Dr. Reza Shah-Kazemi: The Esoteric Meaning of the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain

Peace, one and all…

A beautiful and fascinating lecture on the meaning of Imam Hussain’s death, by Dr. Reza Shah-Kazemi.  May it be of benefit.

With thanks to Ismaili Mail

Ask olsun,
Abdur Rahman

Love is Better than Fear

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Love (of God) is better than fear (of Him)’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1324

In Every Waystation in Which you Reside

Peace, one and all…

Imam Zayn al-Abidin (God sanctify his noble soul) writes, in his Treatise on Rights (Risalat al-Huquq):

‘Know – God have mercy upon you – that God has rights against you and that these encompass you in every movement through which you move, every rest through which you rest, every waystation in which you reside, every limb which you employ, and every instrument which you put to work’

A Seed Grows in Soft Ground

Peace, one and all…

Imam Musa al-Kazim (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Verily a seed grows in soft ground and does not grow on stone,
in the same way that wisdom thrives in the heart of the humble and does not thrive in the heart of the proud and haughty, because God has made humbleness the instrument of the intellect’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1719

Every Sorrowful Heart

Peace, one and all…

Imam Zayn al-Abidin (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Indeed, God loves every sorrowful heart and loves every grateful servant’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1329

When I Try Him

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (Quddus Allahi sirruhu) said:

‘Among what God, the Exalted, revealed to Prophet Moses: ‘I have not created anything as dear to Me as My believing servant, so when I try him I do so for his own good, and I make him prosper for his own good, and I shield him for his own good.  And I know best what improves My servant, so let him endure My trial and be thankful for My favours, and be content with My decree, and I will record him among the righteous’
The Scale of Wisdom, 911

The Sanctuary of God

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (may God sanctify his soul) said:

‘The heart is the sanctuary of God, so do not lodge other than God in God’s sanctuary’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1323

Related post:

• So that the All-Merciful May Descend

Imam Ali on Remembrance of God

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share some beautiful sayings of Imam Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) on the theme of remembrance.

‘Remembrance is sitting in the company of the Beloved One’

‘Remembrance is a source of great pleasure for the lovers’

‘Remembrance is the key to intimacy’

‘Remembrance expands the breasts’

‘Whoever loves something is engaged in remembrance of it’

These beautiful sayings enhance and deepen our engangement with other both the words of the Quran, the words of the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) and the words of the Awliya:

• Remembrance
• Ya Wadud!
• After La Ilaha

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

The Whispered Prayers 2

Peace, one and all…

The Whispered Prayer of the Complainers

Online Text Version

The Whispered Prayers of Imam Zayn al-Abidin 1

Peace, one and all…

 The Whispered Prayer of the Repenters: Imam Zayn al-Abidin
(God sanctify his noble soul)

Online Text Version

Prayers for Ramadan, Prayers for Forgiveness (Part 2)

Peace, one and all…

We have entered the last 10 days of Ramadan.  If the month of Ramadan is a special time in the Islamic calendar, the last 10 days are a particularly special time within Ramadan.  Tradition connects the last 10 days with prayers for salvation from Hell.  In other words, these final days of Ramadan are especially connected with seeking forgiveness.  Here are a number of beautiful prayers, drawn from a wide range of sources, all of which offer a focus for asking for forgiveness.

I hope all who pass by find these beautiful prayers beneficial.  May God forgive us all for our sins and shortcomings.  May we all be purified by the forgiveness, compassion and tender mercy of the Divine.

‘The Chief of Forgiveness-Prayers’ (Du`a Sayyid al-Istighfar)

This prayer is attributed to the Prophet himself (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) and is described in the tradition as the best prayer for forgiveness.

‘O God!  You are my Lord.  There is no god but You.  You created me.  I am Your servant.  I shall try to fulfill my pledge with You as well as my power permits.  I seek refuge with You from the evil of my deeds.  Due to Your favours to me I turn to You and thank You and also confess my mistakes.  Forgive me, for there is none to forgive sins bu You.  O Most Merciful of those who show mercy!’

The Supplication for Forgiveness of Abu Madyan (Part 2)

I seek forgiveness of God for my words and deeds,
for my vain strivings, and the exhaustion of my abilities.

