Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼Imam Baqir, the Voice of Understanding🌼🔆🌼
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “Baqir’s Pure Wine” “The Unfolding of Innate Nature” “The Sciences of the All-Merciful” “The Fifth Great Vision” “The Evening of Imam Baqir’s Birth” and … A Summary with an Addendum 1403.10.13 Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 🌹🔅
🔅🌼O God! Who is Muhammad Baqir? 🌼🔅
🌷🔆إِنَّ هَذَا النُّورُ الْأَبْلَجُ الْمُسْرَجُ وَ النَّسِيمُ الْأَرِجُ وَ الْحَقُّ الْمَرْجُ
🌹Imam Muhammad Baqir, peace be upon him, is a beautiful, expansive, radiant light; a lamp that shines forever; a pure, fragrant, life-giving breeze from God; truth and reality, forever raised aloft.
🌷🔆 يَقُولُونَ مَنْ هَذَا فَقِيلَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْبَاقِرُ عَلَمُ الْعِلْمِ النَّاطِقُ عَنِ الْفَهْمِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع
🌹Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, is the banner of knowledge and the voice of understanding: Muhammad, son of Ali, son of Husayn, son of Ali, son of Abu Talib, peace be upon them all.
🌹Without Baqir, knowledge has no manifestation or expression; Baqir is knowledge at its highest.
🌹“Understanding” is mute without Baqir: Baqir is the tongue of “understanding,” the clear voice of thought, the song of wisdom.
🌹Without Baqir, there is no trace of “understanding”; anyone without Baqir is bereft of understanding.
🌹Understanding is the faculty of analysis, evaluation and drawing conclusions. In truth, understanding is the supreme governance of knowledge, by which truth is attained. Knowledge without understanding wanders aimlessly, and understanding without Baqir is dumb and mute.
🌹Every person of understanding carries within the soul the spirit of Baqir. Without Baqir, understanding dies in the hearts.
🌷🔆أَلَا إِنَّ هَذَا بَاقِرُ عِلْمِ الرُّسُلِ وَ هَذَا مُبَيِّنُ السُّبُلِ وَ هَذَا خَيْرُ مَنْ رَسَخَ فِي أَصْلَابِ أَصْحَابِ السَّفِينَةِ هَذَا ابْنُ فَاطِمَةَ الْغَرَّاءِ الْعَذْرَاءِ الزَّهْرَاءِ هَذَا بَقِيَّةُ اللَّهِ فِي أَرْضِهِ هَذَا نَامُوسُ الدَّهْرِ هَذَا ابْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ خَدِيجَةَ وَ عَلِيٍّ وَ فَاطِمَةَ هَذَا مَنَارُ الدِّينِ الْقَائِمَة
🌹Baqir is عِلْمِ الرُّسُلِ, the one who lays open the knowledge of God’s messengers; he is the knowledge of the divine messengers, the university of the prophets.
🌹مُبَيِّنُ السُّبُلِ: Baqir is the illuminator of paths.
🌹Baqir is the finest of those who took root in the loins of the companions of Noah’s Ark. The world was purified so that those loins might become worthy of receiving the lights of Baqir.
🌹Baqir is the beautiful legacy of Noah’s Ark, the one who triumphantly passed through the loins of the Ark’s companions.
🌹Baqir is the son of Fatima, that beautiful, radiant white light.
🌹Baqir is the son of Fatima, that ever-young, living and pure lady.
🌹Baqir is the Remnant of God on earth.
🌹Baqir is God’s chosen remnant, preserved for God: unlike others who are estranged from God, he has kept himself for his Lord.
🌹Baqir is God’s remnant on earth, belonging to God alone. He has kept himself for God; he has no share in anyone but God—he is wholly God’s.
🌹Baqir is the jewel of his age, the honor, nobility and greatness of the generations.
🌹Baqir is the son of Muhammad, son of Khadija, son of Ali, son of Fatima.
🌹Baqir is the steadfast beacon of religion: its enduring lamp and banner, the radiant height of the divine faith, its shining summit, blazing tower and supreme dome.
🔅🌼The Blazing White Light 🌼🔅
🌷🔆حَبَابَةُ الْوَالِبِيَّةُ قَالَتْ- رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا بِمَكَّةَ أَصِيلًا بِالْمُلْتَزَمِ أَوْ بَيْنَ الْبَابِ وَ الْحَجَرِ عَلَى صَعْدَةٍ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ وَ قَدْ حَزَمَ وَسَطَهُ عَلَى الْمِئْزَرِ بِعِمَامَةٍ خَزٍّ وَ الْغَزَالَةُ تُخَالُ عَلَى تِلْكَ الْجِبَالِ كَالْعَمَائِمِ عَلَى قِمَمِ الرِّجَالِ وَ قَدْ صَاعَدَ كَفَّهُ وَ طَرْفَهُ نَحْوَ السَّمَاءِ وَ يَدْعُو فَلَمَّا انْثَالَ النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ يَسْتَفْتُونَهُ عَنِ الْمُعْضِلَاتِ وَ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ أَبْوَابَ الْمُشْكِلَاتِ فَلَمْ يَرِمْ حَتَّى أَفْتَاهُمْ فِي أَلْفِ مَسْأَلَةٍ ثُمَّ نَهَضَ يُرِيدُ رَحْلَهُ وَ مُنَادٍ يُنَادِي بِصَوْتٍ صَهِلٍ أَلَا إِنَّ هَذَا النُّورُ الْأَبْلَجُ الْمُسْرَجُ وَ النَّسِيمُ الْأَرِجُ وَ الْحَقُّ الْمَرْجُ وَ آخَرُونَ يَقُولُونَ مَنْ هَذَا فَقِيلَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْبَاقِرُ عَلَمُ الْعِلْمِ النَّاطِقُ عَنِ الْفَهْمِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ A
🌷🔆 وَ فِي رِوَايَةِ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ أَلَا إِنَّ هَذَا بَاقِرُ عِلْمِ الرُّسُلِ وَ هَذَا مُبَيِّنُ السُّبُلِ وَ هَذَا خَيْرُ مَنْ رَسَخَ فِي أَصْلَابِ أَصْحَابِ السَّفِينَةِ هَذَا ابْنُ فَاطِمَةَ الْغَرَّاءِ الْعَذْرَاءِ الزَّهْرَاءِ هَذَا بَقِيَّةُ اللَّهِ فِي أَرْضِهِ هَذَا نَامُوسُ الدَّهْرِ هَذَا ابْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ خَدِيجَةَ وَ عَلِيٍّ وَ فَاطِمَةَ هَذَا مَنَارُ الدِّينِ الْقَائِمَة[1]
🔆I was in Mecca, in the Sacred Mosque. It was late afternoon, when the sun spread its golden light over the mountains like a crown above the heads of men. I saw a noble figure at the Multazam—or between the Kaaba’s door and the Black Stone. He had bound his waist with a sash of fur and stood upon the ground, raising his blessed hands to heaven in supplication. As people came to him with difficult matters and complex questions, he went on answering them until he had answered a thousand questions. Then he rose and set off for his home. At that moment, a herald cried out in a loud voice:
🔆ألا ! إنّ هذا النور الأبلج المسرح والنسيم الأرج ، والحقّ المرج .
