Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼 “Husayn, the adornment of the heavens and the earth” “The secret of a love accepted by God” 🌼🔆🌼
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “The secret of Husayn in the heavens” “The bond between earth and heaven” “Husayn, the art of creation” “The taste of love for Husayn” and more… 1402.11.2 — Summary with concluding remarks on the discussions; Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat), 110.141 (903) 🌹🔅
🔅🌼 Husayn, described through Husayn 🌼🔅
🌹 Husayn is the sovereign of hearts.
🌹With Husayn, we must become God’s pure and chosen servants.
🌹With Husayn, our very being must become a hive of love for God.
🌹Like Abu’l-Fadl, Husayn has a standard-bearer envied by the martyrs; Husayn is the gardener of the martyrs’ garden.
🌹In the realm of servitude to God, Husayn revealed a new art.
🌹What difference is there between a sinner and one who loves Husayn and his descendants for worldly gain?!
🌹Love must never be made a bargaining chip; to trade in love is to lose it.
🌹When love carries the fragrance of God, it is then a love pleasing to Husayn.
🌹Whoever loves a servant for God’s sake loves Allah; no one can love God unless God loves them.
🌹Let us map out the course of our affections and determine where we stand!
🌹Husayn is both the vessel of love and its contents.
🌹Husayn’s very being is love for God.
🌹Every heaven has an earth entwined with it.
🌹It is as though this world were an interpretation of Husayn’s beauty.
🌹Every part of our being is touched by beauty, but we need a broader horizon of vision.
🔅🌼The highest horizon of knowing Imam Husayn, peace be upon him🌼🔅
🌹Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, is the beating heart of love and martyrdom: sovereign of hearts, ruler over worship in the lofty expanses of servitude.
🌹Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, is God’s own “How wondrous!” and “Bravo!”—“فتبارک الله احسن الخالقین”. God is enough for Husayn; Husayn is not here to be praised, but to become praise itself.
🌹Our very being must become a Husayni gathering place—must become Husayn—if we are to fulfil our duty to him.
🌹This alone is enough to define Husayn: his Abu’l-Fadl is envied by the martyrs; he is Husayn’s standard-bearer, and Husayn is the master of the martyrs.
🌹Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, is the gardener of the martyrs’ garden.
🌹Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, brings a new colour and design to the art of creation. He is the water of life for servitude to God.
🌹Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, renewed the meaning of love. Husayn is the innovator of worship and devotion.
🔅🌼I love Husayn purely for God’s sake 🌼🔅
🌷🔆الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ ع قَالَ: قَالَ لِي يَا بِشْرَ بْنَ غَالِبٍ مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا لَا يُحِبُّنَا إِلَّا لِلَّهِ جِئْنَا نَحْنُ وَ هُوَ كَهَاتَيْنِ وَ قَدَّرَ بَيْنَ سَبَّابَتَيْهِ وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا لَا يُحِبُّنَا إِلَّا لِلدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّهُ إِذَا قَامَ قَائِمُ الْعَدْلِ وَسَّعَ عَدْلَهُ الْبَرَّ وَ الْفَاجِر[1]
🔆Imam Husayn, peace be upon him: “Whoever loves us, and loves us for no reason other than God, will enter [the Day of Resurrection] alongside us, like these two”—the Imam held his two index fingers parallel to one another. “And whoever loves us for no reason other than worldly gain: when the one who establishes justice rises, his justice will extend to both the righteous and the wicked.”
🌹Let us not make love a bargaining chip or trade in it. To trade in love for the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, is ruin.
🌷🔆قَالَ الصَّادِقُ ع الْمُحِبُّ فِي اللَّهِ مُحِبُّ اللَّهِ وَ الْمَحْبُوبُ فِي اللَّهِ حَبِيبُ اللَّهِ لِأَنَّهُمَا لَا يَتَحَابَّانِ إِلَّا فِي اللَّهِ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ فَمَنْ أَحَبَّ عَبْداً فِي اللَّهِ فَإِنَّمَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَ لَا يُحِبُّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى إِلَّا مَنْ أَحَبَّهُ اللَّه[2]
🔆Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: Whoever comes to love someone for God’s sake is a lover of God, and the one who becomes the object of such love is beloved and dear to God, because the love that arises between them is for God’s sake.
