Ya Ali Madad! The Diamond Jubilee of Noor Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam (a.s.) is only five months away. To keep up with the momentum, here is another enlightenment post to increase our knowledge and enhance our yearning through Dhikr and Angelic Salwat. This enlightenment post has a new dhikr track titled, 'Rabbi Zidni ilmaa'.

Knowledge Section:

1. Moses' Search for Higher Knowledge: It is reported in footnote 1286 of S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali's translation of the Holy Qu'ran, that "once Moses, (Hazrat Musa (a.s.)), while preaching to his people, thought of himself to be the most learned one among men and there being no equal to him in knowledge. God commanded Gabriel to go at once to Moses and tell him that what he imagined about himself was not a fact and there is one more learned than him living near a rock at the junction of two rivers, and Moses should go and earn some knowledge from that man. Moses was commanded to have a roasted fish along with him and whenever the roasted fish gets alive and gets into any river or sea, it will make a way for him and he should follow the track created by the fish. Immediately as he received the command of God, Moses started his journey with his deputy Joshua ibne Noon who attended him with some bread and a roasted fish and decided to wander to any extent until he finds the man of greater knowledge and wisdom.

   The man referred to by God was Khizr. One of the miracles given to Khizr was that if he sat leaning on any dry stick it became fresh green. Khizr literally means green. (p.934)

2. The Status of Khizr as described by Ibn al-'Arabi
   (Source: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1989)

   Chittick writes: In the following passage Ibn al-'Arabi employs the term "tasting" in a broad sense to refer to all knowledge given by God to His Messengers, His Prophets, and His friends. At the same time, he clarifies the distinction which he commonly draws among these three highest types of human beings. (p.221) "The speech of the folk of God's path derives from tasting, and no one has any tasting of the share that a messenger receives from God, since the tastings of the messengers are specific to the messengers, the tasting of the prophets are specific to the prophets, and the tastings of the friends are specific to the friends. A messenger may have all three tastings, since he a friend, a prophet and a messenger [all at once]. Khadir said to Moses, "What thou have never encompassed in knowledge" (18:68). He says "I have knowledge taught to me by God and unknown to you, and you have a knowledge taught to you by God and unknown to me." This is "tasting"." (p.221)

   Moses met Khizr and they went in the town where Khizr performed three acts whose significance Moses could not understand. In the first instance, he damaged a boat which belonged to some poor men, then he slew a child who had become an outlaw and was disobedient to his parents, and then he build a wall of house of two orphans. In the end, Khizr explains Moses the significance of his actions and parted from Moses. I have presented ayat 65 which describes the meeting of Moses and Khizr and then presented four ayats (79-82) in which Khizr explains the greater truths. I have also presented the footnotes for these ayats and then I have a detailed explanation of Khizr's speech as described by Ibn al-'Arabi.

3. Ayats from the Holy Quran

   Transliteration	English Translation
   Fa-wajadaa 'Abdam-min 'ibaadinaaa 'aataynaahu Rahmatam-min 'indinaa wa 'alam-naahu mil-Ladunnaa 'ilmaa. (18:65)	Then1289 found they one, from among Our servants [i.e., Hazrat Khizr] whom We had vouchsafed mercy from unto Us and We had taught him knowledge [i.e., a kind of knowledge of the unseen] from unto Ourselves. (18:65)
   Please read the appendix for this post which has ayats 66-82 which describe the full interaction between Khizr and Moses, especially questions which Moses asked which also demonstrated his impatience and lack of deeper understanding. Only ayats 65, and 79-82 with respective footnotes are presented here. In ayats 79-82 Khizr explains the deeper meaning of his actions.
   'Ammas-safiinatu fakka-nat li-masaakiina ya-'maluuna fil-bahri fa-'arattu 'an 'a-'iiba-haa wa kaana waraaa-'ahum-malikuny-ya'khuza kulla safii-natin gasbaa. (18:79)	"As1290 for the boat, it was of (some) poor men they plied in the sea and I intended that I should damage it, for there was after them [a king] who seized every boat by force." (18:79)
   Wa 'ammal-gulaamu fakaana 'abawaahu Mu-minay-ni fa-khashiinaa 'any-yurhi-qahumaa tug-yaanananwwa kufraa (18:80)	:And1291 as for the boy, because his parents are believers and feared we that he should grieve them by rebellion (against them) and disbelieve (in God)." (18:80)
   Fa-'aradnaa 'any-yubdila-humaa Rabbuhumaa khayram-minhu zakaatanwwa 'aqraba ruhmaa. (18:81)	"So1292 we did intend that their Lord giveth them instead one better than him in purity (of conduct) and closer in affection." (18:81)
   Wa 'ammal-jidaaru fakaa-na li-gulaamayni yatiimayni fil-Madiinati wa kaana tahta-huu kanzul-lahumaa wa kaana 'abuhumaa wa kaana 'abuuhumaa saalihaa: fa-'araada Rabbuka 'any-yablugaaa 'ashuddahumaa wa yastakhrijaa kanzahumaa rahmatam-mir-Rabbik. Wa mass fa-'altuhuu 'an 'amrii. Zaalika ta'-wiilu maa lam tasti 'alayhi-sabraa (18:82)	"And1293 as for the wall, it was of two orphan boys in the city, and was underneath it (deposited) for them two and their father was a righteous man; so willed they Lord that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure (which is) a mercy from thy Lord; and I did it not of my own will. This is the interpretation of what thou couldst not have patience." (18:82)

