Qaṣídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih
Qaṣídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih, provisionally translated to Ode of the Dove, is an Arabic Tablet revealed by Bahá'u'lláh during his time in the mountains of Kurdistan near Sulaymániyyih. It discusses the Qur'an, the nature of God and His relationship to the Manifestation, and Bahá'u'lláhs situation, describing His grief but affirming His resolution to continue with His ministry.[1] It is similar to the Tablet of Carmel and the Tablet of the Holy Mariner in themes and poetic structure.[2]
Background[edit]
It was revealed for a group of Kurdish Sufis led by Shaykh Ismá’íl in Sulaymániyyih who sought Bahá'u'lláh out after seeing an example of His penmanship. Shoghi Effendi wrote the following regarding the revealing of the Tablet in God Passes By:
"Amazed by the profundity of His insight and the compass of His understanding, they were impelled to seek from Him what they considered to be a conclusive and final evidence of the unique power and knowledge which He now appeared in their eyes to possess. “No one among the mystics, the wise, and the learned,” they claimed, while requesting this further favor from Him, “has hitherto proved himself capable of writing a poem in a rhyme and meter identical with that of the longer of the two odes, entitled Qásidiy-i-Ta’íyyih composed by Ibn-i-Faríḍ. We beg you to write for us a poem in that same meter and rhyme.” This request was complied with, and no less than two thousand verses, in exactly the manner they had specified, were dictated by Him, out of which He selected one hundred and twenty-seven, which He permitted them to keep, deeming the subject matter of the rest premature and unsuitable to the needs of the times. It is these same one hundred and twenty-seven verses that constitute the Qásidiy-i-Varqá’íyyih, so familiar to, and widely circulated amongst, His Arabic speaking followers."[3]
The poem of Ibn-i-Faríḍs upon which it is modeled, the Qasídiy-i-Ta'iyyih, is also known as the Ta'iyyatu'l-kubra. The structure of the Tablet is that of a dialogue between Bahá'u'lláh and the Holy Spirit as the Maid of Heaven in mystical language where Bahá'u'lláh assures the Maid of His devotion.
Stephen Lamdben suggests that the Tablet uses the celestial maiden to represent spiritual perfections, and that it describes Bahá'u'lláh as desiring union with her as a metaphor for His desire to declare His station. He also notes that it contains references to figures such as Moses, Abraham, and others.[4]
Bahá'u'lláh revealed a supplementary Tablet to the Qaṣídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih in Persian after returning to Baghdad, likely in late 1856, in response to criticism from some Bábis for having revealed the Tablet and based on misunderstanding of some of the cryptic language. He alludes to His disapproval of some of the actions of His brother, Mirza Yahya, in this Tablet such as his marriage to the widow of the Báb.[5]
Neither the Qaṣídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih or the supplementary notes have been officially translated, but provisional translations of both exist.
Provisional Translations[edit]
- Provisional translation by Juan Cole
- Provisional translation by Denis MacEoin
- Partial provisional Translation of Notes to the Ode of the Dove by Juan Cole
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/abdo_female_holy-spirit
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/winters_wilmette_tablets_notesqasida-varqa/outline.html
- ↑ http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/gpb-8.html.utf8?query=Amazed%7Cprofundity%7Cof%7Cinsight&action=highlight#gr40
- ↑ https://hurqalya.ucmerced.edu/node/92
- ↑ http://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_ode_dove_notes
