Universal Government of the Mahdi

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Universal Government of the Mahdi Author:
Publisher: www.al-islam.org
Category: Imam al-Mahdi

Universal Government of the Mahdi
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Universal Government of the Mahdi

Universal Government of the Mahdi

Author:
Publisher: www.al-islam.org
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Waiting

The Definition of Waiting

“Waiting” and “providence” is the state of a person who is not satisfied with current conditions and tries to make the conditions better.

For instance, an ill person who is waiting for betterment, or a father who is waiting for his son to return from the journey, they are uncomfortable because of illness and separation from the son and try to make the conditions better.

Also, a businessman who is not satisfied with the disordered conditions of the market and is waiting for economical crisis to end, this one has two conditions:

“Unfamiliarity with present conditions” and “Trying for better conditions”.

Therefore, the issue of waiting for the government of truth and justice of “Mahdi” and the rise of universal peacemaker is in fact composed of two elements; the element of “denial” and the element of “fixation”.

The element of denial is the same unfamiliarity with present conditions and the element of fixation is demanding better conditions.

Waiting in the Depths of Human Nature

Contrary to those who think that failures and disharmonies throw the seed of waiting for the advent of a great peacemaker in minds, love of this matter is related to the depths of human nature; sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

In other words, human will finally face this matter in two ways, the way of affection and the way of wisdom and hears the promise of this advent in two tongues of “nature and wisdom”.

And in a clearer way, belief of the advent of universal peacemaker is a part of “love of awareness”, “love of beauty” and “love of goodness” (three of four dimensions of human soul) that without such advent these loves will end in failure.

Maybe this expression needs more explanation and that is we know “love of perfection” is an immortal flame that has conquered the entire human soul; he wants to know more, he wants to see more of beauties, he wants to have more benefits from the goodness and totally provide more of whatever he considers as the mean of development and superiority.

Never, appearance of these motives can be related to social and mental factors. Although these factors have a big share in weakening or strengthening them, but their main existence is a part of human mind and a part of main dimensions of his soul; because no society and nation have ever been empty of these motives.

Briefly, affection of human to development and perfection, to wisdom and beauty, to goodness and justice is a genuine affection, forever and immortal; and waiting for the advent of a great universal peacemaker is the ultimate of this affection. (Attention!)

How it is possible that love of multilateral perfection is available inside the human soul but doesn’t wait for such matter! If is it possible to achieve the perfection of human society without that!

Therefore, those who had no failure and crisis in their lives have such feeling inside their souls … in one side.

On the other side, as limbs and parts of human body helps his perfection and development and we cannot find a limb in body which has no role in this developing movement, mental characteristics of human are also like this; which means any of them has an effective role in development of his genuine goals.

For example, “fear of dangerous factors” which is available in any human is for saving him from the danger.

“Anger”, when the person finds his benefits in danger, is a mean of increasing the defensive power and mobilization of all reserved physical and spiritual powers for saving his benefits from the danger. Therefore, love of perfection, love of peace and justice are also the means of reaching this great goal and is like a powerful engine, which moves the wheels of human soul forever in this way, and helps him for achieving a world full of peace and justice.

On the other side, feelings and mechanisms, which are available in the body and the soul, cannot be in disharmony with the universe of existence; because the entire universe of existence is an integrated unit and our existence cannot be separated from the rest of the universe.

We can conclude well from this integration that any genuine love and affection, which is available in our soul, is the reason for having its “loved one” and “goal” out there in the universe and this love is a mean for moving us toward that.

It means that if we become thirsty and have the affection of water then it is the reason for the existence of water that the universe of creation has placed its affection inside us.

If we have the affection of opposite sex then it is reason for the existence of opposite sex out of us; and if we have the affection of beauty and wisdom then it is the reason for the existence of beauties and wisdoms in the universe of existence.

And we easily conclude from that point that if humans are waiting for a great peacemaker, who fills the world with peace and justice and goodness, then it is the reason that such ultimate in perfection of human society is possible and it is practical that its love and affection is inside our souls.

Generality of this belief in all religions is also another sign of its genuineness and reality, because a thing, which is the result of exclusive and limited conditions, cannot be this much general. It is only innate matters that have such generality; and all of these are the sign for this matter that this promise has been announced in the soul of humanity, from the tongue of affection and nature, that finally a great peacemaker will rule the world under the flag of peace and justice.

The Philosophy of Waiting

Maybe this question also appears in your mind that:

What is the result of talking about the future of the world of humanity in today’s world?

Today, we have lots of problems and we should think of overcoming these problem, what do we have to with the future?

Finally the future will come, whether good or bad, those who are alive until that day will have its benefits and those who have died, may rest in peace!

Anyhow, this issue is currently “credit” and has no positive and constructive in our today’s life!

But, these are the expressions of those who look at events superficially, and assume that today is apart from yesterday and tomorrow; and consider that the world consists of separated and distinct units.

But by considering that the sources of “today’s events” are in the past and we should build the future from today, and the fact that noticing to a “dark” or “bright” future has an immediate reflection in today’s life and our positioning against events, it is clear that we should precisely study the past and the future for the sake of today and soon we will see that how much constructive is this great waiting.

But surprisingly, some of the writer not only denied the positive aspect of this matter, but they have affirmed that waiting for such future has negative effects in performance of today’s social powers and reduces their speed!

And more surprisingly, some believe that belief of a bright future is a reflection of deprivations of the loser class, which usually appears in religious form.

But, it is undeniable that some narrow-minded have misused the issue of waiting and by expressing that we are waiting for such advent, has disclaimed all responsibilities and has placed the issue of waiting, and limited to the expression, instead of them!

For removing any kind of misunderstanding from both sides, I think it is necessary to mention a part of the article, which I wrote some while ago about this issue:

Impulsive Judgments

However a group of orientalists insist on showing the belief of the existence of a great universal peacemaker as a “reflection” of disordered conditions of Muslims during dark ages of history;

However a group of eastern and Islamic scholars, who are influenced by western thoughts, expand this thinking way; and even they insist on considering the belief of existence of “Mahdi” and universal peacemaker as an imported thought which is derived from the beliefs of the Jews and the Christians;

And however some of materialist sociologists try to make a reason from the issue of waiting for the advent of Mahdi for their belief that “this belief has an economical root and has been made up for stupefying the minds of exploited people”;

By all these discussions, it should be considered that believing such advent has an innate root in all souls, which has penetrated inside the depths of human affections and feelings, and a genuine Islamic root that can be seen in important Islamic resources.

But, maybe limited researches of these researchers on the one hand, and being interested in finding “material justification” for any religious thought and belief on the other hand, has made these types of thoughts.

It is interesting that some western researchers like “Margoliouth” began denying Islamic Ahadith about Mahdi(as) and says:

Anyway that these Ahadith are interpreted, there is no convincing evidence that we assume that the prophet of Islam (S) has considered the advent of one Mahdi necessary and certain for reviving, completion and strengthening of Islam; but civil war among a united generation after the demise of Prophet (S) and chaos of the world of Islam that happened because of their disagreements and conflicts, caused the thought of the advent of “savior” to be adopted from the Jews or the Christians, who are waiting for the advent and the return of “messiah”.

I don’t know that which books of Islamic resources “Margoliouth” has seen about this matter and how he didn’t find anything convincing in their interpretations, while there are affirmed Ahadith in important resources of Shiites and Sunnis about this advent, and sequence of these ahadith approximately reaches the source.

How all Islamic scholars and researcher, approximately without any exception (except some few persons like Ibn Khaldun, who has doubted in Ahadith of Mahdi in the preface of his history), have no discussion about the issuance of these Ahadith by Prophet (S) and the discussions are all about the branches and side matters, but only “Margoliouth” haven’t convinced?

This is the question, which he himself should answer.

Meanwhile, others say that:

We don’t consider the act and motives of this general waiting; we observe its results, which cause to bear the pains and patience against disharmonies and surrendering to oppressions, and escaping from responsibilities.

We observe that, this waiting moves suffered people to a dreamy world and distracts them from what is going on around them and encourages them to idleness and escaping from social obligations.

And in other word, individually, it is a factor of inaction and socially, a tool for stopping anti-imperialism movements and anyway its negative effects are obvious.

But in our opinion, an aware researcher, who doesn’t want to judge from a far point and oblige himself/herself to observe all the issues related to “motives and results” closely, cannot suffice to these impulsive judgments.

Now, let us study the motives and results and effects of waiting one by one impartially and find out that whether the reason of its appearance is failures or series of innate and wise realities, and are the effects of that constructive and positive or negative and unfavorable?

Constructive Effects of Waiting

Does believing in such waiting moves the person into dreams in the way that he/she becomes unaware of what is going on around him/her and surrender him/her to any condition?

Or, indeed, this belief is a kind of invitation to rise and individual and social construction?

Does it produce movement or inaction?

Does it make responsibilities or the cause of escaping from responsibilities?

And finally, is it stupefying or awakener?

Before explaining and studying these questions, noticing to a point is very necessary and that is, whenever the most constructive orders and the most excellent concepts are utilized by inexperienced, incompetent or exploiter persons then they may transform them in the way that they have results completely against the main goal and move in opposite direction; and this matter has many of examples and as we will see the issue of “waiting” is like them.

Anyhow, for getting rid of any mistake in calculation in these discussions, water should be taken from the headspring in order not to have the contaminations of streams and canals in the way.

Accordingly, in the discussion of waiting, we refer to main Islamic texts and study different tones of narratives, which affirm the issue of “waiting” in order to find the main goal.

Now, pay careful attention to some narrative!

Someone asked Imam Sadiq (as) that what do you say about a person who has the guardianship of the Imams and is waiting for the appearance of the government of truth and dies in this state?

Imam(as) answered:

هو بمنزلة من کان مع القائم فی فسطاطه - ثمّ سکت هنیئه - ثمّ قال هو کمن مع رسول الله) ص (

(He is like the person who has been with the leader of this revolution in his tent (headquarters) - then stayed silent for a while - and said he is like the one who has been with prophet of Islam (in his battles)).

This meaning has been quoted in many narratives with different expressions:

In some narratives

بمنزلة الضّارب بسیفه فی سبیل الله

Like a swordsman in the way of God.

And in some other narratives

کمن قارع بسیفه مع رسول الله

Like the one who strikes the head of the enemy with sword beside prophet.

In some others

بمنزلة من کان قاعداً تحت لواء القائم

Like the one who has been under the flag of He Who Arises.

And in some other narratives

بمنزلة المجاهد بین یدی رسول الله) ص(

Like the person who performs jihad before the Prophet (S).

And in some others

بمنزلة من استشهد مع رسول الله

Like a person who becomes martyr with the Prophet (S).

