Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼The Sovereign of Serenity: Imam al-Askari🌼🔆🌼
🔹The Eve of the Martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS)
📅 Date: 1404/06/09 – 08 Rabi al-Awwal 1447
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei
📝 Some of the topics discussed:
# Opening: Prayer and Praise 🕋
بِسمِ اللهِ الرَّحمنِ الرَّحیمِ.
الحمدُ للهِ الأوّلِ بلا أوّلٍ كان قبله، والآخِرِ بلا آخرٍ يكون بعده
الحمدُ للهِ الملكِ القدّوسِ السلامِ المؤمنِ المهيمنِ العزيزِ الجبّارِ المتكبّر.
و صلواتُ اللهِ و سلامُهُ على رسولِ الله، إمامِ الرّحمة، قائدِ الخير، مفتاحِ البركة، العبدِ المؤيَّد، والرّسولِ المسدَّد، المنتخب، أحمدَ أبي القاسم محمّد.
اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّدٍ و آلِ محمّد.
# Blessings upon the Ahl al-Bayt and the Remnant of God 🕊
و على أهلِ بیتِهِ الطیّبینَ الطاهرینَ المعصومین، لا سیّما بقیّةِ اللهِ الأعظم؛ روحی و أرواحُ العالمینَ لِترابِ مقدَمِهِ فِداء، و لَمحِ بصرِهِ و لطیفِ قامَتِهِ و لذیذِ مناجاتِهِ فِداء. و على تعجیلِ ظهورِهِ أفضلُ الصلوات.
اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد.
# Condolences on the Eve of the Martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) 🌙
On the eve of the martyrdom of the lamp of the people of Paradise, our master Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), we offer our condolences to the celestial realm, accompanied by blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad:
اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد.
# Imam of Serenity and Radiance ✨
Imam Hasan al-Askari, the Imam of serenity, the Imam of adornment, the sovereign of tranquillity. Imam al-Askari is that ever-radiant countenance of the Everlasting One. If only our souls might open to the light of this Imam; if only our hearts’ eyes might be opened to behold the immense light of Imam al-Askari (AS). If only the sanctuary of our hearts might embrace and illuminate this world of existence with the light of al-Askari. Imam al-Askari is within our souls and within our world. If only we could find the Imam within ourselves; if only we could attain knowledge of him; if only we could reach his path, we would behold that supreme vision of God. If only our eyes could see. A phrase
If only the blind could see; if only the sleeper could awaken; if only my heart could open its eyes; if only my sleeping soul could awaken and behold the light of al-Askari.
# The Account of Abu Abdullah al-Shakiri: The Clamor Subsides 🐎
This Imam is safety and serenity. Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Shakiri, the Imam’s servant, recounts one of the miracles he witnessed: whenever the Imam entered among those people and into that crowd, «فإذا جاء أستاذی سكنتُ الضَّجّة»; all the clamor died down. Imagine the Imam entering a place filled with noise: animals jostling and tumbling about, horses and donkeys, and the people among them—all in a tremendous uproar. When the Imam entered, سكنت الضجّة; all the clamor subsided.
The horses grew calm; not one neighed, and نَهاقُ الحمیر; no donkey brayed. This is one of the mysteries of Imam al-Askari (AS): whenever he entered a place, the noise and tumult fell silent; the animals quieted. And تفرّقت البهائم; the beasts drew aside حتّى يَصیرَ الطریقُ واسعاً until a way opened for the Imam, and لا یحتاجُ إلى المزاحمة. Imam al-Askari is the Imam of serenity and tranquillity. Indeed, in the Imam’s presence, disruptive clamor falls silent; he is the source of safety and peace.
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# The Imam: The Axis of Society’s Security and Unity 🛡
What causes animals to become wild?
It is no exaggeration to say that the Imam’s presence destroys disease-causing microbes. With the Imam present, nature serves all creation; without him, it turns against the community and the whole world. The Imam is the world’s software and hardware for dwelling and tranquillity. Otherwise, Imam al-Askari (AS) would not have shown this through his blessed presence; the Imam would have introduced himself.
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# Why Did Moses Become God’s Interlocutor? 📜
The Imam says: فَکِلیمُ الله Why did Moses attain such an exalted honour? Why did he become God’s interlocutor? Why did God say to Moses, «واصطنعتُکَ لِنفسی»? “O Moses, I have fashioned you for Myself alone”—what a remarkable statement! What an exalted rank Moses, God’s interlocutor, attained. How did he reach it? Imam al-Askari (AS) says: فَکَلیمَ الله. Let me speak of God’s interlocutor, of Moses: **He donned the robe of election because he remained true to his covenant with us.** Yes, Moses attained that rank of being chosen and exalted because he kept faith with the Household of Purity and Immaculacy: کلیمٌ… لما عهدنا منه الوفا.
