Grand Ayatullah Mohamed Taqi Behjat (R.A.)
The Godly Scholar – Alim-e-Rabbani of our times
Grand
Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Behjat Fumani was born into
a religious and pious family in the year 1334AH (1915CE) in Fuman in North Iran. & returned back
to his lord on 17 May 09 in Qom
He
lost his mother before he was 2 years old.
About his father, Mahmood Behjat, family members relate an
interesting event.
When his father
was around 16-17 years of age, he fell seriously ill and they thought he would
not survive. When the relatives gathered
around this young man, one of the family members heard a voice saying, “Do
not worry, he will be fine, because he is going to be the father of Muhammad
Taqi.” After this event, the youth soon recovered
from his illness, got married a few years later and had several sons. He named his third son Muhammad Taqi in
memory of the event of his childhood.
However, in infancy, this child fell into a pond and was drowned. He had
one more son after him, and he also named him Muhammad Taqi. This last son grew up to be the great
scholar and ‘arif, Ayatullah Behjat.
His father
was a reciter of marsiyas and he would
often take the young Agha Behjat with him to his recitals, thus inculcating in
him a deep and abiding love for Sayyid al-Shuhada (A.S.).
From a young age
he showed signs of genius and a great thirst for acquiring knowledge. After his primary studies, he went straight
into religious studies, and at the age of 14, he moved to Kerbala. Four years later he came to the famous
seminary of Najaf, where he had an opportunity to study under some of the best
teachers and scholars in the Muslim world.
He studied Usul under Grand Ayatullahs Abu’l Hasan Isfahani,
Mirza Na’ini and Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Gharawi Isfahani (known as Kumpani),
and Fiqh under Ayatullah Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi. He studied
the philosophical texts of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra under Ayt. S. Hasan Badkubeyi.
At the same time
as attending the intermediate and higher levels of religious studies, he was
very meticulous in his pursuit of spiritual and mystical instruction. In this regard, his teachers were Ayatullah
Muhammad Hasan Isfahani and Ayatullah Sayyid Abdu’l Ghaffar, and
finally, the Godly scholar, the matchless instructor, the giant amongst
spiritual masters, Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Qadhi Tabataba’i. He remained with his last teacher for many
years, learning from him the secrets of the higher paths of Akhlaq and ‘Irfan.
His Character and Qualities
1. Piety and Self-Building
From his youth, Agha
Behjat was constantly engaged in self-purification and self-building. In his ethical instructions, he always
insists that one should work hard at this task and forego and abandon many
luxuries in order to make headway against the endless demands of the soul.
He is of the opinion that in order to succeed in this jihad
al-akbar, ethical purity (akhlaq) and knowledge (‘ilm) go
hand in hand. In fact he considers knowledge without
self-purification, to be the more damaging than anything else. His famous advice to youths is ‘to read and
practise one hadith daily from the Chapter of Jihad al-nafs in Wasail
al-Shi’a of Shaykh Hurr al-Amili.[1]
By his deeds and words, this great scholar has always
directed himself to God alone. A
great mujtahid has said about Agha Behjat, “It cannot be just said
about him that he is a man of piety; in fact he is the true essence and
manifestation of taqwa.”
2. His Asceticism (Zuhd) and Simple Lifestyle
The close servants of God always look at the reality of
this world, contrary to other human beings whose eyes are fixed on its
pleasures and luxuries. By foregoing material comforts, they attain spiritual
strength, and while the rest of the people stumble in this dark world, these awliya
soar in the illuminated heights in proximity to God.
Agha Behjat is one of the most glowing examples of these awliya
in our times. He is a mystic and scholar
who has always lived a simple life, without the remotest material
attachments. He has understood more
completely than others the reality of this world and the worthlessness of its
pleasures.
He lives in a simple, small and old house and has resisted
the many offers from relatives and well-wishers to move to more comfortable
accommodation. Ayatullah Misbah says, “For many years, he has lived in a
rented house with two rooms. One of the rooms has a curtain, which he would
draw when we would visit him. On the other side of the curtain his family would
carry on with their household chores. We would sit on one side of this curtain
and benefit greatly from his wisdom. Although simple, the atmosphere was always
full of a special nur and spirituality…”
3. His Worship
Agha Behjat’s students report that he has a special
closeness to God, that is immediately evident in his manner of worship. Those who have prayed behind him have
described it ‘as a spiritually uplifting and unique experience’. In fact,
the Fatimiyyah mosque at the end of the Guzarkhan market, where he has led
prayers three times a day for the last 40 years, is always full at prayer
time. High ranking scholars make a
special effort to come and pray behind him.
Allamah Tabataba’i would come here to pray. Almost as soon as Agha Behjat begins his
prayer, tears flow from his eyes - frequently he has to pause because his voice
is choked with emotion - such is his awe in God’s presence.
One of the scholars remarks, “In the early days, Agha Behjat
would go to the undeveloped part of Qum, past
some farms, and recite his evening prayers with some companions in that remote
location. One day, after the maghribain
prayers, he commented, “If only the kings of this world realised how
much pleasure a servant experiences in worship, they would never even glance at
the worldly delights…”
Ayatullah Shaykh Javad Kerbalayi says, “Agha Behjat never misses his late night
prayers (namaze-shab) and spends a long time weeping in the middle of
the night, especially on the night preceding Friday.”
