1 00:00:00,250 --> 00:00:03,182 Most people learn a long du'a the same way. 2 00:00:03,182 --> 00:00:04,409 Start at line one. 3 00:00:04,409 --> 00:00:05,091 Repeat it. 4 00:00:05,091 --> 00:00:06,250 Move to line two. 5 00:00:06,250 --> 00:00:10,546 And a week later, it's a blur of beautiful words with no shape. 6 00:00:11,396 --> 00:00:13,976 So today we're going to do it differently. 7 00:00:13,976 --> 00:00:19,627 We'll learn Du'a Makarim al-Akhlaq, the Supplication for Noble Character, big picture first. 8 00:00:19,627 --> 00:00:22,083 By the end, you won't just have read it. 9 00:00:22,083 --> 00:00:24,356 You'll have a map of it in your head. 10 00:00:25,206 --> 00:00:27,668 Here's why line by line doesn't work. 11 00:00:27,668 --> 00:00:31,527 In a list, each line is only linked to the line before it. 12 00:00:31,527 --> 00:00:34,854 Lose one link, and everything after it falls away. 13 00:00:35,704 --> 00:00:42,094 When you understand the structure, what each part is for and how the parts connect, every line has many hooks. 14 00:00:42,094 --> 00:00:43,662 That's what makes it stick. 15 00:00:43,662 --> 00:00:45,928 And it's also what makes it meaningful. 16 00:00:46,778 --> 00:00:49,519 So our order today is: big picture first. 17 00:00:49,519 --> 00:00:50,922 Then the main chunks. 18 00:00:50,922 --> 00:00:53,663 Then the patterns that tie them together. 19 00:00:53,663 --> 00:00:54,866 Details come last. 20 00:00:55,716 --> 00:00:56,813 Quick context. 21 00:00:56,813 --> 00:01:05,351 This is supplication twenty in al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, attributed to Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, Zayn al-Abidin. 22 00:01:05,351 --> 00:01:09,972 The page we're working from takes it from Mafatih al-Jinan. 23 00:01:10,822 --> 00:01:12,678 The title tells you the goal. 24 00:01:12,678 --> 00:01:16,262 Makarim al-Akhlaq means the noblest traits of character. 25 00:01:16,262 --> 00:01:23,302 So before you read anything, ask yourself: if I wanted to build noble character, what would I need to ask for? 26 00:01:23,302 --> 00:01:25,350 Pause, and jot down your answer. 27 00:01:25,350 --> 00:01:27,142 We'll compare it at the end. 28 00:01:31,492 --> 00:01:32,928 Here's the big picture. 29 00:01:32,928 --> 00:01:37,300 The du'a builds character from the inside out, like rings on a target. 30 00:01:38,150 --> 00:01:43,574 At the centre is the core: faith, certainty, intention, and action. 31 00:01:44,424 --> 00:01:50,424 Around that is the self: the ego, and the traits that either grow or rot inside us. 32 00:01:51,274 --> 00:01:54,900 Then other people: enemies, relatives, companions. 33 00:01:54,900 --> 00:01:57,874 How we treat them, and how they treat us. 34 00:01:58,724 --> 00:02:03,716 Then the world: wealth, provision, need, and who we depend on. 35 00:02:04,566 --> 00:02:11,358 And around everything is the end: time, age, and how a life is finally sealed. 36 00:02:12,208 --> 00:02:16,175 The du'a doesn't walk through these in a straight line. 37 00:02:16,175 --> 00:02:17,329 It circles back. 38 00:02:17,329 --> 00:02:20,646 But every passage lands in one of these rings. 39 00:02:20,646 --> 00:02:26,344 So if you remember nothing else, remember this: core, self, others, world, end. 40 00:02:27,194 --> 00:02:28,562 Start at the centre. 41 00:02:28,562 --> 00:02:40,946 The opening asks God to bring four things to their best: faith to its most complete, certainty to its finest, intention to the best of intentions, and action to the best of actions. 42 00:02:41,796 --> 00:02:42,964 Notice the order. 43 00:02:42,964 --> 00:02:44,613 Faith becomes certainty. 44 00:02:44,613 --> 00:02:46,469 Certainty shapes intention. 45 00:02:46,469 --> 00:02:48,118 Intention drives action. 