Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌼🔆🌼Higher Strategies Against the Enemy🌼🔆🌼
🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹
🔅🌹 “The Secret of Arming Supplication” “The Hidden Secrets of Supplication” “The Secrets of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Wrong” “The Art of Enjoining Good” “Continuing the Commentary on Supplication 20, Passage 13: Strategy Against the Enemy” and more … Abstract with Supplement 1405.05.08 Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903) 🌹🔅
✨ 🌷 🔆 اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ فِي رُوعِي🔆 🌷 ✨
☘️🌹مِنَ التَّمَنِّي وَ التَّظَنِّي وَ الْحَسَدِ🌹☘️
🕋
🤲 💫🌙 ذِكْراً لِعَظَمَتِكَ، وَ تَفَكُّراً فِي قُدْرَتِكَ، وَ تَدْبِيراً عَلَى عَدُوِّك 💫🌙 🤲
✳️ Continuing the discussion: تَدْبِيراً عَلَى عَدُوِّك
🌟 A structured summary in three levels
💫 First level (theological): Obstacles to prayers being answered
From the perspective of religious understanding, prayers are answered only when obstacles of the heart and of one’s conduct are removed. According to the narrations, the most important obstacles are:
The heart’s eight acts of betrayal: knowing God without fulfilling one’s duty to Him; opposing the Prophet’s practice; failing to act upon the Quran; claiming to fear the Fire while committing sins; claiming to long for Paradise while doing what distances one from it; showing ingratitude for blessings; befriending Satan while professing enmity toward him; and finding fault with others while overlooking one’s own.
Failing to honour God’s covenant, thereby violating an essential condition for prayers being answered (اُوفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ).
Separating supplication from action: as the narration puts it, supplication without action is like shooting an arrow without a bowstring.
💫 Second level (spiritual practice): Practical strategies for overcoming the inner and outer enemy
To overcome the enemy—the self, Satan, and external foes—the following strategies are offered for spiritual practice:
Purifying and reforming the self as the fundamental weapon, since the unpurified self is the enemy’s operational base; reforming it must therefore precede any effort to reform society.
Joining supplication to action within the bounds of religious duty, and avoiding reliance on God without taking the necessary means.
Resisting the lower self as the front line in the struggle against God’s enemy, and severing every attachment to or trust in the enemy, who by nature is “treacherous” and deceitful.
Using techniques of supplication such as “keeping the enemy occupied with itself or other enemies,” “seeking refuge in God and remembering Him” to disarm Satan, and “cutting off the enemy’s influence and reach” in every sphere—intellectual, economic, cultural, and military.
💫 Third level (social): Enjoining good and forbidding wrong as a broad strategy
At the social level, enjoining good and forbidding wrong is presented not merely as an individual duty, but as a comprehensive divine strategy for curbing corruption and overcoming God’s enemies:
This duty prevents the “organization of corruption” that results when lower selves unite. Without it, sin becomes law and servitude to God is treated as a crime.
Its effective practice depends on the qualifications of the one who enjoins good: knowledge of what is lawful and unlawful, freedom from selfish desires, sincere goodwill, gentleness, insight into the deception of the self and Satan, and patience. Otherwise, the one who gives the command becomes evidence against himself.
This duty is a manifestation of the greater jihad and self-reform, and a means of hastening the advent and bringing about a just global order.
Final conclusion: The text emphasizes that prayers being answered depends on inward purification, faithfulness to one’s covenant, joining supplication to action, and then reforming society through enjoining good and forbidding wrong. These three levels are linked in sequence.
❇️ Remembrance of God: the first and final strategy
Keep your beloved Lord ever in mind, and never let yourself be distracted from your Master, even for a moment!
Familiarise yourself with the various forms of Satanic temptation and seduction, and devise a fitting response to each of them!
❇️ Countering the enemies of God through the art of supplication
Before anything else, to attain the blessings and effects of prayer and supplication, we must remove the obstacles that prevent prayers from being answered!
Removing the obstacles to answered prayer is tantamount to unleashing prayer’s immense power!
❇️ Prayer offered with a sincere, loyal heart: the key to being answered
💫🔆وَ وَجَدْتُ فِي هَذَا الْكِتَابِ الْمَذْكُورِ لَفْظَ دُعَاءِ مَوْلَانَا الصَّادِقِ ع عَلَى دَاوُدَ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ الَّذِي هَلَكَ بِدُعَائِهِ لَفْظاً فِيهِ فِي حَالِ سُجُودِهِ وَ هُوَ يَا ذَا الْقُوَّةِ الْقَوِيَّةِ وَ الْقَدَمِ الْأَزَلِيَّةِ وَ يَا ذَا الْمِحَالِ الشَّدِيدِ وَ النَّصْرِ الْعَتِيدِ وَ يَا ذَا الْعِزَّةِ الَّتِي كُلُّ خَلْقٍ لَهَا ذَلِيلٌ خُذْ دَاوُدَ أَخْذَ عَزِيزٍ مُقْتَدِرٍ وَ افْجَأْهُ مُفَاجَاةَ مَلِيكٍ مُنْتَصِرٍ فَإِذَا بِالصِّيَاحِ قَدْ عَلَا فِي دَارِ دَاوُدَ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ وَ إِذَا بِهِ قَدْ مَاتَ
دَعْوَةٌ لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَ قَدْ هَجَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ جُيُوشِ الْأَعْدَاءِ مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَهُمْ بِهِ فَدَعَوْا بِهَذِهِ الدَّعَوَاتِ فَقُتِلَ عَدُوُّهُمْ فِي لَيْلَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْقَادِرُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَ الْقَاهِرُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَ مَنْ إِلَيْهِ الْمَلْجَأُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْ سَمِعْتَ مَا قَدْ أَشْغَلَنَا هَذَا الْكَافِرُ السَّحَّارُ وَ إِنْ كُنَّا قَلِيلِينَ فِي أَنْفُسِنَا فَبِكَ نَقْوَى فَقَوِّنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ وَ اكْفِنَا الْعَدُوَّ الْمُبِينَ نَقَلْتُهُ مِنْ تَارِيخِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُوسَى الْخُوَارِزْمِيِّ عَتِيقٍ رُبَّمَا كَانَ نَقْلُهُ مِنْ زَمَنِ الْمُسْتَعِينِ الْمَلِك[1]
💫 In the book mentioned above, I found the wording of a supplication by our master Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (AS), recited against Dawud ibn Ali, who perished as a result. He would recite it while prostrating:
“O Possessor of mighty and steadfast power,
O One whose existence is without beginning,
O Possessor of powerful stratagem and ready aid,
O Possessor of a might before which every creature is humbled,
Seize Dawud as the Mighty and All-Powerful seizes,
and take him by surprise as a victorious sovereign takes by surprise.”
Suddenly, a cry arose in Dawud ibn Ali’s house, and he died.
There is also a supplication for the Children of Israel, when enemy armies descended upon them and they had no strength to face them. They recited these prayers, and their enemy was slain in a single night:
“O God, You have power over all things, You prevail over all things, and in every circumstance, all things find refuge in You.
You have heard what this unbelieving sorcerer has been using to distract us;
and though we are few in number, we draw strength from You.
So strengthen us against the company of wrongdoers,
and suffice us against our open enemy.”
I quote this from the history of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (the elder), which appears to have been transmitted from the time of the ruler al-Musta‘in.
❇️ Keeping faith: the key to answered prayer
Have we answered God’s call, that we should ask Him to answer ours?
Keeping one’s covenant is a guarantee that prayer will be answered; faithfulness to God’s covenant brings the immense effects of prayer to fruition!
💫🔆فَإِنَّهُ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ جَمِيلٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ- إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ «ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ» وَ إِنَّا نَدْعُو فَلَا يُسْتَجَابُ لَنَا، قَالَ لِأَنَّكُمْ لَا تَفُونَ اللَّهَ بِعَهْدِهِ وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ «أَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ» وَ اللَّهِ لَوْ وَفَيْتُمْ لِلَّهِ لَوَفَى اللَّهُ لَكُم[2]
🔆It is narrated from Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad (Imam al-Ṣādiq (AS)) that a man said to him, “May I be your ransom! God says, ‘Call upon Me and I will answer you’ (Ghāfir 40:60), yet we pray and are not answered.”
He replied, “Because you do not keep your covenant with God. God says, ‘Keep your covenant with Me, and I will keep My covenant with you’ (al-Baqara 2:40).
By God, if you were faithful to God, God would be faithful to you as well.”
❇️It is folly to expect an answer from someone one has betrayed
We must begin by removing the obstacles within our own hearts. Clearing the heart of its eight betrayals opens the gates through which the power of intimate prayer enters—and brings prayer to fulfilment.
