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  Translators Note
  Preface
  Chapters
1.

The First Talk
  -   The Importance of Ista-aaza in the Quran & the traditions
  -   Ista-aaza before commencing a prayer
  -   Absolute necessity of Ista-aaza in permissible affairs
  -   Satan at the threshold of the mosque
  -   Saying the Ista-aaza before stirring out of one's house
  -   The prophet of Islam (a.s) exhorted by Allah to do Ista-aaza
  -   Worshipping the Satan the whole life
  -   During Qazawat or deliverence of justice, privacy with na mahram or strange females, while in a frenzy of anger
2. The Second Talk
  -   The Satan's trap or bait
  -   Don't brag after doing charity
  -   Satan sets his sights on the hearts of people
  -   What is Satan? Why has he been created?
  -   What is the use of knowing about Satan
  -   Satan has been created with fire and is a rare creature
  -   Satan can see us
  -   The creation of Satan & the felicity of man
  -   The purpose of creation of Satan is to put man to test
  -   Allah's promise & Satan's promise
  -   Allah's call & the call of Satan
  -   Satan never thrust his will on people forcibly
3. The Third Talk
  -   The Jealous nature of Iblees
  -   Jealous & Proud have nothing to do with heaven
  -   The wish f Iblees fulfilled
  -   The angels too have power of inspiration (Ilhaam)
  -   At the cross-roads
  -   The door for repentance is always open
  -   Allah's blessing is for men till the end
  -   Hassan Basri asks a question & Imam Zain al Abedeen (a.s.) replies
  -   Illness before death is a blessing
4. The Fourth Talk
  -   The only way to safety from Satan is Ista-aaza
  -   The King's tent & the ferocious watch-dog
  -   Ista-aaza should emanate from the heart and merely from the lips
  -   The three types of Ista-aaza
  -   Seeking protection in Allah's obedience
  -   A Satanic book to refute Satan
  -   The politics of the imperialist forces
  -   Ista-aaza is for escape from sins
  -   Keeping the hand in the tiger's mouth and trying to escape from it with one's feet
  -   A true dream and Satan's treachery
5. The Fifth Talk
  -   The meaning should be manifested by the words
  -   Satan runs away from the men of piety
  -   Need for trust on Allah
  -   Satan has nothing to do with the sincere people
  -   Do we have the capability of piety(taqwa) Aand remembrance (Tazakkar) of Allah
  -   Illegitimate sustenance is the biggest impediment in the way of Ista-aaza
      Until the last vestiges of haram are not removed Ista-aaza is not possible
  -   Abstain from doubtful food
6.

The Sixth Talk
  -   We are helpless & powerless
  -   The purity or otherwise of food
  -   Identify the haram morsel of food
  -   The bakers oven & Satanic tune
7.

The Seventh Talk
  -   Be Satan's antagonists
  -   Does Satan sleep
  -   You must remain fortified
  -   Momins arms-mustahebat (the non-mandatory prayers) & tark e mukroohat or abstinence from undesirables
  -   Satan intensifies his attacks in stages
  -   Wadhu or ablution--- the sharp instrument of defence for a Momin
  -   Fasting & charity break the backbone of Satan
  -   I have seen Satan's mother
  -   Penitence-another weapon in the hands of a Momin
  -   Two powerful weapons to defeat Satan
  -   Iblees bites the foot of Imam Syed Sajjad (a.s.)
  -   Warn people against the Satanic subterfuge
  -   Thinner than the hair and sharper than a sword
  -   The hereafter depends on the wordly desires
  -   A difference of three hundred thousand years
  8.  

The Eight Talk
  -   Taqwa the first aspect of Ista-aaza
  -   Abstinence from makroohat or unbecoming
  -   Thorny jungle and the barefoot traveller
  -   The bait and intrigue of Satan
  -   Piety has the faculty of seeking through Satan's bait
  -   Some necessary examples -
The bazaar is Satan's bait
  -   Ista-aaza before entering the bazaar
  -   Satan's trap in the bazaar
  -   Fellow-travellers-a dangerous trap
  -   Recognise yourself
  -   Woman is the most formidable trap
  -   Company of women is the preface to sinning
  -   The tale of barseesa
  9.  

