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Caskets of Pearls Vol. 1 - Preface

Preface

Tags: Sanduq, Sanadiq, Tabut, Sakinah, Ba`atha, Malik, Qital, Khayal

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

O Allah! Grant me now eyes weeping tears of gratitude for your bounties,
Grant me the yearning, every moment to be merged in love for you.

May my obedience and my `ibadat be with flowing tears,
May I have love with tears overflowing, grant me a faith such as this.

Giryah-u zari has in the past always energised and refreshed me, O Allah!
Grant me giryah-u zari, the tested remedy for all my ailments.

Friends, all of them implore in their supplications,
O Allah! By Your grace, grant them the treasures of the Qur'an.

The tears, like scattered pearls look so appealing,
O Lord! Grant us the favour of the pearl-scattering eye.

There are but pearls in Your holy Qur'an,
O Allah! From this ocean of mercy, grant us precious corals and pearls.

He is the beloved of God, he is the crown of Prophets,
He is the Chosen Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny), grant us his furqan (Criterion).

`Ali (May peace be through him) is the speaking Qur'an, `Ali (May peace be through him) is the door to wisdom,
Through his (gracious) guidance, grant us the light of recognition.

The Imam and hujjat-i qa'im (May peace be through him) is sultan and the beloved,
O Lord! Grant Nasiruddin forever, union with the Beloved.

The Long Chain of Divine of Favours: Dear friends! It is true that in many senses we are like a single individual. Therefore, come and let us express our gratitude to the Lord of the worlds for the countless favours which He has bestowed upon us, and seek success and guidance from Him to accomplish this agreeable task; let us immerse ourselves in the ocean of supplication and giryah-u zari; fall down in prostration time and again with flowing tears and if by His mercy we feel that our hearts have been sufficiently cleansed, then in that state let us pray for everybody.

The Theme of this Book: Originally it was suggested that this book be called "Wisdom-filled Questions and Answers". However, it was superseded by "Sanadiq-i Jawahir" (Caskets of Pearls). Sanadiq is the plural of sanduq, which means a box, trunk, chest or casket. This name was chosen because this book contains many caskets, each full of extremely precious pearls of knowledge and wisdom. Al-hamdu li'llahi `ala ihsanih!

The Qur'anic name for sanduq is tabut: "At-tabutu fihi sakinatum-mir-rabbikum" (The chest or ark in which there is peace from your Lord) (2:248). It is not possible for material things to provide this peace from the Lord. Therefore, this peace refers to the supreme spiritual miracles, which are the signs of the Imam's being the spiritual king. It should be noted that Hazrat Saul (May peace be through him) was the Imam and the one who walks on the spiritual path according to the special guidance of the Imam of the time, receives this spiritual chest that is full of these great spiritual miracles.

The Qur'anic story of Hazrat Saul (May peace be through him) is the story of every Imam (2:246-251). Study it with wisdom and in order to do so, it is necessary to concentrate on the special meaning and wisdom of some key words, such as "ba`atha" (he was revived, resurrected), both at the place of soul and at the rank of intellect. The second word is "malik" (king), by which is meant the Imam; the third word is "qital" (fighting) in the path of Allah, the ta'wil of which is the major jihad and the battle of knowledge that is possible only under the guidance of the Imam. The fourth wisdom is that Allah has given the Imam the noble knowledge and the subtle body, due to which the Imam surrounds the universe and is everywhere and everything is also encompassed in him (36:12). "Tabut-i sakinah" (the ark of peace) is an example of the compendium of spiritual miracles. This chest, namely the treasure of spiritual secrets is given to those physical hudud who have become very close to the Imam spiritually. This very great miracle is the clear proof of the fact that Allah has granted the spiritual kingdom to the Imam. He is therefore the true Imam.

Some `ulama' maintain that there were some material relics in the Tabut-i sakinah, namely the pictures of the Prophets, the staff of Hazrat Moses (May peace be through him), the turban and shoes of Hazrat Aaron (May peace be through him), etc., etc. But how can the rank of "Divine peace" be given to such things? The sakinah (peace) that is from Allah is mentioned in six places in the Qur'an. Study them all together, so that God willing, you will come to know that sakinah or peace from God is a very great thing. The verses are 2:248; 48:4, 48:18, 48:26; 9:26, 9:40.

Remembrance of friends with ardent longing: There are many friends who are earthly angels therefore there is wisdom in remembering them. They will keep company with you in paradise too and you will have tremendous happiness from their companionship. The eternal and universal paradise is not in this world, but the paradise for the sake of recognition is definitely here. Therefore the friends are also here. Paradise for the sake of recognition is the personal world, in which from the beginning to the end, the light of Hazrat Mawla continues to work. However, the amazing thing is that the human being is very ungrateful.