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# The Holy Spirit and the “Gardens of Bakura” 🌿
And امّا از روحُ القُدُس let me say this: the Holy Spirit is not only Gabriel. It is that same Holy Spirit who descends on the Night of Decree: و روحُ القُدُس فی جِنانِ سَاقوراء (Correction: “Sāqūra” → “Sāqūrāʾ”). Where is Sāqūrāʾ? It is unknown to us. I do not know the ground beneath my feet; how, then, could I know the “gardens of Sāqūrāʾ”? Is it a lofty station in the higher realm of the unseen? I do not know.
As for the Holy Spirit: ذَاقَ من حدائقِ باکوره (Correction: “zāq min ḥadāʾiq bākūra”). Those orchards (Correction: “bāhā/bāhā wa-dāʾiq”) that the Holy Spirit tasted from in the gardens of Sāqūrāʾ—he says that the Holy Spirit tasted from our gardens of Bakura. He savoured the taste and flavour of the fruits in our gardens of Bakura, and became the Holy Spirit: و روحُ القُدُس فی جِنانِ ساقوراء مِن حدائقِ باکوره. What wonders the Household of the Prophet (AS) possess! Their garden has blossomed there. Whoever ascends, like the Holy Spirit, reaches that place; he visits the gardens of Sāqūrāʾ and tastes from the gardens of Bakura.
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# The Saved and Pure Shīʿa 🏛
And شیعتُنا الناجیهُ والفِرقةُ الزّاكیةwho are our Shīʿa? They are the saved and pure group—clean and undefiled. Where can I find a Shīʿī, so I may see and witness the light of his face, and draw in light from the beauty of a Shīʿī of the Household of the Prophet (AS)? They are our supporters and guardians; that is, our adornment, the manifestation of our glory. These same Shīʿa are those who unite in groups against our enemies and stand against the oppressors, as allies and supporters. In other words, united and steadfast, they charge against the enemies of the oppressors.
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# The Springs of Life after the Blazing Fire 💧
**وسیُنفَجَرُ لهم**—what a remarkable statement! How fortunate the Shīʿa of Imam al-Askari (AS) are. The Holy Spirit tasted from the gardens of Sāqūrāʾ, but for the Shīʿa: **سینفجرُ لهم یَنابیعُ الحیوان**—soon, for them, **we will make the springs of life gush forth**—**بعدَ لَظى النِّیران (Correction: “baʿd laẓanrān”); after the scorching heat of the fire. After tasting the blazing Hell of the world-seekers, our Shīʿa will enter our springs of life; we will make the rivers of life gush forth for them. سینفجر لهم ینابیع الحیوان بعد لَظى النیران…
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# The Meaning of “Allah” and the State of Utter Reliance 🙏
I would like to offer another gift from the station of al-Askari (AS). The Imam (AS) says of the majestic name “Allah”: «اللهُ هو الذی تُلجَأُ إلیهِ عندَ الحوائجِ و الشدائد»; Allah is the One to whom people turn in times of need and distress—the One to whom people turn when needs and hardships overwhelm them, entering a state of worship. عندَ انقطاعِ الرّجاء من کلِّ مَن دونه و تقطّعِ الأسبابِ من جَمیعِ مَن سِواه: This “state of worship” is the state that arises in every creature when its hope in anyone besides Him has vanished and every means has failed.
بِسمِ اللهِ الرّحمنِ الرّحیم means: “أستَعینُ على أموری کلِّها بالله” (correcting “استعین علی امور کل بالله”): In all my affairs, I seek help from Allah—the One alone worthy of worship. المُغیثُ إذا استُغیث، و المُجیبُ إذا دُعی
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# The Thirst for Detachment and the Experience of Worship 🏺
Must we be in the midst of hardship to experience the state of worship? We should live, moment by moment, in a state of utter detachment. When a terrible thirst burns through a person’s heart, soul and very core, and no water can be found, a certain state arises: one seeks the God who alone can quench that thirst. When hunger becomes unbearable, when exhaustion overwhelms us, when the doctors have given up on us—then we turn away from all else and face only Him. That is where the state of worship begins. Until then, without knowing it, we had worshipped others—whatever had captured our attention.
