The Fourth Flash

The name “The Highway of the Sunnah” is found worthy of this risale.

[Although the issue of the Imamate1 is a secondary matter, it is, in part, discussed here regarding its connection to our fundamental service to the Qur'an and îmân, since it has entered among the matters of îmân and became a subject of discussion in Ilm al-kalâm and Usul ad-dîn because it has been given excessive importance.]

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ اَنْفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَؤُفٌ رَحِيمٌ ٭ فَاِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِىَ اللّٰهُ لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ٭ قُلْ لاَ اَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ اَجْرًا اِلاَّ الْمَوَدَّةَ فِى الْقُرْبَى2

With Two Stations, we shall point out one or two of the many sublime haqiqahs of these sublime âyahs.

The First Station

It consists of Four Subtle Points.

First Subtle Point: The âyah expresses the perfect compassion and mercy of Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm towards his ummah. Yes, according to sahîh riwâyât, when, at the terror of the assembly for the last judgment, everyone, even the prophets, will say, “Nafsî! Nafsî!”3 Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm will demonstrate his kindness and compassion by saying, "Ummatî! Ummatî!4 " It is also affirmed by the people of kashf that when he was born, his mother heard among his supplications, "Ummatî! Ummatî!" Furthermore, just as the whole history of his life and the kind and compassionate conduct and virtues that he spread demonstrate his perfect compassion and kindness, so he showed his boundless compassion through his concern for every kind of happiness of his ummah out of his perfect compassion by displaying an infinite need for the innumerable salawât of his ummah. Thus, consider how ungrateful and lacking conscience it is to not follow the Sunnah as-Saniyyah of such a kind and compassionate guide!

Second Subtle Point: Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm displayed great compassion in certain special, particular matters within his universal and general duties of nubuwwah. Outwardly, his spending such great compassion on those special, particular matters seems not appropriate to the great importance of the duty of nubuwwah. However, in haqiqah, that particular matter was the tip and representative of a chain, which would be the source of the universal and general duty of nubuwwah. Therefore, on account of that mighty chain, the greatest importance was given to its representative.

For example, the great importance and extraordinary compassion that Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm showed towards Hazrat Hasan and Husain in their childhood were not only a love arising from innate compassion and sense of kinship, but rather because each of them was the tip of a luminous chain of the duty of nubuwwah and the source, representative and index of a greatly significant jamâ’ah of the legacy of nubuwwah. Yes, out of his perfect compassion, Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm took Hazrat Hasan (ra) into his arms and kissed his head on account of Mahdî-like personages, the inheritors of nubuwwah and the bearers of the Sharî'ah of Ahmad (asm), like Shâh Jîlânî, who was Ghawth al-Â'dham from among the luminous and blessed descendants that sprang from Hazrat Hasan (ra). With the eye of nubuwwah, he saw the sacred service that those personages would perform in the future, appreciated and approved it, and kissed Hazrat Hasan's (ra) head as a sign of appreciation and encouragement. Also, the compassion and importance that he showed to Hazrat Husain: he kissed Hazrat Husain’s neck on account of the religion of Islam and the duty of risalah, and on behalf of the illustrious Imams, like Zayn al-Âbidin and Jâ'far as-Sâdiq, and the numerous Mahdî-like luminous personages, like those true inheritors of nubuwwah, who sprang from Hazrat Husain’s (ra) luminous chain; he demonstrated Hazrat Husain’s importance and his (asm) perfect compassion.

Yes, the heart of Ahmad (asm), which was informed of the ghayb, his eyes seeing the future and his luminous vision, which, in this world, from the Era of Bliss, watched the assembly for the last judgment at the side of eternity, saw Jannah from the earth, witnessed the malâikah in the sky from the ground, saw events that were concealed in the veils of the darkness of the past since the time of Âdam and are even honoured with the ru’yat of the Zuljalâl One, surely saw the inheritor Imams, Aqtâb and Mahdîs, whose chain succeeded after Hazrat Hasan and Husain; he kissed their heads in the name of all of them. Yes, Shâh Jîlânî has a great share in his kissing Hazrat Hasan's (ra) head.

Third Subtle Point: According to one opinion, the meaning of the âyah اِلاَّ الْمَوَدَّةَ فِى الْقُرْبَى is: "Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm wants no reward for carrying out the duty of risalah; he only wants love for his âl al-bayt."

If it is said that, according to this meaning, it seems that a benefit arising from kinship is sought, whereas, according to the mystery of 5 اِنَّ اَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ اَتْقَيكُمْ, the duty of risalah does not proceed through kinship but through proximity to Allah (Qurbîyyah6 ). 

