Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼Tawhid of Imam Naqi (Hadi)🌼🔆🌼
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “The Secrets of God-consciousness and Divine Obedience” “The Secret of Describing the Beloved” “The Secret of Love” “The Monotheistic Hadith of Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi” “The Night of Imam Hadi’s Birth, peace be upon him” and more… Abstract with Addendum 1403.03.02 Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141 (903) 🌹🔅
🔅🌼 An Overview of the Themes of the Song of Love 🌼🔅
☘️It is the beloved, not the lover, who sings the song of love! (A monotheistic description)
🌼 Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi, peace be upon him, is the fourth Ali among the Imams of the Purified Household. He interprets the soul and station of Ali al-Murtada; he is the mighty gateway to our master, Amir al-Mu’minin. He is one of the constellations of Ali.
🌼 The name of Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi, peace be upon him, is one of the mysteries of existence.
🌼 Our greater world is incomplete without Imam Hadi.
🌼 Imam Hadi, peace be upon him, is the greatest world and a smooth path to Asad Allah al-Ghalib. He is the main highway to the source, roots and depths of the truths and mysteries of existence.
🌼 The world of existence has reached the very soul of souls through the Water of Life (Imam Hadi).
🌼 If we do not know Ali Hadi, we will not find our way to Ali al-Murtada, nor will we be able to enter the City of Knowledge; we will remain bewildered and lost in the valley of ignorance.
🌼 If a small celestial body shifts from its place, it alters the entire universe and affects it in some way. If the weight and presence of the sacred Imam Hadi, peace be upon him, were absent from within us, the order of our world of the soul would fall apart.
🌼 If the sun were removed from the solar system, the whole system would fall apart in an instant. Its planets would leave their orbits and become wandering rocks in the heavens.
🌼 It is impossible for the order of our souls to remain in its orbit without Imam Hadi. Our souls would leave the orbit of humanity and become wandering bodies.
🌼 If we are his followers, we must be reborn with his birth, receive new life from his Water of Life, and take from his light the illumination of both beginning and end, so that we too may shine.
🌼 Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi, peace be upon him, is clothed in serenity and dignity. God entrusted His knowledge to this noble one’s heart before he first opened his eyes to worldly life. The Almighty placed His hidden secret within his heart.
🌼 If we can reach the Pool of Kawthar and have a heart and eyes guided by Hadi, then, at the highest destination, we will see him as the orator of the Shia at the Pool of Kawthar.
🌼 Can I take flight on his words and soar? If I cannot, I should question whether I am truly under his guardianship.
🌼 If we lack God-consciousness, we should not expect all our limbs and faculties—our ears, eyes, hearts, minds, and so on—to remain fully under our control.
🌼 Whoever has seen God will see nothing else. Whoever has seen Allah as the Greatest will see nothing else rise above Him.
🌼 The lover must learn the ways of love from the beloved himself.
🌼 Dust longs to become a lover of the Lord of Lords; earth longs to praise the Lord of Lords. What is it to do? It must do as its Creator has taught it.
🌼 Only the beloved knows himself.
🌼 God alone knows His own beauty. With what eyes can I see it? I understand only what He places in my heart.
🌼 God knows how to make me enamoured of Him; He alone has the power to do so.
🌼 So let us connect our system of describing Him to God’s own original system of description, and read only His words.
🌼 Let me not mistake my interpretation of the Quran for the Quran itself: I take nothing away from the Quran, nor do I add to it!
🌼 Just as He described Himself and praised Himself through the words of His Prophet, so may we describe and praise Him according to the words He taught us.
🌼 For the gnostic lover, the beloved is the source from which the beloved’s will flows. Let us activate our capacity to receive; the beloved knows how to turn the lover inside out.
🌼 Take the song of love from the Beloved Himself, and offer that very song back to Him.
🌼 Descriptions and intimate prayers have both clear and ambiguous aspects.
🌼 First, let me call upon Him through the Quranic, revealed description, so that I may attain the interpretive description.
🌼 If I follow the way He has taught and do not cast myself into the ravine of philosophy, then, through that same repetition, the springs of His knowledge will gush forth within me.
🌼 Through the way of sincerity, God praises Himself.
🌼 The Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt are the treasury of descriptions of God; every verse is a key that unlocks our innate nature.
🌼 Any alteration is, in some way, a matter of making things conform to oneself—and God is exalted above that.
🌼 Healing and remedy are His very words, exactly as revealed.
🌼 The human senses are translators: they offer an understanding of reality, not reality itself.
🌼 Let us receive the Quran in its Arabic language, so that we may reach the Preserved Tablet and attain the interpretive understanding of God’s description—for there lies its true sweetness.
🌼 He teaches us to spell, just as a parent would.
🌼 Are God’s descriptions in the Quran melodies of love? They do not describe His Essence; they are the elixir of love and communion.
