Word 63: The one who contemplates the soul’s “Tamasulat” will find that all of them are perceived in a way that is unique to the individual.
Word 63: The one who contemplates the soul’s “Tamasulat” (see a metaphysical reality in different forms, ie, angels) will find that all of them are perceived in a way that is unique to the individual. No one else is aware of them, as indicated clearly in the verse of the Holy Quran. “We sent to her Our Ruh (Spirit), and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects” (Maryam: 17), is a wise rule and a measure of justice and equity in this matter.
The main point is to correctly grasp the secret of the phrase “to her,” similar to the verse, “And that there is nothing for man except what he strives for” (An-Najm: 39), where one must be precise about the phrase “for man.” All traditions that use the word “Tamasul” (see a metaphysical reality in different forms, ie, angels) and similar terms to describe realities in the various realms and stages of humanity are based on the same principle. All of them return to the phrase “to her” or “to him,” as explained.
You can refer to Notes 10, 371, 439, 752, and 868 from the “1001 Notes” by Allameh Hasan Hasanzadeh Amoli.
“We sent to her Our Ruh (Spirit), and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects” (Maryam: 17).
It was manifested for Mary in this way.” One must be precise about “to her” (lahā) – that the manifestation occurred for Mary.”
If you remember, dear ones, we discussed the quality of perception—about how we perceive and how our perceptions come to be. That is, how do seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching occur?
In that discussion, one of the conclusions we reached was that all of our perceptions happen within our own souls. This means we see and perceive all beings within our own soul. And every person sees within themselves. I see all of you within myself, and you also see me within yourselves. We had a relatively detailed discussion on the topic of the quality of perception and how it works.
Two theories were presented: one from Mulla Sadra and one from Avicenna.
Avecinna was a proponent of the abstraction of forms, meaning the object must be converted to an immaterial object or form to be able to perceive. Mulla Sadra was a proponent of the soul’s creation of forms, meaning the soul creates these perceptual forms within itself based on messages that reach the brain through the senses.
The conclusion, therefore, is that perceptions absolutely occur within us.
This is why when a person has a dream, the dream occurs within them. It is a perception within them and has nothing to do with anyone else. In other words, if someone is next to them, they can’t see what the person is dreaming or perceiving.
Spiritual “Tamasul” (see a metaphysical reality in different forms, ie, angels) are the same. A person might be sitting in a group, and a reality might be manifested to them. They might see a person appear, say something, and leave, while no one else sees that person. The person who experienced the manifestation is the only one who has that perception.
It’s also possible for someone to be sitting in a gathering and smell a fragrance, while the person sitting next to them says they don’t smell anything. This is because the manifestation occurred for the first person. And manifestations, which are a type of perception, occur within the person.
In this noble verse, it says, “He appeared before her .” Angel Gabriel (A) manifested for Lady Mary (A). This means if someone had been with Lady Mary (A), they would not have perceived what she did, because perception happens within our own being.
Of course, there is a point to be made here that is very good to know and will greatly help us with the knowledge a person receives from the other side, such as revelation, inspiration, and manifestations.
In our discussion on the perception of sensory objects, we said that with the eye, for example, light hits our eye, and an electrical message reaches the brain. Then, the soul creates a form based on that message, and that form is perceived in the common sense or the imaginative faculty. The soul then perceives that form.
Common sense is a sense into which all five senses flow. Seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting—all of these are like rivers that flow into the common sense. And it is in the common sense that perception takes place, which is why we say, “I saw,” “I heard,” and “I smelled.” These perceptions occur in the common sense.
Now, when this common sense is devoid of the flow of these rivers, much like when a person sleeps and their senses are inactive, their perceptions are shut down, and their common sense becomes empty. It is then that the reflection of a person’s imagination in the common sense causes the vision of imaginary forms, which we call a dream.
A dream is our imagination taking place in the common sense. In wakefulness, because the common sense is occupied, we cannot see imaginary forms clearly. But in a dream, when the common sense is empty, the imaginary forms are seen.
