Imam al-Rida (AS), a Fount of Contentment

🌼The Ladder of Contentment🌼

🌼The Ridawi Miracle in Ridawi Knowledge🌼

🌼Love and Contentment🌼

🌼Ridawi Discourse🌼

🌸🔆🌿   “The Secret of Ridawi”  “Contentment with God’s Decree” “Seeking Forgiveness for Claiming Contentment”

🔅🌹 Abstract, with an Addendum: “The Secret of Ridawi”  “Contentment with God’s Decree” “Seeking Forgiveness for Claiming Contentment”  “ ” “ ”        1402.03.09   Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🌱🌸The sweetest taste of love is contentment 🌸🌱

🔅 Through contentment, satisfaction found its meaning 🔅

☘️May the flowing spring of the Garden of Paradise be refreshing and pleasing to your souls ☘️

🌹🔅 وَ جَلِّلْنِي رِضَاك‏

🌹🔅 وَ سَهِّلْ إِلَى بُلُوغِ رِضَاكَ‏ سُبُلِي‏

🌹🔅 وَ لَا تَسُمْنَا عَجْزَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ عَمَّا تَخَيَّرْتَ فَنَغْمِطَ قَدْرَكَ، وَ نَكْرَهَ مَوْضِعَ رِضَاكَ‏، وَ نَجْنَحَ إِلَى الَّتِي هِيَ أَبْعَدُ مِنْ حُسْنِ الْعَاقِبَةِ، وَ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى ضِدِّ الْعَافِيَة

🌹🔅 وَ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ حَمْداً يَزِيدُ عَلَى رِضَاكَ‏.

🌹🔅 (51) رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، صَلَاةً زَاكِيَةً لَا تَكُونُ صَلَاةٌ أَزْكَى مِنْهَا، وَ صَلِّ عَلَيْهِ صَلَاةً نَامِيَةً لَا تَكُونُ صَلَاةٌ أَنْمَى مِنْهَا، وَ صَلِّ عَلَيْهِ صَلَاةً رَاضِيَةً لَا تَكُونُ صَلَاةٌ فَوْقَهَا. (52) رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، صَلَاةً تُرْضِيهِ وَ تَزِيدُ عَلَى رِضَاهُ، وَ صَلِّ عَلَيْهِ صَلَاةً تُرْضِيكَ و تَزِيدُ عَلَى رِضَاكَ‏ لَهُ وَ صَلِّ عَلَيْهِ صَلَاةً لَا تَرْضَى لَهُ إِلَّا بِهَا، وَ لَا تَرَى غَيْرَهُ لَهَا أَهْلًا. (53) رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ صَلَاةً تُجَاوِزُ رِضْوَانَكَ، وَ يَتَّصِلُ اتِّصَالُهَا بِبَقَائِكَ، وَ لَا يَنْفَدُ كَمَا لَا تَنْفَدُ كَلِمَاتُكَ.

🌹🔅 إِلَهِي تَقَدَّسَ رِضَاكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ لَهُ عِلَّةٌ مِنْكَ فَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ لَهُ عِلَّةٌ مِنِّي إِلَهِي أَنْتَ الْغَنِيُّ بِذَاتِكَ أَنْ يَصِلَ إِلَيْكَ النَّفْعُ مِنْكَ فَكَيْفَ لَا تَكُونُ غَنِيّاً عَنِّي‏

🌸Reciting of Ridha’s name, speaking of the Imam, knowing the Imam, and recognizing Ridha are essentials of servitude and keys to existence.

☘️The Imam is a healing remedy in the heart of illness, in the soul of pain.

🌸The Imam is a light amid darkness, justice amid oppression and tyranny, pure water flowing over all that is foul—a means of purifying, cleansing, adorning, and illuminating the world.

☘️Doubting the Imam is doubting the truth.

🌸The cause of the Occultation of the Imam of Our Time is the turmoil of doubt concealed in the hearts of those who only appear to be believers.

☘️If everything were to be done on the basis of miracles! Then, from the very beginning of creation, everything would have been set right!

🌸The greatest trial will take place at the time of the ظهور of the Imam of Our Time, peace be upon him; all entrusted faith will be extinguished.

🌸A warning: We have retired the Imams and shut them away; the Imams are imprisoned in our hearts.

☘️A warning: Our thoughts have become the Imams’ dungeons.

🌸Only through Ridha can we travel the path to God’s contentment.

