17th ShehrAllah 1441 H
Zalzalah, means earthquake and is the name of the 99th surah of the Quran. Earthquakes are caused by fumes and gases seeking to free themselves from the confines of the earth. Earthquakes are also signs of the imminence of the Day of Qiyamat. The second ayah of this surah mentions that the earth will release its athqaal: its burdens and its valuables. During the time of Maulana Ali AS, Madina Munawarra was rocked by frequent earthquakes so its inhabitants came to him. Amirul Mumineen AS did wuzu, and left his home to for namaz and dua. He then stamped his foot on the earth and called out three times, مالها. The earthquakes stopped. Someone asked him about the wisdom of his act. Maulana Ali AS replied, ‘do you recite the Quran’, to which he replied in the affirmative. Maulana Ali AS directed him to recite Surah al-Zalzalah. When he reached the 3rd ayah, Maulana Ali AS said, ‘I am that man!’
In the last two ayahs, Allah states that the one who even does an atom’s weight of good will see it, likewise the one who does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.
Imam Mohammed al-Baqir AS addressed his followers, ‘Your fragrance and souls are dear to me, aid us with your piety and perseverance’. He then added that one way of offering aid is by becoming silent callers, Imam AS was then asked how can one call if he is silent. He replied, ‘though your actions and deeds’. The fragrance of a Mumin’s good deeds will reach his Maula TUS, who will bestow him with his dua mubarak. Likewise, this fragrance will also spread throughout society and become a source of respect and honour for him.
Another way of aiding Awliya Allah AS is by adhering to the tenets of sharia and facilitating them in their endeavor of ensuring that Mumineen reach the shores of jannat. For example, when a person is drowning and his rescuer reaches him, in order to swiftly bring him back to land he must listen to the instructions given to him by his rescuer. A man came before Rasul Allah AS and said, ‘pray for me that I may enter jannat’. Rasul Allah SA replied, ‘aid me through numerous sajdas’, by praying namaz and obeying my directives. Piety is a prerequisite for such deeds.
The 5th Dai Mutlaq, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Ali Ibne Maula Mohammed al-Walid RA states, ‘that if a Mumin wishes to seek the divine grace, dua and nazar of his Maula TUS, he should introspect his soul, maintain piety and spare no effort in adhering to the directives of sharia.
In Yemen, Duat Mutlaqeen RA showed Mumineen the pathway towards piety and perseverance. The 3rd Dai Mutlaq, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Hatim Mohyiddin RA authored a kitab ‘Tanbih al-Ghafileen (Awakening the Negligent) defining the character and values of a Mumin and detailing the manner of his interaction and conduct with his fellow brethren. Similarly, the 15th Dai Mutlaq, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Abbas RA, strengthened Mumineen’s adherence to sharia. If someone had not prayed namaz and came for Syedna’s RA qadambosi, he would not extend his hand to him for salam. Many Mumineen began to adhere to sharia through his efforts.
Al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Dawood bin Ajabshah RA did not partake of the meal offered to him by a Mumin who was embroiled in interest during a ziyafat. The Mumin sought forgiveness and guidance, Syedna RA directed him to sell all his possessions and bestowed him with 3 fulus, with which he started a new business and quickly prospered. His piety and perseverance was rewarded.
Al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA convened al-Multaqa al-Fatimi al-Ilmi in 1399-1979 and called Mumineen to reaffirm their allegiance to sharia through their piety and perseverance, and in their various capacities they came to his aid.
Likewise, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS has stressed that all wedding customs should be in line with the traditions of faith. Even though essentially a marriage is the deed that completes one’s faith, indulging in such customs and rites compromises this completion.
The zikr of Maulana Imam Husain AS contains the essence of this piety and perseverance. One day a Mumin came to the presence of Maulana Imam Ali Zain al-Abidin AS seeking an audience. A person in the Imam’s AS service informed him that Imam AS has just commenced his ibadat for the night and will only see him after fajr namaz. The Mumin spent the entire night remembering Imam Husain AS and shedding tears in his grief. As the day dawned he entered Imam’s AS presence and said, ‘Maula you are infallible, while we are drowning in the seas of sin. Shortcomings are prevalent in all of our deeds and actions. We spend our days seeking worldly gains and at night retire to our beds. How will we attain salvation? Imam AS replied, ‘just as I spent the entire night in ibadat, so did you’. The man was surprised, thinking over what he had done. Imam AS asked him, ‘did you not spend your night shedding tears in Imam Husain’s AS grief? Did you not pray salawat upon him?’ Yes was his reply. Imam AS then stated that crying once upon Imam Husain AS outweighs a life spent in ibadat. Always remain engrossed in Imam Husain’s zikr and you will continue to receive divine rewards’.
This narration revealed the man’s piety. Instead of busying himself with other indulgences he sought to remain engrossed in the zikr of Imam Husain AS that night, giving it precedence over all other matters. His perseverance is seen in that his remembrance was to the extent that tears started flowing. This is the ibadat for which Allah has created mankind. For us, attending the ten majlis of Ashara Mubaraka, before time is the true display of our piety and perseverance.
