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Fruit of Paradise - Salman-i Farsi

Salman-i Farsi

Tags: Salman-i Farsi, Abu Dharr, Miqdad, Hazrat Sulayman, Hazrat Dawud, Subtle Body

The roots of the word Salman in Arabic are sin, lam and mim. Some of the special meanings signified by this name are: peaceful, saved, submitter (he who submits his "I" to God), conciliatory, conciliator, pacifist and obedient. The diminutive noun of "Salman" is "Sulayman" so it is true to say that the wisdom of this word is related to the Qur'anic story of Hazrat Sulayman, i.e. the Paradise of wisdom. Salman was called Mabih or Roz-bih before the Holy Prophet gave him the beautiful name of Salmanu'l-khayr. No Muslim has any doubt about the fact that every word uttered by the Holy Prophet was in a way a heavenly revelation (53:3-4) and therefore this name is blessed and full of wisdom. This name was already in use previously, but the Holy Prophet gave him this name in the illumination of the light of Prophethood, thus its implied meaning in relation to its literal meaning has changed. That is, the concept of the spiritual kingdom of Hazrat Sulayman was associated with the name "Salman".
You may have read the article "Wisdom of Naming" which explains that there is a philosophy and wisdom in the concept of names and naming. The choice of a name is made in the context of a hope or the seeking of betterment for that which is being named. When that name is chosen by the True Guide there are definitely sublime wisdoms hidden in that choice. Why should there not be glad news of religious success, manifestation of light, holy didar (vision) and spiritual kingdom in the beautiful name which the Holy Prophet gave to his true lover?
By Divine will, Salman-i Farsi was a special fruit of the light of Prophethood and Imamat and his history is a shining example of ardent love and devotion for the Ahl-i bayt. It is necessary to reflect upon the esoteric aspects of the system of guidance, for how did the powerful yearning for the search for truth emerge in the heart of Salman-i Farsi? Who kindled this flame of love in the heart of the son of a fire-worshipper of the city of Isfahan? Definitely there was a universal provider of means which should be called the light of guidance.
At the beginning of the first book of Bukhari you will find the following Hadith: "And sometimes the angel appears to me as a man (and speaks to me)." From this Hadith we learn that Jibril used to appear in the form of a man and bring revelations to the Holy Prophet. But in whose form did he use to appear? The law of spirituality is such that although the Archangel is the spiritual mirror of all mu'mins and that therefore he appears in a common form that reflects the oneness of the souls, it is also said that he used to appear in the form of Salman-i Farsi or according to others, in the form of Dahyah-i Kalbi. I should say that there is no inconsistency in this because all forms are in the Holy Spirit.
In the Sunan of Ibn Majah (Vol.1, Bab 24, Hadith 155) we find: "Allah has commanded me to love four (persons) and has informed me that He loves them." He was asked: O Messenger of God: Who are they? He replied: `Ali is among them, repeating this three times and Abu Dharr, Salman and Miqdad.
It is necessary to know that God loves mu'mins in two ways: One is in the general sense and the other is in a special sense. In the above Hadith we see that only four people are mentioned as being loved by God and this shows that this love is in a special sense, in which the glory of the wilayat of Mawla `Ali shines. In the light of this Hadith study the relevant verses of the Holy Qur'an to see whom God loves. You will find that He loves those that are righteous ("muttaqin", 3:76), those who follow the Prophet (3:31), those who do good ("muhsinin", 3:134), those that have high ambition and are patient ("sabirin", 3:146), those who have trust in God ("mutawakkilin", 3:159), those who are just ("muqsitin", 5:42) and those who are pure ("mutahhirin", 9:108).
At the battle of the Trench, the Holy Prophet said: "Salman is from us, the Ahl-i bayt." What should we make of this saying? Are the master and the slave as close as they appear to be? From this wisdom-filled Hadith can we say that Salman-i Farsi was annihilated in the light during his lifetime? He could see his own pure soul merged into the origin in both pre-eternity and in post-eternity (in the state in which there is neither space nor time). All this was attained by him because the ocean of love for the Prophet and the Imam surged in his heart and he could see the luminous world within himself. Hidden in his heart were the precious treasures of knowledge and recognition of God.
