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1402/11/24 Ahl al-Bayt and Islamic History Level: Intermediate

Abu’l-Fadl: The Secret of Abu’l-Fadl

Instructor: Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) • Soroush-e Bamdadan Cultural Center • 38 views

Hazrat Abu’l-Fadl (AS) embodies the spirit and very essence of Imam Husayn (AS), and is the key to connection with wilayah. To attain the station of al-Abbas, one must be equipped with the two secrets of reason and the Spirit of God. Reason is a divine faculty that gives rise to the beauty of servitude and love for God, and connects a person to the universal web of reason. Through the Spirit of God, believers also share a single life and form one body together.

Written transcript of the lecture

The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series

🌼🔆🌼“The Secret of Becoming Abū al-Faḍl” “The Secret of the Spirit of God”🌼🔆🌼

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌹 “The Network of Intellect” “The Neural Network” “The Enviable Martyrs” “The Testimony of the Limbs” “The Night of the Birth of Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās” and … 1402.11.24 Ali Saei (Abdollah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 🌹🔅

🔅🌼Dewdrops from the Discussions 🌼🔅

🌹Spirits are troops arrayed together: a united, ready army, in harmony with one another.

🌹Until someone breathes in the fragrance of Abū al-Faḍl, they cannot fall in love with him.

🌹Believers share one lineage: their lineage is faith.

🌹Believers are doves who fly and sing together.

🌹Believers share one sensibility, in pain as in pleasure. They have a single sense of servitude; they join together in worship; they share one vein and one nerve.

🌹Through the Spirit of God, all believers share one life and one breath. The measure of kindness depends on the strength of the bond between them.

🌹Abū al-Faḍl is the spirit and soul of Ḥusayn, peace be upon him. Abū al-Faḍl is the key to wilayah, the secret of connection to wilayah.

🌹The most beautiful description of Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās, peace be upon him, comes from Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, peace be upon him.

🌹Love has many parts; love is like a tree.

🌹How can I board Ḥusayn’s ship of guidance?

🌹For our Imam of the Age, we must become Abū al-Faḍl.

🌹Let us uncover the mysteries of Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Faḍl al-ʿAbbās, peace be upon him.

🌹To become ʿAbbās-like, we must equip ourselves with two secrets: first, intellect; second, the Spirit of God.

🌹All creatures in existence share one intellect.

🌹For those endowed with heart (intellect), the Quran is a reminder, a light, and illumination.

🌹Only through intellect can we benefit from knowledge.

🌹Among the signs of intellect is patience in solitude.

🌹Everyone possesses one and the same intellect!

🌹Intellect is like a vast supercomputer to which all creatures are connected.

🌹How did ʿAbbās become ʿAbbās?!

🌹Believers are one body together.

🌹Whoever loves ʿAbbās has surely discovered a trace of his fragrance.

🌹Everyone has something that brings them peace; for every believer, there is a brother who brings them peace.

🌹Attaining a shared sensibility.

🔅🌼How Abū al-Faḍl Became Abū al-Faḍl🌼🔅

🌹With two secrets, one can advance to the threshold of becoming Abū al-Faḍl: communion and connection with the soul of wilayah, with the Spirit of God, through constant companionship with intellect.

🌹By intellect, I mean that immense divine faculty which holds the key to the beauty of servitude to God. All beauty and noble character go hand in hand with intellect. Intellect is the key to divine love; remaining close to intellect is a sign that divine love endures. Intellect is the first creation from the spiritual essence of the spiritual beings, and through its unique network it is connected with all creatures.

🔅🌼We must delve into intellect at the beginning of creation🌼🔅

🌷🔆 كَمَا قَالَ سَيِّدُنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص‏ أَوَّلُ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ‏ الْعَقْلُ‏.[1]

🔆The Messenger of God said: “The first thing God created was the intellect.”

🌷🔆 اول ما خلق الله القلم و اول ما خلق الله‏ العقل‏[2]

🔆The first thing God created was the Pen, and the first thing God created was the intellect.

🌷🔆 وَ فِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ ع‏ أَوَّلُ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ‏ الْعَقْل‏[3]

🔅🌼 All beauty is gathered in intellect 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 وَ قَالَ ع‏ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ‏ الْعَقْلَ‏ مِنْ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْيَاءَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَ الْقُدْرَةِ وَ النُّورِ  وَ الْمَشِيَّةِ بِالْأَمْرِ فَجَعَلَهُ قَائِماً بِالْعِلْمِ دَائِماً فِي الْمَلَكُوتِ.[4]

Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “God, the Exalted, created intellect from four things: knowledge, power, light, and the will to act. He then made it steadfast through knowledge, and enduring in the realm of dominion.”

🔅🌼 Signs and marks of benefiting from intellect 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 وَ قَالَ ص‏ قَسَمَ اللَّهُ‏ الْعَقْلَ‏ ثَلَاثَةَ أَجْزَاءٍ فَمَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ كَمَلَ عَقْلُهُ وَ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنَّ فَلَا عَقَلَ لَهُ حُسْنُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِاللَّهِ وَ حُسْنُ الطَّاعَةِ لِلَّهِ وَ حُسْنُ الصَّبْرِ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ.[5]

🔆 The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “God divided intellect into three parts. Whoever possesses all three has complete intellect; whoever lacks them is deprived of intellect: knowing God well, obeying God well, and patiently accepting what God ordains.”

