Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Hajj of the Friends of God

The reverend Shaykh could never financially afford to go on the obligatory Hajj pilgrimage. His guidelines to some Hajj pilgrims, however indicates that he had been quite familiar with the mysteries of the Hajj of God's friends. He believed that the real perfect Hajj will be accomplished only when the pilgrim is in love with the Lord of the House (Ka'bah) so that he can perceive the real goals of Hajj rituals. Thus in response to someone who suggested to go on Hajj together with him, he said:

"First learn how to be a lover, then come over to go to Makkah together!"

Recommendations of the Shaykh to the Hajj Pilgrims

1. Endeavor to Visit Hazrat Wali 'Asr (aj)

One of the reverend Shaykh's old disciples said: 'The first time I was setting out on the Hajj pilgrimage to the Holy Makkah, I went to him to ask for guidelines. He said:

"From your departure until forty days read the noble ayah

(رب أدخلني مدخل صدق وأخرجني مخرج صدق واجعل لي من لدنك سلطاناُ نصيرا)

(O my Lord! Let my entry be by the Gate of Truth and Honor, and likewise my exit by the Gate of Truth and Honor; and grant me from Thy presence an authority to aid (me) ) (17:80), perhaps you will be able to see Wali 'Asr (aj).

Then he added:

"How is it possible that one is invited to go to someone's house and fail to see the landlord!? Be fully alert to see that blessed Imam (aj) in one of the rituals of the Hajj insha ' Allah. "

2. Forbid Love of Anything other than God while in Ihram (pilgrims' garment)

"The person who puts on Ihram in Mi’qat should know that he has come here to forbid himself from other than God, and since the moment he says labbayk, he accepts God's invitation and rendered as forbidden other than God to himself. Whatever interest in other than God is unlawful to him and he should not pay attention to other than God till the last moments of his life!"

3. Complete Orientation towards God While Circumambulating Ka'bah

"Circumambulating the Ka'bah is apparently turning around the House, but you should know that what is meant by this turning is to make God the axis of ones life and to annihilate completely in Him. Find a state of spirit so that you turn around Him and be sacrificed for Him."1

4. Invocation under the Golden Spout (of Ka'bah)

"In the Hijr of Isma'il and under the golden spout where the pilgrims beseech God Almighty to resolve their problems, you propose: O God! Train me for serving You and helping Your Wali, Hujjat ibn al-Hasan (aj)!"

5. Killing the Carnal Soul in Mina

"When you go to Mina, what do you do at the place of Sacrifice? Do you know what the philosophy of sacrifice is? Do indeed sacrifice your imperative carnal self!

(فتوبوا الى بارئكم فاقتلوا انفسكم )(So turn (in repentance) to your Maker, and slay yourselves (the wrongdoers).) (al-Baqarah: 54) Behead your carnal soul and return. Get rid of your carnal soul, instead of having it become more powerful once you return!"

The only Place where they Displayed Affection!

Upon returning (from Hajj), I had audience with the Shaykh and said: I would like to know whether any results have come out. He said:

"Lower your head and recite the al-Hamd!"

Then he deliberated for a moment and stated what places I have passed through in the Masjid al-Haram as well as my station there to the point where he said:

"The only place that they displayed affection to you was the cemetery of Baqi' where you were in such and such a state and demanded such and such things."

Whatever I beseeched there from God was revealed to him.

The Banquet for Returning from Hajj

After returning from Hajj, I invited the Shaykh and some others to my house for Hajj banquet. We had prepared chelowkebab for the feast. We spread a separate tablecloth for the reverend Shaykh and several other private guests up on the portico. Noticing this, the Shaykh called me and said:

"Why do you show off?! Do not be too proud of yourself! Do not discriminate among people; treat them equally! Why do you give preference to some? No! I will mingle with the others, no distinction!"

