An Incomparable Month

🌼🔆🌼The Ṣaḥīfa of al-Sajjād: A Treasury of Ramadan’s Mysteries🌼🔆🌼

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌹 “Complete Spiritual Wayfaring through Supplication 44”  “The Garden of Paradise”  “The Universal Sanctuary of Lovers” “The Secret of Liberation”  “A Comprehensive Commentary on Supplication 44 of the Ṣaḥīfa of al-Sajjād” and more … A summary with an addendum       1404.12.07    Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

❇️Knowing God in the City of God

💫🔆 وَ أَلْهِمْنَا مَعْرِفَةَ فَضْلِهِ وَ إِجْلَالَ حُرْمَتِه‏

🔆 (O God) inspire us to know the excellence of Your month and to honour its sanctity

The Ṣaḥīfa of al-Sajjād is a divine prayer answered on our behalf.

The Ṣaḥīfa of al-Sajjād is a guide to the merit and excellence of the blessed month of Ramadan.

❇️A Matchless Month

The blessed month of Ramadan has a singular, matchless character.

❇️A Golden Charter for Managing Our Being in Ramadan

From the summit of his spiritual perfection, Imam al-Sajjād (PBUH) reveals to us in Supplication 44 the magnificent manifestations of the blessed month of Ramadan.

Without doubt, unless we look from the shores of al-Sajjād toward the horizon of the blessed month of Ramadan, we will remain unaware of this great month’s mysteries!

To behold the perfection of the blessed month from the heights of al-Sajjād is to leap from earth to heaven in this blessed month!

To behold the beauty of the blessed month through the adornment of Muḥammad is to see Ramadan’s beauty reflected in the vast cup of al-Sajjād.

Supplication 44 is truly the key to the mysteries of the blessed month’s house.

The share and benefit we draw from the blessed month of Ramadan through this supplication equals our initial share multiplied by the grandeur of al-Sajjād.

Again, we must pass from the world of Supplication 44 into that of Supplication 45, which carries us from one summit of the blessed month to other, loftier peaks in Ramadan!

To look upon the world of existence and the world of servitude from Imam al-Sajjād’s observatory guides a person from frozen, half-dead existence to the life-giving waters of eternal life!

✳️A Few Springs from Blessed Supplication 44

(8) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ قِفْنَا فِيهِ عَلَى مَوَاقِيتِ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ بِحُدُودِهَا الَّتِي حَدَّدْتَ، وَ فُرُوضِهَا الَّتِي فَرَضْتَ، وَ وَظَائِفِهَا الَّتِي وَظَّفْتَ، وَ أَوْقَاتِهَا الَّتِي وَقَّتَّ (9) وَ أَنْزِلْنَا فِيهَا مَنْزِلَةَ الْمُصِيبِينَ لِمَنَازِلِهَا، الْحَافِظِينَ لِأَرْكَانِهَا، الْمُؤَدِّينَ لَهَا فِي أَوْقَاتِهَا عَلَى مَا سَنَّهُ عَبْدُكَ وَ رَسُولُكَ- صَلَوَاتُكَ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ- فِي رُكُوعِهَا وَ سُجُودِهَا وَ جَمِيعِ فَوَاضِلِهَا عَلَى أَتَمِّ الطَّهُورِ وَ أَسْبَغِهِ، وَ أَبْيَنِ الْخُشُوعِ وَ أَبْلَغِهِ.

🔆O God, bless Muḥammad and his family, and make us mindful in this month of the times of the five daily prayers, together with the limits and rulings You have set, the duties You have prescribed, the obligations You have assigned, and the times You have appointed.

🔆And grant us in these prayers the station of those who have attained their true ranks: those who uphold the pillars of prayer and perform it at its appointed times as Your servant and Messenger (may Your blessings be upon him and his family) taught—with its bowing, prostration, and every excellence, in the most complete and comprehensive purity, and with the clearest and most profound humility.

❇️Ramadan: The Month of Reviving Prayer

Prayer is an appointed meeting with God; it has its boundaries, and its realm is vast and far-reaching.

Those who truly open the way to prayer, uphold it, and perform it are Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad (PBUH)!

Prayer is a loving ceremony, an act of merciful grace, a gesture of generous affection, an encounter with God, and a divine invitation.

Those who love God count down the hours until prayer. They long for its appointed times, counting the moments until they can be alone with the Eternal Beloved.

Prayer is the measure of love!

Who are those who taste the sweetness of prayer?

Prayer must awaken in the human heart, until one becomes constant in prayer. It is one of the valiant soldiers of the intellect, which dwells in the heart.