This Hadith related to Salman-i Farsi provides a clear example of the fact that mu'mins can link themselves with the light by hard work, high ambition, devotion, sacrifice and true love. That is, with their inner eye they are able to see how their higher "I" is eternally merged and linked to the origin. To achieve this is difficult but not impossible, and the Qur'an mentions this possibility in the verse relating to Hazrat Ibrahim: "So, whoever obeys me, is surely of me." (14:36). i.e. Whoever walks the path that I have walked, will truly discover the secret of how he is my spiritual and luminous child. Thus, it is a fact that like Salman-i Farsi, whoever wishes to, can join his eternal relationship with the light and he can also sever the link like Kan`an (Hazrat Nuh's son) did.
Question: In what sense had the Holy Prophet considered Salman-i Farsi part of the Ahl-i bayt? Which "bayt (house)" was meant? Is Salman-i Farsi included in the five holy persons mentioned in the verse of purification (33:33)? Are all the Imams of guidance who are going to come also mentioned in this verse?
Answer: The Holy Prophet included Salman-i Farsi in the holy Ahl-i bayt in the sense that he had become their companion because he had entered the house of luminosity by his obedience and devotion. Here by the house is meant the house of light and luminosity. Yes, in the verse of purification (33:33) Salman is also included although apparently he was not included in the demonstration of the cloak (kisa'), because this demonstration was meant only symbolically and because in reality, these individuals were purified at different times. In the verse of purification all the holy Imams are included because each of the Imams lives in this house of light that the five holy persons lived in. It is for this reason that the term "Ahl-i bayt" is applicable to every Imam.
If a King offers friendship to a pauper, the latter no longer remains poor, he becomes rich. So, given that God and the Prophet loved Salman, and that they named him after the blessed name of Hazrat Sulayman, means that God and His Prophet wanted him to be Sulayman in his personal world. And God does what He wills (22:14).
God, the Wise, has given plants superiority over minerals because of the vegetative soul, superiority to animals over vegetables because of the animal soul, superiority to human beings over animals because of the rational soul, to mu'mins over others because of the soul of faith (ruhu'l-iman) and to the Prophets and Imams over mu'mins due to the Holy Spirit. As God says: "And indeed We gave Dawud and Sulayman (spiritual) knowledge and they both said: Praise be to Allah, Who has given us superiority over many of His believing servants." (27:15). We can see from this wisdom-filled teaching that mu'mins are very close to the Prophets and Imams in the sense that the Prophets and Imams are superior to them but the mu'mins are superior to other people of the world and this example can be seen in the children of Israel (2:47, 2:122) who were superior to other people of the world because they were the mu'mins in their time.
Question: When Hazrat Sulayman succeeded Hazrat Dawud, he proclaimed the da`wat-i haqq (true mission) in this way: "O people! We have been taught the language of birds and have been given everything." (27:16). The question is, why did he link his kingdom with the true mission? What did his subjects have to do with this? Does the language of birds have a ta'wil? Why did he say "We" instead of "I"? Everything includes all things in the universe, so what was it that was given to him?
Answer: The procedures used by Hazrat Sulayman in the true mission were those in accordance with the Divine will. He was the living picture of the spiritual kingdom of all the Prophets, Imams and mu'mins and therefore it was necessary for him to mention the kingdom of Paradise to the people for it was relevant to them. By birds are meant the souls of the people of the world with whom conversations take place in Paradise. In such conversations, ordinary birds are also included. The reason for using "We" instead of "I" is that in this spiritual kingdom he represented all Perfect Men. Another reason is that the hudud-i din were also included with him. What was given to him was the personal world in which there is a living picture of everything that is in the universe.
The centre of the wisdoms of the Qur'anic story of Hazrat Sulayman from which all the other wisdoms spread and complete the story is the phrase "And we have been given everything." (27:16), and the rest is its explanation. By "everything" is meant the compendium of all intellectual, spiritual and physical things, i.e. the entire universe that has an intellect, a soul and a body. Thus "everything" means a subtle, living picture of it, i.e. the personal world which contains everything and it is this same reality that is mentioned in verse (36:12) relating to the manifest Imam. In short, Hazrat Sulayman was the Imam and therefore within him a personal world was made consisting of the subtle form of everything in the universe and the existents.
