Hawzah News Agency - Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), in Sahifah Sajjadiyyah, says:

«اللَّهُمَّ ... اجْعَلْ هَمَسَاتِ قُلُوبِنَا، وَ حَرَكَاتِ أَعْضَائِنَا وَ لَمَحَاتِ أَعْيُنِنَا، وَ لَهَجَاتِ أَلْسِنَتِنَا فِي مُوجِبَاتِ ثَوَابِكَ.»

O Lord! Place the secrets of our hearts, the movements of our limbs, the glances of our eyes, and the words of our tongues in things that bring about Your reward. 1

Explanation:

Imam Zain al-Abidin (peace be upon him) essentially makes this request to Almighty Allah:

O Allah! Make everything that passes through my heart for You alone. Cause me to think only of You and for You. Direct the desires and passions of my heart towards what pleases You.

O Allah! Make all my limbs and organs walk in Your path and for Your sake.

O Allah! Make even the blinking of my eyes for You, so that my gaze falls only on what You desire.

O Allah! Make everything that flows from my tongue for You, so that I speak only for Your pleasure."

In truth, this noble Imam wants his entire being to be focused on the Beloved (Allah). He wishes to think only of Him, act only for Him, look only at Him, and speak only for Him. This is because he sees everything in the existence of his Beloved and Lord. Therefore, he asks the Beloved Himself to grant him this great blessing, which is the position of sincerity (Ikhlas).

How to Reach This position?

It must be acknowledged that reaching this position is difficult but achievable.

No goal can be reached without practice and repetition. To attain this divine objective, one must desire it and strive for it.

The most important path is “Muhasabah”2, through which one can gradually fill his existence with divine light. Additionally, becoming familiar with the words of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) provides motivation for this journey, for it is impossible for someone to sit with light and not become illuminated.

The Sign of This position

Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) teaches us a method and a sign in this regard, through which we can evaluate ourselves on the path of “Muhasabah”.

He says, "A sincere act is one for which you do not seek praise from anyone except Allah."3

He also says in another narration: "No servant truly attains sincerity unless they dislike people praising them for the deeds they have done for Allah."4

Therefore, wherever there is still attention in our hearts and minds toward the creatures rather than the Creator, it means we must strive harder to gradually direct our entire being only toward the True Beloved. If this is achieved, the praise, even the criticism of others will no longer affect us, for in this position, we see nothing but the Beloved and hear no voice but His.

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1. Sahifah Sajjadiyyah, Supplication no. 9.

2. Muhasabah (Self-Evaluation): An action of the heart, is to evaluate one’s actions and behaviour of the nafs (inner self); and then rectifying the mistakes, and continuing the good deeds

3. usul al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 16.

4. Tafsir Majma' al-Bayan, under the verse no. 139 of Sura Baqarah.

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