🔆🌿🌻بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم🌻🌿🔆

The Essence of Truth

🔆🌿🌻بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم🌻🌿🔆

 🍀 Kumayl ibn Ziyad, may God be pleased with him, asked him, peace be upon him, about the Truth, saying:

❓🔆What is the Truth?

🌸🔆Imam Ali, Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, said: “What have you to do with the Truth?!”

 🍀 He said: “Am I not the keeper of your secret?”

🌸🔆He said: “Indeed—but what overflows from me merely seeps onto you.”

🍀 He said: “Would someone like you disappoint a seeker?!”

🌸🔆He said: “The Truth is the unveiling of the veils of majesty, without a gesture.”

🍀 He said: “Give me more explanation.”

🌸🔆He said: “The erasure of the imagined, while the known remains clear.”

🍀 He said: “Give me more explanation.”

🌸🔆He said: “The rending of the veil through the overwhelming power of the secret.”

🍀 He said: “Give me more explanation.”

🔆He said: “The attraction of Oneness through the attribute of divine unity.”

🍀 He said: “Give me more explanation.”

🌸🔆He said: “A light that dawns from the morn of eternity, then shines upon the forms of its effects.”

🍀 He said: “Give me more explanation.”

🌸🔆He said: “Put out the lamp; dawn has broken.”

  بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Peace be upon you.

Introduction to the Discussion

⁉️Question One: Why do you think the Imam replied to Kumayl’s question with the words «ما لک و الحقیقه» (“What have you to do with the Truth?”)?

⁉️Question Two: If you were in Kumayl’s place, what would you have meant by “the Truth”?

⁉️Question Three: Understanding Kumayl in light of his being the Imam’s keeper of secrets.

⁉️Question Four: What is meant by a secret, its keeper, and the station of the source of secrets? (In fact, this question contains three questions.)

⁉️Question Five: Is there a relationship between guarding earthly borders and safeguarding heavenly and transcendent secrets?

⁉️Question Six: Why does the Imam rebuke Kumayl (Sermon 61 of Nahj al-Balagha)? How should we assess Kumayl’s conduct in light of his being the Imam’s keeper of secrets?

⁉️Question Seven: How can we become keepers of the secrets of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, and increase our capacity to receive their secrets?

⁉️Question Eight: What practical methods can purify, prepare, and strengthen the heart?

⁉️Question Nine: During the Occultation, how can one become a keeper of the secrets of Imam al-Mahdi, peace be upon him?

⁉️Question Ten: How can one progress from receiving only fragments of the secret to being wholly immersed in it?

⁉️Question Eleven: What translation would you suggest for the phrase «بلى، و لكن يرشح عليك ما يطفح منّى»?

⁉️Question Twelve: What might be meant by the Imam overflowing—or by the vessel of his soul overflowing?

🍀 He said: «أو مثلك يخيّب سائلا؟!»

Kumayl: “Could someone like you turn away a seeker empty-handed?”

⁉️Question Thirteen: What might explain the Imam’s refusal to answer?

⁉️Question Fourteen: How can this refusal be reconciled with the Imam’s words:

🌷أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ سَلُونِي قَبْلَ أَنْ تَفْقِدُونِي فَلَأَنَا بِطُرُقِ السَّمَاءِ أَعْلَمُ مِنِّي بِطُرُقِ الْأَرْضِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَشْغَرَ بِرِجْلِهَا فِتْنَةٌ تَطَأُ فِي خِطَامِهَا وَ تَذْهَبُ بِأَحْلَامِ قَوْمِهَا

⁉️Question Fifteen: What question did you ask the Imam in Najaf?

⁉️Question Sixteen: Would you share seven golden insights from your own journey toward truth?

Introductory note

In truth, what is truth?

• From one perspective, the Imam alludes to a truth concealed within his blessed soul.
• What is the relationship between knowledge and truth?
• Let us consider that “knowledge” encompasses everything and everyone, in all their parts and kinds.
• Let us consider how we are connected to knowledge: we are with knowledge, and knowledge is with us; knowledge surrounds what it encompasses!
• What must the encompassed do to draw nourishment from what surrounds it? And what comes of it if it is nourished in every way?!
• Does one dissolve into knowledge, does knowledge dissolve into its subject, or are both possible?
• Gratitude for knowledge is one of the secrets of being nourished by it!
• Undoubtedly, as one’s merits increase, so does one’s share of knowledge.
• The capacity to receive knowledge expands through the pursuit of knowledge.
• More often than not, the mirage of knowledge stands in the way of attaining it!
• We must recognize pseudo-knowledge and flee from it!

🔆The question that arises is whether “the truth of each thing” and “truth itself” are separate or one and the same.

The prevailing view seems to be that the things of existence have an inner meaning; when we reach their origin, we arrive at the center of their unity. That center is the truth of things, while truth itself lies beyond it. One further step will bring us to truth itself—though the truth of things may indeed coincide with truth itself.

🔆 Seeing and understanding without a veil—this station is the very truth we seek. But more important is the one who beholds, who encounters truth without a veil: the one whose sight is God’s sight, inseparable from truth, and those who need insight. It may be that, for such a beholder, seeing with or without a veil makes no difference. There is, then, a difference between “the eye of God” and those who see poorly, are blind, or cannot see.

🔆Attaining truth before death is the cherished hope of those who aspire to goodness.

🔆Indeed, the purpose of creation is to attain the truth of servitude to God!

☘️ Nowhere in the hadith is God referred to as “truth.” When the question is asked, “What is truth?” (ما الحقيقة؟), God is surely not meant, for God cannot be defined by a “what.”

🌷🔅“The Real” is one of God’s Most Beautiful Names, ( هُوَ الْحَقُّ الْمُبينُ ) and we know that a name is distinct from the essence. (ً وَ الِاسْمُ غَيْرُ الْمُسَمَّى‏) In reality, a name is a sign pointing toward God. And an attribute, too, functions as a name for the essence of the Real.

🔆🌸( إِنَّ الْأَسْمَاءَ صِفَاتٌ وَصَفَ بِهَا نَفْسَه‏)

 🔆🌸(هُوَ اللَّهُ الْقَدِيمُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَزَلْ وَ الْأَسْمَاءُ وَ الصِّفَاتُ مَخْلُوقَاتٌ وَ الْمَعَانِي وَ الْمَعْنِيُّ بِهَا هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي…‏)

🌷🔅الله اکبر: God is greater than can be described; God is greater than can be described by any attribute, including that of being the Real. Rather, the Real comes from Him, and He is exalted above the Real and above truth itself!

☘️ But Kumayl’s question is not about the name “the Real” as applied to God, though we can draw a connection between the truth under discussion and God’s name, “the Real.”

What kind of truth is this?

🔆Truth, the path to truth, the heart of truth, and the cave of truth must each be examined separately—especially when considering al-Ḥaqq, one of God’s beautiful names!

🔆If truth were God Himself, asking about it would be improper. To take truth as God’s essence is to make truth unknowable. If, in this impossible supposition, truth were identical with the essence of the Real, then one could ask only about the effects and signs of truth, not about truth itself. Since the Master explains truth in the course of the narration, truth is not God’s essence; truth itself is a particular sign of the Exalted Real.

🔆These reflections can help us recognize the Master’s distinctive way of teaching. The Master, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is the Imam of the innermost secrets; all his actions, conduct, refusals, and answers are waves from those same secrets. The Master is a vessel of those innermost secrets, through which his worthy Shia are initiated into new forms of knowledge in a manner suited to them.

He is the truth of truths, yet cannot be described as the Real.

🔆To describe God as truth is not to describe the essence of the Real, for that essence cannot be described. This is precisely what الله اکبر means!

When we say, “Allah is the reality that …,” we are in fact describing God’s attributes. By these attributes, we mean the great and noble qualities that form the link between Allah’s Essence and creation. These attributes belong uniquely to God, the One without equal.

🔆Such descriptions are useful only up to the point of sincerity in affirming God’s oneness. At the height of that sincerity, acknowledging our inability to describe the Almighty Lord is itself the fullest description of Him.

🔆Reality is like a light whose source is God; yet God is not that reality itself—He transcends and surpasses it!

🔆In other words, everything has its origin in God: He brought all things into being. Yet God Himself is the originator of every beginning, and is in no need of a beginning.

🔆God is beautiful, but He is not beauty itself; He is beyond beauty, for He is its originator.

🔆Reality takes on meaning in contrast to falsehood, whereas the One God has neither equal nor opposite.

🔆Reality can be explained, but God cannot be explained…

🔆Al-Māʾidah: 83   وَ إِذا سَمِعُوا ما أُنْزِلَ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ تَرى‏ أَعْيُنَهُمْ تَفيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنا آمَنَّا فَاكْتُبْنا مَعَ الشَّاهِدينَ

“مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ” What they came to know of the Real: so the Real and reality can be known. But Allah can neither be known nor comprehended; He is beyond that…

🌷قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ ع تَكَلَّمُوا  فِي خَلْقِ اللَّهِ وَ لَا تَتَكَلَّمُوا فِي اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ الْكَلَامَ فِي اللَّهِ لَا يَزْدَادُ صَاحِبَهُ إِلَّا تَحَيُّراً.

🌷فِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى عَنْ حَرِيزٍ تَكَلَّمُوا فِي كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ وَ لَا تَتَكَلَّمُوا فِي ذَاتِ اللَّهِ‏

🌷 قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ يَقُولُ- وَ أَنَّ إِلى‏ رَبِّكَ الْمُنْتَهى‏  فَإِذَا انْتَهَى الْكَلَامُ إِلَى اللَّهِ فَأَمْسِكُوا.

The Essence is a sign of Him

• The inmost core and the Essence, too, are signs of Him when described—not He Himself, incomparable as He is
• All the striving of those who seek God is directed toward attaining the reality of His Names and Attributes

🌷 وَ أَسْمَاؤُهُ تَعْبِيرٌ وَ أَفْعَالُهُ تَفْهِيمٌ وَ ذَاتُهُ حَقِيقَةٌ وَ كُنْهُهُ تَفْرِيقٌ بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَ خَلْقِهِ وَ غُبُورُهُ تَحْدِيدٌ لِمَا سِوَاهُ‏  فَقَدْ جَهِلَ اللَّهَ مَنِ اسْتَوْصَفَهُ وَ قَدْ تَعَدَّاهُ مَنِ اشْتَمَلَه‏

🌷 وَ حَقِيقَةُ الْإِلَهِيَّةِ إِذْ لَا مَأْلُوه‏

🌷 جِئْتُ إِلَى الرِّضَا ع أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَأَمْلَى عَلَيَّ

 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ الْأَشْيَاءِ إِنْشَاءً وَ مُبْتَدِعِهَا ابْتِدَاءً بِقُدْرَتِهِ وَ حِكْمَتِهِ لَا مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَيَبْطُلَ الِاخْتِرَاعُ وَ لَا لِعِلَّةٍ فَلَا يَصِحَّ الِابْتِدَاعُ خَلَقَ مَا شَاءَ كَيْفَ شَاءَ مُتَوَحِّداً بِذَلِكَ لِإِظْهَارِ حِكْمَتِهِ وَ حَقِيقَةِ رُبُوبِيَّتِهِ لَا تَضْبِطُهُ الْعُقُولُ وَ لَا تَبْلُغُهُ الْأَوْهَامُ وَ لا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ لَا يُحِيطُ بِهِ مِقْدَارٌ عَجَزَتْ دُونَهُ الْعِبَارَةُ وَ كَلَّتْ دُونَهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَ ضَلَّ فِيهِ تَصَارِيفُ الصِّفَاتِ احْتَجَبَ بِغَيْرِ حِجَابٍ مَحْجُوبٍ وَ اسْتَتَرَ بِغَيْرِ سِتْرٍ مَسْتُورٍ عُرِفَ بِغَيْرِ رُؤْيَةٍ وَ وُصِفَ بِغَيْرِ صُورَةٍ وَ نُعِتَ بِغَيْرِ جِسْمٍ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ‏ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعالِ‏.

What kinship does reality have with the Names and Attributes?

• On this account, does reality precede even the Names and Attributes?!!!
• If we take reality to be light, then what is light? Or is light merely the bearer of reality?
• Is reality the Origin of all origins?
• Does reality have drops? Or is it singular? Or is it the sum of what is singular?
• Is reality pure perception?
• Is reality a connection through knowledge, wholly free of the barriers of ignorance and doubt?

