Satan’s Strategy and the Protection of the Heart

فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِيُبْدِىَ لَهُمَا مَا وُۥرِىَ عَنْهُمَا مِن سَوْءَٰتِهِمَا وَقَالَ مَا نَهَىٰكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰلِدِينَ

Then Satan tempted them in order to expose what was hidden of their nakedness. He said, “Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.”

وَقَاسَمَهُمَآ إِنِّى لَكُمَا لَمِنَ ٱلنَّـٰصِحِينَ And he swore to them, “I am truly your sincere advisor.”
فَدَلَّىٰهُمَا بِغُرُورٍۢ ۚ فَلَمَّا ذَاقَا ٱلشَّجَرَةَ بَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْءَٰتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَقِ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ۖ وَنَادَىٰهُمَا رَبُّهُمَآ أَلَمْ أَنْهَكُمَا عَن تِلْكُمَا ٱلشَّجَرَةِ وَأَقُل لَّكُمَآ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ لَكُمَا عَدُوٌّۭ مُّبِينٌۭ

So he brought about their fall through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their nakedness was exposed to them, prompting them to cover themselves with leaves from Paradise. Then their Lord called out to them, “Did I not forbid you from that tree and ˹did I not˺ tell you that Satan is your sworn enemy?”)

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
)الْحَمْدُ للهِ( لَمْ تَرَكَ الْعُيُونُ فَتُخْبِرَ عَنْكَ، بَلْ كُنْتَ قَبْلَ الْوَاصِفِينَ مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، لَمْ تَخُلُقِ الْخَلْقَ لِوَحْشَة، وَلاَ اسْتَعْمَلْتَهُمْ لِمَنْفَعَة، وَلاَ يَسْبِقُكَ مَنْ طلَبْتَ، وَلاَ يُفْلِتُكَ مَنْ أَخَذْتَ، وَلاَ يَنْقُصُ سُلْطَانَكَ مَنْ عَصَاكَ، وَلاَ يَزِيدُ في مُلْكِكَ مَنْ أَطَاعَكَ، وَلاَيَرُدُّ أَمْرَكَ مَنْ سَخِطَ قَضَاءَكَ، وَلاَيَسْتَغْنِي عَنْكَ مَنْ تَوَلَّى عَنْ أَمْرِكَ. كُلُّ سِرٍّ عِنْدَكَ عَلاَنِيَةٌ، وَكُلُّ غَيْب عِنْدَكَ شَهَادَةٌ.

You are eternal and without end. You are our ultimate goal, and there is no escaping You—our only true refuge is in You. You hold complete control over every creature, and every living being will return to You.

Glory be to You! How grand is Your command! The vast creation we can see is magnificent, yet it is tiny compared to Your actual power. Your visible kingdom fills us with awe, yet it is humble next to the hidden authority we cannot see. Your blessings in this world are vast, yet they are small compared to the blessings of the next world.
Omnipotence & Sovereignty: Human reaction to divine decree—whether approval or displeasure—has zero power to alter divine reality, and no creation can exist outside His reach or sustenance.

Omniscience (Al-`Alīm): The duality between the secret (sirr) and the public (‘alāniyah), or the unseen (ghayb) and the witnessed (shahādah), vanishes entirely in the divine presence.

وَنَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، وَنَشْهَدُ أَنَّ عليا و أبىنائه المعصومين حجج الله ،
أُوصِيکُمْ عِبَادَاللهِ و نفسي، بِتَقْوَى اللهِ وَطَاعَتِهِ،
«أَوْرَعُ النَّاسِ مَنْ وَقَفَ عِنْدَ الشُّبْهَةِ، أَعْبَدُ النَّاسِ مَنْ أَقَامَ عَلَى الْفَرَائِضِ، أَزْهَدُ النَّاسِ مَنْ تَرَکَ الْحَرَامَ، أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ اجْتِهَاداً مَنْ تَرَکَ الذُّنُوبَ.»

“The most pious (awra’) of people is the one who pauses at doubtful matters. The most devout worshiper is the one who performs the obligatory duties. The most abstemious (zahid) of people is the one who abandons the forbidden. The most striving of people is the one who leaves sins behind.”

Sermon 2:
اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ وَالْحَمْدُ حَقُّهُ كَما يَسْتَحِقُّهُ حَمْداً كَثيراً وَاَعُوذُ بِهِ مِنْ شَرِّ نَفْسى اِنَّ النَّفْسَ لاَمّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ اِلاّ ما رَحِمَ رَبّى وَاَعُوذُ بِهِ مِنْ شَرِّ الشَّيْطانِ الَّذى يَزيدُنى ذَنْباً اِلى ذَنْبى وَاَحْتَرِزُ بِهِ مِنْ كُلِّ جَبّار فاجِر وَسُلْطان جائِر وَعَدُوّ قاهِر اَللّـهُمَّ اجْعَلْنى مِنْ جُنْدِكَ فَاِنَّ جُنْدَكَ هُمُ الْغالِبُونَ وَاجْعَلْنى مِنْ حِزْبِكَ فَاِنَّ حِزْبَكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَاجْعَلْنى مِنْ اَوْلِيآئِكَ فَاِنَّ أولياءك لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
والصلاه والسلام علی حبیب رب العالمین، شفیع المذنبین، رحمه للعالمین ابی القاسم محمد….

