﻪء ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ اﺣﺪاث و اﳚﺎد ﻣﯿﮑﻨﻨﺪ و دول ﳎﺒﻮر ﺑﺮ اﯾﻦ ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ا ٓﻻت ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪء‬ ‫ﻗﺪﱘ را ﺗﺮک ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﺗﺪارک ا ٓﻻت ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﮐﻮﺷـﻨﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ا ٓﻻت ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪء ﻗﺪﱘ اب ا ٓﻻت ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪء ﺟﺪﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺎوﻣﺖ ﻧامنﯾﺪ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ در اﯾﻦ اّايم ﮐﻪ ﺳـﻨﻪء ﻫﺰار و دوﯾﺴﺖ و ﻧﻮد و دو ﳗﺮﯾﺴﺖ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ا ٓﳌﺎن‬ ‫ﺻﻨﻌﺖ ﺗﻔﻨﮓ ﺟﺪﯾﺪی و در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﳕﭽﻪ اﳚﺎد ﺗﻮپ ﳓﺎﳻ اتزﻩ ای ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ از ﺗﻔﻨﮓ ﻫﲊی ﻣﺎرﰏ‬ ‫و ﺗﻮپ ﮐﺮوپ ا ٓﺗﺶ ابرﺗﺮ و در ﻫﺪم ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻧﺴﺎﱏ ﺷﺪﯾﺪﺗﺮ و ﴎﯾﻊ اﻟﺘّﺎٔﺛﲑﺗﺮ اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﺼﺎرف ابﻫﻈﻪ‬ ‫را ابﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ رﻋﺎايی ﻓﻠﮏ زدﻩ ﲢّﻤﻞ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل اﻧﺼﺎف دﻫﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﲤّﺪن ﺻﻮری ﺑﺪون ﲤّﺪن ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ اﺧﻼﰵ ﺳﺒﺐ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ ﲻﻮﻣﯽ و‬ ‫وﺳـﯿهلء اﺟﺘﻼب ﻣﺮﺿﺎت اﻟﻬـﯽ اﺳﺖ و اي ﺧﻮد ﳐّﺮب ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻣﺪّﻣﺮ ارﰷن ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و ﺳﻌﺎدت‬ ‫اﺳﺖ‬

‫‪76‬‬ ‫‪ (all together) is not in the Bombay edition. It is a plausible authorial‬ﲨﯿﻌًﺎ ‪The word‬‬ ‫‪change, but an unlikely scribal error. The word is included in the electronic text supplied‬‬ ‫‪by the Bahāʾi World Centre.‬‬

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Under this pretext, night and day, they all exert themselves to the utmost in military preparations, while the inhabitants, for these purposes, must surrender most of what they gain by the sweat of their brows. How many thousands have given up useful trades and are labouring day and night to invent new offensive weapons which shed the blood of the race better than ever before. Each day they invent and deploy a new firearm, which forces the governments to abandon their obsolete armaments and begin deploying the new, since the old weapons cannot hold their own against the new. For example, in this year, 1875,77 they have produced a new rifle in Germany, and invented a new bronze cannon in Austria, which have greater firepower than the Martini-Henry rifle and the Krupp cannon, are more effective in destroying the foundations of human life and more rapid in their effects. This must lead to staggering expenditures, borne by their ill-fated subjects. Be just: can this superficial civilization, without true moral civilization, ensure universal peace and well-being or win the good pleasure of God? Or does it, rather, destroy the foundations of humanity and pull down the pillars of peace and happiness?

77

1292 in the Islamic calendar, the year beginning April 30, 1875.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

‫‪194‬‬

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‫در ﺳـﻨﻪء ﻫﺰار و ﻫﺸـﺘﺼﺪ و ﻫﻔﺘﺎد ﻣﯿﻼدی ﮐﻪ ﳏﺎرﺑﻪ ﺑﲔ ا ٓﳌﺎن و ﻓﺮﻧﺴﺎ واﻗﻊ ﺷﺪ از ﻗﺮار ﻣﺸﻬﻮر‬ ‫ﺷﺸﺼﺪ ﻫﺰار ﻧﻔﺲ در ﻣﯿﺪان همﺎﲨﻪ و ﻣﺪاﻓﻌﻪ ﻣﺎٔﯾﻮس و ﻣﻘﻬﻮر ﮐﺸـﺘﻪ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺧﺎﻧﺪاﳖﺎ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ از اﺳﺎس ﻣﳯﺪم ﺷﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻣﺪن در ﺷﺎم در ﻣﻨﳤﺎی ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﯾ ّﺖ ﺑﻮد و ابﻣﺪاد ﻋﺎﻟﳱﺎ ﺳﺎﻓﻠﻬﺎ‬ ‫ﮔﺸﺖ ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر اوﻻد ﺻﻐﺎر ﮐﻪ ﯾﺘﲓ و ﰉﭘﺮﺳـﺘﺎر ﻣﺎﻧﺪﻧﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر ﭘﺪران و ﻣﺎدران ﺳﺎﳋﻮردﻩ ﲦﺮﻩء‬ ‫ﻧزﺪﮔﺎﻧﯿﺸﺎن ﺟﻮاانن ﻧﻮرﺳـﯿﺪﻩ را در ﺧﺎک و ﺧﻮن ﻏﻠﻄﺎن و ﻣﺮدﻩ دﯾﺪﻧﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﻗﺪر ﻧﺴﺎء ﮐﻪ ﰉ رﺟﺎل و‬ ‫دﺳـﺘﮕﲑ ﻣﺎﻧﺪﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﮐﯿﻔﯿّﺎت اﺣﺮاق ﮐﺘﺎﲞﺎﻧﻪﻫﺎ و ﺑﻌﺾ اﺑﻨﯿﻪء ﺟﺴـﳰﻪء ﻓﻧﺮﺴﺎ و ا ٓﺗﺶ زدن دار اﻟّﺸﻔﺎی ﻋﺴﮑﺮﯾ ّﻪ اب‬ ‫ﲨﯿﻊ ﻋﺴﺎﮐﺮ ﳎﺮوﺣﻪء ﻣﺮﯾﻀﻪ و وﻗﺎﯾﻊ ﻣﺆﳌﻪ و ﺣﺮﰷت ﻣﻮﺣﺸﻪء ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪء ﮐﻮﻣﻮن و ﺣﻮادث ﻣﺪﻫﺸﻪء‬ ‫اﺧﺘﻼف و ﲢّﺰب‪ 78‬ﲨﻌّﯿﺎت ﻣﺘﻀﺎّدﻩء ﻣﺘﻘﺎﺗهل در ﭘﺎرﯾﺲ و ﻣﻨﺎزﻋﻪ و ﻋﺪوان ﻣﺎﺑﲔ رؤﺳﺎی دﯾﻨﯿّﻪء ﻗﺎﺗﻮﻟﯿﮏ‬ ‫و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ا ٓﳌﺎن و ﻇﻬﻮر ﻓﺘﻨﻪ ﻫﺎ و ﻓﺴﺎدﻫﺎ و ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ﺑﻼد و اوﻃﺎن و ﺧﻮﻧﺮﯾﺰی ﻣﯿﺎن ﺣﺰﺑﲔ ﲨﻬﻮرﯾ ّﺖ‬ ‫و دون ﰷرﻟﻮس در اﺳـﭙﺎﻧﯿﺎ‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ از اﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ وﻗﺎﯾﻊ ﮐﻪ دﻻﻟﺖ ﺑﺮ ﻋﺪم ﲤّﺪن اﺧﻼق ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ اوروپ ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر و اﯾﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ ﭼﻮن‬ ‫ﻫﺘﮏ هجﱴ را ﻣﻘﺼﻮد ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ ﻟﻬﺬا چبﻨﺪ ﳇﻤﻪ اﺧﺘﺼﺎر ﳕﻮدﻩ‪ 79‬ﺣﺎل واﲵﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﴯﺺ ﻋﺎﻗﻞ ﺑﺼﲑ و‬ ‫ﻋﺎرف ﺧﺒﲑ ﺗﺼﺪﯾﻖ اﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﻣﻮر ﻧامنﯾﺪ‬

‫‪.‬ﲢﺰﯾﺐ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 83) reads‬‬ ‫‪ .‬ﳕﻮدﻩ ‪, the Cairo edition‬ﳕﻮد ‪The Bombay edition reads‬‬

‫‪78‬‬ ‫‪79‬‬

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In 1870, at the time of the Franco-Prussian War, it was reported that, in attack and defence, 600,000 were killed, shattered and defeated. How many families lost their principal support; how many a city was flourishing in the evening, yet by dawn its wonders were turned into horrors. How many a child was orphaned, without a nurse, how many an aged father and mother had to see the fruit of their lives, still in their youth, rolling lifeless in dust and blood. How many women were left without a husband or protector. Then there were the details of burning down the libraries and magnificent buildings of France, and setting fire to a military hospital, along with all the sick and wounded soldiers; the heart-rending events and appalling conduct of the people of the Commune; the astonishing cases when opposing factions fought and killed one another in Paris; the disputes and hostility between Catholic religious leaders and the German government; and the civil strife and dissension, the destruction of towns and lands, and bloodshed between the partisans of the Republic and of Don Carlos in Spain. In short, many events of this kind testify to the lack of moral civilization among the peoples of Europe. Since the writer has no wish to cast aspersions on anyone, only a few brief examples are given. It is clear that no-one with a sound mind and informed judgement can approve such events.

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‫ا ٓاي ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ و ﻗﺒﺎﺋﲆ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ ﺷـﲓ ﺣﺴـﻨﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ اﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﻣﻮر ﻣﻮﺣﺸﻪ در ﻣﺎﺑﯿﻨﺸﺎن ﺟﺎرﯾﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ زساوار اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اّدﻋﺎی ﲤّﺪن ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﰷﻣﻞ اتّم ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﻋﲆ اﳋﺼﻮص ﮐﻪ ﻧﺘﯿﺠﻪ ای از اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر‬ ‫ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮل ﻧﻪ اّﻻ ﺗﻐﻠ ّﺐ و ﺗﺴﻠ ّﻂ ﻣﻮﻗّﺖ ﺣﺎﱃ و ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ ﻧﺘﯿﺠﻪ ابﰵ و ﭘﺎﯾﺪار ﻧﻪ ﻟﻬﺬا ﻧﺰد اوﱃ الاﻟﺒﺎب ﺗﻘﯿّﺪ‬ ‫و اﻫامتم را زساوار ﻧﯿﺴﺖ‬ ‫در ﻗﺮون ﺳﺎﻟﻔﻪ ﮐﺮارًا و ﻣﺮارًا ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ا ٓﳌﺎن ﻏﺎﻟﺐ ﺑﺮ ﻓﺮﻧﺴﺎ ﮔﺸﺖ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻓﺮﻧﺴﺎ دﻓﻌﺎت‬ ‫ﻋﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﺑﺮ اﻗﻠﲓ ا ٓﳌﺎن ﺣﳬﺮاﱏ ﳕﻮد ﺣﺎل ﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﮐﻪ ﺷﺸﺼﺪ ﻫﺰار ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﺴﮑﲔ از ﺑﻨﺪﮔﺎن ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر ﻓﺪای‬ ‫ﴬت اﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﻣﻮر ﺑامنﯾﻨﺪ وﻟﮑﻦ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻧﺘﺎﰀ و ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﻣﻮﻗّﺘﻪء ﺻﻮرﯾ ّﻪ ﮔﺮدد ﻻ و اّهلل ﺑﻠﮑﻪ اﻃﻔﺎل ﻧﲒ ادراک ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﻣﺘﺎﺑﻌﺖ ﻫﻮی ﺻﺪ ﻫﺰار ﲩﺎب از دل ﺑﺮ دﯾﺪﻩ اﻓﮑﻨﺪ و ﺑﴫ و ﺑﺼﲑت ﻫﺮ دو ان ﺑﯿﻨﺎ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﻏﺮض ا ٓﻣﺪ ﻫﲊ ﭘﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ ﺷﺪ‬ ‫ﺻﺪ ﲩﺎب از دل ﺑﺴﻮی دﯾﺪﻩ ﺷﺪ‬

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Can people and kindred among whom such terrible things are common – things incompatible with the good customs of humanity – properly claim to possess the true, perfected, civilization? Especially when no result can be expected from these things, except domination and mastery for a certain time; and since this outcome has no permanence or foundation, in the eyes of men of understanding it not worthy of attention or effort. Time and again down the centuries, the rulers of Germany have subdued the French. Similarly, the kingdom of France has on many occasions governed German territories. Now, is it permissible that 600,000 wretched people, all of them God’s creatures, should be sacrificed for such superficial and temporary outcomes and gains? No, by God! Even a child can see that such matters are harmful. Yet the pursuit of desire lowers a hundred thousand veils, arising from the heart, that blind both vision and discernment. When malice enters, honour’s clouded: a hundred heart-born veils upon the eyes.80

80

Rumi, Mathnavi 1.334.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﺑﲆ ﲤّﺪن ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ وﻗﱴ در ﻗﻄﺐ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻋََﲅ اﻓﺮازد ﮐﻪ ﭼﻨﺪ ﻣﻠﻮک ﺑﺰرﮔﻮار ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ّﳘﺖ ﭼﻮن‪ 81‬ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب‬ ‫رﺧﺸـﻨﺪﻩء ﻋﺎﱂ ﻏﲑت و ﲪّﯿﺖ ﲜﻬﺖ ﺧﲑﯾ ّﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﲻﻮم ﺑﴩ ﺑﻌﺰﻣﯽ اثﺑﺖ و رٔای راﰞ ﻗﺪم ﭘﯿﺶ‬ ‫ﳖﺎدﻩ ﻣﺴـﺌهلء ﺻﻠﺢ ﲻﻮﻣﯽ را در ﻣﯿﺪان ﻣﺸﻮرت ﮔﺬاﻧرﺪ و ﲜﻤﯿﻊ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ و وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻋﻘﺪ‬ ‫اﳒﻤﻦ دول ﻋﺎﱂ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﯾﮏ ﻣﻌﺎﻫﺪﻩء ﻗﻮﯾ ّﻪ و ﻣﯿﺜﺎق و ﴍوط ﳏﳬﻪء اثﺑﺘﻪ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و اﻋﻼن ﳕﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ابﺗ ّﻔﺎق ﲻﻮم ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺆﮐّﺪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﻨﺪ اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ اّﰎ اﻗﻮم را ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﻨﺶ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﺷـ ‪82‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﺳّﲀن ارض ﻣﻘّﺪس ﴰﺮدﻩ ﲨﯿﻊ ﻗﻮای ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ ﺛﺒﻮت و ﺑﻘﺎی اﯾﻦ ﻋﻬﺪ اﻋﻈﻢ اب ﻨﺪ‬ ‫و در اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﺎﻫﺪﻩء ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﺗﻌﯿﲔ و ﲢﺪﯾﺪ ﺣﺪود و ﺛﻐﻮر ﻫﺮ دوﻟﱴ ﮔﺮدد و ﺗﻮﺿﯿﻊ روش و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﻫﺮ‬ ‫ﺣﮑﻮﻣﱴ ﺷﻮد و ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﻌﺎﻫﺪات و ﻣﻨﺎﺳـﺒﺎت دوﻟّﯿﻪ و رواﺑﻂ و ﺿﻮاﺑﻂ ﻣﺎﺑﲔ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺘّﯿﻪء ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﻘّﺮر و ﻣﻌ ّﲔ ﮔﺮدد و ﮐﺬﻟﮏ ﻗّﻮﻩء ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪء ﻫﺮ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﱴ ﲝّﺪی‪ 83‬ﳐّﺼﺺ ﺷﻮد ﭼﻪ اﮔﺮ ﺗﺪارﰷت ﳏﺎرﺑﻪ و‬ ‫ﻗّﻮﻩء ﻋﺴﮑﺮﯾ ّﻪء دوﻟﱴ ازدايد ايﺑﺪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﻮّﱒ دول ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﮔﺮدد ابری اﺻﻞ ﻣﺒﻨﺎی اﯾﻦ ﻋﻬﺪ ﻗﻮﱘ را ﺑﺮ ا ٓن‬ ‫ﻗﺮار دﻫﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ دوﻟﱴ از دول ﻣﻦ ﺑﻌﺪ ﴍﻃﯽ از ﴍوط را ﻓﺴﺦ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ دول ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﺮ اﲷﺤﻼل او‬ ‫ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﺑﮑﲈل ﻗّﻮت ﺑﺮ ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ا ٓﳓﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺑﺮﺧﲒد اﮔﺮ ﺟﺴﻢ ﻣﺮﯾﺾ ﻋﺎﱂ ابﯾﻦ داروی‬ ‫اﻋﻈﻢ ﻣﻮﻓّﻖ ﮔﺮدد اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ اﻋﺘﺪال ﳇّﯽ ﮐﺴﺐ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﺸﻔﺎی ابﰵ داﲚﯽ ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﮔﺮدد‬

‫‪81‬‬ ‫‪, which is missing in the Bombay edition (p. 75).‬ﭼﻮن ‪The Cairo edition (p. 75) inserts‬‬ ‫‪The meaning is not affected.‬‬ ‫‪82‬‬ ‫‪.‬ابﺷﺪ ‪ while the Bombay edition reads‬ابﺷـﻨﺪ ‪The Cairo edition has‬‬ ‫‪83‬‬ ‫‪ (‘known, specified’) here, which is not in the Bombay‬ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ‪The Cairo edition inserts‬‬ ‫‪edition (p. 76).‬‬

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[True civilization] †

True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of the world whenever a certain number of its distinguished and high-minded sovereigns – the shining exemplars of devotion and determination – shall, for the good and happiness of all humanity, arise, with firm resolve and clear vision. They must make the issue of universal peace the object of general consultation, and use every means in their power to establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude a binding treaty and establish a covenant the provisions of which shall be sound, inviolable and definite. They must proclaim it to all the world and obtain for it the sanction of all the human race. This supreme and noble undertaking – the real source of peace and well-being – should be regarded as sacred by all that dwell on earth. All the forces of humanity must be mobilised to ensure the stability and permanence of this Most Great Covenant. In this all-embracing Pact, the limits and frontiers of each and every nation should be clearly fixed, the principles underlying the relations of governments towards one another definitely laid down, and all international agreements and obligations ascertained. In like manner, the size of the armaments of every government should be strictly limited, for if the preparations for war and the military forces of any nation should be allowed to increase, they will arouse the suspicion of others. The fundamental principle underlying this solemn Pact should be so fixed that if any government later violate any one of its provisions, all the governments on earth should arise to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as a whole should resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy that government. Should this greatest of all remedies be applied to the sick body of the world, it will assuredly recover from its ills and will remain eternally safe and secure.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﭼﻨﲔ ﻧﻌﻤﱴ ﻣﯿّﴪ ﺷﻮد ﻫﯿﭻ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﱴ ﳏﺘﺎج ﲥُّﯿﺎٔ و ﺗﺪارﰷت همّﻤﺎت‬ ‫ﺟﻨﮓ و ﺣﺮب ﻧﺒﺎﺷﺪ و ﻣﻀﻄّﺮ ابﺻﻄﻨﺎع ا ٓﻻت ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪء ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﲜﻬﺖ ﻣﻘﻬﻮرﯾ ّﺖ ﻧﻮع اﻧﺴﺎن ﻧﮕﺮدد ﺑﻠﮑﻪ‬ ‫ﺑﻌﺴﮑﺮ ﻗﻠﯿﲆ ﮐﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﺎٔﻣﲔ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ و ﺗﺎٔدﯾﺐ اﻫﻞ ﻓﺴﺎد و ﺷﻘﺎوت و ﻣﻨﻊ ﻓﱳ داﺧﻠّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﳏﺘﺎج و‬ ‫ﺑﺲ از اﯾﻦ هجﺖ اّوًﻻ ﺑﻨﺪﮔﺎن اﻟﻬـﯽ ﲻﻮم اﻫﺎﱃ از ﲢّﻤﻞ اﺛﻘﺎل ﻣﺼﺎرف ابﻫﻈﻪء ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪء دول راﺣﺖ‬ ‫‪84‬‬ ‫ﴬﻩ ﮐﻪ ﺷﻮاﻫﺪ دﻧرﺪﮔﯽ‬ ‫و ﻣﺴﱰﱖ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ اثﻧﯿًﺎ ﻧﻔﻮس ﮐﺜﲑﻩ اوﻗﺎت ﺧﻮد را داﲚًﺎ در اﺻﻄﻨﺎع ا ٓﻻت ﻣ ّ‬ ‫و ﺧﻮﳔﻮاری و ﻣﻨﺎﰱ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ ﳇّّﯿﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ اﺳﺖ ﴏف ﻧامنﯾﻨﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ در ا ٓچنﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و‬ ‫ﺣﯿﺎت و ﻧزﺪﮔﯽ هجﺎﻧﯿﺎﻧﺴﺖ ﮐﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻓﻼح و ﳒﺎح ﻧﻮع ﺑﴩ ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ و ﲻﻮم دول ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﮑﲈل ﻋّﺰت‬ ‫ﺑﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ اتﺟﺪاری ﻣﺴـﺘﻘّﺮ و ﰷﻓ ّﻪء ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و اﱈ در همﺪ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ ا ٓرﻣﯿﺪﻩ و ﻣﺴﱰﱖ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﺑﻌﴣ اﺷﺨﺎص ﮐﻪ از ﳘﻢ ﳇّّﯿﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎن ﺑﯿﺨﻧﱪﺪ اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ را ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻣﺸﲁ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﳏﺎل و ﳑﺘﻨﻊ ﴰﻧﺮﺪ‬ ‫چنﻨﺎﻧﺴﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ از ﻓﻀﻞ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﻣﻘّﺮﺑﲔ درﮔﺎﻩ ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﺪﮔﺎر و ّﳘﺖ ﺑﳱﻤﺘﺎی ﻧﻔﻮس ﰷﻣهلء ﻣﺎﻫﺮﻩ‬ ‫و اﻓﲀر و ا ٓراء ﻓﺮاﺋﺪ زﻣﺎﻧﻪ ﻫﯿﭻ اﻣﺮی در وﺟﻮد ﳑﺘﻨﻊ و ﳏﺎل ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ و ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ّﳘﺖ ّﳘﺖ ﻏﲑت ﻏﲑت‬ ‫ﻻزﻣﺴﺖ‬

‫‪ (with shadda), an evident mistake.‬د ّ ﻧرﺪﮔﯽ ‪The Cairo edition (p. 77) has‬‬

‫‪84‬‬

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Observe that if these boons were granted, no government or monarch would need to prepare armaments for battles and war, or be obliged to produce new military equipment to conquer the human race. Each would require a small armed force to protect the country, punish criminal and corrupting elements and prevent internal disturbances – no more than that. The first result would be to relieve all of God’s servants, the people, from the crushing burden of expenditure for the wars of the governments. Secondly, large numbers of people now devote all their time to producing weapons of destruction, which are signs of ferociousness and bloodthirstiness and are incompatible with the common weal of humanity. They could instead devote their time to that which leads to world-wide life, quickening and comfort, and they could become the cause of felicity and progress for the human race. Then all the governments on earth will be established on the throne of authority with full sovereignty, and all the tribes and peoples will be secure and cradled in tranquility and comfort. A few, unaware of the power latent in human endeavour, consider this matter highly impractical, or even impossible. Such is not the case, however. On the contrary, thanks to the grace of God, the loving-kindness of His favoured ones, the unrivalled endeavours of wise and capable individuals, and the thoughts and ideas of the luminaries of the age, nothing whatsoever is impractical or impossible. Endeavour, ceaseless endeavour and an indomitable determination are required.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر اﻣﻮر ﮐﻪ در ازﻣﻨﻪء ﺳﺎﺑﻘﻪ از ﻣﻘﻮهلء ﳑﺘﻨﻌﺎت ﴰﺮدﻩ ﻣﯿﺸﺪ ﮐﻪ اﺑﺪًا ﻋﻘﻮل ﺗﺼّﻮر وﻗﻮع ا ٓن‬ ‫را ﳕﯿﳮﻮد ﺣﺎل ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻣﯿامنﺋﲓ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﺳﻬﻞ و ا ٓﺳﺎن ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ و اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ اﻋﻈﻢ اﻗﻮم ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ‬ ‫ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب اﻧﻮر هجﺎن ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﺳﺒﺐ ﻓﻮز و ﻓﻼح و راﺣﺖ و ﳒﺎح ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﺳﺖ از ﭼﻪ هجﺖ ﳑﺘﻨﻊ و ﳏﺎل‬ ‫ﻓﺮض ﺷﻮد و ﻻﺑّﺪ ﺑﺮ اﯾﻨﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻋﺎﻗﺒﺖ ﺷﺎﻫﺪ اﯾﻦ ﺳﻌﺎدت در اﳒﻤﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺟﻠﻮﻩﮔﺮ ﮔﺮدد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ا ٓﻻت‬ ‫و ادوات ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪ ﺑﺮ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻨﻮال ﺑﺪرﺟﻪ ای رﺳﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺣﺮب ﺑﺪرﺟﻪء ﻣﺎ ﻻ ﯾﻄﺎق ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ واﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫از اﯾﻦ ﺗﻔﺎﺻﯿﻞ ﻣﴩوﺣﻪء ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ﻣﱪﻫﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﴍف و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری اﻧﺴﺎن ﺑﻪ ﺧﻮﳔﻮارﮔﯽ و ﺗﲒ‬ ‫ﭼﻨﮕﯽ و ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ﻣﺪاﯾﻦ و ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﺟﻨﱮ و ﺗﺘﺒﲑ و اﻫﻼک ﺟﯿﻮش و اﻫﺎﱃ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﺑﻠﻨﺪ اﺧﱰی‬ ‫و ﺟﻮان ﲞﱴ ﺻﯿﺖ ﻋﺪاﻟﺖ ﭘﺮوری و دﳉﻮﰃ ﲻﻮم رﻋﺎاي از اﻋﺎﱃ و اداﱏ و ﺗﻌﻤﲑ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ و ُﻣُﺪن و‬ ‫ُﻗﺮی و ﺣﻮاﱃ و ﻧﻮاىح و ﺗﺮﻓﯿﻪ و ﺗﺮوﱖ ﺑﻨﺪﮔﺎن اﻟﻬـﯽ و وﺿﻊ اّس اﺳﺎس اﺻﻮل ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ ﺣﺎل‬ ‫ﲨﻬﻮر و ﺗﺰﯾﯿﺪ ﺛﺮوت و ﻏﻨﺎی ﲻﻮﻣﯿﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ در اﻣﲀن ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻣﻠﻮک هجﺎﻧﮕﲑ ﺑﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ ﮐﺸﻮرﺳـﺘﺎﱏ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘّﺮ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ از‬ ‫ﴫف ا ٓوردﻧﺪ و‬ ‫ا ٓﳒﻤهل ﻫﻼﮐﻮﺧﺎن و اﻣﲑ ﺗﳰﻮر ﮔﻮرﰷن ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻗﻄﻌﻪء ﻋﻈﳰﻪء ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ را در ﻗﺒﻀﻪء ﺗ ّ‬ ‫اﺳﮑﻨﺪر روﻣﯽ و انﭘﻠﯿﻮن اّول ﮐﻪ دﺳﺖ ﺗﻄﺎول را ﺑﺮ ﺳﻪ ﻗﻄﻌﻪ از ﻗﻄﻌﺎت ﲬﺴﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ‬

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Many things that past ages have regarded as purely visionary, as beyond the grasp of human minds and out of our reach, are today seen to have become very easy and practicable. Why should this most great and lofty Cause – which is truly the daystar of the firmament of true civilization and the cause of the glory, the advancement, the well-being and the success of all humanity – be regarded as impossible to achieve? Surely the day will come when its beauteous light will illumine the assembly of the world. For arms and armaments have reached the point at which war has become intolerable to the human race. From what has been said, it is clear that the glory and greatness of the human race has not lain in being bloodthirsty and sharp of claw, in tearing down foreign cities and kingdoms, in laying land waste, in wiping out armies and butchering whole populations. Rather, the causes of good fortune and an exalted destiny are a reputation for justice, being the friend and protector of all one’s subjects, whether high or low, building up the kingdom, cities and villages, and the surrounding districts and the countryside, making life easy and peaceful for the servants of God, establishing the essential foundations for progress, improving the conditions of society and increasing the prosperity and wealth of the whole. Consider how many kings have been raised to the throne as conquerors in this world. Among them were Hulagu Khān and Tamerlane, who took control of the vast continent of Asia, and Alexander of Macedon and Napoleon the First, who extended the hand of tyranny over three of the earth’s five continents.

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‫ا ٓاي ﭼﻪ ﲦﺮﻩ ای از اﯾﻦ ﻓﺘﻮﺣﺎت ﺟﺴـﳰﻪ ﻣﱰﺗ ّﺐ ﺷﺪ ﳑﻠﮑﱴ ﻣﻌﻤﻮر ﮔﺸﺖ و اي ﺧﻮد ﺳﻌﺎدﰏ ﻣﻨﻈﻮر‬ ‫ا ٓﻣﺪ ﺳﺒﺐ اﺳـﺘﻘﺮار ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﺷﺪ و اي ابﻋﺚ اﻧﻘﺮاض ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ از ا ٓن ﺧﺎﻧﺪان ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ ﻫﻼﮐﻮی ﭼﻨﮕﲒ‬ ‫ﺟﻨﮓاﻧﮕﲒ از هجﺎن ﮔﲑﯾﺶ ﲦﺮﻩ ای ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﻧﺸﺪ ﺟﺰ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻗﻄﻌﻪء ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ از انﺋﺮﻩء ﺣﺮوابت ﺷﺪﯾﺪﻩ‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﺗّﻞ ﺧﺎﮐﺴﱰ ﮔﺸﺖ و اﻣﲑ ﺗﳰﻮر از ﮐﺸﻮرﺳـﺘﺎﱏ ﺑﻐﲑ از ﺗﺸﺘ ّﺖ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﲣﺮﯾﺐ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺑﲎ ا ٓدم‬ ‫ﻧﺘﯿﺠﻪ ای ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﮑﺮد و اﺳﮑﻨﺪر روﻣﯽ از ﻓﺘﻮﺣﺎت ﻋﻈﳰﻪاش ﺟﺰ ﺳﻘﻮط ﭘﴪش از ﴎﯾﺮ اتﺟﺪاری و‬ ‫ﺗﻐﻠ ّﺐ ﻓﻠﺴﻘﻮس‪ 85‬و ﺑﻄﻠﻤﯿﻮس ﺑﺮ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﳑﺎﻟﮑﺶ ﻓﺎﺋﺪﻩ ای ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﻧﺸﺪ و انﭘﻠﯿﻮن اّول از ﻇﻔﺮ ﺑﺮ ﻣﻠﻮک‬ ‫اوروپ اّﻻ ﲣﺮﯾﺐ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﻩ و ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻋﺎّﻣﻪ و اﺳﺘﯿﻼء ﺗﺰﻟﺰل و اﺿﻄﺮاب ﺷﺪﯾﺪ در ﻗﻄﻌﻪء‬ ‫اوروپ و اﺳﲑی ﻧﻔﺲ ﺧﻮد در اﳒﺎم اّايم ﻓﻮاﺋﺪی ﻧﯿﺎﻓﺖ اﯾﻦ ا ٓاثر ﻣﻠﻮک هجﺎﻧﮕﲑ‬ ‫وﻟﮑﻦ ﻗﺪری در ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ و ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ ﲪﯿﺪﻩ و ﻋﻈﻤﺖ و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری ﺷﺎٔن ﺷﻬﺮاير ﻋﺎدل اﻧﻮﺷﲑوان ابذل‬ ‫ﺗﺎّٔﻣﻞ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ا ٓن ﴎور داد ﭘﺮور در زﻣﺎﱏ ﺑﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘّﺮ ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻗﻮّي الارﰷن‬ ‫ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ اﯾﺮان را از ﻫﺮ هجﺖ ﺧﻠﻞ و ﻓﺘﻮر ﻃﺎری ﺷﺪﻩ ﺑﻮد ﺑﻌﻘﻞ ﺧﺪاداد ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﻋﺪل و داد ﳕﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻇﲅ و ﺑﯿﺪاد را ﻗﻠﻊ و ﳃﻊ و ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﭘﺮﯾﺸﺎن اﯾﺮان را در ﻇّﻞ ﺟﻨﺎح‪ 86‬ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺘﺶ ﲨﻊ ﻓﺮﻣﻮد‬

‫‪ must be intended.‬ﻓﯿﻠﯿﺒﻮس ‪ or‬ﻓﯿﻠﯿﭙﻮس ‪Sic: Bombay edition p. 90, Cairo edition p. 80, but‬‬ ‫‪ in the‬ﺣﻨﺎح ‪ (p. 91), an evident mistake, corrected to‬ﺟﻨﺎع ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬ ‫‪Cairo edition (p. 81).‬‬ ‫‪85‬‬ ‫‪86‬‬

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And what was gained by these mighty victories? Was any country made to flourish, was there any satisfaction for themselves, was a dynasty firmly established, or did the power rather pass from those families? Hulagu Changizi87 the war-maker gathered no fruit from conquering the world, except that the flame of intense warfare left Asia like a heap of ashes. Tamerlane, by capturing lands, reaped nothing but the scattering of societies, the shattering of the children of Adam. Alexander of Macedon saw no gain from his vast victories but his son, falling from the throne,88 and Phillip and Ptolemy seizing all the lands he had ruled. And Napoleon the First’s victory over the kings of Europe yielded him no advantages, but rather the destruction of flourishing countries, the killing of civilians, tumult and commotion prevailing across Europe and, at the end of his days, his own exile. This is the legacy of the world-conquering kings. Consider, in contrast, the virtues and praiseworthy qualities, the grandeur and majesty of the just King Anushirvan the Munificent.89 That dynamic monarch ascended the royal throne at a time when the strong pillars of Iranian sovereignty were weak or disregarded on every side. Thanks to his God-given wisdom, he laid the foundations of justice, eliminating the structures of oppression and tyranny, and gathered the scattered peoples of Persia under the wings of his dominion.

87

Hulagu Khān, grandson of Changiz Khān. The son is Alexander IV, who was poisoned before he came of age, so “the lands he had ruled” refers to the lands of Alexander III, known as Alexander the Great and Alexander of Macedon. 89 Anushirvan, or Chosroes I, the best known ruler of the Sassanid Empire, reigned from 531 to 579 AD. 88

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‫در ﻣّﺪﰏ ﻗﻠﯿهل ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﭘﮋﻣﺮدﻩء وﯾﺮان اﯾﺮان ﺑﻪ ﭘﺮﺗﻮ ﺣﯿﺎت ﲞﺶ ﺗﻮّهجﺎﺗﺶ ﻧزﺪﻩ و ﺑﺮاﻧزﺪﻩﺗﺮﯾﻦ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﻩء ﻣﺴﮑﻮﻧﻪ ﮔﺸﺖ ﻗﻮای ﻣﺘﺤﻠ ّهلء ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ را ﺗﮑﺮار اﻋﺎدﻩ و ﻣﺰداد و ﺻﯿﺖ ﻋﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎﻓﺶ ا ٓﻓﺎق‬ ‫اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﺳـﺒﻌﻪ را اﺣﺎﻃﻪ ﳕﻮد ﲨﻬﻮر اﻫﺎﱃ از ﺣﻀﯿﺾ ذﻟ ّﺖ و ﻓﻼﮐﺖ ابوج ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺻﻌﻮد ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ از ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﳎﻮس ﺑﻮد ﺻﺪر ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﻨﺶ ﴰﺲ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ا ٓﺳﲈن ﻧﺒّﻮت ﺑالكم ﻣﺒﺎرک ﴿ اّﱏ‬ ‫ﴪت از وﻻدت در زﻣﺎن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ او ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ُوِدلُت ﰱ زﻣﻦ ﻣﻠﮏ ﻋﺎدل ﴾ انﻃﻖ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ و اﻇﻬﺎر ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﺑﺰرﮔﻮار ا ٓاي ﺑﺴﲑ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ ابﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎم ﺑﻠﻨﺪ اﻋﲆ ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﮔﺸﺖ اي ﺧﻮد ﲜﻬﺎن ﮔﲑی و ﺧﻮن رﯾﺰی‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ در ﻗﻄﺐ اﺑﺪاع چبﻪ ﺷﺎٔﱏ ﻣﻔﺘﺨﺮ و ﻣﺘﺒﺎﻫﯽ ﮔﺸﺖ ﮐﻪ ا ٓوازﻩء ﺑﺰرﮔﻮارﯾﺶ در هجﺎن‬ ‫ﻓﺎﱏ ﺟﺎوﯾﺪ و ابﰵ ﻣﺎﻧﺪ و ﲝﯿﺎت اﺑﺪﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﻮﻓ ّﻖ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ و اﮔﺮ ﺑﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﻧزﺪﮔﯽ داﲚﯽ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاران ﺑﭙﺮدازﱘ ﰷر‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﳐﺘﴫ ﺑﻪ ﻣﻄّﻮل اﳒﺎﻣﺪ و ﭼﻮن واﰣ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ از ﻗﺮاﺋﺖ اﯾﻦ ﮐﺘﺎب ﺗﺎٔﺛﲑ ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﳇّّﯿﻪ در‬ ‫اﻓﲀر ﲻﻮﻣﯽ اﻫﺎﱃ اﯾﺮان ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد ﻟﻬﺬا اﺧﺘﺼﺎر ﳕﺎﺋﲓ و ﺑﻌﴣ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ را ﮐﻪ ﻗﺮﯾﺐ ﻋﻘﻮل انس اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ذﮐﺮ ﮐﻨﲓ و ﻟﮑﻦ اﮔﺮ از اﯾﻦ ﳐﺘﴫ ﻧﺘﺎﰀ ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺮدد اﻧﺸﺎء اّهلل ﺗﻌﺎﱃ ﻣﻦ ﺑﻌﺪ ابّس اﺳﺎس ﺣﲂ‬ ‫اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ در ﻋﻮاﱂ ﻣﻠﮑﯿّﻪ ﭘﺮداﺧﺘﻪ ﺑﻌﴣ ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻔﯿﺪﻩء ﻣﻔّﺼهل ﲢﺮﯾﺮ ﮔﺮدد‬

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In a short time, the exhausted and ruined kingdom of Iran quickened into radiant life, thanks to his efforts, and became the fairest of the flourishing nations. He restored and reinforced the weakened powers of the state, and the fame of his justice and fairness echoed across the seven climes. The generality of the population advanced from the depths of abasement and misery to the heights of honour and contentment. Although he was a Zoroastrian, the true Sun of the heaven of prophethood, Mohammad, praised him with the blessed words: “I was born in the time of a just king.” He rejoiced at having been born during his reign. Now, was this illustrious person raised to his exalted station by praiseworthy deeds or was it rather by conquering the earth and shedding blood? While still in this transitory world he attained such an enviable and honoured station that praise of his majesty is eternal and undiminished in a world of impermanence, while he has been crowned with eternal life. If I were to expound on the perennial vitality of great souls, this work would become lengthy, and since it is by no means certain that reading such a book would have a general beneficial effect on public opinion in Iran, I will be brief, and mention some of the issues that are more central to people’s concerns. However, should this brief treatment produce favourable results, I will, God willing, devote a number of detailed and useful books to the fundamental principles of the Law of God in relation to earthly existence.

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‫ابری در ﻋﺎﱂ وﺟﻮد ﺳﻄﻮت ﻗﺎﻫﺮﻩء ﺟﻨﻮد ﻋﺪل را ﻗﻮای اﻋﻈﻢ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﲆ ﻧﮑﻨﺪ و ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻣﺮﺻﻮص ﺣﺼﻮن‬ ‫ﺣﺼﯿﻨﻪ ﻣﻘﺎوﻣﺖ ﻧامنﯾﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻓﺘﻮﺣﺎت اﯾﻦ ﺳـﯿﻒ ﻗﺎﻃﻊ را ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﺑﺮااي ﻃﻮﻋًﺎ و رﺿﺎًء ﻣﻐﻠﻮب ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ و‬ ‫وﯾﺮاﳖﺎی ﻋﺎﱂ از ﳗﻮم اﯾﻦ ﺟﻨﻮد ابﻋﲆ درﺟﻪء ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﯾ ّﺖ و ا ٓابدی ﴎاﻓﺮاز ﺷﻮد دو راﯾﺖ اﻋﻈﻤﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﺑﺮ اﻓﴪ ﻫﺮ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ ﺳﺎﯾﻪ اﻓﮑﻨﺪ ﲟﺜﺎﺑﻪء ﻧّﲑ اﻋﻈﻢ اﻧﻮار ﺳﺎﻃﻌﻪء ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺘﺶ ﺑﮑﲈل ﺳﻬﻮﻟﺖ در ارﰷن ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫ﻧﻔﻮذ ﮐﻨﺪ راﯾﺖ اّوﻟّﯿﻪ ﻋﻘﻞ و راﯾﺖ اثﻧﯿﻪ ﻋﺪل اﯾﻦ دو ﻗّﻮﻩء ﻋﻈﲓ را ﺟﺒﺎل ا ٓﻫﻨﲔ ﻣﻘﺎوﻣﺖ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﺪ و ﺳّﺪ‬ ‫ﺳﮑﻨﺪری را ﻣﺘﺎﻧﺖ ﳕﺎﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ واﰣ و ﺑﺪﳞـﯽ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺣﯿﺎت اﯾﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻓﺎﱏ ﭼﻮن ﻧﺴﺎﰂ ﺻﺒﺤﮕﺎﻫﯽ ﰉ‬ ‫ﺛﺒﺎت و در ﻣﺮور در اﯾﻦ ﺻﻮرت ﺧﻮﺷﺎ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری ﮐﻪ در ﺳﺒﯿﻞ رﺿﺎﯾﺖ ابری ﺻﯿﺖ ﳑﺪوﺣﻪ و ذﮐﺮ‬ ‫ﺧﲑی ايدﮔﺎر ﮔﺬارد‬ ‫ﭼﻮ ا ٓﻫﻨﮓ رﻓﱳ ﮐﻨﺪ ﺟﺎن ﭘﺎک‬ ‫ﭼﻮ ﺑﺮ ﲣﺖ ﻣﺮدن ﭼﻮ ﺑﺮ روی ﺧﺎک‬

‫ﺑﲆ هجﺎﻧﮕﺸﺎﰃ و ﮐﺸﻮرﺳـﺘﺎﱏ ﳑﺪوح و ﺑﻠﮑﻪ در ﺑﻌﴣ اوﻗﺎت ﺟﻨﮓ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻋﻈﻢ ﺻﻠﺢ اﺳﺖ و ﺗﺪﻣﲑ‬ ‫ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﻌﻤﲑ ﻣﺜًﻼ ﺷﻬﺮاير ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری اﮔﺮ در ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻞ ﻋﺪّوی ابﻏﯽ ﻃﺎﻏﯽ ﺻﻒ ﺟﻨﮓ ﺑﯿﺎراﯾﺪ و اي ا ٓن‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﲜﻬﺖ ﲨﻊ ﴰﻞ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ و ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻣﺘﺸﺘ ّﺘﻪء ﭘﺮاﮐﻨﺪﻩ ﲰﻨﺪ ّﳘﺖ را در ﻣﯿﺪان ﺟﻼدت و ﴭﺎﻋﺖ ﺑﺮ‬ ‫اﻧﮕﲒد ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ﳏﺎرﺑﻪاش ﻣﺒﲎ ﺑﺮ ﻧﻮاايی ﺻﺎﳊﻪ ابﺷﺪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻬﺮ ﻋﲔ ﻟﻄﻒ و اﯾﻦ ﻇﲅ ﺟﻮﻫﺮ‬ ‫ﻋﺪل و اﯾﻦ ﺟﻨﮓ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ا ٓﺷـﱴ اﺳﺖ اﻟﯿﻮم ﺷﺎﯾﺴـﺘﻪء ﻣﻠﻮک ﻣﻘﺘﺪر ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺻﻠﺢ ﲻﻮﻣﯿﺴﺖ زﯾﺮا ﰱ‬ ‫اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ا ٓزادی هجﺎﻧﯿﺎن اﺳﺖ‬

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In this earthly existence, not even the greatest power can resist the victorious force of the armies of justice. The mightiest well-armed fortresses show no resistance, for the triumphs of this decisive blade make all creatures glad to surrender, and the world’s desolate places are made to bloom and flourish exceedingly by the onslaught of this army. There are two mighty banners which, when they give shade to the crown of any king, cause the resplendent light of his government to influence the world’s elements with the greatest ease, as if it were the light of the sun: the first of these is understanding, the second is justice. Mountains of iron cannot resist these two most potent forces; and Alexander’s wall cannot stand before them. It is perfectly clear that life in this fleeting world is as fickle and inconstant as the dawn breeze. In the light of this, how fortunate are the great ones who, while abiding by the good pleasure of God, leave behind them a good name and are fondly remembered. When the pure soul lies down to die What matter, be it on a throne or in the dust.90 †

Nevertheless, the conquest and subjugation of territory are commendable. Moreover, there are certain times when war is the greatest foundation for peace and destruction leads to reconstruction. For example, if a mighty king were to marshal the troops in the face of an enemy or insurgent, or if he resolves to take resolute and courageous action to unify a society and kingdom that has become fragmented, in short, if his warfare has the right motive, then this wrath is the essence of kindness, this injustice is the embodiment of justice, and this war is the foundation of concord. Today, the fitting task for mighty kings is to establish universal peace, for in truth, peace is freedom for all peoples.

90

Saʿdi, Gulistān, Book 1 (On the conduct of kings).

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‫ﳇﻤﻪء راﺑﻌﻪء ا ٓن رواﯾﺖ ابﻫﺮ اﻟﻬﺪاﯾﻪء ﴿ ﻣﻄﯿﻌًﺎ ﻻﻣﺮ ﻣﻮﻻﻩ ﴾ اﺳﺖ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻘﺒﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ اﻃﺎﻋﺖ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر اﺳﺖ و ﴍف و ﻋّﺰﺗﺶ در ﻣﺘﺎﺑﻌﺖ اواﻣﺮ و ﻧﻮاﻫﯽ ﺧﺪاوﻧﺪ ﯾﮑﺘﺎ‬ ‫ﻧﻮراﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﻣﲀن ﺑﺪايﻧﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﻓﻮز و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺧﻠﻖ در ﻣﺘﺎﺑﻌﺖ اﺣﲀم ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﰱ‬ ‫اﶺهل ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﺷﻮد ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ در ﻋﺎﱂ وﺟﻮد ﻇﺎﻫﺮًا و ابﻃﻨًﺎ اﻋﻈﻢ اﺳﺎس ﻣﺘﲔ رﺻﲔ و اﮐﱪ‬ ‫ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻗﻮﱘ رزﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﳏﯿﻂ ﺑﺮ ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﻨﺶ و ﰷﻓﻞ ﮐﲈﻻت ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و ﺻﻮرﯾ ّﻪ و ﺿﺎﺑﻂ ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ‬ ‫ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ دايﻧﺘﺴﺖ‬ ‫اﮔﺮ ﭼﻪ ﺑﻌﴣ ﺳـﺒﮏ ﻣﻐﺰان ﮐﻪ ﺗﻌّﻤﻖ و ﺗﺪﺑّﺮ در اّس اﺳﺎس اداين اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﻧﳮﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ و روش ﺑﻌﴣ‬ ‫ﻣّﺪﻋﯿﺎن ﰷذﺑﻪء ﺗﺪﯾّﻦ را ﻣﲒان ﻗﺮار دادﻩ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ را ﺑﺎ ٓن ﻗﯿﺎس ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ از اﯾﻦ هجﺖ اداين را ﻣﺎﻧﻊ ﺗﺮّﰵ ﲻﻮم‬ ‫اﻧﮕﺎﺷـﺘﻪاﻧﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻣﺆّﺳﺲ ﻧﺰاع و ﺟﺪال و ﻣﺴﺒّﺐ ﺑﻐﺾ و ﻋﺪاوت ﳇّّﯿﻪ ﺑﲔ اﻗﻮام ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﴰﺮدﻩاﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﻗﺪر ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻧﳮﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ اﺳﺎس اداين اﻟﻬـﯽ را از اﻋﲈل ﻣّﺪﻋﯿﺎن دايﻧﺖ ادراک ﻧﺘﻮان ﳕﻮد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻫﺮ‬ ‫اﻣﺮ ﺧﲑی ﮐﻪ در اﺑﺪاع ﺷـﺒﻪ ا ٓن ﻣﺘﺼّﻮر ﻧﻪ ﻗﺎﺑﻞ ﺳﻮء اﺳـﺘﻌﲈل اﺳﺖ‬

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[The fourth requirement] The fourth phrase in the reported tradition, shining with divine guidance, is “obeying the commandments of his Lord.” It is evident that the greatest gift in the human sphere is obedience to God. Human glory and distinction lie in closely following the injunctions and prohibitions of the One God. Religion is the light of the contingent world: the progress, achievement and happiness of the creatures result from following the commands of the holy Books. † Reflection will surely show that in the world of being, whether inwardly or outwardly, religion is the most enduring foundation, the noblest and mightiest edifice that transcends all the world of creation, that ensures the attainment of spiritual perfections and manifest virtues, that ushers in the reign of true felicity and civilization for all the human race. A few of the shallow-minded, however, who have not made a profound study of the fundamental foundation of the divine religions and have taken as their standard the conduct of pretenders to true piety, have concluded that religion is a hindrance to general progress. They even consider it the origin of strife and conflict, and the source of deep-seated hatred and enmity amongst the diverse communities of the world. How grievously they have failed to realise that the basis of the religions of God cannot be measured by the actions of those who pretend to represent it, for every good thing in the world, no matter how unique in its character, is liable to be misused!

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‫ﻣﺜًﻼ اﮔﺮ ﴎاج ﻧﻮراﱏ در دﺳﺖ هجﻼی ﺻﺒﯿﺎن و انﺑﯿﻨﺎاين اﻓﺘﺪ ﺧﺎﻧﻪ ﻧﯿﻔﺮوزد و ﻇﻠﻤﺖ ﻣﺴـﺘﻮﻟﯿﻪ زاﺋﻞ‬ ‫ﻧﮕﺮدد ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺧﺎﻧﻪ و ﺧﻮد را ﻫﺮ دو ﺑﺴﻮزاﻧﺪ در اﯾﻦ ﺻﻮرت ﻣﯿﺘﻮان ﮔﻔﺖ ﴎاج ﻣﺬﻣﻮم اﺳﺖ ﻻ و اّهلل‬ ‫ﴎاج ﻫﺎدی ﺳﺒﯿﻞ و ﻧﻮر دﻫﻨﺪﻩء ﴯﺺ ﺑﺼﲑ اﺳﺖ ﻟﮑﻦ ﴐﯾﺮ را ا ٓﻓﱴ اﺳﺖ ﻋﻈﲓ‬ ‫از ﲨهلء ﻣﻨﮑﺮان دايﻧﺖ ﴯﴡ ﺑﻮدﻩ ُوﻟﱰ انم از اﻫﻞ ﻓﺮاﻧﺴﻪ و ﮐﺘﺐ ﻋﺪﯾﺪﻩ در رّد اداين ﺗﺼﻨﯿﻒ‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻀﺎﻣﯿﻨﺶ زساوار ﻣﻠﻌﺒﻪء ﺻﺒﯿﺎن ﺑﯿﺨﺮداﻧﺴﺖ اﯾﻦ ﴯﺺ ﺣﺮﰷت و ﺳﮑﻨﺎت ﭘﺎپ را ﮐﻪ رﺋﯿﺲ‬ ‫ﻣﺬﻫﺐ ﰷﺗﻮﻟﯿﮏ اﺳﺖ و ﻓﱳ و ﻓﺴﺎد رؤﺳﺎی روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪء ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤّﯿﻪ را ﻣﲒان ﻗﺮار دادﻩ ﺑﺮ روح‬ ‫اّهلل زابن اﻋﱰاض ﮔﺸﻮدﻩ و ﺑﻌﻘﻞ ﺳﻘﲓ ﻣﻠﺘﻔﺖ ﻣﻌﺎﱏ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯿّﻪء ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﻧﮕﺸـﺘﻪ ﺑﺮ ﺑﻌﴣ‬ ‫ﻣﻀﺎﻣﲔ ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﲋهلء ﺳﲈوﯾ ّﻪ ﳏﺬورات و ﻣﺸالكت ﺑﯿﺎن ﮐﺮدﻩ ﴿ و ﻧّﲋل ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﺮا ٓن ﻣﺎ ﻫﻮ ﺷﻔﺎء و رﲪﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻤﺆﻣﻨﲔ و ﻻ ﯾﺰﯾﺪ اﻟّﻈﺎﳌﲔ اّﻻ ﺧﺴﺎرا ﴾‬ ‫ﺧﻮش ﺑﯿﺎن ﮐﺮد ا ٓن ﺣﮑﲓ ﻏﻧﺰﻮی‬ ‫ﲝﺮ ﳏﺠﻮابن ﻣﺜﺎل ﻣﻌﻨﻮی‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ز ﻗﺮا ٓن ﮔﺮ ﻧﻪ ﺑﯿﻨﺪ ﻏﲑ ﻗﺎل‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﲺﺐ ﻧﺒﻮد ز اﲱﺎب ﺿﻼل‬ ‫ﮐﺰ ﺷﻌﺎع ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﭘﺮ ز ﻧﻮر‬ ‫ﻏﲑ ﮔﺮﻣﯽ ﻣﯽ ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ ﭼﺸﻢ ﮐﻮر‬

‫﴿ ﯾﻀّﻞ ﺑﻪ ﮐﺜﲑًا و ﳞﺪی ﺑﻪ ﮐﺜﲑًا و ﻣﺎ ﯾﻀّﻞ ﺑﻪ اّﻻ اﻟﻔﺎﺳﻘﲔ ﴾‬

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For instance, if a shining lamp is placed in the hands of the foolish, the erring and the immature, it will not light the house or dispel the prevailing darkness, rather they will set the house on fire and be consumed themselves. Can it then be said that the lamp is to be condemned? By the graciousness of God! The lamp leads the way, and is the giver of light to one who understands, but blindness is a great calamity. For example, one of those who repudiated religion was the Frenchman, Voltaire, who wrote many books attacking the religions, which are no better than the toys of foolish youths. This individual, having taken as his criterion the acts and failings of the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic church, and the disagreements and quarrels of the spiritual leaders of the Christian community, criticised the Spirit of God (Jesus). With this perverted reasoning he was unable to grasp the true significance of the sacred Scriptures. In his analysis, he found dangers and difficulties in certain references in the Books sent down from heaven. As it is said, “We send down, of the Quran, that which is a healing and a mercy to the faithful, yet for the oppressors, it will only increase their perdition.”91 Rumi writes: The Sage of Ghazna92 explained things well in a spiritual image, for those shut out by veils, Saying “It’s no surprise if fallacy’s friend reads the Quran, and finds only words: For all the sun’s resplendence, full of light, a blind eye feels no more than heat.”93

“He leads many astray [by a metaphor] and guides many by it: but he leads none but sinners astray by it.”94

91

Quran 17:82. The poet Sanaʾi. 93 Rumi, Mathnavi 3.207.3-3.207.5. 94 Quran 2.26-27. “God does not disdain to use a metaphor, … he leads many astray by it, and guides many by it …” 92

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‫اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و واﲵﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﻓﻮز و ﻓﻼح ﻋﺒﺎد و اﮐﱪ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﲤّﺪن و ﳒﺎح ﻣﻦ ﰱ اﻟﺒﻼد‬ ‫ﳏّﺒﺖ و اﻟﻔﺖ و اّﲢﺎد ﳇّﯽ ﺑﲔ اﻓﺮاد ﻧﻮع اﻧﺴﺎﱏ اﺳﺖ و ﻫﯿﭻ اﻣﺮی در ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﺪون اّﲢﺎد و اﺗ ّﻔﺎق ﻣﺘﺼّﻮر‬ ‫و ﻣﯿّﴪ ﻧﮕﺮدد و در ﻋﺎﱂ اﳈﻞ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ اﻟﻔﺖ و اّﲢﺎد دايﻧﺖ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯿّﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﴿ ﻟﻮ ٔاﻧﻔﻘَﺖ ﻣﺎ ﰱ‬ ‫الارض ﲨﯿﻌًﺎ ﻣﺎ اﻟ ّﻔَﺖ ﺑﲔ ﻗﻠﻮﲠﻢ و ﻟﮑّﻦ اّهلل ٔاﻟ ّﻒ ﺑﯿﳯﻢ‪﴾ 95‬‬ ‫ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ در ﺑﻌﺜﺖ اﻧﺒﯿﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻗّﻮﻩء اّﲢﺎد ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ابﻃﲎ و ﻇﺎﻫﺮی ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻣﺘﻀﺎّدﻩء ﻣﺘﻘﺎﺗهل را‬ ‫در ﻇّﻞ ﳇﻤﻪء واﺣﺪﻩ ﲨﻊ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺻﺪ ﻫﺰار ﺟﺎن ﺣﲂ ﺟﺎن واﺣﺪ ايﻓﺘﻪ و ﻫﺰاران ﻧﻔﻮس ﲠﯿﺌﺖ ﴯﺺ‬ ‫ﯾﮕﺎﻧﻪ ﳎّﺴﻢ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ﺑﺮ ﻣﺜﺎل ﻣﻮهجﺎ اﻋﺪادﺷﺎن‬ ‫در ﻋﺪد ا ٓوردﻩ ابﺷﺪ ابدﺷﺎن‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﮐﻪ ﺣﻖ رّش ﻋﻠﳱﻢ ﻧﻮرﻩ‬ ‫‪96‬‬ ‫ﻣﻔﱰق ﻫﺮﮔﺰ ﻧﮕﺮدد ﻧﻮر او‬ ‫ﺟﺎن ﮔﺮﮔﺎن و ﺳﮕﺎن از ﱒ ﺟﺪاﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﺘّﺤﺪ ﺟﺎﳖﺎی ﺷﲑان ﺧﺪاﺳﺖ‬

‫‪95‬‬ ‫‪ in the Cairo edition‬ﺑﯿﳯﻢ ‪ here, corrected to‬ﻗﻠﻮﲠﻢ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 97) repeats‬‬ ‫‪(p. 87).‬‬ ‫‪96‬‬ ‫‪ . The text used, based on the Konya‬ﻫﻮ ‪ , the Cairo edition‬او ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬ ‫‪ .‬او ‪manuscript, supports‬‬

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[Religion as the means of progress: as shown in Jewish history] † It is evident and manifest that the greatest of all means for the progress and advancement of all peoples, and the mightiest instrument for the establishment of civilization and progress in the world, is perfect love, concord and unity amongst the children of men. Nothing whatsoever in this world can be either conceived or achieved save through unity and concord; and the most perfect means available in the world to establish concord and unity is the true faith of God. “If you offered them all the earth contains, there would be no concord between their hearts; but God has united them …”97 Consider how the power of real union latent in the mission of the Prophets of God has, both outwardly and inwardly, gathered together the rancorous peoples and kindreds of the earth under the shadow of the one Word of God. A hundred thousand souls became as one, and thousands of souls become like the body of one person. Their multiplicity is like the waves’: The wind, maybe, has made them multiple. Though “God has sprinkled some of His light on them,”98 The light of God is never divided. The souls of wolves and dogs are sundered, But the souls of the lions of God are as one.99

97

Quran 8:63. A Tradition cited by al-Ghazali and others: “God created the creatures in darkness and then sprinkled upon them some of his light.” 99 These six lines comprise three separate couplets drawn from Rumi’s Mathnavi, at 2.185; 2.189 and 4.414. 98

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‫ﺗﻔﺎﺻﯿﻞ واﻗﻌﻪء در زﻣﺎن ﺑﻌﺜﺖ اﻧﺒﯿﺎی ﺳﻠﻒ ﻋﻠﳱﻢ اﻟّﺴﻼم و اﻃﻮار و اﺣﻮال و ا ٓاثرﺷﺎن ﮐﲈ ﻫﻮ ﺣﻘّﻪ‬ ‫در ﺗﻮارﱗ ﻣﻌﺘﱪﻩ ﻣﻔّﺼًﻼ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﻧﻪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ در ا ٓايت ﻗﺮا ٓﻧّﯿﻪ و اﺣﺎدﯾﺚ و ﺗﻮراة ﶍﻞ ذﮐﺮ ﺷﺪﻩ ﻟﮑﻦ ﭼﻮن‬ ‫از زﻣﺎن ﺣﴬت ﻣﻮﳻ ات ﲝﺎل ﲨﯿﻊ اﻣﻮر در ﻗﺮا ٓن ﻋﻈﲓ و اﺣﺎدﯾﺚ ﲱﯿﺤﻪ و ﺗﻮراة و ﺗﻮارﱗ ﻣﻌﺘﱪﻩ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﺪرج ﻟﻬﺬا ﳐﺘﴫًا ﺑﯿﺎن ﻣﯿﺸﻮد ات ﺑﱪاﻫﲔ ﻣﺘﻘﻨﻪ ﻧﺰد ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و واﰣ ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ در ﻋﺎﱂ وﺟﻮد ا ٓاي دايﻧﺖ‬ ‫اّس اﺻﻮل اﺻﻠّﯿﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ و اي ﺧﻮد ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ وﻟﱰ و اﻣﺜﺎل او ﮔﲈن ﺑﺮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﳐّﺮب‬ ‫ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺗﺮّﰵ و راﺣﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و از اﯾﻦ هجﺖ ﮐﻪ ﳎﺎل اﻧﲀر ﲜﻬﺖ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ ای از‬ ‫ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻋﺎﱂ ابﰵ ﳕﺎﻧﺪ ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﺑﯿﺎن ﻣﯿﺸﻮد ﮐﻪ ﻣﻄﺎﺑﻖ ﺗﻮارﱗ ﲱﯿﺤﻪء ﲻﻮم ﻣﻠﻞ و ﻣﺼّﺪق ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻫﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ‬ ‫در زﻣﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ در ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﻣﴫ از ﺗﻮادل و ﺗﻨﺎﺳﻞ ﺗﮑّﱶ ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻣﴫ ﻣﻨﺘﴩ‬ ‫ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﺎن ﻗﺒﻄﯿﺎن ﻓﺮاﻋﻨﻪء ﻣﴫ ﺑﺮ اﻋﺰاز و ﻗّﻮت ﻗﻮم ﺧﻮد ﻗﺒﻄﯽ و اذﻻل و ﺣﻘﺎرت ﺳـﺒﻄﯽ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻏﺮﯾﺐ ﻣﯿﺸﻤﺮدﻧﺪ ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺘﻨﺪ و ﻣّﺪﰏ ﻣﺪﯾﺪ ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ ﳐﺘﻠﻒ و ﻣﺘﻔّﺮق ﺷﺪﻩ در ﲢﺖ اايدی ﻇﲅ و‬ ‫ﺟﻮر ﻗﺒﻄﯿﺎن اﺳﲑ و در اﻋﲔ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ انس ﺳﻔﯿﻞ و ﺣﻘﲑ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ ﺣﻘﲑﺗﺮﯾﻦ ﻗﺒﻄﯽ اذﯾ ّﺖ و ﺟﻔﺎ‬ ‫ﺑﺮ ﻋﺰﯾﺰﺗﺮﯾﻦ ﺳـﺒﻄﯽ ﻣﯿﳮﻮد‬

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The detailed events of the times when the Prophets of old were teaching, and their conduct, circumstances and works are not accurately recorded in authentic histories, although they are mentioned briefly in verses of the Quran, and in the traditions and the Torah. Yet since every question arising, from the days of Moses until the present time, is embraced in the glorious Quran, the genuine Traditions, the Torah and reliable histories, I will give a brief exposition. My purpose is that it should become unmistakeably evident, on the basis of convincing proof, whether piety is the very basis and root principle of human life and civilization, or whether, as Voltaire and his like have imagined, it destroys the foundations of progress, and the prosperity and peace of human society. And to ensure there is no room for any one of the world’s peoples to raise an objection, the argument will be couched in terms that conform to the reliable histories common to the religious communities and relied on by all the world’s people. At a time when the Israelites had become numerous in Egypt, due to natural increase, they were scattered across the whole country. The native Pharaohs of Egypt100 took action to elevate and strengthen their own people and to humble and dishonour the Hebrew settlers, whom they regarded as foreigners. For a long time, the Israelites were separated and divided. They were captives to the tyranny and oppression of the native Egyptians, and were scorned and despised by all, to the extent that the lowliest Egyptians would be cruel and injure the noblest of the Israelites.

100 Pharaohs of the house of Qibtun, ancestor of the Egyptian people, as distinct from sibt, the tribe, meaning the Hebrew population of Egypt.

