BOOK ID

Title: Provisions for the Journey (Mishkat), Volume 1

Author(s): Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi

Translator(s): Kelvin Lembani (Muhammad ‘Abd al-‘Aziz)

Publisher(s): ABWA Publishing and Printing Center

Category: General General Miscellaneous information: Provisions for the Journey (Mishkat), Volume 1

Congress Classification: BP۱۴۲/۵/م۶ر۹۰۴۹۵۲ ۱۳۹۱

Dewey decimal classification: ۲۹۷/۲۱۸

National bibliography number: ۳۸۲۹۵۸۵

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عنوان و نام پدیدآور : PROVISIONS FOR THE JOURNEY : MISHKAT/Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi : Translated: Kelvin Lembani

مشخصات نشر : Iran: The Ahl al- Bayt World Assembly، 2012

مشخصات ظاهری : V.

وضعیت فهرست نویسی : در انتظار فهرستنویسی (اطلاعات ثبت)

یادداشت : ج.۱ (چاپ اول: ۱۳۹۱).

شماره کتابشناسی ملی : ۳۸۶۷۰۸۹

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The hadith discussed in the text is one of the most comprehensive and rewarding exhortations of the Noble Prophet (S) to one of his most eminent companions by the name of Abu Dharr.

Foreword

In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful

The invaluable legacy of the Household [Ahl al-Bayt] of the Prophet (may peace be upon them all), as preserved by their followers, is a comprehensive school of thought that embraces all branches of Islamic knowledge. This school has produced many brilliant scholars who have drawn inspiration from this rich and pure resource. It has given many scholars to the Muslim ummah who, following in the footsteps of Imams of the Prophet’s Household (‘a), have done their best to clear up the doubts raised by various creeds and currents within and without Muslim society and to answer their questions. Throughout the past centuries, they have given well-reasoned answers and clarifications concerning these questions and doubts.

To meet the responsibilities assigned to it, the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly (ABWA) has embarked on a defence of the sanctity of the Islamic message and its verities, often obscured

by the partisans of various sects and creeds as well as by currents hostile to Islam. The Assembly follows in the footsteps of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and the disciples of their school of thought in its readiness to confront these challenges and tries to be on the frontline in consonance with the demands of every age.

The arguments contained in the works of the scholars belonging to the School of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) are of unique significance. That is because they are based on genuine scholarship and appeal to reason, and avoid prejudice and bias. These arguments address scholars and thinkers in a manner that appeals to healthy minds and wholesome human nature.

To assist the seekers of truth, the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly has endeavored to present a new phase of these arguments contained in the studies and translations of the works of contemporary Shi‘ah writers and those who have embraced this sublime school of thought through divine blessing.

The Assembly is also engaged in edition and publication of the valuable works of leading Shi‘ah scholars of earlier ages to assist the seekers of the truth in discovering the truths which the School of the Prophet’s Household (‘a) has offered to the entire world.

The Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly looks forward to benefit from the opinions of the readers and their suggestions and constructive criticism in this area.

We also invite scholars, translators and other institutions to assist us in propagating the genuine Islamic teachings as preached by the

Prophet Muhammad (S).

We beseech God, the Most High, to accept our humble efforts and to enable us to enhance them under the auspices of Imam al-Mahdi, His vicegerent on the earth (may Allah expedite his advent).

We express our gratitude to Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, the author of the present book, and Mr. Kelvin Lembani (Muhammad ‘Abd al-‘Aziz), its translator. We also thank our colleagues who have participated in producing this work, especially the staff of the Translation Office.

Cultural Affairs Department

The Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly

Lesson 1: The Quality of Servitude and the Path to Eternal Bliss

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The hadith which we have put forward as the pivot of our discussion is one of the most comprehensive and rewarding exhortations of the Noble Prophet (S)⁽¹⁾to one of his most eminent companions by the name of Abu Dharr. The text of this hadith has been recorded in the distinguished books entitled “Makarim al-Akhlaq”, “Amali Shaykh Tusi”, “Majmu‘ah Warram” and “Bihar al-Anwar”. With Allah’s grace we have quoted it from “Bihar al-Anwar”, and we will set about explaining and elucidating it as far as we can.

Abu al-Aswad Du’ili says, “When Abu Dharr was living in exile in Rabadhah, I went to visit him. While I was there with him, he narrated a hadith to me. Abu Dharr said, ‘Early one morning, I went to see the Noble Prophet (S) in the Mosque. He was seated with no one present save ‘Ali (‘a)⁽²⁾. After being admitted in His Holiness’ audience and subsequent to greeting him with respect, I availed myself

of the opportunity and presented my humble request to him. I said ‘May my father and mother be thy ransom! Give me a piece of advice by means of which Allah will grant me good’.’

“The Noble Prophet (S) kindly stated,

‘O Abu Dharr! What a noble man you are, and you are surely reckoned as one of our household’…”

The grammatical form ‘af‘il bih’ in Arabic functions as an exclamation phrase [sighah ta‘ajjub]; that is to say, it is used when a person is surprised at something. For instance, they say ‘ajmil bik’ to mean “How beautiful you are!” when they are amazed at the beauty and charm of someone. Therefore, the meaning of ‘akrim bik’ [in the above-mentioned narration’s Arabic text] is “What a noble man you are!”

The application of the term ‘noble’ [karim] by the Prophet (S) on such a man as Abu Dharr speaks clearly about the eminence, status and rank of that great companion in the perception of His Holiness (S). In addition, in order to lay emphasis on the above statement, the Noble Prophet (S) has included Abu Dharr among his (S) kith and kin, the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a). (The Noble Prophet (S) has stated the same about Salman Farsi, when he says, “Salman is one of us, the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a).”)

In continuation of the hadith, the Prophet (S) embarks upon advising Abu Dharr:

“I give you advice with the expectation that you will safeguard it and act upon it; because this counsel consists of all

the paths which lead to good and prosperity. If you put this will and counsel into practice, the good of both the world and hereafter will become inexpensive for you.”

The term ‘will’ in the above statement means a piece of advice and exhortation, not the will [or testament] that is made at the time of someone’s death. Also ‘tariq’ and ‘sabil’ both denote road, but ‘tariq’ connotes a wide and main route while ‘sabil’ means a subsidiary course.

Two meanings can be inferred from the term ‘kiflan’: one is that it denotes additional and the second meaning is twofold mercy. The Gracious Qur’an has employed ‘kiflan’ in the second sense, that is to say twofold mercy.

یَا اَیُّهَا الَّذینَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ وَآمَنُوا بِرَسُولِهِ یُؤْتِکُمْ کِفْلَیْنِ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ...

“O you who believe! Be careful of your duty to Allah and believe in his Apostle: He will give you two portions of his mercy…”⁽¹⁾

Therefore, the purport of the Noble Prophet’s (S) words will be as follows: If you put my advice into practice, you will attain twofold and additional good. But the second possibility is that ‘kiflan’ connotes the world and the hereafter, in which case the meaning of the sentence shall be: If you act upon what I have said, you will have attained the prosperity of the world and the hereafter for yourself.

Worship and the perception of Allah

“O Abu Dharr! Worship Allah as though you are seeing Him, because if you do not see Him, He nevertheless sees you.”

If this part of the

hadith has not been reported recurrently, then at least it is equivalent to successive narration and has been related by various channels and mainly by Abu Dharr and with different expressions. In regard to this meaning, it has thus been narrated in another hadith:

“Goodness means that you ought to worship Allah as if you see Him…”⁽¹⁾

Maybe the best advice for Abu Dharr, a man who has been trudging the path of devotion to Allah for many long years and a person who aspires to derive optimum benefit from the Prophet’s (S) recipes in order to attain felicity is to inculcate in him the method of procuring benefit from worship and open a way in front of him that leads to acquiring the best fruits from his acts of adoration, and that implies having the presence of heart during worship.

The means of attaining the presence of heart is practice and exercise and perceiving the presence of Allah: that is to say man ought to always perceive himself in the presence of Allah and close to Him, because if man becomes fond of Allah, never does he get tired of conversing with Him and listening to His words; for the reason that the more the lover is in the presence of his beloved and speaks with Him, the thirstier he becomes for more love.

The reason why we quickly get tired when performing our acts of worship and why we recite our prayers with haste and with the intention of quickly

embarking upon our daily duties, and the reason why not only do we not feel any pleasure from worship but reckon that we are trapped in a cage once prayer takes long is because we do not perceive before whom we are standing and with whom we are talking! It is possible for us to discern our status of servitude in regard to Allah and conceive His lofty position and greatness by means of acquired knowledge, but this acquired knowledge has not had any effect on our hearts and does not give fruit to real affinity with Allah.

That which causes real and true connection with Allah is the presence of heart when we are performing acts of devotion. The only acts of worship which we are successful at fulfilling only serve to clear us from religious obligation and we do not derive the kind of benefit which we ought to gain because our acts of devotion have no life-giving spirit and are discharged without the presence of heart. Pre-occupation with worldly affairs is an impediment to rapport with Allah and the presence of heart during acts of devotion, and that is the problem with which we are faced.

It is always asked that what ought we to do in order to acquire presence of heart when performing acts of devotion? Attaining the presence of heart needs strict exercise and self-discipline. In the beginning, man has to sit in solitude and contemplate that Allah is seeing him. Some ethical mentors used

to recommend making use of imaginative aspects of the mind during this exercise; that is to say that if you are in spiritual retreat in a room and/or are spending your days in a secluded place, imagine that a man is hidden and is watching your conduct and that you do not see him.

Is your behavior the same when someone is watching you with when no one is watching you? Especially when that person is not an ordinary man but a person you consider as of great importance and believe that your destiny lies in his hands? You are desirous of being beloved by him and of him loving you. Can you in this case completely pay no heed to him and get busy with other matters?

If man, with the help of exercise, conceives this point that he is in the presence of Allah and that Allah constantly looks at him and even if man himself does not see Allah, Allah nonetheless sees him, he will bit by bit attain presence of heart when performing acts of worship and such kind of worship has a life-giving spirit. This kind of worship will not only result in clearing us from duty, but will result in spiritual progress, ascendance through the stations of perfection and nearness to Allah. Without doubt, Imam ‘Ali’s (‘a) words bear witness to this issue:

“Beware of disobeying Allah in solitude because the Witness of that situation is also the Judge.”⁽¹⁾

It is therefore necessary for people who

have not yet had practice to have presence of heart during prayer to set aside some time during the course of the day for sitting in seclusion and concentrating on this point that Allah is seeing them. Of course, there is no doubt that man is always in the presence of Allah and Allah sees him; as the Noble Qur’an hints at this reality in several instances, among them:

یَعْلَمُ خائِنَةَ الأَعْیُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِی الصُّدُورِ

“He knows the stealthy looks and that which the breasts conceal.”⁽¹⁾

In his short sayings, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“O people! Fear Allah who is such that when you speak He hears and when you conceal a secret (in your hearts) he knows it. Prepare yourself to meet death which will overtake you even if you run away, catch you even if you stay and remember you even if you forget it.”⁽²⁾

In the first section of this hadith, the Noble Prophet (S) has cited worship as man’s key to prosperity.

Thereafter, in the following sections, he begins to explain the stages that worship of Allah consists of. In addition to that, in the first section of the hadith, recommendation has been made with respect to the quality of worship and the fact that acts of devotion ought to have a life-giving spirit, and that spirit is the presence of heart, and in reality, no mention with regard to the origin of worship has been made, as though that point has been taken for granted.

Worship And Adoration Of Allah Is A Means Of Ascending And Rising Through The Stations Of Perfection For The Believers

It is worthy of

mentioning that the nature of man is concealed in devotion and adoration of Allah and man without worship has no distinction of freedom of choice over the other animals and only enjoys existential privileges, without having discharged their right (without having earned those privileges himself). A person who abstains from worshiping Allah has in reality closed the road towards human perfection on himself because attaining human perfection is only feasible by this means.

If we pay attention to the ways of life of great men, we notice that one of the inseparable principles of their lives is devotion to Allah. All the people who had the merit of achieving the status of ‘Kalimullah (the Interlocutor of Allah)’, ‘Khalilullah (the Friend of Allah)’, and ‘Habibullah (the Friend of Allah)’ only arrived at those lofty stations by means of traversing this course and undergoing hard and difficult trials. Not even one individual can be found who attained [even] one perfection from the volitional perfections of man without devotional servitude to Allah. In addition to what has been said, achieving stations such as the stations of contentment, certitude et cetera et cetera have to be searched for in the adoration of Allah.

Allah in the Qur’an states:

وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّکَ حَتَّی یَأْتِیکَ الْیَقِینُ

“And serve your Lord until there comes to you that which is certain.”⁽¹⁾

And with regard to the station of being well pleased with whatever Allah decrees [maqam-i rida], it says:

... وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّکَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوبِهَا وَمِنْ آنَاءِ اللَّیْلِ فَسَبِّحْ وَاَطْرَافَ

النَّهَارِ لَعَلَّکَ تَزْضَی

“…Bear then patiently what they say, and glorify your Lord by the praising of Him before the rising of the sun and before its setting, and during the hours of the night do also glorify Him and during parts of the day, that you may be well pleased.”⁽¹⁾

The mission of all the Prophets (‘a) has been to direct people towards adoration and worship of Allah:

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِی کُلِّ اُمَّةٍ رَسُولاً أَن اعْبُدُوا اللهَ واجْتَنِبُوا الطّاغُوتَ...

“And certainly we raised in every nation an apostle saying: ‘Serve Allah and shun the shaitan…’”⁽²⁾

One of the subjects on which the Gracious Qur’an lays great emphasis is that everything in existence is preoccupied with worshiping Allah, whether they like it or not:

یُسَبِّحُ لِلّهِ مَا فِی السَّمواتِ وَمَا فِی الأَرْضِ...

“Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth declares the glory of Allah…”⁽³⁾

But this glorification is existential and performs no function in the perfection of man. What plays a role in the perfection of man is worship done of his own volition, and in other than this case stones and the mountains too would attain their ultimate perfection by means of existential worship.

The importance and value of worship and devotion to Allah reaches an extent where Allah, the Exalted, states in the Gracious Qur’an that the ultimate goal of creating the jinn and mankind is worship:

وَمَا خَلَقْتَ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنْسَ الاَّ لِیَعْبُدُونِ

“And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should worship

Me.”⁽¹⁾

In addition to what has been said, the sense of worship is man’s natural disposition; that is to say, the need for worship has been kneaded and concealed in the essence of man and this truth that no nation or community has ever existed that did not engage in worship and adoration of one kind or another can be inferred from studying the history of religions and nations.

The stages of worship of Allah

a) Knowledge of Allah

In continuation of the hadith, the Noble Prophet (S) embarks upon propounding the stages of worship:

“Know O Abu Dharr that the first stage of devotion to Allah is knowledge of Him. Verily, He is the first before whom there is none, He is the One and the Only, and there is none like Him. He is the Everlasting, the Eternal. He is the One who created the heavens and the earth and that which is between them. Allah is the Knowing, the Kind and He is capable of doing anything.”

In this section, the first stage of worship mentioned is knowledge of Allah; of course, cognition of Allah has a great deal of stages, but that which is necessary in worship and adoration of Allah is a general awareness of Him; man ought to know that Allah exists and He is the Creator of man and the world. If this stage of knowledge is not attained by man, the turn does not come for worship and adoration of Allah.

For this reason, this stage of knowledge is prior to worship. Of course, at

the ultimate destination of his spiritual journey towards his perfection, man reaches the highest stages of cognition and awareness especially reserved for the saints [awliya’] of Allah, and we [the ordinary people] cannot find our way to its reality and truth. We know in brief that the ultimate knowledge which the saints [awliya’] of Allah attain at the end of their spiritual wayfaring is very valuable and high and that it is the last phase of devotion to Allah.

After man has attained the first stage of worship and has perceived that Allah does exist, it is incumbent to meditate upon the attributes and effects of Allah in order for that knowledge to become firm, grounded and constant so that it does not only remain as a mental conception but is turned into a present and lively awareness that leaves an impression on man. This stage of cognition and knowledge which goes with reflection is called ‘medium knowledge’ [ma‘rifat-i mutawassit].

Medium knowledge itself has different stages and covers a wide spectrum and man can attain those stages by way of meditation and reflection on divine signs and also by means of practical acts of devotion. It has become clear from what has been said that meditation about the divine attributes and effects and also knowing Allah better is itself worship and a kind of volitional deed and that awareness, which is one of the preliminaries of worship, is attained along with it. (Meditation and reflection about divine signs is a

proximate prerequisite [muqaddamah qaribah] of cognition and attending class and studying books is the remote precondition [muqaddamat-i ba‘idah].)

b) Belief in the Prophet (S) and acknowledgement of his divine mission

“At the second stage you ought to believe in me and acknowledge that Allah, the Exalted, has appointed me to be the giver of glad tidings, the admonisher, the caller towards Allah by His permission and the light of guidance for all mankind…”

Every one of the attributes mentioned in the hadiths and Qur’an about the Noble Prophet (S) stand in need of explanation and interpretation, and if our faith in the Noble Prophet’s (S) divine mission becomes strong and complete, we will not get ensnared in a great number of doubts. The lack of adequate knowledge and faith in regard to the Noble Prophet (S) in a lot of Muslims of weak faith results in their getting entangled in skepticisms and by the passage of time they get deviated from the correct path and in the end, Allah forbid, they are drawn towards disbelief; the reason for this is because they have not believed that whatever the Noble Prophet (S) says is correct.

Some people of weak faith say that the Islamic laws which the Noble Prophet (S) brought are not binding in our age. These injunctions and decrees were meant for bringing order to the disorderly state of the people of the Arabian Peninsula in the age of the Noble Prophet (S) and there is no more need for Islamic laws in our age!

This [vain] talk is a result of their

not having faith in Allah’s Prophet (S), and if they had faith in the Noble Prophet’s (S) words in which he stated, “I have been sent to all mankind”, they would not have placed any limitations of time on his prophetic mission. In reality, it must be said that all the deviations that appear in religion are a result of weak faith in both Allah’s Prophet (S) and the fruits of his divine mission.

c) Love for the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)

“The third stage is love for my Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), those whom Allah has cleansed and purified from every kind of impurity.”

It can generally be said that the greatness of knowing the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and their high position and loving them reaches an extent where Imam Khomeini, may Allah be pleased with him, begins his political-divine will with the Noble Prophet’s (S) saying, “Verily I leave two priceless things for you, the Book of Allah and my [pure] progeny…” Perhaps it was surprising to the people of the world that in his final will the leader of the great Islamic revolution prides himself on following that Pure and Infallible Household of the Noble Prophet (S).

We do not know what lies [concealed] in this love and affection for the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and dependence on knowledge and cognition of them and we may likely construe it to be a simple matter and mistakenly imagine that we ought to love the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) because they are the children and relatives of the Allah’s Prophet

(S). If it were like this, they would not have been introduced as being equivalent and the same with the Gracious Qur’an. Emphasis upon love for the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) is not on account of their being the Noble Prophet’s (S) near ones, for the reason that the Noble Prophet (S) had several wives and no such recommendation has been made in regard to any one of them but this emphasis is because Allah has purified them from every kind of impurity.