🔆The Noble Messenger (PBUH) said: “Everyone will be gathered with the one they love. So whoever loves a servant for God’s sake has loved God; and none loves God unless God loves them.”
🌷🔆قَالَ: وَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: «مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا لِلَّهِ نَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ بِذَلِكَ وَ لَوْ كَانَ أَسِيراً فِي يَدِ الدَّيْلَمِ، وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ بِهِ مَا يَشَاءُ. إِنَّ حُبَّنَا- أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ- لَيَحُطُّ الذُّنُوبَ عَنِ الْعِبَادِ كَمَا تَحُطُّ الرِّيحُ الشَّدِيدَةُ الْوَرَقَ عَنِ الشَّجَرِ»[3]
🔆Imam al-Sadiq (AS): Whoever loves us for God’s sake, God will benefit them through this love, even if they are held captive in the land of Daylam. And whoever loves us for any reason other than God, then God will do as He wills. Indeed, our love for the Ahl al-Bayt washes sins from His servants just as a fierce wind strips leaves from the trees.
🔅🌼 Sincere love for the Ahl al-Bayt is a spring of wisdom 🌼🔅
🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَ حَقَّقَ حُبَّنَا فِي قَلْبِهِ جَرَى يَنَابِيعُ الْحِكْمَةِ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ وَ جُدِّدَ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَ جُدِّدَ لَهُ عَمَلُ سَبْعِينَ نَبِيّاً وَ سَبْعِينَ صِدِّيقاً وَ سَبْعِينَ شَهِيداً وَ عَمَلُ سَبْعِينَ عَابِداً عَبَدَ اللَّهَ سَبْعِينَ سَنَة[4]
🌷🔆Imam al-Sadiq (AS): Whoever loves us, the Ahl al-Bayt, and makes that love firm in their heart, springs of wisdom will flow from their tongue, their faith will be renewed in their heart, and they will be credited with the reward of the deeds of seventy prophets, seventy truthful ones, seventy martyrs, and seventy worshippers who devoted seventy years to worship.
🔅🌼 The lover’s deeds resemble those of the beloved 🌼🔅
🌷🔆مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا فَلْيَعْمَلْ بِعَمَلِنَا وَ يَسْتَعِنْ بِالْوَرَعِ فَإِنَّهُ أَفْضَلُ مَا يُسْتَعَانُ بِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَ الْآخِرَة[5]
🌷🔆Imam Ali (AS): Whoever loves us must follow our example in deed and seek help through piety, for it is the finest aid in the affairs of this world and the Hereafter.
🔅🌼 A love driven by worldly gain will sell the beloved for the goods of this world 🌼🔅
🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي خَالِدٍ الْكَابُلِيِّ قَالَ: أَتَى نَفَرٌ إِلَى عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ ع فَقَالُوا إِنَّ بَنِي عَمِّنَا وَفَدُوا إِلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ طَلَبَ رِفْدِهِ وَ جَائِزَتِهِ وَ إِنَّا قَدْ وَفَدْنَا إِلَيْكَ صِلَةً لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص فَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ ع قَصِيرَةٌ مِنْ طَوِيلَةٍ مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا لَا لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا مِنَّا وَ عَادَى عَدُوَّنَا لَا لِشَحْنَاءَ كَانَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَهُ أَتَى اللَّهَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَعَ مُحَمَّدٍ ص وَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَ عَلِيٍّ ع[6]
🔆Abu Khalid al-Kabuli relates that a man came into the presence of Imam al-Sajjad (AS). He said to the Imam: “My cousin went to Muawiya, son of Abu Sufyan, for the gifts he gives, while we have come to you to receive the generosity of the Messenger of God (PBUH).” Imam al-Sajjad (AS) replied: “Keep it brief. Whoever loves us, but not in order to gain some worldly benefit through us, and hates our enemy, but not out of enmity between them, will come before God on the Day of Resurrection alongside Muhammad (PBUH), Ibrahim, and Ali (AS).”