☘️Only through Ridha does our palate become familiar with the taste of God’s contentment.

🌸The avenues and byways to God’s contentment can be attained through Ridha and recognition of Ridha.

☘️Only the light and warmth of Ridha make the taste of God’s contentment perceptible.

🌸Until we recognize the light, we are blind; without the Imam’s light, we are utterly blind, deaf, and mute.

☘️The people of this age lack spiritual insight, and that is why the ظهور is delayed.

🌸We have not yet acquired the eyes and heart needed to worship God.

☘️The tooth of servitude has not yet come through; we have not even tasted the milk of servitude. We have done nothing but sleep.

🌸One who becomes acquainted with the knowledge and wisdom of wudu and wilayah never ceases, even for a moment, to thirst and yearn.

☘️Until we know the Imam of Our Time, we remain bound by allegiance to the self and Satan.

🌸If we love رضا, then what portion of رضا’s nourishment have I ever tasted?

☘️One who loves رضا loves his words and his way; not for a moment is such a person heedless of the table he sets.

🌸Tawhid is the greatest gift bestowed by the Imams of purity and sanctity. Imam رضا is the Imam of pure tawhid! Yet the vast table of Razavi tawhid stands empty of the world’s guests!

☘️The first act of worship is knowing God. Tawhid is the beginning, not the end; servitude begins with tawhid. Until we attain tawhid, our servitude has not begun.

🌸When reading the narrations, we must seek refuge with God, so that Satan cannot distort the meaning of the Imam’s words. The narrations interpret the Quran, so, just as we do with the Quran, we must seek refuge with God before entering the realm of the narrations, and so remain safe from satanic insinuations.

☘️To benefit from the Imam’s new lessons, we must first graduate from his earlier ones.

🌸Understanding what is new depends on understanding what came before. Gratitude for an earlier kindness brings the gift of a new one.

☘️Only divine tawhid can answer the question of why creation exists.

🌸We may imagine or suppose that we have attained tawhid, while in reality we are entangled in shirk.

☘️Let us not mistake the first lesson of tawhid for the last. Let us not mistake the beginning of servitude for its end.

🌸The testimony of reason, of creation, of attribute and that which bears the attribute, of their conjunction, of origination, and so on—all testify that Allah, blessed and exalted is He, is free of attributes.

☘️Whatever exists in the created being, the Creator is free of and in no need of. For He is above and beyond it; whatever He brings into being is beneath Him.

🌸The existence of attributes in created beings testifies that the Creator has no need of attributes.

☘️His names are expressions: they are meant to lead us onward, not to be our stopping place; they are a path, not a destination.

🌸The horizon of our understanding reaches only to the threshold of God’s acts.

☘️Understanding is the finest apprehension a human being can attain; it is different from grasping reality itself.

