Food for our Ruuh from Ayatollah Jawad Tabrizi

Died in 11/11/1343AH – 3rd July, 1925 AD


The path to this success is a lifetime struggle and the journey of self purification will end when lovers meet.


Dhikr Yunusiyah (The Call of Jonah)
It is narrated from the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.) that whoever invocated to the Almighty God with the ‘Call of Prophet Yunus’ [holy Quran 21:87-88] his call will be granted.  A man asked the messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) if that call would be only for Prophet Yunus? The Messenger of Allah (saw) replied: If it was for Prophet Yunus, then it will be for every Mo’men. Don’t you see that the Almighty Allah states: ‘And thus do We deliver the believers.’


Ayatollah Mirza Jawad Maleki Tabrizi in his ‘Asrarul-Salaat’ says: “I asked my mentor, who was the best philosopher, Arif and experienced teacher and the most perfect spiritual physician I have ever seen in my life; “Which one of the physical worshipping from your experience is more effective to the heart?  He replied: long prostration for about an hour or ¾ of an hour in which you repeatedly say: “Laa Elaaha Ellaa Ant Sobhanaka Enni Konto Mena dhalemin. [Dhikr Yunusiyah].

When you recite it, you should observe your soul imprisoned in the jail of this world fastened with the chains of immoral behaviour. During the prostration you should glorify Allah and confess that you have been unfair to yourself not your Lord.”
Asrarul-Salaat p.46

3 minute read - worth a great thought!

While I write these words, my ears are caressed with the sweet and melodious sounds of the birds chirping in our neighbourhood in the Kizingo area in Mombasa. Are they communicating, supplicating, or glorifying Allah? Indeed most of us are oblivion of our own material realm, leave alone the higher planes of existence. The Holy Qur’an tells us: ‘There is nothing but that it glorifies Allah and praises Him, but you cannot comprehend their glorification. Indeed He is forbearing and forgiving.’ [17:44] In expounding this verse, ‘Allama al-Tabataba’i in his monumental al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an says that the glorification mentioned in the verse should not be mistaken with ontological glorification, which refers to the natural expression of Allah’s Absolute and Perfect Reality through the ‘limited and deficient nature’ of every other thing in the universe. The mention of the Names “Indeed He is forbearing and forgiving” according to one of the strong opinions, is that ‘not being able to comprehend the tasbih of the other creatures’ is an offense, which Allah bears and forgives. We are told in different traditions that it is our tainted heart that hampers us from beholding the malakut (the inner realm of existence) and appreciating the tasbih of the creatures. The pebbles doing tasbih in the hands of the Prophet (s) is a day to day phenomenon witnesses by those endowed with pure hearts, but perhaps when the hearts of a group of Muslims are influenced by Allah’s Messenger “to forcefully be receptive to their tasbih” it is taken as a miracle. 

The pillar of Hannana is an unforgettable event in the history of the mosque of Madina. It has been narrated in our traditions that when the Prophet of Allah (s) built his mosque in Madina, there was an old dried date palm pillar besides the mihrab (place where the Imam leads prayer). Whenever he (s) would deliver a sermon or speak to the people he would lean on it; but when a mimbar was brought for him, and he ascended it, a cry was heard from the date palm the way a she camel cries when it separates from its offspring. So the Prophet (s) descended the pulpit and embraced the dry date palm, until it went into silence, and the Prophet (s) returned back. Illustrating this in very beautiful poetry Rumi says: Ustune Hannane az hajre Rasul Nale mizad hamchu arbabe uqul (the pillar of Hannana due to Prophet’s separation, lamented like those endowed with intellect); Guft payghambar che khwahi ay sutoon? Guft jaanam az firaaqat gasht khoon. (The Prophet asked the pillar: what do you want? The pillar said: Due to your separation my soul has turned into blood); Masnadat budam az man taakhti, bar sare minbar tu masnad saakhti (I was your support; now you have run away from me; you have devised a place to lean against upon the pulpit)…In the end Rumi hits in the center of our hearts and says: ''Hearken, O heedless one! Be not thou less than a piece of wood! Indeed such phenomena are utter realities for those endowed with insight.''
by Shaykh Muhammad Khalfan

An Important Rule Often Neglected 6

Islamic Laws : Wudhu » Rules regarding WudhuAyatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani


306. If a person doubts whether his Wudhu has become void, he should treat it as valid. But, if he did not perform Istibra (rule no. 73) after urinating, and performed Wudhu, and thereafter some fluid was discharged about which he was not sure whether it was urine or something else, his Wudhu will be void.

307. If a person doubts whether he has performed Wudhu or not, he should perform Wudhu.

A fraction of the essence of Muharram

28-53 Muhammad ibn Ali Majiluwayh - may God be pleased with him -narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem quoted on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rayyan ibn Shabeeb, “I went to see Al-Reza (s) on the first day of the (Arabic) month of Muharram.

