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Bahá'u'lláh's Symbolic Use of the Veiled Ḥúríyyih

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Bahá'u'lláh's Symbolic Use of the Veiled Ḥúríyyih 9 Résumé Bahá’u’lláh’s « Ḥúríyyih », terme tirant son origine du Coran (44-54, 52:20, 56-22 et 55:72), fait Symbolic Use référence aux fi gures féminines angéliques of the Veiled qui résident au paradis et accompagnent les croyants. Dans les Écrits bahá’ís, ce Ḥúríyyih mot a souvent été traduit par « la céleste Houri », une personnifi cation symbolique de la réalité divine de Bahá’u’lláh. Dans JOHN S. HATCHER, cet article, les auteurs explorent com- AMROLLAH HEMMAT, ment Bahá’u’lláh utilise ce procédé méta- EHSANOLLAH HEMMAT phorique pour illustrer les forces à l’œuvre dans le contexte de son apparition comme Manifestation de Dieu. En particulier, ils Abstract examinent le rôle symbolique crucial que “Ḥúríyyih,” a term whose roots can be le dévoilement de la céleste Houri joue par found in the Qur’án (44–54, 52:20, 56–22, rapport au dévoilement progressif de la and 55:72), refers to angelic female fi gures mission de Bahá’u’lláh. Alors que certains that reside in paradise and accompany the lecteurs pourraient croire que cette fi gure believers. In the Bahá’í Writings, the word est une représentation littérale de l’Esprit has often been translated as “the Maid of Saint apparaissant à Bahá’u’lláh, les au- Heaven,” a symbolic personifi cation of the teurs espèrent démontrer que Bahá’u’lláh divine reality of Bahá’u’lláh. In this arti- a plutôt créé une représentation fi gurative cle we explore how Bahá’u’lláh employs ou symbolique de la façon dont Il révèle this fi gurative device to portray the forces progressivement ses instructions pour cette at work in the context of His appearance époque tant attendue de l’histoire humaine, as a Manifestation of God. In particular, ce « jour des jours », le point culminant de we wish to examine the crucial symbolic toutes les révélations précédentes. En ter- role the unveiling of the Ḥúríyyih plays in mes simples, les auteurs sont d’avis que relation to Bahá’u’lláh’s gradual unfolding l’image de la céleste Houri ne représente of His mission. While some readers might pas une force distincte de Bahá’u’lláh, believe the portrayal of this fi gure to be a mais constitue plutôt une expression de literal depiction of the Holy Spirit appear- l’Esprit Saint agissant par l’intermédiaire ing to Bahá’u’lláh, we hope to demonstrate de la capacité spirituelle inhérente propre that Bahá’u’lláh has, instead, created a à une Manifestation de Dieu. fi gurative or symbolic portrayal of how He gradually reveals His guidance for this long-awaited era in human history—the Resumen “Day of Days,” the culmination of all pre- “Ḥúríyyih,” a un término cuyas raíces se vious revelations. Put simply, we feel that pueden encontrar en el Qur’án (44–54, the image of the Ḥúríyyih does not rep- 52:20, 56–22, and 55:72), se refi ere a fi g- resent a force separate from Bahá’u’lláh, uras femeninas angelicales que residen en but rather an expression of the Holy Spirit el paraíso y acompañan a los creyentes. En operating through the inherent spiritual ca- los Escritors de la Fe Bahá’í, la palabra a pacity unique to a Manifestation of God. menudo se ha traducido como “la Doncella 10 The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 29.3 2019 del Cielo,” una personifi cación simbólica personifi es the Holy Spirit emanating de la realidad divina de Bahá’u’lláh. En through Bahá’u’lláh: este artículo exploramos cómo Bahá’u’lláh emplea este dispositivo fi gurativo para re- the “Most Great Spirit,” as desig- tratar las fuerzas en el trabajo en el contex- nated by Himself, and symbolized to de su aparición como una Manifestación in the Zoroastrian, the Mosaic, de Dios. En particular, deseamos examinar the Christian, and Muhammadan el papel simbólico crucial que la revel- Dispensations by the Sacred Fire, ación del Ḥúríyyih juega en relación con el desarrollo gradual de Su misión por par- the Burning Bush, the Dove and te de Bahá’u’lláh. Aunque algunos lecto- the Angel Gabriel respectively, res podrían creer que la representación de descended upon, and revealed it- esta fi gura es una representación literal del self, personated by a “Maiden,” to Espíritu Santo apareciendo a Bahá’u’lláh, the agonized soul of Bahá’u’lláh. esperamos demostrar que Bahá’u’lláh, en (100) cambio, ha creado una representación fi gu- rativa o simbólica de cómo Él revela grad- Let us examine how this fi gurative de- ualmente Su guía para esta era tan esperada vice is developed by Bahá’u’lláh in the en la historia