The Answer: Through his vision that was informed by Allah regarding the ghayb, Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm saw that his âl al-bayt would be a luminous tree within the world of Islam. In every class of the Islamic world, the absolute majority of those personages who will fulfil the duty of being murshid and a guide, instructing mankind in human perfection, will emerge from the âl al-bayt.

He saw through kashf that the du'â of his ummah for his family (âl) in tashahhud

اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى اِبْرَاهِيمَ وَ عَلَى آلِ اِبْرَاهِيمَ اِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ7

would be accepted; that is, just as, among the nation of Ibrâhîm (as), the absolute majority of luminous guides were the prophets from among the family (âl) of Hazrat Ibrâhîm (as) and his descendants, so he saw that, in the ummah of Muhammad (asm), the Aqtâb of the âl al-bayt of Muhammad (asm) would perform the great duties of Islam and would be leaders in most of the paths and tarîqahs, resembling the prophets of the Children of Israel. Therefore, he was commanded to say,

لاَ اَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ اَجْرًا اِلاَّ الْمَوَدَّةَ فِى الْقُرْبَى8

and sought the love of the ummah for the âl al-bayt. In other riwâyât confirming this haqiqah, he decreed, "I leave you two things. If you adhere to them, you will find salvation. One is the Book of Allah; the other is my âl al-bayt." For, it is the âl al-bayt who are the source and guardians of the Sunnah as-Saniyyah and are responsible for maintaining iltizâm with it in every aspect.

Thus, because of this mystery, this haqiqah of hadith was described with the title “Following the Book and the Sunnah”. This means that what he intended by the âl al-bayt regarding the duty of risalah was his Sunnah as-Saniyyah. Just as someone who abandons the Sunnah as-Saniyyah cannot be a true member of the âl al-bayt, such a person cannot even be a true friend of the âl al-bayt.

Furthermore, the mystery of his desire to gather his ummah around âl al-bayt: with Allah's permission, he knew that âl al-bayt would become very numerous over time and understood that Muslims would fall into weakness; therefore, a powerful and numerous mutually supportive jamâ’ah is necessary so that it can be the means to and centre for the ma’nawî progress of the world of Islam. He thought of this with Allah's permission and desired to gather his ummah around his âl al-bayt. Indeed, even though the members of âl al-bayt are not greatly ahead of others in matters of îmân and faith, they are still greatly ahead of others regarding submission, iltizâm and support because they are supporters of Islam by fitrah, lineage and innate disposition. People do not give up their innate partisanship, even if it is weak, lacking honour, or even unjustifiable. Supporting a haqiqah to which all his extremely powerful, truthful and glorious forefathers bound, through which they won glory, and for which they sacrificed their lives, is so firm and fitrî. So would the one who felt it clearly give this support up? Due to this intense iltizâm and fitrî Islam, ahl al-bayt accepts the least proof in favour of the religion of Islam as though it were a powerful proof because they are supporters by fitrah, but others gain iltizâm after some powerful proof.

Fourth Subtle Point: In connection with the Third Subtle Point, we shall briefly indicate a matter that is the cause of dispute between the Shi'a and Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah and has been exaggerated to such an extent that it has even entered the books on the aqâid of îmân and among the fundamentals of îmân. It is as follows:

Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah says, "Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) was the fourth of the four khalîfah. Hazrat Siddîq (ra) was superior and was more deserving of the khilâfah; therefore, he became the first khalîfah." While the Shi'a says, "The right belonged to Hazrat ‘Ali (ra). An injustice was done to him. The most superior of them all was Hazrat ‘Ali (ra)." A summary of the arguments for their claims is this:

They say, "The hadiths of the Prophet that are narrated about Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), his extraordinary attributes concerning ‘ilm, shajâ'ah and ‘ibâdah, his attribute of being the source of the absolute majority of the awliyâ and tarîqah with his title “Shah9 of Walâyah,” and the intense concern of Hazrat Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm for him and towards âl al-bayt that succeeds from him show that it was he who was the most superior; the khilâfah was always his right; it was seized from him."

The Answer: Hazrat ‘Ali’s (ra) repeated declaration of approval, following the three khalîfah for more than twenty years and holding the position of their Shaykhu'l-Islam refute these claims of the Shi'a. Furthermore, the victories of Islam and jihâd against the enemies of Islam in the time of the first three khalîfah and the events in the time of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) also refute the Shi'a's claims about the Islamic khilâfah. It means that the claim of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah is rightful.

If it is said: "The Shi'a are of two kinds: one is the walâyah Shi'a, and the other is the political Shi'a of khilâfah. The second group is in the wrong due to mixing malicious motives and politics into their claim. However, the first group is free from such malicious motives and politics. Yet, the walâyah Shi'a has joined the political Shi'a of khilâfah; that is, some of the awliyâ among the tarîqahs consider Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) to be superior and endorse the claims of the political Shi'a of khilâfah regarding politics."