🔅🌼Clothed in Serenity🌼🔅
🌷🔆 وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى رَكَّبَ فِي صُلْبِهِ نُطْفَةً لَا بَاغِيَةً وَ لَا طَاغِيَةً بَارَّةً مُبَارَكَةً طَيِّبَةً طَاهِرَةً سَمَّاهَا عِنْدَهُ عَلِيَّ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ فَأَلْبَسَهَا السَّكِينَةَ وَ الْوَقَارَ وَ أَوْدَعَهَا الْعُلُومَ وَ كُلَّ سِرٍّ مَكْتُومٍ مَنْ لَقِيَهُ وَ فِي صَدْرِهِ شَيْءٌ أَنْبَأَهُ بِهِ وَ حَذَّرَهُ مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ وَ يَقُولُ فِي دُعَائِهِ- يَا نُورُ يَا بُرْهَانُ يَا مُنِيرُ يَا مُبِينُ يَا رَبِّ اكْفِنِي شَرَّ الشُّرُورِ وَ آفَاتِ الدُّهُورِ وَ أَسْأَلُكَ النَّجَاةَ يَوْمَ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ مَنْ دَعَا بِهَذَا الدُّعَاءِ كَانَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ شَفِيعَهُ وَ قَائِدَهُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى رَكَّبَ فِي صُلْبِهِ نُطْفَةً وَ سَمَّاهَا عِنْدَهُ الْحَسَنَ فَجَعَلَهُ نُوراً فِي بِلَادِهِ [1]
🌷🔆 … And God, the Exalted, formed a drop of semen in his loins (those of Imam Muhammad al-Taqi al-Jawad): neither rebellious nor tyrannical, but good, blessed, wholesome and pure. He named him Ali, clothed him in serenity and dignity, and entrusted to him knowledge, mysteries and all that had been kept concealed. Whoever meets him with something on their heart, he will make them aware of it and warn them against their enemy. In his supplication, he says:
«يا نور يا برهان، يا منير يا مبين يا ربّ اكفني شرّ الشّرور و آفات الدّهور، و أسألك النّجاة يوم ينفخ في الصّور»
Whoever recites this supplication will have Ali ibn Muhammad as their intercessor, and he will guide them to Paradise. And God, the Exalted, formed a drop of semen in his loins and named him Hasan ibn Ali. He made him the light of the lands, the vicegerent on earth, the glory of the community, a guide and intercessor for the Shia, a punishment for those who oppose them, a proof for their friends, and an argument for those who follow him, and …[2]
🔅🌼 The Secret to a Light Reckoning and Deeds 🌼🔅
🌷🔆عَنْ آبَائِهِ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ع قَالَ: قَالَ … وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَلْقَى اللَّهَ وَ يُحَاسِبَهُ حِسَاباً يَسِيراً فَلْيَتَوَلَّ عَلِيّاً الْهَادِيَ …[3]
🌷🔆 Whoever wishes to meet God while being given an easy reckoning should be under the guardianship of Imam Ali al-Hadi …
🔅🌼 Soaring through the Celestial Words of the Imam of the Celestial Realm 🌼🔅
🌹 Let us take flight on the celestial words of the Imam of the Highest Realm
🌹By diving into the depths of the vast, surging sea of the words of Imam ʿAlī al-Naqī (peace be upon him) and gathering its matchless pearls, may we attain exalted benefits. God planted knowledge in his heart; He Himself is the sower of that knowledge and its cultivator. The Imam is a vast field of divine knowledge and wisdom.
🌷🔆عَنِ الْفَتْحِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ الْجُرْجَانِيِّ قَالَ: ضَمَّنِي وَ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ ʿa الطَّرِيقُ فِي مُنْصَرَفِي مِنْ مَكَّةَ إِلَى خُرَاسَانَ وَ هُوَ سَائِرٌ إِلَى الْعِرَاقِ فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ مَنِ اتَّقَى اللَّهَ يُتَّقَى وَ مَنْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ يُطَاعُ فَتَلَطَّفْتُ فِي الْوُصُولِ إِلَيْهِ فَوَصَلْتُ فَسَلَّمْتُ عَلَيْهِ فَرَدَّ عَلَيَّ السَّلَامَ ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا فَتْحُ مَنْ أَرْضَى الْخَالِقَ لَمْ يُبَالِ بِسَخَطِ الْمَخْلُوقِ وَ مَنْ أَسْخَطَ الْخَالِقَ فَقَمَنٌ أَنْ يُسَلِّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ سَخَطَ الْمَخْلُوقِ وَ إِنَّ الْخَالِقَ لَا يُوصَفُ إِلَّا بِمَا وَصَفَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ وَ أَنَّى يُوصَفُ الَّذِي تَعْجِزُ الْحَوَاسُّ أَنْ تُدْرِكَهُ وَ الْأَوْهَامُ أَنْ تَنَالَهُ وَ الْخَطَرَاتُ أَنْ تَحُدَّهُ وَ الْأَبْصَارُ عَنِ الْإِحَاطَةِ بِهِ جَلَّ عَمَّا وَصَفَهُ الْوَاصِفُونَ وَ تَعَالَى عَمَّا يَنْعَتُهُ النَّاعِتُونَ نَأَى فِي قُرْبِهِ وَ قَرُبَ فِي نَأْيِهِ فَهُوَ فِي نَأْيِهِ قَرِيبٌ وَ فِي قُرْبِهِ بَعِيدٌ كَيَّفَ الْكَيْفَ فَلَا يُقَالُ كَيْفَ وَ أَيَّنَ الْأَيْنَ فَلَا يُقَالُ أَيْنَ إِذْ هُوَ مُنْقَطِعُ الْكَيْفُوفِيَّةِ وَ الْأَيْنُونِيَّةِ.[4]
🔆Fatḥ ibn Yazīd al-Jurjānī relates: “As I was returning from Mecca to Khurasan, I saw the Imam heading towards Iraq. I heard him say: ‘Whoever is mindful of God will be protected by Him, and whoever obeys God will be obeyed.’
