He, the Exalted, says : " We revealed it on the night al-Qadr." Lofty matters are there in this noble ayah, to refer to some of which is not without advantage.
The first matter is that this ayah and many of noble ayahs ascribe the revelation of the Qur'an to the Sacred Essence of Allah Himself, as He says: "We have revealed it in a blessed night, " [533] "We have revealed the Reminder and We will be its guardian," [534] and similar noble ayahs. In some other ayahs it is ascribed to Gabriel, the Faithful Spirit, as He says: "The Faithful Spirit descended with it." [535]
The literalist scholars in these instances say that this is metaphorical, similar to: "O Haman! build for me a tower...", [536] Ascribing the revelation, for example, to Allah is because His Sacred Essence was the cause and the one who commanded it to be revealed, or the ascription of the revelation to Allah is real, and as the Faithful Spirit is the means, it is metaphorically ascribed to him. This is because they regard ascribing Allah's act to the creatures to be like ascribing a creature's act to another creature. Thus, the tasks of Izrael and Gabriel are ascribed to Allah, the Exalted, as the task of Haman is ascribed to Pharaoh, and the tasks of the builders and the constructors to Haman. But this is an analogy which is completely false and differential. Comprehending ascribing (a creature's) creation to Allah, and the act of a creature to the Creator is among the important branches of theology and philosophy, through which a lot of problems are solved, including fatalism and free will, of which this matter is a branch.
It must be noted that it has been proved and confirmed in the high sciences that all the House of Realization and phases of existence are the image [surat] of the Holy Emanation, which is the luminous manifestation of Allah. As the Luminous Relation [idafa-i ishraqiyah] is mere relation and pure dependence [faqr] its individuations and images are mere relations, too, having neither identity [haithiyat] nor independence of their own. In another expression, the whole House of Realization is, essentially, attributively and actually, vanished in Allah, because if a being was independent in a personal affair of his, whether in the existential identity or in any of its other affairs, he would be out of the limits of possibility, and would be changed into essential necessity, which is an obvious falsity. If this divine grace is implanted in the heart and the heart tastes it as it deserves, a secret of Qadar [qadr] (fate, predestination) will be exposed to him, and a delicate aspect of the truth of "a matter between two matters" (amr-un baynal amrayn) will be disclosed to him.
So, the effects and the acts of perfection can be attributed to the creature as they similarly can be attributed to Allah, without resorting to metaphor on either side, and this is realized in the view of Unity [wahdat] and multiplicity [kathrat] and joining between the two matters. But, the one who is in mere multiplicity [kathrat] and veiled off Unity, ascribes the act to the creature, heedless of Allah, as we, the veiled, are. The one in whose heart Unity [wahdat] is manifested, will be veiled against the creatures, and will ascribe all acts to Allah, while the gnostic researcher joins between "Unity" and "multiplicity": At the same time of attributing the act to Allah, without resorting to the blemish of metaphor, he also attributes it to the creature, without the blemish of metaphor, too. The noble ayah: " ... And you threw not when you did throw, but Allah threw," [537] in which, while confirming the throwing, negates it, and while negating the throwing, confirms it, is a reference to the way of the great gnostics and their strict faithful method. Our referring to the acts and effects of perfection, excluding the shortcomings, was because the shortcomings' recourse is to the privations, which are of the individuations [ta`ayyunat] of existence, and are not attributed to Allah, except accidentally [bil'arad]. Going into the details of this subject is not possible in these papers.
Now that this introduction has been understood, the attribution of "revelation" [tanzil] to Allah and Gabriel, and the "bringing to life" [ihya] to Seraphiel and Allah, and the "bringing death" [imatah] to Izrael and the angels in charge of the souls and to Allah, can also be easily understood. There are many references to this matter in the noble Qur'an. It is one of the Qur'an's Knowledge [ma`arif] of which there was no trace in the books of the wise men and the philosophers before this Glorious Book, and the human family is indebted to the gift of this Divine Book in this respect, like other divine, Qur'anic Knowledge [ma`arif].
The second matter is the use of the plural pronoun: "We revealed". The point here is to aggrandize the state of Allah, the Exalted, as the revealer of this noble Book. It may be that this plurality refers to a nominal plurality denoting that Allah, the Exalted, with all the affairs of His Names and Attributes, is the originator of this noble Book. For this reason, this noble Book is the image of the Collective Oneness of all the Names and Attributes, and is the introducer of the Holy state [maqam] of Allah in all affairs [shu'un] and manifestations. In other words, this luminous Book is the image of the Greatest Name, as is the Perfect Man, or rather, the truth of these two, in the Unseen [hadrat-i ghaib], is the same, while in the world of separation they separate in respect of the image, although in respect of concept they do not separate. This is a meaning of: "They would not separate until they come to me at the Pool." [538] As Allah, with the hands of Majesty and Beauty fermented the clay of the First Man, the Perfect Man, He, with the hands of Beauty and Majesty, revealed the Complete Book, the Comprehensive Qur'an. Probably it is for this reason that it was called the Qur'an, because the state of Oneness [ahadiyat] is the Union of Unity and multiplicity, [jam`-i wahdat u kathrat], and it is for this reason that this Book can neither be abrogated nor ruptured, because the Greatest Name and its manifestations are eternal and everlasting, and all Shari`ahs call to this Muhammadan Shari`ah and guardianship [wilayah].
It is probable that as it is said: "We revealed", on the same basis: "We offered the trust ..." [539] is said in the first person plural, since "the trust", according to its inside, is the truth of guardianship, and, according to its outside, is the Shari`ah, Islam Qur'an or the salat.
The third matter is a brief about the revelation of the Qur'an. It is of the delicacies [latayif] of divine sciences [ma'arif] and of the secrets of religious facts that only few can scientifically get some information about them, except the perfect godly men, at the head of whom is the very person of the Seal of the Prophets (SA), and then, with his assistance, the others of the godly men and the people of knowledge. No other one can, by way of intellectual intuition, know this divine delicacy [latifa], because this truth cannot be discerned except by attaining to the world of inspiration and getting out of the limits of the worlds of possibility. We shall, in this stage, refer to this truth by way of hints and expressive allegories.
It must be noted that the hearts which travel to Allah by way of spiritual suluk and internal journey, and migrate from the dark station of the self and from the house of 1-ness and selfishness, are, generally, divided into two groups.
First, those who, after finishing their travel to Allah, death overtakes them, and they remain in the state of attraction, annihilation and death. The reward of this group is with Allah, and it is Allah. They are the beloved who perish under the "domes [qibab] of Allah". No one knows them, and they have connection to nobody. They know none but Allah: "My friends are under My domes, no one knows them other than Me." [540]
The second group are those who, having completed their journey to Allah and in Allah, became fit to return to themselves and be subject to a state of sobriety and intelligence. They are those whose aptitude, according to the manifestation by the Holiest Emanation, which is the secret of qadr, has been predetermined, and they have been chosen for perfecting the servants and engendering prosperity in the regions. Having communicated with His knowledge [hadrat-i `ilmiyah] and returned to real entities, they disclosed the journey of the entities and their communication [ittisal] with His Holiness [hadrat-i quds], and their travel to Allah and to happiness, receiving the honorable robe [khal'at] of prophethood. This disclosure [kashf] is a divine revelation [wahy], before descending to the world of Gabrielic revelation. After turning from this world towards the descending worlds, they disclose what is in the High Pens and Holy Tablets, in proportion to their comprehension of knowledge and growth of perfection, which belong to the Names [hadarat-i asmaiyah]. The difference of Shari'ahs and prophethoods, or rather all differences, stem from there.
In this stage it sometimes happens that the Unseen Truth and the Holy Secret, proved in His Knowledge [hadrat-i `ilmiyah] and the High Pens and Tablets, descend, by way of the unseen of their souls and the secret of their honourable spirits, by means of the Angel of Revelation, Gabriel, into their blessed hearts. Sometimes Gabriel appears in an "ideal image" [tamaththul-i mithali] in the "Ideal" [hadrat-i mithal] to them, and sometimes he takes a "worldly image", appearing from the hidden place [makan] of the Unseen, by that truth to the scene of the world of visibility, bringing down that divine delicacy [latifah]. The receiver [sahib] of the revelation, in each of the emergences [nasha'at], understands and discerns in a certain way: in a way in His Knowledge [hadrat-i `ilmiyah], and in different ways in the entities [hadrat-i ay'an], in the Pens [hadarat-i aqlam] in the Tablets [hadrat-i alwah] in the "Ideal" [hadrat-i mithal], in the Common Sense and in the absolute visibilities [shahadat]. These are the seven stages of descension, which may be related to the hadith that the Qur'an has descended on "seven letters", [541] which does not contradict the hadith: "The Qur'an is one, revealed from the One", [542] as is known. This state, however, requires to be expanded upon, but not here.
The fourth matter concerns the secret of the third person singular pronoun "it" [ha] in "we revealed it." As is known, the Qur'an has passed, before being descended to this emergence [nash'ah] through stages and entities [kainunat]. Its first stage was its entity in the Knowledge [kainunat-i `ilmiyah] in the Unseen by the speaking of His Essence and by His Self-arguing [muqari`a-i dhatiyah] by way of the "Collective Oneness" [ahadiyat-i jam']. And the said pronoun may be a reference to that state, as, in order to show that percept, He used the third person pronoun, as if to say that this very Qur'an which was revealed on "the night of qadr" is the same scholarly Qur'an, in the unseen secret hidden in the emergence of Knowledge [nash'a-i `ilmiyah], and which was descended from those stages, in one of which it was united with the Essence and was of the manifestations of the Names. This apparent truth is that divine secret, and this Book, which has appeared in the uniform of words and expressions, in the stage of Essence is in the image of the Essential manifestations, and, in the stage of Action, is the very manifestation of Act, as the Commander of the Believers ('Ali) (AS) said: "His talk is His act. [543]
The fifth matter concerns "the night of qadr", about which there are many discussions and uncountable pieces of information, which have been expanded upon by the great scholars (may Allah be pleased with them) according to their diverse ways and methods. In these pages we shall briefly relate some of them. As to the matters which they did not mention, we shall refer to them within our relating other matters.
As regards the naming of "the night of qadr", the scholars have different opinions. Some say that as it is honourable and great, and as the Qur'an is great, brought down (in it) by a great angel, to a great Messenger, for a great ummah, it was called "laylatul Qadr" (the night of greatness).
Some say that it is called "the night of measure" because the affairs, the life-terms and the provisions of the people are "measured" in that very night. Some say that as the angels on that night are so numerous (in the earth) that as if the earth is strictly "measured" for them, it is called al-qadr, and that is like: "and he whose provision is measured." [544]
These are some of the opinions concerning this subject. About each of them there have been researches, a hint at which is not without advantage.
As to the first opinion, i.e. that night being honourable and great, know that many things are said in this respect, to the effect that, as regards time and place in general, some are honourable and some are not, some are lucky and some are unlucky. But is this a natural and intrinsic characteristic of time and place, or is it because happy and unhappy events happen in them, and, consequently they are so described? Although this is not a noble and important topic, and to expand upon it is not advantageous, yet, we shall briefly refer to it.
What gives priority to the first possibility is that some narratives and ayahs which apparently regard time and place either honourable or unlucky, confirm this to be intrinsic, not a characteristic belonging to the particular condition. So, as there is no rational objection, they can be taken according to their apparent meanings.
What gives priority to the second possibility is that the truth of time and place is a single one, or even their entity (personality) is one, too. Such being the case, it will not be possible that a single person can be divided and be different in status [hukm]. Therefore, it is inevitable to take what is said about time and place as lucky or unlucky as caused by the events and happenings taking place in them. But this is not prove-able, because although time is a single entity, yet, as it gradually expands and is measurable, there can be no objection that some part of it be different in status and effect from another part. There is no evidence that a person, whoever he may be, cannot enjoy two status and two effects, rather the contrary is apparent. For example, the human beings, although every one of them is a single person, yet, there are many differences in their corporeal features, like the skin, the brain and the heart, as these are more delicate and honoured than the other organs. Similarly, some of the internal and external powers are more honourable than others. This is because man, in this world, is not apparently known as to have a complete unity, though single in person. But as apparently he is known of multiplicity, he can have different status.
The priority of the first possibility is not, however, an agreeably correct one, because this opinion is based, for example, on "the originality of appearance" [isalatuz-zuhur] and "the originality of the truth", [isalatul haqiqah], whereas methodically it is known that "the originality of the truth" and "the originality of appearance" are used when there is a doubt in the objective for the purpose of making sure of the objective, not that they should confirm the objective after that it had already been known. So, consider. [545]
Therefore, both aspects are possible, but the second aspect seems preferable. Consequently, "the night of qadr" was described as "the honoured night" because it was the night of the meeting of the Sealing Prophet, the night on which the real lover reached his Beloved. In the former discussions it was noted that the descension of the angels and the revelation was after the annihilation and the real proximity. From many narratives and noble ayahs it can be gathered that the luckiness and unluckiness of times and places are because of the events which take place in them. This can be realized by referring to them, although some of them also denote their intrinsic honour.
The other possibility for naming "the night of qadr" is because the affairs of the days of the year are measured on that night. So, know that the truth of "Fate" [qada] and "Destiny" (Divine Decree = qadar), its quality and its stages of appearance, are of the greatest and noblest divine knowledge, and it is because of their extreme exactness and nicety that deeply thinking about them is not allowed for the human race as it causes bewilderment and straying. Therefore, this truth is to be regarded of the religious secrets and the deposits of Prophethood, and one is to refrain from conducting scrutinizing research about it. We refer here only to a subject suiting this stage. That is, although the measurement of the affairs has been estimated from the very beginning in the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, and it is not of the gradual matters in respect of the pure state of the divine knowledge, then, what does "taqdir" in every year and in a particular night mean?
