The Ramadan of Spiritual Excellence

 🌼🔆🌼The Outward and Inward Dimensions of Ramadan🌼🔆🌼

🌹🔅☘️ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ ☘️🔅🌹

🔅🌹 “Ramadan is one of God’s names”  “The month of Ramadan is the path to God’s good pleasure”  “God is the teacher of praise” “The station of contentment”  “Supplication 44 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya” and more … An outline with an addendum        1402.12.24    Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) 110.141(903)  🌹🔅

🔅🌼Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, unlocks the mysteries of the blessed month🌼🔅

🌹Supplications 43 and 44 of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya are, in truth, a comprehensive university of the blessed month of Ramadan: an advanced course in devotion to God and an elevated, strategic education in the spiritual journey toward God!

🌹Let us appreciate Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, who opens before us the gates of knowledge and the journey toward God.

🌹The Imam is, in truth, the key to all the divine obligations. Without the Imam, everything remains locked—including the key to fasting. With the Imam, a person becomes a honeybee; without him, a mere fly. With the Imam, a person is a fruitful tree; without him, a barren one.

🔅🌼A sacred entry🌼🔅

🌹Enter the blessed month of Ramadan with sincerity and truthfulness.

🌻🔆الإسراء : 80   وَ قُلْ رَبِّ أَدْخِلْني‏ مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَ أَخْرِجْني‏ مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَ اجْعَلْ لي‏ مِنْ لَدُنْكَ سُلْطاناً نَصيراً

🔆And say: “My Lord, cause me to enter with truthfulness and to depart with truthfulness, and grant me from Your presence a supporting authority!”

🌹Let us ask God to usher us into this blessed month with truthfulness, illumination, purity and sincerity, with a sincere intention and a sound heart—and to bring us out of it having attained the perfection of servitude.

🌹In God’s month, we must reach God; in Ramadan, we must reach Ramadan. God’s month is God’s path leading to God.

🌹Knowledge of Ramadan is knowledge of God.

🔅🌼Supplication 44: the university of the blessed month of Ramadan🌼🔅

🌹The purpose of the blessed month of Ramadan is to know Ramadan—that is, to know God.

🌹We should not conflate the attributes of the blessed month of Ramadan with Ramadan itself.

🌹The effects of the blessed month of Ramadan are not the same as Ramadan itself.

🔅🌼Ramadan according to al-Mufradāt of al-Rāghib🌼🔅

🌹The month of Ramadan: its name is derived from ramḍ, meaning the sun’s intense heat.

🌹Armaḍath fa-ramiḍ: the scorching pebbles burned him; this refers to the sun’s intense heat.

🌹Arḍ ramḍa: parched, burning-hot ground.

🌹Ramiḍat al-ghanam: the sheep grazed in the heat, and their livers were injured.

🌹Fulān yatarmmaḍ al-ẓibāʾ: he pursues gazelles in the heat, across scorching sands.

🔅🌼Other meanings associated with Ramadan🌼🔅

🌹The sun’s fierce rays, intense heat, inner warmth, ground scorched by the sun, a hot stone that burns the feet of passers-by, feet burning on hot ground, scorching (ramḍ), being burned by religious duty, clouds and rain at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, cleansing, removing. But Ramadan means none of these!

🔅🌼Ramadan erases sins🌼🔅

🌹Ramadan erases and burns away sins, but its meaning is not “one who erases” or “one who burns.”

🌷🔆عن النبيّ صلّى اللّه عليه و آله إنّه قال: «إنّما سمّي رمضان لأنّ رمضان يرمض‏ الذنوب‏[1]

🔆It is narrated from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, that this month was named Ramadan because “يرمض‏ الذّنوب‏”—that is, it burns away sins (forgives them).

🌹This blessed hadith describes the effects of the blessed month, not the meaning of Ramadan.

🌹 Does God burn us with His love? I don’t know! But I wish He would.

🔅🌼 Let us show proper respect when speaking of Ramadan 🌼🔅

🌹 We may think of each month as a particular name among the Divine Names, shining forth with countless effects and a unique power of attraction! In truth, it is God’s name that moves through the months; this name, of course, represents its esoteric name.

🌹 Ramadan is one of the names of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. It is a symbolic name whose meaning is unknown, though its attributes can be described. This name belongs to the hidden mysteries.

