DR. KIRMANI’S CORNER

This section is developed through the weekly reflections of Dr. Sayed Shabbir Kirmani, our respected resident scholar. Each week, Dr. Kirmani will share his thoughts on faith, current affairs, and community matters, offering valuable insights on how Islamic teachings relate to both global and local events.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

The Open Table and the Sealed Vessel: A Rajab Reflection

As we traverse the blessed month of Rajab, we find ourselves at a spiritual convergence. This week, many of us will spread the Sufro (Niyaz) of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as), and just days later, we will mourn the martyrdom of his son, Imam Musa al-Khadim (as).

While these events seem distinct—one a celebration of bounty, the other a commemoration of tragedy— Tafsir al-Mizan offers a profound framework that unites them into a single practical discipline for our daily lives.

The Open Table: Seeking the “Heart at Rest”
When we prepare the Kunday or Sufro, we are in some sense reflecting the Quranic request of the disciples of Jesus in the Quran: “Send down to us a Table Spread (Ma’idah) from heaven…” (5:114).

In Al-Mizan, Allamah Tabatabai makes a critical distinction. He notes that the disciples did not ask for food solely to satisfy hunger; they explicitly stated, “We wish to eat thereof and that our hearts may be at rest.” The physical food was merely a vessel for spiritual certainty.

This week, when you attend or host a Niyaz, shift your intention. Do not view the food merely as a ritual blessing (Tabarruk). Instead, view the gathering as an active “Return” (Eid). In Al-Mizan, an Eid is defined as a day where one returns to Allah’s bounty. Use the Sufro to physically reconnect with a family member or community member you have drifted from. Let the shared meal be the mechanism that puts your “heart at rest” regarding that strained relationship.

The Sealed Vessel
If the Sufro of Imam Sadiq teaches us how to open our homes, the life of Imam Musa al-Khadim teaches us how to close our reactivity.

The title Al-Khadim comes from the Quranic praise of those who “restrain anger” (Al-Kazimeen al-Ghayz) (3:134). Allamah Tabatabai explains that linguistically, Kazm means to fill a waterskin and then tie it shut so tightly that not a single drop leaks. It is not the absence of emotion, but the containment of it under pressure.

Reflections
Community gatherings (like the Sufro) can often be sources of stress, judgment, or petty conflict. This is where you apply the “Sealed Vessel” technique. When a guest makes a rude comment or the logistics go wrong, visualize Kazm. Imagine your soul as that waterskin. If you react, you leak your spiritual grace. If you hold it tight—like Imam al-Khadim did in the prisons of Baghdad—you preserve your peace.

Imam al-Sadiq gives us the table of knowledge; Imam al-Khadim gives us the character to sit at it. This week, may we honor them both: by opening our tables with generosity, and sealing our hearts against animosity.

May we have the ability to receive the Divine Mercy and extend it to others!

With Duas,

Dr. Kirmani