Concerning the meaning and the secret of the salam in the salat, and its disciplines

It is stated in Misbahush-Shari`ah that Imam as-Sadiq (AS) said: " The meaning of the salam at the end of each salat is 'security', that is, whoever obeys the command of Allah and the tradition of His Prophet (SA), with a submissive heart, will be secured from the trials of this world and exempted from the tortures of the Hereafter. `Salam' is one of the names of Allah, the Exalted. He trusted it to His creatures so that they may use its concept in their transactions, trusts and annexations, evidencing reciprocal companionship among themselves and the correctness of their association . If you wish to use the salam in its proper place and according to its meaning, you must fear Allah, and your religion, heart and mind should be secured on your part. So, do not make them filthy by the darkness of sinning, and do not cause your protectors (angels) to be vexed, tired and disgusted with your maltreating them. Both your friend and, your enemy should be secured from you, as the one whose close friends are not secured from him, the strangers are certainly more expected not to be so. And whoever does not put the salam in those proper places, his will be no salam and no taslim, and his salam will be a false one, even if he shows it off before the people. [604]

Being secured from the trials of this world means to be secured from Satanic intrusions, because obeying the commands of Allah secures one against the intrusion of Satan: "Surely prayer forbids indecency and dishonour." [605]

Then, he refers to one of the secrets of the "salam" and says: "salam" is one of the Names of Allah. He trusted it to His creatures. "This is a hint at the appearance of beings from the Divine Names. The salik servant should declare this divine grace, which has been trusted in the inside of his essence and nature, and use it in all of his dealings, associations, trusts and relationships, and spread it throughout his inside and outside domains. He should use it in his dealings with Allah and His religion so as not to betray the divine trust. Thus, he is to spread the truth of "salam" in all his worldly and heavenly powers as well as in his customs, beliefs, morals and actions, so that he may be secured from all intrusions.

The way to this security is, thus, said to be taqwa. It should be realized that taqwa is of many degrees and stages:

The external taqwa: It means protecting the outside against the pollution and the darkness of formal sinning. This is the taqwa of the common people.

The internal taqwa: This means protecting the inside and purifying it from extravagance and shortcoming and exceeding the limit of moderateness in morality and spiritual instincts. This is the taqwa of the elite.

The taqwa of the mind: It is protecting and purifying the mind from being spent on the non-divine sciences. The divine sciences are those which deal with the divine laws and religion. Other natural sciences and the like which are required for knowing the manifestations of Allah, are also divine. But if they are not for that, they are not divine, even if they are discussions about the Beginning and the Resurrection. This is the taqwa of "the choice of the elite" [akhass-i khawass].

The taqwa of the heart: It is protecting the heart against seeing or discussing other than Allah. This is the taqwa of the walis [auliya']. The noble hadith in which Allah, the Exalted, says: "I am the co-sitter to the one who sits with Me," [606] refers to this hearty privacy, which is the best privacy, and the other ones are preliminaries to this one.

So, the one who acquires all these degrees of taqwa, his religion, intellect, spirit, heart and all his internal and external powers will remain sound and safe, and the angels in charge of protecting him will not be vexed, tired or disgusted with him. The dealings and the company of such a person with both the friend and the enemy, will be done in peace, or, actually, enmity will be uprooted from his heart, no matter how much his enemies are hostile to him. But the one who has not acquired all the degrees of taqwa, would proportionally be deprived from the emanation of salam, and would be nearer to the horizon of hypocrisy, from which we take refuge with Allah. With peace! [was-salam].

The secrets and the cordial disciplines of the four tasbihs

The Four Tasbihat Recited in the Third and Fourth Rak`ats of the Salat And Their Cordial Secrets and Disciplines as Is Suitable

There are four rukns (pillars) in the Tasbihat:

The first rukn concerns the tasbih (glorification), which is purifying Allah from descriptions by tahmid (saying: al-hamdu lillah = praise is for Allah) and tahlil (saying : la ilaha illallah = there is no god but Allah), which is of the inclusive states. The salik servant should, in all his worshippings, pay attention to that, and prevent his heart from the claim of describing and seeking a eulogy on the Haqq (Allah). He should not think that a servant is able to offer the due servitude to Allah, let alone paying the due homage to the Lord, which is not hoped for even by the perfect walis [auliya'), and from reaching which the hands of the great ones of the people of knowledge are short:

No one can net the phoenix, so undo the net,

Since there can be nothing but wind in it, [607]

That is why it has been said that the perfect knowledge of the people of knowledge is their knowing their own inability. [608]

Yes, it is because of the vast mercy of Allah, the Exalted, which covers us, the weak servants, that He vests us, the helpless, with serving Him and permits us to enter into such a holy and pure state which bent the backs of even the Cherubium to get near it. This is of the greatest favours and graces of the Holy Essence, The Provider, that bestowed upon His servants. The people of knowledge , the perfect walis [auliya] and the godly men value it in proportion to their personal knowledge. We-the veiled, left short of all states, the deprived and kept at a distance from any perfection and knowledge-are completely unaware of that, and regard the divine commands, which are, in fact, the highest, big unlimited blessings, as imposition and duty, performing them lazily and with boredom, and that is why we are completely deprived and veiled from its luminosity.

