Chapter 1

Introduction

Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Praise to Allah Who sent, from the gardens of His Mercy, trustees: messengers to guide people to the straight path. Then He made Imamate and Wilayat a fountainhead from which thirsty souls drink. Then He granted, from the mountain of His generosity, abundance of fiqh after the absence of His greatest wali (as) so the righteous remnant from among the seekers of the truth may quench their thirst from it.

Since that day, hundreds of years have passed. During them, many divine theologians came and went by; each one of them was like a torch that lit the path for those who tread it. Some of them earned fame, their name became prominent, whereas some of them remained unknown across these centuries.

As regarding the creed's faqihs, they had another pull when they mixed biographies in the fiqh-related views with the conduct in the worlds of the unknown.

Our contemporary faqih, Ayatullah Bahjat, is one of those described by Imam Ali (as) in these words: "Great is the Creator in their hearts, so everything besides Him is in their eyes small." He is a great wise man. The light of his presence glitters in the gathering of the Gnostics, and the souls in his revered audience shine. His student, mentor Riďa Baqi Zadeh, author of Bergi az Daftar Aftab, says the following in the introduction to this book: "Since the day when breezes from the loved one blew upon me, when the flower of existence opened, and I was guided to the full truth in the self, where success is achieved through pulls of the Lord, I realized that reaching the real loved one cannot be achieved except through guidance from one who is familiar with the path. I, therefore, resorted to the Imams (as) so I could uphold them and plead to them. It is then that this sacred tradition met me on the road: 'Keep company with those whose company reminds you of Allah and whose logic increases your knowledge.' And thus it was. I upheld the fact that the adored One does not leave those who seek His path alone or lets them rely on themselves. The earth is never without divine guides. I was looking for a role model that guides me to the path of the loved One during the absence of the sun of the Household of Inspiration (as) so I could, through seeing him, polish the dust away from the heart and fuse myself through remembrance of the loved One into all existence. During this time, I saw all of that and more. I saw it manifesting itself in the personality of one who is unique in his time, a wise Gnostic, one who drowns his soul into the remembrance of the loved One, who is the light of the hearts of the seekers, the joy of the Gnostics, the perfect Gnostic, the Salman of the time, the one who is truly loyal to the greatest Ayatullah, the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) in his knowledge and practice, namely Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat, may Allah prolong his wide shade. I knew that the truth Gnostic is not known except by Allah or by a Gnostic like him, so I kept earnestly looking for everyone who could have breathed a fragrance of his holy breath, and about any written text from which the fragrance of his holy soul emanates, hence this book that is in your hands, dear reader, my final merchandise, having braved many hardships. I present it to those who seek the role model in the pure branches of knowledge.

"So, the study of biographies of such great men can instill hope for lighting the minds of men of virtue, scholars, students, professors of the hawza (religious seminary), universities and the sons of the nation. The book in your hands, dear reader, is the summary of what has been written and said about this great divine Gnostic. In it, I try to acquaint the Arab reader with this Islamic personality that mixed between the pursuit of knowledge and disseminating it as well as walking along the path of Allah. He is described by imam Khomeini as one "… who enjoys the ability for 'death by choice'; in other words, he can extract his soul from his body then returns it any time he wants. This is regarded as one of the lofty stations the Gnostics can reach along the trip to the path and the Gnostic conduct."

Chapter 2

Glimpses of the Life of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat

Grand Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat Fomani was born in late 1334 A.H. to a God-fearing family well known for its piety in the conservative city of Foman in the Gailan governorate. He was not yet sixteen months old when fate claimed his mother so he would taste the bitterness of being an orphan while still a suckling baby. There is an interesting incident to narrate about why Ayatullah Bahjat was named "Muhammad Taqi" which was narrated by one of those close to him, and I think that narrating it here is not without a nicety:

The father of Sheikh Bahjat passed away while his son was 16 – 17 of age after falling sick to an epidemic. He became bed-ridden, and his condition of his health deteriorated to the extent that his family lost hope for his recovery from the disease. The father of the sheikh narrates that he heard in this state a call as if it was saying, "Leave him! You have nothing to do with him. He is father of Muhammad Taqi".

Then he lost consciousness as he was in that state, so much so that his mother thought he died. But after a short while, the father of the sheikh woke up and stood up and after that recovered his health fully.

After the passage of a few years, the sheikh's father decided to get married after having completely forgotten the incident of his falling sick and the call which he then heard. When he was blessed with his first son, he called him "Mehdi" after his own father (grandfather of Sheikh Bahjat). After that he was blessed with a daughter then with a son whom he named "Muhammad Husayn". He did not remember this incident except after he had been blessed with his fourth son; so, he decided to call him "Muhammad Taqi". But this son fell in a water pool and drowned. The father of the sheikh again named his fifth son with whom Allah blessed him with this same name, "Muhammad Taqi", which later became Grand Ayatullah Bahjat.

Mahmoud Bahjat al-Karbalaai, father of Sheikh Bahjat, was one of the most highly respected of Foman's men. He always looked after the affairs of its people, providing for them all sorts of services such as endorsing their marriage contracts and transactions. He had a high poetic and literary taste, composing poems of praise and eulogy for Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them, especially Imam al-Husayn. In this field, he has to his credit many elegies which remain recited by orators and lauders for more than half a century. Below is a munajat (address) in honor of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them, which he had originally written in Persian:

Lord! By the Seal of the Messengers,

The Light of the Great Lord, His Honored Messenger,

By his broken molar teeth and wounded lips,

And by what he offered for the Qur'an,

By the signs of the chest of the oppressed al-Zahra,

By the tears of the eyes of the Prophet's daughter,

By her broken rib that was crushed behind the door,

By her child, Muhsin, the infallible one,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

By the chosen one, the oppressed Imam,

By his heart and insides that were poisoned,

Do not deprive us of Your mercy, O Lord,

Do not burn us with the fire of Your might and ire,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

By the ailing one, al-Sajjad, the best of those who adore,

By the tears of that ailing one,

By that neck that was chained by the evildoers,

By what he had suffered in the Karbala tragedy,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

By the knowledge of al-Baqir, that divine light

For whom the Chosen One had testified:

Darkness is lit by the light of his knowledge,

His knowledge and clemency personify the meaning of the Qur'an,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

By Ja'far al-Sadiq who was the symbol of righteousness,

The one who increased Islam in power and greatness,

Opening the gates of knowledge and good deeds to all beings,

And struggled in disseminating knowledge, the creed and the conviction,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

Lord! By the sanctity of Musa ibn Ja'far,

By the status of that purified light,

By his deprivation and oppression in the purified progeny,

By the right of his munajat and ibtihal,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

Lord! By Your clear light,

And by Your honored servant,

By his mouth full of poison and heart full of grief,

By the ladies of the ruler of Khurasan,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

I am a slave of al-Taqi, the pious one,

One of those who love that Imam among the people,

Aimlessly roaming because of the fragrance of the drink of his love,

So, by the right of that slain, poisoned, Imam,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

By the greatness of al-Naqi, that Imam of the creed,

Who was grieved by the oppression of the foes,

The apple of the eyes of Taha and Ya-Sin,

The oppressed, the grieved, Imam,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

Lord! By the right of the master of Askar,

The seeing eye of the Messenger,

By the Imam who was killed by al-Mu'tamid's pison,

And by his pure and purified soul,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

By the ladies of the Seal of wasis,

The one in charge, the light of the eye and of the creed,

The fair Imam, the victorious ruler,

And by his dear soul and honorable self,

Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!

Yes, indeed, Ayatullah Bahjat was reared in the laps of a man whose heart was filled with the warmth of loving Ahl al-Bayt (as) and grief for their tragedies, particularly the tragedies of Abu Abdullah (as). He grew up in the environments of the mourning majalis for Imam al-Husayn, drinking of their springs. Since his early life, he avoided playing and having fun like other children. The signs of genius showed on him, and his face was painted with the marks of conviction and uprightness. It was obvious this child would have a glorious future in the field of knowledge and attainment.

He finished his elementary studies at the city's traditional study circles (known as katatib), then he started his theological studies in the same city. Anyhow, his soul, that was thirsty for perfection, did not quench its thirst by what he had received of branches of knowledge in Foman; therefore, he left it after having finished the preparatory stage of religious sciences in it and left for Iraq where he was honored by residing in sacred Karbala in 1348. He was then almost fourteen.

According to what was transmitted by one of his close students, Ayatullah Bahjat had told him that he had come of age and became a man of responsibility one year after his stay in Karbala. Yes, the hand of the divine mercy remains caring for the righteous servants since their birth up to their youth, the lights of love and kindness being compassionate to them so they would become in the future torches emitting light along the path of those who seek the most Kind One, the most Exalted, the most Great.

Thus, Ayatullah Bahjat spent four of his honorable lifespan in sacred Karbala, inhaling the closeness to Abu Abdullah (as), the fragrance of the purity of his soul, cultivating himself thereby. During that period, he studied the largest portion of the books of fiqh and Usul taught to him by the great scholars in that holy city.

In 1352 A.H., he went to Najaf al-Ashraf to continue his studies and acquire the theological branches of knowledge. He attended the courses of the Sutooh stage [an equivalent to a study for a Master's degree] under the tutelage of a number of Ayatullahs including Ayatullah mentor Murtaďa Taleqani. Despite that, his determination was not confined to continuing his studies but he focused most of his attention on looking for the men of Allah, His righteous servants, so he could satisfy his thirst from their fountainhead, the thirst of his soul which was eager to turn the phases of perfection and reach the most sublime objective.

One of the students of the mentor says the following: "During two years which I spent under the pulpit of his lessons, I never heard him talk about himself except on very rare occasions. One of those occasions is that he talked about the process of lauding the moral status of his mentor, Naeeni the critic. He said, 'I used to participate during my young days in the congregational prayer services led by our mentor, al-Naeeni, and I sometimes used to realize some of his spiritual conditions during the prayers.'"

In The Courtyard of The Geniuses of Fiqh and Usul

Having completed the Sutooh stage and realized the lessons of great professors, such as Sayyid Abul-Hasan al-Isfahani, Agha Mirza al-Naeeni, he entered in the courtyard of knowledge and virtue so he could complete his higher studies at the hands of the great `allama al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Husayn al-Gharawi al-Isfahani who is known as al-Kampani. Through his piercing intellect and sound judgment, he was able to follow the waves of deep intellectual waves and precise pursuits which `allama al-Kampani used to dictate to his students through his swift and roving intellect, seeking help from Allah, relying on Him, the most Great One, the most Sublime.

Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Misbah says the following in this regard, "Ayatullah Bahjat studied most of his fiqh with the late Sheikh Muhammad Kadhim al-Shirazi, student of the late Mirza Muhammad Taqi al-Shirazi, who is one of the prominent professors of al-Najaf al-Ashraf. He started studying the Usul at the hands of the late Naeeni and finished the greatest portion in the presence of the late Sheikh Muhammad Husayn al-Kampani al-Isfahani whether in the science of Usul or in other aspects and dimensions."

Biographies, Conduct and Gnosticism

During his studies, and shortly before reaching adolescence, Ayatullah Bahjat paid attention to self-cultivation and moral perfection. He, therefore, kept since residing in Karbala looking for a professor of manners to embrace and cultivate him. He heard about Ayatullah Sayyid al-Qadi being in Najaf al-Ashraf, so he felt honored to reside in this city so he could be inspired in manners by keeping company with his prominent mentor, the late al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Husayn al-Isfahani al-Kampani.

Sheikh Misbah al-Yazdi says the following in this regard: "The impact of the late Sheikh Muhammad Husayn al-Isfahani was obvious on the conduct of the mentor, Ayatullah Bahjat. He used to quote some of his pursuits with admiration. We used to see samples of his conduct which reminded us of his citing the mentor. It was quite obvious that this mentor had a great impact on building his moral character."

The mentor also attended lessons in manners by Sayyid Abd al-Ghaffar in al-Najaf al-Ashraf before being tutored by the spiritual scholar and famous Gnostic, Ayatullah Sayyid Ali al-Qadi, may Allah Almighty be pleased with him. He started his studies with him and drank of the spring of his niceties and care when he was eighteen of age; therefore, the mentor took long strides in the stages of Gnosticism even when he was in the prime of his youth.

Sheikh Musban al-Yazdi says the following: "The mentor benefited from his being in the presence of the late al-Hajj Mirza Ali al-Qadi in as far as manners and morals are concerned and directly, and he was tutored by him for long years. Ayatullah al-Qadi was specialist in cultivating persons morally. Each of the late `allama Tabatabai, the late Ayatullah Sheikh Muhammad Taqi al-Amuli and the late Ayatullah Sheikh Ali Muhammad Burujardi as well as a large number of other great men of knowledge and even some religious authorities from his lessons in manners and Gnosticism."

Ayatullah Bahjat quotes some pursuits from other individuals such as Ayatullah Sheikh Murtaďa Taleqani. He says, "During those days, someone was trying to find out the number of those who were committed to reciting the supplication by Abu Hamzah al-Thumali during the qunootof the witr prayer rite during the eves of the month of Ramadan and in the shrine of Imam Ali, peace be with him. When this person made a count of these individuals, he found out their number exceeding seventy men. The number of people who were committed to rituals and to spirituality at that time was a lot more than it is in our time, and this is regrettable. Of course, we do not know the unknown. Perhaps people undertake these forms of worship at their homes nowadays, but we can say for sure that the commitment for acts of adoration has seen a decline in our times. This is quite regrettable, indeed."

In his memoirs, one of the students of Bahjat the mentor has written the following: "Someone heard that more than seventy men were reciting the supplication by Abu Hamzah al-Thumali in their witr prayer and in the shrine of Imam Ali, peace be with him, so he decided to verify the number of those who have committed themselves to so doing during his time. He found out that their number did not exceed fifty men, as I remember, and the person speaking was the Tehrani."

Philosophy

Ayatullah Bahjat studied the signals of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and the travels of the most highly spiritual persons with professor Ayatullah Sayyid Husayn Baduba-Ay.

Migration To Holy Qum

Ayatullah Bahjat return to his homeland, Foman, after having completed his studied in the lunar year 1363. He stayed in that city for few months then he decided to return to the theological seminary in al-Najaf al-Ashraf. But prior to his departure for al-Najaf, he decided to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Lady of Ahl al-Bayt, Fatima the infallible one, peace be with her, in the city of holy Qum and to familiarize himself with the conditions at the theological seminary in this city. He stayed there for few months. But those days coincided with the demise of senior professors of al-Najaf al-Ashraf who passed away one after the other, something that prompted him to decide to stay in the holy city of Qum.

In this city, the mentor attended the classes of Grand Ayatullah the late Hujjat Kuwah-Kamrah-Ay and distinguished himself among his students. Then he attended the classes of the late Ayatullah Burujardi in the company of great Ayatullah such as imam al-Khomeini, Gulpaygani and others.

Sheikh Misbah says the following in this regard: "Ayatullah Bahjat was one of the distinguished students who maintained regular attendance of the classes offered by the late Ayatullah Burujardi. It is customary in reference to the Kharij researches that some students are more distinguished than others in fixing the pursuits and submitting confusing matters than others. These students are more precise than their fellows, and their confusing issues take sometimes a great scholarly shape, making answering them a matter that needs more precision and depth than other confusing issues. Ayatullah Bahjat had thus a status in the classes of the late Ayatullah Burujardi."

Teaching

Ayatullah Bahjat used to teach the high Sutooh in Najaf al-Ashraf when he was attending classes of major Ayatullah such al-Isfahani, alKampani and al-Shirazi. In other words, he used to teach and study at the same time, and this was his habit even after his migration to the holy city of Qum .

As regarding teaching the Kharij research, we can say he started teaching Kharij al-Fiqh and the Usul for more than forty years, and he used to teach this subject at his house in order to avoid fame. Many men of virtue benefited from him during those long past years.

Chapter 3

A Quick Look At Some Biographies Of Professors Of Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat

In this Chapter, we will cast a quick look at the life of some great professors who played a major role in building the scholarly life of the sheikh, his manners and spirituality.

Ayatullah al-Mashkini says, "The professors of Sheikh Ayatullah Bahjat enjoy a lofty scholarly station and a great prominence which make us look at them as we look at the stars in the sky."

Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Agha Al-Qadi

Al-Hajj Mirza Sayyid Ali Agha al-Qadi was born in the city of Tabriz on the 13th of the month of Thil-Hijja of 1282 A.H. Having finished his preparatory study, he was tutored by his father, the late Hajj Sayyid Husayn al-Qadi. Then he attended the lectures of the late Mirza Musa al-Tabrizi, author of the book titled Hashiyat al-Rasaail. He also attended the classes of Mirza Muhamamd Ali al-Qaraj Daghi and completed the classes in Arab and Persian literature of the famous poet Mirza Muhammad Taqi al-Tabrizi who is known as "Hujjatul Islam" and the one given the title "Nir". He quoted many poetic verses by him in both Arabic and Persian languages. Then he migrated to the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf and was honored to reside in it in 1308 A.H. when he was then 26 years old. In the city of Najaf, he was taught by these Ayatullahs: Fadil al-Sharabyani, Sheikh Muhammad Hasan al-Mamqani, Sheikh Shari'at, Akhund al-Khurasani and al-Hajj Mirza Husayn al-Khalili.

Sayyid al-Qadi was one of the most respected of the students of al-Hajj Mirza al-Khalili. He also studied in his presence the cultivation of manners.

Sayyid al-Qadi was a Gnostic, a faqih, and a man of a great stature. He also had some miracles and revelations. Allama Sheikh Agha Buzurg al-Tehran wrote the following lines in his book Tabaqat A'lam al-Shi'a in his biography: "Sayyid Ali Agha Tabatabai Tabrizi al-Qadi, son of Mirza Husayn son of Mirza Ahmad son of Mirza Raheem, is a scholar, amujtahid, a man of piety and asceticism. I befriended him and kept him company for scores of years, and I found stability in his style, youth in his nature and attributes, generosity in his own self and in his nature. He wrote an exegesis of the Qur'an which starts from the beginning of the Qur'an and ends with the ninety-second verse of Surat al-An'am: 'Say: Allah, then leave them in their wading sporting'".

As for his father, he, too, wrote an exegesis of the Holy Qur'an, and their household was since antiquity a house of knowledge, virtue and piety.

`Allama Hasan Zadeh al-Amuli says the following in his regard: "Ayatullah Sayyid al-Qadi was one of the wonders of time." Then he says, "One of the powerful statements of the late al-Hajj Sayyid Ali al-Qadi is this: 'If one spends half his life looking for a perfect teacher, he does not make much of an achievement.'"

`Allama Hasan Zadeh quotes `allama Tabatabai saying the following while detailing the biography of Sayyid Ali al-Qadi: "The Sayyid was an amazing man. He nurtured many students and was tutored by many professors. He had very strong revelations, let alone his testimonial and Gnostic perfections, conduct and moral behavior."

Grand Ayatullah al-Gharawi al-Isfahani

`Allama Sayyid Muhammad Husayn al-Isfahani, who is famous as al-Kampani, is one of the prominent mutjahidsand great authorities of his time. Actually, he was a man offiqh the like of whom is quite rare in all times.

The Sayyid was born in the city of al-Kadhimiyya on the second of Muharram of 1296 A.H. in the environments of a revered family known for its adherence to the creed and piety. His father, the late al-Hajj Muhammad Hasan, was a well known merchant in al-Kadhimiyya. He was given the title "al-Isfahani" because his ancestors were affiliated with the city of Isfahan. His father died when he was still a child, leaving him a huge fortune which he spent on the study of branches of knowledge and Islamic teachings as well as on achieving good manners. Signs of intelligence and genius emanated from his face since his childhood. He completed his preparatory study in the city of al-Kadhimiyya, then he left it to be honored by residing in the city of knowledge andijtihad, al-Najaf al-Ashraf, when he was no more than twenty years old. He studied fiqh and Usul at the hands of a band of prominent professors such as al-Hajj Agha Riďa al-Hamadani, Sayyid al-Fisharki, and Akhund Mulla Kadhim al-Khurasani, and he attended lessons in philosophy and Gnosticism in the presence of the famous man of wisdom, al-Hajj Mirza Muhammad al-Istihbanati. He sat on the teaching chair in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf shortly after having resided there due to his genius and general acquisition.

He left behind precious works dealing with fiqh,Usul and philosophy. We would like to point out to some of them:

n      his comment on Maq'ad Kifayat al-Usul fi `Ilm al-Usul

n      his comment on Al-Makasib fi `Ilm al-Fiqh

n      a poem titled "the wise man's precious jewel" which deals with philosophy

n      He also left a diwan in Arabic and Persian poetry.

He returned to the mercy of his Lord on the fifth of Dhul-Hijjah of 1361 A.H. at an age exceeding 65 and was buried in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf beside the shrine of Imam Ali, peace be with him.

Grand Ayatullah al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Kadhim al-Shirazi

The mentor was born in 1290 A.H. in the city of Shiraz. He was honored by making the pilgrimage to the holy sites in Iraq in the company of his parents in 1300 A.H. and resided in the city of holy Karbala where he started learning Arabic. His parents returned to Shiraz two years later, but he remained in Karbala and kept himself busy with the elementary study. He returned to Shiraz fourteen years after his residence in Karbala. He studied al-Mutawwal and al-Ma`alim in the presence of the perfect scholar, al-Hajj Sayyid Muhammad al-Kazruni who is well known for his skill in teaching al-Mutawwal. He returned to Karbala two years since his residence in Shiraz, then he went to Samarra in 1310 A.H. in order to continue his studies. He studied therasaail and makaasib in the presence of the perfect scholar, Sheikh Hasan Ali al-Tehrani, who is famous for his knowledge and piety, and he attended the classes of the late Ayatullah Mirza Muhammad Taqi al-Shirazi, and he regularly attended his classes till the day the mentor died.

He left Samarra for al-Kadhimiyya where he taught, then he migrated to the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf in order to establish a theological seminary. It is worth mentioning that he used to oversee the answers to most religious edicts of Ayatullah al-Isfahani.

In 1366, one year before his demise, he left the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf with the intention to make the pilgrimage to the shrine of Imam al-Riďa, peace be with him. The theological seminary in holy Qum and its dignitaries, such as Ayatullah Burujardi, Hujjat, al-Faydh, al-Khunsari and al-Sadr, welcomed him. In 1367 he died and was buried in one of the chambers of the shrine of Imam Ali, peace be with him.

Grand Ayatullah Mirza Muhammad Husayn al-Naeeni

Ayatullah al-Naeeni was one of the most famous religious authorities of his time, one of the greatest critics and verifiers in the sciences of fiqh and Usul, so much so that he was known as the mujaddid in the science of Usul and the one who excelled in it.

The `allama was born in a family known for its knowledge and distinction on the 17th of Dhul-Qi'da of 1376 A.H. in the city of Naeen in the governorate of Isfahan. He completed his elementary study in his home town then migrated to the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf in order to continue his higher study in fiqh and Usul. He was taught by Grand Ayatullah al-Hajj Mirza Muhammad Hasan al-Shirazi the Senior and distinguished himself among his students. He also used to attend the classes of Ayatullah Akhund Muhammad Kadhim al-Khurasani in order to show his humbleness and respect for his status.

The `allama stood out among the scholars of al-Najaf al-Ashraf due to the abundance of his knowledge and to his acquisition of the sciences of mathematics, wisdom, philosophy, Gnosticism as well as skill in fiqh and Usul. He cultivated the science of Usul, coining anew in a new form distantly from difficulty and complexity, winning the admiration of those who were familiar with this art.

