Session 5 / Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication

Becoming familiar with some of the sweet concepts of the Sha’baniya Supplication / Session 5

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. One of the very beautiful, monotheistic sentences in the beginning of the Sha’baniya Supplication is the phrase, which I mentioned in previous sessions for another reason, “What comes to me or is taken away, benefits or loss, are in Your hands and not the hands of anyone else. My Lord, if You deprive me, who can give me sustenance? If You humiliate and leave me, who can help me?” What comes to me or is taken away, benefits or loss,
are in Your hands and not the hands of anyone else. Then, it concludes, “My Lord, if You deprive me, who can give me sustenance? If You humiliate and leave me, who can help me?”
The first point is that it’s obvious when we are asked, “Who has power and in whose hands are affairs? Is there anyone else with the Almighty God?” we give a clear answer. “Power is in God’s hands. Others besides God cannot do anything.” So why don’t these monotheistic teachings become internalized in our hearts the way they should for them to cause us to cry, moan and talk to God, and have the most intense love in our hearts for the Lord? Loving to talk to the Almighty God and feeling a need for this conversation deeply, are due to these monotheistic teachings that have become internalized in one’s heart. What is the obstacle to these monotheistic teachings becoming internalized in our hearts? The obstacle is that we give too much value to various causes. We don’t see God’s role as being more than a cause, the tools that we have, or even our own power.
It’s usually tribulations that create such a feeling for a person. Tribulations bring a person to a dead end. Then, one suddenly feels that he doesn’t have anyone except God. But, when we are at the peak of prosperity, we don’t have anyone but God either. When everything around us and all events are going smoothly, when we are on the verge of reaching all of our desires, in the same way, we don’t have anyone except God. We are not polytheists in this way that we believe in God while believing in other gods with Him. We are not polytheists in this way that we worship idols and consider both God and idols to be effective in the world. But, an amount of polytheism exists, which prevents us from having monotheism in our hearts. It takes away our feeling for wanting to talk to God. This amount of polytheism is usually in our hearts that we see causes and people to be very effective in our lives.
We should think deeply about how much power God exerts in our lives according to the verse of the Qur’an where God tells the Prophet, “…and you did not smite when you smote the (enemy), but it was Allah Who smote them!” [Qur’an 8:17] A high understanding of monotheism will become internalized in a person’s heart. We should ponder on the topic of “determinism and free will.” We should look at how involved God is in our lives in each moment.
We should consider this fact that there are no coincidences in our lives. When we get a taxi in the street or call for a taxi, which taxi and which taxi driver comes, which radio station he is listening to in the taxi, and what we are hearing, none of these are coincidences. And, God can change the minds of people around us about what they say to us. He always does this. Because, all the scenes around us should be designed in a way that are in accordance with God’s tests. Therefore, everything is in God’s hands. It’s really in His hands.
It’s fine if we do our duty with regard to the causes. It’s our duty to repel a harm that comes towards us and to go towards a benefit, which comes to us, and take that benefit, but of course using lawful ways. Otherwise, we have turned God against ourselves. It’s not that we shouldn’t care about causes at all, but we should see God to be more powerful than these causes. If this state is created within us, the feeling of wanting to talk to God will intensify.
We often talk to and supplicate God politely, which is excellent. Sometimes we talk to and supplicate God with affection. Of course, this is excellent too. But, these don’t contradict a person understanding his exigency. The Household of the Prophet talked to God politely, affectionately, and also with an intense urgency. Where does this urgency arise from? It comes from the monotheism in their hearts, not in tribulations, but in regular situations. They truly look intensely at God in regular situations.
The next point, which can be connected to this topic and strengthen it, is in the second phrase that I read for you. He says, “My Lord, if You deprive me, who can give me sustenance? If You humiliate and leave me, who can help me?” Believing that we always need God’s help is a very valuable belief. One of the greatest tribulations that God threatens bad people with in the Qur’an, is where He says, “I won’t help you!” What does this mean?