The Supreme New Star of the Muhammadan Galaxy

🌼🔆🌼The Cool and the Warm Sciences🌼🔆🌼

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌹 “The Secret of the Guardianship of Imam Baqir (AS)”  “The Secret of the Eye”  “The Secret of Imam Baqir’s Monotheistic Discourse (AS)” “The Secret of Qarrīr al-ʿAyn”  “The Night of the Martyrdom of Imam Muhammad Baqir (AS)” and … Abstract with addendum       1405.03.02    Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

❇️General overview: A summary of the discussion “The Supernova of the Muhammadan Galaxy (PBUH)”

💫1. Introduction: The need for recognition and knowledge (the stage of seeking)

The place of recognition: Knowing Imam Baqir (AS) is one of the gateways to knowing the Prophet (PBUH), God and the other divine proofs. Without knowing the Imam, a person’s beliefs are squandered.

The path of growth: The distance from “word” to “reality” must be traversed. Knowledge is the beginning of seeing, uncovering mysteries, and spiritual wayfaring.

The ultimate aim: To attain wisdom, become wise, and connect with the threshold of truth through “holding fast” to the Imam.

💫2. The secret of holding fast and the need for Imam Baqir (AS)

Perfecting servitude: Without Imam Baqir (AS), knowledge remains incomplete and the nerves of servitude vulnerable.

Spiritual preservation: We must record our immediate and acquired insights so that we may benefit from the divine treasury.

Expanding capacity: Experiencing transcendent truth requires an increase in a person’s inner capacity, made possible through effort and intimacy with the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt.

Guardianship and the cosmos: A person equipped with the system of the Imams’ guardianship (AS) gains mastery over the components of the cosmos and can set interactions and reactions in motion.

💫3. The scholarly qualities of Imam Baqir (AS)

The one who cleaves open knowledge: Imam Baqir (AS) is the “opened gateway” to the City of Knowledge, and the inner mysteries of his being remain undisclosed to us to this day, owing to the limitations of the people of his time.

His place in knowledge: The material world is a “cool” region of knowledge, while the Pure Imams (AS) occupy its hottest and most vibrant region. Imam Baqir (AS) cleaved open the very heart of knowledge.

A brilliant star: He shines like a supernova in the Muhammadan Galaxy (PBUH).

💫4. The meaning of “Qarrīr al-ʿAyn” and the etymology of the root “q-r-r”

The noble hadith: “مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَلْقَى اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَرِيرَ الْعَيْنِ فَلْيَتَوَلَّ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ الْبَاقِرَ”

Whoever wishes to behold God with eyes bright and content must accept the guardianship of Imam Baqir (AS).

The semantic dimensions of “q-r-r” (steadfastness, tranquillity, brightness):

Stability and rootedness: (like the blessed tree with firm roots, or the Abode of Permanence in the hereafter).

Tranquillity and stillness: (like the peace that came over Moses’ mother after her child returned).

Brightness and joy: (like the joy brought to Pharaoh’s wife by Moses; an expression of inner happiness and hope).

Clarity and radiance: (like the smooth crystal of Solomon’s palace through which light passes).

💫5. Explaining “Qarrīr al-ʿAyn” in the guardianship of Imam Baqir (AS)

A sign of the Day of Resurrection: Bright eyes are a sign of those who follow the guardianship on the Day of Judgement.

Qualities of the qarrīr eye:

A place where the heart’s perpetual celebration unfolds, reflecting divine light.

Free from anxiety, distress and deficiency; filled with joy, smiles and delight.

Marked by coolness, refreshment, healing and tranquillity.

Like the crystal goblets of Paradise (qawārīr), vessels for divine beauty.

A speaker of light and interpreter of the Verse of Light.

💫6. The function of sight and the cultivation of vision

The eye as a reporter: The eye is the heart’s spy and the mind’s emissary, revealing the hidden and outward states of the soul.

From outward appearance to inner reality: We must move from the “delight of the outward eye” to the “delight of the inward eye”—a difference as vast as earth and sky.

