Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼The Seven Cities of Being🌼🔆🌼
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “The Secrets of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon him”; “Scientific Nutrition”; “Understanding Divine Unity”; “A Thing Beyond Existence”; “The Night of the Martyrdom of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon him”; and more. An abstract with an addendum 1403.11.06 Ali Sa‘i (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 🌹🔅
🔅🌼Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon him, is the history and geography of the wonders of the universe 🌼🔅
🌹Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon him, is one of God’s hidden dimensions, boundless in extent; the frontier of his light lies beyond our sight. He is our finest means of entering the household of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them.
🔅🌼The Command Center of Divine Will 🌼🔅
🌹The Imam’s heart is the center from which divine laws issue.
🌹At every instant, new divine laws issue from the Imam’s heart,
🌹The speed and acceleration with which these laws issue and the divine Will is manifested are so great that they outpace our slowness. The boundless speed at which the laws are renewed makes them imperceptible to us.
🌹The new laws are invisible because of their speed, much like the blades of a spinning propeller; the universe’s superlative speeds are another matter altogether.
🌹Movements faster than light and beyond the senses cannot be seen or perceived; movements beyond the range of our senses are imperceptible to us.
🌹The Imam’s heart is the place where natural and supernatural, physical and metaphysical, this-worldly and otherworldly, bodily and spiritual laws are discovered.
🌷🔆قُلُوبُنَا أَوْعِيَةٌ لِمَشِيَّةِ اللَّهِ فَإِذَا شَاءَ شِئْنَا وَ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ وَ ما تَشاؤُنَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشاءَ اللَّهُ [1]
🔆Imam Hasan al-‘Askari, peace be upon him, said: “Our hearts are vessels of God’s Will; when He wills, we will,” just as He said وَ ما تَشاؤُنَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشاءَ اللَّه.
🌹The Imam is the history of the universe, the complete book of existence.
🌹Time and space, too, are no more than instruments; they have a spirit and inner life of their own. We must govern time as we govern our limbs and organs. This becomes possible through the blessing of God’s Proof.
🌹We are blind to the ever-renewed manifestations of God, for «کل یوم هو فی شان» .
🔅🌼The Kazimian Will🌼🔅
🌹Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon him, is the seat of God’s Kazimian Will, the mighty gateway to passage beyond existence,
🔅🌼Existence is the product of the Divine Will 🌼🔅
🌹Existence lies within the bounds of the Divine Will,
🌻🔆Ya-Sin: 82 إِنَّما أَمْرُهُ إِذا أَرادَ شَيْئاً أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🌻🔆al-Baqarah: 117 بَديعُ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ وَ إِذا قَضى أَمْراً فَإِنَّما يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🌻🔆Al ‘Imran: 47 قالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لي وَلَدٌ وَ لَمْ يَمْسَسْني بَشَرٌ قالَ كَذلِكِ اللَّهُ يَخْلُقُ ما يَشاءُ إِذا قَضى أَمْراً فَإِنَّما يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🌻🔆Al ‘Imran: 59 إِنَّ مَثَلَ عيسى عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ تُرابٍ ثُمَّ قالَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🌻🔆al-An‘am: 73 وَ هُوَ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ وَ يَوْمَ يَقُولُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ قَوْلُهُ الْحَقُّ وَ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ عالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَ الشَّهادَةِ وَ هُوَ الْحَكيمُ الْخَبيرُ
🌻🔆al-Hijr: 98 فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَ كُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدينَ
🌻🔆al-Nahl: 40 إِنَّما قَوْلُنا لِشَيْءٍ إِذا أَرَدْناهُ أَنْ نَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🌻🔆Maryam: 35 Mā كانَ لِلَّهِ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ مِنْ وَلَدٍ سُبْحانَهُ إِذا قَضى أَمْراً فَإِنَّما يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🌻🔆Yā Sīn: 82 إِنَّما أَمْرُهُ إِذا أَرادَ شَيْئاً أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🌻🔆Ghāfir: 68 هُوَ الَّذي يُحْيي وَ يُميتُ فَإِذا قَضى أَمْراً فَإِنَّما يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
🔅🌼 The Laws of Kazemi Will 🌼🔅
🌹The laws of Kazemi Will remain in force as a divine proof, during his Imamate and in every age.
🌹Which of the laws of Kazemi Will have we come to understand?
🌹How many divine laws can a human being comprehend over the course of a lifetime?
🌹A new law governs this universe at every moment.
🔅🌼 The Will: A Bridge to Divine Knowledge 🌼🔅
🌹The Will is the gateway to knowledge. The Imam’s heart is God’s Will, the gateway to knowledge.
🌹If we beat in rhythm with the Imam, divine laws will flow forth from within us.