Know that "Fate" and "Divine Decree" are of degrees, and according to those degrees and emergences [nasha'at] they differ in their status. The first degree is the facts which are judged (evaluated) and measured in His knowledge by the manifestation in "The Holiest Emanation" in the wake of the appearance of the Names and Attributes. Afterwards, by the High Pens and in the High Tablets, according to the appearance, and by the manifestation of the Act, they are ordained and confirmed. No changes and alterations may happen in these degrees. The inevitable and unchangeable decrees [qada] are the abstract facts happening in the entities [hadarat-i ayan] and in the emergence [nash'ah] of His Knowledge and descending to the abstract Pens and Tablets. Afterwards , the facts appear in isthmus [barzakhiyah] and ideal [mithaliyah] images in other Tablets and in a lower world, which is the world of "the distinct imagination" [kh'iyal-i munfasil] and "the universal imagination" [khyalul kull] - the world which, according to the method of the illuminationist philosophers, is called " The World of the Suspended Ideas " [`alam-i muthul-i mu'allaqah]. In such a world changes and differences are possible to happen, or actually they do happen. After that, the evaluations [taqdirat] and measurings take place by means of the angels in charge of the world of nature. In this Tablet of Fate there are continual changes and alterations, or rather it is, in itself, a flowing form and a passing, gradual fact. In this lauh (Tablet) the facts can be strong or weak, and the movements may be swift, slow, accelerated or decreased. Nevertheless, the "near-to-Allah" [yalillahi] aspect, the unseen aspect, of these very things,-which is the aspect of tadalli (suspension) to Allah, and it is the form of the appearance of the "Spread Emanation" [faid-i munbasit] and the "Extended Shade" [zill-i mamdud], and the truth of Allah's "Active knowledge" - there can occur in it no change or alteration.
In short, all the changes, alterations, additions to the lives, and measuring (the peoples') provisions are, as the philosophers believe, in the lauh of "the qadr of knowledge" [qadr-i `ilmi], which is "the world of ideas"-while to the writer, they are in the lauh of "the qadr of objectivity" [qadr-i `ayni], which is the very place of the measurements-done by the angels in charge of it. Therefore, there is no objection [mani`] that, as "the night of qadr" is the night of full attention of the "perfect guardian" [wali-i kamil] and of the appearance of his heavenly sovereignty, changes and alterations may happen, in it, in the world of nature through the honourable person of the "perfect guardian" and the Imam of each era and the pole [qutb] of the time-who, in our time, is "Allah's Remainder" [baqiyatullah] in the worlds (earths, lands = aradin), our Master, Patron, Imam and Guide, the Proof, the son of al-Hasan al-`Askari, may our souls be ransom for his coming. So, he may accelerate or slow any individual part of nature that he desires, and enlarge or straiten any provision he wills. And this will is that of the Haqq, and is the shadow and the rays of the Eternal Will and follows the Divine commands, as the angels of Allah, too, can do (change) nothing by themselves. Every act (change =tasarruf), rather every particle of existence, is of Allah and of His unseen grace [latifah]: "So keep straight as you are commanded." [546]
As to what has been said concerning the other possibility of naming "the night of qadr", i.e. it was so called because the earth seems too much narrow with the throng of the angels on that night, this point is a far-fetched one, despite the fact that Khalil ibn Ahmad, [547] the wonder of the time, may Allah's pleasure be upon him, says that what can be discussed is that the angels are not of the kind of the world of nature and matter, so what does it mean to say that the earth seemed narrow? However, such matters have been related in some noble narrations, like the case of the funeral procession of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, [548] may Allah be pleased with him, or the angels' spreading their wings for the students of knowledge. [549] This is when the angels appear in the assimilation [tamaththul] of "Ideal images", descending from the unseen world to the "World of Ideals" [ alam-i mithal] and narrowing the dominion of the earth, or it is probably their worldly assimilation in the kingdom of the earth, although this still cannot be seen by the natural animal eyes. However, the narrowing is on the basis of "Ideal" [mithaliyah] or "worldly" [mulkiyah] assimilation.
The second matter concerns the truth of "the night of qadr". Know that every spiritual grace has a reality, and for every worldly form there is a heavenly and unseen interior. People of knowledge say that the stages of the descension of the truth of the existence, in respect of the setting of the sun of the truth in the horizon of individuations, are "nights", whereas the stages of ascension, in respect of the rising of the sun of the truth in the horizons of individuations, are "days". Hence, the honour and the unluckiness of the "days" and the "nights" are, accordingly, clearly known.
According to another aspect, the arch of descension is the Muhammadan "night of qadr", and the arch of ascension is the Ahmadan "Resurrection Day", because these two arches are the extension of the light of the "Expanded Emanation" [faid-i munbasit], which is "the Muhammadan Truth" [haqiqat-i muhammadiyah], and all the individuations [ta`ayyunat] are of the First Individuation of "the Greatest Name". So, from the point of view of Unity [wahdat], the world is the "night of qadr" and the "Day of Resurrection", and it is no more than a single night and day, which is the entire House of Realization, the Muhammadan "night of qadr" and the Ahmadan "Day of Resurrection". The one who is assured of this truth will always be in the "night of qadr" and in the "Day of Resurrection", and these two become united.
From the point of view of multiplicity, there will be nights and days. Some nights have qadr (greatness, dignity) and some have not. Among all the nights, the Ahmadan constitution [bunyah], the Muhammadan individuation (SA) - into whose horizon has set the light of the truth of existence, with all the affairs, Names and Attributes, and with full luminosity and entire truth - is the absolute night of qadr, as the Muhammadan day is the absolute Day of Resurrection. Other days and nights are limited ones. The Qur'an's revelation [nuzul] to this noble constitution [bunyah] and pure heart, is the revelation [nuzul] in the "night of qadr". So, the Qur'an was revealed both in full in "the night of qadr", by way of complete and absolute disclosure, and in parts along twenty-three years in "the night of qadr."
The gnostic Shaykh, the Shahabadi [549a] (may his prosperity by lasting), used to say that the Muhammadan period is "the night of qadr", that is, all the periods of existence are the Muhammadan period, or it is because in this period the perfect Muhammadan poles, the infallible guiding imams (AS), are "the nights of qadr". What proves our suggested possibility concerning the truth of "the night of qadr" is the lengthy noble hadith which is quoted by al-Burhan Exegesis from the noble al-Kafi, in which it is said that when a Christian asked Imam Musa ibn Ja'far about the hidden explanation of "Ha Mim! (I swear) By the explaining Book. We revealed it on a blessed night - Surely We are ever warning. There in every wise affair is made distinct," [550] he replied: "As to "Ha Am", it is Muhammad (S. A.) "The explaining Book' is Amirul Mu'minin 'Ali (AS), and "the night" is Fatimah (AS)". [551]
In another narrative it is said that "the ten nights" are interpreted to be the pure Imams from al-Hasan to al-Hasan. [552] This is one of the degrees of "the night of qadr " to which Imam Musa ibn Ja'far referred, testifying that "the night of qadr" was the entire Muhammadan period.
In Al-Burhan Exegesis there is a narrative from Imam al-Baqir (AS). Being a noble hadith referring to several pieces of information, disclosing important secrets, we, owing to its blessedness, relate it in full:
The author (may Allah have mercy upon him), quoting Shaykh Abu Ja'far at-Tusi, from his men, from `Abdullah ibn `Ajlan as-Sakuni, said: " I heard Abu Ja`far (AS) say: The house of 'Ali and Fatimah is the room of the Messenger of Allah (SA), and the roof of their house is the Arsh of the Lord of the worlds. And at the bottom of their house there is an uncovered opening to the Arsh, the mi'raj of revelation; and the angels bring down revelation upon them in the morning and in the evening and every hour and twinkle of an eye. The angels are in ceaseless groups, some descending and some ascending. And Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, disclosed to Ibrahim the heavens till he saw the Arsh and He increased his seeing power. And Allah increased the seeing power of Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (AS). They used to see the Arsh and they found no roof over their houses except the Arsh.
Their houses were roofed with the Arsh of the Beneficent, and the ascensions of the angels and the Spirit in them, with the permission of their Lord, `for every affair in peace. 'I said: "for every affair'." Ile said: `In every affair.' I said: `Is that revelation?' He said: 'Yes"'. [553]
Contemplating this noble hadith will open doors of knowledge in the face of the deserving people and discloses parts of the truth of guardianship and of the hidden inside of "the night of qadr".
The third matter: Know that as "the night of qadr" has a truth and an inside, as it has been mentioned, it also has a form and an appearance, or even appearances in the world of nature. But as appearances can differ in respect of their shortcomings and perfections, form the narratives and hadiths about specifying "the night of qadr" can be gathered that all the noble nights specified in those narratives are of the appearances of "the night of qadr", except that they differ from one another in respect of their honour and perfection of appearance, while that noble night, which is the full appearance of "the night of qadr", the night of the complete joining [wasi] and the perfect attainment [wusul] of the Last Prophet, is hidden in the whole year, in the blessed month of Ramadan, in its last ten (nights) or in the "three nights". The narratives of the Elite [khassah] and the public ['ammah] also differ. The Elite narrate, with uncertainty, that it is on the nights of the nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-third (of Ramadan), and sometimes they waver between the night of the twenty-first and the twenty-third.
Shihab ibn `Abd Rabbih says: I asked Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (AS) to tell me about "the night of qadr". He said: "the night of the twenty-first and the night of the twenty-third." [554]
'Abdul Wahid ibn al-Mukhtar al-Ansari says: "I asked Imam al-Baqir (AS) about `the night of qadr'. He said: 'it is on two nights: the night of the twenty-third and the night of the twenty-first: I said: `Name only one of them.' He said: `What if you do something on the two nights of which one is `the night of qadr?"' [555]
Hassan ibn Abu 'Ali says: "I asked Imam as-Sadiq (AS) about `the night of qadr' He said: "Get it on the nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-third." [555a]
The devotee and pious "Sayyid" (may Allah be pleased with him) in Iqbal says: "Know that it is the night of the twenty-third of the month of Ramadan. There are explicit narratives that it is `the night of qadr' by revelation and declaration. Of that I relate , on my authority up to Sufyan ibn as-Sit (or as-Simt) who said: "I asked Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (AS.) to tell me which was `the night of qadr' exactly." He said: "The night of the twenty-third". Another is to narrate, on my authority up to Zurarah, quoting 'Abdul Wahid ibn al-Mukhtar al-Ansari, who said: "I asked Imam al-Baqir (AS) about `the night of qadrl. He said: "By Allah I tell you with no ambiguity, it is the first night of the last seven nights." Zurarah was further quoted to have said that the month which the Imam mentioned had twenty-nine days. [556] After that other narratives are related to the effect that "the night of qadr" is the night of the twenty-third (of Ramadan), such as the case of Juhani, [557] which is known.
A Gnostic Note
As it has been said in respect of the two previously explained blessed surahs, it is more obvious that the bismillah of each surah belongs to it. Therefore, in the blessed surah of al-Qadr it means: "We revealed the noble Qur'anic trurh, the Sacred Divine Grace [latifah], in the Name of Allah, which is the `Collective Truth of the Names' and the Greatest Name of the Lord, individuated by the absolute mercy of Rahman and Rahim, on the Muhammadan night of qadr." That is, the appearance of the Qur'an follows the "Collective appearance" [zuhur-i jam i] of the Divinity and the "Contraction" [qabd] and "Expansion" [bast] of "Mercifulness" [rahimiyat) and "Beneficence" [rahmaniyat]. Rather , the truth of the Qur'an is the state of the appearance of the Greatest Name of Allah through the appearance of the "Beneficence" and the "Mercifulness", and is the "collector of the union and distinctness" [jami'-i jam' u tafsil). Consequently, this noble Book is "Qur'an" and "Furqan" (distinguisher), similar to the spirituality of the Seal of the Prophets and his sacred state of guardianship, which are also "Qur'an" and "Furqan" and the state of the "oneness of collectivity and distinctness" [ahadiyat-i jam` a tafsil]
So, it seems that the Sacred Essence, according to this possibility, says: "We have-with the manifestation of the state of the Greatest Name, which is the state of the "Oneness of Collectivity and Distinctness" [ahadiyat-i jam` u tafsil], with the appearance of the mercy of the Beneficent and the Merciful -revealed the Qur'an on the Muhammadan night of qadr. And as in the world of distinction [farq], or rather, the distinction of distinction, there was a distinction [furqaniyat] between the two "Qur'ans", i.e., the revealed and written Qur'an, and the Qur'an revealed to him, that is, the "Divine Book" and the "Muhammadan truth", we united between the two Qur'ans and joined the two Furqans in the night of union [wisal], and on this consideration, this night was called `the night of qadr', but its actual meritorious status, as it is, cannot be recognized by anybody except by the very Seal of the Prophets (SA), who is the owner of `the night of qadr' in person, as well as his infallible successors, who are its owner, too, through him."
Completion
Some Narratives Concerning the Merits of "the Night of Qadr"
Among them are those narrated by the knower of Allah, Sayyid ibn Tawus (may Allah be pleased with him) in his noble Book Iqbalul A`mal. He says: "I found in the book, called Yawaqit, by Abul Fadl ibn Muhammad al-Harawi, some narratives on the merits of "the night of qadr". Then he quotes from it a narrative from the Messenger of Allah (SA) as to have said: "Moses said: `O Allah! I desire Your proximity'. Allah said: "My proximity is for the one who keeps awake on `the night of qadr'. He said: `O Allah! I wish for your mercy.' Allah said: `My mercy is for the one who shows mercy to the poor on `the night of qadr'. He said: `O Allah! I want to cross the Sirat [the (Right) Path]'. He said: `That is for the one who gives out a sadaqah on `the night of qadr'. He said: `O Allah'. I want of the trees and fruits of Paradise'. Allah said: `They are for the one who glorifies (Me) on `the night of qadr'. He said: `I want to be delivered'. Allah said: `From the Fire'" `Yes,' he said. Allah said: `It is for the one who asks forgiveness on `the night of qadr'. He said: `O Allah! I ask for Your pleasure.' Allah said: `I would be pleased with the one who performs two rak`ahs of salat on `the night of qadr".