🔅🌼 All human beings are connected to the network of intellect 🌼🔅

🌹 All human beings are connected and linked through the network of intellect. Put simply, everyone is equipped with a universal and trans-universal supercomputer, though the way they connect to it differs. Whoever is heedless of this vast network loses, or weakens, their connection with the world and beyond it. This network keeps human beings in constant connection with the mission and the guardianship. In other words, intellect is the lifeline of servitude to God; if it is severed, the beauty of that bond is lost.

🌹 Intellect is the light and illumination of servitude to God. Its absence leads a person to sink into ignorance, heedlessness, and sin.

🌹 The stronger a person’s intellect becomes, the stronger their sense of unity and oneness with the mission and the guardianship.

🌷🔆 عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع‏ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ص سُئِلَ مِمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ الْعَقْلَ قَالَ خَلْقُهُ مَلَكٌ لَهُ رُءُوسٌ بِعَدَدِ الْخَلَائِقِ مَنْ خُلِقَ وَ مَنْ يُخْلَقُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَ لِكُلِّ رَأْسٍ وَجْهٌ وَ لِكُلِ‏ آدَمِيٍ‏ رَأْسٌ‏ مِنْ رُءُوسِ الْعَقْلِ وَ اسْمُ ذَلِكَ الْإِنْسَانِ عَلَى وَجْهِ ذَلِكَ الرَّأْسِ مَكْتُوبٌ وَ عَلَى كُلِّ وَجْهٍ سِتْرٌ مُلْقًى لَا يُكْشَفُ ذَلِكَ السِّتْرُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْوَجْهِ حَتَّى يُولَدَ هَذَا الْمَوْلُودُ وَ يَبْلُغَ حَدَّ الرِّجَالِ أَوْ حَدَّ النِّسَاءِ فَإِذَا بَلَغَ كُشِفَ ذَلِكَ السِّتْرُ فَيَقَعُ فِي قَلْبِ هَذَا الْإِنْسَانِ نُورٌ فَيَفْهَمُ الْفَرِيضَةَ وَ السُّنَّةَ وَ الْجَيِّدَ وَ الرَّدِيَّ أَلَا وَ مَثَلُ الْعَقْلِ فِي الْقَلْبِ كَمَثَلِ السِّرَاجِ فِي وَسَطِ الْبَيْت‏[6]

🔆 It is related from Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was asked, “What did God create intellect from?” He replied: “The created form of intellect is an angel with as many heads as there are creatures—those already created and those who will be created until the Day of Resurrection. Each head has a face, and one of the heads of intellect is assigned to every human being, with that person’s name written on its face.”

A veil is placed over each face and remains there until that person is born and reaches maturity—as a man, if he is male, or as a woman, if she is female.

When that age is reached, the veil is lifted, and a light takes its place in that person’s heart, enabling them to discern religious obligations and recommended practices, and to distinguish good from evil.

Know that intellect in the heart is like a lamp in the middle of a house.

🌷🔆 وَ فِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى‏ مَنْ وُلِدَ فِيهِ كُفِيَ كُلَّ أَمْرٍ يُؤْذِيهِ وَ يَكُونُ الْمَوْلُودُ فِيهِ مُبَارَكاً صَالِحاً يَرْتَفِعُ أَمْرُهُ وَ يَعْلُو شَأْنُهُ وُلِدَ فِيهِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ع وَ فِيهِ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ‏ الْعَقْلَ‏ وَ أَسْكَنَهُ رُءُوسَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَ مَنْ هَرَبَ فِيهِ أُخِذَ وَ مَنْ ضَلَّتْ عَنْهُ ضَالَّةٌ وَجَدَهَا وَ مَنِ اقْتَرَضَ فِيهِ شَيْئاً رَدَّهُ سَرِيعاً وَ مَنْ مَرِضَ فِيهِ بَرَأَ سَرِيعا[7]

🔅🌼Reason is beloved by God 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ: لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْعَقْلَ‏  اسْتَنْطَقَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ أَقْبِلْ فَأَقْبَلَ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ أَدْبِرْ فَأَدْبَرَ  ثُمَّ قَالَ وَ عِزَّتِي وَ جَلَالِي مَا خَلَقْتُ خَلْقاً هُوَ أَحَبُ‏ إِلَيَ‏ مِنْكَ وَ لَا أَكْمَلْتُكَ إِلَّا فِيمَنْ أُحِبُّ أَمَا إِنِّي إِيَّاكَ آمُرُ وَ إِيَّاكَ أَنْهَى وَ إِيَّاكَ أُعَاقِبُ وَ إِيَّاكَ أُثِيبُ.[8]

🔆 Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him: When God created reason, He said to it, “Come forward,” and it came forward. Then He said, “Turn back,” and it turned back. Thereupon He said, “By My might and majesty, I have created no creature dearer to Me than you. I grant you in full only to one whom I love. It is only you that I command and forbid; only you that I punish and reward.”

🔅🌼Patience in solitude is a sign of the strength of reason 🌼🔅

🌹 To experience solitude with the One and Only is a sign of the highest perfection, maturity and strength of a person’s reason.

