Two Practices

One day the Holy Prophet (s) entered the mosque and saw two groups of people busy in two different activities. One group was praying and praising Almighty Allah, while the other was busy teaching and learning. He (s) smiled and commented, “Both groups are performing noble acts and will achieve perfection in what they commit themselves to with earnestness, and be blessed for it. However, I have been sent to teach people, guide them on the path of truth and wisdom.” Saying this, he (s) proceeded towards the group that was busy learning and teaching and became actively involved in their work.

Source

Recitation of the Holy Quran Desired by the Holy Prophet (s)

Ibn e Masood was one of the scribes of the revealed Verses of the Holy Quran. He wrote down a verse as soon as it was revealed. One day, the Holy Prophet (s) said to Ibn e Masood, ‘Today I want to hear you recite verses from the Holy Quran.’ Ibn e Masood opened his manuscript and started reciting Surah An-Nisa. The Holy Prophet (s) listened, totally engrossed. When Ibn e Masood reached Verse 41, which read, “How will it be, then, when We summon a witness from every group and summon you as a witness over them?” The Holy Prophet (s), his eyes brimming with tears, said, ‘Ibn e Masood, read no more, that will do.’

Source

Mastermind success! You can, if you think you can

Mastermind success! You can, if you think you can

Prakash Iyer says it is a only mental block that prevents one from achieving any goal.

by Prakash Iyer - 25 Apr, 2011

Have you heard of Roger Bannister? He was the first athlete to run the mile in less than four minutes.

In doing so, he not only broke the four-minute barrier, but also taught us all a valuable lesson.

Back in the 1950's, the world record - 4 minutes 1.4 seconds - was held by Sweden's Ginder Haegg. The record stood for several years since it was set in 1945. Athletes, experts and the world were convinced that it was impossible to run a mile in less than four minutes. Some even argued that the human body was biologically incapable of running the mile in less than four minutes!

And then, on 6th May, 1954, Roger Bannister did the impossible. He broke the four minute barrier, finishing the race in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.

His rival - Charles Landy - had thrice run the mile in less than 4 minutes 2 seconds without breaching the 4 minute mark. The four minute barrier was "like a wall", Landy had said. But guess what? Just 56 days after Bannister's feat, Landy ran the mile in 3 minutes 57.9 seconds. And by 1957, 16 athletes around the world ran the mile in under 4 minutes. The 4 minute mental barrier was truly shattered!

What really happened? Did coaches get smarter and teach the athletes new techniques? Did running shoes get more sophisticated? Did bodies suddenly get stronger? No. The 4 minute barrier it turned out was not a physiological one - just a mental one! As Roger Bannister explained later, it seemed illogical that you could run a mile in 4 minutes and a bit, but not break 4 minutes. His mind refused to accept that barrier. That made all the difference.

Once that mental barrier was broken by Bannister, everyone believed it could be done! And once the belief changed, the rest was easy.

It's important to understand that our achievements in life are limited not by what we can do, but by what we think we can do. More than ability, it's our attitude that makes the difference. As Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you are right".

You will probably find your mind constantly grappling with two competing thoughts: 'I can't!' and 'I can!' How do you ensure the 'I can' wins? How can we break our mental barrier of 'I can't'?

There was a man in Alaska who had a black dog and a white dog. His dog fights attracted large crowds. Every week people would bet on which dog would win. Sometimes the black dog won, and sometimes the white one. One lady noticed that no matter which dog won, the owner always bet on the right dog, and won each week. When the man retired the two dogs, the lady asked him the secret.

"Simple," said the man. "I always bet on the dog I had been feeding all week."

So whether 'I can't' wins in your mind or 'I can', depends on which thought you are feeding!

Feed the 'I can' dog in your mind. The thought you feed, grows! Focus on your strengths, and they will grow. Or keep thinking of your weaknesses and your fears. And unfortunately they'll grow too.

