Ṣādiq: The Manifestation of Life and Wisdom

🌼🔆🌼The Spiritual Path: From the Mind’s Helplessness to the Light of Imamate🌼🔆🌼

🌌 The Sadiq: A Sacred River of Everlasting Life

🔹 The Martyrdom of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (PBUH)
📅 Date: 1404/02/04 – 25 Shawwal 1446
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei

Some of the topics discussed in the session:

On the night of mourning for the Sadiq of the House of Muhammad (PBUH), we offer our condolences to the celestial realm with blessings upon Muhammad and his family.
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, this mighty Muhammadan river**—*a sacred river*—is a river of *everlasting life. Ja’far, this sacred river flowing through earth and heaven, bears the incomparable taste of God’s river: the taste of life*;
*life in this world, heavenly life, the life of true servitude. Who, truly, is Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq? Who is this wondrous being? Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq is one of God’s great melodies in all existence, one of the melodies of the All-Wise. God plays the world of existence through the Sadiq of the House of Muhammad. Through the Sadiq, this world takes on a wondrous order and harmony. Those who have ears to hear, whose hearts are awake*—they *feel this resonance of God with their whole being. It is God’s melody, awakening the innate nature. At every moment, God draws the human soul into a new order. The Sadiq has not departed; he dwells in souls—awake souls. Those who have killed the Sadiq in their hearts have driven him from their souls and become scorching deserts. But those who live through the knowledge of the Sadiq* have the Sadiq play upon their souls.
At every moment their souls **take on a new order,
at every moment they are adorned anew in servitude to God.

The Sadiq is alive, by God’s own divinity** and through the *power and strength of the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining*; the Sadiq is alive.
*His life continues*; he reigns over souls.
*He is God’s proof over souls*; this *proof is never withdrawn. He is God’s melody for those with ears to hear. Those who have ears but do not listen, those who hold a Sadiq in trust within their souls yet make no use of this means of access to God*—
when will they take on the beauty of servitude to God?
*When will they follow their Imam? When will that time come? Is Imam al-Sadiq in their thoughts or not? This mighty instrument, God’s melody*—Imam al-Sadiq—
*is God’s instrument of sound and song*;
**it plays God’s sounds and melodies,
bringing order and discipline to souls—a wondrous discipline.
Why does this world move according to such a precise order?

🕊 The Sadiq lives through divine life

🌠 The Sadiq, the one who orders creation

He created night and day, the sun and the moon;
all float in their own orbits, in a remarkable order and beauty.
Why do they never stray from their courses?
Why does the flower, in all its beauty and order, put forth a bud?
The fragrance of the flower, which brings serenity to souls**, comes from the order, harmony and *distinctive rhythm of its movements. How do the particles released from the flower’s soul fall into such order? God brings order to this world through His proof. One of those who bring order*—one of *God’s orderers*—**is the Sadiq of the House of Muhammad.

An Imam is the mystery of servitude.
Is water not meant to be drunk?
Is light not meant to help us see?
Why do we not drink the water?
Why do we not experience life?
Why do we not draw from this vast ocean**?
Why have we shut our eyes to *God’s light and radiance*?
Is knowledge not the means by which mysteries are uncovered?
Why do we not draw upon this knowledge?
*Why do we not open the breast of mysteries? Why have we left this ocean untapped*?
Why have we abandoned this palace to itself?
Why do we not swim in this ocean?
Why do we not become a *star in this heaven*?

Is he not God’s great computer? Why do we not connect to this mighty device of God? Not only is he himself one; every word he speaks, every report he narrates, is a great computer. By God, it is so. By the Lordship of God, it is so. It is a great computer. It brings a person to life and sets them in motion, connecting them to the depths of hidden truths. It carries them to the heights of all that unfolds. By the Lordship of God, I swear by God, it even carries a person across the bridge of existence. By God, it shows us what lies behind existence. A single word from this Imam Sadiq is a window onto the secrets behind secrets,
showing us what lies behind the light,
revealing what lies beyond measure and place,
**showing it to us by God.

🌗 The orbit of souls and God’s order

Night and day, sun and moon—and our souls, too, through the light of God’s proof,** are ordered and arranged, and resound with *God’s praise and glorification. If it were not so, the orbit of our souls would fall apart. This is what is meant by: «وَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ» The Imam in whose being all things are encompassed, and who is himself God’s melody and song. What a world the Imam is! What a state this greatest world of God is in! How is this all things* brought into order by God’s order?
It changes from moment to moment, renewed and taking on a new state:
«كلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ»
This *Manifest Imam, in whose being all things are encompassed*
, is *ordered anew each day, in keeping with God’s new affair. Reflect on this. Those who live under the guidance of God’s Proof*
are shaped by this **rhythm and melody.
They are shaped by this influence of all things.

