There is a single spiritual fountain head in the world and not a second. It emerges from God Himself, Allah, the source of life, beauty, light, truth, greatness. The best names belong to God, the asma al husna. From there, the divine realm populated by angelic beings has Gabriel, Jibril as the infallible and pure angel that intermediates God's eternal word to the human prophets throughout time as revelation. The prophets receive such inspiration and it illuminates the surrounding area, giving direction and guidance to people that were otherwise wandering no different from wild beasts.
In this age, the only flowing stream from God by Gabriel is to Muhammad ﷺ, peace be upon him. Come to him for all of your questions and needs and you will be satiated beyond your capacity.
Who was Muhammad ﷺ? How can we know him and follow him as our example, role model and guide?
Now, the prophet was the guide in practically all matters, especially spiritual and religious ones. After his passing, the community is to follow that directive by holding fast to two things: the Quran and the Ahlul Bayt. The former is the message of Islam preserved in writing and recited orally, containing the treasure of divine guidance, and the latter is the message of Islam preserved in practice and lived in continuity, representing the ways to be for all believers to come until the end of time, and these two together are what the prophet ﷺ left as the two weighty things (al thaqalayn).
I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah (the Quran) in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He then said: The second are the members of my household (the Ahlul Bayt), I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family. (Sahih Muslim 2408, etc.)
The Ahlul Bayt are the holy household of the Prophet ﷺ which according to Hadith al Kisa are the five: Muhammad ﷺ, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn. They represent, and by extension all of the good companions and relatives, those worthy of emulation because they all carry Islam in their being, some young and others old, men and women, some shy and others tough, some brave in the battlefield and others skilled in poetry, some inclined toward business and the trades and others toward spirituality and the esoteric knowledge.
Ali ibn Abi Talib was one possessed of excellence in every respect, the cousin, later son in law of Muhammad ﷺ, and his spiritual and political successor as well. In observing the spiritual orders of Sufism, one is impressed by the fact that the overwhelming majority of chains pass through Imam Ali to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
He was a major stream carrying the spiritual fountain onward. From the lips of Muhammad ﷺ came the Jawshan al Kabir, and from the lips of Ali came the Dua Kumayl. The bibliographies that record this attribution are plenty but beyond the technical aspect of it all, one is left with a degree of conviction that such articulate and meaningful words cannot be spoken at such length except by a pure heart that knows God. The hidden realities are apparent to them by their practices of prayer, remembrance and service to mankind.
Dua Kumayl is transmitted on the authority of a certain Kumayl ibn Ziyad, a close disciple of Imam Ali who learned it directly and had it recorded, memorized and dictated. The prayer is also known as Dua Khidr for the narrative that Khidr, a figure with esoteric knowledge that appears across history and once tested the patience of Moses as well, taught it to Ali directly. This speaks to the hidden realm that Ali accessed.
Ali advised Kumayl to recite it on the eve of every Friday, which is Thursdays after sunset, or to do so at least once a month or once a year.
Again, you must read it for yourself because my thoughts on it are secondary. It's essential emphasis invokes God's mercy over and above the rest of the divine capacities such as punishment, retribution and accounting. It alludes to a verse of the Quran:
ۚ قَالَ عَذَابِىٓ أُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَنْ أَشَآءُ ۖ وَرَحْمَتِى وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ ۚ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
"Allah replied, 'I will inflict My torment on whoever I will. But My mercy encompasses everything. I will ordain mercy for those who shun evil, pay alms-tax, and believe in Our revelations." (7:156)
Kumayl was from a tribe in Kufa, from the second generation of believers. He was involved in the major political events of his time until the end of Ali's caliphate. A salient feature of his striving was the commitment to justice and to stand against the tyrants of his time with whatever he could do. He was executed by Hajjaj ibn Yusuf around the year 708 for his role in a revolt.
As a whole, the special status of the revered figures of the Islamic tradition is difficult to deny or overlook. Their spiritual and intellectual teachings overflow the brim, something extremely meaningful and profound and beyond our material existence.
References
Dua Kumayl - Read English and Arabic
Dua Kumayl - Read with Commentary
Dua Kumayl - Information
Dua Kumayl - Information
Kumayl ibn Ziyad - Biography
Dua Kumayl - Recited With Translation on YouTube