❇️A journey through prayer

Prayer is a journey, a complete spiritual wayfaring.

Prayer must be performed with consummate artistry.

Prayer is a place of intimate tenderness and loving caress with the Beloved.

In truth, prayer is an artful dance of love and faith.

❇️Prayer: the final station of purification

In prayer, purification bears fruit and reaches completion. Ablution is the beginning; prayer brings it to fulfilment. Purity is the secret behind all beauty.

Prayer is a field in which the soul becomes crystal clear.

Every right of prayer’s pillars must be fully observed: with the utmost humility, the gentlest composure, yielding and freedom, and divine aid.

❇️Our social responsibilities in the blessed month of Ramadan

💫🔆 (10) وَ وَفِّقْنَا فِيهِ لِأَنْ نَصِلَ أَرْحَامَنَا بِالْبِرِّ وَ الصِّلَةِ، وَ أَنْ نَتَعَاهَدَ جِيرَانَنَا بِالْإِفْضَالِ وَ الْعَطِيَّةِ، وَ أَنْ نُخَلِّصَ أَمْوَالَنَا مِنَ التَّبِعَاتِ، وَ أَنْ نُطَهِّرَهَا بِإِخْرَاجِ الزَّكَوَاتِ، وَ أَنْ نُرَاجِعَ مَنْ هَاجَرَنَا، وَ أَنْ نُنْصِفَ مَنْ ظَلَمَنَا، وَ أَنْ نُسَالِمَ مَنْ عَادَانَا حَاشَى مَنْ عُودِيَ فِيكَ وَ لَكَ، فَإِنَّهُ الْعَدُوُّ الَّذِي لَا نُوَالِيهِ، وَ الْحِزْبُ الَّذِي لَا نُصَافِيهِ.

🔆Grant us success in this month in keeping ties with our kin through goodness and generosity; caring for our neighbours with kindness and gifts; purifying our wealth of its due obligations, both obligatory and recommended, and cleansing it by giving zakat; reconnecting with those who have cut ties with us; dealing fairly with those who have wronged us; and making peace with those who have opposed us—except for anyone with whom we have taken enmity in Your cause and for Your sake, for such a person is an enemy we do not love, and a group with whom we do not form close bonds.

❇️The blessed month of Ramadan: a garden of Paradise

🌸The blessed month of Ramadan is a blueprint for Paradise,

a map of the ideal city.

The blessed month of Ramadan is a school for making peace with ourselves, with our community and society, with our nation, with the world, and with all existence.

The blessed month of Ramadan guides us on the journey from personal peace to world peace.

This blessed month is a golden opportunity for peace and tranquillity, both personal and global.

❇️The blessed month of Ramadan: surpassing the angels’ measure of worship

💫🔆(11) وَ أَنْ نَتَقَرَّبَ إِلَيْكَ فِيهِ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ الزَّاكِيَةِ بِمَا تُطَهِّرُنَا بِهِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ، وَ تَعْصِمُنَا فِيهِ مِمَّا نَسْتَأْنِفُ‏ مِنَ الْعُيُوبِ، حَتَّى لَا يُورِدَ عَلَيْكَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ مَلَائِكَتِكَ إِلَّا دُونَ مَا نُورِدُ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الطَّاعَةِ لَكَ، وَ أَنْوَاعِ الْقُرْبَةِ إِلَيْكَ.

🔆And grant us success in drawing near to You in this month through pure deeds—through what purifies us of sins and keeps us from the faults we might otherwise take up again—so that none of Your angels may present to You an act of obedience that falls short of what we offer from among the gates of obedience to You and the many means of drawing near to You.

❇️From purifying the soul and wealth to cleansing our deeds

The roots and fibres of our flaws must be cut away.

A person’s deeds should be so weighty and abundant that the angels cannot carry them.

Our deeds, acts of worship and obedience should be beyond the angels’ imagining, and beyond their ability to carry or record.

In the blessed month of Ramadan, the usual measure of worship must be surpassed.

