BB00128: Kitab al-Fihrist (Book of the index)

Introduction

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Alif, Lam, Mim, Ra, Alif. This is that Book from God concerning the judgment of a wondrous servant. Verily it is a Book sent down from the Remnant of God, the Ancient, True Imam. He is the Truth in the heavens and on earth; nothing escapeth His knowledge and no created thing can encompass His remembrance. He is the Great, Living Imam. Follow now what hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord, for the Cause hath been decreed and all shall be raised up in the wondrous gathering. Say: I am a servant of the Remnant of God; I have believed in God, His signs, and what was revealed in the Qur’an from God. Verily there is no God but Him, the All-Knowing Witness. I bear witness in this Book as God hath testified to Our Being that there is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Ancient. And I bear witness unto Muhammad the Messenger of God as God hath willed for Himself—verily there is no God but Him, the Powerful, the Mighty. Say: He is unique in God’s knowledge, beyond compare, and all are recorded as the oppressed ones in God’s Book.

After God’s Messenger, I bear witness concerning the guardianship of the Letters of Unity—there is no God but God and all are submissive. And I bear witness that their names in God’s Book are Ali, Hasan, Husayn, Ali, Muhammad, Ja’far, Musa, Ali, Muhammad, Ali, Hasan and Muhammad. And I bear witness that all else beside their remembrance is non-existent and after remembrance becometh existent. And I bear witness that Fatima, daughter of God’s Messenger, is a leaf of the White Tree—there is no God but Him, say: Before Me bow ye down! And I bear witness for myself all that God hath willed for Himself—none can encompass God’s knowledge and all are humble before Him. And I bear witness to the Gates of the Word of the Most Merciful—there is no God but Him, say: Bear ye witness unto Me! God hath testified to His servant what his Lord’s knowledge hath encompassed, and this sufficeth as a witness over thee in judgment.

Say: O concourse! Hearken unto the judgment of the Remnant of God from His wise servant Ali. Verily he is a servant born on the first day of Muharram in the year 1235, and now it is the fifteenth day of the month preceding Rajab in the year 1261 as recorded in God’s Book. And what hath been revealed through him from the Day of Permission until this day are those verses witnessed in God’s Book.

Verily, the first day upon which the Spirit descended upon His heart was the mid-day of the month of ʿAyn, the First. And until that day on which God made Our verses forbidden unto you for fifteen months—this, in the Book of God, is inscribed. Say: Whatsoever hath issued from My hand, apart from that which thou hast openly recited from the Book of God—those verses are preserved in the Tablet of Innovation. Woe betide you, O people of the earth! Certain among your souls have repudiated Our signs; wherefore We have made them forbidden unto all, for five years, as a recompense for that which they forged.

And God hath made manifest the verses of Innovation according to that number, that men may come to know that all that was sent down by His two Hands pertaineth to the days of His sovereignty, before […], as it is recorded in the Book of God. And when the decree of the days of […] was fulfilled, the people associated others with His Cause; yet judgement belongeth unto God, and might unto His Servant—this, in all the Tablets, is written.

And after the decree of Right-Guidance, a term of ten years was ordained. Thereafter God granted leave for your hidden immolation, that mankind might know the import of the letters Ha’ and Waw after […], unto the Day of the Manifestation of the Name of God, the Living, the Self-Subsisting. Verily, this is the Ancient Mystery.

Send forth, during the days of repose, leaves of justice from your faith unto the Remembrance, that He may forgive you, for verily He is the Generous, the Forbearing. By Him Who knoweth the truth of the verses! If We were to accept this from you, it would be greater than the fire of hell in the Book of God, were ye to comprehend. But the matter hath been decreed, and even if ye were to offer all that is on earth, the Remembrance would not accept it from you. God is indeed the Self-Sufficient, the All-Praised.

O people! Know ye that from that Day the decree hath become grievous for the humble ones. Fear ye God with justice and recite the verses of God, your Lord, that ye may obtain mercy. Write with golden ink all that We now detail unto you, that ye may be guided by the verses of God. In the Days of God, the recitation of these verses is superior to all deeds in the Book of God inscribed. O people! Take your portion from the Book of God and follow not the steps of Satan, that ye may prosper. It is not permitted for anyone to interpret a single letter of Our verses except according to what hath been revealed in the Qur’an and confirmed by the traditions. Ask ye of Our servant who believed in My Remembrance before all people, if ye know not.