” (Fatḥ ibn Yazīd continues:) “I quickened my pace until I caught up with him. When I reached him, I greeted him, and the Imam returned my greeting. Then he said: ‘O Fatḥ! Whoever seeks to please God pays no heed to the anger and wrath of created beings. Whoever incurs God’s wrath deserves to have God set the anger of created beings against him. God can be described only as He has described Himself. How can one describe Him when the senses cannot apprehend Him, imaginations cannot reach Him, thoughts are bewildered in trying to confine Him, and eyes cannot behold Him? He is exalted above what those who describe Him say, and higher than what those who praise Him proclaim. He is near in His remoteness, and remote in His nearness: in His remoteness He is near, and in His nearness He is remote. He brought qualities into being, and therefore no quality applies to Him; He created space, and therefore no place can be conceived for Him. For He is the creator of qualities and attributes, and the bringer into being of places.’
🔅🌼The God-conscious person is under God’s protection🌼🔅
🔅🌼The obedient person is obeyed🌼🔅
🌸☘️مَنِ اتَّقَى اللَّهَ يُتَّقَى وَ مَنْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ يُطَاعُ
☘️“Whoever is mindful of God is protected and treated with care, and whoever obeys God will be obeyed.”
🌹Whoever is mindful of God will be treated with due regard by Him.
🌹Whoever honours God’s station, sanctity and greatness will have their own station and honour upheld.
🌹Whoever fears God will be feared.
🌹The greater a person’s God-consciousness, the more fully they are protected by it; all creation will be entirely subject to their God-consciousness and command.
🌹When a person obeys God, all that is other than God is placed at that person’s service. Whoever obeys God will find all things obedient to them: from the tiniest components to the vastest bodies, from the earth below to the Throne above, from the earth to the heavens and all creation. This includes their own limbs and organs, the particles and cells of their body, illnesses and microbes, disease-causing agents and remedies.
🌹Every difficulty is made to yield to them and becomes gentle—whether in solving problems, grasping and absorbing matters, or uncovering mysteries.
🔅🌼The sweetness of God’s pleasure overcomes every bitterness of what is other than God🌼🔅
🌸☘️مَنْ أَرْضَى الْخَالِقَ لَمْ يُبَالِ بِسَخَطِ الْمَخْلُوقِ
☘️Whoever seeks to please God pays no heed to the anger and wrath of created beings,
🌹 Can a created being ever be the equal of the Creator? Those who give created beings the status of a creator are engaged in worshipping them.
🌷🔆مَا أَعْظَمَ وِزْرَ مَنْ طَلَبَ رِضَا الْمَخْلُوقِينَ بِسَخَطِ الْخَالِقِ.[5]
How great is the burden—the guilt, misery, hardship and weight—of one who seeks to please creation by incurring God’s anger.
🔅🌼 The base soul curses the light to please the darkness. 🌼🔅
🌷🔆وَ دَعَا يَزِيدُ بِالْخَاطِبِ وَ أَمَرَهُ أَنْ يَصْعَدَ الْمِنْبَرَ فَيَذُمَّ الْحُسَيْنَ وَ أَبَاهُ ص فَصَعِدَ وَ بَالَغَ فِي ذَمِّ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ الْحُسَيْنِ الشَّهِيدِ ص وَ الْمَدْحِ لِمُعَاوِيَةَ وَ يَزِيدَ عَلَيْهِمَا لَعَائِنُ اللَّهِ
فَصَاحَ بِهِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ ع وَيْلَكَ أَيُّهَا الْخَاطِبُ اشْتَرَيْتَ مَرْضَاةَ الْمَخْلُوقِ بِسَخَطِ الْخَالِقِ فَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَ لَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ ابْنُ سِنَانٍ الْخَفَاجِيُّ فِي وَصْفِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ص يَقُولُ-
| أَ عَلَى الْمَنَابِرِ تُعْلِنُونَ بِسَبِّهِ | وَ بِسَيْفِهِ نُصِبَتْ لَكُمْ أَعْوَادُهَا[6] | |
🌷🔆Yazid’s preacher mounted the pulpit and spoke as ill as he could of ʿAli ibn Abi Talib and Imam Husayn, peace be upon them, hurling abuse at them…! When his slander and shamelessness went too far, Imam Sajjad, from below the pulpit, raised his voice in protest and said:
Woe to you, preacher! You have chosen to please people at the cost of God’s anger. May your dwelling be filled with the fire of Hell.
Ibn Sinan Khafafi spoke beautifully of the Commander of the Faithful: “From the pulpit you curse and revile the man whose sword set its very timbers in place.”
🔅🌼 Hell is adorned with the pursuit of people’s approval. 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ وَ مَنْ أَسْخَطَ الْخَالِقَ فَقَمَنٌ أَنْ يُسَلِّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ سَخَطَ الْمَخْلُوقِ
☘️Whoever angers God deserves to have God set people’s anger against him,
🌷🔆 عَنِ الصَّادِقِ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ ع قَالَ: كَتَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍ ع يَا سَيِّدِي أَخْبِرْنِي بِخَيْرِ الدُّنْيَا وَ الْآخِرَةِ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ طَلَبَ رِضَى اللَّهِ بِسَخَطِ النَّاسِ كَفَاهُ اللَّهُ أُمُورَ النَّاسِ وَ مَنْ طَلَبَ رِضَى النَّاسِ بِسَخَطِ اللَّهِ وَكَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى النَّاسِ وَ السَّلَامُ.[7]
🌷🔆Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, was asked about “the good of this world and the next.” He wrote to them: “Whoever seeks God’s pleasure at the cost of people’s displeasure, God will make him independent of people’s affairs. Whoever seeks people’s pleasure by displeasing God, God will leave him to the people. Peace.”