🌸At the Razavi table

🌷🔅عَنِ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ أَيُّوبَ الْعَلَوِيِ‏ أَنَّ الْمَأْمُونَ لَمَّا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَسْتَعْمِلَ الرِّضَا ع جَمَعَ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَسْتَعْمِلَ الرِّضَا عَلَى هَذَا الْأَمْرِ مِنْ بَعْدِي فَحَسَدَهُ بَنُو هَاشِمٍ وَ قَالُوا أَ تُوَلِّي رَجُلًا جَاهِلًا لَيْسَ لَهُ بَصَرٌ بِتَدْبِيرِ الْخِلَافَةِ فَابْعَثْ إِلَيْهِ رَجُلًا يَأْتِنَا فَتَرَى مِنْ جَهْلِهِ مَا تَسْتَدِلُّ بِهِ عَلَيْهِ فَبَعَثَ إِلَيْهِ فَأَتَاهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ بَنُو هَاشِمٍ يَا أَبَا الْحَسَنِ اصْعَدِ الْمِنْبَرَ وَ انْصِبْ لَنَا عَلَماً نَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَصَعِدَ ع الْمِنْبَرَ فَقَعَدَ مَلِيّاً  لَا يَتَكَلَّمُ مُطْرِقاً ثُمَّ انْتَفَضَ انْتِفَاضَةً وَ اسْتَوَى قَائِماً وَ حَمِدَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَ أَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ وَ صَلَّى عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ وَ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَوَّلُ عِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَعْرِفَتُهُ وَ أَصْلُ مَعْرِفَةِ اللَّهِ تَوْحِيدُهُ وَ نِظَامُ تَوْحِيدِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى نَفْيُ الصِّفَاتِ عَنْهُ لِشَهَادَةِ الْعُقُولِ أَنَّ كُلَّ صِفَةٍ وَ مَوْصُوفٍ مَخْلُوقٌ وَ شَهَادَةِ كُلِّ مَوْصُوفٍ أَنَّ لَهُ خَالِقاً لَيْسَ بِصِفَةٍ وَ لَا مَوْصُوفٍ وَ شَهَادَةِ كُلِّ صِفَةٍ وَ مَوْصُوفٍ بِالاقْتِرَانِ وَ شَهَادَةِ الِاقْتِرَانِ بِالْحُدُوثِ وَ شَهَادَةِ الْحُدُوثِ بِالامْتِنَاعِ مِنَ الْأَزَلِ الْمُمْتَنِعِ مِنَ الْحُدُوثِ فَلَيْسَ اللَّهَ‏ [عَرَفَ‏] مَنْ عَرَفَ بِالتَّشْبِيهِ ذَاتَهُ وَ لَا إِيَّاهُ وَحَّدَهُ مَنِ اكْتَنَهَهُ وَ لَا حَقِيقَتَهُ‏ أَصَابَ مَنْ مَثَّلَهُ وَ لَا بِهِ صَدَّقَ مَنْ نَهَّاهُ وَ لَا صَمَدَ صَمْدَهُ‏ مَنْ أَشَارَ إِلَيْهِ وَ لَا إِيَّاهُ عَنَى مَنْ شَبَّهَهُ وَ لَا لَهُ تَذَلَّلَ مَنْ بَعَّضَهُ‏ وَ لَا إِيَّاهُ أَرَادَ مَنْ تَوَهَّمَهُ كُلُّ مَعْرُوفٍ بِنَفْسِهِ مَصْنُوعٌ وَ كُلُّ قَائِمٍ فِي سِوَاهُ مَعْلُولٌ بِصُنْعِ اللَّهِ يُسْتَدَلُّ عَلَيْهِ وَ بِالْعُقُولِ تُعْتَقَدُ مَعْرِفَتُهُ وَ بِالْفِطْرَةِ تَثْبُتُ حُجَّتُهُ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ‏ حِجَاباً بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَ مُبَايَنَتُهُ إِيَّاهُمْ و مُفَارَقَتُهُ أَيْنِيَّتَهُمْ وَ ابْتِدَاؤُهُ إِيَّاهُمْ دَلِيلُهُمْ‏  عَلَى أَنْ لَا ابْتِدَاءَ لَهُ لِعَجْزِ كُلِّ مُبْتَدَإٍ عَنِ ابْتِدَاءِ غَيْرِهِ وَ Tools [أَدْوُهُ‏] He guides them [دَلِيلٌ‏] عَلَى أَنْ لَا أَدَوَاتَ فِيهِ لِشَهَادَةِ الْأَدَوَاتِ بِفَاقَةِ the givers [الْمُتَأَدِّينَ‏] فَأَسْمَاؤُهُ‏ تَعْبِيرٌ وَ أَفْعَالُهُ‏ تَفْهِيمٌ‏ وَ ذَاتُهُ حَقِيقَةٌ وَ كُنْهُهُ تَفْرِيقٌ بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَ خَلْقِهِ وَ غُيُورُهُ تَحْدِيدٌ لِمَا سِوَاهُ فَقَدْ جَهِلَ اللَّهَ مَنِ اسْتَوْصَفَهُ وَ قَدْ تَعَدَّاهُ مَنِ اشْتَمَلَهُ وَ قَدْ أَخْطَأَهُ مَنِ اكْتَنَهَهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ كَيْفَ فَقَدْ شَبَّهَهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ لِمَ فَقَدْ عَلَّلَهُ‏  وَ مَنْ قَالَ مَتَى فَقَدْ وَقَّتَهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ فِيمَ فَقَدْ ضَمَّنَهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ إِلَى مَ‏ فَقَدْ نَهَّاهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ حَتَّى مَ فَقَدْ غَيَّاهُ وَ مَنْ غَيَّاهُ فَقَدْ غَايَاهُ وَ مَنْ غَايَاهُ فَقَدْ جَزَّأَهُ وَ مَنْ جَزَّأَهُ فَقَدْ وَصَفَهُ وَ مَنْ وَصَفَهُ فَقَدْ أَلْحَدَ فِيهِ وَ لَا يَتَغَيَّرُ اللَّهُ بِانْغِيَارِ الْمَخْلُوقِ‏  كَمَا لَا يَتَحَدَّدُ بِتَحْدِيدِ الْمَحْدُودِ أَحَدٌ لَا بِتَأْوِيلِ عَدَدٍ ظَاهِرٌ لَا بِتَأْوِيلِ الْمُبَاشَرَةِ manifest [مُتَجَلٍ‏] لَا بِاسْتِقْلَالِ …[1]

