Tales
Narrated by Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat
1.
Value of Prayer in its Early Time
Sheikh Misbah
says, “Ayatullah Bahjat used to quote the late Qadi saying, ‘If one of you
performs the obligatory prayer in its early time and does not reach high
stations, let him curse me!’ Or, according to another version of the narrative,
he said, ‘Let him spit in my face.’”
There is a great mystery in the
early prayer time, and there is a difference between “Safeguard the prayers”
and “Uphold the prayers”.
If one who prays pays special
attention to his prayer and sticks to performing it when it is first due, this
deed by itself has many effects even if he does not pray it will a full heart.
2.
Keeping Sunan Alive
Hujjatul-Islam
wal Muslimin Quddas, one of the students of Ayatullah Bahjat, says, “The sheikh
always used to advise us not to let the sunan be forgotten, so much so
that the innovations take their place. One day he said this to us: ‘Ayatullah
Hajj Sheikh Murtaďa Taleqani (one of the professors of manners and one of
the most brilliant scholars in al-Najaf al-Ashraf) was invited to partake of
the iftar with a number of scholars, including Grand Ayatullah the late
al-Khu’i. When food was presented and everyone sat at the table, Sheikh Hajj
Murtaďa Taleqani said, ‘There is no salt on the table!’ And he did not
stretch his hand to the food although the distance between the place where the
food was served and the kitchen was quite long, and it seems that the food was
coming from another house. Anyway, the sheikh did not stretch his hand to the
food till they brought the salt. The others, too, did not stretch their hands
to the food out of their respect for the sheikh, including the late Ayatullah
al-Khu’i. After the majlis had been concluded, and when they all wanted
to disperse, Sayyid al-Khu’i addressed Sheikh Taleqani saying, ‘O Sheikh, if
you were tied to this Sunnah to this extent, it would be better to carry with
you a little salt so people do not have to wait for you like that.’ It is then
that Sheikh Taleqani took out a small bag of salt which he was carrying in his
pocket and said, ‘I was carrying salt with me, but I wanted this good Islamic
tradition to be observed.’”
3. Clemency and Generosity of the Imams
(as)
Sayyid Quddas
says, “One day Sheikh Bahjat talked about the generosity and open-handedness of
the Imams saying, ‘In Iraq, there is a small village near the place where
Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet called al-Musayyab. A Shiite man used to pass
by this village from time to time whenever he went to perform the ziyara
of the Commander of the Faithful (as), and a Sunni man, too, was residing in
this village. The latter quite often used to make fun of the Shiite man
whenever he saw him going to visit the shrine of the Commander of the Faithful
(as), so much so that he dared once to speak ill of the holy Imam (as), so the
Shiite man was very angry and he complained about this matter to the Commander
of the Faithful (as) during one of his visit. During that night, he saw the
Imam (as) in a vision and once more complained to him about this matter. The
Imam (as) said, ‘He [the Sunni man] has done us a favor, and we cannot punish
him in the life of this world no matter what sins he committed.’ The Shiite man
asked, ‘What favor is it? Did he do you a favor when he dared to speak ill of
you?’ The Imam (as) said, ‘No, but he was sitting one day at the meeting place
of both rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and he was looking at the
Euphrates.
He remembered
the Karbala story and the thirst of Imam al-Husayn (as), so he said this to
himself: ‘Omer ibn Saad was wrong when he killed those men as they were
thirsty, and it was better for him to give them water then kill them.’ A tear
trickled down from his eyes out of grief for Abu Abdullah (as); therefore, it
became mandatory on us never to punish him in this life.’ The Shiite man says,
‘I woke up from my sleep and returned to al-Musayyab and met the Sunni man on
the road who said this to me in ridicule: ‘Did you visit your imam, and did you
convey our message to him?!’ I said, ‘Yes, I conveyed your message to him, and
I carry his message to you.’ The man laughed and said, ‘What is this message
which you carry to me?’ I narrated to him the incident from beginning to end.
The Sunni man lowered his head to the ground and kept thinking: ‘O Lord! Nobody
at that moment was near me, and I did not talk about this incident to anyone;
so, how did the Imam (as) become acquainted with it?’ Then he said, ‘I testify
that there is no god save Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
and that Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, is a friend of Allah and the wasi
of the Messenger of Allah.’”