Who is a true follower of al-Sadiq, of the House of Muhammad?
When Imam Baqir introduced Imam Sadiq, then a child, he said:
Addressing his companions, he would say:
O Muhammad, this one—meaning al-Sadiq—is your Imam after me.
You must follow him, and you must certainly take from his knowledge.
These words are addressed to all the Shia.
Al-Sadiq is our Imam; we must follow him.
When someone follows their Imam, it means they are locked into their Imam**
, becoming one with him, moving in step with the Imam himself.
They no longer *react of their own accord*
, but are *drawn into the orbit of their Imam. Whatever they do, every fibre of their being is shaped by the Imam’s melody*.
This is **what it truly means to follow.
There must be no distance in time or space between the Imam and the one who follows him.
If there is distance, it means they have not yet attained complete following.
When they become one with their Imam, they have truly made him their guide.
Their following is complete.

🔥 A heart warmed to life melts into al-Sadiq’s knowledge

After you, al-Sadiq is our Imam.
We should have followed our Imam,
lived under his guidance,
and taken from his knowledge.
What have we gained from al-Sadiq’s knowledge?
We must take in knowledge in such a way that, just as warmth kindles our hearts,
our hearts, too, are kindled by the knowledge of al-Sadiq of the House of Muhammad.
We must melt into the Imam’s knowledge.

Imam Baqir swore by God:
«والله إنه لَهُوَ الصادق»
Know in all truth that he is al-Sadiq, the truthful one.
Just as the Messenger of God described him to us.

His followers, the true Shia, are victorious**
in this world and the next.
*The true Shia are victorious*—triumphant in this world and the next.
**They are always victorious, always crowned, always standard-bearers of knowledge, wisdom, ethics, and excellence.
They are victorious.

Imam Baqir tells us:
The Shia are the triumph of God.
They are victorious themselves, and they bring victory to others.
Whoever stands with the Shia is victorious, a conqueror of the age.

Is it not so?
By God, it is.
They have found al-Sadiq of the House of Muhammad;
those outside the Shia found him before the Shia did.

The Shia are the crown of the earth.
The Shia are life-giving water,
the Shia are light that illuminates,
the Shia are warmth, courage, movement, vitality, and strength.
A true follower of al-Sadiq is one who reflects Imam Sadiq—a flower petal from Ja‘far’s wing.

👑 Al-Sadiq, the enduring miracle of the House of Muhammad

Gold and jewels are Ja‘far; he is the honour of Imam al-Sadiq.
This is the true Shi‘i.
And his enemies are accursed in this world and the next.
From the lips of every prophet—that is, of all God’s prophets—
curses were pronounced upon the enemy of al-Sadiq, of the House of Muhammad.
Who is al-Sadiq?
Al-Sadiq is the ever-flowing, enduring miracle of the House of Muhammad.

🔭 Al-Sadiq, God’s vast computer

It is impossible to imagine the world without Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq.
It is hard.
What would a world without Imam al-Sadiq be like?
A world of utter cold, darkness, and confinement.
Can one imagine this world without al-Sadiq?
Can there be a world without knowledge?
A world like a mute’s meaning**, bereft of knowledge of Imam al-Sadiq?
It would be that same cramped, dark world.
It would have nothing.
**It would be dead.
Harder than stone.

Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq is God’s great display**,
the display of God’s wonders in this created world,
the display of the entire **mission of the prophets and the saints, and the heavenly books—the Glorious Qur’an.
This is al-Sadiq of the House of Muhammad.

💠 Every narration, a network of symbols, fragrance, and light

Each of his narrations is a computer network, a code, a wondrous seed.
When planted in a human soul, it blossoms;
by God, it bears fruit;
by God Almighty, it yields fruit and flowers, brings serenity, and is fragrant, rich with nectar and honey.
By God, it turns the human soul into a garden for the angels.
It has its own infrastructure.
Through the Imam—through each of the Imams, through our Imam al-Sadiq—
we connect with every heavenly book.
It is as though we were in intimate communion with every prophet.
We are connected, drop by drop, to all that exists in this world.

