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on earth. Thus the Báb’s own celestial dream and the Sea of Absolute Unity are now realized in the form of a spiritualized world. This part of the story is parallel to the previous one. In that part, the Báb emerged from the dark well of Absolute Unity. He was Joseph and H . usayn returning to manifest the divine mystery in His new appearance. In the last part of the story, Joseph’s brothers, here interpreted as the Imáms, return in a new form as the Báb’s first believers, the Sábiqún or Sábiqín (those who have preceded in faith), or the Letters of the Living. The journey of Joseph’s brothers to Egypt and their final settling there is the completion of what would later be called by the Báb the “Primal Unity” of the Bábí Dispensation. In this sense, the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’ represents the entire future metaphysics of the Báb. In discussing the dreams of Joseph’s two fellow-prisoners as well as the dream of the king of Egypt, the Báb interprets them in terms of the contrast between those who would recognize Him and those who would deny Him. The prisoners’ dreams relate to the letters of affirmation and the letters of negation. In the king’s dream, the king sees seven green ears and seven withered ones, which Joseph interprets as seven years of prosperous harvest and seven years of hardship. The Báb, Who interprets the king’s dream through His own “most beautiful dream,” now interprets Joseph’s interpretation: the seven green ears are the seven letters of His own name and the seven years of His mission. The seven withered ears represent the seven gates of hell—the first opponents who would deny the Báb. The Báb writes:“O people of the earth! God shall cause you to journey through seven green ears by virtue of this Most Great Word, that ye may find refuge in the one True God, and learn the path of the Remembrance .”35 Joseph’s brothers who came to Egypt for corn saw Joseph but failed to recognize him until he later made himself known to them. Throughout this last part of the story, the brothers represent the Sábiqún (the Letters of the Living), the Concourse of Light, the people of truth, and the faithful. They come from the holy land of Karbila in search of the Promised One, and they meet the Báb but are unaware that He is the object of their search. For example, in the Súrih of Hearts (Af’idah), the Báb writes: “O concourse of Light! Verily, God hath ordained you to be the brothers of Joseph.Ye attain His presence, and yet ye shall never recognize Him except when He maketh Himself known to you. It is when ye recognize a glimpse of His Cause, that ye, in truth, shall be mentioned 156 gate of the heart around the Throne.”36 In the Súrih of Grace (Rah .mah), interpreting Joseph’s command to place money, without the brothers’ knowledge, in their saddlebags so that they might return with Benjamin to Egypt, the Báb writes: “We verily say, by the leave of God, unto the angels: ‘Place the sign of the Remembrance in the sacks of the souls of those who have preceded in faith, that they may recognize it when they proceed to the city of Absolute Unity, and that they may return to God through this Most Mighty Path.’”37 The Letters of the Living can recognize the Báb by beholding the sign of the Báb within their hearts in the city of Absolute Unity. In other words, beholding the divine revelation within their own hearts, they can recognize the Báb through His verses. The Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, therefore, is itself the first “sack of corn” that was taken by the brothers to their home. Again, the text which is interpreting becomes identical with that which is being interpreted. In the Súrih of the Pen (Qalam), explaining Joseph’s order to put his drinking cup in his brother’s saddlebag, the Báb writes: “We verily have commanded angels, by the leave of the Exalted God, to place the drinking cup of the Remembrance in the saddlebag of the faithful. . . . O Crier! Call out with verses unto the travellers that...

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