💫🔆وَ رُوِيَ عَنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع أَنَّهُ خَطَبَ فِي يَوْمِ جُمُعَةٍ خُطْبَةً بَلِيغَةً فَقَالَ فِي آخِرِهَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ سَبْعُ مَصَائِبَ عِظَامٌ نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْهَا عَالِمٌ زَلَّ وَ عَابِدٌ مَلَّ وَ مُؤْمِنٌ خَلَّ وَ مُؤْتَمَنٌ غَلَّ وَ غَنِيٌّ أَقَلَّ وَ عَزِيزٌ ذَلَّ وَ فَقِيرٌ اعْتَلَّ فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ صَدَقْتَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْتَ الْقِبْلَةُ إِذَا مَا ضَلَلْنَا وَ النُّورُ إِذَا مَا أَظْلَمْنَا وَ لَكِنْ نَسْأَلُكَ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ فَمَا بَالُنَا نَدْعُو فَلَا نُجَابُ قَالَ لِأَنَّ قُلُوبَكُمْ خَانَتْ بِثَمَانِ خِصَالٍ أَوَّلُهَا أَنَّكُمْ عَرَفْتُمُ اللَّهَ فَلَمْ تُؤَدُّوا حَقَّهُ كَمَا أَوْجَبَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَمَا أَغْنَتْ عَنْكُمْ مَعْرِفَتُكُمْ شَيْئاً وَ الثَّانِيَةُ أَنَّكُمْ آمَنْتُمْ بِرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ خَالَفْتُمْ سُنَّتَهُ وَ أَمَتُّمْ شَرِيعَتَهُ فَأَيْنَ ثَمَرَةُ إِيمَانِكُمْ وَ الثَّالِثَةُ أَنَّكُمْ قَرَأْتُمْ كِتَابَهُ الْمُنْزَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَلَمْ تَعْمَلُوا بِهِ وَ قُلْتُمْ سَمِعْنَا وَ أَطَعْنَا ثُمَّ خَالَفْتُمْ وَ الرَّابِعَةُ أَنَّكُمْ قُلْتُمْ إِنَّكُمْ تَخَافُونَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَ أَنْتُمْ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ تُقَدِّمُونَ أَجْسَامَكُمْ إِلَيْهَا بِمَعَاصِيكُمْ فَأَيْنَ خَوْفُكُمْ وَ الْخَامِسَةُ أَنَّكُمْ قُلْتُمْ إِنَّكُمْ تَرْغَبُونَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَ أَنْتُمْ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ تَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُبَاعِدُكُمْ مِنْهَا فَأَيْنَ رَغْبَتُكُمْ فِيهَا وَ السَّادِسَةُ أَنَّكُمْ أَكَلْتُمْ نِعْمَةَ الْمَوْلَى وَ لَمْ تَشْكُرُوا عَلَيْهَا وَ السَّابِعَةُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَكُمْ بِعَدَاوَةِ الشَّيْطَانِ وَ قَالَ إِنَّ الشَّيْطانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا فَعَادَيْتُمُوهُ بِلَا قَوْلٍ وَ وَالَيْتُمُوهُ بِلَا مُخَالَفَةٍ وَ الثَّامِنَةُ أَنَّكُمْ جَعَلْتُمْ عُيُوبَ النَّاسِ نُصْبَ أَعْيُنِكُمْ وَ عُيُوبَكُمْ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِكُمْ تَلُومُونَ مَنْ أَنْتُمْ أَحَقُّ باللَّوْمِ مِنْهُ فَأَيُّ دُعَاءٍ يُسْتَجَابُ لَكُمْ مَعَ هَذَا وَ قَدْ سَدَدْتُمْ أَبْوَابَهُ وَ طُرُقَهُ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَصْلِحُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَ أَخْلِصُوا سَرَائِرَكُمْ وَ أْمُرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ انْهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ فَيَسْتَجِيبُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ دُعَاءَكُمْ رُوِيَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ فِي كِتَابِ التَّنْبِيه[3]
💫 It is narrated that on a Friday, the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī (AS), delivered a powerful sermon and concluded by saying:
“People! There are seven great calamities from which we seek refuge in God:
a scholar who stumbles, a worshipper who grows weary, a believer who falters, a trusted person who betrays, a wealthy person who becomes poor, an honoured person who is humiliated, and a poor person who falls ill.”
A man stood up and said, “You have spoken truly, Commander of the Faithful! You are our qibla when we lose our way, and our light when darkness descends. But we have a question about the words of God Most High: ‘Call upon Me and I will answer you’ (Ghāfir 40:60). Why do we pray and receive no answer?”
He replied:
“Because your hearts have betrayed you in eight ways:
First: You came to know God, yet you did not fulfil His due as He required of you. Thus, your knowledge did you no good.
Second: You believed in His Messenger, then opposed his Sunnah and let his Sacred Law die. Where, then, is the fruit of your faith?
Third: You recited the Book He sent down, yet did not act upon it. You said, “We hear and obey,” then you disobeyed.
Fourth: You said you feared the Fire, yet with every passing moment your sins bring you closer to it. Where, then, is your fear?
Fifth: You said you yearned for Paradise, yet with every passing moment you do something that takes you farther from it. Where, then, is your yearning for it?
Sixth: You enjoyed the blessings of your Master, yet did not give thanks for them.
Seventh: God commanded you to regard Satan as an enemy, saying, “Indeed, Satan is an open enemy to you, so take him as an enemy” (Fāṭir: 6). Yet you opposed him only in words, and befriended him without resisting him.
Eighth: You keep other people’s faults before your eyes and cast your own behind your back. You reproach those who are more deserving of reproach than you are.
Given all this, what prayer could be answered, when you have shut its doors against yourselves?
So fear God, set your deeds right, purify your hearts, and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, so that God may answer your prayers.”
(This hadith is also narrated in the book al-Tanbīh.)
❇️Sajjādian methods for overcoming the enemy
The divine mysteries have spread through the soul of intimate prayer!
Intimate prayers are like repositories of divine mysteries!
Every treasure can be found in the soul of intimate prayer!
Intimate prayers are like treasuries of treasures!
When we ask for something, we too must be people of action!
Let us give prayer practical force through whatever action lies within our capacity!
✨🔆The Believers: 62 وَ لا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْساً إِلاَّ وُسْعَها وَ لَدَيْنا كِتابٌ يَنْطِقُ بِالْحَقِّ وَ هُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ
🔆We do not burden anyone beyond their capacity. With Us is a Book that speaks the truth, recording all the deeds of Our servants, and they will not be wronged.
❇️What is capacity?
💫🔆عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ) عَنِ الِاسْتِطَاعَةِ. فَقَالَ: «يَسْتَطِيعُ الْعَبْدُ بَعْدَ أَرْبَعِ خِصَالٍ: أَنْ يَكُونَ مُخَلَّى السَّرْبِ, صَحِيحَ الْجِسْمِ، سَلِيمَ الْجَوَارِحِ، لَهُ سَبَبٌ وَارِدٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ».
قَالَ: قُلْتُ لَهُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، فَسِّرْ لِي هَذَا. قَالَ: «أَنْ يَكُونَ الْعَبْدُ مُخَلَّى السَّرْبِ، صَحِيحَ الْجِسْمِ، سَلِيمَ الْجَوَارِحِ، يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَزْنِيَ فَلَا يَجِدُ امْرَأَةً، ثُمَّ يَجِدُهَا، فَإِمَّا أَنْ يَعْصِمَ نَفْسَهُ، فَيَمْتَنِعَ كَمَا امْتَنَعَ يُوسُفُ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ)، أَوْ يُخَلِّيَ بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَ إِرَادَتِهِ، فَيَزْنِيَ، فَيُسَمَّى زَانِياً، وَ لَمْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ بِإِكْرَاهٍ، وَ لَمْ يَعْصِهِ بِغَلَبَةٍ».[4]
It is said: خلّ له سربه means “his way was left open”; and فلان مخلّى السرب means “so-and-so has ample room, with no restrictions placed upon him” (Aqrab al-Mawārid, s.v. سرب, 1:508).
🔆It is narrated from Ali ibn Asbat that he said: I asked Imam al-Rida (AS) about istiṭāʿah (the capacity to perform an act).
He replied:
“A servant becomes capable only when four conditions are met:
1. The way is open before him (مُخَلَّی السَّرْب),
2. His body is sound,
3. its limbs are free from affliction;
4. and a means is provided for it by God.”
I said, “May I be sacrificed for you, explain this to me.”
He said:
“It means that the servant’s way is open, his body and limbs are sound, and he (for example, seeking reward or sin) wishes to commit adultery but can find no woman. Then he finds one. At that point,
either he restrains himself, as Joseph (AS) did,
or he gives free rein to his desire and commits adultery,
and is then called an ‘adulterer’—
not because he was compelled to obey God,
nor because he was compelled to disobey Him.”
