Imam Zainul Abideen's Slave girl Part 3
Continued from Part 2
Then he turned his holy face, which became wet with the tears of his eyes, to his slaves and said to them with kindness and affection:
Then he turned his holy face, which became wet with the tears of his eyes, to his slaves and said to them with kindness and affection:
"I have forgiven you! Have you forgiven me my evil (acts)? I am full of evil, meanness, and oppression! I am the slave of the One Who is Powerful, Generous, Just, Beneficent, and Good-doer!
"What an angelic this soul is! Indeed, it represented the spirituality, beauties, qualities, and morals of the prophets!The slaves interrupted him, saying: "We have pardoned you, O Our master!
"Hence he said to them: "Say: O Allah, pardon 'Ali b. al-Husayn as he has pardoned us! Release him from the Fire, as he has released our necks from slavery!
"They said that, and he said after them: "Amen, O Allah, Lord of the world's inhabitants! Go, surely I have pardoned you and released your necks, asking (Allah) to pardon me and release my neck!" When the day of 'I#d al-Fitr came, he gave them excellent gifts to make them in no need of what was in the people's hands.(Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 46, pp. 103-104).
In the world of the pious there is no person like Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, in piety, loyalty, and obedience to Allah, for he filled his holy heart with faith and knowledge of Allah.
Any how, in the month of Ramada`n, the Ima`m, peace be on him, did a lot of good to the weak, entertained the miserable refreshed the deprived, freed slaves, and other good deeds that brought him near to Allah.
His Supplication in the Early
MorningIma`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, whispered to his Lord and prayed Him humbly and sincerely on every night in the Month of Ramada`n with this great supplication, which is better known as the Supplication of Abi Hamza al-Thuma`li, for it was he who reported it on the Ima`m's authority.
The supplication is among the outstanding supplications of the members of the House (ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them. It represents the absolute return and devotion to Allah. It contains exhortations that prevent the soul from clinging to haughtiness and desires and, in addition, it is distinguished by beautiful style, wonderful words, and eloquent performance. Moreover, it displays lowliness, humility, and submission to Allah, the Glorified. The other supplications do not contain such matters. We will quote some brilliant paragraphs of it, for it is well-known and widespread in supplication books.
Before mentioning some paragraphs of this supplication, we'd like to say that this supplication has occupied an important position in the hearts of the good and the righteous from among the Muslims, Hence they recite it in the early morning of every night in the month of Ramada`n, to the extent that they have memorized it by heart. The following is some paragraphs of it:
"My Allah, educate me not with Your punishment, and scheme not against me with Your power! How can I find good, My Lord, and it cannot be found but through You? How can I find salvation, and it cannot be found but through You? Good-doers cannot do without Your help and Your mercy, nor can evil-doers! Those who misbehave before You, show audaciousness toward and, do not make You Pleased are unable to dissent from Your power! O my Lord, through You I have recognized You. It was You who guided me to Yourself and summoned me to Yourself! Were it not for You, I would not know what You were.
"Have you noticed how the Monk of the members of the House (ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them, whispered to his Lord, pleaded to Him, and argued with Him in this manner full of faith and knowledge? Let's listen to another part of this holy supplication: "O Lover of him who loves You, O Delight of the eye of him who seeks refuge in You and devotes himself to You! You are the Benefactor, and we are the evil-doers!Hence, my Lord, forgive us our ugly acts through the beautiful things You have! Which ignorance, my Lord, Your magnificence does not embrace? Which time is longer than Your slowness? What is the worth of our deeds in comparison with Your favors? How can we regard our works as may and compare them to Your generosity? How do the sinners regard Your ample mercy as narrow? O All-forgiving! O All-merciful! Hence, by Your might, if You rebuked me, I would not leave Your door, nor would I refrain from praising You because I have knowledge of Your magnificence and generosity!
"In this manner the Ima`m, peace be on him, continued praising and pleading to the Great Creator, asking Him for forgiveness and good pleasure. Listen how he whispers to Him:
"O Allah, whenever I say: I have prepared myself, worn the cloak, stood in prayer before You, and whispered to You, You make me sleepy when I pray, and deprive me of whispering to You when I whisper (to You)! Why whenever I say: I have set right my inner self and my assembly has come close to the assembly of the repenters, a tribulation befalls me, slip my foot, and prevents me from serving You?My Master, You may have dismissed me from Your door and put me aside from serving You, or You may have seen me disdaining Your Sacredness, Hence You have removed me, or You may have seen me turning back on You, Hence You have detested me, or You may have found me in the standing place of the liars, Hence You have rejected me, or You may have seen that I am ungrateful (to You) for Your favors, Hence You have deprived me (of them), or You may have missed me among the assemblies, Hence You have deserted me, or You may have seen me among the heedless, Hence You have disappointed me of Your mercy, or You may have seen that I get along with the assemblies of the unemployed, Hence You have placed me among them, or You may do not like listening to my supplication, Hence You have driven me away from You, or You may have punished me because of my sin and crime, or You may have punished me on account of my little modesty! Hence if You pardon (me), my Lord, You have often pardoned those sinners before me, for Your generosity, my Lord, is far above punishing the neglectful!