He also wrote books many of which were published including the following:

n      a dissertation in what is doubtful to wear

n      Wasilat al-Najat

n      Reports in the science of Usul (which was printed several times)

n      A dissertation in "there is no harm…"

Ayatullah Naeeni paid special attention particularly to cultivating himself, so he never abandoned the performance of the night prayer, nor was he ever heard articulating a bad word. He used to organize his precious time and not waste it at all. He used to spend his time in either a scientific research, or looking after the affairs of people, or in helping them with their needs. He was moderate with regard to what he ate or put on, and he was extremely cautious in faring with the public funds. He never took advantage of the blessed "Imam's share" and other rights stated in the Shari'a for his own personal benefit. Rather, he used to meet his life's expenses from his own income.

As regarding his political and social services, he wrote a book titled Tanbeeh al-Umma wa Tanzeeh al-Milla[notifying the nation and clearing the name of the creed] during the black dictatorial epoch in Iran. In it, he explained through logic and wisdom the norms of despotism and dictatorship, reminding the scholars and jurists of their religious duty towards the situation then. He also explained in the book the limits of the powers of the ruler and the Islamic government, pointing out to the chapters of the admonishment by Imam Ali (AS) to Malik al-Ashtar.

This book won the attention of the struggling authorities at the time; therefore, Ayatullah Akhund al-Khurasani and Ayatullah Sheikh Abdullah al-Mazandarani issued their authorization, supporting the revolution of the constitution and announcing its origins as being derived from the Islamic faith of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be with him and his progeny.

Ayatullah Naeeni and a group of his distinguished students were banished together with Ayatullah al-Isfahani and Ayatullah al-Khalisi to Iran because of their struggle to change the government in Iraq.

Ayatullah Naeeni entered the city of Qum after a short stay in the cities of Kermanshah and Hamadan, and he was busy teaching and performing the congregational prayer service. He returned to al-Najaf al-Ashraf one year after his stay in the holy city of Qum.

He joined his Lord on the 26th of Jumada I of 1358 A.H. after a lifetime of service, struggle and perseverance for nurturing a united generation that carries a Qur'anic message.

Grand Ayatullah Agha Diya ad-Deen al-Iraqi

Grand Ayatullah Agha Diya ad-Deen al-Iraqi was born in the city of Sultan-Abad (Persian Iraq, Arak) in the year 1278 A.H. He completed his preparatory study in his home town then migrated to the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf in order to complete his study. He attended classes by great Ayatullahs such as Muhammad al-Fisharki, Akhund al-Khurasani, Sayyid Kadhim al-Yazdi and the mentor of the Shari'a, al-Isfahani.

Signs of his intelligence and genius were obvious during the first years of his study. He started teaching at an early age, and many students gathered round him because of his oratory and the ease of his explanation. He distinguished himself among great teachers following the demise of his professor, the late Akhund al-Khurasani. He studied fiqh andUsul for more than thirty years and many students were nurtured by him. Some of them became later on sources fortaqlid. Among his works, one can point out to a book containing articles about Usul. Finally, this working scholar moved to the mercy of his Lord in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf in the year 1361 A.H.

Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Abu al-Hasan al-Isfahani

Ayatullah Sayyid Abu al-Hasan al-Isfahani was born in the Madisa village, one of the villages of Lanjan district of the city of Isfahan. He completed his elementary study in the Nimarud School in Isfahan where he was taught by Mirza Abu al-Ma'ali al-Kalbasi, benefiting greatly from him. He migrated to Najaf al-Ashraf in 1307 A.H. in order to complete his study and attended classes by its great professors. He earned the degree of ijtihad in the classes offered by Ayatullah Akhund al-Khurasani. He rose to distinction with Ayatullah Naeeni after the demise of the late Ayatullah Akhund al-Khurasani and Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi al-Shirazi. After the death of Ayatullah Naeeni, he became the only religious authority for most of Shiite lands.

Imam al-Khomeini and another group of contemporary jurists commented on his scholarly dissertation (risala) due to its inclusion. This great scholar joined his Lord on a Monday, the 9th of the month of Dhul-Hijja of 1365 A.H. in the city of al-Kadhimiyya. Addressing his holy body, Ayatullah Muhammad Husayn Kashifal-Ghita made these statements: "Congratulations to you the ascension to your Lord! How happy you have been alive and dead! Your life was joined with management and greatness, making people through it forget the past great ones, following the coming ones. You were also born twice: Once you earned experience and knowledge, and once you acted upon what you had earned!"

He, may Allah have mercy on his soul, was characterized by good attributes and characteristics, and his pure soul inspired one to be firm and steadfast for the sake of the Adored One. He surpassed his peers in managing the affairs, in administration and knowledge, and he was generous, articulate, orator, making his classes the most busy and popular among those offered at Najaf al-Ashraf's theological seminary.

He participated in the struggle of the Muslim Iraqi people against colonialism and was banished to Iran together with some struggling scholars. He had honorable stands towards the incidents at the Guharshad Mosque in the holy city of Mashhad.

Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Murtaďa al-Taleqani

Sheikh Murtaďa al-Taleqani was born in 1280 A.H. in the city of Taleqan. He learned the Qur'an and Persian literature in the katateeb of the city then migrated to Tehran and from there to Isfahan so he could attend classes by its great scholars such as Ayatullah Abu al-Ma'ali al-Karbalai, the man of wisdom al-Qashqa'I Mulla Muhammad al-Kashi and others.

He migrated to the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf and was tutored at the hands of its great scholars such as Akhund al-Khurasani, Sayyid Kadhim al-Yazdi, the mentor of the Shari'a al-Isfahani, Mirza Muhammad Taqi al-Shirazi and others.

He paid attention to nurturing himself and purifying his soul so he could fold the stages of perfection and reach the ultimate objective. The mentor, may Allah have mercy on him, abandoned the world and spent most of his time teaching the students and cultivating them. Many of them later on rose to distinction, becoming authorities and great scholars in our time.

The mentor, may Allah have mercy on him, lived single all his life, and he was residing in the school of Sayyid al-Yazdi of the reliable niche in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf till he died there in 1364 A.H.

The wise `allama Sayyid Husayn Badkubah-Ay

The `allama was born in 1293 A.H in the village of Dalan in the city of Badkubah. He was tutored at the hands of his father and completed the preparatory study and that of literature in his presence. He migrated to Tehran after the death of his father and resided at the Sadr School in that city. He studied mathematics and philosophy at the hands of the late Sayyid Abu al-Hasan Jalwah and the late Mirza Hashim al-Ashkuri. He also studied logic for seven years of continuous effort in the presence of his professors teaching this science.

He migrated to al-Najaf al-Ashraf and attended the classes of Grand Ayatullah Akhund al-Khurasani. This coincided with the first days of writing the Kifaya book. He also studied fiqh at the hands of Ayatullah Sheikh Muhammad Hasan al-Mamqani. Soon many virtuous scholars gathered round him to benefit from his views and theories. Finally, he moved to the mercy of his Lord in the eve of the 28th of the holy month of Shawwal of 1358 A.H. in the bath house of the sacred shrine and was buried in the neighborhood of his holy grandfather, Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib, peace be with him.

Grand Ayatullah the authority Kuwah-Kamrah-Ay

The authority Ayatullah was a scholar who acted upon his knowledge, a perfect jurist, a virtuous traditionist, a skilled wise man, a precise man of Usul, a verifier of narrators of hadith, a man who acquired knowledge of what is rational and what is transmitted. He was born in the month of Sha'ban of 1310 A.H. in the city of Tabriz in a religious family known for its piety.

His revered lineage goes back to the most respected Sayyid Muhammad al-Masri who is nicknamed al-Hijazi, one of the offspring of Ali al-Asghar son of Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn Zain al-Abidin, peace be with him. The authority Ayatullah enjoyed an exceptional intelligence and a swift roving intellect whereby he was able to complete his preparatory study at an astounding pace so he could study after it fiqh, Usul, mathematics, rationale, ancient and modern medicine as well as a generous amount of modern sciences such as physics and chemistry.

He completed the Sutooh stage in fiqh and Usul at the hands of his father, the late Sayyid Ali Kuwah-Kamrah-Ay. He migrated to al-Najaf al-Ashraf in 1330 when he was twenty years old. He attended classes of great professors such as the `allama al-Yazdi of Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa (the reliable niche), the mentor of the Shari'a al-Isfahani, Mirza Naeeni and Agha Diya ad-Deen al-Iraqi.

In 1349 A.H., he returned to the holy city of Qum and was one of the greatest of its scholars and senior professors of its seminary.

He won the attention of Grand Ayatullah al-Haeri, founder of the theological seminary in Qum, who asked him to lead the congregational prayer service in his place during the late years of his holy life. He also taught in his place after his demise and continued to teach and answer requests for edicts. He looked after people's affairs till the last moment of his life despite his weakness and deteriorating health.

The Sayyid, may Allah have mercy on him, was a distinctive testimonial for the tradition transmitted from the Infallible Imams, peace be with them, which says [in describing a true believer], "He disobeys his desires, obedient to the command of his Lord, protecting himself, safeguarding his creed." He kept the secrets to himself, so much so that even the closest people to him did not know him as he should have. He, may Allah have mercy on him, was among those who won the honor of meeting the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance. And he was precise in utilizing his time, an avid reader of scholarly and juristic books, not abandoning research or study even on his wedding night.

He left several books in various fields. We would like here to point to some of them:

1.      Kitab al-Biya' [a book about real estate]

2.      a collection of traditions and Usul

3.      his commentary about the book titled Al-Kifaya

4.      Lawami' al-Anwar al-Gharawiyya fi Mursalat al-Athar al-Nabawiyya

5.      Mustadrak al-Mustadrak

The Sayyid predicted the hour of his death; so, he gathered some scholars of the seminary and requested some pure soil from the shrine of Imam al-Husayn which he put on his tongue and said, "The last of my ration from the world is the soil of al-Husayn." He consulted the Qur'an regarding his destiny, so the 14th verse of Chapter al-Ra'd [thunder] came up: "To Him belongs the call of the truth". He, therefore, said in an audible voice: "We belong to Allah, and to Him do we return," then his sacred soul left his body.

Having come to know about his demise, Ayatullah Burujardi said, "Now my spine has been broken. The chamber may become a school of a mosque (after the example of the mosque and school of the Hujjatis)," and he instructed the chamber located beside the mosque to be a cemetery for himself and the members of his family. This will was inspired to him in a vision.

Grand Ayatullah Burujardi

Grand Ayatullah Burujardi belongs to a respectable family known for its knowledge and piety. He is one of the Sayyids who belong to the Infallible Imams, peace be with them. His lineage reaches Imam al-Hasan, the chosen one.

The Sayyid was born in 1292 A.H. in the city of Burujard. He was taught by scholars of this city and finished a good deal of his preparatory study at the hand of his father. He migrated to Isfahan in 1310 A.H. in order to continue his studies and acquire religious studies, and he was then eighteen years old. He was tutored by senior scholars of Isfahan such as the grand Ayatullahs and those bearing the title "Hujjatul-Islam" such as Abu al-Ma'ali al-Kalbasi, Sayyid Mir Muhammad Taqi al-Mudarrisi and Akhund Mulla Muhammad al-Kashi, Mirza Jehangir al-Qashqai. He also taught jurisprudence and Usul in his study in this city.

He migrated to al-Najaf al-Ashraf in 1318 A.H. eight years after having resided in Isfahan and his earning the degree of ijtihad in it, and he was then twenty-six years old. He benefited from attending classes by great Ayatullahs such as the Akhund al-Khurasani, author of Al-Kifaya, and`allama al-Yazdi, author of Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa. He distinguished himself among the students of the late Akhund for he wrote commentaries about his book titled Kifayat al-Usul.

He returned to the city of Burujard in 1328 A.H. after a residence that lasted for ten years in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf during which he earned the ijtihad degree which was awarded to him by the most distinguished of its scholars. During his stay in Burujard, which lasted more than 36 yers, he founded a theological seminary to teach the researches ofKharij al-Fiqh and Usul in this city. During this period, he was emulated as an authority for taqleed by most residents of the western and southern parts of Iran and some districts in the Khurasan governorates and other areas.

He resided in the city of Qum for few months after returning from making a pilgrimage to the shrine of Imam al-Riďa, peace be with him, as insisted by Grand Ayatullah al-Haeri and a group of other men of virtue in the theological seminary. During that period, he studied the Kharij al-Fiqhand Usul researches then returned to his birthplace, the city of Burujard. He returned to holy Qum in the holy month of Muharram of 1364 A.H. after having become the greatest authority for the Shiites in the world.

More than 1,200 men of virtue and prominent mujtahids used to attend his classes in the seminary.

Chapter 4

His Scholarly Status and Particular Teaching Method

He has many works some of which are:

1. his commentary on Al-Kifaya

2. his commentary on Al-Nihaya by Sheikh al-Tusi

3. a dissertation in Mustamsak al-Saheefa al-Sajjadiyya

4. Mustamsak al-Tahdheeb

5. Mustamsak Rijal al-Kashi

6. Tajrid Rijal al-Nejashi

He left behind him many perpetual relics, including the grand mosque and its library in the holy city of Qum and the large mosque in the city of Hamburg in Germany.

He passed away on a Thursday, the 13th of the holy month of Shawwal of 1380 at an age exceeding eighty-eight years. His sacred body received an awesome sending away amidst crowds, and he was buried beside the resting place of Lady Fatima, the infallible one, peace be with her.

In this chapter, we will cast a quick look at the scholarly status of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat, his genius and precision, and we will talk about his own method in teaching, then we will talk about his works and students.

Scholarly Status

Ayatullah Bahjat enjoys precision, genius and a lofty scholarly status. His professors, classmates and the most prominent of his students testified to it. Among these testimonials we would like to state the following interesting anecdote:

Once the mentor objected to one of his students, the late Akhund, when the latter was teaching the requirements of the book Kifayat due to his being imprecise in determining these requirements, but he was faced in the next session anger and a great deal of objection from the students prior to the attendance of the professor due to his young age compared to them. As they were thus, the professor entered the class and saw how they were. He, therefore, addressed them saying, "Leave the mentor Bahjat alone and do not pay attention to him." Everyone became silent, and they turned to the professor who said to them, "I reviewed yesterday the reports of the late Akhund and realized that the mentor, Bahjat, was quite right in his objection." He, then, started lauding the brilliance of the mentor, his genius and seriousness.

One of the scholars of al-Najaf al-Ashraf says that the mentor was one of those who asked the most complex questions and was a major critic during the class of the late Kampani. The late Ayatullah Sheikh Murtaďa al-Haeri says, "Sheikh Bahjat attracted the attention of the professor through his precise theories and important queries, so much so that I remember the class went out of its normalcy once and this continued for several days. As for us, we benefited from these criticisms and queries, but the mentor did not continue to criticize fleeing away from fame. Had he continued, he would have proven that he was not less qualified than the others if not the best among them."

The late `allama Muhammad Taqi al-Ja`fari says, "When we were being taught the makasib by the late Sheikh Kadhim al-Shirazi, the mentor, Bahjat, who now is residing in Qum, used to attend his class, too. I very well remember that the late Sheikh Kadhim al-Shirazi used to listen and often verifies when faced by a confusing question by mentor Bahjat. Since then, Sheikh Bahjat became famous for his distinction and Gnosticism in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf.."

Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn al-Tahrani says the following in his book Anwar al-Malakut: "Ayatullah al-Hajj Sheikh Abbas al-Qochani had willed to Sayyid Ali al-Qadi to say that Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Bahjat used to attend the fiqh and Usul classes of the late Grand Ayatullah al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Husayn al-Gharawi al-Isfahani, who is famous as al-Kampani. When he returns to his chamber in the school of the late Sayyid, some students go to him and ask him to explain to them what they could not understand from their lesson. Quite often, they would find him asleep, so they would still ask him even as he was asleep, and he would provide them with a sufficient and satisfactory answer. When he would wake up and they would talk with him about what they had asked him and his answers, he would say he had no idea at all about the whole thing."

Ayatullah al-Mashkini says, "The sheikh whose biography is discussed occupies a prominent status among the faqihs of the Shiites from the scholarly standpoint (with regard to fiqh and Usul). Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Amjad sayd, "The scholarly status of the mentor is very lofty. He is a great jurist, and I think the mujtahids have to sit in his class to learn the particulars of the sciences and what is interesting about them. In fact, the Kharij researches have to be taught by men of virtue such as Ayatullah Bahjat, rather than individuals who contend themselves with just relaying statements."

Scholars Urge Students to Attend his Classes

Sheikh Misbah Yazdi says, "The moral and spiritual attractiveness of the mentor was the main reason which attracted me to his class in the beginning. But I realized, as time went by, that the mentor was distinguished by a prominent scholarly and juristic status; therefore, I tried to attend one of his classes so the class may be a medium to benefit from his knowledge and means to benefit from his perfections and moral accomplishments. I, therefore, started studying the book of tahara (the cleansing methods) in his presence. In the beginning, I used to attend the class with some of my brethren in the chamber in the Faydi School. One year later, we moved to one of the chambers of the Khan School (the school of the late Ayatullah Burujardi), and we used to study in that chamber for one or almost two years. After that we used to go to his house to benefit from his lecture because of his weakness. I finished a course intahara in his presence then I learned a course in makasib(profit means) and options, and these researches exhausted more than fifteen years. We used to attain pursuits in his presence which were not submitted in many classes."

The mentor professor Mutahhari used to often advise us to attend the classes of Ayatullah Bahjat saying, "You must attend his classes, especially the Usul class, because the mentor was one of the students of the late Muhammad Husayn al-Isfahani al-Kampani."

Professor Khosro-Hahi says, "I used to attend the "kharij al-khayarat" class in fiqh taught by the late Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Murtaďa al-Haeri, but his health deteriorated during the last days of his holy life; therefore, most of his classes were suspended because he could not continue them. One day I found him getting out of the sacred precincts of Lady Fatima the Infallible, peace be with her, so I went to him, greeted him then said, 'Are you going to continue the class, professor?' He said, 'No.' Then he added saying, 'You are an ambitious young man, and I wish to teach you this criterion in choosing the suitable professor.' He went on to say, 'I advise you to attend the classes of professors who do not contend themselves with just relaying statements. Rather, you ought to attend classes of one who helps the student transform the ijtihad ability from the strength phase to the phase of action.' I said to him, 'Whose classes do you suggest I should attend.' He said, 'Excuse me from having to answer this question.' I said to him, 'I am now attending the class of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat.' It is then that indications of pleasure appeared on his face, and he said with a smile, 'The class of Ayatullah Bahjat, as far as precision and context are concern, meets this criterion. You must continue attending, for it is a useful class and constructive from the scholarly as well as the ethically standpoint.'"

Mentor's Teaching Method

Sheikh Misbah says the following about the mentor's teaching method: "The mentor used to try to submit a query in the beginning from the book by Sheikh Ansari, then he would transmit what he sees as important from among the views of others, especially the author Al-Jawahir and the late Hajj Riďa al-Hamadani. After that, he would start explaining his own viewpoint if he had an opinion about that query.

"On one hand, this method helped the student to be familiar with the views of senior professors. On the other, it would save them a lot of time. Of course there is another teaching method which some professors may adopt. In it, the professor submits each query independently, stating the viewpoint of each professor about it. This method may be more useful for the beginner student, but it takes a lot of his time due to the repetition of pursuits and views in its regard.

"Through our review of classes by the mentor, we were able to earn many pursuits, important and minute points, most of which the mentor had orally obtained from his great professors."

Ayatullah al-Mas`udi, who attended classes by Ayatullah Bahjat for many years, becoming acquainted with the teaching method of his professor, says, "Mentor Bahjat has his own teaching method. What is common among the scholars and religious authorities is that they submit a query in the Kharij topic and transmit the viewpoints of others in its regard. Then they reject some of these views and support the others. In the conclusion, they accept one of these viewpoints or adopt aother. But the sheikh did not follow this method. Rather, he would first submit a query then explain the sequence of deriving the conclusion for that query. If the student is familiar with the views of the scholars, acquainted with their theories, before attending the class, he will know the person who adopts the viewpoint submitted by the professor in his class, and he will also realize that the professor critiques any viewpoints and supports any of them. So, one who wants to attend the classes of the mentor is supposed to review the scholarly principles and should familiarize himself with the viewpoints of others prior to attending the classes."

Ayatullah Muhammad Husayn al-Ahmadi, the Yazdifaqih, says the following about the professor's teaching method: "When the professor starts submitting some queries or sub-queries, he compares the topic of the research with the other alike researches, taking into consideration the particulars of the tradition, narrative or sacred verse which leads to the topic. The professor does so with particular rational and intellectual mentality, then he earns the result in the research which is often a new scholarly outcome. In fact, the pursuits submitted result from the greatness of his intellect and the soundness of his view which he earned from Islam and from the Imams, peace be with them, and this is the correct meaning of ijtihad."

Exhortation in Class

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin, the FRiďay imam in the city of Kalajay, who attended classes of Ayatullah Bahjat for many years, says, "It was customary for Ayatullah Bahjat to admonish the students for almost ten minutes before starting the class. The admonishment itself was not his goal; rather, he wanted to remind us of the conditions of the past scholars. It was obvious the goal of the attendance by Sheikh Misbah of the classes of Kharij al-Fiqh presented by the mentor for more than fifteen years was to benefit from the morale of the mentor and his angelic spirit in addition to the scholarly benefit from the pursuits submitted by the mentor in his class."

Sheikh Misbah says the following in this regard: "Quite often, Ayatullah Bahjat would transmit to us a story or tradition which stirred our amazement, for we did not realize his insistence on explaining some obvious matters. One of the matters which he insisted on tackling prior to starting his class is the issue of the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful (as). We used to be stunned about this matter, not comprehending its philosophy and wonder with ourselves: Does any of us doubt the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful (as) so the mentor should make a reference to the evidences regarding his Imamate?! Is it not better that he submits to us other ethical and moral pursuits so we may benefit from them? But after we were fifty or sixty of age, we realized the benefit of those pursuits which he was dictating to us more than forty years ago. It is as though he knew that there were matters which will be doubted or bypassed in the future. Had it not been for taking a special interest in these topics, we would not have had the sufficient catalyst to review these matters. I benefit even nowadays from my own works relevant to the doctrinal issues or to other issues relevant to the queries which the mentor used to dictate to us more than forty years ago."

Mentor's Works

The Sheikh (mentor) wrote many books in fiqh(jurisprudence) and Usul (basic principles), but he did not publish most of them, so much so that he did not sometimes allow some people to publish these books at their own personal expenses without benefiting from the ways derived from the Shari'a which make such publication possible [a reference to the khums tax some of which goes to the promotion of the creed via the publication of quality Islamic literature]. He used to refuse their request saying, 'The books of may great scholars have not yet been published. You, therefore, must publish their books. As for these, their turn is yet to come to be published.'"

As regarding the list of his works some of which were published through the insistence and follow-up of his students, they include:

Published Works

1. a dissertation in explaining queries (in Arabic and Persian),

2. rituals of the pilgrimage. Some men of virtue wrote both these books based on the verdicts of Sheikh Bahjat and were published after earning his support, may Allah safeguard him,

3. Waseelat al-Najat (salvation method). This book contains the mentor's jursdic views in most chapters of jurisprudence listed in Waseelat al-Najat by Abul-Hasan al-Isfahani the first volume of which was published after obtaining the support of the mentor,

4. Jaami`' al-Masaail (collection of queries). This book contains a group of commentaries by the mentor about the book titled Dhakheerat al-Ibaad by the late Ayatullah al-Gharawi al-Isfahani who is known as al-Kampani. It also contains the rest of that book to the end of fiqh. This book was first published with bad typesetting and in few copies, and it was distributed to his students and close friends. Then the first volume of it was published and was given the title Jaami` al-Masaail due to the abundance of branches of fiqhadded to the original book and to their inclusion, and this book is supposed to be published in five volumes.

