The Qur'an and the Baha'i Faith
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Todd Lawson, The Qur'an and the Baha'i Faith, bahai-library.com.
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Chapter 7

The Qur’an and the Baha’i Faith

Todd Lawson, University of Toronto

And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea were ink, with seven
more seas yet added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for,
verily, God is almighty, wise.
(Q 31:27, Asad)

T
he Baha’i faith was born in Iran and for this reason it trails many
Iranian clouds of glory. One of these is the high degree to which
Islam and the Qur’an have had a great impact on the form and
contents of the Baha’i revelation and the Baha’i religion. The Baha’i writings
are steeped in the Qur’an and, to a lesser degree, also steeped in hadith – a
topic not pursued here. Qur’anic quotations in Baha’i scripture are indi-
cated in published works and manuscripts. However, Qur’anic diction and
vocabulary is such a pervasive element of the Baha’i writings that it would
be impossible to indicate every instance of influence or presence. The Qur’an
has had, down the centuries, an unparalleled influence on Muslim culture in
general and, from the earliest times, on Irano-Islamic culture in general, and
an even more intense impact upon specifically religious works, whether
mystical, philosophical, theological, or poetic, written by Iranians in both
Persian and Arabic.1 The Qur’anic content of the Baha’i writings is a source
Lewis, ‘Persian Literature and the Qur’an.’
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH              157

of pride and inspiration among Baha’is as it obviously was among the central
founding figures of the Baha’i faith: The Bab (d. 1850), Baha’ullah (d. 1892),
Abdulbaha’ (d. 1921) and Shoghi Effendi (d. 1957). Although, as long ago
as 1938, Shoghi Effendi had instructed the Baha’i community to study the
Qur’an thoroughly, it has not yet been completely and systematically tracked
and indexed throughout all Baha’i publications, even though some steps in
this direction have been made. One of the biggest factors in this compara-
tively slow progress has to do with the pervasiveness of the Qur’an through-
out the Baha’i writings, the numerous different contexts and functions
involved and, perhaps, most definitively, the truly vast literary terrain
involved. The literary output of the founding figures mentioned above, in
addition to a vast secondary literature in hundreds of languages, constitutes
a textual base for such a study that is daunting in every way. Much of the
Baha’i corpus has been published, but much more remains in manuscript
form. However, it is possible to gauge the importance of the Qur’an in Baha’i
scripture by taking account of its influence and presence in the two earliest
major compositions of the Bab. As we will see in what follows, these two
works are in fact tafsirs, or Qur’an commentaries. One of these is considered
the inaugural work of the Baha’i era.
From one point of view, the depth of the Qur’anic roots of the Baha’i
faith is perfectly natural and unsurprising for, despite laughable attempts
to cast the Babi and Baha’i religions as tools of foreign intervention and
manipulation (British, Russian, American), no compelling evidence has
been bought to bear to counter the clear and quite reasonable assumption
that the Baha’i faith is an indigenous Islamicate development. In the course
of its genesis it relied solely on the inner resources of Islamic intellectual
and religious culture to configure its own distinctive religious identity.
Obviously, the nineteenth century was a time of intense and burgeoning
globalism, and this also figured in the process. But the Bab – an Arabic
word meaning ‘gate’ or ‘door,’ and the title by which a sayyid from the Iranian
merchant class, Ali Muhammad Shirazi, has come to be most widely
known – and Baha’ullah – an Arabic title meaning ‘the glory or splendor of
God’ and the honorific of Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri – both engaged with the
Qur’an at the deepest levels of their writing. They adduced it as proof of
their respective visions and claims, they commented upon it in both
158       COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

traditional and modernist modes, and they clearly considered it an inviol-
able and sacred record of divine revelation.
Abdulbaha’, the son of Baha’ullah, also clearly knew the Qur’an very
well and quoted it frequently in his talks and writings, as did Shoghi
Effendi.2 The Universal House of Justice, the administrative and spiritual
authority for Baha’is today, also engages the Qur’an in its various commu-
nications and publications. The basic doctrinal position is that the Prophet
Muhammad, the Qur’an and Islam represent essential, holy communica-
tion from God to humanity and that the Qur’an, apart from Baha’i sacred
writings, represents the only fully authentic scripture to which humanity
might turn. As mentioned above, Shoghi Effendi unambiguously instructed
the Baha’is to study it with the aid of sources that are fair and unbiased,
and to deepen their understanding of the similarities and differences
between Islam and the Baha’i faith:

[The Baha’is] must strive to obtain, from sources that are authorita-
tive and unbiased, a sound knowledge of the history and tenets of
Islam – the source and background of their Faith – and approach
reverently and with a mind purged from preconceived ideas the
study of the Qur’an which, apart from the sacred scriptures of the
Babi and Baha’i Revelations, constitutes the only Book which can be
regarded as an absolutely authenticated Repository of the Word of
God.3

