SAYING OF MOULANA ALI (SA)

In 2020 I wrote a post on

الْفَقْرُ فَخْرِي the

Saying of Moulana Ali (SA)

which means Poverty (spiritual humility and detachment) is my Pride.

The template was the 77 th Milad Mubaraka recorded live Vaaz worldwide relay be-gan with Hay'ul Muqaddas Burhanuddin Moula (RA) bayan on the 'al faqr fakhri'a unique Islamic concept.

In that post I had quoted Allama Iqbal extensively to understand the concept.

Recently I came across the reading of Munajaat of Abdul Rehman Jami, which has added more to my understanding.

Hereinbelow I quote the two stanzas which inspired me to write this post.

'Grant us the crown of poverty.

Not the poverty of the destitute who has nothing and wants everything. The poverty of the one who has been emptied of wanting and found that the emptiness no is not empty.

Grant us the poverty that is a crown

that strange inversion where the one who gives up most possesses most, where the one who releases the grip finally holds something real, where the open hand receives what the closed fist spent its whole life trying to seize.

With the help of Al let me expound 

Moulana Ali (SA) lived amidst responsibility, leadership, and even governance - yet his inner state remained untouched by possession.

This is the very emptiness that is not empty.

When desire leaves, space is created

And that space is filled not with lack, but with divine sufficiency (ghina billah) So the "emptiness" Jami speaks of is actually fullness of reliance.

Jami calls it a crown - something of dignity and elevation.

Moulana Ali (SA) embodied this paradox:

He owned little, yet gave abundantly

He ruled a state, yet lived like the poorest of his subjects

He had power, yet chose restraint

This is why fagr becomes a crown because it liberates a person from:

dependence on people

fear of loss

illusion of control And places him in quiet sovereignty under Allah alone.

"The one who gives up most possesses most" This is perhaps the deepest inversion.

This is perhaps the deepest inversion.

In worldly logic:

Possession = holding tightly

In the language of faqr:

Possession = letting go

Imam Ali (SA) says:

"Detach yourself from what you love, and you will be truly free."

Why?

Because:

What you cling to owns you

What you release frees you

So the one who "releases the grip":

is no longer owned by wealth, status, or approval

and thus gains something far more real - inner mastery and divine قرب )closeness(

"The open hand receives..."

A closed fist symbolizes: control fear accumulation An open hand symbolizes: trust surrender receptivity

Moulana Ali's life was an open hand: giving even in hunger forgiving even in power trusting even in adversity And such a hand receives what cannot be seized: contentment (qana'ah) certainty (yaqeen)

presence with Allah.

This faqr is not passive - it is active detachment, the very روح )spirit) that culminates in Husainiyat:

To stand for truth without needing the world To sacrifice without fear of loss To give everything, because nothing owns you For the one crowned with this poverty:

Loss does not break him - it reveals him.

It is these two luminous pillars of the Shia ethos - Husainiyat )حسينيات( and الْفَقْرُ فَخْرِي

that have forged a resilience in Iran which no arsenal can break. For Husainiyat teaches a people how to stand when standing means sacrifice, and faqr teaches them how to endure when endurance demands detachment from all but Allah.

This is not merely political resistance - it is spiritual defiance. A defiance rooted not in wealth, weapons, or worldly alliances, but in a قلب )heart) that neither fears loss nor seeks gain.

The world would do well to understand - this is my earnest plea.

A nation shaped by Karbala does not measure victory the way empires do.

In the past thirty days alone, the United States and Israel have reportedly expended tens of billions of dollars in relentless bombardment and military operations.

Precision strikes, advanced weaponry, and overwhelming force - all deployed with the expectation of submission.

Yet what has been achieved?

Iran still stands.

Not merely standing - but shaping the narrative, absorbing the ضربات blows with-out surrendering its روح spirit

For when people are crowned with الْفَقْرُ فَخْرِي they cannot be economically strangled.

And when they are nurtured on Husainiyat, they cannot be psychologically subdued.

History has always shown:

You may overpower a nation materially but you cannot defeat people who have already detached from the fear of loss.

And perhaps that is the real lesson of this moment -

Peace will not come by exhausting Iran, but by finally understanding what makes it inexhaustible.

At this critical juncture in world history I with humility, helplessness but with hope look upon ALLAH to grant wisdom, sagacity to our World Leaders. Ameen

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