The same book, quoting the Messenger of Allah (SA), also says: "The doors of the heaven are opened on `the night of qadr. No servant may perform the salat on it unless Allah, the Exalted, writes down for him, for every sajdah a tree in Paradise, such that if a horseman rides under its shadow for a hundred years he will not finish it, for every rak`ah (or ruku`) a house, in Paradise, made of quartzes, rubbies, chrysolites and pearls, for every ayah a paradisiac crown, for every glorifying one of the precious birds, for every sitting one of the paradisiac degrees, for every tashahhud a paradasiac room and for every taslim a garment from paradise. And when the column of dawn bursts out, Allah will grant him (in Paradise) sociable women (wives) whose breasts bulge out from behind the dress, educated and good-behaving maids, eternal boys, noble birds, fragrant flowers, flowing rivers, pleasing graces, gifts, presents, coats of honour, wonders and whatever the heart desires and pleases the eye, in which you will eternally live."
Quoting Imam al-Baqir (AS), the same book says: "Whoever lives `the night of qadr' awake, his sins will be forgiven, even if as many as the stars of the sky, and as heavy as the mountains or the weight of the seas." [558] The narratives about its merits are too many to be included in these papers.
His saying: "And how do you know what the night of qadr is!" is a construction intended to denote honouring, tributing and paying homage to the greatness of the subject and the truth, especially when considering the addresser and the addressee. Although the addresser is Allah, the Exalted, and the addressee is the Messenger of Allah (SA), yet, the subject is sometimes so glorious that it is impossible to contain it with the construction of words and expressions. It is as if He says: You know not how great the truth of the night of qadr is! It cannot be explained in arranged words and letters, as they are incapable of containing it. Therefore, He just used "How" [ma] to denote that greatness, trying not to describe it, only saying that "the night of qadr is better than a thousand months", that is, He introduces it by referring to its characteristics and effects, since telling its truth is not possible. Hence, one may well guess that the truth of the night of qadr and its inside are different from its external form, though its external form is great and important, too, but not to the extent of addressing the Messenger of Allah, the absolute guardian and the informed of all worlds, in this way.
If you say: On the basis of the said possibility that the inside of "the night of qadr" is the very truth and constitution of the Messenger of Allah (SA), in which the sun of truth, in all its affairs, is hidden, then the objection will be higher, because it will not be possible to tell him: "How do you know what `the night of qadr', which is your own visible form, is?"
I will say: This subject has a secret. This delicate point has an inner meaning "for him who has heart or gives ear and is a witness". [559] Know, dear, that in the inside of the real "night of qadr", i.e., the constitution and the visible form, or the immutable essence of Muhammad [`ayn-i thabit-i muhammadi] (SA), there is manifested the Greatest Name and the Divine Collective Oneness. Therefore, as long as the travelling-to-Allah servant, that is, the Sealing Messenger (SA), is still inside his own veil, he will not be able to witness that inside and truth, as the same was said about Moses, the son of `Imran, (AS) in the Glorious Qur'an: "You will never see Me", [560] despite the fact that Moses witnessed the manifestation in Essence or in Attributes, as in: "When his Lord manifested (His glory) to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust, and Moses fell down in a swoon", [561] or in the great noble invocation of simat, as is quite obvious. There is also the note that: "O Moses, as long as you are in your Musawiyan veil and in your concealment [ihtijab], you will have no chance of witnessing. Witnessing the Beauty of the Beautiful is possible for the one who has come out of himself, because having come out of himself, he would see with the Haqq's eye, and the Haqq's eye would be seeing the Haqq. So, the manifestation of the Greatest Name, which is the perfect form of "the night of qadr ", cannot be seen through one's concealment [ihtijab]. Therefore, this expression is, according to the mentioned verification, correct and fitting.
If you say: "the night of qadr is the very Ahmadan constitution in view of the fact that in him the sun of the truth is hidden, not the sun itself that the said justification may be correct."
I will say: "According to the people of insight, the thing-ness of a thing depends on its form of perfection, and that the things with reasons, [asbāb] especially divine reason [sabab] their truth cannot be recognized without recognizing their reasons. In view of the people of knowledge, the correlation between the outside and the inside, manifestation and the manifesting, is not like that of two separate matters, because a truth may sometimes have an external manifestation, and sometimes an internal manifestation, as the well-known gnostic says:
We are non-existents showing existence,
You are the Absolute Being and our existence.
As the gnostic Rumi says, this talk has no end and it is better to forgo it.
His saying: "The night of qadr is better than a thousand months." If we note the worldly appearance of the external form of the night of qadr ", we realize that its goodness is more than a thousand months which have no night of qadr in them, or the night of qadr and the acts of devotional worship on it are better than thousand months in which the Israelites used to carry their weapons and fight for the sake of Allah, or the night of qadr is better than the thousand months of the rule of the Ummayids (may Allah curse them), as is stated in the noble narratives. [562]
If we note the truth of the night of qadr, "a thousand months" may be an allusion to all beings, as "a thousand" is a complete number, and by "months" the kinds are intended. That is, the respected Muhammadan constitution, who is the perfect man, is better than the thousand kinds which cover all beings, as has been said by some people of gnosticism. [563]
Another possibility occurs to the writer, that is, the night of qadr may be a hint at the manifestation of the Greatest Name, i.e., the complete Muhammadan (SA) mirror, and "a thousand months" may be the manifestations of the other Names. And, as Allah, the Exalted, has one thousand and one Names, and as one Name is especially hidden in the unseen world, similarly, the night of qadr is hidden, too, and the night of qadr of the Muhammadan constitution is also a hidden name. Thus , this especially hidden name is known to nobody except to the sacred essence of the Sealing Messenger (SA).
A Gnostic Note
It must be noted that as the perfect guardian, the Seal of the Prophets (SA), is the night of qadr because of the interiority [butun] of the Greatest Name in him and the occultation [ihtijab] of the Haqq with all affairs in him, likewise he is the day of qadr, too, since the appearance of the sun of the truth and the projection of the all-embracing Name appear from the horizon of his individuation. Similarly, the "Day of Resurrection" is his person, too.
In short, that sacred essence is the day and night of qadr, and the Day of Resurrection is the day of qadr, too. Therefore, the point that, out of all phenomena, the "month" is referred to, and from this complete and sacred phenomenon it is referred to "the night", is, perhaps, because the beginning of the months and years is the day and night, like the "one" being the beginning of the numbers. That master [sarwar] in the inside [batin] of the truth, the Greatest Name, is the beginning of the other names; and, in his individuation [ta'ayyun] and immutable essence [`ayn-i thabit], he is the root (origin = asl) of the "Good Tree" [shajara-i tayyibah] and the beginning of the individuations [ta'ayyunat]. Consider, so that you may know, and seize the opportunity!
His saying: "The angels and the Spirit descend in it, by the permission of their Lord, for every affair." In this noble ayah there are points, to some of which we shall refer briefly.
The first point is about the ranks of the angels of Allah, the Exalted, and their reality in general. Know that there are differences among the traditionists and researchers concerning the angels whether they are abstract or corporeal. All the Philosophers and researchers, and many of the juristic researchers, believe in their abstraction and in the abstraction of the rational soul, which they prove by strong evidences. There are also many noble narratives and ayahs from which (their) abstraction can be understood, as the traditionist and researcher, our master Muhammad Taqi Majlisi, the great father of the late Majlisi, says, in Sharhul Faqih, commenting on some relevant narratives, that they confirm the abstraction of the rational sou1. [564]
On the other hand, some of the great traditionists believe in their non-abstraction. Their utmost proof is that to believe in their abstraction is contrary to religion, and they add that there is no abstract except the Sacred Essence of Allah, the Exalted. This, however, is a very weak argument, because their most attention is probably directed to only two points: the first is the case of the temporal contingency [huduth-i zamani] of the world, as they think that the existence of an abstract other than Allah contradicts it. The second point is the case of the free will of Allah, the Exalted, in His acts, as they think that this contradicts the abstraction of the world of intelligence and the angels of Allah, the Exalted. Both these cases are of the insane [ma`nunah] affairs within the High Sciences. The non-contradiction of such cases with an abstract being is quite obvious. Even to believe in the non-abstraction of the rational souls, the world of intelligence and the angels of Allah, is contrary to many divine affairs and true beliefs, which cannot be explained for the time being. The temporal contingency of the worlds, as is interpreted by this group, is contrary to the principle of the temporal contingency, besides being in opposition to many divine rules, too.
To the writer, the truth, which agrees with reason [`aql] and tradition [naql], is that the angels of Allah are of different types. Many of them are abstracts and many are intermediate [barzakhi] corporeal: "No one knows the host of your Lord save Him". [565] As to their types, according to their general division, it is said that the heavenly beings are of two types: Type one has nothing to do with the corporeal world, belonging to neither incarnation [hulul] nor management [tadbir]. The other type belongs to one of the said two aspects.
The first type consists of two groups.
The first group are those who are called "the Passionate [muhayyimah] Angels". They are those who are infatuated with the Beauty of the Beautiful, absorbed in the Essence of His Majesty, unaware of all other creatures, paying no attention to other beings.
Among the friends of Allah [auliya'ullah] there is a group like them. While we are indulged in the dark sea of nature, and are completely unaware of the unseen world and the Essence of His Majesty, despite the fact that He is apparent by His Essence [bidh-dhat] and that every appearance is a reflection of His appearance, they are unaware of the world and of whatever is in it, and are engaged only in the Haqq and His Beautiful Beauty. A narrative says that Allah has some creatures who know nothing of His creating Adam and Iblis. [566]
The second group are those whom Allah, the Exalted, has made the means of the mercy of His Being. They are the beginning of the series of the beings and the goal of their longings. They are called ahlul jabarut (the Owners of Power), and their chief and leader is "the Greatest Spirit". It may be that "The angels and the Spirit descend," is a reference to this group of the angels of Allah. Describing him as "the Spirit", though he is an angel, is a hint at his greatness, as is in the noble ayah: "On the day when the angels and the Spirit stand arrayed." [567] From a point of view, the Spirit is called "the Highest Pen" [qalam-i a`la], as it is said that: "The first that Allah created was the Pen". [568] According to another point of view, it is called "the First Intellect" [`aql-i awwal], as it is also said that: "The first that Allah created was the Intellect". [569] Some others take "The Spirit" to be Gabriel. Some philosophers consider Gabriel to be the last of the Cherubic angels; some call him "The Holy Spirit"; and they regard the "Spirit" to be the first of the Cherubic angels. The noble narratives also state that "the Spirit" is greater than Gabriel. The noble al-Kafi, quotes Abu Basir, who said: "I asked Abu `Abdullah, as-Sadiq, (AS) about the words of Allah, the Exalted" 'They will ask you concerning the Spirit. Say: The Spirit is of the bidding of my Lord' (surah as-Isra': 85). He said: `(It is) a creature [khalq] greater than Gabriel and Michael. It was with the Messenger of Allah (SA), it is with the Imams (AS), and it is from the heavenly kingdom."' [570] Some narratives say that the Spirit is not of the angels, it is greater than them. [571]
Probably "The Spirit" has two meanings in terms of the Qur'an and the Traditions, as it has its meanings in other terms. A Spirit is of the angels' type, since it was said to be of "the heavenly kingdom". Another Spirit is that of the holy men [auliya'], which is not of the angels, but greater than them. Therefore, the Spirit in the noble surah of al-Qadr may refer to "the Faithful Spirit" [ruhul amin] or "the Greatest Spirit", because the surah was revealed on "the night of qadr " . In the noble ayah : " They will ask you about the Spirit ", [571a] the reference may be to the spirit of the human beings, which, in its perfect degree, is greater than Gabriel and other angels. It is of "the World of Command" [`alam-i amr], and sometimes combined with His "Will" [mashiyat] which is absolute command.
Another group of the angels of Allah are those who are in charge of the corporeal beings and of managing them. These are of so many types and uncountable kinds, because for every being, high or low, celestial or terrestial, there is a heavenly aspect [wijhah] through which it is connected to the world of the angels and the host [junud] of Allah, the Exalted, as Allah refers to the heavenly domain of the things in the noble ayah: "Therefore, glory be to Him in Whose hand is the dominion of all things, and to Him you shall be brought back. " [572]
The Messenger of Allah (SA), concerning the host of the angels, say (as it has been narrated): "The heaven clamored, and it had the right to do so, as there was no place for a foot without there being an angel bowing or kneeling down." [573] Noble narratives speak much of the multitude of the angels and their numerous ranks. [574]
The second point concerns the descent of the angels upon the walayul amr (the legal guardian).