Author's Ready-to-print Works

1. the first volume of the book on prayers. The mentor presented in this book in his own way his new views, organizing the chapters and researches according to the order in existence in the book titled Jawahir al-Kalaam,

2. the first volume of the collection of the science ofUsul. This book was written according to the order employed in the book titled Kifayat al-Usul and was reviewed by the professor several times. This book contains the new views of the mentor about many researches of the science of Usul,

3. his commentaries on the Manaasik [rites] book by Sheikh al-Ansari. This book contains the views of the mentor about the pilgrimage rites,

Works yet to be Published

1. the remaining volumes of the group on the science ofUsul,

2. his commentary on the Makaasib of Sheikh al-Ansari. The mentor commented in this book about this work by al-Ansari from the beginning to the end, then he submitted the researches which were not stated in it on the basis of the text of the book titled Sharaai` al-Islam. The mentor also submits in this group his new viewpoints in the juristic researches,

3. the collection of Kitaab al-Tahara (book on cleansing). The sheikh submits in this book his ideas in an innovative way and in brief according to the order of the topics in the book titled Jawahir al-Kalam,

4. the remaining volumes of the collection on Kitab al-Salat (the book on prayers).

The mentor also collaborated with the late al-Hajj Sheikh Abbas al-Qummi in writing the book titled Safeenat al-Bihar. A large portion of this book was written by the hand of Ayatullah mentor Bahjat.

His Students

Although the mentor was teaching at his house in order to shun fame, many students benefited and are still benefiting from his company, and many of them earned the degree ofijtihad.

Part 1

Ethical and Gnostic Characteristics of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat

1. His Piety and God-Fearing

We have already stated that the mentor made an effort to cultivate himself since his very young age. He was and still is affording the attainment of knowledge and purifying the soul a great deal of attention. He always insisted on continuous effort and inclusive conduct to strengthen man's moral building which enables him to continue the struggle and to achieve victory over immoralities and helps him in his "supreme jihad" against his own desires and inclinations.

He always believed in the need to always uphold knowledge and good manners, warning against the perils of abandoning them, believing the loss that can result from the uncultivated scholar and the science that is not purified is much, much greater than any other loss. The mentor is a sincere man, an eager one who always is keen to straightforwardness in all moments of his life along the path of Allah. He endeavored to always be in contact with Allah, the most Praised One, the most Exalted. He looks upon everything and everyone through divine and godly eyes. One of the senior mujtahids says the following in this regard: "It is not right to say that the sheikh was only a pious man; rather, he was piety itself." Ayatullah Sheikh Jawad al-Karbalaai says, "One of the Sayyids who love the mentor and who are familiar with his condition told me that the mentor used to spend most of his time every night contemplating on the currents of the Gnostic branches of knowledge. He never wasted his time, nor did he ever attend a gathering for fun. He always took precaution against idle talk. Whenever he went to the class or to visit the Commander of the Faithful, peace be with him, he used to place his mantle over his head and not turn to anybody as he was walking. He is a man who keeps secrets especially about explaining his Gnostic conditions. He was secretive in showing the particular divine niceties which Allah Almighty bestowed upon him."

2. His Asceticism and Simplicity of Lifestyle

The friends of Allah do not look at the worldly appearances as ordinary people look at them. Rather, they look at the reality of life. They do not busy themselves except with securing their true future, always distancing themselves from the shackles of greed, living in the pure environment of content and humbleness. For this reason, they earn a soul from which the fragrance of spirituality and purity emanates. Ordinary people live in the darkness of ignorance, heedlessness and affluence. They indulge in ambitions and desires.

Mentor Ayatullah Bahjat is regarded as one of the righteous friends of Allah. He is an ascetic and Gnostic who always lived with humbleness, asceticism and renunciation of the world. He is one of the most outstanding ascetics in our time, for he realized the truth about the world and its implications and was attracted in all his existence towards the spiritual world. Materialism did not taint him; rather, he was liberated from all its shackles.

He did not only distance himself from the world and its appearances physically but made along this path broad practical strides in various fields of his daily life. His simple life, his residence at a small old house in the holy city of Qum, his lack of response to the demands of the scholars and ordinary people who continuously demanded him to change his residence are good evidences about his asceticism, humbleness and the greatness of his soul.

Sheikh Misbah Yazdi, pointing out to his asceticism and humbleness, says, "Ayatullah Bahjat had rented a house in the vicinity of the Hujjatiyya School, then he rented a small house in the beginning of Chahar Mardan Street, and that house did not have more than two rooms. He used to place a curtain in the middle of the room where we assembled while his family lived behind it as we were attending the class on the other side. It is a very simple life distant from affectation and luxury and full of light and spirituality. Till our day, the mentor does not own a house big enough for a large number of visitors. There are no more than two or three small rooms in his house furnished with their floor covered with the same covering which he placed more than forty years ago. He did not change his house after he had become a marji` although it cannot accommodate the visitors and those who used to see him frequently and whose number was daily on the rise; therefore, the mentor used to sit during the feast or commemoration occasions at the Fatimiyya Mosque to receive people."

Ayatullah Mas'udi says, "Many people offered the mentor to buy him a house but he always rejected such offers. I said to him many times, 'Master! This house is old and not fit for living, and it may not be permissible to live in it from the Shari'a standpoint,' but he never listened to such talk nor give it any significance."

3. His Adoration

Adoration and upholding rituals are regarded as a major element in one's success and perfection. The mentor had made long strides in this field that would place him to be a role model for others. The relationship and strong connection of Ayatullah Bahjat with his Lord, his continuous remembrance of Him, his diligence in performing optional rites and his amazing tajahhud all were amazing and noteworthy.

As regarding the congregational prayer which the mentor used to uphold, it was one of the most wonderful, the best and the most sincere of prayers held in Islamic Iran. In this service, virtuous scholars, pious students, bravemujahids and all other types of people. This service is adorned with complete spirituality, so much so that sometimes, especially during the eves preceding FRiďay, there is a combination in it of the moaning of the mentor, the weeping of those praying, thus the souls ascend, the eyes weep and the hearts are polished.

Undoubtedly, there is no spiritual or angelic place such as this in any other congregational prayer service in our time. It is no wonder that the mosque used to be over-crowded with the faithful and the place too small most of the times, forcing many of them, including those who used to go there from distant places to earn the blessing of this service, to leave the mosque even before the service started. This prayer service has been the hope of Allah's servants. It used to be attended by Ayatullah Tabatabai, and Ayatullah Bahaa al-Dayni used to pay it his own special attention.

In this regard, Ayatullah Muhammad Hasan al-Ahmadi, the faqih of Yazd, transmits to us an interesting incident as follows:

"Ayatullah Bahaa al-Dayni used to hold the congregational prayer service before Ayatullah Bahjat during the nights of the month of Ramadan. One day, he wanted to send one of his relatives somewhere for an errand, but the man refused to go there saying, 'If I go, I will be deprived of the prayer service and of following your lead.' Ayatullah Bahaa al-Dayni said to him, 'Go and take care of this errand for me then perform the prayer following the lead of Ayatullah Bahjat after eating your iftar.'"

Sheikh Misbah, commenting about the congregational prayer service held by the mentor and its precedents, says, "Ayatullah Bahjat used to follow a special program forty years ago. He used to take a walk before sunset to the Safaii Quarter which was then an agricultural area and having no construction in it. He would cross some farms then sit and perform the sunset and evening prayers in that place. Some brethren used to attend that prayer service, too."

One of those brethren says, "One night, Ayatullah Bahjat talked after the prayher service saying, 'Had the rulers of the world known the pleasure felt by one during his act of adoration, they would have abandoned their authority."

After the mentor had bought his house where he now lives, most brethren used to go to this house to perform the prayers because it is closer to them than the previous place. Then the mentor was called to the Fatimiyya Mosque, and that mosque became the place of meeting of all those who wished to perform the prayer service with him being the imam. More than forty years had passed since this prayer service was being performed three times a day in this mosque. The mentor, during the last days, moved the place where he held his class from home to this mosque where special feast and commemoration services were also held.

Ayatullah mentor Jawad al-Karbalaai, describing thetahajjud of the mentor and his weeping during the night says, "Ayatullah Bahjat was punctual in his prayers and nightly weeping especially during the nights preceding FRiďays. One of the senior scholars said to me, 'I heard the mentor during one of the nights preceding FRiďay weeping profusely, addressing his Lord repeatedly as he was prostrating, 'Lord! Who else besides You can I turn to in order to remove my harm and look into my affair…, etc.?'"

4. His Ziyara and Pleas

The mentor starts his daily program, despite his advanced age, by paying a visit to the shrine of Lady Fatima the Infallible, peace be with her. He daily is honored by performing the rites of the ziyara to Lady Masuma and stands before the sacred shrine with humility and full respect then recites the Ashura ziyara. The author of the book titledAnwar al-Malakut cites mentor Abbas al-Qawjani, trustee of the late Mirza Ali Agha the judge, the following interesting narrative:

"Quite often, Ayatullah Bahjat would go to the Sahla Mosque [in Kufa] and spends the night alone till the morning in that mosque. One night, when the mosque's lamp was not lit and it was quite dark, the mentor needed to renew his ablution in the middle of the night, so he needed to get out of the mosque and go to its eastern side where the toilets were. As he was walking in the dark, he felt a little bit scared. Suddenly, a light appeared before him and kept lighting the way for him like a lamp till the mentor completed his ablution and returned to the mosque. Once the mentor was inside the mosque, that light disappeared."

5. His Humbleness

Among the other prominent dimensions in the spiritual personality of the mentor are humility, flight from fame and opposing inclinations. The mentor did not allow the publication of his edicts till after the demise of all past authorities who were older than him and even his fellows who used to study with him although he is considered as one of the famous men of fiqh and ijtihad and one of the prominent professors of holy Qum's theological seminary. Despite all of this, the mentor did not permit the publication of his edicts except after the scholars had insisted on it. He also did not permit the use of the ways allowed by the Shari'a for the publication of his scholarly dissertation (risala), always emphasizing to the orators at the majaliswhich he held that they should not mention his name. This indicates his God-fearing nature, piety and the opposing of his desires.

The mentor Hajj Quds says the following about his humbleness: "One day, I and my guest, the late Hujjatul-Islam Nasr-Allah al-Lahuti, visited mentor Bahjat. My guest said to the mentor, 'I have heard someone criticizing you in the city of Mashhad during my visit of that city, and I felt very angry about it.' Mentor Bahjat said, 'It has been cited in our narratives the following: 'They charged a scholar who desired the world,'' so I was quite surprised at this answer, for if the life of this man was desirous of the world, what about us?!"

6. His Life, Conduct and Spiritual Status

Past incidents relevant to mentor Bahjat's life story and moral conduct go back to scores of years. He is one of the students of the perfect Gnostic, Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Agha al-Qadi. He used to win the interest of that great theological scholar. The mentor won respected Gnostic stations even when he was in the prime of his youth, and many of those who were close to the late Ayatullah al-Qadi testified to it. They said, "We are familiar of his Gnostic stations and are acquainted with the phases of lifestyle and conduct which he undertook, but we maintain a pledge to him not to say a word in this regard." The mentor used to also earn the attention of Imam Khomeini who visited and met him in the city of Qum at the beginning of the revolution.

The author of the book titled Anwar al-Malakutwrites the following in this regard: "Grand Ayatullah al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Bahjat al-Fomani is regarded as one of the students of the sign of the truth and the pillar of Gnosticism, the unique scholar, the late al-Hajj Mirza Ali Agha, the judge from Tabriz, may Allah Almighty be pleased with him, in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf. He used to have many revelations and divine ghaibi conditions during the time of the late Mirza Agha, and he earned a lofty status of behavior and distinction. This distinction was the reason which prompted the late judge to pay him his special attention."

Also, Sheikh Diya ad-Deen al-Amuli, son of Grand Ayatullah al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Taqi al-Amuli, conveyed to the attending students of the class of Ayatullah Bahjat and in the presence of the mentor that he saw with his own eyes the late Mirza Ali, the judge, following the mentor as he was leading the prayer service.

7. Acquaintance with the Unknown and Manifestation of Temporal Miracles

Ayatullah Bahjat is regarded as one of the righteous servants of Allah who earned, by permission of Allah, lofty stations that enabled them to witness worlds of the unknown (ghaib). Perhaps the repetition by the mentor of the plea "O One Who Veils!" whenever he was alone and in the presence of people, as he stood and sat, is the reason behind this fact.

Sheikh Misbah of Yazd says the following in this regard: "It seems the mentor earned a Gnostic station and moral perfections which enabled him to witness some unknown worlds. He would witness some realities such as those of individuals with his own subconscious sight, but he did not like people seeing him as such; therefore, he used to quite often repeat the plea "O One Who Veils!" and pleads to Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great, to veil him and to veil whatever he saw."

In fact, the likes of these matters are regarded among the temporal miracles (karamat) which are not undertaken except by Allah's friends. The manifestation of thesekaramat is the fruit of continuous struggle against the self and of opposing inclinations. The mentor, Ayatullah Bahjat, is regarded as one of the prominent personalities that have taken care of cultivating the self and to belong exclusively to Allah, the most Exalted One, the most Great; therefore, it is not at all unlikely if he has such karamat and supernatural things. Rather, those who kept the mentor saw with their own eyes examples in support of this matter.

Pointing out to some evidences in this regard, Sheikh Misbah says the following: "The individuals who kept Ayatullah Bahjat company for several years saw during these years matters which could not be termed except askaramat or supernatural things. Here below we would like to review some examples of these karamat: When imam Khomeini was in exile (apparently in Turkey), many men of virtue and supporters used to be subjected to unfair measures by the security authorities at the time. If they articulated a word or behaved in a particular way, they would be banned from ascending the pulpit and be thrown in jail in unknown places and for long periods of time. Among the persons who were arrested by the security authority then is Sheikh Jannati. We were worried about him because all evidences pointed out to the security authority going to torture him. I remember that I went to mentor Bahjat, may Allah Almighty protect him, and told him about the matter. He contemplated for a short while then said, 'You will, by the will of Allah, bring me the good news of his release.' True, such a statement could have been made by anybody, but the statement of the mentor during those circumstances was like glad tidings to us because we were sure the mentor had ghaibi knowledge in this regard and that the problem would come to an end peacefully. This is to because there were other similar matters which we presented to the mentor (such as we would ask him to pray for a particular person), but he would never give us such an answer. Indeed, we would say that particular person staying in jail and not easily released."

Here is another sample about his karamat, may Allah protect him. One day, a family wanted to marry her daughter off. Both families of the bride and groom as well as the guests assembled on the wedding night. But the enemies of this family kidnapped the bride from her house before the ceremonies had started. This worried the members of the bride's family, and they kept looking for her wherever they thought it possible to find her but in vain. Anyway, this matter caused a great deal of confusion to the bride's parents because they were unable to do anything. One friend who was a neighbor of this family said, 'I thought a lot about the matter but I found no solution for this problem. Then it crossed my mind to go to the mentor Bahjat, perhaps he could find a solution for it. I went to him hastily and narrated the incident to him. The mentor lowered his head as he contemplated. Then he simply said, 'Go to the holy precincts of Lady Fatima the Infallible, perhaps she went there.' I, therefore, returned, having been convinced to do just that. I told the bride's family what the mentor had said, so they went to the shrine of Lady Fatima the Infallible and actually found their daughter there. I do not remember precisely how the matter was, but I know that the bride's family never thought of finding the bride in a place such as that."

Here is another sample of the mentor's karamat: A friend says, "My wife was pregnant, and I was going to travel before the blessed month of Ramadan, so I went to the meeting place of mentor Bahjat to bid him farewell and to ask him to pray for me. He said to me, 'Allah will bless you with a son; so, name him Muhammad Hasan,' although he did not even know that my wife was pregnant, let alone knowing the gender of the fetus and the date of its birth. Sure enough, Allah blessed us with a son on the fifteenth of the blessed month of Ramadan, so we named him Muhammad Hasan."

Quite often, such matters would take place to the mentor, but he did not want to manifest them, so much so that he did not accept the transmission of this brief summary, but we transmitted it so the believers may get to know that Allah, the most Exalted and the most Great, pays attention to some of His friends with His divine care even during our time. If the servants tread the straight path of adoration, Allah Almighty will lead them to the right guidance: "… And those who struggle on Our account, We shall guide them to Our path."

The path to perfection and humanity is not closed. Even in our time, anyone who wants to tread the path of nearness to Allah can reach lofty stations of perfection and nearness to Allah in the shade of care of the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance, and at the hands of servants who live among the people such as mentor Bahjat. All these matters can instill hope in the souls and increase our conviction.

These are fixed realities and not a mockery. They are visible realities in existence, and we can see them and realize their impacts, then we can liberate ourselves from the shackles of this world, its ornament and adornment and realize that pleasure is not confined to the animal or Satanic ones; rather, man is qualified to reach moral perfections and pleasures which cannot be compared with these material pleasures. But unfortunately, due to the weakness of knowledge and of conviction on one hand, and the assault of the internal and external Satanic factors (from the jinns and mankind) on the other, has caused us to be unaware of such precious jewels.

In this regard, Sayyid Mas`udi says, "Anyone who visits the mentor realizes he talks about the particular things which he feels. I used to go in the company of Sheikh Musban to his class, and we (I and Sheikh Misbah) used to talk sometimes about the political and economic issues or about our livelihood matters because the students' living condition was bad then. But the mentor used to surprise us when he would start talking about the same topic about which we were talking, as if he was sitting with us, and we were sure the mentor knew all the subjects which we discussed. For example, when we talked with each other and complained about what to do, how bad our living condition was, how we had debts to repay while not having food for one day, the mentor used to start, as soon as he arrived, with these words, 'Yes, the condition of the students was bad during our time, too. They did not have anything, and they were hungry and poor, but they persevered.' Then he would start narrating some incidents about the life of the scholars in the past. I was one day, I recall, talking with Sheikh Misbah. I said to him, 'We do not have anything, and we cannot live only on bread.' When mentor Bahjat came and sat on the pulpit, he said, 'One day, the late Sheikh Murtaďa al-Ansari went to his father in the morning and said, 'We have nothing but the bread.' The Sheikh said, 'But we have freshly baked bread!' It seemed that Sheikh al-Ansari believed that the freshness of the bread compensated for eating anything else with it. These words lessened our pain because we used to eat the bread with the cheese."

Ayatullah Sheikh al-Karbalaai says, "The late Hajj Abbas al-Qojani, one of the students of the late Ayatullah Mirza Ali the judge, conveyed to me in a special meeting after having praised the status of Ayatullah Bahjat saying, 'I was going to perform the pilgrimage to Imam al-Riďa in one of my travels to Iran, then I went to the meeting place of Sheikh Bahjat. In a special meeting, I very much insisted on him to talk to me about his personal conditions and the divine niceties which Allah bestowed upon him and about his Gnostic revelations. He conveyed to me more than twenty important matters and special divine niceties, then he took upon me a pledge not to inform anyone about them,' but I transmitted one of those matters to some friends and I (al-Karbalaai continued to say) insisted on him to talk to me about that matter. He said, 'The mentor told me he could see what is behind him if he so wished."

Sheikh Jawad al-Karbalaai adds saying, "After several years, I traveled to Iran and went to the meeting place of Sheikh Bahjat and said to him in a private meeting, 'Have the matters which you told me several years ago remain as they are till now?' The sheikh said, 'Yes'."

One of those close to the mentor says, "I went one day to the town of Foman. One day before my return, I visited Sayyid Areeb, one of the town's scholars, who gave me some bullions and asked me to give one of them to Sheikh Bahjat. After my return, I gave the sheikh one of those bullions. Some time after that, I wanted to return to Foman town, so Sheikh Bahjat gave me one thousand tomans and said, 'Give this money to Sayyid Areeb and do not tell him who sent it to him.' I sat in the shop of that merchant till he returned. I found him puzzled, so I asked him about what had happened. He said, 'When I gave the money to Sayyid Areeb, he said, 'Few days ago, a portion of our house collapsed, and the builder demanded one thousand tomans to rebuild it. I did not have much money, so I told the builder to be patient and not to start the work yet. As I was thus engaged, you brought me this sum which exactly equals the wage demanded by the builder.'"

A theologian friend said to me, "One day, one of our relative women was afflicted with cancer. The doctors were unanimous about having a surgery for her as soon as possible, saying if that surgery was not done, the cancer would spread to other parts of her body. We were hesitated about it. Should we do the surgery or not? We decided to go to Sheikh Ayatullah Bahjat and ask him to do the istikharafor us. I went to the mentor and told him about the matter, asking him to do the istikhara on our behalf. The mentor did the istikhara and said, 'The surgery is not necessary,' giving me some money to spend it by way of charity on behalf of the patient, then he ordered me to dissolve a small piece of the soil of the Master of Martyrs, peace be with him, in Zamzam water so the patient could drink it every day seeking to recover. He also ordered me to feed a large number of the poor or offer them charity with some money and to ask them to supplicate for the patient to heal. We carried out the mentor's instructions to the letter, and our patient went to the shrine of Imam al-Riďa, peace be with him, pleading to him. She remained in the sacred shrine for three days pleading and supplicating to Allah to heal her. During those three days, strange spiritual conditions happened to her, so much so that she did not feel any pain after she had returned home. I, therefore, went to the sheikh to tell him about it. He asked, 'How is the condition of your patient?' I said, 'Praise be to Allah!,' and I narrated to him all what had happened in Mishhad city. The sheikh said, 'Follow the same past instructions and let the doctor examine her.' When the patient visited the doctor, he asked her with amazement, 'Have you done something, or did you go somewhere?!' The patient asked him, 'What do you mean?' The doctor said, 'The marks of sickness have shrunk from you in an incredible way; so, there is no need to have any surgery, and we will treat the remainder of the gland with medication.' Now, after the passage of a long time since that incident, our patient enjoys very good health, and she has fully recovered from that ailment, praise be to Allah. What is noticeable in this issue is the istikhara which the sheikh did and his saying, 'The surgery is not necessary'."

One of the students of the hawza (theological seminary) wrote me once saying, "I was studying in Tehran and periodically visited Qum. I was also acting upon the will of my father who had told me to visit Sheikh Bahjat whenever I visited Qum. So, I used to visit the sheikh whenever I visited this city. One day, my father disclosed the secret behind his will to me saying, 'My eyes were cooled one day when I saw the beauty of the Imam of the Time (al-Mahdi), may Allah hasten his reappearance, at the Palasar Mosque located in the shrine of Lady Fatima the Infallible, peace be with her, but my shyness and the greatness of the Imam prevented me from embracing the Imam like a lover who reached his beloved one after a long time of separation, but I saw after moment Ayatullah Bahjat sitting in the same place where I had seen the Imam.' My late father used to think that this meeting indicated the greatness of the sheikh and his connection with the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance."

This man added saying, "After the death of my father, I saw that he had written in his will the following statement: 'Give the books which I bought to the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance, even though it may be through someone who can see him. And Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Bahjat, may Allah resurrect me and gather me in his company and from him I plead for supplications, may be the sought person.' The word "may" was placed between two parentheses in the will. I took my late father's will and gave it to Sheikh Bahjat to read. The Sheikh said, 'He has written the word MAY in the will. Go and give the books to someone who you are sure is in contact with the Imam of the Time, may my soul be his sacrifice.'"