Now, sometimes what a person sees in the common sense is celestial forms, which is why we say it is a true dream. They are forms that correspond to celestial forms, which is why we say what was seen in the dream is truthful.
So, visions, hearings, and smells take place in the common sense. After that, they ascend to the level of “Wahm” (the imagination) and “Aql” (the intellect). That is, the intellect abstracts something from the form you saw, and the imagination understands something.
For example, you see a person with their hand on their chest and bending forward. There is a faculty within you that understands that this person is showing us respect. The name of this faculty is the imaginative faculty, which understands particular meanings. Or you see a person frown. You deduce a meaning from this figure and understand that the person is angry. The faculty within you that does this is “Wahm” (the imagination), and from here, perception ascends.
The perceptions originate from two sources. Perceptions from the sensory level into the common sense and perceptions from the intellectual world. In the case of revelation, inspiration, and all spiritual unveilings and perceptions, they originate from the intellect level; that is, they descend from the intellect to the imagination level and then to the common sense, and the vision takes place. When the vision takes place in the common sense, the person perceives it in this very world.
For example, you might see that the door opened and a person entered, but this occurred in your common sense, not in the external, physical world. This is a symbolic and celestial form that you see in the material world.
For example, in the descent of an angel or revelation, divine grace reaches the intellect of the prophet, then the imaginative faculty, and then becomes manifested in the common sense in different forms. This is when it takes the form of a sound or a person whom the prophet sees and with whom he speaks. This is why we say, “The angel spoke,” or “so-and-so is speaking.” This is the opposite of perceptions from the material world, which ascend to the common sense.
In conclusion, these perceptions and manifestations are all realized within the human soul. Just as your dream is realized in your soul, you see it within your own soul. And our soul is a vast realm with its own greatness.
We have two types of imagination: the connected imagination and the disconnected imagination.
The connected imagination is the imaginative faculty that we possess.
The disconnected imagination is the intermediate world or “Methal”, “Khial”, (Imagination or examplery) world.
What is seen in the connected imagination may have flaws, be demonic, or be a creation of the soul, and so on.
But what is seen in the disconnected imagination has none of these issues; it is a true manifest and clear reality. An unveiling related to the disconnected imagination is a genuine unveiling.
In the connected imagination, the imaginative faculty of a person may interfere with the unveiling, and things may become entangled, creating flaws that cause a person to see unreal things and experience confused dreams.
But what is seen in the disconnected imagination is very valuable, and a person must walk a very long path to have unveilings and manifestations in this manner.
This connected imagination that is within us is a stream from the disconnected imagination, which we call “Barzakh” (the intermediate world), “Methal” (examplery), “Khial” (imagination) or the world of imaterial forms, and other names.
The main point in the “word 63” is that what comes to us in manifestations is entirely within ourselves, not in the external world. That is, if a person hears a sound, sees a person or a scene, or anything else, it’s all inside themselves, and they shouldn’t look for it outside themselves.
One of the people who passed away was a bicycle repairman. When Allameh Hassanzadeh held his classes in Amol, this man was one of his students. He says, “It was Muharram, and Allameh was reciting a lament on the pulpit. He gestured and said that Muslim ibn Awsajah (Imam Hussain’s companion) came to see Imam Hussain (A).” The man says: “As soon as Allameh said this, I saw Muslim ibn Awsajah enter the mosque and go sit at the base of the pulpit, wearing his Arab cloak and clothes. I looked among the students to see if anyone else saw him or if it was just me. I saw that it seemed most of them didn’t see him. I was waiting for the sermon to end so I could greet him. When Allameh said, ‘Peace be upon you,’ and the people got up to exchange greetings, I lost sight of him. I ran outside to the courtyard, got on my bicycle, and searched for him in the city.”
The man later came to Allameh and said, “I saw this.” Allameh said, “Yes, that’s correct, but don’t go around trumpeting it and thinking it’s a big deal. But you saw correctly.”