🌷🔆 يَا هِشَامُ الصَّبْرُ عَلَى‏ الْوَحْدَةِ عَلَامَةُ قُوَّةِ الْعَقْلِ‏ فَمَنْ عَقَلَ‏ عَنِ اللَّهِ‏  اعْتَزَلَ أَهْلَ الدُّنْيَا وَ الرَّاغِبِينَ فِيهَا وَ رَغِبَ فِيمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَ كَانَ اللَّهُ أُنْسَهُ فِي الْوَحْشَةِ وَ صَاحِبَهُ فِي الْوَحْدَةِ وَ غِنَاهُ فِي الْعَيْلَةِ  وَ مُعِزَّهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ عَشِيرَةٍ يَا هِشَامُ نَصْبُ الْحَقِّ لِطَاعَةِ اللَّهِ‏ وَ لَا نَجَاةَ إِلَّا بِالطَّاعَةِ وَ الطَّاعَةُ بِالْعِلْمِ وَ الْعِلْمُ بِالتَّعَلُّمِ وَ التَّعَلُّمُ بِالْعَقْلِ‏ يُعْتَقَدُ  وَ لَا عِلْمَ إِلَّا مِنْ عَالِمٍ رَبَّانِيٍّ وَ مَعْرِفَةُ الْعِلْمِ بِالْعَقْل‏[9]

🔆 Imam al-Kazim, peace be upon him: O Hisham, patience in solitude is a sign of a powerful intellect. One who thinks of God withdraws from the people of this world and those who seek worldly things, and turns towards what is with God. God becomes his companion in his loneliness, his friend in solitude, his source of sufficiency in need, and his source of honour and strength, even without family or tribe.

O Hisham, truth is established so that God may be obeyed, and salvation is possible only through obedience. Obedience comes through knowledge and understanding; knowledge is acquired through learning, and learning is made firm by reason. Knowledge can be acquired only from a divinely guided scholar, and knowledge is understood through reason.

🔅🌼The quality of worship depends on the measure of a person’s reason 🌼🔅

🌹 The heart, in the true sense of the word, is a heart that is the home of reason—and thus becomes the sanctuary of God.

🌷🔆 سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّيْلَمِيِّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع فُلَانٌ مِنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَ دِينِهِ وَ فَضْلِهِ فَقَالَ كَيْفَ عَقْلُهُ‏ قُلْتُ لَا أَدْرِي فَقَالَ إِنَّ الثَّوَابَ عَلَى‏ قَدْرِ الْعَقْل‏[10]

🔆 I spoke to Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, about a man’s worship, religious devotion and virtues. The Imam asked, “What is his reason like?” I replied, “I do not know.” He said, “The reward is in proportion to reason.”

🌷🔆 يَا هِشَامُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ فِي كِتَابِهِ- إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ‏ لَذِكْرى‏ لِمَنْ كانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ‏ يَعْنِي عَقْل‏[11]

🔆 Imam al-Kazim, peace be upon him: O Hisham, God Most High says in His Book: “Indeed, in this is a reminder for whoever has a heart”—that is, reason.

🔅🌼Reason is the world and the equipment for servitude 🌼🔅

🌹 Whoever belittles reason is himself brought low; whoever diminishes reason exalts Satan.

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع فِي حَدِيثٍ طَوِيلٍ‏ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ الْأُمُورِ وَ مَبْدَأَهَا وَ قُوَّتَهَا وَ عِمَارَتَهَا الَّتِي لَا يُنْتَفَعُ بِشَيْ‏ءٍ إِلَّا بِهِ الْعَقْلُ الَّذِي جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ زِينَةً لِخَلْقِهِ وَ نُوراً لَهُمْ فَبِالْعَقْلِ‏ عَرَفَ الْعِبَادُ خَالِقَهُمْ وَ أَنَّهُمْ مَخْلُوقُونَ وَ أَنَّهُ الْمُدَبِّرُ لَهُمْ وَ أَنَّهُمُ الْمُدَبَّرُونَ وَ أَنَّهُ الْبَاقِي وَ هُمُ الْفَانُونَ وَ اسْتَدَلُّوا بِعُقُولِهِمْ عَلَى‏ مَا رَأَوْا مِنْ خَلْقِهِ مِنْ سَمَائِهِ وَ أَرْضِهِ وَ شَمْسِهِ وَ قَمَرِهِ وَ لَيْلِهِ وَ نَهَارِهِ وَ بِأَنَّ لَهُ وَ لَهُمْ خَالِقاً وَ مُدَبِّراً لَمْ يَزَلْ وَ لَا يَزُولُ وَ عَرَفُوا بِهِ الْحَسَنَ مِنَ الْقَبِيحِ وَ أَنَّ الظُّلْمَةَ فِي الْجَهْلِ وَ أَنَّ النُّورَ فِي الْعِلْمِ فَهَذَا مَا دَلَّهُمْ عَلَيْهِ‏ الْعَقْلُ قِيلَ لَهُ فَهَلْ يَكْتَفِي الْعِبَادُ بِالْعَقْلِ‏ دُونَ غَيْرِهِ قَالَ إِنَّ الْعَاقِلَ لِدَلَالَةِ عَقْلِهِ‏ الَّذِي جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ قِوَامَهُ وَ زِينَتَهُ وَ هِدَايَتَهُ عَلِمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَ أَنَّهُ هُوَ رَبُّهُ وَ عَلِمَ أَنَّ لِخَالِقِهِ مَحَبَّةً وَ أَنَّ لَهُ كَرَاهِيَةً وَ أَنَّ لَهُ طَاعَةً وَ أَنَّ لَهُ مَعْصِيَةً فَلَمْ يَجِدْ عَقْلَهُ يَدُلُّهُ عَلَى‏ ذَلِكَ‏  وَ عَلِمَ أَنَّهُ لَا يُوصَلُ إِلَيْهِ إِلَّا بِالْعِلْمِ وَ طَلَبِهِ وَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَنْتَفِعُ بِعَقْلِهِ‏ إِنْ لَمْ يُصِبْ ذَلِكَ بِعِلْمِهِ فَوَجَبَ عَلَى‏ الْعَاقِلِ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ وَ الْأَدَبِ الَّذِي لَا قِوَامَ لَهُ إِلَّا بِهِ.[12]

