The Epistle of Qaʾimiyyat
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: The Báb, The Epistle of Qaʾimiyyat, bahai-library.com.
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The Epistle of Qā’imiyyat1 Revealed by the Báb to Mullá Shaykh ʿAlí
Turshīzī (Titled ʿAzím)
Mohammad Norozi2

6 August 2025

Introduction and background:

Shaykh ʿAlí Turshīzī—bestowed by the Báb with the title ʿAzím (“the Mighty”)—was
among the foremost Shaykhī scholars to embrace the Báb’s Cause. Born in Turshīz,
Khurásán, and trained as a mujtahid, he possessed exceptional learning and
considerable influence within the Shaykhī school. The Báb’s choice of the title ʿAzím
was both deliberate and symbolic: in the abjad numerical system, the value of ʿAzím
(1020) is identical to that of Shaykh ʿAlí (1020), creating an esoteric correspondence
between his given name and the title conferred upon him (Lambden, Stephen N. “The
Qayyūm al-Asmā’ and the ‘Qāʾimiyya’ Tablet of the Báb.” Irfán Colloquia, vol. 14, 2009).

Shaykh ʿAlí’s pivotal role in the early Bábí community is attested in several primary
sources. Nabíl records that Shaykh ʿAlí’s acceptance of the Báb’s message was
instrumental in the conversion of other key figures, including the distinguished Shaykhī
scholar Siyyid Yaḥyáy-i-Darábí (Vahíd) (MacEoin, Denis. The Messiah of Shiraz: Studies
in Early and Middle Bābism. Leiden: Brill, 1986, p. 176).

Following the attempted assassination of Nāṣiri’d-Dīn Shāh in August 1852, a fierce
wave of persecution swept through the Bábí community. Shaykh ʿAlí was arrested in
Ṭihrán and cast into the notorious Siyáh-Chál alongside Bahá’u’lláh and other Bábí
leaders. During his interrogation, he boldly affirmed his allegiance to the Báb while
emphatically declaring Bahá’u’lláh’s innocence—a statement that, as Shoghi Effendi
notes, contributed to Bahá’u’lláh’s eventual release (Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By.
Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1944, p. 195).

Despite offers of pardon and ransom, Shaykh ʿAlí refused to recant his faith. His
execution in Ṭihrán in 1852 placed him among the most eminent martyrs of the Bábí
Dispensation. Nabíl-i-Aʿẓam’s The Dawn-Breakers preserves his final moments:
“Accept me, O my God… inscribe my name upon the scroll of those immortals who
have laid down their lives…”—words spoken with unshakable serenity and joy (Nabíl-i-
Aʿẓam. The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Revelation.
Trans. Shoghi Effendi. Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1932, pp. 631–632).

His life and death embody the qualities most honored in the Bábí–Bahá’í sacred history:
deep erudition, steadfast faith, fearless proclamation, and supreme sacrifice. The

Qā’imiyyat (‫ )القائميّة‬stems from the Arabic root qāma (“to arise” or “to stand”) and refers to the station or cause of the
Qā’im—the Promised One who “shall arise,” identified in Bahá’í teachings with the Báb. Shoghi Effendi uses Qā’im to
denote this messianic figure inaugurating a new spiritual era (God Passes By, pp. 30–34).
Contact email address: nsm_dist@hotmail.com.

combination of his scholarly stature, his symbolic title, and his unwavering loyalty to
the Báb situates ʿAzím as a central figure in the drama of the Bábí Revelation, bridging
the Shaykhī heritage with the emerging universal Cause of the Báb.

Although the Báb had, from the very inception of His ministry in 1844, proclaimed His
true station in His major work—the Qayyúmu’l-Asmáʾ—openly affirming His identity as
the Promised Qāʾim in the sacred idiom of Shíʿí eschatology, He refrained during the
first five years of His Dispensation from publicly and unambiguously declaring this
claim before the broader public. This restraint was lifted in the tumultuous year of 1848,
a pivotal turning point in Bábí history.

In mid-July 1848, the Báb was brought from the fortress of Chihríq to Tabríz to appear
before a tribunal convened in the presence of the seventeen-year-old Crown Prince,
Nāṣir al-Dīn Mīrzā, and a gathering of leading ʿulamā. In that assembly, He made an
open and emphatic declaration, uttering the solemn words:

“God witnesseth that there is no God but Him, He is the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. And
this is indeed the True Qāʾim, the One with Whom you were promised.” (Tablet of the Báb to the
Divines of Tabríz).

