Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼The Shared Dawn of the Universe🌼🔆🌼
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “The Artist of Night and Day” “Cosmic Unity and Order” “The Vessel of Time” “The Mystery of Dawn” “Commentary on Supplication 6 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya” and more … An abstract with a supplement 1404.01.28 Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 🌹🔅
🔅🌼The Field of the Struggle to Serve God🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (7) بِكُلِّ ذَلِكَ يُصْلِحُ شَأْنَهُمْ، وَ يَبْلُو أَخْبَارَهُمْ، وَ يَنْظُرُ كَيْفَ هُمْ فِي أَوْقَاتِ طَاعَتِهِ، وَ مَنَازِلِ فُرُوضِهِ، وَ مَوَاقِعِ أَحْكَامِهِ، لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ أَساؤُا بِما عَمِلُوا، وَ يَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا بِالْحُسْنَى.
(7) 🌸☘️ Despite all this, He sets their affairs in order and tests their deeds, observing how they conduct themselves at times of obedience, in fulfilling their duties, and in carrying out His commands—so that He may punish the wrongdoers for what they have done and reward the righteous with the finest reward.
🌹 Night and day are the vast arena of the divine contest, the place where servitude to God comes to the fore.
🌹 The changes of night and day are their most beautiful song, the peerless harmony of creation.
🌹 Night and day are a small-scale image of the whole universe, a miniature of it. Perhaps the entire universe, from beginning to end, lies within every cycle of night and day.
🌹 Night and day reveal, report, and render.
🔅🌼He is the All-Seeing🌼🔅
🌹 He is sovereign over all who see; He is the witness above every witness.
🌹 What would you feel if you knew that He is watching?
🌻🔆Al-Anʿām: 18 وَ هُوَ الْقاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبادِهِ وَ هُوَ الْحَكيمُ الْخَبيرُ
🔆He is the One who holds absolute power over His servants; and He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware!
🌻🔆Al-Anʿām: 19 قُلْ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَكْبَرُ شَهادَةً قُلِ اللَّهُ شَهيدٌ بَيْني وَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ هذَا الْقُرْآنُ لِأُنْذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَ مَنْ بَلَغَ أَ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَشْهَدُونَ أَنَّ مَعَ اللَّهِ آلِهَةً أُخْرى قُلْ لا أَشْهَدُ قُلْ إِنَّما هُوَ إِلهٌ واحِدٌ وَ إِنَّني بَريءٌ مِمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ
🔆Say: “Whose testimony is the greatest?” Say: “God is witness between me and you. This Quran has been revealed to me so that I may warn you, and all whom it reaches. Do you truly bear witness that there are other gods alongside God?” Say: “I bear no such witness.” Say: “He is the one and only God, and I disavow whatever you associate with Him!”
🌻🔆Al-ʿAlaq: 14 أَ لَمْ يَعْلَمْ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرى
🔆Does he not know that God surely sees?
🌻🔆Āl ʿImrān: 77 إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَ أَيْمانِهِمْ ثَمَناً قَليلاً أُولئِكَ لا خَلاقَ لَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَ لا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَ لا يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَةِ وَ لا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَ لَهُمْ عَذابٌ أَليمٌ
🔆Those who sell their covenant with God and their oaths for a paltry price will have no share in the Hereafter. God will not speak to them, nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify them; and a painful punishment awaits them.
🔅🌼Night and Day: A Living, Wakeful Companion🌼🔅
🌹 Night and day are not merely temporal phenomena; they are the boundless manifestations of God’s names and attributes. Every moment of night and day is a fresh scene of divine creation;
🌻🔆Al-Furqān: 62 وَ هُوَ الَّذي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهارَ خِلْفَةً لِمَنْ أَرادَ أَنْ يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرادَ شُكُوراً
🔆And He is the One who made night and day follow one another, for whoever wishes to reflect or give thanks
🔅🌼Centre for Divine Innovation 🌼🔅
🌹 Every sunrise and every moonset is a new creation.
🌻🔆The All-Merciful: 29 يَسْئَلُهُ مَنْ فِي السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ في شَأْنٍ
🔆All those in the heavens and on earth turn to Him with their needs, and every day He is engaged in a new affair!
🌹 The ceaseless work of the Divine unfolds throughout the world.
🌹 Night and day are signs of the supreme divine order and His “balance” in existence.
🔅🌼The Inner Night and Day 🌼🔅
🌹 Night and day unfold within us, too:
🌹 Every righteous deed is a flower in the garden of existence.
🌹 Artful worship and devotion, throughout the full span of night and day, lend the world’s “weight and dignity” the gravity of spirituality.
🔅🌼 The Artistry of Night and Day 🌼🔅
🌹 Through creativity and harmony with the divine order, a person can become an artist who adds to the world’s beauty.
🌹 “إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ” (God is beautiful and loves beauty).
🌹 Every moment of night and day is an opportunity to write luminous lines in the book of life.
🌹 Good deeds not only beautify the world; they also gladden the angels and expand the human spirit.
🔅🌼 The Bird of Night and Day 🌼🔅
🌹 Night and day are the two wings that carry us towards God:
🌹 Night is the silken wing of inward wayfaring and intimate communion with the Beloved; day is the wing of service and cultivation of the earth. The two are interwoven and take one another’s place.
🌹 Just as Imam Sajjad (AS), in his supplication, regards night and day as a school of spiritual formation, so too can we, through our artistry in these two divine seasons, turn the world into an exhibition of God’s beauty.
🌹 “Night and day are two luminous pages in the book of your being. Adorn them with the remembrance of God, and let the angels write in the margins: Here is where love reached its zenith.” 🌹
🔅🌼Entrust the dawns of your soul to the One who cleaves them open, that from every fissure a garden of forty worlds may bloom🌼🔅
🌹 From the heart of the beautiful seed of the morning’s divine grace, God’s majesty blossoms.
🔅🌼Hardness of Thought Springs from Hardness of Heart 🌼🔅
🌹 Our world is gripped by a freezing of knowledge; it is reason that softens, digests and refines knowledge.
🌹 We remain stuck in the winter of knowledge because we have turned our backs on its spring. Turn towards it, and your knowledge will bloom.
🌹 Hardness of mind springs from hardness of thought, and hardness of thought from hardness of heart. Hardness of heart comes from neglecting the heart’s life-giving water and forgetting the tenderness of the All-Gentle.
🔅🌼**A Tender Heart** and **A Lively Mind** 🌼🔅
🌹 Hardness of heart is the root of intellectual and scientific stagnation.
🌹The Dawn of the Soul: Blossoming Through Cleaving Open
🌹 Mapping the Chain of Spiritual Corruption
1. **Neglecting the heart’s life-giving water** (remembrance of God and divine love) →
2. **Hardness of heart** (the heart growing hard) →
3. **Hardness of thought** (intellectual rigidity) →
4. **Hardness of mind** (inability to grasp truths).
🌻🔆Al-Zumar: 22 أَ فَمَنْ شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلامِ فَهُوَ عَلى نُورٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فَوَيْلٌ لِلْقاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أُولئِكَ في ضَلالٍ مُبينٍ
🔆Is one whose breast God has opened to Islam, so that he stands upon a light from his Lord, like one whose heart is hardened against the remembrance of God? Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of God! They are in manifest error.
🌹 “Knowledge is a tree, and the heart its soil. If the soil is cold, the roots die, and blossoms never come.” 🌹
The Messenger of God اللّه صلّى اللّه , peace and blessings be upon him, said: «إن اللّه رفيق يحبّ الرفق في الأمر كله و يحبّ كل قلب خاشع حليم رحيم يعلّم الناس الخير و يدعوا إلى طاعة اللّه و يبغض كل قلب قاس ينام الليل كله فلا يذكر اللّه تعالى و لا يدري يرد عليه روحه أم لا»
🔅🌼 O Opener of the dawn, split open the morning of my soul 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (8) اللَّهُمَّ فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ عَلَى مَا فَلَقْتَ لَنَا مِنَ الْإِصْبَاحِ، وَ مَتَّعْتَنَا بِهِ مِنْ ضَوْءِ النَّهَارِ، وَ بَصَّرْتَنَا مِنْ مَطَالِبِ الْأَقْوَاتِ، وَ وَقَيْتَنَا فِيهِ مِنْ طَوَارِقِ الْآفَاتِ.
🌸☘️ (8) O God, praise be to You for bringing the dawn forth for us, granting us the light of day, enabling us to seek our sustenance, and keeping us safe from the harms of affliction.