Is reality one with the Essence of the Real? Is this the same as the doctrine of the unity of being?
🌷🔅The One, Unique, Self-Sufficient God shares nothing in common with anyone or anything,

🌷🔅His oneness has always belonged exclusively to His incomparable Essence. The doctrine of the unity of existence, as it is commonly discussed in philosophical circles, strips the peerless Essence of its oneness. In relation to His indescribable Essence, existence has no aspect other than existence; existence is existence through Him. His supreme Essence cannot be described by any attribute—even the attribute of existence! His Essence is beyond existence, even if our understanding and reason cannot reach beyond it! Even using the word “Essence” for the peerless Allah is something we do only out of necessity!

A Guide to the Journey into the Heart of Reality

• A mystery! Thought, with the very core of being, is the finest means of reaching reality!
• Passing beyond existence is necessary in order to understand reality.
• Understanding reality depends on freeing oneself from human and superhuman limitations.
• Reaching reality, rather than merely observing it, is possible only by narrowing the distance between us and reality.
• The realization of reality through reality makes the subject more complex, for in our own account we are reality itself. The manifestations of reality, rather than its coming into being, can better defend the oneness of reality.
• Reality is the light that encompasses time and space.
• Reality is the driving force, the soothing balm, and the activator of all things!
• The world’s helplessness before the majesty of reality and the Essence of the Infallibles (peace be upon them) proves the intimate bond between reality and the Infallibles!
• Dividing reality into mental reality and external reality not only confines it to a vessel, but also deprives it of oneness. Perhaps it would be better to speak of reality as it appears in the mind and beyond the mind!
• There is no false reality, but we can speak of the false imagining of reality.
• What we call reality is, in fact, our conception of reality.
• Love is the fuel for reaching reality.
• God is neither in anything nor upon anything, neither beside anything nor distant from anything. God is beyond reality, too exalted and sublime for reality to describe His incomparable Essence!

What is the reality of reality?

• Reality is free of time and space.
• Communion with reality is the key to its mysteries.
• Discovering the paths to reality, and escaping dead ends and obstacles—whether self-made or imposed by others—is the key to reaching reality.
• Perhaps it is more fitting to regard reality as the highest sign, beyond even the sign of the Boundless Essence: reality can be reached, but the Real Essence cannot!
• Everyone hunts for reality, whether they know it or not!
• “Realities” is used in contrast to reality, while “illusions” applies to what is unreal. In most philosophical discussions, “illusion” is equated with “reality,” diverting seekers of truth from the path of seeking it!
• Reality is the sign of truth, a guide toward truth, an address from truth…
• Illusions, however, are notions of truth that have no connection to truth… They are fashioned by the human mind, whereas realities are rays reaching us from the sun of truth.
• Reality is the highest sign of the Divine Essence. When we reach reality, we have arrived at its place of growth and manifestation, its divine workshop—yet this is only the first destination on the journey to reality.
• To reach nothingness, without philosophical or rhetorical euphemism, is to become nothing. How can someone who is nothing reach reality?
• But if, in this context, nothingness means passing beyond every kind of limitation and constraint, the idea is more acceptable!

Vessels for Understanding Reality

Kumayl was like a vessel capable of receiving the mysteries of the soul of his Master—though only to a certain and limited degree—

Of course, Salman, Abu Dharr, Miqdad, and some other great figures were also confidants of the Imam. Each had his own capacity and range, like orbiting bodies reflecting rays of the Imam’s mysteries!

What have you to do with reality?

An Introduction to the Discussion

A reminder:

• Reality: root, source, the first of the first, the pure, the absolute.
• The moment we ask where reality is, reality itself loses its oneness.
• A reality that has been experienced no longer needs to be reached.
• Paths that take the form of reality are not reality itself!
• Sincere seeking is essential to attaining reality.
• At the heart of reaching reality lies piety!

🍀Why does the Imam say to Kumayl, “What have you to do with reality?”

🍀قال: أ و لست صاحب سرّك؟

Kumayl in Nahj al-Balagha

☘️ In 39 AH, Kumayl was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib’s (peace be upon him) governor of the city of Hit. Among the events of his governorship was a letter from ʿAlī (peace be upon him) concerning what had happened there. When Kumayl learned that Muʿāwiya’s forces, commanded by Sufyān ibn ʿAwf, intended to attack Hit, he assumed they were in Qarqīsiyā. Without the Commander of the Faithful’s permission, he left fifty armed men to defend the city and set out with his companions toward Qarqīsiyā. Muʿāwiya’s troops seized the opportunity and attacked Hit. In a letter, ʿAlī rebuked him for this. The letter appears as number 61 in Nahj al-Balāgha.

🌸🔆أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّ تَضْيِيعَ الْمَرْءِ مَا وُلِّيَ وَ تَكَلُّفَهُ مَا كُفِيَ لَعَجْزٌ حَاضِرٌ وَ رَأْيٌ مُتَبَّرٌ وَ إِنَّ تَعَاطِيَكَ الْغَارَةَ عَلَى أَهْلِ قِرْقِيسِيَا وَ تَعْطِيلَكَ مَسَالِحَكَ الَّتِي وَلَّيْنَاكَ لَيْسَ [لَهَا] بِهَا مَنْ يَمْنَعُهَا وَ لَا يَرُدُّ الْجَيْشَ عَنْهَا لَرَأْيٌ شَعَاعٌ فَقَدْ صِرْتَ جِسْراً لِمَنْ أَرَادَ الْغَارَةَ مِنْ أَعْدَائِكَ عَلَى أَوْلِيَائِكَ غَيْرَ شَدِيدِ الْمَنْكِبِ وَ لَا مَهِيبِ الْجَانِبِ‏ وَ لَا سَادٍّ ثُغْرَةً وَ لَا كَاسِرٍ لِعَدُوٍّ شَوْكَةً وَ لَا مُغْنٍ عَنْ أَهْلِ مِصْرِهِ وَ لَا مُجْزٍ عَنْ أَمِيرِه‏

                        Nahj al-Balāgha (Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ ed.), p. 450

☘️🔆 Among the letters of the Commander of the Faithful: a letter to Kumayl ibn Ziyād al-Nakhaʿī, when he was his governor in Hit, rebuking him for leaving the enemy alone as they passed through his territory and went off to plunder the Muslims.

Now then: For a man to neglect what has been entrusted to him, and to take on the burden of work assigned to someone else, is manifest weakness and a ruinous judgment. Your raid on the people of Qarqīsiyā and your abandonment of the frontiers over which We placed you in authority—leaving no one to guard them or turn the enemy forces back—is misguided. You have become a bridge for your enemies, who sought to plunder your friends. You have neither the strength to resist them nor inspired fear in them. You have neither secured a frontier nor broken the enemy’s power. You have been no governor of benefit to the people of your city, nor have you spared your commander the need to act. And peace.

                        Nahj al-Balāgha, trans. Anṣāriyān, p. 718

Managing the relationship between the follower and the Imam

☘️There is a special connection between guarding the earthly frontiers and safeguarding heavenly and transcendent secrets!

☘️A follower must not act for even a moment without their Imam of the Time. The follower stands within the magnetic field of their Imam, and all their movements are shaped by him. At the moment of action, whether the Imam is present or in occultation, the inward connection with him must be so constant and close that the Imam’s worlds manifest in the follower’s soul!

☘️God is the link between the Imam and the follower. Constant remembrance of God is the key to this connection, for the Imam is a divinely appointed means.

☘️The follower must continually beseech God to draw upon the wellspring of the Imam’s soul. The follower should regard the Imam as God’s greatest blessing and continually call upon God to benefit from him.

☘️Knowledge received through the authority of the Imamate as a secret among secrets is not meant to remain hidden and concealed. Rather, people should be allowed to benefit from it in a fitting way, without its being divulged—like a pen whose effects are offered to God’s creatures without revealing the pen itself, or a nuclear power plant whose light and energy benefit people without disclosing how nuclear power is generated!

☘️Knowledge received from the sun of knowledge must shine like the full moon, revolving in the gravitational orbit of that very sun!

☘️The outward is the title of our inward; our outward conduct bears witness to our inward conduct.

☘️Rather than letting oil go to waste, use a lamp to turn it into light, illuminating people’s vision and making their path bright. Rather than burning wood, if its energy is fully harnessed in a power plant, it will shine upon the world of existence like a star for years and years.

A keeper of the Imam’s blessed words, entrusted with a secret

🌷وَ مِنْ كَلَامٍ لَهُ ع لِكُمَيْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ النَّخَعِيِّ قَالَ كُمَيْلُ بْنُ زِيَادٍ أَخَذَ بِيَدِي أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع فَأَخْرَجَنِي إِلَى الْجَبَّانِ فَلَمَّا أَصْحَرَ تَنَفَّسَ الصُّعَدَاءَ ثُمَّ قَالَ

🔆🌸 يَا كُمَيْلَ بْنَ زِيَادٍ إِنَّ هَذِهِ الْقُلُوبَ أَوْعِيَةٌ فَخَيْرُهَا أَوْعَاهَا فَاحْفَظْ عَنِّي مَا أَقُولُ لَكَ‏ النَّاسُ ثَلَاثَةٌ فَعَالِمٌ رَبَّانِيٌّ وَ مُتَعَلِّمٌ عَلَى سَبِيلِ نَجَاةٍ وَ هَمَجٌ رَعَاعٌ أَتْبَاعُ كُلِّ نَاعِقٍ يَمِيلُونَ مَعَ كُلِّ رِيحٍ لَمْ يَسْتَضِيئُوا بِنُورِ الْعِلْمِ وَ لَمْ يَلْجَئُوا إِلَى رُكْنٍ وَثِيق‏

                        *Nahj al-Balāgha* (ed. Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ), p. 495

☘️From the sayings of the Commander of the Faithful, addressed to Kumayl ibn Ziyād al-Nakhaʿī: Kumayl ibn Ziyād said: The Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be upon him, took me by the hand and led me out into the desert. When we reached it, he sighed—a sorrowful sigh—and then said:

🔆🌸“Kumayl, hearts are vessels, and the best of them are those that retain what they receive most faithfully. So remember what I tell you.

People are of three kinds: a divinely grounded scholar; a student on the path to salvation; and a rabble of fools who follow every voice and are blown about by every wind. They have not been illumined by the light of knowledge, nor taken refuge in a firm support.”

The bearer of the secret is none other than the divinely grounded scholar!

🌷 إِنَّ هَاهُنَا لَعِلْماً جَمّاً وَ أَشَارَ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى صَدْرِهِ لَوْ أَصَبْتُ لَهُ حَمَلَةً بَلَى [أُصِيبُ‏] أَصَبْتُ لَقِناً غَيْرَ مَأْمُونٍ عَلَيْهِ مُسْتَعْمِلًا آلَةَ الدِّينِ لِلدُّنْيَا وَ مُسْتَظْهِراً بِنِعَمِ اللَّهِ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ وَ بِحُجَجِهِ عَلَى أَوْلِيَائِهِ- أَوْ مُنْقَاداً لِحَمَلَةِ الْحَقِّ لَا بَصِيرَةَ لَهُ فِي أَحْنَائِهِ يَنْقَدِحُ الشَّكُّ فِي قَلْبِهِ لِأَوَّلِ عَارِضٍ مِنْ شُبْهَةٍ أَلَا لَا ذَا وَ لَا ذَاكَ أَوْ مَنْهُوماً بِاللَّذَّةِ سَلِسَ الْقِيَادِ لِلشَّهْوَةِ أَوْ مُغْرَماً بِالْجَمْعِ وَ الِادِّخَارِ لَيْسَا مِنْ رُعَاةِ الدِّينِ فِي شَيْ‏ءٍ أَقْرَبُ شَيْ‏ءٍ شَبَهاً بِهِمَا الْأَنْعَامُ السَّائِمَةُ كَذَلِكَ يَمُوتُ الْعِلْمُ بِمَوْتِ حَامِلِيه‏

                        *Nahj al-Balāgha* (ed. Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ), p. 497

🌸Continuing the Imam’s words to Kumayl: “…Know that there is abundant knowledge here”—and he pointed to his chest—“if only I could find someone worthy to receive it, I would pass it on! Yes, I can find a keen-minded person for this knowledge, but I cannot trust him with it: he uses the instruments of religion for worldly gain, and boasts over God’s servants with the blessings God has bestowed upon them, and over His friends with the proofs of the truth. Or I find someone who follows the bearers of truth but has no insight into its subtleties and dimensions; at the first doubt that arises, the fire of uncertainty is kindled in his heart.

