The Horizons of Ghadir

🌼🔆🌼 A Being Whole in Wilayah 🌼🔆🌼

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌹 “Wholeness through Wilayah”  “Activating Ghadir”  “The Greater Ghadir” “The Hidden Mysteries of ʿAlī’s Wilayah”  “The Eve of Eid al-Ghadir” and more … An abstract, with addendum      1403.04.04  ʿAlī Sāʿī (ʿAbd-Allāh Meshkāt) 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

🔅🌼O Most High, by the truth of ʿAlī 🌼🔅

🔆Ghadir is the bridal chamber of the One’s incomparable love; 🔅ʿAlī is the wise and knowing sovereign of the world of love; 🔅the wilayah of ʿAlī is the Eternal Beloved’s peerless, beautiful invitation to enter His private sanctuary; 🔅may the shoots of boundless feeling, warmed by nearness to the Supreme Being through the wilayah of the Master of the God-fearing, blossom and be blessed.

🔅🌼A broad outline of Ghadir’s horizons 🌼🔅

🌼 Ghadir is «عیدُ الله الاکبر»—the day that shines like the sun among all other days. It is like a moon among the celestial bodies: its light is blessed, and it is itself blessed.

🌼 Ghadir is the day when the noble Gabriel sets up a pulpit of praise in the Frequented House and celebrates Muhammad and ʿAlī. Gabriel stands on the pulpit, with all the angels gathered around him, circling him like moths around a flame. The angels of all seven heavens attend his sermon and seek forgiveness for the followers and lovers of His Eminence and his descendants.

🌼 The blessings of Ghadir are beyond the power of words to describe. When God presented the wilayah of ʿAlī to the heavens, the seventh heaven outstripped the others. So God adorned the seventh heaven with His Throne. After it, the fourth heaven outstripped the other heavens, and God adorned it with the Frequented House. And blessings upon the people of the lowest heaven, who were the third heaven to answer the call of ʿAlī’s wilayah, making it possible for the lowest heaven to be adorned with celestial bodies and galaxies. This was God’s gift to the lowest heaven, a wonder that has left its explorers astonished.

🌼 Then God presented the wilayah to the earth, and among the lands, Mecca was the first to respond. God adorned it with the Kaaba, then Madinah, adorned with Muhammad al-Mustafa; then Kufa, adorned with Imam ʿAlī, peace be upon him. He then presented it to the mountains. The first mountain to answer the call was Mount Agate, followed by turquoise, ruby, and the other mountains that became repositories of precious stones.

🌼 The Trust was offered to every being in creation. Every plant that answered the call was adorned; every water that answered became sweet; every bird that answered became sweet-voiced. Whoever denied it or resisted became mute, dumb, or harsh-voiced; every water that refused turned bitter, while the plant that answered became sweet and wholesome.

🌼 The believers’ acceptance of the wilayah of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is like the angels’ prostration before Adam: whoever accepted became like an angel, and whoever refused and turned away became like accursed Iblis.

🌼 The heavens and all that is in them glorify God. This means that God’s wilayah is established throughout every dimension of existence.

🌼 Wilayah must be accepted with every aspect of one’s being: with every cell, every spirit, with both reason and heart. Even the beings that live within my body and soul must belong to Ghadir. If any part of my body does not affirm wilayah, it will, in its own measure, turn my being into a hell.

🌼 Ghadir is my very soul; there is no place untouched by it.

🌼 Ghadir is the lifeblood of progress and development; it belongs to every being in the world. All existence rests in Ghadir’s embrace.

🌼 The wilayah of ʿAlī is the wilayah of God—a wilayah to which every prophet has affirmed, and without which none was sent.

🌼 Wilayah is the transcendent link that binds us; it is the lifeline of servitude to God. The whole universe is nourished by wilayah, drinking its milk and water and eating its bread.

🌼 Wilayah is the pulse of servitude. The wilayah of ʿAlī is the secret of ascent and spiritual wayfaring. Without it, servitude collapses and sinks to the lowest depths.

🌼 Renewing the Ghadir covenant means hastening our growth toward perfection and the fulfilment of servitude to God.

🌼 Ghadir is not repeated; it is reaffirmed, so that those who have fallen short may return to the path, and those already following Ghadir may increase their pace and be encouraged.

🌼 Ghadir has many horizons. Its earthly horizon is the Day of Ghadir that we celebrate, but it also has the horizon of Jabulqa, the horizon of Jabulsa, the horizon of the Sea of Light, and horizons in every heaven and every place.

🌼 The verse «انا لله و انا الیه راجعون» is interpreted through Ghadir and the wilayah of Ali.

🌼 We must bring Ghadir to life within ourselves. Ghadir empowers every wayfarer and seeker. We must not attend only to its outward form; it should give our journey twice the momentum. If water became refreshing through accepting wilayah, then it should transform the whole of a person’s being into a jewel.

🌼 The seed of Ghadir must grow within me; the tree of Ghadir within me must put forth branches and fruit, flourish, and reach towards the heavens.

🌼 Love for Ali ibn Abi Talib is the place where God is encountered (it is God’s veil). I wish to meet God, so I must wear a beautiful covering—and God Himself has sewn it: a garment fit for human stature, one that makes a person worthy to meet God.

🌼 Without that covering, with what honor could I go to meet my God?

🌼 How is his wilayah a veil between servant and Lord?

🌼 Where do I reside—in my body or my soul? Why do I think my body is myself? It is because of the profound bond between me and my body; that is why I feel at one with it. If I felt this way about wilayah, I would feel at one with it. I must become one with wilayah.

