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All praise belongs to Allah May Allah send peace and blessings upon Muhammad and his

holy family.

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3 IN 1 Page 005 BOOK 1

Fadhaail Ush-Shia’

Page 095 BOOK 2Pearls of Wisdom

Page 137 BOOK 3Lantern of the Path

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BOOK 1

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SHEIKH as-SADOOQ'S

FADHAAIL USH-SHIA’

( THE MERITS OF THE SHIA’ )

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CONTENTS

(1) Ali's Rank is as Same as the Prophet's 011

(2) The Merit of the Love for the Family of Mohammed 015

(3) The Shia will be the Most Sure-Footed on the Path 016

(4) The Love for Ali is in the Believer's Heart 017

(5) The Shia will Have Security and Faith 017

(6) All People will be Asked about the Love for the Prophet's Family

018

(7) The Shia Enjoy Ranks Higher than the Angels' 019

(8) The Shia's Ranks in the Sight of the Imams 021

(9) Our Shia are the Masters and the Highborn 025

(10) The Love for Ali Consumes the Evil Deeds 026

(11) The Shia will be on Luminous Stages 026

(12) The Shia are not Punished for their Loyalty to the 026

Imams 8(13) The Shia are the People of the Preference and Mercy of Allah

030

(14) The Shia are not Subject to the Record 031

(15) The Shia of Ali are the Pious 031

(16) The Shia are Witnesses on People 032

(17) The Rank of Ali's Adorers in the Sight of Allah 032

(18) Allah Honors the Young Shiites and Reverences their Old Men

040

(19) The Shia will Enter into Aqaba for Their Loyalty 048

(20) The Shia are Pale-Faced Because of the Mention of Allah

049

(21) Allah Created the Believers from His Light 049

(22) The Shia's Acknowledgement of the Immaculate Imams

050

(23) The Shiite Worships Allah While Standing or Sitting

051

(24) The Angel of Death Pities for the Shiite 053

(25) The Shia on the Day of Resurrection 054

(26) The Prophets, Angels, and Shahids will Envy the Shia

056

(27) When he Comes out of the Grave, the Shiite's Face is Like Full Moon

057

(28) The Relief, Contentment, and Glad Tidings are for the Shia of Ali

058

(29) The Love for the Prophet's Household is Good Deed

059

(30) The Imams Love their Shia 060

(31) The Sins of the Believers are Forgiven 061

(32) Allah will Grant the Believer Whatever he Asks 062

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(33) The Shia are for Paradise and Paradise is Theirs 062

(34) The Shia's Houses and Graves are Paradises 063

(35) The Women of Paradise Look at the Believer in Prayers

063

(36) The Highest Ranks of Paradise are the Shia's 064

(37) The Dead Shiite is as the Shahid 066

(38) For the Shia, their Deeds are Accepted and their Sins are Forgiven

067

(39) The Shiite and their Haters 069

(40) The Shia Eat and Dress the Legal 070

(41) The Shia are Following the Religion of Prophet Mohammed and his Forefathers

070

(42) The Shia are Added to Those Whom They Like 071

(43) The Shiite will not See Hell 072

(44) Honoring the Shia in Paradise 073

(45) The Imams are the Intercessors of Paradise 075

1. INDEX OF THE QURANIC TEXTS 076

2. INDEX OF THE NARRATIONS 078

3. INDEX OF THE NAMES OF THE SINLESS 084

4. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 085

ISLAMIC TERMS 090

8

(1) ALI'S RANK IS AS SAME AS THE PROPHET'S

9

My father (d) related to us from Abdullah bin al-Hussein al-Mueddib from Ahmed bin Ali al-Isfahani from Mohammed bin Aslam at-Tusi from Abu Rajaa from Hemmad bin Zaid from Abdirrahman as-Sarraj from Nafii that Ibn Omar said: When we asked him about Ali bin Abi Talib, the Prophet (s) was angry and said:

Why do some people mention that one whose rank in the sight of Allah is as same as mine?1 He who loves Ali loves me, and Allah will accept him who loves me, and whomever Allah accepts will be rewarded with Paradise.

