The Miracle of Traces

🌻🔆The Miracle of آثار🔆🌻

🌼🔆🌼Tawhid: Prior to All Means🌼🔆🌼

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌹 “The Miracle of Water”  “Fighting the Enemy”  “The Samaritan and Muʿawiya” “The Secret of Sincere Love”  “Continuing the Commentary on Prayer 20, Passage 13” and more … Summary with Supplement       1405.04.25    Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

🌻 🌷 🔆 اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ فِي رُوعِي🔆 🌷 🌻

☀️🌹مِنَ التَّمَنِّي وَ التَّظَنِّي وَ الْحَسَدِ🌹☀️

🕋

🤲 🔆ذِكْراً لِعَظَمَتِكَ، وَ تَفَكُّراً فِي قُدْرَتِكَ، وَ تَدْبِيراً عَلَى عَدُوِّك🔆 🤲

❇️Erasing the Enemy’s Influence by Erasing the Enemy’s Traces!

Continuing reflections on devising strategies against God’s enemy!

❇️The Root of Enmity toward God

Spend this world in service to God!

Do not let yourselves be spent on this world; do not stoke the brazier of worldly desires!

Attacking the world of those enslaved to it means taking away the life, fuel, and capital of God’s enemies!

Leave God’s enemies no worldly comforts! Their lives are bound up with their worldly interests!

Strip God’s enemies of their worldly ease!

✅ A pure person is adorned with pure traces

Pure people welcome pure influences into their very being, and bear within themselves countless traces of the Divine Holy Presence, like pure fragrance that leaves a trail of noble virtues.

Merciful traces have miraculous effects!

Each trace brings about a profound transformation!

✅The Secret of the Miracle of the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt

The influence of God’s verses works miracles only through closeness to the Ahl al-Bayt; and the influence of the Ahl al-Bayt likewise works miracles through closeness to the Quran!

Without the Ahl al-Bayt, a person will fall into the plight of the Samaritan!

We must not make religion, the Quran, and the Ahl al-Bayt instruments for our worldly aims—for that is the greatest injustice against them!

❇️Two Mirrors Embracing

The Greater Weight and the Lesser Weight are, in relation to one another, software and hardware: they complement and complete each other, and each displays and mirrors the other!

When the Greater Weight is manifested through the very being of the Lesser Weight, the result is a revelation of miracle and majesty!

❇️The Quran as Clarification, the Ahl al-Bayt as the Repository of All Things

The Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt are one reality with two distinct faces; each makes the other known, interprets the other, and embodies the other’s beauty and majesty!

The Quran is a spring of flowing knowledge, a fountain of learning, and a clarification of all things; the Ahl al-Bayt are the library of existence!

✨🔆 An-Nahl: 89   وَ يَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ في‏ كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهيداً عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ جِئْنا بِكَ شَهيداً عَلى‏ هؤُلاءِ وَ نَزَّلْنا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتابَ تِبْياناً لِكُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ وَ هُدىً وَ رَحْمَةً وَ بُشْرى‏ لِلْمُسْلِمينَ

🔆 (Remember) the day when We shall raise up from every community a witness from among them, and make you a witness over them. We have sent down to you this Book as a clarification of all things, and as guidance, mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims!

✨🔆 Ya-Sin: 12   إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِ الْمَوْتى‏ وَ نَكْتُبُ ما قَدَّمُوا وَ آثارَهُمْ وَ كُلَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ أَحْصَيْناهُ في‏ إِمامٍ مُبينٍ

🔆 Surely We bring the dead to life, and We record what they have sent ahead and all the traces they have left behind. We have enumerated everything in a clear Record!

❇️ Miracles through Their Effects

The effects of verses upon verses are miracles beyond miracles. As verses relate to one another, lesser verses are elevated through greater ones; the verse that is a drop must join the ocean of verses!

✅ Is an āyah the occurrence of a divine miracle?

The interaction of effects with effects means the realisation of new acts of creation!

Through each āyah, every person experiences new acts of creation within themselves!

At every moment, through the āyāt, a person acquires a new attribute, is renewed, and becomes other than what they were before!

Through the āyāt, the human being is compounded, transformed and brought into being anew!

Through the āyāt, the human being grows, multiplies and changes like a cultivated field!

Through every inner, earthly, celestial, heavenly, Ahl al-Bayt and Quranic āyah, the human being is transformed and renewed!

✅ The Correspondence of Soft Signs with Hard Signs

Every divine software requires its corresponding divine hardware!

Only life-giving water works a miracle with the pure hardware of the earth!

Pure water performs miracles with pure earth—miracles of beauty and wonder. Water also performs a scientific miracle with everything it touches: it reveals the nature and properties of things, acting like a computer that renders their hidden reality visible!

✨🔆الرعد : 4   وَ فِي الْأَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُتَجاوِراتٌ وَ جَنَّاتٌ مِنْ أَعْنابٍ وَ زَرْعٌ وَ نَخيلٌ صِنْوانٌ وَ غَيْرُ صِنْوانٍ يُسْقى‏ بِماءٍ واحِدٍ وَ نُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَها عَلى‏ بَعْضٍ فِي الْأُكُلِ إِنَّ في‏ ذلِكَ لَآياتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

🔆On the earth there are adjoining plots that differ from one another; and there are gardens of vines, crops and date palms, some growing from a single root and others from two, all watered by the same water. Yet We make some of them better than others in fruit. In this there are signs for people who use their reason!

✨🔆الأعراف : 58   وَ الْبَلَدُ الطَّيِّبُ يَخْرُجُ نَباتُهُ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَ الَّذي خَبُثَ لا يَخْرُجُ إِلاَّ نَكِداً كَذلِكَ نُصَرِّفُ الْآياتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَشْكُرُونَ

🔆Good, fertile land brings forth its plants by the command of its Lord, while barren land yields nothing but scant, worthless growth. Thus do We make the signs clear for a people who give thanks.

❇️ The Hardware of Flower and Thorn Seeds

Water sets the seed in motion and brings the nature of flower and thorn to light!

❇️ Sincere Love Works Miracles

Love is a special force with distinctive effects; it reveals the qualities of those who possess it!

Pure love leaves no room for impure conduct to emerge!

Pure and sincere love in the heart turns its compass toward goodness!

Faith is beloved by hearts, while disbelief, wickedness and disobedience are hateful to every heart, for the Creator, Lord of all the worlds, has so willed. Whoever turns away from faith and inclines toward what is hateful shows that they have turned away from their innate nature!

✨🔆 الحجرات : 7   وَ اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فيكُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوْ يُطيعُكُمْ في‏ كَثيرٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ وَ لكِنَّ اللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْإيمانَ وَ زَيَّنَهُ في‏ قُلُوبِكُمْ وَ كَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكُفْرَ وَ الْفُسُوقَ وَ الْعِصْيانَ أُولئِكَ هُمُ الرَّاشِدُونَ

🔆 And know that the Messenger of God is among you. If he were to obey you in many matters, you would surely suffer hardship. But God has made faith beloved to you and adorned it in your hearts, and has made disbelief, defiance, and sin hateful to you. Those are the rightly guided!

