The Contest Between Fire and Dust

🌼🔆🌼Contest: Befriending the Jinn🌼🔆🌼

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌹 “The Human Being: A Champion in Servitude”  “Defeat Satan”  “Self-Worship Stands in the Way of Worshipping God” “Commentary on Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya”  “Session 237” and … Summary with supplement       1403.10.06    Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

🔅🌼The Contest Between the Human Being and Satan🌼🔅

🌹To win the championship in the contest of servitude, a person must defeat Satan and escape his deception.

🌹A life of dignity and purity is one spent in love and worship, adding to a person’s worth. If life only deepens one’s humiliation and brings one into Satan’s captivity, it would be better for death to take that person; death would save them from further loss.

🌸🔆☘️وَ عَمِّرْنِي مَا كَانَ عُمُرِي بِذْلَةً فِي طَاعَتِكَ، فَإِذَا كَانَ عُمُرِي مَرْتَعاً لِلشَّيْطَانِ فَاقْبِضْنِي إِلَيْكَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَسْبِقَ مَقْتُكَ إِلَيَّ، أَوْ يَسْتَحْكِمَ غَضَبُكَ عَلَي‏ ☘️ 🔆 🌸

🔅🌼The Contest Between Fire and Clay🌼🔅

🌹The contest of servitude is underway between jinn and humankind, between fire and clay. Which is superior? Whoever carries and safeguards the light will prevail. If a human being frees himself from Satan’s deception, he will win the contest. Satan loses either way—whether he succeeds in deceiving or fails to do so.

🌹A person must defeat the opponent blindfolded; this shows the human being’s strength and unique capacity.

🔅🌼Drown Satan in Blood🌼🔅

🌷🔆فَإِنَّكَ مُتْرَفٌ قَدْ أَخَذَ مِنْكَ الشَّيْطَانُ مَأْخَذَهُ فَجَرَى مِنْكَ مَجْرَى‏ الدَّمِ‏ فِي الْعُرُوقِ And … [1]

🔆 The Commander of the Faithful, addressing Mu‘awiya: … You are a man immersed in luxury and ease. Your Satan has shackled you and found his desire in you; now he courses through your entire being like blood.

🌹Be a turbulent sea for Satan; drown him in it.

🔅🌼Break Satan, despite all his advantages, and make him groan🌼🔅

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ: إِنَّ آدَمَ ع قَالَ يَا رَبِّ سَلَّطْتَ عَلَيَّ الشَّيْطَانَ وَ أَجْرَيْتَهُ مِنِّي مَجْرَى‏ الدَّمِ‏ فَاجْعَلْ لِي شَيْئاً فَقَالَ يَا آدَمُ جَعَلْتُ لَكَ أَنَّ مَنْ هَمَّ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ بِسَيِّئَةٍ لَمْ تُكْتَبْ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا كُتِبَتْ عَلَيْهِ سَيِّئَةٌ وَ مَنْ هَمَّ مِنْهُمْ بِحَسَنَةٍ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كُتِبَتْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ فَإِنْ هُوَ عَمِلَهَا كُتِبَتْ لَهُ عَشْراً قَالَ يَا رَبِّ زِدْنِي قَالَ جَعَلْتُ لَكَ أَنَّ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْهُمْ سَيِّئَةً ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُ غَفَرْتُ لَهُ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ زِدْنِي قَالَ جَعَلْتُ لَهُمُ التَّوْبَةَ أَوْ قَالَ بَسَطْتُ لَهُمُ التَّوْبَةَ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَ النَّفْسُ هَذِهِ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ حَسْبِي.[2]

🔆 Imam al-Baqir (AS): Adam (AS) said, “My Lord, You have given Satan power over me and set him flowing through my being like blood. So grant me something in return.” God said, “Adam, I grant you this: whenever one of your descendants intends to commit a sin, it will not be recorded against him; if he commits it, only one sin will be recorded. And whenever one of them intends to do a good deed but does not do it, one good deed will be recorded for him; if he does it, ten good deeds will be recorded.”

Adam (AS) said, “My Lord, grant me more.” He replied, “I grant you this: if any of them commits a sin and then asks forgiveness, I will forgive him.” Adam said, “My Lord, grant me more.” He replied, “I have granted them repentance—or He said, ‘I have opened the door of repentance to them’—until the soul reaches this point [the throat].”

Adam (AS) said, “My Lord, that is enough for me.”

🔅🌼Zayn al-Abidin’s Weapon in the Fight Against Satan🌼🔅

🌷🔆وَ أَعِذْنِي وَ ذُرِّيَّتِي مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ خَلَقْتَنَا وَ أَمَرْتَنَا وَ نَهَيْتَنَا وَ رَغَّبْتَنَا فِي ثَوَابِ مَا أَمَرْتَنَا وَ رَهَّبْتَنَا عِقَابَهُ، وَ جَعَلْتَ لَنَا عَدُوّاً يَكِيدُنَا، سَلَّطْتَهُ مِنَّا عَلَى مَا لَمْ تُسَلِّطْنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْهُ، أَسْكَنْتَهُ صُدُورَنَا، وَ أَجْرَيْتَهُ‏ مَجَارِيَ دِمَائِنَا، لَا يَغْفُلُ إِنْ غَفَلْنَا، وَ لَا يَنْسَى إِنْ نَسِينَا، يُؤْمِنُنَا عِقَابَكَ، وَ يُخَوِّفُنَا بِغَيْرِكَ.[3]