📚 Without al-Sadiq, knowledge is lost

To say that knowledge is lost without al-Sadiq** is an understatement,
for *we would not be overstating it. Without al-Sadiq, knowledge would lose its way, or depart, or vanish from this world all at once. Had he not been, there would have been no trace of God’s religion either. Al-Sadiq is the very soul of God’s religion*; and *God’s religion is the path of journeying toward God*—
a journey marked by perfection, order, and discipline.

Without al-Sadiq,
there would have been no religion,
no journey toward God,
no order or spiritual wayfaring.

This is the ever-flowing miracle of Muhammad and the House of Muhammad,
an enduring, growing miracle. Among the great Imam’s gifts are knowledge and wisdom—
not only for the Shi‘a, but **for all existence.
It knows no boundaries.
All drink from al-Sadiq’s knowledge and wisdom,
Shi‘a and non-Shi‘a, believers in God and those who do not believe in God alike;
all have benefited from this gift.

Had al-Sadiq not been,
this world would have been «ما لَمْ يُزْرَع»,
struck by a famine of knowledge**,
*it would have become a desert, parched and waterless*;
*it would have had no intellectual life*;
there would have been no life of devotion in this world.

**Al-Sadiq is the lifeline.
If we are cut off from this lifeline,
we are left paralysed.
Who are we?
Or are we nothing at all?
Are we alive—or paralysed?

What percentage of our nerves are functioning**?
Or what percentage of us is **paralysed?
Paralysed in sight and hearing?
In taste and reason?
How much of our intellect is active, and how much paralysed?

How do we breathe?
Do we breathe with a heavenly breath?
Or have our heavenly lungs been paralysed?

Are we not connected to al-Sadiq?
Then why should we be paralysed?
Why do we hear nothing from the heavenly realm?
Because we have been cut off from this lifeline;
we have not attained knowledge of this lifeline of God.
We have been afflicted with the paralysis of servitude.

🌌 Humanity is paralysed without al-Sadiq

Humanity has become paralysed.
Without Imam al-Sadiq, our world is dark.
With Imam al-Sadiq, our heavenly sky is adorned with the splendour of the stars.
In the presence of the Imam, nothing is lacking in our being.
Without the Imam, the fabric of our souls unravels.
Had they not been, the fabric of the community would have unravelled.

The central force of attraction for the Muslim community.
It is not exclusive to the Shi‘a.
No—it belongs to the whole Muslim world, indeed to the entire planet, to all of existence. The Imam is its proof, its lifeline, its saviour.
Without the Imam, humanity would have hastened toward extinction in its own time.

This is a humanity that takes steps against itself,
committing suicide, murdering morality, destroying monotheism.
Its deviation grows ever greater.
Had humanity continued along this path,
nothing of it would have remained;
it would have destroyed itself altogether.

Once we are equipped with an Imam—our Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq⟧11⟧*—we will taste the sweetness of servitude to God. We will experience the joy of communion with the highest realm. It is through Imam al-Sadiq that we can attain knowledge of the self, and thereby come to know the Lord*—and be granted success.

Does the self not need a device, a means?
Had we been equipped with the means of God,
we could have come to know the self with its help.
**We would hasten by means of knowledge of God.

🕯 The Imam: the instrument we have left idle

The Imam is our Imam.
We have left the Imam idle.
We have switched off this mighty instrument.
We watch from afar.
Our hearts are thick with dust.
Where have we buried the Imam’s greatness?
This Imam, whose rank is that of the prophets and the heirs of the appointed successors
**—the Imamate is the succession to the Messenger of God;
**it is the station of the Commander of the Faithful, the inheritance of Hasan and Husayn.
What an exalted station, which we failed to recognise.

The Imamate is the ordering principle of religion.
It is the good of this world,
the honour of the faithful,
the foundation of a flourishing Islam.
That Islam which grows, moves forward and embodies beauty
is the very order founded upon the Imam
** and subject to his authority.

It is Islam’s highest branch. Through the Imam, prayer is made complete. Zakat, fasting, pilgrimage and jihad—and the delivery of alms to their proper recipients—all depend upon the presence of the Imam,
**as do the enforcement of God’s limits, the application of His rulings and the safeguarding of Islam’s frontiers.
With the Imam, what is lawful remains lawful and what is forbidden remains forbidden.
With him, God’s limits are upheld and religion defended;
with the Imam, people are called to the path of their Lord through good counsel and wisdom.
He is the rising sun, God’s light upon all existence.

