Excerpts From Pieces of Wisdom and Instructions of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat
First Admonishment
In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful
Praise to Allah alone, blessings unto the master of prophets, Muhammad, and his Progeny, the pure wasis, and a curse be upon their enemies from the early generations and the last. Those with reason know that the basis of the movement of beings is knowing the engine needed for motion, i.e. knowing what causes movement, the mechanism of movement, what is connected to movement.
In other words, it is knowing the beginning and end as well as the purpose behind the movement because beings move every moment towards a certain goal. The difference between a man of knowledge and an ignorant person is knowledge of what is behind the events or not knowing how to deal with them, the variation of their stations in the succession, and whatever has anything to do with the different levels of their knowledge of initiation.
If we know what cause the movement, his good administration and wisdom through the system which dominates the movements, we will then focus on its creating and legislating will.
So, congratulations to anyone who knows all of this, and woe unto anyone who does not! Regarding the outcomes of these movements, an ignorant person will say, “How I wish I was never created!” whereas the knowledgeable person will say, “How I wish I am created seventy times so I may tread the path towards the pursuit then return and treat it anew and am martyred on the path of righteousness anew!” So, do not entertain regrets about our life.
I frankly say this: If one spends half his life remembering the One Who truly is the Grantor and spent the other half in indifference, that half [the first] is regarded the most precious of the days of his lifetime, while the other half is considered among the days of his death, rather, worse than death, because death by itself neither harms nor benefits anyone.
A knowledgeable person obeys Allah, does whatever pleases Him, acts upon what he knows and is cautious about what he does not know till he gets to know. He is in a continuous state of getting to know. His deed, hence, is conjoined with the evidence, and his success, too, is conjoined with the absence of evidence. Can we obey Allah without arming ourselves with knowledge, and will our life’s caravan reach the sought goal safely?
Can our existence be originating from Allah while our weakness from anyone other than Him, the most Exalted One? If so, the stimulating force does not last except to the believers and is not weakness except to others.
Now, if we in this phase possess conviction, it is for the sake of applying these attributes and conditions. We must get to know that it is necessary to know that this resulting movement, from beginning to end, is an opposition to the false inner motivations. If this matter does not achieve all our aspirations, at least it suffices us to win the happiness of being connected with the pleasure of this supreme principle: “The best ration of one making the trip to you is the strength of determination.”
Praise to Allah firstly and lastly, and blessings unto Muhammad and his pure progeny, and a perpetual curse be upon their enemies, all of them.
Holy Mashhad
Rabi` al-Awwal 1417
Second Admonishment
In the Name of the most Exalted One
I ask those who seek admonishment this question: “Have you acted upon the admonishments which you have so far heard?” Do you know that Allah Almighty lets one who acts upon what he knows inherit the knowledge of what he does not know? If one does not act upon what he knows, is it right that he expects more of such knowledge? Should the call to Allah be by the tongue [alone]? Did Allah not order us to be callers to Him but not with our tongues? Should we learn the reaching method or do we know it already?
Can we obtain the answers to these questions in the following verse of the Holy Qur’an:
“As for those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to Our paths, for truly Allah is with those who do right” (Qur’an, 29:69)?
And we can get it in the following tradition about the Infallible One (as): “Allah will let one who acts upon what he knows inherit the knowledge of what he does not know” and “One who acts upon what he knows will be spared what he does not know.”
May Allah grant us success to act upon our knowledge and to be cautious with regard to what we do not know. Indeed, my success comes only from Allah. Upon Him do I rely, and to Him do I return, and peace be with you, the mercy of Allah and His blessing.
Holy Mashhad
Rabi` al-Awwal 1417
Third Admonishment
In His Name, the most Exalted One
We all know that achieving the pleasure of Allah Almighty can be in adoring Him, in seeking nearness to Him, although He is rich in Himself and does not need His servants’ conviction. We, therefore, know that the servants are the ones who need to get close to the One Who initiates all nice things, and they also need such nearness to continue.
We, therefore, know that our benefit from getting to be near to Him will be according to the degree of our involvement in remembering Him: The more we endeavor to obey and serve Him, the more we get closer to Him and we benefit from this nearness, and the difference between us and Salman the Persian, peace of Allah be with him, will be in the degree of such obedience and remembrance.