The difference between tears: Tears of joy are cool; tears of sorrow are hot.

A warning about the gaze:

Lowering the gaze (refraining from looking at what is forbidden) allows the heart to apprehend God’s greatness.

An unlawful gaze ties a knot around the heart that only repentance can undo.

The Infallibles advise us to avoid pointless looking so that we may behold God’s wonders and preserve the health of the soul.

💫7. The Monotheistic Teaching of Imam Baqir (AS)

The centrality of divine oneness: God is “أَحَدٌ تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ”—that is, His oneness is unique and without equal.

The vastness of divine knowledge: God’s knowledge is boundless and encompasses all things, yet His essence transcends knowledge.

Attuning oneself to divine oneness: To understand divine oneness, we must attune ourselves to it rather than try to encompass it. This monotheistic melody dispels the dust of associating partners with God and awakens our innate nature.

💫Conclusion:

Knowing Imam Baqir (AS) not only completes our religious knowledge; it is also the key to attaining “bright eyes” (qurrat al-ʿayn) in the Hereafter. The journey begins with a thirst for knowledge, continues through holding fast to the wilayah, and, through disciplining the eyes (lowering the gaze) and becoming intimate with the Imam’s monotheistic words, culminates in absolute peace and eternal joy in the encounter with God.

❇️Why should we know Imam Baqir (AS)?!

❇️Taking stock of our thirst and longing

“ِ اللَّهُمَّ عَرِّفْنِي نَفْسَكَ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تُعَرِّفْنِي نَفْسَكَ لَمْ أَعْرِفْ نَبِيَّكَ اللَّهُمَّ عَرِّفْنِي رَسُولَكَ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تُعَرِّفْنِي رَسُولَكَ لَمْ أَعْرِفْ حُجَّتَكَ اللَّهُمَّ عَرِّفْنِي حُجَّتَكَ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ لَمْ تُعَرِّفْنِي حُجَّتَكَ ضَلَلْتُ عَنْ دِينِي‏”

…  Between the word and the reality of seeking lies a distance as wide as that between shadow and light.

Assessing the sincerity and truthfulness of our claims is essential to planning our worship.

Familiarity and knowledge are the beginning, like an eye gained for seeing and uncovering mysteries—for probing, blossoming, hastening, and journeying on the spiritual path.

Intellectual nourishment means becoming a lamp of knowledge: through knowledge, attaining wisdom and becoming wise.

Holding fast means becoming connected and drawing nourishment from the tree rooted in the essence of the soul: connecting with the First Reality, with what lies beyond creation, with the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary.

❇️The secret of holding fast to Imam Baqir (AS)

Without Imam Baqir (AS), our knowledge will be incomplete, and one of the vital nerves of our worship will be impaired.

Open a journal for each Imam and record your inward experiences and what you have learned. What have you gained from this divine treasure?!

❇️Experiencing God’s Proof is an experience of transcendent truth

All the senses and the whole universe contribute to the creation of delight, but what we receive depends on our own level and capacity. This capacity can expand to encompass the entire cosmos.

Striving with all one’s might culminates in experiencing truth.

Every ray of the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt is like a seed planted in the soul.

Complete intimacy begins with their way of life and tradition, extends to their pure spirits, and bears fruit through practice!

Do not accept separation from God’s Proof. Persevere until the bond is complete.

The full experience of servitude—and of beauty, delight and truth—is attained only when one is fully equipped with all the divine proofs, which are the limbs, nerves and senses of servitude to God!

Through the vast institution of the wilayah of the pure Imams, a person can bring the entire universe, with all its parts and beings, under control as if they were their own limbs and organs, and set action and reaction in motion!

❇️The Secret Behind Imam Muhammad al-Baqir’s Title, “The One Who Splits Open Knowledge”

God Most High revealed a new hue of His knowledge through Imam al-Baqir,

whose outward and inward dimensions remain undiscovered and among the mysteries, even to this day.

Which page of the countless pages of knowledge of Imam al-Baqir are we on? Have we moved beyond the preface to knowing him? In truth, we are still on the very first line of his first page!

