Indeed, we REVEALED UNTO THE BEES, SAYING:
"TAKE FROM THE MOUNTAINS citadels-
which are the abode for affirming the sanctity of God-
the sign of this luminous one,
AND [from] TREES,
which are places for affirming that there is no god but God-
the sign of this Easterner
AND OF WHAT THEY ARE BUILDING in the path of
affirming the unity of God
the threadbare garment of this Westerner
which belongs to God, the Exalted.
And He is God, Witness over all things.

This verse improvises, if you will, upon the following Quranic verses:

AND IT IS GOD WHO SENDS DOWNOUT OF HEAVEN WATER, AND THEREWITH REVIVES THE DEAD. SURELY IN THAT IS A SIGN FOR A PEOPLE WHO HAVE EARS. 16:65

AND SURELY IN THE CATTLE THERE IS A LESSON FOR YOU; WE GIVE YOU TO DRINK OF WHAT IS IN THEIR BELLIES, BETWEEN FILTH AND BLOOD, PURE MILK SWEET TO DRINKERS. 16:66

AND OF FRUITS OF THE PALMS AND THE VINES, YOU TAKE THEREFROM AN INTOXICANT AND A PROVISION FAIR. SURELY IN THAT IS A SIGN FOR A PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND. 16:67

AND THY LORD REVEALED UNTO THE BEES, SAYING: "TAKE UNTO YOURSELVES, OF THE MOUNTAINS, HOUSES, AND OF THE TREES, AND OF WHAT THEY ARE BUILDING. 16:68

THEN EAT OF ALL MANNER OF FRUIT, AND FOLLOW THE WAYS OF YOUR LORD- ESY TO GO UPON." THEN COMES FORTH OUT OF THEIR BELLIES A DRINK OF DIVERS HUES WHEREIN IS HEALING FOR MEN. SURELY IN THAT IS A SIGN FOR PEOPLE WHO REFLECT. 16:69

(Arberry translation)

The reader is being told to take/percieve the signs of this new revelation, as the bees had been "inspired" (awhayna) to make hives and produce honey. My apologies for the opaqueness of the translation.

"easterner" and "westerner" is a reference to the OLIVE THAT IS NEITHER EASTERN NOR WESTERN of Quran 24:35. The Bab seems to be saying that the new revelation is the same and that since it is neither eastern nor western it may also be considered therefore BOTH eastern or western.

The apparently neutral refernce to God as "the Exalted" (al-'Ali) is actually a reference to (1) himself, Ali Muhammad Shirazi, (2) Ali, the first Imam and (3) God, perhaps, but not necessarily in that order -- perhaps in no order at all but rather a simultaneous reference to these three.

[2] not God who POSSESSES nothing; rather it is the one who is worshipped beside or instead of God who possesses nothing.

[3] "The Structure of Existence in the Bab's Tafsir and the Perfect Man Motif" in Studia Iranica: Cahiers 11: Recurrent Patterns in Iranian Religions from Mazdaism to Sufism. Proceedings of the Round Table held in Bamberg (30th September - 4th October 1991). Association pour l'avancement des Etudes iraniennes, 1992, pp.81-99. "The Terms Remembrance (dhikr) and Gate (bab) in the Bab's Commentary on the Sura of Joseph," Babi and Baha'i Studies in Honour of H.M. Balyuzi, ed. M. Momen, Kalimat Press, Los Angeles, 1989, pp.1-63. "Interpretation as Revelation: The Qur'an Commentary of Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the Bab," Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Qur'an, ed. A. Rippin. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1988, pp. 223-253.

[4] In the early exegetical work Kitab asas al-ta'wil, (Introduction and edited by 'Arif Tamir. Beirut: Dar al-Thaqafa, 1960) by the Isma'ili da'i, Qadi al-Nu'man (363/974), the interesting comment is made to the effect that the "front" and "back" of the shirt refer to exoteric and esoteric knowledge respectively ( p.144). (Cf. the early Sufi interpretation in Gerhard Bowering, The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam, Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1980, p.256.) The qamis in verse 12:93 is seen as representing imama (Asas, p.163).