🔆“Listen! This master is a radiant, shining light, a fragrant breeze, and a figure of truth whom the people have forsaken.”
🔆Some asked, “Who is this man?” One of those present replied, “He is Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir, the sign of knowledge and the eloquent voice of the learned: Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon them.”
🔆Another report relates that Abu Basir said: A herald cried out in a loud voice: “Listen! This is the one who unfolds the knowledge of the prophets, illuminates the paths (of God), and is the finest scion of the people of Noah’s Ark, peace be upon him.”
🔆“He is the son of Fatima al-Gharra, al-Adhra and al-Zahra. He is God’s remnant upon His earth, the repository of divine mysteries in this age. He is the son of Muhammad al-Mustafa, Khadija al-Kubra, Ali al-Murtada and Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon them. He is the steadfast pillar of God’s religion.”
🔅🌼Al-ablaj🌼🔅
☘️الأَبْلَج- م بَلجَاء، ج بُلْج: Clear and manifest; “haqq ablaj” means manifest truth. It also describes someone whose eyebrows meet, or a handsome, fair-complexioned person with an open, radiant face.
☘️البُلْجَةُ و البَلَجُ: تباعدُ The space between the eyebrows; it is also said to mean the space between the eyebrows when it is free of hair; بَلِجَ بَلَجاً، فهو أَبْلَجُ، و الأُنثى بَلْجاءُ. It is also said to refer to الأَبْلَجُ الأَبيضُ الحسَنُ الواسعُ the face, whether long or short. In Umm Ma‘bad’s report describing the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “ablaj al-wajh” أَي مُسْفِرهُ مُشْرِقُه, and not تُرِدْ بَلَجَ الحاجِبِ لأَنها تَصِفُه بالقَرَنِ. In a hadith: a bright night القَدْرِ بَلْجَةٌ أَي . Al-baljah, with a fatḥa, and al-buljah, with a ḍamma, mean the light of dawn. And بَلَجَ الصُّبْحُ يَبْلُجُ, with a ḍamma, بُلُوجاً، و انْبَلَجَ، و تَبَلَّجَ: أَسْفَرَ و أَضاء. و تَبَلَّجَ a man toward another man: he laughed and هَشَّ. و البَلَجُ: الفَرَحُ joy and happiness; he is balij. It is also said that he بَلِجَتْ صدورُنا. الأَصمعي: بَلِجَ rejoiced at something and was delighted by it, and it is also said أَبْلَجَني و أَثْلَجَني. و ابْلاجَّ الشيءُ: أَضاء. و أَبْلَجَتِ الشمسُ: أَضاءَت.
🔅🌼The Lamp🌼🔅
☘️السِّرَاج — plural سُرُج: a lamp; an oil lamp lit by means of a wick. The Messenger of God, blessings and peace be upon him and his family, appears; in this sense, he is a lamp pouring forth light, while the Qur’an and the Sacred Law are his light and illumination. What an exquisite expression: “وَ سِراجاً مُنِيراً.” In Sermon 92 of Nahj al-Balagha, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, said of him: “فَهُوَ إِمَامُ مَنِ اتَّقَى … سِرَاجٌ لَمَعَ ضَوْءُهُ وَ شِهَابٌ سَطَعَ نُورُهُ، وَ زَنْدٌ بَرَقَ لَمْعُهُ”
🔅🌼 النَّسِيم 🌼🔅
☘️النَّسِيم — verbal noun; plural نِسَام: a gentle, soft breeze; spirit; bodily sweat.
🔅🌼 أَرِجَ 🌼🔅
☘️أَرِجَ- أَرْجاً و أَريجاً: a sweet fragrance spread from it. الأَرِج [أرج]: that from which a sweet fragrance emanates. تَأَرَّجَ — تَأَرُّجاً [أرج]: a sweet fragrance spread from it. [2]
🔅🌼Blind Knowledge 🌼🔅
🌹Blind knowledge is knowledge without God’s Proof; such knowledge brings nothing but harm.
🔅🌼The Sciences of the All-Merciful and the Ever-Merciful🌼🔅
🌹The sciences of the All-Merciful fall like divine mercy’s rain upon everyone, but the sciences of the Ever-Merciful flow only into the hearts of the elect, and have their own hidden treasuries.
🌹Special knowledge and the innermost secret belong, from one perspective, to the most exceptional of people. The living embodiments of God’s special sciences dwell in concealment on earth.
🌹The Imam is the source of the sciences of the All-Merciful and the Ever-Merciful.
🔅🌼Look to the summit of your perfection 🌼🔅
🌹From one perspective, the Imam is the pinnacle of human being in the realm of servitude to God. The Imam, then, is the innermost secret of servitude to God.
🔅🌼The Orbit of the Imamate🌼🔅
🌹If the Imam is the sky, be his galaxy.
🌹If the Imam is a galaxy, be his star.
🌹If the Imam is a star, be his planet.
🌹If the Imam is a planet, be his moon.
🌹If the Imam is the sea, be his drop and his pearl-bearing shell.
🌹All you need do is place yourself in the orbit of your Imam; he will carry you along with him.
🌹Place yourself within the magnetic field and gravitational pull of God’s Proof.
🌹The nature of the elements depends on the number of their particles, their arrangement, and their motion. In the field of the Imamate, the particles of your being will be transformed.
🌹A person’s nature is shaped by how they draw upon the intellect and its hosts.
🌹The Imam is the ultimate fulfilment of all we long for; the Imam is the vast source of the hopes entrusted to us by the peerless Creator.
🌹Our connection with God’s Proof is easier than our connection with ourselves. Through God, we know Him; through Him, we know the Prophet and His Proof; and through God’s Proof, we know ourselves. In other words, whether directly or through intermediaries, it is through God that we know ourselves and everything else.
