BB00657: Tafsir-i Kun wa Yakun

Part 1: “Praise be to God, the Originator of origination…”

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

Praise be to God, the Originator of origination, the Producer of invention, the Creator of whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on earth—He beside Whom there is no God. No description of His creation taketh hold upon Him, nor doth any attribute of His servants ascend unto Him. He is the One, the Single, the Self-Subsisting, the Indivisible, Who hath ever been when no thing was, and Who shall remain as He hath ever been. Naught hath known Him of what was before, nor shall aught be able to know Him of what shall be after; for with Him the decree of non-existence and of existence is one and the same. The limits of creation work no change upon Him, nor do the loftiest apprehensions of the denizens of His world of origination exert any influence within the kingdom of His command; for He is the One, peerless in His Essence; the All-Glorious, sanctified in His attributes; the Alone, unique in His acts; the One alone worthy of worship by virtue of His sway over His servants.

Glorified and exalted is He! Every description of the majesty of His all-glorious Might and His sovereignty of grandeur confesseth, in the utmost certitude, its severance and separation from His holy court; and every attribute, when the dawning-place of His Self-Subsisting countenance shineth forth, acknowledgeth that it is debarred from ascending unto Him in the heaven of the sanctity of His oneness.

All that His creation can know, and all that His servants describe, is but a fashioning within the kingdom of His own Essence, proceeding from the sovereignty of His sustaining power. And He, verily, is too exalted and too great for the highest birds of hearts among the essences of being to soar into the atmosphere of His glory, or for the loftiest perceptions of the abstracted realities to ascend unto the firmament of His all-compelling majesty. He is, as He hath said, immeasurably exalted above all that the speakers speak:

“Vision perceiveth Him not, but He perceiveth all vision; He is the Subtle, the All-Informed.”

And may the prayers from the sanctuary of His holiness be upon Muhammad—peace be upon him—the Manifestation of His own Self, the One Whom He fashioned for the remembrance of His Name, chose for the descent of His Revelation, accepted for the keeping of His mystery, singled out for the bearing of His Message, and made to stand in the station of His own Self throughout every kingdom of His command and His creation—that the knowers might take knowledge of Him through knowledge of that Apostle; that disobedience unto Him might be discerned by disobedience unto that Apostle; that obedience unto Him might be known by obedience unto that Apostle; and that the denial of his Prophethood might be recognized as denial of His Lordship—to the end that none might be veiled from the manifestations of His all-embracing mercy, but might behold Him in every thing, in every condition, as His appearance unto it by its very self. For He is the One Who subdueth His servants from above, and is exalted above the mere contemplation of all His signs; and, verily, He is the Most Great, the All-Exalted.

And may peace be from the mine of His majesty upon the trustees of the Messenger of God, the Imams of the Faith, and upon Fatimih the Most Great, the mother of the sinless Imams, according to whatsoever God willeth and desireth for them of bounty, loving-kindness, generosity, and grace. Verily, He is the All-Bountiful, the All-Bestowing. And may mercy be upon those who have followed their traces in their inmost hearts and in their outward lives, who judge only according to their will, act only by their good-pleasure, speak only with their leave, and look only unto their command, and who, for fear of Him, are full of awe and trembling.

To continue: Know thou, concerning that which thou didst ask regarding the meaning of His exalted word: “His command, when He willeth a thing, is but to say unto it ʿBe’, and it is,” that, were all the seas of what lieth within the knowledge of God to become ink for the exposition of a single letter thereof, all would be exhausted ere its meaning could be fully made manifest. For God hath placed, within the very being of everything upon which the name “thing” is bestowed, the sign of every thing—to the end that no soul be veiled from the effulgence of His rising, but may behold Him manifest in all things, so that it beholdeth naught save His manifestation, heareth no voice but His voice, witnesseth no light but His light, and observeth no command but His command, and esteemeth whatsoever is beside Him as on the day of its non-being, when it was a thing unmentioned.

When, then, a servant is firmly established in this perspective, he is able to apprehend that unto which I have alluded of the spirit of this verse and the reality of its meaning. Thus know thou that all existence, in the sight of God, is but a point—the very Point which those veiled from their Lord have multiplied. It is the first remembrance of God by Himself unto Himself; it is that which is called the Will (mashiyyat). And it is impossible that the manifestations thereof should be perfected save by its descent through five degrees in the revelation of its hidden and manifest aspects, and through seven degrees in the disclosure of its relations and concerns.