🔅🌼 “Existence” and Its Spirit and Soul 🌼🔅
🌹A thing and existence are the manifestation of God’s decree, while the spirit and soul of “a thing and existence” are divine decree, measure, will, and volition. Among them, volition is like the mother of their souls. The thing is higher than existence.
🌹A thing pertains to volition, and existence to divine will; measure is like a garment draped over the living essence of existence and things.
🌹From decree to volition—that is, from the appearance of a thing and of existence to existence itself.
🌹The Creator first created the spirit of existence, then gave it form.
🌹Thingness is higher than existence! That is, the rank of things is higher than their existence.
🌹In this world, do we encounter only the outward aspect of things and existence?
🌹A thing is one of God’s sublime works of art, and existence is another. We have not yet reached the reality of things.
🌹The study of beings is a journey from decree to volition.
🌹Self-knowledge is a journey from our own divine decree to our own will and volition.
🌹All pleasure, beauty, tranquility, existence, things, marvels, and wonders lie within the realm from volition to decree; in this world, we are in contact with their shadows and signs.
🌷🔆لاَ يَكُونُ شَيْ ءٌ إِلاَّ مَا شَاءَ اَللَّهُ وَ أَرَادَ وَ قَدَّرَ وَ قَضَى قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى شَاءَ قَالَ اِبْتِدَاءُ اَلْفِعْلِ قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى قَدَّرَ قَالَ تَقْدِيرُ اَلشَّيْ ءِ مِنْ طُولِهِ وَ عَرْضِهِ قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى قَضَى قَالَ إِذَا قَضَى أَمْضَاهُ فَذَلِكَ اَلَّذِي لاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ .
🌷🔆Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Hashimi says: I heard Musa ibn Ja‘far (AS) say: “Nothing exists except by what God wills, intends, measures, and decrees.” I asked, “What does God’s willing mean?” He replied, “It is the beginning of the matter.” I asked, “What does measuring mean?” He replied, “It is measuring a thing’s length and breadth.” I asked, “What does decree and judgment mean?” He replied, “When He decrees it (and carries it out), He brings it to pass; and that is something from which there is no return.”
🔅🌼 The Attributes of Divine Knowledge 🌼🔅
🌷🔆الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ مُعَلَّى بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ: سُئِلَ الْعَالِمُ ع كَيْفَ عِلْمُ اللَّهِ قَالَ عَلِمَ وَ شَاءَ وَ أَرَادَ وَ قَدَّرَ وَ قَضَى وَ أَمْضَى فَأَمْضَى مَا قَضَى وَ قَضَى مَا قَدَّرَ وَ قَدَّرَ مَا أَرَادَ فَبِعِلْمِهِ كَانَتِ الْمَشِيئَةُ وَ بِمَشِيئَتِهِ كَانَتِ الْإِرَادَةُ وَ بِإِرَادَتِهِ كَانَ التَّقْدِيرُ وَ بِتَقْدِيرِهِ كَانَ الْقَضَاءُ وَ بِقَضَائِهِ كَانَ الْإِمْضَاءُ وَ الْعِلْمُ مُتَقَدِّمٌ عَلَى الْمَشِيئَةِ وَ الْمَشِيئَةُ ثَانِيَةٌ وَ الْإِرَادَةُ ثَالِثَةٌ وَ التَّقْدِيرُ وَاقِعٌ عَلَى الْقَضَاءِ بِالْإِمْضَاءِ فَلِلَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى الْبَدَاءُ فِيمَا عَلِمَ مَتَى شَاءَ وَ فِيمَا أَرَادَ لِتَقْدِيرِ الْأَشْيَاءِ فَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَضَاءُ بِالْإِمْضَاءِ فَلَا بَدَاءَ فَالْعِلْمُ فِي الْمَعْلُومِ قَبْلَ كَوْنِهِ وَ الْمَشِيئَةُ فِي الْمُنْشَإِ قَبْلَ عَيْنِهِ وَ الْإِرَادَةُ فِي الْمُرَادِ قَبْلَ قِيَامِهِ وَ التَّقْدِيرُ لِهَذِهِ الْمَعْلُومَاتِ قَبْلَ تَفْصِيلِهَا وَ تَوْصِيلِهَا عِيَاناً وَ وَقْتاً وَ الْقَضَاءُ بِالْإِمْضَاءِ هُوَ الْمُبْرَمُ مِنَ الْمَفْعُولَاتِ ذَوَاتِ الْأَجْسَامِ الْمُدْرَكَاتِ بِالْحَوَاسِّ مِنْ ذَوِي لَوْنٍ وَ رِيحٍ وَ وَزْنٍ وَ كَيْلٍ وَ مَا دَبَّ وَ دَرَجَ مِنْ إِنْسٍ وَ جِنٍّ وَ طَيْرٍ وَ سِبَاعٍ وَ غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِمَّا يُدْرَكُ بِالْحَوَاسِّ فَلِلَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى فِيهِ الْبَدَاءُ مِمَّا لَا عَيْنَ لَهُ فَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْعَيْنُ الْمَفْهُومُ الْمُدْرَكُ فَلَا بَدَاءَ وَ اللَّهُ يَفْعَلُ ما يَشاءُ* فَبِالْعِلْمِ عَلِمَ الْأَشْيَاءَ قَبْلَ كَوْنِهَا وَ بِالْمَشِيئَةِ عَرَّفَ صِفَاتِهَا وَ حُدُودَهَا وَ أَنْشَأَهَا قَبْلَ إِظْهَارِهَا وَ بِالْإِرَادَةِ مَيَّزَ أَنْفُسَهَا فِي أَلْوَانِهَا وَ صِفَاتِهَا وَ بِالتَّقْدِيرِ قَدَّرَ أَقْوَاتَهَا وَ عَرَّفَ أَوَّلَهَا وَ آخِرَهَا وَ بِالْقَضَاءِ أَبَانَ لِلنَّاسِ أَمَاكِنَهَا وَ دَلَّهُمْ عَلَيْهَا وَ بِالْإِمْضَاءِ شَرَحَ عِلَلَهَا وَ أَبَانَ أَمْرَهَا وَ ذلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ. [2]