[5] Meier, Fritz, "Some Aspects of Inspiration by Demons in Islam," in The Dream and Human Society, edited by G. von Grunebaum, and Roger Caillois. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1966, (pp. 421-29) p.421.

[6] 'Umar Suhrawardi (632/1234), 'Awarif al-ma'arif, Beirut: Dar al-kitab al-'arabi, 1403/1982 (this edition wrongly gives the author as 'Abd al-Qahir Suhrawardi (d.1168) pp.95-102. The title of Suhrawardi's book, "The Fragrances of divine knowledge(s)" is a perfect example of the correlation between these two substances that was perceived to really exist (language is sacred and reflects reality, indeed composes reality) as opposed to being accidentally "punned" upon by clever writers. See also the many examples in the Baha'i writings where the two are joined together, demonstrating that spiritual axiom: the more one loves, the more one knows and vice versa. One of the few places (if not the only one) in English where this identity of knowledge and love coexist in the same lexical "site" is in the discredited "slang" word from African American culture, towit: "to dig".

[7] See the "hadith al-kisa'," Mafatih al-jinan, 'Abbas, al-Qummi, compiler). Beirut: Mu'assasat al-A'lami li'l-Matbu'at, n.d.appendix, pp.1-4; cf. also Momen, (=Moojan Momen, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism. Oxford: George Ronald, 1985), p.14. 'Umar Suhrawardi (632/1234), 'Awarif, pp.95-102.

[8] Nur, (='Abd 'Ali al-Huwayzi, Kitab tafsir nur al- thaqalayn, 5 vols. Qum, 1383/1963-1385/1965), v.2, p.462, #187. The compiler adds that a similar tradition is found in al-Kafi. (=Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ya'qub, al-Kulayni al-Razi, al-Usul min al-kafi. 2 vols. Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiya,1374 [1954] ). This tradtion from al-Kafi is found in Burhan, (=al-Sayyid Hashim al-Bahrani, Kitab al-burhan fi tafsir al-Qur'an. 4 vols. Tehran, 1375/1955) v.2, p.269 #1. Nur, 2, p.463, #191, quotes the Ikmal al-din of Ibn Babuya ( Muhammad ibn 'Ali Ibn Babawayh or Babuyah (d.991), Kitab ikmal al-din wa itmam al-ni'ma fi ithbat al-raj'a, Najaf: Matba'at al-Haydariyya, 1389/1970.): "When the Qa'im comes forth the shirt of Joseph will be on him, and he will have the staff of Moses and the ring of Solomon." The heavenly origin of this shirt was also taught by the early exegete Kalbi (150/767) as what Wansbrough, Quranic Studies, Oxford, 1977, p.134 terms "a reflex of Rabbinic descriptions" of the robe in Genesis.

[9] Anwar (Abu al-Hasan al-Isfahani, Tafsir mir'at al- anwar wa mishkat al-asrar, Tehran: n.p., 1374/1954), p.271.
ibid., p.110.
Ibid., pp. 294-5. In discussing the connotations of "deception" which the word carries, Isfahani refers to 6:72 THOSE WHO DO NOT CLOTHE THEIR FAITH IN DARKNESS, and says that this refers to those who did not confuse the walaya with the walaya of "so-and-so and so-and-so". It might be asked whether fulan wa fulan is an editorial substitution for more derogatory appellations, such as Abu al-Dawahi and Abu al-Shurur used so frequently by the Bab in his earlier tafsir on al-Baqara (see Lawson, "Interpretation", p. 237).

[10] Qasida, (Sayyid Kazim Rashti, Sharh al-qasida al- lamiya. Tabriz, 1270/1853), p.68. The verse is: a'taytu ma lam yahza Ya'qub bihi idh ja'ahu bi-shadha al-qamis al-shamal.
ibid.

[11] In some cases, however, several suras continue a running commentary on large sections of the Qur'an; in these instances, therefore, the introduction of what appears to be unlikely material in commenting on this or that verse of sura 12, is but the continuation of a theme begun much earlier in the work. This is not the case in the present context.

