Second Session

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّیْطَانِ الرَّجِیمِ

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِینَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِیَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِینَ، حَبِیبِ قُلُوبِ الصَّادِقِینَ، أَبِی الْقَاسِمِ الْمُصْطَفَى مُحَمَّدٍ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى أَهْلِ بَیْتِهِ الطَّیِّبِینَ الطَّاهِرِینَ، وَاللَّعْنُ الدَّائِمُ عَلَى أَعْدَائِهِمْ أَجْمَعِینَ مِنَ الْآنِ إِلَى قِیَامِ یَوْمِ الدِّینِ.

Continuation of Praise and Glorification of God in Sermon 83

Tonight is the second session examining Sermon 83 of Nahj al-Balagha. We mentioned that this sermon is one of the masterpieces among the sermons. Many people, such as Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mu'tazili and other scholars, have regarded this sermon as one of the miracles of the Commander of the Faithful (a). Apparently, there are even statements in this sermon that compel a person to prostrate and show reverence before the Commander of the Faithful (a), just as the Qur'an contains verses before which prostration has been prescribed.

This sermon is lengthy. In the first session, we read part of the section on praising and glorifying God, and tonight we will examine the continuation of that section so that, God willing, in the next session we may reach the second part of the sermon, namely the issue of piety.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِی عَلَا بِحَوْلِهِ، وَدَنَا بِطَوْلِهِ، مَانِحِ کُلِّ غَنِیمَةٍ وَفَضْلٍ، وَکَاشِفِ کُلِّ عَظِیمَةٍ وَوَجَلٍ. أَحْمَدُهُ عَلَى عَوَاطِفِ کَرَمِهِ، وَسَوَابِغِ نِعَمِهِ، وَأُومِنُ بِهِ أَوَّلًا بَادِیًا، وَأَسْتَهْدِیهِ قَرِیبًا هَادِیًا، وَأَسْتَعِینُهُ قَاهِرًا قَادِرًا، وَأَتَوَکَّلُ عَلَیْهِ کَافِیًا نَاصِرًا.

«أَحْمَدُهُ عَلَى عَوَاطِفِ کَرَمِهِ وَسَوَابِغِ نِعَمِهِ»

In the previous session, we mentioned that we are discussing the praise of the Most High God. The Imam said:

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِی عَلَا بِحَوْلِهِ، وَدَنَا بِطَوْلِهِ، مَانِحِ کُلِّ غَنِیمَةٍ وَفَضْلٍ، وَکَاشِفِ کُلِّ عَظِیمَةٍ وَوَجَلٍ.

In the previous session, we discussed these aspects: praise belongs exclusively to God because He possesses these attributes and characteristics.

«أَحْمَدُهُ عَلَى عَوَاطِفِ کَرَمِهِ»; I praise God because of His gracious attentiveness. God has bestowed honor upon the human being:

﴿

وَلَقَدْ کَرَّمْنَا بَنِی آدَمَ

﴾

The Most High God's attentiveness toward the human being is gracious attentiveness. The human being is the noblest and most honored of creatures, and God's favor toward him is likewise gracious.

«وَسَوَابِغِ نِعَمِهِ»; and I praise God because of His abundant and immeasurable blessings—blessings that are successive, everlasting, and vast.

Faith in God

«وَأُومِنُ بِهِ أَوَّلًا بَادِیًا»

«أُومِنُ بِهِ» means that I have faith in God and believe in Him. «أُومِنُ» is the first-person singular imperfect verb, whose original form was «أُؤْمِنُ»; that is, I have faith and believe.

«أَوَّلًا»; I believe in God because He is the First. God is first in power, knowledge, and all perfections. One of God's names in the Qur'an is also «الأوّل»:

﴿

هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ

﴾

Thus, I have faith in God because He is the First and precedes all things in every matter.

«بَادِیًا» also has two meanings. One meaning is that God is manifest. Thus, the Imam says: I believe in God because He is both the First and the Manifest.