Whoever loves Ali will not depart this world before he drinks from the Divine River of Kawthar, eats from the Divine Tree of Tuba, and sees his place in Paradise. ____________1. Ibn Hagar, in his book titled as-Sawaaiq ul-Muhriqa; 108, records a similar narration, but there is an addition in its beginning and distortion in its middle. Refer also to ar-Riyadh un-Nadhira; 2:162

Whoever loves Ali will have his prayers, fasting, and worship accepted and will have his supplications responded. Whoever loves Ali, the angels will seek Allah's forgiveness for him and the eight portals of Paradise will all be opened before him so that he can choose the one which takes him to Paradise with being maintained to the Judgment.

Whoever loves Ali, Allah will give him his record (of deeds) in his right hand2 and will call him to account in the same way as He calls His prophets.

Whoever loves Ali; Allah will alleviate for him the agonies of death and will change his grave into a garden of Paradise.

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Whoever loves Ali, Allah will give him in marriage women of Paradise as many as the arteries of his body, will grant him the right to intercede for eighty individuals from his family members, and will give him women and cities of Paradise as many as the hairs of his body.3 ____________2. This is an indication to Allah's saying in the Quran: "On the day when We call every nation with their leaders, those whose record of deeds are given to their right hands will read the book and the least wrong will not be done to them." 17:71)

3. The previous statements are recorded in al-Khawarzmi's al-Manaqib; 43.

Whoever loves Ali, Allah will send the Angel of Death to him in the same way as He sends him to the prophets, will save him from the horrible interrogation of Munkar and Nakeer, will lighten his heart, will whiten his face, and will join him with Hamza; the master of the shahids.4

Whoever loves Ali, Allah will save him from the fire (of Hell.)

Whoever loves Ali, Allah will place wisdom in his heart firmly, will make the truth slide on his tongue, and will open before him the doors to His mercy.

Whoever loves Ali will be called 'the prisoner of Allah' in the heavens and the earth.5

Whoever loves Ali, an angel from beneath the Divine Throne will call at him: O servant of Allah, make a new start, for Allah has forgiven all of your sins. ____________4. Hamza (bin Abdul-Muttalib) is the Prophet's uncle

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and one of the most celebrated personalities of Islam. He was martyred during the battle of Uhud.

5. In Bihar ul-Anwar, this statement is recorded in the following form: "Whoever loves Ali, the inhabitants of the heavens will call him 'the prisoner of Allah on the earth.'

Whoever loves Ali will attend on the Day of Resurrection with a face as bright as the full moon.

Whoever loves Ali will be crowned and will be dressed the garment of honor.

Whoever loves Ali will pass the Path like the swift lightning.

Whoever loves Ali will be granted an acquittance from Hell, a permit to pass the Path, and a security against the punishment. Besides, no record of judgment will be opened for him, no balance (for weighing his good acts and evil acts for identifying which one is more) will be maintained for him, and it will be said to him, 'Enter Paradise without judgment.'

Whoever loves Ali, the angels will shake hands with him, the prophets will visit him, and Allah will settle all of his needs.

Whoever loves the family of Mohammed will be saved from the Judgment, the Balance, and the Path.

Whoever dies on the love for the family of Mohammed, I guarantee for him a place in Paradise with the prophets.6

Whoever dies on the hatred for the family of Mohammed will never smell the essence of Paradise.