[12] Furat ibn Ibrahim b. Furat al-Kufi, Tafsir Furat al-Kufi, Najaf: al-Matba'at al-Haydariya, [1353/1934] ; see also Dhari'a, (=Agha Buzurg, Muhammad Muhsin al-Tihrani, al-Dhari'a ila tasanif al- shi'a. 25 vols. Tehran and Najaf, 1355/1936-1398/1978), v.4, pp.298-300; Sezgin, Fuat, Geschichte des Arabischen Schriftums. v.1. Leiden: Brill, 1968, p.539 gives a probable death date of 310/922.

[13] Tafsir Furat, p.84.
al-'adhab, cf. Anwar, p.230.

[14] Cf. the tafsir of this verse by al-Sharif al-Radi, Talkhis al-bayan fi majazat al-Qur'an wa'l-hadith, Cairo: Dar Ihya' al- Kutub al-'Arabiyya, 1374/1955, p. 193. Here the other glosses the bees as none other than the ulama themselves, symbolizing what may be called the second historical phase of Shi'i scriptural exegesis.

[15] See Muhsin Fayd Kashani, al-Safi fi tafsir kalam Allah al-wafi., n.p., 1286/1869., p.250 which quotes traditions with other interpretations from al-Kafi, the Kitab al-khisal of Ibn Babawayh (381/991), the Kitab majma' al-bayan of Tabarsi (548/1153), in addition to the tradition in the Tafsir of al-Qummi ascribed to al-Sadiq: "We, by God, are the BEES whom God inspired to TAKE HOUSES FROM THE MOUNTAINS, that is to take a shi'a from the 'Arabs, and from THE TREES, that is [to take a shi'a] from the Persians, and THAT WHICH THEY BUILD, [means to take a shi'a] from among the mawali. and COMES FORTH FROM THEIR BELLIES A DRINK OF DIVERSE HUES means the knowledge ('ilm) which comes from us to you."al- Safi, also cites a similar hadith from the Tafsir al-'Ayyashi, the author of which (d. early 4th/10th cent.) was a contemporary of al-Qummi and had converted from Sunnism to Shi'ism, see Ayoub, ""The Speaking Qur'an and the Silent Qur'an: A Study of the Principles and Development of Imami Shi'i Tafsir ," p. 6. Later exegesis, while including similar hadiths, also cites a tradition which specifies that the inspiration intended here is ilham, as opposed to the wahi explicitly stated in the text. This reflects theological disputes about the nature and degrees of divine inspiration; one position being that wahi is a technical term which can only be used as descriptive of the inspiration which comes to a prophet. (Nur, v.3, pp.64-5 & Burhan, v.2, pp.375-6). The predominant tendency of the interpretation of this verse was seen by the author of Anwar to be the identification of the BEES with the Imams, and the DRINK with their knowledge. See the respective articles in this work on nahl (p.320) and sharab (pp.192-3). Cf. also the eighteenth century Isma'ili tafsir (referred to above), p.126, where allusions to imama are read into the verse.
Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, Sharh al-ziyara al-jami'a, Tehran, 1276/1859, pp. 69-70. Rashti also mentions the Surat al-nahl in his Qasida (pp.31-2), and says that al-nahl itself is another name for divine knowledge (muntahal al-'ilm), and that one may find in the sura an explanation of various states of the bees and the details of the blessings which God bestowed upon his servant (i.e., Muhammad).

[16] QA (Xerox of a ms. Tafsir surat Yusuf, Baha'i World Centre Library, uncatalogued), p.1.

[17] An anecdote is told of how the Bab, while a student of Shaykh 'Abid, and therefore still a young child, gave an extemporaneous explanation of the basmala which greatly impressed his teacher, who was himself a student of Shaykhi theology. Nabil, p. 75. On the "wise child" motif in biographies of the Bab see Lambden, "An Episode in the Childhood of the Bab".

[18] Burhan, v.1, pp.43-4, #1 from Qummi who gave six separate isnads for this matn. In addition, Burhan lists six more variants. Similar material is found in Nur and Safi. This hadith provides important background for the the title Baha' allah, assumed by Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri, the founder of the Baha'i Faith.

