Reflections<\/p>\n
On the eve of 19th Shahr Allah, 40 H, Amirul Mumineen Maulana Ali b. Abi Talib AS<\/sup> saw a dream wherein Jibra\u2019eel took two stones on the Mount of Abu Qubays and struck them together, the sound of which reverberated in each and every home. When Imams Hasan and Husain\u2019s\u00a0AS<\/sup> queried the meaning of this dream, Amirul Mumineen AS<\/sup> explained that in the coming dawn\u00a0 would be his shah\u0101dat<\/em>, and that his m\u0101\u02betam<\/em> and buk\u0101\u02be<\/em> would take place in each and every home. Mumineen witnessed one manifestation of this m\u0101\u02betam<\/em> and buk\u0101\u02be<\/em> today as im\u0101n\u012b<\/em> homes the world over were blessed with excerpts from the maw\u0101\u02bfi\u1e93 n\u016br\u0101n\u012byya<\/em> of three Du\u02bfat Mutlaqeen delivered on the 19th of Shahr\u00a0Allah from three different years: Syedna Taher Saifuddin\u2019s\u00a0RA<\/sup> from 1382, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin\u2019s RA<\/sup> from 1425 and Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin\u2019s TUS<\/sup> from 1436.<\/p>\n This extraordinary wa\u02bfa\u1e93 mub\u0101rak <\/em>compilation began with Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin\u2019s RA<\/sup> kalim\u0101t<\/em> n\u016br\u0101n\u012byya<\/em> in which he begins with the glad tiding given to Maulana Ali AS<\/sup> by Rasul Allah SA<\/sup>; that the angels prayed salam upon him with the address, \u201cAmirul Mumineen\u201d (Commander of the Faithful). A special attribute was used by\u00a0 Rasul Allah SA<\/sup> to describe the followers of Maulana Ali AS<\/sup>; f\u0101\u02beiz\u016bn<\/em>: the victorious. At Ghadir-e-Khum, the two ascended the minbar together where Rasul Allah SA<\/sup> declared na\u1e63\u1e63<\/em> upon Maulana Ali AS<\/sup> before 70,000 Muslimeen thus ensuring the unceasing succession of a \u2018Maula\u2019 and an \u2018Amirul Mumineen\u2019 in each and every day and age.<\/p>\n Today the presence of Imam al-Zaman AS<\/sup> in satr<\/em> is established by the existence of his Dai and his Dawat. Logic dictates that \u2018if the sun has risen, then it is day\u2019, and likewise, \u2018if it is day then the sun has risen\u2019. Thus the presence of the Dai proves the existence of the Imam, and, in satr<\/em>, he assumes the very position of the Imam.<\/p>\n Syedna Burhanuddin RA<\/sup> mentioned that Syedna Abdul\u00a0Qadir Najmuddin RA<\/sup> used to regularly refer to Syedna Jafar bin Mansur al-Yemen\u2019s RA<\/sup> treatise named \u2018Tawil al-Zakat\u2019 during his final years. Later, during Syedna Abdullah Badruddin\u2019s RA<\/sup> reign when sabaq<\/em> with Syedi Tayyeb Zainuddin\u2019s QR<\/sup> was halted due to his being away, Syedna RA<\/sup> chose this same treatise to personally impart to\u00a0 his successor, Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup>.<\/p>\n The treatise is a highly specialised one, and only those with the appropriate knowledge will be privy to its meanings whilst to others it will make no sense at all. It is like a book on mathematics that will make sense to those with knowledge of the discipline, but will seem merely a series of numbers to those who have none. In it, Syedna Jafar RA<\/sup> has explained the meaning of all the various forms of zakat such as gold, silver and livestock.<\/p>\n One meaning of \u2018zakat\u2019 is purity and cleanliness, and the offering of it is a means\u00a0 of cleansing the soul. Another meaning of zakat is an \u2018increase\u2019. In giving zakat it may seem to decrease one\u2019s wealth, but actually this giving enables one to gain invaluable treasures of Maula\u2019s TUS<\/sup> du\u02bf\u0101\u02be mub\u0101rak<\/em> thereby leading to both spiritual as well as material increase. Maulana Burhanuddin RA<\/sup> instructed Mumineen to review their \u2018balance sheets\u2019 every year and give one fortieth by calculation.<\/p>\n Syedna Burhanuddin RA<\/sup> stated that in the Quran, Allah Ta\u02bf<\/em>\u0101l\u0101 states that \u2018those who enter jannat<\/em> will be adorned with bracelets of gold and garments of silk\u2019 and in all three of today\u2019s wa\u02bfa\u1e93 mub\u0101rak <\/em>excerpts there was mention of gold; and in particular of alchemy. Al-kimiya<\/em> is the ancient art of turning base metals into gold but here we came to know that it was not mere myth but a veritable science known only to a very few. Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> recollected that he had actually witnessed such a process and he described why so very few of those who attempt it are successful. The person who wishes to do alchemy must first and foremost abide by all the conditions stipulated to him by the one who has given him the elixir, otherwise, he will inevitably fail. He narrated how one individual was shown the art and\u00a0 was given 16 bottles of elixir from which he was given leave to make no more than one tola (around 10g) of gold everyday, using elixir equivalent only to the wing of an insect. In theory, the 16 bottles could last for decades and potentially create millions of tolas of gold. However, the provider\u2019s condition was that only one tola was to be made per day. On the first day, the individual was successful in transforming the base metal into a single tola of gold but on the second day he thought with so many bottles, why limit production to a single tola? He heated the copper and added the elixir to make 2 tolas of gold. The next day he tried again but this time he failed in increasing production despite using the proportional quantity of elixir. The next day he decided to return to making one tola but now failed to manage even that. The 16 bottles now lay as they were; he had transgressed his bounds.<\/p>\n Alchemy, being the preserve of so very few, will always remain a mythical quantity. Yet, just as it was said that it is known to be day if the Sun is risen then surely the evidence of the transformation of souls that is the preserve of the Awliya Allah AS<\/sup>, is proof that a similar transformational process exists for these metals to be turned into gold.<\/p>\n True alchemy is the benevolent grace of Aale Mohammed AS<\/sup> as Syedi Abdeali Imaduddin QR<\/sup> states:<\/p>\n Alchemy is a supreme craft; and that craft is but a merciful glance from him (Imam of Aale Mohammed AS<\/sup>).<\/p>\n The Fatimi Imams AS<\/sup> ruled from al-Qahira (Cairo) for close to 200 years, their benevolence reaching all. The munificence and opulence of the Fatimi state led some historians to assert that they must have knowledge of alchemy to fund their expenses. In truth it was the alchemy of their conduct, the barakat<\/em> of their presence that enabled such prosperity. The Du\u02bfat Mutlaqeen AS<\/sup> today are vessels of this barakat<\/em>, and the blessings of their days, \u2018Barak\u0101t Ayy\u0101m al-Du\u02bf\u0101t al-R\u0101shid\u012bn<\/em>\u2019 (lit, \u2018The Blessings of the Days of the Rightly Guided Duat\u2019; this was one of the names of the ris\u0101la rama\u1e0d\u0101n\u012bya<\/em> Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> composed in 1382 H) are truly golden. Their barakat<\/em> transforms our souls into gold, allowing them to remain unaffected by the fires of the vagaries of this world no matter how intense. Regardless of how the world changes and becomes embroiled in turmoil, a Mumin \u2014 like gold \u2014 remains unchanged while his adversaries – seeing this stability – are consumed by the fire of their hatred and jealousy. The Arabic word for creed or religious denomination, madh-hab<\/em>, is derived from the Arabic word for gold, dhahab<\/em>, which indicates that the Ahle Bayt\u2019s AS<\/sup> madh-hab<\/em>, which has remained unchanged for millenia, transforms its adherents into dhahab – <\/em>gold. Maulana Burhanuddin RA<\/sup> stated that \u2018900 years have passed since Syedna Zoeb RA<\/sup> and today before you is Mohammed Burhanuddin; times change, circumstances change and will keep on doing so, yet we remain gold throughout!\u2019<\/p>\n Syedna Taher Saifuddin\u2019s RA <\/sup>kalim\u0101t n\u016br\u0101n\u012byya<\/em>, which Mumineen had the honour of listening to after Syedna Burhanuddin\u2019s\u00a0RA<\/sup>, demonstrated the continuity and concord of the Du\u02bfat\u2019s wisdom and the golden, unchanging and unwavering barakat <\/em>of their blessed words. Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> declared that only the Kalima al-Shah\u0101da of the one who observes the shah\u0101da<\/em> of Amirul Mumineen RA<\/sup> is accepted. Born in the Ka\u02bfba, his first act was a sajda<\/em> upon the Rukh\u0101mat-e-Hamr\u0101\u02be to his Creator and likewise his final deed was a sajda<\/em> in the masjid of Kufa. Between these two sajdas<\/em> he aided Rasul Allah SA<\/sup> in firmly and irrevocably establishing Islam.