'O God, carry us in the ships of Thy deliverance, give us to enjoy the pleasure of whispered prayer to Thee, make us drink at the pools of Thy love, let us taste the sweetness of Thy affection and nearness, allow us to struggle in Thee, preoccupy us with obeying Thee, and purify our intentions in devoting works to Thee, for we exist through Thee and belong to Thee, and we have no one to mediate with Thee but Thee!' Imam Sajjad ('A); Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

Saturday 28 May 2011

Husnu'l Hal - A Unique State of Utter Ecstasy


The contemporary mystic-scholar, Āllāmah Hasan Zadeh Āmolī, may the Almighty Allāh protect his noble presence, in his treatise- Nūrun 'Alā Nūr [section 9, pg. 78], says:
'Try to reach the water, although you are not cut off from water. And when you reach the water, you would have husnu'l hāl and your joy would be inexpressible.'

In one of the narrated supplications we read: O Allāh change our unpleasant state into your Beautiful State. Thus Almighty God Has the State of Husnu'l Hāl. Yes, this State of Joy (Husnu'l Hāl) is that very state that Shaykh (Ibn Sinā) speaks about in chapter eighteen of the section on Joy and Happiness of his monumental work al-Ishārāt:
'The Being that has the greatest joy in a thing is the First (i.e. God) as having joy in His Essence.' [al-Ishārāt wa al-Tanbīhāt, pg. 350 (trans. By Shams Inati, pg. 78 - Translation)]

With regard to Almighty Allāh's sincere servants, the state of Ridā is known to be the state of joy and ecstasy. 

Shaykh al-Rā'īs also mentions this in section nine of his monumental al-Ishārāt, as follows:
"The Gnostic ('ārif) is bright faced, friendly and smiling. Due to his modesty he honors the young as he honors the old. He is as pleased with the unclearheaded as he is with the alert. How could he not be bright-faced when he enjoys the Truth (i.e. God) and everything other than the Truth, for he sees the Truth even in everything other than the Truth. Furthermore, how could he not treat all as equal when, to him all are equal! They are objects of mercy preoccupied with falsehoods." [al-Ishārāt wa al-Tanbīhāt, pg. 364 (trans. By Shams Inati, pg. 89 - Translation)]

Avicenna's statement "for he sees the Truth even in everything other than the Truth" reminds us of the Holy Prophet (s), and the Holy Imāms of the Ahlu'l Bayt (as). Imām 'Alī (as) is reported to have said: "I did not see anything save that I saw Allāh before it, after it, and with it."

A similar dictum is reported also from Imām al-Sādiq (as). Some analysts say that the following tradition also alludes to the sublime state of ecstasy and joy of the Leader of martyrs, Imām al-Husayn (as), as he neared his supreme sacrifice, which guaranteed the salvation of Islam forever: Shaykh Sadūq in his Ma'āni al-Akhbār reports Imām al-Sajjād (as) to have said:
"When the situation became tense for Imām al-Husayn (as) those who were with him looked at him and saw that his state was contrary to theirs, for whenever the situation grew tense they changed color and were shaken and experienced fear, whereas the faces of al-Husayn (as) and some of his companions shone, their bodily members were relaxed and their souls were tranquil." [Ma'āni al-Akhbār, pg. 288]
Manifestations of the All-Merciful, Sh Muhammad Khalfan, Section 4

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