At approximately the same time, the Báb revealed the Epistle of Qāʾimiyyat addressed
to ʿAzím—commanding him to spread the news of His advent and to proclaim publicly
that the Promised Qāʾim had appeared. In that Epistle, the Báb entrusted him with a
sacred charge:

“O ʿAlí! We, by Our command, have chosen thee and made thee an angel to proclaim before the
Qāʾim. Verily, He hath appeared by the leave of His Lord. This is of the bounty of God unto thee
and unto the people, that haply they may give thanks. …And whoso hath believed in Me—that is
the Day of Resurrection. Then shall all be invested with a new creation.”

In addition, in the same work, the Báb formally abrogated the laws of Islám, declaring:

“And whoso is sustained, after having already been sustained aforetime, with whatsoever they
once practised as their religion—upon them it shall not be incumbent to observe that which We
had revealed aforetime in the Qur’án.”

He further affirmed the progressive nature of divine revelation, stating:

“Say: Faith, after Faith, is but that ye believe in God and in His verses, and that ye shall aid, in the
Religion of Truth, with whatsoever power ye possess.”

These pronouncements coincided with a remarkable confluence of events in June–July
1848: the Conference of Badasht (late June to mid-July 1848),3 at which Ṭáhirih publicly
and symbolically abrogated Islamic law; the march of Mullá Ḥusayn towards Khurásán
bearing the Black Standard (initiated on 21 July 1848);4 and the Báb’s own

Momen 1983; Bahá’í Library chronology 1848-06-26 to 1848-07-17.
Bahá’í Library chronology; Bahaipedia; Wikipedia Black Standard.

proclamations in Tabríz (mid-July 1848)5, and in the Epistle of Qāʾimiyyat. Taken
together, these events—set in motion by the Báb’s explicit assertion of His station as the
Qá’im—mark a decisive shift from veiled allusion to open messianic declaration,
inaugurating a new phase in the unfolding drama of His mission.

Moreover, Nabíl-i-Aʿẓam records in The Dawn-Breakers (pp. 192–193) the conversation
that took place between the Báb and ʿAzím during His stay in Tabríz in July 1848, shortly
before His appearance before the tribunal.

Nabíl states:

“On the second night after His arrival, the Báb summoned Aẓím to His presence and, in the
course of His conversation with him, asserted emphatically His claim to be none other than the
Promised Qá’im. He found him, however, reluctant to acknowledge this claim unreservedly.
Perceiving his inner agitation, He said: “Tomorrow I shall, in the presence of the Valí-‘Ahd,6 and in
the midst of the assembled ‘ulamás and notables of the city, proclaim My Mission. Whoso may
feel inclined to require from Me any other testimony besides the verses which I have revealed,
let him seek satisfaction from the Qá’im of his idle fancy.” I have heard Aẓím testify to the
following: “That night I was in a state of great perturbation. I remained awake and restless until
the hour of sunrise. As soon as I had offered my morning prayer, however, I realised that a great
change had come over me. A new door seemed to have been unlocked and set open before my
face. The conviction soon dawned upon me that if I were loyal to my faith in Muḥammad, the
Apostle of God, I must needs also unreservedly acknowledge the claims advanced by the Báb,
and must submit without fear or hesitation to whatever He might choose to decree. This
conclusion allayed the agitation of my heart. I hastened to the Báb and begged His forgiveness.
‘It is a further evidence of the greatness of this Cause,’ He remarked, ‘that even Aẓím should
have felt so exceedingly troubled and shaken by its power and the immensity of its claim.’ ‘Rest
assured,’ He added, ‘the grace of the Almighty shall enable you to fortify the faint in heart and to
make firm the step of the waverer. So great shall be your faith that should the enemy mutilate
and tear your body to pieces, in the hope of lessening by one jot or tittle the ardour of your love,
he would fail to attain his object. You will, no doubt, in the days to come, meet face to face Him
who is the Lord of all the worlds, and will partake of the joy of His presence.’ These words
dispelled the gloom of my apprehensions. From that day onward, no trace of either fear or
agitation ever again cast its shadow upon me.”