humana: el “Día de los Días”, unfolding of His revealed works as it la culminación de todas las revelaciones is employed in the chronology of His anteriores. En pocas palabras, sentimos ministry. que la imagen del Ḥúríyyih no representa una fuerza separada de Bahá’u’lláh, sino más bien una expresión del Espíritu Santo T I A que opera a través de la capacidad espiri- Ḥ tual inherente única de una Manifestación de Dios. From the perspective of the Bahá’í au- thoritative texts, the Maid of Heaven is a symbolic or allegorical mystical con- T Ḥ P cept intended to convey various levels “ M G S”1 of meaning. Consequently, this trope is open to multiple interpretations. For In God Passes By, Shoghi Eff en- while the principal “intended” mean- di, quoting from the Súriyi-Haykal, ing, according to Shoghi Eff endi, is the renders the Arabic word ḥúríyyih as Holy Spirit being channeled through “Maiden” and states that this character Bahá’u’lláh, we can hardly pretend to 1 We wish to express our gratitude decipher in any comprehensive man- to the Bahá’í World Centre for providing ner the totality of what it represents. the authorized translation of the Lawḥ-i- Indeed, the depth and breadth of its Ru’yá (Tablet of the Vision) in advance of meaning call to mind Bahá’u’lláh’s ob- its publication, as well as our thanks to Dr. servation, “How great the multitude of Vahid Rafati for introducing us to addition- truths which the garment of words can al sources, and to Dr. Sasha Dehghani for never contain! How vast the number of sharing his thoughts on this topic. Bahá’u’lláh’s Symbolic Use of the Veiled Ḥúríyyih 11 such verities as no expression can ad- This description parallels what equately describe, whose signifi cance Bahá’u’lláh depicts in His epistle to can never be unfolded, and to which Násíri’d-Dín Sháh when He says, “O not even the remotest allusions can be King! I was but a man like others, made!” (Gleanings 89:3). asleep upon My couch, when lo, the Perhaps the most illuminating ex- breezes of the All-Glorious were waft- planation of the term is Shoghi Ef- ed over Me, and taught Me the knowl- fendi’s statement that the Maid of edge of all that hath been. This thing is Heaven as portrayed by Bahá’u’lláh not from Me, but from One Who is Al- in His description of the dream vision mighty and All-Knowing” (Summons He experienced in the Siyáh-Chál2 1:192). “personifi ed the Spirit of God within Thus, while the intermediary reality Him [Bahá’u’lláh]” (God Passes By of the Maid of Heaven is personifi ed 121). Accordingly, in various of the in the form of an immanent corporeal works by Bahá’u’lláh, the Ḥúríyyih image, Bahá’u’lláh emphasizes that represents an intermediary fi gure who this appearance is a means whereby imparts to the Manifestations of God He can provide His followers with a that which the Creator wishes to con- sense of the experience He undergoes vey to humankind for a specifi c era or as His revelation is conveyed to Him, dispensation. something we can understand solely by Bahá’u’lláh Himself writes in the metaphorical or allegorical representa- Kitáb-i-Badí’ (1867) that “the Holy tions. Consequently, the image is re- Spirit spoke in My heart and the plete with symbolic detail and actions, Most Great Spirit3 uttered through and in His recounting of this experi- My tongue. This is not from me, ence, He treats this allegorical personi- but from that Powerful One whose fi cation with utmost respect, inasmuch power encompasses all things.”4 as She is assigned a station belonging to the loftiest realm, the transcendent 2 “The Black Pit,” an infamous sub- domain of the Divine. terranean dungeon in which Bahá’u’lláh Using as a starting point the appear- was imprisoned in 1852. ance of the Ḥúríyyih in the Writings, let 3 A defi nitive distinction between these two spiritual realities is not possible, us examine the distinction between ac- but the “Most Great Spirit” can be thought cepting the Maid of Heaven as an actu- of as an allusion to the essential reality of al being and viewing Her as a symbolic Bahá’u’lláh Himself, and the “Holy Spirit” fi gure that Bahá’u’lláh has devised for represents the spiritual infl uence emanat- our benefi t—that we might understand ing from that reality, like rays emanating in simpler terms a most ephemeral, from the sun. mystical, and spiritual process. For ex- 4 This and all other provisional ample, in Judaism, Moses claims that translations in this article are by the au- God speaks to Him through the burning thors—John S. Hatcher, Amrollah Hem- bush; after this experience, His words mat, and Ehsanollah Hemmat.
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