Opening The Path of Our Spiritual Journeys

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

Ya Ali Madad and Navroz Mubarak! Navroz is a time for rejuvenation. In the Northern hemisphere, spring activates life in nature and fills one with hope, courage and inspiration. 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.

On this day, may Noor Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, the 49th direct lineal descendant of the Holy Prophet (s.a.s.), grant 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).

Best Ways to Secure Our Return Journeys

We are in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccinations have increased optimism to face the COVID-19 crisis and we hope that the new beginnings of the festival of Idd-e-Navroz will energize all of us. This crisis has slowed our material activities, brought loss to life and livelihood, increased difficulties for humanity and has made some of us think of the spiritual purpose of our life on this earth. The Holy Quran teaches us that eventually our soul has to return to its beginning, and this has inspired me to look for best ways to secure our return journey.

Let us begin with the first ayat which is presented in the graphic: “Say²¹²⁹ thou (O Our Apostle Muhammad) “O My servants! who
have been extravagant unto their own selves, despair ye not of the mercy of God; Verily God forgiveth sins all together; Verily, He is oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful [Gafuurur-Rahiim].” Let us study the footnote for this ayat from S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali’s translation.

Vr. 53. (2129) The First Holy Imam Ali-ibne Abi-Taleb says there is not greater verse of God’s grace and His Mercy than this verse in whole of the Holy Quran. It is Islam and no other religion in the world which introduces God to His creation, not as a mere mercilessly just judge whose decisions are based on law and the facts without any concern of any grace or mercy in it, but as the Independent, the Beneficent, Oft Pardoning the Most Merciful Master of the Universe who deals with His creation as He pleases, and whose justice is ever tempered with mercy. His infinite mercy is ever in the waiting to receive repentance from his offenders. He has made mercy incumbent on Himself—6:12, 6:54. He Himself enjoins on the sinners to seek His pardon—4:106. He bestows His mercy upon whomsoever He pleases—2:105. To whomsoever He pleases, He even wipes out the individual’s sins and instead entitles him to reward—29:7, 47.2, 64:9, 65:5, 66:8.

God being the Master, He could deal with His servants with justice as well as with His Mercy, without detriment to the interest of any of His other servants and since this offer of general and universal mercy, is for one and all of his servants, none of his servants would ever grumble against it and instead of grumbling or criticising it, every one of the servants would rejoice and be encouraged to be as faithful to such an All-Merciful Lord, and as the gracious offer is to every one of them, be ever asking the promised merciful pardon against his own shortcomings, in carry out the Divine Will.

S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali. 1995. The Holy Qur’an. Second Edition. pp.1395-7.

Importance of Sincere Repentance

Let us now study the next ayat which follows the the one shown in the graphic “And²¹³⁰ return ye to your Lord, and resign ye yourselves to Him, ere cometh unto you the chastisement, for then ye shall not be helped.” (39:54). Let us study the footnote for this ayat from S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali’s translation.

Vr. 54. (2130) This verse invites the sinners to turn to the Lord before their case comes up to Him for His final decision. Pardon could reasonably be had before being caught by the execution or the application of the law and before being held by justice to deal with the offence until caught and brought to account.

Mercy would naturally be due to one who surrenders himself and repents for any offence before he is caught by justice and not for the one who continues committing the offence and when caught, wants to be pardoned,

S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali. 1995. The Holy Qur’an. Second Edition. pp.1397.

Meaning and Significance of the Two Attributes of Allah: Al-Rahman and Al-Rahim

In order to define these two Divine attributes, I have taken excerpts from a book entitled ‘Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge’, written by William C. Chittick, published by State University of New York Press, Albany, 1989. In this book, Chittick has compiled gems of knowledge from the vast literature of Al-Shaykh al-Akbar, the “Greatest Master”, ‘Ibn al-‘Arabi and given his commentary on each topic.

“Mercy (rahma) can be divided into two basic kinds, referred to in the formula, “In the name of God, the All-Merciful (al-Rahman), and All-Compassionate (al-Rahim)”. The terms All-Merciful and All-Compassionate both derive from the word rahma. The first kind of mercy (from the attribute al-Rahman), known as essential (dhatiyya) mercy or the mercy of free gift (al-imtinan, al-minna) is all inclusive (‘amma), since no existent thing is excluded from it. God bestows it upon all creatures without distinction. “Existence itself is mercy for every existent thing” (II 281.27).

