A Treasury of Virtues by al-Quda'i al-Qadi; Qutbuddin Tahera; Williams Rowan

Author:al-Quda'i, al-Qadi; Qutbuddin, Tahera; Williams, Rowan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 2016-03-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

SAYINGS WITH UNUSUAL WORDS

6.1

ʿAlī used to teach his companions how to invoke blessings on the prophet, saying:

O God, unfolder of lands unfolded, creator of heavens raised high, compeller of hearts, wretched or blissful—

Let your noblest blessings, your manifold graces, your merciful compassion, all be showered upon Muḥammad, your servant and messenger—who opened what was locked, came as a seal for what had come before, rightfully announced the truth, repelled the forces of evil, and crushed the assault of the errant, as he had been charged.

He undertook your command vigorously and obeyed you, rising to serve your pleasure, with no fetters on boldness, or weakness of resolve, comprehending your revelation, safeguarding your compact, and executing your command, until he had ignited the flame of truth for whomsoever sought a burning brand, and lit the torches signaling the road to paradise for people who had tied up their camels not knowing where to go. God’s favors bestow his means on his people.

It was through Muḥammad that hearts were guided after being steeped in sedition and sin. He directed them with brilliant signposts, blazing rules, and the luminous ways of Islam.

He is the trustee whom you entrusted with your message, custodian of your treasure of knowledge, your witness on judgment day, your emissary sent as a blessing, your messenger sent with truth and as the embodiment of mercy.

O God, give him an expansive share of your justice. Reward him with a goodly recompense, multiplied manifold by your generosity. Grant him a pure and unmuddied recompense from the font of your flowing reward and abundant magnanimity.

O God, let his palace be lofty above all others. Give honor to his resting place and his station at your side. Perfect his light.49 Reward him for being an exemplary messenger—one whose testimonial was accepted and whose words convinced, a man of just speech, decisive action, and magisterial evidence.

6.2

‘Alī said: For those to whom life’s lessons have spoken plainly, I give my pledge: The fields sown by the pious will not wither. The roots planted by them will not shrivel from thirst.

The most hateful of God’s creation in his eyes is a man who collects bits of religious knowledge, heedless of the black beasts of sedition, blind to the mysteries of stillness. People of the same ilk call him a scholar, but he has not spent even a full day in learning. He is hasty and thinks he has in abundance what he actually possesses little of. Yet true knowledge is far superior to anything he has amassed. When he has drunk his fill of stagnant water and increased his hoard without profit, he sits down to judge among the people, to elucidate what others have found perplexing. When an impenetrable case comes to him, he assembles jumbled thoughts from his own opinions and gives judgment. In cutting through uncertainties, his words are as weak as the spider’s gossamer thread.50 For when he errs, he does not know whether he has erred or judged correctly. He stomps about in the gloom and rides the steed of ignorance.

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