❇️ The secret of pure love’s power is freedom from the world’s captivity

Love is the subtlest force in existence and the most potent weapon in the universe!

Divine love in the heart equips the human soul with the greatest weapon in existence!

To govern divine love is to govern the greatest force in existence!

You must distinguish pure love from impure love!

To become tainted by love of the world is to go from loving God to opposing Him!

One whose head is buried in the lowest depths cannot gaze toward the highest heights!

Those who have made themselves captives of the world will never taste the sweetness of divine love!

Love of the world is the clearest sign of God’s enemies!

💫🔆قَالَ وَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ‏ إِذَا تَخَلَّى الْمُؤْمِنُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا سَمَا  وَ وَجَدَ حَلَاوَةَ حُبِ‏ اللَّهِ‏ وَ كَانَ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّهُ قَدْ خُولِطَ  وَ إِنَّمَا خَالَطَ الْقَوْمَ حَلَاوَةُ حُبِ‏ اللَّهِ‏ فَلَمْ يَشْتَغِلُوا بِغَيْرِهِ.[1]

💫 Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said:

“When a believer breaks free from attachment to the world, they rise to lofty stations and taste the sweetness of love for God. Then, in the eyes of worldly people, they seem like someone who has lost their mind. In truth, the sweetness of divine love has made them forget themselves, leaving them absorbed in none but Him.”

❇️ Verses that blind the bats!

God’s verses are a means of guidance, yet these same verses lead the ignorant astray!

Quranic verses and divine commandments work like light and water: they reveal the true nature of people, things, and all that exists!

They show the purity of the people of truth through the light of their guidance, and expose the corruption of the people of falsehood through their misguidance!

How often God’s grace becomes a source of misguidance for the corrupt: His blessings are a punishment for them, and light becomes darkness!

In the furnace of divine trial, some become pure gold, while others reveal the base metal of their souls!

✨🔆 Ar-Ra‘d: 27   وَ يَقُولُ الَّذينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ لا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ قُلْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ يَهْدي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ أَنابَ

🔆 Those who disbelieve say, “Why has no sign (or miracle) been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say, “God leads astray whomever He wills, and guides to Himself whoever turns back to Him.” (There is no lack of miracles; their obstinacy is the obstacle!)

✨🔆 An-Nahl: 93   وَ لَوْ شاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً واحِدَةً وَ لكِنْ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ يَهْدي مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ لَتُسْئَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

🔆 Had God willed, He would have made you all one community (and compelled you all to believe; but compelled faith is of no benefit). Yet He leads astray whomever He wills (and deems deserving), and guides whomever He wills (and deems worthy). (He grants some the success of guidance and withholds it from others.) You will surely be questioned about what you used to do!

✨🔆 Fatir: 8   أَ فَمَنْ زُيِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ فَرَآهُ حَسَناً فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ يَهْدي مَنْ يَشاءُ فَلا تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَراتٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَليمٌ بِما يَصْنَعُونَ

🔆 Is one whose evil deeds have been made alluring to him, so that he sees them as good and beautiful, like one who sees things as they truly are?! God lets whomever He wills go astray and guides whomever He wills. So do not let your soul perish with grief over them; God knows well what they do! (8)

❇️ Divine signs work wonders through the monotheistic apparatus

The Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are the source of divine miracles in the soul grounded in monotheism!

Faith and piety are prerequisites for benefiting from divine means—means that work wonders on the path of servitude to God!

Otherwise, a person becomes like the Samaritan, using divine means to pursue the desires of the self!

✨🔆 al-Māʾidah: 35   O أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ ابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسيلَةَ وَ جاهِدُوا في‏ سَبيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

🔆 You who believe! Be mindful of God, seek a means of drawing near to Him, and strive in His cause, so that you may prosper!

❇️ Shi‘ites and pseudo-Shi‘ites

Pseudo-Shi‘ites are not the same as true Shi‘ites. A pseudo-Shi‘ite is a hypocrite who has insinuated himself among the Shi‘ites of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS). In the name of love for the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), he inflicts the greatest harm on them—whether through ill-considered conduct, exaggeration, misinterpretations of their words, a one-sided view of the Ahl al-Bayt that ignores the Qur’an, or any of the many other ways that cause trouble for God’s religion!

Pseudo-Shi‘ites resemble the Samaritan: they use divine means to serve their personal and worldly interests!

How many who merely pose as Shi‘ites exploit people in the name of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS)—consuming not only their lives and wealth, but even their faith!

💫🔆 وَ عَنْ يُونُسَ بْنِ يَعْقُوبَ عَنْ أَخِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ‏ شِيعَتُنَا ثَلَاثَةُ أَصْنَافٍ صِنْفٌ يَأْكُلُونَ‏ النَّاسَ‏ بِنَا وَ صِنْفٌ كَالزُّجَاجِ يَتَهَشَّمُ وَ صِنْفٌ كَالذَّهَبِ الْأَحْمَرِ كُلَّمَا أُدْخِلَ النَّارَ ازْدَادَ جَوْدَةً. [2]

💫 It is narrated from Yunus ibn Ya‘qub, from his brother, from Imam al-Baqir (AS), that he said:

“Our Shi‘ites are of three kinds:

One group uses us to exploit people (turning us into a means to worldly gain and power).

Another group is like glass: they shatter at the first hardship.

And another group is like pure gold: each time they enter the fire, their excellence increases.”

❇️ The finest means in the service of the vilest ends

✨🔆 al-Sajdah: 7   الَّذي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ خَلَقَهُ وَ بَدَأَ خَلْقَ الْإِنْسانِ مِنْ طينٍ

🔆 He is the One who made everything He created beautiful, and began the creation of humankind from clay;

al-Tīn: 4   لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسانَ في‏ أَحْسَنِ تَقْويمٍ

al-Tīn: 5   ثُمَّ رَدَدْناهُ أَسْفَلَ سافِلينَ

❇️ From the Samaritan to Mu‘awiya

Those who falsely claim to love the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are like people who raise God’s light atop the spears of their own selfish desires.

From the Samaritan to Mu‘awiya: the Samaritan made the calf bellow using “a trace left by the Messenger”; Mu‘awiya raised the Qur’an on spears; and others before him deprived the Commander of the Faithful (AS) of his rightful claim by raising false pretences.

❇️ How can knowledge increase ignorance?!

The intellect is the true bearer of knowledge. Without intellect, knowledge produces ignorance—not because that is knowledge’s nature, but because its bearer drags it to the slaughterhouse! Just look at the modern world, where knowledge is used to produce oppression and corruption!

Knowledge is a transcendent effect of Allah. When an ignorant person bears this gift without being worthy of it, he can make people worship a calf, as al-Samiri did!