The Mysteries of Hajj in the Sayings of Imam Khomeini (ra)

It is worthwhile to know that what the reverend Shaykh has stated about the philosophy of Hajj based on his own intuitive findings are very close to what Imam Khomeini (ra) has expressed in explaining the mystical aspects of the Hajj pilgrimage, which are of interest to be touched upon here as a conclusion to this chapter:

The Secret of Frequently Uttering "Labbayk"

"Repeatedly uttering Labbayk is true for those who have heard the call of God by the ear of their soul and are responding to the call from Allah the Almighty by (His) comprehensive Name. It is the issue of being present in the Presence and witnessing the Beauty of the Beloved, as though the chanter (of Labbayk) has at this moment lost to himself and repeats the response to the call followed by denying association (with other than God) in the absolute sense of the word, (and) not simply association with Divinity, which is known to the devotees of God; although denying association in that includes all stages up to the annihilation of the world in the view of the people of knowledge and contains the entire cautionary and preferential issues. For instance, "alhamd laka wa' lni 'ma laka. .." dedicates hamd as well as the ni'ma to the Sacred Essence (of God) and denies association. This, to the people of knowledge, is the ultimate in monotheism, i. e., any praise (hamd) and blessing (ni'ma) that occur in the word is a praise to God and a blessing of God without association (with other than God). This high object prevails at every mawqif (station) and mash'ar (place of religious ritual), every stopping and moving, and every rest and action. Opposing to it means association in general, which we, the blind- hearted ones, are all suffering from."2

The Secret of Circumambulation

"Turning round the House of Allah suggests that you should not turn round other than God."3

"In circumambulating the Holy Haram of God, which is a sign of love of God, remove others from your heart and clean all fears other than fear of Allah from your soul, and in line with love' of God, disavow the greater and the lesser idols, the taghuts, and their associates,' the ones that the God Almighty and His friends disavowed from and all the liberated of the world are freed from it.4

Allegiance to God

"When touching Hajr al-Aswad (the Black Stone), make allegiance to God that you would be hostile to the enemies of God and his apostles and the pious and the liberated, and not to obey and serve them whoever and wherever they are; and to remove fear and meanness from your heart about the God's enemies, led by the great Satan (the U.S.A), even though they are superior in means of murdering and suppressing and criminal acts,"5

Sa'y (Attempt) in finding the Beloved

"In the sa'y between Safa and Marwah try sincerely and truthfully to look for the Beloved; when you find Him all the worldly knots will be untied, all the doubts will be removed, all the animal fears and hopes will be obliterated, all the material attachments will break off; nobility will flourish, and the satanic and idolatry bondages that hold the servants of God in captivity and obedience will fall apart."6

Mindfulness and 'Irfan (Gnosticism) in Mash'ar and 'Arafat

"Go on to the Mash'ar al-Haram and Arafat with mindfulness and Gnostic state and at any station (mawqif) reassure yourself more and more of God' s promises and the rule of the oppressed. With silence and dignity, deliberate over signs of the truth and think of liberating the down-trodden and the oppressed from the clutches of the world arrogance, and beseech the Almighty God, at those holy stations, to show you the ways of deliverance (and liberation)."7

The Secret of Making Sacrifices in Mina

"Then go to Mina and find out the true wishes there, where is a place for sacrificing your most favorite objects of love in the way of the Absolute Beloved. And know that you will not reach the Absolute Beloved unless you abandon such objects of love on top of which are the love of self and the love of the (material) world."8

Rajm-i 'Aqabat (Cursing the Satan by Throwing Pebbles at the Symbolic Pillars in Mina

"You go on this divine journey to throw pebbles at the Satan. If you are, God forbid, among the army of the Satan, you throw pebbles at yourselves, too. You should become Divine, so that your rajm (throwing pebble) is the stoning of the Satan by the army of the most compassionate God."9

Notes

1. Mizan al-Hikmah, IV, 1572: 5225; Ghurar al-Hikam, 10162. Similar concept is found in Nahjul Balagha, maxim no. 82.

2. Imam Khomeini's message to the Hajj pilgrims on the occasion of 'id al-Adha, Aug 29, 1984.

3. Ibid. act 3, 1979.

4. Ibid, August 7, 1986.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Sayings of Imam Khomeini (ra) at the meeting with the Ulama and directors of Hajj groups on Sep 30, 1979.