It may be speculated that the young Baha’i community of the West had
been at least partly attracted to the Baha’i message, either wittingly or
unwittingly, by its significant and compelling Qur’anic content. This
content gave that message a distinctive voice and doctrinal shape and
caused it to distinguish itself as a new religion in the West, where, for
example, what might be thought the Islamicate ‘epic of humanity’ was being

While Shoghi Effendi was still a baby, his grandfather Abdulbaha’, the head of the Baha’i faith
at the time, arranged for weekly visits from a local Qur’an reciter to chant to the future Guardian
of the Cause of God. Rabbani, Priceless Pearl, p. 9.
Shoghi Effendi, Advent of Divine Justice, p. 49.
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH                     159

heard with new ears.4 It is possible that Shoghi Effendi, in making the
study of the Qur’an obligatory for the Baha’is, wanted them to come to
terms with this fact, to study the genetic, umbilical relation between the
Qur’an and the Baha’i scripture in order for them to be able to distinguish,
precisely, what was Islamic from what was Baha’i.
The distinguishing watchword of the Baha’i message, from the begin-
ning, has been: One God, One Religion and One Humanity. To a Muslim,
such a statement is unremarkable and unexceptionable. However, during
the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first few decades of the
twentieth, in the major centers of Europe and North America where this
Baha’i message was being actively promulgated, it was received as a refresh-
ing and much-needed religious orientation for the new, burgeoning and
quite heady modernity that was rapidly transforming the planet into a
global village. To those who became followers of the religion of Baha’ullah,
this watchword had the metaphysical heft of a perfectly timed divine inter-
vention which some saw as a metaphor for the return of Christ and others
saw, less figuratively, as simply the return of Christ in the person of
Baha’ullah or, in some cases, his son Abdulbaha’. Other Baha’i teachings
promoted at this time, especially by Abdulbaha’ during his travels to
Europe and North America during the pre-World War I years, 1911–13,
were: the abolition of war, including ‘holy war’; the equality of men and
women; the independent investigation of truth, and the condemnation of
taqlid – ‘blind imitation’ in matters of religion; the abolition of the clergy;
the establishment of a universal auxiliary language; that religious truth is
not absolute but relative; that there have been messengers from God since
the beginning of creation and there will always be messengers from God;
the purpose of divine revelation is the promotion of an ‘ever-advancing
civilization’; the centrality of consultation (shura) for problem-solving;
compulsory education; and, the harmony of science and religion. All these
ideas and principles (and many others) were presented by Abdulbaha’ as
spiritually mandated religious law about which there could be no

Recent scholarship on the early growth of the Baha’i community in the West, from the last
decade of the nineteenth century onward, tends to support this. See Osborn, Religion and
Relevance; Stockman, ʻAbduʼl-Baha in America; Stockman, Thornton Chase. On the Islamic ‘epic
of humanity,’ see Lawson, Qur’an, Epic and Apocalypse, pp. 1–26.
160        COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

disagreement. Thus, unity of belief and practice was also a key teaching of
the Baha’i faith, and continues to be so. Disagreement among the Baha’is
has always been forbidden, and so we see another example of how the
Islamic doctrine of tawhid has truly irradiated and given a distinct identity
to the Baha’i faith. Those who became Baha’is did so, and those who
continue to become Baha’is do so, because they are convinced that God
had spoken to humanity once again through Baha’ullah and because they
see in such a God-given spiritual regime great potential for healing the ills
that beset humanity.
Those familiar with the Qur’an, Islam and the history of Islamic
thought (especially theology, philosophy and mysticism) will immediately
see the many connections and derivations from Islam these principles indi-
cate. And, in many cases, such as the equality of the sexes and the impor-
tance of consultation, many could immediately cite specific Qur’anic verses
which first suggested such religious verities. One could say that the Qur’an
provides much of the DNA and molecular structure of the Baha’i vision
and to fully understand the Baha’i reception of the Qur’an therefore
requires tools and methods that are in some ways analogous to those
recently developed for use in physics, biology and even archeology. The
suggestion here is that the Baha’i faith presents itself as both problem and
tool in such an investigation.
The connection between the Qur’an and the Baha’i faith is literary (for
lack of a better word) and so it is a living one. There can be no question of
arriving at some immovable, permanent conclusion for the question
because the question itself is in motion. The Qur’anic molecules are Suras,
Ayas, words and ideas connected to other concepts that shape culture and
behavior and are in turn shaped by culture and usage. Ultimately, the Baha’i
faith represents a striking example of how it is possible to be a community
of the Qur’an and not be Muslim – in short, it demonstrates how the
Qur’an is the property of humanity.5
The Baha’i faith came to be in two major phases: the first was the Babi
phase (1844–63); the second, the Baha’i phase (from 1863). In both phases
the engagement with the Qur’an was key. In the Babi phase the first two