🌹 It is no wonder if we say that the Divine Names have attributes, while the Self-Sufficient Essence has no need of attributes. A name that possesses attributes is a marvel. He is peerless in every respect, and His Names, too, are beyond compare; they cannot be likened to any name or attribute.

🌹 To become Ramadan is to become godly, to become a pure servant. In this month, God’s servants stand beneath the radiance of the blessed name Ramadan.

🌹 The month of Ramadan is like the City of God, the House of God, the Spirit of God, the Kaaba of God, the Qibla of God, the Servant of God, the Proof of God.

🔅🌼 Ramadan is God’s name 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 سَعْدٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ: كُنَّا عِنْدَهُ ثَمَانِيَةَ رِجَالٍ فَذَكَرْنَا رَمَضَانَ فَقَالَ لَا تَقُولُوا هَذَا رَمَضَانُ وَ لَا ذَهَبَ رَمَضَانُ وَ لَا جَاءَ رَمَضَانُ فَإِنَّ رَمَضَانَ اسْمٌ مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ لَا يَجِي‏ءُ وَ لَا يَذْهَبُ وَ إِنَّمَا يَجِي‏ءُ وَ يَذْهَبُ الزَّائِلُ وَ لَكِنْ قُولُوا شَهْرُ رَمَضانَ‏ فَالشَّهْرُ الْمُضَافُ إِلَى الِاسْمِ وَ الِاسْمُ اسْمُ اللَّهِ وَ هُوَ الشَّهْرُ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَثَلًا وَ عِيداً.[2]

🔆A man named Sa‘d related from Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him: “Eight of us were in the presence of that noble Imam, speaking about ‘Ramadan,’ when he said:

‘Do not say, “This Ramadan,” nor say, “Ramadan has gone” or “Ramadan has come,” for “Ramadan” is one of the names of God, Mighty and Majestic. It neither comes nor goes. What comes and goes is passing and perishable. Rather, say, “the month of Ramadan”—that is, a month joined to a name that is God’s name: the month in which the Quran was revealed, and which God made a proof and a source of joy for His friends.’

🌹 Ramadan brings things and takes them away; it neither comes nor goes itself.

🌹 Who will place themselves beneath the banner of God’s name, the name Ramadan? Who is the servant of Ramadan? What is the secret of this name of God?

🌹 It takes patience for the veil to be lifted from the beauty of this sacred name,

🔅🌼 Ramadan cannot be described 🌼🔅

🌷🔆عَنْ غِيَاثِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ ع قَالَ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ ص‏ لَا تَقُولُوا رَمَضَانَ وَ لَكِنْ قُولُوا شَهْرُ رَمَضانَ‏ فَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ مَا رَمَضَانُ. [3]

🔆Ghiath ibn Ibrahim relates that Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, narrated from his noble father, from his grandfather, who said: Imam Ali, God’s blessings be upon him, said, “Do not say ‘Ramadan’; rather, say ‘the month of Ramadan,’ for you do not know what Ramadan is!”

🌹 Let us show proper respect when using God’s name.

🌹 Even if we do not know the mysteries of this name, its effects are plain to see in our bodies and souls! We can pray to our Beloved through this sacred name.

🔅🌼 The penalty for speaking disrespectfully of Ramadan 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ع أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ‏ لَا تَقُولُونَ رَمَضَانُ فَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ مَا رَمَضَانُ‏ فَمَنْ قَالَ فَلْيَتَصَدَّقْ وَ لْيَصُمْ كَفَّارَةً لِقَوْلِهِ وَ لَكِنْ قُولُوا كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى‏ شَهْرُ رَمَضان‏[4]

🔆 Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: “Do not say ‘Ramadan,’ for you do not know what ‘Ramadan’ is. Whoever says ‘Ramadan’ should give charity and fast as atonement for having said it. Rather, say ‘the month of Ramadan,’ just as God Most High has said in the Qur’an.”

🔅🌼 Opening: “The Abode of Truth,” Supplication 44 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 وَ كَانَ مِنْ دُعَائِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِذَا دَخَلَ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ:

🔆 One of his supplications when the month of Ramadan began.

🌹 Does the Imam consider himself a devoted supplicant and herald? Does this include us, too? The station of praise is exceedingly lofty; to become one of those who praise is to enter the company of the praiseworthy.

🌷🔆 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِحَمْدِهِ، وَ جَعَلَنَا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ لِنَكُونَ لِإِحْسَانِهِ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ، وَ لِيَجْزِيَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكَ جَزَاءَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

🔆 Praise belongs to God, who guided us to praise and thank Him, and made us among those who praise, so that through His graciousness we might be grateful, and so that He might reward us as He rewards those who do good.