These metaphors which have been mentioned in these narratives about the advent of his holiness Mahdi (as) are very meaningful and clear the fact that there is a kind of relation between the issues of “waiting” and “jihad” and fighting against the enemy, in its latest form. (Attention!)

Also, in several narratives, waiting for such government has been introduced as the best form of worship.

This meaning has been quoted in some Ahadith from the Prophet (S) and in some other Ahadith from Imam Ali (as); we read in a Hadith from the Prophet (S) that he said:

"افضل اعمال امّتی انتظار الفرج من الله عزّ و جلّ"

The best act of my nation is waiting for an opening from the side of God.

And we read in another Hadith from the Prophet (S) that:

"افضل العبادة انتظار الفرج"

(The best act of worship is the waiting of the opening)

This Hadith clears the importance of waiting about our discussion, whether we consider the meaning of opening as in general meaning or its exclusive meaning which is the advent of universal peacemaker.

These expressions say that waiting for such revolution is always accompanied by an expanded and continued jihad.

And if belief and waiting of universal government of the Mahdi penetrates to the roots then will be the source of two series of continued acts (because the effects of superficial beliefs may not go further than expressions and dialog but deep beliefs always have expanded practical effects); these two series of acts are:

Renouncing any kind of cooperation and harmony with the factors of oppression and corruption and even fighting and conflict with them, on the one hand; and self-improvement, self-help and attracting physical, mental, material and spiritual preparations for that universal united government to be formed, on the other hand.

And if carefully notice then we will see that both sides of that are completely constructive and the cause of motivation, awareness and awakening.

By considering the main definition of “waiting”, the meaning of narratives about the reward and the result of the act of those who are waiting will be understood well.

Now, we understand that why those who are really waiting have been considered as those who are in the tent or under the flag of his holiness the Mahdi(as), or the one who is fighting with sword in the way of god or is inside his blood or has become martyr.

Aren’t these different levels and stages of jihad in the way of truth and justice, which is appropriate with the amount of readiness and level waiting of individuals!

It means that as the amount of self-sacrifice of Mujahids in the way of God and their role are different, waiting, self-improvement and preparation have also completely different levels that each of them is similar to one of those about “preliminaries” and “results”; both of them are jihad and both of them need preparation and self-improvement. A person who is in the tent of the leader of such government means that is standing in the headquarters of a universal government; such person cannot be a negligent, uninformed and ignorant person; that place is not a pace for everyone; there is the place of those who are truthfully competent for such important situation.

Also, a person, who has weapon in his hands and fights beside the leader of this revolution against the oppositions of his government of peace and justice, should have enough spiritual, mental and martial readiness.

Waiting Means Complete Awareness

If I am a tyrant or an oppressor then how can I wait for the one whose sword is looking for the blood of oppressors!

If I am polluted and impure then how can I wait for a revolution that its first flame captures polluted people!

An army, which is waiting for a great jihad, increases martial readiness of its soldiers and blows the revolutionary soul of into their bodies and corrects any kind of weakness.

The condition of “waiting” is always proper for the goal, which is waiting for:

Waiting for a normal traveler to come from the journey

Waiting for the return of a dear friend

Waiting for fruit collecting and harvesting season

Waiting for school season…

Each of these waiting is mixed with a kind of readiness.

In one of them the house should be prepared and greetings means should be provided, in the other one needed equipments and sickle and combine … and for the other one, books, notebooks, pen, school uniform and like them.

Now think that those who are waiting for the rise of a great universal peacemaker, in fact, they are waiting for a change and revolution which is the most expanded and essential revolution of human revolution during the entire history.

A revolution, which, contrary to previous corrective revolutions, is not regional and is not exclusive to one aspect of the aspect of life, but it, includes all aspects of human life adding to being general and sweeping; it is a political, cultural, economical and moral revolution.

Currently, we don’t discuss about the matter that what is our reason for such revolution to happen.

We postpone this to another discussion, because in this discussion, our goal is only the results and the effects of such belief and waiting that is really stupefying as some of materialists have assumed or is it motion-maker and corrective.

We said before that, “waiting” always consists of two elements of “denial” and “fixation”; dissatisfaction of present conditions and love and affection for better conditions.

The first aspect of the resolution, which is the aspect of “denial”, is removing the factors of disorder, corruption, destruction and washing the plate of society from the opposite sketches.

After this stage, it is the time for the aspect of fixation, which is placing the factors of correction and construction.

The combination of two concepts of “waiting” and “universal revolution” clears what we said before; it means that, those who are waiting for such revolution, if they are truly claiming (not like the false imaginary ones) then certainly the following effects will appear in them:

1) Personal Self-Improvement

The universal government of Mahdi needs ready and human-valued individuals, before anything else, who can bear the heavy weight of such expanded corrections; and firstly, it needs the increment of intellectual, awareness and spiritual and mental readiness level for cooperation in execution of this great program. Envy, narrow-mindedness, mistrust, childish and unwise conflicts, and totally any kind of concision and separation are not proper for the position of those who are really waiting.

The important point is that the one who is really waiting for such important program cannot be the spectator, and should stand in the row of real reformists.

Believing in the results and the effects of such change never lets him/her to stand in the row of oppositions and standing in the row of accordant ones also needs to have pure acts and purer souls, to have enough courage and awareness.

If I am impure and polluted then how can I wait for a change and revolution, which its flame captures me first!

An if I am corrupted and incorrect then how can I count the days for the system in which corrupted and incorrect persons have no place, even they are outcaste and hated!

Isn’t this waiting enough for purification of my spirit and thoughts and washing my body and soul from pollutions and impurities!

An army which is waiting for the jihad of freedom, surely goes to the state of complete alert; gains the weapon which is proper for such battlefield; corrects the available weapons; builds the necessary forts; increases martial readiness of its soldiers; encourages its soldiers; and keeps the flame of affection and desire for such fight alive in the hearts of each its soldiers; an army which doesn’t have such readiness is not in the state of waiting at all and if claims then it is lying; waiting for a universal peacemaker means complete mental, moral, material and spiritual readiness for correcting the entire world.

Imagine that how much such readiness can be constructive! Correcting the entire earth and finishing all oppressions and disharmonies is not a joke! It cannot be a simple act! Readiness for such great goal should be proper to that; which means should have its width and depth.

For achieving such revolution very great and serious, very powerful and undefeatable, extraordinary, pure and honorable men are needed who are completely ready and have deep knowledge and vision; and self-improvement for such goal needs the deepest moral, intellectual and social programs to be utilized; this is the meaning of real waiting! Is there anybody who can say such waiting is not constructive!

2) Social Self-Helps

Those who are really waiting have also the duty to try to correct others adding to correcting themselves; because the great and heavy program which they expect is not an individual program; it is program in which all the elements of change should participate; they should work as a team; efforts should be in harmony and the depth and width of this harmony should be as great as that universal revolutionary program which they expect.

In a vast battlefield nobody can ignore others, and has the duty to correct any weakness which he sees in any place, and amends any vulnerable position, and strengthens any weak part; because execution of such program is not possible without active and coordinated participation of all those who fight.

Therefore, those who are really waiting, besides trying to correct themselves, also consider it as their duty to correct others.

This is another constructive effect of waiting for the rise of a universal peacemaker! And this is the philosophy of many glories and superiorities, which have been mentioned for those who are really waiting.

3) Not being solved in Corruption of the Environment

When corruption dominates, and corrupts most of the people, sometimes pure people is entrapped in a hard mental dead-end, a dead-end which is the result of disappointment from reforms.

Sometimes, they think that no time remained and there is no more hope for corrections, and it is a waste of time to try to remain pure; this disappointment may gradually attract them to corruption and consolidation with the environment and cannot keep the self as righteous minority against unrighteous majority, and considers disharmony with congregation as a mean of disgrace (referring to a Persian proverb).

The only thing which can blow the soul of hope into them and encourage them to resistance and continence and don’t let them to be solved in corruption of the environment is the hope of final correction; only in this case they don’t give up trying for keeping their purity and even correcting others.

And if we see that in Islamic orders, disappointment from being forgiven is considered as one of the greatest sins and maybe unknown people is surprised that why disappointment from the mercy of God is this much important - more important from many other sins - its philosophy is that the sinner, who is disappointed from mercy, sees no reason for compensation and at least stopping the sins, and his/her logic is that:

“I am drowned, whether one meter or hundred meters; I’ve been disgrace in the entire world, why should I be sorry; there is no color darker than black, at last it is hell, and now I have purchased it for myself, what should I fear from!”

But when the light of hope shines on him/her, hope of forgiveness of god and hope of changing the present conditions, a turning point appears in his/her life and maybe encourages him/her to stop performing sins and to return to purity and correction.

Accordingly, hope can be considered as an effective corrective factor in correction of corrupted people, also, righteous people, who are living in corrupted environments, cannot free themselves without hope.

Therefore, waiting for the advent of a peacemaker whose appearance is more excepts as the world becomes more corrupted, has mental strengthening effects on believers and insure them against powerful waves of corruption. They won’t be disappointed by the expansion of corruption of the environment; even they see the goal in front of them and try more eagerly to fight against the corruption and for continence.

We conclude from previous discussions that, waiting has stupefying effect only if its meaning is distorted and transformed, as some of its oppositions have distorted that; and some of its accordant ones have transformed, but it is executed in its real meaning in society and for individuals then it will be an important factor of correction, self-improvement, motivation and hope.

One of clear evidences which confirms this matter is that it is quoted from great leaders of Islam beneath the verse:

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ

Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, (Surah Nur24:55)

That the purpose of this verse is “هوالقائم و اصحابه” (Mahdi and his companions). And we read: in another hadith: “نزلت فی المهدی” (the verse has been descended about Mahdi) while in this verse Mahdi and his companion are introduced as “الّذین آمنو منکم و عملو الصّالحات”. (Those who believe and perform righteous acts).

Therefore, realization of this universal revolution is not possible without a fortified belief that dispels any kind of weakness, humiliation and incapability and without righteous acts which open the way for correction of the world; and those who are waiting for such program should both increase their level of awareness and knowledge and try to correct themselves and their acts.

Only such people can promise themselves living in his government, not those who are in coordination with oppression and injustice!

And not those who are stranger with belief and righteous acts!

Not cowards and despised persons who fear from anything even their own shadow because of weakness of belief!

And not inactive and lazy and useless persons, who is sitting inactive against the corruptions of their living environment and society and stayed silent and don’t even try to fight against corruption.

Yes the real waiting is this!