Imam al-Baqir is the radiant star of Muhammad’s heaven—indeed, its surging, blazing star: the supernova of the Muhammadic galaxy, the supernova of Muhammad’s world!

Imam al-Baqir is the gateway, opened wide and blossoming, to the City of the Prophet’s Knowledge!

Knowledge, too, may be described as having cold, warm and hot regions. The material world is a manifestation of knowledge’s cold region; the pure Imams dwell in its hottest region!

Imam al-Baqir split open the very heart of knowledge!

❇️Coolness of the Eyes

💫 وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَلْقَى اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَرِيرَ الْعَيْنِ‏ فَلْيَتَوَلَ‏ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ الْبَاقِر[1]

🔆Whoever wishes to meet God Most High with eyes made glad and heart content should love Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (peace be upon him) and accept his wilayah.

❇️An Inquiry into the Meaning of “Q.R.R.”—“Coolness of the Eyes”

❇️“Q.R.R.”—to settle, to be established; a place of settlement

Al-An‘am: 67 لِكُلِّ نَبَإٍ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَ سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ

Al-Furqan: 24 أَصْحابُ الْجَنَّةِ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَيْرٌ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَ أَحْسَنُ مَقيلاً

Al-Furqan: 76 — خالِدينَ فيها حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَ مُقاماً

Al-Naml: 40 قالَ الَّذي عِنْدَهُ عِلْمٌ مِنَ الْكِتابِ أَنَا آتيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِنْدَهُ قالَ هذا مِنْ فَضْلِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَني‏ أَ أَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ وَ مَنْ شَكَرَ فَإِنَّما يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَ مَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَريمٌ

Ya Sin: 38 وَ الشَّمْسُ تَجْري لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَها ذلِكَ تَقْديرُ الْعَزيزِ الْعَليمِ

❇️“Q.R.R.” conveys calm and settledness

Ibrahim: 26 وَ مَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِنْ فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ ما لَها مِنْ قَرارٍ

Al-Mu’minun: 13 ثُمَّ جَعَلْناهُ نُطْفَةً في‏ قَرارٍ مَكينٍ

Al-Naml: 61 أَمَّنْ جَعَلَ الْأَرْضَ قَراراً وَ جَعَلَ خِلالَها أَنْهاراً وَ جَعَلَ لَها رَواسِيَ وَ جَعَلَ بَيْنَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ حاجِزاً أَ إِلهٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ

Ghafir: 39 — يا قَوْمِ إِنَّما هذِهِ الْحَياةُ الدُّنْيا مَتاعٌ وَ إِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ هِيَ دارُ الْقَرارِ

Ghafir: 64 اللَّهُ الَّذي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ قَراراً وَ السَّماءَ بِناءً وَ صَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ وَ رَزَقَكُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّباتِ ذلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَتَبارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعالَمينَ

Al-Mursalat: 21   فَجَعَلْناهُ في‏ قَرارٍ مَكينٍ

❇️“Q-R-R”: radiance and joy

Maryam: 26   فَكُلي‏ وَ اشْرَبي‏ وَ قَرِّي عَيْناً فَإِمَّا تَرَيِنَّ مِنَ الْبَشَرِ أَحَداً فَقُولي‏ إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمنِ صَوْماً فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ الْيَوْمَ إِنْسِيًّا

Ta Ha: 40   إِذْ تَمْشي‏ أُخْتُكَ فَتَقُولُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلى‏ مَنْ يَكْفُلُهُ فَرَجَعْناكَ إِلى‏ أُمِّكَ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُها وَ لا تَحْزَنَ وَ قَتَلْتَ نَفْساً فَنَجَّيْناكَ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَ فَتَنَّاكَ فُتُوناً فَلَبِثْتَ سِنينَ في‏ أَهْلِ مَدْيَنَ ثُمَّ جِئْتَ عَلى‏ قَدَرٍ يا مُوسى‏

When your sister was walking (near Pharaoh’s palace), saying, “Shall I show you someone who will take care of this child (and be a good wet nurse for him)?” So We returned you to your mother, that her eyes might be gladdened and she might not grieve. And you killed a man (one of Pharaoh’s people), but We saved you from distress. We tested you time and again. Then you stayed for years among the people of Midian; after that, you came here at the appointed time (to receive the mission), O Moses!

