(From an earlier discussion)
From: Juan R Cole
Subject: verse 4

transliteration:

[K4] Qul: min hududi yamurru `arfu qamisi wa biha tunsabu a`lamu 'n-nasri `ala 'l-qinani wa 'l-atlali. Qad takallama lisanu qudrati fi jabaruti azamati mukhatiban li bariyyati: An i`malu hududi hubban li jamali. Tuba li habibin wajada arfa 'l-mahbubi min hadhihi 'l-kalimati 'llati fahat minha nafahatu 'l-fadli `ala sha'nin la tuwsafu bi 'l-adhkari. La `umri, man shariba rahiqa 'l-insafi min ayadiy 'l-altafi. Innahu yatufu hawla awamiriy 'l-mushriqati min ufuqi 'l-ibda`i.

"The sweet-smelling savour of My garment"

This is an allusion to the story of Joseph in the Qur'an and the Old Testament, in which Joseph's garment, brought by his brothers to Jacob, their father, enabled Jacob to identify his beloved long-lost son. The metaphor of the fragrant "garment" is frequently used in the Baha'i Writings to refer to the recognition of the Manifestation of God and His Revelation.

Baha'u'llah, in one of His Tablets, describes Himself as the "Divine Joseph" Who has been "bartered away" by the heedless "for the most paltry of prices". The Bab, in the Qayyumu'l-Asma', identifies Baha'u'llah as the "true Joseph" and forecasts the ordeals that He would endure at the hands of His treacherous brother (see note 190). Likewise, Shoghi Effendi draws a parallel between the intense jealousy which the preeminence of `Abdu'l-Baha had aroused in his balf-brother, Mirza Muhammad-`Ali, and the deadly envy "which the superior excellence of Joseph had kindled in the hearts of his brothers".

Date: Fri, 14 Apr 95
From: "Ahang Rabbani"
Subject: KIA: K4 Victory

Baha'u'llah in the 4th paragraph of the Kitab-i-Aqdas tells us that through the aid of His laws the standards of Victory will be planted upon the highest peaks.

The theme that through obedience to His laws and subordination to His Will, the ultimate victory of the Cause will be realized has inspired me to share a story for your enjoyment.

First let me tell you where this story comes from.

Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Jarir Tabari (d.310H/923CE) wrote an outstanding chronicle of the first three centuries of Islam, titled "Tarikh rusul va muluk", which is universally recognized as the finest and the most comprehensive history of the early years of Islam. It a very large narrative; I have it in Persian translation and it stands 17 volumes, each a very large book. (After about 2 years of reading, I'm now only about halfway through.) For several years now SUNY has led a project to produce an annotated English translation of this masterpiece, and so far, 29 volumes been completed. (There may have been more, but that's all I'm aware.)

If anyone wants to truly understand the dynamics of the *Baha'i* community, I suggest reading this history and Attar's Conference of Birds. A very clear formulation of challenges faced by the present Baha'i communities and Baha'is in general, in my unworthy view, is contained in these two works.

Enough of this stuff, let's get to the story -- which is actually quite fun.

Tabari tells of the story of one of the early battles between the Arab Muslims and Persians. During the time of the second Khalif, Omar, the Arabs had decided that it was propitious to take the Message of the Day, Islam, to other countries and nations. They had decided that humanity should not be deprived of the healing remedy of Islam.

Persian Empire, due to its closeness and vast resources, presented an excellent opportunity. But the idea of organizing firesides for the Persians did not come up, so the Arabs decided that they were going to use force to convert Persians to Islam.

The only problem was that the Arabs didn't have much of an army that could go up against the mighty Persian military machine which in the past had repeatedly reduced such forces as the Creeks, Romans, Indians, and so forth. Over the centuries, the Persians had emerged as the world superpower, with a very disciplined army, well equipped and much experienced. To do battle with them was a daunting task. But the Arabs saw no other way.

So to gain a bit of experience as to how militarily engage an armforce, such as Persians, the Arabs decided to send a small force of only 270 men, just to gain some experience in fighting the Persians. On the other end, the Persians, seeing such a small force of only 270 Arabs, not well equipped and disciplined, also decided to send a small force, too ... only 10,000 men!

So on the day of battle, 270 Arabs and 10,000 Persians came together. They fought long and hard for 3 days.

After these 3 days of battles, neither side was victorious. Its was a stalemate. The Persians were really surprised. How is it that the great Persian military machine can't reduce a badly formed, poorly trained, not equipped, small force of 270 Arabs! They had never experience anything like it. They expected easy victory and were denied.

What's amazing is that the Arabs were also surprised that they had not emerged victorious! How is that possible, they asked. After all, Muhammad has appeared to us. The Qur'an is our guide. We are the righteous ones. We are in this battle for the sake of God and His Religion. We were assured that by arising to serve His Faith and propagate His Message, the entire Concourse On High will come to our aid. So, what happened?

So, at the end of the 3rd day, the Arabs came together to consult. Muhammad had taught them that whenever they have a problem, they should get together and consult. So this is what they did.

In the course of their consultation, various reasons were put forth as to why they have not emerged victorious. None of these were accepted by the group. Finally someone said, if we were true Muslims, and had been faithful to our Faith and our Covenant, without any question we would be victorious and can over run any number of Persians, be it 10,000 or 10,000,000! Everyone agreed with that. So, they asked themselves, are we righteous and true Muslims? Then someone suggested, "well, let's examine the Text and see if we are following the commands of Allah and Prophet Muhammad". This suggestion, pleased them.

They began to list various laws and commandments of Muhammad and see if they are obeying them. First, was the law of Obligatory Prayer. Yes, they all said, we all perform our Prayers. Next, was fasting. Yes, they said again, we fast during Ramadan. Next was giving to the Funds of the Faith. Again, the cry of "yes" was raised. Anyway, one by one they examined all the laws and injunctions of the Prophet and found that they obeyed them all.

Well, actually, all but one. They discovered to their horror that there is one law of Prophet that they obey not. This was the law of "brushing teeth"!

You see, Muhammad had taught them to brush their teeth, a practice that they knew not before. In fact, Muhammad had shown them how to do it. He had shown that you get a sharp piece of wood and with it clean in between your teeth, and also your gums. (This is where the idea for toothpick came from.)

So, the Arabs said in order for us to be righteous and true Muslims we must obey this last law of the Prophet too.

Thereupon, they gathered pieces of wood and began sharpening them and with the sharpened end cleaning their teeth.

Meanwhile, the Persians had sent some spies to see what the Arabs were doing. These spies were sitting on top of a nearby hill and watching the Arabs consult.

Persians had never seen anyone brush their teeth before. When they saw that Arabs were sharpening woods and applying those to their teeth, the spies ran back to their camp with the cry:

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. THE ARABS ARE SHARPENING THEIR TEETH TO COME AND EAT US!!"

Needless to say, there was a huge pandemonium in the Persian camp and they all ran away, and the Arabs were victorious!

So, you see, through obedience to the laws, following the precepts laid down the Central Authorities of the Faith, the ultimate victory WILL be ours. It may come in ways that we can't imagine it today, but it will most certainly come.

I often think about this story told by Tabari and say to myself, if I "brush my teeth", victory will follow.

much love, Ahang.