🔅🌼 The Shared Dawn 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (9) أَصْبَحْنَا وَ أَصْبَحَتِ الْأَشْيَاءُ كُلُّهَا بِجُمْلَتِهَا لَكَ: سَمَاؤُهَا وَ أَرْضُهَا، وَ مَا بَثَثْتَ فِي كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا، سَاكِنُهُ وَ مُتَحَرِّكُهُ، وَ مُقِيمُهُ وَ شَاخِصُهُ وَ مَا عَلَا فِي الْهَوَاءِ، وَ مَا كَنَّ تَحْتَ الثَّرَى
🌸☘️ (9) We have entered the morning, and all things have entered it for You: the heavens and the earth, and all that You have dispersed throughout them—their still and moving inhabitants, those who dwell and those who journey, what is suspended in the air and what lies hidden beneath the soil.
🌹 The dawn of the cosmos is shared by the entire body of existence.
🌹 The cosmic dawn must be measured against earthly horizons, this world, the heavens, and what lies beyond them.
🌹 Dawn in time, beyond time, and beyond all temporal bounds: these are the majesty and blossoms of the true dawn.
🌹 The manifestations of dawn throughout the cosmos take many forms and hues.
🌹 All the parts and pillars of the cosmos join together in existence’s morning rite.
🌹 Every divine mode has its own wondrous dawn.
🌹 The shared dawn is a symbol of the unity, concord, and interconnection of all the parts and pillars of existence.
🌹 The morning song of existence is the joy of existence’s soul.
🌹 Night and day should not be measured by earthly standards; one must raise one’s gaze.
🌻🔆Luqman: 26 لِلَّهِ ما فِي السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَميدُ
🌻🔆
🌹 The “dawn of the cosmos” is a unifying force that brings all existence into harmony and carries it beyond the limits of earthly time and space.
🔅🌼 The Bonds of Existence 🌼🔅
🌹 All the elements of the universe, living and lifeless, hidden and manifest, take part in the cosmic “morning rite.”
🔅🌼 Diversity in Divine Manifestations 🌼🔅
🌹 Each part of existence reflects a singular “dawn,” a name among the Divine Names, or an attribute among the Divine Attributes.
🌹 – The cosmic song: the “morning song of existence” is a symbol of the harmony of the universe and the joy of being.
🌹 – Heaven and earth: together they encompass the whole of creation, where “what lies beneath the soil” and “what is in the air” point to the unseen and seen realms of existence.
🔅🌼 Divine Unity and Cosmic Order 🌼🔅
🌹 Existence must be understood beyond material limitations. Creation submits to God and is inherently in harmony with the divine will.
🌹 “Lifting one’s head” is the mystic’s quest for transcendence, a journey from earthly perception toward spiritual illumination.
🌹 Heaven and earth greet the morning “for God” (renewing their devotion),
🌻🔆Hūd: 81 قالُوا يا لُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَنْ يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَ لا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ امْرَأَتَكَ إِنَّهُ مُصيبُها ما أَصابَهُمْ إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ أَ لَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَريبٍ
Al-Muddaththir: 34 وَ الصُّبْحِ إِذا أَسْفَرَ 🌻🔆
🌻🔆At-Takwīr: 18 وَ الصُّبْحِ إِذا تَنَفَّسَ
🌻🔆Al-Anʿām: 96 فالِقُ الْإِصْباحِ وَ جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَ الشَّمْسَ وَ الْقَمَرَ حُسْباناً ذلِكَ تَقْديرُ الْعَزيزِ الْعَليمِ
🌻🔆Ar-Rūm: 17 فَسُبْحانَ اللَّهِ حينَ تُمْسُونَ وَ حينَ تُصْبِحُونَ
🌻🔆Al-ʿĀdiyāt: 3 فَالْمُغيراتِ صُبْحاً
🌷🔆وَ سَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ يَتَنَفَّسُ لَيْسَ لَهُ لَحْمٌ وَ لَا دَمٌ فَقَالَ لَهُ ذَاكَ الصُّبْحُ إِذا تَنَفَّسَ [1]
🌷🔆عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ع قَالَ سَأَلَهُ ابْنُ الْكَوَّاءِ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَ فَلا أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ فَقَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُقْسِمُ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ فَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ الْخُنَّسِ فَإِنَّهُ ذَكَرَ قَوْماً خَنَسُوا عِلْمَ الْأَوْصِيَاءِ وَ دَعَوُا النَّاسَ إِلَى غَيْرِ مَوَدَّتِهِمْ وَ مَعْنَى خَنَسُوا سَتَرُوا فَقَالَ لَهُ وَ الْجَوارِ الْكُنَّسِ قَالَ يَعْنِي الْمَلَائِكَةَ جَرَتْ بِالْقَلَمِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص فَكَنَسَهُ عَنْهُ الْأَوْصِيَاءُ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ أَحَدٌ غَيْرُهُمْ وَ مَعْنَى كَنَسَهُ رَفَعَهُ وَ تَوَارَى بِهِ فَقَالَ وَ اللَّيْلِ إِذا عَسْعَسَ قَالَ يَعْنِي ظُلْمَةَ اللَّيْلِ وَ هَذَا ضَرَبَهُ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِمَنِ ادَّعَى الْوَلَايَةَ لِنَفْسِهِ وَ عَدَلَ عَنْ وُلَاةِ الْأَمْرِ- قَالَ فَقَوْلُهُ وَ الصُّبْحِ إِذا تَنَفَّسَ قَالَ يَعْنِي بِذَلِكَ الْأَوْصِيَاءَ يَقُولُ إِنَّ عِلْمَهُمْ أَنْوَرُ وَ أَبْيَنُ مِنَ الصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّس[2]
🌷🔆Tafsīr al-Qummī فَلا أُقْسِمُ أَيْ أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ وَ هُوَ اسْمُ النُّجُومِ الْجَوارِ الْكُنَّسِ قَالَ النُّجُومُ تَكْنِسُ بِالنَّهَارِ فَلَا تَبِينُ وَ اللَّيْلِ إِذا عَسْعَسَ قَالَ إِذَا أَظْلَمَ وَ الصُّبْحِ إِذا تَنَفَّسَ قَالَ إِذَا ارْتَفَعَ وَ هَذَا كُلُّهُ قَسَمٌ وَ جَوَابُهُ إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِنْدَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ يَعْنِي ذَا مَنْزِلَةٍ عَظِيمَةٍ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَكِينٍ مُطاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ فَهَذَا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ نَبِيَّهُ ص وَ لَمْ يُعْطِ أَحَداً مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ مِثْلَهُ.[3]
🔅🌼 Divine Grasp 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (10) أَصْبَحْنَا فِي قَبْضَتِكَ يَحْوِينَا مُلْكُكَ وَ سُلْطَانُكَ، وَ تَضُمُّنَا مَشِيَّتُكَ، وَ نَتَصَرَّفُ عَنْ أَمْرِكَ، وَ نَتَقَلَّبُ فِي تَدْبِيرِكَ.
🌸☘️ (10) We have greeted the morning in Your grasp; Your kingdom and sovereignty encompass us, and Your will surrounds us. We act at Your command and are transformed by Your governance.
🌹We all lie within the grasp of the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
🌹We are immersed in God’s kingdom and sovereignty; God’s royal crown envelops us from head to toe, and we are clothed in the rule of the Almighty, the Mighty.
🌹The very fabric of our being is woven from God’s will.
🌹Our transformations take place at God’s command.
🌹Our movements and changes are governed by divine providence.
🔅🌼 We are subject to God’s decree 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (11) لَيْسَ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَمْرِ إِلَّا مَا قَضَيْتَ، وَ لَا مِنَ الْخَيْرِ إِلَّا مَا أَعْطَيْتَ.
🌸☘️ (11) We have no choice but to accept what You have ordained for us, and we can enjoy no good except what You have bestowed upon us.
🔅🌼Renewing Our Covenant🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (12) وَ هَذَا يَوْمٌ حَادِثٌ جَدِيدٌ، وَ هُوَ عَلَيْنَا شَاهِدٌ عَتِيدٌ، إِنْ أَحْسَنَّا وَدَّعَنَا بِحَمْدٍ، وَ إِنْ أَسَأْنَا فَارَقَنَا بِذَمٍّ.
(12) 🌸☘️ This is a day newly come, ever bearing witness against us. If we do good, it sees us off with praise; if we do wrong, it parts from us with reproach.
🌹The day is the system of night and day: alive, alert, and vigilant.
🌹The day is a new occurrence, a fresh creation.
