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"Lo! the righteous verily are in delight, On couches, gazing, Thou wilt know in their faces the radiance of delight." — Holy Qur'an 83:22-24

 

Candle Posts :: Motivational Gems for Higher Spiritual Enlightenment

:: Candle Post #40 :: What is the Role of the Present and Living Imam? ::

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

Ya Ali Madad. In candle post number 38, we learned that faith can be actualized to light through knowledge. In candle post number 39, we learned that the Light of Faith comes from the Light of the Holy Imam. In this post, I would like to shed some light on the topic of Imam-i Mubin.

'The Holy Qur'an says: "Wa kulla shay'in ahsaynahu fi Imamin mubin" (36:12). In order to estimate the spiritual and esoteric depths of the Holy Qur'an, suffice it to mention the following Prophetic Tradition: "There is not a single verse from the verses of the Qur'an but it has an exoteric meaning (Zahir) and an esoteric meaning (batin) and every esoteric meaning (tawil) of it has another esoteric meaning till seven esoteric meanings". And according to another version, "till seventy esoteric meanings".

The only way to acquire the secrets of the Qur'an is that it should be studied according to the principles which are enjoined on us by God and His Messenger, and that principle is none other than true obedience to the Imam of the time. If one follows the literal meaning of a verse and does not obey the Imam of the time, its esoteric meaning will remain hidden from him.

Regarding the possession of knowledge of the Qur'an by the Imam of the time, there are many proofs. One of them is the verse which shows that it is with the Imam of the time. It says: "The unbelievers say: You are not a messenger. Say: God suffices as a witness between me and you and he who possess the knowledge of the book" (13:43). This verse shows that, other than Allah and Mawlana Ali, no one else can be a witness of the messengership of the Holy Prophet.

The Jews and the Christians used to come with numerous kinds of rational and traditional arguments with the purpose of creating doubt about the messengership of the Holy Prophet. But who could dare to do this in the presence of the Commander of the faithful, Mawlana Ali? He used to answer the questions of all such people. And details of such events can be studied and read in books on history. Thus Mawlana Ali in his own time was the witness on behalf of Allah and the Holy prophet and similarly the witness continues to be in every age in the form of the Imam of the time.

Knowledge of the Book (Q. 13:43) is the knowledge of the Holy Qur'an. According to this verse, it is the Imam of the time, who is undoubtedly is Mawlana Ali and has the knowledge of the Book. The decisive proof of this verse is that between the Messenger and the people, the Imam of the time has certain characteristics:

  1. On behalf of God and himself, he is the witness between the Messenger and the people.
  2. He is the wisest of mankind. For, one of the reasons for becoming the witness to the exclusion of others, was wisdom.
  3. He is always living in this world till the Day of Resurrection.
  4. He knows the entire reality of the Holy Qur'an.
  5. He illuminates the religion from the Qur'an. For he has become a witness to protect the religion of Islam from the evil of enemies and to illuminate it. Further from this verse, it is clear that on behalf of God and the Prophet, none other than the Imam of the time has the responsibility for the Qur'an and this is decreed by God and His Prophet.'
    [Source: Chain of the Light of Imamat, Pages 88-89, 93-96]

Applications of the Above Knowledge

  1. The Ismaili Tariqah is an esoteric tradition. This has been explained by NOOR Mowlana Hazir Imam (a.s.) as follows:
    'It is important in learning parts of the Qur'an, you must clearly understand the meaning. ...I hope that you will not forget that the meaning is the foundation of our concept of Islam, because our concept is esoteric. If it were exoteric, then it would not matter. But it is not exoteric, it is esoteric, ...'. (Bombay, November 22, 1967).

    In this the first volume of 40 candle postings, an effort has been made to emphasize the esoteric dimensions of the our faith. In order to clearly understand the concepts, may I suggest a review of all the postings? This, of course, must be followed with a personal plan of action.

  2. Let us do our best and fully participate in the Jamati Evening Mushkil Aasaan satado for a period of seven days, and get the barakat of the 'Ya Ali tu Rahem Kar, Ya Mowla tu Fazal Kar' tasbi;
     
  3. Let us pray for the blessings of the protection through the Light of NOOR Mowlana Hazir Imam in our foreheads; and
     
  4. Let us remember Mowla's firman that "It (bandagi) will give you strength to face any worldly difficulty. It will give you humility to face success". As a point of clarification, bandagi is performed just for spiritual enlightenment, how besides spiritual happiness, bandagi also generates strength to solve world difficulties. Ameen.

All praise is due to the Holy Imam for sending spiritual and luminous tayid to complete the first volume of the Candle postings project!

In order to add this tasbi in our consciousness, I have recorded a mp3 sound track for the 'Ya Ali tu Rahem Kar, Ya Mowla Tu Fazal Kar' which means 'O Ali have mercy Upon Us, O Mowla make make us prosperous in terms of material and spiritual wealth and higher spiritual enlightenment'. Click here to download the mp3 for this dhikr tasbi (8.91 MB).

May Mowla's Light be with all of us, always, in everything that we do!

Related Links:
Download Ya Ali Tu Rahem Kar, Ya Mowla Tu Fazel Kar mp3 sound track (8.91 MB)
Ta'wil Posts on the Subject of Im?m and Im?mat
Sayings of NOOR Mowlana Murtazâ Ali (a.s.) with Cross References from the Holy Qur'an
Qur'anic Treasures

Ardent Supplications:

Ya Ali, Ya NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, create Sunshine in our hearts, light in our foreheads, and bless us all with the inner vision of the Truth!

Ya Ali, Ya NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, grant the global Jamat luminous (noorani) and spiritual (ruhani) tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually. Ameen.

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

Rakh Mowla je Noor te Yaqeen (Certainly, we trust in Mowla's Light only),
Noorallah Juma
SalmanSpiritual.com
Wednesday, April 22, 2009

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