Know that the Greatest Spirit is the greatest creature among the angels of Allah, i.e. it is placed in the first rank of the angels of Allah, and is the greatest and most honourable of all. The immaterial (abstract) angels of Allah, confined to the world of power [`alam-i jabarut], would not forsake their states, as for them ascending and descending, as done by the material bodies, is impossible, because the immaterial (abstract) is innocent of the material requisites. Therefore, their descending will be in heavenly or worldly resemblance [tamaththul], whether in the heart, the bosom and the common sense of the guardian [wali], or in edifices of the earth, in the ka bah, around the grave of the Messenger of Allah (SA), or in the Populous House [baytul ma `mur]. Allah, the Exalted, concerning the descending of "The Faithful Spirit" to Mary (SA), says: "... it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man" [575] It is also possible for the holy men [auliya] and the perfect to assume heavenly resemblance and spiritual likeness of sovereignty. Therefore, the angels of Allah have the power and ability to enter the visible and invisible worlds assuming likenesses, and the perfect holy men [auliya] have the power to enter the heavenly world [malakut] and the world of power [jabarut] assuming spirituality, and to return from the exterior to the interior. To believe in this is quite easy for the one who understands the realities of the abstracts, whether heavenly and powerly abstracts or the rational souls, which are also abstracts of the worlds of jabarut and malakut, and who can imagine the stages of their existence and appearances, and the correlation [nisbat] of the outside to the inside, and the inside to the outside.
One must know that the assumption [tamaththul] of the "beings of jabarut" and the "beings of malakut" in the heart, bosom and sense of the human being is not possible except after his coming out of the apparel of humanity and being connected with those worlds. Otherwise, as long as the soul is engaged in the mundane preparations and is unaware of those worlds, it is impossible for it to witness those scenes or assumptions. Yet, it is sometimes possible that, with a gesture of a holy man, the soul comes out of this world, and, according to its deservedness, it may get a spiritual or formal [suri] understanding of the unseen world. And sometimes it happens that, due to some stupendous event, the soul is directed away from nature and perceives an example of the invisible world, such as the episode of that naive man who, on his pilgrimage, received an acquittance from the fire of Hell, as related by Avicenna. The gnostic Shaykh, Muhyiddin, also relates a story like this one. [576] Such stories are due to the souls turning away from the mulk to the malakut. It sometimes happens that the souls of the perfect holy men [auliya] after detachment from the worlds and witnessing the Greatest Spirit or other angels of Allah through the power of soul, come to themselves, keeping the power of witnessing the invisible and the visible. In such a case they simultaneously, and in all emergences (growths = nasha'at ), witness the truths of the beings of jabarut. It may also happen that the perfect wali, through his personal power, will be able to have the angels descend. And Allah is the Knower!
The third point is that since the night of qadr is the night of disclosure [mukashafah] to the Messenger of Allah (SA) and the Imams of guidance (AS), all the worldly affairs are uncovered by the unseen malakut to them, and the angels in charge of every affair appear to them in the invisible world and the world of the heart, and all the affairs which are prescribed for the creatures during the year in the high and low lauhs (tablets), appear to them, heavenly writ and covertly existed, in a disclosure. And it is a malakuti exposure [mukashafah] covering every particle of the world of nature, and no affair of the people's is hidden from the wal'iyul amr. There is no discrepancy in their knowing, in a single night, the affairs of a whole year, or, in an instance, the entire affairs of the world, or, in a single moment, all the measured assignments [muqaddarat] of mulk and malakut. Also during the days of the year, all the daily affairs may gradually be disclosed to them, both in general and in details. For example, it is in the hadith, concerning the revelation of the Qur'an, that it was revealed in general (in the whole) in "The Populous House" [baytul ma mur], then it was revealed to the Messenger of Allah in details within twenty-three years. [577] And its revelation in "The Populous House" was a revelation to the Messenger of Allah (SA), too.
In short, sometimes the waliyul amr may become connected to the High Council [mala'-i ala], the High Pens and the abstract lauhs, where to him will be exposed all the beings, from the beginning to eternity. Sometimes the connection is with the low lauhs, and for a period he uncovers the assignments [muqaddarat)], and the whole page of the universe is present before his guardian-like presence, and whatsoever affair happens will pass before his eyes.
Some narratives refer to the exposition [`ard] of the acts to waliyul amr. They are exposed every Thursday and Monday to the Messenger of Allah and the Imams of guidance (AS). Other narratives say that the acts are exposed every morning, or every morning and night. These exposures are also in general and in details, collectively and distinctly. In this respect, there are noble narratives from the infallible and pure Ahlul Bayt, mentioned in the books of exegeses, such as al-Burhan and as-Safi. [578]
His saying: "Peace it is till the break of the dawn" means that this blessed night is safe from Satanic evils, calamities and misfortunes till the break of the dawn. Or it is peace upon Allah's friends [auliya'ullah] and the worshipping people [ahl-i ta`at]. Or the angels of Allah who meet Allah's friends and the worshipping people greet them on the part of Allah, the Exalted, till the break of the dawn.
A Gnostic Note
As it has formerly been said concerning the truth of "the night of qadr", the degrees of existence and the visible and invisible individuations [ta `ayyunat] are regarded "night" because the sun of the truth has set in their horizon. Consequently, "The night of qadr"is the night in which the Haqq (Allah), the Exalted-according to all the affairs and the "Collective Oneness of the Names and Attributes", which are the truth of the "Greatest Name" - is veiled [muhtajib]. That is the individuation [ta`ayyun] and the constitution [bunyah] of the perfect wali, who was the Messenger of Allah (SA) in his life, and then the Imams of guidance, one after another. Therefore, "the dawn" of "the night of qadr" is when the first rays of the rising sun of the truth shine from behind the veils [hujub] of the individuations [ta `ayyunat]. The rise of the sun from the horizon of the individuations is "the dawn" of the Day of Resurrection, too. As from the time of the setting and veiling [ihtijab] of the sun of the truth in the horizon of the individuations of these perfect walis [auliya'], till the time of the break of the dawn, which is the period of "the night of qadr ", that night full of honour is absolutely safe from the Satanic intrusions, and since the sun rises as it had set, blemishless and free from the Satanic intrusion, thus, He says: "Peace it is till the break of the dawn". As to the other nights, they are either completely peaceless, such as the nights of the Umayyads and their like, or they have not peace in all its concepts, and these are the nights of the common people.
Conclusion
From the gnostic statements and faithful revelations [mukashafat], which, with the help of the great walis (AS), dawned upon the luminous hearts of the "people of knowledge" [ahl-i ma`rifat], it is obvious that if the noble surah of at-Tauhid is related to the Sacred Essence of Allah, the noble surah of al-Qadr is related to the great Ahlul Bayt, as is stated in the narratives concerning the mi`raj.
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub, on the authority of Abu `Abdullah [as-Sadiq] (AS), concerning the performance of the Messenger of Allah (SA) his salat in the heaven, in the hadith of al-Isra', said: "...Then Allah, the Most High, revealed to him: Read, O Muhammad, the lineage [nisbat] of your Lord, the Blessed and Most High: `He is Allah, the One. He is Besought by all. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is comparable to Him.' This is in the first rak`ah. Then, Allah, the Exalted and Most High, revealed to him: Read: `All praise is for Allah: He read it as he did first. Then Allah revealed to him: Read: `We revealed it' which is your lineage [nisbat] and your offspring's till the Day of Resurrection." [579]
The noble narratives concerning the merits of the blessed surah of al-Qadr are numerous. Among them is a narrative in the noble al-Kafi, from Imam al-Baqir (AS) who said: "Whoever recites `We revealed it on The Night of Qadr' openly (with a loud voice), he is like the one who unsheathes his swords for the sake of Allah. And whoever recites it secretly, is as if he rolls in his blood shed in the way of Allah, and Whoever recites it ten times, a thousand of his sins will be forgiven." [580]
In Khawassul Qur'an, the Messenger of Allah (SA) is quoted to have said : " Whoever recites this surah, he will have the reward of the one who has fasted the month of Ramadan , attaining " The night of qadr ", and he will have the reward of a fighter in the way of Allah." [581] Praise is for Allah, at the beginning and at the end.
An Apology
Despite the fact that the writer's intention in this thesis was to refrain from referring to those gnostic topics unfamiliar to the common people, and keep only to the hearty disciplines of the salat, yet, I realize now that the pen has exceeded the proper bounds, and particularly in commenting on the noble surah I have surpassed my own decision. Now I have but to apologize to my brothers in religion and spiritual friends. At the same time, if they found in this thesis a subject not conforming with their taste, they may not unthoughtfully label it as false, because each knowledge has its people, and each road has its treaders. "May Allah have mercy on the person who knows his worth and does not go beyond his status." [582]
It is also possible that some neglect the reality of the condition, and, as they have no information of the Qur'anic knowledge and of the minute details of the divine laws, they take some matters of this thesis as to be interpretation according to one's opinion. This is sheer mistake and a grave falsity, because:
Firstly, these knowledge [ma`arif] and subtleties [lata'if] are all taken from the noble Qur'an and hadiths, and they are proved through heard evidences, some of which have been referred to in the discussions, and most of them. were left out for brevity.
Secondly, all, or most of them, agree with the rational or gnostic proofs, and such a thing cannot be interpretation according to one's opinion.
Thirdly, most of the subjects which we mentioned, or we relate in explaining the noble ayahs, are of the kinds of stating the "evidences of the concepts" [masadiq-i majahim]; and explaining the evidences and degrees of the facts has nothing to do with interpretation, let alone its being according to one's opinion.
Fourthly, after all stages, we tried with utmost religious precaution - though unnecessarily - to relate any unnecessary subject by way of being possible and as one of the possibilities. It is clear that the door of possibility is not shut, and it can have no connection to interpretation on one's opinion. Here there are other subjects which we refrain from mentioning, in our attempt to be short.
Notes:
[533]. Surah ad-Dukhan: 3.
[534]. Surah al-Hijr: 9.
[535]. Surah ash-Shu'ara': 193.
[536]. Surah Mu'min: 36.
[537]. Surah al-Anfa1: 17.
[538]. "The Book of Allah and my 'itrat (progeny) will not be separated from each other until they come to me at the Pool (of Kauthar)." This is a part of a well-known and successively related hadith called Hadithuth-Thaqalayn. Usulul Kafi, vol. 1, page 299, "The Book of Divine Proof', ch. "Concerning What Allah and His Messenger Imposed of Being with the Imams (AS)", hadith 6; and vol 4, p. 141, "The Book of Faith and Disbelief', ch. "Concerning the Least by which a Servant may be a Believer", hadith 1.
[539]. Surah al-Ahzab: 72.
[540]. Ihya'u 'ulumiddin, vol. 4, p. 256. A Divine utterance. In some edition it is "qibabi" (my domes) and in some other edition it is "qiba'i" (my cloak).
[541]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 89, p. 83.
[542]. Usulul Kafi, vol. 4, p. 438, "The Book of the Merits of the Qur'an", ch. "The Rarities", hadith 12.
[543]. Nahjul Balaghah, edited by Faydul Islam, p. 737, sermon 228.
[544]. Surah at-Talaq: 7.
[545]. It demands consideration because this allegation can be claimed here from another aspect, and it is that the appearance in ascribing a predicate to a proposition is that the proposition itself has the same status and it is the proposition in complete, as the Shaykh, our teacher in the conventional sciences used, concerning generalization [itlaq], to call this statement, without needing preliminaries, to prove the generalization.
[546]. Surah Hud: 112.
[547]. Khalil ibn Ahmad ibn `Umar ibn Tamim, Abu Abdur-Rahman al-Bahili, al-Basri, the grammarian and prosodist, born in the year 100 or 105 H. in al-Basrah, and died in 160, 170 or 175 H. He was a famous linguist and a writer. He discovered the meters of poetry. He was an Imami and, as some say, he was a companion of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (AS) and quoted him in his narrations. He wrote many books on diverse arts, including Zubdatul Arud (the Gist of Prosody), al-Ayn, a book on Imamate, al-Iqa' (rhythm), an-Nu'm (tone or softness), al-Jumal [syntax], ash-Shawahid (ancient verses as evidences), an-Nuqat wa ash-Shikl (dots and form), and a book on the meanings of the alphabetic letters. For further information bibliographies and books on rijal such as Ayanush-Shi ah, vol. 30, p. 50, may be consulted.
[548]. Furu'ul Kafi, vol. 3, p. 236, the "Book of Funerals", ch. on "Questioning in the Grave", hadith 6.
[549]. This concept is referred to Imam as-Sadiq (AS) through several channels in Ma'alimul Usul, p. 7.
[549a]. Refer to footnote No. 97.
[550]. Surah ad-Dukhan: 1-4. Al-Burhan Exegesis, vol. 4, p. 158.
[551]. Usulul Kafi, vol. 2, p. 326, the "Book of the Proof', ch. on "The Birth of the Prophet (SA), hadith 4.
[552]. Al-Burhan Exegesis vol. 4, p. 457, "Surah al-Fajr", hadith 1.
[553]. Al-Burhan Exegesis vol. 4, p. 487, "Surah al-Qadr", hadith 25.
[554]. Majma `ul Bayan, vol. 10, p. 519. Nuruth-Thaqalayn, vol. 5, P. 628, "Surah al-Qadr", hadith 71.
[555]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 95, p. 149.
[555a]. Majma'ul Bayan, vol. 10, p. 519. Wasa'ilush-Shi`ah, vol. 7, p. 263, "Book of Fasting", ch. 32, hadith 21.
[556]. Iqbalul A`mal, p. 206.
[557]. Ibid., p. 207.
[558]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 98, p. 168.
[559]. Surah Qaf: 37.
[560]. Surah al-A'raf: 143.
[561]. Ibid.
[562]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 94, p. 8, quoting Majalis-i Shaykh, the Tafsir of Ali ibn Ibrahim, p. 732. Al-Burhan Exegesis, vol. 4, p. 486. Raudatul Kafi, p. 222, hadith 280.
[563]. Source unknown.
[564]. Such as the narrative quoted from Imam as-Sadiq (AS) to the effect that: "When the soul is taken (in death), it remains hovering over the body..." On this he comments: "This narrative and the one after it, and the many other similar narratives, and the other successive narratives, as well as the apparent literal meanings of the Qur'anic ayahs, all prove the spiritual resurrection, i.e. the survival of the soul after the destruction of the body..." Raudatul Muttaqin, vol. 1, p. 492.