Indeed! When knowledge falls into unworthy hands, it becomes a tool of misguidance and ignorance.

❇️From the trace of the Messenger’s footsteps to the Messenger himself!

Al-Samiri possessed insight and inward vision, but he followed his own desires. Ignorantly exploiting his abilities and talents, he led both himself and many of his followers astray!

✨🔆Ta-Ha: 96   قالَ بَصُرْتُ بِما لَمْ يَبْصُرُوا بِهِ فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةً مِنْ أَثَرِ الرَّسُولِ فَنَبَذْتُها وَ كَذلِكَ سَوَّلَتْ لي‏ نَفْسي‏

🔆He said, “I saw what they did not see. I took a handful from the Messenger’s traces, then cast it away. Thus did my soul make this seem fair to me!”

We should make use of God’s signs in a way that leads to spiritual growth, not misuse them and thereby pave the way for decline. The entire universe and all its parts are signs and manifestations of God; we should benefit from them wisely, with faith and piety.

God’s signs fill the heavens and the earth. Is there anything in the world that is not His sign and manifestation?!

How we receive God’s signs and make use of them matters greatly!

❇️The field of this world and the field of faith

✨🔆Al-Fath: 29   مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَ الَّذينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَماءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَراهُمْ رُكَّعاً سُجَّداً يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلاً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَ رِضْواناً سيماهُمْ في‏ وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْراةِ وَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنْجيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوى‏ عَلى‏ سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ مِنْهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَ أَجْراً عَظيماً

🔆Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah. Those who are with him are firm and resolute toward the disbelievers, yet compassionate toward one another. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking Allah’s grace and His pleasure. The mark of prostration is visible on their faces. Such is their description in the Torah, and their description in the Gospel: like a seedling that puts forth its shoot, then strengthens it until it grows firm and stands upright on its stalk, delighting the farmers. Through them, Allah enrages the disbelievers. Allah has promised those among them who believe and do good deeds forgiveness and a great reward.

A fertile field, through the astonishing signs of its growth, fills farmers with wonder! Likewise, the soil of a believer’s soul, and the great wonders revealed in their being, astound the disbelievers and leave them speechless!

Through God’s signs and manifestations, the believer makes the earth and heavens a stage for their wonders!

❇️The effects of serving God are manifest in a person’s outward and inward being

The effects of worship are evident to all, even in this worldly life!

💫🔆وَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (AS)  قَالَ: إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ‏ لَيَزْهَرُ نُورُهُ لِأَهْلِ السَّمَاءِ كَمَا تَزْهَرُ نُجُومُ‏ السَّمَاءِ لِأَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ وَ قَالَ إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ وَلِيُّ اللَّهِ يُعِينُهُ وَ يَصْنَعُ لَهُ وَ لَا يَقُولُ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَ‏ وَ لَا يَخَافُ غَيْرَهُ وَ قَالَ إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَيْنِ لَيَلْتَقِيَانِ فَيَتَصَافَحَانِ فَلَا يَزَالُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمَا مُقْبِلًا بِوَجْهِهِ وَ الذُّنُوبُ تَتَحَاتُّ عَنْ وُجُوهِهِمَا  حَتَّى يَفْتَرِقَا [يَتَفَرَّقَا[3]

🔆It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (AS) that he said:

“The light of the believer shines for the people of heaven, just as the stars of heaven shine for the people of earth.”

And he said: “The believer is God’s friend. He supports him and directs his affairs; he speaks nothing but the truth about God and fears no one but Him.”

And he said: “When two believers meet and shake hands, God continually turns toward them with His face, and their sins fall from their faces until they part.”

One day, the immense fruits of worship and devotion to God will shine forth in all their glory from the human face on the Day of Resurrection.

❇️Defence and attack against satanic effects are effects of divine mercy

✨🔆Al-Mā’idah: 35   يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ ابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسيلَةَ وَ جاهِدُوا في‏ سَبيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

🔆O you who believe! Be mindful of God, seek a means of drawing near to Him, and strive in His way, so that you may prosper!

❇️Knowledge of the means

Knowledge of the means consists in understanding its technology and knowing how to benefit from it in a way that leads to spiritual elevation.

Ignorance of the means, or using it merely as an instrument, will bring about the opposite effect.

The means is a way «to God», not «away from God». Those who go to extremes follow the path «away from God», and are condemned!

❇️Effects multiply and grow stronger!

One way to readily eliminate Satan and those who act like him is to eliminate satanic effects!

Satanic effects are the lungs of Satan, his breathing space!

Enmity and satanic behaviour grow and multiply through their effects; those effects spread and multiply like seeds.

A person may unwittingly become Satan’s field: all it takes is for a satanic seed or trace of Satan to take root in the human soul! It will produce ignorance, folly and misguidance.

All effects bring growth and multiplication, whether they multiply evils or virtues!

Enduring satanic effects is an act of self-destruction: it opens the way to being transformed, having one’s very nature altered, and having one’s heart sealed!

A weapon effective against satanic effects is one of divine mercy.

❇️Activating divine providence

Unless the divine governing faculty is activated, no providential ordering can take place!

Once this faculty is activated, a person will be capable of accomplishing anything.

The governing faculty will not be activated unless a person aligns with their primordial nature!

The crown of primordial nature is the oneness of God!

A dormant primordial nature means that a person is their own enemy before God and must devise a plan against themselves!

❇️The prior means to God

The prior means to God is divine oneness.

💫🔆«وَ وَسِيلَتِي‏ إِلَيْكَ التَّوْحِيدُ، وَ ذَرِيعَتِي أَنِّي لَمْ أُشْرِكْ بِكَ شَيْئاً، وَ لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ مَعَكَ إِلَهاً، وَ قَدْ فَرَرْتُ إِلَيْكَ بِنَفْسِي، وَ إِلَيْكَ مَفَرُّ الْمُسي‏ءِ، وَ مَفْزَعُ الْمُضَيِّعِ لِحَظِّ نَفْسِهِ الْمُلْتَجِئِ.» [4]

💫 “My means of approaching You is the affirmation of Your oneness, and my firmest pledge is that I have associated nothing with You and have chosen no god besides You. With all my being, I have fled to You; You are the refuge of sinners, the refuge of those who have squandered their share, and the sanctuary of all who seek shelter.”

❇️Means and intermediaries

The ultimate means by which the means are made effective is God, Glorified and Exalted. The first means of drawing near to God is also His oneness: through Him, we come to know Him, His Book, His Messenger, and His Proof (اللهم عرفنی نفسک…)

“عرفنی نفسک” means the same as “عرفنی توحیدک”: through God, we attain knowledge of the first means and all His means (عرفنی رسولک…عرفنی حجتک…). Once we know the means, our servitude, worship, and understanding are transformed, and our journey toward God quickens!

