This course is cancelled for 2021. Registrants will be refunded.

The Báb consciously chose the spiritual reality of the Prophet and Divine Manifestation Joseph, son of Jacob, as the personification of the revolutionary changes invested in the new Cycle of Fulfillment. The very first revelation of the Bahá’í era was His commentary on the Surih of Joseph, also called the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’. This course will explore the significance of this choice by the Báb. What was it about Joseph that made him the emblem for the new race of humanity that is destined to evolve in this cycle? What is it about his story, as told in the Qurʾan (and the Bible), that makes him a compelling model for us to contemplate today?

In preparation for this course, students should study the two excellent articles by Jim Stokes available for download at Bahá’í Library online, study the Sura of Joseph in the Qurʾán, and become familiar with its several sequential sections and their significance to each other and the whole story. Look for recurring themes and motifs in the sura. Study the life of the Báb. Read the article by Todd Lawson entitled "The Return of Joseph and the Peaceable Imagination," available online at Bahá’í Library or in a slightly revised version as chapter one of the new book Being Human: Bahá’í Perspectives on Islam, Modernity, and Peace. Vol. 25. Studies in the Bábī and Bahá’í Religions. Los Angeles, CA: Kalimat Press, 2020.