Translator’s Foreword
In the Name of God the Beneficent, The Merciful
The human being is the most complicated and astonishing
creation of God-Almighty, the creation who in addition to having its primordial
animalistic desires also possesses their peculiar nature and spiritual
personality. The creation that has been assigned the Divine Viceregency upon
earth, [1] accepted the Divine Trust [2] when heavens, the earth and the
mountains shrank from bearing it, and in its upward heavenly ascent [3] even
surpassed the God's Favorite Angels.
A creation that selects and thinks, and through combination
of his mental power and physical endeavors is capable of removing all obstacles
from his path for betterment of his life. The one who creates his own life
history through enrichment of knowledge inherited from his predecessors and
makes, the path smoother for further advancement by the coming generations in
the future.
But unfortunately, in the midst of man's struggle with
nature for improving the quality of his living environment, the most precious
reality that has been forgotten is the self and the jewel of human personality.
Or in other words, what has been forgotten is the man himself, his training and
self-purification and making him an ideal or perfect human being. A human being
who has been called by the God-Almighty, the Most Superior Creation, [4] and
about whose identification the authentic commentators of the revelations have
said:
“Whoever has recognized his self -in reality has
recognized his Creator.” [5]
Self-forgetfulness, negligence shown towards recognizing the
infinite dimensions of human celestial soul and under estimation of human inner
potential for attaining self-purification or moral perfection is the pain which
has inflicted plenty of suffering upon the modern human societies. The
domination of technology, fast pace of modern life, usurpation of power by
materialists and world-worshippers over vast regions of the world on one hand
and the failure and incompetency of various school and ideologies in presenting
a clearly illuminated path and satisfactory interpretation of human being on
the other hand have made this journey of retrogression and self alienation
further complicated.
But in the Islamic Ideology, the greatest aim in the life's
struggle is to become victorious over the self. In the Holy Quran the God
Almighty after repeated oaths has emphasized the importance of spiritual
purification as follows:
"He is indeed successful who causeth it to grow,
(the self) And he is indeed a failure who stunteth
it." -the Holy Quran (91: 9-10)
In accordance with Divine Islamic Ideology, the most exalted
aim is training and guidance of human beings in their spiritual journey from
the earthly temporary abode towards the Celestial Kingdom. The aim consists of
creation of a society and environment where only God-Almighty is worshipped; in
which the light of servitude, devotion, and manifestation of faith towards the
unseen will destroy the darkness of selfish whims and passions, thus, enabling
the human eyes to witness God's Infinite Glory all over upon his existence and
introducing the rule of Monotheism (Towheed) and its relevant vast
dimensions over all human relations and transactions. Of course, this is not
possible without self-purification.
The Western people and the Muslim immigrants now settled in
Western countries in general are curious to know more about Islamic Mysticism
or Gnosticism (Irfan). Therefore, I had always desired to translate a
suitable book dealing with the Islamic Gnosticism. Thanks God-the Almighty
that He bestowed upon this humble servant His Special Grace for completing this
translation of Ayatullah Amini's Persian Book –Khud Sazi, Tazkiyeh wa
Tehzibe Nafs.
The book presents a detailed description of special deeds as
per formed by God's most devoted sincere servants during their lives, the self-
restraint and asceticism practiced by them during these worships, and the
spiritual purification achieved by them. In their spiritual migration towards
God-Almighty the more they endeavored to advance forward the more nearer they
reached to God's Countenance (Laqa).
In Islamic Mysticism [6] the gnostic journey is called ‘sayr
wa saluk’ and the wayfarer who undertakes this journey is called ‘salik’,
who strives to utilize all his energy, strength and courage in his spiritual
migration towards God-Almighty; takes all necessary precautions to remain
purified in his march; is not tired of restrictions and limitations; guards his
breaths day and night lest he transgresses and becomes deviated; strictly
supervises all entries leading to heart's domain lest illicit desires,
forbidden thoughts make their entries thus, making his beloved's promises
contaminated with alien's presence. The most famous mystic poet of Iran,
Hafiz-e-Shirazi [7] has so beautifully summarized the wayfarer's above
mentioned endeavors in his following verse:
"I remained vigilant guarding the heart’s premises
every night. So that no alien thought (except my beloved's) could make its
entry.”