🌹Why are we trapped in our past? Why do we not move, and renew ourselves with God’s new creations? Why are we imprisoned in our old knowledge?
🔅🌼Keeping Watch Over the Day of God🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (13) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ ارْزُقْنَا حُسْنَ مُصَاحَبَتِهِ، وَ اعْصِمْنَا مِنْ سُوءِ مُفَارَقَتِهِ بِارْتِكَابِ جَرِيرَةٍ، أَوِ اقْتِرَافِ صَغِيرَةٍ أَوْ كَبِيرَةٍ
🌸☘️ (13) O God, bless Muhammad and his family, grant us his good companionship, and guard us against the harm of keeping company with sin, whether small or great.
🌹Let us keep watch over the Day of God and not defile it! Let us not become its destroyers, but its champions, helping to bring the universe to flourishing life! Let us learn to befriend night and day! Are they not inexhaustible mines of great riches?
🔅🌼Let Good Deeds Become the Garment of Soul and Body🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (14) وَ أَجْزِلْ لَنَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَسَنَاتِ، وَ أَخْلِنَا فِيهِ مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ، وَ امْلَأْ لَنَا مَا بَيْنَ طَرَفَيْهِ حَمْداً وَ شُكْراً وَ أَجْراً وَ ذُخْراً وَ فَضْلًا وَ إِحْسَاناً.
🌸☘️ (14) Make our good deeds abound on this day; cleanse us of our misdeeds; and fill the space between them with praise and gratitude, reward and provision, grace and generosity.
🌹Cast off the garment of misdeeds!
🔅🌼Let Us Spare the Noble Recorders Their Burden and Toil🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (15) اللَّهُمَّ يَسِّرْ عَلَى الْكِرَامِ الْكَاتِبِينَ مَئُونَتَنَا، وَ امْلَأْ لَنَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِنَا صَحَائِفَنَا، وَ لَا تُخْزِنَا عِنْدَهُمْ بِسُوءِ أَعْمَالِنَا.
🌸☘️ (15) O God, make our reckoning easy for the noble recording angels, fill our scrolls with our good deeds, and do not disgrace us before them on account of our evil deeds.
🔅🌼Let Us Not Be a Hell for the Angels🌼🔅
🔅🌼Fill the Vessel of Time with Worship🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (16) اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ لَنَا فِي كُلِّ سَاعَةٍ مِنْ سَاعَاتِهِ حَظّاً مِنْ عِبَادِكَ، وَ نَصِيباً مِنْ شُكْرِكَ وَ شَاهِدَ صِدْقٍ مِنْ مَلَائِكَتِكَ.
🌸☘️ (16) O God, grant us in every hour of this day a share in worship, a portion of gratitude, and a true testimony from Your angels.
🌹Bring a smile to the angels’ lips!
🔅🌼O God, Take Me Captive; Surround Me🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (17) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ احْفَظْنَا مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِينَا وَ مِنْ خَلْفِنَا وَ عَنْ أَيْمَانِنَا وَ عَنْ شَمَائِلِنَا وَ مِنْ جَمِيعِ نَوَاحِينَا، حِفْظاً عَاصِماً مِنْ مَعْصِيَتِكَ، هَادِياً إِلَى طَاعَتِكَ، مُسْتَعْمِلًا لِمَحَبَّتِكَ.
🌸☘️ (17) O God, bless Muhammad and his family, and protect us from before and behind, from right and left, and from every side—with a protection that keeps us from disobeying You, guides us to obey You, and puts us to work in the path of loving You.
🌹Beloved, do not leave me to myself.
🔅🌼O God, make me mindful of my duties through night and day🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (18) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ وَفِّقْنَا فِي يَوْمِنَا هَذَا وَ لَيْلَتِنَا هَذِهِ وَ فِي جَمِيعِ أَيَّامِنَا لِاسْتِعْمَالِ الْخَيْرِ، وَ هِجْرَانِ الشَّرِّ، وَ شُكْرِ النِّعَمِ، وَ اتِّبَاعِ السُّنَنِ، وَ مُجَانَبَةِ الْبِدَعِ، وَ الْأَمْرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ، وَ النَّهْيِ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ، وَ حِيَاطَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَ انْتِقَاصِ الْبَاطِلِ وَ إِذْلَالِهِ، وَ نُصْرَةِ الْحَقِّ وَ إِعْزَازِهِ، وَ إِرْشَادِ الضَّالِّ، وَ مُعَاوَنَةِ الضَّعِيفِ، وَ إِدْرَاكِ اللَّهِيفِ
🌸☘️ (18) O God, bless Muhammad and his family, and grant us, today and tonight and on all our days, the grace to do good, shun evil, give thanks for blessings, follow the Prophetic traditions, avoid innovations, enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, safeguard Islam, vanquish falsehood and humble it, support the truth and exalt it, guide the lost, aid the weak, and come to the aid of the distressed.
🔅🌼Be a banner of worship and servitude to God🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (19) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ اجْعَلْهُ أَيْمَنَ يَوْمٍ عَهِدْنَاهُ، وَ أَفْضَلَ صَاحِبٍ صَحِبْنَاهُ، وَ خَيْرَ وَقْتٍ ظَلِلْنَا فِيهِ
🌸☘️ (19) O God, bless Muhammad and his family, and make this day the safest day we have known, the finest company we have kept, and the best time we have spent.
🔅🌼 O God, show me the ultimate extent of Your pleasure🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (20) وَ اجْعَلْنَا مِنْ أَرْضَى مَنْ مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ اللَّيْلُ وَ النَّهَارُ مِنْ جُمْلَةِ خَلْقِكَ، أَشْكَرَهُمْ لِمَا أَوْلَيْتَ مِنْ نِعَمِكَ، وَ أَقْوَمَهُمْ بِمَا شَرَعْتَ مِنْ شرَائِعِكَ، وَ أَوْقَفَهُمْ عَمَّا حَذَّرْتَ مِنْ نَهْيِكَ.
🌸☘️ (20) Make us among the most content of Your creatures over whom night and day have passed; the most grateful for the blessings You have bestowed, the most steadfast in the law You have ordained, and the most restrained from what You have forbidden us.
🌹Adorn my palate with the utmost sweetness
🔅🌼 Do not take tawhid from me; make it settle in my soul🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (21) اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أُشْهِدُكَ وَ كَفَى بِكَ شَهِيداً، وَ أُشْهِدُ سَمَاءَكَ وَ أَرْضَكَ وَ مَنْ أَسْكَنْتَهُمَا مِنْ مَلائِكَتِكَ وَ سَائِرِ خَلْقِكَ فِي يَوْمِي هَذَا وَ سَاعَتِي هَذِهِ وَ لَيْلَتِي هَذِهِ وَ مُسْتَقَرِّي هَذَا، أَنِّي أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، قَائِمٌ بِالْقِسْطِ، عَدْلٌ فِي الْحُكْمِ، رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ، مَالِكُ الْمُلْكِ، رَحِيمٌ بِالْخَلْقِ.
🌸☘️ (21) O God, I call You to witness—and You are sufficient as witness—and I call Your heavens and Your earth, and all the angels and other creatures You have settled therein, to witness on this day, at this hour, this night, and in this place where I stand, that I bear witness that You are God, there is no deity but You; You uphold justice, judge fairly, show mercy to Your servants, possess all dominion, and are compassionate toward Your creation.
🔅🌼 اللهم عرفنی نفسک 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (22) وَ أَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُكَ وَ رَسُولُكَ و خِيَرَتُكَ مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، حَمَّلْتَهُ رِسَالَتَكَ فَأَدَّاهَا، وَ أَمَرْتَهُ بِالنُّصْحِ لِأُمَّتِهِ فَنَصَحَ لَهَا
🌸☘️ (22) And that Muhammad is Your servant, messenger, and chosen one among Your creation. You entrusted him with Your message, and he delivered it; You commanded him to counsel his community sincerely, and he did so.
🔅🌼The cup of the drink of messengership and wilayah🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (23) اللَّهُمَّ فَصَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، أَكْثَرَ مَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، وَ آتِهِ عَنَّا أَفْضَلَ مَا آتَيْتَ أَحَداً مِنْ عِبَادِكَ، وَ اجْزِهِ عَنَّا أَفْضَلَ وَ أَكْرَمَ مَا جَزَيْتَ أَحَداً مِنْ أَنْبِيَائِكَ عَنْ أُمَّتِهِ
🌸☘️ (23) O God, bless Muhammad and his family more than You have blessed any of Your creatures; grant him, on our behalf, the finest of what You have bestowed upon any of Your servants; and give him, from us, the best and most generous reward You have granted any of Your prophets for their communities.