You won't always find a Bannister to break your mental barrier. You need to do it yourself. Once you start feeding the 'I can' thought, you will achieve more than you ever thought was possible!

Rumi on the Nafs

Let's ask God to help us to self-control:

for one who lacks it, lacks His Grace.


The undisciplined person doesn't wrong himself alone—

but sets fire to the whole world.

Discipline enabled Heaven to be filled with light;

discipline enabled the angels to be immaculate and holy.



The peacock's plumage is his enemy.

The world is the mountain,

and each action, the shout that echoes back.



This discipline and rough treatment are a furnace

to extract the silver from the dross



The spiritual path wrecks the body

and afterwards restores it to health.



Anger and lust make a man squint;

When self-interest appears, virtue hides:



Fortunate is he who does not carry envy as a companion.



If ten lamps are present in one place,

each differs in form from another;

yet you can't distinguish whose radiance is whose

when you focus on the light.



In the field of spirit there is no division;

no individuals exist.



The idol of your self is the mother of all idols.

To regard the self as easy to subdue is a mistake.



If you wish mercy, show mercy to the weak.



The stoppered jar, though in rough water,

floated because of its empty heart.

When the wind of poverty is in anyone,

she floats in peace on the waters of this world.

As long as desires are fresh, faith is not;

for it is these desires that lock that gate.



The tongue of mutual understanding is quite special:

to be one of heart is better than to have a common tongue.



If you dig a pit for others to fall into,

you will fall into it yourself.



Many of the faults you see in others, dear reader,

are your own nature reflected in them.



With will, fire becomes sweet water.



The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks

is a minor hero

compared to the lion who overcomes himself.



O son, only those whose spiritual eye has been opened

know how compulsive we are.



Whoever gives reverence receives reverence.

The intellectual quest,

though fine as pearl or coral,

is not the spiritual search.



The intelligent desire self-control;

children want candy.



Since in order to speak, one must first listen,

learn to speak by listening.



When, with just a taste, envy and deceit arise,

and ignorance and forgetfulness are born,

know you have tasted the unlawful.



Know that a word suddenly shot from the tongue

is like an arrow shot from the bow.

O tongue, you are an endless treasure.

O tongue, you are also an endless disease.



I am burning.

If any one lacks tinder,

let him set his rubbish ablaze with my fire.

Although your desire tastes sweet,

doesn't the Beloved desire you

to be desireless?



The world's flattery and hypocrisy is a sweet morsel:

eat less of it, for it is full of fire.



Forgetfulness of God, beloved,

is the support of this world;

spiritual intelligence its ruin.

For Intelligence belongs to that other world,

and when it prevails, this material world is overthrown.



Were there no men of vision,

all who are blind would be dead.



All these griefs within our hearts

arise from the smoke and dust

of our existence and vain desires.



Whoever lives sweetly dies painfully:

whoever serves his body doesn't nourish his soul.



Your thinking is like a camel driver,

and you are the camel:

it drives you in every direction under its bitter control.



If you are wholly perplexed and in straits,

have patience, for patience is the key to joy.



Fast from thoughts, fast:

thoughts are like the lion and the wild ass;

men's hearts are the thickets they haunt.



If you are irritated by every rub,

how will your mirror be polished?

Anyone in whom the troublemaking self has died,

sun and cloud obey.

If you wish to shine like day,

burn up the night of self-existence.

Dissolve in the Being who is everything.



There is no worse sickness for the soul,

O you who are proud, than this pretense of perfection.

The heart and eyes must bleed a lot

before self-complacency falls away.

Can the water of a polluted stream

clear out the dung?

Can human knowledge sweep away

the ignorance of the sensual self?

How does a sword fashion its own hilt?

Go, entrust the cure of this wound to a surgeon,



Many are the unbelievers who long for submission,

but their stumbling block

is reputation and pride and continual desires.

I'm the devoted slave

of anyone who doesn't claim

to have attained dining with God

at every way station.