Friends of God's Fear

The first question, after discussing the issue of love of God that crosses one's mind in respect to the elixir of self-building is that if God is kind and affectionate and His love is the most influential element of evolution, so why is there so much stress on fear of God Almighty in Islamic texts? Why does the Holy Qur'an regard fear of God as the most "eminent quality of the Ulama? And finally, are love and fear consistent?

The answer is yes; the reverend Shaykh gave an interesting example of consistency between fear and love, which will be touched upon in this chapter. Before that, however, the meaning of fear and love of God is to be reviewed.

The Meaning of Fear of God

The First point in interpreting Divine fear and love is that the fear of God is indeed fear of committing sins and evil acts. Imam Ali (a) said:

" لا تَخَف الا ذنبك، لا ترجُ الا ربك "

"Do not fear except of your own sins and do not hold out hope except in God."1

"Do not Fear God!"

One day Imam Ali (a) encountered someone whose face had been transformed out of fear; he asked him:

"What has happened to you?"

The man answered: 'I am afraid of God!' The holy Imam (a) said:

"Servant of God! Be afraid of your sins and fear Divine Justice in judging your wrongdoing against His servants! Obey God in what He has obligated you to do, and do not disobey in what is good for you. So, do not fear God as He does no injustice to anyone and He does not chastise beyond one's deserving."2

Fear of Separation

Hence, nobody should fear God, rather we should fear ourselves not to be encumbered by the outcome of our own unseemly actions. The fear of the friends of God of their unrighteous actions to be punished, however, is different from the fear that other people have. Those who have driven out the love of other than God from their hearts and their obedience to God is neither for the fear of Hell nor for the hope in Paradise, only fear of separation. For them the torment of separation from God is more painful than the Hellfire. Thus the leader of the friends of God, Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (a) laments in his supplication to God:

" فلئن صيرتني للعقوبات مع أعدائك، وجمعت بيني وبين أهل بلائك وفرّقت بيني وبين أحبائك وأوليائك فهبني يا الهي وسيدي ومولاي وربي صبرت على عذابك فكيف أصبر على فراقك؟ !"

"So if you subject me to the punishments with Your enemies, gather me with the people of Your chastisement and separate me from Your friends and favorites, then suppose, my God, my Master, my Protector and my Lord, that I may be able to endure Your chastisement but how can I endure separation from You?3

The reverend Shaykh commented the holy verse, يدعون ربهم خوفا وطمعا (They call on their Lord in fear and hope) (al-Sajdah: 16) as follows:

"What is this fear and hope? Fear of separation from and hope of union with Him. Parallel to this in concept is the saying of Amir al- Mu'minin Ali (a) in supplication of Kumail:

فهبني يا الهي... وسيدي ومولاي وربي صبرت على عذابك فكيف أصبر على فراقك 'Then suppose, my Allah... that I may… be able to endure Your chastisement, but how can I endure separation from You?'

ووصلك منى نفسي وإليك شوقي ..

And also in the supplication of Imam al-Sajjad (a): 'Joining Thee is the wish of my soul, and toward Thee is my yearning."4

The renowned Gnostic and jurist the late Mulla Ahmad Naraqi also said in this respect:

'Said in supplication the king of awliya, may my soul be sacrificed to him, that O my Lord, O God,

Maybe I can tolerate Your punishment, how can I endure Your separation O Friend?

The wet-nurse frightens the kids of fire (and says) do not play o such and such otherwise,

I'll place fire on your hand and foot, stigmatize your face and back, But they frighten the lion (-hearted) man (Ali (a)) of the chastisement of separation with a thousand fold fear and awe. '5

Fear of not being accepted by the Beloved

Friends of God have fear even though they perform their obligations. They fear lest their Beloved does not like them and does not accept them:

(الذين يؤتون مآ أتوا وقلوبهم وجلة أنهم الى ربهم راجعون)

(And those who dispense their Charity with their hearts full of fear, because they will return to their Lord.) (al-Mu'minun: 60)

Acceptance of a Beloved who is absolutely perfect is as important for the friends of God as also the pain of separation (from the Beloved) is heart-rending and unbearable for them. This is so important that Imam Khomeini (ra), as quoted by Tehran Friday prayer leader, at the last moments of his life requested people to pray that God Almighty accept him!

