Imam Hadi's Will

"O Allah, the fountains of Your bestowal are brimful, the doors of Your supplications for the one who has trust in You are wide-open… Whoever takes refuge with You will be secure, and whoever resorts to You will succeed…"

What we recited to you is part of a lengthy supplication on the bounties of the All-Merciful God and the abjectness of us human beings in the Divine Court, with emphasis on the ways of achieving salvation without losing hope in the All-Encompassing Clemency of the Creator, Whose love and care for us is infinitely greater than the small sparks of tender concern He Himself has placed in the hearts of our parents. In other words, unfortunate are those who turn away from the Source of all life and all existence, by indulging in abominable sins including hypocrisy and self-deception, whether it is in the pursuit of pleasures of the transient world, or obstinate refusal to see the realities despite the fact that the Almighty has provided mankind with not just eyes, ears and other organs, but also the gift of the intellect to discern right from wrong in order to express the truth through proper use of that other great divine gift, the power of speech.

This wonderful supplication was expressed during prayer in the highly recommended act called Qunout when the worshipper raises his/her hands in front of the face with the palms spread out towards heavens in anticipation of receiving Divine Blessings.

The Suppliant who bequeathed to us this unique supplication in eloquently moving Arabic was not any ordinary person. If he was, neither would he have been inspired to express such dynamically immortal phrases nor would we be celebrating his birthday today on the 15th of Zilhijja – let alone the braving of the bomb blasts of the blasphemers by pilgrims to his shrine from all over the world. He was so spotlessly pure that he had acquired the epithet an-Naqi, and he was such a perfectly immaculate guide to the straight and unwavering path of salvation that he was hailed as al-Hadi. He was the namesake of the One and Only Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), and like his illustrious forbear was also Abu'l-Hasan. He was born in the Prophet's city Medina in 212 AH and was in fact the 10th among the 12 Infallible Successors mentioned by the Seal of all Divine Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Like his father, Imam Mohammad Taqi al-Jawad (AS), he was 8 years when he received the Divine Trust of Imamate, and thereafter, in the manner of the Prophets Jesus and Yahya (John the Baptist), he unraveled the bezels of wisdom in boyhood to the amazement of grey-bearded self-styled scholars.

Born to the virtuous Berber Lady from North Africa, Samanah al-Maghrabiyya, who used to spend her days and nights in fasting and prayers, for 34 years Imam Hadi was the helmsman of the Safinat an-Najaat or the Ark of Salvation, a the Prophet had described his Ahl al-Bayt, until his martyrdom at the age of 42 years through a fatal dose of poison given by the cowardly caliph, Mo'taz. However, during these fruitful three decades and four years of his blessed imamate or divinely-decreed leadership, he spared no efforts to enlighten Muslims and all those who came into contact with him regarding the genuine teachings of Islam in those dark days of Abbasid tyranny.

For instance, he unmasked the hypocrites, especially the Sufis. When he saw a group of them sitting in a corner of the mosque and chanting “la ilaha il-Allah, which means 'there is no god but Allah', he sensed the deception of these misconstrued elements who pretend to be ascetics.

He said: "Do not pay attention to these deceivers for they are allies of the devils and destroyers of the bases of religion... They do not practice rites except to deceive people... No one follows them except the stupid, and no one believes in them except the fool... They endeavour to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and Allah will not consent except to perfect His light, though the unbelievers are averse…"

This is food for thought indeed from the Imam whose greatest enemy was the Abbasid caliph, Mutawakkel, who has notoriety as Akfar al-Mulouk or the Most Infidel of Rulers, for his blasphemous act in killing innocent Muslims and destroying the shrine of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). The 10th Imam, however, continued his enlightening task. A brief radio programme has to leave out his thought-provoking answers to a series of deliberately distorted questions concerning Prophet Jacob's prostration to son Joseph in Egypt, the knowledge of Prophet Solomon and his legatee Asef bin Barkhiya, and some of the unique decisions of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS). In short, besides the teaching of supplications, expounding of hadith, explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur'an, medical prescriptions, astronomical elucidations, philosophical paradigms, and propounding of several other spheres of knowledge with certitude, he bequeathed to posterity the correct way of saluting his illustrious ancestor, Imam Ali (AS), especially on the immortal day of Ghadeer (18th Zilhijja) when God perfected faith and completed divine favours by ordering the Prophet to proclaim his dear cousin and son-in-law as his vicegerent.

Here we present you a poem by Iran's English language poet Dr. Hassan Najafi on the birthday of the 10th Imam:

Ah! So bright the morning's opening ray!

Nowhere has dawned such a beautiful day!

Arise, you sons of worth! Arise;

Today beyond the earth rejoice the skies.

Why not? Zahra is glad, gleeful, and happy;

In her House is born the Tenth Imam, Hadi.

See the spring: Blooms the Prophet's Tenth Flower

I feel his presence as I am in a fragrant hour.

Brighter is the day and heavens in azure hue,

The Imam is surrounded by beauty; beautiful the view.

What is there to me greater than the Ahl al-Bayt's delight;

We share through congratulations, they dispel our night.

At your name comes down the earnest tear

And your name sooths a pensive ear,

Your name is Ali and your fame Hadi,

At your direction one attains eternity.

You, Members of the House, in whatever station be,

A pearl has no angle, no corner;

Its' fire matters, immaculate it is whether far or near,

There is a famous poem of Imam Hadi

At the caliph's persistence on the spot recited he,

A few lines of that immortal poem I

Translate here for Readers to see a periphery,

"They lived at the summit of the hills

"But brought down at the sting of death' ills.

"And laid down in graves to be neighbours of reptiles,

"Upon their faces crawl insects, their beauty defiles.

"Once crowned upon their heads, now rats are fed;

"Although soon it will be dust but to them a tasty food,

"How they hated dirt reaching their dress

"Now themselves dirt, hated, under the grave's press.

"They drank in golden cups and ate in golden plates;

"Now dust beneath them, above them, around them, and them it hates.

"How little they thought they would have such a day

"Why they should think, when God they forgot to obey!

"Yes, they thought one thing: pleasures and pleasures!

"Alas, how ignorant they! How vainly wasted their leisures!

"They forgot God and fell to this world a victim

"Every ephemeral appeared eternal to them in their whim."

The caliph wept, wept, and wept

By tears his beard got wet.

Then he sent back the Imam with respect,

Knowing the Prophet's sons are perfect in each aspect.

We congratulate Zahra and Ali

On the birth of Imam Hadi,

Here at your door I stand in want

Knowing my lot is but scant.

You give and hence I receive,

God bless You!

