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"And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp that giveth light." — Holy Qur'an 33:46


 

2017-2018 — The Diamond Jubilee Years for Higher Spiritual Enlightenment

Diamond Jubilee Spark :: Fighting One's Own Inner Darkness With One's Own Light

Enlightenment Post No. 49 :: Knowledge & Prayers for Advancement

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

Ya Ali Madad. On the occasion of the celebration of the birthday commemoration of our forty-eighth Imam, Noor Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah (a.s.), we extend our heartfelt Mubarak to the global jamat!

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

The PDF version of this post can be downloaded from the SalmanSpiritual.Com website.

The 7-day project of reciting 50 verses of Moti Vênti during the Baitul Khyal satado for spiritual elevation started today, Friday, November 2 and will end on Thursday, November 8, 2018 in Canada. If you are interested to do this project, please click on this link. All resources are digital so you can do this project at your convenience on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Knowledge Section

The knowledge section in this enlightenment post has three parts: (1) Teachings of Nasir al-Din Tusi (2) Teachings of Mawlana Rumi; and (3) An excerpt of firman of Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam.

The following excerpts are taken from Nasir al-Din Tusi's book titled 'Paradise of Submission — A Medieval Treatise on Ismaili Thought. A new Persian edition and English translation of Tusi's Rawda-yi taslim by S. J. Badakhchani, I. B. Tauris Publishers in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. 2005. Rawda-yi taslim consists of lectures of the Chief missionary (da'i al-du'at) Nasir al-Din Tusi. Rawda-yi taslim 'is a unique source of study of ideas and doctrines held by the Nizari Ismailis under second-to-last Lord of Alamut, 'Ala' al-Din Muhammad III (r.618-53/1221-55)' (H. Landolt, p.1).

The Search for Different Types of Wealth and Knowledge

[&451] "[Likewise], in the spiritual realm, one receives from one's superiors knowledge benefiting the form of one's return [to the divine source] (sûrat-i ma'âd). Having attained essential perfection [through such knowledge], one imparts it to one's inferiors in proportion to their ability and aptitude to receive it, thus bringing others to perfection. In this way, just as in the material world one tries to make the poor man rich by means of material wealth, so one should endeavour to make this same man rich in the spiritual world through spiritual wealth, so that the ongoing relationship [between] benefaction, benefactor and beneficiary can continue to operate by the means of spiritual wealth in the spiritual world."
(Source: Paradise of Submission, p. 150)
[&452] "The same [analogy] applies to pilgrimage (hajj). The pilgrim sets out, for example, from his home for Iraq,165 and from Iraq travels to Baghdad, from Baghdad to the [Arabian] desert, and from there to the house of Ka'ba. [In this journey], his soul undergoes a transformation and acquires a disposition to perfection until it obtains its ultimate perfection. Such transmutations and transformations constitute [the soul's] ascension from immediate (darûrî) knowledge to theoretical (nazarî) knowledge to instructional (ta'lîmî) knowledge, unto knowledge received through divine grace (ta'yidî). Thus, he will realise what is implied in 'Today is the great pilgrimage to the ancient house, the pure' (9:3; 22:33), and he would have replied to the summons 'And God calls to the abode of peace' (10:25), with the answer, 'Here I am (labbayka), O God, here I am.' Furthermore, the journey to the house of Ka'ba, according to the literal sense of revelation (tanzil), signifies the quest of the Imam, and reaching the house of Ka'ba, according to esoteric exegesis (ta'wil), is the recognition of the Imam.166
(Source: Paradise of Submission, p. 150)

The Endeavour for Higher Spiritual Enlightenment

[&453] "It is the same with holy war [or struggle] (jihad), concerning which it should be understood that it has various senses, and these have been divided into four types [of struggle]: physical (jismânî), spiritual (rûhânî), intellectual ('aqlânî) and real (haqîqî). The physical struggle is to wage war against one's exterior enemies, where one fights one's physical enemies with bravery of the heart and with arms. The other types of struggle are waged against internal enemies. The spiritual, for example, consists in fighting the reality of one's own [inner] darkness ('ayn-i zulmat) by the trace of one's own light (athar-i nûr). The intellectual struggle is to fight against the trace of one's inner darkness by the reality of one's own light (ayn-i nûr). The real struggle is to combat one's self, afflicted with all that is potentially ungodly, apart or disassociated from God, by the aid of God's Selfhood (huwiyyat), the Almighty Necessary Being.
(Source: Paradise of Submission, pp. 150-151)

The Inner Meaning of the Four Streams of Paradise (Jannât)