On the Qur’an as the property of humanity, see Buck, ‘Discovering.’
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH                    161

major works of the Bab were Qur’an commentaries, the second of which is
considered the first work of the Baha’i era or dispensation. In the Baha’i
phase, the first major doctrinal work by Baha’ullah, the Kitab-i Iqan, was a
Qur’an commentary in the sense that the author explained various Qur’an
verses that spoke of Judgment Day, the Hour and the Afterlife. In this
work, written in both Persian and Arabic, Baha’ullah also explained numer-
ous prophetic, messianic or apocalyptic hadiths and also engaged in some
Bible interpretation. Whether from the point of view of Qur’anic exegesis
or from the point of view of hadith commentary, the purpose was two-fold.
First, it was to demonstrate to the reader that the Qur’an and hadith had
fully predicted the appearance (zuhur) of the Bab, his proclamation (da‘wa),
claims and the activities of his followers. The second purpose of the book
was to establish the credentials of Baha’ullah, then a follower of the Bab, in
preparation for his eventual claims to be a divine manifestation (mazhar-i
ilahi).6 This book, known in English as The Book of Certitude, has been
translated into countless languages and it is primary scripture for the global
Baha’i community. One scholar has called it the world’s most widely read
non-Muslim Qur’an commentary.
Both in principle and in practice, The Book of Certitude helped crystal-
lize Baha’i identity and lent considerable impetus to its missionary expan-
sion. By virtue of its diffusion in 205 or more sovereign and non-sovereign
countries and territories, the Kitab-i Iqan emerges as the most influential
work of Qur’anic exegesis outside of the Muslim world. Though the Qur’an
is not, strictly speaking, part of the Baha’i scriptural corpus, the importance
of this fact of non-Muslim Qur’anic exegesis may be instanced in the paral-
lel diffusion of Jewish scriptures (the so-called Old Testament) at the
hands of Christian missionaries. What began as a Babi text has ended up
to be the principal doctrinal work of a nascent world religion.7
What Christopher Buck says here about the relationship between the
Qur’an and what has been described as Baha’ullah’s most important doctri-
nal work could – with some necessary adjustment and nuance – apply to
the entire corpus of all his published works. These works may be thought

Buck, Symbol and Secret, esp. pp. 257–74 on the ‘messianic secret’ the text conceals.
Buck, ‘Kitab-i-Iqan.’
162      COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

to culminate, at least theologically and doctrinally, with his book of laws,
al-Kitab al-Aqdas / Kitab-i Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, composed in the
prison city of Akka (Acco), Ottoman Palestine, 1873. As mentioned,
research on the second phase of the Baha’i reception of the Qur’an is in the
early stages, but already it is obvious that it holds much promise for a
deeper understanding of the relation between the Baha’i faith and its
parent, Islam. This has become quite clear in Buck’s pioneering and innova-
tive book referred to above and the work of others, such as Franklin D.
Lewis, whose lucid and deeply informed discussion of this and related
problems in several academic articles is essential reading for the question at
hand.8
The role the Qur’an played in the birth of the Baha’i faith during the
first phase of its development is noteworthy for several reasons. This phase
is represented by the two earliest extended written works by the Bab: the
Tafsir surat al-baqara (hereafter Baqara) and the Tafsir surat yusuf, also
known widely as the Qayyum al-asma’ (hereafter QA). The QA has been
characterized by Baha’ullah as the most important book of the new dispen-
sation, and the greatest . . . of all books.’9 Shoghi Effendi described it as
having been universally regarded ‘the Qur’an of the Babis’ during the Bab’s
lifetime.10 Some insight into the relationship between the Qur’an and
Baha’i scripture is to be gained by observing here the interesting literary
phenomenon of a commentary acquiring primary importance over the
object of the commentary.11
The Bab was born in 1817 in Shiraz into a sayyid family of merchants.
His childhood is marked by an extraordinary interest in the religious life,
the reading of the Qur’an, his devotion to prayer and to the sacred exam-
ples of the lives of those he refers to as The Family of God (Al allah): the
Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima and the remaining members of
the group known in Persian as the Fourteen Pure Ones (chehardeh ma‘sum),

Beginning with Lewis, ‘Scripture as Literature.’
Bahaʼullah, Kitab-i mustatab-i Iqan, p. 180. ‘In His Book, which He hath entitled ‘“Qayyumu’l-
Asma’’ – the first, the greatest and mightiest of all books – He prophesied His own martyrdom,’
Bahaʼullah, Kitáb-I-Íqán, 231.
Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 23.
Lawson, ‘Interpretation as Revelation.’
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH                         163

