Written transcript of the lecture
The Meshkat-e Noor teachings series🌻🔆🔆🌻
🌼🔆🌼Cultivating the Soul🌼🔆
🔹Weekly sessions on the explanation and interpretation of the *Sahifa Sajjadiya*
📅 Date: 1404/05/16 – 13 Safar 1447
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei
📝 Some of the topics discussed in this session:
Supplication Twenty: A Comprehensive Blueprint for Human Development 🕊
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ، وَ اجْعَلْ لِي يَداً عَلَى مَنْ ظَلَمَنِي، وَ لِسَاناً عَلَى مَنْ خَاصَمَنِي، وَ ظَفَراً بِمَنْ عَانَدَنِي، وَ هَبْ لِي مَكْراً عَلَى مَنْ كَايَدَنِي، وَ قُدْرَةً عَلَى مَنِ اضْطَهَدَنِي، وَ تَكْذِيباً لِمَنْ قَصَبَنِي، وَ سَلَامَةً مِمَّنْ تَوَعَّدَنِي، وَ وَفِّقْنِي لِطَاعَةِ مَنْ سَدَّدَنِي، وَ مُتَابَعَةِ مَنْ أَرْشَدَنِي.
O God, O Lord, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.
My God and my Lord, grant me a hand**,*and give me the strengthto stand against anyone who wrongs and oppresses me.
In this blessed supplication, Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) has drawn a comprehensive blueprint for human perfection. Supplication Twenty of the *Sahifa Sajjadiya* sets out the complete spiritual journey of the human being:
it carries us **from the dust to the Throne,
from this earthly realm to Paradise,
and from Paradise to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary.
It takes us by the hand** and guides us so gently that we *never even feel ourselves moving*—
until suddenly, we find **ourselves at the summit of all existence.
This supplication is Imam Sajjad’s magnificent sanctuary of adornment.
It brings God’s servants to the fullness of beauty.
It makes the human being beloved by all creation.
This supplication holds the secret of beauty and grace:
the secret of how a person may attain such sublime beauty
that even God comes to love them…
The human being: growing in the womb of existence 🌱
Indeed, in this very universe, the human being is still within the womb.
Our Imam Sajjad teaches us that
the true face of servitude has not yet been revealed.
A person must bring their beauty to perfection.
Why does our outward appearance wear away?
Because it is a skin that must be shed.
We must move beyond appearances, and let our inner selves be revealed.
But how?
Through the very beauty Imam Sajjad has portrayed in this blessed supplication:
a supplication that leads us from the maturity of faith
to faith in its fullest perfection,
then to the highest degree of certainty,
and finally to the finest of deeds…
and, at the end, to the subtle graces and radiance of the garden of intention.
Supplication Twenty: The Complete Blueprint for the Perfect Human 🧭
A person must become a garden, a flowering meadow of intentions,
from which the great fruits of humanity may grow.
This supplication is the complete blueprint for the perfect human.
One day, we will understand the grandeur of this supplication.
It is a great blessing we enjoy through the grace of Imam Sajjad’s presence,
without even knowing it…
What spring could be more refreshing, more beautiful, or more blessed?
The Imams let us drink of their pure wine…
Renewing the Soul: From Certainty to the Finest Deeds ✨
Let me review,
so I can return to the passage that began our discussion…
What have the Imams led us through, and where have they brought us?
- Our certainty must reach its highest degree,
- then that very certainty must be refined,
- and from it, the finest of deeds must spring forth.
The Imams teach us that a person
must examine their soul in every circumstance,
remain constantly attentive to their actions,
and hold themselves to account.
You are a land, not merely a person! 🌍
The Imam teaches us:
“O human being! You are a vast land!”
He reminds us:
- We must devote ourselves wholly to our Creator**,
- and **empty our hearts of everything that distracts us from God.
Then, when we have attained lofty stations**,
we must be vigilant:
- bring pride to heel,
- **and restrain self-conceit within our souls.
Why?
Because pride may bring us crashing down**,
and **self-conceit may lead us into corruption.
Do not abandon the garden of your soul… 🌳🐺
Our Imam Sajjad reminds us:
Never abandon the garden of our hearts.
If we leave it untended,
the wild beasts within us will enter
and destroy everything.
Flow like a stream of mercy, not a fire of reproach 💧
We are taught to
flow like a stream,
become a river of God’s goodness,
and be a spring welling up from God.
