9. Personified Practical Emulation
One of the distinctions that set Ayatollah Bahjat apart from the rest of scholars and mujiahids 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 Musbah says the following in this regard: "I came to know the Sheikh in 1373 A.H. (1954 A.D.) 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, attracted attention to him and gave the impression that this man was living in a special spiritual
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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 distinguished 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
His Holiness Ayatollah Hajj Jawad al-Kerbalai wrote me saying, "Several years ago, I heard from Grand Ayatollah Hajj Abul-Qasim al-Khoei and before then from Grand Ayatollah Bahjat (may Allah expand his shade) that Sayyid al-Khoei 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.'
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"But Ayatollah Bahjat said to Sayyid al-Khoei 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 Ayatollah Sayyid al-Khoei to the need to attain divine branches of knowledge and to be adorned with the attributes of the friends of Allah, so Ayatollah al-Khoei 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?' Ayatollah Bahjat said, 'You should refer to His Holiness Ayatollah Sayyid Ali, the judge.' Then Ayatollah Bahjat intervened to arrange a meeting.between Ayatollah, the judge, and Sayyid al-Khoei in the courtyard of our master. Abul-Fadl al-Abbas (a.s), and the meeting lasted for more than one hour and a half. After that Sayyid al-Khoei said to me (al-Kerbala'i went on), 'I surrendered to them and accepted their statement. Sayyid Ali, the judge dictated to me a special program to follow in all its conditions (in special attires and thikr which must be repeated in certain installments). I brought all the conditions and decided to start the a'mal (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 thikr, I forgot its wording and kept trying to remember it, but it was in vain, so I lost hope and said to myself: '0 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 Ayatollah Sayyid Abdul-Kareem Kashmiri, one of the students of the unique Gnostic Sayyid Ali Agha, the judge, says, "I was sitting with some friends and talking with them at the shrine of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s) in al-Najaf al-Ashraf because I was exhausted by the study and research. As
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we were thus, Ayatollah 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, the judge."
Sayyid Mas'udi says the following in this regard: "The mentor used to take care of culturing others by advising them to do 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, '0 Your Holiness the Sheikh! Our living condition has become quite harsh, and we have no money; what should we do?' The Sheikh taught me a thikr which I kept repeating all my life. Since that day, I never suffered any financial hardship. The mentor advised me to keep the thikr for myself."
11. Order, Work Programs
One of the mentor's students writes the following: "The mentor adheres to precision and order in his actions, so much so that he has programmed himself to articulate a particular thinkr, after he leaves home till he reaches the mosque. Thereafter he articulates another thinkr, and so on, so he may not waste his time. He also put a program for daily optional acts of adoration (nawafil) in this same way."
A man of virtue in Qum city writes the following: "One day, I stood before the alley where the house of Ayatollah Bahjat stood so I would accompany him on his way to the mosque, but I stayed till the dark without seeing the mentor coming out of his house. therefore, thought that he had already left for the mosque before my arrival at the alley, so I went to the mosque.
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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 thought of 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, 'Your Holiness the 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 yourself, you must not ask such questions!' Then he looked at the mausoleum of the Infallible Lady, peace be with her, greeted her, bowed, then entered the mosque.
"In all reality, I was surprised by this strict answer, and I trembled. I retreated for 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 would justify 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 thikr and supplication so his soul will be ready for the prayer service, for
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speaking with Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great. He, too, was busy with the thikr 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 as I came and tried to ask him as soon as he had arrived, and he wanted to let me understand that what I did was not appropriate. 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: 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 alard", 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 Thikr Practice
Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimeen Khosro-Shahi says this: "One of the distinctive characteristics of Ayatollah Bahjat is his continuously articulating thikr. 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, have a private program; it is a thikr which 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 thikr. When I reach
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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 Private
Sayyid Musbah 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 behave 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 Musbah also says, "We used to attend the class of the Sheikh before few minutes before he would start it. so we could benefit from his moral lessons. The Sheikh. too. used to be present before the class started and sit in the room where the class was 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
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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 life, reminding us of our shortcomings 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.
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CHAPTER FIVE
MARJI'IYYA OF GRAND AYATOLLAH SHEIKH BAHJAT,
HIS WISDOM AND POLITICAL AWARENESS
Marji'iyya
Sheikh Bahjat is regarded as one of the most famous faqihs (jurists) in our time. He taught the subjects of Khdrij al-Fiqh and Usool for more than thirty years, but he, despite all of this, 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 Musbah says, "The house of Ayatollah Bahjat did not change after his acceptance of the marji'iyya. Since it was not possible to hold the meetings and visits at his house, these meetings had to take 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
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with simplicity and without changing the way he dressed himself, ate, resided or undertook his other matters of life."