the Twelve Imams recognized by Ithna-‘ashari Shi‘ism. His formal educa-
tion was minimal, but as an extraordinarily pious young man he was
attracted to a recent development in Iranian intellectual circles known
widely as the Shaykhi school.12
The Bab, who studied briefly in Karbala with the second leader of this
school, Sayyid Kazem Rashti, wrote an astonishing number of works in
both Persian and Arabic. His literary activity dates from at least his teen-
age years and carried on until his tragic death in 1850 when he was killed
in front of a firing squad by the combined order of equally inimical state
and religious officials, at the age of thirty. He wrote prayers, letters,
responses to questions, books of spiritual meditation and instruction,
books of law for the new dispensation, commentaries on prayers, Qur’an
and hadith.13 Emblematically for the general question of this discussion, it
is the composition of a Qur’an commentary that officially marks the begin-
ning of the Babi zuhur or dispensation and the Baha’i era. The commentary
was on the twelfth Sura of the Qur’an, the Sura on Joseph referred to above
by its distinctive title, Qayyum al-asma’ (QA). Before describing this work
in detail, it will be important to discuss briefly the writings of the Bab
which were composed prior to this epoch-making commentary, what has
been referred to by Baha’ullah as ‘the first, the mightiest and the greatest of
books.’
We do not know exactly how many works the Bab wrote before he
composed the QA, which he began on the evening of May 22, 1844/5
Jumada al-Awwal, 1260. Two works stand out because they are datable
from internal information. The older of these two, ‘The Epistle on Spiritual
Wayfaring’ (Risalat al-suluk) is a relatively brief presentation of the crucial
elements of living a godly life. It contains numerous quotations from the
Qur’an in support of its main argument and also numerous hadiths, largely

In fact, this is a term of odium theologicum coined by their opponents. The school itself prefers
Kashfiyya as a designation. Kashf is a Qur’anic term that means disclosure and is meant to
convey a method of knowing that combines reason and suprarational modes. One may translate
it as ‘the Intuitionists.’ The derisive intent of the term Shaykhiyya depends upon the mistrust of
Sufism and its shaykhs in the immediate milieu and implicitly charges that the Imam has been
replaced by a mere shaykh by the ‘Shaykhyis.’ Nonetheless, scholars continue to refer to the
Shaykhis, the Shaykhiyya and so on instead of the Kashfiyya.
MacEoin, Sources for Early Babi Doctrine.
164      COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

from the Shia-akhbar corpus. Thus, the various speakers of the text are:
God, through the Qur’an, the Prophet and the imams, through the hadith,
and the Bab, as author of the brief epistle. Another voice is also referred to
and possibly evoked in the process – that of the aforementioned Sayyid
Kazim Rashti. The author, the Bab, counsels his reader to look to the writ-
ings of his ‘dear teacher’ for a more complete discussion of the matters at
hand.14
In the next work, Baqara, the method is quite traditional.15 And its
traditional structure, form and content will stand out in marked contrast
later when we describe the Bab’s next major work, the QA, a work that
could not be more different from the standard works of tafsir. Baqara
represents a distinctively Shia version of the category known as tafsir
bi’l-ma’thur.16
Three central themes of the work have been identified: (1) religious
authority – walaya; (2) divine self-manifestation – tajjali; (3) resurrection
and the Day of Judgment – qiyama. Each of these themes is discussed in
the tafsir by seizing upon key Qur’anic terms. Frequently, the explications
of the Qur’an are ranged over a series of hierarchies, both ontological and
sacerdotal – if one may use such a word. The hierarchies may consist of
seven, four or three stages in most cases, with a few exceptions. Not every
verse produces a commentary that contains a hierarchy, but virtually every
verse is read to speak to walaya in some way or another. The work also
preserves a certain degree of Shia/Sunni communalism, a feature that is
largely absent from the second work of interest here – the QA. A central
concern in both works, however, is the covenant, the Day of Alastu, and its
renewal. Even though the locus classicus for this important Islamic teaching
is not encountered until Q 7:172, the Bab makes sure here in his tafsir
on Sura two that the reader never loses sight of its essential and non-
negotiable importance.

L awson, ‘The Bab’s Epistle.’
What follows is a brief, very general summary of this important pre-advent work by the Bab.
For a more complete discussion of this unpublished Arabic work, including a description of the
manuscripts, see Todd Lawson, Intimacy and Ecstasy in Tafsir: The Earliest Qur’an Commentary
of Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the Bab (1819–1950), Leiden: Brill, in press.
Lawson, ‘Akhbari Shi‘i Approaches to Tafsir.’
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH               165