🔅🌼 O God, You are You 🌼🔅
🌸☘️ (24) إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْمَنَّانُ بِالْجَسِيمِ، الْغَافِرُ لِلْعَظِيمِ، وَ أَنْتَ أَرْحَمُ مِنْ كُلِّ رَحِيمٍ، فَصَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ الطَّيِّبِينَ الطَّاهِرِينَ الْأَخْيَارِ الْأَنْجَبِينَ.
🌸☘️ (24) Truly, You are the great Bestower, the Forgiver of great wrongs, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful. So send blessings upon Muhammad and his pure, virtuous, chosen, and noble family.
🌹الْمَنَّانُ بِالْجَسِيمِ: “The Bestower of the greatest blessings”—the One whose generosity is boundless.
🌹الْغَافِرُ لِلْعَظِيمِ: “The Forgiver of the greatest sins”—the One whose mercy and forgiveness are abundant and beyond measure.
🌹أَرْحَمُ مِنْ كُلِّ رَحِيمٍ: “More merciful than all who show mercy”—His mercy is without equal.
🌹صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ: Sending blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) and his family, described by such qualities as purity, virtue, distinction, and nobility.
🌹الطَّاهِرِينَ: “Pure,” “untainted.”
🌹الْأَخْيَارِ: “Virtuous” or “chosen,” emphasizing their superior character and goodness.
🌹الْأَنْجَبِينَ: “Exalted” or “noble-born,” denoting inherent honor.
🌻🔆A Student’s Perspective on the “Rhythm of the Universe”🔆🌻
🌼🔆🌼The Shared Dawn of the Cosmos🌼🔆🌼
🔹 Weekly sessions on the commentary and interpretation of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya (Supplication Six)
📅 Date: 1404/01/28 – 21 Shawwal 1446
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei
📝 Some of the topics discussed in the session:
—
### Night and day: a mystery among the mysteries of creation 🔐🌌
Among the mysteries of creation is the secret of night and day…
Night and day have an outward aspect and an inward one…
And their outward aspect bears witness to their inward reality.
In this world of being, night and day have a celestial archetype…
Or, we might say, a Muhammadan archetype…
—
### In our time, night and day bear the mark of the Mahdi 🌙☀️🕊
In this age, night and day have a Mahdian archetype…
Night and day are:
– A vast arena for the contest of servitude to God.
– A place to demonstrate one’s devotion.
– A place to prove oneself worthy of servitude.
The changes of night and day**,
and **their interweaving**,
reveal **a special harmony in the universe.
Changes that are measured, ordered, and meaningful…
An eternal rhythm—the sound of the universe.
Yes… a melody is ceaselessly played in this world…
One of its notes is the measured rhythm of night and day.
—
### Night and day: the cosmic rhythm within us 🎼💫
Within us, too, there is night and day…
There are changes… rhythms… distinctive harmonies being played.
This entire universe has its own night and day…
All these nights and days,
They are depictions of the true Night and Day.
—
### Night and Day: a miniature world of creation 🌍🔁
On the earthly, worldly scale,
Night and Day are in fact a small-scale image of the entire universe.
In other words:
> This Night and Day is a “display”…
Within this very Night and Day,
all existence lies folded.
From the beginning to the end of creation…
this Night and Day is a summary of all creation…
A display, a reporter, a scribe…
A scribe of God’s Book…
A writer of divine knowledge…
A recorder of the wonders of existence…
Night and Day writes down God’s wonders…
It reports… bears witness…
and watches over us…
—
### Night and Day: God’s mighty witness 👁📜
God has appointed Night and Day as His witnesses…
He, the Creator, who needs no reporter…
He, God, sovereign over all His servants…
has made Night and Day witnesses over His servants…
This shows the greatness of Night and Day.
Ask him:
> What thing is the greatest witness?
>
> Say: Allah.
>
> He is the greatest witness…
And God has made Night and Day witnesses over His servants.
So within this Night and Day,
a greatness lies hidden…
one must come to know it, one must discover it.
—
### Night and Day: proof that God sees us ✨
Night and Day are two mighty witnesses of God…
And what a strange question:
> Does he not know…? (ألم یعلم)
The answer is easy…
yet few have attained certainty about it.
Whoever has attained this certainty
is a person of great stature who has reached the truth.
And in the seventh passage of the sixth supplication of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya,
His Eminence Zayn al-‘Ābidīn, peace be upon him, offers this intimate prayer…
—
### Conquering Night and Day: the arena of the test of servitude 🏁🌗☀️
It points to Night and Day as the true arena of the race…
One must strive to get ahead…
One must conquer both Night and Day.
Those who conquer Night and Day are God’s true servants.
God, together with all of them:
They are portrayals of the true Night and Day.
—
### Night and Day: a miniature world of creation 🌍🔁
On an earthly, worldly scale,
Night and Day are, in fact, a small-scale image of the entire universe.
In other words:
> This Night and Day is a “display”…
Within this very Night and Day,
all existence lies dormant.
From the beginning to the end of creation…
Night and Day are a summary of all creation…
A display, a reporter, a scribe…
A scribe of God’s book…
A writer of divine knowledge…
A recorder of the wonders of existence…
Night and Day write down God’s wonders…
They report… bear witness…
and watch over us…
—
### Night and Day: God’s mighty witnesses 👁📜
God has appointed Night and Day as witnesses…
He, the Creator who needs no reporter…
God, sovereign over all His servants…
has made Night and Day witnesses over His servants…
This shows the majesty of Night and Day.
Ask Him:
> Which thing is the greatest witness?
>
> Say: Allah.
>
> He is the greatest witness…
And God has made Night and Day witnesses over His servants.
So within this Night and Day,
a profound majesty is hidden…
one that must be understood, must be discovered.
—
### Night and Day: proof that God sees us ✨
Night and Day are two mighty witnesses of God…
And what a remarkable question:
> Does he not know…? (ألم یعلم)
The answer is simple…
Yet few have attained certainty in it.
Whoever attains this certainty,
is truly a person of great stature, who has reached the truth.
And in the seventh passage of the sixth supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya,
Imam Zayn al-Abidin, peace be upon him, offers this intimate prayer…
—
### Conquering Night and Day: the arena of testing our servitude 🏁🌗☀️
It points to Night and Day as the true arena of competition…
We must strive to outstrip one another…
We must conquer both Night and Day.
Those who conquer Night and Day are God’s true servants.
God, together with all of them:
– He sets their affairs in order,
– tests their reports,
– observes the times they obey Him,
– and sees how they stand before their obligations and His rulings.
So that:
– He may punish the evildoer for what he has done,
– and reward the righteous with the finest reward.
It is people of understanding who will grasp this…
In the midst of this night and day, they will discover and comprehend…
that:
> God watches over all,
the Watcher above all watchers.
He tests the reports of His servants…
though He has no need to test them…
Rather, it means:
He gives His servants their due importance… He looks upon them…
If we truly reflect on this gaze, it should turn us inside out…
The All-Powerful Creator, exalted above His servants, looks upon His servant.
– He tests his reports…
– He takes measure of his times…
– He gauges the degree of his obedience…
At the time of fulfilling obligations, He watches:
How does he act…?
At the points where His rulings apply,
He Himself observes how they are carried out…
So that no excuse remains on the Day of Judgment…
Where has this human being, who answers the call, arrived?
Does he understand his God?
Or has his heart grown so hard that his whole being has become frozen?
Indeed…
However immersed this human being may be in knowledge,
without sound judgment, it is not knowledge.
—
### Intellect: the only way to escape ignorance and stagnation 🧠🕯
It is intellect that frees humanity from stagnation.
Without intellect:
– One is thirsty even in the water,
– blind even amid the light,
– ignorant even at the heart of wisdom…
Having turned his back on intellect, this human being
has become parched for knowledge…
The deeper he dives into knowledge,
the more his ignorance grows…
Indeed…
Sight without intellect is utter blindness.
Light adds to his darkness, not to his guidance.
—
### The dawn that broke through; praise for God’s morning 🌄🕊
O Lord, my worshipped One, my God…
> Praise and thanksgiving are Yours alone…
Praise be to You
for the dawn You split open for us…
I give thanks, my God:
— He sets their affairs in order,
— examines their deeds,
— observes the times when they obey Him,
— and sees how they stand in fulfilling their duties and observing His rulings.
So that:
— He may punish the evildoer for what he has done,
— and reward the virtuous with the finest recompense.