🌼 Consider how much you love yourself. As a person’s love for themselves grows, their bond with themselves deepens. What would happen if I had that kind of companionship with wilayah?

🌼 To seek knowledge of God’s Proof is to seek all knowledge.

🌼 Ali swears: “By God, there is no sign of Allah greater than me.” The highest degree of connection with the Beloved, without any hindrance.

🌼 The Great Saqifah belongs to the end times.

🌼 If the Saqifah is over, why is the Imam of the Age in occultation? If there were 313 people of Ghadir, the Imam of the Age would appear.

🌼 Without wilayah and the Ghadir of Ali, nothing will be blessed.

🌼 Saqifah and Ghadir take place first of all within our own hearts. Perhaps at first I answered the call, but then broke my pledge: acceptance softens the heart, while denial makes it hard.

🌼 Which of my choices is in keeping with Ghadir? Have I dedicated my body and soul to wilayah?

🌼 In prayer, we become followers of the Imam so that we may worship God as one. God does not accept division. To be God’s servant, I must preserve all His signs and read all existence, line by line, as a book. If I do not read it, I have failed to move on in God’s classroom. I must understand and taste the whole of the galaxies before I can say I have benefited from God’s signs. The simple way is to dissolve into the congregation: when I pray, to become one with the whole universe and worship God with perfect sincerity.

🌼 What is the relationship between a leaf and the tree itself? What is the relationship between my finger and me?

🌼 Everything the tree feels is also felt by its leaves.

🌼 Which part of me is separate from the rest? Pain in one part affects the whole being; pleasure works the same way. But let me not become the nail of this world; let me strive to become its eye and heart.

🌼 Let our relationship with wilayah not be like the body’s relationship with a nail. Let me not be insensible to wilayah.

🌼 My bond with Ali must be beyond the nerves: I must be a nerve of wilayah, wholly attuned to it. When the Imam of the Age breathes, may I come alive; may his worship lift me into flight. If not, then I am not connected to wilayah, and I do not know the Ghadir of Ali.

🌼 Ghadir is the reality that brings me to the best of states and to the best of order.

🌼 The perfection of sincerity is the very reality of Ghadir—the summit at which God must be worshipped. Until I reach that height, I have done no more than practise love and display a mere shadow of worship.

🌼 Ghadir is an immense treasure. Why, then, do I not draw on it? It is Ghadir that bestows wealth and provides capital.

🌼 I should have increased my capital and attained transcendent experiences.

🌼 Through wilayah, I can encompass the whole world.

🌼 The true Ghadir is the final meeting place.

🌼 I must call upon God through Ali. (How long will I call upon God merely with words?)

🌼 I must call upon Him by His Most Beautiful Names. (The reality of the Most Beautiful Names is free from all constraints.) 

🌼 Until I have praised God through the Eye of God, the Permission of God, and the Heart of God, I have not truly worshipped Him.

🌼 We must call upon God through the totality of His Most Beautiful Names. Until I call upon God through Ali, I have not called upon God.

🌼 Ali is the very remembrance of God: pure remembrance, recollection, and love. Through this love, I must become a lover of God.

🌼 What difference is there between someone who forgets Ali and someone who denies him?

🌼 What difference is there between the poor and the wealthy person who makes no use of his wealth?

🌼 What difference is there between someone who has no Imam and someone who has forgotten his Imam?

🔅🌼 Every particle in the universe is in love with Ghadir 🌼🔅

🌹The body and its parts, particles, spirits, and elements—and all the tiny and immense beings that dwell within us—as well as every part, element, and limb of the universe, are familiar with Ghadir and the wilayah of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them. The body of every person, with its particles, cells, parts, spirits, intellects, and the beings that dwell within it, is familiar with God, the wilayah of God, wilayah, and Ghadir.

🌻🔆الإسراء : 44   تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّماواتُ السَّبْعُ وَ الْأَرْضُ وَ مَنْ فيهِنَّ وَ إِنْ مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَ لكِنْ لا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كانَ حَليماً غَفُوراً

🔆The seven heavens and the earth, and all who dwell in them, glorify Him. There is nothing that does not glorify and praise Him, though you do not understand their glorification. He is forbearing and forgiving.

🌹We must become people of Ghadir and wilayah in higher and more exalted classes, for Ghadir’s destination is the meeting with God, in the most perfect and magnificent order. The aim of Ali’s wilayah is purity and clarity, and attaining complete sincerity. Without Ali’s wilayah, ascending to the summit of perfect sincerity is impossible; true servitude exists only at that most exalted station.

🔅🌼 Let us bring Ghadir to life within our souls 🌼🔅

🌹We must draw on Ghadir’s immense treasure.

🌻🔆النجم : 48   وَ أَنَّهُ هُوَ أَغْنى‏ وَ أَقْنى‏

🔆And He is the One who made [us] self-sufficient and bestowed wealth.

🌹We must make the fullest use of the means and resources available to us. Ali’s wilayah is immense wealth and capital, and we must increase that capital. Through Ghadir, we can acquire new and exalted experiences and sensations of servitude, and we must reap its abundant benefits.

🌹Through the spirit of Ali’s wilayah, one can become a flower and attain the sea, the clouds, the wind, the heavens, and the fullness of servitude to God. Wilayah is the highest goal of servitude.

🌹Ghadir and the wilayah of the Master are the lifeline of drawing near to God and knowing God; they are an exalted mode of feeling and perception. Ghadir and Ali’s wilayah are the near way, the sublime meeting place, and the highest station of love for the peerless Beloved.