In support of the Bab’s own words, which carry something of the
expressive style of the Shaykhi school, he quotes numerous hadiths or
Akhbar which are seen to bear directly upon the Qur’anic verse at hand.
Occasionally, he provides the isnad, but more frequently he does not.
However, a thorough study of the tafsir discloses that virtually all of the
traditions adduced in it are found in widely known books of tafsir, espe-
cially those composed in Safavid times, or in other standard works of
Shi‘ism. Some hadiths, such as those found in the works of Rajab Bursi
(1411), became a cause for later condemnation by critics on the charge of
‘extremism’ (ghuluw). This charge was also leveled at the founders of the
Shaykhi school on similar grounds.
The key Qur’anic term walaya is as good a place as any to begin to
understand such condemnation. It is a word uniquely suited to the reli-
gious (spiritual and administrative) program of Twelver Shi‘ism. It stands
for loyalty to the original covenant, which the Bab says was re-enacted on
the Day of al-Ghadir when Ali was appointed mawla of the Muslim
community by Muhammad. It is also useful in articulating the nature of
the relation between the individual or common believer and the imam, as
well as the relation of the imam to God. And, as the Qur’an itself says, it
also characterizes to a very high degree the basic relation between God and
humanity: God is the wali of the believers par excellence. Walaya has a
simultaneously rich and restricted semantic field. It stands for allegiance
and loyalty; it is glossed as ‘love,’ pure and simple, in Shia works. It denotes,
moreover, intimacy and mutual yearning in the playing out of the more
purely devotional and mystical aspects of the religion. The mutuality of the
word is of great significance because it guarantees that the true religious or
devotional attitude depends upon acknowledging love from a higher source
and returning the same love in gratitude and yearning. One of the basic
meanings of the term is also ‘friendship’ and this, again, highlights and
emphasizes the mutuality inherent in the religious duty indicated in the
term walaya. This religious duty, furthermore, helps to limit the structure
of sanctity and prophetic intimacy it houses.
A Qur’anic trope that is very much at home in the Babi and later Baha’i
scripture is the poetic use of water to stand for divine love, knowledge,
mercy and revelation. In Baqara, the Bab loses no opportunity to speak
166       COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

about the inestimable value of walaya by identifying it with water through
a series of images expressive of life-giving, restorative and overwhelming
qualities. The word has simultaneously consoling, nurturing, purifying and
protective connotations.17 Thus, according to the Bab, walaya is spiritual
water; it circulates through the cosmos the way water circulates through
‘heaven and earth.’ The other two themes most frequently encountered
require some mention, however limited, to form a picture of this work
which may be thought a harbinger for what would ultimately be recog-
nized as the Baha’i faith. In turn, the Baha’i faith may be thought to
continue a distinctive exegetical conversation on the meaning of such key
Qur’anic lexical items as walaya, tajalli, qiyama and ‘ahd/mithaq
(covenant).
The Babi reception or reading of the Qur’an is apocalyptic and eschato-
logical. In this, the Qur’anically derived term tajalli plays a dramatic role.
The term is frequently translated as ‘divine self-manifestation,’ but consid-
ering its etymology, usage and attendant philological richness, this is a
fairly bland rendering. It leaves unstated and unremarked the all-important
notion of divine glory that the term obviously carries in its original Qur’anic
context in Surat al-A‘raf, Q 7:143, as is captured in the Yusuf Ali transla-
tion (slightly revised):

When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord
addressed him, he said: ‘O my Lord! Show (Thyself ) to me, That I
may look upon Thee.’ God said, ‘By no means canst thou see Me
(direct); but look upon the mount; if it abide in its place, then shalt
thou see Me.’ When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount,
He made it as dust, and Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recov-
ered his senses he said: ‘Glory be to Thee! To Thee I turn in repent-
ance, and I am the first to believe.’

If we consider the spectrum of Qur’anic usages of the triliteral root J-L-L
(cf. Q 7:143, 187; 55:67–8; 91:3; 92:2), we note that it combines the ideas

Lawson, Intimacy. On water and walaya, see Lawson, ‘Friendship.’ On walaya in general, see
Hermann L andolt, ‘Walayah’; Amir-Moezzi, ‘Notes’; Dakake, Charismatic Community.
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH                         167

of luminosity, brightness, greatness, strength, beauty and power, as in the
divine name al-Jalal. Thus, we might even be so bold as to translate the
above verse as: ‘When the Lord caused His glory to overwhelm the moun-
tain.’ We dwell on this idea because it is an important element in the specific
religiosity of Shi‘ism, in the religion of the Bab more pertinently, and
perhaps most obviously in the tonality of the religious ethos of the Baha’i
faith, whose founder, after all, is called, the Glory of God, even though a
different, and as it happens non-Qur’anic word is used in the Arabic title
Baha’ullah.18 It also helps us to understand the nature of the Babi/Baha’i
apocalypse, especially when we bear in mind that among the several distin-
guishing characteristics of the genre of apocalypse isolated by contempo-
rary scholarship, glory, whether as event or object of contemplation, is a
standard feature and as such may be traced as a significant motif in the
Qur’an itself.19
The imminence of qiyama (a frequent Qur’anic word), or perhaps even
its presence, was conjured in this tafsir through the use – whether conscious
or not – of the venerable exegetical tool known as typological figuration.
This is the process whereby current or recent events are seen as the repeti-
tion of ancient sacred history in which, for example, spiritual or political
and cultural heroes are seen to reappear, along with their friends and
supporters on the one hand, and their enemies on the other.20 Indeed, in a
work composed later in his short life, the Persian Bayan, the Bab explicitly
states that his earliest followers, the sodality of eighteen persons known as
the Letters of the Living (huruf al-hayy) were actually the return (ruju‘) of
the Fourteen Immaculate Ones mentioned above and the four Gates
(abwab) or Deputies (nuwab) who collectively formed a link between the
hidden imam and his community during the period known as the Lesser

