The early days of this month(month of Rajab) are blessed with the birthday anniversary of Imam Baqir (a.s.). The last days of this month are blessed with the greatest event in history - that is to say, the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) be'that. Also, it is several years that our youth have promoted the good tradition of i'tikaf - in which people go to mosques and fast - in the country which is performed in mid-Rajab. What a pure and beautiful scene it is when we see a large number of our youth - unlike other young individuals in the world who are drowning in lust and carnal desires - fast during certain days and nights, go to mosques and perform i'tikaf. They spend day and night engaging in dhikr, thinking about divine teachings and paying attention to real knowledge, which is the knowledge of monotheism. This is a very important thing. These are the blessings of the Revolution.
Before the Revolution, we would not see many people or we would see few people go to mosques and perform i'tikaf in mid-Rajab. All of us and all the people were often negligent in paying attention to this divine blessing. I myself had not at all seen that people would perform i'tikaf in Mashhad. And in Qom, only a few people - a few clerics - would go to Imam Mosque and perform i'tikaf in mid-Rajab. Today, you can see that not only in Jameh and big mosques, not only in a few cities, but also in the entire country, in all the cities and in all the mosques, our youth, our men, women, daughters and sons stand in a line and write their names so that they can be given the opportunity to fast and perform i'tikaf in different mosques for three days. This is very valuable for a nation. This is very important. These things exist. This is the month of Rajab. You should benefit from these opportunities. May 15, 2013
I particularly recommend Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya for i'tikaf days. This Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is indeed marvelous. Fortunately, it has been translated into Farsi now, and there are some translated versions available. Last year, I received a good translation of Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. I perused it: it was excellent. The youth are well-advised to read and benefit from the teachings included in the prayers by Imam Ali Ibn Hussain (a.s.) that are preserved in Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. They must reflect upon the text. These are not just prayers. They are lessons that we can learn from. These words by Imam Sajjad (a.s.) - and all the prayers that have been handed down from the Imams (a.s.) - are full of Islamic teachings.
So it is Rajab now, the month of praying, turning back to God, and supplication. It is the month of becoming similar to the Commander of the Faithful. Let us strengthen our relationship with God so that we can go through the various stages of life with strong determination, steadfastness, and awareness. Jul 16, 2008
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