It may be asked: if God is manifest, why cannot He be seen? The answer is clear: things can be seen when they are limited; but God is infinite and unlimited. Everything we see is visible because of its limitation. Everything has thousands of «nonexistences» alongside it, and these nonexistences bring about its limitation.

Why do we see a wall? Because the wall is not a tree, is not a ceiling, is not a window, and is not many other things. These nonexistences limit the wall. Whatever you consider, thousands of nonexistences exist alongside it, and it is through these limitations that a person recognizes it.

The way to recognize things is to recognize their limitations. This characteristic is called the «distinguishing feature» and the basis of differentiation. We recognize a wall because we know that it is not a tree, a window, or a picture, and is not many other things. But nonexistence has no place with regard to God; God is pure existence. It cannot be said that God is not this or is not that. Since God is pure existence and has no limitation, He cannot be seen.

Thus, the first meaning of «بَادِیًا» is that God is manifest.

The other meaning of «بَادِیًا» is that God is the originator and creator of everything; that is, «بَادِئُ کُلِّ شَیْءٍ». Therefore, God is the First, the Manifest, and the originator and creator of all things.

Seeking Guidance from God

«وَأَسْتَهْدِیهِ قَرِیبًا هَادِیًا»

I seek guidance from the Most High God. «أَسْتَهْدِیهِ» means that I seek guidance from God. Why do I seek guidance from God? «قَرِیبًا»; because He is near. Nothing is closer to a person than the Most High God. A person does not seek guidance from a distant being; rather, he seeks guidance from the being closest to him.

«هَادِیًا»; because He is the Guide. God guides the human being to the correct path, whereas one other than Him may throw a person into a well. Thus, I seek guidance from the Most High God because He is closer to me than anyone else and is the Guide.

Seeking God's Assistance

«وَأَسْتَعِینُهُ قَاهِرًا قَادِرًا»

I seek help and assistance from the Most High God. Why do I seek help from God? «قَاهِرًا»; because He is dominant and victorious. «قاهر» means dominant and victorious. «قَادِرًا»; because He possesses power.

Thus, I seek assistance from God because He both possesses power and is dominant and victorious.

Reliance upon God

«وَأَتَوَکَّلُ عَلَیْهِ کَافِیًا نَاصِرًا»

I place my reliance upon the Most High God because He is sufficient for a person, and through reliance upon Him, a person has no need of anyone besides Him. «نَاصِرًا»; that is, God helps a person and is sufficient for him in such a way that he no longer needs anyone.

But what does reliance mean? The Noble Messenger of Islam, Muhammad (s), asked Gabriel: What does reliance mean? Gabriel replied:

الْعِلْمُ بِأَنَّ الْمَخْلُوقَ لَا یَضُرُّ وَلَا یَنْفَعُ، وَلَا یُعْطِی وَلَا یَمْنَعُ

Reliance means that a person knows that a creature neither causes harm nor brings benefit, neither gives nor withholds.

Reliance means that a person knows and believes that a creature—that is, everything other than God—does not harm him. No creature besides God brings benefit to a person. «وَلَا یُعْطِی وَلَا یَمْنَعُ»; no creature gives anything to a person, and no creature can withhold anything from him.

Thus, other than God and His creatures, there is neither one who causes harm, nor one who brings benefit, nor one who gives, nor one who withholds.

In the Supplication of Jawshan al-Kabir, we read: «یا ضار، یا نافع، یا معطی، یا مانع». Every harm comes from God; «ضار» is one of God's names. Every benefit likewise comes from God; «نافع» is one of God's names. «معطی» and «مانع» are also among God's names.

Reliance means that a person becomes certain that a creature does not cause harm, does not bring benefit, is not the giver, and is not the one who withholds. If a person reaches this certainty, he will no longer fear or dread creatures.