“ذَریعَة” (plural: ذرائع)

derives from “ذَرَعَ” and means a cause, a forethought, a pretext, or anything that brings a person to their goal.

The Quran says: “یا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ ابْتَغُوا إِلَیْهِ الْوَسِیلَةَ” — and “ذریعه” is also used to mean “cause and way,” though with a slight difference.

“وَسِيلَتِي إِلَيْكَ التَّوْحِيدُ، وَ ذَرِيعَتِي أَنِّي لَمْ أُشْرِكْ بِكَ شَيْئاً”

“وَسیلَة” = the way to reach God, which is “tawhid” (belief in God’s oneness). Tawhid is not itself the ultimate goal; rather, it is the means that draws a person near to God and brings them into His presence.

“ذَریعَة” = a pretext or safeguard that keeps a person from polytheism and misguidance. Here, “not associating partners with God” and “choosing no other object of worship” are presented as a ذریعه—a safeguard that wards off polytheism.

Thus, in this supplication:

Tawhid is the means of reaching God (a positive orientation).

Avoiding polytheism is a ذریعه that protects one from misguidance (a defensive, preventive orientation).

4. Final summary

Term	Core meaning	Primary function
وسيلة	Closeness and nearness	Positive (attaining good)
ذریعه	Cause and safeguard	Defensive (warding off harm and danger)

Therefore, in this noble supplication, the servant draws near to God through tawhid (the means), and by abandoning polytheism (the ذریعه) preserves himself from deviation and ruin. Both are paths to God: one helps us “reach” Him, the other keeps us from “falling into misguidance.”

❇️The station of the means is conditional on tawhid

It is impossible to separate the Imam from the means (tawhid); tawhid is the very soul of God’s Proof! God’s Proof is the fortress of tawhid, its very word, its very reality!

❇️Tawhid precedes the means

Tawhid comes before the means of drawing near to God; through tawhid, God’s Proof is the “means of drawing near to God.” Turning toward the “means” is an expression of desire for tawhid!

If tawhid is the “means” for God’s Proof, who is himself the “means of drawing near to God,” then “tawhid” must come before the “means”!

The secret of our connection to, communion with, and benefit from the “means” is divine tawhid!

If our appeal for intercession bears the fragrance of tawhid, it is sound and sincere; otherwise, it is nothing but illusion!

❇️The best course is tawhid!

“Tawhid” is the means by which we connect to the Hand of God, the Good of God, and the Power of God!

Holding fast to the Two Weighty Things is possible only through tawhid!

Holding fast to the Rope of God is possible only through tawhid!

❇️The means has the authority of God’s religion!

💫🔆 اللَّهُمَّ مُثَبِّتَ‏ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ‏  وَ اجْعَلْ وَسِيلَتِي‏ إِلَيْكَ وَ رَغْبَتِي فِيمَا عِنْدَكَ وَ اجْعَلْ ثَوَابَ عَمَلِي رِضَاكَ وَ أَعْطِ نَفْسِي سُؤْلَهَا وَ مُنَاهَا وَ زَكِّهَا أَنْتَ خَيْرُ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا وَ أَنْتَ وَلِيُّهَا وَ مَوْلَاهَا اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّد[5]

 🔆“O God, Steadfastener of hearts, make my heart steadfast in Your religion; make my means a way to You, and direct my longing toward what is with You. Make Your good pleasure the reward for my deeds, grant my soul what it desires and longs for, and purify it, for You are the best of those who purify, and You are its guardian and master. O God, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.”

❇️God Is the One Who Welcomes the Means

Without God, we cannot find our way to Him through any means! God Most High bestowed the means upon us so that we might hasten toward Him. Whoever forgets to worship God because of the means has not truly found it; they only imagine, mistakenly, that they are connected to it!

💫🔆اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ شَجَرَةِ النُّبُوَّةِ وَ مَوْضِعِ الرِّسَالَةِ وَ مُخْتَلَفِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَ مَعْدِنِ الْعِلْمِ وَ أَهْلِ بَيْتِ الْوَحْيِ وَ أَعْطِنِي فِي هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةِ أُمْنِيَّتِي وَ تَقَبَّلْ وَسِيلَتِي‏

فَإِنِّي بِمُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلِيٍّ وَ أَوْصِيَائِهِمَا إِلَيْكَ أَتَوَسَّلُ وَ عَلَيْكَ أَتَوَكَّلُ وَ لَكَ أَسْأَلُ يَا مُجِيبَ الْمُضْطَرِّينَ يَا مَلْجَأَ الْهَارِبِينَ وَ مُنْتَهَى رَغْبَةِ الرَّاغِبِينَ وَ نَيْلِ الطَّالِبِين‏[6]

 🔆“O God, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad—the tree of prophethood, the seat of the messengership, the place where angels come and go, the treasury of knowledge, and the household of revelation. On this night, grant me what I hope for and accept my means of approach.

For through Muhammad, Ali, and their successors I seek nearness to You; in You I place my trust, and from You I ask, O Answerer of the helpless, O Refuge of those who flee, O furthest goal of those who hope, and O fulfillment of the seekers’ longing.”

✳️Reminders (Further Clarifications)

✅“The role of collective reason and consultation” holds a special place in sound judgment.

A prudent person, of course, even consults an enemy—so as to do the opposite of what they advise. They may also consult a fearful person, so that they can act with courage, or seek counsel from people of different walks of life, drawing on each perspective to make the appropriate decisions.

The highest level of consultation is with the faithful and the God-fearing. Beyond all of this is consultation with God, carried out through prayer and intimate supplication, seeking divine guidance, and drawing lots, among other practices!

✅The Utterly Satanic Enemy

“The boundary between an enemy who can be reformed and one who cannot” is defined by human nature, which serves as a criterion for making appropriate decisions. A person’s innate nature is discerned through those things to which all human beings, despite differences of religion and belief, remain committed, regard as good, or shun.

✅“Forbearance” and “Strategic Silence”

Forbearance makes sense when there is hope that the other party may reform, or when one recognizes that any kind of confrontation would worsen the situation.

At times, confronting a thoroughly satanic enemy effectively and decisively requires serious strategic planning; any haste may only escalate matters. It is like an infected wound: surgery of any kind may cause the infection to spread.

✅“Satanic Effects” as “Satan’s Lungs” and “Satan’s Breathing Ground”

This includes every form of ethical corruption, whatever runs counter to human nature in thought or conduct, in both individual and social life, as well as inhuman inclinations, anything contrary to freedom and dignity, and so forth!

A comprehensive list of these appears in the Hadith of the Armies of Reason and Ignorance!

✅The Danger of “Deterministic Interpretation” in the Works

The statement, “The signs of God are both a means of guidance and, for the ignorant, a cause of misguidance,”

is hidden in the dark recesses of things’ identities and essences, and becomes manifest through the light of their reality—not that things acquire their identity through light!

This effect is also brought to light by water: it reveals the fragrance of perfume and, in turn, the stench of foul things!