🌷🔆 الْإِمَامُ السَّحَابُ الْمَاطِرُ وَ الْغَيْثُ الْهَاطِلُ وَ الشَّمْسُ الْمُضِيئَةُ وَ السَّمَاءُ الظَّلِيلَةُ وَ الْأَرْضُ الْبَسِيطَةُ وَ الْعَيْنُ الْغَزِيرَةُ وَ الْغَدِيرُ وَ الرَّوْضَةُ الْإِمَامُ الْأَنِيسُ الرَّفِيقُ وَ الْوَالِدُ الشَّفِيقُ وَ الْأَخُ الشَّقِيقُ وَ الْأُمُّ الْبَرَّةُ بِالْوَلَدِ الصَّغِيرِ وَ مَفْزَعُ الْعِبَادِ فِي الدَّاهِيَةِ النَّآد[3]
🔅🌼The Fifth Supreme Vision 🌼🔅
Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, is the fifth of the divine, supreme and greatest visions.
🔅🌼The Fifth Greatest Name 🌼🔅
🌹The whole universe flows within the soul of al-Baqir; the Greatest Names have levels, as well as outward and inward manifestations.
🌹Everything is encompassed within the Imam’s soul, and its manifestation from that soul takes the form of a vision particular to that Imam—like a special display that brings hidden things of a particular kind into view.
🔅🌼 The Fragrance and Flavor of al-Bāqir 🌼🔅
🌹 The distinctive flavor of al-Bāqir—the saltiness and sweetness of al-Bāqir—belongs to him alone.
🌹 Imam al-Bāqir, peace be upon him, is both knowledge itself and the one who cleaves it open.
🌹 The water of al-Bāqir is the life uniquely his own; with him, we discover new experiences of life.
🌹 The glory of al-Bāqir’s life is al-Bāqir himself.
🌹 The fifth life is the experience of life within other lives.
🔅🌼 O Cleaver of Knowledge, cleave open my heart 🌼🔅
🌹 You need to be cleft open. Let al-Bāqir cleave you open; it is enough to follow his example of wilayah.
🌹 You are a seed of divine knowledge—why should you not blossom? You need to be cultivated: cultivated in knowledge and wisdom.
🔅🌼 The Device That Unveils the Fitrah 🌼🔅
🌹 Imam al-Bāqir, peace be upon him, is the fifth fitrah in the order of creation: the embodied fitrah, and the one who sets the fitrah in human souls in motion.
🔅🌼 The Key to the Fitrah 🌼🔅
🌹 Imam al-Bāqir, peace be upon him, is the key to the five fitrahs of the soul.
🔅🌼 Inner Guides 🌼🔅
🌹 The People of the Household, peace be upon them, breathe life into our souls. The celestial guides within us continually sing their song of joy, revealing them to us in the most beautiful and delightful ways.
🔅🌼 The Keen Fitrah 🌼🔅
🌹 The Imams, peace be upon them, are living embodiments and eloquent expressions of divine unity. The Creator of existence sends the light of His unity into hearts through the souls of His proofs. Through these holy ones, the tawḥīdic fitrah is revived within souls.
🌹 Our fitrah and soul need sharpening, refinement, and purification. Our convictions and tawḥīdic fitrah must not remain static; they must continually grow and take flight.
🌹 Turn innate tawḥīd into tawḥīd grounded in reasoning and interpretation. Let us tend its garden and flower beds, and build its foundations ever more firmly.
🌹 Bring the fitrah to bloom; the seed of the fitrah must split open.
🌹 Let all our intentions and deeds take on the color and fragrance of tawḥīd.
🌹 The spirit that must be breathed into every matter is tawḥīd.
🌹 Tawḥīd sharpens the sword’s edge against the fissures of idolatry.
🌹 A companion of the Imam of the Age is a companion of tawḥīd.
🌹 Supplications, verses, and narrations—especially those concerning tawḥīd—set the tawḥīdic fitrah in motion.
🌹 Let us repeat sermons on tawḥīd again and again, until our fitrah of tawḥīd comes to life.
🌹 Our part is to sing the song of tawḥīd and love for Him.
🌹 Drink deeply from the cup of wine of Muhammad and his family, even if its analysis eludes you; its flavor will always delight the palate of the soul.
🔅🌼 The Words of al-Bāqir: The Pure Wine of al-Bāqir 🌼🔅
🌹 Let us drink deeply from the pure wine of al-Bāqir.
🔅🌼 تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ فِي تَوْحِيدِهِ 🌼🔅
🌷🔆عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ ع إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَتْ أَسْمَاؤُهُ وَ تَعَالَى فِي عُلُوِّ كُنْهِهِ أَحَدٌ تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ فِي تَوْحِيدِهِ ثُمَّ أَجْرَاهُ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ فَهُوَ أَحَدٌ صَمَدٌ مَلِكٌ قُدُّوسٌ يَعْبُدُهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ وَ يَصْمِدُ إِلَيْهِ وَ فَوْقَ الَّذِي عَسَيْنَا أَنْ نَبْلُغَ رَبَّنَا- وَسِعَ رَبُّنَا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْماً.[4]
🔆Jabir ibn Yazid said: I asked Imam al-Baqir (AS) about divine unity. He replied: God—exalted above every imperfection through His blessed names by which He is invoked, and exalted in the loftiness of His essence—is without peer, uniquely one in His oneness. He has made His unity manifest among His creatures. He is One, Self-Sufficient, Pure and Blessed. Everything worships Him and turns towards Him. Our Lord is far beyond what we hope to attain, and His knowledge encompasses all things.
🔅🌼 His oneness bears witness to His oneness 🌼🔅
🌹So-and-so is unmatched in courage—in his courage. So-and-so is alone in his courage; in courage, he is uniquely brave. He has no rival; his only rival in courage is himself.
🌹In His unity, He is uniquely one; He is one in His oneness.
🌹His unity itself bears witness to His unity; nothing but His unity can testify to it. His oneness is by that very oneness. 🌹Beauty bears witness to His beauty; His greatness bears witness to His greatness. Greatness itself is the sign of His greatness.
🌹Why is He unique? Because He is unique: the sign and the thing signified are one.
🔅🌼 تَفَرَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَ تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّمْجِيدِ 🌼🔅
🌷🔆تَفَرَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَ تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّمْجِيدِ وَ تَكَرَّمَ بِالتَّحْمِيدِ وَ عَظُمَ عَنِ The ambiguity[5]
🌹In His unity He was unique; in glorification He was alone, one and without peer. Through praise, His generosity was established and made firm, and …
🌹He made His unity singular and one. His unity is unique; no one knows it, finds it or can find a way to it, for He has no likeness or equal and cannot be described. Description is a kind of likening. In affirming His unity, we do not say, “He is like this,” because “like this” implies resemblance. Rather, we say that He has no likeness or equal, that He neither begets nor is begotten, so that we may purify the mind.
🌹Yet we believe in His oneness in a way that we ourselves are not capable of believing with such faith and certainty—for He has established it within our souls!
🌹In unity, He is singular.