Know that neither of these is fit for it. Or I find someone consumed by pleasure and readily obedient to his desires. Or someone infatuated with gathering and hoarding wealth. Neither of these two safeguards religion in any way. The creatures most like them are grazing livestock left to roam. In this way, knowledge dies with those who bear it.”

*Nahj al-Balāgha*, translated by Anṣāriyān, p. 794

The secrets of the “bearer of the spiritual path” among the Household, peace be upon them

🌸🔆Special care for the heart: its purification, adornment, expansion and protection

🌸🔆Enrolling in the class of divinely grounded knowledge

🌸🔆Ascending at every moment: Kumayl must rise beyond being merely Kumayl; he must ascend and never be content with standing still

🌸🔆Drawing sustenance from the divine source and becoming its permanent dweller

🌸🔆Clear knowledge of the treasuries of divine knowledge, and acquiring the expertise needed to benefit fully and distinctively from the steeds of knowledge and understanding

And so on…

☘️The Household, peace be upon them—and in this age, the Imam of the Time, may God hasten his appearance—are the sanctuary of hearts made serene, entrusted with the secret of God!

☘️Examining and taking account of the self, the heart, and one’s intentions is essential for attaining divine knowledge!

☘️The wellsprings of divine knowledge and mystery seek hearts that are ready, tranquil, and pure!

☘️How often a water well proves more receptive and worthy than human hearts!!!

☘️The Master of earth and heaven watches over the hearts of his Shi‘a by God’s permission, preparing them to bear divine mysteries.

🌷🔆Whatever wells up from the Master’s soul is one of God’s hidden mysteries; yet those who witness it perceive it in different ways.

🌷🔆 Whatever a person of insight apprehends of the Master’s beauty and words will differ from what others perceive. Spiritual discernment, piety, and each person’s degree of understanding and insight determine this.

The way a person of insight penetrates the Master’s words and mysteries has a quality all its own!

The Master’s own words:

وَ الْبَصِيرُ يَنْفُذُهَا بَصَرُه‏

🔆His guide is himself a vast, surging sea, alive with waves; in such an ocean, there is no concept of drowning.

🔆Whoever is entrusted with a mystery is like a drop of water. Faced with the immense expanse of the sea of mysteries, that person must seize the opportunity to be immersed in it. If the drop does not drown in the sea, it will never become the possessor of all its mysteries.

Why was the water well the place where the Master confided his secrets?

⁉️Why did the Master, Amir al-Mu’minin (AS), impart divine knowledge and mysteries to a water well? He could, for example, have spoken to a mountain, a rock, a tree, a valley, a hill, a river, the sky, and so on. And was this act of his a kind of wake-up call to the faithful, or did it have other purposes? If so, what were they?

🌸🔆A close and discerning contemplation of the wondrous deeds of the Master, Amir al-Mu’minin (AS), suggests that:

☘️The water well was only one of the spiritual “tools” for conveying his mysteries. Of course, not every well was worthy of such a gift. The stars in the heavens, pure trees, birds filled with love, mountains and plains that yearn, and every pure-hearted lover among the inanimate, plants, and animals could all serve as instruments for the Master’s knowledge and mysteries. Among his vessels and treasuries of mystery are the tranquil hearts of his faithful Shi‘a, who are joined and connected to the very soul of his mysteries and continually nourished by them. Shi‘a who…

☘️The outpouring of the Master’s mysteries, wonders, and marvels from his surging soul was not confined to a water well.

☘️The true wells of the Master’s mysteries are pure, loving hearts, thirsting for love of him and longing for the cocoon that encloses them to split open—a cocoon caught in the powerful field of attraction surrounding the treasury of knowledge.

☘️In truth, the hearts of the faithful are permanently connected to the soul of their Master, a soul that is a vast, surging ocean of knowledge! The pure hearts of the faithful drink in the knowledge of their Master’s soul!

Nurturing the heart for knowledge

🌹🔆From one perspective, the human heart resembles a divine treasury; from another, a divine sanctuary; and from yet another, a lamp of the Lord!

☘️This heart, then, belongs exclusively to the Most High Lord!

☘️So we must remind ourselves that our heart is the land of divine love, a kingdom of majesty!

☘️Let us therefore set God’s name upon the crown of that kingdom!

☘️Let us place the name of the kingdom’s Owner upon its sanctuary and land, and proclaim to all that none may enter this sacred place without divine permission!

☘️Without doubt, the compassionate, majestic, subtle, and generous God will plant every kind of beauty in this heart.

☘️ Among the highest of the gracious gifts of His Eminence, the All-Loving, is the affection and love of His true friends. That is why love for the Ahl al-Bayt is the fragrance of our souls!

🌻🔆Al-Hujurat: 7 وَ اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فيكُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوْ يُطيعُكُمْ في‏ كَثيرٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ وَ لكِنَّ اللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْإيمانَ وَ زَيَّنَهُ في‏ قُلُوبِكُمْ وَ كَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكُفْرَ وَ الْفُسُوقَ وَ الْعِصْيانَ أُولئِكَ هُمُ الرَّاشِدُونَ

🔆🌻 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي قَوْلِهِ:

حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْإِيمانَ وَ زَيَّنَهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ يَعْنِي أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ) وَ كَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكُفْرَ وَ الْفُسُوقَ وَ الْعِصْيانَ الْأَوَّلَ وَ الثَّانِيَ وَ الثَّالِثَ.

Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 5, p. 83

🌸🔆What a wondrous mystery: when this heart becomes worthy, the Creator of all beauty sows in it love for Ali and his pure descendants.

🔆🌸How wondrous that the heart which holds Ali’s secret is introduced to him by Ali’s own Creator!

☘️The one who makes God’s proof known is the Creator, Lord of all the worlds (اللهم عرفنی حجتک). And the one who makes the Shia and the treasury of Ali known to God’s proof—Ali and the descendants of Ali, peace be upon them—is none other than the All-Knowing Creator!

☘️Thus, the first and final key to attaining truth is Allah, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Source of Peace.

☘️When devotion to and obedience of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, are identical with obedience to God, love and affection for them, too, belong alongside love and affection for God!

🔆🌷Al-Ma’idah: 55 إِنَّما وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ وَ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا الَّذينَ يُقيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَ يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكاةَ وَ هُمْ راكِعُونَ

🔆🌷Al-Nisa’: 59 يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا أَطيعُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَ أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ …

☘️🔆When God, the Blessed and Exalted, loves someone, He plants love for that person in the hearts of His true servants.

🌸🔆قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ص إِذَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ عَبْداً مِنْ أُمَّتِي قَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِ أَصْفِيَائِهِ وَ أَرْوَاحِ مَلَائِكَتِهِ وَ سُكَّانِ عَرْشِهِ مَحَبَّتَهُ لِيُحِبُّوهُ فَذَلِكَ الْمُحِبُّ حَقّاً طُوبَى لَهُ ثُمَّ طُوبَى لَهُ وَ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ شَفَاعَةٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة

🔆🌷عَنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ مَنْ أَحَبَّ اللَّهَ أَحَبَّ النَّبِيَّ وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ النَّبِيَّ أَحَبَّنَا وَ مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا أَحَبَّ شِيعَتَنَا فَإِنَّ النَّبِيَّ [فالنبي‏] ص وَ نَحْنُ وَ شِيعَتَنَا مِنْ طِينَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَ نَحْنُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ لَا نُبْغِضُ مَنْ يُحِبُّنَا [أَحَبَّنَا] وَ لَا نُحِبُّ مَنْ أَبْغَضَنَا اقْرَءُوا إِنْ شِئْتُمْ إِنَّما وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ وَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِلَى آخِرِ الْآيَةِ قَالَ الحادث [الْحَارِثُ‏] صَدَقَ وَ اللَّهِ [الله‏] مَا نَزَلَتْ إِلَّا فِيهِ.

☘️Love for God’s friends, sown in the hearts of the faithful by the Sower of existence, is like planting a treasury of knowledge in the heart!

The Mystery of Annihilation

🔆🌷The most beautiful annihilation is for a pure human being to be absorbed into the source of purity: for a person to become salt in a salt mine, for earth and water to be drawn into the life of the celestial tree!

Just as the companions of Sayyid al-Shuhada, peace be upon him, attained this lofty station!

🌷 السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ وَ عَلَى الْأَرْوَاحِ الَّتِي حَلَّتْ بِفِنَائِكَ وَ أَنَاخَتْ بِرَحْلِك‏

🌸The ultimate movement and goal of a follower’s emulation of a model is for the follower to become the model! That is, to attain the station of pure servitude. Yes, unless we become Ali, we cannot become a wali! This is no grandiose claim; it is precisely what the journey toward God asks of us: to reach the station of pure servitude to God!

🔆In truth, if a person’s chosen actions become identical with God’s creative act—in other words, when all a person’s deeds are pleasing to the Exalted Lord—God attributes that action to Himself, as in “the House of God.” The servant becomes ʿAbd Allah, the servant of God, and his action becomes God’s action. Put more gently and cautiously, the action reaches its perfection and its fullest goodness.

🌸God’s Most Beautiful Names are the source, root, and inner meaning of the realities of existence!

Since the Infallibles, peace be upon them, are models for all humanity, the aim of following them is to become one with that model—or, to put it more cautiously, to become its perfect likeness!

🌸If coal does not become a diamond, it is fit to burn, not to shine!

🌸 🌷If a person does not become a Zahra and a Zahra-like soul, an Ali and an Ali-like soul, how much better for him to be bound and shackled by the limits of humanity and animality!

Secrets from the Wellsprings of Knowledge

🌸☘️قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ص فِي الْقُلُوبِ‏ نُورٌ لَا يُضِي‏ءُ إِلَّا مِنِ اتِّبَاعِ الْحَقِّ وَ قَصْدِ السَّبِيلِ وَ هُوَ مِنْ نُورِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ مُوَدَّعٌ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِين‏

________________________________________
مصباح الشريعة ؛ ؛ ص157  Attributed to جعفربن محمد عليه السلام, the sixth Imam عليه السلام, مصباح الشريعة, 1 volume, A‘lami, Beirut, first edition, 1400 AH.

🌸☘️…فَالْعَفْوُ سِرُّ اللَّهِ فِي الْقُلُوبِ‏ قُلُوبِ خَوَاصِّهِ فمن [مِمَّنْ‏] يُسِرُّ لَهُ سِرَّهُ  

مصباح الشريعة ؛ ؛ ص158  Attributed to جعفربن محمد عليه السلام, the sixth Imam عليه السلام, مصباح الشريعة, 1 volume, A‘lami, Beirut, first edition, 1400 AH.