`Allama al-Tehrani says the following in this regard: "One of the greatest scholars, Ayatullah Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Fomani Rashti, may his high shade endure, visited me in the holy city of Mashhad. He pointed out in his speech to something which cannot be interpreted except his own acquaintance with the secrets and with the Utopianghaibi matters. I had a heart stroke in the month of Shawwal of 1413 A.H. and slept four nights in the intensive care unit and nine nights in the general disease unit in al-Qaim Hospital in the holy city of Mashhad. Then I was released by the hospital after my health, praise to Allah, had improved, so I returned home and started my studies and scholarly investigation. One day, I was visited by the Sheikh with one of the students, and there was nobody in our house except myself and my oldest son, Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq. Allah had enabled me to perform the tahajjud and the qiyamof the night before being afflicted with this ailment, but I had ceased doing so during my sickness. After my return home, I stopped performing this act due to laziness or indifference or absence of determination although I used to stay awake for long hours in the night for emergency reasons. When the Sheikh came to visit me, and after the greeting and usual formalities, he said to me without any introduction, 'Theqiyam during the night or the night prayer (and I do not remember the exact wording) is the conveyance of the night.' I remained silent and said nothing, as if I was not admonished by such guidance and did not decide to resume the night prayer. The talk dealt with other matters, but the Sheikh returned to the previous talk and said, 'I saw in Bihar al-Anwar this tradition: Allah Almighty has written this in His perfect Book:

'Truly the rising by night is most potent for governing (the soul) and most suitable for (framing) the speech (in prayer and praise)' (Qur'an, 73:6).

Since I knew that my oldest son, Muhammad Sadiq, was one of those who observed the tahajjud, I realized that the pursuits submitted by the Sheikh without any introduction were meant to attract my attention and to wake me up from my indifference so I may not abandon this important matter even in the case of my sickness."

Sayyid Quds says the following: "One of the theologians of Mazandaran, who occupied the post of head of the justice directorate in one of the governorates in Iran, conveyed to me that when Ayatullah Kohastani Mazandarani went to join his Lord, his son went to Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat. The Sheikh said to him, 'When your father departed, a great commotion took place in the hereafter world.'"

Sayyid Khosro-Shahi says the following in this regard: "I heard one of the students saying, 'After my marriage, I rented a house in the city of Qum. Having settled in the house, I suffered from an unbelievable financial crisis, so much so that I could no longer buy a dinner meal. Our conditions did not permit borrowing a sum of money from someone, so I got out of the house and was honored by visiting the Infallible Lady, peace be with her. After theziyara and during my performing of the formal farewell of the shrine, I felt that someone was putting some money in my hand after having approached me from the back. He said, 'This money is for you.' I turned my head to the back, and it was Ayatullah Bahjat. He did so although I did not inform him of my need for the cash."

A student narrated to me an incident similar to this. I remember a statement by Ayatullah Bahjat. He used to say, "Is it possible the Lord ignores us or leaves us to look after our own selves?! Therefore, the students must not worry about anything as long as they perform their duties because the Lord is their Protector and never ignores them."

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin, the flag of guidance, says, "One of the students conveyed this to me: 'I wanted to go to Gailan for religious propagation one day, so I brought my family's expenses, but I did not have the expense of the trip; therefore, I went to perform the ziyara of the daughter of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them, to whom I complained and remonstrated saying, 'My Lady! We have dedicated ourselves to your service, you Ahl al-Bayt, and we want to convey the religion of your grandfather, but we do not have even the expense of the trip, and the matter is entrusted to you.' Then I went out and intended to perform the congregational prayer under the leadership of Ayatullah Bahjat. I performed the noon and afternoon rites. After the prayer, the Sheikh looked behind him and beckoned to me, and I was in the second row, so I thought he meant someone else. But he again beckoned to me and said, 'I mean you!' I stood up from my place and got close to him. He told me to accompany him. I went with the Sheikh, and there were other people with us. When we reached the house of the Sheikh, he said to me, 'Wait here till I return.' He entered the house, and few moments later he returned and in his hand there were two hundred tomans, and this sum was at the time a small fortune. He gave me the cash, so I said, 'What should I do with this money?' He said, 'Did you not ask for the money?' I then remembered the issue and said to the Sheikh, 'But this is a lot of money!' He said, 'No it is not because there are those who need this money, and you will be able to take care of their needs, too.' Anyway, I bade the Sheikh farewell and went to Tehran. There, I saw some friends in Charagh-Gaz Street, and they wanted to go to Gailan also for religious propagation and they did not have money to pay the fare for the trip. I said to them, 'Do not think about it, the money has arrived.' We went together and had our lunch then rode the bus and went to Gailan. When we arrived there, all the money had gone."

This same person conveys this incident, too: "I heard someone saying, 'I wanted to go for the pilgrimage, so I went to Ayatullah Bahjat and said to him, 'Allah prevented a big catastrophe from happening to us when our car turned upside down as it was speeding, but none of us was hurt, praise to Allah.' The Sheikh said, 'A similar incident had taken place to you twenty or twenty-five years ago, and you also were not harmed.' I remembered the incident, and the Sheikh was quite right in his statement.'"

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Sheikh Shushtari says, "A man went to Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat and said, 'O, Sheikh! I do not wake up for the night prayer; so, what should I do? Please supplicate for me so I may wake up at the right time.' The Sheikh asked him, 'What time you want to wake up?' The man said, 'At three o'clock after midnight.' The Sheikh said, 'Go, for you will wake up at this hour by the will of Allah.'"

Sheikh Shushtari goes on to say, "Many years have passed since this incident. The man said to me, 'Since then, I have been waking up at the determined hour; therefore, I never abandoned the night prayer for a single day, and this is one of the karamat of Ayatullah Bahjat.'"

8. His Special Care for Shari'a Matters

One of the important characteristics whereby Sheikh Bahjat is distinguished and which can be witnessed at the first look is his special care for observing the norms of conduct according to the Shari'a (Islamic legislative system) and the tradition of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them. Sheikh Misbah says the following in this regard, "Shiite scholars of etiquette, all of them save those who are deviated in their way of thinking and conduct, agree that the right path to perfection is the path of adoration, that man cannot reach any moral station via obedience to Allah, the most Exalted and Great, and acting upon His commandments. But the attention paid by the scholars to observing the Shari'a etiquettes and the tradition of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them, is not equal. Sheikh Bahjat, may Allah protect him, is regarded as one of the most distinguished [theologians] for observing these norms. He observes in his conduct particularly interesting behavioral habits which cannot be easily described. I am going to mention this incident which I remember, perhaps it will remain in history so those who wish to act upon the commandments of the Shari'a may get to know to what extent one must observe the commandments of the Shari'a:

"The Sheikh inherited from his father a small plot of land suitable for planting rice. It was financing some of his domestic expenses. The Sheikh was used to give a measure of rice, though it could be a few kilo grams of it, to his friends and neighbors when they brought the crop to his house. Once, I left Qum city for some time during the days of struggle. Nobody knew anything about my place of residence, not even our close relatives. During that period, the Sheikh had sent our house a sack of rice once and a good sum of money some other time. What was noticeable is that he sent us the money in the hand of his wife and son Ali. His wife brought the money and gave it to my wife as his son, Ali, was standing before the alley.

"When I returned home, I kept thinking about the secret that prompted the Sheikh to send his wife to our house, but I soon realized that this was one of the etiquettes of the Islamic Shari'a. According to Islamic ethics, if the husband is traveling, nobody should go to his house. If it is necessary to go to his house, a woman has to go. There are minutely interesting statements articulated by the friends of Allah, their conducts, the way they stood up or sat down, which cannot be comprehended except through the study of a complete branch of knowledge, let alone undertaking them and acting upon them. These maters are the ones that raise the servant in his adoration and endear him to his Lord, granting him a lofty status. The Sheikh used to advise anyone seeking his advice to observe what is taken for granted by the Shari'a. He always emphasized observing what the Shari'a regards as taken for granted, believing that the matters where doubt is entertained or confusing matters fall in the second degree of importance."

The Sheikh derives useful evidence in this field which I learned from him and which I sometimes used in my sermons and in other places. He says that Allah Almighty wants to guide His servants to perfection; therefore, He quite often mentions the things which have the greatest impact on man's happiness and on determining his fate. So, if we want to know the matters that cause man's happiness, we have to know the matters which Allah, Praise and Exaltation belong to Him, emphasizes more than others. This is so because any pursuit more stressed in the Qur'an, traditions and statements of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them, will have a role in perfecting man and determining his fate in a greater way. Observing the prayers is one of the most important of these matters because we may not find in any chapter of fiqh the like of all these Qur'anic verses which call for upholding the prayers and all these narratives which are cited about observing its timing, etiquette and the necessity of performing them with full attention of the heart.

Sometimes the Sheikh used to say the following by way of jesting: "We look for something for our own perfection which neither Allah nor His Messenger nor any Imam has sanctioned."

Ayatullah Sheikh Jawad al-Karbalaai says the following in this regard: "Ayatullah Bahjat used to say this to me in a specialy tone: 'Whenever you get to know what the Shari'a holds as taken for granted, such as abandoning sins, observing what is obligatory and what is highly commendable, the recitation of the Qur'an during solitude, earning the qualifications of health, the acceptance of your adoration and its inclusion of secrets such as prayers and other rituals, so you may get to know their results…, do not come to me to ask me instructions leading you to the right conduct and to the path to Allah Almighty, as though a mentor from the unknown comes to you and guides you to the path! Are these matters that are taken for granted and are issued by the most pure Shari'a not sufficient for you to act upon as they should be acted upon so you may reach the anticipated goal?' I came to know from the statement of the mentor that one who is seeking the path must safeguard the manifestations of the holy Shari'a, must keep things to himself with regard to spiritual conditions and not manifest them except to those who are worthy of them, and the latter are indeed few. The mentor also said this to me when I was studying ethics in Qum city: "Tell the scholars issues which they understand and do not tell them things over their level of comprehension."

9. Personified Practical Emulation

One of the distinctions that set Ayatullah Bahjat apart from the rest of scholars and mujtahids is his practical emulation of the Infallible Ones, peace be with them. You see this clearly from his statements and actions, his standing and sitting, his speech and silence, during his acts of adoration, when he supplicates, and when he interacts with people. This distinction makes everyone, even when one is unaware, heading in the direction of Allah, the most Praised One, the most Exalted.

Sheikh Misbah says the following in this regard: "I came to know the Sheikh in 1373 A.H. when I went to Qum city. His house was in the neighborhood of the Hujjati School, and I used to see him on my way or in the shrine almost every day. His shining face, when he moved or was still, when he stood or sat down, he attracted attention to him and gave the impression that this man was living in a special spiritual atmosphere. His interests in other matters surpassed the interests of individuals in some matters.

He tied himself to adoration, to standing for the prayers during the sahar (pre-dawn) times, his pilgrimage to the shrine of the Infallible Lady Fatima, peace be with her, and by other programs which he did every day. These matters used to attract the attention of everyone especially those who were looking for a practical role model to emulate. His personal actions and piercing looks intensified the effect of these factors. His impact on some individuals was spiritual, making them get attracted to him in an amazing way. Anyway, such characteristics are the catalyst that prompted me to get to know the mentor, to know what sets him apart, what distinguishes him.

It is for the above reasons that I kept asking friends and other individuals whom I thought might be familiar with the Sheikh and his spiritual conditions and scholarly status. From my research, I came to know that the mentor enjoyed an excellent status from both scholarly and spiritual standpoints. Thereafter, the Sheikh gradually permitted me to be present at his house and to benefit from his admonitions.

10. Urging Others to Seek Perfection and Spirituality

Ayatullah Hajj Jawad al-Karbalaai wrote me saying, "Several years ago, I heard from Grand Ayatullah Hajj Abul-Qasim al-Khu’i and before than from Grand Ayatullah Bahjat (may Allah expand his shade) that Sayyid al-Khu’i said in the research of using a word in more than one meaning the following: 'Such use for the word is impossible because it requires the "existence" of both observations: what is spontaneous and what is independent in the same usage.'"

But Ayatullah Bahjat said to Sayyid al-Khu’i at the time, "It is possible one's soul reaches a stage of power which enables it to combine both."

In fact, the Sheikh utilized this pursuit to attract the attention of Ayatullah Sayyid al-Khu’i to the need to attain divine branches of knowledge and to be adorned with the attributes of the friends of Allah, so Ayatullah al-Khu’i asked him about the reason why he presented this pursuit, then he asked him, after hearing his answer for the first question, 'Who should I refer to?' Ayatullah Bahjat said, 'You should refer to Ayatullah Sayyid Ali al-Qadi.' Then Ayatullah Bahjat intervened to arrange a meeting between Ayatullah al-Qadi and Sayyid al-Khu’i in the courtyard of our master, Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, peace be with him, and the meeting lasted for more than one hour and a half. After that Sayyid al-Khu’i said to me (al-Karbalaai went on), 'I surrendered to them and accepted their statement. Sayyid Ali al-Qadi dictated to me a special program to follow in all its conditions (in special clothes and dhikr which must be repeated in certain installments). I brought all the conditions and decided to start the 'amal (highly recommended religious practice) at 2:00 pm in a suitable and quiet spot in the sacred Alawi shrine. But unfortunately, when I brought everything and wanted to start reciting the dhikr, I forgot its wording and kept trying to remember it, but it was in vain, so I lost hope and said to myself: 'O father of Qasim! You were not sought to do this!' The statement was: 'There is no god but He, and those who seek reliance should rely on Allah.'"

Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul-Kareem al-Kashmiri, one of the students of the unique Gnostic Sayyid Ali Agha al-Qadi, says, "I was sitting with some friends and talking with them at the shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be with him, in al-Najaf al-Ashraf because I was exhausted by the study and research. As we were thus, Ayatullah Bahjat entered. I waited for a short while till I was distant from my friends. He whispered in my ears saying, 'We were not created for sporting!' This statement ignited fire in my heart and caused a coup in my existence, intensified my puzzlement and caused me to look for the truth. Thereafter, Allah Almighty enabled me to be present in the meeting place of the late al-Qadi."

Sayyid Mas`udi says the following in this regard: "The mentor used to take care of culturing others by advising them to this and not that, or it is better it should be done this way and not that, etc. One day, I came to his meeting place and said, 'O Sheikh! Our living condition has become quite harsh, and we have no money; what should we do?' The Sheikh taught me a dhikr which I kept repeating all my life. Since that day, I never suffered any financial hardship. The mentor advised me to keep the dhikr for myself."

11. Systems, Programming Actions

One of the mentor's students writes the following: "The mentor adheres to precision and systems in his actions, so much so that he has programmed himself to articulate a particular dhikr after he leaves home till he reaches the mosque. Thereafter he articulates another dhikr, and so on, in order he may not waste his time. He also put a program for daily optional acts of adoration (nawafil) in this same way."

One of the virtuous men in the city of Qum writes the following: "One day, I stood before the alley where the house of Ayatullah Bahjat lived so I may accompany him on his way to the mosque, but I stayed till the dark without seeing the mentor coming out of his house. I, therefore, thought he had already left for the mosque before my arrival at the alley, so I went to the mosque, but I did not find him there. I bade a friend with me farewell then returned to take advantage of the opportunity to ask the mentor a question as he was on his way to the mosque. I kept thinking as I was walking along the way of a question to ask him, but I did not have a question in advance. In fact, my goal behind intruding on the mentor and asking him a question was to get some words out of him, to urge him to speak, because I believe the words of these servants of Allah and their spirituality bear an impact on the souls. You may find in their speech a word or an interesting point that stimulates one and wakes him up from indifference. Anyhow, I brought this question for the mentor: 'There is a verse in the Holy Qur'an that says that Allah Almighty replaces bad deeds with good ones; what does it mean? How can a bad deed be replaced with a good deed?' When the mentor came close, I greeted him then said to him, 'O Sheikh! I have a question. Do you allow me to submit it?' He raised his hand in objection and firmly said, 'No, not at all, I have neither time nor temper for it; the time for prayers has already passed and people are waiting. As for your, you must not ask such questions!' Then he looked at the mausoleum of the Infallible Lady Masuma, peace be with her, greeted her, bowed, then entered the mosque.

"In fact, I was surprised by this strict answer, and my senses trembled. I retreated for a few steps backwards then entered the mosque behind the mentor for the prayers. I kept thinking about the mentor's answer, what he meant by it and what prompted him to thus answer me. This thinking continued after the prayers, too. I was sure the stand of the Sheikh was for my own good, and that there were three possibilities which justified it: The first: The Sheikh wanted to let me understand that one must prepare himself for the prayers beforehand. He must direct himself to Allah Almighty with dhikr and supplication so his soul will be ready for the prayer service, for speaking with Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great. He, too, was busy with thedhikr when he came to the mosque, and he was thus preparing himself for the prayer. The other (second) possibility is that the Sheikh saw me when I came and tried to ask him as soon as he arrived, and he wanted to let me understand that what I did was not right. But I was simply returning from the mosque and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to benefit from him on the way. The third possibility was the Sheikh knowing what I had on my mind and realizing my objective behind asking him the question, for my question was only an excuse and a way to get the Sheikh to say something, so the Sheikh informed me of what I had on my mind. No wonder, the Sheikh himself had told some friends that in the past, in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf, the students [of theology] used to go from one point of the earth to the other without leaving their place [what is called "tayy al-ard", folding the distances of the earth]. Any student who could not do so was singled out thus from among the students. In other words, these matters should be ordinary for the students and the scholars."

12. Continual Dhikr Practice

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Khosro-Shahi says this: "One of the distinctive characteristics of Ayatullah Bahjat is his continuously articulating dhikr. One day, when the Sheikh was returning from the mosque home following the congregational prayer service, he turned to the students who were following him on the way and asked them, 'Do you have any business with me?' They said they did not but wanted to walk with him to earn the honor of his company. The Sheikh said, 'I have a private program; it is a dhikrwhich I articulate on my way to the mosque and back home, but when I see you, I think you have some business with me, so I stop the dhikr. When I reach home, I see that my program was not completed and I feel angry with myself about that.'"

13. Thinking before Speaking

Sayyid Khosro-Shahi also says the following: "One of the distinctive characteristics of the Sheikh is that whenever he wanted to say something, he would first think about his statement before articulating it. He even thinks of how to explain what he is seeking, how to coin the sentences and the words so his statement may be brief on one hand, clear and indicative of his objective on the other."

14. Keeping Spiritual Conditions Secret

Sayyid Misbah says the following in this regard: "Among the distinctive attributes whereby the Sheikh is characterized is his keeping to himself his spiritual stations. Seldom does he say anything or behaves in any way which gives one the impression that he undertook something supernatural or has supernatural knowledge. But the individuals who are familiar with his life and who lived and befriended him for a long time used to sometimes see certain things which could not be understood except due to his supernatural ability and lofty spiritual status; the mentor does have super spiritual abilities.

15. Indirect Cultivation

In this regard, Sayyid Misbah also says, "We used to attend the class of the Sheikh before he started it in few minutes so we could benefit from his moral lessons. The Sheikh, too, used to be present before the class and sit in the room where the class is held. He would start his talk by offering advice indirectly and in various ways. In other words, as soon as he sat, he would mention a tradition or a historical incident which suited our behavior the day before, as if he was criticizing our conditions and reminding us of the shortcomings in our norms of conduct through the medium of mentioning this tradition or that incident. This is accepted by all the brothers. Everyone says that the Sheikh talks about matters which fully applied to our life. He solves the problems of our live, reminding us of our shortcoming and errors by mentioning this tradition or that incident. Anyhow, his cultivating method in dealing with others was indirect. He never told us to do this or not to do that, or that we made this particular wrongdoing. Rather, he would remind us of our mistakes and shortcomings of deeds by mentioning a suitable tradition, a historical incident or an expressive story and make us consider correcting our mistakes.

Part 2

The Marji`iyya of Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat, his Wisdom and Political Awareness

The Marji'iyya

Sheikh Bahjat is regarded as one of the most famous faqihs(jurists) in our time. He taught the subjects of Kharij al-Fiqh and Usul for more than thirty years, but he, despite all of that, was always avoiding becoming a marji` taqlid.

Commenting about the reason why the mentor [finally] accepted to be a marji` and how his condition did not change following his acceptance of this responsibility, Sayyid Misbah says, "The house of Ayatullah Bahjat did not change after his acceptance of the marji`iyya. Since it was not possible the meetings and visits to be held at his house, these meetings took place at the Fatimiyya Mosque during the Eid (feast) days and on commemorative occasions. I think the acceptance of the mentor of the marji`iyya responsibility is one of his karamat, may Allah safeguard him. In other words, the circumstances of his life and age, which exceeded eighty years, did not require him to shoulder such a responsibility. The individuals who knew him closely could not believe that he would agree to bear the banner of the marji`iyya and accept its responsibility. There is no doubt that the acceptance of the Sheikh of this responsibility was only due to his deep feeling that accepting this matter was a specific obligation. We have to say that the conduct of the Sheikh in our time, despite all this piety and asceticism, had driven the argument home against others. One can be a religious authority (marji`) and at the same time live with simplicity and without changing the way he dressed himself, ate, resided and undertook his other matters of life."

After the demise of the late Ayatullah Sayyid Ahmad al-Khunsari, the Sheikh started correcting the first and second volumes of the book titled Dhakirat al-`Ibad which is now called Jami` al-Masaail. He ordered it to be distributed to only a select group from among his students. He also permitted the publication of his scholarly dissertation (the collection of his edicts, fatawa) prior to the demise of the able authority, Grand Ayatullah al-Araki.

Finally, when the teachers' university published an explanation introducing seven persons, including Grand Ayatullah Bahjat, with regard to the marji`iyya, and after notifying his marji`iyya by another number of scholars such as Ayatullah al-Mashkini, Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli, etc., and after continuous insistence and persistence, the mentor agreed to get his practical dissertation (his fatawa) to be published and distributed in large numbers. But he did not agree to print his name on the book's cover. One of those connected with the Sheikh says the following in this regard, "The Sheikh sent a recommendation to the university of the teachers of the hawza (theological seminary) after having become familiar with the fact that this university wanted to know his name as a marji` taqlid in which he said, 'I do not accept to mention my name'."

After the demise of the late Araki and a statement was issued by the university of the teachers of the hawza, and after the mentor saw that his name had been printed, he said, 'Do not permit my edicts to be given to anyone'. He was requested to explain what he had meant, so he said, 'Be patient till everyone publishes his edicts. After that, if there is someone who remains without emulating others and wanted to emulate us, it is then that you should print my edicts.' Several months (after this statement), the dissertation of the Sheikh was published by some Lebanese brothers.

His Political Views

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Qadas wrote the following lines about the author: "Sheikh Bahjat, in the khiraj chapter, the distribution of prohibitive earnings, and before delving into the chapter about wilayat al-faqih and whether thiswilayat is absolute, or whether it is restricted and limited by some fiqh chapters (quoting the gist here), 'We all know that the easy-to-practice Islamic faith is the last religion, and that the Islamic laws and rulings are the last laws and rulings put forth by Allah Almighty for people. No other prophet will come after the Seal of Prophets (P), nor will Allah send any book after the Holy Qur'an, this book has to remain as a book for law till the Judgment Day and the Purified Progeny (as) remains explaining this book. It is obvious the Islamic nation that follows Muhammad (P) during the time of the Infallible Imam (even if the Imam is jailed or exiled) can know its obligations even with a great difficulty through the path of the Infallible Imam (as)'."

But the talk is about the time period of the greatghaiba (occultation) of the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance. There can be no more than three assumptions in this time: The first assumption is the idling of the Book, the rulings and the theological laws. The second assumption is to keep these rulings standing on their own, that is, they themselves become the means for self-sustenance. The third assumption is that these rulings need a manager, a ruler and someone who explains them who is thewaliyy al-amr or the mujtahid who is qualified for this leadership.

As regarding the first assumption, it is false for reasons, rational and textual evidences, due to the Islamic creed, which is easy to practice, being the last and will remain dominant till the Resurrection Day.

As for the second assumption, it, too, is false because the law cannot be carried out and safeguarded except by one person or persons. So, we have to accept the third assumption and say that waliyy al-amr is the one who must safeguard the Islamic community in all its affairs and dimensions.