This perception is closely tied to a person’s own soul. You see within your own soul. However, sometimes in the case of spirits, they take on a form in such a way that it is a different matter, and others can see them as well.
For instance, Ibn Arabi says, “I was circumambulating the Kaaba and saw a person doing the same. Then I saw him pass by two people who were walking closely together. He passed through without creating any space between them. I realized that he was a materialized spirit. I followed him and spoke with him.”
He then says, ‘I went to my friends who were standing nearby and asked them, ‘What did you see?’ Was I speaking with someone?’ They said: ‘Yes, you were speaking with a noble man.'”
So, sometimes spirits materialize in a way that allows them to be seen by others as well. But the point is that the perception of manifestations and unveilings all takes place within the person’s soul.
One of the results of this is that if a person sees or hears something, there’s no need to be afraid and run away. There is nowhere to run from it. Don’t think that there’s something external that you should run away from.
Allameh has a book called “Man in the Gnosis’ point of view” (Insān dar ‘Urf-e ‘Irfān), in which he wrote and explained approximately thirty-six of the manifestations and unveilings that occurred to him in his youth. He also provided commentary on the subjects of tamasul (manifestation) and kashf (unveiling). The book is very valuable. He only wrote about the experiences from the beginning of his journey and did not write about what came after.
You know that the Quran is the criterion. Just as we must present narrations and traditions to the Quran to see if they are in accordance with it, we must also present manifestations.
This manifestation, is it in accordance with the Quran? Is this unveiling in accordance with the Quran?
Allameh says in his book, Hezar-o-Yek Kalimeh: “I once asked Allameh Tabataba’i, ‘Sir, I am experiencing manifestations. What is the criterion for these manifestations? How can I determine if the manifestation and unveiling I have experienced are correct?
He replied: “The criterion is the Quran.”
He continued: “Some unveilings and manifestations are beyond a doubt in their correctness, such as the manifestation you saw of the Messenger of God saying the call to prayer (Azan).” Allameh Tabataba’i added, “There is no doubt in its correctness. All other manifestations must be presented to the Quran.
The spiritual traveler, when he embarks on the path, will gradually come to understand this himself, especially if he is a scholar and is under the guidance of a teacher. Otherwise, many who step into the valley of manifestations can be misled by the devil.”
Allameh Hassanzadeh wrote the following in his book “Man in the Gnosis’ point of view”:
On the morning of Tuesday, the 26th of Dhu al-Hijjah 1387 AH (January 6, 1968), in a state of attention, such a trembling and shaking took hold of me that a pen is powerless to write it down and a tongue is unable to describe it. I saw the entire world illuminated, but the light was tinged with a violet color. A strange fear and terror overcame me in this event, but the state lasted for about two minutes, after which I returned to my normal state. I greatly regretted that this fortune was short-lived, but what could I do? I was not in control of myself in that state. Afterwards, I was honored to be in the presence of my teacher, Allameh Tabataba’i (may God sanctify his pure soul), and I presented the event to him. He said, “Sir, when the realities of the world are unveiled for the spiritual striver, they manifest in forms. And in the beginning, the manifestations of thunder, lightning, trembling, and such things appear. And in this state of unveiling, images and forms appear, and a person is blessed with the vision of the beauty of the Prophet and the Imam.” Following this, he praised this humble one, saying, “Praise be to God, the beginning of your progress is good.”
Allameh Tehrani (a great mystic) in his book “Immaterial Spirit” said:
A significant event that occurred during this trip was the story of a person claiming to be Sayyed Hasani, which caused great tumult and commotion in the holy cities. If my great master, Agha Sayed Hashem Hadad, had not been there to stop the seditio, it might have turned into something similar to the Shaykhis, the Posht-e Sariyya, and ultimately the Babis, Azalis, and Baha’is.
To elaborate: A relatively young Sayyid from Mashhad set out for Iraq as a Hasani Sayyid, claiming a hidden mission and an unveiling. He took up residence in Samarra, in the school of the late Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, may his sanctity be blessed, and claimed: “I am Sayyid Hasani, and people must be prepared for the appearance, for the Imam of Time will appear in a few months.”
The people of Kazemayn and Najaf, especially their devout ones, welcomed the news. They collected money, at his command, from reputable merchants and shopkeepers for equipment, weapons, and other war necessities, thereby agitating the people and preparing them for his appearance.
Of course, this commotion was less in Karbala due to the presence and prevention by Hajj Sayyid Hashem Haddad. However, the head of sedition and corruption in Karbala was the same person who, in recent times, had led the “Tawhidiyyah and Wilayatiyyah” sedition. After the passing of the late Ansari, he had publicly declared in meetings in Tehran that there was no need for a teacher and that the presence of the Imam of the time was sufficient—a topic we discussed at length at the beginning of the book.
He, too, fueled the commotion by sending messages and dispatching people to merchants and notable figures, and by accumulating a substantial amount of money and considerable wealth. Even now, he constantly speaks of the Imam of time, the Green Island, and the Imam’s children and descendants. But what kind of Imam of time is he? Is he the real and true Imam, or an imagined and fanciful one? In any case, the Imam of the time is not separate from God and acts by His command and will. The first to know about him and his movement is a true “Wali” (saint), who is with God and in the sanctity of God, not someone who has not even smelled monotheism and who justifies his appearance based on his own personal fancies, interests, and faults. We seek refuge in God from the evil of such people and from the evil of our own souls!
And the reason this man was drawn to the one claiming to be Sayyed Hasani was that he used to say: “He is a sincere man and has unveilings. Based on the inner observations that have come to me, we are certain that he is Sayyed Hasani and has come from Khorasan to Iraq to mobilize the people and agitate them for the Imam’s appearance.”
The Sayyid himself used to say: “In holy Mashhad, I began spiritual exercises on my own, and a door to the unseen was opened for me. I am in contact with spirits and have been informed about the celestial world. I have been told from there that I am the Sayyed Hasani, and I must set out for Kufa to prepare the people for the appearance of Imam Mahdi, who will appear in a few months”.
He also said, “I did not come with a passport. My coming was extraordinary. When I left the border, they jailed me for three days, and what wonderful spiritual states I had! And they arranged for me to meet with the Shah (of Iran), and it was agreed that he would cooperate with us. And if he fails to do so, we will wage war against him. And after being released from prison, my journey to this place was also in an extraordinary way.”
My master, Hajj Sayyed Hashem Haddad, used to say: “Even before I saw him, I knew it was a sedition and had no basis in reality. He is a Sayyid whose mind has dried up, and he is receiving news from the devil and rebellious genies. His ego also welcomes this, even though he might not be a liar.”
For this reason, I dispatched my companions to Najaf, Karbala, and Kazemayn to stop the event and announce that it had no basis in reality. However, whether we liked it or not, they had already collected funds and initiated activities, and some had even used the money intended for weapons for their own personal purposes.
Nevertheless, Agha Sayyed Hashim Hadad and I sat alone with him in a room for a full hour, and we exchanged views. I asked my master (Sayyed Hashim Hadad): “How did you find him?” He replied: “A donkey.”
And up until that time and after, I had never heard such an expression from my master about anyone, because he was a very polite man. In his speech, honesty, and narratives, he was himself a measure by which all words should be judged.
From this expression, I understood that he meant to say: “He is an ignorant man!” His mind, due to demonic and unreal imaginative influences, is like a donkey’s mind, devoid of spiritual content, monotheistic value, and a real connection.
As it happened, on that same trip, I was visiting the holy shrine in Samarra one day when I saw someone in the western corner of the sanctuary. He had his back and right side against the wall and was praying. His face looked flushed and angry. This was the same man.
In short, Agha Sayyed Hashim Hadad made every effort to extinguish the fire of sedition. The respected people of Karbala and Kazemayn, who were familiar with him and his companions, accepted his words, and the progress of the matter was stopped.