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‫ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﺳﺎرت و ذﻟ ّﺖ و ﻣﻈﻠﻮﻣﯿّﺖ ﺑﺪرﺟﻪء ﳖﺎﯾﺖ رﺳـﯿﺪ ﺷﺐ و روز ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ ﻧﻪ از ﺟﺎن در‬ ‫اﻣﺎن و ﻧﻪ اﻃﻔﺎل و ﻋﯿﺎﻟﺸﺎن را از ﺑﯿﺪادی ﻋﻮاانن ﻓﺮﻋﻮن ﻣﻠﺠﺎٔ و ﭘﻨﺎﻫﯽ ﳕﺎاين ﻃﻌﺎﻣﺸﺎن از ﻓﺮط‬ ‫ﻣﺼﺎﺋﺐ و ا ٓﻻم ﻗﻄﻌﺎت دل ﭘﺮ ﺧﻮن و ﴍاﺑﺸﺎن ﴎﺷﮏ ﻣﺜﺎﺑﻪء ﺟﯿﺤﻮن‬ ‫ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ در اﯾﻦ ﺣﺎل ﭘﺮ ﻣﻼل ات ﮐﻪ ﺟﲈل ﻣﻮﺳﻮی ٔاﺷّﻌﻪء انر اﺣﺪﯾ ّﻪ را از ﺷﻄﺮ‪ 101‬وادی اﳝﻦ‬ ‫ﺑﻘﻌﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ و ﻧﺪای ﺟﺎن ﻓﺰای اﻟﻬـﯽ را از انر ﻣﻮﻗﺪﻩء رّابﻧّﯿﻪ در ﴭﺮﻩء ﴿ ﻻ ﴍﻗﯿّﻪ و‬ ‫ﻻ ﻏﺮﺑّﯿﻪ ﴾ اﺳـامتع ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺑﻨﺒّﻮت ﳇّّﯿﻪ ﻣﺒﻌﻮث ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ و ﭼﻮن ﴎاج ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ در اﳒﻤﻦ ﺳـﺒﻄﯿﺎن ﺑﺮ‬ ‫اﻓﺮوﺧﺘﻨﺪ و ﺑﻨﻮر ُﻫﺪی ا ٓن ﮔﻤﮕﺸـﺘﮕﺎن ﻇﻠﲈت هجﻞ را ﺑﺮ ﺳﺒﯿﻞ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ ﻋﲅ و ﮐﲈل دﻻﻟﺖ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ و‬ ‫ﻓﺮق ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪء اﺳـﺒﺎط اﴎاﺋﯿﻠﯿﺎن را در ﻇّﻞ ﳇﻤﻪء واﺣﺪﻩء ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻪء ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪ ﲨﻊ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ ﻋﲅ اّﲢﺎد ﰷﻣﻞ را‬ ‫ﺑﺮ اﺗﻼل اﺗ ّﻔﺎق و ﯾﮕﺎﻧﮕﯽ ﺑﺮ اﻓﺮاﺧﺘﻨﺪ و در ﻣّﺪت ﻗﻠﯿهل ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس ﺟﺎﻫهل ﺑﱰﺑﯿﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ از‬ ‫ﺑﯿﮕﺎﻧﮕﯽ ﺑﻪ ﯾﮕﺎﻧﮕﯽ‪ 102‬ﺣّﻖ ﮔﺮوﯾﺪﻧﺪ و از ﺣﻘﺎرت و ذﻟ ّﺖ و ﻣﺴﮑﻨﺖ و اﺳﺎرت و هجﺎﻟﺖ ﺧﻼص ﺷﺪﻩ‬ ‫ﲟﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﻌﺪ از ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﻣﴫ رﺣﻠﺖ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ ﲟﻮﻃﻦ اّول اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ ﮐﺮدﻩ ابرض ﮐﻨﻌﺎن و ﻓﻠﺴﻄﲔ وارد و در‬ ‫ﺑﺪاﯾﺖ ﺳﻮاﺣﻞ ﳖﺮ اردن و ارﳛﺎ را ﻓﺘﺢ ﳕﻮدﻩ در ا ٓن ﺑﻼد ﺳﺎﮐﻦ و ابﻻﺧﺮﻩ ﲨﯿﻊ ﺑﻼد ﳎﺎورﻩ را از ﻓﯿﻨﯿﮑﻪ‬ ‫و ادوم‪ 103‬و ﻋﺎﻣﻮن‬

‫‪101‬‬ ‫‪, but both the Bombay edition (p. 99) and the‬ﻣﻦ ﺷﻄﯽ اﻟﻮاد الاﳝﻦ ‪Quran 28:30 has‬‬ ‫‪, “from the direction of.” A copyist’s error cannot be ruled‬از ﺷﻄﺮ ‪Cairo edition (p. 89) have‬‬ ‫‪out, but the text has been translated as written.‬‬ ‫‪102‬‬ ‫‪ twice, but the kasra marked in the Bombay‬ﺑﯿﮕﺎﻧﮕﯽ ‪The Cairo edition (p. 90) has‬‬ ‫‪, is intended.‬ﰉ ‪, not‬ﺑﻪ ‪edition (p. 100) shows that‬‬ ‫‪103‬‬ ‫‪ (Edom). In the‬ادوم ‪ُ. The Cairo edition amends this to‬ذُوم ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition’s spelling, the first of the two dammahs is presumably intended to be‬‬ ‫‪read before the dhal.‬‬

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The servitude, abasement, subjugation and oppression reached an extreme. The Israelites were not secure in their own lives, by day or night, and their children and households had no refuge or shelter from injustice from those who served the Pharaoh. Due to the excess of afflictions and griefs, their food was fragments of their broken hearts, and their drink was tears like the River Oxus. The Israelites were in this deep anguish until the beauty of Moses caused the rays of the fire of Oneness to appear from the valley of the Refuge, the hallowed precinct, and the soul-stirring call of God to be heard, from the fire kindled by God in the Tree “neither of the East nor of the West.”104 He was invested with universal prophethood and blazed out like a lamp of divine guidance among the Israelite community. By the light of guidance, he led those who wandered in the darkness of ignorance to the straight path of knowledge and excellence. Having gathered the diverse tribes of the Israelites under the shade of the all-embracing, unifying doctrine of God’s Unicity, he raised the banner of perfect unity on the summits of solidarity and unity. In a short time, those ignorant souls were trained through the divine teachings. They were drawn from division towards unity in Truth, and were liberated from dishonour, abasement, wretchedness, banishment and ignorance. They achieved a supreme degree of happiness and honour. Later they set out from Egypt for their original homeland, Israel, and came to Canaan and Palestine. They first conquered the banks of the river Jordan and Jericho, and settled in those regions, and ultimately freed all the neighbouring regions from Phoenicia, Edom and Ammon.

104

Quran 24:35.

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‫ﴫف ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ ا ٓﻣﺪ و اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﯾﻔﻪ در‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ در زﻣﺎن ﯾﻮﺷﻊ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﳻ و ﯾﮏ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ در ﲢﺖ ﺗ ّ‬ ‫ﲨﯿﻊ ﺷـﺌﻮن و ﺻﻔﺎت و ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ از ﻋﲅ و ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺖ و ﺛﺒﺎت و ّﳘﺖ و ﺟﻼدت و ﴭﺎﻋﺖ و‬ ‫ﻋّﺰت و ﲯﺎوت ﺑﺮ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺗﻔّﻮق ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﯾﮏ ﴯﺺ اﴎاﺋﯿﲆ در ا ٓن ﻋﴫ اﮔﺮ ﺑﲔ ﶍﻌﯽ‬ ‫داﺧﻞ ﻣﯿﺸﺪ ﲜﻤﯿﻊ ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ ﳑﺘﺎز ﺑﻮد ﺣ ّﱴ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ در ﻣﺪح ﻧﻔﴗ اﮔﺮ زابن ﻣﯿﮕﺸﻮدﻧﺪ ﻧﺴﺒﺖ‬ ‫اﴎاﺋﯿﲆ ﻣﯿﺪادﻧﺪ‬ ‫و در ﺗﻮارﱗ ﻣﺘﻌّﺪدﻩ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﮐﻪ ﻓﻼﺳﻔﻪء ﯾﻮانن ﻣﺜﻞ ﻓﯿﺜﺎﻏﻮرث اﮐﱶ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﺣﳬﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪ را‬ ‫از ﺗﻼﻣﺬﻩء ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠامين اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﳕﻮد و ﺳﻘﺮاط ﺑﺴـﯿﺎﺣﺖ ﺷـﺘﺎﻓﺘﻪ اب ﺑﻌﴣ از اﺟّهلء ﻋﻠﲈی رّابﱏ‬ ‫اﴎاﺋﯿﲆ ﻣﻼﻗﺎت ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﺑﯿﻮانن ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻋﺘﻘﺎد وﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﺑﻘﺎی ارواح اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﺑﻌﺪ از‬ ‫ﺧﻠﻊ ﻟﺒﺎس اﺟﺴﺎم را ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﳕﻮد‪ 105‬ﻋﺎﻗﺒﺖ هجهلء ﯾﻮانن ﺑﺮ ا ٓن واﻗﻒ اﴎار ﺣﳬﺖ اﻋﱰاض ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﻗﺘﻠﺶ ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﯾﻮانن را اﻫﺎﱃ ﳎﺒﻮر ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻪ در ﳎﻠﺲ ﺳﻘﺮاط را ﭘﯿﺎهلء ﰟ چبﺸﺎﻧﯿﺪﻧﺪ‬ ‫ابری ﳐﺘﴫ اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﺪ از ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ اﴎاﺋﯿﻠّﯿﻪ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﲤّﺪن ﺗﺮّﰵ ﳕﻮد و ﲟﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء‬ ‫ﺳﻌﺎدت ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﮔﺸﺖ ﻗﻠﯿﻼ ﻗﻠﯿﻼ اّس اﺳﺎس دايﻧﺖ و ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻣﻮﺳﻮﯾ ّﻪ را ﻓﺮاﻣﻮش ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﻌﺎدات رﲰّﯿﻪ‬ ‫و اﻃﻮار ﻏﲑ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ ﻣﺸﻐﻮل ﺷﺪﻧﺪ‬

‫‪, changed as shown in the Cairo edition p. 91.‬ﳕﻮدﻩ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 102) has‬‬

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In Joshua’s time, thirty-one kingdoms had come under the sway of the Israelites, and this people surpassed all the world’s tribes and communities in all human attributes and virtues, such as knowledge and understanding, steadfastness, determination and vigour, courage and honour. In those days, when an Israelite entered a gathering, his many virtues marked his excellence, to the extent that foreign peoples who wished to praise someone would declare him to be an Israelite. Moreover, numerous histories state that the Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras derived most of their natural philosophy and theology from the school of Solomon. During his travels, †Socrates was eager to meet some of Israel’s most illustrious scholars and divines. On his return to Greece he established the doctrines of the unity of God and the immortality of human souls after shedding the garment of the physical body. Ultimately, the ignorant among the Greeks denounced this man who had uncovered the secrets of wisdom, and determined to take his life. Under pressure from the populace in the assembly, the King of Greece caused Socrates to drain the poisoned cup. Then, to cut the story short, after the Israelites had progressed through every level of civilization, and had achieved the greatest happiness, little by little they forgot the root principles of the Mosaic Law and piety, and busied themselves with ritual customs and unseemly conduct.

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‫در زﻣﺎن رﺣﺒﻌﺎم ﭘﴪ ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠامين در ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ اﺧﺘﻼف ﻋﻈﳰﯽ واﻗﻊ ﺷﺪ ايرﺑﻌﺎم ﮐﻪ از اﻓﺮاد‬ ‫اﴎاﺋﯿﻠﯿﺎن ﺑﻮد ﴎ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﺑﺮداﺷﺖ و ﻋﺒﺎدت اﺻﻨﺎم را ﺑﻨﺎ ﮔﺬاﺷﺖ ﭼﻨﺪ ﻗﺮن ﳏﺎرﺑﻪ ﺑﲔ رﺣﺒﻌﺎم و‬ ‫ايرﺑﻌﺎم و ﺳﻼهلﺷﺎن واﻗﻊ ﮔﺸﺖ و ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ ﳞﻮد ﳐﺘﻠﻒ و ﻣﺘﻔّﺮق ﺷﺪﻧﺪ ابﻻﺧﺘﺼﺎر از اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻌﲎ ﴍﯾﻌﺔ‬ ‫اّهلل را ﻓﺮاﻣﻮش ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﺘﻌّﺼﺒﺎت ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ و ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ ﻏﲑ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪء ﺑﻐﯽ و ﻃﻐﯿﺎن ﻣﺘّﺼﻒ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ و ﻋﻠﲈﺷﺎن‬ ‫ﻟﻮازم ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯿّﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪء ﻣﻨﺪرﺟﻪ در ﮐﺘﺎب ﻣﻘّﺪس را ﻧﺴـﯿًﺎ ﻣﻨﺴـّﯿًﺎ اﻧﮕﺎﺷـﺘﻪ در ﻓﮑﺮ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد‬ ‫اﻓﺘﺎدﻧﺪ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ را ﲟﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء ﻏﻔﻠﺖ و هجﺎﻟﺖ ﻣﺒﺘﻼ ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ از ﲦﺮﻩء اﻋﲈﻟﺸﺎن ا ٓن ﻋّﺰت ﭘﺎﯾﺪار ﲟﻨﳤـﯽ‬ ‫درﺟﻪء ذﻟ ّﺖ ﻣﺒّﺪل ﮔﺸﺖ و ﻣﻠﻮک ﻓﺮس و ﯾﻮانن و روﻣﺎن ﻣﺴﻠ ّﻂ ﺑﺮ اﯾﺸﺎن ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ راﯾﺖ اﺳـﺘﻘﻼﻟﺸﺎن‬ ‫ﴎﻧﮕﻮن ﺷﺪ‬ ‫هجﺎﻟﺖ و انداﱏ و ﻧﮑﺒﺖ و ﺧﻮد ﭘﺮﺳـﱴ رؤﺳﺎی دﯾﻨﯿّﻪ و اﺣﺒﺎرﺷﺎن ﳎّﺴﻢ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﺑﺼﻮرت ﲞﺘﻨّﴫ ﻣﻠﮏ‬ ‫ابﺑﻞ ﻣﺒﻌﻮث ﺷﺪﻩ ﺑﳫّﯽ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﴎاﺋﯿﻠﯿﺎن را ﺑﺮ اﻧﺪاﺧﺖ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻗﺘﻞ ﻋﺎم و ﻏﺎرت و ﻫﺪم ﺑﯿﻮت و ﻗﻠﻊ‬ ‫اﴭﺎر ا ٓچنﻪ از ﺑﻘﯿّﺔ اﻟﺴـّﯿﻮف ابﰵ ﻣﺎﻧﺪ اﺳﲑ ﮐﺮدﻩ ﺑﺒﺎﺑﻞ ﺑﺮد‬ ‫ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻫﻔﺘﺎد ﺳـﻨﻪ اوﻻد اﴎاء ﻣﺮّﺧﺺ ﺷﺪﻩ ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﺑﻪ ﺑﯿﺖ اﳌﻘﺪس ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﺣﺰﻗﯿﺎ و ُﻋَﺰﯾﺮ ﻋﻠﳱﲈ اﻟّﺴﻼم‬ ‫ﳎّﺪدًا ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ اﺳﺎس ﮐﺘﺎب ﻣﻘّﺪس را ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﯾﻮﻣًﺎ ﻓﯿﻮﻣًﺎ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ اﴎاﺋﯿﻠّﯿﻪ ﺗﺮّﰵ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺻﺒﺢ ﻧﻮراﱏ اﻋﺼﺎر‬ ‫اّوﻟّﯿﻪ ﻻﰁ ﮔﺸﺖ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻣّﺪﰏ ﻗﻠﯿﻞ ابز اﺧﺘﻼﻓﺎت ﻋﻈﳰﻪ در اﻃﻮار و اﻓﲀرﺷﺎن واﻗﻊ ﳘﻢ ﻋﻠﲈی ﳞﻮد‬ ‫ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ اﻏﺮاض ﻧﻔﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﮔﺸﺖ و اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﺟﺎرﯾﻪء زﻣﺎن ُﻋَﺰﯾﺮ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﻟّﺴﻼم ﺑﺮوش و اﺣﻮال ﻓﺎﺳﺪﻩ‬ ‫ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﺷﺪ‬

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In the days of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, terrible dissension broke out among the Israelites. One of the Israelites, Jeroboam, plotted to obtain the throne, and introduced the worship of idols. Several decades of warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam and their descendants ensued, and the Jewish tribes became separated and dispersed. In brief, because they forgot the meaning of the Law of God, they were tainted by ignorant fanaticism and blameworthy conduct such as insurgence and sedition. Their divines regarded the essentials of true humanity, set forth in the Bible, as things abandoned and forgotten. They thought only of their own selfish interests, and reduced the community to an extreme of heedlessness and ignorance. Among the fruits of their doings was that stable glory gave way to the worst sort of abasement, and the kings of Persia and Greece, and the Romans, subjugated them. The banners of their sovereignty were inverted. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was the fitting nemesis for the ignorance, foolishness, abasement and self-love of Israel’s religious leaders and scholars. He totally demolished what the Israelites had built. After a general massacre, and pillaging and razing the buildings and uprooting the trees, he took those who had survived the sword captive and carried them off to Babylon. After seventy years, the children of the captivity were permitted to return to Jerusalem the Holy. Hezekiah and Ezra (peace be upon them) restored the fundamentals of the Holy Book. Day by day the Israelites progressed, and the bright morning of the first centuries dawned again. It was not long before great differences arose as to their beliefs and conduct. All the Jewish divines became preoccupied with selfish interests, and the reforms that prevailed in Ezra’s time (peace be upon him) were exchanged for perverse conduct and customs.

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‫ﰷر ﲜﺎﰃ اﳒﺎﻣﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﺴﺎﮐﺮ ﻣﻠﻮک و ﲨﻬﻮرﯾ ّﺖ روﻣﺎن ﻣﺮارًا و ﮐﺮارًا ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﴎاﺋﯿﻠﯿﺎن را ﻓﺘﺢ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ابﻻﺧﺮﻩ ﻃﯿﻄﻮس ﻗﻬﺮﻣﺎن ﮐﻪ ﴎدار روﻣﺎن ﺑﻮد ﺑﻼد ﻣﺘﻮّﻃﻨﻪء ﳞﻮد را اب ﺧﺎک ﯾﮑﺴﺎن ﳕﻮد ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﲨﯿﻊ رﺟﺎل را ﻗﺘﻞ و ﻧﺴﺎء و اوﻻد را اﺳﲑ و ﺑﯿﻮت را ﻫﺪم و اﴭﺎر را ﻗﻄﻊ و ﮐﺘﺐ را ﺣﺮق و اﻣﻮال‬ ‫را ﳖﺐ و ﺑﯿﺖ اﳌﻘﺪس را ﭼﻮن ﺗّﻞ ﺧﺎﮐﺴﱰ ﳕﻮد و ﺑﻌﺪ از اﯾﻦ ﻣﺼﯿﺒﺖ ﮐﱪی ﺳـﺘﺎرﻩء ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺑﲎ‬ ‫اﴎاﺋﯿﻠﯿﺎن در ﻣﻐﺮب ﻧﯿﺴـﱴ ﻣﺘﻮاری ﺷﺪ و ات ﲝﺎل ﺑﺮ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻨﻮال اﯾﻦ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﻀﻤﺤﻞ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ در اﻃﺮاف‬ ‫ﴐﺑ َﺖ ﻋﻠﳱﻢ ا ِّذل َّ ُةل و اﳌﺴﮑﻨﺔ ﴾‬ ‫ﻋﺎﱂ ﭘﺮاﮐﻨﺪﻩاﻧﺪ ﴿ و ُ ِ‬ ‫و اﯾﻦ ﻣﺼﯿﺒﺘﲔ اﻋﻈﻤﲔ ﲞﺘﻨّﴫ و ﻃﯿﻄﻮس در ﻗﺮا ٓن ﳎﯿﺪ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﴿ و ﻗﻀﯿﻨﺎ اﱃ ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ ﰱ‬ ‫اﻟﮑﺘﺎب ﻟﺘﻔﺴﺪَّن ﰱ الارض ﻣّﺮﺗﲔ و ﻟﺘﻌﻠَّﻦ ﻋﻠّﻮًا ﮐﺒﲑًا ﻓﺎذا ﺟﺎء وﻋﺪ ٔاوﻻﻫﲈ ﺑﻌﺜﻨﺎ ﻋﻠﯿﲂ ﻋﺒﺎدًا ﻟﻨﺎ ٔاوﱃ‬ ‫ﺑﺎٔس ﺷﺪﯾﺪ ﲾﺎﺳﻮا ﺧﻼل اّدلاير و ﰷن وﻋﺪًا ﻣﻔﻌﻮًﻻ ﴾ ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ ﻓﺎذا ﺟﺎء وﻋﺪ اﻻ ٓﺧﺮة ﻟﯿﺴﻮؤا‬ ‫وﺟﻮﻫﲂ و ﻟﯿﺪﺧﻠﻮا اﳌﺴﺠﺪ ﮐﲈ دﺧﻠﻮﻩ ٔاّول ﻣّﺮة و ﻟﯿﺘّﱪوا ﻣﺎ ﻋﻠﻮا ﺗﺘﺒﲑًا ﴾‬ ‫ابری ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﺷﻮد ﮐﻪ دايﻧﺖ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯿّﻪ ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﲤّﺪن و ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﻋﻠّﻮ‬ ‫ﻣﲋﻟﺖ و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺗﺮّﰵ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ذﻟﯿهلء اﺳﲑﻩء ﺣﻘﲑﻩء ﺟﺎﻫهل ﻣﯿﺸﻮد و ﭼﻮن ﺑﺪﺳﺖ ﻋﻠﲈء ﺟﺎﻫﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﺘﻌّﺼﺐ اﻓﺘﺪ از ﺳﻮء اﺳـﺘﻌﲈل ﭼﻨﲔ ﻧﻮراﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻋﻈﻤﯽ ﺑﻈﻠﻤﺖ دﻫﲈء ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﻣﯿﺸﻮد‬

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This continued to the point that, on several occasions, the armies of the kings and republic of Rome conquered Israelite territory. Finally Titus “Imperator,”106 commander of the Romans, levelled the Jewish homeland to the ground with such severity that every man was killed. Women and children were taken captive, buildings were demolished, trees were cut down, books were burned, property was pillaged, and Jerusalem the Holy was reduced to an ash heap. After this grievous calamity, the star of Israel’s dominion set in the West of nothingness, and that community has remained enfeebled to this day. They have been scattered to the ends of the earth. “Humiliation and misery were stamped upon them.”107 These two most grievous calamities, at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and Titus, are referred to in the glorious Quran: “We decreed for the Israelites in the Book, ‘You will twice spread corruption on the earth, and conduct yourself with overweening arrogance.’ So when the first of the two threats came, we raised our servants against you, endowed with terrible prowess. They searched the inner apartments, and the threat was effected.” And the text continues, “And when the latter threat came, they humiliated you, and entered the Temple as they had entered it the first time, and destroyed what they had conquered, utterly.”108 † In short, experience has shown that whenever true religion – the cause of the civilization, the glory, the happiness, the honour, the enlightenment and the progress of backward, enslaved and ignorant peoples – falls into the hands of foolish and fanatical divines, it is so sorely misused that its great light is turned into utter darkness.

106 Abduʾl-Bahā apparently refers here to Titus’ acclamation by his troops after the sack of Jerusalem, and the triumphal parade that followed on that. 107 Quran 2:61. 108 Quran 17:5 and 17:7.

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‫و ﭼﻮن دﻓﻌﻪء اثﻧﯿﻪ ﻋﻼﰂ و ا ٓاثر ﺗﺸﺘ ّﺖ و ذﻟ ّﺖ و ﻧﯿﺴـﱴ و ﻣﻘﻬﻮرﯾ ّﺖ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪء اﴎاﺋﯿﻠﯿﺎن ﳕﻮدار ﺷﺪ‬ ‫ﻧﻔﺤﺎت ﻃّﯿﺒﻪء ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪء روح اّهلل ﺑﺮ ﺷﻮاﻃﯽ ﳖﺮ اردن و ﺧّﻄﻪء ﺟﻠﯿﻞ ﺳﺎﻃﻊ ﮔﺸﺖ و اﺑﺮ رﲪﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺖ و ﺑﺮ ا ٓن داير اﻣﻄﺎر روﺣﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﮐﱪی ﻣﺒﺬول داﺷﺖ و از رﴮﺎت و ﻃﻔﺤﺎت ﲝﺮ اﻋﻈﻢ ﺑّﺮﯾ ّﻪء‬ ‫ﻗﺪس ﺑﺮايﺣﲔ ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔ اّهلل ﻣﻌّﻄﺮ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ و ﺟﻮاﻣﻊ اﳊﺎن ﺟﻠﯿﻞ اﳒﯿﻞ ﲟﺴﺎﻣﻊ اﻫﻞ ﺻﻮاﻣﻊ ﻣﻠﮑﻮت در ا ٓﻣﺪ‬ ‫و ﺑﻨﻔﺲ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤﺎﰃ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﯿّﺘﻪ ﴎ از ﻗﱪ ﻏﻔﻠﺖ و هجﺎﻟﺖ ﺑﺮداﺷـﺘﻪ ﲝﯿﺎت اﺑﺪﯾ ّﻪ ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ در ﻣّﺪت‬ ‫ﺳﻪ ﺳﺎل ا ٓن ﻧّﲑ اوج ﮐﲈل در دﺷﺖ و ﲱﺮاء اورﺷﻠﲓ و ﻓﻠﺴﻄﲔ ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﳕﻮدﻩ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ را ﺑﺼﺒﺢ ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ‬ ‫دﻻﻟﺖ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ و ابﺧﻼق روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و ﺻﻔﺎت ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ و اﮔﺮ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ اﴎاﺋﯿﻠّﯿﻪ ﺑﺎ ٓن ﺟﲈل‬ ‫ﻧﻮراﱏ اﻗﺒﺎل ﳕﻮدﻩ ﳈﺮ ﺧﺪﻣﺖ ﺑﺮ اﻃﺎﻋﺖ ﻣﯽ ﺑﺴﺘﻨﺪ ﺑﺮواﰁ ﺟﺎن ﲞﺶ روح اّهلل ﺑﺮوىح اتزﻩ و ﻓﺘﻮىح‬ ‫ﰉ اﻧﺪازﻩ ﻣﺆﯾ ّﺪ ﻣﯿﮕﺸﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫و ﻟﮑﻦ ﭼﻪ ﻓﺎﺋﺪﻩ ﮐﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻋﺮاض ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺑﺮ اذﯾ ّﺖ ا ٓن ﻣﻌﺪن ﻋﲅ دلّﱏ و همﺒﻂ وىح اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺘﻨﺪ اّﻻ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﺪودی ﻗﻠﯿﻞ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺘﻮّهجًﺎ اﱃ اّهلل از ﺷـﺌﻮن ﻇﻠﲈﻧّﯿﻪء اﻣﲀن ﻣﻘّﺪس ﺷﺪﻩ ﻗﺼﺪ ﻣﻌﺎرج ﻻﻣﲀن ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ ﺑﻠّﯿﺎت ﺷﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﺑﺮ ا ٓن ﻣﴩق اﻟﻄﺎف اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ وارد ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ اﻗﺎﻣﺖ و اﺳـﺘﻘﺮار در ﻗﺮﯾﻪ ای‬ ‫ﳑﮑﻦ ﻧﺒﻮد اب وﺟﻮد اﯾﻦ ﻋَ َ ِﲅ ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ ﮐﱪی ﻣﺮﺗﻔﻊ و اﺳﺎس ﲤّﺪن اﺧﻼق اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ اﺻﻮل ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻪ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ ﻣﺆّﺳﺲ ﮔﺸﺖ‬

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[Religion the means of progress: as shown in Christian history] When for the second time the unmistakable signs of the disintegration, abasement, subjugation and annihilation of the tribes of Israel appeared, then the sweet and holy breaths of the Spirit of God (Jesus) were manifest on the banks of the river Jordan and Galilee. The cloud of God’s mercy arose, the showers of wondrous spirituality fell on those regions. Because of those showers, and the most great Sea brimming over, the holy plain became redolent with the green shoots of the knowledge of God. Then the sublime chorus of the Gospel reached the listeners in the heavenly oratories. Through the breaths of the Messiah, dead souls raised their heads from the graves of heedlessness and ignorance and attained the life everlasting. For the space of three years, he who was as the sun at the zenith of perfection could be seen moving through the plains and wilds of Jerusalem and Palestine, summoning all to the morn of guidance and showing the way to a saintly character and praiseworthy attributes. Had the Israelite community accepted that luminous beauty, they would have readied themselves for service and obedience and, assisted by the quickening fragrances of the Spirit of God, they would have gained a new spirit and innumerable victories. But alas, they all opposed Him, and arose to persecute that mine of divine knowledge, that repository of heavenly inspiration. All, that is, except for a handful who, turning their faces towards God, turned from the darker things of this world and sought the heights of the placeless realm. In short, intense sufferings touched that dayspring of the favours of God, to the point that he could not live or rest in any town. Despite this, the flag of the most great guidance was raised and the foundations of humane moral culture, which is the cornerstone of a civilized society, were laid.

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‫در ﻓﺼﻞ ﭘﻨﺠﻢ ا ٓﯾﻪء ﳻ و ﻫﻔﱲ از اﳒﯿﻞ ﻣّﱴ ﻧﺼﯿﺤﱴ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺗﺮﲨﻪاش اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ در ﺑﺪی و‬ ‫ﴍور و اذﯾ ّﺖ ﻣﻘﺎﺑهلء ابﳌﺜﻞ ﻧامنﺋﯿﺪ اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﺑﺮﻃﺮف اﳝﻦ روی ﺗﻮ ﻃﭙﺎچنﻪ ای ﻧزﺪ ﻃﺮف اﯾﴪ را‬ ‫ﺑﺮﮔﺮدان و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در ا ٓﯾﻪء ﭼﻬﻞ و ﺳـﲓ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﺷﻨﯿﺪﻩاﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﮔﻔﺘﻪ ﺷﺪﻩ اﺳﺖ ﻗﺮﯾﺐ ﺧﻮد را دوﺳﺖ‬ ‫دار و دﴰﻨﺖ را ﺑﻌﺪاوت ﻣﯿﺎزار و اّﻣﺎ ﻣﻦ ﭼﻨﲔ ﻣﯿﮕﻮﱘ دﴰﻨﺎﻧﺘﺎن را دوﺳﺖ دارﯾﺪ و ذﮐﺮ ﺧﲑ ﮐﻨﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﺪﮔﻮاين ﺧﻮد را و ﻣﺒﻐﻀﺎﻧﺘﺎن را اﺣﺴﺎن ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ و ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﮐﻪ ﺷﲈ را اذﯾ ّﺖ و ﻃﺮد ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ اﯾﺸﺎن را دﻋﺎ‬ ‫ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ات ﲟﲋهلء ﻓﺮﻧزﺪ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر ا ٓﺳﲈﱏ ابﺷـﯿﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب او ﺑﺮ ﮔﻨﻪﰷر و ﻧﯿﮑﻮﰷر ﻫﺮ دو ﻣﴩق و اﺑﺮ‬ ‫رﲪﺖ او ﺑﺮ ﺳـﳣﲀر و اﺑﺮار ﻫﺮ دو ﳑﻄﺮ زﯾﺮا اﮔﺮ دوﺳـﺘﺎن ﺧﻮد را دوﺳﺖ دارﯾﺪ ﭼﻪ اﺟﺮ و ﻣﺰﯾ ّﱴ از‬ ‫ﺑﺮای ﺷﲈﺳﺖ ا ٓاي ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮرﯾﻦ اﺧﺬ اﻋﺸﺎر اﻏﻼل ﭼﻨﲔ ﳕﯽ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫و ﺗﻌﻠاميت ا ٓن ﻣﻄﻠﻊ ﺣﳬﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ از اﯾﻦ ﻗﺒﯿﻞ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﮐﻪ ابﯾﻦ ﺻﻔﺎت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ ﻣﺘّﺼﻒ‬ ‫ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ ﺟﻮاﻫﺮ وﺟﻮد و ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻊ ﲤّﺪن ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ا ٓن ﺣﴬت ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ را ﺑﺮ روﺣﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﴏﻓﻪ و اﺧﻼق ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ و ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﺆﻣﻨﻪ را‬ ‫روش و ﻣﺴﻠﮏ ﺧﺎّﴅ ﮐﻪ ﺟﻮﻫﺮ ﺣﯿﺎت ﻋﺎﱂ اﺳﺖ ﺗﻌﯿﲔ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ا ٓن ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ُﻫﺪی وﻟﻮ در‬ ‫ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ابﻋﻈﻢ ﻧﻘﻤﺖ و ﻋﻘﻮﺑﺖ ﻇﺎﳌﲔ ﻣﺒﺘﻼ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ وﻟﮑﻦ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ از ﻇﻠﲈت ﺧﺬﻻن ﳞﻮد ﳒﺎت ايﻓﺘﻪ‬ ‫در ﺻﺒﺢ اﺑﺪاع ابﻧﻮار ﻋّﺰت ﴎﻣﺪﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﴩق و ﻻﰁ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ‬

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There is a saying in chapter 5, verse 37, of the Gospel of Matthew, which in translation says, do not confront evil, malevolence and hurts with more of the same. Rather if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the left cheek. Similarly, verse 43 says, “You have heard it said, ‘Love those near to you and visit enmity on your enemy,’ but I say, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, show kindness to those who hate you. If anyone harms you or shuns you, pray for them, that you may attain the station of children of the heavenly father, for his sun rises on both the sinner and the saint, and the cloud of his mercy drops its rain on both the tyrant and the righteous man. For if you love your own friends, what reward and distinction do you deserve? Don’t corrupt tax officials do the same?”109 That dayspring of divine wisdom gave many teachings of this kind. In fact, the souls who are characterised with such attributes of holiness are the Essences of Being and the sources of true civilization. In short, that Holy One built the sacred Law on a foundation of pure spirituality and peerless morals, and he prescribed a noble regimen and conduct for the believers which is the very essence of life in this world. To outward seeming, those manifestations of guidance were subject to the most grievous chastisements and punishments by their oppressors, but in reality, having been freed from the darkness of humiliation that had encompassed the Jews, they arose at that dawntide and shone with the lights of eternal glory.

109 Neither quotation is a literal citation of Matthew, and the first refers to Matthew 5:39. The verses are given in Persian, in the form of commentaries for a Persian audience, on a text that would be most familiar to them in Arabic.

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‫و‪ 110‬ا ٓن ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺟﺴـﳰﻪء ﳞﻮد ﻣﻌﺪوم و ﻣﻀﻤﺤﻞ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ و ﻟﮑﻦ اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﻌﺪود‪ 111‬ﭼﻮن ﺑﻈّﻞ ﴭﺮﻩء‬ ‫ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪء ﻋﯿﺴﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﺷـﺘﺎﻓﺘﻨﺪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ را ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ در ا ٓن زﻣﺎن ﲨﯿﻊ اﻫﺎﱃ اﻗﺎﻟﲓ‬ ‫ﻋﺎﱂ در ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ و انداﱏ و ﲪّﯿﺖ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ و ﴍک ﺑﻮﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﻣّﺪﻋﯽ اﻋﺘﻘﺎد‬ ‫ﺑﻮﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺟﺰ ﴍذﻣﻪء ﻗﻠﯿهلء ﳞﻮد ﻧﻪ و ا ٓانن ﻧﲒ ﺑﳫّﯽ ﳐﺬول و ﻣﻨﮑﻮب و اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ﺑﱰوﱕ‬ ‫اﻣﺮی ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ و ﻣﻀﺎدد ا ٓراء ﲨﯿﻊ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﺑﻮد و ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻮک ﭼﻬﺎر ﻗﻄﻌﻪ از ﻗﻄﻌﺎت‬ ‫ﲬﺴﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﺮ اﲷﺤﻼل ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻋﯿﺴﻮﯾ ّﻪ ابّﰎ ﻋﺰم ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺘﻨﺪ ﻣﻊ ذﻟﮏ ﻋﺎﻗﺒﺖ اﮐﱶی ﲜﺎن و دل در ﺗﺮوﱕ‬ ‫دﯾﻦ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺷـﺘﺎﻓﺘﻨﺪ و ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻞ اوروپ و ﺑﺴـﯿﺎری از ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ و اﻓﺮﯾﮏ و ﺑﻌﴣ ﻣﳣّﮑﻨﲔ ﺟﺰاﺋﺮ‬ ‫ﲝﺮ ﳏﯿﻂ در ﻇّﻞ ﳇﻤﻪء ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪ ﲨﻊ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ا ٓاي در وﺟﻮد از ﻫﺮ هجﺖ اﺳﺎﳻ اﻋﻈﻢ از دايﻧﺖ ﺧﻠﻖ ﺷﺪﻩ و اي ﺧﻮد اﻣﺮی‬ ‫ﳏﯿﻂ ﺑﺮ ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﻨﺶ ﭼﻮن اداين اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻣﺘﺼّﻮر ﮔﺮدد و اي اﻣﺮی وﺳـﯿهلء ﳏّﺒﺖ و اﻟﻔﺖ و اّﲢﺎد و ﯾﮕﺎﻧﮕﯽ‬ ‫اتّم ﭼﻮن اﳝﺎن ﺑﻌﺰﯾﺰ ﻋّﻼم ﺑﻮدﻩ و اي ﺧﻮد اﺳﺎس ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﲻﻮم در ﲨﯿﻊ اﺧﻼق ﺟﺰ ﴍاﺋﻊ ﺳﲈوﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد‬ ‫ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ﺻﻔﺎﰏ ﮐﻪ ﺣﮑﲈ در ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء ﻓﻠﺴﻔﻪ ﺑﺎ ٓن ﻓﺎﺋﺰ و ﺧﺼﺎﱃ ﮐﻪ در اﻋﻈﻢ دراﱕ ﮐﲈل ﺑﺪان ﻣﺘّﺼﻒ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺆﻣﻨﲔ ابّهلل در ﺑﺪاﯾﺖ ﺗﺼﺪﯾﻖ و اﳝﺎن ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ا ٓن ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﯿﮕﺮدﯾﺪﻧﺪ‬

‫‪ (Cairo edition p. 97) is not in the Bombay edition (p. 109).‬و ‪The‬‬ ‫‪ .‬ﻣﻌﺪود ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬

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The great community of the Jews was reduced to nothing, and vanished, while those few souls in reality transformed our collective life on earth, because they hastened to the shadow of the blessed Tree of Jesus. At that time, all the inhabitants of the world were extremely bigoted and ignorant. Their motivations were those of the days of ignorance; they were polytheists. Only a small group of Jews professed belief in the oneness of God, and they were entirely disdained and tormented. Yet these blessed souls arose to promote a cause which was diametrically opposed to the views of the mass of humanity. All the kings of four of the world’s five continents arose with firm resolution to annihilate the Christian community. Nevertheless, most of them eventually hastened to promote the Faith of God with heart and soul. All the peoples of Europe, many of the peoples of Asia and Africa and some of the inhabitants of the Pacific islands were gathered under the shade of the oneness of God. Reflect now: is there any foundation in all of creation that is stronger than religious devotion? Can the most comprehensive Cause that can be imagined in all the world compare with the divine religions? Can any Cause bring about such perfect love, fellowship, unity and union as can belief in the almighty and all-knowing God? Can any basis be seen for universal education in all the virtues, except for the heavenly Law? Consider any of the virtues to which the sages have attained, at the heights of their philosophy, and any of the traits that adorned them at the highest levels of perfection: the faithful manifested those praiseworthy aspects of human nature when their assent and commitment to faith was still young.

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‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﮐﻨﯿﺪ ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﮐﻪ ﺳﻠﺴﺒﯿﻞ ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ را از اايدی اﻟﻄﺎف روح اّهلل ﻧﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻧﺪ و در ﻇّﻞ اﳒﯿﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﺴـﺘﻈّﻞ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ چبﻪ درﺟﻪ از اﺧﻼق واﺻﻞ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺟﺎﻟﯿﻨﻮس ﺣﮑﲓ ﻣﺸﻬﻮر اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ از‬ ‫ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤّﯿﻪ ﻧﺒﻮد ﻣﻊ ذﻟﮏ در ﺳـﺘﺎﯾﺶ ﻣﺆﻣﻨﲔ ابّهلل در ﴍح ﺟﻮاﻣﻊ ﮐﺘﺎب اﻓﻼﻃﻮن ﮐﻪ در ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﺪن ﺗﺼﻨﯿﻒ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻣﺮﻗﻮم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﯿﻨﻪ ﺗﺮﲨﻪء ا ٓن اﯾﻨﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﲨﻬﻮر انس ﺳـﯿﺎق اﻗﻮال ﺑﺮﻫﺎﻧّﯿﻪ را ادراک ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﻨﺪ و از اﯾﻦ هجﺖ ﳏﺘﺎج ﳇﲈت رﻣﻮزﯾ ّﻪ از اﺧﺒﺎرات ﺛﻮاب‬ ‫و ﻋﻘﺎب در دار ا ٓﺧﺮﺗﻨﺪ و دﻟﯿﻞ ﺑﺮ ﺛﺒﻮت اﯾﻦ ﻣﻄﻠﺐ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﻣﯿﮑﻨﲓ ﻗﻮﻣﯽ را ﮐﻪ ﻣﺴّﻤﯽ‬ ‫ﺑﻨﺼﺎریاﻧﺪ و ﺑﺜﻮاب و ﻋﻘﺎب ا ٓﺧﺮت ﻣﻌﺘﻘﺪ و ﻣﺆﻣﻦ و از اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﯾﻔﻪ اﻓﻌﺎل ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ ﺻﺪور ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ ﻣﺜﻞ‬ ‫اﻓﻌﺎل ﻧﻔﴗ ﮐﻪ ﻓﯿﻠﺴﻮف ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ اﺳﺖ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺎ ﻋﯿﺎان ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﻣﯿامنﺋﲓ ﮐﻪ از ﻣﻮت ﳐﺎﻓﱴ ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ‬ ‫و از ﮐﱶت ﺣﺮص و اﺷﺘﯿﺎﻗﺸﺎن ﺑﻌﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎف از ﻣﺘﻔﻠﺴﻔﲔ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﳏﺴﻮﺑﻨﺪ اﻧﳤـﯽ الكم ﺟﺎﻟﯿﻨﻮس‬ ‫و ﻣﻘﺎم ﻓﯿﻠﺴﻮف در ا ٓن زﻣﺎن و ﺑﻌﻘﯿﺪﻩء ﺟﺎﻟﯿﻨﻮس ﻣﻘﺎﻣﯽ ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ از ا ٓن در اﺑﺪاع ﺗﺼّﻮر ﳕﯿﳮﻮد‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻗّﻮﻩء ﻧﻮراﻧّﯿﻪء روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪء اداين اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﲨﻬﻮر ﻣﺘﺪﯾ ّﻨﲔ را ﺑﺪرﺟﻪ ای از ﮐﲈﻻت ﻓﺎﺋﺰ‬ ‫ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺜﻞ ﺟﺎﻟﯿﻨﻮس ﺣﮑﲓ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ از اﻓﺮاد ا ٓن ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻧﺒﻮد ﭼﻨﲔ ﺷﻬﺎدت ﻣﯿﺪﻫﺪ‬

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Observe how those who drank of the soft-flowing river of guidance at the gracious hands of Jesus, the Spirit of God, and who sheltered under the shade of the Gospel, were characterised by such a high level of morality that Galen, the celebrated physician, although not himself part of the Christian community, nevertheless praised those who believe in God in his summary of Plato’s book dealing with the administration of cities.112 In essence what he wrote, when translated, says, “the generality of people are unable to grasp a sequence of logical arguments, so they need symbolic expressions from the stories about the rewards and punishments of the world to come. As confirmatory evidence of this theme, today we observe a people called Christians who teach and believe in rewards and punishments in the life after death. This community is the source of exemplary action, comparable to the deeds of a true philosopher. For example, we all see with our own eyes that they have not the least fear of death. Their eagerness and longing for justice and fair dealing is so great that they are thought to be rightly called philosophers.” That ends the words of Galen. The station of a philosopher at that time, and according to Galen’s teachings, was such that no greater station could be imagined in all creation. See how the enlightening and spiritualising power of the divine religions impels the community of believers to such heights of perfection that an individual such as Galen the physician, while not himself a member of that community, offered such a testimony.

112 The reference is to Galen’s lost commentary on The Republic, fragments of which are preserved in Arabic sources.

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‫و از ا ٓاثر اﯾﻦ اﺧﻼق ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ اﻫﻞ اﳒﯿﻞ در ا ٓن ازﻣﻨﻪ و اﻋﺼﺎر ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﲞﲑات و اﻋﲈل ﺻﺎﳊﺎت ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و‬ ‫ﺑاميرﺳـﺘﺎﳖﺎ و دار اﻟّﺸﻔﺎﻫﺎ و ﻣﻮاﺿﻊ ﺧﲑات ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺷﺪ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ اّول ﴯﴡ ﮐﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ روﻣﺎن ﳏّﻼت‬ ‫ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﲜﻬﺖ ﻣﻌﺎﳉﻪء ﻣﺴﺎﮐﲔ و ﳎﺮوﺣﲔ ﰉ ﭘﺮﺳـﺘﺎر ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﳖﺎد ﻣﻠﮏ ﻗﺴﻄﻨﻄﲔ اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ‬ ‫ﻋﻈﲓ اّول ﻣﻠﮑﯿﺴﺖ از ﻣﻠﻮک روﻣﺎن ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮ ﻧﴫت اﻣﺮ ﺣﴬت روح اّهلل ﻗﯿﺎم ﻓﺮﻣﻮد و ﺑﮑﲈل ّﳘﺖ در‬ ‫ﺗﺮوﱕ اﺳﺎس اﳒﯿﻞ ﺟﺎن ﻓﺪاﰃ ﳕﻮد و ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ روﻣﺎن را ﮐﻪ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻋﺒﺎرت از ﴏف اﻋﺘﺴﺎف ﺑﻮد‬ ‫در ﻧﻘﻄﻪء ﻋﺪل و اﻋﺘﺪال ﻣﺴـﺘﻘّﺮ و ﻣﺮﮐﻮز ﮔﺮداﻧﯿﺪ و اﰟ ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﺶ در ﲾﺮ ﺗﻮارﱗ ﭼﻮن ﺳـﺘﺎرﻩء ﲮﺮی‬ ‫دّری و درﺧﺸـﻨﺪﻩ اﺳﺖ و ﺻﯿﺖ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮارﯾﺶ در هجﺎن ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﺷﺎٔن ورِد زابن ﲨﯿﻊ ﻓﺮق ﻣﺴـﯿﺤﺎﰃ‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ از ﺑﺮﮐﺖ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮ ﺗﺮوﱕ ﺗﻌﻠاميت اﳒﯿﻠّﯿﻪ ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﭼﻪ اﺳﺎس ﻣﺘﲔ اﺧﻼق‬ ‫ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ در هجﺎن در ا ٓن زﻣﺎن ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺷﺪ ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻣﲀﺗﺐ و ﻣﺪارس و‪ 113‬ﺑاميرﺳـﺘﺎﳖﺎ و ﳏّﻼت و‬ ‫ﻣﮑﺘﳢﺎ ﲜﻬﺖ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ اوﻻد اﯾﺘﺎم و ﻓﻘﺮاء ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺷﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻧﻔﻮس ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد را ﺗﺮک‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻩ ﴿ اﺑﺘﻐﺎًء ﳌﺮﺿﺎت اّهلل ﴾‪ 114‬اوﻗﺎت ﲻﺮ را ﴏف ﺗﻌﻠﲓ و ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﲻﻮم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﻟﮑﻦ در زﻣﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﻃﻠﻮع ﺻﺒﺢ ﻧﻮراﱏ ﺟﲈل اﲪﺪی ﻗﺮﯾﺐ ﺷﺪ زﻣﺎم اﻣﻮر ﲨﻬﻮر ﻣﺴـﯿﺤّﯿﲔ در دﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻗّﺴﯿﺴﲔ ﺟﺎﻫهل اﻓﺘﺎد‬

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‫‪ (Cairo p. 101) is not present in the Bombay edition (p. 113).‬و ‪The‬‬ ‫‪ , which is absent in the received text of the Quran, is shown in both‬ﳌﺮﺿﺎت ‪ in‬ل ‪The‬‬ ‫‪editions.‬‬ ‫‪114‬‬

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Among the fruits of the excellent character of the Christians of those generations were dedication to charity and good works. Hospitals, places of healing and philanthropic institutions were founded. For example, the first person in the Roman Empire to establish public medical centres for the poor, and for the injured who had no other assistance, was the Emperor Constantine. This great king was the first Roman ruler who arose to assist the cause of the Spirit of God. He strove diligently and sacrificed himself to promote the principles of the Gospel. Whereas “the rule of Rome” had in reality been a euphemism for pure tyranny, Constantine grounded it firmly in moderation and justice. His blessed name shines in the annals with the brilliance of the morning star at dawn, and his reputation for pre-eminence and distinction in the civilized world is still on the tongues of all the Christian denominations. In short, what a firm foundation of praiseworthy character was established in the world in those days, thanks to the training of holy souls who arose to promote the teachings of the Gospel. How many schools, colleges, hospitals, hostels for travellers and primary schools for orphans and the children of the poor were established. How many souls foreswore personal advantage and, “seeking the good-pleasure of God,”115 consecrated the days of their lives to instructing and edifying all people. However, as the time approached for the resplendent morn of Mohammadan beauty to dawn, the reins of the affairs of the Christian community had fallen into the hands of heedless priests.

115

Quran 2:207 and 4:114.

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‫ﺑﳫّﯽ ا ٓن ﻧﺴﺎﰂ رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ از همّﺐ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﻣﻨﻘﻄﻊ ﺷﺪ و اﺣﲀم اﳒﯿﻞ ﺟﻠﯿﻞ ﮐﻪ اّس اﺳﺎس ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﻮد‬ ‫از ﺳﻮء اﺳـﺘﻌﲈل و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻈﺎﻫﺮ ا ٓراﺳـﺘﻪ و ﺑﺒﺎﻃﻦ ﰷﺳـﺘﻪ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﺳﺎﻗﻂ اﻟﻨّﺘﯿﺠﻪ ﮔﺸﺖ‬ ‫ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﻮّرﺧﲔ ﻣﺸﻬﻮر از اﻫﺎﱃ اوروپ در ﺑﯿﺎن ﮐﯿﻔﯿّﺖ اﺣﻮال و اﻃﻮار و ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ و ﲤّﺪن‬ ‫و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﲨﯿﻊ ﺷـﺌﻮن ﻗﺮون ﻗﺪﳝﻪ و ﻗﺮون وﺳﻄﯽ و ﻗﺮون ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ ذﮐﺮ ﳕﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻗﺮون ﻋﴩﻩء‬ ‫وﺳﻄﯽ ﮐﻪ ﻋﺒﺎرت از ﺑﺪاﯾﺖ ﻗﺮن ﺳﺎدس ﻣﯿﻼد اﱃ ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﻗﺮن ﺧﺎﻣﺲ ﻋﴩ اﺳﺖ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اوروپ در‬ ‫ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪء ﺗﻮّﺣﺶ و ﻋﺪم ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ از ﲨﯿﻊ ﺷـﺌﻮن ﺑﻮد و ابﻋﺚ اﺻﲆ ا ٓن ا ٓن ﮐﻪ رﻫﺎﺑﲔ ﮐﻪ ابﺻﻄﻼح‬ ‫اﻫﺎﱃ اوروپ رؤﺳﺎی روﺣﺎﱏ دﯾﲎ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ از ﻋّﺰت اﺑﺪﯾ ّﻪء اﺗ ّﺒﺎع اواﻣﺮ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ و ﺗﻌﻠاميت ﺳﲈوﯾ ّﻪء اﳒﯿﻞ‬ ‫ﻏﺎﻓﻞ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ اب ارﰷن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ دﻧﯿﻮی ا ٓن زﻣﺎن ﮐﻪ در ﮐﲈل ﻇﲅ و ﻃﻐﯿﺎن ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ اﺗ ّﻔﺎق ﳕﻮدﻩ و از ﻋّﺰت‬ ‫ﭘﺎﯾﺪار ﭼﺸﻢ ﭘﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ در ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﻣﻮﻗّﺘﻪء ﻓﺎﻧﯿﻪ و اﻏﺮاض ﻧﻔﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪء ﯾﮑﺪﯾﮕﺮ ﮐﲈل ﺳﻌﯽ و ﮐﻮﺷﺶ را ﳎﺮی‬ ‫ﻣﯿﺪاﺷﺘﻨﺪ ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ابﻻﺧﺮﻩ اﻣﺮ ﲜﺎﰃ رﺳـﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﲻﻮم اﻫﺎﱃ در دﺳﺖ اﯾﻦ دو ﻓﺮﯾﻖ اﺳﲑ ﴏف ﻣﺎﻧﺪﻧﺪ‬ ‫و اﯾﻦ اﺣﻮال و اﻃﻮار ﺳﺒﺐ ﻫﺪم اّس اﺳﺎس دايﻧﺖ و اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت اﻫﺎﱃ اوروپ‬ ‫ﮔﺸﺖ‬

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Those spiritual breezes, blowing from the realm of divine bounty, had ceased entirely, and the precepts of the glorious Gospel, which had been the very foundation of civilization in the world, had ceased to yield their fruits, because of the customs and conduct of persons who were seeming fair, but inwardly foul. All the noted European historians, in describing the nature, conditions, manners, politics, civilization, scholarship and other aspects of ancient, medieval and modern times note that during the ten centuries constituting the medieval period, from the beginning of the sixth century of the Christian era until the close of the fifteenth, the kingdoms of Europe were extremely primitive and uncivilized in every respect. The principal cause of this was that the monks, as European peoples call the clerical leaders of religion, having lost sight of the abiding glory of obedience to the sacred commandments and heavenly teachings of the Gospel, had joined with the tyrannical and sinful masters of worldly government of those times. Both had turned their eyes from everlasting glory, and were devoting all their efforts to passing and perishable advantages and the furtherance of their shared selfish interests. Ultimately things reached a point where the whole population were as mere captives in the hands of these two groups, and these conditions and manners destroyed the very foundations of piety, culture, civilization and happiness of the inhabitants of Europe.

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‫و ﭼﻮن رواﰁ ﻃّﯿﺒﻪء ﻧﻔﺤﺎت روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪء روح اّهلل در ا ٓﻓﺎق اﻣﲀن از اﻋﲈل و اﻓﲀر انﺷﺎﯾﺴـﺘﻪ و ﻧّﯿﺎت ﻏﲑ‬ ‫ﻻﺋﻘﻪء رؤﺳﺎ زاﺋﻞ ﮔﺸﺖ و ﻇﻠﻤﺖ هجﻞ و انداﱏ و اﺧﻼق ﻏﲑ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪ ﻋﺎﱂ را اﺣﺎﻃﻪ ﳕﻮد ﲾﺮ اﻣﯿﺪ‬ ‫دﻣﯿﺪ و ﻣﻮﰟ رﺑﯿﻊ اﻟﻬـﯽ رﺳـﯿﺪ اﺑﺮ رﲪﺖ ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺖ و ﻧﺴﺎﰂ ﺟﺎن ﲞﺶ از همّﺐ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ وزﯾﺪ ﴰﺲ‬ ‫ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ از اﻓﻖ ﲩﺎز و ﯾﱶب در ﻧﻘﻄﻪء ﶊﺪﯾ ّﻪ اﴍاق ﻓﺮﻣﻮد و ﺑﺮ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﳑﮑﻨﺎت اﻧﻮار ﻋّﺰت ﴎﻣﺪﯾ ّﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﺒﺬول داﺷﺖ اراﴇ ﻗﺎﺑﻠّﯿﺎت ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﮔﺸﺖ ﴿ و ٔاﴍﻗﺖ الارض ﺑﻨﻮر ر ّﲠﺎ ﴾ ﺗﻔﺴﲑ ﺷﺪ هجﺎن هجﺎﱏ‬ ‫اتزﻩ و ﺟﺴﻢ ﻣﯿّﺖ اﻣﲀن ﺑﺮوىح ﰉ اﻧﺪازﻩ ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﮔﺸﺖ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻇﲅ و هجﻞ ﻣﳯﺪم ﺷﺪ و اﯾﻮان ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ﻋﲅ و‬ ‫ﻋﺪل ﺑﻠﻨﺪ و ﻣﺘﻌﺎﱃ ﮔﺸﺖ ﲝﺮ ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﲞﺮوﺷـﯿﺪ و اﻧﻮار ﻣﻌﺎرف ﺑﺪرﺧﺸـﯿﺪ‬ ‫اﻗﻮام و ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﻪء اﻗﻠﲓ ﲩﺎز ﻗﺒﻞ از اﺷـﺘﻌﺎل ﴎاج وّﻫﺎج ﻧﺒّﻮت ﮐﱪی در زﺟﺎﺟﻪء ﺑﻄﺤﺎ‬ ‫ﺟﺎﻫﻠﱰﯾﻦ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﱰﯾﻦ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺳﲑ ﻣﺬﻣﻮﻣﻪ و ﻋﻮاﺋﺪ ﻣﻮﺣﺸﻪ و ﺧﻮن ﺧﻮاری و‬ ‫اﺧﺘﻼﻓﺎت و ﻣﻌﺎدات ا ٓن اﻗﻮام در ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﮐﺘﺐ و ﲱﺎﺋﻒ اترﳜّﯿﻪ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﺣ ّﱴ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻣﳣﻧّﺪ ﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ در ا ٓن‬ ‫زﻣﺎن ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ اﻋﺮاب ﯾﱶب و ﺑﻄﺤﺎ را از ﻧﻮع ﺑﴩ ﳕﯽ ﴰﺮدﻧﺪ ﻟﮑﻦ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻃﻠﻮع ﻧّﲑ ا ٓﻓﺎق در ا ٓن ﺧّﻄﻪ و‬ ‫داير از ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ا ٓن ﻣﻌﺪن ﮐﲈل و همﺒﻂ وىح ذی اﳉﻼل و ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ در ﻣّﺪت‬ ‫ﻗﻠﯿهل در ﻇّﻞ ﳇﻤﻪء وﺣﺪاﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﲨﻊ ﺷﺪﻩ‬

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[Religion the means of progress: as shown in Islamic history] When the sweet fragrances of the breath of the Spirit of God had vanished from the world, because of the unseemly acts and thoughts and improper purposes of the leaders, when the darkness of ignorance and bigotry and untoward deeds had encompassed the earth, then the dawn of hope appeared, the divine springtime arrived, the cloud of God’s mercy arose and the soulstirring breezes began to blow from the realm of divine bounty. The sun of reality shone out over the horizon of Yathrib and the Hejaz116 in the person of Mohammad, and the rays of eternal glory lit the horizons of the world. The soil of human capacities was transformed, and the meaning of “The earth shone with the light of her Lord,”117 was uncovered. The world was young again, the lifeless body of creation attained to abundant life. The edifice of tyranny and ignorance was overthrown, and towering palaces of learning and justice were erected and exalted. The sea of civilization thundered, and the lights of learning beamed. Before the resplendent flame of the greater prophethood was lit in the lamp of Mecca, the uncultivated tribes and peoples of the Hejaz were the most heedless and unrefined of all the peoples of the earth. The despicable practices, crude customs, bloodthirstiness, feuds and animosity of those tribes are recorded in all the chronicles and books of history. Indeed, at that time the civilized peoples of the world did not include the Arab tribes of Mecca and Medina in the human race. Yet, when the Light of all horizons had dawned on those shores and regions, they were soon gathered under the shade of the oneness of God, thanks to the education bestowed on them by that perfect source, that repository of revelation from the All-Glorious, and the blessings of a God-given, holy Law.

116 Yathrib (pron. Yathreb) is another name for Medina, the Hejaz is the east coast of the Red Sea, including both Mecca and Medina. 117 Quran 39:69, perhaps reflecting Ezekiel 43:2.

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‫اﯾﻦ ﲨﻬﻮر اﺷﺨﺎص ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﻪ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و ﮐﲈﻻت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﭼﻨﺎن ﺗﺮّﰵ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫در ا ٓن ﻋﴫ ﻣﳢﻮت و ﻣﺘﺤّﲑ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ و ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ و ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ﮐﻪ داﲚًﺎ اﻋﺮاب را ُﲯﺮﯾ ّﻪ و اﺳـﳤﺰاء‬ ‫ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺟﻨﺲ ﺑﯿﻔﺼﻞ ﻣﯿﺸﻤﺮدﻧﺪ ﺑﮑﲈل اﺷﺘﯿﺎق ﲟﻮﻃﻦ و ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻋﺮب ا ٓﻣﺪﻩ ﲢﺼﯿﻞ ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و‬ ‫اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﻋﻠﻮم ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ و اﮐﺘﺴﺎب ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﺗﻌّﲅ ﻓﻨﻮن و ﺻﻨﺎﺋﻊ ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ا ٓاثر ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻣﺮّﰉ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ را در اﻣﻮر ﳏﺴﻮﺳﻪ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﮐﻨﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ اﺷﺨﺎﴅ ﮐﻪ از ﮐﱶت ﺗﻮّﺣﺶ و‬ ‫انداﱏ در زﻣﺎن ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ دﺧﱰان ﻫﻔﺖ ﺳﺎهلء ﺧﻮد را ﻧزﺪﻩ زﯾﺮ ﺧﺎک ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭼﻨﲔ اﻣﺮی را ﮐﻪ از‬ ‫اﻧﺴﺎن ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ﻃﺒﯿﻌﺖ ﺣﯿﻮان ﻧﲒ از ا ٓن ﻣﺘﻨﻔّﺮ و ﻣﺘّﱪی از ﺷّﺪت هجﺎﻟﺖ ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ رﺗﺒﻪء ﲪّﯿﺖ و ﻏﲑت‬ ‫ﻣﯿﺸﻤﺮدﻧﺪ اﯾﻦ ﭼﻨﲔ اﺷﺨﺎص اندان از ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻇﺎﻫﺮﻩء ا ٓن ﺑﺰرﮔﻮار ﺑﺪرﺟﻪ ای رﺳـﯿﺪﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻣﴫ و ﴎاين و ﺷﺎم و ﳇﺪان و ﻋﺮاق و اﯾﺮان را ﻓﺘﺢ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﲨﯿﻊ همﺎّم اﻣﻮر ﭼﻬﺎر اﻗﻠﲓ ﻋﺎﱂ را‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻔﺮدًا ادارﻩ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪء ﻋﺮب در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻋﻠﻮم و ﻓﻨﻮن و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺣﳬﺖ و ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ و اﺧﻼق و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و ﺑﺪاﯾﻊ‬ ‫ﴎور ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻠﻞ و اﻗﻮام ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ و ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﺑﻠﻮغ ﭼﻨﲔ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪء ﻣﺘﻮّﺣﺸﻪء ﺣﻘﲑﻩ در ﻣّﺪت ﻗﻠﯿهل ﲟﻨﳤـﯽ‬ ‫درﺟﻪء ﮐﲈﻻت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ ﺑﺮﻫﺎن ﺣﻘّﯿّﺖ و ﻧﺒّﻮت ﴎور ﰷﺋﻨﺎت اﺳﺖ‬

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This collection of uncultured individuals made such progress in all the ranks and perfections of true humanity that all the peoples of the world, in that era, were bewildered and perplexed. The tribes and peoples of the world who had always scorned the Arabs and mocked them, and considered them a race without any merits, now hastened to Arab countries and the Arabic heartland. They learned human virtues, borrowed the arts of government, acquired learning and civilization and studied craftsmanship and trades. Observe the influence of education by the true Educator on perceptible things. These were individuals who, in the days of ignorance, were so untamed and heedless that they would bury their seven-year-old daughters alive, an act which not only human nature, but even animal nature, would shrink from and hate, but which they in their extreme ignorance considered the ultimate expression of honour and devotion to principle. Thanks to the manifest education of that great Personage, such individuals, bereft of understanding, advanced to such a degree that, having conquered Egypt, Syria, Damascus, Chaldea, Iraq and Iran, they had the sole control of important questions in the four quarters of the world. In short, the Arab tribes led all the peoples and kindreds of the world in learning, sciences and the arts, in philosophy, government and morals, and in industry and invention. And truly, the maturation of such scorned and uncivilized tribes, in such a short period, to reach the highest ranks of human perfection, is the greatest demonstration of the divine origin and prophethood of the master of existence.

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‫در اﻋﺼﺎر اّوﻟّﯿﻪء اﺳﻼم ﲨﯿﻊ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ اوروپ اﮐﺘﺴﺎب ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ و ﻣﻌﺎرف ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ را از اﺳﻼم ﺳﺎﮐﻨﲔ‬ ‫ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﻧﺪﻟﺲ ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ و اﮔﺮ در ﮐﺘﺐ ﺗﻮارﳜّﯿﻪ از ﲨﯿﻊ دﻗّﺖ ﺷﻮد ﻣﱪﻫﻦ و واﰣ ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ اﮐﱶ ﲤّﺪن‬ ‫اوروپ ﻣﻘﺘﺒﺲ از اﺳﻼم اﺳﺖ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ ﮐﺘﺐ ﺣﮑﲈ و داﻧﺸﻤﻨﺪان و ﻋﻠﲈء و ﻓﻀﻼی اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪ را‬ ‫ﻗﻠﯿًﻼ ﻗﻠﯿًﻼ در اوروپ ﲨﻊ و ﺑﮑﲈل دﻗّﺖ در ﳎﺎﻣﻊ و ﳏﺎﻓﻞ ﻋﻠﻮم ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﻪ و ﻣﺬاﮐﺮﻩ ﳕﻮدﻩ اﻣﻮر ﻣﻔﯿﺪﻩ‬ ‫را اﺟﺮا ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و اﻻٓن ﮐﺘﺐ ﻓﻀﻼی اﺳﻼم ﮐﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﺳﻼم انﺑﻮد اﺳﺖ در ﮐﺘﺎﲞﺎﳖﺎی ﳑﺎﻟﮏ‬ ‫اوروپ ﻧﺴﺦ ﻋﺪﯾﺪﻩاش ﻣﻮﺟﻮد و ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ و اﺻﻮﱃ ﮐﻪ در ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اوروپ ﺟﺎرﯾﺴﺖ اﮐﱶ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﳇّّﯿﻪء‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻠﺶ ﻣﻘﺘﺒﺲ از ﮐﺘﺐ ﻓﻘﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻓﺘﺎوای ﻋﻠﲈی اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪ اﺳﺖ و اﮔﺮ ﺧﻮف از ﺗﻄﻮﯾﻞ ﻧﺒﻮد ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺘﺒﺴﻪ ﻓﺮدًا ﻓﺮدًا ﲰﺖ ﲢﺮﯾﺮ ﻣﯽايﻓﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﺒﺪء ﲤّﺪن اوروپ در ﻗﺮن ﺳﺎﺑﻊ ﳗﺮی واﻗﻊ و ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ا ٓن ﻗﻀّﯿﻪ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در اواﺧﺮ ﻗﺮن ﺧﺎﻣﺲ ﳗﺮی‬ ‫ﭘﺎپ رﺋﯿﺲ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤّﯿﻪ از اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺎﻣﺎت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء ﻧﺼﺎری ﭼﻮن ﺑﯿﺖ اﳌﻘﺪس و ﺑﯿﺖ اﻟﻠ ّﺤﻢ و‬ ‫انﴏﻩ در ﲢﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪ اﻓﺘﺎدﻩ انهل و ﻓﺮايد ا ٓﻏﺎز ﳕﻮد و ﲨﻬﻮر ﻣﻠﻮک و اﻫﺎﱃ اوروپ را‬ ‫ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﳕﻮدﻩ ابﻋﺘﻘﺎد ﺧﻮد ﲝﺮب دﯾﲎ و هجﺎد دﻻﻟﺖ ﮐﺮد و ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﻓﺮايد و ﺣﻨﲔ و اﻧﯿﻨﺶ‬ ‫ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اوروپ ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﻣﻠﻮک ﺻﻠﯿﺒﯿّﻮن اب ﻋﺴﺎﮐﺮ ﺑﯿﺸﲈر از ﺧﻠﯿﺞ ﻗﺴﻄﻨﻄﻨّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ ﺑﻘﻄﻌﻪء ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬

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During the first Islamic centuries, all the peoples of Europe learned the graces and arts of civilization from Islam as practised by the inhabitants of Andalusia. If the history books are examined carefully and comprehensively, they prove, clearly, that most of the civilization of Europe is derived from Islam. For example, all the books of the physicians, sages, divines and great scholars of Islam were, little by little, collected in Europe. They were studied and discussed with great precision in scholarly gatherings, and what was of benefit in them was put into practice. Today, numerous copies of the works of Islam’s greatest scholars are found in the libraries of Europe, while they no longer exist in Islamic countries. Furthermore, the codified laws and principles prevalent in all European countries are largely or entirely based on matters addressed in books of jurisprudence and the legal opinions of Muslim divines. But for the fear of wearying the reader, these borrowings would be recorded one by one. The civilization of Europe began in the seventh century of the Muslim era.118 The particulars were these: towards the end of the fifth century of the Muslim era, the Pope, the leader of the Christian community, began to raise a hue and cry because Christian holy places, such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, had fallen under Muslim rule. He stirred up most of the kings and inhabitants of Europe to share his own commitment to a holy war. His clamour, lamentation and wailing waxed so loud that all the countries of Europe arose, and crusading kings with armies beyond counting crossed the straights at Constantinople and moved on the continent of Asia.

118

About 1200 AD.