On the other hand, the Islamic community needs several institutions such as the army, education and culture, justice courts, etc. The hand of the juristic waliyy, therefore, has to remain spread out in all moral and financial affairs and the faqih remains explaining and clarifying the rulings of the Shari’a, a guide for people and one who solves their problems. We conclude from this that the juristic waliyymust enjoy all the affairs of the Infallible Imam (as) save being the Imam himself so he may be able to implement the legislative code of Islam; otherwise, in the case there are no official governmental institutions, the enemies of Islam will not invite him to implement the codes with ease and convenience. We can also use evidence from the posterity and say that no society, nor any state, can endure when chaos and anarchy prevail; therefore, there has to be a law and a government. It is obvious the government of apostasy and oppression in the Islamic community will eradicate the Islamic creed, and this violates our first assumption in which we said the Islamic creed must endure till Judgment Day via rational and cited evidences. Allah Almighty has said the following in His Book:

“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), it will never be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he will rank among those who have lost (all spiritual good)” (Qur’an, 3:85).

Then Sheikh Bahjat tackles, after this introduction, the limitation of the privileges of the faqih waliyy.

Wisdom and Political Awareness

In the beginning, we will present the views of two of the mentor’s students in this field:

Sheikh Misbah Yazdi says, “Allah blessed the mentor with unique attributes and self abilities that are not acquired. He enjoys particular brilliance and discretion, has a clear and precise vision in individual, social and political issues, something which wins him one’s admiration; so, how can a man who has so deeply delved into the practical and worship issues realize matters as precise as these?”

People who see the Sheikh from a distance as he prays or teaches may think he does not care about political and social issues. But I tell you that the Sheikh encouraged me the most to intervene in political and social issues. He used to admonish his friends and students to care about these issues, and he used to think that the non-interference of the adhering believers would let those who are not qualified take control of them and be in charge of political and social issues, and the Islamic community will then swerve from the straight path. When the Sheikh was teaching us fiqh or ethics, he used to emphasize we should not remain distant from the political and social issues.

He always used to admonish us to carry out activities in these fields, especially in the field of cultural work, so much so that he used to dispatch special recommendations to Imam Khomeini about some political issues, and I and one of the brothers carried one of these recommendations to the Imam once.

Ayatullah al-Mas`udi used to say this: “The enemies of Islam, since the inception of Islam and till our day, have been able to harm Islam as much as they were able to.” He used to sometimes talk about what he used to say to the shah saying, “These folks have destroyed everything; they want to finish Islam.” I remember (in 1963 or 1964), when the imam started his struggle against the shah, how the mentor was asked this question: “Do you not think that Sayyid Khomeini is moving faster than he is asked?” The mentor answered, “Do you not think he is moving at a pace less than what is required of him?!”

It seems what is meant by the slow pace here is the belief of the mentor that the imam had to declare jihad. Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Fiqhi says the following in this regard: “When the imam [Khomeini] was banished to Turkey, Sheikh Bahjat said once during his class, ‘Is there anyone who would kill some traitor leaders in this state?’”

Quite often, individuals affiliated with various political sides used to go to the sheikh and talk about their opposition to some political issues, but the sheikh was not impressed by their statements. Rather, he always treaded the straight path, maintaining his independence and personal norm of conduct. He never defended those with vested interests or the dissidents; rather, as one of the prominent scholars says (and he is one of the top officials in the system of the sacred Islamic Republic and a student of Sheikh Bahjat), “Many prominent men of virtue in the theological seminary enlisted in the political activity and the struggle against the buried Pahlevi regime with encouragement and assertion from the sheikh.”

Yes, the sheikh referring to political issues in his class, his dispatching recommendations to Imam Khomeini, his receiving revolutionaries and mujahids, his assistance for them during the days of the Islamic Revolution and holy defense, imam Khomeini and Sayyid Ali Khamenei visiting him at his house and their continuous link with this in-depthfaqih… indicate the awareness of the sheikh and his interest in political issues.

We must also point out to the releases of the sheikh on the occasion of the elections after his becoming the marji` taqlid, may Allah safeguard him. The sheikh explained in these releases the conditions of the voter and the candidate for the post of President of the republic, the Islamic Shura council and the command council of experts. Following is the full text of the two releases which were issued by the office of the sheikh on the occasion of the elections:

First Call

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings unto the master of prophets and unto his progeny, the pure, the custodian masters. I have repeatedly been asked about the ruling of attending elections, and following is the answer to this question:

I will in my answer deal with the negative and positive aspects. Anyone who wants to attend the elections has to remember that those who deserve to be the protectors of the creed of the believers and their lives, their representatives in dealing with their affairs, have to be believing men who enjoy full and sufficient reason and not fear anyone while obeying Allah. They must also be distant completely from bribes, intimidations and the like. They must not look at matters as they were but as they should be and how they should not be, and they must be pious, God-fearing, preferring to please Allah rather than anything else.

But if they lack some of these attributes, they cannot be relied upon and electing them will be false (having no positive effect). Nay! It is not permissible, and anything doubtful must be avoided. The investigation (into the suitability of the individuals) must be full and distant from love and hatred and psychological matters, for Allah witnesses and sees how you fare in the elections and nominations.

As regarding those who are characterized by these merits and their election is permissible, to elect them will be a duty on anyone who is able and capable if it is possible the candidates who lack such attributes would win enough votes. Look at the countries of disbelief how they elect and how they get elected, who the voters are, what ways were there through which they were elected, what views they submitted in their meetings, what deeds their countries do on the basis of their man-made laws and in violation of the laws of reason and creed, even contrarily to the laws of their man-made creeds, for any sound mind realizes the extent of corruption of these matters and how much corruption they can incur.

You must oppose these corrupt deeds, their causes and outcomes the origins of which do not agree with the principles of any genuine creed or any law accepted by reason. May Allah protect you and our own selves from all slips through Muhammad and his pure progeny, peace and blessings of Allah be with them all, and peace be with you, the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

(Signed) the servant of Allah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat.

Second Call

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

Praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, peace and blessings with the Master of Prophets, Muhammad, and with his progeny, the masters, the custodians, the purified ones.

In answer to a repeated question about the subject of elections, and while taking into consideration the reminders to which we pointed out last year and which were not relevant to any particular time or place, we pointed out in it at the time the necessary attributes with which the voters and the candidates should be adorned, and this method is the best, the most general, the most complete and the most enduring in pointing out individuals by name, I say the following: It is narrated about Hudhaifah, Allah be pleased with him, that he said, “They used to ask the Messenger of Allah (P) about goodness, and I used to ask him about evil.”

We must know what evil is and who are the evil ones so we may avoid them, and we must know what goodness is and who are those who act upon it so we may embrace them. The voters and the candidates must work with awareness and caution while applying major things in minor things, whole things in particularities, and they have to prefer the Pleasure of Allah over pleasing others. They must also examine the matter from the religious and righteous wise persons and not stop in the light while continuing their movement in the dark. They must be fully distant from paying bribes or accepting them, for it is the method of the unbelieving states, and they must not befriend anyone other than the wise religious persons who are familiar with the matters related to the Shari’a, the faithful in their ideology and practice, the God-fearing, the good managers, the courageous ones, the moderates in ideology and in direction, and they must not create problems for the Muslims which cannot be solved with regret.

They must be fully distant from selling the country and from those who sell their country and who are embraced by the states of apostasy. Notice the final ends of those who sell their country. We saw in the past, and we now see, that the states of apostasy have no mercy towards even those who used to serve them. Nothing, hence, remains except regret and the evil outcome for those who follow them. You must know that all shortcomings in existence in the Islamic states originate from the states of apostasy. As regarding the shortcomings of the self, they originate from shortage in belief and shortcoming from applying Islam.

Nobody except the Infallible Ones (as) can say this: “I know” or “I see everything”.  Also, nobody can say, “I do not know, nor do I see anything”. Rather, every ordinary worker knows some matters and he has to move and not stop in the way but deduct what is unknown from what is known as much as possible, and he has to take precaution and stop and examine the matters which he does not know till he feels comfortable about them and not regret having done them.

These pursuits are in answer to questions by the faithful which they submitted in this field and to drive the evidence home against them so they may not themselves stay nor cause the other believers to stay.

As regarding the individuals who are undecided, I said to them in the past and I now say again: See which party is closer to the wilaya of the Commander of the Faithful Ali (as), which is more firm in its practical belief in Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance), which of them is more waiting for him and wants to change the religious issues and which of them does not want it, which one is moderate in its way of thinking, which changes color in belief or in action, which one enjoys piety, truthfulness and trustworthiness, which is more in its attributes like apostasy and hypocrisy and which is distant from that. Finally, they must know which of them is closer to Allah Almighty and to the Seal of Messengers and of the wasis, blessings of Allah be upon them all, and may Allah hasten their ease.

I plead to Allah, the Great, to grant success to the faithful to act upon whatever pleases Him and to avoid whatever He detests in every place and time, and peace be with you, the blessings of Allah and His peace.

(signed) the most insignificant one, Muhammad Taqi Bahjat

Part 3

Ayatullah Bahjat According to Others

View of Imam Khomeini

The imam [Khomeini] used to pay Ayatullah his personal attention, and citing some incidents in this field may provide the best evidence.

Ayatullah al-Mas`udi says, "During the four or five years when I was serving the imam, I remember that the imam said to me two or three times, 'We will go tomorrow to the house of Sheikh Bahjat, so be prepared for it.' On the next day, we would go to the house of the sheikh (the same house where he now resides) and sit in the first room which was then carpeted with the same bedding which has always been there. The imam would signal to me to get out. I would exit the house as the imam stays talking with the sheikh for about half an hour, then he would come out of the house and we would return together. As regarding the subject of their discussion, I have no knowledge of it; only Allah knows it.

"Sheikh Bahjat used to sometimes say to me during the days of struggle (the yers 1963 and 1964), 'Tell Sayyid Khomeini to slaughter two heads of sheep tomorrow morning at such an hour seeking nearness to Allah Almighty.' I would go to the imam and tell him so, and the imam used then to say to me, 'Tell the butcher (Farji who is still alive) to slaughter two heads of sheep on our account, and I shall pay him their price later.' The sheikh also said to me one, 'Tell the imam to slaughter three heads of sheep'. The imam would then order three heads of sheep to be slaughtered. All these matters used to go on between the imam and Sheikh Bahjat, and we were witnessing them outwardly, and we had no knowledge of what they implied.

"Also, when the imam was residing in Chamran, Sheikh Bahjat once said to me, 'I have a small letter which I wish you get it to reach the imam.' I would take the letter from him, put it in an envelope then deliver it to the imam. Anyhow, the relationship between the mentor and the imam was very strong. I remember that the imam once went in the company of Sheikh Hasan San`i to the house of the sheikh several times. We (I and Sheikh San`i) were at the service of the imam when he was residing in the holy city of Qum, and Sheikh Bahjat used in turn pay his special attention to the imam."

One of the imam's students says, "After the release of the imam and his arrival at holy Qum in 1963, people held massive celebrations in all the quarters of this city. The house of the imam was then over-crowded with people, and Ayatullah Bahjat was one of those who used to go to the imam's house every day. He would stand for few minutes at the door of one of the house rooms. When it is suggested to him to sit inside the room, he would say, 'I commit myself to coming here and to standing at this place for few minutes to pay homage to this great personality.'"

Sheikh Misbah Yazdi says the following in this regard somewhere else, "The late Sayyid Mustafa (may Allah be pleased with him) cites his late father the imam (may Allah elevate his station), "When the imam saw the simplicity of the life of the sheikh, he took a sum of money from Sayyid Burujardi (with whom he had a strong tie) in order to give it to Sheikh Bahjat, but the sheikh refused to accept this sum. On the other hand, the imam did not see there was any benefit in returning this sum to Sayyid Burujardi; therefore, he had to think of a way to tackle this issue. He, therefore, said to the sheikh, 'I give you a grant from my own money, and forgive me for not returning this sum.' Thus did the sheikh accept the sum as a grant from the imam's own money."

Sheikh Misbah says the following in reference to the special attention which the imam used to pay to Sheikh Bahjat: "Once, the command experts were honored to visit the late imam. They asked him for instructions in ethical issues, so the imam referred them to Grant Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat. They said to him, 'But the sheikh does not accept anyone.' The imam said, 'Keep insisting till he agrees.'"

Sheikh Bahjat from the Viewpoint of Other Scholars

1. `Allama Tabatabai: "Sheikh Bahjat is a true righteous servant of Allah."

1. Ayatullah Bahaa al-Deeni: "Sheikh Bahjat is regarded as the richest man in the world (spiritually)."

1. Ayatullah Fakkour: Ayatullah Muhammad Hasan al-Ahmadi says, "Ayatullah Fakkour used to pay Sheikh Bahjat a special attention and used to say, 'Sheikh Bahjat is one of the exceptional individuals especially in the spiritual sphere.'"

1. Ayatullah Hajj Sayyid Abdul-Kareem Kashmiri:Sayyid Kashmiri was asked once about the person whom he knew as a perfect mentor. He said, "He is Sheikh Bahjat, Sheikh Bahjat."

1. Sayyid Fahri, too, was asked this question: "Who is the person whom you know as a perfect mentor?" He said, "He is Sheikh Bahjat, Sheikh Bahjat."

1. Ayatullah Sheikh Abbas Qawchani: Sheikh Misbah Yazdi says this: "Among the individuals who believed that Sheikh Bahjat enjoyed lofty spiritual perfections is Sheikh Abbas Qawchani, the wasi of the late Sayyid Ali al-Qadi who was living in the city of al-Najaf al-Ashraf (and his son is now occupying the post of representative of the wali al-faqih in the headquarters of the joint command), for he used to say, 'When Sheikh Bahjat was young, and before becoming twenty years old (the expression Sheikh Qawchani used was "before a beard could be seen on his face"), he had already attained lofty stations with which I became familiar through our friendship and strong tie. The Sheikh took from me a Shar`i pledge not to narrate any of it to anyone." I think (Sheikh Misbah continued to say) he meant the "death by choice". The Sheikh had attained these stations in such a young age, and you can imagine his station in nearness to the Almighty after having become eighty years old, after a long age of traditions, conduct and straightforwardness in adoration and in acting upon the obligations. This is the reason which makes any good believer feel attracted to him upon seeing him especially when he sees how he worships. Let people participate in his prayer service if Allah enables them to do so, for there are many blessings in it.

1. Ayatullah Mashkini: Ayatullah Bahjat occupies a very lofty station among the Shiite scholars from the scholarly standpoint in fiqh and Usul. Likewise, his mentors offupy a very lofty station, so much so that we must look upon them as we look at the stars in the sky; therefore, writing books about the personality of the Sheikh and its dimensions is a must.

1. Ayatullah `Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Jaafari:"Traditions state that if one does not visit a scholar for forty days, his heart dies. Another text is this: 'Visiting scholars is more loved by Allah Almighty than circling the Ka`ba seventy times.' Ayatullah Bahjat is a true evidence for the scholars in these traditions. Looking at him and visiting him is equivalent to achieving a perfect admonishment. Whenever I met him, the effect of such a meeting lingers in my soul for several days. In fact, he is a warner to us."

1. Ayatullah Badla: "The stations of Sheikh Bahjat were clear since we used to attend the class of Ayatullah Burujardi, and it was then obvious that the Sheikh was fit for these stations."

1. Hujjatul-Islam Misbah Yazdi: "Ayatullah Bahjat incorporated in him the precisions of the late Mirza Muhammad taqi Shirazi through his prominent students such as Sheikh Muhammad Kadhim. He also sums up the excellences of the late Naeeni and the late Sheikh Muhammad Husayn Isfahani, as well as the moral culturing by the late Qadi. These professors brought up an inclusive personality which is regarded as one of the greatest blessings in our time. It is suitable to benefit from the moments of his lifespan as much as possible. Allah Almighty bestowed upon the mentor special distinctions and self gifts which he did not acquire from anyone, but he, despite all of this, has been concealing his spiritual stations, not permitting anyone who knows anything about them to talk about them.” Sheikh Misbah also says, “Ayatullah Bahjat also took care of scholarly matters, dealing with them with precision. He used to think that a class is an obligation, something serious, and he used to vest upon matters of fiqh special attention. He also used to be interested in worship and moral issues, believing they are the second wing for man’s ascension and perfection.”

1. Ayatullah Taheri Shams: “Ayatullah Bahjat reached a lofty level and a sublime horizon (in fiqh), so much sothat if he looked at rulings and Islamic legislations, he would be able to derive a fatwa that pleases Allah Almighty, and there is no dispute in this.”

1. Ayatullah Sheikh Jawad al-Karbalaai: “During my stay in Tehran and Qum during these years, I heard from some people pursuits which indicated that the mentor, Ayatullah Bahjat, enjoyed special divine niceties; so, congratulations to him, then congratulations again to him.”

1. Ayatullah Adheri Qummi: “Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat is regarded as one of the students of Grand Ayatullahs Naeeni and the Isfahani critic, and he has valuable first findings in achievement and teaching. Virtuous men of the theological seminary in Qum received classes at his hands for more than fifteen years, become skillful mujtahids. The sheikh was famous for his piety and godliness in the holy city of Qum in addition to his academic fame which invaded the horizons. As some brethren say, it cannot be said that the mentor was just pious; rather, he is piety itself. Piety and equity are the best qualities with which the authorities for taqlid are characterized.The sheikh was characterized by these two qualities, personifying them in his own self.”

1. Ayatullah Mas`udi Khomeini: “Very few are the likes of Sheikh Bahjat in all ages; therefore, we must benefit from him in the best way, especially since he had achieved a lofty degree from the moral and ethical standpoint. Let everyone, especially the youths and those looking for morals, go to him to learn their lessons from him because the existence of the sheikh personifies spirituality and manners. Even looking at his face has innumerable ethical and moral benefits.”

1. Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Fiqhi: “If the humanity tree had produced another good fruit other than the Infallible Ones (as), one such fruits is the holy presence of Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat.”

1. One of the Men of Virtue of Najaf City: “Sheikh Bahjat was a scholar, a Muslim mujtahid, since the days of his youth, and he was held as trustworthy by some elite persons since then, so much so that the scholars used to agree on emulating him when they travel to holy Karbala at that time.”

1. Author of the Book Khazinat al-`Ulemaa:“Ayatullah al-hajj Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Bahjat Gharwi Fomani is regarded as one of the great Ayatullahs, senior teachers, well known scholars of the theological seminary and one of those of whom knowledge in the Gailan governorate and Foman county is proud. He is a distinguished scholar, a cultured, righteous, ascetic and God-fearing man who turned his face away from the world and its appearances and took to a great deal of contemplation and remembrance of the Almighty. Virtuous teachers and scholars of Qum’s theological seminary looked after him and paid him their special attention.”

1. Ayatullah Muhammad Husayn Ahmedi, the faqih from Yazd: “We are certain Ayatullah Bahjat will be one of the pilgrims of Allah on the Judgment Day. If we cannot benefit from his lectures properly, it will be judged against us, and we will have no answer when our Lord asks us.”

1. Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimmen Amjad: “The mentor is regarded as one of the prides of scholars of our time. Anyone who knows him, in one way or another, knows that he acquired a lofty station on account of his knowledge and spirituality… I think there is no peer for him in knowledge and spirituality. In other words, he is an angel living on earth. We, therefore, have to benefit from the blessings of his presence.”

1. Professor Khosroe Shahi: “Grand Ayatullah Bahjat cannot be known, nor can his spiritual perfections, except if one cultivates his soul and expands his existence. This is so because anyone can realize the things according to the capacity of his existence. If we, therefore, want to know the perfections of the mentor, we have to cultivate our souls and expand the cycle of our existence so we may be able to benefit from his perfections and spirituality.”

1. Professor Hadawi: “Ayatullah Bahjat is the personificationof the meaning of conduct and ijtihadon the path of Allah and the truth.More briefly, he is a statute of a lifetime of jihad.

Chapter 5

Fountain Of Wisdom, a Group of Teachings and Instructions by Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat

In this section, we will discuss short statements by the sheikh that are fraught with wisdom and some of the precious brief answers which Ayatullah Bahjat presented in answer to some questions in various subjects and issues.

1. Treatment of Pretension and the Value of Knowledge

A virtuous man in Qum’s theological seminary writes the following:

“They asked Ayatullah Bahjat: ‘One may do a good deed in the way of Allah in which he conforms to all sincerity, but the insinuations of the devil, such as love for fame, showing off and reputation may find their way to his mind. Will this state of mind be regarded as pretension, and will it void the good deed?’ The sheikh answered, ‘Pretension is relevant to acts of worship. Pretension in worship is prohibitive, and it is said it voids [good deeds], too. But there is no problem with pretension in issues other than adorations. But pretension itself can be a cure for pretension. This takes place when pretension is lifted through sound contemplation. Let me give you an example: One may need to earn the respect of the police commissioner and attract his attention. In this case, he may go to a policeman and try to influence him to make him a link between himself and the commissioner. It is better this person must here pay attention and say to himself: ‘This policeman is only a link. Even if he writes something or mediates in the issue, the one who will put the paper in the right place and in the end settles the matter is the police commissioner. Therefore, what is right is to attract the attention of the police commissioner directly and without an intermediary. In other words, pretension must be applied to a higher end.’”

Had this person been wise and knew that there is a higher station than that of the police commissioner, such as the minister, the prime minister or the president, for example, he will then say this to himself: It is better that I present my good deed to the minister or the prime minister or the president of the republic. That is to say, one must act upon pretension to impress the strongest ranks. If this happens, pretension will be a cause for treatment for pretension itself. So, if pretension in acts of worship is for the sake of the Strongest, the One Who has the highest position in the world, that is, Allah, Praise and Exaltation belong to Him, there is no problem in this pretension, and it will be a treatment for itself.

Traditions state that one who turns during the prayer to make a show to people will be herded by Allah in the form of a donkey. This in fact is the reality. Is not the one who shows his deed to the policeman in the presence of the minister or the police commissioner a donkey?! Yes, he is a donkey in the human form to which he is accustomed. If you tell him that he is a donkey, he will be angry with you. But we must tell him not to be angry because his deeds all day and night long is like that; so, “Why are you angry?!”

But Help, Help from ignorance, for it takes man to Turkistan instead of Mecca! Since Day One, the ignorance of Iblis was the reason for Adam’s problem. Satan said, “Then, by Your might, I will put them all in the wrong, except Your servants among them, the sincere and purified ones”(Qur’an, 38:82-83). Iblis was ignorant, although before then he used to be a worshipper but not a man of knowledge, and his deed was incomplete. Did he not say to Allah Almighty when He ordered him to prostrate to Adam: “I am better than him: You created me from fire, and You created him from clay” (Qur’an, 38:76)?! This was the minor argument of Iblis. As for his major one, it is his reasoning that anything created out of fire is higher, whereas anything created out of clay is lower! We must ask: Why so and according to what proof?!

This outward outfit is not angelic. Look at the symmetry and beauty of the peacock and the difference between it and the other animals. Likewise, the soul of man cannot be compared with that of jinns or of the angels. The human soul can ascend to whatever Allah wills even if it is outfitted with an outfit made of clay. An outfit does not make an attribute. If one wears a mantle made in Naeen and another wears a mantle made in Afghanistan, will that be an evidence for one’s inferiority and the other’s superiority? When we, too, become ignorant, we will then be like Iblis, and we will stray as he did. The characteristic of straying is that it transgresses; i.e. a staying person causes others to stray, too; so, beware of ignorance.

It is ignorance if that person says that the Holy Qur’an contains this verse: “It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures” (55:10); therefore, there is no difference among people; all are equal in possessing and utilizing the earth. He does not know that the wording of the verse connotes an outcome and benefiting, and he also does not know that he must take note of the other verses which interpret this verse. These ignorant folks cause others like them to stray. They come and bring the Qur’an with them in the beginning, but their goal is to take away the Qur’an from the hands of people in the end. There will be none to object when they say, “Burn the Qur’an!” We laugh at this matter, finding it amusing, but the truth is that unless we are strong in our argument, they will chase us out. They spend wealth and buy these ignorant folks. The result is that this ignorance will create a new religion. Did not one Bahaai person say that the name of “Sayyid Ali Muhammad al Bab” exists in your Qur’an, too, in this verse: “Hee-Meem-Ayn-Seen-Qaaf” which means “The Qaim is Sayyid Ali Muhammad” when it is read from left to right?! So, we nowadays need knowledge and deduction more than anything else because the matter is one of creed. We have to stand in the face of this ignorance and these imported ignorant folks; they want to train their henchmen and spend their wealth on them; so, we have to learn logic very well so we may be able to answer them; otherwise, the wolves will eat us and digest us.