Likening the Ahl al-Bayt to Noah’s (‘a) vessel and the gate of repentance for the Children of Israel

“Know O Abu Dharr! The Honored and Glorified Lord has made my Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) like the vessel of Noah (‘a), upon which everyone who embarked got saved and whoever did not embark got drowned. Likewise, they are similar to the gate of repentance [bab hittah] for the Children of Israel which provided safety from the punishment to anyone who entered it.”

The Noble Prophet’s (S) emphasis on love for the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and his likening them to the gate of repentance for the Children of Israel is not a sentimental issue so that some people might mistakenly imagine that the natural love and affection of the Noble Prophet (S) for his children and near ones caused him to always make recommendations and advices about friendship and fondness for them, but these counsels go beyond natural love and affection and are made as a result of his believing that the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) are the ship of salvation for the Islamic ummah (universal community of the Muslims) and

for the reason that he is convinced that every person lost and bewildered in the valley of perplexity will get saved from drowning in the sea full of turbulence, contortion and deviations, in the same way that Noah’s (‘a) community got saved from divine damnation by embarking upon Noah’s ship and those who disobeyed, amongst them Noah’s son, perished and got annihilated.

At the beginning of the Islamic call, when there was no talk about division and disagreement as yet in the Islamic ummah, the Noble Prophet (S) advises Abu Dharr that the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) are similar to Noah’s (‘a) vessel. Man perishes if he has no connection with them and if he does not emulate them. In reality, this is an admonition and advice to the Muslims who succumb to deviations, fanaticisms and discords that appear at the same time with the Noble Prophet’s (S) passing away and to a number of opportunists and double-tongued hypocrites who robbed other human beings of opportunities that the only people who can save the Islamic ummah from danger and collapsing into aberration, misguidance and deviation are the Pure and Infallible Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), with ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (‘a) at their head.

Thereafter, the Noble Prophet (S) likens his Pure and Infallible Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) to the gate of deliverance [bab hittah] for the Children of Israel (these two similes, the similitude to Noah’s (‘a) vessel and the similitude to the gate of deliverance of the Children of Israel have been

narrated in a great number of hadiths by both the Sunnis and Shi‘ahs and have reached the extent of successive transmission). When the Children of Israel were afflicted by divine wrath as a result of their sin and oppression, and when they wandered for forty years in the wilderness, out of His mercy and as a result of their penance, grief and turning back to Him, Allah once more opened the door of repentance for them.

About this, the Qur’an states:

“…And when We said: ‘Enter this city, then eat from a plenteous (food) wherever you wish, and enter the gate making obeisance, and say, forgiveness.’ We will forgive you your wrongs and give more to those who do good (to others).”⁽¹⁾

Every person who entered the gate, in addition to attaining honor and prosperity, also got their sins forgiven. The Noble Prophet’s (S) intention in citing this similitude is to explain this point that in the same way that the Children of Israel secured their earthly and other worldly salvation by means of entering the gate of repentance, the Muslims too will guarantee their worldly and heavenly welfare if they enter the door of knowledge and cognition of the Pure and Infallible Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and follow them.

The word ‘hittah’ literally means spilling and destroying; by saying this word the Children of Israel were asking for forgiveness and the destruction of their sins. Allah made it a means of attaining their forgiveness. But a group among them did not have faith

in Allah; they took Allah’s word for a mockery and according to what has been recorded in the hadiths, in place of the word ‘hittah’ they pronounced the word ‘hantah’ which means wheat. Allah sent down upon them His divine wrath because of their moral corruption and their refusing to repent and seek forgiveness:

فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِینَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلاً غَیْرَ الَّذِی قِیلَ لَهُمْ فَاَنْزَلْنَا عَلَی الَّذِینَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزاً مِنْ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا کانُوا یَفْسُقُونَ

“Those who were unjust changed it for a saying other than that which had been spoken to them, so We sent upon those who were unjust a pestilence from heaven, because they transgressed.”⁽¹⁾

The Noble Prophet (S) presented the Pure and Infallible Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) as the gate whom following and obeying are a cause of worldly and heavenly prosperity and freedom from eternal retribution, but the people did not accept his word and instead of the Pure and Infallible Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), they appointed other people and never used to see any difference between Imam ‘Ali (‘a) and the others and they used to fantasize that in the same way that Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is the son in law of the Noble Prophet (S), ‘Uthman, too, was the Noble Prophet’s (S) son in law!

The other message of this section of the hadith is that the most fundamental stage of worship consists of matters of the heart and inner deeds; that is to say, no person can derive enough benefit from worship unless he has knowledge, faith in Allah, love

for the Pure and Infallible Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and conviction in the Noble Prophet (S). For this reason, adoration is not confined to external matters and outward deeds, but the origin and roots of devotion are inner conceptions and all acts of worship that spring from the heart.

Lesson 2: The Need for Deriving Correct Benefit from Allah’s Blessings

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“O Abu Dharr! Act upon my advice so that you may become prosperous in both worlds. O Abu Dharr! The majority of people are defrauded of two graces and they do not appreciate them: one is the blessing of health and the other is the grace of leisure (and ease).

“O Abu Dharr! Make the most of five things before five [other] things befall you: make the most of your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your ability before inability, your leisure before your toil and your life before death.”

Man is always striving to secure his prosperity and he makes every effort to achieve it; in other words, prosperity is man’s natural object of desire and primary goal. For this reason, man strives to bring to hand what gives rise to bliss and to attain the roots of success and to know the way of attaining prosperity.

That is why the Noble Prophet (S) emphasizes that if his words are acted upon, man will attain his natural object of desire; that is to say man will bring to hand both worldly and heavenly prosperity and if the human being does not put into practice what the

Noble Prophet (S) has advised, he gets deprived of that prosperity. This emphasis is meant to bring about more preparedness and acceptance in man, like the doctor’s emphatic advice to his patient to definitely follow the directions on the prescription so as to recuperate his health, otherwise there is no doubt that man visits the doctor to recover his well-being. After that emphasis, the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“O Abu Dharr! Most people are robbed of two graces: leisure and health.”

Health and leisure, two unknown favors

Health and leisure are two priceless blessings which Allah, the Exalted, has granted to mankind, but most people do not appreciate its value and easily lose it. It is for this reason that the Noble Prophet (S) advices Abu Dharr to appreciate the value of these two blessings and not to easily lose them like the other people.

Allah, the Exalted, has placed countless and priceless graces at man’s disposal but man easily loses them, perhaps owing to the fact that he expended no effort at acquiring them. Not only does he not discharge their right, but also uses them in an iniquitous way; a manner which not only does not benefit him, but harms him as well.

Health is one of the priceless blessings which a man in good condition pays no heed to and only knows its worth once he gets afflicted by illness, like the fish which swims in water and does not appreciate its value until it is removed from the water.

Not long ago, a frightening

thing happened to one of our friends; he narrated that while giving a sermon on the pulpit, he suddenly lost his voice and no matter how much he tried to continue his sermon, he failed. Finally, he came down from the pulpit and was taken to the hospital where, by Allah’s grace and favor, he got well after a while.

Man rarely meditates upon Allah’s graces; blessings such as the power of speech, and hardly thanks Allah for that blessing. He only reflects about it the moment that his voice is lost and he no longer has the power to speak. All too often, he is ready to give up all his wealth at that moment of need.

For a moment we ought to reflect about health and meditate over what blessing is higher than being healthy and free from a thousand diseases which threaten our bodies and that we are not even afflicted by any one of them. For that reason, we are enjoying the benefits of enormous wealth at every moment, even though this health is not stable and permanent and is likely to be lost at every moment.

Word like this has been recorded elsewhere, that the Noble Prophet (S) stated:

“There are two blessings that are always not thanked for: health and security.”⁽¹⁾

Leisure is the second blessing which the Noble Prophet (S) has hinted at, and it denotes ease and the lack of trouble. Man is faced with different conditions and situations in his life. He spends some of

those opportunities at leisure and ease and he can contemplate about himself and perceive the concealed aspects of his being and more often than not it happens that he intends to remedy his ethical and psychological deviations.

He plans to meditate about his destiny and to sit in solitude in a secluded corner to embark upon worship and/or study with peace of mind. For every reason, physical and psychological tranquility reigns over his entire being and this peace has presented a golden opportunity for him to derive the utmost advantage from opportunities and make use of every moment in the direction of his perfection. In contrast, it is possible that man gets confronted by a period in his life which, for different reasons, he is deprived of leisure and ease and regrets every moment of it, but what benefit is there in such regret because time lost is never regained. With regard to making the most of opportunities, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) says:

“Opportunities and life pass like a cloud, therefore perceive good opportunities.”⁽¹⁾

Problems sometimes arise as a result of being entangled in family issues and bearing the responsibilities of children and wife, and at other times they spring up because of social occupations and public responsibilities. These problems absorb all the spiritual and physical abilities of a human being and do not afford man a moment’s opportunity to meditate. In the period after the Islamic revolution in Iran, a lot of government officials had gotten affected by this condition and they

did not even have a break to attend to their personal affairs.

In contrast, some people are always pursuing vain amusements, and do not even know how to make use of the time of their invaluable lives. They do not know whether they should solve the crossword puzzle in the newspaper or they should spend the hours of the night watching television films? Or should they sit watching sports news? Or get busy with playing chess? They are like a person who has amassed a lot of wealth and searches for a place where he can set it on fire bit by bit, and derive pleasure from watching that. If we encountered such a man, we would surely say that he were mad, heedless of the fact that many of us are afflicted by this same insanity and are busy burning the capital of our lives, life itself, which is by no means comparable to the wealth of this world, in the fire of sensual desire.

In reality, this kind of a person has to be called a loser and a man swindled, because a swindled man is he who exchanges his priceless merchandise for valueless goods or gets less than their worth. There is no asset so prized that it can be compared to life, and it cannot be sold at a price less than paradise. Owing to this fact, appreciate the value of leisure before it is lost and take up work that is more profitable and praiseworthy than

the rest of the occupations.

Youth is a period of Vitality And Liveliness

“O Abu Dharr! Make the most of five things before five other things: the first is to make the most of youth before old age…”

The short period of youth, which is accompanied by happiness and vigor, is considered as the best period of man’s life and has a special reckoning. Even if life and living are great favors on the whole, but still youth is a twofold blessing. It is for this reason that the Noble Prophet (S) initially mentions the period of young age and lastly hints at the importance of the principle of life itself. Despite that the period of life includes the period of youth as well His Holiness (S) has cited it at the beginning because this age is viewed with special importance by the Noble Prophet (S).

Imam Khomeini, may Allah be pleased with him, repeatedly used to say, “O Youths! Comprehend and make the most of the period of youth.” The reason is because the blessing of youth is the highest grace which if made use of in a correct and commendable manner can raise man and make him ascend through the spiritual stations towards Allah, something which is less likely to be attained during the period of old age. That is why this truth has been explicitly stated in the words of the Imams (‘a) too, and in this regard, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) says,

“The Qur’an gets mixed with the flesh and blood of every believing youth who

recites it.”⁽¹⁾

The period of youth is a period of flexibility and accepting the truth. During this age man can build himself and free his self from ugly traits. It is during the period of youth that man:

a) gets influenced by the truth more than any other period;

b) enjoys a healthy body and can easily discharge his social obligations;

c) can perform his religious duties in the best possible form because of having a strong body and spirit;

d) possesses enough strength for remedying ethical vices;

e) can achieve high academic levels by making use of his body and mind;

f) is most likely to have a strong will and iron resolution;

g) can, without feeling tired, think well and meditate for hours on end;

h) can firmly establish in himself virtuous attributes and practices at a high level.

And vice versa old age is a period of weakness and decrepitude, a time of the final shaping of man’s personality and of inflexibility; and in brief, it is a period of the predominance of physical infirmity and psychological feebleness.

In the Glorious Qur’an, old age has been referred to as ‘shayb (hoary)’ in three instances and it has been interpreted as ‘shaykh (old age)’ in four cases. And in most occasions, the natural weakness of this age has either been explicitly stated or hinted at; for example, it has been stated about Prophet Zakariya (‘a):

قالَ رَبِّ اِنِّی وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّی وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأسُ شَیْبًا...

“He said: My Lord! Surely my bones are weakened and my head

flares with hoariness, and, my Lord! I have never been unsuccessful in my prayer to Thee…”⁽¹⁾

And likewise, with regard to the stages of man’s life, it states:

... ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ ضَعْفًا وَشَیْبَةً...

“…Then he gave strength after weakness, then ordained weakness and hoary hair after strength…”⁽²⁾

(In the rest of the explanations the Qur’an has in one way or another hinted at the disability and feebleness that goes with old age.)

Therefore, the period of youth is a very precious opportunity for cleansing oneself of ethical vices, a thing which is very hard to do during old age, but unfortunately man does not believe anything without feeling or experiencing it; that is to say, he does not understand the pain of elderliness until he has aged, and no matter how many times the difficulties of this period are made known to him, he still does not acknowledge the truth as it ought to be admitted.

We have witnessed great people who possessed very lofty moral perfections, but one point of moral weakness had remained in them which they either had not recognized during their period of adolescence or they had not undertaken to correct it. For whatever reason, that weak point had remained like an incurable chronic illness in their personalities.

The Need For Appreciating Health And Ability

The second is that man ought to make the most of his health before getting afflicted by illness.

The third is that man ought to make the most of his ability before his inability.

If you are able to cope

with your life, no matter how simple and plain it is, and economic needs have not made you dependent on other people, you ought to appreciate and make the most of this blessing before, Allah forbid, you are afflicted by abject poverty and distress and you become dependent on other human beings for the daily management of your life. If at the present there are simple facilities at your disposal and you can spend the day with contentment and carry on with your studies, you ought to make the most of this opportunity and apprehend the day when you will be compelled to quit your studies and get occupied with other jobs for the acquisition of the daily needs of this same simple life. If you can presently pass the days of your life ascetically, make use of the opportunity at hand and instead of thinking about privations and wants, contemplate about what you possess at the present moment and appreciate it. The period of your self-sufficiency is a good time for you to help others; for this reason hold the hands of the needy before the arrival of the turn of poverty and destitution.

It is necessary to pay heed to this point that poverty and deprivation which result in disgrace do not accord with the noble status of the human being, and they have been rebuked as forbidden attributes. Allah does not approve of lowliness for his slaves, but desires honor and glory for them. Therefore, man has

to make utmost effort to reduce his dependence on other people and strive to the last extent of his ability to confront poverty by adopting values such as contentment, magnanimity of taste, abstinence from pomp and avoidance of waste, have to be well learned and acted upon.

The fourth point is that the human being ought to make the most of the period of leisure and ease before the arrival of the period of entanglement.

A lot of discussion has been held in regard to the contents of this sentence, but it is necessary to be reminded that the Noble Prophet’s (S) intention is not that one ought to shirk from obligations and refuse to shoulder social responsibilities and rather prefer unemployment. This is a negative perception. As likely as not, the Noble Prophet’s (S) intention is that you ought to appreciate the value of these treasured moments when you can freely choose and decide without imposition and make use of these opportunities to make the best choices before you are compelled to accept uncalled for responsibilities and imposed duties and before you are divested of the power to choose of your own accord.

This World’s Life Is A Ground Of Choices, Growth And Spiritual Ascension

The fifth is that man ought to make the most of life before the arrival of death.

The blessing of life is a comprehensive and complete favor which has been mentioned after the rest of the graces. In reality, all the other blessings are affixed to the gift of life. If there were no life, there would remain

no room for the other graces. For this reason, the root and fountainhead of the rest of the gifts is the blessing of the life of this world, which has freely been given by Allah to his slaves and even if man enjoys the life of the hereafter after death, but still he gets deprived of the ability to perform volitional deeds, to freely choose and to make decisions. It is there that he regrets his past life, losing opportunities and making bad choices, and he requests to return to the world in order to make up for past vices, but his petition will not be granted.

حَتَّی اِذا جَاءَ اَحَدَهُمْ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ * لَعَلِّی اَعْمَلُ صالِحًا فِیمَا تَرَکْتُ کَلاّ اِنَّهَا کَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا وَمَنْ وَرائِهِمْ بَرْزَخٌ اِلی یَوْمِ یُبْعَثُونَ

“Until when death overtakes one of them, he says: ‘Send me back, my Lord, send me back. Haply I may do good in that which I have left.’ By no means! It is a (mere) word that he speaks; and before them is a barrier until the day they are raised.”⁽¹⁾

Some of the great men used to recommend that at the time of sleeping, you ought to imagine that this sleep may possibly not have an awakening and the Angel of Death will seize your soul in the state of sleep, because the Glorious Qur’an states:

اللهُ یَتَوَفَّی الأَنْفُسَ حِینَ مَوْتِهَا والَّتِی لَمْ تَمُتْ فِی مَنَامِهَا...

“Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that

die not during their sleep…”⁽¹⁾

The soul almost gets separated from the body during sleep, and if the hour of man’s death arrives, it gets completely detached from his body; it is for this reason that in continuation of the same blessed verse, Allah states:

... فَیُمْسِکُ الَّتِی قَضَی عَلَیْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَیُرْسِلُ الأُخْری إِلی اَجَلٍ مُسَمَّی... سورة الزمر: 42

“… Then He withholds those on whom He has passed the decree of death and sends the others back till an appointed term; most surely there are signs in this for those who reflect…”

In reality, man travels half the journey towards death when he sleeps; that is why great men have advised that at the time of sleeping, imagine that after the soul has been separated from the body, it will never again return, and when you wake up, you must thank Allah that He has granted existence to your body once again and He has granted you life once more.

To put it another way, you should imagine that you have gone to purgatory (the interval between life and death), and that your unworthy deeds have become apparent, and that you are being called to account for them and you are under admonition, and at that time you ask the angels which are residing in the proximity of Allah to let you return to the world and as per your request they grant you the permission; now that you have returned to the world and you have once again got

the chance to perform works, what are you going to do and how are you going to be?

We ought to appreciate the value of this second chance and make the most of every moment of it because a time will come when man will deeply desire for saying just one “la ilaha illa Allah (There is no deity save Allah)” and according to the words of Imam ‘Ali (‘a):

“Whoever falls short of performing good deeds falls into grief, and Allah has nothing to do with him who spares nothing from his wealth in the name of Allah.”⁽¹⁾

Lesson 3: Correct Perception of the Realities of Life and Making Optimum Use of [Man’s] Lifespan

Making Timely Use Of Opportunities And Keeping Protracted Hopes At Bay

“O Abu Dharr! [Beware] lest you procrastinate praiseworthy deeds on account of your protracted hopes.”

(This expression is a completion of the Noble Prophet’s (S) previous saying and it underscores making timely use of opportunities and not wasting opportunities or moments of life.)

Procrastination [taswif] is one of the cankers of the soul which obstructs the fulfillment of good and praiseworthy deeds and that is why it has been an object of distain in the hadiths. Procrastination denotes putting obligations off with the hope of discharging them later. This state can be caused by a great deal of factors, but its chief and primary cause—as has been mentioned in this section—is man’s delusive dreams; that is to say, man does not discharge today’s obligations in the hope of staying alive until tomorrow when he will carry them out. When the following day arrives, he again plays for time and hopes for the

other day and thus months and years pass while he puts off his work. The Noble Prophet (S) states that if you desire to cleanse your inner self of this quality and attribute, you ought to imagine that you only have this very day and hour and moment and you will not have another opportunity to live after this.

