Racing helps one to feel God’s Kindness.
The similarity between sport champions and the good people in the world

How true is all this about COVID-19?

The educational process of our religion takes us from looking superficially at things to looking deeply. Our religion can turn a religious person into a person who looks at the overall picture. Actually, those who want to enslave human beings prefer that people not look at the overall picture.
Now with Corona, people who are more sensitive are investigating to see who is benefiting from Corona. Maybe some people have designed this situation!? Many people may not have reached a clear answer, but this sensitivity is beneficial. Maybe they are keeping us busy with these protocols, and maybe there should be other protocols.
This sensitivity and questioning is beneficial in itself. It shows we can look from above, and we should do this. God forbid, maybe some people want to remove great numbers of people so that the aggressive powers can live more comfortably! There were widespread social movements against oppression throughout the world before it. These deserve questioning. People who look from above see the oppressors who are designing other people’s lives. They sometimes understand their plans and say things that are thought-provoking.
There was a group talking, and it was said that some people want to eliminate great numbers of people from the world. Then someone in the group asked, "If such people are the leaders of the US, the Zionist regime, or the domineering powers for example, the American people are being killed too." I was very surprised by this question. In fact, those who run the world don’t care whether it’s American, Iranian, or other people. In general, they want to reduce the number of people.
This theory that Corona is a conspiracy against humanity designed by global powers, for example for the benefit of insurance companies or anything else, I do not want to support this theory. But it isn’t good to ignore this theory. People paying too much attention to the details of the virus and abandoning the broader view is harmful for human life. Our investigations may not give quick results. Was the Corona virus man-made or not? Who benefits from it? Is it a biological war against humanity to remove great numbers without a commotion or using artillery? We may not come to an exact answer, but this discussion is beneficial. It pushes people to look from above.
I said this as an example, although it is our problem today too. We should look at every issue in this way. Especially when we want to plan for society. This sensitivity and this question are beneficial in themselves. It shows we can look from above, and we should do this.

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The link for the book "How to Pray a Good Prayer," written by Ali Reza Panahian:
https://www.amazon.com/Alireza-Panahi...​
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Everyone who claims to be a Hizbullahi and Revolutionary should watch this clip where Agha Panahian criticizes one of the commonly found deficiencies that need to be addressed.

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The link for the book "How to Pray a Good Prayer," written by Ali Reza Panahian:
http://amazon.com/author/panahian​
==============================

Ali Reza Panahian’s speech broadcast the 15th of Sha'ban, the anniversary of the birth of Imam Mahdi (a.j.), at the request of the “Labaik Ya Zahra (sa)” group, an organization based in the UK

Topic: Humanity’s Destiny
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The link for the book "How to Pray a Good Prayer," written by Ali Reza Panahian:
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==============================

Be your own mom!

All of us like to be pure. Therefore, all of us hide our defects. Be your own mom. A mom doesn’t try to not see the dirty part of her child’s clothes. She cleans them nicely and there is no need for perfume either. The children are fragrant themselves. Be your own mom.
One big nuisance is that the bad points hide in the corners of a person’s heart! Why? Because a person dislikes vices! He or she tries to not see them! Instead of not having them, he tries to not see them.
“No sir, we try to clean them.” Since it’s hard to clean them, and a person is in a hurry, he says, “Let me hide them for now.” Then, they become hidden completely. A human being is such that since he likes purity, he hides his bad points. He hides them to the extent that he denies them. He denies them so much that he sees himself as being pure.
We have a behaviour, which is a defence behaviour. People defend themselves. For example, the floor is wet and a glass has dropped too. You haven’t spilled it. You’re only sitting next to it. I say, “Why did you spill the water?” “I didn’t!” If he has really spilled it, he will say, “Is this the place to put a glass?!” People defend themselves. If they haven’t done that action, they want to attack you. “Why did you spill the water?” “I didn’t. Be careful of what you’re saying!” He wants to attack. If he has done it, he’ll justify himself, a defence behaviour. “No, you know…” A defensive behaviour is the illness, which hides a person’s flaws from himself. If a person hides his flaws, he is wretched!
Who wants to find his or her hidden flaws? Who? Whoever wants to do so, there is a machine, which turns trash into energy. A laser is used in that machine. Write your flaws on a paper and put it in front of yourself. Tell yourself with your laser look, “You’re this. Aren’t you ashamed? You’re this.” It’ll be fixed. It’ll turn into energy.
I want to shout and say, “It will turn into forty years of worshiping!” A tradition says, “Blaming yourself is superior to you worshiping for forty years.” You tell yourself, “Woe to me! I should be ashamed!” What will this become? This will be forty years of worshiping!
God says, “Your flaws are like trash, which are inside you. Don’t hide them. Throw them out by asking for My Forgiveness. Don’t throw them just anywhere. Throw them where I can destroy them. Throw them in front of Me.” “Then, God’s presence will become dirty!”
God says, “I’ll purify them. I am Pure. I can bury them. Come. Don’t hide them in the closet. Otherwise, you’ll stink. Clean yourself with a scraper and bring it. Bring it and give it to Me. I’ll destroy it.”
The bad points hide in the corners of a person’s heart! Why? Because a person dislikes vices! He or she tries to not see them! Instead of not having them, he tries to not see them. Be your own mom. A mom doesn’t try to not see the dirty part of her child’s clothes. She cleans them nicely and there is no need for perfume either. The children are fragrant themselves. Be your own mom.
[From the series of speeches under the topic of “When people hide themselves.”]