🌸☘️عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ ع‏ فِي هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ «اللَّهُ‏ نُورُ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ‏» قَالَ بَدَأَ بِنُورِ نَفْسِهِ تَعَالَى «مَثَلُ نُورِهِ‏» مَثَلُ هُدَاهُ فِي قَلْبِ الْمُؤْمِنِ «كَمِشْكاةٍ فِيها مِصْباحٌ الْمِصْباحُ‏» وَ الْمِشْكَاةُ جَوْفُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَ الْقِنْدِيلُ قَلْبُهُ- وَ الْمِصْبَاحُ النُّورُ الَّذِي جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ «يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبارَكَةٍ» قَالَ الشَّجَرَةُ الْمُؤْمِنُ «زَيْتُونَةٍ لا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَ لا غَرْبِيَّةٍ» قَالَ عَلَى سَوَاءِ الْجَبَلِ لَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ أَيْ لَا شَرْقَ لَهَا وَ لَا شَرْقِيَّةٍ- أَيْ لَا غَرْبَ لَهَا إِذَا طَلَعَتِ الشَّمْسُ طَلَعَتْ عَلَيْهَا- وَ إِذَا غَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ غَرَبَتْ عَلَيْهَا «يَكادُ زَيْتُها يُضِي‏ءُ» يَكَادُ النُّورُ الَّذِي جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ يُضِي‏ءُ وَ إِنْ لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ «نُورٌ عَلى‏ نُورٍ» فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى فَرِيضَةٍ وَ سُنَّةٌ عَلَى سُنَّةٍ «يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشاءُ» يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِفَرَائِضِهِ وَ سُنَنِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ «وَ يَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثالَ لِلنَّاسِ‏» فَهَذَا مَثَلٌ ضَرَبَهُ اللَّهُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ، قَالَ فَالْمُؤْمِنُ يَتَقَلَّبُ فِي خَمْسَةٍ مِنَ النُّورِ، مَدْخَلُهُ نُورٌ وَ مَخْرَجُهُ نُورٌ- وَ عِلْمُهُ نُورٌ وَ كَلَامُهُ نُورٌ- وَ مَصِيرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ نُورٌ، قُلْتُ لِجَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ ع جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ يَا سَيِّدِي إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مَثَلُ نُورِ الرَّبِّ قَالَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ لَيْسَ لِلَّهِ مَثَلٌ- قَالَ اللَّهُ‏ فَلا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الْأَمْثالَ‏.

تفسير القمي ؛ ج‏2 ؛ ص103  Qummi, Ali ibn Ibrahim, تفسير القمي, 2 volumes, Dar al-Kitab, Qom, third edition, 1404 AH.

The Secret of the Shi‘a’s Connection with the Friends of God

🌷🔅فَإِنَّهُ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ جُنْدَبٍ قَالَ‏ كَتَبْتُ إِلَى أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا ع أَسْأَلُ عَنْ تَفْسِيرِ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ- فَكَتَبَ إِلَيَّ الْجَوَابَ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّ مُحَمَّداً كَانَ أَمِينَ اللَّهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ- فَلَمَّا قُبِضَ النَّبِيُّ ص كُنَّا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَرَثَتَهُ- فَنَحْنُ أُمَنَاءُ اللَّهِ فِي أَرْضِهِ- عِنْدَنَا عِلْمُ الْمَنَايَا وَ الْبَلَايَا وَ أَنْسَابُ الْعَرَبِ وَ مَوْلِدُ الْإِسْلَامِ وَ مَا مِنْ فِئَةٍ تَضِلُّ مِائَةٌ بِهِ وَ تَهْدِي مِائَةٌ بِهِ- إِلَّا وَ نَحْنُ نَعْرِفُ سَائِقَهَا وَ قَائِدَهَا وَ نَاعِقَهَا- وَ إِنَّا لَنَعْرِفُ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا رَأَيْنَاهُ بِحَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ- وَ حَقِيقَةِ النِّفَاقِ- وَ إِنَّ شِيعَتَنَا لَمَكْتُوبُونَ بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ وَ أَسْمَاءِ آبَائِهِمْ- أَخَذَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا وَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمِيثَاقَ- يَرِدُونَ مَوْرِدَنَا وَ يَدْخُلُونَ مَدْخَلَنَا- لَيْسَ عَلَى مِلَّةِ الْإِسْلَامِ غَيْرُنَا وَ غَيْرُهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، نَحْنُ آخِذُونَ بِحُجْزَةِ نَبِيِّنَا  وَ نَبِيُّنَا آخِذٌ بِحُجْزَةِ رَبِّنَا- وَ الْحُجْزَةُ النُّورُ وَ شِيعَتُنَا آخِذُونَ بِحُجْزَتِنَا، مَنْ فَارَقَنَا هَلَكَ وَ مَنْ تَبِعَنَا نَجَا- وَ الْمُفَارِقُ لَنَا وَ الْجَاحِدُ لِوَلَايَتِنَا كَافِرٌ- وَ مُتَّبِعُنَا وَ تَابِعُ أَوْلِيَائِنَا مُؤْمِنٌ، لَا يُحِبُّنَا كَافِرٌ وَ لَا يُبْغِضُنَا مُؤْمِنٌ- وَ مَنْ مَاتَ وَ هُوَ يُحِبُّنَا كَانَ حَقّاً عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يَبْعَثَهُ مَعَنَا، نَحْنُ نُورٌ لِمَنْ تَبِعَنَا، وَ هُدًى لِمَنِ اهْتَدَى بِنَا- وَ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَّا فَلَيْسَ مِنَ الْإِسْلَامِ فِي شَيْ‏ءٍ- وَ بِنَا فَتَحَ اللَّهُ الدِّينَ وَ بِنَا يَخْتِمُهُ، وَ بِنَا أَطْعَمَكُمُ اللَّهُ عُشْبَ الْأَرْضِ، وَ بِنَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ قَطْرَ السَّمَاءِ، وَ بِنَا آمَنَكُمُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْغَرَقِ فِي بَحْرِكُمْ- وَ مِنَ الْخَسْفِ فِي بَرِّكُمْ- وَ بِنَا نَفَعَكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي حَيَاتِكُمْ- وَ فِي قُبُورِكُمْ وَ فِي مَحْشَرِكُمْ وَ عِنْدَ الصِّرَاطِ وَ عِنْدَ الْمِيزَانِ وَ عِنْدَ دُخُولِكُمُ الْجِنَانَ، مَثَلُنَا فِي‏ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ مِشْكَاةٍ- وَ الْمِشْكَاةُ فِي الْقِنْدِيلِ- فَنَحْنُ الْمِشْكَاةُ فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ، الْمِصْبَاحُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص «الْمِصْباحُ فِي زُجاجَةٍ» مِنْ عُنْصُرَةٍ طَاهِرَةٍ «الزُّجاجَةُ كَأَنَّها كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّيٌّ- يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُبارَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ- لا شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَ لا غَرْبِيَّةٍ» لَا دَعِيَّةٍ وَ لَا مُنْكِرَةٍ «يَكادُ زَيْتُها يُضِي‏ءُ وَ لَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نارٌ» الْقُرْآنُ «نُورٌ عَلى‏ نُورٍ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَنْ يَشاءُ- وَ يَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثالَ لِلنَّاسِ- وَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ عَلِيمٌ‏» فَالنُّورُ عَلِيٌّ ع يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِوَلَايَتِنَا مَنْ أَحَبَّ, …

Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 104 Al-Qummī, ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm, *Tafsīr al-Qummī*, 2 vols., Dār al-Kitāb, Qom, 3rd ed., 1404 AH.

The Imam’s secret pulses like the Imam’s light in the believer’s heart.

🌷🔅 عَنْ أَبِي خَالِدٍ الْكَابُلِيِّ قَالَ‏ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ ع عَنْ قَوْلِهِ: فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَ رَسُولِهِ وَ النُّورِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْنا، فَقَالَ يَا أَبَا خَالِدٍ. النُّورُ وَ اللَّهِ الْأَئِمَّةُ مِنْ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ ص إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَ هُمْ وَ اللَّهِ‏ نُورُ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ- وَ هُمْ وَ اللَّهِ‏ نُورُ اللَّهِ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ، يَا أَبَا خَالِدٍ! لَنُورُ الْإِمَامُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ- أَنْوَرُ مِنَ الشَّمْسِ الْمُضِيئَةِ بِالنَّهَارِ- وَ هُمْ وَ اللَّهِ يُنَوِّرُونَ قُلُوبَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ- وَ يَحْجُبُ اللَّهُ نُورَهُمْ عَمَّنْ‏ يَشَاءُ فَتُظْلِمُ قُلُوبُهُمْ، وَ اللَّهِ يَا أَبَا خَالِدٍ! لَا يُحِبُّنَا عَبْدٌ وَ يَتَوَلَّانَا حَتَّى يُطَهِّرَ اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ وَ لَا يُطَهِّرُ اللَّهُ قَلْبَ عَبْدٍ حَتَّى يُسَلِّمَ لَنَا وَ يَكُونَ سِلْماً لَنَا- فَإِذَا كَانَ سِلْماً لَنَا سَلَّمَهُ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَدِيدِ الْحِسَابِ- وَ آمَنَهُ مِنْ فَزَعِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ الْأَكْبَرِ.

_Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 371 Al-Qummī, ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm, *Tafsīr al-Qummī*, 2 vols., Dār al-Kitāb, Qom, 3rd ed., 1404 AH.

🌷🔅عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ‏ وَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّ رِيحَكُمْ وَ أَرْوَاحَكُمْ وَ رُؤْيَتَكُمْ وَ زِيَارَتَكُمْ وَ إِنِّي لَعَلَى دِينِ اللَّهِ وَ دِينِ مَلَائِكَتِهِ فَأَعِينُوا عَلَى ذَلِكَ بِوَرَعٍ وَ أَنَا فِي الْمَدِينَةِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الشَّعْرَةِ أَتَقَلْقَلُ حَتَّى أَرَى الرَّجُلَ مِنْكُمْ فَأَسْتَرِيحَ إِلَيْهِ‏ .

🌷🔅عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ وَ نَحْنُ جَمَاعَةٌ إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّ رُؤْيَتَكُمْ وَ أَشْتَاقُ إِلَى حَدِيثِكُمْ‏.

Al-Maḥāsin, vol. 1, p. 163  Al-Barqī, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Khālid, *Al-Maḥāsin*, 2 vols., Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, Qom, 2nd ed., 1371 AH.

🌷🔅قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ‏ أَنْتُمْ وَ اللَّهِ‏ نُورٌ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ أَهْلَ السَّمَاءِ لَيَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْكُمْ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ كَمَا تَنْظُرُونَ أَنْتُمْ إِلَى الْكَوْكَبِ الدُّرِّيِّ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَ إِنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ لَيَقُولُ لِبَعْضٍ يَا فُلَانُ عَجَباً لِفُلَانٍ كَيْفَ أَصَابَ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ وَ هُوَ قَوْلُ أَبِي ع وَ اللَّهِ مَا أَعْجَبُ مِمَّنْ هَلَكَ‏ كَيْفَ هَلَكَ وَ لَكِنْ أَعْجَبُ مِمَّنْ نَجَا كَيْفَ نَجَا.

Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 8, p. 275  Al-Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq, *Al-Kāfī* (Islamic edition), 8 vols., Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, Tehran, 4th ed., 1407 AH.

The outpourings of the soul of the universe

⁉️Question eleven: What translation would you suggest for the phrase «بلى، و لكن يرشح عليك ما يطفح منّى»?

⁉️Question twelve: What might be meant by the Master overflowing, or by the vessel of the Master’s soul becoming full to the brim?

🔆🌷قال: بلى، و لكن يرشح عليك ما يطفح منّى،

🌷🔆O Kumayl, it is not as you say when you call yourself the keeper of my secret! What reaches you is but the effusions of my overflowing soul!

🔆O Kumayl, only drops and drippings of my secrets reach you when I overflow!

🔆O Kumayl, it is true that you are the keeper of my secret, but only fragments of my being reach you when the vessel of my soul boils over!

🌸🔆When the Master overflows, a wondrous world takes shape! The fuller he becomes, the more new worlds will dawn! Perhaps this is the ever-radiant beauty of the All-Knowing Creator, who brings forth fresh wonders by opening up the light of His friends!

🌸🔆Yes, the surge of the Opener’s love sets the soul of His ʿAlī in tumult! An overflowing heaven heralds a wonder beyond the heavens!

🌸🔆Divine knowledge has no end. When the Master’s soul becomes the wellspring of divine knowledge, it expands toward infinity. Truly, the overflowing of the Master’s soul is a secret beyond all secrets!

🔆   Yes, a secret is like a ladder, which those entrusted with secrets climb according to their capacity. Put another way, it is like a deep sea into which each person plunges according to the breadth of their breast and the depth of their soul.

🔆Yes, following an example is a blessed key to becoming a keeper of secrets.

🔆Yes, arming the forces of reason is a blessed key to attaining one’s purpose.

🔆Yes, even from behind a cloud, His light illuminates the eyes of those who love Him.

🔆Yes, following the example of the station of divine authority can even shield one’s martyrdom.

🔆A taste of the little awakens a hunger for the whole. The sweet, delightful taste of a drop of the secrets of His beauty whets and stirs the appetite for the sea of His mystery.

