Tablet of Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah O Glad Tidings (Lawh-i Halih, Halih, Halih yá Bisharát)

by Bahá'u'lláh

About: A version of the first translation, by Lambden, was originally published in the Bahá'í Studies Bulletin 2:3 (December 1983), pp. 105-112, along with the text as printed in Ishraaq Khaavarii's Ganj-i-Shaayigaan. An asterisk will mark words or phrases the translation of which remains particularly tentative or subject to possible alteration in a future revision...I have retained the "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, O Glad Tidings!" though it would not I think be untoward if reciters wished to substitute "Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice, O Glad Tidings!" throughout, or perhaps at every other line — for some perhaps, reciting Hallelujah has unbecoming evangelical associations.

Lawh-i Halih, Halih Halih Ya Bisharat

A Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh of the Late Iraq Period

translated by Stephen Lambden (1995-07-16)

Intro: Reproduced below is the Persian text of Bahá'u'lláh's *Lawh-i Halih Halih Halih Ya Bisharat* as printed in `Abd al-Hamid Ishraq Khavari's *Gani-i Shayigan* (Tihran 123 Badi`/1967-8 pp. 33-35) and revised slightly in the light of the mss text contained in INBAMC vol.35:455-6. There follows my somewhat literalistic provisional translation. This poetic work derives its title from the refrain which follows each internally rhyming line (halih = Rejoice! or [loosely] Hallelujah!). Composed towards the end of Bahá'u'lláh's residence in Baghdad (late 1862 or early 1863 CE?) it is expressive of his claim to special communion with God through a celestial maiden (hur cf. for example, al-Qasida al-Warqa'iyya; Hur-i `Ujab; Lawh-i Huriyya) and of his assuming leadership of the Babi community. Drawing on Qur'anic, sufi and Babi imagery, Bahá'u'lláh, in this mystically oriented ode, calls upon the members of the Babi community to listen to his "wondrous new melodies" (cf. Tarikh-i Nabil Zarandi [Pt II ] cited in Ishraq Khavari, Ayyam-i Tis`ih, 332f).

Without attempting to comment on the Lawh-i Halih Halih in detail the following few points may be noted.

Line 5

It is clear from the INBA mss, as Frank Lewis brilliantly proposed, that line 5 has *du sayf* = lit. "two swords" and not (as in the almost certainly erroneous Ganj printing) *du tayf* — which I had earlier hesitantly translated "two phantoms". Tony's first class suggestion — in the light of Frank Lewis' correct emendation to *sayf* ("sword") — "two daggers" has been retained as a dagger can be a short sword — possibly curved like the maiden's eyebrows!

Line 7

The "Maid of Eternity" is represented as coming with the miraculous "snow-white hand" of Moses (see for example, Exodus 4:6f; Qur'an 7:108) and like his rod which turned into a "serpent" or "dragon". i.e. she manifests the signs of true prophethood.

Line 8

Bahá'u'lláh refers to himself or the "Divine Maiden" - who at times seems to be his celestial Self - as being capable of uttering verses comparable to those of King David the psalmist and being characterised by the spirit (ruh) of Jesus.

Line 9

The "dawning-place of [the letter] "H" (ha')" as the locale from which the Maiden came probably expresses the fact that she came from the most elevated divine real or from God; "H" (ha') being the first letter of huwa (Allah) ("He is [God]) and Huwiyya ("He-ness"; the Divine Ipseity) and Hahut, the realm of the huwiyya, the exalted Divinity.

line 11 (REVISED)

The la = "no" indicates the Arabic negative particle — probably not lahut ("the divine realm") — which has various senses in Persian and Arabic mystical poetry mostly relating to the "no" at the beginning of the *kalimat al-tawhid* (la ilaha ila Allah) = "there is NO God but God" or a Babi version such as "there is no God except I Myself" (la ilaha ila ana). It may be that the "lovers" are the Babis to whom Bahá'u'lláh appears uttering a version of the Sinaitic declaration of divinity ("There is NO God except I, Myself") and calling them to attain the Divine Presence (see line 12). On the use of "no" (la) in Persian poetry and in line 13b of Bahá'u'lláh's earlier *Rashh-i `ama'* ("The Sprinkling of the Cloud of Unknowing") see BSB 3:2 (September 1984 — REVISED VERSION FORTHCOMING), p.28

n.b. *Rashh-i `ama'* line 13b =

"Observe the Iraqi Harmony! Behold the Hijazi Tambourine! See thou that the rapture of "no" (la) raineth down from the Divine Hand"

lines 13-14

Allusions to Bahá'u'lláh's sufferings and lamentation over the debased condition of many Babis?