🔅🌼 God Himself teaches us how to praise Him 🌼🔅

🌹 O God, bring my heart and voice to life, and make them speak in praise of You. Transform my state into one of praise for You; make my thoughts, words, and deeds a praise of You. O God, grant me knowledge of how to praise You, for whoever does not know how to praise You cannot praise You. How can the blind, the deaf, the mute, and the ignorant praise You?!

🌹 O God, praise Yourself through me. Make me a whirlwind of praise for You; make me a register of Your praise.

🌷🔆 إِلَهِي وَ سَيِّدِي بِكَ‏ عَرَفْتُكَ‏ وَ بِكَ اهْتَدَيْتُ إِلَى سَبِيلِكَ وَ أَنْتَ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى مَعْرِفَتِكَ وَ لَوْ لَا أَنْتَ مَا عَرَفْتُ تَوْحِيدَكَ وَ لَا عَرَفْتُ وَ لَا اهْتَدَيْتُ إِلَى عِبَادَتِكَ فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ عَلَى مَا هَدَيْتَ وَ عَلَّمْتَ وَ بَصَّرْتَ وَ فَهَّمْتَ وَ أَوْضَحْتَ مِنَ الصِّرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيم‏[5]

🔆 O my God and Master, I came to know You through You; through You I was guided to Your way. You are my guide to knowing You. Had You not been, I would never have found my way to Your oneness, known You, or been guided to worship You.

So praise belongs to God for guiding me, teaching me, granting me insight and understanding, and making the straight path clear to me.

🔅🌼 “Knowing how to praise” is what sets human beings apart from animals 🌼🔅

🌹 What distinguishes human beings from beasts is not praising God, but knowing how to praise Him.

🌷🔆 وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَوْ حَبَسَ‏ عَنْ‏ عِبَادِهِ مَعْرِفَةَ حَمْدِهِ عَلَى مَا أَبْلَاهُمْ مِنْ مِنَنِهِ الْمُتَتَابِعَةِ، وَ أَسْبَغَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ الْمُتَظَاهِرَةِ، لَتَصَرَّفُوا فِي مِنَنِهِ فَلَمْ يَحْمَدُوهُ، وَ تَوَسَّعُوا فِي رِزْقِهِ فَلَمْ يَشْكُرُوهُ. وَ لَوْ كَانُوا كَذَلِكَ لَخَرَجُوا مِنْ حُدُودِ الْإِنْسَانِيَّةِ إِلَى حَدِّ الْبَهِيمِيَّةِ فَكَانُوا كَمَا وَصَفَ فِي مُحْكَمِ كِتَابِهِ: «إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا.» [6]

🔆 Praise belongs to God. Had He cast His servants into the pit of deprivation by withholding from them the knowledge of how to give thanks for the successive gifts He bestowed on them merely to test them, and for the blessings He continually bestowed upon them in full measure, they would have misused His gifts and blessings, failed to thank Him, squandered His provision, and neglected to rise in gratitude for His gracious favors.

If they were like that, they would have crossed the bounds of humanity and reached the level of animals. They would then have been as He describes them in His clear Book: “They are nothing but like cattle; indeed, they are even more astray!”

🔅🌼 Praising God makes us aware of our need to praise Him 🌼🔅

🌷🔆 فَكَيْفَ لِي‏ بِتَحْصِيلِ‏ الشُّكْرِ وَ شُكْرِي إِيَّاكَ يَفْتَقِرُ إِلَى شُكْرٍ فَكُلَّمَا قُلْتُ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ وَجَبَ عَلَيَّ لِذَلِكَ أَنْ أَقُولَ لَكَ الْحَمْد[7]

🔆 Imam Zayn al-Abidin (AS): “My God, how can I thank You, when my thanking You is itself in need of thanks? Each time I say, ‘Praise be to You,’ that very expression of gratitude obliges me to say once more, ‘Praise be to You.’”

🌹 Praise is not confined to words; it must also be expressed through one’s state and deeds. It should embrace every form of praise. The foundation of praise is knowing what praise is. To praise God, one must do so with understanding.

🌹 Truly, why are cattle and sheep what they are? Surely they remember God.

