Imam Al-Hadi

Compiled by: Syed Zainul Abideen, Tehran, Iran The Adherents to the divine guides I hold God and you as witness to testify that I believe in you and everything that you believe in, and I renounce the conduct of your enemies and whatsoever you renounce. I fully comprehend your glorious status, and deviation and fallacy of your foes. I befriend you as well as those who befriend you, I hate your enemies and turn away from them. I am obedient to you, I am aware of your rights. I acknowledge your excellence. One who adheres to you has in fact adhered to God. Rightly guided is he who has adhered to you. The one who follows you has paradise as his abode and the one who opposes you hell is his destination. A person who rejects you is an infidel (kafir) and the one who fights against you is a polytheist (mushrik) and the one who refutes your divine status is in perpetual fire at the base of hell. I confirm whatever you confirm as true, I refute as evil whatever you refute. I am obedient to you, I am aware of your rights, I acknowledge your excellence, I am bearer and conveyer of your knowledge, I am safely covered under your protection and care. I uphold your word and execute your orders and seek your shelter. I visit you as a pilgrim seeking peace of mind, health and refuge in your shrines, imploring you to intercede with the Mighty and Majestic God, and I seek close access to Him through your means preferring & advancing you prior to supplicating for my own needs. One who obeys you has obeyed God, and one who disobeys you has in fact disobeyed God, and one who loves you has truly loved God, and one who hates you has in fact hated God. (Ziarate Jameah Kabirah) Faith V/S Islam Imam Ali Naqi (A.S) has narrated from the golden chain of his predecessors viz. Imam Javad, Imam Reza, Imam Kazim, Imam Sadiq, Imam Baqir, Imam Husain & Imam Hassan (A.S) that Imam Ali (A.S) had written a hadith dictated by the holy prophet(S.A) as inspired by God as follows: “In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful, FAITH is sincere acceptance by heart and is revealed by good deeds, whereas ISLAM is confession by tongue & it makes marriage legal. (Murawwaj uz Zahab V4 P 85 ) Note1:Marriage with a non-muslim is legal when one accepts Islam by reciting the ‘kalimah’. Similarly a person cannot slay a man in jihad doubting that his ‘kalimah’ is not sincere, as only God knows the sincerity of one’s heart. Note2: Imam Ali (A.S) has said that: ‘Mehrieh’ i.e. love gift should not be high as it may cause enmity between the married couple. Voice of people A number of people are annoyed and disagree with a person who agrees or is pleased with his own self. (B.A V. 78 P.369) Evaluation 1. Better than good deeds is the one who performs good deeds. 2. Worse than vice is the one who does vicious deeds. 3. Superior to good words is the speaker of good words. 4. More valuable than knowledge is the possessor of knowledge. (R B V2 P370) Note: The All knowing God is superior to all knowledge. He is the Creator of all the experts in the different fields of knowledge. He has given most knowledge to the first created soul i.e. the holy prophet Mohammad (S.A) who announced:“ I am the city of knowledge & Ali is the gateway, and whoever likes to acquire knowledge should approach through the gateway (lest he should be misguided by satanic forces of ignorance). Sleep & Food Sleep is made sweeter by waking up at night (for prayers) & food becomes more delicious with appetite. (RB V2 P369) Note: Night prayers is performed before the azaan for morning prayers. It is strongly recommended to say this tahajjud prayers as it has numerous benefits and this salaat was compulsory for the holy prophet (S.A). Captives A rider on a stubborn mule is very much like a captive of his evil self, and an imbecile is a captive of his tongue. (RB V2 P366) Note: Imam Sajjad (A.S) has taught us to supplicate to God as follows O God! Do not entrust me to my Satanic evil self for a winks time nor even for a period much less than a wink. Patience Worry is single for the patient whereas it is double for the impatient. (RB V2 P369) A person who is extremely patient shall be extremely humble. (RB V2 P366) Note1: “Don’t trouble troubles, till troubles trouble you, For it will only double trouble & trouble others too:” Note2: The sunnah of Imams is patience so always be patient in troubles. Patience wears out stones Light of the divine guides ‘Kalamokum Noor’, Your words are guiding lights your command is uprightness and guidance, your advice is piety. Note1: The title of these booklets has been choosen from the Ziarate Jameahtal Kabirah) Note2: Light expels darkness of doubts and ignorance and illuminates the mind. The earth gets illuminated with your light. (i.e. spiritual knowledge) God’s guiding light and His convincing proofs are with you. God created you as lights and kept you around His Throne until He favored us with your presence, hence He inhabited you in houses (bodies) that He had approved to be exalted and wherein His Name be glorified. (Noor:34) God has made known to them the greatness of your task, the majesty of your authority, and the grandeur of your dignity, the perfectness of your guiding light. I bear witness that your souls, your lights and your nature are one and the same ( for all imams ). You are lights of the virtuous and guides of the righteous, and proven authorities of the Almighty God. (Ziarate Jameah Kabirah) Note a: The holy Quran states: God is the light of the heavens and the earth. (Noor: 35) The light of knowledge of God is visible in every creation manifestly or hidden, far or near. Note b: God guides with His