The concept of procrastination, like a great number of other ethical concepts, ranging from moral virtues to vices, is a graded notion and has different stages. These graded axioms vary with regard to different individuals, ranging from believers to unbelievers inclusive, and even in regard to the levels of faith. Some of its levels are ordinary obligatory deeds, others are emphasized obligatory works and others are ordinary recommended acts and others emphasized recommended works. At times, some of these levels are so accurate that their imagination is impossible for ordinary people.

The Stages Of Negligence

The first stage of procrastination is seeking ease and complacency with regard to worldly affairs, which results in man putting off his works. This bad habit is not related to belief; it is also possible for an unbeliever to be afflicted by it in the same way that a believer does, because unbelievers too sometimes get lazy and negligent as regards their worldly affairs. This bad trait and disposition, which causes man to put off his duties, is considered as an undesirable habit both by the believer and the unbeliever.

Of course, this quality is uglier for a believing man

because if he gets used to putting off his obligations for later, bit by bit this quality becomes his permanent disposition of mind and spreads by contagion to his religious obligations too, resulting in his not performing divine obligations on time. That is the reason why it has been said that if a man were lazy in his worldly affairs, this quality gradually becomes his permanent trait of mind giving rise to carelessness and negligence being extended to matters of the hereafter.

The second stage of procrastination is laziness in performing religious obligations and duties. This indolence, based on the three divisions of obligatory duties, is also divided into three sections:

whose incumbency is obligatory at the first opportunity and whose putting off is forbidden [haram] by Islamic law but it does not imply that its incumbency is nullified if procrastinated.

Asceticism And Wrong Interpretations

The other point worthy of mentioning is that matters have been mentioned in a lot of verses of the Glorious Qur’an and the hadiths which might have different and sometimes conflicting interpretations, and their explication calls for perfect expertise and professional knowledge in religious sciences for the reason that in such circumstances the possibility of error and the likelihood of inadmissible understandings is high.

For example, there are verses of the Glorious Qur’an and the hadiths that have been quoted whose apparent purport is rebuking, praising or retreating from the world, and whose interpretations vary and sometimes oppose each other. One of those interpretations is the Sufi version which is arrived at without paying attention to the other aspects of Islam and the explicit

religious sciences. In the Sufi point of view, man has to retreat from this world’s life and engage in worship in solitude far from the society and/or have companionship with animals, regardless that this kind of inference is in direct contradiction to the verses of the Glorious Qur’an, the hadiths and the categorical primary principles of religion.

If self-reclusion were the primacy of religion, then what fate will befall religious social obligations such as spending money and wealth in Allah’s cause, fighting against oppression, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, and striving for the establishment of an Islamic government, which are among the explicit essentials of Islam!? And where, apart from in the society, are they supposed to be fulfilled? Can these responsibilities be discharged in privacy and seclusion? It is for this reason that deduction of religious principles calls for expertise in the whole collection of religious sciences and it demands attention to all the aspects and dimensions of religion.

In response to this misconception, it ought to be said that seeking the world is reprehensible if it is perceived as the ultimate goal of life. But if the world becomes a means of attaining the perfection of the hereafter, not only is it irreprehensible, but praiseworthy and commendable as well. Conceiving the world as a means of attaining the hereafter has itself levels, some of which are necessary and some of which are considered as part of human perfections.

The utmost limit of seeking the world is

that deriving benefit from the pleasures of the world and engaging in material issues ought not to lead a human being to quitting the divine obligatory works and committing forbidden actions. Seeking the world is forbidden by Islamic law [haram] if it leads to committing sins and quitting obligatory [wajib] deeds and if this materialism becomes firm as a bad habit and permanent trait of the mind, fighting against it becomes incumbent [wajib].

From the Islamic point of view, an exemplary man is a person who does not believe in the primacy of the world and does not perform worldly actions, even the permissible ones, for attaining materialistic pleasures. Insightful and perceptive people have attained this stage, which is the highest human achievement; that is to say, they conduct themselves in such a way that all their deeds and behavior, even their breathing, are considered as acts of devotion to Allah. All their physical actions and conduct, such as their eating, physical exercise, and even the permissible coital gratifications, are prerequisites for matters of the hereafter and it is for this reason that they are considered as either obligatory [wajib] or recommendable [mustahabb].

Asceticism and belief in the primacy of the hereafter

For every reason, believing or not believing in the primacy of the hereafter is delicate and intricate and its criterion of sincerity cannot be based on man’s word, but is dependent on the inner intentions of individuals: for instance, if man eats food in order to derive pleasure, he has believed in the primacy of materialism even

if he denies that by word of mouth, and if his intention is to thank Allah by means of deriving gratification from the taste of the food, he has believed in the primacy of the hereafter because his aim is thanksgiving to Allah.

It is for this reason that in the Glorious Qur’an, after mentioning a part of Allah’s favors, thanksgiving to Him has been referred to as an aim of making use of His graces. For that reason, the goal is thanksgiving [to Allah] and this occurs when all of man’s physical actions acquire a divine color. Most people do not pay attention to the spiritual aspect of their lives and have gotten so attached to physical gratification that they cannot have any other goal than materials and physical satisfaction. There is no doubt that man needs a mentor in order to procure spiritual states because it is likely for him to stray from the limits of moderation and get propelled towards extremism.

People who want to traverse the course of spiritual perfection and its edification ought to make the pre-eminence and superiority of heavenly pleasures become embedded in their minds in order to weaken their worldly inclinations and reduce their materialistic pleasure seeking. In order to overlook worldly pleasures, they have to inculcate in themselves the conviction that material gratifications are nothing and valueless in comparison to heavenly pleasures.

It is for this reason that in their statements, the Noble Prophet (S) and the Pure and Infallible Imams

(‘a) seek to lead people towards giving preference to the hereafter and to encourage them to forgo the world and entirely free themselves from nature because if man considers the world as a precondition for the hereafter, not only is he not a materialist, but also a seeker of paradise. All too often availing oneself of permissible pleasures is itself a prerequisite of not committing forbidden actions [or seeking forbidden pleasures], and it is for this reason that they are considered as acts of worship. In addition to this, availing oneself of permissible pleasures results in spiritual growth and preparedness for discharging higher obligations.

In regard to dividing daily hours, Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far, (‘a) states,

“Also set aside one hour for the purpose of deriving benefit from permissible pleasures, because it is by deriving benefit from what is halal (permissible) that you can have the vigor to perform the rest of the duties.”

As we have already been reminded, the Noble Prophet (S) has alluded to this truth that the cause for procrastination is man’s dreams of achieving pleasure; that is to say, man is always trying to attain his worldly pleasures and this in itself motivates him to put his obligations off. In other words, the issue revolves around whether he uses opportunities to attain transient physical pleasures or to achieve perpetual heavenly pleasures, but because he sees the world readily available and accessible, he expends his time and efforts trying to bring it to hand; in reality

man has more faith in the world than he has belief in the hereafter and he prefers the transient and short-lived gratifications to the imperishable pleasures of the eternal paradise. It is surprising that most of us are afflicted by a degree of polytheism because we have no faith in the superiority of the hereafter over the world:

وَمَا یُؤْمِنُ اَکْثَرُهُمْ بِاللهِ اِلاَّ وَهُمْ مُشْرِکُونَ

“And most of them do not believe in Allah without associating others (with Him).”⁽¹⁾

Man is polytheistic once he performs an action for other than Allah, even if it is for attaining the reward of the hereafter. In pure monotheism, there is no other goal save Allah; even fear of hell and eagerness for paradise are not ultimate aims in pure monotheism, as Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“O my Lord! I do not worship Thee because of fear of hell and/or because of craving for paradise, but because you are worthy of my devoted adoration.”⁽²⁾

Protracted hopes endanger man’s prosperity, and it is for this reason that Imam ‘Ali’s (‘a) biggest dread was in case people should get afflicted by prolonged hopes and sacrifice divine duties for their own desires:

“I fear two things greatly; the first thing is pursuing vain passions and desires of the soul and the other thing is protracted hopes, because chasing sensual desires results in forgetting the hereafter.”⁽³⁾

Discharging Religious Duties And Obligations Promptly

In continuation of his advice with regard to abstaining from procrastination, the Noble Prophet (S) states,

“Because you only have today and tomorrow is not yours.”

The

Noble Prophet (S) advises Abu Dharr not to put off today’s obligations until tomorrow, for the reason that none can be certain about tomorrow’s coming, and assuming that tomorrow does come, there will still be other responsibilities to be discharged on that day. When you fulfill your duties today, you will have no regret if tomorrow never comes, but once you put off your obligations until tomorrow and it occurs that tomorrow never comes, you will carry this regret and contrition to the next world with you.

Therefore, one ought to think about this very moment and make the most of the present life and abstain from procrastination and putting obligations off in the hope of discharging them another day. When studying and doing research, we ought not to tell ourselves that time is plentiful and we will study tomorrow, because we will have other responsibilities in the future:

“If you had a tomorrow, keep discharging your duties just like today, and if tomorrow never comes, you will not be remorseful about your today’s negligence.”

It is possible for an individual to feel contrition for not being successful at performing more responsibilities in spite of having fulfilled his daily duties, but he no longer feels remorseful when he takes the limitations of man’s ability into consideration and pays heed to the fact that he has discharged his obligations to the utmost extent of his ability.

To complete the previous issues and to emphasize the point that one ought not to sit idly waiting

for tomorrow, the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“O Abu Dharr! How so many a people there are who wake up in the morning but do not see the sun go down, and what a great number of human beings there are waiting for tomorrow but will not see it.”

Notice and observe how the Noble Prophet (S) prepares the mind of the listener so that he may make the most of the moments of his life. In the beginning, he urges the listener to think about the extent to which man can be optimistic about tomorrow for him to put off his responsibilities until then.

If he has no confidence in his tomorrow coming, why does he put his obligations off until then? When the time for the afternoon prayers arrives, what makes him so sure that he will remain alive for another hour so as to delay his prayers? It is self-evident that if he recites his prayers on time, he will not be regretful later and he can even better manage to perform his other responsibilities.

The Thought Of Death Terminates Protracted Hopes

“O Abu Dharr! If you contemplate about the hour of death and perceive with what speed it is coming, you will hate its deception and snare.”

The best way to fight prolonged hopes and their deception is to think about death and to know that the hour of death frustrates protracted dreams and takes man hopelessly to the other world, as Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“(And he who has fallen in love with the world), then it

fills his heart with grief which keeps alternating in the black part of his heart, some grief worrying him and another giving him pain. This goes on till the suffocation of death overtakes him. He is flung dead in the open while his life veins are severed.”⁽¹⁾

Again, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states elsewhere:

“… As for (one) of its lessons, a man reaches near realization of his desires when suddenly the approach of his death cuts them; then neither is the desire achieved nor the desirer spared…”⁽²⁾

The Intermediary Role Of The World

Further on in the hadith, the Prophet (S) states:

“O Abu Dharr! Live like either a stranger or a passer-by in this world and consider yourself as a dead human being.”

The Noble Prophet (S) recommends that in the world man ought to be like a stranger who enters a town and he must observe how one who has no friends and acquaintances lives. With regard to his not being able to gain fondness with anyone, can such a man engage in feasting and entertainment? The believer’s true abode is the hereafter, and he is like a way-farer and passer-by in this world. Therefore, he does not intend to spread facilities around himself and embark upon feasting, drinking and entertainment. By the same token, the Noble Prophet (S) advises that man ought to be in the world like a traveler who does not [even] have the opportunity to stop and rest.

It is likely that attention to the apparent purports of such statements would lead man to misinterpretation and

most probably lead him to thinking about secluding himself from the rest of the people and abandon thinking about procuring a house and starting a family and finally [lead him into] abstaining from the blessings and graces of this world and steer him to only reflecting upon the hereafter because that is man’s eternal abode! Beyond the shadow of doubt, such an understanding is not compatible with the basic principles of Islam. All too often, it is likely that acquiring friends and companions, founding a household, saving wealth and buying a house et cetera et cetera all pivot on the hereafter and at the same time it occurs that love for this world is not man’s motive, rather his incentive is paying heed to the hereafter and devotion to Allah, because by means of the world and utilizing its facilities and pleasures, man can attain heavenly perfections and gain nearness to Allah.

In reality, an individual who has designated the hereafter as his goal has set the world as a means of attaining the hereafter. Now if a human being cannot [completely] renounce the world and he makes use of it as a means of attaining the hereafter, then at least let him be like a passer-by who rests only to the extent of replenishing his powers. Even if in such an individual’s point of view worldly affairs are primary and he cannot dispense with them altogether, at least let him use them to the extent of rejuvenating his abilities

and securing the needs and necessities from the facilities and permissible [pleasures] of this world; as Imam Musa ibn Ja‘far (‘a), in regard to this issue, has stated that you ought to set aside a part of your day for the purpose of pursuing permissible [halal] pleasures.

The sentence “consider yourself as a dead human being” is the highest expression which the Noble Prophet (S) has employed, but it is likely to be understood wrongly. When the Noble Prophet (S) states that you should count yourself among the dead, the apparent meaning is that in the same way that the dead are deprived of the most basic needs of life such as eating, you too ought to abstain from the world and from seeking its benefits. However, the Prophet’s (S) intention is that you should pay attention to your permanent place of abode.

When the life of this world is [viewed as] a stopping-place, and a bridge for crossing over to the ever-lasting world, your attention has to be fixed on your final place of residence and your effort has to be concentrated on preparing yourself and acquiring enough provisions so as not to become ashamed and apologetic there. For that reason, the Noble Prophet’s (S) intention is not that you ought to abstain from earthly affairs altogether and quit thinking about securing livelihood, buying amenities for yourself and your children’s future and their ease.

Improper deductions from the verses of the Gracious Qur’an and hadiths have had an old history

among the Muslims; such as when the verse about divine retribution was revealed, some of the Noble Prophet’s (S) companions left their homes, abstained from coital relations with their wives, refrained from eating [good] foods and wearing [good] clothes, and [instead only] got busy with worshiping Allah! When news of this reached the Noble Prophet (S), he called them and said, “Why do you act like this? I, who am a Prophet, mix with my wives and derive benefit from the gifts of the world alongside my acts of devotion and fasting. You too ought to imitate me and do not forsake your homes and lives.”

With regard to the previous matters, mentioning this point is necessary that all too often it happens that an individual lives a life of abundance in this world and still does not go under its influence, because he can employ all material matters as a means and way of attaining the truth. By the same token, it ought to be taken into consideration that when this world is castigated, it does not imply that we ought to consider its natural and material gifts as having no value [at all], because they are all Allah’s creations and His divine signs.

But criticism is laid on man’s point of view and intention; castigation is made when he gets addicted to the world and its gifts and sets them as his main goal and he becomes heedless of their intermediary role. For that reason, the real object of

castigation is man and his improper way of employing material tools.

In praise of the Noble Prophet (S), Imam ‘Ali (‘a) says:

“(The Holy Prophet) treated this world disdainfully and regarded it as low. He held it contemptible and hated it. He realized that Allah kept it away from him with intention and spread it out for the others by way of contempt. For this reason, he kept away from it of his own volition, banished its recollection from his heart and mind and wished that its recollection should remain hidden from his eye so that he should not acquire any clothing from it, or hope for staying in it.”⁽¹⁾

“O Abu Dharr! When you wake up in the morning do not hope to see the sun set and when you sleep at night do not hope to see the sun rise.”

Lesson 4: The Prophet’s (S) Recommendation to Make Good Use of Present Abilities

point

Previously, sections of the hadith of Abu Dharr have been the subject of discourse. In those sections, emphasis has been laid on strengthening faith, making the most of opportunities and appreciating life and Allah’s graces. Now those same issues will be repeated so as to have a deeper effect on the hearts of the believers.

When man has believed in Allah, the Exalted, the Day of Resurrection and divine values, he desires to be spotless before Allah and be the object of His favor, but this is dependent on him knowing the value of his life and to also know how to put it to use in order

to attain the goal, which is eternal bliss. In continuation, the Prophet (S) warns man against being afflicted by heedlessness, sin and deviation, because it is likely that the hour of death finds him in that state and he gets propelled to the everlasting world [in a] guilty and conscience-stricken [state].

The Role Of Meditation Upon Death And The Consequences Of Sin

“O Abu Dharr! Beware lest your death finds you while in a state of sin in which case no opportunity remains for compensation and repentance and for returning to the world, no heirs of yours will extol you for the inheritance you have left them and Allah, the Exalted, will not accept the excuse which you will make.”

As has been said before this, the Prophet (S) has articulated some of the ethical concepts with different expressions and the aim of repeating these ethical notions is to produce higher effects on the hearts of the believers.

As you will understand after a short review of the verses of the Qur’an, a great deal of verses have been repeated in various instances, and even the exact words have been repeated in some cases, like the blessed verse “Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?” that has been repeated thirty one times in Surat al-Rahman. Even if every verse acquires its own special meaning with every repetition, the role of every repetition in producing more profound effects on the hearts cannot be denied. In our daily actions repetition plays a considerable role in changing behavior and producing either good

or bad habits.

It has been narrated that when the Qur’anic verse, “And enjoin prayer on your followers, and steadily adhere to it; We do not ask you for subsistence, and the (good) end is for guarding against evil;”⁽¹⁾was revealed, the Prophet (S) used to go to ‘Ali’s (‘a) house for eight successive months and used to state, “Prayer! Allah’s mercy be upon thee, ‘Allah has willed to drive away uncleanliness from you the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and keep you pure’.”

(If the Prophet (S) used to go to ‘Ali’s (‘a) once every day, it can be inferred that this action was repeated two hundred and forty times, despite that this action was apparently repeated five times a day.)

The outcome of the Prophet’s (S) statement is that if man does not know what actions lead him towards prosperity and which ones lead him to perdition, he gets entangled in sin in the end and if death catches him while committing vice, he has earned the worst losses for his soul and he has lost the gem of life and existence, youth and divine gifts in the way of sin and in return has earned nothing save destruction. It is for this reason that the Noble Prophet (S) states that you should fear lest the hour of death comes while you are committing sin and get your soul in that state. In that case, you forever do not have another opportunity to make up for your sins and it will remain

available in your record, because no permission will be given to any to return to the world.

With regard to this, the Qur’an states:

حَتّی اِذَا جاءَ اَحَدَهُم الْمَوْتُ قالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ * لَعَلِّی اَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِیما تَرَکْتُ کَلاَّ اِنَّهَا کَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا...

“Until when death overtakes one of them, he says: ‘Send me back, my Lord, send me back; haply I may do good in that which I have left.’ By no means! it is a (mere) word that he speaks; and before them is a barrier until the day they are raised…”⁽¹⁾

Man will abstain from sin if at the time of committing vice he thinks about this point that it is likely for the hour of death to arrive while he is in a sinful state. Supposing that man too earns a lot of profit in his illicit businesses and transactions and leaves it as inheritance for his heirs, will it bear him any good? Are they not going to utilize this inheritance for their own pleasure-seeking and forget about him? Even though they were to praise him, what benefit has it got for his condition? On the other hand, he will meet Allah with all his errors and offences. Now, what pretexts has he got to present to Allah? He who knew that what he was doing was prohibited [haram] and is contrary to the orders of Allah and proof had been made complete upon him, what pretexts is he going to present in the presence of

Allah and what response is he going to give to the fire that will be dropped upon him?

