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Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication / Session 3 In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. In talking about the Sh’abaniya Supplication, we are still talking about the first phrase. There is a very lofty concept in the first phrase, which should be discussed separately. This concept is “Tadarru” (beseeching). The Commander of the Faithful, Ali (‘a), explicitly calls to the God of the universe, “I am standing between Your hands. I am poor before You and beseeching You.” I am standing in front of You like one who is very small and poor in front of one who is completely rich and great, “…and beseeching You.” Beseeching is a term, which has been used seven times in the Holy Qur’an with the same meaning. Of course, it’s more than seven times. But, only in seven cases has it been used with exactly the same meaning of a person praying to God pleadingly. The fundamental meaning of beseeching is not crying. Crying is one of its results. It is the height of pleading, entreating, and being humble in front of the Almighty God. If we want to say the meaning, a person who beseeches is one who pleads a lot. A person who beseeches is one who doesn’t have any pride or assets. He’s extremely humble. It has been said in the Holy Qur’an, “Already We have seized them with punishment, but they neither humbled themselves to their Lord, nor did they beseech Him.” [Qur’an 23:76] After feeling distress and destitution, they didn’t beseech God! In this supplication, it is as if by saying, “I am poor before You and beseeching You,” the Imam is answering this verse from the Chapter “The Believers.” The Qur’an says, “We have seized them with punishment, but they neither humbled themselves to their Lord...” Imam Ali replies here, “I am poor before You.” And the Qur’an says, “…nor did they beseech Him.” Imam Ali says in this supplication, “…and beseeching You.” Beseeching has been mentioned in the Qur’an in different situations. Beseeching is a kind of pleading, which isn’t hidden anymore and is apparent. This broken heart shows itself, “Pray to your Lord beseechingly and in secret.” [Qur’an 7:55] This means to call God beseechingly, meaning openly, or hidden within yourself. There are other verses, which refer to this too. The verse of the Chapter “The Cattle” is suitable for these days. “Why did they not entreat when Our punishment overtook them! But their hearts had hardened, and Satan had made to seem decorous to them what they had been doing.” [Qur’an 6:43] Why didn’t they beseech Us when our punishment overtook them? The Almighty God tells what He expects explicitly. When a divine tribulation comes, the servants should beseech Him. God is waiting to bring His servants under His shelter. In this verse, God asks why they didn’t beseech Him. The reason they didn’t beseech Him was that their hearts had become so hardened that they didn’t even go to God in tribulations, “Satan had made to seem decorous to them what they had been doing.” In the verse before this verse, God the Almighty says that He has sent this scourge for people to beseech Him, “We have certainly sent (apostles) to nations before you, then We seized them with stress and distress so that they might entreat (Us).” [Qur’an 6:42] For us common people, this kind of beseeching God is elicited in tribulations. For those who don’t beseech God, even in tribulations, their hearts have truly become hardened as the Qur’an says. But, for people with understanding and the Friends of God, beseeching God is the result of their deep understanding, extreme interest and intense ardor for the high position of being close to God. We should resolve this riddle in our minds once and forever, that is this extent of crying needed when talking to God that the Commander of the Faithful moaned to God like this? What did he really want? What punishment did he fear?! We should accept that there is a spiritual maturity, which many don’t achieve at all. This spiritual maturity is more than fearing punishment, more than the intensity of suffering that a person will tolerate in Hell, and more than the fear of a sinful person or a criminal of retribution. Some good people feel such a severe need for being close to God that if they see they are far from this intense need, even a bit, they cry to God beseechingly. Was the Commander of the Faithful a weak person for someone to see his crying, broken heart? All his existence was solidity. If the entire universe had turned upside down, he would have stood firmly and wouldn’t have even flinched! He had nothing to be afraid of or to lose. So, why did he moan to God like this? He had reached a spiritual maturity. He felt a severe need for those high spiritual positions. When he felt a bit far from that desirable point, and that peak became more novel and substantial for him every moment, he would cry pleadingly.

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Sheikh Mansour Leghaei introduces us to this beautiful du\\\'a in a short video presentation. What are we actually beseeching The Almighty when reciting this du\\\'a? Who are we beseeching? Is the du\\\'a just one long recitation or does it contain several sections, each with its own purpose and meaning? Watch and find out..