"The Ima`m, peace be on him, presented those affairs which prevent man from clinging to Allah during his prayers and whispered prayers. The following is some of them:
1. Disdaining Allah's rights, that is when man makes little of them.
2. Turning away from Allah.
3. Telling lies which is the junction of vices and grave sins.
4. Ungratefulness for graces which Allah bestows upon His servant.
5. Turning away from sitting with the true religious scholars who remind men of the hereafter and urge them to do good deeds.
6. Forgetting the remembrance of Allah and of death lead man to misery and ruin.
7. Sitting with the unemployed who spend their times in playing and lose their life spans in trivial affairs, Hence sitting with them leads to turning away from Allah.
These are some affairs which send man far from Allah and turn him away from doing good, may Allah protect us from them. Now, let's listen to another paragraph of this supplication: "O My Allah and my Master! If You demanded my sins, I would demand Your pardon! If You demanded my meanness, I would demand Your generosity! If You made me enter the Fire, I would tell the people of the Fire about my love for You! O My Allah and my Master!
If You forgive only Your friends and those who obey You, then to whom shall the sinners go? If You show generosity only to those who are sincere to You, then whom the evildoers seek for help! My Allah! If You made me enter the Fire, then Your enemy (the accursed Satan) would be pleased with this! If You made me enter the Garden, then this would please Your Prophet! I, by Allah, know that the pleasure of Your Prophet is more lovable for You than that of Your enemy!
"The Master of the pious and Ima`m of the knowers (Zayn al-'Abidin), peace be on him, asked the sympathy of the Great Creator, whose mercy embraces all things. He asked Him to pardon His disobedient servants and to show good pleasure toward them, for His munificence is not confined to the believers and the obedient. With these little paragraphs we will end our speech about the supplication of the Ima`m in the early morning of the blessed month of Ramada`n.
His Supplication in Bidding Farewell to the Month of Ramadan
Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, felt pain when the days of the Month of Ramada`n came to an end, for this month is the spring of the obedient, and he used to recite this great supplication:
"O Allah, O He who desires no repayment! O He who shows no remorse at bestowal! O He who rewards not His servant tit for tat! Your kindness is a new beginning, Your pardon gratuitous bounty, Your punishment justice, Your decree a choice for the best! If You bestow, You stain not Your bestowal with obligation, and if you withhold, You withhold not in transgression. You show gratitude to him who thanks You while You have inspired him to thank You.
You reward him who praises You while though You have taught him Your praise. You cover him whom, if You willed, You would expose, and You are generous toward him from whom, if You willed, You would withhold. Both are worth of Your exposure and with holding, but You have founded Your acts upon gratuitous bounty, channeled Your power into forbearance, received him who disobeyed You with clemency, and disregarded him who intended wrongdoing against himself.
You await their turning back without haste and refrain from rushing them toward repentance, Hence that the perisher among them may not perish because of You and the wretched may not wretched through Your favor, but only after Your prolonged excusing him and successive arguments against him, as an act of generosity through Your pardon, O Generous, and an act of kindliness through Your tenderness, O Clement!
"It is necessary for us to considered carefully this brilliant paragraph of the supplication of the Ima`m, peace be on him. It contains the following:
1. The Generosity of AllahAs for the generosity and munificence of Allah, toward servants, as the Ima`m mentioned it, it is distinguished by the following:
A. Allah, the Most High, bestows on His creatures while He does not desire any repayment, for He, the Exalted, is in no need of His servants, who are in need of Him.
B. When He, the Exalted, bestows a grace upon a servant, He does not show any remorse at his bestowal, as the creatures show remorse at their bestowals when they get no benefit from them.
C. Allah does not stain his bestowal with obligation, for He, the Most High, bestows gratuitously.
D. It is He, the Exalted, who starts His servants with kindness and generosity.
2. The Pardon and Punishment of Allah
As for the pardon of Allah toward the sinners is gratuitous bounty, and as for His punishment toward them is justice, for He punishes them according to their sins.