🔆And protect me and my children from Satan, the accursed, driven from Your mercy. You created us, commanded us to do good and forbade us to do evil; You made us hopeful for the reward of obeying Your commands and fearful of the punishment for disobeying them—or for doing what You forbade. You gave us an enemy who plots against us, and granted him power over us in ways that You did not grant us power over him: You placed him in our breasts and made him flow through our veins. He is never unaware of us when we are heedless of him, nor does he forget us when we forget him. He makes us feel secure from Your punishment and fearful of all but You.[4]

🔅🌼Humanity is in a contest of devotion with the ant🌼🔅

🌹A vast contest is under way: each person against themselves, and people against one another; each person against every kind of creature—against inanimate things, plants and animals; against nature and the whole universe. Greater than all these is the special contest between humanity and the jinn and devils.

🔅🌼Be deceived, and you lose!🌼🔅

🌹One of our trials is to resist deception. Even if Satan did not exist, this trial would take another form.

🌹Do not let your soul become a safe haven for Satan, where he can fish and hunt. Do not make the way smooth for Satan. Do not make yourselves unsafe for the angels.

🌹A person is either a paradise for God’s angels and a hell and wasteland for devils, or a hell and wasteland for angels and a paradise for devils.

🌹Make life difficult for Satan. Keep him busy, wound him, make him lament, turn him into a cautionary example, and bring him to despair.

🔅🌼Defeat Satan🌼🔅

🌹Make Satan regret his mischief.

🌹Satan is old, and his breath is failing. He is frail and decrepit; let us not strengthen him. Let us not be Satan’s vengeance.

🌹Let us not become Satan’s highway, broad road, byway or playground.

🌹What part do we play in disciplining Satan?!

🔅🌼The empty-handed human being must overcome Satan🌼🔅

🌹Satan is armed with the weapon of domination, while we have no such weapon against him. That is because we have no need of it: the human being is a champion of devotion. Satan’s domination prevails only when a person accepts his authority. With remembrance and awareness of God, a person needs no other weapon to overcome Satan.

🔅🌼This world is but a thread in the fabric of our lives🌼🔅

🌹Let us look at ourselves, at those around us, and at life and the world through the lens of the end times.

🌹Do not take a narrow, incomplete view of your lifespan, or consider only your worldly life. Do not think in terms of eighty or a hundred years; think instead in terms of eternity. This life is the final stretch of our existence, which began in pre-eternity and is destined to continue forever.

🌹So let us grasp the full depth of what it means to lose a lifetime: we are at the very end of the long chain of our lives.

🌹This life will be multiplied by the rest of our lives. If this life amounts to zero, the yield of our existence will be zero—and perhaps even negative; in other words, nonexistence would be better for us than this life.

🌹Our worldly life will have an exponential effect on all the life that came before it.

🔅🌼Let us rethink our principles and their practical applications🌼🔅

🌹We need to take stock of ourselves at every moment: examine our souls, our beliefs, what we have and what we lack—what we ought to have in abundance and what we ought not to have; what we lack but should possess, and what we must never possess.

🌹We must be alert to the monsters in our hearts, both active and dormant, and strive to control and drive them out: the monsters of things akin to polytheism, disbelief, evil, arrogance, self-admiration, selfishness, envy, hypocrisy, and all their ilk.

🌹What dragons dwell in our hearts! They consume our own souls and expose others to harm and destruction.

We must watch the fires within us, lest they flare up. Our souls contain energy greater than that of the atom.

🌹How often we mistake devils for angels! We take disbelief, resentment, arrogance and envy for faith, affection, humility and sincere goodwill.

🌹At every station and rank, keep in mind that you could fall at any moment; likewise, even from the deepest pit of degradation, lowliness and corruption, you may yet take flight.

🔅🌼To mistake an enemy for a friend is the greatest deception🌼🔅

🌻🔆Fāṭir: 6   إِنَّ الشَّيْطانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا إِنَّما يَدْعُوا حِزْبَهُ لِيَكُونُوا مِنْ أَصْحابِ السَّعيرِ

🔆البتّه شيطان دشمن شماست، پس او را دشمن بدانيد؛ او فقط حزبش را به اين دعوت مى‏كند كه اهل آتش سوزان (جهنّم) باشند!

🔅🌼Am I waiting for my own emergence?🌼🔅

🌹Let us not put our devotion on hold. In the age of occultation, are the Qur’an and the hadith also in occultation? Is our innate nature absent, too? Why should devotion cease? Waiting itself is a great act of worship, alongside all other acts of worship!

🌹If our innate nature is awake, our Imam of the Age will always be present in our hearts and souls. Without an awakened innate nature, even if our Imam of the Age were to appear, we would still be absent from him.

🌹Which Imam of the Age are we waiting for? What qualities do we seek in the Imam we would follow—or do we expect him to conform to our wishes?