Likewise, every kind of test brings people’s level of knowledge to light!

The sending of messengers and scriptures by the Exalted Lord revealed the nature of individuals in their acceptance of the truth!

Likewise, particular historical events, such as the event of Ghadir Khumm and Saqifah, became the occasion for people’s inner realities to emerge!

Likewise, the issuing of particular commands—such as those concerning prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and jihad—brought people’s inner realities to light. All of these reveal people’s true nature; they do not confer an identity upon them!

The signs of God are sent down to guide, but those who turn their backs on God’s light, or close their eyes to it, choose the path of misguidance for themselves—like someone who, instead of travelling by ship across the ocean, throws himself into the water and drowns!

 ✅ “The Role of Divine Will” alongside “Effects”

Every effect is a manifestation of God’s will! Nothing takes effect without an agent, and every effect is a clear sign of the agent’s will.

A means, too, is among the clearest signs of God’s will and good pleasure!

Divine will manifests itself in the universe in many different ways!

Nothing endures without God’s will sustaining it, and no action in the universe comes to pass without His will!

✅ “A Means to God” and “A Means in God’s Presence”

Any means that brings a person closer to God serves as a means to God. Yet some means are keys to other means of drawing near to God; the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are among them. The very essence of God, the Maker of every means, takes precedence over all things!

His oneness is the master key to every means; He is both the maker of keys and the creator of all causes and locks!

✅ “A Critical Examination of Excessive Mysticism”

“Excessive mysticism” is not mysticism at all, but a counterfeit form of it! It obstructs the path to true knowledge and is, in reality, a fake substitute for knowledge—like imitation gold. In short, every counterfeit mysticism departs from the path of the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt!

✅ “And sometimes light is tantamount to darkness” = Those who refuse to accept the truth and shun the work of processing rays of light become blind. For anyone who reacts to the truth in the opposite way and acts in hostility, light and truth become a kind of darkness, trapping them in the quagmire of falsehood!

Whoever flees from light becomes blind, and whoever flees from water dies of thirst!

✅ “And how often God’s light becomes the darkness of misguidance for those given to evil” = Imam Ali, Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, was God’s speaking light for the inhabitants of earth and heaven. But the envious waged war against that light, blinding themselves and others, fleeing the path of guidance and choosing misguidance!

✅ “The Historical Samaritan” and “The Symbolic Samaritan”

Among the symbolic Samaritans are today’s toxic online spaces; deceitful, manipulative media that spread lies by exploiting people’s base desires; corrupt, deceptive politicians who seek domination; scholars who use scientific discoveries to overpower the uninformed; and those who invent sects in opposition to God’s religion!

✅ “Cosmic effects” (signs of existence), “legislative effects” (rulings), and “ethical effects” (conduct). The Qur’anic signs are God’s silent effects; the Ahl al-Bayt are His speaking effects. Each person is a lasting effect of God in their own right. God’s effects are beyond number and impossible to enumerate!

💎 🍃

🌟 1. Consultation: Among the Highest Forms of Deliberation

Consultation is possible not only with friends and believers, but even with enemies—for sometimes an enemy shows you the path of your own error without realizing it.

A prudent person consults the “timid” to learn of dangers, and the “brave” to find the strength to act.

But the highest form of consultation is “consulting God”—through prayer, intimate supplication, seeking divine guidance, and the counsel of the heart.

Thus, planning without consulting God and His chosen ones is incomplete; consultation is the key that opens the doors of wisdom.

🌸 2. Fitrah: The Boundary for Recognizing an Enemy Who Can Be Reformed

“Fitrah” is the “shared human conscience” that all people, despite their different religions and beliefs, recognize as good and recoil from violating.

Whoever crosses this “innate boundary” and turns to “injustice, lies, transgression, and corruption” is no longer “open to reform,” for they have waged war on their “true self”—their fitrah.

The criterion, then, is this “shared fitrah”; whoever opposes it is an enemy who can be restrained only through “decisive action.”

🌺 3. Forbearance and Strategic Silence: Wisdom Attuned to the Moment

“Forbearance” has its place when there is “hope of reform,” or when “any hasty response” would make matters worse.

At times, strategic silence is itself “wise judgment”—like operating on an infected wound: haste can spread the infection.

Thus, “forbearance” and “silence,” in their proper place, are wisdom; they do not mean “surrendering to injustice.”

🌻 4. Satanic Traits: The Breathing Ground of Satan

“Satanic traits” encompass all “moral vices,” from what is “contrary to human nature” to “inhuman inclinations and whatever violates human dignity.”

The hadith on the “hosts of reason and ignorance” gives a full list of these traits: “arrogance, envy, greed, ostentation, vanity, anger, desire, and so on.”

Purifying one’s being of these “satanic traits” means “cutting off the roots that let Satan breathe within the human soul.”

🌷 5. Divine Signs Reveal Identity; They Do Not Confer It

God’s signs do not create “the identity of things”; they “disclose their hidden identity.”

Just as light does not create the colors of things but reveals them, God’s signs make “the truth of people” manifest.

The sending of messengers and scriptures, the events of Ghadir and Saqifah, and divine commands such as prayer and jihad are all “unveilings of inner realities,” not acts of “conferring identity.”

Thus, the signs are sent down to guide; but whoever “turns their back on the light” chooses the path of error for themselves.

🌹 6. Divine Will: The True Cause of Every Effect

Every effect is “a manifestation of God’s will”; no effect exists without its “true cause”—God.

The means itself is among the clearest signs of “God’s approving will”; without His will being established, no means can endure.

Thus, every act in the world takes place by His will, and every means works its miracle in the shadow of “His will.”

🌼 7. The Means to God and the Means with God: A Difference in Function

Any instrument that brings a person closer to God is a “means to God”; but some means are “keys to other means.”

The Qur’an and the Household of the Prophet are among these “master keys,” while “tawhid” is “the master key to all means.”

God is both “the maker of keys” and “the maker of all means and locks.”

Thus, without tawhid, a means not only fails to show the way; it leads one astray.

🌿 8. Pseudo-Mysticism: A Counterfeit of the Truth

“Excessive mysticism” is not truly mysticism; it is “pseudo-mysticism,” which obstructs the pursuit of knowledge.

Just as “gold” stands in contrast to its counterfeit, so “pure mysticism” stands in contrast to “pseudo-mysticism.”

Every form of pseudo-mysticism strays from the path of the “Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt.” Anyone who departs from these two becomes ensnared in a counterfeit version of the truth.

🌾 9. Light as darkness for the wicked

Those who refuse to accept the truth and shrink from “processing rays of light” become blind.

For anyone who reacts to the truth in reverse and defies it, “light” becomes “darkness,” ensnaring them in the “quagmire of falsehood.”

Ali (AS) was God’s “speaking light” for the inhabitants of earth and heaven. But the envious, by warring against the light, blinded themselves and others, and fell into error.

