Ashara Mubaraka 1443 H
Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, Nairobi
Majlis 6: 7th Muharram al-Haram
Today being the majlis of Maulatona Fatema AS, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS narrated two accounts chronicling her prominence at the very beginning of the waʿz mubārak.
Amirul Mumineen AS gave Maulatona Fatema’s AS mantle (ornī) to a Christian dyer for colouring. The mantle emanated so much light that the dyer had no need to light a lamp. He deduced that if a garment could emit such radiance, what does that say about the radiance of its owner? Newly cognizant of Maulatona Fatema’s AS stature, he asked his wife to dye the mantle, because as a man he felt that it was inappropriate for him to touch the sacred mantle. He was so affected by what he had witnessed, that when his wife and him returned the mantle, he brought along the members of his tribe and embraced the Islamic faith. Fatema’s AS mantle gave the gift of faith.
Further elaborating the great stature of Maulatona Fatema AS, Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS informed us that Allah Taʿālā had bestowed her with incomparable beauty and untold radiance. Not a single woman in the world could come close to Maulatona Fatema’s AS virtue and magnificence. When her mother, Maulatona Khadija AS, passed away, Rasul Allah SAW expressed a desire to find her a suitor. With the firm conviction that Maulatona Fatema’s AS marriage would be decided by Allah Taʿālā, Rasul Allah SAW said nothing to the many suitors from all across the Arab lands that had approached him for her hand in marriage. Amirul Mumineen AS, too, wished for Maulatona Fatema’s AS hand in marriage, however was ashamed to approach Rasul Allah SAW for he had no material wealth like the other suitors. Keeping his intent undisclosed, he instead prayed to Allah Taʿālā that he might have the honour of marrying Maulatona Fatema AS.
On one Friday, Allah Taʿālā summoned Jibraʾeel and all the angels of the seven heavens and gave a set of instructions. Jannat was to be opened, Jahannam shut and musk and ambergris distributed among all. A sweet breeze passed through the heavens, and the swaying trees created a beautiful sound. Overjoyed, the angels enquired as to why the Creator had honoured them in this way. Allah Taʿālā declared, ‘Today is a day of a wedding’. The angels asked whose wedding it was, and Allah announced, ‘It is the wedding of my servant, Ali with my servant Fatema!’
At the directives of the Almighty, Jibraʾeel descended from the heavens with 70,000 gold platters filled with jewels and pearls. Rasul Allah SAW was with his companions and Amirul Mumineen AS was occupied with namaz. Jibraʾeel presented the platters as the mahr on behalf of Amirul Mumineen AS for Maulatona Fatema AS. When Rasul Allah SAW informed her that Allah Taʿālā had wed her with Maulana Ali AS, she readily accepted yet declined the mahr. Instead, Maulatona Fatema AS requested for the authority to intercede and offer shafāʿat to all the women of Rasul Allah’s SAW ummah which Allah Taʿālā readily accepted.
In today’s waʿz mubārak, Mufaddal Maula TUS shed light on Amirul Mumineen’s AS following kalām mubārak:
I sought well-being and soundness and found it in ʿibādat.
Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS explained that the surest way to realize the veracity of this statement and attain both a sound mind and a sound body, is to consider all of one’s acts, no matter how mundane or seemingly insignificant, as acts of worship andʿibādat. He illustrated this with the example of Amirul Mumineen AS who had commented on how Rasul Allah SAW drank water in three sips. Before each sip he would say bismillah, take a sip, then distance the glass from his mouth and say ‘Alhamdo li Allah’. He would repeat this two more times for a total of three sips. In addition, Rasul Allah SAW would offer the following duʿā whenever he drank water:
All praise to Allah Who, in His mercy, gave us sweet, cold water, and did not make us drink salty and bitter water due to our sins.
Having explained how one should drink water, Maula TUS described how one should not drink water. Drinking water quickly in big gulps leads to liver ailments which compromise the entire body’s health. Syedna al-Minʿām TUS pointed out that by drinking as outlined by Rasul Allah SAW, the simple act of drinking water becomes an act of worship. He then added that when drinking water, one should recall that for forty years, whenever food and water was placed before Imam Ali Zainul Abideen AS, the beauty of all worshippers, he would tear remembering the martyrdom of his noble father. Thus, by remembering Imam Husain AS whenever one drinks water, this simple act becomes an act of worship which, as Amirul Mumineen AS has stated, leads to the well-being of the soul, mind and body.