The Imam (s) said, ‘O Ibn Shabeeb! Are you fasting?’
I answered, ‘No.’
The Imam (s) said, ‘Today is the day on which Zakariya prayed to his Lord - the Honorable the Exalted, ‘There did Zakariya pray to his Lord, saying, ‘O my Lord! Grant unto me from Thee a progeny that is pure: for Thou art He that heareth prayer!’’ And God fulfilled his prayer and ordered the angels to call Zakariya ‘While he was standing in prayer in the chamber, the angels called unto him, ‘(Allah) doth give thee glad tidings of Yahya, witnessing the truth of a Word from Allah, and (be besides) noble, chaste, and a Prophet, of the (goodly) company of the righteous.’’ Therefore, just as God fulfilled the prayers of Zakariya, the Honorable the Exalted God will fulfill the prayers of whoever fasts on this day, and asks God for something.’

The Imam (s) then added, ‘O Ibn Shabeeb! Muharram is the month in which the people of the Age of Ignorance had forbidden committing any oppression and fighting in. However, this nation did not recognize the honor of this month or the honor of their own Prophet (s). In this month, they killed the Prophet’s offspring, they enslaved the women, and took their belongings as booty. God will never forgive them.

O Ibn Shabeeb! If you wish to cry, then cry for Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (s) who was slaughtered like a sheep, and was killed along with the members of his household.

Eighteen people were martyred along with Al-Hussein (s) who had no equal on Earth.
The seven heavens and the Earths mourned for his martyrdom.
Four thousand angels descended to the Earth to assist him (Imam Hussein) (s).
However, Al-Hussein (s) was destined to be martyred.
They will remain at his shrine with wrinkled hair until the Riser (Imam al-Mahdi) (s) rises. Then they will be among those who will assist him (s).
Their slogan will be Ya li tharat Al-Hussein (Revenge for Al-Hussein’s blood!)

O Ibn Shabeeb! My father narrated that his father (s) quoted on the authority of his grandfather (s) that when they murdered my grandfather Al-Hussein (s), the heavens cried (dark) red blood and dirt.
O Ibn Shabeeb! If you cry for Al-Hussein (s) in such a way that tears flow down your cheeks, then God will forgive all the sins that you have committed whether they be minor or major, whether they be a few instances or a lot.
O Ibn Shabeeb! If you would like to meet the Honorable the Exalted God without having any sins then go to visit (the Shrine of) Al-Hussein (s).
O Ibn Shabeeb! If you would like to accompany the Prophet (s) in the rooms of Paradise, then damn the murderers of Al-Hussein (s).
O Ibn Shabeeb! If you would like to be rewarded just as those who were martyred along with Al-Hussein ibn Ali (s), whenever you remember Al-Hussein (s) say, ‘I wish I was with them and could achieve the great prosperity.’
O Ibn Shabeeb! If you would like to be in the same high ranks in Paradise with us, then be sad when we are sad and be happy when we are happy, and I advise you to have us since the Honorable the Exalted God will resurrect whoever even likes a rock with that same rock on the Resurrection Day.”

Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha

Ten advices from an Infallible to another Infallible

Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni-may God be pleased with him-from Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Isa, from `Ali ibn al-Nu'man, from Mu'awiyah ibn `Ammar, who says: 

"I heard Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, say:
`In a counsel that the Prophet-may God bless him and his Family-gave to `Ali-may peace be upon him-he said: 

"O `Ali, I exhort you concerning certain characteristics (khisal) which you must preserve in yourself (as a trust) from me."
Then he prayed, "O God, help him." (Then he continued:) 

" - As to the first of them, it is truthfulness: never should a falsehood come out of your mouth. 
- The second is piety (wara'), and never venture upon a treachery. 
- The third is to fear God-sublime is His remembrance-as if you see Him. 
- The fourth is to weep a lot out of the fear of God, the Exalted, and a thousand mansions shall be built for you in the Garden for every tear. 
- The fifth is to offer your property and your blood for the sake of your religion. 
- The sixth is to follow my sunnah in respect of my salat, my fasting, and my charity (sadaqah). As to the salat, it consists of fifty rak'ahs. As to the fasts, they are to be kept on three days in a month: on the first Thursday, on the Wednesday at its middle, and on the last Thursday. As to the charity, that consists of the utmost that you can give, so much so that you say to yourself, 'I have been immoderate,' whereas you will not have been immoderate. 
- Commit yourself to the nightly prayer (salat al-layl)! Commit yourself to the nightly prayer! Commit yourself to the nightly prayer! Stick to the (supererogatory) noon prayer! Stick to the noon prayer! Stick to the noon prayer! 
- Accustom yourself to reciting the Qur'an at all times. 
- Make it your practice to raise your hands during prayer and to turn them. 
- Take care to brush your teeth every time that you perform wudu". 
Commit yourself to ethical virtues, practise them, and refrain from moral vices, and if you don't, don't blame anyone except yourself."

Imam Khomeini; Forty Hadith, Twenty Ninth Hadith

An Important Rule Often Neglected 5

A Code of Practice For Muslims in the West: 
Dealing with laws in non-Muslim countries » Questions and AnswersAyatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani


234. Question: Is it necessary for the person who has got a visa to enter a non-Muslim country to abide by the laws of that country in all fields, like traffic laws, laws regarding work and employment, etc.?