God is waiting for our reactions.

This immense slaughter requires an immense reaction.


The Almighty God has made some things clear for us. When they recite the Call to Prayer, we should pray. When we go on Hajj, we must become Muhrim. God has made it obligatory for us to show certain reactions in places. But there are also certain reactions we should show in other places that aren’t obligatory. God lets us understand these ourselves.
Compare Ali Asghar’s martyrdom and Lady Rubab’s action with Hajar’s action and Ismail’s few minutes of thirst. What was Lady Hajar’s path? She ran between Safa and Marwa seven times. What was Lady Rubab’s path? From Karbala to Kufa and then the Levant. How did they respond to Hazrat Ali Asghar’s thirst? But there, after a couple of minutes a clear water bubbled up from under Ismail’s feet. Everyone should show a reaction to this. We should walk this path seven times. If you ask, “Why should we walk this path seven times?” they will reply, “He was one of God’s friends whose mother ran seven times (seeking water). You should do this too.”
God has forced us to show a reaction to this event because a child was thirsty for a few moments and they had migrated because of God. God shows what’s important here and leaves the rest. He says, “Now, let’s see what you do.”
This immense slaughter and sacrifice requires an immense reaction. The believers feel a commotion within themselves. They do something. They put black flags up. They really change their lives during these ten days. They go to ceremonies or hold ceremonies themselves. They find a poem and recite it for a group. They beat their chests and do other customs too. They change their lifestyle. This is not their job. You see that the believers suddenly start showing reactions. This is due to their pure inner being. They are unable to not show a reaction. God moves the hearts. He says, “It’s true I didn’t shout or force you to do some obligatory deeds, but you should do something.”
If we show a suitable, ideal, satisfactory reaction to Aba Abdillah al-Husayn’s (as) martyrdom, humankind will be rescued from all its sorrows. This immense slaughter requires an immense reaction.


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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.