The second kind (from the attribute al-Rahim), known as mercy of obligation (wujub) is specific (khassa), since its bestowal becomes obligatory for God only in the case of certain servants who come to deserve it. Both kinds of mercy are referred in the Koranic verse, “My mercy [in the all-inclusive sense] embraces all things, but I shall prescribe it [in the specific sense] for those who are god-fearing and pay the alms, and those who have faith in Our signs, those who follow the Messenger’ (Holy Qur’an 7:156)”

W. C. Chittick’s insight into Ibn al-Arabi’s knowledge gem, p. 130, column 1

In practical terms, the whole creation is defined by ‘Ibn al-‘Arabi as the ‘Breath of the Merciful’. For, when the sun rises, its light shines on everybody. This is a simple example of the application of All-Merciful (al-Rahman) attribute. It is universal and applicable to the whole creation. However, the second attribute All-Compassionate (al-Rahim) is given as a reward and a special blessing. During the COVID-19, the global Jamat is engaged in personal and limited communal prayer, involved in numerous activities produced by institutional and non-institutional work of numerous badged and non-badged volunteers, and has constantly received timely guidance and blessings from Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam. These blessings from the Holy Imam is a great example of the application of All-Compassionate (al-Rahim) attribute. This mercy is special and is bestowed those who actively practice the faith as described in verse 7:156. This principle also applies to people of all faiths. Action of the individual or the community culminates with the mercy of the All-.Compassionate.

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

Noor Mowlana Murtaza Ali (a.s.) has described the characteristics of two kinds of workers as follows:

Amir al-mu’minin, peace be upon him, said: There are two kinds of workers in the world. One is a person who works in this world for this world and his work of this world keeps him unmindful of the next world. He is afraid of destitution for those he will leave behind but feels safe about it. So, he spends his life for the good of others. The other is the one who works in this world for what is to come hereafter, and he secures his share of this world without effort. Thus, he gets both benefits together and becomes the owner of both the houses together. In this way, he is prestigious before Allah. If he asks Allah anything He does not deny him.

Saying 279, Nahjul-Balagha, Reza. 1996. Sixth U.S. edition. p.634.

The above saying ties in beautifully with the the two ayats (39:53-54) presented above. The case of the first worker is tied to being extravagant unto oneself while the second worker is submitting oneself to Allah and acquiring the bounties of the next world while being physically alive in this world. The second worker is practicing the balance between din and duniya which has been clearly explained to us by Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam.

Opening the Path of Our Spiritual Journeys

The Right Path or the Straight Path is long and arduous. Our Journeys require constant input of knowledge, dhikr, good actions and stanch practice of faith. Here are links to updated resources on e-resources.salmanspiritual.com:

Salman Spiritual has a developed a variety of resources for reciting Anant Akhado. These are listed in the Holy Ginan Treasury as follows:

• 500 verses of Anant Akhado and 90 verses of Nav Chhuga recitation (49 days)
• 500 verses of Anant Akhado recitation (40 days)
• 90 verses of Anant Naa Nav Chhuga (9 days)

I have updated the start date for the ‘Anant Akhado recitation over 100 days’. The current start date is today, March 21, 2022. The end date is June 28, 2022. The requirement for this project is to listen to: 5 verses of Anant Akhado (7 minutes), 33 beads of Gratitude dhikr (3 minutes) and 33 beads of Angelic Salwat (4 minutes). Total time requirement is 14 minutes per day.

If you go to the link below, there is an option of changing the start date on the schedule page. Just click on the date in the white box and change it and then click on ‘Change Your Start Date’ green button to set your date. The page will refresh and then you will see a customized calendar on your device.

May our beloved Imam NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini (a.s.) grant you, your family, your Jamat and the worldwide Jamat luminous (noorani) and spiritual (ruhani) tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually, and may He grant you the inner vision of the Truth. Ameen.

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

Ardent Prayers

May our beloved NOOR Mowlana Hazar Imam, through the knowledge and barakat of the Holy Qur'an, Holy Ginans & Qasidas, Ayatul Kursi and Angelic Salwat, grant the global Jamat luminous (noorani) and spiritual (ruhani) tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually. May Mowla bestow Sunshine in our hearts, light in our foreheads, and the inner vision of the Truth in our intellects. Ameen.

May Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam fill our spiritual hearts with his NOOR and nothing else, and empower us to overcome fear, anxiety and uncertainty as we pass through this calamity! Ameen.

May the Almighty Creator help the whole humanity because we are all created from a Single Soul! Ameen.

Rakh Mowla je Noor te Yaqeen (Certainly, we trust in Mowla's Light only)

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