 العالمين، وبهين استعين، والصلاة والسلام على خير خلق الله محمد وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين المعصومين أما بعد، قال الله سبحانه وتعالى في كتابه الكريم أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم يا أيها الذين آمنوا عليكم أنفسكم اليوم سأبد with a true story it is a story about a Muslim scholar who is known as Mulla Sadra he was an Iranian scholar, he was a philosopher, he was also a Mufassir and he was skilled in many different types of Islamic sciences and he was also agnostic when he was a young man, he became very interested in the universe and the question related to the existence he was from Shiraz, he was born and brought up there and initially studied religion in Shiraz and then moved to Isfahan and Isfahan was the capital of Iran at that time and the king was Shah Abbas Safavi and also the main house was in Isfahan at that time so Mulla Sadra started to study Islam in Isfahan and he was a very intelligent man so he started to think outside the box and he also had his own ideas and views which did not necessarily match with the traditional views so the traditionalist Mulla did not really appreciate what he thought and what he propagated so they started to say that this young man is a heretic he is not a Muslim, his views are not like ours and he says strange things and eventually they went to the king Abbas Safavi and said you should do something about him the king said what can I do, you guys should have a debate and let's see who wins so they said okay we are going to organize a debate they organized the debate and invited many big scholars the traditional scholars to debate with Mulla Sadra alone the debate took place and Mulla Sadra won it Isfahan was a small city everybody got to know that Mulla Sadra won the debate also his wife so when he got home his wife was very happy and greeted him with enthusiasm and said congratulations you have won the debate but Mulla Sadra looked very sad she said you look sad and morose what's the matter with you he said you know when I was sitting there debating with those scholars and presenting my points of view and giving logical arguments and reasonings not even for a second did I remember Allah سبحانه وتعالى you see that day was an important day in Mulla Sadra's life because that day he started to know his true self the question is do I know my true self and do you know your true self know your true self is the topic of this lecture and that is why I recited a part of verse number 105 in which Allah سبحانه وتعالى says oh those who believe it is obligatory upon yourselves to be concerned with your nafs to be concerned with yourself and there are many interpretations of this verse and one of the interpretations is that it is obligatory upon every believer to know his or her true self so what I'm going to do in the next 40 or so minutes is the following what does the Quran say about knowing our true self and what does the Hadith say about it and then what is the process of knowing our true self and in the end in the last part of the lecture I'll give the examples a few examples from the history some individuals who did not try to know their true self and an individual who was willing to know his true self and that is when I will wrap up the lecture and also give the historical accounts of some of the events that led to the incident of Karbala so before I proceed please recite a loud Salawat Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the holy book سنرهم آياتنا في الأفاق وفي أنفسهم سنرى أن نرى أن نرى أن نرى them our signs in the horizons and within their selves اللامة طبع طبع رحمة الله عليه in his landmark work تفسير الميزان says that it is more important to know the signs within our self than knowing the signs outside our self in the horizons why? because the holy prophet peace be upon him said and this Hadith is also attributed to many several imams من عرفة نفسه فقود عرفة ربه the one who knows his true self his nafs also knows his lord the journey to knowing our lord knowing the attributes of our lord knowing about the grand scheme of things that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has designed starts from knowing our true self and what is that our true self it is nafs it is nafs this is the nafs that wants us to drink when we are thirsty or eat food when we are hungry or get sleep when the body needs it but also it deceives us big time it plays hide and seek with us because it has several layers when we perform actions when we do deeds we need to know what is our real motive behind that deed because that is related to the nafs if we know our nafs if we know our true self then we will surely know why did I do something and for whom did I do that thing because it is very possible that I recite this Majlis believing that I am doing this for Allah سبحانه وتعالى but since I do not know my true self I do not know for whom I am reciting this Majlis in fact so I am going to give a few examples how the nafs deceives us before I do that please recite when we want to do a good deed when we want to help some people when we want to support the mosque we believe that we are doing this for Allah سبحانه وتعالى but within the layers of the nafs it is hidden the desire of getting praise from the people or to satisfy our own ego but sometimes we are not even aware of it and we keep doing those good deeds without knowing why we did that this is one example sometimes we want to help people and we genuinely believe that we do this because we love them as the creatures of Allah سبحانه وتعالى but in fact we do not love them we just pity them and when you help someone out of pity that is very different from that when you help someone out of love because when you help someone out