Imam Kazim's worship, asceticism and spirituality
- Updated On Monday, 25 August 2014
- Written by Allamah Qurashi
- Editor Fatimah Graham
- Supervisor Sayyed Roohullah Musavi
- Published on Friday, 14 February 2014
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- Hits: Please describe the spiritual dimension of Imam Kazim's life.
Historians have stated that the Imam worshiped more than any other person of his time1 to the extent that he was given the names al-'Abd al-Salih (the pious worshipper) and Zayn al-Mujjtahideen (the one who spends the night in prayer). The most precious time of the day for Imam Musa, peace be upon him, was the time he could be alone with Allah, may His name be exalted. He devoted himself to Him with the totality of his emotions. Narrators have related that when he stood before Allah the Most High, to perform the ritual prayers or to recite a whispered prayer or to supplicate, he wept so much that his heart began to beat out of rhythm, due to fear of Allah. He spent most of his time performing prayers and he would pray supererogatory prayers throughout the night, extending them until the morning prayer, then continuing until the sun rose. He would remain in prostration before Allah without raising his head from prayer, and praising Allah, until the sun had almost descended (from its midday zenith).2 When the tyrant of his time, king Harun al-Rashid, threw him into a dark prison cell, he devoted himself to obedience and worship of Allah. He thanked Allah for giving him this time to worship Him, saying: "O Allah, you are aware that I used to ask You to give me sufficient time to worship You. O Allah, You have now given me that. To You be praised."3 Whilst the Imam was held in the prison of al-Rabi', his opponent Harun al-Rashid acknowledged that he represented the ideal of one who turns to Allah in repentance and faith.4 He looked out from the top of the palace and saw a garment which seemed to have been thrown down in one particular place in the house, and which never moved. He was astonished at this and asked al-Rabi': "What is that garment that I see in this place every day?" "Commander of the faithful, that is not a garment, that is Musa b. Ja'far (Imam Kazim). Every day he performs sajda after sunrise until the sun has almost descended (from its midday zenith)," replied al-Rabi'. Harun was astounded and showed his admiration toward Imam Musa, saying: "Surely he is one of the Hashimite monks." Hearing Harun acknowledge the Imam's asceticism and renouncement of the world, al-Rabi' turned to him and asked him to release the Imam and not to harass him, saying: "Commander of the faithful, why have you harassed him in prison." Harun replied with an answer void of mercy and piety, saying: "How much! There is no escape from that!"5 He fasted by day and performed prayers by night, especially whilst he was imprisoned by Harun. The Holy Qur'an was the comrade of the Imam during his solitude and his companion during his loneliness.When he recited it, those listening became sad and wept.6 Hafs said of the Imam's recitation of the Qur'an: "His recitation (of the Qur'an) was sadness. He recited it as if he were addressing a person."7 With respect to his fear of Allah, narrators have said: "He used to weep so much out of fear of Allah that his beard would be wet with tears."8 Yet another example of his obedience to Allah is that he, peace be on him, was merciful and kind to slaves; he released a thousand slaves for Allah's sake, beseeching His good pleasure, and seeking nearness to Him.9 He led a simple life and lived in a simple house that was not even furnished to the extent that a poor home was, which demonstrates his renouncement of the world and his turning away from it. Ibrahim b. 'Abd al-Hamid has narrated of his great asceticism, saying: "I visited him in his house where he used to pray. I saw nothing in the house except a basket, a hung sword, and a copy of the Qur'an."10 It is worth mentioning that enormous funds were collected for the Imam, and legal rights sent to him by Shi'a from all over the Islamic world. In addition, he owned al-Basariya and other lands that yielded significant funds, but he generously spent all those funds on the desolate and deprived, for Allah's sake and beseeching his good pleasure. Imam Musa sincerely performed all the things Allah loved and recommended; among such things was his performance of the hajj on foot, whilst high-bred camels traveled onward before him. There are stories of famous monks and ascetics of the time who admired his spiritual status or even accessed the path of spirituality as a result of his guidance. Shaqeeq al-Balkhy and Bishr al-hafi are two such examples. All those who have written biographies of the Imam have unanimously agreed that an incident took place between him and Shaqeeq al-Balakhy.11 The story is as follows: Shaqeeq al-Balakhy set out to make the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah (Mecca) in either the year 149 A. H. or 146 A. H. He stopped at al-Qadisiya. Whilst staying there, he began to supervise the pilgrims and ensure their readiness (for the hajj). Whilst he was busy with the pilgrims, he saw, as he says, a handsome, tanned, slim young man wearing a woolen garment, sitting alone and keeping himself removed from the people and their affairs and from associating with them. He (Shaqeeq al-Balakhy) thought that the young man must belong to a Sufi order and would be a heavy burden on the other pilgrims, for he had no provisions. Shaqeeq al-Balakhy decided to go over to him and reprimand him so he might refrain from what he was doing and return to rightness. When he approached him, the young man spoke softly to him: "O Shaqeeq al-Balakhy, avoid suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin." He said nothing other than these words. Shaqeeq al-Balakhy left. He was overwhelmed and remained perplexed thinking of this incident. He wondered who