4. Footnotes from S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali's translation of the Holy Qu'ran:

   Vr. 65. (1289) They found a man [i.e., Hazrat Khizr] spreading his prayer mat on the water of the river and engaged in prayer. When Moses him, the man immediately returned the salutation saying, "Peace be to thee Moses, the Apostle, and to the Children of Israel." This was Khizr who was especially blessed by God and endowed with knowledge direct from God. (p.935) Vr. 78-79 (1290) The owners of the boat, through reduced to a miserable poverty, did not resort to any disrespectful means of earning their sustenance. They used to earn their livelihood by plying their boats but the cruel King wanted to commandeer the boats of his subjects. If these self-respecting poor souls lost the boat, which was their only means of subsistence, they would have been reduced to beggary. Khizr simply made it [i.e., the boat] useless for the time being and save it from being snatched away from them. The damage done could be easily repaired by the owners after the boat escaped the seizure by the King. The incident served the purpose of bringing home to the intelligent mind that the working of the Divine Plan in this world is never without the absolute wisdom active in it, towards some good in the ultimate, though outwardly it might seem to be detrimental to the immediate interest of some, but it might lead to a really favourable end. (p.935) Vr. 80 (1291) The act of killing the youth seemed to be a definite cruelty. But it was not a secret for Khizr that the boy was practically lost to his parents as an an outlaw, as such, was an encumbrance to the society, a danger to the life of the public and thus a source of a torturous grief to his gentle and righteous parents. The statement being in first person plural, indicates that Khizr did not act on his own but was guided by the Divine inspiration. (p.935) Vr. 81 (1292) The parents were promised in return, a better recompense through the gift of a better-behaved son who would be a source of pride and asset to them. (p.935) Vr. 82 (1293) A righteous man who was no more had buried a treasure under the wall for his young orphans to inherit their property. If the wall had been allowed to fall, the buried treasure would have been exposed and would be owned by the others and consequently the poor orphans would have been derived of what their good-hearted father had left for them and the issues of the righteous man would also naturally be righteous and of service above self to the others. Hence serving the interest of poor orphans was also serving the cause of public charity. The repairing of the wall by Khizr without any compensation or return for his labour, indicates that while doing any good the immediate return for it should not be the concern of the individual who does it. Good should be done for the sake of goodness. (p.935-936) In giving the reasons for his three deeds, in the first instance: Khizr attributed the act to himself, saying, 'I intended', in the second instance he used plural 'we intended', and the third instance he attributed the act totally to God and at the end he says 'I have not done anything of my own accord'. (p.936) The story of Khizr and Moses for the moral of the instances of the Divine Blessing in disguise and that how extensive and deep may be the human knowledge, even of those who are under revelation, regarding the administration of the world by God, is still limited and subject to further increase, and that the mysteries behind the events are far from our grasp. (p.936-937)

5. Insights about Courtesy and Acts of God from Ibn al-Arabi
   (Source: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1989)