If we don’t consider the reappearance to be close…

If all of us were hoping that Imam Mahdi (‘a.j.) will come next week, did you know that the Imam would have really come? “If you make people hopeful that the Imam will come next week, but the Imam doesn’t come, won’t people become irreligious?”
Is the reappearance truly close? Should we consider the reappearance to be close? I have to tell a story first, and then answer this question.
Prophet Noah (‘a) was a prophet for 950 years. The nation had been promised, “One day you will be rescued.” They were waiting for relief. They asked God for it. God replied, “Tell your friends, ‘Seven years from now the relief will come. Be ready.’” They became so happy and in a good mood! “Seven years from now the unbelievers will be destroyed and we will finally be rescued!”
These seven years finished. They passed these seven years with enthusiasm. Relief? God, the sky is silent. Relief! God said, “Noah, it has been postponed for seven more years.” Noah told his companions, “God changed His decision; it’s ‘Bida’.’” They looked at each other, “It’s only seven years. We waited for 950 years. We’ll wait a total of 14 years.”
After the second seven years, some people’s belief was shaking. “God this time won’t be like the previous time! Please don’t let us lose our reputation.” After seven years, “Noah, seven more years.” “How can I tell this to them?!” “Say it just like this! Say, ‘Seven more years.’” Noah told people, “Seven more years.” Some lost their belief and said, “It’s a hoax.” “God, how many were we from the beginning, and now some have left?! Is this the right way?! Whatever You say. But, this third seven years...”
After the third seven years God said, “Noah, seven more years.” Half of them left. The fourth seven years. “God, I don’t know how to talk to You. What should I say?” The fifth seven years. Seven more years. Very few remained. They said, “You’re making fun of us. If you hadn’t promised, we were waiting just like this!”
The sixth seven years. “God no one is left.” “Seven more years.” Noah announced this. I don’t know how many were left. But, those who were left had passed through the filters. They said, “Fine.” No one left anymore. Relief came.
Now, I have told my story. What was the question? “If you make people hopeful and the Imam doesn’t come, they’ll become irreligious.” Fine! We didn’t promise. We increased hope and it didn’t come. Even if we had promised from God and it didn’t come, their belief shouldn’t have shook. This is called “Bida’.”
“Bida’” is in our principles of faith, and we don’t talk about it very much. Imam Sadiq (‘a) said, “If you knew how valuable it is to believe in ‘Bida’,’ you would have talked about it every day.” God changes His decisions to test His servants.
We have another tradition too. God told a nation, “In 20 months, relief will come for you.” That nation was in captivity with their prophet. After that period, a message came that it had been postponed. That prophet informed his nation. With no exception, all of them said, “It’s fine! Whatever God says.” Relief came two days later. “God, You said longer. It was only 20 months. What happened?!” “I saw that their belief didn’t decrease. I respected their good thoughts and trust and brought relief right away.”
Why have they told us these stories?! Looks like they care about our spiritual mood. Right? They care about how we feel and about our belief. Do you know why the martyrs of Karbala were valuable? Do you know what Imam Husayn (‘a) did to them on the night of Ashura?
The Imam (‘a) said, “Don’t have hope that you can rescue me. I will make you hopeless about life; whoever stays here, will be martyred. I will be martyred too.” He didn’t leave even a little hope in their hearts for relief, even a little hope for divine help, even in appearances. Their hearts didn’t tremble even a little.
Despair really makes people despondent. Whoever stayed hopeful, good for them! If someone comes and firmly tells a believer, “This revolution definitely won’t remain till the reappearance. All of you will be destroyed,” and this person doesn’t lose his hope, this is very hard. We are certain about what Imam Khomeini said, “This revolution will remain till the reappearance.” This is one of the certainties in Imam Khomeini’s words. We are certain, but we aren’t that hopeful. What will happen if someone makes us hopeless?!
Looks like they care about our spiritual mood. Right? They care about how we feel and about our belief.

We’ll all return to God.

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[Rumi’s poem,] “Listen to this reed and how it complains, telling a tale of separation. It says, ‘Since I was parted from the reedbed, men and women have moaned in (unison with) my laments.’” [One says,] “I don’t remember any separation! Was I separated? From whom? From where?” This is a level of forgetfulness.
“Where is my homeland?”
“It was a very good place!”
“Where was it? I don’t remember it.”
In the Holy Qur'an, our movement toward God is said to be a return. This in itself requires a self-awareness, knowing that I want to return to my homeland and my origin. When one reaches the peak of self-awareness, he feels the need to return. This is very, very important. How do you feel about an old place where you used to live or about your homeland? When a person goes to his old place, he feels an exhilaration and finds peace. Correct?
We’ll return to God. If we know ourselves deeply, we will realize that is our homeland. And we will feel that God and being close to Him is like a homeland for us. What does being close to God mean that we say we want to be close to Him? We want to go back to where we were.
«وَلَا تَکُونُوا کَالَّذِینَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنْسَاهُمْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ» “Do not be like those who forgot about God. So He made them forget themselves.” [Qur’an 59:19] [Rumi’s poem,] “Listen to this reed and how it complains, telling a tale of separation. It says, ‘Since I was parted from the reedbed, men and women have moaned in (unison with) my laments.’”
[One says,] “I don’t remember any separation! Was I separated? From whom? From where?” This is a level of forgetfulness.
“Where is my homeland?”
“It was a very good place!”
“Where was it? I don’t remember it.”
The most severe case of Alzheimer's is losing one's homeland and that information from the past. Alzheimer's with regards to self-awareness, means forgetting one’s original homeland. A person with self-awareness will never become fond of this world. [He will say,] “I belong to another place. I shouldn’t be here!” He eagerly wishes to return. He thinks of that beautiful place.
The prophets informed people that they would be going back to their original place. One feels calm and thanks the prophets for this. If one pays a little attention when he looks at the Prophet, he will say, "I know you! Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?!”
We’ll return to God. If we know ourselves deeply, we will realize that is our homeland. And we will feel that God and being close to Him is like a homeland for us.