Ramadan: Allah’s Beloved Name

🌼🔆🌼The Month of Devotion’s Coming to Maturity🌼🔆🌼
🔹Weekly Sessions on the Commentary and Interpretation of the Ṣaḥīfa Sajjādiyya: Supplication 20

📅 Date: 1404/11/30 – 1 Ramadan 1447
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “The Month of Devotion’s Dedication” “The Mysteries of the Name Ramadan” “The Golden Night” “The Highest Management of Body and Soul” “Commentary on Supplication 44 of the Ṣaḥīfa Sajjādiyya” and … Summary with Supplement, 1404.11.30, Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat), 110.141 (903) 🌹🔅

💫🌷بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ🌷💫
🔆In the name of Allah, whose mercy is boundless and whose kindness is everlasting

✳️Supplication 44, with the Commentary of Riyāḍ al-Sālikīn
❇️The Forty-Fourth Supplication (At the Arrival of the Month of Ramadan)
💫وَ كَانَ مِنْ دُعَائِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِذَا دَخَلَ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ
🔆Among his supplications is this one, offered when the month of Ramadan arrived.
💫الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِحَمْدِهِ، وَ جَعَلَنَا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ لِنَكُونَ لِإِحْسَانِهِ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ، وَ لِيَجْزِيَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكَ جَزَاءَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ.
(1) 🔆Praise belongs to God, who guided us to give thanks to Him and made us among those who praise Him, so that we might be counted among those grateful for His kindness, and so that He might reward us for this guidance and success with the reward of those who do good.
💫وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي حَبَانَا بِدِينِهِ، وَ اخْتَصَّنَا بِمِلَّتِهِ، وَ سَبَّلَنَا فِي سُبُلِ إِحْسَانِهِ لِنَسْلُكَهَا بِمَنِّهِ إِلَى رِضْوَانِهِ، حَمْداً يَتَقَبَّلُهُ مِنَّا، وَ يَرْضَى بِهِ عَنَّا.
(2) 🔆Praise belongs to God, who bestowed His religion upon us, chose us for His way, and set us on the paths of His generosity, so that by His grace we might travel those paths toward His good pleasure. Praise that He accepts from us and that pleases Him.
💫وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي جَعَلَ مِنْ تِلْكَ السُّبُلِ شَهْرَهُ شَهْرَ رَمَضَانَ، شَهْرَ الصِّيَامِ، وَ شَهْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَ شَهْرَ الطَّهُورِ، وَ شَهْرَ التَّمْحِيصِ، وَ شَهْرَ الْقِيَامِ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ، هُدىً لِلنَّاسِ، وَ بَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدى وَ الْفُرْقَانِ.
(3) 🔆Praise belongs to God, who made one of those paths His own month: the month of Ramadan, the month of fasting, the month of Islam, the month of purification, the month of cleansing, the month of keeping vigil, the month in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for humankind, with clear signs of guidance and a criterion between truth and falsehood.
💫فَأَبَانَ فَضِيلَتَهُ عَلَى سَائِرِ الشُّهُورِ بِمَا جَعَلَ لَهُ مِنَ الْحُرُمَاتِ الْمَوْفُورَةِ، وَ الْفَضَائِلِ الْمَشْهُورَةِ، فَحَرَّمَ فِيهِ مَا أَحَلَّ فِي غَيْرِهِ إِعْظَاماً، وَ حَجَرَ فِيهِ الْمَطَاعِمَ وَ الْمَشَارِبَ إِكْرَاماً، وَ جَعَلَ لَهُ وَقْتاً بَيِّناً لَا يُجِيزُ- جَلَّ وَ عَزَّ- أَنْ يُقَدَّمَ قَبْلَهُ، وَ لَا يَقْبَلُ أَنْ يُؤَخَّرَ عَنْهُ.
(4) 🔆Thus He made this month excel over all other months, granting it many marks of honor and well-known virtues. In reverence for it, He forbade during it what He had permitted at other times; in its honor, He prohibited food and drink; and He appointed a set time for it, which God, the Mighty and Exalted, does not permit to be observed before its proper time, nor accept to be postponed beyond it.
💫ثُمَّ فَضَّلَ لَيْلَةً وَاحِدَةً مِنْ لَيَالِيهِ عَلَى لَيَالِي أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ، وَ سَمَّاهَا لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ، تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلائِكَةُ وَ الرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ سَلَامٌ، دَائِمُ الْبَرَكَةِ إِلَى طُلُوعِ الْفَجْرِ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ بِمَا أَحْكَمَ مِنْ قَضَائِهِ.
(5) 🔆Then He distinguished one of its nights above a thousand months and named it the Night of Decree. On that night, the angels and the Spirit descend, by their Lord’s command, with every matter. It endures in peace and blessing until the break of dawn, for whomever among His servants He wills, in accordance with what He has decreed.
💫اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ أَلْهِمْنَا مَعْرِفَةَ فَضْلِهِ وَ إِجْلَالَ حُرْمَتِهِ، وَ التَّحَفُّظَ مِمَّا حَظَرْتَ فِيهِ، وَ أَعِنَّا عَلَى صِيَامِهِ بِكَفِّ الْجَوَارِحِ عَنْ مَعَاصِيكَ، وَ اسْتِعْمَالِهَا فِيهِ بِمَا يُرْضِيكَ حَتَّى لَا نُصْغِيَ بِأَسْمَاعِنَا إِلَى لَغْوٍ، وَ لَا نُسْرِعَ بِأَبْصَارِنَا إِلَى لَهْوٍ.
(6) 🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his family, and inspire us to recognize this month’s excellence, honor its sanctity, and abstain from what You have forbidden in it. Help us to fast throughout it by restraining our limbs from disobeying You and engaging them in what pleases You, so that our ears do not listen to idle talk, nor our eyes turn toward distraction.

