Zishaan Karim (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
Imam Sajjad (as) introduced himself in the court of Sham, with a beautiful description of himself. He drew attention to criteria step by step, showing the need for Ahl al-Bayt for succession of Muhammad (saww) He said, I am: The son of Mecca and Mina
O people! I am the son of Mecca and of Mina. I am the son of Zamzam and Safa. He said this to show his lineage that traced back to Ibrahim (as) who was a Muwahhid. Surah Al-Anaam, Verse 161: Say: “Verily, my Lord hath guided me to a way that is straight- a religion of right,- the path (trod) by Abraham the true in Faith, and he (certainly) joined not gods with Allah.”
Then he said, I am The son of Muhammad
The son of Ali
The son of Fatimah bint Muhammad
The son of who was killed at battle of Karbala
He gave a beautiful description of him being from a pure lineage and that of being the SON OF BEST FIVE, The Ahlul Kisaa (as). This Ramadhan, I want to reflect upon the Dua of Makarimul Akhlaq, and derive lessons from his golden words. We will place these lessons under Five main topics, and hence the title; ‘Five habits from the Son of the Best Five’.
I will name these habits and then pick lines from the dua to reflect upon them in order to maximize the words of SON OF THE BEST FIVE to the best of my limited capacity.
Imam (as)’s words are the best of words and I will journey in the ocean of his eloquent and spiritually uplifting words. May Allah give us tawfeeq in this holy Month to be inspired by the dua, and to take it a step further than recitation on Laylatul Qadr.
Habit 1 ??Connect with The All Pure
The whole Dua is a conversation with Allah (swt) imploring Him to keep me on the right track, beginning with my inner thoughts to a reflection of them on my exterior self. The language is that of a needy who cannot manage if he is not held by the hand of the Needless- that of a desolated who cannot do without assistance from the All Powerful- that of one in darkness in search of a ray of hope from a glimpse at Al-Noor.
Raise my faith to reach the most perfect faith, and make my conviction to be the most excellent of convictions. Make my intentions to be the best of intentions, and my actions to be the best of actions. O Allah, increase my (good) intentions, through Your Grace, Improve my conviction, through what is with You, and reform what is corrupt in me, through Your power.
The very beginning lines of this imploration make it obvious to me that first and foremost, I need to work upon is my faith. I need to be convinced of what I believe in, and hold on to my beliefs with my life. This can only happen when I have believed after reasoning with questions and argument, having proofs to remove all doubts.
When my mind has accepted the One and Only Truth, the way forward to actions has been paved. Where the mind knows and recognizes the One and Only Infinite, intentions are geared towards the Infinite and His Divine Pleasure. Pure intentions yield pure actions.
Any action can outwardly be amazing and great but when it is void of purity, it holds no value other than being impressive to those who do not matter. To impress those who matter, recognition is a vital condition.
The question is, can I attain His recognition without His Divine Help?
I am in need of His Grace and His Power, to reform what is corrupt in me, in this blessed month, strengthen my conviction and thus purify my intentions to yield pure actions. That will be maximizing the month to the best of capacity.