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‫و‪ 119‬در ا ٓن زﻣﺎن ﺧﻠﻔﺎی ﻋﻠﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﺑﺮ داير ﻣﴫﯾ ّﻪ و ﺑﻌﴣ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻏﺮب ﺣﳬﺮاﱏ ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ و در اﮐﱶ اوﻗﺎت‬ ‫ﻣﻠﻮک ﺳﻮرﺳـﺘﺎن ﯾﻌﲎ ﺳﻠﺠﻮﻗﯿّﻪء ﺑّﺮﯾ ّﺔ اﻟّﺸﺎم ﻧﲒ در ﲢﺖ اﻃﺎﻋﺖ و اﻧﻘﯿﺎدﺷﺎن ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ابری ﻣﻠﻮک‬ ‫اوروپ اب ﺳـﭙﺎﻩ ﺑﯿﺸﲈر ﳗﻮم ﺑﺮ ﺑّﺮﯾ ّﺔ اﻟّﺸﺎم و ﻣﴫ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﻣّﺪت دوﯾﺴﺖ و ﺳﻪ ﺳﺎل ﻣﺴـﳣّﺮًا ﻣﺎ ﺑﲔ‬ ‫ﻣﻠﻮک ﺑّﺮﯾ ّﺔ اﻟّﺸﺎم و ﻣﻠﻮک اوروپ ﳏﺎرﺑﻪ واﻗﻊ و داﲚًﺎ از اوروپ ﻣﺪد ﻣﲑﺳـﯿﺪ ﻫﺮ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ای از ﻗﻼع‬ ‫ﺳﻮرﯾ ّﻪ را ﺑﮑّﺮات و ﻣّﺮات ﻣﻠﻮک ﻓﺮﻧﮓ ﻓﺘﺢ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﺎن اﺳﻼم از دﺳﺖ ﻓﺮﻧﮓ ﳒﺎت دادﻧﺪ‬ ‫ات اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﺻﻼح اّدلﯾﻦ ﻣﻠﮏ ﻣﻨﺼﻮر اﯾ ّﻮﰉ در ﺳـﻨﻪء ﺷﺸﺼﺪ و ﻧﻮد و ﺳﻪ ﳗﺮی ﺑﳫّﯽ ﻣﻠﻮک و‬ ‫ﻋﺴﺎﮐﺮ اوروپ را از ﳑﺎﻟﮏ و ﺳﻮاﺣﻞ ﺑّﺮﯾ ّﺔ اﻟّﺸﺎم و ﻣﴫ اﺧﺮاج ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻣﺎٔﯾﻮس و ﻣﻨﮑﻮب ﲟﲈﻟﮏ اوروپ‬ ‫ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و در اﯾﻦ ﳏﺎرابت ﮐﻪ ﲝﺮب ﺻﻠﯿﺒﯿّﻮن ﻣﺸﻬﻮر ﮐﺮورﻫﺎ از ﻧﻔﻮس ﺗﻠﻒ ﺷﺪ ﺧﻼﺻﻪ از‬ ‫اﺑﺘﺪای اترﱗ ﭼﻬﺎر ﺻﺪ و ﻧﻮد ﳗﺮی ات ﺳـﻨﻪء ﺷﺸﺼﺪ و ﻧﻮد و ﺳﻪ ﳗﺮی ﻣﺘّﺼًﻼ از اوروپ ﻣﻠﻮک و‬ ‫ﴎداران و ﴎاﻣﺪان ﺑّﱪﯾ ّﺔ اﻟّﺸﺎم و ﻣﴫ ﺗﺮّدد ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭼﻮن ﻋﺎﻗﺒﺖ ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ در ﻣّﺪت‬ ‫دوﯾﺴﺖ ﺳﺎل و ﮐﴪی ا ٓچنﻪ از ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻣﺪارس و ﻣﲀﺗﺐ و ﻋﺎدات و رﺳﻮم‬ ‫ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﺴـﻨﻪء ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﺳﻼﻣﯿّﻪ ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ ﺑﻌﺪ اﳌﺮاﺟﻌﻪ در اوروپ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﻣﺒﺪء ﲤّﺪن اوروپ‬ ‫از ا ٓن زﻣﺎﻧﺴﺖ‬

‫‪ (Cairo edition p. 107) is absent in the Bombay edition p. 120.‬و ‪The‬‬

‫‪119‬‬

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In those days the Fatimid caliphs ruled over Egypt and some countries to the West, and most of the time the kings of Syria, that is the Seljuqs of the plains of Syria, were also obedient and submissive to them. Briefly, the kings of Europe with their numerous armies invaded the plain of Syria and Egypt, and there was continuous warfare between the kings of the Syrian plains and the kings of Europe for two hundred and three years. Reinforcements from Europe arrived continuously, and time and time again the kings of the Franks conquered every castle in Syria, and the kings of Islam delivered them from the hands of the Franks. Eventually, in the year 693 AH (1293-4) Saladin, the victorious Ayyubid king,120 completely expelled the kings and armies of Europe from the lands and coastal plain of Egypt and Syria. Shattered and hopeless, they returned to Europe. In the course of these wars, known as the Crusades, hundreds of thousands of lives were wasted. In short, from the beginning of 490 A.H. until 693 A.H.,121 kings, commanders and notables from Europe suffered fluctuating fortunes in the coastal plains of Egypt and Syria, and when in the end they all returned to Europe they established there the things they had observed, during just over two centuries, of the governance, social development and learning, colleges and schools, and the refinements of living in Islamic countries. The beginning of the European civilization dates from that time.

120 This Saladin, known as Al-Ashraf Khalil, is the eighth in Egypt’s Ayyubid dynasty, which was founded by his more famous namesake. 121 From December 1096 to 1294. The 203 year duration mentioned previously is in lunar years.

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‫ای اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان ﺗﲀﺳﻞ و ﺗﺮاىخ ات ﰽ ﻣﺘﺒﻮع و ﻣﻄﺎع ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﺑﻮدﯾﺪ ﺣﺎل ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ از ﻋّﺰ ﻗﺒﻮل ابز ﻣﺎﻧﺪﻩ‬ ‫در زاوﯾﻪء ﲬﻮل ﺧﺰﯾﺪﻩاﯾﺪ ﻣﻨﺸﺎٔ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻣﺒﺪٔا ﲤّﺪن هجﺎﻧﯿﺎن ﺑﻮدﯾﺪ اﮐﻨﻮن ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﻓﴪدﻩ و ﶏﻮد و‬ ‫ﭘﮋﻣﺮدﻩ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪاﯾﺪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻧﻮراﻧﯿ ّﺖ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﺑﻮدﻩاﯾﺪ ﺣﺎل ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ در ﻇﻠﲈت ﻏﻔﻠﺖ و ﮐﺴﺎﻟﺖ ابز ﻣﺎﻧﺪﻩاﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﭼﺸﻢ ﺑﺼﲑت را ابز و اﺣﺘﯿﺎﺟﺎت ﺣﺎﻟّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد را ادراک ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﳈﺮ ّﳘﺖ و ﻏﲑت ﺑﺮ ﺑﻨﺪﯾﺪ و در ﺗﺪارک‬ ‫وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺑﮑﻮﺷـﯿﺪ ا ٓاي زساوارﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ و ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ اﺟﺎﻧﺐ ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ و ﻣﻌﺎرف را از‬ ‫ا ٓاثر اﺳﻼف و اﺟﺪاد ﺷﲈ اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﺷﲈ ﮐﻪ اوﻻد و وارﺛﯿﺪ ﳏﺮوم ﲟﺎﻧﯿﺪ ا ٓاي اﯾﻦ ﭘﺴـﻨﺪﯾﺪﻩ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﳘﺴﺎﯾﮕﺎن و ﳎﺎوران ﻟﯿًﻼ و ﳖﺎرًا در ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﲜﺎن و دل ﺑﮑﻮﺷـﻨﺪ و‬ ‫ﺷﲈ از ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﻪ ﲟﻀﺎددت و ﻣﻨﺎزﻋﺖ و ﻫﻮی و ﻫﻮس ﺧﻮد ﻣﺸﻐﻮل ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ و ا ٓاي اﯾﻦ ﳑﺪوح و‬ ‫ﶊﻮد اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ذﰷء ﻓﻄﺮی و اﺳـﺘﻌﺪاد ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ و ﻓﻄﺎﻧﺖ ﺧﻠﻘﯿّﻪ را در ﮐﺴﺎﻟﺖ و ﺑﻄﺎﻟﺖ ﴏف و‬ ‫ﺿﺎﯾﻊ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ‬ ‫ابز از ﻣﻘﺼﺪ دور اﻓﺘﺎدﱘ ابری ﲨﯿﻊ ﻫﻮﴰﻨﺪان و ﻣّﻄﻠﻌﲔ ﺑﺮ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﺣﻮال اترﳜّﯿﻪء ازﻣﻨﻪء ﺳﺎﻟﻔﻪ از‬ ‫اﻫﺎﱃ اوروپ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺼﺪق و اﻧﺼﺎف ﻣﺘّﺼﻒاﻧﺪ ﻣﻘّﺮ و ﻣﻌﱰﻓﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ اﺳﺎس ﲨﯿﻊ ﺷـﺌﻮن ﲤﻧّﺪ ّﯿﻪﺷﺎن ﻣﻘﺘﺒﺲ‬ ‫از اﺳﻼم اﺳﺖ‬

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O people of Iran! How long will this indolence and inactivity last? The whole world was at your beck and call. How is it that you, estranged from your former glory, have slunk into an obscure corner? You were the home of learning and the fountainhead of civilization for the people of the world, how is it that you are now stifled, withering and dispirited? You were once the light of the world, how is it that you have now withdrawn to the shadows of heedlessness and indolence? Open your mind’s eye, and understand the necessities of your own situation. Gird yourselves for the struggle, and take as your provisions the means of learning and civilization. Is it fitting that foreign peoples and nations should derive their virtues and knowledge from the heritage of your praiseworthy predecessors and ancestors, while you, their children and heirs, should be deprived? At a time when your neighbours are unremitting in seizing on the means of their own advancement, honour and prosperity, is it proper for you, in your ignorant fanaticism, to busy yourselves with rivalries and disputes, with your own egos and passions? Is it fitting and praiseworthy that you should allow your inborn intelligence, natural abilities and the keen understanding God has given you to lie unused, and waste away? Once again, I have digressed from my theme. To resume: all who are wise and well-informed regarding the realities of the historical conditions of Europe’s inhabitants in bygone ages, and who are truthful and fair-minded, confess and acknowledge that the fundamentals for all the developments in their civilization derive from Islam.

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‫ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﻣﺆﻟ ّﻒ ﳏﻘّﻖ ﻣﺸﻬﻮر ﴿ دری ابر ﴾ از اﻫﺎﱃ ﻓﺮاﻧﺴﻪ ﮐﻪ در ﻧﺰد ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺆﻟ ّﻔﲔ و دااناين اوروپ‬ ‫اّﻃﻼع و همﺎرت و داانﺋﯿﺶ ﻣﺴّﲅ اﺳﺖ در ﮐﺘﺎب ﻣﺴّﻤﯽ ﺑﻪ ﺗﺮّﰵ اﱈ در ادﺑّﯿﺎت ﮐﻪ از ﺗﺎٔﻟﯿﻔﺎت ﻣﺸﻬﻮرﻩء‬ ‫اوﺳﺖ در اﯾﻦ ابب ﯾﻌﲎ اﮐﺘﺴﺎب ﻣﻠﻞ اوروپ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻗﻮاﻋﺪ ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﺳﻌﺎدت را از اﺳﻼم‬ ‫ﴍح ﻣﺒﺴﻮﻃﯽ ﺑﯿﺎن ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﭼﻮن ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻣﻔّﺼﻞ اﺳﺖ ﻟﻬﺬا ﺗﺮﲨﻪ و درﺟﺶ در اﯾﻦ رﺳﺎهل ﺳﺒﺐ‬ ‫ﺗﻄﻮﯾﻞ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺧﺮوج از ﺻﺪد اﺳﺖ و اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ در ا ٓچنﻪ ﮔﻔﺘﻪ ﺷﺪ ﻗﺎﻧﻊ ﻧﻪ ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﺑﺎ ٓن ﮐﺘﺎب ﳕﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﳐﺘﴫ اﯾﻨﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ ﲤّﺪن اوروپ از ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ و ﻧﻈﺎم و اﺻﻮل و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺣﲂ و ﻋﻠﻮم و ﻋﺎدات و‬ ‫رﺳﻮم ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﺴـﻨﻪ و ادﺑّﯿﺎت و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و اﻧﺘﻈﺎم و ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ و روش و اﺧﻼق ﺣّﱴ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎری از اﻟﻔﺎظ‬ ‫ﻣﺴـﺘﻌﻤهل در ﻟﺴﺎن ﻓﺮاﻧﺴﻪ را ﻣﻘﺘﺒﺲ از ﻋﺮب اﺳﺖ ﺑﯿﺎن ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﻓﺮدًا ﻓﺮدًا ﺑﺘﻔﺼﯿﻞ ذﮐﺮ ﮐﺮدﻩ و اثﺑﺖ و‬ ‫ﻣﱪﻫﻦ داﺷـﺘﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻫﺮ ﯾﮏ را در ﭼﻪ زﻣﺎن از اﺳﻼم اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ دﺧﻮل ﻋﺮب‬ ‫در ﺑﻼد ﻏﺮب ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم ﳑﻠﮑﺖ اﺳـﭙﺎﻧﯿﺎﺳﺖ و در ﻣّﺪت ﻗﻠﯿهل ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﰷﻣهل را در ا ٓن ﳑﺎﻟﮏ چبﻪ ﳓﻮ‬ ‫ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ ﻣﺪن و ﻣﻌﺎرﻓﺸﺎن در ﭼﻪ درﺟﻪء ﮐﲈل ﺑﻮد و ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﻣﺪارس و ﻣﲀﺗﺐ‬ ‫ﻋﻠﻮم و ﻓﻨﻮن و ﺣﳬﺖ و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻌﺸﺎن چبﻪ ﻣﺘﺎﻧﺖ و اﻧﺘﻈﺎم ﺑﻮد و ﴎوری و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮارﯾﺸﺎن در هجﺎن‬ ‫ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ چبﻪ درﺟﻪ رﺳـﯿﺪ و از ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اوروپ ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر اﻃﻔﺎل ﺑﺰرﮔﺎن ﮐﻪ ﲟﺪارس ﻗﺮﻃﺒﻪ‪ 122‬و ﻏﺮانﻃﻪ‬ ‫و اﺷﺒﯿﻠّﯿﻪ و ﻃﻮﻟﯿﺪو ا ٓﻣﺪﻩ ﺗﻌّﲅ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻓﻨﻮن و اﮐﺘﺴﺎب ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ‬

‫‪122‬‬ ‫‪, Cordoba. Steingass’ dictionary records‬ﻏﺮﻃﺒﻪ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 124) has‬‬ ‫‪ as the customary transliteration, and the Cairo edition adopts this (p. 111). Note the‬ﻗﺮﻃﺒﺔ‬

‫‪differing spelling of Cordoba in the following note.‬‬

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For example Draper, the well-known French authority, a writer whose knowledge, ability and discernment have been recognised by all European scholars, in one of his best-known works, which is what is known in literature as the “Progress of Peoples” genre, has given a lengthy explanation of this topic – that is, of how the peoples of Europe derived their social systems and the foundations of progress and well-being from Islam. Since his account is very detailed, a translation and elucidation would weary the reader, and would indeed be beside the point. Anyone who does not accept what is asserted here may refer to that text. Briefly, he explains that the totality of Europe’s civilization – its systems of law and administration, its fundamental principles, its learning, philosophy, sciences, its commendable manners and customs, its literature, manufacturing techniques, orderliness and method, its conduct and morals, and even many of the words current in the French language, derive from the Arabs. One by one, he investigates these elements, with proofs and arguments, showing when each was derived from Islam. He also describes the Arabs’ entry to western lands, in what is now Spain, and how in a short time they established a well-developed civilization in those kingdoms, and the excellence of their social policies and learning, and the firm foundations and good order of their schools and universities, for science and technology, and for philosophy and the arts. He shows how blessed and distinguished they became in the arts of civilization, and how many children of the nobility came from the kingdoms of Europe to attend the universities of Cordoba and Granada, Seville and Toledo and studied the arts, sciences and professions of civilized life.

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‫ﺣّﱴ ذﮐﺮ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ ﯾﮑﯽ از اﻫﺎﱃ اوروپ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮﺳﻮم ﺑﻪ ﮐﺮﺑﺮت ﺑﻮد ﲟﻤﻠﮑﺖ ﻏﺮب ا ٓﻣﺪﻩ و در ﻣﺪرﺳﻪء‬ ‫ﻟﻮ ﮐﻮردوﻓﺎ‪ 123‬ﮐﻪ از ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻋﺮب ﺑﻮد داﺧﻞ ﺷﺪﻩ ﲢﺼﯿﻞ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻋﻠﻮم ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ابوروپ‬ ‫ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﺷﻬﺮت ايﻓﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻋﺎﻗﺒﺖ ﺑﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ رايﺳﺖ دﯾﻨﯿّﻪء ﰷﺗﻮﻟﯿﮏ اﺳـﺘﻘﺮار ايﻓﺘﻪ ﭘﺎپ ﮔﺸﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از اﯾﻦ ﺑﯿﺎانت ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و واﰣ ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ اداين اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻣﺆّﺳﺲ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﮐﲈﻻت ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و‬ ‫ﻇﺎﻫﺮﯾ ّﻪء اﻧﺴﺎن و ﻣﴩق اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻣﻌﺎرف انﻓﻌﻪء ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪء ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و اﮔﺮ ﺑﻨﻈﺮ اﻧﺼﺎف‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﺷﻮد ﲨﯿﻊ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ در ﻣﺪﻟﻮل اﯾﻦ ﭼﻨﺪ ﳇﻤﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ داﺧﻞ ﻗﻮهل ﺗﻌﺎﱃ ﴿ و ﯾﺎٔﻣﺮون‬ ‫ابﳌﻌﺮوف و ﯾﳯﻮن ﻋﻦ اﳌﻨﮑﺮ و ﯾﺴﺎرﻋﻮن ﰱ اﳋﲑات و ٔاوﻟﺌﮏ ﻣﻦ اﻟّﺼﺎﳊﲔ ﴾ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿‬ ‫و ﻟﺘﮑﻦ ﻣﻨﲂ ٔاّﻣﺔ ﯾﺪﻋﻮن اﱃ اﳋﲑ و ﯾﺎٔﻣﺮون ابﳌﻌﺮوف و ﯾﳯﻮن ﻋﻦ اﳌﻨﮑﺮ و ٔاوﻟﺌﮏ ﱒ اﳌﻔﻠﺤﻮن ﴾ و‬ ‫ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ اّن اّهلل ﯾﺎٔﻣﺮ ابﻟﻌﺪل و الاﺣﺴﺎن و ﯾﳯـﯽ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻔﺤﺸﺎء و اﳌﻨﮑﺮ و اﻟﺒﻐﯽ ﯾﻌﻈﲂ ﻟﻌﻠّﲂ‬ ‫ﺗﺬﮐّﺮون ﴾ و در ﲤّﺪن اﺧﻼق ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ ﺧﺬ اﻟﻌﻔﻮ و ُٔاُﻣﺮ ابﻟُﻌﺮف و َٔاﻋﺮض ﻋﻦ اﳉﺎﻫﻠﲔ ﴾ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ‬ ‫ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ اﻟﲀﻇﻤﲔ اﻟﻐﯿﻆ و اﻟﻌﺎﻓﲔ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻨّﺎس و اّهلل ﳛّﺐ اﶈﺴـﻨﲔ ﴾‬

‫‪, the region of Cordoba. The Cairo edition omits‬ﻟﻮ ﮐﻮردوﻓﺎ ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬

‫‪123‬‬

‫‪.‬ﻟﻮ‬

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He even records that a European named Gerbert124 came to the Western kingdom and entered university in Cordoba, one of the Arab provinces. There, he studied scholarship and the sciences. After his return to Europe he became so renowned that ultimately he was elevated to the leadership of the Catholic Church: he became the Pope.

[Religion the means of progress: conclusion] The purpose of these arguments is to make it clear and evident that the religions of God are the true framers of the inward and outward human perfections, and the dayspring for the acquisition of civilization and learning that benefit the whole human race. If one considers the matter fairly, all systems of administration fall within the following passages from scripture: “And they enjoin what is praiseworthy, and forbid what is wrong, and make haste in good works. These are among the righteous.”125 And again: “Let there be among you a people who summon to the good, and enjoin what is praiseworthy, and forbid what is wrong. These are they with whom it shall be well.” Similarly, it is written, “Verily, God enjoins justice and doing good … and He forbids wickedness, wrong-doing and indulging in lust. He admonishes you that you may be mindful.”126 And in relation to civilizing one’s conduct, it is written: “Hold fast to forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.”127 Or again, “… who master (their) anger, and forgive others! God loves those who do good.”128

124

Gerbert d’Aurilla, later Pope Sylvester II, (approx 945–1003). Quran 3:114; the following quotation is verse 104 of the same Surah. 126 Quran 16:90. 127 Quran 7:199. 128 Quran 3:134. 125

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‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ ﻟﯿﺲ اﻟَّﱪ ان ﺗَُﻮﻟ ّﻮا وﺟﻮﻫﲂ ِﻗَﺒَﻞ اﳌﴩق و اﳌﻐﺮب و ﻟﮑّﻦ اﻟّﱪ َﻣْﻦ ا ٓﻣﻦ ابّهلل و‬ ‫اﻟﯿﻮم اﻻٓﺧﺮ و اﳌﻼﺋﮑﺔ و اﻟﮑﺘﺎب و اﻟﻨّﺒﯿ ّﲔ و ا َٓﰏ اﳌﺎل ﻋﲆ ُﺣﺒّﻪ ذوی اﻟﻘﺮﰉ و اﻟﯿﺘﺎﻣﯽ و اﳌﺴﺎﮐﲔ و‬ ‫اﺑﻦ اﻟّﺴﺒﯿﻞ و اﻟّﺴﺎﺋﻠﲔ و ﰱ اﻟّﺮﻗﺎب و ٔاﻗﺎم اﻟّﺼﻼة و ا ٓﰏ اﻟّﺰﰷة و اﳌ ُﻮﻓُﻮن ﺑﻌﻬﺪﱒ اذا ﻋﺎﻫﺪوا و اﻟّﺼﺎﺑﺮﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﴬاء و ﺣﲔ اﻟﺒﺎٔس ٔاوﻟﺌﮏ اّذلﯾﻦ ﺻﺪﻗﻮا و ٔاوﻟﺌﮏ ﱒ اﳌﺘّﻘﻮن ﴾ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ و‬ ‫ﰱ اﻟﺒﺎٔﺳﺎء و اﻟ ّ ّ‬ ‫ﯾُﺆﺛﺮون ﻋﲆ ٔاﻧﻔﺴﻬﻢ و ﻟﻮ ﰷن‪ 129‬ﲠﻢ َﺧﺼﺎَﺻٌﺔ ﴾ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ در اﯾﻦ ﭼﻨﺪ ا ٓﯾﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ‬ ‫دراﱕ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﺟﻮاﻣﻊ ﻟﻮاﻣﻊ ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﺴـﻨﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر‬ ‫ﻓﻮ اّهلل اّذلی ﻻ اهل اّﻻ ﻫﻮ ﮐﻪ ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﺎت ﲤﻧّﺪ ّﯿﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ ﻧﲒ از اﻟﻄﺎف‪ 130‬اﻧﺒﯿﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ا ٓاي ﭼﻪ اﻣﺮ‬ ‫انﻓﻌﯽ در وﺟﻮد ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﺷﺪﻩ ﮐﻪ در ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ واﲵًﺎ و اي ﺧﻮد ﺗﻠﻮﳛًﺎ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﻧﻪ و ﻟﮑﻦ ﭼﻪ‬ ‫ﻓﺎﺋﺪﻩ ﭼﻮن ﺳﻼح و ا ٓﻻت ﺣﺮﺑّﯿﻪ در دﺳﺖ ﺟﺒﺎن ابﺷﺪ ﺟﺎن و ﻣﺎل ﳏﻔﻮظ ﳕﺎﻧﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ابﻟﻌﮑﺲ ﺳﺒﺐ‬ ‫ﻗّﻮت و اﻗﺘﺪار ﺳﺎرق ﮔﺮدد ﲠﻤﭽﻨﲔ زﻣﺎم اﻣﻮر ﭼﻮن ﺑﺪﺳﺖ ﻋﻠﲈی ﻏﲑ ﰷﻣﻞ اﻓﺘﺪ ﻧﻮراﻧﯿ ّﺖ دايﻧﺖ را‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﲩﺎب ﻋﻈﲓ ﺣﺎﺋﻞ ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫اّس اﺳﺎس دايﻧﺖ ﺧﻠﻮص اﺳﺖ ﯾﻌﲎ ﴯﺺ ﻣﺘﺪﯾّﻦ ابﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ از ﲨﯿﻊ اﻏﺮاض ﴯﺼّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ابّي وﺟٍﻪ ﰷن در ﺧﲑﯾ ّﺖ ﲨﻬﻮر ﺑﮑﻮﺷﺪ و ﳑﮑﻦ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻔﻮس از ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﺧﻮد ﭼﺸﻢ ﭘﻮﺷـﻨﺪ و ﺧﲑ‬ ‫ذاﺗّﯿﻪ‪ 131‬ﺧﻮد را ﻓﺪای ﺧﲑ ﲻﻮم ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ اّﻻ ﺑﺘﺪﯾّﻦ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ‬

‫‪129‬‬ ‫‪, corrected in the Cairo edition to match the‬ﰷﻧﺖ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 126) has‬‬ ‫‪received text.‬‬ ‫‪130‬‬ ‫‪ here, an evident error corrected in the Cairo‬اﻟﺼﺎف ‪The Bombay edition (p. 127) has‬‬ ‫‪edition (p. 113).‬‬ ‫‪131‬‬ ‫‪, that is,‬از ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﭼﺸﻢ ﭘﻮﺷـﻨﺪ و ﺧﲑ ﺧﻮد را ﻓﺪای ‪The Cairo edition (p. 114) has‬‬ ‫‪ is‬ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ‪ has been transposed. I have followed the Bombay edition (p. 127), where‬ذاﺗّﯿﻪء‬ ‫‪compressed at the end of a line and difficult to read. There is no evident reason why Abduʾl‬‬‫‪Bahā would have wished to move the word. It could be that he wrote the word more‬‬ ‫‪clearly in the margin, and that the typesetter has misunderstood this as an instruction to‬‬ ‫‪move it. The sense is not affected, since in either position the word serves only to reinforce‬‬ ‫‪the selfishness of the interests concerned.‬‬

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And similarly: “There is no piety in turning your faces toward the east or toward the west,132 rather the pious one believes in God, the Last Day, the angels, the Scriptures and the Prophets. He gives his earthly goods, despite his love for them, to kindred, and to orphans, the needy and the wayfarer, and those who seek (the truth), and to untie the yokes. He has instituted the obligatory prayers, paid the legal alms. The pious fulfil their promise when they have covenanted, and are patient in times of misery and woe, and when suffering violence. These are the sincere ones, those who tread the path of righteousness.”133 It is also written, “They prefer the immigrants to themselves, though poverty be their own lot.”134 See how the highest levels of true civilization and the lights of a praiseworthy human character are mentioned in these few sacred verses. † By the one true God! The minute elements of material civilization also owe their existence to the bountiful grace of the Prophets of God. What utility is there in this world which is not, either expressly or tacitly, mentioned in the Holy Scriptures? But of what avail is this? So long as the weapons and banners of war are in the hands of cowards, neither life nor property is secure. On the contrary, the power and strength of the robber is increased. In the same way, when affairs fall into the hands of very flawed divines, they block out the light of Faith like a thick veil. Pure motives are the foundation of piety. That is, a devout person must disregard all his personal desires and do whatever is possible to serve the public interest. It is impossible for human beings to close their eyes to their own well-being and to sacrifice their own vital interests for the common weal, except through true religious faith.

132 This part of the verse is cited by Bahāʾuʾllāh in his Kitāb-e Iqān, pages 92-93 of Shoghi Effendi’s translation (1989 edition). 133 Quran 2:177. 134 Quran 59:9.

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‫ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ در ﻃﯿﻨﺖ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﳏّﺒﺖ ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﶏ ّﺮ و ﳑﮑﻦ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﺑﺪون اﻣﯿﺪواری اﺟﺮ ﺟﺰﯾﻞ و ﺛﻮاب‬ ‫ﲨﯿﻞ از ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﻣﻮﻗّﺘﻪء ﺟﺴﲈﻧّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﺑﮕﺬرد و ﻟﮑﻦ ﴯﺺ ﻣﻮﻗﻦ ابّهلل و ﻣﺆﻣﻦ ﺑﺎ ٓايت او ﭼﻮن ﻣﻮﻋﻮد و‬ ‫ﻣﺘﯿﻘّﻦ ﻣﺜﻮابت ﳇّّﯿﻪء اﺧﺮوﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﲨﯿﻊ ﻧﻌﻢ دﻧﯿﻮﯾ ّﻪ در ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻞ ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت درﺟﺎت ٔاﺧﺮوﯾ ّﻪ ٔاكن ﱂ‬ ‫ﯾﮑﻦ اﻧﮕﺎﺷـﺘﻪ ﮔﺮدد ﻟﻬﺬا راﺣﺖ و ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﺧﻮد را اﺑﺘﻐﺎًء ﻟﻮﺟﻪ اّهلل ﺗﺮک ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﻧﻔﻊ ﲻﻮم دل و ﺟﺎن را‬ ‫‪135‬‬ ‫راﯾﮕﺎن ﻣﺒﺬول دارد ﴿ و ﻣﻦ اﻟﻨّﺎس َﻣْﻦ ﯾﴩی ﻧﻔﺴﻪ اﺑﺘﻐﺎَء ﻣﺮﺿﺎت اّهلل ﴾‬ ‫و ﺑﻌﴣ ﻧﻔﻮس ﭼﻨﺎن ﮔﲈن ﮐﻨﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ انﻣﻮس ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ اﻧﺴﺎن ﻣﺎﻧﻊ ارﺗﲀب اﻋﲈل ﻗﺒﯿﺤﻪ و ﺿﺎﺑﻂ ﮐﲈﻻت‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و ﺻﻮرﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ ﯾﻌﲎ ﴯﴡ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺘّﺼﻒ ﲞﺮد ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ و ﻏﲑت ﻓﻄﺮﯾ ّﻪ و ﲪّﯿﺖ ذاﺗّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﺑﺪون‬ ‫ﴍﯾ ّﻪ و ﻣﺜﻮابت ﻋﻈﳰﻪء اﻓﻌﺎل ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ ﺑﺮیء از اﴐار ﻋﺒﺎد و‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪء ﻋﻘﻮابت ﺷﺪﯾﺪﻩء ﻣﺮﺗ ّﺒﻪ ﺑﺮ اﻋﲈل ّ‬ ‫ﺣﺮﯾﺺ ﺑﺮ اﻋﲈل ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ اّوًﻻ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻮارﱗ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ دﻗﺖ ﳕﺎﺋﲓ واﰣ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﺷﻮد ﮐﻪ انﻣﻮس‬ ‫ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ از ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﺗﻌﺎﻟﲓ اﻧﺒﯿﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ اﺳﺖ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻣﯿامنﺋﲓ ﮐﻪ از اﻃﻔﺎل در ﺻﻐﺮ ﺳﻦ‬ ‫ا ٓاثر ﺗﻌّﺪی و ﲡﺎوز ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و اﮔﺮ از ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻣﺮّﰉ ﳏﺮوم ﻣﺎﻧﺪ ا ًٓان ﻓﺎ ًٓان ﺷـﲓ ﻏﲑ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪاش ﺗﺰاﯾﺪ ايﺑﺪ ﭘﺲ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻇﻬﻮر انﻣﻮس ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ ﻧﲒ از ﻧﺘﺎﰀ ﺗﻌﻠﲓ اﺳﺖ‬

‫‪ . The Cairo edition corrects this to match the received‬ﳌﺮﺿﺎت ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬

‫‪135‬‬

‫‪text.‬‬

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For self-love is kneaded into the very clay of the human person, and it is not possible that an individual should neglect immediate gains in this world without the hope of a considerable reward, a fair return. However one who is assured of God, who believes in God’s signs, will for the sake of God cease to strive for her own peace and profit and will willingly expend her own self in labouring, heart and soul, for the common good, because she has been promised a certain and plentiful reward in the next life, and all worldly delights are nothing as compared to the joy and glory of future planes of existence.136 “Among the people, there is one who sells his very self in seeking to please God.”137 There are some who imagine that an innate sense of human dignity can forbid the commission of evil actions and command the achievement of inward and outward perfections. That is, that an individual who is characterised by natural understanding, and by inborn determination and will-power, will have nothing to do with harming others and will be diligent in doing good, and this without considering the severe punishments associated with wicked deeds or the great rewards for good deeds. However, in the first place, if we examine the universal histories it is clear and indubitable that this innate sense of human dignity is one of the bounties from the teachings of the Prophets. We also observe in children that the signs of cruelty and excess are evident from a young age and, if a child remains without the training of an educator, the child’s unseemly qualities will steadily increase. It is therefore clear that the innate sense of human dignity is also the result of training.

136 Persian pronouns are gender-neutral, in this paragraph “he or she” and “his or her” could be used. 137 Quran 2:207.

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‫ﴍ و ﻣﺪّل ﺑﺮ ﺧﲑ اﺳﺖ اﯾﻦ‬ ‫و اثﻧﯿًﺎ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮ ﻓﺮض ﺗﺼّﻮر اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ ﺧﺮد ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ و انﻣﻮس ﻓﻄﺮی ﻣﺎﻧﻊ ّ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و واﲵﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﳘﭽﻮ ﻧﻔﻮس ﭼﻮن اﮐﺴﲑ اﻋﻈﻤﺴﺖ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ اّدﻋﺎ ﺑﻘﻮل ﲤﺎم ﻧﺸﻮد ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﲻﻞ‬ ‫ﻻزم ﺣﺎل ﭼﻪ اﻣﺮی در وﺟﻮد ﲨﻬﻮر را ﺑﺮ ﻧّﯿﺎت ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ و اﻋﲈل ﺻﺎﳊﻪ ُﻣﻠﺠﺎٔ و ُﻣﻀﻄّﺮ ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ و از‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ا ٓن ﴯﴡ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺼﺪر انﻣﻮس ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل ﮔﺮدد اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ در ﻧﻮاايی‬ ‫ﺧﲑﯾ ّﻪاش اثﺑﺖﺗﺮ و راﰞﺗﺮ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﺧﻼﺻﻪ ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﳇّّﯿﻪ از ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت اداين اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ زﯾﺮا ﻣﺘﺪﯾ ّﻨﲔ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ را ﺑﺮ ﺻﺪق ﻃﻮﯾ ّﺖ و ﺣﺴﻦ‬ ‫ﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻋﻔّﺖ و ﻋﺼﻤﺖ ﮐﱪی و رٔاﻓﺖ و رﲪﺖ ﻋﻈﻤﯽ و وﻓﺎی ﺑﻌﻬﺪ و ﻣﯿﺜﺎق و ﺣّﺮﯾ ّﺖ ﺣﻘﻮق و‬ ‫اﻧﻔﺎق و ﻋﺪاﻟﺖ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﺷـﺌﻮن و ﻣﺮّوت و ﲯﺎوت و ﴭﺎﻋﺖ و ﺳﻌﯽ و اﻗﺪام در ﻧﻔﻊ ﲨﻬﻮر ﺑﻨﺪﮔﺎن‬ ‫اﻟﻬـﯽ ابری ﲜﻤﯿﻊ ﺷـﲓ ﻣﺮﺿّﯿﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﮐﻪ ﴰﻊ روﺷﻦ هجﺎن ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ دﻻﻟﺖ ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ و اﮔﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ‬ ‫ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ابﯾﻦ ﺻﻔﺎت ﳑﺪوﺣﻪ ﻣﺘّﺼﻒ ﻧﻪ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﺑﳮﯽ از َِﱘ ﻋﺬب ﻓﺮات ﮐﻪ در ﳎﺎری ﳇﲈت ﺗﻌﻠﳰّﯿﻪء‬ ‫ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﻣﳣّﻮج اﺳﺖ ﻧﺮﺳـﯿﺪﻩ و ﻧﻔﺤﻪ ای از رواﰁ ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪء رايض اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ اﺳﺘﺸﲈم ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ ﭼﻪ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﻫﯿﭻ اﻣﺮی در وﺟﻮد ﺑﻘﻮل ﲤﺎم ﻧﺸﻮد ﻫﺮ ﻣﻘﺎﻣﯽ را روش و ﻋﻼﻣﱴ و ﻫﺮ ﺷﺎٔﱏ را ﻧﺸﺎﻧﻪ و اﺷﺎرﰏ‬

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Secondly, even if we suppose that natural understanding and an innate sense of dignity could forbid wrongdoing and incline one to good deeds, it is clear and indubitable that such individuals would excel the Elixir itself. Such a claim is not to be made in words; it must be supported by deeds. What power is it in the world that impels and compels society to praiseworthy aims and good deeds? Aside from this, an individual who is the embodiment of this innate sense of dignity, if she also becomes an embodiment of the fear of God, will certainly be even more steadfast and devoted in the path of benevolence. To sum up: comprehensive benefits result from the bounties of the Divine religions, for they guide true believers to purity of purpose, good intentions, to the greatest chastity and purity, to the heights of compassion and mercy, to fidelity in treaties and covenants, to uphold the standards of due rights and generosity, and of justice, in every aspect of life, to civility, liberality and valour and to action and striving for the good of all God’s servants. Truly, the religions guide the believers to all human virtues, which are the bright candles of civilization. If an individual is not characterised by these praiseworthy attributes, in reality, he has certainly not attained even to the spray from the thirst-quenching waters surging in the channels of the edifying words of the scriptures, or breathed the fragrances of holiness in the gardens of God, for nothing in existence ends in words alone. Every rank has its signs and its conduct, and for every station there is a mark and signal.

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‫ﶍًﻼ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از اﯾﻦ ﺑﯿﺎانت ا ٓن ﮐﻪ واﰣ و ﻣﺪﻟ ّﻞ ﺷﻮد ﮐﻪ اداين اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﴍاﺋﻊ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء رّابﻧّﯿﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﲓ‬ ‫ﺳﲈوﯾ ّﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ اﺳﺎس ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و از ﺑﺮای ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻫﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ﳒﺎح و ﻓﻼح ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﺑﺪون اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﺗﺮايق ﻓﺎروق اﻋﻈﻢ ﳑﮑﻦ ﻧﻪ و ﻟﮑﻦ ﺑﴩط ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در دﺳﺖ ﺣﮑﲓ داانی ﺣﺎذق ابﺷﺪ و اّﻻ اﮔﺮ ﲨﯿﻊ‬ ‫ادوﯾﻪء ﺑﺮء اﻟّﺴﺎﻋﺔ ﮐﻪ ﺧﺪاوﻧﺪ ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن ﲜﻬﺖ ﺷﻔﺎی ا ٓﻻم و اﺳﻘﺎم ا ٓدﻣﯿﺎن ﺧﻠﻖ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ ﺑﺪﺳﺖ ﻃﺒﯿﺐ‬ ‫ﻏﲑ ﺣﺎذق اﻓﺘﺪ ّ‬ ‫ﲱﺖ و ﻋﺎﻓﯿﺖ ﻣﯿّﴪ ﻧﮕﺮدد ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ابﻟﻌﮑﺲ ﺳﺒﺐ اﻫﻼک ﻧﻔﻮس ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن و اذﯾ ّﺖ‬ ‫ﻗﻠﻮب درﻣﺎﻧﺪﮔﺎن ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﻣﺜًﻼ ﻣﻨﺒﻊ ﺣﳬﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﻧﺒّﻮت ﳇّّﯿﻪ در ﺗﺮﻏﯿﺐ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ اﮐﺘﺴﺎب ﻣﻌﺎرف و اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﻓﻨﻮن و‬ ‫ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﺑﻪ ﴿ ﺳﻌﯽ اﱃ اﻗﴡ ﺑﻼد ﭼﲔ ﴾ اﻣﺮ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ و ﻟﮑﻦ ﻃﺒﯿﺒﺎن ﻏﲑ ﺣﺎذق ﻣﻨﻊ و ﺳـﺘﲒﻩ ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫و اﺳـﺘﺪﻻل ﻣﯿﮑﻨﻨﺪ ﴿ ﻣﻦ ﺗﺸـّﺒﻪ ﺑﻘﻮم ﻓﻬﻮ ﻣﳯﻢ ﴾ و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ وﺟﻪ ﺗﺸﺎﺑﻪ ﻣﺬﮐﻮر را ادراک ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ و‬ ‫ﳕﯿﺪاﻧﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﴍاﺋﻊ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﲨﻬﻮر اّﻣﺖ را ﺑﺮ ﲤﻬﯿﺪ اﺻﻮل اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﻣﺘﺘﺎﺑﻌﻪ و اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﻓﻨﻮن و‬ ‫ﻣﻌﺎرف از اﱈ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و دﻻﻟﺖ ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ و ﻫﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﮐﻪ ﻏﲑ از اﯾﻦ ﮔﻮﯾﺪ از ﺳﻠﺴﺒﯿﻞ ﻋﲅ ﳏﺮوم و‬ ‫در ابدﯾﻪء هجﻞ از ﭘـﯽ ﴎاب اﻏﺮاض ﻧﻔﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﴎﮔﺮدان و ﺣﲑان‬

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In short, the purpose of these statements is to demonstrate clearly that the divine religions, the religious Law of each, and the peerless heavenly teachings are the foundations of human happiness, and there is no possibility of true progress and prosperity for the peoples of the world without this most effective remedy. It must, however, be in the hands of a wise and skilled physician, for if all the healing herbs that the Lord of all peoples has created to heal human diseases and infirmities were to fall into the hands of an incompetent doctor they would be no aid to relief and healing. On the contrary, they would destroy the helpless and burden the hearts of the afflicted. For example, to encourage and urge the acquisition of knowledge and the borrowing of techniques and beneficial things, that well-spring of divine wisdom and the supreme manifestation of prophethood, Mohammad, commanded, “Seek even to the furthermost reaches of China.” Yet the incompetent doctors cavil and forbid this, citing as proof the tradition, “He who imitates a people is one of them.” They have not grasped what is meant by the “imitation” referred to, and they do not know that the religious law of each divine religion urges and advises all the faithful to lay the foundations of continuous improvements, and to acquire art and learning from other peoples. Whoever says otherwise is deprived of the Salsibil of knowledge and is wandering in confusion in the desert of ignorance, in pursuit of the mirage of selfish desires.

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‫ﺣﺎل ﺑﺪﯾﺪﻩء اﻧﺼﺎف ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ اﯾﻦ اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ ابﻟﻘّﻮﻩ و ابﻟﻔﻌﻞ ﮐﺪام ﯾﮏ ﳐﺎﻟﻒ اواﻣﺮ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ‬ ‫واﻗﻊ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ اﮔﺮ اﻣﺮ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﻣﺸﻮرت اﺳﺖ اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ در ﻧّﺺ ا ٓﯾﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫﴿ ٔاﻣﺮﱒ ﺷﻮری ﺑﯿﳯﻢ ﴾ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﺧﻄﺎًاب ﲟﻄﻠﻊ ﻋﲅ و ﻣﻨﺒﻊ ﮐﲈل اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ ﳇّّﯿﻪء ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و‬ ‫ﺻﻮرﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ و ﺷﺎورﱒ ﰱ أﻻﻣﺮ ﴾ در اﯾﻦ ﺻﻮرت ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﻣﺮ ﻣﺸﻮرت ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﺑﺪﻻﺋﻞ ﻋﻘﻠّﯿﻪ ﻧﲒ ﻓﻀﯿﻠﺖ ﻣﺸﻮرت اثﺑﺖ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ و ﳎّﺮب‬ ‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﻗﺼﺎﺻًﺎ ﻗﺘﻞ ﻧﻔﻮس را ﻣﻨﻮط ﺑﺘﺤﻘﯿﻘﺎت دﻗﯿﻘﻪ و ﺗﺼﺪﯾﻖ ﳎﺎﻟﺲ ﻋﺪﯾﺪﻩ و ﺛﺒﻮت ﴍﻋﯽ و ﺗﻌﻠ ّﻖ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﻣﺎن ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﯽ ﳕﻮدن ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ ﴍاﺋﻊ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و ا ٓچنﻪ در زﻣﺎن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺳﺎﺑﻘﻪ ﳎﺮی ﺑﻮد ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ اﺣﲀم‬ ‫ﻗﺮا ٓن ﻣﺒﲔ ﺑﻮد ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﻣﺘﻮاﺗﺮًا ﻣﺴﻤﻮع ﮔﺸﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺣﺎﰼ ﮔﻠﭙﺎﯾﮕﺎن در زﻣﺎن ﺻﺪارت ﺣﺎىج ﻣﲑزا ا ٓﻗﺎﳻ‬ ‫ﺑﺪون ﺳﺆال و ﺟﻮاب و اﺳﺘﺌﺬان از هجﱴ ﺳﲒدﻩ ﻧﻔﺮ ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن ﮐﺪﺧﺪااين ﻗﺮای ﮔﻠﭙﺎﯾﮕﺎن را ﮐﻪ از‬ ‫ﺳﻼهلء ﻃﺎﻫﺮﻩ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﻣﻦ دون ﺟﺮم در ﯾﮑﺴﺎﻋﺖ در ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﻣﻈﻠﻮﻣﯿّﺖ ﮔﺮدن ﺑﺮﯾﺪﻩ‬ ‫اﻫﺎﱃ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ اﯾﺮان در زﻣﺎﱏ ﻣﺘﺠﺎوز از ﺻﺪ ﮐﺮور ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﺑﺴﺒﺐ ﺑﻌﴣ ﺣﺮوابت داﺧهل و اﮐﱶ ﲜﻬﺖ‬ ‫ﻋﺪم ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻄﻠﻖ اﻟﻌﻨﺎن و الارادﻩ ﺑﻮدن وﻻت و ﺣّﲀم ﺗﻠﻒ ﺷﺪﻩ ﰼﰼ ﲟﺮور اّايم ﲬﺲ اﻫﺎﱃ‬ ‫ابﰵ ﳕﺎﻧﺪﻩ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺣّﲀم ابرادﻩء ﺧﻮد ﻫﺮ ﻧﻔﺲ ﰉ ﺟﺮﻣﯽ را ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ ﺑﺎ ٓﺗﺶ ﻗﻬﺮ و ﺷﮑﻨﺠﻪ ﺑﮕﺪاﺧﺘﻨﺪ‬

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[The benefits of reforms in Iran] Judge fairly: which of these new reforms is potentially or actually contrary to the Divine commandments? As for the establishment of consultative bodies, this is explicit in the holy verse: “who consult among themselves regarding their affairs.” Furthermore, Mohammad, the dayspring of knowledge and fountainhead of perfection, was told to “consult them in the matter,”138 although he was graced with all the inward and outward virtues. In view of this, how can the instruction to consult be in conflict with the ordinances of the God-given religious law? The virtue of consultation can also be clarified and established by rational proofs. Even in the case of a murderer whose life is forfeit under the law of retaliation, is it contrary to the God-given religious law to make this conditional on detailed investigations, on approval by numerous bodies, on evidence in accordance with the religious law, and the assent of the king? What went on under the previous government was contrary to the laws of the perspicuous Quran. According to reliable reports, in the days when Hājji Mirzā Āqāsi was Prime Minister, the governor of Golpaygan beheaded thirteen hapless village chiefs of Golpaygan who were of pure lineage in a single hour, acting most cruelly, without interrogations or permission of any sort. At one time the population of Iran exceeded fifty million.139 Partly because of civil wars, but primarily because of the lack of administration based on codified laws and because of the absolute power and discretion of local and provincial governors, the population dwindled year by year, until with the passage of time not one-fifth remains. For governors could take someone who was innocent of any crime, at will, and melt him in the fire of their fury or by torture.

138 139

Quran 42:38 and 3:159. The figure may refer to the population of the Persian Empire at its widest.

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‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﻗﺎﺗﻞ ﻣﺜﺒﻮت ﴍﻋﯽ اﺷﺨﺎص ﻋﺪﯾﺪﻩ را ﲜﻬﺖ اﻏﺮاض ذاﺗّﯿﻪ ﺑﻨﻮاﺧﺘﻨﺪ ﻫﯿﭻ ﻧﻔﴗ را ﻗﺪرت‬ ‫ﴫف ﮐﯿﻒ ﯾﺸﺎء ﺑﻮد ا ٓاي ﻣﯿﺘﻮان ﮔﻔﺖ اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﻋﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎف و‬ ‫اﻋﱰاض ﻧﺒﻮد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺣﺎﰼ ﯾﺘ ّ‬ ‫ﻣﻄﺎﺑﻖ اﺣﲀم ﴍﯾﻌﺖ اّهلل اﺳﺖ‬ ‫و اي ﺧﻮد ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﺑﺮ ﺗﻌّﲅ ﻓﻨﻮن ﻣﻔﯿﺪﻩ و اﮐﺘﺴﺎب ﻣﻌﺎرف ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ و اّﻃﻼع ﺑﺮ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﺣﳬﺖ‬ ‫ﻃﺒﯿﻌّﯿﻪء انﻓﻌﻪ و ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ داﺋﺮﻩء ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و ﺗﺰﯾﯿﺪ ﻣﻮاد ﲡﺎرت و ﺗﮑﺜﲑ وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﺛﺮوت ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﻨﺎﰱ اﺻﻮل‬ ‫دايﻧﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و اي ﺧﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ ﻧﻈﺎم ﻣﺪن و ﺗﻨﻈﲓ اﺣﻮال ﻧﻮاىح و ﻗﺮی و ﺗﻌﻤﲑ ﻃﺮق و‬ ‫ﺳـﺒﻞ و ﲤﺪﯾﺪ راﻩ ﰷﻟﺴﮑﻪء ا ٓﺗﺸﯽ و ﺗﺴﻬﯿﻞ وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﻧﻘﻠّﯿﻪ و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ و ﺗﺮﻓﯿﻪ ﲻﻮم اﻫﺎﱃ ﻣﻀﺎّد ﻋﺒﻮدﯾ ّﺖ‬ ‫درﮔﺎﻩ ﺣﴬت اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ و اي ﺧﻮد اﺷﻐﺎل ﻣﻌﺎدن ﻣﱰوﮐﻪ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﺛﺮوت دوﻟﺖ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ و اﳚﺎد ﻣﻌﺎﻣﻞ و ﰷرﺧﺎﳖﺎ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﺒﻊ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ و ابﻋﺚ ﻏﻨﺎ و ﺗﻮاﻧﮕﺮی ﲻﻮم ﻣﻠ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ و‬ ‫ﲢﺮﯾﺾ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ اﳚﺎد ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ ﺟﺪﯾﺪﻩ و ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ ﺗﺮّﰵ اﻣﺘﻌﻪء وﻃﻨّﯿﻪ ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ اواﻣﺮ و ﻧﻮاﻫﯽ رّب اﻟﱪﯾ ّﻪ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻗﺴﻢ ﺑﺬات ﭘﺎک ذی اﳉﻼل ﮐﻪ ﻣﺘﺤّﲑم ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﭘﺮدﻩ ﺑﺮ اﺑﺼﺎر اﻓﺘﺎدﻩ ﮐﻪ اﻣﻮر ابﯾﻦ ﺑﺪﳞـﯽ ادراک ﳕﯿﺸﻮد‬ ‫و ﭼﻮن اﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﺑﺮاﻫﲔ و ادّهلء ﳏﳬﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﺷﻮد ﺷـﳢﻪ ای ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ از هجﺖ ﺻﺪ ﻫﺰار اﻏﺮاض ابﻃﻨّﯿﻪ‬ ‫در ﺟﻮاب ﺧﻮاﻫﻨﺪ ﮔﻔﺖ ﮐﻪ در ﯾﻮم ﳏﴩ ﺑﲔ ﯾﺪی اّهلل از ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﰷﻣهلء اﻧﺴﺎن ﺳﺆال‬ ‫ﳕﯿﮑﻨﻨﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ اﻋﲈل ﺻﺎﳊﻪ را ﺟﻮﯾﻨﺪ‬

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Or, for their own selfish purposes, they might protect and favour someone convicted according to the religious law of numerous killings. Not a soul could object, because the governor was one who did as he pleased. Can it be said that these things are in accordance with justice and fairness, and conform to the ordinances of the religious law? Can it be said that urgency and zeal in studying useful crafts and gaining access to the learning of the whole world, in informing oneself of the realities of the profitable natural sciences, and expanding the scope of industry and increasing the volume of trade and multiplying the sources of the people’s prosperity, is incompatible with the precepts of piety? Does it conflict with servitude at the court of holiness, to establish law and order in the cities and organise the rural districts and villages, to improve the major and minor roads and extend the railway and facilitate transport and travel and the general convenience of the population? Is it contrary to the commandments and prohibitions of the Lord of all to work the abandoned mines which are the greatest source of wealth for the people and government; to build workshops and factories, which are the wellspring of comfort, ease, economic security and affluence for the mass of the people; to instigate and stimulate the creation of new industries and to promote improvements in our domestic products? May the Godhead itself bear me witness! I am aghast at how veiled their vision is, that they do not understand such obvious matters. And when sound arguments and proofs of this sort are set out, they, with their hundred thousand hidden motives, will no doubt reply, “On the day when men are gathered in the hands of God, they will not be questioned about their learning or the perfection of their civilization, rather they will be examined about their good deeds.”

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫اّوًﻻ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﺳﻠ ّﻤﻨﺎ ﺳﺆال از ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﳕﯿﮑﻨﻨﺪ ا ٓاي در ﯾﻮم ﺣﴩ اﮐﱪ در دﯾﻮان اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻣﺆاﺧﺬﻩ‬ ‫ﳕﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ای رؤﺳﺎ و ﺑﺰرﮔﺎن اﯾﻦ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺑﺰرﮔﻮار را ﭼﺮا ﺳﺒﺐ ﺷﺪﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ از اوج‪ 140‬ﻋّﺰت ﻗﺪﳝﻪ ﺗّﲋل‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و از ﻣﺮﮐﺰﯾ ّﺖ هجﺎن ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ابز ﻣﺎﻧﺪﻧﺪ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘﺘﺪر ﺑﻮدﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻄﯽ ﻣﺘﺸﺒّﺚ ﺷﻮﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻋّﺰت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺷﻮﯾﺪ اﯾﻦ را ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ ﺳﻬﻞ اﺳﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ را از ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﻋﺎدﯾ ّﻪ ﻧﲒ ابز‬ ‫داﺷﺘﯿﺪ ا ٓاي اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮم در ﺳﲈء ﺳﻌﺎدت ﭼﻮن اﳒﻢ زاﻫﯿﻪ ﻧﺒﻮدﻧﺪ ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ابﻋﺚ ﺷﺪﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ در اﯾﻦ ﻇﻠﻤﺖ‬ ‫دﻫﲈ اﻓﺘﺎدﻧﺪ و اي ﺧﻮد ﻣﻘﺘﺪر ﺑﺮ اﯾﻘﺎد ﴎاج ﻋّﺰت دارﯾﻦ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺑﻮدﯾﺪ ﭼﺮا ﲜﺎن ﻧﮑﻮﺷـﯿﺪﯾﺪ و اي ا ٓن ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﴎاج ﻧﻮراﱏ ﺑﺘﻮﻓﯿﻘﺎت اﻟﻬـﯽ روﺷﻦ ﺷﺪ ﺑﺰﺟﺎﺟﻪء ّﳘﺖ او را از ارايح ﳐﺎﻟﻒ ﺣﻔﻆ ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ از ﭼﻪ‬ ‫هجﺖ ﺑﮑﲈل ﻗّﻮت ﺑﺮ اﻃﻔﺎی ا ٓن ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﻮدﯾﺪ ﴿ و َّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻧﺴﺎن ٔاﻟﺰﻣﻨﺎﻩ ﻃﺎﺋﺮُﻩ ﰱ ُﻋﻨﻘﻪ و ُﳔﺮج هل ﯾﻮم اﻟﻘﯿﺎﻣﺔ‬ ‫ﮐﺘﺎاب ﯾ َﻠﻘﺎﻩ ﻣﻨﺸﻮرا ﴾‬ ‫و اثﻧﯿًﺎ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﭼﻪ اﻋﲈل ﺻﺎﳊﻪ در وﺟﻮد اﻋﻈﻢ از ﻧﻔﻊ ﲻﻮم اﺳﺖ ا ٓاي ﻣﻮﻫﺒﱴ در ﻋﺎﱂ اﻋﻈﻢ از اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﻣﺘﺼّﻮر ﮐﻪ اﻧﺴﺎن ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ و ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﻨﺪﮔﺎن اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺷﻮد ﻻ و اّهلل اﮐﱪ ﻣﺜﻮابت‬ ‫اﯾﻨﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ دﺳﺖ ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن را ﮔﺮﻓﺘﻪ از هجﺎﻟﺖ و ذﻟ ّﺖ و ﻣﺴﮑﻨﺖ ﳒﺎت دﻫﻨﺪ و ﺑﻨﯿ ّﺖ‬ ‫ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪ ِ ّ ِهلل ﳈﺮ ّﳘﺖ را ﺑﺮ ﺧﺪﻣﺖ ﲨﻬﻮر اﻫﺎﱃ ﺑﺮ ﺑﻨﺪﻧﺪ‬

‫‪140‬‬ ‫‪ٔ (p. 121), an evident mistake, for it would mean “he or‬ازاوج ‪The Cairo edition has‬‬ ‫‪she marries.” It is also corrected as shown in the electronic text provided by the Bahāʾi‬‬ ‫‪World Centre, which matches the Bombay edition (p. 135).‬‬

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In the first place, granted that there is no questioning about learning or the degree of civilization, yet in the court of God, on Judgment Day, this accusation will be levelled: “O chiefs and leaders! For what weighty reason did this great people wane from the heights of its ancient glory, and lose its central place in the civilized world? Although it lay in your power to adopt measures that would promote the sacred honour of this people, you did not do so, although it would have been easy. You even deprived the people of customary advantages. Were these people not as bright stars in the heaven of happiness? For what weighty motives have they fallen into the dark! It lay in your power to light the lamp of the glory of this people, in this world and the next; why did you not strive for this with all your hearts? And when, thanks to God’s confirmations, a brilliant lamp shone out, you did not use the glass of your endeavours to shelter it from contrary winds. Why did you rise up with all your might to extinguish it?” As it is written, “We have fastened each man’s fate about his neck. On the Day of Resurrection we will present it to him, as a book unsealed.”141 In the second place, is any good deed in all existence greater than serving the common good? Is any greater blessing conceivable, in all the world, than for a person to become the cause of the education, development, glory and happiness of God’s servants? No, by God! The greatest of rewards is for blessed souls to take the hands of the helpless and deliver them from ignorance and abasement and poverty, and with pure intent, for the sake of God, commit themselves to the service of the whole population.

141

Quran 17:13.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫و ﺧﲑ دﻧﯿﻮی ﺧﻮﯾﺸﱳ را ﻓﺮاﻣﻮش ﳕﻮدﻩ ﲜﻬﺖ ﻧﻔﻊ ﲻﻮم ﺑﮑﻮﺷـﻨﺪ ﴿ و ﯾﺆﺛﺮون ﻋﲆ ٔاﻧﻔﺴﻬﻢ و ﻟﻮ ﰷن‬ ‫ﴬ اﻟﻨّﺎَس ﴾‬ ‫ﴍ اﻟﻨّﺎِس ﻣﻦ ﯾ َ ُ ّ‬ ‫ﲠﻢ َﺧﺼﺎَﺻﺔ ﴾ ﴿ ﺧُﲑ اﻟﻨّﺎِس ﻣﻦ ﯾﻨﻔُﻊ اﻟﻨّﺎَس و ُّ‬

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‫ﺳـﺒﺤﺎن اّهلل ﭼﻪ اﻣﻮر و اﺣﻮال ﲺﯿﺒﻪ واﻗﻊ ﮐﻪ ﻫﯿﭻ ﻧﻔﴗ ﺣﲔ اﺳـامتع ﻗﻮﱃ دﻗّﺖ و ﻓﺮاﺳﺖ ﳕﯿامنﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺼﻮد ﻗﺎﺋﻞ از اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮل ﭼﻪ و در ﻧﻘﺎب اﻗﻮال ﭼﻪ ﻏﺮض ﻧﻔﺴﺎﱏ ﭘﳯﺎن ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻣﺜًﻼ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﴯﴡ ﲜﻬﺖ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﻪء ذاﺗّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد ﻣﺎﻧﻊ ﺳﻌﺎدت ﲨﻬﻮری از انس ﻣﯿﺸﻮد و ﲜﻬﺖ ﮔﺮدش ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎب‬ ‫ﺧﻮد ﻣﺰارع و ﮐﺸﺖ زار ّﰖ ﻏﻔﲑی را ﺗﺸـﻨﻪ و ﺧﺮاب ﻣﯿﮑﻨﺪ و ﲜﻬﺖ ﻣﻄﺎﻋّﯿﺖ ﺧﻮد داﲚًﺎ انس را ﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ ﺟﺎﻫﻠّﯿﺖ ﮐﻪ ﳐّﺮب ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ دﻻﻟﺖ ﻣﯿﮑﻨﺪ ﺣﺎل اﯾﻦ ﴯﺺ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﲻﲆ را‬ ‫ﻣﺮﺗﮑﺐ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺮدود درﮔﺎﻩ ﮐﱪاي و ﻣﺒﻐﻮض ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻧﺒﯿﺎء و اوﻟﯿﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ ﺑﺒﯿﻨﺪ ﻧﻔﴗ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻃﻌﺎم‬ ‫دﺳﺖ ﺧﻮد را ﺑﺼﺎﺑﻮن ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮﺟﺪش ﻋﺒﺪ اّهلل ﺑﻮﱏ و از اﺳﻼم اﺳﺖ ﺑﺸﻮﯾﺪ ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﻩ دﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﺧﻮد را ﺑﺪاﻣﻦ و ﳏﺎﺳﻦ ﺧﻮد ﳕﺎﻟﯿﺪﻩ ا ٓن ﴯﺺ ﻓﺮايد ﺑﺮا ٓرد ﮐﻪ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﺑﺮﱒ ﺧﻮرد و ا ٓداب ﳑﺎﻟﮏ‬ ‫ﮐﻔﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺘﺪاول ﮔﺸﺖ اﺑﺪًا ﺳﻮء اﻋﲈل ﺧﻮد را ﻧﻈﺮ ﻧامنﯾﺪ ﻟﮑﻦ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻟﻄﺎﻓﺖ و ﭘﺎﰽ را هجﻞ و ﻓﺴﻖ ﺷﲈرد‬

‫‪142‬‬ ‫‪, corrected in the Cairo edition, p. 122, to match‬ﰷﻧﺖ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 137) has‬‬ ‫‪the received text.‬‬

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It is for them to forget their own worldly advantage and work for the benefit of all. The Quran says, “They give them preference over themselves, though there is poverty among them,”143 and a tradition says, “The best of people are those who serve the people; the worst of people are those who harm the people.” Glory be to God! What an extraordinary situation this is: when no one, hearing an argument, reflects and investigates, asking, “what is the motive of the speaker of these words, what selfish purpose is hidden under the veil of words?” You find, for example, that an individual will impede the happiness of the mass of the people for the sake of some petty personal interest. To turn his own mill, he will let numerous irrigated farms and fields parch and wither. To maintain his own authority, he is continually steering the masses towards ignorant chauvinism, which undermines the edifice of civilization. Such a person, even while he is perpetrating some act which is anathema in the Court of Grandeur and detested by all the prophets and saints, will, if he sees someone wash his hands after eating, using soap – which was invented by Abduʾllāh Buni, a Muslim – laments, “The foundations of the religious law have been destroyed, and the customs of infidel peoples are seen everywhere,” simply because this unfortunate does not wipe his hands on the hem of his robe or his beard. He never considers his own deeds, but he treats the very cause of cleanliness and refinement as a misguided deviation.

143

Quran 59:9.

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‫ای اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان ﭼﺸﻢ را ﺑﮕﺸﺎﺋﯿﺪ و ﮔﻮش را ابز ﮐﻨﯿﺪ و از ﺗﻘﻠﯿﺪ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﺘﻮّﳘﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ اﻋﻈﻢ ﺿﻼﻟﺖ‬ ‫و ﮔﻤﺮاﻫﯽ و ﺳﻔﺎﻟﺖ و انداﱏ اﻧﺴﺎن اﺳﺖ ﻣﻘّﺪس ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﲝﻘﯿﻘﺖ اﻣﻮر ﭘـﯽ ﺑﺮﯾﺪ و در اّﲣﺎذ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ‬ ‫ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﺣﯿﺎت و ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری و ﻋّﺰت ﺧﻮد ﺑﲔ ﻣﻠﻞ و ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﮑﻮﺷـﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﻧﺴﺎﰂ رﺑﯿﻊ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﻣﯿﻮزد ﭼﻮن اﴭﺎر ﺑﻮﺳـﺘﺎن ﺑﺸﮑﻮﻓﻪ و ازﻫﺎر ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ و اﺑﺮ ﲠﺎری در ﻓﯿﻀﺎن‬ ‫ﭼﻮن روﺿﻪء ﺧدل ﴎ ﺳﱫ و ﺧﺮم ﺷﻮﯾﺪ ﺳـﺘﺎرﻩء ﺻﺒﺤﮕﺎﻫﯽ درﺧﺸـﯿﺪ در ﻣﺴﻠﮏ ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﲓ در ا ٓﺋﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﲝﺮ ﻋّﺰت در ﻣﻮج ﺑﺮ ﺷﺎﻃﯽ اﻗﺒﺎل و اﻗﺪام ﺑﺸـﺘﺎﺑﯿﺪ ﻣﻌﲔ ﺣﯿﺎت ﻃّﯿﺒﻪ در ﺟﻮش در ابدﯾﻪء ﺗﺸـﻨﮕﯽ‬ ‫ﭘﮋﻣﺮدﻩ ﻧﯿﺎﺳﺎﺋﯿﺪ ّﳘﺖ را ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ﮐﻨﯿﺪ و ﻣﻘﺎﺻﺪ را ارﲨﻨﺪ ﮐﺴﺎﻟﺖ ات ﰽ و ﻏﻔﻠﺖ ات ﭼﻨﺪ از ﺗﻦ ﭘﺮوری ﺟﺰ‬ ‫ﻧﻮﻣﯿﺪی دارﯾﻦ ﻧﯿﺎﺑﯿﺪ و از ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ ﺟﺎﻫﲆ و اﺳـامتع اﻗﻮال ﺑﯿﻔﮑﺮان و ﺑﯿﺨﺮدان ﺟﺰ ﻧﮑﺒﺖ و ذﻟ ّﺖ ﻧﺒﯿﻨﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﺗﻮﻓﯿﻘﺎت اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﻣﺆﯾ ّﺪ ﺷﲈ و ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪات رّابﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﻮﻓ ّﻖ از ﭼﻪ ﲜﺎن ﳔﺮوﺷـﯿﺪ و ﺑﱳ ﻧﮑﻮﺷـﯿﺪ‬

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O people of Iran! Open your eyes! Open your ears! Having purged yourselves from blindly following those lost in their own imaginations – which is the greatest cause of error, waywardness, baseness and ignorance – investigate the true state of affairs. Take firm hold of the means that will bring you life and happiness and greatness and glory among the peoples and kindreds of the world. The winds of the true springtide are breathing on you: adorn yourselves with blossoms like the trees in an orchard. Spring showers pour down their bounty: become fresh and delightful, like the green of the garden of paradise. The dawn star is shining, set your feet on the straight path. The ocean of glory is surging, hasten to the shores of assent and audacity. The sweet flowing waters of life are welling up, do not wither in the thirsty wastelands. Aim high, choose noble ends. Is there no end to this lethargy, no limit to this negligence? Despair, both here and hereafter, is all you will gain from indulging the body. Ignorant chauvinism and heeding the voices of the thoughtless and foolish will bring you nothing but deviance and dishonour. The divine confirmations are your aids, the succour of God is your assistant: why do you not shout with all your soul, and strive with all your body!