We are taught that our reproachful reminders must be erased**;
that is, our kindness must not fall upon others like *fire! It should instead be a comfort to them*—
not something hurtful and scorching…
**From noble virtues to the highest virtues: an ascent in character 🕊
We must go beyond noble virtues
and attain the highest virtues.
Let us never settle for the bare minimum…
We are charged with bringing the finest expression of virtue to life.
And we are reminded once more:
By holding fast to the Truth, we can remain safe from vanity**;
otherwise, *our lower selves will reduce us to ashes*
and taint us with every kind of **impurity.
Nurturing the soul, bringing the world to life 🌸
We are taught to
ask God to raise us to higher degrees
and, in return, to seek the destruction of our selfish desires.
Our dignity should be made manifest through God’s creation,
while inwardly we stand before His majesty with humility and reverence.
Then we should take delight
in sound guidance,
in the path of truth,
and in the intention to grow.
Spend your life in obedience; starve Satan 🔥
We are reminded:
This life must be spent in obedience to God.
We must keep Satan hungry and thirsty.
Let us never become Satan’s bread and water!
We are reminded once more
to attend to the hidden flaws in our souls**,
and **remove them, reform them, and refine them.
We must also complete and bring to perfection the incomplete virtues within us.
From the soul to the world: building and flourishing in the Sajjadi path 🌍
Then we must move beyond our own souls and turn to society.
- Let us adorn our souls,
- and adorn society too.
Let us become the soul of society
and draw life from it.
Let us never neglect society…
Both society and the world must be brought to flourishing through noble and exalted virtues.
Adorning the soul, society and the world all at once 🌺
Let us cultivate beauty within ourselves**,
and make society a **field in which beauty can flourish.
We must make the soul, society and the whole created world
beautiful, adorned and flourishing.
Let us equip and train ourselves**,
both **outwardly and inwardly.
Our hands, our tongues,
our hearts, our intentions—
all must serve the work of adornment.
Satan lies in wait—do not be heedless! 🚫
If we let our guard down, we will be crushed!
Imam Sajjad reminds us:
Satan is lying in wait for us.
With all his hosts,
he stands perpetually ready to bring us to disgrace.
He teaches us how to navigate our personal, communal and global affairs.
The human being is a greater world 🌐
Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, shows us:
The human being is a world greater than the world itself.
And we must:
- turn our gaze inward at every moment,
- govern our souls,
- and from there, govern the world.
Our vision must prevail in society and across the world.
A prayer that gives us the spirit of struggle ⚔️
What a journey!
What beauty!
Our Imam Sajjad teaches us:
“My God, grant me a hand**,
with which to stand against every tyrant
and thwart his oppression.”
Not to **submit to the oppressor!
Strength against the tyrant, a tongue against the foe, victory over the enemy 🛡
O God,
grant me such strength
that I can break the tyrant’s power!
That I can bring the schemers to ruin!
Grant me a tongue
with which to confront my adversary
and overcome him.
Grant me a conquering tongue,
one that can shatter hostility.
Wise stratagem, faithful strength, reasoned refutation 🔥
O God, grant me victory**,
over the one who stands against me in **defiance.
Grant me a wise stratagem,
so that I may thwart the plots of the schemers.
Grant me the strength
to stand against oppressors and those who harm me, and to break them.
Expose every usurper, every wound-inflicter, every liar. 📣
O God,
grant me such power to refute
that I may expose everyone who speaks wounding words against me,
everyone who torments me,
everyone who assassinates my character.
Let me expose them all.
Let me prove every liar’s lies**
and reveal the truth in the face of falsehood
**with such force that they are broken.
Well-being in the face of threats; obedience to guides 🛡
O God,
grant me safety from whoever threatens me…
and the grace to obey the one who shows me the straight path,
and to follow the one who guides me**.
This passage of Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him,
means **equipping oneself with the mightiest of weapons to cross the battlefield of enmity.
Our Imam Sajjad arms us with heavenly means:
- a mighty hand against every oppressor
- a sharp tongue against every adversary
- victory and triumph over every foe
- a countermove against every crafty plotter
- a refutation for everyone who wounds with words
- safety from every threat
- the grace to obey every guide and counselor
The age of stolen attention; the age of forgetting the heart’s qibla 🕯
This is our Imam Sajjad**—
and these are the tremendous divine means by which he equips us
with **divine power to face every enemy.
He reveals the secret of attaining that exalted station:
how to ask God
to carry us through every affliction in peace
and stand firm against every thief of guidance.
Ours is an age of stolen attention.