‌ 🔅🌼 Call upon God through Ali 🌼🔅

🌹We must call upon God through Ali; we must call upon God by His Most Beautiful Names. The written and uttered names are words for God’s Most Beautiful Names and serve as signs of those beautiful Names. The reality of wilayah is the totality of the Most Beautiful Names, together with their comprehensive meanings and interpretations.

🌻🔆الأعراف : 180   وَ لِلَّهِ الْأَسْماءُ الْحُسْنى‏ فَادْعُوهُ بِها وَ ذَرُوا الَّذينَ يُلْحِدُونَ في‏ أَسْمائِهِ سَيُجْزَوْنَ ما كانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

🔆 To God belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them. And leave those who distort His Names; they will soon be requited for what they have done.

🌹To call upon God through the Most Beautiful Names is to turn towards the threshold of the One, incomparable in His oneness, with the true reality of those Names—with all their outward and inward manifestations, and all their interpretations…

🌹If we call upon God through the true reality of the Most Beautiful Names, then we have truly called upon Him; otherwise, we have merely gone through the motions of calling.

🌹Let us call upon God with the heart’s presence. Truly to call upon Him with the heart is to call upon Him through the Heart of God, the Good of God, the Eye of God, and the Ear of God.

🌹Through Ghadir and the wilayah of Ali, let us love God with the soul of Ali; with the very essence and reality of Ali, let us love God.

🌹Let us call upon God through the totality of His Names—and this is possible only through the wilayah of Ali. So let us call upon God through all His manifestations and interpretations, embodied in the pure and sacred being of Ali.

🌹Let us praise God fully and completely; let us call upon Him through the mystery of wilayah. Let us call upon God with Ali, and worship Him.

Ali is that very Name, that very remembrance, that very love. How beautiful it is to remember God through remembrance: the one who is remembrance is joined in union.

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ قَالَ‏ كُنْتُ جَالِساً عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ ص فِي الْمَسْجِدِ إِذْ أَقْبَلَ عَلِيٌّ ع فَلَمَّا رَآهُ مُقْبِلًا قَالَ يَا بَا ذَرٍّ مَنْ هَذَا الْمُقْبِلُ فَقُلْتُ عَلِيٌّ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ يَا بَا ذَرٍّ أَ تُحِبُّهُ فَقُلْتُ إِي وَ اللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّهُ وَ أُحِبُّ مَنْ يُحِبُّهُ فَقَالَ يَا بَا ذَرٍّ أَحِبَّ عَلِيّاً وَ أَحِبَّ مَنْ أَحَبَّهُ فَإِنَّ الْحِجَابَ‏ الَّذِي‏ بَيْنَ‏ الْعَبْدِ وَ بَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى حُبُّ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع يَا بَا ذَرٍّ أَحِبَّ عَلِيّاً مُخْلِصاً فَمَا مِنِ امْرِئٍ أَحَبَّ عَلِيّاً مُخْلِصاً وَ سَأَلَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى شَيْئاً إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ وَ لَا دَعَا اللَّهَ إِلَّا لَبَّاهُ فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَأَجِدُ حُبَّ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ عَلَى كَبِدِي كَبَارِدِ الْمَاءِ أَوْ كَعَسَلِ النَّحْلِ أَوْ كَآيَةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ أَتْلُوهَا وَ هُوَ عِنْدِي أَحْلَى مِنَ الْعَسَلِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص نَحْنُ الشَّجَرَةُ الطَّيِّبَةُ وَ الْعُرْوَةُ الْوُثْقَى وَ مُحِبُّونَا وَرَقُهَا فَمَنْ أَرَادَ الدُّخُولَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ فَلْيَسْتَمْسِكْ بِغُصْنٍ مِنْ أَغْصَانِهَا[1]

🌹Ali and his wilayah are the mystery of unity and divine oneness. They gather the many into the One and lead to annihilation in the Presence of the One, the Unique.

🔅🌼 The Expanding Reach of Ghadir 🌼🔅

🌹As the universe advances and expands, so too does Ghadir.

🌹Ghadir Khumm has a point of origin, a return, and a destination. Its geography is boundless, without limit or frontier. It is not confined to human beings and jinn, but embraces every existent in the universe.

🌹Ghadir is the pulse of worship and servitude, and the mystery of the journey, ascent, elevation, perfection, and flourishing. In a sense, the universe rests in Ghadir’s embrace: it drinks its milk, eats its bread, drinks its water, and draws its light from Ghadir.

🌹Ghadir is the very artery of worship and servitude to God.

🔅🌼 Ghadir’s Highest Destination 🌼🔅

🌹Ghadir’s place is made clear in the noble verse «انا لله و انا الیه راجعون»: Ghadir and the wilayah of Ali are the vessel for the journey to God.

🔅🌼 The Horizons of Ghadir 🌼🔅

🌹Ghadir manifests itself across many horizons: the earthly and celestial, the material, the imaginal, the realm of power, and the divine; in Jabulsa, Jabulqa, and other lands, at every stage of the universe.

🔅🌼 Bring Ghadir to Life 🌼🔅

🌹We must put Ghadir into practice. The Quran is not merely for recitation; it is meant to be put to use and taken as a model. Ghadir is for the spiritual journey, not merely for description and praise.

🔅🌼 From Accepting Ghadir to Putting It into Practice 🌼🔅

🌹Accepting the wilayah of Ali was the beginning of great transformations: water became sweet and refreshing, and creation took on beautiful colours and melodies. What wonders would follow if his wilayah were put into practice!