[19] Mahmoud Ayoub, "The Prayer of Islam: A Presentation of Surat al-Fatiha in Muslim Exegesis." Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Thematic Issue: Studies in Qur'an and Tafsir, v.47 (1979) pp. 639-42. The basmala is also treated as a separate verse in the Ahmadi interlinear Qur'an: The Holy Qur'an, translated by Maulawi Sher 'Ali, Rabwah, Pakistan, 1979.

[20] Nur,1, pp. 6-7, #22.

[21] ibid., #21 and #23. This tradition was cited by Rashti in his discussion of the Greatest Name (see Sayyid Kazim Rashti, "Risala fi sharh wa tafsir ism allah al-a'zam," School of Oriental and African Studies Library, Ar. 92308 (ff.271a-74a). It is suggested that since aqrab min ("closer than"), as applicable to both time and place, it might be construed as an allusion to the imminent appearance of an actual Qa'im.

[22] The numbering of the verses of this work is not always simple or straightforward; thus if the assumption here is correct, it would facilitate the task somewhat, inasmuch as all chapters are said to contain forty-two verses, the numerical equivalent to the Arabic word bala "Yea verily" which was the response of humanity (in potentia) to the question posed to them by God on the pre-eternal Day of the Covenant recounted in Qur'an 7:172. ba' = 2 + lam = 30 + ya= 10 = 42. (Dr. Muhamad Afnan, personal communication.) The work has elsewhere been described as containing forty verses per sura (E.G. Browne, "Some Remarks on the Babi Texts Edited by Baron Victor Rosen in Vols. I and VI of the 'Collections Scientifiques de l'Institut des Langues Orientales de Saint Petersbourg'," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, v.24 (1892) pp. 261- 62), representing the abjad value of the quranic li "to me" or, "before me" (lam = 30 + ya' = 10). The prepositional phrase is an explicit allusion to the dream of Joseph: FATHER, I SAW ELEVEN STARS, AND THE SUN AND THE MOON: I SAW THEM BOWING DOWN BEFORE ME (li) [12:4] . Browne notes, however, that several chapters of the British Library ms. (probably Or. 3539, another ms. of the work there is Or. 6681) are described in the ms. itself as having forty-two verses (as is one chapter of ms. Cambridge University Library, Browne Manuscript Collection, F11. ). In either case, the number of verses are taken to be symbolic of either the acceptance or assertion of spiritual authority (Browne, "Remarks," p.262). See chapters 1, 2, 52 and 95 in QA. Incidentally, there are many blank spaces at the heading of the chapters in F11. It appears that the scribe intended to insert rubrications in these blanks, which would carry such information as the number of verses, and so on.

[23] al-Kashani, Tafsir "Ibn 'Arabi"(= 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Kashani, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-karim li'l-Shaykh al-Akbar al-'Arif bi'llah al-'allama Muhyi al-Din bin 'Arabi. 2 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Yaqaza, 1387/1968, vol. 1, p.8, unascribed (note, the Tafsi r is erroneously ascribed to Ibn Arabi). See also Qasida, p.82 wherethe same hadith is ascribed to the Prophet. Rashti adds that the ba' is: al-lawh al-mahfuz, al- kitab al-mastur, marja' al-haqa'iq al-ilahiya wa mahall al-asma' wa'l- sifat al-idafiya wa'l-khalqiya, wa'l-ba' mazhar al-jalil wa qalam, al- tafsil wa'l-mabda' wa'l-dalil wa'l-sabab wa'l-sabil wa'l-sirr wa'l-ta'lil..., etc.

[24] Qasida, pp. 84-5 & 92; Rashti adds: "'Ali did not make anything higher than the point." There follows an elaborate discussion of five levels of meaning of the basmala.

[25] Nabil, p.63.

[26] Baq. (= Xerox of ms. of Tafsir surat al-baqara, Tehran Baha'i Archives, 6014.c), pp.11-12.

