O Lord, Create Sunshine In Our Spiritual Hearts

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Ya Ali Madad, Navroz Mubarak and Ramadan Mubarak! This post has two sections. The first one is about Navroz and the second one is about Holy Ramadan projects to enlighten one’s soul during the Holy month.

The overall focus of my personal spiritual search is summarized by the following Dua which appears towards the end of this post:

O Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam, bless the global Jamat with Sunshine in our spiritual hearts and actualization of the inner vision of the Truth.

Therefore, when we come to the topic of Navroz as a time for rejuvenation, my focus is towards gathering knowledge about mystical experiences during the ascent of the soul. In this search of higher spiritual enlightenment, the Light of Imamat which is in our present and living Imam, Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam, is a beacon of perpetual guidance. In the Northern hemisphere, as the spring activates life in nature and fills one with hope, courage and inspiration, let us pray that on this special day and year, may Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam shower his immense baraqa by opening the Door of Enlightenment for all seekers of his Noor, and may this Noor ease the path of the returning the soul to its origin! Ameen.

Also, on this day, may Noor Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, the 49th direct lineal descendant of the Holy Prophet (s.a.s.), send blessings for peace, prosperity, happiness, barakat, higher spiritual enlightenment, spiritual & luminous tayid (help) and empowerment to the global Jamat as we go through this difficult period. Ameen.

Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad (O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants).

The second section is on spiritual activities that we could do in Holy Ramadan. We now have three evergreen Holy Ramadan projects which were developed sequentially. Since I am grounded in the South Asian Ismaili tradition, I searched the Holy Ginans and Holy Granths because these compositions of Holy Pirs and Syeds have guided the Jamat for centuries in their search for the recognition of Holy Imam and for vision of his Light (Noor). This material is organized in 30 posts.

Then, I came across the Persian literature and studied the book ‘Advices of Manliness’ (Pandiyat-i Jawanmardi) which was translated from Persian to English by W. Ivanow and published as The Ismaili Society Series A No. 6. It has the teachings of Imam Noor Mowlana Shah Mustansir bi’l-laah II. These advices formed the second pillar of my spiritual search. These teachings are especially important during the Holy Ramadan but have to be extended to the whole year because we are a Batin Tariqah. This material is organized in 30 posts.

Finally, I used the book ‘A Code of Conduct’, a Treatise on the Etiquette of the Fatimid Ismaili Mission edited and translated by Verena Klemm and Paul E. Walker, published in 2011. This book showed how the Dais were chosen and trained. This is particularly important because this Arabic book was written in the Fatimid Period and all references go back to the Holy Quran. It shows how one’s character is shaped with Haqqiqati knowledge and ardent practice of faith in order to embark on the noble profession of Dawat under the ultimate authority of the present and living Holy Imam. This material is organized in 30 posts.

Let us now go through the remaining content of this post. I have organized it under four headings:

1. An Ayat from Surah At-Taghabun and commentary on this verse;
2. Teaching of Noor Mowlana Murtaza Ali (a.s.)
3. Description of activities of three Holy Ramadan projects; and
4. Global prayers and three grand aspirations.

1. Ayat from the Holy Quran

I have presented an ayat from the Holy Quran translation of S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali in the graphic of this post. Here is the commentary on this ayat:

Vr. 8. (2601) ‘And the Light’—i.e., the Holy Quran which shows the right ways against the wrong ones, and lawful things against forbidden ones. According to the Holy Ahlul-Bait, the Light here stands for the divinely commissioned Imam—i.e., to believe in God as directed by the Holy Prophet and to believe in the Holy Prophet as directed by the Holy Imam. As a matter of fact along with the inauguration of the ‘Risalat‘, i.e., the apostleship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, i.e., along with the announcement of the the ministry of the Last Apostle of God, was also inaugurated or announced the Imamat or Guidance of the First Holy Imam Ali-ibne Abi Taleb vide the event of the ‘Dawete-Asheera‘, the Feast of the Nearest Kin—see note 26:214….In view of the announcements of the Holy Prophet about Ali, by ‘Light‘ used here, would be meant none but Ali—for said the Holy Prophet:

“I and Ali are of one and the same Light“—”Ali is a part of me and I of Ali“—”The people are of different stocks but I and Ali are of one stock” (Tr., Ns., IM., Tb, EHIO)

S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali. 1995. The Holy Qur’an. Second Edition. pp.1690-1.

2. Teaching of Noor Mowlana Murtaza Ali (a.s.)

The following saying of the Holy First Imam describes the role of Imamat in this world:

We, Ahlul Bayt (chosen descendants of the Holy Prophet), hold such central and
balancing position in religion that those who are deficient in understanding and acting upon its principles, will have to come to us for reformation, and those who are overdoing it have got to learn moderation from us.

Nahjul-Balagha, Sayings of Hazrat Ali: No. 108. Jafery. 1981. Second U.S. edition. p.284.

3. Description of Activities of Three Holy Ramadan Projects

Project 1: Thirty Foundational Ginans

Each post consists of four parts:

1. A Holy Foundational Ginan or Selected Verses of a Granth;
2. A Dhikr tasbi;
3. Angelic Salwat which is the anchor tasbi for the project; and
4. Global Prayers and Three Grand Aspirations.

Just click on the button to go to the schedule page:

Project 2: Thirty Purification Gems

Each post consists of five parts:

1. A gem of knowledge from Pir Pandiyat-i Jawanmardi, or “Advices of Manliness” of Imam NOOR Mowlana Shah Mustansir bi’l-laah II;
2. A verse from a Holy Ginan or Granth;
3. A dhikr tasbi for each night;
4. Angelic Salwat which is the anchor tasbi for the project; and
5. Global Prayers and Three Grand Aspirations.

Just click on the button to go to the schedule page:

Project 3: Thirty Traits of An Ismaili Dai

Each post consists of five parts:

1. Enlightenment teachings from the Holy Quran;
2. Excerpt(s) from ‘A Code of Conduct—A Treatise of the Etiquette of the Fatimid Ismaili Mission’;
3. A dhikr tasbi for each night;
4. Angelic Salwat which is the anchor tasbi for the project; and
5. Global Prayers and Three Grand Aspirations.

Just click on the button to go to the schedule page:

4. Global Prayers and Three Grand Aspirations

Through the barakat of recitation of Holy Quran, Qasidas, Holy Ginans and voluminous prayers and Angelic Salwat by many, many individuals of the global Jamat, O Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam, bless the global Jamat with:

1. Spiritual and luminous tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually;
2. Sunshine in our spiritual hearts and actualization of the inner vision of the Truth;
3. Empowerment to present a Material Nazrana of time, knowledge and financial resources;
4. Empowerment to present a Spiritual Nazrana in the form of a pure heart which is in a state of constant dhikr; and
5. Empowerment to present a Luminous Nazrana in the form of a sound heart (qalb-i salim) which is in a state of constant dhikr and enlightenment.

Al-Hamdu lil-lahi Rab-bil Aalamin (All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds).

Navroz Mubarak and Holy Ramadan Mubarak!

Angelic Salwat Supplication

Let us now start supplicating with angelic salwat, Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad (O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants) to our beloved NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam for mushkil aasan for material and spiritual upliftment.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)