“Procedure” and Perception: A Clarification for the Sincere
 |
| "True knowledge is not granted by men, but revealed through divine structure and connection to the Imam of our time (aj).” |
A response to Sheikh Ali Qommi's claim of lacking “procedural learning,” this article defends a sacred structure rooted in Qur’an, Ahlul Bayt, and divine order.
Recently, Sheikh Ali Qommi made a public statement in response to an online attendee — a message that included the following:
“The issue here is how a traditional mind is usually entangled in different Islamic concepts (mostly due to their lack of focused and procedural learning)...”
This remark was directed toward someone engaging with our work — specifically the content, research, and methodology shared through Zanabiya Voice.
For those who know me, my journey, and the direction of this path, I feel it is both necessary and sincere to address this directly — not out of reaction, but out of responsibility. What was implied demands clarity. What was misunderstood deserves context.Let us begin with the obvious:No one can assess the structure of another’s learning unless they have taken the time to understand it.
And unfortunately, what this statement reveals is not my supposed lack of procedure — but rather a lack of insight into what real learning, true ‘ilm, actually looks like.
To assume that because someone has not studied within a worldly accredited institution they must be aimless in their pursuit of knowledge is to reduce ‘ilm to robes, ranks, and the validation of fallible men.
This logic is flawed on several fronts:
-
It assumes that only institutional teachers are valid — and dismisses the guidance that comes through Qur’an, Ahlul Bayt (as), and the connection to the Living Imam (aj).
-
It suggests that those outside these systems are haphazard — when in fact, many of us have spent years in precise, disciplined, sacred research that cannot be replicated by worldly curricula.
-
It claims to “know” how others are approaching Islam — while ignoring the spiritual, numerical, and divine structures that guide us.
Let us also speak plainly.
To imply that a seeker is confused or lacks focus merely because their method of learning does not conform to institutional templates is not just dismissive —
it is intellectual bigotry, and it is gas lighting.
And in this case, it occurred on the 9th of Muharram, in response to a respectful, sincere question about the Sheikh’s lecture —
a question not even posed by myself, but conveyed on behalf of attendees who were genuinely wrestling with what was said.
Their messages were thoughtful and rooted in concern:
“It’s very dangerous to limit Islam to just obedience. You must first fight the nafs, purify your heart and get that basirat, ma‘rifat — because without it, you cannot recognize the Imam Husayn of your time or the Yazid of your time.”
“I don’t know why the Sheikh was saying these things. Imam Khomeini (ra) used to say we have to improve ourselves. Even in the years before and after the Revolution, there were many Islamic groups — but some went astray, like those who became the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq…”
These were not emotional reactions or rebellious opinions.
They were grounded Islamic reflections on purification, clarity, and the historical importance of basirat — exactly what scholars like Imam Khomeini (ra) taught as necessary before social action.
To reduce this kind of engagement to “confusion” or “lack of procedure” is to distort truth — and then blame the one who questions.
That is textbook gaslighting.
And to dismiss all of this simply because it did not come from a formal scholar —
that is bigotry.
In the past year alone, through Zanabiya Voice, I have:
-
Defined Qur’anic terms in their original, revealed context.
-
Broken down the numerical signatures of the Asma’ul Husna.
-
Engaged with true science — astronomy, creation, and divine law.
-
Applied Abjad systematically, as taught by Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (as) — not merely as history, but through a living connection to the Imam of our time (aj).
-
Unraveled Qur’anic concepts through the Qur’an itself — verse by verse, code by code, in submission to the formula embedded in the 313 and the divine spiral of growth.
It is not a borrowed syllabus.
It is a universal law, a cosmological harmony, and a sacred system rooted in tawhid.
And more critically:
It is a system that cannot be discovered without connection to the divine guides themselves.
It’s not found in any hawza textbook.
It’s not the product of imagination or speculation.
It is a continuation of the teachings of the scholars, and the Sixth Imam (as) —
brought to life through a living, breathing connection to the Imam of our time (atfs).
This method opens doors of knowledge, just as Imam Ali (as) described:
“Whenever the Holy Prophet (saw) would give me one piece of knowledge, it would open seventy doors of knowledge.”
This is what happens when ‘ilm is not just studied — but lived.
When knowledge is not confined to memory or classroom, but surrendered to — and received through — divine alignment.
And yet — we are told to wait for permission.
As if the One who opens the doors of understanding is not already granting it.
As if spiritual discovery must first be signed by those who have not themselves walked it.
As if guidance can only come once it’s been stamped, systematized, and stripped of its ruh.
No.
We wait not for permission — but for recognition.
Not for access — but for the eyes to open.
Because the doors are opening. They have been.
Quietly, humbly, and with awe.
And those who seek, sincerely and with surrender, will find them.
A Note on the Image
If you've paused on the image above, you may sense it already:
This is not art for beauty's sake —
it is a visual confirmation that the universal system of ‘ilm is not abstract, metaphorical, or metaphor.
It is a portal.
A door.
A spiral.
A divine rhythm encoded into the Qur’an, into the universe, into the sincere seeker’s heart.
What we are walking is not random or personal invention.
It is patterned, cosmic, and revealed — to those who are willing to see it not as a theory, but as a path.
This is the legacy of true learning — ‘ilm as Imam Ali (as) lived it.
Not performance.
Not politics.
But unfolding —
one divine door at a time.
For full transparency and context, here is the exact message that was publicly shared by Sheikh Ali Qommi in response to the attendee’s reflections on his 9th Muharram lecture:
This message is shared not to inflame — but to inform.
So that readers may judge for themselves the tone, the framing, and the nature of the exchange.
Accountability begins with clarity.
This message is shared not to inflame — but to inform.
So that readers may judge for themselves the tone, the framing, and the nature of the exchange.
Accountability begins with clarity.
Comments