[27] Charismatic (= Denis MacEoin, "From Shaykhism to Babism: A Study in Charismatic Renewal in Shi'i Islam." Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Cambridge, 1979., p.146, available from University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan) Cf., e.g., the title of the110th chapter of the Tafsir surat Yusuf: "Surat al-sabiqin," (QA, pp.229-31)

[28] On the identity and number of the first disciples of the Bab, see Amanat (=Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal: the Making of the Babi Movement, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1989) pp.177-9.

[29] Qasida, pp.90-1.

[30] E. G. Browne, (ed. & trans.). A Traveller's Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bab (by 'Abbas Effendi). 2 vols. in 1. Amsterdam: Philo Press, 1975 (reprint). p.229. Cf. also the passage from Amanat, p. 204, quoted above.

[31] Charismatic, p.174 where the author perceives a gradual evolution of the nature of the Bab's claims, as opposed to one claim which came to be expressed more and more openly (i.e., by the word mazhar) as time went by. In fact, the Bab refers to himself in numerous places in this early work as mazhar, e.g., QA, pp.113 (in the voice of the hidden Imam) and QA, p.170: "Praised be to God who sent down this Book with the truth upon his servant that he might be a mazhar in all the worlds."

[32] The months of this calendar, still used by Baha'is, take their names from key words found in a popular Shi'i prayer which is recited during the month of Ramadan. (Mafatih al-jinan, pp.184- 6.) These key words appear to have no direct relationship with the letters of the basmala.<

[33] Qasida, p.93.

[34] Rafati (=Vahid Rafati, "The Development of Shaykhi Thought in Shi'i Islam." Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, U.C.L.A., 1979, available through University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan) p.175, see p.160 for the description of a manuscript copy of this document in the Near Eastern Collection of the UCLA Library.

[35] Corbin, Trilogie ismaelienne, Paris: Maisonneuve, 1961, p.30. The quotation is from Paul Kraus, Jabir ibn Hayyan, v.2, Cairo, 1942, p.263. Reference may also be made to Corbin, "Le Livre du Glorieux de Jabir ibn Hayyan", Eranos-Jahrbuch, v.18 (1950), pp.75-87. See also Mashariq, esp. pp.18-38. In addition, see Ibn 'Arabi, Futuhat, vol.1, pp.231- 361: "al-bab al-thani fi ma'rifa maratib al-huruf"; and the well-known manual on magic by al-Buni (622/1225), Shams al-ma'arif al-kubra. Thus, it is not necessary to ascribe to the Babi use of gematria, a Hurufi influence. In fact, the most recent study of the Hurufi's refers to other less superficial similarities, namely Fadil Allah's claim to be mahdi, the combining of teachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and antipathy for both the mainstream of Shi'ism and Sufism. (Goelpinlari, Hurufilik metinleri katalogu, p.20. Thanks to Mr. R. Sezer for translating the appropriate passage for me; thanks also to Dr. A. Karamustafa for drawing my attention to this book.)

[36] Ziyara, p.69.

[37] A variation in the manuscripts occurs at "which is one in terms of its blessings". QA: mutawahhidan ala'ihi [=ala'uhu] (for mutawajjidan; the dot seems to be a designation for the ha', see below, v.13. The alternate reading would be "causing its blessings to exist"); F11, f.162b: mutawaqqidan: "causing the blessings to flame forth".

[38] Thus Abu 'Ubayda (d. 824-6) found it necessary to specify dhalika 'l-kitab as hadha 'l-Qur'an and cite poetry to prove his point. Abu 'Ubayda, Majaz al-Qur'an. Cairo: al-Khanji, 1373 /1954, pp. 28- 9.

[39] Burhan, v.1, p.53, #1, ad 2:2 and #1 ad 2:3.

[40] See also the discussion on this point in the translation by Maulvi Muhammad Ali (see bibliography), p.12 who cites Lane to suggest that the usage dhalika, in implying remoteness, indicates esteem.

[41] Ibn Mansur al-Yamani, Ja'far (al-Da'i), (ascribed). Kitab al-kashf. Dar al-Fikr al-'Arabi [Islamic Research Association Series, #13. Edited by R. Strothmann. Cairo, Bombay & Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 1952] p.8.