🔅🌼The self-worshipper, heedless of God, is trapped by his own self🌼🔅

🌹Whom do we worship: the god of our own ego, or the One, the All-Compelling God? We may have spent a lifetime worshipping ourselves and never realised it.

🌹The Imam of the Age, peace be upon him, is a vast system of worship and servitude. To experience worship and servitude at their highest, we must connect ourselves to him.

🔅🌼Many a person is in retreat within himself🌼🔅

🌻🔆Al-Furqān: 43   أَ رَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ أَ فَأَنْتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكيلاً

🔆Have you seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god? Can you be his advocate and protector?

🔅🌼Whoever loses his Imam becomes a follower of his own desires🌼🔅

🌷🔆 عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع‏ فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَ‏ قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ‏ قَالَ قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ مَنَنَّا عَلَيْهِمْ بِمَعْرِفَتِنَا أَنْ يُعَلِّمُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ‏  فَإِذَا عَرَّفُوهُمْ فَقَدْ غَفَرُوا لَهُمْ قَوْلُهُ‏ أَ فَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ‏ قَالَ نَزَلَتْ فِي قُرَيْشٍ كُلَّمَا هَوَوْا شَيْئاً عَبَدُوهُ‏ وَ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلى‏ عِلْمٍ‏ أَيْ عَذَّبَهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ مِنْهُ فِيمَا ارْتَكَبُوا مِنْ أَمْرِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ جَرَى ذَلِكَ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص فِيمَا فَعَلُوهُ بَعْدَهُ بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ وَ آرَائِهِمْ وَ أَزَالُوا الْخِلَافَةَ وَ الْإِمَامَةَ عَنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع بَعْدَ أَخْذِهِ الْمِيثَاقَ عَلَيْهِمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ لِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى‏ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ‏ نَزَلَتْ فِي قُرَيْشٍ وَ جَرَتْ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص فِي أَصْحَابِهِ الَّذِينَ غَصَبُوا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ اتَّخَذُوا إِمَاماً بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ‏ ثُمَّ عَطَفَ عَلَى الدَّهْرِيَّةِ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا لَا نَحْيَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ‏ وَ قالُوا ما هِيَ إِلَّا حَياتُنَا الدُّنْيا نَمُوتُ وَ نَحْيا وَ هَذَا مُقَدَّمٌ وَ مُؤَخَّرٌ لِأَنَّ الدَّهْرِيَّةَ لَمْ يُقِرُّوا بِالْبَعْثِ وَ النُّشُورِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَ إِنَّمَا قَالُوا نَحْيَا وَ نَمُوتُ وَ مَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلَّا الدَّهْرُ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ‏ يَظُنُّونَ‏ فَهَذَا ظَنُّ شَك‏[5]

🌷🔆Ali ibn Ibrahim says that the words of God Most High: مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ were revealed concerning Quraysh, who rejected the Messenger’s mission. This same submission to desire appeared once again among the Prophet’s companions after his death, when they set aside the Commander of the Faithful, Ali.

🔅🌼The worshipper of his own desires is trapped in his own scorching desert🌼🔅

🌻🔆Al-Jathiyah: 23   أَ فَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ وَ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلى‏ عِلْمٍ وَ خَتَمَ عَلى‏ سَمْعِهِ وَ قَلْبِهِ وَ جَعَلَ عَلى‏ بَصَرِهِ غِشاوَةً فَمَنْ يَهْديهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اللَّهِ أَ فَلا تَذَكَّرُونَ

🔆Have you seen the one who has taken his own desire as his god, whom God has allowed to go astray despite his knowledge, sealing his hearing and heart and placing a covering over his eyes? Who, then, can guide him besides God? Will you not take heed?

🌹An eye closed to God’s light deserves to be blind; an ear that does not hear the divine word deserves to be deaf; and a heart not softened by divine love must be sealed.

🔅🌼Whoever loses their Imam loses their life🌼🔅

🌷🔆Tafsīr al-Qummī أَ فَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ‏ قَالَ نَزَلَتْ فِي قُرَيْشٍ كُلَّمَا هَوُوا شَيْئاً عَبَدُوهُ- وَ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلى‏ عِلْمٍ‏ أَيْ عَذَّبَهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ مِنْهُ فِيمَا ارْتَكَبُوا مِنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ جَرَى ذَلِكَ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص مِمَّا فَعَلُوهُ بَعْدَهُ بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ وَ آرَائِهِمْ وَ أَزَالُوا الْخِلَافَةَ وَ الْإِمَامَةَ عَنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع بَعْدَ أَخْذِ الْمِيثَاقِ عَلَيْهِمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ لِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ قَوْلُهُ‏ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ‏ نَزَلَتْ فِي قُرَيْشٍ وَ جَرَتْ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص فِي أَصْحَابِهِ الَّذِينَ غَصَبُوا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ اتَّخَذُوا إِمَاماً بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ‏ وَ الدَّلِيلُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ‏ وَ مَنْ يَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّي إِلهٌ مِنْ دُونِهِ‏  قَالَ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ إِمَامٌ وَ لَيْسَ بِإِمَام‏[6]

🌷🔆Ali ibn Ibrahim (may God have mercy on him)— وَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَی اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ نَزَلَتْ فِی قُرَیْشٍ وَ جَرَتْ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ (may God bless him and his family) فِی أَصْحَابِهِ الَّذِینَ غَصَبُوا the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) وَ اتَّخَذُوا إِمَاماً بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ وَ الدَّلِیلُ عَلَی ذَلِکَ قَوْلُهُ وَ مَنْ یَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّی إِلهٌ مِنْ دُونِهِ قَالَ: مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ إِمَامٌ وَ لَیْسَ هُوَ بِإِمَامٍ فَمَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِمَاماً فَفَضَّلَهُ عَلَی عَلِیّ (peace be upon him).