Now see how the Shaykh explains this subtle Gnostic issue by a simple example.

One of the Shaykh's disciples said: 'Once he (the reverend Shaykh) said to me:

"Such and such! For whom does a bride make up herself?"

I said: 'For the groom.'

He said: "Did you understand?" I kept silent. Then he said:

"On the consummation night, the bride's relatives try to make up her in the best possible way so that the groom would have a liking for her. The bride, however, has a secret worry that is unnoticed to others; She is worried that what should she do if she could not attract the groom's interest or if he happens to feel disgust in her.

How can the servant, who does not know whether his deeds are accepted by God Almighty, be not fearful and worried?! Do you make up (adorn) yourself for Him or for yourself and for gaining a good reputation among the people?!

When people die they implore (رب ارجعون لعلي أعمل صالحاُ )(O my Lord! Send me back (to life)-In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected.) (al-Mu'minun: 99, 100)."

Hence, the reverend Shaykh was always fearful of meeting with God Almighty and would say:

"You say that there is no fear of God, (وأما من خاف مقام ربه ) (And for such as had entertained the fear of standing be for their Lord.) (al-Nazi'at: 40), but what on earth should we do if He would not like us and would not accept our deeds?"

The Shaykh's son quoted him as saying:

"O Lord! Purchase and accept us as the old junk-Iike object as the street vendor calls out: 'I buy (your) broken and junk objects'- O Lord accept and buy us too!"

Notes

1. See "Benevolence to Jobless Person Encumbered by a Large Family", Chapter Seven, Part 3.

2. The late Suhayli was quoted as saying: 'What he meant by "Agha Jan" (my dear master) was Imam al-'Asr (aj) who had come to visit the Shaykh at that moment.

3. In the supplication 21 of Sahifah al-Sajjadiya (Psalms of Islam, p. 79) we read:

"وهب لي الانس بك وأوليائك وأهل طاعتك " And give me intimacy with Thee, Thy friends, and those who obey Thee!"

4. Psalms of Islam, p. 247.

5. Mathnawi of Taqdis: 215.

Part 4: Passing Away

The Passing Away of Shaykh Rajab Ali Khayyat

The Passing Away of Ayatollah Hujjat

The Passing Away of Haj Akhund Turbati

The Passing Away of Shaykh Rajab Ali Khayyat

Finally on twenty second of Shahrivar of 1340 Solar Hijra / September 13, 1961, the blessed life of the reverend Shaykh came to an end and the bird of his soul departed this life after a life long spiritual self-building and enriching others. The story of his radiant soul's departure from the world to the sublime abode is interesting and instructive to hear. In this section, the story of the Shaykh's passing away will be related followed by an account of the death of two other friends of God, very similar to that of the Shaykh, given in chapters two and three.

The Day before his Heavenly Departure

The Shaykh's son describes the day before his passing away as follows: 'The day before his death, my father was well and healthy, my mother was out, and I was alone. In the afternoon, my father returned home, made wuzu (minor ablution) and called me, saying:

"I feel a little ill, if that servant of God (a certain customer) comes to pick up his clothing, the scraps1 are in the pocket, and he has to pay thirty tomans as a wage."

My father had never told me before that if someone came to pick up his clothes how much the wage would be. But that day I did not grasp what would happen.

A Dream by One of his Disciples

One of the Shaykh's devotees who had foreseen his heavenly departure the night before his death through a "true dream", told the story as follows:

'The night before the Shaykh left this world, I dreamed they were shutting down the shops on the west side of Masjid-i Qazvin. I asked: What has happened? They said Agha Shaykh Rajab Ali Khayyat has expired. I woke up perplexed and worried. It was three hours past midnight. I regarded my dream as a true one. After morning adhan, I said prayer and left for Agha Radmanish's house right away. He enquired surprisingly of my untimely visit and I told him about my dream.