🌹In glorification, He is one; His majesty is unity, and His majesty is solitary and without peer.
🌹In praise, He is marked by generosity; His praise is adorned with grace.
🌹The One is alone; in solitude He is singular, and in having no peer He is unique and one.
🔅🌼 الْوَاحِدِ الْأَحَدِ الصَّمَدِ الْمُتَفَرِّدِ 🌼🔅
🌷🔆 رَفَعَاهُ إِلَى أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع أَنَّ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع اسْتَنْهَضَ النَّاسَ فِي حَرْبِ مُعَاوِيَةَ فِي الْمَرَّةِ الثَّانِيَةِ فَلَمَّا حَشَدَ النَّاسُ قَامَ خَطِيباً فَقَالَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْأَحَدِ الصَّمَدِ الْمُتَفَرِّدِ الَّذِي لَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ كَانَ وَ لَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَ مَا كَانَ قُدْرَةٌ بَانَ بِهَا مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ وَ بَانَتِ الْأَشْيَاءُ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَتْ لَهُ صِفَةٌ تُنَالُ وَ لَا حَدٌّ تُضْرَبُ لَهُ فِيهِ الْأَمْثَالُ كَلَّ دُونَ صِفَاتِهِ تَحْبِيرُ اللُّغَاتِ وَ ضَلَّ هُنَاكَ تَصَارِيفُ الصِّفَاتِ وَ حَارَ فِي مَلَكُوتِهِ عَمِيقَاتُ مَذَاهِبِ التَّفْكِيرِ وَ انْقَطَعَ دُونَ الرُّسُوخِ فِي عِلْمِهِ جَوَامِعُ التَّفْسِير[6]
🔆Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: For the second time, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) urged the people to fight Mu‘awiya. When they had gathered, he stood to address them and said: Praise belongs to God, the One, the Unique, the Self-Sufficient and the Solitary. His existence did not come from anything, nor was His creation made from anything. He created by a power through which He is distinct from all things, and all things are distinct from Him. No attribute can be reached that would describe Him, nor is there a limit to which anything can be likened. The ornament of words cannot describe Him, and the many forms of praise are lost and bewildered before Him. The deep paths of thought wander astray in contemplating His kingdom; comprehensive interpretations fall short of penetrating His knowledge. Unseen veils stand between His hidden essence and all else, while swift intellects lose their way, even at the nearest reaches of His subtle realities. Blessed is God, beyond the reach of lofty aspirations and beyond the grasp of penetrating minds. Exalted is He, beyond numbered time, prolonged life and bounded attributes (for prolonged life belongs to one whose span comes to an end). Glory be to God, who has no beginning from which He commenced, and
🌹If the people of reflection unite and penetrate His realm, they are lost within it.
🔅🌼 He is One in Lordship 🌼🔅
🌷🔆 تَوَحَّدَ بِالرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَ خَصَّ نَفْسَهُ بِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ وَ اسْتَخْلَصَ بِالْمَجْدِ وَ الثَّنَاءِ وَ تَفَرَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَ الْمَجْدِ وَ السَّنَاءِ وَ تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّحْمِيدِ وَ تَمَجَّدَ بِالتَّمْجِيدِ وَ عَلَا عَنِ اتِّخَاذِ الْأَبْنَاءِ وَ تَطَهَّرَ وَ تَقَدَّسَ عَنْ مُلَامَسَةِ النِّسَاءِ وَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ عَنْ مُجَاوَرَةِ الشُّرَكَاءِ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ فِيمَا خَلَقَ ضِدٌّ وَ لَا لَهُ فِيمَا مَلَكَ نِدٌّ وَ لَمْ يَشْرَكْهُ فِي مُلْكِهِ أَحَدٌ الْوَاحِدُ الْأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الْمُبِيدُ لِلْأَبَدِ [7]
🌹His Lordship is one; Lordship belongs exclusively to Him. He has set Himself apart in oneness.
🌹He affirmed His holiness, uniqueness and oneness, made them known to creation, and brought them to their awareness.
🔅🌼 تَقَدَّسَ وَ تَفَرَّدَ وَ تَوَحَّدَ 🌼🔅
🌷🔆عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ اسْمُهُ وَ تَعَالَى ذِكْرُهُ وَ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَقَدَّسَ وَ تَفَرَّدَ وَ تَوَحَّدَ وَ لَمْ يَزَلْ وَ لَا يَزَالُ وَ هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَ الْآخِرُ وَ الظَّاهِرُ وَ الْباطِنُ فَلَا أَوَّلَ لِأَوَّلِيَّتِهِ رَفِيعاً فِي أَعْلَى عُلُوِّهِ شَامِخُ الْأَرْكَانِ رَفِيعُ الْبُنْيَانِ عَظِيمُ السُّلْطَانِ مُنِيفُ الْآلَاءِ سَنِيُّ الْعَلْيَاءِ الَّذِي عَجَزَ الْوَاصِفُونَ عَنْ كُنْهِ صِفَتِهِ وَ لَا يُطِيقُونَ حَمْلَ مَعْرِفَةِ إِلَهِيَّتِهِ وَ لَا يَحُدُّونَ حُدُودَهُ لِأَنَّهُ بِالْكَيْفِيَّةِ لَا يُتَنَاهَى إِلَيْهِ.[8]
🔆Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: “Truly, God—blessed is His name, exalted is His remembrance, and sublime is His praise—is transcendent and holy, One and alone. He has always been and always will be. He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden. His being first has no beginning. He is exalted at the highest height; His pillars are lofty and His dominion impregnable. His sovereignty is mighty, His blessings abundant, and His magnificence radiant. All who praise Him are incapable of describing His essence, and no one can bear to grasp the knowledge of His divinity or define Him, for no conception of how can reach His sacred presence.”
Indeed, blessed is His name, exalted is His remembrance, majestic is His praise; He is transcendent and holy, unique. He has always been, and always is and will be. He is the First, the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden; His being first has no beginning. He is exalted in the loftiness of His rank; His pillars are noble, His foundation lofty, His sovereignty mighty, His blessings abundant, and His eminence sublime. Those who describe Him are incapable of fathoming the essence of His description.
🔅🌼 Commentary on al-Ṣamad 🌼🔅
🔅🌼 الصَّمَدَ هُوَ السَّيِّدُ الْمَصْمُودُ إِلَيْهِ 🌼🔅
🌷🔆أَنَ الصَّمَدَ هُوَ السَّيِّدُ الْمَصْمُودُ إِلَيْهِ- هُوَ مَعْنًى صَحِيحٌ مُوَافِقٌ لِقَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ: «لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ».
