The Gardener of Bakureh Garden

🌼🔆🌼The Sovereign of Serenity: Imam al-Askari🌼🔆🌼
🔹On the eve of the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS)
📅 Date: 1404/06/09 – 8 Rabiʿ al-Awwal 1447
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei
📝 Some of the topics discussed in the session:
# Opening: Prayer and Praise 🕋

بِسمِ اللهِ الرَّحمنِ الرَّحیمِ.

الحمدُ للهِ الأوّلِ بلا أوّلٍ كان قبله، والآخِرِ بلا آخرٍ يكون بعده

الحمدُ للهِ الملكِ القدّوسِ السلامِ المؤمنِ المهيمنِ العزيزِ الجبّارِ المتكبّر.

و صلواتُ اللهِ و سلامُهُ على رسولِ الله، إمامِ الرّحمة، قائدِ الخير، مفتاحِ البركة، العبدِ المؤيَّد، والرّسولِ المسدَّد، المنتخب، أحمدَ أبي القاسم محمّد.

اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّدٍ و آلِ محمّد.

# Blessings upon the Ahl al-Bayt and the Remnant of God 🕊

و على أهلِ بیتِهِ الطیّبینَ الطاهرینَ المعصومین، لا سیّما بقیّةِ اللهِ الأعظم؛ روحی و أرواحُ العالمینَ لِترابِ مقدَمِهِ فِداء، و لَمحِ بصرِهِ  و لطیفِ قامَتِهِ  و لذیذِ مناجاتِهِ فِداء. و على تعجیلِ ظهورِهِ أفضلُ الصلوات.

اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد.

# Condolences on the Eve of Imam Hasan al-Askari’s (AS) Martyrdom 🌙

On the eve of the martyrdom of the lamp of the people of Paradise, our master Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), we offer our condolences to the celestial realm, accompanied by blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad:

اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد.

# The Imam of Serenity and Radiance ✨

Imam Hasan al-Askari: the Imam of serenity, the Imam who adorns, the sovereign of repose. Imam al-Askari is the ever-radiant face of the Everlasting One. If only our souls could be opened by the light of this Imam; if only our heart’s eyes were opened so we might behold the immense light of Imam al-Askari (AS). If only the sanctuary of our hearts could, through the light of al-Askari, embrace and illuminate this world of being. Imam al-Askari is within our souls and our world. If only we could find the Imam within ourselves; if only we could attain knowledge of him. If we could reach his spiritual station, we would behold that supreme manifestation of God. If only our eyes could see. A phrase

If only the blind could see; if only the sleeper could awaken; if only my heart would open its eyes; if only my slumbering soul would awaken and behold al-Askari’s light.

# Abu Abdullah al-Shakiri’s Account of the Tumult Subsiding 🐎

This Imam is security and serenity. Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Shakiri, one of the Imam’s servants, recounts one of the miracles he witnessed: “When my master came, the tumult would subside.” Imagine the Imam entering a place filled with noise, where animals jostle and horses, donkeys, and the people among them create a tremendous commotion. Whenever the Imam entered, the tumult subsided; all the uproar died away.

The horses grew calm; not one neighed, and no braying of donkeys could be heard. This is one of the mysteries of Imam al-Askari (AS): whenever he entered a sanctuary, the din and commotion fell silent; the animals quieted. And the beasts drew aside حتّى يَصیرَ الطریقُ واسعاً until the way was clear for the Imam, and there was no need to push through the crowd. Imam al-Askari is the Imam of serenity and repose. Indeed, in the Imam’s presence, disruptive clamour falls silent; he is the very emblem of security and serenity.

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# The Imam: The Axis of Security and the Community’s Oneness of God 🛡

What causes animals to become wild?

It is no exaggeration to say that the Imam’s presence destroys disease-causing microbes. With the Imam present, nature serves all creatures; without him, it is against the community and all humankind. The Imam is the software and hardware that sustain the world’s habitation and peace. Otherwise, Imam al-Askari (AS) would not have made this manifest through his blessed presence; the Imam would have introduced himself.