“O Abu Dharr! I have never seen a fire like the fire of Hell, which [even] the sleeping seek to run away from, and I have never seen [anything] like Heaven, which is desired by even the sleeping.”

The Need For Appreciating Life

“O Abu Dharr! Be more miserly with your life than [you are] with your money and wealth.”

If a person saves money with a lot of difficulty and effort, does he freely place it at the disposal of other people? For the reason that he expended a lot of effort for its acquisition, he does not easily lose it and knows its value. On the contrary, it is likely that without feeling the slightest loss, man spends hours of his life pursuing vanity. In other words, it is likely for one to be mean with his money but not be miserly with his life despite the fact that the value of life cannot be compared to the value of money.

If the life of a person falls in danger, he is ready to spend many times all his belongings in order to save his life. Suppose that all gold, silver and diamond mines were at the disposal of an individual and it is said to him that he ought to give up all his life in order to stay alive. Does he not give it up?

Man desires worldly facilities for his own use, now of what benefit

are they if he does not stay alive? For this reason, his life has more value than all the wealth of the world. Why then are you losing this precious asset freely? Not only do you lose it freely, but sometimes earn divine wrath in return for it? If losing money in the free air is not a wise action, how then can losing life freely in pursuit of transient passions be wise?

Do not put this invaluable asset at the free disposal of companion, friend, wife and friends. Do not squander it in vain activities for the sake of pleasing others, worse is that you should waste it on committing transgressions and sins. Yes, if for the good pleasure of Allah man expends his life pleasing others, gladdening his wife and children and his believing brother and/or on alleviating the needs of a believer, not only has he not freely lost his life but has earned the good pleasure of Allah whose value is more than the whole world. But it is not rational to expend life which is worth the whole world for the sake of amusing and entertaining this one and that one, because in this instance you will have lost it freely.

Discharging Duties On Time And Not Being Anxious About The Following Day

“O Abu Dharr! Does anyone of you expect something other than wealth which leads to disobedience, or poverty which results in forgetting Allah, or sickness which ruins his body or old age which withholds him from activity, or death which arrives hurriedly, or the arrival

of the seditious imposter, or the approach of the Day of Resurrection which is more dreadful and bitter.”

These expressions are another emphasis on making the most of opportunities in the direction of discharging obligations. If man does not employ the energy and opportunities that are at his disposal to fulfill his divine duties now, then which opportunities is he waiting for? These sentences are a warning to people who, when it is requested of them to discharge their obligations, respond that there is plenty of time for fulfilling responsibilities.

What day are you waiting for in order to make up for the past and discharge your duties that you remain idle [today] and put off your work until later, or get occupied in pursuing vain activities, or Allah forbid, you get absorbed in sin? For instance, during the period of poverty and want, man waits for the encumbrances of the period of poverty to be overcome and become rich and then discharge his duties. Despite that may be wealth and needlessness may have worse demands than poverty and lead you to disobedience, because man becomes defiant when he perceives himself needless.

کَلاّ اِنَّ الاِنْسَانَ لَیَطْغَی، * اَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَی

“Nay! Man is most surely inordinate, because he sees himself free from want.”⁽¹⁾

Do you during the period of needlessness and wealth wait for the encumbrances that have been brought about by your money and wealth to be removed and for the period of poverty and want to arrive so as to

discharge your duties? Do you imagine that the loss of your wealth will reduce the encumbrances of your work and life and you can hence discharge your duties with ease? All too often, poverty results in forgetting goals and perfections and occupies all your time that you forget about perfection and spirituality.

When you are healthy you imagine that man remembers Allah more during the period of illness, despite that this has no universality; it is not always true that man gets busy with invocation of Allah, supplication and be taking to the Infallibles (‘a) when he is sick. Sometimes, illness gets so predominant on man that it robs him of the vigor to discharge acts of devotion.

During the age of youth, you tell yourself to let the passion of youthful pride and mischief get quenched and then you will discharge the acts of devotion when old age arrives, negligent of the fact that you will get besieged by the reduction of ability and strength and will not be able to fulfill your duties. Therefore, when do you intend to discharge your obligations? When your death arrives? Or, when the seditious imposter comes?

The term ‘dajjal (the seditious imposter)’ denotes the liquid of a goldsmith and is applied to a very deceptive person too, in the same way that the appearance of a lying person is deceptively attractive and entices others to himself by his hypocrisy and dissimulation.

In the hadiths, ‘dajjal’ denotes wickedness and mischievousness. In any case, the

Prophet’s (S) intention may be one of these two meanings below:

The dajjal causes truth and falsehood to get so intertwined [with each other] that separating one from the other is impossible. That is why the Prophet (S) emphasizes that until you can distinguish right from falsehood, make the most of the opportunity and act upon what is right and be bound to its demands and needs, lest a day arrives when you will be misled and the way of guidance is closed in front of you; this is the worst occurrence that awaits man, most deplorable and more bitter than everything else is waiting for the Day of Resurrection.

In this saying, the Noble Prophet (S) warns man about the dangers of the future and embodies them for him, and mentions this possibility that it is likely for the problems of the future to be more than those of today; it is therefore fair for man to make the most of his opportunities today, and not play for time.

Lesson 5: Castigating the Acquisition of Knowledge for Worldly Goals

The Consequences Of Not Acting Upon Knowledge And Attaining Social Rank By Means Of It

In this section the Prophet (S)

has addressed the scholars; His Holiness urges the scholars to conform their actions to their knowledge and reminds them about the ill-effects of not conforming conduct to knowledge.

Even if His Holiness’ statements are clear and need no expounding, but for the sake of making this issue more transparent so as to make it clearer in the hearts, we will hint at some of the hadiths whose purport is the same as that of the Noble Prophet’s (S) statements. But before that we shall be reminded that from the Islamic point of view a rational man cannot be without responsibilities, but the standards and limitations of obligations differ. Therefore, an ignorant man and a scholar equally have responsibilities, even though the burdens of a scholar are more than those of an ignorant man.

Therefore, for the reason that the ignorant man has obligations too, he is obliged to learn the divine duties and religious issues of his needs and not knowing religious issues does not result in man being divested of religious duties, that is why Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states:

“On the Day of Resurrection, when Allah’s slave who did not fulfill his duties [in the world] is called for questioning, Allah, the Exalted, will ask him, ‘Were you aware of your duties and obligations?’ If in response he says, ‘Yes, I was aware of my duties’, Allah will say, ‘Why did you not act upon that which you were aware of?’ And if the slave says, ‘I was an ignorant

man’, Allah will say, ‘Why did you not go to learn your responsibilities so as to act upon them…’”⁽¹⁾

The basic difference between a scholar and an ignorant man is that Allah’s divine proof has fully been presented to him and no pretexts will be accepted for his not discharging his responsibilities, and he will [even] be dealt with in a more strict manner than the ignorant.

With regard to this, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states:

“Seventy sins of an ignorant man will be forgiven before one sin of a scholar is forgiven…”⁽²⁾

It ought not to be imagined that quitting education is better in order not to be worse off than the ignorant, because one who fled from acquiring knowledge and awareness will be asked too [why they did so] and responsibility will not be divested of him because of his taking flight from education. In addition to that, why ought we not to be among those scholars who act upon their knowledge and will get envied in the hereafter in the same way that other people used to envy them in the world?

In our sources of hadith, a great deal of sections with different titles have been recorded with regard to the virtue of acquiring knowledge, to the extent that it has been recorded in some of the hadiths that even the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and the animals of the wilderness all seek Allah’s forgiveness for a person who is seeking divine knowledge.

For

every reason His Holiness’ sates in this section that a scholar whose actions are not in accord with his knowledge will be in the worst position and rank on the Day of Resurrection and will not smell the sweet scent of paradise. All too often [it occurs that] a person who embarks upon acquisition of knowledge initially does so with the intention of serving the religion and discharging his obligations but encumbrances crop up along the way; However, some people do not have a divine intention and objective from the beginning.

Not only do they lack sincerity, but have ill-intentions as well, like acquiring knowledge for the sake of attracting other people’s attention and respect and acquiring social rank and popularity. It is natural that right from the beginning such an individual is heading towards deviation and collapse and consequently gets entangled in the filth of meanness and misery and will not smell the scent of paradise on the Day of Resurrection.

It is likely that a person who goes to learn secular knowledge for the sake of attaining position, opportunity and the acquisition of daily bread does not get reproached and blamed, but a person who learns divine sciences, which have been designed for the prosperity of the hereafter, for the sake of attaining the world deserves to be castigated. In reality, such an individual believes that the position and status of the world is higher than that of the hereafter. In other words, he has believed in the

primacy of the world and not that of religion. This thought is a result of lack of faith in the basic principles and values of religion and has no end save being driven away from Allah, as the Prophet states:

“A person whose knowledge and awareness have been increased but [he] has not become detached from the world has in fact got very far from Allah.”⁽¹⁾

The Consequences Of Acquiring Knowledge For The Sake Of Deceiving Others

“O Abu Dharr! A person who acquires knowledge for the sake of deceiving people will not smell the sweet scent of paradise.”

Some people not only embark upon acquiring knowledge for the sake of attaining fame and position but worse than that, they get education in order to deceive and mislead people.

Up to this section of the hadith, mention has been made about the importance of harmonizing our actions in accord with our knowledge and purifying the intention: that man ought to conceive of what intention he has when he embarks upon the acquisition of knowledge and should not let evil intentions appear in his heart. He ought not to set out gathering knowledge for the sake of titles such as ‘Hujjat al-Islam’, ‘Ayatullah’, ‘Philosopher’ [filsuf] and ‘Interpreter of the Qur’an’ [mufassir] and attracting the people’s respect [and attention].

Maybe people who take the trouble of getting education for the sake of attaining fame imagine that every person who is more popular among the people is more beloved by Allah too. This illusion is vain and void. Has every one who is popular among the people

discharged his responsibilities in order for him to be beloved by Allah and [thus] attain prosperity? Even if he is very popular among the people, he is still the most ashamed and disgraced of all people in the sight of Allah because the criteria of man’s works are knowledge, action and piety. The standard of judgment is that man ought to be beloved by Allah, not by the people.

Admitting Ignorance is a Quality of the Divine Scholars

In a hadith, the Prophet (S) states:

“Every person who learns divine knowledge, which is supposed to be learnt only for [the good pleasure of] Allah, for attaining worldly goals and position will not smell the sweet scent of paradise on the Day of Resurrection.”⁽¹⁾

“O Abu Dharr! Whenever they ask you about something which you do not know, say that you do not know so as to remain safe and do not pronounce an edict over what you have no knowledge of in order to escape Allah’s wrath on the Day of Resurrection. (It is not permissible for man to say that of which he has no knowledge, all too often, that word becomes a cause of deviation).”

One of the greatest misfortunes which a scholarly man may be afflicted by is feeling ashamed to admit his ignorance when he does not know something. This confession is very easy for an ignorant man, but man evades saying “I do not know” when he is known as an academic. When they ask him something that he does not know, it is hard for him

to let the question go unanswered because he fears lest the people speculate about the authenticity of his scholarly credentials if he does not know the answer to questions.

What wrong is there with saying that I do not know in response to the people’s questions? Has it been made incumbent upon the people to know everything? Only Allah knows everything and the others have only used a drop of His knowledge, as has been stated in the Qur’an:

... وَمَا أُوتِیتُم مِن الْعِلْمِ الاَّ قَلیِلاً

“… and you are not given out of knowledge but a little.”⁽¹⁾

The late ‘Allamah Tabataba’i, may Allah be pleased with him, used to hold class sessions on Thursday and Friday nights which were attended by a number of his students and philosophical and non-philosophical discussions were held. If we had any questions to ask, we used to present them before the class session or along the way [when going back home after class]. One night along the way I asked him a philosophical question. He answered, “I do not know.” I asked a second question, to which he easily replied that he did not know, then after a moment’s reflection, said, “Can a response be presented in this form?” Then, he propounded an agreeable and satisfying answer. That night, he stated, “We ought to compare the things unknown to us with the things known to Allah. It is in that case that we will perceive that we do not know anything and the things unknown

to us are like the known to Allah, endless.”

This is the way of those who have been trained in the school of thought of the Prophets (‘a) and the saints [awliya’] of Allah, that if they were not certain about anything, they gave a doubtful response. All too often, the answers he used to give us were more convincing than the ones we had, but if he was not certain and fully convinced, he was bound to initially say, “I do not know.” In reality, this way had been attained as a result of fighting against the carnal soul and subduing it.

This is the method of people who have spent sixty or seventy years of their blessed lives along the course of purification of the soul, teaching and learning. In any case, after we have learnt [only] a few words and expressions, it is hard for us to say that we do not know when we return to our cities. We ought to practice and accustom ourselves to easily admitting ignorance when we do not know something, and if we have doubts, to say that what we are offering is a possible response. In this case, we will have freed ourselves from the troubles of the hereafter.

Man’s Biggest Regret On The Day Of Resurrection

“O Abu Dharr! A group of the dwellers of heaven will glance [down] upon the inmates of the fire and ask them, ‘What made you enter hell? Despite that we entered heaven as a result of your teaching and training us.’

In response, they will say, ‘We enjoined others to perform good works but we ourselves did not do what we advised others to do’.”

One of the scenes which has been described in the Qur’an is that the dwellers of heaven are at a higher level above the inmates of the infernal hell fire and see them and talk to them, as if paradise is situated at an elevated place and hell is positioned at a low place, and that is why the dwellers of the Garden are at a higher level.

The Qur’an’s expression is that sometimes the dwellers of heaven address the dwellers of hell and sometimes the dwellers of hell address the dwellers of paradise:

وَنَادَی أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ أَنْ قَدْ وَجَدْنَا مَا وَعَدَنَا رَبُّنَا حَقًّا فَهَلْ وَجَدْتُمْ مَا وَعَدَ رَبُّکُمْ حَقًّا قَالُوا نَعَمْ فَأَذَّنَ مُؤَذِّنٌ بَیْنَهُمْ أَن لَعْنَةُ اللهِ عَلَی الظَّالِمِینَ

“And the dwellers of the garden will call out to the inmates of the fire, ‘Surely we have found what our Lord promised us to be true; have you found what your Lord promised to be true?’ They will say, ‘Yes.’ Then a crier will cry out among them that the curse of Allah is on the unjust.”⁽¹⁾

Yes, as has been recorded in the hadith, the dwellers of hell will address a group of the inmates of the Fire saying, “We attained paradise thanks to the guidance, teaching and training which you gave us, what happened to you that you got caught up in Allah’s retribution?”

They will respond with regret and remorse, saying, “We did not discharge what we enjoined others to do, we invited you to perform good works but we ourselves did not do what we said. We advised you to fulfill the recommendable works, but we ourselves did not execute them. We guided you away from sin and gossip, but we ourselves got contaminated by sin and gossip. You listened to our words and executed them and earned a place in that lofty abode, but we got entangled in this miserable and painful fate in spite of all our knowledge.”

This remorse and contrition is the destiny of people who did not discharge their obligations. This regret is certainly more painful than burning in divine retribution, because spiritual torture is more painful than physical torture. The pain of rejoicing at an enemy’s failure is more than that of physical torture and burning.

It is painful for man to feel that others found their way to the garden of bliss as a result of his guidance and he got into the predicament of hell despite the fact that he could have attained higher heights by means of his knowledge, and his disciples sit [in heaven] watching him. They are enjoying the pleasures and comforts of the Garden and he is being tormented in the Fire. If he did not have any torment, besides being deprived of the blessings that are at the disposal of his followers, this would be enough for him.

With due attention

to the points which have been mentioned in this noble hadith, we have to initially correct our intention and embark upon the acquisition of knowledge for [the good pleasure of] Allah and discharging our responsibilities and execute what we say right from the outset so as to make this habit firm in ourselves and be able to discharge our duties as we acquire more information. If at the outset we build the foundation upon laziness and heedlessness, we initially quit discharging a work and later on another duty until the habit of disobedience gets strengthened in us and fighting against the carnal soul is going to be hard later on.

The Categories Of Scholars In The Words Of ‘Ali (‘a)

“Scholars are of two kinds; the first kind is the scholar whose actions match his knowledge and he becomes prosperous.

“The second type is the academic whose works do not correspond with his knowledge and he falls into perdition and without doubt the dwellers of hell will be bothered by the bad smell of a scholar without good deeds. Verily, the most regretful and remorseful of the people of hell is the person who calls another one towards Allah and the other one accepts the invitation and obeys Allah and thereafter Allah makes him enter paradise, while the caller [himself] is taken to the eternal Fire because of not doing what he said [acting upon his knowledge].”⁽¹⁾

In an inspired hadith, Allah addresses Prophet David (‘a):

“The least punishment which I inflict on a scholar without works (good deeds) is harder than seventy

punishments or requitals, and that is getting the sweetness of supplication away from him (and after that he does not derive pleasure from remembrance of me)…”⁽¹⁾

Lesson 6: The Magnificence and Magnitude of the Rights of Allah’s Blessings and the Need for Attention to Obligations

The Greatness Of The Rights Of Allah And The Infiniteness Of His Blessings

“O Abu Dharr! Allah’s rights are higher than people could manage to discharge and his gifts are more than can be counted by His slaves, but you ought to acknowledge your faults every morning and every evening when you offer repentance.”

In this section, the discussion pivots on bringing a sense of responsibility and performing duties. After man has understood that he ought to make use of his life, and knew that for the purpose of deriving optimum benefit from his life, time, and leisure, he ought to be knowledgeable; the turn comes for inducing a sense of motivation and activity in an individual and understanding how this motivation arises in man. In order to bring about ambition, it is necessary to pay attention to this point that Allah has rights upon His slaves and for this reason man finds himself obligated to Allah. Man conceives with his intellect and natural disposition that if someone had a right on him, he ought to honor that right and every intelligent man knows that Allah, the Exalted, has the highest right upon him.

Once man has realized that all the gifts which he enjoys, ranging from the origin of existence and life to the rest of the gifts, material and spiritual, are all from Allah, the Exalted, it is not possible for him to forget his

devotional duties. He knows that he ought to be thankful and appreciative to the Provider of these graces and this in itself is an incentive which drives a believer to action. That is the reason why in the first sentence of this section of the hadith the Prophet (S) hints at the rights of Allah on mankind and states that man can never ever manage to thank Allah and discharge divine rights fully.

Once man has understood that by expending all his life, he still remains unsuccessful at performing divine rights and thanking Allah for His blessings, he always ought to perceive himself as indebted, even if he has not committed any sin, divine rights are incumbent upon him and he ought to fulfill them, lest the devil deceive him into imagining that he has a claim on Allah. If man, with the grace of Allah, were successful at fulfilling his obligations, he ought not pride himself and boastfully thank Allah that he does not commit sin! He gets afflicted by heedlessness and self-admiration. Therefore, it has to be known that man cannot manage to discharge Allah’s rights and thank Him for His graces, as Allah states:

وَاِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمةَ اللهِ لاَ تُحْصُوهَا...

