Dear teacher, thank you for all your tireless efforts, especially your remarks on the eve of Arbaeen. The opening passage of the supplication reads:
...جعلت قلوب أوليائك مسكنا لمشيّتك، و مكمنا لارادتك، و جعلت عقولهم مناصب أوامرك و نواهيك، ...
You have also said before, “The noble ones are vessels of God’s will.”
And, at the end of the supplication—which was the subject of last night’s discussion—it says: “و أعذ أولياءك من الافتتان بي”
Does this mean that the greatest manifestation of divine will has taken up residence in the heart of the Master of Martyrs?
In other words, does the ultimate limit of divine will concerning the human being reside in the soul of the Master of Martyrs?
And can the souls of other human beings also be a locus of divine will?
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ
Does the Station of the Master of Martyrs Transcend Divine Will?
The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)
The station of the Master of Martyrs (AS) even transcends the station of divine will: he describes the hearts of God’s friends as the abode of divine will, while calling himself “the trial of God’s friends.” This means that he possesses a station of divine knowledge that encompasses divine will. The souls of other human beings, too, can be a locus of divine will.
Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)
Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural CenterIn light of the passage in the intimate prayer, «و أعذ أولياءك من الافتتان بي», the station of His Eminence Sayyid al-Shuhada (peace be upon him) surpasses even the station of “the Divine Will”: he describes the hearts of God’s friends as the dwelling place of the Divine Will, and himself as the one by whom “God’s friends” are tested.
In other words, he possesses the station of “Divine Knowledge,” which encompasses “the Divine Will.”
Needless to say, whoever possesses the higher distinction also possesses the lower one!
Thus, speaking of Imam Ali, the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon them) said: ...ُ يَا عَلِيُّ أَنْتَ عَلَمُ اللَّهِ بَعْدِي الْأَكْبَرُ فِي الْأَرْض...
*Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilālī*, vol. 2, p. 855
O Ali, you are God’s supreme knowledge on earth after me ...
عنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ كَثِيرٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ نَحْنُ وُلَاةُ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ وَ خَزَنَةُ عِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَ عَيْبَةُ وَحْيِ اللَّهِ.
*Baṣāʾir al-Darajāt fī Faḍāʾil Āl Muḥammad*, vol. 1, p. 105
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: We are the guardians of God’s command, the treasurers of God’s knowledge, and the vessels of God’s revelation.