Considering the convergence of these historical events, it is reasonable to conclude
that the Epistle of Qāʾimiyyat was revealed sometime between late June and late July
1848. The internal evidence of the text, together with the timing of the Báb’s open
declaration of His station in Tabríz, supports this dating. It is plausible that the Báb
entrusted this Epistle to ʿAzím, during their reported meeting in Tabríz shortly before the
Báb’s appearance before the tribunal presided over by the seventeen-year-old Crown
Prince, Nāṣir al-Dīn Mīrzā. This meeting would thus have provided the occasion for the

Bahá’í Timeline, Bahá’í Library; God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi, p. 110.
A reference to Crown Prince, Nāṣir al‑Dīn Mīrzā, who later became Nāṣiri’d‑Dīn Sháh.

Báb to charge ʿAzím with disseminating the contents of this weighty Epistle, which both
proclaimed the advent of the Promised Qāʾim and abrogated the Islamic laws. This
sacred Epistle was revealed in its entirety in Arabic.

What follows is a provisional English rendering of this luminous Epistle, translated with
the utmost reverence and care. The original text is published in Ẓuhúru’l-Ḥaqq, vol. 3,
pp. 164–166.

The Báb Reveals:

“God, the Most Pure

O creation of God, one and all! Recite His verses, then believe ye, and attain unto
certitude.

‘He is the Most Exalted. In the Name of God, the Inaccessible, the Most Holy. God
testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His is the creation and the command. He
giveth life and causeth death, then causeth death and giveth life, and verily He is the
Ever-Living Who dieth not. In His grasp is the dominion of all things; He createth
whatsoever He willeth by His command, and verily, He hath power over all things.’

O ʿAlí!7 We, by Our command, have chosen thee and made thee an angel to proclaim
before Qaim (He Who ariseth).8 Verily, He hath appeared by the leave of His Lord. This is
of the bounty of God unto thee and unto the people, that haply they may give thanks.

O ʿAlí! Verily, I am the Fire of God9 which God shall manifest on the Day of Resurrection
— by which all shall be raised, dispersed, gathered, and presented; thereafter, they shall
enter Paradise.
Say: Those who have entered through the Gate in prostration — by the Lord of the
heavens and the Lord of the earth, the Lord of all the worlds! — then shall God increase
their Fire by the number of the Báb, and He shall indeed make for them a Light; 10 then
shall they know. That is the Qá’im, whose Day all await and unto whom all have been
promised.11

A reference to Shaykh ʿAlí Turshízí, titled by the Báb ʿAzím (“the Mighty”) (d. 1852, Tehran), one of the early and
steadfast disciples of the Báb and the recipient of this Epistle. He was martyred in Tehran in 1852 during the
persecutions that followed the attempt on the life of Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh, steadfastly refusing to recant his faith.
In Shí‘a eschatology, al-Qāʾim (“He Who ariseth”) is a messianic title applied to the awaited Twelfth Imám, who, it is
believed, will appear at the end of time to establish justice and vanquish oppression. In the Writings of the Báb, this
title is explicitly applied to Himself, signifying the fulfillment of Shí‘a prophetic expectation and the inauguration of a
new divine Dispensation. The appearance of al-Qāʾim in Bábí–Bahá’í scripture marks the eschatological turning point
foretold in Islámic tradition, wherein the Promised One arises “by the leave of His Lord” to fulfill all former covenants
and usher in a new era of divine revelation.
The expression “Fire of God” (nār Allāh)—drawn from Qur’án 104:6–7 ("the Fire of God, kindled, which shall rise over
the hearts")—appears in Islamic eschatology as a consuming force of divine judgment. In the Báb’s reinterpretation,
it denotes the irresistible and purifying power of His own Revelation, manifested “on the Day of Resurrection” as both
a test and a mercy. By identifying Himself with this Fire, the Báb invokes the Qur’ānic imagery of God speaking from
the burning fire (Qur’án 20:10–14), signifying the Manifestation as the direct voice and decree of God. In this passage,
the Fire functions not merely as retribution, but as the spiritual force by which humanity is raised, gathered, and—if
receptive—led into Paradise, its blaze transmuted into light for the faithful.
In this verse, the Báb alludes to a numerical transformation: the word nār (Fire) has an Abjad value of 251. When
augmented by the value of Báb (Gate = 5), it becomes 256, which is the numerical value of nūr (Light). This mystical
symbolism encapsulates the redemptive role of the Báb — through His Cause, the torment of “Fire” is transfigured
into the radiance of “Light,” leading souls to divine knowledge.
In the Epistle to Áqá Muḥammad Sa‘íd Ardastání, the Báb proclaims: “Bear ye witness that there is no God but Him,
the All-Compelling, the Self-Subsisting, and that I am the True Qá’im, Whose advent all have been promised.”
Likewise, in His Tablet to the ‘Ulamá of Tabríz, He affirms: “And verily this is the True Qá’im, Whose advent ye were