It must be realized that as tahmid and tahlil include Unity of Acts, in which there is the blemish of limiting and decreasing, or even the blemish of assimilation and mixing, the salik servant, to be prepared for entering into it, has to enter first into the strong fortress of glorification and purification, telling his inner heart that Allah, Great and Most High, is innocent of all creational [khalqiyah] individuations [ta`ayyunat] and of the apparels of multiplicities, so that the entering into praising Him can be free from the blemish of multiplication.

The second rukn is tahmid, which is the state of Unity of Acts, suitable for qiyam and recitation. In this respect, these glorifications in the last rak`ats take the place of the surah of al-Hamd, as the musalli is free to recite the surah of al-Hamd (the Openning) instead. The Unity of Acts - as has already been explained in "al-Hamd" - is to be used to exclusively assign praising to Allah, completely cutting short the hand of the servant from praisings. We should convey: "He is the First and the Last and the Outward and the Inward" [609] to the ears of the heart, and let: "And you threw not when you did, but Allah threw" [610] reach the taste of our spirit, treading upon selfishness and self-conceit by the foot of behaviour [suluk], in order to take ourselves to the state of tahmid, and out of the burden of being indebted to the creatures.

The third rukn is the tahlil, which is of many states:

One is the state of negating the divinity of act, that is" "There is no effecter in the (world of) existence but Allah", which is a confirmation of confining the tahmid (to Allah) as its cause and factor, because the stages of the possible beings are the shadow of the Real Existence of Allah, Almighty, and mere connection. No one of them, in any way, is independent or self-sustaining. Thus, effecting existence can never be ascribed to them, since effectiveness requires independence in bringing into existence, and being independently effective in bringing into existence necessitates being independent in existing. According to the terms of the people of (gnostic) taste, the reality of the shadow-beings is the appearance of the Power of the Haqq (Allah) in the mirrors of creation. The meaning of la ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah) is witnessing the Haqq's (Allah's) effectiveness and power upon the creatures, and negating the individuations [ta ayyunatj of creation, and annihilating the state of their activity [fa`iliyat] and their effect in the Haqq (Allah).

The other is the negation of any worshipped other than Allah, and la ilaha illallah means: There is no worshipped except Allah. Therefore, the state of tahlil is the result of the state of tahmid, as when the tahmid is exclusively confined to the Holy Essence of Allah, servitude places its burden in that Holy state, and all the servitudes, which people do to one another for the purpose of being praised, become negated. So, it is as if the salik says that since all praises are exclusively for Allah, servitude must also be exclusively for Allah, Who is to be the worshipped, and all the idols are to be broken to pieces. There are other states for tahlil, which do not suit this situation.

The fourth rukn is the takbir, which also means that Allah is greater than any description. The servant, by commencing the tahmid and the tahlil, denies the description of Allah, and, having finished that, he again denies describing Allah, and glorifies Him, accompanying his tahmid and tahlil with humbleness and confession of shortcomings. Probably the takbir, in this instance, is a takbir of tahmid and tahlil, as they contain the blemish of multiplicity, as has already been said. Probably in tasbih there is tanzih (purification) of takbir and in the takbir there can be takbir of tanzih, where the servant's claims turn to be completely invalid, and he becomes in command of the Unity of Acts, and the state of obeying Allah becomes a habit in his heart, getting out of changing colours into a state of stability.

The salik servant, in these noble recitations, which are the spirit of knowledge, should create in his heart a mood of devotion, supplication, dedication and humility, and by continual repetition give to his inner heart the form of rememberance, fixing the truth of rememberance into his heart such that the heart would be clothed with the clothes of rememberance, taking off its own wear, which is the wear of remoteness [bu'd] (from Allah). Then , the heart becomes divine, truthful, in which will be fulfilled the reality and spirit of:

"Surely Allah has bought from the believers their lives." [611]

Concerning the Cordial Disciplines of the Qunut

Know that the Qunut (supplication in the salat with the hands raised) is one of the recommended supereregations which is not becoming to neglect, but to perform it is of precaution, such that some companions say that it is obligatory. Some narratives also confirm that, although from the juristic point of view it is not obligatory, as is common among the great scholars. It is performed as is particularly common among the Imamis [imamiya] (may Allah be pleased with them), i.e., by raising the hands near to the face, with the palms open towards the sky and reciting common or uncommon invocations. It is allowed to recite them in any language, Arabic or non-Arabic, though the Arabic is better and is according to precaution.