light whomever he wishes. Moses wanted to fetch fire from the mountain but he was blessed with God’s messengership to defeat Pharaoh. Note c: God is the guardian of the believers He brings them out of the darkness (of disbelief) into the light (of faith); and those who disbelieve in God, their patrons are satanic forces who expel them from the light (of faith) into the darkness of disbelief & sin. (2:257) Wrong Expectations Do not expect loyalty from a person whom you have deceived. (RB V2 P369) Do not expect benevolence or good counsel from a person about whom you are suspicious. ( RB V2 P369) Temporal & Eternal Blessings Material blessings are temporal, while thankfulness is a blessing which has an eternal reward. (RB V2 P365) Death Remember the last moment of your life, no physician nor any friend can ward off your inevitable death. Ignorance An ignorant person sometimes extinguishes the lamp of his rights by his own ignorance. (RB V2 P365) Wilayat & Movalaat of the divine guides Through your love and patronage God taught us the characteristic details of our religion and amended what was ruined in our world (by enemies of Islam) and through your love and guardianship the Kalimah attained completion. Through your love God’s blessings become bounteous, and separation or division ends in loving union. Through your love the compulsory duties of religion are accepted (and awarded) for you is obligatory adoration (mavaddat). Blest is he who adores you and doomed is he who opposes you with enmity. Deprived and disappointed is he who rejects you, strayed is he who quits you, triumphant is he who grasps you firmly, secure is he who seeks refuge in you, safe and sound is he who upholds your authenticity, rightly guided is he who is attached to you. One who follows you paradise is his abode, One who opposes you hell is his destination. The victorious attain victory by virtue of your guardianship i.e. wilayat and love. With you one really steps on the way leading to God’s gratification, and the one who renounces your wilayat and love confronts the wrath of the Beneficent God. Place me amongst the best of your associates, the followers of that to which you have invited.(Z.J.K) Bazaar This world is a market wherein one community prospers and the other loses. (RB V2 P365) Security Do not consider yourself secure against a person who has abased his own personality. (RB V2 P365) Disputes Verbal disputes (often) ruin old friendship. Poverty Poverty is wickedness of one’s evil spirit as well as excessive despair. (BA V78.P368) Heritage of the divine guides (Imams) The heritage of prophets is with you. People will finally come back towards you. I flee towards the Mighty and Majestic God from the usurpers of your heritage, the doubters of your status, the deviators from your right path. You possess all that was brought down by God’s messengers and all that angels descended with. And to (Mohammad S.A.) was sent the trusted spirit (Gabriel). God has bestowed on you that, which He has never bestowed on anyone else in the universe. (Ziarate Jameah Kabirah) Haa’ir There are places on earth wherein God likes to be supplicated for approving the prayers, and Haa’ir (of Imam Husain (A.S) is one of them. (TO P482) Note: Mecca Medina, mosques and cemeteries of prophets and Imams are also places where ones prayers are answered sooner than other places. Note: particular times are also recommended for prayers and invocations example the last 10 days of the month of Ramazan which includes laylatul Qadr similarly day of A’rafah (9th zilhajj), and every day before the call for morning prayers & so on. 31. Blessings Be good neighbours of blessings to make them lasting and supplicate for making the blessings bountiful by gratefulness for them. (Aayan ush shia v2p39) Note: blessings will disappear if a person does not thank God. Opinion about a person During a period when justice prevails over tyranny it is illicit and offensive to mistrust or regard a person as evil without correct information about him. And during a period when tyranny prevails over justice a person should not have a good opinion about anyone until his goodness is ascertained. (Aayan ush shia v2p39) Negligence Always remember the grief and losses caused by negligence in the past so as to compensate by prudence and foresight. (B.A V.78 P.370) Note: it is well known that history repeats itself, so one should take lessons from history, e.g. from the tragedy of Imam Husain (A.S) It can never be forgotten. Jihaad of divine guides I am at peace with those who are at peace with you. I am at war with those who wage war against you. I confirm whatever you confirm as true, I refute as evil whatever you refute. One who fights against you is considered as a polytheist. You fought wars for God as worthy of divine guides, until you manifested His message (regarding divine wars) and explained its obligations and established its limits and spread the rules and regulations of His finalized religion extensively. Note: In the holy war the rules of God are that civilians, women and children should not be killed and the warriors who are killed should not be cut into pieces. Wars should not be waged during certain esteemed lunar months such as Moharram …. Memoirs Some of the best memoirs of Imam Ali Naqi (A.S) are 1.His comprehensive manuscript on predestination and freewill and 2. Ziarat e Jamea tal Kabirah which has been recommended by Imam Mahdi (A.S) for recitation. This ziarat was written at the request of Moosa Ibne Abdollah Nakhie for paying homage as a pilgrim to any of the Immaculate Imams. Ziarate Jameah Kabira (Z.J.K) is a marvelous & excellent explanation of Imamat