O Imam al-Mahdi…
Today is Friday.
My master, we are now reaching the final days of the month of Safar. Muharram came, our hearts softened, our eyes wept, and for two months we surrounded ourselves with the remembrance of your grandfather, Aba Abdillah al-Husayn (AS). But as these days come to an end, there is a thought that worries me:
What will remain when the black clothes come down?
My Imam, we hope that the Husayni spirit awakened within us during Muharram and Safar does not leave with these months. If our tears were sincere, surely something within us should remain different. Our relationship with Allah SWT should become stronger. Our sins should become heavier upon our hearts. And perhaps most importantly, the Book for which your grandfather gave everything should become closer to us.
Ayatollah Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi Bahjat (ra) said something that has stayed with me:
“If we are not utilising the Qur'an, it is because our certitude and conviction in it is weak; likewise, even if we were to look at an infallible Imam we will not be changed, likewise there were some who were in their presence and spoke foul and profanely to them!”
Dar Mahzar Ayatollah Bahjat, vol. 3, p. 280
O my Imam… these words frighten me. We often think that if only we could see you, everything within us would change. If only the veil of Ghaybah were lifted, we would become different people. Yet there were people who saw the Ma'sumeen (AS) with their own eyes and remained unchanged.
Perhaps the problem has never simply been absence. Perhaps it is the state of the heart receiving the guidance.
And the Qur'an is already in our homes. We kiss it. We place it in the highest place. We recite it on special occasions. Yet how often do we actually sit with it, understand it, allow it to correct us, and let its verses enter the decisions we make every day?
My master, you are the living Imam of the Qur'an. How can we sincerely claim to be waiting for you while remaining distant from the Book whose teachings you will establish?
As the month of Safar leaves us, I pray that our relationship with the Qur'an becomes better. Even if it is only a few verses every day... we will read, understand, reflect and act. We will let the Qur'an become something we live with rather than something we occasionally return to.
O Imam al-Mahdi (AJTF), may the tears of Muharram and Safar lead us towards the Qur'an, and may the Qur'an prepare our hearts to recognise, obey and stand beside you when Allah SWT permits your reappearance.