In the commentary of ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm: “And His saying—Exalted is He— أَ فَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ‏ was revealed concerning Quraysh, and after the Messenger of God اللَّه- صلّى اللَّه —may God bless him and his family—its meaning also extended to his Companions, who usurped the right of the Commander of the Faithful—peace be upon him—and chose an imam according to their own desires. The proof of this is His saying: ‘He said: Whoever claims to be an imam when he is not an imam…’ So whoever chooses an imam and prefers him to ʿAlī—peace be upon him—وَ مَنْ يَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّي إِلهٌ مِنْ دُونِهِ‏ .”[7]

🌷🔆According to ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm (may God have mercy on him), أَفَرَأَیْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ this verse was revealed concerning Quraysh. After the Prophet’s passing (may God bless him and his family), it also came to apply to those among his Companions who usurped the caliphate of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and, following their own wishes, chose a caliph. The evidence for this interpretation is the following verse, in which God says: “And whoever of them should say, ‘I am a god besides Him.’” (Al-Anbiyāʾ, 21:29) Whoever supposes himself to be an imam despite not having been appointed to that station, or accepts someone as imam and prefers him to Imam ʿAlī (peace be upon him), has in truth followed his own desires and made them his god.

🔅🌼Worship of the stomach is the lowest form of idolatry.🌼🔅

🌹Do we follow our heart? Our celestial intellect, our rational intellect, our innate nature—or the Satan within and the Satan among the jinn?!

🌷🔆The Messenger (may God bless him and his family): … يَا ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ مَا يُغْنِي‏ مَنْ‏ يَتَنَعَّمُ‏ فِي‏ الدُّنْيَا إِذَا أُخْلِدَ فِي النَّارِ- يَعْلَمُونَ ظاهِراً مِنَ الْحَياةِ الدُّنْيا وَ هُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَةِ هُمْ غافِلُونَ‏ يَبْنُونَ الدُّورَ وَ يُشَيِّدُونَ الْقُصُورَ وَ يُزَخْرِفُونَ الْمَسَاجِدَ وَ لَيْسَتْ هِمَّتُهُمْ إِلَّا الدُّنْيَا عَاكِفُونَ عَلَيْهَا مُعْتَمِدُونَ فِيهَا آلِهَتُهُمْ بُطُونُهُمْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى‏ وَ تَتَّخِذُونَ مَصانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ وَ إِذا بَطَشْتُمْ بَطَشْتُمْ جَبَّارِينَ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطِيعُونِ‏  قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَ فَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ وَ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلى‏ عِلْمٍ وَ خَتَمَ عَلى‏ سَمْعِهِ وَ قَلْبِهِ‏ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ‏ أَ فَلا تَذَكَّرُونَ‏  وَ مَا هُوَ إِلَّا مُنَافِقٌ جَعَلَ دِينَهُ هَوَاهُ وَ إِلَهَهُ بَطْنَهُ كُلَّمَا اشْتَهَى مِنَ الْحَلَالِ وَ الْحَرَامِ لَمْ يَمْتَنِعْ مِنْهُ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى‏ وَ فَرِحُوا بِالْحَياةِ الدُّنْيا وَ مَا الْحَياةُ الدُّنْيا فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا مَتاعٌ‏

يَا ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ مَحَارِيبُهُمْ‏  نِسَاؤُهُمْ وَ شَرَفُهُمُ الدَّرَاهِمُ وَ الدَّنَانِيرُ وَ هِمَّتُهُمْ بُطُونُهُمْ أُولَئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْأَشْرَارِ الْفِتْنَةُ مَعَهُمْ وَ إِلَيْهِمْ يَعُودُ

يَا ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى‏ أَ فَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ مَتَّعْناهُمْ سِنِينَ ثُمَّ جاءَهُمْ ما كانُوا يُوعَدُونَ- ما أَغْنى‏ عَنْهُمْ ما كانُوا يُمَتَّعُونَ‏

يَا ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ أَجْسَادُهُمْ لَا تَشْبَعُ وَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لَا تَخْشَعُ