line 15

An allusion to the message sent by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon (see Qur'an 27:20ff) through the hoopoe.

line 16

An allusion to Bahá'u'lláh's superiority to Mirza Yahya (?)

line 17

An allusion to Bahá'u'lláh's exile from Iran to Iraq (?) cf the following lines from the Lawh-i madinat al-tawhid ("Tablet of the City of the Divine Unity"; late Baghdad Period)

"Hearken on this Day in which the Caller (al-munad) crieth out in the midst of the immortal realm and the Dove of Hijaz warbleth in the region of Iraq (fi shatr al-`Iraq) summoning all unto concord.." (Ishraq Khavari, Ma'ida-yi Asmani, 4:326-7).

Line 19

The INBA mss, where the Ganj printed text has *kaff-i vasl(??)*, is not at all clear though there is not an alif missing. If the reading is not as above it could well be *kaff-i vujdAn* ("hand of ecstasy") or (less likely) *kaff-i vah.dAn* ("hand of singleness")?? I have followed the probable reading *kaff-i vujdAn* ("hand of ecstasy") which would seem to be OK for the rhythm. I'm still pondering on this and hoping for another clearer mss.

line 20

Bahá'u'lláh likens his status to that which Moses attained after leaving Midian for Egypt

lino 24

The sense and translation of kana rabb `ala are uncertain. It may be that Bahá'u'lláh alludes to his manifestation as the "return of the Bab" (at times known among his followers as Hadrat-i Rabbi al-a`la ("His Holiness my Lord the Most High").

2. Comments on the above translation

posted by Frank Lewis to an email list (1995-07-10)

Thank you very much for the translation of *Lawh-i halih halih yA bishArat*. Some of the lines in this poem are not so very easy to construe and you are to be commended. The difficulty of the lines is made more difficult, I think, by a few errors which have crept in to the edition of the Persian text of the poem as given in Ishraq-Khavari's *ganj-e shAyegAn*.

The version of *ganj-i ShAyigAn* which I am working from is dated 124 Badi`, and it seems to be the same text referred to in Stephen's message. As I say, I suggest that the text is corrupt and that either Ishraq-Khavari's typist introduced the errors or the ms which Ishraq-Khavari was working from might be corrupt (I think the former more likely, as Ishraq-Khavari would have most probably caught the errors I am about to mention). LINE 5: TWO PHANTOMS FROM HER EYEBROWS

First, the image of phantoms (*t.ayf*) flying out of the eyebrows is most peculiar. I have never before encountered such an image, which doesn't mean, of course, that it doesn't exist. But, as an image, it is rather illogical, and it does not fit the context (which requires a piercing weapon of attack, like arrows). I believe that the word might be either "sword" (*sayf*) or "blade" (*tigh*) and not "phantom" (*t.ayf*). The beloved's eyebrows are often imagined as bows which fire the arrows of love (rather more menacing than our little putti, Cupid) at the lover. I have never heard of them firing phantoms, though I supposed Northrop (or whoever it is that manufactures the F-14 Phantom) could, with a little technical gadget wizardry, make such an image believable. The phantom (*t.ayf*) in Persian and Arabic usually refers to the apparition of the beloved which haunts the wakeful lover in the long hours of the night. Most of the time, they do not appear in pairs. LINE 7: DRAGON OF MOSES

Though the Persian has *ezhdar-e musA*, I think this ought to be translated as snake or serpent, rather than "dragon." Shouldn't we construe it as an allusion to Moses' staff which "magically" turns to a snake? Or is there some other dragon associated with Moses in Talmudic lore that I am ignorant of? LINE 15: THE SWIFT [ARAB?] HOOPEE

