The word "amr" in Persian or "al-amr" in Arabic has a range of meaning that covers several words in English. In two instances the precise meaning has become a source of controversy and it is therefore necessary to examine this matter more carefully. In this paper, I will look in detail at the use of the word in the Qur'án in order to delineate the semantic range for this word in the Qur'án. This is in order to examine the assertion by Bahá'í apologists that the term "al-amr" in Qur'án 32:5 ("He establishes His Decree "al-amr"--from heaven to earth and it will return to Him in a Day, the length of which is one thousand years in your reckoning") refers to the appearance of a new religion one thousand years after the Prophet Muhammad. I will also examine the semantic range of the occurrence of this word in the early writings of Bahá'u'lláh in order to assess the assertion of Prof. E.G. Browne that the phrase "masdar-i-amr" which appears in the Kitáb-i-Íqán is an acknowledgement by Bahá'u'lláh of the leadership of Azal at the time of the revelation of the Íqán in about 1861-2.
Paper:
Summary: The word
"amr" in Persian or "al-amr" in Arabic
has a range of meaning that covers several words in English. In
two instances the precise meaning has become a source of
controversy and it is therefore necessary to examine this
matter more carefully. In this paper, I will look in detail at
the use of the word in the Qur'án in order to
delineate the semantic range for this word in the
Qur'án. This is in order to examine the assertion
by Bahá'í apologists that the term
"al-amr" in Qur'án 32:5 ("He
establishes His Decree—al-amr—from heaven to earth
and it will return to Him in a Day, the length of which is one
thousand years in your reckoning") refers to the
appearance of a new religion one thousand years after the
Prophet Muhammad. I will also examine the semantic range
of the occurrence of this word in the early writings of
Bahá'u'lláh in order to assess the
assertion of Prof. E.G. Browne that the phrase
"masdar-i-amr" which appears in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán is an acknowledgement by
Bahá'u'lláh of the leadership of Azal
at the time of the revelation of the Íqán in about
1861-62.
The purpose of this paper is to study the
semantic range of the word al-Amr in two contexts: the
Qur'án and the early writings of
Bahá'u'lláh during the Baghdad
period. The reason for this study is because this word has
become controversial with respect to two particular passages,
one occurring in the Qur'án and one in
Bahá'u'lláh's
Kitáb-i-Íqán.
The first passage which we shall consider
in this paper involves the fifth verse of the Suráh
al-Sajdah in the Qur'án. In order not to prejudge
the issue of the exact meaning of the word al-amr in this
setting, I will here give Yusuf Ali's translation but
inserting the transliteration of al-amr:
He establishes al-amr from heaven to earth
and it will return to Him in a Day, the length of which is one
thousand years in your reckoning (32:5)
This verse is involved in a controversy in
relation to the polemics between Islam and the
Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'ís
consider that the verse refers to the appearance of a new
revelation from God one thousand years after the coming of
Muhammad. Because of the Muslim understanding of the
concept of Muhammad being the 'Seal of the
Prophets,' Muslims interpret this verse without any
implication of the coming of a further revelation from God.
The second passage which has involved
controversy over the meaning of the word al-amr, is a statement
made by Bahá'u'lláh in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán, again merely transliterating
al-amr at the point where it occurs in Shoghi Effendi's
translation:
By the righteousness of God! Our withdrawal
contemplated no return, and Our separation hoped for no
reunion. The one object of Our retirement was to avoid becoming
a subject of discord among the faithful, a source of
disturbance unto Our companions, the means of injury to any
soul, or the cause of sorrow to any heart. Beyond these, We
cherished no other intention, and apart from them, We had no
end in view. And yet, each person schemed after his own desire,
and pursued his own idle fancy, until the hour when, from the
Source of al-amr, there came the summons bidding Us return
whence We came. Surrendering Our will to His, We submitted to
His injunction. (Bahá'u'lláh: Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 251)
This passage, in which
Bahá'u'lláh relates the circumstances
surrounding his return to Baghdad after his sojourn in
Sulaymáníyyih, is involved in a controversy in
relation to the polemics between Bahá'ís
and the supporters of Mírzá Yahyá
Azal. Supporters of Azal's position, such as E.G. Browne,
have translated this passage as referring to a summons by
Mírzá Yahyá instructing
Bahá'u'lláh to return to Baghdad.
His reason for altering this resolution was
that 'the order to return emanated from the source of
command', which clearly shows us that at this date (A.D.
1861-62) Behá still recognized Ezel as his chief,
and submitted to his authority, at least nominally.1
Browne thus used this passage as evidence
that at the time of the composition of the Íqán in
1861-2, Bahá'u'lláh still
acknowledged the leadership of Azal.
Bahá'ís maintain that the 'source of
command' (masdar-i amr) which Browne considers to
be Azal, in fact refers to God. In other words that it was on
God's instructions that
Bahá'u'lláh returned to Baghdad.
Shoghi Effendi translates 'masdar-i amr' as
'Mystic Source,'
A. Al-Amr in the Qur'án
Returning now to the first instance that we
are examining in this paper, we must try to establish the
meaning of the word al-amr in this verse of the
Qur'án. We have various approaches to this
question that we can utilize.
1. Dictionary definitions. In the first
place it is useful to examine what is stated in the standard
dictionaries. In Edward Lane's Lexicon of the Arabic Language, there are two series of meaning given for amr:
A. 'a command; an order; a bidding;
an injunction; a decree; an ordinance; a prescript' with
the plural of awámir and the antonym of nahy
(prohibition).
B. 'a thing; an affair; a business; a
matter; a concern; a state, of a person or thing, or of persons
or things or affairs or circumstances; a condition; a case; an
accident; an event' with synonyms of shan,
?ál, halah, ?ádithah, or fi'l and
a plural of umúr.