Twentieth Hadith: Pure Intention (Ikhlas)

بِالسَّنَدِ المُتَّصِلِ إِلَى الشَّيْخِ الثِقَةِ الجَلِيلِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَعْقُوبَ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ القَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنِ المِنْقَرِيِّ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ بْنِ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ أبِي عَبْدِاللهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فِي قَوْلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً.﴾ قَالَ: لَيْسَ يَعْنِي أَكْثَرُ عَمَلاً وَلَكِنْ أَصْوَبُكُمْ عَمَلاً. وَإِنَّمَا الإصَابَةُ خِشْيَةُ اللهِ وَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّادِقَةُ وَالحَسَنَةُ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: الإبْقَاءُ عَلَى العَمَلِ حَتَّى يَخْلُصَ أَشَدَّ مِنَ العَمَلِ. وَالعَمَلُ الخَالِصُ: الَّذِي لا تُرِيدُ أَنْ يَحْمَدَكَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ إلا اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. وَالنِّيَّةُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ العَمَلِ. ألا وَإنَّ النِّيَّةَ هِيَ العَمَلُ. - ثُمَّ تَلا قَوْلَهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ - ﴿قُلْ كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ عَلَى شَاكِلَتِهِ.﴾ يَعْنِي عَلَى نِيَّتِهِ

With my isnad reaching back to the venerable and trustworthy shaykh Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni (Q) from Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from al-Minqari, from Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah, from Abu ‘Abd Allah (A), who, explaining the utterance of God Almighty: That He might try you (to see) which of you is fairest in works. (67:2), said,“It does not mean one of you whose deeds are more numerous but one who is more rightful in his conduct, and this rightness is nothing but the fear of God and sincerity of intention (niyyah) and fear.” Then he (A) added,“To persevere in an action until it becomes sincere is more difficult than (performing) the action itself, and sincerity of action lies in this that you should not desire anyone to praise you for it except God Almighty, and intention supersedes action. Lo, verily, intention is action itself.” Then he recited the Qur’anic verse,“Say, everyone acts in accordance with his character -shakilatihi- (17:84), adding, “That shakilah means niyyah.” 1

Exposition

Bala’ (mentioned in verse 67: 2) means ‘test’ and ‘examination’ as pointed out by al-Sihah:

بَلَوْتُهُ بَلْواً: جَرَّبتُهُ واختَبَرتُه، وبَلاه اللهُ بلاءً وأبْلاهُ إبْلاءً حسناً وابْتَلاهُ أي اختَبَرَهُ

‘Balawtuhu balwan’ means ‘I tested him’, ‘I examined him’, and ‘balahu Allah bala’an’, or ‘ablahu ibla’an hasanan’ or ibtaluhu means ‘He (God) tested him.’

‘Ayyukum’ is the second object (maf’ul duwwom) for li yabluwakum, with the sense of knowing being implicit in it, according to al-Majlisi. But this does not seem to fit, because the interrogative pronoun ayy makes the verb conditional on action (‘amal). That which is correct is that أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً is a nominal sentence (jumleh-ye mubtada wa khabar) and is the object of the verb balwa. If ayy is taken to be relative pronoun (mawsulah), there is a sense for the statement of al-Majlisi (M). But its interrogative character is more evident.

Sawab is the opposite of khata’ (error), as mentioned by al-Jawhari. The second ‘khashyah’ (fear) does not appear in some manuscripts, as mentioned by al-Majlisi, and should it be there, there are several probable interpretations for it, the more evident of which is that the waw here is in the sense of ma’a (with). And this phrase is narrated in the Asrar al-salat of al-Shahid al-Thani (M) وَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّادِقَةُ وَالحَسَنَةُ (‘sincere and fair intention’; instead of وَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّادِقَةُ وَالخِشْيَةُ ).

Ibqa’ ‘ala al-’amal means observance of action and exercising care over it, as pointed out by al-Jawhari, who says:

أبقَيتُ على فُلانٍ إذا أرْعَيتُ علَيهِ ورَحِمْتُه

Shakilah has (also) the sense of tariqah (way), shakl (shape), and nahiyah (region), as mentioned in al-Qamus and al-Sihah. Al-Qamus states:

الشّاكِلةُ: الشَّكلُ والنّاحِيةُ والنّيَّة والطَّريقَةُ

We will, God willing, explain that which needs explanation in this noble hadith in course of a few sections.

The Meaning Of ‘Test’ In Relation To God

The clause,“That He might try you...” (quoted in the tradition) refers to the utterance of God Almighty:

﴿تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ﴾

Blessed is He in Whose hand is the Kingdom and Who is powerful over everything, Who created death and life, that He might try you which of you is fairest in works. (67: 1-2)

The muhaqqiq al-Majlisi (Q) says,“This noble verse (which refers to the ‘creation’ of death) indicates that death is something which has being, and means either death as something that happens to life or essential non-existence.”

The meaning of the noble verse indicates a sense in which creation relates to it (death) as a substance; it does not indicate a sense in which the relation is accidental, as pointed out by the muhaqqiqun. And the possible sense of death as essential non-existence does not apply here, for ascription of being to something essentially non-existent involves a contradiction, with the further observation that to ascribe the sense of essential non-existence to death does not appear in itself to be something correct.

However, that which is correct is that ‘death’ means transference from the apparent corporeal realm (nash’eh-ye zahereh-ye mulkiyyeh) to the hidden higher realm (nash’eh-ye bateneh-ye malakutiyyeh). Or ‘death’ means the second life in malakut (the realm higher to that of physical nature) following the first life in the realm of mulk (physical nature). Both of these senses involve being, or rather refer to a mode of being more complete than that of mulk.

This is because life in the world or physical nature is adulterated with lifeless physical materials and their life is an ephemeral accident, as opposed to the substantial (i.e. inherent in substance) life of the realm of malakut where the souls obtain independence (from all elements of lifelessness that characterize the physical world). That realm is the realm of life, life being its essential quality, and the non-corporeal bodies of Barzakh (abdan al-mithaliye barzakhi) have their existential dependence on the souls, as has been demonstrated in the place proper to it.

Moreover, the life of malakut - which is expressed by ‘death’ (al-mawt, in the verse) in order not to weigh heavily on the ears of the listeners - does relate to creation and is under the power of the Sacred Essence.

The meaning of ‘trial’ and ‘test’ and the character of their ascription to God, the Exalted and the Glorious, was mentioned during the earlier exposition of some traditions. It was explained that ignorance (implicit in the meaning of ‘trial’ and ‘test’) cannot be ascribed to the Sacred Essence, and there is no need of interpretations and studied explanations in this regard. Here we shall briefly explain this issue.

At the beginning of their creation, the human souls are nothing but pure potentialities and are devoid of every kind of actuality inclining either toward felicity or wretchedness. It is only after their coming into the ambit of physical, substantial motion and voluntary actuality that the potentialities and capacities change into actualities and distinctions. Hence the difference between the felicitous and the wretched, the fat and the lean, comes into existence in corporeal life (hayat al-mulki), and the purpose of the creation of life is the distinction and examination of the souls. Thus the relation of trial and creation becomes clear. As to the creation of death, it has also a role in these distinctions, or rather it is the last link in the causative process (of the emergence of distinctions in the realm of actuality).

For the criterion in the realm of actuality is the ultimate forms with which man makes the migration (from mulk to malakut); also, the criterion in the distinctions is the otherworldly malakuti forms that are acquired through the substantial and voluntary movements of the corporeal world. This also makes clear the relation of testing and trial to creation of death and life, without involving any ignorance (on the part of God). An exposition of this issue elaborate enough to dispel all the doubts surrounding it depends on a discussion of God’s essential knowledge prior to creation (‘ilm al-dhati qabl al ijad) and His actual knowledge accompanying creation (‘ilm al-fi’lli ma’a al-’ijad), which is outside the scope of this exposition. And the Divine utterance,“(that He might see) which one of you is fairest in action,” as well as the trial relating to the more righteous of deeds, relate to the above-mentioned matter, and hence the noble tradition.

This is because the relative fairness of deeds has been interpreted as their relative rightness, which in turn is made to depend on fear and sincerity of intention. These are the inward forms of the soul, which make up the real distinctive features of the souls or are the manifestations of the hidden distinctions among the essences. And because of the fact that outward action affects the heart and the inward self, these distinctions are also brought about by deeds. Hence, the testing of deeds is also the testing of the essences.

And if the noble verse were interpreted in accordance with its apparent sense and in independence of the exposition of the Imam (A), even then the testing will have the above-mentioned sense, because the life in the present world and the creation of life and death by itself results in the distinctions that characterize good and evil acts. As to the creation of life, its significance is clear, and as to death, its significance in this relation also becomes clear when we know the ephemeral nature of worldly life and the necessity of transition from this transitory life which is, of course, accompanied with distinctions arising from distinctions of deeds.

Fear, Sincere Intention And Rightness Of Action

You should know that in this noble tradition the rightness and goodness of action is made to depend on two sublime bases, which also constitute the criteria of their perfection and wholeness. One of these is the fear and awe of God Almighty and the other is the sincerity of intention and purity of purpose. Now we have to explain the relation between these two principles and the perfection of action and its rightness and rectitude.

The fear and awe of God Almighty leads to the taqwa and piety of the souls and these result in greater effectiveness of deeds. To elaborate, as mentioned in the course of the exposition of earlier traditions, every act, good or evil, has an effect upon the soul. Now if the act is of the category of acts of devotion and worship, its effect is that of making the physical faculties subservient to the intellectual faculties, making the malakuti aspect of the self-dominant over its mulki aspect.

As a result of it, physical nature is made subject to spirituality, until the soul reaches the stage of spiritual emotion and attains its essential goal. Every act that increases this effect and discharges this service in a better way is more rightful and more effective in attaining the essential goal. Also, everything that has a role in this effectiveness has also a role in the rightness of action. Largely, this is also the criterion of relative merit in acts and the famous following tradition also refers to this point:

أَفْضَلُ الأَعْمَالِ أَحْمَزُهَا

The best of deeds are those which are the most difficult.2

These preliminaries show that taqwa purifies the souls from contaminations and obfuscations, and, obviously, if the tablet of the soul is free of the coverings of sins and clear of the obfuscations caused by them, the good actions are more effective- upon it and more conducive to the realization of the goal, thus better fulfilling the great secret purpose of devotional rites, which is the taming of corporeal nature, subjugation of mulk to malakut, and strengthening of the soul’s active will power (iradeh-ye fa’ileh-ye nafs).