🔆 Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said in a lengthy hadith:

“The beginning and origin of all things, their strength and flourishing—the source to which every benefit is linked—is the intellect. God made it an adornment and a light for His creation. By means of the intellect, God’s servants know their Creator and understand that they are created, while He is the One who governs them and they are subject to His governance; that their Creator endures while they pass away. From what they see of the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, the night and the day, they reason by their intellect that these have a Creator and a Guardian, one who has neither beginning nor end. By means of the intellect, they distinguish good from evil and understand that ignorance is darkness and knowledge is light. This is what the intellect has shown them the way to.

It was asked, ‘Can God’s servants rely on the intellect alone?’ He replied: ‘A person of intellect, guided by that very intellect which God has made his safeguard, his adornment and the means of his guidance, knows that God is the Truth and his Lord. He knows that his Creator has things He approves of and things He disapproves of, and that there is obedience and disobedience. Yet he does not regard his intellect alone as a guide to these matters. He understands that attaining them is possible only by seeking knowledge, and that if he does not reach them through knowledge, his intellect will not benefit him. Therefore, the learned person must seek knowledge and cultivate good conduct, for without them he cannot remain steadfast.’

🔅🌼 Abolfazl’s soul is bound to the Soul of the Worlds, to the intellect, and to the life of the intellect.🌼🔅

🌹The intellect is a vast supercomputer, a network to which all human beings are connected! The First Intellect is the first user of this vast network.

🌹Abolfazl’s connection to the Spirit of God and to the network of intellect—and the life of the intellect—is at its fullest and most perfect.

🔅🌼 The Spirit of God is God’s honoured creation.🌼🔅

🌹The Spirit of God is the very creation that the Creator, the Best of Creators, has attributed to Himself in its honour.

🌹The Lord of the Worlds has created a vast network for the Spirit of God, from which God’s chosen ones receive a share. Abolfazl has a special share in this network.

🌷🔆 عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ ع عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ- وَ نَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِي‏ قَالَ رُوحٌ‏ اخْتَارَهُ‏ اللَّهُ‏ وَ اصْطَفَاهُ‏ وَ خَلَقَهُ وَ أَضَافَهُ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ وَ فَضَّلَهُ عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْأَرْوَاحِ فَأَمَرَ فَنُفِخَ مِنْهُ فِي آدَمَ‏ [13]

🌷🔆 Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him)—Muhammad ibn Muslim is reported to have said: “I asked Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) about these words of God, Mighty and Exalted [in which He says]: وَ نَفَخْتُ فِیهِ مِنْ رُوحِی;” He replied: “It is a spirit that God chose and selected, created and attributed to Himself, and gave precedence over all other spirits. He commanded that some of it be breathed into Adam (peace be upon him).

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى أَحَدٌ صَمَدٌ لَيْسَ لَهُ جَوْفٌ وَ إِنَّمَا الرُّوحُ خَلْقٌ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ نَصْرٌ وَ تَأْيِيدٌ وَ قُوَّةٌ يَجْعَلُهُ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الرُّسُلِ وَ الْمُؤْمِنِين‏[14]

🌷🔆 Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him): God, Blessed and Exalted, is One and al-Ṣamad; and al-Ṣamad is a being with no inner parts [a simple, indivisible essence]. The spirit is one of His creatures, endowed with awareness, power, and the ability to give support. God places it in the hearts of the prophets (peace be upon them) and the believers.