It is those endowed with reason who will understand…
Amid the turning of night and day, they will discover, they will perceive…
that:
> God is watching,
above all who watch.
He examines the deeds of His servants…
though He has no need to put them to this test…
Rather, it means:
He grants His servants standing… He watches over them…
If we truly reflect on this gaze, it should turn us upside down…
The all-powerful Creator, exalted above His servants, looks upon His servant.
— He examines his deeds…
— He takes stock of his time…
— He measures the extent of his obedience…
When duties are due, He watches:
How does he act…?
In matters governed by His rulings,
He Himself observes how they are carried out…
So that, on the Day of Judgment, no excuse will remain…
How far has this human being, ever ready to answer God’s call, come?
Does he understand his Lord?
Or has his heart grown so hard that his whole being has frozen over?
Indeed…
However steeped this human being may be in knowledge,
without sound judgment, it is no true knowledge.
—
### Reason: the only way out of ignorance and stagnation 🧠🕯
Reason is what frees humanity from stagnation.
Without reason:
— one is thirsty even in the midst of water,
— blind even in the midst of light,
— ignorant even in the heart of wisdom…
Having turned its back on reason, humanity
has become parched with thirst for knowledge…
The deeper it plunges into knowledge,
the more its ignorance grows…
Indeed…
Sight without reason is utter blindness.
Light adds to its darkness, not to its guidance.
—
### Dawn breaks: praise for God’s morning 🌄🕊
O Lord, O Worshipped One, O God…
> Praise and gratitude are Yours alone…
Praise be to You,
for the dawn You split open for us…
I give thanks, my God:
— You who split the dawn,
— who let us share in its light,
— who gave us sight to seek our sustenance,
— and kept us safe from afflictions…
Yes, our Lord splits the dawn…
How?
Which dawn?
By God, every dawn in this world is split by God.
He is the splitter of dawns…
From within these dawns, the seed of the world’s mornings emerges.
He splits the dawn… brings it into bloom…
and spreads His wonders throughout existence.
—
### The Breathing Dawn; Inhalation and Exhalation of Existence 🌬✨
This is a dawn that breathes…
و الصبح اذا تنفس…
By the dawn,
as it breathes…
The dawn has an in-breath and an out-breath… it has life…
What does it take in…
and what does it breathe out?
What does it receive from God?
And what does it give back?
What enters it?
God’s knowledge…
And what comes out?
Wisdom…
This is how the dawn works.
And what of me, a human being?
I take in oxygen and breathe out polluted air…
—
### God’s Dawn; The Oxygen of Knowledge, the Exhalation of Wisdom ☀️🌬
But surely that dawn which is truly dawn…
if it takes in oxygen, it will breathe out something purer than oxygen.
It draws knowledge in and breathes wisdom out.
Whatever it takes in, what it gives back will be more beautiful.
This dawn, too, has an archetype… an archetype in the celestial realm…
We must journey on and arrive,
to behold this dawn’s celestial archetype… its Muhammadan archetype…
Let me say this, too:
> We, too, have an archetype…
a celestial archetype…
a Muhammadan archetype and an archetype of the Family of Muhammad…
We seek refuge with God, we seek refuge with God…
We have other archetypes as well…
Alongside the higher archetypes, we have lower ones, too…
Woe betide anyone who reaches their own lowest archetype…
How wretched among the wretched they will become…
—
### Understanding God’s Dawn; The Dawn of All Creation 🌄🌌
O Lord… praise is Yours alone…
for splitting the dawn for us,
and letting us share in the light of day,
— You who split the dawn,
— granted us its light,
— gave us sight to seek our daily sustenance,
— and kept us safe from calamities…
Yes, our Lord splits the dawn…
How?
Which dawn?
By God, every dawn in this world is split by God.
He is the cleaver of dawns…
From the heart of these dawns, the seed of dawns throughout the world emerges.
He splits the dawn… makes it blossom…
and spreads its wonders across all of existence.
—
### The breathing dawn: the in-breath and out-breath of existence 🌬✨
This is a dawn that breathes…
و الصبح اذا تنفس…
By the dawn,
as it breathes…
The dawn has an in-breath and an out-breath… it has life…
What it draws in…
and what it breathes out…
What does it receive from God?
And what does it give back?
What enters it?
God’s knowledge…
And what does it give forth?
Wisdom…
This is the dawn’s function.
And I, a human being?
I take in oxygen and breathe out polluted air…
—
### God’s dawn: the oxygen of knowledge, the out-breath of wisdom ☀️🌬
But surely the dawn that is truly dawn…
if it takes in oxygen, will breathe out something purer than oxygen.
It draws knowledge within and breathes out wisdom.
Whatever it takes in, what it gives back will be more beautiful.
This dawn, too, has an archetype… an archetype in the celestial realm…
We must go and reach it,
to see the celestial archetype of this dawn… its Muhammadan archetype…
Let me say this, too:
> We, too, have an archetype…
a celestial archetype…
a Muhammadan archetype, and an archetype of the Family of Muhammad…
We seek refuge in God, we seek refuge in God…
We have other archetypes, too…
Alongside the highest archetypes, we also have the lowest…
Woe betide anyone who reaches their lowest archetype…
What a wretched wretch they will become…
—
### Understanding God’s dawn: the dawn of all creation 🌄🌌
O Lord… praise is due to You alone…
for splitting the dawn for us,
and granting us the light of day,
And You gave us the insight to seek our provision,
and kept us safe from afflictions.
O my God and my Lord…
> We have come to morning,
and all things, wholly and entirely, have come to morning for You…
We were not alone…
We came to morning—if only we had truly perceived it…
Morning: all things perceived it for You…
The heavens and the earth, and all that You have scattered throughout them…
What is still and what moves, what dwells and what journeys…
What is raised aloft in the air…
And what lies hidden in the earth…
What a remarkable prayer… the prayer of Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him…
Why had I never seen it?
> What lies in the heart of the earth comes to morning…
What lies in the heart of the sea…
What is in the heavens…
In every last corner of these worlds, it comes to morning…
What do they do in that morning?
In that morning which God brings forth…
“The cleft morning”—what a mighty name…
One of His names…
which, for the very first time, in that moment,
spreads across the world of being…
We had no ears to hear…
We had no morning…
We did not perceive “God’s morning.”
The morning we perceive
is the morning of the earthly horizon.
But God’s morning rises from the horizon of the entire cosmos…
It is cleft open…
What a remarkable prayer… what profound mysteries…
Morning returns to the entire cosmos…
—
### From Earth’s Horizon to the Horizon of the Throne: A Morning Beyond Space and Time 🌠⏳
Do not let us imprison ourselves in this world…
Do not let us forget
that we might be unable to lift our heads…
Do not let us imagine that we are our own beginning and end…
or that we are confined and captive to this earth…
Morning has a heavenly dimension…
It has a cosmic dimension…
The morning of our time
extends beyond space…
and beyond time…
If this were not so…
> earthly morning
would not give way to the horizon of the entire cosmos…
These are mighty mysteries…
waiting to be discovered…
—
### The Morning of the Entire Cosmos: Human Awakening or Hidden Death? 🌄🌌
If we fail to discover them…
what company will we find ourselves among?
and You gave us insight to seek our sustenance,
and kept us safe from afflictions.
O my God, my Lord…
> We have entered the morning,
and all things have entered the morning wholly for You…
We were not alone…
We entered the morning—if only we had truly entered it…
The morning: all things entered it for You…
the heavens and the earth, and all that You have scattered throughout them…
their still and moving, their settled and wandering…
what is raised aloft in the air…
and what lies hidden in the soil…
What a wondrous prayer… the prayer of Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him…
How had I never seen it?
> What lies deep in the earth enters the morning…
what lies in the heart of the sea…
what is in the heavens…
in every single point of these worlds, it enters the morning…
What do they do in that morning?
In the morning that God cleaves open…
“The cleft dawn” is a mighty name…
one of His names…
which, for the first time, in that very moment,
extends across the world of being…
We had no ears to hear…
We had no morning…
We did not enter “God’s morning.”
The morning we experience
is the dawn of the earthly horizon.
But God’s morning rises from the horizon of the entire cosmos…
It is cleft open…
What a wondrous prayer… what wondrous mysteries…
Morning returns to the entire cosmos…
—
### From the earthly horizon to the horizon of the Throne: a morning beyond space and time 🌠⏳
Do not imprison yourself in this world…
Do not let it slip from your memory
that you may be unable to lift your head…
Do not imagine yourself to be your own beginning and end…
or think yourself confined and imprisoned on this earth…
Morning has a heavenly dawn…
a dawn encompassing all worlds…
The morning of our time
has a dawn beyond space…
a dawn beyond time…
If it were not so…
> the earthly morning
would not give way to the horizon of the entire cosmos…
These are mighty mysteries…
waiting to be discovered…
—
### The dawn of the entire cosmos: human awakening or hidden death? 🌄🌌
If we fail to discover them…
what company will we find ourselves among?