🌷🔅When Ma’mun intended to appoint Imam Reza (AS) as his heir apparent, he gathered the Banu Hashim and said to them: “I intend to choose Reza as caliph after me.” The Banu Hashim grew jealous and said, “Do you intend to appoint as your heir a man who knows nothing about the caliphate or governance? Send someone to summon him here, so you can see examples of his qualities that will prove his worth.” Ma’mun then summoned the Imam. They said, “Abu’l-Hasan, ascend the pulpit and guide us, so that we may know God rightly and worship Him accordingly.”

The Imam ascended the pulpit, lowered his head, and sat silently for a while. Then he stirred, rose to his feet, and stood upright. After praising and glorifying God and invoking blessings upon the Noble Prophet and his Household, he said:

The first step in worshipping God is to know and recognize Him. The foundation of knowing God is affirming His oneness, and the foundation and very essence of this affirmation is to deny that attributes are distinct from God’s Essence. For the human intellect itself bears witness that whatever is composed of an attribute and that which it describes is created. And every created thing bears witness to a Creator and maker who is neither an attribute nor that which an attribute describes. An attribute and that which it describes must always accompany one another, and the conjunction of two things is a sign that they have come into being. But whatever has come into being cannot be eternal. Thus, whoever seeks to know God’s Essence by likening Him to His creatures has not, in truth, known God. Whoever seeks to grasp the innermost reality of God’s Essence does not, in truth, affirm His oneness. Whoever claims that He has a likeness or counterpart has not attained true knowledge of Him. Whoever posits a limit for Him has not affirmed Him as true. Whoever seeks to point to Him has not, in truth, turned toward God, but toward something else; he has pointed to another being. Whoever likens Him has not, in truth, intended God. And whoever attributes parts or portions to God has not truly humbled himself before Him. Whoever seeks to conceive of Him through the power of thought has not, in truth, sought God. Whatever is known through its own self and essence is made and fashioned; whatever subsists in something other than itself is dependent and in need of a cause. …

Whoever asks what He is like has likened Him; whoever asks why or by what means He came to exist has imagined a cause for Him; whoever asks when He existed has imagined time for Him; whoever asks where He is has imagined a place for Him; whoever asks where His limit lies has posited an end for Him; whoever asks how long He will exist has assigned Him a term and an end. Whoever does so establishes a common boundary between Him and all other beings; whoever establishes such a boundary between Him and His creatures imagines Him to have parts and portions; whoever conceives of Him as having parts describes Him; and whoever describes Him has gone astray concerning God, and his course leads to heresy and unbelief.

God does not change when His creatures change, just as He is not confined by the limits of His creatures. He is “One,” but not as a number; manifest and evident, but not in a way that can be touched; apparent, but not in the sense of being seen; hidden, but not absent from His creatures; distant, but not in terms of distance; near, but not in terms of place. He is subtle, but not in a bodily sense; existent, but not after nonexistence. He acts and does, but not under compulsion: His choice is absolute. He measures and decides, but not through the power of thought; He orders all things, but not through movement; He wills, but not through deliberation; He has will and purpose, but not through resolve and decision. He perceives, but not through a sense organ or instrument; He hears and sees, but not with ears and eyes or any other means.

He has neither time nor place. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. His varied attributes do not confine Him, nor do tools and instruments restrict or limit Him. He was before time and existed before nonexistence; His eternity transcends every beginning and first moment. From His creation of the senses, it is known that He Himself is without them; from His creation of the elements, it is known that He is not composed of them; and from His establishing opposites among things, it is known that He has no opposite. By bringing things into relation and harmony, He shows that He has no companion or counterpart. He has set in opposition light and darkness, clarity and obscurity, dryness and moisture, cold and heat. He has brought together things that are incompatible and far apart, and separated things that are close. Their dispersion and coming together are signs of the One who disperses and gathers them. This is what God, Mighty and Glorious, says: “And of all things We created pairs, so that you may remember and take heed” (al-Dhariyat 51:49).