In examining this Qur'ánic
verse in the light of Lane's definition of amr, there are
two considerations. The first is: which meaning goes best with
the preceding word "yudabbiru"? And the second is:
which meaning goes best with the following phrase which refers
to al-amr descending from heaven to earth and then ascending
again. With regard to the first question, yudabbiru, which is
the third person of the present/future tense of the II form
verb of the root d-b-r, can be translated by a wide range of
English words: to make arrangements, prepare plans, plan,
organize, devise, arrange, bring about, contrive, direct,
conduct, manage, run, regulate. It would appear that meanings
in either range A or B above would fit with yudabbiru, although
range B would be somewhat better. With regard to the second
question, however, it is clear that meanings in range A fit
much better: the picture of God sending down commands, orders,
injunctions, decrees or ordinances from heaven to earth is one
that is common to all of the religions of the Abrahamic line.
2. Qur'ánic Commentary. It is
also usual in trying to ascertain the meaning of a passage in
the Qur'án to consult the various standard
commentaries on the Qur'án. Most of the
commentaries do not appear to give a direct opinion on the
meaning of the word 'amr'. One exception is
al-Kashshaf of az-Zamakhsharí (d.1144) which comments
thus on this verse:
'Al-amr'—He causes the
acts of obedience and pious deeds which are ordained
(al-ma'múr bihi min
at-tá'át wa'l-a'mál
as-sáli?ah) to be sent down in an organized
manner (mudabbiran) 'from the heavens to the
earth.' Then they are not acted upon and there does not
arise to Him those things that are ordained in a pure form as
He desires and wishes except in a very lengthy period of time
on account of the fewness of numbers of the workers of God and
of the paucity of pious souls among His servants. And the
fewness of deeds that ascend is because only righteous deeds
are described as ascending and the evidence for this is His
words concerning its effect: 'little thanks do ye
give' (23:78) or He establishes the amr of all of the
world from heaven to earth for every day of the days of God;
and this is one thousand years, just as He has said:
'Verily a day with your Lord is as one thousand years as
you reckon.
'Then it will return to
Him'—that is to say whatever is raised up of this
amr and enters into being will go to Him and will be confirmed
with Him and will be written down in the scrolls of His angels
every moment of this period of time until this period reaches
its end. Then He will arrange also the last Day and so on until
the [Last] Hour arises. And it is said that the revelation
(al-wahy) is sent down with Gabriel (upon him be peace) from
the heaven to the earth and then whatever acceptance or
rejection of the revelation there was returns to Him with
Gabriel. This occurs in a time that is in reality one thousand
years because the distance of travel is one thousand years in
descent and ascent inasmuch as the distance between heaven and
earth is a journey of five hundred years and it becomes a day
of your days on account of the speed of Gabriel, for he cuts
through a journey of one thousand years in one day. And it is
said: He establishes the amr of the world from the heaven to
the earth until the [Last] Hour arises, then all of this amr
will return to Him, that is to say it will go to Him in order
that He may judge it.
'In a day, the length [miqdar,
amount] of which is one thousand years'—and this is
the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyámah)2
From this lengthy extract from
az-Zamakhsharí, the following interpretations may be
derived. Zamakhsharí evidently interprets al-amr as the
decree of God to human beings concerning what are correct and
righteous actions that should be performed in obedience to God
(at-tá'át
wa'l-a'mál as-sáli?ah).
These are carried down by Gabriel and it appears from this
passage that az-Zamakhsharí identifies what is sent down
with al-wahy, the revelation that is sent down to the
Messengers of God. This would be logical since the revelation
of God's decrees concerning correct and righteous actions
was the very purpose of the coming of the Messengers of God,
such as the Prophet Muhammad. And of course the revelation
to Muhammad was carried by the angel Gabriel. Lastly,
az-Zamakhsharí describes this process as continuing
until the Last Hour and he identifies the 'day'
mentioned in this verse with the Day of Resurrection.
Al-Bay?áwí (d. 1291)
repeats much of az-Zamakhsharí, almost word for word in
places. He does not give a specific interpretation of the word
amr, but rather explains the first part of this verse as
meaning: 'He organizes the amr of the world with heavenly
instruments such as the angels and others, their effects going
down to the earth.'3 Later in explaining the second
half of the verse, al-Bay?áwí repeats
az-Zamakhsharí's phrase 'the acts of
obedience which are ordained (al-ma'múr bihi min
at-tá'át)' thus implicitly
agreeing with the latter's gloss on al-amr.
Al-Bay?áwí repeats the identification of
what is sent down as being revelation (al-wahy) and also the
assertion that this process will go on until the Last Hour and
will end when it returns to Him on the Day of Resurrection.
Thus al-Bay?áwí concurs in all of the main
points that we have identified above in
az-Zamakhsharí's commentary.
Other authors of commentaries on the
Qur'án are not so helpful. Many of them seem to
give most of their attention in commenting on this verse to
statements about how long angels take in descending from heaven
to earth. Thus for example Ibn Kathír (d. 1372):
'He establishes His Decree (al-amr)
from heaven to earth and it will return to Him' that is
to say, his amr comes down from the highest part of heaven to
the furthest districts of the seventh earth, as He (exalted be
He) has said: 'Allah is He Who created seven Firmaments
and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them
(all) descends His Command, (65:12)' And deeds rise up to
their account books (i.e. each person's actions rise to
heaven where they are entered into one's heavenly
account), which is above the sky of the world, the distance
between them and the earth being a journey of five hundred
years and the thickness of heaven is five hundred years....4
In general, however, it is not useful to
turn to the later commentators for interpretations of this
verse in the context of our investigation. This is because once
the doctrine of Muhammad being the 'Seal of the
Prophets' became a firm doctrine in Islam at about the
beginning of the fourth Islamic century (late tenth century
AD),5 all interpretations of verses such as this one were
constrained by this doctrine and it became increasingly
difficult to offer any interpretations that that could be seen
as casting doubt on this doctrine. Since the
Bahá'í interpretation of this verse does,
as we shall see later, cast doubt on the traditional Muslim
interpretation of the concept of the 'Seal of the
Prophets,' we cannot expect to find support for it in the
commentaries, except perhaps in the very earliest ones.