💫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.
(12) 🔆O God, I beseech You by the sanctity of this month, and by the sanctity of all who have worshipped You throughout it, from its beginning to its end—whether an angel whom You have drawn near, a prophet whom You have sent, or a righteous servant whom You have chosen—to bless Muhammad and his Family, and to make us worthy in this month of the honor You have promised Your friends. Ordain for us in this month what You have ordained for those who strive with utmost devotion in Your obedience, and place us among those whom Your mercy has made worthy of the highest station.

💫اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ جَنِّبْنَا الْإِلْحَادَ فِي تَوْحِيدِكَ، وَ التَّقْصِيرَ فِي تَمْجِيدِكَ، وَ الشَّكَّ فِي دِينِكَ، وَ الْعَمَى عَنْ سَبِيلِكَ، وَ الْإِغْفَالَ لِحُرْمَتِكَ، وَ الِانْخِدَاعَ لِعَدُوِّكَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ.
(13) 🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his Family, and keep us from straying in our affirmation of Your oneness, from falling short in exalting You, from doubting Your religion, from being blind to Your path, from neglecting what is sacred to You, and from being deceived by Your enemy, Satan the accursed.

💫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.
(14) 🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his Family. Since each night of this month brings servants whom Your pardon sets free or whom Your forgiveness absolves, count us among those set free, and make us among the best of this month’s people and companions.

💫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.
(15) 🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his Family, and blot out our sins as its crescent wanes; remove the burdens and claims against us as its days pass, so that this month may come to an end with us cleansed of our errors and purified of our wrongs.

💫اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ إِنْ مِلْنَا فِيهِ فَعَدِّلْنَا، وَ إِنْ زُغْنَا فِيهِ فَقَوِّمْنَا، وَ إِنِ اشْتَمَلَ عَلَيْنَا عَدُوُّكَ الشَّيْطَانُ فَاسْتَنْقِذْنَا مِنْهُ.
(16) 🔆O God, bless Muhammad and his Family. If we incline toward crookedness in this month, set us straight; if we stray, set us right; and if Your enemy, Satan, gains power over us, deliver us from his grasp.

💫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.
(17) 🔆O God, fill this month with our worship of You, adorn its hours with our obedience to You, and help us to fast by day and pray and humbly beseech You by night, with reverence and humility before You, so that its days may not bear witness against us to heedlessness, nor its nights to negligence.

💫وَ حَتَّى لَا نَبْسُطَ أَيْدِيَنَا إِلَى مَحْظُورٍ، وَ لَا نَخْطُوَ بِأَقْدَامِنَا إِلَى مَحْجُورٍ، وَ حَتَّى لَا تَعِيَ بُطُونُنَا إِلَّا مَا أَحْلَلْتَ، وَ لَا تَنْطِقَ أَلْسِنَتُنَا إِلَّا بِمَا مَثَّلْتَ، وَ لَا نَتَكَلَّفَ إِلَّا مَا يُدْنِي مِنْ ثَوَابِكَ، وَ لَا نَتَعَاطَى إِلَّا الَّذِي يَقِي مِنْ عِقَابِكَ، ثُمَّ خَلِّصْ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ مِنْ رِئَاءِ الْمُرَائِينَ، وَ سُمْعَةِ الْمُسْمِعِينَ، لَا نُشْرِكُ فِيهِ أَحَداً دُونَكَ، وَ لَا نَبْتَغِي فِيهِ مُرَاداً سِوَاكَ.
(7) 🔆May we not stretch out our hands toward what You have forbidden, nor set our steps toward what You have prohibited; may our bellies contain nothing but what You have made lawful, and may our tongues speak only what You have taught us to say. May we exert ourselves only in what brings us nearer to Your reward, and undertake nothing but what shields us from Your punishment. Then purify all of this of the hypocrisy of those who seek to be seen and the fame-seeking of those who crave renown, so that we associate no one with You in it and seek no aim but You.