He set a distinction between every before and after in this created world, so that all might know that He Himself has neither before nor after. The instincts of these beings show that the One who endowed them with instinct has none Himself; their differences show that the One who made them different is without defect and is not subject to change in His Essence. Their existence within time makes clear that the One who placed them in time is Himself beyond time. He has concealed some things from others, so that it may be known that, apart from His creatures themselves, there is no veil between Him and them.

When there was no one under His care, He was the Lord; when there was no one to own and no creature to create, He was the Owner, sovereign over all things; when there was no existent thing to be known, He was the All-Knowing; and when no creature existed in the world, He was the Creator. Likewise, when there was nothing to be heard, the meaning of hearing still applied to Him. It is not that He became Creator only when He set about creating and bringing things into being: even before creation began, He was truly the Creator.

How could one conceive otherwise, when He has no beginning or origin? The word “from,” which denotes a beginning or an origin, cannot be used to imagine Him absent at certain times; He has always existed, at every moment. Nor can words such as “already,” which indicate that one time is near to another, convey that any time is near to Him. And words such as “perhaps,” which express possibility and uncertainty—and, when used of creatures, point to an obstacle or obstacles that may prevent something from coming to pass—do not carry that meaning when applied to Him. God’s command and will are certain to be fulfilled.

The word “when?” is used of Him, but it does not indicate that He is bound to a particular time. Nor does speaking of “time” in relation to Him mean that God is something contained in a vessel, confined within time. Likewise, using the word “with” in relation to Him does not mean that He is joined or accompanied by anything.

Grammatical particles delimit things of their own kind, and instruments are suited to things like themselves. These affect not God, but other things. Having a temporal beginning means that things and beings are not eternal; being near in time precludes their being without beginning; and lacking certain states and attributes keeps them from perfection. Their separation and distinction point to something that separates them; their differences and contrasts point to something that differentiates them.

Through the things He has created, the Creator has revealed Himself to human minds; through them, He has remained hidden from the eyes. These very things and beings are what human reason takes as its evidence for God. He has placed change within them, and their evidence for Him is grounded in them. Through their existence, He has inspired them to affirm His oneness.

Affirming and acknowledging God عزّ و جلّ توسّط takes place through reason and thought, and faith is made complete through affirming and acknowledging God. Religion is not complete without knowledge, and true knowledge cannot be attained without sincerity. There can be no sincerity where God is likened to creation. Whoever ascribes to God attributes additional to His essence has not rejected anthropomorphism; in reality, they have affirmed it.

Whatever is possible for Him is impossible for His Creator. He is subject neither to motion nor to stillness. How could anything He Himself brought into existence apply to Him? Or how could what He Himself initiated and brought into being return to Him and apply to Him? Were this so, defect, deficiency and imperfection would enter His essence; His very reality would cease to be one and would become composite; eternity without beginning would be impossible for Him, and the Creator would be like the created.

If a back can be conceived for Him, then a front and a face-to-face position can be conceived as well. If He is supposed to be whole, then deficiency must also be conceivable. How can one whose coming into being is not impossible be eternal? And how can one whose own creation is not impossible be the creator of all things? Were this so, He would bear the mark of being created and made, and would Himself become a sign, rather than other beings serving as signs of Him.

An impossible claim, contrary to truth, carries no proof. A question about God admits no answer; otherwise, He would not have been duly exalted and revered. To believe that God is utterly distinct from and unlike His creatures is neither injustice nor slander. It is impossible for an eternal being to be composite or to admit of duality; and what has no beginning cannot be created, nor can a beginning or an end be conceived for it.

There is no deity but Allah, the Exalted, the Most High. Those who equate God with other beings have lied, fallen into grave error and manifestly suffered loss. May God’s blessings be upon Muhammad and his pure Household.

🌼 Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 🌼

🌸🔆🌿   “On the Eve of the Martyrdom of Imam Reza (peace be upon him)”  “The Mysteries of Razavi Gnosis” “The Ship of Divine Unity”

🔅🌹 A summary with an addendum: “On the Eve of the Martyrdom of Imam Reza (peace be upon him)” “The Mysteries of Razavi Gnosis”  “The Ship of Divine Unity”  “ ” “ ”        1402.06.25   Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌼A Portrait of the Lonely Imam🌼🔅

🌻Imam al-Rida, peace be upon him, is the Imam who stands alone: the people of his age are estranged from the grace of knowing him.