❇️The blessed month of Ramadan is the whole universe gathered into one month

💫🔆 (12) اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ هَذَا الشَّهْرِ، وَ بِحَقِّ مَنْ تَعَبَّدَ لَكَ فِيهِ مِنِ ابْتِدَائِهِ إِلَى وَقْتِ فَنَائِهِ: مِنْ مَلَكٍ قَرَّبْتَهُ، أَوْ نَبِيٍّ أَرْسَلْتَهُ، أَوْ عَبْدٍ صَالِحٍ اخْتَصَصْتَهُ، أَنْ تُصَلِّيَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ أَهِّلْنَا فِيهِ لِمَا وَعَدْتَ أَوْلِيَاءَكَ مِنْ كَرَامَتِكَ، وَ أَوْجِبْ لَنَا فِيهِ مَا أَوْجَبْتَ لِأَهْلِ الْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي طَاعَتِكَ، وَ اجْعَلْنَا فِي نَظْمِ مَنِ اسْتَحَقَّ الرَّفِيعَ الْأَعْلَى بِرَحْمَتِكَ.

🔆O God, I ask You, by the right of this month and by the right of all who have worshipped You in it, from its beginning to its end—whether an angel whom You have brought near, a prophet whom You have sent, or a righteous servant whom You have chosen—to send blessings upon Muhammad and his family; to make us worthy in this month of the gracious gifts You have promised Your friends; to ordain for us in this month what You have ordained for those who go to great lengths and strive in obedience to You; and to place us among those who, through Your mercy, have attained the exalted station on high.

❇️The blessed month of Ramadan: the sanctuary of the world’s lovers

The blessed month is a vast and singular sanctuary of God.

All of existence is present in it, from the angels to the prophets and the saints, and beyond.

In this month, worship and obedience should reach their fullest maturity and sweetness.

❇️The blessed month of Ramadan: a measure of divine oneness

💫🔆 (13) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ جَنِّبْنَا الْإِلْحَادَ فِي تَوْحِيدِكَ، وَ الْتَّقْصِيرَ فِي تَمْجِيدِكَ، وَ الشَّكَّ فِي دِينِكَ، وَ الْعَمَى عَنْ سَبِيلِكَ، وَ الْإِغْفَالَ لِحُرْمَتِكَ، وَ الِانْخِدَاعَ لِعَدُوِّكَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيم‏

🔆O God, send blessings upon Muhammad and his family, and keep us far from deviating from Your oneness, falling short in honoring You, doubting Your religion, being blind to Your path, heedless of Your sanctity, and being deceived by Your enemy, Satan the accursed.

❇️Presenting our belief in divine oneness to the Two Weighty Things

A careful reckoning of our belief in divine oneness is essential in the blessed month of Ramadan.

How many polytheists there are who imagine themselves to be believers in one God.

💫🔆 وَ قَالَ ع‏ رُبَ‏ عَالِمٍ‏ قَدْ قَتَلَهُ جَهْلُهُ وَ عِلْمُهُ مَعَهُ [لَمْ يَنْفَعْهُ‏] لَا يَنْفَعُه‏[1]

🔆The Imam (peace be upon him) said: “How many a learned man has been destroyed by his own ignorance, while his knowledge is with him but does him no good.”

☘️ How many scholars imagine themselves to affirm God’s oneness, while making a case for polytheism, calling polytheism monotheism and monotheism polytheism.

☘️ Anyone who is not familiar with and devoted to the Ṣaḥīfa Sajjādiyya and the transmitted supplications falls short in glorifying God.

No intimate prayer is as sweet as those of the Imams, peace be upon them.

☘️ Each year, one should undertake a comprehensive review of the core beliefs that shape one’s worship. The blessed month of Ramadan is a golden opportunity for this.

☘️ One should also renew one’s religious outlook, strengthen one’s convictions, cleanse the heart of every trace of polytheism and doubt, and shift from imitating others in matters of belief to investigating them for oneself.

❇️Breaking the chains of bondage and vileness

💫🔆 (14) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ إِذَا كَانَ لَكَ فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ لَيَالِي شَهْرِنَا هَذَا رِقَابٌ يُعْتِقُهَا عَفْوُكَ، أَوْ يَهَبُهَا صَفْحُكَ فَاجْعَلْ رِقَابَنَا مِنْ تِلْكَ الرِّقَابِ، وَ اجْعَلْنَا لِشَهْرِنَا مِنْ خَيْرِ أَهْلٍ وَ أَصْحَابٍ.

🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his family. In every night of this month, there are servants whom Your pardon sets free and whom Your forgiveness absolves. Include us among those whom You set free, and make us among the finest people of this month and its companions.

❇️The blessed month of Ramadan is a golden opportunity to taste freedom.

☘️How many captives believe themselves free, yet remain imprisoned, imagining themselves unfettered.

One who loves the world is its lowly captive, enslaved to the world and to the desires of his own soul.