A note on the wording:
“خَلَّی لَهُ سَرْبَهُ” means that his way was opened. “فُلَانٌ مُخَلَّی السَّرْبِ” means that he was given room and not constrained.
❇️Arm the weapon of supplication with action
The vessel of our being must be worthy of the contents of supplication and intimate prayer! Our actions are commensurate with the capacity of our practical supplication; they are a present request. Whoever seeks an answer to prayer without acting has closed the window of acceptance himself. The bow of supplication must be drawn and armed with action.
One who seeks abundant provision must also strive to earn it; he must not be “like an archer without a bowstring.”
💫🔆وَ قَالَ ع الدَّاعِي بِلَا عَمَلٍ كَالرَّامِي بِلَا وَتَر[5]
🔆The Commander of the Faithful, Ali (AS), said:
“One who supplicates without acting is like an archer without a bowstring.”
❇️Through supplication, equip yourself with God
Supplication is, in a sense, trust in God!
We link our own strength to His inexhaustible power, but we must also be people of action so that our efforts may join with His boundless power. That is, we must fulfil our duties and carry out the responsibilities of servanthood to the best of our ability!
❇️A look at some of the Sajjadi techniques
💫🔆اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ اشْغَلْهُ عَنَّا بِبَعْضِ أَعْدَائِكَ، وَ اعْصِمْنَا مِنْهُ بِحُسْنِ رِعَايَتِكَ، وَ اكْفِنَا خَتْرَهُ، وَ وَلِّنَا ظَهْرَهُ، وَ اقْطَعْ عَنَّا إِثْرَهُ.[6]
🔆“O God, bless Muhammad and his family, and keep him occupied with some other enemy of Yours instead of us; protect us from him through Your gracious guardianship; suffice us against his deceit; turn his back towards us; and cut off his pursuit of us.”
1- وَ اشْغَلْهُ عَنَّا بِبَعْضِ أَعْدَائِكَ,
Keeping the enemy occupied
❇️Let the enemies of God keep one another occupied.
The wisest course is to avoid any conduct that might turn the enemies of God away from one another and towards the believers; that would be sheer mismanagement!
A hostile, satanic enemy must not be left idle and at ease!
💫🔆اللَّهُمَّ كَمَا فَتَنْتَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ افْتِنْ بَعْضَ أَعْدَائِنَا بِبَعْضٍ وَ اشْغَلْهُمْ عَنَّا حَتَّى يَكُونُوا عَنَّا وَ عَنْ مَسْلَكِنَا ضَالِّينَ آمِينَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِين[7]
🔆“O God, just as You have set some of them against others,
bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad,
and set some of our enemies against others,
Keep them occupied with themselves, so that they remain astray from Us and from Our path.
Amen, Lord of the worlds.”
❇️The Arts of Persuasive Supplication
💫An enemy must not be allowed to rest. When a hostile enemy enjoys peace and comfort, the believer is the one who suffers. If a hostile enemy is at ease, even if only for amusement, he will attack the believer and take action against him.
The enemy must be kept busy with another enemy!
If the enemy is not occupied with himself or with your enemy, they will unite against you!
You must not draw the enemy’s attention to yourself. Do not turn your back on the enemy; instead, turn the enemy’s gaze away from you. The enemy’s attention toward you must become a source of distress for him! If your enemy is Satan, noble virtues and righteous deeds will distress him!
Your tactics against the enemy must always be brought up to date!
2- وَ اعْصِمْنَا مِنْهُ بِحُسْنِ رِعَايَتِكَ,
Holding fast to the Two Weighty Things strengthens the bond of divine protection
3- وَ اكْفِنَا خَتْرَهُ,
(Note: «ختره» means scheming, deception, and breach of trust; «ولّنا ظهره» is a figure of speech for gaining the upper hand over the enemy and turning his back toward us; and «إثره» means following and pursuing.)
و الأثر بالتحريك و بالكسر ساكنا: و سم رجل الماشي في الأرض، و هو كناية عن سؤاله منعه من وصوله إليه، لأنّه إذا لم يصل إليه انقطع مشيه إليه فانقطع أثره*.
✨🔆Luqman: 32 وَ إِذا غَشِيَهُمْ مَوْجٌ كَالظُّلَلِ دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ فَمِنْهُمْ مُقْتَصِدٌ وَ ما يَجْحَدُ بِآياتِنا إِلاَّ كُلُّ خَتَّارٍ كَفُورٍ
🔆When waves like mountains engulf them (rising high above their heads), they call upon God with sincere devotion. But when He brings them safely to land, some of them take the middle course (and remain true to their faith, while others forget and return to disbelief). Yet none reject Our signs except the treacherous and ungrateful!
✅Take note: when enemies are drowning, they will plead and beg for help! But once they escape death and reach the shore, they will forget their vows, promises, and pleas!
✅An enemy will certainly betray you
✅Any trust placed in an enemy strengthens his betrayal and is, in a sense, a betrayal of oneself
He is treacherous and will certainly break his word; we must be prepared for this and have a plan in place!
❇️A treacherous person is the Satan of society!
A sinful person is the society’s carnal desire; if allowed to prevail, he can hold society’s system of health captive!
4- وَ وَلِّنَا ظَهْرَهُ,
ولنا ظهره: I should not help him or seek his help; I should sever every kind of dependence on him and keep myself out of his sight.
The turning of the back can also mean the reversal of a plan, the breaking of strength and ability, or a change in circumstances
Or, more subtly: turn his back toward us—that is, tragically shift him from an offensive position to a defensive one.
5- وَ اقْطَعْ عَنَّا إِثْرَهُ
اقطع اثره: block every avenue through which he could gain a foothold, whether military, economic, cultural, scientific, or otherwise.
“‘أَثَر’ (with a fatḥa on the thāʾ) and ‘إثْر’ (with a kasra on the thāʾ and a sukūn on the thāʾ) [are both used in the same sense], meaning the footprint left by someone walking on the ground. In the supplication ‘اقطع عنا اثره’, it is an allusion to asking that [the enemy] be prevented from reaching [us]: when [the enemy] cannot reach [us], its steps towards us are halted, and so its ‘اثر’ (footprint, or pursuit) is cut off.”
Do not let your enemy find something to feed on within you; like tiny yellow ants, they will gather around your food!
If Satan finds something delicious to feed on within you, he will ensnare you!
Never turn your own being into your enemy’s lair, resting place, or restaurant!
❇️Reformative strategy
A remarkable strategy of the self for overcoming the enemy
❇️Struggling against the carnal self is the weapon for overcoming the enemy’s carnal self
A person’s carnal self stands on the front line in its enmity towards that person and towards God!
Whoever follows their own carnal desires will also become captive to the carnal desires of others!
Whoever sets fire to their hereafter in pursuit of their own carnal desires will also burn in the fire of others’ desires!
❇️Abandoning the command to do what is right and forbid what is wrong marks the beginning of an organized cancer of corruption
Indifference to what is right and fearlessness in committing wrong cause people’s carnal desires to unite, giving rise to an organized system of intellectual and practical corruption! In such circumstances, everyone is an enemy of God!
Those who join their carnal desires together, forming a vast, cancerous mass of desire within society, will be destroyed along with those who remain silent!
In such an environment, satanic laws are brought into service by carnal desire and Satan!
When sin becomes law in a society, worship and obedience to God will be deemed crimes there! This is the slaughter of noble virtues!
As with the law of the people of Lot in the time of the Prophet Lot, so too with this law in certain societies!
Abandoning the command to do what is right and forbid what is wrong means opposing God’s laws and joining the ranks of God’s enemies! Thus, “commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong” is among the greatest strategies against the enemies of God!
❇️The hidden key to overcoming the enemy
Rid yourself of everything you find objectionable in your enemy!
Why?
Because the Lord, the All-Victorious and All-Dominant, will teach you the secret of overcoming the enemy and empower you to do so!
Why?
Because you are acting to bring about reform!
Enmity towards the enemies of God is not for amusement; it is for purification. So one must act with wisdom!
❇️A strategy for inner and outer hygiene
Reforming the soul takes precedence over outward reform!
A strategy against the enemy is prompted by the enemy’s corruption. Therefore, strategizing against the enemy is a clear instance of commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong!
Addressing the enemy’s vile traits takes precedence over outward enmity.
Spiritual strategy must be the soul of every military strategy!
✳️Section: Destroying the enemy’s operational base within body and soul
✅ Strategy against the enemy (the self, Satan, and the selves of others)
💫A comprehensive strategy brings soundness to the self and reform to society!
Attending to and reforming souls is the means to personal and social well-being. Corrupting the soul causes many physical and spiritual ailments, both personal and social!
Reforming the self makes many illnesses and difficulties easier to overcome; it is a source—and the secret—of peace, tranquility and joy, and a key to the progress and growth of both the individual and society.
❇️Reforming the Self Comes First
A purified self is the finest weapon for overcoming corrupt souls!