🌻Without clear sight, it is impossible to behold light and beauty. Knowledge is like clear sight, like a thirst that draws a person toward pure, refreshing water.

🌻God Almighty has planted love for the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, in our hearts so that it may grow. Love is both a key and a path to a sublime truth and immense mysteries.

🌻And yet, people often do not let the love planted in them—or the very essence of knowledge—take root and flourish.

🌻If we prove ourselves worthy of seeking knowledge, we will witness the sun of knowledge rise. God Almighty is the source of knowledge, provided that we remember Him and obey His commands.

🌻To attain the knowledge, perfection, and wisdom of al-Rida, we need to know al-Rida.

🌻To journey and soar through the glorious depths of al-Rida’s heaven, we need a special, al-Rida-inspired strength. Through knowledge of al-Rida and an understanding of his words, we can supply this mighty fuel.

🌸🔆Conquering the Heavens of al-Rida’s Perfection

🌻At this slow pace, it is impossible to conquer the heavens of al-Rida’s perfection.

🌻Only with al-Rida’s eyes can we behold his light and exalted countenance.

🌻Until we know the water through knowledge, we cannot quench the thirst of the soul.

🌻Knowledge is to touch the truth. Let us learn the gateways to knowledge, so that truths may become tangible to us.

🌻To enter the holy shrines without knowledge is only to glimpse the outward appearance of the revered ones; we will remain cut off from their inner reality and hidden truths.

🌻Without knowledge, it is impossible to enter into the reality of the Sacred Threshold.

🌻Pilgrimage, when made with knowledge, is sweet, refreshing, and fruitful.

🌻Knowing each of the Imams, peace be upon them, is essential to the journey toward God.

🌻Familiarity with the Imam’s words is the key to a bond with him and the very soul of knowing the revered ones.

🌻The Sun of Suns, al-Rida, is worthy of the great prophets; his guardianship is God’s supreme grace to all creation.

🌻Through his words, the Imam dismantles hollow philosophies and counterfeit forms of gnosis.

🌻Imam al-Rida, peace be upon him, is the sovereign of divine oneness; the light of tawhid streams from his blessed words.

🌻We must equip ourselves with the watchful eyes of God so that we may discern truths in their highest form.

🌻Without the eye of al-Rida, our al-Rida-inspired sight is blind.

🌻Without a heart, it is impossible to love. Divine love calls for a heart as boundless as infinity. «قلب الله الواعی» is the very heart with which we must love God.

🌻Without each and every one of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, attaining the perfection of knowledge and love is impossible.

🌻Obedience has meaning only when a person attains the perfection of knowledge.

🌻Without knowledge, it is impossible to touch the truth. Let us discover the city and its gates.

🌻Without the greatest sign of God, attaining the greatest knowledge is impossible.

🌻Indifference to knowledge is indifference to worship and servitude to God.

🌻Only by equipping ourselves with the guardianship of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, can we behold the most exalted divine vision.

🌻Tawhid is the beginning of true servitude to God.

🌻Reading about al-Rida is the duty of every follower of al-Rida. The Book of al-Ridawiyya must be read.

🌻The author of the Book of al-Ridawiyya is God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Through the struggle to know Him, God, the All-Knowing, opens the gate of His knowledge and teaches His Book.

🌻God Almighty brings the seeker who strives on the path of knowledge to the perfection of knowledge.

🌷🔅 Al-ʿAnkabūt: 69   وَ الَّذينَ جاهَدُوا “Among Us” لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنا وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻One of the paths of guidance is Imam al-Riḍā’s.

🌻Failing to strive for knowledge is a sign of disregard for servitude to God.

🌻Disregarding knowledge is consenting to a bestial life.

🌻If everything were to be resolved through miracles, then trial and testing would be meaningless.

