Seeking Elevation

WORD OF APPRECIATION

I wish to humbly thank the following brothers through whose support this work was realised:

1. Dr. Akbar Mithani, a well-known Dhakir-e Husayn (‘a), who requested this nondescript to complete a comprehensive commentary of this du’a’ that I had begun some years ago. In response to his good suggestion, I tried to write a complete, yet summarised, commentary of this supplication. May Allah perpetually encompass this noble Dhakir with His special mercy.

2. Shaykh Kumayl Rajani, a contemporary scholar residing in Qum, who assisted me in procuring details on the source and authenticity of the du’a’. His immediate response and thorough research despite his multiple responsibilities, reveals the kind of excellent character this noble Shaykh enjoys. May Allah protect him and enable us to benefit from him more.

3. Mr. Yusuf Datoo & his brilliant family, who were my hosts in Mombasa as I tried to pen down this commentary. May Allah always keep them with Prophet Muhammad (s) and his infallible progeny in this world and the Hereafter.

4. Brother Muhammad H A Jaffer, a well-known and respected Dhakir-e Husayn (‘a), who facilitated for me a trip to Nakuru, the capital city of the Rift Valley Province of Kenya, where I tried to complete this commentary as I enjoyed the heavenly atmosphere of its beautiful air and greenery. May Allah elevate this noble brother as he continues on his journey of utter sincerity.

5. Sayyid ‘Aun Muhammad al-Naqawi, a distinguished teacher in philosophy in the al-Mustafa (s) International University, who assisted this nondescript in some of the most profound discussions of the supplication. We pray to Allah to protect him and uplift him both intellectually as well as spiritually.

6. Al-Haj Shabbar Dhalla, who showed his readiness in getting this work published and facilitated an agreement between al-Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) Institute and The World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities for the publication and printing of this work. May Allah elevate their stations and provide them with abundant support to serve mankind.

DEDICATION

O Allah, shower Your abundant mercy on Muhammad and his Infallible Progeny.

O Allah, if this little contribution is accepted by Your Exalted & Tremendous Self, then send Your abundant mercy on Muhammad and his infallible progeny, and bestow its reward entirely on them as a token on behalf of my noble parents, paternal and maternal grandparents, my deceased relatives, and all those who can benefit from its reward.

O Allah, shower Your abundant mercy on Muhammad and his infallible progeny.

Proximity of Hadrat Ma’sumah (‘a)

Qum al-Muqaddasah

INTRODUCTION: THE SOURCE OF THE DU’A’

Many of our great scholars have narrated this beautiful supplication in their prayer manuals. The following are worthy of mention:

a) Sayyid Radi al-Din ibn Tawus al-Hasani (d. 664 AH) in his monumental prayer manual Iqbal al-A’mal narrates this supplication with his chain of narration from Shaykh Harun ibn Musa al-Tala’ukbara (d. 385 AH), a great and trustworthy narrator of traditions, from Imam Abu ‘Abdillah al-Sadiq (‘a) and Imam Abu Ibrahim al-Kazim (‘a).¹

b) Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Kaf’ami (d. 905 AH) in his well-known prayer manual al-Misbah narrates this supplication from the book al-Firdaws.²

(c) ‘Allamah Majlisi (d. 1110 AH) likewise narrates this du’a’ in his prayer manual Zad al-Ma’ad with a chain of narration leading to Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) and Imam al-Kazim (‘a).³

Besides the aforesaid references, if one ponders upon this supplication very carefully, one will realise that it is a Qur’anic supplication. The light of the Qur’an glows throughout the verses.

CHAPTER 1

A Commentary on the phrase Ya ‘Aliyyu Ya ‘Azimu

(O All-Exalted, O Tremendous)

… And He alone is the All-Exalted, the Tremendous. (2:255)

To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and He is the All-Exalted, the Tremendous. (42:4)

O All-Exalted, O Tremendous

Addressing Allah with the names ‘Ali and ‘Azim shows a kind of personal distance, which is metaphysical and immaterial: both ‘Ali (All-Exalted) and ‘Azim (Tremendous) reveal the extreme remoteness of the servant (‘abd) from the Master (Mawla). Although Allah says that He is existentially literally with us wherever we are: ‘Huwa ma’a-kum aynama kun-tum (He is with you wherever you are)’ (57:4), and that He intervenes between a man and his heart: ‘Yahulu bayna al-mar’i wa qalbi-hi (He intervenes between a man and his heart)’ (8:24), due to our limitations and imperfections, we are extremely remote from His essential and existential exaltedness and tremendousness. Thus it befits us to call Him and employ the vocative particle ya. And in doing so we are also expressing our veneration before His infinite reality.