Other frequent markers of glory as light in Baha’i writings, near-synonyms of tajalli, are
derived from these roots: L-M-‘, L-W-H, N-W-R, SH-R-Q.
Lawson, Qur’an, pp. 19, 27, 37–41. ‘Glory – Herrlichkeit – theology’ is also a central feature of
contemporary Roman Catholic thought through the influential work of Hans Urs von Balthasar
(d. 1988). A comparative study of the ‘sacramental value’ of glory in the two traditions, Islam
and Christianity, might disclose previously unsuspected channels of communication, mutual
understanding and commonality.
Typological figuration, long recognized as an important factor in biblical interpretation,
begins with the Qur’an for Islam. See Lawson, Qur’an, esp. chs. 3 and 4.
168      COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

Occultation from (874–941).21 Here we see a kind of Shia variation on
the well-known Sufi institution of the ‘substitutes’ (abdal). Thus does the
spiritual reality of the original friends of God (awliya’ullah) recur through-
out history in subsequent generations in worthy individuals who are then
enabled to carry on the promulgation (tabligh) of the cause of God (amr
allah).22

THE TAFSIR SURAT YUSUF, KNOWN
AS THE QAYYUM ALASMA’ QA

To call the QA a ‘swerve’ may be something of an understatement; but in
the present context it is at least accurate. It may be that the spiritual visions
and encounters experienced by the Bab around this time account for the
profound shift. This is especially the case with the powerful vision said to
have occurred in April 1844 that may have diverted his attention from
completing the full tafsir he had been contemplating, leaving us with
Baqara as fragmentary evidence of an original desire to write a commen-
tary on the entire Qur’an. This is one swerve. Another swerve, and a more
significant one, is indicated by the way in which this later work simultane-
ously maintains and breaks with the tradition of tafsir, most specifically
Shia tafsir. It should be noted, however, that even though this work nomi-
nally concerns the twelfth Sura, it actually represents a commentary on the
entire Qur’an due to its innovative structure.23
The overwhelming import of this work, which must be thought of as
disguised in tafsir, is to call attention to a new cycle of history. Accordingly,
the long-awaited resurrection (qiyama) was now at hand, and this book
represents the ‘True Qur’an’ expected to be in the possession of the Qa’im
upon his return (ruju‘). It focuses on the Qur’anic Sura on the biblical
patriarch Joseph, and is divided into 111 Suras, each with 42 verses, the
abjad value of the word bala, ‘Indeed!’ which was the response of humanity

MacEoin, Messiah, p. 171.
On the Sufi phenomenon, see Chodkiewicz, Seal of the Saints.
For details, see Lawson, Gnostic, pp. 4, 6 and 39.
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH                    169

to the question posed by God on the Day of the Covenant, before the crea-
tion of the universe: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ The most frequent exegetical
device encountered is paraphrase and the typological figuration introduced
in the earlier commentary. The overall effect, the composition being entirely
in rhymed prose (saj‘), is somewhat hypnotic and calls to mind dhikr
sessions with the added overlay of a definite, non-negotiable – if at times
bewilderingly multivocal – messianic discourse of mission and summons.24
The following excerpt is from chapter 108 of QA.25 It is written as a
commentary on Q 12:109. As in the other 110 Suras of the Bab’s compos-
ition, it is structured according to four sections. First is the opening and title
of the Sura, the Qur’an verse as lemma for this Sura of the commentary
introduced with the standard basmala. The second part is the actual compo-
sition, which is almost always introduced with a distinctive set of discon-
nected letters as the first verse. Some of these disconnected letters – as in
the present case – spell a word when joined (here ‘Muhammad’), while
others are more along the lines of the Qur’anic exemplar.26 The third section
of the Sura includes this second verse of the Bab’s versified commentary. It
continues for the majority of the verses and represents the main substance
of a given Sura. The final or fourth section is usually marked by a reiteration
of the lemma, only this time paraphrased to emphasize the main message of
the third section. In this example, however, such reiteration and paraphrase
of the lemma is sparse. We have attempted to distinguish the Bab’s words
from words of the Qur’an by casting the latter in small caps.

The Sura of the Servant
in the name of god the merciful the compassionate
nor did we send before thee [as messengers] any but men
whom we did inspire – men living in human habitations. do
they not travel through the earth and see what was the end
of those before them? but the home of the hereafter is best,
for those who do right, will ye not then understand?