يَا ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ الْإِسْلَامُ بَدَأَ غَرِيباً وَ سَيَعُودُ غَرِيباً كَمَا بَدَأَ فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ فَمَنْ أَدْرَكَ ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانَ مِنْ أَعْقَابِكُمْ فَلَا تُسَلِّمُوا فِي نَادِيهِمْ وَ لَا تُشَيِّعُوا جَنَائِزَهُمْ وَ لَا تَعُودُوا مَرْضَاهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَّتِكُمْ وَ يُظْهِرُونَ بِدَعْوَاكُمْ وَ يُخَالِفُونَ أَفْعَالَكُمْ فَيَمُوتُونَ عَلَى غَيْرِ مِلَّتِكُمْ أُولَئِكَ لَيْسُوا مِنِّي وَ لَا أَنَا مِنْهُمْ فَلَا تَخَافَنَّ أَحَداً غَيْرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ- أَيْنَما تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكْكُمُ الْمَوْتُ وَ لَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُشَيَّدَةٍ [8]

🌷🔆The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: “O son of Masʿud! A person who enjoys the blessings of this world is not truly well off if he is to abide forever in the Fire. They know only the outward aspect of the life of this world, while remaining heedless of the Hereafter [and how things will end].” (al-Rūm 30:7) They build houses and reinforce palaces; they adorn mosques, yet their sole concern is this world. They perform devotions within them and raise their roofs, but their gods are their bellies. You build beautiful, sturdy palaces and fortresses, hoping perhaps to live forever in this world? And when you punish someone, you punish them like tyrants! So be mindful of God and obey me. (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:129–131). God, Exalted is He, says: أَ فَرَأَیْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلهَهُ هَواهُ وَ أَضَلَّهُ اللهُ عَلی عِلْمٍ وَ خَتَمَ عَلی سَمْعِهِ وَ قَلْبِهِ … أَ فَلا تَذَکَّرُونَ “Such a person is two-faced: he has made his desires his religion and his belly his god. Whenever he craves something, lawful or unlawful, nothing restrains him from it.”

🔅🌼When people lose themselves, they become self-worshippers🌼🔅

🌹A person of little spiritual capacity loses himself when granted any rank or status, wealth or beauty, reputation or virtue: “رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي”.

🔅🌼The worship of desire dressed up as mysticism🌼🔅

🌻🔆al-Aʿrāf 7:176   وَ لَوْ شِئْنا لَرَفَعْناهُ بِها وَ لكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَ اتَّبَعَ هَواهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِنْ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَثْ ذلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآياتِنا فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

🔆Had We willed, We could have raised him up by means of those signs, but he clung to the earth and followed his own desires. He is like a dog: if you drive it away, it pants with its tongue lolling; if you leave it alone, it pants with its tongue lolling. Such is the likeness of those who deny Our signs. So relate this story to them, that they may reflect.

🌹Perhaps that little knowledge, that little wisdom, that small measure of grace, those fleeting spiritual states, that modest reputation, that touch of beauty, that little wealth, that slight rank—and all those other little things—are tests for you, though you do not know it.

🌹Even if you bring the dead back to life, do not become conceited. Even if you soar through the highest heavens and learn of the unseen, do not let yourself become enamoured of yourself. Even if you attain the beauty of the houris, the majesty of an angel, and the kingdom of Solomon, still beware lest you fall into humiliation and sink into the mire of the self.

🔅🌼Let us not concern ourselves with other people’s desires🌼🔅

🌻🔆al-Kahf 18:28   وَ اصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَداةِ وَ الْعَشِيِّ يُريدُونَ وَجْهَهُ وَ لا تَعْدُ عَيْناكَ عَنْهُمْ تُريدُ زينَةَ الْحَياةِ الدُّنْيا وَ لا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِكْرِنا وَ اتَّبَعَ هَواهُ وَ كانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطاً

🔆Keep company with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking only His pleasure. Do not turn your eyes away from them in pursuit of the adornments of this world, and do not obey those whose hearts We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follow their own desires and whose conduct is excessive.

🌻🔆Ṭā Hā 20:16   فَلا يَصُدَّنَّكَ عَنْها مَنْ لا يُؤْمِنُ بِها وَ اتَّبَعَ هَواهُ فَتَرْدى‏

🔆So do not let anyone who does not believe in it [the Day of Resurrection] and follows his own desires turn you away from it, lest you perish.

🌹Beware: those who deny the Resurrection, the faithless, and the heedless all affect us, directly or indirectly.

🔅🌼Guiding one who follows his desires is difficult🌼🔅

🌻🔆al-Qaṣaṣ 28:50   فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَجيبُوا لَكَ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّما يَتَّبِعُونَ أَهْواءَهُمْ وَ مَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنِ اتَّبَعَ هَواهُ بِغَيْرِ هُدىً مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمينَ

🔆If they do not accept your proposal, know that they follow only their own desires! And who is more astray than one who follows his own desires and accepts no divine guidance? Surely God does not guide the wrongdoing people.

🌹Those who want God to serve them, and expect to obtain whatever they desire and long for, are afflicted by the pain of vain desire.

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

🔅🌼 A Student’s Perspective on the Discussion of “The Contest Between Fire and Clay” 🌼🔅

🔹 The Contest Between Fire and Clay

📖 Weekly Session on the Commentary and Interpretation of the Sahifa Sajjadiya (Supplication 20)

📅 Date: 1403/10/06 – 24 Jumada al-Thani 1446

✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor

🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei

Some of the topics discussed in the session:

🌼 Asking for a long life in God’s service 

My God, grant me a long life so I may spend it in Your service. How long is my life?