We, verily, endured the Day of Resurrection for fifty thousand years,12 that all things
might be purified, until there remaineth naught but the Countenance of thy Lord, the
Almighty, the All-Glorious.

And on that Day, We bore witness to the Spirit of Faith only by the number of the
Countenance13 — and indeed, We were well aware thereof.

And the first to pledge allegiance unto Me was Muḥammad, the Messenger of God
(blessings be upon Him), followed by ʿAlí (peace be upon Him).

Then those who bore witness after Him, and thereafter the Gates of Divine Guidance.

Then those whom God hath destined for that bounty — among the Prophets, the
Truthful, the Witnesses, and such as are endowed with certitude in God and in His signs,
though they knew it not.

Then, when God beareth witness against them, for indeed they had entered the Fire of
God — with which all are tried and purified —He shall then raise them up from the
tombs of their selves, and shall re-create them even as He first created them14 — for He,
verily, is potent over all things.

Say: God, through that which He had previously revealed of the verses in the Mother
Book,15 did indeed bring Muhammad into being. And thereafter whatsoever He willed.

promised.” The title Qá’im—literally “He Who ariseth”—is a central messianic figure in Shí‘a eschatology, identified
with the awaited Mahdí, whose advent signals the consummation of the prophetic cycle.
The Báb’s reference to “fifty thousand years” here—echoing Qur’án 70:4 (“The angels and the Spirit ascend unto
Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years”)—serves as a symbolic expression of the infinite spiritual
magnitude and timeless foreordination of His Dispensation, not as a literal measure of time. In Bábí-Bahá’í
interpretation, this idiom conveys the vast preparatory span of sacred history culminating in the advent of the
Manifestation, whose Revelation purifies (“tamḥīṣ”) all things, separating truth from falsehood. The concluding
phrase, “until there remaineth naught but the Countenance of thy Lord,” recalls Qur’án 55:27 and, in the Báb’s usage,
signifies the enduring Reality of the Manifestation of God—here the Báb Himself—as the sole abiding divine Presence
when all else passes away. Cf. Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, passim; Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán, on the symbolic nature of
prophetic timescales and the “Face of God.”
The numerical value of the word wajh (“Countenance/Face”) in the Abjad reckoning is fourteen (wāw = 6, jīm = 3,
hāʾ = 5), representing the Fourteen Pure Ones — Muḥammad, Fāṭimah, and the Twelve Imáms. In the Báb’s writings,
this term often signifies the totality of divine guidance manifested in the cycle of Muḥammad, in accordance with the
Qur’ánic usage of wajh Allāh (“the Countenance of God”), a phrase which, in Bahá’í translations, denotes the
Manifestations of God and the enduring reality of His Cause.
An allusion to Qur’án 29:19–20 and 30:27, where God’s power to originate creation and then bring it forth anew is
invoked as proof of His sovereignty and ability to raise the dead: “See they not how God produceth creation, then
reproduceth it? Lo, that is easy for God” (29:19); “And He it is Who produceth creation, then reproduceth it, and it is
most easy for Him” (30:27). In the Bábí–Bahá’í writings, this motif extends beyond physical resurrection to signify the
spiritual re-creation of the soul in each new Revelation, whereby humanity is invested with a new capacity to receive
divine grace. Cf. Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 118, and Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, CXXIX.
In Qur’ánic usage, the term Umm al-Kitáb (“Mother Book”) denotes the archetypal source of all revealed scripture,
described as “with Us, exalted and full of wisdom” (Qur’án 43:4; cf. 13:39). Classical Islamic exegesis variously
identifies it with the Qur’án itself, in its heavenly archetype, or with the “Preserved Tablet” (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ). In the
Writings of the Báb, Umm al-Kitáb frequently bears this dual sense—referring both to the Qur’án and to the primordial
repository of divine revelation from which all Dispensations proceed. In the present passage, the Báb affirms that
God, through verses already revealed in the Umm al-Kitáb, brought forth the Mission of Muḥammad, thus situating
the Prophet’s advent within the eternal continuum of divine disclosure. Cf. Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, passim; Bahá’u’lláh,
Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 174–175.

