UTTER LOVE

In his Isnad narrating from Hadhrat Salman (may God be pleased with him) that: 


Salmaan al-Farsi (May God be pleased with him) said: “We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah when a Bedouin entered. He stood up in front of us and said: “Assalamu Alaykum”. We replied him back. He then said: 


‘Which one of you is the Full Moon, and the Lantern of darkness; Mohammad the messenger of God, the learned king? Is he this radiant face?’ 
We said: ‘Yes’.


The Prophet (saww) said: ‘O Arab brother! Have a seat.’ 
He replied: ‘O Mohammad! I did believe in you before I met you and acknowledged you before I see you, except a matter narrated to me from you. The Prophet (saww) said: " And what is that"? The Bedouin said: You invited us to bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and that Mohammad is the messenger of Allah. We then agreed. You then invited us to Salaat, Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj and we accepted those. You then were not satisfied with us until you invited us to obedience for your cousin; Ali bin Abi-Talib and his love. Did you make this compulsory on us or God from the heaven has made it compulsory?’ 


The Prophet (saww) said: ‘Rather, Allah made it compulsory for inhabitants of heavens and earth. When the man heard of that Prophetic statement said: I hear and obey for the sake of Allah O Messenger of God! as it is truly from our Lord. 


The Prophet (saww) then added: 
O Arab brother! I was given in Ali five qualities that even one of them is better than this world and what it contains. Do you not like me to inform you about them, O Arab brother?’ 
‘Yes O messenger of God’, the man replied. 

The Prophet (saww) then said: 
‘I was sitting on the day of the Battle of Badr and the war had just come to an end, that Gabriel (peace be on him) descended and said: ‘God the Exalted sends you al-Salam and says for you: ‘O Mohammad I swear in My Majesty that I do not reveal the love for Ali bin Abi-Talib save to those whom I love. Thus, whoever I love, I shall reveal to them Ali’s love, and whoever I hate I shall reveal to them their hatred for Ali.’ O Arab brother! Should I not inform you of the second one?’ 
‘Yes O messenger of Allah’, said the Arab. 


The Prophet (saww) said: 
‘I was sitting after I finished from the burial of my uncle Hamzeh (after the Battle of Ohod), that Gabriel descended and said: O Mohammad! Allah sends you al-Salam and says for you: “Indeed I made Salaat compulsory, but I excused the menstruating women, the insane and the children. I made fasting compulsory; yet I exempt a traveler from it. I made Hajj compulsory, but I excused an ill person. I made Zakat compulsory; yet exempt the poor from it. But I made the love for Ali ibn Abi-Talib compulsory on the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, and did not give any excuse to anyone.” O Arab brother! Do you want me to tell you about the third one?’ 
‘Yes, indeed O messenger of God’, said the Arab. 


The Prophet (saww) said: 
‘God did not create anything unless He made a master in it. The eagle is the master of the birds. The bull is the master of beasts. The lion is the master of wild animals. Friday is the master of the days of the week. Ramadan is the master of the months. Israfil is the master of the angels. Adam is the master of the humans. I am the master of the Prophets and Ali is the master of successors. 
O Arab brother! Do you want me to inform you about the fourth one?’ 
‘Yes, please O messenger of God’, said the Arab man. 


The Prophet (saww) said: 
‘The love of Ali ibn Abi-Talib is a tree whose root is in Paradise and its branches are in this world. Whoever from my community clings into any of its branches, it will reach them to Paradise. The hatred of Ali ibn Abi-Talib is a tree that its root is in hell and its branches are in this world. Whoever clings into any of its branches will enter into hell.O Arab brother! Should I not inform you of the fifth one?’ 
‘Yes of course, O messenger of God’, said the man. 


The Prophet (saww) then said: 
‘On the Day of Judgment, a pulpit will be placed for me on the right side of the Throne. Then another pulpit will be placed for Ibrahim (peace be upon him) adjacent to mine on the right side of the Throne. Then a bright high and dominating Chair will be brought known as the Chair of Honor. It will be placed for Ali between my pulpit and the pulpit of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Then my eyes will have never seen a better friend between two bosom friends. O A’Rabi! The love for Ali ibn Abi-Talib is true, then you shall love him. Indeed Allah will love those who love him and he is with me on the Day of Judgment. Ali and I are in the same part (of Paradise).’ 
Upon hearing that, the Arab man said: ‘I hear and obey Allah, his messenger and your cousin Ali ibn Abi-Talib.’” 


Source: Bihar al-Anwar, vol.40 p.46

An Important Rule Often Neglected 23

Islamic Laws: Fasting » Ascribing lies to Allah and His Prophet
Fatawa of Ayatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani

1757. Fasting is Mustahab on every day of a year except those on which it is haraam or Makrooh to observe a fast...Fasting is also recommended on 27th of Rajab - the day the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) declared his Prophethood.


If a person observes a Mustahab fast, it is not obligatory on him to complete it. In fact, if one of his brethren-in-faith invites him to a meal, it is Mustahab that he accepts the invitation and breaks the fast during the day time even if it may be after Zuhr.

An easy swift path in the journey to the Almighty, the Ultimate

A practical piece of advice by Sh. Husain Al Bahrani

Be informed that anything big dwarves when compared to something bigger. Anything hard dwarves when compared to something harder.
One who is pricked by a thorn then bitten by a scorpion sees the thorn as nothing compared with the sting of the scorpion, something not worth mentioning at all.
The Creator (swt) has subdued everything by creating something else higher than it.
Take a look Amir Al Mu'mineen Ali (as), his might and prowess, his attainment of the extreme limit of perfection, and how he humbles himself when the name Muhammad (saw) is mentioned, admitting that he is his slave. Says the Imam (as), 'I am one of the slaves of Muhammad (saw)' [Al Kafi, vol. 1 p. 89]

Such is the tangible principle about everything possible in existence.
So if you want to think less of the life of this world and its hardships, take a look at what is harder.
Imagine if you add to your hardship another hardship much harder for you; what would you then? It is then that everything becomes easy when compared to what is harder.
And it is then that you will count your blessings and say, 'Praise be to Allah who did not expose me to a hardship! Had He so willed, He would have done just that!'

Likewise, if you wish to appreciate a good deed which you have done so as to rid yourself of the elation, which is the substance of conceit and bragging, compare this good deed with others undertaken by those who are higher in status, those who are better than you.
Or suppose you are elevated in your status, you will then see such a good deed as wrong and as indicative of your shortcoming, so you need to apologise for it. You will feel ashamed of being associated with it, let alone being proud of and elated about it.

Hence the key points to remember:
* always remember the 'being bitten by a thorn and being bitten by a scorpion principle' principle
* always imagine to add to your hardship another hardship much harder for you, that way, your hardship will seem insignificant
* and finally count all your blessings

The 4 types of people

Ameerul Momineen (AS) said to Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari:
O' Jabir!  The mainstay of religion and world are four persons:
1. The scholar who acts on his knowledge,
2. The ignorant who does not feel ashamed of learning,
3. The generous who is not niggardly in his favours and
4. The destitute who does not sell his next life for his worldly benefits.

Consequently, when the scholar would waste his knowledge, the ignorant would feel shame in learning; 
And when the generous would be niggardly with his favours, the destitute would sell his next life for the worldly benefits.

O' Jabir!  If favours of Allah abound on a person, the people's needs towards him also abound. 
Therefore he who fulfils for Allah all that is obligatory on him in this regard, would be sending them for his everlasting life while he who does not fulfill those obligations, would be exposing them to decay and destruction.