Muhammad bin Sinan narrates from a person who said...
Muhammad bin Sinan narrates from a person who said: I asked Aba ‘Abdillah [al-Sadiq (AS)] about the verse “and whoever is killed wrongfully, We have certainly given his heir an authority”, and he said: That is the Qa`im of the progeny of Muhammad (AS). He will come out and rise to avenge the blood of al-Husayn (AS)...
[^5] We also read in the supplication of al-Nudba : اَيْنَ الطالِبُ بِدَمِ الْمَقْتُوْلِ بِكَرْبَلاَءِ Where is the one who would avenge the blood of the one who was killed in Karbala’...[^6] Therefore whether we say that Allah Himself will avenge the blood of Imam al-Husayn (AS) or the present Imam (AS) will do the same, there is no difference. This is because the Imam (AS) is an entirely submissive servant of Almighty Allah and whatever he does is whatever Allah wants.
أَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ثَارَ اللَّهِ Peace be unto you, O one whose blood is the blood of Allah One of the possible meanings of the phrase ya thar Allah is ‘ ya man tharuhu thar Allah’ (O one whose blood is the blood of Allah)[^7]. Here the za’ir declares that Imam al-Husayn (AS) enjoys the lofty spiritual state of al-baqa’ bi Allah ba’d al-fana’ (survival in Allah after dissolution in Him) which the mystic-scholars expound in their works.
Due to the comprehensive and profound meaning it entails, we would not like to go into the details of this reality here. Those who have attained heights of human perfection through supererogatory worship and obedience ( nawafil ) come to a station where they vision and comprehend that every act of theirs is done through Almighty Allah. In other words, Almighty Allah becomes their means of action.
In a sacred tradition [ hadith al-qudsi ], Almighty Allah is reported to have said: مَا يَتَقَرّبُ إِلَىّ عَبْدٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيْ بِشَيْءٍ اَحَبُّ إِلَىّ مِمّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ. وَإِنّهُ لَيَتَقَرَّّبُ إِلَىّ بِالنّافِلَةِ حَتّي اُحِبّهُ، فَاِذَا اَحْبَبْتُهُ، كُنْتُ اِذاً سَمْعَهُ الّذِيْ يَسْمَعُ بِهِ وَبَصَرَهُ الَّتِيْ يَبْصُرُ بِهَا وَلِسَانَهُ الّذِيْ يَنْطقُ بِهِ وَيَدَهُ الّتِيْ يَبْطشُ بِهَا، إِنْ دَعَانِيْ اَجَبْتُهُ.
My servant does not draw near to me with anything more lovable to Me than what I have made obligatory on him. And surely he never ceases to draw near to Me through supererogatory acts until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing through which he hears, his sight through which he sees, his tongue through which he speaks, his hand through which he grasps. When he calls on Me I respond to him.