In like manner shall God, on that Day, create whatsoever He willeth by His Word: “Be!”
and it is.

And whoso awaiteth, after this, the appearance of a Mahdí, or the return of Muhammad,
or of any who had believed in God and in His verses—such indeed possess no
knowledge until the Day when God shall cause Me to return. And whoso hath believed in
Me — that is the Day of Resurrection. Then shall all be invested with a new creation.

Verily, We initiated that creation, and We shall assuredly bring it back again—a promise
incumbent upon Us; for We, indeed, have ever been powerful.

And whoso is sustained, after having already been sustained aforetime, with whatsoever
they once practised as their religion — upon them it shall not be incumbent to observe
that which We had revealed aforetime in the Qur’án.

Verily, We have ever been recording that which ye have wrought. Indeed, We have
brought forth the creation of the Hereafter,16 and have exalted all that the people had
hitherto taken as the measure of religion.

Say: The air purifieth you even as doth water.17 O servants of God, render ye thanks!

And whoso acteth after God hath made manifest the decree of the Proof of thy Lord,
naught shall be accepted from him.

On that Day, the likeness of those who were given the Book aforetime shall have no
decree save for him who entereth into the religion of God and is numbered among the
sincere.

And whoso reciteth a verse from the Book or repeateth a tradition thereafter, desiring to
act according to it—such are even as those who came before. Their Lord shall assuredly
admit them into the religion of truth, for He is indeed potent over all things.

The expression nashʾat al-ākhirah (creation of the Hereafter) occurs in Qur’án 29:20 — “Even so will God produce
the later creation” — where it refers to the resurrection and renewal of life. In the writings of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh,
it is employed as a technical term denoting the new spiritual creation inaugurated by the advent of a Manifestation of
God, and the establishment of a new divine Order. The Báb speaks of “the creation of the Hereafter” in Selections
from the Writings of the Báb, no. 14, as the transformation brought about by the Dispensation of the Qáʾim.
Bahá’u’lláh, in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (¶181), affirms: “the standards whereby men judge have been changed,”
underscoring that the former measures of religion have been superseded in the new creation.
In this passage (“Say: The air purifieth you even as doth water”), the Báb reinterprets the Islamic concept of ṭahārah
(ritual purification), which in Qur’ánic law is attained primarily through water (cf. Qur’án 5:6; 25:48–49) or earth in
tayammum (cf. Qur’án 4:43). Here, “air” (hawā’)—absent from traditional jurisprudence as a medium of purification—
is endowed with a sanctifying power equal to that of water. This symbolic equation aligns “air” with the breath of
divine revelation (rūḥ), the animating Word of God, which cleanses hearts and souls in the eschatological age
inaugurated by the Báb. In the Qur’án, divine breath is associated with the impartation of life and spirit (15:29; 32:9),
while water often symbolizes revelation itself (cf. Qur’án 21:30; 25:48–49). The Báb’s reframing thus signals the
abrogation of outward forms in favour of inward purification through recognition of the Manifestation of God—a
hermeneutic consistent with His reinterpretation of many Islamic ordinances in the Bayán and Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’.
Bahá’u’lláh later affirms this spiritualization of purity: “This is the water that giveth everlasting life to all who drink
thereof” (Gleanings, XXXVI), and speaks of the “winds of Thy will” as a sanctifying force (Prayers and Meditations,
LXXXIII). In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, while retaining basic laws of cleanliness, He situates them within a higher principle of
inner sanctity derived from love of God and obedience to His Word.

Say: Should all mankind assemble, one and all, to bring forth the like of that Book, they
would assuredly fail to do so, nor could they ever prevail, even were they, upon the
earth, endowed with all knowledge.

