The Technology of Trust in God

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🌼🔆🌼**Trust in God: The Secret of Limitless Strength**🌼🔆🌼

🔹 Weekly sessions on the commentary and interpretation of *Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya* — Supplication 20
📅 Date: 1404/09/06 — 6 Jumada al-Thani 1447
✨ Session: Meshkat-e Noor
🎤 Speaker: Master Ali Saei

📝 Some points discussed in the session:

1. Opening supplication ✨

(11) اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ ، وَ اجْعَلْ أَوْسَعَ رِزْقِكَ عَلَيَّ إِذَا كَبِرْتُ ، وَ أَقْوَى قُوَّتِكَ فِيَّ إِذَا نَصِبْتُ ، وَ لَا تَبْتَلِيَنِّي بِالْكَسَلِ عَنْ عِبَادَتِكَ ، وَ لَا الْعَمَى عَنْ سَبِيلِكَ ، وَ لَا بِالتَّعَرُّضِ لِخِلَافِ مَحَبَّتِكَ ، وَ لَا مُجَامَعَةِ مَنْ تَفَرَّقَ عَنْكَ ، وَ لَا مُفَارَقَةِ مَنِ اجْتَمَعَ إِلَيْكَ .
(12) اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي أَصُولُ بِكَ عِنْدَ الضَّرُورَةِ ، وَ أَسْأَلُكَ عِنْدَ الْحَاجَةِ ، وَ أَتَضَرَّعُ إِلَيْكَ عِنْدَ الْمَسْكَنَةِ ، وَ لَا تَفْتِنِّي بِالِاسْتِعَانَةِ بِغَيْرِكَ إِذَا اضْطُرِرْتُ ، وَ لَا بِالْخُضُوعِ لِسُؤَالِ غَيْرِكَ إِذَا افْتَقَرْتُ ، وَ لَا بِالتَّضَرُّعِ إِلَى مَنْ دُونَكَ إِذَا رَهِبْتُ ، فَأَسْتَحِقَّ بِذَلِكَ خِذْلَانَكَ وَ مَنْعَكَ وَ إِعْرَاضَكَ ، يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ .
My Lord, grant me Your most abundant provision when I grow old, and Your greatest strength when I grow weak. My Lord, do not test me by letting me grow lax in worshipping You. Do not test me by making me blind to Your path. Do not test me by turning me away from love for You and toward what You do not love. Do not test me by keeping company with someone who has turned away from You. Do not test me by separating me from those who gather around You. Make me one of those who turn to You when necessity strikes: let me charge ahead with Your help when need arises, ask only You when I am in need, and plead only with You when I am helpless. My Lord, do not test me by making me seek help from anyone but You when I am at a loss. Do not test me by making me humble myself before anyone but You when I am poor and in need. Do not test me by making me plead with anyone but You when fear overwhelms me. For if I should be as You have described, my Lord, I would deserve to be forsaken by You, to be denied Your help, and to have You turn away from me.

2. Our duties in Imam Sajjad’s (AS) supplication 📖

In the twentieth supplication of the Ṣaḥīfa Sajjādiyya, Imam Sajjād (AS) has laid out our duties from eternity to eternity. In these two passages, he acquaints us with our duties at every stage: before birth and at birth, after birth, in childhood, adolescence and youth, in middle age and old age, and into our final years. He shows us all our plans and responsibilities. In these two passages, Imam Sajjād (AS) sets out and teaches the principles and rules of our individual, social, national, transnational and even cosmic responsibilities. He teaches us the principles and courtesies of social relations, and how to enjoy life with dignity. In fact, Imam Sajjād (AS) builds a system for every sphere of our lives: the personal, political, international and otherworldly. He plans the provisions we need throughout our lives, from beginning to end, from the first days of life to its close and beyond death. The Imams lay the foundations for us and teach us. Imam Sajjād (AS) teaches us the secrets of a higher form of economics, so that we may attain transcendent power, and shows us how to reach it. He shows that power is needed in every sphere, from meeting individual needs to confronting the enemy. Imam Sajjād (AS) teaches us how to govern the world—after first governing the self—and reveals the secrets of mastering the whole world. We can rule the world only by governing the self.

