Remembrance of the Heart
“O heart, come and listen,
to the attributes of Haydar,1
so that by praising him,
you become bright as the moon.
Know that he whose nature
is pure and sincere seeks
the remembrance of the Imam
with all his heart and soul.
He who does not seek
the Imam’s remembrance is
devoid of wisdom and his heart
is plunged in darkness,
But he who praises him
from the depths of his soul,
his heart becomes illuminated
by the light of faith.
He who seeks to praise Ali
acquired the secrets of faith,
and his heart becomes filled
with sublime knowledge.
Truly, he who seeks the Imam
in the remembrance of him,
the light in his heart burns
brighter than the moon.”
1Haydar (lion) is one of the names used for [Imam] Ali, on account of his exceptional courage…
About Fida’i Khurasani
“Fida’i” was the pen-name of Muhammad b. Zayn al-Abidin Khurasani, a descendant of the poet Khaki Khurasani of Dizbad [Iran]. He was born in the same village in northern Khurasan around 1850. After completing his early education, Fida’i went to Mashhad for higher studies, which included theology and jurisprudence. As the most learned of the Khurasani Ismailis, he travelled to India several times to meet the 48th Imam, Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III (d. 1957), who appointed him as mu’allim, the chief religious instructor of his community in Iran.
Besides being a prolific poet, Fid’ai was the author of several works on Ismaili theology, law and history. He died in 1923 and was buried next to the grave of Khaki Khurasani in Dizbad. The poem is from his Mathnawi-i nigaristan, also known as Qasida-i nigaristan, ed. A.A. Semenov, in Iran (1929).
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Reprinted from Shimmering Light, An Anthology of Ismaili Poetry Translated by Faquir M. Hunzai, I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1996
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