Select Learning Projects: The Suriy-i-Haykal

Tablet Study Outline in essay format:

The Suriy-i-Haykal

by Dana McMurry

Note from webmaster: the following is an example of an alternate way to prepare a Tablet Study Outline; it includes all of the information from the Outline, but in more readable essay format.

The Suriy-i-Haykal

The Suriy-i-Haykal, translated into English as the Surah of the Temple, revealed by Baha'u'llah in Arabic, is sixty-three pages long. Reportedly, it was first written in Edirne but revised in 'Akka, probably in 1869. According to John Walbridge, there are two published editions of this Tablet, which he attributes to this fact.1 Baha'u'llah had this Tablet copied with five other Tablets in the form of a pentacle symbolizing the human form in the following order: the Suriy-i-Haykal, the Tablet to Pope Pius IX, the Tablet to Napoleon II, the Tablet to Czar Alexander II, the Tablet to Queen Victoria and the Tablet to Nasiri'd-Din Shah.

This Tablet is described by Shoghi Effendi in World Order of Baha'u'llah, page 109 as "one of the most challenging works of Baha'u'llah". In this Tablet, the Pen of the Most High addresses the Temple. In a later Tablet, Baha'u'llah states that both the Pen of the Most High and the Temple are Himself.

Although there is no authorized translation of this Tablet, many passages have been translated by Shoghi Effendi and are found throughout his works. A provisional translation by Anton F. Haddad was published in 1900 and is available on the Internet at http://bahai-library.org/provisionals/suratul-haykal.intro.html.

In The Promised Day is Come, page 47-48, Shoghi Effendi has translated the final paragraph of this pentacle:

"Thus have We built the Temple with the hands of power and might could ye but know it. This is the Temple promised unto you in the Book. Draw ye nigh unto it. This is that which profiteth you, could ye but comprehend it. Be fair, O peoples of the earth! Which is preferable, this, or a temple which is built of clay? Set your faces towards it. Thus have ye been commanded by God, the Help in Peril, the Self- Subsisting. Follow ye His bidding, and praise ye God, your Lord, for that which he hath bestowed upon you. He, verily, is the Truth. No God is there but He. He revealeth what He pleaseth, through His Words 'Be and it is'."

Shoghi Effendi states that this is in reference to the prophecy of the Old Testament. Taherzadeh in ROB, vol. 3, page 133 states that Baha'u'llah is associating this with the prophecy of Zechariah.

Zechariah, the eleventh of the twelve Minor Prophets of the Old Testament, whose mission was from 520 to 518 BC, was directly responsible for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, Zechariah and his contemporaries believed that the tests and difficulties inflicted upon the Jewish Community were a direct result of the them leaving the Temple in ruins. 2

In Zechariah 8:9 (KJV) it states:

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built."

The Tablet itself, revealed with a tone of command and authority, is one of the rare Tablets revealed as an essay without a specific receiver. It is in this Tablet that Baha'u'llah states that there are nine different styles or categories for the revealed verses of God. It would seem that the subject of this Tablet is one dealing with learning and knowledge, divine philosophy, mysteries of creation, medicine, alchemy, etc and also mystical. According to the Guardian, this Tablet would be in the category of Tablets continuing the proclamation of His mission.

Taherzadeh states that in this Tablet the believer will "find many ...pearls hidden within its verses." A summary of the Tablet, as is recorded in Taherzadeh's ROB, vol. 3 follows.

The Haykal is endowed with power, majesty and oceans of knowledge and is a mirror reflecting God's Beauty, Being, Self, Movement, Acquiescence, and Truth.

Baha'u'llah describes the significance of the letters of the word 'Haykal' and each one's potential as invested by God. He goes on to state that the Haykal is the source of the creation of a new race of men.

He addresses the eye, the ear, the tongue, the hands and the heart of the Haykal and extols each to focus on God and not on this world. In addressing the hands of the Haykal, Baha'u'llah states: "He will, ere long, out of the Bosom of Power draw forth the Hands of Ascendancy and Might-Hands who will arise to win victory for this Youth and who will purge mankind from the defilement of the outcast and the ungodly. These Hands will gird up their loins to champion the Faith of God, and will, in My name the self-subsistent, the might, subdue the peoples and kindreds of the earth"3 Upon reading this verse, one might think of one of the mighty Institutions of the Baha'i Administrative Order, the Hands of the Cause of God. In this prophecy, Baha'u'llah seems to be bestowing upon this Institution praises and glories for its yet undone deeds.

Through the knowledge of the heart of the Haykal, Baha'u'llah will "raise up scientist of great calibre who will bring about such marvellous technological achievements that no one can as yet imagine them." (ROB, v3, pg. 137) This initially started with the Bab and the advancements in communications in order to help spread the Word of God throughout the earth. It has continued to this day and seems to be advancing exponentially.

Baha'u'llah speaks of Mirza Yahya and his followers and warns them to turn to Him or God will raise a new race of men to champion His Cause leaving them alone in their vain imaginings.

Baha'u'llah speaks in this Tablet of 'He Who will come after Me' revealing one of the fundamental Teachings of His Faith, Progressive Revelation.

The verses describing the descent of the Most Great Spirit upon Him while in the Siyah- Chal is included in this Tablet. The Most Great Spirit, personified as the Maiden of Heaven, announces that Baha'u'llah is the "Best Beloved of the worlds...the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you...the Mystery of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all who..."

Baha'u'llah indicates in this Tablet that in this Dispensation the Word of God is heard directly through Baha'u'llah rather than through an intermediary such as the Burning Bush in Moses' Revelation. Baha'u'llah may be stating that humankind has matured in its level of understanding, no longer needing priests and holy men to interpret God's Words, proclaiming another principal of His Dispensation, Independent Investigation of Truth.