Everyone is a child

except the one who's intoxicated with God.

God has said, Knowledge that isn't from Him is a burden.

like a woman's makeup, it doesn't last.



Be cleansed of the (false) self's features, and see your pure Self:

Know the mirror of the heart is infinite.

Either the understanding falls silent, or it leads you astray,

because the heart is God,

or indeed the heart is He.



Everything, except love of the Most Beautiful,

is really agony. It's agony

to move towards death and not drink the water of life.

Fiery lust is not diminished by indulging it,

but inevitably by leaving it ungratified.



Anger is a king over kings,

but anger once bridled may serve.

The Signs of a Believer

http://islamicinsights.com/religion/religion/the-signs-of-a-believer.html

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) has said, describing the believer, "He is subtle in his movements, sweet to look at... He seeks out the loftiest of matters, and has the most outstanding moral ethics... He is not prejudiced against he whom he does not like, nor biased in favour of one he loves... He is hardly a burden, and instead is very helpful... He perfects his actions as if he is being watched, lowers his gaze, is liberal in his giving, and never turns away a beggar... He considers his words carefully and guards his tongue... He neither accepts falsehood from a friend, nor rejects truth from an enemy... He only learns in order that he might know, and he only knows in order that he may act... When he travels with worldly people, he is the smartest of them, and when he travels with the people of the Hereafter, he is the most pious from among them." (Bihar al-Anwar)

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) further describes, "The believer is such that his joy is evident on his face whereas his sorrow is in his heart. His breast is at its widest [i.e. biggest heart] but his ego is at his lowest. He despises high ranks and shuns reputation. His grief is long-lasting and his ambition is lofty. His silence is much and his time occupied. He is grateful, extremely patient, and immersed in deep thought. He is prudent with his needs. He is good-natured and mild-tempered. His soul is firmer than steel whilst his ego remains lower than a slave." (Ibid.)

Sent down upon us by the Almighty as the epitome of moral excellence, our Infallible Guides (peace be upon them) have blessed us with countless pearls of wisdom with regard to the signs of a true believer. Having clearly illustrated the loftiness of the moral virtues and behavioral merits a believer possesses, let us take a moment in solitude to reflect upon some of these, whilst striving to inculcate the noble yet cardinal qualities into ourselves with sincerity.

Moral Excellence
At the heart of the Holy Prophet's mission was to maintain, perfect and nourish good moral virtues; he has said, "I recommend to you the importance of good moral conduct because I have been appointed by God Almighty to accomplish this very aim." (Bihar al-Anwar)

Being one of his greatest prophetic objectives, we must especially be mindful of our character when we find ourselves in positions of disagreement, as it is in these situations that Shaytan is so effortlessly successful in deflating the believer's moral behavior. It takes one slip of the tongue to pass off as being offensive, and less than that to be dominated by the urge to degrade our fellow believers who we feel are wrong in their opinions, beliefs and conduct. When such sentiments prevail, let us remember the words of our Prophet: "The peak of good reason after religious devotion is treating people with love" (Ibid). If faced with a somewhat difficult individual, let us remember our Prophet's advice to "perform acts of courtesy to those who are worthy of them as well as those who are not worthy of them, and even if they have no effect on those who do deserve them, you are at least worthy of performing them." (Uyun Akhbar al-Rida)

Imam Ali has further said, "For your brother, offer your blood and your wealth; for your enemy your justice and fairness, and for people in general your joy and your good favor." (Bihar al-Anwar) Indeed, in the path of the Ahlul Bayt there is no room for insolence – to friends and enemies alike.

Content
Feelings of satisfaction and content are generally coupled with Allah's blessings and bounties in times of happiness and fortune, yet the sign of the believer is to be content and at peace with however much or little the Lord has allotted for herself/himself. Rather than distressing over that which he seeks yet cannot attain, the believer will understand that Allah is the best of planners and thus – regardless of circumstances – there is complete wisdom behind what He has willed.