🌟 The Imam: a light shining in the darkness

The Imam is a radiant full moon.
He is a manifest lamp, a brilliant light, a guide.
Amid the darkness,
in the depths of deserts and wastelands,
in the ocean’s farthest depths…
Whatever we say of the Imam, we have said too little.

Alas, how much have we truly benefited from this blessing?
Let us prepare our answer.
We know nothing of the firmament of the Imamate,
nothing of its breadth, nothing of its mysteries.
We have not journeyed through the Imamate,
nor reviewed it,
nor contemplated it;
we have yet to open our eyes to it.

Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq was an Imam who reached into the innermost depths of every human being.
There was no place untouched by the grace of the Imamate.
The Shi‘a had their own place;
Sunnis and others, too,
benefited greatly from the Imamate—from al-Sadiq.
The Imam even reached into the heart of polytheism and atheism.
He reached those who did not believe in God.

Even now,
the Imam’s place is not empty.
With the wisdom of al-Sadiq
** at hand, to wander through the lanes and alleys of degrading philosophies
** is truly deserving of reproach.

The wisdom of al-Sadiq, in the truest sense, is sacred philosophy in this world of being.
If we seek sacred philosophy,
we must plunge into the wisdom of al-Sadiq.
All the learned people in this world
are students of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq.

🔍 The al-Sadiq Test

Let us test ourselves against the Imam’s words.
The Imam breaks through boundaries
** and reveals to us what lies beyond the mysteries.
How much have we gained from the knowledge of al-Sadiq?
The test is simple.
Let us place his words before the eyes of our souls
and submit ourselves to this test and examination.

🪐 Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq, praising the unknowable God

Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq praises God with such beauty.
Praise be to God, who
cannot be sensed, sought or touched;
cannot be apprehended by the five senses;
is not perceived by sensation;
is beyond the reach of those who seek Him;
and cannot be touched by those who touch.

No sense can apprehend Him.
Imagination cannot encompass Him.
He cannot be conceived by the mind.
Imagination and fancy cannot reach Him.
No tongue can describe Him.
No language can describe Him.
No description can encompass Him.

Even if the tongues of all creation came together,
they could not describe Him.
All tongues gathered in one place
would never be capable of finding words to describe Him.
The senses cannot perceive Him.
Not merely the human senses,
but the senses of every sentient being—
human beings, jinn, earthly and heavenly creatures, angels—
everything that exists in this world,
even the Holy Spirit…

were all their senses to gather together,
become one, unite,
and join their strength,
they still could not perceive Him.

Nor can the seekers’ search
seek Him out.
No matter who seeks in this world,
with all the force and effort of their search,
they cannot seek Him out.

Nor can hands reach out and touch Him.
By touch, what is meant is every kind of power and strength.
Even if they try to reach Him and touch Him,
they cannot.

🧠 Touch marks the limit of the created; God is beyond comprehension

All touch belongs to the created order.
It reaches only what is created;
the senses apprehend created things.
What a remarkable saying this is—the saying of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq.
He is Exalted. If the senses cannot perceive Him, if seekers and those who touch are powerless, if the five senses cannot reach Him and imagination cannot grasp Him…
Then what are we to do?
We are lost.

The Imam says:
He is Exalted, Sublime, Most High.
If we seek Him to the utmost of our capacity, if we seek Him as we ought…
He is Exalted, Sublime and Most High**—
can He be sought?
**We seek what lies beyond our reach.
He is beyond all reach.

Whatever we find, understand, seek or imagine
is not Him; He cannot be imagined.

Then whom are we seeking?
He is Exalted;
He cannot be apprehended.
We can only beseech Him to lift the veil from our hearts.

In philosophy’s lanes and alleyways, one does not find God by searching;
one only loses one’s way.
The tongues of all philosophers fall short of Him.

God is Sublime;
the Sublime, too, has no need to be sought.
Touch and contact belong to servants, to created beings.

Through Him, we perceive;
through Him, we touch;
through our seeking, our bodies, our contact…
we reach His knowledge**;
*through His knowledge, we come to understanding*;
**we come to understand what He knows.

But He is higher**;
**He is Exalted, Sublime.
He is beyond all reaching.
He is higher than anything found.
Let us find Him…
He is the One beyond all that is found.
He is Most High…
Can He ever be found?
He is beyond being “found.”

By God, in such a state, we cannot understand:
everything found is a sign of Him, yet He is more manifest than His sign.
Not through the apprehension of sense, imagination or reason**—
for all these things **are encompassed by Him.
Because of His exaltedness and dominion,
we reach a state beyond comprehension.