Answer: If he has given an undertaking—even if indirectly [as is implied in the immigration documents]— to abide by the laws of that country, it is necessary for him to fulfill his commitment in issues that are not contrary to the sacred laws [of Islam].
As for example, it is necessary to obey traffic regulations regardless [of the fact whether you have given a commitment or not], if not obeying those rules could eventually lead to harming people’s lives and properties which are sacrosanct [in Islamic laws].

Ayatollah Tabrizi's secret to Ayatollah Isfahani

Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Isfahani known as Kompani was an outstanding Muslim Jurist and philosopher of his time.  In a letter to Ayatollah Tabrizi - known as ‘The Beauty of Wayfarers’ - he requested him to write a practical prescription for his spiritual perfection.
I quote parts of the prescription from my teacher Ayatollah Hasan-Zadeh (pictured) who quoted it from his teacher Allamah Tabatabaei:

“ … The beneficial way in knowing the self is to endeavour in reducing your animality by the following disciplines:
1. Reducing your meals in that you don’t have more than two meals a day and not to have meat more than two or three times in a week.
2. Reducing your sleeping hours in that you don’t sleep more than six hours.
3. Endeavour in safeguarding your tongue and abstaining from heedless people. These three will be very helpful in reducing the animality of man.

As for accelerating and reinforcing your spirituality:
1. Have permanent grief of the heart (not facial) in fear of not reaching your destination.
2. Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and Fikr (to think and ponder) as these two are the wings of flying to the heaven of knowledge. As for the Dhikr, the Dhikr of Yunusiyah (Laa Elaaha Ellaa Ant Sobhanaka Enni Konto Mena dhalemin) in the morning and at night is very much experienced and brings about many blessings. The minimum times of reciting it is 400 times. As for the Fikr for a beginner the best is to ponder upon death.”

Ayatollah Hasan-Zadeh, 1001 Words, Word 301

An interesting story about Sayyid Razi - The compiler of Nahjul Balagah

There is an interesting story how Sayyid Razi and his elder brother 'Ali Abual-Kasim Sayyid Murtaza started their formal Islamic education. According to Ibn Abi al-Hadid in Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Shaykh Mufid saw a dream that a lady appearing to be the Prophet's daughter Hazrat Fatimah Zahra' ('a) entered his mosque in the Karkh locality of Baghdad with two small boys and asked him to teach them fiqh. The Shaykh woke up in a rather perplexed state of mind in view of his own paucity of knowledge when compared to Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Imam Husayn (a.s.).

Bural place of Shaykh Mufid - Kadhmain

But the next day when Fatimah, the wife of the Naqib al-Nuqaba ', entered the mosque with her two sons and requested him to teach them Islamic sciences, he understood the purport of his dream and accepted her request with great honour.

The two brothers together soon mastered different branches of Islamic sciences under Shaykh Mufid and other leading scholars of Baghdad, but unlike Sayyid Razi who was more inclined towards politics and literature, Sayyid Mortaza was deeply interested in fiqh.

Sayyid Murtaza, who acquired the epithet of 'Alam al-Huda, was four years older than his brother and died at the age of 81 years in 436/ 1044.  He served as Naqib al-Nuqaba' after the death of Sayyid Razi and was considered a master of kalam, fiqh, usul al- fiqh, literature, grammar, poetry and other fields of knowledge. His divan or poetical composition runs into more than 20,000 verses. He authored several books such as al-Shafi fl al-Imamah, al- Dhakh'irah fi Usul al-Fiqh, al-Ghurar wa al-Durar, and al-Tanzih.

Biography of Sayyid Sharaf Ar Razi - The compiler of Nahjul Balagah; By: Dr. Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Ja'fari

An Important Rule Often Neglected 4

Ayatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani

From the email-contact from Sayed Sistani - 

Important for those of us working on checkouts in retail supermarkets such as Tesco's, Asda's, Wallmart, Costco etc

The 3 different types Hearts

...Muhammad ibn Ya`qub (al-Kulayni), from `Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from al-Nawfali, from al-Sakuni, from Abu 'Abd Allah (al-'Imam al Sadiq) (A) that he said: 


"Amir al-Mu'minin (A) used to say: 
`Arouse your heart to contemplation; keep your side clear off the night; and be heedful towards your Lord."


What is the Heart? 
There are various applications and denotations of the word `heart'. 
For physicians and the common people it is a tiny piece of flesh, whose contractions and expansions cause the flow of blood through arteries and veins, which generates a subtle elan vital. 
The philosophers (hukama) use it for a certain seat of the psyche (nafs). 
The `urafa' assign to it grades (maratib) and stages (maqamat), and to go into their details is not our concern here.


In the Holy Quran and the ahadith, it has been used both in its general as well as its particular senses in different places.
In the verse `...the hearts reached to the throats ' (33:10), `heart' is used in the same sense as used by physicians.
And in "They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not' (7:179), it is used in the sense used by the philosophers.
And in `Therein verily is a reminder for him who hath a heart, or giveth ear with full intelligence' (50:37), `heart' is used in the same sense as used by the `urafa'.


Imam Khomeini; Forty Hadith, Twenty Seventh Hadith