The Month of Knowledge and Wisdom

🌻🔆The Month of Knowledge and Wisdom🔆🌻
🌼🔆🌼The Fasting Person on the Day of Resurrection🌼🔆🌼

🔹 Weekly sessions on the commentary and interpretation of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya
📅 Date: 1404/01/07 – 26 Ramadan 1446
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei
📝 Some of the topics discussed in the session:

Farewell to the Month of God 🌙

O God, how quickly Your month of fasting, the month of Your fast, Your month of Ramadan, slips away from us. Its time of welcome has turned to farewell.
O God, Your month is passing, this blessed month**, but You **remain.
O God, everything in this world comes to an end, but You alone remain.

How beautiful Your month has been, in all its beauty**—with mercy, forgiveness and blessings, it *turned toward us*,
and now, *having forgiven our sins*, it **departs from among us.

Wretched, truly wretched is the one who witnesses this blessed month**, this **precious month of Yours,
yet is not forgiven.

Taking Stock of the Heart, Weighing the Soul 📜

O God, You planted Your blessings, Your forgiveness and Your mercy in our hearts**,
but what **harvest did we reap from what You planted?
What have we gathered, and what will we gather?

O God, You spread Your feast within our souls**,
but what *have we gathered, and what will we gather*?

Will we turn Your beautiful flowers into pure honey? But if we remain as we were, the same wretched souls, we will be among those who deserve Your punishment.

If the opposite is true, and we are heading toward ruin, we will be accursed by You.
If only we had been among the blessed, ever drawing nearer to You…

But now it is time for an answer**. O blessed month, tell me**:
What did they do with you? How did they make use of you?
Did they fulfil your due, or did they slay you and bring about your death?
Did they drive you away and leave you a wanderer?
What did they, Our servants, do with you?

It is time to give an account.
From God’s servants, back to God…
The All-Knowing, the All-Wise—the One who knows all—asks again, so that He may judge His servant with justice and settle the account.

As this blessed month itself bears witness, it came to soften our hearts**,
to *break the hardness of our hearts* and *make them tender, bring them low. The blessed month came to set our souls once more on the path of servitude to God*;
**to open our innate nature.

Did we attain this state?
Or did our hearts grow harder than before?

Apprentices in the School of Stone ⛰

Did our hearts soften?
Did we surpass stone?
Or did we become like it?
Or harder still?

The stone that had outpaced us had softened**; **water gushed from its heart, and streams flowed.
That stone that, in awe of God, would descend and tremble…

Have we surpassed those stones, or are they still ahead of us, with us trailing behind them?

Must I return to the school of stone and learn, as Your servant, how to worship You?
Must we learn the manners of servitude from stone?

You have set in motion a great contest, as vast as the universe itself, with every particle and every part of creation taking part.
We are competing in servitude with the earth and the heavens.

Indeed, we are in a great contest with inanimate things, plants, and every single being.
How many birds have outpaced us, how many fish have pulled ahead…

Indeed, we race alongside particles, electrons and quarks, in servitude to God.
Which of us has taken the lead?
God knows.

Transformation or Repetition? 🌌

The sun, the moon, and the stars, tireless in their journey, have not made the slightest misstep…
But alas for us.

The blessed month of Ramadan came so that we might be transformed, changed—
so that every aspect of our being might be transformed**;
every single *limb and faculty of ours*—
each one might attain **its fullest growth and its best order, and go beyond even that.

Have we reached this station?

In that blessed month, the time had come to expand our servitude to God**—
**to expand the heart, to open the breast, to kindle the love of serving God.

Have we reached this station?
Have our very foundations been transformed?
Or are those same old foundations still leading us down the same wrong path?

Are we still producing refuse?
Still manufacturing waste?
Still producing impurity and filth?
Do defilement and impurity emerge from us?

Then I have not arrived… I have been left behind.
Our journey has not yet reached the Straight Path.

Had we not been invited to God’s banquet?
So that we might become among those ennobled by God?

Every particle of our being was God’s guest**;
all of *existence partook*—
every particle of this existence…

**What did I gain?
Was I ungrateful for God’s banquet?

I fear I may have been ungrateful for the blessing of the blessed month of Ramadan…

God’s banquet was an occasion to meet 🤝

The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said to Master Ali, the Commander of the Faithful**:
“O Ali, honor your neighbor, even if he is an unbeliever; and honor your guest, even if he is an unbeliever.”

We, too, had been invited to God’s banquet this month. Whatever we were, we were God’s guests—whether believers, hypocrites, or **unbelievers.
Our Host: the Generous God, more generous than all who are generous, the Bestower, the Munificent.

He made us His guests so that we might become among those ennobled by God.
So that a servant of God might become one ennobled by God.

You have become one of those ennobled by God…
God’s banquet was an occasion to meet.

But I did not understand…
I gained nothing from the banquet, for I was asleep**;
I was *full, my thirst quenched*;
**I had no appetite for God’s feast, and so did not become one of those ennobled by God.