Hence, the fear of God, which has a thorough influence on the soul’s taqwa, is one of the major agents of spiritual reform with an effective role in the rectitude of action and its beauty and perfection. This is because taqwa, besides being one of the reforming agents of the soul, also affects the influence of inward and outward human actions and is the cause of their acceptability, as declared by God Almighty:

﴿إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنْ الْمُتَّقِينَ ﴾

Verily God accepts only from the God-fearing. (5:27)

The second major factor in the rightness and perfection of actions which, in fact, is tantamount to their efficient force (in the same way as the awe and taqwa acquired from them is equivalent to the condition of their effectiveness and which, in fact, purify the receptor and remove the impediments). It is sincere intention and pure purpose on which depend the perfection and defectiveness of ‘ibadat (worships) and their validity and invalidity.

As much as the ‘ibadat are free from association with non-God and from adulteration of intention, to the same extent they are sincere and perfect. And nothing is as important in ‘ibadat as intention and its purity, for the relationship of intention to ‘ibadah is like that of the soul to the body and the spirit to the corporeal frame.

In the same way as their physical form originates in the physical aspect of the self and its body, intention and their spirit originate from the self’s inward aspect and the heart. No worship is acceptable to God Almighty without sincere intention and unless it is free from the outward mulki riya’ (a kind of riya’ which the fuqaha’ (R) have mentioned) and shirk, which invalidate and nullify the outward parts (of an ibadah).

And unless it is free from inward shirk, in whose presence although an ‘ibadah may be correct from the exoteric aspect of the Shari’ah and fiqhi ordinances, it is not valid and acceptable to God Almighty from the esoteric aspect and from the viewpoint of the reality and secrets of worship. Hence there is no necessary relation between the (legal) validity of ‘ibadah and its acceptability, a point which has often been mentioned in the traditions.

An exhaustive definition of ‘shirk in ‘ibadah’ that encompasses all its levels is the inclusion of the good pleasure and satisfaction of anyone other than God, whether it is one’s own self or someone else.’ If it is for someone else’s satisfaction and for other people, it is outward shirk and fiqhi riya’. If it is for one’s own satisfaction (rida), it is hidden and inward shirk; this also invalidates the ‘ibadah in view of the urafa and makes it unacceptable to God. Examples of it are offering the nightly prayer for increase in one’s livelihood, giving sadaqah for safety from afflictions, or giving zakat for increase in one’s wealth; that is, when one does these things for God Almighty in order to seek these things from His grace.

Although those ‘ibadat are valid, and one who performs them is considered to have performed his duty and fulfilled the requirements of the Shari’ah, they do not amount to the worship of God Almighty, nor are they characterized with sincerity of intention and purity of purpose. Rather, this kind of ‘ibadat are aimed to achieve mundane purposes and to seek the objects of carnal, mundane desires. Hence, the acts of such a person are not rightful.

Similarly, if ‘ibadah is for the sake of the fear of hell and yearning for paradise, it is not sincerely for God and is devoid of sincere intention. Rather, it may be said that such acts of worship are purely for the sake of Satan and the carnal self. The good pleasure of God does not enter the intentions of a person performing such a kind of ibadah in order to be considered even shirk.

Rather he has worshipped solely the great idol, the mother of all idols, the idol of one’s carnal desire. However, God Almighty has accepted this kind of ibadah from us out of His expansive mercy and on account of our weakness, by allowing a degree of leniency; that is, He has bestowed upon it certain effects and attached certain favors to it so that if man should fulfill the outward conditions of its acceptance, and perform it with the presence of the heart, all those effects will follow and all the related promises of reward shall be carried out.

Such is the condition of the ‘ibadat of the slaves and mercenaries. But as to the ‘ibadah of free men (ahrar), performed for the love of God Almighty and to seek the attention given by that Sacred Essence to Its worshippers, the motive of fear of hell and yearning for paradise being absent in it, it is the first station of the awliya’ and ahrar.

There are other stations and degrees for them, which escape description and lie outside the scope of this discourse. As long as the soul’s attention is fixed on worship, worshipper, and the worshipped one, worship is not sincere. The heart must be vacated of every other thing and there should be nothing in it except God in order for worship to be sincere, as mentioned in a noble tradition of al-Kafi,

قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إلا مَنْ أَتَى اللهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ.﴾ قَالَ: القَلْبُ السَّلِيمُ الَّذِي يَلْقَى رَبَّهُ وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ أَحَدٌ سِوَاهُ. وَكُلُّ قَلْبٍ فِيهِ شِرْكٌ أَوْ شَكٌّ فَهُوَ سَاقِطٌ. وَإنَّمَا أَرَادُوا الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِتَفْرَغَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِلآخِرَةِ

Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah (the narrator of the earlier tradition) says,“I asked Imam al-Sadiq (A) about the utterance of God, the Exalted and the Glorious, in regard to the Day of Resurrection, ‘The day when neither wealth nor sons shall profit except he who comes with a pure heart (26: 88-89).’ The Imam (A) replied, ‘A pure heart is one that meets its Lord in a state in which there is none in it except Him.’ Then he (A) added: ‘Every heart in which there is shirk or doubt shall fail. Indeed, He has meant by it (the purity of heart) nothing except zuhd in regard to the world so that their hearts may be made ready for the Hereafter.’3

Of course, the heart which is occupied with non-God and contaminated with doubt and shirk - whether of the manifest (jali) or the concealed (khafi) kind - has no credibility in the sacred presence of the Lord. To the concealed kind of shirk pertains reliance on means and dependence on anything other than God.

It is even mentioned in tradition that changing the position of one’s ring in order to remind one of something is also concealed shirk.4 To allow other-than-God to enter the heart is considered concealed shirk, and sincerity of intention (ikhlas al-niyyat) is expulsion of other-than God from His sacred abode (i.e. the heart). Similarly, there are various degrees of doubt (shakk), some of which should be reckoned as manifest and some as concealed, which are caused by the weakness of conviction and feebleness of faith.

Similarly, hesitation in matters is also on account of doubt. Of the stages of concealed doubt is changeability and absence of stability in tawhid. Therefore, true tawhid means the dropping of relations, limits and pluralities, even the pluralities relating to the Names and Attributes, and fixation in it is purity from doubt. The purity of heart means absolute freedom from shirk and doubt.

In the tradition, the phrase “He has meant by it nothing except zuhd...” is a reference to the fact that the ultimate goal of zuhd is that the heart should gradually become detached from the world and loathful toward it, with its attention turned to the real goal and the true object of all yearning. From the beginning part of the tradition it appears that the meaning of ‘Hereafter’ is the ultimate limit of the circle of existence and the ultimate destination. This is what ‘Hereafter’ means in its absolute sense.

Accordingly, the world constitutes the complete circle of manifestation, and zuhd in regard to it necessarily entails purifying the heart of other-than-God. Hence even one who has other-than-God in his heart and is attached to others - whether they be corporeal, mulki matters, or spiritual ones relating to hereafterly forms, excellences and degrees, and everything other than God - is a man of the world, not zahid in regard to it, being deprived from the true Hereafter and the paradise of Divine communion, which is the highest of the levels of paradise, although he may possess other degrees of spiritual excellences and attain to the sublime levels of paradise in the same way as the people of the world differ in regard to possession of worldly wealth and status but whose stations are far remote from those of the men of God.

The Definition Of Ikhlas

You should know that various definitions have been suggested for ikhlas, to some of which that are prevalent among the people of the mystic path we shall briefly refer here. The honorable ‘arif’ and the wise wayfarer, Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, quddisa sirruh, says:

الإخْلاصُ تَصْفِيَةُ العَمَلِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَوْبٍ

Ikhlas means purging action of all impurities.

And the impurity mentioned here is a general one, including both that which arises from the desire to please oneself and other creatures. It is narrated from the great Shaykh Baha’i that the people of the heart have offered various definitions for it:

قِيلَ: تَنْزيهُ العَملِ أنْ يكونَ لِغَير اللهِ فيهِ نَصيبٌ

It has been said,“(Ikhlas means) keeping action free from other-than-God having a role in it.”

This definition is close to the former one.

وقيلَ: أنْ لا يُريدَ عاملُهُ عليهِ عِوَضاً في الدَّارَينِ

And it has been said,“(Ikhlas means) that the performer of an action should not desire any reward for it in the world and the Hereafter.”

And it has been narrated from the author of Ghara’ib al-bayan that the mukhlisun are those who worship God in such a way that they don’t see themselves in service nor do they take notice of the world or .its people, nor transcend the bounds of servitude in their vision of Lordship.

Hence when the devotee foregoes all gains and stakes in everything from the earth to the Throne (‘arsh), he comes to traverse the path of din, which is the path of service and devotion on which the soul does not take any notice of the events on account of its vision of the beauty of the Lord. This is the Din that God Almighty has chosen for Himself and cleared it from the taint of association with other-than-God, and He has said:

﴿أَلَا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ ﴾

Lo, to God belongs sincere allegiance -al-din al-khalis-. (39:3)

And ‘sincere religion’ is the light of pre-eternity (qidam) that appears after the disappearance of contingency (huduth) in the wilderness of resplendent glory and monism. It is as if God Almighty has invited His servants by indicating and signaling to them that they should purify their souls from others and make them turn exclusively towards Him. And it has been narrated from al-Shaykh al-Muhaqqiq Muhyi al-Din al-’Arabi that he said:

أَلا للهِ الدّينُ الخالِصُ عَن شَوْبِ الغَيرِيَّةِ وَالأَنانِيَّةِ، لأنَّكَ لِفَنائِكَ فيهِ بالكُلِّيَّةِ فَلا ذاتَ لَكَ وَلا صِفَةَ وَلا فِعلَ وَلا دينَ وَإلا لمَا خَلُصَ الدّينُ بِالحَقيقةِ فَلا يَكونُ للهِ

‘Lo, to God belongs sincere allegiance,’ free from the taints of otherness and egoism. And that your extinction in Him should be total, the Essence; the Attributes, the Acts and the din should cease to be relevant for you. Lo, until the allegiance is not purified by Reality, it will not belong to God.

Until the traces of servitude (‘ubudiyyah), otherness (ghayriyyah) and egoism (ananiyyah) remain and as long as there is a worshipper and the worshipped one, worship, sincerity, and din, there remain the taints of otherness and egoism, and this is regarded as shirk by the urafa. The worship of the sincere ones is the imprint of the manifestations (tajalliyat) of the Beloved and nothing passes through their hearts except the Essence of the One God.

And although the horizons of possibility (imkan) and necessity (wujub) have been joined for them and they have attained proximity to the Essence (tadalli-ye dhati) and absolute nearness to the Real (dunuww al-mutlaq al-haqiqi) and the traces of otherness have been completely wiped out, they still perform the duties of servantship. And their servitude is not through reflection and thought, but through manifestation - a point indicated by the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (S) on the night of his heavenly ascent (mi’raj).