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

💫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.
(9) 🔆And grant us, in these prayers, the standing of those who have attained their true rank: 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) prescribed, observing its bowing, prostration, and every virtue, with the most complete and thorough purification, and the clearest and deepest humility.

💫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.
(10) 🔆And in this month, grant us the grace to maintain ties with our relatives through kindness and generosity, to care for our neighbours with goodwill and gifts, to purify our wealth by discharging its due rights, and to cleanse it by giving zakat. Enable us to reconnect with those who have cut ties with us, to act fairly toward those who have wronged us, and to make peace with those who have shown hostility toward us—except those who have become our enemies in Your cause and for Your sake, for they are enemies we do not love, and a people with whom we do not form close ties.

💫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.
(11) 🔆And grant us the grace to draw near to You this month through pure deeds: through what purifies us of our sins and keeps us from returning to the faults we seek to leave behind—so that none of Your angels may present to You an act of obedience less worthy than what we offer You from among the gates of obedience to You and the many means of drawing near to You.

💫اللَّهُمَّ وَ اجْعَلْنَا فِي سَائِرِ الشُّهُورِ وَ الْأَيَّامِ كَذَلِكَ مَا عَمَّرْتَنَا، وَ اجْعَلْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ، وَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ، أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ، وَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَ هُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ.
(18) 🔆O God, grant us the same success in the other months and days, for as long as You keep us alive. Make us among Your righteous servants, those who inherit the highest Paradise and abide therein forever; those who give what they give in charity and do good while their hearts tremble with fear, knowing that they will return to their Lord; and those who hasten to do good and are foremost in doing it.

💫اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ وَ كُلِّ أَوَانٍ وَ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ عَدَدَ مَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى مَنْ صَلَّيْتَ عَلَيْهِ، وَ أَضْعَافَ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ بِالْأَضْعَافِ الَّتِي لَا يُحْصِيهَا غَيْرُكَ، إِنَّكَ فَعَّالٌ لِمَا تُرِيدُ.
(19) 🔆Bless Muhammad and his family at every moment and in every age, in every circumstance, as many times as You have blessed all those upon whom You have bestowed blessings—and many times more, multiplied in ways none but You can number. Surely You have power over whatever You will.

❇️Ramadan: Allah’s unique name, Allah’s beloved name
The blessed name of Ramadan must be understood through love, and experienced through spiritual presence, worship, and obedience.
The blessed name of Ramadan will be revealed through “complete detachment from all but Him.”
شَهْرَهُ شَهْرَ رَمَضَان: شهره (شهر هو), the Month of Hu, the Month of Allah, the Month of Ramadan: a sign pointing to the most mysterious of God’s names!
Who can translate Ramadan?! Surely, the people of Ramadan are its translators.
The servant of Ramadan is its perfect translator

❇️The Month of Ramadan, هُوَ سَيِّدُ الشُّهُورِ
the Month of Ramadan, the chief of months, the month of months, the month that gathers all months: it encompasses the months of the earthly realm, the heavenly and spiritual realms, and the months of the soul.

❇️The distinctive language of the blessed Month of Ramadan
This month has its own etiquette, language, and customs.
We must enter this month wearing a distinctive garment, one with a special quality.
This month is God’s special grace: He wills to claim everyone for Himself and nurture them for Himself alone!

❇️The Month of Ramadan: the month of dedicating oneself to worship
✨🔆Ta Ha: 41 وَ اصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسي‌
🔆“And I fashioned you (O Moses) for Myself; I nurtured you.”
✨🔆Ta Ha: 39 أَنِ اقْذِفيهِ فِي التَّابُوتِ فَاقْذِفيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ فَلْيُلْقِهِ الْيَمُّ بِالسَّاحِلِ يَأْخُذْهُ عَدُوٌّ لي‌ وَ عَدُوٌّ لَهُ وَ أَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِنِّي وَ لِتُصْنَعَ عَلى‌ عَيْني‌
🔆“Place him in a chest and cast it into the sea, and the sea will cast it onto the shore. There, an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his will take him up.” And I cast upon you love from Myself, so that you might be formed and nurtured under My [all-knowing] gaze!
If Almighty God fashioned Moses, peace be upon him, for Himself, what has He done with Muhammad and his family, peace be upon them?!