of pity you look down on that person you feel superior to that person and you also expect thanks from that person if we start to introspect and take time to know about our true self then a lot of things will be revealed to us about our self that we did not know before for example we can be envious every now and then we feel envious but we do not pay attention to it and what is the root cause of this envy being envious means that I believe Allah سبحانه وتعالى should not have given this thing to that person as if I know better than Allah سبحانه وتعالى this is one example and there are many many things that we do every day without thinking about them so where to start what is the process of knowing our true self where does it start it starts from silence in this world we are way too busy in our daily chores daily mundane chores and work and also on the social media we are expected to give opinion about everything everybody wants to speak nowadays on different matters we are occupied with bigger bigger things in the outer world but we are not occupied with our inner world if we take the time to for 5 minutes sit quietly and think about our inner self our inner world then we will start to slowly slowly know about it and when we will get to know about it initially we might reject what we get to know it can be a scary thought to come to know that oh I am a liar I sometimes lie no one is liar in absolute terms that he lies all the time but once you start to think about your true self and you think oh sometimes I lie sometimes I feel envy from that person that person sometimes I feel arrogant I do تكبر sometimes I really hate that Allah SWT has given that thing to that person and then you might think no no no no no this is not me I do not want to be like that I am a Shi'a of Ali how can I be like that but at that point just accept yourself you do not need to be too much worried just accept yourself nowadays we hear a lot from the secular speakers and coaches and life coaches accept yourself I am not talking in those terms because they might tell you just accept yourself the way you are I beat up my wife I just accept myself no you cannot do that or vice versa in Islam you accept yourself you admit I have this problem and it is okay no one is a liar in absolute terms no one is a Monafek in absolute terms it varies from situation to situation and then you decide I am going to work on these things and when we start to work on these things then Allah سبحانه وتعالى will open the doors for us He will open the doors of wisdom and knowledge for us because when you take the time start with the silence silence is عبادة according to the Hadith why? because when you sit silent and think about your inner world then you are pondering and reflecting and you learn a lot that many books cannot teach you recital out Salawat so that reflection self reflection how it will open the doors do I have a and a Hadith or an ayah or a verse to back it up Allah سبحانه وتعالى says ليس للإنسان إلا ما صعى you get as much as you strive for you work for this is a general rule general and Allah سبحانه وتعالى has said it's obligatory upon you the believers to be concerned about your true self because if we do not work on those things those attributes of ourselves we will go away from Allah سبحانه وتعالى those diseases will become a barrier between us and Allah سبحانه وتعالى but then there is another barrier that stops us from introspection that stops us from knowing our true self what is that Allah سبحانه وتعالى says ولا تكونك الذين نسوا الله فأنساهم أنفسهم do not be like those who forgot Allah and so they forgot themselves when someone does not remember Allah سبحانه وتعالى he or she gets lost in this world does not have the time to sit for one minute two minutes every day and think about himself his self and his relation with the Creator Allah سبحانه وتعالى says والذين جاهدوا فينا لنهدي أنهم سبولنا those who سبولنا في Our Way سوف نعطيهم جميعنا جميعنا وذلك سبول سبول جهاد العكبر جهاد العكبر جهاد العكبر هو أن نعرف أنفسك it is so important that the Holy Prophet said a wise person is the one who knows his true self and purifies his deeds purifies his deeds خالص the Arabic term for it is خالص خالص they all have the same root sincerity the Holy Prophet said the one who works on his true self knows his true self gets rid of those problems the diseases of the soul that person can make his deeds pure pure means they are done with sincerity and that is the end result of our striving to know our true self that's the end result can we reach there overnight no that sounds way too difficult it sounds difficult it's easier said than done but believe me this is the way to attain peace and tranquility when we get to know about our true self only then we can attain peace and tranquility first accept how you are and then slowly slowly start working on it you will fail maybe you will still continue to hate that person you feel envious about but you keep telling yourself I am working on myself I am working on myself remind yourself that Allah SWT is the creator of everyone He is the master of everyone He gives everything to everyone He takes away everything from everyone people cannot give anything to anyone or take away anything from anyone that's how knowing your true self makes you know your lord that's how it does and eventually you start to do things for Allah SWT take baby steps then you attain a state where you can have the sincere intention نجه it all boils down to نجه the intention Imam Sadiq says إن النجه أفضل من العمل و إن النجه هي العمل indeed the intention is superior to the deed itself but listen the intention is the action the intention is the deed the Imam says what does it mean it means the action or a good