Say: I have not written a single letter except that within it is witnessed all that God’s knowledge hath encompassed. Fear ye God regarding this decree, for it is indeed a mighty covenant for the monotheists. All that hath been revealed from the hand of the Remembrance shall endure until the Day of Resurrection, and none can change God’s decree, and unto Him shall all return. Say: I have claimed no Cause except that its decree hath been revealed in the traditions. Read ye these traditions that ye may attain certitude in God’s verses:

God—exalted be He—saith in the Holy Hadith:

“My servant ceaseth not to draw nigh unto Me by works of supererogation until I love him. And when I love him I become his hearing wherewith he heareth, his sight wherewith he seeth, and his hand wherewith he graspeth. If he calleth upon Me I answer him; and if he is silent concerning Me, I begin with him.”

And He—peace be upon Him—said:

“Whoso loveth Us, and increaseth in his love for Us, and purifieth his knowledge of Us; if he asketh a question, We verily breathe into his heart the answer to that question.”

In al-Kafi it is related that a Christian monk questioned Musa ibn Ja’far—peace be upon them both—saying: “Inform me concerning eight letters: four have become manifest upon the earth, and four remain in the air. Upon whom shall those four that are in the air descend, and who shall interpret them?” He replied: “That is our Qa’im. God will cause them to descend upon him; he shall interpret them; and there shall be sent down unto him that wherewith He did not send any among the Truthful, the Messengers, or the rightly guided.” The monk then said: “Tell me of two of those four letters that are upon the earth—what are they?” He—peace be upon him—said: “I shall inform thee of all four. The first is: There is none other God but God, alone, without partner—abiding.’ The second: Muhammad is the Messenger of God’—may the blessings of God be upon him and His family—in utter sincerity.’ The third: We are the People of the House.’ And the fourth: ʿOur Shi’ah are through Us; and We are from the Messenger of God—may God bless him and his family—and the Messenger of God is from God—by a binding Cause.”’

Again, in al-Kafi, from Abu Abdu’llah—peace be upon him—He said: Verily God, blessed and exalted, created a Name—of letters, yet unvocalized; of utterance, yet unpronounced; of person, yet unembodied; by likeness, yet undescribed; of colour, yet untinged. Denied of it are the confines of direction; far removed from the senses of all who sense—hidden, yet not concealed. He made it a steadfast Word upon four parts together—none preceding another. Of these He manifested three as a Name, by reason of the creatures’ need for them, and He veiled one thereof—and that is the Hidden, Treasured Name. The outer form of these names that have been manifested is God’, Blessed’, and Exalted’. And He, praised be He, gave to the service of each of these names four pillars, making twelve pillars in all.

Then He created for each pillar thirty names as attributes related to them: The All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him, the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the All-Wise, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supreme, the Most High, the Magnificent, the All-Powerful, the Powerful, the Peace, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Originator, the Wonderful, the Sublime, the Majestic, the Generous, the Provider, the Life-Giver, the Death-Giver, the Resurrector, the Inheritor.

These names and what are among the Most Beautiful Names total three hundred and sixty names, and they are related to these three Names. These Names are pillars and veils of the One Hidden and Treasured Name through these three Names. This relates to His words, exalted be He:

“Say: Call upon Allah, or call upon the All-Merciful; by whatever name you call upon Him, His are the Most Beautiful Names.”

Verily those who claim the meeting with the Proof are naught but liars. Say: This is my path, just as detailed in the preceding traditions, and my heart lies not concerning what I have witnessed with justice, and God has power over all things.

Say: My name is Muhammad after the word ʿAli, and my father’s name after the mention of Muhammad is the word Rida, as has been inscribed in God’s Book. And my grandfather’s name in God’s Book is Ibrahim, and his father’s name is God’s favor as written in the Qur’an.