Ikhlas Is Subsequent To Action

You should know that that which is said in the noble tradition, that

الإبْقَاءُ عَلى العَمَلِ حَتَّى يَخْلُصَ أَشَدُّ مِنَ العَمَلِ

To persevere in an action until it becomes sincere is more difficult than the action itself,

is meant to encourage man to exercise care and diligence in that which he does, both at the time of its performance and after it. For it sometimes happens that man carries out an action faultlessly and without any shortcoming and performs it without riya’ or ‘ujb; but after the action he becomes afflicted with riya’ through mentioning it, as pointed out in the following noble hadith of al-Kari:

عَنْ أبي جَعْفَرٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ أنَّهُ قَالَ: الإبْقَاءُ عَلَى العَمَلِ أَشَدُّ مِنَ العَمَلِ. قَالَ: وَمَا الإبْقَاءُ عَلَى العَمَلِ؟ قَالَ: يَصِلُ الرَّجُلُ بِصِلَةٍ وَيُنْفِقُ نَفَقَةً للهِ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فَتُكْتَبُ لَهُ سِرّاً ثُمَّ يَذْكُرُهَا فَتُمْحَى فَتُكْتَبُ لَهُ عَلانِيَةً، ثُمَّ يَذْكُرُهَا فَتُمْحَى وَتُكْتَبُ لَهُ رِياءً

Imam al-Baqir (A) said,“Perseverance in an action is more difficult than the act itself.” He was asked,“What is meant by perseverance in action?” He replied,“A man does some kindness to a relative or expends something for the sake of God, Who is One and has no partner. Thereupon the reward of a good deed performed secretly is written for him. Later, he mentions it to someone, and that which was written earlier is wiped out, and instead the reward of a good deed performed openly is written for him. Later, when he makes a mention of it again, the vice of riya’ is written for him (instead of the reward written earlier).” 5

Man is never secure from the evil of Satan and his self until the end of his life. He must not imagine that once he has performed an act solely for the sake of God, without desire for the good pleasure of creatures having played any role in it, the purity of his act shall remain secure from the evil of the vicious self. Should he fail to exercise care and vigilance, the self may prompt him to make a mention of it or, as sometimes happens, to express it in the way of a subtle hint.

For instance, wishing to impress people about his nightly prayers, the subtle machinations of the self may prompt him to pass a hint by speaking about the good or bad weather conditions at daybreak or about supplications or the call for prayer, thus making his acts invalid and unworthy. Man must keep a watch over himself, like a kind physician or nurse, and not let the rebellious self get out of control; for a moment of neglect may give it the opportunity to break its reins and lead man into ignominy and perdition. Hence, in all conditions he must take refuge in God Almighty from the evil of Satan and the carnal self:

﴿إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي ﴾

Surely the self of man incites to evil - except in as much as my Lord had mercy. (12:53)

And it should be known to you that purification of intention from all levels of shirk, riya’ and other things, constant vigilance over it, and its perseverance in purity make up a greatly difficult as well as an important task. Rather, some degrees of it are not attainable by anyone except the sincere awliya’ of Allah. This is because intention is the efficient motive of action and is subject to other goals. These goals are in turn subject to the spiritual traits that make up man’s inward essence and spiritual character. If someone possesses the love of office and position and this love becomes part of his spiritual makeup and character, the end of his desires is to reach that goal and the actions that originate from him are subject to that goal; his motive being the same sought-after object of his spirit, the actions that originate from him are directed to reaching the goal sought.

As long as this love remains in his heart, his acts cannot be sincere, and one whose spiritual character and make-up are characterized by self-love and egoism his ultimate goal and end is attainment of selfish satisfactions, which are also the motive of his acts, regardless of whether his acts are directed to mundane goals or such otherworldly ends as the houris, palaces, gardens and bounties of the next life. Rather, as long as egoism, self-seeking and egotism are there, even if he takes a step for the acquisition of mystic knowledge and spiritual excellences, these are sought for selfish ends, self-seeking, not God-seeking, being their aim. And it is obvious that self-seeking and God-seeking cannot go together. Rather, if God is sought for the sake of the self, the ultimate end and goal is the self and the ego.

Thus it is evident that the absolute purification of intention from shirk is a great task that cannot be achieved by every one, and the defectiveness and excellence of deeds is subject to the defectiveness and perfection of intentions, for intention is the efficient and malakuti form of action, as hinted above. The noble tradition also refers to this point where it says:

وَالنِّيَّةُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ العَمَلِ. ألا وَإنَّ النِّيَّةَ هِيَ العَمَلُ

And intention is superior to action, or, rather, intention is the complete reality of act itself.

And there is no exaggeration involved in this, as some have suggested; rather, it is based on fact, for intention is the complete form of action and its essence itself, the wholesomeness and corruption, the excellence and defectiveness of acts depending upon it.

Accordingly, a single act may, on account of the intention that underlies it, at times imply respect and at times insult. Sometimes it may be perfect and sometimes defective. Sometimes it may belong to the highest level of spiritual sublimity, possessing a beautiful, blessed form. Sometimes it may belong to the lower spiritual realm and possess a frightful and odious form.

The apparent form of the salat of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) does not differ outwardly in regard to its elements and conditions from that of a certain hypocrite; but whereas for the former it is a means of spiritual ascent toward God (mi’raj ila Allah) and has the highest spiritual form, for the latter it is a means of descent to hell and its spiritual form is incomparably black due to the intensity of darkness.

Because of a few loaves of bread of barley given away by the House of Inerrancy, i.e. The Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (A), for the sake of God, God Almighty sent down several verses in their praise. An ignorant person may be led to think that two or three days of hunger and giving away one’s food to the poor is a matter of importance, whereas such kind of acts may be performed by anybody and are of not much consequence. Their significance lies in the purity of their (i.e. the Ahl al-Bayt’s) purpose and the sincerity of their intention. It is the power and elegance of the spirit of their action, coming forth from their pure hearts that gives their action so much significance.

The outward appearance of the Noble Prophet (S) was not much different from that of other people. Hence, often when he (S) was sitting with a group of people and some strangers from among the Arab Bedouins came to meet him (S), they would ask,“Which one of you is the Messenger?” That which distinguished the Messenger (S) from others is the power and elegance of the spirit of that Master, not his blessed body or his noble frame. In the rational sciences, it is demonstrated that a thing’s thingness depends on its form, not on its matter.

Rather, a definition based on species is exhaustive, and it is defective when based on genus and species, because intermingling with that which is strange and foreign to a thing is inimical to its reality, definition, and wholeness, and matter and genus are foreign and strange to its reality, which lies in its form, actuality, and species. Hence, the total reality of acts is that of their forms and their malakuti dimension, represented by intention.

This discussion shows that that which Imam al-Sadiq (A) says in this noble tradition is, firstly, in view of the form of action and its matter. What he says is that their formal aspect supersedes their material aspect and that, therefore, intention supersedes action, in the same way as spirit is superior to body. And this does not necessitate the validity of an act devoid of intention and the possibility of a body devoid of spirit. Rather, it is the association of intention with action and the attachment of spirit to body that makes action and body what they are. These two are compounds of intention and action, body and spirit and the formal, malakuti aspect of each is superior to its material, mulki aspect. And this is the meaning of the famous tradition:

نِيَّةُ المَرْءِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ

The intention of the man of faith is better than his act.6

Secondly, that which the Imam (A) says is in view of the dissolution of action in intention, of the mulk in the malakut, and manifestation (mazhar) in the manifest (zahir). Hence he (A) states:

ألا وَإنَّ النِّيَّةَ هِيَ العَمَلُ

Lo, verily intention is act itself.

Apart from intention, there is nothing that is involved and the totality of act is merged in intention; action has no independent reality of its own. Thereafter, he (A) cites the utterance of God Almighty as witness:

﴿قُلْ كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ عَلَى شَاكِلَتِهِ ﴾

Say: ‘Everyone acts according to his character’ (shakilatihi) (17:84)

Acts are subservient to the soul’s character (shakilah) and although the soul’s character is constituted by its inward form and the traits (malakat) inherent in it, intentions constitute its outward character.

It may be said that spiritual traits constitute the soul’s primary character and intentions, to which actions are subservient, makeup its secondary character. Hence, the statement of the Imam (A) that shakilah is niyyah.

This shows that the way to the purification of action from all kinds of shirk, riya’, etc., is only through the reform of the soul and its malakat, for it is the fountainhead of all the reforms and the source of all the excellences and degrees of perfection. Hence if man expels the love of the world from his heart by means of austerities and exercises based on knowledge and action, the world will cease to be his ultimate goal and his acts will be purged of the biggest shirk, which is the desire to attract the attention of the world’s people and to attain respect in their eyes. When that happens, he will be the same in solitude and company, inwardly and outwardly.

To the extent that he succeeds in purging his heart of self-love, through spiritual austerities, the love of God shall enter it to the same extent and it shall also be purified of latent shirk. And as long as self-love remains in the heart and man remains in the oppressive habitat of the self, he is not a wayfarer toward God (musafir ila Allah); rather, he is one of those who cling to the earth (mukhalladun ila al-’ard). The first step in the journey toward God is abandonment of self-love and crushing the head of egoism under one’s foot. And there are some who say that one of the meanings of the noble verse:

﴿وَمَنْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ الْمَوْتُ ﴾

Whoso goes forth from his house an emigrant to God and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, his wage will have fallen on God. (4:100)

is that if someone leaves the habitat of the self to migrate to God and sets out on a spiritual journey, and thereafter he encounters complete annihilation (fana’ al-tamm), his reward lies with God, the Exalted. And it is obvious that such a wayfarer deserves no reward except the vision (mushahadah) of that Sacred Essence and entry into His court. These words express their sentiments:

در ضميرما نمي گنجد غير دوست كس

هر دو عالم را به دشمن ده كه ما را دوست بس

None except the Beloved has a place in our heart, Give both the worlds to the enemy, for the Beloved suffices us.

Notes

1. Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, ii, kitab al- iman wa al-kufr, bab al-’ikhlas, hadith No.4.

2. Usul al-Kafi, vol. iv, p. 9.

3. Al-Kulayni, op. cit., hadith No. 5.

4. The tradition appears in Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, in the chapter on the ahkam of dressing (ahkam al-malabis).

