From the Series “The Secrets of Ashura,”
Part 1. [To be continued…]

How important is our innate nature?

Who is a good person in your opinion?

These people will be the companions of the Saviour (‘a.j.).


Ask all the good people in our city, “What are the signs of a good person? The first features people mention are these. Good people are kind, disciplined, affable, humble…” Friends, many of these good characteristics, like kindness, affability, humbleness and self-sacrifice, if not accompanied by spiritual power and strength, are worthless. This is an indicator to show us that our morality and faith are not fake, our prayer is not like Satan’s prayer, which was useless, and our faith is stable as the Qur’an says and not unstable. An unstable faith will be lost.
If we want to choose a prominent indicator for a healthy religion, spirituality and good behaviour, for it to become clear whether this morality is fake or it’s a good, pure morality, we can choose spiritual power and strength as an indicator.
For example, one is kindness. “Why are you kind? Why are you so modest? Why are you so quiet? Why do you smile at everyone?” Imagine if he has these characteristics due to his spiritual weakness. This is worthless. “Why do you smile at everyone?” “I’m afraid people might ignore me,” he replies. “I want to be dear to everyone. I’m afraid people will notice my faults. I want to gain status. I’m afraid…” Due to his weakness, he behaves well with others. This is worthless.
If a feeble person prostrates before God, God won’t accept his prostration. You can see this in, “La Ilaha Illallah.” (There is no god except Allah.) There is a kind of strength and power in the first part of this honourable phrase, “La Ilaha.” There is no god! A person has to be very strong to say this. We should teach our children in what way to say, “La Ilaha Illallah.” “La Ilaha Illallah” is a strong slogan. It’s not a delicate slogan to say “La Ilaha Illallah” feebly. We shouldn’t say it like a frail person. We should be like a superpower. “La Ilaha Illallah!” This fills a person’s being immensely!
You see this about the companions of the Imam of the Time (‘a.j.). The foremost of the attributes, which have been mentioned for the Imam’s (‘a.j.) companions, are courage, fearlessness and power. A group has been mentioned in the traditions, “They prepare the groundwork for Imam Mahdi’s government,” and they rise up from the East. They have been described as having power, greatness and courage too. Religion, from start to end, wants to make people and human society powerful. Religion wants human society to achieve power, dignity and glory. Strength is a very central issue in religion.
The most important indicator, which shows the spirituality, morality, faith, religiosity, and mental health of a person or a society, is being strong. All the religious commands help people, who practice religion well, to achieve strength. They have the strength to have determination and are stronghearted, which no fear can shake. These strong people will be the companions of the Saviour (‘a.j.).


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It’s time to show people’s inner being.