The whole of creation has its own dawn,
a dawn it shares with humanity…
A dawn that unfolds between humankind and all the cosmos.
What takes place at that momentous dawn?
I’m asleep… I don’t understand.
I should have understood…
The way I rise from sleep,
the heaviness that comes over me,
is a sign of my death…
A certain horizon has opened…
and I am oblivious to it…
Yet this happens again every day.
If we consider the whole of existence as one,
it, too, has its dawn… its rising sun…
Not in time,
but beyond it…
Time and space themselves,
have a dawn…
When we are immersed in the whispered prayers of Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him)…
we journey… and a feeling comes over us…
That reality… the flash of that reality,
hidden from sight,
takes hold of us…
But why don’t we come to our senses?
Why don’t we step beyond ourselves,
and behold that reality?
—
### We have entered the morning in God’s grasp… His sovereignty has enveloped us 👑🕊
The further we go,
the more the mysteries deepen…
We lag behind…
We have yet to understand what came before the whispered prayer…
We have not discovered its secrets…
We simply keep going…
May the breath of Sajjad’s prayers, God willing, take hold of us…
and bring us to life and wakefulness…
O God…
We have entered the morning in Your grasp…
Your dominion and sovereignty have enveloped us,
and Your will surrounds us…
We act at Your command,
and are transformed by Your providence…
We are in Your grasp…
We have entered the morning as those held in Your grasp…
### Constriction and expansion: the night and day of our existence 🌗🔁
What mystery is this…?
Constriction and expansion,
are like night and day…
They are a force at work throughout the world…
What does God bring about through constriction?
And what wonders does He work through expansion?
God’s dominion, God’s sovereignty, has enveloped us…
We dwell within God’s rule and sovereignty…
The dawn of all things,
together with humankind,
is a shared dawn…
A dawn that unfolds between humanity and all creation.
What happens in that great dawn?
I am asleep… I do not know.
I should have known…
The way I rise from sleep,
the heaviness that comes over me,
is a sign of my death…
A particular horizon has opened…
but I am heedless of it…
And this happens again every day.
If we consider the whole universe as one,
it too has its dawn… its sunrise…
not in time,
but beyond it…
Time and space themselves
have a morning…
When we are immersed in the intimate prayers of Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him…
we are carried along… a feeling comes over us…
That truth… a flash of that truth,
hidden from view,
takes hold of us…
But why do we not come to our senses?
Why do we not step outside ourselves
to behold that truth?
—
### We awoke in God’s grasp… His sovereignty enveloped us 👑🕊
The further we go,
the more and more secrets unfold…
We are lagging behind…
We have yet to understand what came before the supplication…
We have not discovered its secrets…
We simply keep moving forward…
May the breath of Sajjad, God willing, take hold of us…
and make us alive and wakeful…
O God…
We awoke in Your grasp…
Your dominion and sovereignty have encompassed us,
and Your will surrounds us…
We act at Your command,
and are transformed by Your ordering of things…
We are in Your grasp…
We awoke as those held in Your grasp…
### Contraction and expansion: the night and day of our being 🌗🔁
What mystery is this…?
Contraction and expansion
are like night and day…
They are a force at work in the very fabric of the universe…
What does God do through contraction?
And what wonders does He accomplish through expansion?
God’s dominion, God’s sovereignty, encompass us…
We dwell within God’s rule and sovereignty…
What a bridal chamber our being is…!
What a bridal chamber—the kingdom of God…
The Sovereign of God, who enfolds us…
What wonders we can work in this bridal chamber…!
### The warp and weft of our being are woven from God’s will ✨🧶
What mystery is this…?
Why can’t I understand?
Why do I not draw upon God’s kingdom?
Or is what I receive inward, never showing itself outwardly?
God’s Sovereign,
God’s kingdom,
God’s sovereignty… what do they do?
Each is a mystery
among the hidden mysteries…
The grip…
The kingdom…
The Sovereign…
God’s guarantee…
God’s will…
We are held within God’s will.
Our warp and weft,
are God’s will…
How astonishing…!
We exist
in this world of being…
### Divine transformation: perpetual change in God’s grasp 🔁✨
And we are transformed, changed, turned upside down, made anew…
In keeping with Your command, we too have our own “conjugations.”
How many conjugations does our soul have?
Into what forms are we transformed?
So I am constantly changing…
like the past and present-tense forms…
> I am a word of God.
God conjugates us.
We have tens of thousands of forms.
Not forms of marriage…
but forms of body and spirit…
of conscience, limbs and inward faculties…
A mystery within a mystery…
None but Sajjad can unveil this mystery.
We were in the grasp of God, in God’s kingdom, under God’s sovereignty,
held within the guarantee of God’s will…
We are transformed by God’s command,
and continually turned about by His governance.
To be conjugated and turned about…
When I am transformed, what do I become?
By God’s command, I am being transformed…
> مَن عَرَفَ نَفسَهُ، فَقَد عَرَفَ رَبَّهُ…
I had thought so little of myself…
So small… so insignificant…
Imam Sajjad shows me who I am…
Transformation by God’s command…
Turning and changing through God’s governance…
How astonishing!
> I am one of God’s creatures…
What a bridal chamber our being is…!
What a bridal chamber it is—the realm of God…
God’s Sovereign, who enfolds us…
What wonders we can perform in this bridal chamber…!
### The warp and weft of our being are woven from God’s will ✨🧶
What mystery is this…?
Why can’t I understand?
Why do I not draw on God’s realm?
Or is my share inward, never made manifest outwardly?
God’s Sovereign,
God’s realm,
God’s sovereignty… what does it do?
Each is a mystery
among hidden mysteries…
The grasp…
The realm…
The Sovereign…
God’s guarantee…
God’s will…
We are encompassed by God’s will.
The warp and weft of us,
are God’s will…
Astonishing…!
We exist
in this world of being…
### Divine transformation: an unceasing change in God’s grasp 🔁✨
And we are transformed, changed, turned upside down, made anew…
In accordance with Your command, we too undergo “conjugation.”
How many forms does the soul’s conjugation take?
Into which forms are we transformed?
So I am changing constantly…
Like the past and present-tense forms…
> I am a word of God.
God conjugates us.
We have thousands upon thousands of forms.
Not the forms of marriage…
But the forms of body and spirit…
of conscience, limbs, and inner faculties…
A mystery within a mystery…
None but Sajjad can unveil this mystery.
We were in the grasp of God, in God’s realm, under God’s Sovereign,
held within the guarantee of God’s will…
We are transformed by God’s command,
and turned about by His governance.
To be conjugated and turned about…
When I am transformed, what do I become?
By God’s command, I am being transformed…
> مَن عَرَفَ نَفسَهُ، فَقَد عَرَفَ رَبَّهُ…
I had thought myself so small…
So small… so insignificant…
Imam Sajjad shows me who I am…
Transformation through God’s command…
Turning about through God’s governance…
Astonishing!
> I am one of God’s creatures…
Perhaps other beings see themselves…
But I, held captive by my own self,
am imprisoned by my own knowledge…
I have yet to escape that prison…
I remain bound by that same “first free one”…
I have become frozen…
And God?
What variety He brings into this world of being…!
### God’s decree: the most beautiful and unshakable command 💎📜
We have no choice but what You have ordained for us…
And we receive no share of goodness except what You have bestowed.
> We are held fast by God’s decree…
How firm it is, how beautiful…!
Is there any decree higher than God’s?
Then…
> It is a tremendous honour
to have been placed within God’s decree.
### Yawm: neither night nor day… a celestial system 🕰🌌
We have yet to emerge from the mystery of night and day and dawn…
Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, brought another mystery
before our eyes…
> What is this “yawm”?
We have night… we have day…
So what is this “yawm” in relation to them?
If we interpret “yawm” as “day,”
we lose its meaning…
This “yawm” is not a day…
It is neither “night” nor “day”…
This “yawm” is a “yawm”…
It is not dawn, either…
Dawn, too, has its own “dawn”…
Is yawm the very system of night and day?