When Imam as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked how a believer knows that he is indeed a believer, the Imam replied: "Through submission to Allah and satisfaction with whatever source of happiness or unhappiness comes his way." (Ibid.)

The Holy Prophet once asked a group of his companions, "Who are you?" They said, "We are believers." He then asked, "What is the sign of your faith?" They replied, "We remain patient in trial and are thankful in times of happiness and ease, and we are content at Divine decisions." Upon hearing this, the Prophet replied, "These are truly the faithful." (Islamic Morals)

Firmness
Is the condition of our heart strong enough to face the troubles that come our way, such that it is strengthened by them or at the least remains unconditionally unaffected?

Imam Sadiq said, "Verily the believer is stronger than pieces of iron, for when a piece of iron enters the fire it changes, whereas the believer, were he to be killed and resurrected and then killed again, his heart would never change." (Bihar al-Anwar)

Do we shy away from displaying our faith to the world and feel weakened and threatened by external scrutiny, or do we stand firm in obeying Allah's commands regardless of how big a stone is thrown at us?

Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said, "The believer is harder than a mountain, for the mountain is dispensable, whereas nothing can be taken away from a believer's religion." (Al-Kafi) He also said, describing the attributes of Shias, "They are like strong fortresses; their chests are trustworthy; they are men of prudence and self-control; they are not extravagant; they are neither oppressors nor pretentious; they are devoted worshippers in night and brave like lions during the day." (Mishkat al-Anwar)

Honesty
Imam Baqir said, "The Lord Almighty has kept locks for evil and wickedness, and the key to those locks is wine because intoxicants drive away intelligence." He then added, "Lying is worse than wine." (Al-Kafi) That is certainly something to think hard about – lying is worse than wine! Yet how easily inclined we are to projecting, implying and breathing falsehood daily. Entire lives have been (and continue to be) consumed and disintegrated by incessant engagement in lies. Can such individuals claim to be believers? The Prophet said, "The believer can be predisposed to any trait, but he cannot be predisposed to lying or treachery." (Tuhaf al-Uqul)

Forgiveness and Forbearance
The height of the virtue of forgiveness was found in all of our divinely appointed Guides. As unmovable mountains of forbearance, they would not only pardon the enemy, but treat them with such kindness and compassion to the extent of winning them over. As Imam Ali has said, "Obligate yourself to adopt affection, and make yourself tolerate the hindrances of people." (Ibid.)

For those of us who may find it difficult to overlook the faults of others and treat them with respect and consideration, let us take heed of the Holy Prophet's tradition in which he tells us, "One of the signs of a believer is that he does not naturally nurse any grudge based on carnal sentiments, against anybody." He also said, "If a believer happens to commit a fault, the aggrieved believer does not feel antipathy towards him for more than three days."

Further, he advised "If you are faced with anger, avert it through pardon, for verily a caller will call out on the Day of Resurrection: 'Whoever has a claim for a reward from Allah should stand up!', and none will stand except the pardoners. Have you not heard the verse of Allah, the most High, 'So whoever pardons and makes peace, his reward lies with Allah'?!" (A'lam al-Din)

Generosity
The Holy Prophet said, "Allah has made generosity the greatest moral virtue." (Kanz al-'Ummal)

Imam Sadiq said, "Generosity is one of the noble traits possessed by the prophets. It is the pillar of belief, such that only a true believer will be generous, as well as one who possesses great certainty and high aspiration, for generosity is a gleam from the light of certainty, and the one who knows what he wants finds it easy to give away." (Bihar al-Anwar)

He has further said, "The best ones from among you are those who are liberal and the worst ones from among you are the miserly" (Ibid, p. 350), and that "A generous youth burdened by sins is more beloved to Allah than a worshipping but miserly old man." (Bihar al-Anwar)