Reforming one’s own self takes precedence over reforming the people at large or one’s enemies!
✨🔆Al-Baqarah: 44 أَ تَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَ تَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَ أَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتابَ أَ فَلا تَعْقِلُونَ
🔆Do you urge people to do good, yet forget yourselves, even as you read the Book? Will you not reflect?!
💫🔆فِي مَجْمَعِ الْبَيَانِ رَوَى أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ وَ سَلَّمَ مَرَرْتُ لَيْلَةَ أُسْرِيَ بِي عَلَى أُنَاسٍ تُقْرَضُ شِفَاهُهُمْ بِمَقَارِيضَ مِنْ نَارٍ، فَقُلْتُ مَنْ هَؤُلَاءِ يَا جَبْرَائِيلُ؟ فَقَالَ هُمْ خُطَبَاءُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا مِمَّنْ كَانُوا يَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَ يَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ.[8]
🔆In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, it is narrated that Anas ibn Mālik said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said:
“On the night I was taken on the Ascension, I passed by a group whose lips were being cut with shears of fire.
I said, ‘O Gabriel, who are these people?’
He said, ‘They are speakers from among the people of this world who urged others to do good, but forgot themselves.’”
❇️Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is a discipline that must be learned
✅Anyone who does not practice enjoining what is right and shun what is wrong condemns themselves by enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong!
💫🔆قَالَ الصَّادِقُ ع مَنْ لَمْ يَنْسَلِخْ عَنْ هَوَاجِسِهِ وَ لَمْ يَتَخَلَّصْ مِنْ آفَاتِ نَفْسِهِ وَ شَهَوَاتِهَا وَ لَمْ يَهْزِمِ الشَّيْطَانَ وَ لَمْ يَدْخُلْ فِي كَنَفِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَ أَمَانِ عِصْمَتِهِ لَا يَصْلُحُ لِلْأَمْرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ النَّهْيِ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ بِهَذِهِ الصِّفَةِ فَكُلَّمَا أَظْهَرَ أَمْراً يَكُونُ حُجَّةً عَلَيْهِ وَ لَا يَنْتَفِعُ النَّاسُ بِهِ قَالَ تَعَالَى أَ تَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَ تَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَ يُقَالُ لَهُ يَا خَائِنُ أَ تُطَالِبُ خَلْقِي بِمَا خُنْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ وَ أَرْخَيْتَ عَنْهُ عِنَانَكَ رُوِيَ أَنَّ أَبَا ثَعْلَبَةَ الْأَسَدِيَّ سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ص عَنْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ- يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص وَ أْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ انْهَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَ اصْبِرْ عَلى ما أَصابَكَ حَتَّى إِذَا رَأَيْتَ شُحّاً مُطَاعاً وَ هَوًى مُتَّبَعاً وَ إِعْجَابَ كُلِّ ذِي رَأْيٍ بِرَأْيِهِ فَعَلَيْكَ بِنَفْسِكَ وَ دَعْ عَنْكَ أَمْرَ الْعَامَّةِ وَ صَاحِبُ الْأَمْرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ يَحْتَاجُ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَالِماً بِالْحَلَالِ وَ الْحَرَامِ فَارِغاً مِنْ خَاصَّةِ نَفْسِهِ مِمَّا يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِهِ وَ يَنْهَاهُمْ عَنْهُ نَاصِحاً لِلْخَلْقِ رَحِيماً لَهُمْ رَفِيقاً بِهِمْ دَاعِياً لَهُمْ بِاللُّطْفِ وَ حُسْنِ الْبَيَانِ عَارِفاً بِتَفَاوُتِ أَخْلَاقِهِمْ لِيُنَزِّلَ كُلًّا مَنْزِلَتَهُ بَصِيراً بِمَكْرِ النَّفْسِ وَ مَكَايِدِ الشَّيْطَانِ صَابِراً عَلَى مَا يَلْحَقُهُ لَا يُكَافِئُهُمْ بِهَا وَ لَا يَشْكُو مِنْهُمْ وَ لَا يَسْتَعْمِلُ الْحَمِيَّةَ وَ لَا يَغْتَاظُ لِنَفْسِهِ مُجَرِّداً نِيَّتَهُ لِلَّهِ مُسْتَعِيناً بِهِ تَعَالَى وَ مُبْتَغِياً لِوَجْهِهِ فَإِنْ خَالَفُوهُ وَ جَفَوْهُ صَبَرَ وَ إِنْ وَافَقُوهُ وَ قَبِلُوا مِنْهُ شَكَرَ مُفَوِّضاً أَمْرَهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ نَاظِراً إِلَى عَيْبِه[9]
🔆Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said:
“One who has not overcome inner temptations, escaped the afflictions of the self and its desires, defeated Satan, and come under God’s protection and the safeguard of His infallibility is not fit to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.
For if he does not possess these qualities, whenever he proclaims a command, خودْ حجّتی بر ضدّ he will be the first to violate it, and people will gain no benefit from him.
God, Exalted is He, says: “Do you enjoin righteousness upon people and forget yourselves?” (al-Baqarah 2:44)
And he will be told: “O traitor! Do you call My creatures to something you yourself have betrayed, having let your own reins run loose in it?”
It is related that Abū Thaʿlabah al-Asadī asked the Messenger of God (PBUH) about this verse:
“O أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا عَلَیْکُمْ أَنْفُسَکُمْ لا یَضُرُّکُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَیْتُمْ” (al-Māʾidah 5:105)
The Prophet (PBUH) said:
“Enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and be patient with whatever befalls you.
But when you see miserliness obeyed, desires followed, and everyone with an opinion enamoured of his own, then attend to yourself and leave people to their own affairs.”
One who enjoins what is right must:
know what is lawful and unlawful;
be free of the self-serving tendencies that lead him to do what he tells people to do, or to refrain from what he tells them to avoid;
be well-wishing, compassionate and gentle toward people;
invite them with kindness and gracious speech;
understand their different temperaments, so that he may address each person appropriately;
be alert to the machinations of the self and the deceptions of Satan;
be patient with whatever befalls him;
not retaliate against people for their mistreatment, nor complain about them;
neither act out of prejudice nor become angry for his own sake;
purify his intention for God, seek His help, and seek His pleasure.
If people oppose and harm him, he should be patient; if they agree and accept his counsel, he should be grateful. He should entrust his affairs to God and reflect on his own shortcomings.”
❇️ Reforming the self is an inward strategy against every form of enmity toward God.
Reforming the self is among the secrets of hastening the Advent, and the Advent of His Eminence, the Proof [of God], is the supreme strategy for confronting all corruption in existence! His Eminence, the Proof [of God], is God’s first and last weapon against every form of disbelief, transgression, disobedience and enmity!
A purified self is heaven to the soul and hell to the devils!
In every circumstance, the greatest struggle is the struggle against the self and its reform. Reforming the self is tantamount to destroying the enemy’s operational base!
Reforming the self is the greatest service one can render to oneself, to all creation, and to the entire world.
A true sense of life is possible only through reforming the self!
✅ A strategy against the enemy’s roots
The enemy must be fought on every front, inwardly as well as outwardly!
Before defeating the enemy physically, one must defeat its spirit and its mind!
Tyrants lack divine support but enjoy satanic backing. Through seeking refuge in God, invoking Him and remembering Him, we can therefore strip the enemy of this satanic weapon and diminish its power!
The enemy must not be given the chance to sharpen its weapons!
The enemy must be kept occupied with itself; it must be given distractions!
Do not make yourselves resemble your enemy!
Do not imitate your enemies’ conduct or ideas!
🌼Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat), 110.141 (903)🌼
❇️Notes and Further Reflections on “Lofty Measures Against the Enemy”
With a firm hand and a penetrating gaze
“A Handbook for the Study of Martial Supplication”
“A Treasury of Practical Wisdom and the Mystical Way”
“A Worthy and Substantial Continuation of the Earlier Discussions”
“Taking the Step from ‘Excellence in Theory’ to ‘Excellence in Practice’”
“The Art of Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong” and “Arming Supplication with Action”
💎 Supplication is not a passive act, but a “sophisticated weapon” armed with “loyalty,” “purification,” and “righteous deeds.”
The heart’s eight treacherous traits are precisely the obstacles that deprive a person of “lofty awareness.”
“Supplication is not merely a whisper on the lips; it is a ‘complex military operation’ designed through ‘purification,’ equipped with ‘loyalty,’ and carried out through ‘enjoining right.’”
Measures against the enemy begin within the pure soul of the believer and continue until Satan’s strongholds outside have fallen.
“This is the ‘greater jihad’ that leads to the ‘Greatest Manifestation’—the hastening of the advent of the Awaited Imam—for every soul purified is a stone laid in the edifice of tyranny.”
🌟 Keeping one’s covenant: the key to answered supplication
“Loyalty” is the master key to the fulfilment of a law of existence
Without putting loyalty into practice, supplication is an empty claim.