Concerning divine exaltedness, consider the following noteworthy traditions:

In a supplication that Hadrat Fatimah al-Zahra’ (‘a) is reported to have recited after ‘Asr, we read the following:

And praise belongs to Allah, the Exalted in station, and Lofty in [terms of] reality.⁴

In a supplication, Imam al-Hasan (‘a) is reported to have said:

O Possessor of power and dominance, O the Exalted in station, how should I fear while You are my hope?⁵

Observe that although the word al-makan employed in the above verse is normally rendered as a physical place or area of settlement, Allah is beyond time and place and thus we cannot say ‘O High in place’. Rather it is apt to render it as ‘O High in station’, where al-makan is translated as al-makanah (station).

‘Allamah Tabataba’i (d. 1402/1981) when discussing the definition of makan in his magnum opus al-Mizan says:

Thus makan is the place where a thing is settled… and sometimes the word al-makan (place) signifies al-makanah (station) due to it being the place where spiritual things settle, such as station in knowledge.⁶

Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) in his supplication of the Day of ‘Arafah while praising Allah says:

Praise belongs to Allah… the Noble in his domination, the Exalted in His station.⁷

Here also notice the phrase ‘makani-hi’ is employed and it apparently signifies ‘God’s station or level of reality’.

Concerning divine tremendousness, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) is reported to have said:

Indeed Allah is the Tremendous and the Lofty; His servants cannot describe Him, nor can they attain the zenith of His tremendousness.⁸

In conclusion, since Allah is distant in terms of exaltedness (‘uluww) as well as tremendousness (‘azamah), we call Him.

O All-Exalted, O Tremendous

These two divine names, according to a hadith, were the first names that Allah chose for Himself; in a lengthy tradition narrated in al-Kafi, Imam al-Rida (‘a) is reported to have said:

Therefore the first [name] that He chose for Himself was al-’Aliyyu al-Azim, because He is the highest of all things. Therefore He is Allah, and His name is al-’Aliyyu al-’Azimu, and it is the first of His names, and He is above all things.⁹

In fact, according to divine mystics like Ibn al-’Arabi (d. 638/1240), the name ‘Ali in its real sense can only be attributed to Almighty Allah. In his Kashf al-Ma’na when discussing the name ‘Ali, he says:

The word ‘ali is a hyperbole that designates exaggeration in highness, the possessor of which has the remotest of all levels. This is contrary to the word al-A’la (the Most High). Hence if ‘ali is attributed to a level lower than the highest, it is not fair.¹⁰

Therefore, as Imam al-Rida (‘a), who knows the intricacies of the Arabic language, said in the aforementioned hadith, Allah selected for Himself the name ‘Ali ‘li annahu a’la al-ashya’ (because He is the Highest of all things)’.

Commenting on this beautiful hadith, Mulla Sadra (d. 1050/1640) in his Sharh Usul al-Kafi says:

For indeed He is Exalted due to His [independently existing] Essence, and [thus] everything other than Him is lower in station, and for other than Him there is no exaltedness save in relation to some other [lower] entities; and it [i.e. other than Him] enjoys its relative exaltedness [only] from Him, the Almighty and [only] due to its proximity to Him; and [thus] whatever is nearer to Him, the Almighty, is of a higher station in terms of existence.¹¹

In conclusion: Allah is Exalted in His Essence and thus He enjoys absolute exaltedness. All other entities are lower than Him. Among them, any entity which is closer to Him than others is more elevated and possesses relative exaltedness. Hence its elevated position is acquired through proximity to Allah, and is not essential.

Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani (d. 1100/1680) comments on the abovementioned tradition in a more