The reason a person fears things is that he imagines they can cause him harm; and the reason a person hopes in things is that he supposes they can bring him benefit. A person's fear and hope arise from imagining the benefit and harm of things.

But when a person believes that other than God is neither the giver nor the one who withholds, neither causes harm nor brings benefit, he relies only upon God, because everything comes from Him.

It may be said: How can anything other than God not cause harm? Sometimes a person, with a single command, destroys the foundations of another person's life, and sometimes someone, with a single signature, creates thousands of benefits for another person. So how can you say that a creature neither brings benefit nor causes harm?

The answer is that if that person does something, it is not without God's permission and power. He is an intermediary. That is, divine harm is carried out through his hand. We previously mentioned that this matter can be imagined as follows: God's hand is inside a glove, and we see the glove, but the power behind it is God's power.

If someone causes harm, he cannot cause harm unless God's power exists. He is an intermediary in causing harm. If someone brings benefit, he is an intermediary in bringing benefit. If someone gives, he is an intermediary in giving. All of these are intermediaries and means.

We must see the principle. The meaning of reliance is that we do not regard intermediaries as independent givers, but regard the principle as the giver. These are means of giving, but they must not cause a person to become heedless of the source.

Thus, the Commander of the Faithful (a) says:

وَأَسْتَهْدِیهِ قَرِیبًا هَادِیًا، وَأَسْتَعِینُهُ قَاهِرًا قَادِرًا، وَأَتَوَکَّلُ عَلَیْهِ کَافِیًا نَاصِرًا.

I seek guidance from a God who is near and guides. I seek help from a God who is dominant and powerful. I rely upon a God who is sufficient for me and my helper, because other than Him neither brings benefit nor causes harm, neither can give anything nor can withhold anything.

Testifying to the Prophethood of the Prophet (s)

After faith in the Most High God comes testimony to the prophethood of the Messenger of Islam, Muhammad (s). For this reason, the Commander of the Faithful (a) says in the next sentence:

وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

The Commander of the Faithful (a) testifies that Muhammad (s) is God's servant and messenger. The Commander of the Faithful (a) grew up beside the Noble Messenger of Islam from childhood, and now testifies that he is God's servant.

The station of servitude precedes the station of messengership. The Prophet is first a servant and then a messenger. The Noble Prophet (s) possessed the station of servitude from the beginning of his birth until the age of forty, and after that attained the station of messengership.

We also see this precedence in the Qur'anic verses:

﴿

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِی أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَیْلًا مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى

﴾

Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque.

The Qur'an does not say «سُبْحَانَ الَّذِی أَسْرَىٰ بِرَسُولِهِ» or «بِنَبِیِّهِ»; rather, it says «بِعَبْدِهِ». This carries a message: if you wish to ascend and rise, the factor behind the Prophet's ascension and Mi'raj was his servitude.

The reason the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet is also his servitude:

﴿

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِی أَنْزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ الْکِتَابَ وَلَمْ یَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجًا

﴾

Praise belongs to God, who sent down the Book to His servant and placed no crookedness or deviation in it.

The Qur'an does not say that He sent down the Book to His messenger; rather, it says that He sent it down to His servant. Therefore, the station of servitude precedes the station of messengership. For this reason, the Commander of the Faithful (a) does not say «أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُهُ وَعَبْدُهُ»; rather, he says: «عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ»; first servitude and then messengership.

The Philosophy of the Prophet's Mission (s)

Why did the Prophet become a messenger, and why did God entrust messengership to him?

أَرْسَلَهُ لِإِنْفَاذِ أَمْرِهِ، وَإِنْهَاءِ عُذْرِهِ

First, God sent the Prophet to make His command effective and implement it. The Messenger of Islam (s) makes God's rulings effective and implements them; he both explains the divine rulings and puts them into practice.

«لِإِنْفَاذِ أَمْرِهِ»; that is, to make God's command effective.