A few months passed, and no appearance occurred. People started to complain. The merchants and respected people who had given money demanded it back, insisting that it must be returned. The money had been spent, and a severe disgrace occurred. Finally, a group gathered in Karbala at the house of the very person who sought the Imam of the time. They issued post-dated checks to some of the individuals to prevent the matter from escalating further; otherwise, they were on the verge of filing a complaint with the government to recover their money.
Sayyed Hashim Haddad used to say: “Beware of these claimants of the Imam of the time and these Sayyed Hasani who appear every so often and do not rest until they have caused a sedition and corruption. All of this is the result of acting independently, walking the path without a skilled teacher, and engaging in spiritual exercises, frequent fasts, and continuous sleepless nights, and abstaining from permissible foods without a teacher’s permission.”
The rise of Sayyed Hasani is one of the signs of the appearance of Imam Mahdi.
According to narrations, Sayyed Hasani is a young man who will rise up from Deilam and call for people to answer the invitation of Imam Mahdi. Men from Taleqan will assist him. The rise of Seyed Hasani coincides with the appearance of Imam Mahdi. He will pledge allegiance to Imam Mahdi in or near Kufa.
Based on another narration, he will rise in Mecca and be killed by its inhabitants. Citing this narration, some have suggested that Sayyed Hasani is the same person as Nafs-e Zakiyyah, whose killing in Mecca is considered one of the definite signs of the appearance. Some scholars have questioned the authenticity of this narration.
Sometimes, the devil participates in the unveiling or spiritual visions and leads a person astray. When a person reaches the stage of manifestations, their work actually becomes more difficult, and they need a teacher more than ever. Their hand must be in the hand of a teacher, because in a single moment, with the wrong code, a person can be led astray.
One of the mystics had a student who had made progress and had doors opened for him. The teacher saw that the student was no longer coming and wasn’t attending the classes. He sent someone to find out why he wasn’t coming. The person came back and said, “Yes, I’ve reached a certain point, and at night, angels come for me, and we go and roam in gardens.” The student had said that he no longer needed a teacher. The person reported this to the teacher. The teacher said, “Alright.” He then wrote a specific invocation to give to the student, telling him to recite it in the gardens, as it would lead to further progress.
He waited, and at night, he went with them to the gardens. As he was sitting with the angels and eating, he suddenly recited the invocation. As soon as he said it, everything fell apart.
He opened his eyes and saw himself sitting in the middle of a dumpster, eating garbage. He realized that genies and devils had created all those forms for him. They had been bringing him to dumpsters at night, and he, in his imagination, was walking in the gardens of Paradise. They had been giving him goat droppings instead of sweets.
A person’s work becomes difficult only when they fall into this valley. Their hand must be in the hand of a teacher so that the devil does not lead them astray. When manifestations begin, one must go step by step, hand in hand with a teacher, to avoid being left behind in that place.
On this journey, a person is sometimes presented with many things to make them stall and get stuck. To do this, they are given things that seem very grand, but they are used to occupy them with what they think is so great.
The main point is that when the doors open, a person must move step by step under the supervision of their teacher and present what happens to them, especially if it’s related to a spiritual practice.
Once, I went to a place and smelled a foul odor, and it was coming from a person who was a practitioner of remembrance of God. I saw that he had been reciting a specific phrase. I asked him: “Have you been saying an invocation or something that you shouldn’t have been?” He said no.
A few minutes later, he came and said a very strange name, the kind of name that devils might have. He asked me, “Do we have such an invocation?” I looked at it and saw that it was neither Arabic, Persian, nor Turkish.
I said: “No, we do not have such a name among the names of God.” He said: “No, they gave this to me in a dream and told me to say it for my own protection.”
I said: “My dear friend, it’s not the case that whatever they tell you in a dream is correct. This foul smell here is because of what you’re saying. Now see if this is the name of a devil or the children of devils.”
But he did not accept it and said it was like the Verse of the Throne (Ayat al-Kursi) and that he recited it for his own protection.
I said: “Well, you can go wherever you like.” Later, I heard that he claimed, “I see the Imam of the time.” The real dangers of this path start right there.