Nothing in us can attain the light by means of light.
My example speaks only of light.
I do not mean to liken the Eternal, the Self-Sufficient God, to light**;
it would be wrong of me to make such a comparison.
**I only point to it to show all the more clearly my own incapacity.

🌕 Light comes to us from Him—not the other way around

Does our understanding reach the light in order to perceive it?
Or should we put it this way:
Can anything in us reach the light so that we may perceive it?

When we seek to perceive the light,
nothing in us reaches it;
rather, it is the light that reaches us,
and we perceive it.
Is that not so?

The seeking is mine, in the hope of reaching.
It is He who brings me there.
Whom am I seeking? What am I?

His sheer will—the very oneness—is His unconditioned seeking.

✨ His will is His act: not something apprehensible, but beyond apprehension.

Even the example of light falls short of Him.
Light is like His will.
And His will, in turn, is His act.

Thus, through His will, every existent stands in relation to Him in a state of pure transcendence beyond apprehension.
Not merely in a state of apprehension.

For this transcendence beyond apprehension admits of no description.

📜 He was; before being, beyond existence

The Imam continues:
Praise belongs to God, who «was» before there was «was».
Praise belongs to God, who was before there was existence.

No description can be found for Him.
Existence cannot describe Him.
When we say that He had existence before existence**,
existed before existence,
was before existents…
what we mean is that **we confess our inability.
Existence cannot describe Him.

By what was He praised before existence?
Was He praised by a description that was not a description?
He «was» before there was existence.
Before existence, was there any description that could describe Him?
Then how was He?
There was no description to describe Him.

🌌 The giver of existence, who brought things into being yet transcends existence

He was the first giver of existence.
He «was», yet He was the first giver of existence.
No «creator» brought Him into being.
His exception is one of majesty.

He brought things into existence before their existence.
Before things existed, He brought their thingness into being.

🔮 He was when nothing was

So He «was», just as He brought them into being.
He created everything before it came to be.
He knows what was and what will be.

He «was» when there was nothing
and no speaker said anything about Him.
He «was» when nothing was.
He was before «was».

He was existence before existence.
This means:
He is other than existence.
The giver of existence transcends existence,
for existence is a need** for every created thing.
And He is **absolutely self-sufficient.

He is above
what He has brought into being.
The bringer of existence is above existence
and has no need of it.

When we say,
«He was, with existence before existence»
this description is meant to show our inability.
The phrase is a bridge to cross over.
Its construction forms an idea in our minds.
We must not look at existence;
we must attend to the expression.

The Imam sounds out this phrase so that our hearts may awaken to understanding.
When he says,
«kāna before kāna», «kāna» is not there.
Let us not mistake this.
Just as there is no «before» before before.

Is time before time still time?
It is not time.

Why, then, is this expression used?
It is a bridge to cross over.
And peace be upon you.

I have nothing more to say about this mystery.

In philosophy’s lanes and byways, they do not seek God;
they lose their way.
Every philosopher’s words fall short of Him.

God is exalted,
and the Exalted has no need to be sought.
Seeking and touching belong to servants, to created beings.

We, who sense through Him,
who touch through Him,
through our seeking, our bodies, our contact…
attain His knowledge**;
*through His knowledge, we attain understanding*;
**we come to know what He knows.

But He is beyond all this**;
**He is exalted, sublime.
He is beyond being reached.
He is higher than anything found.
Let us find Him…
Him who is more truly found than anything found.
He is transcendent…
Can He really be found?
He is beyond “being found.”

By God, in such a state, we cannot comprehend this:
everything found is a sign of Him, yet He is more manifest than His signs.
Not through the apprehension of sense, imagination, or reason**—
for all these **are encompassed by Him.
By virtue of His sublimity and sovereignty,
we reach a state beyond apprehension.

None of us can reach the light in order to comprehend it by means of light.
My example speaks only of light.
I do not mean to liken the Eternal, God the Self-Sufficient, to light**;
I would be wrong to make such a comparison.
**I point to it only to make my own incapacity clearer.

🌌 The Bestower of Being, who brings things into existence yet transcends existence

He was the first Bestower of Being.
He was—and was the first Bestower of Being.
No “creator” brought Him into being.
His uniqueness is a matter of majesty.

He brought things into being before their existence.
Before things existed, He brought their thingness into being.