🌷🔆مَنْ طَلَبَ رِضَى اللَّهِ بِسَخَطِ النَّاسِ رَدَّ اللَّهُ ذَامَّهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ حَامِداً [8]
🌷🔆مَنْ طَلَبَ رِضَى النَّاسِ بِسَخَطِ اللَّهِ رَدَّ اللَّهُ حَامِدَهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ ذَامّا[9]
The Commander of the Faithful, ʿAli, peace be upon him, said: “Whoever seeks God’s pleasure by angering people will find those very people who curse him praising him. And whoever seeks people’s pleasure by angering God will find those very people who praise him cursing him.”
🔅🌼 Learn the way of love from the Beloved Himself. 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ وَ إِنَّ الْخَالِقَ لَا يُوصَفُ إِلَّا بِمَا وَصَفَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ
🌸☘️God can only be described by the attributes with which He has described Himself,
🔅🌼 He is transcendent beyond attribute and description. 🌼🔅
🌹God is transcendent not only beyond the attributes of created beings, but also beyond their descriptions—and beyond every attribute and every description.
🌹How can the infinite be confined to the finite? It is impossible to describe the infinite within finite bounds.
🌹Every description must, of necessity, pass through the faculties by which beings perceive—whether through the heart, the intellect, or any other faculty of perception. It is therefore confined by the limits of those faculties. What has the infinite to do with the bounds of heart, intellect, or perception?!
🌹At first glance, a description must itself be infinite to be worthy of describing the Infinite; that is, the description of the Infinite must be infinite.
🌹The beginning and end of a description of the Infinite are one and the same: without qualification or limit. How can a limited being cry out the Infinite?
🔅🌼 The lover is a student of the Beloved’s love 🌼🔅
🌹The lover must learn the ways of love from the Beloved himself. Only the Beloved knows his own beauty. Whatever the Eternal Beloved says of himself, we see clearly. Let us connect our faculty of knowing to the Beloved’s own way of describing himself.
🌹The Eternal Beloved reveals of his beauty only as much as he permits to appear, and is known only to the extent that he bestows knowledge of himself. In truth, whatever we say of knowledge and understanding belongs to the realm of his names and attributes, not his Essence.
🌹The lover must become an instrument for describing his Beloved, a screen that serves the Beloved’s purpose.
🌷🔆…وَ أَنَّ الدِّينَ كَمَا وَصَفْتَ وَ أَنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ كَمَا شَرَعْتَ وَ أَنَّ الْقَوْلَ كَمَا حَدَّثْتَ وَ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ كَمَا أَنْزَلْتَ وَ أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ الْمُبِينُ …[10]
🌷🔆 يَا نُورُ يَا نُورُ يَا نُورَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ أَنْتَ كَمَا وَصَفْتَ نَفْسَكَ فِي كِتَابِكَ وَ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّكَ وَ قَوْلُكَ الْحَقُّ تَبَارَكْتَ وَ تَعَالَيْتَ وَ قُلْتَ وَ قَوْلُكَ الْحَقُّ- اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكاةٍ فِيها مِصْباحٌ الْمِصْباحُ فِي زُجاجَةٍ الزُّجاجَةُ كَأَنَّها كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ لا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَ لا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكادُ زَيْتُها يُضِيءُ وَ لَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نارٌ نُورٌ عَلى نُورٍ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ يَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيم[11]
🔅🌼 Recite, and I shall recite to you 🌼🔅
🌹We are permitted to describe him only according to the divine wording.
🌹In the knowing lover, the soul is the center from which the Beloved’s will radiates.
🌹The Beloved alone knows and sings the song of love. Let us ask him to speak of himself, then offer back to him what he has said.
🌹The tongue of the Prophet of God, the Proof of God, is also deemed the tongue of God.
🌹The lover is like a receiver, reflecting the vibrations sent by the Beloved. Repeat the description of the Beloved by imitating the Beloved’s own words.
🔅🌼No description is stronger than the Beloved’s own description🌼🔅
🌹Descriptions and intimate prayers, too, have clear and allegorical aspects.
🌹Make your description of the Worshipped One firm by relying on the description the Lord has given of himself.
🔅🌼 His attributes are the elixir of nearness to God and of knowing him 🌼🔅
🌹In Quranic description, there are revealed and interpretive forms. Revealed description is, in a sense, allegorical; yet despite its allegorical nature, it is firmer than any non-Quranic description, for it is a remedy that revives the knowledge of God.
🌹Let us regard descriptions as we regard water and bread: they are the life-giving breath of knowledge of God.
🌹Even saying, “We cannot describe him,” is an inadequate description.
🌹The Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt (the speaking Quran) are sources of divine description; they are minarets from which divine descriptions are proclaimed, keys that unlock the innate nature. Any explanation or interpretation of the verses, and of the descriptions found in the verses and reports, in a sense makes them personal. By a description of the Worshipped One, what is meant is the Worshipped One’s own description—not its translation, explanation, or interpretation.
🌹 Healing, remedy and mercy are all in the very words revealed by the Worshipped One.
🌹 Our understanding, explanations and interpretations of the verses are not the realities by which the Creator has described Himself.
🌹 Sūrat al-Fātiḥa and its interpretation are not the same. Let us not recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥa with any interpretation in mind.
🌹 The mind is constantly searching for the meanings of the verses. The meanings fashioned by our faculty of understanding are our own creations of comprehension, distinct from the Lord Most High’s descriptive, revealed words.
🔅🌼 Description is only a tool for knowing 🌼🔅
🌹 Description is, in a sense, a form of revelation and reduction, making it possible for our palates to taste.
🌹 We must regard our understanding as other than, and beneath, the verses themselves. For this reason, we should seek forgiveness from the One who cannot be described. To make amends, it is better to accompany every description with a plea for forgiveness and the Four Glorifications.