🌷🔆 ابْنُ سِنَانٍ عَنِ الْمُفَضَّلِ بْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ قَالَ لِي أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى تَوَحَّدَ بِمُلْكِهِ فَعَرَّفَ عِبَادَهُ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ فَوَّضَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْرَهُ وَ أَبَاحَ لَهُمْ جَنَّتَهُ فَمَنْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُطَهِّرَ قَلْبَهُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَ الْإِنْسِ عَرَّفَهُ وَلَايَتَنَا وَ مَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَطْمِسَ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ أَمْسَكَ عَنْهُ مَعْرِفَتَنَا ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا مُفَضَّلُ وَ اللَّهِ مَا اسْتَوْجَبَ آدَمُ أَنْ يَخْلُقَهُ اللَّهُ بِيَدِهِ وَ يَنْفُخَ‏ فِيهِ‏ مِنْ‏ رُوحِهِ‏  إِلَّا بِوَلَايَةِ عَلِيٍّ ع وَ مَا كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسى‏ تَكْلِيماً إِلَّا بِوَلَايَةِ عَلِيٍّ ع وَ لَا أَقَامَ اللَّهُ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ آيَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ إِلَّا بِالْخُضُوعِ لِعَلِيٍّ ع ثُمَّ قَالَ أَجْمَلُ الْأَمْرِ مَا اسْتَأْهَلَ خَلْقٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ النَّظَرَ إِلَيْهِ إِلَّا بِالْعُبُودِيَّةِ لَنَا[15]

Imam al-Sadiq, addressing al-Mufaḍḍal: “God, Blessed and Exalted, is unique in His sovereignty. He made Himself known to His servants, then entrusted His command to them and bestowed Paradise upon them. Whomever He wills among jinn and humankind, He gives a pure heart and makes acquainted with our wilayah; and whomever He wills, He makes blind of heart and bars from knowing us. By God, al-Mufaḍḍal, Adam was not worthy of being created by God and receiving the breath of His spirit except through the wilayah of Ali. God did not speak to Moses except through the wilayah of Ali, nor make Jesus son of Mary a sign for all the worlds except through his humility before Ali. Indeed, I say more: no one was deemed worthy by God of beholding Him except through devotion and servitude to us.”

🌷🔆 Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar relates: Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to me, “God, Blessed and Exalted, is unique in His sovereignty. He made Himself known to His servants, then entrusted His command to them and bestowed His Paradise upon them. Whomever God wills among jinn and humankind, He gives a pure heart and makes acquainted with our wilayah; and whomever He wills, He makes blind of heart and bars from knowing us.” Then he said, “By God, al-Mufaḍḍal, Adam (peace be upon him) was not worthy of being created by God and receiving the breath of His spirit except through [accepting] the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him). God spoke directly to Moses (peace be upon him) only through the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him), and made Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) a sign for all the worlds only because of his humility before Ali (peace be upon him).” Then he said, “To be brief, no one was deemed worthy of receiving God’s [gracious and merciful] gaze except through obedience to us.”  

🔅🌼 Connection with the Spirit of God is the key to knowing the mission and wilayah 🌼🔅

🌹 Oneness and a shared feeling with the Spirit of God are the secret of the special rank of Abu’l-Faḍl.

🌷🔆 “قَالَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى أَحَدٌ وَاحِدٌ، تَفَرَّدَ فِي‏ وَحْدَانِيَّتِهِ‏، ثُمَّ تَكَلَّمَ بِكَلِمَةٍ فَصَارَتْ نُوراً، ثُمَّ خَلَقَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ النُّورِ مُحَمَّداً ص وَ خَلَقَنِي وَ ذُرِّيَّتِي، ثُمَّ تَكَلَّمَ بِكَلِمَةٍ فَصَارَتْ رُوحاً فَأَسْكَنَهُ اللَّهُ فِي ذَلِكَ النُّورِ وَ أَسْكَنَهُ فِي أَبْدَانِنَا، فَنَحْنُ رُوحُ اللَّهِ وَ كَلِمَاتُهُ، فَبِنَا احْتَجَّ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ‏، فَمَا زِلْنَا فِي ظُلَّةٍ خَضْرَاءَ حَيْثُ لَا شَمْسَ وَ لَا قَمَرَ، وَ لَا لَيْلَ وَ لَا نَهَارَ، وَ لَا عَيْنَ تَطْرِفُ، نَعْبُدُهُ وَ نُقَدِّسُهُ وَ نُسَبِّحُهُ، وَ ذَلِكَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ الْخَلْقَ.

وَ أَخَذَ مِيثَاقَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَ النُّصْرَةِ لَنَا، وَ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَ‏ وَ إِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثاقَ النَّبِيِّينَ لَما آتَيْتُكُمْ مِنْ كِتابٍ وَ حِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مُصَدِّقٌ لِما مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَ لَتَنْصُرُنَّهُ‏ يَعْنِي لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِمُحَمَّدٍ ص، وَ لَتَنْصُرُنَّ وَصِيَّهُ، وَ سَيَنْصُرُونَهُ جَمِيعاً.

وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَخَذَ مِيثَاقِي مَعَ مِيثَاقِ مُحَمَّدٍ ص بِالنُّصْرَةِ بَعْضِنَا لِبَعْضٍ, … [16]

🔆 Imam Ali (AS)—God, Blessed and Exalted, is One and without equal, unique in His oneness. He spoke a word, and that word became a light. From that light He then created Muhammad (صلی الله علیه و آله), me, and my descendants. Then He spoke another word, and that word became a spirit. God caused that spirit to dwell in that light and in our bodies. Thus, we are the Spirit of God and the Word of God, and through us God has made His case against His creation. I am the Word of God through which He gathers what is dispersed and disperses what is gathered. I am the most beautiful names of God, His exalted attributes, and His great signs. I am the master of Paradise and Hell. All creatures will return to me; I am the place to which everything returns after death, and I will reckon with all creatures.