   Chittick writes: The proper human attitude towards the acts adds another dimension to the question. Though one group may ascribe all acts to God, in fact "courtesy" (adab) demands that only good and beautiful acts be ascribed to God, while evil and ugly acts must be ascribed to the servants. Man must see all good as belonging to God and all evil as belonging to himself, thereby putting everything in its proper place and becoming qualified by justice, wisdom, and courtesy. In one passage where Ibn al-'Arabi classifies the names of God into various categories, he provides a distinction between the "names of acts" and the "names of deputation" (niyaba) which helps to clarify this point. (p.209-210) "God says, "To God belong the most beautiful names, so call Him by them" (7:180). ...Know that some of God's names are features (ma'arif) such as the well-known names. Some of the names are hidden things (Mudmarat), like the [pronouns] ka and ta of address, the ta of the first person, the third person pronoun. ..., and the first person plural pronoun, as in "Surely We sent down." Some of the names are denoted by acts, though no names are built from [the acts mentioned in such verses as] "God derides them" (9:79) or "God mocks them' (2:15). Some of the names of deputation [i.e., delegation]: They belong to God, but they act as His deputies, such as when we say, "[He has appointed for you] shirts to protect you from the heat" (16:81). Every name given to every act ascribed to every engendered [i.e., created] thing among possible things functions as God's deputy, since all acts belong to God. Whether blame or praise becomes connected to the act, this connection exercises no effect upon what is given by sound knowledge. Hence every act attributed to a created thing acts as God's deputy within that thing. If it occurs in a praiseworthy way, it is attributed to God in laudation, since God loves to be lauded—so has it been recorded in the Sahih from the Messenger of God. But if blame becomes connected to it, or a defect is joined to it, we do not attribute it to God. An example of the praiseworthy is the words of Abraham, "He heals me" (26:80). But concerning the illness he said, "Whenever I am sick" (26:80). He did not say, "Whenever He makes me sick", even though nothing made him sick but God. God made him sick just as He healed him. Another example is [the words of Khadir], "I desired to damage it" (18:79). This courteous and just knower alluded to himself by desiring to damage. But he said concerning the praiseworthy act, "Thy Lord desired" (18:82) in the case of two orphans. Then in the place of praise and blame he said, "We desired" with a plural pronoun (18:81), because of the blame involved in killing the youth without any retaliation for a soul slain, and the praise involved in God's protection his parents by his been killed. Hence he said "We desired", without specifying. Such is the state of the Courteous (al-udaba). Then he said, "I did not act—that is, "He did not act"—"on my bidding" (18:82); on the contrary, the whole affair belongs to God. (IV 318.26) (pp.209-210).

6. Self Disclosure and Receptivity (Why Prayers Are Often Not Answered?)
   (Source: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1989)