🌻🔆 Al-Isrāʾ: 44   تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّماواتُ السَّبْعُ وَ الْأَرْضُ وَ مَنْ فيهِنَّ وَ إِنْ مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَ لكِنْ لا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كانَ حَليماً غَفُوراً

🔆 The seven heavens, the earth, and all that dwell within them glorify Him. There is nothing that does not glorify and praise Him, though you do not understand their glorification. He is Forbearing and Forgiving.

🌹 Animals do not praise God with understanding or in the fullness of praise; they fall short in their words, their state, and their deeds alike!

🌹 All beings praise God. Human praise should be such that it differs from theirs and surpasses it; otherwise, we would be no different from them.

🌷🔆 قَالَ عَلِيٌّ ع‏ نَقِيقُ الدِّيكِ (اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ يَا غَافِلِينَ‏) وَ صَهِيلُ الْفَرَسِ اللَّهُمَّ انْصُرْ عِبَادَكَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى عِبَادِكَ الْكَافِرِينَ وَ نَهِيقُ الْحِمَارِ أَنْ يَلْعَنَ الْعَشَّارِينَ وَ يَنْهَقَ فِي عَيْنِ الشَّيْطَانِ وَ نَقِيقُ الضِّفْدِعِ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي الْمَعْبُودِ الْمُسَبَّحَ فِي لُجَجِ الْبِحَارِ وَ أَنِيقُ الْقُبَّرَةِ  اللَّهُمَّ الْعَنْ مُبْغِضِي آلِ مُحَمَّدِ.[8]

🔆 The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “The partridge says, ‘الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىٰ’ [The All-Merciful is established upon the Throne]. The rooster says, ‘اذكروا الله يا غافلين’ [Remember God, you heedless ones]. The horse says, ‘اللّهم انصر عبادك المؤمنين على عبادك الكافرين’ [O God, grant Your believing servants victory over Your unbelieving servants].”

The donkey curses unjust tax collectors and brays at Satan. The frog says, ‘سبحان ربي المعبود في لجج البحار’ [Glory be to my Lord, worshipped in the depths of the seas]. The lark says, ‘اللّهم العن مبغضي محمّد و آل محمّد’ [O God, curse those who hate Muhammad and the family of Muhammad].

🔅🌼 The Etiquette of Praise 🌼🔅

🌹Let us strive to understand the praise due to God and observe its proper etiquette.

🌹Let us remember that God has granted us permission to praise Him; otherwise, any attempt would be presumptuous, for no one is capable of praising God as He truly deserves.

🌹Permission to praise is permission to love; it is a command to fall in love.

🌹Let us gain knowledge of praise and learn its proper etiquette.

🌹Let us make the fullest use of our share in praise, while acknowledging its shortcomings.

🌹Our very being must become praise of God; we must shine like the sun in praise!

🌹A worthy human being becomes a word of God’s praise, a servant whom God praises.

🌹A human being must become a book that displays the artistry of their Lord.

🌹Through us, God praises Himself.

🌹If a person remains true to the finest form in which they were created, they become praise of God—God’s own “So blessed is God, the best of creators.” For, in truth, since all God’s creations are perfect in their own beauty, the very existence of all beings is praise of God.

🌻🔆 As-Sajdah: 7   الَّذي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ خَلَقَهُ وَ بَدَأَ خَلْقَ الْإِنْسانِ مِنْ طينٍ

🔅🌼 The Doers of Good Are Beloved of God 🌼🔅

🌹Praise brings a person to the station of excellence, making them one who does good.

🌹Those who do good are recipients of ever-greater divine grace. They are beloved of the Beloved, close to and encompassed by God’s mercy, and patient.

🌹 The people of excellence draw their being from the source of God’s knowledge and wisdom. They are continually showered with divine promises, and God never abandons them, even for a moment. Whatever they ask for, God makes ready for them, and He gives them a reward without equal.