Unfortunately, commentary as a literary form in Islam arrived
relatively late and so there is little commentary material
available from the earliest period, before the concept of the
'Seal of the Prophets' became a firm doctrine in
Islam.
3. Interpreting the Qur'án by
means of the Qur'án. While the information that
the dictionaries and commentaries give is useful, for our
purposes, it is probably better to adopt the classical Islamic
approach of 'tafsír al-Qur'án
bi'l-Qurán'—interpreting the
Qur'án by means of the Qur'án. This
is not only because of the constraints imposed upon
interpretation by later doctrine as mentioned above, but also
because the Qur'án itself is almost the only
document that we can reliably state stems from this period. And
so if we want to know what a word meant at the time of the
revelation of the Qur'án then really it is only
the Qur'án that can act as documentary evidence.6
The word al-amr is extensively used in the
Qur'án and has a range of meanings. There are 153
occurrences of the word al-amr alone and in combination with
various pronouns and 13 occurrences of the plural,
al-umúr, as detailed in Table 1.
Table 1: Occurrences of the Noun
"al-Amr" in the Qur'án
Amr/al-amr
72
amran
17
amrukum
3
amruná
16
amruhu
22
amruhá
3
amruhum
12
amrí
8
TOTAL
153
al-umúr
13
Source: This table shows all occurrences of
the noun al-amr in its various cases as well as with various
pronominal suffixes according to: Muhammad
Fu'ád 'Abd al-Báqí,
Mu'ajam al-Mufaris li-Alfá? al-Qurán
al-Karím, Cairo, 1364. Although the words are given
above in nominative form, they include occurrences of other
cases.
An analysis of these 153 references to the
word amr shows that they may be divided into the two different
meanings given by Lane and also according to whether the word
amr relates in some way to God or not. Such an analysis gives
the following result (excluding for the time being verse 32:5):
Table 2: Analysing al-amr in the
Qur'án
in Relation to its Meaning and Context
Related to God
Not related to God
Meaning A: command, decree, order
66
10
Meaning B: affair, state, event, matter
17
43
Could mean either A or B
16
Verse 32:5 itself
1
Total
153
J.M.S. Baljon has written a paper analyzing
the appearance of the word amr in the Qur'án.7
Baljon's main intention in this paper is to discredit the
earlier notion that the word amr was equivalent to the
Christian logos concept (a Divine hypostasis. Nevertheless,
Baljon makes a few points that are of interest to our
discussion. He discerns the word amr in the Qur'án
as meaning several stages in the process whereby God interacts
with the world. In the first place, it relates to God's
preparation or organization of the His decrees (yudabbiru
'l-amr); then He determines (yaq?iya, 19:35, 39)
the amr; then He sends it down to earth (yatanazzalu, 65:12).
But the descent of al-amr can be either a positive or a
negative factor. For those who have disobeyed God, such as the
people of Lot, it is a fearful punishment (15:66); while for
those who are God-fearing, al-amr is an easy matter(65:4).8 It
should be noted that the stage of God's preparation of
His decree has been inserted by Baljon in order to account for
the very verse that we are considering here
(Qur'án 32:5). Evidently, the statement that
al-amr returns to God from earth puzzled Baljon and so in order
to account for it, he postulated an initial stage when the
decree is sent to earth as an "inquiry of the state of
affairs in the world"; it then returns to God who
determines the decree and it is then sent down a second time as
a decree to be executed. It can be seen that in the
interpretation of this verse given below, there is no need to
postulate this initial stage of preparation because all
references to the descent of al-amr refer to the same
phenomenon and the returning of it is the completion of the
cycle which is, in turn, the starting point for the next cycle.
This would eliminate the need to postulate that God's
knowledge is in some way deficient and so an initial enquiry
into the state of the world is necessary. In those contexts
where amr is attributed to or effected by humans, Baljon finds
the following meanings: command (20:65, 92, 94), intentions (10:
72), deeds or conduct (59:15, 65:9), and religion or rites (23:
55, 22:66).9
In trying to understand the meaning of the
verse in question (Qur'án 32:5), we can try to
find verses in the Qur'án that most closely
parallel this verse in structure and content. Thus we can see
from the verse and its context that the whole passage is
referring to Divine actions. We can therefore eliminate from
our enquiry all of those 53 verses in Table 2 where the
occurrence of the word amr is not related to God. Examining the
remaining 99 verses, we can find several where there are
structural and content similarities to this verse.
a. 'He establishes His Decree'.
The verse that we are examining (Qur'án 33:5)
begins with the phrase yudabbiru 'l-amr. This phrase
occurs in several other places in the Qur'án.
10:3. Verily your Lord is Allah Who created
the heavens and the earth in six Days and is firmly established
on the Throne (of authority) regulating and governing all
things (yudabbiru 'l-amr). No intercessor (can plead with
Him) except after His leave (hath been obtained). This is Allah
your Lord; Him....
10:31. Say: "Who is it that sustains
you (in life) from the sky and from the earth? Or who is it
that has power over hearing and sight? And who is it that
brings out the living from the dead and the dead from the
living? And who is it that rules and regulates all affairs
(yudabbiru 'l-amr)?" They will soon say
"Allah." Say "Will ye not then show piety (to
Him)?"
13:2. Allah is He Who raised the heavens
without any pillars that ye can see; is firmly established on
the throne (of authority); He has subjected the sun and the
moon (to His law)! each one runs (its course) for a term
appointed. He doth regulate affairs (yudabbiru 'l-amr)
explaining the Signs in detail that ye may believe with
certainty in the meeting with your Lord.
Here the evident meaning is God regulating
and ordering the affairs of heaven and earth. Since, however,
God does this regulating through the decrees that He issues, it
is difficult to decide whether al-amr here should be considered
in its A or B range of meanings.
b. 'His Decree from heaven to
earth.' Looking at the next part of Qur'án
32:5, it speaks of al-amr as being something that comes down
from God. If we look in the Qur'án for other
occasions in which we find al-amr coming down from God, we find:
16:2. He doth send down His angels with
inspiration of His Command to (yunazzila
al-malá'ikah bi'r-rú? min amr-hi
'alá) such of His servants as He pleaseth (saying):
"Warn (Man) that there is no god but I: so do your duty
unto Me."