Ibid.
The following is excerpted and adapted from Lawson, ‘Súrat al-’Abd.’ The opening Qur’an
translation is that of Yusuf Ali.
A chart of these disconnected letters is in Lawson, Qur’an, pp. 144–5.
170      COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

Verse 1
Mim Ha Mim Dal

Verse 2
O People of the throne!27 Listen to the call28 of your Lord, the
merciful,29 He who there is no god except him (huwa),30 from the
tongue of the remembrance,31 this youth (al-fata),32 son of the Sublime
(al-‘aliy)33, the Arab to whom [God has] in the mother book34 testified.35

Verse 3
Then listen36 to what is being revealed to you from your
lord:37 verily verily i am god38 of whom there is no god but
him.39 nothing is like unto him40 while He is God, Lofty (‘aliyan)
Great (kabiran).41

Verse 4
O People of the Earth! hearken42 to the call43 of the birds44 upon
the trees45 leafy and perfumed46 with the camphor47 of Manifestation
Q 27:2 and passim.
Cf. Q 19:3.
Q 20:90.
Q 2:163 and passim.
Q 15:9 passim.
Cf. Q 21:60.
Q 2:255 and passim. A frequent instance of paronomasia in QA associating the Bab with ‘Ali
and God which derives from a cognate theme in Ithna-’ashari Shi‘ism.
Q 3:7; 13:9; 43:4.
Cf. Q 17:78.
Q 20:13.
Q 33:2
Q 28:30: inní aná ’lláh is frequent in QA. It suggests that the Bab is claiming revelation.
Q 2:163 and passim.
Q 42:11. See Lawson, ‘Súrat al-’Abd,’ p. 137 for the identification of the hadith evoked here.
Q 4:34.
Q 2:93 and passim.
Cf. Q 19:3.
Cf. Q 27:16 and passim.
Cf. Q 7:19; 24:35; 28:30.
Cf. Q 6:59; 7:22; 20:12.
Cf. Q 76:5.
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH                         171

(kafur al-zuhur) describing this young man (ghulam)48 descended from
the Arabs, from muhammad,49 from ‘Ali, from Fatima, from Mekka, from
Medina, from Batha’,50 from ‘Iraq with what the merciful51 has mani-
fested (tajalla)52 upon their leaves, namely that he is the sublime
(al-‘aliy)53 and he is God, mighty,54 praised.55

Verse 36
O People of the Cloud! listen56 to my call from the lamp57 in this
whitened lamp,58 this is the glass59 in this reddened glass60 who was
spoken to (mantuqan) in truth by the sea of the Earth of Saffron61 in the
house of the gate.62

Verse 37
verily verily i am god,63 he whom there is no god except
him.64 indeed, i have established the heavens and the earth
around this Word65 through a single letter like it. So obey My Word.
for verily verily i am the truth. There is no god except Me, the
Exalted (al-‘aliy)66 who am by God the comprehender of all the worlds.67

Q 12:19.
Q 3:144; 33:40; 47:2; 48:29.
Name of the hollow or center of Mecca where the Ka’ba is located.
Q 1:1 and passim.
Q 7:143.
Q 2:255 and passim.
Q 48:19.
Q 4:131.
Q 2:93 and passim.
Q 24:35.
Q 24:35.
Q 24:35.
Q 24:35.
Ard al-za‘farán, a spiritual realm referred to by, for example, Ibn Arabi in his major work the
Kitáb futúhát al-Makkiyya. For further details, see Lawson, Intimacy.
Cf. Q 2:58; 4:154; 5:23; 7:161; 9:25.
Q 28:30.
Q 59:22, 23 and passim.
Cf. Q 3:39 and passim.
Q 16:2; 20:14; 21:25. For variations in the mss. here, see Lawson, ‘Súrat al-’Abd,’ p. 144.
Cf. Q 4:108 and 126.
172      COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

Verse 38
and listen68 to this Most Mighty interpretation69 from the
tongue70 of this man made great, he whom I have brought up in My
presence. no human desire touched him71 in Reality. Verily, he is the
Truth72 upon the Truth.73 And his significance, by the law of fire,74 has
been fully recorded in the mother book.75

Verse 39
And Say, by the Truth, we have sent before you no men [as
messengers] except we inspired them; be ye the people of that
blessed township,76 and conceal yourselves in the earth of the heart
(fu’ad) in order to help him. Know that for those who deny him (mushrikin
bihi),77 they will suffer the dire punishment of the Hereafter78 over the
Fire79 in the Fire,80 and this has been written81 with Fire.82

Verse 40
And He is God, over all created things a Witness.83

Verse 41
And verily, God is Comprehender of all the worlds.84

Q 7:204; 22:73.
Ta’wil, cf. Q 3:7; 12:6 and passim.
Cf. Q 20:27.
Cf. Q 3:47; 3:174; 19:20; 24:35.
Q 2:91 and passim.
Q 27:79.
Cf. Q 27:8; 2:24 and passim.
Q 3:7; 13:39; 43:4.
Cf. Q 12:109.
Q 9:7 and passim.
Q 11:103 and passim.
Cf. Q 27:8; 2:24 and passim.
Cf. Q 27:8; 2:24 and passim.
Cf. Q 7:157.
Cf. Q 27:8; 2:24 and passim.
Q 4:33; 33:55.
Cf. Q 4:108, 126.
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH           173