2. Conditions of Vigilance of the Heart, Finding Pleasure in Adoration and Prayers

Sayyid Gharawiyan writes the following: “The mentor was asked once the following question: ‘Ayatullah Bahjat the mentor! Our lifespan has expired while we are yet to feel the pleasure in our adoration especially in our prayer. What should we do in order to taste a little of what our Infallible Imams (as) have said?’ The mentor shook his head and said, ‘It is a general affliction and a pain which we all feel.’ They said, ‘Anyway, the matter is relevant, and it has many levels. Some people, such as yourself, have sublime levels, whereas others, such as ourselves, have no level. What should we do?’ He answered saying, ‘Perhaps I wish to be in your own level.’ They said, ‘O sheikh! It is not a matter of courtesy; it is a fact.” With particular humbleness, the sheikh answered saying, ‘Your aunt is like you,’ meaning by this axiom that ‘I am just like you.’ Anyway, after some lengthy insistence, the sheikh said, ‘The feeling of pleasure during the prayer requires two types of introductions. The first type is the introductions beyond the sphere of prayer. The second type is the introductions within the framework of the prayers. The matters which we should uphold before the prayer, that is, outside its sphere, is that one does not commit sins, nor should he pollute the heart with acts of disobedience to the Almighty. Disobedience taints the purity of the soul and puts out the light of the heart. As regarding the matters which must be observed in the prayer, they are: One must surround himself with an iron barrier so he fears none save Allah. In other words, he has to shift his thinking from anything other than Allah, and his concern is about nothing except Allah. If his mind is occupied by something else unconsciously, he has to stop mentioning that thing as soon as he becomes aware of it.’”

Ayatullah Quddas, one of the students of Sheikh Bahjat, says this: “I asked the sheikh once what I should do so my heart may become more attentive during the prayers. The sheikh lowered his head in contemplation. Then he raised his head and said, ‘It is only that the heater is too little.’ I understood what he meant. He wanted to say this: ‘Your knowledge and inner conviction is weak; otherwise, it is not possible for the heart not to be attentive when the knowledge is present.’” Ayatullah Muhammad Hasan al-Ahmadi, the faqih from Yazd, said the following in this regard: “When you face the qibla, and when you recite the Hamd Chapter and the other chapter, be attentive to their meanings so the connection may remain safeguarded.”

Professor Khosroe-Shahi says, “Once Ayatullah Bahjat was asked this question: ‘What should we do in order to achieve our heart’s full attention during the prayer?’ He said, ‘One of the major factors which cause the heart being attentive during the prayer is that we should control our five senses (vision, hearing, etc.) all day long because we must prepare the necessary introductions in order to gain the heart’s attentiveness during the prayer.’”

In another place, someone asked the sheikh this: “What should we do so our earnestness may increase in obeying the commandments of Allah especially with regard to the prayer?” The Sheikh said, ‘Seek help from the Imam of the Time (aj) before performing the prayer, then carry out the obligation in its absolute completeness.”

Another person asks this question: “What should we do so our mind may focus and our heart may be attentive during the prayer?” The sheikh wrote this in his answer: “In the Name of the Almighty: At the moment when you face [theqibla], go with your own choice.”

3. Sincerity of Intention, Conjoining Knowledge and Deed

The sheikh was asked, “What should we do so our intention may be sincere when we seek to wear the turban?” The sheikh answered, “Let the Shari`a be the criterion for your deeds. Look and see if this deed agrees with or violates the Shari`a. If we want to have such doubts, we should doubt all our acts of adoration and prayers, for what would inform us whether our intention is sincere or not? Should we abandon the performing of the obligations simply because we are not sure about the sincerity of our intention?” The sheikh added saying, “So, let your intention be to conjoin your knowledge to your deed, and neither should lag behind the other. Most of our calamities result from knowledge and deed being separate from each other. The knowledge of some people lag behind their deed, whereas it is ahead of that of others, such as in your case. The knowledge of some once lags behind their deed and once goes ahead of it; therefore, your intention must be to act upon your knowledge, and let your knowledge accompany your deed.”

Sayyid Hosroe-Shahi says the following in this regard, “Ayatullah Bahjat used to always emphasize the necessity of knowledge being inseparable from deed. One day he said, ‘A man with knowledge but without deed is like the lamp that lights the path to people while burning itself by itself.’”

4. Reliance on and Trust in Allah

Sheikh Misbah says, “Once Sheikh Bahjat said, ‘I was sitting in the room but I kept hearing the voice of the children who were playing in the courtyard. The son of our neighbor was playing near the door. A beggar came to him and said, ‘Go home and bring me something from there.’ The child said, ‘Why do you not ask your mother [for something]?’The beggar said, ‘I have no mother; so, go to your mother and bring me something from her.’ The sheikh adds saying, ‘I understood from the dialogue of this child with that beggar that the child thought he could get anything he wanted from his mother due to his trust in her and reliance on her.” Then he deducts this: If we trust in Allah Almighty as this child trusts his mother and ask Allah, the most Exalted One, to grant us what we need, we would not have suffered from any problem and all our needs would have been taken care of.”

5. Result of Human Perfection

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Quddas says, “I said this once to the sheikh, ‘A student saw in a vision that he was praying at a holy site. Whenever he prostrated, he would hear the sands praising the Almighty with him.” The sheikh said, “When man reaches perfection, he will see and hear this even when he is awake.”

6. Serving the Imam of the Time (aj)

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Quddas also says, “I said this to the sheikh once, ‘My going to one of the villages and presence there for Islamic propagation has a good impact. People in this village are very merciful. They listen to the speech and follow it, but they are poor. They do not pay for the months of Muharram and Ramadan except very little, unlike other areas which are spiritually weaker but financially stronger.’ The sheikh said, ‘If you are busy serving Imam al-Mahdi, the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance, do you think the Imam will neglect and not think about you?!’”

7. Precision in Narrating Traditions

Hujjatul-Islam Quddas also says, “Forty-five years ago, I talked once with the sheikh about my work program during the blessed month of Ramadan and said to him, ‘I do not ascend the pulpit in the daytime during the blessed month of Ramadan and do so during only the nights.’ The sheikh asked why. I said, ‘I am not certain about the accuracy of many pursuits which I present on the pulpit and am concerned some of them may be false.’ The sheikh asked me, ‘Are you sure about their accuracy during the night?!’ I then realized from the statement of the sheikh that this method was not sound.”

8. Practical Call

Hujjatul-Islam Lutfi says, “I went once to Sheikh Bahjat following the morning prayer and asked him to admonish me. He said, “Be callers upon people to the path of Allah but not with your tongues.”

It seems, the author says, the sheikh wanted to attract the attention of the seeker of the admonishment, who is one of the men of spirituality, to the best call: the practical call.

9. Avoiding Transgressions

Ayatullah Sheikh Jawad al-Karbalaai, one of the scholars of ethics, says, “I was honored to know Ayatullah Bahjat since distant time and benefited from some of his perfections and admonishments. Here are some of these perfections and admonishments:

“The sheikh used to always emphasize abandonment of transgressions and say, ‘Allah has bestowed His boon on all classes of His friends through His special niceties, making the abandonment of transgressions a means to seek nearness to Him. Since the levels of man’s knowledge and love for his Creator are numerous, so are the levels of abandoning transgression, too, so much so that it has been said that the good deeds of the righteous are the bad ones of those who are close to Him.”

One of the students who had just joined the theological seminary in Qum said, “I went to Sheikh Bahjat and said to him, ‘I have come to the theological seminary in order to pursue theological sciences. What should I do in order to be a successful student?’ The Sheikh lowered his head in contemplation then said, ‘There is no difference between a student and a non-student; what is important is to avoid transgressions.’”

Somewhere else the sheikh was asked about the bestdhikr. He said, “I think the best dhikr is the practical dhikr, i.e. abandoning transgression in belief and in action. Everything needs this matter, whereas this does not need anything: It generates everything good.”

The sheikh was also asked, “Through what deed, other than teaching and caring about the Book of Allah and the exegesis of Ahl al-Bayt (as), can we strengthen ourselves for piety and treading towards the Adored One?” Answering this question, the sheikh wrote saying, “In His Name, the most Exalted One. It is through continuous determination to abandon transgression in belief and in action.”

One of the men of virtue says, “I wrote a letter to Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat and asked him this question: ‘What should we do so our love for our Creator and for the Imam of our Time (as) may increase?’ He wrote this in his answer: ‘Abandon transgressions and perform the prayers as soon as they are opportune.’”

Sayyid Quddas says the following in this regard: “One day I talked with Sheikh Bahjat saying, ‘Have we considered a program and a specific time for this distraction (of disobeying the Lord and not acting upon His commandments)? That is, will a day come when we abandon transgression? Or will we continue as we are? If our intention is not to continue this status, let us sit and put a specific time for it, say a month, six months, a year or many years. What is important is that we must realize the seriousness of this situation and at least put an end to it.’”

10. Secrets of the Prayer

Somewhere else, the Sheikh wrote the following: “The similitude of the prayer is like the Ka`ba and the Takbirat al-Ihram in it: It is abandoning everything save Allah and entering in His Holy Presence. Standing in it is like the lover speaking to the one he loves. Bowing is the slave bowing down before his Master. Prostration is the ultimate submission, the feeling of nothingness and of humility to Him. When a slave finishes the prayer, he offers the greeting as a gift. Such is the trip that is filled with mysteries.”

11. Ethics of Ziyara

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Khosroe-Shahi says, “Once, I and some friends were determined to visit the shrine of Imam al-Riďa (as). We went to Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat and asked him about the ethics of ziyara. He contemplated for a short while then said, ‘One of the most important norms of ethics of ziyara is that we should believe that there is no difference between the life and death of the Infallible Ones (as).’ He did not say anything else other than this statement. After we had sat with some friends contemplating on the gist of this statement, we deducted that the ethics of ziyara may be summarized in this statement. And I asked him once, ‘It has been said with regard to the ziyara of the Infallible Lady (as) that whoever visits her shrine fully knowing her esteem will deserve Paradise. So, what is the meaning of ‘fully knowing her esteem’?’ He answered me in one sentence thus: ‘He must believe that her status is less than that of the Infallible Ones and greater than that of others.’”

12. Conforming to Moderation in Teaching and Educating the Offspring and Finding Diversity for Them

In a special meeting with the genius child who knows the Holy Qur’an by heart, namely Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, and his father, Sheikh Bahjat addressed the son thus: “I hope you will not shrink from moderation. Do not pressure him [the child], nor should he pressure himself. For example, do not require him to memorize Nahjul-Balagha or the Saheefa Sajjadiyya after having memorized the Qur’an. Let his task be easy, distant from hardship. I also ask him to travel quite often, to set aside some of his time to play and legitimate pastime, and I commend to him to change his environment because this is very effective. Some people travel abroad to replace their blood, but I think traveling by itself compensates for it. I plead to Allah to grant you success to cultivate him outwardly and inwardly, in form and in essence.”

They said to the sheikh, “What type of travel do you mean since Muhammad Husayn travels always abroad? Do you mean making such trips more often?” The sheikh said, “No. Let his contacts be more. For example, he goes to Chamkran Mosque every week. This by itself is a good change. Seeking the means of nearness is very useful. You should visit the resting places of the Sayyids who belong to the Imams (as) because each of these Sayyids has his own characteristic and impact, just like the fruits each one of which has a particular vitamin. By the will of Allah, you should not forget this. If this is not available, walking in an open space and being regular in offering supererogatory supplications following the obligatory prayers has a great deal of impact. Anyway, we just have to remind you of these matters.”

During that meeting, we sensed some cultivating points to which we would like to point out as follows:

1.      When Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai (the flag-post of guidance) entered the chamber of the sheikh, the sheikh welcomed him warmly. As he was shaking hands with him, he said, “Lord! Let him one of the spiritual scholars who act upon their knowledge!” Then he seated him in his own place, on his own bedding, as he sat near him on the carpet.

2.      The sheikh asked Muhammad Husayn’s father: “Does he recite the Qur’an every day?” Sayyid Tabatabai said, “Yes. He recites one chapter every day.” The sheikh said, “This much suffices to retain in memory. Let him divide this chapter on the prayer times.” After that the sheikh recited two traditions relevant to memorizing the Qur’an: “One who memorizes the Qur’an gets the prophetic mission inscribed between his sides except he receives no revelation.” “One who is with the Qur’an is with the Prophet’s Progeny, and one who is with the Prophet’s Progeny is with the Qur’an.”

3.      Sayyid Tabatabai thanked Sheikh Bahjat and asked him to pray for Muhammad Husayn. The sheikh said, “If one of you wants to memorize the Qur’an, let him recite this supplication three times every morning and evening,” then he rubbed Muhammad Husayn’s head with his hand as he recited this supplication: “Lord! Let me be in Your shielded fort in which You place whoever You please!”

13. Value of the Tahajjud and the Standing During the Ashar

Ayatullah Muhammad Husayn Ahmadi, the faqih of Yazd, says, “The sheikh used to highly recommend tahajjud and prayers during the ashar [pre-dawn times], so much so that he often used to say, “The Prophet (P) earned divine knowledge due to his tahajjud and standing during the times of the ashar.”

The sheikh believes the night prayers and thetahajjud during the ashar as well as regular prayers and optional adoration are all very important.

It is narrated about the senior scholars upon whom Allah bestowed sublime stations that they used to resort to the ashar and to celebrate the Names of Allah during them if they wanted to ask something of Allah or earn His boons because dedicating time solely to Allah Almighty and to worshipping him during the ashars has its own effect. The sheikh used to always emphasize this fact.

14. Continuous Dhikr

Ayatullah Muhammad Husayn Ahmadi also says this: “One of the attributes to which the sheikh used to point out often is that one must always be engaged in performing dhikrbecause one who does so will always see himself in the presence of the Lord, talking to Him. The sheikh used to mention some narratives in this field from time to time.

15. One Should not Admire his Good Deeds

Professor Khosroe-Shahi says, “Ayatullah Bahjat used not to see the acts of righteousness and adoration which he performed and always used to say, ‘What a better person is that who, when doing something good, says he has not done anything, but if the same deed is done by others, he says how great it is!’ In other words, he believes we have to underestimate our deeds while admiring and magnifying those of others.”

16. First Step in Treading the Path Towards Allah

Professor Khosroe-Shahi also says this: “Ayatullah Bahjat used to say, ‘The first station earned by one who treading the path of seeking nearness to Allah is seeing the distance between him and his Lord. He, therefore, maintains this distance and not distances himself from the Lord. If he cannot shorten the distance, he must not lose hope. What is important is to maintain this distance, that is, he must not first distance himself, then he has to gradually shorten this distance and gets closer to his Lord, the most Exalted, the most Great.’”

17. Earning Support of the Imam of the Time (aj)

He also says, “The sheikh used to say the following in his chats: ‘We, students [of theology], have to think about how we can earn the support of our Lord, the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance. That is, we have to know how to study and work in order to win his support and pleasure. Every students must keep this matter on the top of the list of his priorities (at every time, during his study and after he completes it). He must always think about how his deeds and norms of conduct should be in order to win the support of the Imam (as). If the student thinks about this matter and treads this path, he will not face in his life any deviation in action, speech and conduct. He will not then undertake any conduct which does not suit him, and the crises will not confuse him.’”

18. Necessity of Avoiding Moral Lowliness and the Way to Reach this Goal

Khosroe-Shahi also says this: “The sheikh used to stress avoiding moral sins and say, ‘Prolong the prostration is one of the acts of adoration which break the back of Satan. If one prolongs his prostration, he has to stand before a mirror and notice the place of prostration marked on his forehead, whether the prostration left a mark on his forehead or not. If there is a mark, he must rub it till he wipes it out so that he may not be characterized by pretension.’”

Somewhere else, Ayatullah Bahjat describes the role of knowing the Truthful One as a very important and essential role in removing moral sins. He says, “All moral sins originate from weakness in knowing Allah, Praise and Exaltation are His. If one realizes that Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, is always and in any condition more beautiful than everything beautiful, he will never then abandon feeling comfortable with Him.”

In another place, the sheikh was asked, “What should we do so we may distance ourselves from pretension?” He said, “You must greatly stick to believing in a perfect creed.”

Somewhere else the sheikh was asked about a treatment for anger. He said, “You must perform abundant prayers with full conviction.”

The sheikh was also asked, “What is the cure for conceit?” He wrote the following in answer: “In His Name, the most Exalted One. Sticking greatly to perfect conviction is the treatment for conceit.” Someone asked him about a treatment for unholy insinuations. He wrote this in answer: “Abundant testimony about the Unity of Allah is the cure for such insinuations.”

19. Value of Intellect and of Contemplation

Khosroe-Shahi says, “The sheikh used to stress monitoring what the tongue utters and say, ‘We have to safeguard our tongue, think twenty four hours but speak for only one hour. That is, we have to contemplate and meditate all day long but talk for one single hour. And even this lone hour may be too long.”

20. Status of Information and Knowledge

Khosroe-Shahi also says, “Once, on his way from home to the shrine, the sheikh said to the students in his company, ‘What a great blessing it is when Allah made you among those who tread the path of seeking knowledge, for knowledge is indeed a great blessing!” Then the sheikh made a comparison between knowledge and wealth and said, “Knowledge is better for you than wealth because it guards you while you guard wealth. There is another difference between knowledge and wealth: Spending depletes wealth, whereas knowledge increases when disseminated.’ Thus did the sheikh encourage the students to earn knowledge”.

21. Student’s Duties

Khosroe-Shahi also says this: “In the area of encouraging education, culturing and encouraging beginner students to undertake this matter, the sheikh used to emphasize that the students should not abandon learning, studying and researching under any circumstance. He used to say, ‘What should be observed at the beginning of educational achievement is acting upon the obligations as they should be and avoidance of prohibitions.’

But he talks differently with the students who undertook a long stride along the path and arrived at a relatively high academic level. I remember he said this to me once when he was going from home to the mosque to lead the congregational prayers: ‘The students started their studies with the Muqaddimat (Introductions). They will then study the Ma`alim (Features) and Maghna (indispensable studies).’ Then he asked me, ‘What will they study thereafter?’ I said, ‘They will study the Lam`a.’ He asked, ‘Then what?’ I said, ‘Al-Makaasib’ Then he asked, ‘Then what?’ I said, ‘Al-Kifaaya.’ He asked, ‘Then what?’ I said, ‘The Kharij studies.’ He asked, ‘Then what?’ I said, ‘They attain the status of ijtihad.’ He asked, ‘Then what?’ This was a great lesson and an important piece of advice which the sheikh provided in this short phrase: ‘Then what?’ It seems from his statement that he thinks knowledge is not sought for itself but as means seeking nearness to Allah. This point was a signal and a warning to the students who earned a higher academic level.”

22. Non-Reliance on Life

Khosroe-Shahi also says the following: “Ayatullah Bahjat used to say that life is a large hotel: We do not know from where people come to it or who goes to it.”

23. Interest in Spirituality

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Khosroe-Shahi also says this: “Ayatullah Bahjat used to say, ‘Had one looked after his soul as much as looks after his body, he would not have had any worry or conver. But unfortunately humans endeavor to secure their physical needs only. For example, one goes to the doctor and asks about the useful nutrition, but he does not attempt to know what benefits his soul. At any rate, had one endeavored to attain spirituality as much as he attempts to earn material things, he would not have suffered any grief in his life. We, therefore, have to know the things that benefit our souls. What is commendable, for example, is useful and effective, and we have to endeavor to perform them.’”

24. Moderation in Apprehension and Anticipation

Also, Khosroe-Shahi says the following: “Once I asked Sheikh Bahjat about fear and hope emphasized by scholars of ethics a great deal. He said, ‘It is the apprehension and the sought anticipation which do not go beyond the limits of moderation. If it goes beyond the limit of moderation, it is not useful because non-moderate fear causes one to lose hope of the mercy of Allah. Non-moderate anticipation causes one to be rude towards the Lord.’ I also heard this narrative from him: ‘It has been narrated about the Messenger of Allah (P) that the believer stands between two kinds of fear: fear of what has passed and fear of what remains.’ In other words, we must be concerned about falling short and must not undertake it once more.”

25. Reliance on the Lord

He also is quoted as having said once, “If we trust our Master as the small child trusts his parents, all our affairs would have improved.”

26. Acting Upon Knowledge

He has also said that Ayatullah Bahjat used to say, “Had people acted upon their knowledge, all their affairs would have improved. That is, if they perform their duties, abandon what is prohibitive and endeavor to perform what is commendable as much as they can, their affairs would have improved.”

27. Love for what is most Perfect Prevents Evils

A man asked Ayatullah Bahjat, “I have loved a woman, and loving her has captivated me; so, what should I do?” In answer, the sheikh wrote the following: “A wise man loves perfection, completion, what is more beneficial and most lasting, and he gives precedence for such love over loving anything else. Also, loving what is most perfect shuns afflictions, contrarily to loving anything else.”

28. Great Status of Prayer

Sheikh Bahjat was requested to write a brief and wise statement about prayer so it would be engraved in memory. The sheikh wrote this: “Among the wise statements about the great status of prayer in its lofty station is the famous speech of the Infallible One: ‘Prayer is the ascension of the faithful’ for those who are convinced about the truth in this statement and seek this station without shrinking from conviction.’ Peace, blessing and mercy of Allah be with you.” (Signed:) Servant of Allah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat.

Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin Fiqhi says, “One day, Ayatullah Bahjat said, ‘If one adheres to performing the prayer on its time, he will arrive at the anticipated station.”

29. Path of Nearness to Allah

A man asked the sheikh this question: “I wish to seek nearness to Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great; so, what is the path and the norm of conduct [for achieving this goal]?” In answer, Ayatullah Bahjat wrote the following: “In His Name, the most Exalted One. If the seeker is truthful, abandoning sins suffices for one’s lifespan even if it may be a thousand years.”

Somewhere else a man asked him this question: “I have set my mind to be near to the Lord. I hope you can provide me with guidance: Does this deed need a professor or what?” The sheikh wrote this in answer: “In the Name of the most Exalted one. Knowledge is the professor, while the teacher is the means and nothing else. You have to act upon what you learn and be persistent on it. This will suffice because ‘One who acts upon what he knows will be permitted by Allah to inherit the knowledge with which he is not familiar’. The Holy Qur’an states this:

‘And those who strive in Our (cause) We will certainly guide them to Our paths, for truly Allah is with those who do right’ (Qur’an, 29:69).

If you get no result, be informed you did not perform the deed properly. You should also set aside an hour a day to study theological sciences.’”

Somewhere else the sheikh was asked: “Does the path to Allah require the presence of a professor? If there is no professor available, what should be done?” Answering this question, the sheikh wrote the following: “In the Name of the most Exalted One. Your professor is your own knowledge. Act upon what you know, it will suffice you for that which you do not know.”

A man wrote this to the sheikh: “Tell me, please, how one can attain the feeling of being in comfortable company with Allah and with the Purified Imams (as).” In answer, the sheikh wrote the following: “This is possible through obeying Allah, His Messenger (P) and the Imams (as) as well as abandoning the sins in belief and in action.”

30. Method of Self-Discipline

It was said to the sheikh that some students in Lebanon asked for ethical admonishments and necessary instructions in this regard, and they inquire about a method for self-discipline. “We,” they added, “hence request you to guide us in this field.”