God hath made the Point itself endued with four pillars. The first pillar is related to the Will; the second to Desire; the third to Decree (qadar); and the fourth to Predestination (qada’). When these four are contemplated, there appeareth therefrom a “form” which is the “temple” of the Point itself. This is the secret of the Names, the First Splendour, the final cause of creation, the perfection of fulfilment, and the veil of origination. Hence is it that all the letters of the Names of God return unto the word “Huwa” (“He”). And when “Huwa” is divested of the geometry of convention, there remaineth but the letter ha’; and this is that reality to which God hath alluded in His word: “Verily His command”—for it is that same reality which was sent down on the Night of Power in the saying of thy Lord: “Verily We sent it down,” and it is the first pillar of the letter kaf in the word “Kun” (“Be”), inasmuch as the kaf is the manifestation of the ha’, the secret of the ha’ is the alif, and the secret of the alif is the Point.

Wherefore hath God ordained that the meaning of the ha’ should be expressed by the word “Bab” (the Gate)—peace be upon him—for the alif standeth between the two points; and this is an indication that the Point of beginning returneth, after this manner, unto the station of the end. That alif is the alif that is not conjoined with aught; rather, it is the letter ba’ that is joined unto it. And the intention of the Imam—peace be upon him—in his saying is that whatsoever ye know of Our virtues and affirm with regard to Us is but a mere mention from that alif; whereas We are They Who are exalted, hallowed, and lifted high in holiness; all descriptions regarding Us are sheer falsehood, and all attributes applied unto Us are pure untruth.

The command wherewith “Be!” was uttered is the first pillar of the pillars of the kaf. And that letter kaf, in its outward form, if thou regard it with the eye of subtlety, thou wilt behold therein the secret of the Point and the reality thereof; for its written shape in the eyes of the people of possession is thus: kaf. This is the form of the meaning of the ha’, possessed of three pillars, for it is an alif and two ba’s—thus: ba’-alif-ba’—and this is the very form of the kaf itself, when joined unto the like of its own form. In such wise do the men of insight infer that the knowledge of the Unseen is attained only through that which is here plain and manifest.

Moreover, the word kaf is, as it were, two letters; its first descent was in the letter ayn, and for this reason the first of the Names which God chose for His own Self was “al-Ali al-Azim” (“the Most High, the Most Great”). Wherefore Musa ibn Ja’far—peace be upon him—commanded his Shi’ah to supplicate their Lord in the Great Month with the words: “Ya Ali, ya ʿAzim!”

And know thou that the letter kaf hath five manifestations among the Names of God—glorious is He—namely: al-Ism al-Kabir (the Great Name), al-Kafi (the All-Sufficing), al-Kahf (the Cavern), al-Karim (the All-Bounteous), and al-Kanz (the Treasure). For when the four are multiplied by the five, there appeareth the number associated with the kaf. By this doth He—exalted be He—make manifest the count of the kaf; through it doth every thing stand, since the first mention of the Speaker is established by the letter kaf, as He hath alluded to in the hidden tradition:

“I was a hidden treasure and loved to be known; therefore I created the creation that I might be known.”

This is, in very truth, the letter of address in His saying—glorified be He—“Law laka (Were it not for thee), I would not have created the heavens.” For in that station the One Who addresseth and the one addressed are one, as He hath alluded to in the station of Muhammad, His Beloved, saying: “Raise up thy head, O Muhammad!” And when he raised it, God, exalted be He, said: “Thou art the Beloved, thou art the Well-Loved.”

Wherefore God made the sign of that station, in the realm of letters, to be the letter kaf, that the people of insight might be guided, from that station, to this one. For when the Command, expressed in the word “Kuntu” (“I was”), appeared in “yakun” (“it is”), the kaf shone forth throughout all the forms of address: in bika (through thee), ilayka (unto thee), minka (from thee), alayka (upon thee), fika (in thee), anka (on thy behalf), and laka (for thee). This is a sign of the secret of Reality, inasmuch as by virtue of this letter the sovereignty of the divine majesty is revealed and the kingdom is established for Him; for the first letter of the Command in His word “Kun” is the very letter that appeareth at the end of the word “mulk” (kingdom), whereby the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth is made firm unto Him. Through its manifestation are His rights made manifest and His decrees revealed in His Book; and verily He is the One alone to Whom belongeth dominion, and the Possessor of the letter kaf. For, had that letter not been, the majesty of God in His exaltedness would not have been made manifest, nor His kingdom in His creatures.

He is that hidden Treasure and that manifest All-Glorious One, the Most Great, the Most High. Unto this hath God alluded by ascribing it unto His own Self in His saying: “Verily God, He is the Most High, the Most Great.” He is the Hidden Cavern, as God hath alluded to Him in the inmost depth of the verse: “Dost thou think that the Companions of the Cavern and of the Inscription were among Our wondrous signs?” The Companions of the Cavern are they who are the possessors of the alif between the two ba’s, inasmuch as the last letter of each is the same; and verily to this day they marvel at Our signs, despite the loftiness of their gaze and the depth of their insight. And the meaning of “the Inscription (raqim)” is that reality which joined itself to that kaf without the leave of God—glorified be He—unto which He alludeth in His saying: “What hath beguiled thee concerning thy Lord, the All-Bounteous?”