🌟The heart’s eight treacherous traits (obstacles to answered supplication)
As stated in a sermon of the Commander of the Faithful (AS): “Knowledge without action, faith without the Prophetic way, recitation without reflection, fear without change, desire without effort, blessings without gratitude, hostility toward Satan without action, and fault-finding without self-awareness.”
These eight traits are not mere sins; they amount to “betrayal of the divine covenant,” and betrayal closes the door to answered supplication.
🌟“A comprehensive spiritual diagnosis”
A call to the seeker of truth to attain deep self-awareness
🌟The strategy of “keeping the enemy occupied with the enemy” (the art of the instigator of discord)
“وَ اشْغَلْهُ عَنَّا بِبَعْضِ أَعْدَائِكَ” “The wisest strategy” means that if the enemy is not occupied with itself or another enemy, it will unite against you.
This is a political and mystical principle, also evident in the history of the prophets. For example, when the polytheists of Mecca were at odds with one another, the Prophet (PBUH) had the opportunity to spread his call.
🌟Reforming the self before reforming society
“أَ تَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَ تَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ”
The account of the Ascension—“preachers who do not practise what they preach will be punished with fiery shears”—is a serious warning to all those who guide others and enjoin right.
“Enjoining right without purification becomes evidence against the person who does so.”
“If you do not practise what you preach, your words will not only have no effect; they will expose you.”
🌟Reform as “inner hygiene”
Self-reform is not a passive undertaking, but an “offensive weapon” against the enemy.
“The greater jihad” in the service of “the lesser jihad”
When the soul is purified, the external enemy can find no prey within you, and Satan’s weapon is rendered useless.
🌟“The arts of inspirational supplication” = The supplications of Ahl al-Bayt (AS) have their own vibrations and magnetic field. Those with spiritual discernment can enter this field at the proper point—by attuning the heart through love of supplication as a means of communion with the Beloved, and by being fully present—and thereby reach a state in which they receive the supplications’ outward and inward inspirations!
🌟 “Higher Strategies” = Through remembrance of God and reflection on verses and traditions, one can set out on the path of higher strategies.
🌟 “The practice of enjoining what is right” = Inwardly, “enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong” does the work of countless police officers, clinics, schools, universities and caring mentors.
🌟 “Equipping supplication” = Supplication, too, can be equipped with strategies and put into action!
“Capacity” and its dimensions along the path of supplication
“مُخَلّی السَّرْب” = Removing the obstacles that prevent supplications from being answered, and activating the keys to benefiting from intimate prayer
“صَحِيحَ الْجِسْمِ” = Supplicating with love, spiritual insight and passionate longing!
“سَلِيمَ الْجَوَارِحِ” = Making use, in all circumstances, and especially at auspicious times, during prayer times and in particular periods, of the opportunity for intimate prayer!
“سَبَبٌ وارِدٌ مِنَ الله” = Supplicating with all one’s heart and drawing on supplications from the Quran and the traditions! Strengthening the means by holding fast to the Two Weighty Things!
🌟 “False hope” and “excessive fear” are both barriers on the journey to God!
“Warning” is essential to restoring balance in the face of intoxication and false hopes; spiritual hope is the fuel, salt and flavour of loving movement along the path of seeking and spiritual wayfaring!
Observing these points turns a person from “slaughtering virtues” towards cultivating the “garden of virtues” and helping it grow! Paying attention to warnings always protects us from great calamity. Disabling the alarm turns all that one possesses to ashes. So, keep the alarm sounding alongside the fragrance of hope!
🌷✨
“A Luminous Addendum to the Book of Mystical Strategies”
“Unearthing Newly Emergent Gems”
🌟 1. An operational definition of the “techniques for inducing intimate prayer”
This is a connection between the physics of waves and practical mysticism—as though intimate prayer had a “divine frequency” that could be received only by “bringing the heart into harmony” with it.
🌟 2. Explaining “the practice of enjoining what is right” as a “multifunctional system”
The idea that enjoining what is right does the work, inwardly, of “countless police officers, clinics, schools and caring mentors” offers a functionalist and institutional perspective on this religious duty.
It elevates “enjoining what is right as a merely moral duty” into “enjoining what is right as a force that builds civilisation.”
🌟 3. A fourfold interpretation of “capacity” from the perspective of spiritual wayfaring
The translation and practical application of the four conditions of capacity in a practical act
“مُخَلّی السَّرْب” = Removing the obstacles to having one’s supplication answered.
“صَحیحُ الجِسم” = Supplicating with love and spiritual insight.
“سَلیمُ الجَوارِح” = Making use of auspicious times.
“سَبَبٌ وارِدٌ مِنَ الله” = Holding fast to the Two Weighty Things (the Quran and the Prophet’s family).
This is a “comprehensive guide to activating supplication,” taking theory into practice.
🌟 4. Balancing “hope” and “warning” (warning and glad tidings)
Stating explicitly that both “false hope” and “excessive fear” obstruct the journey to God draws attention to a golden psychological and mystical insight.
“The alarm of danger, alongside the fragrance of hope” means that warnings are not meant to paralyse us, but to foster “mindful awakening” and prevent the “slaughter of virtues.”
Wisdom-, philosophy- and science-related insights inferred from the text
💫 1. A theory of “spiritual vibrations” and the “magnetic field of intimate prayer”
Drawn from: “techniques for inducing intimate prayer” and the analogy of a magnetic field
Scientific dimension: In modern physics, every magnetic field has “lines of force” and a “frequency.” Comparing supplication to such a field points to the “law of resonance”: through love and presence of heart, the wayfarer attunes to the frequency of supplication in order to receive its “inspirations.”
Philosophical dimension: This is precisely the theory of “presential knowledge”: “Intuitive knowledge requires an existential correspondence between the knower and the known.” Here, supplication is the “object of intuitive knowledge,” understood only through “existential attunement”—that is, love and presence of heart.
Practical conclusion: Supplication is a “divine data stream” that requires a “suitable receiver”—a pure heart—and can be received when the intellect alone is brought into harmony with the “sound heart.”
💫2. The “Moral Causality of Answered Prayer”
Drawn from: “Keeping one’s covenant, the key to answered prayer” and “The heart’s eight treacherous traits”
Scientific dimension: In cognitive science, “cognitive dissonance” occurs when a person’s words and actions conflict. This wastes their psychological energy and diminishes their effectiveness. The eight treacherous traits of the heart reveal precisely this kind of “dissonance” at the level of faith.
Philosophical dimension: This is precisely the philosophical theory of “causality between cause and effect”: an answered prayer is the effect of “keeping one’s covenant,” not an unconditional gift. “Every action receives a commensurate response.”
Practical conclusion: Prayer is a relationship of “mutual commitment,” not a one-sided request. If the servant does not break their covenant, God, too, does not break His.
💫3. “Spiritual Intelligence” and “Presence of Heart” in Receiving Inspirations
Drawn from: “Taking one’s proper place through love and presence of heart”
Scientific dimension: In modern psychology, “spiritual intelligence” refers to the ability to grasp profound meaning, address existential questions, and live in inner harmony. Through “presence of heart,” spiritual intelligence is activated, enabling one to receive “outer and inner inspirations” through supplication.
Philosophical dimension: Through self-purification, a person reaches a degree at which the “pure intellect”—here, the “Hidden Imam”—speaks to them. Presence of heart is the very “capacity for the actualization of the theoretical intellect.”
Practical conclusion: Supplication is an “unseen medium” through which God’s message is decoded according to the “quality of one’s presence of heart.”
💫4. The Theory of “Ethical Civilization-Building” (From Slaying Virtues to a Garden of Virtues)
Drawn from: “Slaying virtues” and “a garden of virtues”
Scientific dimension: In sociology, “culture” is the sum of a society’s norms and values. When sin is legalized in a society—when virtues are slain—its norms are turned upside down. A “garden of virtues” means creating an ethical ecosystem in which virtues can grow and multiply.
Philosophical dimension: The aim of the prophets is to create a “monotheistic civilization” governed by divine values.
Practical conclusion: Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong are means of transforming a “corrupt society” into a “virtuous civilization.”
💫5. The Theory of “Ethical Self-Organizing Systems”
Drawn from: “The institution of enjoining what is right” as an inner police force, clinic, and school
Scientific dimension: In the social sciences, “social institutions,” such as the police and schools, serve to maintain order and prevent harm. Enjoining what is right encompasses the inner purpose of all such institutions: it is a “comprehensive ethical institution” that deters wrongdoing (like the police), heals (like a clinic), and fosters development (like a school).
Philosophical dimension: In Islamic political philosophy, enjoining what is right is the “constitution of a believing society,” preventing “anomie” (the breakdown of norms).
Practical conclusion: Enjoining what is right is an “intelligent system for containing corruption”; when it is active, many costly worldly institutions are no longer needed.