Question: "And there were gathered together (hushira) unto Sulayman his hosts of jinn and men and birds and they were arrayed in order and ranks (yūza`ūn)." (27:17). You have often said that there is a semantic link and relationship between Qur'anic words, so please explain to us what the relationship is between "hushira" used in this verse and the word "hashr" which is used in the sense of the "Resurrection" in many of the verses in the Qur'an? From where were the hosts of Hazrat Sulayman gathered together and what does "yuza`un" mean?
Answer: There is a very close link between these two words. They have the same meaning in that in this instance it relates to the event of the personal resurrection of Hazrat Sulayman, in which the hordes were gathered together spiritually in the form of subtle particles. These particles were hidden in the people. In the Wise Qur'an the word "hashr" is mentioned 43 times in different forms but each time it is used in the sense of Resurrection, including the story of Pharoah in which it is related to the conscious and personal Resurrection of Hazrat Musa when the magicians of Pharoah were defeated. The word "yūza`ūn" has several different meanings such as to array, to arrange, to control etc. When the sur (trumpet) starts to blow in the Perfect Man's spirituality, his personal Resurrection takes place and his hosts gather in the form of jinns, men and birds (i.e. angels) and they take up the task of the spiritual jihad so that the religion of God overcomes all other religions in the world (9:33, 48:28, 61:9).
Question: To us it is astonishing that you should mention the concept of a spiritual jihad. Can you please explain this further and give us some proofs and examples?
Answer: Spiritual jihad is mentioned everywhere in the Wise Qur'an. This sacred war took place before the advent of Islam, at the time of Prophethood and it continues to take place today. One should remember however that physical or spiritual jihad is only possible through the Messenger of God and the true Imam. Thus whenever the hosts of God or heavenly hosts are mentioned in the Qur'an this is an allusion to the spiritual jihad. As mentioned in verses (48:4, 48:7): "And Allah's are the hosts of the heavens and the earth." The heavenly hosts are the angels and the earthly hosts are the jinns and men. All armies have martial goals, and as mentioned in verses (37:171-173): "And verily Our word has already gone forth for Our chosen servants, the Messengers that verily they shall be helped and verily, Our hosts will be victorious." Similarly, in verse (5:56) it is said that His army or His party (hizbu'llah) will be victorious. In verse (5:54) glad tidings are given that there will come a people whom God loves and who love Him, who are humble towards believers, mighty against infidels, fighting in Allah's way. In this verse one can see that glad tidings are given about a people to come who are superior to the Muslims and mu'mins on earth and who are tender-hearted and kind to mu'mins and mighty against infidels, fighting in God's way. This indicates that they are the spiritual army, who do jihad in every age under the light of guidance. There are many such Qur'anic quotations and a separate article can be written on spiritual jihad.
Question: In verse (4:68) the obedient mu'mins are mentioned in gradation, after the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. This shows that the righteous are superior to ordinary mu'mins, the martyrs to the righteous, the truthful to the martyrs and the Prophets to the truthful. What then is the reason for the Prophets wanting to be admitted among the righteous after the end of physical life, as can be seen from Hazrat Sulayman's prayer at the end of his physical life?: "And admit me, by Your mercy, among Your righteous servants." (27:19). See also verses (2:130; 12:101; 16:122; 26:83; 29:9, 29:27).
Answer: There is no doubt that the order in which physical ranks are mentioned in verse (4:48) is correct. The descending order is firstly the Natiqs (nabiyyin), then Asases (siddiqin), then Imams (shuhada') and finally the Babs (salihin). One should remember that the Bab or gate of every Natiq is the Asas, that of the Asas is the Imam and that of the Imam is the Bab, who is that son of the Imam who will be the heir to the throne of Imamat. This means that Hazrat Sulayman and other Prophets and Imams wanted to live in their respective Bab (salih) so that they could continue to work for the attainment of the final purpose or goal of the salihin (righteous). According to the verses (26:83-84), Hazrat Ibrahim prayed: "O my Lord! Give me (the recognition of) a command (hukm = the command of Be!) and unite me with the righteous, and appoint for me a tongue of truth among posterity (i.e. the light of Prophethood and the light of Imamat)." From these verses it is clear that by God's command, Hazrat Ibrahim wished to transfer his light to his Bab, Hazrat Isma`il, who was his Asas so that the light remained linked with the chain of salihin or the Babs who were to come.
Question: Why is the Bab so important that he is given the title of salih and why does every Natiq, Asas and Imam want to be linked to his Bab?