❇️Supplication 44: The technology of learning to govern the outward and inward through the instrument of intimate prayer
From drawing upon the treasures of the blessed month and its divine banquet to giving back to this blessed month
From being adorned to becoming an adornment
The human being is the beautician in God’s beauty salon!
Turn night and day into a treasury! The blessed Month of Ramadan is the secret to attaining this aim.

❇️The blessed Month of Ramadan: the month when servitude comes of age
From crescent to full moon: from the birth of servitude to its coming of age, bringing worship, obedience, and love to their highest point.
From crescent to waning moon: uprooting, destroying, erasing, and obliterating impurity, sin, doubt, and idolatry—and reaching “complete sincerity toward Him.”

❇️In the blessed Month of Ramadan, take the life out of Satan
We must strip Satan of life within us; we must not let him come alive again.
Be the slayer of sin and disobedience; sap Satan’s strength.

❇️ Let us ask Him not to let us let go of His hand
He is the One who takes hold of our hands and hearts, lest we fall.
Imam Sajjad (PBUH) entrusts our hands, hearts, bodies and souls to our Lord.

❇️Every blessed Ramadan is a complete world
To experience each blessed month in each year is to experience a new world, a new life, a transcendent benefit; it is the renewal of golden, exceptionally rare opportunities, and the filling of gaps—
the setting right and correcting of the world’s past, as in the world of ذر and the Day of Alast.
It is a complete gymnasium!

❇️The Great Creator placed a golden night at the heart of blessed Ramadan
Its secret is its stillness, its mystery, its delight: a night without equal.
Night is for sleeping; Laylat al-Qadr is for waking up and keeping the night awake.
The uniqueness of knowledge, goodness and blessing reaches its peak on Laylat al-Qadr—as does the uniqueness of time and place.

By recognizing the grace of blessed Ramadan, we become acquainted with the month’s hidden mysteries.
O God, open the door to Your treasure house.

❇️Blessed Ramadan: the month of supreme governance over the senses and limbs
Our senses are both instruments of understanding and sources—and instruments—of heedlessness.
To govern our limbs means to exercise special care over them—especially the stomach and passions, the hands and feet, the tongue, eyes and ears.
Blessed Ramadan is the month in which we put everything besides God out of operation.

❇️The month of raising the banner of prayer to its greatest height
We must ascend through prayer, carry prayer aloft, become its pilot, and reach the heights of servitude to God through prayer.
Each part of the prayer is a distinct lived experience of servitude along the path of connection with the Eternal Beloved.
Through prayer, we bring purity to its highest degree and humility to its fullness and maturity.

❇️Making the highest use of the body’s and soul’s fuel
Blessed Ramadan is the best time to govern our inner fuel and energy, and to use them to the greatest effect.
Blessed Ramadan is the best time to uproot doubt and idolatry, and the finest moment to govern love and attention.
In this month, we must fulfill our servitude to the utmost.

✳️❇️✅💫✨🔆
A Sajjadi salutation
❇️An introduction to the Forty-Fourth Supplication

1✨. Ramadan: God’s mysterious name within the sanctuary of humanity
“The month of Ramadan” is a phrase in which God’s name is joined to the month. This genitive construction is not metaphorical; it expresses a profound truth: God has made this month His perfect mirror for humanity.

2✨. Ramadan can be known only through Ramadan
The “servant of Ramadan” alone can interpret this month. Whoever draws life from Ramadan, rises with Ramadan and sits with Ramadan can discover what jewel this month conceals in its heart.

3✨. Ramadan: the master of months, the month of months
If each month occupies a portion of time, the month of Ramadan gathers all time within itself. Ramadan encompasses the earthly months and worldly days, the heavenly months and spiritual nights, and the months of the soul and the stations of the spirit.

4✨. A special garment for entering a sacred presence
Courtesy in God’s presence calls for a special garment. That garment is taqwa; that courtesy is humility; and its language is supplication and prayer.

5✨. The month of being fashioned: “وَ اصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسي”
If God fashioned Moses for Himself, the month of Ramadan is the workshop in which the community of Muhammad (PBUH) is fashioned. In this month, God melts the human being in the furnace of love and shapes them for Himself.

