Sh Vinay Khetia Tasneem Institute Allah’s Mercy and Justice Tabrisi tells us: His mercy lies in giving them respite until the day of judgement—so they may repent The choice to believe is a source of God’s mercy Allah’s power and omnipotence, بق شيء و بجبروتك التي غلبت بها كل شيء و بعزتك التي ل يقوم لها شيء by means/because of your power which overcomes and can crush everything It is due to your and by it you are victorious - overcome over everything Similar to qahhār- God is just absolutely irresistible-ominpotence Tawwasul by Names/Sifat by means/because of your power which overcomes and can crush everything We are doing tawwasul as we were before—al-tawasaul bi-hā ilayhi God’s ultimate power is present everywhere 2:20 Power of creation and dissolution of creation What boggles the mind is how all the ingredients of life were perfectly aligned to allow of Homo Sapiens to exist—not only that we are Sentient beings—we have feeling and from this we are self conscious— Wa khaḍa`a lahā kulla shay` wa dhalla lahā kulla shay`
And towards which all things are humbled and lowly..this is continuing with the same theme of qahhār----humbles, submitting, ?refer to لها What does quwwah/qudrah: Because everything is subjugated to your qudrah—thus it is humbled—whether it knows it or not How do we relate/recognize Allah’s qudra/quwwa/? Wa dhalla la-hā kulla shay’
1. Inqād—submission or compliance, --it is because of your qudra that everthing submits to your order—how can this be —let us turn to Qur’ān again: And to Allah porstrates whoever/whatever is in the َ heavens and the earth, willingly or with compulsion and their shadows (as well) as in the mornings and the َّ ِ ”.aftenroons 13:15 Willings or unwillingly? Sujud and Tadhallul Sujūd is the nihāyat of one’s tadhalul- Tabtabai’ explains beautifully that—in other words it is climactic miṣdāq of one’s humility—before God or really before anything It is a setting down of one’s self, the settling of the soul Shackling the self and unleashing the heart and aql to be exposed to light of Allah Wa bi wajhika al-bāqī ba`da fanā` kulla shay`
And by your face (literal translation) which is all that remains once everything is disappears Wajh can also mean religion of Allah, or nothing remains except essence of God- absolutely infinitely unknowable and unthinkable Wajh- indicates presence of Allah What is the wajh of Allah ‘Abd Sal-aam b. Salt asked Imam al-Rida (as): O Son of the Messenger of Alah, what is the meaning of the saying – The reward of saying la ilaha illa allah is to glance at the face of Allah أ Imam al-Rida: O Aba Salt- To describe Allah as a wajh (a ،كالوجوه فقد كفر point/face etc) as in و Wajh Allah )صلوات ال عليهم(، هم الذين بهم يتوجه إلى ال عز و جل و إلى دينه و معرفته، و قال ال تعالى: كُلُ مَنْ عَلَيْها فانٍ وَ يَبْقى وَجْهُ رَبِكَ و قال عز و جل: كُلُ شَيْءٍ هالِكٌ إِلَا وَجْهَهُ« They are the Prophets, Messengers and Proofs- Hujaj They are those by whom you turn to Allah- to his religion, and to his ma’rifa Worshipping a Lord one does not know The turn inwards and upwards ( so to speak): requires ma’rifat of sifat of Allah swt Therefore- opening lines of the Du’a act as a precursor to everything that follows
Only the prophets and awliyā of Allah have this perfect knowledge Nevertheless we have been told that there is a intimate relation between human virtue and divine reality-----our soul is the plane where the names of God are manifested Kazemi, Justice and rem, p.87-88. Throne of God The Turn inwards Prophet: “Heart of the believer is the throne of the all mericful”-Qalb al- mu’min ‘arsh al-rahman
“O God, I seek nearness to you by your remembrance and I seek intercession through you to yourself and I ask you by your generosity to bring me into your closeness (or vicinity) and to spur me on to give thanks to you and to inspire (in me) your remembrance.” Allāhumma innī ataqarrabu ilayka bi-dhikrik wa astashfi‘u bi-ka ilā nafsik wa as’aluka bi-jūdik an tudniyanī min qurbik wa an tūzi‘anī shukrak an tulhimanī dhikrak Journey to God Prior to engaging in further confession, in these lines, ‘Alī stresses that his journey to God essentially belongs to God and is governed by God. Further yet, the supplicant is reminded that in reality it is not he that is approaching God, but in reality it is God that is bringing him close,
Dhikr belongs to God lest we think of ourselves as having achievement in the presence of God Conclusion ي O the one whose name is a remedy..whose mention is healing..whose obediance is richness.. so have mercy—on the one –for whom the height —peak of his wealth—is hope for your love and mercy…and his weapon—is his tears… م Anxiety over what? إ My Lord, My Chief, my Master, The owner of my freedom, O the one in whose hand is my forelock ق
Each of these lines tell us a story
EX-TEMPO NARRATIVE OF HUMAN LIFE—IN DUNYA AND AKHIRA…
For what do we have anxiety? Vulnerability with God We have to develop a language of vulnerability
Shed away all aspects of self pretension or self worth when standing infront of God ( waqaftu bayna yadayk) My Wants, My needs, My money,, My school, My enjoyment, My friends, My ambitions (as parents and children)-aides or impediments?
Mediocrity should not be an option When will we be full? ل ل يل جوف ابن آدم إل التراب و يتوب ال على من تاب Rasulallah: “If the son of Adam had a valley of wealth- he would seek a second one, if he had 2 valleys- he would seek a third, -Nothing shall fill the body the Adamite (Ibn Adam) except- dirt” And Allah accepts the repentance of the who repents to him. Ziyara in Islamic Tradition Genre of literature as early as du’a
Second complementary part of Muslim devotion
Denotes ritual and text
Pre-Islamic ritual Ziyara in Shia and Sunni tradition Shia: it is tied to the very core of the faith
Sunni: It is not tied to the core of the faith
What is the difference and why does this matter?
Both traditions allow it- ziyarat al-qubur Exceptions Sunni tradition is multi vocal
Fear- community will revert to ways of jahililyya
Idol veneration- is ziyarat al-qubur the same?
Prophet sent Ali to destroy any raised graves along with statues ( reported in Tirmidhi and Muslim) The application of this was limited to graves used as sites of worship Mainstream Sunni Ziyara Al-Ghazali- Ihya’- Ziyarat of Madina
Al-Harawi- Kitab Isharat ila ma’rifat al-ziyarat
Taj al-Din al-Subki ( Shafi‘i)-Shifa’ al-siqam fi ziyarat khayru al-anam Shi’I Texts ( early selection) Mazar Ami al-Mu’minin- ‘Ammar al-Dihni ( d.175/791)- Companion of Imams al-Sadiq and al-Kazim
Kitab al-Mazar- Abu Sulayman b. Dawud al-Raqqi ( companion of Imams al-Sadiq, al-Kazim, al-Rida)
Kitab al-mazar- Yunus b. Ali al-Qattan- contemporary of 11th and 12th Imams What does this tell us? Connection between usul and ziyarat tradition Famous Ziyarat in the earliest sources of Shi’i literature Ziyarat Ashura Ziyarat Mutlaqa Imam al-Husayn Ziyarat Jami’a al-Saghira Ziyarat Jami’a al-Kabira Ziyarat Warith Ziyarat Al Yasin Ziyarat Arabeen
How do we deal with these famous texts?