🔅🌼 The incomparable taste of love for Imam Husayn 🌼🔅
🌹Divine love, imbued with the spirit of Husayn, is the meaning of creation and the purpose of servitude to God.
🌹Love of Husayn means a heart inscribed with the seal of divine love. A heart brought to life by love for Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, becomes a flourishing garden of Husayn and a garden of paradise.
🌹The sign of love for Husayn is to burn away everything that is not God.
🌹Above all, love for Husayn turns every worldly wish and passion, and every inclination to sin, to ashes.
🌹Love for God and love for His sake are the marks of sincere love.
🌹Husayn is at once both the vessel and the contents of love; the cup of affection and the wine of affection are one. Husayn is the treasure and the treasury, wholly filled with divine love.
🌹The fruit of sincere worship is an overflowing love.
🌹In the pursuit of love, we must lose ourselves only in God—not in our desires and ego.
🌷🔆 رسول الله ص : مَرْحَباً بِكَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ يَا زَيْنَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِين[7]
🔆 The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said to Imam Husayn, peace be upon him: “Welcome, Abu ʿAbd Allāh! O adornment of the heavens and the earth.”
🔅🌼The heavens smile upon the world through Husayn🌼🔅
🌹Husayn is the adornment of the heavens and the earth; the heavens and the earth are a canvas on which the beauty of Imam Husayn is displayed.
🌹The beauty of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, is the design upon the cup of the heavens and the earth.
🌹Is not the world of being a vast cup and canvas, displaying creation’s most beautiful art?!
🌹Love is swept up in a storm by beauty; without beauty, love loses its colour. The very being of Imam Husayn adorns the world and stirs God’s love within the soul of creation.
🌹On every page of creation, we behold flashes of Husayn’s beauty! If only we could see his beauty framed all at once.
🌹Every Joseph, every houri, every flower, every beauty is an adornment of the world, telling of Husayn and pouring forth the love of God.
🔅🌼Husayn is the blessed artistry of the All-Knowing Creator🌼🔅
🌹The beauties of the world of being interpret the beauty of Imam Husayn and are seasoned with love for the Eternal Beloved.
🌹To behold the wondrous order of the heavens and the earth and their adornments is to strive to read God’s book through Husayn’s beauty. Husayn is a sign of God, the All-Beautiful, and His adornment.
🌹Husayn is the adornment and the very embodiment of beauty in the art of creation.
🌹One who opens their eyes for the first time will find their response to beauty beyond comprehension or expression; yet its effect transforms the very structure of the soul.
🌹Beauty’s reach has no bounds; to comprehend it, one needs a boundless heart.
🌹The response of the body’s parts and faculties differs, whether to the whole or to its separate elements.
🌹We have not yet truly opened our eyes to the adornment of the heavens and the earth.
🌹A heart sullied, constricted and dark is barred from beholding the beauty of the heavens and the earth.
🌹The breadth and depth of one’s vision, and one’s capacity to understand what one sees, all shape one’s appreciation of beauty and adornment. How familiar are we with distinguishing colours, discerning and combining them? How much do we know of the laws that govern order and harmony?
🔅🌼The insight to perceive beauty is a sublime gift🌼🔅
🌻🔆الملك : 3 الَّذي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَماواتٍ طِباقاً ما تَرى في خَلْقِ الرَّحْمنِ مِنْ تَفاوُتٍ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرى مِنْ فُطُورٍ
🌻He who created the seven heavens, one above another. You will see no flaw in the creation of the Most Compassionate. Look again: do you see any crack or fault?