🔆A mist from the sea, dust from the plain, and a sliver of moonlight from His mighty cloud are all that the Kumaylians of our time receive.

🔆The character of one entrusted with secrets takes on the fragrance, scent, and hue of his Master.

The secret of strengthening the soul to receive abundant nourishment from the souls of God’s chosen ones

🌸🔆The radiant divine gift bestowed upon the hearts of the faithful—the pure light of divine authority—must be nurtured and made brighter. The Creator of existence has kindled His lamp in the heart; our duty is not only to preserve its glow, but to brighten it further with the fuel of remembrance and recollection of God! Love for and devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them 🌸🔆is the highest emblem of divine love. The more our hearts become like ʿAlī and the Mahdī, the more brightly we shine with divine love!

🌸🔆Let us not forget the fuel of the heart: the lofty teachings of the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt!

🌸🔆Yes, remembrance of God frees the heart from limitations, while remembering and loving anything other than God binds it to the limits of what is remembered and loved.

🌸🔆Good manners are a sign of divine refinement and of drawing near to God and winning His love.

🌸🔆Surely, the heart is purified through remembrance of the Holy and Pure One.

🌸🔆The Divine Essence is contained in no vessel; rather, He holds sway over every vessel and all that it contains.

🌸🔆What takes root in the heart is the remembrance of that Inexpressible One, which dissolves the heart’s limits and constraints. As His names permeate the heart, even its roof gives way to the boundlessness beyond, and we are granted experiences beyond all experience.

🌸🔆Indeed, through divine attentiveness, the heart is transformed again and again, and this is the dignity of servitude.

🌸🔆Indeed, not everyone is privy to the divine mysteries. Once a secret is revealed, it is no longer a secret.

🌸🔆Faithfully guarding the trust of the mysteries, while also fulfilling one’s duty to share them, brings the gift of new mysteries flowing forth.

🌸🔆New springs of merciful mysteries well up from the vessel of the greatness of the exalted soul, while the hidden abundance of his blessed soul overflows, immersing the world. From this outpouring, every lover who seeks receives according to the capacity of their worthiness. The sun of the Master’s soul shines, and the rays streaming from his pure soul illuminate the eyes; the more worthy the eye, the brighter its light.

Mysteries of the bond between lover and beloved, knower and known

🌸🔆The mysteries of love between lover and beloved are mysteries within mysteries. No one can enter the sanctuary of their attraction, beyond all attraction. Those who hold the mysteries can only practise the ways of love, witnessing from afar the dust around the beloved’s dwelling.

🌸🔆So let us know that our hearts are constantly watched by the Eye of God, so that He may adorn them through their transformation and make them a channel for the outpouring of His mysteries!

🌸🔆Let us never be heedless of the state of our hearts. Let us recite « رب شرح لی صدری…» and, morning and evening, commune soulfully with God, saying « ربّ طهّرنی قلبی، نوّرنی قلبی …» so that we may receive a greater share of the ocean of His mysteries and gracious gifts!

🌸🔆The heart is from Him; so let us ask the Almighty to grant us the strength worthy of His mysteries!

🌸🔆The possessor of truth guides us to truth itself; that is,

with the possessor of truth, we come to know the truth.

🌸🔆The possessor of truth is not someone to seek, find, or come to know, for it is through him that we seek, find, and know; he has no need to be known.

🌸🔆Where could we find him, when place and space exist through him?

🌸🔆The mystery beyond all mysteries is that we are with him without any knowledge, place, or space.

🌸🔆Place and space, too, share our present state of being with him; they seek to reach that knowing beyond knowledge which is connected to him.

🌸🔆The one-way flow of connection with him is a wondrous secret. It is not we who are connected with him in a connection beyond all connection; rather, it is he who is connected with us in that transcendent way, awakening in us a sense and perception of him beyond all ordinary sense and perception.

🌷🔆اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ يَا نُورَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَ يَا عِمَادَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَ يَا قَيُّومَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَ يَا جَمَالَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَ يَا زَيْنَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَ يَا بَدِيعَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَ يَا ذَا الْجَلَالِ وَ الْإِكْرَامِ وَ يَا صَرِيخَ الْمُسْتَصْرِخِينَ يَا غِيَاثَ الْمُسْتَغِيثِينَ يَا مُنْتَهَى رَغْبَةِ الْعَابِدِينَ يَا مُنَفِّسَ عَنِ الْمَكْرُوبِينَ يَا مُفَرِّجَ عَنِ الْمَغْمُومِينَ يَا كَاشِفَ الضُّرِّ يَا مُجِيبَ دَعْوَةِ الْمُضْطَرِّينَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ يَا إِلَهَ الْعَالَمِينَ مَنْزُولٌ بِكَ كُلُّ حَاجَةٍ يَا حَنَّانُ يَا مَنَّانُ يَا ذَا الْجَلَالِ وَ الْإِكْرَامِ يَا نُورَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرَضِينَ وَ مَا بَيْنَهُنَّ وَ رَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِوَجْهِكَ الْكَرِيمِ النُّورِ الْمُشْرِقِ الْحَيِّ الْبَاقِي الدَّائِمِ وَ بِوَجْهِكَ الْقُدُّوسِ الَّذِي أَشْرَقَتْ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَ الْأَرَضُونَ وَ انْفَلَقَتْ بِهِ الظُّلُمَاتُ أَنْ تُصَلِّيَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ أَنْ تُفَرِّجَ عَنِّي كُلَّ هَمٍّ وَ غَمٍّ وَ كَرْبٍ وَ ضُرٍّ وَ ضِيقٍ أَنَا فِيهِ وَ أَنْ تَرْحَمَنِي وَ تَرْحَمَ وَالِدَيَّ وَ مَا وَلَدَا وَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَ الْمُسْلِمَاتِ الْأَحْيَاءِ مِنْهُمْ وَ الْأَمْوَاتِ إِنَّكَ عَلى‏ كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ قَدِيرٌ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين‏

🌷🔆اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ نُوراً فِي قَلْبِي وَ نُوراً فِي سَمْعِي وَ نُوراً فِي بَصَرِي وَ نُوراً فِي شَعْرِي وَ نُوراً فِي بَشَرِي وَ نُوراً فِي عِظَامِي وَ نُوراً فِي لَحْمِي وَ نُوراً فِي دَمِي وَ نُوراً عَنْ يَمِينِي وَ نُوراً عَنْ شِمَالِي وَ نُوراً مِنْ فَوْقِي وَ نُوراً مِنْ تَحْتِي وَ نُوراً مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيَّ وَ نُوراً مِنْ خَلْفِي اللَّهُمَّ أَعْطِنِي نُوراً وَ هَبْ لِي نُوراً وَ اجْعَلْ لِي نُوراً يَا نُورَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين‏

🌷🔆اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي بِنُورِكَ، وَ اجْعَلْ لِي فِي الْقِيَامَةِ نُوراً بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِي، وَ عَنْ يَمِينِي وَ عَنْ شِمَالِي، أَهْتَدِي بِهِ إِلَى دَارِكَ دَارِ السَّلَامِ، يَا ذَا الْجَلَالِ وَ الْإِكْرَامِ. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ (فِي أَهْلِي الْعَافِيَةَ)  وَ وُلْدِي وَ مَالِي، وَ أَنْ تَلْبِسَنِي (فِي ذَلِكَ)  الْمَغْفِرَةَ وَ الْعَافِيَةَ.

🌷🔆 يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ يَا طَبِيبَ الْقُلُوبِ يَا مُنَوِّرَ الْقُلُوبِ يَا أَنِيسَ الْقُلُوب‏…

A connection beyond all connection, an indescribable communion

عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ‏ لَوْ كُشِفَ‏ الْغِطَاءُ عَنِ النَّاسِ فَنَظَرُوا إِلَى وَصْلِ مَا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَ بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ خَضَعَتْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ رِقَابُهُمْ وَ تَسَهَّلَتْ لَهُ أُمُورُهُمْ وَ لَانَتْ طَاعَتُهُمْ وَ لَوْ نَظَرُوا إِلَى مَرْدُودِ الْأَعْمَالِ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ لَقَالُوا مَا يَقْبَلُ اللَّهُ مِنْ أَحَدٍ عَمَلا

Al-Maḥāsin, vol. 1, p. 132 Barqī, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Khālid, Al-Maḥāsin, 2 vols., Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, Qom, second edition, 1371 AH.

When the vessel of knowledge fills!

🔆The boundless knowledge of God continually flows into the vessel of the Master’s soul. As his being expands to receive ever more knowledge, from time to time the vastness of its contents stirs and surges; droplets spill forth from its waves, quenching the thirst of those who seek knowledge, each heart receiving its share according to its capacity.

🔆The vessel of the Friend of God’s soul breathes in and out—and with its exhalation, the world draws breath!

The secret of refusal

🍀 قال: أ وَ مثلك يخيّب سائلا؟!

Kumayl: Could someone like you ever turn away a supplicant disappointed?

⁉️Question thirteen: What might explain the Master’s refusal to answer?

⁉️Question fourteen: How can this refusal be reconciled with the Master’s words:

🌷أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ سَلُونِي قَبْلَ أَنْ تَفْقِدُونِي فَلَأَنَا بِطُرُقِ السَّمَاءِ أَعْلَمُ مِنِّي بِطُرُقِ الْأَرْضِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَشْغَرَ بِرِجْلِهَا فِتْنَةٌ تَطَأُ فِي خِطَامِهَا وَ تَذْهَبُ بِأَحْلَامِ قَوْمِهَا

🔆🌷Awakening the taste opens the heart, and stirs the palate to expand its capacity!

🌷🔆 The Master’s refusal to answer is itself a gracious refusal.

🔆🌷The Master’s conduct may be seen as a spur to kindle longing.

🌷🔆Yes, men of knowledge must prove their scholarly mettle!

🌷🔆Yes, Ḥammām and Kumayl’s discernment of the jewel sets them apart from others. What men like Kumayl and Ḥammām draw from the words of the Master, others are unable to attain!

🌷🔆 Yes, the Master’s pause may be understood as a way of preparing his listener. Every act and word of the Master is a secret among secrets; his pause and refusal are no exception!

🌷🔆Yes, with this pause, the Master reminds Kumayl of the grandeur of the subject of ultimate Reality!

🌷🔆Yes, with his call, “Ask me,” the Master seeks Kumayl and those like him, as well as Miqdād, Abū Dharr and Salmān. This call may also be seen as a warning to the community and a renewed introduction of himself.

🌷🔆The Master’s refusal is an alarm bell that only those like Kumayl can hear—and are worthy of awakening to.

🌷🔆Dispelling ambiguity is itself a stage in unveiling the face of the mysteries.

🔆The Master’s concern is in discerning those like Kumayl, lest they drown in metaphor instead of Reality!

🔆The Master shakes Kumayl and reminds him of his capacity, so that he may draw breath, contemplate its expansion, and crack open the seed of his being.

🔆Perhaps, on the face of it, the question Kumayl put to the Master had a preamble of which he was unaware. He asked about a passage whose preamble he ought to have begun with; he had overlooked what was most important and what came next in importance.

If the flower drinks the secret

🔆How much of the mysteries has the flower drunk from the spring of secrets? If it drinks the entire spring, it will become wholly secret: “The whole flower, the secret of secrets.”

🔆Thus, the whole mind, in all its dimensions, must be brought into action to encompass the various dimensions of the mysteries!

🔆The mysteries must be tailored, so that they may fit and adorn the one who bears them!

In other words, the mysteries are like colours, and their bearer like a painter who must become an artist of the secret of secrets, displaying the mysteries’ wondrous beauty and captivating eyes and hearts.

🔆The alphabet of the mysteries is the prelude to the mysteries themselves; whoever learns that alphabet will write the Book of Mysteries.

🔆Purifying heart and soul of the darkness of associating partners with God; yearning with all one’s being to reach Him; remembering Him with love; equipping and illuminating oneself with the forces of reason and knowledge; fervent communion with God; and heartfelt gratitude are among the greatest preparations for attaining Reality.

🔆If a seeker of Reality resonates with Reality itself, that seeker will be absorbed into that highest resonance, and separation between the two will become impossible.

🔆When the heart is fully polished, it reflects all of Reality.