[565]. Surah al-Muddaththir: 31.
[566]. Ilmul Yaqin, vol. 1, p. 250. Al-Kafi (ar-Raudah), p. 231, hadith 301.
[567]. Surah an-Naba': 38.
[568]. Nuruth-Thaqalayn Exegesis, vol. 5, p. 389, hadith 9. Ilmul Yaqin, vol. 1, p. 154.
[569]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 1, p. 97.
[570]. Usulul Kafi, vol. 2, p. 18, "The Book of Divine Proof', ch. on "The Spirit by which Allah Directs the Steps of the Imams" (AS), hadith 3.
[571]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 25, p. 64, "The Book of the Imamah", chs. on "Their Creation, Nature and Spirits", ch. 3, hadith 45.
[571a]. Surah Isra': 85.
[572]. Surah Ya-Sin: 83.
[573]. Ilmul Yaqin, vol. 1, p. 259.
[574]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 56, p. 144 ff. ch. on "The Angels".
[575]. Surah Maryam: 17.
[576]. Source unknown.
[577]. Usulul Kafi, vol. 4, p. 437, "The Book of the Merits of the Qur'an", ch. on "Rarities", hadith 6.
[578]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 23, pp. 338, 346 and 347. And as-Safi Exegesis.
[579]. Al-Burhan Exegesis, vol. 4, p. 487, "Suratul Qadr", hadith 22.
[580]. Usulul Kafi, vol. 4, p. 427, "The Book of the Merit of the Qur'an", ch. on "The Merit of the Qur'an", hadith 6.
[581]. Al-Burhan Exegesis, vol. 4, p. 480, "Suratul Qadr", hadith 1. From Khawassul Qur'an.
[582]. Ghurarul Hikam, ch. 3, letter R, hadith 1.
SECTION FIVE
Chapter One
On the Takbir before the Ruku`
Apparently, this takbir (saying: Allahu Akbar=Allah is the Greatest) belongs to the ruku ` (obeisance = genuflection) in order to be prepared for the stage of ruku `. Its relevant discipline is to bring to mind Allah's status of Greatness and Majesty and the Lord's Might and Sovereignty, and considering, at the same time, one's weakness, inability, poverty, humility and servitude. In such a condition, and according to one's knowledge of the Lord's Might and the servant's humility, one will say the takbir of the Haqq (Allah), the Exalted, being above all description.
The description [tausif] which the salik servant makes of the Haqq (Allah), the Exalted, and his glorifying and extolling, should be out of pure obedience, and taking them to be by the permission of the Haqq (Allah), the Exalted, to describe and worship Him. Otherwise he would dare not to vaunt of his describing and glorifying in the presence of the Lord, weak a servant as he is, and, actually, having nothing of his own, for whatsoever he has is from his Great Worshipped. When 'Ali ibn al Husayn, with such sweet and authoritative a tongue as he had, being the tongue of Allah, says: "How, with this feeble tongue as I have, can I thank you?", [583] what a thin gnat can do ?" [584]
So, when the salik servant wants to enter the grave stage of ruku`, he has to prepare himself for that stage, throwing behind, with his own hand, his describing, glorifying, worshipping and conduct [suluk]. He then has to raise his hands beside his ears, facing his empty palms towards the qiblah, and, empty-handed, with a heart full of fear and hope-fear of failure and deficiency in observing the state of servitude; and assured hope in the Holy state of Allah Who honoured him into such situations, which belong to the bosom friends of Allah and the perfect lovers - he enters the stage of ruku`. Probably, raising the hands in this way denotes leaving the qiyam (standing) position and the stand [wuquf] in that stage - a sign indicating taking no provision from the stage of qiyam. Takbir denotes glorifying and aggrandizing the descriptions done in the stage of qiyam. As ruku`, to the people of knowledge, is the stage of the Unity of Attributes, the takbir of ruku`, to them, is aggrandizing this Unity, and raising the hands is a sign of rejecting the attributes of the creatures.
Notes:
[583]. Misbahul Mutahajjid, p. 534, an extract from Abu Hamzah's invocation.
[584]. Refer to footnote No. 272.
Chapter Two
Concerning the Disciplines of Bowing in Ruku`
Know that the principal positions of the salat are three. The other acts and deeds are preliminary and preparatory:
First; q'iyam.
Second: ruku`
Third: sujud.
The people of knowledge regard these three positions to be a hint at the three Unities [tauhidat]. We, in the Secret of the Salat, referred to these stages in terms of the gnostic taste. Now, we explain them in other terms suitable to the common people.
So, we say that as the salat is the believer's perfective mi`raj, and the bringer of the pious people to Allah's proximity, it stands on two bases, the one is the preliminary to the other.
The first is abandoning self-conceit and selfishness, as it is the truth and the inside of taqwa (piety).
The second is seeking Allah and being in quest of the Haqq, as this is the truth of the mi`raj and proximity. Hence, it is in the noble narratives that:
"The salat is the means of proximity for every pious person," [585] the same as the Qur'an is a light of guidance, but for the pious: "This is the Book, there is no doubt in it. It is a guide for the muttaqin (the pious)." [586]
In short, in these three states: the states of qiyam, ruku `, and sujud, the said two states (bases) take shape gradually. So, in the state of qiyam, self-conceitedness is forsaken according to the state of Activity [fa`iliyat], and regarding Allah to be the Absolute Factor and Eternal. In the state of ruku ; self-conceitedness is forsaken according to the state of Attributes and Names, considering the state of Allah's Attributes and Names. In the sujud, the self-conceitedness is forsaken altogether, and it is entirely Allah-seeking and being in quest of the Haqq. All the stages of the saliks are of the affairs [shu'un] of these three states, as it is quite obvious to the people of insight, the gnostics and the saliks.
When the salik along these three states realizes that the secret of these acts is the three Unities, he will have to pay more attention to that state which is nicer and more delicate. Naturally, the danger of the state is greater and it is more slippery. Then, in the state of ruku`, the salik claims that in the house of existence [dar-i wujud] there is no knowledge, power, life nor will except from Allah - a claim so great and a state so delicate, which we are not (qualified) to put forth. We should inwardly turn to the Holy Threshold of Allah, showing supplication, distress and humility, asking forgiveness for our faults and failures, and, with seeing eyes and witnessing conscience, admitting our shortcomings, that perhaps His Sacred Holiness may show kindness to, and care for, us, and may He, in the time of necessity, extend a hand of help to us. "Or, Who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him, and removes the evil ... ?" [587]
Notes:
[585]. Furu `ul Kafi, vol. 3, p. 265, "The Book of as-Salat", ch. on "The Merit of as-Salat", hadith 6.
[586]. Surah al-Baqarah: 2.
[587]. Surah an-Naml: 62.
Chapter Three
The ruku` of the salat of the Messenger's mi`raj
In respect of the mi`raj salat of the Messenger of Allah (SA) it is stated that after the ruku `, The Almighty addressed him, saying: "Look at My Arsh." The Messenger of Allah said: "I looked at a greatness which astounded my soul and I went in a swoon. I was inspired to say: `Glory be to my great Lord and praise be to Him' because of the greatness which I saw. As I said that, I came to myself. I continued to say it for seven times till I came to myself as before ... " [588] as the hadith goes.
Consider, dear, the state of the greatness of the suluk of the "Universal Master" [sarwar-i kull] and the Guide to the Paths (SA), who, while in the state of ruku`, which is a looking down at one's inferior, sees the light of the Arsh; and, as the light of Arsh to the walis [auliya] is the manifestation of the Essence, without mirror, the self individuation is gone, and a mood of swoon and shock takes place. So, the Holy Essence, with eternal care, helped that honourable being, and with affectionate inspiration taught that noble personality how to "glorify", "aggrandize" and "praise", until after seven times - the number of the veils and the number of man's ranks - he came to himself and to wakefulness. This condition prevailed throughout the mi`raj salat.
But as we have no admission into the privacy of intimacy, nor into a place of Holy State, it is good to use our incapability and humility as a capital for the attainment to the objective, and as a pretext to reach the goal. We have to keep clinging to the skirt of the intended until we get what we desire. Or, at least, if we are not the men for the job, we are to seek guidance from the guides of the road, and find help with the perfect spiritual men, so that a smell of fragrant of knowledge may reach the smelling sense of our souls, and a breeze of the graces may blow into our dead corpses, because Allah, the Exalted, is accustomed to being beneficent, and His habit is to be graceful and generous.
It must be noted that ruku ` consists of "glorifying", "aggrandizing" (magnifying) and "praising" the Lord, Almighty and Most High. Thus, "glorifying" is purifying Allah, the Exalted, from description and definition. "Aggrandizing" and "praising" are refraining from limits of assimilation and devesting Allah from attributes, because "praising" denotes the appearance in the mirrors of creation, and "aggrandizing" negates limitation. Thus, He is apparent and there is no appearance in the world more apparent than Him. He is not clothed in the apparel of the individuations of the creation.
Notes:
[588]. `Ilalush-Shara'i` p. 315. A part of the hadith concerning al-mi`raj salat.
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Chapter Four
Delicacies and secrets of the ruku`, sujud and their cordial disciplines
It is stated in Misbahush-Shari`ah that as-Sadiq (AS) said: "No servant bows in the ruku `for Allah, in a true way, unless Allah adorns him with the light of His Brilliance, and shades him with the shade of His Majesty, and clothes him with the gown of His chosen friends. The ruku ` is first and the sujud is second. The one who performed the first is fit for the second. The ruku ` is politeness, and the sujud is proximity. So, the one who is not well-mannered, is unfit for proximity. Therefore, perform the ruku ` like the one who is submitting to Allah with his heart, humble and afraid under His Sovereignty, drooping to Him his limbs like the one who is afraid and grieved for what one loses of the benefit of those who perform the ruku`. It is narrated that ar-Rabi` ibn Khuthaym used to keep indulged in a single ruku `all the night till dawn. In the morning he would raise his head and say: `Oh, the sincere ones have passed us and we are left behind.' Complete your ruku ` by levelling your back, and rebuke yourself for being vigilant in serving Him except with His help. Protect your heart against Satan's whispers, deceits and traps. Allah, the Exalted, raises His servants as much as they show humility to Him, and He guides them to the principles of humility and submission as much as His Greatness knows of their secrets." [589]
This noble hadith contains signs, good tidings, disciplines and instructions, as "adorning" with the "light of Allah's Brilliance", being under the "shade of Allah's Majesty" and wearing the "gown of Allah's chosen ones" are good tidings of attaining to the state of learning the Names: "And He taught Adam all the names". [590] Of that state is the taking of the state of attributive annihilation and the state of wakefulness, because Allah's adorning the servant with the state of "the light of His Brilliance" means taking him to the state of Names, which is the reality of teaching man. Taking him under the shade and shadow of "Majesty", which is of the Names of Power, and placing him in His Court, refer to annihilating the servant of himself. After this state, clothing him in "the gown of the chosen ones" is survival after annihilation. From this it is realized that the sujud is self-annihilation, as is said by the people of knowledge. The ruku` is first, and it is these states, and the sujud is second, which is nothing but the state of annihilation in the Essence.
It is also realized that the Absolute Proximity, which happens in the sujud, is not accessible except through the true ruku `. Whoever wants to be fit for the second, must acquire the discipline of the ruku ` and its proximity.
After stating the delicacies and secrets of the ruku ` and sujud, he refers to their hearty disciplines to suit the middle class. These are among the general matters, which we have referred to in the Preliminaries; and some of them belong to ruku `. Now, as most of these things have already been stated, we leave out further explanations.
Notes:
[589]. Misbahush-Shari`ah, p. 12. Biharul Anwar, vol. 89, p. 108.
[590]. Surah al-Baqarah: 31.
Chapter Five
Its secret is the return from wuquf (standing) in the multiplicity of names, as it is said: "The perfect monotheism is the negation of ascribing attributes to Him" [591], because after the awakening from the annihilation in the Names [fana'-i asma'i], the salik servant witnesses his failure and shortcoming, since the beginning of Man's sin-which is to be compensated for by his offspring-is the inclination toward the multiplicities of names, which is the inside of the "tree". Having understood the sin of himself, who is Adam's offspring, and the sin of Adam, who is his origin, he would recognize his state of humility and need, and get ready to remove the sin by way of behaving with humility in `the presence of Allah's Majesty. He would then stand erect out of this state, and with the takbir after the ruku` he would remove the multiplicities of names, and, empty-handed, he would comprehend the state of humility, helplessness and the earthly origin. The important discipline in this respect is to find out the state's great significance, and to have the heart to taste it through complete remembrance, and strive to attend [tawajjuh] to His Essence, forsaking attending [tawajjuh] to oneself, even to one's state of humility.
Know, dear, that complete rememberance of the Haqq (Allah), and absolute turning, with the inside of the heart, to the Holy Essence, will open the heart's internal eye, through which meeting Allah-the pleasure of the eyes of the walis [auliya] - takes place: "And those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways." [592]
Notes:
[591]. Usulul Kafi, vol. 1, p. 191, "The Book of Monotheism", ch. on "General Hadiths on Monotheism", hadith 6.
[592]. Surah al-`Ankabut: 69.
SECTION SIX
Chapter One
General Secret of the Sujud
According to the people of gnosticism and of heart, this secret is to be forsaking oneself and closing one's eyes against anything except Him; and, with a Jonahian mi'raj -which took place by sinking into the stomach of the fish -one can pay attention to his origin without seeing the veil. And, in putting the head on the dust, there is a hint at seeing the Beauty of the Beautiful in the inner heart of the dust and the origin of the world of nature.