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# Why Did Moses Become the One Who Spoke with God? 📜

The Imam says: “For he spoke with God.” How did Moses attain such an exalted honour? Why did Moses become the one who spoke with God? Why did God say to Moses: “I have chosen you for Myself” («واصطنعتُکَ لِنفسی»)? “O Moses, I have chosen you solely for Myself”—what extraordinary words! What an exalted station Moses, the one who spoke with God, attained. How did he reach it? Imam al-Askari (AS) says: “For he spoke with God.” Let me speak of the one who spoke with God; let me speak of Moses: **He was adorned with the raiment of divine election because he remained true to his covenant with us.** Indeed, Moses attained that station of election and exaltation because he was faithful to his pledge to the Household of Infallibility and Purity: “He spoke with God … because we found him faithful to his pledge.”

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# The Holy Spirit and the “Gardens of Bākūra” 🌿

And امّا از روحُ القُدُس let me say this: the Holy Spirit is not only Gabriel. It is that very Holy Spirit who descends on the Night of Decree: and روحُ القُدُس فی جِنانِ سَاقوراء (correction: “Sāqūra” → “Sāqūrāʾ”). Where is “Sāqūrāʾ”? It is unknown. I do not even know the earth beneath my feet; how could I know the “Gardens of Sāqūrāʾ”? Is it an exalted realm in the celestial world above? I do not know.

As for the Holy Spirit: “He tasted of the gardens of Bākūra” (correction: “zāq min ḥadāʾiq Bākūra”); those gardens (correction: “bāhā/bāhā wa-dāʾiq”) that the Holy Spirit tasted from in the Gardens of Sāqūrāʾ. It is said: the Holy Spirit tasted of our gardens of Bākūra—he savoured the fruits of our gardens of Bākūra and became the Holy Spirit: and روحُ القُدُس فی جِنانِ “Sāqūrāʾ, from the gardens of Bākūra.” What wonders the Household of the Prophet (AS) possess! Their garden has flourished there; whoever ascends—as the Holy Spirit did—reaches it, visits the Gardens of Sāqūrāʾ, and tastes of the gardens of Bākūra.

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# The Saved and Pure Shiʿa 🏛

And شیعتُنا الناجیهُ والفِرقةُ الزّاكیةwho are our Shiʿa? They are the saved and pure group—clean and immaculate. Where can I find a Shiʿi, so that I may behold the light of their face, witness it, and draw light from the beauty of a follower of the Household of the Prophet (AS)? They support us and stand guard over us; in other words, they are our adornment, the manifestation of our glory. Those same Shiʿa are the ones who unite in bands against our enemies and stand against the oppressors, as allies and helpers; together, firmly united, they advance against the enemies of the oppressed.

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# Springs of Life After the Blaze of Hell 💧

**And springs will burst forth for them**—what extraordinary words! How fortunate the Shiʿa of Imam al-Askari (AS) are. The Holy Spirit tasted of the Gardens of Sāqūrāʾ, but for the Shiʿa: **“Springs of life will burst forth for them”**—soon, for them, **We will make springs of life gush forth**—**بعدَ لَظى النِّیران (correction: “after the blaze of the fires”); after the scorching heat of the Fire. After tasting the searing hell of the world that belongs to those devoted to worldly life, our Shiʿa will enter our springs of life; we will make the rivers of life gush forth for them. “Springs of life will burst forth for them after the blaze of the fires …”

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# The Meaning of “Allah” and the State of Utter Reliance 🙏

I would like to offer another gift from the station of al-Askari (AS). The Imam (AS) says of the majestic name “Allah”: “Allah is He to whom one turns in times of need and hardship” («اللهُ هو الذی تُلجَأُ إلیهِ عندَ الحوائجِ و الشدائد»). Allah is the One to whom people turn when need and hardship overtake them; the One toward whom they turn, entering a state of worship. “When all else is cut off” الرّجاء من کلِّ مَن from Him, and the means are severed جَمیعِ مَن سِواه: that “state of worship” is the state that arises in every creature when all hope in anyone besides Him has been lost and every means has failed on every side.

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim means: «أستَعینُ على أموری کلِّها بالله» (corrected from «استعین علی امور کل بالله»): I seek help from Allah in all my affairs—in general, in everything—from that God alone worthy of worship; المُغیثُ إذا استُغیث، و المُجیبُ إذا دُعی

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# The Thirst for Detachment and the Experience of Worship 🏺

Must we necessarily be in the midst of hardship before we can experience the state of worship? A person should be in a state of absolute detachment from moment to moment. When intense thirst burns through a person’s heart, soul and very being, and no water can be found, a particular state arises: one seeks a God who alone can quench that thirst. When severe hunger takes hold; when unbearable exhaustion sets in; when the doctors can do no more for a person—only then do we break away from everything else and turn solely towards Him. That is where the state of worship begins. Before that, unknowingly, we were worshipping others—whatever had captured our attention.