🔆Thus, a question is like a weight that each person must lift according to their strength—that is, ask questions to the measure of their ability.

A digression in the midst of the discussion, inspired by the Arbaʿīn pilgrimage

🌸بسم رب الحسین

🔆This year’s Arbaʿīn pilgrimage proved a truth that had been overlooked.

🔆With every step that seekers of truth take toward light and illumination, the devils, too, hasten with their filthy steps, bent on fulfilling the will of accursed Iblīs!

🔆The believers were so immersed in light and illumination that they were unaware of darkness!

🔆Arbaʿīn was an affirmation of loyalty to Reality and disavowal of falsehood!

🔆So let those who walk beseech God with heartfelt intention, that the Exalted Lord may record every step, every beat of their hearts and every breath as a greeting to light and truth, and as a curse upon the devils.

🔆Let all our dear faithful friends recite the Supplication 17 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya and carry it with them on the Arbaeen march and journey along the path of truth, bringing the devils to their knees!

🔆The true miracles of the Arbaeen journey along the path of truth will surely dawn after Arbaeen! By God’s power and might, the human and jinn devils will be vanquished and disgraced.

🌸Warning❗❕❗ The satanic forces are plotting revenge for Arbaeen’s greatest triumph!

🔆The Yazidis and satanic forces failed in their bid for vengeance against Zaynab, but now they have set their sights on the Zaynabi banner of modesty and chastity!

🔆Let us remember that, in one respect, Arbaeen was a pledge of allegiance to Zaynab, and to chastity, modesty, purity and hijab! The vile, accursed enemy is attacking the Zaynabi path! But, by God’s grace, it will fail more utterly than before. Zaynab has secured purity and cleanliness; only the devils, cloaked in professed faith, reveal their hypocritical nature!

🌸Warning‼️❕‼️ The satanic forces are drawing their last breath and launching their final arrows with all their might,

🌷The Arbaeen march and journey along the path of truth echoed the pulse of Imam al-Zaman’s presence among the Muslim community and those who seek the truth. They sensed the Imam al-Zaman’s nearness and were thrown into turmoil!

⁉️Question fifteen: What question did you ask the Master in Najaf al-Ashraf?

⁉️Question sixteen: Share seven golden insights from your journey along the path of truth with us?

The Mystery of the Radiances of Majesty

🌸🔆قال: الحقيقة كشف سبحات الجلال من غير إشارة،

🌱First page

❗🔆Unveiling: to make the unknown manifest; to remove; to remove an obstacle or veil; to reveal;

❗🔆Subuhat, plural of subha: a bead, a pearl, light, majesty, greatness, a journey (swift passage), swimming (floating), 

❗🔆Majesty: the highest degree of splendour, superiority and exaltedness; all-encompassingness,

❗🔆Indication: a sign, a mark,

🌷Truth is the unveiling of the radiances of Majesty without indication

🌷Truth is the lifting of the veils of Majesty without any sign

🌷Truth is the removal of the beads of Majesty without a trace

🌷Truth is the manifestation of the lights of Majesty without any indication

🌷Truth is the very disclosure of the radiances of Majesty

🌷Truth is the very disclosure of the manifestations of Majesty without any sign

🌷Truth is the very disclosure of the manifestations of Majesty without any need for a sign

🌷

⁉️Question seventeen: What is your view of these definitions, which option do you find acceptable, and what option would you propose yourself?

Removing the radiances of Majesty, or revealing the radiances of Majesty?

🌷Without indication: without any sign, indication or instrument to achieve the result; without needing any instrument; the radiances of Majesty are unveiled without the use of any means or intermediary.

An indication is a means that guides one to a truth.

The radiances of Majesty manifest without a veil

🌷When truth is described as the radiances of Majesty, it becomes clear that truth is the radiances of the Lord’s Majesty, not the Lord Himself. That is, Allah is above truth; in fact, truth is among the manifestations of His Majesty!

🌷The initial manifestation of the radiances of Majesty, without any interpretation, allegorical reading or exegesis

🌷The truth of everything is from God! This does not mean that His unique Essence is truth. He is beyond truth and too exalted for truth to be His Essence, or for Him to be described by truth. We may say, loosely speaking, that He is the Truth of all truths, yet is not described by truth.

🌷In other words, describing Allah as the Real means, in essence, affirming that falsehood is absent from His sacred Essence.

Al-Baqarah: 147   الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَلا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرينَ

Yunus: 32   فَذلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمُ الْحَقُّ فَما ذا بَعْدَ الْحَقِّ إِلاَّ الضَّلالُ فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ

Ta-Ha: 114   فَتَعالَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ وَ لا تَعْجَلْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يُقْضى‏ إِلَيْكَ وَحْيُهُ وَ قُلْ رَبِّ زِدْني‏ عِلْماً

Al-Hajj: 6   ذلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَ أَنَّهُ يُحْيِ الْمَوْتى‏ وَ أَنَّهُ عَلى‏ كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ قَديرٌ

An-Nur: 25   يَوْمَئِذٍ يُوَفِّيهِمُ اللَّهُ دينَهُمُ الْحَقَّ وَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ الْمُبينُ

Saba: 23   وَ لا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفاعَةُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ حَتَّى إِذا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قالُوا What قالَ رَبُّكُمْ قالُوا الْحَقَّ وَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبيرُ

Is Allah truly Light?

عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ قَالَ قَالَ لِي أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع ابْتِدَاءً مِنْهُ‏ يَا مُعَاوِيَةُ أَ مَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ رَجُلًا أَتَى أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ص فَشَكَا الْإِبْطَاءَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْجَوَابِ فِي دُعَائِهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ عَنِ الدُّعَاءِ السَّرِيعِ الْإِجَابَةِ فَقَالَ لَهُ الرَّجُلُ مَا هُوَ قَالَ قُلِ

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِاسْمِكَ الْعَظِيمِ الْأَعْظَمِ الْأَجَلِّ الْأَكْرَمِ الْمَخْزُونِ الْمَكْنُونِ النُّورِ الْحَقِّ الْبُرْهَانِ الْمُبِينِ الَّذِي هُوَ نُورٌ مَعَ نُورٍ وَ نُورٌ مِنْ نُورٍ وَ نُورٌ فِي نُورٍ وَ نُورٌ عَلى‏ نُورٍ وَ نُورٌ فَوْقَ كُلِ‏ نُورٍ وَ نُورٌ يُضِي‏ءُ بِهِ كُلُّ ظُلْمَةٍ وَ يُكْسَرُ بِهِ كُلُّ شِدَّةٍ وَ كُلُّ شَيْطَانٍ مَرِيدٍ وَ كُلُّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ لَا تَقِرُّ بِهِ أَرْضٌ‏  وَ لَا تَقُومُ بِهِ سَمَاءٌ وَ يَأْمَنُ بِهِ كُلُّ خَائِفٍ وَ يَبْطُلُ بِهِ سِحْرُ كُلِّ سَاحِرٍ وَ بَغْيُ كُلِّ بَاغٍ وَ حَسَدُ كُلِّ حَاسِدٍ وَ يَتَصَدَّعُ لِعَظَمَتِهِ الْبَرُّ وَ الْبَحْرُ وَ يَسْتَقِلُّ بِهِ الْفُلْكُ حِينَ‏  يَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ الْمَلَكُ فَلَا يَكُونُ لِلْمَوْجِ عَلَيْهِ سَبِيلٌ وَ هُوَ اسْمُكَ الْأَعْظَمُ الْأَعْظَمُ الْأَجَلُّ الْأَجَلُّ النُّورُ الْأَكْبَرُ الَّذِي سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ وَ اسْتَوَيْتَ بِهِ عَلَى عَرْشِكَ وَ أَتَوَجَّهُ إِلَيْكَ بِمُحَمَّدٍ وَ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ أَسْأَلُكَ بِكَ وَ بِهِمْ أَنْ تُصَلِّيَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ أَنْ تَفْعَلَ بِي كَذَا وَ كَذَا.

When Allah is described as Light, this does not refer to a description of His Essence, but to His majesty and beauty—and majesty and beauty are among Allah’s hidden, exclusive attributes!

In other words, Light is one of the great divine names!

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِاسْمِكَ الْعَظِيمِ الْأَعْظَمِ الْأَجَلِّ الْأَكْرَمِ الْمَخْزُونِ الْمَكْنُونِ النُّورِ الْحَقِّ الْبُرْهَانِ الْمُبِينِ الَّذِي هُوَ نُورٌ مَعَ نُورٍ And …

🔆🔅Truth is to enter the effulgences of majesty without any distance or barrier.

To attain truth, find the Real through truth, and dispel falsehood.

🔆🔅Unless we reach the effulgences of majesty, we will never reach the source and root of the mysteries.

🔅🔆The effulgences of majesty are the unveiled, unfiltered vision of truth.

🔆🔅Attaining the effulgences of majesty and connecting with them are two matters that follow one another, rather than existing side by side.

🔆🔅“Effulgences” is the plural of “effulgence,” like the beads of a prayer rosary; the effulgences of majesty are like the rosary, and the effulgences its beads.

🔅🔆The effulgences of majesty are made up of the shining threads of divine majesty.

🔅🔆Truth consists of those interwoven, shining threads of divine majesty.

🔆🌷The effulgences of majesty flow through every aspect of human life. Whoever fails to reach them will be submerged in falsehood, and truth will never be unveiled to them.

🔆🌷One of the sublime blessings of the effulgences of Divine Majesty is the ability to discern and navigate through trials and turmoil! …

🔆🌷In the End Times (the present age), the “effulgences of Divine Majesty” are essential—like eyes that can see from the beginning of time to its end.

🔆🌷There is a special bond between the “effulgences of Divine Majesty” and the Imam of the Age’s true companions, peace be upon him.

🔆🌷The continuity, endurance and unfolding of creation are bound to His absolute will, and the effulgences of Divine Majesty shine constantly through the very fabric of creation.

🔆🌷The effulgences of Divine Majesty are not merely a sign of God’s presence in the universe; every single one of their verses proclaims the presence of Allah.

🔅🌷A conjecture concerning the effulgences of Divine Majesty:

☘️🌸سبْحَانَ مَنْ لَا تُدْرِكُ كُنْهَ صِفَتِهِ حَمَلَةُ الْعَرْشِ عَلَى قُرْبِ رَبَوَاتِهِمْ مِنْ كُرْسِيِّ كَرَامَتِهِ وَ لَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ مِنْ أَنْوَارِ سُبُحَاتِ جَلَالِهِ وَيْحَكَ لَا يُقَالُ اللَّهُ أَيْنَ وَ لَا فِيمَ وَ لَا أَيُّ وَ لَا كَيْف‏

🌿The angels brought near to God were created from the effulgences of Divine Majesty; in other words, their very nature is formed from those effulgences.

🌿If, by way of approximation, we regard the effulgences of light as a manifestation of the effulgences of Divine Majesty

🔆🌷ثُمَّ خَلَقَ سُبْحَانَهُ لِإِسْكَانِ سَمَاوَاتِهِ وَ عِمَارَةِ الصَّفِيحِ الْأَعْلَى مِنْ مَلَكُوتِهِ خَلْقاً بَدِيعاً مِنْ مَلَائِكَتِهِ وَ مَلَأَ بِهِمْ فُرُوجَ فِجَاجِهَا وَ حَشَا بِهِمْ فُتُوقَ أَجْوَائِهَا وَ بَيْنَ فَجَوَاتِ تِلْكَ الْفُرُوجِ زَجَلُ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ مِنْهُمْ فِي حَظَائِرِ الْقُدُسِ وَ سُتُرَاتِ الْحُجُبِ‏ وَ سُرَادِقَاتِ الْمَجْدِ وَ وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ الرَّجِيجِ الَّذِي تَسْتَكُّ مِنْهُ الْأَسْمَاعُ سُبُحَاتُ‏ نُورٍ تَرْدَعُ الْأَبْصَارَ عَنْ بُلُوغِهَا فَتَقِفُ خَاسِئَةً عَلَى حُدُودِهَا.

Nahj al-Balagha (ed. Subhi Salih), p. 128. Sharif al-Radi, Muhammad ibn Husayn, Nahj al-Balagha (ed. Subhi Salih), 1 vol., Hijrat – Qom, first edition, 1414 AH.