When the ship breaks apart in a raging sea, and there is not a single plank to cling to, then we experience the state of worship. Blessed are those who have tasted worship, those who are forever immersed in remembrance of Him. The more desperate the need, the more powerful the state of worship. Let us become poorer and poorer, until we find that state. The experiences of detachment: when we are cut off from everything, we enter the exalted university of worship and discover our innate nature. The crisis of pain, suffering and illness is the knife of detachment: it cuts us off so that we remember Him.
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# The Gnostic of God: Outwardly with Creation, Inwardly with the Real 🕯
العارفُ شخصُهُ مع الخَلق و قلبُهُ مع الله: Outwardly, he is with all created beings; inwardly, he is with God. لا یَسهو عن الله; if his heart’s eye were to turn away from Him for even a moment, he would die of longing. حُبُّ الله is like a rope: whoever clings to it is kept from every preoccupation that draws them away from God: أخلَاهُ عن کلِّ شاغلٍ و کلِّ ذِکرٍ سوى الله.
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# The Newborn Child: A Master of Worship 👶
I want to introduce a master of devotion and worship whose class we should attend: that exalted teacher is a newborn infant. The child has experienced utter detachment. The infant’s searing tears are the most beautiful melody of worship, for the child has tasted complete detachment: the umbilical cord has been cut, and its undivided attention has been drawn toward the One worshipped. This is what our Master said in the Sha‘baniyya Supplication: «إلهی هَب لی کمالَ الانقطاعِ إلیک». And also: «و أنِر أبصارَ قلوبِنا بضياءِ نظرِها إلیک».
بکاءُ الطّفلِ: لا إلهَ إلاّ By Allah, a child’s crying is the remembrance لا إله إلا الله; the child recites this remembrance continually until the age of seven. After that, it is a declaration of innocence and a remembrance for the parents; and once the child reaches maturity, half the reward for each good deed is credited to the parents (as the report is worded). If the child were to worship God in that same state of complete detachment, what exalted stations would it attain! A child’s crying—**the mournful music of لا إله إلا الله**—expresses separation, yet the child does not forget its Creator.
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# The Broken Person: At the Threshold of Worship 🧭
In a state of detachment, a person comes to experience worship: the heart’s free fall, the loss of those dearest to us, a shipwreck, financial ruin, a broken heart—in these moments the state of worship arises. Why can we not find that state through “means”? Are not the means themselves directed إلى الله? Why have we made the means into gods? The means must be taken from us before we can return to Him. The Qur’an says that when waves engulf them from every side and they think they are about to drown, they pray to Him sincerely.
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# The Sajjadiyya Munajat and Complete Detachment 🕯
Did Imam Sajjad (AS) not whisper: «اللهمّ إنّی أخلَصتُ بانقطاعی إلیک». “My God, I have made my detachment from all but You complete; I have turned away from all but You; I have left no part of myself for anyone other than You.” How much this munajat resembles the supplication of the Commander of the Faithful (AS): «إلهی هَب لی کمالَ الانقطاعِ إلیک». And the whispering continues: «وأقبَلتُ بِکُلّی إلیک»—My God, I have come to You with my whole being; I have left not a single particle of myself behind. We need not leap away; we should bring all the means with us toward God. What must be severed is our attachment to anything other than Him.
And also: “وَرَفَعتُ وجهی عمَّن یحتاجُ إلى موائدِک”—I have turned away from all who, like me, depend on Your table. How could I turn to anyone but You? “و رددتُ مسألتی”—I have withdrawn my request from all who themselves depend on Your grace. To ask for one’s needs from someone who is needy is a sign of folly and unsound judgment.
اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آله.
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# A Prayer for Relief and in Times of Distress 🤲
اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد، و فرّج همّی و نفّس غمّی; O God, loosen the knot of my sorrow; dispel my grief; **avert whatever constricts my heart; suffice me; and help me through all that brings my patience to an end—when my resources dwindle, my strength falters, and my endurance fails. و إذا الضرورةُ عندَ انقطاعِ الآمال و خیبةِ الرجاءِ من المخلوقین إلیک**—when hopes are cut off and hope in created beings comes to nothing, necessity arises and draws me towards You. These blind worldly hopes must therefore be severed, for they stand in the way of worshipping God.