6✨. The month of encounter: “وَ لِتُصْنَعَ عَلى‌ عَيْني”
Ramadan is the month of being nurtured before God’s eyes. Every breath of the fasting person is counted in the presence of the Real, and every prostration of the night-vigilant is ennobled beneath His gaze.

7✨. From receiving blessings to becoming a source of blessing
At the beginning of the month, a person seeks treasure; by its end, they have become a maker of treasure. First they draw from the mines of mercy; then they become such that they themselves bring blessing to the month.

8✨. From being adorned to becoming an adornment
Ramadan is God’s beauty salon. A person adorns themselves for God, becoming so beautiful that they themselves adorn the month, the angels and all creation.

9✨. The human being, beautician in God’s beauty salon
How astonishing that God Himself has opened a beauty salon and seated the human being as its beautician. He has made night and day its treasury, so that the servant may polish the jewel of their own being there.

10✨. From crescent to full moon: the unfolding of servitude
Just as the moon grows from a slender crescent to a full moon, servitude follows a path of growth—from the first sparks of faith on the first night to the heights of understanding on the Nights of Decree.

11✨. From Full Moon to Dark Moon: The Waning of Sin
Just as the moon wanes from full to dark, its light disappearing from view, so too should sins wane this month, until not a trace of them remains in the soul.

12✨. The Month of Taking the Life of Satan
This month, Satan is chained, but our true enemy is the commanding self. We must master the self so completely that, by next Ramadan, it has no strength left to rebel.

13✨. Be a Slayer of Sin
The one who fasts does not merely keep away from sin; they should become someone who slays sin in the world. Every fasting person is a soldier on the front lines of the struggle against disobedience.

14✨. God’s Hand in Ours
Imam Sajjad (AS) entrusts our hands and hearts to God, knowing that if God’s hand slips from ours, we are on the brink of falling. It is He who holds us by the hand so that we do not fall.

15✨. A New World Every Ramadan
Every year brings a new Ramadan, a new world, a fresh opportunity. It is as though God recreates the world each year and invites us to a feast in this renewed world.

16✨. Ramadan: Another Day of the Primordial Covenant
The world of atoms was a primordial covenant, and Ramadan is its eternal renewal. Each year, God renews His covenant with us: “أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّکُمْ” and we answer: “بلی”.

17✨. The Night of Decree: Time’s Uniqueness
God placed within the month a night worth more than a thousand months. This night is not for sleep, but for wakefulness. Laylat al-Qadr is the night of awakening and of remaining awake before the majesty of the Real.

18✨. The Night of Decree: The Uniqueness of Knowledge and Blessing
On this night, knowledge reaches its summit and blessing its utmost limit. The divine treasures are opened, and what has been promised to the friends of God descends upon them.

19✨. Disciplining the Faculties in the Crucible of Trial
Our senses are instruments both of knowledge and of heedlessness. Ramadan is a masterclass in governing our faculties and limbs: restraining the eye from idle amusement, the ear from vain talk, the hand from what is forbidden, and the foot from what is prohibited.

20✨. Time Off from Everything but God
Ramadan is an official break from everything but Him. This month, let us see none but Him, hear none but Him, and desire none but Him.

21✨. Becoming the Pilot of Prayer
Prayer is the believer’s ascension, and Ramadan is the month of ascension. This month, we should rise through prayer until we become its pilots and carry it to the heights.

22✨. A Distinct State in Every Part of Prayer
Bowing, prostration and standing are each stations on the path of servitude. In Ramadan, we should perform these pillars as though each time were the first time we whispered to God, renewing our encounter with the Beloved each time.

23✨. Fuel for the Body, Capital for the Soul
Ramadan is about wisely managing the expenditure of worldly energy to gain energy for the hereafter and attain the meeting with God.

24✨. Uprooting the Roots of Doubt and Idolatry
This month, hidden idolatry and inward doubt are rooted out. Ramadan is an opportunity to prune the tree of our being, so that the newly sprouted branches of idolatry are not allowed to grow.

25✨. Fulfilling Servitude
By the end of the month, our servitude should be fulfilled—not brought to an end, but made complete. Complete servitude means becoming someone whose every thought and deed is for God.

✨A Golden Closing:
Ramadan is a university of love. Its students are those who fast; its teacher, the All-Merciful God; and its final thesis, complete servitude. O God, nurture us this month so that we may remain Your servants of Ramadan forever.
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)