ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Sacred Effusion Volume 1 Chapter 7: Peace be unto you and unto the spirits who descended in your courtyard أَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلى الأَرْوَاحِ الَّتِى حَلَّتْ بِفِنَائِكَ Peace be unto you and unto the spirits who descended in your courtyard Commentary أَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلى الأَرْوَاحِ Peace be unto you and unto the spirits...

In this verse not only do we declare that Imam al-Husayn (AS) is in the state of salam , but also bear witness that his noble companions who sacrificed their lives for Allah and attained the great station of martyrdom, also enjoy the state of peace and protection from calamities. And if we take the verse to be invocative, then we also pray for higher states of salam for them. وَعَلىَ الارْوَاحِ And unto the spirits ( arwah ) The word a rwah in the above phrase is the plural of ruh .

And the word ruh (spirit) comes from the word rih (wind)[^1]. Ruh has the quality of rih , which moves ( mutaharrik ) and makes things move ( muharrik ). The ruh likewise moves and makes the body move. In a tradition narrated in al-Kafi , Imam al-Sadiq (AS) tells Muhammad bin Muslim: إِنَّ الرُّوْحَ مُتَحَرِّكٌ كَالرِّيْحِ وَإِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ رُوْحًا لأَنَّهُ اشْتُقَّ اِسْمُهُ مِنَ الرِّيْحِ... Indeed ruh (spirit) is in motion like rih (lit.

wind), and it was named ruh because its name was gotten from al-rih... [^2] In fact the entire universe, constantly moves and travels towards Allah, for the Holy Qur`an explicitly tells us that every entity does tasbih , which, according to authoritative lexicographers like Raghib al-Isfahani, fundamentally means: اَلْمَرُّ السَّرِيْعُ فِيْ عِبَادَةِ اللهِ “...to travel swiftly in the path of Divine worship.”[^3] Almighty Allah says: تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّماواتُ السَّبْعُ وَالأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فيهِنَّ وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلكِنْ لا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كانَ حَليماً غَفُورا The seven heavens glorify Him, and the earth [too], and whoever is in them.