[&454] "It is the same with Paradise (jannât), which consists of perfections, ranged one above another, unto the final perfection, as has been explained in the chapter [15] pertaining to Paradise and paradises. According to the literal revelation (tanzil), the four streams of Paradise (chahâr jûy-i bihisht) consists of water, milk, honey and wine. According to spiritual exegesis (ta'wil), they stand for four kinds of knowledge as befitting the varying capacities of human intellects. Thus, water symbolises immediate and self-evident knowledge ('ilm-i badîhî) common to all men which can be communicated and is accessible to everyone. Milk symbolises reflective knowledge ('ilm-i nazarî) which is reserved for 'children', that is of weak intelligence. Honey symbolises instructional knowledge ('ilm-i ta'limî) which can be imparted to one kind of people, namely those who have progressed beyond the realm of personal opinion (kawn-i nazar) and turned from degeneracy to rectitude. Wine symbolises divinely inspired knowledge ('ilm-i ta'yîdî) which results from the disclosure of spiritual realities. This type of knowledge is suitable only for persons of a sound temperament who, having turned away from a degenerate state to a condition of rectitude, moved from rectitude to Divine Unity. With the latter type of persons there is no need to engage in dissimulation (taqiyya) and it is improper to do so. Do you not see that wine is not given or ought not to be given to anyone whose temperament has been slightly or seriously upset, or who is affected by illness? When such a person regains his former good health, he is not forbidden wine, nor should be.167"
(Source: Paradise of Submission, p. 151)

The Grace of Divine Illumination

[&455] "The same [analogy] is applicable to [the Qur'anic verse], 'And their Lord will give them to drink of a wine pure and holy' (76:21). This verse confirms the fact that for the soul of such persons, the grace of divine illumination is vouchsafed, without any mediation, or any corporeal or spiritual intermediary, so that between him and his absolute origin, there is neither a veil or intermediary."
(Source: Paradise of Submission, p. 151)

Footnotes

165That is 'Iraq-i 'Ajam, the region in Jibâl in north-western Iran, as distinct from 'Iraq-i 'Arab, which is present day Iraq.
 
166A similar analogy of the pilgrimage to Makkah with the quest for the Imam, and one's arrival at the Ka'ba with the recognition of the Imam is offered by Nâsir-i Khusraw in his Wajh-i dîn, pp. 262-266. See also his qasîda on the inner meaning of hajj in the Dîwân, ed. M. Mînuwî and M. Muhaqqiq (Tehran, 1353 Sh./1974), No. 141, pp. 300-301.
 
167This is in conformity with Tûsi's opinion of wine in Akhlâq-i Nâsîrî, ed. ed. M. Mînuwî and 'A. R. Haydaî (Tehran, 1356 Sh./1977), tr. G.W.Wickens, The Nasirean Ethics (London, 1964), pp.176-178, and Âghâz wa anjâm, pp. 40-41.
(Source: Paradise of Submission, p.263)

Teachings of Rumi
(Source: The Sufi Path of Love by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1983)

Chittick writes: Wine is "that which intoxicates," so there are several kinds: [1] Besides the kind made from grapes; [2] there is also sensuality, which brings about blindness and removes him who drinks it from God's favor; and [3] Love, which tears away the veils separating man from God and brings about union. Rumi devotes much of Dîwân and a significant portion of the Mathnawî to praising the third kind and encouraging its consumption.

Here are some samples of Rumi's writing on this topic (pp.312-315):

Hallo, you who drank wine this morning, to your health!
Hallo, come forward! Let me whisper some secret words in your ear:
The wine of spirit is rare, so go, taste some of that as well!
One drop will take away all your cleverness and awareness.
 
When you escape from this awareness
through constant drinking and intoxication,
the Wine-seller's generosity will give
you a hundred other awarenesses.
When you enter into the mysteries,
the spirit will give you to drink.
Your shouting and uproar will throw
the spheres in tumult.
 
Take this other wine,
not that red or amber one.
This one will make you the master of meaning and
deliver you from the outward forms! (D 4273-77)
 
Show Thy Face to us!
Conceal it not,
Oh Thou who like the moon art famous
throughout the seven heavens!
We are a group of lovers whom desire
has brought from a distant place in a journey—
Oh Thou who hast within Thine own Spirit hundreds of
thousands of paradises and houris and palaces!
 
Look down from the roof and behold with kindliness
this congregation of afflicted lovers!
O Saki of the Sufis! Give us wine that
does not come from vat or grapes!
Give that wine whose ferment's fragrance
pulls the dead out of their graves! (D 1160)
 
When God pours the eternal wine,
a man drinks His wine like a man.
The wine and cup of the Creator nurture the spirit with
He shall give them to drink. (D 10457-58)
 
If you want Their Lord shall give them to drink
to be addressed to you, be thirsty!
And God knows best the right course. (M III 3219)
(Source: The Sufi Path of Love, pp. 312-315)

Excerpt of Firman of Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam

In the context of the above knowledge, let us reflect on the following firman of Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam:

I remind you once again that each one of you have a soul and this soul alone is eternal; and it is the duty and the responsibility of each one of you to remember that you have a soul. For this reason, it is necessary for every individual to attend Jamatkhana regularly and to be regular in your Bandagi and your prayers.
(Source: Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam, Bombay November 8, 1967)

Let us pray to NOOR Mowlana Hazar Imam to bestow upon us a life of external and internal peace and grace us with the spiritual enlightenment for continual guidance in our outer and inner dimensions. Ameen.

 

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

Recited by Noorallah Juma

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

Ardent Prayer

In this post Diamond Jubilee year period, may Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam fill our spiritual hearts with his NOOR and nothing else. May we all be blessed with many, many Batini-Noorani Didars in our personal search for higher spiritual enlightenment through the Noor of Mowlana Hazar Imam. Ameen.

Rakh Mowla je Noor te Yaqeen (Certainly, we trust in Mowla's Light only)

Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)

Your spiritual brother,
Noorallah Juma
Friday, November 2, 2018

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