Door of Faqr and Heir of the Trust of Faqr

“O Allah! They are People of the Cloak and they belong to me, purify them from all impurities.”

Umm Salama says that she entered her head in the cloak and asked if she was also with them. The Prophet said, “You are on righteousness, you are on righteousness.” (Musnad Ahmad

ibn Hanbal 27041)

 Ismail relates from his father Abdullah ibn Jafar that when the Holy Prophet was blessed with revelation of the verse 33 of sura al-Ahzab, he said, “Call them! Call them!” Safiyya asked, “Whom should I call O Prophet?” He said, “My family; Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn.” Hence they were called and the Prophet placed his cloak upon them, raised his hands and prayed, “O Allah! This is my progeny. Bless

Mohammad and his progeny.” (Mustadrak 4709)

 Sa‟d ibn Abi Waqqas relates that when the verse 33 of sura al-Ahzab was revealed, the Holy Prophet covered Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatimah-tuz-Zahra, Hasan and Husayn under his cloak and said, “O Allah! They are People of the Cloak and

are from me.” (Mustadrak 4708)

Sultan Bahoo says:  Ali got Faqr from the Holy Prophet. (Ain al-Faqr)  Four Companions of the Holy Prophet have command over four attributes; Abu Bakr Siddiq over truthfulness, Umar ibn

Khattab over self-accountability and justice, Usman ibn Affan over generosity and modesty while Ali ibn Abi Talib has command over knowledge and Faqr. (Asrar-e-Qadri) First of all, Ali ibn Abi Talib requested Prophet Mohammad for gnosis of Allah. In this regard Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani says:

 First of all, Ali ibn Abi Talib sought from the Holy Prophet the easiest and the quickest way of reaching Allah. The

Prophet waited for the revelation so Angel Gabriel came and taught shahada thrice. The Holy Prophet repeated after him in the same way. Then Prophet Mohammad taught shahada to Ali ibn Abi Talib and then to all of his Companions and said, “We return towards the greater jihad from the minor one.” Greater jihad is a fight against one‟s self. Once the

Holy Prophet said to some of his Companions, “Your biggest enemy is your own self (nafs42) which lies between your two sides.” One cannot win love of Allah unless he defeats his esoteric enemies that are inciting self, repenting self and the inspiring self. (Moreover, one cannot achieve closeness of

Allah) unless he is purified of all the undesirable traits like gluttony, undue sleep, absurd talk and bestial habits like fighting, abusing, aggression, and satanic attributes like ignorance, vanity, jealousy, enmity and other such exoteric and esoteric evils. When a person gets rid of all these vices then roots of sin are eliminated from his being and he is counted among the purified and sanctified ones as Allah says:

(2:

﴾﴿222) نیرہطتملابحیوسیباوتلابحیہللانا

Meaning: Undoubtedly, Allah loves those who repent much and He loves those who keep themselves thoroughly pure and clean. (2:222)

42 Self is for the Quranic word an-nafs and it has four layers or levels. Each layer annihilates and is elevated to the next level upon its purgation. The first layer incites man towards sin therefore it is called „inciting self‟ (an-nafs al-ammarah). On purification it elevates to the next layer which blames and repents on committing sin. It is called „repenting self‟ (an-nafs al-lawwamah). The third layer inspires before sin hence the name „inspiring self‟ (an-nafs al-mulhimah). Whereas fourth layer is pure of sins and is at peace. It is called „self atpeace‟ (an-nafs al-mutmainnah). The self is an abode of worldly and heavenly desires and is a veil between Allah and His slave. The seeker is blessed with the vision of Allah only when this veil is removed on the purgation of self.

The person who repents only from the exoteric sins is not counted among the thoroughly clean and pure ones mentioned in the verse. He is repentant but not truly because perfect repentance is the attribute of chosen ones only (who sincerely repent from all the exoteric and esoteric sins). Such chosen ones are completely forgiven. The person who only repents from exoteric sins is like a person who cuts only the stems of the wild growing grass instead of uprooting it. Such cutting results in more vigorous growth. On the contrary, the one who repents from all his exoteric and esoteric sins as well as all the satanic and undesirable behaviours is like a person who cuts the wild grass from root which rarely grows again. After a complete and perfect repentance, the source of persuasion (Ism-e-Allah Zaat) removes everything other than Allah from the inward of the seeker. Certainly! The person who has not removed the bitter plant can never replace it with the sweet one. O seeker of the Divine vision! Learn lesson from it so you achieve success and reach the destination. (Sirr

al-Asrar Chapter 5)