We also know there are deeds in this world with which we will be tested, and we have to know that these deeds, if pleasing to Allah Almighty, are regarded as service, obedience and adoration of the most Exalted and Great One.
We, therefore, have to know that remembering Allah and obeying Him must be our life’s goal so we may reach the last degree of nearness to the Divine; otherwise, we will regret after we see how others reached lofty stations while we lagged behind from reaching our goal.
May Allah enable us to abandon being busy with doing anything but seeking His Pleasure. We so plead in the name of Muhammad and his Progeny, blessings of Allah be with them all.
Holy Mashhad
Rabi` al-Awwal 1417
Fourth Admonishment
In His Name, the most Exalted One
I said, “Alf [Alpha]”. He said, “Then what?” I said, “Nothing. This letter suffices whoever knows what it means.”
I have repeatedly said and I once more say that if the Name of Allah is mentioned to someone, and he feels comfort upon hearing it, he needs no preaching because he knows what he should do and what he should not. He knows he has to act upon what he knows and be cautious about doing what he does not know.
And peace be with you, the mercy of Allah and His blessing.
Fifth Admonishment
In His Name, the most Exalted One
There is no dhikr better than the practical one, and there is no practical dhikr better than abandoning transgression in beliefs and deeds. It seems abandoning transgression is not done only by absolute articulation but by continuous monitoring [of our actions].
Surely Allah is the One Who grants success.
The servant of Allah, Muhammad Taqi Bahjat
Sixth Admonishment
In His Name, the most Exalted One
Anyone who believes in the Creator and in the being a full conviction, believing in the prophets and wasis (blessings of Allah be with them all), seeking their help in the belief and in action, regulating his movements and stillness according to their orders, ridding his heart of everything other than Allah in his adoration, praying to Allah with a sincere heart, being a follower of Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance) with regard to doubts, opposing those who oppose the Imam and agreeing with those who agree with the Imam, condemning those condemned by the Imam, seeking mercy of Allah for those for whom the Imam seeks mercy (even in the general sense)…, such an individual lacks no perfection, nor does he bear any affliction.
The servant of Allah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat
Seventh Admonishment
In His Name, the most Exalted One
There is a group that deals with admonishment and oratory through a treatment having an advance intention. It is as though they speak and listen in order to speak and hear. This is a serious mistake because teaching and learning are not independent of each other; rather, they are conducive to action. The Infallible Ones (as) are quoted as having said (in order to explain this matter and to encourage others to uphold it) the following: “Invite people to Allah but not with your tongues. Speak through action. Learn from action. Listen practically. The teacher should learn from the students how to teach.
We are often requested by some to pray for them, and when we ask them about the reason, they explain to us their pains. When we describe the medicine for them, they go back and repeat their request that we again pray for them instead of they act upon what we had prescribed for them. What a difference there is between what we tell them and what they want! They mix the condition for [acceptance of] the supplication with the supplication itself. We must not get out of the scope of our obligations. Rather, we must deduct conclusions from the deed because it is impossible for the deed to be the outcome, and it is also impossible for us to earn a result with undertaking action.
I plead to Allah that we not only remain talkers but also doers. Do not undertake an action without knowing it. Let us stop where knowledge stops. And let us act upon what we know and be cautious about what we do not know till we come to know, for going this way contains no regret. We must not look at each other. Instead, we must look at the notebook of the Shari`a, and let us follow its commandments while abandoning its prohibitions.
Peace, the mercy of Allah and His blessings be with you.
Eighth Admonishment
In His Name, the most Exalted One
Praise be to Allah only, blessings be on the master of His prophets, and upon his good Progeny, and the curse be upon all their enemies.
A group of believing men and women has requested advice, and I see a number of confused issues about this request including the following:
1. Advice is provided about the particulars of matters, while admonishment is more general than totalities and particularities. Strangers do not advise each other.
