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most of the time to the reality of the Imám, who is now the Point of the Will, and thus the Speaker of the verses of God. This paradox is also echoed in many substantive features of the text. Next, we will examine four types of textual paradoxes, those of mystery, fire, colour, and glorification. These paradoxes are the most often repeated themes in the Qayyúmu’lAsm á’, and as we will see, they are also crucial keys for unlocking the enigmas of this work. Four Levels of Mystery The concept of “Mystery” is perhaps the most frequent topic encountered in the entire Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph. Hardly any of the 111 súrihs of the text is without explicit references to it. The Báb uses the various expressions and types of mystery to allude to the reality of His own station and the secret of the text itself. For example: Seek ye eagerly God’s Most Mighty Reward, through the Báb, for the Báb of Truth, the Exalted Mystery of God, this ‘Alí, Who is evident in the Mother Book. . . . O people of Glory! Hearken ye unto the call of God, raised within the Inscribed Mystery, out of these Crimson Leaves, that hath descended from the Throne upon this Snow-White Leaf, to bow down upon the Yellow Dust.48 O people of the Supreme Cloud of Subtlety! Hearken unto My call from this Radiant Moon, Whose Countenance shall never eclipse the Face of this Youth of the East and the West, the One ye find mentioned in all the Holy Scriptures as the Mystery that is hidden upon the Written Line. . . . He verily is the Truth in the accent of Muh .ammad, and He is the Mystery Who shineth forth out of the body of ‘Alí, the hidden Dove-like Light within the heart of Fát .imih. . . . This is verily the Mystery of Mysteries, Who hath been inscribed in the vicinity of the Water. . . .49 Of course, references to“Mystery”are not limited to the Qayyúmu’lAsm á’. In the Báb’s commentary on the Tradition of Truth, for example, we find: “Such a station cannot be described by any allusion, notwithstanding that its absolute nearness is remote, and its absolute remoteness is near. The veils are powerless to conceal it. He is Supreme over all things, Hidden by the Mystery, and Veiled by the Hidden Mystery, that cannot be unraveled except through Mystery.”50 134 gate of the heart These passages give a sampling of the many references to the Báb as the“Mystery,”the“Mystery of Mysteries,”the“Hidden Mystery,”and the “Mystery veiled by Mystery.” The ultimate meaning of these references is already evident in the Báb’s own explanation of the “Mystery of the Family of Muh .ammad” as explained in the letter to His uncle, Mírzá Siyyid Muh .ammad. In that tablet, the Báb refers to“the inception of the year 1260” as“the beginning of the Mystery of Muh .ammad and His Family ,” and states that “the revelation of this Mystery is the revelation of God Himself—that is, a revelation in the station of divine Lordship rather than mere prophethood or guardianship. . . .”51 This passage not only shows that the references in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’ to“Mystery”indicate that the Báb is the inner truth of Islam and the Qur’án, but they also demonstrate that the concept of Mystery refers solely to the station of the Primal Will, the Point of the Qur’án. As the revelation of Mystery is the revelation of God, it is primarily expressed in the mode of divine verses. It is interesting that the Arabic word for mystery (sirr) is numerically equivalent to 260—which itself points directly to the year in which the Báb’s Revelation began. Yet this Mystery has multiple layers: the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’ often speaks of the Báb as the manifestation of Mystery at various levels, including the “Hidden Mystery.” The interplay between various levels of Mystery alludes to the realization of all the layers of the divine covenant in the reality of the Báb. He is the Mystery revealed in the form of the Hidden Mystery: in other words, He is the Point of the Will that speaks as the Imám, the Qá’im. The most detailed explanation of the meaning of “Mystery ” can be found in...

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