Hafez says:
Don’t cross this stage without the company of Khidr,
It is darkness; fear the danger of straying.
This is because he has entered an unfamiliar valley and world. If his hand is not in the hand of a guide, there are thousands of wrong paths.
Look at the highways of Tehran—they have many exits, and someone who doesn’t know the way will become lost. A person doesn’t know where to enter and where to exit. Unless someone has traveled the path and knows the way, a person might go in and suddenly find themselves somewhere else entirely.
What is the criterion for these unveilings? The Quran.
It must be presented to the Quran to see if it is in accordance with it, because the Quran is the complete unveiling of Prophet Muhammad (S). It is the standard for all unveilings, and they must conform to it.
The main point is to correctly understand the secret of “for her (Lady Mary (A)” (lahā) in the verse of the Quran. The secret of “lahā” is that the manifestation occurred in this form and manner for Lady Mary’s soul.”
“And that there is not for man but what he strives for.” (An-Najm:39)
The lām in lil-insān (for man) is the lām of ownership. A person’s striving belongs to them. This means the very act of striving unites with your soul. Other things do not have this unity with your soul, and when you die, they all leave you.
You know that the world remains, but the worldly person goes. These lands once belonged to others. These treasures, crowns, swords, helmets, and objects that exist now—these treasures that people fight over—were once claimed by others who also fought over them. They were not united with the souls of those people; when they went, these objects remained.
What remains for a person is their striving, because a person’s striving has established unity with their soul. Now that it has established unity with the human soul, when a person enters the other world, that very soul becomes their table of sustenance.
We say that a person has prayed, fasted, done many good deeds, and read the Quran—these things take the form of palaces, heavens, castles, and angels, and rivers of milk and wine. These are the very things that have united with a person’s soul. This means that what a person has striven for has established unity with their soul. All other matters are separate from them.
Some narratives suggest a person, upon leaving the world, sees things in a certain way. For example, a person who has committed a certain sin is afflicted by a serpent in their grave. Another person in the grave right next to them is in a heavenly garden. So, one is in a garden of paradise, and the other is in hell.
The grave of Harun is right next to the grave of the Eighth Imam (Imam Reza (A)), my soul be sacrificed for him. If you consider the Imam’s grave to be facing the qibla, Harun’s grave is behind him. The poet De’bel al-Khuza’i also has a poem on this subject.
De’bel ibn Ali al-Khuza’i, the poet during the time of Imam Reza (peace be upon him), said: “When I read my Ta’iyya poem for Imam Reza—a poem that includes the following verse:
Madārisu āyātin khalat min tilāwah
Wa manzilu waḥyin muqfiru al-arāṣāt
(The houses, which were a place for teaching verses, are now empty of recitation. The house of revelation, where the Prophet’s family interpreted the verses, is now desolate and barren.)
When I reached the following two verses:
Khurūju imāmin lā maḥālata wāqi‘
Yaqūmu ‘alā ism Allāhi bi-al-barakāt
Yumayyizu fīnā kullu ḥaqq wa bāṭil
Wa yajzī ‘alā al-na‘mā’ wa al-niqamāt
(The appearance of an Imam is inevitable. He will rise in the name of God and with His blessings. He will distinguish every truth from falsehood and will reward or punish people for their good and evil deeds.)
De’bel said, “When I read these two verses, Imam Reza (A) cried profusely. Then he raised his head and said: ‘O Khuza’i! The Holy Spirit has put these two verses on your tongue. Do you know who that Imam is?’ I said: ‘No, my master! I have only heard that an Imam from your family will rise and cleanse the world of corruption and fill it with justice.’ He said:
The Imam after me is my son, Muhammad, and after Muhammad, his son, Ali, and after Ali, his son, al-Hasan, and after al-Hasan, his son, the awaited Hujjah, the Mahdi, whose appearance is certain and definite, even if only one day remains of the world. God will lengthen that day so that he may appear and fill the world with justice after it has been filled with injustice.