I was asleep; I did not understand**—
nor did I understand that **Your banquet was an occasion for something momentous…

I was meant to be transformed**
so that **only light, beauty, and freshness would flow from my being.

The source of corruption within me was that hidden hypocrisy, that hidden unbelief, of which I was unaware**—
the very *ignorance that had seeped into my soul* was the chief source of **defilement and impurity.

I should have driven it out, so that I might attain absolute purity,
and be able to touch the truth…
to see and understand the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household as they truly are.

Faith is granted by God 🌟

God alone must grant permission for faith.
Without that permission, no one can believe in God.

Without permission for faith, no one falls in love with Ali or with the Qur’an.

And We place defilement upon those who do not reason.
Defilement and corruption belong to those who do not reason.

Those who reason are the very ones who hold fast to the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household.
Whoever does not hold fast to the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household**—or holds fast to only one *and abandons the other*—
is **among the people of defilement, those who do not reason.

Their very being is a center for producing spiritual and inward defilement and impurity.

Faith and reason: keys to freedom 🗝

Yes, it is God who opens hearts.
And that same God constricts the hearts of those who are unworthy**
of **the light of truth.

And He lays impurity upon those who do not believe**.

These two: faith and reason,
are **our path and guiding light
toward the truth…
and our way to escape all impurity, defilement, and filth.

The key to salvation: the immaculate and pure Household 🔑

The key is the immaculate and pure Household.
If we walk with them and share in their inner knowledge**

, we will understand the truth and attain it. Only through purity and cleanliness can we grasp the essence of truth and touch it.

Until we reach this station, we will perish amid impurity.
This is the way.

This world began so that we might save ourselves from corruption.
The Creator of the month sent the blessed month of Ramadan to us
so that we might be saved**
, freed from *ignorance*
, and kept far from all **corruption.

True worship and wholesome food 🍽

O Ahmad, worship has ten parts; nine of them lie in seeking what is lawful.
How remarkable!
Worship has ten parts**; **nine of them lie in seeking what is lawful.

Yes, if what is forbidden enters our soul**
, our whole being is **overcome by defilement, impurity, and corruption.
Ignorance gains dominion over our souls.
The way to truth is then closed to us.

If your food and drink are pure**
, then you will always be *under my care and protection*
, **under my safeguarding.

If I want God to protect me**
, then I must **make my food, my drink, and all that I consume wholesome and pure
, so that I may be sheltered beneath the protection of my Exalted Lord.

The legacy of fasting: from silence to certainty 🕊

The Prophet addressed Allah, the Most High, saying:
“My God, what is the first act of worship, my Lord?”
He replied: “The first act of worship is to fast and be silent.”

He asked:
“My Lord, what is the legacy of fasting?”
Allah replied:
“Fasting gives rise to wisdom.
Wisdom gives rise to knowledge.
Knowledge brings a person to certainty.
And the one who possesses knowledge becomes heir to certainty.

When a servant attains certainty**
, it **no longer matters to them whether life is hard or easy.

And when such a servant is at the point of death**
, **the angels stand over their head.
Angels come, each carrying a bowl of water from Kawthar and a bowl of wine—that special wine.

They quench the soul’s thirst;
the soul is refreshed with the water of Kawthar and that wine**
, so that **the hardship and bitterness of dying depart.

They bring the servant glad tidings—among the greatest of glad tidings—and say: ‘Your dwelling is pure, pleasant, and peaceful.’”

The moment of flight, the moment of reunion 🕊

Now is the time to set out toward Allah, the Mighty, the Generous, the Beloved who is ever near.
The time has come to meet Allah, the Mighty, the Generous, the Near.

The angels speak to the servant and give them glad tidings**
, and **tell them the time of their meeting.

As the soul remains among them,
suddenly it takes flight**
, *ascending* and rising up from among the angels.
**Longing to meet God sends the soul soaring.

It ascends, rising toward Allah, Exalted is He**
, *faster than the blink of an eye*
, **soaring at full speed, rising toward Allah, Exalted is He…

So that no veil remains**;
no curtain remains between that **spirit and Allah.

The spirit soars upward with such longing**;
and **Allah looks upon His servant with even greater longing.

Then, beside God’s Throne**،
it sits beside **a spring at God’s Throne…

It is asked:
How did you leave the world?

Listen to this…

That man, that woman, that person… that spirit, which has no gender, is asked:
“How did you leave the world?”

It replies:
My God, by Your might, I know nothing of the world.
I never saw the world at all. What is the world?! I know nothing of it.

Those people whom the world sought to deceive**
had never even **seen it, so they could not be deceived by it.

From the moment You created me**،
I **was always in awe of You, always in fear.

Then Allah says:
“You have spoken truly, My servant.
Your body was in the world, but **your spirit was with Me.
Your body engaged with the world, but your spirit remained close to Me—close to My remembrance, devoted to My love.
Your outward and inward were under My watch.
Ask of Me, and I will give to you.
Beseech Me, and I will honor you.
This is My Paradise, My freely granted Paradise.
Now enjoy it to the full.
And this is My company; dwell here.”