The sheikh said, “One of the most useful things in this regard is to remind the students who attend your daily classes one Shari’a-related narrative in the chapter of self-discipline stated in the book titled Wasaail al-Shi’a and also the narratives transmitted in a chapter on the ethics of companionship in the Hajj chapter in Wasaail al-Shi’a. Of course, this deed must be accompanied by contemplation and doing all what you know.”

Ayatullah Bahjat, in another recommendation in this regard, says, “Anyone who brings about every day one tradition in the chapter of self-discipline in the book titled Wasaail al-Shi’a and contemplates about the clear matters in it and acts upon it will see that he is transformed completely only one year from that time.”

31. True Asceticism

The sheikh was asked what true asceticism is and how we can be truly ascetic. He said, “Asceticism is that you control your self and monitor the permission of Allah Almighty to do or not to do each action.”

32. Method to Firm the Relationship with Ahl al-Bayt (as) especially with the Imam of the Time (aj)

The sheikh was also asked: “How can we firm our relationship with Ahl al-Bayt (as), especially with the Imam of the Time (aj)?” He said, “Obedience of Allah, after having come to know Him, causes love for Him just as it causes loving those whom Allah Almighty loves, namely the prophets and wasis. The one who is the most loved by Allah from among the latter is Prophet Muhammad (P) and his Progeny (as), and the nearest to us from among them is the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance and ease.”

33. The Path of Knowing Allah

The sheikh was asked, “What is the path to knowing Allah?” He said, “The path to knowing Allah is knowing the self (nafs). We know we did not create ourselves and we can never do that. Likewise, others like us did not do it either. So, the One Who created us is the Absolutely Able One, Allah Almighty. The path to getting close to Him and to thanking His blessings is to obey Him. The hardship in this obedience is only in the beginning and will not endure for long till it becomes to those who seek nearness to Allah sweeter than anything else.”

34. Foot Kissing is not Prohibitive

Ayatullah Bahjat was asked, “Is it prohibitive to kiss one’s foot or not?” He said, “No. There is no problem with kissing one’s foot, but there is a problem in prostrating before anyone other than Allah.”

35. Status of Supplication

The sheikh believes supplication enjoys a lofty status and is convinced that Allah is the One Who judges all affairs of life.

Professor Hadawi says, “My daughter was once sick, so I went to the sheikh and asked him to supplicate for her. The sheikh said, ‘You have to recite this supplication three times a day: ‘Lord! Do cure her with Your own cure, give her Your own healing, and grant her health from You.’ After the third time, recite this ‘Through Imam al-Kadhim, for she is Your bondmaid and the daughter of Your slave.”

Chapter 6

Excerpts From Lessons by Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat

We in the Chapter will be sitting under the pulpit of the class of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat so we may benefit from his explanations and instructions which he dictated on appropriate occasions to some of the students of purely Islamic branches of knowledge.

1. Status and Station of Ahl al-Bayt (as), Value of Praising them, Loyalty to them, Mourning them

In a special meeting, Ayatullah Bahjat met some of those who laud Ahl al-Bayt (as) and delivered on this occasion a speech in which he referred to the status of Ahl al-Bayt, station, the value of praising them and being loyal to them. Following is the text of this speech which the author cites from a taped audio cassette as follows:

“The brethren who are busy lauding Ahl al-Bayt, those who recount the virtues of the Imams (as) and the tragedies that befell them, must know their station, what action they undertake and why. They must know that they are practically implementing the commandment of being ‘kind to the Prophet’s kindred’ to which the Holy Qur’an refers. Whether they recount the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt or their tragedies, they thus repay the wage of conveying the Message and keep people firm on the path of the Qur’an. The Qur’an states the following:

‘Say: I do not ask you for a reward for it other than being kind to my kindred’ (Qur’an, 42:23).

If someone says, ‘Suffices us the Book of Allah and we have no need fore anything else’, we will say, ‘Which book are you referring to? Is it the one in which the verse referring to kindness to the Prophet’s kindred? Can you say that you have no need for Ahl al-Bayt (as)? Which book do you mean? Is it the one in which this verse exists:

‘This Day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion’ (Qur’an, 5:4)?

Can this religion be complete without the mastership of Ahl al-Bayt (as)? Which Qur’an do you mean? Is it the same Book in which the following verse exists:

‘Your (real) friends are (no less than) Allah, His Apostle, and the (fellowship of) the believers, those who establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they bow down humbly (in adoration)’ (Qur’an, 5:58)?!

Yes, had all these verses not been in your Qur’an, you have the right to say, ‘Suffices us the speech of Allah’. So, we have to know that there is a great obligation on our shoulders, and the teachers and lauders have to understand that loving these [kindred] is above everything and it cannot be relinquished. If we love Allah, will we be able not to love those whom He loves?! Will we then be able not to love the deeds which He loves? Can one love Allah but not love those whom He loves? And can he love deeds which Allah Almighty hates? Can this be at all? So, this statement of ‘Suffices us the Book of Allah, and we need nothing else’, is a blatant lie. It is as though one who says so says about the night as being daylight and say about daylight as being the night.

There are many verses in the Book of Allah similar to this verse: “Be with the truthful”. This Book has distinguished the attribute of the pious from the sinners. Look and see who the sinners are and the pious are; can there be a belief in casting doubt and in distinguishing? If so, it is the same like one says, ‘I believe in half the Qur’an and do not believe in its other half. Three hundred years ago, the Jews and the Christians said, “The condemnation of the Jews and the Christians must be deleted from the Qur’an, and nothing must be kept in the Qur’an except the worship matters.” Will the Qur’an then remain the same if we thus divide it? We will then we say that the adoration, too, is not necessary. The polytheists will say, “We, too, would like to maintain our status and our sins, and it is not necessary that we should believe in the Unity of Allah because we have our idols which we believe will intercede on our behalf” (“our intercessors with Allah”).

So, if we suppose there is distinguishing, most people are idolaters and not believers; so, there can be no distinguishing in the religion of Allah. There can be no believing in part of the Book and disbelieving in the rest.

At the time of his death, someone admonished his sons thus: “Sons! Do not listen to those who call upon you towards Tawhid and to accept the creed, and deny the existence of Allah as much as you can because if you are vanquished and if you accept the existence of Allah, you will not be safe from the evil of these folks, and you will be their followers. If they, for example, say that in performing the ablution, a woman must pour the water on the palm of her hand whereas the man must pour it behind the elbow, do you not have the right to do the opposite of what they say? At any rate, you must come to know what praise is, what mentioning the calamity is, what weeping and causing others to weep is.”

Some people are prevented by their ignorance from understanding that these tears, which were the way of all prophets (as) to attain the Pleasure of Allah and to express anxiety for meeting Him, are the way to attain the pleasure of Allah in the issue of His friends, too. So is the case regarding loving them: I weep when I see their calamities and am happy when they are happy, sad when they are sad. The proofs are many in this field:

The first evidence is that the prophets used to weep out of their fear of Allah just as they wept because they were eager to meet Him. So, if one recognizes the prophets, he must recognize weeping, too.

Here is another issue: What we cite and is fixed in our texts is that one must say this as he enters the holy precincts of the martyrs: “May I enter, O Allah? May I enter, O Messenger of Allah?” Permission to enter must be obtained from them, but who are those who understand this matter and believe in it?

“If your eyes shed their tear, it is the sign that permission has been granted.”

In other words, these tears are connected to the highest of heights. But the fools say, “We seek refuge with Allah against weeping! This is superstitious!,” while it is [in reality] connected to the higher world.

One of the highly regarded deeds recorded in our texts is one by the mother of Dawood (David). It is so detailed, some people cannot finish it during the period from the afternoon till sunset. This deed indicates that your eye must be tearful in the last prostration. If your eye sheds tears, it is a mark that your supplication is answered. Some people claim that tears have no effect (while it is connected with the highest of heights). It is from there that permission is sought, and it is from there that a supplication is answered. Therefore, anyone who has a serious need must come to know that he has to take to prayers and commendable acts of worship mentioned for needs to be met. So they may get to know that their pleas are answered, their eyes must be tearful after they plead, supplicate and pray, even though it may be as little as the wing of a fly. The tear in the eye is a mark of a positive response.

Yes, the matter is that our glasses are not clear, and we lack understanding. Suppose we plead to Allah to grant us a house, but Allah sees it is not in our best interest that He should grant us a house; what, then, should one do? Will He invalidate our plea? No, He gives us more than what we ask for. For example, He tells the angel to increase one’s lifespan a few years, while this wretch imagines that his plea was not answered and that his efforts were fruitless because he does not know that Allah granted him more than what he had asked for. He does not understand this matter. We must think well of Allah, and our glasses must be wide and clear.

2. The Ziyara

Ayatullah Bahjat met a crowd of those who perform theziyara of the sacred shrine of Imam al-Riďa (as), and in this gathering he delivered a statement in which talked about the ziyara of Imam al-Riďa and his sanctities. The author obtained these teachings and instructions through Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimin hajj Muhammad Sadr al-Adyan, representative of the publication and printing foundation administered by the sacred shrine of Imam al-Riďa (as), and this text has been corrected. We present it to you via one of those close to the sheikh as follows:

“Let your ziyara come from the heart. Seek permission upon entering. Do not enter the shrine except when you are ready to do so. When you ask Imam al-Riďa (as) to permit you to enter, saying, ‘Shall I enter, O Proof of Allah?’, refer to your heart at that moment and see if there is a change in it or not. If there is a change in your condition, be informed that the Imam granted you permission. The way to enter in the presence of the master of martyrs is weeping. If your eye is tearful, enter, for it is a signal the Imam al-Husayn (as) has permitted you to enter if your condition is helpful; otherwise, it is better if you perform some other commendable good deed.

“Fast for three days and bathe then go to the shrine and once more seek permission to enter. Performing theziyara of the shrine of Imam al-Riďa is better than visiting that of Imam al-Husayn (as) because many Muslims visit Imam al-Husayn (as), whereas only Shi’a Ithna-Asheris visit Imam al-Riďa (as).

“Many people asked Imam al-Riďa (as) and sought his favorable response, and they obtained their pursuit. Pay attention, believe! Healing comes when Allah decrees. One of the Iraqi immigrants had a cancerous tumor, and it was necessary to operate a surgery for him. The surgery was quite risky, so he asked Imam al-Riďa (as) to heal him. During the night, he saw the Infallible Lady (as) in a vision saying to him, ‘You will be healed, and you do not need the operation.’ Look and see the strong connection between the Imam and his sister and how the brother was asked while his sister answered!

“All these ziyaras are sound. Recite the great inclusive ziyara and the ziyara of Ameen-Allah silently. It is not necessary to count your needs to the Imam (as) for he knows them! Do not exaggerate in your pleas! Let your visit be one of the heart, for Imam al-Riďa (as) said to someone once, ‘Some people’s weeping annoyed me’!”

Someone has said he rests his hope on two things: The first is that he never recited the Qur’an while being lazy, as some people recite it, as if they recite the Shahnama book, for the Qur’an there is existence similar to that of the Prophet’s Progeny (as). The second is that he wept during the commemorative get-togethers for Imam al-Husayn (as).

Once Grant Ayatullah Burujardi suffered from an eye pain. Ayatullah Sayyid Burujardi says, “I wiped my eyes on the Ashura day with a little mud from the meeting commemorative of the tragedy of Imam al-Husayn (as). Since then, I have never had a pain in my eyes, nor have I ever needed to use the spectacles!”

After the incident of the explosion at the sacred shrine of Imam al-Riďa (as), someone saw Imam al-Riďa (as) in his sleep, so he asked him, “Where were you at the moment of explosion?” The Imam said, “I was in Karbala.”

This statement has two meanings: The fist is that Imam al-Riďa (as) had gone that day to Karbala. The second is that this incident took place in Karbala, too. In other words, the enemies attacked the shrine of Imam al-Husayn (as), demolishing it then setting it on fire!

A man entered the sacred shrine of Imam al-Riďa (as), and he saw in front of him a good looking Sayyid reciting the ziyara. He went near him and heard him mentioning the names of the Infallible ones (as) one by one, saluting them. When he reached the name of the Imam of the Time (may Allah hasten his holy reappearance), he did not articulate one word. That individual realized that that Sayyid was our master, the Imam of the Time, peace of Allah be with him and may our lives be sacrificed for his sake.

Quite few are the miracles witnessed in the holy precincts of Imam al-Riďa (as).

Someone saw in a vision that he went to the shrine of Imam al-Riďa (as). As he was there, he saw the dome cracking. Then he saw prophet Jesus (as) and his mother (as) descending on the shrine, so he placed for them a bench on which they sat and started reciting the ziyara of Imam al-Riďa (as).

The next day this man went to the mausoleum awake but found it empty of people. Then he saw the dome crack and that Jesus (as) and his mother (as) descending upon the shrine. They sat on a bench and started reciting the ziyara of Imam al-Riďa (as). They recited the ordinary ziyara of Imam al-Riďa (as). Having finished reciting the ziyara, they went back along the same path. The condition resumed its normality. The shrine was crowded with people, and the noise of the pilgrims filled everywhere anew.

The last word is that we must act upon our knowledge and take precautions with regard to the matters with which we are not fully familiar. Regarding these matters, let us lean on precaution.

3. Pieces of Advice to Martyrs’ Families

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

Everyone must know that he must take care of the rest of deeds he has and pay attention to those that perish. Good deeds, divine acts of adoration, and everything which brings one closer to his Lord will endure with man, and man will take it with him; it will be in his company till the Resurrection Day, even beyond Resurrection.

Man’s good deed are the remnant that does not perish. Everyone must know that acts of obedience to the Lord, of adoration, those that bring one closer to his Maker, do not end when life ends. They do not disappear when the soul is separated from the body. These deeds remain firm. Rather, they will be spiritually in sync for all persons in the Hereafter.

Do not take to heedlessness. The martyrs, their families, and those who treaded this path, those who were martyred along this path, have crowns placed on their heads the value of which is not known except by Allah. But we cannot see this crown except after we exit this form of being. Some people of perfection may see this crown on the heads of some people in this life.

There is no doubt that in the martyrdom of one’s kin there is a divine bliss bestowed by Allah. Martyrdom by itself is a cause for happiness rather than grief. This grief which we feel is due to our having lost the company of the martyr. We do not realize that his condition is better than ours, nor can we imagine the boon which Allah Almighty bestowed upon him. He died as a believer, a martyr. As for ourselves, we do not know how we will depart from this life and how we will die: Shall we die as believers or not?

We must understand that martyrdom is one of the causes of happiness, for it elevates the status of man and not lowers it.

This abode is not permanent; rather, one must take of if whatever benefits him in the abode of eternity. It is in the Hereafter that one will know the value of this ration, and he will know whether it suffices or not.

What if one blesses the Prophet once then gifts its rewards to a deceased person? Only Allah knows its value, meaning and form. One must direct his attention to the way a deed is done and not to its quantity. If someone spends a little money purely for the sake of Allah, and if someone else gives out measures of gold and silver while his deed is not purely for the sake of Allah, the first deed will endure whereas the second will perish.

Man grows and achieves perfection every moment, and it is impossible for one to do good and the deed is overlooked:

“Nor is (there as much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in the heavens that is hidden from your Lord” (Qur’an, 10:62).

We must pay attention to the goodness and evil that comes out of man: In the Hereafter, each will assume a form, and only Allah knows how many will be those who will see these deeds and the reward which Allah will determine for them.

Do not think that little or much matters. No, what matters is how the deeds were done, the extent of sincerity in them in seeking the pleasure of Allah Almighty.

One must look at the book of the Shari’a and what it requires him to do, what he must do in this case and what he must not.

We are guests of Allah sitting around His table. He sees us and knows what we do and what we want to do. He knows our intentions more than we know them. We imagine some things and think they will materialize, but they will not. Yet Allah, Praise and Exaltation belong to Him, knows the ultimate aim of all matters.

The knowledge of Allah Almighty encompasses everything, and His angels and messengers fill every place. They are on our right side, on our left, on all our sides.

We, therefore, cannot hide anything from Allah Almighty.

Since Allah is all-Hearing, all-Seeing, Knowledgeable, omni-Potent and loves some matters and hates others, of course this love and hatred is for our own sake; otherwise, there is no difference between the matters for Him. Does it not suffie us that He knows what we manifest and what we hide?

Once the cursed Satan stood before Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) (as) and said to him, “I would like to give you five pieces of advice.” Prophet Yahya (as) said, “Well, speak!” Satan started advising Prophet Yahya (as), giving him a wise statement in the beginning. His second, third and fourth pieces of advice were also good. It was then that Prophet Yahya (as) interrupted him saying, “Go away! I do not want to her any more because you will do your foul deed in the fifth advice; otherwise, you are not Satan!” Indeed, Satan is the caller to evil, and all those pieces of advice were introductions to his foul deed in the end.

Pay attention also to the Westerners faring with us according their spies. All what they did against us was done through their spies.

Be on your guard, and be attentive to your sides, for they sometimes contact their spies through a number of intermediaries. Allah will grant us success over such people so their lies may not deceive us. They may be truthful in the beginning, but in the end they want to sell us their lies.

It is said that the first person to obtain an oil concession in Iran was an Italian businessman who was able to buy the concession for an exorbitant price. Since he was a believing Christian, he dedicated the revenues from this concession to disseminate the faith of Christ or, as he claimed, dedicated the funds “in the cause of God in order to disseminate His religion”.

The revenues of oil in the hand of this man were during the administration of Muzaffar ad-Deen Shah, as it seemed. Soon, the British government became informed of this issue, and there was no notary public at that time to document the records. The commercial operations were carried out via ordinary documents. The British sent someone to befriend this man and ordered him to do everything he could to attract him. This individual started worshipping with that Christian man, participating with him in all his acts of adoration. He kept worshipping day and night till the man felt comfortable that his fellow was a righteous man.

One day, the man took advantage of his fellow’s inattentiveness and stole the oil document from him which he brought to the British government. The poor man realized that his fellow was the one who stole the document. After some time, he died of extreme grief.

Be aware, they watch us just as the angels watch our thoughts and deeds!

These cursed folks know what we want to do after many years because they find a way to know, using the spies and reading the minds of people and their intentions. You must be attentive; we have no other choice except to plead to Allah and to resort to Him. So, hold on to the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Progeny (as).

You will find the branches of knowledge of this Progeny in many books such as Nahjul-Balagha, and you will find the deeds of the Progeny in books such as Al-Saheefa al-Sajjadiyya. You can find its obligatory deeds in the like of these practical dissertations. So, let them not rob you of these matters, for we are distinguished from the rest of Muslims and others by these two origins which benefit us in our life and in our Hereafter. They are useful for our life because if we seek nearness to Allah through them when we are sick or suffering from hardships, Allah will grant us ease. This distinguishes the Shiites while the Sunnis lack it. The Sunnis do not permit juristic scholars to “interfere” in intellectual matters because the authority in such matters has to be Hasan al-Ash`ari or al-Mu`tazili. Likewise, with regard to the issues of the Shari`a, the authority has to be Abu Haneefa or al-Shafi`i, for example. They [Sunnis] wonder about the Shiites believing in one person as head of the intellectual as well as Shari`a-related matters.

Our Imams are the authorities for branches of knowledge as well as intellectual matters. They also are authorities in the legislative matters and in the obligations. The Sunnis do not know that these matters are quite easy for our Imams, for there are other matters that are particularly relevant to our Imams (as): pleas to the Almighty, shields against evildoers and precautions.

Through these matters, we can get to know how to plead to Allah, how to adore Him, the deeds which bring us closer to Him, even we can, through thee matters, make our times filled with remembrance of Allah, obedience to Him and not shrink from obeying Him in any of our deeds.

Pay attention, this is the age of wolves who buy you then place poison in your food after they obtain what they want. They kill you after using you in exchange for sums which you could hardly dream of. Be vigilant lest they mislead you, for you will then lose this life and the Hereafter. Did they not do that in the past? Did they not take the armies from Baghdad to Lebanon in order to fight alongside the Christians against the Muslims?

The military coup staged by Abdul-Kareem Qassim was for this reason. This is what prompted him to change the type of government in Iraq. Anyhow, these folks do not leave you till you sacrifice yourselves for their sake.

During World War II, it is said that only twelve thousand English fighters were killed, and most victims who were killed in this war were settlers in colonies (from India and elsewhere). As for stupid Russia, it alone offered more than thirty million victims in this war. And when they distributed the loot, each of America, England and Russia got a third of the booty, whereas Russia’s losses were thirty million, while America did not contribute except weapons and funds, and England lost only twelve thousand men.

This is the expected result when the stupidity of these meets the cunning of those.

Are you, then, ready to give up the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Progeny (as)? They are not ready to give up what they seek!

And peace be with you, the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

4. Instructions for the Youths and Adults

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

The youths and adults must know that they have to increase their knowledge and conviction to be parallel with their adolescence and growth, and their conviction must accompany their knowledge.

Be informed that we, the Muslims, are distinguished from others through the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Progeny (as). If we, therefore, lose the Qur’an, we will be like other unbelievers, and if we lose the Progeny, we will be like the Muslims who have no conviction.

So, we have to look after these two matters and deepen our knowledge of them day after day as we grow.

We must warn everyone against deviation from the path because there are those who want to mislead them. Beware they may take away these two pristine principles from you.

We say: If you do not believe in Islam and in the Qur’an, produce something similar to the Qur’an or at least produce one chapter like its chapters. They say: No, we cannot produce anything like it, and we will not produce its like, nor will we accept Islam! Such talk can have no answer because they say, “We know but we do not act [according to our knowledge].”

To these folks who claim they are with the Qur’an but not with the Progeny we say, “Such is the Progeny, and such are its virtues. These are its supplications, rulings, sermons and messages. This is Nahjul-Balagha. This is Al-Saheefa Al-Sajjadiyya. If you want us to abandon the Progeny, bring forth something similar to these matters so we may abandon the Progeny. These are the deeds of the Imams (as). This is their conviction. These are their karamat and miracles. Beware lest they should take them away from you.

Do you know how much hey would pay us if we relinquish these matters? They would give us plenty, but this money is worthless because they will take it from us tomorrow indirectly and get rid of us, too. They are not loyal towards us, and they will finish us after they get what they want from us.

Finally, we have to deeply contemplate upon the Qur’an and learn its diction so it may remain protected from error. Let us act upon our knowledge, and let us recite it correctly, and let us recite it correctly when we pray.

We, the Persians, have also to acquaint ourselves with some simple exegeses and look for an exegesis that simplify for us how to comprehend the Qur’an. For example, we have to study Nahjul Sadiqeen from time to time. Rather, we have to review it from beginning to end because it is a good book and written in Persian. If we find something better, there is no objection to reviewing what is better, but is there a better book than it?

Let us memorize the Qur’an so it may always be with us, and let us fortify ourselves by the Qur’an. Let us make it the means for our protection from the world’s dissensions and hardships. Let us plead to Allah not to separate us from the Qur’an, and let us also plead to Him not to separate us from the Progeny because the Qur’an is with the Progeny, and the Progeny is with the Qur’an. If we lost one, we will have lost both. Let us beware against their lying to us and selling us their lies. Let us beware of buying books from the people. We cannot distance ourselves from the Qur’an and the Progeny because if we do so, we will fall into the laps of the wolves, and only Allah knows if we will be able to rid ourselves of them or not.

Beware of those who may misguide you from these two principles.

Let those of you who go to school be aware of their teacher: Does he tread on the Right Path, or does he not? This is so because if the teacher deviates via bribe or something else, woe unto his students! Why? He will sell his students falsehood whether directly or indirectly.

Be aware, work cautiously, do not say anything before making sure what you say is accurate.

You have to be cautious, and do not permit anyone to inject uncertain matters in what we hold as certain, mixing our milk with water. If someone says a thousand words of the truth, let us contemplate on these words then contemplate on whether the 1001 word is a word of conviction or one of doubt which does not substitute the truth a bit.