And thou shalt assuredly command the people, one and all, every single one of them, to
recite, by night and by day, the verse We have sent down in the beginning of the Book, 18
that they may be sustained by the bounty of their Lord, and be numbered among those
who are endowed with certitude in God and in His verses.

Say: Faith, after Faith19, is but that ye believe in God and in His verses, and that ye shall
aid, in the Religion of Truth, with whatsoever power ye possess.

Say: Present not yourselves in the seats wherein ye once prayed, but present yourselves
before the presence of God, and aid ye Him Who hath returned unto the first life20, and
take ye the Right of God by His leave, for He, verily, is All-Knowing of all things.

Glory be to Thee, O God! Bear witness against Me, for verily, I have neglected nothing in
the First Book21 of all that was revealed therein. Verily, there is no God but Me. It is Me
alone Whom ye must fear, that every soul may be assured of that which hath been

A reference to the opening verses of the Epistle, wherein the Báb proclaims: “He is the Most Exalted. In the Name of
God, the Inaccessible, the Most Holy. God testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His is the creation and the
command. He giveth life and causeth death, then causeth death and giveth life, and verily He is the Ever-Living Who
dieth not. In His grasp is the dominion of all things; He createth whatsoever He willeth by His command, and verily, He
hath power over all things.”
The phrase “Faith, after Faith” (‫ )الدين من بعد الدين‬is rich with dispensational significance within the Bábí and Bahá’í
revelations. It denotes the continuity and succession of divine dispensations, whereby each new Revelation is a
continuation and fulfillment of the previous divine Covenant. This concept is central to Bahá’í theology, which holds
that religious Truth is revealed progressively by successive Manifestations of God, each one renewing the spiritual
and social teachings appropriate for the time and place. Shoghi Effendi elucidates this in Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá’u’lláh (CXV): “This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.” Similarly, The
Kitáb-i-Aqdas (¶184) affirms the unity and eternal nature of the Faith despite successive dispensations: “This is the
changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.” The phrase thereby signifies that while outward
forms may change, the essential reality—the Faith of God—remains one, renewed and manifested anew through
successive Prophets, including the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
The expression “returned unto the first life” (‫ )رجعوا إلى الحيوة األولى‬carries profound eschatological and mystical
meaning in Bábí–Bahá’í thought. The “first life” is understood as the spiritual life that emanates from God’s eternal
Essence, distinguished from the “second life,” which refers to the physical, earthly existence. The Manifestation of
God, having returned to the “first life,” symbolizes His return in a new Revelation—a renewal of the divine presence
and a reawakening of spiritual realities. Bahá’u’lláh in Gleanings (LXXVII) speaks of the Manifestation as the one who
revives and renews the spiritual life of humanity, a concept consonant with the Báb’s usage here.
Moreover, the “first life” alludes to Qur’ánic and hadith traditions emphasizing resurrection and spiritual awakening.
In Bahá’í exegesis, this phrase highlights the cyclical nature of divine Manifestations: although the physical body of
the Manifestation passes away, His spiritual influence and authority return perpetually in new dispensations.
The phrase “the First Book” refers to the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, the Báb’s first major work, revealed in 1844 and cast in
the form of a mystical commentary on the Súrih of Joseph. Regarded by Him as the inaugural and foundational text of
His Revelation, it is composed in 111 surihs, each introduced by detached Arabic letters, and suffused with Qur’ánic
cadence and imagery. In it, the Báb proclaims His station in veiled yet unmistakable terms, inaugurating the new
Dispensation while outwardly presenting the work as a commentary within the Islamic exegetical tradition. In later
Writings, when the Báb alludes to “the First Book,” He invokes the authority of this primal text as a touchstone of His
mission, affirming that nothing of essential import was omitted from it.

clearly explained therein. That there shall be no discourse (ḥadíth)22 after God and His
verses, in which people believe.

Glory be to Thee, O God! Fifty thousand years of the Day of Resurrection have passed,
whereupon We shall make the Fire a Light for those who have entered through the Gate,
and a Mercy from Thee. Verily, Thou art the Most Merciful, the Most Great.

Say: God is the Truth, and whatsoever is other than God is created by Him, and all are
His worshippers.

O people of God! Verily, there is none other God but Him, and I, indeed, am the first of
the worshippers.

Say: He is, in truth, a Guide unto Muḥammad.

Say: He, verily, is the promised Mahdí in the Mother Book.

