| Preface | vii |
| Introduction |
1 |
| The Bab's Critique of Islamic Traditionalism |
3 |
| Beyond Fundamentalism and Sociologism | 7 |
| The Crisis of Modernity | 11 |
| Shi'ih Millenarianism and the Renewal of Charismatic Authority | 15 |
| The Brief Ministry of the Báb | 20 |
| Reading the Writings of the Báb | 25 |
| A Short Chronological List of the Báb’s Writings |
29 |
| Some Works of the First Stage (To January 1846) |
30 |
| Some Works of the Second Stage (January 1846 - ApriI 1847) | 32 |
| Some Works of the Third Stage (April 1847 - July 1850) | 35 |
| Part I - The Interpretive Revelation |
37 |
| 1. The Mode of Interpretation |
39 |
| A Typology of the Modes of Revelation |
40 |
| The Logic of the Typology | 45 |
| The Bab's Hermeneutic Principles | 48 |
| Universal Hermeneutics | 53 |
| Organic Unity and Reciprocity of Signification | 58 |
| Plenitude and Hierarchy of Meaning | 60 |
| 2. The Divine Chemistry of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth |
67 |
| Water and the Kawthar Fountain |
68 |
| Fire and the Word | 75 |
| Air and the Word | 78 |
| The Earth of Magnification | 80 |
| 3. The Remembrance, the Gate, and the Dust |
83 |
| The Revolutionary Nature of the Báb's Claims |
85 |
| Dissimulation, Rhetoric, and Wisdom | 88 |
| The Modes of Revelation and the Station of the Báb | 92 |
| The Word of God and the Divine Remembrance | 95 |
| The Gate and the Burning Bush | 97 |
| The Unity in Diversity of the Four Layers of the Covenant | 99 |
| The Heart, Spirit, Soul, and Body of the Báb | 102 |
| The Báb as the Elixir | 104 |
| The Name 'Ali-Muhammad | 107 |
| The Manifestation of the Qa'im in the Year 1260 | 109 |
| 4. The Structure of the Qayyúmu’l-Asma’ |
111 |
| Plenitude of Meaning in the Commentaries |
111 |
| The Textual Level | 112 |
| The Reader's Level | 115 |
| The Referential Level | 116 |
| The Modality Level | 117 |
| History and Text in Two Commentaries | 118 |
| Dating the Qayyumu'l-Asmá' | 123 |
| The Structure of the Commentary on the Surih of Joseph | 128 |
| The Unity of Divine Verses and Interpretation | 132 |
| Four Levels of Mystery | 134 |
| The Fire amidst the Snow | 136 |
| 5. The Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’ as Interpretation |
139 |
| The Word and the Remembrance |
139 |
| The First Chapter of the Qayyumu'l-Asmá' | 141 |
| The Interpretation of the Story of Joseph | 144 |
| Joseph's Dream and the Well of Absolute Unity | 146 |
| The Family of Joseph and the Maid of Heaven | 151 |
| Prison and Sovereignty | 155 |
| Part II - The Metaphysics of the Primal Will and Divine Action |
161 |
| 6. The Sanctuary of the Heart and the Path to Truth |
163 |
| Truth and the Declarative Testimony |
163 |
| The Tradition of Truth and the Chronology of Revelation | 169 |
| Truth as the Creative Word | 173 |
| 7. The Primal Will as the Unity of Subject and Object |
181 |
| The Analytics of the Point | 181 |
| Causation and Creation | 188 |
| 8. The Stages of Divine Creative Action |
201 |
| Will, Determination, and Destiny as Existence, Essence, and the Link | 202 |
| The Stages of Creation and the Grammar of Language | 205 |
| Decree and the Problem of Alteration | 207 |
| Predestination or the Question of Destiny | 210 |
| 9. The Epistle of Justice and the Root Principles of Religion |
217 |
| The Title of the Text |
219 |
| The Structure of the Text and the Word "Bab" | 221 |
| A New Approach to the Root Principles | 224 |
| The Root of the Root Principles | 226 |
| The Root Principle and Destiny | 230 |
| The Seven Modes of Recognition | 232 |
| Resurrection and Purification | 234 |
| Part III - The Primal Point and Progressive Revelation |
237 |
| 10. Resurrection and Historical | 239 |
| The New Language of the Third Stage |
239 |
| Destiny as the Principle of Manifestation | 241 |
| The Doctrine of Manifestation | 243 |
| Beyond Hegelian Dialectics | 245 |
| Worship as Paradise | 248 |
| Worship through the Self-Description of God | 250 |
| Resurrection as Historical Consciousness | 253 |
| 11. History and the Perspective of Unity |
259 |
| Dating the Persian Bayán | 259 |
| The Meaning of "Bayán" | 261 |
| The Sanctuary of Unity and Progressive Revelation | 263 |
| The Return of the Point and the Letters of the Living | 267 |
| The Origin of the Cause | 273 |
| 12. Community and the Primal Unity |
281 |
| From the Primal Unity to "All Things" |
282 |
| The Structure of the Persian Bayán | 285 |
| The Standard of Search | 288 |
| The Persian Bayán and All Things | 291 |
| The Bayán and the Four Levels of the Covenant | 293 |
| 13. Ethics and Laws in the Bayán |
299 |
| Action as Spiritual Journey |
301 |
| Six Principles of Spiritual Action | 308 |
| - The Mystic Character of Action | 308 |
| - "For the Sake of God" | 311 |
| - Perfection and Refinement | 315 |
| - The Prohibition on Causing Grief | 320 |
| - The Spiritualization of Life | 326 |
| - Spiritual Linguistics | 333 |
| Reading the Book of Divine Names | 336 |
| 14. The Law of the Sword and the Twin Revelations |
339 |
| Two Approaches to the Laws of the Bayan |
340 |
| The Imminent Advent of Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest | 344 |
| The Year 9 | 351 | |
| The Law of the Sword in the Writings of the Báb | 357 |
| The Perspective of Unity and the Realization of the Laws of the Bayan | 368 |
| Conclusion: The Báb's Tablet to Mullá Báqir | 371 |
| Notes |
377 |
| References | 407 |
| Index | 417 |
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