deed without sincere intention has no meaning it carries no weight Allah SWT in the holy book and so whose scales will be heavier on the day of judgment he will be having a good time he will be among the successful ones how do we get the weight in our scales what is the thing that gives weight to the scales it is the intention and those who know their true self their intention is 100% pure therefore the holy prophet said one strike by Ali on the day of khandaq is superior to the worship by all the jinn and all the humans all together cumulatively was Amirul Mu'mineen doing sujud there was he reciting Quran there what was the Amirul Mu'mineen doing there just one strike افضل من عبادة تقلين wow because that was 100% pure intention only and only for Allah SWT what happened on that day we all know the story but it is good to remind it's good to talk about the Ahlul Bayt ذكروا علي عبادة when we talk about the Amirul Mu'mineen it is worship why? because he reminds us of Allah SWT there was this battle the battle of trenches khandaq and there was a very strong man non-believer أمر بن عبدوض and he came out to fight and all the companions were scared of him the Amirul Mu'mineen went to fight him and he was about to behead him and he spat on the face of the Amirul Mu'mineen the Amirul Mu'mineen could have beheaded him right then and there but he did not do that he went away waited for a few minutes got back and then beheaded him later on the companions asked oh Ali why did you do that the Amirul Mu'mineen said I wanted to behead him only and only for Allah SWT but when he spat on my face I feared that my personal emotions might also mix with that intention Amirul Mu'mineen the Amirul Mu'mineen who is infallible who is talking Quran even then he is so careful so careful this is infallibility those who have perfect intellect it is not like they are not capable of doing things that are wrong they have the capacity but since their intellect is so perfect they do not do those things pure intention that became superior to all the worship of all the jinn and all the humans all together the people of the house are those people that no one understands them other than the holy prophet and Allah SWT and no one knows Allah SWT better than the people of the house and the holy prophet and these people knew themselves like no one knows their self there is another true story about the Ahlul Bayt we have all heard that but it is important to remind us of that story and derive some lessons it is said that one day Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain peace be upon them both they fell ill then the Amirul Mu'mineen Lady Fatima, Imam Hassan Imam Hussain and Fizla they all made another that we will be fast for three consecutive days if Allah SWT cures Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain peace be upon them both and they were cured then they fasted for three consecutive days the first day they were about to break their fast and a destitute a beggar came at their door asking for food whatever they had they gave to him the next day they fasted at the time they were about to break their fast and often came at their door and asked for the food they gave him everything they had the third day they fasted and then a prisoner in those days prisoners were allowed to go from door to door and beg for food he came at their door and asked for food whatever they had they gave it to him okay it was a great deed but what about the intention Allah SWT revealed the verses a few verses to the Holy Prophet after this deed by the Ahlulbayt in which Allah SWT says that they feed the destitute the orphan and the prisoner just for the love of Allah SWT and then they say we feed you just for the sake of Allah and we do not even want a simple thank you from you لا نريد منكم جزاء ولا شكورة we do not want even a simple thank you that is خلاص that is pure intention that is someone who has known his true self that and they are role models for us we cannot become like them no one can be like them but we can take baby steps baby steps every day spare 2 minutes in the evening spare 2 minutes in the evening and think about our true self and start to work and if we fail no problem keep trying again keep trying again and insha'Allah Allah SWT will open the doors and this brings me to the last part of the lecture those people who are willing to work on their self they keep their minds open and they are open to advice if someone says I do not need any advice I am perfect people love me I am good that person has closed his mind that person can run into serious trouble because because closed minds have to open up and if they do not open up they will suffocate there was this man Omar ibn Sa'ad Omar ibn Sa'ad was a person who was confused he did not know what he really wanted because he did please recite the salawat Omar ibn Sa'ad did not know what he wanted he was in kufa and ibn Ziyad had given the governorship of the province of Ray to Omar ibn Sa'ad Ray was a big province in old times it was Tehran's name Ray but when Imam Hussein peace be upon him arrived in Karbala then ibn Ziyad said to Omar ibn Sa'ad that you take 4,000 soldiers and go fight Omar ibn Sa'ad did not want to kill Imam Hussein he did not want to kill Imam Hussein he knew who Imam Hussein was but he also wanted the governorship of Ray so he said to ibn Ziyad please send someone else you appointed me as the governor of Ray just let me go over there ibn Ziyad was a cunning man he said no no no you first go and after that the governorship is yours so Omar ibn Sa'ad went to Karbala and then he met Imam Hussein peace be upon him and he said what are your plans he had a meeting with Imam Hussein peace be upon him which was in secrecy a