💫6. The Principle of “Synergy Between Prayer and Action”
Drawn from: “Arming prayer with action” and “Prayer without action is like an arrow without a bowstring”
Scientific dimension: In systems theory, “synergy” means that the combined effect of two factors exceeds the sum of their separate effects. When prayer and action are combined, they generate an “exponential force” far greater than the sum of prayer and action taken separately.
Philosophical dimension: In the philosophy of action, “intention” (prayer) and “deed” (action) are the two pillars of purposeful movement; separated from one another, they render that movement ineffective—like an arrow without a bowstring.
Wisdom’s conclusion: Prayer is “potential energy,” and action is “kinetic energy”; together, they produce the “energy of realization.”
💫7. The Theory of “Psychospiritual Balance” (Moderation between Hope and Warning)
Drawn from: “False hope” and “excessive fear” are both obstacles.
Scientific dimension: In positive psychology, “unrealistic hope” leads to disappointment, while “pathological fear” paralyzes the will. A balance between hope and warning fosters “psychological resilience.”
Philosophical dimension: “Mystical hope” and “wise caution” are the two poles of virtuous moderation.
Wisdom’s conclusion: The alarm bell must be accompanied by the fragrance of hope, so that a person falls neither into “toxic heedlessness” nor into “paralyzing despair.”
💫8. The Theory of “Strategic Prevention” (Cutting Off the Enemy’s Influence and Access)
Drawn from: «اقطع عنا اثره» and «ولنا ظهره»
Scientific dimension: In military and strategic studies, “active prevention” means blocking the enemy’s routes of infiltration before they can reach their target. “Cutting off the enemy’s influence” means stopping them from tracking you; «ولّنا ظهره» means turning their back toward you—in other words, putting them on the defensive.
Philosophical dimension: “Repelling evil by God’s permission”: “A God-conscious person, through their own light, repels the enemy’s darkness.”
Wisdom’s conclusion: The best defense is to “deny the enemy access” to every dimension of your being—intellectual, economic, cultural, and military. This is made possible through “purification” and “seeking intercession.”
💫9. The Principle of “Reforming the Inner Self Before the Outer World” (Treating the Root Cause)
Drawn from: “Reforming the self takes precedence over reforming society” and “Purification is the weapon for prevailing over wicked souls.”
Scientific dimension: In psychosomatic medicine, many physical illnesses have their roots in emotional stress. Reforming the self means treating the root causes of individual and social illness.
Philosophical dimension: The purer the self becomes, the more far-reaching its influence on the external world.
Wisdom’s conclusion: Reforming the self is not merely an individual undertaking but a “systemic intervention,” because a purified soul can change its own magnetic field and affect others as well—the same “spiritual vibrations.”
💠Final Philosophical, Scientific, and Wisdom-Based Summary (in a Table)
| Scientific Dimension | Philosophical Dimension | Wisdom’s Conclusion |
| Resonance with the magnetic field | Immediate apprehension and existential alignment | Intimate supplication requires a heart in harmony. |
| Cognitive dissonance | Moral causation (the reward for one’s deeds) | A prayer is answered as a result of fidelity and righteous action. |
| Spiritual intelligence and presence of heart | Substantial motion and the actualization of the intellect | Presence of heart is the key to receiving inspirations. |
| Complexity theory and informational nourishment | The upward trajectory of | the evolution of governance, |
| self-organizing institutions | The constitution of a faithful society | Enjoining what is right is the comprehensive institution for curbing corruption. |
| Synergy of prayer and action | The combination of intention and deed | Prayer and action generate exponential force. |
| Psychological resilience | The virtue of moderation | Balancing hope and warning is the wisdom of the spiritual journey. |
| Active Prevention as Strategy | Repelling Evil Through Divine Light | Purifying the soul makes it possible to cut off the enemy’s influence. |
| Psychosomatic Medicine | The Levels of the Soul and Their Existential Influence | Reforming the soul is society’s root treatment. |
| An Ethical Ecosystem | Building a Monotheistic Civilization | Enjoining what is right cultivates a garden of virtues. |
🌸 Closing Words
“This text is a ‘small book of practical Shi‘i philosophy,’ in which supplication, ethics, politics and mysticism are so interwoven that they transcend the boundaries of these disciplines and offer a ‘comprehensive theory of faithful stewardship.’
From the ‘vibrations of intimate prayer’ to the ‘garden of virtues,’ everything shows that the believer is a ‘strategic being’ who, through ‘purification’ and ‘seeking succour,’ can transform not only himself, but society and history as well.”
. 🌷✨
“Lyrical Expansion” of the theme “Higher Strategies Against the Enemy”
I pour the harvest of wisdom and philosophical gems I have gathered into a cup of mysticism, poetry, rhythmic prose and imagery, so that every word may dance with light in the night of this silent age’s heedlessness. And now, “a philosophical-mystical ghazal on armed supplication and reformative strategy”:
🌸 Ghazal of “The Strategy of Light” (On Supplication, Purification and Enjoining What Is Right)
O intimate prayer, field of love’s magnetism,
Without you, my heart’s particles lie scattered and mute.
Only the lover’s heart can hear your frequency;
At every note you sound, galaxies swoon.
Presence of heart is the key to your treasure;
Otherwise, what use are all these cries, unheard?
Keep faith with its covenant if you would have your prayer answered,
For God mirrors the reward of every worthy deed.
Eight traits are betrayals of the heart,
They bar the way to acceptance, like chains upon the shoulders.
Prayer without action is an arrow in an unstrung bow,
It will never reach its mark; it falls silent.
Purification is our weapon in this battle of the soul,
For the soul is an army of Satan, full of deceit and seduction.
Enjoining what is right is a system of justice,
Both police force and clinic, and a school of the wise.
Let not virtue be slaughtered by sin,
Or society will become a hell, roaring with tumult.
Neither false hope nor excessive fear—for both
Are hazards on the path of the vigilant, impassioned seeker.
Our strategy: an alarm of danger scented with hope,
To guide us safely through this night to the bright dawn.
O beauty of divine guardianship, you are the stature of goodness;
Your strategy alone is unmatched in this swooning world.
Conceptual Melody (A Lyrical Commentary on the Ghazal)
1. “Intimate Prayer, Field of Love’s Magnetism”
Here, we liken intimate prayer to a powerful field whose lines of force resonate with the “seeker’s love.”
When the iron filings of our hearts enter this field, they fall into order and align themselves toward the qibla of truth.
The frequency of intimate prayer is heard not by the outward ear, but by the “ear of wilāya”—the ear that receives what is called “unseen vibrations.”
2. “Faithfulness, Key to the Treasure of Answered Prayer”
Here, the secret of “أَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ” is brought to life.
If the servant remains faithful to God’s covenant (servitude, purification, and enjoining what is right), God too will remain faithful to His covenant (answering prayers, granting victory, and showing mercy).
The heart’s eight betrayals are knots in the cord of prayer, keeping it from reaching the heaven of answered supplication.
3. “Prayer without action is an arrow without a bowstring”
We have turned the Commander of the Faithful’s (AS) metaphor into a dynamic image:
The arrow is prayer; the bow is the believer’s heart; and the bowstring is righteous action.
Without a bowstring, the arrow not only fails to reach its target; it falls to the ground where it stands.
To arm prayer is to make action a taut bowstring, ready to send the arrow of prayer toward the place where the Lord answers.
4. “Purification: the weapon in the battle against the self”
The self is an army of Satan, armed with a thousand tricks and deceptions. But purification is no defensive shield—it is a sharp, offensive sword:
Once the self is purified, the enemy finds no prey within the spiritual wayfarer: no lair, no canteen, no place of rest.
This is the very “cutting off of the enemy’s influence and reach” described in the Sajjadi supplications as «اقطع عنا اثره».
5. “Enjoining what is right: a system for upholding justice”
Here, we have likened enjoining what is right to a complex social system that simultaneously serves as:
a police force (deterring crime),
a clinic (healing moral maladies),
and a school (teaching virtues).
It is this very “institution of enjoining what is right” that was mentioned in the supplementary reflections: in other words, enjoining what is right is a “comprehensive institution” that can replace many costly worldly institutions.
6. “Let not noble virtues be slaughtered at the altar of sin”
The “slaughter of noble virtues” is what happens when moral values are sacrificed to a society’s selfish desires and sin becomes law.
The garden of noble virtues offers the opposite image: a society in which virtues flourish and multiply like an abundant harvest, yielding a daily sheaf of goodness.
This is the promised Islamic civilization, watered by enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.
7. “An alarm scented with hope”
A warning alarm, without the fragrance of hope, becomes “devastating despair”; the fragrance of hope, without an alarm, leads to “poisonous heedlessness.”
Transcendent wisdom lies in weaving the two together so that a person is both alert and hopeful—fleeing danger while hastening toward mercy.