 It is related that first of all Ali ibn Abi Talib sought Faqr from the Holy Prophet. He said to him, “O Messenger of Allah! Please tell the quickest and the easiest path to Allah?” The Holy Prophet said, “Invoke Allah‟s name continuously in solitude.” Ali ibn Abi Talib asked, “How should it be invoked?” The Holy Prophet said, “Close your eyes and listen to me invoking thrice and then repeat it.” The Holy Prophet closed his eyes and recited shahada thrice in a loud voice. Ali ibn Abi Talib closed his eyes and heard then repeated it in the same way three times. Since then this invocation continued among Mystics. (Rehan-ul-Quloob, Sharif-

ut-Tawarikh)

This proves that the Holy Prophet granted the esoteric persuasion of shahada to Ali ibn Abi Talib before everyone else and took him to the station of Oneness of Allah.

 It is written in Sair-ul-Aqtab, Sharif-ut-Tawarikh and Tawarikh

Aina-e-Tasawwuf that one day all the Rashidun Caliphs were present in the Mohammadan Assembly. The Prophet said to

Abu Bakr, “If I grant you the status of Faqr which was conferred upon me from the Divine court on the night of

Miraj, how would you fulfil its obligation?” He replied, “O

Prophet! I will adopt truthfulness.” The Holy Prophet asked the same question from Umar and he answered, “I will adopt justice.” Then the same question was asked from Usman ibn

Affan, he replied, “I will adopt modesty and patience.” When this question was asked from Ali ibn Abi Talib, he replied,

“If this status will be granted to me, I shall hide the sins of others and forgive them.”

The Holy Prophet was delighted at this answer and expressed, “O Ali! You answered exactly as per the will of Allah and His Prophet. You truly deserve this status.” He blessed him with Faqr and gave him the glad tidings, “You are the king of all the Saints and the leader of my umma.”

(Sair-ul-Aqtab, Sharif-ut-Tawarikh and Tawarikh Aina-e-Tasawwuf)

Undoubtedly, forgiveness and hiding sins of others are the attributes of Allah and Prophet Mohammad. Mian Mohammad Bakhsh says:

ںاوافقر لبطا میں اد فقر شیپو ہدپرکم

ںاوماشر تھیں ہک ہر ںسکا نہلپ ےد کسے عیب

Explanation: Faqr hides the weaknesses of others and I am the seeker of Faqr. I cannot expose anyone‟s sins because I am embarrassed of my own sins.

Forgiveness and hiding others‟ sins are the most essential qualities of the holder of Divine Trust to guide umma on the path of Faqr. If he lacks them, no one will follow him as everyone has one or the other weakness and every person is indulged in one or the other sin.

 Once Angel Gabriel presented four turbans to the Holy Prophet and said, “Allah has sent these turbans for you to wear.” The Holy Prophet first wore the turban with one crest and then put it on Abu Bakr‟s head. Then he wore the turban with two crests and put it on Umar‟s head. Then he wore the turban with three crests and granted it to Usman ibn Affan. Lastly he wore four-crested turban and put it on Ali ibn Abi Talib‟s head and said, “O Ali! I was ordered to grant you this four-crested turban. This turban now belongs to you and you can pass it on to the person whom you think deserves it and can

fulfil its obligations.” (Sair-ul-Aqtab, Sharif-ut-Tawarikh and

Tawarikh Aina-e-Tasawwuf)

This shows that the turban was handed over to Ali ibn Abi Talib as a trust and it was meant to be transferred to umma through him, by his will and order.  Jabir ibn Abdullah relates that when the following verse was revealed:

:(13 7)

﴾﴿داہموقلکلورذنمتناامنا

Meaning: (O Mohammad)! You are the warner (to the disobedient) and the guide to every community. (13:7)

Prophet Mohammad put his hand on his own chest and said,

“I am the warner.” Then pointing towards Ali ibn Abi Talib he said, “You are the guide. The seekers of the right path will gain guidance from you.”  Ibad bin Abdullah Al-Asadi relates that Ali ibn Abi Talib said while explaining the verse “(O Mohammad)! You are the warner (to the disobedient) and the guide to every community” that “In this verse, „the warner‟ is the Holy Prophet and I am

„the guide‟.” (Mustadrak 4646)