46 00:02:48,118 --> 00:02:51,348 It's a chain from the invisible to the visible. 47 00:02:52,198 --> 00:02:58,737 And straight away, it admits the chain is damaged: repair, by Your power, what is corrupt in me. 48 00:02:58,737 --> 00:03:00,917 So the du'a starts with honesty. 49 00:03:00,917 --> 00:03:02,348 It isn't a wish list. 50 00:03:02,348 --> 00:03:03,574 It's a repair job. 51 00:03:04,424 --> 00:03:05,880 Then it asks for focus. 52 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:07,590 Spare me what distracts me. 53 00:03:07,590 --> 00:03:10,439 Use me for what I'll be asked about tomorrow. 54 00:03:10,439 --> 00:03:12,972 Spend my days on what I was created for. 55 00:03:12,972 --> 00:03:16,328 Core values first, then where the time actually goes. 56 00:03:17,178 --> 00:03:18,872 Now the first big pattern. 57 00:03:18,872 --> 00:03:26,106 Watch how the du'a asks for something good: honour, worship, the chance to do good for people, noble character. 58 00:03:26,956 --> 00:03:30,537 And then, in the same breath, it guards each one. 59 00:03:30,537 --> 00:03:32,365 Honour, but no arrogance. 60 00:03:32,365 --> 00:03:34,704 Worship, but no self-admiration. 61 00:03:34,704 --> 00:03:38,577 Doing good, but never ruining it by reminding people. 62 00:03:38,577 --> 00:03:40,989 Noble character, but no boasting. 63 00:03:40,989 --> 00:03:43,036 Every blessing has a shadow. 64 00:03:43,886 --> 00:03:46,048 Then comes the most striking line. 65 00:03:46,048 --> 00:03:51,772 Don't raise me one degree among people without lowering me the same degree in my own eyes. 66 00:03:51,772 --> 00:03:56,414 Don't give me outward honour without an inward humility of the same size. 67 00:03:57,264 --> 00:04:00,589 That's pattern one: every gift comes with a counterweight. 68 00:04:00,589 --> 00:04:06,552 Once you see it, you'll spot it all through the du'a, and you'll start noticing it in your own life too. 69 00:04:07,402 --> 00:04:08,908 Still in the self ring. 70 00:04:08,908 --> 00:04:15,586 The du'a asks for guidance it won't swap, a path it won't drift from, and an intention it won't doubt. 71 00:04:16,436 --> 00:04:18,767 Then a sobering request about time. 72 00:04:18,767 --> 00:04:22,363 Give me long life, as long as it's spent in obedience. 73 00:04:22,363 --> 00:04:27,092 But if my life becomes a grazing ground for Satan, take me before that. 74 00:04:27,942 --> 00:04:29,553 And then a full self-audit. 75 00:04:29,553 --> 00:04:38,742 Leave no flaw in me that You don't fix, no fault I'm blamed for that You don't make good, and no noble trait that's half-finished that You don't complete. 76 00:04:39,592 --> 00:04:40,497 Try this now. 77 00:04:40,497 --> 00:04:45,440 Name one flaw, one fault, and one half-finished good trait in yourself. 78 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,016 That's the du'a turned into a mirror. 79 00:04:52,366 --> 00:04:55,383 Now the second big pattern: transformation. 80 00:04:55,383 --> 00:04:58,611 The du'a doesn't just ask to avoid bad things. 81 00:04:58,611 --> 00:05:02,401 It asks for each one to be replaced with its opposite. 82 00:05:02,401 --> 00:05:03,594 Hatred into love. 83 00:05:03,594 --> 00:05:04,997 Envy into affection. 84 00:05:04,997 --> 00:05:06,190 Fear into safety. 85 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:08,820 Look at who's on the left. 86 00:05:08,820 --> 00:05:09,711 Enemies, yes. 87 00:05:09,711 --> 00:05:14,983 But also family, close relatives, even good people who are suspicious of you. 88 00:05:14,983 --> 00:05:16,011 It's realistic. 89 00:05:16,011 --> 00:05:19,640 The hardest relationships are often the closest ones. 90 00:05:20,490 --> 00:05:21,988 Then there's protection. 