🌹 Let us shape our minds, hearts and intellects in the form of the divine word, and make ourselves echoes of its sounds.
🔅🌼 Creation is utterly incapable of describing the Worshipped One 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ وَ أَنَّى يُوصَفُ الَّذِي تَعْجِزُ الْحَوَاسُّ أَنْ تُدْرِكَهُ وَ الْأَوْهَامُ أَنْ تَنَالَهُ وَ الْخَطَرَاتُ أَنْ تَحُدَّهُ وَ الْأَبْصَارُ عَنِ الْإِحَاطَةِ بِهِ
🌸☘️And how can one describe Him, when the senses are incapable of apprehending Him, imaginings cannot reach Him, passing thoughts are at a loss to confine Him, and eyes have no power to behold Him
🌹 Reality cannot be confined within sensations, imaginings, passing thoughts or insight. The sea cannot be contained in a cup—this is true of its volume; but when we consider its nature, the matter becomes more complex.
🌹 The senses and other faculties of perception are interpreters: they offer an understanding of reality and point toward it.
🌹 Reality has reached us through a journey of descent; we must make these descents a vessel for our ascent.
🔅🌼 The God who creates containers is exalted above what they contain 🌼🔅
🌹 This is not a discussion of the Essence, but of what lies below it: the Names and Attributes. Until a container can attain the stature of what it contains and comprehend it, how could the Infinite One be held in a finite vessel?
🌹 A child learns to spell from its parents; the lover learns, letter by letter, the language of love and description from the beloved.
🔅🌼 The lover is stirred to passion and dance by the beloved’s song 🌼🔅
🌹 The “beloved Worshipped One” teaches us the sounds of His own love; He does not display His Essence, which cannot be displayed.
🌹 The lover’s dance to the beloved’s song is a song describing the beloved.
🌹 Descriptions are the sounds of the Beloved’s love, not the Worshipped One Himself.
🌹 Let us be sincere students of the language. He knows what He is doing: He brings us to a knowing beyond our knowledge, without our even realising it.
🔅🌼 Our perceptions rest in the embrace of His grace and bounty 🌼🔅
🌹 The senses and faculties of perception receive a sign and shadow of reality. If we prove our sincerity to Him through that very sign, He will accept us. By His “Be, and it is,” He will bring us to those very Names and Attributes; through His grace, He will transform us into that very sign and supreme mark. He will bring us to direct communion. For what could exist between Creator and creature other than the creature itself?!
🌹 Why concern ourselves with anything else? Our share in servitude is everlasting: let us partake of its bounty and be immersed in it.
🔅🌼 Let it be a mirror of His description 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ جَلَّ عَمَّا وَصَفَهُ الْوَاصِفُونَ
🌸☘️He is exalted above the descriptions of those who describe Him,
🌹 Though you may never reach the sun, its light will envelop you.
🌹 The reach of our descriptions is only as high as our stature, limited by the bounds of our knowledge and ability.
🌹 How far does our voice carry?! How far does our sight extend?! How vast is our heart?! Whatever we do, we cannot transcend our own reach.
🌹 Our descriptions are limited by our own dimensions. By imitating the sacred realm’s description of Him, we will reach the one we take as our model.
🔅🌼He is beyond every good, for He is the Creator of goodness 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ وَ تَعَالَى عَمَّا يَنْعَتُهُ النَّاعِتُونَ
🌸☘️He is exalted above all that those who praise Him might say of Him,
🌹 for attributes are His creatures.
🔅🌼Near and far with You 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ نَأَى فِي قُرْبِهِ وَ قَرُبَ فِي نَأْيِهِ فَهُوَ فِي نَأْيِهِ قَرِيبٌ وَ فِي قُرْبِهِ بَعِيدٌ
🌸☘️In His nearness, He is far; in His distance, He is near. Thus, He is near in His distance and far in His nearness.
🌹 He established nearness and distance; all things are established by Him. He made nearness and distance for us so that, within the bounds of our own limits, we might know the universe and understand that whatever exists, whatever is, whatever can be perceived—He is other than it and transcends it.
🌹 His grace and majesty are nearer to us than anything else. Yet our understanding of His majesty and grandeur lies immeasurably far away.
🌹 When time did not yet exist, nor space, distance or nearness, He created time and space; through the design of His decrees, He defined dimensions and shaped nearness and distance.
🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ: مَكْتُوبٌ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ الَّتِي لَمْ تُغَيَّرْ أَنَّ مُوسَى ع سَأَلَ رَبَّهُ فَقَالَ يَا رَبِّ أَ قَرِيبٌ أَنْتَ مِنِّي فَأُنَاجِيَكَ أَمْ بَعِيدٌ فَأُنَادِيَكَ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ إِلَيْهِ يَا مُوسَى أَنَا جَلِيسُ مَنْ ذَكَرَنِي فَقَالَ مُوسَى فَمَنْ فِي سِتْرِكَ يَوْمَ لَا سِتْرَ إِلَّا سِتْرُكَ فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَنِي فَأَذْكُرُهُمْ وَ يَتَحَابُّونَ فِيَّ فَأُحِبُّهُمْ فَأُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أُصِيبَ أَهْلَ الْأَرْضِ بِسُوءٍ ذَكَرْتُهُمْ فَدَفَعْتُ عَنْهُمْ بِهِمْ.[12]
🌷🔆In his intimate prayer, Moses said to God: “My Lord, are You far from me, so that I must call to You aloud, or are You near, so that I may pray to You in a low voice?” God replied, “I am the companion of whoever remembers Me.” Moses asked, “My Lord, must I remember You at a particular time?” God replied, “O Moses, you may remember Me at all times.”