The Ninth Talk
  -   Ista-aaza is effective only with piety
  -   A heart without piety is the abode of Satan
  -   Sumptous food & hungry dog
  -   A sick heart is the eating place of Satan
  -   The majority is entrapped
  -   The thief on the look out
for breaking into the house
  -   Iblees around the heart
  -   Why the suicide?
  -   Why Ista-aaza is not effective?
  -   Remember that death is a reality
  -   Flies buzz around the honey
  -   Satan a stumbling block in the way of penitence
  -   The practice of hazrat Syed e Sajjad (a.s.)
  -   The supplication of Ghareeq
during the absence of the Imam (a.s.)
  10.  

The Tenth Talk
  -   Why Ista-aaza
  -   Good deeds or guidance for evil
  -   Evil through good
  -   To make one miss the mandatories prompting people to busy in optional rites
  -   Losing interest in prayers
  -   O Allah! give us vision in the matters of faith
  -   Satan praying suspended in the sky
  11.  

The Eleventh Talk
  -   Satan the initiator of actions
  -   Satan doesn't even spare the prophets
  -   Hazrat Eesa converses with Satan
  -   Satan attempts to create fears in the mind of
Hazrat Ibrahim(a.s)
  -   Iblees tests the faith
  -   Satan attempts creating doubts in the mind of Ibrahim (a.s.)
  -   Have we too spurned Satan at any time
  -   Who is greater?
  -   Hazrat Ibrahim(a.s.) laments
  12.  

The Twelfth Talk
  -   The reality of Ista-aaza is in this verse
  -   The supplication of Imam Sajjad (a.s.)
      The thief who put off the lamp
  -   A thief in the heart
  -   Refrain from fights even if you are on the right
  -   The patience of Hazrat Dual Kifl (a.s.)
  -   Satan seeks help
  -   Satan knoks at the door
  -   Satan gets frustrated
  -   There will be negative effect of supplication on a heart devoid of piety
  13.  

The Thirteenth Talk
  -   Taqwa or piety is achieved with practice
  -   Shunning doubtful things or mushtabahaat
  -   Shunning of the unbecoming or makroohaat
  -   Shunning the permissible
for shunning the taboo
  -   Saving a coin a day for use
during ramadhan
  -   Travel becomes the reason
for avoiding the mandatory duties
  -   The material capacities
  14.  