44:3-5: We sent it down
(anzalná) during a blessed night: for We (ever) wish to
warn (against Evil). In that (night) is made distinct every
affair of wisdom (amrin hakímin). By a command (amran)
from Our presence. For We (ever) send (revelations,
mursilín).
65:12. Allah is He Who created seven
Firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst
of them (all) descends His Command (yatanazzalu 'l-amr
bayna -hunna): that ye may know that Allah has power over all
things and that Allah comprehends all things in (His)
Knowledge.
The above verses which are the closest to
Qur'án 32:5 in form and content give a clear
indication of the probable meaning al-amr of 32:5. The use of
verbs from the root n-z-l indicates that the process of
revelation is involved, since this is also the verbal form that
is used in connection with the coming down of verses of the
Qur'án (2:23, 97, 176; 3:3, 93; 4:136, 140, etc).
This is made clearest in the first of the above verses (16:2),
where it is indicated that al-amr comes down to one of
God's servants with the instruction to warn humanity
(andhiru). This function of being a warner is one that is tied
in the Qur'án to that of being a Messenger of God
(see 5:19, 7:184, 188, 27:92, 29:50, 33:45, 34:44, 35:24,
etc.). In the second example above (44:3-5), al-amr is clearly
tied to the revelation of the Qur'án. Thus the
coming down of al-amr in 33:5 appears from these parallel
verses to be intimately connected with the coming down of
revelation upon a Messenger of God. It was presumably such
considerations that caused az-Zamakhsharí, in the
passage quoted above, to connect al-amr with 'the
revelation (al-wahy)' that 'is sent down with
Gabriel (upon him be peace) from the heaven to the
earth'. Further evidence for this is the following
verses, the first of which connects al-amr to the process of
revelation (al-wahy, here in the verbal form
aw?ayná) and second, more specifically links al-amr
with the revelation to Moses on the west side of Mount Sinai:
42:52. And thus have We by Our command sent
inspiration to thee (aw?ay-ná ilay-ka ru?an
min amri-ná): thou knowest not (before) what was
Revelation and what was Faith; but We have made the
(Qur'án) a Light wherewith We guide such of Our
servants as We will; and verily thou dost guide (men) to the
Straight Way
28:44. Thou wast not on the Western Side
when We decreed the commission to Moses (qa?ayná
ilá Músá al-amr) nor wast thou a witness
(of those events).
Al-amr may thus be likened to the
commission which a king or government gives to a governor or an
army officer; it is this commission which gives that person his
authority and makes his authority the equivalent of the giver
of the commission. Similar, the giving by God of al-amr to the
Messenger of God gives him the authority of God.
There is an exact parallel to verse 16:2,
analyzed above, in the following verse from the
Qur'án in which al-amr is described as coming from
God and where the context clearly denotes a descent. Here again
this process of the descent of al-amr is linked to the function
of warning (yundhiru), which as indicated above is part of the
function of the Messenger of God:
40:15. Raised high above ranks (or degrees)
(He is) the Lord of the Throne (of authority): by his command
doth He send the spirit (of inspiration) to (yulqí
ar-rú? min amri-hi 'alá) any of His
servants He pleases that it may warn (men, yundhiru) of the Day
of Mutual Meeting (yawm at-taláq)
Finally, we can look at a large number of
other occasions in the Qur'án where al-amr is
stated to have come from God to humanity. In many of these
instances, the context is that of God having sent a Messenger
of God as a warner to humanity. Humankind ignores the warning
and al-amr issues from God in the form of a severe penalty.
Here, al-amr can be translated as the 'decree' or
'command' of God. The whole of the Súrah of
Húd in the Qur'án consists of instance
after instance of this usage. In almost every case the word
al-amr is used in conjunction with the verb já'a.-
al-amr came or issued forth. The first instance cited is that
of Noah who is described as being sent as a warner
(nadhírun) to his people. They refused to believe in
Noah and his message, nor did they help him with his Ark, until:
11:40. At length behold! there came Our
Command (já'a amru-ná) and the fountains of
the earth gushed forth!
11:43. The son replied: "I will be
take myself to some mountain: it will save me from the
water." Noah said: "This day nothing can save from
the Command of Allah (amri Alláh) any but those on whom
He hath mercy!" and the waves came between them and the
son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood.
The destruction continued until the waters
abated and al-amr was ended:
11:44. When the word went forth: "O
earth! swallow up thy water and O sky! withhold (thy
rain)!" and the water abated and the matter (al-amr) was
ended. The Ark rested on Mount Judi and the word went forth:
"Away with those who do wrong!"
Similarly, Húd was sent to the
people of 'Ád and sáli? was sent
to the people of Thamúd to warn them, but they ignored
them and then:
11:58. So when Our decree issued
(já'a amru-ná) We saved Húd and
those who believed with him by (special) Grace from Ourselves:
We saved them from a severe Penalty.
11:66. When Our Decree (já'a
amru-ná) issued We saved Saleh and those who believed
with him by (special) Grace from Ourselves and from the
Ignominy of that Day. For thy Lord He is the Strong One and
Able to enforce His Will.
Next mention is made of Abraham. Abraham
pleads with God against the penalty that was to be imposed upon
the people of Lot:
11:76. O Abraham! seek not this. The decree
of thy Lord hath gone forth (já'a amru Rabbi-ka):
for them there cometh a Penalty that cannot be turned back!
11:82. When Our decree issued
(já'a amru-ná) We turned (the cities)
upside down and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked
clay spread layer on layer...