Parenting Insight:

1. The Responsibility of Training and Early Habits
   «الرَّدُّ عَنِ الشُّبْهَةِ، وَتَغْيِيرُ الْعَادَةِ كَالْمُعْجِزَةِ.»
   “Turning someone away from a doubt, or changing an established habit, is like working a miracle.”
   Imam Hasan al-Askari (as) highlights how deeply ingrained habits become over time. In early child-rearing, this underscores the importance of instilling noble moral habits (akhlāq) and critical thinking early on, preventing harmful mental or behavioral habits before they solidify and require extraordinary effort to break later in life.
2. Parental Respect as a Foundation for Divine Wrath/Blessing
   «جُرْأَةُ الْوَلَدِ عَلَى وَالِدِهِ فِي صِغَرِهِ تَدْعُو إِلَى الْعُقُوقِ فِي كِبَرِهِ.»
   “A child’s audacity and disrespect toward their parent during childhood leads to outright disobedience (ʿuqūq) in adulthood.”
   The Imam emphasizes setting loving yet clear boundaries early in childhood. Allowing disrespect or lack of boundary-setting in a child’s early years directly shapes their adult character, eroding mutual respect and leading to deep family fracture later in life.

Imam Hasan al-Askari (as) was the 11th Shia Imam, born in Medina (10th Rabi` II, 232 AH) and the father of the 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi (ajf).
Life Under Confinement
The “Askari” Title: The title Al-Askari derives from Samarra, an Abbasid military garrison town (Askar) where he was forced to reside for most of his life under strict house arrest by Abbasid caliphs (including Al-Mutawakkil and Al-Mu’tamid).
Isolation & Surveillance: The Abbasids heavily monitored the Imam due to prophetic traditions predicting that his son would be the promised Mahdi who would establish universal justice.
Imamate and Strategy

Network of Representatives (Wukala): Because direct public access was severely restricted, he established a sophisticated secret network of representatives across the Islamic realm to collect dues, answer religious questions, and guide the Shia community.
Preparing for Occultation: A core mission of his six-year Imamate (868–874 CE) was preparing the community for the upcoming Absence (Ghaybah) of his son, teaching followers how to rely on scholars and structured guidance without the physical presence of an Imam.

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) spoke of the people of Yemen and the “Yamani” with deep praise, highlighting their humility, faith, and soft-heartedness.

The most famous and widely authentic Hadith regarding the Yemenis is:

1. Faith and Wisdom are Yemeni
   “Faith is Yemeni, and wisdom is Yemeni.” «الْإِيمَانُ يَمَانٍ، وَالْحِكْمَةُ يَمَانِيَةٌ»
2. Tenderness of Hearts
   In a longer narration of the same tradition, the Prophet (ﷺ) described their character:
   «أَتَاكُمْ أَهْلُ الْيَمَنِ، هُمْ أَرْقُّ أَفْئِدَةً وَأَلْيَنُ قُلُوبًا، الْإِيمَانُ يَمَانٍ وَالْحِكْمَةُ يَمَانِيَةٌ»
   “The people of Yemen have come to you; they are gentler of feelings and softer of hearts. Faith is Yemeni and wisdom is Yemeni.”
3. Praise for the Men of Yemen
   In another authentic tradition, the Prophet (ﷺ) pointed towards Yemen and praised their commitment:

«أَلَا إِنَّ الْإِيمَانَ هَاهُنَا، أَلَا إِنَّ الْقَسَاوَةَ وَالْجَفَاءَ فِي الْفَدَّادِينَ عِنْدَ أُصُولِ أَذْنَابِ الْإِبِلِ، حَيْثُ يَطْلُعُ قَرْنَا الشَّيْطَانِ، فِي رَبِيعَةَ وَمُضَرَ»
“Indeed, faith is right here [pointing toward Yemen], while harshness and hardness of heart belong to the loud herders at the roots of camels’ tails, from where the two horns of Satan rise—in Rabī‘ah and Muḍar.”

In Shia Hadith traditions regarding the end times, the term “Al-Yamani” (الْيَمَانِيّ) also refers to a pivotal figure who rises from Yemen before the appearance of Imam al-Mahdi (ajf). The Prophet (ﷺ) and the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) described his banner as the most guided banner (ahdā al-rāyāt), urging believers to support his call to truth and righteousness.