The Foundation of a Tawhid-Oriented Society
Wednesday, 5 February 2025
Opens 15 minutes before the session begins.
Prophethood, Part 6 There is a tradition that says no nation is truly sanctified unless its weakest member can demand their rights without stuttering. This session sets out what a tawhid-oriented society — built on the premise that no one but God has authority over anyone else — looks like in practice, and names who stands to lose from it. It opens with a story from a period the evening says had already strayed from the Prophet's path: a governor's son whips an ordinary Arab in the desert; the man travels to the ruling capital to demand justice; and the ruler orders the governor himself, not just his son, to be whipped in turn, since the son could never have done it without his father's protection. Four groups are named as the prophets' natural opponents in every generation: the old ruling elite, those who grow wealthy off interest and other people's labour, the political tyrants, and the religious authorities who keep people ignorant to protect their position. Imam Ali, peace be upon him, is quoted on the wealthy: "I have never seen copious wealth without there being unpaid dues beside it." Who actually loses when a society runs on the single premise that no one holds power except God? What the evening covers The stuttering test. A tradition on justice, and a ruler holding a governor accountable for what his own son did. Four classes, one grievance. The old elite, the newly wealthy, the tyrants and the religious authorities — and what each stands to lose. "Unpaid dues beside it." Imam Ali's teaching on where great wealth actually comes from. A letter of rebuke. A ruling Imam's letter, still preserved today, condemning a scholar of his time for lending religious cover to a tyrant's crimes. This session fell in the days marking the birth anniversary of Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, the fourth Imam of the Muslims, whose letter is discussed within it.
In this session
رَبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي فِي لُجَّةِ بَحْرِ أَحَدِيَّتِكَ وَ طَمْطَامِ يَمِّ وَحْدَانِيَّتِكَ وَ قَوِّنِي بِقُوَّةِ سَطْوَةِ سُلْطَانِ فَرْدَانِيَّتِكَ حَتَّى أَخْرُجَ إِلَى فَضَاءِ سَعَةِ رَحْمَتِكَ وَ فِي وَجْهِي لَمَعَاتُ بَرْقِ الْقُرْبِ مِنْ آثَارِ حِمَايَتِكَ مَهِيبا بِهَيْبَتِكَ عَزِيزاً بِعِنَايَتِكَ مُتَجَلِّلاً مُكَرَّما بِتَعْلِيمِكَ وَ تَزْكِيَتِكَ وَ أَلْبِسْنِي خِلَعَ الْعِزَّةِ وَ الْقَبُولِ وَ سَهِّلْ لِي مَنَاهِجَ الْوُصْلَةِ وَ الْوُصُولِ وَ تَوِّجْنِي بِتَاجِ الْكَرَامَةِ وَ الْوَقَارِ وَ أَلِّفْ بَيْنِي وَ بَيْنَ أَحِبَّائِكَ فِي دَارِ الدُّنْيَا وَ دَارِ الْقَرَارِ وَ ارْزُقْنِي مِنْ نُورِ اسْمِكَ هَيْبَةً وَ سَطْوَةً تَنْقَادُ لِيَ الْقُلُوبُ وَ الْأَرْوَاحُ وَ تَخْضَعُ لَدَيَّ النُّفُوسُ وَ الْأَشْبَاحُ يَا مَنْ ذَلَّتْ لَهُ رِقَابُ الْجَبَابِرَةِ وَ خَضَعَتْ لَدَيْهِ أَعْنَاقُ الْأَكَاسِرَةِ لا مَلْجَأَ وَ لا مَنْجَى مِنْكَ إِلا إِلَيْكَ وَ لا إِعَانَةَ إِلا بِكَ وَ لا اتِّكَاءَ إِلا عَلَيْكَ ادْفَعْ عَنِّي كَيْدَ الْحَاسِدِينَ ،
O Lord! Immerse me in the depths of the ocean of Your Oneness, and plunge me into the midst of the sea of Your Uniqueness, and empower me through the overwhelming force of the sovereignty of Your Solitary Dominion, so that I may enter the boundless expanse of Your mercy, while upon my face the radiance of the light of nearness shines from the traces of Your protection, and I am made majestic by Your grandeur, and honored by Your grace, and made great and noble through Your nurturing and cultivation. O Allah! Clothe me in the robes of honor and acceptance, and smooth for me the paths of connection and union, and crown me with the crown of dignity and majesty, and establish a bond between me and those who are devoted to You in this world and the Hereafter. And from the light of Your Name, bestow upon me such grandeur and strength that hearts and souls become obedient to me, and beings and bodies become humble before me. O You before whom the necks of the arrogant are humbled, and before whom kings have bowed in submission! There is no refuge nor escape from You except unto You, and there is no help except from You, and there is no reliance except upon You. O Allah! Remove from me the malice of the envious,
Mafatih al-Jinan, Supplications (Duas), Dua Sayfi Saghir (known as Dua Qamous), Line 2
More in The Lantern of the Path
The Architecture of Guidance - Part 9 - The House Beside the Grave - Part 1 - Shaykh al-Ta'ifa
Keeping God's Limits
The Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali
Prophet Muhammad
Introduction to Imamah, Part 2
Introduction to Imamah, Part 1
Migrating to the Wilayah of God
Wilayah to the Taghut
The Wali: The Central Authority
Wilayah in an Individual and in Society
The Qur'anic Concept of Wilayah
An Introduction to Wilayah