Part 2: “Verily God hath disclosed My Name…”

Verily God hath disclosed My Name in the number of the word “Lord”, and My demonstration in what I have mentioned concerning the letter kaf, and hath expressed His denunciation of whoso remembereth not the signs of His Lord in His saying—exalted be His remembrance—“Taste, for thou art indeed the mighty, the noble.” For he was exalted by the nobility of that kaf, since karam (bounty) proceedeth from the pillar of that very Name which no one possesseth; it is a Name established in His shadow, going forth unto none other than Him. Unto it is the allusion, in the inmost depth of the verse: “Say: Who quickeneth the bones when they are crumbled?” for He hath ascribed this attribute to His own Self in the continuation: “Say: He shall quicken them Who first produced them, and He is, of every creation, Knowing.”

Again is the allusion made to it in the word “Inscription (raqim)”, for the last letter of each is the same; and lo, this day they marvel at Our signs, after all the escape they fancied themselves to possess.

Now, seeing that the height of workmanship requireth that the worlds should correspond one to another, it behoveth that whatsoever is in Illiyyin should have its counterpart in Sijjin. For this cause hath He mirrored forth the kaf of Illiyyin in the word “Kun”, and the kaf of Sijjin in the word “Dhuq (Taste!)” in His saying: “Taste! Verily thou art the mighty, the noble, the wise.” Know, if thou knowest, the mention of the Wise in a hidden, upright Wise One; for I have acquainted thee with a mighty secret and with a Name. Take, then, thy portion, if thou be of the servants of the All-Merciful.

And if thou consider the secret of Reality, thou wilt behold that the letter of “Kun” hath, in its most manifest plane, fourteen “reeds” in the written forms, which are as non-existent “temples”; for the letter fa’ is but a link, and the command of God cleaveth unto yakun nearer than the twinkling of an eye. Shouldst thou, however, refuse to regard the fa’ as a mere link, it signifieth those eighty years during which Muhammad circled around the splendour of Grandeur before ʿAli—peace be upon him—circled around the splendour of Power.

And when the judgement of the fa’ is lifted, there remain but eighteen letters; of these, the number fourteen are the manifestations of the three pillars when they are revealed in the two, so that there remain but Muhammad and Ali. Hence he said: “The first of us is Muhammad, the middle of us is Muhammad, the last of us is Muhammad; all of us are Muhammad.” Muhammad—peace be upon him—also hinted secretly in his word: “I do not separate myself from Ali,” as he declared: “I and ʿAli are as these two fingers,” and God hath fixed this judgment in the verse of mubahalah: “Our souls and your souls”, for there is naught nearer unto a soul than its own self by its very self.

Know, moreover, that all existence, seen and unseen, is contained in these two lights and these two Names. The letter kaf is the letter of Ali, and the letter nun the letter of Muhammad. If thou regard the arc of descent, the kaf is the letter of Muhammad and the nun the letter of Ali; the first is Will and the second Desire. Wherefore God hath appointed the letters of Their two Names to be seven; for the offspring of Desire are five: Decree, Predestination, Permission, Term, and Book. Thus hath God made the letter of the Name of the latter, the station of the Book, to be the letter of the Name of the former, “Kun”, that all may know that the kaf, in the furthest extremity of its descent and multiplication, pointeth to naught but the primal kaf.

In like manner hath God manifested the secret of the letters of the First in the last word of the seventh—namely, the alif and the ba’, whose form is thus: alif-ba’. And the last letter, when joined to the first pillar of the pillars of the kaf, which is the ha’, revealeth the number seven. In such wise do the people of knowledge infer, concerning everything that is called a “thing”, that by means of these seven God createth whatsoever He willeth, howsoever He willeth. Unto this refer the words of the Imam—peace be upon him—“Naught cometh to be, whether in heaven or on earth, save by seven: by Will, Desire, Decree, Predestination, Permission, Term, and Book. Whoso imagineth any diminution in one of these hath verily disbelieved.”

If, then, thou hast understood the matter in its veiled judgment, thou wilt, from what I have intimated, discover the secret of Decree. If not, leave it in its ear of corn, within the greater outlook, until there come the decree of “The Hour hath drawn nigh and the moon hath been cloven asunder,” and thereafter His saying: “Soon shall they know, on the morrow, who is the liar, the insolent.” For God hath set forth the decree of all things in His Book, whereof He hath said, and His word is truth: “We have left out nothing from the Book.” Yet none encompasseth its knowledge save God and they that are rooted in knowledge of Him. And He hath trained all through His saying: “Ask ye the people of the Remembrance if ye know not.”

