Q&AQuestions about Jama`at-khanah
Tags:
Q.1. Buzurgwar `Allamah sahib! Would you kindly tell us something about Jamā`at-khānahs in the Northern Areas of Pakistan: when and how were they built? Were they built in accordance with a direct farman of the Imam of the time or was the farman received through a representative of the exalted Imam?
A.1. The construction of Jamā`at-khānahs in the Northern Areas of our country started about seventy-two years ago. The farman to do this sacred work was received through a dignitary of religion, Hazrat Agha `Abdu's-Samad Shah and the Jama`ats acted upon this wisdom-filled farman with utmost devotion and dedication.
Q.2. At present how many Jamā`at-khānahs are there altogether?
A.2. I made a survey of Jamā`at-khānahs in 1973 when I was the officer in charge of the Ismailia Association, Gilgit Branch, and at that time, there were approximately three hundred Jamā`at-khānahs, including some temporary Jamā`at-khānahs for Ismaili soldiers. At present there are approximately seven hundred Jamā`at-khānahs in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, including Chitral.
Q.3. Have you seen spiritual light? If so, when and where? Inside the Jamā`at-khānah or outside it? A.3. Al-hamdu li'llah (Praise be to Allah), this humble servant has been blessed with this light. This luminous miracle started in the autumn of 1948 in the old Jamā`at-khānah of Kharadar, Karachi, and then by stages, it increased until the personal Resurrection was experienced.
Q.4. Can you prove from the Holy Qur'an that Jamā`at-khānah has great significance and sublime status?
A.4. Yes, insha'allah (God willing) I can provide such proof from the Qur'an. I am an ardent lover of the miracles of the Jamā`at-khānah and immersed in the favours of Jamā`at-khānah, and directly and indirectly, have written quite a lot about its virtues. In short, the first House of God is the Ka`bah, the second is the Imam of the time, who is the ta'wil of the Holy Ka`bah and the third is the Jamā`at-khānah in which the spiritual vision (didar) and the luminous miracles take place, and the fourth is the heart of a believing servant. Therefore, wherever the Ka`bah, or the sacred Mosque (al-masjidu'l-haram) is mentioned in the Qur'an, that in ta'wil is the praise of the Imam of the time, and the recognition of the Imam of the time is possible in Jamā`at-khānah, because his spiritual vision is in the Jamā`at-khānah.
Q.5. Have you participated in the construction of a Jamā`at-khānah? If so, in which area or country?
A.5. In this connection, I remember with wonder an event in my childhood when I was about three or four years old. The construction of the central Jamā`at-khānah was taking place in my village, Hyderabad in Hunza and I was playing with some children when someone said: Children! Come, fill your shirts with sand and bring it here. I carried handfuls of sand with some other small children. At that time I had a piece of red coral in my hand which I loved very much. But it occurred to me that it should be sacrificed for the Jamā`at-khānah, so I put it in the double wall. Given my age at the time this was a miracle to me. In later years, I came to love Jamā`at-khānah in true sense and tried to take part in their construction, whenever possible. This was particularly true for the Jamā`at-khānahs of Yarkand in China, the construction of which was vehemently opposed by certain influential members of the Jama`at and at the same time by some non-Ismaili adversaries who accused me of being a spy. They succeeded in having me imprisoned and put under house arrest many times, but did not succeed in proving that I was a spy, nor did they succeed in having me executed. I was innocent of their accusations and I loved only constructing Jamā`at-khānahs.
Q.6. What do the Ahadith say about Jamā`at-khānahs?
A.6. Here I shall mention only one Hadith, the most comprehensive of the Ahadith, which is: "He whose Mawla I am, `Ali is his Mawla. O Allah! Love those who love him (`Ali) and be an enemy of those who are his enemies, ... and turn the truth with him wherever he turns." According to this Hadith of the Prophet, the `Ali of the time is the Mawla, i.e. the guardian and master, and God has made the truth turn with him wherever he turns. Thus, the Jamā`at-khānah, according to the farman of Imam-i mubin (manifest and speaking Imam) is based on the truth. It has many virtues, because it is the ta'wil of the Holy Ka`bah.
Q.7. Have you experienced any great miracles in the Jamā`at-khānah? If so, where and in which Jamā`at-khānah?
A.7. I have seen extremely great spiritual miracles in the blessed Jamā`at-khānah of the town of Qarangghu Tughraq. This blessed town is in Yarkand in China. Everything I have written and said are because of the blessings of these miracles which took place in this Jamā`at-khānah in China.
Q.8. What rational proof is there of the significance and eminence of Jamā`at-khānah?
A.8. Everything has a heart or centre. Similarly, faith and religion also need a centre for growth and progress, so that human abilities may develop fully and the rope of Allah is firmly held collectively. Otherwise, there may be differences.
Q.9. From which age did you start to go to Jamā`at-khānah?