وَ الْمَصْمُودُ إِلَيْهِ: الْمَقْصُودُ فِي اللُّغَةِ.[9]
🔅🌼 الصَّمَدُ السَّيِّدُ الْمَصْمُودُ إِلَيْهِ 🌼🔅
🌷🔆 عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ الْقَاسِمِ الْجَعْفَرِيِّ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الثَّانِي ع جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ مَا الصَّمَدُ قَالَ السَّيِّدُ الْمَصْمُودُ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْقَلِيلِ وَ الْكَثِيرِ.
🔆Dawud ibn al-Qasim al-Ja‘fari relates: I said to Imam Muhammad al-Taqi (AS), “May I be your ransom, what does al-Ṣamad mean?” The Imam replied:
“A lord and master to whom all creation turns, in matters great and small.”
🔅🌼 Interpretation of al-Ṣamad 🌼🔅
قَالَ ع إِنَّ الصَّمَدَ هُوَ السَّيِّدُ الْمَصْمُودُ إِلَيْهِ.
هُوَ مَعْنًى صَحِيحٌ مُوَافِقٌ لِقَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَ الْمَصْمُودُ إِلَيْهِ الْمَقْصُودُ فِي اللُّغَةِ قَالَ أَبُو طَالِبٍ فِي بَعْضِ مَا كَانَ يَمْدَحُ بِهِ- النَّبِيَّ ص مِنْ شِعْرِهِ-
| وَ بِالْجَمْرَةِ الْقُصْوَى إِذَا صَمَدُوا لَهَا- | يَؤُمُّونَ قَذْفاً رَأْسَهَا بِالْجَنَادِلِ | |
يَعْنِي قَصَدُوا نَحْوَهَا يَرْمُونَهَا بِالْجَنَادِلِ يَعْنِي الْحَصَى الصِّغَارَ الَّتِي تُسَمَّى بِالْجِمَارِ وَ قَالَ بَعْضُ شُعَرَاءِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ شِعْراً
| مَا كُنْتُ أَحْسَبُ أَنَّ بَيْتاً ظَاهِراً- | لِلَّهِ فِي أَكْنَافِ مَكَّةَ يُصْمَدُ- | |
يَعْنِي يُقْصَدُ وَ قَالَ ابْنُ الزِّبْرِقَانِ-
| وَ لَا رَهِيبَةَ إِلَّا سَيِّدٌ صَمَدٌ- |
“3” وَ قَالَ شَدَّادُ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ فِي حُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ بَدْرٍ-
| عَلَوْتُهُ بِحُسَامٍ ثُمَّ قُلْتُ لَهُ- | خُذْهَا حُذَيْفُ فَأَنْتَ السَّيِّدُ الصَّمَدُ- | |
وَ مِثْلُ هَذَا كَثِيرٌ وَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ هُوَ السَّيِّدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي جَمِيعُ الْخَلْقِ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَ الْإِنْسِ إِلَيْهِ يَصْمُدُونَ فِي الْحَوَائِجِ وَ إِلَيْهِ يَلْجَئُونَ عِنْدَ الشَّدَائِدِ وَ مِنْهُ يَرْجُونَ الرَّخَاءَ وَ دَوَامَ النَّعْمَاءِ لِيَدْفَعَ عَنْهُمُ الشَّدَائِدَ.[10]
That is, in pre-eternity no one existed to affirm His oneness; He alone affirmed His own oneness. Thus He was singular in existence, uniquely affirming His own oneness. Then, after creation, He made Himself known to them and commanded them to affirm His oneness. Or the meaning is that His being one is unlike the oneness of anything else: He is singular in His oneness. Or He was so before creation and brought about the other kinds of oneness in His creation, since unity is equivalent to existence or entails it; but their forms of unity are mingled with various kinds of multiplicity, as you have learned. (Āt)[11]
🔅🌼 Commentary and Explanation of Ṣamad 🌼🔅
God is exalted far above this deficiency—an exaltation beyond measure. As for what is related in the reports, that ṣamad means “solid and full within,” the learned one—by whom one of the Imams, peace be upon him and them, is meant—knows better what he has said, and that Imam knows its meaning best. Imam Muhammad al-Taqi, peace be upon him, said that ṣamad means “the master to whom all turn.” This is a sound interpretation, in keeping with the words of God عزّوجلّ «لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ.” In Arabic, maṣmūd ilayhi means “one who is sought.” Abu Talib, the father of the Commander of the Faithful, praised the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, in one of his poems, saying:
| و بالجمرة القصوى اذا صمدوا لها | يؤمّون قذفا رأسها بالجنادل | |
That is: “And by the farthest of the three jamarat at Mina—that is, the Jamrat al-‘Aqaba—when they make for it, they strike its summit, or aim for its summit, with the stones they cast toward it.” (In some copies of al-Kafi, the word raḍkhan appears instead of qadhfan. Raḍkh, with fatḥa on the first letter and sukūn on the second, means to throw stones at something, pelt it, and break it.)
In explaining this verse, al-Kulayni said that they made for its side and pelted it with stones—that is, the small pebbles called jamarāt. One of the poets of the pre-Islamic era said:
| ما كنت أحسب ان بيتاً ظاهراً | اللَّه فى أكناف مكَّة يصمد | |
That is: “I never imagined that God had a visible House in the environs of Mecca, one that is sought—that is, that people make for it and go to visit it.” The House meant here is the Kaaba. May God grant us and you the blessing of visiting it.
Zibriqan said:
| و لا رهيبة الا سيّد صمد. |
That is: “And is it not awe-inspiring that his praised name is none other than the Great One whom people seek out in their needs.”
And Shaddad ibn Mu’awiya said concerning Hudhayfa ibn Badr:
| عَلَوتُهُ بِحُسامٍ ثمّ I said to him | Take it, Hudhayf, for you are the lord, the ever-sought. | |
Chapter on the demonstration of God’s transcendence above motion and transition, that is: “I raised against him a life-taking sword, and I said to him: take this blow, O Hudhayfa, for you are the great one whom people seek out in their needs” (and Shaddad said this to Hudhayfa in mockery and derision; just as the angels, by God’s command, say to the sinner after they have seized him with force and violence, dragged him into the midst of hell, and poured boiling water over his head so that his body is melted by it, saying in derision: ذُقْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْكَرِيمُ that is: “Taste, and endure this punishment. Indeed, you are the mighty, the noble”).