It was five in the morning, at twilight, that we set out for the Shaykh's house. The Shaykh opened the door, we went in and sat down. The Shaykh sat, too, and said:

"What have you been up to at such an early morning?"

I did not tell him my dream. We talked for a while and then the Shaykh lay down on his side and placed his hand under his head, saying:

"Tell something, recite a poem!"

Someone sang:

'There is no time more joyful than the love days.

There is no night to the day of the lovers.

The delightful hours were the time spent with the Friend,

The rest was all fruitlessness and ignorance.'

The Shaykh on his Deathbed

In less than an hour I noticed that the Shaykh's condition got worse. I asked him whether to call a doctor for him - I was sure that he would pass away that day. The Shaykh replied:

"It's up to you."

The doctor wrote a prescription and I went out to have it filled. When I returned I saw the Shaykh was taken to another room. He was sitting facing the qiblah with a white sheet covering his legs; he was touching the white sheet with his thumb and forefinger.

I was very attentive to see how a man of God departs from the world. All of a sudden there was a change of state in him as if someone was whispering something in his ears. He said:

"Insha Allah (God willing)."

Then he said:

"What day is today? Bring today's supplication!"

I recited that day's supplication. Then he said:

"Have it read by Agha Sayyid Ahmad too." He recited it, too. Then the Shaykh said:

"Raise your hands to the sky and say:

Ya Karim al-'afw, Ya 'Azim al-'afw (O Noble! Forgive me, O Great! Forgive me), may God forgive me."

I looked at my friend and said: 'Let me go to bring Agha Suhayli, as it seems my dream is coming true and he is meeting his end, and I left.'

Welcome my Dear Master!

The Shaykh's son related the rest of this story as follows: 'I saw my father's room was crowded. They said the reverend Shaykh's condition was serious. I entered the room right away and saw my father-who had made ablution few moments before and came into the room-was leaning in his bed facing the qibla; but all of a sudden he sat up and said while smiling:

"Welcome my dear master !"2

He seemed to shake hands with someone, lay down, and passed away while having the same smile on his lips!

The First Night after the Burial

Another of his friends said: 'In a dream, I saw the Shaykh on the first night after his burial. I saw that a grand station was bestowed upon him by Mawla Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (a). I approached that station; as soon as he saw me, he took a very tender and fine glance at me like a father who admonishes his son and the son is paying no attention. His glance reminded me that he always would say:

"Do not want other than God."

But we were still encumbered by our vain desires. I got further closer to him. He said two sentences:

The first sentence:

"The joy of life is intimacy with God and the friends of God."3

And the second sentence:

"He (Imam Ali (a)) lived (such a true life) that his wife (Hazrat Fatima (a)) gave away his shirt (in self-sacrifice) on the night of consummation in the way of God."

والسلام عليه يوم ولد ويوم مات ويوم يبعث حياُ

So peace on him the day he was born, the day that he dies, and the day that he will be raised up to life (again).

Notes

1. Extra pieces of cloth left over after tailoring.

2. Mizan al-Hikmah, IV, 1572:5223, quoted from Bihar al-Anwar, lXX, 392: 60.

3. Supplication of Kumail.

Occupation

Tailoring is one of the praiseworthy professions in Islam. "Luqman the Sage" had chosen this as his occupation1 . It is quoted from the Holy Prophet (s) who said:

عمل الابرار من الرجال الخياطة، وعمل الأبرار من النساء الغزل

"The job of the righteous men is tailoring and the job of the pious women is spinning."2

The reverend Shaykh had chosen this job as a means of livelihood. Hence, he was known as Shaykh Rajab Ali Khayyat (the tailor). Interestingly, his simple small house, as described before, was his tailoring workshop, too.

In this respect one of his children says: 'At first, my father had a room in a Caravanserai, where he pursued his tailoring profession. One day the landlord came to him and asked him to leave the place. The next day and without any arguing or demanding any due rights, my father packed up his sewing machine and sewing table, brought them home, and gave the room back to the landlord. Ever since, he worked at home in a room near the entrance as his tailoring workshop.