by the divinely appointed Imam himself. Your memoirs are amongst the eternal exquisite memoirs, your graves are the heart of shrines(by the side of mosques) Place me amongst those who narrate your memoirs and regard your exemplary life as a divine model to follow, those who tread on your footprints, and are safely guided by your guidance. How sweet are your names! How exalted your spirits! How great your glory! How sublime your personality! how well fulfilled your covenant! How true your promise! Note: God’s divine guides are the best personalities for conducting us towards perfection of human character hence they are the best blessings of God for humanity. Gold ingots or slabs are stocked in the banks for backing banknotes, this gold remains without any utilization and is liable to be stolen from the banks by armed robbers; and this is one of the causes of inflation and economic crisis. It is therefore better to utilize this gold for adoration and remembrance of the best personalities on earth by building tombs for them and registering these buildings as backing for the bank notes. Miracles of the divine prophets Imam Ali Naqi (A.S) has said that: the miracle of Moses was his walking stick and his shining white hand. The people of his time were experts in magic and witchcraft so God gave him superiority over the magicians and Pharaoh to prove the truth of his prophethood. The people of the era of prophet Jesus (A.S) were expert in medication so God blessed him with miracles like curing the incurable diseases and reviving the dead, so that he may prevail over the physicians of his time. The final & the greatest prophet of Islam Mohammad (S.A) was granted the holy Quran & the sword (zolfeqhar brought by Gabriel A.S.) as his miracle, because the people of his time were renowned for their literary talents, poetry and swordsmanship. Note: In the holy Quran there is a challenge that no one can bring a surah or Aayat with fluency and erudition like the Quran, even if all men & jinn gather together and help each other. (abstracted from Behar V50 P164) Baqhiatallah & Oolil Amr God’s blessings and peace be upon the Imams inviting towards God, the rightly guiding leaders and masters of their loving followers and defenders of their supporters the constant reciters of Zikr (God’s holy Names & Aayat of Quran).God’s blessings and peace be upon the divine commanding authorities ‘Oolil Amr’ and ‘Baqhiatallah’ the persisting protected one by God. (Imam Mahdi (A.F) in the present era. Note: when the uprising Imam (al Qa’im) emerges out of the curtain of concealment, his first statement will be “Baqhiatallah is best for you if ye be believers” (11:86) He will then add: “I am Baqhiatallah on His earth and I am His representative and convincing and guiding authority for you all. From then on, everyone will greet him by saying ‘salaam’ on you O Baqhiatallah. Note2: Baqhiatallah means the remaining God’s authority. Return or minor resurrection (Raja’t) I believe in your coming back, I testify your return (minor resurrection prior to major resurrection) I await your command ,I anticipate your divine kingdom. I am always prepared and ready with my aid & assistance for you, until the time when God the Almighty shall revive His religion through you and reestablish you in the era of His divine kingdom to manifest His justice. He shall make you appear & provide you with power& potentialities on this earth, so I am with you and you alone and not with anyone else. Note: Imam Mahdi (A.F.) shall appear first for final victory of Right over evil Might And place me amongst those who are resurrected together in your group and troops during your return (minor resurrection) and are blessed with responsible positions in your government with safety and security and possess power and authority during the days of your glory and their eyes would shine with delight at your sight tomorrow. (Ziarate Jameah Kabirah) Intercession by the Divine Guides You are witnesses in this temporal abode & intercessors in the eternal abode. May God favour me with success in obedience to you and provide me with your intercession. O the divine guardians from God ! there are many sins & transgressions between me & the Mighty, Majestic God which cannot be effaced unless you agree to intercede. Hence, for the sake of God who entrusted you with His secrets and authorized you to supervise the affairs of His creatures and regarded obedience to you as close to His obedience, Would you (please) plead forgiveness for my sins, because you are my intercessors as I am truly obedient to you. Note: Imam Sajjad (A.S) has said: “It is not possible for anyone in spite of all his efforts in performance of good deeds to have one single sin forgiven by God. Therefore a sinner should flee from God’s justice and wrath towards His Mercy. God says in the holy Quran: Seek the MEANS for guidance towards Him (God). (Al Maedah:35) Hence a person should obey the divine guides (Imams during their Imamat as MEANS towards God) they shall definitely plead for you if they are pleased with you. This is not favoritism because they will be pleased with you when you love and obey them. O my God! Had I found intercessors closer to You than Mohammad(S.A.) and his Ahle Bayt --the righteous Imams(A.S.) I would have made them my intercessors, so for the sake of their rights which Thou hast made incumbent upon Thyself, I beseech Thee to place me in the group of those who have cognizance of divine Imams (Ali to Mahdi(A.S))and those who recognize their Rights and in the category of those blessed by their intercession Verily Thou art the utmost Merciful of the merciful. (Ziarate Jameah Kabirah)