The Súrah of Húd then reviews
the fate of the people of Madyán, to whom Shu'ayb
was sent:
11:94. When Our decree issued
(já'a amru-ná) We saved Shuaib and those
who believed with him by (special) Mercy from Ourselves: but
the (mighty) Blast did seize the wrongdoers and they lay
prostrate in their homes by the morning...
In reviewing all of these cases, the text
of the Súrah of Húd states:
11:101. It was not We that wronged them:
they wronged their own souls: the deities other than Allah whom
they invoked profited them no whit when there issued the decree
of thy Lord (já'a amra Rabbi-ka): nor did they add
aught (to their lot) but perdition!
Other examples of this usage of al-amr are:
16:33. Do the (ungodly) wait until the
angels come to them or there comes the Command of thy Lord (for
their doom, aw ya'tiya amra rabbi-ka)? So did those who
went before them. But Allah wronged them not: nay they wronged
their own souls.
57:14. (Those without) will call out
"were we not with you?" (The others) will reply
"True! but ye led yourselves into temptation; ye looked
forward (to our ruin); ye doubted (Allah's promise); and
(your false) desires deceived you; until there issued the
Command of Allah (?attá já'a amr
alláh). And the Deceiver deceived you in respect of
Allah.
Thus these examples and the whole of the
Súrah of Húd bears witness to this meaning of
al-amr—that it represents the decree of God imposing a
severe penalty on those who fail to obey the Messenger of God
when he comes.
c. 'and it will return to Him.'
Continuing with our analysis of verse 33:5, we go on to the
next phrase which refers to al-amr returning to God (thumma
ya'ruju ilay-hi). The verse that come closest in
paralleling this is also of great interest because it is the
last verse of the Súrah of Húd, which, as
demonstrated above, is full of references to al-amr as the
decree coming from God and penalising those who oppose the
Messengers of God. Here, at the end of this Súrah, we
see that al-amr returns to God.
11:123. To Allah do belong the unseen
(secrets) of the heavens and the earth and to Him goeth back
every affair (wa ilay-hi yurja'u al-amr kull-hu): then
worship Him and put thy trust in Him: and thy Lord is not
unmindful of aught that ye do.
There are several other verses in the
Qur'án that have some similarities but in each
case what is recorded as going back to God is al-umúr,
the plural of al-amr.10
d. 'in a Day.' Verse 40:15,
quoted above and also the contents of the Súrah of
Húd, described above, have important implications also
when we come to consider the next two words of
Qur'án 33:5—'in a Day,'
(fí yawmin). We have seen how in the Súrah of
Húd, whenever the people turned away from the Messenger
of God, a severe penalty was visited upon them. In two verses
of this súrah, it is implied that this fate that befell
them was their Day of Judgement. In both of these verses,
however, Yusuf Ali and other translators have changed things
somewhat to make it appear that the reference to a Day of
Judgement is to a future event. In reference to
'Ád's rejection of their Messenger of God,
Húd, Yususf Ali translates:
11:60. And they were pursued by a Curse in
this Life and on the Day of Judgment. Ah! behold! for the
'Ad rejected their Lord and Cherisher! Ah! behold!
removed (from sight) were 'Ad the people of Húd!
And similarly in relation to the rejection
of Moses by Pharaoh and his people, Yusuf Ali translates:
11:99. And they are followed by a curse in
this (life) and on the Day of Judgment: and woeful is the gift
which shall be given (unto them)!
The literal word for word translation of
the opening words of both of these verses is, however (the only
difference between the two is that the word ad-dunyá
appears in 11:60 and not in 11:99):
Wa utbi'ú fí
hádhihi [ad-dunyá] la'nah wa yawm
al-qiyámah
And they were followed in this [world] by a
curse and the Day of Judgement (actually probably more
accurately translated as Day of Resurrection)
Thus the Arabic text places
'curse' and 'Day of Judgement'
side-by-side as that by which the people were pursued—the
tense being the past tense. In other words, it regards what
happened to the people of 'Ád and the people of
Pharaoh as being the Day of Judgement for them. This would
support az-Zamakhsharí in his assertion that the Day
that is referred to in 33:5 is the Day of Judgement (see
above). This then takes us back to Qur'án 40:15,
which links the coming of al-amr from God to earth with the
coming of a revelation to a Messenger of God and to the Day of
Mutual Meeting. Az-Zamakhsharí, in his commentary on
verse 40:15, states that the Day of Mutual Meeting is the same
as the Day of Judgement and other commentaries agree.11
40:15. Raised high above ranks (or degrees)
(He is) the Lord of the Throne (of authority): by his command
doth He send the spirit (of inspiration) to (yulqí
ar-rú? min amri-hi 'alá) any of His
servants He pleases that it may warn (men, yundhiru) of the Day
of Mutual Meeting (yawm at-taláq)
e. 'the length of which is one
thousand years in your reckoning'. The next phrase in 33:
5—the length of which is one thousand years in your
reckoning—has one close parallel in the
Qur'án. Interestingly, this parallel passage can
be considered as a summary of the Súrah of Húd
that we have already discussed at length:
22:42-7: If they treat thy (mission) as
false so did the Peoples before them (with their prophets) the
People of Noah and 'Ad and Thamud; Those of Abraham and
Lut; And the Companions of the Madyan people: and Moses was
rejected (in the same way). But I granted respite to the
Unbelievers and (only) after that did I punish them: but how
(terrible) was My rejection (of them)! How many populations
have We destroyed which were given to wrong-doing! They tumbled
down on their roofs. And how many wells are lying idle and
neglected and castles lofty and well-built! Do they not travel
through the land so that their hearts (and mind) may thus learn
wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not
their eyes that are blind but their hearts which are in their
breasts. Yet they ask thee to hasten on the Punishment! But
Allah will not fail in His promise. Verily a day in the sight
of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning.
Here the period of one thousand years is
closely linked to a future day of punishment. In other words
the same overall scheme as is suggested in
az-Zamakhsharí's commentary is
confirmed—that the Day that is mentioned is the Day of
Judgement and this is linked to a one thousand year period.
4. The Collections of Traditions. While it
is true, as stated above, that there are few other sources that
we can consult that reliably contain usage of Arabic words
contemporaneous to the Qur'an, it is useful to look also
at the collections of Prophetic Traditions. Although these were
not written down until 150 years or more after the time of the
Qur'án and doubts have been raised about whether
they can reliably be traced back to the Prophet Muhammad,
it is nevertheless true that they do represent a early stratum
of the usage of Arabic words. In looking at those collections
of Islamic Traditions that are considered among the earliest
and most reliable, we can find a number of these Traditions
where the word al-amr is used in a way that sheds light on its
use in Qur'án 33:5.
In the collection by
al-Bukhárí, which is one of two collections that
have been given the name as-sa?í? (the
correct) by Muslims on account of their reputation for
authenticity, the following two Traditions occur which
generally support the above interpretations of al-amr:
God brings about whatever he wishes of His
amr.12
God says: The son of Adam hurts me when he
curses Time (ad-Dahr), for I am Time; in my hands is al-amr and
I cause the revolution of night and day.13
By far the most interesting of these is a
Tradition that occurs in slightly varying forms in almost all
of the major collections of Traditions, including
al-Bukhárí, Muslim, Ibn Májah, and
at-Tirmidhí. The following is the form in which it is
recorded by Ibn Hanbal:
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: A group
of my followers will continue victorious upon the path of truth
and they will not be harmed by those who desert them until the
amr of God shall come.14
This Tradition seems to be the natural
corollary of Qur'án 33:5, stating that in future,
after al-amr returns to God, it will come once again to earth.
5. Ancient Arabic poetry. It is customary
for Islamicists in considering the meaning of words in the
Qur'án to turn to ancient Arabic poetry for clues.
Although the authenticity and exact relationship of this poetry
to the Arabic of the Qur'án is a matter of some
dispute, it cannot be denied that, whether genuinely
pre-Islamic or written after the advent of Islam, it is some of
the closest literature to the Qur'án in time that
is available to us.
There are several instances where there are
close parallels between the Qur'ánic use of amr
and that of ancient Arabic poetry. Umayya ibn
Abí's-salt, for example writes in one
of his poems of the King of Heaven and His angels who are
elected for His amr and descend to earth with it and ascend
again.15
The idea that at some time in the future,
al-amr of God will descend again and that this is the Day of
Judgement finds strong contemporary support in the poetry of
Hassán ibn Thábit, a Muslim poet who was a
companion of the Prophet Muhammad. He wrote:
That the amr of God may descend upon us
hastily this very night or tomorrow
Then we shall stand in the [Last] Hour and
participate in the pure good16
6. Summary. In summary then, we can say
that on the basis of a survey of other parallel passages in the
Qur'án and taking into account the early
commentators such as az-Zamakhsharí and
al-Bay?áwí, the collections of Traditions,
and ancient Arabic poetry, the meaning of verse 33:5 can be
reconstructed thus:
He establishes (yudabbiru): establishes,
organizes, orders,
His Decree (al-amr): command, decree of God
- that which God send down with the angel
(especially the Angel Gabriel) as a revelation (al-wahy) to the
Messenger of God
- the commission which God gives to the
Messenger of God, charging him with a mission on earth
- the decree of God ordaining a severe
punishment for people who have ignored or opposed the Messenger
of God
from heaven to earth (min
as-samá' ilá 'l-ar?): this
appears to function as an equivalent of a verb from the root
nazala (coming down, descent, revelation) which is used in the
Qur'án to describe the revelation of verses to the
Messengers of God
and it will return to Him (thumma
ya'ruju ilay-hi)—al-amr—the decree or
commission delegated to the Messenger of God—returns to
God
in a Day (fí yawmin)—this Day
is the Day of Judgement—on which the previous amr returns
to God and a new decree is issued—a new amr comes
the length of which is one thousand years
in your reckoning (kána miqdár-hu alf sinah min
má ta'uddún)—the duration of time in
which the decree is in effect before its return to God is
completed is a period of one thousand human years. Each of
these is a Day of God—a Day of Judgement
7. The Bahá'í
Interpretation. The discussion above has yielded a number of
possible interpretations of the word al-amr in
Qur'án 33:5. Two of these appear to be very
different from one another: the revelation or commission that
is given to a Messenger of God and the penalty imposed by God
upon a people when they reject a Messenger of God. It is
interesting to note that the Bahá'í
interpretation of al-amr in Qur'án 33:5 has the
ability to link these two meanings so as to refer to one event.
The Bahá'í interpretation of this verse
would be that it refers to the coming of a Messenger of God one
thousand years after the Islamic revelation. In the
Bahá'í interpretation, the coming of any
Messenger of God is a Day of Judgement, for the followers of
the previous religions. It is their Day of Judgement to see if
they have been faithful to the teachings of the previous
Messenger of God. If they fail this test and do not accept
these teachings then God sends down upon them a severe penalty
or chastisement. The day of judgement is also called the Day of
Resurrection (because those who believe are spiritually
revitalized) and the Day of God. Thus, in the
Bahá'í interpretation, both of the
interpretations of al-amr, whether as revelation/mission or as
penalty/Day of Judgement, refer to the same phenomenon, the
coming of the Messenger of God.
The Bahá'í
interpretation of this verse is thus that God sent down from
heaven the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad. This was
also the Day of God, the Day of Judgement, for the followers of
previous religions such as Christianity and Judaism. As they
failed to respond to Muhammad's message, they
suffered a severe penalty. The Islamic Day of Judgement lasted
one thousand years. Since Bahá'ís accept
the Shi'i account of the true nature of authority after
the Prophet Muhammad, this one thousand year period began
in ah 260, with the occultation of the Twelfth Imam, at which
time, authoritative, divinely-guided interpretation of the
Islamic revelation was ended. After one thousand years, in ah
1260 (ad 1844), the period in which the Divine commission
(al-amr) was entrusted to the Prophet Muhammad ended and
al-amr returned to God. In 1844, God once more sent Divine
revelation to earth, once more, through the Báb.