🔅🌼Unity with Wilayah 🌼🔅

🌹Where do I stand in this universe? Where am I in my own body and soul?

🌹Our sense of being one with our body and soul comes from the intensity of our connection to them. We must attain this same sense of oneness with Wilayah: our bond and connection to it must become so strong that we feel ourselves one with it.

🌹The secret of «عرفنی حجتک» is profound and mysterious. If we knew what we were asking for, we would marvel at the wonder and miracle of its fulfilment!

🌹The influence and effects of the Wilayah of Ali extend from the pursuit of higher knowledge to transcending origin, time and space, and onward to reaching the greatest veil. The Wilayah of Ali is an all-encompassing, universal supplication; it is the highest form of connection with the Worshipped One, the ultimate degree of servitude.

🌹With the Wilayah of Ali, Ghadir is the great Ark of the universe, carrying us on an unceasing voyage of love.

🔅🌼 The Great Ghadir 🌼🔅

🌹The Great Ghadir lies in the End Times. Ghadir is the secret everyone is seeking; the Great Saqifah, too, lies in the End Times. In the End Times, the banner of Ghadir will be raised by the blessed hands of the Master of the Age and Time.

🌹Though Ghadir is present, the universe still thirsts and suffers heartbreak amid the barren deserts of Saqifah.

🌹Without Ali and his Wilayah, nothing is blessed—from the blessing of wealth, life, time and place to that of pleasure, peace, knowledge and wisdom.

🔅🌼 The Saqifah of the Heart 🌼🔅

🌹Let us beware of the Saqifahs of the heart: the way we direct our attention becomes either our Ghadir or our Saqifah.

🌹Ghadir must extend from the individual to the community, so that the community’s journey as one may lead to the One God.

🌹There is one Kaaba and one qibla; when people gather around the Kaaba, the result is boundlessness. One plus one does not make two, for there is blessing in it. The same is true of gathering vices, for they bring deeper degrees of ruin.

🔅🌼 Neural and Nail-Like Connection 🌼🔅

🌹What is the relationship between a tree’s leaf and the tree’s spirit? The tree’s entire feeling flows through each and every leaf, fruit and yield.

🌹The bond between a bird’s feather and the bird itself, between the fingers of our hand and our spirit and soul, between our limbs and our very selves—all are bonds of oneness, without distance. How does each tiny part of our being relate to the body as a whole? How do we relate to the universe?

🌹Let us not be the fingernail of the universe. What is our connection to the body of Wilayah, the very soul of the universe? Without a doubt, we are connected—but what kind of connection? Is it like that of an insensible nail to the body? This is the least feeling form of connection.

🔅🌼 Beyond Neural Connection 🌼🔅

🌹Call upon God through Ali; find Ali, and make your connection with him transcend the merely neural—make it like the bond between heart and soul.

🌹We must be adorned with God’s signs: Ali and his descendants are the greatest signs of God.

🌹Being the first to present the Wilayah came with a special distinction. Ghadir continues, and the presentation, renewal, affirmation and strengthening of Wilayah endure. So keep your covenant of allegiance firm and renew its strength continually.

🔅🌼 Nourishment Through Wilayah 🌼🔅

🌹We must draw nourishment from Wilayah. A flower’s beauty depends not only on its nature and innate qualities, but also on what feeds it. A flower seed will not yield beauty, colour, fragrance, freshness and purity if it is not planted in good soil, watered with clean water and exposed to light.

Soil containing all the necessary elements will enhance the freshness of flowers and plants.

🌹The parents of an unborn child, their character and nature, and their nourishment all play a fundamental role in the child’s intelligence and beauty.

🌹All the Most Beautiful Names dwell in the very soul of Wilayah. Whoever is nurtured in the embrace of Wilayah becomes a thing of beauty in creation. The Wilayah of Ali and his pure descendants is God’s treasury; the Exalted God has entrusted His beauty and majesty to this treasury, along with life-giving waters, lights and His Most Beautiful Names.

🌹We must never neglect our nourishment through Wilayah, and must remember both its outward and inward forms. Let us ask God for this mighty dominion of His.

🔅🌼 Longing to Meet and Know Ali 🌼🔅

🌹The true knowledge of Ali is the supreme knowledge of the universe.

🌹 Why must we know Ali? What happens if we do—and what if we do not?

🌹If we know Ali, we will abide in the Best of Orders and rise and ascend from it. Otherwise, we will descend to the lowest depths—and fall further still! Ali is the secret of servitude, and the secret of renewal and progress.

🌷🔆 عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ص‏ «يَا عَلِيُّ مَا عَرَفَ اللَّهَ إِلَّا أَنَا وَ أَنْتَ، وَ مَا عَرَفَنِي‏ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَ أَنْتَ، وَ مَا عَرَفَكَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَ أَنَا»[2]

🔆 The Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “O Ali, none has known God but you and I; none has known me but God and you; and none has known you but God and I.”

🌹Muhammad and Ali have yet to be unveiled! Knowing Muhammad and Ali is the key to knowing the Transcendent Truth, for they are God’s highest signs and tokens.

🔅🌼 Turn the vessel of knowledge into a vessel of love 🌼🔅

🌹Love of this world has constricted the vessels of knowledge, wisdom, mercy, delight, and servitude within us. Whatever comes from beyond this world and is poured into them makes them overflow.

🌹The vessel of knowledge expands through the fervour of transcendent love.