Its hearty disciplines are to find one's reality and the original root of one's existence, and to place the brain, which is the center of the sovereignty of the soul and the Arsh of the spirit, at the lowest threshold of the State of Holiness, and to consider the world of dust as the threshold of the Master of the Kings.
Thus, the secret of the position of the sujud is to give up oneself, and the discipline of putting the head on the dust is to debase one's most high position, regarding it to be lower than the dust. Should there be in the heart a cause for these claims, in respect of the states of the salat, which are a reference to them, they are, to the people of knowledge, hypocrisy. And, as this state is the most dangerous one, the salik to Allah will have to cling to the skirt of the care of Allah, the Most High, by means of his personal disposition and inmost nature, humbly and servilely asking forgiveness for the shortcomings. But this is a dangerous state which is out of the obligations of people like us.
As we have explained in The Secret of the Salat these states in details, we refrain from repeating them in this thesis, satisfying ourselves with relating the hadith narrated in Misbahush-Sharai `ah concerning the relevant discipline.
Chapter Two
Disciplines of the sujud
It is stated in Misbahush-Sharu'ah that Imam as-Sadiq (AS) said: "By Allah he will not be a loser the one who performs the sujud as it really should be, even if for a single time in his life. No one will be successful if he takes to privacy with his Lord, in a similar position, resembling the deceiver of himself, unaware of; and neglecting, what Allah has arranged for the sajidin (the prostrate worshippers) of immediate intimacy and adjourned comfort. The one who is good at approaching (Allah) in the sujud, will never be far from Him, whereas the one who observes not the discipline of; and loses the respect for, the sujud, can never be near Him by longing for other than Him in his sujud. So, let yours be the sujud of a submissive and humble to Allah, the Exalted, knowing that he has been created from the dust which is trodden upon by the creatures, and that He has made you of a nutfah (semen) which is regarded filthy by everybody, and was brought into existence though not existed before. The concept of the sujud has been made by Allah, the Exalted, a cause for getting near Him with the heart, the inside and the spirit. So, whoever nears Him turns away from other than Him. Do you not realize that, in the external form, the position of the sujud is not complete except by hiding oneself from everything, and turning away from all things visible to the eyes? Similar is the question of the internal position. Whoever his heart is attracted, during the salat, to other than Allah,the Exalted, he will be near to that which attracted him, and far from the reality of that which Allah wanted him to be in his salat. Allah, the Exalted, says: `Allah has not made for any man two hearts within him,' [593] and the Messenger of Allah (AS) said that Allah, the Exalted, told him: `Whenever I look into the heart of a servant and find in it his love to be sincere in obeying Me for My sake and for obtaining My pleasure, I undertake setting him aright and managing his affairs. But whoever is indulged in other than Me, he is among those who mock themselves, and his name is registered in the Book of the Losers."' [594]
This noble hadith explains both the secrets and the disciplines, and, by contemplation, it opens ways of knowledge in the face of the salik to Allah, and destroys the obstinacy and the denial of the deniers, and supports and praises the godly men of knowledge and the people of certainty, and attracts attention to the reality of privacy and intimacy with Allah, and forsaking other than Allah, the Exalted.
Notes:
[593]. Surah al-Ahzab: 4.
[594]. Misbahush-Shari`ah, ch. 16, on "The Sujud."
Chapter Three
Contents and meaning of the form, mood and invocation of the sujud
It is stated in a narrative that when the ayah: "Therefore, glorify the Name of your Lord, the Great," [595] was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (SA) said : " Recite this in your ruku `," and when the ayah : " Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High" [596] was revealed, he said: "Recite this in your sujud." [597]
It is in the noble hadith of al-Kafi that "... the first and foremost name He assumed for Himself was al-'Ali (the High) al-Azim (the Great) [598]. It may be that "al-'Ali" was the first of the names of Essence, and "al-Azim" was the first of the names of Attributes.
Know that the sujud, like the other positions of the salat has its form, mood, recitation [dhikr] and secret. These matters, in relation to the Perfect Ones, are as have formerly been related in this thesis, but to go into the details is not suitable. For the middle class the form is showing humbleness and forsaking arrogance and self conceit. Pressing the nose onto dust-which is of the confirmed supererogations, or even neglecting it is contrary to precaution - is a token of showing complete submission, humility and modesty. It also means being aware of one's origin and creation. And putting the tops of the exposed organs--which are the places of sensation and of the appearance of mobility and power, being the very seven or eight organs-on the dust of humility and helplessness, is a sign of complete surrender, of offering one's entire powers, and getting out of Adam's sin.
By strengthening the rememberance of these concepts in the heart, it becomes affected by them and it acquires a mood of running away from oneself and from self-conceit. This mood results in a mood of pleasure, which, by its turn, results in a mood of complete privacy and there will be full love.
As regards the recitation [dhikr] during the sajdah, it is based on tasbih, which is glorifying (purifying) Allah from description and observance of the command (amr), or it is purifying (glorifying) Him from multiplicity of names, or purifying (glorifying) Him from unification [tauhid], which is "taf`il", moving from multiplicity to unity, and it is not free from the blemish of multiplying [takthir] and associating with Allah [tashrik], as describing Him with the Essential highness and praising Him are also not free from the blemishes of these concepts.
"Al-'Ali" is of the Names of Essence, and, according to the narrative of al-Kafi, it is the first name adopted by Allah for Himself. That is, the first manifestation of the Essence is for Himself. When the salik, in this state, becomes annihilated out of himself and forsakes the world and what is in it, he will have the honour of this Essential manifestation.
Know that as the ruku` is first and the sujud is second, glorification and praising in them differ a great deal. Also rabb is different in those two states, because rabb as the people of knowledge say, is of the Names of Essence, Attributes and Acts in three aspects. Therefore, rabb in al-hamdu lillahi rabbil `alamin may be of the Names of Act in accordance with the state of standing, which is the state of the Unity of Acts. In the ruku ` it is of the Names of Attributes in accordance with the fact that the ruku` is the state of the Unity of Attributes. In the sujud it is of the Names of Essence in accordance with the fact that sujud is the state of the Unity of Essence. The "glorifying" and "praising" in each one of these states are related to that particular state. [599]
Notes:
[595]. Surah al-Waqi'ah: 74.
[596]. Surah al-Al'a: 1.
[597]. Majma `ul Bayan, vol. 9, p. 224, commenting on ayah 74 of surah al-Waqi'ah.
[598]. Usulul Kafi, vol. 1, p. 153, "The Book of at-Tauhid," ch. on "The Originality of the Names (of Allah), hadith 2.
[599]. In the Ms (manuscript), before starting "Chapter Four", the Imam has scribed nearly two pages under the title "A Gnostic Note", then these were crossed out as to be deleted, and in the margin he wrote: "This note is not needed and it is to be completely effaced." In the book's latest Ms (manuscript) this part is omitted. But it appears in the former editions of this book. In this edition that passage is not printed.
Chapter Four
The moods of the sajid during the sujud
The sajdah, as is described in the salat of the mi`raj, is a swoon and a shock resulting from witnessing the lights of the Greatnesss of Allah. When the servant feels being raptured and he undergoes a fit [hal] of annihilation [mahw] and shock [sa`q], he will be covered by the eternal care and will receive inspiration from the Unseen [ghaib].
The recitation [dhikr] in the sujud and repeating it are for one to come to himself and turn to the state of wakefulness [sahw]. So, when one comes to himself, the fire of longing for seeing the light of Allah kindles in his heart, and he raises his head from the sujud. When he finds in himself residues of his selfishness, he leaves them by a sign with his hand. Thus, the light of Majesty is manifested to him once again and the remnants of selfishness are burnt off, and he becomes annihilated [fani] from the annihilation [fana'], and, while repeating Allahu Akbar, a state of complete and absolute annihilation and full real swooning [sa`q] happen to him. So, the unseen help, by the inspiration of the recitations, makes him firm in his state, and he will attain to a state of sobriety [sahw], which is the sobriety of the state of guardianship [wilayat] and is free from any sort of veiling and creational [khalqi] blemish. The states of tashahhud and taslim, which are of the status of multiplicity, also happen during this sobriety after annihilation [mahw]. Up to this point, all the circle of man's journey has been full and complete.
SECTION SEVEN
Chapter One
Meaning and effect of testifying to the Tauhid and the Messengership (of the Prophet)
Know that testifying to the Oneness (of Allah) and to Prophethood in the adhan and iqamah-which belong to the salat and prepare the situation to enter in it - and in the tashahhud -which is going out of annihilation [fani] to subsistance [baqa'], and out of unity [wahdat] to multiplicity [kathrat], at the end of the salat-remind the salik servant of the fact that the reality of the salat is the taking place of the real Unity [tauhid], and that testifying to the Oneness (of Allah) is of the inclusive states, which accompany the salik from the beginning of the salat till its end. There is also, in it, the secret of the "Firstness" and "Lastness" of Allah, the Glorified and Most High. Further , there is the great secret of the salik's journey from Allah to Allah: " ... as He created you at first, so shall you return." [600]
Therefore, the salik must pay attention to this object at all states, bringing the truth of Allah's Oneness and Divinity to his heart, making it a divine ascending journey so that his testimonies may become real and purified from hypocrisy and polytheism.
In testifying to the Prophethood there may be a hint at the fact that the support of the Absolute Guardian and the Seal of the Prophets in this mi`raj of behaviour [mi`raj-i suluki] is of the inclusive states, to which the salik must pay attention in all states, so that the secret of the appearance of the "firstness" and the "lastness", which are of the states of guardianship, becomes clear to the worthy people.
It must be noted that there is a difference between the shahadah (testifying) at the beginning of the salat and the testifying in the tashahhud, because the former is a testimony before the suluk, a devotional [ta `abbudi] or a contemplative [ta`aqquli] testimony, whereas the latter is after the return, and it is either a realizational [tahaqquqi] or a confirmative [tamakkuni] testimony. So, the testimony in the tashahhud is of great danger, because it includes the claim of realization [tahaqquq] and confirmation [tamakkun], and of returning to multiplicity unveiled. And as this lofty state is not possible for persons like us, nor is it expected under our present condition, behaving ourselves in the presence of the Greator is to remember our shortcomings, humility, failure, inability and distress, and, in a state of shamefulness, we are to face the Holy threshold and plead:
O Allah! of the states of the holy men [auliya'], the steps [madarij] of the Chosen [asfiya'], the perfection of the sincere and the suluk of the saliks we have no share but a few words. Instead of striving for high states we are satisfied with idle talk, of which there avails nothing in quality nor in spirituality. O Lord! loving this world and its attractions bars us from the Holy Court and the presence of your intimacy, unless you, with your hidden kindness help us, the helpless, so as to make up for what has passed, that we may rise from our sleep of negligence and find our way to Your Holy Presence.
Notes:
[600]. Surah al-A'raf: 29.
Chapter Two
The disciplines of tashahhud
It is stated in Misbahush-Shari'ah that Imam as-Sadiq (AS) said : " The tashahhud is extollment of Allah, the Most High. So, be His servant in your inside and submit to Him in your act, as you are His servant in (your) saying and claim. Join the truthfulness of your tongue to the purity of the truthfulness of your inside, as He has created you a servant and ordered you to worship Him with your heart, tongue and organs, and to carry out your servitude by His being your Lord, believing that He has in His grip all the creatures; so, they take no breath nor a glance except by His power and will, and they are incapable of performing the least act in His Domain except by His permission and will. Allah, Almighty and Glorious, says: `And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses. They have not the choice. Glorified is Allah and Exalted above all that they associate (with Him)' .[601]w So, be a thankful servant by act, as you are a remembering servant by word and claim. Join the truthfulness of your tongue to the purity of the truthfulness of your inside, for He has created you. lie is High above being a volition and will to anybody except with His own prior volition and will. So, use servitude to be contented with His judgement, and use worship to perform His commands. He has ordered you to send blessing upon His Prophet (SA). So, join blessing Him to blessing him, and obeying Him to obeying him and testifying Him to testifying him. Take care not to miss the blessings of admitting his sanctity, in which case you will be deprived from the benefit of his blessings, as He ordered him to ask forgiveness for you and intercede for you, if you performed your duty concerning the obligatory and the forbidden acts, the laws and good manners, knowing his great position with Allah, Almighty, Most High. "[602]
There are, in this noble hadith, hints at the cordial disciplines of worshippings and their truths and secrets, as he says that the "tashahhud" is praising Allah, Almighty and Most High. Formerly, however, we have said that all worshippings in general are praising Allah, either by a Name or Names, by one of the manifestations or by the origin of the Ipseity [asl-i huwiyat].
At the head of the disciplines he refers to the fact that: since you apparently show servitude and claim to be a worshipper, in your secret you are also to be serving so that the secret cordial servitude may spread to the acts of the organs, and that the word and act be the plan of the secret and the inside, and the truth of servitude may spread through all the organs, internal and external, and each of the organs, may have a share of the tauhid. The tongue of the praiser of Allah conveys the praising to the heart, and the sincere and monotheist heart conveys the tauhid and sincerity to the tongue. He seeks Lordship inside the truth of servitude, forsaking egotism and conveying Allah's divinity to the heart. He knows that the control of the servants is in the hands of Allah, the Exalted, that they have no power to breathe and to see except through the power and will of Allah, the Exalted, and that they are unable to do anything in the domain of Allah, however slight, except with the permission and will of His Holy Essence, as He has said: "And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses. They have not the choice. Glorified is Allah and Exalted above all that they associate (with Him)"(28:68). On conveying this grace [latifah] to the heart, your thanking Allah will be implemented and it will spread through your organs and acts. And, as the tongue and the heart should, in servitude, be coordinating, the truthfulness of the tongue and the purity of the secret of the heart should, in this unity of acts, be joined together, because Allah, Almighty and Most High, is the Creator and there is no effective factor but He, and all wills and volitions are shadows of His prior eternal will and volition.