Reaffirming the need to see all good acts as acts of worship, Syedna TUS referenced the recently concluded Olympics. He said that olympians train for years on end so that they may realize their final goal of winning a gold medal. Thus, everything they do is connected to this ultimate aim. Likewise, the final goal in each of our deeds should be that these acts ultimately aid us in carrying out ʿibādat. Each deed that helps us in fulfilling our obligations of ʿibādat, then becomes an act of ʿibādat in itself. For example, if one exercises so that he is able to always properly pray namaz, or engage in business so that he is able to offer wājibāt and provide for his family, then these deeds become acts of worship. Now, if someone’s objective and ultimate goal behind all that he does throughout the year is so that he can attend the majālis of Imam Husain AS, in the best possible manner, then the value of each and every one of his acts is unparalleled.
Continuing his explanation of ʿibādat and how it leads to well-being, Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS referenced a number of statements made by Awliyāʾ Allah AS. Rasul Allah SAW informs us that:
The most superior form of worship for my ummah is reciting the Quran
The hardships of this world are repelled from the one who listens to the Quran
And the evils of this world and the hereafter are repelled from the one who recites the Quran
Reciting the Quran both in zāhir and bāṭin is the most superior form of worship. Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS mentioned that many Mumineen complete one entire Quran a day during Sharh Allah, and some even offer their recitations to him as a gift which he described as being ‘priceless’.
Elaborating upon the potency of ʿibādat as a means of seeking Allah’s assistance, Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS cited an example from the history of the Yemeni Duat Mutlaqeen RA, whose sacred resting places in Yemen he once again expressed the desire to visit. During his respected father, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Ibrahim bin Syedna Husain’s RA reign, the 13th Dai, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Ali Shamsuddin RA captured the Kawkabān fort on the outskirts of Sanaʿā. A coalition of his enemies led by the Zaydi Imam banded together to retake the fort and were making their way towards Kawkabān. One morning during this highly tense situation, a man confronted Syedna RA after fajr namaz while he was engrossed in the recitation of the Holy Quran and asked how he could be praying Quran when his enemies were marching towards him for battle. Syedna RA only responded with the words, ‘The aid of Allah, the Creator, the Merciful.’ The man walked away ridiculing Syedna RA and at that very moment news arrived that due to infighting, the coalition had fallen apart and Syedna’s RA enemies were no longer a threat. Syedna Ali RA addressed the occupants of the fort and enquired, ‘Where is the man that ridiculed me for my reliance on Allah’s assistance; does he not see that Allah has come to my aid!’ Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS then stated that the very act of seeking Allah’s help through prayer, as Syedna Ali RA had in Kawkabān, ensures well-being and protection.
Illustrating the power of ʿibādat and duʿā in bringing about well-being from whence one has no expectation, Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS narrated that a man once came to Amirul Mumineen AS asking whom the following āyat sharīfa referred to:
And whosoever is pious to Allah, He will make a way out for him and will provide for him from where he has no expectation.
Amirul Mumineen AS told the man that Rasul Allah SAW once sent a contingent to Yemen which was attacked by a hostile party. During the attack, Rasul Allah’s SAW companion ʿAuf bin Malik was captured. He was held captive and as a means of torturing him, his enemies wrapped him in animal hide so that when the hide began to dry out, it would slowly start to crush ʿAuf. As the pain became unbearable, ʿAuf sent word to his father, Malik, who in turn came to Rasul Allah SAW and informed him of ʿAuf’s painful predicament. Rasul Allah SAW asked Malik if he had anyone who would be willing to ride out to ʿAuf to Yemen. Malik said that he did. Rasul Allah SAW asked Malik to bring the man to his presence. When the man came, Rasul Allah SAW instructed him to convey his salaam to ʿAuf and to inform him that he should repeatedly say: lā hawl wa lā quwwa illā bi Allah al-ʿAlī al-ʿAzīm (there is no might nor strength but from Allah the Exalted, the Magnificent). The man came to ʿAuf and conveyed Rasul Allah’s SAW message to him. ʿAuf immediately began the tasbīh and found that the hide with which he was bound started to soften until he was able to break free and leave the house where he had been held captive without his captors even noticing. Outside the house, he found a camel ready to mount so he got on and rode off immediately. He passed by a group of 400 people who started to pursue him yet ʿAuf safely reached Medina. As he drew near to his house, his father and mother learnt of his arrival. His father bade him salaam while his mother was in tears upon witnessing the return of her son. However, ʿAuf said he would not dismount until he went to Rasul Allah SAW and fell to his feet. ʿAuf thus came to Rasul Allah SAW and informed him of the events that had transpired which is when Allah Taʿālā revealed the āyat sharīfa in question.
Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS stated that offering duʿā is also a form of ʿibādat. Then in great detail, he described the benefits and reward entailed in reciting the duʿā named Ḥiyāṭ-e-Qāf, some of which are summarized here. The benefits of this special duʿā were conveyed to Rasul Allah SAW by Jibraʾeel. At the onset, Jibraʾeel informed Nabi Mohammed SAW in response to his question of the reward for the one who recites this duʿā, ‘O Mohammed, if all the oceans were ink and all the trees pens multiplied by a 1000, and the angels of the heavens were to record the reward entailed in reciting this duʿā, there would still not be enough ink or paper to do so. Among the many things Jibraʾeel listed, he said that if one recited this duʿā 10 times in their life, he would shine like a full moon on the Day of Judgement, all Creation mesmerized by his radiance. He would emerge from his grave and Jibraʾeel would be by his head. He would mount a steed of light, readied with a saddle of nūr and a bejewelled bridle, that would take him to the Creator who would offer him jannat as a reward for his recitation.
Jibraʾeel declared that a bereaved person would not recite this duʿā, but Allah would banish his sorrows. Allah will cure the unwell who recites it and fulfill the desire of one who requires something. If recited by one who is in constant fear of a tyrant, Allah will allay his fears and protect him. If recited by one who fights for Allah’s cause, Allah will endow him with the strength of 70 men. Jibraʾeel added that this is the duʿā recited by Nabi Adam AS and inherited by the prophets after him. This is the duʿā uttered by Nabi Mūsā, by virtue of which the sea parted for him, he overcame his adversaries and fulfilled all his desires. If one recites this duʿā for forty nights, he will receive the reward of one who has fasted an entire year.
After narrating the benefits of the duʿā, Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS remarked that if a humble Mumin can harness the power of a duʿā to this extent, imagine the power and potency of the Imam and the Dai’s duʿā, the value of which was truly appreciated by Ustad Juzer.
Imam Mehdi bi Allah AS journeyed from Raqqada to his new capital, Mahdia. There a dispute had erupted between claimants seeking the revenue gained from canal waters. Imam AS became aware of the disagreement and delegated a trusted Slavic attendant to adjudicate between them which he managed to do so successfully. The Slav was called to Imam Mehdi’s AS court where the Imam AS commended his efforts and blessed him with his duʿā mubārak. The Slav exited the court where Ustad Juzer saw his apparent dissatisfaction, and when he questioned him, he revealed that he had hoped for a material reward. Ustad Juzer cautioned him not to think in this way, and that the Imam’s duʿā was beyond the value of anything worldly. Sensing that the Slav was still unconvinced, he asked him to sell the duʿā of Imam Mehdi AS to him. The Slav asked for ten dinars but Juzer instead gave him twenty and the two went their separate ways. Three days or so later, Imam Mehdi AS came to know of what had taken place between Juzer and the Slav and he called for Juzer to ask if this was indeed true. At this point Maula TUS insightfully remarked that even though Ustad Juzer had not informed anyone of their transaction, things have a way of becoming known. This is the way of the world; secrets become known. ‘The events that remain most hidden,’ Maula TUS said jovially, ‘are those that haven’t happened’.
When Ustad Juzer confirmed the events Imam Mehdi AS bestowed him with a prayer of baraka, a set of magnificent clothes and 100 dinars. Both the attendant and Ustad Juzer received more than they had expected because of Imam’s duʿā. The attendant wanted 10 dinars, but Ustad Juzer offered him 20 exceeding his expectations. Ustad Juzar simply wanted the barakat of Imam’s duʿā, but received far more than he could have ever imagined: Imam’s AS prayers for baraka as well as material bounties. The duʿās of our Awliyāʾ, Maula reminded us, are unparalleled in their potency and baraka. Recalling the countless prayers offered by his respected father, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA, and then taking his wasīla, Maula TUS graciously bestowed the audience with these precious words:
May Allah bless you, completely and thoroughly.