The jurisprudents say that the best du`a' (invocation) in this respect is du`a 'ul faraj [612], though its preference has not been proved to the writer by an authentic juristic evidence. Yet, the contents of the du`a' confirm its preference, because it includes tahlil, tasbih and tamhid, which are the spirit of tauhid as has been explained. It also includes the great Names of Allah, such as: Allah, al-Halim, al-Karim, al-Ally, al-Azim, and ar-Rabb, besides the dhikr (the wordings to be recited) in the ruku ` and the sujud, and the Names of Essence, Attributes and Acts, as well as the stages of the manifestations of Allah, Almighty and Most High, and sending salam to the Messengers though to neglect this is of the acts of precaution, but upon a stronger opinion it is allowed. It also includes sending blessings upon the Prophet and his offspring (AS). It seems that this noble dua', short as it is, covers all the salat's duties of rememberance.

Its merit can also be confirmed through the sayings of the jurisprudents (may Allah be pleased with them) or through "Tolerating the Proofs of the Traditions" [613] - although the writer has a second thought on that - or by means of discovering a creditable evidence-which has not occurred to us -regarded by the late-comers to be the basis of unanimity [ijma].

Among the noble du`as of great merit, which includes the polite manners of supplication to Allah, and also numerates the full divine gifts, and completely suits the state of qunut, which is a state of supplication and devotion to Allah, and some great men (may Allah have mercy upon them) almost continually practiced it, is the du`a' called 'ya man azharal jamil" (O, the One Who manifested the Beautiful), which is of the treasures of the Arsh and Allah's gift to His Messenger. Each one of its paragraphs has so much merits and rewards, as is stated in at-Tauhid by Shaykh as-Saduq (may Allah have mercy upon him). [614]

The best manner of servitude is that, in the state of qunut-which is a state of supplication and devotion to Allah in the salat, all of which is showing servitude and praising, and in this state the Holy Essence of Allah, the Exalted and Most High, specially opens the door of supplication and invocation to the servant and honours him so -the salik servant must also observe the discipline of the Holy State of Lordship, and take care that his du'a' should include glorifying and purifying Allah, the Exalted, and His remembrance. He should ask Allah, in this noble state, to give him those things that are of the kind of divine knowledge [ma`arif], and to open for him the door of supplication, intimacy, privacy and devotion to Him. He should avoid demanding this world, mean animal matters and selfish desires, so that he may not feel ashamed in the presence of the pure ones, and not debase himself in the gathering of pious ones.

O dear, qunut is giving up other than Allah, and completely turning towards the Lord's Might, and extending the empty hand of demand to the Absolute Self-Sufficient. During such a state of devotion, to talk of the stomach, private parts and mundane matters is but a shortcoming and a loss.

Darling, now that you are far away from your homeland, blocked from neighbouring the free people and captured in this dark house full of troubles and perils, do not spin around yourself, like a silkworm.

O dear, Allah, the Beneficent, has fermented your disposition with the light of knowledge and the fire of love, and supported you with the lights like the prophets, and the lovers like the walis [auliya], so, do not extinguish this fire with the dust and ashes of this low world, and do not tarnish and darken that light with a world which is a place of exile. Probably if you pay attention to the original home, and demand from Allah to be devoted to Him, and expose before Him your deprivation and dislike of separation, in a painful tone out of your heart, displaying the conditions of your helplessness, weakness and distress, an invisible assistance will reach you and an inside hand of help will be extended to you, and your shortcomings will be done away with, as it is His habit to be charitable, and it is His custom to be benefactor.

If you recite parts of the Sha'baniyah supplication by the Imam of the Pious and the Commander of the Believers and his infallible offspring, who are the Imams of the people of knowledge and truths, in your qunut, especially the part in which he says: "O Allah, grant me 'to be completely devoted to You," [615] etc., but in a state of necessity [idtirar], devotion and imploration, not with a dead heart, like the writer's, it will be quite becoming of the condition.

In short, the state of the qunut, according to the writer's opinion, is like the state of the sujud. The former is turning towards the humility of servitude and the rememberance of the state of the Lord's Might, and the latter is turning towards the Lord's Might and the rememberance of inability and the humility of servitude. This is in proportion to the state of the middle class. But according to the state of the perfect ones, since the sujud is the state of the servant's annihilation, and neglecting the other [ghair] and otherness, the qunut is the state of the exclusive devotion to Allah, and giving up depending on the other, which is the spirit of the state of "trust in Allah" [tawakkul]. In short, as qiyam is the state of the Unity of Acts, which is confirmed in the second rak`at, he displays in the qunut its result, and extends his begging bowl before Allah, and completely parts with, and runs away from, all creatures.