🔅🌼 In the Presence of the Words of His Eminence al-Riḍā, peace be upon him 🌼🔅

🌷🔅 … وَ مَنْ قَالَ كَيْفَ فَقَدْ شَبَّهَهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ لِمَ فَقَدْ عَلَّلَهُ‏ وَ مَنْ قَالَ مَتَى فَقَدْ وَقَّتَهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ فِيمَ فَقَدْ ضَمَّنَهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ إِلَى مَ‏  فَقَدْ نَهَّاهُ وَ مَنْ قَالَ حَتَّى مَ فَقَدْ غَيَّاهُ وَ مَنْ غَيَّاهُ فَقَدْ غَايَاهُ وَ مَنْ غَايَاهُ فَقَدْ جَزَّأَهُ وَ مَنْ جَزَّأَهُ فَقَدْ وَصَفَهُ وَ مَنْ وَصَفَهُ فَقَدْ أَلْحَدَ فِيهِ وَ لَا يَتَغَيَّرُ اللَّهُ بِانْغِيَارِ الْمَخْلُوقِ‏  كَمَا لَا يَتَحَدَّدُ بِتَحْدِيدِ الْمَحْدُودِ أَحَدٌ لَا بِتَأْوِيلِ عَدَدٍ ظَاهِرٌ لَا بِتَأْوِيلِ‏ الْمُبَاشَرَةِ Manifestation [مُتَجَلٍ‏] لَا بِاسْتِقْلَالِ رُؤْيَةٍ بَاطِنٌ لَا بِمُزَايَلَةٍ مُبَايِنٌ لَا بِمَسَافَةٍ قَرِيبٌ لَا بِمُدَانَاةٍ لَطِيفٌ لَا بِتَجَسُّمٍ مَوْجُودٌ لَا بَعْدَ عَدَمٍ فَاعِلٌ لَا بِاضْطِرَارٍ مُقَدِّرٌ لَا بِحَوْلِ فِكْرَةٍ مُدَبِّرٌ لَا بِحَرَكَةٍ مُرِيدٌ لَا بِهَمَامَةٍ شَاءٍ لَا بِهِمَّةٍ مُدْرِكٌ لَا بِمِحَسَّةٍ سَمِيعٌ لَا بِآلَةٍ بَصِيرٌ لَا بِأَدَاةٍ لَا تَصْحَبُهُ الْأَوْقَاتُ وَ لَا تَضَمَّنُهُ‏  الْأَمَاكِنُ وَ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ السِّنَاتُ‏  وَ لَا تَحُدُّهُ الصِّفَاتُ وَ لَا تُقَيِّدُهُ الْأَدَوَاتُ سَابَقَ الْأَوْقَاتِ كَوْنُهُ وَ الْعَدَمَ وُجُودُهُ وَ الِابْتِدَاءَ أَزَلُهُ بِتَشْعِيرِهِ الْمَشَاعِرَ عُرِفَ أَنْ لَا مَشْعَرَ لَهُ وَ بِتَجْهِيرِهِ الْجَوَاهِرَ عُرِفَ أَنْ لَا جَوْهَرَ لَهُ وَ بِمُضَادَّتِهِ بَيْنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ عُرِفَ أَنْ لَا ضِدَّ لَهُ وَ بِمُقَارَنَتِهِ بَيْنَ الْأُمُورِ عُرِفَ أَنْ لَا قَرِينَ لَهُ ضَادَّ النُّورَ بِالظُّلْمَة[1]

🌷🔅 كُلُ‏ مَا فِي‏ الْخَلْقِ‏ مِنْ أَثَرٍ غَيْرُ مَوْجُودٍ فِي خَالِقِهِ وَ كُلُّ مَا أَمْكَنَ فِيهِ مُمْتَنِعٌ مِنْ صَانِعِه‏[2]

🌷🔅 Through his words affirming divine unity, the Imam purges minds of polytheism!

🌷🔅 The Imam’s words are an interpretation of “God is greater.”

🌷🔅 He is not changed by the changing of created things;

🌷🔅 God is not confined by confining what is finite; setting limits and bounds for His creatures does not confine Him.

🌷🔅 He is One—not by way of numerical interpretation; He cannot be counted, and in His oneness He has no equal.

🌷🔅 He is manifest, yet not directly apprehended;

🌷🔅 He manifests Himself, but not through the first sight of vision. His manifestations cannot be seen; they transcend sight. …

🌼 Ali Saʿi (ʿAbd Allāh Mishkāt) 110.141 (903)  🌼

[1] ʿUyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 151  Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Nashr-e Jahān, Tehran, first edition, 1378 AH.

[2] Al-Amālī (al-Mufīd), text, p. 257  Mufīd, Shaykh Mufīd Congress, Qom, first edition, 1413 AH.

[1] ʿUyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 151  Ibn Bābawayh, Nashr-e Jahān, Tehran, first edition, 1378 AH.