🌹With what eyes are we to gaze upon the full moon? The boundless vastness of God’s light, God’s Clear Book, cannot be contained by the imagination; it is so immense that we must continually pray, «الهی عرفنی حجتک». To seek knowledge is to seek expansion, spaciousness, and infinity. We are meant to hold within our hearts “everything that has been enumerated.”

🌹How great is our capacity to receive and absorb? Prepare yourself to know Ali.

🌹We cannot bear the verses; we are consumed by them. Even worldly signs scorch our wings.

🌷🔆 قَوْلُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع‏ وَ اللَّهِ مَا لِلَّهِ‏ آيَةٌ أَكْبَرُ مِنِّي‏[3]

🔆By God, there is no sign of God greater than me.

🌹How can we expect to behold the sublime, heavenly beauty of His Eminence—the beauty of the Lote Tree at the Furthest Boundary, of “two bows’ length or nearer”—when we are unable even to see His earthly beauty?

🌹We cannot enter the sunlike beauty of Ali’s physical form, yet we long to enter the radiant sphere of his majestic, divine beauty.

🌹If someone is brought to tears at the first threshold of recognition in the Ziyarat al-Jami‘a al-Kabira, how can they expect to reach the vast realms beyond it?

🌹We have failed even his introductory class. How can we expect to undertake His Eminence’s advanced and transcendent studies?

🔅🌼 The secret of “everything has been enumerated” 🌼🔅

🌹«کل شیء احصیناه فی امام مبین»—a complete mind, a most perfect mind, a vast system of knowledge and information.

🔅🌼 To turn one’s back on the qibla is to turn one’s back on servitude to God 🌼🔅

🌹The Almighty God has made Ali, peace be upon him, the highest means of drawing near to Him. Unless we make use of this means, we will be helpless in growing in servitude.

🌹If we can connect to Ali’s network, we will be in touch with all truths and with the entire universe, in all its wonders.

🌹We must enter Ali’s world; we must pass through the gate. To meet God, we must pass through the Gate of God; to ascend toward Him, we must pass through the divine qibla.

🌷🔆 أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ peace be upon him:  وَ نَحْنُ كَعْبَةُ اللَّهِ وَ نَحْنُ قِبْلَةُ اللَّه‏[4]

🔆 Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: “We are God’s Kaaba, and we are God’s qibla.”

🔅🌼 Ali is the Greatest Resurrection 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 عَلِيُّ بْنُ حَاتِمٍ فِي كِتَابِ الْأَخْبَارِ لِأَبِي الْفَرَجِ بْنِ شَاذَانَ‏ أَنَّهُ نَزَلَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى‏ بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِالسَّاعَةِ يَعْنِي كَذَّبُوا بِوَلَايَةِ عَلِيٍّ ع‏ وَ هُوَ الْمَرْوِيُّ عَنِ الرِّضَا ع‏[5]

🔆Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): The words “Rather, they denied the Resurrection” mean that they denied the wilayah of Ali.

🌹 Whoever rejects Ali rejects the Resurrection and the Hereafter; denying his wilayah is, in truth, a path to an evil end. Ali is both the origin and the destination of the encounter with God.

🔅🌼 Ali is the key to peace and comfort 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 الْبَاقِرُ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى‏ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَ لا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ قَالَ الْيُسْرُ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ الْعُسْرُ فُلَانٌ وَ فُلَان‏[6]

🔆Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him): The verse “God desires ease for you, not hardship” refers to the ease brought by the Commander of the Faithful and the hardship brought by so-and-so and so-and-so.

🌹 Surely, rejecting Ali is to turn away from ease and comfort and embrace hardship and difficulty.

🌻🔆 Ta Ha: 124   وَ مَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْري فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعيشَةً ضَنْكاً وَ نَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَةِ أَعْمى‏

🌹 “But whoever turns away from My remembrance will have a constricted life, and on the Day of Resurrection We will raise him blind.”

🌹 Remembering God means the wilayah of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). Those who reject Ali’s wilayah will be raised blind and left to wander in confusion.

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ)، فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ: وَ مَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكاً، قَالَ: «يَعْنِي وَلَايَةَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ)».

قُلْتُ: وَ نَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَةِ أَعْمى‏؟ قَالَ: «يَعْنِي أَعْمَى الْبَصَرِ فِي الْقِيَامَةِ، أَعْمَى الْقَلْبِ فِي الدُّنْيَا عَنْ وَلَايَةِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ)- قَالَ- وَ هُوَ مُتَحَيِّرٌ فِي الْقِيَامَةِ، يَقُولُ: قالَ رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرْتَنِي أَعْمى‏ وَ قَدْ كُنْتُ بَصِيراً* قالَ كَذلِكَ أَتَتْكَ آياتُنا، قَالَ: الْآيَاتُ الْأَئِمَّةُ (عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ)، فَنَسِيتَها وَ كَذلِكَ الْيَوْمَ تُنْسى‏ يَعْنِي تَرَكْتَهَا، وَ كَذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ تُتْرَكُ فِي النَّارِ كَمَا تَرَكْتَ الْأَئِمَّةَ (عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامَ)، فَلَمْ تُطِعْ أَمْرَهُمْ، وَ لَمْ تَسْمَعْ قَوْلَهُمْ».