In the final passages, Imam Sajjād (AS) teaches us the secrets of trusting in Allah, with consummate skill and mastery. In truth, he lays out the pillars and foundations of reliance on Allah. How can I strengthen and empower its very foundations within myself? With exquisite subtlety, Imam Sajjād (AS) reveals these secrets to us, showing that we must strengthen the faculties of reliance on Allah within us. Our state of reliance has faculties that must be strengthened. Imam Sajjād (AS) renews and rebuilds these secrets within our souls. He presents the secrets of reliance on Allah in the language of intimate prayer, through the most beautiful means in all existence: the secrets of entering the higher realms.

3. The Power of Reliance and the Strength That Cannot Be Defeated 💪

Imam Sajjād (AS) shows that reliance is an invincible force. Imam Riḍā (AS) says: “Whoever wishes to become the strongest person in all existence must put their trust in Allah.” They must put their trust in Allah. But how? In these few passages of intimate prayer, Imam Sajjād (AS) so beautifully instills this state of reliance in our souls. A person can reach a state in which they become the strongest person in the world, the most invincible in all existence.

Imam Sajjād (AS) warns us that we must move beyond self-sufficiency and seek sufficiency from another, until we seek it from God alone: this is the state of reliance on Allah. It means devoting all the abilities God has graciously given us to turning toward Him. We must adorn the strength God has ordained for us with His inexhaustible power, so that we may attain the highest power, now and forever. Imam Sajjād (AS) shows us that we must place our trust in God alone, and seek sufficiency from Him.

He explains to us the noble verse, “Is Allah not …”: “Is Allah not sufficient for His servant?” They would frighten you with others besides Him; and whoever Allah lets go astray will have no guide. Whoever turns away from God, cuts off their reliance on Him and puts their trust in others, God lets go astray and casts them away; no one else will be able to guide them.
What are we to do when the whole world rejects us? «علیه توکلت و هو رب العرش العظیم». When people turn away from you, say: «حسبی الله لا اله الا هو علیه توکلت و هو رب العرش العظیم». Then the matter is settled. All will be humbled before you, and you will be honoured above all.

They asked Imam ʿAlī (AS): “What is the limit of reliance? Where does it end?” He replied: “The fullest reliance is to fear no one but Him—to fear Him alone. That is all.” When poverty and pain come, when difficulties assail you, do not be afraid. Even if the world turns against you, do not be afraid. Even if everyone rushes at you, do not fear. Put your trust in God. Fear no one besides Him.

4. Wealth and Honour in Search of Peace 💎

Wealth and honour roam through this world. They wander and wander, searching for a home, a shelter, a refuge where they can find rest. In this world, wealth and honour are restless, searching for a place of peace—a home of their own.

5. Trust in God and Its Effect on Wealth and Honour 🌟

What a remarkable hadith: wealth and honour wander until they find a place of trust in God; there they settle and make their home. The nature of prosperity, wealth and honour is to seek a place to reside. Once they find the ground of trust in God, they sink their claws into it so deeply that they never leave. This is the triumph of wealth and honour: they make their home there. In a heart that places its trust in God, wealth and honour dwell forever. They do not depart from that heart. Wealth and honour are the companions of those who trust in God. Trust in God is a fortress of freedom from want and of honour. It has degrees and stations, and each person stands at a different degree of trust.

6. The Special Mark of Trust in God and the Station of Contentment 🌟

The special mark of trust in God at its highest degrees is this: outwardly, a person relies on God in all things, in every affair, and is content and pleased with whatever God ordains for them. In other words, they kiss what God has decreed. The summit of trust in God is to rely on Him in every matter and to be content with His decree. What an exalted station it is to smile at God’s decree! Poverty as a test, pain as a test, calamity upon calamity descending on a person—and still that person smiles at God’s decree, at what God has written. What a station! Trust in God, then, is closely bound to contentment. When a person attains the station of contentment and places their trust in God, they stand at the highest degrees of trust and attain the station of divine intimacy.