A.9. By the grace of God, I started to go to Jamā`at-khānah from a very young age, for there was an attraction in it for me. When the elderly members of our town were doing `ibadat and tasbih in praise of God and when they were reciting na`t (praise of the Prophet) and manqabat (praise of the Imams), I felt tremendous happiness.
Q.10. Who did you go to Jamā`at-khānah with initially?
A.10. Initially I started to go to Jamā`at-khānah with my revered father. He was an ardent lover of religion and was a khalifah (equivalent of Mukhi) of his Pir. Undoubtedly, I received the religious spirit from him.
Q.11. In your Area was there the tradition of dhikr-i jali (loud dhikr) and shab-bidari (vigil of the night) prior to the establishment of Jamā`at-khānah?
A.11. Yes. We believe that the religion of Islam which is the religion of nature, consists of Shari`at, Tariqat, Haqiqat and Ma`rifat, so that everyone can gradually enter the Ma`rifat. In this connection, dhikr-i jali is an important element of the Tariqat, and therefore, in the da`wat of Hakim Pir Nasir-i Khusraw, the tradition of shab-bidari and dhikr-i jali was practised prior to having Jamā`at-khānahs.
Q.12. In which area or in which Jamā`at-khānah have you done shab-bidari the most?
A.12. As ruhani majlis (spiritual assembly) and shab-bidari has continued as a religious tradition in the Northern Areas, so I have participated in shab-bidari almost everywhere I have been to. The extremely severe trials of Yarkand attached me to the Jamā`at-khānah and enriched me with the wealth of shab-bidari. Then I came to understand how the water of life is hidden in darkness!
Q.13. Our revered teacher! How many Jamā`at-khānahs have you attended and performed `ibadat in?
A.13. I do not have a precise record, but as a frequent traveller between the east and the west, I have been blessed by being able to visit many Jamā`at-khānahs. If we have been done some `ibadat of the True Worshipped in such places, we should be grateful to Him for this favour and refrain from any kind of pride.
Q.14. According to your experience are all Jamā`at-khānahs equal in excellence and miracles or do they have degrees? If they have degrees, what is the reason for this?
A.14. It is commanded in the Qur'an that the House of God must be kept pure so that the miraculous souls may come there (2:125). The ultimate indication of this command is that the people of Jamā`at-khānah should purify their hearts through dhikr and `ibadat and knowledge and recognition, so that they may have the vision of the Holy Imam in the Jamā`at-khānah. On this basis it is possible for Jama`at Khanahs to have different degrees.
Q.15. In your writings you allude to the miracles of the Jamā`at-khānah, so we would like to ask you in which Jamā`at-khānah did you see those great miracles? A.15. As a matter of personal experience I have seen extremely great miracles in the Jamā`at-khānah of Qarangghu Tughraq in Yarkand and also in prisons there. If I were to write about this, it would be a voluminous book.
Q.16. Where and when did you receive permission to do the `ibadat of ism-i a`zam?
A.16. In 1946, in Hasanabad, Bombay, Hazrat Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah blessed me with the secret of the secrets of ism-i a`zam when he came for the Diamond Jubilee. For approximately half an hour, Mawla blessed the group with precious guidance. In this holy didar a great Resurrection was hidden for me.
Q.17. Please tell us whether the Satan can enter Jamā`at-khānah or not? If he can, is it a Satan from man or from jinn? Please also tell us how is it possible for the Satan to enter the House of God?
A.17. Satan can easily enter the Jamā`at-khānah if it is not properly guarded, whether he is of human beings or of jinns. The House of God is the straight path of spirituality and Satan always tries to mislead people from here. See in Qur'anic verses (17:14-20) how Satan has been given respite and freedom until the Resurrection.
Q.18. In order to benefit most from Jamā`at-khānah, what must one do and what conditions should be fulfilled?
A.18. The best way to benefit most from Jamā`at-khānah is to study all those farmans which are related to the Jamā`at-khānah, so that ardent love is created for it. When this holy love has been created every difficulty becomes easy. For pure love is a light and in the light there is every kind of guidance. And in such a state, God willing, miracles of the House of God will appear.
Q.19. Would you kindly advise us about the sanctity of and reverence for Jamā`at-khānah.
A.19. Insha'allah, Jamā`at-khānah is the ta'wil of the Ka`bah and is among the signs of God (22:32), the reverence of which is the taqwa (piety) of the heart. And the one whose heart has piety, becomes successful.
Q.20. What is the relationship between the Jamā`at-khānah and the Ka`bah?
A.20. One is a parable (mathal) and the other is the meaning (mamthul), one is tanzil and the other is the ta'wil, one is zahir and the other is batin, and thus there is an heavenly relationship between them.
Q.21. How many kinds of Jamā`at-khānahs are there in the Ismaili Tariqah and what are they?
A.21. There are three kinds of Jamā`at-khānahs in the Ismaili Tariqah: personal Jamā`at-khānah, which is the heart of a mu'min, local Jamā`at-khānah and universal Jamā`at-khānah and there is unity between all three of them.
N.N. Hunzai 22nd August, 1992.
| Chapter Index |