What are tests for? They are for you to manifest your hidden goodness. The 8-Year Holy Defence did something that manifested the light, which existed in many people’s hearts. These good manifestations happen in hardships. And bad manifestations can be seen in the hardships of bad people. Why should it be manifested?!
God’s tests have two purposes for the people whom it is clear what they will choose. The first purpose of testing is for you to choose, to see what you choose. One group are those whom when God brings a choice, they definitely choose the good. God says, “I know he/she chooses what’s good. But, I want him/her to show, express, and manifest the goodness of his/her inner being. This servant makes sacrifices. I want to prepare an environment for him/her to make a sacrifice.”
Tests have another goal too. God says, “If I bring a choice for this person, he will definitely choose the bad way. That’s fine. I will bring it up for him so that he shows himself.” Show yourself. The Almighty God looks at His servant’s hidden inner being. The hidden part is different from a person’s inner being. The hidden part is the part of our interior, which we are unaware of! You see your inner being, but you don’t see your hidden part. God says, “I look at the hidden part of My servant. Whatever is deep inside there, I will make apparent like clothes. If it’s good, it’s good. If it’s bad, it’s bad.” Tests are where our interior is shown. Who knows what he has hidden? “No one hides something in his heart except that God shows it like clothes. If it’s good, it’s good. If it’s bad, it’s bad.” [From the Prophet, Nahj al-Fasahah, p. 695, tradition no. 2616]
Ayatollah Bahjat said, “All of us are a potential ‘Shimr.’” How do I know my hidden part hasn’t hidden such vileness within itself?! It will come out when being tested. God says, “Testing is not for you to choose. You have chosen. Now I want to show it. Done!” God knows Aba Abdillah al-Husayn (‘a) won’t be in a quandary. If he wants to choose, he will choose sacrifice. God says, “Husayn, I want to show you to the people of the world.” I want to show you to everyone! Sometimes God tells us, “I want you to choose.” Sometimes He says, “You have chosen before. I want to show your hidden part to say who you are.” I don’t know why God has decided to show the hidden part of His bad servants too. I take refuge from when God becomes angry with a person. God says, “One day I will prove your ability to be a ‘Shimr’ to you and to the whole world!” I don’t know where such a servant has chosen what’s bad that he has such a test.
Friends, in short, always repent. Ok? We are making an agreement. Repent a lot. God I was wrong. Whatever I did was wrong. Forgive me. Pass on me. Don’t decide to prove my badness. I confess myself. We can’t stand it. We can’t stand Your test or Your punishment. We don’t have the strength to stand against Imam Ali (‘a). Don’t put us among the potential “Shimrs.” Friends, don’t you like to say this sentence? Doesn’t this come to your mind to say, “We wish we knew what is in our hidden part?” This is similar to Imam Sajjad’s (‘a) sentence in a prayer, “God, I wish I knew if I am wretched or fortunate! I wish I knew.” Tests are for our hidden part to become manifested. I don’t know what’s inside there. God, manifest our good hidden part.

[From the series of speeches under the topic of “The most determining factor in human destiny.”]


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This is the root of all sadness, unrest, anxiety, and depression!

God dislikes a person who acts indifferently towards God’s Kindness. For example, a verse says, “Call on Me and I will answer you.”(Qur’an, 40:60) This is a display of kindness. “Call on Me and I will answer you.” Immediately, the Almighty God says in this same verse, “Those who are too proud to worship Me shall enter Hell utterly abject.” I’m telling you My dear to call on Me and I will answer you. A person says, “Ok, later.” God calls this being too proud to worship.
Do you know what the punishment of Hell is for? It is not for some rules that you didn’t obey! Is God like a policeman or the rules for driving?! No! Hell is for being bold against someone who is kind! This brings punishment. The Imam (‘a) has sworn that, “People won’t be saved from their sins unless they confess to them.” Say what your problem is. Have your realized it? If you’ve realized it, I’ll save you.
Now we want to say, “God we have a problem. Our problem is that we haven’t believed in Your Kindness. We have no understanding about Your Mercy, and we don’t pay attention or benefit from it. My whole life has been spent being indifferent about Your Kindness. All of my concerns are due to being indifferent about Your Kindness. All of my depression, all of my attachments to things, are due to being indifferent about Your Kindness.” An Arabic poem says, “Your sin is from within, which no sin can be compared with.” How should I repent from this?
I live without understanding Your Kindness! I am not sure that You are kind and will give my sustenance. I don’t work in order to create something, because of Your order, and for Your satisfaction! I say, “I should work; otherwise, I’ll stay hungry. What are you saying?!” My life is based on not believing in Your Kindness. I argue with this person and that person due to not believing in Your Kindness. I think they can take something from me.
I am jealous due to not believing in Your Kindness. I think someone else has taken my share. God says, “I have kept your share. Why are your jealous? Forget them!” I feel a lack of affection due to not believing in Your Kindness. I feel lonely due to not believing in Your Kindness. I go after worthless entertainments because I don’t believe in Your Kindness to be able to enjoy Your Kindness. I go somewhere else to enjoy. I don’t believe in Your Kindness; otherwise, I would have become a good person.
What will happen if we believe in God’s Kindness? Suddenly we will see all of God’s actions to be due to His Kindness. When we look at the stars, we will start crying. When we look at the mountains, plains, and deserts, we will start crying. When we see a child, we will start crying. When we see an old man hunched over and walking with a cane, we will start crying. God! You love all of these. You have created all of them. You give sustenance to all of them. When we see the birds flying, we will start crying. We will live!
Our problem is that we haven’t believed in Your Kindness. We have no understanding about Your Mercy, and we don’t pay attention or benefit from it. I don’t believe in Your Kindness; otherwise, I would have become a good person.