🌼 Asking where life begins and ends 

Where did my life begin, where has it brought me, and where will it lead? By God, I am not of this world—not even of the Realm of ذر. I am the oldest element in existence, the most ancient being in this world. Where did I begin? In pre-eternity? Where am I going? Toward eternity? Where do I stand in this earthly realm?

🌼 The earthly realm and its connection to pre-eternity 

This earthly realm is but a thread in the vast expanse of pre-eternity. My life—O God, when did You bring me into being? You did not begin me in time; You began me beyond time, when time had not yet been born. I began, and have arrived in this earthly realm. I want to bring my life to its end. If I lose these eighty years, I will have lost pre-eternity. I do not realize it; I imagine I am losing these eighty years, while in fact I have lost both that pre-eternity and the eternity toward which I am going. I must see myself in my entirety.

🌼 Self-knowledge and the full-length mirror 

The Master said: You are not a small body; the greater world lies within you. I must look within again to see myself. What full-length mirror can I look into to see myself? That supreme mirror is the Baqiyyatullah al-A‘zam. Until I look into him and behold him, I will know nothing of myself. Until I see him, I will not attain self-knowledge. When I look at him with my whole being, I will see him. That perfect mirror will reflect me back to myself. He alone will bring me back to myself.

🌼 Existential reassessment and self-accounting 

I must look upon myself with an end-times gaze. Time is to draw to a close; this world of existence is about to take a new course. So I must take a complete look at myself, reassess myself fully, and examine my whole being. I must take myself to account: my intellect and my multiple spirits. I must examine the spirit of faith, the spirit of strength, the spirit of the body, and the spirit of desire. Have I received any share of the Spirit of God’s Command? Do the fluctuations of the Holy Spirit affect me? I must take stock with my intellect and examine the forces of reason, so I can know the measure of my capital and my wealth: have I lost it all, gone bankrupt, or is something still left to me?

🌼 Looking at what I have and what I lack 

I must count what I have, and also consider what I ought to have but do not, and move toward it. This paltry earthly life will be multiplied across all the life that came before mine.

🌼 A life in deficit and looking within 

Perhaps my life will fall into the negative, and I will be in debt. What if it reaches zero?  If it turns negative, my lot will be darker than darkness itself. When will I look within? When will I put out the fire inside me? I am on fire and do not know it. I do nothing to extinguish myself; I simply watch as I turn to ashes. The monsters within me devour me, and I pay no heed. The venomous creatures and predators tear at me and bite me. The monsters of idolatry corrupt me from within, while I remain absorbed in my pride. I am self-infatuated, imagining in my delusion that I am journeying through the realm of divine power, while within me my Creator has placed a force beyond the nuclear core—forces I have silenced.

🌼 The forces of servitude and the fall 

When will the inner powers of servitude be set free, so that I may taste what it truly means to serve God? I do not know. I have destroyed the angels within me and nurtured and fattened the devils within me. I have let them ride on my back, and I cannot make them get off. I suffer from every kind of affliction and am on the brink of ruin, yet I do not know it. My Lord told me to beware of Satan, my enemy, but I have accepted his allegiance and become his obedient servant.

🌼 Satan and the danger of befriending him 

He calls, seeking to drive us into the blazing Fire, to drag us down into the depths of Saqar and Sa‘ir. He will never fall silent; his rancour will never abate. Yet instead of choosing to be his enemy, I have accepted his friendship. When will I worship my Creator? I wish my life were longer—but what would I do with a long life? Spend it in sin? Worship myself? Worship others? Worship what is vile? What, then, should I do? I want a long life—but for what? To pierce the roof of love? I have suspended my service to God.

🌼 God’s Presence and Our Absence from Him 

The Imam Mahdi is not in occultation; I am absent from him. The very primordial nature within me is a sign of his Proof. If my primordial nature awakens, my Imam, God’s Proof, is ever-present within me. The Qur’an, too, is not in occultation; I am the one absent from the Qur’an. Both God’s Friend and God’s Book are hidden from me because I have distanced myself from them. When will I awaken? When will I seek out the Imam of my time? If he were present, would I go to him? Are his words not there? Are his treasures not open? Yet I do not seek out his treasures. This very Ṣaḥīfa Sajjādiyya is a trust handed down to us from him. Is it not the speaking Qur’an? Then why do I not turn to the Qur’an? I have set aside God’s Proof, God’s Book, and the worship of God alike.

🌼 The Need to Revive the Great System of Worship and Servitude 

When will I revive the great system of worship and servitude, so that I may attain the highest spiritual experiences? Until I know the Imam of my time, I will remain a worshipper of myself. God’s Proof is the key that leads me from self-worship and the worship of others to the worship of God. But I follow my own desires, and so I have become their worshipper. Whatever appeals to me, I appoint as my imam, without even realising it.

🌼 Following One’s Desires and the Barriers to Guidance 

Have you ever seen someone take their own desires as their god? Could you act as their advocate and defend them? You could not. Even if the Messenger of God came, one who worships their desires would carry on doing so. If the Imam of the Time were to appear, I would not seek him out so long as I remained a slave to my desires. My own self would become my object of worship. I must pass through that gate and turn towards the qibla before I can claim that I wish to worship my God. Until I turn towards the qibla and find my Imam, I will remain a worshipper of myself. When I find my Imam, I have reached my God, for the Imam is God’s way, His straight path, and the qibla that faces Him.