🌗 The orbit of souls and God’s order

Night and day, sun and moon—and our souls, too, through the luminous authority of God’s Proof**, are adorned and ordered, and *glorify and praise God. Without it, the orbit of our souls would fall apart. This is the one of whom it is said: «وَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ» The Imam in whom all things are gathered, and who himself is God’s melody and song. What a wondrous world the Imam is! What a state this greatest of God’s worlds is in! How is this all of things* brought into order by God’s order?
It changes from moment to moment, renews itself, takes on a new state:
«كلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ»
This *Imam of clear guidance, in whom all things are gathered,*
is adorned each day with a new adornment, through a new divine act. Reflect on this. Those under the Imamate of God’s Proof*are affected by this **rhythm and melody.
They are shaped by this all-encompassing influence.
Who is a true Shi‘a of the family of Muhammad?

When Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, was a child, Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, described him in these words:
He would say to his companions:
O Muhammad, this one—meaning al-Sadiq—is your Imam after me.
Be sure to follow him; be sure, without fail, to acquire knowledge from him.
These words are addressed to all the Shi‘a.
Al-Sadiq is our Imam; we must follow him.
When someone follows their Imam, it means they become bound to him**;
they become one with their Imam, moving in step with him.
They have no *
independent response of their own*;they are under the *
pull of their Imam. Whatever they do, every fibre of their being is shaped by their Imam’s melody*.This is **what it truly means to follow an Imam.
There should be no distance in space or time between the Imam and the one who follows him in prayer.
If there is distance, it means they have not attained complete following.
When they become one with their Imam, they have truly made him their guide.
Their following is complete.
🔥 A warm soul melts into the knowledge of al-Sadiq

After you, al-Sadiq is our Imam.

We should have followed our Imam,
lived under his guidance,
and acquired knowledge from him.
What have we gained from al-Sadiq’s knowledge?
We must acquire knowledge that warms our souls,
just as our bodies are warmed by heat;
our souls, too, must be warmed by the knowledge of al-Sadiq of the family of Muhammad.
We must melt into the Imam’s knowledge.

Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, would swear by God:
«والله إنه لَهُوَ الصادق»
Take it in the fullest sense: he is the truthful one,
just as the Messenger of God described him to us.

His followers—the truthful Shia—are منصورون**:
in this world and the next.
*The truthful Shia are منصورون*: victors in this world and the next.
**They are always victorious, always crowned, always standard-bearers of knowledge, wisdom, ethics, and excellence.
They are منصورون.

Imam al-Baqir explains:
To be Shia is to be supported by God.
The Shia are victorious themselves, and they bring victory to others.
Whoever stands with the Shia is victorious, a conqueror of the age.

Is that not so?
By God, it is.
They have embraced the Truthful One of the House of Muhammad;
those outside the Shia found him before the Shia did.

The Shia are the crown of the earth.
To be Shia is to be life-giving water,
to be Shia is to be light that illumines,
to be Shia is to be warmth, courage, movement, vitality, strength.
A truthful Shia is one who reflects Imam al-Sadiq, a blossom from the wing of Ja‘far.

🔭 Al-Sadiq, God’s mighty computer

It is impossible to imagine the world without Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq.
It is hard.
What kind of world would it be without Imam al-Sadiq?
A world unbearably cold, dark, and constricted.
Can we even imagine this world without al-Sadiq?
Can there be a world without knowledge?
A world like a mute utterance**, deprived of knowledge of Imam al-Sadiq?
It would be that same constricted, dark world.
It would have nothing.
**It would be dead.
Harder than stone.

Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq is God’s mighty display**,
a display of God’s wonders in this universe,
a display of the entire **mission of the prophets and saints, and of the heavenly books—the glorious Qur’an.
This is al-Sadiq of the House of Muhammad.

🧠 Touch marks the limits of creation; God is beyond comprehension

All that can be touched is a sign of createdness.
Touch reaches only what is created;
the senses perceive what is created.
What remarkable words these are—the words of Imam al-Sadiq.
He is the Most High: if the senses cannot perceive Him, if the seekers and those who would touch Him are left helpless, if the five senses cannot reach Him and the mind cannot grasp Him…
then what are we to do?
We are lost.

The Imam says:
He is the Most High, exalted, supreme.
If we seek Him to the utmost of our capacity, if we seek Him as we ought…
He who is the Most High, exalted, sublime**,
can He be sought?
**What is sought is what lies beyond our reach.
He is beyond all reach.

Whatever we find, comprehend, seek, or imagine—
we do not imagine Him.

Then whom are we seeking?
He is the Most High;
He cannot be comprehended.
We can only beseech Him to lift the veil from our hearts.