Soaring to the Highest Horizon on the Wings of Humility

“Practising Humility”  “Fleeing Arrogance”

“Seek God’s honour”  “Flee the trial of arrogance”  A summary, with supplementary commentary, on “The Commentary on Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya,” “Session 219”   “The Secret of Exaltation” and more      1402.10.07    Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ

Wings from al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

The one who walks on foot gains wings through al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, and with those wings conquers every horizon of servitude to God.
Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is a full-length mirror reflecting both the virtues and the flaws of the human being.

From the vantage point of Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, behold the hidden depths of your own being. Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is a mirror to the innermost secrets concealed in the human soul.

Use Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya to draw up your own ethical chart.

Use Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya to examine and heal your soul. This supplication is both medicine and cure.

Use Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya to create a personal ledger for taking account of your soul.

Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is a place of self-discovery and a mirror reflecting the human being’s reality; it reveals the highest degrees and the lowest depths within us.

O God, make me a servant honoured by You

وَ أَعِزَّنِي وَ لَا تَبْتَلِيَنِّي بِالْكِبْر

O God, honour me, and do not afflict me with arrogance

O God, honour me; make me one of Yours; grant me dignity. My God, servitude to You is the fullness of all honour, so honour me through the dignity of serving You. O God, Your servant finds peace only in You and is content with You alone; so lift every veil and free me from bondage and humiliation. O God, whoever finds honour through You becomes beloved in both worlds.

al-Zumar: 36   أَ لَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِكافٍ عَبْدَهُ وَ …

Is God not sufficient for His servant?!

مَنْ بَرِئَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ نَالَ‏ الْعِز[1]

Whoever turns away from evil attains honour.

Whoever is consumed by the evil of arrogance sees their honour fall apart.

Azazil was dear to God, but his arrogance shattered his honour. Arrogance leads to a fall; heaviness prevents ascent.

Flee the company of arrogance

Flee the test of arrogance; turning away from arrogance is the best answer to its test.

Whoever flees the test of arrogance always triumphs and emerges with honour.

O God, do not afflict me with arrogance or punish me through it; do not test me with arrogance;

What is this arrogance that we must flee its test and refuse to be tried by it? Arrogance means turning away from servitude to God. Let us not acquire such a calamity: arrogance is the mantle of divine majesty.

All of God’s creatures are created by God, the Most Great. They are «عبد العزیر الجبار المتکبر».

Beware of cultivating arrogance: the more it grows, the more abased a person becomes.

Love of this world is a training ground for arrogance; practising arrogance is practising vice and degradation.

Do not make your thoughts and intentions a nursery for arrogance.

Worldly desires are fuel for arrogance and vanity.

Keeping company with the arrogant and those caught up in worldly concerns infects a person with the disease of arrogance. However hard one resists, one still falls prey to its affliction.

Practising humility is practising dignity and honour, and helps cultivate servitude to God. To turn away from humility is to clip the wings that would carry you to the highest horizon.

Do not incite or bolster anyone’s arrogance, lest you share in their sin of associating partners with God.

Pharaoh’s ignorant followers emboldened him and made him arrogant, taking his pride to its utmost limit. The most ignorant form of arrogance is Pharaoh’s, when he cried out:

Al-Nāziʿāt: 24   فَقالَ أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلى‏

Then he said, “I am your Lord, most high.”

Arrogance is a partner to associating others with God.

Open, hidden and most-hidden associating of partners with God correspond to open, hidden and most-hidden arrogance.

عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ‏ إِنَّهُ سُئِلَ عَنْ قَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ ص إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ أَخْفَى مِنْ دَبِيبِ‏ النَّمْلِ‏، عَلَى صَفَاةٍ سَوْدَاءَ فِي لَيْلَةٍ ظَلْمَاء[2]

Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said of the Prophet’s words, “Indeed, shirk is more inconspicuous than an ant walking on a black stone on a dark night”:  …

Beware lest pride take root in the human soul, for it is the seedbed of associating partners with God.

Pride incites shirk; it forms the central nerve of shirk. Shirk is rooted in ignorance, and pride, too, springs from ignorance.

Examining the soul for unbelief and pride is a duty incumbent upon us at every moment.

