S I liked the supplication that Mom read yesterday in the...

S I liked the supplication that Mom read yesterday in the al- Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah [^1] and I’m trying to memorize it. F Which supplication, son? S The supplication that says: “ ..

I ask for your love and the love of those who love you; the love of every task which brings me closer to You, to be my strongest love rather than any others’, and to make my love towards You as a lead to your Heaven, and my eagerness to You as a prevention of disobedience .” F This supplication also sheds light on the relationship between love and obedience. S But Dad, how can we find God’s love in our hearts? F It is simple: by knowing Him. If you truly know Him, you’ll get the ultimate love.

S So, the first step is: knowing God. F “The first thing in religion is to be aware of it”, mentioned in Nahj al-Balaghah [^2] . Knowing God is the first thing in religion, and this knowledge is a prerequisite for loving Him. Therefore, knowing God is a prerequisite for religion and for loving Him. This is a mathematical equation, son, or something similar to a math equation. S How? F In math, there is something called substitution when dealing with equations. S Yes, you remind me of that.

When we apply it, we say: Knowledge = Religion. Knowledge = Love; and by substitution we find that religion is love, don’t we, Dad? F And this is what Imam al-Sadiq (Peace be upon him) said. S What did he say?! F He said “ Is religion anything other than love!” Son, love is the most beautiful thing in the world. S God is great.[^3] You are speaking with me in the youth language, the language of... F An adolescent? S Well, Dad, I was shy to say this.

F Yes, I spoke to you using the teenagers’ language, as God’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) commands us to speak with people according to their way of thinking. God sent each Messenger to speak to people in their own language. So why shouldn’t I speak with you like a teenager? S Exactly Dad, unless someone hears something in his own language, he won’t understand it and hence won’t interact with it. One of our teachers had given me a religious book as a present.

I struggled when I tried to read it, and after a while I gave up because of its language which sounded like that of our ancestors who lived ages ago; therefore, it had nothing to do with our life today. F This is the reason why some youth turn away from religion because they find no representation of religion in a language that they can understand.