lot of people speculated about it what was said between the two but no one really knows what happened Omar ibn Sa'ad wrote a letter after that to ibn Ziyad and said Hussein has agreed to go back to Medina so we have 3 choices either we let him go back to Medina or we send him to some other province other than Kufa or Medina so he can live just like any other ordinary Muslim or we send him to Jazeed and he can deal directly with Jazeed ibn Ziyad said this sounds like a reasonable advice or suggestion this is a letter from someone who is sincere to his governor so maybe i should consider it at that time Shamr was sitting there and he said what are you going to do Hussein is within our clause we have seized him if you let him go you will appear as a weak man ibn Ziyad changed his mind and he said okay you are right take this letter take this letter to Omar ibn Sa'ad and say to him demand the oath of allegiance from Hussein make him submit and surrender to me and if he refuses to do that then fight him and kill him and after you kill him trample horses on his chest because i know it is not going to hurt him after death but this is what i had sworn that i would do if he was killed and said to Shamr go there tell him he has to do it Omar ibn Sa'ad has to do it and if he refuses to do that you become the commander in chief at that time the nafs of Omar ibn Sa'ad deceived him he made the intention i will kill Hussein and later on i will repent this is how he ended up being the killer of Imam Hussein but there was another guy there was another man who was willing to listen he was open to knowing about his true self he was on a completely wrong path but he came back to the right path his name is Ibn Qain Bajali he used to be Othmani Othmani were those people in a political sense who under the false propaganda of Mu'avia used to believe that the Amir al-Mu'mineen either had something to do with the murder of the third caliph Othman or he was not sincere in avenging the blood of the third caliph Othman such people carried animosity for the Ahlulbayt and it is reported that he in fact fought against the Amir al-Mu'mineen in one of the battles either Sefine or Jamal however more chances that he fought in Sefine against the Amir al-Mu'mineen Zuhair was fighting against the Amir al-Mu'mineen in Sefineen and in the same year 61 Hijra 60 Hijra he went to perform the Hajj and when 61 Hijra started he was going back to his home in Kufa taking the same road which Imam Hussain peace be upon him took to go to Kufa Zuhair wanted to avoid Imam Hussain at any cost he did not want to meet Imam Hussain he did not want to hear about Imam Hussain but the road was the same and they had fixed points where caravans would stop to take rest and stay overnight so he tried his best to avoid Imam Hussain either he would go too slow so that he would be left behind or too fast so that he would go ahead of Imam Hussain but it so happened that on one stopping place they both were at the same time in that spot at that moment Imam Hussain peace be upon him sent a messenger his companions described the situation like this he says we were sitting and were about to eat food that the messenger of Hussain came to us and he said to Zuhair Hussain is calling you when we heard that we were all startled so much that it felt like there were birds sitting on our heads Zuhair's wife said why are you startled go meet Hussain and listen what he has to say that is going to change the fortune of Zuhair it's going to become from to because he was open to know about his true self open to listen to Imam Hussain no one knows what happened what Imam Hussain said to him when he got back his face was glowing out of enthusiasm and happiness and he decided to join Imam Hussain peace be upon him what a fortunate man Zuhair he is a beacon of light for people like you and me he is a beacon of light he was an eloquent speaker it is said that on the day of Ashura in the morning he went to the army of Ibn Ziyad and he started giving them a sermon and he said to them in that sermon we call you to assist the family of the holy prophet and abandon the tyrant Ibn Ziyad in return the army of Ibn Ziyad started cursing him and Shamr said to him first he aimed at him and shouted shut up your sermon has exhausted us Zuhair replied to him I am not addressing you you are from the animal species Shamr said to Zuhair soon you and your master are going to be killed Zuhair replied you scare me with death by God I would prefer death over being in your company Shamr said anyway you and your master are going to be dead soon or we are going to take him to Ibn Ziyad in Kufa at that moment Imam Hussein peace be upon him called Zuhair back he said your words are going to have no effect on them those people had reached the point of no return when it was the turn of Zuhair to go to the battlefield he went like a brave man it is written in Abu Miqnaf and some other books of Makdal that he killed 120 men before he fell off and many accursed men gathered around him two accursed men moved forward and killed him at that time Imam Hussein peace be upon him reached at his body and he prayed for him may you not remain away from Allah's mercy and may your killers not see Allah's mercy throughout the day of أشورa Imam Hussein peace be upon him went on the bodies of each and every martyr but in the end when he was left alone and he was thirsty and he was hungry and Imam الزمانة says و الشمر جالس على صدرك and the shimmer was sitting on his blessed chest لا نحنة الله على القوم الغولمين ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنة و في الآخرة حسنة و قنا على النار الله مطفل على محمد و آل محمد و عجل فرجهم والسلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته