Esoteric Fatima

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The Esoteric and Symbolic Significance

of Fatimah (salamallah aliha)

Speech by Dr. Rebecca Masterton. 

[5 June 2010, Manchester, U.K.]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

All praise is due to the One Reality that brought us into existence through Love and endowed us with the light of consciousness that we may a witness His Perfection; and salutations to His Final Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad, and the Purified Progeny who came after him and who are still to come. Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her), daughter of the final Prophet and Messenger, peace be upon him and his purified progeny, has, like the Holy Prophet, both exoteric and esoteric dimensions. This means that she has a historical personality and also a cosmological personality. She is known as someone who washed the blood from her father’s face on the battlefield; who cleaned him and comforted him after he had animal entrails thrown at him and who was known as Umm Abiha: the Mother of her Father, such was the respect that the Prophet had for her. She also staunchly defended her husband, Ali ibn Abi Talib, in the face of those who sought to wrest from him his position as the successor of the Holy Prophet. She was outspoken and unafraid. So what about Fatimah’s inner, cosmological personality? What can we learn from it?

In turning to this dimension of Fatimah, not only do we journey to the inner reality of this revealed way of life, Islam, but we are also able to understand better the one underlying Reality from which we originate and to which we will return. Fatimah was sent into the world not only to assist in establishing Islam as a way of life to be practiced here, but also as a sign of the One Reality that has brought everything into existence and as a means to knowing that Reality.

Islam teaches that God has ninety-nine Names and Attributes and these Names and Attributes both make up creation and are reflected in it. The aim of the Muslim is likewise to reflect them in a manner befitting human capacity. However, what is different between those of us who have been brought into this world in order to undergo the trials of the soul so that we may be polished in our return to the One Reality, and the Holy Prophet and his Purified Family and Progeny, is that, while we strive imperfectly to manifest the Names and Attributes, the Purified Family and Progeny were created already as their perfect manifestations. In relation to the verse of the Quran, where it says

“To Allah belong the Best Names” - (7:180)

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), the sixth Imam, has said,

“We are the Names of Allah.”

(Amuli, 44).

The Holy Prophet and his Purified Family and Progeny were created as perfect manifestations of the Attributes in order that they might be infallible examples for mankind to follow, and in order that this perfection might shine in the spiritual darkness of the world throughout history until the end of time.

In cosmological terms, according to Islam, the Fourteen Infallibles− the Prophet, his daughter Fatimah and the Twelve Imams − were created as manifestations of the Names and Attributes before coming into existence in this world. We could say that, at one point in history, therefore, they existed simultaneously both in the highest realm of the cosmic hierarchy, which is the realm of the Intellect, and in this, worldly realm, as human beings and lamps of guidance.

There are many narrations that tell of Fatimah’s cosmic qualities. It is said that Fatimah was created from the Name al-Fatir, and al-Fatir has different meanings, each related to each other. Al-Fatir is said to be ‘the cleaver of the heavens and the earth’, since the name derives from fatara: to cleave. According to the respected scholar Shaykh Khalfan, in this case al-Fatir means ‘one who cleaves and breaks non-existence and brings about existence’, or, ‘one who originates and brings into being.’

There is one narration in which God is seen to converse with Prophet Adam before Adam comes into existence. Here, God introduces Fatimah (peace be upon her) to Adam, saying

“...and this is Fatima while I am the Fatir al-samawati wa al-ardh (Originator of the heavens and the earth (6:79), Fatimu a’da’i min Rahmati yawma fasli qada’I (the Severer of My enemies from My mercy on the day of My judgment), and Fatimuawliya’i ‘amma ya’tarihim wa yashinuhum (the Relinquisher of affliction and disgrace from those near to Me). So I derived for her a name from My Name.”

According to another narration, when God brought Adam into being, Adam saw five names inscribed on the Throne – the Throne being God’s Knowledge and Power – and he asked what they were. God told him

“First there is Muhammad, for I amal-mahmūd (The Praised One);second, there is Ali, for I amal-‘ālī (the Most High); third, there is Fatimah, for I amal-fātir (the Creator); fourth, there is al-Hasan, for I amal-muhsin (the Benefactor); and fifth, there is al-Husayn, for I amdhu al-ihsān (the Lord of Beauty and Perfection).”

(Ibn Babuyah).

There are other beautiful narrations where Adam encounters Fatimah in the Garden, before the Fall of Man.

“When God created Adam... there was a brilliant girl from whom light was illuminating and on her head was a golden crown ornamented with diamonds; the like of whom Adam had never seen. Adam asked: `My Lord who is this girl?' God said: 'Fatima daughter of Muhammad.’ Adam said: `My Lord, who is her husband? God said: `O Gabriel, open the gate of the ruby palace;' when Gabriel did, Adam saw a dome of camphor and inside it was a golden bed equipped by a young man as beautiful as Yusef.' He then said: "this is her husband, Ali ibn Abu Talib.”

(Sunni scholar, Safuri Shafe'i in his book Nuzhat al-Majlis v. 2, p. 223).

The eleventh Imam, Imam al-Hassan ibn Ali al-Askari (peace be upon him) reported that his Fathers quoted a well-known companion of the Prophet, Jabir ibn Abdullah, as saying:

“The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: 'When God created Adam and Eve, they strutted through paradise and said: `Who are better than we?' At that moment they noticed an image of a girl like they had never seen before; from this girl came an illuminating light so bright that it almost blinded the eyes. They said: 'O Lord, what is this?' He answered: 'This is the image of Fatima, the mistress of your women descendants.' Adam asked: 'What is this crown on her head?' Allah said: 'Her husband Ali.’ Adam then asked: 'What are her two earrings?' God replied: 'Her (two) sons, they were ordained in My ever-existent knowledge two thousand years before I created you'.”

(Asqalani in his book Lisan al-Mizan v. 3, p. 346).

The greatest night in the Islamic calendar is that which falls in the Month of Ramadan, and which is called Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, or the Night of Divine Decree. It was on this night that the Quran was sent down to the heart of the Holy Prophet and there is a chapter in the Quran named after it, also called Qadr. In relation to this, the sixth Imam, Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) has famously said,

“The Night of Divine Decree is Fatimah (peace be upon her.), therefore whoever knows Fatimah (peace be upon her) well has understood the Night of Divine Decree.”

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq also said

“the Night is Fatimah and the Qadr – the Power or the Divine Decree – is Allah.”

(Amuli, 40).

As one scholar has noted, Fatimah’s burial place is hidden and she was buried at night; similarly the exact date of the Night of Power in the Month of Ramadan is not known: it may be the Night of the 21st, the 23th or the 25th. Thus Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said,

“She has been called Fatimah because mankind has been prevented (fatimu) from obtaining her acquaintance’ and ‘cannot comprehend her innermost essence.”

(Amuli, 40) .

Not only that, but we may interpret from this that esoteric knowledge – knowledge of the heart – is itself hidden in many ways: it is hidden since it lies in the innermost depths of our being and remains known only to us and the One Reality that is God; it is largely hidden from those around us; and often, it must remain hidden in society from those who would not understand it and who might condemn it because they don’t understand.

Similarly, Fatimah represents the esoteric dimensions of Islam; those dimensions that also lie hidden to all except those who have a discerning eye and heart and who sincerely seek out this hidden knowledge; furthermore, as the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who himself said that,

“the Prophet showed me a thousand doors of knowledge and behind each door was another thousands doors.”

And, as the mother of the Imams who succeeded her, who were, and are, the guardians of the deeper dimensions of Islam, it can also be seen how Fatimah is she from whom flows all esoteric knowledge, culminating in he who is also hidden, the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (may God hasten his return) who also instructs his followers in secret to this day.

Iranian scholar Hasan Hasanzadeh Amuli has explained that ‘The Night of Divine Decree is the structure of the Perfect Man.’ The Perfect Man is a human being who reflects all of God’s Attributes. It is said, according to some scholars, that the universe also reflects all of God’s Attributes.

The Quran, likewise, is said to be a universe, reflecting all of God’s Attributes. The human being who reflects all of God’s Attributes is thus a ‘walking Quran’ as the Holy Prophet was called. The Night of Divine Decree, in which the entire Quran, reflecting all of God’s Attributes, was revealed to the heart of the Holy Prophet, is thus the structure of the Perfect Man, and Fatimah, as the Night, is the place and the time in which it was revealed, and the means by which it descended to the earthly realm. She is, according to a narration, the ‘Confluence of the Two Lights’ – majma al-nurayn– these two lights being prophecy and imamate, the exoteric and the esoteric manifestations of authority and knowledge.

The Night of Power is also known as the heart of the Seal of Prophethood. Fatimah, therefore, is the heart of the Seal of Prophethood. She is also, as Amuli says, the ‘fruit of prophecy’.

Such is Fatimah’s status that she has been given intercession of those who follow her. The Holy Prophet said

“I named her Fatimah because God protected ( fatama) her and whoever loves her from the Fire.”

In a Sunni text on Fatimah, Abul Fadl Ahmadi (d.942 of Hedjra),writes that

“Ali must be regarded as the true Tuba-tree of Paradise, for he serves as the veil through which the light of Fatima manifests itself.”

And, in a poem by Ibrahim Tusi (d. 750 AH/ 1350 CE) it is written:

“X. She is the tree with twelve branches whose fruits have been cultivated in secret since the beginning of time, preserved for the elect in measured share, those leaders of seekers and lovers.

XI. She is the sanctuary of paradise with the Tuba tree, she is the source of Salsabil , that exquisite drink of which never satiates, which heals hearts and grants every wish to the learned and the wise.

XII. She is their residence built since eternity, their majestically towering shelter. She is the raging sea, the light of the Name, the book which conceals within itself all wisdom, of which the text of the Koran is but an outer cover, a distant echo.”

The figure of Fātima has influenced Islamic practice globally. In Somalia and Djibouti, women have gatherings called sittaat. At these gatherings, they seek closeness to Fātima, and also her intercession, chanting:

“Madaad madaad , Fatima, daughter of the Chosen One; Madaad madaad , Fatima, daughter of the Prophet; Give us that for which we call upon you [...] You, new moon, mother, lightning that reached the earth; shining Fatima, we need you urgently.”

(Harrow (ed.), 1996: 133).

She also appears in the praise poems of Nana Asmau, daughter of Usmān dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto caliphate in nineteenth century West Africa:

“And Fadima Zahra’u, or Batulu; Gracious lady, close follower of the Prophet. She was peerless, she who shunned the world.”

(Boyd; Mack, 1997:74).

Of course, Fatimah also has her own European legacy, from the time that Muslims lived in Portugal and named the famous place known as Fatimah after her; and this place has become the confluence of Fatimah and Mary, as two holy women fused together as one voice.

Now, while Fatimah (peace be upon her) is lauded in the Islamic tradition, and across the Muslim world, it may be asked, what relevance does she have in today’s Western world? Is she not just an obscure, archaic figure that has no place in societies where people live so differently from her time?

In fact, we can say that certainly, we live in a world where only fragments of prophetic knowledge are left; where the traces of the prophetic path have faded, and where people have become divorced from their own inner dimensions, leading to a global sense of unease and dissatisfaction with the self. Our societies have become alienated from the prophetic path and people have become alienated from themselves, often without even realising it. Seeking out those faded traces of the path might be seen as something quaint and odd, incomprehensible and irrelevant, yet this is a path of light which has been revealed in order, as I said before, for us to know the most fundamental reality of our existence: the One Absolute Reality out of which all other realities have emerged; and that One Absolute Reality lies at the very heart of our own existence; unless we can know that Reality, that Truth, we can never know ourselves, and as long as we cannot know ourselves, we will continually live in a state of restless dissatisfaction. Fatimah is the model of prophetic femininity; she is also the model of strength and power that derives from prophetic knowledge.

In today’s world, where this prophetic model is all but forgotten, Fatimah is an example of resistance against the tide of a ruthless, worldly consciousness that pervades our society and agitates our souls. She is a reminder of what we could be as human beings if only we followed the signs pointing to our own inner reality, and she herself is one of those signs. As the embodiment of the esoteric dimensions of the prophetic path, the carrier and transmitter of its light, Fatimah calls us to search more deeply for that which may not at first be apparent; to explore the hidden depths of our own selves in order that we too may purify ourselves and be filled with the light that illuminates our existence and which brings us back to a state of inner peace.

[Rebecca Masterton]

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The Heart of Wilaya

[Speech by Dr. Rebecca Masterton, 21 November 2009, London, U.K.]

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

All Praise is due to the pure existence which brought us into existence, and salutations and blessings to the manifestations of His Sublime Attributes, our noble Prophet and His Purified Progeny. May their light shatter the darkness of ignorance prevailing on the earth.

As-salaamu alaykum ya Amir al-Mumineen!

We have come together to remember you. After all these centuries you are still remembered. Ibn Muljam could not put out your light. The massacre of your family could not put out your light. The imprisonment of your descendents could not put out your light. Your followers have been bricked up alive inside the walls of their oppressors, but still the oppressors could not put out your light. Now people from faraway countries have invaded the land where you are buried, trampling on the ground that still trembles with the blood of your sons. Others have tried to destroy their shrines. Your followers have been scattered across the world, but none of that has diminished your light. Indeed, it is your light that has been scattered across the world.

The terms wilaya and walaya come from the same root, but have different meanings. Wilaya refers more to authority, while walaya means friendship and assistance. It could be said that wilaya contains walaya. It is through wilaya that walaya is attained. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (alaisalam) said:

“You can benefit from our friendship only if you obey God.”

(Tabarsi, 1422: 174).

It could be said, then, that we can only benefit from the walaya of the Imam, if we also accept his wilaya, for accepting his wilaya is one of Allah’s commandments.

Submission to the Imam is submission to the Prophet which is submission to Allah (the Glorious). Why?

Imam Jafar (alaisalam) narrates that

“Jibril (alaisalam) brought down to Muhammad (peace be on him and his family) two pomegranates from Paradise. ‘Ali met him and said ‘What are those two pomegranates in your hand?’ The Messenger said ‘This one is prophethood, and there is no part in it for you, but this one is Knowledge.’ Then the Messenger split the second pomegranate in two and gave Ali one half, saying ‘You are my partner in this, I am your partner in it’.”

(Al-Kafi, vol 1, Part Two, p, 275)

The Prophet and the Imam are not just brothers symbolically, but brothers in knowledge.

The first thing that Allah (the Glorious) created was the Intellect, which is otherwise called the Pen (Qalam), and which is otherwise known as al-nur al-muhammadi, the muhammadan light. It is from this light that the universe was created, and it is this light which the Holy Prophet manifests and embodies, and it is this light from which Imam Ali (alaisalam) also came into being. This is confirmed by the words of the Prophet, in which he said,

“I and Ali are of one light.”

(Ibn Babuye, Amali, majlis 41, in Moezzi: 160)

Imam Musa al-Kazim (alaisalam):

“Imama is the light, and that is the meaning of His saying ‘So have faith in Allah and his apostle and the light which we have sentdown.”

(Ref, ‘The light is the Imam’, p. 46).

The muhammadan light was transmitted through all of the Imams. They all carry it. It is carried by Imam al-Zaman (afs) and by means of that, it continues to pervade the universe.

The muhammadan light, al-nur al-muhammadi, is also called al-haqiqa al-muhammadiyya, the muhammadan truth. Imam Ali (alaisalam) embodied the muhammadan truth and he transmitted it.

Those who submitted to Imam Ali’s wilaya were his Shias, and among them were, as we know, Salman, Miqdad, Ammar ibn Yasir and Abu Dhar Ghifari. They were known as the sabiqun, and as Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (alaisalam) said

“the sabiq is the one who annihilates his will in Allah’s will.”

(Schimmel, 1975: 191).

The Shia, then, is the one who annihilates his own desire, and that means that he annihilates his own self. In annihilating his self, he assimilates to the Imam, and in assimilating to the Imam, he assimilates to the Prophet, and in assimilating to the Prophet he assimilates to the Attributes of Allah, and in assimilating to the attributes of Allah (the Glorious) he assimilates to the muhammadan truth and the muhammadan light. The Shia attains walaya without wilaya. The Shia becomes a friend of Allah, a wali. This is a Shia.

Of the awliya, or awliyaallah, as they were called in the early days of Islam, Imām Ali (alaisalam) says, in Nahj al-Balāgha:

“The awliyaallah are those who look at the inward side of the world while others look at its outward side.” 

The Shia of the Imam, the one who is annihilated, sees beyond the exoteric dimensions of existence. The exoteric, outward manifestation of existence is only a sign of its inner dimensions and its inner meaning. The exoteric is finite; the esoteric is the door to the infinite. It is in journeying beyond the exoteric that one may witness the esoteric; in journeying beyond the finite, one may begin to witness the infinite. In witnessing the infinite one realizes tawhid. Realising tawhid, which entails seeing beyond the outward side of the world, is not something to be taken lightly, as Imam Ali himself said:

“It would be better for you to be blind than to lose your insight.”

(Scale of Wisdom,).

The Shia is one who has insight.

It has been said by one of the scholars that the Imam is

“the witness for the people, the gate to God (bab Allah), and the road (sabil) and the proof (dalil ) thatleads to Him.”

(Sayed Husain Jafri, 166).

We can remember the famous event when Imam Ali (alaisalam) was in the Battle of the Camel, and one of the mujahidin came to him and asked him to explain for what it was they were fighting. Imam Ali (alaisalam) stopped in the middle of battle to explain tawhid to the mujahid. It can be seen from this, then, that one can only truly obey the Imam and accept his wilaya if one knows tawhid, but at the same time one can only know tawhid if one accepts the wilaya of the Imam. This is confirmed by the famous hadith narrated by Imam al-Ridha (alaisalam) through Imam Ali (alaisalam), in which the Messenger of Allah conveyed from Jibril that Allah (the Glorious) said,

“La ilaha illallah is My Fortress, and whoever utters it enters my Fortess, and whoever enters my Fortress becomes safe from my chastisement.”

It is known that Imam al-Ridha (alaisalam) told the people

“It depends upon its conditions, and I am one of its conditions.”

Thus, one of the conditions upon which our profession of unity is accepted is our acceptance of the Imam’s wilaya; but accepting the Imam’s wilaya requires understanding, and may Allah (the Glorious) increase us in that.

What does the acceptance of the Imam’s wilaya entail?

The exoteric aspect of wilaya is the universal authority of the Imam; the esoteric aspect of wilaya is tawhid, and the path to that tawhid is love −mahabba− for the Imam.

Just as the masters teach that you cannot attain haqiqa without passing through Shari‘a and tariqa, so you cannot attain it without passing through wilaya and mahabba.

The love for the Imam is the tariqa, but what does that love mean?

Many Muslims around the world claim that they love the Imam, but what do they mean by ‘love’?

Love for the Imam is not merely a sentiment, or a feeling. Anyone can claim to have some kind of sentiment or feeling for the Imam, especially if they have been told that loving him is one of the obligatory aspects of Islam.

Love for the Imam entails perceiving the reality of the Imam with the eye of the heart.

Love for the Imam entails cleansing away the darkness of egoism and lower desires so that his light shines within the soul.

The Imam is light, and that light is knowledge, and this knowledge is what has been transmitted to the Imam from the Divine source of all knowledge, and is what the Imam embodies. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (alaisalam) said

“The light of the Imam in the hearts of the faithful is more brilliant than that of the luminous sun.”

(al-Kulayni,Usul, vol. 1,kitab al-hujja).

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (alaisalam) said

“the position of the heart within the body is the same as the position of the imam among those who owe their obedience to him.”

(Ibn Babuye, vol. 1).

When asked one day by a companion called Dhilib if he saw Allah (the Glorious), Imam Ali (alaisalam) replied

“in the Ascending Stairways the wave of His power casts a wave which blinds the eye of the spirit” and he advised Dhilib to “become the companion of that reliable one who is the beloved of his Master and surrounded by the favours of his Protector/ Smiling, he became in the earth the proof of guidance (dalil al-huda) and in Heaven the adorned and acknowledged.”

(Tabatabai, A Shiite Anthology, 40).

Other Imams have said

“Our teaching is difficult, very difficult; the only ones who can take it are a prophet sent from God, an angel of Proximity, or a faithful believer whose heart has been tested by God for faith.”

(al-Saffar, Basair, section 1, chapter, 11, in Moezzi, 55).

Love for the Imam is not a sentiment, but it is a state attained through the pursuit of self-perfection, and through trial.

Accepting the wilaya of the Imam means being prepared for these trials, and being prepared for a knowledge that can obliterate the soul.

Imam Ali’s knowledge is a light and that light is mahabba for the Divine. As Imam Ali (alaisalam) says

“Love of Allah (the Glorious) is a fire which does not pass by anything without burning it up; the light of Allah (the Glorious) does not come over something without illuminating it.”

Assimilation to the Imam means assimilation to his state, and his state is one of burning up with love for the Divine.

In loving the Imam, the Shia cannot but burn up with this love, but it is not a love of passion; as can be seen from Imam Ali’s (alaisalam) words, it is a love that is illumination and it is a love that follows from knowing the reality of the One Absolute Reality.

Imam Ali (alaisalam) said

“The faith of a man accepted knowingly remains steadfast and is of profit for him. Whoever enters the house of faith without knowledge makes his exit from that house in the same way in which he entered it.”

(Al-Kafi, vol. 1, Part1, p. 15).

True iman is based upon knowledge and knowledge is received through the aql. Imam Jafar al-Sadiq said

“The aql is that by which God is worshipped and a place in Paradise earned.”

(Al-Kafi, vol. 1, Part 1, p. 15).

It could be said that in Islamic though the aql is the eye of the heart. It is the aql that perceives the reality of what is apparent. It is not merely the intellect; rather, it is intelligence, apprehension, the faculty of perception and discernment. Thus it is through the light of the intelligence that the reality of the Reality is known. This is why it is said that the first thing that Allah (the Glorious) created was the aql , and this is why it could be said that the Imam is the embodiment the aql. The authority of wilaya is the authority of the intelligence. This means that the umma is enlightened by the lamp of intelligence that is the Imam, and also that the Shia perceives the reality of the Imam through his own intelligence.

In perceiving the reality of the Imam, the Shia perceives the reality of the Imam’s light, which is the knowledge of Allah (the Glorious). Could we have ever known the real meaning of tawhid , if it has not been for Imam Ali’s teaching, in which he says

“Eyes do not see Him through the sight’s observation, but hearts see Him through the verities of faith (haqaiq al-iman)”.

And Imam Ali (alaisalam) said

“if you speak truly, O you who tries to describe your Lord, then describe Jibril, Mikail and the hosts of the angels brought near, bowing in the sacred chambers (hujarat al-quds), their intellects in adoring perplexity to delimit the Fairest of Creators. Surely only those are perceived through attributes who possess form and who end in annihilation when they reach the limit of their term”

(Tabatabai, 37).

In other words, if we cannot even describe the angels that worship the One Absolute Reality, then how can we begin to describe the One Absolute Reality itself? To which Imam Ali (alaisalam) says

“There is no god but He. He illumines with His Light every darkness and He darkens with His Darkness every light.”

And here we see that even the intellects of the angels, through which they worship Allah (the Glorious), are taken in a state of adoration and of perplexity.

Imam Ali (alaisalam) has taught that it is through the aql that we attain freedom, but what kind of freedom?

It is freedom from everything other than Allah (the Glorious). We attain freedom from the limitations and constrictions of finite reality; freedom from desires of the self; freedom from attachment to all that is base and corrupt. It has been said that the Imam is bab Allah, the door to Allah. The Imam is the door to the realm of a Reality that has no limitation or constriction; in fact the realm where we witnessed that Reality before we came here. Wilaya is the door to an ocean that has no shore.

It is not possible to begin to convey the magnitude of the esoteric dimensions of wilaya. This article highlights only a few points, in attempting to show that wilaya is more than mere political authority.

Wilaya is the sacred vessel by which the knowledge of tawhid is protected and transmitted. Accepting the wilaya of the Imam is more than assenting to his right to rule as a political leader; it is the beginning of a journey towards the inward reality of the Imam, by means of which we are conveyed to One, in all His Glory and Majesty

[Rebecca Masterton]

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Zuhd in the life of Imam Ali (alaisalam)

Speech by Dr. Rebecca Masterton,

[19 June 2011, Islamic Centre, London, U.K.]

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

All praise is due to the One that has brought us into being in order for us to know Him by means of our own souls and salutations to the Lantern of Guidance, Muhammad the Chosen One and the purified transmitters of his Light, his Holy and Purified Progeny.

Special greetings to leader of the zuhhad, the ascetics, who detached himself utterly from this world. I pray we may inculcate something of what he strove to teach his followers, if only not to hurt him or break his heart. Today we can take a short look at an element of his practice, which is also central to Islam: that of zuhd, asceticism.

What is it and why is it so essential?

Imam al-Sadiq (alaisalam) said,

“All goodness has been placed in one house, and its key is zuhd and restraint from worldly pleasures.”

(Bihar al-Anwar, 1/308/78).

Zuhd is the key to all goodness. The key to attaining peace of mind, is not only to break our attachments to worldly things, but also to reduce the importance that we give to our desires for things, and we can do this by turning our attention to our vision of the life which we long for in the next world.

Zuhd involves instilling within ourselves an attitude towards the world, and this is taught to us in the Holy Quran, where it says

“Whatever is with you, will be exhausted, and whatever is with Allah (of good deeds) will remain.”

(An-Nahl 16:96).

Again the Holy Quran warns us:

“Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers, evildoers), and (there is) Forgiveness of Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers, good doers), whereas the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.”

(Al-Hadid57:20).

It warns us again:

“Say: The enjoyment of this world is short; and the Hereafter is better for him who obeys God’s commandments in fear of Him.”

(Al- Nisa 4:77)

And again: “This life of the world is but a pastime and a game, but the home of the Hereafter, that is Life if they but knew.”

(Al-Ankabut 29:64)

We live in an age where we desire the rewards of salah, fasting and giving charity, while at the same time our hearts are riven with envy for the good things that our fellow Muslims have acquired and bitterness for what we have lost or what has been taken away from us. We compare salaries, job positions, qualifications; decide whether we will associate with someone based upon the type of car they drive; classify each other into those worth our time and those not worth our time based upon whether they are from a country that we consider rich or a country that we consider  poor. We jostle for position within our families, our community and our company at work. We feel hard done by if we don’t get what we want; if Allah (the Glorious) does not appear to have provided us with what we have prayed for; yet the ayah says

“Stretch not thine eyes to that We have given pairs of them to enjoy−the flower of the present life, that We may try them therein; and thy Lord's provision is better and more enduring.”

(Ta Ha 20:131).

We attend majalis, read certain surahs and duas for a certain number of days and times and seek out amaal that are going to fulfil our wishes, our hearts burning for the things that we desire. Yet the Holy Prophet has said

“People cannot worship Allah with anything better than asceticism [al-zuhd fi al-dunya].”

Bihar al-Anwar, 66/80/78) (Scale of Wisdom, p.480).

To free ourselves from our attachment to our wishes and desires is the best way to worship Allah (the Glorious). Imam Ali said:

“Asceticism is the distinguishing characteristic of people with taqwa– who are God conscious - and the natural disposition of those who turn to Allah.”