4.
Value of Ablution and Purification
Sayyid Quddas
also sayd, “One day, I went to the house of Sheikh Bahjat a few minutes before
the start of the class, and I found a sheikh sitting there. Sheikh Bahjat was
paying him a special attention. A few minutes later, the sheikh said, ‘This man
does not go to bed before performing his ablution. Even if he woke up several
times during the night, he would still perform the ablution every time he woke
up.’”
5.
Personality of Sheikh Muhammad Husayn Kampani
Sheikh Misbah
Yazdi says, “One day, Sheikh Bahjat said, ‘Sheikh Muhammad Husayn was a great
scholar, so much so that if you get acquainted with his scholarly productions,
you will imagine he does not do any other job except study and research all day
long. And if you became acquainted with his worship program, you will imagine
he keeps himself busy doing nothing but worshipping.’ The late Sheikh Muhammad
Husayn Kampani used to say, ‘I attended the class of the late Akhound
Khurasani, author of the Kifaya book, for thirteen years. During this
period, I did not miss his class except one single night (it seems the sheikh
used to teach at night). During that night, I was going to visit both Jawad
Imams (as) in al-Kadhimiyya.
My return was
chaotic, so I could not attend the class, but I used to guess the pursuits that
the professor was going to submit prior to my attendance. When I reached Najaf
and talked with the friends, I saw that all the pursuits which the professor
had submitted were the ones which I guessed and wrote prior to my attendance,
and my writings almost lacked nothing.’ Sheikh Kampani used to commit himself
to regularly attend the class of the professor despite his lofty scholarly
position. He did not miss the class except one single night although he was
capable of writing the lesson’s pursuits prior to his attendance.
“’Besides these invaluable scholarly
activities, he was committed to his adoration programs, too. Whoever saw him
worshipping could hardly believe he was doing anything else besides adoration.
He was regular in reciting the Ashura ziyara and the ziyara of
Ja`far al-Tayyar, may Allah be pleased with him. According to the prevailing
tradition among Najaf’s scholars who used to hold weekly commemorative majalis
on Thursdays or Friďays, so the majlis could be an opportunity for
friends, professors and students on one hand, and a means to seek nearness to
Allah on the other. Sheikh Kampani used to hold a commemorative majlis
every Thursday, and he used to commit himself to sitting in the place where tea
is prepared or keep himself busy arranging people’s shoes. As he was thus
engaged, his tongue quickly moved, and he was muttering words the meaning of
which we did not understand, but we used to wonder about the dhikr that
the sheikh was reciting as he stood up or sat down. One day a close friend of
his asked him (this was the late Sheikh Ali Muhammad Burujardi, may Allah be
pleased with him), ‘Our sheikh! What is this dhikr to which you commit
yourself and not leave even when you offer the Salam?’ The sheikh smiled and
said after a short contemplation, ‘It is better if one recites Surat al-Qadr
[chapter of the Night of Power] a thousand times a day.’”
6.
Feeling Pleased with whatever Pleases Allah
Hujjatul-Islam
wal Muslimin Quddas, one of the students of Sheikh Bahjat, says, “One day I
went to the house of Sheikh Bahjat a few minutes before the start of the class
becaue often the sheikh used to attend the class room when some of his students
come (even if it is one single student), and he would narrate a story or a
tradition or a moral lesson till all the students attend.
For this reason,
I went to the house of the sheikh early, hoping to hear those pursuits.
Luckily, when the sheikh heard my voice as I said, ‘Ya Allah!’ as I entered, he
came to the room early and said this to me after the greeting and the
salutation, ‘In the city of Najaf, a handsome Iranian youth was with us from
the people of Hamadan, and he was famous for being neat and physically well
formed. One day, this youth became paralyzed to the extent he could not walk
except after leaning on a cane. I tried not to meet him because I used to think
he would feel embarrassed due to his particular condition; therefore, I used to
avoid meeting him so I would not add one more grief to his grieves.
