BB00249: Bayan ’illati Tahrimi’l-Maharim

“An explanation of the reason for the prohibition of marriage with close relatives such as the sister, mother, paternal aunt, maternal aunt, etc. by origin, and the prohibition of others incidentally, such as the wife’s mother and her daughter, and the divorced woman after the nine, and the woman subjected to zihar, and others—what is the reason for prohibiting these and permitting others? Explain, may I be a sacrifice for you, and encompass me with your kindness and your good pleasure. The answer:”

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

I bear witness, even as God beareth witness unto Himself, that there is none other God but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise. And I bear witness unto Muhammad and His loved ones—God’s peace be upon them as He hath willed concerning them—verily He is the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful.

O thou exalted one! Give thanks unto God, thy true Lord, for the Gate hath accepted the salutations of those who submit to the Most Great Gate, and their greetings in the life to come from God—peace, peace indeed.

As to the question concerning what God hath forbidden unto men from the nine that are written in the Words, and what God hath ordained beyond them regarding divorce, zihar, and their like along the paths of that which is lawful: Know thou that God, glorified be He, is the True Self-Sufficient One. He hath made lawful in the Book for His servant all that He hath created in the earth collectively, even as God, exalted be He, hath said in His Book: “He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth.” And God hath not forbidden unto any soul save what Israel forbade unto himself, whereunto the Worshipped One hath referred in His praiseworthy utterance: “All food was lawful unto the Children of Israel save what Israel forbade for himself.”

Verily, Ali—peace be upon him—forbade nothing unto himself save what the Thing forbade unto itself, for God created all things through him and granted them, in the form of their acceptance, the judgment of their own souls. Therefore, the decree of God in the Beginning divergeth not from any thing. And when God sent forth in this world, they had forgotten the decree of the Beginning without right, and therefore did God send unto them the Messengers and the Book with truth, that they might recite unto them the decrees of their acceptance in the station of the First Covenant. In this Gate let those who would change be changed, and let those who would vie with one another vie.

The decree of the Beginning hath returned to the Point of Ending—verily, unto God do we belong and unto Him do we return. As to the indication from the paths of the limits, know thou that God hath created all things from the water of two seas: one the water of the cause, and the second the water of the caused. He hath merged these two seas in this world that they might meet through the mystery of the two choices from the water of these two seas. The All-Merciful hath decreed for all things the decree of the Beginning collectively. Therefore hath He forbidden the paths of the caused unto the cause, and for this reason were forbidden in the Book the mother, the paternal aunt, and the maternal aunt, by reason of the mystery of their causation, indicating the rank of trinity in the act of Beginning.

Therefore hath God forbidden, in the rank of passion, the name of the act. Glorified be God, our Lord! Verily, He is the Mighty, the Wise. As for the other six, they came into being after Adam’s approach to the Tree. The mystery of the matter is that when God created Adam after the declining of the sun on Friday, there remained in Paradise but six hours. When the sun set, he went forth from Paradise and arrived at Safa. Therefore did God forbid unto the noblest of his progeny those six because of his sins, and this is an irrevocable decree. Were it from aught other than God, they would have found within it many a contradiction. Nay, no soul shalt thou find able to alter the ordinance of God. And men of understanding know that here there is naught save what God decreed in the Beginning; that mystery, by God’s leave, hath coursed through all things.

Lengthen the waw in the word huwa (“He”), for from thence the Decree hath been ordained. And take the letter haʼ, for upon it resteth the ink of judgment. Four were made lawful unto thee by the knot—the covenant broadcast from the Greater Testament—in the quadrate rank of the Word of Glorification; and one was made incumbent upon thee by the covenants. And others are permissible. This is a binding decree and you will find no change in the ways of the All-Merciful.

As for the prohibition of divorce after the ninth time, verily God causes all things to proceed according to their essential nature. The decree is true, and divorce occurs through turning away from the station of love. This is forgiven in the permissibility of eight, indicating the eight gates of Paradise. When the ninth house is reached, it becomes forbidden to him and he can never exit. The law of revelation corresponds to creation—we have seen nothing in its essential nature except that we have seen it manifested through that gate.

As for the prohibition of zihar, it is due to the sanctity of the Word, as its speaker acted contrary to the way of the gates. God has forbidden that you enter houses from their rear, and whoever enters from their rear, God has decreed prohibition upon them. Thus in this decree is established the prohibition of mutual cursing. God has detested zihar and divorce and their like, as they arise from the point of denial. God created creation only for love of Himself in the path of unity. The religion is but one, and God created creation and sent them forth as a single soul. God’s command is swifter than the twinkling of an eye. Glory be to God, Creator of destiny, above what they describe.

Here the Pen has ceased its flow by permission of the All-Merciful. Take what has been bestowed upon you in pure truth from the red elixir, and be among those who are thankful to God. And praise be to God, Lord of all worlds.