“And if you would count the blessings of Allah’s favors, you will not be able to number them…”⁽¹⁾

Supposing that man were able to count Allah’s favors, he would still not be able to discharge the right of any one of them. Even if he were to content himself

with saying one ‘Praise be to Allah’, he still has not discharged the right of thanking Allah for it because just saying ‘Praise be to Allah’ is a grace and favor that Allah has granted unto him, and itself stands in need of thanksgiving. Therefore, for every thanksgiving, there is [yet] another incumbent thanksgiving. That is to say, if we were to [repeatedly] say ‘Thanks be to Allah’ up to the Day of Resurrection, we still would not have discharged the right of one ‘Praise be to Allah’, therefore, how can we be able to fulfill the rights of all these graces which creatures are not able to count?

Attention to this point that the graces of Allah are uncountable and He has a lot of rights upon man inspires a feeling of modesty and humility in man who still feels indebted to Allah even if he has not perpetrated any sin.

Therefore, if man cannot fulfill all the thanksgiving for Allah’s graces and discharge His rights, the greatest work he can do is to preserve the condition of repentance and quitting the small sins, humble submissiveness to Allah and acknowledging sin and dereliction of duty. This in itself withholds man from pride and delusion, because when man gets deviated from the correct path, he gets stricken by materialism, complacency and self-indulgence, and when he gets guided to the correct path and performance of duties for the first time, he gets afflicted by pride and egotism. He compares himself with

the others and tells himself that people do not know the value of Allah’s favors and are contaminated by sin, but we have been successful at discharging [divine] duties and appreciating blessings!

Therefore, despite that we ought to be responsible and practical people with regard to our duties, we ought not to be stricken by pride; this is the greatest lesson of edification of character that can be deduced from the words of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a).

In this same section, the Noble Prophet (S) besides encouraging work and effort and discharging of abilities and perceiving the importance of the rights of Allah, he warns against being afflicted by pride and self-admiration.

The Shortness Of Life And The Immortality Of Good And Bad Works

point

“O Abu Dharr! In the passing of the day and night, you have a life that is always heading towards diminution, and your works remain preserved and suddenly death arrives and in that case every person who performs good works will reap good results and every person who does a bad work will harvest regret and every farmer reaps what he sows.”

One point which impels man to work and make effort and brings to appearance the incentive to be active and perform duties is attention to this point that life is in the process of being spent. Whether we like it or not, our life gets decreased with every breath we take and we cannot manage to bring the wheel of time to a halt and seconds cannot be turned back and in the words of ‘Ali ibn

Abi Talib (‘a):

“Every breath man takes is a step towards death.”⁽¹⁾

We ought to be careful not to lose this capital freely, a capital that is always decreasing and wearing out, until death arrives and there is no running away from it, as Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“… A person who fears death does not escape it and he who loves to stay alive forever will not live forever.”⁽²⁾

The only way of preventing the loss of life is a profitable transaction and what better transaction than that man should build his heaven by means of his life, because that is the only capital which can purchase the value of life, as Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“Is there no free man who can leave this chewed morsel (of the world) to those who like it? Certainly, the only price for yourselves is paradise. Therefore, do not sell yourself except for paradise.”⁽³⁾

Therefore, what losers are people who bargain their great [and] priceless asset of life with the fire of Allah’s wrath! Perhaps those who expend their lives in pursuing vanity imagine that with the passage of life, their works also vanish. What void imagination! Even if this inebriety is a transitory and passing intoxication, and [it is] the inebriety of the Day of Resurrection which is everlasting; but still man’s works remain conserved because works have a connection with man’s soul and Allah, the Exalted. Even though we live in an inebriety which is heading towards diminution, but still we have a relationship with the

eternal world and our works will be stored there.

a) The embodiment of man’s worldly works on the Day of Resurrection

One of the acknowledged principles in regard to the Day of Resurrection is the preservation and embodiment of deeds, which has been hinted at by Allah in the Qur’an; amongst which is:

وَوُضِعَ الْکِتَابُ فَتَرَی الْمُجْرِمِینَ مُشْفِقِینَ مِمَّا فِیهِ وَیَقُولُونَ یَا وَیْلَتَنَا مَالِ هَذَا الْکِتَابِ لاَ یُغادِرُ صَغِیزَةً وَلاَ کَبِیرَةً اِلاَّ أَحْصَاهَا وَوَجَدُوا ما عَمِلُوا حاضِرًا وَلاَ یَظْلِمُ رَبُّکَ أَحَدًا

“And the Book shall be placed, then you will see the guilty fearing from what is in it, and they will say, ‘Ah! Woe to us! What a book this is! It does not omit a small one nor a great one, but numbers them all;’ and what they had done they shall find present there; and your Lord does not deal unjustly with anyone.”⁽¹⁾

At another juncture it states:

فَمَنْ یَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ * یَرَهُ وَمَنْ یَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا یَرَهُ

“So he who has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it. And he who has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it.”⁽²⁾

b) The Suddenness of Death is A Cause of Vigilance and Wakefulness

No man knows up to when he is going to remain alive and when his hour of death arrives, as the Qur’an states:

... وَمَا تَدْرِی نَفْسٌ مَا ذَا تَکْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِی نَفْسٌ بِأَیِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ...

“… And no one knows what he shall earn on the morrow; and no one knows in what land he shall die…”⁽³⁾

One of Allah’s graces is that no man knows the time of his death, because if we knew when our

hour of death arrives, we would get more afflicted by pride and egoism. Of course, knowing or not knowing the time of death makes no difference for those [people] who have high spiritual capacities and are always reflecting about discharging responsibilities.

It is possible for Allah to announce to them when their hour of death arrives, although it is far from wisdom for Allah to announce the hour of death to us for whom knowing the hour of death would result in more procrastination and [our] putting off duties. Divine wisdom necessitates that we always ought to be concerned that perhaps the hour of death will arrive [just] one moment later and it is in this instance that we can make better use of our lives.

The Pre-Ordination Of Man’s Sustenance And Its Inaccessibility To Others

“O Abu Dharr! The position of one who does not hurry will not be taken away by another man and the covetous greedy person will not attain what has not been ordained for him.”

Man is confronted by two great calamities in life; the first is that life compels him to pursue his needs and wants, as a result of which he is stopped from fulfilling his duties, and the second is that when he succeeds at discharging divine duties, he gets afflicted by pride and self-admiration which is a fire that exterminates (good) works. A way of preventing these calamities has to be thought out.

Some people imagine that discharging their obligations impedes on their lives. They imagine that getting busy with the world is

a need which cannot be avoided and this in itself is a hurdle for performing divine and religious responsibilities; these excuses and pretexts are the devil’s temptations. What eliminates these temptations is attention to this point that Allah, the Exalted, has predestined a determined subsistence for every person and no matter how hard man strives, he will not attain more than what has been ordained for him.

One of the doctrines which has been mentioned in the Book and the Prophet’s (S) sayings and paying attention to it is incumbent upon man is the issue of the pre-ordination of sustenance and we currently intend to explicate the notion of the pre-ordination of sustenance and that man is not responsible for his subsistence, whether he strives or not. We will briefly mention that in religious sciences, importance has been accorded to this issue.

In a lot of instances in “Nahj al-Balaghah” mention has been made of the subject of the pre-ordination of sustenance. It has been mentioned in this very hadith that if man is lazy at acquiring his sustenance, another person consumes his subsistence and if a person has a lot of greed at collecting possessions and strives very hard to acquire a greater share for himself, he will not attain what has not been ordained. Therefore, attention to this point forestalls the devil’s temptations.

When the devil intends to stop man from discharging his divine duties and seduces him to currently be pursuing bread and water (daily sustenance), he ought

to hit the devil’s mouth and say, “Keep quiet! My sustenance is preordained and will not be allotted to someone else.” Of course, this belief is attained when man has perfect certitude about the preordination of sustenance by Allah, the Exalted.

What has been said about Allah, pre-ordaining the sustenance of individuals, does not imply that man ought to stop striving for his daily sustenance and say that Allah will grant him his sustenance. It has been discussed in its proper place that man ought to strive to alleviate his needs and Allah is disgusted by lazy and self-indulgent people.

The discourse about the preordination of sustenance is for people who get seduced by the deceptions and temptations of the devil, they imagine that if they strive to discharge divine duties, they along with their wives and children will die of hunger. Allah is greater than that he should leave hungry a person who is trudging the course of devotion.

The Unity Of Divine Actions And The Source Of Allah’s Beneficence

The Unity Of Divine Actions [Tawhid-i Af‘ali] And The Source Of Allah’s Beneficence

“Every person who attains good has been granted it by Allah and every person who remains safe from harm has been protected by Allah.”

Another point worth mentioning is that once we get successful at discharging divine duties, performing acts of worship and fleeing from sins, we ought not to imagine that we are very worthy people because Allah is the origin of every good work which is performed by us. It is He who grants us the favor to

perform good works and to keep aloof from sin.

Whatever worldly good naturally comes to us with or without effort is from Allah and also it is Allah who wards calamities off. The root of this conviction and perception manifests itself in belief in the unity of divine actions [tawhid-i af‘ali] that man ought to perceive all good and good works as coming from Allah and also know Him as the Repellant of vices and evil.

The discussion about the unity of divine actions enjoys great importance and it can be said that all the issues about divine decree and pre-destination [qada wa qadar] and the like have been said themselves to be prerequisites for man’s belief in the unity of divine actions.

The benefit of paying due attention to the unity of divine actions is that pride, self-admiration and egotism get erased from the inside of man and in reality attention to the unity of divine actions is a cure for a lot of ethical vices; amongst them laziness, indolence, jealousy and a feeling of inferiority. With attention to the unity of divine actions, no ground remains for jealousy and no ground remains for either pride or lowliness. When man sees himself in connection with Allah, he does not feel inferior.

Likewise, a person who perceives Allah’s greatness does not feel egoistic because he believes everything as coming from Allah. Likewise, if man were to believe that all powers come from Allah and man cannot advance in his work save with

Allah’s permission, he does not fear any one. Once he has believed that Allah is the Source of all good and no one attains good without His permission, he no longer puts his hope in other than Allah and only trusts in Allah.

Lesson 7: The Vigilance and Alertness of a Believer

Companionship with the Pious and Religious Scholars, and the Difference of Sin in the Perception of a Believer and an Infidel

“O Abu Dharr! The pious are honorable and the religious scholars are the guides. Companionship with them results in the increase of knowledge and virtue. A believer perceives his sin as a frightful cliff which he fears will come down crumbling upon him while the infidel conceives his sin as a fly which passes across his nose.”

In the previous statements, the Prophet (S) has informed man about his sensitive circumstances, the value of his life and the importance of the moments of his life and has cautioned him against laziness, idleness and indifference and [counseled him] to consider the issues of life with a sense of responsibility. It has been emphasized that man ought to make use of opportunities and not put off today’s work until tomorrow. Now the question arises as to what is the best way of utilizing our lives and what is the first step on the spiritual journey towards Allah?

Incontrovertibly, the first step towards appreciating life and spiritual way-faring is abstinence from sin, for the reason that man who is contaminated by sin cannot attain any success and the value of man’s life lies in his not being tainted by sin.

For this reason sin, no matter how small it is,

is a cause of destruction, even if man performs a lot of worship alongside it. A person who sins alongside his acts of worship is similar to a person who has a torn bag and no matter how much money he puts in it, it comes out falling through the hole. Or, he is like a person who harvests his produce and then afterwards sets it on fire!? Because sins are like fire that is tossed on our works.

Therefore, the first stride to take is to know sins and to avoid them and to repent once we commit transgressions and seek Allah’s help and that of His saints [awliya’] so as to be successful at not being contaminated by sin.

The Need For Choosing A Worthy Friend And Perceiving Sin As Great

In the Prophet’s (S) point of view, a man trudging the course towards perfection needs two things: one is a worthy friend and the other is conceiving sin as great and keeping himself aloof from it. Perhaps the medium between these two implies that selecting a good friend is a prerequisite for perceiving sin as big and finally escaping from sin; and choosing a bad friend is a requisite for getting even more polluted by sin, because a good friend can be a source of a lot of graces and favors in the same way that a bad friend is a cause of a great deal of aberrations and deviations.

A good friend motivates man to conceive sin as great and to always consider himself as ashamed and remorseful

in the sight of Allah. Similarly, an immoral friend perpetually encourages man to perceive transgression as small; to such an extent that he does not feel ashamed of any sin.

In this section, the Prophet (S) presents two criteria for selecting an associate:

Companionship with an impious friend makes man perceive sin as light and as a result of which he earns eternal perdition and loss; as the Qur’an quotes some of the inmates of hell saying:

یَا وَیْلَتَنِی لَیْتَنِی لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلاَنًا خَلِیلاً * لَقَدْ أَضَلَّنِی عَنْ الذِّکْرِ بَعْدَ اِذْ جَائَنِی وَکَانَ الشَّیْطَانُ للإِنْسَانِ خَذُولاً

“O woe is me! Would that I had not taken such a one for a friend! Certainly he led me astray from the reminder after it had come to me; and Satan fails to aid man.”⁽¹⁾

In the same way that an impious friend is not worthy of making friendship with, no plans for friendship have to be made with an ignorant person. Even if he intends to perform a good deed, he falls into error and deviation as a result of ignorance.

Therefore, in the same way that awareness and piety are two wings for traversing the course of spiritual perfection and growth along the path of right, they are also two good standards for selecting a companion. It is for this reason that in his recommendation to Abu Dharr, the Noble Prophet (S) presents piety and

religious scholarship as two criteria for choosing an associate. Of course, it is proper that these two qualities are combined in man, because man who intends to perform his duties without being aware of his religion gets deceived by the Devil and the people, no matter how holy he might be.

The Danger Of Unrestrained Scholars And Unwise And Foolish Ignorant People

In a well-known hadith, the Prophet (S) states:

“Two groups broke my back; a religious scholar who is unrestrained in performing indecent deeds and a devoted worshiper who is ignorant and uninformed.”⁽¹⁾

Imam Khomeini (‘a) used to state that sanctimonious people succeed at discharging their devotional obligations but ignore their original duty, which is acquiring knowledge. They travel the course with those same aberrant inclinations of theirs and even insist and persist on it. The damage inflicted upon Islam by these people is more than the damage inflicted by libertine people. This category of people neither succeeds at anything nor lets other people make progress, as Imam al-Sadiq states:

“A person who discharges his obligations without knowledge produces more corruption and aberration than what he corrects.”⁽²⁾

Likewise, the unrestrained religious scholar who does not do as he says deceives people as they respect him because of his knowledge while they inflict blows on Islam as a result of impiety; blows which the ignorant can never succeed at inflicting. It is for this reason that wherever piety has been defined and praised, the idea has been righteousness which is accompanied by knowledge, or else if these two get separated from each other, not only will

it not be profitable but detrimental as well. Also, if religious expertise and knowledge have been praised, the purport has been religious expertise and knowledge accompanied by works, because the religious scholar who does not put his knowledge into practice is a robber.

Allah, the Exalted, addresses Prophet David (‘a) thus:

“O David! Do not place as an intermediary between you and I a religious scholar who has fallen in love with the world, because he will prevent you from traversing the course of love of Me. Verily, they are robbers on the highway ambushing Allah-seeking slaves. The least punishment I inflict upon them is that I drive out of their hearts the sweetness of supplication of Me.”⁽¹⁾

A scholar without works is like a thief who robs a caravan in broad daylight. He knows better how to outwit people because he has knowledge. Such an academic is of no benefit to the religion; therefore, we ought to guard against being fed with deception. Therefore, piety and religious expertise will be effective and will result in the prosperity of the individual and society once they co-occur.

Companionship is permissible with people who, on the one hand, have strengthened their piety, bondage to Allah, servitude and obedience, and on the other hand, have succeeded at attaining religious expertise and sciences. Rapport with this kind of divine scholars adds to man’s virtues and perfection.

Even if the faqih in technical terms denotes learned people who have the ability of inference of Islamic law and

inversion of the branches of the religion to the fundamental principles of religion, the faqih in the terminology of the Qur’an and hadiths means theologian; ranging from knowledge of the branches of religion, beliefs and ethics. But a scholar of beliefs and ethics is more suitable for companionship.

The Prophet (S) states that now that you have made the intention to undertake the journey and have selected a suitable friend for yourself, guard against being contaminated by iniquity in that once you get polluted by sin, your movement and progression will be futile and your efforts and acts of worship will bear no fruit.

Man does not pursue sin purposelessly; transgression necessarily has sweetness, attraction and gravitation by which man gets contaminated. Even if these attractions are imaginative and are temptations of the Devil and lack reality, but man still conceives in sin attraction and sweetness which he pursues. So, what ought man to do in order to have the grace of not being contaminated by sin and resisting it?

The best way of abstaining from sin is to perceive its danger and harm; losses and dangers which go with this transient pleasure and also know the permanent mal-effects of sin both in this world and the hereafter.

The attribute of a believer is that he has a special perception in regard to sin and it is this very perceptiveness which prevents him from committing sin. For a believer sin is a big stone which is about to fall on his head. He

gets bothered once he commits sin and error. That perception has such an effect on the thought and contemplation that his conscience always instigates him against sin and he repents and seeks forgiveness when he perpetrates sin. He is like a person who sees a big stone on top of his head and is always worried that it will fall on his head. That is to say, the soul of this man is so pure and untainted that he shows a reaction against every sin and always engages in reproaching and reprimanding his soul to the extent that he loses his sleep and tranquility too.

Conversely, an infidel and a person who has contaminated his innate disposition with evil does not feel troubled and sin in his perception is like a fly which passes in front of his nose. (The meaning of infidel is not only a person who denies the existence of Allah and the hereafter, but a person who denies one of the primary principles of religion is an infidel too.)

Besides the hadiths and Qur’anic verses, it is a psychological truth that repeating indecent actions divests them of their ugliness and as a result they manifest themselves as pleasurable and shame is no longer felt when committing them. Sin too is the same. If a particular sin is repeatedly committed, its villainy is removed from it and the result of this is that no shame is felt when committing it.

Right here a criterion can be presented

and that is that every person who wants to know whether he is on the boundary of belief or of infidelity ought to observe how his reaction is with regard to sin. If he notices that sin is nothing for him and pays no heed to it, then he should know that he is trudging the course of disbelief because feeling regret at committing sin indicates a pure soul and heedlessness of sin points to an unbelieving soul. The exigency of faith is that if anger and passion overcome man, as a result of which he commits wrongdoing, he immediately gets sorry and remorseful for his actions. In the event that such kind of a condition is absent in us, we ought to be worried for ourselves that we are trudging a dangerous course.

Paying Heed To Sin And Conceiving It As Great Is A Result Of Allah’s Grace And Favor

“O Abu Dharr! Allah, the Exalted and Blessed, embodies His slave’s sins in front of him once He desires his good and makes sin heavy and unbearable for him and He erases sin from the memory of a slave whom He intends bad for.”