After that, Kulayni said: And the like of this—that is, the verses mentioned concerning al-Samad—is abundant. And God, mighty and majestic, is the Lord, the Ever-Sought, whom all creation, jinn and humankind, seek out in all their needs, and to whom they flee in hardships (that He may ward off and remove them from them), and from whom they hope for abundance of joy and the continuance of blessings.[12]
🔅🌼 Explanation of the letter ba 🌼🔅
And his saying, peace be upon him: “He singled Himself out by oneness in His oneness”—the ba is for causation and the fi is for containment, as one says: “So-and-so is unique in courage in his courage,” or the ba is for containment and the fi is for causation, the reverse; and the second is closer in meaning, so take heed.[13]
🔅🌼 Fard (Single) 🌼🔅
Synonyms of fard: single, alone, solitary, one, unique, separate, distinct, individual, person, someone, unmatched, peerless, wahid, one-of-a-kind, singular, sole, unmarried, abstract, isolated
Antonym of fard: pair
Persian equivalents: tan, tak, yeganeh, bi-hamta, bi-manand, tanha
🔅🌼 Nidd 🌼🔅
Nadid al-shay’—a thing that is homogeneous and shares in the origin and essence of another thing, which is itself a kind of equivalence and similarity, because mithl and manand are words used of any sharing whatsoever; so every nidd is a like and a similitude, but not every similitude and like is a nidd or a partner.
نِدُّهُ- و نَدِيدُهُ و نَدِيدَتُهُAll three are used in one meaning.
(5). “Al-Nidd”: the like of a thing in reality, which opposes it in its affairs and “yanidduhu,” that is, differs from it. Al-Nihaya, vol. 5, p. 25 (n-d-d).
🔅🌼 Al-Mutawahhid (the Isolated One) 🌼🔅
And al-mutawahhid: one of profound oneness, like al-mutakabbir, one of profound greatness.
And in al-Qamus: Allah is al-Awhad, and al-mutawahhid is one possessed of oneness.
And it is said: al-mutawahhid is one who disdains having a peer, just as it is said: al-mutakabbir is one who is great above everything that entails need or deficiency. And the meaning of His oneness, exalted be He, is that He has no second in existence and necessity, and no multiplicity in His essence and attributes, whether mentally or externally. And in the terminology of the people of spiritual state:
And al-fard: it is said it is the odd, and it is the one.
And al-Raghib said: al-fard is that with which nothing else is mixed, so it is more general than al-witr and more specific than al-wahid. And it is said of God that He is fard, as a reminder that He is contrary to all things in the pairing alluded to by His saying, exalted be He: “And of every thing We created a pair.”
And it is said: He is free of need of all else, as alluded to by His saying, “Free of need of the worlds.” And when it is said that He is singular in oneness, its meaning is: He is free of need of every composition and pairing, as a reminder that He is contrary to all existent things. End.
And it is said: al-fard is one who has no peer, and al-mutafarrid is one of profound singularity.
And it is said: He is the One who is singular in the particularity of His existence with a singularity that cannot be conceived for any other to share with Him in it; so He is the absolute Single, from eternity to eternity. And the creature is only single when he has no peer among the children of his kind in any trait of good—and that is in relation to the children of his kind, and in relation to time, since it is possible that another like him appear at another time, and in relation to some traits rather than all. So there is no absolute singularity except for God, exalted be He.
And the Generous: the One possessed of generosity and munificence.
Al-Rāghib says: “When God is described as generous, the name refers to His beneficence and manifest blessings.” End quote.
Generosity may also be used to mean that a thing is free of deficiencies and possesses every praiseworthy quality. This meaning is rightly applied to Him, exalted is He.
And the Munificent: the One whose generosity is boundless, or the One who is above anything unbecoming of His Most Holy Presence. The expression تكرّم عنه means “to be above it.”
And the Magnificent: the One whose attributes of perfection and qualities of majesty lie beyond the bounds of the intellect. The root meaning of عظمت relates to physical bodies, but the word came to be used for things apprehended by inner vision. These, like physical bodies, differ in degree of greatness. Of such things, that whose true nature and qualities the intellect cannot conceive or encompass at all is absolutely magnificent—and that is God, exalted is He.
And the Exalted in Majesty: the One of consummate majesty, or the One who disdains to have any equal in His greatness.
And the Great: the One beside whose perfection of existence all things are lesser. Perfection of existence comes down to two things:
First, its being without beginning or end. Any existence that is cut off, whether sooner or later, is deficient. Thus, when a person’s existence lasts a long time, they are called “great”—that is, advanced in age, with a long span of life—but not “magnificent.” “Great” is therefore used of what “magnificent” is not. If a limited existence can be called great because of its long duration, then the One who is everlasting, without beginning or end, and for whom nonexistence is inconceivable, is all the more worthy of being called Great.
Second, His existence is the source from which the existence of every existent proceeds. If that whose existence is complete in itself is perfect and great, then the One from whom all existents receive their existence is even more worthy of being called perfect and great.
And the Supremely Great: the One possessed of greatness, majesty and might. He regards all things as insignificant in comparison with His own Being, and sees perfection, nobility and honour as belonging to Himself alone. If this vision is true, such self-exaltation is justified and praiseworthy, and its bearer is truly worthy of it. But this is absolutely conceivable of none other than God, exalted is He. If, however, that view is false, and the one who sees himself as uniquely majestic is not as he imagines, then such self-exaltation is false and blameworthy. Anyone who claims greatness and majesty exclusively for himself, above all others, is deluded in that claim and mistaken in that view—all except God, exalted is He.
And the Most High: the One whose rank is the highest of all ranks—the rank of being the source of all things. For His Sacred Essence is the origin of every corporeal and spiritual existent, and the absolutely complete cause, in which deficiency is in no way conceivable, as explained above.
And the Exalted Beyond All: the One who is supreme in His exaltedness, or who rises above all things by His power, or who is far above[14]
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼
🔅🌼A student’s perspective on the discussion “Bāqir: God’s Share in Its Entirety” 🌼🔅
🔹 Bāqir: God’s Share in Its Entirety
🔹 The Birth of His Eminence Imam Muhammad al-Bāqir, peace be upon him
📅 Date: 1403/10/13 – 1 Rajab 1446
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei
Some of the points raised in the session:
🌸 Congratulations and felicitations to the celestial beings of the world
O God, make Your Bāqir known to us: the one who laid open the knowledge of Your Prophet; this master of masters; this radiant, luminous light, this fragrant breeze, this truth that stands resplendent. Make him known to us as befits the master who lays open the Prophet’s knowledge. O God, by Your divinity, make His Eminence known to us, so that our spirits may be illumined. By his stature and his authority,
Imam al-Bāqir is a beautiful light, the broadest light in the world. The light most fully opened and most completely blossomed: when light unfolds into its perfection, the beauty of Imam al-Bāqir of the House of Muhammad appears.