🌼 What Do I Want a Long Life For? 

Am I asking God for a long life so I can worship my own desires?

🌼 The Misguidance That Comes from Following One’s Desires 

God leads astray those who worship their desires, in accordance with their knowledge. That is, they can no longer be guided; they shatter and destroy guidance. If all the prophets came to them, they would kill them all. If their hearts were filled with angels, they would kill them all at once. They show no mercy to God’s Proofs. So God seals their ears and their hearts, for their eyes are empty of God’s light—and they will therefore be blind.

🌼 The Consequences of a Heart and Ears Led Astray 

An ear that does not become acquainted with God’s word would be better off deaf. A heart that is not softened by love of God would be better off as hard granite—or harder still. What can we do to avoid having our hearts sealed? We must beware of our own desires.

🌼 The Traits of the People of the End Times 

The people of the end times are like this: all their effort and ambition are devoted to this world. They do not merely set their sights on this world; they devote themselves to it as if in retreat. They are not only in retreat in this world, but place their trust in it as well. They have clutched the world so tightly in their grasp that they will not let it go. Their god is their stomach, and their mihrab is their wives.

🌼 Lost Nobility and the Worship of Desire 

Their wealth is measured in dirhams and dinars, in gold and silver, in money—in dollars. They are slaves to their bellies; their whole being is consumed by their appetites. They are the worst of the worst, the most evil of all. We must look within ourselves, lest we become slaves to our own desires. We may turn to gnosis and the spiritual path, but if we lose sight of the destination and the way, and seek anything other than the Two Weighty Things, we will still be slaves to our desires. If we seek a way to ascend apart from the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household, our quest will lead us to the lower self. I may journey within myself, imagining I have entered the heavenly realm. Even if I experience exalted unveilings, traverse vast distances in an instant, or heal the sick through my spiritual power, if I stray from the true path, I am still a slave to my desires—and in the end I may fall from the heights, as Bal‘am Ba‘ura did.

🌼 The example of Bal‘am Ba‘ura 

The little we had given him could have raised him to exalted heights. But he clung to the earth, fixed his eyes on worldly appearances, and sought the praise of people. He became a lover of this world, enslaved to his desires, and his condition became like that of a dog.

🌼 A warning against self-admiration and enslavement to desire 

So even if a person brings the dead back to life, they must not become conceited. If they journey through the heavenly realm and grow self-absorbed, their condition will be like that of a dog. If they behold the beauty of the houris or possess the kingdom of Solomon, yet take pride in themselves, they are still like a dog. Even if they traverse vast distances in an instant—or soar higher still, through the highest heavens—if they follow their lower self, they are still like a dog.

🌼 How to escape enslavement to desire 

Restrain your lower self and train it to be patient, alongside those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking only His pleasure. Do not turn your gaze away in pursuit of the adornments of this worldly life. Do not obey those whose hearts We have made heedless of God’s remembrance—those who were unworthy of remembering Us. We took Our remembrance from them, and they followed their desires until they went to excess. Do not escape self-worship only to become enslaved to the desires of others. I may have freed myself from my own desires, yet worship the desires of others, each worse than the last.

🌼 Enslavement to desire and the loss of faith 

Do not let someone who disbelieves in the Resurrection turn you away from the Hour. They follow their desires and are lost. Do not make companions of those who reject the hereafter, lest they afflict me too. This is God’s message: those who deny the Resurrection and are devoted to this world will lead us into disbelief.

🌼 Praying for a life spent in servitude to God 

O God, grant me a life I can spend in obedience to You. O God, do not let this life become a pasture for Satan. If I reach a point where Satan sets his hopes on me and finds nourishment in me, I swear by Your Lordship: take my soul, so that I may not help Satan grow stronger. Do not let me empower him or increase corruption in this world. O God, help me make Satan regret his mischief.

A person must make Satan regret it. Satan has reached the very limits of age and decrepitude. Let me not make him young again with my blood, my flesh, and my thoughts.

🌼 Our part in weakening Satan 

Those who came before us have come and gone, each doing their part to weaken him. O God, what is my part? Have I taken away his breath, or given him breath? He was dead, but I brought him back to life.

 The worship of the Imam of the Age brings Satan to his deathbed, but by my deeds I revive him. If it were not for me, Satan’s work would be finished. One breath from the Imam of the Age, or one remembrance of God from him, and Satan would be gone.

🌼 Satan’s paradise or the angels’ paradise? 

O God, instead of becoming Satan’s hell, I have become his paradise. Through reason and worship, I should become a paradise for the angels, a garden bearing their fruit. Instead, I have become their desert. I have cultivated so many snares within myself that Satan does not know where to begin feasting.

🌼 Seeking refuge from Satan 

I take refuge with Imam Sajjad and turn to God for protection. O God, protect me and my children from Satan, the accursed. You created us, commanded us, and forbade us. You made us long for the reward of what You commanded us to do, and made us fear the punishment.

🌼 Satan’s Power over Human Beings 

O God, You have set an enemy against us who deceives us. You have given Satan power over us, while we have no such power over him.