The Answer: It is necessary to consider Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) from two aspects. One is from the point of his personal perfection and rank. The second is from the point of his representing the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt. As for the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt, it displays a kind of essence of Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm.

Thus, regarding the first point, all the people of haqiqah, foremost Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), give precedence to Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra). They recognised their ranks as higher in the service to Islam and proximity (Qurbîyyah) to Allah. Regarding the second point, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) defies comparison in respect of being the representative of the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt, since the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt represents a haqiqah of Muhammad (asm).

Thus, the extraordinary laudatory hadiths of the Prophet regarding Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) point toward this second point. There is a sahîh riwâyât corroborating this haqiqah that Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm decreed, “The descendants of all prophets were from themselves. My descendants are those of ‘Ali (ra).”

The mystery behind the widespread dissemination of laudatory hadiths concerning the person of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) — more so than for the other three khalîfah — is this: In response to the Umayyads and Kharijites unjustly attacking and disparaging him, the people of haqiqah, who are the Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, widely disseminated riwâyât concerning him. Since the other Rightly-Guided khalîfah were not subject to such criticism and denigration, no need was felt to spread hadiths about them.

Furthermore, with the eye of nubuwwah, he (asm) saw that, in the future, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) would be exposed to grievous events and internal fitnah, and in order to save him from despair and his ummah from suspicious misunderstandings about him, he consoled ‘Ali (ra) and guided his ummah with important hadiths like,

مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلاَهُ فَعَلِىٌّ مَوْلاَهُ10

The love of the walâyah Shi'a toward Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) at the degree of ifrât and their deeming him superior, which stems from tarîqah, do not hold them responsible to the same degree as the political Shi'a of khilâfah. Because the people of walâyah, by virtue of their path, look upon their guides (Murshid) with love. Love, in its very essence, tends toward ifrât; it desires to see the beloved higher than his actual rank and consequently sees him as such. Ahl al-hâl11 may be excused in their overflows of love. But they can only be excused on the condition that their deeming Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) superior — which arises from that love — does not go as far as the denigration and hostility towards the other Rightly-Guided khalîfah, and does not exceed the bounds of the fundamental principles of Islam.

As for the political Shi'a of khilâfah, since political grudges have been mixed into it, they inevitably fall into the grasp of those grudges and transgression, thereby losing their right to be excused. Just as — serving as a clear confirmation of the phrase,

لاَ لِحُبِّ عَلِىٍّ بَلْ لِبُغْضِ عُمَرَ12

— the Persian nation was wounded by the hand of Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) and thus disguised their vengeance under the guise of love for ‘Ali so too did the revolt of Amr ibn al-‘As against Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) and the tragic battle of ‘Umar ibn Sa‘d against Hazrat Husayn (ra) instill a fierce rancour and hostility toward the name of ‘Umar in the Shi‘a.

The walâyah Shi'a has no right to criticise Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah because the Sunnis do not diminish the value of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra); on the contrary, they love him sincerely. However, they refrain from that degree of ifrât in love which is stated to be dangerous in ḥadiths. The Prophet's praise of the Shi’a13 of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) in the hadiths belongs to the Sunnis. Because the Shi’a of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) who possess love in istiqâmah are Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, who are the people of haqq. Just as ifrât in love for Hazrat ‘Îsâ (as) is dangerous for the Christians (Nasara), it has been made clear in sahîh hadiths that such ifrât in love for Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) is also dangerous.

If the walâyah Shi'a say, “Once the extraordinary perfections of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) are accepted, it is not possible to prefer Hazrat Siddîq (ra) to him.”

The Answer: If the personal perfections of Hazrat Siddîq al-Akbar and Fâruq al-Â'zam (ra) together with their perfections arising from the duty of the inheritence of nubuwwah during the time of their khilâfah had been placed on the scale of the balance, and on the other scale, the extraordinary personal perfections of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) and the struggles of khilâfah — which arose from the grievous events he was compelled to enter internally during his khilâfah and were exposed to misconceptions — had been placed together, certainly the Sunnis saw that the scale of Hazrat Siddîq (ra), Fâruq (ra), or Dhi'l-Nurayn (ra) weighed heavier, and they preferred them to ‘Ali (ra).