B. Al-Amr in
Bahá'u'lláh's
Kitáb-i-Íqán
The Kitáb-i-Íqán is one
of Bahá'u'lláh's early works
from the Baghdad period. It was written in response to a number
of questions posed by one of the maternal uncles of the
Báb regarding why the signs accompanying the coming of
the Mahdí did not appear to have been fulfilled with the
coming of the Báb.
At one point in the is work,
Bahá'u'lláh refers to his two-year
sojourn in the mountains around Sulaymáníyyih in
Kurdistan. Dealing then with his return from that self-imposed
exile, he states that, although he himself had no thought of
return, the command for this issued from masdar-i-amr and
so he returned. E.G. Browne has argued that this reference to
masdar-i-amr in fact indicates that
Bahá'u'lláh at this date still
deferred to Azal as leader of the Bábí movement.
Shoghi Effendi has translated masdar-i-amr as "the
Mystic Source."
In the early days of Our arrival in this
land, when We discerned the signs of impending events, We
decided, ere they happened, to retire. We betook Ourselves to
the wilderness, and there, separated and alone, led for two
years a life of complete solitude.... Many a night We had no
food for sustenance, and many a day Our body found no rest. By
Him Who hath My being between His hands! notwithstanding these
showers of afflictions and unceasing calamities, Our soul was
wrapt in blissful joy, and Our whole being evinced an ineffable
gladness.... Our withdrawal contemplated no return, and Our
separation hoped for no reunion. The one object of Our
retirement was to avoid becoming a subject of discord among the
faithful, a source of disturbance unto Our companions, the
means of injury to any soul, or the cause of sorrow to any
heart. Beyond these, We cherished no other intention, and apart
from them, We had no end in view. And yet, each person schemed
after his own desire, and pursued his own idle fancy, until the
hour when, from the Mystic Source, there came the summons
bidding Us return whence We came. Surrendering Our will to His,
We submitted to His injunction. (Baha'u'llah: The
Kitáb-i-Íqán, pages 250-251)
In order to clear this matter up, it is
clearly necessary to examine
Bahá'u'lláh's use of the word
amr in detail particularly his use of the word in the
Íqán itself since it is conceivable that
Bahá'u'lláh's usage of the word
may have changed over the years. I have looked at 154 instances
of the noun amr in the Kitáb-i-Íqán. The
details of these instances are to be found in Table 3.
Table 3: Occurrences of the Noun Amr in
the Kitáb-Iqán.
amr
105
(103 Persian, 2 Arabic)
amrí
25
(Persian)
amr-ash
5
(Persian)
amr-and
1
Persian
amrí-rá
1
(Persian)
amru-há/amr-há
2
(1 Arabic, 1 Persian)
amran
1
(Arabic but used in Persian context)
al-amr
9
(Arabic)
amru-hu
1
(Arabic)
amru-ná
2
(Arabic)
bi amri-hi
2
(Arabic)
Total
154
In looking at the meaning of the word amr
in this context, it is necessary to add a meaning which is
additional to those derived above from Lane's Dictionary,
but which has already been discovered in our consideration of
the Qur'ánic meaning of this word. Most frequently
in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh,
al-amr means the mission given to the Messenger or
Manifestation of God. Thus amr Alláh means the Cause of
God, or the commission given by God to the Messenger of God.
This meaning is closely linked to the decree, command, order
range of meanings of amr, and may be considered as part of that
group but it has been given separately in Table 4 for clarity.
Unfortunately the phrase masdar-i amr
does not appear elsewhere in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán and so this cannot be used
directly to derive the meaning. The word masdar is the
noun of place (nomina loci) derived from the verb sadara,
which means to go out, issue forth, originate or emanate.
Masdar thus comes to mean: point of origin, source, or
origin. It is clear that with the preceding word, masdar,
the word amr in this context is more likely to have either
meaning A or C from Table 4, rather than meaning B. Table 4
indicates that the most likely meaning for amr in this context
is that it means the "Divine commission or Cause."
The following are a few examples of its use in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán that demonstrate this meaning
of the "Divine commission or Cause."
Moreover, the more closely you observe the
denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the
divine attributes, the firmer will be your faith in the Cause
of God [dar dín-i khud va amr Alláh
mu?kamtar va rasikhtar shavíd]. (Íqán,
p. 6)
When He was invested with the robe of
Prophethood, and was moved by the Spirit of God to arise and
proclaim His Cause [bar amr qiyám farmúd],
whoever believed in Him and acknowledged His Faith, was endowed
with the grace of a new life. (Íqán, p. 154)
Among the utterances that foreshadow a new
Law and a new Revelation [shar'-i jadíd va amr-i
badí'] are the passages in the "Prayer of
Nudbih...." (Íqán, p. 240)
Table 4: Analysing Amr in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán
in Relation to its Meaning and Context
Related to God
Not related to God
Meaning A: command, decree, order
21
10
Meaning B: affair, state, event, matter
2
43
Meaning C: the Divine commission or Cause
77
Reference to masdar-i-amr itself
1
Total
154
Thus, masdar-i amr is most likely to
mean the "Source of the Divine commission or
Cause." Since the "the Divine commission or
Cause" can only come from God through a Manifestation of
God, the "Source" referred to can only be either
God or the Manifestation of God. Indeed with the frequent
recurrence (ten occasions in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán) of the phrase amr
Alláh, the Cause of God, it becomes clear that the
Source of amr is most likely to be God. In the circumstances
surrounding the writing of the Kitáb-i-Íqán
in Baghdad, the meaning that E.G. Browne tries to give to this
phrase thus becomes very unlikely. In speaking of the Source of
Command, Bahá'u'lláh could only
really be speaking about God or possibly about a Manifestation
of God. The Báb had previously been martyred in 1850 and
Azal was not at this time claiming to be a Manifestation of
God. Indeed the claim to be a manifestation of God equated
within the Bábí context to a claim to be Man
Yu?hiruhu'lláh—He whom God shall make
manifest, which Azal did not claim during this Baghdad period.