After endeavoring the hardships of his gnostic journey,
those who succeed attain the nearness of their beloved (i.e. God-Almighty); the
Commander of the Faithful Imam 'Ali (A) have described this gnostic stage in
the following tradition:
"Truly when a wayfarer (salik) succeeds in making
his wisdom alive and in letting his self die, his body becomes gradually weaker
and thinner, his heaviness turning into slimness. A Divine illumination whose
manifestation was intermittent becomes clearly visible for him, thus making his
path clearly brightened, guiding and moving him through it; passing through
various gates (of asceticism) he eventually reaches to the permanent abode of
prosperity and with a tranquil and contented heart places his feet in a place
of ease and comfort. This is because, he had utilized his reason properly and
had made his Creator pleased." -Sharhe Nahjul Balagha,
Ibne abi al-Hadid, p.111-127
A gnostic after attaining God's Learning (marefah)
becomes some one whose physical body is with the people but his heart is always
engaged in God's Remembrance. A gnostic is the trustee of God's Trust and is
the treasurer of Divine-Mysteries; is the source of His Light and proof of His
Blessings upon the mankind; is the carrier of Divine Knowledge and Scale of
Divine Mercy and Justice; is needless of mankind, desires and world; does not
have any other companion except God-Almighty; and does not have any indication,
speech and breathing but by means of God, for the sake of God, from the God and
with the God.
The main contents of the book as mentioned earlier are the
etiquette and instructions of gnostic journey, ways and manners of servitude, detailed
descriptions of deeds and worships that must be performed by a wayfarer, and
what sort of behaviors and restrictions they must practice in order to attain
the desired results. The book consists of preface and three parts covering the
following topics:
Self-purification, Human Virtues, What to Be?, Heart in
Quran, Hard-heartedness, Self-refinement, Self-struggle, Egotism, Wordliness,
Piety, Characteristics of the Pious, Repentance or Self-cleansing, Training and
Perfection of Self, Faith, Means of Achieving Perfection and God's Nearness,
Invocations, Instructions, Obstacles of the Path, Nourishment of Moral Virtues,
Righteous Deeds etc. The most prevalent misunderstanding [8] about Islamic
Mysticism which must be clarified is that relinquishment of worldly
involvement, seclusion, and monasticism are not prerequisites for undertaking a
spiritual migration towards God-Almighty; on the contrary, as it would be shown
in the later part of this book, Islam demands from its followers that while
living among the people a normal social life discharging the individual and
collective obligations, they should not be negligent of their own selves and
must pay special attention towards their spiritual purification.
I wish to thank all those who have contributed to the
realization of this translation. I am indebted to Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini and
Mr. Ansariyan for support, valuable suggestions, and guidance. I am sincerely
indebted to my wife Fatimah Razavi for proof reading Arabic text and Mr. Soulat
Parviz for his painstaking efforts in type-setting. For the sake of convenience
of readers who are not familiar with Arabic language the recital of important
supplications have been written in English. Elucidatory footnotes and chapters
added by the translator are identified with [Tr]. Due to pressure of time, as I
am leaving tomorrow for Hajj pilgrimage there might be errors and omissions for
which I apologize to my readers, and welcome their suggestions and comments.
Sayyid Hussein Alamdar
Dhiqadh, 23,1417 A.H.
April 2, 1997
Tehran
Biography of Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini
He was born in 1925 in the City of Najafabad in the
Province of Esfahan. Having finished his primary studies in Najafabad,
he joined the Religious Learning Center of Esfahan in 1942. After
completing his curriculum of religious studies in Esfahan, he joined the
most famous Religious Learning Center of Qum in 1947, where he learned
Dars-e-Kharij [9], Jurisprudence and
principles, under the tutorship of most eminent religious scholars of
that period. He studied the Philosophy books: Manzoomeh of Hakim
Sabzavari, Isfar of Sadar al-Mutaleheen and Shifa of Avicena, under the
tutorship of most eminent philosophers of that period. Also, he studied
the religious sciences of Kalam (Discourse) and Tafseer (Commentary)
during his stay over there.
While, pursuing his religious studies at Esfahan
and Qum he also taught Literature, Jurisprudence and Philosophy. Because
of his special attitude and inclination towards the sciences namely:
Psychology, Child-Psychology, Education and Training, Family-rights,
Family-ethics, and Traditions of Holy Prophet (S) and Infallible Imams
(A), he pursued advance studies and research in these areas.
Ayatullah Amini from the very beginning was
interested in writing and academic research and therefore, since the
year 1945 he has been engaged intensively in writing and research.
Following is a list of some of his published works:
1. Dad-Gustar -e-Jahan (World Administer of
Justice) about the life of Imam al-Mahdi (A).
2. Barrasi Masail-e-Kulli Imamat (Over all review
of affairs related to Divinely Appointed Viceregency).
3. Aayeen-e-Hamsar Dari (the Code of Marital
Relationship).
4. Aayeen-e- Tarbiyat dar Tarbiyate-Kudak (The Code
of Child-training).
5. Islam wa Talim wa Tarbiyat (Education and
Training in Islam).