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Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication Session 1 In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. It is very good before using, reading, thinking or whispering a supplication to God, to become familiar with the supplications’ passage in detail, become aware of its meaning and refer to the expositions on it. In these short opportunities, I will try to briefly discuss some topics to help us become familiar with this supplication. We hope the Almighty God will give us success to get the most use from this supplication. The “Sha’baniya Supplication” starts with sending salutations on the Holy Prophet (s) and his Pure Household (‘a). According to many recommendations, which everyone has heard, and as has been mentioned in the traditions very much too, each prayer should start with salutations. This prayer has started with salutations too, like many other prayers, which have reached us. In the prayers that do not start with salutations, naturally we should send these salutations ourselves. There are many reasons for this. I will only say one sentence about this and pass on it. It is as if when a person doesn’t have the Household of the Prophet’s guardianship, their guardianship is not in his heart, and he doesn’t remember these personages with honor, the Almighty God doesn’t hear him, won’t answer his prayer and doesn’t take this person into account. For whoever enters the Judgment Day, his/her ID is following God’s Guardians. In this case too, whoever stands in God’s presence should show his/her ID. This salutation is our identity card. If a person shows this identity card with love and devotion, says, “God, see I’m devoted to the Prophet and his Household,” hasn’t just said the salutations negligently, and has repeated this salutation with fondness, the way will open for him to pray. In the first phrase, the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (‘a), uses three surprising words. This prayer starts without any introduction. “Hear my prayer when I call You. Hear my voice when I call You. Pay attention to me when I whisper to You.” One of the wonders of this prayer is that it starts without any introduction. This prayer is the words of a person who can’t tolerate anymore! It’s as if he has come a far distance and only wants to moan. He knows that God is waiting to hear his words, but he wants to shout at times, whisper at times and pray at times. “Hear my voice when I call you.” “Nida” means calling with a loud voice. “Pay attention to me when I whisper to You.” “Najwa” means talking in a very low voice. And “Du’a” is used for any kind of calling. Three consecutive words. It is as if the Commander of the Faithful wants to cry out, “God, I want to talk to You!” He’s showing his insistence to whisper to God, cry out to Him and supplicate Him. He’s not saying others things. He wants, calls and invites God. The next sentence shows this. “I have escaped to You and am standing between Your hands.” “I have escaped to You” means I have escaped and come to You. It gives the same feeling that those three words had. “Hear my prayer. Hear my voice. Pay attention to me when I whisper to You.” It’s as if a person has come running. “I am now standing between Your hands.” “Between Your hands” is a more beautiful and pleasing concept than standing in front of God. It’s as if a little one has taken refuge with a great one and is in his power. This is much more beautiful. Those who are the smaller one before a greater one, and have felt the support of a kind, greater one, can understand this. “I am poor before You and I beseech You.” The Commander of the Faithful (‘a) is only beseeching in this supplication. He is expressing this with different phrases. He is beseeching in all of his words. These words are not meaningless words for the Commander of the Faithful. These words arise from the depth of his feelings. He wants to cry intensely with these words. We study, review and even think about these words. But, these words have become internalized for the Commander of the Faithful. The Imam is not reading these words from a prayer book. These words are the interpretation of the Imam’s moans. =================================== Follow us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/ =================================== Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/c/PanahianEnglish =================================== See our pages in various languages: https://panahian.net/ ===================================

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Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication / Session 2 In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. In the beginning of the “Sha’baniya Supplication,” many reasons for not supplicating God have been mentioned. These reasons show that when a person wants to say something to God, there is no need to say anything. God hears a person’s words even before he says anything; God knows his words. The Almighty God knows a person’s needs, so how else can one talk to God? Perhaps many people don’t read supplications because they think God knows everything that is in their hearts and all their needs. The Commander of the Faithful (‘a) mentions the reasons for not praying. After the passionate insistence that can be seen at the beginning of the supplication, after that intense emotion, beseeching and escaping from others, life and the world towards God, and after the enthusiasm that he shows for talking to God, he immediately says some things, which seem to be reasons for not praying. The Imam (‘a) says, “I have hope for the reward that is with You. You know what is inside me. You are aware of my needs and my inner being. My return to the Hereafter and my eternal home are not hidden from you.” You are not unaware of my past or my future and what I want to tell You. “Whatever I want to say or request, and also what I have hope for my outcome, are not hidden from You.” All of these can be a reason for not praying. “God You know my situation!” If the Almighty God knows these, why does he insist on talking to God? Actually, I want to say that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (‘a), wants to announce the severity of his insistence here. Although God knows, he