🌿 The Ever-Burning Lamp
The lamp that forever burns with the radiance of this fragrant breeze of existence is al-Bāqir, the divine fragrance that gladdens the heart. Al-Bāqir is truth and reality, forever held aloft. Al-Bāqir is truth and reality raised high. Imam al-Bāqir is the banner of knowledge, speaking through understanding. How so? O God, let me unveil the secret behind this phrase. Al-Bāqir is the voice of understanding. What a wondrous description of the station of being al-Bāqir! It means that without al-Bāqir, understanding would not speak; understanding would be mute, understanding would be dumb.
🍂 A Secret Within
If it were not for Baqir, there would be no understanding, no capacity to understand. I understand; and anyone who understands bears a secret within, a Baqiri secret in the depths of the soul. By God, if that secret were not there—if Baqir were not present in one’s innermost nature and primordial disposition—there would be no understanding of the world at all. And even if there were some understanding, it would have neither expression nor manifestation: it would be mute and hidden, unable to speak. So Baqir speaks through every act of understanding. When we understand, it is Baqir within our souls who finds a voice. Without Baqir, understanding would depart from this world of being. Baqir is the banner of knowledge. Without Baqir, knowledge has no radiance, no manifestation. Baqir is the supreme emblem of knowledge.
🌳 Baqir and Understanding
Baqir is the clear voice of thought, the song of wisdom. Without Baqir, we would know nothing of reason.
What is understanding? Is it the capacity to analyze, assess and draw conclusions? Understanding is the faculty that enables us to put knowledge to use.
Without understanding, knowledge cannot be shaped within our souls or culminate in wisdom.
Understanding is the supreme governance of knowledge within us.
When knowledge is governed to perfection, that is understanding. Without understanding, knowledge is adrift and devoid of meaning. Only understanding can make knowledge palatable to us and give it meaning.
🌾 The Soul of Understanding and Baqir of the Family of Muhammad
The secret of our capacity to understand lies in Baqir of the Family of Muhammad.
🌺 Who is Baqir?
He is the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn, the son of Sajjad—Sajjad, the son of Husayn, and Husayn, the son of Ali.
🌷 The Knowledge of the Messengers
How can I speak of Baqir’s essence? Who is Baqir? Baqir is the knowledge of the messengers.
🌼 Baqir, the Knowledge of the Prophets
Baqir is the knowledge of the prophets, the one who cleaves open the knowledge of God’s messengers. He opens it up, tills the soil, and brings forth its fruits and beauties, making them manifest.
What does Baqir do within the heart of this world? I do not know! What is happening in the depths of my soul? By God, I do not know or understand. There are events, manifestations, revelations and mysteries within my being, within my soul. I bear a Baqiri secret in me. Baqir is at work in the soul of my world, carrying out his mission. He opens up what must be opened. He finds hearts ready to receive. He cleaves open and turns over both ordinary hearts and those specially chosen. Baqir is living and eternal, always acting by God’s command.
🌿 The Greatest Secret of God
Baqir carries out God’s mission. By God, this Baqir is God’s greatest secret. He remains, and will remain, God’s proof. He will be so for all eternity. Baqir cleaves open knowledge and is the university of the prophets.
🌸 The One Who Makes the Paths Clear
This master, Baqir, makes the paths clear. He brings them into the light. Without Baqir, the paths are blind and dark, hidden from view. It is Baqir who shows us the way. Without Baqir, even the sun would lose its way across the sky. This is no mere politeness: that is what “the one who makes the paths clear” means.
🍂 The Great Foundation of Creation
Without Baqir, an electron would lose its way as it circled the nucleus. There would be no elements in this universe, no foundations at all. God has linked the great foundation of His creation to its mysteries, one of which is Baqir. Such is God’s wisdom and will; He has so decreed. What would become of it all without him? Baqir is the knowledge of the messengers, the light that guides the paths.
God purifies the world so that only pure loins remain, so that those pure loins may be capable of receiving the rising of Baqir’s light within them. If the world were not pure, there would be no Baqir on this earthly sphere.
🌾 Baqir’s Beautiful Light
The Creator of existence purified this world so that the beautiful light of His Baqir might shine and envelop it. He is the finest of all, penetrating the loins and the vessel of the spirit.
🌷 The Son of Fatima
If I do not understand the Imam’s words, I must read them thousands of times. The Imam gives speech to the mute. Let us recite his words in the presence of the “Imam who speaks with understanding”; we will come to understand them and grasp their meaning with our whole being.
🌿 The delight of Baqir’s words
How delightful are Baqir’s words! Even when I do not understand them, I can feel their delight.
🍂 Tawhid flowing through the soul
He made His tawhid flow through His creation. I do not need to attain tawhid; I need to feel it, flowing through my soul like water. How does the thirsty person know the taste of water? When they drink deeply of pure water, they know it with their whole being; they understand the water’s message because it flows through every particle of their existence. Tawhid is just like that. God has made it flow through our very being.
🌺 Worship by nature and by law
All things worship Him. Even the unbeliever worships Him, though they may not realize it. If we turn to the realm of creation, we see that they worship Him in accordance with the divine law as well, though they do not know it. No one can escape worshipping Him; it is impossible. All are journeying toward God. One cannot help but journey toward Him or choose Him; that is impossible. He is al-Ṣamad: that is, all turn toward Him and seek none but Him.
🌾 The transcendence of the Lord
Our Lord is beyond anything we might long to attain.
🌳 The encompassing knowledge of God
Our Lord’s knowledge encompasses everything. He holds all things in His embrace and surrounds them. God is exalted. In the discourse on tawhid,
anyone may express their love and feeling through the cup of Baqir’s wine, but no one can claim to offer an interpretation of his words.
🌼 A hymn of tawhid
God is exalted in His tawhid; in His oneness, He is alone. He has made His tawhid flow through His creation. He is One, al-Ṣamad, Holy, and unique. Everything worships Him; everything lies within the embrace of His knowledge. In His tawhid, He is utterly singular. By God, His beauty bears witness to beauty; His majesty bears witness to majesty. How can we describe our Lord? Let us simply sing His hymn and take delight in it.
🍂 Describing the divine attributes
The Lord has no limit by which He might be described through comparison. Those who seek to describe Him are powerless to fathom the reality of His attributes. How could they reach His exalted essence? No limit can be set to His attributes or divinity, for by asking how, they cannot reach their utmost end.
🌸 Tawhid and oneness
His tawhid is singular; His singularity is grounded in tawhid. In His oneness, He has no equal. No one can define or praise Him as He deserves. He alone can extol and praise Himself.
🌿 Faith and the taste of tawhid
We believe in His oneness so deeply that it has made us human and brought us to this station. We need only awaken. He is the one who has made tawhid firm within our souls. We need only taste it and understand it.
