Letter 69 - Thirty pieces of advice for the 30 days of any month [1 of 9]
﷽
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful
Over the next few newsletters, we will be taking a closer look at Letter 69 of Imām ʿAlī (ʿa) to al-Harith (ibn ʿAbdillāh, al-A`war) al-Hamdani.
There are thirty to thirty-three ethical advice for success in our day-to-day dealings with others. To truly remember the life-changing advice in this letter, perhaps an effective way would be to choose a month, and take an advice a day, and implement it.
Who Was al-Harith (ibn ʿAbdillāh, al-A`war) al-Hamdani?
Harith was a close companion of Imam 'Ali (a) and one of the first people who pledged their allegiance to him in Medina. Imam 'Ali (a) mentioned him as one of his reliable companions
Since he could only see with one eye, he came to be known as "al-A'war (one-eyed).
Historians mention al-Harith as al-ʿAllāmah, faqih, imām, and kathir al-'ilm. He is said to be an expert in accounting and the division of heritage among heirs. He was admired for his keen memory and above all, he was a knowledgeable companion of Imām ʿAlī (a).
According to a tradition, Harith comes to visit Imām (ʿa) at Ẓuhr time, when the heat was at its peak.
دخل الحارث الهمداني على الامام علي (ع) ، فقال : ما جاء بك ؟.. فقلت : حبي لك يا أمير المؤمنين !.. فقال : يا حارث أتحبني ؟.. قلت نعم ، والله يا أمير المؤمنين .
Harith Al-Hamadani enters and presents himself before Imām ʿAlī (ʿa). Imām asks: “What has brought you here?” He replies : “My love for you Oh Amīr al-Muʾminīn!”
Imām (ʿa) asks: “Ya Harith, do you love me?”
Harith replies : “By Allah, yes, Ya Amīr al-Muʾminīn”
Imām (ʿa) replied: "a person who loves me will see me at the time of their death the way they love to see me, and a person who hates me will see me at the time of their death the way they hate me"
Please watch this video starting at 4:13 :
The Letter At A Glance
Imām (ʿa) presents a collection of valuable advice and instructions to Harith Al-Hamadani, who was one of the special companions of the Imām and one of the jurists and scholars of the Ummah, so that everyone could benefit from them.
As Ibn Maitham Bahrani (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned, this letter is a collection of advice, instructions, commands, prohibitions, and instructions to live better in spiritual and worldly aspects. In fact, it is a condensed course of ethics, and carrying out the instructions would lead man to happiness in this world and the hereafter.
Although the addressee of Imām (ʿa) in this letter is "Harith Hamadani", but in fact, not only all Shīʿah, but all Muslims are meant. He gives thirty to thirty-three pieces of advice to Harith, in short and meaningful phrases, each of which can be the subject of a detailed discussion..
ADVICE 1: Adhere To The Qurʾān
وَتَمَسَّكْ بِحَبْلِ الْقُرآنِ، وَانْتَصِحْهُ، وَأَحِلَّ حَلاَلَهُ، وَحَرِّمْ حَرَامَهُ، وَصَدِّقْ بِمَا سَلَفَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ
“Adhere to the rope of the Qurʾān and seek instructions from it. Regard its lawful as lawful and its unlawful as unlawful. Testify the right that has been in the past.”
The Imām (ʿa) first gives a general advice about adhering to the “rope of the Qurʾān” and then elaborates this instruction with this three-point action plan:
That one listens to the advice of the Qurʾān and extracts its instructions and acts on it.
To recognize what is halal and haram, then act on it and never deviate from it.
He should pay attention to what is mentioned in the Qurʾān about previous nations, the factors of victory and defeat, and divine punishments for rebellious and sinful nations, and learn from them. One should know that the purpose of the Qurʾān telling us about the past, is not because it is a book of history or to tell stories, rather it is to safeguard the future of the Muslims, should they look into history and learn from it!
The phrase وَصَدِّقْ بِمَا سَلَفَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ is the Imām (ʿa) advising us to pay attention to the conditions of the past and the fate of the previous nations, learn from it and coordinate your actions with it.
The last āyah (111) of Sūrah Yūsuf, after presenting the entire story of Prophet Yusuf is:
لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ ۗ مَا كَانَ حَدِيثًا يُفْتَرَىٰ وَلَٰكِن تَصْدِيقَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَتَفْصِيلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
There is certainly a moral/lesson in their accounts for those who possess intellect. This [Qurʾān] is not a fabricated discourse; rather, it is a confirmation of what was [revealed] before it, and an elaboration of all things, and a guidance and mercy for a people who have faith.
How Can I Get Closer To The Qurʾān?
Of course, there are many things we could do in order to get closer to the Qurʾān, however, narrowing down these advice, we have the following few:
Pray to Allah to help gain closeness to the Qurʾān
Try habit stacking : The idea behind habit stacking is simple: add a new behavior to your daily schedule by “stacking it” on top of an existing habit. Perhaps, read a page of the Qurʾān after Fajr, with the translation, and keep it up everyday until it becomes a habit.
Don’t just ‘read’ the Qurʾān, look to be guided.
Try to be in wuḍūʾ and face qiblah while reciting
The Beauty of the Qurʾān, in the Words of Imām ʿAlī (ʿa)
Imām ʿAlī (ʿa) describes the Qurʾān beautifully in Sermon 176 of Nahj al-Balāghah, where he says:
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ هذَا الْقُرْآنَ هُوَ النَّاصِحُ الَّذِي لاَ يَغُشُّ، وَالْهَادِي الَّذِي لاَ يُضِلُّ، وَالْمحَدِّثُ الَّذِي لاَ يَكْذِبُ، وَمَا جَالَسَ هذَا الْقُرْآنَ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ قَامَ عَنْهُ بِزِيَادَة أَوْ نُقْصَان: زِيَادَة فِي هُدىً، أَوْ نُقْصَان مِنْ عَمىً.
