شکایت از نَفْس

Pleading before God against the commanding self, Satan, hardness of heart, the Imam’s occultation, and the afflictions of the age, in the spirit of Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Munājāt al-Shākīn

Contents and Chapter Headings

Chapter One: The Epistemology of Complaint in the Supplicatory Tradition of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS)

• The fundamental distinction between complaining to God (seeking redress) and complaining about God (disbelief)
• A close examination of the place of Munājāt al-Shākīn among the Fifteen Whispered Prayers
• Why do God’s chosen servants complain to their Lord of the self and Iblis?
• The etiquette of imploring God, presence of heart, and release from delusions of self-importance

Chapter Two: A Detailed Commentary on Munājāt al-Shākīn (Complaints Against the Self, Iblis, and Hardness of Heart)

• The seven attributes of the commanding self: commanding evil, rushing into sin, and being enamoured of disobedience
• Procrastination and the self’s deceptions that delay sincere repentance
• Iblis’s stratagems: whispering into the breast, making the world seem alluring, and laying siege to the heart
• Healing hardness of heart and opening the dried-up springs of tears in intimate prayer

Chapter Three: A Secret Testament of Confession and Humility (إلهی قلبی محجوب)

• A close examination of the celebrated phrase recited in prostration: “My heart is veiled, my self is flawed”
• Desire’s triumph over reason and ways to restore the sovereignty of reason grounded in divine unity
• Seeking refuge in the divine names «ستّار العیوب» and «علّام الغیوب» to dispel disgrace

Chapter Four: Complaints About the Occultation of the Guardian and the Estrangement of Religion Throughout History

• A commentary on Duʿāʾ al-Iftitāḥ and the sermons of Ṣiffīn: اللهم إنا نشکو الیک فقد نبینا
• The hardships of the age, divisions of opinion, and the many blind trials of the era of occultation
• Praying for the advent of the Mahdist just government and the destruction of the foundations of global oppression

Chapter Five: Examining the Afflictions of the Limbs, the Body, and the Community of Faith

• Putting the limbs on trial: the tongue, eyes, ears, hands, and feet before the tribunal of conscience
• Complaints against scholars who do not practise what they preach, hypocritical reciters, and unreliable friends
• The end of the plea: joining the ocean of infallibility and finding peace beneath the shelter of divine grace

Golden Passages from the Book

A complaint against the commanding self: the most implacable hidden enemy dwelling between one’s sides
««إِلَهِي إِلَيْكَ أَشْكُو نَفْساً بِالسُّوءِ أَمَّارَةً، وَ إِلَى الْخَطِيئَةِ مُبَادِرَةً، وَ بِمَعَاصِيكَ مُولَعَةً… تَسْلُكُ بِي مَسَالِكَ الْمَهَالِكِ وَ تَجْعَلُنِي عِنْدَكَ أَهْوَنَ هَالِكٍ». O God, I complain to You of a self that ceaselessly commands evil, hastens towards error, and is enamoured of sin! A self full of excuses and longings; when calamity befalls it, it loses patience, and when it receives a blessing, it is miserly. It drives me towards sin and delays repentance with procrastination, putting it off until tomorrow and the day after!» (p. 12)

A complaint against Satan and his whispering thoughts: the poisonous allure of love for the world
««إِلَهِي أَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ عَدُوّاً يُضِلُّنِي وَ شَيْطَاناً يُغْوِينِي، قَدْ مَلَأَ بِالْوَسْوَاسِ صَدْرِي، وَ أَحَاطَتْ هَوَاجِسُهُ بِقَلْبِي». O Lord, I seek refuge in You from an enemy who fills my breast with whispers and lays siege to my heart with his beguiling desires. He lends support to my lower self, makes the love of this fleeting world seem beautiful to my eyes, and stands like a mighty wall between me and obedience and nearness to Your presence.» (p. 28)

