The Rose-Garden of Mystery

سؤال ۱۰

Question 10

What is the sea whose shore is speech? What pearl comes from its depth?

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads علمش for نطقش.

جواب ۱۰

Answer 10

Being is a sea, speech its shore; the shell is letters, and the jewels are the knowledge of the heart.

With every wave it casts out thousands of royal pearls, from tradition, revealed text and reports.

Thousands of waves rise from it every moment, and never does a drop of it grow less.

The being of knowledge is from that deep sea; the sheath of its pearl is of sound and letter.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads خلاف for غلاف.

When meanings descend here, they need to take on a likeness (tamaththul).

تمثیل

Illustration

I have heard that in the month of Nīsān the shell rises up from the sea of ʿUmmān.

From the bottom of the sea's depth it comes up on high and settles on the face of the sea, its mouth open.

A vapour rises from the sea and falls [as rain] by the command of the Real, the Exalted.

A few drops fall into its mouth; its mouth is shut fast with a hundred bonds.

It goes to the bottom of the sea with a full heart; that drop of rain becomes a pearl.

The diver goes down into the depth of the sea and brings out from it the shining pearl.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads از for و.

Your body is the shore, and being is like the sea; its vapour is grace (fayḍ), and the rain is the knowledge of the Names [Q 2:31].

Intellect (khirad) is the diver of this great sea, who has a hundred jewels in his cloak.

The heart is like a vessel for knowledge; the shell over the heart's knowledge is sound with letter.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads از for را.

The breath moves like flashing lightning; from it letters reach the ear of the hearer.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads با for بر.

Break the shell, bring out the royal pearl; cast away the husk, take up the fine kernel.

Lexicon with etymology, and syntax with morphology, all turn about the letter.

Whoever spent his whole life on this has spent his precious life in vain.

Of the walnut, only the dry husk fell into his hand: whoever breaks the husk finds the kernel.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads زجورش for زجوزش; Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads سبز for خشک.

Yes, without the husk every kernel is unripe; from outward knowledge comes the fine knowledge of religion.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads ولی for بلی.

Hear advice from me, dear brother: go, strive with heart and soul in the knowledge of religion.

For the learned one has found lordship in both worlds; even if he was lesser, through it he found greatness.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads کهتر for کمتر.

Action that comes from the states [of the heart] is far better than the knowledge of words (qāl).

But a work that comes from water and clay is not like knowledge, which is the work of the heart.

Look at the difference between body and soul: as though this is taken as the west and that as the east.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads گیری for گیرد.

From this, learn how acts stand toward the sciences: as the knowledge of words (qāl) stands toward the knowledge of states (ḥāl).

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads جال for حال.

That is not knowledge which has an inclination toward the world: it has a form, but no meaning.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads اما for الا.

Knowledge never comes together with greed: if you want the angel, put the dog far from you.

The sciences of religion come from the dispositions of the angels; they do not dwell in a heart whose nature is a dog's.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads نماید for نباشد.

The saying of the Chosen [Muṣṭafā] is in the end just this; listen well, for it certainly is so:

When there is an image inside the house, the angel will surely not come into it.

Go, scour the face of the tablet of the heart, so that the angel may make its dwelling with you.

Acquire from it [the angel] the knowledge that comes by inheritance [from the prophets]; till [the field] for the sake of the hereafter.

Read the book of the Real in the self and the horizons [Q 41:53]; adorn yourself with the root of all virtues.

قاعده · در اخلاق و خصال حمیده

Rule · On good dispositions and praiseworthy qualities

The roots of good character are justice, and after it wisdom, temperance and courage.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads اصل for اصول.

The true sage is [upright] in word and deed: one who is qualified with these four.

Through wisdom his soul and heart are aware; he is neither crafty nor yet foolish.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads کزبر for گربز; Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads پیر for نیز.

Through temperance he keeps the desire of the heart veiled; greed, like torpor, has gone far from him.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads خود for دل; Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads مشهور for مستور; Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads حسد for خمود.

He is brave, and clear of abasement and of pride; his essence is free of cowardice and rashness.

When justice became the garment of his essence, he has no injustice; so his character became good.

All good dispositions lie in the middle, set apart from excess and deficiency.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads میانه for میان.

The middle is like the straight path [Q 1:6]; on both its sides is the pit of hell.

In fineness and sharpness [it is like] a hair and a sword: there is no way to go on it, nor to stay on it long (?).

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads همچو for موی; the Midnapore MS reads گشت for رفتن.

Since justice has only one of the opposites, these opposites came to seven in number.

Under every number a secret lies hidden: that is why the gates of hell are also seven.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads دریای for درهای.

Just as hell was made ready by injustice, paradise has always been the place of justice.

The reward of justice is light and mercy; the reward of injustice is curse and darkness.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads سزای for جزای.

The appearance of goodness lies in equilibrium (iʿtidāl); for the body, equilibrium (ʿadālat) is the utmost perfection.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads عدل for جسم را.

When the compound becomes like a single thing, act and distinction depart from the parts.

It becomes like that which is simple in essence, and a link arises between this and that;

Not a link that comes of a composition of parts, for spirit is free of the attribute of corporeality.

When water and clay become pure all at once, the spirit [He calls] "His" comes to it from the Real [Q 15:29].

When the parts and elements attain their proportion (taswiya), the radiance of the world of the soul takes hold in it.

The ray of the soul [falling] toward the body at the time of equilibrium: the sun and the earth are its likeness.

Doubtful reading. As printed, the second hemistich does not scan in the metre. The Lahore lithograph (1347/1928–29) reads بتمثیل (ba-tamthīl), which scans.

تمثیل

Illustration

Although the sun is in the fourth heaven, its ray is the light that governs the earth.

The natures of the elements are not in the sun; the stars are not hot and cold, dry and moist.

All the elements are hot and cold through it; white and red and green and crimson and yellow.

Its rule runs like that of a just king, of whom one can say neither that he is outside nor inside.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) omits ش.

When the elements became concordant through equilibrium, the speaking soul fell in love with its beauty.

Whinfield's margin. The Midnapore MS reads شد for گشت.

A spiritual marriage took place in [true] religion; the Universal Soul gave the world as dowry.

From the two of them come eloquence, the sciences, speech, sincerity and fairness of face.

Grace (malāḥat) came in from the world without likeness, like a reckless rind (libertine).

It raised its banner in the city of beauty and threw the whole order of the world into confusion.

Now it is a champion rider on the steed of beauty; now it is keen-edged with the sword of speech.

When it is in a person, they call it grace (malāḥat); when it is in speech, they call it eloquence.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) reads چه for چو.

Saint and king, dervish and prophet: all are subject under its rule.

Within the beauty of a fair face, what is that ān (that certain something)? It is not beauty alone: say, what is that ān?

Heart-ravishing comes from none but the Real, for no one has a share in divinity.

How could lust ravish the heart of men? It is that the Real at times shows [Himself] through the false.

Whinfield's margin. Hammer-Purgstall (1838) omits ز.

Know the Real as the effective cause in every place; do not set your foot outside your own limit.

Know the Real in the garb of the Real as the religion of the Real; the Real coming in falsehood is the work of Satan.