Allah, the Exalted, loves all human beings; if He did not love an individual He would not have created him. But Allah has exclusive grace and favor for his slaves. If this section [of humanity] commits sin, he embodies sin in their view because the first step in the direction of drowning in corruption and submerging in sin is forgetting sin, losing sight of sin and its requital. With regard to [the point] that

Allah has attention and favor for His special slaves and does not leave them alone, He conversely pays no heed to some of them and has left them alone. Every person can manage to asses for himself whether he is an object of Allah’s mercy and grace or not.

If he has not forgotten his past sins, and sin is heavy and unbearable for him, he ought to know that he is an object of Allah’s mercy.

It is clear that keeping the remembrance of sin is only practicable once it prevents the further perpetration of sin or otherwise if man remembers his wrongdoings but does not conceive them as unbearable on his shoulders, he has no qualms about committing sin.

Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) in the Du‘a’ [he taught to one of his followers by the name] Abu Hamzah al-Thumali states:

“I am the one whom You gave respite so as to give up committing sins and repent; while I did not give up sins. You covered my sins but I did not feel ashamed and perpetrated sins again. I trespassed the limits so that You overlooked me.”

Therefore, once Allah intends good for any person, he always embodies sin for him, to the extent that he sees it as a heavy and unbearable load. When Allah has no favor for someone and intends bad for him, he leaves him alone and thereafter sin looks light and unimportant to him.

Of course, in the beginning Allah does not drive anyone away from

his mercy and does not intent bad for anyone, but after man has perpetrated ugly works and has stubbornly insisted upon committing sin, Allah makes him afflicted by such requital.

A person who is beloved by Allah is one who has succeeded at attaining the status of servitude and nearness to Allah and man who is low in the sight of Allah is one who is far from Allah and has forgotten him. Once he forgets Allah, Allah too forgets him:

وَلاَ تَکُونُوا کَالَّذِینَ نَسُو اللهَ فَأَنْساهُمْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ...

“And be not like those who forsook Allah, so He made them forsake their own souls…”⁽¹⁾

The Need For Paying Heed To The Greatness Of The One Who Is Being Disobeyed Not The Smallness Of Sin

“O Abu Dharr! Do not look at the smallness of sin, but look at the greatness of the One you are disobeying.”

Sin can be looked at from three points of view:

In the Book and Sunnah, sins have been divided into two sections, every one of which has a different injunction and a separate punishment. The Qur’an states that once the list of works is given to some of the people, they will say:

... یَا وَیْلَتَنَا مَالِ هَذَا الْکِتَابِ لاَ یُغادِرُ صَغِیزَةً وَلاَ کَبِیرَةً اِلاَّ أَحْصَاهَا...

“…Ah! Woe to us! What a book this is! It does not omit a small one nor a great one, but numbers them all…”⁽²⁾

Perhaps, the difference

between these two kinds is that promise of requital has been given for the greater sins while promise of punishment has not been given for the minor sins. Likewise, no limits have been placed over the small sins and a specific limit has been placed over the greater sins.

It is worth saying that it is possible for a person to commit an action which seems to him a small sin and [hence] forgivable, but be heedless of this fact that firstly repeating small sins is itself a great sin and persistence at it makes man an insolent perpetrator of sin. Secondly, he forgets Who is being sinned against and Whose bounds he is trespassing.

This section of the hadith hints at the second point of not just looking at the smallness of sin, but at Who is being disobeyed. Sometimes, one issue is in itself small but is [considered] great because it is connected with a great man.

Imagine that you are in the presence of an Infallible Imam (‘a) and His Holiness orders you to do something, no matter how small: for instance, he orders you to bring him a blue plate, but you imagine that this order is very small and refrain from carrying it out because of this very reason. Is such an imagination logical? Is this the exigency of proper conduct? Is this disobedience acceptable?

It certainly is not so, because in spite of the smallness of the order, the commander is very great and

the small order acquires greatness because of the one who orders. Now, apply this same example on the Divine Essence, despite that disobedience of Allah is not comparable to the disobedience of an Infallible Imam. Therefore, the criterion for the ugliness of sin has to be the greatness of the Commander and the forbidder.

Such a perception of sin can bring about a strong incentive in the direction of opposing the Devil and remove every kind of excuse-seeking from his carnal soul. Sometimes, a friend asks for a favor from someone within the limits of humanity, it is possible to reject his request and say that you do not have any right to give me orders. But sometimes father, mother and/or teacher give orders disobeying of which is very ugly and sometimes the order is made by a religious jurisprudent and sometimes by an Infallible Imam and sometimes by Allah himself. In this instance, the higher the level of the commander or forbidder, the uglier the disobedience and the more worthy of remonstration it will be.

When the Devil entices you that one look at a strange woman is nothing, one minute of listening to prohibited music is nothing, you ought to pay attention to Who you are disobeying. It is for this reason that the Prophet (S) states to Abu Dharr that do not look at the smallness of sin but look at the greatness of the One who is being disobeyed.

“O Abu Dharr! The anxiety and worry of

a man with faith with regard to his sin is more than the fear of a sparrow which has been trapped in a net.”

Here, the Prophet (S) states another example of the reaction of a believer with regard to his sin, that if they set a trap to catch a sparrow and this very active and mobile creature gets trapped, it reacts forcefully and never becomes tranquil and calm but tries to free itself from the trap and sometimes its striving results in its death and perdition; it hits itself on the sides so much that it dies in the end. This is a result of its anxiety and worry for falling into the trap. The reaction of a believer with regard to his sin is like this too. When he feels that he has fallen into the Devil’s trap, anxiety and worry encompasses his entire being, to the extent that he loses his peace and tranquility and he always tries to free himself from the Devil’s trap.

We are not infallible and are always on the verge of error and sin, and there is not expectation either that we will not sin. It is likely that sometimes we fall in the Devil’s trap (of course the meaning of being fallible is not that we must sin, because it is possible for people who are fallible not to sin, and the difference between them is that the Infallible has a natural disposition which prevents him from committing sin, ordinary people

also can manage not to get afflicted by sin despite not having an infallible natural disposition.) In any case, if we get afflicted by sin, our faith necessitates that we always worry and make effort to repent, cry and return to Allah and free ourselves from the consequences of sin.

Lesson 8: The Correspondence of Words with Actions and Guarding the Tongue

The Effects of the Correspondence and Lack of Correspondence of Words with Actions

“O Abu Dharr! Every person whose words are in accordance with his actions has received his of prosperity and every person whose works do not match with his actions has reprimanded himself on the Day of Recompense.”

The majority of people mention good works when they talk and emphasize the importance and value of those works and that they have to be discharged and that they have an effect on the perfection of man; but practically their words are not in accordance with their actions. There are very few people who match their words with their actions.

If we believe that the correspondence of words and actions is connected with the levels of faith, we will deduce that the people whose faith is more perfect are more truthful and their words correspond more with their actions; in reality, their conduct is witness to their words.

While elucidating the verse, “…these are they who are true to themselves and these are they who guard against evil,”⁽¹⁾‘Allamah Tabataba’i, may Allah be pleased with him, states, “Honesty is an attribute which encompasses all the virtues existent in knowledge and works, because truthfulness is a

disposition which accompanies all the ethical virtues, amongst them chastity, courage, wisdom and justice; because man cannot be separated from his belief, words and actions. Man’s honesty denotes that his belief, word and works match with one another; that is to say, he acts according to what he believes in and says.

The natural disposition of man has been formed with the inherency of acknowledging the truth and inward submission to it, even if he may pretend otherwise. Therefore, once he has acknowledged the truth and is honest in his confession, he says what he believes in and acts in accordance with his words, it is in this instance that his faith becomes pure and his morals and works reach the stage of perfection.”⁽¹⁾

He used to state, “Allah has called some people excessively honest, because the conduct of the truthful people is an example of their words.”

A person whose words are in accordance with his actions is honest too. But the excessively honest are at a higher level and this is said about a person who not only matches his words with his actions, but is in accordance with his actions too in all instances.

The Noble Prophet (S) states that a person whose actions are in accordance with his words has attained bliss. If such a person strives to harmonize his words and actions, he will attain the rank of the truthful. In contrast, man who does not do what he says is a hypocrite and liar, as the Qur’an

calls the hypocrites who acknowledge the Prophet’s (S) mission by their tongues but do not believe it in their hearts liars:

إِذَا جَاءَکَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ قَالُوا نَشْهَدُ اِنَّکَ لَرَسُولُ اللهِ وَاللهُ یَعْلَمُ اِنَّکَ لَرَسُولُهُ وَاللهُ یَشْهَدُ إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقینَ لَکَاذِبُونَ

“When the hypocrites come to you, they say, ‘We bear witness that you are most surely Allah’s Apostle; and Allah knows that you are most surely His Apostle; and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are surely liars’.”⁽¹⁾

The untruthfulness of the words of the unbelievers is because:

... یَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ مَا لَیْسَ فِی قُلُوبِهِمْ وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا یَکْتُمُونَ

“…They say with their mouths what is not in their hearts; and Allah best knows what is in their hearts.”⁽²⁾

The Prophet (S) states that a person who does not match his words with his actions only castigates himself because his words are indicative of the fact that he knows the truth and his obligations, denoting that proof has been made complete for him. It is natural that such an individual knows the truth and [even] recommends others to it, but he is negligent in his own actions, he only has to castigate himself.

This word of the Prophet (S) is directed at the preachers and sermonizers that they should be bound to their words and their actions ought to be a reflex of their beliefs and words.

Allah, the Exalted, castigates this section of people in the Glorious Qur’an when it states:

أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَکُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْکِتَابَ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

“What! Do you enjoin men to be

good and neglect your own souls while you read the Book, have you then no sense?”⁽¹⁾

(Forgetting does not imply erasing from the memory, but denotes not practically putting your words into action because it is likely that man remembers his words but does not put them into action.)

When he advises others compassionately and says do this work, and quit a certain work, how can he himself forget to discharge that act? Does his heart break more for the others than for himself? Does he love other people more than he loves himself? Such a thing is not acceptable.

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“O creatures of Allah! Fear Allah! Fear Allah in regard to your own selves and those you love the most.”⁽²⁾

His Holiness’ intention is that you [obviously] love yourselves more than the others, and if you love other people, it is for the reason that they are of service to you, they make the means of pleasure, ease and prosperity ready for you and you derive gratification from companionship, conversation and association with them, therefore you are the origin and you want others for yourself. Now how do you compassionately advise others while you forget and do not feel sorry for yourselves and do not put what you say into action?

Allah states:

یَا أَیُهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ * کَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ

“O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? It is most hateful to

Allah that you should say that which you do not do.”⁽¹⁾

The Role of Sin in Being Deprived of Subsistence

“O Abu Dharr! All too often an individual gets deprived of the sustenance which has been pre-ordained for him because of the sin which he commits.”

This is another explanation intended to draw man’s attention to the bad effects which go with sin in this world for man and the deprivations that result from sin.

On the basis of the differences in [the levels of] knowledge, every person is spoken to in one tongue or another. If an individual has attained the station of love, it is said to him, “What kind of a lover are you who opposes your beloved?” A lover is one who always tries to find out what his beloved wants from him so as to fulfill it, and to discover what his beloved does not like so as to refrain from it, how possible is it for a lover to oppose his beloved who says do so and so and abstain from so and so. For those who have the love of Allah and His saints [awliya’], this is the best way of stopping them from committing sin.

It has to be brought to the attention of the lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) that sin is detested by their beloved. The most abhorred works in the perception of the Imams (‘a) is sin. Sin is like a rotten corpse and people who have perceiving eyes and a strong inward intuition conceive its foul smell at a

long distance. Now, how can a lover of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), who wants to get close to them, contaminate himself with something which causes their disgust?

If a person intends to go and see his friend, he gets rid of the bad smell of his mouth and body, and cleans and perfumes himself, so that his friend may not be bothered by him. Sin causes bad smell and contamination of our selves. If we love the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and would like to have a connection with them, we ought to cleanse our souls of contaminations so that they may take pleasure in having relationship with us. Therefore, the way of preventing individuals who have attained love of Allah and the Ahl al-bayt (‘a) from sinning is to incite their feelings of affection.

It goes without saying that all those who discharge the obligatory acts of worship quit the forbidden actions, but based on the levels of their knowledge, this love differs [from one man to another]. Sometimes, this love reaches such an extent that man, along the way of union with the Beloved, overlooks everything, even the eternal Garden of bliss:

“O my Lord! I can bear the fire of hell, but how can I bear being separated from you?”⁽¹⁾

In “Munajat-i Muhibban” (lovers’ litany), the ninth litany of the “Munajat-e Khamsa ‘Asharah”, we read:

“O my Lord! Is there anyone who has tasted the sweetness of Your love and chosen other than You?”

If people have not attained that level of love

of Allah and the Infallible Imams (‘a) enough to withhold them from committing sin, they have to be warned about the repercussions and consequences of sin. The tortures, being deprived of prosperity and paradise, the ominous effects of sin in the world and the hereafter have to be counted. That which motivates man to discharge his duties and to abstain from certain actions is fear and hope, fear of being driven away from bliss and hope of attaining benefit.

Therefore, the best and most practicable way of guiding man is drawing his attention to the ill consequences of sin in this world and the hereafter. This is the same method which the Noble Prophet (S) has employed in this section, because some people perceive the Day of Resurrection as far, despite that in accordance with the Islamic point of view, the hereafter is near and at hand, as Allah states:

إِنَّهُمْ یَرَوْنَهُ بَعِیدًا * وَنَریهَا قَرِیبًا

“Surely, they think it to be far off and we see it nigh.”⁽¹⁾

One of the worldly losses resulting from sin is being deprived of sustenance. Among the instances of sustenance are daily food and clothing.

It has been narrated in a lot of hadiths that Allah, the Exalted, has pre-ordained the sustenance of every living creature and this pre-destination is sometimes definite [or fixed] and sometimes conditional [or suspended]; that is to say, it gets increased or decreased as a result of our works. Some of the good works result in the increase of sustenance and

some evil deeds result in the decrease of sustenance.

Once we know that this sustenance which we sometimes earn by our own efforts and sometimes reaches us freely from Allah will be taken away from us as a result of our committing sin, we would commit sin less frequently.

Sin in the Chain of Causes

Sin changes formulae and renders the physical causes ineffective. The Qur’an states to us that in addition to the apparent repercussions of wrongdoing, sin has other consequences too, whose connection with their causes is not discernable by the physical senses. The Qur’an states:

وَمَا أَصَابَکُمْ مِنْ مُصِیبَةٍ فِیمَا کَسَبَتْ أَیْدِکُمْ...

“And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought…”⁽¹⁾

In reality, in a world governed by the order of cause and effect, no phenomena can be considered as having no cause and on the other hand afflictions cannot be attributed to Allah who is the ultimate good; therefore, it is man who directs afflictions towards himself.

Elsewhere, the Qur’an states:

... فَلْیَحْذَرِ الَّذِینَ یُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِیَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ یُصِیَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِیمٌ

“…Therefore, let those beware who go against His order lest a trial afflict them or there befall them a painful chastisement.”⁽²⁾

Therefore, the verses of the Qur’an clarify this truth that a great deal of ordeals and deprivations result from sin, in the same way that good works and piety cause the downpour of graces and blessings.

وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَی آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَیْهِمْ بَرَکَاتٍ مِن السَّمَاءِ وَالاَرْضِ...

“And if the people of the towns had

believed and guarded (against evil), We would certainly have opened up for them blessings from the heaven and the earth…”⁽¹⁾

In some instances the relationship which exists between sin and the affliction resulting therefrom is more or less discernable, like sins which cause certain illnesses, but this relationship is not perceptible in all instances. Sometimes, certain consequences arising from wrongdoing are not perceivable to man, like when man prepares food and [unfortunately or fortunately] something dirty and contaminating falls into it at the time of consumption, sustenance that was ready but is suddenly lost by man.

Now, extend this sustenance to other foods and things as well; because all the graces are sustenance. A house is sustenance, a car is sustenance, and everything else which man makes use of is sustenance. In many instances being deprived of them is a result of committing sin.

Sustenance ought to be extended to spiritual sustenance too, because whatever brings about the perfection of our souls is sustenance too. Knowledge and faith are provisions as well; the favor of worship too is sustenance.

Sometimes, committing sin causes man to be deprived of the opportunity to worship. It has been narrated in a hadith that it is likely that man is unsuccessful at waking up at night to fulfill the recommendable prayers as a result of sin, even if he makes himself ready and tries to wake up on time, but either he does not wake up from sleep altogether or indolence stops him from fulfilling that

recommendable duty. Therefore, depriving man of the grace to worship is one of the mal-effects of sin.

For every reason paying attention to the bad effects of sin is one of the causes which can prevent man from committing sin: that he ought to think that sin makes his economic endeavors ineffective and deprives him of sustenance.

Because of the relationship which exists between sin and deprivations and afflictions, when some great ethical personalities got afflicted by affliction, they used to think about what sin they have committed to be afflicted by this ordeal. They narrate that one of the great ethical mentors in Tehran was passing in an alley when an animal [suddenly] scared him, he sat down [at once] and sunk deep into thought as to what sin he had committed so as to deserve the bother of the animal!

Guarding the Tongue and Keeping Aloof from Vain Pursuits

“O Abu Dharr! Abstain from whatever is not for your benefit and not to utter what has no reward for you and protect your tongue in the same way that you safeguard your money.”

What has been mentioned in this section is complementary to the previous explanations about preventing an individual from sin. A person who wants to abstain from sin has to put limits on himself, as has been said that whoever is moving along a precipice ought to fear lest he falls into it. A person who wants to abstain from sin has to keep aloof from its prerequisites, and quit some of the things that are permissible.

For instance, if one wants to abstain from looking at strange people, they ought to avoid looking at some of their close relatives.

If someone wants to stop listening to haram (forbidden) music, he ought to stop listening to halal (permissible) music first. If one wants to avoid being contaminated by lies and gossip, he ought to avoid conversations which are likely to include lies. Of course, it is difficult for man to abstain from all the permissible things which are likely to propel him towards sin, especially a person who is at the beginning of the journey, but people who intend to attain spiritual perfection of the soul have to trudge this course, whether they like it or not.

The Noble Prophet (S) advises Abu Dharr to abstain from vain activities, in the same way that the Qur’an believes prosperity and bliss as embedded in abstinence from vain pursuits:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * الَّذِینَ هُمْ فِی صَلاَتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ * وَالَّذِینَ هُمْ عَن اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ

“Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, and who keep aloof from what is vain.”⁽¹⁾

A person who wants to attain prosperity and bliss has to keep aloof from actions which have no benefit for him, even if those words are permissible, and utilize his time doing profitable and fruitful work.

The Noble Prophet’s (S) other advice to Abu Dharr is that he ought to abstain from words that are not beneficial to him.

Man ought to be very sensitive with regard to his

tongue. One must try to abstain from uttering even permissible words because sometimes one word is uttered from one’s mouth which results in bad worldly and heavenly effects. The reason why it has repeatedly been said in the hadiths to withhold your tongues and do not utter useless words is because sometimes man cannot manage to control his tongue and gets affected by lies, gossip and making fun of others and the rest of the diseases of the tongue. It is for this reason that some of the great men preferred to stay as quiet as possible.