❇️“Q-R-R”—clarity, purity, and brilliance—qawarir (crystal)

An-Naml: 44   قيلَ لَهَا ادْخُلِي الصَّرْحَ فَلَمَّا رَأَتْهُ حَسِبَتْهُ لُجَّةً وَ كَشَفَتْ عَنْ ساقَيْها قالَ إِنَّهُ صَرْحٌ مُمَرَّدٌ مِنْ قَواريرَ قالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسي‏ وَ أَسْلَمْتُ مَعَ سُلَيْمانَ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمينَ

She was told, “Enter the courtyard (of the palace)!” When she looked at it, she thought it was a stream of water and bared her legs (to cross it). (But Solomon) said, “(This is not water,) but a palace of smooth crystal!” (The Queen of Sheba) said, “My Lord, I have wronged myself; and now, with Solomon, I submit to God, Lord of all worlds!”

Al-Insan: 15   وَ يُطافُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِآنِيَةٍ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَ أَكْوابٍ كانَتْ قَواريرَا

Silver vessels and crystal goblets filled with the finest food and drink will be passed around among them,

Al-Insan: 16   قَواريرَا مِنْ فِضَّةٍ قَدَّرُوها تَقْديراً

crystal vessels of silver, prepared in just the right measure.

❇️“Q-R-R”: radiance and joy 

Al-Qasas: 9   وَ قالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لي‏ وَ لَكَ لا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسى‏ أَنْ يَنْفَعَنا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَداً وَ هُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ

Pharaoh’s wife (seeing that they intended to kill the child) said, “He will be the joy of my eyes and yours! Do not kill him. Perhaps he will be of benefit to us, or we may adopt him as a son!” Yet they did not realize (that they were raising their greatest enemy in their own home)!

Al-Qasas: 13   فَرَدَدْناهُ إِلى‏ أُمِّهِ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُها وَ لا تَحْزَنَ وَ لِتَعْلَمَ أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَ لكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ

Al-Furqan: 74   وَ الَّذينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنا هَبْ لَنا مِنْ أَزْواجِنا وَ ذُرِّيَّاتِنا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَ اجْعَلْنا لِلْمُتَّقينَ إِماماً

And those who say, “Our Lord, grant us in our spouses and children the joy of our eyes, and make us leaders for the God-conscious.”

As-Sajdah: 17   فَلا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ ما أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزاءً بِما كانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

No soul knows what delights of the eyes have been hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do!

❇️“Q-R-R”: settling and being settled

Al-Ahzab: 33   وَ قَرْنَ في‏ بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَ لا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولى‏ وَ أَقِمْنَ الصَّلاةَ وَ آتينَ الزَّكاةَ وَ أَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَ رَسُولَهُ إِنَّما يُريدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَ يُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهيراً

❇️ An Exposition of the Delight of the Eye in the Wilayah of Imam Baqir (peace be upon him)

The delight of the eye is one of the clearest signs, on the Day of Resurrection, of those who follow the wilayah of Imam Muhammad Baqir (peace be upon him).

The eye is the site of an everlasting festival in the pure human heart!

Eyes from which the joys of all existence will shine!

Eyes that will reflect the divine light!

Eyes that will mirror the radiant beauty of God’s chosen servants!

The sparkle of the eye, revealing the purity within and without!

Eyes that show a heart at rest and secure!

Eyes freed from every anxiety, expectation and unease—eyes released from every flaw!

Eyes that will laugh, offering a sweet smile!

Joy will pour forth from the eyes!

Eyes that will have a special coolness and sweetness!

Eyes filled with delight, bringing delight to others!