I seek the forgiveness of God for my ignorance and transgressions,
for the greatest of my conscious sins, and the minor ones I have committed.

I seek the forgiveness of God for what my hand has wrought,
for my errors and [the sins] toward which I was inclined.

I seek the forgiveness of God for that which my hand did not earn,
and for that which I earned upon attaining adulthood.

I seek the forgiveness of God for saying ‘I’ and ‘with me’,
[for saying] ‘belonging to me’ and ‘mine’, and for my suspicions and my [limited] understanding.

I seek the forgiveness of God for that which I did not know,
for that which I knew and for which I wrote by pen.

I seek the forgiveness of God for my sleep, my lethargy,
and my wakefulness, and for that which has maintained me [in life].

I seek the forgiveness of God during the day, its night,
and its morrow, before it is created from nothingness.

I seek the forgiveness of God for that which occurred during my youth,
and for my disagreements with the aged and mature.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as I have feared what He has bestowed,
and [as often as] the clouds have rained on the plains and hills.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of pilgrims, going
toward lands characterised by purity and sanctity.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the breaking of dawn, and as often
as the doves coo their songs in the branches.

(I will share the remaining part of this long and beautiful du`a in a subsequent post, insha Allah)

The Prayer of Repentance (Du`a Tawbah)

This beautiful prayer is attributed to the 4th Imam of the Shi`a tradition, Ali ibn al-Hussain (more widely known as Imam Zayn al-Abidin, may God sanctify his noble soul).  It is beautifully recited below.  You can also find the text itself online.

Part One

Part Two

The Prayer of Glory (Du`a al-Baha’)

This prayer is attributed to the 5th Imam of the Shi`a tradition, Muhammad al-Baqir (God sanctify his noble soul).  I posted this beautiful prayer a few years ago.

In closing, let me offer this beautiful prayer of the Mevlevi Order, entitled The Rose Prayer (Gulbenk):

‘May this moment be blessed.  May goodness be opened and may evil be dispelled.  May our humble plea be accepted in the Court of Honour; May the Most Glorious God purify and fill our hearts with the Light of His Greatest Name.  May the hearts of the lovers be opened.  By the breath of our master Mevlana, by the secret of Shams and Weled, by the holy light of Muhammad, by the generosity of Imam Ali, and the intercession of Muhammad, the unlettered prophet, mercy to all the worlds.  May we say Hu, Huuu…’

And my last prayer is praise of God, the Sustainer of All Being.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Three Within Three

Peace, one and all…

Imam Zayn al-`Abidin (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘God has concealed three within three.  He has concealed His good pleasure in His obedience; therefore, despise no act of obedience lest His good pleasure be within it.  And He has concealed His abhorrence in acts of rebellion against Him; therefore, underestimate no act of rebellion lest His abhorrence be therein.  And He has concealed His friends in His creation; therefore, despise none of His creatures, for he may be a friend of God’

Perfection and Possession

Peace, one and all…

‘The intelligent person seeks perfection whilst the ignorant person seeks possession’
(Imam Ali, may God ennoble his countenance)

The Garment of Dignity

Peace, one and all…

‘Silence that puts the garment of dignity on you is better than words that bring you remorse’
(Imam Ali, may God ennoble his countenance)

Where Do We Go in the Face of Horror?

Peace, one and all…

On my way to work this morning, I read with horror the account of a 13 year old boy guilty of the vicious assault and rape of a 20 year old woman.  The boy, who is now 14, has received a sentence of three years in a young offender’s institute (source).  My first thoughts and prayers go to the victim.  May all her wounds be healed.  I am also deeply shocked that someone so young could do such a thing.  Three years seems such a desultory sentence for such a heinous crime (even though the offender is technically still a minor). 

Where do such crimes leave us as a society?  What do they say about the state of manhood in 21st century Britain?  Where do we go in the face of such horror? 