Why are you so sure about yourself?

As soon as some people become religious, they become completely sure about themselves! "I'm in a perfect position." A perfect position?! What have you achieved? It's possible for a person's being religious and revolutionary not to continue. A person's fervour for Imam Mahdi ('a.j.) may not continue. A person may not continue praying. We must talk about this, especially in religious groups. A person's participation in religious meetings might not continue. Yes, talk about this. Persistence is hard.
Believe me, a person can feel this in the people around him. As soon as some people become religious, they become completely sure about themselves! "I'm in a good position." A perfect position? What have you achieved? He doesn't study, think, moan, talk with God, rush to struggle to collect rewards so that he doesn't stay behind. So, what kind of a religious person are you? He goes to the Mosque or a meeting and returns.
He doesn't have any special smell or use. No good smell can be sensed from him, nor any sweetness. He is not worried about persistence at all. Are you sure you will stay on this path? There are many people who haven't remained!
My dear, you are not a unique person in your era. Did you know that Ibn Muljam was a unique person in Yemen? The Commander of the Faithful, Ali ('a), said, "Send 10 of your best people to me." The people of Yemen chose 100 people. They chose 70 of these 100 people from among themselves. They chose 30 people from the 70. They carried out a very succinct selection process. 30 people were reduced to 10. 10 people came to the Commander of the Faithful (a) and sent one forward. That one person was Ibn Muljam Muradi. There weren't that many traitors in Yemen to say one was Ibn Muljam. Yemen was praiseworthy from the beginning, and still is.
Sometimes God chooses one bad one from among the best ones to warn others. It's possible for a person's being religious and revolutionary not to continue. We should talk about this. Especially in religious meetings. Perseverance is hard. Do you think a religious person who doesn't do anything will stay on this path? You're joking!

We human beings are used to not having fun. We are used to living badly and being in a bad mood. Sometimes when we feel good, we go and ruin our mood ourselves. We have become like this! “What was your problem?” “I had a problem which took all of my attention.” “Thank God. So it is solved now?” “Yes, it just got solved right now.” “So thank God, enjoy yourself.” “Yes, but you know…”
“What are you thinking about now?” “I want to see what others problems I have that I should think about.” “Shame on you! God solved that problem, and you are searching for another problem?!” Life is like this for many of us. We are used to keeping our minds busy with problems. Like a sick person! When God solves one of our problems, we start thinking about the next one.
Recently they published some pictures in webpages of young girls and boys injuring themselves. They cut themselves, are hurt, and bleed. They say it brings calmness. Then people say, “Oh! How strange!” Everyone is like this! We are used to thinking about miseries, conflicts, anxieties, regrets, and jealousies. It is the food of our minds! Like a sick person!
When your mind is free, don’t start thinking about miseries! Some people dwell on their negative thoughts. Last night he was thinking about a negative issue. After he sleeps, he has forgotten it. His tension and pressure have gone down. “Leave it and go recite some Quran, pray, or do something else!” Again, he brings out that negative thought and starts chewing on it. “What was I saying? Aha! I was very upset about this problem! Let me focus on it and get as upset as I was last night. Looks like I didn’t understand the depth of this disaster!”
Shame on such a way of living. What can I say? He is sick. He is addicted. He is addicted to negative thoughts. Leave it to God! “If I leave it to God, will it get solved?” “Yes! Yes!” God says, “I am your secretary. I am your manager. I am your colleague. Go on a vacation! I will work in place of you! Release the problems from your mind!”
A good secretary is the one who makes his manager’s mind free. He says, “If you leave this to me, you don’t need to write it down anymore. Be comfortable, I will do it on time.” God says, “Leave it to Me. I am your secretary. Let your mind be free. Relax!” “If I leave it to God, will it get solved?” “Yes!” God says, “I am your secretary. I am your manager. I am your colleague. Go on a vacation! Relax!”
[From the series of speeches under the topic of “How can we live more relaxed?” Section 2]

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Our Book Corner
Based on the book "Why does God command me?" by Ali Reza Panahian

Watch for the upcoming clips from this series!