This is Baqir, the son of Fāṭima al-Gharrāʾ: that Fāṭima, that pure light, God’s ever-radiant white light. This is Baqir, the son of Fāṭima, forever alive, youthful, pure, and wholly beautiful.
🌳 The remnant of God
How can we describe Baqir? Who is Baqir? Baqir is Baqiyyatullāh, the Remnant of God. Who is there to praise Baqir? This master, the most oppressed of the oppressed in his age and on this earth, is God’s remnant. On God’s earth, he was and remains the Baqiyyatullāh of his time. We have a Baqiyyatullāh. Every one of God’s proofs is a Baqiyyatullāh. Imam Muḥammad al-Baqir is Baqir’s own Baqiyyatullāh on God’s earth.
🌸 The meaning of Baqiyyatullāh
What does Baqiyyatullāh mean? God’s remnant on earth. What does that mean? God’s legacy: the one who has kept only himself for his Lord. Whoever keeps only himself for his Lord becomes Baqiyyatullāh. The one who remains alone for God on earth becomes Baqiyyatullāh: the being whose entire existence belongs to God. He has reserved no part of himself for anyone but God. He belongs wholly to God. This is Baqir.
🌿 The steadfastness of God’s religion
is the age’s greatest treasure, the honour of the generations, the very grandeur and majesty of the age. Without Baqir, the grandeur and majesty of the age would leave the generations without honour.
Who is Baqir? He is the son of Muhammad, the son of Khadija, the son of Ali and Fatima. This Baqir is the pillar of God’s enduring religion. The very steadfastness of God’s religion is Baqir. That is, God’s religion has always rested on a firm foundation, unshakable in its strength. Why? Because Baqir is in this world. The banner and lamp of religion stand firm for all time. He is the radiant summit, the blazing tower and the lofty dome of God’s religion.
🌾 Baqir and the manifestation of truth
Our Imam of the Age is the living presence of the Remnant of God on earth. On the day of his ظهور, in truth, he will bear twelve crowns: twelve brilliant flashes, twelve exalted towers. Let us not fail to visit any of his towers.
🌸 The Proof and knowledge
Let not our eyes remain untouched by the crowns of the Proof. Each of the revered Proofs is a crown of God’s final Proof. How often shall we visit our Imam of the Age? If we wish to behold him fully, we must know each of our Imams and connect ourselves to the Proofs, so that we may receive in full the ultimate grace that comes through God’s Proof. Without knowing the Proof, everything in this world is blind. Knowledge, too, is blind without the Proof. Knowledge and learning without the Proof bring nothing but loss.
🌿 The outpouring of divine, all-encompassing and special knowledge
Knowledge in this world is both all-encompassing and particular. It pours down abundantly upon everyone, yet also descends in a special way upon particular people. Like rain, its all-encompassing flow falls upon all, while its special knowledge is bestowed on chosen individuals. Upon whose souls do these particular mysteries rain down? God’s special program is at work across the earth.
🍂 The knowledge of Ali and Fatima
There is knowledge of Ali and Fatima. Whoever comes to know it will gain access to its inner, particular knowledge. Such knowledge is not handed out for nothing. Even a general blessing, if met with ingratitude, may be taken away.
🌺 The scroll of knowledge
Whoever sits with the Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is nourished by knowledge. By God, one day they will see its light and leave the world astonished. There is knowledge of Baqir, Ja‘far, Kazim, Ridha, Hadi, Askari, and the Remnant of God.
🌾 The mines and treasuries of knowledge
If we seek knowledge, its mines and treasuries are the revered Proofs of God. We must come to know them. Exceptional people on earth are being nourished, gestating in the womb of this world; one day they will emerge from it. Their capacities and wonders will be revealed.
🌳 Connection with God’s Proof
Let us hold fast to this Proof, so that our souls may receive their distinctive adornment. By God, connection with God’s Proof is easy—easier than our connection with ourselves. For through that very Proof, God brings us to ourselves. Had His Proof not been, we would never have known ourselves.
🌼 The Imam’s rain of mercy
The Imam is a cloud heavy with rain; his rain never ceases. The Imam is God’s provision. Whatever we might desire is gathered within the Imam’s soul. Imam Baqir is God’s fifth vista, His loftiest and greatest vista. Our Imam Baqir, too, holds the whole created world within his soul.
🌸 Baqir and the soul of the world
Imam Baqir is water and bread, water and life. Through him, a special strength reaches our souls. When the life of Baqir blossoms within us, our very being takes on the lofty aspect of Baqir.
🌿 The blossoming of innate nature
What must we do for the one who cleaves knowledge to cleave open our hearts as well—to open, awaken and nurture the innate nature within us? What must we do to connect with the sphere of his spiritual authority? This vast dispensation that opens the innate nature, this supreme key to it, introduces Baqir to our hearts.
🍂 Divine unity and innate nature
Let us ask our God to make knowledge of Him an inseparable part of our souls. Let us sharpen our innate nature and transform its inborn awareness of divine unity into a reasoned and interpretive understanding of that unity. Let us nurture our innate nature and bring its wonders to light. Let its light shine forth. All our thoughts and intentions must take on the colour of divine unity.
🌺 Golzar Bagheri
Let us slip into Golzar Bagheri’s garden and drain the cup of his pure wine, until we are intoxicated by his peerless words.
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼
[1] مناقب آل أبي طالب عليهم السلام (لابن شهرآشوب) ؛ ج4 ؛ ص182 Allameh, Qom, first edition, 1379 AH.
[2] بحار الأنوار (ط – بيروت) ؛ ج46 ؛ ص259 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[3] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص200 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[4] التوحيد (للصدوق) ؛ ؛ ص136 Ibn Babawayh, Society of Seminary Teachers, Iran; Qom, first edition, 1398 AH.
[5] الغارات (ط – القديمة) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص100 Thaqafi, Dar al-Kitab al-Islami, Qom, first edition, 1410 AH.
[6] الغارات (ط – القديمة) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص98 Thaqafi, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sa’id ibn Hilal, Dar al-Kitab al-Islami, Qom, first edition, 1410 AH.
[7] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص136 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[8] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص137 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[9] الكافي (ط – دارالحديث) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص306 Kulayni, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, first edition, 1429 AH.
[10] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص123 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[11] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص123 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[12] تحفة الأولياء (ترجمه أصول كافى), vol. 1, p. 393 Kulayni, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, first edition, 1388 SH.
[13] التوحيد (للصدوق) ؛ ؛ ص136 Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali, Society of Seminary Teachers, Iran; Qom, first edition, 1398 AH.
[14] رياض السالكين في شرح صحيفة سيد الساجدين ؛ ج6 ؛ ص284 Kabir Madani, Islamic Publishing Office, Iran; Qom, first edition, 1409 AH.