is beseeching Him and asking Him, “Hear my prayer. Hear my voice. Pay attention to me when I talk to You.” When the Commander of the Faithful says these words, his insistence on praying becomes clear. “I insist and I know that You know all about me.” We regular people may not really have this deep understanding like Imam Ali (‘a) that God is totally aware about us. But, the Commander of the Faithful has a deep understanding and belief that God is aware about a person. So why does he insist for God to hear him when he knows that God hears? This shows a certain level of desire and asking, when a person puts these kinds of rational words aside. As a poem says, “Say goodbye to wisdom.” If a person wants to reason exactly, he may say, “God, I’m sitting here and You know all my requests.” But, when this intense emotion, enthusiasm and pleading reaches a peak, a person cannot be patient and quiet anymore. We should read the “Sha’baniya Supplication” with this intention that we have come to see how the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) talks to God. This supplication is amazing. We should read it in a way that we are looking at the face and insistence of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a). I remember a tradition in which the Imam said some things to his companion. His companion said, “I saw that the Commander of the Faithful was leaving the city at dawn. I asked, ‘Where are you going?’ He replied, ‘I’m going after my own wishes!’ The Imam was in a different mood when he said this. I asked, ‘What are your wishes and needs?’ The Imam replied, ‘The one who should know, knows. I don’t need to tell these to anyone else.’” Here, the Imam is saying the same sentences to his friend too. And, he left in that different mood. He would wail and cry very much (when praying). God, if we aren’t able to reach You, we ask to see at least the Commander of the Faithful’s supplications one time, so that we can understand what is going on in the world, how Your friends felt and look at them from afar. If we are never able to imagine this feeling clearly and aren’t able to experience this in ourselves, let us see it in the unique face of the Commander of the Faithful. See in the first phrase of this supplication how Imam Ali states his beliefs about God, “God, whatever happens to me till the end of my life is in Your hands and Your knowledge. What comes to me or is taken away, benefits or loss, are in Your hands and not the hands of anyone else.” He’s showing his extreme monotheism. Along with this, Imam Ali (‘a) is showing a great enthusiasm, and that enthusiasm doesn’t allow him to be silent. Although God sees him, his severe enthusiasm compels him to talk to his God. As I explained about the previous phrase, this severe enthusiasm causes him to say, “Hear my prayer. Hear my voice.” There is no need for him to say these. God hears.

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Clip Pay attention to Me Ali Reza Panahian Salam my dear. How are you? “May I come up?” Come dear. Do you want to sit here while I’m talking? Shall I talk while you’re sitting here? “Read.” *** During the days and nights of the holy month of Ramadan, we should reap the most benefit. How can we receive light from this month? How can we benefit from God’s Grace in this holy month of Ramadan? By paying attention! This is the main factor. The most important capacity we have in our soul and which we don’t usually benefit from is paying attention. Paying attention is not usually considered to be something that valuable. No matter how much you stand behind a store window and say, “I have truly paid attention to this car behind the window,” this is not something valuable in this world. People say, “You shouldn’t have paid attention to it.” But it is exactly the opposite when standing before God. Whoever has gained something, he has gained it by paying attention to God wholeheartedly and by beseeching Him. In the beginning, paying attention happens in one’s mind. “I have turned my face to Him Who has created the heavens and the earth…” [Qur’an 6:79] A person should pay attention to God in his thoughts. Gradually, when this paying attention becomes deeper, it turns into paying attention with one’s heart. A person faces Him with his heart. “I have turned my face to Him…” “Salam.” Salam my dear. How are you? “May I come up?” Come dear. Come. It’s fine. Come up. Do you want to sit here while I’m talking? Shall I talk while you’re sitting here? Sit here; I’ll talk. You sit, I sit, and we’ll talk. It’s not a problem if I talk? “No. Read.” Read? She says read. Do you want to go down or are you comfortable sitting here? Do you want to go down? She says she won’t come. Let her be. “Candy…” No, no, leave her. “I’ll take her. She’ll be distracting.” No, will you be distracted? “No.” [Audience,] “Haj Aqa, we shouldn’t pay attention [as you were explaining].” Don’t pay attention. She got the candy from you but didn’t come. Of course I am happy to be in the presence of this luminous child. She’s so pure. See. This dear child reminded me of Mr. Baha’udini. His son-in-law related, “Once, I came home, and I saw the children were very noisy. But he was sitting and thinking deeply. I said, ‘Children, be quiet!’ I quieted them. Then, Mr. Baha’udini noticed me. He said, ‘What do you want with the children?!’ I said, ‘I thought they shouldn’t be noisy and bother you.’ He replied, ‘What do they have to do with me?’ I realized that children do not distract Mr. Baha’udini at all.” This ability to pay attention is very valuable. Paying attention means that my face, my soul and my heart are turned toward You God. I’m paying attention to You now. “I have turned my face to Him Who has created the heavens and the earth…” Paying attention to whom? To the One Who has created the heavens and the earth! God doesn’t want anything from His servant. He says, “Just pay attention to Me.” God gives everything to His servant. He’s not stingy at all. God has created us so that He may give to us. God doesn’t want anything. God doesn’t like negligence. He says, “Why aren’t you paying attention to Me?” When a person pays attention, that’s it. Don’t leave your soul unattended to pay attention and become busy with everything it wants. Say, “Wait, I should have a program for myself now.” In order to strengthen your attentiveness, you should pay attention to your sorrows, my dears. Nothing will drag a person’s attention to itself like sorrows. Find beautiful spiritual sorrows and pay attention to them. This is what supplications do. This doesn’t mean we should be sad. It means we should pay attention. If crying and sorrows help, even better. Now what if sorrows distract us from God? That’s a nasty sorrow. Having a sorrow that does not cause a person to pay attention to God and which distances him from God is very bad. This doesn’t mean having sorrows. It means paying attention, and we should gain this ability. O God, help us to leave this holy Month as people who are attentive. There were times when we paid attention to other things besides You. Especially if we have enjoyed them too - very bad! “I ask for Your forgiveness for every pleasure other than remembering You.” [Imam Sajjad (as), Al-Dhakirin Supplication] God doesn’t want anything from His servant. He says, “Just pay attention to Me.” God gives everything to His servant. He’s not stingy at all. God doesn’t want anything. God doesn’t like negligence. During the days and nights of the holy month of Ramadan, it is by being attentive that we benefit. How good it is to recite the Qur’an while being attentive. How good it is to pray while being attentive. Do your work while being attentive. Do your work, but your heart should be with God. ***

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Session 4 / Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The feeling of wanting to supplicate God is a feeling that is caused by spiritual maturity. As a result of spiritual maturity, a person feels dependent on God, like the attachment a child has to his parents. When you separate a child from his mother, he doesn’t calm down no matter what logic you use. He can’t tolerate even a moment of being separated whatever your reasoning. One who reaches spiritual maturity gains this feeling in connection with the Lord of the universe. The difference is that a child doesn’t have a sense of guilt, humility, humbleness, beseeching, and many other feelings towards his parents that a servant has towards his master. But, this kind of feeling of needing to be close to one’s parents, is created in a person who has reached spiritual maturity. Of course, his feeling of needing to be close to the Lord of the universe is much more intense than that of a child. He sees some obstacles between God and himself. He feels sad because of these obstacles. These obstacles may be natural obstacles, like the length of one’s lifespan before meeting God. He sees these natural obstacles as being a barrier for getting close to God and meeting Him, so he cries. Or these obstacles may be from himself, and they are usually of this type. Basically, one of the good feelings that a servant who has attained spiritual growth feels towards his master is that he always feels guilty before his master. This feeling of guilt is a true feeling and not a compliment. This will be the cause of his broken heart and sorrow, and he will be able to supplicate God. If the Almighty God wants to be gracious to a person, He puts him on the path of the relationship between a servant and his master. Naturally, there is only crying on this path. Perhaps many who are not familiar with these ideas will be surprised at these words. It’s like a person who wants to use logic to compel a child to be patient and silent for a few minutes while being apart from his mother. But the child doesn’t accept this at all. It’s as if no one understands the child, and the child doesn’t understand others. Rumi says beautifully in a poem, “When He wants to help us, He pulls our interest towards moaning.” Next, the poem describes a heart, which moans. “Auspicious is the heart, which burns for Him (from love). Good for the eyes, which weep for Him. A person who sees the end is a blessed servant. The end of each cry is a laugh. Wherever there are flowing tears, there’ll be mercy. Wherever there is running water, there’ll be greenery.” The poem continues describing crying. These are not descriptions, which will create that feeling in us. It’s like trying to describe a perfume or the smell of a flower. Or, it is like when we try to explain colors for a person who cannot see. There aren’t any words for describing colors. There are no words for describing the smell of a flower, or the smell of a perfume or cologne. Although people experience it, they cannot describe it. This state of wanting to supplicate God is created due to a spiritual growth. A person’s spiritual growth causes him to feel a need. This is in the same way that when people reach the age of maturity they feel a need for a companion, the same way that parents feel a need for children, and the same way that people feel a need for being in a community and are sad when they are alone. When a person grows spiritually, he wants this relationship with God too. All these supplications can be understood in such an atmosphere. If a person is not in such an atmosphere, he cannot understand this supplication at all. It’s very good if we recite this supplication with this feeling, this pleading and praying that, “God, open this door for me.” Or, we should read this supplication with the feeling that we are very far from the feeling that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (‘a), felt. Praising this beautiful relationship and regretting that we don’t have it can bring a person closer to Him. Let’s talk about one of the phrases. In accordance with the rituals for supplication, the Imam (‘a) says, “What comes to me or is taken away, benefits or loss, are in Your hands and not the hands of anyone else.” One of the rituals for supplication is that a person announce his knowledge about God, especially knowledge about the oneness of the God of the universe. Seeing only God to be effective in the world, in our being and in our lives and remembering these monotheistic teachings in our praying to God and our supplications is beautiful. A tradition says, “When someone says, ‘There is no strength or power except from the High and Great God,’ the Almighty God immediately says, ‘My angels! See My servant confessed that no one has power except Me. Now, resolve any problems that he has.’”