🌻🔆 البقرة : 58   …  وَ سَنَزيدُ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 البقرة : 195   … إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 الأعراف : 56   وَ لا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلاحِها وَ ادْعُوهُ خَوْفاً وَ طَمَعاً إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ قَريبٌ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 هود : 115   وَ اصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُضيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 يوسف : 22   وَ لَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْناهُ حُكْماً وَ عِلْماً وَ كَذلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 الحج : 37   لَنْ يَنالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُها وَ لا دِماؤُها وَ لكِنْ يَنالُهُ التَّقْوى‏ مِنْكُمْ كَذلِكَ سَخَّرَها لَكُمْ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلى‏ ما هَداكُمْ وَ بَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 القصص : 14   وَ لَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَ اسْتَوى‏ آتَيْناهُ حُكْماً وَ عِلْماً وَ كَذلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 العنكبوت : 69   وَ الَّذينَ جاهَدُوا among us لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنا وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 الصافات : 131   إِنَّا كَذلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنينَ

🌻🔆 الزمر : 34   لَهُمْ ما يَشاؤُنَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ ذلِكَ جَزاءُ الْمُحْسِنينَ

🔅🌼 His love for the religion🌼🔅

🌸🔆 وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي حَبَانَا بِدِينِهِ، وَ اخْتَصَّنَا بِمِلَّتِهِ، وَ سَبَّلَنَا فِي سُبُلِ إِحْسَانِهِ لِنَسْلُكَهَا بِمَنِّهِ إِلَى رِضْوَانِهِ، حَمْداً يَتَقَبَّلُهُ مِنَّا، وَ يَرْضَى بِهِ عَنَّا

🔆 And praise belongs to God, who has shown us profound love and affection through His religion, chosen us for His way, and set us on the paths of His goodness, so that through His gracious favor (His generous and immense kindness and blessing) we may journey toward His good pleasure. Such praise may He accept from us and, through it, be pleased with us.

🌹 *Ḥabā*: to show intense love (affection), to express devotion, to express pleasure (satisfaction)

🌹 God’s *mann* is, in truth, God’s grace, goodness, and blessing—something we do not deserve, but which He alone bestows upon us through His greatness and supreme generosity.

🌹 The divine religion is obedience and worship: the way of obedience and worship, and submission.

🌹 *Millah*: the religion revealed to a prophet; God’s practical instructions to the prophets; the mission entrusted to the prophets in matters of religion

🌸🔆 وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي مَنَّ عَليْنَا بِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيِّهِ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ دُونَ الْأُمَمِ الْمَاضِيَةِ وَ الْقُرُونِ السَّالِفَةِ,[9]

🔆 Praise belongs solely to God, who bestowed upon us Muhammad—His Prophet, may God’s blessings be upon him and his family—as a great favor (granting us this immense grace, though we were not worthy of it), while He did not grant this favor to the nations of earlier times and bygone generations.

🔅🌼 *Mann*🌼🔅

🌹 *Mann* means “to cut off.” In «لهم اجر غير ممنون», it means “uninterrupted.” *Mann* is a blessing by which a person is freed from hardship; it is also an immense blessing.

🌻🔆 آل‏عمران : 164   لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ آياتِهِ وَ يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَ يُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتابَ وَ الْحِكْمَةَ وَ إِنْ كانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفي‏ ضَلالٍ مُبينٍ

🔆 God bestowed a great favor upon the believers when He raised among them a messenger from their own people, to recite His signs to them, purify them, and teach them the Book and wisdom, though before that they had been in manifest error.

He is the Bestower of blessings

🔅🌼The Month of Ramadan Is a Path to God🌼🔅

🌸🔆 السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ نَاصِرٍ أَعَانَ عَلَى الشَّيْطَانِ، وَ صَاحِبٍ سَهَّلَ سُبُلَ الْإِحْسَان‏[10]

🔆 O blessed month of Ramadan, peace be upon you: you are a helper who aided us against Satan, and a companion who made the path of goodness easy for us.

🔅🌼The Inward Meaning of God’s Path Is the Immaculate Imams🌼🔅

🌹 The Immaculate Imams, peace be upon them, are the paths to God’s good pleasure.

🌸🔆 اللَّهُمَّ وَ كَمَا نَصَبْتَ بِهِ مُحَمَّداً عَلَماً لِلدَّلَالَةِ عَلَيْكَ، وَ أَنْهَجْتَ بِآلِهِ سُبُلَ الرِّضَا إِلَيْكَ, … .[11]

🌸🔆 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع‏ فِي قَوْلِهِ «وَ أَنَّ هذا صِراطِي مُسْتَقِيماً فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَ لا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ‏» قَالَ نَحْنُ‏ السَّبِيلُ‏ فَمَنْ أَبَى فَهَذِهِ السُّبُلُ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ‏ ذلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ‏ يَعْنِي كَيْ تَتَّقُوا[12]

🌸🔆 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ: … وَ نَحْنُ‏ السَّبِيلُ‏ لِمَنِ‏ اقْتَدَى بِنَا وَ نَحْنُ الْهُدَاةُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَ … [13]

🔅🌼The Spiritual Journey Should Follow the Way of the Honeybee🌼🔅

🌹 The blessed month of Ramadan is a month in which honey and nectar flow from the human soul.