had ordered the young man to utter his name and know his inner thoughts. He admired him very much and was certain that he was one of the righteous servants of Allah. He decided to return to him to ask his pardon and and ask him to forgive him his sins. He hurried towards him but was unable to find him. When the caravans stopped at the Valley of Fudda, Shaqeeq al-Balakhy saw his companion praying, shaking with fear of Allah, and tears flowing down his cheeks. He remained silent until he had finished his prayers. Before he could ask him for pardon, the young man turned to him and said: "O Shaqeeq, recite: And most surely I am most Forgiving to him who repents and believes and does good, then continues to follow the right direction." Shaqeeq went away. His mind was awash with suspicion and other thoughts until he suddenly declared: "O Allah! How wonderful! He has revealed twice what my soul had hidden! Surely he is among the righteous! He is one of the rightly guided who turns to Allah in repentance!" He reflected on this for a long time. The caravan continued through the desert. When it arrived at al-Abwa', Shaqeeq decided to take a stroll, when suddenly he saw the young man. He hurried over to him. He was standing by a well ready to fill some water into a coffeepot. The coffeepot fell into the well and the young man glanced up towards heaven; he addressed Allah with submission and faith, saying: "You are my drink of water when I become thirsty and my food when I desire food. My Lord. My Master. I have none except You. Therefore do not deprive me of it." He uttered nothing other than these words, when suddenly the water began rising to the top of the well; the coffeepot was floating on the top of the water. He stretched out his hand and took it, then carried out his ritual ablutions. He performed four rakat and then bent down to take a handful of sand and put it into the coffeepot. He stirred it and drank some of it. Shaqeeq greeted him and said: "Give me some of the food with which Allah has provided you!" "Shaqeeq, Allah bestows upon me outwardly and inwardly," explained the Imam, "therefore you must have a good opinion of your Lord." Then he gave the coffeepot to Shaqeeq and he drank out of it and found within it fine flour and sugar. Shaqeeq said that he had never drunk anything more delicious than that. He went several days with no appetite for food or drink. Then he left him. He did not see him again except in Mecca. He found him beside Qubat al-Shirab in the dark of the night standing and performing prayers with humility, lamentation, and weeping. He continued performing his prayers until the light of dawn appeared, then he rose and went to Hashiyat al-Mataf and performed the two rakat of the dawn prayer. He performed the morning prayer in congregation then traveled to the Kaaba and circumambulated it after the sun had risen. He left the Kaaba and Shaqeeq followed him in order to greet him and have the honor of meeting him. He found that attendants and followers had surrounded him so he hurried to ask those around who this was and was told that it was Musa al-Kazim. A poem was written describing this incident12: Ask Shaqeeq al-Balakhi of what he has seen of him. He said: When I performed the hajj, a pale, slim, tanned man. Alone with no provisions. I was always thinking of him. I imagined he would beg; I did not know he would perform major hajj. When we stopped I saw him on the red sand. He put sand in the coffeepot. I called to him and was overwhelmed. Give me a drink. He gave the drink and I saw it was fine flour and sugar. I asked the pilgrims who this was? "This is Musa b. Ja'far," they replied.13 Historians have also narrated the story of Bishir al-Hafi, who drank wine, spent his nights and days in shameless activities and with prostitutes. The Imam passed by Bishir's house in Baghdad and heard singers and flutes being played loudly. Suddenly, he saw a slave girl coming out of the house carrying some sweepings and throwing them into the street. He turned to the slave girl and asked her: "Slave girl, is the owner of this house a free man or a servant?" "He is free," she replied. "You are right," retorted the Imam, "If he was a servant, he would fear his Lord." The slave girl returned to the house and Bishir was at the wine table. He asked her: "What delayed you?" She gave him an account of what had taken place between her and the Imam. Bishir quickly ran out of the house and caught up with the Imam. He repented at his hands, apologized to him and wept.14 Following this incident, he educated himself and remained devoted to Allah with knowledge and faith, so much so that he surpassed other people of his time in piety and asceticism. Ibrahim al-Harbi remarked: Baghdad has not graduated anyone more perfect in intellect and greater in preserving the tongue than Bishir b. al-Harith. He had intellect in each strand of his hair."15
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References: 1 Jawhart al-Kalam, vol.2, p.98. 2 Kashf al-Ghumma, p.276. 3 Wafayat al-Ayan, vol.4, p.293. Al-Manaqib, vol.2, p.379. 4 Al-Rabib Yunus was the chamberlain of al-Mansur. Then he became his minister after Abu Ayyub Al-Mansur was influenced by him and began to depend on him to a great extent. 5 Bihar al-Anwar, vol.11, p.298. 6 Al-Manaqib, vol.2, p.379. 7 Bihar al-Anwar, vol.11, p.265. 8 Kashf al-Ghumma, p.247. 9 Yousif b. Hatam al-Shami, al-Durr al-Nazim. It is a precious handwritten book available in the Library of al-Hakim. 10 Bihar al-Anwar, vol.11, p.265. 11 He was among the great worshippers and ascetics in the Islamic world. In the beginning he was a non-believer, but then turned to Allah in sincere repentance. He died as a martyr at the Battle of Golan in the year 194 A.H. 12 Akhbar al-Duwal, p.112. Jawharat al-Kalam, pp.140-141. 13 Matalib al-Saul, p.84. Bihar al-Anwar, vol.11, p.55. Al-Manaqib. 14 Al-Kuna wa al-Aqab, vol.2, p.150. 15 Tarikh Baghdad, vol.7, p.73.