One day, I got
out of the alley and saw him standing in the street, so I had no choice except
to meet him. Without contemplating, I asked him, ‘How do you feel? (but I was
upset with having said so and kept saying this to myself: ‘What empty talk is
this?! Do you not see in what condition he is?!). But contrary to my
expectation, when he opened his mouth to answer my question, his speech was
like cool water with which he put out what I had felt inside. He kept praising
and thanking Allah with a spirit filled with activity and pleasure as if he was
drowned in blessings of Allah, the Praised and the most exalted One. I felt
relieved and my grief departed from me.’”
7. Blessing and Greatness of the Wilaya
Hujjatul-Islam Quddas also says this:
“One day the sheikh talked about the wilaya and its greatness. He said, ‘One
day, a Sayyid prepared food for ten or fifteen men from among the people of
knowledge in the city of Najaf or al-Kadhimiyya, but the messenger of this man
made a mistake and called all the students of the school whose number exceeded
sixty or seventy. When the guests arrived, the man noticed that the food was
not enough for all these guests whom the place could not accommodate. He
considered informing Ayatullah Hajj Sheikh Fath Ali al-Kadhimi.
When the latter heard about it, he said,
‘Do not do anything till I attend.’ When the sheikh attended, he said, ‘Bring
me a clean piece of white cloth,’ then he opened the pot and looked at the
rice, covering it with the piece of cloth. He said, ‘Bring me the plates. As I
cool the food, you should distribute the food.’ He kept repeating these words:
‘This Ali is the best of humans, and whoever denies it disbelieves.’ He fed
through the blessing of Ali’s lofty status all the guests without the food
diminishing a bit.
“One of the
students of the sheikh (Tehrani) narrated this incident in a different way
thus: ‘The sheikh used to narrate the incident like this: ‘One day, the late
Mirza Husayn Nawari, author of Mustadrak al-Wasaail, asked someone to
invite a hundred persons to partake of the food during the Thursday and
FRiďay evenings, but that person invited a hundred person to have dinner
on a Thursday (whereas Mirza Husayn Nawari had prepared food for one person
only on that day, and he meant to tell the man to prepare food—for the hundred
persons—the next day). When the Mirza realized what had happened, he said,
‘Inform the Akhund Mulla Fath Ali Sultani (who was then residing in Samarra)
about it.’ When the late Mulla became acquainted with the matter, he said, ‘Do
not do anything till I get there.’ When he attended, he said, ‘Bring me a good
piece of cloth,’ then he put that cloth on the pot, rubbing his hand on it
three times and saying each time, ‘Ali (as) is the best of humans; whoever
denies it commits apostasy,’ then he ordered them to distribute the food. All
the guests were fed.’”
8.
Value of Sincerity in Action
Sayyid Quddas
also says this: “One day the sheikh talked about the rewards for a deed of
righteousness (no matter how small) saying, ‘A scholar of Najaf offered one day
by way of charity one dirham to a destitute man (whereas he had nothing in his
pocket other than that dirham), In his vision he saw that night that he was
invited to a spacious orchard where a beautiful mansion was in it the like of
which he never saw. He asked who the orchard and the mansion belonged to. He
was told they were for him. He was very surprised and said to himself, ‘I did
not do anything to be worthy of all this recognition.’ They said to him, ‘Are
you surprised?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘Do not be surprised; it is the
reward for the dirham which you gave that poor man by way of charity in
sincerity and in love for benevolence.’”
9.
Keeping a Firm Foot on the Creed
Sayyid Quddas
also says the following:” One day the sheikh talked about keeping one’s foot
firm on the creed and safeguarding piety and Godliness. He said, ‘One of the
great spiritual leaders saw someone in the courtyard of the shrine of the
Commander of the Faithul (as). His submission, humbleness and good manners drew
attention to him, and his age, which exceeded seventy, increased his dignified look.
The spiritual scholar went to that man and asked him about his condition, his
state of mind and how his life was. The man said, ‘Since I reached adolescence
and till now, I never committed a sin deliberately.’ There is no doubt that
such precision, monitoring and persistence produce such fruits.”
10. Attention Paid ty the Imam of the
Time (aj) of True Shiites
Sayyid Quddas
also says, “One day the sheikh said, ‘A God-fearing doctor who believed in the wilaya
of the Commander of the Faithful (as) wanted to know the names of the
supporters of the Hujja Imam (as) [al-Mahdi]. As he was sitting in his medical
office, which was located in his house, a man entered, greeted him then sat and
said, ‘O Sayyid! The supporters of the Hujja (as) are so-and-so,’ naming them
quickly one after the other. Among them was the name ‘Bahram’.