Time and again I remember my friends in knowledge. The workshop of khayal (imagination) works very rapidly and with the speed of lightning. This is a very great miracle of God. Imagination (khayal, takhayyul, tasawwur) is your personal world, in which the external world is potentially subjugated. When you will actualise it, everything will be present in front of you, just as today by using your imagination you can go wherever you want or you can bring any place or any person you want into your thoughts. Is this power of imagination not like that powerful jinn who wanted to bring the throne of the queen of Sheba in front of Hazrat Solomon (May peace be through him), or was he disclosing the secret that the throne already existed there?

My jinn of knowledge and recognition (power of imagination) works for me a lot. He has become a part of my existence, therefore, it does not appear that he is a jinn separate from me. Similarly, there are many other jinns/angels that have become a part of human existence, because God has enfolded the entire universe in man. When God expands man in the form of the universe, then an `arif knows what things are hidden in the human existence.

Treasure of the pearls of Ahadith: This blessed, extremely useful and brilliant book "" cannot be described here in a few words. However, when readers will study it with ardent love like the moths of the lamp of the light of Imamat, its praise will always rise from the earth to the heaven. Amin! Why not, since this invaluable treasure is a unique compendium of those sound ahadith that are about the holy ahl-i bayt. It is not easy to search for these special ahadith of the holy Prophet from the huge treasures of hadith works, to ascertain the different narrations, to do a comparative assessment sometimes and to do a reliable translation after collecting them. The Holy Lord has blessed Dr. Faquir Muhammad Hunzai with invisible Divine help (ghaybi ta'yid), therefore this feat has also been accomplished. It is true that all those works that he has translated into English are considered his works. The following beautiful poem has been composed about Ra'isu'l-mutarjimin, Bahru'l-`ulum, Dr. Faquir Muhammad Hunzai:

Pearl Showering Cloud

The reason for his success is that he rises in the night
In giryah-u zari he is as if a pearl showering cloud.

When the Almighty granted us this great friend
He granted us an incomparable world of knowledge and wisdom.

O Bahru'l-`ulum! Let the streams of knowledge flow everywhere
O Bahru'l-`ulum! Let a resurrection of knowledge begin!

Mawla has made you cup bearer of the water of life,
Lest anyone perish from ignorance and negligence.

Whoever, in your view, thirsts for the water of life
O cup bearer with exalted attributes! Let him sip overflowing cups.

The fragrance of paradise has come from the musky pen of the friend
The stream of paradise has come for the sake of the heart's prosperity.

The friend's pen is like the cascade of rubies and pearls
Countless gems are contained in the "Treasure of Pearls".

Without doubt Samsam is helping him in the translations
Hundreds of thanks that she as an angel is with us.

Why should not the one who is an angel on earth be miraculous?
And why not a treasure of mercies and blessings?

Zahir is another angel with the title of "Jan-i Nasir"
An excellent servant of knowledge and an excellent recipient of it is he.

The book of Traditions (Ahadith) about Imam `Ali (May peace be through him)
Will ever remain in this world as a unique treasure.

O well-known Faqir! This is your favour
Our soul and our faith are in these Traditions.

O pure-hearted Faqir! O the one renowned in knowledge and wisdom
O the `aziz of the `azizan! O the one rich in religion and wisdom!

Why should I not be sacrificed for the lovers of Murtaza,
When you have already been sacrificed (for the people)
O indigent Nasir!

New Dedication: Mr. Shamsuddin Jooma is among my special friends of knowledge, therefore he loves and appreciates Qur'anic and religious knowledge. He is proud of the magnificent progress and unprecedented feats of his organisation. Whenever he meets his teacher, he becomes very happy. Shamsuddin is a life governor and has continued to hold many positions. He is among the mu'mins of the first rank. His father's name was Jan Muhammad Jooma and his mother's name is Nathi Jooma. His secular education is Bachelor of Commerce from Karachi University, Pakistan.

Mrs. Karima Shamsuddin Jooma is making tremendous progress. She has so many degrees, responsibilities and positions that it is difficult to give a detailed description of them. However, we will ask Mrs. Shahnaz Salim Hunzai to record and publish them all in the book of history for which she has been given responsibility. The secular degrees that she has are important, but what I am writing is also very important. Karima is one of my "young hands" and she has acquired pen-power. I, as a darwish, pray with humility for every kind of progress of my `azizan. Karima Jooma comes from a devoted family. From her praise-worthy manners, we are sure that she is a very beloved daughter of Mawla. Wherever there are mu'mins, men and women who have melted in love for Mawla, they are like evergreen gardens and meadows, where souls and angels continue to come and go just as butterflies, bees, etc., come and go where there are flowers.

Karima Jooma's father's name was Mansur `Ali Habib [who was martyred] and her mother's name is Tajuddawlah Habib. This name was given to her by Hazrat Prince `Ali Salman Khan.

N.N. (Hubb-i `Ali) Hunzai,
Karachi, Wednesday 24, Safar 1420/9th June, 1999.