Verse 42
And verily thou art, through God, self sufficient, able to dispense
with all the worlds.85

With this excerpt, we gain some appreciation of the manner in which the
Bab mined the apocalyptic substrate in the rich metaphorical, figurative
and tropic terrain of the Qur’an. He did this in order to generate, through
metalepsis, a new scripture – a new apocalypse. Many of these tropes and
metaphors, similes and allegories became symbols of the returned imam,
and his retinue whose task was, among other things, to usher in the Day of
Judgment. The symbolism and structure of this composition bespeaks a
singular literary accomplishment in which the primordial Day of the
Covenant and the Day of Judgment are understood to be joined in a single
gesture of revelation as simultaneous events.

A NONMUSLIM COMMUNITY OF THE QUR’AN

The Baha’i reception of the Qur’an disturbs the traditional, and some
would say comforting ‘us and them,’ paradigm so common to much of post-
Qur’anic Islamicate discourse, despite clear attempts on the part of the
Prophet, the Qur’an and countless creative Muslim exponents to vitiate
this age-old and deleterious tendency afflicting humanity. Indeed, the
Qur’anic pronouncement in Q 7:172 would seem to trump all past, present
and future attempts, and such othering. This is the much referred to and
beloved controlling myth or metaphor of primordial unity in which all
future generations of the Children of Adam – a Qur’anic synonymn for
humanity – were brought forth from the loins of Adam and presented
with the ultimate question from God, in whose divine and peaceful pres-
ence this same humanity was now gathered: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ The
gathering immediately responded in unison with the strongest possible
affirmation: ‘Yes indeed!’ In addition to this primordial and eschataologi-
cally charged event, during which both consciousness and history are born,

Cf. Q 3:97; 29:6.
174        COMMUNITIES OF THE QUR’A N

there are numerous other Qur’anic passages which insist upon the unity of
humanity, the oneness of God and the oneness of what we, writing in
English, are inclined to call ‘religion.’ These three unities have characterized
what may be thought of as the Baha’i da‘wa from its very inception. They
remain, moreover, a prominent watchword in Baha’i self-identity, ethos
and doctrine. Unity is the central ideational sacrament in the Baha’i faith,
just as it is in Islam.
The Baha’i faith may be seen, then, as a non-Muslim community of the
Qur’an. I venture to say that this is a unique identity found nowhere else
on the planet but in the Baha’i community. Such uniqueness demands crit-
ical analysis and patient study. The anomaly has been explained in the
Baha’i writings by comparing the relation of the Baha’i faith to Islam with
a model provided by a specific understanding of the relationship between
Christianity and Judaism. As with many communities of the Qur’an before
them, the Babi/Baha’i reading of the Qur’an depends upon a figurative
reading of the Qur’an. (One may well ask, can there be any other kind?)
The result here, as with other communities, is an innovative and creative
application of the Qur’an to specific concerns in a specific historical and
cultural context. From the literary angle, this may be referred to as meta-
lepsis in that the resulting reading carries the focus far beyond accepted
boundaries by, for example, using existing metaphors in ever-new figurative
constructions and transforming the habitual hermeneutic circle into a
spiral. It seems that the guardian of the Baha’i faith, Shoghi Effendi, was
referring to the effects of this metaleptic process in the introduction to his
history of the first century of the Baha’i faith:

I shall seek to represent and correlate, in however cursory a manner,
those momentous happenings which have insensibly, relentlessly,
and under the very eyes of successive generations, perverse, indiffer-
ent or hostile, transformed a heterodox and seemingly negligible
offshoot of the Shaykhi school of the Ithna’ashariyyah sect of Shia
Islam into a world religion.86

Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, God Passes By, p. xii.
THE QUR’AN AND THE BAHA’I FAITH                        175

With the above examination of the place of the Qur’an in the Baha’i faith
we have a clearer idea of the earliest stages of such a process and we see that
the Qur’an plays a major role in it. Much work remains to be done to
acquire a complete understanding of the Qur’an in the Baha’i faith. For
example, one of the more interesting ways in which the faith venerates and
promulgates the Qur’an is in prayer. Prayer comprises an enormous amount
of Baha’i literature. This would appear to be a relatively untouched area of
inquiry. The Baha’i celebration of the Qur’an as a non- or post-Islamic reli-
gious gesture says, among other things, that the Qur’an belongs to human-
ity. Perhaps, as the Baha’i community progresses in carrying out Shoghi
Effendi’s instruction to thoroughly study the Qur’an, the community itself
will become more and more aware of its debt to the Islamic revelation and
therefore be more and more able to seriously consider in which ways it is
and is not an Islamic religion.

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