🌻🔆 النحل : 69   ثُمَّ كُلي‏ مِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَراتِ فَاسْلُكي‏ سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلاً يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بُطُونِها شَرابٌ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوانُهُ فيهِ شِفاءٌ لِلنَّاسِ إِنَّ في‏ ذلِكَ لَآيَةً لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

🔆 “Then eat of all the fruits, and follow the ways your Lord has made easy for you.” From their bellies comes a drink of varying colours, in which there is healing for people. Surely in this is a clear sign for those who reflect.

🔅🌼The Station of Contentment🌼🔅

🌹 The blessed month of Ramadan is a path to divine favour and God’s good pleasure.

🌹 The station of contentment encompasses faith, certainty and piety.

🌹 At the heart of contentment lie love, beauty and delight.

🌹 Even to define contentment wholly as love would be to say too little, not too much.

🌹 Contentment is the garden of servitude to God.

🌹 Contentment is the mingling of God’s affection, smile and invitation.

🌸🔆 عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمَا: الزُّهْدُ عَشَرَةُ أَجْزَاءٍ أَعْلَى دَرَجَةِ الزُّهْدِ أَدْنَى‏ دَرَجَةِ الْوَرَعِ وَ أَعْلَى دَرَجَةِ الْوَرَعِ أَدْنَى‏ دَرَجَةِ الْيَقِينِ وَ أَعْلَى دَرَجَةِ الْيَقِينِ أَدْنَى‏ دَرَجَةِ الرِّضَا.[14]

🔆 Imam Zayn al-Abidin, peace be upon him: “Asceticism has ten degrees. The highest degree of asceticism is the lowest degree of scrupulous piety; the highest degree of scrupulous piety is the lowest degree of certainty; and the highest degree of certainty is the lowest degree of contentment.”

🌸🔆 شَرِّفْ‏ دَرَجَتِي‏ بِرِضْوَانِكَ، وَ أَكْمِلْ كَرَامَتِي بِغُفْرَانِكَ،[15]

🔆 O God, ennoble my station through Your good pleasure, and perfect my honour through Your forgiveness.

🌹 At the heart of contentment are love, affection, ardour, rapture, reassurance, tranquillity, faith, piety and certainty. Contentment is the sweetness of servitude to God, a spiritual sweetness.

🔅🌼The Imams Are the Means to God’s Good Pleasure🌼🔅

🌹 Every outward form has an inward reality; the inward reality and truth of “divine favour and contentment” are Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad!

🌸🔆 اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ أَيَّدْتَ دِينَكَ فِي كُلِّ أَوَانٍ بِإِمَامٍ أَقَمْتَهُ عَلَماً لِعِبَادِكَ، وَ مَنَاراً فِي بِلَادِكَ بَعْدَ أَنْ وَصَلْتَ حَبْلَهُ بِحَبْلِكَ، وَ جَعَلْتَهُ الذَّرِيعَةَ إِلَى رِضْوَانِكَ, … .[16]

🌸🔆 فَهَبْ لِي- يَا إِلَهِي- مِنْ رَحْمَتِكَ وَ دَوَامِ تَوْفِيقِكَ مَا أَتَّخِذُهُ سُلَّماً أَعْرُجُ بِهِ إِلَى رِضْوَانِكَ، وَ آمَنُ بِهِ مِنْ عِقَابِكَ، يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ.[17]

🌸🔆 رَبِّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ صَلَاةً تُجَاوِزُ رِضْوَانَكَ، وَ يَتَّصِلُ اتِّصَالُهَا بِبَقَائِكَ، وَ لَا يَنْفَدُ كَمَا لَا تَنْفَدُ كَلِمَاتُك‏[18]

🌻🔆 Āl ʿImrān: 162   أَ فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوانَ اللَّهِ كَمَنْ باءَ بِسَخَطٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَ مَأْواهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَ بِئْسَ الْمَصيرُ

🔆 Is one who follows God’s good pleasure like one who incurs God’s wrath? His abode is Hell, and what a wretched end!