🌷🔆Muʿallā ibn Muḥammad relates that the Imam was asked, “How does God know?” He replied: “He knows, wills, intends, determines, decrees and brings things to pass. He brings to pass what He has decreed, decrees what He has determined and measured, and determines what He has willed. From His knowledge comes His will; from His will, His intention; from His intention, His determination; from His determination, His decree; and through His decree, things come to pass.
“Knowledge precedes will; will is the second stage, intention the third, and determination comes before a decree that has been confirmed and carried out. For God, Blessed and Exalted, there is *badāʾ* in what He knows, in the sense that He may will it at a certain time and intend it under certain conditions, in order to determine how things will be. But once a decree has been confirmed and carried out, there is no longer *badāʾ*.
“Knowledge of everything that is to be known precedes its existence. The will for anything that is to come into being is established before it exists in the external world, and intention precedes the coming into being of what is intended. Determination and measure for these known things precede their being differentiated and brought together in a particular form of existence at a particular time.
“An unqualified decree consists of God’s definitive acts, which have come to be and taken concrete form in the external world and can be perceived by the senses: things that have color and scent, can be measured by volume or weight, or move and roam about—human beings, jinn, birds, wild animals and other perceptible things. *Badāʾ* applies to God with respect to something that does not yet have an external existence. Once it comes into an externally perceptible existence, there is no *badāʾ* concerning it for God.
“God does whatever He wills. Through His knowledge, He knew all things before they existed; through His will, He knew their attributes and limits; and before bringing them forth, He had resolved that they should exist. Through His intention, He distinguished their essences by giving them colors and signs. Through determination and measure, He allotted their strength and sustenance, and knew their beginnings and ends. By His decree, He made their places known to people and guided them to them. Through bringing things to pass and confirming them, He explained their causes and made their affairs manifest. Such is the determination of the Mighty, the All-Knowing.”
🔅🌼The Seven Stages of Being 🌼🔅
🌷🔆عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع أَنَّهُ قَالَ: لَا يَكُونُ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ لَا فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَّا بِهَذِهِ الْخِصَالِ السَّبْعِ بِمَشِيئَةٍ وَ إِرَادَةٍ وَ قَدَرٍ وَ قَضَاءٍ وَ إِذْنٍ وَ كِتَابٍ وَ أَجَلٍ فَمَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى نَقْضِ وَاحِدَةٍ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ.[3]
🔆Imam Ṣādiq, peace be upon him, said: “Nothing exists in heaven or on earth except through these seven qualities: will, intention, determination, decree, permission, the Book, and a term appointed. Whoever supposes that he can annul any one of them is an unbeliever.”
🔅🌼Willing Is the Beginning of Divine Action 🌼🔅
🌷🔆 قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ مُوسَى بْنَ جَعْفَرٍ ع يَقُولُ لَا يَكُونُ شَيْءٌ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَ أَرَادَ وَ قَدَّرَ وَ قَضَى قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى شَاءَ قَالَ ابْتِدَاءُ الْفِعْلِ قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى قَدَّرَ قَالَ تَقْدِيرُ الشَّيْءِ مِنْ طُولِهِ وَ عَرْضِهِ قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى قَضَى قَالَ إِذَا قَضَى أَمْضَاهُ فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي لَا مَرَدَّ لَه[4]
🔆Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Hashimi says: I heard Musa ibn Jaʿfar (AS) say, “Nothing comes to be except by God’s will and intention, measure and decree.” I asked, “What does God’s will mean?” He replied, “It is the beginning of the matter.” I asked, “What does measure mean?” He replied, “It is to determine a thing’s length and breadth.” I asked, “What does His decree and judgment mean?” He replied, “When He decrees something, He brings it to pass; and once it has been decreed, it cannot be turned back.”