2. “Allah will let one who acts upon what he knows inherit the knowledge of what he does not know”. “One who acts upon what he knows will be spared what he does not know.” “As for those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to Our paths, for truly Allah is with those who do right” (Qur’an, 29:69). Act upon what you know and be cautious regarding what you do not know till the matter becomes clear for you. If it is not clear for you, be informed that you did not act upon some information. Objection stands against one who seeks admonishment but does not act upon it because it is certain he had heard some admonishments but did not act upon them; otherwise, the matter would have been clarified for him and he would have needed no admonishment.
3. All people know they must read the “practical fatwas” and apply them to their actions and distinguish through them between what is permissible and what is prohibitive. So, they cannot say, “We do not know what we must do and what we must not.”
4. Look at the deeds of those in whom you believe. Act upon what they do with your own choice, and stop doing what they prohibit with your own choice. This is the best way to reach lofty goals. “Invite people to Allah but not with your tongues.” Admonishments through actions are better and much more effective than oral admonishments.
5. Obviously, daily recitation of the Qur’an and the reciting of appropriate supplications in times and places as well as supplications after prayers, frequent visits to mosques and sacred places, visiting scholars and righteous men and keeping them company are among the matters which please Allah and His Messenger. One who performs these deeds can expect an increase in insight and feel happy with adoration, ziyara and recitation day after day. The opposite is also true; i.e., keeping company with indifferent people increases one’s cruelty and makes a servant feel uncomfortable with acts of adoration and ziyara. Keeping company with those whose conviction is weak all cause it to be impossible to reach the high degrees and lofty spiritual conditions which result from acts of adoration, ziyaras and recitations; rather, it leads to worse conditions. So, keeping company with those weak in conviction makes one lose his good faculties. Keeping them company increases one’s desire to follow their corrupt manners with the exception of sitting with those one has to accompany or sitting with one in order to show him the right guidance. “Keep company with those seeing whom reminds you of Allah and increase your knowledge, and those whose deeds make you desire the Hereafter.”
6. It is obvious that abandoning transgression in belief and in action makes one need nothing else. Anything else needs them, while they do not need anything else; rather, they increase the good deeds and prevent bad ones. “I have not created the jinns and mankind except to adore Me.” Adoration here is abandoning sinning in belief and in action. Some people think that we are past the stage of abandoning transgressions! They are heedless of the fact that a transgression is not relevant to the well known major sins only. Rather, insistence on committing small sins is regarded as a major sin, too. For example, a sharp look at one expected to obey you in the intention to scare him/her is considered as a prohibitive harm. Likewise, smiling to the transgressor in the intention to encourage him/her is regarded as assisting one’s transgression. The good manners according to the Shari`a and the bad ones have been explained in books and in practical dissertations.
Keeping a distance from scholars and the righteous will make those who steal the creed take advantage of the opportunity to buy conviction and those who follow it for a trifling price. This is what we have tested and always noticed.
We plead to Allah, the most High, the most Able, to grant us success in these sacred Islamic feasts and makes the firm and deeply rooted determination to abandon transgression a gift for our feast because it is the key to happiness in the life of this world and in the Hereafter so that abandoning transgression becomes our faculty. A transgression to one with the faculty is like a thirsty person drinking poison or like a hungry person eating the meat of a dead person.
Of course, had this path been hard till its end, the omni-Potent and most Merciful Creator would not have obligated us to tread upon it. My success comes from Allah. Upon Him do I rely, to Him do I return, and praise is due to Allah first and last, and blessings be with Muhammad and his pure Progeny, and a perpetual curse be upon all their enemies.
Rabi` al-Awwal 17, 1419 A.H.
Ninth Admonishment
In His Name, the most Exalted One
We, grownups and youngsters, must know that the only path to achieving happiness in this life and in the Hereafter is worshipping Allah, the most Exalted One, the most Great, and worship is abandoning transgressions in belief and in deed.
If we act upon what we know and stop and be cautious about what we do not know till it becomes clear for us, we will never regret at all. If the determination to do that is firm and deeply rooted in the servant, Allah Almighty is more apt to grant him success and to help him. Peace be with you, the mercy of Allah with Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad, and may a curse be on all their enemies.
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Author: Yasin T. al-Jibouri