If you hear a word from someone about you, you must ascertain whether this word is accurate and complete, whether it agrees with reason, with creed, or not.

Be informed that Allah Almighty knows everything about us. He knows what we do when we are alone, and He knows what we do before people. He knows what we say and when we are silent. If someone becomes acquainted with the fact that the owner of this world knows all what we do, when we are alone, what we think, writing down for one’s good intention and does not write down his bad intention except after acting upon it and making sure he did not repent it; it is then that everything will come to an end.

I mean by this statement to say that if one gets to know that Allah knows everything, he will then understand everything: He will understand what he must do and what he must not, what benefits him and what harms him, etc. Is it correct that we dispute as we sit at the table of the Lord? For example, is it right if one of us says this: “I saw this food before anyone else; therefore, this food is mine”? Another person may say, “I took this food before you did; therefore, I must eat it,” and so on.

All these disputes which take place among governments are of this sort. They all sit at the table of the most Great One Who sees them all, and the constitution is clear, too. Everyone knows what the Lord likes and what He dislikes. He loves benevolence in truth and hates harming people without a just cause. He knows all these matters, and we, too, know that He ordered us to uphold them, and He sees them all; so, should we act upon what Allah has commanded us to do?

One does not commit a sin in front of another person although he is an ordinary person, for he may be weaker than I am and is unable to overpower me, but he may look askance at me and may turn into an enemy who may kill me once he has the opportunity.

But Allah is not like that. He is omni-Potent, all-Knowing, and He ordered us and knows those of us who know and who do not know, for He knows everything.

Can we hide our affairs from Him? Or should we announce our deeds to Him, thinking He does not do anything and does not punish us for them? Is Allah really like that? Can we really hide anything from Him? Will that thing really remain hidden from Him? Man and others who serve Him may be so insolent to the extent that they are as though they do not hear or understand that there is One Who hears, sees, knows, is able, merciful and gracious.

He can reward a deed even though it may be as little as the weight of atom. It is stated in the Gospel of St. Barnabas, which is the most accurate of all Gospels, that prophet Jesus (as) sought once to intercede for Iblis saying, “Lord! Iblis worshipped You a great deal and used to give admonishment and guide to Your path; so, do forgive his slipping away and sinning!” Allah, the most Great, the most Exalted, said, “I am ready to forgive him; so, let him come up and say that he committed sins and seeks My mercy.” Jesus (as) was very glad for having performed such a great task the like of which does not exist, for the earth, since the time of Adam (as), has been filled with corruption, and he will be a means to end it. He called upon Satan saying, “Come and hear the glad tiding!” Satan said, “You talk too much!” Prophet Jesus (as) said, “You do not know, and had you known, you would have been keen enough to comprehend.” Satan said, “I told you not to mind such talk, for there is too much talk already!” Prophet Jesus (as) said, “You do not know that Allah wants to put an end to all this corruption with two words.” Satan asked, “What is the matter?” Prophet Jesus (as) said, “You must stand in the presence of the Lord and say, ‘Lord! I have sinned, so do forgive me.’”

Look and see how we do our own souls injustice when we do not repent to Allah Almighty, where will we then be going? Every path other than that of going back to Him will end up in the fall and in regret. Well, if you know that the end of this path is regret, why do you insist like that on continuing to tread upon it?

Satan then said, “No! Rather, He should admit His mistake. Why? My troops are more numerous than His. There are angels who did not prostrate to Adam but followed me, and there are those among the jinns who do not believe in Allah, and there are the idolaters from among the humans, and all these are my hosts!”

He felt conceited because he has so many followers, not knowing that the large numbers or the quantity mean nothing on the Day of Judgment. The more the number, the more hell will say, “Is there any more?”

Prophet Jesus (as) said, “Be gone, for you shall be stoned! I pleaded to Allah to forgive you, but you refused and felt haughty.”

What is meant is that the solution of these pursuits revolves round “knowledge and ignorance”. The foundation of this issue is the ignorance of this wretch. You, ignorant one, say, “One who was created of fire cannot submit to one created of clay.” Is Adam created only of clay? Is he not created of clay and something else pure? And you, too, are not created only of fire; rather, you have a soul, and Allah gave you responsibility and ordered you to prostrate to Adam, but you refused.

So, each human being, jinn, devil and angel is a combination of soul and body. But this wretch thought the body alone is the criterion for preference.

You, ignorant one, did you not know that the angels were unable to answer in the divine test and could not tell Allah about the “names” saying, “Praise to You! We do not know save what You taught us!” It is then that the most Great and Exalted One said to Adam, “Adam! Inform them of their names,” whereupon he informed them of all names.

Now, having come to understand that Adam became [through his knowledge] superior to all angels, in all their greatness and various ranks, and realized that Adam is advanced over you and over all angels, you return and say without shame, “You created me of fire and created him of clay.”

Is this talk suitable? Or did you not once more comprehend the matter?

Do you see that the criterion is knowledge and ignorance? If you do not know that man must act upon his knowledge, you must now repent to Allah after having come to know it, and you have now to at least answer this question: “Will my repentance be accepted or not?”

Look and see how unaware we are, how we do our own souls injustice, because we rush what is obvious, and it is here that the ultimate objective lies: If we do not crush our information and do not act upon what we do not know, the matter would have come to an end, and we would have become among the happy ones.

We must not rush our knowledge with our feet because this cause regret. If man acts upon what he knows, everything will become clear for him, and he will march without a halt, without a stop. If he sees that he has stopped marching, let him be assured that he crushed some of his knowledge with his foot:

“As for those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to Our paths, for truly Allah is with those who do right” (Qur’an, 29:69).

One who acts upon what he knows will be spared what he does not know.

Nobody can say that he knows nothing, and if he says it, he will tell a lie, for all people, with the exception of the Infallible Ones (as), know some matters and are ignorant of others. If they act upon what they know, they will get to know what they do not know.

Act upon what you know, and stop doing what you do not know till matters become clear for you. If you act upon your knowledge, what is unknown will be disclosed for you; therefore, we have to get to know why we halted our deeds.

We have to act upon what we know and take precautions regarding what we do not know so we will never regret.

May Allah grant you success regarding whatever He loves and is pleased, and may He grant you the joy of absolute spiritual and physical safety; surely He responds to supplications, and peace be with you, the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

Part 4

Excerpts From Pieces of Wisdom and Instructions of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat

First Admonishment

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

Praise to Allah alone, blessings unto the master of prophets, Muhammad, and his Progeny, the pure wasis, and a curse be upon their enemies from the early generations and the last.

Those with reason know that the basis of the movement of beings is knowing the engine needed for motion, i.e. knowing what causes movement, the mechanism of movement, what is connected to movement.

In other words, it is knowing the beginning and end as well as the purpose behind the movement because beings move every moment towards a certain goal.

The difference between a man of knowledge and an ignorant person is knowledge of what is behind the events or not knowing how to deal with them, the variation of their stations in the succession, and whatever has anything to do with the difference levels of their knowledge of initiation.

If we know what cause the movement, his good administration and wisdom through the system which dominates the movements, we will then focus on its creating and legislating will.

So, congratulations to anyone who knows all of this, and woe unto anyone who does not!

Regarding the outcomes of thee movements, an ignorant person will say, “How I wish I was never created!” whereas the knowledgeable person will say, “How I wish I am created seventy times so I may tread the path towards the pursuit then return and treat id anew and am martyred on the path of righteousness anew!” So, do not entertain regrets about our life.

I frankly say this: If one spends half his life remembering the One Who truly is the Grantor and spent the other half in indifference, that half [the first] is regarded the most precious of the days of his lifetime, while the other half is considered among the days of his death, rather, worse than death, because death by itself neither harms nor benefits anyone.

A knowledgeable person obeys Allah, does whatever pleases Him, acts upon what he knows and is cautious about what he does not know till he gets to know. He is in a continuous state of getting to know. His deed, hence, is conjoined with the evidence, and his success, too, is conjoined with the absence of evidence. Can we obey Allah without arming ourselves with knowledge, and will our life’s caravan reach the sought goal safely?

Can our existence be originating from Allah while our weakness from anyone other than Him, the most Exalted One? If so, the stimulating force does not last except to the believers and is not weakness except to others.

Now, if we in this phase possess conviction, it is for the sake of applying these attributes and conditions. We must get to know that it is necessary to know that this resulting movement, from beginning to end, is an opposition to the false inner motivations. If this matter does not achieve all our aspirations, at least it suffices us to win the happiness of being connected with the pleasure of this supreme principle: “The best ration of one making the trip to you is the strength of determination.”

Praise to Allah firstly and lastly, and blessings unto Muhammad and his pure progeny, and a perpetual curse be upon their enemies, all of them.

Holy Mashhad

Rabi` al-Awwal 1417

Second Admonishment

In the Name of the most Exalted One

I ask those who seek admonishment this question: “Have you acted upon the admonishments which you have so far heard?” Do you know that Allah Almighty lets one who acts upon what he knows inherit the knowledge of what he does not know? If one does not act upon what he knows, is it right that he expects more of such knowledge? Should the call to Allah be by the tongue [alone]? Did Allah not order us to be callers to Him but not with our tongues? Should we learn the reaching method or do we know it already?

Can we obtain the answers to these questions in the following verse of the Holy Qur’an: “

As for those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to Our paths, for truly Allah is with those who do right” (Qur’an, 29:69)?

And we can get it in the following tradition about the Infallible One (as): “Allah will let one who acts upon what he knows inherit the knowledge of what he does not know” and “One who acts upon what he knows will be spared what he does not know.”

May Allah grant us success to act upon our knowledge and to be cautious with regard to what we do not know. Indeed, my success comes only from Allah. Upon Him do I rely, and to Him do I return, and peace be with you, the mercy of Allah and His blessing.

Holy Mashhad

Rabi` al-Awwal 1417

Third Admonishment

In His Name, the most Exalted One

We all know that achieving the pleasure of Allah Almighty can be in adoring Him, in seeking nearness to Him, although He is rich in Himself and does not His ervants’ conviction. We, therefore, know that the servants are the ones who need to get close to the One Who initiates all nice things, and they also need such nearness to continue.

We, therefore, know that our benefit from getting to be near to Him will be according to the degree of our involvement in remembering Him: The more we endeavor to obey and serve Him, the more we get closer to Him and we benefit from this nearness, and the difference between us and Salman the Persian, peace of Allah be with him, will be in the degree of such obedience and remembrance.

We also know there are deeds in this world with which we will be tested, and we have to know that thee deeds, if pleasing to Allah Almighty, are regarded as service, obedience and adoration of the most Exalted and Great One.

We, therefore, have to know that remembering Allah and obeying Him must be our life’s goal so we may reach the last degree of nearness to the Divine; otherwise, we will regret after we see how others reached lofty stations while we lagged behind from reaching our goal.

May Allah enable us to abandon being busy with doing anything but seeking His Pleasure. We so plead in the name of Muhammad and his Progeny, blessings of Allah be with them all.

Holy Mashhad

Rabi` al-Awwal 1417

Fourth Admonishment

In His Name, the most Exalted One

I said, “Alf [Alpha]”. He said, “Then what?” I said, “Nothing. This letter suffices whoever knows what it means.”

I have repeatedly said and I once more say that if the Name of Allah is mentioned to someone, and he feels comfort upon hearing it, he needs no preaching because he knows what he should do and what he should not. He knows he has to act upon what he knows and be cautious about doing what he does not know.

And peace be with you, the mercy of Allah and His blessing.

Fifth Admonishment

In His Name, the most Exalted One

There is no dhikr better than the practical one, and there is no practical dhikr better than abandoning transgression in beliefs and deeds. It seems abandoning transgression is not done only by absolute articulation but by continuous monitoring [of our actions].

Surely Allah is the One Who grants success.

The servant of Allah, Muhammad Taqi Bahjat

Sixth Admonishment

In His Name, the most Exalted One

Anyone who believes in the Creator and in the being a full conviction, believing in the prophets and wasis (blessings of Allah be with them all), seeking their help in the belief and in action, regulating his movements and stillness according to their orders, ridding his heart of everything other than Allah in his adoration, praying to Allah with a sincere heart, being a follower of Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance) with regard to doubts, opposing those who oppose the Imam and agreeing with those who agree with the Imam, condemning those condemned by the Imam, seeking mercy of Allah for those for whom the Imam seeks mercy (even in the general sense)…, such an individual lacks no perfection, nor does he bear any affliction.

The servant of Allah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat

Seventh Admonishment

In His Name, the most Exalted One

There is a group that deals with admonishment and oratory through a treatment having an advance intention. It is as though they speak and listen in order to speak and hear. This is a serious mistake because teaching and learning are not independent of each other; rather, they are conducive to action. The Infallible Ones (as) are quoted as having said (in order to explain this matter and to encourage others to uphold it) the following: “Invite people to Allah but not with your tongues. Speak through action. Learn from action. Listen practically. The teacher should learn from the students how to teach.

We are often requested by some to pray for them, and when we ask them about the reason, they explain to us their pains. When we describe the medicine for them, they go back and repeat their request that we again pray for them instead of they act upon what we had prescribed for them. What a difference there is between what we tell them and what they want! They mix the condition for [acceptance of] the supplication with the supplication itself. We must not get out of the scope of our obligations. Rather, we must deduct conclusions from the deed because it is impossible for the deed to be the outcome, and it is also impossible for us to earn a result with undertaking action.

I plead to Allah that we not only remain talkers but also doers. Do not undertake an action without knowing it. Let us stop where knowledge stops. And let us act upon what we know and be cautious about what we do not know till we come to know, for going this way contains no regret.

We must not look at each other. Instead, we must look at the notebook of the Shari`a, and let us follow its commandments while abandoning its prohibitions.

Peace, the mercy of Allah and His blessings be with you.

Eighth Admonishment

In His Name, the most Exalted One

Praise be to Allah only, blessings be on the master of His prophets, and upon his good Progeny, and the curse be upon all their enemies.

A group of believing men and women has requested advice, and I see a number of confused issues about this request including the following:

1. Advice is provided about the particulars of matters, while admonishment is more general than totalities and particularities. Strangers do not advise each other.

1. “Allah will let one who acts upon what he knows inherit the knowledge of what he does not know”. “One who acts upon what he knows will be spared what he does not know.” “As for those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to Our paths, for truly Allah is with those who do right” (Qur’an, 29:69). Act upon what you know and be cautious regarding what you do not know till the matter becomes clear for you. If it is not clear for you, be informed that you did not act upon some information. Objection stands against one who seeks admonishment but does not act upon it because it is certain he had heard some admonishments but did not act upon them; otherwise, the matter would have been clarified for him and he would have needed no admonishment.

1. All people know they must read the “practical fatwas” and apply them to their actions and distinguish through them between what is permissible and what is prohibitive. So, they cannot say, “We do not know what we must do and what we must not.”

1. Look at the deeds of those in whom you believe. Act upon what they do with your own choice, and stop doing what they prohibit with your own choice. This is the best way to reach lofty goals. “Invite people to Allah but not with your tongues.” Admonishments through actins are better and much more effective than oral admonishments.

1. Obviously, daily recitation of the Qur’an and the reciting of appropriate supplications in times and places as well as supplications after prayers, frequent visits to mosques and sacred places, visiting scholars and righteous men and keeping them company are among the matters which please Allah and His Messenger. One who performs these deeds can expect an increase in insight and feel happy with adoration,ziyara and recitation day after day. The opposite is also true; i.e., keeping company with indifferent people increases one’s cruelty and makes a servant feel uncomfortable with acts of adoration and ziyara. Keeping company with those whose conviction is weak all cause it to be impossible to reach the high degrees and lofty spiritual conditions which result from acts of adoration, ziyaras and recitations; rather, it leads to worse conditions. So, keeping company with those weak in conviction makes one lose his good faculties. Keeping them company increases one’s desire to follow their corrupt manners with the exception of sitting with those one has to accompany or sitting with one in order to show him the right guidance. “Keep company with those seeing whom reminds you of Allah and increase your knowledge, and those whose deeds make you desire the Hereafter.”

1. It is obvious that abandoning transgression in belief and in action makes one need nothing else. Anything else needs them, while they do not need anything else; rather, they increase the good deeds and prevent bad ones. “I have not created the jinns and mankind except to adore Me.” Adoration here is abandoning sinning in belief and in action. Some people think that we are past the stage of abandoning transgressions! They are heedless of the fact that a transgression is not relevant to the well known major sins only. Rather, insistence on committing small sins is regarded as a major sin, too. For example, a sharp look at one expected to obey you in the intention to scare him/her is considered as a prohibitive harm. Likewie, smiling to the transgressor in the intention to encourage him/her is regarded as assisting one’s transgression. The good manners according to the Shari`a and the bad ones have been explained in books and in practical dissertations.

Keeping a distance from scholars and the righteous will make those who steal the creed take advantage of the opportunity to buy conviction and those who follow it for a trifling price. This is what we have tested and always noticed.

We plead to Allah, the most High, the most Able, to grant us success in these sacred Islamic feasts and makes the firm and deeply rooted determination to abandon transgression a gift for our feast because it is the key to happiness in the life of this world and in the Hereafter so that abandoning transgression becomes our faculty. A transgression to one with the faculty is like a thirsty person drinking poison or like a hungry person eating the meat of a dead person.

Of course, had this path been hard till its end, the omni-Potent and most Merciful Creator would not have obligated us to tread upon it.

My success comes from Allah. Upon Him do I rely, to Him do I return, and praise is due to Allah first and last, and blessings be with Muhammad and his pure Progeny, and a perpetual curse be upon all their enemies.

Rabi` al-Awwal 17, 1419 A.H.

Ninth Admonishment

In His Name, the most Exalted One

We, grownups and youngsters, must know that the only path to achieving happiness in this life and in the Hereafter is worshipping Allah, the most Exalted One, the most Great, and worship is abandoning transgressions in belief and in deed.

If we act upon what we know and stop and be cautious about what we do not know till it becomes clear for us, we will never regret at all. If the determination to do that is firm and deeply rooted in the servant, Allah Almighty is more apt to grant him success and to help him.

Peace be with you, the mercy of Allah with Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad, and may a curse be on all their enemies.

Part 5

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 iftarwith 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.’”

New Section

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 themajlis 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 commemorativemajlis 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 dhikrto 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 Shi'tes

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 khumsof 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.’”

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Food for the mind

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - Glimpses of the Life of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat

In The Courtyard of The Geniuses of Fiqh and Usul

Biographies, Conduct and Gnosticism

Philosophy

Migration To Holy Qum

Teaching

Chapter 3 - A Quick Look At Some Biographies Of Professors Of Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat

Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Agha Al-Qadi

Grand Ayatullah al-Gharawi al-Isfahani

Grand Ayatullah al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Kadhim al-Shirazi

Grand Ayatullah Mirza Muhammad Husayn al-Naeeni

Grand Ayatullah Agha Diya ad-Deen al-Iraqi

Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Abu al-Hasan al-Isfahani

Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Murtaďa al-Taleqani

The wise `allama Sayyid Husayn Badkubah-Ay

Grand Ayatullah the authority Kuwah-Kamrah-Ay

Grand Ayatullah Burujardi

Chapter 4 - His Scholarly Status and Particular Teaching Method

Scholarly Status

Scholars Urge Students to Attend his Classes

Mentor's Teaching Method

Exhortation in Class

Mentor's Works

Published Works

Author's Ready-to-print Works

Works yet to be Published

His Students

Part 1 - Ethical and Gnostic Characteristics of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat

1. His Piety and God-Fearing

2. His Asceticism and Simplicity of Lifestyle

3. His Adoration

4. His Ziyara and Pleas

5. His Humbleness

6. His Life, Conduct and Spiritual Status

7. Acquaintance with the Unknown and Manifestation of Temporal Miracles

8. His Special Care for Shari'a Matters

9. Personified Practical Emulation

10. Urging Others to Seek Perfection and Spirituality

11. Systems, Programming Actions

12. Continual Dhikr Practice

13. Thinking before Speaking

14. Keeping Spiritual Conditions Secret

15. Indirect Cultivation

Part 2 - The Marji`iyya of Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat, his Wisdom and Political Awareness

The Marji'iyya

His Political Views

Wisdom and Political Awareness

First Call

Second Call

Part 3 - Ayatullah Bahjat According to Others

View of Imam Khomeini

Sheikh Bahjat from the Viewpoint of Other Scholars

Chapter 5 - Fountain Of Wisdom, a Group of Teachings and Instructions by Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat

1. Treatment of Pretension and the Value of Knowledge

2. Conditions of Vigilance of the Heart, Finding Pleasure in Adoration and Prayers

3. Sincerity of Intention, Conjoining Knowledge and Deed

4. Reliance on and Trust in Allah

5. Result of Human Perfection

6. Serving the Imam of the Time (aj)

7. Precision in Narrating Traditions

8. Practical Call

9. Avoiding Transgressions

10. Secrets of the Prayer

11. Ethics of Ziyara

12. Conforming to Moderation in Teaching and Educating the Offspring and Finding Diversity for Them

13. Value of the Tahajjud and the Standing During the Ashar

14. Continuous Dhikr

15. One Should not Admire his Good Deeds

16. First Step in Treading the Path Towards Allah

17. Earning Support of the Imam of the Time (aj)

18. Necessity of Avoiding Moral Lowliness and the Way to Reach this Goal

19. Value of Intellect and of Contemplation

20. Status of Information and Knowledge

21. Student’s Duties

22. Non-Reliance on Life

23. Interest in Spirituality

24. Moderation in Apprehension and Anticipation

25. Reliance on the Lord

26. Acting Upon Knowledge

27. Love for what is most Perfect Prevents Evils

28. Great Status of Prayer

29. Path of Nearness to Allah

30. Method of Self-Discipline

31. True Asceticism

32. Method to Firm the Relationship with Ahl al-Bayt (as) especially with the Imam of the Time (aj)

33. The Path of Knowing Allah

34. Foot Kissing is not Prohibitive

35. Status of Supplication

Chapter 6 - Excerpts From Lessons by Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat

1. Status and Station of Ahl al-Bayt (as), Value of Praising them, Loyalty to them, Mourning them

2. The Ziyara

3. Pieces of Advice to Martyrs’ Families

4. Instructions for the Youths and Adults

Part 4 - Excerpts From Pieces of Wisdom and Instructions of Grand Ayatullah Bahjat

First Admonishment

Second Admonishment

Third Admonishment

Fourth Admonishment

Fifth Admonishment

Sixth Admonishment

Seventh Admonishment

Eighth Admonishment

Ninth Admonishment

Part 5 - Tales Narrated by Grand Ayatullah Sheikh Bahjat

1. Value of Prayer in its Early Time

2. Keeping Sunan Alive

3. Clemency and Generosity of the Imams (as)

New Section

5. Personality of Sheikh Muhammad Husayn Kampani

6. Feeling Pleased with whatever Pleases Allah

7. Blessing and Greatness of the Wilaya

8. Value of Sincerity in Action

9. Keeping a Firm Foot on the Creed

10. Attention Paid ty the Imam of the Time (aj) of True Shi'tes

11. Seeking the Lord Wholeheartedly

12. Care Paid by al-Zahra (as) to her Offspring

13. How Friends of Allah Live

14. Cultivating the Nafs: a Condition to Earn Serving the Imam of the Time (aj)

15. Result of Seeking Nearness to Allah Through the Medium of Imam Al-Riďa (as)

16. Real Ziyara

17. Satisfaction of Sheikh Ansari

18. Seeing the Lights of the Qur’anic Verses

19. Significance of Student Culturing

20. Contemplation is Better than a Year’s Adoration

21. Success Coming from Protection Against Sinning

22. Impact of the “Wahsha” Prayer on the Dead

23. Role of Obligations in the Lifestyles of Great Men