A019
Surah: 057 - Ayah: 019
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57:19
The relation of light after God, the Prophet and the Imam, is linked to the mumins, but this secret is hidden in the recognition of the Imam. For it is the Imam who is the treasure of the gems of knowledge and gnosis and in this sense, he is also the treasure of the light. When a mumin professes this, he should think about how this light can be observed and how it can be attained. In this regard, there are the holy farmans of the exalted Imam and they can guide in every respect.
What do you think about this idea that the light should come to a mumin or that the mumin has to go to the presence of the light? Can the house of God, In order to do pilgrimage, come to a mumin? Can the Imam go the house of every mumin and give dldar? It should be remembered that in spirituality, every impossible thing becomes possible. Thus it is the light which sheds light on all the secrets of marifat, and it is the light which can advance and cause to advance to the secrets of pre-eternity (azal) and post-eternity (abad). Thus wherever in the Qur'an, light is mentioned, many wisdoms are gathered there, as the Qur'an says: "And those who (duly) believe in God and His apostles they are the truthful ones (al-siddiqun) and the witnesses (al-shuhada) with their Nourisher; they have their reward and their light (nuruhum)" (57:19). In this wisdom-filled verse, is mentioned to believe perfectly, externally and internally in God and His apostles and to testify in the light of ma rifat. Also in the words shahid and shahadat, in addition to be sacrificed twice, in the path of God, and to come to life twice, is mentioned the spiritual observations and witnessing, as well. And then after the reward, i.e. at the end of everything, is mentioned the light. This shows that the perfect stage of light comes after doing all these things and through this very light, the supreme secret reveals that there is the pre-eternal and post-eternal link between the light of God, the light of the Prophet, the light of the Imam and the light of mumins. And in "nuruhum (their light)" is indicated that, at this exalted place, the mumins receive the Imam as their higher I (anai ulwi) and everything is available in the light of the holy and pure Imam.
The Holy Prophet said: "Every mumin man is & shahid and every mumin woman is an hawra' (Daaimu'l-Islam, pp. 217-18); Risalah-i Tajhiz-u Takfin, p. 2). This Hadith is an explanation of the verse: "Those who believe in Allah and His Messengers are siddiqs and shahids with their Lord; they will have their reward and their light" (57:19). The key wisdom to be noted here is that siddiq (the one who verifies and confirms) is the Asas of every Natiq and shahid or shahid (witness) is the Imam of every time.
According to the Wise Qur’an (57:19), true mu’mins in the eyes of God, are like the truthful (siddiquin) and the martyrs (shuhada) and He grants them recompense and light. The elaboration of this purport is that there are two kinds of martyrs. (1) those who unsparingly sacrifice their precious lives for the sake of the protection, security, honour and progress of religion. (2) those who have the same ambition and zeal, but from whom religion does not demand the sacrifice of lives and therefore they are engaged in other great sacrifices to complete its goals. This explains the excellence of the service which our azizan render for the dissemination of knowledge.
O Sustainer! In Your infinite mercy, grant the entire jamaat peace and safety in this world and in the next. Ease their difficulties and grant them success in all good deeds.
O True Lord! It is not beyond your infinitive mercy to bestow greater favour upon our azizan and bless them in their lives, children, property and earnings, as well as increasing them in their knowledge, progress in ibadat, rank of high ambition and determination and to enrich them with mercies and blessings in this world and the next.
In order to be annihilated, one has to progress in the obedience of God, the Prophet and the Imam of the time. One has to create in one’s heart real and ardent love for all of them and have the ambition to sacrifice oneself for the cause of religion. These virtues are such that those mu’mins who develop them become living martyrs (57:19). To achieve this state is the potential annihilation in the Imam.
In the Godhead of God, where there are universals, there are also particulars. Thus if Hazrat `Izra'il, may peace be on him, by the command of God, can make a perfect person or a sufi or a mu'min revive in the true sense by martyring him in this very life before the physical death (57:19), then such people while living in this physical life, attain the status of martyrdom in the sight of God and they attain reward and light, not only in the Hereafter, but also in this life. This bliss is also partially attainable by other mu'mins. For, every great work can be accomplished all at once and certainly in stages, too. Thus the sacrifice of life, that is, the act of Hazrat `Izra'il (39:42) is in stages as well as all at once.
In Ahadith-i Mathnawi (p. 134), this sacred Hadith is recorded: “He who loves Me, I kill him; and he whom I kill, I become his blood money”. (Al-Manhaju'l-qawi, IV, 398). There is a very great secret hidden in this Hadith, that a positive secret is revealed in a negative way. This is the same favour and bounty of God which is mentioned in verse (57:19), that in one respect, He grants His friends the death of martyrs in the greater jihad, and in the other in His sacred love, while they are physically alive. And in return for such martyrdom, they are granted great reward and light. When someone attains light, it is understood that he finds God as a hidden treasure. Thus this is the meaning of the above-mentioned Hadith.
The holy Prophet says: “The mujahid is the one who fights against his carnal soul (nafs).” (Tirmidhi, I, 606). Thus in this spiritual jihad the great miracle of dying before death occurs in this life to the fortunate mu'min who kills his carnal soul in a specific sense, and he attains the status of a living martyr (57:19). If this is true, then let us see the Qur'anic glad tidings in the light of the concept that undoubtedly many glad tidings are given in the form of practical spirituality. For, the purpose of the glad tidings is to satisfy the mu’min once in the form of faith and spirituality. Qur'anic wisdom alludes that the real place of satisfaction and glad tidings is very high, which is none other than spirituality.
Chiragh-I Rawshan is the symbol and evidence of the fact that every mu’min is a living martyr and that for such martyrs, there is reward and light both in this world and in the next. (57:19) In the Qura’n, and the Hadith in this connection is “kullu mu’minin shahid (everymu’min is a martyr)”.
Q326 It is mentioned in verse (57:19): “And those who believe in Allah and His Messenger are the truthful (siddiqun) and the witnesses (shuhada’) with their Lord. They have their recompense and their light.” Please explain who these people are and what is the level of their faith?
A326
- They are the asas, Imam, bab, hujjat and daci to whom all the mu’mins are linked. Siddiq is the asas and shahid is the Imam.
- Many ranks of mu’mins (male and female) are received through the higher hudud.
- According to Mawla cAli(c), this verse is about the mu’mins.
Q327 Please tell us some comforting words about the illness and death of a mu’min.
A327
- It is a part of the above-mentioned narration that Hazrat cAli(c) said: “The one who is ill is in the prison of God, as long as he does not complain to his visitors, his sins are erased.”
- “Whoever dies in the state of illness, dies a martyr. Every mu’min is a martyr and every mu’minah is a hawra’.”
- “Whatever [type of] death a mu’min dies, he or she dies a martyr.” The Imam then recited the above-mentioned verse (57:19).
This verse has been referred 22 times.