Eyes that, like beautiful flowers, will kindle joy and bring radiance!

Eyes that will be peaceful and bring peace, radiance and healing!

Eyes that will find their resting place!

Eyes that will open to behold wondrous and extraordinary truths!

Eyes as clear and shining as crystal,

Eyes like a clear cup from Paradise, like a crystal goblet holding the beauties of Paradise!

An eye that will be a goblet of light and purity!

Eyes like the cup of God’s chosen servants: a cup of light, interpreting the Verse of Light, speaking in the language of light.

An eye that will make everyone fall in love with it!

❇️ The Secrets of the Eyes

The eye reveals what lies within a person; it is a capable reporter of the inner self.

Joy, sorrow and the contents of the heart are displayed in the eyes.

The eyes do not know how to lie.

The eye is the heart’s spy.

The eye reveals and reports on the whole body.

The condition of every part and limb of the body, hidden or manifest, is displayed through the eyes.

The eye is a complete book.

The eye is a messenger of the inner self and its secrets.

Al-Balad: 8   أَ لَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ

❇️ The Eye of the Heart Is the Spirit of the Eye

We must move beyond the outward eye and pass to the inward eye.

The distance from the delight of the outward eye to that of the inward eye is like the distance between earth and sky!

❇️ A Subtle Point

A tear of joy is cool; a tear of sorrow is hot and burning.

❇️ The Eye: Spy of the Heart and Envoy of the Intellect

💫🔆قَالَ الصَّادِقُ ع‏ مَا اغْتَنَمَ أَحَدٌ بِمِثْلِ مَا اغْتَنَمَ بِغَضِّ الْبَصَرِ لِأَنَّ الْبَصَرَ لَا يُغَضُّ عَنْ مَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِلَّا وَ قَدْ سَبَقَ إِلَى قَلْبِهِ مُشَاهَدَةُ الْعَظَمَةِ وَ الْجَلَالِ سُئِلَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع بِمَا ذَا يُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى غَضِّ الْبَصَرِ فَقَالَ ع بِالْخُمُودِ تَحْتَ سُلْطَانِ الْمُطَّلِعِ عَلَى سِرِّكَ وَ الْعَيْنُ‏ جَاسُوسُ الْقَلْبِ وَ بَرِيدُ الْعَقْلِ فَغُضَّ بَصَرَكَ عَمَّا لَا يَلِيقُ بِدِينِكَ وَ يَكْرَهُهُ قَلْبُكَ وَ يُنْكِرُهُ عَقْلُكَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ص غُضُّوا أَبْصَارَكُمْ تَرَوُا الْعَجَائِبَ‏ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى‏ قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصارِهِمْ وَ يَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ‏ وَ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ ع لِلْحَوَارِيِّينَ إِيَّاكُمْ وَ النَّظَرَ إِلَى الْمَحْذُورَاتِ فَإِنَّهَا بَذْرُ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَ نَبَاتُ الْفِسْقِ قَالَ يَحْيَى ع الْمَوْتُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ نَظْرَةٍ بِغَيْرِ وَاجِبٍ وَ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ لِرَجُلٍ نَظَرَ إِلَى امْرَأَةٍ قَدْ عَادَهَا فِي مَرَضِهَا لَوْ ذَهَبَتْ عَيْنَاكَ لَكَانَ خَيْراً لَكَ مِنْ عِيَادَةِ مَرِيضِكَ وَ لَا تَتَوَفَّرُ عَيْنٌ نَصِيبَهَا مِنْ نَظَرٍ إِلَى مَحْذُورٍ إِلَّا وَ قَدِ انْعَقَدَ عُقْدَةٌ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ مِنَ الْمُنْيَةِ وَ لَا تَنْحَلُّ بِإِحْدَى الْحَالَتَيْنِ إِمَّا بِبُكَاءِ الْحَسْرَةِ وَ النَّدَامَةِ بِتَوْبَةٍ صَادِقَةٍ وَ إِمَّا بِأَخْذِ نَصِيبِهِ مِمَّا تَمَنَّى وَ نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ فَآخِذُ الْحَظِّ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ مَصِيرُهُ إِلَى النَّارِ وَ أَمَّا التَّائِبُ الْبَاكِي بِالْحَسْرَةِ وَ النَّدَامَةِ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَمَأْوَاهُ الْجَنَّةُ وَ مُنْقَلَبُهُ الرِّضْوَان‏[2]

