Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼Ghadir Khumm: A New Beginning in Creation🌼
🌼The Sweetness of Being Captive to God🌼
🌸🔆🌿 “The Secret of Ghadir” “Alid Mysteries” « »
🔅🌹 An Abstract with Supplementary Remarks: “The Secret of Ghadir,” “Alid Mysteries” « » « » « » 1402.04.15 Ali Saei (Abdullah Mishkat 110.141(903) 🌹🔅
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
☘️ 🔅 🌸 O God, make known to us Your Ali and Your wali 🌸 🔅 ☘️
🔆☘️🌷May the sweetness of Your majesty, sovereign of the feasts, and the proclamation of the supreme sovereignty of the faithful be a blessed delight to your hearts, more blessed than all blessings🔆☘️🌷
🔅 🌸 Sovereign of the Feasts
🌷The Feast of Ghadir is sovereign among the feasts of the world: among them it is like a bride, and among the stars like the radiant moon.
🌷Why is Ghadir so magnificent? Because Ghadir transforms the very axis of creation; the slow pace of servitude gathers speed. Through Ghadir, the greatest triumph of servitude is achieved.
🌷Ghadir means the beginning of a transformation in the very order of things; Ghadir means a revolution in the arena of servitude to God.
🌷To transform the order of things is to change their very nature—to alter them fundamentally, down to their roots. Just as sweetness and bitterness, beauty and ugliness, pleasing color and displeasing color, melodious and harsh sounds, and so on are directly connected to the covenant of Ghadir, so these transformations—and still more profound ones—continue through the renewal of that covenant. Through Ghadir, we must become other than what we are: as earth becomes a beautiful flower, a caterpillar a butterfly, and so on; and a butterfly becomes something beyond a butterfly, a human being something beyond the human, and so on.
🌷Ghadir means a mighty divine power by which to reach the highest horizon; Ghadir means wings spread wide, ready to leap and fly, to rise and ascend to the highest heavenly realm.
🌷Ali, Commander of the Faithful, is the greatest means to God, and Ghadir is permission to connect with this supreme means.
🌷The Ghadir of Ali is God’s grace for His creation.
🌷To hold fast to Ali’s wilayah means to become Ali’s captive, to enter his prison. It is the most beautiful and delightful captivity in the world: to be captive to beauty, to love, to light, to the water of life; to be captive to Ali means to be drawn forever into the pull of Ali’s attraction.
🌷Hydrogen is a pure flame; when it joins with oxygen, it becomes the water of life. Whoever truly holds fast to Ali’s wilayah is transformed in essence, in quantity, and in quality; their very structure changes. Otherwise, they merely claim to follow Ali’s wilayah; they do not truly hold fast to it.
🌷One who truly holds fast to Ali’s wilayah must see their microcosm become a macrocosm, ascending from the lowest to the highest.
🌷Agate becoming agate and ruby becoming ruby are solely due to the beautiful, true way they hold fast to Ali’s wilayah.
🌷Ali is the first Ghadir, and this Ghadir extends all the way to the twelfth Ghadir.
🌷The blessing of visiting the twelfth Ghadir is conditional upon proving one’s sincere commitment to the eleven Ghadirs that came before.
🔅 🌸 The Secret of Holding Fast
🌷To hold fast to Ali’s wilayah means to hold fast to the “Mother of the Book”—to be joined to the very soul of knowledge.
🌷True holding fast is like the moon’s bond: it remains continually within the earth’s gravitational pull, and through its orbit it journeys along a spiritual path. The moon is captive to the earth in a sacred captivity.
🌷The earth is captive to the sun, to its light and warmth—a blessed captivity. It journeys in the sun’s vessel; without this, the earth would be no more than a wandering rock.
🌷In truth, this is a kind of analogy to explain what it means to hold fast in reality. The earth is so caught in the sun’s gravitational pull that it is impossible for it to escape. It is wholly subject to the sun; none of its movements is independent of the sun, but all are completely in harmony with it. It is like a traveler riding the sun as a mount: the earth accompanies the sun along the route and path it travels. In other words, the earth is bound in the chains of the sun’s sacred love, restless and yearning.
🌷To become a captive of Ali, a captive of light, beauty and the Mother of the Book. To be held captive by «عین الله الناظره» means to survey all reality in the blink of an eye.
🌷To hold fast to «اذن الله السامعه» means to hear creation in an instant.
🌷To hold fast to «قلب الله الواعیه» means to possess absolute perception, to embrace the love of the whole world.
🌷One who holds fast must make the effects of that attachment manifest: be transformed by Ali’s revolution, and hasten along Ali’s swift path of spiritual wayfaring.
🌷عَنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ مُوسَى ع قَالَ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَ ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما يَسْطُرُونَ فَالنُّونُ اسْمٌ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَ الْقَلَمُ اسْمٌ لِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمَا وَ عَلَى ذُرِّيَتِهِمَا.[1]
🌷“Pen” is a name for Ali. God wills to display His artistry through His pen and make creation a work of craft. With the sweep of His pen, He adds wonders to wonders.