🌻🔆الملك : 4 ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خاسِئاً وَ هُوَ حَسيرٌ
🔆Look once again at the universe: in the end, your gaze will return to you, weary and powerless!
🌻🔆al-Mulk: 5 وَ لَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّماءَ الدُّنْيا بِمَصابيحَ وَ جَعَلْناها رُجُوماً لِلشَّياطينِ وَ أَعْتَدْنا لَهُمْ عَذابَ السَّعيرِ
🔆We adorned the lowest heaven with radiant lamps, made them missiles against the devils, and prepared for them the torment of the blazing Fire!
🌹To see the heavens and the earth—and behold their adornment—calls for a vision that reaches beyond the heavens and the earth!
🌹Seeing is not merely taking in an image; it means reading, interpreting and discerning the meaning of what lies before us. To behold the adornment of a scene, we must see it fully. We imagine that we see,
🌹When someone opens their eyes to the world for the first time, their response to this new sensation and awareness can bring about a revolution within their world of being.
🔅🌼Adornment is not confined to sight 🌼🔅
🌹Adornment takes countless forms and kinds; it cannot be enumerated.
🌹It encompasses what we see and hear, taste and smell, appreciate and touch—and more.
🌹Our sense of beauty may be visual, auditory, tactile, intellectual, scholarly or wise; through each of these, we gain insight into a higher truth.
🌹The more mastery we gain over the outer and inner realities of the heavens and the earth, the more fully we can behold their adornment.
🔅🌼Every heaven has an earth 🌼🔅
🌻🔆al-Talaq: 12 اللَّهُ الَّذي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَماواتٍ وَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَديرٌ وَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْماً
🌻🔆God is He who created seven heavens, and of the earth, their like. His command continually descends among them, so that you may know that God has power over all things and that His knowledge encompasses all things!
🌷🔆Ibn Shahr Ashub: Ibn Abbas, commenting on the words of the Exalted, “a reminder … a Messenger,” said: The Prophet is a reminder from God, and Ali is a reminder from Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), as He says: اللّه: وَ إِنَّهُ لَذِكْرٌ لَكَ وَ لِقَوْمِكَ.
The words of the Exalted:
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَماواتٍ—up to the words of the Exalted— قَدْ أَحاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْماً Ali ibn Ibrahim: The words of the Exalted: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَماواتٍ وَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَ are evidence that beneath every heaven there is an earth يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْماً.[8]
🔅🌼The mystery of ḥubuk 🌼🔅
🌻🔆al-Dhariyat: 7 وَ السَّماءِ ذاتِ الْحُبُكِ
🔆By the heaven woven with ḥubuk,
🌹The heaven is folded and furrowed; it is beautiful, filled with galaxies. Heaven and earth are woven together;
🌹And beyond the sky above us, let us turn our attention to the heavens of divine authority and prophethood.
🌷🔆عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ)، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لَهُ: أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ: وَ السَّماءِ ذاتِ الْحُبُكِ. فَقَالَ: هِيَ «مَحْبُوكَةٌ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ»، وَ شَبَّكَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ.
فَقُلْتُ: كَيْفَ تَكُونُ مَحْبُوكَةً إِلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: رَفَعَ السَّماواتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها؟ فَقَالَ:
«سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! أَ لَيْسَ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها؟». قُلْتُ: بَلَى. فَقَالَ: «ثَمَّ عَمَدٌ وَ لَكِنْ لَا تَرَوْنَهَا».
قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ ذَلِكَ، جَعَلَنِيَ اللَّهُ فِدَاكَ؟ قَالَ: فَبَسَطَ كَفَّهُ الْيُسْرَى، ثُمَّ وَضَعَ الْيُمْنَى عَلَيْهَا، فَقَالَ: «هَذِهِ أَرْضُ الدُّنْيَا، وَ السَّمَاءُ الدُّنْيَا[9] فَوْقَهَا قُبَّةٌ، وَ الْأَرْضُ الثَّانِيَةُ فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، وَ السَّمَاءُ الثَّانِيَةُ فَوْقَهَا قُبَّةٌ، وَ الْأَرْضُ الثَّالِثَةُ فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ الثَّانِيَةِ، وَ السَّمَاءُ الثَّالِثَةُ فَوْقَهَا قُبَّةٌ، وَ الْأَرْضُ الرَّابِعَةُ فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ الثَّالِثَةِ، وَ السَّمَاءُ الرَّابِعَةُ فَوْقَهَا قُبَّةٌ، وَ الْأَرْضُ الْخَامِسَةُ فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ الرَّابِعَةِ، وَ السَّمَاءُ الْخَامِسَةُ فَوْقَهَا قُبَّةٌ، وَ الْأَرْضُ السَّادِسَةُ، فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ الْخَامِسَةِ، وَ السَّمَاءُ السَّادِسَةُ فَوْقَهَا قُبَّةٌ، وَ الْأَرْضُ السَّابِعَةُ فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ السَّادِسَةِ، وَ السَّمَاءُ السَّابِعَةُ فَوْقَهَا قُبَّةٌ، وَ عَرْشُ الرَّحْمَنِ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ السَّابِعَةِ، وَ هُوَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ: الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَماواتٍ طِبَاقاً وَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَ فَأَمَّا صَاحِبُ الْأَمْرِ فَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ)، وَ الْوَصِيُّ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ) قَائِمٌ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ، فَإِنَّمَا يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ فَوْقِ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ بَيْنِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ».
قُلْتُ: فَمَا تَحْتَنَا إِلَّا أَرْضٌ وَاحِدَةٌ؟ فَقَالَ: «مَا تَحْتَنَا إِلَّا أَرْضٌ وَاحِدَةٌ، وَ إِنَّ السِّتَّ لَهُنَّ فَوْقَنَا».
الطَّبْرِسِيُّ، قَالَ: رَوَى الْعَيَّاشِيُّ بِإِسْنَادِهِ، عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ)، وَ ذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ فِي صِفَةِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ نَحْوَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ رِوَايَةِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ[10].
🌷🔆Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him)—Husayn ibn Khalid relates: I asked Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him) about the verse: And السَّمَاء ذَاتِ الحُبُکِ . The Imam (peace be upon him) replied, “The heavens and the earth are woven together.” To illustrate this, he interlaced the fingers of his two hands.
I said, “How can the heavens be woven together with the earth when God says: ‘He raised the heavens without pillars that you can see’ (Qur’an 13:2)?”
He replied, “Glory be to God! Has He not said: بِغَیْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَونَهَا?”
I said, “Yes!” He replied, “They have pillars, but you cannot see them.”
I said, “May I be your ransom! How is such a thing possible?” The Imam (peace be upon him) opened his left hand and placed his right palm upon it, then said, “This is the first earth, and this is the first heaven, like a dome over it. The second earth is above the second heaven, and the second heaven rests over it like a dome. The third earth is above the second heaven, and the third heaven arches over it like a dome. The fourth earth is above the third heaven, and the fourth heaven rests over it in the shape of a dome. The fifth earth is above the fourth heaven, and the fifth heaven rests over it like a dome. The sixth earth is above the fifth heaven, and the sixth heaven arches over it like a dome. The seventh earth lies above the sixth heaven, and the seventh heaven rests over it like a dome. Above the seventh heaven is the Throne of God, the Blessed and Exalted. This is what God, Mighty and Majestic, says: ‘God is He who created seven heavens, and of the earth, the like of them; His command descends continually among them’ (Qur’an 65:12).
“As for the one entrusted with the command, it is the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the executor who succeeds him, the one who stands upon the earth. The command descends upon him from above the heavens and from between the heavens and the earths.”
I asked, “So beneath us there is only one earth?” He replied, “Beneath us there is only one earth, and the realm of Alast is above us.”