I don’t have the answers….nor am I probably asking all of the right questions.  At any rate, as I was thinking about these issues, I caught a line in the qawwali song I happened to be listening to.  Just as I was feeling overwhelmed by the awfulness of this crime, and the serious challenges it poses to men and maleness in today’s world, I came to the line ‘tere murshid Ali, Ali‘ (loosely, ‘your guide/teacher is Ali, Ali’).  I suddenly realised the truth of this lyric: to respond as a Muslim, I must learn masculinity from someone like Imam Ali (may God ennoble his countenance); injustice must be challenged wherever it is found – internally or externally; strength is only given to men that we might use it in accordance with the highest truth, that we might protect others; the struggle for truth is always ongoing, there can be no easy answers or quick fixes.  As I felt this truth wash over me, I felt inspired to write a small poem in response.  And so, I share it here.  It is not an answer to the awfulness of this boy’s crime.  But, for me, it is where new beginnings must emerge from: the ever-present and ever-fresh mercy of God.  Huuu….

‘You have closed my mouth,
and poured sorrow upon my head.

That one so young could do such a thing
has left me feeling raw and numb.

And, in the midst of this bitter moment,
healing truth descends like rain upon my aching heart:

Son of the Way, speak truth, do what is right,
listen with opened ears:

Tere murshid Ali, Ali
Did that lion ever fight for anything other than truth?’

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Put Off Your Old Nature

Peace, one and all…

I recently found myself watching the Catholic TV channel, EWTN, and as Allah willed, I tuned in to a discussion of the book of Ephesians.  In particular, the presenter (an elderly priest) was discussing Ephesians 4:22-25:

‘Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness’.

This passage hit me like a thunderbolt, as if it were speaking directly to me, as though were in all truth the very voice of God moving in the deep waters of my soul.  ‘I hear and obey’ is the only possible response in such situations, ‘Here I am at Your service’ (labbayk Allahumma labbayk).

A number of sayings of Imam Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) that I had then been reading feel relevant, and hence I wanted to share them here.  The Imam is reported to have said:

‘He who is lowly in poverty is great in God’s sight’

And again:

‘He who is without knowledge [literally adab] is without merit’

And finally:

‘With sincerity, a man can reach the stations of the great’

May God always open me, and may all who pass by be blessed.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Devotion and Conceit

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (may God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Every sin that begins in fear and ends in repentance brings God’s servant to Him.  Every devotion that begins in faith and ends in conceit drives God’s servant away from Him.  To be devout with conceit is to sin, and to sin with repentance is to be devout’

Imam Zain al-Abideen’s Dua for Friday

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ali ibn Hussein Zain al-Abidin (may Allah bless him) wrote a collection of beautiful and profound prayers, known as Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya.  Within that collection (which you can find online) are a number of duas (supplications) for each day of the week.  Here is the dua for friday (yaum al-jumuah), which has been beautifully recited.

Here is the text.

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-compassionate

’1. All Praise belongs to God, the First before the bringing forth and the giving of life, and the Last after the annihilation of all things, the All-knowing who forgets not him who remembers Him,  decreases not him who thanks Him, disappoints not him who supplicates Him,  and cuts not off the hope of him who hopes in Him! 2  O God,  I call Thee to witness  – and Thou art sufficient witness – and I call to witness all Thy angels, the inhabitants of Thy heavens, the bearers of Thy Throne, Thy prophets and Thy messengers whom Thou hast sent out, and the various kinds of creatures Thou hast brought forth, that I bear witness that Thou art God; there is no god but Thou, Thou alone, who hast no associate nor any equal, and Thy word has no failing, nor any change; and that Muhammad (God bless him and his Household) is Thy servant and Thy messenger; he delivered to the servants that with which Thou charged him, he struggled for God as is His due, he gave the good news of the truth of reward, and he warned of the veracity of punishment.  3  O God, make me firm in Thy religion as long as Thou keepest me alive, make not my heart to swerve after Thou hast guided me, and give me mercy from Thee, surely Thou art the Giver. Bless Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad,  make me one of his followers and his partisans, muster me in his band, and give me the success of accomplishing the obligatory observance of Friday, performing the acts of obedience which Thou has made incumbent upon me within it,  and [receiving] the bestowal which Thou hast apportioned for its people on the Day of Recompense!  Surely Thou art Mighty, All-wise!’

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman