A Key to Wisdom - The Way of Seeking Divine Help (Isti`ānat)
The Way of Seeking Divine Help (Isti`ānat)
Tags: Seeking Help, Isti`anat, Three, Nine, Nineteen, Forty
Man, with respect to his nature and self (khwudi), is a weak creature and no one has any doubt in him being created as such, because the Wise Qu'rān says: "And man has been created weak." (4:28). One main reason for this is that he should seek help from God, in order to do good deeds and say good words, he needs to remember God always, without which Divine help cannot be attained. Thus his natural weakness is proof of the fact that he is always in need of God's help. It is thus necessary for every mu'min to seek help from God every moment and he should never forget this humble feeling of indigence.
If someone asks here: What is the reason that in this world there are many people who neither worship God, nor seek His help, yet they are comparatively successful?, the answer is that this is physical success, which again is of two kinds: One is the so-called success whose benefits are confined to themselves or to their loved ones, and thus is a good respite given to them by God, as the Qur'ān says: "And avoid them with a graceful avoidance." (73:10). The other is the success whose benefits reach the creatures of God and this is the worldly betterment in which there is the pleasure of God to some extent. This is the fruit of the prayer of the religious people of the world in which they seek the betterment of this world and the next. Further, those people who are successful in those works from which all benefit, seek a kind of worldly help from God, not with heart, tongue and understanding, but practically and unconsciously.
Regarding the importance of seeking help, wherever the help of God is mentioned in the Qur'ān, a detailed description of its meaning is also given, by studying which we come to the conclusion that, just as in the creation of man the first thing is his natural weakness and among his needs, the most needed and the foremost thing is the help of God, similarly among the Qur'ānic teachings, first comes the seeking of God's help and its principle. From this a mu'min can be sure that seeking Divine help is necessary for every mu'min, because it is mentioned not only in the Sūratu'l-Fātihāh, known as the ummu'l-Kitab (Mother of the Book) and sab`u'l-mathānī (Seven repeated ones), but is also recited abundantly as a prayer and `ibādat.
In connection with the way of seeking help from God, the verse in which it is mentioned is the fourth verse of Sūratu'l-Fātihah. If we now count the verses and their words, dissections and letters preceding it, there are 3 verses, 9 words, 19 dissections and 40 letters. None of you would doubt the number of verses and words, therefore, here we elaborate only the number of their dissections and the numerical value of their letters:
| Dissection Number | Dissections | Alphabet count | Total Alphabets |
| 1 | ا | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | لحمد | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | لِله | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | ر | 1 | 9 |
| 5 | ب | 1 | 10 |
| 6 | ا | 1 | 11 |
| 7 | لعلمين | 6 | 17 |
| 8 | ا | 1 | 18 |
| 9 | لر | 2 | 20 |
| 10 | حمن | 3 | 23 |
| 11 | ا | 1 | 24 |
| 12 | لر | 2 | 26 |
| 13 | حيم | 3 | 29 |
| 14 | ملك | 3 | 32 |
| 15 | يو | 2 | 34 |
| 16 | م | 1 | 35 |
| 17 | ا | 1 | 36 |
| 18 | لد | 2 | 28 |
| 19 | ين | 2 | 40 |
The ta'wīl of 3, 9, 19, and 40 respectively, is that there are 3 verses before the verse in which seeking help is mentioned. This indicates the wisdom that the mu'min should first turn his face towards that means of seeking help whose numerical sign is three, which is the sign of the power of obedience of a mu'min, divided into three parts, namely, intention, speech and action, because he can complete his religion and faith through these three powers. Thus, it is evident that the first condition of seeking the help of God by a mu'min is the rectitude of his intention, speech and action, which comes under the title of rudimentary obedience.
Then the number 9 in these verses indicates that, in reality, the rectification of his intention, speech and action is possible only when he recognizes the means whose numerical sign is 9, and who is the Asās, namely, `Alī-i Murtazā (a.s.), who is the gate of the sciences and recognition of God and the Messenger. Thus the second condition of seeking help is the recognition of the Asās.
The 19 dissections of the nine words show that a mu'min can, in reality, benefit from the sciences and recognition of the Asās only when he recognizes the means whose numerical sign is 19. This means is the seven Imams and their twelve Hujjats of the minor cycle and the Imam of the time is their mazhar. Thus the third condition of seeking help is the recognition of the Imam of the time and obedience to him.
Then the sign of the 40 letters of the 19 dissections indicates that the mu'min fulfils the duty of the recognition of the Imam of the time and obedience to him only when he recognizes a means whose numerical sign is 40. 40 is the numerical sign of the Nātiq, namely, Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.s.), who is recognized only through the Imam of the time. Thus it is evident that the fourth condition of seeking help is the recognition of the Nātiq, who is the city of knowledge and wisdom.
After the fulfilment of the above-mentioned conditions, the door of Divine help opens for mu'mins and when they say this kalimah in their prayer: "You alone we worship and from You alone we seek help", there will be greater and greater truth in their saying so through knowledge and action (the rectitude of intention, speech and action). Because the mu'mins in this kalimah address Allah and say: "(O Lord of Honour)! We worship only You (and nobody else) and seek help only from You (and not from anybody else)". Thus this kalimah represents the knowledge and action, namely ma`rifat of true mu'mins, free from estimation, supposition and imitative `ibādat and due to this merit, it represents seeking help by true mu'mins in the presence of God. Further, its context and order show that the higher spiritual help is a corollary of `ibādat with recognition, which is a collective name of knowledge and action. The proof of this is that before mentioning the seeking of help from God `ibādat is mentioned and before mentioning `ibādat, knowledge, recognition and action are mentioned, as God says: "(We came to know through the interpreter of Islam that) special praise belongs to Allah, Who is the Sustainer of (innumerable external and internal) worlds, Who is Beneficent (to all in this world) and Merciful (to mu'mins in the hereafter), Who is the Master of the Day of Judgement". This is the way of seeking help (from God) which has been explained as much as is necessary, by His grace and favour.
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