Anyway, the man,
in just few minutes, counted three hundred and thirteen names and said, ‘These
are supporters of al-Mahdi (as),’ then he stood up, bade the doctor farewell
and went out. The doctor said, ‘When that man left, I woke up from my
unawareness and kept asking myself, ‘Who was this man?! Was I asleep or awake?
So, I asked my wife, who was in the next room, if anyone was in my room. She
said, ‘Yes, a man came and he was speaking quickly’. I, therefore, realized I
was not asleep, and that this man was not an ordinary person.’”
11.
Seeking the Lord Wholeheartedly
Sayyid Quddas
also says the following, “One day the sheikh said, ‘It was customary in Najaf
al-Ashraf that the students observed the times of the ziyara, performing
the visit of the holy sites on foot in the form of a crowd and groups, and they
used to stop walking during the night to perform the night prayer individually.
During one of
those trips, a spiritual Sayyid (a sheikh who was accompanying one of those
crowds) kept a distance between himself and the others so he could perform the
night prayer in isolation. Suddenly, the group heard the sound of a lion
roaring nearby, so they were greatly frightened, but they saw the lion getting
closer to that sheikh. They, therefore, said to themselves, ‘We belong to
Allah, and to Him shall we return” because they were unable to do anything at
all. The lion got closer to the man till he stood beside him as the sheikh was
(apparently) reciting the witr prayer. The lion stood near him for few
minutes looking at him, and the sheikh was standing without making any motion.
A few minutes later, the lion went away without harming the sheikh in the
least. When it was a little bit far from them, the group went to the sheikh
and, after the sheikh had already completed his witr prayer, they said
to him, ‘How courageous and firm you are! You were not afraid of the lion and
did not run away from it! How strong your heart is, and how great your courage
is!’ The sheikh said to them, ‘I was not only afraid of the lion but terrified!
But I felt that fleeing away from it would be futile because I would not then
be able to rid myself of it, so I told myself that if it was my destiny to die,
it would be better I died as I was busy worshipping my Lord, so my soul
stabilized and my firmness increased.’
“Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Sayyid Tehrani
narrated this incident to me from Ayatullah Bahjat thus: ‘Sheikh Bahjat used to
transmit the same incident from time to time this way: ‘There was a man in
Najaf who was famous for being unafraid of the lion and that he stood once near
a lion in the desert. Once this man was asked about the truth in this story, so
he said, ‘No, I was indeed afraid of the lion, but I once was praying in the
desert, and as I was busy performing the prayer, a lion came to me from the
mountain side. I told myself that I would not be able to get rid of it; so, it
would be better if I continued my prayer. It would be good if it ravished me as
I was busy praying; therefore, I did not stop my prayer, and I did not undergo
any reaction till the lion got near to me and circled me then returned from
where it had come from.’”
12.
Care Paid by al-Zahra (as) to her Offspring
Sayyid Quddas
also says this: “One day the sheikh said, ‘One of the wealthy men of Rasht who
was then living in al-Najaf al-Ashraf married his daughter off to a poor Sayyid
who descended from the lineage of the Imams (as), but she did not care about
her husband and did not prepare the food for him because she had lived in the
midst of a wealthy family. One day she saw in her dream Lady Fatima al-Zahra
(peace be with her) saying this to her: ‘Daughter! Why do you not improve your
conduct with my son, and why do you not cook food for him?’ She said, ‘I am not
ready to cook food for this man.’
Lady Fatima al-Zahra
(peace be with her) insisted on her, but she did not change her statement,
whereupon Lady Fatima al-Zahra (peace be with her) said to her, ‘Bring the
ingredients needed to be cooked and place them in the pot and on the stove, and
everything would be ready.’ She woke up puzzled about this incident, but she
wanted to try the matter. She placed the ingredients on the stove as al-Zahra
(peace of Allah be with her) had ordered her. At the time of lunch or dinner,
the food was ready, and the aroma of the stew was filling the house. This woman
continued to cook the food this way, so much so that some guests who stayed
over for the evening with her husband, having partaken of the food, said they
had never tasted such food like that as long as they lived.’”
