Sahifa Sajjadiyyah: 3 Du‘as

1. Sahifa Sajjadiyyah: 3 Du‘as Session 5: Jamadi II 14, 1429 June 18, 2008

2. Today’s lesson • Discussion on verses 57: 18 – 19 • More about Qardh Hasanah • Discussion on chain of narrators of Sahifa • Our personal experiences of taking loans • Recommended ways of expending one’s wealth in light passage Sahifa 30: 3 • Israaf and moderation in expenditure

3. Qur’anic aayat 57:18 • إِنَّ الْمُصَّدِّقِينَ وَالْمُصَّدِّقَاتِ وَأَقْرَضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضاً حَسَناً يُضَاعَفُ لَهُمْ وَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ (18)‏ • 57:18 Indeed the charitable men and charitable women, and those who lend Allah a good loan —it shall be multiplied for them, and there is a noble reward for them.

4. Qur’anic aayat 57:19 • وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الصِّدِّيقُونَ وَالشُّهَدَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ وَنُورُهُمْ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ (19) • 57:19 Those who have faith in Allah and His apostles —it is they who are the truthful and the witnesses with their Lord; they shall have their reward and their light. But as for those who are faithless and deny Our signs, they shall be the inmates of hell.

5. More on Qardh Hasanah? • Debt of the world’s poorest countries • Mujtahid’s advice on Sanduq Qardh Hasanah when I was leaving hawza for the west • Status of poverty in the world today • As-Sadiq (a) lending to a needy: Ma‘ruf in 4:114 refers to loaning; extending time for loan repayment, Allah gives reward of charity for every day single day extended

6. From the Preface of Psalms of Islam • Ibn Shariyar, an official of Imam Ali’s shrine said in 516AH whilst Sahifa was being read & narrator was listening • Abu ‘Abd Allah Ja'far (d.308) ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn al-Hasan ibn Ja‘far ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn Amir al-Mu'minin (a) related to us • Ali ibn al-Nu'man al-A'lam - sahabi of the 8th Imam (a) • ‘Umayr son of Mutawakkil al-Thaqafi al-Balkhi reports from both Yahya son of Zayd (d. 126/743) and Ja‘far al-Sadiq (d. 148/765).

7. Dialogue between Mutawakkil & Yahya b. Zayd b. Imam Sajjad (a) • My uncle Muhammad advised my father not to revolt • Did you meet as-Sadiq, & did he mention anything about my affair • Yahya: “Will you frighten me with death?” Imam: you would be slain & crucified as your father. • Yahya responded by reciting 13:39 • Comparison btw imams & their cousins • “All of us have knowledge, but they know everything we know, and we do not know everything they know”

8. Outcome of taking a debt • O God, bless Muhammad and his Household     and release me from a debt           1) which makes me lose face,           2) confuses my mind,            3) disrupts my thinking,            4) and prolongs my occupation with attending to it! (30:1)

9. Consequences of taking loan • I seek refuge in You, my Lord,       1) from worry and thought about debt,       2) from the distraction and sleeplessness of debt;     so bless Muhammad and his Household                     and give me refuge from it!   I seek sanctuary in You, my Lord, from                   1) debt's abasement in life                   2) and its ill effects after death,           so bless Muhammad and his Household                     and give me sanctuary from it through                          a bountiful plenty                           or a continually arriving sufficiency!

10. Personal experiences • Have you ever taken a loan? How was it when repaying it and how long it took you to repay? • Would you advise others to take loans for education, car, etc. • What would you do to lend someone interest free loan instead of earning paltry interest? • How can we establish the system of Qardh Hasanah in the commuity?

11. Ways of expending our wealth • O Allah, 1) bless Muhammad and his Household     2) prevent me from extravagance and excess,     3) put me on course of generous spending & moderation 4) teach me excellent distribution,     5) hold me back through Your gentleness from squandering,     6) allow me to attain my provisions through lawful means,      7) direct my spending toward the gateways of devotion,      8) and take away from me any possession which will bring forth i) pride in me, ii) lead to insolence, or iii) drag me in its heels to rebellion!

12. Israaf & Moderation • Meaning of the word israaf • Qur’anic verses on Israaf • Always use moderation in all aspects of life: worship, eating, spending, talking. We are moderate nation (2:143) • Obligatory and recommended ways of spending ones wealth according to Hadith