The End
Source: IRIB News Agency

"O Allah, the fountains of Your bestowal are brimful, the doors of Your supplications for the one who has trust in You are wide-open… Whoever takes refuge with You will be secure, and whoever resorts to You will succeed…" What we recited to you is part of a lengthy supplication on the bounties of the All-Merciful God and the abjectness of us human beings in the Divine Court, with emphasis on the ways of achieving salvation without losing hope in the All-Encompassing Clemency of the Creator, Whose love and care for us is infinitely greater than the small sparks of tender concern He Himself has placed in the hearts of our parents. In other words, unfortunate are those who turn away from the Source of all life and all existence, by indulging in abominable sins including hypocrisy and self-deception, whether it is in the pursuit of pleasures of the transient world, or obstinate refusal to see the realities despite the fact that the Almighty has provided mankind with not just eyes, ears and other organs, but also the gift of the intellect to discern right from wrong in order to express the truth through proper use of that other great divine gift, the power of speech. This wonderful supplication was expressed during prayer in the highly recommended act called Qunout when the worshipper raises his/her hands in front of the face with the palms spread out towards heavens in anticipation of receiving Divine Blessings. The Suppliant who bequeathed to us this unique supplication in eloquently moving Arabic was not any ordinary person. If he was, neither would he have been inspired to express such dynamically immortal phrases nor would we be celebrating his birthday today on the 15th of Zilhijja – let alone the braving of the bomb blasts of the blasphemers by pilgrims to his shrine from all over the world. He was so spotlessly pure that he had acquired the epithet an-Naqi, and he was such a perfectly immaculate guide to the straight and unwavering path of salvation that he was hailed as al-Hadi. He was the namesake of the One and Only Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), and like his illustrious forbear was also Abu'l-Hasan. He was born in the Prophet's city Medina in 212 AH and was in fact the 10th among the 12 Infallible Successors mentioned by the Seal of all Divine Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Like his father, Imam Mohammad Taqi al-Jawad (AS), he was 8 years when he received the Divine Trust of Imamate, and thereafter, in the manner of the Prophets Jesus and Yahya (John the Baptist), he unraveled the bezels of wisdom in boyhood to the amazement of grey-bearded self-styled scholars. Born to the virtuous Berber Lady from North Africa, Samanah al-Maghrabiyya, who used to spend her days and nights in fasting and prayers, for 34 years Imam Hadi was the helmsman of the Safinat an-Najaat or the Ark of Salvation, a the Prophet had described his Ahl al-Bayt, until his martyrdom at the age of 42 years through a fatal dose of poison given by the cowardly caliph, Mo'taz. However, during these fruitful three decades and four years of his blessed imamate or divinely-decreed leadership, he spared no efforts to enlighten Muslims and all those who came into contact with him regarding the genuine teachings of Islam in those dark days of Abbasid tyranny. For instance, he unmasked the hypocrites, especially the Sufis. When he saw a group of them sitting in a corner of the mosque and chanting “la ilaha il-Allah, which means 'there is no god but Allah', he sensed the deception of these misconstrued elements who pretend to be ascetics. He said: "Do not pay attention to these deceivers for they are allies of the devils and destroyers of the bases of religion... They do not practice rites except to deceive people... No one follows them except the stupid, and no one believes in them except the fool... They endeavour to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and Allah will not consent except to perfect His light, though the unbelievers are averse…" This is food for thought indeed from the Imam whose greatest enemy was the Abbasid caliph, Mutawakkel, who has notoriety as Akfar al-Mulouk or the Most Infidel of Rulers, for his blasphemous act in killing innocent Muslims and destroying the shrine of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). The 10th Imam, however, continued his enlightening task. A brief radio programme has to leave out his thought-provoking answers to a series of deliberately distorted questions concerning Prophet Jacob's prostration to son Joseph in Egypt, the knowledge of Prophet Solomon and his legatee Asef bin Barkhiya, and some of the unique decisions of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS). In short, besides the teaching of supplications, expounding of hadith, explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur'an, medical prescriptions, astronomical elucidations, philosophical paradigms, and propounding of several other spheres of knowledge with certitude, he bequeathed to posterity the correct way of saluting his illustrious ancestor, Imam Ali (AS), especially on the immortal day of Ghadeer (18th Zilhijja) when God perfected faith and completed divine favours by ordering the Prophet to proclaim his dear cousin and son-in-law as his vicegerent. Here we present you a poem by Iran's English language poet Dr. Hassan Najafi on the birthday of the 10th Imam: Ah! So bright the morning's opening ray! Nowhere has dawned such a beautiful day! Arise, you sons of worth! Arise; Today beyond the earth rejoice the skies. Why not? Zahra is glad, gleeful, and happy; In her House is born the Tenth Imam, Hadi. See the spring: Blooms the Prophet's Tenth Flower I feel his presence as I am in a fragrant hour. Brighter is the day and heavens in azure hue, The Imam is surrounded by beauty; beautiful the view. What is there to me greater than the Ahl al-Bayt's delight; We share through congratulations, they dispel our night. At your name comes down the earnest tear And your name sooths a pensive ear, Your name is Ali and your fame Hadi, At your direction one attains eternity. You, Members of the House, in whatever station be, A pearl has no angle, no corner; Its' fire matters, immaculate it is whether far or near, There is a famous poem of Imam Hadi At the caliph's persistence on the spot recited he, A few lines of that immortal poem I Translate here for Readers to see a periphery, "They lived at the summit of the hills "But brought down at the sting of death' ills. "And laid down in graves to be neighbours of reptiles, "Upon their faces crawl insects, their beauty defiles. "Once crowned upon their heads, now rats are fed; "Although soon it will be dust but to them a tasty food, "How they hated dirt reaching their dress "Now themselves dirt, hated, under the grave's press. "They drank in golden cups and ate in golden plates; "Now dust beneath them, above them, around them, and them it hates. "How little they thought they would have such a day "Why they should think, when God they forgot to obey! "Yes, they thought one thing: pleasures and pleasures! "Alas, how ignorant they! How vainly wasted their leisures! "They forgot God and fell to this world a victim "Every ephemeral appeared eternal to them in their whim." The caliph wept, wept, and wept By tears his beard got wet. Then he sent back the Imam with respect, Knowing the Prophet's sons are perfect in each aspect. We congratulate Zahra and Ali On the birth of Imam Hadi, Here at your door I stand in want Knowing my lot is but scant. You give and hence I receive, God bless You! The End Source: IRIB News Agency