☘️🔅After creating the heavens, which are among the realms of His dominion, God, the Exalted, created a company of angels—wondrous and unprecedented creatures—to dwell there and to populate their highest reaches. He placed them along the broad pathways between the heavens and throughout the expanses of their skies. Across those open pathways, their voices raised in glorification resound from pure and hallowed places, behind veils of majesty and exaltedness (places prepared for their worship and servitude). Beyond those clamorous, awe-inspiring voices, which deafen the ears, lie the “effulgences of light,” whose sight their eyes cannot endure. Thus they stand bewildered and confounded in their appointed places. (The angels whose glorification and praise fill the heavens with tumult, stirring awe and disquiet, cannot bear to behold the radiance of the light of the Almighty’s majesty and greatness; for He is far above being seen by any eye or having His reality comprehended

🌿The effulgences of light transcend “ حَظَائِرِ الْقُدُسِ وَ سُتُرَاتِ الْحُجُبِ‏ وَ سُرَادِقَاتِ الْمَجْدِ,” and the effulgences of Divine Majesty surpass even them!

🌷🔅اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ كَمَا أَنْتَ أَهْلُهُ وَ وَلِيُّهُ، وَ كَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِسُبُحَاتِ‏ وَجْهِكَ الْكَرِيمِ

🌷🔅No إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ تَعْظِيماً لِوَجْهِكَ وَ تَكْرِيماً لِسُبُحَاتِ‏ نُورِكَ

🌷🔅بسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ إِلَهِي قَصُرَتِ الْأَلْسُنُ عَنْ بُلُوغِ ثَنَائِكَ كَمَا يَلِيقُ بِجَلَالِكَ‏ وَ عَجَزَتِ الْعُقُولُ عَنْ إِدْرَاكِ كُنْهِ جَمَالِكَ وَ انْحَسَرَتِ الْأَبْصَارُ دُونَ النَّظَرِ إِلَى سُبُحَاتِ‏ وَجْهِكَ وَ لَمْ تَجْعَلْ لِلْخَلْقِ طَرِيقاً إِلَى مَعْرِفَتِكَ إِلَّا بِالْعَجْزِ عَنْ مَعْرِفَتِك

🌷🔅The effulgences of Divine Majesty cannot be one and the same as the Divine Essence!

🌷🔅He is the illuminator of light, and lies beyond light

🌷🔅 يَا اللَّهُ يَا نُوراً فِي نُورٍ وَ نُوراً إِلَى نُورٍ وَ نُوراً فَوْقَ نُورٍ وَ نُوراً تَحْتَ نُورٍ وَ نُوراً يُضِي‏ءُ بِهِ كُلُّ نُورٍ وَ كُلُّ ظُلْمَةٍ وَ يُطْفَى بِهِ شِدَّةُ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ وَ سُلْطَان‏

🌷🔅 يَا نُورَ النُّورِ يَا مُنَوِّرَ النُّورِ يَا خَالِقَ النُّورِ يَا مُدَبِّرَ النُّورِ يَا مُقَدِّرَ النُّورِ يَا نُورَ كُلِّ نُورٍ يَا نُوراً قَبْلَ كُلِّ نُورٍ يَا نُوراً بَعْدَ كُلِّ نُورٍ يَا نُوراً فَوْقَ كُلِّ نُورٍ يَا نُوراً لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ نُور

🌷🔅The splendors of majesty—that is, the order of divine majesty

☘️🔅Illuminating perception of the “splendors of majesty”

🌸🔅 إلَهِي هَبْ لِي كَمَالَ الِانْقِطَاعِ إِلَيْكَ وَ أَنِرْ أَبْصَارَ قُلُوبِنَا بِضِيَاءِ نَظَرِهَا إِلَيْكَ حَتَّى تَخِرَقَ أَبْصَارُ الْقُلُوبِ حُجُبَ النُّورِ فَتَصِلَ إِلَى مَعْدِنِ الْعَظَمَةِ وَ تَصِيرَ أَرْوَاحُنَا مُعَلَّقَةً بِعِزِّ قُدْسِك‏

🌸🔅 عنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا ع قَالَ: قَالَ لِي يَا سُلَيْمَانُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَ الْمُؤْمِنَ مِنْ نُورِهِ وَ صَبَغَهُمْ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ وَ أَخَذَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ لَنَا بِالْوَلَايَةِ فَالْمُؤْمِنُ أَخُو الْمُؤْمِنِ لِأَبِيهِ وَ أُمِّهِ أَبُوهُ النُّورُ وَ أُمُّهُ الرَّحْمَةُ فَاتَّقُوا فِرَاسَةَ الْمُؤْمِنِ فَإِنَّهُ يَنْظُرُ بِنُورِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي خُلِقَ مِنْه‏

• بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ إِلَهِي قَصُرَتِ الْأَلْسُنُ عَنْ بُلُوغِ ثَنَائِكَ كَمَا يَلِيقُ بِجَلَالِكَ‏ وَ عَجَزَتِ الْعُقُولُ عَنْ إِدْرَاكِ كُنْهِ جَمَالِكَ وَ انْحَسَرَتِ الْأَبْصَارُ دُونَ النَّظَرِ إِلَى سُبُحَاتِ‏ وَجْهِكَ وَ لَمْ تَجْعَلْ لِلْخَلْقِ طَرِيقاً إِلَى مَعْرِفَتِكَ إِلَّا بِالْعَجْزِ عَنْ مَعْرِفَتِك‏
• وَ الْمُتَوَاضِعُونَ دُونَ عَظَمَتِكَ وَ جَلَالِ‏ كِبْرِيَائِك‏
• ذُو الْجَلالِ‏ وَ الْإِكْرامِ‏.
• تَفَسَّخَتْ دُونَ بُلُوغِ نَعْتِكَ الصِّفَاتُ، فَلَكَ الْعُلُوُّ الْأَعْلَى فَوْقَ كُلِّ عَالٍ، وَ الْجَلَالُ‏ الْأَمْجَدُ فَوْقَ كُلِّ جَلَال‏
• 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 سُئِل‏
• الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ اللَّابِسِ الْكِبْرِيَاءِ بِلَا تَجْسِيدٍ  وَ الْمُرْتَدِي بِالْجَلَالِ‏ بِلَا تَمْثِيلٍ وَ الْمُسْتَوِي عَلَى الْعَرْشِ بِغَيْرِ زَوَالٍ وَ الْمُتَعَالِي عَلَى الْخَلْقِ بِلَا تَبَاعُدٍ مِنْهُم‏
• اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِقُوَّتِكَ الْقَوِيَّةِ وَ بِجَلَالِكَ‏ الشَّدِيدِ الَّذِي كُلُّ خَلْقِكَ لَهُ ذَلِيل‏
• نَحْمَدُهُ عَلَى آلَائِهِ وَ تَظَاهُرِ نَعْمَائِهِ حَمْداً يَزِنُ عَظَمَةَ جَلَالِهِ‏ وَ يَمْلَأُ قَدْرَ آلَائِهِ وَ كِبْرِيَائِه‏

The secret of effacing illusions and awakening to what is known

🌸🔅قال: زدنى فيه بيانا،

🌸🔆قال: محو الموهوم مع صحو المعلوم،

🌿🔅Once again, Kumayl asks the Imam to explain the matter further.

🌿🔅The Imam replies: Reality consists in the effacement of what is imagined and the awakening of what is known.

☘️Imagined things are the mind’s conjectures.

☘️They are the analyses and interpretations the human intellect makes in its attempt to discover external realities.

☘️In truth, they are a kind of effort by the faculties of conjecture, imagination and intellect to uncover reality—

☘️a kind of imagined depiction of realities.

☘️They are the way a person apprehends things through the faculty of conjecture.

☘️In such circumstances, conjectures not only fail to help us discover reality; they further veil it.

☘️Awakening to what is known means lifting the veil from it.

☘️What is known is the intellectual manifestation of realities—in other words, the illumination of things in the world. Whatever exists guides our knowledge toward it.

🌷🔅The senses and faculties of the human being are not the path to attaining reality, for they lead only to degrees of conjecture.

🌷🔅The path to reality is through the splendors of majesty. We must see, hear, think and understand not through the senses, but through those splendors. The transcendent means bestowed by God alone provide the path to reality; our senses and faculties guide us toward the splendors of divine majesty.

🌷🔅The Reality of Divine Unity and Its Relation to Illusions

🌸☘️  عنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي نَجْرَانَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ ع عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ فَقُلْتُ أَتَوَهَّمُ شَيْئاً فَقَالَ نَعَمْ غَيْرَ مَعْقُولٍ وَ لَا مَحْدُودٍ فَمَا وَقَعَ وَهْمُكَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَهُوَ خِلَافُهُ لَا يُشْبِهُهُ شَيْ‏ءٌ وَ لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَوْهَامُ كَيْفَ تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَوْهَامُ وَ هُوَ خِلَافُ مَا يُعْقَلُ وَ خِلَافُ مَا يُتَصَوَّرُ فِي الْأَوْهَامِ إِنَّمَا يُتَوَهَّمُ شَيْ‏ءٌ غَيْرُ مَعْقُولٍ وَ لَا مَحْدُودٍ.

🌷🔅Tawḥīdic awakening is possible only through the effacement of illusions; this is the key to understanding the reality of divine unity.

🌷🔅Until illusions are effaced and knowledge of divine unity comes to light, we will not attain its reality!

🌷🔅So long as we remain captive to illusions, we will never taste reality! We will not grasp the joy of worship in its true reality, nor will the mystery of creation and its purpose be made clear to us.

🌷🔅Philosophies that do not draw on the Two Weighty Things are the chief sources of perceptual illusions!

🌸🔅 عنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع فِي قَوْلِهِ لا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصارُ قَالَ إِحَاطَةُ الْوَهْمِ أَ لَا تَرَى إِلَى قَوْلِهِ- قَدْ جاءَكُمْ بَصائِرُ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ لَيْسَ يَعْنِي بَصَرَ الْعُيُونِ- فَمَنْ أَبْصَرَ فَلِنَفْسِهِ لَيْسَ يَعْنِي مِنَ الْبَصَرِ بِعَيْنِهِ- وَ مَنْ عَمِيَ فَعَلَيْها لَيْسَ يَعْنِي عَمَى الْعُيُونِ إِنَّمَا عَنَى إِحَاطَةَ الْوَهْمِ كَمَا يُقَالُ فُلَانٌ بَصِيرٌ بِالشِّعْرِ وَ فُلَانٌ بَصِيرٌ بِالْفِقْهِ وَ فُلَانٌ بَصِيرٌ بِالدَّرَاهِمِ وَ فُلَانٌ بَصِيرٌ بِالثِّيَابِ اللَّهُ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ أَنْ يُرَى بِالْعَيْنِ.

🌸🔅محَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ أَبِي هَاشِمٍ الْجَعْفَرِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا ع قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ اللَّهِ هَلْ يُوصَفُ فَقَالَ أَ مَا تَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ قُلْتُ بَلَى- قَالَ أَ مَا تَقْرَأُ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى- لا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصارَ قُلْتُ بَلَى قَالَ فَتَعْرِفُونَ الْأَبْصَارَ قُلْتُ بَلَى قَالَ مَا هِيَ قُلْتُ أَبْصَارُ الْعُيُونِ فَقَالَ إِنَّ أَوْهَامَ الْقُلُوبِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ أَبْصَارِ الْعُيُونِ فَهُوَ لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَوْهَامُ وَ هُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَوْهَامَ.

🌷🔅As noted, the key to attaining reality and awakening to true knowledge is «the effulgences of majesty». Put more simply, it is to hold fast with all one’s heart—in gnosis and in love—to the Two Weighty Things, to draw wholeheartedly on their life-giving spirit, and to equip oneself with their spiritual means.

The Secret of Lifting the Veil Through the Triumph of the Secret

🍀قال: زدني فيه بيانا،

🌸🔆قال: هتك الستر لغلبة السرّ

Kumayl again asked the Imam to explain the matter further, and the Imam said:

🌸🔅“(The reality is) the veil being torn away because the secret has prevailed.”

🌷🔅When the secret prevails and becomes so pervasive that the veil is lifted,

🌷🔅the secret’s overwhelming force and penetration remove the veil.