91 00:05:21,988 --> 00:05:24,047 A hand against whoever wrongs me. 92 00:05:24,047 --> 00:05:26,543 A tongue against whoever argues with me. 93 00:05:26,543 --> 00:05:28,602 Safety from whoever threatens me. 94 00:05:28,602 --> 00:05:29,850 Strength is allowed. 95 00:05:30,700 --> 00:05:32,752 But then the du'a climbs higher. 96 00:05:32,752 --> 00:05:43,783 Guide me to answer deceit with sincere advice, desertion with kindness, deprivation with giving, being cut off with keeping ties, and backbiting with speaking well of them. 97 00:05:43,783 --> 00:05:46,156 Thank the good, and overlook the bad. 98 00:05:47,006 --> 00:05:49,620 So in relationships there are two levels. 99 00:05:49,620 --> 00:05:54,592 Being protected from harm, and then rising above it by returning good for bad. 100 00:05:54,592 --> 00:05:57,206 You need both to understand this section. 101 00:05:58,056 --> 00:06:01,718 Next comes a long list: the adornment of the righteous. 102 00:06:01,718 --> 00:06:07,777 This is where most people's memory collapses, because it's just item after item after item. 103 00:06:07,777 --> 00:06:08,976 So let's chunk it. 104 00:06:09,826 --> 00:06:12,479 Five chunks instead of twenty items. 105 00:06:12,479 --> 00:06:13,437 Peace-making. 106 00:06:13,437 --> 00:06:16,016 Showing kindness and hiding faults. 107 00:06:16,016 --> 00:06:16,679 Softness. 108 00:06:16,679 --> 00:06:17,490 Initiative. 109 00:06:17,490 --> 00:06:19,406 And honesty with yourself. 110 00:06:19,406 --> 00:06:21,322 Now every item has a home. 111 00:06:22,172 --> 00:06:29,028 And notice the very last one loops back to pattern one: see your own good as small, even when it's large. 112 00:06:29,028 --> 00:06:31,052 That's the counterweight again. 113 00:06:31,902 --> 00:06:33,129 Now the world ring. 114 00:06:33,129 --> 00:06:38,942 The du'a asks for the widest provision when I'm old, and the most strength when I'm tired. 115 00:06:38,942 --> 00:06:40,686 And no laziness in worship. 116 00:06:41,536 --> 00:06:43,524 Then a key theme: dependence. 117 00:06:43,524 --> 00:06:45,992 Let me turn to You when I'm in need. 118 00:06:45,992 --> 00:06:53,464 And don't test me by making me lean on others, humble myself before others, or plead to anyone less than You. 119 00:06:54,314 --> 00:06:57,050 Later it gets very practical about money. 120 00:06:57,050 --> 00:06:58,517 Protect me from waste. 121 00:06:58,517 --> 00:07:00,452 Guard my provision from loss. 122 00:07:00,452 --> 00:07:04,055 Provide for me without my being consumed by the chase. 123 00:07:04,055 --> 00:07:10,994 And keep my dignity, so I'm not begging from people, praising whoever gives and blaming whoever refuses. 124 00:07:11,844 --> 00:07:13,703 See the link back to the core? 125 00:07:13,703 --> 00:07:18,226 If you depend on people, your emotions follow whoever gives or withholds. 126 00:07:18,226 --> 00:07:23,244 The du'a points your dependence in one direction, so your character stays steady. 127 00:07:24,094 --> 00:07:32,852 And one line sums up the balance: health with worship, free time with detachment, knowledge with practice, and piety with moderation. 128 00:07:32,852 --> 00:07:36,211 Every good thing, paired with what keeps it useful. 129 00:07:36,211 --> 00:07:37,462 Pattern one, again. 130 00:07:38,312 --> 00:07:42,348 The transformation pattern comes back for the inner world. 131 00:07:42,348 --> 00:07:52,160 Whatever Satan throws into my mind, wishful fantasies, suspicion, envy, turn it into remembering Your greatness and reflecting on Your power. 132 00:07:53,010 --> 00:08:01,722 And whatever slips onto my tongue, obscenity, insults, false testimony, backbiting, turn it into praise and gratitude. 133 00:08:02,572 --> 00:08:04,200 This is useful psychology. 134 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,329 You can't just delete a bad habit. 