🔅🌼The structure of the heavens 🌼🔅
🌷🔆عَنْ أَبِي عِمْرَانَ الْكِنْدِيِّ قَالَ: سَأَلَ ابْنُ الْكَوَّاءِ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع عَنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى وَ السَّماءِ Essence الْحُبُكِ قَالَ ذَاتِ الْخَلْقِ الْحَسَنِ قَالَ فَمَا الْمَجَرَّةُ قَالَ يَا وَيْلَكَ سَلْ تَفَقُّهاً وَ لَا تَسْأَلْ تَعَنُّتاً يَا وَيْلَكَ سَلْ عَمَّا يَعْنِيكَ قَالَ فَوَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ مَا سَأَلْتُكَ عَنْهُ لَيَعْنِينِي قَالَ إِنَّهَا شَرَجُ السَّمَاءِ وَ مِنْهَا فُتِحَتِ السَّمَاءُ بِماءٍ مُنْهَمِرٍ زَمَنَ الْغَرَقِ عَلَى قَوْمِ نُوحٍ ع قَالَ فَكَمْ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَ الْأَرْضِ قَالَ مَدُّ الْبَصَرِ وَ دَعْوَةٌ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ فَيَسْمَعُ لَا نَقُولُ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ.[11]
🔆Imam ʿAlī (peace be upon him)—Ibn al-Kawwāʾ asked the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) about the interpretation of the words of God, Exalted is He, and السَّمَاء ذَاتِ الحُبُکِ . The Imam (peace be upon him) replied, “It means beautiful creation.” He asked, “Then what is the Milky Way?” The Imam replied, “Woe to you! Ask in order to understand, not to cause trouble. Woe to you! Ask about what will benefit you, and leave aside what will not.” He said, “By God, I asked about what would benefit me.” The Imam replied, “The Milky Way is a river in the heavens, and the heavens were opened from it.
🌷🔆In Majmaʿ al-Bayān: «ذاتِ الْحُبُكِ» means “possessing beautiful paths”; then it says: “It is also said that it means beauty and adornment,” according to ʿAlī, peace be upon him.[12]
🔆Imam ʿAlī (peace be upon him)—ذَاتِ الحُبُکِ means “possessing fine and beautiful paths and ways”; it has also been said that it means perfection and adornment.
🌷🔆Abū Ḥamzah said: I heard Abū Jaʿfar (peace be upon him) say, concerning the words of God, Exalted is He: إِنَّما تُوعَدُونَ لَصادِقٌ, meaning ʿAlī, peace السّلام-. وَ إِنَّ الدِّينَ لَواقِعٌ, meaning ʿAlī; and ʿAlī (peace be upon him) is the religion. وَ السَّماءِ ذاتِ الْحُبُكِ means “possessing paths.”[13]
🌷🔆وَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى وَ السَّماءِ Essence الْحُبُكِ قَالَ حُسْنُهَا وَ اسْتِوَاؤُهَا.[14]
🔆Ibn ʿAbbās and السَّمَاء ذَاتِ الحُبُکِ; that is, the beauty and stability of the heavens.
🌷🔆وَ رُوِيَ عَنْهُ أَيْضاً أَنَّهُ قَالَ: ذَاتِ الْبَهَاءِ وَ الْجِمَالِ وَ إِنَّ بُنْيَانَهَا كَالْبَرَدِ الْمُسَلْسَلِ [15]
🌷🔆وَ فِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى عَنْهُ ذَاتِ طَرَائِقَ وَ الْخَلْقِ الْحَسَنِ[16]
🌷🔆وَ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ع قَالَ: هِيَ السَّمَاءُ السَّابِعَةُ.[17]
🌷🔆وَ عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ ذَاتِ الْخَلْقِ الْحَسَنِ مُحَبَّكَةٍ بِالنُّجُوم[18]
🔆Ibn ʿAbbās (may God have mercy on him)—What does السَّماءِ ذاتِ الحُبُکِ mean? He replied, “Possessing beautiful creation.”