He continued: ‘But when? His timing cannot be determined at this time. My father narrated to me from my noble ancestors, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (A), who was asked by the Prophet (S): ‘When will the Mahdi from your descendants appear?’ He said: ‘His case is like the Day of Judgment, which only God knows the time of. It will come upon you suddenly.'”
According to a narration in Uyun Akhbar al-Reza, when De’bel read the following verse:
Arā fay’ahum fī ghayrihim mutaqassiman
Wa aydīhim min fay’ihim ṣufrāt
(I see their rights from spoils, etc., that belong to the Imam and his kin, being divided among others, and their hands are empty of their rights.)
The Imam cried again. (The Imam’s crying was for the people’s guidance and the interruption of divine laws, not for worldly matters, as the whole world was worth no more than a mosquito’s wing to him. This verse likely refers to the day of Ashura, when the wealth of the Prophet’s family was looted.) The Imam said: “O Khuza’i! You have spoken the truth.”
When De’bel reached the following verse:
Idhā wutirū amaddū ilā wātarīhim
Akuffan ‘an al-awtār munqabiḍāt
(When the family of the Prophet is wronged or one of them is martyred, their hands are not capable of taking revenge. Rather, they extend their frail and thin hands in weakness toward their tormentors and are unable to take revenge.)
The Imam (A) wrung his blessed hands in distress and said: “Yes, by God, our hands are short of taking revenge for the crimes committed against us.”
When De’bel reached the following verse:
Wa qabrun bi-Baghdād li-nafs zakiya
Taḍammanahā al-raḥmān fī al-ghurufāt
(And a grave in Baghdad for a pure soul that God has placed with His mercy in the chambers of Paradise. This refers to the grave of Musa ibn Ja’far.)
The Imam said: “O De’bel! Would you like me to add two more verses to your poem so it is complete?” He replied: “Yes, O son of the Messenger of God.” The Imam said:
Wa qabrun bi-Ṭūs yā lahā min muṣībah
Alḥat ‘alā al-aḥshā’ bi-al-zafarāt
Ilā al-ḥashr ḥattā yub‘ath Allāhu qā’iman
Yufarriju ‘annā al-ghamma wa al-kurubāt
(And a grave in Tus—what a calamity will befall it—that will ignite a fire of sorrow in the heart that will burn until the Day of Resurrection, until God raises the Mahdi, who will remove the dust of grief and sorrow from our hearts and the hearts of his followers. May God hasten his noble appearance.)
De’bel said: “Master, whose grave is that?” The Imam replied: “It is my grave, and the days and nights will not end until the city of Tus becomes a place of pilgrimage for my followers and visitors. Indeed, whoever visits me in my exile in Tus will be with me in my rank on the Day of Resurrection, and his sins will be forgiven.”
Then Imam Reza (A) rose from his place and said to De’bel: “Stay here!” He went inside, and after a while, a servant brought him one hundred dinars, each coined with the Imam’s name, and said, “My master says to keep this for your expenses.” De’bel said: “By God, I did not recite this poem for a reward. Take the bag back.” He requested, if possible, that the Imam grant him one of his robes for a blessing.
The Imam (A) sent him the bag of coins and a robe of coarse cloth and said, “You will need this money; do not return it.”
De’bel took the bag and the robe and left Merv with a caravan. After a few stops, robbers blocked their path, took all their possessions, and tied them up. When they were dividing the goods, one of the robbers was reciting the following verse from De’bel’s poem as an example:
Arā fay’ahum fī ghayrihim mutaqassiman
Wa aydīhim min fay’ihim ṣufrāt
(I see their rights from spoils, etc., that belong to the Imam and his kin, being divided among others, and their hands are empty of their rights.)
De’bel heard it and asked: “Whose poem is this?” They replied: “It belongs to a man from the Khuza’i tribe, who is called De’bel ibn Ali.” He was one of the friends and lovers of the Prophet’s family. One of the robbers told their leader that De’bel was among the caravan. The leader came to De’bel and said, “Are you De’bel?” He said: “Yes.” The leader said, “Read your poem.” After he read it, the leader ordered his hands to be untied, and then ordered all the hands of the caravan to be untied. He returned everything they had taken from them because of the blessing of De’bel’s presence.