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((Abu Rajaa commented: Hemmad bin Zaid used to take pride in this, for he considered it as the only hope.))7

(2) THE MERIT OF THE LOVE FOR THE FAMILY OF MOHAMMED

Al-Hasan bin Abdullah bin Saeed narrated to us from Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Hamdan al-Qushairi from al-Mugheera bin Mohammed bin al-Muhallab al-Azdi from Abdul-Ghaffar bin Mohammed al-Kelabi from Amir bin Thabit from Jabir that Abu Ja'far related on the authority of Ali bin al-Hussein from his father (a) that the Prophet (s) said: ____________6. Refer to al-Khawarzmi's al-Manaqib; 43

7. Refer to Mietu Manqaba; Ibn Shathan 55 M.37 and 95, Taawil ul-Aayat; 824, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 36-8, Keshf ul-Ghumma; 1:104, Irshad ul-Quloub; 225, A'lam ud-Din; 464, Nahj ul-Haqq; 260, Keshf ul-Yaqin; 227, Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:221 H.133, 39:277-8 H.55, and 68:126

The love for my household and me will help in seven situations whose horrors are enormous: at death, in the grave, in the Resurrection, in the Recorded Account, in the Judgment, in the Balance, and on the Path.8

(3) THE SHIA WILL BE THE MOST SURE-FOOTEDON THE PATH

Ja'far bin Ali bin al-Hasan bin Ali bin Abdullah bin al-Mugheera narrated to us from his grandfather from his grandfather from Ismaeel bin Muslim ash-Shuairi

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from Ja'far bin Mohammed as-Sadiq (a) that the Prophet (s) said:

The most sure-footed of you on the Path will be the most loving for my household.9 ____________8. Refer to al-Amali; as-Saduq 18 H.3, al-Khissal; 2:360 H.49, Rawdhat ul-Wa'idheen; 271, Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:248 H.2, and 27:158 H.3. With little difference, the same narration is recorded in Rashfat us-Sadi; 44.

9. Refer to Bihar ul-Anwar; 8:669 H.16 and 27:158 H.5. As-Suyoutti, in his Ihyaa ul-Mait Bi-Fadhaa'il ahl ul-Bait; which is printed in the margins of the book titled al-It'haf fi Hubb il-Ashraf; 264 H.47, records this narration and relates it to Amir ul-Mu'minin, peace be upon him. As well, Ibn Hagar records the same narration in his as-Sawaaiq ul-Muhriqa; 185, and al-Mannawi in his Kunouz ul-Haqaaiq; 5.

(4) THE LOVE FOR ALI IS IN THE BELIEVER'S HEART

Al-Hussein bin Ibrahim (r) narrated from Ahmed bin Yahya from Bakr bin Abdullah from Mohammed bin Ubaidullah from Ali bin al-Hakam from Husham from Abu Hamza ath-Themali that Abu Ja'far Mohammed bin Ali relates on the authority of his fathers (a) that the Prophet (s) said to Ali: For any believer who has the love for you fixed in his heart, if one of his feet slips on the Path, the other will be firm so that Allah will take him to Paradise for his love to you.10

(5) THE SHIA WILL HAVE SECURITY AND FAITH

14

Ali bin Mohammed bin al-Hasan al-Qizwini (Abu al-Hasan Ibn Maqbara) narrated to us from Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Aamir from Essam bin Yousuf… ____________10. Refer to al-Amali; as-Saduq 348 s.85, al-Manaqib; Ibn Shahrashoub 3:198, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 71 & 125, Keshf ul-Ghumma; 1:388, Taawil ul-Aayat; 827, Bihar ul-Anwar; 8:69 H.17, 27:158 H.66, 39:305 H.119. In his Kenz ul-Ummal; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi records a similar narration with little difference from this one.

…from Mohammed bin Ayyoub al-Kelabi from Amr bin Sulaiman from Abdullah bin Imran from Ali bin Zaid from Saeed bin al-Musayyab from Zaid bin Thabit that the Prophet (s) said: For anyone who loves Ali in his lifetime and after his death, Allah will grant him security and faith as long as the sun rises and sets. Anyone who hates Ali in his lifetime and after his death will die as if he has never been Muslim and will be called to account for his deeds.11

(6) ALL PEOPLE WILL BE ASKED ABOUT THE LOVE

FOR THE PROPHET'S FAMILY

Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Ali al-Asadi (Ibn Jurada al-Barda'i) narrated to us from Ruqayya bint Ishaq bin Musa bin Ja'far bin Mohammed bin Ali bin al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib related on the authority of her fathers that the Prophet said: ____________11. Refer to al-Amali; as-Saduq 467 H.27, Ilal ush-Sharaayi; 1:144 H.11, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 158, Bihar ul-Anwar; 27:766 H.7 and 27:89 H.40. In Kenz ul-Ummal; 11:619, another narration that contains the meanings that are mentioned in this narration is recorded. Another narration, whose relaters are

15

trustful (as al-Boussiri declared), of the same contents is recorded on page 404 of the same book.