5. Al -Kulayni at-Kafi, kitab al-’iman wa al-kufr, bab al-riya’, hadith No. 16.

6. Al -Kulayni at-Kafi, kitab al-’iman wa al-kufr, bab al-niyyah, hadith No.2.

Twentieth Hadith: Pure Intention (Ikhlas)

بِالسَّنَدِ المُتَّصِلِ إِلَى الشَّيْخِ الثِقَةِ الجَلِيلِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَعْقُوبَ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ القَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنِ المِنْقَرِيِّ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ بْنِ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ أبِي عَبْدِاللهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فِي قَوْلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً.﴾ قَالَ: لَيْسَ يَعْنِي أَكْثَرُ عَمَلاً وَلَكِنْ أَصْوَبُكُمْ عَمَلاً. وَإِنَّمَا الإصَابَةُ خِشْيَةُ اللهِ وَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّادِقَةُ وَالحَسَنَةُ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: الإبْقَاءُ عَلَى العَمَلِ حَتَّى يَخْلُصَ أَشَدَّ مِنَ العَمَلِ. وَالعَمَلُ الخَالِصُ: الَّذِي لا تُرِيدُ أَنْ يَحْمَدَكَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ إلا اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ. وَالنِّيَّةُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ العَمَلِ. ألا وَإنَّ النِّيَّةَ هِيَ العَمَلُ. - ثُمَّ تَلا قَوْلَهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ - ﴿قُلْ كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ عَلَى شَاكِلَتِهِ.﴾ يَعْنِي عَلَى نِيَّتِهِ

With my isnad reaching back to the venerable and trustworthy shaykh Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni (Q) from Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from al-Minqari, from Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah, from Abu ‘Abd Allah (A), who, explaining the utterance of God Almighty: That He might try you (to see) which of you is fairest in works. (67:2), said,“It does not mean one of you whose deeds are more numerous but one who is more rightful in his conduct, and this rightness is nothing but the fear of God and sincerity of intention (niyyah) and fear.” Then he (A) added,“To persevere in an action until it becomes sincere is more difficult than (performing) the action itself, and sincerity of action lies in this that you should not desire anyone to praise you for it except God Almighty, and intention supersedes action. Lo, verily, intention is action itself.” Then he recited the Qur’anic verse,“Say, everyone acts in accordance with his character -shakilatihi- (17:84), adding, “That shakilah means niyyah.” 1

Exposition

Bala’ (mentioned in verse 67: 2) means ‘test’ and ‘examination’ as pointed out by al-Sihah:

بَلَوْتُهُ بَلْواً: جَرَّبتُهُ واختَبَرتُه، وبَلاه اللهُ بلاءً وأبْلاهُ إبْلاءً حسناً وابْتَلاهُ أي اختَبَرَهُ

‘Balawtuhu balwan’ means ‘I tested him’, ‘I examined him’, and ‘balahu Allah bala’an’, or ‘ablahu ibla’an hasanan’ or ibtaluhu means ‘He (God) tested him.’

‘Ayyukum’ is the second object (maf’ul duwwom) for li yabluwakum, with the sense of knowing being implicit in it, according to al-Majlisi. But this does not seem to fit, because the interrogative pronoun ayy makes the verb conditional on action (‘amal). That which is correct is that أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً is a nominal sentence (jumleh-ye mubtada wa khabar) and is the object of the verb balwa. If ayy is taken to be relative pronoun (mawsulah), there is a sense for the statement of al-Majlisi (M). But its interrogative character is more evident.

Sawab is the opposite of khata’ (error), as mentioned by al-Jawhari. The second ‘khashyah’ (fear) does not appear in some manuscripts, as mentioned by al-Majlisi, and should it be there, there are several probable interpretations for it, the more evident of which is that the waw here is in the sense of ma’a (with). And this phrase is narrated in the Asrar al-salat of al-Shahid al-Thani (M) وَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّادِقَةُ وَالحَسَنَةُ (‘sincere and fair intention’; instead of وَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّادِقَةُ وَالخِشْيَةُ ).

Ibqa’ ‘ala al-’amal means observance of action and exercising care over it, as pointed out by al-Jawhari, who says:

أبقَيتُ على فُلانٍ إذا أرْعَيتُ علَيهِ ورَحِمْتُه

Shakilah has (also) the sense of tariqah (way), shakl (shape), and nahiyah (region), as mentioned in al-Qamus and al-Sihah. Al-Qamus states:

الشّاكِلةُ: الشَّكلُ والنّاحِيةُ والنّيَّة والطَّريقَةُ

We will, God willing, explain that which needs explanation in this noble hadith in course of a few sections.

The Meaning Of ‘Test’ In Relation To God

The clause,“That He might try you...” (quoted in the tradition) refers to the utterance of God Almighty:

﴿تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ﴾

Blessed is He in Whose hand is the Kingdom and Who is powerful over everything, Who created death and life, that He might try you which of you is fairest in works. (67: 1-2)

The muhaqqiq al-Majlisi (Q) says,“This noble verse (which refers to the ‘creation’ of death) indicates that death is something which has being, and means either death as something that happens to life or essential non-existence.”

The meaning of the noble verse indicates a sense in which creation relates to it (death) as a substance; it does not indicate a sense in which the relation is accidental, as pointed out by the muhaqqiqun. And the possible sense of death as essential non-existence does not apply here, for ascription of being to something essentially non-existent involves a contradiction, with the further observation that to ascribe the sense of essential non-existence to death does not appear in itself to be something correct.

However, that which is correct is that ‘death’ means transference from the apparent corporeal realm (nash’eh-ye zahereh-ye mulkiyyeh) to the hidden higher realm (nash’eh-ye bateneh-ye malakutiyyeh). Or ‘death’ means the second life in malakut (the realm higher to that of physical nature) following the first life in the realm of mulk (physical nature). Both of these senses involve being, or rather refer to a mode of being more complete than that of mulk.

This is because life in the world or physical nature is adulterated with lifeless physical materials and their life is an ephemeral accident, as opposed to the substantial (i.e. inherent in substance) life of the realm of malakut where the souls obtain independence (from all elements of lifelessness that characterize the physical world). That realm is the realm of life, life being its essential quality, and the non-corporeal bodies of Barzakh (abdan al-mithaliye barzakhi) have their existential dependence on the souls, as has been demonstrated in the place proper to it.

Moreover, the life of malakut - which is expressed by ‘death’ (al-mawt, in the verse) in order not to weigh heavily on the ears of the listeners - does relate to creation and is under the power of the Sacred Essence.

The meaning of ‘trial’ and ‘test’ and the character of their ascription to God, the Exalted and the Glorious, was mentioned during the earlier exposition of some traditions. It was explained that ignorance (implicit in the meaning of ‘trial’ and ‘test’) cannot be ascribed to the Sacred Essence, and there is no need of interpretations and studied explanations in this regard. Here we shall briefly explain this issue.

At the beginning of their creation, the human souls are nothing but pure potentialities and are devoid of every kind of actuality inclining either toward felicity or wretchedness. It is only after their coming into the ambit of physical, substantial motion and voluntary actuality that the potentialities and capacities change into actualities and distinctions. Hence the difference between the felicitous and the wretched, the fat and the lean, comes into existence in corporeal life (hayat al-mulki), and the purpose of the creation of life is the distinction and examination of the souls. Thus the relation of trial and creation becomes clear. As to the creation of death, it has also a role in these distinctions, or rather it is the last link in the causative process (of the emergence of distinctions in the realm of actuality).

For the criterion in the realm of actuality is the ultimate forms with which man makes the migration (from mulk to malakut); also, the criterion in the distinctions is the otherworldly malakuti forms that are acquired through the substantial and voluntary movements of the corporeal world. This also makes clear the relation of testing and trial to creation of death and life, without involving any ignorance (on the part of God). An exposition of this issue elaborate enough to dispel all the doubts surrounding it depends on a discussion of God’s essential knowledge prior to creation (‘ilm al-dhati qabl al ijad) and His actual knowledge accompanying creation (‘ilm al-fi’lli ma’a al-’ijad), which is outside the scope of this exposition. And the Divine utterance,“(that He might see) which one of you is fairest in action,” as well as the trial relating to the more righteous of deeds, relate to the above-mentioned matter, and hence the noble tradition.

This is because the relative fairness of deeds has been interpreted as their relative rightness, which in turn is made to depend on fear and sincerity of intention. These are the inward forms of the soul, which make up the real distinctive features of the souls or are the manifestations of the hidden distinctions among the essences. And because of the fact that outward action affects the heart and the inward self, these distinctions are also brought about by deeds. Hence, the testing of deeds is also the testing of the essences.

And if the noble verse were interpreted in accordance with its apparent sense and in independence of the exposition of the Imam (A), even then the testing will have the above-mentioned sense, because the life in the present world and the creation of life and death by itself results in the distinctions that characterize good and evil acts. As to the creation of life, its significance is clear, and as to death, its significance in this relation also becomes clear when we know the ephemeral nature of worldly life and the necessity of transition from this transitory life which is, of course, accompanied with distinctions arising from distinctions of deeds.

Fear, Sincere Intention And Rightness Of Action

You should know that in this noble tradition the rightness and goodness of action is made to depend on two sublime bases, which also constitute the criteria of their perfection and wholeness. One of these is the fear and awe of God Almighty and the other is the sincerity of intention and purity of purpose. Now we have to explain the relation between these two principles and the perfection of action and its rightness and rectitude.

The fear and awe of God Almighty leads to the taqwa and piety of the souls and these result in greater effectiveness of deeds. To elaborate, as mentioned in the course of the exposition of earlier traditions, every act, good or evil, has an effect upon the soul. Now if the act is of the category of acts of devotion and worship, its effect is that of making the physical faculties subservient to the intellectual faculties, making the malakuti aspect of the self-dominant over its mulki aspect.

As a result of it, physical nature is made subject to spirituality, until the soul reaches the stage of spiritual emotion and attains its essential goal. Every act that increases this effect and discharges this service in a better way is more rightful and more effective in attaining the essential goal. Also, everything that has a role in this effectiveness has also a role in the rightness of action. Largely, this is also the criterion of relative merit in acts and the famous following tradition also refers to this point:

أَفْضَلُ الأَعْمَالِ أَحْمَزُهَا

The best of deeds are those which are the most difficult.2

These preliminaries show that taqwa purifies the souls from contaminations and obfuscations, and, obviously, if the tablet of the soul is free of the coverings of sins and clear of the obfuscations caused by them, the good actions are more effective- upon it and more conducive to the realization of the goal, thus better fulfilling the great secret purpose of devotional rites, which is the taming of corporeal nature, subjugation of mulk to malakut, and strengthening of the soul’s active will power (iradeh-ye fa’ileh-ye nafs).