Answer: The Bab has great importance because all the Natiq's luminous work takes place in the Asas who is his Bab, and the Asas's light works in the Imam and similarly the Imam's light works in his son who has the status of his sacred Bab and who will be the Imam after him. In these three cases the "active light (nur-i fa``al)" is in the blessed personality of the Bab, in which is hidden the welfare and success of the world and the people. Because the greatest spiritual movement is found in the Bab, the chain of Babs is called salihin (the righteous).
The meaning of God enfolding this vast universe in His hand is full of wisdom-filled allusions. Thus in this act He brings closer things which are far, He shows pre-eternity (azal) and post-eternity (abad) together, He brings the past (the first end of which is Hazrat Adam's time) back to centres in the present and the remote future forward, including the collective Resurrection and accommodates it in the personal spirituality. If we believe that this is a Qur'anic fact then let us also believe that all this happens at the place of "Light upon light" (24:35). That is the place of spirit and spirituality where (Natiq or Asas or) Imam and Bab meet together like two oceans (18:60-61).
Question: In the story of Hazrat Sulayman (27:34) there is a mention of a possible destruction also. How can the work of blessed personalities such as the Prophet and the Imam cause destruction? Please could you explain the wisdom of this?
Answer: There are two kinds of destruction. One is destruction for the sake of destruction and the other is for the sake of reconstruction. In the case of Hazrat Sulayman we have to see what kind of destruction it was? Was it permissible or not? If he would have attacked the city of Sheba for a worldly purpose, then this would have been destruction for the sake of it. The saying of the Queen of Sheba "Verily, when kings enter a town they destroy it" (27:34) does not imply that it was for a worldly purpose, rather this destruction was to spread the true religion and hence it was a destruction for the sake of construction. Just as it is absolutely true that Gog and Magog (18:94; 21:96) who are part of the army of the exalted Imam, act to destroy every appropriate town of existence so that they can reconstruct it. If God is attained by the destruction of the idol of the ego, then what greater bliss can be obtained?
There is a great wisdom in the Wise Qur'an in that an infidel ruler is never called a king (malik) in it because the king is God and then the Imam acting on His behalf. Had it been permissible to call someone not entitled to be called a king, king, as people ordinarily do, then Pharoah who has a long story in the Qur'an, would have been called a king. But he is not. The Holy Qur'an is the law of God and He, the One, the Overwhelming, does not endorse the unlawful rule of an infidel by His law.
To explain some of the great wisdoms of the Prophets of the Qur'an in an article on Salman-i Farsi is itself a clear proof of the greatness of Salman's spirit and knowledge, so let us try to learn a great secret as a supreme favour of God. That great secret is hidden in verse (21:80): "And We taught him (Dawud) the art of making a garment so that it may protect you in your wars. Are you then grateful?" What was this art which nobody but God knew? Was it the art of making coats of mail? Think well! In this Divine teaching, mentioned in a wisdom-filled way, it is clear that the favour that is mentioned is not one that can be diminished in value by material and physical progress in the world. A garment which protects the servants of God from every kind of physical, spiritual and intellectual war is the subtle body and is the greatest favour of God and it is for this reason that He asks His servants to be grateful. If you study the history of Imamat beginning with Hazrat Adam, you will discover that Hazrat Dawud and Hazrat Sulayman succeeded to the rank of Imamat one after the other. Thus when you are able to see this garment, you will see that it is the greatest miracle of the exalted Imam and as is clear from the above mentioned verse, this art of the true Imam is from God.
The subtle body is mentioned everywhere in the Wise Qur'an. If you want to see this in connection with spiritual jihad only, reflect upon those verses where martial words are mentioned such as the verse: "Allah has promised you many gains (maghanim) that you will take." (48:20). This is mention of the subtle body and the conquering of the world as a result of spiritual jihad. Similarly, in verse (57:25) by iron is meant the subtle or astral body. In verse (16:81) you may have realised that the shirts (sarabil) are subtle bodies. And in the story of Hazrat Sulayman the entire army is made up of particles of this subtle body (27:17), the jinni `Ifrit (27:39) and he who knew the spiritual science of the book of the universe was the same living subtle body and Gog and Magog have already been mentioned earlier. It should be remembered that the subtle body is also mentioned in those words related to angels.

Slave of the slaves of the Imam of the time,
Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai,
1st March, 1985.

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