PUBLISHER'S PREFACE
Ansariyan Publications, publishers of quality Islamic literature in various languages, is pleased to present this book to you which is one of the translated works of our brother, Yasin T. alJibouri. We have already published a number of books written or translated by al-Jibouri and are pleased to add this one, too, to the list. The first book written by al-Jibouri which Ansariyan published in 1421 A.H./2000 A.D. was Fast of the Month of Ramadan: Philosophy and Ahkam followed by The Concept of God in Islam and Kerbala and Beyond. This book is one of his numerous translations.
Our readers often ask us to introduce the authors or translators to them; therefore, we are providing you below with a brief introduction of the translator of this book as follows:
Al-Jibouri was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1946 and lived most of his life in holy al-Kadhimiyya city. He obtained his B.A. in English on June 30, 1969 from the College of Arts, Baghdad University, and his M.A. in English from (then) Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University), Atlanta, Georgia, on December 20, 1978, and in March of 1988 a Certificate with Honors in Microprocessors and Microcomputers from N.R.I. of Washington, D.C. in addition to three certificates in electronics and programming, including advanced programming, writing more than 100 programs.
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He taught English as a second language at high schools in Iraq, a vocational institute in Saudi Arabia, and a University in the U.S. He edited and revised three English translations of the Holy Qur'an: 1) by S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali, 2) by A. Yusuf Ali, and 3) by M.H. Shakir. He also edited several newsletters and magazines, including Middle East Business Magazine, a high quality business magazine headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A., of which he became Senior Editor. Among the books he edited are:
1. Socio-Economic Justice with Particular Reference to Nahjul-Balagha by Dr. S.M. Waseem,
2. A Biography of Leaders of Islam by Sayyid Ali Naqi Naqwi, English translation by Dr. Sayyid Nazir Hasan Zaidi,
3. Your Kalima and the Savior by Wajahat Hussain
He is the first person ever to translate works of the martyred economist Imam Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr such as:
1) Contemporary Man and the Social Problem,
2) A General Outlook at Rituals,
3) The General Bases of Banking in the Muslim Society, and
4) What Do You Know About Islamic Economics?
He also translated and/or published numerous titles; among them are:
1) A Biography of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr,
2) The Form of Islamic Government and Wilayat al-Faqeeh,
3) About the World Political Situation From a Muslim's Viewpoint,
4) Our Faith by Sayyid Muhammad Husain al-Jalali,
5) A Biography of Imam al-Rida by the late Shaikh Muhammad Jawad Fadlallah,
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in addition to a large number of political tracts, pamphlets, translations, and newsletters.
His translated works include the following:
1) The first four volumes of the series titled Al-Islam Risalatuna,
2) Al-Muraja'at: A Shi'i-Sunni Dialogue, the first authentic English translation of Al-Muraja'at by Imam Sayyid Sharafuddeen Sadrud-Deen al-Musawi,
3) Al-Shi'a hum Ahl al-Sunnah by Dr. Muhammad al-Tijani al-Samawi,
4) Al-Maqtal (the martyrdom epic of Imam Husain) by Abd al-Razzaq al-Muqarram's book.
He also translated the following titles originally authored in Arabic by Rachad el-Moussaoui:
1) Best Month, Best Night;
2) The Book of Istikhara;
3) Weapon of the Prophets;
4) Miracles of the Holy Qur'an; and
5) The Great Names of Allah (Asma' Allah al-Husna). These titles do not carry the Translator's name, however.
He translated 2 books by the late Grand Ayatullah Muhammed al-Shirazi: 1) Canon: A Glimpse at the Islamic Law and 2) The Pathway to an Islamic Revival.
He wrote several articles for Islamic Monitor, bulletin of the Islamic Research & Information Center.
He has written eight books:
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1) Volume One of his autobiography titled Memoirs of a ,Shi'a Missionary in America: Two Decades of Da'wah.
2) Fast oldie Month of Ramadan Philosophy and Aaiun.
3) The Ninety-Nine Attributes of Allah,
4) Mary and Jesus in Islam.
5) Allah: The Concept of God in Islam.
6) Muhammed: The Prophet and Messenger of Allah.