Chittick writes: God is the Manifest [i.e., Az-Zaahir] and the Nonmanifest [i.e., Al-Baatin]. Through the name Manifest He discloses Himself ... by creating the universe; through the name Nonmanifest He discloses Himself ... to the understanding and insights of His creatures. Ibn al-'Arabi often employs the word "[self-]manifestation (zuhur) for the first type of divine play. He uses the term tajalli or "self-disclosure" .. for God's nonmanifest display. Closely connected with the idea of self-disclosure is that of receptivity (qabul) and preparedness (isti'dad). When God discloses Himself, the extent of which a thing "receives" the self-disclosure is determined by its "preparedness" to receive it, and this in turn is determined by the thing's own reality. ... Each thing represents a unique combination of attributes and properties. Each receives Being's self disclosure to the measure of its own capacity. The receptivities of things are given broad outlines by their situation in the ontological hierarchy. Inanimate objects demonstrate one level of capacity, plants a higher level, animals still a higher level, and human beings the highest level among created things. Perfect man alone has the receptivity to display Being in Its fullness. In the following passage, Ibn al-'Arabi explains the important role played by preparedness in the context of addressing the practical problem of why prayers are often not answered. (p.91) "God says. "The giving of thy Lord can never be walled up" (Koran 17:20). In other words, it can never be withheld. God is saying that He gives constantly, while the loci [i.e., the creatures] receive the measure of realities of their preparedness. In the same way that the sun spreads its rays over existent things. It is not miserly with its light towards anything. The loci receive light in the measure of their preparedness. Each locus attributes the effect [of light] to the sun and forgets its own preparedness. The person with a cold temperament enjoys the sun's heat, while the person with a hot temperament suffers from its heat. In respect of its essence the light is one, while each of the two people suffers from what the other enjoys. If this belonged only to the light, it would result in a single reality. Therefore the sun gives according to its own strength, while the receiver exercises a property over that giving, and necessarily so, since no result is produced with the two premises. ... A single verse from God's book reaches the listener as one entity. One listener understands one thing from it, another listener does not understand that thing but understands something else, while a third understands many things. Therefore each of those who consider this verse cite it in accordance to the diversity of the preparedness of their understanding. The same thing take place in divine self-disclosures. The Self-discloser, in respect to what He is in Himself, is One in Entity, while the self-disclosures—I mean their forms—are diverse in according to the diversity of the preparedness of the loci of self-disclosure. The property of the divine gifts is the same. Once you understand this, you will know that the gift of God is not withheld. But you want Him to give you something that your preparedness cannot receive. Then you attribute the withholding to Him in that which you seek from Him, and you do not turn your attention towards the preparedness. It is possible that a person has the preparedness to ask, but he does not have the preparedness to receive what he asks for—if it were given to him in the place of being withheld. You answer, "God is powerful over everything" (Koran 2:20 etc.), and you speak the truth in that. But you forget the hierarchy of the divine wisdom in the cosmos and what is demanded by the realities of the things. (I 287.10) " (pp. 91-92) My Insights: In his firmans and Talikas, Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam says 'you are constantly in my heart, thoughts and prayers'. In our Holy Du'a, upstanding tasbi and tasbis by Mukhi and Kamadia sahebs, we ask for many good things. However, in order for the wish or prayer to materialize, we have to prepare ourselves. Take the prayer, 'Ya Ali tu Gat Jamatke Haqqiqati samaj de' (O Ali, bless the Jamat with the inner vision of the Truth). In order to actualize this prayer, our preparation has to be immense and includes such activities of submitting dasond regularly and in full, saying three Du'a regularly and on time, and performing bandagi with full concentration among many other things. If we are lacking in these activities, how can we expect the prayer of the inner vision of the Truth to be actualized? Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam is constantly sending his prayers and blessings so he is like a sun which is always shining. However, what is the soul doing to become receptive and how much capacity does it have to absorb these blessings? Let us take another example. We pray for forgiveness of our sins. However, the preparation for this request is that one has to do sincere repentance and make a commitment of not committing the same sins again. So let us think about what should we be doing before coming to Jamat Khana, and when we are standing in line inside Jamat Khana for the Dua Karawi ceremony. We have to use the same kind of analysis for each prayer we recite in Jamat khana or elsewhere. Let us take another example. We have a bag of wheat seeds and a plot of land. What would it take to get a large crop so that we may have enough supply for making bread for one month? Let us say, we are busy and do not have time to plant the seeds into the ground. Then the answer is that we will not get to our target because our preparation is zero. If we cultivate the soil, ensure that there is adequate moisture and heat for proper germination of seeds, and enough nutrients in soil, proper sunlight and weed control, then it is possible that we can a wheat crop in about 100 days. A tremendous effort is needed to actualize the potential of a bag of seeds.

7. Conclusion

In this enlightenment post, we have learned on how God casts His Light into the hearts of his believers, friends, prophets and messengers. Each person is given enlightenment according to his/her own measure of preparedness.

The formula:

No preparedness = No Self-Disclosure = No Enlightenment

always applies, therefore some prayers are not answered. The fault is not with God or the Holy Imam, but with us due to lack of preparation and not having the capacity in the soul to absorb the blessings which are always coming to us.

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Dhikr Section: New Luminous Dhikr Titled 'Rabbi Zidni Ilmaa'

Since we are in the theme of enlightenment, a new luminous dhikr titled 'Rabbi zidni ilmaa' has been created. The highest form of knowledge is light so let us recite this supplication with utmost humility and tenderness of the heart (length 3 min 03 sec; 4.2 MB).

Let this dhikr ring in our spiritual hearts and create an aspiration to actualize the Light of the Holy Ahlul-Bait and Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam. May our spiritual hearts get filled with this NOOR and nothing else. Ameen. The lyrics for the 40 beads are given below:

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Rabbi zidni ilmaa
My Lord, increase me in knowledge!

Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil 'alamin.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

Reaffirmation of Baiyat:
Let us also reaffirm our baiyat to our Holy Imam, NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam by reciting the Shahada from the second part of our Holy Dua:

Angelic Salwat Nazrana:
Let us now start presenting a nazrana of at least 101 salwats or continuous salwat for 3 to 5 minutes to our beloved NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam for the fulfillment of our noble wishes. May our beloved Mowla continually keep us on the Right Path. Ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad:
O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants

Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil 'alamin.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

May NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam (a.s.) grant peace, prosperity, happiness, barakat, higher spiritual enlightenment, spiritual & luminous tayid (help) and empowerment to you, your family, your Jamat and the worldwide Jamat! Ameen.

Your spiritual brother,
Noorallah Juma
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017

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Article by Dr. Noorallah Juma