13.
How Friends of Allah Live
Sayyid Quddas
also says this: “The sheikh said the following one day: ‘They carried the
coffin of one of the good persons in al-Najaf al-Ashraf for burial there, and
the coffin was escorted by a man who recited the Holy Qur’an and whom they had
rented to accompany the coffin and recite the Qur’an till they would reach
their destination. One night, everyone was asleep when the man started reciting
Chapter Yasin.
When he reached
this sacred verse ‘Did I not take your pledge, O descendants of Adam, … etc.’,
he did not articulate the word ‘pledge’ properly, so he kept repeating the word
trying to pronounce it correctly. It was then that he heard a voice from the
coffin pronouncing this word correctly twice or three times. The senses of the
man who was reciting the Qur’an were shaken, for how could a deceased person
who had been dead for days to articulate this word like that?’
“Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Sayyid
Tehrani, one of the students of this sheikh, wrote this incident to me like
this: ‘I remember that the professor (Sheikh Bahjat) used to narrate this
incident to us from time to time as follows: ‘They were bearing the coffin of
one of the scholars of al-Najaf al-Ashraf. When they reached a house on the way
[to the cemetery], they placed the coffin in an unsuitable place. One of the
persons who attended the funeral said, ‘I saw the place was not suitable for
the coffin, so I moved it somewhere else and sat beside it and started reciting
Surat Yasin. When I reached this verse: ‘Did I not take your pledge, O
descendants of Adam, … etc.’, I could not pronounce the word ‘pledge’ properly
because I am not an Arab. As I was reciting this verse, I heard a voice from
inside the coffin articulating this word twice in a clear voice and in a sound
Arabic pronunciation.’”
Sayyid Quddas also says this:
“During the time of the Czar, a person had a room in one of the science schools
in Tehran. This person was well known for his karamat, but he was restricted
so he could not do anything that would indicate his status. One day, it was
circulated among the students that the man could die of his own will whenever
he wanted. Some people went to him and said, ‘We came today to you so we could
see one karama [temporal miracle] performed by you.’ He tried his best
to be excused from having to do that, but they did not accept his excuse, so he
felt forced to accept (and I do not remember whether or not he took a pledge
from them never to talk about this matter as long as he was alive) and said to
them, ‘I am going to sleep; so, do not pronounce my name and leave me alone.’
He slept facing the Qibla, articulated the Shahada, then his soul departed from
his body. They turned his body from one side to the other, but he really was
dead. They burnt his foot with a match so he would make sure he was dead. He
was, indeed, dead. A few minutes later, the man breathed again and woke up,
sitting. He said to them, ‘Did I not tell you to leave me alone?’”
14.
Cultivating the Nafs: a Condition to Earn Serving the Imam of the Time
(aj)
Hujjatul-Islam
wal Muslimin Quddas says that the sheikh one day said, “In Tehran, there was a
scholar teaching the ‘two lam`as’.
One day, this
scholar heard that one of his ordinary students was undertaking supernatural
deeds. The knife of the professor which he used to use quite often for writing
(they used to write at that time with reeds for which they needed a knife to
arrange their pens) was lost, so he was angry with his sons and family members
thinking they were the ones who took it away from his pocket then lost it
somewhere. Several days passed by and the knife could not be located.
The professor
did not forget about his knife even after the passage of this period. One day
that student said to the professor after the end of the class, ‘O Sheikh! You
forgot your knife in the pocket of your old vest; so, what sin did your
children commit?’ The professor remembered that he actually had put the knife
in the pocket of his vest, but he wondered about the student and how he came to
know about it. He realized that the student was connected with the friends of
Allah, so he said this to him one day, ‘I have some work with you after the
class.’ After the students had gone out, he said to him, ‘I am sure you are
connected with the Imams (as); so, can you meet the Imam of the Time (aj)?’ He
kept insisting on him to answer this question, so the student had to admit that
he was connected with the Imam of the Time (aj), whereupon the professor said
to him, ‘If you see the Imam again, convey my Salam to him and tell him that I
am eager to see him, and I request him that we meet even if it is for just few
minutes.’
