The Yearly Rhythm of Mercy

On the night God forgives the whole of creation, two kinds of people are named as exceptions — and sin is not the disqualifying factor. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said that on the fifteenth of Sha'baan, "God looks down… and forgives all His creation, except for the idolater and the one who harbours rancour." Not the greatest sinners — the one who will not let resentment go. This session moves from the daily and weekly windows already covered into the sacred year itself, and this night carries a second weight for the Shia: it is also held as the birth night of Imam al-Mahdi, may God hasten his return — the fulfilment, the Imams taught, of the Qur'an's promise to make the oppressed leaders and inheritors. From there the sacred year builds toward its axis. Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, called Ramadhan "the month of dua… the month of forgiveness… the month of acceptance." Inside it sits Laylat al-Qadr, where the Imams taught that decree unfolds in three movements across the month: measuring on the nineteenth, confirmation on the twenty-first, and sealing on the twenty-third. If forgiveness this vast is offered every single year, what is it that keeps a person from receiving it? What the evening covers The fifteenth of Sha'baan. Universal forgiveness withheld only by idolatry or rancour — and its tie to the birth of Imam al-Mahdi. Ramadhan in three words. Imam al-Sadiq's description of the month as dua, forgiveness and acceptance together. Laylat al-Qadr's three nights. How decree moves from measuring to confirmation to sealing across the month. The first of Rajab. Its place among the five nights in which supplication is never rejected. Mab'ath and Dahw al-Ardh. The day revelation began, and the day the earth itself was spread out.

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Sermon: The Yearly Rhythm of Mercy

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