🔅🌼The Creator brought qualities into being🌼🔅
🌸☘️ كَيَّفَ الْكَيْفَ فَلَا يُقَالُ كَيْفَ
🌸☘️He brought qualities into existence; therefore, no quality can be ascribed to Him.
🌹 He brought quality itself into being.
🌹 Quality consists in differences and distinctions, in modes of relation, effects and decrees—and the Creator is the one who brought it into being.
🔅🌼He gave space its place🌼🔅
🌸☘️ وَ أَيَّنَ الْأَيْنَ فَلَا يُقَالُ أَيْنَ إِذْ هُوَ مُنْقَطِعُ الْكَيْفُوفِيَّةِ وَ الْأَيْنُونِيَّةِ.
🌸☘️He created space; therefore, no place can be conceived for Him, for He is the one who brought qualities and modes of being into existence and created places.
🌹 He brought “thisness” into being; He gave space its place.
🌹 When He created space, He created what had not existed before. Surely, then, He was not within space, nor did He create space within space.
🔅🌼God can be described only in God’s own words🌼🔅
🌹 Let us attend to the secret of the Quran’s original language and the intimate prayers of the Prophet’s family, and strive to speak in that very language. Let us describe our God in the words of the Quran and the Prophet’s family, and in their very terms.
🌹 The unique and incomparable God has accepted the descriptions of the sincere; thus, we are permitted to describe Him through the descriptions of God and of the sincere.
🌻🔆الصافات : 159 سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ
🌻🔆Al-Saffat: 160 إِلاَّ عِبادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصينَ
🌹The Prophet’s Household are known by their Quranic hearts.
🌹The journey of revelation reaches its end and destination when it accords with interpretation.
🌹The journey from revelation to interpretation is a journey of devotion.
🌹Revelations must ascend, rise, and take flight; after passing through their inner realms and heavens, they must reach the destination of interpretation.
🌹Those firmly grounded in knowledge firmly relate the allegorical verses to the clear ones.
🌹In a sense, revelations are the allegorical forms of their interpretations.
🌹Every attribute must ultimately lead to the Mother of the Book.
🌹The servant’s endeavor is to pass from the allegorical to the clear.
🌹Revelations are the path and way leading to their interpretations.
🌹The road of revelation in describing the Lord is a smooth path toward interpretation.
🔅🌼 The Realm of the Clear Verses 🌼🔅
🌹The Prophet’s Household are the realm of interpretation.
🌷🔆 السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ طَهَ وَ الْمُحْكَمَاتِ وَ يَاسِينَ وَ الذَّارِيَاتِ وَ الطُّورِ وَ الْعَادِيَات[13]
🌷🔆 نَحْنُ الْآيَاتُ وَ نَحْنُ الْبَيِّنَات[14]
🔅🌼 Make Your Intimate Prayer Firm 🌼🔅
🌹Pay attention to clear and allegorical forms of intimate prayer.
🌹Intimate prayer may take place within the domain of “neither negation nor anthropomorphism.” Knowledge of this truth brings a person’s intimate prayer to the seal of sincerity.
🌹Wherever intimate prayer takes place, it must be safeguarded by magnification of God and the affirmation of His transcendence.
🔅🌼 Verses describing God have clear and allegorical forms, and possess interpretations 🌼🔅
🌻🔆Al Imran: 7 هُوَ الَّذي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتابَ مِنْهُ آياتٌ مُحْكَماتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتابِ وَ أُخَرُ مُتَشابِهاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذينَ في قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ ما تَشابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَ ابْتِغاءَ تَأْويلِهِ وَ ما يَعْلَمُ تَأْويلَهُ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنا وَ ما يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُولُوا الْأَلْبابِ
🔆He is the One who sent down this Book to you. Some of its verses are clear and form the foundation of the Book; others are allegorical. Those whose hearts are deviant pursue the allegorical verses, seeking to stir up discord. Yet none knows their interpretation except God and those firmly grounded in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.” But none take heed except people of understanding.
🔅🌼 An attribute cannot attain its intended meaning until it reaches its interpretation 🌼🔅
🌹The Prophet’s Household are the great realm through which the verses and attributes of the Lord are interpreted.
🌷🔆عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ) قَالَ: «إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ) أَفْضَلُ الرَّاسِخِينَ فِي الْعِلْمِ، فَقَدْ عَلِمَ جَمِيعَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ التَّنْزِيلِ وَ التَّأْوِيلِ، وَ مَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ شَيْئاً لَمْ يُعَلِّمْهُ التَّأْوِيلَ، وَ أَوْصِيَاؤُهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ يَعْلَمُونَهُ كُلَّهُ».
قَالَ: قُلْتُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، إِنَّ أَبَا الْخَطَّابِ كَانَ يَقُولُ فِيكُمْ قَوْلًا عَظِيماً، قَالَ: «وَ مَا كَانَ يَقُولُ»?
قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ: إِنَّكُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْحَلَالِ وَ الْحَرَامِ وَ الْقُرْآنِ، قَالَ: «إِنَّ عِلْمَ الْحَلَالِ وَ الْحَرَامِ وَ الْقُرْآنِ يَسِيرٌ فِي جَنْبِ الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي يَحْدُثُ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَ النَّهَارِ».[15]
🔅🌼 The Eternal Beloved has welcomed the sincere into His love 🌼🔅
🌻🔆الصافات : 159 سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ
🌻🔆الصافات : 160 إِلاَّ عِبادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصينَ
🌻🔆الصافات : 180 سُبْحانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ
🌻🔆الزخرف : 82 سُبْحانَ رَبِّ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ
🔅🌼 The blind seek to grasp the light 🌼🔅
🌹Our perceptions form likenesses; they interpret and explain. The One Beloved is beyond all likeness.