A complaint against hardness of heart and unfeeling eyes: tears dried up before the majesty of the Real
««إِلَهِي إِلَيْكَ أَشْكُو قَلْباً قَاسِياً، مَعَ الْوَسْوَاسِ مُتَقَلِّباً، وَ بِالرَّيْنِ وَ الطَّبْعِ مُتَلَبِّساً، وَ عَيْناً عَنِ الْبُكَاءِ مِنْ خَوْفِكَ جَامِدَةً». O my God, I seek redress in Your sacred presence for a heavy, unfeeling heart that is shaken by the slightest whisper and has been darkened by the patina of sin; and for an eye that sheds not a single tear from fear and awe of You, yet gazes greedily upon the fleeting pleasures of this world!» (p. 44)

A cry of helplessness in the sanctuary of prostration; إِلهِي قَلْبِي مَحْجُوب وَ نَفْسِي مَعْيُوب
“«إِلَهِي قَلْبِي مَحْجُوبٌ، وَ نَفْسِي مَعْيُوبٌ، وَ عَقْلِي مَغْلُوبٌ، وَ هَوَائِي غَالِبٌ، وَ طَاعَتِي قَلِيلَةٌ، وَ مَعْصِيَتِي كَثِيرَةٌ، وَ لِسَانِي مُقِرٌّ بِالذُّنُوبِ؛ فَكَيْفَ حِيلَتِي يَا سَتَّارَ الْعُيُوبِ؟!» This passage marks a turning point: the moment human pride is broken. When one comes to the honest admission that reason has been overpowered by desire and the heart lies veiled by heedlessness, one lets go of all claims, prostrates before the Concealer of faults, and seeks the key to deliverance from His boundless grace.” (page 65)

Lamenting the loss of the Prophet and the occultation of the Imam; the greatest sorrow of the faithful community
“«اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ فَقْدَ نَبِيِّنَا، وَ غَيْبَةَ وَلِيِّنَا، وَ شِدَّةَ الزَّمَانِ عَلَيْنَا، وَ وُقُوعَ الْفِتَنِ بِنَا، وَ تَظَاهُرَ الْأَعْدَاءِ عَلَيْنَا، وَ كَثْرَةَ عَدُوِّنَا وَ قِلَّةَ عَدَدِنَا». The greatest calamity in history is humanity’s deprivation of the visible presence of God’s Proof. A community whose Imam is hidden behind the veil of occultation is left to contend with trials, the tyranny of oppressors and divisions of opinion. Thus, the believer’s deepest lament before God is a plea for deliverance and a prayer for the advent of the Mahdi’s just rule.” (page 82)

Lamenting the betrayal of one’s limbs and faculties; eyes, ears and tongue that failed in obedience
“The lament is not directed only at one’s inner faculties; it is also for each of the senses and limbs entrusted by God, yet put to the service of desire: for a tongue sullied by backbiting and idle talk, an eye that failed to respect the bounds of the gaze, a mind that grazed in the barren fields of this world, and hands and feet that walked the path of disobedience. In this presence, the believer bears witness against the betrayal of his own limbs, so that before the Day of Resurrection he may judge his own deeds.” (page 105)

Lamenting faithless friends and those who profess piety but fail to live by it; diagnosing the ills of religious society
“In its social dimension, the book gives voice to a painful lament for treacherous companions, listless friends, scholars who do not practise what they teach, and reciters who have made the Quran merely a means to worldly gain. The believer comes to see that much of the weakening of the camp of truth stems not from the enemy’s strength but from the apathy, hypocrisy and indifference of those who profess faith. These sorrows must be laid before God in solitude.” (page 128)

The elixir of salvation at the end of the supplication; surrendering oneself wholly to divine protection and merciful grace
“«إِلَهِي لَا حَوْلَ لِي وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَ لَا نَجَاةَ لِي مِنْ مَكَارِهِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا بِعِصْمَتِكَ… وَ كُنْ لِي عَلَى الْأَعْدَاءِ نَاصِراً، وَ عَلَى الْمَخَازِي وَ الْعُيُوبِ سَاتِراً، وَ مِنَ الْبَلَايَا وَاقِياً، وَ عَنِ الْمَعَاصِي عَاصِماً بِرَأْفَتِكَ وَ رَحْمَتِكَ». The lament ends in total surrender and the discovery of a secure refuge in God—a place no devil can reach, where one finds peace in the embrace of the All-Merciful’s boundless mercy.” (page 152)

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