Perseverance in his Work

The reverend Shaykh was extremely serious and persevering in his work. He worked hard to the last days of his life to earn his living through his own endeavors. Although his devotees were whole- heartedly ready to provide for his simple livelihood, he would never accept.

The Holy Prophet (s) said in a Hadith:

من أكل من كد يده، كان يوم القيامة في عداد الأنبياء ويأخذ ثواب الأنبياء

"Whoever earns one's own living, they will be ranked among the Prophets and rewarded as Prophets."3

And in another hadith, he said:

العبادة عشر أجزاءٍ تسعة أجزاء في طلب الحلال

"

Divine worship has ten parts, nine of which comprises earning lawful daily sustenance."4

One of Shaykh's friends says: I never forget the day I saw the reverend Shaykh in the market who was pale in the countenance out of fatigue. He was going home carrying some tailoring tools and material that he had bought. I told him: 'Agha have some rest, you are not feeling well.' He replied:

"What should I do with the wife and the children then?!"

The Holy Prophet (s) is quoted as saying:

ان الله تعالى يحب أن يرى عبده تعباً في طلب الحلال

"God likes to see his servant tired out in the way of earning his lawful sustenance."5

ملعون ملعون من ضيع من يعول

"Cursed is the one, cursed is the one who does not provide for his family's sustenance."6

Equity in Receiving Wages

The Shaykh received very equitable wages for sewing clothes. He used to get wages for exactly the amount of stitching he had done and just for as much time as he had spent working on the clothes. By no means he would accept to be paid more than what he had worked for. Thus, if someone would say: 'Reverend Shaykh! Let me pay a higher wage.' He would reject.

The reverend Shaykh charged his customers on the basis of ij'ara (contract on hire and lease) according to Islamic law.7 But since he never tended to receive more than what he had worked for the customers, in case after finishing the work if he found that he had done less work than predicted, he would give back the money that he thought was extra to his real wages! One of the Ulama said: 'I took some cloth to the Shaykh to make a robe, a cloak, and a quilted cloak. I asked him how much I should pay.' "It needs two days work, so the wage will be forty tomans." He said.

A couple of days later when I went for the clothes, he said: "The wage is only twenty tomans."

I inquired: 'You said forty tomans?' He replied: "First I thought they needed two days work, but it just took one day to complete!"

Someone else also said: 'I took some cloth to him to make a pair of trousers. I asked him how much it will come to. He said: 'Ten tomans.' I paid him right away. When some time later I went to pick up the trousers, he placed a two-toman note on it and said: "The fee came to eight tomans."

The Shaykh's son said: 'Once he settled with a customer to make a robe for 35 Rials. Some days later the customer came for the role. No sooner had he walked away with the robe than my father ran after him and gave him five Rials back, saying: "I thought it would take me longer time to make this robe, but it did not!"

A Reward for Equity

Equity in all tasks, especially in transactions is an important issue that has been highly stressed in Islam. Imam Ali (a) said:

الإنصاف أفضل الفضائل

"Equity is the best of virtues."8

And he further said.

ان أعظم المثوبة مثوبة الأنصاف

"The greatest reward is one granted for equity:'9

Just to know how equity in transoctions is effective in self-building, and that God's favor with the reverend Shaykh is not exaggerated on, it will be worthwhile to deliberate on the following account:

Equity Toward People and Meeting with Hazrat Wali 'Asr (aj)

A man of knowledge was longing for meeting with Hazrat Baqiyyat Allah Imam Mahdi (aj), and he suffered agonies of not being granted the chance and for a long time he underwent severe austerity and pursued spiritual seeking.

It is well-known among the tullab (Islamic seminary students) of Hawza in Najaf-i Ashraf and the scholars of the holy shrine of Imam Ali (a) that every one who finds the honor to go the Masjid-i Sahla to perform the evening and night prayers every Tuesday uninterruptedly for forty nights, they will be graced with meeting the Imam al-'Asr (aj) For a while, he struggled to this end but to no effect. Then he resorted to the occult sciences and numerical symbolism and started self-discipline and other ascetic and rigorous practices in seclusion, anxiously seeking to meet the Hidden Imam (aj) but all in vain. However, as a consequence of his nightly vigilance and lamenting and wailing at dawns, he had developed some kind of insight and intuition, and occasionally some illuminating flash would be graced on him. He would fall in ecstasy and rapture, often having certain visions and hearing some subtleties.