A scholar reports, “I came upon him one Thurday night in
Madressay-e-Sayyid in Najaf. I saw him weeping and crying in prostration. He
was repeating in a broken voice over and over, “Ilahi! Man li ghayruk,
asaluhu kashfa dhurri, wan-nazara fi amri?! (My Lord! Who have I got besides
You, Who I can ask for relief and support?)”.
4. His Ziyarat and Tawassul (Saluting the
Ahlul Bayt (A.S.)
Despite his advanced years, the daily routine of Agha Behjat
has remained unchanged. Early every
morning (exactly at 7.00am), he presents himself at the shrine of Lady Fatima
Masuma (A.S.) to pay his respects and send salutations. With the greatest of humility, he stands near
her Zarih, and recites the Ziyarate Ashura of Imam Husain (A.S.).
Sayyid Muhammad Husein Tehrani, in his book, Anwar al-Malakut, quotes Ayatullah
Shaykh Abbas Quchani, the great scholar and spiritual successor of the
famous Mirza Ali Qadhi Tabataba’i, as narrating: “While he was in Najaf,
Agha Behjat would often go to Masjid-e Sahlah and spend whole nights alone
there in worship and contemplation. On
one very dark night, when the lights in the mosque were not lit either, he
needed to go out to refresh his wudhu.
5. His
humbleness
One of his noticeable traits is his humbleness and
simplicity, despite his fame and status as a leading contemporary scholar and
jurist. For many years he had refused to
print his religious edicts (tawdhih al-masail) and he only agreed after
much pressure. When he is scheduled to lecture he requests that his name not be
mentioned as the lecturer.
A scholar reports, “Once I went with my guest, Shaykh
Nasrullah Lahuthi, to visit Agha Behjat. Agha Lahuthi said to his teacher,
“Agha! I was in Mashhad and someone was
criticising you, and I became very annoyed.”
Agha Behjat responded, “We have reports in the ahadith, that
if a scholar pays too much attention to worldly matters, then he will be
criticized by others.” I remember
thinking, “If the way Agha Behjat lives is called “paying too much attention
to worldly matters”, then what about us!”
6. His Mystical Wayfaring (sayr wa suluk) and his
Spiritual Station
Ayatullah Behjat has many decades of experience in
mystical wayfaring, the special journey through established stations that the
soul undertakes to attain proximity to God. He is one of the
outstanding pupils of the great master, Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Qadhi
Tabataba’i and had received special instructions from his teacher. Even as a youth, he had passed many
stations of the spiritual path.
His elevated rank in these matters is well known by
others who travel this path; immediately after the revolution, one of the first
scholars that Ayatullah Khomeini visited was Ayatullah Behjat in Qum. Similarly, when Ayatullah Khamene’i assumed
the position of Rahbar, he first came to Agha Behjat in Qum
for spiritual instructions.
7. His Awareness of the Unseen (Ghayb) and his
Wondrous Acts (Karamat)
Unlike the majority of men, who have no idea of the
existence or happenings of the unseen world, Ayatullah Behjat has reached a
station, by the grace of God, where he frequently witnesses the events that
occur in that world.
In fact, a reminder of this ability is his constant
repetition of the Divine name “al-Sattaar” - the Concealer. This dhikr
and tasbih is constantly on Agha Behjat’s lips, whether he is walking or
sitting. Ayatullah Misbah Yazdi says
in this regard, “It seems that he is at the level where he witnesses many
things from ghayb. Often he is aware of the real nature and inner secrets
of those who sit around him, and he invokes God, who is the Concealer of
defects - al-Sattaar al-‘Uyub, so that the secrets of the people around
him may be concealed from him.”
This is usually the way of these close servants of God.
Their humbleness is such that they would not like to display anything, or do
anything, that will bring about even a trace of pride in themselves. And in
return for their utter humility, God grants them even greater insight and
status.
There is no doubt in the minds of those who
know Agha Behjat well, that he is one of those for whom many secrets are
revealed. Ayatullah Misbah says
in this regard, “Those who have been around him for many years have seen
things that he has done or said that are truly extraordinary. He sometimes
says something that seems quite normal, but on later contemplation, one
realises that it was due to some special knowledge that he possessed.
For example,
when Imam Khomeini was in exile in Turkey, many of his students would
make statements in his defence and get into trouble with the government. They would be imprisoned and frequently
tortured. I remember distinctly when Agha
Jannati was captured and no one knew where he had been taken. I mentioned it to Agha Behjat, who said, “Inshallah,
you will soon inform me of his release.” Of course, some might say this was
just a prayer, but in fact, he did not make such statements about every
prisoner. Many times we would say, “pray for so and so,” but he would remain
silent. Just as he had promised, Agha Jannati was released soon without
having been hurt.”
One of his
students says, “My wife was expecting a child. It was the month of Ramadhan,
and I wanted to go on a journey, so I came to Agha Behjat to say goodbye. He turned to me and said, “In this month,
you will be blessed with a baby boy, name him
Muhammad Hasan.” This is exactly what
transpired.” There are many such
episodes that people have related about their encounters with Agha Behjat.
Agha Behjat
himself dislikes a lot of fuss made about these episodes but his students
occasionally narrate them so the mu’mineen may realise that there exist
in our times certain individuals, to whom God has granted special favours.
Certainly, for
the one who sincerely strives in God’s way, then He Himself becomes their
guide, “And (as for) those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly
guide them in Our ways. (Ankabut, 29/69)”
Drinking from the Fountain of the Wisdom
of Ayatullah Behjat
In this section we will examine several
examples of the advice and replies of Agha Behjat to questions about different
matters.
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