🔅🌼 Connection with the Spirit of God means that the entire state and condition of the one who bears the Spirit of God is conveyed. 🌼🔅

🌹 The secret of love, mutual understanding, and a sense of oneness with the Ahl al-Bayt and the believers lies in the way one connects and communes with the Spirit of God.

🌹 A connection through the Spirit of God means becoming one person and one soul.

🌷🔆 وَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع أَنَّهُ قَالَ: الْمُؤْمِنُ أَخُو الْمُؤْمِنِ كَالْجَسَدِ الْوَاحِدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى شَيْئاً مِنْهُ وَجَدَ أَلَمَ‏ ذَلِكَ فِي سَائِرِ جَسَدِهِ لِأَنَّ أَرْوَاحَهُمْ مِنْ رُوحِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَ إِنَّ رُوحَ الْمُؤْمِنِ لَأَشَدُّ اتِّصَالًا بِرُوحِ اللَّهِ مِنِ اتِّصَالِ شُعَاعِ‏ الشَّمْسِ بِهَا.[17]

🔆 Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: “A believer is the brother of another believer. They are like a single body: if one part suffers, the pain is felt throughout the rest of the body. Their spirits come from a single spirit, and the connection between a believer’s spirit and the Spirit of God is stronger than the connection between a sunbeam and the sun.”

🌷🔆 وَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: الْأَرْوَاحُ جُنُودٌ مُجَنَّدَةٌ تَلْتَقِي فَتَتَشَامُّ كَمَا تَتَشَامُّ الْخَيْلُ فَمَا تَعَارَفَ مِنْهَا ائْتَلَفَ وَ مَا تَنَاكَرَ مِنْهَا اخْتَلَفَ وَ لَوْ أَنَّ مُؤْمِناً جَاءَ إِلَى مَسْجِدٍ فِيهِ أُنَاسٌ كَثِيرٌ لَيْسَ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مُؤْمِنٌ وَاحِدٌ لَمَالَتْ رُوحُهُ إِلَى ذَلِكَ الْمُؤْمِنِ حَتَّى يَجْلِسَ إِلَيْهِ.[18]

🌷🔆 Spirits are gathered hosts: they meet and recognize one another by scent, just as horses do. Spirits that are familiar with one another come together, while those that are averse to one another remain at odds. If a believer enters a mosque full of people and there is only one other believer among them, the newcomer’s spirit is drawn to that person, until he goes and sits beside him.

🌷🔆 وَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: لَا وَ اللَّهِ لَا يَكُونُ [الْمُؤْمِنُ‏] مُؤْمِناً أَبَداً حَتَّى يَكُونَ لِأَخِيهِ مِثْلَ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا ضَرَبَ عَلَيْهِ عِرْقٌ وَاحِدٌ تَدَاعَتْ لَهُ سَائِرُ عُرُوقِهِ‏.[19]

🌷🔆 A believer cannot truly be a believer unless he becomes like one body with his believing brother: when one vein in it aches, all the other veins share its pain.

🌷🔆 وَ عَنْهُ ع قَالَ: لِكُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ شَيْ‏ءٌ يَسْتَرِيحُ إِلَيْهِ وَ إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ يَسْتَرِيحُ إِلَى أَخِيهِ الْمُؤْمِنِ كَمَا يَسْتَرِيحُ الطَّيْرُ إِلَى شَكْلِهِ.

🌷🔆 Every being has another being with whom it finds peace, and a believer finds peace with his believing brother, just as a bird finds peace with one of its own kind.

🌷🔆 وَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: الْمُؤْمِنُونَ فِي تَبَارِّهِمْ وَ تَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَ تَعَاطُفِهِمْ كَمَثَلِ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُهُ بِالسَّهَرِ وَ الْحُمَّى‏[20]

🌷🔆 Imam al-Baqir (AS): “In doing good, showing kindness, and caring for one another, believers are like a single body: if one part suffers, the rest share its pain, fever, and distress, whether awake or asleep.”

🌷🔆 فَإِنَّ مَوَالِيَنَا وَ شِيعَتَنَا مِنَّا، وَ كُلُّنَا كَالْجَسَدِ الْوَاحِدِ- يَحْرُمُ عَلَى جَمَاعَتِنَا الزَّكَاةُ وَ الصَّدَقَة[21]

🌷🔆 أَلَا وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ فِي اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَ عَزَّ وَ أَبْغَضَ فِي اللَّهِ وَ أَعْطَى فِي اللَّهِ وَ مَنَعَ فِي اللَّهِ فَهُوَ مِنْ أَصْفِيَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى أَلَا وَ إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَيْنِ إِذَا تَحَابَّا فِي اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَ عَزَّ وَ تَصَافَيَا فِي اللَّهِ كَانَا كَالْجَسَدِ الْوَاحِدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى أَحَدُهُمَا مِنْ جَسَدِهِ مَوْضِعاً وَجَدَ الْآخَرُ أَلَمَ ذَلِكَ الْمَوْضِع‏[22]

🌷🔆 Know this: whoever loves for the sake of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and hates for His sake, gives for His sake and withholds for His sake is among the select believers before God, Mighty and Majestic is He.