🌷🔅When someone is overcome by the secret, the veils are lifted. Through the triumph of the secret, every obstacle that blocks the way to reality is removed.

🌷🔅An intimate bond with the divine secret and complete surrender are the keys to attaining reality.

☘️🔅Among the qualities of God’s most beautiful names are that they transcend the senses and cannot be grasped by the imagination. They are also hidden without a veil, evoking the meaning of “secret”!

🌷🔅 عنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ:- إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَ اسْماً بِالْحُرُوفِ غَيْرَ مُتَصَوِّتٍ وَ بِاللَّفْظِ غَيْرَ مُنْطَقٍ وَ بِالشَّخْصِ غَيْرَ مُجَسَّدٍ وَ بِالتَّشْبِيهِ غَيْرَ مَوْصُوفٍ وَ بِاللَّوْنِ غَيْرَ مَصْبُوغٍ مَنْفِيٌّ عَنْهُ الْأَقْطَارُ مُبَعَّدٌ عَنْهُ الْحُدُودُ مَحْجُوبٌ عَنْهُ حِسُّ كُلِّ مُتَوَهِّمٍ مُسْتَتِرٌ غَيْرُ مَسْتُور

🌷🔅“The innermost secret” may be described as the innermost of the innermost, the heart of the heart, the root of all roots, the very beginning. By way of analogy, it is like the sun’s centre in relation to its outer regions and rays. In truth, all the sun’s radiance returns to its centre. If the sun’s centre were to exert such an attraction that an observer found himself within it, he would be freed from the sun’s periphery and immersed in that centre of centres—as though, in an instant, he received all its heat and light at once!

🌷🔅Everything that happens around us returns to a single centre. If we take that centre to be the very essence of realities, then that point contains all time and space within itself. Whatever manifests to our faculties and senses in the realm of time and space is an interpretation of that one locus, which we may call the “innermost secret.” If the “innermost secret” comes to prevail over a person’s soul, it is as though that person has been immersed in the whole of reality.

🌷🔅Let us imagine entering the centre of existence’s gravity. In that state, the weight of the entire universe settles upon our soul, and our own weight becomes the weight of all existence. The reality and the full weight of reality become manifest when the innermost secret prevails over the human soul.

The Mystery of the Attraction of Divine Oneness

🍀قال: زدني فيه بيانا،

🔆قال: جذب الأحديّة بصفة التوحيد،

Once again, Kumayl asks the Imam to explain further. In reply, the Imam says:
🍀 “(The reality is) the attraction of Divine Oneness through the attribute of tawḥīd!”
🍀The reality is the attraction of the Divine One. A servant of God comes to understand this station when adorned and clothed in the attribute of tawḥīd.

🍀Attraction is a station of overwhelming orientation: an utter loss of self-agency in which the attracted one is drawn to the Essence, without likeness or comparison.

🍀The station of attraction is the highest direct sign bestowed by the Divine One.

🍀The station of tawḥīd—which must be understood in its fullest purity—is the condition for apprehending the attraction of the Divine One.

🍀The higher we ascend through the degrees of tawḥīd, the closer we come to the reality of attraction, and the more fully we apprehend the Real.

🌷🔅The station of the Essence is distinct from the station of Divine Oneness. Although this station is unmediated, unity itself remains; while it may not rightly be called a veil or intermediary, unity itself is the link to the Essence of Divine Oneness.

🌷🔅In the station of attraction to Divine Oneness, there is no veil, yet there is an innermost secret—and this secret is the link to His incomparable Essence!

🌷🔅At the station of attaining unity, although unity is not regarded as a veil, there are still attractions within it. “Attraction” itself is a particular kind of veil: a veil of attraction! In this singular station, “attraction and the innermost secret” become the link to Him.

 🌷🔅The station of tawḥīd is the divine means by which His unity is known!

🌷🔅The utmost sincerity in tawḥīd means knowing the Divine One through pure tawḥīd; it does not mean knowing His Essence!

🌷🔅At the station of utmost sincerity in tawḥīd, one reaches the truth of God’s Essence—which cannot be apprehended—with complete purity and certainty.

🌷🔅One comes to the truth that He is beyond the Real and beyond reality, and that reality itself truly points to His transcendence beyond all reality.

🌷🔅We must not overlook that, in knowing God, the measure is the limits and scope of our own capacity and potential—not the incomparable Essence of the Divine One, which admits of no limits, and before whose threshold knowledge and knowing perish!

🌷🔅By the utmost sincerity in tawḥīd is meant the highest degree of tawḥīd, not perfect knowledge of God’s Essence.

The Mystery of the Dawn of Pre-Eternity

🍀 قال: زدني فيه بيانا

🌸🔆قال: نور يشرق من صبح الأزل فتلوح على هياكل آثاره،

🌷🔅Kumayl again asks the Imam for further clarification, and the Imam replies:

🌷🔅“(The reality is) a light that shines from the dawn of pre-eternity, then is inscribed upon the forms of its traces.”

🌷🔅The reality is a light that rises from beginninglessness, then takes shape upon the forms of His traces.

🌷🔅The reality is a light that shines from the dawn of pre-eternity and gleams through the beauty of its traces.

🌷🔅The reality of the reflection of the Dawn of Eternity from the mirror of His manifestations

🌿Manifestations: His supreme and chosen signs, His most ancient and primordial signs

🌷🔅The forms of the divine manifestations are the very revealers of divine light, knowledge and wisdom.

🌷🔅Among the forms of divine manifestations are the forms of divine mercy, love and affection, exemplified by the reality of a mother’s love, a father’s tenderness, and every kind of loving and pleasurable bond.

🌷🔅Reality differs from its outward appearances. What is and what we perceive and understand are not the same. Perception is a means of arriving at reality,

🌷🔅What is said today about truth and reality points, in a sense, to this matter: we may regard reality as our interpretations of truth.

🌷🔅Truth may be equated with knowledge, and the truth of any thing may be understood as its knowledge and its being!

🌷🔅Thus, the truth of any thing is that thing as it is, just as it is!

🌷🔅The idea of degrees of truth takes on meaning in the spiritual journey towards truth. We may understand these degrees as the final steps approaching truth; in that case, the Reality of Realities will be pure truth, truth itself, the very essence of truth!

🌷🔅Truth, then, assumes different modes of individuation: the earthly, the imaginal, the celestial, and so on…

🌷🔅The Dawn of Eternity shines forth, its effulgence radiating from the mirror of the beauty of the divine manifestations.

🌷🔅The simultaneity of the Dawn of Eternity with the radiances of the forms of manifestations binds eternity to perpetuity.

🌷🔅Despite the difference in rank, there is no temporal distance between the light of the Dawn of Eternity and the forms of manifestations. The instantaneous reflection of the Dawn of Eternity from those forms shows that the timeless reigns over the geography of time.

🌷🔅The singularity of the Dawn of Eternity alongside the multiplicity of the forms of manifestations shows the Dawn of Eternity appearing through diverse forms, each of which, in its own right and in harmony with the others, is a sublime vision of truth.

🌷🔅The mediating light between the Dawn of Eternity and the forms of manifestations underscores the unique place of that light.

🌷🔅Truth is the theophany and the locus of manifestation of the Dawn of Eternity!

🌷🔅The Dawn of Eternity endures; its radiance shines ceaselessly, flowing and coursing on.

Extinguish the lamp

🍀 قال: زدني فيه بيانا

🌸🔆قال: أطف السراج فقد طلع الصبح.

Kumayl, may God be pleased with him, once again asks the Imam for further elucidation!

And the Imam replies:

Extinguish the lamp, for dawn has broken!

⁉️Did the discussion of truth continue from the beginning of the night until dawn?

 ⁉️Or was the discussion of truth the final part of the night?

 ⁉️Or is the Imam’s statement an allusion to the fact that it is nearly dawn: “Extinguish the lamp and rest!!!”

⁉️Or is the Imam expressing frustration that Kumayl, despite receiving further explanation, has still not had his question answered!!!!

⁉️Or is the lamp, in the face of the dawn’s brightness, a continuation of the exposition on truth!!!

🌷Lighting a lamp in the presence of the sun is a mistake!

🌷It seems the Imam’s answer only adds to the mysteries for Kumayl! His state and the way he asks his questions suggest as much!

🌷Whoever becomes a keeper of the secret is drowned in the secret and loses himself. How can we plunge into an ocean and not be moistened by it, when the keeper of the secret must become one with the very soul of the secret?

🌷The lamp is Kumayl, and dawn signifies the Master. If the lamp does not reflect all the sun’s light in the mirror of its being, it has shown ingratitude for the blessing of illumination!

عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: اسْمُ اللَّهِ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ وَ كُلُّ شَيْ‏ءٍ وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ اسْمُ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَهُوَ مَخْلُوقٌ مَا خَلَا اللَّهَ فَأَمَّا مَا عَبَّرَتِ الْأَلْسُنُ عَنْهُ أَوْ عَمِلَتِ الْأَيْدِي فِيهِ فَهُوَ مَخْلُوقٌ‏  وَ اللَّهُ غَايَةُ مَنْ غَايَاهُ وَ الْمُغَيَّا غَيْرُ الْغَايَةِ وَ الْغَايَةُ مَوْصُوفَةٌ وَ كُلُّ مَوْصُوفٍ مَصْنُوعٌ وَ صَانِعُ الْأَشْيَاءِ غَيْرُ مَوْصُوفٍ بِحَدٍّ مُسَمًّى لَمْ يَتَكَوَّنْ فَتُعْرَفَ كَيْنُونَتُهُ بِصُنْعِ غَيْرِهِ وَ لَمْ يَتَنَاهَ إِلَى غَايَةٍ إِلَّا كَانَتْ غَيْرَهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ فَهِمَ هَذَا الْحُكْمَ أَبَداً  وَ هُوَ التَّوْحِيدُ الْخَالِصُ فَاعْتَقِدُوهُ وَ صَدِّقُوهُ وَ تَفَهَّمُوهُ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ يَعْرِفُ اللَّهَ بِحِجَابٍ أَوْ بِصُورَةٍ أَوْ بِمِثَالٍ فَهُوَ مُشْرِكٌ‏  لِأَنَّ الْحِجَابَ وَ الْمِثَالَ وَ الصُّورَةَ غَيْرُهُ‏  وَ إِنَّمَا هُوَ وَاحِدٌ مُوَحَّدٌ فَكَيْفَ يُوَحِّدُ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ عَرَفَهُ بِغَيْرِهِ إِنَّمَا عَرَفَ اللَّهَ مَنْ عَرَفَهُ بِاللَّهِ‏  فَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهُ بِهِ فَلَيْسَ يَعْرِفُهُ إِنَّمَا يَعْرِفُ غَيْرَهُ وَ اللَّهُ خَالِقُ الْأَشْيَاءِ لَا مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ يُسَمَّى بِأَسْمَائِهِ فَهُوَ غَيْرُ أَسْمَائِهِ وَ الْأَسْمَاءُ غَيْرُهُ وَ الْمَوْصُوفُ غَيْرُ الْوَاصِفِ‏  فَمَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ يُؤْمِنُ بِمَا لَا يَعْرِفُ فَهُوَ ضَالٌّ عَنِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ لَا يُدْرِكُ مَخْلُوقٌ شَيْئاً إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ وَ لَا تُدْرَكُ مَعْرِفَةُ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ وَ اللَّهُ خِلْوٌ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَ خَلْقُهُ خِلْوٌ مِنْهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ شَيْئاً كَانَ كَمَا أَرَادَ بِأَمْرِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ نُطْقٍ لَا مَلْجَأَ لِعِبَادِهِ مِمَّا قَضَى وَ لَا حُجَّةَ لَهُمْ فِيمَا ارْتَضَى لَمْ يَقْدِرُوا عَلَى عَمَلٍ وَ لَا مُعَالَجَةٍ مِمَّا أَحْدَثَ فِي أَبْدَانِهِمُ الْمَخْلُوقَةِ إِلَّا بِرَبِّهِمْ فَمَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ يَقْوَى عَلَى عَمَلٍ لَمْ يُرِدْهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَقَدْ زَعَمَ أَنَّ إِرَادَتَهُ تَغْلِبُ إِرَادَةَ اللَّهِ‏ تَبارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعالَمِينَ‏.