7. The Journey to the Higher Stations 🌱

This is the secret of the spiritual journey: the path of discipline, the ascent to the higher stations. Who is the one who can travel the path without any obstacle rising up before them? Let every difficulty be put to rest. Who is this person? It is the one who clings to God alone, stands firm before all creation, pays no heed to anyone, and fixes their gaze on God alone. Then God makes a way out for them in every affair and every circumstance. That is, no closed door will stand before them.
رَبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَلْ لِي مِن لَدُنكَ سُلْطَانًا نَّصِيرًا
They attain this exalted station. But the opposite leaves a person helpless. How strange! If any of My servants clings to another of My servants instead of to Me, God, I will let them cling to one of My servants. I, in turn, will cut off the heavenly means that stand before them. That is, the heavens had been ready to serve them, but I turned my gaze toward God’s creatures, and God decrees that the inhabitants of heaven and their means withdraw. A person must not even look to the means of heaven and earth; they must look to God alone, and that is all.

8. Love of God and Freedom from Want in Imam Hasan’s (AS) Supplication 💖

No servant of Mine has made their own desire conform to My desire, or made My love their only love, without My placing wealth and freedom from want in their heart. No servant of Mine has preferred their own will to Mine without My placing freedom from want in their heart. This is the very supplication of Imam Hasan (AS). What wealth could surpass this immense wealth? The Imam prays in intimate communion: “O God, place my wealth and freedom from want within me; establish them in my being. Let me benefit from my hearing and sight, and make my hearing and sight those who inherit from me.” What a subtle, beautiful supplication! That a person’s sight and hearing should be their heirs means that, for as long as they live, they do not lose their insight or their capacity to hear. There is another subtle point: let their sight and hearing benefit from them. May a person attain that exalted station where they benefit from their senses, and their senses in turn benefit from them. “Help me overcome the one who has wronged me; manifest Your power within me, and gladden my eyes with it.”
If a person falls in love with themselves—if anyone prefers their own desire to My desire—I will cut off their hope. In other words, whoever falls in love with themselves, whoever becomes self-absorbed, comes to hate themselves, becomes depressed and ill, is miserable, and finds no joy in their heart.

9. The Foundational Principle of Freedom from Need and Honor in Trusting in God 🌿

Indeed, Imam Sajjad (AS) shows us the foundational principle of freedom from need, honor, nobility, and love: all of these lie in trusting in God. We should not even look to people or worldly means. God bestows His grace Himself; He is sufficient in Himself and also sets His means to work in our service. A person should be able, when it seems every door is shut, to smile at God’s grace. Could there be a closed door before God for someone who hopes in Him? Hope is greater than the one in whom you place your hope. Moses son of Amram set out to bring fire to his family. In the cold, he went looking for warmth, for a fire to take back and warm them. Where did he end up? He reached the place where God spoke to him and revealed to him that he had set out to find fire and warmth, but in the end he found true warmth.
All a person needs to do is set their heart right, purify it, and make it sound. Then they can set out wherever they may be headed—even if they find themselves in the middle of a desert, in a barren valley—and God will come to their aid. God will speak to them. The Queen of Sheba left her valley and came to Solomon, and became Muslim.
So what should we do? Whoever wishes to be the strongest of all people should trust in God: the path is reliance on Allah. And whoever wishes to become the noblest person in existence, the most beloved person in existence—what should they do? Be mindful of God.
Whoever wishes to be the most self-sufficient, the richest person in existence—what should they do? Trust in what is in Allah’s hands, and they will become the richest person in existence through what is in His hands. Strength, honor, and freedom from need, then, lie in reliance on Allah. They lie in mindfulness of God. They lie in trust in God. These three are one reality with three faces: true honor lies in mindfulness of God, and true freedom from need in trust in Him.