🌹Sensory imitation, intellectual imitation—making something like oneself, bringing it into accord with oneself, willingly or not: herein lies the secret of glorification and seeking forgiveness in our descriptions.
🌹Who could claim to have described God—God forbid—unless they had crossed the bounds of creaturehood and attained to creatorship? For description is creation: the creation of a perception, an idea, an understanding, a sensation, a spirit, and words.
🌹A description of God is God’s creation; and God’s creation is His creature, His sign and His token.
🌹All descriptions amount to “I do not know”: an admission that He transcends all description, a confession that our attributes and descriptions are feeble before His majesty.
🔅🌼 His description has come to us in Arabic revelation, for our understanding 🌼🔅
🌻🔆يوسف : 2 إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ قُرْآناً عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
🔆We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an, so that you may understand and reflect.
🌻🔆فصلت : 3 كِتابٌ فُصِّلَتْ آياتُهُ قُرْآناً عَرَبِيًّا لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
🔆A Book whose verses set forth every matter in its proper place, clear and eloquent for a people who know.
🌹Every verse, every description, every word and every letter has an outer and an inner meaning, stars, wonders, marvels, and an allegorical interpretation.
🌹When the Qur’an says of God, for example, “هو العلیم، هو العظیم,” we must understand that the meaning of greatness in the Divine Essence is its inner interpretation, not its revealed wording.
🔅🌼 The outward description guides us to its inner meaning 🌼🔅
🌷🔆وَ قَالَ ص إِنَّ لِلْقُرْآنِ ظَهْراً وَ بَطْناً وَ لِبَطْنِهِ بَطْنٌ إِلَى سَبْعَةِ أَبْطُن[16]
🔆The Qur’an has an outward and an inward meaning, and its inward meaning has another inward meaning, extending to seven inner depths.
🌹Every description, too, has an outward and an inward meaning, and each has seven inner depths.
🔅🌼 The description of the Lord has an outer and an inner meaning 🌼🔅
🌷🔆أَمْ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ دِيناً نَاقِصاً فَاسْتَعَانَ بِهِمْ عَلَى إِتْمَامِهِ أَمْ كَانُوا شُرَكَاءَ لَهُ فَلَهُمْ أَنْ يَقُولُوا وَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَرْضَى أَمْ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ دِيناً تَامّاً فَقَصَّرَ الرَّسُولُ ص عَنْ تَبْلِيغِهِ وَ أَدَائِهِ وَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ يَقُولُ ما فَرَّطْنا فِي الْكِتابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ وَ فِيهِ [تِبْيَانُ كُلِ] تِبْيَانٌ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَ ذَكَرَ أَنَّ الْكِتَابَ يُصَدِّقُ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضاً وَ أَنَّهُ لَا اخْتِلَافَ فِيهِ فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَ لَوْ كانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلافاً كَثِيراً وَ إِنَّ الْقُرْآنَ ظَاهِرُهُ أَنِيقٌ وَ بَاطِنُهُ عَمِيقٌ لَا تَفْنَى عَجَائِبُهُ وَ لَا تَنْقَضِي غَرَائِبُهُ وَ لَا تُكْشَفُ الظُّلُمَاتُ إِلَّا بِه[17]
🔅🌼 The Lord’s description has stars 🌼🔅
🌷🔆 قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّكُمْ فِي دَارِ هُدْنَةٍ وَ أَنْتُمْ عَلَى ظَهْرِ سَفَرٍ وَ السَّيْرُ بِكُمْ سَرِيعٌ وَ قَدْ رَأَيْتُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ وَ الشَّمْسَ وَ الْقَمَرَ يُبْلِيَانِ كُلَّ جَدِيدٍ وَ يُقَرِّبَانِ كُلَّ بَعِيدٍ وَ يَأْتِيَانِ بِكُلِّ مَوْعُودٍ فَأَعِدُّوا الْجَهَازَ لِبُعْدِ الْمَجَازِ
قَالَ فَقَامَ الْمِقْدَادُ بْنُ الْأَسْوَدِ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَ مَا دَارُ الْهُدْنَةِ قَالَ دَارُ بَلَاغٍ وَ انْقِطَاعٍ فَإِذَا الْتَبَسَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْفِتَنُ كَقِطَعِ اللَّيْلِ الْمُظْلِمِ فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَإِنَّهُ شَافِعٌ مُشَفَّعٌ وَ مَاحِلٌ مُصَدَّقٌ وَ مَنْ جَعَلَهُ أَمَامَهُ قَادَهُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَ مَنْ جَعَلَهُ خَلْفَهُ سَاقَهُ إِلَى النَّارِ وَ هُوَ الدَّلِيلُ يَدُلُّ عَلَى خَيْرِ سَبِيلٍ وَ هُوَ كِتَابٌ فِيهِ تَفْصِيلٌ وَ بَيَانٌ وَ تَحْصِيلٌ وَ هُوَ الْفَصْلُ لَيْسَ بِالْهَزْلِ وَ لَهُ ظَهْرٌ وَ بَطْنٌ فَظَاهِرُهُ حُكْمٌ وَ بَاطِنُهُ عِلْمٌ ظَاهِرُهُ أَنِيقٌ وَ بَاطِنُهُ عَمِيقٌ لَهُ نُجُومٌ وَ عَلَى نُجُومِهِ نُجُومٌ لَا تُحْصَى عَجَائِبُهُ وَ لَا تُبْلَى غَرَائِبُهُ فِيهِ مَصَابِيحُ الْهُدَى وَ مَنَارُ الْحِكْمَةِ وَ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى الْمَعْرِفَةِ لِمَنْ عَرَفَ الصِّفَةَ فَلْيَجْلُ جَالٍ بَصَرَهُ وَ لْيُبْلِغِ الصِّفَةَ نَظَرَهُ يَنْجُ مِنْ عَطَبٍ وَ يَتَخَلَّصْ مِنْ نَشَبٍ فَإِنَّ التَّفَكُّرَ حَيَاةُ قَلْبِ الْبَصِيرِ كَمَا يَمْشِي الْمُسْتَنِيرُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ بِالنُّورِ فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِحُسْنِ التَّخَلُّصِ وَ قِلَّةِ التَّرَبُّصِ .[18]
🌹We must not call our journey and exploration, or our qualities and descriptions of the Lord, a true account of Him until we have reached our destination. The beauty of the divine description must be contemplated in the Mother of the Book.