🔅🌼 The secret of people’s understanding, insight and knowledge, in the words of Musa ibn Jaʿfar (AS) 🌼🔅
🔅🌼 God is the knower of the law 🌼🔅
🌷🔆قَالَ موسی بن جعفر عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: رَحِمَ اللَّهُ عَبْداً تَفَقَّهَ، عَرَفَ النَّاسَ وَ لَا يَعْرِفُونَهُ.[5]
🔆Imam Musa ibn Jaʿfar (AS) said: “May God Most High have mercy on a servant who deepens his understanding of religious matters and understands people, even as they fail to understand him.”
🔅🌼 Nurturing knowledge 🌼🔅
🌷🔆تَعَلَّمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا جَهِلْتَ وَ عَلِّمِ الْجَاهِلَ مِمَّا عُلِّمْتَ عَظِّمِ الْعَالِمَ لِعِلْمِهِ وَ دَعْ مُنَازَعَتَهُ وَ صَغِّرِ الْجَاهِلَ لِجَهْلِهِ وَ لَا تَطْرُدْهُ وَ لَكِنْ قَرِّبْهُ وَ عَلِّمْه[6]
🔆Imam al-Kazim (AS): “Learn what you do not know, and teach the ignorant what you do know. Honour the learned for their knowledge, and do not think highly of the ignorant because of their ignorance. Yet do not drive them away; instead, invite them to your side and make them knowledgeable.”
🌹Honouring the learned and regarding the ignorant as lesser, in word and deed, is in truth to honour knowledge and disparage ignorance.
🌹However worldly his status, and however adorned with worldly finery, an ignorant person is not worthy of honour. The mark of God-consciousness is deep understanding, even if someone has no formal worldly education or commercial knowledge.
🔅🌼 Gnosis is the secret of detachment 🌼🔅
🌷🔆مَنْ عَرَفَ النَّاسَ لَمْ يَعْتَمِدْ عَلَيْهِمْ.[7]
🌷🔆مَنْ عَرَفَ اللَّهَ تَوَحَّدَ.
🌷🔆مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ تَجَرَّدَ.
🌷🔆مَنْ عَرَفَ الدُّنْيَا تَزَهَّدَ.
🌷🔆مَن عَرَفَ النّاسَ تَفَرَّدَ
🔆Imam Ali (AS): “Whoever knows God becomes solitary. Whoever knows himself is set free. Whoever knows the world turns away from it. Whoever knows people chooses solitude.”
🌹Attachment to the world springs from ignorance. No sensible person would trade gold for silver—let alone a priceless diamond for a clod of earth.
🔅🌼 Look to the Hand of God 🌼🔅
🌹يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ
🌹May every eye that fixes its gaze on the hands of people be struck blind.
🌹عَمِيَتْ عَيْنٌ لَا تَرَاكَ
🌷🔆يَنْبَغِي لِمَنْ عَرَفَ النَّاسَ أَنْ يَزْهَدَ فِيمَا فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ. [8]
🔆One who understands people ought to keep away from what they possess.
🌷🔆يُمْتَحَنُ الرَّجُلُ بِفِعْلِهِ لَا بِقَوْلِهِ. [9]
🔆A person is judged by their deeds, not their words.
🌷🔆مَنْ عَرَفَ النَّاسَ تَفَرَّدَ.[10]
🔆Whoever understands people becomes solitary.
🔅🌼Those Known at the Divine Court🌼🔅
🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ طُوبَى لِعَبْدٍ نُوَمَةٍ عَرَفَ النَّاسَ فَصَاحَبَهُمْ بِبَدَنِهِ وَ لَمْ يُصَاحِبْهُمْ فِي أَعْمَالِهِمْ بِقَلْبِهِ فَعَرَفُوهُ فِي الظَّاهِرِ وَ عَرَفَهُمْ فِي الْبَاطِن[11]
🔆Imam al-Sadiq عليه السلام: Blessed is the obscure servant who knows people and outwardly lives among them, yet in his heart does not join them in their deeds. Thus, people know him outwardly but have no knowledge of his inner reality.
🔅🌼Light Does Not Break Before Darkness🌼🔅
🌹If a blind person does not see the light, that is no discredit to the radiance.
🌷🔆 قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص طُوبَى لِعَبْدٍ نُوَمَةٍ عَرَفَهُ اللَّهُ وَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهُ النَّاسُ أُولَئِكَ مَصَابِيحُ الْهُدَى- وَ يَنَابِيعُ الْعِلْمِ يَنْجَلِي عَنْهُمْ كُلُّ فِتْنَةٍ مُظْلِمَةٍ لَيْسُوا بِالْمَذَايِيعِ الْبُذُرِ وَ لَا بِالْجُفَاةِ الْمُرَاءِينَ.[12]
🔆Imam Ali عليه السلام: Blessed is every obscure servant who knows people, while people do not know him. God knows them through their contentment [with God]. They are beacons of guidance; through them, God removes every darkening trial. Soon He will immerse them in one of His mercies. They neither spread words and disclose secrets, nor are they uncultured or hypocritical.