عَنْ أَبَانٍ عَنْ حُكَيْمٍ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع عَنْ أَدْنَى‏ الْإِلْحَادِ فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْكِبْرَ أَدْنَاهُ.[3]

Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him—when asked about the least degree of heresy—replied: “Arrogance is its least degree.”

Pride is God’s mantle. Whoever claims it wages war against God and incurs His curse.

Pride belongs exclusively to the Divine Majesty. Whoever claims it for himself gains nothing from it but lowliness, humiliation and baseness.

عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ‏ الْكِبْرُ قَدْ يَكُونُ فِي شِرَارِ النَّاسِ مِنْ كُلِّ جِنْسٍ وَ الْكِبْرُ رِدَاءُ اللَّهِ فَمَنْ نَازَعَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ رِدَاءَهُ لَمْ يَزِدْهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا سَفَالًا  إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ص مَرَّ فِي بَعْضِ طُرُقِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَ سَوْدَاءُ تَلْقُطُ السِّرْقِينَ‏  فَقِيلَ لَهَا تَنَحَّيْ عَنْ طَرِيقِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ فَقَالَتْ إِنَّ الطَّرِيقَ لَمُعْرَضٌ‏  فَهَمَّ بِهَا بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ أَنْ يَتَنَاوَلَهَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص دَعُوهَا فَإِنَّهَا جَبَّارَةٌ.[4]

Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: “Arrogance may be found among the lowliest people in every social group… Pride is God’s mantle, and whoever contends with God for it will only be brought lower still. One day, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, was passing through one of the streets of Medina. A Black woman was collecting dung in the middle of the street. People told her to move aside for the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. She replied, ‘The street is wide.’ One of the people tried to move her, but the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said, ‘Leave her be; she is a jabbar woman’ (ignorant, arrogant and quarrelsome).”

We all live within the terrain of the trial of pride.

Pride knows no bounds; all beings are surrounded by it. Even a moment’s contamination by pride can bring irreparable ruin.

From the ordinary person to the complex, from the illiterate to the scholar, from the poor to the wealthy, from the unbeliever to the believer, from the weak to the strong—all are at risk of falling prey to pride.

By freeing ourselves from pride, we travel a great part of the path of servitude to God.

ثَلَاثَةٌ تُورِثُ الْمَحَبَّةَ الدِّينُ‏ وَ التَّوَاضُعُ وَ الْبَذْلُ مَنْ بَرِئَ مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ نَالَ ثَلَاثَةً مَنْ بَرِئَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ نَالَ الْعِزَّ وَ مَنْ بَرِئَ مِنَ الْكِبْرِ نَالَ الْكَرَامَةَ وَ مَنْ بَرِئَ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ نَالَ الشَّرَف‏[5]

Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him): “Three things inspire love: devotion to religion, humility and generosity. Whoever is free of three things attains three others: whoever is free of evil attains honour; whoever keeps clear of arrogance earns respect; and whoever is free of miserliness attains nobility.”

The secret to cultivating love

Let us cultivate love through “devotion to religion, humility and generosity.” The fruits of faith appear when devotion is blended with humility and seasoned with giving and generosity.

To reach the heights of servitude to God, not a trace of pride must remain in our souls. A humble believer stands tall in the contest of devotion.

Let us engrave these reports and verses upon our hearts with gold and diamond ink.

قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ‏ لَا يَطْمَعَنَ‏ ذُو الْكِبْرِ فِي الثَّنَاءِ الْحَسَن‏[6]

An arrogant person cannot expect to be spoken of with praise.

No one loves an arrogant person, and no one speaks of them fondly.

We must be vigilant against pride and continually seek refuge in God from its evil;

Pride belongs to God alone

Al-Hashr: 23   هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذي لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

مَلِكُ قُدُّوسُ سَّلامُ مُؤْمِنُ مُهَيْمِنُ عَزيزُ جَبَّارُ مُتَكَبِّرAnd He is God—there is no deity but Him, the Sovereign, the Holy… Exalted is God above whatever they associate with Him!

Pride belongs to God alone; only He is “the Proud.” Let us honour the names of God: “the Proud” is one of His names. Whoever takes a name of God for himself claims divinity.

The pride of the Exalted, the Proud, is greatness beyond all description; no attribute can reach the stature of describing God.

God is greater (الله أكبر)—that is, God is greater than can be described.

عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ عِنْدَهُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ فَقَالَ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَقَالَ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَقَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع حَدَّدْتَهُ‏ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ كَيْفَ أَقُولُ قَالَ قُلْ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ‏ أَنْ‏ يُوصَفَ.[7]

Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to a man who declared, “God is greater”: “Greater than what?” The man replied, “Greater than everything.” Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said, “You have thus confined Him.” The man asked, “Then what should I say?” He replied, “Say: God is greater than can be described.”

No attribute is great enough to describe Him.

فَإِنَّ الْكِبْرَ رِدَاءُ اللَّهِ فَمَنْ نَازَعَ اللَّهَ رِدَاءَهُ‏ قَصَمَهُ‏ اللَّه‏[8]

Pride is God’s mantle. Whoever contends with God over His mantle, God will crush him.

عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: الْكِبْرُ رِدَاءُ اللَّهِ فَمَنْ نَازَعَ اللَّهَ رِدَاءَهُ‏ أَكَبَّهُ‏ اللَّهُ فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وَجْهِه‏[9]

Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: “Pride is God’s mantle. Whoever contends with God over any part of it, God will cast them face-first into the Fire.”

Wise counsel on the disease of pride

Pride is the breeding ground of envy.

Proud individuals will shape a proud society.

Do not even play the part of the proud.

Those who buy pride are buying ruin.

Pride is not wealth; it is utter poverty and sheer ignorance.

Pride is an escape from servitude to God.

Pride alone is enough to destroy a person.

The higher you rise, the more cautious you should be; even at the height of wisdom, do not consider yourself safe from pride.

The proud person rises up against their own self.

A person is their own adversary; no one can bring them so low as they can bring themselves.

Satan is not a person’s true adversary; the human self is its own killer.

Let us not consider ourselves graduates of the school of humility. As long as pride exists, take care;

there is no insurance policy against pride.

Scatter the dust of pride from the depths of your soul.

Get an ethical checkup. Assess the health of your character every day and night, and examine your condition at every moment.

The quality and quantity of pride should not distract us from the reality of pride itself.

O God, call me by the name of ʿAbdullāh.

وَ عَبِّدْنِي‏ لَكَ‏

O God, accept me into Your service.

O God, keep me for Yourself.

O God, break my feet’s flight and tear off my wings of escape.

O God, make me such that I do what pleases You.

O God, accept me unto Yourself.

O God, do not abandon me.

O God, choose me, select me, and purify me.

Ṭā Hā 41   وَ اصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسي‏

(O Moses,) I fashioned you for Myself.

O God, fashion me too for Yourself, as You fashioned Moses; make me Your noble, sincere, and devoted servant. O God, how could I not envy Moses and seek the greatest of Your graces?

Ṭā Hā 39   … وَ أَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِنِّي وَ لِتُصْنَعَ عَلى‏ عَيْني‏

(O Moses,) I cast My love upon you so that you might be fashioned under My eye.

When divine love mingles with someone’s soul, it makes the world and all its people captive to them.

Muḥammad (peace be upon him) is the bridge to divine love.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, is the bridge to divine love, the closest path to the love of the All-Merciful.

Āl ʿImrān: 31   قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُوني‏ يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَ اللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحيمٌ

Say (O Muhammad): “If you love God, follow me; then God will love you and forgive your sins. God is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Without following the Noble Prophet, one cannot attain the grace of divine love. His Eminence is the condition for loving God.

Sincere servitude to God is incompatible with self-conceit.

O God, whatever we do, we cannot escape being Your servants; so guide us to worship You in the way that pleases You.

O God, make my whole being Yours, and choose me, in my entirety, to worship You.

Al-Māʾidah: 54  or أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا مَنْ يَرْتَدَّ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَ يُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكافِرينَ يُجاهِدُونَ في‏ سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَ لا يَخافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لائِمٍ ذلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتيهِ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ اللَّهُ واسِعٌ عَليمٌ

The crispy bottom of the gathering, 1402.10.07

Blind eye of polytheism

The eye of polytheism has been put out

The eye of discord has been put out

أَمَّا بَعْدَ حَمْدِ اللَّهِ وَ الثَّنَاءِ عَلَيْهِ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فَإِنِّي فَقَأْتُ‏ عَيْنَ‏ الْفِتْنَةِ وَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيَجْتَرِئَ عَلَيْهَا أَحَدٌ غَيْرِي بَعْدَ أَنْ مَاجَ غَيْهَبُهَا وَ اشْتَدَّ كَلَبُهَا فَاسْأَلُونِي قَبْلَ أَنْ تَفْقِدُونِي‏[10]

Imam ʿAlī, peace be upon him, said: “People! I gouged out the eye of discord when its darkness was surging and its fury and intensity had reached their height, and no one but me dared to put it down.”