Indeed, when two believers love one another for the sake of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and become one in heart, they are like a single body: when one part aches, the other feels its pain.

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ‏ لَيَسْكُنُ‏ إِلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ كَمَا يَسْكُنُ الظَّمْآنُ إِلَى الْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ.[23]

🌷🔆 A believer finds solace in his believing brother, just as a thirsty heart finds comfort in cool water.

🔅🌼 Believers are one another’s nervous system 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ بَنُو أَبٍ وَ أُمٍّ فَإِذَا ضَرَبَ عَلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ عِرْقٌ سَهِرَ الْآخَرُونَ.[24]

🌷🔆 Believers are brothers to one another, all children of the same father and mother. If one of them is struck by a vein or afflicted by calamity, the others cannot sleep for grief over him.

🌷🔆 وَ عَنْ أَحَدِهِمَا ع أَنَّهُ قَالَ: الْمُؤْمِنُ أَخُو الْمُؤْمِنِ‏  كَالْجَسَدِ الْوَاحِدِ إِذَا سَقَطَ مِنْهُ شَيْ‏ءٌ تَدَاعَى سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ.[25]

🔅🌼 The secret of our love for Abu’l-Fadl is bound up with the spirit of Ruhollah 🌼🔅

🌹Our feeling for His Eminence Abu’l-Fadl, peace be upon him, is unique!

🌹Our feeling for His Eminence Abu’l-Fadl is stronger than our feeling for our own limbs and organs.
🌹How many tastes do we know, how many flavors and colors are familiar to us? Love has many flavors and colors. How well do we know love’s qualities? Love, too, has a body, with limbs, organs and signs; one of its greatest signs is Abu’l-Fadl.

🌹The city of love has quarters, streets and homes; the tree of love has branches and leaves, and Abu’l-Fadl is one of its main trunks.

🔅🌼 “Envied by the martyrs” is the highest praise 🌼🔅

🌹To call Abu’l-Fadl “envied by the martyrs” may seem like praise, but the Imam holds within himself the full measure of every tribute and commendation.

🌹His Eminence Abu’l-Fadl is a Talut of Husayn’s line.

🌹Abu’l-Fadl holds a place of great stature and distinction in the lineage of wilayah.

🌹In the hearts of believers, Abu’l-Fadl has a taste by which he is known, unlike anything else: it is a taste that belongs to Abu’l-Fadl alone.

🔅🌼 Every limb and organ of Abu’l-Fadl was martyred 🌼🔅

🌹Before Ashura, Abu’l-Fadl had already attained the station of martyrdom—not merely in himself, but in every part and limb of his being.

🌹Abu’l-Fadl made martyrdom itself a martyr.

🌹It was not only Abu’l-Fadl’s hands that were martyred; every limb and organ of his was.

🌹Abu’l-Fadl is a flyer: he turned his blessed hands into wings. And it was not only his hands; all his limbs, in their own way, grew wings and feathers. None knows the ascent of his blessed spirit.

🔅🌼 Abu’l-Fadl is the mirror of Husayn’s soul 🌼🔅

🌹Abu’l-Fadl is the written and hidden book of Husayn. With the pen of light, he had made his soul a Husayni tablet. He had become the charter of conduct and knowledge for the Proof of his age.

🌹For the Banu Hashim, Abu’l-Fadl was the moon; for Husayn, he was life itself.

🌹What does the moon do? It speaks of the sun. The sun’s lamp shines when darkness takes hold; it points to the light. The beloved’s attraction has made him its soul’s treasure.

🌹The beauty of Husayn needs the gaze of Abbas.

🌹Abbas’s penetrating insight reaches the highest horizon of the soul of wilayah.

🌹His faith is so firm that it puts even the ruby to shame.

🌹Abu’l-Fadl possesses a faith that neither breaks nor weakens; it shatters every darkness and doubt. It is an insight that penetrates the inner and outer dimensions of truth.

🌷🔆 «كان عمّنا العبّاس نافذ البصيرة، صلب الايمان، جاهد مع أبى عبد اللَّه، و ابلى بلاء حسنا، و مضى شهيدا[26]

🔅🌼 Abbas’s heart and Husayn’s heart are one 🌼🔅

🌹Abbas’s heart is a radiant mirror of the highest light and truths of Husayn.

🌹Abbas’s heart is the sanctuary of Husayn’s secrets. Abbas embodies the mysteries of knowledge of Husayn.

🌹Husayn was Abbas’s food and drink.

🌹We must look to Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) through Abbas’s heart.

🌹The innermost chamber of Abbas’s soul is Husayn’s sanctuary and his hidden secret.

🌹Abbas tasted the sweetness of love for Husayn and cultivated its honey, revealing the highest expression of the power of love for Husayn.

🔅🌼 Attentive listening may itself be a station of martyrdom 🌼🔅

🌹If a person’s ears hear nothing but the word of God, that person becomes a martyr. A heart that becomes a place of seclusion is martyred.