10. Trust in God and the Highest Rank ✨

I want to become the most God-conscious person in existence. What should I do? Trust in God. That is, if I want to attain the rank of mindfulness of God, the rank of trust in Him, it is enough to rely on Allah. Then I will possess every distinction in existence. This trust is a sealed cup, stamped shut; it holds mysteries and is among God’s hidden treasures. I do not know what tawakkul is, because I have not attained its rank. If I do, I will drink from God’s sealed cup, and then I will understand the state of trust.
Trust is a sealed cup, stamped with Allah’s seal, marked with God’s own sign. That is, no one knows of it. If someone comes to know it, they cannot tell others about it. And even if they do, no one will understand. One must simply drink from that cup and savor its state.

11. God’s Sealed Cup and the Key to Faith in Trusting in God 🔑

No one can partake of it in any way. No one can open that sealed cup of God except those who have attained the station of trust in God. As Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says: “Put your trust in Allah alone. Let those who truly believe put their trust in Allah alone.” Allah has made trust the key to faith, and faith the lock of trust. When someone reaches the station of trust, the gates of faith open before them, for trust is the key. What is faith? We must enter the city of faith and go to the sanctuary of faith. Through trust, the city of faith opens to us; faith is the lock of trust, and faith also makes us eternal residents of trust in Allah. A person comes under God’s protection. But from a particular perspective, Imam Sadiq (AS) describes the reality of trust as selflessness. And what is the reality of selflessness? It is to fulfil the due of every thing. It is to place everything where it truly belongs.
One who trusts in God, in the practice of that trust, has only two options; there are only two kinds of selflessness. If they choose the effect—if they choose the world, forget God and turn their attention to God’s servants—then that effect, their attention to God’s creation, takes God’s place, and they sink into darkness. But whoever chooses the One who brings effects into being, the One who created them all—Allah, Glorified and Exalted—is with God. So when you wish to be among those who trust in God, not among those who cling to secondary causes, say: “I want to trust in God, not cling to secondary causes. I want to be with God alone, and with no one else—not with the world or its people. What must I do?” Then pronounce five takbirs over your soul. That is, perform the funeral prayer for yourself; pray the funeral prayer of your soul’s departure, with five takbirs. Bury it. “I want to hold a funeral for my soul with five takbirs.” So I must bid farewell to all my empty desires, lest worldly ambitions overcome me. Even ambitions for the hereafter must give way; only aspirations directed towards the Lord should remain—aspirations in which God alone is what I desire. I must bury them all, cover them with earth, as one buries the dead. In the same way, I must hold a funeral for my soul, bidding farewell to my empty desires.

12. The lowest degree of trust in God 🌟

We have spoken of the highest degree of trust. At its highest, it means fearing God alone and fearing nothing besides Him. This is complete fearlessness. I fear what tomorrow may bring; I fear becoming poor. I am not afraid to give generously. I fear everything, even as I say that I fear nothing but God. That is a lofty station. Only when I have taken my leave of this world can I claim that I fear no one but Him. But as for the lowest degree of trust, I look at myself now and see that I have not yet even begun to trust. Its lowest degree is not to direct your striving and effort towards what has been allotted to you. When you see your provision coming your way, why fly towards it? It will come to you of its own accord. So why expend all your strength on it? It will come by itself. Turn your attention to God alone. Second, do not keep peering out for what has been apportioned to you, repeatedly looking to see when it will arrive. God is the One who apportions your share of provision. So why keep looking ahead? It will come. Turn your attention and your heart solely to the remembrance of God. What has been apportioned to you will arrive. Third, never become enamoured of what you do not have—that is, of love for the world and its wares. Do not yearn for what you lack. Do not wish for it. Remarkable! Each of these three can loosen and break a person’s trust, and undo their covenant, oath and faith. A person breaks their covenant without even knowing it. In these three ways, a person can break their covenant and faith without realizing it.