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ عَلَى أَحَد بَعْدَ الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ فَاقَة، وَلاَ لاحَد قَبْلَ الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ غِنىً; فَاسْتَشْفُوهُ مِنْ أَدْوَائِكُمْ، وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِهِ عَلَى لاَوَائِكُمْ، فَإنَّ فِيهِ شِفَاءً مِنْ أَكْبَرِ الدَّاءِ، وَهُوَ الْكُفْرُ وَالنِّفَاقُ، وَالْغَيُّ وَالضَّلاَلُ، فَاسْأَلُوا اللهَ بِهِ، وَتَوَجَّهُوا إِلَيْهِ بِحُبِّهِ
And know that this Qurʾān is an adviser who never deceives, a leader who never misleads and a narrator who never speaks a lie. No one will sit beside this Qurʾān but that when he rises he will achieve one addition or one diminution - addition in his guidance or elimination in his (spiritual) blindness.
You should also know that no one will need anything after (guidance from) the Qurʾān and no one will be free from want before (guidance from) the Qurʾān.Therefore, seek cure from it for your ailments and seek its assistance in your distresses. It contains a cure for the biggest diseases, namely unbelief, hypocrisy, revolt and misguidance. Pray to Allah through it and turn to Allah with its love.
How Can I Seek Advice From The Qurʾān? Some Inspiring Examples
Example 1: Imām ʿAlī ar-Riḍā (ʿa) practically follows the instruction of the Qurʾān to protect oneself from the trials of the Hereafter.
He teaches us how to get instruction from Sūrah al-Balad:
كان أبو الحسن الرضا عليه السلام إذا أكل اتي بصحفة، فتوضع قرب مائدته، فيعمد إلى أطيب الطعام مما يؤتى به، فيأخذ من كل شئ شيئا فيوضع في تلك الصحفة، ثم يأمر بها للمساكين ثم يتلو هذه الآية: فلا اقتحم العقبة
When Imām ʿAlī ar-Riḍā (ʿa) would eat, he would keep a plate next in which he would gather the best of the foods, and then ask for it to be distributed to the poor, then he would recite these āyāt (Sūrah al-Balad: 11-13):
فَلَا اقْتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ But he could not scale the steep ascent.
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْعَقَبَةُ How will you comprehend what the Steep ascent is? –
فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ To free a neck (from the burden of debt or slavery)
Until he would reach the next āyah,
أَوْ إِطْعَامٌ فِي يَوْمٍ ذِي مَسْغَبَةٍ
Or to feed in times of famine (Sūrah al-Balad: 14)
ثم يقول: علم الله عز وجل أن ليس كل إنسان يقدر على عتق رقبة، فجعل لهم سبيلا إلى الجنة بإطعام الطعام
Then he said: “Allah knew that not everyone is able to free a slave, so He made for them a way to Paradise by feeding them food”
Example 2 : Imām Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq (ʿa) follows the advice of the Qurʾān to maintain womb relations, even if one is not at fault.
تفسير العياشي: عن صفوان بن مهران الجمال قال: وقع بين عبد الله بن الحسن وبين أبي عبد الله عليه السلام كلام حتى ارتفعت أصواتهما واجتمع الناس عليهما حتى افترقا تلك العشية، فلما أصبحت غدوت في حاجة لي فإذا أبو عبد الله على باب عبد الله بن الحسن وهو يقول: قولي يا جارية لأبي محمد هذا أبو عبد الله بالباب، فخرج عبد الله بن الحسن وهو يقول: يا أبا عبد الله ما بكر بك؟ قال: إنه مررت البارحة بآية من كتاب الله فأقلقني قال: وما هي؟ قال: قوله عز وجل: " الذين يصلون ما أمر الله به أن يوصل ويخشون ربهم ويخافون سوء الحساب " قال: فاعتنقا وبكيا جميعا ثم قال عبد الله بن الحسن: صدقت والله يا أبا عبد الله كأني لم أقرأ هذه الآية قط
There was once an altercation between Abdullah ibn Al Hassan and Imām Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq (ʿa), and voices were raised and people gathered. They dispersed and later in the day Imām Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq (ʿa) was at the door of Abdullah Ibn Al-Hassan who asks why the Imām is here. The Imām replied, Allah says in the Qurʾān:
وَالَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ وَيَخَافُونَ سُوءَ الْحِسَابِ
“and those who join what Allah has commanded to be joined (meaning silatur rehm or joining of womb relations), and fear their Lord, and are afraid of an adverse reckoning” (13:21)
They embraced and wept together, then Abdullah bin Al-Hassan said: “By God, you are right, O Abu Abdullah, as if I had never read this verse.”
A Duʿāʾ That Helps Us Visualize A Desired State
We end this week’s newsletter with this duʿāʾ from Aṣ-Ṣaḥīfah as-Sajjādiyyah (Dua 42)1:
أَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّد وَآلِهِ
56.O God, bless Muhammad and his Household
واجْعَلِ القُرْآنَ لنا فِي ظُلَمِ اللَّيالِي مُونِساً
57.and appoint the Qurʾān for us an intimate in the shadows of nights
وَمِنْ نَزَغَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ وَخَطَرَاتِ الْوَسَاوِسِ حَارِساً،
58.and a guardian against the instigations of Satan and confusing thoughts,
Until next week, fī amānillāh :)
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