The Noble Prophet (S) states that you ought to strive to guard your tongue in the same way that you make effort to safeguard money and gold coins. Look at the way you protect your money, you put it in a safe and close its door strongly and put it in a safe place, guard your tongue, whose value is more than that of money, in the same way too. Allah has provided you with barriers for your mouth, and for those barriers He has provided teeth and lips which limit the tongue within those barriers.

Therefore, try not to free it. Abstain from even permissible words because you expend your energy and strength in vain and in this same way you will be propelled towards sin and errors bit by bit until finally you will be pulled towards sin and forbidden actions [muharramat]. How much difference is there between talking about other people

and gossiping [ghaybah]? Talking about other people along with gossip is a great sin which is seventy times greater than committing fornication in the Ka‘bah! This is not a difference we can hope to reduce bit by bit once we get afflicted by it.

Lesson 9: The Value and Importance of Prayer and the Differences of Status of the Dwellers of Paradise

Subdividing Some of the Prophet’s (S) Advices

point

The Prophet’s (S) advices which have been the object of discussion can be divided into three sections:

First section

The first section was about waking man up from negligence because he is, on the basis of his animal nature, more motivated by worldly activities, satiating his sensual instincts and desires of the flesh. It is for this reason that he forgets the beginning [of creation] and the Day of Resurrection.

Even though some people are aware about the goal and ultimate aim of their creation, but still most of the people are heedless of the aim of their creation. They do not know the reason why they have been created and where they are going and what they ought to do. Therefore, they have to be awoken and the sense of responsibility incited in them. The first section of the prophet’s (S) admonitions was in the direction of getting rid of negligence and making man pay heed to his responsibilities and that the priceless asset of life is at his free disposal which he ought to derive benefit from.

Section two

After man’s being aware about the ultimate goal and the need to select the path which leads him to that aim, the incumbency of acquiring knowledge and gaining awareness

is brought to attention; it is for this reason that in the second section concentration has been placed on acquisition of knowledge and the responsibilities of the divine scholars. It has also been mentioned that the most necessary knowledge is awareness which imparts the ultimate goal of creation and conveys the means of attaining it, which is called divine sciences.

Third section

In this section the need for putting our knowledge to practicable usage in fulfilling our known responsibilities and duties has been mentioned, and it has been made known that works find fulfillment in two aspects: the first aspect is the positive and constructive activities, that is to say the activities that ought to be done. The second aspect is the negative activities, that is to say, the prohibited and the forbidden works which ought to be abstained from. The fundamental point in this section is the need to perceive the heavy price of sin and the effects of getting contaminated by it. After these three sections, the fourth section of the Prophet’s (S) admonitions will be discussed.

Fourth section

Man ought not to content himself with discharging the obligatory duties and abstaining from the forbidden actions and imagine that he no longer has [any more] duties.

Even though attaining this position is important, but still this is just the first step for attaining his ultimate goal. It is axiomatic that man cannot manage to abstain from sins and perform the obligatory actions and in short, a person cannot take the next steps without

taking the first step, but this [first] step, in comparison with the remaining steps, is a short distance already traversed, and man currently has a very long way to go. Therefore, man has to be encouraged to undertake effort and activity and awaken in him the motivation not to content himself with discharging the obligatory works and quitting sins and the forbidden actions.

The Station of Allah’s Devotees and Nocturnal Worshipers

“O Abu Dharr! Allah takes a group of people to paradise and then grants them so much favor that they get tired of it, but when they look at the others residing in higher levels of paradise, they recognize them and say, ‘O Lord! These are our brothers whom we used to live with in the world, why have you given them preference [over us]?’

“It will be said in response, ‘Far from it! Far from it! They were hungry when you were full, and they were thirsty as a result of fasting when you were satiated, and they kept vigil at night performing acts of devoted worship while you slept, and they were outside in the way of Allah while you were enjoying ease inside your houses’.”

On these sentences the Prophet (S) has portrayed a scene of the hereafter, a scene where man has found his way to paradise as a result of discharging obligatory actions and abstaining from forbidden actions. There is no room for him to talk about hell and its perceptions, because he has been saved from the danger of the inferno and has become

a dweller of the Garden of eternal bliss, but he has been a man of myopic ambition who contented himself with the low levels of heaven and did not have the resolve to undertake higher steps and attain higher levels [of paradise]. Now, they portray to him that even if you attained heaven by means of your discharging obligatory duties and responsibilities but still there are other people who are higher than you and you ought to try to attain their stations.

Allah makes a lot of people enter heaven and grants them a great deal of graces, to the extent that they get occupied with utilizing and deriving pleasure from those blessings but for a time. (The Prophet’s (S) expression is that Allah grants so many blessings to them that they eventually get tired of them. Of course, this phrasing is common parlance, otherwise there is no tiredness in the Garden of eternal bliss, as the Qur’an states:

... لاَ یَمَسُّنَا فِیهَا نَصَبٌ وَلاَ یَمَسُّنَا فِیهَا لُغُوبٌ

“…toil shall not touch us therein, nor shall fatigue therein afflict us.”⁽¹⁾

(Therefore, the Prophet’s (S) intention is that they will be granted whatever they want.)

All at once these dwellers of the Garden look at their friends who have achieved higher stations, and get surprised. They make a humble petition, saying, “O Lord! These were our friends with whom we associated in the world, performed the prayers with in the same row and were of the same regiment during divine battles, why have you

preferred them over us and granted them higher stations?”

They will be answered, “You and them have a great deal of differences, they were hungry when you were full; they were thirsty when you were satiated and they used to go hungry undertaking recommendable fasts. When you were occupied with reaping the benefits of blessings and permissible foods, they were fasting. Even if you have not committed any sin, still they used to keep their stomachs empty of food and drink in the hot summer. You used to content yourselves to you discharging obligatory duties and thereafter used to take a rest, but they never went to sleep and were busy with acts of devotion and performing secret prayers to Allah.” In the Qur’an’s statement, they were the people who:

کَانُوا قَلِیلاً مِن اللَّیْلِ مَا یَهْجَعُون * وَبِالأَسْحَارِهُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ

“They used to sleep but a little in the night and in the morning they used to seek forgiveness.”⁽¹⁾

The Differences in the Gratification Enjoyed by the Dwellers of the Different Stations of Paradise

In these statements the Prophet (S) reminds us about the different stations and ranks of paradise. It has been explicitly stated in a great deal of the verses of the Qur’an and the hadiths that in the same way that hell has levels, heaven too has ranks and stations. Its lowest level specially belongs to the people who performed their obligatory duties and the highest level of paradise is the station of contentment [maqam-i ridwan] which is reserved for the special saints [awliya’] and sincere worshipers [mukhlisin] of Allah.

Allah states:

وَعَدَ اللهُ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ

جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِی مَنْ تَحْتِهَا الاَنْهَارُ خَالِدِینَ فِیهَا وَمَسَاکِنَ طَیِّبَةً فِی جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ وَرِضْوَانٌ مِن اللهِ أَکْبَرُ ذَلِکَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِیمُ

“Allah has promised to the believing men and the believing women gardens, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual abode, and best of all is Allah’s goodly pleasure, that is the grand achievement.”⁽¹⁾

With regard to the sentence ‘and the best of all is Allah’s goodly pleasure [ridwan]’, the late ‘Allamah Tabataba’i states, “Allah’s goodly pleasure [ridwan] is higher and better than all the blessings of the eternal garden and it is for this reason that the term ‘pleasure’ [ridwan] has been used to function as an indefinite or indeterminate noun [in this verse] because indefinite nouns have no limit whatsoever, or that no matter how little the pleasure of Allah, it still is greater than all blessings, not from the perspective that all the blessings are derived from the pleasure of Allah—even if this is the truth—but from the perspective that the reality of servitude and devotional service of Allah to which the Qur’an calls [mankind] is servitude springing from love of Allah, not because of coveting the Garden of bliss and/or fear of hell. The highest prosperity and bliss for a lover is to win the pleasure of their Beloved, not striving to please and satiate himself.”⁽²⁾

Servitude out of love and affection for Allah, as has been narrated in some of the hadiths, is the highest form of devotion and

is especially reserved for the free, liberal and righteous. It is for this reason that it can be claimed that the highest station of paradise is the station of contentment which is especially reserved for the righteous and liberal, who worship Allah with purity of intention.

In connection with the levels of the hereafter, Allah states:

أُنْظُرْ کَیْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُم عَلَی بَعْضٍ وَلَلآخِرَةُ أَکْبَرُ دَرَجَاتٍ وَأَکْبَرُ تَفْضِیلاً

“See how We made some of them excel others, and certainly the hereafter is much superior in excellence.”⁽¹⁾

This ayat makes it known that the differences in the levels of people depends upon their efforts and endeavors. It is not so that a person whose works are little will be the same with a person whose works are many. In addition to that, the levels and ranks of the hereafter are not comparable with different levels of the world, and have nothing to do with the use of facilities; because the hereafter is higher than can be imagined at all.

The criteria for superiority in the world are possession of property and wealth and position and rank in the world, and there is no doubt that these are limited standards. But the criteria for superiority in the hereafter and the differences of its levels depends on the level of man’s piety and purity of intention which are the states of the heart and soul of man and without doubt are not comparable with the differences of the world.

As has been pointed out, the Prophet’s

(S) statements in this section warn man that he ought not to content himself with fulfilling the obligatory actions and abstaining from the forbidden actions, of course a person who contents himself with the low levels of paradise can please himself with this very limit, but a day comes when he sees his friends and peers residing in higher stations and will regret on that day. In order for us to attain the higher levels, it is necessary to reduce our rest and ease and engage in worship more.

It is worth saying that rest to the necessary limit is desirable and sometimes incumbent and all too often the prerequisite for an obligatory duty is itself obligatory, like when one’s lack of rest leads to tiredness and lack of vigor during prayer. Or, if he does not sleep on time, he does not understand his lessons. What has been castigated is unnecessary and too much rest, which if it does not lead to hell, at least it holds an individual behind the others.

The Prophet’s (S) Intense Love for Prayer

In continuation of the hadith, the Noble Prophet (S) introduces prayer as the best and most praiseworthy work which an individual can occupy himself with during times of leisure:

“O Abu Dharr! The Glorious and Honorable Lord has made prayer the light of my eyes, and made it to me as beloved as food is to the hungry and water is to the thirsty. One who is hungry gets satisfied when one eats food, and one who is

thirsty gets satiated with drinking water, but I never get contented with my prayers.”

It is better for a person who has decided to get advice from the Noble Prophet (S), and has chosen His Holiness (S) as his role model, to see how the spiritual wayfaring and conduct of the Noble Prophet (S) is. That is why at this stage the Noble Prophet (S) introduces himself as a practical role model and this is the best means of instruction for people who love the Noble Prophet (S) and would like to traverse his course.

It has been narrated in a hadith,

“I love from your world sweet scent and women, but prayer is the light of my eyes.”

That the Noble Prophet (S) said that prayer is the light of my eyes is the best expression which man uses with regard to their most beloved one and say, “So and so is the light of my eyes.”

In the Qur’an Allah, the Exalted, has introduced Prophet Moses (S) as the light of his mother’s eyes, where it states that, “O Moses we inspired your mother to put the infant in a box and throw it on the sea. Then, the waves of the sea took the newborn to the shores of the sea to My enemy and he got the baby from the sea and I of my own grace showered love upon thee (so that they must love you) and so that you may get built in front of My own eyes

(and with My favor).”

In continuation, it states:

إِذْ تَمْشِی أُحْتُک فَتَقُولُ هَلْ أَدُلُّکُمْ عَلَی مَنْ یَکْفُلُهُ فَرَجَعْنَاکَ إِلَی أُمِّکَ کَیْ تَقَرَّ عَیْنُهَا وَلاَ تَحْزَنَ...

“When your sister went and said, ‘Shall I direct you to one who will take charge of him? So we brought you back to your mother, that her eye might be cooled and she should not grieve…”⁽¹⁾

The Noble Prophet (S) states that prayer is the light of his eyes and because we cannot perceive this point, we will engage in a sweet explanation of it so that it may be comprehensible to us. We need to eat and drink and if we go for hours on end without food, we get very hungry and the most desirable thing for us is food. And likewise, we get very thirsty when we go for hours on end without water and the most desirable thing for us is a drop of cold water.

The Prophet states that his love for prayer is like man’s love for food and water when hungry and thirsty with this difference that a hungry man gets satiated after drinking water while I do not get contented with my prayers.

With this expression the value of prayer becomes clear and that if after performing the obligatory duties man finds an opportunity [of free time], prayer is the best recommendable work to get busy with, as was the conduct of the Prophet (S) and the Infallible Imams (‘a) and for the purpose of making this clear, we

will cite a few hadiths:

Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states “‘Ali (‘a) was such that whenever an unpleasant issue occurred, he used to perform the prayers and recite this ayat, “And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones.⁽¹⁾”⁽²⁾

Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) states:

“No calamity befell the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali (‘a), save that he performed a thousand rakats of prayer, gave charity to sixty poor people and fasted for three days on that day.”⁽³⁾

It has [thus] been narrated in “Bihar al-Anwar” with regard to consistence and steadfastness in prayer:

“The Prophet (S) stood for prayer for ten years until his legs got swollen and his face became pale…”⁽⁴⁾

“O Abu Dharr! Every man who performs twelve additional rak‘ats besides the obligatory prayers has a determined right upon Allah that is a palace in the Garden of eternal bliss.”

Prayer is the Key to Prosperity and Bliss

“O Abu Dharr! As long as you are engaged in prayer, you are knocking on the door of the Omnipotent King and the door opens upon every person who knocks a lot on the door of the King.”

This is another expression for motivating man towards prayer. The Noble Prophet (S) states that a person who prays knocks on the door of Allah. A person who has an issue with Allah has to go to the doorstep of His house and prayer is similar to going to knock on Allah’s door, and it is not possible for the door of Allah to remain closed to one

who goes to knock on it and insists upon his request.

Therefore, if you would like to be the object of Allah’s attention and for His door of mercy and acceptance to be opened, knock a lot on it and be steadfast in prayer. It is likely that the door will not get opened on the first and second knock because of man’s being contaminated [with sin] or because of divine wisdom, but finally it gets open.

Beyond the shadow of doubt, the doors of Allah’s mercy are always open for man because it is not possible for Him to invite people, on the one hand, and close the doors of His mercy for them, on the other hand. The doors of Allah’s mercy are only closed to those who deny His signs and the proud, who of course have closed the doors of divine mercy for themselves:

اِنَّ الَّذِینَ کَذَّبُوا بِآیَاتِنَا واسْتَکْبَرُوا عَنْهَا لاَ تُفَتَّحُ وَلَهُمْ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ...

“Lo! They who deny Our revelations and scorn them, for them the gates of heaven will not be opened…”⁽¹⁾

It is worthy of mention that what has been recorded in some ayats and hadiths that there are doors for the sky and/or what has been recorded in this hadith that as long as man is in a state of prayer, he is knocking on Allah’s door is meant to serve as an intelligible and sensible comparison so that spiritual and metaphysical issues are perceivable and comprehensible to us. The truth is that there

is no barrier and veil between Allah and His slave and it is man’s evil deeds which serve as a barrier of his attention to Allah and in reality, man gets deprived of Allah’s blessings because of his sin. The key which opens the door of Allah’s mercy and takes away the barriers is devotion and servitude to Allah and prayer is the best form of devotion.

In continuation of the recommendation about the blessing which a devoted worshiper enjoys, the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“O Abu Dharr! Whenever a believing man stands in prayer, Allah’s mercy completely encompasses him up to the Throne, an angel will be assigned for him calling, ‘O progeny of Adam! If you knew what gains you reap during prayer and with whom you speak, you would never stop it’.”

The Noble Prophet (S) states that a person who performs a lot of prayer is covered with the blessings of Allah from the parting of the head to the Throne. It is natural that a person who is interested in station and opportunity lengthens their prayers. Most important of all, Allah appoints an angel that continually shouts to the sons of Adam if they knew with Whom they were having intimate talk and with whom they are conversing with, they would not stop their prayers and never feel tired of praying. Pay heed to before Whom you are standing and with Whom you are having correspondence, so that you may understand the importance of your prayer by

means of this awareness. If you knew what benefits, virtues and favors are granted by means of prayer, you would never give an end to it.

Perceiving the Sweetness of Prayer Is the Secret of Its Continuance

For the purpose of the continuity and steadfastness in prayer, what is important is for man to derive pleasure from worship and believe that he is gaining benefit; man quickly gets tired of activities which do not give him gratification. The sweetness of prayer causes man to become more interested in prayer and this satisfaction and enjoyment is not to be achieved save by quitting and abstaining from sin. Wrong-doing leads to the pleasure of worship being divested of man. It is for this reason that the supplication of some of the Infallibles (‘a) was thus, “O Lord make us taste the sweetness of worship.”

It sometimes happens that the best food is prepared for a sick person but because of his illness, he feels that the food has no taste and pleasure. Maybe, a soundly healthy man derives satisfaction from eating one piece of dry bread. Therefore, what is important is that the feeling of need and gratification ought to be enlivened in man.

In the previous sentences, it has been pointed out that the Prophet (S) stated that prayer was more desirably sweet to him than food is to a hungry man and water is to a thirsty man; because they get satisfied from eating and drinking but he does not get contented with prayer.

In regard to the sweetness of worship

for an enamored slave, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states:

“… If you perceive the sweetness of devotion to Allah, look at the favors and light of worship and brighten your heart, you will not quit even for a moment, even if you are torn to pieces.”⁽¹⁾

In another hadith, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states:

“… I sought the sweetness of prayer and finally found it in the quitting of sins.”⁽²⁾

Lesson 10: The Leaders of Heaven and the Status of Some of the Duties and the Levels of Paradise

The Leaders of Paradise

With regard to the leaders of paradise, the Noble Prophet (S) says:

“O Abu Dharr! Happy are those who are the standard-bearers on the Day of Resurrection, who hold the flag in front of people and precede them towards heaven, those are the same people who take precedence over others in going to the Mosques early in the morning and at other times [of the day].”

All human beings belonging to every age desire to take precedence over others. Of course, this competing and contesting is blameworthy if it is in connection to the world, but competition and taking precedence over others with regard to the hereafter is not only free of blame, but also a sign of man’s growth and seeking prosperity. Because the prosperity of man depends on having intimacy with Allah and if the believers take precedence over the others in this regard, it is not out of ostentation but in order to attain bliss.

Emphasis has been laid on this issue in many instances in the Qur’an; in one of the instances Allah states:

وَسَارِعُوا إِلَی مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّکُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا

السَّمَوَاتُ وَالأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لَلْمُتَّقِینَ

“And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord; and a garden, the extensiveness of which is as the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who guard against evil.”⁽¹⁾

In reality, this ayat makes known the call of man’s natural disposition because his basic nature desires his perfection and wants him to be more perfect than the others.

Natural Disposition and the Search for Perfection

Without doubt, man yearns for the ultimate perfection and that is in intimacy with Allah. It is for this reason that he makes use of every means and resources in order to attain it. But limited perfections are not man’s ultimate object of desire because they lose their appeal to higher perfections, and secondly, man gets satiated after attaining his desires. It is for this reason that they have said that union [or attainment] is the grave of love, that is to say man cannot be a lover of limited beauty and goodness but he naturally is a lover of immaculate perfection and yearns for Allah.