[42] Wright, Grammar, v.1, p.179.

[43] Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism,: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam, translated by David Streight, Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1994, p.118. The other four signs are: the revolt of the Sufyani, the counter-revolt of the Yemeni, the assassination of the Pure Soul, "the swallowing up of the army". On the historical development of this tradition, see Wilferd Madelung, "'Abd Allah b. Zubayr and the Mahdi," Journal of Near Estern Studies, 40.4 (1981) 291-305.

[44] The voice from the burning bush is also a classic argument in Sufi literature to justify revelation through tajalli of various kinds, not necessarily "revelation" of a prophetic Book. See al-Kashani's letter to Simnani, in Hermann Landolt, "Der Briefweschel zwischen Kasani und Simnani uber Wahdat al-Wugud," Der Islam 50 (1973) p.72 and the several references to Sufi and Shi'i literature pp.72-3, n.125.

[45] Charismatic, p.157-8.

[46] Qadimi, Shash-hazar-i lughat. Tehran: Mu'assasah-ye Milli-ye Matbu'at-i Amri, 131 Badi', pp.433 & 674.

[47] Writings, p.49, n.2 and Rosen, Collections scientifiques, v.1, p.187n.

[48] Cited in Fusus, v.1, p.325.

[49] Idem, Kitab-i Iqan, English translation (slightly adapted), p. 49, Persian text, p.38.

[50] I.e., muttasil marfu'; see Robson, "Hadith," E12, v.3, p.25.

[51] Mashariq, p.172.

[52] Ascribed to Mirza Muhammad Akhbari (1178/1764-1232/1816, on whom see Amanat, pp.25-8), translated in Nabil, pp.49-50 (see also the reference here to the predictions of none other than Ibn 'Arabi about the rise of the mahdi in Persia). I have not located the original for this hadith.

[53] Mentioned above, Part ii, Chapter 1; see also Nabil, p.27 and the hadith quoted by Rashti (Qasida, p.69): The Prophet said: "God created husn in a hundred parts and gave Joseph ninety-nine."

[54] For the Fatiha as umm al-kitab see Anwar, pp. 80-1. N.b. also the hadith cited in ibid., p.80, from 'Ali: "The family of Muhammad is the umm al-kitab and its seal (khatimatuhu)."

[55] al-Hallaj, Akhbar, (introduction) p.49.

[56] Reza Tevfiq in Huart, Textes Houroufis, p.293. See the following pages for the background of this belief, which is associated with Abraham. See also p.305.

[57] Akhbar, #32 &34.

[58] Cf. Anwar, pp.182-3, where the standard interpretation of this word, i.e. qiyama, is also given. In addition to standing for walaya proper, it also represents 'Ali himself.

[59] Anwar, p.73, quoting, among others, the Kitab al- wahida of Tariq bin Shihab, 'Ali said: "The Imam is a holy spirit (ruh qudsi) and a divine cause (amr ilahi).

[60] See Mashariq, p.63.

[61] See Anwar, p. 256 where the quranic matla' al- fajr is interpreted as the Qa'im in a hadith from al-Sadiq.

[62] Cf. the translation in Writings, p. 69.

[63] Anwar, p.200.

[64] On this: Ayoub, Redemptive Suffering. QA: al- qamis al-mughammas; F11, f.164a: al-qamis al-muqammas.

[65] Cf. Writings, p. 74 for this and the following two verses.

[66] Anwar, pp. 207-8.

[67] The usage here may also be derived from some ziyarat dedicated to 'Ali, in which the phrase: ya' mishkat al-diya'" occurs. Anwar, pp. 205-6.

[68] Of some interest here is the point made by the Bab elsewhere. The images of fire (nar) and light (nur) represent respectively, those who either accept or reject his claim. The numerical difference between the two (nar = 251; nur = 256) is represented by the numerical value of bab. Thus through recognition of the Bab, "fire" is transformed into "light". (Amanat, p.203).

[69] Similar terminology was noticed above in the work of Rashti. Cf. also Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions, p.143.