🌺 10. Symbolic Samaritans in the present age

Toxic online spaces, media that spread lies, deceitful politicians, and scientists who exploit their discoveries to dominate others are all “symbolic Samaritans” in the present age.

Those who invent sects in opposition to divine religion and use the “trace of the Messenger” (religious truths) to mislead people are the clearest examples of “symbolic Samaritans.”

🌻 11. Divine signs: boundless and innumerable

The signs of God are beyond number and cannot be counted:

“Signs of creation”: the signs of existence (the horizontal and vertical signs)

“Legislative signs”: religious rulings and commandments

“Ethical signs”: human conduct and traits

“Quranic verses”: God’s silent signs

“The Ahl al-Bayt”: God’s speaking signs

“Every person”: God’s abiding sign within them

Thus all existence is a “sign of God,” and every sign opens a window onto the “true Agent” (God).

💫 In one final aphorism:

“All existence is a ‘sign of God,’ and every sign opens a window onto the ‘true Agent.’ Signs do not constitute the identity of things; they reveal it. In every age, symbolic Samaritans exploit the ‘trace of the Messenger’ to mislead people. But the thoughtful believer, by ‘consulting God’ and ‘following the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt,’ finds a way through these signs towards ‘divine unity.’”

🌟 Philosophical and sapiential insights from the text “The Miracle of Signs”

1. The ontology of signs (the study of signs as existent realities)

No.	Sapiential and philosophical insight–Philosophical	Brief explanation
1	All existence is God’s “sign” and “verse.”	The earth, the heavens, the Quran, the Ahl al-Bayt, and even human existence itself are all “divine signs.”
2	Divine signs are like “software” that works miracles within the “hardware of human existence.”	Harmony between “divine software” (verses, commandments, ethics) and “existential hardware” (a pure heart and sound intellect) is a condition for a miracle to come about.
3	Pure water works a miracle with pure soil;	The purity of one’s vessel of being is a condition for receiving divine grace; impurity prevents the manifestation of merciful signs.
4	Signs do not “confer identity”; they “illuminate hidden identity.”	God’s signs do not change the essence of things; they reveal their hidden reality, like light that brings out the colours of objects.
5	The divine signs are beyond number and impossible to enumerate.	“Ontological signs” (signs of existence), “legislative signs” (rulings), “ethical signs” (conduct), Quranic verses, and the Household are all instances of these infinite signs.
6	Every sign is a manifestation of the “divine will.”	Nothing exists without the “true agent” (God); and every means works miracles under the shelter of “His will.”

2. The Epistemology of Means (Knowing the Paths to Nearness)

No.	Philosophical–Theological Principle	Brief Explanation
1	A “means” is anything that brings a person closer to God.	Faith, Godwariness, righteous action, seeking the intercession of the Awliya, and even reflecting on the signs are all “means to God.”
2	Some means are “keys to other means.”	The Quran and the Household are among the “master keys” that activate other means.
3	A “means to God” differs from a “means with God.”	“A means to God” = a path to reaching God (such as tawhid, faith, and seeking intercession). “A means with God” = a special station that the Awliya hold before God (such as intercession).
4	Without “knowledge of the means,” a means can have the opposite effect.	The Samaritan fashioned a calf from the “trace of the Messenger” (a sign from God), because he lacked “true knowledge” of the means.
5	Tawhid is the “precondition for all means” and the “master key to every means.”	No means can bring a person to God without “tawhid”; every appeal for intercession must be “imbued with the fragrance of tawhid.”

3. The Anthropology of Signs and Means

No.	Philosophical–Theological Principle	Brief Explanation
1	A pure person is “adorned with pure signs.”	Merciful signs manifest in the being of a pure person, transforming them into “God’s gallery.”
2	Every human being is a “permanent sign of God” within themselves.	Each person’s existence is one of God’s signs, which they must discover and bring to fruition.
3	Pseudo-Shiites are like the “Samaritan,” exploiting divine means for personal gain.	In the name of the Household (AS), they prey on people and use the “traces of the Messenger” to lead others astray.
4	“Love of the world” is the clearest mark of God’s enemies.	Whoever becomes attached to the world is deprived of the “sweetness of divine love” and turns to enmity toward God.
5	“Knowledge” in unworthy hands becomes an instrument of misguidance.	Knowledge is a “lofty sign of God”; but when it falls into the hands of “Samaritan-like people,” they make people worship the calf.

4. The Philosophy of Tawhid (Precondition for All Means and Master Key)

No.	Philosophical–Theological Principle	Brief Explanation
1	Tawhid is the “precondition for every means to God.”	“Tawhid” comes before every means; without it, no means can bring a person to God.
2	“My means to You is tawhid” (a passage from a supplication).	Tawhid is not merely a belief, but “the practical path to reaching God.”
3	“Dharīʿa” (a foreguard) wards off shirk, while a “means” draws one nearer.	A “dharīʿa” keeps a person from misguidance, while a “means” brings them closer to God.
4	It is impossible to separate the “Imam” from the “means” (tawḥīd).	Tawḥīd is “the very soul of God’s proof”; and God’s proof is “the fortress of tawḥīd” and “the reality of tawḥīd.”
5	Holding fast to the Two Weighty Things is possible only through tawḥīd.	The Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household cannot be understood or followed without a “tawḥīdic perspective.”
6	Tawḥīd is the “master key to all means”; and God is both the “maker of keys” and the “creator of all causes and locks.”	Every means is effective by God’s permission; God Himself is the “true source of all efficacy.”

5. The Philosophy of Effects and Their Opposites (Warfare in the Realm of Ideas)

No.	Wisdom–PhilosophicalInsight	Brief Explanation
1	Godly effects close off “Satan’s breathing space.”	Purifying one’s being of “satanic effects” (pride, envy, ostentation, and so on) means cutting off the roots through which the enemy gains a foothold.
2	Satanic effects act like “Satan’s lungs,” growing and multiplying.	Any moral vice, if allowed to take root in a person, becomes “Satan’s cultivated field.”
3	The effective weapon against satanic effects is “Godly effects.”	Through remembrance, reflection and discernment, uproot satanic effects and replace them with “Godly effects.”
4	Every “divine trial” brings a person’s “rank in knowledge” to light.	The sending of messengers, the revelation of scriptures, and events such as Ghadir and Saqifah reveal what lies within people.

6. Comprehensive, Cross-Cutting Insights

No.	Wisdom–PhilosophicalInsight	Brief Explanation
1	The Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household are “two mirrors held in each other’s embrace.”	The Qur’an (the silent book) and the Prophet’s Household (the speaking book) complete and interpret one another.
2	“The Qur’an is an exposition of all things”; the Prophet’s Household is “the repository in which all things are enumerated.”	The Qur’an is “explanation and exposition”; the Prophet’s Household, “the gathering place of truths.”
3	The “Samaritan,” using “the messenger’s trace,” made the calf bellow; Mu‘awiya, using “the Qur’an on the spears,” deceived the people.	Both exploited “divine effects” to serve their own desires.
4	“Knowledge” in the hands of the unworthy breeds “ignorance”; this is not knowledge’s essential nature.	If the bearer of knowledge is not “God-fearing,” he drags knowledge to the “slaughterhouse.”
5	For believers, “God’s signs” are “the light of guidance”; for unbelievers, they are “an argument that leaves them no excuse.”	The difference lies not in “the signs themselves,” but in “how a person responds to them.”
6	Through their “effects,” believers make earth and heaven a stage for their wonders.	A believer’s light shines for the people of heaven, and the traces of their worship are evident in this world and the next.