De’bel went to Qom. The people of Qom asked him to read his poem for them. De’bel said, “All of you gather in the Grand Mosque so I can read it for you.” After the people gathered, he read his poem, and they gave him many gifts. They also heard about the Imam’s robe and asked him to sell it to them for a thousand red dinars, but he refused. They said, “Sell us a piece of it for a thousand dinars,” but he still refused and left Qom.
As soon as they were out of the city, some Arab youths blocked his path and forcibly took the robe from him. De’bel returned to Qom and requested that the robe be returned to him. They said it was impossible, but he could have a thousand dinars from them. De’bel did not accept it. He requested that a piece of the robe be returned to him. They accepted, gave him a piece of the robe, and the rest of the money.
When De’bel returned to his hometown, he found that thieves had emptied his house. He was forced to sell the coins minted with the name of Imam Reza (A) to his friends as a blessing. He received one hundred dirhams for each dinar and ended up with ten thousand dirhams. Then he remembered the Imam’s words: “You will need these coins.”
His daughter, whom he loved very much, was afflicted with a strange eye disease. He took her to several doctors, and after examining her, they all said: “Her right eye is beyond cure and has lost its sight. But we will try with her left eye, and we are hopeful that she will get better with treatment.”
De’bel was distressed by this and was constantly crying over his daughter’s eye pain. Suddenly, he remembered the piece of the robe and placed it over his daughter’s eyes. When the girl woke up in the morning and removed the piece of the robe from her eyes, she saw that her eyes were healed and even better than before, thanks to the blessing of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (A).
Everyone is in their own soul, their own celestial realm, and their own intermediate world. Right here, where we are sitting, one person is suffering within their own being, and another is happy within their own being, and both are sitting next to each other. Neither one affects the other. So, we might be in hell even if we are buried close to our Prophet Muhammad (S).
The grave, the intermediate world, and the Day of Resurrection are all like this. Every person’s manifestations are for their own soul. The serpents, the joys, and the evils that exist—all of them are within the capacity of the person’s own perception. Pay close attention to this.
Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani says: “I used to see the Messenger of God in my dreams so often that they had given me the title ‘Companion of the Chosen One.”
He says, for example, he saw the Messenger of God a multitude of times, and after all of them, he understood that he had seen no one but himself. What a person perceives is their own soul. We have the Prophet (S), Imam Ali (A), Imam Hussain (A), Muawiyah, and others within our own souls. Everything that exists is in the human soul.
When the Quran instructs us to send blessings on the Prophet (and these are among the mysteries), God is not waiting for me to say, “O God, send blessings,” so that He will elevate the Prophet. Will it make a difference to the Prophet if I send blessings or not?
Blessings elevate the Prophet within our souls. This means that the connection between our soul and the soul of the Messenger of God is elevated. The curse you send upon the enemies of the Prophet’s family will humiliate and disgrace Muawiyah within your own soul. Otherwise, the real Muawiyah is already disgraced and humiliated in his place, whether you curse him or not. His state does not depend on my cursing him.
The Muawiyah that is within you is a branch of the real Muawiyah. The entire world is in our existence. In one person, Muawiyah has become the ruler of his soul, and in another, Imam Ali (A) has become the king of his being. In some people, these two are at odds. The “army of the Merciful” and the “army of the Devil” are at war within their being. Sometimes they sin, and at other times they attend a religious gathering. Sometimes they do a bad deed, and other times they do a good one.
The blessings and the curses shape our own souls. All of this is within the vessel of our own existence. It is about how you shape yourself.
God willing, we will proceed in a way that is in accordance with the universal order and the justice that has been mentioned in the prophetic tradition:
The Prophet (S): “The heavens and the earth stand firm with justice.”
We pray that we live in accordance with the justice of the world.
Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian
All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.