And verily this Book is a remembrance from Me that people might know all that was revealed by the hand of the Remembrance during fifteen months of his Lord’s days and what was written before it, and that they might preserve themselves as recompense for the Day when all return to God:

Qayyumu’l-Asma [BB00002, with 111 surahs listed]

Sahifiy-i-Makhzunih [BB00018, with 14 prayers listed]

Sahifa Baynu’l-Haramayn [BB00019, with 7 chapters listed]

Kitabu’l-Ruh [BB00009]

Sahifa A’mal al-Sana [BB00025, with 14 chapters listed]

Answers to various questions in the form of prayers:

Prayer in reply to 20 questions [BB00102]

Prayer in reply to Mirza Muhammad ʿAli al-Nahri

Prayer in reply to Mulla ʿAbd al-Jalil, on the thanksgiving prostration [BB00402]

Prayer in reply to Mulla Muhammad, Mirza Muhammad ʿAli al-Nahri, and others [BB00145]

Prayer in reply to Mulla Abdu’l-Khaliq [BB00172]

Prayer in reply to Qurratu’l-ʿAyn [BB00152]

Prayer in reply to Mulla Ahmad al-Khurasani, Di’bil, and Ibn Mirza ʿAli al-Akhbari [BB00138]

Prayer in reply to Mulla Ibrahim al-Mahallati [BB00196]

Prayer in reply to Siyyid Ja’far al-Shi’ih [BB00157?]

Prayer in reply to Mirza Hadi and Mirza Muhammad ʿAli Qazvini [BB00124]

Prayer in reply to Mirza Javad al-Qazvini [BB00123?]

Various writings and commentaries:

Fi’s-Suluk [BB00297]

Aydan fi’s-Suluk [BB00065?]

Fi Sarf va’n-Nahv [BB00239]

Fi Bada wa Lawhu’l-Mahfuz wa i’lm al-Taqarrub wa Taba’ud [BB00416, BB00364, BB00325]

Fi al-Nisbat bayn al-Shaykh wa al-Siyyid [BB00318]

Fi al-Jawamid wa’l-Mushtaqat [BB00244]

Fi Jawab al-Mirza Muhammad al-Yazdi [BB00158]

Fi’s-Suluk wa Bayan-i-Kayfiyatu’l-ʿIlm

Fi Bayan Tafarriqih al-Zawahir wa al-Bawatin

Fi ʿillati Tahrimi’l-Maharim [BB00249]

Tafsir-i-Ayat [min Surat] al-Nur [BB00346]

Tafsir-i-Hadith-i-Nahnu Wajhu’llah [BB00344]

Tafsir-i-Hadith al-Jariyya [BB00307]

Tafsir-i-Hadith-i-Haqiqat [BB00151]

Fi Tafsir-i-Kalimiy-i-Aqul [BB00237]

Tafsir-i-Hadith-i-ʿAshura [BB00321]

Various letters to individuals:

To Sultan Abdu’l-Majid [BB00229]

To the vazir of the two kings [BB00241]

To Mulla Husayn Bushru’i [BB00287, BB00336, BB00415, BB00284, BB00516]

To Jinab-i-Mulla Abdu’l-Khaliq

To Maghribi [Imam]

To Hanbali [Imam]

To Haji Mulla Muhammad

To Haji Mirza Hasan al-Khurasani [BB00269]

To Mirza Siyyid Hasan [BB00355]

To Jani [BB00462?]

To Imam Hanafi [BB00399, BB00582]

To Mulla Muhammad Sadiq [BB00222, BB00555]

To Haji Mulla Muhammad ʿAli

To Muhammad Kazim Khan

To Sharif Sulayman of Mecca [BB00333]

To Majid [Najib?] Pasha

To Mulla Hasan al-Gawhar [BB00439]

To al-Khal [BB00315, BB00319, BB00367]

To Haji Muhammad Karim Khan [BB00356]

To the ʿUlama [BB00091]

To the Bayt [family] [BB00571]

To Shaykh Khalaf [BB00281]

To Shaykh Sulayman [BB00316—Salman?]

To Siyyid Ibrahim

To Mirza ʿAbdu’-Baqi

To Shaykh ʿAbdu’l-Rafi’ [BB00586]

To Sulayman Khan

To Siyyid ʿAli al-Kirmani [BB00517]

Above list is from PR04 and may include some slightly later works

Write this Surah at the beginning of every book that people might know God’s verses in each of its wondrous modes.

Be patient, O Remembrance of God, and grieve not, for your days are inscribed by My hand in the Mother Book with God, your Lord. Be patient with His decree, for the word of proclamation has been completed after you have stood, and grieve not for the Cause. Speak through Me in every circumstance and write during your days of sitting whatever you wish of your Lord’s verses for the days of our return. Say: Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.

I have been patient for God’s sake and am content with His decree, then I have entrusted my covenant to God—there is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise.

O God! I seek Your forgiveness for all that has been revealed by my hands and I bear witness before You to my own shortcoming in fulfilling Your right and conveying Your verses, and concerning Your decree I say: Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.