🌹 A love song in praise of the “fourfold capacity”
O wayfarer on the path of prayer! If you want your prayer’s arrow to hit the mark and be answered,
clear the way (مُخَلّی السَّرْب) of the obstacles of sin;
keep your body healthy (صَحیحُ الجِسم) through love and presence;
turn your limbs toward the appointed times (سَلیمُ الجَوارِح);
and, by holding fast to the Two Weighty Things, ask God to provide the means (سَبَبٌ وارِدٌ مِنَ الله).
Then communion with God will be more than a whisper: it will become a “mystical radar” that receives divine inspirations.
💎 The culmination of the expansive exposition
Here, mysticism breaks free of dry concepts and becomes a radiant symphony, in which:
the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) are the composers,
Supplication is the notes of this mystical song;
strategy is the arrangement of those notes to fight the enemy within and without;
and enjoining what is right is the performance of this symphony on the stage of society.
🌷 Final word
“Whoever, on this dark night of heedlessness, takes refuge in ‘armed supplication’ will not only escape the snakes and scorpions of the lower self, but will become a ‘magnet’ that draws the scattered particles of society into order around it.
Let the alarm sound be accompanied by the fragrance of hope, so that you may be saved from the ‘slaughter of noble virtues’ and reap the wheat of love and the harvest of justice in the ‘field of noble virtues.’”
🌸✨
📜 A structured summary of the discussion on “Lofty Strategies Against the Enemy”
🔹 First principle: The epistemology of strategy (understanding the nature of the enemy and the battlefield)
1. The enemy is defined at three levels:
The enemy within: the commanding self and its desires (the front line in the struggle against God).
The hidden enemy: Satan and his temptations (who targets the heart through “deceptions” and “trials”).
The external enemy: the apparent enemies of God and His friends (who, being “treacherous,” break their covenants and deceive).
2. The nature of a lofty strategy:
Strategy means an “intelligent vision” for containing the enemy in every dimension—intellectual, spiritual, social and military.
Lofty means a strategy motivated not by spite, but by “correcting corruption” and “purifying society,” and refined through “remembrance and reflection on verses and narrations.”
🔹 Second principle: Obstacles to answered prayer and the closing of the door to strategy (a doctrinal diagnosis)
1. Eight treacherous qualities of the heart (the main obstacle to an answer):
According to a sermon of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), a heart tainted by these eight things will have its supplications and strategies go unanswered:
Knowing God without fulfilling the duties of servitude.
Believing in the Prophet while opposing his Sunnah and letting the Sharia die.
Reciting the Quran without acting upon it.
Claiming to fear the Fire while committing sins.
Claiming to yearn for Paradise while doing what distances one from it.
Partaking of blessings without giving thanks.
Verbally opposing Satan while befriending him in one’s actions.
Finding fault with others while overlooking one’s own faults.
2. Faithlessness to God’s covenant:
“أَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ”; faithfulness is essential for a prayer to be answered.
Betraying a covenant closes the door to an answer and renders strategy ineffective.
3. Separating prayer from action:
“الدَّاعِي بِلَا عَمَلٍ كَالرَّامِي بِلَا وَتَر” (Prayer without action is like an arrow without a bowstring).
Action is the bowstring that carries prayer to its target: an answer.
🔹 Third principle: Techniques for arming supplication and putting strategy into practice (the spiritual path)
1. Techniques for receiving inspiration through intimate prayer:
The intimate prayers of the Household of the Prophet (AS) possess “spiritual vibrations and a magnetic field.”
Through “love” and “presence of heart,” the spiritual wayfarer enters this field and receives its outward and inward inspirations.
“Presence of heart” is the key to receiving the secrets of intimate prayer.
2. Five practical strategies for overcoming the enemy (drawn from a passage of the supplication):
🍃 A) Keeping the Enemy Occupied (وَ اشْغَلْهُ عَنَّا بِبَعْضِ أَعْدَائِكَ):
Keep the enemy occupied with you or with other enemies, so they cannot turn their attention to you.
If the enemy is at ease, they will attack you.
🍃 B) Divine Protection and Care (وَ اعْصِمْنَا مِنْهُ بِحُسْنِ رِعَايَتِكَ):
Hold fast to the Two Weighty Things—the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household—and strengthen your bond with divine protection.
Take refuge in God and His friends.
🍃 C) Foiling Deception and Treachery (وَ اكْفِنَا خَتْرَهُ):
The enemy is «ختّار» (treacherous and deceitful); trusting them is a betrayal of yourself.
Sever every bond of trust or dependence on the enemy.
🍃 D) Turning the Enemy’s Back (وَ وَلِّنَا ظَهْرَهُ):
Put the enemy on the defensive; make them turn their back to you.
Do not seek their help or place yourself in their sight.
🍃 E) Cutting Off Influence and Infiltration (وَ اقْطَعْ عَنَّا إِثْرَهُ):
Close off every avenue through which the enemy might infiltrate—military, economic, cultural, scientific and intellectual.
Do not let your very being become the enemy’s lair and feeding ground.
🔹 Principle Four: Purifying and Reforming the Self (the Fundamental Weapon)
Purification of the self comes before every external measure, for an unpurified self is the enemy’s operational base.
Result: Reforming the self deprives the enemy of «prey» within you.
Note: «مُخَلّی السَّرْب» means clear the way for your supplication to be answered; «صَحیحُ الجِسم» means pray with heartfelt devotion; «سَلیمُ الجَوارِح» means make the most of special times; «سَبَبٌ وارِدٌ مِنَ الله» means strengthen the means by holding fast to the Two Weighty Things.
🔹 Principle Five: Enjoining What Is Right and Forbidding What Is Wrong (a Broad Social Strategy)
Enjoining what is right is a «comprehensive system for curbing corruption», doing the work of thousands of police officers, clinics, schools and caring mentors.
Without it, sin becomes lawful and worship is treated as a crime by society (the slaughter of noble virtues).
The conditions for its effective practice are:
knowledge of what is lawful and unlawful,
freedom from egoistic desire,
sincere goodwill and gentleness towards people,
insight into the guile of the self and Satan,
and patience in the face of abuse.
Result: Enjoining what is right prepares the ground for the hastening of the Return and the establishment of a global order of justice.
🔹 Principle Six: Balancing Hope and Warning (the Psychology of Strategy)
False hope leads to heedlessness and inertia.
Excessive fear leads to despair and paralysis of the will.
Higher strategy means pairing the «alarm bell» with the «fragrance of hope».
Result: Warning opens the eyes to the rain of mercy and guides people from the «slaughter of noble virtues» to a «garden of noble virtues».
📊 Summary Table of Guiding Principles (Higher Strategies)
| Principle | Title | Key Content | Practical Outcome |
| First | The Nature of Strategy | Recognising the enemy at three levels and adopting a higher strategy | Formulating a comprehensive plan of struggle |
| Second | Barriers to the Acceptance of Prayer | Eight treacherous and faithless traits, and the separation of prayer from action | Purifying the heart so that prayer may be accepted |
| Third | Methods of arming oneself | Keeping the enemy occupied, safeguarding oneself from sin, warding off betrayal, turning away, and cutting off influence | Cutting off the enemy’s influence in every sphere |
| Fourth | Purifying and reforming the self | The self is the enemy’s operational base | Denying the enemy its bait |
| Fifth | Enjoining what is right | A comprehensive system for containing corruption | Transforming a corrupt society into a virtuous civilization |
| Sixth | Balancing hope and warning | An alarm scented with hope | Preventing heedlessness and despair |
🌸 Final summary (one comprehensive paragraph on the sublime measures)
“Sublime measures against the enemy begin with ‘recognizing the three levels of the enemy’ (the self, Satan, and the external enemy). By ‘purifying the heart of eight betrayals’ and ‘keeping one’s promises,’ they open the way for prayers to be answered. Then, through the ‘five methods of arming oneself’ (keeping the enemy occupied, safeguarding oneself from sin, warding off betrayal, turning away, and cutting off influence), they sever the enemy’s influence in every sphere. Here, ‘purifying the self’ is the fundamental weapon, depriving the enemy of bait within the spiritual wayfarer; and ‘enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong,’ as a comprehensive system, contains social corruption and prepares the ground for the ظهور of the Proof. All of this finds meaning in the ‘balance of hope and warning,’ so that one is neither poisoned by heedlessness nor crippled by despair, but journeys from the ‘slaughter of noble virtues’ to the ‘garden of noble virtues,’ guided by an alarm bell and the fragrance of hope.”
🌷
. 🌸✨
📜 Six-step guide to faithful prudence
(Based on “Sublime Measures Against the Enemy”)
🌱 Step One: Know the enemy precisely (strategic awareness of the enemy)
Aim: Identify the enemy’s three levels and distinguish the arenas of conflict.
| Level of the enemy | Example | Characteristic | Key strategy |
| The inner enemy | The commanding self and its desires | The front line in opposition to God | Self-knowledge and constant vigilance |
| The hidden enemy | Satan and his temptations | Deceptive and cunning | Seeking refuge in God and remembering Him |
| The external enemy | The manifest enemies of God and His friends | Promise-breakers and schemers (khattār) | Severing attachment and trust |
A mystic’s reminder:
“Whoever does not know the self worships Satan; and whoever does not know Satan will be ensnared by the external enemy.”