أنا قاتل الأقران و مجدل الشجعان أنا الذي فقأت‏ عين‏ الشرك و ثللت عرشه غير ممتن على الله بجهادي و لا مدل إليه بطاعتي و لكن أحدث بنعمة ربي‏[11]

I am the slayer of peers and the vanquisher of the brave. I am the one who gouged out the eye of polytheism and shattered its throne…

The Dajjāl has existed since Adam first appeared and will remain until the era of his ظهور.

The Dajjāl is Satan himself, the human Iblīs.

Dajjālism takes root in the souls of atheists and becomes entwined with their corrupt spirits.

The Dajjāl’s being one-eyed may be understood as a wound inflicted upon him over the course of human history.

The Dajjāl is the embodiment of associating partners with God.

All the wickedness of those who associate partners with God is present in the Dajjāl’s soul.

Al-Anʿām: 112 وَ كَذلِكَ جَعَلْنا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَياطينَ الْإِنْسِ وَ الْجِنِّ يُوحي‏ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلى‏ بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُوراً وَ لَوْ شاءَ رَبُّكَ ما فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَ ما يَفْتَرُونَ

“Thus We have appointed for every prophet an enemy: satans from among humans and jinn, who whisper to one another alluring, baseless words. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done so; so leave them and their fabrications to their own devices!”

Satans and human Iblīses have existed in every age.

The Dajjāl of the end times is the most wicked Dajjāl in human history.

The Dajjāl’s long life points to his resemblance to the accursed Iblīs.

From behind mobile phones and through social media and various apps, the Dajjāl works to bewitch people’s hearts and minds.

The Dajjāl uses many different methods to deceive and bewitch people.

The heedless are intoxicated and deceived by the waves.

The Dajjal outruns the sun, stitching East and West together.

The Dajjal can be defeated through the supplication numbered 20 in the Ṣaḥīfa Sajjadiyya.

Instead of slogans, we should make the Two Weighty Things our banner.

The Dajjal is a thief who steals water, honor, faith and belief.

The Dajjal is present in society in many guises.

The Dajjal is equipped with physical and supraphysical technologies.

The great bounty encompasses Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad.

The Muslim community’s superiority over the Children of Israel is established; one Quranic proof is verse 143 of Sūrat al-Baqara. The Muslim community holds the rank of witness over other religious communities.

البقرة : 143   وَ كَذلِكَ جَعَلْناكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِتَكُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَ يَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهيداً وَ ما جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتي‏ كُنْتَ عَلَيْها إِلاَّ لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلى‏ عَقِبَيْهِ وَ إِنْ كانَتْ لَكَبيرَةً إِلاَّ عَلَى الَّذينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَ ما كانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضيعَ إيمانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَؤُفٌ رَحيمٌ

And just as We made your qibla a middle way, so too We made you a community of the middle way—balanced, between excess and shortcoming—so that you may bear witness over all people, and the Messenger may bear witness over you. We appointed the qibla you had formerly followed only to distinguish those who follow the Messenger from those who turn back to the ways of ignorance. This was indeed difficult, except for those whom God had guided. (Know, too, that your prayers offered facing the former qibla were valid.) God would never let your faith [your prayers] go to waste, for God is compassionate and merciful towards people.

The virtue of the Children of Israel was confined to their own era. If they possessed virtue, the Muslim community possesses greater virtue.

البقرة : 47  or بَني‏ إِسْرائيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتي‏ أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَ أَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعالَمينَ

In the Qur’an, the Children of Israel can be understood as referring to the Muslim community.

The Muslim community’s imitation of calf worship surpasses the calf worship of the Samiri.