🔅🌼Golden Vessels of God🌼🔅
🌷🔆قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص طُوبَى لِعَبْدٍ نُوَمَةٍ عَرَفَهُ اللَّهُ وَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهُ النَّاسُ أُولَئِكَ مَصَابِيحُ الْهُدَى- وَ يَنَابِيعُ الْعِلْمِ يَنْجَلِي عَنْهُمْ كُلُّ فِتْنَةٍ مُظْلِمَةٍ لَيْسُوا بِالْمَذَايِيعِ الْبُذُرِ وَ لَا بِالْجُفَاةِ الْمُرَاءِينَ.[13]
🔆The Messenger of God صلى الله عليه و آله: Blessed is the obscure servant whom God knows but people do not. They are beacons of guidance and springs of knowledge, through whose presence every darkening trial is dispelled; they neither spread words and divulge secrets, nor are they uncultured or hypocritical.
🌹Those who safeguard the divine secrets are God’s golden vessels. Seek out the guardians of God’s secrets so that you may become entrusted with secrets.
🌹Broken vessels are unfit for secrets.
🌹Sin is not the defect; failing to recognise God’s beloved servants is. Recognising them is a condition of servanthood. Become a connoisseur of jewels. Let us find the sun.
🌹If we must know people, why should we fail to recognise the jurist and beloved of God?
🌹Perhaps recognising the companions of Imam al-Mahdi عليه السلام is a condition for his ظهور!
🌹Whoever recognises a companion of Imam al-Mahdi becomes worthy of beholding Imam al-Mahdi as well.
🌹The duty of recognising the companions of Imam al-Mahdi عليه السلام has not been waived.
🌹Jurisprudence is not limited to practical rulings; rather, the jurisprudence of principles takes precedence over them.
🌹Let us not forget Quranic and transmitted jurisprudence, nor the jurisprudence of the principles of religion. Jurisprudence must not be reduced to, or confined within, the branches of religion.
🔅🌼Obscurity Is a Distinction🌼🔅
🌷🔆قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ: طُوبَى لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ لُؤَمَةٍ [نُوَمَةٍ] عَرَفَ النَّاسَ قَبْلَ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ بِه[14]
🔆Imam al-Sadiq عليه السلام: Blessed is every obscure servant who knows people before they come to know him.
🔅🌼Supplication Shortens the Life of Affliction🌼🔅
🌷🔆 قَالَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ مُوسَى ع مَا مِنْ بَلَاءٍ يَنْزِلُ عَلَى عَبْدٍ مُؤْمِنٍ فَيُلْهِمُهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ الدُّعَاءَ إِلَّا كَانَ كَشْفُ ذَلِكَ الْبَلَاءِ وَشِيكاً وَ مَا مِنْ بَلَاءٍ يَنْزِلُ عَلَى عَبْدٍ مُؤْمِنٍ فَيُمْسِكُ عَنِ الدُّعَاءِ إِلَّا كَانَ ذَلِكَ الْبَلَاءُ طَوِيلًا فَإِذَا نَزَلَ الْبَلَاءُ فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالدُّعَاءِ وَ التَّضَرُّعِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ.[15]
🔆 Imam Musa al-Kazim علیه‌السلام said: No affliction or hardship befalls a believer without God, Glorious and Exalted, inspiring him to pray at the threshold of the Almighty; and that affliction will swiftly be removed.
If he refrains from prayer, however, the affliction and hardship will continue.
So whenever trial or calamity befalls you, pray and plead before the Merciful God.
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼
🔅🌼 An Inquisitive Learner’s Perspective on the Discussion of the “Laws of Sajjadi Divine Will”🌼🔅
Jame Jan, [30.01.25 16:47]
🌻🔆The Laws of Kazimi Divine Will🔆🌻
🌼🔆🌼The Seven Cities of Being🌼🔆🌼
🔹The eve of the martyrdom of Imam Musa al-Kazim علیه السام
📅 Date: 1403/11/06 – 25 Rajab 1446
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei
📝 Some points raised during the session:
### 🌟 The Secret of Becoming Salman
The key to becoming “one of us, the People of the Household” is the Imam; the key to becoming Salman is the Imam.
Imam Musa ibn Ja’far علیه‌السلام is the locus of God’s Kazimi divine will.
His blessed heart is the vessel of God’s will, for he said:
“Our hearts are vessels of God’s will.”