“Several days passed by and the
student said nothing. The professor did not dare to ask him because he was
concerned lest the Imam (as) should have refused to accept to meet him, but he
found himself forced to ask him after his patience had run out: ‘Did you convey
my message to the Imam (as), and what was his answer?’ The student tried to
dodge the answer but the professor said to him, ‘Tell me and do not be shy, for
you are only a go-between messenger (“And the Messenger has only to convey the
clear notification”). The student said, ‘The Imam said, ‘It is not necessary
that we should appoint a time for him to meet; so, let him cultivate himself,
and I shall go to him myself.’”
15. Result of Seeking Nearness to Allah
Through the Medium of Imam Al-Riďa (as)
Sayyid Quddas
also says, “One day the sheikh told us that one of the scholars of al-Najaf
al-Ashraf came from Tehran for medical treatment after being afflicted with a
serious illness. Having visited the doctors and undergone complete tests, he
was told he had to undergo a brain surgery. The sheikh, therefore, was very sad
and asked the doctors to permit him to travel to holy Mashhad. After receiving
this honor and pleading to Allah through the medium of Imam al-Riďa (as),
he saw in a vision one night that a gracious man came to him and said, ‘Why are
you sad like that?
We saw it is
right that you should be treated by only medicine, and you do not need the
operation.’ He woke up and said to those in his company, ‘I have obtained the
result; so, let us go to Tehran.’ When they went back to Tehran, the doctor
said to him, ‘Do not grieve, for we have seen we should treat you with medicine
only, and you do not the surgical operation.’ He, hence, became more convinced,
having seen how this statement which he heard when awake was similar to that
which he had heard in the vision. He was healed from his sickness after having
thus sought help from Allah through the medium of pleading to Imam al-Riďa
(as).’”
16.
Real Ziyara
Sayyid Quddas
also says that one day the sheikh said, “People in the past used to travel to
the holy city of Mashhad on backs of camels and mules. Once, some farmers of
the Chasib area of holy Qum went to visit the shrine of Imam al-Riďa (as).
After their return, they saw on the road a man from their village carrying a
large bundle of animal feed. They reprimanded him saying, ‘O old man, leave
working for this world, for it will not avail you, and go to Mashhad at lest
once,’ and they kept chiding and speaking ill of him. The sheikh said to them,
‘You went to visit the Imam; did the Imam answer your greeting?’ They said,
“What is this you are talking about? Can a dead Imam respond to the greeting?’
The sheikh said, ‘What is the meaning of a dead or a living person? The Imam
sees and hears our speech, and what is the use of a visit if it is undertaken
by one side?’ They said to him, ‘Can you do that yourself?’ He said, ‘Yes.’
Then he stood in the direction of Mashhad and said, ‘Peace be with you, O
Eighth Imam!’ An answer was heard saying, ‘And peace be with you, so-and-so!’
The farmers, thereupon, regretted what they had said to the old man and felt
ashamed of themselves.”
17.
Satisfaction of Sheikh Ansari
Sayyid Quddas
also says this: “The sheikh was talking one day about the conviction of Sheikh
Ansari, may Allah elevate his station, saying, ‘The mother and grandmother of
the sheikh by his daughter were living with the sheikh in the same house. One
day, the sheikh wanted to discipline his grandmother, so she sought shelter
with her grandmother. The mother of the sheikh asked him, ‘What has she done?’
The sheikh said, ‘I gave her bread, but she cries and insists on getting food
other than bread; does fresh bread need any other sort of food with it?’”
18.
Seeing the Lights of the Qur’anic Verses
Ayatullah
Tehrani says that Grand Ayatullah Bahjat had said, “During the time of our
youth, there used to be a blind man who would open the Qur’an and put his
finger on any verse he is asked about. I wanted to tease him one day, so I
asked him, ‘Where is such-and-such verse?’ He opened the Qur’an and put his finger
on the verse. I said to him, ‘No it is some other verse!’ He said to me, ‘Are you
blind?! Do you not see the verse?!’”
