Birth Anniversary of Imam Ali al-Rida (p), 1447 A.H.

Wednesday, April 29th, 2026, is the 11th of Dhu al-Qidah, 1447 A.H, which marks the birth anniversary of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (p).

When Something Feels Off

Some seasons of life just feel… heavier. You’re more anxious than usual. Small things irritate you. Your heart feels unsettled, even when everything on the outside seems fine. In today’s world, it’s easy to blame the pace of life, social media, stress, or burnout, and sometimes, that’s true. But on the birth anniversary of Imam al-Rida (p), we’re given a perspective that invites a deeper kind of honesty.

He is reported to have said, “Whenever a servant commits new sins that they had not been doing before, God brings upon them new afflictions that they had not known before”(Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 275).

This isn’t meant to make a person feel guilty or hopeless. It’s meant to wake something up inside us. Sometimes, when we slowly normalize things we once avoided, a habit, a glance, a choice, a compromise, we don’t notice the shift right away. But over time, something begins to feel off. The peace we once had doesn’t sit the same. The clarity fades. And we carry a weight we can’t quite explain. Imam al-Rida (p) teaches us that our spiritual state and inner struggles are often connected in ways we don’t immediately see.

The beauty of this teaching is that it’s not the end of the story. If drifting away can bring discomfort, then returning can bring relief. In a world full of noise and distraction, maybe the most powerful thing we can do is pause and check in with ourselves, not harshly, but honestly. What changed? What slipped? And how do I take one step back toward God? Sometimes, that one step is enough to bring back a sense of peace you didn’t even realize you had lost.