3. The Decree of Allah
As for the decree of Allah and issuing the acts from Him, they are choice for the best, and He is not forced to issue them, as some philosophers said.
4. His Gratitude to those who thank Him
Indeed, Allah, the Glorified, show gratitude to those who thank Him, that is when He increases His favors and blessings to them. He, the Most High reward those who praise Him and increases His favors and blessings to them.
5. His Covering the Servants
Among the favors of Allah for the servant is that He covers him when he commits sins. If he willed, he would expose him and make the people degrade him. Also among His favors for the sinner is that He is generous toward him. If He willed, He would withhold him His livelihood and make him die of hunger. However, He channeled His power and will into forbearance, received those who disobeyed Him with clemency, and disregarded those who intended wrongdoing against themselves
His Supplication in the Early
MorningIma`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, whispered to his Lord and prayed Him humbly and sincerely on every night in the Month of Ramada`n with this great supplication, which is better known as the Supplication of Abi Hamza al-Thuma`li, for it was he who reported it on the Ima`m's authority.
The supplication is among the outstanding supplications of the members of the House (ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them. It represents the absolute return and devotion to Allah. It contains exhortations that prevent the soul from clinging to haughtiness and desires and, in addition, it is distinguished by beautiful style, wonderful words, and eloquent performance. Moreover, it displays lowliness, humility, and submission to Allah, the Glorified. The other supplications do not contain such matters. We will quote some brilliant paragraphs of it, for it is well-known and widespread in supplication books.
Before mentioning some paragraphs of this supplication, we'd like to say that this supplication has occupied an important position in the hearts of the good and the righteous from among the Muslims, Hence they recite it in the early morning of every night in the month of Ramada`n, to the extent that they have memorized it by heart. The following is some paragraphs of it:
"My Allah, educate me not with Your punishment, and scheme not against me with Your power! How can I find good, My Lord, and it cannot be found but through You? How can I find salvation, and it cannot be found but through You? Good-doers cannot do without Your help and Your mercy, nor can evil-doers! Those who misbehave before You, show audaciousness toward and, do not make You Pleased are unable to dissent from Your power! O my Lord, through You I have recognized You. It was You who guided me to Yourself and summoned me to Yourself! Were it not for You, I would not know what You were.
"Have you noticed how the Monk of the members of the House (ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them, whispered to his Lord, pleaded to Him, and argued with Him in this manner full of faith and knowledge? Let's listen to another part of this holy supplication: "O Lover of him who loves You, O Delight of the eye of him who seeks refuge in You and devotes himself to You! You are the Benefactor, and we are the evil-doers!Hence, my Lord, forgive us our ugly acts through the beautiful things You have! Which ignorance, my Lord, Your magnificence does not embrace? Which time is longer than Your slowness? What is the worth of our deeds in comparison with Your favors? How can we regard our works as may and compare them to Your generosity? How do the sinners regard Your ample mercy as narrow? O All-forgiving! O All-merciful! Hence, by Your might, if You rebuked me, I would not leave Your door, nor would I refrain from praising You because I have knowledge of Your magnificence and generosity!
"In this manner the Ima`m, peace be on him, continued praising and pleading to the Great Creator, asking Him for forgiveness and good pleasure. Listen how he whispers to Him:
"O Allah, whenever I say: I have prepared myself, worn the cloak, stood in prayer before You, and whispered to You, You make me sleepy when I pray, and deprive me of whispering to You when I whisper (to You)! Why whenever I say: I have set right my inner self and my assembly has come close to the assembly of the repenters, a tribulation befalls me, slip my foot, and prevents me from serving You?My Master, You may have dismissed me from Your door and put me aside from serving You, or You may have seen me disdaining Your Sacredness, Hence You have removed me, or You may have seen me turning back on You, Hence You have detested me, or You may have found me in the standing place of the liars, Hence You have rejected me, or You may have seen that I am ungrateful (to You) for Your favors, Hence You have deprived me (of them), or You may have missed me among the assemblies, Hence You have deserted me, or You may have seen me among the heedless, Hence You have disappointed me of Your mercy, or You may have seen that I get along with the assemblies of the unemployed, Hence You have placed me among them, or You may do not like listening to my supplication, Hence You have driven me away from You, or You may have punished me because of my sin and crime, or You may have punished me on account of my little modesty! Hence if You pardon (me), my Lord, You have often pardoned those sinners before me, for Your generosity, my Lord, is far above punishing the neglectful!