🌷🔆 Ibn Abbas (may God have mercy on him)— أَوْ أَلْقَی السَّمْعَ وَ هُوَ شهِیدٌ أیْ اسْتَمَعَ وَ لَمْ یَشْتَغِلْ قَلْبُهُ بِغَیْرِ مَا یَسْتَمِعُ وَ هُوَ شَهِیدٌ لِمَا یَسْمَعُ فَیَفْهَمُهُ غَیْرَ غَافِلٍ عَنْهُ وَ لَا سَاهٍ.

🔆 Ibn Abbas (may God have mercy on him)— أَوْ أَلْقَی السَّمْعَ وَ هُوَ شهِیدٌ; that is, they hear. Their hearts are occupied by nothing other than what they hear. They themselves bear witness to what they have heard and comprehend it without being heedless of it or forgetting it.

🌹Let us bring each of our limbs, through seclusion, to the grace of martyrdom.

🌼Ali Sa‘i (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141 (903)🌼


[1] Biḥār al-Anwār (Beirut edition), vol. 55, p. 212 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.

[2] Secrets of Divine Unity / translation of al-Tawḥīd by al-Ṣadūq, p. 53 Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali; Ardakani; Islamic Scholarly Publications, Tehran, first edition, n.d.

[3] ‘Awālī al-La’ālī al-‘Azīziyya fī al-Aḥādīth al-Dīniyya, vol. 4, p. 99 Ibn Abi Jumhur, Dar Sayyid al-Shuhada Publishing, Qom, first edition, 1405 AH.

[4] Biḥār al-Anwār (Beirut edition), vol. 1, p. 98 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.

[5] Tuḥaf al-‘Uqūl, text, p. 54 Ibn Shu‘bah al-Harrani, Hasan ibn Ali, Society of Seminary Teachers, Qom, second edition, 1404 AH / 1363 SH.

[6] ‘Ilal al-Sharā’i‘, vol. 1, p. 98 Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali, Davari Bookshop, Qom, first edition, 1385 SH / 1966 CE.

[7] Al-‘Adad al-Qawiyya li-Daf‘ al-Makhāwif al-Yawmiyya, p. 370 Hilli, Ayatollah Mar‘ashi Najafi Library, Qom, first edition, 1408 AH.

[8] Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 1, p. 10 Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[9] Al-Kāfī (Islamic Edition), vol. 1, p. 17  Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, Islamic Books Publishing House—Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[10] Al-Kāfī (Islamic Edition), vol. 1, p. 12  Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, Islamic Books Publishing House—Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[11] Al-Kāfī (Islamic Edition), vol. 1, p. 16  Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, Islamic Books Publishing House—Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[12] Al-Kāfī (Islamic Edition), vol. 1, p. 29  Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, Islamic Books Publishing House—Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[13] Al-Tawḥīd (by al-Ṣadūq), p. 170  Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Society of Seminary Teachers—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1398 AH.

[14] Al-Tawḥīd (by al-Ṣadūq), p. 171  Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Society of Seminary Teachers—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1398 AH.

[15] Al-Ikhtiṣāṣ, text, p. 250  al-Mufīd, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, International Conference for the Millennium of Shaykh al-Mufīd—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1413 AH.

[16]Mukhtaṣar al-Baṣāʾir, p. 130  Ḥillī, Ḥasan ibn Sulaymān ibn Muḥammad, Islamic Publishing Institute—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1421 AH.

[17] Al-Muʾmin, p. 38  Kūfī Ahwāzī, Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd, Imam al-Mahdi Foundation—Qom, 1404 AH.

[18] Al-Muʾmin, p. 39  Kūfī Ahwāzī, Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd, Imam al-Mahdi Foundation—Qom, 1404 AH.

[19] Al-Muʾmin, p. 39  Kūfī Ahwāzī, Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd, Imam al-Mahdi Foundation—Qom, 1404 AH.

[20] Al-Muʾmin, p. 39  Kūfī Ahwāzī, Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd, Imam al-Mahdi Foundation—Qom, 1404 AH.

[21] Commentary attributed to Imam Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī, p. 79  Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, the eleventh Imam, Imam al-Mahdi School—May God hasten his noble advent—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1409 AH.

[22]Kanz al-Fawāʾid, vol. 1, p. 352  Karājakī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Dār al-Dhakhāʾir—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1410 AH.

[23] Al-Kāfī (Islamic Edition), vol. 2, p. 247  Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, Islamic Books Publishing House—Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[24]Al-Muʾmin, p. 38  Kūfī Ahwāzī, Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd, Imam al-Mahdi Foundation—Qom, 1404 AH.

[25] Al-Muʾmin, p. 38  Kūfī Ahwāzī, Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd, Imam al-Mahdi Foundation—Qom, 1404 AH.

[26] Mourning the Prince of Freedom (translation of Muthīr al-Aḥzān), p. 254  Ibn Numā al-Ḥillī, Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad—Karamī, ʿAlī, Ḥādhig—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1380 SH.

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Master Ali Saei

(Abdullah Meshkat) Researcher and commentator on Shi‘i wisdom and the foundations of divine unity

A researcher specializing in religious studies and divine unity, with a particular focus on the Qur’an and Hadith (the Two Weighty Things). His research has centered primarily on the Qur’an and Hadith; in recent years, he has also explored divine unity and critiques of philosophical viewpoints.

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