🌸🔆 عَنْ عَمَّارٍ السَّابَاطِيِّ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ- أَ فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوانَ اللَّهِ‏ كَمَنْ باءَ بِسَخَطٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَ مَأْواهُ‏ جَهَنَّمُ وَ بِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ هُمْ دَرَجاتٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ‏ فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا رِضْوَانَ‏ اللَّهِ‏ هُمُ‏ الْأَئِمَّةُ وَ هُمْ وَ اللَّهِ يَا عَمَّارُ دَرَجَاتٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ بِوَلَايَتِهِمْ وَ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ إِيَّانَا يُضَاعِفُ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ وَ يَرْفَعُ اللَّهُ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتِ الْعُلَى.[19]

🔆 Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him): ʿAmmār al-Sābāṭī relates: I asked Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the words of Almighty God: أَفَمَنِ اتَّبَع رِضْوَانَ اللهِ کَمَن بَاء بِسَخْطٍ مِّنَ اللهِ وَمَأوَاهُ جهنّم وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِیرُ هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عندَ اللهِ He said: “Those who follow God’s good pleasure are the Imams (peace be upon them). By God, ʿAmmār, they are ranks for the believers. Through knowledge of them and acceptance of our authority, God multiplies the believers’ deeds and raises them to their lofty stations and ranks.”

🌸🔆 I am the month of Ramadan; I am the Night of Decree; I am the Mother of the Book; I am the Decisive Word; I am the Sūrat al-Ḥamd; I am the one who performs the prayer at home and on a journey. Indeed, we are the prayer, the fast, the nights and days, the months and years,[20]

🌹 Muhammad and the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them) are the standard of God’s good pleasure, the tree of divine pleasure, the very essence of contentment, and the measure of God’s approval.

🌹 Muhammad and the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them) are the key to abiding Ramadan after Ramadan. They are the key to becoming servants of the Lord of Ramadan.

🌼Ali Saʿi (ʿAbdullah Mishkāt) 110.141 (903)🌼

[1] Riyāḍ al-Sālikīn fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīfat Sayyid al-Sājidīn, vol. 6, p. 11  Kabīr Madanī, Sayyid ʿAlī Khān ibn Aḥmad, Islamic Publications Office, Qom, Iran; first edition, 1409 AH.

[2] Maʿānī al-Akhbār, text, p. 315  Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Islamic Publications Office affiliated with the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, Qom; first edition, 1403 AH.

[3] Maʿānī al-Akhbār, text, p. 315  Ibn Bābawayh, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, Islamic Publications Office affiliated with the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, Qom; first edition, 1403 AH.

[4] Al-Jaʿfariyyāt (al-Ashʿathiyyāt), p. 59  Ibn Ashʿath, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, Modern al-Nīlūfariyyah Library, Tehran; first edition, n.d.

[5] Iqbāl al-Aʿmāl (old edition), vol. 1, p. 149  Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī ibn Mūsā, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, Tehran; second edition, 1409 AH.

[6]An excerpt from the first supplication of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyyah

[7] بحار الأنوار (ط – بيروت) ؛ ج‏91 ؛ ص146  Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi – Beirut, second edition, 1403 AH.

[8] مناقب آل أبي طالب عليهم السلام (لابن شهرآشوب) ؛ ج‏2 ؛ ص55 Ibn Shahrashub Mazandarani, Allama – Qom, first edition, 1379 AH.

[9]Part of the second supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

[10]Part of supplication 45 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

[11]Part of supplication 42 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

[12] تفسير القمي ؛ ج‏1 ؛ ص221  Qummi, Ali ibn Ibrahim, Dar al-Kitab – Qom, third edition, 1404 AH.

[13] بصائر الدرجات في فضائل آل محمد صلى الله عليهم ؛ ج‏1 ؛ ص63  Saffar, Muhammad ibn Hasan, Ayatollah Mar‘ashi Najafi Library – Iran, Qom, second edition, 1404 AH.

[14] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج‏2 ؛ ص62  Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya – Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[15]Part of supplication 42 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

[16]Part of supplication 47 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, passage 60

[17]Part of supplication 49 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, passage 17

[18]Part of supplication 47 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, passage 53

[19] الكافي (ط – الإسلامية) ؛ ج‏1 ؛ ص430  Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya – Tehran, fourth edition, 1407 AH.

[20] مشارق أنوار اليقين في أسرار أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام ؛ ؛ ص261  Hafiz Barisi, Rajab ibn Muhammad, A‘lami – Beirut, first edition, 1422 AH.