 Why? I will explain.

🌼 Satan’s Presence within Us 

O God, You have made Satan dwell in our breasts and run through our veins. When we are heedless, he is not. When we forget, he does not. He makes it seem as though we are safe from Your punishment. He frightens us well enough of others, but we do not fear You.

🌼 Why Satan Has Power over Us 

Why has God given Satan power over us that He has not given us over him? Because the human being is the champion of champions. Satan’s power is a small advantage. It is we who grant him that power by accepting his authority.

🌼 Our Role in Satan’s Power 

We are the ones who call Satan to us. He is so weak that he cannot overcome a human being by force. He resorts to the weapon of domination when a person forgets God. When a person is heedless of God, Satan gains the upper hand. But even without Satan, the human being would still face a trial. We must undergo this trial and prevail in order to claim that we are God’s true servants.

🌼 The Commander of the Faithful Rebukes Muʿawiya 

The Master of the Godwary, the Commander of the Faithful, rebukes Muʿawiya, saying: 

O Muʿawiya, you are given to luxury. The sweetness of wealth, riches and God’s blessings has so enveloped you that you have become conceited and lost to yourself. You have become given to luxury. Satan has taken what he came to take from you; he has seized what he was meant to seize. You have become Satan’s stronghold and refuge. Satan courses through your veins and blood, and you have become his highway and the blood of Satan. You have become Satan’s blood; he flows through your blood and feeds on it, spreading corruption throughout the world.

🌼 Adam’s Appeal to God 

Adam appeals to God: 

“O God, You have given Satan power over us and made him run through our blood. So, out of Your kindness, grant us some relief from this power of Satan.” 

The Lord said, “O Adam, if any of your descendants intends to sin, that intention will not be recorded against them. If, after intending it, they commit the sin, I will record only one evil deed for them. But if any of your descendants intends to do a good deed, even if they do not carry it out, a good deed will be recorded for them. And if they do carry it out, it will be recorded tenfold.” 

Adam appealed again: “O God, grant us more.”

🌼 Repentance and Divine Forgiveness 

The Lord said: 

“Whoever among them commits an evil deed and then seeks forgiveness, I will forgive.” 

Still unsatisfied, Adam appealed again: “O God, grant us more.” 

The Lord said: 

“I have granted them repentance.” 

Forgiveness is different from repentance. Someone may be forgiven, yet perhaps not accepted as a friend. But repentance means that after forgiving them, I accept them as a friend and come to love them.

🌼 God Makes Repentance Ever More Accessible 

The Lord said, “I will make repentance so readily available to them that they will have time for it until their souls reach their throats.”

🌼 Adam’s Regret at Not Asking for More 

Adam said, “I am satisfied.” If only he had not said, “That is enough,” and had asked for more; then our Lord would have continued to extend His gracious gifts.

🌼 A Contest Spanning Every Dimension of Existence

It is a contest between man and himself, between man and other men, between man and inanimate things. Strange as it may sound, it is the very truth: a contest between man and plants, between man and animals, nature and the stars. A contest uniquely between man and the jinn. A contest is underway between fire and earth; which is better?

Whoever’s degrees of taqwa rise higher is better. Man must disappoint Satan and cast him down from his life. Whoever can preserve the light of God within himself,

man possesses such power that he can overcome Satan with his eyes closed. God has granted this human being such ability that even with eyes shut he can destroy Satan. The very fact that God has opened Satan’s eyes to man while closing man’s eyes to him is a sign of Satan’s abasement. The Lord says: “I have servants who will make you lament with their eyes closed.”

🌼 Instilling Despair in Satan

We must disappoint Satan in us, not become a sea for Satan and let him swim through our blood and take our life. We must make ourselves unsafe for Satan. If he dares to penetrate, we must drown him—not hand him the means of hunting within us.

At every moment we must cause Satan trouble and teach him a lesson so instructive that he will never forget it for all eternity.

🎥 Watch the full lecture at the link below:

🔗 Jame Jan website

🌍 jamejan.com

🟠 Jame Jan Eitaa channel

🔗 https://eitaa.com/jamejan

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

[1] Waq’at Siffin; the text; p. 109 Nasr ibn Muzahim, Ayatollah Marashi Najafi Library – Qom, 2nd edition, 1404 AH.

[2] Al-Kafi (Islamic edition); vol. 2; p. 440 Kulayni, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya – Tehran, 4th edition, 1407 AH.

[3] Part of Supplication 25 of Sahifa Sajjadiyya

[4] Fayz al-Islam’s translation of part of Supplication 25 of Sahifa Sajjadiyya

[5] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition); vol. 9; p. 237 Majlisi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi – Beirut, 2nd edition, 1403 AH.

[6] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition); vol. 36; p. 89 Majlisi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi – Beirut, 2nd edition, 1403 AH.

[7] Tafsir Kanz al-Daqa’iq wa Bahr al-Ghara’ib; vol. 12; p. 157 Qummi Mashhadi, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Printing and Publishing Organization – Tehran, 1st edition, 1368 SH.

[8] Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut edition); vol. 74; p. 97 Majlisi, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi – Beirut, 2nd edition, 1403 AH.