Hence, the fear of God, which has a thorough influence on the soul’s taqwa, is one of the major agents of spiritual reform with an effective role in the rectitude of action and its beauty and perfection. This is because taqwa, besides being one of the reforming agents of the soul, also affects the influence of inward and outward human actions and is the cause of their acceptability, as declared by God Almighty:

﴿إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنْ الْمُتَّقِينَ ﴾

Verily God accepts only from the God-fearing. (5:27)

The second major factor in the rightness and perfection of actions which, in fact, is tantamount to their efficient force (in the same way as the awe and taqwa acquired from them is equivalent to the condition of their effectiveness and which, in fact, purify the receptor and remove the impediments). It is sincere intention and pure purpose on which depend the perfection and defectiveness of ‘ibadat (worships) and their validity and invalidity.

As much as the ‘ibadat are free from association with non-God and from adulteration of intention, to the same extent they are sincere and perfect. And nothing is as important in ‘ibadat as intention and its purity, for the relationship of intention to ‘ibadah is like that of the soul to the body and the spirit to the corporeal frame.

In the same way as their physical form originates in the physical aspect of the self and its body, intention and their spirit originate from the self’s inward aspect and the heart. No worship is acceptable to God Almighty without sincere intention and unless it is free from the outward mulki riya’ (a kind of riya’ which the fuqaha’ (R) have mentioned) and shirk, which invalidate and nullify the outward parts (of an ibadah).

And unless it is free from inward shirk, in whose presence although an ‘ibadah may be correct from the exoteric aspect of the Shari’ah and fiqhi ordinances, it is not valid and acceptable to God Almighty from the esoteric aspect and from the viewpoint of the reality and secrets of worship. Hence there is no necessary relation between the (legal) validity of ‘ibadah and its acceptability, a point which has often been mentioned in the traditions.

An exhaustive definition of ‘shirk in ‘ibadah’ that encompasses all its levels is the inclusion of the good pleasure and satisfaction of anyone other than God, whether it is one’s own self or someone else.’ If it is for someone else’s satisfaction and for other people, it is outward shirk and fiqhi riya’. If it is for one’s own satisfaction (rida), it is hidden and inward shirk; this also invalidates the ‘ibadah in view of the urafa and makes it unacceptable to God. Examples of it are offering the nightly prayer for increase in one’s livelihood, giving sadaqah for safety from afflictions, or giving zakat for increase in one’s wealth; that is, when one does these things for God Almighty in order to seek these things from His grace.

Although those ‘ibadat are valid, and one who performs them is considered to have performed his duty and fulfilled the requirements of the Shari’ah, they do not amount to the worship of God Almighty, nor are they characterized with sincerity of intention and purity of purpose. Rather, this kind of ‘ibadat are aimed to achieve mundane purposes and to seek the objects of carnal, mundane desires. Hence, the acts of such a person are not rightful.

Similarly, if ‘ibadah is for the sake of the fear of hell and yearning for paradise, it is not sincerely for God and is devoid of sincere intention. Rather, it may be said that such acts of worship are purely for the sake of Satan and the carnal self. The good pleasure of God does not enter the intentions of a person performing such a kind of ibadah in order to be considered even shirk.

Rather he has worshipped solely the great idol, the mother of all idols, the idol of one’s carnal desire. However, God Almighty has accepted this kind of ibadah from us out of His expansive mercy and on account of our weakness, by allowing a degree of leniency; that is, He has bestowed upon it certain effects and attached certain favors to it so that if man should fulfill the outward conditions of its acceptance, and perform it with the presence of the heart, all those effects will follow and all the related promises of reward shall be carried out.

Such is the condition of the ‘ibadat of the slaves and mercenaries. But as to the ‘ibadah of free men (ahrar), performed for the love of God Almighty and to seek the attention given by that Sacred Essence to Its worshippers, the motive of fear of hell and yearning for paradise being absent in it, it is the first station of the awliya’ and ahrar.

There are other stations and degrees for them, which escape description and lie outside the scope of this discourse. As long as the soul’s attention is fixed on worship, worshipper, and the worshipped one, worship is not sincere. The heart must be vacated of every other thing and there should be nothing in it except God in order for worship to be sincere, as mentioned in a noble tradition of al-Kafi,

قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إلا مَنْ أَتَى اللهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ.﴾ قَالَ: القَلْبُ السَّلِيمُ الَّذِي يَلْقَى رَبَّهُ وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ أَحَدٌ سِوَاهُ. وَكُلُّ قَلْبٍ فِيهِ شِرْكٌ أَوْ شَكٌّ فَهُوَ سَاقِطٌ. وَإنَّمَا أَرَادُوا الزُّهْدَ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِتَفْرَغَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِلآخِرَةِ

Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah (the narrator of the earlier tradition) says,“I asked Imam al-Sadiq (A) about the utterance of God, the Exalted and the Glorious, in regard to the Day of Resurrection, ‘The day when neither wealth nor sons shall profit except he who comes with a pure heart (26: 88-89).’ The Imam (A) replied, ‘A pure heart is one that meets its Lord in a state in which there is none in it except Him.’ Then he (A) added: ‘Every heart in which there is shirk or doubt shall fail. Indeed, He has meant by it (the purity of heart) nothing except zuhd in regard to the world so that their hearts may be made ready for the Hereafter.’3

Of course, the heart which is occupied with non-God and contaminated with doubt and shirk - whether of the manifest (jali) or the concealed (khafi) kind - has no credibility in the sacred presence of the Lord. To the concealed kind of shirk pertains reliance on means and dependence on anything other than God.

It is even mentioned in tradition that changing the position of one’s ring in order to remind one of something is also concealed shirk.4 To allow other-than-God to enter the heart is considered concealed shirk, and sincerity of intention (ikhlas al-niyyat) is expulsion of other-than God from His sacred abode (i.e. the heart). Similarly, there are various degrees of doubt (shakk), some of which should be reckoned as manifest and some as concealed, which are caused by the weakness of conviction and feebleness of faith.

Similarly, hesitation in matters is also on account of doubt. Of the stages of concealed doubt is changeability and absence of stability in tawhid. Therefore, true tawhid means the dropping of relations, limits and pluralities, even the pluralities relating to the Names and Attributes, and fixation in it is purity from doubt. The purity of heart means absolute freedom from shirk and doubt.

In the tradition, the phrase “He has meant by it nothing except zuhd...” is a reference to the fact that the ultimate goal of zuhd is that the heart should gradually become detached from the world and loathful toward it, with its attention turned to the real goal and the true object of all yearning. From the beginning part of the tradition it appears that the meaning of ‘Hereafter’ is the ultimate limit of the circle of existence and the ultimate destination. This is what ‘Hereafter’ means in its absolute sense.

Accordingly, the world constitutes the complete circle of manifestation, and zuhd in regard to it necessarily entails purifying the heart of other-than-God. Hence even one who has other-than-God in his heart and is attached to others - whether they be corporeal, mulki matters, or spiritual ones relating to hereafterly forms, excellences and degrees, and everything other than God - is a man of the world, not zahid in regard to it, being deprived from the true Hereafter and the paradise of Divine communion, which is the highest of the levels of paradise, although he may possess other degrees of spiritual excellences and attain to the sublime levels of paradise in the same way as the people of the world differ in regard to possession of worldly wealth and status but whose stations are far remote from those of the men of God.

The Definition Of Ikhlas

You should know that various definitions have been suggested for ikhlas, to some of which that are prevalent among the people of the mystic path we shall briefly refer here. The honorable ‘arif’ and the wise wayfarer, Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, quddisa sirruh, says:

الإخْلاصُ تَصْفِيَةُ العَمَلِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَوْبٍ

Ikhlas means purging action of all impurities.

And the impurity mentioned here is a general one, including both that which arises from the desire to please oneself and other creatures. It is narrated from the great Shaykh Baha’i that the people of the heart have offered various definitions for it:

قِيلَ: تَنْزيهُ العَملِ أنْ يكونَ لِغَير اللهِ فيهِ نَصيبٌ

It has been said,“(Ikhlas means) keeping action free from other-than-God having a role in it.”

This definition is close to the former one.

وقيلَ: أنْ لا يُريدَ عاملُهُ عليهِ عِوَضاً في الدَّارَينِ

And it has been said,“(Ikhlas means) that the performer of an action should not desire any reward for it in the world and the Hereafter.”

And it has been narrated from the author of Ghara’ib al-bayan that the mukhlisun are those who worship God in such a way that they don’t see themselves in service nor do they take notice of the world or .its people, nor transcend the bounds of servitude in their vision of Lordship.

Hence when the devotee foregoes all gains and stakes in everything from the earth to the Throne (‘arsh), he comes to traverse the path of din, which is the path of service and devotion on which the soul does not take any notice of the events on account of its vision of the beauty of the Lord. This is the Din that God Almighty has chosen for Himself and cleared it from the taint of association with other-than-God, and He has said:

﴿أَلَا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ ﴾

Lo, to God belongs sincere allegiance -al-din al-khalis-. (39:3)

And ‘sincere religion’ is the light of pre-eternity (qidam) that appears after the disappearance of contingency (huduth) in the wilderness of resplendent glory and monism. It is as if God Almighty has invited His servants by indicating and signaling to them that they should purify their souls from others and make them turn exclusively towards Him. And it has been narrated from al-Shaykh al-Muhaqqiq Muhyi al-Din al-’Arabi that he said:

أَلا للهِ الدّينُ الخالِصُ عَن شَوْبِ الغَيرِيَّةِ وَالأَنانِيَّةِ، لأنَّكَ لِفَنائِكَ فيهِ بالكُلِّيَّةِ فَلا ذاتَ لَكَ وَلا صِفَةَ وَلا فِعلَ وَلا دينَ وَإلا لمَا خَلُصَ الدّينُ بِالحَقيقةِ فَلا يَكونُ للهِ

‘Lo, to God belongs sincere allegiance,’ free from the taints of otherness and egoism. And that your extinction in Him should be total, the Essence; the Attributes, the Acts and the din should cease to be relevant for you. Lo, until the allegiance is not purified by Reality, it will not belong to God.

Until the traces of servitude (‘ubudiyyah), otherness (ghayriyyah) and egoism (ananiyyah) remain and as long as there is a worshipper and the worshipped one, worship, sincerity, and din, there remain the taints of otherness and egoism, and this is regarded as shirk by the urafa. The worship of the sincere ones is the imprint of the manifestations (tajalliyat) of the Beloved and nothing passes through their hearts except the Essence of the One God.

And although the horizons of possibility (imkan) and necessity (wujub) have been joined for them and they have attained proximity to the Essence (tadalli-ye dhati) and absolute nearness to the Real (dunuww al-mutlaq al-haqiqi) and the traces of otherness have been completely wiped out, they still perform the duties of servantship. And their servitude is not through reflection and thought, but through manifestation - a point indicated by the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (S) on the night of his heavenly ascent (mi’raj).

