Bab's declaration: What Quran verse did he unseal?

[British_Bahai]

There are many references in the Quran referring to the coming of Imam Mahdi. He is to explain the meaning of a difficult verse in the Quran which even the Muslim scholars at the time were unable to do.

Questions:
(1) Im looking for those verses in the Quran that specifically states that the Mahdi will explain this verse/Surah
(2)On the night of his declaration, what verse from the Quran did the Bab "unseal"? (Surah number, please?)
(3) Also, what was the importance of that particular Quranic verse? (i.e. what was its subject?)

Does anyone know, or can they refer me to a good book/website?
Thanks

_______
9th Jan 2008: I wanted to say that I did know the answer to this. I made a big folder full of answers to the questions i wanted to know before becoming a bahai but unfortunately lost it

[Dorumerosaer]

I am unaware of a Muslim prophecy or Hadith which states that the Messiah will unseal the meaning of one specific verse; nor am I aware of anything in Baha'i literature which unseals or identifies that verse.

However.

We do know something about what the Bab revealed on the first night of His Revelation, May 23, 1844, to Mulla Husayn.

Muhammad referred, in the Qur'an, to the Story of Joseph as the Greatest of Stories; this is a great divine hint. This Story is not only about Joseph. It really shows Joseph as the archetype of all of the Prophets of God.

To give one example: The brothers of Joseph appeared and stood before Him; but did not recognize Him. The significance of this is that it symbolizes all of humanity being "gathered together" on the Judgment Day before God. It also means that when the Manifestation of God first comes to the earth, no one recognizes Him. The same thing occurs in the last chapter of the Book of Luke, where two believers are walking with Jesus, but they do not recognize Him. Just as in the Story of Joseph--after they "eat bread" (a symbol explained by Abdu'l-Baha in Some Answered Questions) then their eyes are unsealed and they "recognize" Him. That is, they spiritually accept Him as the Prophet of God; but the way the story is told in the Scriptures, it was as if they saw Him but didn't recognize His physical features. Actually it refers to a much deeper recognition.

One entire chapter of the Qur'an -- Chapter 12, or Surah 12 -- is devoted to the Story of Joseph. This chapter is comprised of one hundred and eleven verses.

The Bab revealed a commentary on this chapter of the Quran. The Bab's commentary consists of one hundred and eleven chapters -- one chapter for each verse of the story as told in the Qur'an.

The Bab named each of these 111 chapters; just as the Chapters of the Qur'an are named. The Bab named the first chapter of His commentary, "The Surih of Mulk." That is, the Surih of Mulk is a commentary on the first verse of the 111 verses comprising the Surih of Joseph in the Qur'an.

This Text by the Bab is known by two names. The first is the "Commentary on the Surih of Joseph," and the second is "the Qayyumu'l-Asma."

Portions of this Work are in English translation. If you will look at the book "Selections from the Writings of the Bab," and look up the Qayyumu'l-Asma, the first selections in that section of the Book were revealed on that first night. This began the process of unsealing the Holy Books, by interpreting the Holy Verses in a spiritual and spiritually symbolic manner.

Brent

[British_Bahai]

thanks for the reply brent

I am unaware of a Muslim prophecy or Hadith which states that the Messiah will unseal the meaning of one specific verse; nor am I aware of anything in Baha'i literature which unseals or identifies that verse.

I definitely came across it either in Nabils narrative or the dawnbreakers but that was a long time ago. I remember reading about it in one of the books which talks about the history.
My memory is getting worse day by day...

[Jonah]

Sent to me by Ivan for posting:


What verse from the Quran, or Hadith, did the Bab reveal on the night of His declaration?

The Dawn-Breakers p.61
"Now is the time to reveal the Surih of Joseph"
The Bab

"Some historians suggest that the symbolism contained in the Surih of Joseph informs us that the Promised One would suffer at the hands of His brethren just as Joseph had been mistreated by his brothers. The mystery which Siyyid Kazim had alluded however probably relates more to the significance of Joseph's robe made from the 'scent of paradise' and originally brought by the Angel Gabriel to protect Abraham. This robe of knowledge was powerful enough to restore Jacob's sight, but pales in significance to the knowledge of the Promised Qai'm."
'Unfurling the Black Standard'

Hope this relates to the subject,

Ivan Lloyd

[British_Bahai]

I just came across this:

SURIH OF JOSEPH
A higly allegorical chapter of the Quran that tells the story of Joseph. Mulla Husayn decided thet the Qaim should be able to reveal a commentary on that surih unlike any that had ever been put forward. The Bab produced that commentary without being asked when he met Mulla Husayn on May 22, 1844. His commentary, entitled Qayyumul-Asma and composed in Arabic, "forecast what the true Joseph (Bahaullah) would, in a succeeding Dispensation, endure..."

(taken from the glossary)
Release The Sun by William Sears
New edition (2003).
ISBN: 1 931847 09 6