🌹 Final Summary (in a Single Aphorism)

“All existence is God’s ‘effect’ and ‘sign,’ and every effect opens a window onto the ‘true source of all efficacy.’ Means are paths to draw near to God; yet no means can lead a person to the destination without ‘tawḥīd.’ Tawḥīd is ‘prior to all means’ and the ‘master key to all means’; and any appeal to an intermediary lacking the ‘fragrance of tawḥīd’ is nothing but ‘illusion.’ The Samaritans of every age exploit ‘the messenger’s traces’ to lead people astray; but the pure-hearted believers, through ‘the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household’ and ‘sincere tawḥīd,’ turn these effects into a bridge to spiritual ascent.”

An Expansive Elaboration

🌟 1. Effects: Signs Scattered Across the Horizon of Existence

All existence is God’s “effect” and “sign”—from distant galaxies to a drop rolling across a flower petal.

The earth and sky, the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt, even your own being—all are “signs of God,” speaking through their silent language of the “true Agent.”

These traces are like “software” that works wonders in the “hardware of human existence”—but only when the “hardware” (your heart and soul) is pure and ready.

Just as “pure water” and “pure soil” bring a garden into bloom, so too do “traces of divine grace” make the garden of meaning flourish in a “pure heart.”

🌸 2. The Means: A Bridge Between Earth and Heaven

A “means” is anything that brings you closer to God: faith, piety, righteous action, seeking the intercession of God’s chosen ones, or even gazing intently at the night sky.

Some means are “keys to other means.” The Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are among these “master keys,” opening the doors of knowledge to you.

Yet without “knowledge of the means,” a means can lead you astray, as it did the Samaritan, who used the “trace of the Messenger” (a sign from God) to fashion a calf that made a sound.

A means, then, can be both a “bridge to ascent” and a “snare of ruin”; the difference lies in how you see it.

🌺 3. Divine Unity: The Primal Means and Master Key to All Means

Divine unity is the “primal means” and the “master key to all means.”

No means can bring you to God without the “fragrance of divine unity”; and any act of seeking intercession, if emptied of “divine unity,” is nothing but an “illusion.”

Just as a key cannot work without a “hand to turn it,” a means cannot unlock what is closed without “sincere devotion to divine unity.”

God is both the “maker of keys” and the “maker of all means and locks”; and divine unity is the “hand that turns the key,” setting the keys to work.

🌷 4. Satanic Traces: The Enemy’s Breathing Space

Satanic traces are like a “lung” through which the enemy breathes: arrogance, envy, ostentation, conceit, greed, and all the “vices of character.”

If these traces take root within you, you become “Satan’s field,” yielding a crop of misguidance at every turn.

But the effective weapons against them are “traces of divine grace”: remembrance, reflection, deliberation, repentance, and seeking forgiveness.

With these weapons, you can “shatter Satan’s lungs” within yourself and close off his breathing space.

🌻 5. Symbolic Samaritans in Every Age

The Samaritan is not merely a historical figure; he is a “symbol of anyone” who exploits “divine signs” to serve the whims of the ego.

In our time, “symbolic Samaritans” seek to lead people astray through social media, the news, politics, and even under the guise of religion.

Using the “trace of the Messenger” (religious truths), they fashion calves that make a sound: calves of “fame, power, wealth, and ego-worship.”

But the discerning believer recognizes these “symbolic Samaritans” and uses “divine signs” to “multiply virtues,” not to “produce vices.”

🌹 6. Knowledge in Unworthy Hands: A Weapon of Ignorance

Knowledge is a “lofty sign of God”; but if it falls into “unworthy hands,” it becomes an “instrument of misguidance.”

Just as a surgeon’s knife gives life in a doctor’s hands and brings death in a murderer’s, knowledge in the hands of the “Samaritan-like” turns people into “calf-worshippers.”

Without “piety” and “divine unity,” knowledge not only fails to guide; it breeds “compound ignorance” and drags a person into the swamp of self-regard.

🌼 7. The Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt: Two Mirrors Held Together

The Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are “two mirrors held close together,” each interpreting the other and giving it meaning.

The Qur’an is “an explanation of all things,” and the Ahl al-Bayt are its “living embodiment.”

Whoever turns away from these two is left wandering like a “bat” in the darkness of ignorance, deprived of the “light of guidance.”

Thus, holding fast to the Two Weighty Things is possible only through “tawhid,” for tawhid is the “clear-sighted eye” that sees these two mirrors aright.

🌿 8. Light and Darkness in the Mirror of the Human Gaze

For the believers, God’s signs are a “light of guidance”; for the unbelievers, they are “proof brought to completion.”

The difference lies not in “the signs themselves,” but in “how a person encounters them.”

Whoever “turns their back on the light” chooses the path of error for themselves; whoever opens the “eye of the heart” sees the truth in its radiance.

Just as water gives life to good soil but makes saline soil even more bitter, so the signs nurture faith in a pure heart and increase disbelief in an impure one.

🌾 9. The Field of Faith: A Wonder to Unbelievers

A believer is like a field watered by “the water of the signs,” continually putting forth fresh shoots of “virtue and knowledge.”

This field flourishes so wondrously that “unbelievers” marvel at it, standing with their fingers in their mouths in astonishment.

The believer’s light shines for the inhabitants of heaven as the stars shine for the people of earth; and the traces of their worship are visible in this world on their face and in their conduct.

💫 Final Words

O heart, if you wish to see the “effect,” look in every direction, for everything is a sign of God.

If you wish to find the “means,” hold fast to the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt, for the keys to every door of knowledge are in their hands.

If you wish to understand “tawhid,” sever your ties with all that is other than God, for tawhid comes before every means.

If you wish to stay safe from “symbolic Samaritans,” use “sound reason” and a “pure heart” to distinguish effects from their source.

And if you wish to bring “the field of faith” to fruition, water your heart with “the water of the signs,” so that not only you, but all the world, may marvel at its wonder.

🌟 Part One: A Systematic Summary of “The Miracle of Effects”

1. The Central Principle: Effects as Manifestations of God’s Will in Existence

All existence is an “effect” and a “sign” of God: from the particle to the galaxy, from the Qur’an to the Ahl al-Bayt, and including the human being’s own existence.

Divine effects are “software” that work miracles within the “hardware of a pure human being’s existence.”