19. Significance of Student Culturing
Ayatullah Sayyid
Musa Shubairi Zenjani says that Ayatullah Bahjat transmits this incident: “When
Sheikh Mahmoud al-Hilli went to Najaf, we went to welcome him, then he came to
our house to reciprocate the visit. When Ayatullah al-Khu’i heard about the
sheikh coming to our house, he came to visit him so people may have more regard
for the sheikh. But Sheikh Mahmoud was one hour late from the time, and Sayyid
al-Khu’i kept waiting till he came to the house. Sayyid al-Khu’i said to him,
‘I wished you had told us something about Agha Hasan Ali Nakhudki Isfahani so
we may not depend on Qur’anic verses and narratives alone to prove the highest
world but benefit from some individuals and their spiritual statuses, too.’
Sheikh Mahmoud
al-Hilli said, ‘Sheikh Hasan Ali used to enjoy an abridged record of pursuits
and worlds, and if you continue this branch of knowledge (culturing the
students) with a generous amount of care, you will serve Islam better.
Moreover, Sheikh Hasan Ali was the pioneer of one of you.’ Sayyid Bahjat said,
‘He meant Sayyid Burujardi.’”
20.
Contemplation is Better than a year’s Adoration
Sayyid Quddas
says that Sheikh Bahjat said the following once: “One day, a scholar in
al-Najaf al-Ashraf woke up during the sahar (pre-dawn) time to perform
the night prayer. He called upon his son who was sleeping in his room to rise
and perform the night prayer. The son said, ‘Alright, I will rise.’ The sheikh
busied himself with the prayer, but the son did not leave his bed, so the
sheikh called upon him once more to rise and pray. The son said, ‘Alright, I
will rise right now, father.’ The sheikh rose to complete his prayer, but the
son did not move from his place, so the sheikh called upon him for the third
time, whereupon the son said, ‘Father! I was thinking about the same thought
about which Imam al-Sadiq (as) said, ‘One hour’s medication is better than a
year of adoration.’ Ayatullah Bahjat yelled at him and said…, well, Sheikh
Bahjat did not articulate that word, but we understood it from the tone of his
statement, that is, he said to him, ‘You son of…! The thought which is better
than a year of adoration (or better than sixty years according to some
narratives) is the one that calls upon one to perform the night prayer, not to
lie down on his bed till (morning) prayer time due to this excuse.’”
21.
Success Coming from Protection against Sinning
Sayyid Quddas
also says, “One day, the sheikh talked about the scholars and the righteous
committing no sins, not even before they reach adolescence and said, ‘One of
the great scholars of Najaf used to say: ‘During my childhood, I was
safeguarded from sinning in an obligatory, not optional, way. Whenever I wanted
to do something prohibitive, something happened to me and prevented me from
doing it.’”
22.
Impact of the “Wahsha” Prayer on the Dead
Sayyid Quddas
also says that one day Sheikh Bahjat talked about the impact of the righteous deed
and the acceptance of the pure deed. He said, ‘The late Ayatullah Hajj Sheikh
Fath Ali Kadhimi (one of the grand Ayatullahs who combined in them the
knowledge of fiqh, Usul and irfan) was teaching in the
holy precincts of the Jawad Imams (as). People used to quite often bring a
coffin during his class, so it became customary for him to perform the “wahsha”
prayer during the night for each coffin that he saw. One night he saw in his
vision one of the dead dignitaries of al-Kadhimiyya from among his kinsfolk, so
he asked him about his condition. He said, ‘My condition was bad, but the
prayer of the sheikh came to my rescue and eased my condition.’”
23.
Role of Obligations in the Lifestyles of Great Men
Sayyid Quddas
also says that one day the sheikh [Sheikh Bahjat] said, “Some Tehran merchants
came once to al-Najaf al-Ashraf and went to Sheikh Ansari to pay the khums
of their wealth to him. When they say the life of the sheikh and the simplicity
of his house, they kept whispering to each other saying, ‘This is the meaning
of imam and leader: living simply and humbly like the way Imam Ali (as) used to
live, not the life of Mulla Ali Kunni who lives in a mansion.’ The sheikh
over-heard them thus talking as he was busy writing, so he yelled at them
saying, ‘What are you saying?! I deal and live with some students, and I do not
need a life more complicate than this one. But the Akhund Mulla Ali Kunni lives
with the likes of King Nasir ad-Deen. If he does not commend a life such as
this, Nasir ad-Deen would not go to his house, for the Mulla is living his life
in order to protect the creed.’”
