The Báb’s Mystical Commentary on the Hadith of the Maid (Hadith al-Jāriyyah) and the Knowledge of the Unseen

Abstract: The Hadith al-Jāriyyah (the Hadith of the Maid) is among the most celebrated Islamic narrations concerning the Imāms’ knowledge of the Unseen (ʿIlm al-Ghayb), preserved in Usūl al-Kāfī, the classical Shi‘í corpus of ḥadīth. It recounts that Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq sought to chastise a maid who fled and concealed herself, whereupon His companions questioned His knowledge of the Unseen. The Imām disclaimed personal knowledge, affirming that such knowledge belongs solely to God. The Báb’s Arabic commentary, revealed in Shíráz prior to His public declaration, discloses the inner mysteries of this episode: the maid symbolizes the realm of multiplicity, and the Imām represents the immutable station of Divine Unity, perceiving all through God’s own knowledge. This allegory unveils the relationship between the Manifestation and creation, the veiled nature of the Unseen, and the sanctity of divine knowledge. Preserved in INBA vol. 67 (pp. 157–160), the text forms the basis of the provisional English rendering presented herein for scholarly reflection.