After observing the disciplines of testifying to the Oneness and Divinity of Allah, one turns to the holy state of the absolute servant, Last of the Prophets, paying attention to the priority of the state of "servitude" to the state of "prophethood", since the state of servitude is the preliminary to all the states of the saliks, and the prophethood is a branch of servitude. As the Final Messenger is a true servant annihilated in the Haqq (Allah), to obey him is to obey Allah, and testifying to his prophethood is connected to testifying to Allah's Oneness. The salik servant should take care not to fall short of obeying the Messenger, as it is obeying Allah, lest he may be deprived from the blessings of worshipping, which is attainment to the Holy Court, with the help of the Absolute Guardian. And let him know that there will be no admission to the Holy Court and the place of intimacy without the help of the Patron, the Messenger of Allah (SA).
Notes:
[601]. Surah al-Qasas: 68.
[602]. Misbahush-Shari`ah, ch. 17, on "The Tashahhud"
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SECTION EIGHT
Chapter One
State of the musalli during saying the salam, and the condition for the salam to be truthful
Know that when the salik comes out of the state of sujud, whose secret is "annihilation", and comes to himself, and into a state of wakefulness and attentiveness, returning from the state of being absent from the world to the state of being present, he offers his salam (peace) to the beings - the salam of the one who has come back from a journey, from an occultations. So, as he returns he sends peace upon the noble Prophet, because after returning from unity [wahdat] to multiplicity [kathrat], the first manifestation will be that of the truth of guardianship: "We are the first preceding ones" [603] Thereafter, he will pay attention to the essences [a'yan] of other beings, distinctly and collectively.
The one who has not kept away, in the salat, from the creatures [khalq] and has not become a traveler to Allah, to him the salam has no meaning and is nothing but a chattering of the tongue. So, the cordial discipline of the salam depends on the discipline of the salat as a whole. If in this salat, which is the truth of the mi`raj, there was no ascension, and he did not come out of the house of the soul, he would actually have no salam. Furthermore, if in this journey there was safety from the intrusions of Satan and the evil-commanding soul, and, if the heart had no ailment during this real mi'raj, his salam would be truthful; if not, he would have no salam. Yes, the salam upon the Prophet (SA) is, therefore, a salam with truthfulness, because, in this ascending journey, in this travel to Allah, in both ascending and descending, he enjoys peace, and, along his journey, he is free from the conducts [tasarrufat] of other than the Haqq (Allah), to which we have referred in our commentary on the surah of al-Qadr.
Notes:
[603]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 15, p. 15: "We are the first and we are the last". Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2, p. 585. Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 1, p. 36: "We are the last and we are the preceding ones".
Chapter Two
Concerning the meaning and the secret of the salam in the salat, and its disciplines
It is stated in Misbahush-Shari`ah that Imam as-Sadiq (AS) said: " The meaning of the salam at the end of each salat is 'security', that is, whoever obeys the command of Allah and the tradition of His Prophet (SA), with a submissive heart, will be secured from the trials of this world and exempted from the tortures of the Hereafter. `Salam' is one of the names of Allah, the Exalted. He trusted it to His creatures so that they may use its concept in their transactions, trusts and annexations, evidencing reciprocal companionship among themselves and the correctness of their association . If you wish to use the salam in its proper place and according to its meaning, you must fear Allah, and your religion, heart and mind should be secured on your part. So, do not make them filthy by the darkness of sinning, and do not cause your protectors (angels) to be vexed, tired and disgusted with your maltreating them. Both your friend and, your enemy should be secured from you, as the one whose close friends are not secured from him, the strangers are certainly more expected not to be so. And whoever does not put the salam in those proper places, his will be no salam and no taslim, and his salam will be a false one, even if he shows it off before the people. [604]
Being secured from the trials of this world means to be secured from Satanic intrusions, because obeying the commands of Allah secures one against the intrusion of Satan: "Surely prayer forbids indecency and dishonour." [605]
Then, he refers to one of the secrets of the "salam" and says: "salam" is one of the Names of Allah. He trusted it to His creatures. "This is a hint at the appearance of beings from the Divine Names. The salik servant should declare this divine grace, which has been trusted in the inside of his essence and nature, and use it in all of his dealings, associations, trusts and relationships, and spread it throughout his inside and outside domains. He should use it in his dealings with Allah and His religion so as not to betray the divine trust. Thus, he is to spread the truth of "salam" in all his worldly and heavenly powers as well as in his customs, beliefs, morals and actions, so that he may be secured from all intrusions.
The way to this security is, thus, said to be taqwa. It should be realized that taqwa is of many degrees and stages:
The external taqwa: It means protecting the outside against the pollution and the darkness of formal sinning. This is the taqwa of the common people.
The internal taqwa: This means protecting the inside and purifying it from extravagance and shortcoming and exceeding the limit of moderateness in morality and spiritual instincts. This is the taqwa of the elite.
The taqwa of the mind: It is protecting and purifying the mind from being spent on the non-divine sciences. The divine sciences are those which deal with the divine laws and religion. Other natural sciences and the like which are required for knowing the manifestations of Allah, are also divine. But if they are not for that, they are not divine, even if they are discussions about the Beginning and the Resurrection. This is the taqwa of "the choice of the elite" [akhass-i khawass].
The taqwa of the heart: It is protecting the heart against seeing or discussing other than Allah. This is the taqwa of the walis [auliya']. The noble hadith in which Allah, the Exalted, says: "I am the co-sitter to the one who sits with Me," [606] refers to this hearty privacy, which is the best privacy, and the other ones are preliminaries to this one.
So, the one who acquires all these degrees of taqwa, his religion, intellect, spirit, heart and all his internal and external powers will remain sound and safe, and the angels in charge of protecting him will not be vexed, tired or disgusted with him. The dealings and the company of such a person with both the friend and the enemy, will be done in peace, or, actually, enmity will be uprooted from his heart, no matter how much his enemies are hostile to him. But the one who has not acquired all the degrees of taqwa, would proportionally be deprived from the emanation of salam, and would be nearer to the horizon of hypocrisy, from which we take refuge with Allah. With peace! [was-salam].
Notes:
[604]. Misbahush-Shari'ah, ch. 18, "On Salam". Biharul Anwar, vol. 82, p. 307.
[605]. Surah al-Ankabut : 45.
[606]. Al-Mawahibus-Saniyah, p. 77. Al-Mahajjatul Bayda', vol. 8, p. 58 (with a slight difference).
CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK
Chapter One
The secrets and the cordial disciplines of the four tasbihs
The Four Tasbihat Recited in the Third and Fourth Rak`ats of the Salat And Their Cordial Secrets and Disciplines as Is Suitable
There are four rukns (pillars) in the Tasbihat:
The first rukn concerns the tasbih (glorification), which is purifying Allah from descriptions by tahmid (saying: al-hamdu lillah = praise is for Allah) and tahlil (saying : la ilaha illallah = there is no god but Allah), which is of the inclusive states. The salik servant should, in all his worshippings, pay attention to that, and prevent his heart from the claim of describing and seeking a eulogy on the Haqq (Allah). He should not think that a servant is able to offer the due servitude to Allah, let alone paying the due homage to the Lord, which is not hoped for even by the perfect walis [auliya'), and from reaching which the hands of the great ones of the people of knowledge are short:
No one can net the phoenix, so undo the net,
Since there can be nothing but wind in it, [607]
That is why it has been said that the perfect knowledge of the people of knowledge is their knowing their own inability. [608]
Yes, it is because of the vast mercy of Allah, the Exalted, which covers us, the weak servants, that He vests us, the helpless, with serving Him and permits us to enter into such a holy and pure state which bent the backs of even the Cherubium to get near it. This is of the greatest favours and graces of the Holy Essence, The Provider, that bestowed upon His servants. The people of knowledge , the perfect walis [auliya] and the godly men value it in proportion to their personal knowledge. We-the veiled, left short of all states, the deprived and kept at a distance from any perfection and knowledge-are completely unaware of that, and regard the divine commands, which are, in fact, the highest, big unlimited blessings, as imposition and duty, performing them lazily and with boredom, and that is why we are completely deprived and veiled from its luminosity.
It must be realized that as tahmid and tahlil include Unity of Acts, in which there is the blemish of limiting and decreasing, or even the blemish of assimilation and mixing, the salik servant, to be prepared for entering into it, has to enter first into the strong fortress of glorification and purification, telling his inner heart that Allah, Great and Most High, is innocent of all creational [khalqiyah] individuations [ta`ayyunat] and of the apparels of multiplicities, so that the entering into praising Him can be free from the blemish of multiplication.
The second rukn is tahmid, which is the state of Unity of Acts, suitable for qiyam and recitation. In this respect, these glorifications in the last rak`ats take the place of the surah of al-Hamd, as the musalli is free to recite the surah of al-Hamd (the Openning) instead. The Unity of Acts - as has already been explained in "al-Hamd" - is to be used to exclusively assign praising to Allah, completely cutting short the hand of the servant from praisings. We should convey: "He is the First and the Last and the Outward and the Inward" [609] to the ears of the heart, and let: "And you threw not when you did, but Allah threw" [610] reach the taste of our spirit, treading upon selfishness and self-conceit by the foot of behaviour [suluk], in order to take ourselves to the state of tahmid, and out of the burden of being indebted to the creatures.
The third rukn is the tahlil, which is of many states:
One is the state of negating the divinity of act, that is" "There is no effecter in the (world of) existence but Allah", which is a confirmation of confining the tahmid (to Allah) as its cause and factor, because the stages of the possible beings are the shadow of the Real Existence of Allah, Almighty, and mere connection. No one of them, in any way, is independent or self-sustaining. Thus, effecting existence can never be ascribed to them, since effectiveness requires independence in bringing into existence, and being independently effective in bringing into existence necessitates being independent in existing. According to the terms of the people of (gnostic) taste, the reality of the shadow-beings is the appearance of the Power of the Haqq (Allah) in the mirrors of creation. The meaning of la ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah) is witnessing the Haqq's (Allah's) effectiveness and power upon the creatures, and negating the individuations [ta ayyunatj of creation, and annihilating the state of their activity [fa`iliyat] and their effect in the Haqq (Allah).
The other is the negation of any worshipped other than Allah, and la ilaha illallah means: There is no worshipped except Allah. Therefore, the state of tahlil is the result of the state of tahmid, as when the tahmid is exclusively confined to the Holy Essence of Allah, servitude places its burden in that Holy state, and all the servitudes, which people do to one another for the purpose of being praised, become negated. So, it is as if the salik says that since all praises are exclusively for Allah, servitude must also be exclusively for Allah, Who is to be the worshipped, and all the idols are to be broken to pieces. There are other states for tahlil, which do not suit this situation.
The fourth rukn is the takbir, which also means that Allah is greater than any description. The servant, by commencing the tahmid and the tahlil, denies the description of Allah, and, having finished that, he again denies describing Allah, and glorifies Him, accompanying his tahmid and tahlil with humbleness and confession of shortcomings. Probably the takbir, in this instance, is a takbir of tahmid and tahlil, as they contain the blemish of multiplicity, as has already been said. Probably in tasbih there is tanzih (purification) of takbir and in the takbir there can be takbir of tanzih, where the servant's claims turn to be completely invalid, and he becomes in command of the Unity of Acts, and the state of obeying Allah becomes a habit in his heart, getting out of changing colours into a state of stability.
The salik servant, in these noble recitations, which are the spirit of knowledge, should create in his heart a mood of devotion, supplication, dedication and humility, and by continual repetition give to his inner heart the form of rememberance, fixing the truth of rememberance into his heart such that the heart would be clothed with the clothes of rememberance, taking off its own wear, which is the wear of remoteness [bu'd] (from Allah). Then , the heart becomes divine, truthful, in which will be fulfilled the reality and spirit of:
"Surely Allah has bought from the believers their lives." [611]
Notes:
[607]. Poetry from Hafiz Shirazi.
[608]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 94, p. 150, "Supplication Eighteen", "The Supplication of the Gnostics".
[609]. Surah al-Hadid: 3.[610]. Surah al-Anfa1: 17.
[611]. Surah at-Taubah: 111.
Chapter Two
Concerning the Cordial Disciplines of the Qunut
Know that the Qunut (supplication in the salat with the hands raised) is one of the recommended supereregations which is not becoming to neglect, but to perform it is of precaution, such that some companions say that it is obligatory. Some narratives also confirm that, although from the juristic point of view it is not obligatory, as is common among the great scholars. It is performed as is particularly common among the Imamis [imamiya] (may Allah be pleased with them), i.e., by raising the hands near to the face, with the palms open towards the sky and reciting common or uncommon invocations. It is allowed to recite them in any language, Arabic or non-Arabic, though the Arabic is better and is according to precaution.
The jurisprudents say that the best du`a' (invocation) in this respect is du`a 'ul faraj [612], though its preference has not been proved to the writer by an authentic juristic evidence. Yet, the contents of the du`a' confirm its preference, because it includes tahlil, tasbih and tamhid, which are the spirit of tauhid as has been explained. It also includes the great Names of Allah, such as: Allah, al-Halim, al-Karim, al-Ally, al-Azim, and ar-Rabb, besides the dhikr (the wordings to be recited) in the ruku ` and the sujud, and the Names of Essence, Attributes and Acts, as well as the stages of the manifestations of Allah, Almighty and Most High, and sending salam to the Messengers though to neglect this is of the acts of precaution, but upon a stronger opinion it is allowed. It also includes sending blessings upon the Prophet and his offspring (AS). It seems that this noble dua', short as it is, covers all the salat's duties of rememberance.