Rasul Allah SAW outlines another lofty form of worship:
To await freedom from grief and sorrow through patience is an act of worship.
Likewise, Nabi Mohammed SAW also stated, ‘Divine reward is for the one who exercises restraint at the initial shock.’ The one who becomes anxious and panicky in the face of hardship will lose the confidence to find a way out. If he embraces forbearance, it will enable him to maintain the level of calm and sangfroid needed to arrive at a solution. Similarly, during times of illness, if one remains calm and composed the treatment will be more effective and his recovery more swift.
Worship and ʿibādat free one from pain and frustration. This is made clear in the example of Amirul Mumineen AS. The arrows lodged in him after a battle were removed when he was engrossed in namaz. Syedna TUS related four narrations describing this. In the battle of Uhud, he was shot in the foot by an arrow, which was removed once he began namaz in such a manner that he did not even sense it being removed. In a second incident, an arrow pierced his body which too was removed when he was in namaz. After completing his namaz he turned to Imam Hasan AS stating, ‘You must have done this.’ A third report informs us that once Maulatona Fatema AS suggested a similar strategy for removing an arrow that had struck Maulana Ali AS. Lastly, in the Battle of Siffīn when he was shot by an arrow, it was removed while he was in sajda. Syedna TUS remarked that Amirul Mumineen AS must have been shot by arrows on multiple occasions. Since no opponent had the courage to challenge him face to face, they instead shot arrows at him from afar.
Recalling his timeless counsels, Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS quoted excerpts from Syedna Taher Saifuddin’s RA words. He said that during the period of satr (seclusion), the Duat have not only melted the hearts of Mumineen, which are soft and pliable to begin with, but also the hard, iron-like hearts of those who refuse to believe. He then stated that when the adversaries of the Dawat saw that Syedna Abdullah Badruddin RA was no more and that Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA was alone, they set out to cause him grief and suffering. They alleged that he was not a true Muslim so that he would be occupied defending himself on two fronts: in the courts and trying to redeem himself in the eyes of the wider Muslim community. At every step, Allah made certain that they were unsuccessful and by the grace of Imam al-Zaman AS, everything was set right, so much so that Muslimeen conceded that Syedna’s RA followers were true Muslims. He then stated that whatever a Dai proclaims is sure to transpire and that Mumineen should always heed the words of their Dai. Every Dai is Dawood, he went on to state, and every Mumin is therefore a Dawoodi while there is nothing for the adversary but dāʾ (ailment and suffering). He then congratulated Mumineen on being blessed with the bounty of drinking from the fountain of youth (āb-e-hayāt) just as Khadir Nabi AS had done. Speaking of the sharia and its unique and awe inspiring tenets, Syedna RA drew attention to the matter of keeping beards. He stated that there are those who object to his insistence on Mumineen keeping beards especially when many of them are immersed in sins and transgressions which are far worse. Syedna RA clarified that all other sins are like scars on the body which can be covered up by clothing but the sin of not safeguarding one’s beard is a scar of the face which cannot be covered up. He then remarked that his counsels were such that even if one were to search throughout the world with a lantern in hand, he would not be able to find their likeness.
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While narrating the heart-rending shahādat of Maulatona Fatema al-Zahra AS from the bayān mubārak of the 48th al-Dai al-Mutlaq, Syedna Abdulhusain Husamuddin RA, Syedna al-Dai al-Ajal TUS stated that following the demise of Rasul Allah SAW not once had Maulatona Fatema AS smiled until Asma bint Umays showed her the completed bier that would be used for her funeral. Syedna TUS also mentioned that after burying Maulatona Fatema AS, Maulana Ali AS came to the qabr mubarak of Rasul Allah SAW, prayed salaam upon him and then exclaimed, ‘The amānat you had entrusted me with has been returned to you!’ Finally he stated that such was Maulana Ali’s AS forbearance that he did not shed tears upon anyone, but upon the passing of Maulatona Fatema’s AS even his patience gave way and he broke into tears.
May Allah Taʿālā grant Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS a long life in everlasting health and happiness until the Day of Qiyāmat.