6. Intekhab-e- Hamsar (Selection of Spouse).
7. Bano-e-Namuna-e-lslam (The Ideal Women of
Islam), about the life of Fatimeh az-Zahra (SA) the daughter of the Holy
Prophet (S).
8. Khud Sazi dar Akhlaque (Moral Self-building).
9. Aamuzish-e-Din (Religious-Education): Roots and
Branches of religion, explained in simple language, consisting of seven
volumes, are included in the curriculum of Primary Education.
10. Droos min al-Saqafateh al-Islamiyah: A complete
course of Roots and Branches of Religion of Intermediate level.
11. Aashnai ba Masail-e-Kulli Islam (Acquaintance
with over all Islamic Affairs).
12. Hame Bayad Be Danand (Everybody should know); A
small booklet containing the details of Roots and Branches of the
Religion for younger people.
13. Islam wa Tammudan-e-Gharb (Islam and Western
Civilization): Translation from Arabic into Persian of Moududi's Book:
Nahn wa al-Hazarate al-Gharbiyeh.
14. A lot of miscellaneous articles written on
various: Ideological, Political, Social, Ethical and Educational topics
for presentation at National and International Seminars and Conferences.
The above listed books were written in Persian but so far many of them
have been translated into various foreign languages.
Ayatullah Amini, an eminent scholar and
jurisprudent is a professor at the Religious Learning Center at Qum
where he is involved in teaching, writing and research activities. He
very frequently represents the Islamic Republic of Iran at various
international conferences. In addition to his teaching responsibilities
he also holds many important national positions as follows:
Member and Vice President of Assembly of Experts (Majlis-e-Khubrigan),
Secretary-General of Office and Educational Research Center of Assembly
of Experts, Member Academic Council of Religious Learning Center of Qum,
and Chief of Cultural Affairs, Member Board of Trustees of World Center
for Islamic Sciences, Member, board of Trustees Imam al-Sadiq University
in Tehran and Member Supreme Council of World Assembly of Ahlul Bayt (A)
Preface
In the Name of God the Beneficent and Merciful
Praise to the Lord of the Worlds, salutations and greetings
be upon the most noble messenger and prophet, God's beloved, Abi al-Qasim
Muhammad (S), who was appointed, to be a blessing for the mankind, to help them
attaining spiritual purification, to teach them the book and wisdom and
salutations be upon his Holy Household, Ahlul Bayt (A)
Oh God! Please guide us towards the straight path leading to
perfection: enlighten our darken hearts with the light of faith and Your
Knowledge; remove the dark intense veils of egotism, selfishness, whims and
passions of self; open our exoteric heart's eyes for witnessing Your Unique
Beauty; strengthen us on the path of self-building and self-purification,
remove from our hearts the love and desires of other than You; remove the veils
of negligence and satisfy our thirst with the pure fountain of your Love and
Nearness. Oh God! Please enlighten our hearts with the heavenly light of faith
and certainty by awakening us from the deep sleep of ignorance, so that we may
discover our lost selves and do not waste our precious lives in ignorance like
before.
Any how, this servant of God, confused, bewildered,
entangled, captive of selfish whims and passions, ignorant of the existence of
various spiritual stations of perfection and stages of mystical journey towards
God-Almighty was suddenly inspired to move his feet inside this vast arena of
spiritual fields dealing with self-building, refinement, and purification of
human self. By utilization of enlightened verses of the Holy Quran and
instructions given by Holy Prophet (S) and infallible Imams (A) of his Holy
Progeny (Ahlul Bayt) [10] abstraction of the
overall basic principles of
self-purification and spiritual mystic journey towards God-Almighty was
accomplished. May be these efforts would be of some help, and guidance for the
truth seekers and wayfarers in their march on this road of spiritual
perfection.
May Merciful God accept this insignificant work and may hold
the hand of this deprived servant, leading from the intense darkness of
ignorance and egotism towards the illuminated valley of invocations, love,
enlightenment, and countenance of God-Almighty. And if it happened, may be it
will compensate the omissions of the past for the coming life (if there is any
left) of this servant.
An Important Reminder
Before entering into discussion, it must be emphasized that
the monasticism, renunciation of worldly affairs, and unacceptance of social
responsibilities are not pre requisite for undertaking a self-purification
program, on the contrary, as will be shown in the book later on that seclusion
and relinquishment of individual and social responsibilities are inconsistence
with the spiritual self-building and self-purification program.
Islam demands from Muslims that simultaneous to living among
the people and discharging their social obligations they should not be ignorant
about their spiritual requirements and therefore, should pay special attention
towards their self-building and self-refinement.
Ibrahim Amini
March, 1984
Qum, I.R. IRAN.