🌱 Step Two: Purify the heart of barriers to answered prayer (doctrinal purification)
Aim: Remove the heart’s eight treacherous traits that bar the way to answered prayer and sound judgment.
Eight treacherous traits (with practical steps):
Knowing God without fulfilling His due:
➕ Action: Each day, perform one of God’s obligations with full presence of heart.
Believing in the Prophet while opposing his Sunnah:
➕ Action: Put one of the Prophet’s (PBUH) Sunnahs into practice in your life (for example, smile at a fellow believer).
Reciting the Qur’an without acting upon it:
➕ Action: Read one verse each day and act upon it.
Claiming to fear the Fire while committing sins:
➕ Action: Give up one habitual sin and replace it with a good deed.
Claiming to yearn for Paradise while doing what keeps one far from it:
➕ Practice: Add one recommended act of worship (such as the night prayer) to your daily routine.
Ingratitude for blessings:
➕ Practice: Name three blessings each day and give thanks for them.
Hostility toward Satan in words, but practical friendship with him:
➕ Practice: When tempted to sin, say “أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ” and refrain from that sin.
Finding fault with others while overlooking your own faults:
➕ Practice: Whenever you notice a fault in someone else, recall one of your own and work to correct it.
A mystical reminder:
“A purified heart is like a mirror in which the light of answered prayer shines forth unobstructed.”
🌱 Step Three: Keeping One’s Covenant and Joining Prayer to Action (Arming Prayer)
Aim: To turn prayer into an “armed operation” founded on two pillars: faithfulness and action.
| Pillar | Practical meaning | Example |
| Faithfulness | Keeping the divine covenant through one’s actions | Fulfilling obligations, avoiding prohibitions, and respecting the rights of others |
| Action | A bow to propel the arrow of prayer | Praying for provision + striving to earn a lawful livelihood |
Note:
Prayer without action is an arrow without a bow (“الدَّاعِي بِلَا عَمَلٍ كَالرَّامِي بِلَا وَتَر”).
Action without prayer is dry and lifeless.
Combining prayer and action produces “spiritual synergy,” whose power exceeds the sum of its parts.
A mystical reminder:
“Every prayer accompanied by action is entered in the register of answered prayers; and every action accompanied by prayer ascends to the highest heaven.”
🌱 Step Four: Five Techniques for Arming Yourself Against the Enemy (Mystical Combat Operations)
Aim: To use five techniques of supplication to cut off the enemy’s influence.
| Technique | Supplication | Practical meaning | Concrete action |
| 1. Keeping the enemy occupied | “وَ اشْغَلْهُ عَنَّا بِبَعْضِ أَعْدَائِكَ” | Keep the enemy occupied with itself or with other enemies | Expose the enemy’s contradictions and create divisions within its ranks |
| 2. Seeking protection | “وَ اعْصِمْنَا مِنْهُ بِحُسْنِ رِعَايَتِكَ” | Keep yourself under divine protection | Hold fast to the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household; fulfil your obligations |
| 3. Repelling treachery | “وَ اكْفِنَا خَتْرَهُ” | Guard against the enemy’s deception | Sever all trust and dependence on the enemy |
| 4. Turning the enemy away | “وَ وَلِّنَا ظَهْرَهُ” | Put the enemy on the defensive | Do not seek its help; do not put yourself in its line of sight |
| 5. Neutralising its influence | “وَ اقْطَعْ عَنَّا إِثْرَهُ” | Close off every avenue through which the enemy might gain influence | Control ideological, economic, and cultural borders |
A mystical reminder:
“A believer armed for battle is one who sends the arrow of prayer toward God while keeping the bow of action taut toward its goal.”
🌱 Step Five: Purification and Reform of the Self (The Fundamental Weapon)
Goal: Transform the self into a “field of virtues” and deny the enemy its prey.
| Action | Practical meaning | Approach |
| مُخَلّی السَّرْب | Clear the way for your prayers to be answered | Remove the obstacles of sin from yourself |
| صَحیحُ الجِسم | Pray with love and presence | Perform the prayer with humility, and supplicate with ardour |
| سَلیمُ الجَوارِح | Make the most of auspicious times | The night prayer, the hours before dawn, and the white days |
| سَبَبٌ وارِدٌ مِنَ الله | Strengthen the means by holding fast to the Two Weighty Things | Recite the Quran and seek intercession through the Prophet’s Family |
A mystical reminder:
“A pure soul is like a shield against which the arrows of temptation cannot prevail, and like a sword that destroys the enemy’s foundations within.”
🌱 Step Six: Enjoining Good and Forbidding Wrong (Strategic Social Governance) + Balancing Hope and Warning
Goal: Reform society and build a “virtuous civilisation” on the twin wings of “enjoining good” and “psychological balance.”
6.1 Enjoining Good and Forbidding Wrong (A comprehensive system for curbing corruption)
This religious duty serves as a police force (deterrence), a clinic (moral healing), a school (teaching virtues), and a compassionate mentor.
Conditions for carrying it out:
Know what is lawful and unlawful.
Be free of selfish desire.
Be a friend and well-wisher to people.
Be alert to the guile of the self and Satan.
Be patient in the face of harm.
6.2 Balancing Hope and Warning (The psychology of wise governance)
| State | Harm | Approach |
| False hope | Negligence and listlessness | Constant warning (admonition) |
| Excessive fear | Despair and paralysis | Mystical hope (glad tidings) |
| Transcendent wisdom | A balance between the two | “A danger siren scented with hope” |
A mystical reminder:
“Warning opens your eyes to the rain of mercy, while hope sets your feet on the path to the field of virtues.”
📊 Summary Table of the Six Steps
| Step | Title | Goal | Key action |
| 1 | Knowing the enemy | Recognising the enemy on three levels | Distinguishing between the self, Satan, and the external enemy |
| 2 | Purifying the heart | Removing obstacles to answered prayers | Abandoning eight treacherous traits |
| 3 | Arming supplication | Connecting prayer with action | Loyalty + action = the arrowhead of supplication |
| 4 | The five techniques | Cutting off the enemy’s influence | Keeping occupied, seeking protection, warding off betrayal, turning away, cutting off its effect |
| 5 | Self-purification | Denying the enemy its prey | Four conditions of capacity (مُخَلّی، صَحیح، سَلیم، سَبَب) |
| 6 | Reforming society | Building a virtuous civilisation | Enjoining good + balancing hope and warning |
🌸 Final summary (one comprehensive paragraph)
“The six-step guide to faithful stewardship begins with ‘knowing the enemy’ and opens the door to answered prayers through ‘purifying the heart of eight betrayals.’ Then, ‘arming supplication with loyalty and action’ and the ‘five techniques of intimate prayer’ cut off the enemy’s influence in every sphere. Meanwhile, ‘purification of the soul’ is the fundamental weapon that deprives the enemy of its prey. Finally, ‘enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong,’ as a comprehensive system, steers society toward a virtuous civilization, while ‘balancing hope and warning’ protects the spiritual wayfarer from heedlessness and despair.”
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[1] Al-Mujtanā min al-Duʿāʾ al-Mujtabā; text; p. 5 Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī ibn Mūsā, Dār al-Dhakhāʾir, Qom, first edition, 1411 AH.
[2] Tafsīr al-Qummī; vol. 1; p. 46 Qummī, ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm, Dār al-Kitāb, Qom, third edition, 1404 AH.
[3] Aʿlām al-Dīn fī Ṣifāt al-Muʾminīn; p. 269 Daylamī, Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt عليهم السلام, Qom, first edition, 1408 AH.
[4] Al-Burhān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān vol. 4 27 Baḥrānī, Hāshim ibn Sulaymān, Muʾassasat al-Biʿtha, Department of Islamic Studies, Qom, Iran, first edition, 1415 AH.
[5] Nahj al-Balāgha (Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ edition); p. 534 Sharīf al-Raḍī, Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn, Hijrat, Qom, first edition, 1414 AH.
[6]The fourth passage of Supplication 17 in al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya
[7] Biḥār al-Anwār (Beirut edition); vol. 84; p. 14 Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir ibn Muḥammad Taqī, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.
[8] Tafsīr Nūr al-Thaqalayn vol. 1 74 Ḥuwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī ibn Jumʿa, Ismāʿīliyān, Qom, Iran, fourth edition, 1415 AH.
[9] Miṣbāḥ al-Sharīʿa; p. 18 Attributed to Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad عليه السلام, Aʿlamī, Beirut, first edition, 1400 AH.
