UNION WITH THE BELOVED

One of the excellent whisperings of Sha’ban reported to have been recited by all the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) is the well-known al-Munajat al-Sha’baniyya. The climax of the supplication is as follows: “O God, bestow me perfect connection to Thee, and enlighten the eyes of our hearts with the light of Thy vision, until the sights of the hearts tear the veils of light and reach the Source of Greatness, and our spirits become suspended to the invincibility of Thy sanctity…” In order to understand this verse we must know that the source of the human being is from an exalted plane of existence. Almighty Allah says, “wa nafakhtu fihi min Ruhi” (I blew unto him from My spirit (15:29)). The human descent to the lowest realm of existence al-dunya (thumma radadnahu asfala saafilin (then We relegated him to the lowest of the low- 95:5) was to enable him undertake a volitional journey through knowledge and action back to his origin where there is no curtain between the lover and the Only Beloved. The fundamental impediment the human being faces is the material attachment of this world. If he clears himself from sin and worldly attachment, and allows the soul to reign over his body, he tears off the curtains of darkness, and enters a world of light which despite being encouraging can also be deceiving. Whereas the world of light allows one to vision the Only Beloved according to one’s existential limitations, it veils one to apprehend the perfect and ultimate possible vision of the face of the Only Beloved. The wayfarer to Allah conjectures that he has finally attained the zenith of his vision, a vision which does not entail any curtain between him and the Beloved, whereas in reality he has still got to severe some veils of light. Gnostics say that the veils of light are nothing but one’s limitations of existence. Hence one has still got to struggle to rid away himself from the curtains of light, and continue on his path of perfection, to attain perfect connection to Allah (kamaal al-inqitaa’). This supplication narrated by Amir al-mu’minin (‘a) in the holy month of Sha’ban al-Mu‘azzam must wake us up from the slumber of negligence that has taken deep roots into our beings.