Later during the Edirne period, it seems that he briefly put
forward such a claim in response to
Bahá'u'lláh's open proclamation
of his claim,17 but it does not appear to have been
accepted by any substantial group of people and seems to have
later been withdrawn, as Browne does not report any such claim
on the part of Azal during the period of his contacts with him.
Thus in the context of the Baghdad period, this leaves only the
interpretation of this phrase as a reference to God.
Bahá'u'lláh is in effect saying that
the cause of his return to Baghdad was a Divine summons.
One further approach to elucidating this
issue which helps us to a certain extent is to look for other
occasions where the term masdar-i amr appears in the
writings of Bahá'u'lláh. I have only
been able to trace a few other instances of the use of this
term and none of these can be definitely stated to belong to
the Baghdad period of
Bahá'u'lláh's writings. In the
first of these, the context makes it more likely that God is
meant, in the second and third, the Manifestation of God
appears to be intended.
These words were sent down from the Source
of the Revelation (masdar-i-amr) of the All-Bounteous,
and were addressed to Siyyid Javád, known as
Karbilá'í. (Epistle
to the Son of the Wolf, p.
160-61)
I yield Thee thanks that Thou hast made
known unto me Him Who is the Day-Spring of Thy mercy, and the
Dawning-Place of Thy grace, and the Repository of Thy Cause
(masdar amri-ka). (Prayers
and Meditations, no. 137, p. 225)
...in such wise that the changes and
chances of the world will be powerless to hinder me from
recognizing Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine own Self, and
the Revealer of Thy signs, and the Day-Spring of Thy
Revelation, and the Repository of Thy Cause (masdar
amri-ka). (Prayers and Meditations, no. 139, p. 228)
There are also two occurrences of similar
terms that are worth noting here. The first has the word
masdar (masádir) in the plural and clearly
refers to the Manifestations of God:
They, verily, are the manifestations of the
power of God, and the sources of His authority
(masádir-i amr), and the repositories of His knowledge,
and the daysprings of His commandments. (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 90)
The second has the word amr in the plural.
Since the form of the plural is awámir, this confirms
that in this phrase, masdar-i amr, the word amr is
present in its meaning of decree, command, order (i.e. meanings
A or C in Table 4 above; since it is the plural for this range
of meanings that is awámir). This passage is from the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, the last major work of
Bahá'u'lláh. Here,
Bahá'u'lláh is challenging Shaykh
Muhammad-Taqí the recipient of this epistle, to go
to Cyprus and meet Mírzá Yahyá and
ascertain for himself the truth of the matter—that
Mírzá Ya?ya is not "the source of the
Divine laws" (masdar-i awámir):
In this day, this Wronged One requesteth
thee and the other divines who have drunk of the cup of the
knowledge of God, and are illumined by the shining words of the
Day-Star of Justice, to appoint some person, without informing
any one, and despatch him to these regions, and enable him to
remain a while in the island of Cyprus, and associate with
Mirza Yahya, perchance he may become aware of the fundamentals
of this Faith and of the source of the Divine laws
(masdar-i awámir) and commandments. (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 120-21)
Perhaps more pertinent than these examples
however, is the occurrence of a variant of masdar-i-amr
in the Kitáb-i-Íqán itself. This the phrase
masádir-i amriyyih, which appears in the following
context:
Know verily that the purpose underlying all
these symbolic terms and abstruse allusions, which emanate from
the Revealers of God's holy Cause (masádir-i
amriyyih), hath been to test and prove the peoples of the
world. (Íqán p. 49)
Here again the word masdar is in its
plural form while instead of the genitive construct, the word
amr appears in adjectival form as amriyyih. Here again, it
seems clear from the context that the Manifestations of God are
meant.
In summary, this analysis shows that the
term masdar-i-amr is always used with the meaning of amr
relating the word to "Divine decree, command or
commission." The word masdar means source or
origin. Thus the phrase masdar-i-amr cannot have a meaning
related to earthly leadership or even the leadership of a
religious movement, such as Azal claimed. The "source of
the Divine command or decree" can only be God or a
Manifestation of God who has been given the authority (amr) to
carry out the decree of God. Azal was not claiming any such
station at this time and thus Browne understanding of this
phrase in the Kitáb-i-Íqán is incorrect. It
was in fact an assertion by
Bahá'u'lláh that he returned from
Sulaymáníyyih in response to a Divine summons.
Notes
1) "The Bábís of
Persia-II", Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 21,
1889, p. 946; reprinted in M. Momen (ed.), Selections from the Writings of E.G. Browne on the
Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths (Oxford: George Ronald, 1987), p. 252.
4) Abu'l-Fidá Ibn
Kathír, Tafsír
al-Qur'án al-'A?ím, Dar at-Turáth al-'Arabí,
Cairo?, n.d., vol. 3, p. 457.
5) See Yohanan Friedmann, Prophecy Continuous,
University of California, Berkeley, 1989, pp. 50-58,
70-71.
6) Considerable doubt has been thrown on
whether certain other items of Arabic poetry, such as the
Mu'allaqát poetry really do represent
pre-Qur'ánic Arabic literature.
7) J.M.S. Baljon, "The 'Amr of
God' in the Koran," Acta
Orientalia, vol. 23 (Copenhagen,
1959) pp. 5-18.
8) Baljon, "Amr of God," pp.
9-11.
9) Baljon, "Amr of God," p. 8.
10) See Qur'án 2:210; 8: 44;
22:76; 35:4; 57:5.
11) 'The Day of Mutual
Meeting—the Day of Judgement for on this Day spirits and
bodies will meet and also the people of heaven and earth, and
the worshipped and the worshippers, and deeds and the
doers.' Az-Zamakhsharí, al-Kashsháf, vol. 5,
p. 36. See also Yusuf Ali's commentary in his
translation.