Say: He is the Bearer of the Truth, the One Whose advent all have been promised.

Say: He is the True Qá’im, in Whom all are certain.

And We, indeed, have sent down that Book as a Mercy from Our presence unto all the
worlds, lest anyone should say: ‘Had God apprised me of the appearance of the Mahdí,
or of the return of Muḥammad, and of those who are witnesses after Him, and then the
believers, I would assuredly have been among those present.’

Say: God, my Lord, is assuredly the All-Sufficing, the All-Knowing.”

The phrase “That there shall be no discourse after God and His verses, in which people believe” echoes Qur’án
45:6: “These are the verses of God which We recite to thee in truth; in what discourse (ḥadíth) after God and His
verses will they believe?” By employing nearly identical wording, the Báb applies this Qur’ánic principle to His own
Dispensation, implying that His revealed verses constitute, in this Day, the “verses of God” and supersede all post-
revelatory traditions. In Islamic usage, ḥadíth denotes sayings or reports attributed to the Prophet Muḥammad (and,
in Shí‘ah Islam, to the Imáms). In the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’ (passim), the Báb repeatedly elevates His own revelation
above inherited ḥadíth, insisting that no secondary discourse can be placed on a par with the Word of God newly
revealed. Bahá’u’lláh, in the Kitáb-i-Íqán (pp. 172–174), likewise warns against blind adherence to such traditions
when they obscure recognition of the Manifestation of God, affirming that the divine verses revealed in each age
abrogate the authority of all prior scriptural or extra-scriptural narratives.

‫‪The Epistle of Qā’imiyyat Revealed by the Báb to Mullá Shaykh ʿAlí Turshīzī (Titled‬‬
‫‪ʿAzím), Transcribed from a Typed Copy‬‬

‫هللا أطهر‬
‫أن يا خلق هللا كل تقرئون ثم لتؤمنون وتوقنون‬
‫هو‬
‫األعلى بسم هللا األمنع األقدس‪ ،‬شهد هللا أنه ل إله إل هو له الخلق واألمر يحيي ويميت ث ّم يميت ويحيي وأنه هو حي ل يموت‬
‫في قبضته ملكوت ك ّل شيء يخلق ما يشاء بأمره إنه كان على ك ّل شيء قديرا‬
‫أن يا علي قد اصطفيناك بأمرنا وجعلناك َملَ ًكا ينادي بين يدي القائم إنه قد ظهر بإذن ربه ذلك من فضل هللا عليك وعلى الناس‬
‫لعلهم يشكرون‬
‫أن يا علي إنني أنا نار هللا التي يُظ ِه ُر هللا يوم القيمة وك ّل بها يبعثون وينشرون ويحشرون ويعرضون ث ّم هم في الجنّة يدخلون‬
‫ّ‬
‫وليجعلن‬      ‫قل إن الذين دخلوا في الباب سجدًا فورب السموات ورب األرض ربّ العالمين إذًا يزيد هللا على نارهم عدد الباب‬
‫نورا فإذا هم يعلمون‪ ،‬ذلك قائم الذي ك ّل ينتظرون يومه وك ّل به يوعدون إنا قد صبرنا يوم القيمة خمسين ألف سنة‬     ‫لهم ً‬
‫ليمحصن ك ّل شيء حتى‬
‫ّ‬
‫ل يبقى إل وجه ربّك ذي العزة والجالل وما شهدنا على روح إيمان يومئذ إل عدد الوجه إنا كنا به‬
‫عالمين وإن أول من بايع بي محمد رسول هللا )ص( ث ّم علي )ع( ثم الذين هم شهداء من بعده ث ّم أبواب الهدى ث ّم ما قد قدّر هللا له‬
‫ذلك الفضل من النبيين والصدّيقين والشهداء والذين هم باهلل وآياته موقنون من حيث ل يعلمون فإذا شهد هللا عليهم بما قد دخلوا‬
‫نار هللا التي ك ّل بها ليمحصون فإذا‬
‫قديرا‬
‫مرة إنه كان على كل شيء ً‬      ‫يبعثهم هللا من مراقد أنفسهم ويخلقهم بمثل ما قد خلقهم ّأول ّ‬
‫‪،‬قل إن هللا بما قد نزل من قبل من اآليات في أُم الكتاب قد خلق محمدًا ثم ما شاء كذلك يخلق هللا يومئذ ما يشاء بقوله كن فيكون‬
‫‪،‬ومن ينتظر بعد هذا ظهور مهدي‪ ،‬أو رجع محمد‪ ،‬أو أحد ممن آمن باهلل وآياته‪ ،‬فأولئك ما لهم من علم إلى يوم يرجعني هللا‬
‫ومن آمن بي ذلك ‪ .‬يوم القيمة فإذا ك ّل في‬
‫خلق جديد‬
‫إنا قد بدئنا ذلك الخلق وإنا لنعيدنّهم وعدًا علينا إنا كنا قادرين ومن يرزق من بعد ما رزقوا من قبل من ك ّل ما هم ليدينون فأولئك‬
‫هم ل يح ّل عليهم بما قد نزلنا من قبل في القرآن إنا كنا نستنسخ ما كنتم تعملون إنا قد أنشأنا نشأة اآلخرة وأرفعنا ك ّل ما كان‬
‫إن الهواء يطهركم بمثل ما يطهركم الماء أن يا عباد هللا فاشكرون ومن يعمل بعد أن يوصل هللا حكم حجّة‬            ‫النّاس به ليدينون قل ّ‬
‫وإن يومئذ ك ّل مثل الذين أوتوا الكتاب من قبل ما لهم حكم إل من يدخل في دين هللا‬ ‫ربّك فال يقبل عنه من شيء ّ‬
‫وكان من المخلصين ومن يتلو آية من الكتاب أو يروي حديثًا من بعد يريد أن يعمل به فـ به فأولئك مثلهم كمثل الذين كانوا من‬
‫قبل فسيدخلهم هللا ربّهم في دين الحق إنّه كان على ك ّل شيء ً‬
‫قديرا قل لو‬