The Best of Believers
Imam Ali said, "The best of believers in terms of faith is he whose giving and withholding, and whose displeasure and pleasure are solely for the sake of Allah." (Ghurar al-Hikam)

He also said, "Our Shi'a are those who possess a deep understanding of Allah; they act according to the orders of Allah; they possess excellences; they speak only the truth; their food is limited to gaining strength; their dress is simple; their behavior is humble; you think that they have lost their senses, but it is not like that… Instead, the greatness of their Lord has made them oblivious, and His power has overwhelmed their hearts and taken over their intellects. So when they strongly wish of Him, they promptly strive to do pure actions before God, the most High; they are not happy with few good actions, and they never take their abundant good actions to be sufficient." (Bihar al-Anwar)

The Holy Prophet said, "There are ten signs of a righteous person: he loves for the sake of Allah, hates for the sake of Allah, befriends for the sake of Allah, abandons for the sake of Allah. He becomes angry for the sake of Allah, becomes pleased for the sake of Allah, works for the sake of Allah, beseeches Allah, submits to Allah – fearing Him, awed [by others], pure, sincere, bashful, and watchful – and acts kindly for the sake of Allah." (Ibid.)

The Last Will and Testament of Imam Ali

In the name of Allah the most Merciful Beneficent

The Last Will and Testament of Imam Ali
Wednesday, 24 September 2008 05:57 Masooma Beatty


Today, as you are driving home from work, it happens. After the initial jolt, you find yourself strangely detached from your body and the twisted metal around you. As you assess the situation, you realize that this is an accident you won't survive.

As you begin to evaluate your life, your thoughts turn to Imam Ali (peace be upon him), approaching death after receiving the fatal blow while he offered his prayers. He had exclaimed, "By the Lord of the Ka'ba, I am successful!" What an upright life he lived – a model of success for all – and what perfect, simple advice he had left in his last will and testament!

"My advice to you is to be conscious of Allah and steadfast in your religion."

Now at the hour of your death, you are wholly conscious of Allah. So many hours of your life were spent without thinking of Him, when there really is nothing but Him. At this moment, you yearn for all those hours back to remember God, to pray intently, to give thanks for your countless blessings.
Story Continued Below...


"Do not yearn for the world, and do not be seduced by it. Do not resent anything you have missed in it."

It seems so silly now how intent you were on getting a bigger house. You wanted it so badly you could taste it, and you resented your coworker who never seemed to have to work hard for anything. You secretly yearned to be free of responsibility to your family that always made demands of you, feeling you were missing out on the pleasures of life. But right now at this moment, you realize you would be content to spend a lifetime living in a tent or a car and that you would love to redo all your time with your family so that you could appreciate your blessings this time around. All your complaints seem so petty now!

"Proclaim the truth; work for the next world. Oppose the oppressor and support the oppressed."

You spent years of your life working for money and respect. While some of it was necessary and good, much of it was for status or excess wealth. You always intended to prepare for the next world, but this one always seemed to consume your full attention. You let lies pass or confused you, and you let oppressors stand unopposed because you were too busy and didn't want to bring trouble to yourself.

"I advise you, and all my children, my relatives, and whosoever receives this message, to be conscious of Allah, to remove your differences, and to strengthen your ties. I heard your grandfather, peace be upon him, say: 'Reconciliation of your differences is more worthy than all prayers and all fasting."

You had estranged yourself from kin and brethren. You had quibbled with them over various things, like who should be the prayer leader or paying off a debt. But now you realize they were all a test for you, and you failed the test. All of them could have been a source of blessing and companionship in your life if you had softened your heart toward them.

"Fear Allah in matters concerning orphans. Attend to their nutrition and do not forget their interests in the middle of yours.

Fear Allah in your relations with your neighbors. Your Prophet often recommended them to you, so much so that we thought he would give them a share in inheritance."