Ikhlas Is Subsequent To Action

You should know that that which is said in the noble tradition, that

الإبْقَاءُ عَلى العَمَلِ حَتَّى يَخْلُصَ أَشَدُّ مِنَ العَمَلِ

To persevere in an action until it becomes sincere is more difficult than the action itself,

is meant to encourage man to exercise care and diligence in that which he does, both at the time of its performance and after it. For it sometimes happens that man carries out an action faultlessly and without any shortcoming and performs it without riya’ or ‘ujb; but after the action he becomes afflicted with riya’ through mentioning it, as pointed out in the following noble hadith of al-Kari:

عَنْ أبي جَعْفَرٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ أنَّهُ قَالَ: الإبْقَاءُ عَلَى العَمَلِ أَشَدُّ مِنَ العَمَلِ. قَالَ: وَمَا الإبْقَاءُ عَلَى العَمَلِ؟ قَالَ: يَصِلُ الرَّجُلُ بِصِلَةٍ وَيُنْفِقُ نَفَقَةً للهِ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فَتُكْتَبُ لَهُ سِرّاً ثُمَّ يَذْكُرُهَا فَتُمْحَى فَتُكْتَبُ لَهُ عَلانِيَةً، ثُمَّ يَذْكُرُهَا فَتُمْحَى وَتُكْتَبُ لَهُ رِياءً

Imam al-Baqir (A) said,“Perseverance in an action is more difficult than the act itself.” He was asked,“What is meant by perseverance in action?” He replied,“A man does some kindness to a relative or expends something for the sake of God, Who is One and has no partner. Thereupon the reward of a good deed performed secretly is written for him. Later, he mentions it to someone, and that which was written earlier is wiped out, and instead the reward of a good deed performed openly is written for him. Later, when he makes a mention of it again, the vice of riya’ is written for him (instead of the reward written earlier).” 5

Man is never secure from the evil of Satan and his self until the end of his life. He must not imagine that once he has performed an act solely for the sake of God, without desire for the good pleasure of creatures having played any role in it, the purity of his act shall remain secure from the evil of the vicious self. Should he fail to exercise care and vigilance, the self may prompt him to make a mention of it or, as sometimes happens, to express it in the way of a subtle hint.

For instance, wishing to impress people about his nightly prayers, the subtle machinations of the self may prompt him to pass a hint by speaking about the good or bad weather conditions at daybreak or about supplications or the call for prayer, thus making his acts invalid and unworthy. Man must keep a watch over himself, like a kind physician or nurse, and not let the rebellious self get out of control; for a moment of neglect may give it the opportunity to break its reins and lead man into ignominy and perdition. Hence, in all conditions he must take refuge in God Almighty from the evil of Satan and the carnal self:

﴿إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي ﴾

Surely the self of man incites to evil - except in as much as my Lord had mercy. (12:53)

And it should be known to you that purification of intention from all levels of shirk, riya’ and other things, constant vigilance over it, and its perseverance in purity make up a greatly difficult as well as an important task. Rather, some degrees of it are not attainable by anyone except the sincere awliya’ of Allah. This is because intention is the efficient motive of action and is subject to other goals. These goals are in turn subject to the spiritual traits that make up man’s inward essence and spiritual character. If someone possesses the love of office and position and this love becomes part of his spiritual makeup and character, the end of his desires is to reach that goal and the actions that originate from him are subject to that goal; his motive being the same sought-after object of his spirit, the actions that originate from him are directed to reaching the goal sought.

As long as this love remains in his heart, his acts cannot be sincere, and one whose spiritual character and make-up are characterized by self-love and egoism his ultimate goal and end is attainment of selfish satisfactions, which are also the motive of his acts, regardless of whether his acts are directed to mundane goals or such otherworldly ends as the houris, palaces, gardens and bounties of the next life. Rather, as long as egoism, self-seeking and egotism are there, even if he takes a step for the acquisition of mystic knowledge and spiritual excellences, these are sought for selfish ends, self-seeking, not God-seeking, being their aim. And it is obvious that self-seeking and God-seeking cannot go together. Rather, if God is sought for the sake of the self, the ultimate end and goal is the self and the ego.

Thus it is evident that the absolute purification of intention from shirk is a great task that cannot be achieved by every one, and the defectiveness and excellence of deeds is subject to the defectiveness and perfection of intentions, for intention is the efficient and malakuti form of action, as hinted above. The noble tradition also refers to this point where it says:

وَالنِّيَّةُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ العَمَلِ. ألا وَإنَّ النِّيَّةَ هِيَ العَمَلُ

And intention is superior to action, or, rather, intention is the complete reality of act itself.

And there is no exaggeration involved in this, as some have suggested; rather, it is based on fact, for intention is the complete form of action and its essence itself, the wholesomeness and corruption, the excellence and defectiveness of acts depending upon it.

Accordingly, a single act may, on account of the intention that underlies it, at times imply respect and at times insult. Sometimes it may be perfect and sometimes defective. Sometimes it may belong to the highest level of spiritual sublimity, possessing a beautiful, blessed form. Sometimes it may belong to the lower spiritual realm and possess a frightful and odious form.

The apparent form of the salat of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) does not differ outwardly in regard to its elements and conditions from that of a certain hypocrite; but whereas for the former it is a means of spiritual ascent toward God (mi’raj ila Allah) and has the highest spiritual form, for the latter it is a means of descent to hell and its spiritual form is incomparably black due to the intensity of darkness.

Because of a few loaves of bread of barley given away by the House of Inerrancy, i.e. The Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (A), for the sake of God, God Almighty sent down several verses in their praise. An ignorant person may be led to think that two or three days of hunger and giving away one’s food to the poor is a matter of importance, whereas such kind of acts may be performed by anybody and are of not much consequence. Their significance lies in the purity of their (i.e. the Ahl al-Bayt’s) purpose and the sincerity of their intention. It is the power and elegance of the spirit of their action, coming forth from their pure hearts that gives their action so much significance.

The outward appearance of the Noble Prophet (S) was not much different from that of other people. Hence, often when he (S) was sitting with a group of people and some strangers from among the Arab Bedouins came to meet him (S), they would ask,“Which one of you is the Messenger?” That which distinguished the Messenger (S) from others is the power and elegance of the spirit of that Master, not his blessed body or his noble frame. In the rational sciences, it is demonstrated that a thing’s thingness depends on its form, not on its matter.

Rather, a definition based on species is exhaustive, and it is defective when based on genus and species, because intermingling with that which is strange and foreign to a thing is inimical to its reality, definition, and wholeness, and matter and genus are foreign and strange to its reality, which lies in its form, actuality, and species. Hence, the total reality of acts is that of their forms and their malakuti dimension, represented by intention.

This discussion shows that that which Imam al-Sadiq (A) says in this noble tradition is, firstly, in view of the form of action and its matter. What he says is that their formal aspect supersedes their material aspect and that, therefore, intention supersedes action, in the same way as spirit is superior to body. And this does not necessitate the validity of an act devoid of intention and the possibility of a body devoid of spirit. Rather, it is the association of intention with action and the attachment of spirit to body that makes action and body what they are. These two are compounds of intention and action, body and spirit and the formal, malakuti aspect of each is superior to its material, mulki aspect. And this is the meaning of the famous tradition:

نِيَّةُ المَرْءِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ

The intention of the man of faith is better than his act.6

Secondly, that which the Imam (A) says is in view of the dissolution of action in intention, of the mulk in the malakut, and manifestation (mazhar) in the manifest (zahir). Hence he (A) states:

ألا وَإنَّ النِّيَّةَ هِيَ العَمَلُ

Lo, verily intention is act itself.

Apart from intention, there is nothing that is involved and the totality of act is merged in intention; action has no independent reality of its own. Thereafter, he (A) cites the utterance of God Almighty as witness:

﴿قُلْ كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ عَلَى شَاكِلَتِهِ ﴾

Say: ‘Everyone acts according to his character’ (shakilatihi) (17:84)

Acts are subservient to the soul’s character (shakilah) and although the soul’s character is constituted by its inward form and the traits (malakat) inherent in it, intentions constitute its outward character.

It may be said that spiritual traits constitute the soul’s primary character and intentions, to which actions are subservient, makeup its secondary character. Hence, the statement of the Imam (A) that shakilah is niyyah.

This shows that the way to the purification of action from all kinds of shirk, riya’, etc., is only through the reform of the soul and its malakat, for it is the fountainhead of all the reforms and the source of all the excellences and degrees of perfection. Hence if man expels the love of the world from his heart by means of austerities and exercises based on knowledge and action, the world will cease to be his ultimate goal and his acts will be purged of the biggest shirk, which is the desire to attract the attention of the world’s people and to attain respect in their eyes. When that happens, he will be the same in solitude and company, inwardly and outwardly.

To the extent that he succeeds in purging his heart of self-love, through spiritual austerities, the love of God shall enter it to the same extent and it shall also be purified of latent shirk. And as long as self-love remains in the heart and man remains in the oppressive habitat of the self, he is not a wayfarer toward God (musafir ila Allah); rather, he is one of those who cling to the earth (mukhalladun ila al-’ard). The first step in the journey toward God is abandonment of self-love and crushing the head of egoism under one’s foot. And there are some who say that one of the meanings of the noble verse:

﴿وَمَنْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ الْمَوْتُ ﴾

Whoso goes forth from his house an emigrant to God and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, his wage will have fallen on God. (4:100)

is that if someone leaves the habitat of the self to migrate to God and sets out on a spiritual journey, and thereafter he encounters complete annihilation (fana’ al-tamm), his reward lies with God, the Exalted. And it is obvious that such a wayfarer deserves no reward except the vision (mushahadah) of that Sacred Essence and entry into His court. These words express their sentiments:

در ضميرما نمي گنجد غير دوست كس

هر دو عالم را به دشمن ده كه ما را دوست بس

None except the Beloved has a place in our heart, Give both the worlds to the enemy, for the Beloved suffices us.

Notes

1. Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, ii, kitab al- iman wa al-kufr, bab al-’ikhlas, hadith No.4.

2. Usul al-Kafi, vol. iv, p. 9.

3. Al-Kulayni, op. cit., hadith No. 5.

4. The tradition appears in Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, in the chapter on the ahkam of dressing (ahkam al-malabis).

5. Al -Kulayni at-Kafi, kitab al-’iman wa al-kufr, bab al-riya’, hadith No. 16.

6. Al -Kulayni at-Kafi, kitab al-’iman wa al-kufr, bab al-niyyah, hadith No.2.


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