( Nahj al-Balāgha,al-Hikma, 28)

Note that he says here ‘the natural disposition of those who turn to Allah’. It is a characteristic of the person; something that is innate to him or her. The one who inclines towards Allah is the one who will naturally incline away from the world. It is therefore not something that such a person has to force and it is certainly not something that someone can mimic, or fake. Asceticism arises from an attitude and a way of being; it arises from a way of relating to the world.

We find that people of the umma feel compelled to compete in a capitalist society with ahl al-dunya who have succeeded in attaining some of its wealth and social status; and we find people of the umma beginning to assess each other based upon the degree and extent to which they have also managed to attain some wealth and social status. Yet, here the Imam reminds us:

“Certainly, if Allah were to allow anyone to indulge in pride He would have allowed it to his selected prophets and vicegerents; but Allah, the Sublime, disliked vanity for them and liked humbleness for them. Therefore, he laid their cheeks on the ground, smeared their faces with dust, bent themselves down for the believers and kept them as humble people. Allah tried them with hunger, afflicted them with difficulty, tested them with fear, and upset them with troubles. Therefore, do not regard wealth and progeny as the criterion for Allah’s pleasure and displeasure”. (p. 411).

And this is also a reminder for those of us who have not succeeded in competing in this world; it is a reminder for those of us who have failed to attain wealth or progeny; who have failed to live up to the hopes and expectations of our families, friends and neighbours, and we can take comfort in the reminder that, as Imam Ali (alaisalam) says:

“The Prophet used to eat on the ground, and sat like a slave. He repaired his shoe with his hand, and patched his clothes with his hand.”

(Sermon 159, p. 347)

As we know, Imām Ali is also said to have patched his own clothes. Do we follow in his tradition? What happens when something tears? Do we sew it again, or do we throw it away and buy something new, because we would be ashamed about what our friends and neighbours might think, or perhaps because we ourselves look at it and dislike it for being torn? This is not to say that we must dress in rags, as that too is disliked. The Muslim is meant to look clean and smart; but if Imam Ali (alaisalam) mended his clothes, this is a benchmark for the definition of smartness; it is a smartness accompanied by simplicity and humility.

We can look at another verse of the Quran on which the Imam commented, and indeed on which the Imams after him also commented:

“There befalls not any misfortune either in the earth or in your own persons, but it is recorded in a Book  before We bring it into being – surely that easy for God – that you may not grieve over what is lost to you nor exult because of that which He has bestowed upon you. And God loves not any conceited boaster.” (57:22-3).

And the key part of these ayahs

We can look at another verse of the Quran on which the Imam commented, and indeed on which the Imams after him also commented:

“There befalls not any misfortune either in the earth or in your own persons, but it is recorded in a Book  before We bring it into being – surely that easy for God – that you may not grieve over what is lost to you nor exult because of that which He has bestowed upon you. And God loves not any conceited boaster.” (57:22-3).

And the key part of these ayahs on which the Imam has commented is the phrase “that you may not grieve over what is lost to you nor exult because of that which He has bestowed upon you.” On this Imam Ali (alaisalam) has said

“Zuhd is summed up between two phrases in the Quran, where Allah, most High, says, ‘So that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what He has given you.’ Therefore, one who neither grieves about past losses nor is overjoyed about the possessions he is granted has perfected his asceticism from both sides.”

Bihar al-Anwar , 40/222/103).

What we are trying to cultivate, then, if we are seeking to follow in the footsteps of the Imam, is detachment from the vicissitudes of this life; we are seeking to be freed from being ruled by the circumstances in which we find ourselves and over which we have no control. Imam Ali (alaisalam) has thus taught us the way to liberate ourselves, which is not to give these changing circumstances such importance that they affect our iman– our inner state and our relationship with and connection to Allah (the Glorious).

Indeed, what is the iman that changes with the weather? The Quran says

“And if We cause man to taste some mercy from Us and afterward withdraw it from him, indeed he is despairing, thankless. And if We cause him to taste grace after some misfortune that had befallen him, he says ‘The ills have gone from me. Indeed he is exultant, boastful/ Except those who persevere and do good works. Theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward’.”

(Hud, 11: 9-11).