قُلْتُ: وَ كَذلِكَ نَجْزِي مَنْ أَسْرَفَ وَ لَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِآياتِ رَبِّهِ وَ لَعَذابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَشَدُّ وَ أَبْقى‏؟ قَالَ: «يَعْنِي مَنْ أَشْرَكَ بِوَلَايَةِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ) غَيْرَهُ، وَ لَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ، وَ تَرَكَ الْأَئِمَّةَ مُعَانَدَةً فَلَمْ يَتَّبِعْ آثَارَهُمْ وَ لَمْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ».^[7]

🔅🌼 Ali’s beauty shines in the Qur’an 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 قَالَ الصَّادِقُ‏ ع‏ وَ مَا مِنْ آيَةٍ فِي الْقُرْآنِ أَوَّلُهَا  يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِلَّا وَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع أَمِيرُهَا وَ قَائِدُهَا وَ شَرِيفُهَا وَ أَوَّلُهَا وَ مَا مِنْ آيَةٍ تَسُوقُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا وَ هِيَ فِي النَّبِيِّ ص وَ الْأَئِمَّةِ ع وَ أَشْيَاعِهِمْ وَ أَتْبَاعِهِمْ وَ مَا مِنْ آيَةٍ تَسُوقُ إِلَى النَّارِ إِلَّا وَ هِيَ فِي أَعْدَائِهِمْ وَ الْمُخَالِفِينَ لَهُمْ وَ إِنْ كَانَتِ الْآيَاتُ فِي ذِكْرِ الْأَوَّلِينَ فَمَا كَانَ مِنْهَا مِنْ‏  خَيْرٍ فَهُوَ جَارٍ فِي أَهْلِ الْخَيْرِ وَ مَا كَانَ مِنْهَا مِنْ شَرٍّ فَهُوَ جَارٍ فِي أَهْلِ الشَّرِّ وَ لَيْسَ فِي الْأَخْيَارِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّبِيِّ ص‏  وَ لَا فِي الْأَوْصِيَاءِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَوْصِيَائِهِ وَ لَا فِي الْأُمَمِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ وَ هِيَ شِيعَةُ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ ع فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ دُونَ غَيْرِهِمْ وَ لَا فِي الْأَشْرَارِ شَرٌّ مِنْ أَعْدَائِهِمْ وَ الْمُخَالِفِينَ لَهُمْ.[8]

🔅🌼 Glory be to God, the finest of His creation 🌼🔅

🌹 ‘Ali is not for us to exclaim over; he is himself the wonder. ‘Ali is God’s wonder.

🌹 The purpose of creation is worship. Worship must be performed fully, with all the means of servitude at our disposal. To serve God, then, we must equip ourselves with the means embodied by ‘Ali and the descendants of ‘Ali.

🌻🔆 al-Mā’idah: 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 way, so that you may prosper!

🌹 Imam ‘Ali, peace be upon him, is the supreme means God has provided.

🌹 The Imams, peace be upon them, are the means by which God is worshipped worthily, with the full capacity for divine servitude.

🌹 Until we attain a sense of ‘Alid worship, we have not entered ‘Ali’s school; we have not become his students.

🔅🌼 Knowing the Imam is the key to human life🌼🔅

🌹 The most ruinous death is to die without knowing the Imamate.

🌹 Those who do not know the Imam of their time are dead, though outwardly alive!

🌹 The heart lives through knowledge of the Imam; without it, the heart dies. When the sovereign of the realm of the soul dies, a person becomes a moving corpse.

🌹 The Imam is the gateway to the Prophet’s knowledge. Whoever is ignorant of the Imam will find the gateway to knowledge closed to them and the gateway to ignorance open.

🌹 Whoever neglects their Imam becomes prey to the wolf of ignorance.

🌹 To attain salvation, we must pass through darkness. To escape it, we need light—and knowledge of the Imam is that light. It is also the warm, fatherly and motherly embrace.

🌹 The levels and degrees of our life are shaped by the measure of our knowledge. The measure of our vitality, sight, hearing, speech and understanding likewise depends on it.

🌹 The ugliest face is the face of the ignorant.

🌹 Our knowledge is a mirror that reveals the Truth. The greater our knowledge, the more brightly its light is reflected. The soul of the knower echoes the beauty of the All-Beautiful.