Arab is the correct rendering for *tAzi*, not swift. The word *tAz* (the present tense stem of *tAxtan*), can mean swift-charging or fiercly attacking in compound formations, but *tAzi*, by itself, means Arab. The Hoopoe bird hails from the Arabian realm (Sheba), as does the Hijazi Falcon and its Iraqi accents, in line 17. By the way, in the medieval period, both Hijazi and Iraqi were names of musical modes, so, in addition to suggesting the accent or language of the speaker, in connection with the word *lah.n* (melody, tone), Hijazi and Iraqi also allude to the flow and intonation, or music, of the speaker. Adding to the note on line 17, Hijazi (from the Hijaz, or southwestern region of Arabia, above the Yemen, where Mecca is situated) may be a reference to Muhammad or `Ali (and Iraqi perhaps to Husayn?), in which case, the truth of Muhammad (or the `Alids) can now be heard in Iraq, in the person of Bahá'u'lláh. Also, since the Bab was a Sayyid, Hijazi may be a reference to Him, while Iraqi may allude to Bahá'u'lláh's own exile in Iraq. Either way, the allusion is to falconry, the royal bird being the falcon, which here becomes the messenger of God. LINE 19: THE HAND OF UNION

This part of the text is almost certainly a corruption. While it is not uncommon to come across metrical irregularities in Bahá'u'lláh's poetry, *kaff-e vas.l* would be a violation of the rhyme of this poem, which is, in all the other lines "aa". Furthermore, *kaff-e vas.l* would be a somewhat unusual image. The open palm (*kaff*) does symbolize liberality and beneficence, but not usually in conjunction with *vas.l*. I propose that the phrase ought to read *kaff o s.alA* rather than *kaff-e vas.l* [this means that the words have been printed to closely and an alif has been left out]. The word *s.alA* would provide the correct rhyme. It is an interjection, like "bon appetit" or "come and get it", used to call the guests to food. It was quite popular with Sufis, who, it seems, liked to eat. (BTW, Brent, whatever happened to the *moqta`edin* order? Will it be joining with the Bahá'í mystics society, or can it not be bothered to get off its duff?).

In any case, the nightingale seems to be calling the believers to a (spiritual) feast. The outstretched palm (*kaff*) might be a gesture of invitation to the food and *s.alA* the verbal reaffirmation of the invitation — "please, help yourselves to the mystic truth."

1. The Halih Halih Halih in rhythmic verse

Translated by Sen McGlinn, 18 December 1996)

Bahá'u'lláh's poem 'Halih Halih Halih ya Bishaarat' (Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, O glad tidings!) consists of 24 one-line verses and a final (and striking) concluding verse of 4 or 5 lines. The refrain is repeated after every verse except the last. A translation by Stephen Lambden was printed in the Bahá'í Studies Bulletin 2:3, December 1983, pp. 105-112, along with the text as printed in Ishraaq Khaavarii's Ganj-i-Shaayigaan. (I am using double vowels, 'aa' etc, to represent the long vowels for email purposes). I have made grateful use of this, and of discussions of the translation and of textual variants which took place on the TalismanI email discussion list. The translation is particularly indebted to some suggestions which Frank Lewis made about both text and translation.

The translation below is intended to be chanted. It makes no pretence to being more scholarly or accurate than Stephen Lambden's work. I have consciously made rhythm the first priority in the translation, with accuracy second and rhyme and other poetic embellishments third. Where the accuracy has suffered, this is explained in a footnote. To maintain the desired rhythm I have in some places added words, which are marked in [ ]. On the whole I have got away with either repeating a phrase or inserting a synonym, so I think few of these additions increase the inevitable element of personal interpretation.

Many of the verses break neatly into two half-lines ending on a long aa, plus the final verb which is the same in every verse: aamad (but can have different meanings, see the notes to verses 5 and 6). For instance, the first line reads
1. huur-i-baqaa
farduus-i-alaa aamad
I have tried to reflect this pattern by working mainly with half-lines, of three stresses. I have laid the half-lines out below each other here, just because long lines get cut wrapped around in some email systems.

Bahá'u'lláh rings the changes on the basic pattern in several verses:
3. baa ghamzeh-ye-jaanii
baa mazeh-ye-faanii
baa raqs-o-navaa aamad
Which I have tried to emulate with variations in rhythm - in verse 3 with a half-line with so many stresses it must be sung in a quick tripping rhythm. Considering that there are 24 similar verses, alternating with 24 identical refrains, the effect would be quite stupifying if there was no variation. Verse 7 has a similar tripping passage (pausing at 'staff').

The melody I have in mind is that which Lora McCall uses for the first line in her rendering of Stephen Lambden's translation. The first stressed syllable of each half-line is lengthened, followed by a rise in tone:

The mAAid eternal came^.

Since I am musically illiterate and cannot send music by email anyway, I leave it to your imaginations.