The Fourteenth Talk
  -   The thought of sin and remembrance of Allah
  -   Remembrance of Allah relieves from satanic fears
  -   Being proud of one's prayers and supplications
  -   Satanic fears in a state of anger
  -   About Hazqeel
  -   A bed of two hands full of dust
  -   Must visit the cemetries
  -   Hazrat Fatima Zehra (a.s.) at the graveside of her grand uncle
  15.   The Fifteenth Talk
  -   The things that are definitely good- the actions of righteous guidance
  -   The actions that are definitely wrong---
the misleading actions
  -   When there is a doubt about the acts---whether righteous or taboo
  -   care is the guarantee of deliverence
  -   The touchstone
  -   Istekhara, or augury,
gudies in situation of doubts
  -   Some people misunderstand Istakhara
  -   Imam Hussain (a.s.) does Istakhara at the mausoleum of the prophet (a.s.)
  -   Istakhara with the rosary
or through the Holy Quran
  -   Strange stories about Istakhara
  -   The purpose of revelation of the Holy Quran is not for Istakhara
  -   Doing soothsaying from the Holy Quran is not proper
  -   Publications about Istakhara
  -   The types of Istakhara
  -   Clear warnings about Istakhara
  -   Suggestions for removing doubts
  -   The Holy Imams (a.s.) used to take advice
  -   Istakhara through chits
  -   Doing Istakhara for others
  16.   The Sixteenth Talk
  -   Tawakkal or trust in Allah
essential part of practicing monotheism
  -   Dependance on Allah for the success of the tasks that one strives to do
  -   Essential to have a Wakil or attorney
  -   Satan runs away from the Mutawakkil or the one resigned to the will of Allah
  -   Ibn e Zubair's rebellion after the event of Kerbala
  -   Imam Zain al Abedeen
and a saintly personality
  -   Speaking for the tranquility of the heart
  -   Imam Hussain (a.s.)
talks to Hazrat Ali Akbar (a.s.)
  17.   The Seventeenth Talk
  -   Tawakkal is the result of the knowledge, circumstances and the actions of the person
  -   Wisdom and kindness on men
  -   The Prophet (a.s.) never cursed anyone
  -   An example of Godly affection
  -   People themselves seek a place in the hell
  -   Affection on a kitten
  -   What Satan has to do with those who have Tawakkal or dependence on Allah!
  -   Friends of Allah have no anxiety from Satan
  -   Blade of dried grass or straw
  -   Tawakkal on Allah is necessary in the hereafter too
  18.   The Eighteenth Talk
  -   Tawakkal in unity of Allah
  -   Trust of Allah is intellectually binding
  -   How is it possible to be Mutawakkil or resigned to the will of Allah
  -   Belief in practicing-faith on unity of Allah
  -   Observe the act of drinking water
  -   The dress too is provided by Allah
  -   It is Allah who wards of troubles
  -   Physician or killer!
  -   In all matters Allah's will prevails
  -   Intercession too is necessary
  -   Tawakkal comes with knowledge
  -   Naym al Wakil
  -   Mutawakkal doesn't fear other than Allah
  -   One who expects help from other than Allah fails
  -   The circumstances have made us deaf and dumb
  -   Tawakkal has stages
  -   Tawakkal must be perpetual
  19.   The Ninteenth Talk
  -   Sorrows and happiness are from Allah
  -   Without knowledge faith of Tawheed is not practical
  -   The mouth opened but didn't close
  -   The importance of Surat al Tawheed
  -   Hazrat Ibrahim (a.s.) is a source of pride for those who trust on Allah
  -   Have we ever told the truth
  -   A Mutawakkil is never greedy
  -   Dependence on the wakil is necessary
  -   A shop without goods on Allah's support
  -   Idle youth is an enemy of Allah
  -   The learned get sustenance from Ghaib
  -   Tawakkal depends on the circumstances
  -   Talk about weakness of faith
  -   Acquring Tawakkal is mandatory
  -   Tawakkal and Counsel
  -   If there is no Tawakkal there is no faith
  -   Tall claims belittle a person
  -   Don't trust your own intuition
  20.  

The Twentieth Talk
  -   Istakhara and Tawakkal
  -   Everything happens with the wish of Allah
  -   Tawakkal in times of danger
  -   Ignorant Tawakkal
  -   Imam Jafar e Sadiq and the tiger
  -   Other meanings of Tawakkal
  -   The existence of cause is not permanent
  -   Calling someone other than Allah
     

 

 

The First Talk
The Importance of Ista-aaza in the Quran & the Traditions

The topic that has received the maximum attention in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Prophet (a.s.) and his Vicegerents(a.s.) is Ista-aaza or seeking Allah's help to protect one against the maneuverings of the Satan. This is done by saying the words aa oozu billahi mi ash shaitan ir rajeem. But it is necessary that one should seek this protection from the depths of one's heart. That is true Ista-aaza

To highlight the importance of Ista-aaza, Allah says in the Holy Book:

Fa iza qarat al Quran fa ista az billahi min al Shaitan ir rajeem

( When you commence reciting the Quran, seek protection from Allah against the accursed Satan)

During a prayer, it is mandated, that after saying the takbirat al ehraam (Allah o Akbar) one should say the Ista-aaza in a low tone. The commentators are of opinion that the Ista-aaza in this situation has to be in a low tone because it will be like the person wishing to keep himself hidden and at the same time escape from the machinations of the enemy (the Satan)! The pointer is towards the fact that the supplicant should seek protection against his mortal enemy who is waiting for an opportunity to overpower him. This is done best by quietly tapping the door of the Great Place of Succor!

 

 

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