Self-Examination in the Light of the Imamate of Imam al-Naqi

🔹 The martyrdom of Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi (AS)
📖 Weekly session on the commentary and interpretation of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya (Supplication 20)
📅 Date: 1403/10/15 – 3 Rajab 1446
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei

Some of the topics discussed in the session:

🌟 The divine knowledge of Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi (AS)

Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi was a noble figure to whom God entrusted knowledge within his blessed soul. He became the guardian of God’s knowledge and the keeper of His hidden secrets. He bears within his heart the mysteries God has concealed. God bestowed upon him such power that no secret is beyond his knowledge. He knows what lies within people’s breasts and is aware of what they conceal. God reveals to him what is within every heart. Whatever anyone keeps hidden is manifest to Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi. 🌿

🌟 The intercessor of Paradise: Imam al-Hadi (AS)

Whoever recites this supplication will have Imam al-Hadi as their intercessor and guide, leading them towards Paradise. Let us examine ourselves and take stock by the standard of Naqawiyya. Have we settled our accounts? Have we held ourselves to account? Have we completed the self-examination of Naqawiyya? Have we sought al-Hadi within our hearts, or not? He is God’s trust within us. One day, that trust must be returned. 🌸

🌿 The primordial bond between Imam and follower

What have we done for our Imam al-Hadi? Let us question ourselves and hold ourselves accountable. Imam al-Hadi is our Imam. So what have we done in relation to him? What great act of devotion have we accomplished? How have we made use of this means provided by God, the Guide? We must take stock of ourselves. We must reflect on the bond of Naqawiyya. When I search within myself, do I find my Imam al-Hadi, or is there no trace of him? If I cannot find him, I am blind to my Imam—that is, blind and deaf to the imamate of Imam al-Hadi. If I cannot sing of his radiant beauty with joy and sweetness, then my tongue is struck dumb before Imam al-Hadi. 🌟

🌸 The light of God and the secret of blessings upon the Prophet

But my God can make it possible. With God’s help, I must build a bond with my Imam al-Hadi—with each of my Imams. I can cast God’s light upon the face of the sun. Surely we know the secret of sending blessings upon the Prophet? 🌼

🌟 The secret of blessings upon the Prophet and their role in our bond with Imam al-Hadi (AS)

The secret of sending blessings upon the Prophet is that I send a divine connection to the sacred presence of Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad. When I enter the realm of Imam al-Hadi’s wilayah, a relationship is formed between us. In turn, the Merciful God bestows grace upon the Imam on my behalf and sends His own connection. We too can become a source of mercy for our Imam and benefit from the grace of his being. Imam al-Hadi is one of the four pillars of the Illiyyun: the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Zayn al-Abidin, Imam al-Rida and Imam al-Hadi. Hidden within these four bearers of the name Ali are special mysteries. A comprehensive salawat, invoking the Imam’s titles, brings us to the station of nearness to God. 🌿

🌼 The effect of salawat and the greatness of Imam al-Hadi (AS)

The regular offering of greetings and blessings upon the Imams heals illness and cures disease. Imam al-Hadi is a window onto the peaks of hidden realities. Through this Imam, we could look into the world of our own spirit and beyond ourselves. The light of God is within our reach through Imam al-Hadi—but why have we not benefited from its radiance? Imam al-Hadi is a profound mystery, a window onto parallel and successive worlds, and the key to entering the depths of the innermost secret. 🌟

🌿 The importance of knowing Imam al-Hadi (AS)

Imam al-Hadi is an Imam of singular distinction. Have we uncovered his mysteries, or are we still asleep in heedlessness? Birds find their way through the sky, but have we found our way by the guiding stars of Hadi and Naqi? If our Hadi world has fallen silent, we must awaken from this sleep and journey in the orbit of al-Hadi. 🌌

🌟 The finest Naqawi orbit and the ordering of the soul through Imam al-Hadi (AS)