**ولا تَکِلنی إلى حَولی و قوّتی دونَ حولِک و قوّتِک**—do not leave me to myself or to anyone else. How beautifully Imam al-Askari (AS) said: «مَن آنَسَ باللهِ استوحَشَ من الناس»—“Whoever finds intimacy with God feels estranged from people and creation.”
How does this accord with the words of Imam Husayn (AS): «إلهی، تردُّدی صار یوجبُ بعدَ المزَار; so unite me with You” (the context of the passage). And also: “And the perfection of sincerity لَهُ نَفیُ الصّفاتِ عنهُ» (corrected reading: the meanings are in keeping with one another).
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# Closing Salutations to Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) 🌹
**السّلامُ علیک یا مولا، یا أبا محمّد الحسنُ الهادی المهتدی ، و رحمةُ الله و برکاتُه.
السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ أولیاءِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک یا حجّةَ الله و ابنَ حجّتِهِ؛ السّلامُ علیک یا صفیَّ الله و ابنَ أصفيائه؛ السّلامُ علیک یا خلیفةَ الله و ابنَ خُلَفائِهِ و أبا الخلیفة؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ خاتمِ النبیّین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ سیّدَین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ أمیرالمؤمنین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ سیّدِ العالمین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ابنَ الأئمّةِ الهادین؛ السّلامُ علیک يا ابنَ الأوصیاءِ الراشدین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا عِصمةَ المتّقین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا إمامَ الفائزین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا رُکنَ المؤمنین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا فرجَ الملهوفین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا وارثَ الأنبیاءِ المُنتجبین؛ السّلامُ علیک یا خازنَ علمِ رسولِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک—بِحکمِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ناطقاً بکتابِ الله؛ السّلامُ علیک یا حجّةَ الحُجَج؛ السّلامُ علیک یا ولیَّ النِّعَم؛ السّلامُ علیک یا عَیبةَ العلم؛ السّلامُ علیک یا سفینةَ الحِلم؛ السّلامُ علیک یا أبا الإمامِ المُنتظر.
اللّهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد.
# Opening and Praise 🕋
أعوذُ باللهِ من الشَّیطانِ الرَّجیمِ وکَیْدِهِ و مَکْرِهِ و نَفْثِهِ و أمانیهِ و مواعیدهِ و غُرورهِ و وعیدهِ
بِسمِ اللهِ الرَّحمنِ الرَّحیم.
الحمدُ للهِ الأوّلِ بلا أوّلٍ قبله، والآخرِ بلا آخرٍ بعده
الحمدُ للهِ الملِکِ القُدّوسِ السّلامِ المؤمنِ المُهَیمنِ العَزیزِ الجبّارِ المتکبِّر
و صلواتُ اللهِ و سلامُهُ على رسولِ الله، إمامِ الرّحمة، قائدِ الخیر، مفتاحِ البرکة، العبدِ المؤیَّد، والرّسولِ المسدَّد، والنبیِّ المختارِ المنتخب أحمدَ أبی القاسم محمّد.
اللهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد.
و على أهلِ بیتِه الطیّبینَ الطاهرینَ المعصومین، سِیّما بَقیّةِ اللهِ الأعظم رُوحی و أرواحُ العالمینَ لِترابِ مقدَمِه و لَمحِ بَصرِه و لُطفِ قامته و لذیذِ مناجاتِه فِداء؛ و علی تعجیلِ ظهورِه أفضلُ الصلوات.
اللهمّ صلِّ على محمّد و آلِ محمّد.
# Excerpts from the Prayer for Noble Character (Edited Selection) 📜
# An Impenetrable Fortress and a Heavenly Character 🏰
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# Horizons of Governing the Self and Society ⚖️
In these two passages from Supplication 20 of *al-Ṣaḥīfa*, Imam al-Sajjād (AS) teaches the art of bringing order to the world within us and the world around us. His words unfold on many levels, each opening a door to another. A person first brings their own inner life into harmony, so that they can have the greatest possible effect on society, the earth and all of existence. This is the politics of the self: governing body, soul and society, so that you may be an impregnable fortress and, at the same time, a safe haven for others.
The supplication’s full significance becomes clearer if we read “society” in place of “the individual”: today’s generation is nearing a precipice of decline. Without any all-out war, humanity is destroying itself with its own hands. This supplication teaches the secret of deliverance: bringing the powers within into harmony—judicial, executive, legislative and so on—so that the world outside can be set right. A companion of the Imam of the Age (AJ) must be both fortress and refuge. In the world’s zoo, they must first make themselves heavenly, then draw others into the garden of the divine realm.