‫اجتمع الناس كلهم أجمعون على أن يأتوا بمثل ذلك الكتاب لن يستطيعوا ولن يقدروا ولو كانوا على‬

‫األرض عالمين‬

‫فلتأمرن الناس كلهم أجمعين أن يقرئوا بالليل والنهار اآلية التي قد نزلناها في ّأول الكتاب ليرزقن برزق ربّهم وكانوا باهلل‬
‫وآياته موقنين‬
‫قل إنما الدين من بعد الدين أن تؤمنوا باهلل وآياته ولتنصرن في دين الحق بما أنتم عليه مقتدرون قل ل تحضرون المقاعد التي‬
‫كنتم فيها تصلون ولتحضرون بين يدي هللا ولتنصرن الذي قد رجعوا إلى الحيوة األولى ولتأخذن حق هللا بإذنه إنه كان بك ّل‬
‫شيء عليما‬
‫األول من شيء بما نزلت فيه إنه ل إله إل أنا إياي فاتَّقون لتوقن ك ّل‬
‫فرطت في الكتاب ّ‬      ‫سبحانك اللهم فاشهد علي فإنّني أنا ما ّ‬
‫نفس بما قد فصلت فيه أن ل يكن من بعد هللا وآياته حديثا كان الناس به يؤمنون سبحانك اللهم قد قضي خمسين ألف سنة يوم‬
‫القيمة فإذا ألجعلن النار لمن قد دخل في الباب نورا ورحمة من عندك إنك كنت ذا رحمة عظيما‬

‫‪10‬‬
‫وإن ما دون هللا خلق له وك ّل له عابدون أن يا خلق هللا إنّه ل إله إل هو وإنني أنا ّأول العابدين قل إنّه لمحمد هاد‬
‫إن هللا حق ّ‬
‫قل ّ‬
‫قل إنه لمهدي موعود في أُم الكتاب قل إنه صاحب حق ك ّل به يوعدون قل إنّه قائم حق ك ّل به موقنون وإنا قد نزلنا ذلك الكتاب‬
‫رحمة من لدنا للعالمين لئال يقول أحد لو‬
‫علمني هللا ظهور مهدي أو رجع محمد والذين هم شهداء من بعده ث ّم المؤمنون لكنتُ من المحضرين‬
‫إن هللا ربي لغني‬‫قل ّ‬
‫عليم‬

‫‪11‬‬
-- The Epistle of Qaʾimiyyat (Used by permission of the curator)