Ayaat stronger than Mountains

[Bihal Al-Anwar 23:103]

The chief scholar Abu Muhammad Hasan bin Hussain bin Babaweyh narrated from his uncle Abu jaafar Muhammad Bin hasan, from his father Hasan bin Hussain, from his uncle the blessed scholar Abi Jaafar bin Muhammad Bin Ali bin Hussain bin Babaweyh, from Muhammad bin Ali bin Majilweyh, from Ali bin Ibrahim, from his father, from Muhammad bin Abi Umair, from jameel bin Darraj, from Hakam bin Ayman, from Mohammad Al-Halabi, from Abu Abdillah Jaafer Bin Muhammad (as) who said,

'Those whose beliefs are based on the Quran will be more stable than mountains. However, if you enter a field of study without knowledge (try to use your own judgement instead of using the Quran), you will come out of it without knowledge.
I (Mohammad Al-Halabi) asked, 'To which ayaat in the Quran are you referring?'
Ja'afar bin Muhammad (as) replied: 'The following ayaat:

وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ   [59:7] Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, keep back, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah; surely Allah is severe in retributing (evil):

مَّنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللّهَ وَمَن تَوَلَّى فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا
[4:80] Whoever obeys the Messenger, he indeed obeys Allah, and whoever turns back, so We have not sent you as a keeper over them.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً
[4:59] O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end.

إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ رَاكِعُونَ
[5:55] Only Allah is your Vali and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow.

فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىَ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُواْ فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيمًا
[4:65] But no! by your Lord! they do not believe (in reality) until they make you a judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any straitness in their hearts as to what you have decided and submit with entire submission.

يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ
[5:67] O Messenger! deliver what bas been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.

Ja'afar bin Muhammad (as) continued:
'This (last ayah was revealed) when the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'Of whomsoever I am his master, this Ali is his master. O Allah! Befriend his friends and be the enemy of his enemies. Support those who support him and disappoint those who disappoint him. Love those who love him and hate those who hate him.'

[Bihal Al-Anwar 23:103]

Know yourself, Know your Lord

William Chittick

Unless and until we understand that dhikr is a practice of God Himself, and along with Him, that of all the creation, we will not be able to grasp our human condition or to take advantage of it while we have it.

Anyone familiar with the Quran knows that it speaks of God by detailing His names and attributes. It goes extraordinary lengths to emphasize that it is God's book, revelation, speech, and words. It maintains that all revelation is God's speech, and that God speaks to the Prophets so as to clarify the nature of things and to explain the appropriate human response.

Just as the Quran and the other scriptures are collections of God's signs or ayaat, so also the whole universe is a vast collection of God's signs and ayaat.
In effect, God creates the whole universe by revealing three books - 1) the Universe 2) the Human Self 3) the Scripture. In each, He reveals His signs and writes out His words.

Once we understand that reality is configured by speech, we shall also see that human task is to see and understand what has been written. Then we can follow the instructions laid out in the text of scripture, the world, and the soul.

The interpretation of the Quran - which is the foundation and fruit of all Islamic sciences - has always entailed the simultaneous interpretation of universe and the soul. Every Muslim, by accepting the Quran as God's word, has accpeted the responsibility of understanding what the Word means. The fruit of this understanding rebounds on the soul.

Every soul will answer for its own reading, not only of the Quran but also of the other two books, the universe and the soul. And given the fact that it is the soul itself that reads and understands, the book of the soul is the all-important determinant  of our destiny. This helps explain why, in recounting the events that will take place on the day of Resurrection, the Quran tells us that every human being will be addressed by the words, 'Read your book; your own self is sufficient as a reckoner against you this day.' [17:14]

The crux of knowledge, then, is to read and know one's soul. The whole trajectory of the voluntary return to God is to learn how to interpret oneself through understanding the wisdom present in both revelations and the cosmos. The return reaches its fruition on the Day of Resurrection.

What we as human beings should want to learn is who we are now and who we will be when we arrive back at the meeting with God. All knowledge should serve the goal of this knowledge. As Rumi puts it,'The spirit of all the sciences is this, only this:
that you may know who you will be on the Day of Resurrection'

In order to know who one is and who one will be, one must know one's relation with God, who created man in His own image. It is clear that the Divine speech creates the world and reveals the scriptures. It is this same speech that appears as the distinguishing feature of reminder, guidance, and prayer whereby man is able to remember his Source and undertake the return journey. And it is also this same speech that will be written plainly in the book of the soul on the Day of Resurrection.

The human condition, then, demands knowing that everything we understand, speak, do, and embody is being written and recorded in our own selves.