🌷To embrace Ali’s guardianship is to hold fast to God’s pen: to become the page on which God’s pen writes, to become God’s book, to become God’s word.
🌷عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ ن وَ الْقَلَمِ، قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ الْقَلَمَ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ يُقَالُ لَهَا الْخُلْدُ ثُمَّ قَالَ لِنَهَرٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ كُنَّ مِدَاداً فَجَمَدَ النَّهَرُ- وَ كَانَ أَشَدَّ بَيَاضاً مِنَ الثَّلْجِ وَ أَحْلَى مِنَ الشَّهْدِ- ثُمَّ قَالَ لِلْقَلَمِ اكْتُبْ قَالَ وَ مَا أَكْتُبُ يَا رَبِّ- قَالَ اكْتُبْ مَا كَانَ وَ مَا هُوَ كَائِنٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَكَتَبَ الْقَلَمُ فِي رَقٍّ أَشَدَّ بَيَاضاً مِنَ الْفِضَّةِ- وَ أَصْفَى مِنَ الْيَاقُوتِ- ثُمَ طَوَاهُ فَجَعَلَهُ فِي رُكْنِ الْعَرْشِ ثُمَّ خَتَمَ عَلَى فَمِ الْقَلَمِ فَلَمْ يَنْطِقْ بَعْدُ وَ لَا يَنْطِقُ أَبَداً، فَهُوَ الْكِتَابُ الْمَكْنُونُ الَّذِي مِنْهُ النُّسَخُ كُلُّهَا، أَ وَ لَسْتُمْ عَرَباً فَكَيْفَ لَا تَعْرِفُونَ مَعْنَى الْكَلَامِ، وَ أَحَدُكُمْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ انْسَخْ ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابَ- أَ وَ لَيْسَ إِنَّمَا يُنْسَخُ مِنْ كِتَابٍ أُخِذَ مِنَ الْأَصْلِ- وَ هُوَ قَوْلُهُ: إِنَّا كُنَّا نَسْتَنْسِخُ ما كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُون[2]
🌷قَالَ فَأَخْبِرْنِي مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ ن وَ الْقَلَمِ قَالَ وَ مَا تَفْسِيرُ ن وَ الْقَلَمِ قَالَ النُّونُ اللَّوْحُ الْمَحْفُوظُ وَ الْقَلَمُ نُورٌ سَاطِعٌ وَ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما يَسْطُرُونَ قَالَ صَدَقْتَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ قَالَ فَأَخْبِرْنِي وَ مَا طُولُهُ وَ مَا عَرْضُهُ وَ مَا مِدَادُهُ وَ أَيْنَ مَجْرَاهُ قَالَ طُولُ الْقَلَمِ خَمْسُ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ وَ عَرْضُهُ مَسِيرَةُ ثَمَانِينَ سَنَةً لَهُ ثَمَانُونَ سِنّاً يَخْرُجُ الْمِدَادُ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَسْنَانِهِ يَجْرِي فِي اللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ وَ سُلْطَانِهِ قَالَ صَدَقْتَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ فَأَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ اللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ مِمَّا هُوَ قَالَ مِنْ زُمُرُّدَةٍ خَضْرَاءَ أَجْوَافُهُ اللُّؤْلُؤُ بِطَانَتُهُ الرَّحْمَةُ قَالَ صَدَقْتَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ قَالَ فَأَخْبِرْنِي كَمْ لَحْظَةً لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ فِي اللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ وَ لَيْلَةٍ قَالَ ثَلَاثُمِائَةٍ وَ سِتُّونَ لَحْظَةً يُمْضِي وَ يَرْفَعُ قَالَ خَمْسَةُ حَبَّاتٍ قَالَ and…[3]
🔅 🌸 The Secret of Attraction
🌷The secret by which water and light are drawn in is the same secret as the acquisition of knowledge.
🌷The fourteen mighty gateways of connection are the four gateways to the absorption of knowledge and truth.
🌷The secret of storing information lies in wholehearted receptivity.
🌷How many cells, molecules, atoms and particles do we have? And beyond them, what are the conditions for our soul’s receptivity? Each one is a tablet for the pen.
🌷Heaven descends to earth if Ali dwells within it.
🌷وَ أَنَا مُعَلِّمُ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ وَ أَنَا ذُو الْقَرْنَيْنِ وَ أَنَا قُدْرَةُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَل[4]
🌷The tip of the pen is where knowledge, wisdom, wonders and virtues emerge.
🌷Ali is the divine pen; that is, Ali is the very soul of divine knowledge.
🌷The work of the sun’s pen is the meadow, its beautiful flowers and sweet fruits. The sun paints.
🌷The bond between the seed and the sun is the beauty and wonder that come to pass.
🌷What wonders does attachment to the sacred light of God not bring forth!
🌷More faithful than any human being is the well of water that became the trustee of Ali, a vessel for Ali’s knowledge, storing his secrets within itself.