Moreover, as is proved in the Twelfth and Twenty-Fourth Words, the degree of nubuwwah is so high in comparison to walâyah that even an iota of the manifestation of nubuwwah is preferable to the greatest manifestation of walâyah. From this point of view, the successes of Hazrat Siddîq al-Akbar (ra) and Fâruq al-Â'zam (ra) during the time of their khilâfah became evidence for Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah that their share in the inheritance of nubuwwah and the establishment of the laws of risalah had been abundantly bestowed on them by Allah. Since the personal perfections of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) cannot invalidate that abundant share arising from the inheritance of nubuwwah, during the time of the khilâfah of Shaykhayn al-Mukarramayn14 , Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) served as their Shaykh al-Islam and esteemed them. I wonder: how should the people of haqq and Sunnah, who love and esteem Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), not love and esteem the Shaykhayn, whom Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) loved and esteemed earnestly?

Let us explain this haqiqah with an example:

For example, from the inheritance of a very rich man, twenty kilos of silver and four kilos of gold are given to one of his children. Five kilos of silver and five kilos of gold are given to the other. If three kilos of silver and five kilos of gold are given to another, the latter two will surely receive less in quantity, but more in quality.

Thus, just like this example, the Shaykhayn's slightly larger share of the gold of the haqiqah of closeness (Aqrabîyyah15 ) to Allah — which manifests from the inheritance of nubuwwah and the establishment of the laws of risalah — prevails over the great amount of proximity (Qurbîyyah) to Allah and the perfections of walâyah deriving from the jewel of walâyah and personal perfections. These points should be considered when comparing them. However, if they are compared with one another from the perspective of personal shajâ'ah, ‘ilm and walâyah, haqiqah would alter.

Furthermore, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) cannot be compared with anyone regarding the ma’nawî collective personality of âl al-bayt that is embodied in his personage and the haqiqah of Muhammad (asm) that manifests in that ma’nawî personality from the aspect of absolute inheritance because the immense mystery of the Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm is there.

As for the political Shi'a of khilâfah, they have nothing against Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah other than a sense of shame; for while they claim an extraordinary love for Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), they belittle him, and their madhab necessitates attributing immorality to him. Because they say, “Although Hazrat Siddîq and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) were in the wrong, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) made concessions to them. He engaged in dissimulation according to the Shi'a terminology; that is, he was frightened of them and behaved hypocritically.” I wonder: is it love to see a person who was such a hero of Islam, won the title “Asadullah16 ” and was the commander and guide of the siddîqîn as a person tainted by riyâ, showing feigned affection out of fear for people he did not love, making concessions to the unjust under fear for more than twenty years and accepting to follow them? Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) would repudiate a love of that sort. Thus, the path of the people of haqq in no way belittles Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) or accuses him of immorality. They do not attribute cowardice to such a hero of shajâ'ah; they say, "Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) would not have acknowledged or obeyed the Rightly-Guided khalîfah for even a moment if he had not considered them to be rightful and in the path of haqq. It means that since he considered them to be rightful and superior, he dedicated his zeal and shajâ'ah to the path of devotion to the haqq.”

In Short: Ifrât or tafrît in anything are not good. Istiqâmah is the way of wasat, which Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah have chosen. But alas, to a certain extent, the ideas of Wahhabism and Kharijism have crept under the veil of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah; similarly, those infatuated with politics and some mulhids criticise Hazrat ‘Ali (ra). Hashâ! They say that since he lacked political acumen, he was not entirely worthy of the khilâfah and could not govern. And because of these unjust accusations of theirs, the Alawis17 harbour resentment against the Sunnis, whereas the principles of the Sunnis and the fundamentals of their madhab do not entail these ideas, but rather prove the exact opposite. The Sunnis cannot be condemned because of ideas propagated by the Kharijites and mulhids. Rather, the Sunnis are even more devoted followers of Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) than the Alawis. They laud and honour Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) in all their khutbas and du’âs with the praise he deserves. Especially, the overwhelming majority of awliyâ and asfiyâ among Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, acknowledge him as their guide (Murshid) and Shah of walâyah.

The Alawis should turn away from the Kharijites and mulhids who have deserved the enmity of both the Alawis and the Sunnis, and should not take a stand against the people of haqq. Some Alawis even abandon the Sunnah out of spite for the Sunnis. However, we have said enough on this matter, because it has already been excessively discussed among the ‘ulamâ.

O Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, who are the people of haqq, and the Alawis, who adopt the love of the âl al-bayt as their path! Quickly put an end to this meaningless, baseless, unjust and harmful dispute between you. Otherwise, the current of zandaqa that currently holds a powerful sway will deploy one of you as a tool to crush the other, and after defeating the other one, it will break that tool as well. Since you are the people of tawhîd, and while there are hundreds of fundamental sacred bonds between you that command brotherhood (ukhuwwah) and unity, it is essential to abandon the minor issues that lead to division.

***

Second Station

The Second Station will be about the second haqiqah of the ayah:

فَاِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِىَ اللّٰهُ لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ18

{[*]: This Second Station was written as The Eleventh Flash.}