It takes only a moment for our attention to turn from the threshold of divine majesty
for us to fall into the pit of humiliation.
Whoever has their attention seized will have their soul taken captive.
At every moment, we must seek God’s protection**
lest we fall into the humiliation of neglecting the Truth.
The world today wants to **separate us from God,
to lead us from truth into falsehood,
and from falsehood into nothingness…
With a gnat, He brings Nimrod down 🪰
If we are with God**,
**all of existence will be at our service.
Even if the whole world rises against us,
if God so wills,
He can bring the people of Nimrod to their knees with a single gnat.
With a single staff,
He parts the sea.
With that same staff,
He makes springs gush forth from the earth.
When we are estranged from God, even the heavens turn away from us ☁️
This is an age of heedlessness.
The heavens have turned away.
How can we call upon the heavens
when we are estranged from the Lord of the heavens?
If we turn even a little toward God,
He will open the heavens for us
and set the springs of the earth flowing.
A man from the farthest end of the city… 🏃♂️
Let us fear no adversary.
Let us be like the believer from the family of Ya-Sin…
From the farthest corner of the city,
a man came… He came running.
He was the only man in the city.
He said:
“My people, follow God’s messengers;
follow them.
They ask no payment from you,
and they themselves are rightly guided.”
But what did the people do?
And what did God do?
For the sake of that one man, God turned the world upside down.
He took vengeance on that people.
Reforming society begins with reforming the soul 🪞
In the sixth passage of the *Sahifa Sajjadiya*,
Imam Sajjad speaks of *outward and inward flaws*—
flaws that must be **set right,
the soul’s shortcomings repaired,
and its noble qualities brought to completion.
Reforming society
begins with reforming our own souls.
A human masterpiece: reigning over desire 👑
Anyone who can control themselves
can **govern the whole world.
All it takes is to master one’s desires—
and the world will submit to one’s command.
Imam Ali (AS) said:
“By mastering his desires,
a person is cleansed of every flaw.”
The believer as mirror: reflecting the truth of who we are 🔍
- Let us make mirrors for ourselves.
- Let us seek the help of believers in removing our flaws.
- Believers are God’s mirrors, reflecting the truth.
Let us smile at those mirrors with an open heart,
so we may see our reflection in our souls.
Beware of silent enemies! 🐍
Let us not be among those who
- conceal our flaws when we are present,
- but expose them when we are absent.
Anyone who shows no reaction to our flaws
is our **real enemy.
Fear lies, not the mirror 🪞
Our master Ali (AS) said:
“Whoever conceals your flaw in your presence
but exposes it in your absence
is your real enemy.”
Let us not fear the mirror;
let us befriend it.
The mirror reveals our flaws—but face to face…
not behind our backs.
True brotherhood offers a flaw as a gift; it does not expose it 🤝
One of the fruits of faithful brotherhood is this:
- when we are absent, our flaws are concealed;
- when we are present, that same flaw is offered to us as a gift.
This is the clear, pure mirror.
Our master Ali (AS) says:
“A jealous person
conceals our flaw to our face
and reveals it in our absence.”
Envy: hidden poison, wishing others dead 🐍
Envy is an obvious flaw and a terrible form of greed
that cannot be cured
until the envious person gets what they wish for.
And what does the envious person wish for?
The destruction of the one they envy.
When that person is destroyed,
the envious one finds peace.
It is as though they have been healed…
But what kind of healing is that?!
A cure for the most poisonous affliction of the soul.
A swift reward is a sign of goodness; swift punishment, a sign of injustice ⚖️
Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, says:
“That whose reward comes swiftly
is goodness;
and that whose punishment comes swiftly
is injustice.”
Goodness brings its blessing in the moment,
and injustice its punishment.
Blind to your own faults, sharp-eyed for everyone else’s?! 👀
For anyone,
this one fault is enough:
“to dwell on other people’s faults
while remaining blind to their own.”
They see what others have done,
but not what they themselves have done.
And there is more of the same:
- They do not trouble themselves, yet trouble others.
- They forbid others from doing something, but do not give it up themselves.
Three heavenly gifts, when God wills someone well 🌟
When the Most High God wishes to bring good to a servant,
He grants them three things:
- Detachment from this world: their heart is freed from it.
- Deep understanding of religion: they become discerning and firmly grounded in its teachings.
- Insight into their own faults: they come to know themselves, not only others.
Whoever possesses these three
has been granted by God the good of this world and the next.