"The Ima`m, peace be on him, presented those affairs which prevent man from clinging to Allah during his prayers and whispered prayers. The following is some of them:
1. Disdaining Allah's rights, that is when man makes little of them.
2. Turning away from Allah.
3. Telling lies which is the junction of vices and grave sins.
4. Ungratefulness for graces which Allah bestows upon His servant.
5. Turning away from sitting with the true religious scholars who remind men of the hereafter and urge them to do good deeds.
6. Forgetting the remembrance of Allah and of death lead man to misery and ruin.
7. Sitting with the unemployed who spend their times in playing and lose their life spans in trivial affairs, Hence sitting with them leads to turning away from Allah.
These are some affairs which send man far from Allah and turn him away from doing good, may Allah protect us from them. Now, let's listen to another paragraph of this supplication: "O My Allah and my Master! If You demanded my sins, I would demand Your pardon! If You demanded my meanness, I would demand Your generosity! If You made me enter the Fire, I would tell the people of the Fire about my love for You! O My Allah and my Master!
If You forgive only Your friends and those who obey You, then to whom shall the sinners go? If You show generosity only to those who are sincere to You, then whom the evildoers seek for help! My Allah! If You made me enter the Fire, then Your enemy (the accursed Satan) would be pleased with this! If You made me enter the Garden, then this would please Your Prophet! I, by Allah, know that the pleasure of Your Prophet is more lovable for You than that of Your enemy!
"The Master of the pious and Ima`m of the knowers (Zayn al-'Abidin), peace be on him, asked the sympathy of the Great Creator, whose mercy embraces all things. He asked Him to pardon His disobedient servants and to show good pleasure toward them, for His munificence is not confined to the believers and the obedient. With these little paragraphs we will end our speech about the supplication of the Ima`m in the early morning of the blessed month of Ramada`n.
His Supplication in Bidding Farewell to the Month of Ramadan
Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, felt pain when the days of the Month of Ramada`n came to an end, for this month is the spring of the obedient, and he used to recite this great supplication:
"O Allah, O He who desires no repayment! O He who shows no remorse at bestowal! O He who rewards not His servant tit for tat! Your kindness is a new beginning, Your pardon gratuitous bounty, Your punishment justice, Your decree a choice for the best! If You bestow, You stain not Your bestowal with obligation, and if you withhold, You withhold not in transgression. You show gratitude to him who thanks You while You have inspired him to thank You.
You reward him who praises You while though You have taught him Your praise. You cover him whom, if You willed, You would expose, and You are generous toward him from whom, if You willed, You would withhold. Both are worth of Your exposure and with holding, but You have founded Your acts upon gratuitous bounty, channeled Your power into forbearance, received him who disobeyed You with clemency, and disregarded him who intended wrongdoing against himself.
You await their turning back without haste and refrain from rushing them toward repentance, Hence that the perisher among them may not perish because of You and the wretched may not wretched through Your favor, but only after Your prolonged excusing him and successive arguments against him, as an act of generosity through Your pardon, O Generous, and an act of kindliness through Your tenderness, O Clement!
"It is necessary for us to considered carefully this brilliant paragraph of the supplication of the Ima`m, peace be on him. It contains the following:
1. The Generosity of AllahAs for the generosity and munificence of Allah, toward servants, as the Ima`m mentioned it, it is distinguished by the following:
A. Allah, the Most High, bestows on His creatures while He does not desire any repayment, for He, the Exalted, is in no need of His servants, who are in need of Him.
B. When He, the Exalted, bestows a grace upon a servant, He does not show any remorse at his bestowal, as the creatures show remorse at their bestowals when they get no benefit from them.
C. Allah does not stain his bestowal with obligation, for He, the Most High, bestows gratuitously.
D. It is He, the Exalted, who starts His servants with kindness and generosity.
2. The Pardon and Punishment of Allah
As for the pardon of Allah toward the sinners is gratuitous bounty, and as for His punishment toward them is justice, for He punishes them according to their sins.
3. The Decree of Allah
As for the decree of Allah and issuing the acts from Him, they are choice for the best, and He is not forced to issue them, as some philosophers said.
4. His Gratitude to those who thank Him
Indeed, Allah, the Glorified, show gratitude to those who thank Him, that is when He increases His favors and blessings to them. He, the Most High reward those who praise Him and increases His favors and blessings to them.
5. His Covering the Servants
Among the favors of Allah for the servant is that He covers him when he commits sins. If he willed, he would expose him and make the people degrade him. Also among His favors for the sinner is that He is generous toward him. If He willed, He would withhold him His livelihood and make him die of hunger. However, He channeled His power and will into forbearance, received those who disobeyed Him with clemency, and disregarded those who intended wrongdoing against themselves