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‫و از ﲨهل اﻣﻮری ﮐﻪ ﳏﺘﺎج اﺻﻼﺣﺎت اتّﻣﻪء ﰷﻣهل اﺳﺖ ﻃﺮﯾﻖ ﺗﻌّﲅ ﻋﻠﻮم و ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ ﲢﺼﯿﻞ ﻣﻌﺎرف و‬ ‫ﻓﻨﻮن اﺳﺖ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ از ﻋﺪم ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﭘﺮﯾﺸﺎن و ﻣﺘﻔّﺮق ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ و ﻓﻨﻮن ﻣﻮﺟﺰﻩ ﮐﻪ داﻋﯽ ﺑﺮ ﺗﻄﻮﯾﻠﺶ‬ ‫ﻧﻪ ﺑﻐﺎﯾﺖ ﻣﻄّﻮل ﺷﺪﻩ ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ ابﯾﺪ ﻣﺘﻌﻠ ّﻤﲔ ﻣّﺪت ﻣﺪﯾﺪﻩ اذﻫﺎن و اﻋﲈر ﺧﻮد را ﴏف اﻣﻮری ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﺗﺼّﻮر ﴏﻓﺴﺖ و ﲠﯿﭻ وﺟﻪ ﲢﻘّﻘﯽ ﻧﺪارد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺗﻌّﻤﻖ در اﻗﻮال و اﻓﲀرﯾﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﺑﺪﯾﺪﻩء‬ ‫ﺑﺼﲑت ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﺷﻮد واﰣ و ﻣﺜﺒﻮت ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻧﲀت ﺑﻌﺪ از وﻗﻮع ﻧﲒ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﴏف اوﻫﺎم و‬ ‫ﺗﺘﺎﺑﻊ ﺗﺼّﻮرات ﺑﯿﻔﺎﯾﺪﻩ و ﺗﻮاﱃ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﺎت ﺑﳱﻮدﻩ اﺳﺖ و ﺷـﳢﻪ ای ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ اﺷـﺘﻐﺎل ابﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ اوﻫﺎم‬ ‫و ﺗﺪﻗﯿﻖ و ﲝﺚ زاﯾﺪ در اﯾﻨﮕﻮﻧﻪ اﻗﻮال ﺳﺒﺐ ﺗﻀﯿﯿﻊ اوﻗﺎت و اﺗﻼف اﻋﲈر اﺳﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ اﻧﺴﺎن را از‬ ‫ﲢﺼﯿﻞ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﻓﻨﻮﱏ ﮐﻪ از ﻟﻮازم ﻣﺎ ﳛﺘﺎج اﻟﯿﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ ﳑﻨﻮع و ﳏﺮوم ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ اﻧﺴﺎن‬ ‫ابﯾﺪ در ﻫﺮ ﻓ ّﲎ ﻗﺒﻞ از ﲢﺼﯿﻞ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ اﯾﻦ ﻓّﻦ ﭼﻪ ﭼﲒ اﺳﺖ و ﭼﻪ ﲦﺮﻩ و ﻧﺘﺎﳚﯽ از‬ ‫او ﺣﺎﺻﻞ اﮔﺮ از ﻋﻠﻮم ﻣﻔﯿﺪﻩ ﯾﻌﲎ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ را ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﳇّﯽ از او ﺣﺎﺻﻞ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﲜﺎن در ﲢﺼﯿﻠﺶ‬ ‫ﺑﮑﻮﺷﺪ و اّﻻ اﮔﺮ ﻋﺒﺎرت از ﻣﺒﺎﺣﺚ ﺑﯿﻔﺎﺋﺪﻩء ﴏﻓﻪ و ﺗﺼّﻮرات ﻣﺘﺘﺎﺑﻌﻪء ﻣﺘﻮاﻟﯿﻪ ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﺟﺰ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﺳﺒﺐ ﻧﺰاع و ﺟﺪال ﺷﻮد ﲦﺮﻩ ای از او ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﻪ چبﻪ هجﺖ اﻧﺴﺎن ﺣﯿﺎت ﺧﻮد را در ﻣﻨﺎزﻋﺎت و‬ ‫ﳎﺎدﻻت ﺑﯿﻔﺎﯾﺪﻩء ا ٓن ﴏف ﳕﺎﯾﺪ‬

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One of the matters that requires complete and far-reaching reform is the method of studying the sciences and the structure of teaching in scholarship and technologies, for the lack of a structure leads to much fruitless effort and incoherence. Trifling subjects which do not call for elaboration are dealt with at great length, to such an extent that students are expected to devote their abilities and days, for long periods, solely to matters that are nothing but speculation, without any kind of evidence, for they amount to pondering on statements and concepts which, if examined with insight, are evidently points that do not accord with the evidence. More than this, they are pure imagination, a pointless chain of fancies, an accumulation of vain observations. There is no doubt that to concern oneself with such imaginings, and the investigation and extended discussion of such statements is nothing but a waste of the hours and days of one’s life. More, they hinder or prevent an individual from acquiring any of the learning and skills which are among the necessities of human life. Before acquiring any skill, the individual should ask, “what is the use of this skill, what fruit and result will come from it?” If it is one of the useful sciences, that is, if society will gain common benefits from it, then he should certainly pursue it with all his heart. If not, if the discourse consists of entirely unprofitable debates and an endless chain of speculations, its fruit will be nothing but conflict and acrimony. Why should an individual devote his life to such disputes and useless controversies?

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‫و ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ ﻣﻄﻠﺐ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﳏﺘﺎج ﺑﺘﻔﺼﯿﻞ و ﳏﺎﳈﻪء ﻣﳬّهل اﺳﺖ ات اﯾﻦ ﮐﻪ اثﺑﺖ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﺑﻌﴣ ﻋﻠﻮم ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم اﻫامتﻣﯽ در ا ٓن ﻧﻪ ﻣﻨﳤﺎی ﳏﺴـّﻨﺎت را داﺷـﺘﻪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ واﰣ و ﻣﺪﻟ ّﻞ ﺷﻮد ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﲠﯿﭻ وﺟﻪ ﳏﺘﺎج ﺑﺘﺤﺼﯿﻞ ﺑﻌﴣ ﻓﻨﻮن زاﺋﺪﻩ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﻟﻬﺬا در ﺟدل اثﱏ اﯾﻦ ﮐﺘﺎب ان ﺷﺎء اّهلل‬ ‫ﺑﺘﻔﺼﯿﻞ ذﮐﺮ ﻣﯿﺸﻮد و اﻣﯿﺪ وارﱘ ﮐﻪ از ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﻪء اﯾﻦ ﺟدل اّول ﺗﺎٔﺛﲑات ﳇّّﯿﻪ در اﻓﲀر و اﻃﻮار ﻫﯿﺌﺖ‬ ‫ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪء ِ ّ ِهلل ﺑﺮ ﺗﺎٔﻟﯿﻒ ا ٓن دﻻﻟﺖ ﳕﻮد اﮔﺮ ﭼﻪ در ﻋﺎﱂ ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﮐﻪ اﻣﺘﯿﺎز‬ ‫ﺑﲔ اﻓﲀر ﺻﺎدﻗﻪ و اﻗﻮال ﰷذﺑﻪ دﻫﻨﺪ ﭼﻮن ﮐﱪﯾﺖ اﲪﻧﺮﺪ و ﻟﮑﻦ اﻣﯿﺪواری اﯾﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ ابﻟﻄﺎف ﺑﯿﳯﺎﯾﺖ‬ ‫رّب اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﺮ ﴎ اﺻﻞ ﻣﻄﻠﺐ روﱘ و اّﻣﺎ ﺣﺰﰉ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮ ا ٓﻧﻨﺪ در اﺟﺮاء اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﻻزﻣﻪ ابﯾﺪ ﺻﱪ و ﺗﺎّٔﱏ ﳕﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ﺷﯿﺌًﺎ ﻓﺸﯿﺌًﺎ ﳎﺮی داﺷﺖ ا ٓاي ﻣﻘﺼﻮدﺷﺎن از اﯾﻦ ﺑﯿﺎانت ﭼﻪ اﮔﺮ ﻣﺮادﺷﺎن از ﺗﺎّٔﱏ ﮐﻪ از ﻣﻘﺘﻀﯿﺎت و‬ ‫ﻟﻮازم ﺣﳬﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﺳﺖ اﯾﻦ ﻓﮑﺮ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﻣﻘﺒﻮل و ﲟﻮﻗﻊ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ همﺎّم اﻣﻮر ابﺳـﺘﻌﺠﺎل اﳒﺎم‬ ‫ﻧﭙﺬﯾﺮد ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﲺهل ﺳﺒﺐ ﻓﺘﻮر ﻣﯿﮕﺮدد ﻣﺜﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻣﺜﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎن اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اّول ﻧﻄﻔﻪ ﭘﺲ ﺗﺪّرج‬ ‫در ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﻋَﻠﻘﻪ و ُﻣﻀﻐﻪ و ﻋﻈﺎم و اﮐﺴﺎء ﳊﻢ و اﻧﺸﺎء ﺧﻠﻖ ا ٓﺧﺮا ﺑﺮﺗﺒﻪء ﴿ اﺣﺴﻦ اﳋﺎﻟﻘﲔ ﴾ واﺻﻞ‬ ‫ﮔﺮدد ﳘﭽﻨﺎن ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ از ﻟﻮازم ﺧﻠﻘﺖ و ﻣﺒﲎ ﺑﺮ ﺣﳬﺖ ﳇّّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﲠﻤﭽﻨﲔ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ دﻓﻌﺔ واﺣﺪﻩ‬ ‫از ﺣﻀﯿﺾ ﻓﺘﻮر ابوج ﮐﲈل و ﺳﺪاد ﻧﺮﺳﺪ‬

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Because there is a great need for analysis and a thorough treatment of this topic, so that it can be fully established that some of the sciences that are neglected at present are extremely valuable, and also that it may be evident that society has no need of the acquisition of certain superfluous skills, the distinction will, God willing, be discussed in a second volume of this work.144 My hope is that the reading of this first volume will have a far-reaching influence on the thinking and behaviour of society, for its composition is motivated purely for the sake of God. Although in this world, individuals who distinguish between true ideas and lying words are as rare as the philosopher’s stone, yet the hopes of this servant are fixed on the measureless bounties of the Lord. But to return to the heart of the issue: there is one party who argue for patience and deferral in implementing the necessary reforms, introducing them one at a time. But what is their intention in saying this? If by deferral they mean what is fitting and necessary for wisdom in government, this thought is very acceptable and appropriate, for of course momentous undertakings cannot be concluded in haste. Rather, haste would lead to laxness. We can compare the governance of society to an individual who begins as sperm, and then by degrees attains the status of a clot of blood and a foetus, with bones and a cloak of flesh, and becomes a new creation, attaining the rank of “the most excellent of makers.”145 Just as this is a requirement of creation and is based on universal wisdom, the governance of society also cannot jump in one burst from the nadir of weakness to the zenith of perfection and rectitude.

144

It appears that this second volume was never written. Loosely reiterating Quran 23:13-14: where the meaning is that an individual becomes proof that God is the most excellent of makers. 145

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻧﻔﻮس ﰷﻣهل ﻟﯿًﻼ و ﳖﺎرًا ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻪ اﻟّﱰّﰵ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﳕﻮدﻩ ات دوﻟﺖ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﯾﻮﻣًﺎ ﻓﯿﻮﻣًﺎ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ا ًٓان ﻓﺎًان‬ ‫ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﳕّﻮ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﺳﻪ ﭼﲒ ﭼﻮن در ﻋﺎﱂ ﮐﻮن ﺑﻌﻨﺎﯾﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﺷﺪ اﯾﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺧﺎک ﲝﯿﺎت اتزﻩ و ﻟﻄﺎﻓﺖ و زﯾﻨﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﯿﺎﻧﺪازﻩ ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﮔﺮدد اّول ارايح ﻟﻮاﰳ ﲠﺎری و اثﱏ ﻓﯿﻀﺎن و ﮐﺮم اﺑﺮ ﻧﯿﺴﺎﱏ اثﻟﺚ ﺣﺮارت ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻧﻮراﱏ‬ ‫ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ ﺳﻪ از ﻓﻀﻞ ﰉ ﭘﺎاين اﻟﻬـﯽ اﺣﺴﺎن ﺷﺪ ابذن اّهلل اﴭﺎر و اﻏﺼﺎن ﭘﮋﻣﺮدﻩ ﰼ ﰼ ﴎ ﺳﱫ و‬ ‫ﺧﺮم ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ابﻧﻮاع ﺷﮑﻮﻓﻪ و ازﻫﺎر و اﲦﺎر ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻧّﯿﺎت ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪ و ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﯽ و‬ ‫داﻧﺶ و همﺎرت ﰷﻣهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ اوﻟﯿﺎی اﻣﻮر و ّﳘﺖ و ﻏﲑت اﻫﺎﱃ ﭼﻮن ﲨﻊ ﺷﻮد روز ﺑﺮوز ا ٓاثر ﺗﺮّﰵ‬ ‫و اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﰷﻣهل و ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت دوﻟﺖ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﺟﻠﻮﻩﮔﺮ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫و ﻟﮑﻦ اﮔﺮ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از ﺗﺎّٔﱏ اﯾﻦ ابﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ در ﻫﺮ ﻋﴫی اﻣﺮی ﺟﺰﰃ از ﻟﻮازم اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﺟﺎری ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻋﲔ رﺧﺎوت و ﮐﺴﺎﻟﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﺑﺮ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻨﻮال ﲠﯿﭻ وﺟﻪ ﲦﺮﻩ ای ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﮕﺮدد ﺟﺰ ﺗﮑّﺮر اﻗﻮال‬ ‫ﴬﺗﺶ ﺑﯿﺸﱰ اﺳﺖ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺗﻮّﺳﻂ ﺣﺎل‬ ‫ﴬ اﺳﺖ رﺧﺎوت و ﺑﻄﺎﺋﺖ ﺻﺪ ﻫﺰار درﺟﻪ ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﺑﯿﻔﺎﯾﺪﻩ اﮔﺮ ﲺهل ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﳑﺪوح ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﴿ ﻋﻠﯿﲂ ابﳊﺴـﻨﺔ ﺑﲔ اﻟﺴـّﯿﺘﲔ ﴾ ﮐﻪ ﺣّﺪ اﻓﺮاط و ﺗﻔﺮﯾﻂ ابﺷﺪ ﴿ ﻻ ﲡﻌﻞ ﯾﺪَک‬ ‫‪146‬‬ ‫ﻣﻐﻠﻮًةل اﱃ ُﻋﻨﻘﮏ و ﻻ ﺗَﺒُﺴﻄﻬﺎ َّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻟﺒﺴﻂ﴾ … ﴿ ﻓﺎﺑﺘﻎ ﺑﲔ ذﻟﮏ ﺳﺒﯿﻼ ﴾‬

‫‪, but this has not been‬ﻓﺎﺑﺘﻎ ‪ rather than‬واﺑﺘﻎ‬

‫‪146‬‬ ‫‪The received text of the Quran has‬‬ ‫‪corrected in the Cairo edition (p. 129).‬‬

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Rather, capable individuals must take up the means conducive to progress, day and night, so that the government and the people enjoy progress and growth, at every level, from day to day and even from moment to moment. There are three things which, when they are present in existence – thanks to the bounties of God – bring abundant fresh life and boundless beauty to this world of dust. These three are, first, the spring winds that drive the rains, second, the welling plenty of spring clouds, and third, the heat of the bright sun. When these three have been bestowed from the boundless bounty of God then, little by little, by God’s leave, dry trees and branches turn fresh and green, and are adorned with a variety of blossoms, flowers and fruits. In the same way, when the pure intentions and justice of the king, the governing authorities’ wisdom and consummate skill in administration, and the efforts and determination of the people are combined, then day by day the signs of progress, of sound reforms, of the glory and happiness of the government and people will be revealed. However, if the intent of this “deferral” is that only a minute part of the necessary reforms can be implemented in any one period, this is the source of laxity and sloth. No fruits can ever result from such an approach, except the repetition of idle words. If haste is harmful, laxity and indolence are a hundred thousand times more harmful. Moderation is praiseworthy, as it has been said: “for you is the good between two evils,”147 referring to the boundary between excess and laxity. In the words of the Quran, “do not cause your hand to be chained to your neck; nor open it entirely” and “seek a path between them.”148

147 Advice from a father to his son on moderation in the time spent on prayer, attributed to Abu ʿUbaid, a chief and commander under the Caliphate of Omar. Thanks to Nesreen Akhtarkhavari for this information. 148 Quran 17:29 (referring to wisdom in giving), and 17:110 (on speaking neither too loudly nor softly in public prayer).

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‫اﻟﺰم اﻣﻮر و اﻗﺪم ﺗﺸﺒّﺜﺎت ﻻزﻣﻪ ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ داﺋﺮﻩء ﻣﻌﺎرف اﺳﺖ و از ﻫﯿﭻ ﻣﻠ ّﱴ ﳒﺎح و ﻓﻼح ﺑﺪون‬ ‫ﺗﺮّﰵ اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ اّﱒ اﻗﻮم ﻣﺘﺼّﻮر ﻧﻪ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ابﻋﺚ اﻋﻈﻢ ﺗّﲋل و ﺗﺰﻟﺰل ﻣﻠﻞ هجﻞ و انداﱏ اﺳﺖ و اﻻ ٓن‬ ‫اﮐﱶ اﻫﺎﱃ از اﻣﻮر ﻋﺎدﯾ ّﻪ اّﻃﻼع ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ ات ﭼﻪ رﺳﺪ ﺑﻮﻗﻮف ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﻣﻮر ﳇّّﯿﻪ و دﻗﺎﺋﻖ ﻟﻮازم ﻋﴫﯾ ّﻪ‬ ‫ﻟﻬﺬا ﻻزﻣﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ رﺳﺎﺋﻞ و ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﻔﯿﺪﻩ ﺗﺼﻨﯿﻒ ﺷﻮد و ا ٓچنﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم ﻣﺎ ﳛﺘﺎج اﻟﯿﻪ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ و ﻣﻮﻗﻮف ﻋﻠﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﺗﺮّﰵ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ در ا ٓن ﺑﱪاﻫﲔ ﻗﺎﻃﻌﻪ ﺑﯿﺎن ﺷﻮد و ا ٓن رﺳﺎﺋﻞ و ﮐﺘﺐ را ﻃﺒﻊ ﳕﻮدﻩ در‬ ‫اﻃﺮاف ﳑﻠﮑﺖ اﻧﺘﺸﺎر ﺷﻮد ات اﻗّﻼ ﺧﻮاّص اﻓﺮاد ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻗﺪری ﭼﺸﻢ و ﮔﻮﺷﺸﺎن ابز ﺷﺪﻩ در ا ٓچنﻪ‬ ‫ﺳﺒﺐ ﻋّﺰت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﯾﺸﺎﻧﺴﺖ ﺑﮑﻮﺷـﻨﺪ ﻧﴩ اﻓﲀر ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪ ﻗّﻮﻩء ﳏّﺮﮐﻪ در ﴍاين اﻣﲀن ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺟﺎن هجﺎن‬ ‫اﺳﺖ اﻓﲀر ﭼﻮن ﲝﺮ ﰉ ﭘﺎاين و ا ٓاثر و اﻃﻮار وﺟﻮد ﭼﻮن ﺗﻌّﯿﻨﺎت و ﺣﺪود اﻣﻮاج ات ﲝﺮ ﲝﺮﮐﺖ و‬ ‫ﺟﻮش ﻧﯿﺎﯾﺪ اﻣﻮاج ﺑﺮ ﳔﲒد و ﻻٓﱃ ﺣﳬﺖ ﺑﺮ ﺷﺎﻃﯽ وﺟﻮد ﻧﯿﻔﺸﺎﻧﺪ‬ ‫ای ﺑﺮادر ﺗﻮ ﳘﻪ اﻧﺪﯾﺸﻪء ﻣﺎ ﺑﻘﯽ ﺗﻮ اﺳـﺘﺨﻮان و رﯾﺸﻪء‬

‫ابﯾﺪ اﻓﲀر ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ را ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ ا ٓچنﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم ﻻﺋﻖ و زساوار اﺳﺖ ﳕﻮد و اﯾﻦ ﳑﮑﻦ ﻧﻪ اّﻻ ﺑﺒﯿﺎن ﰷﰱ و اﻗﺎﻣﻪء‬ ‫دﻟﯿﻞ واﰣ ﻣﱪﻫﻦ واﰱ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن اﻫﺎﱃ از ﻋﺎﱂ وﺟﻮد ﺑﯿﺨﻧﱪﺪ و ﺷـﳢﻪ ای ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺳﻌﺎدت‬ ‫ﺧﻮد را ﻃﺎﻟﺐ و ا ٓﻣﻞ و ﻟﮑﻦ ﲩﺒﺎت هجﻞ ﺣﺎﺋﻞ و ﺣﺎﺟﺰ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ‬

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The most vital question and the weightiest of the necessary measures is to expand the scope of education. It is inconceivable that any community should have prosperity and security without progress in this most important and unavoidable issue. For the principal reason for the decline and perturbation of any people is superstition and ignorance. Today the mass of the population have no knowledge of ordinary affairs: how can they be aware of the realities of more general matters and the subtleties of contemporary requirements? It is therefore necessary that beneficial articles and books should be written, explaining clearly and definitely what, today, are the requirements of the community, and what has been destined for the happiness and progress of humanity. These articles and books should be printed and distributed throughout the kingdom, so that at least the elite may, to some degree, open their eyes and ears, and exert themselves in that which will give them unblemished glory. The publication of high thoughts is the dynamic power in the arteries of the contingent world; it is the very soul of the world. Thoughts are a boundless sea, and the signs and modes of this world are as the individuality and limits of the waves: so long as the sea does not move and boil, the waves will not rise and scatter the pearls of wisdom on the shores of this world. “Brother, you are your thought alone, the rest is only thew and bone.”149

Public opinion should be directed towards what is worthwhile and appropriate today, and this is impossible except through sufficing arguments and by establishing sufficient clear and conclusive proofs. For the downtrodden population know nothing of the world of existence, and while there is no doubt that they seek and long for their own happiness, yet the veils of superstition are a hindrance and a barrier.

149

Rumi, Mathnavi 2.277.

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‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻗﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﻌﺎرف چبﻪ ﻣﺜﺎﺑﻪ ابﻋﺚ ذﻟ ّﺖ و ﺣﻘﺎرت ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﯿﺸﻮد اﻟﯿﻮم اﻋﻈﻢ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ و‬ ‫ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ از هجﺖ ﮐﱶت ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﭼﲔ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻫﺸﺖ ﺻﺪ ﮐﺮور و ﮐﴪی ﻧﻔﻮس اﻫﺎﱃ اﺳﺖ و‬ ‫از اﯾﻦ هجﺖ ابﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ دوﻟﺘﺶ ﴎ اﻓﺮازﺗﺮﯾﻦ دول و ﻣﻠ ّﺘﺶ ﻣﺸﻬﻮرﺗﺮﯾﻦ ﻣﻠﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ ابﺷﺪ و ﺣﺎل ابﻟﻌﮑﺲ‬ ‫ﲜﻬﺖ ﻋﺪم ﻣﻌﺎرف ﲤّﺪن ادﰉ و ﻣﺎّدی ﺿﻌﯿﻒ و ﰉ ﭘﺎ ﺗﺮﯾﻦ ﻣﻠﻞ و دول ﺿﻌﯿﻔﻪ اﺳﺖ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﻣّﺪت‬ ‫ﻗﻠﯿهلء ﻗﺒﻞ از اﯾﻦ ﻋﺴﺎﮐﺮ ﻗﻠﯿﲆ از اﻧﮕﻠﯿﺲ و ﻓﺮاﻧﺴﻪ اب او ﳏﺎرﺑﻪ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﻘﺴﻤﯽ دوﻟﺖ ﭼﲔ ﺷﮑﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﺧﻮرد ﮐﻪ ﭘﺎی ﲣﺘﺶ را ﮐﻪ ﻣﺴّﻤﯽ ﺑﻪ ﭘﮑﲔ اﺳﺖ ﻓﺘﺢ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﺣﺎل اﮔﺮ دوﻟﺖ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﭼﲔ در درﺟﺎت‬ ‫ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪء ﻣﻌﺎرف ﻋﴫﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺘﺼﺎﻋﺪ و ﺑﻔﻨﻮن ﲤّﺪن ﻣﺘﻔّﲍ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ اﮔﺮ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ دول ﻋﺎﱂ ﺑﺮ او ﳗﻮم ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ‬ ‫ﻋﺎﺟﺰ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﺧﺎﺋﺒًﺎ ﺧﺎﴎًا ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﻣﯿﳮﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫و از اﯾﻦ ﺣﲀﯾﺖ ﲺﺒﱰ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ژوﭘﺎن در اﺻﻞ اتﺑﻊ و در ﲢﺖ ﺣﲈﯾﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﭼﲔ ﺑﻮد ﭼﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺳﺎل اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﭼﺸﻢ و ﮔﻮش ابز ﮐﺮدﻩ ﺗﺸﺒّﺚ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﺗﺮّﰵ و ﲤّﺪانت ﻋﴫﯾ ّﻪ و ﺗﺮوﱕ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ‬ ‫ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﻘﺪر اﻗﺘﺪار و اﺳـﺘﻄﺎﻋﺖ هجﺪ و ﮐﻮﺷﺶ ﮐﺮدﻩ ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﻓﲀر ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﻣﺘﻮّﺟﻪ اﺻﻼﺣﺎت‬ ‫ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ ﻋﲆ اﻟﻌﺠﺎهل ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺘﺶ ﲟﻘﺎﻣﯽ رﺳـﯿﺪﻩ ﮐﻪ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻧﻔﻮس ا ٓن ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﺗﻘﺮﯾﺒًﺎ ﺳﺪس ﺑﻠﮑﻪ‬ ‫ﻋﴩ اﻫﺎﱃ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﭼﲔ اﺳﺖ در اﯾﻦ اّايم اب دوﻟﺖ ﭼﲔ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﲆ ﳕﻮد ابﻻﺧﺮﻩ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﭼﲔ ﳎﺒﻮر‬ ‫ﲟﺼﺎﳊﻪ ﮔﺸﺖ‬

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Consider to what extent the decline of education brings about the abasement and humiliation of a people. Today, [1875] the greatest race and community in the world, in terms of population size, is China, which has something over four hundred million inhabitants. On this basis, its government should be the most distinguished on earth, and its people the most renowned. But on the contrary, because of its lack of education in cultural and material civilization, it is the feeblest and the most helpless among weak peoples and governments. For example, not long ago, small contingents of English and French troops went to war with China,150 scattering the government and taking the capital city, Beijing. Had the Chinese government and people attained a high degree of mastery in today’s advanced learning and the arts of civilization, then even if all the governments on earth had invaded China, they would certainly have been powerless. They would have turned back as the disappointed loser. Even more remarkable than this episode is the fact that the government of Japan was, essentially, subject to and under the protection of the government of China. In recent years, it has opened its eyes and ears, seizing on contemporary means of progress and civilization, promoting knowledge and industries in general, working and striving with all their means and abilities, until public opinion was focused on reform. It was not long before Japan’s government advanced to the point that, although the people of that kingdom numbered roughly one sixth, or even one tenth, of the population ruled by China’s government, it has recently stood up to the government of China. Ultimately, the Chinese government was forced to reach a compromise.151

150 The Anglo-French expedition to China, in what is known as the Second Opium War, 1856 to 1860. 151 The reference may be to China’s acceptance of the Japanese government’s right to use the word “imperial,” in 1875. Abduʾl-Bahā was writing before the Treaty of Ganghwa (February 1876), through which Japan replaced China as the suzerain power over Korea.

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‫دﻗّﺖ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﭼﮕﻮﻧﻪ ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﲤّﺪن ﺳﺒﺐ ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﺣّﺮﯾ ّﺖ و ا ٓزادی ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﯿﺸﻮد‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻻزم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﺑﻼد اﯾﺮان ﺣّﱴ ﻗﺮی و ﻗﺼﺒﺎت ﺻﻐﲑﻩ ﻣﮑﺘﳢﺎی ﻣﺘﻌّﺪدﻩ ﮔﺸﻮدﻩ و‬ ‫اﻫﺎﱃ از ﻫﺮ هجﺖ ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﺑﺮ ﺗﻌﻠﲓ ﻗﺮاﺋﺖ و ﮐﺘﺎﺑﺖ اﻃﻔﺎل ﺷﻮﻧﺪ ﺣّﱴ ﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﻠ ّﺰوم اﺟﺒﺎر‬ ‫ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ ات ﻋﺮوق و اﻋﺼﺎب ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﲝﺮﮐﺖ ﻧﯿﺎﯾﺪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﺗﺸﺒّﺜﺎت ﺑﯿﻔﺎﺋﺪﻩ اﺳﺖ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﲟﺜﺎﺑﻪء ﺟﺴﻢ و‬ ‫ﻏﲑت و ّﳘﺖ ﻣﺎﻧﻨﺪ ﺟﺎﻧﻨﺪ‪ 152‬ﺟﺴﻢ ﺑﯿﺠﺎن ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﻧﮑﻨﺪ ﺣﺎل اﯾﻦ ﻗّﻮﻩء ﻋﻈﻤﯽ در ﻃﯿﻨﺖ اﻫﺎﱃ اﯾﺮان در‬ ‫ﻣﻨﳤـﯽ درﺟﻪ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﳏّﺮﮐﺶ ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ داﺋﺮﻩء ﻣﻌﺎرﻓﺴﺖ‬ ‫و اّﻣﺎ ﺣﺰﺑﯿﮑﻪ ﺑﺮا ٓﻧﻨﺪ اﯾﻦ اﺻﻮل ﲤﻧّﺪ ّﯿﻪ و اﺳﺎس ﺗﺮّﰵ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪء ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ در ﻋﻮاﱂ ﻣﻠﮑﯿّﻪ و‬ ‫ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﰷﻣهل و اﺗ ّﺴﺎع دواﺋﺮ ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ اتّﻣﻪ را اﻗﺘﺒﺎس از ﻣﻠﻞ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﻻزم و ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﻧﻪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻻﺋﻖ‬ ‫و زساوار ﭼﻨﺎﻧﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ﻣﻠ ّﺖ اﯾﺮان ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ و ﺗﻌّﻤﻖ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺧﻮد اﳚﺎد اﻣﻮر ﻣﺎ ﺑﻪ اﻟّﱰّﰵ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ اﮔﺮ ﻋﻘﻮل ﻣﺴـﺘﻘﳰﻪ و همﺎرت ﳇّّﯿﻪء ﻓﺮاﺋﺪ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ و ّﳘﺖ و ﻏﲑت اﺷﺨﺎص ﺷﺎﺧﺼﻪ در درابر دوﻟﺖ‬ ‫و هجﺪ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ اﲱﺎب دراﯾﺖ و ﮐﻔﺎﯾﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣّﻄﻠﻊ ﺑﺮ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ اﻋﻈﻢ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ ﲨﻊ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ و ﺑﮑﲈل‬ ‫هجﺪ و اﻗﺪام در ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﺎت و ﳇّّﯿﺎت اﻣﻮر ﺗﺪﺑّﺮ و ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﺘﺪاﺑﲑ ﺻﺎﺋﺒﻪ ﳑﮑﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﴣ اﻣﻮر‬ ‫اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﳇّّﯿﻪ ايﺑﺪ‬

‫‪152‬‬ ‫‪ (p. 149). The meaning is not‬ﺟﺎن ‪Cairo edition, p. 132. The Bombay edition has just‬‬ ‫‪affected.‬‬

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Observe carefully the extent to which education and civilization bring honour, happiness and freedom and independence to the government and the people. It is also necessary to establish numerous primary schools throughout the regions of Iran, even in villages and small towns, and to urge and motivate the population in every way to have their children learn to read and write, even by compulsion if necessary. Until the veins and nerves of society stir into life, all endeavours will be profitless; for the community is like the body, and determination and effort are like the soul: a body without a soul does not move. This potent force is present to a superlative degree in the natural disposition of Iranians: expanding the scope of education will release it. There is another party who argue that it not necessary or appropriate to acquire from other communities those principles of civilization, the foundations for progress towards the heights of human happiness in this earthly existence, the codified laws for sound reforms, and expanding the scope of civilized life in general. Rather, they say, what is right and proper is that the government and people of Iran, having reflected and thought deeply, should contrive their own means of progress. Certainly, if the sound minds and comprehensive skills of this community’s peerless leaders, and the endeavours and determination of the most eminent men at the royal court, and the strenuous efforts of those distinguished by knowledge and ability, and who are well versed in the great systems of public administration were combined, and if they examined and reflected, with complete dedication, on the details and on general matters, it is possible that, through good planning, some matters might be thoroughly reformed.

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‫و ﻟﮑﻦ در اﮐﱶ اﻣﻮر ﳎﺒﻮر ﺑﺮ اﻗﺘﺒﺎﺳـﻨﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻗﺮوﳖﺎی ﻋﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﮐﺮورﻫﺎ از ﻧﻔﻮس ﲻﺮ ﺧﻮد را ﴏف‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﲡﺮﺑﻪ ﮐﺮدﻩ ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ا ٓن اﻣﻮر اﺻﻼﺣﯿّﻪ ﲝّﲒ وﺟﻮد ا ٓﻣﺪﻩ ﺣﺎل اﮔﺮ ﭼﺸﻢ از ا ٓن ﭘﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ ﺷﻮد ات‬ ‫ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در ﺧﻮد ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﺑﻨﺤﻮ دﯾﮕﺮ اﺳـﺒﺎب ﻓﺮاﱒ ا ٓﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺗﺮّﰵ ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮل ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد اّوًﻻ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﻋﺼﺎر‬ ‫ﮐﺜﲑﻩ ﺑﮕﺬرد و ﻣﻄﻠﻮب ﻣﯿّﴪ ﻧﺸﻮد‬ ‫ﻣﺜًﻼ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﻣّﺪﰏ ﻣﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﮐﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻧﺪ ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻗّﻮﻩء ﲞﺎر را ﮐﺸﻒ و ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و‬ ‫ﺑﻮاﺳﻄﻪء ا ٓن ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر اﻣﻮر و اﺷﻐﺎل ﻣﺸﳫﻪ را ﮐﻪ ﻣﺎ ﻓﻮق ﻃﺎﻗﺖ اﻧﺴﺎن ﺑﻮد ﺳﻬﻞ و ا ٓﺳﺎن ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل اﺳـﺘﻌﲈل اﯾﻦ ﻗّﻮﻩ را ﺗﺮک ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﺳﻌﯽ و ﮐﻮﺷﺶ ﺷﻮد ات ا ٓن ﮐﻪ ﻗّﻮﻩ ای ﻣﺸﺎﺑﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻗّﻮﻩ ﮐﺸﻒ‬ ‫و اﳚﺎد ﺷﻮد ﻗﺮون ﮐﺜﲑﻩ ﻻزم اﺳﺖ ﭘﺲ ﲠﱰ ا ٓﻧﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ در اﺳـﺘﻌﲈل اﯾﻦ ﻗّﻮﻩ ﻗﺼﻮری ﻧﺸﻮد و ﻟﮑﻦ‬ ‫داﲚًﺎ ﻣﺘﻔّﮑﺮ در ا ٓن ابﺷـﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻗّﻮﻩ ای اﻋﻈﻢ از ا ٓن ﺑﺪﺳﺖ ا ٓﯾﺪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻗﯿﺎس ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﺳﺎﺋﺮ ﻓﻨﻮن‬ ‫و ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و ﻗﻀّﯿﺎت ﻣﺜﺒﻮت اﻟﻔﻮاﺋﺪ ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ را ﮐﻪ در ﻗﺮوﳖﺎی ﻋﺪﯾﺪﻩ ﻣﮑّﺮرًا ﲡﺮﺑﻪ ﺷﺪﻩ‬ ‫و ﲜﻬﺖ ﻋّﺰت و ﻋﻈﻤﺖ دوﻟﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و ﺗﺮّﰵ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ و ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ و ﳏﺴـّﻨﺎت ﳇّّﯿﻪاش اثﺑﺖ و‬ ‫ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ‬

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However in most cases they would be forced to borrow; because for many generations millions of people devoted their entire lives to trial and error before certain reforms became a reality. Suppose that we close our eyes to all this, until the means that will achieve the progress we desire are invented, on a different design, in our own country. In the first place, many generations would pass and our objective would still be no easier to attain. For example, in other countries they persevered over a long period until they uncovered and mastered the power of steam. How many difficult works and enterprises which were beyond human strength became easy and practicable! If we were to abandon the use of this power, to struggle and strain until a power similar to that of steam is discovered and developed, this would require many generations. So it is better for them to continue to use the power of steam, while continuously considering whether, perhaps, a greater force might be available. One should regard the other skills, arts and industries in the same light, and likewise those political maxims whose usefulness has been confirmed, which have been repeatedly tested over many generations and have been proven to be beneficial and useful for the common weal, in terms of both the glory and greatness of the state and the tranquillity and progress of the community.

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‫ﺣﺎل ا ٓن را ﺑﺪون ﺳﺒﺐ و داﻋﯽ ﺗﺮک ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺑﻨﻮع دﯾﮕﺮ در ﺻﺪد اﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﮐﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ ﺷﻮد ات ا ٓن‬ ‫اﺻﻼﺣﺎت از ﺣّﲒ ﻗّﻮﻩ ﺑﻮﺟﻮد ا ٓﯾﺪ و ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ و ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻌﺶ اثﺑﺖ و ﻣﱪﻫﻦ ﮔﺮدد ﺳﺎﻟﻬﺎ ﺑﮕﺬرد و ﲻﺮﻫﺎ ﺑﴪ‬ ‫ا ٓﯾﺪ ﴿ و ﻣﺎ ﻫﻨﻮز اﻧﺪر ﰛ ﯾﮏ ﮐﻮﭼﻪاﱘ ﴾‬ ‫ﴍف و ﻣﺰﯾ ّﺖ اﺧﻼف ﺑﺮ اﺳﻼف در اﯾﻨﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻣﻮری ﮐﻪ در زﻣﺎن ﺳﺎﺑﻖ ﲟﺤﮏ ﲡﺮﺑﻪ رﺳـﯿﺪﻩ‬ ‫و ﻓﻮاﺋﺪ ﻋﻈﳰﻪاش اثﺑﺖ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ اﺧﻼف ا ٓن را از اﺳﻼف اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﺗﺎّٔﳻ ابﯾﺸﺎن ﮐﻨﻨﺪ و از‬ ‫ا ٓن ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ﻗﻀﺎايی دﯾﮕﺮ ﺧﻮد را ﮐﺸﻒ ﮐﺮدﻩ ا ٓن را ﻧﲒ ﲷﳰﻪء ا ٓن اﻣﻮر ﻣﻔﯿﺪﻩ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﭘﺲ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺷﺪ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﻣﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎت و ﳎّﺮابت اﺳﻼف ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﻧﺰد اﺧﻼف اﺳﺖ و ﻟﮑﻦ ﮐﺸﻔﯿّﺎت ﺧﺎّﺻﻪء اﺧﻼف‬ ‫ﳎﻬﻮل اﺳﻼف اﺳﺖ و ﻟﮑﻦ ﺑﴩط ا ٓن ﮐﻪ اﺧﻼف از اﻫﻞ ﮐﲈﻻت ابﺷـﻨﺪ و اّﻻ ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر اﺧﻼف ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺮﻩ ای از ﲝﺮ ﰉ ﭘﺎاين ﻣﻌﺎرف اﺳﻼف ﻧﺼﯿﺐ ﻧﱪدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﻗﺪری ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻓﺮض ﮐﻨﲓ ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﺑﻘﺪرت اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ در زﻣﲔ ﺧﻠﻖ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس ﲜﻬﺖ ﻋّﺰت‬ ‫و ﺳﻌﺎدت و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و راﺣﺖ ﺧﻮد اﻟﺒﺘّﻪ ﳏﺘﺎج ابﻣﻮر ﮐﺜﲑﻩ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ ﺣﺎل ا ٓن اﻣﻮر را اﮔﺮ از ﺳﺎﺋﺮ‬ ‫ﳐﻠﻮﻗﺎت ﻣﻮﺟﻮدﻩ اﻗﺘﺒﺎس ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ اﻫﻮن اﺳﺖ اي ﺧﻮد در ﻫﺮ ﻗﺮﱏ ﺑﺪون اﻗﺘﺒﺎس اﳚﺎد اﻣﺮی از اﻣﻮر‬ ‫ﻻزﻣﻪء ﺗﻌﯿ ّﺶ ﺑﴩ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬

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If these were to be abandoned, without reason or necessity, and the search for reform were to take other paths, years would pass before those reforms would pass from potentiality to reality, and their benefits and usefulness were proven and known. In that time, people would pass their lives in the station of “we are still in the corner of a single alley.”153 The situation of successors is more excellent, and preferable, to that of their predecessors because, where certain things have been tried and tested in the past and their great benefits have been demonstrated, later generations can adopt them from those who have gone before, so their lot is made easier by their predecessors. Moreover, they themselves uncover other realities, and benefit from them in addition to the beneficial things just mentioned. It is clear, then, that the things known and tested by one generation are known and available to their successors, while the discoveries peculiar to a later generation are unknown to their predecessors. However, this is true only if their successors are endowed with perfections. If not, how many of those who follow have had not even a drop of the boundless ocean of their predecessors’ learning. Reflect a little: let us suppose that certain individuals were, through the power of God, created on earth. They would obviously need many things, to provide for their own honour, happiness, convenience and comfort. Now is it easier for them to derive these things from other creatures, or in each successive generation to create each of the things necessary for human life, without acquiring anything from others?

153 A verse attributed to Rumi says: “Attar has passed through the seven cities of love while we are in the corner of a single alley.”

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‫و اﮔﺮ ﮔﻔﺘﻪ ﺷﻮد ﮐﻪ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ و اﺻﻮل و اﺳﺎس ﺗﺮّﰵ در درﺟﺎت ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪء ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﰷﻣهل ﮐﻪ در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ‬ ‫ﺟﺎرﯾﺴﺖ ا ٓن ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﺣﺎل و ﻣﻘﺘﻀﯿﺎت ﻣﺎٔﻟﻮﻓﻪء اﻫﺎﱃ اﯾﺮان ﻧﯿﺴﺖ از اﯾﻦ هجﺖ ﻻزم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ در ﺧﻮد‬ ‫اﯾﺮان ﻣﺪﺑّﺮان ﳑﻠﮑﺖ هجﺪ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ ﳕﻮدﻩ اﳚﺎد اﺻﻼﺣﺎﰏ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﺣﺎل اﯾﻦ ﺑﻼد ابﺷﺪ اّول ﺑﯿﺎن ﮐﻨﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﴬت از ﭼﻪ هجﺖ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ا ٓاي ﻋﲈر ﳑﺎﻟﮏ و ﺗﻌﻤﲑ ﻣﺴﺎﻟﮏ و ﺗﻮّﺳﻞ ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ ﺗﻘﻮﯾﺖ ﺿﻌﻔﺎء و اﺣﯿﺎء ﻓﻘﺮا و ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ اﺳـﺒﺎب ﺗﺮّﰵ‬ ‫ﲨﻬﻮر و ﺗﮑﺜﲑ ﻣﻮاد ﺛﺮوت ﲻﻮم و ﺗﻮﺳـﯿﻊ داﺋﺮﻩء ﻣﻌﺎرف و ﺗﻨﻈﲓ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ا ٓزادی ﺣﻘﻮق و اﻣﻨّﯿﺖ‬ ‫ﴬﺗﺶ‬ ‫ﺟﺎن و ﻣﺎل و ِﻋﺮض و انﻣﻮس ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ ﺣﺎل اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮاﻧﺴﺖ و ا ٓچنﻪ ﻏﲑ از اﻣﺜﺎل اﯾﻦ اﻣﻮر اﺳﺖ ﻣ ّ‬ ‫در ﻫﺮ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ واﰣ و ﻫﻮﯾﺪا اﺳﺖ اﺧﺘﺼﺎص ﲟﲀﱏ دون ﻣﲀن ﻧﺪارد ابری ﲨﯿﻊ اﯾﻦ اوﻫﺎﻣﺎت از ﻋﺪم‬ ‫ﻋﻘﻞ و داﻧﺶ و ﻗﻠ ّﺖ ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ و ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﺻﺪور ايﺑﺪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ اﮐﱶ ﻣﻌﺎرﺿﲔ و ﻣﺴﺎﳏﲔ ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﻏﺮاض‬ ‫ﴯﺼّﯿﻪء ﺧﻮد را در ﻧﻘﺎب اﻗﻮال ﺑﯿﻔﺎﯾﺪﻩ ﺳﱰ ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺑﺒﻌﴣ ﳇﲈت ﮐﻪ ﻫﯿﭻ ﺗﻌﻠ ّﻖ ﺑﺎ ٓچنﻪ ﻣﻀﻤﺮ‬ ‫ﻗﻠﻮب اﺳﺖ ﻧﺪارد ﻋﻘﻮل ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن اﻫﺎﱃ را ﻣﺸّﻮش ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ای اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان ﻗﻠﺐ ﮐﻪ ودﯾﻌﻪء رّابﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ او را از ا ٓﻻﯾﺶ ﺧﻮد ﭘﺮﺳـﱴ ﭘﺎک و ﻣﻘّﺪس ﳕﻮدﻩ ابﳇﯿﻞ‬ ‫ﻧﻮاايی ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪ ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ات ﻋّﺰت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ و ﻋﻈﻤﺖ ﴎﻣﺪﯾ ّﻪء اﯾﻦ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩ ﭼﻮن ﺻﺒﺢ ﺻﺎدق از‬ ‫ﻣﴩق اﻗﺒﺎل ﻃﺎﻟﻊ و ﻻﰁ ﮔﺮدد‬

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It might be said that the codified laws, principles and foundations of progress on the highest level, in a fully developed society, which are current in other countries, are not suited to the conditions and customary limitations of the people of Iran, and that on this account it is necessary that within Iran itself the governors of the country should make every effort to bring about reforms that are suited to conditions in these areas. But then they should first explain what “harm” it is (that they wish to avoid), and what would be the cause of harm. Would it be inappropriate for the condition of the inhabitants of Iran if the provinces were to be developed, the roads repaired, if means were sought to strengthen the weak and give new life to the poor, and to lay firm foundations for the progress of society, if the bases of general prosperity were broadened, the scope of education widened, the government set in order, and there was freedom under law, and security of person and property, dignity and good name? Moreover, the harmfulness of policies that do not resemble these has been proven in every country: this is not particular to one place. In fact, all these idle fancies spring from deficiencies in discernment and wisdom, and from insufficient observation and reflection. Indeed, the majority of the reactionaries and the procrastinators are in fact concealing their own selfish designs under the cover of idle words. They sow alarm in the minds of the helpless masses through outward statements which bear no relation to what is concealed in their hearts.

[O people of Iran] O people of Iran! The heart is a divine trust; cleanse and sanctify it from the stain of self-love, then crown it with the diadem of exalted aims, so that the sacred honour and abiding grandeur of this illustrious nation may rise and shine out, like the true morn seen dawning at a point that augurs well.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﻣﺪﻧّﯿﻪ‬

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‫اﯾﻦ ﭼﻨﺪ روز اّايم ﺣﯿﺎت دﻧﯿﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﮐﻪ ﭼﻮن ﻇّﻞ زاﺋﻞ اﺳﺖ ﻋﻨﻘﺮﯾﺐ ﺑﴪ ا ٓﯾﺪ هجﺪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ات ﻣﺸﻤﻮل‬ ‫اﻟﻄﺎف و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ رّب اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ و اﺛﺮ ﺧﲑی و ذﮐﺮ ﺧﻮﳽ از ﺧﻮد در ﻗﻠﻮب و اﻟﺴﻦ اﺧﻼف‬ ‫ﺑﮕﺬارﯾﺪ ﴿ و اﺟﻌﻞ ﱃ ﻟﺴﺎن ﺻﺪق ﰱ اﻻ ٓﺧﺮﯾﻦ ﴾‬ ‫ای ﺧﻮﺷﺎ ﺣﺎل ﻧﻔﴗ ﮐﻪ ﺧﲑ ذاﰏ ﺧﻮد را ﻓﺮاﻣﻮش ﳕﻮدﻩ ﭼﻮن ﺧﺎّﺻﺎن درﮔﺎﻩ ﺣّﻖ ﮔﻮی ّﳘﺖ را در‬ ‫ﻣﯿﺪان ﻣﻨﻔﻌﺖ ﲨﻬﻮر اﻓﮑﻨﺪﻩ ات ﺑﻌﻨﺎﯾﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪات ﲳﺪاﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺆﯾ ّﺪ ﺑﺮ ا ٓن ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻋﻈﳰﻪ‬ ‫را ابوج ﻋّﺰت ﻗﺪﳝﻪ رﺳﺎﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ اﻗﻠﲓ ﭘﮋﻣﺮدﻩ را ﲝﯿﺎت ﻃّﯿﺒﻪ اتزﻩ و ﻧزﺪﻩ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﭼﻮن ﲠﺎر روﺣﺎﱏ‬ ‫اﴭﺎر ﻧﻔﻮس اﻧﺴﺎﱏ را ﲝﻠﯿﻪء اوراق و ازﻫﺎر و اﲦﺎر ﺳﻌﺎدت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ ﴎ ﺳﱫ و ﺧﺮم ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ ّﰎ ﴾‬

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The short days of your earthly life, ephemeral as shadows, will soon be at an end. Strive that you may be embraced by the bounties and kindness of the True One, and that you may leave beneficial traces in the hearts of later generations, and have a sweet remembrance on their lips. In the words of the Quran, “Grant that I be spoken of with honour by posterity.”154 Happy the soul who, forgetting selfish advantage, is as it were a noble in heaven’s court, pursuing the ball of endeavour in the stadium of the common good so that, with the support and confirmation of God, she is empowered to return this mighty people to its ancient pinnacle of glory, and restore these withered lands to fresh, vigorous and wholesome life, and, like a spiritual springtime, make the trees of human souls fresh and green with the leaves, the blossoms and fruits of a felicity blessed by God.

Colophons In the Cairo edition: This treatise was printed with all possible care and pure motives at the Kurdistan Scientific Press in 1329 A.H. (1911) at the initiative of Jenāb-e Āqā Shaykh Farajollāh Marivāni, and has been examined by this ephemeral servant, ʿayn ʿayn (Abduʾl-Bahā). In the Bombay edition: This book completed by the hand of the least of scribes, Morteza al-Hosayni Mir Baraqāni, in the year 1310 155 Bombay.

154 155

Quran 26:84. The year ending July 14, 1893.

Translator’s Notes to The Secret of Divine Civilization

p. 93 “Iran’s law codes became the copy-book for all the kings of the four continents.” This refers to the four continents or divisions of the world of classical Arab geographies, or perhaps the four quarters of Mesopotamian geography. The word ‘continent’ is not meant in any precise sense, since Abduʾl-Bahā also refers to ‘the continent of Iran,’ translated here as “the blessed region of Iran.” p. 105 Objections to Reforms The reforms Abduʾl-Bahā outlines in this section had been implemented or proposed by Mirzā Hosayn Khān, as Minister of Justice and then as Minister of War and Prime Minister, in part building on the work of Amir Kabir, some twenty years earlier. For example, Mirzā Hosayn Khān instituted the reforms of the legal system which Abduʾl-Bahā describes, when he was Minister of Justice in 1870-71. As Minister of War he ensured that the soldiers were fed, clothed and paid regularly. As Prime Minister he insisted on appointment by merit, disregarding the customary gifts given for appointments and encouraged the development of agriculture, industry and mining and the extension of paved roads, and planned a system of regional councils across Iran, which was only partly operating when The Secret of Divine Civilization was written. For further discussion of his reforms and interaction with the Bahāʾi leaders, see the index (Hosayn Khān, Mirzā). p. 111 “even minor officials, have not purified and sanctified the robe of virtue and self-discipline.” The officials must have virtue and ʿesmat, they must be protected and guarded from sin. The term is often translated as infallibility, in the sense that God guards someone from falling into sin, but here (and elsewhere) it appears to be an active attribute developed and practised by the person concerned. In the following paragraph, ʿesmat has been translated with “incorruptibility.”

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p. 113 “it has been unmistakably demonstrated in some cities in foreign countries …” The translation from this point to “… on the part of the mass of the people” has drawn on a translation by Shoghi Effendi, in ‘Excerpts from Bahāʾi Sacred Writings’ in The Bahāʾi World, A Biennial International Record, Vol. 2, April 1926-1928, New York, 1928, p. 52. Shoghi Effendi leaves the word ‘cities’ in the first sentence untranslated. The word translated as ‘unmistakably’ has a connotation of direct observation, implying that the events in these cities were recent when The Secret of Divine Civilization was written, in 1875. The reference could be to the rising of the Paris Commune in 1871. After 1871, the Paris City Council became a model of the programme Abduʾl-Bahā proposes for Persia, by balancing the budget and by funding and developing a system of free, compulsory and secular education. In the paragraph that follows this mention of ‘cities’, majles has been translated as Councils. Shoghi Effendi translates it as ‘the institution of representative government,’ which would be cumbersome if used to translate majles throughout the book. The councils of representative government referred to are not necessarily national, since Mirzā Hosayn Khān had established provincial councils (Majles-e Tanzimāt, majāles-e mamāleke mahruseh) in the major cities of central Iran to curb the powers of provincial governors, as well as a national consultative council to advise the Shah. The provincial councils had five appointed members: a secretary and representatives of the ministries of War, Trade, Finance, and Justice, so they were not ‘representative’ of the people. Mirzā Hosayn Khān was also to establish a broader consultative assembly, analogous to a senate of present and past political actors, in December 1875. This probably post-dates the composition of The Secret of Divine Civilization. p. 145 “The guidance of society …” The Bombay edition marks the short vowels here, reading ʿālem-e siyāsi, which would translate as ‘the one learned in political science’ who needs ‘two great and perfect intellectual faculties (qovveh).’ I have rejected this, in view of the mention of government as the centre of one of these qovveh in the following sentence, which requires qovveh to be understood as an agency in society, rather than an intellectual faculty. Qovveh is used in this sense in Abduʾl-Bahā’s The Art of Governance (see “powers of Church and State” on page 299).

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p. 155 Luther “was originally one of the twelve members of a Catholic religious body at the centre of Papal government.” The claim is incorrect, and unusual. It may represent a conflation of Luther’s time in Rome representing the views of certain Augustinian monasteries in 1510 or 1511, and his later position (1515) as district Vicar, supervising eleven monasteries. The source of this claim, if it could be identified, would be an interesting indication of Abduʾl-Bahā’s reading prior to 1875. It is tempting to read ‫( ﻫﯿﺌﺖ‬haʾeyat, body, form) in this sentence as a suffix meaning “appearing like,” rather than as a noun meaning commission or board. This meaning is attested in dictionaries, and is even given as the first meaning in some dictionaries – the comparison is easily made using http://www.vajehyab.com. In that case, the translation would read “Luther was originally a member of the Catholic Church, which resembles the Shiah [and had been] at the centre of the Papal government.” A search of AbduʾlBahā’s works revealed one case in which, in a Persian text, he used the Arabic number ithnāʾashariyyah meaning Shiah, and one case where the meaning was twelve (“the twelve signs of the Zodiac”). However, he uses haʾeyat in the neoplatonic sense of ‘form,’ or in the sense of an organised body having authority or, in this work, to refer to all the people who share a characteristic, such as the soldiery or society of Iran, but so far as I can discover, not in the sense of “appearing like.” p. 187 “An upright character … and its standard true moderation.” As translated by Shoghi Effendi, in ‘Excerpts from Bahāʾi Sacred Writings’ in The Bahāʾi World, A Biennial International Record, Vol. 2, April 1926-1928, New York, 1928, p. 52. p. 189 “In short, in this tumultuous sea” to “… both high and low.” Based on a translation by Shoghi Effendi, in The Bahāʾi World, Vol. 2, p. 52. p. 197 “True civilization …” The sections from “True civilization will unfurl its banner …” to “… eternally safe and secure” and from “A few, unaware of the power latent in human endeavor,” to “assemblage of man” are based on translations by Shoghi Effendi, in The World Order of Bahāʾuʾllāh (1931) 37-38, and on his 1932 translation in The Bahāʾi World Vol. 4, p. 330, and the revision in the 1938 edition of The World Order of Bahāʾuʾllāh. I have excluded one expansion of the Persian original, and filled out some simplifications. A parallel passage

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from Bahāʾuʾllāh is translated by Shoghi Effendi in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahāʾuʾllāh, section CXVII, as follows: The Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of the peace and tranquillity of the world and the advancement of its peoples, hath written: The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world’s Great Peace amongst men. Such a peace demandeth that the Great Powers should resolve, for the sake of the tranquillity of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled among themselves. Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him. If this be done, the nations of the world will no longer require any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the security of their realms and of maintaining internal order within their territories. This will ensure the peace and composure of every people, government and nation. We fain would hope that the kings and rulers of the earth, the mirrors of the gracious and almighty name of God, may attain unto this station, and shield mankind from the onslaught of tyranny.

p. 207 “Nevertheless, the conquest and subjugation of territory are commendable.” Gail inserts the conditional “can be” here, perhaps because she is thinking in a later and more European context, in which if territory is conquered and subjugated, it is assumed to be taken from another government and country. But this sentence is saying that the conquest and subjugation of territory (not “a government” or “a country”) is commendable. Iran at that time suffered from slave raiding and depredations from ungoverned territories on its Northeastern border. The following sentence however implies victory over an armed opposition, and this is conditional: it can “at certain times” be the foundation of peace. p. 209 “Reflection will surely show …” to “blindness is a great calamity” This section draws on a translation by Shoghi Effendi, in The Bahāʾi World, Vol. 2, pp. 52-53. p. 213 “It is evident and manifest …” These sentences, to “one Word of God,” are based on a translation by Shoghi Effendi, in The Bahāʾi World, Vol. 2, p. 53.

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p. 219 Socrates and the Jewish scholars: It has been noted that, in the Arabic histories to which Abduʾl-Bahā refers, it is Empedocles who travelled to Syria, and that Abduʾl-Bahā has accidentally conflated Empedocles and Socrates. However Abduʾl-Bahā does not say that Socrates travelled to Syria, or Israel, merely that he was eager to meet with leading Jewish divines. Thus it would be more accurate to say that he omits Empedocles and his journeys, a generation before the time of Socrates. This could be because Socrates’ death at the hands of the ignorant and the powerful is more evocative, and also because Socrates can plausibly be said to have introduced monotheism and the immortality of the soul in other worlds to the Greeks. Empedocles in contrast taught reincarnation and the possible deification of human beings: not topics that recommend themselves to an Islamic audience. Sāʾid Al-Andalusi’s Arabic history of science among the world’s peoples (Tabaqāt al-umam, composed 1068) states that Socrates “refuted their leaders with arguments and proofs, and they stirred up the common people against him and forced their king to kill him.” The parallel with Abduʾl-Bahā’s formulation is so close, that he may well be citing this work, or a Persian translation of it. p. 223 “In short, experience has shown …” This sentence is based on the translation by Shoghi Effendi, in The Bahāʾi World, Vol. 2, p. 53. p. 247 “Draper, the well-known French authority” Marzieh Gail’s translation explains: “The reference is apparently to John William Draper, 1811-1882, celebrated chemist and widely-translated historian. Detailed material on Muslim contributions to the West, and on Gerbert (Pope Sylvester II) appears in the second volume of [The Intellectual Development of Europe] … [The] available data on Draper’s family history and nationality are in conflict …” Draper is an American, not French, but a French translation of the work Gail identifies was published in three volumes, in 1868, under the title Histoire du développement intellectuel de l’Europe. In Volume 2 of this work, Chapter 1 recounts the life and vicissitudes of Gerbert, but pages 114 to 123 give a dismissive review of Mohammad, the Quran and Islamic theology. It seems unlikely that Abduʾl-Bahā would have recommended such a work, especially when addressing a wide audience in Iran. However another volume by Draper in French, Les conflits de la science et de la religion, was published

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in 1875, and in this volume pages 77 to 84 give a positive evaluation of the Islamic contributions to mathematics and the sciences, while page 101 mentions the studies of Gerbert in Muslim Spain. In The Fin de Siècle World, edited by Michael Saler, p. 591, Marwa Alshakry notes that Draper’s 1874 (English edition) History of the Conflict between Religion and Science was widely discussed in the popular Arab Press, and that Abduʾl-Bahā’s friend Mohammad ʿAbduh was one of those who used it as a source. In her Theology of Unity, p. 87, Ammeke Kateman states that ʿAbduh drew especially on History of the Conflict between Religion and Science. ʿAbduh uses Draper in his argument that the European intellectual renaissance, following the ‘dark ages,’ was largely driven by contact with Islamic civilization. This is not to say that Abduʾl-Bahā got his information through ʿAbduh (see the index for his contacts with Abduʾl-Bahā): it is also possible that it was AbduʾlBahā’s use of Draper’s Conflict between Religion and Science in this text that alerted ʿAbduh to its usefulness in polemics against traditionalists. For this purpose, a reference to The Intellectual Development of Europe would have been fatal, because of Draper’s negative assessment of Islam in that work. In his 1902 Al-Islam wa al-Nasrāniyah maʿa al-Ilm wa al-Madaniyyah (Islam and Christianity in relation to Science and Civilization), ʿAbduh drew primarily on Draper’s History of the Conflict between Religion and Science. There is however one piece of counter-evidence. In an undated letter published in Makatib-e Abduʾl-Bahā Volume 2, pp. 105-112, Abduʾl-Bahā makes another reference to an unnamed youth (Gerbert) who studies in the Islamic schools of Cordoba and, on his return to Europe, is soon elected Pope (see pp. 110-111). He says that this is reported in detail in “the history of Draper, the Frenchman.” The story is indeed given in detail in Histoire du développement intellectuel de l’Europe, but only briefly in Les conflits de la science et de la religion. p. 251 “By the one true God! … strength of the robber is increased.” My translation is based on a translation by Shoghi Effendi in The Bahāʾi World, Vol. 2, p. 53.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ‬ ‫ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬ Selections from A Traveller’s Narrative written to illustrate the history of the Bāb

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫‪ 1‬رؤﺳﺎی ابﺑﳱﺎ … ﺑﻪ ﺣﺴﺐ ﻓﮑﺮ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ اﺟﻮﺑﻪ ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ دادﻧﺪ … ﻣﺜًﻼ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻗﺎﰂ را ﺑﺴﻠﻄﻨﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ و ﻓﺘﻮﺣﺎت را ﺑﻪ ﻓﺘﻮﺣﺎت ﻣﺪاﺋﻦ ﻗﻠﻮب ﺗﺎٔوﯾﻞ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺑﻪ ﻣﻈﻠﻮﻣﯿّﺖ و ﻣﻐﻠﻮﺑﯿ ّﺖ ﺳـّﯿﺪ اﻟّﺸﻬﺪا ٓء‬ ‫روح اﻟﻮﺟﻮد هل اﻟﻔﺪاء اﺳـﺘﺪﻻل ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ا ٓﯾﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪء ﴿ و اّن ُﺟﻨﺪان ﳍﻢ اﻟﻐﺎﻟﺒﻮن ﴾‬ ‫ﺑﻮد اب وﺟﻮد اﯾﻦ در ﮐﲈل ﻣﻈﻠﻮﻣﯿّﺖ ﺟﺎم ﺷﻬﺎدت ﻧﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻧﺪ و در ﺣﺎل ﻣﻐﻠﻮﺑﯿ ّﺖ ﮐﱪی ﻏﺎﻟﺐ ﺑﺮاﻋﺪا و‬ ‫اﻋﻈﻢ ﺟﻨﻮد ﻣٔﻼ اﻋﲆ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫‪ 2‬ابری وزﯾﺮ ﺑﻪ اﺳـﺘﻘﻼل ﲤﺎم ﺑﺪون اﺳﺘﺸﺎرﻩ و اﺳﺘﯿﺬان اﻣﺮ ﺑﻪ ﺗﺎٔدﯾﺐ و ﺗﻌﺬﯾﺐ ابﺑﯿﺎن ﺑﻪ اﻃﺮاف‬ ‫ﻓﺮﺳـﺘﺎد ﺣّﲀم و واﻟﯿﺎن ﲠﺎﻧﻪء ﻣﺪاﺧﻞ ﺟﺴﺘﻨﺪ و ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮران وﺳـﯿهلء ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻊ و ﻋﻠﲈی ﻣﻌﺮوف ﺑﺮ رٔاس ﻣﻨﺎﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ ﳗﻮم ﻋﺎّﻣﻪ ﻣﯽ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﻗّﻮﻩ ﺗﴩﯾﻊ و ﺗﻨﻔﯿﺬ دﺳﺖ در ا ٓﻏﻮش ﱒ دادﻩ اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ را ﻗﻠﻊ و ﳃﻊ‬ ‫ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫‪ 3‬ﻟﮑﻦ ابب ﭼﻮن در ﺑﺪاﯾﺖ ﺗﺎٔﺳﯿﺲ ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ ﻗﺘﯿﻞ ﮔﺸﺖ ﻟﻬﺬا اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ از روش و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ و ﺳﻠﻮک‬ ‫و ﺗﳫﯿﻒ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ ﰉ ﺧﱪ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ اﺳﺎﺳﺸﺎن ﳎّﺮد ﳏّﺒﺖ ابب ﺑﻮد و اﯾﻦ ﰉ ﺧﱪی ﺳﺒﺐ ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ در‬ ‫ﺑﻌﴣ هجﺎت اﻏﺘﺸﺎش ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺸﺖ و ﭼﻮن ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺷﺪﯾﺪ دﯾﺪﻧﺪ دﺳﺖ ﻣﺪاﻓﻌﻪ‪ 4‬ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ‬

‫‪1‬‬ ‫‪In the Bombay edition from the penultimate line of p. 37, resuming on the last line of‬‬ ‫‪p. 38, to p. 39; in the Philo Press edition pp. 33-35; in the German 2001 edition, pp. 16-18.‬‬ ‫‪2‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition p. 48; Philo Press edition p. 43; German 2001 edition p. 20.‬‬ ‫‪3‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition pp. 93-97; Philo Press pp. 84-87; German 2001 pp. 38-40.‬‬ ‫‪4‬‬ ‫‪. The meaning is not affected.‬دﺳﺖ ﲟﺪاﻓﻌﻪ ‪Philo Press:‬‬

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The Bābi leaders … prepared replies in accordance with their own beliefs … for example, they interpreted the sovereignty of the Qāʾim as spiritual sovereignty, and “conquests” as conquests of the cities of men’s hearts, their proof for this being that Imām Hosayn, the Prince of Martyrs (may the life of all beings be sacrificed for his sake), suffered oppression and was conquered, although he was the true manifestation of the blessed verse “and that our hosts must surely conquer.”5 Despite this, he suffered grievous oppression and drained the cup of martyrdom. Yet even in resounding defeat, he was defeating the enemy at the head of the hosts of the concourse on high. At all events, the Prime Minister,6 acting entirely on his own without consultation or permission, sent commands to all quarters to chastise and torture the Bābis. Magistrates and governors sought a pretext for meddling, officials sought a means of benefiting from the situation, and celebrated divines from pulpit tops incited mob attacks. The powers of church and state7 joined hands to eradicate and exterminate this community. Since the Bāb was but beginning to lay the foundations when he was slain, this community was ignorant concerning its proper customs, conduct, morals and obligations. Their only foundation was love for the Bāb, and their ignorance led to disorder in some places. And when they encountered severe persecution, they defended themselves.