That is, if we look to God’s will, the blessed heart of Imam Musa al-Kazim علیه‌السلام is the vessel in which that will is manifested.
Whatever God wills is reflected in his heart.
### ✨ The Imam: The Book of Divine Law
The divine laws governing the vast expanse of existence flow from the heart of Imam Musa al-Kazim علیه‌السلام.
– This heart is the book of God’s all-encompassing law:
– both the laws of nature.
– and the laws of the supernatural.
The heart of which we speak is the very heart with which we must attain understanding.
If we do not seek understanding through the Kazimi heart, God forbid, we will cross beyond the boundaries of humanity.
We must know Imam al-Kazim علیه‌السلام.
### 🌟 The Issuance of Divine Laws
At every moment, new laws issue forth from the Imam’s heart:
– natural and supernatural laws.
– physical and metaphysical laws.
– laws of the earthly, the celestial, the realm of might, and the realm of divinity.
If these laws remain undiscovered:
– the world will be nothing more than a graveyard for us.
But if these laws are discovered:
– the world will, in the truest sense, become the Hereafter.
The speed at which divine laws are issued:
– the laws of existence move at a speed beyond that of light.
– Yet I have still been unable to bring my own speed up to one billionth of the speed of light.
This truth has left me exhausted and powerless.
I am not only “deaf, dumb, and blind”; I also limp through this world.
### 🕊 A Kazimi Heart for Discovering the World
My heart must be a Kazimi heart,
so that we may discover the laws of this universe.
### 🌟 Perceiving the Material World—and What Lies Beyond
I cannot even make out a butterfly’s wing.
– A butterfly moving slowly.
– If it were to move just a little faster, I would no longer be able to see it.
Whatever moves faster in this universe slips beyond the reach of my perception.
I am blind even to this material world.
How, then, could I venture into the realm beyond nature?
Where can the laws of the natural and supernatural be discovered?
– In the hearts of the Immaculate Imams.
– We must become one with these hearts if we are to interpret the universe.
Without understanding and receiving God’s laws, we can have no real perception of this universe.
### 🌟 Our Helplessness before the Divine Manifestations
Indeed, we are helpless and blind before God’s wondrous manifestations in this universe.
His ancient laws are hidden from us, as are His new ones.
God’s acts of will are unknown to us, and our understanding of them is limited.
### ✨ A Beautiful Saying of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far
In a beautiful saying, Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far reveals the first and final secret:
a boundary beyond which lies liberation and the attainment of truth.
The Imam is the history and geography of the universe—the complete Book of God.
– Every part of this history shapes our identity.
– If we do not remember our history, we become estranged from our past and from our true selves.
How can we become connected to the Imam?
– If we can become the Imam’s friend and companion, we will become a universal being.
– We will discover the whole of this universe.
The first and final secret:
– To discover the truth of the human being, we must understand the entire universe, across all its ages and possibilities.
– Until we attain this understanding, we have not even reached the first stage of perfection.
The first stage of perfection:
– If we can govern the entire universe, only then will we have reached the starting point of our own perfection.
We can govern the universe as we govern our own limbs and organs only when we become companions of the Imam of our time.
### 🌟 Becoming a Companion of the Imam of Our Time
When we become companions of the Imam of our time, we can become the soul of the universe.
Then we will govern space and time as we govern our own limbs and organs.
God is, at every moment, engaged in a new act:
– كل یوم فی شأن.
– At every moment, a new world—or even a new geography—is willed by God.
But where have I arrived?
– The time of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far is our time.
– His blessed heart is the centre of God’s will in the Kadhimi tradition.
God’s will continues to be written into being through Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far.
### ✨ Discovering the Laws of Kazimi Providence
How extraordinary! We must discover the laws of Kazimi Providence.
– But what do I know of Kazimi Providence?
– Nothing! I have yet to know Imam Musa ibn Jaʿfar.
### 🌟 God’s Knowledge and Divine Will
Imam Musa ibn Jaʿfar عليه‌السلام was asked about God’s knowledge.
The Imam replied:
“God knows; God wills.”
These words may be understood as follows:
– God wills.
– God determines.
– God decrees.
– God ratifies.
This is the knowledge of God.
The Imam has shown us the way to discover this knowledge.
His noble father, Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq عليه‌السلام, also illuminated this path.
### 🌟 The Seven Qualities of Being
Nothing in the heavens or on earth comes into being except through these seven qualities:
1. His will.
2. His volition.
3. His measure.
4. His decree.
5. His permission.
6. His Book.
7. Its appointed term.
No one has the power to overturn any one of these seven qualities.
Whoever claims otherwise is an unbeliever.
The being of things in this world depends on these seven qualities.
If we open our eyes and hearts, we will discover that there is something beyond being, though it is not of the nature of being.
The seven cities of being were built through these seven qualities.
Imam Musa ibn Jaʿfar عليه‌السلام said:
“Nothing comes into being unless God wills it.”