But the spirit says:
“What would I want with Paradise?
You made Yourself known to me.
For that reason, I came to need none of Your creation…”

Mad for Your pleasure, not Your Paradise ❤️‍🔥

By Your might! By Your majesty!
If it pleased You for me to be torn apart, piece by piece**،
and **to be killed seventy times in the most agonizing way anyone could be killed…

By Your might and majesty!
That would have been dearer to me…

In other words:
My God, it was only Your love
that made me so madly and passionately devoted to You.

What would I want with Paradise?
I seek only Your pleasure.

Amazed with myself? Never… only grateful for Your grace 🙇‍♂️

My God, how could I be amazed by myself?
How could I become enamored of myself?
How could I admire myself?
How could I be conceited** when I am **lowly?

If You had not honored me**—that is, I would have **lost my way.
I would have perished, despite the grace of serving You…

And I am overcome
if You do not help me**;
I would have been **defeated.
And I was weak
if You had not made me strong.

I was dead**
if You had not brought me to life through **Your remembrance…

My God!
If… this is a remarkable confession…

My God, I know what is going on!
You are so tender and indulgent with me…
I know…
If it were not for Your veil**، I would have been exposed at the very first **sin I committed.
I would have been the talk of everyone.

You brought my intellect to perfection**،
so that I came to know You
and **came to know what is rightfully Yours.

You brought my intellect to perfection** until I came to know You,
**to distinguish truth from falsehood,
command from prohibition,
knowledge from ignorance,
light from darkness…

And Allah says…

Five hidden treasures in five vessels 💎

A sacred hadith, offered as a gift for your gracious presence…

Allah, Lord of Might, says:

“I placed five things within five others, while people seek them in five different things… So how will they ever attain them?”

• I placed honor in obedience to Me**;
  yet people seek it **at the gates of rulers.
  When will they attain that honor?

I planted it in the very heart of obedience to Me**;
but these people, within *the walls and palaces of rulers*,
are **begging them for it.

Another hadith says:
They seek it by serving rulers.
They ask who holds the privilege, so they can go to his door and beg from him,
hoping to attain honor…

But not only do they fail to attain honor**;
they attain **humiliation instead.

• I placed knowledge and wisdom in hunger**;
  yet people seek them **in fullness…
  How will they attain them?

Another hadith says:
Through hunger and striving…

This is knowledge, not ignorance**;
it is not *knowledge of the belly*;
it is **the light of knowledge, the light of wisdom.

It is heavenly knowledge, knowledge of the unseen realm.

I placed knowledge and wisdom in hunger and striving**;
yet people seek them **in fullness and ease…

When will they attain them?
They will not.

They will attain ignorance**;
**they will become famous, yet die ignorant.
They will never attain knowledge.

• I placed comfort and peace in Paradise**;
  yet people seek them in *this world*,
  hoping to *find comfort* here in this world,
  when **I have placed that comfort in Paradise.

Who can say that life is comfortable in this world?
God did not create it so.

The perfect peace we seek
is not found in this world**;
by God… **God did not create it here.

Blessed are the God-fearing,
for **they are always in the Garden…

”وَهُم فی جَنَّهٍ کَمَن قَد رَآها”

• I placed wealth in contentment**;
  yet people seek it **in riches.
  When will they attain it?

• I placed My pleasure in opposing the lower self**;
  yet people seek it **by opposing Me.
  How will they ever find it?

A special trial, a special race 🏁

If our trials are many**;
if we are *frequently beset by hardship*;
if **our troubles are not because of our sins…

Even if they are because of sin, they are still a blessing.
For we are being disciplined**;
our **burden is being lightened…
That too is a blessing.

But when trials of this kind come—
when we are tested in a special way, without having committed any sin,
when life becomes tangled…

Take heart!
You are on the track in a special race.

A prize is about to be awarded…
The race is nearing its end.
It is hard, but this is the final stretch.

Something extraordinary is about to happen, a great elevation…
If we do not lose heart**،
we will attain **the highest success.

This world is a gym for worship, not a pleasure palace 💪

This world is a gym, not a pleasure palace.
God created this world so that we might worship Him.

It is here to strengthen the muscles of our devotion**,
not for *comfort*,
nor for **seeking and savoring pleasure.

Anyone immersed in worldly ease**,
**should be wary…
lest it be a form of gradual entrapment, a hidden trial…

The Ramadan feast: a practice in pure love ❤️‍🔥

lest they have been rejected without even knowing it…

The blessed month of Ramadan is a practice in “complete detachment toward God.”
A practice in reaching the negation of attributes.
A practice in worshipping God with the utmost excellence.

Whatever it may be, it is a path… to pass through.
At this feast of love**, at the *feast of the blessed month of Ramadan*,
we must become a city of love…
so that our very being may bring the whole world to life.