> It is alive…
It is alert…
It is vigilant…
This yawm is ever-renewed…
A witness, always bearing witness against us…
It is God’s testimony to our existence…
If we do good,
it sends us on our way with praise…
If we do evil,
it departs from us with blame…
> This is not night…
Night has its own place…
Nor is it day…
It is yawm…
So perceptive,
so vigilant,
so penetrating,
so watchful…
If we do good, it bids us farewell with a special kindness…
If we do evil, it curses us,
it condemns us…
> This yawm is a wondrous system…
It, too, is renewed…
Perhaps other beings see themselves…
but I, being imprisoned by my own self,
a prisoner of my own knowledge…
have not yet escaped that prison…
I remain bound by that same “first free will”…
I have become frozen…
And God?
What variety He brings forth in this world of being…
### God’s Decree: the Most Beautiful and Firmest Command 💎📜
For us, there is no choice except what You have ordained…
and we have no share in goodness except what You have bestowed.
> We are firmly bound to God’s decree…
What firmness—and what beauty…!
Is there any decree higher than God’s decree?
Then…
> It is a great honour
to have been placed within God’s decree.
### Yawm: neither night nor day… a celestial system 🕰🌌
We have not yet moved beyond the mystery of night, day and dawn…
Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, peace be upon him,
placed another mystery before our eyes…
> What is this “yawm”?
We have night… we have day…
So what is this “yawm” in relation to them?
If we interpret “yawm” as “day,”
we have lost its meaning…
This “yawm” is not a day…
It is neither “night” nor “day”…
This “yawm” is “yawm”…
It is not dawn either…
Dawn itself has its own “dawn”…
Is yawm the very system of night and day?
> It is alive…
It is vigilant…
It is protective…
This yawm is ever-new…
It is a witness, always watching over us…
It is God’s testimony to our existence…
If we do good,
it sees us off with praise…
If we do evil,
it departs from us with condemnation…
> This is not night…
Night has its own place…
Nor is it day…
It is yawm…
So perceptive,
so protective,
so penetrating,
such a witness…
If we do good, it bids us farewell with a special kind of goodness…
If we do evil, it curses us,
it condemns us…
> This yawm is a wondrous system…
It, too, is renewed…
When it parts from us,
it does not return…
And if it does return?
That is not the day that has passed…
It is a new day…
And this day?
> It bears a celestial form…
a form of the Family of Muhammad…
### The Day: A New Creation in Every Moment 🕰🌅
“A newly arisen day” means a new creation…
Truly new, made new…
with no trace of age or wear.
> I am old,
and I take what is fresh to be worn out…
I experience this world as though lifeless…
every night and day, every morning and afternoon…
We are trapped in our past…
imprisoned by our past mistakes…
We have lost—and do not even know it.
This world, in every moment, in every day…
A day… is it a moment?
I do not know… I only know that “a day is a day…”
It has an earthly horizon,
and a horizon encompassing all creation…
And God’s reality endures… it knows no bounds.
> This day is the very system
in which night and day reveal themselves.
The highest sign of order in all existence…
> If only… we understood…
### A Prayer for Good Companionship with the Day: Let Us Safeguard the Day of God 🕊📿
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Bless Muhammad and his family…
and grant us good companionship
with the day…
O God…
> Grant us the grace to be good companions to “Your day”…
and keep us far from the ill companionship of sin,
whether minor or major…
Watch over us,
so that we do not commit either grave or lesser sins…
O Lord,
protect us, so that we may safeguard Your day…
—not defile it…
—not become destroyers of the Day of God…
—but supporters of the Day of God…
—and strive to bring this world into flourishing…
O Lord,
teach us how to remain faithful and befriend “Your day”…
Indeed… the day is a vast mine of treasure…
If only you yourself would discover that mine…
### The Day: A System with Night and Day as Its Poles and Morning at Its Centre 🌗🌞
O Lord, in this “yawm”—I do not say “day,” for that is a mistake—I say “yawm”…
—multiply our good deeds…
When it departs,
it does not return…
If it does return?
Then it is not the day that has passed…
It is a new day…
And this day?
> It has a heavenly form…
It has a form of the Family of Muhammad…
### The Day: A New Creation in Every Moment 🕰🌅
“A newly arisen day” means a new creation…
New, truly made new…
with no trace of age left upon it.
> I am old,
and I mistake freshness for age…
I experience this world as though dead…
through each night and day, each morning and evening…
We are caught in our past…
imprisoned by our own past mistakes…
We have lost—and do not even know it.
This world, at every moment, every day…
A day… is it a moment?
I do not know… I only know that “a day is a day…”
It has an earthly horizon,
and a horizon encompassing the whole cosmos…
And God’s rank endures… it knows no bounds.
> This day is the very system
in which night and day display themselves.
The supreme sign of order in this world of existence…
> If only… we understood…
### A Prayer for Good Companionship with the Day: Let Us Safeguard the Day of God 🕊📿
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Send blessings upon Muhammad and his family…
and grant us good companionship
with the Day…
O God…
> Grant us the grace to be good companions to “Your Day”…
and keep us far from the ill company of sin,
whether small or great…
Watch over us,
so that we commit neither major nor minor sins…
O God,
protect us, so that we may safeguard Your Day…
– Keep it unsullied…
– Let us not become killers of the Day of God…
– Let us be defenders of the Day of God…
– Let us strive to cultivate this world of existence…
O God,
teach us the ways of loyalty and companionship with “Your Day”…
Indeed… the Day is a vast mine…
If only you yourself would become the discoverer of that mine…
### The Day: A System with Night and Day as Its Poles and Morning at Its Center 🌗🌞
O God, in this “yawm”—I do not say “day,” for that would be wrong—I say “yawm”…
– Increase our good deeds…
Cleanse us of our sins…
Fill the space between its two poles with praise, reward and grace…
Yes… This day has two poles:
the pole of night and the pole of day…
And between them lies a radiant, beautiful state called “dawn.”
### Acknowledging our deeds before the recording angels: God, do not let us be put to shame 👼🖋
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Send blessings upon the recording angels…
Those noble ones, the “Noble Recorders”…
Make our reckoning easy…
Fill our scrolls with good deeds…
And do not let our evil deeds bring us low in their sight…
O God…
You Yourself, erase what the Noble Recorders have written…
We have no deeds to our credit…
So grant us Your grace…
Write good deeds for us in those scrolls…
Do not let us lose face before the Noble Recorders…
Do not let us become a burden or a bother to them…
O God…
I confess… My burden is especially heavy…
I am a hell for my angels…
Instead of being a paradise for the beings of the heavenly realm…
I have become a hell for the angels…
How much harm I cause God’s angels…
And I do not even know it…
### The angels’ smiles: our good deeds bring joy to the heavenly realm 🪽😊
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
In every hour of this day,
grant us a share in worship,
a portion of gratitude,
and a truthful testimony from Your angels…
In other words, O God…
Bring a smile to the faces of Your angels…
Let us do
some good and beautiful deed…
so that a smile may come to the lips of Your angels…
O God…
Do not let us cause Your angels sorrow…
Make us such that…
through our good deeds,
through the beauty of our remembrance of You,
we may add to the beauty, joy and happiness of Your angels…
### In the shelter of God’s protection: guarded on every side 🛡💫
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Send blessings upon Muhammad and his family…
And…
guard us from before,
from behind,
from the right,
from the left…
Protect us…
with a protection that keeps us from disobeying You…
Cleanse us of our sins…
Fill the space between them with praise, reward and grace…
Yes… this day has two poles:
the pole of night and the pole of day…
And between them lies a radiant, beautiful state called “dawn.”