(15) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ امْحَقْ ذُنُوبَنَا مَعَ امِّحَاقِ هِلَالِهِ، وَ اسْلَخْ عَنَّا تَبِعَاتِنَا مَعَ انْسِلَاخِ أَيَّامِهِ حَتَّى يَنْقَضِيَ عَنَّا وَ قَدْ صَفَّيْتَنَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْخَطِيئَاتِ، وَ أَخْلَصْتَنَا فِيهِ مِنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ. (16) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ إِنْ مِلْنَا فِيهِ فَعَدِّلْنَا، وَ إِنْ زُغْنَا فِيهِ فَقَوِّمْنَا، وَ إِنِ اشْتَمَلَ عَلَيْنَا عَدُوُّكَ الشَّيْطَانُ فَاسْتَنْقِذْنَا مِنْهُ. (17) اللَّهُمَّ اشْحَنْهُ بِعِبَادَتِنَا إِيَّاكَ، وَ زَيِّنْ أَوْقَاتَهُ بِطَاعَتِنَا لَكَ، وَ أَعِنَّا فِي نَهَارِهِ عَلَى صِيَامِهِ، وَ فِي لَيْلِهِ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ وَ التَّضَرُّعِ إِلَيْكَ، وَ الْخُشُوعِ لَكَ، وَ الذِّلَّةِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ حَتَّى لَا يَشْهَدَ نَهَارُهُ عَلَيْنَا بِغَفْلَةٍ، وَ لَا لَيْلُهُ بِتَفْرِيطٍ.

🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his family. As the crescent wanes, wipe away our sins; as the days of this month pass, relieve us of their consequences and of the claims owed by us, so that the month may come to an end with us purified of our errors and cleansed of our misdeeds.

🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his family. If we strayed from the right path this month, set us straight; if we went astray, put us right; and if Your enemy Satan gained power over us, free us from his grasp.

🔆O God, fill this month with our worship of You, adorn its hours with our obedience to You, and help us fast during its days and pray, plead before You, humble ourselves to You, and bow low before You at night, so that its days may not testify against us that we were heedless, nor its nights that we fell short.

❇️The Blessed Month of Ramadan: A Month of Sincere Awakening

☘️Satan never gives up his mischief. He does not grow weary or accept idleness; he has sworn off sleep so that he may deceive and destroy human beings.

Let us increase our share in the blessings of the blessed month of Ramadan

We must make the blessed month abundant

We welcome the blessed month with worship and righteous deeds

The end of the blessed month is a new beginning, with new learning and a transformed face.

Sajjadi greetings to you.

❇️A Luminous Introduction to the Forty-Fourth Supplication,

New Horizons

1💫. Imam Sajjad (AS), at the summit of Ramadan’s wisdom

What Imam Sajjad (AS) tells us about Ramadan is not the account of an ordinary person. From the summit of his spiritual perfection, he surveys all the valleys and peaks of this month and makes us aware of its ups and downs.

2💫. Seeing the month from the Sajjadi vantage point: a condition for discovering its mysteries

Unless we look upon the month from the Sajjadi vantage point, its mysteries will remain hidden from us. This vantage point is where a person has attained pure servanthood, seeing and desiring nothing but God.

3💫. Soaring from the earthly realm to the heavens on the wings of prayer

Looking up from the carpet to the Throne is an ordinary way of seeing. But looking down from the Throne to the carpet is the way of the infallible Imam. Supplication 44 lifts us on its wings, carrying us from the carpet to the Throne, so that we may behold the month from a divine vantage point.

4💫. The Adornment of the Muhammadan Month: A Cup of Light

The blessed month of Ramadan is the Muhammadan month. Its adornment is the Muhammadan lights. To behold the beauty of this month through the eyes of Imam Sajjad (AS) is to gaze at light through a cup of light: light held within a vessel of light.

To drink deeply from the cup of light, to gain wings of light, to become able to receive light

5💫. Supplication 44: The Mysteries of Ramadan’s House

Ramadan’s house has many chambers. Supplication 44 is not merely the door to this house; it is the key to all its rooms. Each passage opens a door onto a new mystery, and each sentence unveils one of the secrets of this month.

6💫. Our Share in the Month: The Product of Sajjadi Grandeur and Our Understanding

Our share and benefit from Ramadan depend not only on our understanding, but also on the grandeur of Imam Sajjad’s (AS) vision. The more deeply we immerse ourselves in his supplication, the more his Sajjadi grandeur works upon us, and the greater our share in the month becomes.

