# 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)*