Effects do not “confer identity”; rather, they “illuminate the hidden identity” of things and people.

2. The Means: A Path of Nearness to God

A “means” is anything that brings a person nearer to God (faith, piety, righteous deeds, and seeking the intercession of the Awliya).

Some means are “keys to other means,” such as the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt.

Without “sound understanding,” a means can become an “instrument of misguidance” (as when the Samaritan used the “trace of the Messenger” to make a calf).

3. Tawhid: The Precondition and Master Key

Tawhid is “the means that precedes every means to God” and “the master key to all means.”

No means can bring a person to God without the “fragrance of tawhid.”

Holding fast to the Two Weighty Things (the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt) is possible only through a “tawhid-centered vision.”

4. Satanic Effects and Divine Defenses

Satanic effects—pride, envy, ostentation, greed, and other moral vices—are “the breathing ground of Satan.”

The effective weapon against them is “divine effects”: remembrance, reflection, deliberation, repentance, and seeking forgiveness.

Effects grow and multiply, whether they are divine effects, multiplying virtues, or satanic effects, multiplying vices.

5. Symbolic Samaritans in Every Age

The Samaritan is a symbol of anyone who exploits “divine effects” to serve their own desires and lead people astray.

Examples of symbolic Samaritans today include purveyors of false news, deceitful politicians, power-hungry scholars, and religious sect-makers.

🌹 Part Two: Further Clarifications (to resolve ambiguities)

Topic	Clarification
Consultation	Consultation should include everyone—even one’s enemy—and its highest form is consulting God through supplication, intimate prayer, and istikhāra.
The criterion for discerning an enemy	“Our shared human nature” is the criterion for distinguishing an enemy who can be reformed from one who cannot.
Forbearance and silence	Forbearance and silence, when appropriate and with hope for reform, are acts of wisdom—not surrender to oppression.
Satanic effects	These encompass all “moral vices, traits contrary to human nature, and inhuman inclinations.”
Deterministic interpretation	The verses do not confer an identity; rather, they “bring a hidden identity to light.”
The divine will	Every effect is “a manifestation of God’s will”; no means can have an effect without His will.
Pseudo-mysticism	Pseudo-mysticism is a counterfeit of the truth and strays from the path of the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt.
Light judged as darkness	For the wicked, God’s light becomes “the darkness of misguidance,” because they are hostile to the truth.

🌼 Part Three: A Richer Elaboration (in the language of the heart and the soul’s insight)

1. Effects: Signs scattered across the horizon of existence

All of existence is an “effect” and a “sign” of God, from distant galaxies to a drop of water rolling over a flower petal.

Earth and heaven, the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt, even your own existence—all are “divine signs” that speak, in their silent language, of the “true Cause.”

These effects are like “software” that works wonders in the “hardware of human existence”—provided that the “hardware,” your heart and soul, is pure and ready.

2. Means: A bridge between earth and the heavens

A “means” is anything that brings you closer to God: faith, piety, righteous deeds, seeking the intercession of the awliyāʾ, or even your rapt gaze at the night sky.

Some means are “keys to other means.” The Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are among these “master keys,” opening the doors of knowledge to you.

Yet without “understanding the means,” a means can lead you astray, as the Samaritan did: using the “trace of the Messenger”—a sign from God—he fashioned a calf that made a sound.

A means, then, can be both a “bridge to exaltation” and a “snare of ruin”; the difference lies in how you see it.

3. Divine Unity: The precondition and master key to all means

Divine Unity is the “precondition for every means” and the “master key to them all.”

No means can bring you to God without “the fragrance of divine unity”; and any appeal to a means emptied of “divine unity” is nothing but an “illusion.”

Just as a key cannot work without “a hand to turn it,” a means cannot untie knots without “sincere divine unity.”

God is both the “maker of keys” and the “maker of every means and lock”; and tawḥīd is the “hand that turns the keys.”

4. The Symbolic Samiri in Every Age

The Samiri is not merely a historical figure; he is a “symbol of anyone” who exploits “divine traces” to serve the whims of the ego.

Today, “symbolic Samiris” seek to lead people astray in cyberspace, in the media, in politics, and even under the guise of religion.

Using the “trace of the Messenger” (religious truths), they fashion calves that bellow: calves of “fame, power, wealth, and self-worship.”

But the discerning believer recognises these “symbolic Samiris” and uses “divine traces” to “multiply virtues,” not to “produce vices.”

5. Light and Darkness in the Mirror of the Human Gaze

For believers, God’s signs are a “light of guidance”; for disbelievers, they are “proof enough.”

The difference lies not in “the signs themselves,” but in “the way people respond to them.”

Whoever “turns their back on the light” chooses the path of misguidance; whoever opens “the eye of the heart” sees the truth in its radiance.

Just as water gives life to wholesome soil but makes saline soil saltier still, so God’s signs nurture faith in a pure heart and deepen disbelief in an impure one.

6. The Field of Faith: A Wonder in the Eyes of Disbelievers

The believer is like a field watered by “the water of God’s signs,” ever putting forth fresh shoots of “virtue and knowledge.”

This field flourishes so wondrously that “disbelievers” are astonished and can only stare in amazement.

The believer’s light shines for the people of heaven as the stars shine for the people of earth; and the marks of their worship are visible in this world, on their face and in their conduct.

💎 Final Summary (in a single, aphoristic and lyrical statement)

“All existence is God’s ‘trace’ and ‘sign’; and every trace opens a window onto the ‘true Agent.’ The means are paths by which to draw near to God; yet no means can bring a person to their destination without ‘tawḥīd.’ Tawḥīd is the ‘means before all means’ and the ‘master key to every means’; and any appeal for intercession that lacks the ‘fragrance of tawḥīd’ is nothing but an ‘illusion.’ The Samiris of every age exploit the ‘traces of the Messenger’ to lead people astray; but the pure believers, through the ‘Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt’ and ‘sincere tawḥīd,’ build from these traces a bridge to spiritual ascent. They make the field of their faith so fruitful that all the world looks on in wonder.”

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[1] Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 2, p. 130Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kulaynī, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, Tehran, 4th ed., 1407 AH.

[2]Kashf al-Ghumma fī Maʿrifat al-Aʾimma (old edition), vol. 2, p. 132. ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā al-Irbilī, Banī Hāshim, Tabriz, 1st ed., 1381 AH.

[3] Al-Muʾmin, p. 29Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd al-Kūfī al-Ahwāzī, Muʾassasat al-Imām al-Mahdī (peace be upon him), Qom, 1404 AH.

[4]An excerpt from Supplication 49 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya

[5] Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid wa Silāḥ al-Mutaʿabbid, vol. 2, p. 477Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Muʾassasat Fiqh al-Shīʿa, Beirut, 1st ed., 1411 AH.

[6] Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid wa Silāḥ al-Mutaʿabbid, vol. 2, p. 833Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Muʾassasat Fiqh al-Shīʿa, Beirut, 1st ed., 1411 AH.