1. i.e., chanting
2. hamra, any shade of red.
3. a goblet, chalice.
4. Fana, spiritual annihilation, nothingness, death to the self.
5. raqas, a kind of slow rhythmic dance.
6. muskin, musky or jet black
7. lit: her two eyebrows
8. The Ganj-i Shayigan here has tayf, a phantom, rage or madness. Stephen Lambden says that the INBA mss reads sayf, sword or sabre.
9. lit: hundred arrows.
10. In my reading, the subject of the verb 'come' in this sentence is the Maid's bewitching projectiles. Stephen Lambden reads 'she came' here.
11. Or, the universe of death came. Again, in my reading the Maid of heaven is not the subject of the verb 'come' here. Stephen Lambden has "All souls in her path, all hearts in her embrace — massacred when she came."
12. In Exodus 4:7, Moses puts his hand in his bosom and takes it out completely white with leprosy. He puts it back into his bosom and it is healed. This is a sign which he could have used before Pharoah, although he does not actually do so in the story as told. In the Qur`an, 7:108 the demonstration is actually made before Pharoah: Moses pulls his hand from his bosom and it emerges white, an auspicious sign, with no mention of leprosy or of subsequent healing. In Yusuf `Alii's commentary the 'whiteness' is a white light shining from the hand. In Persian baizii means either whiteness or purity. Thus it seems unlikely that there is any overtone of the Exodus version - white with leprosy - to be read here.
13. Ganj-i-Shayigaan has sauda, trade or profit. I have read it as sauda' means both black and passion or sensuality (contrasting to white and purity in the previous half-line). So the white and black in this line may refer to divine law and divine love. I would be grateful for any suggestions of an English idiom which combines blackness and passion.
14. The Persian here is simpler: "like Moses' snake".
15. naqme, a soft sweet voice, or a melody or song.
16. We should probably understand the spirit which Christ breathes into the 'dead' to revive them. The resurrection of Lazarus is a proof of Christ's station, just as the Moses' hand and staff are proofs of his station, and the Psalms are a witness to David's inspiration. New life is one of the key themes of the poem.
17. Lahut, of the divine nature.
18. In the sense of her faithfulness, rather than our faith in God.
19. Possibly Hahut, or Huwa (he), as in the Ayyam-i-haa.
20. lit. 'protection'.
21. lit. the light of guidance.
22. Literally, with the light of guidance from the dawn of meeting (subh-liqaa). I have assumed that we are to read liqaa as a shortened form of liqaa'llaah, the meeting with God, which would normally refer to the resurrection but in the context of Mount Sinai is more likely to refer to Moses' encounter with God. It must be admitted, against this reading, that if liqaa is to be read as liqaa'llah it should have a final hamza, comparable to bahaa' in the previous verse (which is a shortened form of Bahaa'u'llaah). It would also be theoretically possible to read sabh as sabah, the flash of steel, and liqaa as a military encounter, in which case the maid bears the light of guidance from the flashing [of swords] in battle.
23. The text reads baa tuur-i-Sinaa, which would be with Mount Sinai. I am reading it as bar tuur-i-Sinaa.
24. The nightingale, the 'lover of the rose' in poetry, and an emblem of romantic love. The nightingale is also an epithet applied to Mohammad, 'the nightingale among the crows', (where the crows are presumably the poets of Mecca). The song of life (the maid) is coming to the presence of the One for whom the nightingale of Laa warbled His melodies.
25. Laa, could be 'no' (in Arabic), but seems more likely to be the letter L, perhaps meaning the realm of Lahut.
26. I am reading fadaa aamad as a compound 'to come as a sacrifice', which would seem to imply voluntary sacrifice, self- sacrifice. There is no explicit reflexive in the Persian text.
27. jafaa`, oppression, injustice or inequity is also used poetically of a mistress who wounds the heart or withholds her favours.
28. lit. 'came'.
29. wafaa', fidelity, loyalty or fulfillment, has the connotation of faithfulness to a promise, loyalty to an oath. One reading of these two verses is that Bahaa'u'llaah, in response to the Maiden, has offered 'himself' - that is, his human self - as a sacrifice in the same sense that Christ surrenders himself to the will of God with the words "Thy will not mine be done". In this verse the offer is accepted: God's outstanding promise of "Him Whom God will make manifest" will be fulfilled in the person of Bahaa'u'llaah, which entails a kind of death for Miirzaa Husayn- `Alii.
30. `arsh, a throne (esp. the throne of God) or palace. In this case perhaps the place from which judgement is delivered.