🔅🌼 Without the Imam, the human being is lost and adrift🌼🔅

🌻🔆عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ ع يَقُولُ‏ كُلُّ مَنْ دَانَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ بِعِبَادَةٍ يُجْهِدُ فِيهَا نَفْسَهُ وَ لَا إِمَامَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَسَعْيُهُ غَيْرُ مَقْبُولٍ وَ هُوَ ضَالٌّ مُتَحَيِّرٌ وَ اللَّهُ شَانِئٌ‏  لِأَعْمَالِهِ وَ مَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ شَاةٍ ضَلَّتْ عَنْ رَاعِيهَا وَ قَطِيعِهَا فَهَجَمَتْ‏  ذَاهِبَةً وَ جَائِيَةً يَوْمَهَا فَلَمَّا جَنَّهَا  اللَّيْلُ بَصُرَتْ بِقَطِيعِ غَنَمٍ مَعَ رَاعِيهَا فَحَنَّتْ إِلَيْهَا وَ اغْتَرَّتْ بِهَا فَبَاتَتْ مَعَهَا فِي مَرْبِضِهَا فَلَمَّا أَنْ سَاقَ الرَّاعِي قَطِيعَهُ أَنْكَرَتْ رَاعِيَهَا وَ قَطِيعَهَا فَهَجَمَتْ مُتَحَيِّرَةً تَطْلُبُ رَاعِيَهَا وَ قَطِيعَهَا فَبَصُرَتْ بِغَنَمٍ مَعَ رَاعِيهَا فَحَنَّتْ إِلَيْهَا وَ اغْتَرَّتْ بِهَا فَصَاحَ بِهَا الرَّاعِي الْحَقِي بِرَاعِيكِ وَ قَطِيعِكِ فَأَنْتِ تَائِهَةٌ مُتَحَيِّرَةٌ عَنْ رَاعِيكِ وَ قَطِيعِكِ فَهَجَمَتْ ذَعِرَةً مُتَحَيِّرَةً تَائِهَةً لَا رَاعِيَ لَهَا يُرْشِدُهَا إِلَى مَرْعَاهَا أَوْ يَرُدُّهَا فَبَيْنَا هِيَ كَذَلِكَ إِذَا اغْتَنَمَ الذِّئْبُ ضَيْعَتَهَا فَأَكَلَهَا وَ كَذَلِكَ وَ اللَّهِ يَا مُحَمَّدُ مَنْ أَصْبَحَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ لَا إِمَامَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ ظَاهِرٌ عَادِلٌ أَصْبَحَ ضَالًّا تَائِهاً وَ إِنْ مَاتَ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْحَالَةِ مَاتَ مِيتَةَ كُفْرٍ وَ نِفَاقٍ وَ اعْلَمْ يَا مُحَمَّدُ أَنَّ أَئِمَّةَ الْجَوْرِ وَ أَتْبَاعَهُمْ لَمَعْزُولُونَ عَنْ دِينِ اللَّهِ قَدْ ضَلُّوا وَ أَضَلُّوا فَأَعْمَالُهُمُ الَّتِي يَعْمَلُونَهَا كَرَمادٍ اشْتَدَّتْ بِهِ الرِّيحُ‏ فِي يَوْمٍ عاصِفٍ‏ لا يَقْدِرُونَ‏ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا عَلى‏ شَيْ‏ءٍ- ذلِكَ‏ هُوَ الضَّلالُ الْبَعِيدُ.[9]

🌻🔆Muhammad ibn Muslim said: I heard Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, say: “Whoever worships God and burdens himself with acts of devotion, but does not follow a leader appointed by God, will have his efforts rejected. He is lost and bewildered, and God finds his deeds displeasing. His plight is like that of a sheep that has strayed from its shepherd and flock. It spends the whole day wandering in search of them. When night falls, it sees a flock whose shepherd is not its own, and, drawn in and deceived by them, lies down with that flock. When their shepherd sets the flock in motion, the sheep does not recognize him or the flock. It again hurries about in confusion, searching for its own shepherd and flock. Then it sees another flock with its shepherd, goes toward them, and is taken in by them. The shepherd calls out to it: ‘Come, rejoin your own shepherd and flock! You have strayed from them and are lost.’ Yet the sheep, frightened, bewildered, and alone, wanders this way and that, with no shepherd to lead it to pasture or bring it home. At that very moment, a wolf seizes the chance to prey on the lost sheep and devours it.

“By God, Muhammad, such is the plight of anyone from this community who has no manifest Imam—whose leadership has been established by decisive proof—appointed by God, Mighty and Exalted, and who is just. That person is lost and astray; if they die in this state, they die in disbelief and hypocrisy.

“Know, Muhammad, that tyrannical leaders and their followers have turned away from God’s religion. They are themselves astray and lead others astray. Their deeds are like ashes scattered by a violent wind on a stormy day: they can gain nothing from what they have done. That is the far-reaching error.”

🌹There is little difference between someone who denies their Imam and someone who forgets their Imam! Someone who fails to benefit from him is just like them.

🌹There is no difference between a poor person and someone who is wealthy but makes no use of their wealth.

🌹What is the difference between a blind person and someone who shuts their eyes to the light? And what of someone who pays no heed to the light and does not know it?

🌹The degrees of ignorance correspond to how far people are from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, and from knowing them. The degrees of blindness correspond to how far one is from the light and to the weakness of one’s sight.

🌹The light bears a message; translating the language of light is the foundation of knowing, awakening, and seeing. The Imams, peace be upon them, are that speaking light! It means reaching Ali and never parting from him.

🌻🔆Al-Ma’idah: 15  O أَهْلَ الْكِتابِ قَدْ جاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثيراً مِمَّا كُنْتُمْ تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتابِ وَ يَعْفُوا عَنْ كَثيرٍ قَدْ جاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَ كِتابٌ مُبينٌ

🔆People of the Book! Our Messenger has come to you, making clear many things from the Scripture that you concealed, while overlooking many others. A light and a clear Book have come to you from God.

🌷🔆قَدْ جاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَ كِتابٌ مُبِينٌ‏ يَعْنِي بِالنُّورِ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ الْأَئِمَّةَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ.^[10]

🔆The “light” in «قَدْ جاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَ كِتابٌ مُبِينٌ» refers to the Commander of the Faithful and the Imams, peace be upon them.

