The 2 X 3.6-meter oil painting entitled “Condition of Tawheed (Monotheism)” was made public during a special ceremony at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Culture in Tehran last Wednesday.
The artwork depicts the story of the Hadith of the Golden Chain narrated by Imam Reza (AS) upon his arrival at the northeastern Iranian town of Neyshabur.
This painting has been commissioned by Imam Reza (AS) International Foundation for Culture and Arts based on a contract with Ruholamin. Four other paintings about the life of the Imam will be created under this contract.
“I have tried to use colors and the figures common in Iranian paintings to create this work,” Ruholamin said at the unveiling ceremony, which was also attended by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi.
In his brief speech, Salehi said, “This tableau takes us into history and represents a spiritual and individual dimension of our ties with the Ahlul Beit (AS).”
The Hadith of Silsilah al-Dhahab is a hadith narrated from Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Imam of the Shia. The “chain” is a reference to the continuity of spiritual authority that is passed down from the Prophet Muhammad (S) to Imam Ali (AS), the first Imam of the Shia, through each of the successive Imams to Imam Reza(AS). As transmitters of Hadith, the Imams link subsequent generations to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (S). This transmission makes the Hadith of the Golden Chain valued as among the most truthful and accurate of all Hadiths for the Shias.
The story had its origins when thousands of people gathered to welcome Imam Reza (AS) in his arrival at the entrance to Neyshabur, some of the scholars requested him to pronounce a hadith.
Many historians have recorded it. Old documents quote the hadith with small variations in wordings.
The narrations mentioning “twenty thousand” reporters are more famous. Many Sunni laymen and scholars participated in welcoming the Imam. Scholars asked Imam Reza (AS) to narrate a hadith for them, so the Imam related Al-Silsilah al-Dhahab.
The chain of the narrators of the hadith reaches the Prophet of Islam (S) through Ahl ul-Beit, hence it is called the Hadith of Golden Chain.
He said, “I have heard my father Musa ibn Jafar (AS) saying that he heard from his father Jafar ibn Muhammad (AS) saying that he heard his father Muhammad ibn Ali (AS) saying that he heard from his father Ali ibn al-Hussein (AS) saying that he heard from his father al-Hussein ibn Ali (AS) saying that he heard from his father Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) saying that he heard from the Holy Prophet (S) saying that he heard from Gabriel saying that Allah told him, ‘The kalimatu Laa ilaaha illallah (the saying that there’s no god but Allah) is My fortress. Whoever recites it, enters My fortress; and whoever enters My fortress shall be safe from My punishment’.”
The Imam (AS) then paused for a moment and continued, “There are a few conditions to be entitled to enter the fortress and I am one of its conditions.”
Source:Tehran Times