135 00:08:06,329 --> 00:08:07,331 You redirect it. 136 00:08:07,331 --> 00:08:10,588 And the du'a gives you the replacement for each one. 137 00:08:11,438 --> 00:08:13,344 Then we reach the emotional centre. 138 00:08:13,344 --> 00:08:16,230 Let me not be wronged while You're able to defend me. 139 00:08:16,230 --> 00:08:19,334 And let me not wrong others while You're able to stop me. 140 00:08:20,184 --> 00:08:21,087 And then this. 141 00:08:21,087 --> 00:08:23,151 To Your forgiveness I have come. 142 00:08:23,151 --> 00:08:29,214 I have nothing that earns Your forgiveness, and nothing in my deeds that deserves Your pardon. 143 00:08:29,214 --> 00:08:32,568 After judging myself, all I have left is Your grace. 144 00:08:33,418 --> 00:08:35,920 That's the counterweight at its deepest. 145 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:41,362 All this talk of noble character, and the person asking claims none of it as their own. 146 00:08:42,212 --> 00:08:43,683 Finally, the end ring. 147 00:08:43,683 --> 00:08:45,689 Seal my life with Your pardon. 148 00:08:45,689 --> 00:08:48,162 Make my hope in Your mercy come true. 149 00:08:48,162 --> 00:08:50,636 Make the paths to Your pleasure easy. 150 00:08:51,486 --> 00:08:54,211 Wake me to remember You when I'm heedless. 151 00:08:54,211 --> 00:08:56,936 Use me in obedience in the days I'm given. 152 00:08:56,936 --> 00:09:07,446 And it closes by sending blessings on Muhammad and his family, with the familiar request: good in this world, good in the hereafter, and protection from the Fire. 153 00:09:08,296 --> 00:09:10,665 Let's put it all together. 154 00:09:10,665 --> 00:09:14,584 Five rings: core, self, others, world, end. 155 00:09:15,434 --> 00:09:18,125 Two patterns running through all of them. 156 00:09:18,125 --> 00:09:21,078 Pattern one: every gift gets a counterweight. 157 00:09:21,078 --> 00:09:25,082 Pattern two: every negative is transformed into its opposite. 158 00:09:25,932 --> 00:09:29,298 And one thread holding everything together: humility. 159 00:09:29,298 --> 00:09:30,759 Lowered in my own eyes. 160 00:09:30,759 --> 00:09:32,156 My good seen as small. 161 00:09:32,156 --> 00:09:34,951 Nothing that earns forgiveness except grace. 162 00:09:34,951 --> 00:09:38,381 Now compare this to the answer you wrote at the start. 163 00:09:38,381 --> 00:09:39,524 What did you miss? 164 00:09:39,524 --> 00:09:42,636 What did the du'a include that you didn't expect? 165 00:09:43,486 --> 00:09:45,959 Here's how to actually learn it this week. 166 00:09:45,959 --> 00:09:49,257 One: before you read, sketch the five rings from memory. 167 00:09:49,257 --> 00:09:54,262 That's priming, which just means giving your brain a structure to hang new things on. 168 00:09:55,112 --> 00:10:01,1000 Two: read it once through, and for each passage, ask: which ring is this, and which pattern? 169 00:10:02,850 --> 00:10:05,236 Three: draw arrows between the rings. 170 00:10:05,236 --> 00:10:08,782 Where does a line about money connect back to the core? 171 00:10:08,782 --> 00:10:11,490 Those links are where understanding lives. 172 00:10:12,340 --> 00:10:15,368 Four: pick one transformation pair a day. 173 00:10:15,368 --> 00:10:17,509 Say, desertion into kindness. 174 00:10:17,509 --> 00:10:19,060 And actually live it. 175 00:10:19,910 --> 00:10:22,655 Five: review the map, not the list. 176 00:10:22,655 --> 00:10:25,478 Try to rebuild it from a blank page. 177 00:10:26,328 --> 00:10:30,621 If you can redraw this map from scratch, you've understood the du'a. 178 00:10:30,621 --> 00:10:35,104 And once you understand it, reciting it stops being a string of sounds. 179 00:10:35,104 --> 00:10:36,745 It becomes a conversation. 180 00:10:36,745 --> 00:10:40,344 So close this video, grab a blank page, and draw the map.