### Confessing before the recording angels; O God, do not put us to shame 👼🖋
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Send blessings upon the recording angels…
Those noble ones, the “Kiram al-Katibin”…
Make our reckoning easy…
Fill our scrolls with good deeds…
And do not let our evil deeds disgrace us before them…
O God…
You Yourself, erase what the Kiram al-Katibin have written…
We have no deeds to our credit…
So show us Your grace…
Write good deeds for us on those pages…
Let us not lose face before the Kiram al-Katibin…
Let us not be a burden or a bother to them…
O God…
I confess… my burden is especially heavy…
I am hell for my angels…
Instead of being a paradise for the heavenly beings…
I have become hell for the angels…
How much harm I do to God’s angels…
And I don’t even know it…
### The angels’ smiles; our good deeds bring joy to the heavenly realm 🪽😊
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
At every hour of this day,
grant us a share in worship,
a portion of gratitude,
and the truthful testimony of Your angels…
In other words, O God…
Bring a smile to the faces of Your angels…
Make it so that we…
perform some beautiful, virtuous deed…
so that a smile may light the faces of Your angels…
O God…
Let us never be the cause of sorrow to Your angels…
Make us such…
that through our good deeds,
and the beauty of our remembrance of You,
we may add to the beauty, joy and gladness of Your angels…
### In the shelter of God’s protection; may we be guarded on every side 🛡💫
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Send blessings upon Muhammad and his family…
And…
guard us from the front,
from behind,
from the right,
and from the left…
Protect us…
with a protection that keeps us from disobeying You…
and make us useful in the path of Your friendship…
That is:
O God,
do not let us leave the shelter of Your loving protection…
Do not leave us to ourselves for even an instant…
Guide us toward You…
Surround us with Your care…
Do not abandon us…
### Sajjad’s Testament: A Covenant for the Journey Through the Day 🌌📜
These are the duties
our Imam Sajjad
has set out for our “day” and our “night and day”…
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Bless Muhammad and his family…
### A Covenant for Day and Night: Success in Fulfilling Our Duties to God ⚖️🌙🌞
In this day and night, and throughout all our days…
grant us the success to:
– do good,
– shun evil,
– give thanks for blessings,
– follow the traditions,
– avoid innovations,
– enjoin what is right,
– forbid what is wrong,
– safeguard Islam,
– vanquish falsehood,
– support the truth and uphold its honor,
– guide the misguided,
– help the weak,
– and come to the aid of the distressed…
That is:
> O God,
make us aware of all our duties and grant us success in fulfilling them…
Bestow Your blessing upon us as we carry them out…
### A Day of Safety and Good Companionship: Champions of Devotion 🕊🚩
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Bless Muhammad and his family…
And make this day
the safest day we can remember,
the finest companionship we have known,
and the best time we have ever spent…
That is:
> O God,
make us champions of worship and devotion to You…
And:
make us among the most pleased and content of Your creatures…
those over whom night and day have passed…
– the most grateful for the blessings You have bestowed…
– the most steadfast in the law You have ordained…
– and the most careful to refrain from what You have forbidden…
### Testimony to Divine Oneness: A Witness on Earth and in Heaven 🌌📜
O Lord, O God…
I call You to witness…
And make us serve You along the path of friendship with You…
That is:
O God,
do not let us leave the shelter of Your loving protection…
Do not leave us to ourselves for even an instant…
Guide us toward Yourself…
Encompass us with Your care…
Do not abandon us…
### Sajjad’s Testament: A Covenant of Spiritual Journeying Through the Day 🌌📜
These are the duties
our Imam Sajjad
has entrusted to us for our “day” and “night and day”…
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Bless Muhammad and his family…
### The Covenant of Day and Night: Success in Fulfilling Our Duties to God ⚖️🌙🌞
In this day and night, and throughout all our days…
grant us success in:
– doing good,
– avoiding evil,
– giving thanks for blessings,
– following the traditions,
– shunning innovations,
– enjoining what is right,
– forbidding what is wrong,
– safeguarding Islam,
– vanquishing falsehood,
– supporting the truth and upholding its honor,
– guiding the lost,
– helping the weak,
– and reaching out to the distressed…
That is:
> O God,
make us mindful of all our duties, and grant us success in fulfilling them…
Bestow Your blessing upon us as we carry them out…
### A Day of Safety and Good Companionship: Champions of Devotion 🕊🚩
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Bless Muhammad and his family…
And make this day
the safest day we can remember,
the finest company we have known,
and the best time we have ever spent…
That is:
> O God,
make us champions of worship and devotion to You…
And:
Make us among the most content and well-pleased of Your creatures,
those upon whom night and day have passed…
– the most grateful for the blessings You have bestowed…
– the most steadfast in upholding the law You have ordained…
– and the most careful to refrain from what You have forbidden…
### Testifying to Divine Oneness: A Witness on Earth and in Heaven 🌌📜
O Lord, O God…
I call You to witness…
And this testimony of Yours is enough…
and Your heaven and earth,
and all the angels
and the rest of Your creation
whom You have settled in Your “Throne” and “heaven”…
on this day, at this hour, on this night, and in this place where I stand…
I bear witness:
You are God; there is no deity but You…
— Upholding all things, just in Your judgment…
— Compassionate toward Your servants…
— Sovereign of all dominion…
— Merciful and compassionate toward all creation…
In other words:
> O God, establish the oneness of God in our hearts…
### Testifying to Muhammad’s messengership; the counsel of the Messenger of Mercy ﷺ
And, O God…
that Muhammad
is Your servant,
Your Messenger,
Your chosen one,
among Your servants…
You entrusted him with Your message…
and he delivered it…
You commanded him to counsel the community for its good…
and he did so…
### Endless blessings: a cup overflowing with the draught of blessings 🌸🍷
O Lord, O God, O Divine One…
Send blessings upon Muhammad and his family…
more than upon any of Your other creatures upon whom You have bestowed blessings…
And on our behalf, grant him:
the finest of all that You have given Your servants…
— and the best and most generous reward You have bestowed upon Your prophets…
In other words:
> O God, fill Your cup to the brim with the draught of Your blessings…
### You are mercy incarnate; You are the Most Merciful of the merciful ❤️☁️
O God…
You are the “Munificent,” in all Your majesty…
the great, mighty, boundless Giver…
the Forgiver…
the Forgiver of grave sins…
the Pardoner of great errors…
And You are:
أرحمُ مِن کُلِّ رَحیم…
the Most Merciful of the merciful…
So send blessings upon Muhammad and his virtuous, chosen, and noble family…
🎥 Watch the full lecture at the link below:
🔗 Jame Jan website
🌍 jamejan.com
🟠 Jame Jan Eitaa channel
🔗 https://eitaa.com/jamejan
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼
And this testimony of Yours is enough…
and Your heavens and earth,
and all the angels You have,
and all Your other creatures,
whom You have settled in Your “Throne” and “heaven”…
on this day, at this hour, on this night, and in this place where I stand…
I bear witness:
You are God; there is no deity but You…
— the Upholder, just in judgment…
— compassionate toward Your servants…
— Sovereign of the kingdom…
— merciful and compassionate toward Your creation…
In other words:
> O God, establish the oneness of God in our souls…
### Bearing witness to Muhammad’s messengership; the Messenger of Mercy ﷺ, a sincere well-wisher
And, O God…
that Muhammad,
Your servant,
Your messenger,
Your chosen one,
is among Your servants…
You entrusted him with Your message…
and he delivered it…
You commanded him to sincerely counsel the community…
and he did so…
### Endless blessings; a cup brimming with the sweet drink of blessings 🌸🍷
O Lord, O God, O Divine…
then send blessings upon Muhammad and his family…
more than You have sent upon any of Your creatures…
And on our behalf, grant him:
the very best of what You have given Your servants…
and on our behalf, grant him the finest and most generous reward You have bestowed upon Your prophets…
In other words:
> O God, fill Your cup to the brim with the sweet drink of Your blessings…
### You are mercy made manifest; You are the Most Merciful of the merciful ❤️☁️
O God…
You are the Magnificent Bestower…
the great, mighty, and boundless Giver…
the Forgiver…
the Forgiver of great sins…
the Pardoner of grave errors…
And You are:
أرحمُ مِن کُلِّ رَحیم…
the Most Merciful of the merciful…
So send blessings upon Muhammad and his virtuous, chosen, and noble family…
🎥 Watch the full talk at the link below:
🔗 Jame Jan website
🌍 jamejan.com
🟠 Jame Jan Eitaa channel
🔗 https://eitaa.com/jamejan
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼
[1] ʿUyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 245 Ibn Bābawayh, Jahān Publications—Tehran, first edition, 1378 AH.
[2] Taʾwīl al-Āyāt al-Ẓāhira fī Faḍāʾil al-ʿItra al-Ṭāhira, p. 744 ʿAlī Astarābādī, Islamic Publishing Institute—Iran, Qom, first edition, 1409 AH.
[3] Biḥār al-Anwār (Beirut edition), vol. 9, p. 247 Muḥammad Bāqir ibn Muḥammad Taqī al-Majlisī, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī—Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[1] Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā عليه السلام, vol. 1, p. 245 Ibn Bābawayh, Jahan Publications, Tehran, first edition, 1378 AH.
[2] Taʾwīl al-Āyāt al-Ẓāhirah fī Faḍāʾil al-ʿItrat al-Ṭāhirah, p. 744 ʿAlī Astarābādī, Islamic Publishing Institute, Qom, Iran, first edition, 1409 AH.
[3] Biḥār al-Anwār (Beirut edition), vol. 9, p. 247 Muḥammad Bāqir ibn Muḥammad Taqī al-Majlisī, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