Had we entered the orbit of Imam al-Hadi, we would have discovered the worlds within and around us and come to know their mysteries. The Infallible Imams are our path to salvation. Imam al-Hadi can bring the finest order and harmony to our souls and free us from confusion. What a tremendous calamity would befall us if we lost this orbit! 🌸

🌼 Knowing the Words of Imam al-Hadi (AS) and the Opening of the Innate Nature

Our familiarity with the words of Imam al-Hadi reflects the depth of our connection to his blessed being. The more familiar we are with his words, the wider the gates of our innate nature open. Estrangement from the Imam’s words is a sign that those gates within us are closed. Imam al-Hadi is the Imam of the intellect and innate nature. 🌿

🌿 Immersed in the Words of Imam al-Hadi (AS): The Opening of the Gates of Innate Nature

Have we not been immersed in this ocean of guidance? How far have the gates of our innate nature opened? The more estranged we are from the Imam’s words, the more this shows that those gates within us are closed. The Imam says: “O Fath, every body is nourished by food. But the Creator, who provides sustenance, is not nourished. God has neither body nor form; He cannot be divided and is free from all composition and deficiency. He is Subtle, All-Aware, All-Hearing, All-Seeing, One, Unique and Self-Sufficient.” 🌟

🌟 God, Creator of All Things, in Need of No Nourishment

God brings things into being and gives bodies their form. He fashions forms. Every body needs nourishment, but the Creator and Provider needs no food. Our sight is nourished by light so that we can see, but God is All-Seeing without being nourished. This is what it means to deny attributes of created things of God: He needs neither food nor created attributes. 🌸

🌼 The Human Need for Nourishment and Its Boundless Scope

The human need for food—material or spiritual—is endless. We are nourished by God’s Most Beautiful Names. God is not nourished by His Names; rather, He nourishes others. His attributes belong to Him and testify to His independence of all need. Nourishment entails a need for strengthening and movement, but God is free of such needs. 🌿

🌟 Knowledge: The Supreme Nourishment and Its Infinite Reach

Human nourishment involves gaining benefit and warding off harm. Knowledge is among its noblest forms. It is the principal food; other foods are like keys that lead us to knowledge. In truth, we feed on knowledge, but God has no need of it. He sends down and brings forth knowledge, and His knowledge encompasses all things. 🌟

🌼 God’s Need of No Knowledge or Other Nourishment

Knowledge, joy, anger and even thought are all forms of nourishment. God is not nourished by knowledge; rather, He has made knowledge abound. He needs no kind of food, material or spiritual. God is “the One who feeds and is not fed,” and every being benefits from His attributes and blessings. 🌸

🌿 Thought and Reason: Manifestations of Spiritual Nourishment

Thought is a kind of nourishment. Reflection, reasoning and feeling pain are all manifestations of nourishment. Hearing through the faculty of hearing, seeing through the faculty of sight and understanding through the faculty of comprehension are all forms of nourishment. These forms of nourishment continue until knowledge is attained. Knowledge, in turn, is the supreme nourishment: an intellectual nourishment that helps human beings attain perfection. 🌱

🌟 God’s Knowledge: Beyond All Comprehension and Description

God knows, but His knowing is not like human knowing. Just as God creates, He also brings knowledge into being and makes it manifest. He does not wait to learn of or observe His servants’ deeds. Even to say that God encompasses knowledge falls short: knowledge encompasses, but God is beyond all comprehension and every description. He is Greater and Most Exalted. 🌌

🌸 God’s Infinite Knowledge: The Mystery of the Finite Emerging from the Infinite

Ignorance has no place in His presence. The infinite is an instrument in God’s hands. He created the infinite and brought the finite into being from within it. Every finite thing holds the infinite within it, and this mystery is a sign of the majesty of God’s incomparable essence. 🌠

🌿 Time: A Setting for Growth and Movement

Time, too, is a kind of nourishment. Our lives draw sustenance from time, and without it there would be no movement. We use time to move, change and grow. God has spread this canopy of time over the universe. Knowledge, too, encompasses everything within its bounds. God reigns over this realm from beyond time and knowledge—but His transcendence is not a matter of nonexistence or limitation. 🌟