🌷🔆عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ ع يَقُولُ فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَ إِنَّما تُوعَدُونَ لَصادِقٌ يَعْنِي فِي عَلِيٍّ ع وَ إِنَّ الدِّينَ لَواقِعٌ يَعْنِي عَلِيّاً وَ عَلِيٌّ هُوَ الدِّينُ- وَ قَوْلُهُ وَ السَّماءِ Essence الْحُبُكِ قَالَ: السَّمَاءُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص وَ عَلِيٌّ ع ذَاتُ الْحُبُك[19]
🔆Imam al-Bāqir (peace be upon him)—Abū Ḥamzah al-Thumālī narrates from Imam al-Bāqir (peace be upon him), who said: In the verse: وَ السَّمَاء ذَاتِ الحُبُکِ, the heavens refer to the Messenger of God (may God bless him and his family), and that which is woven refers to ʿAlī (peace be upon him).
🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع وَ السَّماءِ Essence الْحُبُكِ قَالَ السَّمَاءُ فِي بَطْنِ الْقُرْآنِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص وَ الْحُبُكُ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع وَ هُوَ ذَاتُ النَّبِيِّ [ص] وَ أَهْلُ بَيْتِهِ [ع][20]
🔆Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him)—Abu Hamza al-Thumali relates: I said to Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him), “What is meant by وَ السَّماءِ ذاتِ الحُبُکِ?” The Imam replied: “In the inner meaning of the Qur’an, ‘the heaven’ refers to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), while ‘و الحُبُک’ refers to the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). He and his family are the very self of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).”
🌼Ali Sa‘i (Abdullah Mishkat) 110.141 (903)🌼
[1] Al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 61 Barqi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya—Qom, second edition, 1371 AH.
[2] Misbah al-Shari‘a, p. 194 Attributed to Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon him, A‘lami—Beirut, first edition, 1400 AH.
[3] Qurb al-Isnad (modern edition), text, p. 39 Humayri, Abdullah ibn Ja‘far, Ahl al-Bayt Institute, peace be upon them—Qom, first edition, 1413 AH.
[4] Al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 61 Barqi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya—Qom, second edition, 1371 AH.
[5] Tuhaf al-‘Uqul, text, p. 104 Ibn Shu‘ba al-Harrani, Hasan ibn Ali, Qom Seminary Teachers’ Society—Qom, second edition, 1404/1363 AH.
[6] Al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 165 Barqi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya—Qom, second edition, 1371 AH.
[7] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition), vol. 36, p. 205 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[8] Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, vol. 5, p. 414 Bahrani, Sayyid Hashim ibn Sulayman, Ba‘that Institute—Qom, first edition, 1374 SH.
[9] Added in the manuscripts and source: عليها.
[10]Majma‘ al-Bayan 10:467.
[11] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition), vol. 55, p. 92 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[12] Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 5, p. 121 ‘Arusi Huwayzi, Abd Ali ibn Jum‘a, Isma‘iliyan—Qom, fourth edition, 1415 AH.
[13] Tafsir Kanz al-Daqa’iq wa Bahr al-Ghara’ib, vol. 12, p. 409 Qummi Mashhadi, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Printing and Publishing Organization—Tehran, first edition, 1368 SH.
[14] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition), vol. 55, p. 105 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[15] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition), vol. 55, p. 105 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[16] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition), vol. 55, p. 106 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[17] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition), vol. 55, p. 106 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[18] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition), vol. 55, p. 106 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[19] Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 329 Qummī, ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm, Dār al-Kitāb, Qom, 3rd ed., 1404 AH.
[20] Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, p. 441 Kūfī, Furāt ibn Ibrāhīm, Institute for Printing and Publishing, Ministry of Islamic Guidance, Tehran, 1st ed., 1410 AH.