🔆Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: No one gains as much from any deed as from lowering the gaze. For one turns away from what is forbidden only when the heart beholds the majesty and glory of the Most High Lord. Imam Ali (AS) was asked, “What helps a person succeed in lowering the gaze?” He replied, “Humility, and the assurance that one is under the dominion and rule of Him who knows what lies within you.”

The eye is the heart’s spy and the intellect’s envoy. So guard your eyes from what is unbecoming of your faith, from what your heart dislikes and what your intellect rejects.

The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: “Lower your gaze from what is forbidden, and you will behold wondrous things.” God Most High has said: “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity.” And Jesus (AS) said to his disciples: “Beware of looking at what is forbidden and prohibited, for such a gaze sows the seeds of desire and gives rise to sin and debauchery.”

John (AS) said: “Death is better for me than a glance that is neither necessary nor required.” And ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may God be pleased with him) said to a man who had visited a sick woman and looked at her face: “It would have been better for you to lose your eyes than to visit this sick woman.”

The eye takes no pleasure in looking at what is forbidden and unlawful without tying a knot in the heart—a knot of worldly hopes and carnal desires. That knot can be undone only in one of two ways: either through sincere repentance, tears of regret, and complete remorse; or by attaining one’s desire and gratifying one’s carnal appetite.

If, in the latter case, one does not succeed in attaining one’s desire, one will return to the Fire, to grievous affliction and severe torment. But in the former case—repentance, remorse, regret, and weeping—one will return to Paradise and the pleasure of the Most High Lord.

❇️A Journey through the Monotheistic Teachings of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (AS)

“عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ ع‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَتْ أَسْمَاؤُهُ وَ تَعَالَى فِي عُلُوِّ كُنْهِهِ أَحَدٌ تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ فِي تَوْحِيدِهِ ثُمَّ أَجْرَاهُ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ فَهُوَ أَحَدٌ صَمَدٌ مَلِكٌ قُدُّوسٌ يَعْبُدُهُ كُلُّ شَيْ‏ءٍ وَ يَصْمِدُ إِلَيْهِ وَ فَوْقَ الَّذِي عَسَيْنَا أَنْ نَبْلُغَ رَبَّنَا- وَسِعَ‏ رَبُّنَا كُلَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ عِلْماً.” [3]

❇️“أَحَدٌ تَوَحَّدَ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ فِي تَوْحِيدِهِ”

The Imam’s expression of divine unity has its own distinctive rhythm: it is a symphony of tawhid, a voice and melody of tawhid, a key of tawhid. Through this secret of divine unity, through its weight and dignity, the innate disposition toward tawhid comes alive. To recite and attune oneself to this melody of divine unity sweeps away the dust of polytheism and doubt and sets the innate disposition in motion. The whole universe and every particle within it are familiar with this tune.

Only He has the power to describe Himself. He knows Himself through transcendent knowledge; through transcendent knowledge, He knows Himself as transcendent knowledge. He has no need to know Himself, and knowledge cannot encompass Him. Just as He is the Creator of creation and the Knower of all knowledge, that is, He is beyond knowledge,

He is the sole and unique Creator, and His creatures, too, are unparalleled in their very nature as created beings.

His oneness flows through the spirit and soul of the cosmos, a constant, unceasing current.

His oneness is so singular that it has no example or counterpart. If His oneness could be grasped, it would have an example; even the understanding and apprehension of His oneness cannot be grasped! One must accompany and attune oneself to His oneness!

Among the signs and objects of attention, He chose and favoured His oneness as the means of turning attention toward Him!

🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼

❇️“The Secret of Finding Rest: From Thirst to Fulfilment”

The lyrical and literary section

A link between “thirst for knowledge” and “coolness of the eyes”

❇️The Secret of Finding Rest: From Thirst to the Fulfilment of Light

If “knowledge” is the beginning of the path, “holding fast” is the bridge across it, and “coolness of the eyes” is the ultimate destination of this long journey.

Let us look at the progressive journey of these three words:

“Tashannuj” (from thirst), “tasharrof” (from attaining honour), and “taqarror” (from coming to rest).

💫1. From thirst to a stream:

Imam Baqir (AS) is the gatekeeper of knowledge. Whoever thirsts for truth must not pass by this gate. Modern people do not thirst for the pure water of revelation; they thirst for a bitter draught of heedlessness. But when the lover steps into the courtyard of the school of Baqir al-Ulum (AS), thirst loses its meaning, for “Baqir” means “the one who cleaves open.” He who cleaves open knowledge is even more capable of breaking through the hard crust of heedlessness, so that pure water of knowledge may surge forth from within.

The supplication that begins with «عَرِّفْنِي نَفْسَكَ» is the cry of one who truly thirsts, knowing that without coming to know the Keeper of the secret, whatever water one drinks will only make one thirstier.

💫2. From attaining honour to fulfilment:

“Coolness of the eyes” is not merely a passing pleasant feeling; it is the “soul’s fulfilment.”

When a person’s gaze turns away from forbidden things and toward the Imam of their time (His Eminence, the Awaited Deliverer, may God hasten his appearance) and the pioneers on the path of truth (such as Imam Baqir (AS)), what happens?

The eyes are no longer nourished from without; rather, they are fulfilled from within by the light of wilayah.

“Qurrat” means complete fulfilment.

An eye fixed on Imam Baqir (AS) does not grow weary; with every passing moment, it sees more deeply and clearly. This eye is no longer merely a “viewer”; it truly sees. It is no longer merely “looking”; it is present.

💫3. The secret of finding rest in the shelter of Baqir al-Ulum:

Imam Baqir (AS) cleaved open knowledge to reveal the veins of gold and jewels within spirituality. What face will the one who draws upon this knowledge present on the Day of Resurrection?

A face alive with the waves of God’s light.

Eyes no longer afraid of the darkness of the grave, for they carry the light of Baqir al-Ulum within.

“Coolness of the eyes” means:

Eyes that are never sated with beholding the beauty of the divine.

Eyes that, amid the clamour of the world, have quietly, quietly, come to rest in eternal stillness.

Imam al-Baqir’s (AS) gaze pierces the veils between you and God, so that you may become «qurīr».

Final reflection:

O traveller on the path of love!

Slake your thirst with the life-giving water of Bāqir al-ʿUlūm (AS).

Turn your eyes away from the fleeting glitter of this world, so that you may see the light of truth.

And at the end of this journey, go to meet your true Beloved with eyes that are «qurīr» and radiant—where there is no sorrow, no grief, and only the light of «Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad (SA)» and the «qurīr ʿayn» of «Bāqir al-ʿUlūm» fills the air.

«قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ…»

The very «أَحَدِ» whose mysteries Imam al-Baqir (AS) opens the way to uncover.

Whoever enters through this gateway will have eyes that are qurīr, a heart at peace, and a radiant countenance.

«Thirst, knowledge, holding fast, qurīr al-ʿayn» is an inward, emotional story—a prelude to the practical act of holding fast and lowering one’s gaze from all but the Eternal Beloved.

[1] Biḥār al-Anwār (Beirut edition), vol. 36, p. 296Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir ibn Muḥammad Taqī, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, Beirut, 2nd ed., 1403 AH.

[2] Miṣbāḥ al-Sharīʿa, p. 9Attributed to Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad (AS), the sixth Imam, Aʿlamī, Beirut, 1st ed., 1400 AH.

[3] Al-Tawḥīd (al-Ṣadūq), p. 136Ibn Bābawayh, Society of Seminary Teachers, Iran, Qom, 1st ed., 1398 AH.