The Bab and the Perspective of the Heart

through historical developments of various stages of spiritual progress of humanity. Intellectuals, including Iranian intellectuals, have always been fascinated with the concept of dialectics that is developed by Hegel and partly Marx. But the concept of dialectics ultimately refers to one German word which is impossible to translate in other languages. Dialectics means that each new stage of history is both a negation and an elevation of the previous stage. In other words, the new stage is the unity of opposites. These opposites are the previous stage, and the negation of the previous stage. The new stage is neither negation of the previous stage, nor the same as the previous stage. It is the unity of both. Hegelian dialectic is based upon one concept in German language which is the essence of this dialectical worldview. This word is “Aufhebung”. The word Aufhebung simultaneously means both negation and preservation, cancellation and affirmation, destruction and elevation, rejection and exaltation. Thus a new stage of development is an Aufhebung of the previous stage, namely in appearance it has destroyed and canceled the previous stage but in reality it has preserved the truth of that previous stage and has elevated and exalted the previous stage in the form of the new stage. It is now amazing to see that the young prophet of Shiraz, independently from German philosophy, has brought about a dialectical perspective in the realm of religion. The Bab has coined and created a new word in order to describe the process of spiritual development of humanity. This word is Irtifa’. The word irtifa’ simultaneously means cancellation and elevation. In other words it exactly is the same as the German word Aufhebung. For the Bab each new religion is an Irtifa’ of the previous religion. Each new divine book is an irtifa’ of the previous divine book. Therefore, the Manifestations of God are all one, all religions are one, all scriptures are one, and yet they manifest their identical truth in a higher, more exalted, and more elevated form to humanity in the form of a new spiritual civilization. Therefore, the Qur’an is the irtifa’ of the Gospel, namely it apparently cancels and abrogates the Gospel while in reality it preserves that same truth and manifests the Gospel in a new and higher form. The book of the Bab, the Persian Bayan, is therefore the Irtifa’ of the Qur’an. Each book of God desires to attain its perfection which is its realization in the form of the next book of God. Thus it is through the new word of God that the previous word of God finds exaltation, perfection, and happiness. Each religion is the perfection of the previous religion, and in turn it longs to be elevated in the form of the next religion. That is why, the Bab says in Persian Bayan that at this time nothing is sadder than the Qur’an because the Qur’an longs to become the Bayan and finds affirmation and elevation in the form of the Bayan, but those who claim to love the Qur’an are preventing it to realize its desire. I finish this discussion by referring to two statements of the Bab about Irtifa’: In Persian Bayan the Bab says: O people of the Bayan! Do not act like the people of the Qur’an and become not veiled from your Beloved by anything, for the irtifa’ of the Bayan is its ascent towards Him Whom God shall make manifest. (3:3) ای اھل ﺑﯾﺎن ﻧﮑرد ه ﻣﺛل آﻧﭼﮫ اھل ﻓرﻗﺎن ﻧﻣوده و از ﻣﺣﺑوب ﺧود ﺑﮭﯾﭻ ﺷﯾﺊ ﻣﺣﺗﺟب ﻧﮕﺷﺗﮫ ﮐﮫ ارﺗﻔﺎع ﺑﯾﺎن ﻋروج ﺑﺳوی اوﺳت. In Panj Sha’n he writes: Focus your gaze on the day of Resurrection which is the next Revelation, for the irtifa’ of the first Revelation is the in the inception of the next Revelation. (p. 303) ﻣدّ اﻋﯾن را آﺧرت ﻗرار دھﯽ ﮐﮫ ظﮭور آﺧر ﺑﺎﺷد ﮐﮫ ارﺗﻔﺎع ظﮭور اوّل در ﺑدء ظﮭور آﺧر اﺳت.