🌷What has Ali inscribed in the souls of the stars! His connection with the stars and the writing of their souls, and likewise with the soul of history, and the souls of those who yearn and those who are pure.
🌷سلونی قبل ان تفقدونی means that Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, seeks a vessel, a book, a tablet, in which to inscribe his secrets upon the soul. The immense divine power longs to pour its strength into the souls of those who yearn.
🌷The sun knows how to display its artistry. Ali, peace be upon him, knows well how to scatter his royal art through souls.
🌷The book of our soul must be written with twelve divine pens. Twelve sacred books must be inscribed within our being. 🌷From the Book of Ali to the Qa’im of the family of Muhammad, peace be upon him: a book made of the sun’s substance. At the very least, our duty is to stand before the light with sincerity and purity of heart.
🌷To hold fast to Ali’s wilayah is to be connected to «کل شیء».
🌷What kind of image do we make with کل شیء?!
🌷A follower of Ali is Ali’s lantern, Ali’s lamp, Ali’s fragrance, Ali, who spreads gentleness.
🌷Ali, شهید الله: at every moment, a connection with the sweetness of his martyrdom is possible.
🌷Wherever the Master is, there is heaven: a place of ascent, a station of spiritual ascension.
🌷«أنا النقطة التي تحت الباء المبسوطة»
🌷أَنَا النُّقْطَةُ أَنَا الْخَطُّ أَنَا الْخَطُّ أَنَا النُّقْطَةُ أَنَا النُّقْطَةُ وَ الْخَط
وَ أَنَا الْمُنَادِي مِنْ مَكَانٍ قَرِيبٍ قَدْ سَمِعَهُ الثَّقَلَانِ الْجِنُّ وَ الْإِنْسُ وَ فَهِمَهُ قَوْمٌ 🌷إِنِّي لَأَسْمَعُ كُلَّ قَوْمٍ الْجَبَّارِينَ وَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِلُغَاتِهِمْ
🌷Ali, peace be upon him, makes each person known through their essence and their spiritual state.
🌷Love for Ali is defined through three readings and recitations, in levels and degrees: through the heart, deeds, and tongue.
🌷 (أَلَا وَ مَنْ) أَحَبَّ عَلِيّاً فَقَدْ أَحَبَّنِي وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّنِي رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَ مَنْ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كَافَأَهُ بِالْجَنَّةِ أَلَا وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ عَلِيّاً اسْتَغْفَرَتْ لَهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَ فُتِحَتْ لَهُ أَبْوَابُ الْجَنَّةِ يَدْخُلُ مِنْ أَيِّ بَابٍ شَاءَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَاب
🔅 🌸 The Secret of Becoming God’s Captive
🌷أَلَا وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ عَلِيّاً ع سُمِّيَ أَسِيرَ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ بَاهَى اللَّهُ بِهِ مَلَائِكَتَهُ وَ حَمَلَةَ عَرْشِه
🌷A lover of Ali is God’s captive on earth: God places His sublime and immense love within that person’s soul.
🌷🔆Know that whoever loves Ali is called «God’s captive on earth», and God takes pride in that person before the angels and the bearers of the Throne.
🌿Becoming God’s captive can take many forms, and all of them are blessed.
🌱One who becomes God’s captive enters into a special relationship with God. Their connection with الله is never severed; it becomes constant, unbroken, and enduring. They come under الله’s special care: الله continually watches over them, and this watchfulness never ceases…
🌱To become God’s captive means to fall in love with God, to be enamoured of Him, restless and yearning; it means attaining the highest degrees of divine love and affection!
🌱God’s captive on earth means that their station is so lofty that the world is like a prison for them. الله has kept them on earth in His wisdom; otherwise, their place is in the highest realm. (الله یعلم)
🔆🌷لوْ أَحَبَّنِي جَبَلٌ لَتَهَافَت
🌷🔆If the mountain loved me, it would crumble (split apart).
🌱A few reflections may be offered on this saying of the Master:
🌱The Master’s love has a weight and intensity all its own, and not every created being can bear it!
🌱Anyone who loves the Master will face severe trials as proof of that love.
🌱The Master’s exalted station—as the station of the Speaking Qur’an—is such that when his blessed love descends upon a mountain, it shatters it.
🌱The sweetness and grandeur of the Master’s love transforms every being, turning it upside down!
🌼 Ali Sa‘i (Abdullah Mishkat) 110.141 (903) 🌼
[1] Ta’wīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira fī faḍā’il al-‘itra al-ṭāhira, p. 6851 vol., Islamic Publishing Institute—Iran, Qom; first edition, 1409 AH.
[2]Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 380; 2 vols., Dār al-Kitāb—Qom; third edition, 1404 AH.
[3] Al-Ikhtiṣāṣ, text, p. 49International Conference for the Millennium of Shaykh al-Mufīd—Iran, Qom; first edition, 1413 AH.
[4]Biḥār al-anwār (Beirut edition), vol. 26, p. 6Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī—Beirut; second edition, 1403 AH.