Man’s deepest desire is a divine want, and if the veils of error were removed from his eyes and he were able to perceive his Beloved, he would have intimate acts of devotion, like ‘Ali (‘a).

Allah states in the Qur’an:

... أَلاَ بِذِکْرِ اللهِ تَطْمَئِنُ الْقُلُوبُ

“… surely by Allah’s remembrance are hearts set at rest.”⁽²⁾

The term ‘remembrance of Allah’ [bi-dhikr Allah] is a monopoly; that is to say it is only by Allah’s remembrance that hearts are set at rest and

it removes anxiety and worry away and man is terribly wrong if he imagines that property, wealth, position and status set his heart at rest. Of course, the Qur’an does not forbid attaining them, but it states that they do not set man’s heart at rest.⁽¹⁾

It has been said that man yearns for ideal perfection and he makes use of every means and tools; one of the means of attaining spotless perfection is prayer as an intimate dialogue between an individual and his Lord and enlivening the mosques. The Prophet (S) states that happy are those who take precedence and leadership on the Day of Resurrection. They lead men towards the Garden of eternal bliss and the others fall behind them in order to find their way to paradise. They are people who used to go to the mosques before everyone early in the morning and at other times of the day.

In order to make this comprehensible to the mind, heed ought to be paid to this issue that one of the qualities of man’s soul is that he gets motivated once he sees the others trudging the course of goodness and welfare. The axiom of yielding to patterns and looking up to role models has been accepted as an indisputable means of edification of personality. In truth, the model plays the most fundamental role in man’s way of life.

If man takes precedence at performing good works, he attracts the attention of other people and as a result, the

others too follow his lead. This matter (yielding to example) is an object of attention for youths. The older the people grow, the more they desire to be role models for other human beings, and this feeling is manifested in their conduct and performance of responsibilities. As a result, the others too get inspired to do good works.

It is natural that when one man in a community begins to do something, the others easily follow his lead. For instance, in a religious school, the others get encouraged by the conduct of a number of people who take the lead at going to the noon [zuhr] prayers. But if some people do not take leadership, the others do not pay heed to the time of prayer and to being in the mosque and/or if they pay heed [at all], do not firmly decide to undertake fulfilling it. This is an expression of that same spiritual and psychological truth which has been called yielding to role models.

If man performs works secretly for the sake of not getting contaminated by sanctimony, his works are good and praiseworthy, but if a person openly performs a good work in order to encourage others, not only is his action free from blame, but very valuable and productive because he discharges his duties not with the intention of showing off but of motivating others.

In this regard, Allah states:

... وَأَنْفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلاَنِیَةً...

“…and spend benevolently out of what we have given them secretly

and openly…”⁽¹⁾

Some people have said that the purpose of spending secretly in the way of Allah is for man to keep afar from hypocrisy and the purpose of spending openly is for inspiring others, therefore there is goodness in every aspect. The work of both the one who prays secretly for the purpose of keeping afar from sanctimony and that of one who prays openly in the mosque in order to encourage others is good. In addition to that, a person who takes the lead in going to the mosque with a sincere intention and far from hypocrisy and [his action] results in inspiring them, his reward is twice as much and he will be the standard-bearer on the Day of Resurrection because his action has opened the way to the mosque.

The late Ayatullah Mar‘ashi Najafi, may he reside in Allah’s garden of eternal bliss, was bound to going to the Holy Shrine [of Qum] early in the morning before the call to prayer [adhan]. During the early days of our religious education, we sometimes used to succeed at going to the Shrine early in the morning. Sometimes, snow used to fall and with complete wonder we used to see the late Ayatullah Mar‘ashi sitting behind the door with his cloak pulled over his head. This was one of his high and eminent qualities. How much does such conduct encourage others to do the same? When the religious students used to see a religious legal authority sitting behind

the door of the mosque early in the morning, they used to get encouraged to be present in the Shrine early in the morning.

It is proper for us to cite two hadiths with regard to the importance of being present in the mosque because mention has been made about the importance of taking precedence when going to the mosque.

The Noble Prophet (S) states:

“Verily, there are attendants for the mosques who are companions of the angels. When they do not attend the mosques on some excuse, they comfort them and visit them when they get sick and help them whenever they have need.”⁽¹⁾

In another hadith, the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“Sitting in the mosque to wait for the time of prayer to arrive is worship. Also, they said that Allah builds two houses in paradise for a person whose speech is the Qur’an and whose house is the mosque.”⁽²⁾

The Status and Rank of Some Duties

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In continuation of the hadith of Abu Dharr, the Prophet (S) states:

“O Abu Dharr! Prayer is the mainstay of religion and that which flows on the tongue in remembrance of Allah is more important. Charity erases sin and a word which is beneficial for the people is more significant than charity. Fasting extinguishes the fire and the fast of the tongue is more superb. And the jihad (spiritual struggle) is honor and dignity and the jihad of the tongue is more eminent.”

a) The Status and Rank of Prayer

The Noble Prophet (S) states that prayer is the cornerstone of religion and that without it religion crumbles, but its invocations

and words are more important and greater than the rest of the works because entreaties are a manifestation of the devotion and humility of a believing slave before Allah and also with those implorations the immensity of His mercy is demonstrated.

It is because of its delicate role in reforming the spiritual and religious personality of man that prayer has been set forth as the foundation and linchpin of religion. In reality, prayer embodies man’s faith and grants perfection to his spiritual identity. It is for this reason that the verses of the Qur’an and the hadiths of the Infallibles have been granted praiseworthy importance.

The Noble Prophet (S) states in a hadith:

“Prayer is the greatest obligatory duty after knowledge of Allah and is the first thing which will be asked of a slave on the Day of Resurrection. If it gets accepted, the rest of the works also get approved and if it does not get consented to, the rest of the works are disapproved.”⁽¹⁾

In connection with the status of sajdah (the prostration), Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“If the person performing prayers could perceive the mercy of Allah that encompasses him, he would never raise his head from prostration.”⁽²⁾

In connection with the role of prayer in the purification of the soul, edification of character and cleansing the psyche of impurities and corruption, the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“If there were in the house of anyone of you a stream and you washed yourselves five times in it, would any dirt remain on

your bodies? One of the companions said, ‘No’. The Noble Prophet (S) stated, ‘The similitude of prayer to a flowing river is that whenever a person prays, his sins are forgiven in the intermittence of two prayers’.”⁽¹⁾

b) The Status and Rank of Fasting

The Prophet (S) has set forth fasting as a shield against the fire because it is a means of ascending through the spiritual stations, of man’s growth, and it is a barrier against the Devil.

Mankind possesses a carnal soul which is always pulling him towards spiritual decadence and losing his divine personality. It is for this reason that Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“I am afraid of two things for you, one is obeying the carnal soul and the other is protracted hopes; because following the carnal soul is an impediment to right and prolonged hopes cause forgetting the hereafter.”⁽²⁾

Because Allah has love and affection for His slaves, He has provided them with the means of making up for the oppression that they have committed against themselves and has caused them to be driven away from Allah’s divine presence.

One of those means is fasting which cleanses the soul of the effects of its ugly works and brings about patience and endurance against hardships and sins.

Regardless of the importance of fasting and its role in self-edification, special reward has been designated for fasting on some of the days and months; amongst them fasting in the month of Sha‘ban and Rajab discharging of which was resolutely done by the saints [awliya’] of religion and

the great scholars.

c) The Status and Rank of Jihad

Jihad and striving in the way of Allah is a cause of honor and dignity and has a lively role in the protection and preservation of religion and the people. If it were not for the jihad and spiritual struggle, religion and its beliefs would have been exterminated because materialists and opportunists, in order to attain their worldly desires, do not relinquish their hostility and fight against religion.

The spiritual wars of the saints [awliya’] of Allah have been the reason why religion has remained preserved from their danger and we are benefiting from the fruits of those wars today. It is for this reason that the ways of life of the holy soldiers and fighters shine and they have been the object of Allah’s mercy and grace.

With regard to them, Allah states:

لاَ یَسْتَوِی الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنْ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ غَیْرُ أُوْلی الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِی سَبِیلِ اللهِ بِأَمْوالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ فَضَّلَ اللهُ الْمُجَاهِدِینَ بأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَلَی الْقَاعِدِینَ دَرَجَةً...

“The holders back from among the believers, not having any injury [or valid excuse], and those who strive in Allah’s way with their property and their persons are not equal, Allah has made the strivers with their property and their persons to excel the holders back a high degree…”⁽¹⁾

The point which has been emphasized by the Noble Prophet (S) is that what comes out of the mouth cannot come out of the other limbs and organs of the body and what is built by the tongue is higher than what is built

by prayer, fasting and the jihad, whether what is uttered by the tongue is in the form of enjoining the right and forbidding the evil as has been mentioned in the hadiths that forbidding the evil and enjoining the right is higher than the holy jihad, or is in the form of teaching and educating others; because guiding an ignorant man towards right is higher than any other spiritual striving [jihad].

Likewise, they make us understand that performing recommendable works not only discharging time-consuming and long acts of worship but light recommendable works can be fulfilled by the tongue too without expending a lot of capital, effort and time. Therefore, the value of the tongue ought to be known and protected from pollution and contamination so that man’s works are not performed in vain.

The Differences of Believers in Their Enjoying the Different Levels of Paradise

With regard to the different levels of the Garden of eternal bliss, the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“O Abu Dharr! The distance between the different levels of paradise is like that between the earth and the sky. A dweller of paradise looks above himself and then his eyes meet with a ray of light so bright that it makes him blind, and he asks what light that is. It will be said to him that this is the light of your brother so and so. He will protest that we all used to perform worthy works with brother so and so, why has he been accorded superiority over me? It will be said to him that brother

so and so had superiority over you in performing good works. Then, contentment will be placed in his heart and he will become pleased with his station.”

It is surprising that they do not tell that dweller of paradise that your brother’s works were more than yours, but tell him that his works were better; that is to say, the quality of his works was higher and he used to have an attentive heart during his acts of devotion and prayer and sincerity. It is natural that man ought to regret when he sees his friends taking precedence over him. If man lags behind the others in the world, he can manage to make up for his lagging behind, but there is no opportunity for compensation and discharging duties in the hereafter, that is why punishment and regret in the hereafter is more regretful than anything else, but despite that there is a ground for regret in the dwellers of the Garden of eternal bliss, Allah does not let them get afflicted by remorse. This is a well-kept secret whose explanation is difficult for us.

Now the question which arises is how come the dwellers of paradise do not get afflicted by remorse despite seeing their friends taking precedence over them? In this regard, a metaphor has been narrated from the Prophet Jesus (S) in the Gospel of Barnabas that he stated, “In this world no short man desires to wear long clothes and no tall man desires to wear short

clothes.”

It can be gathered from this simile that every one in the Garden of eternal bliss gets contented with what they have earned and do not expect more than their stations and in reality perceive the rank that they have attained as befitting to them. When he sees a number of people, like the prophets (S), residing in a higher station than his, he conceives their rank as befitting to them and perceives their station as a long wide dress for his stature.

The dwellers of paradise get freed from ugliness and filth before their death and in the limbo [barzakh], and attain the perfection that they rightfully deserve. It is for this reason that every person gets contented with what they have earned and Allah grants him peaceful contentment.

Lesson 11: The Importance and Role of Fear and Sorrow (1)

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This section of the Noble Prophet’s (S) advices is related to fear and sorrow. It seems that the relationship between this section and the previous sections lies in the fact that once man has planned to devote his life to worship and servitude of Allah, which is that same real perfection, he needs means and tools which can help him prepare better for his movement towards perfection.

In order for decision and will power to appear in man, special pre-requisites and basics have to be fulfilled. (In man’s soul conception and affirmations and spiritual states like feelings and emotions prepare the ground for will power and decision.) Therefore, if those pre-requisites are properly used once they are met, or

after their being fulfilled, a suitable opportunity for man’s advancement towards perfection is said to have been made available.

All too often, man desires something but mere desiring does not cause him to resolve to take action, but sometimes spiritual states appear which impel him to take action and advancement; in reality, these spiritual states bring valuable opportunities into appearance.

Fear and Sorrow and Abstinence from Sin

One of the spiritual states which impels man to take action and becomes a strong incentive for abstaining from sin is fear and sorrow. The two greatly help man to come to himself, make the most of his time and not use it in pursuit of vain and futile activities. Of course, not every kind of fear and sorrow is praiseworthy and motivates man to search and work. Sorrow which causes man to get affected by dejection and to quit everything leaving him with neither the vigor to worship nor the energy to work is blameworthy and likewise fear which causes the termination of man’s hope and leads to despondency in such a way that man too gets pessimistic about himself is blameworthy.

Not only do some of the fears and sorrows not inspire man to spiritual journeying to Allah but become its hindrances and impediments, like the fears and sorrows which occur with regard to the world; one loses an amount of money and they are ever after gloomy and sorrowful as to the cause of their loss. Even in prayer one is thinking about that lost money! Or

fear which one has with regard to losing his property and opportunities; man fears that he will lose his post and position. These kinds of fears and sorrows become a hindrance in spiritual wayfaring to Allah.

Of course, sometimes it occurs that sorrow with regard to issues of the world is related to Allah, like when an affliction befalls man and they fear that it might be divine requital. It is natural that this kind of fear and dread will become a source of motion for them. Or one becomes heartbroken at losing some [worldly] favors and a cause of their awakening that they ought not to fall in love with the world. Therefore, it is likely that fear of losing worldly blessings can indirectly motivate man to motion in the direction of eschatological and spiritual perfection.

Allah, the Exalted, states in two verses that once We send prophets (‘a) to the people, We afflict them with hardships and adversities:

وَمَا اَرْسَلْنَا فی قَرْیَةٍ مِنْ نَبِیِّ اِلاَّ أَخَذْنَا أَهْلَهَا بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ یَضَّرَّعُونَ

“And We did not send a prophet in a town but We overtook its people with distress and affliction in order that they might humble themselves.”⁽¹⁾

And in another verse, Allah states:

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلی أُمَمٍ مِنْ قَبْلِکَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ یَتَضَرَّعُونَ

“And certainly We sent apostles to nations before you, then We seized them with distress and affliction in order that they might humble themselves.”⁽²⁾

It is because of His grace for them that Allah afflicts His slaves with

hardships and problems in order for it to become a cause of alertness and vigilance for them and awakening from heedlessness so as to acquire more preparedness for accepting right. Because until man is intoxicated with pleasure and elation and drowned in prosperity, he lacks the preparedness to accept right and what is related to the hereafter.

Fear and Sorrow and the Spiritual Ascension and Growth of Man

It has been said that fear and dread with regard to matters of the hereafter causes spiritual ascendance, perfection and prosperity. In this regard, Allah states:

وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَی النَّفْسَ عَن الْهَوَی * فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِیَ الْمَأْوَی

“And as for him who fears to stand in the presence of his Lord and forbids the soul from low desires; then surely the Garden—that is the abode.”⁽¹⁾

With regard to the role of piety in keeping man away from sins and fear of Allah, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“O creatures of Allah! Certainly fear of Allah has saved the lovers of Allah from unlawful items gave His dread to their hearts till their nights are passed in wakefulness and their days in thirst.”⁽²⁾

Elsewhere, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) introduces fear of Allah as a sign of good opinion with regard to Allah:

“The most fearful of Allah is the one who holds good thoughts about him.”⁽³⁾

The Difference between Fear and Sorrow

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Sorrow occurs in circumstances once favor has been divested of man or when harm is directed at him and causes grief and contrition. It is natural that this condition is related to a matter which happened in the past; for instance, man has

done an indecent action which resulted in bad effects, one has said bad words which resulted in the disgrace and defamation of someone else and is remorseful as a result of it. Or, he had capital from which he could have benefited enormously but has lost it. In any case, sorrow and grief overtake man once he loses opportunities or he is deprived of blessings and/or calamities befall him.

Fear occurs with regard to the occurrences and matters which will occur in the future: he fears that an ordeal will befall him, an affliction or misfortune will be directed at him, and/or a blessing will be taken away from him. In reality, fear and sorrow are two similar qualities of the soul whose adjuncts are different; one is related to the past and the other is connected to future.

For the reason that danger always exists in this world, the being of fear in man is natural because man is an entity that is prone to injury, and there is always the possibility of his health, life and ease and security falling in danger.

The difference between a believer and a unbeliever lies in the fact that the believer does not have an autonomous opinion about the common causes [or ordinary means] and believes that everything springs from Allah, for this reason he fears Allah but a nonbeliever does not conceive Allah, someone in whose hands all the sovereignty lies, and maintains that there are autonomous common causes [or ordinary

means]. Of course, in the same way which the believer fears Allah because of conceiving all the authority in Him, it is only in Allah that he puts his faith for the reason that he does not believe in an intermediary role other than Allah.

It has been recorded in a hadith that:

“Allah subdues the others for a person who is Allah-fearing and He fills with fear everyone who is not afraid of Him.”⁽¹⁾

Once a believer has gathered that all the means lie in Allah’s hands and all the sovereignty of the world belongs to Him, he does not perceive any autonomy for others save Allah but only reveres Allah because he has been relying on Allah and fears only Him and day by day his faith gets increased and in the end Allah grants him so much power that he fears none save Allah and the others get overcome by him. He is inflexible in the face of falsehood and discharges whatever obligation he has diagnosed. But people do not fear someone who does not venerate Allah and they compromise with other people in order to safeguard their position and try to gratify others.

The natural disposition of man is such that whenever he is happy and overjoyed with the world and is busy with himself, he lags behind in paying attention to Allah and spiritual matters. It is for this reason that in the Qur’an this drunken ecstasy is castigated:

وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَاهُ نَعْمَاءَ بَعْدَ ضَرّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَیَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّیِّأَتُ عَنِّی

إِنَّهُ لَفَرَحٌ فَخُورٌ

“And if We make him taste favor after distress has afflicted him, he will certainly say, ‘The evils are gone away from me. Most surely, he is exulting, boasting.”⁽¹⁾

Castigating the world, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“… What is your condition? You feel satisfied with what little you have secured from this world while much of the next world of which you have been deprived does not grieve you. The little of this world which you lose pains you so much so that it becomes apparent in your faces, and in the lack of endurance over whatever is taken away from you; as if this world is your permanent abode, and as though its wealth would stay with you for good.”⁽²⁾

Opposite to this merrymaking and joyousness is sorrow and sadness about the past and dread in regard to the future which make man inclined towards obedience, worship and devotion to Allah. It is for this reason that these two psychological mentalities and emotions have been hailed, as the import of some of the traditions impart [to us] that Allah grants favor upon a community amongst whom there is a sorrowful man. Essentially, people who used to derive benefit from the directions and the divine invitations of the prophets (‘a) and saints [awliya’] of Allah were people who held fear of Allah in their hearts.

... إِنَّمَا تُنْذِرُ الَّذِینَ یَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَیْبِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلوةَ ...

“You warn only those who fear their Lord in secret and keep up prayer…”⁽³⁾

The invitation and