Verses affirming the superiority of the Muslim community:

Āl ʿImrān: 74   يَخْتَصُّ بِرَحْمَتِهِ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ اللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظيمِ

Āl ʿImrān: 180   وَ لا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِما آتاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْراً لَهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَهُمْ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ ما بَخِلُوا بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَةِ وَ لِلَّهِ ميراثُ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ وَ اللَّهُ بِما تَعْمَلُونَ خَبيرٌ

Al-Nisāʾ: 54   أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلى‏ ما آتاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنا آلَ إِبْراهيمَ الْكِتابَ وَ الْحِكْمَةَ وَ آتَيْناهُمْ مُلْكاً عَظيماً

Or do they envy the people [the Prophet and his family] for what God has bestowed upon them out of His grace? We gave the family of Abraham (which includes the Jews) the Book and wisdom, and granted them [the prophets of the Children of Israel] a great kingdom.

Al-Anʿām: 86   وَ إِسْماعيلَ وَ الْيَسَعَ وَ يُونُسَ وَ لُوطاً وَ كلاًّ فَضَّلْنا عَلَى الْعالَمينَ

Al-Isrāʾ: 87   إِلاَّ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ إِنَّ فَضْلَهُ كانَ عَلَيْكَ كَبيراً

Do not overlook the danger of miserliness

Muḥammad: 38   ها أَنْتُمْ هؤُلاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا في‏ سَبيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ وَ مَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّما يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَ اللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَراءُ وَ إِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْماً غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثالَكُمْ

Indeed, you are those who are called upon to spend in God’s way, yet some of you are miserly. Whoever is miserly is only miserly toward himself. God is free of all need, while you are all in need. And if you turn away, He will bring another people in your place, and they will not be like you (but will spend generously in God’s way).

عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ قَالَ‏ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص يَتَعَوَّذُ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ‏ فَقَالَ نَعَمْ يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ فِي كُلِّ صَبَاحٍ وَ مَسَاءٍ وَ نَحْنُ نَتَعَوَّذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ‏ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ‏ وَ مَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ‏ وَ سَأُخْبِرُكَ عَنْ عَاقِبَةِ الْبُخْلِ‏ إِنَّ قَوْمَ لُوطٍ كَانُوا أَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ أَشِحَّاءَ عَلَى الطَّعَامِ فَأَعْقَبَهُمُ الْبُخْلُ دَاءً لَا دَوَاءَ لَهُ فِي فُرُوجِهِمْ فَقُلْتُ وَ مَا أَعْقَبَهُمْ فَقَالَ إِنَّ قَرْيَةَ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ كَانَتْ عَلَى طَرِيقِ السَّيَّارَةِ إِلَى الشَّامِ وَ مِصْرَ فَكَانَتِ السَّيَّارَةُ تَنْزِلُ بِهِمْ فَيُضِيفُونَهُمْ فَلَمَّا كَثُرَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضَاقُوا بِذَلِكَ ذَرْعاً بُخْلًا وَ لُؤْماً فَدَعَاهُمُ الْبُخْلُ إِلَى أَنْ كَانُوا إِذَا نَزَلَ بِهِمُ الضَّيْفُ فَضَحُوهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ شَهْوَةٍ بِهِمْ إِلَى ذَلِكَ وَ إِنَّمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ ذَلِكَ بِالضَّيْفِ حَتَّى يَنْكُلَ النَّازِلُ عَنْهُمْ فَشَاعَ أَمْرُهُمْ فِي الْقَرْيَةِ وَ حَذِرَهُمُ النَّازِلَةُ فَأَوْرَثَهُمُ الْبُخْلُ بَلَاءً لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ دَفْعَهُ عَنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ غَيْرِ شَهْوَةٍ لَهُمْ إِلَى ذَلِك‏[12]

Hisham ibn Salim relates from Abu Basir, who said:

I asked Imam Abu Ja‘far, peace be upon him: “Did the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, seek refuge in God from stinginess?” اللَّه صلّى اللَّه The Imam replied: “Yes, Abu Muhammad. He did so every morning and evening, and we too seek refuge in God from it. God says in the Qur’an:

(Those who are protected from the greed and avarice of their own souls are truly the ones who prosper.) وَ مَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ‏ Soon I will tell you what stinginess can lead to. The people of Lot lived in a town and were miserly and greedy about food. This trait afflicted them with a disease of their private parts for which there was no cure.”

I asked: “What was the disease that arose from their greed and stinginess?”