<\/p>\n During a visit of his to Lahore, a professor, who was of the Hanafi faith and a devotee of the Ahle Bayt AS<\/sup>, professed to Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> that the loftiest of Amirul Mumineen\u2019s SA<\/sup> glories was surely the patience and restraint he showed following the passing of Rasul Allah SA<\/sup>. Had he not done so, the religion of Islam would not have survived till this day.<\/p>\n It is this same forbearance and will that we see in the Du\u02bfat Mutlaqeen AS<\/sup>. Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> spoke of how the Advocate-General of Bombay, Sir Thomas Strangman, who had been influenced by Dawat\u2019s adversaries in their nefarious cause, ultimately came to write about him in a book\u00a0 as being of an\u00a0 \u2018iron will\u2019 despite the seemingly frailty of his physique. He wrote further of how Syedna had galvanized the Dawat in an age when religion was looked upon far less favourably than before.<\/p>\n Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> was destined to rid Dawat of malign elements which had festered for many years. In 1298 H in Karachi, his predecessor the 47th Dai al-Mutlaq, Syedna Abdulqadir Najmuddin RA<\/sup> was asked why he continued to show restraint against these elements, and he explained that \u2018the fifth to come after me would set them straight\u2019 giving glad tidings of the advent of Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup>. Despite their continuous malevolent efforts Syedna Saifuddin expressed his indifference to them when he stated that he resides in the city of mo\u1e25abbat<\/em>, and were it not for the du\u02bf\u0101\u02be<\/em> of Nuh Nabi AS<\/sup> he would not even bother with them; \u2018I cannot find time from praying for the betterment of Mumineen!\u2019<\/p>\n The barakat<\/em> of living in these days of the Du\u02bfat is so great, that the mere mention of their names emboldens Mumineen, inspiring them towards good. In his bay\u0101n mub\u0101rak<\/em>, which followed that of his predecessors not only in sequence but style and its emphatic love for Mumineen, Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS<\/sup> stated that the mention of Syedna Burhanuddin\u2019s RA<\/sup> name gives Mumineen the courage and resolve to undertake numerous tasks: \u2018Syedna Burhanuddin RA<\/sup> has habituated all of us to carry out good deeds!\u2019<\/p>\n Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> mentioned that whoever receives the honour of the khidmat<\/em> of Duat Mutlaqeen\u00a0AS<\/sup> is indeed fortunate, and the one who holds himself back loses out. Echoing his respected grandfather\u2019s sentiment and words, Mufaddal Maula\u00a0TUS<\/sup> explained that when in namaz one must neither precede the imam nor lag behind him and that the same applies to Dawat and khidmat<\/em>. One must adhere to the position where Maula has placed him. Khidmat is a trait we are imbibed with from an early age and Maulana Saifuddin TUS<\/sup> recalled how much they took pride, as children, in serving something to those breaking their fast; even if it was just a date. This was the month of intensifying our khidmats, of feeding others, of embracing each other, of forgiving and seeking forgiveness for our transgressions against one another.<\/p>\n The golden jubilees of both Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA<\/sup> and Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA<\/sup> combined with the golden age of Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS<\/sup> have instilled in Mumineen the properties of gold. As the fires of trials and tribulations rage, we seek to use them to further rid us of impurities and reveal the brilliance of our madh-hab<\/em> and its commitment to the betterment of both worlds.<\/p>\n The wa\u02bfa\u1e93 mub\u0101rak<\/em> was concluded with the narration of the shahadat of Imam Husain and Maulana Ali AS<\/sup>. Speaking of the long necked geese that had been gifted to Amirul Mumineen AS <\/sup>\u00a0Maulana Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS<\/sup> asked, \u2018when these geese did not let go of Ali, so would Ali\u2019s Shia do so? Will the necks of Mumineen not long extend near Allah, to see the eternal reward?<\/p>\n