In one of these mystical states, he was told: "Your seeing and being granted an audience with Imam al-'Asr (aj) will not be possible, unless you make a trip to such and such a city. Quite difficult as it sounded at first, but for that sacred purpose, it appeared to be so convenient.

Imam al- 'Asr (aj) in the Blacksmiths' Bazaar

After several days the above-mentioned man arrived in that city and yet even there he carried on his self-discipline and ascetic practices in seclusion that intended to last forty days long. On the thirty seventh day, he was told: "Right now Hazrat Baqiyyat Allah, Imam al-'Asr (aj) is in the blacksmiths' bazaar, in a shop belonging to an old locksmith; so, be quick to go now and seek his audience.

He stood up and, as he had already seen in his ecstatic vision, rushed the way down to the old man's shop where he saw the Holy Imam (aj) sitting there and talking amiably with the locksmith. When he greeted, the holy Imam responded and beckoned to keep silent, (implying) watching for a wonderful scene.

The Equity of the Old Locksmith

At this moment I saw a bent, fragile, old woman with a walking stick who showed us a lock with her shaking hand and said: "Will you, for God's sake, buy this lock from me for "three shahis"10 I need three shahis?

The old locksmith took a look at the lock and found it intact, and then said: "My sister! This lock costs "Two abbasis"11 because its key will cost no more than "ten dinars"12 ; so if you give me ten dinars, I will make a key to this lock and then it will cost ten shahis."

The old woman answered: "No, I do not need that, I only need the money; if you buy this lock from me for three shahis, I will pray for you."

The old man said with utmost naivety: "My sister! You are a Muslim, and I too claim to be a Muslim. So why should I buy a Muslim's property for a low price and deny someone's right? This lock already costs eight shahis; if I want to benefit from it, I'll buy it for seven shahis, for it is unfair to make more that a shahi profit in a deal of only two abbasis. If you are sure you want to sell it, I'll buy it for seven shahis, and I repeat again, the real price is two abbasis. Since I am a businessman I buy it for one shahi less.

The old woman perhaps would not believe what the man said. She was upset and complained that nobody had been willing to buy that price. She said she begged them to buy it for three shahis, because ten dinars would not have sufficed her. The old man paid seven shahis to the old woman and purchased it from her.

I will Visit him!

When the woman turned back to leave, the Imam (aj) said to me:

"My Dear! Did you watch the wonderful scene? You do likewise too, and become like that, then I will come to see you. There is no need for ascetic seclusion and resorting to Jafr (numerical symbolism). Self-discipline and various travels will not be required; instead show good action and be a Muslim so that I can interact with you. Of all people of this city, I picked out this old man, since this man is religious and knows God. And you observed the trial he went through: This old woman requested all in the bazaar, to fulfill her need and since they found her desperate and needy, they were all seeking to buy (her lock) cheap; and nobody bought it even for three shahis. This old man, however, bought it for its real price, i. e., seven shahis. Thus, every week I pay a visit to him and show kindness and amiability to him."13

Notes

1. Rabi' al-Abrar, II : 535.

2. Mizan al-Hikmah, IV, 1628 : 5478.

3. Ibid., V, 2058: 7209.

4. Ibid., V, 2060: 7223.

5. Mizan al-Hikmah, V, 2060: 7218.

6. Ibid., V, 2058: 7202.

7. See Mizan al-Hikmah, 1, 40: 16.

8. Ibid. XIII, 6306: 20191.

9. Ibid. XIII, 63O6 20I94.

10. A shahi equals around a penny.

11. An abbasi equals four shahis

12. A dinar equals one-fifth of a shahi

13. "Sarmaye Sokhan" (The capital of speech), I, 611-613, slightly abridged.