The Imam replied: “The town where the people of Lot lived lay on the route taken by travellers to Syria and Egypt. Travellers would stop there, and the people would host and entertain them. But as the numbers of guests grew, the townspeople—the people of Lot—became resentful and, in their stinginess and baseness, felt burdened by them. Their greed drove them, whenever guests arrived, to commit a vile act with them and disgrace them, even though they felt no desire for them. Their purpose in this shameful deed was to frighten travellers away so that they would no longer come to them. In time, word of their evil deeds spread, and travellers were deterred from stopping there. Thus their own stinginess brought upon them a calamity they could not ward off, even though they had no desire for the act. Gradually, matters reached such a point that they went from town to town and village to village, asking men to commit this vile act and paying them in return.”

Then the Imam, peace be upon him, said: “What affliction could be more painful than stinginess, or more disastrous in its consequences and more hateful in God’s sight?”

Abu Basir says: “I said to the Imam: ‘May I be your ransom, did all the people of Lot’s town do this and suffer from this abominable practice? …’”

[13]

Those who strive in knowledge and understanding

Before undertaking a thorough search for the most learned jurist and a teacher, seek help from the Divine Presence.

The Prophet has visited every land; no one has been deprived of knowing the Prophet, whether outwardly or inwardly.

How often the prophets have travelled from place to place, visiting every home and conveying the message of truth.

The noble Khidr is no longer a prophet in this age, for he is under the guardianship and imamate of the Imam of the Age. Yet, by the command of the Greatest Remnant of God, he is charged with guiding people.

العنكبوت : 69   وَ الَّذينَ جاهَدُوا فينا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنا وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنينَ

As for those who strive in Our cause with sincere intent, We shall surely guide them to Our ways. And God is with those who do good.

The Prophet of Islam has mastery over time and space and rules over them; his station as a witness is another, higher station.

The mountains of Sabalan and the valley of the Aras are the resting places of prophets.

Adam, the father of humankind, was a prophet to himself; that same Adam was a messenger to his wife and his family.

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

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[1] تحف العقول ؛ النص ؛ ص316Ibn Shu‘ba al-Harrani, Hasan ibn Ali, Society of Seminary Teachers, Qom, second edition, 1404 / 1363 AH.

[2] تفسير القمي ؛ ج‏1 ؛ ص213Qummi, Ali ibn Ibrahim, Dar al-Kitab, Qom, third edition, 1404 AH.

[3] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج‏2 ؛ ص309Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[4] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج‏2 ؛ ص309Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[5] تحف العقول ؛ النص ؛ ص316Ibn Shu‘ba al-Harrani, Hasan ibn Ali, Society of Seminary Teachers, Qom, second edition, 1404 / 1363 AH.

[6] Al-Khisal, vol. 2, p. 434 Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali, *Al-Khisal*, 2 vols., 1362 Shamsi.

[7] Al-Kafi (Islamic edition), vol. 1, p. 117 Kulayni, Islamic Books Publishing House, Tehran, 4th ed., 1407 AH.

[8] Tuhaf al-Uqul, text, p. 315 Ibn Shu‘bah Harrani, Hasan ibn Ali, Society of Seminary Teachers, Qom, 2nd ed., 1404 AH / 1363 Shamsi.

[9] Al-Zuhd, text, p. 62 Kufi Ahwazi, Husayn ibn Sa‘id, Scientific Press, Qom, 2nd ed., 1402 AH.

[10] Nahj al-Balagha (ed. Subhi Salih), p. 137 Sharif al-Radi, Muhammad ibn Husayn, Hijrat, Qom, 1st ed., 1414 AH.

[11] Commentary on Nahj al-Balagha by Ibn Abi al-Hadid, vol. 20, p. 296 Ibn Abi al-Hadid, Abd al-Hamid ibn Hibat Allah, Ayatollah Marashi Najafi Library, Qom, 1st ed., 1404 AH.

[12] The Causes of the Laws , vol. 2 , p. 548 Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali, Davari Bookshop, Qom, 1st ed., 1385 Shamsi / 1966 CE.

[13] The Causes of the Laws, translated by Zehni Tehrani, vol. 2, p. 745 Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali; Zehni Tehrani, Muhammad Javad, Momenin Publications, Iran, Qom, 1st ed., 1380 Shamsi.