Footnotes:
[1] And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am
about to place a viceroy in the earth. -the Holy Quran (20: 30)
[2] Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the
earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And
man assumed it. -the Holy- Quran (33: 72)
[3] When he was on the uppermost horizon
Then he drew nigh and came down
Till he was (distant) two bows' length or even nearer
And He revealed unto His slave that which He revealed. -the Holy- Quran (53: 7-10)
[4] So blessed be God, the Best of Creators! -the Holy- Quran (23: 14)
[5] A narration from the Infallible Imams (A) of the Holy
Prophet's (S) Ahlul Bayt.
[6] In order to provide a further glimpse of Islamic
Mysticism, the translation and commentary of a famous mystical verse of Imam
Khomeini (RA) –the most eminent gnostic of our time, has been included at the
end of this book.
[7] Khuwaja Shamsuddin Hafiz-i-Shirazi the most eminent
mystic poet of Iran, was born in the year 726 A.H. in Shiraz. All the Gnostics
of the world humble themselves before the exaltedness and sacredness of Hafiz
who is considered as their Qibleh-Gah (patron). His contentment, surrender,
absolute freedom from wants, and truthfulness had bestowed a unique sacredness
upon his poetry. After passage of more than six hundred years his poetic work
Diwan of Hafiz is widely used for Estekhara (consultation), but only those who
have purified their souls thoroughly may receive guidance from his poetry.
Following are some examples of his poetry:
"Thanks God whatever I requested from God,
eventually my wishes were granted.”
"Each treasurer of prosperity which was bestowed
upon Hafiz by God was due to the blessings of night prayer and dawn
supplications.”
Upon knowing Hafiz, Goethe wished to be one of his
disciples. He said: Oh Hafiz, your word is as great as eternity for it has no
beginning and no end. Your word as the canopy of heaven solely depends upon
itself. It is all signs, beauty and excellence."
After studying the lyric poems of Hafiz, Hitche wrote:
"O Hafiz, you have created a tavern of philosophy
greater than any worldly palace. In it you provided a wine of grace and world
beyond the capacity of the world to drink. The highest pinnacle of any amount
is but a sign of your greatness and the unfathomable depth of any vortex is
just a mark of your perfection, and the excellence of your world.”
Hafiz, after blessing the humanity with precious gift of his
poetic works died at the age of 65 years in the year 791 A.H. His tomb is
located in Shiraz. His verses like immortal sign still show light to the
world’s deviated ones whose hearts are full of intense darkness.
[8] Regarding these misunderstandings Imam Khomeini (RA) in
his last testament writes:
“Among the noticeable conspiracies during the present
century and especially during the last few decades and since the victory of the
Islamic Revolution is the vast world wide propaganda for dismaying nations and
especially the self-sacrificing people of Iran with a view to making them lose
their confidence in Islam and eventually renounce it.
Sometimes they do it directly, albeit crudely,
suggesting, for example, that the edicts of Islam which were established one
thousand and four hundred years ago cannot possibly be relied on as laws on the
basis of which to administer countries in the present century, that Islam is a
reactionary religion opposed to every innovation and to the manifestation of
modern civilization, or that in the present era the countries in the world
cannot discard the world's civilization and its manifestations.
And similar foolish and occasionally malicious and
vicious propaganda nicely wrapped and offered in the form of pro-Islamic
propaganda and under the pretext of support for the sanctity of Islamic ways,
among other things, that Islam and other divine religions are concerned about
the spiritualities, about the moral rectification of mankind, that they invite
them to resign earthly pursuits, that they invite man to renounce the material
world and engage himself in acts of worship, saying prayers and devotions
which, they argue, bring man nearer to God and distance him from the material
world; that involvement in the administration of state and government and
politics is against that lofty and spiritual goal because the latter activities
are solely for this material world, which is against the teachings of the great
prophets.” Imam's Final Discourse, pp. 22-23.
[9] Dars-e-Kharij: The highest level of
theological education related to jurisprudence in the form of lectures,
beyond the limited boundaries of textbooks
[10] Ahlul Bayt (A): It refers to the immediate descendants
of a family or such a family of the same house or bayt. In this compound form,
Ahlul Bayt is used in the Holy Quran especially in reference to the immediate
family of Muhammad (S). In verse 33: 33 we hear:
“And God only wishes to remove from you all kind of
uncleanliness, O members of the family (of Muhammad) and thoroughly purify
you."
All the commentators of the Holy Quran are unanimous in the
opinion that the term Ahlul Bayt in this verse refers to Muhammad's daughter
Fatimah, his cousin and son-in-law 'Ali, and his two beloved grandsons, Hasan
and Husayn [Tr].