Servant of the Generous [God]

“Abd-e Karim” (Servant of the Generous [God]) is the life story of one of the sincerest and purest scholars and God-knowing figures of Iran—a man whose life, once you begin reading it, astonishes you with its clarity and genuine simplicity. Ayatollah Mirza Abdolkarim Haqshenas is introduced in each chapter through accounts from his students or close companions, and the structure of the book is such that all these narratives come together seamlessly to present a clearer picture of this great scholar. Mirza Abdolkarim taught ethics, and many students learned from him not just religious lessons but the art of living. Yet the life of this luminous figure itself is filled with rare, inspiring, and delightful points. The story of how he always prayed at the very beginning of the prayer time, no matter the circumstances, is astonishing. While ordinary people like us delay our prayers easily and under far simpler conditions, Ayatollah Haqshenas would perform his prayer at the first possible moment, even when it meant facing financial loss. The book “Abd-e Karim” is more than just a biography; it introduces a man whose purity radiates from every memory shared in the text. Among those who recount stories of Ayatollah Haqshenas, you will encounter many familiar names, individuals who themselves later attained notable levels of spiritual and religious knowledge.

An excerpt from the book:

I grew up in a religious and devout clerical family. From adolescence, even before attending Haj Agha Haqshenas’s mosque, I regularly took part in the congregational prayers at a small mosque in our neighborhood known as Ayatollah Lavasani Mosque. As I grew older, I also visited major mosques in Tehran and had met many scholars, but now, at the age of seventeen or eighteen, from the moment I stepped into Amin al-Dowleh Mosque, it felt as though Haj Agha Haqshenas had awakened me for the first time. At that time, he held ethics lessons three nights a week after the prayer. In the early days, when I had just begun sitting in his lessons and sermons, he himself reminded us of this point one evening. I do not recall his exact words, but he said: “You must be grateful that you have awakened at such an age.”