Your neighbors included a single mother and her children. You knew that she struggled to pay her rent and to get gifts for her kids on the holidays. How nice it would've been to bring smiles to their faces and ease their worries. Instead, you are now haunted by their troubles, knowing you could have helped.

"Remain attached to the Quran. Nobody should surpass you in being intent on it, or more sincere in implementing it.

Fear Allah in relation to your prayers. It is the pillar of your religion.

Fear Allah in relation to His House; do not abandon it as long as you live. If you should do that you would abandon your dignity."

Regret consumes you for the way you treated the Qur'an. You took it down only during the month of Ramadan and recited it without understanding. How foolish you were, when you had access to the guidebook of life, not to read it often, ponder it and put its guidance to action! And how many times had your prayers been hasty and thoughtless, instead of the worship that would have purified you? How many times had you delayed going for Hajj for worldly reasons, seeing it as a burden rather than an opportunity? And when you did go, you treated it like a vacation and complained about the hotel not being fancy enough. Even on Hajj, your focus was worldly, and you missed out on seeing the signs of Allah all around you.

"Persist in Jihad in the cause of Allah with your money, your souls, and your tongue."

You had hated that word: Jihad. It made you think about bringing hardship and terrorism. But now you want to live your whole life struggling in the Way if you could do it over.

"Maintain communication and exchange of opinion among yourselves. Beware of disunity and enmity. Do not desist from promoting good deeds and cautioning against bad ones. Should you do that, the worst among you would be your leaders, and you will call upon Allah without response."

Most of the world is in the hands of bad leaders. But you yourself had done nothing to bring the good people together to strive in the way of Allah and to improve yourselves and the world. When others had made effort, you had mocked them as naïve. But if you had worked with them, maybe it would have made a difference. Did you make all your prayers be blocked by your own deeds or inaction?

"O Children of Abdul Muttalib! Do not shed the blood of Muslims under the banner: 'The Imam has been assassinated!' Only the assassin should be condemned to death.

If I die of this stroke of his, kill him with one similar stroke. Do not mutilate him! I have heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say: 'Mutilate not even a rabid dog.'"

So many times in your life you had desired revenge more than justice. Now you see your anger and hatred as blackness consuming your heart. If only you could go to your Creator with a pure and free heart.

In only a few brief words, Imam Ali left a tremendous treasure – clear and simple instructions that if you had followed them, maybe you could also be exclaiming, "By the Lord of the Ka'ba, I am successful!" As you draw your last breath, you recite Salawat, grateful that there had been such people on the earth as the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt (as) to guide mankind, but wishing you had lived by that guidance before this moment arrived.

Source: http://www.islamicinsights.com/religion/religion/the-last-will-and-testament-of-imam-ali.html

The Insecure Mind

Human life is full of vicissitudes of time which may leave a deep impression on us. Sometimes we enjoy the pleasant weather of blessings, and at other times we may have to undergo periods of tests and trials. In general, we as human always wish good and show a deep fear about anything going against our expectation or facing adverse circumstances. Our mind is always fighting with fears like – what will happen if I lose my job or fail an exam or face business loss or any other such calamity?

The fear or phobia can reach to the extent of seriously affecting our lives. These fears are truths of life which cannot be denied, and none of us is immune from them. But the mind which is too engrossed in these fears reacts abnormally to otherwise normal phenomena of life, and consequently, problems are caused. These fears may also lead to serious mental problems and psychiatric disojavascript:void(0)rders.

The suffering which is a truth of life – "certainly We have created man to be in distress." (90:4) – cannot be fully averted. The deep and true faith in Allah is the way out. The faith in the promise of His mercy and reliance on His might to deliver us from all unfavorable circumstances, combined with patience and contentment with His decree and will, is the path salvation.