On the Day of Resurrection, a servant's feet will not move before he is asked about four matters:

He will be asked how he had spent the age of his youth, how he had finished his age, what earnings he had got and where from he had got them and how he had spent them, and he will be also asked about his affection to us; the Prophet's family.12

(7) THE SHIA ENJOY RANKS HIGHER THAN THE ANGELS'

Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdul-Wahab narrated to us from Abu al-Hasan Mohammed bin Ahmed al-Qawariri from Abu al-Hussein Mohammed bin Ammar from Ismaeel bin Tawba from Ziyad bin Abdullah al-Bukaai from Sulaiman bin al-Amish that Abu Saeed al-Khidri related:

We were sitting with the Prophet (s) when a man came and asked him: ____________12. Refer to Refer to al-Amali; as-Saduq 42 H.9, al-Khissal; 1:253 H.125, Tuhaf ul-Uqoul; 56 H.163, al-Manaqib; Ibn Shahrashoub 2:153, (He relates it to Ibn Abbas and Abu Saeed al-Khidri) Tanbih ul-Khawattir; 2:75, al-Umda; 57, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 69 & 124, A'lam ud-Din; 124 (He relates it to Abu Burda al-Aslami), Keshf ul-Ghumma; 1:105, Mishkat ul-Anwar; 17, Mutashabah ul-Qur'aan; 2:43, Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:258 H.1, 27:311 H.1, 71:180 H.33 and 77:162 H.126. As-Suyoutti, in his Ihyaa ul-Mait Bi-Fadhaa'il ahl ul-Bait; which is printed in the margins of the book titled al-It'haf fi Hubb il-Ashraf; 261 H.44, records this narration and relates it to Ibn Abbas. As well, the same narration is recorded by al-Qadhi at-

16

Tustari in his Ihqaq ul-Haqq; 9:409, al-Hafiz Nuruddin in his Majmaa uz-Zawaaid; 10:346, and al-Kenji (the Shafiite) in his Kifayat ut-Talib; 183 and relates it to Abu Tharr.

"O Allah's Messenger, Allah says: 'Eblis, what prevented you from prostrating before what I have created with My own hands? Was it because of your pride or are you one of those who are exalted?' (38:75) Who are those exalted ones whose ranks are higher than the angels'?"

The Prophet (s) answered: Those are Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, al-Hussein, and I. We were in the pavilion of the Divine Throne praising Allah. The angels were imitating us. That was two thousand years before the creation of Adam. When He created Adam, Allah, Powerful and Exalted is He, ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him. Allah did not include us in this order. All of the angels therefore prostrated except Eblis who rejected to prostrate. Referring to the five individuals whose names are recorded on the pavilion of the Divine Throne, Allah said to Eblis, 'Was it because of your pride or are you one of those who are exalted?'

Thus, we are the doors that take to Allah. We guide the followers of the right path. For him whoever loves us, Allah will love him and house him in His Paradise. For him who hates us, Allah will hate him and house him in Hell. Only do the legitimate sons love us.13

(8) THE SHIA'S RANKS IN THE SIGHT OF THE IMAMS

Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdul-Wahab narrated to us from… Mohammed bin Hamran from