7💫. From Supplication 44 to Supplication 45: A Journey among Lofty Peaks

Supplication 44 brings us to the summit of the month, while Supplication 45 sends us soaring from that summit to still loftier peaks. These two supplications are two stages on the path of spiritual wayfaring through Ramadan, to be traversed in succession.

8💫. The Sajjadi Observatory: A Window onto the World of Worship

Imam Sajjad (AS) has built an observatory for us from which to view the universe reflected in the mirror of worship. In this observatory, every phenomenon takes on a devotional meaning, and every event receives a divine interpretation.

Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is a Sajjadi Buraq for the ascent.

9💫. The Freezing Stillness of Half-Death: The End of True Life

Many of us live in the frozen stillness of a half-dead existence. We are alive, yet have never experienced true life. Supplication 44 is a remedy for this numbness and stagnation.

10💫. A Life Brimming with Vitality: The Fruit of the Sajjadi Vision

“Life brimming with vitality” is an apt expression for showing that true life is fresh and vibrant. Imam Sajjad’s vision of Ramadan gifts human beings this life, alive with freshness.

11💫. The Sajjadi Horizon: A Horizon of Meaning

Ordinary horizons are horizons of matter. The Sajjadi horizon is a horizon of meaning. From this vantage point, everything becomes meaningful: fasting, prayer, supplication, and even eating and drinking at suhur and iftar.

This supplication is a soul within the fasting person.

12💫. Ramadan in the Mirror of Supplication, Not in the Mirror of Routine

We have seen Ramadan more often in the mirror of routine than in the mirror of supplication. Supplication 44 is a mirror that shows the month as it truly is, not as our habits have made it.

13💫. Imam Sajjad (AS), the Interpreter of Ramadan

Everyone interprets Ramadan in a different way. Official interpreters speak of its rulings; mystical interpreters, of spiritual states and stations. But Imam Sajjad (AS) interprets Ramadan through the relationship between servant and Lord—a relationship filled with love and reverence.

14💫. Supplication 44: The Architecture of Ramadan’s Wisdom

This supplication gives us an architecture of understanding Ramadan. It shows the place of each part of the month and how every act within it relates to the month as a whole and to all of existence.

15💫. From Shore to Shore: A Journey through the Supplication

Supplication 44 begins with “الحمد لله” and concludes with blessings upon Muhammad and his family. This journey from praise to blessings leads from the beginnings of understanding to the summit of servanthood.

16💫. Imam Sajjad (AS), the Cartographer of the Month

The Imam has drawn for us a map of Ramadan on which every path and every dead end is marked. With this map, we can avoid losing our way during the month and reach our destination.

A Treasure Map to the Hidden Riches of the Blessed Month of Ramadan

17💫. The Majesty of Sajjadi Teachings Reveals the Grandeur of the Month

The majesty and beauty of Imam Sajjad (AS) are a perfect mirror of the majesty and beauty of Ramadan. The better we know the Imam, the better we understand the month; and the deeper we delve into his supplication, the closer we come to the month’s mysteries.

18💫. Supplication 44: A Bridge Between Earth and Heaven

This supplication is a bridge between those on earth and those in heaven. By reciting it, we join the angels who descend on the Night of Decree, and harmonise with the spirits of the prophets and saints who descend during this month by God’s permission.

19💫. Ramadan: A University of Love with Sajjadi Teachings at Its Heart

If Ramadan is a university of love, Imam Sajjad (AS) is its foremost teacher. Supplication 44 is the course text, each sentence teaching a chapter of spiritual insight and love.

A bridge to the allusions, subtleties, and truths of the Sajjadi tradition

20💫. From a Deathlike State to Everlasting Life

Supplication 44 is a guide to transformation from a “deathlike state” to “vibrant life.” Whoever recites it with all their heart and reflects deeply on its meanings emerges from the stasis of habit and finds the freshness of spiritual knowledge. They become truly alive, no longer seeing death within themselves, but finding life flowing through every atom of their being.

✨From the heights of his own perfection, Imam Sajjad (AS) has shown us Ramadan in such a way that, if we look with the eye of the heart, we will see all the mysteries of this month reflected in his supplication. Supplication 44 is not merely a collection of requests; it is a roadmap to “complete detachment from all but Him.” For this reason, we should recite it not just once at the beginning of the month, but every day and every night, reflecting on its meanings so that we may partake of this month’s boundless blessings.

🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)🌼

[1] Nahj al-Balagha (ed. Subhi Salih); p. 487 Sharif al-Radi, Muhammad ibn Husayn, Hijrat Press – Qom, first edition, 1414 AH.