When the ship breaks apart and, amid the raging sea, there is not even a piece of wood to cling to, we experience the state of worship. Blessed are those seasoned in worship, those who are forever immersed in remembrance of Him. The more intense the need, the stronger the state of worship. Let us become poor—poorer still—so that we may discover that state. Experiences of detachment: when we are severed from everything, we enter the sublime university of worship and rediscover our primordial nature. The crisis of pain, suffering and illness is the knife of detachment: it cuts us away so that we may remember Him.

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# The Gnostic of Allah: Outwardly with Creation, Inwardly with the Truth 🕯

العارفُ شخصُهُ مع الخَلق و قلبُهُ مع الله: outwardly, he is with created beings; inwardly, he is with God; لا یَسهو عن الله; if his heart’s eye were to turn away from Him for even a moment, he would die from the intensity of his longing. The love of Allah is like a rope: whoever grasps it, it keeps him from every preoccupation apart from God: أخلَاهُ عن کلِّ شاغلٍ و کلِّ ذِکرٍ سوى الله.

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# The Newborn Child: A Master of Worship 👶

I would like to introduce a master of worship and devotion; we must attend his class. That venerable master is the newborn child. He has experienced absolute detachment. The child’s burning tears are the most beautiful melody of worship, because he has tasted complete detachment—his umbilical cord has been severed, and his undivided attention has been drawn towards the One worshipped. This is what our master said in the Sha’baniyya supplication: «إلهی هَب لی کمالَ الانقطاعِ إلیک». And also: «و أنِر أبصارَ قلوبِنا بضياءِ نظرِها إلیک».

بکاءُ الطّفلِ: لا إلهَ إلاّ By Allah, the child’s crying is the remembrance of لا إله إلا الله; he recites this remembrance continuously until the age of seven. After that, it is exoneration and remembrance for the parents; and after puberty, half of every good deed he performs is recorded for his parents (as transmitted). If the child were to worship God in that same state of complete detachment, what lofty stations he would attain! The child’s crying—**the mournful music of لا إله إلا الله**—expresses separation, yet he does not forget his Creator.

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# The Broken Human Being: The Threshold of Worship 🧭

Through the state of detachment, a person discovers the state of worship: the heart’s free fall, losing those dearest to us, the shipwreck, financial ruin, a broken heart—in all these, the state of worship arises. Why do we not discover that state through the “means”? Are the means not إلى الله? Why did we turn the means into gods? The means must be severed from us so that we may once again join ourselves to Him. The Quran says: when the waves engulf them from every side and they think they are about to drown, they pray to Him sincerely.

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# The Sajjadiya Munajat and Complete Detachment 🕯

Did Imam al-Sajjad (AS) not whisper: «اللهمّ إنّی أخلَصتُ بانقطاعی إلیک». “My God, I have made my detachment from everything other than You pure; I have broken away from all but You; I have left no share of myself for anything other than You.” How closely this munajat resembles the prayer of Amir al-Mu’minin (AS): «إلهی هَب لی کمالَ الانقطاعِ إلیک». And the continuation of the whispered prayer: «وأقبَلتُ بِکُلّی إلیک» My God, I have come towards You with my entire being; I have left no particle of my existence behind. There is no need to leap away; we must take all the means with us towards God. What must be severed is attachment to anything other than Him.

And also: “وَرَفَعتُ وجهی عمَّن یحتاجُ إلى موائدِک”—I turned away from all who, like me, depend on Your table. How could I turn to anyone but You? And I withdrew my request from all who depend on Your grace: to ask one in need for help is a sign of folly and a mind gone astray.

اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد and his family.

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# A Prayer for Relief and in a State of Distress 🤲

اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد and his family محمّد، و فرّج همّی و نفّس غمّی; O God, loosen the knot of my sorrow; dispel my grief; **remove whatever constricts the breast; suffice me; and help me through all that brings my patience to an end, when my means grow scarce, my strength weakens, and my endurance fails. و إذا الضرورةُ عندَ انقطاعِ الآمال و خیبةِ الرجاءِ من المخلوقین إلیک**—when hopes are cut off and expectations of created beings come to nothing, necessity arises and draws me toward You. These blind worldly hopes must therefore be severed, for they stand in the way of worshipping God.