After the demise of the late Ayatollah Sayyid Ahmad Khunsari, the Sheikh started correcting the first and second volumes of the book titled Dhakirat which is now called al-Masa'il. 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, His Holiness Grand Ayatollah Araki.
Finally, when the teachers' university published an explanation introducing seven persons, including His Holiness Grand Ayatollah Bahjat, with regard to the marji'iyya, and after notifying his marji'iyya by another number of scholars such as Ayatollah al-Mashkini, Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli, etc.. and after continuous insistence and persistence, the mentor agreed to get his practical dissertation (his fatawa) 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 after having become familiar with the fact that this university wanted to identify his name as a marji' taqlid in which he said, 'I do not accept my name to be mentioned'."
After the demise of the late Araki and a statement had been issued by the hawza's teachers' university, and after the mentor had seen 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 wants to emulate us, it is
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then that you should print my edicts." Several months (after this statement), the Sheikh's dissertation was published by some Lebanese brothers.
His Political Views
Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimeen 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-14h and whether this wilayat is absolute, or whether it is restricted and limited by some fiqh chapters (quoting the gist here), 'We all know that the easy-topractice 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 (a.s), nor will Allah send any book after the Holy Qur'an. This Book remains a hook for law till the .Judgment Day, and the Purified Progeny (a.s) keep explaining it. Obviously, the Islamic nation that follows Muhammad (a.s) during the time of the Infallible Imam (even if the Imam is jailed or exiled) can know its obligations, though with a great difficulty, through the path of the Infallible Imam (a.s)'."
But the talk is about the time period of the great ghaiba (occultation) of the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance. There can be no more than three assumptions during 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, someone who explains them and who is the waliyy al-amr or the mujtahid who is qualified for such leadership.
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As regarding the first assumption, it is false for certain 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 he carried out and safeguarded except by one person or by many. 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 an army, education and culture, courts of justice, 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 waliyy must enjoy all the undertakings of the Infallible Imam (a.s) save being the Imam himself so he may be able to implement the legislative code of Islam: otherwise, in 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 that 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 that the Islamic creed must endure till Judgment Day through rational and cited evidences. Allah Almighty has said the following in His Book: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, it will never he accepted from him, and in the hereafter he will rank among those who have lost (all spiritual good)" (Qur'an, 3:85). Then
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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 students of the mentor in this field:
Sheikh Musbah Yazdi says, "Allah blessed the mentor with unique attributes and self abilities that are not acquired [but, rather, divinely bestowed]. 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 that he does not care about political and social issues. But I tell you that the Sheikh encouraged me the most to get involved 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 he 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. lie used to emphasize that we should not remain distant from 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 His Holiness
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Imam Khomeini about some political issues, and once I and a brother carried one of these recommendations to the imam.
Ayatollah al-Mas'udi used to say the following: "The enemies of Islam, since the inception of Islam and till our day, have been able to harm Islam as much as they can." He used to sometimes talk about what he used to tell 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 that he is moving at a pace less than what is required of him?!'"
It seems that what is meant by the slow pace here is the mentor's belief that the imam had to declare jihad. HujjatulIslam wal Muslimeen Fiqhi says the following in this regard: "When the imam [Khomeini] was banished to Turkey, Sheikh Bahjat said this 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 political system of the holy Islamic Republic and a student of Sheikh Bahjat), "Many prominent men of virtue in the theological seminary enlisted in the political activity and struggle against the buried Pahlevi regime with encouragement and emphasis from the sheikh."
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Yes, the sheikh was referring to political issues in his class, dispatching recommendations to His Holiness Imam Khomeini, receiving revolutionaries and mujahids, assisting them during the days of the Islamic Revolution and holy defense. Imam Khomeini and Sayyid Ali Khamenie visited him at his house and they maintained continuous link with this in-depth faqih. All this indicates 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 sheikh's office on the occasion of the elections:
FIRST CALL
In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Praise 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 believers' creed and lives. their representatives in dealing with their affairs, have to he believing men who enjoy lull and sufficient reason and not fear anyone while obeying Allah. They must also be
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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 such psychological matters, for Allah witnesses and sees how you hire in 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 further 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.
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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 (a.s) 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 standpoint and from that of 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 Sharma, the faithful in their ideology and practice, the God-fearing, the good managers, the courageous ones, the moderates in
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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 (a.s) 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. lie 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 (a.s), which is more firm in its practical belief in Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance), which of them is more waiting for
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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 one changes color in belief or in action, which one enjoys piety, truthfulness and trustworthiness, which one 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