🌹At the outset, qualities and descriptions are the only path that leads us to our destination.
🌹A verse, or a description expressed in Arabic words, must not be confused with the Qur’anic description itself in the Mother of the Book.
🌹Only when we have beheld a Qur’anic verse in its entirety, together with all its interpretations and esoteric meanings, may we say that we have attained its understanding. The same is true of the Lord’s descriptions.
🌹The divine description is preserved in the Preserved Tablet.
🌹All the divine names mentioned in the Qur’an have outward and inward meanings, wonders and marvels, a star and stars.
🌹We have not yet uttered His name; we have not called upon Him by His name in truth.
🌹When we seek His name, free of every limitation, we have called upon Him in truth.
🌹The sincerely devoted call upon Him with all their faculties, their outward selves in accord with their inward selves.
🌹The description of the sincerely devoted is one of “perfect sincerity”; they are the instruments of revelation and interpretation.
🌹The beauty of the divine description is found in the beauty of the Qur’an and sacred revelation, and in the soul of the Ahl al-Bayt.
🌹O God, describe Yourself to me.
🌹The existence of every creature is a created description of God.
🌹Every creature bears witness to its Creator; every witness is a description of Him.
🌹Let us whisper the descriptions of your Lord through the inner self’s interpretation.
🌹Call upon God through the Guide of the soul.
🌹Read the al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya with your inner Sajjad—with the system of your prostration, with the system of sincerity.
🌹Place yourself at the centre of the Mother of the Book; enter the Preserved Tablet.
🌹Call upon Him through the system of the Breath of God (عرفنی نفسک), through the system of the Prophet of God and the Proof of God. Read the description of God through God’s own instrument—with those who give voice to God, those who elevate through God, those who interpret through God.
🌹An image of reality is not reality itself; it is a sign of it. Through which light, spectrum, and range of spectra
🌹should we contemplate the Qur’an? Through which light should we contemplate the light?
🌹Take the word, the description, and the act of describing to be signs alone.
🌹How far is the word “sun” from the sun itself?!
🌼Ali Sa‘i (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141 (903)🌼
[1] بحار الأنوار (ط – بيروت) ؛ ج36 ؛ ص207 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[2] Perfection of Religion / translated by Pahlavan, vol. 1, p. 504
[3] The Seas of Lights (Beirut edition), vol. 36, p. 296 Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[4] Al-Kafi (Islamic edition), vol. 1, p. 137 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[5] Springs of Wisdom and Admonition (al-Laythi), p. 477 Laythi Wasiti, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, first edition, 1376 SH.
[6] Lamentation for the Martyrs of al-Taff / translated by Fahri; text, p. 187 Ibn Tawus, Jahan, Tehran, first edition, 1348 SH.
[7] The Amali (of al-Saduq); text, p. 200 Ibn Babawayh, Ketabchi, Tehran, sixth edition, 1376 SH.
[8] A Selection of Pearls of Wisdom and Jewels of Speech, p. 182 Tamimi Amidi, Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad, Office of Islamic Propagation, Iran, Qom, first edition, 1366 SH.
[9] A Selection of Pearls of Wisdom and Jewels of Speech, p. 182 Tamimi Amidi, Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad, Office of Islamic Propagation, Iran, Qom, first edition, 1366 SH.
[10] Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 56 Qummi, Dar al-Kitab, Qom, third edition, 1404 AH.
[11] The Lamp of the Vigilant and the Provision of the Devout, vol. 1, p. 335 Tusi, Institute of Shiite Jurisprudence, Beirut, first edition, 1411 AH.
[12] Al-Kafi (Islamic edition), vol. 2, p. 496 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[13] The Seas of Lights (Beirut edition), vol. 99, p. 87 Majlisi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[14] Interpretation of the Manifest Verses on the Virtues of the Pure Progeny, p. 22 Astarabadi, Ali, Islamic Publishing Institute, Iran, Qom, first edition, 1409 AH.
[15] Al-Burhan in the Exegesis of the Quran vol. 1 598 Bahrani, al-Bi’tha Institute, Department of Islamic Studies, Iran, Qom, first edition, 1415 AH.
[16] The Sublime Pearls in Religious Traditions, vol. 4, p. 107 Ibn Abi Jumhur, Dar Sayyid al-Shuhada Publishing, Qom, first edition, 1405 AH.
[17] Nahj al-Balagha (edited by Subhi Salih), p. 61 Sharif al-Radi, Hijrat, Qom, first edition, 1414 AH.
[18] Al-Kafi (Islamic edition), vol. 2, p. 598 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