**ولا تَکِلنی إلى حَولی و قوّتی دونَ حولِک و قوّتِک**—do not leave me to myself or to anyone but You. How beautifully Imam al-Askari (AS) said: «مَن آنَسَ باللهِ استوحَشَ من الناس»—whoever finds intimacy with God feels estranged from people and creation.

How does this accord with the words of Imam Husayn (AS): «إلهی، تردُّدی صار یوجبُ بعدَ المزَار؛ فاجمعنی علیک» (in context). And also: «و کمالُ الإخلاصِ لَهُ نَفیُ الصّفاتِ عنهُ» (corrected wording: to align the meanings).

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# Closing Greetings to Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) 🌹

**السّلامُ علیک یا مولا، یا أبا محمّد الحسنُ الهادی المهتدی ، و رحمةُ الله و برکاتُه.

السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ أولیاءِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک یا حجّةَ الله و ابنَ حجّتِهِ؛ السّلامُ علیک یا صفیَّ الله و ابنَ أصفيائه؛ السّلامُ علیک یا خلیفةَ الله و ابنَ خُلَفائِهِ و أبا الخلیفة؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ خاتمِ النبیّین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ سیّدَین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ أمیرالمؤمنین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ سیّدِ العالمین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ الأئمّةِ الهادین؛ السّلامُ علیک يا ابنَ الأوصیاءِ الراشدین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا عِصمةَ المتّقین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا إمامَ الفائزین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا رُکنَ المؤمنین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا فرجَ الملهوفین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا وارثَ الأنبیاءِ المُنتجبین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا خازنَ علمِ رسولِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک—بِحکمِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ناطقاً بکتابِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک یا حجّةَ الحُجَج؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ولیَّ النِّعَم؛ السّلامُ علیک یا عَیبةَ العلم؛ السّلامُ علیک یا سفینةَ الحِلم؛ السّلامُ علیک یا أبا الإمامِ المُنتظر.

اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد and the family of Muhammad.

# Opening and Praise 🕋

أعوذُ باللهِ من الشَّیطانِ الرَّجیمِ وکَیْدِهِ و مَکْرِهِ و نَفْثِهِ و أمانیهِ و مواعیدهِ و غُرورهِ و وعیدهِ

بِسمِ اللهِ الرَّحمنِ الرَّحیم.

الحمدُ للهِ الأوّلِ بلا أوّلٍ قبله، والآخرِ بلا آخرٍ بعده

الحمدُ للهِ الملِکِ القُدّوسِ السّلامِ المؤمنِ المُهَیمنِ العَزیزِ الجبّارِ المتکبِّر

and God’s blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of God, the Imam of mercy, the guide to goodness, the key to blessing, the chosen and elect servant المؤیَّد، والرّسولِ المسدَّد، والنبیِّ Ahmad, Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad.

اللهمّ صلِّ على محمّد and the family of Muhammad.

and upon the members of بیتِه الطیّبینَ الطاهرینَ the Infallible Household, especially the Great Remnant of God رُوحی و أرواحُ العالمینَ لِترابِ مقدَمِه و لَمحِ بَصرِه و لُطفِ —may my stature and the sweetness of my intimate communion be sacrificed for him; and may the finest blessings hasten his appearance.

اللهمّ صلِّ على محمّد and the family of Muhammad.

# Excerpts from the Prayer for Noble Character (Revised Selection) 📜

# An Impregnable Fortress and a Heavenly Character 🏰

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# Horizons of Governing the Self and Society ⚖️

In these two passages from Supplication 20 of the *Ṣaḥīfa*, Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (AS) teaches us how to bring order to the world within and the world without. His words unfold on many levels, each opening a door to the next. First, a person must bring their own inner life into harmony, so that they can have the greatest possible effect on society, the earth and all of existence. This is the art of governing the self: managing body, soul and society, becoming both an impregnable fortress and a safe haven for others.

The prayer’s grandeur becomes clearer if we read society in place of the individual: our generation is nearing a precipice of decline. Even without a global war, humanity is destroying itself with its own hands. This supplication teaches the secret of salvation: bringing our inner faculties into harmony—judicial, executive, legislative and more—so that we can bring about reform in the world beyond. A companion of the Imam of the Age (AJ) must be both fortress and refuge: in the world’s zoo, they must first become heavenly themselves, then lead others into the garden of the celestial realm.