My Lord, give me the capability to tolerate an opposing point of view.
My Lord, keep me wise and aware, so that I may not judge someone or some idea right or wrong unless I have understood him/her or it correctly and completely.
My Lord, help me so that I may be aware of the differences between humanity, thoughts, and relationships, and so that I may be capable of distinguishing each of them.
My Lord, give me absolute submission through faith (Iman), so that in the world, I may be in absolute rebellion.
My Lord, inspire me with the piety of rebellion so that I may not stumble in the grandeur of my responsibilities. And save me from the piety of avoidance so that I may not be wasted in the corner of solitude.
My Lord, grant my soul noble worries, troubles and fears. Grant pleasures to your insignificant servants, and grant me honorable concerns and pains.
My Lord, free me from the four prisons of “nature”, “history”, “society”, and “self”, so that I may recreate myself in the form that You originally created me, not as an animal who adapts to the environment, but so that I may make my environment adapt to Me.
My Lord, burn in me the sacred fire of doubt, so that it may burn away every certainty that others have imprinted on me. And then, from its ashes, raise the light of certainty, clear of any fog.
My Lord liberate me from the poverty of translation, and inferiority of imitation, so that I may break out of the inherited moulds and so that I may resist the new molding of the West. And so that I may not, like some, wait to move my mouth as others speak.
My Lord, I thank you, as Imam Husain did, for having chosen my enemies from the fools. For having a few stupid enemies is a mercy that Allah grants His special slaves.
My Lord, save me from the friendships and animosities of insignificant and small souls by granting me the friendships of Great Souls such as that of Ali, and of Beautiful Hearts in humanity.
My Lord, inspire our “open minded” ones who consider economics essential that economy is not the goal, and inspire our clergy and religious ones that economy is also essential.
My Lord, grant me success in struggling during failure, in having patience in disappointment, in going alone, in Jihad without weapons, in working without pay, in making sacrifice in silence, in having religious belief in the world, in having ideology without popular traditions, in having faith (Iman) without pretentions, non-conformity without immaturity, beauty without physical appearance, loneliness in the crowd, and loving with the beloved knowing about it.
My Lord, don’t grant me knowledge that will not be useful to humanity. Don’t make me addicted to the barbaric ignorance of the fine arts, so that while under intoxication of elated feelings and of the heights of lofty understanding, I will fail to see the depth of hunger in the eyes of the hungry or the black bruises of an abused human.
My Lord, tell to the materialists that human is not a plant which grows due to a coincidence in nature, history and society. Tell my people that the only path towards you passes through this world, and show me a shortcut.
My Lord, inspire our religious people to realize that Adam is made of dust. Tell them that a material phenomenon suggests God’s existence as much as an unexplainable unseen one; that God is as much in this world as in the next.
My Lord, grant me the grace that my Faith (Iman) will not provide me with fame and wealth. Grant me the power to give away my wealth as well as my fame for the sake of my Iman. So that I may be of those who take the money from the world and work for Deen, nor of those who take the money from the Deen and work for the world.
My Lord, grant me such a life that on my deathbed, I may not be resentful of its worthlessness. And grant me such a death, that I may not mourn for it’s uselessness. Let me choose that, but in the way that pleases you the most.
— Ali Shariati