7) Ghadir Khumm: Where Islam was- Perfected, and
8) Kerbala and Beyond
He was quite active in Islamic Da'wa work in the United States. He founded the Islamic Society of Georgia. Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia) in 1973. the Islamic Revival Movement in 1980. the International Islamic Society of Virginia, Inc. in 1982, and the Iraq News Monitor in 1992. Edited Islamic Affairs newsletter from January 1974 - June 1989.
On September 3, 2003, he returned to his homeland and resumed living in al-Kadhimiyya where he has so far translated five books one of which is this title in addition to kashf alReeba an Ahkam al-Gheeba by Sheikh Taqi ad-Din Ibraim son of Ali al-'Amili, Al-Siraj: The Lantern (towards the Path of A11511) by Sheikh Hussain bin Ali bin Sadiq al-Bahrani and The Truth about the Shi'ah Ithna-Asheri Faith by As'ad Wahid alQasim. All these books are available with Ansariyan.
We solicit your comments about these and other books which we publish, and surely your opinion counts with us.
Ansariyan Publications
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INTRODUCTION
Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Praise to Allah Who sent, from the gardens of {is Mercy, trustees: messengers to guide people to the straight path. Then lie 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 wall (a.s) 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 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 during these centuries.
As regarding the creed's faqihs, they had another pull when they mixed biographies in the fiqh-related views with conduct in the worlds of the unknown.
Our contemporary faqih, Ayatollah Bahjat, is one of those described by Imam Ali (a.s) 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 shining of the Gnostics, and the souls in his revered audience sparkle. His student, mentor Rida 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 up, 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
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the Imams (a.s) so I could uphold them and plead to them. It is then that this sacred tradition met me along the path: '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 left 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 (a.s) 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 (Solomon the Wise) of the time, the one who is truly loyal to the greatest Ayatollah, Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abu Talib (a.s), in his knowledge and practice, namely Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat, may Allah prolong his broad shade. I knew that a truly 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 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 enlightening 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
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divine Gnostic. In it, I try to acquaint the Arab reader with this Islamic personality that mixed the pursuit of knowledge with 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 out of his body then returns it to 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 Gnostic conduct."
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CHAPTER ONE
Glimpses of the Life of Grand Ayatollah Bahjat
Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat Fomani was born in late 1334 A.H. (1925 A.D.) to a God-fearing family famous for its piety in the conservative city of Foman in the Gailan governorate. He was not yet sixteen months old when fate claimed the life of 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 Ayatollah 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 bedridden, and his health condition deteriorated to the extent that his family lost hope for his recovery from the disease. The sheikh's father 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 condition, so much so that his mother thought he had died. But after a short while. the father of the sheikh woke up and stood up and after that recovered his health fully.
A few years later. the sheikh's father decided to get married after having completely forgotten the incident of his falling
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sick and the call which he had 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 another son whom he named "Muhammad Hussain". 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 sheikh's father again named his fifth son, with whom Allah blessed him, with this same name, "Muhammad Taqi", who later became Grand Ayatollah Bahjat.
Mahmoud Bahjat al-Kerbala'i, 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 many 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-Hussain. 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,
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Do not deprive us of Your mercy. O Lord.
Do not burn us by 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 Kerbala 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 Qur'an's meaning,
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. creed and conviction.
Do forgive us. O Living, O Praiseworthy One!
Lord! the sanctity of Mousa 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,
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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 poison,
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 just Imam, the victorious ruler,
And by his dear soul and honorable self,
Do forgive us, O Living, O Praiseworthy One!
Yes, indeed, Ayatollah Bahjat was reared in the laps of a man whose heart was filled with the warmth of love for Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) and grief for their tragedies, particularly the tragedies that befell Abu Abdullah (a.s). He grew up in the environments of the mourning majalis for Imam al-Hussain, 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 that this child would have a glorious future in the field of knowledge and attainment.
He completed 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, which 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
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and left for Iraq where he was honored by residing in sacred Kerbala in 1348 A.H. (1929 A.D.). Then, he was almost fourteen.
According to what was transmitted by one of his close students. His Holiness mentor Bahjat had told him that he had come of age and became a man of responsibility one year alter his stay in Kerbala. Yes, the hand of the divine mercy remains caring for the righteous servants from birth to youthful age. 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, Ayatollah Bahjat spent four of his honorable lifespan in holy Kerbala, inhaling the closeness to Abu Abdullah (a.s), the fragrance of the purity of his soul, cultivating himself thereby. During that period, he studied the largest portion of the books of filth and usool taught to him by the great scholars in that holy city.