5

Quran 37:173. Previously named as Mirzā Taqi Khān, known as Amir Kabir. 7 Qovveh-ye tashriʿ wa tanfidh. This is a key text for understanding Abduʾl-Bahā’s political terminology, as many commentators have thought he uses this pair, in other writings such as his own Will and Testament, to refer to the executive and legislative powers within the trias politica. But the context here shows it is “church and state.” This pair of terms also appears in The Art of Governance (p. 366), and is discussed in a translator’s note beginning on page 395. Abduʾl-Bahā enlarges on these two powers in society on pages 373-381 of this volume. 6

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫ﻟﮑﻦ ﺑﻌﺪ از رﺟﻮع ﲠﺎ ٓءﷲ در ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ و ﺗﻌﻠﲓ و ا ٓداب و ﺗﻨﻈﲓ و اﺻﻼح اﺣﻮال اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ هجﺪ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ ﳕﻮد‬ ‫ﺑﻪ ﻗﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ در ﻣّﺪت ﻗﻠﯿهل ﲨﯿﻊ اﯾﻦ ﻓﺴﺎد و ﻓﱳ ﺧﺎﻣﻮش ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ و ﻣﻨﳤﺎی ﻗﺮار و ﺳﮑﻮن در ﻗﻠﻮب‬ ‫ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﺷﺪ و ﺑﻪ ﺣﺴﺐ ﻣﺴﻤﻮع در ﻧﺰد اوﻟﯿﺎی اﻣﻮر ﻧﲒ واﰣ و ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺸﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻮااي و ﻣﺒﺎدی و‬ ‫اﻓﲀر اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ اﻣﻮر روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و از ﻣﺘﻌﻠ ّﻘﺎت ﻗﻠﻮب ﺻﺎﻓﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و اﺳﺎس ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ اﺻﲆ ﺗﺼﺤﯿﺢ اﺧﻼق‬ ‫و ﲢﺴﲔ ادﰉ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ اﺳﺖ ﺑﻪ ﻣﺎّدّايت ﻗﻄﻌّﯿًﺎ ﻋﻼﻗﻪ ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫و ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ اﺳﺎس در ﻗﻠﻮب اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ اﺳـﺘﻘﺮار ايﻓﺖ ﺑﻪ ﻗﺴﻤﯽ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﺑﻼد ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ در‬ ‫ﻧﺰد اوﻟﯿﺎء اﻣﻮر ﺑﻪ ﺳﻼﻣﺖ ﻧﻔﺲ و ﺳﮑﻮن ﻗﻠﺐ و ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﲱﯿﺤﻪ و اﻋﲈل ﺣﺴـﻨﻪ و ﺣﺴﻦ ا ٓداب ﻣﺸـﳤﺮ‬ ‫ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ زﯾﺮا اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮم در ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ا ٓداب اﻃﺎﻋﺖ و اﻧﻘﯿﺎد ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ ﭼﻮن ﺗﻌﻠﲓ را ﭼﻨﲔ ايﻓﺘﻨﺪ روش و ﺣﺮﮐﺖ‬ ‫را ﺗﻄﺒﯿﻖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫اّول اﻋﱰاض ﺑﺮ اﻗﻮال و اﻋﲈل و اﻃﻮار و اﺧﻼق و رﻓﺘﺎر اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ ﺑﻮد ﺣﺎل در اﯾﺮان اﻋﱰاض ﺑﺮ‬ ‫ﻋﻘﺎﯾﺪ و وﺟﺪان اﯾﺸﺎن اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﻧﲒ ﺧﺎرج از ﻗّﻮﻩء اﻧﺴﺎن اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺘﻮاﻧﺪ ﺑﻪ ﺗﻌّﺮض و اﻋﱰاض‬ ‫ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﺿﲈﺋﺮ‪ 8‬و وﺟﺪان ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و اي دﺧﲆ در ﻋﻘﺎﯾﺪ اﺣﺪی ﮐﻨﺪ در ﮐﺸﻮر وﺟﺪان ﺟﺰ ﭘﺮﺗﻮ اﻧﻮار رﲪﻦ‬ ‫ﺣﲂ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﺪ و ﺑﺮ ﴎﯾﺮ ﻗﻠﻮب ﺟﺰ ﻗّﻮﻩء انﻓﺬﻩء‪ 9‬ﻣﺎﻟﮏ اﳌﻠﻮک ﺣﺎﰼ ﻧﺸﺎﯾﺪ‬

‫‪8‬‬

‫‪; the‬انﻓﺬﻩ ﻣﺎﻟﮏ اﳌﻠﻮک‬

‫‪, an evident mistake.‬ﺻﲈﺋﺮ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 95) has‬‬ ‫‪The Bombay edition (p. 95) and Philo edition (p. 86) read‬‬ ‫‪correction indicating an ezafe is required by the sense.‬‬ ‫‪9‬‬

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But after his return, Bahāʾuʾllāh made strenuous efforts in training, educating, refining, regulating, and improving the conditions of this community, so that in a short time all this disruption and mischief was extinguished, and the hearts attained the utmost peace and tranquillity. According to reports, it became clear and evident even to those in authority that the intentions, principles and ideas of this community were of spiritual matters and of the bonds between pure hearts; that their true and essential foundation was to reform the morals and improve the conduct of the human race. They had absolutely no attachment to the material world. Once this foundation had been firmly established in the hearts of this community, they conducted themselves in every region in such a way that, in the eyes of those in authority, they were renowned for gentleness of spirit, serenity, purity of motives, good deeds and excellence of conduct. For this people conduct themselves with great obedience and submissiveness. Once they had received instructions of this sort (from Bahāʾuʾllāh), they changed their conduct and behaviour. Formerly exception was taken to the words, deeds, manners, morals and conduct of this community. Today, in Iran, exception is made to what is in their minds and hearts. But it is not within the scope of human beings to alter minds or conscience through opposition or taking exception, or to meddle with the religious convictions of anyone. For in the land of conscience naught but the ray of God’s light can command, and on the throne of hearts only the pervading power of the King of Kings reigns.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻫﺮ ﻗّﻮﻩ را ﻣﻌّﻄﻞ و ﻣﻌّﻮق ﺗﻮان ﳕﻮد ﺟﺰ ﻓﮑﺮ و اﻧﺪﯾﺸﻪ را ﮐﻪ ﺣّﱴ اﻧﺴﺎن ﺑﻪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻣﻨﻊ‬ ‫اﻧﺪﯾﺸﻪ و ﺧﺎﻃﺮ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﺪ و ﺳّﺪ ﻫﻮاﺟﺲ و ﺿﲈﺋﺮ ﺧﻮد ﻧامنﯾﺪ‬ ‫ابری اﻧﺼﺎﻓﺶ اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻗﺮﯾﺐ ﳻ و ﭘﻨﺞ ﺳﺎل اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ از اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ ﳐﺎﻟﻒ دوﻟﺖ و ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ‬ ‫ﻣﻠ ّﺖ اﻣﺮی ﺣﺎدث ﻧﺸﺪﻩ و ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﻧﮕﺸـﺘﻪ و در اﯾﻦ ﻣّﺪت ﻣﺪﯾﺪﻩ اب وﺟﻮد ا ٓﻧﮑﻪ ﮐﱶت و ﲨﻌّﯿﺘﺸﺎن‬ ‫اﺿﻌﺎف ﻣﻀﺎﻋﻒ ﺳﺎﺑﻖ اﺳﺖ ﺻﺪاﰃ از ﺟﺎﰃ ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ﻧﻪ ﺟﺰ ا ٓﻧﮑﻪ ﻫﺮ ﭼﻨﺪ وﻗﺖ ﻋﻠﲈی اﻋﻼم و ﻓﻀﻼی‬ ‫ﮐﺮام ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﺑﻪ هجﺖ اﻋﻼی اﯾﻦ ﺻﯿﺖ در هجﺎن و ﺑﯿﺪار ﳕﻮدن انس ﺣﲂ ﺑﻪ ﻗﺘﻞ ﭼﻨﺪ ﻧﻔﺲ ﻣﯽ‬ ‫ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﭼﻮن ﺑﻪ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﻧﻈﺮ ﮐﲎ اﯾﻦ ﮔﻮﻧﻪ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ﻧﻪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﺗﻌﻤﲑ اﺳﺖ ﺧﺎﻣﻮش و ﻧﺴـﯿﺎن‬ ‫ﻧﮕﺮدد ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﭘﺮ ﺟﻮش و اﻋﻼن ﺷﻮد‬

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Indeed, one can suspend every faculty except thought and reflection. An individual cannot hinder reflection and understanding, even in his own case, or call a halt to his musings and thoughts. In all fairness, the fact is that almost thirty-five years have passed, and from this community we have seen no opposition to the government and nothing prejudicial to the nation. During this long period, although their growth and numbers are double what they were, no voice has been raised from any quarter, except that every now and then learned divines and eminent scholars sentence a few to death. In reality, this serves to magnify this reputation in the world, and to awaken the people. For if one sees the reality, such persecution is constructive, not destructive. The result is not forgetting and oblivion, but rather a stimulus and magnification.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫‪ 10‬ابﮐﲈل ﺷﻔﻘﺖ و رﲪﺖ اﻫﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ را ﲟﺎ ﺗﻨﺘﻔﻊ ﺑﻪ اﻧﻔﺴﻬﻢ دﻻﻟﺖ ﮐﺮدﱘ و راﻩ ﳕﻮدﱘ ﻗﺴﻢ ﺑﻪ ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ‬ ‫ﮐﻪ از اﻋﲆ اﻓﻖ ﻋﺎﱂ اﴍاق ﳕﻮدﻩ اﻫﻞ ﲠﺎ‪ 11‬ﺟﺰ ﻋﲈر و اﺻﻼح ﻋﺎﱂ و ﲥﺬﯾﺐ أﻻﱈ‪ 12‬ﻣﻘﺼﻮدی ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫و ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ اب ﲨﯿﻊ انس ﺑﻪ ﺻﺪق و ﺻﻔﺎ ﺑﻮدﻩ اﻧﺪ ﻇﺎﻫﺮﺷﺎن ﻋﲔ ابﻃﻦ و ابﻃﻦ ﻧﻔﺲ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ اﻣﺮ‬ ‫ﭘﻮﺷـﯿﺪﻩ و ﭘﳯﺎن ﻧﻪ اﻣﺎم وﺟﻮﻩ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و ﻫﻮﯾﺪا ﻧﻔﺲ‪ 13‬اﻋﲈل ﮔﻮاﻩ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎل اﻣﺮوز ﻫﺮ ﺻﺎﺣﺐ ﺑﴫی از‬ ‫اﻋﲈل و ا ٓاثر ﺑﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد ﭘـﯽ ﺑﺮد و از ﮔﻔﺘﺎر و رﻓﺘﺎر ﺑﻪ ﻣﺮاد اﻫﻞ ﲠﺎ ا ٓﮔﺎﻫﯽ ايﺑﺪ‪ 14‬اﻣﻮاج ﲝﺮ رﲪﺖ اﻟﻬـﯽ‬ ‫ﺑﻪ ﮐﲈل اوج‪ 15‬ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و اﻣﻄﺎر ﲮﺎب ﻓﻀﻞ و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺘﺶ در ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﺣﲔ انزل‬ ‫در اّايم ﺗﻮﻗّﻒ در ﻋﺮاق اﯾﻦ ﻣﻈﻠﻮم اب ﲨﯿﻊ اﺣﺰاب ﰉ ﭘﺮدﻩ و ﲩﺎب ﺟﺎﻟﺲ و ﻣﺆاﻧﺲ ﭼﻪ ﻣﻘﺪار از‬ ‫اﻫﻞ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﺑﻪ ﻧﻔﺎق داﺧﻞ و ﺑﻪ وﻓﺎق ﺧﺎرج ابب ﻓﻀﻞ ﺑﺮ وﺟﻮﻩ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻔﺘﻮح اب ﻋﺎﴅ و ﻣﻄﯿﻊ در ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺑﻪ‬ ‫ﯾﮏ ﻗﺴﻢ ﻣﻌﺎﴍ ﮐﻪ ﺷﺎﯾﺪ ﺑﺪﰷران ﺑﻪ درايی ﲞﺸﺶ ﰉ ﭘﺎاين ﭘـﯽ ﺑﻧﺮﺪ ﲡﻠ ّﯿﺎت اﰟ ﺳـﺘّﺎر ﺑﻪ ﻗﺴﻤﯽ‬ ‫ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺪﰷر ﮔﲈن ﻣﯽ ﳕﻮد از اﺧﯿﺎر ﳏﺴﻮب ﻫﯿﭻ ﻗﺎﺻﺪی ﳏﺮوم ﳕﺎﻧﺪ و ﻫﯿﭻ ﻣﻘﺒﲆ ﳑﻨﻮع ﻧﻪ‬

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‫‪Bombay pp. 106-109; Philo Press pp. 96-99.‬‬ ‫‪ (p. 174) has‬ﻣﻨﺘﺨﺒﺎﰏ ‪) in the Bombay and Philo Press editions. The text in‬ﲠﺎء ‪Sic. (not‬‬ ‫‪ (the people of Baha).‬اﻫﻞ ﲠﺎ ‪ (the people of God) rather than‬ﺣﺰب اّهلل‬ ‫‪12‬‬ ‫‪. The‬اﱈ ‪, where the Philo Press edition has‬الاﱈ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 106) has‬‬ ‫‪meaning is not affected.‬‬ ‫‪13‬‬ ‫‪.‬ﻧ ََﻔِﺲ ‪The Philo Press edition (p. 97) indicates the reading‬‬ ‫‪14‬‬ ‫‪From this point the divergence between the present text and Muntakhabāti (see‬‬ ‫‪note 16) is so great that one must conclude they are different texts.‬‬ ‫‪15‬‬ ‫‪. The etext available from the‬اوج ‪Both the Bombay and Philo Press editions show‬‬ ‫‪, apparently a typing mistake. (http://reference.bahai.org/‬روح ‪Bahai Reference Library has‬‬ ‫‪fa/t/ab/, accessed 8 Feb. 2013).‬‬ ‫‪11‬‬

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[Bahāʾuʾllāh writes]16 “We have, with the utmost kindliness and mercy, summoned and directed the people of the world to what will truly profit them. The sun of truth shining in meridian splendour bears witness that the people of Bahā have no ambition except to revive the world, to ennoble its life and regenerate its peoples. Truthfulness and goodwill have, at all times, marked their relations with all men. Their outward conduct is but a reflection of their inward life, and their inward life a mirror of their outward conduct. The true nature of the Cause is not hidden or concealed, but open and publicly proclaimed. Their very acts attest to the truth of these words. Today, every discerning eye can discover the intent from these works and their effect, and become aware of the purpose of the people of Bahā from their sayings and doings. The waves of the ocean of divine mercy appear at the utmost height, and showers descend from the clouds of grace and favour moment by moment. “During the days of sojourn in Iraq this Oppressed One sat down and consorted with all classes without veil or disguise. How many people from far and wide entered in enmity and went forth in sympathy! The door of grace was open to all. In our outward dealings with them we have treated alike the righteous and the sinner, that perchance the evil-doer may attain the limitless ocean of forgiveness. The splendours of the name “The Concealer” were manifest to such an extent that the evildoer imagined that he was numbered among the pious. No seeker was disappointed and no one who approached was turned away.

16 Abduʾl-Bahā here quotes the first of several works of Bahāʾuʾllāh, which is similar to that translated by Shoghi Effendi in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahāʾuʾllāh as selection CXXVI. The originals of the works translated in Gleanings are published as Muntakhabāti az Athār-e Hazrat-e Bahāʾuʾllāh, see p. 174. However since Abduʾl-Baha’s citation differs from the version in that volume, the translations also differ.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫اﻋﺮاض و اﺟﺘﻨﺎب انس را ﺳﺒﺐ ﺑﻌﴣ از ﻋﻠﲈی اﯾﺮان و اﻋﲈل انﺷﺎﯾﺴـﺘﻪ ﺎّهج ل ﺑﻮدﻩ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از ﻋﻠﲈ در‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎﻣﺎت ﻧﻔﻮﳻ ﺑﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ انس را از ﺷﺎﻃﯽ ﲝﺮ اﺣﺪﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﻨﻊ ﳕﻮدﻩ اﻧﺪ و اّﻻ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻋﺎﻣﻞ و ﺣﮑﲓ ﻋﺎدل ﺑﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﺜﺎﺑﻪ روﺣﻨﺪ از ﺑﺮای ﺟﺴﺪ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻃﻮﰉ از ﺑﺮای ﻋﺎﳌﯽ ﮐﻪ اترﮐﺶ ﺑﻪ اتج ﻋﺪل ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ و ﻫﯿﳫﺶ ﺑﻪ ﻃﺮاز‬ ‫اﻧﺼﺎف ﻣﻔﺘﺨﺮ‬ ‫ﻗﲅ ﻧﺼﺢ دوﺳـﺘﺎن را وﺻﯿ ّﺖ ﻣﯽ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ و ﺑﻪ ﳏّﺒﺖ و ﺷﻔﻘﺖ و ﺣﳬﺖ و ﻣﺪارا اﻣﺮ ﻣﯽ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﻣﻈﻠﻮم‬ ‫اﻣﺮوز ﻣﺴﺠﻮن انﴏ او ﺟﻨﻮد اﻋﲈل و اﺧﻼق ﺑﻮدﻩ ﻧﻪ ﺻﻔﻮف و ﺟﻨﻮد و ﺗﻔﻨﮓ و ﺗﻮب ﯾﮏ ﲻﻞ ﭘﺎک‬ ‫ﻋﺎﱂ ﺧﺎک را ﺟﻨّﺖ ﻋﻠﯿﺎ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫‪ 17‬ﺳـﺒﺤﺎن اّهلل در ﻣﻘّﺪﻣﻪء ارض ﻃﺎ‪ 18‬اﺣﺪی ﲟﺎ ﺣﲂ ﺑﻪ اّهلل ﺗﳫّﻢ ﻧﳮﻮد ﻧﻈﺮ ابﻇﻬﺎر ﻗﺪرت و اﺑﺮاز‬ ‫ﺧﺪﻣﺖ در ﺣﻀﻮر ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﺧّدلاّهلل ﻣﻠﮑﻪ ﻣﻌﺮوف را ﻣﻨﮑﺮ و ﻣﺼﻠﺢ را ﻣﻔﺴﺪ ﮔﻔﺘﻪ اﻧﺪ اﻣﺜﺎل ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺮﻩ را دراي ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ذّرﻩ را ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﺑﯿﺖ ﮔﻠﲔ را ﺣﺼﻦ ﻣﺘﲔ ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪ و از ﺣّﻖ ﻣﺒﲔ ﭼﺸﻢ ﭘﻮﺷـﻨﺪ ﲨﻌﯽ‬ ‫ﻣﺼﻠﺤﲔ ﻋﺎﱂ را ﺑﻪ ﲥﻤﺖ ﻓﺴﺎد اﺧﺬ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﻟﻌﻤﺮ اّهلل ا ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس ﺟﺰ ﻋّﺰت دوﻟﺖ و ﺧﺪﻣﺖ ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﻗﺼﺪی‬ ‫و َاﻣﲆ ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ و ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ ّهلل ﮔﻔﺘﻪ و ّهلل ﻣﯽ ﮔﻮﯾﻨﺪ و ﰱ ﺳﺒﯿﻞ اّهلل ﺳﺎﻟﮑﻨﺪ‬

‫‪17‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition p. 113, Philo Press edition pp. 103-104. In this and the following‬‬ ‫اﴍاﻗﺎت و ﭼﻨﺪ ﻟﻮح ‪paragraph, Abduʾl-Bahā cites another work of Bahāʾuʾllāh, published in‬‬ ‫‪ (“Ishrāqāt,” a compilation of the Tablets of Bahaʾuʾllah, Bombay, 1310 AH (1892-3)) at‬دﯾﮕﺮ‬ ‫‪p. 42. Only one variant that affects the meaning has been noted.‬‬ ‫‪18‬‬ ‫‪.‬در ﻓﺘﻨﻪ ارض ﻃﺎ ‪, as one would expect). In Ishrāqāt this is‬ﻃﺎء ‪Sic (not‬‬

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“The people’s denial and shunning was due to certain divines of Persia, and because of the unseemly deeds of the ignorant. In this context, “the divines” refers to any individual who intervened between the people and the shores of the Ocean of Unity. But as for the learned who practise and the wise who are just, they are as the spirit unto the body of the world. Blessed is that divine whose head is adorned with the crown of justice, and whose body is honoured by the ornament of fair-mindedness. The Pen of Admonition exhorts the friends and enjoins on them charity, pity, wisdom and gentleness. Today, this oppressed one is a prisoner. His allies are the hosts of good deeds and virtues; not ranks and hosts, and guns and cannons. One holy action makes the world of dust the highest paradise.” “Glory be to God! In the episode of the land of Ta19 no one spoke up for that which God has commanded. Having regard to the display of power and parade of service, in the presence of the King (may God perpetuate his kingdom) they have called the famous infamous, and the reformer a sedition-monger. People like these present a drop as the ocean and a mote as the sun. They called the House of Clay20 “the strong fortress,” and closed their eyes to the evident truth. They have seized a host of world-reformers21 on accusations of sedition. By God! Those persons have never had any intent or work save the glory of the government and service to the community! For God they spoke and for God they speak, and in the way of God do they journey.

19 The land of Ta is Tehran, which Bahāʾuʾllāh and Abduʾl-Bahā spell ‫ﻃﻬﺮان‬. The ‘episode’, or fitnah (“disorder,” in the variant text), is presumably the attempt on the life of the Shah in 1852, which led to Bahāʾuʾllāh’s imprisonment and exile to Baghdad. 20 Apparently a reference to ‫ﺧﺎﻧﻪ ﮔﻠﲔ ﺣﴬت ﻓﺎﻃﻤﻪ زﻫﺮا‬, literally the clay house of Fātimah, daughter of Mohammad and, metaphorically, the line of the Shiah Imāms. In that case, the meaning is “the teachings of the Imāms are sufficient for today’s problems.” But Abduʾl-Bahā might simply be referring to people who call weak things strong. 21 In Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 64, “every world-reformer” refers to the Manifestations of God. The term is also found in the Quran, 7:170 and 28:19.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫ای دوﺳـﺘﺎن از ﻣﻘﺼﻮد ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن ﻣﺴـﺌﻠﺖ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﺧّدلاّهلل ﻣﻠﮑﻪ را ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ات از اﻧﻮار‬ ‫ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻋﺪل ﲨﯿﻊ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اﯾﺮان ﺑﻪ ﻃﺮاز اﻣﻦ و اﻣﺎن ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ ﮔﺮدد از ﻗﺮار ﻣﺬﮐﻮر ﺑﻪ ﴏاﻓﺖ ﻃﺒﻊ ﻣﺒﺎرک‬ ‫ﺑﺴـﺘﮕﺎن را ﮔﺸﻮد و ﻣﻘﯿّﺪﯾﻦ را ا ٓزادی ﲞﺸﻮد ﺑﻌﴣ از اﻣﻮر ﻋﺮﺿﺶ اﻣﺎم وﺟﻮﻩ ﻋﺒﺎد ﻓﺮض اﺳﺖ و‬ ‫اﻇﻬﺎرش از ﲭّﯿﻪء اﺑﺮار ات اﺧﯿﺎر ﻣّﻄﻠﻊ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ و ا ٓﮔﺎﻩ ﮔﺮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫‪ 22‬ﻫﻮﷲ ﺗﻌﺎﱃ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺑﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ ﺣّﻖ ﺟّﻞ ذﮐﺮﻩ ﻣﻘّﺪس اﺳﺖ از دﻧﯿﺎ و ا ٓچنﻪ در اوﺳﺖ و ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از ﻧﴫت اﯾﻦ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻧﻔﴗ ﺑﻪ ﻧﻔﴗ ﳏﺎرﺑﻪ و ايﳎﺎدهل ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﯾﻔﻌﻞ ﻣﺎﯾﺸﺎ ٓء ﻣﻠﮑﻮت اﻧﺸﺎ ٓء را از ﺑّﺮ و ﲝﺮ ﺑﻪ ﯾﺪ ﻣﻠﻮک‬ ‫ﮔﺬاﺷـﺘﻪ و اﯾﺸﺎﻧﻨﺪ ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻗﺪرت اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﻋﲆ ﻗﺪر ﻣﺮاﺗﳢﻢ اﮔﺮ در ﻇّﻞ ﺣّﻖ وارد ﺷﻮﻧﺪ از ﺣّﻖ ﳏﺴﻮب‬ ‫‪23‬‬ ‫و اّﻻ ﴿ اّن رﺑّﮏ ﻟﻌﻠﲓ و ﺧﺒﲑ ﴾‬

‫‪22‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition pp. 167-169, Philo Press 140-144. This text is also quoted by‬‬ ‫‪Bahāʾuʾllāh in his Tablet to the Shah of Iran, the Lawh-e Sultan, which is available in three‬‬ ‫‪almost identical forms, designated TS1, TS2 and TS3 (see the note on page 334).‬‬ ‫‪23‬‬ ‫‪ (Verily, He is the Potent, the‬اﻧ ّﻪ ﻫﻮا اﳌﻘﺘﺪر اخملﺘﺎر ‪The Philo Press edition p. 141 reads‬‬ ‫‪Sovereign), while the Bombay edition and the text of the Tablet to the Shah printed in‬‬ ‫‪.‬ﺧﺒﲑ ‪ to‬اﮔﺮ در ﻇ ّ‬ ‫ﻞ ‪TS1 p. 162, TS2 p. 31 and TS3 p. 68 is as shown, from‬‬

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“O friends, beseech the desire of the worlds that He may aid his Majesty, the King (may God perpetuate his kingdom), so that all the dominions of Persia may by the light of the Sun of Justice be adorned with the ornaments of tranquility and security. According to reports, he has at his own initiative loosed those who were in bonds, and bestowed freedom on the captives. Informing the people of certain matters is a religious obligation, and revealing them is the hallmark of the righteous, so that the pious may be informed and aware.” †

“He is God, the exalted.

“It is evident that God (glorified be his mention) is sanctified from the world and what is in it, and that the meaning of “the victory”24 is not that one person should wage war, or dispute, with another. The sovereign Lord, “he who does as he pleases,”25 has entrusted the kingdom of creation,26 both land and sea, into the hands of kings. They it is who are the manifestations of the power of God, each according to his rank. Should they enter beneath the shadow of the True One, they will be accounted of God, and if not, “your Lord is sufficiently informed, observant.”27

24 The word “Victory” also has the connotations “assisting (God),” and “assistance (from God).” See Quran 22:39–40: “Permission is given to those being fought, because they were oppressed … and surely God will assist those who assist Him.” 25 Quran 22:18, 3:40, and (similar) 14:27. 26 The word appears in this sense in Quran 56:35. 27 Quran 49:13, however the received text of that verse reads ‫ ﻋﻠﲓ‬rather than ‫ ﻟﻌﻠﲓ‬.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫و ا ٓچنﻪ ﺣّﻖ ﺟّﻞ ذﮐﺮﻩ از ﺑﺮای ﺧﻮد ﺧﻮاﺳـﺘﻪ ﻗﻠﻮب ﻋﺒﺎد اوﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﮐﻨﺎﺋﺰ ذﮐﺮ و ﳏّﺒﺖ رّابﻧّﯿﻪ و ﺧﺰاﺋﻦ‬ ‫ﻋﲅ و ﺣﳬﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ اﻧﺪ ﱂ ﯾﺰل ارادﻩ ء ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﻻﯾﺰال اﯾﻦ ﺑﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ ﻗﻠﻮب ﻋﺒﺎد را از اﺷﺎرات دﻧﯿﺎ و ﻣﺎ‬ ‫ﻓﳱﺎ ﻃﺎﻫﺮ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ات ﻗﺎﺑﻞ اﻧﻮار ﲡﻠ ّﯿﺎت ﻣﻠﯿﮏ اﲰﺎ ٓء و ﺻﻔﺎت ﺷﻮﻧﺪ …‬ ‫ﭘﺲ ﻧﴫت اﻟﯿﻮم اﻋﱰاض ﺑﺮ اﺣﺪی و ﳎﺎدهل اب ﻧﻔﴗ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ و ﳔﻮاﻫﺪ ﺑﻮد ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﳏﺒﻮب ا ٓن اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﴫف ﺟﻨﻮد ﻧﻔﺲ و ﻫﻮی اﺳﺖ ﺑﻪ ﺳـﯿﻒ ﺑﯿﺎن و ﺣﳬﺖ و ﺗﺒﯿﺎن ﻣﻔﺘﻮح ﺷﻮد ذلا‬ ‫ﻣﺪا ٓﺋﻦ ﻗﻠﻮب ﮐﻪ در ﺗ ّ‬ ‫ﴫف ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و‬ ‫ﻫﺮ ﻧﻔﴗ ﮐﻪ ارادﻩء ﻧﴫت ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ابﯾﺪ اّول ﺑﻪ ﺳـﯿﻒ ﻣﻌﺎﱏ و ﺑﯿﺎن ﻣﺪﯾﻨﻪء ﻗﻠﺐ ﺧﻮد را ﺗ ّ‬ ‫از ذﮐﺮ ﻣﺎﺳﻮی ﷲ ﳏﻔﻮظ دارد و ﺑﻌﺪ ﺑﻪ ﻣﺪا ٓﺋﻦ ﻗﻠﻮب ﺗﻮّﺟﻪ ﮐﻨﺪ اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد از ﻧﴫت‬ ‫اﺑﺪًا ﻓﺴﺎد ﳏﺒﻮب ﺣّﻖ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ و ﻧﯿﺴﺖ و ا ٓچنﻪ از ﻗﺒﻞ ﺑﻌﴣ از ﺎّهج ل ارﺗﲀب ﳕﻮدﻩ اﻧﺪ اﺑﺪًا ﻣﺮﴇ ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ان ﺗُﻘﺘَﻠﻮا ﰱ رﺿﺎﻩ ﳋﲑ ﻟﲂ ﻣﻦ ان ﺗَﻘُﺘﻠﻮا اﻟﯿﻮم ابﯾﺪ اﺣﺒّﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺑﻪ ﺷﺎٔﱏ در ﻣﺎ ﺑﲔ ﻋﺒﺎد ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﲨﯿﻊ را ﺑﻪ اﻓﻌﺎل ﺧﻮد ﺑﻪ رﺿﻮان ذی اﳉﻼل ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﻗﺴﻢ ﺑﻪ ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب اﻓﻖ ﺗﻘﺪﯾﺲ ﮐﻪ اﺑﺪًا دوﺳـﺘﺎن‬ ‫ﺣّﻖ انﻇﺮ ﺑﻪ ارض و اﻣﻮال ﻓﺎﻧﯿﻪ او ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ و ﳔﻮاﻫﻨﺪ ﺑﻮد ﺣّﻖ ﻻزال انﻇﺮ ﺑﻪ ﻗﻠﻮب ﻋﺒﺎد ﺧﻮد ﺑﻮدﻩ‬

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“That which God (glorified be his mention) has desired for himself is the hearts of his servants, which are treasuries of the mention and love of God, and repositories for knowledge and wisdom from God. The unwavering will of the everlasting King is that the hearts of men should be sanctified from the temptations of the world and what it contains, so that they may be worthy of illumination by the splendours of the Lord of Names and Attributes … “Therefore today “victory” does not and will not entail opposing anyone or disputing with anyone. Rather what has been approved is that the cities of the hearts, which are under the influence of the hosts of selfishness and desires, should be conquered with the sword of utterance, wisdom and explication. Anyone who desires “the victory” should first conquer the city of his own heart with the sword of inner meaning and understanding, and guard it from the remembrance of all save God. Only then should he turn his attention to those cities of the hearts. This is what is meant by “the victory.” “Mischief-making has never been pleasing to God, and is not acceptable today. What some ignorant and foolish people did previously was not in any way approved. It is better to be killed for the sake of His good pleasure than to kill. Today the friends of God must stand out among the servants of God to such an extent that, by their own actions, they may guide everyone to the Paradise of God’s good pleasure. I swear by the Day Star of Holiness that the friends of God have never regarded the world or its transient treasures, and they never will consider them. From the beginning of all things, the eyes of God have been fixed on the hearts of his servants …

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫‪ 28‬اّن رّﰉ ﯾﻌﲅ ﻣﺎ ﰱ ﻧﻔﴗ و اﻧ ّﻪ ﻋﲆ ﻣﺎ اﻗﻮل ﺷﻬﯿﺪ ﻣﻠﮏ ﻋﺎدل ﻇّﻞ اّهلل اﺳﺖ در ارض ابﯾﺪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ در‬ ‫ﺳﺎﯾﻪء ﻋﺪﻟﺶ ﻣﺎٔوی ﮔﻧﲑﺪ و در ﻇّﻞ ﻓﻀﻠﺶ ﺑﯿﺎﺳﺎﯾﻨﺪ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎم ﲣﺼﯿﺺ و ﲢﺪﯾﺪ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﳐﺼﻮص‬ ‫ﺑﻪ ﺑﻌﴣ دون ﺑﻌﴣ ﺷﻮد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻇّﻞ از ﻣﻈّﻞ ‪ 29‬ﺣﺎﰽ اﺳﺖ ﺣّﻖ ﺟّﻞ ذﮐﺮﻩ ﺧﻮد را رّب اﻟﻌﺎﳌﲔ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ‬ ‫زﯾﺮا ﮐﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ را ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻩ و ﻣﯽ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫‪ 30‬و ﭼﻮن ﻣﻨﺎﺳﺒﺖ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﺷﺪ ﻟﻬﺬا ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﭼﻨﲔ دﯾﺪﻩ ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻌﴣ از ﺗﻌﺎﻟﲓ ﲠﺎ ٓء اّهلل ﮐﻪ در ﲱﺎﺋﻒ‬ ‫و ﻟﻮاﰁ ﻣﻨﺪرج اﺳﺖ در اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎهل ﻧﲒ ﳐﺘﴫًا ﻣﻨﺪرج ﮔﺮدد ات اﺻﻞ اﺳﺎس و روش و ﻣﺒﺎدی و ﺑﻨﯿﺎن‬ ‫واﰣ و ﻋﯿﺎن ﺷﻮد و اﯾﻦ ﻋﺒﺎرات از ﲱﺎﺋﻒ ﻣﺘﻌّﺪدﻩ ﻧﻘﻞ ﺷﺪﻩ‬ ‫از ﲨهل ‪ ﴿ 31‬ﻋﺎﴍوا الاداين ابﻟّﺮوح و اﻟّﺮﳛﺎن … اّايﰼ ان ﺗﺎٔﺧﺬﰼ ﲪّﯿﺔ اﳉﺎﻫﻠّﯿﺔ ﺑﲔ اﻟﱪﯾ ّﺔ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﺑﺪء ﻣﻦ‬ ‫اّهلل و ﯾﻌﻮد اﻟﯿﻪ اﻧ ّﻪ ﳌﺒﺪء اﳋﻠﻖ و ﻣﺮﺟﻊ اﻟﻌﺎﳌﲔ ﴾‬

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‫‪Bombay edition, p. 172, Philo Press edition p. 145.‬‬ ‫‪So in the Bombay edition and in the Tablet to the Shah printed in TS1 p. 166, and‬‬ ‫‪. The meaning‬ﻣﻈّﻞ ‪ rather than‬ذی ﻇ ّ‬ ‫ﻞ ‪TS2 p. 37 and TS3 p. 70. The Philo Press edition has‬‬ ‫‪is not affected.‬‬ ‫‪30‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition, pp. 212-216, Philo Press edition, pp. 183-187.‬‬ ‫‪31‬‬ ‫‪From Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Kitāb-e Aqdas, paragraph 144, but the published text of that‬‬ ‫‪ .‬ﻋﺎﴍوا ﻣﻊ الاداين ‪reads,‬‬ ‫‪29‬‬

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“Verily my Lord knows what is in my soul, and verily He is witness to what I say. A just king is the shadow of God on earth. All should seek shelter under the shadow of his justice and rest in the shade of his favour. This is not a matter which is either specific or limited in its scope, that it might be restricted to one or other person; for the shadow tells of the one who casts it. God (glorious is His remembrance) has called himself Lord of the Worlds for he has nurtured and still nurtures all created things.” Now since suitable occasion has arisen, it has been considered appropriate that some of the teachings of Bahāʾuʾllāh that are contained in books and tablets should also be included, in brief, in this narrative, so that the essential principles and conduct, and the foundations and superstructure, may be clear and evident. These citations have been taken from many books. One of these teachings is, “Consort with the religions with amity and concord … Beware, lest the flame of foolish ignorance amidst men should overpower you. All things proceed from God and return to him. He is the source of all things, to him all things return.”

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫و از ﲨهل ‪ ﴿32‬ﻗﺪ ﻣﻨﻌﱲ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻔﺴﺎد و اﳉﺪال ﰱ اﻟّﺼﺤﻒ و الاﻟﻮاح و ﻣﺎ ارﯾﺪ ﺑﺬﻟﮏ اّﻻ ﻋﻠّﻮﰼ و ﲰّﻮُﰼ‬ ‫ﯾﺸﻬﺪ ﺑﺬﻟﮏ اﻟّﺴﻤﺎ ٓء و اﳒﻤﻬﺎ و اﻟّﺸﻤﺲ و اﴍاﻗﻬﺎ و الاﴭﺎر و اوراﻗﻬﺎ و اﻟﺒﺤﺎر و اﻣﻮاهجﺎ و الارض و‬ ‫ﮐﻨﻮزﻫﺎ ﻧﺴـﺌﻞ اّهلل ان ﳝّﺪ اوﻟﯿﺎ ٓﺋﻪ و ﯾﺆﯾ ّﺪﱒ ﻋﲆ ﻣﺎ ﯾﻨﺒﻐﯽ ﳍﻢ ﰱ ﻫﺬا اﳌﻘﺎم اﳌﺒﺎرک اﻟﻌﺰﯾﺰ اﻟﺒﺪﯾﻊ و ﻧﺴـﺌهل‬ ‫ان ﯾﻮﻓ ّﻖ ﻣﻦ ﰱ ﺣﻮﱃ ﻋﲆ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﲟﺎ اﻣﺮوا ﺑﻪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﲅ الاﻋﲆ ﴾‬ ‫و از ﲨهل ‪ ﴿33‬اﲠـﯽ ﴭﺮﻩء داﻧﺶ اﯾﻦ ﳇﻤﻪء ﻋﻠﯿﺎ اﺳﺖ ﳘﻪ ابر ﯾﮏ دارﯾﺪ و ﺑﺮگ ﯾﮏ ﺷﺎﺧﺴﺎر ﻟﯿﺲ‬ ‫اﻟﻔﺨﺮ ﳌﻦ ﳛّﺐ اﻟﻮﻃﻦ ﺑﻞ ﳌﻦ ﳛّﺐ اﻟﻌﺎﱂ ﴾‬ ‫و از ﲨهل ‪ ﴿34‬اّن اّذلی رّﰉ اﺑﻨﻪ او اﺑﻨًﺎ ﻣﻦ الاﺑﻨﺎ ٓء ﰷﻧ ّﻪ رّﰉ اﺣﺪ اﺑﻨﺎ ٓﰃ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ ﲠﺎءﷲ و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺘﻪ و رﲪﺘﻪ‬ ‫اﻟ ّﱴ ﺳـﺒﻘﺖ اﻟﻌﺎﳌﲔ ﴾‬

‫‪32‬‬ ‫‪ …,‬ﶍﻮﻋﻬﺎی از اﻟﻮاح ﺟﲈل اﻗﺪس اﲠـﯽ ‪From Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Tablet of Ishrāqāt, published in‬‬ ‫ﻟﻮح ﺧﻄﺎب ﺑﻪ ﺷـﯿﺦ ‪Hofheim-Langenheim: Bahāʾi-Verlag, 1980, p. 70; and as a self-citation in‬‬ ‫‪ (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf) Egyptian edition reprinted by the Bahāʾi‬ﶊﺪ ﺗﻘﻰ اﺻﻔﻬﺎﱏ‬ ‫‪Studies Association of Canada, 2001, p. 99. but in all three cases the opening words read:‬‬ ‫‪.‬اان ﻣﻨﻌﻨﺎﰼ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻔﺴﺎد و اﳉﺪال ﰲ ﻛﺘﱯ و ﲱﻔﻲ وزﺑﺮي و اﻟﻮاىح و ﻣﺎ اردان ﺑﺬﻟﮏ …‬ ‫‪33‬‬ ‫‪This is quoted from the sixth section of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Lawh-e Ishrāqāt (1885), but the‬‬ ‫‪ (the fairest fruit of the tree of knowledge),‬ﲠـﯽ ﲦﺮﻩ ﴭﺮﻩ داﻧﺶ ‪text in Ishrāqāt (p. 78) reads‬‬ ‫اﲠـﯽ ﴭﺮﻩء ‪while the Philo Press edition p. 184 and the Bombay edition p. 214 both read‬‬ ‫‪ (the fairest tree of knowledge).‬داﻧﺶ‬ ‫‪34‬‬ ‫ﻋﻠﯿﻪ ﲠﺎ ٓﰄ وﻋﻨﺎﯾﱵ ‪From Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Kitāb-e Aqdas, paragraph 48, except that this reads‬‬ ‫‪.‬ورﲪﱵ‬

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Another of these teachings is “You have been forbidden to engage in dissension and conflict in the books and scriptures; and my only desire in this is your exaltation and advancement. To this, the heaven and its stars, the sun and its radiance, the trees and their leaves, the seas and their waves, and the earth and its treasures all testify. We ask God to assist his loved ones and aid them to do what beseems them in this blessed, glorious and wondrous station. Moreover we ask God to enable those who surround me to observe that which my supreme pen has enjoined on them.” Another of these teaching is “The fairest tree of knowledge is this sublime word: You are all fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch. Glory in not in loving one’s country, but in loving the world.” Another of these teaching is “Verily he who brings up his child, or the child of another, it is as though he raised one of my children. Upon him be the glory of God, and his grace, and his mercy, which have encompassed the worlds.”

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫از ﲨهل ‪ ﴿35‬اي اﻫﻞ ﲠﺎء ﺷﲈ ﻣﺸﺎرق ﳏّﺒﺖ و ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻊ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﻫﺴﺘﯿﺪ ﻟﺴﺎن را ﺑﻪ ﺳّﺐ و‬ ‫ﻟﻌﻦ اﺣﺪی ﻣﯿﺎﻻﺋﯿﺪ و ﭼﺸﻢ را از ا ٓچنﻪ ﻻﯾﻖ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﺣﻔﻆ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ا ٓچنﻪ را داراﺋﯿﺪ ﺑامنﺋﯿﺪ اﮔﺮ ﻣﻘﺒﻮل اﻓﺘﺎد‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺼﻮد ﺣﺎﺻﻞ و اّﻻ ﺗﻌّﺮض ابﻃﻞ ذروﻩ ﺑﻨﻔﺴﻪ ﻣﻘﺒﻠﲔ اﱃ اّهلل اﳌﻬﳰﻦ اﻟﻘﯿّﻮم ﺳﺒﺐ ﺣﺰن ﻧﺸﻮﯾﺪ ات ﭼﻪ‬ ‫رﺳﺪ ﺑﻪ ﻧﺰاع و ﻓﺴﺎد‪ 36‬اﻣﯿﺪ ﻫﺴﺖ در ﻇّﻞ ﺳﺪرﻩ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﺷﻮﯾﺪ و ﲟﺎ اراد‪ 37‬اّهلل ﻋﺎﻣﻞ‬ ‫ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ ﳘﻪ اوراق ﯾﮏ ﴭﺮﯾﺪ و ﻗﻄﺮﻫﺎی ﯾﮏ ﲝﺮ ﴾‬ ‫از ﲨهل ‪ ﴿38‬دﯾﻦ اّهلل و ﻣﺬﻫﺐ اّهلل ﳏﺾ اّﲢﺎد و اﺗ ّﻔﺎق اﻫﻞ ﻋﺎﱂ از ﲰﺎ ٓء ﻣﺸﯿ ّﺖ ﻣﺎﻟﮏ ﻗﺪم انزل‬ ‫ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ و ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﺷﺪﻩ ا ٓن را ﻋﻠ ّﺖ اﺧﺘﻼف و ﻧﻔﺎق ﻣﮑﻨﯿﺪ ﺳﺒﺐ اﻋﻈﻢ و ﻋﻠ ّﺖ ﮐﱪی از ﺑﺮای ﻇﻬﻮر و‬ ‫اﴍاق ﻧّﲑ اّﲢﺎد دﯾﻦ اﻟﻬـﯽ و ﴍﯾﻌﻪء رّابﱏ ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﳕّﻮ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ اﱈ و اﻃﻤﯿﻨﺎن‪ 39‬و راﺣﺖ ﻣﻦ ﰱ‬ ‫اﻟﺒﻼد از اﺻﻮل و اﺣﲀم‬

‫‪35‬‬ ‫‪From the 8th section of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Tablet of Ishrāqāt, dated 20 August 1885. A‬‬ ‫‪very similar text is included in the 13th section of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Tablet of Bishārāt, but that‬‬ ‫‪may well have been composed after A Traveller’s Narrative. I have used Shoghi Effendi’s‬‬ ‫‪translation, published in The Dawn: a monthly Bahāʾi Journal of Burma, Vol. II, No. 7,‬‬ ‫‪March 1925.‬‬ ‫‪36‬‬ ‫‪ (see Ishrāqāt p. 80).‬ﺳﺎد و ﻧﺰاع ‪The Tablet of Ishrāqāt reads‬‬ ‫‪37‬‬ ‫‪ .‬ارادﻩ ‪The Tablet of Ishrāqāt reads‬‬ ‫‪38‬‬ ‫‪The first part of the 9th section of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s tablet of Ishrāqāt. See the previous‬‬ ‫‪notes. I have drawn on Shoghi Effendi’s translation, published in The Dawn.‬‬ ‫‪39‬‬ ‫‪ .‬اﻃﻤﯿﻨﺎن ﻋﺒﺎد و راﺣﺖ ‪The Ishrāqāt has‬‬

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Another of these teaching is “O people of Baha, you are the manifestations of the love of God and the daysprings of his loving kindness. Defile not your tongue with the cursing and reviling of any soul, and guard your eyes against that which is not seemly. Show forth that which is within you: if it be well received your end is gained; if not, to protest is vain. Leave him to himself, and turn to God, the protector, the self-subsisting. Be not the cause of grief, much less of discord and strife. The hope is cherished that you may obtain true education under the shadow of the lote tree of divine providence, and act in accordance with that which God desires. You are all leaves of one tree, and drops of one ocean.” Another of these teachings is “The one purpose for which the religion of God has been revealed from the heaven of God’s Holy Will is unity and harmony among the people of the world. Do not make it the cause of dissension and strife. The religion of God and His divine law are the greatest instruments and the surest of all means for the appearance of the star of unity. The progress of the world, the development of nations and tranquility and peace of all lands are among the principles and ordinances of God.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫اوﺳﺖ ﺳﺒﺐ اﻋﻈﻢ از ﺑﺮای اﯾﻦ ﻋﻄّﯿﻪء ﮐﱪی ٔاكس ﻧزﺪﮔﺎﱏ ﲞﺸﺪ و ﺣﯿﺎت ابﻗﯿﻪ ﻋﻄﺎ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ و ﻧﻌﻤﺖ‬ ‫ﴎﻣﺪﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﺒﺬول دارد رؤﺳﺎی ارض ﳐﺼﻮص ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻋﺪل اﻟﻬـﯽ‪ 40‬در ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎم و ﻋﻠّﻮ و ﺣﻔﻆ‬ ‫ا ٓن هجﺪ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ ابﯾﺪ‪ 41‬ﻣﺒﺬول داﻧرﺪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ا ٓچنﻪ ﻻزم اﺳﺖ ﺗﻔّﺤﺺ در اﺣﻮال رﻋّﯿﺖ و اّﻃﻼع ﺑﺮ اﻋﲈل‬ ‫و اﻣﻮر ﻫﺮ ﺣﺰﰉ از اﺣﺰاب از ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻗﺪرت اﻟﻬـﯽ ﯾﻌﲎ ﻣﻠﻮک و رؤﺳﺎ ﻣﯽ ﻃﻠﺒﲓ ﮐﻪ ّﳘﺖ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺷﺎﯾﺪ اﺧﺘﻼف از ﻣﯿﺎن ﺑﺮ ﺧﲒد و ا ٓﻓﺎق ﺑﻪ ﻧﻮر اﺗ ّﻔﺎق ﻣﻨّﻮر ﺷﻮد‬ ‫‪ 42‬اﯾﻦ ﻓﺮﻗﻪ ﻣﻘﺼﺪ دﻧﯿﻮی و ﻣﺪﺧﲆ در اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ ﻣﺪار ﺣﺮﮐﺖ و ﺳﮑﻮن و ﳏﻮر ﺳـﺒﮏ‬ ‫و ﺳﻠﻮک ﳏﺼﻮر ﺑﺮ اﻣﻮر وﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻘﺼﻮر ﺑﺮ ﺣﻘﺎﯾﻖ وﺟﺪاﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﻣﺪﺧﲆ ﺑﻪ اﻣﻮر ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و‬ ‫ﺗﻌﻠ ّﻘﯽ ﺑﻪ دﺳـﺘﮕﺎﻩ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻧﺪارد اﺳﺎس ﮐﺸﻒ ﺳـﺒﺤﺎت اﺳﺖ و ﲢﻘﯿﻖ اﺷﺎرات ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻧﻔﻮس اﺳﺖ و‬ ‫ﲥﺬﯾﺐ اﺧﻼق ﺗﺼﻔﯿﻪء ﻗﻠﻮب اﺳﺖ و ﻧﻮراﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺑﻪ ﻟﻮاﻣﻊ اﴍاق و ا ٓچنﻪ زساوار ﺳّﺪﻩء ﻣﻠﻮﰷﱏ و ﺑﺮاﻧزﺪﻩء‬ ‫دﳞﲓ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ اﺳﺖ ا ٓن اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ رﻋﺎاي از ﻫﺮ ﻓﺮﻗﻪ و ا ٓﯾﲔ در ﻇّﻞ ﻇﻠﯿﻞ ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﺳﻠﻄﺎﱏ ﻣﻈﻬﺮ‬ ‫ﲞﺸﺎﯾﺶ و در ﮐﲈل ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و ﰷﻣﺮاﱏ ابﺷـﻨﺪ‬

‫‪40‬‬ ‫‪ (the Trustees of God’s House of Justice) rather‬اﻣﻨﺎی ﺑﯿﺖ ﻋﺪل اﻟﻬـﯽ ‪The Ishrāqāt reads‬‬ ‫‪ .‬ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻋﺪل اﻟﻬـﯽ ‪than‬‬ ‫‪41‬‬ ‫‪ does not appear in the Ishrāqāt text.‬ابﯾﺪ‬ ‫‪42‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition, pp. 219-223, Philo Press edition, pp. 190-195.‬‬

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“Religion bestows the most precious of all gifts, fills the cup of daily needs, imparts eternal life, and showers imperishable benefits. The world’s rulers, and in particular those who are the manifestations of God’s Justice, should exert the highest endeavour to safeguard, exalt and protect its station. It is also incumbent that they inquire into the conditions of their subjects and be informed of the affairs and activities of every community. We call upon the manifestations of the power of God – the sovereigns and rulers – to bestir themselves, and to banish every trace of discord and illumine the regions with the light of harmony and union.” 43

“This sect have no worldly objective or involvement in political matters. The pivot of their motion and stillness and the centre of their being and behaviour is limited to spiritual matters, to the realities of the soul; it has no involvement in government affairs nor any relationship to the operations of government. Its cornerstones are to dispel clouds and pierce allusions, to educate souls and refine characters, to purify hearts and illumine them with rays of splendour. It befits the righteousness of a king, and is as an ornament to the royal crown if every subject – of whatever sect or faith – is sheltered in the shade of the justice of the king, the manifestation of bounty, and has the utmost tranquillity and felicity.

43 In this and the following selection (to page 331), Abduʾl-Bahā is “quoting” representations made by wise men to the Shah: the arguments are therefore couched in terms of what is expedient for the state.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫زﯾﺮا ﺳﺎﯾﻪء اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻣﻠﺠﺎٔ ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن و ﻣﻼذ ا ٓدﻣﯿﺎن اﺳﺖ ﲣﺼﯿﺺ ﺑﻪ ﺣﺰﰉ ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ ﻋﲆ اﳋﺼﻮص ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل و ﮐﻨﻪ ﻣﻘﺎل اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﯾﻔﻪ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﮔﺮدﯾﺪﻩ ﲨﯿﻊ اوراق و ﲱﺎﺋﻔﺸﺎن ﺑﮑّﺮات و ﻣّﺮات در‬ ‫دﺳﺖ اﻓﺘﺎدﻩ و در ﻧﺰد ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﳏﻔﻮظ و ﻣﻮﺟﻮد اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﻪ ﺷﻮد ﺣﻘﺎﯾﻖ و ﺑﻮاﻃﻦ‬ ‫واﰣ و ﻻﰁ ﮔﺮدد ﻣﻀﺎﻣﲔ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﯾﻦ اوراق ﻣﻨﻊ از ﻓﺴﺎد و ﺣﺴﻦ ﺳﻠﻮک ﻣﯿﺎن ﻋﺒﺎد و اﻃﺎﻋﺖ و اﻧﻘﯿﺎد‬ ‫و ﺻﺪاﻗﺖ و اﻣﺘﺜﺎل و ﲣﻠ ّﻖ ﺑﻪ اﺧﻼق ﳑﺪوﺣﻪ و ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ ﺑﻪ اﺗ ّﺼﺎف ﻓﻀﺎﯾﻞ و ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ ﲪﯿﺪﻩ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻗﻄﻌﯿًﺎ ﻣﺪﺧﲆ ﺑﻪ اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ و ﺗﺼّﺪی ﺑﻪ ا ٓچنﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ا ٓﺷﻮب و ﻓﺘﻨﻪ اﺳﺖ ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ در اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﺻﻮرت ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻋﺎدﻻﻧﻪ ﲠﺎﻧﻪ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﺪ و وﺳـﯿهل ای ﺑﺪﺳﺖ ﻧﺪارد ﻣﮕﺮ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﻪ ﺿﲈﺋﺮ و وﺟﺪان ﮐﻪ از‬ ‫ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ دل و ﺟﺎن اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪ ﻧﲒ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﺷﺪ و ﺳﻌﯽ ﰉ ﺷﲈر ﮔﺸﺖ ﭼﻪ ﺧﻮﳖﺎ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫رﳜﺘﻪ ﺷﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﴎﻫﺎ ﮐﻪ ا ٓوﳜﺘﻪ ﻫﺰاران ﻧﻔﻮس ﻗﺘﯿﻞ و ﻫﺰاران ﻧﺴﺎء و اﻃﻔﺎل ﴎﮔﺸـﺘﻪ و اﺳﲑ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﺴﺎ ﺑﻨﯿﺎﳖﺎ ﮐﻪ وﯾﺮان ﺷﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﺑﺴـﯿﺎر ﺧﺎﳕﺎن و دودﻣﺎن ﺑﺰرﮔﺎن ﮐﻪ ﰉ ﴎ و ﺳﺎﻣﺎن ﮔﺸﺖ ﭼﺎرﻩ ای‬ ‫ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﺸﺪ و ﻓﺎﯾﺪﻩ ﺑﺪﺳﺖ ﻧﯿﺎﻣﺪ اﯾﻦ درد را درﻣﺎﱏ و اﯾﻦ زﰛ را ﻣﺮﰘ ا ٓﺳﺎﱏ ﻣﯿّﴪ ﻧﺸﺪ‬

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“For the shadow of God is the refuge of all who dwell on earth and the asylum of the children of Adam. It is not limited to one party. In this instance, the real nature and substance of these people’s teachings have been revealed and are unmistakable. In numerous instances, collections of their pamphlets and scriptures have fallen into the hands of the government, and these have been kept and are still available. If these are studied, the reality and inner meanings become clear and apparent. These pages are entirely devoted to the prohibition of sedition, and to fair dealing among God’s servants, obedience, submission, truthfulness and abiding by the law, to cultivating laudable qualities, and exhortations to virtue and commendable attributes. It is certain that they do not intervene in political matters, and are opposed to anything which could cause a disturbance or turmoil. Under these circumstances a government cannot with justice find an excuse, and has no means at hand except to suppress thoughts and convictions, which are the private possessions of the heart and soul. And there has been much oppression in this case, and countless efforts have been made. How much blood has been shed! How many have been hung! Thousands have been slain, thousands of women and children have become wanderers or captives, how many buildings have been ruined, how many noble ladies and households are left headless and homeless! Nothing has been gained, no benefit is in sight. For this ill there is no remedy, for this wound, no easing salve.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫از وﻇﺎﯾﻒ و ﺻﻮاﱀ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ا ٓزادﮔﯽ وﺟﺪان و ا ٓﺳﻮدﮔﯽ دل و ﺟﺎن اﺳﺖ و درﲨﯿﻊ اﻋﺼﺎر ابﻋﺚ ﺗﺮّﰵ‬ ‫درﺟﺎت و اﺳﺘﯿﻼٓء ﺳﺎﯾﺮ هجﺎت اﺳﺖ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﻣﳣﻧّﺪ ﻪء ﺳﺎﯾﺮﻩ اﯾﻦ ﺗﻔّﻮق ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﳮﻮد و ﺑﻪ اﯾﻦ درﺟﺎت‬ ‫ﻋﺎﻟﯿﻪ ﻧﻔﻮذ و اﻗﺘﺪار ﻓﺎﺋﺰ ﻧﮕﺸﺖ ﻣﮕﺮ زﻣﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﺎزﻋﻪء ﻣﺬاﻫﺐ را از ﻣﯿﺎن ﺑﺮداﺷﺖ و ﲨﯿﻊ ﻃﻮاﯾﻒ را‬ ‫ﺑﻪ ﻣﲒان واﺣﺪ ﻣﻌﺎﻣهل ﳕﻮد ﲨﯿﻊ ﯾﮏ ﻗﻮم و ﯾﮏ ﺣﺰب و ﯾﮏ ﻧﻮع و ﯾﮏ ﺟﻨﺲ اﻧﺪ ﻣﺼﻠﺤﺖ ﻋﺎّﻣﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺎوات اتّﻣﻪ اﺳﺖ و از اﻋﻈﻢ اﺳـﺒﺎب هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ و اﮐﱪ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ اﺗ ّﺴﺎع ﻧﻄﺎق ﮐﺸﻮر ﺳـﺘﺎﱏ ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ و‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺎوات ﺑﲔ ﻧﻮع اﻧﺴﺎﱏ اﺳﺖ و از ﻫﺮ ﻓﺮﻗﻪ از اﻫﻞ ا ٓﻓﺎق ﻧﺸﺎﻧﻪ ﻧﻔﺎق ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﻣﻘﺘﻀﺎی ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻋﺎدهل‬ ‫ﳎﺎزات ﻋﺎﺟهل اﺳﺖ و ﻫﺮ ﴯﴡ ﳈﺮ ﺧﺪﻣﺖ ﺑﻨﺪد و ﮔﻮی ﺳـﺒﻘﺖ ﺑﺮد ﻣﺴـﺘﺤّﻖ اﻟﻄﺎف هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ و‬ ‫زساوار ﻋﻮاﻃﻒ ﺟﻠﯿهلء ﺷﻬﺮايری اﺳﺖ‬ ‫زﻣﺎن زﻣﺎن دﯾﮕﺮ و ﻋﺎﱂ را اﻗﺘﻀﺎ و ﺟﻠﻮﻩ دﯾﮕﺮ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﻪ ﻃﺮﯾﻘﻪ و ا ٓﺋﲔ در ﻫﺮ ﳑﻠﮑﱴ ابدی ﺧﴪان‬ ‫ﻣﺒﲔ اﺳﺖ و ﺗﻮّﺳﻞ ﻣﺎﺑﻪ اﻟّﱰّﰵ ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ و ﻣﺴﺎوات ﺑﲔ اﻗﻮام روی زﻣﲔ‬ ‫اﺣﱰاز و ﺣﺬر از اﺣﺰاب ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ابﯾﺪ ﳕﻮد و ﺧﻮف و ﺧﻄﺮ از ﻓﺮق ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻮﺿﻮع اﻓﲀر ا ٓانن‬ ‫ﺗﺪاﺧﻞ در اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ و ﳕﺎﯾﺶ اﺳﺖ و ﮐﺮدار و رﻓﺘﺎرﺷﺎن ﻣﻨﺎﰱ اﻣﻨّﯿﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ‬

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“Among the roles and commendable deeds of the government is to ensure freedom of conscience and tranquillity of heart and soul. In every age, this promotes progress and command over other regions. Other civilized countries did not attain this pre-eminence, or achieve such high degrees of influence and power, until they abstained from the contentions between religious communities, and dealt with all peoples according to one standard. All are one people, of one party, one species and one race. The common interest is complete equality. Justice and equality for the human race are amongst the chief supports of the royal throne and greatest means of spreading the skirt of conquest. From whatever section of earth’s denizens the signs of dissension may appear, a just government is required to respond in proportion quickly, while any person who has committed himself to serve and has achieved excellence is deserving of royal favours and worthy of splendid gifts from the King. “Times have changed, and the needs and fashion of the world are changed. In every country, the persecution of religious communities or creeds is the precursor of utter ruin, while the means of progress is justice and equality for all peoples on the face of the earth. “Caution and precautions with regard to political factions are in their place, and there is alarm and danger in the materialist sect. For the political factions are thinking of interfering in political matters and of outward appearances, while the actions and conduct of the materialists are contrary to security and tranquility.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫‪44‬در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺳﺎﯾﺮﻩ ﭼﻮن ﺗﺸﺪﯾﺪ و ﺗﻌﺬﯾﺐ را در ﭼﻨﲔ ﻣﻮاﺿﻊ ﻋﲔ ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و ﲢﺮﯾﺺ ﻣﺸﺎﻫﺪﻩ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و‬ ‫ﻋﺪم اﻋﺘﻨﺎ را اﺛﺮ ﺑﯿﺸﱰ دﯾﺪﻧﺪ انﺋﺮﻩء اﻧﻘﻼب را ﺧﺎﻣﻮﺷﱰ ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻨﺪ ﻟﻬﺬا ﺑﳫّﯽ اﻋﻼن ﻣﺴﺎوات ﺣﻘﻮق‬ ‫اﺣﺰاب ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ا ٓزادﮔﯽ ﲻﻮم ﻃﻮاﯾﻒ را ﮔﻮزشد ﴍق و ﻏﺮب ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ اﯾﻦ داد و ﻓﺮايد و ﲴﯿﺞ و اﺟﯿﺞ‬ ‫از ﲢﺮﯾﮏ و اﻏﻮا و ﺗﺸﻮﯾﻖ و اﻏﺮا اﺳﺖ ﳻ ﺳﺎل اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ از ا ٓﺷﻮب و ﻓﺘﻨﻪ ﺧﱪی ﻧﯿﺴﺖ و از‬ ‫ﻓﺴﺎد اﺛﺮی ﻧﻪ اب وﺟﻮد ﺗﻀﺎﻋﻒ ﻧﻔﻮس و ﺗﺰاﯾﺪ و ﺗﲀﺛﺮ اﯾﻦ ﮔﺮوﻩ از ﮐﱶت ﻧﺼﺎﱖ و ﺗﺮﻏﯿﺐ ﺑﻪ ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ در ﻣﻨﳤﺎی ﺳﮑﻮن و رﮐﻮن اﻃﺎﻋﺖ را ﺷﻌﺎر ﺧﻮد ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻪ در ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﺗﺴﻠﲓ و اﻧﻘﯿﺎد رﻋّﯿﺖ‬ ‫ﺻﺎدق ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ دﯾﮕﺮ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺑﻪ ﭼﻪ وﺳـﯿهلء ﻣﴩوﻋﻪ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و اﻫﺎﻧﺖ ﺟﺎﯾﺰ داﻧﺪ‬ ‫و از اﯾﻦ ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﻪ وﺟﺪان و ﻋﻘﺎﯾﺪ اﻗﻮام و ﺗﻌﺬﯾﺐ ﻓﺮق ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪء اانم ﻣﺎﻧﻊ اﺗ ّﺴﺎع ﮐﺸﻮر و ﺣﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫ﻓﺘﻮح ﳑﺎﻟﮏ دﯾﮕﺮ‪ 45‬و ﺣﺎﺟﺰ ﺗﮑّﱶ رﻋّﯿﺖ و ﳐﺎﻟﻒ اﺳﺎس ﻗﻮﱘ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ اﺳﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺟﺴـﳰﻪء اﯾﺮان‬ ‫زﻣﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﻪ وﺟﺪان ﻧﺪاﺷﺖ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪ در ﲢﺖ ﻟﻮای ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﮐﱪی داﺧﻞ و ﻗﺎﰂ و اﻗﻮام‬ ‫ﻣﺘﻨّﻮﻋﻪ در ﻇّﻞ ﺣﲈﯾﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻋﻈﻤﯽ ﺳﺎﮐﻦ و ﺧﺎدم ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ‬

‫‪44‬‬

‫‪Bombay edition pp. 225-235, Philo Press edition pp. 196-205.‬‬ ‫‪ (the conquest of‬و ﺣﺎﺋﻞ ﻓﺘﻮح ﳑﺎﻟﮏ دﯾﮕﺮ ‪In the Philo Press edition (p. 197), the words‬‬ ‫‪other countries) are presented between marks, suggesting that the writer recognized this‬‬ ‫‪as a citation.‬‬ ‫‪45‬‬

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“In other countries, when they observed that severity and chastisement in such cases is the source of excitation and stimulation, and that paying no heed had better effects, they abated the blaze of revolution. Therefore they made a general proclamation of equal rights for all parties, and announced to east and west that all peoples are free. This clamour and complaint, this lamentation and burning, are caused by fomentation and deception, excitation and incitement. “For thirty years there have been no reports of disturbances or disorder, nor any sign of sedition [in Iran], although the number of adherents has doubled and the community has prospered and multiplied. Because of many admonitions and encouragements to virtue, all the members of this community are all in the utmost rest and repose. They have made obedience their hallmark. They are loyal subjects of the King, displaying the utmost resignation and submissiveness. Well then, by what lawful means does the government repress them, and consider itself entitled to scorn them? “Besides this, repression of the peoples’ consciences and religious principles, and the persecution of the differing sects among men is an obstacle to the expansion of the country: it hinders the conquest of other countries, prevents any increase in the number of subjects, and is contrary to sound principles of worldly rule. When the mighty government of Iran did not repress consciences, diverse peoples entered and remained under the banner of the great king, and groups of various kinds lived and served under the protection of that mighty government.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫وﺳﻌﺖ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ روز ﺑﻪ روز ﺗﺰاﯾﺪ ﳕﻮدﻩ اﻏﻠﺐ ﻗﻄﻌﻪء اﺳـﯿﺎ در ﲢﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻋﺎدهلء هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ و اﮐﱶ‬ ‫ﻓﺮق و ﻣﻠﻞ ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪ در ﺳﻠﮏ رﻋّﯿﺖ اتﺟﺪاری ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭼﻮن ﻗﺎﻧﻮن ﺗﻌّﺮض ا ٓﺋﲔ ﺳﺎﺋﺮ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﺑﻪ ﻣﯿﺎن‬ ‫ا ٓﻣﺪ و اﺻﻮل ﻣﺴـﺌﻮﻟّﯿﺖ اﻓﲀر وﺿﻊ و اﺳﺎس ﺷﺪ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ وﺳـﯿﻌﻪء ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ اﯾﺮان ﺗﻨﺎﻗﺺ ﳕﻮد و ﻗﻄﻌﺎت‬ ‫ﮐﺜﲑﻩ و اﻗﺎﻟﲓ ﻋﻈﳰﻪ از دﺳﺖ رﻓﺖ ات ا ٓﻧﮑﻪ ﺑﻪ اﯾﻦ درﺟﻪ رﺳـﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻗﻄﻌﺎت ﺟﺴـﳰﻪء ﺗﻮران و ا ٓﺷﻮر و‬ ‫ﳇﺪان از دﺳﺖ رﻓﺖ ﺗﻄﻮﯾﻞ ﭼﻪ ﻟﺰوم ﺣ ّﱴ اﮐﱶ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﺧﺮاﺳﺎن ﻧﲒ ﺑﻪ هجﺖ ﺗﻌّﺮض وﺟﺪان و ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ‬ ‫ﺣّﲀم از ﺣﻮزﻩء ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﯾﺮان ﺧﺎرج ﺷﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ اﺳـﺘﻘﻼﻟّﯿﺖ اﻓﻐﺎن و ﻋﺼﯿﺎن ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﺗﺮﮐﲈن‬ ‫ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪ ﺑﻮدﻩ و اّﻻ در ﻫﯿﭻ ﻋﻬﺪ و ﻋﴫی از اﯾﺮان ﻣﻨﻔﺼﻞ ﻧﺒﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﴬت ﭼﻪ ﻟﺰوم ﺑﻪ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﯿﭽﺎرﮔﺎن اﺳﺖ و اﮔﺮ ﺗﺮوﱕ ﻓﺘﻮی ﺧﻮاﻫﲓ ﻧﻔﴗ از ﻏّﻞ و‬ ‫اب وﺟﻮد وﺿﻮح ﻣ ّ‬ ‫زﳒﲑ و ﺣّﺪت ﴰﺸﲑ ﺧﻼص ﳔﻮاﻫﺪ ﺷﺪ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ در اﯾﺮان ﮔﺬﺷـﺘﻪ از اﯾﻦ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪ ﻃﻮاﺋﻒ ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪ ﭼﻮن‬ ‫ﴩﻋﲔ و ﺷـﯿﺨّﯿﻪ و ﺻﻮﻓﯿّﻪ و ﻧﺼﲑﯾ ّﻪ و ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد و ﻫﺮﯾﮏ ﺗﮑﻔﲑ و ﺗﻔﺴـﯿﻖ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﻪء دﯾﮕﺮ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺘ ّ‬ ‫در اﯾﻦ ﺻﻮرت ﭼﻪ ﻟﺰوم ﮐﻪ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺗﻌّﺮض اﯾﻦ و ا ٓن و ﭘﺎﭘـﯽ ﺿﲈﺋﺮ و وﺟﺪان رﻋﺎاي و ﺑﺮااي ابﺷﺪ‬

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“The extent of the kingdom increased day by day. Most of the continent of Asia was subject to the just government of its kings, and most of the diverse sects and communities were among the crown’s subjects. “But when the decree to suppress the rites of other religious communities was introduced and the principle of investigating beliefs was established, the extensive dominions of Iran’s monarchs declined, and many provinces and vast territories passed out of her hands, until it reached the point that the great provinces of Turan, Assyria and Chaldea were lost. To cut the story short, even most of the princedoms of Khurasan withdrew from the territory of the government of Iran because of the repression of consciences and the partiality of judges. For in truth, this was the reason that the Afghans seized power, and the Turkoman tribes rebelled. But for this they would not have been separated from Iran in any age or century. “What need is there to repress helpless people, when the harm done is so evident? And if we were to implement the fatwa, none would be spared fetters and chains or the edge of the sword, for there are diverse peoples in Iran, in addition to this sect, such as the strict orthodox, the Shaykhis, the Sufis, the Alawites,46 and others. Each of these calls the others infidels and spreaders of corruption. Considering all this, where is the need for the government to suppress one or the other, or to harry minds and consciences, high and low?