Second, God sent the Prophet to put an end to excuses. «إِنْهَاء» means to put an end to, and «عذر» means an excuse. The Prophet came so that everyone's excuses and pretexts would be removed and no one would have an excuse on the Day of Resurrection.

A person will be asked: Did a prophet not come to you? Did the Prophet not convey God's rulings to you? Thus, one of the Prophet's functions is «إِنْهَاءُ عُذْرِهِ»; that is, completing the proof, so that no one on the Day of Resurrection will have the excuse of saying, Since there was no prophet, I did such a thing.

Thus, the Prophet completes the proof. God says:

﴿ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا ﴾

We do not punish until We have sent a messenger.

God does not send punishment until He sends a prophet. Therefore, if we suppose that prophets had not come to a community, they would have an excuse and could say: The prophets did not come to us. Thus, the completion of the proof takes place through the prophets.

On the Day of Resurrection, a sinner cannot say: My proof is that no prophet came—no one came to say what Hell is, what Paradise is, what sin is, and that one must not sin. Prophets come for these very matters; they come to eliminate excuses and pretexts. This is the second reason for the Prophet's coming: «إِنْهَاءُ عُذْرِهِ»; that is, putting an end to excuses and pretexts.

Presenting the Warnings

The third reason is «تَقْدِيمِ نُذُرِهِ». «تقدیم» means presenting and offering, while «نُذُر» means warnings and admonitions.

One of the Prophet's characteristics is that he is a «مُنذِر», one who warns. The Qur'an also warns. The Prophet comes to present God's warnings to the people and make them aware of the consequences of their actions; to give people hope in God, give them hope in Paradise, and keep them away from Hell.

To present His warnings.

When a person has hope in God, he fears nothing. The Prophet comes to make a person aware of real fears; to make him fear ignorance so that he will pursue knowledge, not to afflict him with fear and anxiety. This too is one of the functions of the Noble Prophet.

The Prophet's Mission to Illuminate

اشهد أن محمداً صلی‌الله‌علیه‌وآله‌وسلم عبده و رسوله; I testify that Muhammad (s) is God's servant and messenger. God sent him to implement His rulings:

وَتَقْدِيمِ نُذُرِهِ

What is God's command? God's command is illumination. The Prophet came to illuminate society and awaken the people. One of the Prophet's names is «سراج»; «سراج منیر». The Prophet came to be a lamp and to illuminate.

«لِإِنْفَاذِ أَمْرِهِ»; that is, to implement God's command. Explaining the rulings and guiding the people is itself illumination. Therefore, the reasons for the Prophet's mission are implementing God's command, putting an end to excuses and pretexts, and presenting the divine warnings.

This was the first section of Sermon 83 of Nahj al-Balagha, about which we spoke over two sessions. The next section is the discussion of piety, which, God willing, we will address in the next session.

God willing, may we benefit fully and abundantly from the words of the Commander of the Faithful (a). Truly, in light of the words of the Commander of the Faithful, a person rises from the carpet to the Throne. Just as the Most High God took His servant on the Mi'raj, we too, by attending to these words, ascend from earth to heaven and no longer remain in this world.

As I mentioned, Ibn Abi al-Hadid says: I read these words many times; one of the passages he says he read fifty years and a thousand times is this very passage. Then I understood that all the addresses of the Commander of the Faithful (a) are directed toward me, my society, my people, and my family.

We are all addressed by these words. It is very important for a person to know that he himself is the addressee of the words of the Commander of the Faithful (a). His Eminence did not utter these words without reason. He had been present in a gathering that had come together to offer condolences and accompany a funeral procession. Everyone was addressed; everyone was affected, everyone was shaken, and everyone wept.

God willing, these words of the Commander of the Faithful (a), as we proceed gradually, will have their true effect on us. We do not move forward rapidly, so that, God willing, these teachings may take effect in our souls and our attention may always be directed toward the inner reality, rather than our pursuing outward appearances.

May God's blessings be upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad. اللهم صل علی محمد و آل محمد و عجل فرجهم.