The link for the book "Why does God command me?" written by Ali Reza Panahian:
http://amazon.com/author/panahian
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#WhyDoesGodCommandMe

What is God’s purpose in each test?

Think about your weak points.


Some say, “I need to consult with you.” I say, “I’m not a good counselor!” “We have a family dispute.” “I don’t know!” “Tell me what I should do. Should I tolerate my spouse or not?” I say, “How should I know?! This depends on many factors.” Some people are so brave that they counsel everyone. “Do such and such!” But this involves many considerations. Some friends say, “You didn’t make it clear. I had an argument with my family, parents, or a colleague. Should I consider it to be a test in having patience or should I consider it to be a test where I have to separate from them, for example?” “If you can, see which of your weak points this test wants to eliminate.”
Another example, “I have received a large sum of money. Should I keep it, make an investment and make money with it, or should I give it in charity? There are needy people who need this money.” “I don’t know. Both are tests. It is possible that your test is that since you are a very compassionate person, you want to give this money to others. But God wants you to resist what you like. Instead of giving this money to the poor people around you, start up a factory with this money. Then, you can help ten other people as well as those needy people.” “I don’t have the spirit to do that.” “You’re very wrong to say that. Actually, this test is exactly because you are lazy in working. You have been given this easy money so that you may be corrected, work and move forward!”
Each person should see the purpose of his test himself. Pay attention to tests. In each event, good or bad, that takes place we should evaluate what the purpose of that test probably is. If you weren’t able to understand its purpose, you can do your duty in general. You can consider what the purpose could be in general. May God give you the “Furqan,” which means being able to separate good from bad, so that you may always recognize your duty.
I’ll say a prayer and tell you who said this prayer afterward. “O God, use us in the way for which You have created us. For any reason that You are taking these tests from us, make us successful to move in the direction of that purpose.” This is Lady Zahra’s (as) prayer.
«وَ اسْتَعْمِلْنِی لِمَا خَلَقْتَنِی لَهُ»
What have You created me for? Use me for that so that I won’t do other, unnecessary actions. In each event, good or bad, that takes place we should evaluate what the purpose of that test probably is. Each person should see the purpose of his test himself. If you can, see which of your weak points this test wants to eliminate.

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Who is really suffering in this world?

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What causes a person to feel humiliated? Sometimes the reason is Satan’s whisper, which seem like spirituality. He whispers, “You’re not a good person. Look at your sins. You’re not someone who even tries.” He exposes one's bad points like he’s a master in mysticism. A person tells Satan, this master of evil, “Master, I accept. I won’t be able to become a good person anymore. Just leave me alone! Leave me!
This is because when a person doesn’t like an idea, he tries to not think about it anymore. For example, we don’t think about death at all. Why? Because we don’t like death. We don’t think about it at all although it’s an important topic. We should constantly think about it, because it’s a very important matter. But since we don’t like it, we don’t think about it.
That is why we don’t think about asking for forgiveness very much. Why? Because Satan has caused us to feel humiliated. “Isn’t a sinner a low person?!” What’s the answer to this? Should I say a sinner is a good person? If I say this, Satan will say, “He’s not good!” He’s a master. He deviated our father, Prophet Adam. And now you think he isn’t able to defeat us?! 
Adam was in Heaven and didn’t have any problems, but we have thousands of problems. He didn’t have a bad past. Satan’s a psychologist! When did he study psychology?! He knows how to ruin people. He ruins you with the feeling of being sinful. It is said in the traditions that Satan was asked, “When are you able to dominate people?”
He replied, “When he commits his first sin. Then when he tries to move forward, I say,
‘But you’re the same person who did such and such!’” The person accepts this and won’t try to correct himself anymore. Sometimes with whispers of seeming spirituality he causes us to lose hope. In many cases when we don’t worship God, it’s because we have lost hope and not because of our sins.
Sometimes with whispers of seeming spirituality he causes us to lose hope. In many cases when we don’t worship God, it’s because we have lost hope and not because of our sins.