Its merit can also be confirmed through the sayings of the jurisprudents (may Allah be pleased with them) or through "Tolerating the Proofs of the Traditions" [613] - although the writer has a second thought on that - or by means of discovering a creditable evidence-which has not occurred to us -regarded by the late-comers to be the basis of unanimity [ijma].
Among the noble du`as of great merit, which includes the polite manners of supplication to Allah, and also numerates the full divine gifts, and completely suits the state of qunut, which is a state of supplication and devotion to Allah, and some great men (may Allah have mercy upon them) almost continually practiced it, is the du`a' called 'ya man azharal jamil" (O, the One Who manifested the Beautiful), which is of the treasures of the Arsh and Allah's gift to His Messenger. Each one of its paragraphs has so much merits and rewards, as is stated in at-Tauhid by Shaykh as-Saduq (may Allah have mercy upon him). [614]
The best manner of servitude is that, in the state of qunut-which is a state of supplication and devotion to Allah in the salat, all of which is showing servitude and praising, and in this state the Holy Essence of Allah, the Exalted and Most High, specially opens the door of supplication and invocation to the servant and honours him so -the salik servant must also observe the discipline of the Holy State of Lordship, and take care that his du'a' should include glorifying and purifying Allah, the Exalted, and His remembrance. He should ask Allah, in this noble state, to give him those things that are of the kind of divine knowledge [ma`arif], and to open for him the door of supplication, intimacy, privacy and devotion to Him. He should avoid demanding this world, mean animal matters and selfish desires, so that he may not feel ashamed in the presence of the pure ones, and not debase himself in the gathering of pious ones.
O dear, qunut is giving up other than Allah, and completely turning towards the Lord's Might, and extending the empty hand of demand to the Absolute Self-Sufficient. During such a state of devotion, to talk of the stomach, private parts and mundane matters is but a shortcoming and a loss.
Darling, now that you are far away from your homeland, blocked from neighbouring the free people and captured in this dark house full of troubles and perils, do not spin around yourself, like a silkworm.
O dear, Allah, the Beneficent, has fermented your disposition with the light of knowledge and the fire of love, and supported you with the lights like the prophets, and the lovers like the walis [auliya], so, do not extinguish this fire with the dust and ashes of this low world, and do not tarnish and darken that light with a world which is a place of exile. Probably if you pay attention to the original home, and demand from Allah to be devoted to Him, and expose before Him your deprivation and dislike of separation, in a painful tone out of your heart, displaying the conditions of your helplessness, weakness and distress, an invisible assistance will reach you and an inside hand of help will be extended to you, and your shortcomings will be done away with, as it is His habit to be charitable, and it is His custom to be benefactor.
If you recite parts of the Sha'baniyah supplication by the Imam of the Pious and the Commander of the Believers and his infallible offspring, who are the Imams of the people of knowledge and truths, in your qunut, especially the part in which he says: "O Allah, grant me 'to be completely devoted to You," [615] etc., but in a state of necessity [idtirar], devotion and imploration, not with a dead heart, like the writer's, it will be quite becoming of the condition.
In short, the state of the qunut, according to the writer's opinion, is like the state of the sujud. The former is turning towards the humility of servitude and the rememberance of the state of the Lord's Might, and the latter is turning towards the Lord's Might and the rememberance of inability and the humility of servitude. This is in proportion to the state of the middle class. But according to the state of the perfect ones, since the sujud is the state of the servant's annihilation, and neglecting the other [ghair] and otherness, the qunut is the state of the exclusive devotion to Allah, and giving up depending on the other, which is the spirit of the state of "trust in Allah" [tawakkul]. In short, as qiyam is the state of the Unity of Acts, which is confirmed in the second rak`at, he displays in the qunut its result, and extends his begging bowl before Allah, and completely parts with, and runs away from, all creatures.
Notes:
[612]. The du`a' that begins with: "La ilaha illallah al-Halim al-Karim" (There is no god but Allah, the Clement, the Generous). Wasa'ilush Shi'ah, vol. 4, p. 906. "The Book of the Salat", chs. on "The Qunut", ch. 7, hadith 4. Mustadrakul Wasa'il, "The Book of the Salat", chs. on "The Qunut", ch. 6, hadith 4 and 9.
[613]. There are many narratives, to the limit of prolixity [istifadah], to the effect that if somebody gets the information - by hearing or reading - that to perform a certain act results in getting a reward, and he performs that act, he will receive the promised reward, even if his information turned to be incorrect. Such narratives are known as "the narratives of the attainer" and their contents are called "Tolerating the Proofs of the Traditions." Refer to Biharul Anwar, vol. 2, p. 256, "The Book of Knowledge", ch. 30. Usulul Kafi vol. 3, p. 139, "The Book of Faith and Disbelief', ch. on "The One Who Attained to a Reward from Allah for an Act".
[614]. At-Tauhid, ch. on "The Names of Allah, the Exalted", ch. 29, hadith 14.
[615]. "Munajat-i Shabaniyyah", Biharul Anwar, vol. 91, p. 99.
Chapter Three
After-the-Salat Invocation
It is one of the confirmed mustahabs (supererogatories), and to neglect it is abominable. It is most recommended after the salats of the morning and of the afternoon. The after-the-salat invocations are so many, including the final three takbirs.
The great religious men take care to raise their hands in the takbirs, like the opening takbirs, to near their ears, with their palms open and facing the qiblah. To prove this is difficult, although some narratives refer to raising the hands three times. Probably raising the hands, saying the takbir three times and then reciting the du`a' which starts with :la ilaha illallah, wahdahu wahdah ... [616] (there is no god but Allah, alone, alone!) etc., will be enough. If raising the hands in the way the great men do is a supererogatory act, it confirms the same secrets which have already been stated, and maybe it refers to rejecting their salat and worshippings lest they may admit conceit and self-admiration into their hearts.
The three takbirs may be a reference to magnification (s) (takbir(s)) showing the shortcomings of the Three Unities which keep the spirit of the whole salat. So, the hearty discipline of these takbirs is to reject, with each raising of the hands, one of the three unities, and magnify and glorify Allah, Almighty and Most High, from his describings and unifications, displaying his inability, humility, failure and shortcomings before the Holy Presence of Allah, Almighty and Most High. In the Sirrus-Salat thesis we related, in a nice [latif] way, the spiritual secrets of these takbirs and raising the hands. It was of the graces of Allah, the Exalted, bestowed upon this helpless person. For Him are the thanks and praise.
Of the other noble after-the-salat du`a's are the tasbihat of the Pure Siddiqah (Fatimah) (AS), the daughter of the Prophet (SA), which was taught to her by the Messenger of Allah (SA). It is the best of the after-the-salat duas. It is in the hadith that had there been a better one , the Messenger of Allah (SA) would have taught it to Fatimah (AS) [617]. Imam as-Sadiq (AS) is quoted to have said that these tasbihs every day after every salat are more loved by me than a thousand rak`ats of the salat every day. [618] It is known among the companions that these tasbihs are arranged as follows: takbir thirty-four times, tahmid thirty-three times and tasbih thirty-three times. It is most probable that this arrangement is the best, not positively imposed. One is free to change the successions of, say, the tahmid and the tasbih, or replace the takbir by the tasbih. But the best, and according to precaution, is the said known arrangement.
The relevant cordial disciplines are the same as have been stated concerning "the Four Tasbihs". Furthermore, as these noble recitations are for after the salat, and as their tasbih is magnification [takbir] and glorification [tanzih] showing failure in due servitude, and magnification [takbir] and glorification [tanzih] showing incapability in servitude before His Holy Presence, and magnification [takbir] and glorification [tanzih] showing the shortcomings of knowledge [ma'rifat] (in knowing Him), which is the objective of servitude, the salik servant should, in the after-the-salat invocation, think about his shortcomings, his incomplete worship and his negligences during the state of presence, which are regarded to be sins in the school of love and affection. He is to think about his being deprived of his share of the Holy Presence of Allah, the Exalted, so that he may, in the after-the-salat recitations, which open a new door leading to the mercy of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, compensate as much as possible, conveying those noble recitations to his heart and revive it with them, in which case his end may be sealed with goodness and happiness. In the tahmid (praising) of the tasbihs of the (pure) Siddiqah (AS), he is to prove this praising, too, which is the performance of servitude, for the Divine Ipseity (huwiyat-i ilahiyah], taking it to be a support, a power and a success from that Holy Essence. He is to convey the truths of these matters to the inside of his heart, letting it taste the secret of these graces, so that the heart may be enlivened with the rememberance of Allah, and get eternal life by it.
As the morning is the beginning of being engaged in the multiplicity and entering the world, where man is faced with the danger of getting busy with the creatures and neglecting Allah, the conscious salik, in this crucial situation of entering this dark house, has to turn to Allah, the Exalted, and be devoted to Him. And as he finds himself not so dignified in the Holy Presence, he is to resort to the guardians of the affairs, the guards of the times, the intercessors of ins and jinn, i.e., the Seal of the Messengers (SA) and the infallible Imams (AS), asking those honourable personalities to be his intermediates to, and his intercessors with, Allah. Now each day has its guard and shelterer: for Saturday it is the blessed being of the Messenger of Allah (SA), for Sunday it is Amirul Mu'mimn, 'Ali (AS), for Monday are the two magnificent Imams, the grandsons [of the Messenger of Allah (SA), al-Hasan and al-Husayn (AS)], for Tuesday Imams as-Sajjad, al-Baqir and as-Sadiq (AS), for Wednesday Imams al-Kazim, ar-Rida, at-Taqi and an-Naqi (AS), for Thursday Imam al-`Askari (AS), and for Friday waliyul amr (may Allah hasten his happy advent) (The 12th Imam (AS) [619]. So, it is suitable for one, in the after-the-salat recitations in the morning, and for the purpose of entering this deadly dark sea, the awful Satanic trap-place, to resort to the guards of that day, and, with their intercession-as they are close to the Holy Court and are the favourate confidents at the door of intimacy-ask Allah, the Exalted, to remove the evils of Satan and the evil-commanding soul, and to have those great ones as his intermediates for the completion and acceptance of incomplete worshippings and unworthy rites. Naturally, if Allah, Highly Exalted, made Muhammad (SA) and his offspring our means of guidance, and through their blessings He saved the ummah from ignorance and straying, He would, because of their intercession, amend our inability and complete our shortcomings, and accept our unworthy obediences and worshippings, "He is the Lord of grace and bounty." Other reported after-the-salat du`a's are stated in the relevant books of invocations. Everybody may select those which suit him best in order to bring this honourable journey to its good and happy destination.
Notes:
[616]. Wasa'ilush-Shi`ah, vol. 4, p. 1030, "The Book of the Salat" chs. on "After-the-Salat Invocation" ch. 14, hadith 2.
[617.] Furu `ul Kafi, vol. 3, p. 343, "The Book of the Salat" ch. on "The After-the-Salat Du'a"', hadith 14.
[618]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 83, p. 332, quoting Thawabul A'mal, p. 149. Wasa'ilush-Shi'ah, vol. 4. p. 1024, " The Book of as-Salat ", chs. on "After the-Salat Invocation", ch. 9, hadith 2.
[619]. Biharul Anwar, vol. 24, p. 239, quoting al-khisal, vol. 2, p. 394, ch.7.
Conclusion and Inocation (Du’a)
Conclusion and Invocation (Du'a')
It was appropriate to finish this thesis by stating the salat's moral obstacles, such as imposture, conceitedness and the like, but as I have given some explanations in the book The Forty Hadiths [620] about some hadiths connected to this subject, and also, now, being too much busy, and owing to distraction of mind, I apologize for not being able to offer this service. So, I end these papers by admitting my inability and shortcomings, and ask forgiveness from the people of pure insight for my mistakes, and request their good du'a' and generous attention.
O Allah. You Who have clothed us, Your weak servants, with the dress of existence, through Your grace and favour and pure mercy and generosity, prior to any service and worship on our part, and without needing our worshipping and servitude. You have bestowed upon us diverse kinds of spiritual and corporeal favours, and different sorts of internal and external mercies, although our non-existence causes no flaw in Your power and strength, nor our existence adds anything to Your greatness and prestige. Now that the headspring of Your beneficence gushed forth, and the sun of Your Beautiful Beauty effulged, drowning us in the seas of mercy and illuminating us with the lights of Your Beauty, make up for our shortcomings, sins and failures with the light of internal success and Your secret help and guidance, and relieve our fully attached hearts from mundane attachments, and make them cling to Your Holy Might.
O Allah, our unworthy worshipping expands nothing of Your domain. Our disobedience decreases nothing of Your kingdom, and torturing and punishing the sinners benefit You not a bit, and forgiving the fallen and having mercy upon them lessen nothing of Your power. The immutable essences of the sinners implore for mercy, and the dispositions of the imperfect ask for perfection. You Yourself treat us with Your comprehensive kindness and disregard our inefficiency.
"O Allah, if I am unworthy to receive Your mercy, You are worthy of granting me of Your vast favour. O Allah, You have covered for me in this world sins which I need more to be covered in the Hereafter. O Allah, grant me to be completely devoted to You, and light our hearts' eyes with the light of witnessing You until the hearts' eyes penetrate the veils of light, to reach the source of greatness." [621]
Our talk has come to an end here, according to the taqdir of Allah, Almighty and Most High, with praises and thanks for His graces, asking Him to send His blessings upon Muhammad and his pure progeny, on the date of Monday, 2nd of (the month of) Rabi'uth-Thani , thirteen-hundred and sixty-one of Lunar year (1361 L.H.). [622]
Notes:
[620]. Refer to footnote No. 63.
[621]. "The Sha'baniyah Supplication", Biharul Anwar, vol. 91, p. 99.
[622]. Conformable to 30th of Farwardin, 1321 Solar Hijri Year.
source : Adabus Salat The Disciplines of the Prayer by Imam Khomeini