In his book Ethics and Spiritual Growth, Sayyid Mujtaba Musawi Lari discusses the importance of faith in mitigating and relieving the fears in our life:

Faith not only removes anguish and anxiety from the human heart, it can protect it from being overwhelmed by agitation and agony. The Qur'an describes the preventive role of faith in these words:

"If you have faith, do not yield to fear and sorrow, for you have an upper hand over the others on account of this asset of faith." (3:139)

This verse drives home the point that faith is a firm shield for the soul in its encounter with the agents of anxiety, producing a certain immunity in the human being. If one should lack a complete faith, and should the agents of anxiety penetrate to the core of his soul, it is again faith by relying on which he can free his mind from the burden of agony and purge the effects of suffering from the tablet of his heart. The Qur'an says:

"In God's remembrance do the hearts find peace." (13:28)

"It is He Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the faithful." (48:4)

The Qur'an considers steadiness and security to be the characteristics of those whose hearts are full of faith:

"Mental peace and security are qualities of those who have faith and who have not drawn a veil of wrongdoing over their faith." (6:82)

"Lo, fear and sorrow do not affect the friends of God." (10:62)

In a sermon on the benefits of remembrance of God, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) describes the characteristics of Godly human beings:

"God, the Exalted, has made His remembrance the light and burnish of the hearts. It is by the means of His remembrance that the hearts recover their hearing after being deaf, regain their sight after being blind, and become soft and tractable after being savage and rebellious. It has always been the case that in periods of spiritual torpor, from time to time, God Almighty has confided His inspiration to the thoughts of His sublime servants and spoken to them through their intellects.

"The state of people possessing faith is not at all comparable with the condition of materialistic and irreligious persons in encounter with life's vicissitudes and its bitter experiences, for the two are as apart as the earth and the sky." (Nahjul Balagha)

Our Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them) have taught us supplications which connect us to Allah and teach us the ways in which we should implore His mercy in difficult times of our life. Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) states in Sahifa Sajjadia, Du'a 54:

"O God, some rise in the morning having trust or hope in other than Thee.

I rise in the morning,

and Thou art my trust and my hope in all affairs ,

so decree for me those which are best in outcome and deliver me from misguiding trials,

O Most Merciful of the merciful!"

In Du'a 59, the Imam acknowledges the power of Allah and implores Him to replace suffering with comfort:

"My God,
surely Thy power to remove
that in which I dwell
is like Thy power in
that with which Thou hast afflicted me!
And surely the remembrance of Thy acts of kindliness
comforts me
and hope in Thy showing favor and Thy bounty
strengthens me,
for I have not been without Thy favor
ever since Thou created me...

So, my Patron and Master,
place within that which Thou hast
ordained,
decreed,
and made unavoidable for me,
my well-being
and that wherein lies
my soundness
and my deliverance from that in which I am!
I hope for none to repel this other than Thee,
and I rely in it only upon Thee.
O Possessor of majesty and munificence,
be with my best opinion of Thee."

The Ahul Bayt teach us that a true believer is content with Allah's will and always expects the best from Him. We conclude our discussion with quoting Du'a 33:

"O God,
I ask from Thee the best in Thy knowledge,
so bless Muhammad and his Household
and decree for me the best!
Inspire us with knowledge to chose the best
and make that a means to
being pleased with what Thou hast decreed for us
and submitting to what Thou hast decided!
Banish from us the doubt of misgiving
and confirm us with the certainty of the sincere!
Visit us not with incapacity
to know what Thou hast chosen, lest we
despise Thy measuring out,
dislike the place of Thy good pleasure,
and incline toward that which is
further from good outcome
and nearer to the opposite of well-being!
Make us love what we dislike
in Thy decree
and make easy for us what we find difficult
in Thy decision!
Inspire us to yield
to that which Thou bringest upon us by Thy will,
lest we
love the delay of what Thou hast hastened
and the hastening of what Thou hast delayed,
dislike what Thou lovest,
and choose what Thou dislikest!
Seal us with that which is most praised in outcome
and most generous in issue!
Surely Thou givest generous gain,
bestowest the immense,
dost what Thou wilt,
and Thou art powerful over everything."