46 Abduʾl-Bahā uses the term Nusayris, referring to the 9th-century founder of the Alawites, Mohammed ibn Nusayr, but they prefer to be known as Alawites.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫ّ‬ ‫ﰻ رﻋّﯿﺖ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﯽ و در ﻇّﻞ ﺣﲈﯾﺖ اتﺟﺪاری ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ ﻫﺮ ﮐﺲ ﲰﯿﻊ و ﻣﻄﯿﻊ ا ٓﺳﻮدﻩ و ﻣﺴﱰﱖ و ﻫﺮ‬ ‫ﮐﺲ ابﻏﯽ‪ 47‬و ﻃﺎﻏﯽ ﻣﺴـﺘﺤّﻖ ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ اﻋﲇ ﺣﴬت هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ‬ ‫ﻋﲆ اﳋﺼﻮص زﻣﺎن ﺑﳫّﯽ ﺗﻐﯿﲑ ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﺣﻘﺎﯾﻖ و اﻋﯿﺎن ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ اﯾﻦ ﮔﻮﻧﻪ اﻣﻮر در ﲨﯿﻊ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ‬ ‫ﻣﺎﻧﻊ ﳕّﻮ و ﺗﺮّﰵ و داﻋﯽ اﳓﻄﺎط و ﺗﺪّﱏ اﺳﺖ ﺗﺰﻟﺰل ﺷﺪﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺮ ارﰷن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﴍﻗﯿّﻪ واﻗﻊ ﰱ‬ ‫اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻋﻈﲓ و ﺧﻄﺐ ﺟﺴـﲓ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ و اﺻﻮل ﺗﻌّﺮﺿّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و دوﻟﱴ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻘّﺮ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺘﺶ در‬ ‫اﺗﻼﻧﺘﯿﮏ ابﻟﺘﯿﮏ در اﻗﴡ ﻗﻄﻌﻪء ﺷﲈﻟّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﺑﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻣﺴﺎوات ﺑﲔ رﻋﺎايی ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪ‪ 48‬و ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪ ﺣﻘﻮق‬ ‫ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻣﻠﻞ ﻣﺘﻨّﻮﻋﻪ در ﻗﻄﻌﺎت ﲬﺴﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﺴـﳣﻠﲀت ﺟﺴـﳰﻪ ﭘﯿﺪا ﳕﻮدﻩ ﺟﺰﯾﺮﻩء ﺻﻐﲑﻩء اﺗﻼﻧﺘﯿﮏ‬ ‫ﺷﲈﱃ ﮐﺠﺎ و ﻗﻄﻌﻪء ﺟﺴـﳰﻪء ﻫﻨﺪوﺳـﺘﺎن ﴍﰵ ﮐﺠﺎ ا ٓاي ﲜﺰ ﺗﺴﻮﯾﻪ ﺑﲔ اﻗﻮام و اﺣﺰاب ﺗﻮان اﺳﺘﯿﻼ‬ ‫ايﻓﺖ ابری ﺑﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﻋﺎدهلء ا ٓزادﮔﯽ وﺟﺪان و ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪ ﻣﻌﺎﻣهل و ﻣﺴﺎوات ﺑﲔ ﻣﻠﻞ و اﻗﻮام ﰱ‬ ‫اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻗﺮﯾﺐ رﺑﻊ ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﻩء ﻋﺎﱂ را در ﲢﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ ﮔﺮﻓﺘﻨﺪ و ﺑﻪ واﺳﻄﻪء اﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﺎدِی ا ٓزادی‬ ‫روز ﺑﻪ روز ﺑﺮ اﻗﺘﺪار و ﻗّﻮت و اﺗ ّﺴﺎع ﳑﻠﮑﺖ اﻓﺰودﻧﺪ و اﮐﱶ اﻗﻮام روی زﻣﲔ انم اﯾﻦ دوﻟﺖ را ﺑﻪ‬ ‫ﻋﺪاﻟﺖ ايد ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ﻋﺼﺒﯿ ّﺖ دﯾﻨﯿّﻪ و ﺗﺪﯾّﻦ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﳏﮏ و اﻣﺘﺤﺎﻧﺶ ﺛﺒﻮت و رﺳﻮخ در ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ و‬ ‫ﮐﲈﻻت اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎن اﺳﺖ و اّﻻ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﻪ ﻃﺮﯾﻖ اﯾﻦ و ا ٓن و ﻫﺪم ﺑﻨﯿﺎن و ﻗﻄﻊ‬ ‫ﻧﺴﻞ اﻧﺴﺎن ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ‬

‫‪47‬‬

‫‪ , evidently a mistake.‬ايﻏﯽ ‪The 2001 German edition (p. 96) has‬‬ ‫‪, lying; the Bombay edition p. 230 shows‬ﳐﺘﻠﻘﻪ ‪The Philo Press edition (p. 300) has‬‬ ‫‪, diverse or contending.‬ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪ‬ ‫‪48‬‬

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“All are subjects of the king, and are under the shade of the royal protection. Anyone who hears and obeys should be secure and undisturbed, while anyone who is rebellious and disobedient deserves to be punished by his Majesty the King. “Above all, the times have changed completely, and the essences and particularities have been transformed. In all countries, such things are a barrier to prosperity and progress, and invite decline and stagnation. In fact, the main cause, the primary factor, behind the severe earthquake that has shaken the pillars of oriental government is these laws and principles of repression. There is one state whose seat of government lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the furthest regions of the North. Thanks to the equality of its diverse subjects and the uniform civil rights of the various communities, its extensive colonies can be seen in the five continents of the globe. Compare this little island in the North Atlantic to the vast continent of India, in the East. Could the one dominate the other, without equality between the peoples and parties? As a result of just laws giving freedom of conscience, and uniform dealing and equality between all communities and peoples, they have extended their government over nearly a quarter of the world’s inhabited regions. By establishing liberty in this way, they have increased the strength, power and extent of their kingdom day by day, and most of the peoples on the face of the earth celebrate the name of this state for its justice. The touchstone and test of religious devotion and true piety is firmness and steadfastness in virtuous habits and perfections, which are the greatest blessings in the life of man. Devotion and piety are not evinced by suppressing the religious practices of certain people, demolishing buildings and dividing the human family.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫در ﻗﺮون وﺳﻄﯽ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺪاﯾﺘﺶ زﻣﺎن ﺳﻘﻮط اﻣﭙﺮاﻃﻮری روﻣﺎن و ﳖﺎﯾﺘﺶ ﻓﺘﻮح ﻗﺴﻄﻨﻄﻨّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﺑﺪﺳﺖ‬ ‫اﺳﻼم در ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اورپ ﺑﻪ ﺳﺒﺐ ﮐﱶت ﻧﻔﻮذ رؤﺳﺎء ﻣﺬاﻫﺐ ﺗﻌّﺼﺐ ﺷﺪﯾﺪ و ﺗﻌّﺮض ﻗﺮﯾﺐ و ﺑﻌﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﺷـﯿﻮع ايﻓﺖ ﰷر ﺑﻪ ﺟﺎﰃ رﺳـﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻧﺴﺎن ﺑﻪ ﳇّﯽ رو ﺑﻪ اﳖﺪام ﮔﺬاﺷﺖ و راﺣﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ‬ ‫رﺋﯿﺲ و ﻣﺮﺋﻮس و اﻣﲑ و ﻣﺎٔﻣﻮر در ﭘﺲ ﭘﺮدﻩء اﻧﻌﺪام ﻣﺘﻮاری ﮔﺸﺖ ﲨﯿﻊ اﺣﺰاب ﺷﺐ و روز اﺳﲑ‬ ‫ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺶ و اﺿﻄﺮاب ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﻣﺪﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺑﻪ ﳇّﯽ ﳐﺘّﻞ و ﺿﺒﻂ و رﺑﻂ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ همﻤﻞ و اﺻﻮل و اﺳﺎس ﺳﻌﺎدت‬ ‫ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﻣﻌّﻄﻞ و ارﰷن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺳﻼﻃﲔ ﻣﱱﻟﺰل ﻣﮕﺮ ﻧﻔﻮذ و اﻗﺘﺪار رؤﺳﺎ ٓء دﯾﻦ و رﻫﺎﺑﲔ در‬ ‫ﲨﯿﻊ اﻗﻄﺎع ﻣﳬّﻞ ﺑﻮد و ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ اﺧﺘﻼﻓﺎت و ﺗﻌّﺮﺿﺎت و ﺗﻌّﺼﺒﺎت را از ﻣﯿﺎن ﺑﺮ داﺷﺘﻨﺪ و ﺣﻘﻮق‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺎوات رﻋﺎاي و ﺣّﺮﯾ ّﺖ وﺟﺪان ﺑﺮااي اﻋﻼن ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ اﻧﻮار ﻋّﺰت و اﻗﺘﺪار از ا ٓﻓﺎق ا ٓن ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﻃﺎﻟﻊ و ﻻﰁ‬ ‫ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ ﺑﻪ ﻗﺴﻤﯽ ﮐﻪ ا ٓن ﳑﺎﻟﮏ در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﺗﺮّﰵ ﳕﻮدﻩ در ﺣﺎﻟﱴ ﮐﻪ اﻋﻈﻢ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ اروﭘﺎ اﺳﲑ و‬ ‫ذﻟﯿﻞ اﺻﻐﺮ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ ﺑﻮد ﺣﺎل دول ﻋﻈﳰﻪ ا ٓﺳـﯿﺎ ﻣﻘﺎوﻣﺖ دول ﺻﻐﲑﻩ اروﭘﺎ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﻨﺪ‬

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“In the middle ages, which begin with the fall of the Roman Empire and end with the Muslim conquest of Constantinople, the kingdoms of Europe experienced fierce intolerance and widespread persecution, due to the excessive influence of religious leaders. Things came to such a pass that the human edifice was tottering to its fall, and the peace and tranquility of the leader and the led, the commander and the commanded, withdrew behind the veil of annihilation. By day and by night, all the parties were captives of disquiet and dismay: civilization was completely corrupted, the binding and control of the kingdoms was neglected, the principles and foundations of happiness for human society were in abeyance, the pillars of monarchy were shaken, yet the influence and power of the leaders of religion and the religious orders were complete in all regions. But when they eliminated these distinctions, persecutions and bigotries, and proclaimed the equal rights of all subjects and the liberty of men’s consciences, the lights of glory and power arose and shone from the horizons of that kingdom, to such an extent that those countries progressed in every field. Where once the mightiest monarchy of Europe was a humble hostage to the least of Asia’s governments, now the great states of Asia are unable to oppose the small states of Europe.

‫از ﻣﻘﺎهل ﴯﴡ ﺳـّﯿﺎح ﮐﻪ در ﺗﻔﺼﯿﻞ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪء ابب ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ‬

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‫اﯾﻦ ﺑﺮاﻫﲔ ﺷﺎﰱ ﰷﰱ اﺳﺖ‪ 49‬ﮐﻪ وﺟﺪان اﻧﺴﺎﱏ ﻣﻘّﺪس و ﳏﱰم اﺳﺖ و ا ٓزادﮔﯽ ا ٓن ابﻋﺚ اﺗ ّﺴﺎع اﻓﲀر‬ ‫و ﺗﻌﺪﯾﻞ اﺧﻼق و ﲢﺴﲔ اﻃﻮار و اﮐﺘﺸﺎف اﴎار ﺧﻠﻘﺖ و ﻇﻬﻮر ﺣﻘﺎﯾﻖ ﻣﮑﻨﻮﻧﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻣﲀن اﺳﺖ و‬ ‫دﯾﮕﺮ ا ٓﻧﮑﻪ ﻣﺴـﺌﻮﻟّﯿﺖ وﺟﺪان ﮐﻪ از ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ دل و ﺟﺎن اﺳﺖ اﮔﺮ در اﯾﻦ هجﺎن واﻗﻊ ﮔﺮدد دﯾﮕﺮ‬ ‫ﭼﻪ ﮐﯿﻔﺮی از ﺑﺮای ﺑﴩ در روز ﺣﴩ اﮐﱪ در دﯾﻮان ﻋﺪل اﻟﻬـﯽ ابﰵ ﻣﺎﻧﺪ ﺿﲈﺋﺮ و اﻓﲀر در ﺣﯿﻄﻪء‬ ‫اﺣﺎﻃﻪء ﻣﺎﻟﮏ اﳌﻠﻮک اﺳﺖ ﻧﻪ ﻣﻠﻮک و ﺟﺎن و وﺟﺪان ﺑﲔ اﺻﺒﻌﯽ ﺗﻘﻠﯿﺐ رّب ﻗﻠﻮب اﺳﺖ ﻧﻪ ﳑﻠﻮک‬ ‫ﻟﻬﺬا دو ﻧﻔﺲ در ﻋﺎﱂ وﺟﻮد ﱒ اﻓﲀر در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ و ﻋﻘﺎﯾﺪ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﻧﻪ ﴿ اﻟّﻄﺮق اﱃ اّهلل ﺑﻌﺪد اﻧﻔﺎس‬ ‫اﳋﻼﺋﻖ ﴾ از ﺣﻘﺎﯾﻖ ﻣﻌﺎﱏ اﺳﺖ و ﴿ ﻟ ّ‬ ‫ﲁ ﺟﻌﻠﻨﺎ ﻣﻨﺴﲀً ﴾ از دﻗﺎﺋﻖ ﻗﺮا ٓﱏ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ّﳘﺖ ﻋﻈﳰﻪ و اوﻗﺎت ﻋﺰﯾﺰﻩ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺬل ﺗﻌّﺮض ﻃﺮاﺋﻖ ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ ﻣﯽ ﺷﻮد و ﺑﻪ ﻫﯿﭻ وﺟﻪ ﲦﺮﻩ و ﻧﺘﯿﺠﻪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﻧﻪ اﮔﺮ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ در ﺗﺸﯿﯿﺪ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﯽ و ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪ ﴎﯾﺮ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ و ﺗﻌﻤﲑ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﻣﻠﻮﰷﱏ و اﺣﯿﺎء‬ ‫رﻋﺎايء ﺷﻬﺮايری ﴏف ﺷﺪﻩ ﺑﻮد ات ﺣﺎل ﮐﺸﻮر ﺳﻠﻄﺎﱏ ﻣﻌﻤﻮر و ﮐﺸﱱار اﻫﺎﱃ از ﻓﯿﺾ ﻋﺪاﻟﺖ ﻇّﻞ‬ ‫اﻟﻠ ّﻬـﯽ ﻣﻐﻤﻮر و ابرﻗﻪ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ اﯾﺮان ﭼﻮن ﺻﺒﺢ ﺻﺎدق در ا ٓﻓﺎق ﮐﳱﺎن ﻣﺸﻬﻮدﻩ ﻣﺸﻬﻮر ﺑﻮد‬ ‫ابری اﯾﻦ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ و ﻣﻄﺎﻟﺐ را ﺑﻌﴣ اﺷﺨﺎص رواﯾﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬

‫‪. This is not‬اﯾﻦ ﺑﺮاﻫﲔ‬

‫‪49‬‬ ‫ﺑﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺷﺎﰱ ﰷﰱ اﺳﺖ ‪The 2001 German edition (p. 98) reads‬‬ ‫‪supported by the Bombay (p. 233) or Philo Press edition (p. 203).‬‬

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“These are effectual and sufficient proofs that the conscience of man is sacred and venerable, and that freedom of conscience encourages broader thinking, purer morals, better conduct and the discovery of the secrets of creation and revelation of the hidden mysteries of the contingent world. Moreover, if the conscience, which is one of the inherent properties of the heart and the soul, is interrogated in this world, what further requital remains for man in the court of divine justice on the day of Judgment? Minds and thoughts are within the bounds of the court of the King of kings, not of kings, and the soul and conscience revolve between the fingers of the Lord of hearts, not of the servants. Now then, no two people in the world of existence have the same thoughts in all fields and beliefs. “The ways to God are as numerous as the breaths of the creatures” is a mystic truth, and “We have assigned a rite to each community” is one of the subtleties of the Quran.50 “If the extraordinary efforts and precious time spent in persecuting other religious practices, with no fruit or effect, had been devoted to strengthening the foundations of the monarchy, reinforcing the throne, developing the territories of this dynasty, and revivifying the king’s subjects, the royal domain would by now be well developed, the seedbed of its inhabitants flooded by the flow of justice from the Shadow of God, and the lightening flash of the scepter of Iran would be as widely recognized as the true dawn on the horizons of the world.” In short, the discussion of these questions and ideas has been reported by a number of people.

50 The first quotation is a mystic aphorism, the second is part of Quran 22:67, but a word has been omitted: the verse reads “‫ ”ﻟﲁ اﻣﺔ ﺟﻌﻠﻨﺎ ﻣﻨﺴﲀ‬and has been translated in that form.

Translator’s Notes to Selections from A Traveller’s Narrative

p. xxx Redating A Traveller’s Narrative Abduʾl-Bahā comments in the text that “almost thirty-five years have passed, and from this community we have seen no opposition to the government.” Browne supposes this dates from August 15, 1852, the attempted assassination of Nāser al-Din Shah by a handful of Bābis, as this was the last occasion on which Bābis had opposed the government. Browne therefore dates the work in 1886. I think that late in 1889 is a more likely date of composition, since Abduʾl-Bahā actually says that thirty-five years have passed since Bahāʾuʾllāh returned from Kurdistan and began to teach the Bābi-Bahāʾi community “that their true and essential foundation was to reform the morals and improve the conduct of the human race. They had absolutely no attachment to the material world.” This is the crucial point at which Bahāʾuʾllāh clarifies his – and the Bāb’s – teachings on the separation of Church and State. From that time, there was no opposition to the government. Bahāʾuʾllāh returned from Kurdistan on March 19, 1856, or 12 Rajab 1272 AH. Therefore the composition of A Traveller’s Narrative would be dated in the first half of 1891, if solar years were intended, or late 1889 or early 1890, counting 35 lunar years. Since the uncorrected manuscript handed to Browne is dated January 10, 1890 and was given to him about April 15, 1890, the 1891 date is impossible. In any case, the use of lunar years is more likely since all dates in the text and in the copyists’ colophons are given in the Islamic lunar calendar. So the work must have been composed in late 1889 or early 1890. Another indication of the date of composition is the reference to the martyrdom of the Twin Shining Lights “ten or twelve years ago in Isfahan.” This refers to the deaths of Mohammad-Hasan, extolled by Bahāʾuʾllāh as the “King of Martyrs” and Mirzā Mohammad-Hosayn, known as “the Beloved of Martyrs” on 23 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1296. That would suggest that A Traveller’s Narrative was written in Rabi-ul-Awwal 1306 to 1308 (November 1888 to November 1890).

336

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Translator’s Notes to Selections from A Traveller’s Narrative

Abduʾl-Bahā cites a work by Bahāʾuʾllāh, partially translated in Gleanings CXXXII, beginning “The Purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, in revealing Himself unto men” which, according to Furutan in Stories of Bahāʾuʾllāh (85 and 108), was revealed in honour of Haji Mirza HaydarʿAli. He recounts a report from the memoirs of Haji Mohammad-Tāher-e Mālmiri (see note to p. 60) that he heard Bahāʾuʾllāh reciting this tablet on the day of the ‘Festival of Sacrifice,’ in 1878 or 1879. This tablet states: “For thirty years and more, in all that hath befallen this oppressed community they have been patient.” This too is incompatible with Browne’s supposition that the attempt on the life of the Shah was regarded as marking the end of the Bābi uprisings. Further, Abduʾl-Bahā says “For thirty years there has been no rumour of disturbance or rebellion, nor any sign of sedition.” This could relate to what was said previously about “a general proclamation of equal rights for all parties” which occurred “in other countries,” not in Iran. The general proclamation is probably the Ottoman reform edict of February 18, 1856 (1272 A.H.), which extended various reforms including freedom of worship to all Ottoman subjects, without distinction of class or religion. Thirty lunar years from that date gives us March 28, 1885, supporting Browne’s dating. But it seems more likely that this reference to thirty years begins a new paragraph, whose subject is the loyalty of the Bahāʾis in Iran to the King (Padeshah), and the government’s needless persecution of the Bahāʾis. p. 307 “The meaning of victory” The text by Bahāʾuʾllāh regarding ‘the meaning of victory’ that Abduʾl-Bahā quotes is also quoted by Bahāʾuʾllāh in his Tablet to the Shah of Iran, the Lawh-e Sultan. The latter is printed in (1); Alwah Nazleh Khatab beh Maluk wa Rusa-ye Ard (Iran, 126 Badiʿ (1970)) p. 162, (2) Lawh-e Mubarak-e Sultane Iran (edited and notes by Azizullah Sulaymani), BE (1976), p. 30, reprinted in India in 1984; and (3) Athar-e Qalam-e Aʿla (Foundation of Bahāʾi Studies, Dundas, Ontario, Canada, 1996) Vol. 1 p. 68. A translation of this tablet to an individual, which is embedded in the Tablet to the Shah, is published in The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, paragraph 210. However there are differences, and it is the Traveller’s Narrative version that is translated here. This version may stem from the first text, before Bahāʾuʾllāh incorporated it by self-citation into the Tablet to the Shah, or it may have been adapted from the Tablet to the Shah. In any case, Bahāʾuʾllāh was alive at the time, and he may be assumed to have approved the text.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬ The Art of Governance

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ُﻫﻮاّهلل‬ ‫ﺳـﺘﺎﯾﺶ و ﻧﯿﺎﯾﺶ ﭘﺎک ﯾﺰداﱏ را زسا ﮐﻪ ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﻨﺶ را ﺑﺮ ﻇﻬﻮر ﮐﲈﻻت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ ﳖﺎد ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻫﻮﯾ ّﺖ ﻏﯿﺐ ﺑﺸـﺌﻮن و ا ٓاثر و اﺣﲀم و اﻓﻌﺎل و اﻋﯿﺎن و اﴎار در ﻋﺮﺻﻪء ﺷﻬﻮد ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺮدد و اﻧﻮار‬ ‫ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﴿ ﮐﻨﺖ ﮐﲋًا ﳐﻔﯿًّﺎ ﻓﺎٔﺣﺒﺒﺖ ٔان ٔاﻋﺮف ﴾ از ﻣﻄﻠﻊ ﺻﺒﺢ ﻋﯿﺎن ﳕﺎاين ﺷﻮد‬ ‫و ﳏﺎﻣﺪ و ﻧﻌﻮت ﳇّّﯿﻪ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﺷﺎﺧﺼﻪء ﺑﺰرﮔﻮاری را ﻻﺋﻖ ﮐﻪ ﴰﺲ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ هجﺎن اﻟﻬـﯽ و ﻧّﲑ اﻋﻈﻢ‬ ‫ﴎ ﴿ ﳀﻠﻘﺖ‬ ‫ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ و ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﺳـﻨﻮﺣﺎت رﺣﲈﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﻣﻄﻠﻊ ا ٓاثر ابﻫﺮﻩ ﺣﴬت اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺘﺴﺖ و ﺑﻈﻬﻮرش ّ‬ ‫اﳋﻠﻖ ٔﻻﻋﺮف ﴾ در ﺣّﲒ ﺷﻬﻮد ﲢﻘّﻖ ايﻓﺖ و ﴿ ﺗﺮی أﻻرض ﻫﺎ ﻣﺪًة و ٕاذا ٔاﻧﺰﻟﻨﺎ ﻋﻠﳱﺎ اﳌﺎء اﻫّﱱت و‬ ‫رﺑﺖ و ٔاﻧﺒﺘﺖ ﻣﻦ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ زوجٍ ﲠﯿٍﺞ ﴾‬ ‫در اﯾﻦ اّايم و اوﻗﺎت ﭼﻮن ﺑﻌﴣ وﻗﺎﯾﻊ ﳐﺎﻟﻒ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﴍاﯾﻊ ﮐﻪ ﳐّﺮب ﺑﻨﯿﺎد اﻧﺴﺎﱏ و ﻫﺎدم ﺑﻨﯿﺎن رﺣﲈﻧﯿﺴﺖ‬ ‫از ﺑﻌﴣ انداانن و ﺑﯿﺨﺮدان و ﺷﻮرﺷـﯿﺎن و ﻓﺘﻨﻪ ﺟﻮاين ﴎزدﻩ دﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﲔ اﻟﻬـﯽ را ﲠﺎﻧﻪ ﳕﻮدﻩ وﻟﻮهلء‬ ‫ا ٓﺷﻮﰉ ﺑﺮ اﻧﮕﯿﺨﺘﻪ اﻫﻞ اﯾﺮان را در ﭘﯿﺶ اﱈ دﻧﯿﺎ از ﺑﯿﮕﺎﻧﻪ و ا ٓﺷـﻨﺎ رﺳﻮا ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬

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He is God.

[Preamble] All praise and thanksgiving be to God, who has made the appearance of the sacred perfections of the human realm the foundation of His creation, so that the unseen essence may be manifested on the plane of perception, in the form of ranks and signs, precepts and functions, characteristics and essences. Thus the rays of the reality of the saying, “I was a hidden treasure and desired to be known”1 may dawn on the horizon of the visible world. And all praise and glorification are due to that exalted reality of grandeur who is the sun of truth in the divine world, the most great luminary of the human realm, the seat of the manifestation of the Merciful, and the dawningplace for the signs shining from the presence of the One Being. Through his appearance, the secret of “I created the creation, so that I might be known” has been confirmed on the visible plane. You see the earth lifeless: when we let rain descend upon it, it stirs and swells, and produces plants from all the pairs, causing rejoicing.2

[The author’s purpose] In these days and times, certain events that are contrary to all religious law, things that destroy human institutions and undermine the divine edifice, have been brought about by some ignorant, foolish people and by rebels and those who love discord. They have taken God’s clear Faith as a pretext and have stirred up a seditious commotion. They have dishonoured the people of Iran in the eyes of the nations of the world, far and near.

1 A well-known hadith qudsi, an Islamic Tradition in which the words are supposed to be spoken by God. In B. Furuzānfar, Ahādith-i Mathnavi, Tehran, 1335 AH (1955), this is Tradition 70. The following citation (“I created the creation …” is part of the same Tradition. 2 Quran 22:5.

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‫ﺳـﺒﺤﺎن اّهلل دﻋﻮی ﺷـﺒﺎﱏ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﺻﻔﺖ ﮔﺮﮔﺎن داﻧرﺪ و ﻗﺮا ٓن ﺧﻮاﻧﻨﺪ و روش دﻧرﺪﮔﺎن ﺧﻮاﻫﻨﺪ ﺻﻮرت‬ ‫اﻧﺴﺎن داﻧرﺪ و ﺳﲑت ﺣﯿﻮان ﭘﺴـﻨﺪﻧﺪ ﴿و اذا ﻗﯿﻞ ﳍﻢ ﻻ ﺗﻔﺴﺪوا ﰱ الارض ﻗﺎﻟﻮا اﻧ ّﲈ ﳓﻦ ﻣﺼﻠﺤﻮن الا‬ ‫ا ّﳖﻢ ﱒ اﳌﻔﺴﺪون و ﻟﮑﻦ ﻻ ﯾﺸﻌﺮون﴾ ﻟﻬﺬا ﻻزم ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ ﶍﲆ در اّس اﺳﺎس ا ٓﺋﲔ ﯾﺰداﱏ ﺑﯿﺎﱏ رود و‬ ‫ﲜﻬﺖ ﻫﻮﺷـﯿﺎری و ﺑﯿﺪاری ايران ذﮐﺮی ﺷﻮد‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و واﲵﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ در ﻃﯿﻨﺖ و ﻓﻄﺮت ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﻮﺟﻮدات ﻗّﻮت و اﺳـﺘﻌﺪاد ﻇﻬﻮر دو ﻧﻮع‬ ‫ﮐﲈﻻت ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﯾﮑﯽ ﮐﲈﻻت ﻓﻄﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻦ دون واﺳﻄﻪ ﴏف اﳚﺎد اﻟﻬـﯽ اﺳﺖ و دﯾﮕﺮی ﮐﲈﻻت‬ ‫اﮐﺘﺴﺎﺑّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ در ﻇّﻞ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﻣﺮّﰉ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ اﺳﺖ در اﻋﯿﺎن ﺧﺎرﺟﻪ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ در اﴭﺎر و‬ ‫ازﻫﺎر و اﲦﺎر ﯾﮏ ﻃﺮاوت و ﻟﻄﺎﻓﺖ ﻓﻄﺮﯾ ّﻪ ﮐﻪ ﴏف ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد و دﯾﮕﺮی ﻧﻀﺎرت و‬ ‫ﺣﻼوت زاﯾﺪ اﻟﻮﺻﻒ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺑﱰﺑﯿﺖ ابﻏﺒﺎن ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ در ا ٓن ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﮔﺮ ﲝﺎل ﺧﻮد ﮔﺬاﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ﺷﻮد ﺟﻨﮕﻞ و ا ٓﺟﺎم ﮔﺮدد ﮔﻞ و ﺷﮑﻮﻓﻪ ﻧﮕﺸﺎﯾﺪ و ﲦﺮی ﻧﺒﺨﺸﺎﯾﺪ و ﺷﺎﯾﺴـﺘﻪ ﺳﻮﺧﱳ و اﻓﺮوﺧﱳ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫و ﻟﮑﻦ ﭼﻮن در ﻇّﻞ ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﻣﺮّﰉ در ا ٓﯾﺪ ﺑﺴـﺘﺎن و ﮔﻠﺴـﺘﺎن ﺷﻮد مچﻦ و ﮔﻠﺸﻦ ﮔﺮدد ازﻫﺎر‬ ‫و اﲦﺎر ﺑﺮون ا ٓرد و ﺑﮕﻞ و رايﺣﲔ روی زﻣﲔ ﺑﯿﺎراﯾﺪ ﲠﻤﭽﻨﲔ ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ و ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻪ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ‬ ‫ﻧﲒ اﮔﺮ ﲝﺎل ﺧﻮﯾﺶ ﺗﺮک ﺷﻮد ﭼﻮن ﺣﴩات ﳏﺸﻮر ﺷﻮد و در زﻣﺮﻩ ﲠﺎﰂ و ﺳـﺒﺎع ﻣﻌﺪود ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫دﻧرﺪﮔﯽ و ﺗﲒﭼﻨﮕﯽ و ﺧﻮﳔﻮارﮔﯽ ﺑﯿﺎﻣﻮزد و در ا ٓﺗﺶ ﺣﺮﻣﺎن و ﻃﻐﯿﺎن ﺑﺴﻮزد‬

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Gracious God! They claim to be shepherds, but have the characters of wolves; they recite the Quran, and wish to behave like wild animals. They have a human form, but they prefer the manners of beasts. “And when it is said to them, ‘Do no mischief on the earth’ they say, ‘We only want to make peace’ Truly, they are the ones who make mischief, but they do not realise it.”3 Therefore it has become necessary to briefly clarify the most basic fundamentals of the Faith of God, and to remind the friends to be alert and watchful.

[Our need for training] It is evident, and indisputable that, in their inherent disposition and natural created form, all created things possess the power and capacity to manifest two kinds of perfections. One is inborn perfections: these are solely the divine creation, without any intermediary. The other kind is acquired perfections, which are dependant on the education of a true Master. Consider the outward characteristics of things: the trees, flowers and fruits contain an inherent freshness and delicacy which is solely the gift of God. In addition to this, there is a vigour in growth and an indescribable sweetness of flavour that become evident through the attentions of a careful gardener. For, if left to itself, the garden would turn into jungle and undergrowth. The flowers and blossoms would not open, the tree would give no fruit and would be fit for burning. But when it comes under the training and care of a master, it becomes a garden, a rose-bower, or an orchard. Blossoms and fruit appear, and the face of the earth is adorned with flowers and fragrant herbs. It is the same with human societies and social structures: if left in their natural condition, people would swarm like vermin, and would be considered as beasts and predators. They would learn ferocity, cruelty and bloodthirstiness, and be consumed in the flames of rebellion and lawlessness.

3

Quran 2:11-12.

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‫ﻧﻮع اﻧﺴﺎن در دﺑﺴـﺘﺎن ا ٓﻓﺎق ﮐﻮدﰷن ﺳـﺒﻘﺨﻮاﻧﻨﺪ و از ﻋﻠﻞ ﻣﺰﻣﻨﻪ ﺳﻘﲓ و انﺗﻮان ﻫﯿﺎﰻ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ اﻧﺒﯿﺎ و‬ ‫اوﻟﯿﺎ ادﯾﺐ اﳒﻤﻦ رﺣﲈﻧﻨﺪ و ﻃﺒﯿﺐ ﺷﻔﺎﺧﺎﻧﻪء ﺣﴬت ﯾﺰدان ﺑﺸﲑ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺘﻨﺪ و ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻓﻠﮏ اﺛﲑ ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ‬ ‫ات ﺷﻌهل ﻧﻮراﱏ ﮐﲈل ﻣﻌﻨﻮی و ﺻﻮری ﮐﻪ در ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ زﺟﺎىج اﻧﺴﺎﱏ اﻓﴪدﻩ و ﶏﻮد اﺳﺖ ﺑﻨﺎر ﻣﻮﻗﺪﻩ‬ ‫اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺑﺮ اﻓﺮوزد و اﻣﺮاض ﻣﺰﻣﻨﻪ ﺑﻌﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﻓﯿﺾ رﺣﲈﱏ و روح ﻣﺴـﯿﺤﺎﰃ زاﺋﻞ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﭘﺲ ابﯾﻦ دﻟﯿﻞ ﺟﻠﯿﻞ ﺑﻮﺿﻮح ﭘﯿﻮﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﳒﻤﻦ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ را ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ و‪ 4‬ﻣﺮّﰉ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﻻزم و‬ ‫ﻧﻔﻮس ﺑﴩی را ﺿﺎﺑﻂ و راﺑﻂ و ﻣﺎﻧﻊ و رادع و ﻣﺸّﻮق و ﺳﺎﺋﻖ و‪ 5‬ﺟﺎذب واﺟﺐ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ابغ ا ٓﻓﺮﯾﻨﺶ‬ ‫ﺟﺰ ﺑﱰﺑﯿﺖ ابﻏﺒﺎن ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ و ﻓﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﺣﴬت اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ و ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ ﻋﺎدهل ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ا ٓراﯾﺶ و ﻟﻄﺎﻓﺖ و‬ ‫ﻓﯿﺾ و ﺑﺮﮐﺖ ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ‬ ‫و اﯾﻦ رادع و ﻣﺎﻧﻊ و اﯾﻦ ﺿﺎﺑﻂ و راﺑﻂ و اﯾﻦ ﻗﺎﺋﺪ و ﺳﺎﺋﻖ ﺑﺪو ﻗﺴﻢ ﻣﻨﻘﺴﻢ ﺣﺎﻓﻆ و رادع اّول ﻗّﻮﻩء‬ ‫ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺘﻌﻠ ّﻖ ﺑﻌﺎﱂ ﺟﺴﲈﱏ و ﻣﻮرث ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺧﺎرﺟﻪ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿﺴﺖ و ﺳﺒﺐ ﳏﺎﻓﻈﻪ ﺟﺎن‬ ‫و ﻣﺎل و انﻣﻮس ﺑﴩی و ﻋﻠ ّﺖ ﻋّﺰت و ﻋﻠّﻮ ﻣﻨﻘﺒﺖ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻧﻮع ﺟﻠﯿﻞ اﺳﺖ و ﻣﺮﮐﺰ رﺗﻖ و‬ ‫ﻓﺘﻖ اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮاء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ و ﳏﻮر داﺋﺮﻩ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ رّابﻧّﯿﻪ ﺧﴪوان ﻋﺎدل و اﻣﻨﺎی ﰷﻣﻞ و وزرای ﻋﺎﻗﻞ و‬ ‫ﴎان ﻟﺸﮑﺮ‪ 6‬ابﺳﻞ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ‬

‫‪4‬‬

‫‪ which is clear in the Bombay edition (page 5).‬و ‪The Tehran edition (page 6) omits‬‬ ‫‪ which is not in the Bombay edition but is required‬و ‪The Tehran edition adds this‬‬ ‫‪by the sense.‬‬ ‫‪6‬‬ ‫‪ , evidently a typesetting mistake.‬ﻟﺸﮕﺮ ‪The Tehran edition reads‬‬ ‫‪5‬‬

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Human beings are children, studying in the school of the world, but they fall ill and are enfeebled because of chronic defects. Those great and holy figures, the prophets and holy ones, are the professors in the academy of God and the healers in the hospital of the Lord. They are the heralds of grace, and suns in the highest sphere of guidance. Through them, the radiant flame of spiritual and outward perfection, that has cooled and died within the lamp of human reality, may be rekindled from the blazing fire of God.7 Chronic diseases are eliminated through the over-flowing grace of the All-Merciful and the messianic spirit. Thus it has been demonstrated with sublime proofs that human society requires the training and cultivation of a true master, and that human souls need a governor, one who binds and restrains, prohibits and encourages, one who stimulates, impels and inspires. For the garden of creation cannot attain beauty, delicacy and plenty except through the training of the kindly gardener, the grace of God, and the government’s just policies.

[Government and religion are two separate powers] Now this prohibition and prevention, rules and restraints, leading and impelling, is divided into two types. The first protector and restrainer is the political8 power that relates to the physical world, a power that provides for happiness in the external aspects of human existence. This esteemed type of leadership safeguards human life, property and honour, and the exalted quality and refined virtues of social life. Just monarchs, accomplished representatives, wise ministers, and intrepid military leaders constitute the executive centre in this political power, the axis of the wheel of these divine favours.

7

cf. Quran 104:6. Here and below, ‘politics’ has the connotation of the governance of a society, tribe or household, rather than the competition for power between various elements in society. 8

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‫و ﻣﺮّﰉ و ﺿﺎﺑﻂ اثﱏ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ ﻗّﻮﻩ ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪء روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و‪ 9‬ﮐﺘﺐ ﻣﲋهل ﺳﲈﺋّﯿﻪ و اﻧﺒﯿﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ و ﻧﻔﻮس‬ ‫رﺣﲈﱏ و ﻋﻠﲈی رّابﱏ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ همﺎﺑﻂ وىح و ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻊ اﻟﻬﺎم ﻣﺮّﰉ ﻗﻠﻮب و ارواﺣﻨﺪ و ﻣﻌّﺪل اﺧﻼق و‬ ‫‪10‬‬ ‫ﳏّﺴﻦ اﻃﻮار و ﻣﺸّﻮق اﺑﺮار ﯾﻌﲎ اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ ﭼﻮن ﻗﻮای روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪء ﻧﻔﻮس اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ را از ﺷﲈﻣﺖ‬ ‫اﺧﻼق رذﯾهل و ﻇﻠﻤﺖ ﺻﻔﺎت ﺧﺒﯿﺜﻪ و ﮐﺜﺎﻓﺖ ﻋﻮاﱂ ﮐﻮﻧّﯿﻪ ﳒﺎت دادﻩ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ را ابﻧﻮار ﻣﻨﻘﺒﺖ ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫اﻧﺴﺎﱏ و ﺷـﺌﻮن رﺣﲈﱏ و ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ و ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ ﻣﻠﮑﻮﰏ ﻣﻨّﻮر ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ ات ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﻧﻮراﻧّﯿﻪء ﴿ ﻓﺘﺒﺎرک ﷲ‬ ‫اﺣﺴﻦ اﳋﺎﻟﻘﲔ ﴾ و ﻣﻨﻘﺒﺖ ﴿ ﻟﻘﺪ ﺧﻠﻘﻨﺎ الاﻧﺴﺎن ﰱ اﺣﺴﻦ ﺗﻘﻮﱘ ﴾ در ﻫﻮﯾ ّﺖ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪء اﻧﺴﺎﱏ ﲢﻘّﻖ‬ ‫ايﺑﺪ اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ‪ 11‬ﺑﻔﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﺟﻠﯿهل اﯾﻦ ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻊ ا ٓايت اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ﺻﺎﻓﯿّﻪ ﻟﻄﯿﻔﻪ اﻧﺴﺎﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﺳـﻨﻮﺣﺎت‬ ‫ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ رﺣﲈﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫و ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﯾﻦ وﻇﺎﺋﻒ ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ ﺑﺮ اﻣﻮر روﺣﺎﱏ رﺣﲈﱏ و ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ وﺟﺪاﱏ اﺳﺖ ﺗﻌﻠ ّﻘﯽ ﺑﺸـﺌﻮن ﺟﺴﲈﱏ و‬ ‫اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ و ﺷـﺌﻮن دﻧﯿﻮی ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ ﺑﻠﮑﻪ ﻗﻮای ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻃّﯿﺒﻪ ﻃﺎﻫﺮﻩ در ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﺟﺎن و‬ ‫وﺟﺪان و ﻫﻮﯾ ّﺖ روح و دل انﻓﺬ اﺳﺖ ﻧﻪ ا ٓب و ﮔﻞ و راايت ا ٓايت اﯾﻦ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ‪ 12‬ﳎّﺮدﻩ در ﻓﻀﺎی‬ ‫ﺟﺎﻧﻔﺰای روﺣﺎﱏ ﻣﺮﺗﻔﻊ ﻧﻪ ﺧﺎﮐﺪان ﺗﺮاﰉ ﻣﺪﺧﲆ در اﻣﻮر ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و رﻋّﯿﺖ و ﺳﺎﺋﺲ و ﻣﺴﻮس ﻧﺪاﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫و ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ ﺑﻨﻔﺤﺎت ﻗﺪﺳـّﯿﻪ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ ﳐﺼﻮﺻﻨﺪ و ﺑﻔﯿﻮﺿﺎت ﻣﻌﻨﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﲳﺪاﻧّﯿﻪ ﻣﺎٔﻧﻮس ﻣﺪاﺧهل در اﻣﻮر ﺳﺎﺋﺮﻩ‬ ‫ﳔﻮاﻫﻨﺪ و ﲰﻨﺪ ّﳘﺖ را در ﻣﯿﺪان ﳖﻤﺖ و رايﺳﺖ ﻧﺮاﻧﻨﺪ‬

‫‪9‬‬ ‫‪ is written twice, at the bottom of page 6 and top of‬و ‪In the Bombay edition the‬‬ ‫‪page 7.‬‬ ‫‪10‬‬ ‫‪ (odours), but this is poorly written. The Tehran‬ﴰﺎٔﻣﺖ ‪The Bombay edition has‬‬ ‫‪ (evil fate, translated here as ‘curse’). The latter is more elegant,‬ﺷﺎٔﻣﺖ ‪edition (page 8) has‬‬ ‫‪and a similar usage appears later in this work, in the historical example from the Safavid‬‬ ‫‪” (the unfortunate outcome of that movement). This probably‬ﺷﺎٔﻣﺖ ا ٓن ﺣﺮﮐﺖ“ ‪period:‬‬ ‫‪correct amendment in the Tehran edition suggests that this edition may incorporate‬‬ ‫‪Abduʾl-Baha’s corrections to the Bombay edition (via a corrections sheet), just as the‬‬ ‫‪Cairo edition of The Secret of Divine Civilization incorporates what appear to be his own‬‬ ‫‪corrections to the Bombay edition of that book.‬‬ ‫‪11‬‬ ‫‪ here, which is‬ﮐﻪ ‪The electronic edition supplied by the Bahāʾi World Centre inserts‬‬ ‫‪not supported by the Bombay or Tehran editions (pages 7 and 9 respectively). The sense‬‬ ‫‪is not affected.‬‬ ‫‪12‬‬ ‫‪ : this is only a variation in orthography.‬ﺣﻘﺎﯾﻖ ‪ ; Tehran‬ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ ‪Bombay‬‬

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The second type of educator and governor of the human world is sacred and spiritual power: the heavenly Books that have been sent down, the prophets of God, and heavenly souls and devout divines. For those in whom revelation descends and divine inspiration arises are the educators of sentiments, ideas and convictions, the correctors of morals. They beautify conduct and encourage the righteous. That is, these holy souls are like a spiritual agency. Having delivered the human soul from the curse of an ignoble character, the darkness of wicked qualities, and the coarseness of the worlds of being, they illuminate the realities of human nature with the lights of the virtues of the human world, with divine distinctions and the virtues and excellencies of the Kingdom, so that the radiant reality of “Blessed be God, the best of creators,”13 and the virtue of “We have created man according to the best pattern”14 might be realised in the hallowed human person. Thus, through the glorious effulgences of these daysprings of the signs of God, the pure and subtle reality of humanity becomes a locus of divine powers. These sacred duties are rooted in spiritual, divine matters, and in ethical considerations. They have not been linked with material distinctions, political affairs or worldly honours. On the contrary, the sacred power of these pure and goodly persons is at work within the reality of the soul and conscience, in the inner heart and spirit, and not in water and clay. The ensigns of these essences of detachment are raised in the open spaces of the soul, where the spirit takes wing, not in this world of dust. They have never had any role to play in questions of the government and the governed, of ruling and being ruled. They are consecrated to the sweet savours of holiness, they are intimates of abiding transcendent grace. They do not seek any involvement in other matters, and they do not urge the steed of endeavour in the arena of leadership and ambition.

13 14

Quran 23:14. Quran 95:4.

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‫ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﺳﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ﳑﻠﮑﺖ و رﻋّﯿﺖ را ﻣﺮﺟﻊ ﳏﱰﻣﯿﺴﺖ و ﻣﺼﺪر ﻣﻌ ّﲔ و ﻫﺪاﯾﺖ و‬ ‫دايﻧﺖ و ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺖ و ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ و ﺗﺮوﱕ ﺧﺼﺎﺋﻞ و ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ اﻧﺴﺎﻧﯿ ّﺖ را ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﻣﻘّﺪﳻ و ﻣﻨﺒﻊ ﻣﺸّﺨﴡ اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﻧﻔﻮس ﺗﻌﻠ ّﻘﯽ ابﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻧﺪاﻧرﺪ و ﻣﺪاﺧهل ﳔﻮاﻫﻨﺪ‬ ‫اﯾﻨﺴﺖ در اﯾﻦ ﮐﻮر اﻋﻈﻢ و رﺷﺪ و ﺑﻠﻮغ ﻋﺎﱂ اﯾﻦ ﻣﺴـﺌهل ﭼﻮن ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻣﺮﺻﻮص در ﮐﺘﺎب اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻣﻨﺼﻮص‬ ‫اﺳﺖ و ابﯾﻦ ﻧّﺺ ﻗﺎﻃﻊ و ﺑﺮﻫﺎن ﻻﻣﻊ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ابﯾﺪ اواﻣﺮ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ را ﺧﺎﺿﻊ و ﺧﺎﺷﻊ و ﭘﺎﯾﻪ ﴎﯾﺮ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ‬ ‫را ﻣﻨﻘﺎد و ﻃﺎﺋﻊ ابﺷـﻨﺪ ﯾﻌﲎ در اﻃﺎﻋﺖ و ﻋﺒﻮدﯾ ّﺖ ﺷﻬﺮايران رﻋّﯿﺖ ﺻﺎدق و ﺑﻨﺪﻩ ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ابﺷـﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ در ﮐﺘﺎب ﻋﻬﺪ و اﳝﺎن و ﭘامين ابﰵ اﺑﺪی ﺟﲈل رﺣﲈﱏ ﮐﻪ اﻣﺮش ﻗﺎﻃﻊ و ﲾﺮش ﺳﺎﻃﻊ و ﺻﺒﺤﺶ‬ ‫ﺻﺎدق و ﻻﻣﻌﺴﺖ ﺑﻨّﺺ ﴏﱖ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ اﻣﺮ ﻣﻨﺼﻮص اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫﴿ اي اوﻟﯿﺎء ﷲ و اﻣﻨﺎﺋﻪ ﻣﻠﻮک ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻗﺪرت و ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻊ ﻋّﺰت و ﺛﺮوت ﺣﻘّﻨﺪ در ابرﻩ اﯾﺸﺎن دﻋﺎ ﮐﻨﯿﺪ‬ ‫ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ارض ﺑﺎ ٓن ﻧﻔﻮس ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﺷﺪ و ﻗﻠﻮب را از ﺑﺮای ﺧﻮد ﻣﻘّﺮر داﺷﺖ ﻧﺰاع و ﺟﺪال را ﳖـﯽ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﻣﻮد ﳖﯿًﺎ ﻋﻈاميً ﰱ اﻟﮑﺘﺎب ﻫﺬا اﻣﺮ ﷲ ﰱ ﻫﺬا اﻟّﻈﻬﻮر الاﻋﻈﻢ و ﻋﺼﻤﻪ ﻣﻦ ﺣﲂ اﶈﻮ و زﯾ ّﻨﻪ ﺑﻄﺮاز‬ ‫اﻻﺛﺒﺎت اﻧ ّﻪ ﻫﻮ اﻟﻌﻠﲓ اﳊﮑﲓ ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﺣﲂ و ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻊ اﻣﺮ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻄﺮاز ﻋﺪل و اﻧﺼﺎف ﻣﺰﯾ ّﻨﻨﺪ ﺑﺮ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ اﻋﺎﻧﺖ ا ٓن‬ ‫ﻧﻔﻮس ﻻزم ﴾‬

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For matters of policy and government, of the kingdom and of subjects have a specified source and a respected place to which they refer, while divine guidance, piety, understanding, edification and the promotion of the morals and virtues of humanity have a sacred centre and designated spring. These souls have nothing to do with political affairs, nor do they seek any involvement.

[The separation of religion and government in the Writings of Bahaʾuʾllāh] Now, in this most great cycle, when the world has reached the age of discretion and maturity, this matter has been made indisputable in the book of God: it is like a firm foundation. According to this incontrovertible text and this brilliant proof, all must be humble and submit to the commands of the government, all should be compliant and obedient before the throne of sovereignty. That is, in their obedience and servitude to rulers, they should be sincere subjects and willing servants. This is what the Beauty of God, whose decree is decisive, whose dawn is clear, and whose morn is true and shining, has explicitly commanded in the book of the covenant and the pledge, the eternal pact. The unambiguous command is this: O ye the loved ones and the trustees of God! Kings are the manifestations of the power, and the daysprings of the might and riches, of God. Pray ye on their behalf. He hath invested them with the rulership of the earth and hath singled out the hearts of men as His Own domain. Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden in His Book. This is a decree of God in this Most Great Revelation. It is divinely preserved from annulment and is invested by Him with the splendour of His confirmation. Verily He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. It is incumbent upon everyone to aid those daysprings of authority and sources of command who are adorned with the ornament of equity and justice.15

15 The citation is from Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Kitāb-i ʿAhd (The Book of the Covenant): the authorised translation quoted here is published in Tablets of Bahāʾuʾllāh 220-221.

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‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در رﺳﺎهل ﴏﳛﻪ ﮐﻪ ﳐﺎﻃﺒًﺎ ﺑﺒﻌﴣ از ﻋﻠﲈء ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﯾﮏ ﻓﻘﺮﻩ از ا ٓن رﺳﺎهل ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫﴿ ﺣﺎل ابﯾﺪ ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﺣﻔﻈﻪ اّهلل ﺗﻌﺎﱃ ﺑﻌﻨﺎﯾﺖ و ﺷﻔﻘﺖ اب اﯾﻦ ﺣﺰب رﻓﺘﺎر ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﻨﺪ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﻈﻠﻮم‬ ‫اﻣﺎم ﮐﻌﺒﻪء اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻋﻬﺪ ﻣﯿامنﯾﺪ از اﯾﻦ ﺣﺰب ﺟﺰ ﺻﺪاﻗﺖ و اﻣﺎﻧﺖ اﻣﺮی ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﻧﺸﻮد ﮐﻪ ﻣﻐﺎﯾﺮ رٔای‬ ‫هجﺎن ا ٓرای ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠﻄﺎﱏ ابﺷﺪ ﻫﺮ ﻣﻠ ّﱴ ابﯾﺪ ﻣﻘﺎم ﺳﻠﻄﺎﻧﺶ را ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و در ا ٓن ﺧﺎﺿﻊ ابﺷﺪ‬ ‫و ابﻣﺮش ﻋﺎﻣﻞ و ﲝﳬﺶ ﻣﳣّﺴﮏ ﺳﻼﻃﲔ ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻗﺪرت و رﻓﻌﺖ و ﻋﻈﻤﺖ اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻣﻈﻠﻮم اب اﺣﺪی ﻣﺪاﻫﻨﻪ ﻧﳮﻮدﻩ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ در اﯾﻦ ﻓﻘﺮﻩ ﺷﺎﻫﺪ و ﮔﻮاﻫﻨﺪ و ﻟﮑﻦ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪء ﺷـﺌﻮن ﺳﻼﻃﲔ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ ﻋﻨﺪ ﷲ ﺑﻮدﻩ و از ﳇﲈت اﻧﺒﯿﺎ و اوﻟﯿﺎ واﰣ و ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺧﺪﻣﺖ ﺣﴬت روح ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﻟّﺴﻼم ﻋﺮض‬ ‫ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﴿﴿ اي روح ﷲ ٔاﳚﻮز ٔان ﺗﻌﻄﯽ اﳉﺰﯾﺔ ﻟﻘﯿﴫ ٔام ﻻ ﴾﴾ ﻗﺎل ﴿﴿ ﺑﲆ ﻣﺎ ﻟﻘﯿﴫ ﻟﻘﯿﴫ و ﻣﺎ ﮧﻠﻟ‬ ‫ﮧﻠﻟ ﴾﴾ ﻣﻨﻊ ﻧﻔﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ دو ﳇﻤﻪ ﯾﮑﯿﺴﺖ ﻧﺰد ﻣﺘﺒّﴫﯾﻦ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﴿﴿ ﻣﺎ ﻟﻘﯿﴫ ﴾﴾ اﮔﺮ ﻣﻦ ﻋﻨﺪ ﷲ‬ ‫ﻧﺒﻮدﻩ ﳖـﯽ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در ا ٓﯾﻪء ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ ﴿﴿ اﻃﯿﻌﻮا ﷲ و اﻃﯿﻌﻮا اﻟّﺮﺳﻮل و اوﱃ الاﻣﺮ ﻣﻨﲂ‬ ‫﴾﴾ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد ازاﯾﻦ اوﱃ الاﻣﺮ در ﻣﻘﺎم اّول و رﺗﺒﻪء اوﱃ اﲚ ّﻪ ﺻﻠﻮات ﷲ ﻋﻠﳱﻢ ﺑﻮدﻩ و ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ اﯾﺸﺎﻧﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﻗﺪرت و ﻣﺼﺎدر اﻣﺮ و ﳐﺎزن ﻋﲅ و ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻊ ﺣﲂ اﻟﻬـﯽ‬

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The same is found in an explicit treatise that he addressed to one of the religious leaders. One choice citation from that blessed treatise is this: “It is now incumbent upon His Majesty the Shah – may God, exalted be He, protect him – to deal with this people with loving-kindness and mercy. This Wronged One pledgeth Himself, before the Divine Kaaba, that, apart from truthfulness and trustworthiness, this people will show forth nothing that can in any way conflict with the world-adorning views of His Majesty. Every nation must have a high regard for the position of its sovereign, must be submissive unto him, must carry out his behests, and hold fast his authority. The sovereigns of the earth have been and are the manifestations of the power, the grandeur and the majesty of God. This Wronged One hath at no time dealt deceitfully with anyone. Every one is well aware of this, and beareth witness unto it. Regard for the rank of sovereigns is divinely ordained, as is clearly attested by the words of the Prophets of God and His chosen ones. He Who is the Spirit (Jesus) – may peace be upon Him – was asked: “O Spirit of God! Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?” And He made reply: “Yea, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”16 He forbade it not. These two sayings are, in the estimation of men of insight, one and the same, for if that which belonged to Caesar had not come from God, He would have forbidden it. And likewise in the sacred verse: “Obey God and obey the Apostle, and those among you invested with authority.”17 By “those invested with authority” is meant primarily and more especially the Imāms – the blessings of God rest upon them! They, verily, are the manifestations of the power of God, and the sources of His authority, and the repositories of His knowledge, and the daysprings of His commandments.

16 17

See Matt 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26. Quran, 4:59.

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‫و در رﺗﺒﻪء اثﱏ و ﻣﻘﺎم اثﱏ ﻣﻠﻮک و ﺳﻼ ﻃﲔ ﺑﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﯾﻌﲎ ﻣﻠﻮﰽ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻨﻮر ﻋﺪﻟﺸﺎن ا ٓﻓﺎق ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﻨّﻮر و‬ ‫روﺷﻦ اﺳﺖ اﻣﯿﺪ ا ٓن ﮐﻪ از ﺣﴬت ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﻧﻮر ﻋﺪﱃ اﴍاق ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﲨﯿﻊ اﺣﺰاب اﱈ را اﺣﺎﻃﻪ ﮐﻨﺪ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ابﯾﺪ از ﺣّﻖ از ﺑﺮاﯾﺶ ﺑﻄﻠﺒﻨﺪ ا ٓچنﻪ را ﮐﻪ اﻟﯿﻮم زساوار اﺳﺖ‬ ‫اﻟﻬـﯽ اﻟﻬـﯽ و ﺳـّﯿﺪی و ﺳـﻨﺪی و ﻣﻘﺼﻮدی و ﳏﺒﻮﰉ اﺳـﺌﻠﮏ ابﻻﴎار اﻟ ّﱴ ﰷﻧﺖ ﻣﮑﻨﻮﻧًﺔ ﰱ ﻋﻠﻤﮏ و‬ ‫ابﻻايت اﻟ ّﱴ ﻣﳯﺎ ﺗﻀّﻮع ﻋﺮف ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺘﮏ و ابﻣﻮاج ﲝﺮ ﻋﻄﺎﺋﮏ و ﺳﲈء ﻓﻀﻠﮏ و ﮐﺮﻣﮏ و ابّدلﻣﺎء اﻟ ّﱴ‬ ‫ﺳﻔﮑﺖ ﰱ ﺳﺒﯿﻠﮏ و ابﻻﮐﺒﺎد اﻟ ّﱴ ذاﺑﺖ ﰱ ﺣﺒّﮏ ٔان ﺗﺆﯾ ّﺪ ﺣﴬت اﻟّﺴﻠﻄﺎن ﺑﻘﺪرﺗﮏ و ﺳﻠﻄﺎﻧﮏ‬ ‫ﻟﯿﻈﻬﺮ ﻣﻨﻪ ﻣﺎ ﯾﮑﻮن ابﻗﯿًﺎ ﰱ ﮐﺘﺒﮏ و ﲱﻔﮏ و اﻟﻮاﺣﮏ ٔای رِّب ﺧﺬ ﯾﺪﻩ ﺑﯿﺪ اﻗﺘﺪارک و ﻧﻮرﻩ ﺑﻨﻮر‬ ‫ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺘﮏ و زﯾ ّﻨﻪ ﺑﻄﺮاز اﺧﻼﻗﮏ اﻧّﮏ اﻧﺖ اﳌﻘﺘﺪر ﻋﲆ ﻣﺎ ﺗﺸﺎء و ﰱ ﻗﺒﻀﺘﮏ زﻣﺎم الاﺷـﯿﺎء ﻻ اهل اّﻻ‬ ‫اﻧﺖ اﻟﻐﻔﻮر اﻟﮑﺮﱘ‬ ‫ﺣﴬت ﺑﻮﻟﺲ ﻗّﺪﯾﺲ در رﺳﺎهل ابﻫﻞ روﻣﯿّﻪ ﻧﻮﺷـﺘﻪ‬ ‫﴿﴿ ﻟﺘﺨﻀﻊ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﻧﻔﺲ ﻟﻠّﺴﻼﻃﲔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﯿﺔ ﻓﺎﻧ ّﻪ ﻻ ﺳﻠﻄﺎن اّﻻ ﻣﻦ ﷲ و اﻟّﺴﻼﻃﲔ اﻟﲀﺋﻨﺔ اﻧ ّﲈ رﺗّﳢﺎ ﷲ ﳁﻦ‬ ‫ﯾﻘﺎوم‪ 18‬اﻟّﺴﻠﻄﺎن ﻓﺎﻧ ّﻪ ﯾﻌﺎﻧﺪ ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ ﷲ ﴾﴾ اﱃ ان ﻗﺎل ﴿﴿ ﻻﻧ ّﻪ ﺧﺎدم ﷲ اﳌﻨﺘﻘﻢ اّذلی ﯾﻨﻔّﺬ اﻟﻐﻀﺐ ﻋﲆ‬ ‫ﴩ ﴾﴾ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﻇﻬﻮر ﺳﻼﻃﲔ و ﺷﻮﮐﺖ و اﻗﺘﺪارﺷﺎن ﻣﻦ ﻋﻨﺪ ﷲ ﺑﻮدﻩ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ ﯾﻔﻌﻞ اﻟ ّ ّ‬

‫‪18‬‬ ‫‪ , a typesetting error. See p. 12 in the Bombay‬ﯾﻘﺎدم ‪The Tehran edition (p. 16) has‬‬ ‫‪edition.‬‬

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“Secondarily these words refer unto the kings and rulers – those through the brightness of whose justice the horizons of the world are resplendent and luminous. We fain would hope that His Majesty the Shah will shine forth with a light of justice whose radiance will envelop all the kindreds of the earth. It is incumbent upon every one to beseech the one true God on his behalf for that which is meet and seemly in this day. “O God, my God, and my Master, and my Mainstay, and my Desire, and my Beloved! I ask Thee by the mysteries which were hid in Thy knowledge, and by the signs which have diffused the fragrance of Thy loving-kindness, and by the billows of the ocean of Thy bounty, and by the heaven of Thy grace and generosity, and by the blood spilt in Thy path, and by the hearts consumed in their love for Thee, to assist His Majesty the Shah with Thy power and Thy sovereignty, that from him may be manifested that which will everlastingly endure in Thy Books, and Thy Scriptures, and Thy Tablets. Hold Thou his hand, O my Lord, with the hand of Thine omnipotence, and illuminate him with the light of Thy knowledge, and adorn him with the adornment of Thy virtues. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee, and in Thy grasp are the reins of all created things. No God is there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bounteous. “In the Epistle to the Romans Saint Paul hath written: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God.” And further: “For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”19 He saith that the appearance of the kings, and their majesty and power are of God.

19

See Romans 13:1-7.

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‫در اﺣﺎدﯾﺚ ﻗﺒﻞ ﱒ ذﮐﺮ ﺷﺪﻩ ا ٓچنﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﻠﲈ دﯾﺪﻩ و ﺷﻨﯿﺪﻩاﻧﺪ ﻧﺴـﺌﻞ ﷲ ﺗﺒﺎرک و ﺗﻌﺎﱃ ٔان ﯾﺆﯾ ّﺪک اي‬ ‫ﺷـﯿﺦ ﻋﲆ اﻟﺘّﻤّﺴﮏ ﲟﺎ ﻧّﺰل ﻣﻦ ﺳﲈء ﻋﻄﺎء ﷲ رّب اﻟﻌﺎﳌﲔ ﴾‬ ‫ﭘﺲ ای اﺣﺒّﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ ﲜﺎن و دل ﺑﮑﻮﺷـﯿﺪ و ﺑﻪ ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺧﺎﻟﺼﻪ و ارادﻩ ﺻﺎدﻗﻪ در ﺧﲑﺧﻮاﻫﯽ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و‬ ‫اﻃﺎﻋﺖ دوﻟﺖ ﯾﺪ ﺑﯿﻀﺎ ﺑامنﺋﯿﺪ اﯾﻦ اﻣﺮ اّﱒ از ﻓﺮاﺋﺾ دﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﲔ و ﻧﺼﻮص ﻗﺎﻃﻌﻪ ﮐﺘﺎب ﻋﻠ ّّﯿﲔ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ابﻟّﻄﺒﻊ راﺣﺖ و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ رﻋّﯿﺖ ﺧﻮاﻫﺪ و ﻧﻌﻤﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت اﻫﺎﱃ ﺟﻮﯾﺪ‬ ‫و در ﺣﻔﻆ ﺣﻘﻮق ﻋﺎدهل ﺗﺒﻌﻪ و زﯾﺮدﺳـﺘﺎن راﻏﺐ و ﻣﺎﺋﻞ و در دﻓﻊ ﴍور ﻣﺘﻌّﺪاين ﺳﺎﻋﯽ و ﺻﺎﺋﻞ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ زﯾﺮا ﻋّﺰت و ﺛﺮوت رﻋّﯿﺖ ﺷﻮﮐﺖ و ﻋﻈﻤﺖ و ﻗّﻮت ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩ و دوﻟﺖ ﻗﺎﻫﺮﻩ اﺳﺖ و‬ ‫ﳒﺎح و ﻓﻼح اﻫﺎﱃ ﻣﻨﻈﻮر ﻧﻈﺮ اﻋﻠﯿﺤﴬت ﺷﻬﺮايراﻧﺴﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﻗﻀّﯿﻪ اﻣﺮ ﻓﻄﺮی اﺳﺖ‬ ‫و اﮔﺮ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﻓﺘﻮری در راﺣﺖ اﻫﺎﱃ و ﻗﺼﻮری در ﻧﻌﻤﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت اﻋﺎﱃ و اداﱏ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮔﺮدد اﯾﻦ‬ ‫از ﻋﺪم ﮐﻔﺎﯾﺖ ﭘﯿﺸﲀران و ﺷّﺪت ﺳﻮرت و هجﺎﻟﺖ ﺑﺪﺧﻮاﻫﺎﱏ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻠﺒﺎس ﻋﲅ ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و در ﻓﻨﻮن‬ ‫هجﻞ ﻣﺎﻫﺮ و ﳏّﺮک ﻓﺘﻨﻪ در اّول و ا ٓﺧﻧﺮﺪ ﴿ اﻟﻔﺘﻨﺔ ﰷﻧﺖ انﲚﺔ ﻟﻌﻦ ﷲ ﻣﻦ اﯾﻘﻈﻬﺎ ﴾‬

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“Moreover, in the traditions of old, references have been made which the divines have seen and heard. We beseech God – blessed and glorified be He – to aid thee, O Shaykh, to lay fast hold on that which hath been sent down from the heaven of the bounty of God, the Lord of the worlds.”20

[Obedience to the state] Therefore, O Beloved of the Lord, strive with heart and soul. Produce an indisputable sign through pure motives and sincerity, in wishing the government well, and in obedience to the state. This command is the most important of duties in the manifest religion and the decisive texts of the Heavenly Book. † It is evident that the government, by nature, desires the security and ease of the subjects, and seeks the prosperity and happiness of the population. It is ready and willing to safeguard the just rights of the citizens and of subjects, it attempts by every means to repel the wicked intruder. For the honour and prosperity of the subjects is the majesty, grandeur and power of the glorious crown and the triumphant state, the success and happiness of the population is the object of the attention of their royal highnesses. This is so, according to the nature of things. When, on the contrary, one sees a decline in the security of the population or shortcomings in the prosperity and well-being of people high and low, the cause is a lack of ability on the part of functionaries, or the extreme despotism and barbarity of ill-willed people, who appear in the robes of learning and are experts in the arts of ignorance, and from first to last are instigators of disorder. “Disorder was sleeping, may God curse the one who woke it.”

20 Abduʾl-Bahā cites Bahāʾuʾllāh’s Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 89–91 (Bahāʾi Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1988).

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‫اﯾﻦ ﲨﻊ ﺑﯿﺨﺮدان ﯾﻌﲎ ﭘﯿﺸﻮااين ﭘﻨﺠﺎﻩ ﺳﺎﻟﺴﺖ در ﻣﻌﺎﺑﺮ و ﻣﻨﺎﺑﺮ و ﳎﺎﻟﺲ و ﳏﺎﻓﻞ در ﺣﻀﻮر اوﻟﯿﺎء‬ ‫اﻣﻮر ﻧﺴﺒﺖ ابﯾﻦ ﺣﺰب ﻣﻈﻠﻮم ﲥﻤﺖ ﻓﺴﺎد ﻣﯿﺪادﻧﺪ و ﻧﺴﺒﺖ ﻋﻨﺎد روا داﺷﺘﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﺣﺰب ﳐّﺮب‬ ‫ﴬت ﻋﲆ الاﻃﻼق ﻋََﲅ‪ 21‬ﻋﺼﯿﺎﻧﻨﺪ و راﯾﺖ ﻃﻐﯿﺎن‬ ‫ﻋﺎﳌﻨﺪ و ﻣﻔﺴﺪ اﺧﻼق ﺑﲎ ا ٓدم ﻓﺘﻨﻪء ا ٓﻓﺎﻗﻨﺪ و ﻣ ّ‬ ‫دﴰﻦ دﯾﻦ و دوﻟﺘﻨﺪ و ﻋﺪّو ﺟﺎن رﻋّﯿﺖ ﻣﻘﺘﻀﺎی ﻋﺪل اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻇﻬﻮر و وﺿﻮح ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﻫﺮ ﺣﺰب و ﮔﺮوﻩ‬ ‫ﺑﻮدﻩ ات در اﳒﻤﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ ﻣﺼﻠﺢ ﮐﯿﺴﺖ و ﻣﻔﺴﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻓﺘﻨﻪ ﺟﻮاين ﭼﻪ ﻗﻮﻣﻨﺪ و‬ ‫ﻣﻔﺴﺪان ﮐﺪام ﮔﺮوﻩ و ﴿ اّهلل ﯾﻌﲅ اﳌﻔﺴﺪ ﻣﻦ اﳌﺼﻠﺢ ﴾‬ ‫ﺧﻮش ﺑﻮد ﮔﺮ‪ 22‬ﳏﮏ ﲡﺮﺑﻪ ا ٓﯾﺪ ﲟﯿﺎن ات ﺳـﯿﻪ روی ﺷﻮد ا ٓن ﮐﻪ در او ﻏﺶ ابﺷﺪ‬ ‫ﺣﺎل ای اﺣﺒّﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ ﺑﺸﮑﺮاﻧﻪ اﻟﻄﺎف رّابﱏ ﭘﺮدازﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﺎدل ﺣﻘﯿﻘﯽ ﭘﺮدﻩ از روی ﰷر ﻫﺮ ﻓﺮﻗﻪ ﺑﺮاﻧﺪاﺧﺖ‬ ‫و اﴎار ﻣﮑﻨﻮﻧﻪ ﻧﻔﻮس ﭼﻮن ﮐﻮﮐﺐ ابﻫﺮ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و ﻇﺎﻫﺮ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ ﲪﺪًا هل ّﰒ ﺷﮑﺮًا هل‬

‫‪21‬‬

‫‪The vocalisation is given in the Bombay edition, page 14.‬‬ ‫‪ is a poetic contraction‬ﮔﺮ ‪, a typesetting error.‬ﮐﺮﳏﮏ ‪The Tehran edition (page 19) has‬‬ ‫‪ .‬اﮔﺮ ‪of‬‬ ‫‪22‬‬

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For fifty years, in the streets and from pulpits, and in councils and gatherings in the presence of those in authority, this gaggle of imbeciles – that is, the clerical leaders – has been accusing this oppressed community of rebellion. They go so far as to falsely accuse them of revolt. They say, “This community are destroyers of the world, they are debasing the morals of the children of Adam. they entice the regions to be disloyal, they are pernicious in every respect. They are the flag of rebellion, and the standard of insurgency, Adversaries to religion and government, and enemies of the souls of the subjects.”

But God’s justice demands that the truth about every community and group should become manifest and clear, so that it may be evident in the councils of the world who acts in the best interests of the people, and who is the corrupter. Who is stirring up sedition, and which group are the mischief makers? “God distinguishes the corruptor from the one who acts in the best interests of the people.”23 How good it would be if a touchstone were found that would blacken the face of every dissembler.24

Now, O beloved of the Lord, give thanks for His bounties, because the true Just One has lifted the veil from the activities of every religious group, and the hidden secrets of souls have become as manifest as the gleaming star. Praise be to God! and again, thanks be to God!

23

Quran 2:220. From a ghazal by Hafez concerning a hypocritical Sufi. ‘Black-faced’ is an idiom for infamy. The ghazal begins Nāqd-e sufī na hame sāfī bāshad. 24

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‫و ﺣﺎل ا ٓن ﮐﻪ وﻇﯿﻔﻪ ﻋﻠﲈء و ﻓﺮﯾﻀﻪ ﻓﻘﻬﺎ ﻣﻮاﻇﺒﺖ اﻣﻮر روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ و ﺗﺮوﱕ ﺷـﺌﻮن رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﻫﺮ‬ ‫وﻗﺖ ﻋﻠﲈی دﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﲔ و ارﰷن ﴍع ﻣﺘﲔ در ﻋﺎﱂ ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻣﺪﺧﲆ ﺟﺴﺘﻨﺪ و راﰃ زدﻧﺪ و ﺗﺪﺑﲑی ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺗﺸـﺘﯿﺖ ﴰﻞ ﻣﻮّﺣﺪﯾﻦ ﺷﺪ و ﺗﻔﺮﯾﻖ ﲨﻊ ﻣﺆﻣﻨﲔ ﮔﺸﺖ انﺋﺮﻩء ﻓﺴﺎد ﺑﺮاﻓﺮوﺧﺖ و ﻧﲑان ﻋﻨﺎد هجﺎﱏ را‬ ‫ﺑﺴﻮﺧﺖ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ اتراج و اتﻻن ﺷﺪ و رﻋّﯿﺖ اﺳﲑ و دﺳـﺘﮕﲑ ﻋﻮاانن‬ ‫در اواﺧﺮ ﻣﻠﻮک ﺻﻔﻮﯾ ّﻪ ﻋﻠﳱﻢ اﻟّﺮﲪﺔ ﻣﻦ رّب اﻟﱪﯾ ّﺔ ﻋﻠﲈء در اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ اﯾﺮان ﻧﻔﻮذی ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ و‬ ‫ﴬت‬ ‫ﻋﻠﻤﯽ اﻓﺮاﺧﺘﻨﺪ و ﺗﺪﺑﲑی ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻨﺪ و راﻫﯽ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و دری ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺷﺎٔﻣﺖ ا ٓن ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﻣﻮرث ﻣ ّ‬ ‫و ﻣﻨﺘّﺞ ﻫﻼﮐﺖ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ﳏﺮوﺳﻪ ﺟﻮﻻﻧﮕﺎﻩ ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ ﺗﺮﮐﲈن ﮔﺸﺖ و ﻣﯿﺪان ﻏﺎرت و اﺳﺘﯿﻼء اﻓﻐﺎن‬ ‫ﺧﺎک ﻣﺒﺎرک اﯾﺮان ﻣﺴّﺨﺮ اﱈ ﳎﺎورﻩ ﮔﺮدﯾﺪ و اﻗﻠﲓ ﺟﻠﯿﻞ در دﺳﺖ ﺑﯿﮕﺎﻧﻪ اﻓﺘﺎد ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻗﺎﻫﺮﻩ ﻣﻌﺪوم‬ ‫ﺷﺪ و دوﻟﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩ ﻣﻔﻘﻮد ﮔﺸﺖ ﻇﺎﳌﺎن دﺳﺖ ﺗﻄﺎول ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺑﺪﺧﻮاﻫﺎن ﻗﺼﺪ ﻣﺎل و انﻣﻮس و‬ ‫ﺟﺎن ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﻘﺘﻮل ﮔﺸﺖ و اﻣﻮال ﻣﳯﻮب ﺑﺰرﮔﺎن ﻣﻐﻀﻮب ﺷﺪﻧﺪ و اﻣﻼک ﻣﻐﺼﻮب ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﻩء‬ ‫اﯾﺮان وﯾﺮان ﺷﺪ و دﳞﲓ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ ﻣﻘّﺮ و ﴎﯾﺮ دﯾﻮان‬

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[Religious leaders should not interfere in government: the Safavid example] The fact is, the functions of the divines and the duties of experts in religious law are to keep watch over spiritual matters and to spread abroad the virtues of the Merciful. Whenever the leaders of the manifest religion, the pillars of the inviolable religious law, have sought a role in the political sphere, have devised their schemes and plans, the unity of the believers in the one true God has been shattered, and schisms have encompassed the community of the faithful. The flames of sedition flare up, the fires of hatred consume the world. The country is plundered and pillaged, the people are captives, subject to oppressors.

At the time of the last Safavid kings25 (may the Lord of Creation have mercy on them), the divines sought to influence policies in Iran. They raised a banner and devised a plan, they showed the way and opened the door. The unfortunate outcome of that movement was the occasion of harm and led to perdition. The land of Iran became a jousting field for Turkoman tribes, the arena for Afghan pillage and conquest. The blessed soil of Iran was exploited by neighbouring peoples, the lands of glory were fallen into the hands of strangers. The triumphant state was brought to naught, a brilliant dynasty ceased to exist. Oppressors extended their tyrannous hands, malevolent people plotted, against property, honour and life itself. People were killed, properties plundered; great men were seized by force, and great estates were stolen. The cultivated lands of Persia were laid to waste: demons reclined on the throne of the kings. 25

The Safavid period extends from 1501 to 1722. Under Sultān-Hosayn (r. 1694– 1722) the Shiah divines, led by Majlisi the younger (Mohammad Bāqir Majlisi) had an unprecedented role in public life. They were able to enlist state support for action against Sunnis, Sufis and other religious minorities. One history writes that “the repression he [Majlisi] instituted can be counted as an important cause of the Afghan invasion and the overthrow of the Safavid dynasty.” (S.A. Arjomand, The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam 191)

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‫زﻣﺎم ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ در دﺳﺖ دﻧرﺪﮔﺎن اﻓﺘﺎد و ﺧﺎﻧﺪان ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ در زﯾﺮ زﳒﲑ و ﴰﺸﲑ ﺧﻮﳔﻮاران ﭘﺮدﻩ‬ ‫ﻧﺸﯿﻨﺎن اﺳﲑ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ و ﮐﻮدﰷن دﺳـﺘﮕﲑ اﯾﻦ ﲦﺮﻩء ﻣﺪاﺧهل ﻋﻠﲈی دﯾﻦ و ﻓﻀﻼی ﴍع ﻣﺘﲔ در اﻣﻮر‬ ‫ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﺷﺪ‬ ‫و ﻧﻮﺑﺖ دﯾﮕﺮ ﻋﻠﲈء اّﻣﺖ در ﺑﺪاﯾﺖ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﻋﻠﯿﺤﴬت ا ٓﻗﺎ ﶊ ّﺪ ﺧﺎن در اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻃﺮىح اتزﻩ‬ ‫رﳜﺘﻨﺪ و ﺑﺮ ﻓﺮق اﯾﺮاﻧﯿﺎن ﺧﺎک ﻣﺬﻟ ّﺖ ﺑﯿﺨﺘﻨﺪ در ﺗﻌﯿﲔ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ راﰃ زدﻧﺪ و در ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺶ اذﻫﺎن ﻧﻐﻤﻪ‬ ‫و ﻧﻮاﰃ ﺑﻨﻮاﺧﺘﻨﺪ ﻋﺮﺑﺪﻩ و ﺿﻮﺿﺎﰃ اﻧﺪاﺧﺘﻨﺪ و ﻋَﲅ‪ 26‬اﺧﺘﻼﰱ ﺑﺮاﻓﺮاﺧﺘﻨﺪ ﻃﻮﻓﺎن ﻃﻐﯿﺎن ﺑﺮ ﺧﺎﺳﺖ و‬ ‫ﺳـﺒﻞ ﻓﺘﻨﻪ و ا ٓﺷﻮب ﻣﺴـﺘﻮﱃ ﺷﺪ ﻫﺮج و ﻣﺮج ﺷﺪﯾﺪ رخ ﳕﻮد و ﻣﻮج ﻋﺼﯿﺎن اوج ا ٓﺳﲈن ﮔﺮﻓﺖ ﴎان‬ ‫ﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ ﴎ ﴎوری‪ 27‬اﻓﺮاﺷﺘﻨﺪ و ﲣﻢ ﺧﺼﻮﻣﺖ در ﮐﺸﺖ زار ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ﰷﺷﺘﻨﺪ و ﲜﺎن ﯾﮑﺪﯾﮕﺮ اﻓﺘﺎدﻧﺪ‬ ‫اﻣﻦ و اﻣﺎن ﻣﺴﻠﻮب ﺷﺪ و ﻋﻬﺪ و ﭘامين ﻣﻔﺴﻮخ ﮔﺸﺖ ﴎ و ﺳﺎﻣﺎﱏ ﳕﺎﻧﺪ و اﻣﻦ و اﻣﺎﱏ ﻧﺒﻮد ات ا ٓن‬ ‫ﮐﻪ واﻗﻌﻪ ﻓﺎﺻهل ﮐﺮﻣﺎن ﺑﻮﻗﻮع ﭘﯿﻮﺳﺖ و ﻏﺒﺎر ﻓﺘﻨﻪ و ﻓﺴﺎد ﺑﻨﺸﺴﺖ ﴿ ﻗﻄﻊ داﺑﺮ ﴾ ﻗﻮم ﻓﺎﺳﻘﲔ ﺷﺪ و‬ ‫ﻗﻠﻊ رﯾﺸﻪء ﻣﻔﺴﺪﯾﻦ ﮔﺸﺖ‬

‫‪26‬‬

‫‪The Bombay edition gives this vocalization (p. 17).‬‬ ‫‪, which would‬ﴎور ٰي ‪The Bombay edition (page 17) marks an aleph maqsura:‬‬ ‫‪ but the context makes this very unlikely.‬ﴎ ﴎ وٰري ‪indicate the reading‬‬ ‫‪27‬‬

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The reins of government held in the talons of beasts, and the royal family enchained, or under the sword of bloodthirsty nomads, and the little children as captives.

These were the fruits, when the divines and the experts in the inviolable religious law became involved in political matters.

[Religious leaders should not interfere in government: the early Qājār example] On another occasion, at the beginning of the reign of Āqā Mohammad Khān,28 the Shiah divines again made a move in matters of policy, and brought the dust of degradation down on the people of Iran. They hatched a plot regarding the succession to the throne, they sang a siren song that confused the minds of the people. They incited turmoil and commotion, they raised the flag of dissension. A hurricane wind of rebellion sprang up, the ways of sedition and discord gained the upper hand. Chaos and confusion ensued, a wave of iniquity reached to the highest heavens. The chiefs of the tribes claimed independence, sowing the seeds of enmity in the rich soil of the nation, and one sought to kill another. Peace and security were forgotten, covenant and treaty had no effect. Neither lifelife nor property remained, there was no security, and no tranquillity.

At last, the decisive events at Kirman took place.29 The dust of disorder and discord settled, and for the people of sin there was “cutting off at the root,”30 that is, the roots of instigators of sedition were eradicated. 28

The first Qājār king, reigned 1785-1797. In 1794 the last Zand ruler, holding out in Kirman, was defeated. The ‘decisive events’ included betrayal, the slaughter of male Zand prisoners, and the killing of rivals to the Qājār throne. 30 Quran 6:45. 29

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‫واﻗﻌﻪ اثﻟﺜﻪ در زﻣﺎن ﺧﺎﻗﺎن ﻣﻐﻔﻮر ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ ﭘﯿﺸﻮااين ابز زﻟﺰهل و وﻟﻮهل اﻧﺪاﺧﺘﻨﺪ ﻋَﲅ‪ 31‬ﻣﻨﺤﻮس ﺑﺮاﻓﺮاﺧﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫و ﺳﺎز هجﺎد اب روس ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻨﺪ و اب ﻃﺒﻞ و دﻫﻞ ﻗﻄﻊ ﺳـﺒﻞ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ات ﲝﺪود و ﺛﻐﻮر رﺳـﯿﺪﻧﺪ ﭼﻮن‬ ‫ا ٓﻏﺎز ﳗﻮم ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ ﺑﺮﺟﻮﻣﯽ ﮔﺮﳜﺘﻨﺪ و در ﻣﯿﺪان ﺟﻨﮓ ﺑﻪ ﯾﮏ ﺷﻠﯿﮏ ﺗﻔﻨﮓ از انم و ﻧﻨﮓ ﮔﺬﺷﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫و ﻋﺎر ﻓﺮار اﺧﺘﯿﺎر ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ و ﭼﻮن ﴿ ﺟﺮاد ﻣﻨﺘﴩ ﴾ و ﴿ اﲺﺎز ﳔﻞ ﴾ ﻣﻨﻘﻌﺮ در ﺷﻮاﻃﯽ رود ارس و‬ ‫هپﻦ دﺷﺖ ﻣﻐﺎن ﴎﮔﺮدان و ﭘﺮﯾﺸﺎن ﺷﺪﻧﺪ و ﻧﺼﻒ ﳑﺎﻟﮏ ا ٓذرابﳚﺎن و ﻫﻔﺖ ﮐﺮور ﺗﻮﻣﺎن و درايی‬ ‫ﻣﺎﻧزﺪران را ﺑﺒﺎد دادﻧﺪ‬

‫‪The Bombay edition gives this vocalisation.‬‬

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[Religious leaders should not interfere in government: the Perso-Russian war] A third such incident occurred during the reign of Fath-ʿAli Shah:32 The leaders of religion once more stirred up a commotion. They hoisted an ill-fated standard aloft. They made ready for jihād, fighting the Russians. They set out on the roads, with their drums and their tabors, and thus they arrived at the border. When they began their attack, they fled from a hail of stones. at a single volley of muskets, they left honour and reputation on the field of battle, and chose to flee with disgrace. Like “the locusts scattered abroad”33 and “the palm trunks rooted out,”34 they were confounded and strewn on the banks of the Aras, and the desert plain of Mughan.35 Half of the province of Azerbaijan, and three and a half million tumans were lost, along with the Caspian Sea.36

32 Reigned 1797-1834. The war between the Persian and Russian Empires began in July 1826 and ended in February 1828. 33 Quran 54:7, “The day that the Caller will call to a terrible affair, they will come out, their eyes humbled, from (graves), like locusts scattered abroad.” 34 Quran 54:20, “We sent against them a furious wind, on a day of violent disaster, uprooting men as if they were the stumps of uprooted palm trees.” 35 Now in Azerbaijan, at that time on the Perso-Russian border. 36 The sea was surrendered in the sense that Iran was not permitted to station warships on it.

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‫و ﻣﺪار ﻋﱪت ﻋﻈﲓ واﻗﻌﻪ ﳏﻧﺰﻪ ﺣﴬت ﻋﺒﺪاﻟﻌﺰﯾﺰ ﺧﺎن ﺧّدل ا ٓﺷـﯿﺎن ﻣﻈﻠﻮم اﺳﺖ در اواﺧﺮ اّايﻣﺶ ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﭘﯿﺸﻮااين اّﻣﺖ ﻋامثﻧﯿﺎن ﺑﻨﺎی ﻃﻐﯿﺎن ﮔﺬاﺷﺘﻨﺪ و راﯾﺖ ﻋﺪوان ﺑﺮ اﻓﺮاﺷﺘﻨﺪ از روی ﺟﻨﻮن ﺣﺮﮐﱴ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫و در همﺎّم اﻣﻮر ﻣﺪﺧﻞ و ﴍﮐﱴ ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ ﻓﺘﻨﻪﻫﺎ ﺑﺮاﻧﮕﯿﺨﺘﻨﺪ و اب رﺟﺎل دوﻟﺖ در ا ٓوﳜﺘﻨﺪ دﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﲔ و‬ ‫ﴍع ﻣﺘﲔ را ﲠﺎﻧﻪ ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻨﺪ و ﺻﻼح اّﻣﺖ ﺑﺮ زابن راﻧﺪﻧﺪ و ﻋﺰل وزرٔا درﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ وﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻧﺼﺎف و‬ ‫ﻣﺮّوت ﺑﺮاﻧﺪاﺧﺘﻨﺪ ﺧﲑﺧﻮاﻫﺎن را دور ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺑﺪﺧﻮاﻫﺎن را ﻣﴪور ﺻﺎدﻗﺎن را ﻣﻐﻀﻮب ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫و ﺧﺎﺋﻨﺎن را ﳏﺒﻮب اّﻣﺖ و ﭼﻮن ﲟﻘﺼﺪ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ ﻣﻮﻓ ّﻖ ﺷﺪﻧﺪ رﰟ دﮔﺮ ﭘﯿﺶ ﮔﺮﻓﺘﻨﺪ ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﴪﯾﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و دﺳﺖ ﺗﻄﺎول ﲝﳬﺮان و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ ﻓﺘﻮی ﲞﻠﻊ دادﻧﺪ و ﺑﻘﻠﻊ و ﳃﻊ ﺑﺮﺧﺎﺳﺘﻨﺪ‬ ‫ا ٓﺑﺮوی ﻣﺮّوت رﳜﺘﻨﺪ و ﻏﺒﺎر ﻇﲅ ﺑﺮاﻧﮕﯿﺨﺘﻨﺪ ﺳـﳣﯽ روا داﺷﺘﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ دﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﲔ را ﺑﺪانم ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ و ﴍﯾﻌﺖ‬ ‫ﺳـّﯿﺪ اﳌﺮﺳﻠﲔ را رﺳﻮا انﺋﺮﻩ اﻓﺴﻮس و ﺣﴪت از اﯾﻦ ﺣﺮﮐﺖ در دﻟﻬﺎی ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن ﺑﺮاﻓﺮوﺧﺖ و ﻗﻠﻮب‬ ‫هجﺎن و هجﺎﻧﯿﺎن ﺑﺮ ﻣﻈﻠﻮﻣﯿّﺖ ا ٓن هجﺎﻧﺒﺎن ﺑﺴﻮﺧﺖ‬

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[Religious leaders should not interfere in government: the Ottoman example] †

The best example of all is the sad case of the last days of the late Sultan Abdulaziz37 (may his soul rest in peace), as follows: The spiritual leaders of the Ottoman people began a rebellion, they raised the banner of enmity. In their madness, they started a movement, they wanted a role and share in running affairs. They stirred up unrest, and provoked a dispute with government officials. They took for their pretext the manifest Faith and inviolable Law, they spoke of “the good of the people,” and demanded the dismissal of Ministers. They destroyed the foundations of fairness and chivalry. People of good will were sent into exile and malevolent souls were gladdened. They made trustworthy people the object of public anger, and turned traitors into popular favourites. And when their object was obtained they presented another plan. They brought a protest to the Sultan’s throne, belittled the government and those in authority. They issued a fatwa that spoke of ‘depose,’ and sought to ‘extirpate’ and ‘suppress.’ They disgraced the name of chivalry, and raised up the dust of tyranny.

They committed an iniquity that disgraced the perspicuous Faith and the religious law of the Lord of the Messengers. Because of their conduct, regret and sorrow burned in the breasts of the world’s inhabitants, and the hearts of the world and its peoples were seared, for the wrong done to that great ruler.

37

Reigned 1861-1876.

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‫ﻋﺎﻗﺒﺖ اﴏار ﺑﻪ ﺟﻨﮓ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭘﻨﺠﻪ و ﭼﻨﮓ ﺑﯿﺎزﻣﻮدﻧﺪ ﺳﻼح ﺑﺴﺘﻨﺪ و اﻋﻼن ﺣﺮب ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و در‬ ‫اﻓﻮاﻩ ﻋﻮام اﻧﺪاﺧﺘﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ روس دوﻟﱴ اﺳﺖ ﻣﺎٔﯾﻮس و ﺳـﭙﺎﻩ و ﻟﺸﮑﺮش ﭘﯿﮑﺮی اﺳﺖ ﺑﲑوح ﴎاﻧﺶ‬ ‫ﺟﺒﺎﻧﻨﺪ و ﻣﺮداﻧﺶ انﺗﻮان دوﻟﺘﺶ ﰉﺻﻮﻟﺘﺴﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺘﺶ ﰉﻗّﻮت و ﺷﻮﮐﺖ ﻣﺎ اّﻣﺖ ﻗﺎﻫﺮﻩ ﻫﺴﺘﲓ و‬ ‫ﻣﻠ ّﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩ هجﺎد ﮐﻨﲓ و ﺑﻨﯿﺎد ﻋﻨﺎد ﺑﺮاﻧﺪازﱘ ﺷﻬﺮﻩء ا ٓﻓﺎق ﺷﻮﱘ و ﴎور اﱈ و دول ﻋﲆ الاﻃﻼق‬ ‫و ﭼﻮن ﻧﺘﺎﰀ اﯾﻦ ﺣﺮﰷت ا ٓﺷﲀر ﺷﺪ و ﲦﺮات اﯾﻦ اﻓﲀر ﭘﺪﯾﺪار ﻗﻬﺮ ﳎّﺴﻢ ﺑﻮد و زﻫﺮ ﻣﮑّﺮر ﻧﻘﻤﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﺸّﺨﺺ ﺑﻮد و ﻧﮑﺒﺖ دوﻟﺖ و رﻋّﯿﺖ زﻣﲔ ﲞﻮن ﺑﯿﮕﻨﺎﻫﺎن رﻧﮕﲔ ﺷﺪ و ﻣﯿﺪان ﺣﺮب از ﺗﳯﺎی ﮐﺸـﺘﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻈﺮ همﯿﺐ ﲻﻮم رﻋّﯿﺖ ﺟﺎم ﺑﻼ ﮐﺸـﯿﺪﻧﺪ و ﺳـﯿﺼﺪ ﻫﺰار ﺟﻮاانن اّﻣﺖ و ﻧﻮرﺳـﯿﺪﮔﺎن ﳑﻠﮑﺖ زﻫﺮ‬ ‫ﻫﻼﮐﺖ ﭼﺸـﯿﺪﻧﺪ ﭼﻪ ﺑﻨﯿﺎﳖﺎی ﻋﻈﲓ ﮐﻪ اب ﺧﺎک ﯾﮑﺴﺎن ﺷﺪ و ﭼﻪ ﺧﺎﻧﺪاﳖﺎی ﻗﺪﱘ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﻘﺮض و ﻓﻘﲑ‬ ‫ﺷﺪ ﻫﺰاران ﻗﺮاء ﻣﻌﻤﻮرﻩ ﻣﻄﻤﻮرﻩ ﺷﺪ و وﻻايت ا ٓابد ﺧﺮاب ا ٓابد ﮔﺸﺖ ﺧﺰاﺋﻦ ﺑﺒﺎد رﻓﺖ و ﺛﺮوت دوﻟﺖ‬ ‫و رﻋّﯿﺖ ﳏﻮ و اتراج ‪ 38‬دو ﮐﺮور رﻋّﯿﺖ از وﻃﻦ ﻣﺎٔﻟﻮف ﳎﺒﻮر ﲠﺠﺮت ﺷﺪﻧﺪ‬

‫‪ here, which is not in the Bombay edition (p. 20).‬و ‪The Tehran edition (p. 28) inserts‬‬

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In the end, they insisted on combat, and practiced with talon and claw. They strapped on their battle-gear, and war was declared. They persuaded the common people to say, “Russia is a state beyond hope, its armies and troops are a form without spirit, its commanders are cowardly, its men are as weaklings, its dynasty has no ferocity left, its government has neither power nor majesty. But we are the conquering nation, the glorious people: Let us wage jihād, and crush the roots of rebellion. So will we win renown around the world, and the absolute leadership of peoples and nations.” When the results of this conduct were out in the open, and the fruits of these notions were seen, they were vengeance incarnate and poison distilled, retribution personified, and the humiliation of the government and the people. The earth was stained with the blood of the innocent, the bodies of the dead made the field of battle a landscape of horror. The people all drained the cup of affliction, three hundred thousand young men of the nation, three hundred thousand youth of the Empire, tasted the poison of death. How many great monuments were razed to the ground, how many old families faced extinction or poverty! Of thousands of well-ordered villages, nothing remained but the cellars, the crop-growing regions were turned into wastelands. The contents of treasuries thrown to the winds, the wealth of the state and the people, plundered and gone. A million subjects were forced into exile, leaving the lands that they knew.

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‫و ﲨﻊ ﻏﻔﲑی از ﴎان ﳑﻠﮑﺖ و ﺑﺰرﮔﺎن وﻻﯾﺖ ﺑﻌﺪ از ﻓﻘﺪان ﻣﺎ ﻣﻠﮏ ﻻﻧﻪ و ا ٓﺷـﯿﺎﻧﻪ ﺗﺮک ﳕﻮدﻩ ﻃﻔﻼن‬ ‫ﺧﺮدﺳﺎل و ﭘﲑان ﺳﺎل ﺧﻮردﻩ ﺑﯿﴪ و ﺳﺎﻣﺎن ﴎﮔﺮدان دﺷﺖ و ﺑﯿﺎابن ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ ﻋﻠﲈی ﭘﺮﻋﺮﺑﺪﻩ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻌﺮﻩ‬ ‫يح ﻋﲆ اﳉﻬﺎد ﻣﲒدﻧﺪ در ﺻﺪﻣﻪ اوﱃ ﻓﺮايد اﯾﻦ اﳌﻼذ و اﯾﻦ اﳌﻨﺎص ﺑﺮا ٓوردﻧﺪ و ﲝﺮب‬ ‫اﳊﺮب اﳊﺮب و ّ‬ ‫ﻗﻠﯿﻞ از اﺟﺮ ﺟﺰﯾﻞ و ﺛﻮاب ﺟﻠﯿﻞ ﮔﺬﺷﺘﻨﺪ و رو ﺑﻔﺮار ا ٓوردﻧﺪ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﺼﯿﺒﺖ ﮐﱪی را ﻓﺮاﱒ ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﺳـﺒﺤﺎن اّهلل ﮐﺴﺎﱐ ﮐﻪ ﺗﺪﺑﲑ ﻻﻧﻪ و ا ٓﺷـﯿﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﺮﺑﯿﺖ ﺧﺎﻧﻪ و ﰷﺷﺎﻧﻪ ﺧﻮﯾﺶ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﻨﺪ و از ﺑﯿﮕﺎﻧﻪ و ﺧﻮﯾﺶ‬ ‫ﺑﯿﺨﻧﱪﺪ در همﺎّم اﻣﻮر ﳑﻠﮑﺖ و رﻋّﯿﺖ ﻣﺪاﺧهل ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و در ﻣﻌﻀﻼت اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ ﻣﻌﺎﻧﺪﻩ‬ ‫و ﭼﻮن ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺖ ﺑﺘﺎرﱗ ﳕﺎﰃ از اﯾﻦ ﻗﺒﯿﻞ وﻗﺎﯾﻊ ﺑﯿﺤﺪ و ﰉﭘﺎاين ايﰉ ﮐﻪ اﺳﺎس ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺪاﺧهلء رؤﺳﺎی‬ ‫دﯾﻦ در اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ ﺑﻮدﻩ اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﻣﺼﺪر ﺗﴩﯾﻊ اﺣﲀم اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ ﻧﻪ ﺗﻨﻔﯿﺬ ﯾﻌﲎ ﭼﻮن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ‬ ‫در اﻣﻮر ﳇّّﯿﻪ و ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﻪ ﻣﻘﺘﻀﺎی ﴍﯾﻌﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ اﺣﲀم رّابﻧّﯿﻪ را اﺳـﺘﻔﺴﺎر ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ا ٓچنﻪ ﻣﺴـﺘﻨﺒﻂ‬ ‫از اﺣﲀم اّهلل و ﻣﻮاﻓﻖ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ اّهلل اﺳﺖ ﺑﯿﺎن ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ دﯾﮕﺮ در اﻣﻮر ﺳـﯿﺎﳻ و رﻋّﯿﺖ ﭘﺮوری و ﺿﺒﻂ‬ ‫و رﺑﻂ همﺎّم اﻣﻮر و ﺻﻼح و ﻓﻼح ﻣﻠﮑﯽ و ﲤﺸﯿﺖ ﻗﻮاﻋﺪ و ﻗﺎﻧﻮن ﳑﻠﮑﱴ و اﻣﻮر ﺧﺎرىج و داﺧﲆ ﭼﻪ‬ ‫اّﻃﻼع داﻧرﺪ‬

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A multitude of the chief men of the kingdom, the notables of these provinces, having been deprived of everything, fled the nest. Children of tender years and old men bearing the weight of the years wandered in the wilderness and the desert, completely destitute. At the first setback, the quarrelsome divines who had raised the cry of “War, to war!” and “Come to the holy war!” began to whimper “Where can we hide, where can we flee?” At the smallest encounter they forgot about great rewards and glorious recompense: they turned and fled, and they harvested this colossal catastrophe. Gracious God! People who were not able to manage their own little nests, or to instruct their own households, who cannot distinguish friend from foe, interfered in the weighty affairs of the kingdom and its subjects, and raised opposition in the complexities of political matters!

[Religious leaders can advise, but cannot rule] If you refer to history, you would find countless examples of this sort, all based on the involvement of religious leaders in political matters. †These souls are the fountainhead of the promulgation of God’s commandments, not of implementation. That is, when the government enquires as to the requirements of the Law of God and the realities of the divine ordinances, in principle or in a specific case, they must explain what they have deduced from the commands of God and what is in accordance with the law of God. Apart from this, what awareness do they have of questions of leadership and social development, the administration and control of weighty matters, worldly well-being and happiness, the improvement of procedures and codes of temporal law, or foreign affairs and domestic policy?

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‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در ﲨﯿﻊ اﻋﺼﺎر و ﻗﺮون اوﱃ ﻣﺼﺪر ﺗﻌّﺮض ﺑﻪ اﺣﺒّﺎء اّهلل و ﺗﻐّﺮض ﺑﻪ ﻣﻮﻗﻨﲔ ابايت اّهلل‬ ‫اﺷﺨﺎﴅ ﺑﻮدﻩاﻧﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﲝﻠﯿﻪ ﻋﲅ ا ٓراﺳـﺘﻪ و ﺗﻘﻮی و ﺧﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل‪ 39‬از ﻗﻠﻮﺑﺸﺎن ﰷﺳـﺘﻪ ﺑﺼﻮرت داان‬ ‫و ﲝﻘﯿﻘﺖ اندان و ﺑﺰابن زاﻫﺪ و ﲜﺎن ﺟﺎﺣﺪ و ﲜﺴﻢ ﻋﺎﺑﺪ و ﺑﺪل راﻗﺪ ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺜًﻼ در زﻣﺎﱏ ﮐﻪ ﻧﻔﺲ روح ﲞﺶ ﻣﺴـﯿﺤﺎﰃ ﺟﺴﻢ ﻋﺎﱂ را ﺟﺎن ﲞﺸـﯿﺪ و ﻧﻔﺤﺎت ﻗﺪس ﻋﯿﺴﻮی ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫اﻣﲀن را روان ﻣﺒﺬول داﺷﺖ ﻋﻠﲈی ﺑﲎ اﴎاﺋﯿﻞ ﻣﺜﻞ ﺣﻨّﺎ و ﻗﯿﺎﻓﺎ ﺑﺮ ا ٓن ﺟﻮﻫﺮ وﺟﻮد و ﺟﲈل ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و‬ ‫روح ﶊﻮد زابن اﻋﱰاض ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ و اﺣﱰاز ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﺗﮑﻔﲑ ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ و ﺗﺪﻣﲑ ﺧﻮاﺳﺘﻨﺪ اذﯾﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و‬ ‫ﴬت روا داﺷﺘﻨﺪ ﺣﻮارﯾ ّﻮن را ﻋﻘﻮﺑﺖ ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و اﺷّﺪ ﻧﻘﻤﺖ و ارد ا ٓوردﻧﺪ ﻓﺘﻮای ﻗﺘﻞ دادﻧﺪ و ﻃﺮد و‬ ‫ﻣ ّ‬ ‫ﺣﺒﺲ ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ ﺷﮑﻨﺠﻪ و ﻋﻘﺎب ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و اب ﺷّﺪ ﻋﺬاب ﺷﻬﯿﺪ و دم اﻃﻬﺮﺷﺎن را ﺳﺒﯿﻞ ﮐﺮدﻧﺪ اﯾﻦ ﺗﻌّﺮض و‬ ‫ﺗﺸّﺪد و ﻧﻘﻤﺖ و ﻋﻘﻮﺑﺖ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ از هجﺖ ﻋﻠﲈی اّﻣﺖ ﺑﻮد‬ ‫ﴎ وﺟﻮد ﺟﲈل ﻣﻮﻋﻮد ﻣﺆﯾ ّﺪ ﲟﻘﺎم ﶊﻮد ﺣﴬت رﺳﻮل ﻋﻠﯿﻪ اﻟّﺴﻼم ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ‬ ‫و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در زﻣﺎن ّ‬ ‫ﻣﻌﱰﺿﲔ و ﳏﱰزﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﺎﻧﺪﯾﻦ و ﻣﲀﺑﺮﯾﻦ ﻋﻠﲈی ﳞﻮد و رﻫﺒﺎن ﻋﻨﻮد و ﮐﻬﻨﻪ هجﻮل ﺣﺴﻮد ﺑﻮدﻧﺪ ﻣﺜﻞ اﺑﻮ‬ ‫يح ﺑﻦ اﺧﻄﺐ و اﻣﯿّﺔ ﺑﻦ ﻫﻼل‬ ‫ﻋﺎﻣﺮ راﻫﺐ و ﮐﻌﺐ ﺑﻦ اﴍف و ﻧﴬ ﺑﻦ ﺣﺎرث و ﻋﺎص ﺑﻦ واﺋﻞ و ّ‬ ‫اﯾﻦ ﭘﯿﺸﻮااين اّﻣﺖ ﻗﯿﺎم ﺑﺮ ﻟﻌﻦ و ﺳّﺐ و ﻗﺘﻞ و ﴐب ا ٓن ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻣﴩق ﻧﺒّﻮت ﳕﻮدﻧﺪ و ﭼﻨﺎن ﻃﻐﯿﺎن‬ ‫ﱯ ﲟﺜﻞ ﻣﺎ اوذﯾﺖ ﴾ ﻓﺮﻣﻮدﻧﺪ و ﻟﺴﺎن ﺑﺸﮑﻮﻩ‬ ‫در اذﯾ ّﺖ ﴰﻊ اﳒﻤﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎن داﺷﺘﻨﺪ ﮐﻪ ﴿ ﻣﺎ اوذی ﻧ ّ‬ ‫ﮔﺸﻮدﻧﺪ‬

‫‪39‬‬ ‫‪, which the Tehran edition (p. 31) corrects‬ﺣﺸـﯿﺔ اّهلل ‪The Bombay edition (p. 22) has‬‬ ‫‪as shown.‬‬

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[The abuse of power in the hands of religious leaders: the Christian example] Likewise, in all previous ages and eras, the sources of opposition to the friends of God, and of disputation with those who believed in the divine verses, have been certain individuals who were outwardly graced with the jewel of knowledge, but piety and the fear of God had faded from their hearts. They were learned in form, and ignorant in truth, devout of speech but deniers at heart, devotees in the flesh, but lifeless in spirit. For example, in the days when the One who bestowed the spirit, the Messiah, was giving life to the body of the world, when the holy and fragrant Christ-spirit was conferring a soul on the contingent world, the Jewish divines, such as Anas and Caiaphas, voiced their opposition to that essence of Being, that evident beauty and praiseworthy spirit. They repudiated him, declaring him to be no true believer, seeking to destroy him, and they harassed and injured him. They inflicted severe chastisement and punishment on the Apostles. They issued fatwas of death, and imprisoned and expelled them. They used torture and pain, they martyred them with intense torments and caused their pure blood to flow. This opposition, harshness, chastisement and punishment all issued from the divines of that community.

[The abuse of power in the hands of religious leaders: the Muslim example] Similarly, consider the days of that mystery of existence, the promised beauty who has been confirmed in the dignity of ‘the praised one,’40 Mohammad, the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. Those argumentative and proud people who opposed and rejected him were the learned among the Jews, intransigent Christian divines, and ignorant and envious soothsayers. † Among them were Abu ʿĀmir Rahib, Kaʿb ibn ʿAshraf, Nadr ibn Harith, ʿĀs ibn Waʾil, Hay ibn ʿAkhtab, and ʿUmayyah ibn Hilal. These leaders of the community engaged in anathematising and reviling, striking and killing, that rising41 sun of prophethood. They were so fanatical in assailing the one who was the lamp in the assembly of humanity that he voiced a complaint, saying, “No prophet has suffered such harm as I have suffered.”42 40

Quran 17:79. The text can be read mashriq, rising, or mushriq, shining. 42 An Islamic tradition, reported for example in Behār Al-Anvār. 41

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‫ﭘﺲ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ در ﻫﺮ ﻋﻬﺪ و ﻋﴫ ﻇﲅ و زﺟﺮ و ﺣﴫ و ﺟﻔﺎی ﺷﺪﯾﺪ و ﺟﻮر ﺟﺪﯾﺪ از‬ ‫ﺑﻌﴣ ﻋﻠﲈی ﺑﯿﺪﯾﻦ ﺑﻮد و اﮔﺮ ﭼﻨﺎچنﻪ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺗﻌّﺮﴇ ﮐﺮد‪ 43‬اي ﺗﻐّﺮﴇ ﳕﻮد ﲨﯿﻊ ﺑﻐﻤﺰ و ﳌﺰ و اﺷﺎرﻩ و‬ ‫ﳘﺰ اﯾﻦ ﻧﻔﻮس ﭘﺮ ﻃﻐﯿﺎن ﺑﻮد و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در اﯾﻦ اوﻗﺎت اﮔﺮ ﺑﻨﻈﺮ دﻗﯿﻖ ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ا ٓچنﻪ ﺷﺎﯾﻊ و واﻗﻊ‬ ‫از اﻋﺘﺴﺎف ﻋﻠﲈی ﰉاﻧﺼﺎﰱ ﺑﻮدﻩ ﮐﻪ از ﺗﻘﻮای اﻟﻬـﯽ ﳏﺮوم و از ﴍﯾﻌﺖ اّهلل همﺠﻮر و از انر ﺣﻘﺪ و‬ ‫ﻧﲑان ﺣﺴﺪ در ﺟﻮش و ﺧﺮوﺷـﻨﺪ‬ ‫و اّﻣﺎ دااناين ﭘﺎک دل ﭘﺎک ﺟﺎﻧﻨﺪ ﻫﺮ ﯾﮏ رﲪﺖ ﯾﺰداﻧﻨﺪ و ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ رﲪﻦ ﴰﻊ ﻫﺪاﯾﺘﻨﺪ و ﴎاج ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ‬ ‫ابرﻗﻪ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺘﻨﺪ و ﺣﺎﻓﻆ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﻣﲒان ﻋﺪاﻟﺘﻨﺪ و ﺳﻠﻄﺎن اﻣﺎﻧﺖ ﺻﺒﺢ ﺻﺎدﻗﻨﺪ و ﳔﻞ ابﺳﻖ ﲾﺮ ﻻﻣﻌﻨﺪ‬ ‫و ﳒﻢ ﺳﺎﻃﻊ ﯾﻨﺒﻮع ﻋﺮﻓﺎﻧﻨﺪ و ﻣﻌﲔ ﻣﺎ ٓء ﻋﺬب ﺣﯿﻮان ﻣﺮّﰉ ﻧﻔﻮﺳـﻨﺪ و ﻣﺒّﴩ ﻗﻠﻮب ﻫﺎدی اﳑﻨﺪ و ﻣﻨﺎدی‬ ‫ﺣّﻖ ﺑﲔ ﺑﲎ ا ٓدم ا ٓﯾﺖ ﮐﱪی ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ و راﯾﺖ ﻋﻠﯿﺎ ﺟﻮاﻫﺮ وﺟﻮدﻧﺪ و ﻟﻄﺎﺋﻒ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﻣﻈﻬﺮ ﺗﲋﳞﻨﺪ و‬ ‫ﻣﴩق ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﺗﻘﺪﯾﺲ‬

‫‪ here, which is not in the Bombay edition (p. 24).‬و ‪The Tehran edition (p. 33) inserts‬‬

‫‪43‬‬

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Consider, then, that in every dispensation and age, the injustice, persecution and restrictions, the most severe cruelty and unprecedented oppression, have come from some faithless divines. Moreover, whenever the government has offered opposition or has been prejudiced, it has all been as a result of the defamatory innuendos, signs and winks of these fanatical people. Likewise, in these days, if you look carefully, the things that have occurred have been due to the wrong-doing of unjust divines, who are deprived of the fear of God, and are far from the Law of God, and who seethe with the fire of envy and jealousy.

[In praise of pure-hearted scholars of religion] But as for the learned who are pure of heart and soul, each one is a mercy from the Lord and a gift of God. They are a candle for guidance and a lantern of God’s grace, the lightning bolt of truth and the guardians of the religious law. They are the scales of justice and the sovereigns of trustworthiness. They are the true dawn and the towering palm, the shining star, and a planet clearly seen. They are the fountainhead of mystical insight, the spreading of the sweet waters of life. They are the educators of souls they bring glad tidings to the hearts. They are a guide to the nations, the heralds of God among the children of Adam. They are the greatest sign and the loftiest banner, the jewels of Being, the Graces of existence. They are the manifestations of detachment, the dawning place of the sun of sanctity.

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‫از ﻫﺴـﱴ ﺧﺎﮐﺪان ﻓﺎﱏ ﺑﲒاﻧرﺪ و از ﻫﻮی و ﻫﻮس ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ در ﮐﻨﺎر در ﳎﺎﻣﻊ وﺟﻮد ﴎﻣﺴﺖ ﳏﺎﻣﺪ‬ ‫و ﻧﻌﻮت رّب ودودﻧﺪ و در ﳏﻔﻞ ﲡّﲆ و ﺷﻬﻮد در رﮐﻮع و ﲭﻮد ﺑﻨﯿﺎن اﻟﻬـﯽ را رﮐﻦ رﮐﯿﻨﻨﺪ و دﯾﻦ ﻣﺒﲔ را‬ ‫ﺣﺼﻦ ﺣﺼﲔ ﺗﺸـﻨﮕﺎن را ﻋﺬب ﻓﺮاﺗﻨﺪ و ﮔﻤﮕﺸـﺘﮕﺎن را ﺳﺒﯿﻞ ﳒﺎت در ﺣﺪاﺋﻖ ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪ ﻃﯿﻮر ﺷﮑﻮﻧرﺪ‬ ‫و در اﳒﻤﻦ ﺗﻔﺮﯾﺪ ﴰﻊ ﭘﺮ ﻧﻮر ﻋﻠﲈی رّابﻧﯿﻨﺪ‪ 44‬و واراثن ﻧﺒﻮی واﻗﻔﺎن اﴎاﻧرﺪ و ﴎﺧﯿﻞ ﮔﺮوﻩ اﺑﺮار‬ ‫ﺧﻠﻮﺗﮕﺎﻩ ذﮐﺮ را ﺻﻮﻣﻌﻪء ﻣﻠﮑﻮت ﮐﻨﻨﺪ و ﻋﺰﻟﺖ از ﻏﲑ را وﺻﻮل ﺑﺒﺎرﮔﺎﻩ ﻻﻫﻮت ﴰﻧﺮﺪ‬ ‫و ﻣﺎ دون اﯾﺸﺎن ﺟﺴﻢ ﺑﯿﺠﺎﻧﻨﺪ و ﻧﻘﺶ ﺣﯿﻄﺎن ﴿ و اﺿّهل اّهلل ﻋﲆ ﻋﲅ ﴾ ﻣﻨﺼﻮص ﻗﺮا ٓن‬ ‫ﻫﯿﺌﺖ اﺟامتﻋّﯿﻪ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ابﻟّﻄﺒﻊ ﳏﺘﺎج رواﺑﻂ و ﺿﻮاﺑﻂ ﴐورﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺑﺪون اﯾﻦ رواﺑﻂ ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ و‬ ‫‪45‬‬ ‫ﺳﻼﻣﺖ ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ و اﻣﻨّﯿﺖ و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﻧﯿﺎﯾﺪ‬

‫‪ .‬رّابﯾﻨﺪ ‪Following the Tehran edition: the Bombay edition has‬‬ ‫‪ .‬ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ ‪The Tehran edition has‬‬

‫‪44‬‬ ‫‪45‬‬

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This ephemeral mortal existence has no attractions for them, they hold themselves apart from the lusts and passion of the human world. In the meetings of men they are drunk with the virtues and praises of their beloved Lord, while in that court where God is manifest and seen, they are performing the rites of prayer. They are firm pillars of the divine edifice, impregnable strongholds for the manifest religion. They are the sweet waters of the Euphrates for the thirsty, and the path of salvation for those who have lost the way. They are birds giving thanks in the gardens of “God is One,” and candles giving light in the councils of “Single and alone.” They are God’s scholars, and the heirs of the prophets,46 the initiates of mysteries, and the commanders of the company of the pious. They turn the private chapel, where dhikr is chanted, into a cloister in the Kingdom of heaven (malakut). They consider the surrender of all else, as attaining the threshold of divinity (lāhut).47

All who are not like this are as lifeless bodies and images on walls. As it is written in the authoritative text of the Quran, “And God has led him astray by means of some knowledge.”48

[Humanity needs both religious law and a social system] Human collective life, by its nature, depends on constraints and necessary relationships, for without these constraints, no protection or security can be attained, there can be no safety and happiness.

46

A well-known Islamic tradition: “The ʿolamā (divines) are the heirs to the proph-

ets.” 47 Malakut, or the Kingdom of Heaven, is a level at which souls and essences are distinct, while Lāhut is the realm of God towards us, before whom all distinctions are erased. 48 Quran 45:23.

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‫ﻋّﺰت ﻣﻘّﺪﺳﻪ اﻧﺴﺎن رخ ﻧامنﯾﺪ و ﻣﻌﺸﻮق ا ٓﻣﺎل ﭼﻬﺮﻩ ﻧﮕﺸﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﺸﻮر و اﻗﻠﲓ ا ٓابد ﻧﮕﺮدد و ﻣﺪاﺋﻦ و‬ ‫ﻗﺮی ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺒﺖ‪ 49‬و ﺗﺰﯾﲔ ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﻨﺘﻈﻢ ﻧﺸﻮد ا ٓدم ﻧﺸﻮ و ﳕﺎ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﺪ راﺣﺖ ﺟﺎن و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ وﺟﺪان‬ ‫ﻣﯿّﴪ ﻧﮕﺮدد ﻣﻨﻘﺒﺖ اﻧﺴﺎن ﺟﻠﻮﻩ ﻧﮑﻨﺪ ﴰﻊ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ رﲪﻦ ﻧﯿﻔﺮوزد ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ اﻧﺴﺎن ﰷﺷﻒ ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﻣﲀن‬ ‫ﻧﮕﺮدد و واﻗﻒ ﺣﳬﺖ ﳇّّﯿﻪء ﯾﺰدان ﻧﺸﻮد ﻓﻨﻮن ﺟﻠﯿهل ﺷـﯿﻮع ﻧﯿﺎﺑﺪ و اﮐﺘﺸﺎﻓﺎت ﻋﻈﳰﻪ ﺣﺼﻮل ﻧﭙﺬﯾﺮد‬ ‫ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﺧﺎک ﻣﺮﺻﺪ اﻓﻼک ﻧﺸﻮد و ﺻﻨﺎﯾﻊ و ﺑﺪاﯾﻊ ﺣﲑت ﲞﺶ ﻋﻘﻮل و اﻓﲀر ﻧﮕﺮدد ﴍق و ﻏﺮب ﻋﺎﱂ‬ ‫ﻣﺼﺎﺣﺒﺖ ﻧﺘﻮاﻧﺪ و ﻗّﻮﻩء ﲞﺎر اﻗﻄﺎر ا ٓﻓﺎق را ﻣﻮاﺻﻠﺖ ﻧﺪﻫﺪ‬ ‫و اﯾﻦ ﺿﻮاﺑﻂ و رواﺑﻂ ﮐﻪ اﺳﺎس ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﺑﺪرﻗﻪ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺘﺴﺖ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ و ﻧﻈﺎﻣﯽ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﰷﻓﻞ‬ ‫ﺳﻌﺎدت و ﺿﺎﺑﻂ ﻋﺼﻤﺖ و ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﭼﻮن ﲝﺚ دﻗﯿﻖ ﳕﺎﰃ و ﺑﺒﴫ ﺣﺪﯾﺪ‬ ‫ﻧﮕﺮی ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ و ﻧﻈﺎم رواﺑﻂ ﴐورﯾ ّﻪ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﻨﺒﻌﺚ از ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﺷـﯿﺎﺳﺖ و اّﻻ‬ ‫ﻧﻈﺎم ﻫﯿﺌﺖ اﺟامتﻋّﯿﻪ ﻧﮕﺮدد و ﻋﻠ ّﺖ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﲨﻌّﯿﺖ ﺑﴩﯾ ّﻪ ﻧﺸﻮد‬

‫‪.‬ﺗﺮﺗﯿﺐ ‪The Tehran edition (p. 36) has‬‬

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The sacred dignity of human beings would not be unveiled, the object of desire would not be realised. The country and regions would not be cultivated, there could be no organisation and development in cities and villages. The world could not be set in order, and the human race would not be able to grow and develop. Repose for the soul and tranquillity of conscience would be withheld. The distinctive human attributes would not be revealed, and the candle of God’s bestowals would give no light. The human essence would not discover the reality of the contingent world, or become aware of God’s universal wisdom. The glorious arts would not be spread abroad, and great discoveries would not be made. This house of clay would not be the observatory of the heavens, and industry and inventions would not amaze the mind. The fellowship of the east and west would be impossible, and the power of steam could not connect the continents.

These rules and relationships that comprise the foundation for the edifice of happiness, and are the medium of grace, are the religious law and a social system. These are the guardian of prosperity, the guarantor of good repute, the preserver of human life. If you study the matter in detail, and look with a discerning eye, it will be evident that the religious law and social system are necessary relationships that derive from the realities of things.† If it was not so, there could be no order in collective life, no reason for tranquillity, and no happiness for human society.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫‪376‬‬

‫ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﲻﻮﻣﯿّﻪ ﲟﺜﺎﺑﻪء ﴯﺺ اﻧﺴﺎن اﺳﺖ ﭼﻮن از ﺟﻮاﻫﺮ ﻓﺮدﯾ ّﻪ و ﻋﻨﺎﴏ ﳐﺘﻠﻔﻪ ﻣﺘﻀﺎّدﻩ‬ ‫ﻣﺘﻌﺎرﺿﻪ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد ﮔﺸـﺘﻪ اﺳﺖ ابﻟّﴬورﻩ ﻣﻌﺮض اﻋﺮاض و ﻣﻄﺮح اﻣﺮاﺿﺴﺖ و ﭼﻮن از ﻋﻠﻞ ﺧﻠﻞ‬ ‫ﻃﺎری ﮔﺮدد ﻃﺒﯿﺐ ﺣﺎذق و ﺣﮑﲓ ﻓﺎﺋﻖ ﺗﺸﺨﯿﺺ ﻣﺮض دﻫﺪ و ﺑﺘﴩﱖ ﻋﺮض ﭘﺮدازد و در ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ و‬ ‫دﻗﺎﺋﻖ ﻋﻠ ّﺖ و ﻣﻘﺘﻀﺎی ﻃﺒﯿﻌﺖ اﻧﺪﯾﺸﺪ و ﻣﺒﺎدی و ﻧﺘﺎﰀ و وﺳﺎﺋﻂ و ﺣﻮاﰀ ﲢّﺮی ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﺟﺰﺋّﯿﺎت و‬ ‫ﳇّّﯿﺎت را ﻓﺮق و ﲤﲒ دﻫﺪ ﭘﺲ ﺗﻔّﮑﺮ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺗﻘﺎﺿﺎی اﯾﻦ ﻣﺮض ﭼﯿﺴﺖ و ﻣﻘﺘﻀﺎی اﯾﻦ ﻋﺮض ﭼﻪ و‬ ‫ﲟﻌﺎﳉﻪ و ﻣﺪاوا ﭘﺮدازد‬ ‫از اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﻼج ﺷﺎﰱ و دوا ٓء ﰷﰱ ﻣﻨﺒﻌﺚ از ﻧﻔﺲ ﺣﻘﯿﻘﺖ ﻃﺒﯿﻌﺖ و ﻣﺰاج و ﻣﺮض اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﳘﭽﻨﲔ ﻫﯿﺌﺖ اﺟامتﻋّﯿﻪ و ﻫﯿﲁ ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﻌﺮض ﻋﻮارض ذاﺗّﯿﻪ و در ﲢﺖ ﺗﺴﻠ ّﻂ اﻣﺮاض ﻣﺘﻨّﻮﻋﻪ اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﴍﯾﻌﺖ و ﻧﻈﺎم و اﺣﲀم ﲟﺜﺎﺑﻪ درايق ﻓﺎروق و ﺷﻔﺎ ٓء ﳐﻠﻮﻗﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﭘﺲ ﴯﺺ داانﰃ ﺗﺼّﻮر ﺗﻮان ﳕﻮد ﮐﻪ ﲞﻮدی ﺧﻮد ﺑﻌﻠﻞ ﻣﺰﻣﻨﻪء ا ٓﻓﺎق ﭘـﯽ ﺑﺮد و ابﻧﻮاع اﻣﺮاض و اﻋﺮاض‬ ‫ﴎ‬ ‫اﻣﲀن واﻗﻒ ﮔﺮدد و ﺗﺸﺨﯿﺺ اﺳﻘﺎم ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن ﺗﻮاﻧﺪ و ﺗﴩﱖ ا ٓﻻم ﻫﯿﺌﺖ ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻪ‪ 50‬اﻧﺴﺎن داﻧﺪ و ّ‬ ‫ﻣﮑﻨﻮن اﻋﺼﺎر و ﻗﺮون ﮐﺸﻒ ﺗﻮاﻧﺪ ات ﺑﺮواﺑﻂ ﴐورﯾ ّﻪء ﻣﻨﺒﻌﺚ از ﺣﻘﺎﺋﻖ اﺷـﯿﺎ ﭘـﯽ ﺑﺮد و ﻧﻈﺎم و‬ ‫ﻗﻮاﻧﯿﲎ وﺿﻊ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ ﮐﻪ ﻋﻼج ﻋﺎﺟﻞ ابﺷﺪ و دوای ﰷﻣﻞ ﺷـﳢﻪ ای ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﳑﺘﻨﻊ و ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﯿﻞ اﺳﺖ‬

‫‪50‬‬ ‫‪, the purpose of which is‬ﺟﺎُﻣﻌﻪ ‪The Bombay edition (p. 28) indicates a vocalisation,‬‬ ‫‪unclear.‬‬

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For the collective condition is analogous to a human person. Because it has been composed from individual substances and diverse opposing and contradictory elements, it is inevitably subject to accidents and illnesses. Whenever it is thrown into disorder because of deficiencies, a skilful doctor or distinguished physician must diagnose the illness, and explain its cause. The doctor must consider the essentials and the details of the illness and the requirements of Nature, giving attention to causes and consequences, and to the means and necessities, and distinguishing between particulars and universals. Then the doctor reflects on what the exigencies and requirements of this disease may be, and begins treatment and effects a cure. From this it is clear that the effective treatment and medication derive from the true natures of Nature, of the patient’s constitution, and of the illness. In the same way, social life and the body of the world are subject to systemic limitations, and are at the mercy of various illnesses. The religious law, the social order, and commandments are like a powerful remedy and a cure for the creatures.

[Effective civil order corresponds to spiritual realities] Given this, could any knowledgeable person imagine that she, unaided, has understood the ills now affecting the world and is aware of the various disorders and accidents of contingent existence, that she can diagnose the infirmities of the people of the earth and can explain the painful condition of human society, or can uncover the hidden secrets of the ages to such an extent that she grasps the necessary relations derived from the realities of things, and so can establish that system and those regulations that constitute a swift remedy and infallible medicine? There is no doubt that this is absurd and impossible.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﭘﺲ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و ﳏﻘّﻖ ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ واﺿﻊ اﺣﲀم و ﻧﻈﺎم و ﴍﯾﻌﺖ و ﻗﻮاﻧﲔ ﺑﲔ اانم ﺣﴬت ﻋﺰﯾﺰ ﻋّﻼم اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﲝﻘﺎﺋﻖ وﺟﻮد و دﻗﺎﺋﻖ ّ‬ ‫ﴎ ﻣﮑﻨﻮن و رﻣﺰ ﻣﺼﻮن اﻋﺼﺎر و ﻗﺮون ﺟﺰ ﺧﺪای‬ ‫ﰻ ﻣﻮﺟﻮد و ّ‬ ‫ﺑﯿﭽﻮن ﻧﻔﴗ ﻣّﻄﻠﻊ و ا ٓﮔﺎﻩ ﻧﻪ اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ زاﮐﻮن ﳑﺎﻟﮏ اوروپ‪ 51‬ﰱ اﳊﻘﯿﻘﻪ ﻧﺘﺎﰀ اﻓﲀر ﭼﻨﺪ ﻫﺰار ﺳﺎل‬ ‫ﻋﻠﲈی ﻧﻈﺎم و ﻗﺎﻧﻮﻧﺴﺖ اب وﺟﻮد اﯾﻦ ﻫﻨﻮز انﲤﺎم و انﻗﺺ اﺳﺖ و در ﺣّﲒ ﺗﻐﯿﲑ و ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ و ﺟﺮح و‬ ‫ﴬت ﺑﻌﴣ ﻗﻮاﻋﺪ ﻧﱪدﻩ و داﻧﺸﻤﻨﺪان ﻻﺣﻖ واﻗﻒ ﮔﺸﺘﻨﺪ و ﺑﻌﴣ‬ ‫ﺗﻌﺪﯾﻞ ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ دااناين ﺳﺎﺑﻖ ﭘـﯽ ﲟ ّ‬ ‫از ﻗﻮاﻋﺪ را ﺗﻌﺪﯾﻞ و ﺑﻌﴣ را ﺗﺼﺪﯾﻖ و ﺑﺮىخ را ﺗﺒﺪﯾﻞ ﳕﻮدﻩ و ﻣﯿامنﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ابری ﺑﺮ ﴎ ﻣﻄﻠﺐ روﱘ ﴍﯾﻌﺖ ﲟﺜﺎﺑﻪ روح ﺣﯿﺎﺗﺴﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﲟﲋهل ﻗّﻮﻩء ﳒﺎت ﴍﯾﻌﺖ همﺮ‬ ‫اتابﻧﺴﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﺑﺮ ﻧﯿﺴﺎن و اﯾﻦ دو ﮐﻮﮐﺐ اتابن ﭼﻮن ﻓﺮﻗﺪان از اﻓﻖ اﻣﲀن ﺑﺮ اﻫﻞ هجﺎن ﭘﺮﺗﻮ‬ ‫اﻓﮑﻨﺪ ﯾﮑﯽ هجﺎن ﺟﺎن را روﺷﻦ ﮐﻨﺪ و دﯾﮕﺮی ﻋﺮﺻﻪ ﮐﳱﺎن را ﮔﻠﺸﻦ ﯾﮑﯽ ﳏﯿﻂ وﺟﺪان را ُدر ﻓﺸﺎن‬ ‫ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و دﯾﮕﺮی ﺑﺴـﯿﻂ ﺧﺎﮐﺪان را ﺟﻨّﺖ رﺿﻮان اﯾﻦ ﺗﻮدﻩ ﺧﺎک رﺷﮏ اﻓﻼک ﮔﺮدد و اﯾﻦ ﻇﻠﻤﺘﮑﺪﻩ‬ ‫اترﯾﮏ ﻏﺒﻄﻪء ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﻮار‬

‫‪ .‬اروپ ‪The Bombay edition spells this‬‬

‫‪51‬‬

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Therefore, it is evident and proven that the founder of the commandments, system, religious law and regulations among humans is One who is almighty and all-knowing. For none but the incomparable Lord is aware and informed of the realities of existence, the particularities of every being, and the hidden mysteries and guarded enigmas of ages and centuries. This is why the laws of European countries, which are in fact the product of several thousand years of thought on the part of experts in administration and law, nevertheless remain incomplete and imperfect, and subject to change, repeal and correction, because the sages of the past had not discovered the unsuitability of some regulations, whereas later thinkers became aware of it. Therefore, they have corrected some laws, reaffirmed some, and replaced a few, and this continues.†

[Religious law and government complement one another] Let us return to the main topic: the religious law is like the spirit of life, the government is the locus of the force of preservation. The religious law is the shining sun, and government is the clouds of April. These two bright stars are like twin lights in the heavens of the contingent world, they have cast their rays upon the people of the world. One has illumined the world of the soul, the other caused the earth to flower. One sowed pearls in the oceans of the soul, while the other made the surface of the earth a garden of paradise. Indeed, it has made this mound of dust the envy of the heavens, made this dark house of shadows the cynosure of the world of lights.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫اﺑﺮ رﲪﺖ ﺑﺮﺧﲒد و رﴮﻪ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ رﯾﺰد و ﻧﻔﺤﻪ ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﻣﺸﮏ و ﻋﻨﱪ ﺑﲒد ﻧﺴـﲓ ﲮﺮ وزد و ﴰﲓ ﺟﺎن‬ ‫ﭘﺮور رﺳﺪ روی زﻣﲔ ا ٓﯾﲔ ﲠﺸﺖ ﺑﺮﯾﻦ ﮔﲑد و ﻣﻮﰟ ﲠﺎر دﻟﻨﺸﲔ ا ٓﯾﺪ رﺑﯿﻊ اﻟﻬـﯽ ابغ ﮐﳱﺎن را ﻃﺮاوت‬ ‫ﺑﺪﯾﻊ ﲞﺸﺪ و ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻋّﺰت ﻗﺪﳝﻪ ا ٓﻓﺎق اﻣﲀن را روﺷـﲎ ﺟﺪﯾﺪ ﻣﺒﺬول دارد ﺗﺮاب اﻏﱪ ﻋﺒﲑ و ﻋﻨﱪ ﺷﻮد‬ ‫و ﮔﻠﺨﻦ ﻇﻠﲈﱏ ﮔﻠﱭ رﺣﲈﱏ و ﮔﻠﺸﻦ ﻧﻮراﱏ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ دو ا ٓﯾﺖ ﮐﱪی ﭼﻮن ﺷﻬﺪ و ﺷﲑ و دو ﭘﯿﮑﺮ اﺛﲑ ﻣﻌﲔ و ﻇﻬﲑ ﯾﮑﺪﯾﮕﻧﺮﺪ‬ ‫ﭘﺲ اﻫﺎﻧﺖ اب ﯾﮑﯽ ﺧﯿﺎﻧﺖ اب دﯾﮕﺮﯾﺴﺖ و ﲥﺎون در اﻃﺎﻋﺖ اﯾﻦ ﻃﻐﯿﺎن در ﻣﻌﺼﯿﺖ اب ا ٓﻧﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﴍﯾﻌﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ را ﮐﻪ ﺣﯿﺎت وﺟﻮد و ﻧﻮر ﺷﻬﻮد و ﻣﻄﺎﺑﻖ ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﺳﺖ ﻗّﻮﻩ انﻓﺬﻩ ابﯾﺪ و وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﻗﺎﻃﻌﻪ‬ ‫ﺷﺎﯾﺪ و ﺣﺎﻣﯽ ﻣﺒﲔ ﻻزم و ﻣﺮّوج ﻣﺘﲔ واﺟﺐ و ﺷـﳢﻪ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺼﺪر اﯾﻦ ﻗّﻮﻩ ﻋﻈﳰﻪ ﺑﻨﯿﻪ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ‬ ‫و ابرﻗﻪء ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﭼﻮن اﯾﻦ ﻗﻮی و ﻗﺎﻫﺮ ﮔﺮدد ا ٓن ﻇﺎﻫﺮ و ابﻫﺮ ﺷﻮد و ﻫﺮ ﭼﻨﺪ اﯾﻦ ﻓﺎﺋﻖ و‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻃﻊ ﮔﺮدد ا ٓن ﺷﺎﺋﻊ و ﻻﻣﻊ ﺷﻮد‬ ‫ﭘﺲ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻋﺎدهل ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﻣﴩوﻋﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻣﻨﺘﻈﻤﻪ رﲪﺖ ﺷﺎﻣهل دﳞﲓ هجﺎﻧﺒﺎﱏ ﳏﻔﻮف‬ ‫ﺑﻪ ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪ ﯾﺰداﱏ اﺳﺖ و اﻓﴪ ﺷﻬﺮايری ﻣﺰﯾّﻦ ﺑﻪ ﮔﻮﻫﺮ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ رﺣﲈﱏ در ﮐﺘﺎب ﻣﺒﲔ ﺑﻨّﺺ ﴏﱖ‬ ‫ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ ﻗﻞ اﻟﻠ ُّﻬَّﻢ ﻣﺎﻟﮏ اﳌﻠﮏ ﺗﺆﰏ اﳌﻠﮏ ﻣﻦ ﺗﺸﺎء و ﺗﲋع اﳌﻠﮏ ّﳑﻦ ﺗﺸﺎء ﴾‬

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The cloud of mercy rose, the gentle rain of benevolence came down, the fragrant breeze of grace diffused musk and ambergris. The dawn breeze blows, wafting the perfume that quickens the soul. The face of the earth has become like heaven on high, the agreeable season of spring has arrived. The showers of the heavenly spring have conferred a wondrous freshness on the garden of the world. the sun of immortal glory has shed a new radiance on the horizon of the contingent world. The tawny dust has been turned into sandalwood and ambergris. the blackened furnace has become the rose arbour of the Merciful, the flowering garden of illumination.

The point is this, that each of these two mighty signs is the aid and assistant of the other, like milk and honey, or the twins of Gemini in the sky. Thus, contempt for one is betrayal of the other; negligence in obedience to one is sinful rebellion against the other. The divine Law (which is the life of existence, the light of the visible world, and conforms to the ultimate Purpose) needs an executive power and decisive means. An undisputed champion is required, a resolute propagator is needed. There is no doubt that the institutions of government and the sword of sovereignty are the fountainhead of this mighty power. When the one has been strong and victorious, the other has shone brilliantly. Whenever the first is elevated and radiant, the second has been resplendent and luminous.

[Temporal government is legitimate] Thus, a just government is government in accordance with the divine law, and orderly rule is a universal blessing. The royal throne is encompassed with divine assistance, and the royal crown is adorned with the gems of heavenly bestowals. In the Quran it is clearly written, “Say: O God, Lord of sovereignty, you grant sovereignty to whoever you will, and you take it from whoever you please.”52

52

Quran 3:26.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﭘﺲ ﻣﻌﻠﻮم و ﻣﺸﻬﻮد ﺷﺪ ﮐﻪ اﯾﻦ ﻋﻄّﯿﻪ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻣﻨﺤﻪ رّابﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﳘﭽﻨﲔ در ﺣﺪﯾﺚ ﲱﯿﺢ‬ ‫ﺑﴫﱖ ﻣﯿﻔﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ ﴿ اﻟّﺴﻠﻄﺎن ﻇّﻞ ﷲ ﰱ الارض ﴾‬ ‫اب وﺟﻮد اﯾﻦ ﻧﺼﻮص ﮐﻪ ﭼﻮن ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﻣﺮﺻﻮص اﺳﺖ دﯾﮕﺮ ﳇﻤﻪ ﻏﺎﺻﺐ انﺻﺐ ﭼﻪ زﰪ واﰣ اﻟﺒﻄﻼﻧﺴﺖ‬ ‫و ﭼﻪ ﺗﺼّﻮر ﰉ دﻟﯿﻞ و ﺑﺮﻫﺎن‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﮐﻪ در ا ٓﯾﻪ ﻣﺒﺎرﮐﻪ و ﺣﺪﯾﺚ ﴏﱖ ﺑﯿﺎن ﻣﻄﻠﻖ اﺳﺖ ﻧﻪ ﻣﻘﯿّﺪ و ذﮐﺮ ﲻﻮم اﺳﺖ ﻧﻪ‬ ‫ﺧﺼﻮص ﳏﺘﻮم‬ ‫اّﻣﺎ ﺷﺎٔن اﲚ ّﻪء ﻫﺪی و ﻣﻘﺎم ﻣﻘّﺮﺑﲔ درﮔﺎﻩ ﮐﱪاي ﻋّﺰت و ﺣﺸﻤﺖ روﺣﺎﻧّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﺣﻘﻮﻗﺸﺎن وﻻﯾﺖ‬ ‫ﺣﴬت رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ اﳇﯿﻞ ﺟﻠﯿﻠﺸﺎن ﻏﺒﺎر ﺳﺒﯿﻞ رﺣﲈن اﺳﺖ و اتج وّﻫﺎﺟﺸﺎن اﻧﻮار ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ ﺣﴬت‬ ‫ﯾﺰدان ﴎﯾﺮ ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﻣﺼﲑﺷﺎن ﲣﺘﮕﺎﻩ ﻗﻠﻮﺑﺴﺖ و دﳞﲓ رﻓﯿﻊ و ﻋﻈﳰﺸﺎن ﻣﻘﻌﺪ ﺻﺪق ﻋﺎﱂ ﻣﻠﮑﻮت‬ ‫هجﺎﻧﺒﺎن هجﺎن ﺟﺎن و دﻟﻨﺪ ﻧﻪ ا ٓب و ﮔﻞ و ﻣﺎﻟﮏ اﳌﻠﮏ ﻓﻀﺎی ﻻ ﻣﲀﻧﻨﺪ ﻧﻪ ﺗﻨﮕﻨﺎی ﻋﺮﺻﻪ اﻣﲀن و اﯾﻦ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺎم ﺟﻠﯿﻞ و ﻋّﺰت ﻗﺪﱘ را ﻏﺎﺻﱮ ﻧﻪ و ﺳﺎﻟﱮ ﻧﯿﺴﺖ‬

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Therefore, it is clear and evident that this bestowal is a divine gift and a favour from the Lord. Likewise, an authentic tradition explicitly states that “The king is the shadow of God on earth.”† Given the existence of these texts, which are like a solid foundation, any other talk, of the king being “an usurper who imposes” is obviously futile speculation and sheer imagination without argument or proof. Note that in the scriptural verse and the explicit tradition, the statements are absolute and not bounded: it is a general reference and not a specific matter.

[The station of religious scholars] However, the dignity of the Imāms of guidance, the station of those close to the court of grandeur, is a spiritual glory and majesty. Their prerogative is to be assistants to the All-Merciful, their garland of glory is the dust in the path of the Merciful, their gleaming crown is the rays of God’s bestowals. Their seat of justice is the throne-room of the hearts, their sublime and glorious throne is the seat of truth in the Kingdom of God. They are lords of the worlds of heart and soul, and not of water and clay. They are kings of the realms of immeasurable space, not of the straight places of this contingent world. No-one can usurp or plunder this glorious station, this ancient honour.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫‪384‬‬

‫اّﻣﺎ در ﻋﺎﱂ انﺳﻮت ﴎﯾﺮﺷﺎن ﺣﺼﲑ اﺳﺖ و ﺻﺪر ﺟﻼﻟﺸﺎن ﺻ ّﻒ ﻧﻌﺎل اوج ﻋّﺰﺗﺸﺎن ﺣﻀﯿﺾ ﻋﺒﻮدﯾ ّﺖ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻮان ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺘﺸﺎن ﮔﻮﺷﻪ ﻋﺰﻟﺖ ﻗﺼﻮر ﻣﻌﻤﻮر را ﻗﺒﻮر ﻣﻄﻤﻮر ﺷـﻨﺎﺳـﻨﺪ و ﺣﺸﻤﺖ ا ٓﻓﺎق را‬ ‫ﻣﺸﻘّﺖ ﻻ ﺗﻄﺎق ﺛﺮوت و ﮔﻨﺞ را زﲪﺖ و رﱋ داﻧﻨﺪ و ﺣﺸﻤﺖ ﰉﭘﺎاين را ﻣﺸﻘّﺖ ﺟﺎن و وﺟﺪان‬ ‫ﭼﻮن ﻃﯿﻮر ﺷﮑﻮر در اﯾﻦ دار ﻏﺮور ﺑﺪاﻧﻪ ﭼﻨﺪ ﻗﻨﺎﻋﺖ ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و در ﺣﺪﯾﻘﻪ ﺗﻮﺣﯿﺪ ﺑﺮ ﺷﺎﺧﺴﺎر ﲡﺮﯾﺪ‬ ‫يح ﻗﺪﱘ ﭘﺮداﻧزﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﻨﻄﻖ ﺑﻠﯿﻎ ﻓﺼﯿﺢ ﲟﺤﺎﻣﺪ و ﻧﻌﻮت ّ‬ ‫ابری ﻣﻘﺼﻮد اﯾﻦ ﺑﻮد ﮐﻪ ﺑﴫﱖ ا ٓﯾﺖ و ﲱﯿﺢ رواﯾﺖ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ رّب ﻋّﺰت اﺳﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ‬ ‫رﲪﺖ ﺣﴬت رﺑﻮﺑﯿ ّﺖ ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ اﯾﻦ اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ ﺷﻬﺮايران ﰷﻣﻞ و ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﺎن ﻋﺎدل ﺑﺸﮑﺮاﻧﻪ اﯾﻦ‬ ‫اﻟﻄﺎف اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ و ﻋﻮاﻃﻒ ﺟﻠﯿهلء رﺣﲈﻧّﯿﻪ ابﯾﺪ ﻋﺪل ﳎّﺴﻢ ابﺷـﻨﺪ و ﻋﻘﻞ ﻣﺸّﺨﺺ ﻓﻀﻞ ﳎّﺮد ابﺷـﻨﺪ و‬ ‫ﻟﻄﻒ ﻣﺼّﻮر ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ابﺷـﻨﺪ و ﲮﺎب رﲪﺖ راﯾﺖ ﯾﺰدان ابﺷـﻨﺪ و ا ٓﯾﺖ رﲪﻦ‬

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Yet in the human world their throne is the mat, their seat of high honour is the row of shoes.53 The pinnacle of prestige for them is the lowest rank of servitude, and the court of their sovereignty is some secluded corner. They see well-furnished palaces as graves underground, and worldly pomp as an intolerable nuisance. They know that wealth and riches are labour and suffering, and limitless majesty is a burden for the soul. Like grateful birds in this house of vanity, they are satisfied with a few grains. In the arbour of “God is One,” at the tip of the branch of detachment, they busy themselves with singing the virtues and praises of the Ancient and the Living in an eloquent tongue.

[The station of the just ruler] In short, the point of that which has been expressed in the explicit verse and sound tradition is that kingship is the gift of the Lord of grandeur, and government is a mercy from the Lord of divinity.54 The highest of stations is that perfect rulers and just kings, out of gratitude for this gift of God and these glorious marks of favour, should be justice incarnate and wisdom personified. They should be bounty unalloyed and the very picture of generosity, the sun of loving kindness and the clouds of compassion, the banner of the Lord, and the sign of the All-Merciful.

53 That is, the seat nearest to the door, the seat furthest from the door being the seat of honour. 54 The Tehran edition (p. 46) has this in bold letters, as if it were a citation, but it appears to be merely an editorial emphasis.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ رﻋّﯿﺖ ﭘﺮور واﺟﺐ الاﻃﺎﻋﺘﺴﺖ و ﻃﺎﻋﺘﺶ ﻣﻮﺟﺐ ﻗﺮﺑﺖ ﻋﺪل اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻣﻘﺘﴣ رﻋﺎﯾﺖ ﺣﻘﻮق‬ ‫ﻣﺘﺒﺎدهل اﺳﺖ و ا ٓﯾﲔ رّابﱏ ا ٓﻣﺮ ﺑﺼﯿﺎﻧﺖ ﺷـﺌﻮن ﻣﺘﻌﺎدهل رﻋّﯿﺖ از راﻋﯽ ﺣّﻖ ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ و رﻋﺎﯾﺖ دارد و‬ ‫ﻣﺴﻮس از ﺳﺎﺋﺲ ﭼﺸﻢ ﺣﲈﯾﺖ‪ 55‬و ﻋﻨﺎﯾﺖ ﳑﻠﻮک در ﺻﻮن ﺣﲈﯾﺖ ﻣﻠﻮک اﺳﺖ و اﻫﺎﱃ در ﭘﻨﺎﻩ‬ ‫ﺣﺮاﺳﺖ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ ﻣﻌﺪﻟﺖ ﺳﻠﻮک ﴿ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ راع ﻣﺴﺆول ﻋﻦ رﻋّﯿﺘﻪ ﴾ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ رﻋّﯿﺖ را ﺣﺼﻦ ﺣﺼﲔ‬ ‫ابﺷﺪ و ﮐﻬﻒ اﻣﲔ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻣﻼذ ﻣﻨﯿﻊ ابﺷﺪ و ﻣﻠﺠﺎٔ رﻓﯿﻊ ﺣﻘﻮق رﻋﺎاي و ﺑﺮااي را ﲜﻤﯿﻊ ﻗﻮی ﳏﻔﻮظ و‬ ‫ﻣﺼﻮن ﻓﺮﻣﺎﯾﺪ و ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدت ﺗﺒﻌﻪ و زﯾﺮدﺳـﺘﺎن را ﻣﻠﺤﻮظ و ﻣﻨﻈﻮر دارد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ رﻋّﯿﺖ ودﯾﻌﻪء‬ ‫اﻟﻬّﯿﻪ اﺳﺖ و ﻓﻘﺮا اﻣﺎﻧﺖ ﺣﴬت اﺣﺪﯾ ّﺖ‬ ‫ﲠﻤﭽﻨﲔ ﺑﺮ رﻋّﯿﺖ اﻃﺎﻋﺖ و ﺻﺪاﻗﺖ ﻣﻔﺮوض و ﻗﯿﺎم ﺑﺮ ﻟﻮازم ﻋﺒﻮدﯾ ّﺖ و ﺧﻠﻮص ﺧﺪﻣﺖ ﳏﺘﻮم و‬ ‫ﺣﺴﻦ ﻧﯿ ّﺖ و ﺷﮑﺮاﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﻣﻠﺰوم ات اب ﮐﲈل ﳑﻨﻮﻧﯿ ّﺖ ﺗﻘﺪﱘ ﻣﺎﻟﯿﺎت ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ و ﺑﳯﺎﯾﺖ رﺿﺎﯾﺖ ﲪﻞ ﺗﲀﻟﯿﻒ‬ ‫ﺳﺎﻟﯿﺎن و در ﺗﺰﯾﯿﺪ ﻋﻠّﻮ ﺷﺎٔن ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻫﺎن ﮐﻮﺷـﻨﺪ و در ﺗﺎٔﯾﯿﺪ ﻗّﻮت ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ و ﺗﺰﯾﯿﺪ ﻋّﺰت ﴎﯾﺮ ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﺬل ﻣﺎل و ﺟﺎن ﳕﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﻆ ﻋﻈﲓ و‬ ‫ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﻓﺎﯾﺪﻩء اﯾﻦ ﻣﻌﺎﻣهل و ﲦﺮﻩ اﯾﻦ ﻣﻄﺎوﻋﻪ ﻋﺎﺋﺪ ﺑﺮ ﲻﻮم رﻋّﯿﺖ ﮔﺮدد و در ﺣﺼﻮل ﺣ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ ﴍﯾﮏ و ﺳﻬﲓ ﺷﻮﻧﺪ ﺣﻘﻮق ﻣﺘﺒﺎدل اﺳﺖ و ﺷـﺌﻮن ﻣﺘﻌﺎدل و ّ‬ ‫وﺻﻮل ﲟﻘﺎم ﮐﺮﱘ ّ‬ ‫ﰻ در ﺻﻮن‬ ‫‪56‬‬ ‫ﺣﲈﯾﺖ ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر و ﻋﺎدل‬

‫‪ is inserted in the margin of the Bombay edition (p. 33).‬ﺣﲈﯾﺖ‬ ‫‪ as‬و ‪ ; the Bombay edition (p. 34) has a‬ﭘﺮوردﮔﺎر ﻋﺎدل ‪The Tehran edition (p. 48) has‬‬

‫‪55‬‬ ‫‪56‬‬

‫‪indicated.‬‬

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[Mutuality between the people and the government] The government, the defender of the people, is worthy of obedience, and obedience to it leads to nearness to God.57 The justice of God requires the observation of mutual rights, and the divine law proclaims the preservation of reciprocally related ranks. The governed have the right to protection and respect from the governor, the ruled have a right to security and kind treatment from the ruler. Subjects are under the protective guardianship of kings, and live under the sheltering protection of kings, who dispense justice. “Every shepherd is responsible for his flock”.58 Thus the government should be a sure fortress for the people, and a stronghold of assurance. The crown should be an impregnable refuge and a lofty sanctuary, preserving and protecting the rights of subjects and of all creatures with all its powers, observing and promoting the dignity and happiness of subjects and subordinates. For the people are a trust from God, and the poor are a charge from the Lord of unicity. In the same way, obedience and loyalty have been commanded for subjects. They must be upright in their duties as subordinates, and sincere in their service. Good intentions and gratitude are obligatory, to the extent that they pay their property taxes with unmixed gratitude, and bear the annual levies willingly. They must exert themselves to increase the lofty dignity of kings, and give generously of their wealth and lives in support of the power of government and to increase the glory of the royal throne. For the benefit from this bargain, the fruits of this obedience are enjoyed by every citizen. All are partners and equals in the profits from this great boon, and in attaining this noble station. Rights are mutual, dignities are reciprocally related, and all are under the protection of the Lord and Judge.

57 “Obedience to it leads to nearness [to God]” is a quotation from the opening lines of Saʿdi’s Gulistān. This section has a parallel in the Nahj al-Balaghah Sermon 215. 58 A well-know Islamic tradition (‘Ale’ Al Muttaq, Kanz al-ummāl, Hyderabad, 1958, vol. 6 no. 88). A variant reads “Each of you is a guardian, and each of you will be asked [on the Day of Judgment] about those in his guardianship.”

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫دوﻟﺖ و ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ در ﻣﺜﻞ ﻣﺎﻧﻨﺪ رٔاس و دﻣﺎﻏﺴﺖ و اﻫﺎﱃ و رﻋّﯿﺖ ﲟﺜﺎﺑﻪ اﻋﻀﺎء و ﺟﻮارح و ارﰷن و‬ ‫اﺟﺰاء رٔاس و دﻣﺎغ ﮐﻪ ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﺣﻮاّس و ﻗﻮاﺳﺖ و ﻣﺪﺑّﺮ ﲤﺎم ﺟﺴﻢ و اﻋﻀﺎء ﭼﻮن ﻗّﻮت ﻏﺎﻟﺒﻪ ايﺑﺪ و‬ ‫ﻧﻔﻮذ ﰷﻣهل ﻋَﲅ ﺣﲈﯾﺖ اﻓﺮازد و ﺑﻮﺳﺎﺋﻂ ﺻﯿﺎﻧﺖ ﭘﺮدازد ﺗﺪﺑﲑ ﺣﻮاﰀ ﴐورﯾ ّﻪ ﮐﻨﺪ و ﲤﻬﯿﺪ ﻧﻮاﰋ و ﻧﺘﺎﰀ‬ ‫ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﺴـﻨﻪ و ﲨﯿﻊ ﺗﻮاﺑﻊ و ﺟﻮارح در همﺪ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ا ٓراﻣﺶ ﺑﮑﲈل ا ٓراﯾﺶ ﺑﯿﺎﺳﺎﯾﻨﺪ‬ ‫و اﮔﺮ در ﻧﻔﻮذش ﻓﺘﻮری ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﺷﻮد و ﻗّﻮﺗﺶ ﻗﺼﻮری ﻣﻠﮏ ﺑﺪن وﯾﺮان ﮔﺮدد و ﮐﺸﻮر ﺗﻦ ﰉ اﻣﻦ و‬ ‫اﻣﺎن و ﻫﺰار ﮔﻮﻧﻪ ا ٓﻓﺖ ﻣﺴـﺘﻮﱃ ﺷﻮد و ﺳﻌﺎدت و ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ ﲨﯿﻊ اﺟﺰا ﳐﺘّﻞ ﮔﺮدد ﲠﻤﭽﻨﲔ ﭼﻮن ﻗﻮای‬ ‫ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ انﻓﺬ ابﺷﺪ و ﻓﺮﻣﺎﻧﺶ ﻏﺎﻟﺐ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ ا ٓراﯾﺶ ايﺑﺪ و رﻋّﯿﺖ ا ٓﺳﺎﯾﺶ و اﮔﺮ ﻗّﻮﺗﺶ ﻣﺘﺤﻠ ّﻞ ﮔﺮدد‬ ‫ﺑﻨﯿﺎن ﺳﻌﺎدت و راﺣﺖ رﻋّﯿﺖ ﻣﱱﻟﺰل و ﻣﳯﺪم ﺷﻮد ﭼﻪ ﮐﻪ ﺣﺎﻓﻆ و ﺣﺎرس و راﺑﻂ و ﺿﺎﺑﻂ و رادع‬ ‫و ﻣﺎﻧﻊ ﻻزم ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﭼﻮن ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ﺷـﺒﺎن رﻋّﯿﺖ ﺑﻮد و رﻋّﯿﺖ ﺑﻮﻇﺎﺋﻒ اتﺑﻌّﯿﺖ ﻗﯿﺎم ﳕﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫رواﺑﻂ اﻟﺘﯿﺎم ﳏﲂ ﮔﺮدد و وﺳﺎﺋﻂ ارﺗﺒﺎط ﻣﺴـﺘﺤﲂ‬

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The royal dynasty and the government are like the head and the brain. The people and subjects are like limbs, hands and feet, the pillars and parts of the body. When the head and the brain (which are the centre of the senses and faculties, the managers of the whole body and all of its limbs), when these have effective power and complete authority, they make guardianship their motto and provide for the means of security. They organise the necessary prerequisites and ensure the desired results and consequences. All the limbs and organs enjoy complete well-being, resting in the bed of ease and complete tranquillity. But if there is any slackening in their effective control, any deficiency in their power, the kingdom of the body becomes a wasteland the corporeal realm knows neither safety nor security. A thousand ills of various sorts gain the ascendant, the well-being and repose of all its parts are broken.

Likewise, when the government’s power is effective and its orders prevail, the kingdom will prosper, the people will find ease. But if its power slackens, an earthquake shakes and undermines the foundations of the people’s wellbeing and comfort. For the required constraint and restraint, the harness and reins, the night watchman and sentinel, is government. When the government is a shepherd to the people, and the people take on the duties of citizens, the ties that bind them are put in order, the links of solidarity are strengthened.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

‫‪390‬‬

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‫ﻗّﻮت ﯾﮏ ﳑﻠﮑﺖ و ﻗﺪرت ﲤﺎم رﻋّﯿﺖ در ﯾﮏ ﻧﻘﻄﻪ ﴯﺺ ﺷﺎﺧﴡ ﺗﻘّﺮر و ﲡّﻤﻊ ﳕﺎﯾﺪ و ﺷـﳢﻪ ای‬ ‫ﻧﯿﺴﺖ ﮐﻪ در ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﻧﻔﻮذ ﲢﻘّﻖ ايﺑﺪ ﭼﻮن ﺷﻌﺎع ا ٓﻓﺘﺎب ﮐﻪ در ﺳﻄﺢ زﺟﺎىج ﻣﻌﻘّﺮ‪ 59‬ﻣﺪّور اﻓﺘﺪ ﺣﺮارت‬ ‫ﺑامتهمﺎ در ﻧﻘﻄﻪ وﺳﻄﺎی ﺑﻠﻮر و زﺟﺎج اﺟامتع ﮐﻨﺪ و ﭼﻨﺎن انﻓﺬ و ﻣﺆﺛّﺮ و ﳏّﺮق ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ ﻫﺮ ﺟﺴﻢ‬ ‫ﲯﺖ ﻋﺎﴅ ﻣﺘﻘﺎﺑﻞ ابﯾﻦ ﻧﻘﻄﻪ ﺑﮕﺪازد وﻟﻮ ﲢّﻤﻞ در ا ٓﺗﺶ ﺗﻮاﻧﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﻈﻪ ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ ﻫﺮ ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ ابﻫﺮﻩ و ﺳﻠﻄﻨﺖ ﻗﺎﻫﺮﻩ رﻋّﯿﺘﺶ در ﮐﲈل ﻋّﺰت و ﺳﻌﺎدﺗﺴﺖ و ﺗﺒﻌﻪ و‬ ‫زﯾﺮدﺳـﺘﺎﻧﺶ در ﻫﺮ ﮐﺸﻮری ﺑﺰرﮔﻮار و ﳏﱰم در ﳖﺎﯾﺖ رﻋﺎﯾﺖ و در ﲨﯿﻊ ﻣﺮاﺗﺐ ﺑﴪﻋﺖ ﲤﺎم در‬ ‫ﺗﺮﻗّﯿﻨﺪ و در ﻣﻌﺮﻓﺖ و ﺛﺮوت و ﲡﺎرت و ﺻﻨﻌﺖ در ﻋﻠّﻮ ﭘﯿﺎﭘـﯽ و اﯾﻦ ﻣﺸﻬﻮد و ﻣﺴّﲅ در ﻧﺰد ﻫﺮ ﻋﺎﻗﻞ‬ ‫و داانﺳﺖ ﰉﺷـﳢﻪ و رﯾﺐ‬ ‫ای اﺣﺒّﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ ﮔﻮش ﻫﻮش ابز ﮐﻨﯿﺪ و از ﻓﺘﻨﻪ ﺟﻮﰃ اﺣﱰاز و اﮔﺮ ﺑﻮی ﻓﺴﺎدی از ﻧﻔﴗ اﺳﺘﺸﲈم‬ ‫ﳕﺎﺋﯿﺪ وﻟﻮ ﺑﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﴯﺺ ﺧﻄﲑی ابﺷﺪ و ﻋﺎﱂ ﰉ ﻧﻈﲑی ﺑﺪاﻧﯿﺪ دّﺟﺎل رﺟﺎﻟﺴﺖ و ﳐﺎﻟﻒ ا ٓﯾﲔ ذواﳉﻼل‬ ‫‪60‬‬ ‫دﴰﻦ ﯾﺰدان اﺳﺖ و ﻫﺎدم ﺑﻨﯿﺎن انﻗﺾ ﻋﻬﺪ و ﭘامين اﺳﺖ و ﻣﺮدود درﮔﺎﻩ ﺣﴬت رﺣﲈن‬ ‫ﴯﺺ ﺧﺒﲑ و ﺑﺼﲑ ﭼﻮن ﴎاج ﻣﻨﲑ اﺳﺖ و ﺳﺒﺐ ﻓﻼح و ﺻﻼح ﻋﺎﱂ ﮐﺒﲑ و ﺻﻐﲑ ﲟﻮﺟﺐ اﳝﺎن و‬ ‫ﭘامين در ﺧﲑ ﻋﺎﳌﯿﺎن ﮐﻮﺷﺪ و در راﺣﺖ هجﺎﻧﯿﺎن‬

‫‪.‬ﻣﻘّﻌﺮ ‪The Tehran edition has‬‬ ‫‪.‬رﲪﻦ ‪The Tehran edition has‬‬

‫‪59‬‬ ‫‪60‬‬

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The powers of one kingdom and the capacities of all of the people are brought together and anchored in one point, one eminent individual, and there is no doubt that it attains the greatest possible potency. When the rays of the sun fall on the surface of a curved magnifying glass, all the heat is concentrated at the focal point of that glass, and such efficacy, penetration and combustive power result that any obdurately solid body placed before this point must melt, even if it can endure fire. Consider: the subjects of every resplendent government and victorious empire enjoy the utmost honour and well-being. Citizens and subordinates in every great and respected country are extremely well treated. They advance rapidly in every respect, they progress steadily in learning and wealth, in commerce and in industry. This is evident and accepted, beyond any doubt or ambiguity, among all the wise and learned.

[Instructions to the Friends of God] O friends of God! Listen with understanding, shun discord. If you detect the odour of villainy from any person, even from an outwardly important person or a peerless scholar, know that he is a deceiver among men, and opposes the religion of the Lord of Majesty. He is an enemy of God, a destroyer of foundations, a breaker of the covenant and treaty, an outcast from the court of the Merciful. A person who is knowledgeable and intelligent is like a radiant lamp, a cause of happiness and virtue in the greater and lesser worlds. Such a person works for the well-being and peace of the people of the world, in accordance with the doctrine and covenant.

‫رﺳﺎهلء ﺳـﯿﺎﺳـّﯿﻪ‬

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‫‪392‬‬

‫ای اﺣﺒّﺎی اﻟﻬـﯽ ا ٓﺋﲔ رﺣﲈﱏ را دور ﺟﻮاﱏ اﺳﺖ و اﻣﺮ ﺑﺪﯾﻊ را ﻣﻮﰟ رﺑﯿﻊ ﻋﴫ ﺟﺪﯾﺪ ا ٓﻏﺎز ﻧﺸﺎٔﻩ‬ ‫اوﱃ اﺳﺖ و اﯾﻦ ﻗﺮن ﻗﺮن ﺑﺮﮔﺰﯾﺪﻩ ﺧﺪاوﻧﺪ ﯾﮑﺘﺎ ا ٓﻓﺎق اﻣﲀن از ﺷـﺌﻮن ﻧّﲑ اوج ﻋﺮﻓﺎن روﺷﻦ و ﻣﻨّﻮر‬ ‫اﺳﺖ و ﴍق و ﻏﺮب ﻋﺎﱂ از ﻧﻔﺤﺎت ﻗﺪس ﻣﻌﻨﱪ و ﻣﻌّﻄﺮ ﭼﻬﺮﻩ ﺧﻠﻖ ﺟﺪﯾﺪ در ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﺻﺒﺎﺣﺖ و‬ ‫ﻣﻼﺣﺖ اﺳﺖ و ﻫﯿﲁ اﻣﺮ ﺑﺪﯾﻊ در ﻏﺎﯾﺖ ﻗّﻮت و ﻃﺮاوت‬ ‫‪61‬‬

‫ﮔﻮش ﻫﻮش را ﺑﺮ ﻧﺼﺎﱖ و وﺻﺎايی اﻟﻬـﯽ ﮔﺸﺎﺋﯿﺪ و در ﺻﺪق ﻧﯿ ّﺖ ابﺧﻼص‪ 62‬ﻓﻄﺮت و ﻃﯿﺐ ﻃﯿﻨﺖ‬ ‫و ﺧﲑﺧﻮا ﻫﯽ دوﻟﺖ‪ 63‬ﯾﺪ ﺑﯿﻀﺎﰃ ﺑامنﺋﯿﺪ ات در اﳒﻤﻦ ﻋﺎﱂ و ﶍﻊ اﱈ ﻣﺜﺒﻮت و ﳏﻘّﻖ ﮔﺮدد ﮐﻪ ﴰﻊ روﺷﻦ‬ ‫ﻋﺎﱂ اﻧﺴﺎﱏ و ﮔﻞ ﮔﻠﺸﻦ هجﺎن اﻟﻬـﯽ ﻫﺴﺘﯿﺪ‪ 64‬ﮔﻔﺘﺎر ﲦﺮی ﻧﺪارد و ﳖﺎل ا ٓﻣﺎل ﺑﺮی ﻧﯿﺎرد رﻓﺘﺎر و ﮐﺮدار‬ ‫ﻻزم ابﻟﻘّﻮﻩ ﲨﯿﻊ اﺷـﯿﺎء ﻣﺴـﺘﻌّﺪ ﲨﯿﻊ اﺷـﯿﺎء ﳖﺎﯾﺖ ﺑﻌﴣ ﺳﻬﻞ اﳊﺼﻮﻟﻨﺪ و ﺑﻌﴣ ﺻﻌﺐ اﻟﻮﺻﻮل ﻟﮑﻦ‬ ‫ﭼﻪ ﻓﺎﺋﺪﻩ اﻧﺴﺎن ابﻟﻔﻌﻞ ابﯾﺪ ا ٓﯾﺖ رﲪﻦ ابﺷﺪ و راﯾﺖ ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ‪ 65‬ﺣﴬت ﯾﺰدان‬ ‫﴿ و اﻟّﺴﻼم ﻋﲆ ﻣﻦ اﺗ ّﺒﻊ اﻟﻬﺪی ﴾‬

‫‪61‬‬ ‫‪This should presumably be read with a ta marbuta, but is not so marked in the‬‬ ‫‪Bombay edition.‬‬ ‫‪62‬‬ ‫‪.‬اب ﺧﻠﻮص ‪The Tehran edition has‬‬ ‫‪63‬‬ ‫‪.‬ﺧﲑ دوﻟﺖ ‪The Tehran edition has‬‬ ‫‪64‬‬ ‫‪.‬ﻫﺴﺘﻨﺪ ‪The Tehran edition has‬‬ ‫‪65‬‬ ‫‪.‬ﻣﻮﻫﺒﺖ ‪The Tehran edition omits‬‬

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O Friends of God, the Faith of God is in its youth, the wondrous Cause is in vernal glory. The new era is a tender young tree. This age is the chosen age of the one true God. The horizons of the contingent world are radiant, resplendent, lit by the sun of mystical knowledge. The east and the west of the world, in the fragrant breezes of holiness, are as attar and ambergris. The face of the new creation is most comely and fair, the body of the wondrous Cause enjoys its full power and vigour.

Listen with understanding to the counsels and exhortations of God, and then, in all sincerity, demonstrate your high calling through a natural genuineness, an upright disposition, and good will to the authorities. In this way it will become clear and established before the assembly of humanity and the council of nations that you are the shining candle of the world of humanity and the rose in the garden of the kingdom of God. Mere speech yields no harvest, and the sapling of hope has no fruit. It is necessary to arise and set to work. “All things are prepared and completed through work.” Some are easy to accomplish and others are difficult. But what can this avail? The human person must, in actuality, become the sign of the All-Merciful and the banner of God’s generosity. “Peace be on those who have followed the way of guidance.”66

66

Quran 20:47.

Translator’s Notes to The Art of Governance

p. 351 “the government, by nature, desires the security and ease of the subjects” The reference to government “by nature” is important: what follows is not a description of the contemporary Iranian government (which is referred to in The Secret of Divine Civilization) but of a government that rules according to the innate nature of government, recognising its interdependence with the people and therefore acting to promote their welfare. p. 361 “the sad case of the last days of the late Sultan Abdulaziz” The “Eastern Crisis” of 1875-78 began with the revolt of Christian peasants in Bosnia-Hercegovina, followed by a rising in Bulgaria which was suppressed with great cruelty. The line, “Let us wage jihād, and crush the roots of rebellion,” probably refers to these uprisings. Serbia entered the war with Russian backing. Initial Ottoman victories led to a settlement under the auspices of the European powers, which did not please Russia, and in 1877 Russia launched a war on her own account. This lasted some ten months, ending with the Ottomans forced to accept terms dictated by the Russians, which involved the loss of four provinces to the Russians and the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. Abduʾl-Bahā recapitulates this example, with a more extensive list of the harm suffered by the Ottoman crown, in a letter to Siyyid Nasroʾllāh Bāqiroff, translated by Shahidinejad in his commentary “Zu ʿAbduʾl-Bahás Risáliy-i-Síyásíyyih” 62. p. 365 “These souls are the fountainhead of the promulgation of God’s commandments, not of implementation.” The terms translated here as “the promulgation of God’s commandments” and “implementation” appear in Abduʾl-Bahā’s Secret of Divine Civilization, and in his Will and Testament, where Marzieh Gail and Shoghi Effendi respectively have translated them as “the legislative and the executive” and “legislative body … [and] executive.” This translation has led some to suppose that Abduʾl-Bahā is advocating the division of political power between the

396

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executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. As the more extended discussion of these two terms in The Art of Governance shows, Abduʾl-Bahā uses the terms to refer to the distinct roles of religious leaders and government leaders in society. He is advocating the separation and complementary nature of church and state, not the separation of powers within government. There is a further discussion of this, again using the term “executive” to refer to government as a whole, in the section “Religious law and government complement one another.” p. 367 “the learned among the Jews, intransigent Christian divines, and ignorant and envious soothsayers” Abu ʿĀmir Rāhib fought against the prophet, and became a ‘hypocrite’, a believer of dubious sincerity. He is known for founding a mosque which seems to have been intended to be in competition with that of Mohammad (Surah 9:108-9). Kaʿb ibn ʿAshraf was a Jewish opponent of Mohammad at Medina. A poem quoted by Ibn Hishām implies he was a scholar, and he is known to have been a poet. Nadr ibn Hārith was a rich Meccan merchant, who is said to have brought back books from Persia and to have been an admirer of the Persian dynasty. He accused Mohammad of merely repeating stories he had heard from others. See Surahs 8:31 and 83:13. p. 373 “necessary relationships that derive from the realities of things” The motif of an inherent order that exists in the “necessary relationships that derive from the realities of things” recurs in Abduʾl-Bahā’s writings, and links his views of politics, religious law and nature. In his Tablet to August Forel he says, “By nature is meant those inherent properties and necessary relations derived from the realities of things,” (p. 12, and similarly at page 20), and in a tablet to Laura Barney he writes “the composition and decomposition, the gathering and scattering and journeying of all creatures must proceed according to the natural order, divine rule and the most great law of God, so that no marring nor impairment may affect the essential relationships which arise out of the inner realities of created things.” (cited in the compilation The Wisdom of Burying the Dead, Bahāʾi World Centre, n.d.). In Some Answered Questions he explains: Briefly, the universal Manifestations of God are aware of the truths underlying the mysteries of all created things, and thus they found a religion that is based upon and consonant with the prevailing condition of humanity. For religion consists in the necessary relationships deriving

Translator’s Notes to The Art of Governance

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from the realities of things. If the Manifestation of God the divine Lawgiver were not informed of the realities of things, if He did not understand the necessary relationships deriving from these realities, He would assuredly be incapable of establishing a religion consonant with the needs and conditions of the time. The Prophets of God, the universal Manifestations, are even as skilled physicians; the world of being is as the body of man; and the divine religions are as the treatment and remedy. The physician must be fully aware and informed of all the parts and organs, the constitution and condition of the patient, in order to prescribe an effective remedy. Indeed, it is from the disease itself that the physician deduces the remedy, for he first diagnoses the ailment and then treats its underlying cause. Until the ailment is properly diagnosed, how can any treatment or remedy be prescribed? The physician must therefore have a thorough knowledge of the constitution, the parts, organs and condition of the patient, and be likewise well acquainted with every disease and every remedy, in order to prescribe the appropriate cure. Religion, then, consists in the necessary relationships deriving from the reality of things. The universal Manifestations of God, being aware of the mysteries of creation, are fully informed of these necessary relationships and establish them as the religion of God. (Some Answered Questions, Chapter 40).

In another explanation, he writes, Fate and predestination consist in the necessary and indispensable relationships which exist in the realities of things. These relationships have been placed in the realities of existent beings through the power of creation and every incident is a consequence of the necessary relationship. For example, God hath created a relation between the sun and the terrestrial globe that the rays of the sun should shine and the soil should yield. These relationships constitute predestination, and the manifestation thereof in the plane of existence is fate. Will is that active force which controlleth these relationships and these incidents. (Selections from the Writings of Abduʾl-Baha 198)

p. 377 “the laws of European countries” The argument in this section cannot be that human attempts to establish a social order are illegitimate, since that would be inconsistent with the book as a whole. Abduʾl-Bahā appears to use the complexity of the social

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order and our lack of understanding of its hidden dynamics as proof that God must have been its designer. This is an argument for the legitimacy of social order as such, just as the concept of God as the only Creator, in the Semitic religious traditions, points to the value of nature. This argument is reinforced, not undermined, by the example of European societies in which human wisdom has been deliberately used over generations to improve the social system. European regulations – the most superficial level of the social system – are still continually subject to change as understanding gradually improves. This shows that the social order as such was not founded by the kings or philosophers of the past, when understanding was even less. A far greater legislator must have laid the foundations. p. 381 “The king is the shadow of God on earth.” The saying is old and well known: it is cited for instance by Najm al Din Rāzi, in the second chapter of his Mersād al-ʿebād men al mabdāʾ elāʾlmaʿād, in 1221, and by Badr al-din ibn Jamaʾa (1241-1333) in “Tahrīr al ahkam fī tadbīr ahl al-Islām,” (ed. Kofler) published in Islamica vi (1934) 355. Al-Beyhaqi, in his Shoʿab al-imān, says that the tradition is weak. The title was used by Persian kings in pre-Islamic times.

Further reading

The section “Abduʾl-Bahā among the intellectuals” in the Foreword identifies the principal authors and works relevant to the impact of modernity on the governance of Iran and the Ottoman Empire up to 1893. As for Bahai studies, the only current handbook to guide the researcher is Manfred Hutter’s 2009 Handbuch Bahai (see Bibliography) which is not so much a handbook strictu sensu as an introduction to the Bahai Faith with an extensive “Sources” section. Unlike other introductions, Handbuch Bahai uses sources in Persian and Arabic. Hutter takes a religious studies approach. Stockman and Winter’s Resource Guide (1997),1 is older but much more extensive and is a genuine handbook for teachers and researchers, rather than an introduction to the Bahai Faith. It does not distinguish between reliable and unreliable “primary” (translated) sources, an omission I will try to remedy below. For specific topics relating to the works translated here, my recommendations will be clear from the works cited in footnotes and in the general bibliography. The works of Alkan, Amanat, Cole, Milani, and Momen in the field of Bahai history are generally careful, source-critical, historically informed and illuminating. For a general background on the Bahai Faith, the best work is still Peter Smith’s The Babi and Bahaʾi religions: from Messianic Shiʿism to a world religion (1987), for while the scholarship has moved on in some respects, there has been no new synthesis comparable to Smith’s work. It is a mix of historical and sociological approaches. He has brought it up to date, with a more theological and contemporary focus, in An Introduction to the Bahai Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2008). This also begins with the Bābi religion.

1

https://bahai-library.com/stockman_winters_resource_guide

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Further Reading

The articles in the Encyclopaedia Iranica2 and the Encyclopaedia of Islam are generally useful: the latter is not available online without a subscription. The Penguin New Handbook of the World’s Living Religions (2003) contains a chapter on the Bahai Faith. The Bahai Library Online,3 an individual Bahai initiative, is an enormous catch-all for primary and secondary sources, mainly in English. The quality varies, but many of the items begin with an editorial assessment. The archives page4 is a useful complement to the Leiden List’s locations of primary source manuscripts in European libraries. Note especially the online catalogues for the US National Bahai Library and Louhelen Library.5 For texts in the original languages, the first port of call is the Bahai Reference Library’s “Persian” section, which includes works in Arabic.6 There is a search engine on the right: clicking on it without entering a search term takes the user to another page with links to ‘advanced search’ and ‘search instructions.’ The right hand column of the first page gives access to complete works, often free to download in pdf or Word format. As the source-critical work on the three texts of Abduʾl-Bahā translated here has shown, the text quality of the core Bahai texts in the original languages is excellent, including those on the Bahai Reference Library. The same cannot be said for the English side of the same site,7 and its replacement (under construction, 2017).8 On the older site, the English works listed include many unreliable texts. On the newer site, while all the works of Bahāʾuʾllāh carried are reliable translations of authentic texts, those attributed to Abduʾl-Bahā are a mixture of reliable and unreliable and corrupted texts. Selections from the Writings of Abduʾl-Bahā gives a good insight into Abduʾl-Bahā’s correspondence with Bahais in the West; Some Answered Questions, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel and The Will and Testament of Abduʾl-Bahā are also important and reliable. Paris Talks and The Promulgation of Universal Peace cannot be relied upon, but are useful for finding the dates on which Abduʾl-Bahā addressed particular topics. The corresponding and reliable Persian texts can then be located, since they are arranged largely 2

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bahaism-index https://bahai-library.com 4 https://bahai-library.com/Archives 5 https://bahai-library.com/follett_bahai_libraries 6 http://reference.bahai.org/fa 7 http://reference.bahai.org/en 8 http://www.bahai.org/library 3

Further Reading

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401

chronologically in the three volumes of Khetābāt-e Hazrat-e Abduʾl-Bahā, which is searchable and available as a Word document on the Persian side of the older site.9 As for the topical compilations in English, on both old and new Reference Library sites, those compiled by the Research Department are reliable, but uninformative about their sources. Most of the others show a lack of a source-critical approach and must be used with caution. The Persian topical compilations (which include citations in Arabic) by various editors (notably Mazandarani and Ishraq-Khavari) are reliable, although all but the most recent collections fail to cite sources, and even the newer collections often cite an older collection which itself gives no source. Nevertheless, a comparison of texts in these compilations whose sources can be traced (for example, using the search engines mentioned above) gives considerable confidence that the compilation editors were capable and conscientious. The H-Bahai site has concentrated on reproductions of manuscripts and early printed books. The general page for Persian and Arabic texts10 begins with a link to Abduʾl-Bahā’s collected works. Of particular interest is the “Milani” collection of letters written during the Constitutional Revolution. The quality of these texts is uniformly good. Other links from the general page lead to the collected works of Bahāʾuʾllāh and the Bāb. The Leiden List11 provides a useful but not always reliable index of the works of Bahāʾuʾllāh, their translations and commentaries, including in a few cases the locations of accessible early manuscripts. It has not been kept up to date with recent scholarship and is woefully incomplete. It is ordered alphabetically by titles in Persian and Arabic, but can also be accessed via the Leiden Index,12 using English titles. There is no comparable tool for correlating the shorter texts of Abduʾl-Bahā with their translations and commentaries, but Selections from the Writings of Abduʾl-Bahā has a companion volume, Montakhabāti az makātib-e Hazrat-e Abduʾl-Bahā volume 1,13 which contains the originals for Selections, with identical section numbers.

9

http://reference.bahai.org/fa/ http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/index/diglib/arapub.htm 11 https://senmcglinn.wordpress.com/leiden-list 12 https://senmcglinn.wordpress.com/leiden-index 13 Listed on http://reference.bahai.org/fa/t/ab 10

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Further Reading

A vital tool for translators is the Computer Translation Aid (CTA101) which correlates many of Shoghi Effendi’s translations with the original texts.14

14

http://www.mediafire.com/file/vfmwne2f99wj9ah/cta101.zip

References

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Index

Aaron 177 Abbās Mirzā, Qajar Crown Prince 25-26, 28 Abbās Nuri (Mirzā), Mirzā Bozorg 25 Abd al-Rahim Tālebov (Talebuf) 25, 35 Ketāb-e Ahmad 35 Abduʾl-Bahā, works (not those translated here) and sources 400-401 correspondence with Tolstoy 60 with Abduh 60 in Arabic and Turkish 50 Some Answered Questions 396, 397, 400 Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel 373, 400 Will and Testament 299n, 395, 400 Abdulaziz, Sultan 13, 23, 47-49, 363, 395 Abdulhamid II, Sultan 38, 49, 64 Abdullah Cevdet 50 Abdulmejid I, Sultan 65 Abraham 137 Abu Taleb Khān Isfahāni 27, 64n Abu Dāwud 105n, 129n Abuʾl-Fazl Golpāyegāni (Mirzā) 31

Abuʾl-Qāsem Farāhāni (Mirzā), Qāʾem-Maqām 25, 28, 68 Afghani, see Jamal al-din Afghanistan, Afghans 11, 327, 357 Ahmad Kermāni (Hājj Mirzā), Majd al-Islām 43 Ahmed Midhat (novelist) 48 Ahmed Vefik Pasha 46 Ahmed Shefik Midhat Pasha 20, 38, 48-50, 53, 66 Ahmed Effendi 49 Akkā 18, 31, 47-48, 50, 60 Akhtarkhavari, Nasreen 275 Ākhund Mohammad-Kāzem Khorāsāni 40-42 Ākhundzādeh (or Akhundov), Mirzā Fath ʿAli 29-31, 33, 35, 43, 67, 70 al-Ghazali 215n al-Azhar (University) 57, 60, 61n Alawites (Nusayris) 76, 327 Alexander of Macedon 203, 205, 209 Alexander II, Tsar 13, 36 Alexander IV 205n Ali al-Bakri 54 Ali Abd al-Raziq 61n Āli Pasha 13n, 14n, 47, 48, 66 Amir Kabir (Mirzā Taqi Khān Farāhāni) 12, 17, 25, 28, 32, 6970, 74, 291, 299n

412

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Index

Anglo-French Expedition 279n Anti-clericism 58, 70 Bahāʾi Faith not anti-clerical 67 Anushirvan (Chosroes I) 205 Āqā Khān Kermāni 20, 30, 43 Āqāsi, Hājji Mirzā 11, 261 Arabia, pre-Islamic 21-22, 91, 133, 135, 137, 161, 165, 231, 239, 241 Aristotle 139 Armenia, Armenian Christians 26, 32, 75 (execution of the Bāb) Arms race, see militarism Arnold, Matthew 30 Asia 34, 64, 70, 161, 163, 203, 205, 231, 243, 279, 327, 331 Ayyubi,Ayyubids 72, 245, 120 Azalis and Mirza Yahyā Nuri Sobh-e Azal 20-21, 35, 42-44, 48, 78 Bāb and Bābis 16-18, 75, 299 execution of the Bāb 75 Bābi uprisings 17, 75 Bacon, Francis 24 Baghdad 17-18, 28, 31, 33, 46-47, 50, 65, 75 Bahāʾuʾllāh 9, 13, 17-20, 30-31, 37, 46-51, 58, 65, 68, 75, 301, 305, 313-319 (summary of his teachings) Church and State 335, 347-353 works and styles 7, 25, 400-401 Kitāb-e Iqān 18, 25, 68, 253n Kitāb-e Aqdās 19, 27n, 312n, 314n Bishārāt 316n Kitāb-i ʿAhd 347n Epistle to the Son of the Wolf 307n, 314n, 353n Ishrāqāt 314-318 see notes

Balkans & Bulgaria 48, 395 Battle of the Confederates 131 Bay Mohammad 55 Bayt al-adl, also edalat-khāneh 27. See also Parliament Bektashis 65 Britain 10-12, 15, 19, 24, 26-28, 32, 41, 44-47, 55, 58, 76, 157, 279, 329 Browne, Edward Granville 67, 71, 73-76, 335-36 Butrus Bustāni 38 Caesar (render unto...) 349. See also Church and State Caliphates 58, 245 Carbonari 64 Catholic, Church and Popes 157, 195, 213, 243, 251, 293, 295-96 Charles X France 51 China 97, 131, 259, 279. See also Asia Christian divines 147, 157, 213, 235, 237, 243, 251, 369 Christianity, early 131, 161, 163, 22735, 369. Also the story of Hanzala and King Noʿman from p. 165 Christianity, medieval and Reformation 56, 58, 78, 101, 103, 235-37, 243-45 Christianity, modern, missionaries, missionary 52, 157, 163 See also Armenia Christianity, as teachings, see Gospel Church and State 8, 17-18, 23, 27, 30, 38, 41-42, 58, 71, 75-76, 79, 147, 237, 299, 335, 343-367, 378-381, 39596 Clerics, divines, clergy: see under Jewish, Christian, Muslim

Index

Cole, Juan 20-21, 38, 53n, 76, 80, 399 Comte, August 32 Constantine 235 Constitutional Revolution and Movement are not indexed Cromer, Lord 59 Crusades 56-58, 72, 243-45 Cyprus 48-49 Cyrus (Bahman son of Isfandiyar) 97

Ethiopia, Ethiopians Exilarch 147 Ezra 223

|

413

97, 159

Farāmush-khāneh (see also Freemasonry) 27, 32, 63, 65 Fath-ʿAli Shah 31, 361 Fatimah, House of 307n Fatimids 245 Fazl Bey 65 Fazl-Allah Nuri 41-42 Damascus 58, 241 Finance and financiers (foreign) 14Dār al-Fonun, polytechnic 13, 25-26, 15, 46, 55 31-32, 35, 39, 58n, 63 France 10, 14, 23, 25-27, 31-32, 34, Dawud, Johanna (Yohanna) 8, 72 46-47, 51-53, 58, 62-63, 195-197, Decembrists 65 279 Democracy 10, 19, 22-23, 27, 33-35, Paris commune 67, 292 38, 40-42, 45-46, 48-49, 52, 56-57, Franco-Prussian war 67, 195 61, 63, 65, 115, 292 Franks 245 Despotism 29, 33, 35, 37, 43, 54, 57, Freemasonry 27-28, 30, 32, 57, 63-65. 353 See also Farāmush-khāneh Diplomatic services, embassies, Fuad Pasha, Mehmed 14, 47-48, 66 diplomats, 12-15, 28, 33, 44, 46Futuwwa 32n 47, 64 Don Carlos 195 Gail, Marzieh 72, 170n, 178n, 295, Draper, John William 249, 295-96 395 Dreyfus, Hippolyte 80 Galen 233 Gender-neutral translation 255 Ebuzziya Tevfik 48, 51n Gerbert d’Aurilla (Pope Sylvester II) Egypt 14n, 15n, 19, 24, 36-38, 45-47, 251, 295-6 51-59, 62-64 Germany 10, 157, 193, 195, 197 ancient 216-219 Ghanem (or Ganem), Khalil 53, 62 medieval 245 Gospel, the (kerygma) 147, 157, 161, ejtehād 51 163, 175, 227, 233-237 Empedocles 295 Great Britain see Britain England see Britain Greece, Greeks (ancient) 95-97, 139, eslāh, eslāhāt (Turkish islāhāt) 33205, 221-223, 233, 295 34, 38 Guizot, François 57-58 ʿesmat 291 Gulick, Bahiyya Farajuʾllāh 72

414

|

Index

hadith, see Traditions Hafez 355n Hāj Sayyāh, see Mohammad-ʿAli Mahallāti Hājj Mirzā Ahmad Kermāni, Majd al-Islām 43 Hanzala 69, 164-175, 179 Hasan Melikzade Zerdabi 65 Hasani Zivar Press 68 Hezekiah 223 Holy war (jihād) 243, 361, 365-367, 395. See also Crusades Hosayn Khān (Mirzā), Moshir alDawleh 9, 13-14, 20, 25, 33, 44, 47, 67, 69, 72, 291-92 Hulagu Khān Changizi 203-205 Idolatry, idol-worship, idols 131133, 16-63, 175, 179, 223. See also Arabia, pre-Islamic Ibn Khaldun 56n, 58 Ignorance (days of), see Arabia, preIslamic Imāms (Shiah) 41, 119n, 143n, 145n, 147, 299, 307n, 349 12th or Hidden Imām 38, 42 India, Indian 11, 26-27, 30, 36, 44-45, 62, 65, 68, 76, 97, 329 International Peace, Pact 19, 191, 193, 199-201, 209, 294, 317 Iran, pre-Qajar 95-97, 205-207, 357359 (Qajar Iran is not indexed) Ishraq-Khavari, Abduʾl-Hamid 77, 401 Islam: see also Caliphates, PanIslamism, Shiism Islam, early 56, 91, 131, 161, 239-43, 369, 396 Islam, medieval 52, 243-49, 296, 331

Islam in Qajar Iran is not indexed Islam, modernized 37, 44-45, 51, 5657, 59-60 Ismail Hakki Effendi 48 Ismaʿil, Viceroy (Khedive) 45-46, 54-55 Islamic divines (ʿolamā) 11-12, 14-15, 17, 21, 26, 29, 34, 36, 38, 40-46, 48, 51, 54-55, 57, 63, 67, 70-71, 73, 75, 77-80, 123, 13955, 253, 299, 303, 307, 331, 345, 355-73, 383-85, 396. See also by name Islamic law, see Shariah Israel (ancient) and Israelites 21727, 295, see also Christianity, early. Medieval Israel: see Crusades Istanbul, Constantinople 14, 18, 28, 33-34, 37, 43-44, 47-48, 50, 53, 56, 62, 63-64, 243, 331 Jacobin Club 32n, 63 Jamal al-din Afghani 20, 25, 35-38, 42, 54, 57-59n Jamāl-al-Din Wāʾez Esfahāni (Seyyed) 43-44 jamhur 63 Japan, Japanese 36, 70, 279 Jesus 161-163, 175, 227, 349. See also Chrisianity, early Jewish divines 147, 163, 223, 295, 369 Judaism, Torah, and Jews outside Palestine 97, 131, 137, 147, 161, 177, 217-25. See also Jewish divines, Palestine jezya 31 Jihad (i.e., jehād), see Holy war Joshua 221

Index

kānun: see qānun Karim Khān Kermāni 39 Khayr al-Din al-Tunisi 55-57 Kingship, monarchy, saltanat 10, 19, 22n, 42, 57, 62-63, 121, 205, 209, 309, 343, 347, 351, 385-87 Kitāb-i (Bahaʾi transliteration) and Ketāb-e: see Bahāʾuʾllāh, works

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415

Mecca etc., see Islam, early Mehmed Emin Āli Pasha 13n Mehmed Namik Pasha 47 mellat, melli 18n, 33 Menapirzade Nuri Bey 48 Merchants and markets, in general, tariffs, trade, trading 12, 46, 30, 40n, 46, 49, 51, 53n, 54-57 Merchants and markets, Iranian Law, codified law 13, 22-23, 27, 29, (bazaris) marketplace, bazaar 11, 31-35, 38, 44, 52-53, 55, 57, 67, 70, 15, 26, 40, 44, 63 95, 105, 109, 111, 147-151, 191, 243, Meshkin Qalam 73, 76, 80 249, 261-63, 281, 287, 329, 367, 379, Metaphysics 16, 119, 229, 329, 339, 397-80. See also Shariah 373, 379, 396. Of church and state Law, constitutional 10, 19, 22-24, 32see 373-381 33, 38, 41-32, 45, 46-47, 49-51, 53-55, Mevlevi Order 66 63 Military and Militarism, including Louis XVIII of France 51 disarmament 11, 13, 19, 26, 33, 35, Luther, Martin 157, 293 46, 50-51, 70, 75, 113, 141, 191-193, 199-203, 291, 294, 343 Madaniyyah Order 60 Mines, minerals mining 14, 263 Majd ol-Molk Sinaki 28 Mirabeau (Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Majlisi the younger (Mohammad Count of Mirabeau) 32 Bāqir Majlisi) 357n Mohammad Shah 11-12, 16-17 Malkom Khān (Mirzā) 13-14, 20, 22, Mohammad-Hosayn Nāʿini 42 25, 30-31, 32-36, 40, 42-44, 63 Mohammad, Prophet, the Prophet Mānekji Sāheb (Mānekji Limji 41, 56, 91, 129-133, 159-161, 177, 207, Hātariā) [159n45, Mānekji 239-241, 259-261, 349, 369, 396 Hātari] 30-31, 71 Mohammad-ʿAli Mahallāti (Mirzā), Manifestations of God, Messengers, Hāj Sayyāh 36 Prophets 37, 103, 121, 145, 179, Mohammad ʿAbduh 20, 49-50, 57215, 219, 229, 239, 253-5, 259, 307n, 61, 296 343-5, 349, 369, 396-397. See also Mohammad-Hasan and MohammadMoses, Jesus, Muhammad, etc. Hosayn (martyrs) 335 Marx, labour-based theory of value Mohammad Tabātabāʾi 41 53n Mohammad-Tahir-e Malmiri (Haji) Materialists (Naturists) Naychiri, 336 Naychirian 37, 323 Monopolies 11, 14-15, 40, 55 Mathematics, algebra 139, 296 Montesquieu 51

416

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Index

Morteza al-Hosayni Mir Baraqāni 71, 289 Mortezā Ansāri 38-39 Mosul 50 Mozaffar al-Din Shah 36 Muslim divines (olamā), see Islamic divines Mustafa Fazl Bey 65 Nahj al-Balaghah 387n Najaf 40 Najafi, Āqā 43, 78 Namik Kemal 22, 47-49, 64-65 Napoleon 43, 47, 64, 203-205 Napoleon III 13 Naqshbandi Order 65 Nāser al-Din Shah 12-17, 25, 30, 36, 43, 69, 77, 335 Nasrollāh Beheshti, Seyyed Mirzā (Malek-al-Motakallemin) 4344 Nasruʾllāh Bāqiroff (Sayyid) 395 Nationalism, and colonialism 9-10, 12, 15, 19, 21-22, 29, 31, 36, 45, 48, 52, 55, 58, 64, 281, 329, 395 Naus, Jospeh 15 New Testament references 229, 349, 351. See also Gospel Newspapers, pamphlets 13, 15, 24, 28, 34, 36, 38, 43-44, 46, 51, 54-55, 58, 59n, 62, 68n Nezām-e Cedid (New Order) 26n Nomads 11, 166, 327, 357-59. See also Arabia, pre-Islamic Old Testament and references 137, 217. See also Moses, Jewish Divines Opium War, second 279

Osman Selahaddin Dede Effendi 66 Ottomans, see also Sultan, Tanzimāt 10, 13, 18-19, 24-5, 34, 38, 44-52, 5456, 61, 64-65, 77, 336, 363-67, 395. See also Young Ottomans Palestine, ancient & modern 18, 26, 31, 34, 47-48, 50, 60, 72, 161-63, 219, 223-27, 243 Pan-Islamism 36, 49 Parliament (majles), parliamentary democracy 19, 22, 27, 33, 35, 4042, 45-46, 49, 52, 56-57, 72, 292 and (possibly) 343 Perso-Russian war (1826-1828) 361 Polygamy 30 Popes 36, 157, 213, 243, 251, 295-96 Prime Minister, Vizer: Ottoman 13, 56 Iran 9, 12, 14, 17, 25, 69, 74-75, 261, 291, 299 Printing methods 62, 71, 76, 80 Protestants, Protestantism 157-59. See also Luther Qājār era is not indexed. See the Shahs by name qānun/kānun (codified law) 22, 3133, 35, 44, 53, 95, 105, 109, 111, 367 qovveh 292, 299 Rabbani, Ahang 7, 18, 40 Railways and roads 13-14, 32, 35, 47, 263, 287, 291 Rashid Ridā 20, 59-61n Renan 30 Resāleh-ye Majdeyyeh 13, 29 Rhodes 48, 51n Riyad Pasha 54

Index

Roʾyā-ye Sādeqa (The True Dream) 43-44 Rosen, Viktor 71 Rousseau 35, 51 Rumi, and citations of his Mathnavi 93, 107, 121, 143, 155, 177, 185, 187, 197, 213, 215, 277, 285 Russia, and Perso-Russian war (361) 9-13, 15, 25, 46, 48-49, 57, 65, 365, 395 Safvet Pasha 20 Saint-Simon, Henri de 32, 51, 53n Saladin, Sultan, al-Ashraf Salāh alDin Khalil b. Qalawun 72, 245 Sāleh Shirāzi, Mirzā 26n, 28, 34, 62, 63n Salmān the Persian 56, 133 Sanaʾi (the Sage of Ghazna) 143, 213 Sariyerli Hoca Sādik Efendi 47, 48n Saʿdi, author of Gulistān 209, 387 Sāʾid Al-Andalusi 295 Scharbrodt, Oliver 72 Schooling 9, 13, 21, 26, 29-33, 3537, 39, 41, 43-47, 50-51, 53, 55-56, 59, 70, 103, 107, 109, 117, 119, 129, 131, 153, 159, 235, 245, 249, 265, 277-81, 287, 292. See also Dār alFonun Sciences and scholarship 35, 44-45, 52, 57, 87, 91, 99, 101, 109, 113, 115, 123, 129-31, 137-39, 141, 147, 153, 237, 241, 249-51, 263, 271-73 science and religion 296 Seljuq dynasty 245 Seyyed Abdollāh Behbahāni 41 Shakib Arslān 59 Sharia, religious law 12, 16, 22, 26, 29, 31, 35, 42, 44-45, 51-52, 57, 61,

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417

105, 117, 133-39, 145-55, 161, 165, 243, 259-63, 339, 357-59, 371, 373-79 Shaykh Ahmad Ruhi 43 Shaykhism, Shaykhis 17, 36, 37n, 39, 43, 76, 327 Shiah Islam 17, 38, 293, see also Imams, Islam, Islamic divines, Shaykism, Traditions Shiraz 17 Shirāzi, Mohammad Hasan (Mirzā) 39-41 Shoghi Effendi 72, 143, 292-96, 316n, 395 shura, consultation 9, 13, 27, 32-34, 37, 45, 49, 52, 57, 70, 115, 151, 199, 261, 299. See also Parliament Shushtari, Mir Abduʾl-Latif Mosavi 26-27, 32, 63n Soltān Masʾud Mirzā, Prince, Zell alSoltān 43 Source criticism 8, 44, 45n, 60, 293, 399-401 Spain 10, 195, 243, 248n, 249-251, 296 Sufis, Mysticism, (see also Sufi orders by name) 25, 54, 60, 65-66, 76, 327, 355 Sukuti, Ishak 50, 51n Sultan Abdulaziz 13, 23, 47-49, 363, 395 Sultan Selim III 26n, 44, 66 Sultan Abdulmejid I 13, 65 Sultan Abdulhamid II 38, 49, 64 Sultan Murad V 49, 64 Sultan Mahmud II 10, 13 Sultans, claim caliphate 58n Sunni Islam 60, 357n. See also Islam, Islamic divines, Shariah, Traditions

418

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Index

Syed (or Sayyid), Ahmad Khān 37, 44-45, 60-61, 65 Syria 49, 241, 245, 295. See also Palestine Tabriz 26, 28n, 62 tahrif (corruption of scriptures): see source criticism Tahtāwi, Shaykh Refāʿa Rāfeʿ 46, 51-54, 56 Talbot, Major 15 Tamerlane 203-205 Tanzimāt 10, 14, 34, 44-45, 49, 52, 56, 65, 76 tashri / tanfidh 146-47, 298-299, 343, 366, 373-381, 395. See also Church and State Tawfiq Pasha, Mohammad 55 Tbilisi (Tiflis) 35, 65 Tehran 14n, 15, 17, 19, 28, 35, 36, 4142, 46, 62-63, 80, 307n. See also Dār al-Fonun Tevfik, Ebuzziya 48, 51n Titus, Imperator 225 Tobacco regie, see monopolies Tolstoy 60 Traditions (hadith) 60, 71, 85, 105, 129, 131, 137, 143, 145, 159, 161, 181, 211, 215, 217, 259, 267, 339, 353, 369, 373, 383, 385, 387, 398 Transport, see Railways and roads Treaty of Ganghwa 279n

Treaty of Turkmenchay 361 Treaty of international peace 19, 199-201, 209, 294, 317 trias politica 31-33, 52, 55, 299, 39596 Tunisia 46, 55-56, 58 Turkish language, literature, translations 19, 23, 24, 29, 34, 36, 50, 53-54, 56, 62, 64, 72 Urābi Revolution

55, 58

Vizier, see Prime minister Voltaire 24, 29, 51, 213, 217 Wars, see by name, and Crusade, Holy War Wilhelm I of Prussia, Emperor 13 Yek Kalameh 20n, 31, 67, 70 Young Turks 18, 49-50, 54, 62, 64-65 Young Ottomans 47-50, 64-65 Yusof Khān Tabrizi (Mirzā), Mostashār al-Dawleh 25, 31, 36, 53. See also Yek Kalameh Zayd, Nasr Abu 23 Zell al-Soltān, see Soltān Masʾud Mirzā Ziya Pasha 47 Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrians 30-31, 133, 207