### ✨ The Meaning of Thingness and Being
The thingness of any thing is higher than its being.
Only when God wills, intends, determines and decrees does a thing come into being.
Being is God’s gift.
– God is not of the nature of being.
– He created being and bestowed being upon it.
We must not confine God within being.
Being is but one of God’s works of art.
The precise meanings of the seven qualities:
- Will: the beginning of God’s action,
- His volition.
- 3. Measure: determining the limits of things by their length and breadth; that is, things cannot be perceived until God has set their limits.
- Decree: when God decrees something, He ratifies it; with this ratification, the decision becomes final and irrevocable.
- 5. .
- 6. .
- 7. .
Being is God’s very ratification.
– When we see God’s signature, we have understood existence.
– The existence of all things bears the mark of God’s signature.
Every thing has a spirit and an inner life—not just one spirit, but many.
### 🌟 From Will to Signature: The Display of Existence
From divine will to God’s signature, the display of thingness and existence unfolds.
We imagine that we grasp the existence and thingness of things, but in reality, what we encounter is a display of things.
What is God’s will?
– When we reach God’s will, we gain access to the spirit and inner life of things.
– Divine will is the mother of all the spirits of existence.
– The First Creator brought the mother of all spirits into being and then gave it form.
Thingness is higher than existence.
Which aspect of things do we encounter?
– Have we understood every dimension of things?
All the pleasure, beauty, and serenity in this world are only the beginning of God’s artistry.
Our discussion ranges from divine will to God’s signature.
Indeed, however much we speak of the thingness of things, we are still only at the threshold of understanding the wonders of this world of existence.
### 🌟 Before the Divine Will: A Where That Knows No Where
Before the divine will comes knowledge.
But what lies before knowledge?
Before knowledge lies a realm that knows no “where.”
We are not even entitled to call God “beyond existence,” for God is beyond knowledge.
Only to avoid denying God’s attributes altogether may we say: He is beyond everything.
We have not yet reached the reality of things, yet we claim to understand God.
We seek refuge from such a claim in God, and seek God’s protection.
### ✨ The Rank of Things Is Higher Than Their Existence
A golden insight from the words of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far (peace be upon him) is this:
“The willing of things is higher than their existence.”
### 🌟 Deep Understanding: The Path to Knowledge
Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far (peace be upon him) calls us to deep understanding.
He said:
“May God have mercy on a servant who seeks deep understanding.”
A golden insight:
– Until a servant of God attains deep understanding, they will not attain knowledge.
– Until we become learned in this sense, we will not understand people, the world, or ourselves.
Here, “learning” does not mean practical jurisprudence; it means something beyond it: knowledge rooted in divine unity.
Unless we become learned in the fundamentals, even expertise in the subsidiary rulings will leave us on shaky ground.
A true scholar is one who attains full mastery of both fundamentals and subsidiary rulings.
### ✨ The Command of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far (peace be upon him)
The command of Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far (peace be upon him):
1. Learn what you do not know.
2. Overcome your ignorance.
3. Teach the ignorant what you have learned.
4. Honour the scholar for the sake of their knowledge.
5. Do not quarrel with the scholar.
6. Win over the ignorant, but do not belittle them.
The purpose of this command:
– To honour knowledge and suppress ignorance.
– To encourage the ignorant to seek knowledge.
But if we honour the ignorant, we have buried them in their ignorance.
### 🌟 Who is a faqih?
A faqih is someone who attains the rank of piety.
– Once they reach this rank, they will shine like a light in the universe.
We must honour knowledge and suppress ignorance.
– Commercial and outward forms of learning are not true knowledge.
– True knowledge springs from divine unity (tawhid).
One who has mastered only the sciences of the belly and desire is ignorant, not learned.
The learned person is one who has mastered the divine sciences and attained that exalted rank.
### ✨ Trust and reliance on God
Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon him, said:
“Whoever knows people does not put their trust in them.”
– That is, they do not make people their support.
– They rely on God alone.
What do those who pursue worldly things do?
– They put their trust in the world and its people.
– They are brought down in this very world.
### 🌟 Self-knowledge and knowledge of God
The Imam said:
“Whoever knows God and attains tawhid comes to solitude.”
How can we come to know God?
Through self-knowledge:
– If I truly know myself, I will know people too.
– If I truly know myself, I will no longer see myself.
I will find myself to be nothing, and at every moment I will perceive that I am being brought into existence.
Understanding the truth:
– Our existence at every moment depends on the One who grants existence.
– If God does not sustain our existence, we will perish.
The conclusion:
– When I understand that I am nothing, I will attain detachment from matter.
– I will become truly immaterial.
### 🌟 Detachment and liberation
Whoever knows themselves attains detachment from matter.
– They experience freedom from themselves and from all that is other than themselves.
– They draw near to God and come to know Him.
Whoever knows the world:
– Becomes indifferent to it.
