A Prayer by Mostafa Malekian

God, set my thought on a spiritual and divine path, so that I may mingle my soul with You, and perceive the joy of being with You in every single moment of my life.

God, make my thought so firm that I remain committed to truth and rationality, and live my life solely based on my own understanding and discernment, so that I may transcend what society and others demand of me.

God, grant me the insight never to compare myself with others, not to envy those who are above me, nor to boast over those who are below me; and to be content with what I have, while always thinking of transcending what I am at present.

God, grant me the understanding to perceive my differences from others, and to comprehend that with the unique personality I possess, I will naturally have a unique life of my own, which can differ from the lives of others in some respects; what matters is that I respect my own differences and the differences of others, and shape my life in accordance with what I am.

God, cultivate within me the capacity to love another, so that I may love human beings purely, and the best moments of joy in my life be those moments when, without any expectation, I render a service to my fellow human.

God, free me from every kind of hatred and malice that the bitter events of life have placed upon my being, so that, liberated from hatred and malice, I may accept and love others as they are.

God, deepen my understanding of life so profoundly that I may grasp its laws, and understand that there are things in life that cannot be changed, laws that cannot be transgressed, so that I do not naively suppose that I can have everything I want, and that I will possess everything I wish for.

God, grant me the ability to live in every single moment of my life, in the present moment and for what is happening right now, and not to overlook the beauties and joys I am enjoying right now by thinking excessively about a past that has already ended, and by worrying excessively about a future that has not yet arrived.

God, do not let me remain in bondage to the past, and kindle within me such a commitment to and concern for discovering the truth that I am never deprived of the truths I am accessing right now—truths that may challenge and invalidate all that I once held as true in the past—because of what I held as true in the past and the reputation, dignity, and social standing that are tied to it.

God, commit me to an inner discipline, so that I understand and know that I am not permitted to do everything I like and enjoy.

God, help me to deeply realize that life is more serious than most people often think, and it makes no exceptions for any human being; we all must strive for what we want and desire, and possess the merit and worthiness to attain it. God, teach me not to ask You to send something down from the heavens for me without having the merit and worthiness for it.

And finally; God, bestow upon me the blessing of silence, so that in those moments when the clamor of daily life subsides within me, the pleasant and soothing melody of Your presence in my soul and being may warm and calm me.