Shouldst thou attain that which I have imparted unto thee, how excellent thy station, for thou wilt have taken thy portion and gathered thy share. Otherwise, question the people of the Remembrance; and there is none in this day to give thee tidings like unto One informed.

The utmost we have made thee to know is but the fruit of that wherewith We have assisted thee, the sign of that wherewith We have illumined thee, and the word expressive of that regard wherewith We have regarded thee—namely, that the Cause of God is in His own hand, as He hath alluded in His exalted word:

“Glorified be He in Whose hand is the kingdom of all things, and unto Him shall ye be brought back.”

And that “hand” is the fourteen “reeds” of the first Tree, which, by way of symbol, are the Names of the Family of God; for the letters of the word “yad” (hand) are fourteen in their numerical value, and the ha’ is in “their hand”. They desire naught save what God desireth; they are the full measure of the letters of “Bismillah” in the realms of origination and of revelation. When the ha’ is joined unto the hand, the descents of the Point become manifest until they reach nineteen; and verily, for the unitarians, there is of Hell a portion, because before the manifestation of the ha’, which is the Name treasured, the Word hidden, and the letters of the Name preserved, the gates of Hell—that is, the horizontal bounds of camphoric realities—were closed, if any should comprehend the sites of its decree.

The reality of the hand is the reality of the Face; for the Family of God are the Face of God which shall not perish. Yet their “faceness” is not established by any other than themselves, save by the letter ha’ at the end of the word “face”. They are the perfection of the Name of God, the All-Bountiful, the All-Bestowing, for these four Names, each one of them, is a pillar that recounteth all the pillars. The hand is the face, and the All-Bountiful is the All-Bestowing; these Names are but the parts of the primal Word.

The reality of the hand is seven; and when the seven are repeated they yield fourteen. The outward aspect of the seven are the Imams of Witness: Ali, Muhammad, Ali, Muhammad, Ali, Hasan, and Muhammad. The Names of the Imams of the Unseen are Muhammad, Ali, Fatimih, Hasan, Husayn, Ja’far, and Musa. In these fourteen, if thou lookest with the eye of fairness, thou wilt behold none save Muhammad and ʿAli, for he is the beginning of the Prophets and he the beginning of the trustees.

All existence, at the last, is but a reflection of those two alifs that have appeared from Them; yet, in Their inmost reality, They are veiled from all things, and by Their manifestation They are made manifest through all things. Wherefore al-Imam Abu l-Hasan said unto Samma’ah, when he had a need unto God:

“Say: O God, I beseech Thee by Muhammad and Ali, for verily They have with Thee a station of stations and a measure of measures. By the right of that station and the right of that measure, send down Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad, and do Thou for me thus and thus.”

For when the Day of Resurrection arriveth, there shall remain neither near angel, nor sent Prophet, nor believer whose heart God hath tested for faith, but shall stand in need of Them both.

All that I have intimated to thee, in this whole reply, is but a mention from that alif that is unjoined; and whatsoever hath been and shall be, and whatsoever hath been brought into being by “Be” and shall yet come into being thereby, is but a ray from Muhammad and Ali. And Ali hath uttered naught save what proclaimeth the Name of God; hence did the Messenger of God say unto him: “Thou art the dispeller of my sorrows.” He is, in very truth, the Manifest Truth, revealed of Himself, by Himself, for Himself, Who leadeth to naught but unto God.

The station of nurture is the station of creation; and within existence there is naught nearer than this, nor more unfolded than that. Unto it is the allusion in the inmost depths of the saying of al-Rida—peace be upon him—“Reality and creation—there is no third between them, and no third save them.” For the Essence of pre-eternity is such that the name of “reality” falleth not upon it, nor do the highest perceptions of contingent being attain unto it. He hath ever been, and with Him there was naught; and even now God, our Lord, is in such wise that there is with Him nothing whatsoever.

And as for myself, I am but a mote, smaller than all things, who in mine own inmost reality am as non-existent before Them in Their kingdom. I am but as a shadow before Them. God sufficeth, with Muhammad and the Family of God and whatsoever is in Their knowledge, as Witnesses; and it beseemeth me not to say aught save this. I have forewarned you that, through me, two shall perish: an over-loving friend who exceedeth the bounds, and a hating foe who turneth aside; yet neither shall attain unto me, for no thing comprehendeth aught but the limit of itself, nor readeth aught but the book of its own essence.

Fear God, O people of understanding, that ye work not corruption in the earth, and put your trust in the Lord of bringing-forth, for God, my Lord, is in very truth lying in wait. He shall judge between all with justice, and He is not a wrong-doer unto His servants. Sufficient is God as Protector; He, verily, hath ever been powerful over all things. Glorified be thy Lord, the Lord of Might, above that which they ascribe unto Him. And peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.