– Becomes an ascetic, because they see the world as base and do not gravitate towards baseness.
Whoever knows people:
– Attains individuality; they become solitary and estranged.
– He disappears among people and pays them no more attention than necessary.
– He sees people as God’s own—beings to whom God gives existence at every moment.
Whoever knows God:
– will be utterly alone in this world.
– will find no one familiar to him anymore.
– will be thought mad and ignorant by others.
### ✨ Indifference to what people hold in their hands
Whoever knows people becomes indifferent to what they possess.
The Imam means:
“Look to the hand of God, not the hands of people.”
– People are tested by what they do, not by what they say.
– Whoever knows people attains individuality and becomes alone.
And God seeks that very individual:
– God seeks the one who has attained solitude.
– The time of solitude is a time of intimate communion with God.
– Until a person attains individuation, they will not experience the meeting with God.
### 🌟 Knowing those beloved by God
Why should we not know those whom God loves in this world?
Knowing those beloved by God is a condition of servitude to Him.
Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon him, said:
“May God have mercy on the one who knows people, while they do not know him.”
If a person knows the companions of the Imam of our time, peace be upon him:
– they will be granted the success of knowing the Imam of their time.
– By knowing these singular, detached individuals, they will attain unity with God.
– Their solitude with God will deepen.
### ✨ Understanding absolute solitude
We imagine that we can understand solitude.
But until we are connected to the Imam of our time, we will not understand absolute solitude.
What is absolute solitude like?
– By connecting with the Imam of our time, a person attains complete and absolute solitude.
– In this solitude, a person is alone with God.
### 🌟 What is meant by “these people”
“These people” means those caught up in the world and preoccupied with it.
Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far says:
“Blessed is the one who becomes obscure and unknown.”
– They know people but are not tainted by their deeds.
– They associate with them bodily, but do not accompany them in their hearts.
– People know them only by their outward appearance, while they see what lies within others.
The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, says:
“Blessed is the obscure servant whom God knows, while people do not know him.”
O servant of God:
– Know God—and that is enough!
– Do not let these people know you.
Who are these people?
– God’s radiant lamps.
– Fountains of knowledge.
– Those through whose presence every blinding, dark tribulation is dispelled.
– They do not spread or divulge secrets.
– Nor are they ungrateful or hypocritical.
### ✨ The key to facing affliction
Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far (peace be upon him) said:
“No affliction befalls a believing servant without God inspiring him to pray.”
– When affliction strikes and the servant prays, it is swiftly lifted.
– This is the key to facing affliction:
One must pray and not let the affliction linger.
If the servant does not pray, the affliction will persist within him.
The Imam said:
“When affliction comes rushing upon you, you must pray and humbly beseech Almighty God.”
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🎥 Watch the full lecture at the link below:
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼
[1] Al-Ghayba (al-Tusi) / Kitab al-Ghayba lil-Hujja, text, p. 247; al-Tusi, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, Dar al-Ma’arif al-Islamiyya, Iran; Qom, first edition, 1411 AH.
[2] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص148al-Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[3] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص148al-Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[4] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج1 ؛ ص150al-Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[5] نزهة الناظر و تنبيه الخاطر ؛ ؛ ص122al-Halwani, Imam Mahdi School (may God hasten his noble reappearance), Qom, first edition, 1408 AH.
[6] بحار الأنوار (ط – بيروت) ؛ ج75 ؛ ص309al-Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[7] عيون الحكم و المواعظ (لليثي) ؛ ؛ ص445Laythi Wasiti, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, first edition, 1376 SH.
[8] عيون الحكم و المواعظ (لليثي) ؛ ؛ ص549Laythi Wasiti, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, first edition, 1376 SH.
[9] عيون الحكم و المواعظ (لليثي) ؛ ؛ ص549Laythi Wasiti, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, first edition, 1376 SH.
[10] عيون الحكم و المواعظ (لليثي) ؛ ؛ ص549Laythi Wasiti, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, first edition, 1376 SH.
[11] *Mishkāt al-anwār fī ghurar al-akhbār*, text, p. 210. Ṭabarsī, ʿAlī ibn Ḥasan. Al-Maktabah al-Ḥaydariyyah, Najaf. Second edition, 1385 AH / 1965 CE / 1344 SH.
[12] *Al-Kāfī* (Islamic edition), vol. 2, p. 225. Kulaynī. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, Tehran. Fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[13] *Al-Kāfī* (Islamic edition), vol. 2, p. 225. Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, Tehran. Fourth edition, 1407 AH.
[14] *Al-Zuhd*, text, p. 4. Kūfī Ahwāzī. Al-Maṭbaʿah al-ʿIlmiyyah, Qom. Second edition, 1402 AH.
[15] *Al-Kāfī* (Islamic edition), vol. 2, p. 471. Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, Tehran. Fourth edition, 1407 AH.