Imam Ali (alaisalam) says

“No person gets rejoicing from this world, but tears come to him after it, and no one gets its comforts in the front, but he has to face hardships behind him. No one receives the light rain of ease in it but the heavy rain of distress pours upon him. It is just worthy of this world that in the morning it supports a man but in the evening it does not recognise him. If one side of its sweet and pleasant, the other side is bitter and distressing.” (Sermon 110)

So, Imam Ali (alaisalam) warns us against attaching our hopes to what this world may or may not provide us and against anxiety, fear and despair over what we have lost and are going to lose. He says:

“Certainly this world has not been made a place of permanent stay for you. But it has been created as a pathway in order that you may take form it the provisions of your actions for the permanent house in Paradise.” (p.312)

Indeed, in theory we know this. We have heard that we should be as travellers in this world; we know that it is not our permanent abode; yet living according to those teachings is another matter. We say ‘Yes, my Imam (alaisalam). I hear what you say’, yet aligning our hearts with his words is another matter – the most difficult thing of all. Imam looks at us and says:

“What is your condition? You feel satisfied with what little you have secured from this world, while much of the next world of which you have been deprived does not grieve you. The little of this world which you lose pains you so much that it becomes apparent in your faces and in the lack of endurance over whatever is taken away from you.” (Sermon 112, p. 284)

We seek the assistance of Allah (the Glorious) through the haqq of our Imam to give us endurance in the face of losses.

Not only was the Imam the perfect example of zuhd, of detachment from desires, he further taught us to thank Allah for whatever condition is given us. Imam says:

“We praise Him for whatever He takes or gives or whatever He inflicts on us or tries us with.” (p. 312).

What kind of inner state of being must a person have, who can thank Allah sincerely for whatever happens to him and whatever befalls him?

Imam al-Sadiq (alaisalam) after him has even said that the zahid is one who is glad for such apparent losses. He says that, for the zahid,

“their loss as a source of comfort and their  presence as a source of misfortune”

( Bihar al-Anwar , 23/220/103 in Scale of Wisdom, p. 481).

We may remember here the advice of Imam al-Husayn (alaisalam), which is not to pray to acquire things, but to pray for Allah (the Glorious) to lighten our burdens. Enforced losses of the things of the world prevent us from becoming complacent and falling into the trap of the illusion of comfort and stability so that we forget our afterlife. Such losses keep us alert to the world’s instability and compel us to turn inwards to the heart through means of which we learn reliance on Allah (the Glorious) only.

We can compare those whose pains at the losses of this world show in their faces, to those who have trained themselves in the art of detachment. Here, Imam Ali (alaisalam)says,

“Those who restrain themselves from worldly pleasures are such that their hearts are weeping though outwardly they may laugh, they experience great sorrow though they may display joy, and they are filled with self-contempt thought they rejoice at all that they have been bestowed.”

( Kanz al-Ummal , 44403).

Furthermore, it is not that their hearts are weeping through loss of worldly things, but weeping through separation from their Lord; weeping through shame of their lowly state before their Lord; weeping at the state of the world in which they find themselves; and while they may grateful for the blessings bestowed on them in this world, they do not exult in them and see them as a source of pride in themselves; rather, they continue with the process of self-analysis; of stripping away anything that even resembles pride or self-admiration, and of remaining humble. Imam Ali (alaisalam) says

“The best level of zuhd is to conceal one’s zuhd.”

(Maani al-Akhbar , 1/152, in Scale of Wisdom, p. 484).

Our zuhd is between us and our Lord; it is something private, not something that we show to the world, for that contradicts the very act of turning away from the world. Such people, who don’t seek self-promotion among the people, are the real zuhhad. Imam Ali (alaisalam) gives us the advice that:

“When zahid flees from people, seek after him, and when he seeks after people, flee from him.”

( Kanz al-Ummāl , 44559).

The zahid whose company we should seek out for knowledge, honesty and piety is the one who shuns fame, glamour and power over other people.

Therefore, whatever happens to us in this life, Imam Ali (alaisalam) advises us to keep humble and to focus our attention more on the realm to which we are all destined to travel. As he says:

“You should become the children of the next world and not become the children of this world, because on the Day of Judgement every child would cling to its mother. Today is the Day of action and there is no reckoning, while tomorrow is the Day of reckoning while there is no [opportunity] for action.”

(Sermon42, p. 200).

It is in focusing resolutely on our destination that we can avoid being deceived by our own desires, hopes and wishes; and it is in contemplating more deeply the meaning and the reality of the next world that we can more easily turn away from this one. As he says

“How can one renounce the pleasures of this world when he has not yet fathomed the worth of the Hereafter?”

(Bihar al-Anwar ,10/219/103).

We give value to what is of little value, while we treat as of little consequence that which is weighty. So he pleads with us

“Do not keep your eyes on the shining clouds of the world”,

Sermon 190, 407.

A beautiful dua that he has made, that can help us, is

“O Allah, guide my heart to the right goal”.

We ask Allah (the Glorious), through the haqq of our great Imam, to guide us through this world and to preserve us from self-deception, so that we may reach our destination with a sound heart. Ameen.

[Rebecca Masterton]

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