🌷🔆 وَ فِي يَوْمِ الْغَدِيرِ عَرَضَ اللَّهُ الْوَلَايَةَ عَلَى أَهْلِ السَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعِ فَتَسْبِقُ إِلَيْهَا أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ السَّابِعَةِ فَزَيَّنَ بِهَا الْعَرْشَ ثُمَّ سَبَقَ إِلَيْهَا أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ الرَّابِعَةِ فَزَيَّنَهَا بِالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ ثُمَّ سَبَقَ إِلَيْهَا أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا فَزَيَّنَهَا بِالْكَوَاكِبِ‏ ثُمَّ عَرَضَهَا عَلَى الْأَرَضِينَ فَسَبَقَتْ مَكَّةُ فَزَيَّنَهَا بِالْكَعْبَةِ ثُمَّ سَبَقَتْ إِلَيْهَا الْمَدِينَةُ فَزَيَّنَهَا بِالْمُصْطَفَى مُحَمَّدٍ ص ثُمَّ سَبَقَتْ إِلَيْهَا الْكُوفَةُ فَزَيَّنَهَا بِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ عَرَضَهَا عَلَى الْجِبَالِ فَأَوَّلُ جَبَلٍ أَقَرَّ بِذَلِكَ ثَلَاثَةُ أَجْبُلٍ [أَجْبَالٍ‏] الْعَقِيقُ وَ جَبَلُ الْفَيْرُوزَجِ وَ جَبَلُ الْيَاقُوتِ فَصَارَتْ هَذِهِ الْجِبَالُ جِبَالَهُنَّ وَ أَفْضَلَ الْجَوَاهِرِ ثُمَّ سَبَقَتْ إِلَيْهَا جِبَالٌ أُخَرُ فَصَارَتْ مَعَادِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَ الْفِضَّةِ وَ مَا لَمْ يُقِرَّ بِذَلِكَ وَ لَمْ يَقْبَلْ صَارَتْ لَا تُنْبِتُ شَيْئاً وَ عَرَضَتْ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ عَلَى الْمِيَاهِ فَمَا قَبِلَ مِنْهَا صَارَ عَذْباً وَ مَا أَنْكَرَ صَارَ مِلْحاً أُجَاجاً وَ عَرَضَهَا فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ عَلَى النَّبَاتِ فَمَا قَبِلَهُ صَارَ حُلْواً طَيِّباً وَ مَا لَمْ يَقْبَلْ صَارَ مُرّاً ثُمَّ عَرَضَهَا فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ عَلَى الطَّيْرِ فَمَا قَبِلَهَا صَارَ فَصِيحاً مُصَوِّتاً وَ مَا أَنْكَرَهَا صَارَ أَخْرَسَ مِثْلَ اللَّكَنِ وَ مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي قَبُولِهِمْ وَلَاءَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي يَوْمِ غَدِيرِ خُمٍّ كَمَثَلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ فِي سُجُودِهِمْ لِآدَمَ وَ مَثَلُ مَنْ أَبَى وَلَايَةَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي يَوْمِ الْغَدِيرِ مَثَلُ إِبْلِيسَ وَ فِي هَذَا الْيَوْمِ أُنْزِلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ‏ وَ مَا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ نَبِيّاً إِلَّا وَ كَانَ يَوْمُ بَعْثِهِ مِثْلَ يَوْمِ الْغَدِيرِ عِنْدَهُ وَ عَرَفَ حُرْمَتَهُ إِذْ نَصَبَ لِأُمَّتِهِ وَصِيّاً وَ خَلِيفَةً مِنْ بَعْدِهِ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْم‏[11]

ُ فَإِنَّ الْحِجَابَ‏ الَّذِي‏ بَيْنَ‏ الْعَبْدِ وَ بَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى حُبُّ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ʿA [12]

🌼ʿAli Saʿi (ʿAbd Allah Mishkat), 110.141 (903)🌼

[1] Lights of Religion on the Qualities of the Believers; p. 136  Daylami, Ahl al-Bayt Foundation (peace be upon them), Qom; first edition, 1408 AH.

[2] Abridged al-Basaʾir; p. 336  Hilli, Hasan ibn Sulayman ibn Muhammad, Islamic Publishing Institute, Iran; Qom; first edition, 1421 AH.

[3] Tafsir al-Qummi; vol. 2; p. 132  Qummi, Dar al-Kitab, Qom; third edition, 1404 AH.

[4] The Virtues of the Family of Abu Talib (by Ibn Shahrashub); vol. 3; p. 102  Ibn Shahrashub Mazandarani, Muhammad ibn Ali, Allameh, Qom; first edition, 1379 AH.

[5] The Virtues of the Family of Abu Talib (by Ibn Shahrashub); vol. 3; p. 103  Ibn Shahrashub Mazandarani, Muhammad ibn Ali, Allameh, Qom; first edition, 1379 AH.

[6] The Virtues of the Family of Abu Talib (by Ibn Shahrashub); vol. 3; p. 103  Ibn Shahrashub Mazandarani, Muhammad ibn Ali, Allameh, Qom; first edition, 1379 AH.

[7] Al-Burhan in the Exegesis of the Qur’an    vol. 3    784 Bahrani, Hashim ibn Sulayman, Al-Burhan in the Exegesis of the Qur’an, 5 vols., al-Biʿtha Foundation, Department of Islamic Studies, Iran, Qom; first edition, 1415 AH.

[8]Interpretation of the Manifest Verses on the Virtues of the Pure Household, p. 22  Astarabadi, Ali, Islamic Publishing Institute, Iran; Qom; first edition, 1409 AH.

[9] Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 1, p. 183  Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, Tehran, 4th ed., 1407 AH.

[10] Tafsīr Nūr al-Thaqalayn    vol. 1    601  Ḥuwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī ibn Jumʿa, Ismāʿīliyān, Qom, Iran, 4th ed., 1415 AH.

[11] Iqbal al-Aʿmāl (old edition), vol. 1, p. 465  Ibn Ṭāwūs, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, Tehran, 2nd ed., 1409 AH.

[12] Aʿlām al-Dīn fī Ṣifāt al-Muʾminīn, p. 136  Daylamī, Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), Qom, 1st ed., 1408 AH.