In 1352 A.H. (1933 A.D.), he went to Najaf al-Ashraf to continue his studies and acquire 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 Ayatollahs including Ayatollah mentor Murtada 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 go through phases of perfection and reach the most sublime objective.
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One of the students of the mentor says the following: "During two years which I spent as one of his lessons. I never heard him talk about himself except on very rare occasions. One of those occasions was when he talked about the process of lauding the moral status of his mentor. Naeeni the critic. He said. 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 USOOL
Having completed the Sutooh stage and realized the lessons by great professors. such as Sayyid Abul-Hassan al-Isfahani Agha Mirza al-Naeeni. he entered in the courtyard of knowledge and virtue so lie could complete his higher studies at the hands of the great 'allma al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Hussain al-Gharawi al-Isfahani who is known as Kampani. Through his piercing intellect and sound judgment, he was able to follow the vibrations of deep intellectual waves and precise pursuits which 'allama 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 Musbah says the following in this regard. "Ayatollah Bahjat studied most of his filth with the late Sheikh Muhammad Kazim Shirazi. student of the late Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi. who is one of the prominent professors of al-Najaf al-Ashraf. He started studying the Usool at the hands of the late Naeeni and finished the greatest portion in the presence of the late Sheikh Muhammad Hussain Kampani al-Isfahani whether in the science of Usool or in other aspects and scopes."
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BIOGRAPHIES, CONDUCT AND GNOSTICISM
During his studies, and shortly before reaching adolescence, Ayatollah Bahjat paid attention to self-cultivation and moral perfection. He, therefore, since residing in Kerbala, kept looking for a professor of manners to embrace and cultivate him. He heard about Ayatollah 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 Hussain al-Isfahani Kampani.
Sheikh Musbah Yazdi says the following in this regard: "The impact of the late Sheikh Muhammad Hussain al-Isfahani was obvious on the conduct of the mentor, Ayatollah Bahjat. He [Bahjat] 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, His Holiness Ayatollah 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; therefore, the mentor took long strides in the stages of Gnosticism even when he was in the prime of his youth.
Sheikh Musbah Yazdi says the following: "The mentor benefited from 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 many years. Ayatollah al-Qadi was a specialist in cultivating persons morally. Each of
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the late 'Allama Tabataba'i, the late Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Taqi al-Amuli and the late Ayatollah 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."
Ayatollah Bahjat quotes some pursuits from other individuals such as Ayatollah Sheikh Murtada 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 qunoot of the witr. prayer rite during the eves of the month of Ramadan and in the shrine of Imam Ali (a.s). When this person made a count of these individuals, he found out that their number exceeded 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 prayers and in the shrine of Imam Ali (a.s), so he decided to verify the number of those who had 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."
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PHILOSOPHY
Ayatollah Bahjat studied the signals of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and the travels of the most highly spiritual persons with professor Ayatollah Sayyid Hussain Baduba-Ay.
MIGRATION TO HOLY QUM
Ayatollah Bahjat returned to his homeland, Foman, after having completed his studied in the lunar year 1363 A.H. (1944 A.D.). He stayed in that city for few months then decided to return to the theological seminary (hawza) in al-Najaf alAshraf. 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 it 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 which prompted him to decide to stay in the holy city of Qum.
In this city, the mentor attended the classes by Grand Ayatollah the late Hujjat Kuwah-Kamrah-Ay and distinguished himself among his students. Then he attended the classes of the late Ayatollah Burujardi in the company of great Ayatollahs such as imam Khomeini, Gulpaygani and others.
Sheikh Musbah says the following in this regard: "Ayatollah Bahjat was one of the distinguished students who maintained regular attendance of the classes offered by the late Ayatollah 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
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confusing issues take sometimes a great scholarly shape, making answering them a matter that needs more precision and depth than other such issues. Ayatollah Bahjat had thus a status in the classes of the late Ayatollah Burujardi."
TEACHING
Ayatollah Bahjat used to teach the high Sutooh in Najaf alAshraf when he was attending classes of major Ayatollahs such al-Isfahani, Kampani and 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 that he started teaching Kharij al-Fiqh and the Usool 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.