17

his father that Abu Abdullah Ja'far bin Mohammed as-Sadiq (a) related: One day, my father and I went out to the mosque. We met some people who were taking the place between the tomb and the mimbar. My father approached and greeted them. He then said: I, by Allah, love you as well as your smells and souls. Hence, help us keep on so by means of your piety and diligence. You should know that the loyalty to us cannot be obtained except by means of piety and diligence. ____________13. Refer to Kenz ul-Fawa'id; 2:508-9, Taawil ul-Aayat iz-Zhahira; 182 H.1, al-Burhan; 4:64 H.3, Bihar ul-Anwar; 11:142 H.9, 15:21 H.34, 25:2 H.2, 29:306 H.121, 266:346 H.19

He who follows someone should imitate his deeds. You are the Shia of Allah, you are the supporters of Allah, and you are the foremost forerunners, the last forerunners, the foremost to the love for us in this world, and the foremost to win Paradise on the Last Day.

I have guaranteed Paradise for you, for the guarantee that is granted by Allah, Powerful and Majestic is He, and the Prophet (s). You are the highborn and your women are the highborn. Each believing female will be woman of Paradise, and each believing male will be veracious.

More than once, Amir ul-Mu'minin (a) said to Qanbar,14 'Be happy and announce this good news. When the Prophet (s) died, he was discontent with all of the individuals of his umma except the Shia.

Everything has a handle. The handle of the religion is the Shia.

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____________14. Qanbar is the servant of Amir ul-Mu'minin Ali, peace be upon him.

Everything has its honor. The honor of the religion is the Shia.

Everything has a master. The master of the sessions is the sessions of the Shia. Everything has a leader. The leader of this earth is the land on which the Shia live.

Everything has desire. The desire of this world is our Shia' living in it.

By Allah I swear, had it not been for your existence on this earth, your dissidents would not have enjoyed the pleasures of their fortunes. Nevertheless, they will not have anything in the world to come. Any Nasibi, no matter how diligently he worships and works, is included in this Verse: "On that day, the faces of some people will be humbly cast down, troubled and tired as a result of their deeds in the past. They will suffer the heat of the blazing fire." (26:2-3) The response of the prayer of your dissidents is yours.

Anyone of you who asks one request from Allah will have one hundred requests settled. Anyone of you who asks one question will have one hundred questions answered. Anyone of you who supplicates to Allah once will have the reward of one hundred supplications. Anyone of you who acts one good deed will have it doubled many times. As for anyone of you who commits an evil act, Mohammed (s) will be his advocate.

By Allah I swear, the fasting ones among you will luxuriate in the gardens of Paradise and the angles keep on praying for them to win (Paradise) until they break their fasting. You all are surely the people of the advocacy and the loyalty to Allah. You will not

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have fear and will not be grieved. You all will be in Paradise; hence, compete with each other in doing good acts. After us, no one will be nearer to the Divine Throne of Allah than you will on the Day of Resurrection. Allah's reward to you will be excellently great.

Were it not for that you might fail, suffer your enemies' gloating over you, and people might not accept it for you, the angels would greet you in groups.

Amir ul-Mu'minin (a) said: On the Day of Resurrection, the people of our divine leadership will leave their graves with bight faces and delighted eyes. They will be granted security. While all people will be fearful, they -the Shia- will not be fearful. While all people will be grieved, they will not be grieved.

O Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin al-Waleed (r) reported to me this narration after he had related it to al-Hussein bin al-Hasan bin Eban, al-Hussein bin Saeed, Mohammed bin Abi Umair, Ali bin Abi Hamza, and Abu Bassir respectively. Although the contents are nearly the same, this narration includes some paragraphs, which were not in the other one.15 ____________15. Refer to al-Kafi; 8:213 H.259, Furat's Tafsir; 208-9, Rawdhat ul-Wa'idheen; 347, Bisharat ush-Shia; 16, Mishkat ul-Anwar; 93, al-Burhan; 2:347 & 4:453, Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:203 H.90 and 68:80 H.141

(9) OUR SHIA ARE THE MASTERS AND THE HIGHBORN

Abu Tharr (d) related: I saw the Prophet (s) strike on the shoulder of Ali bin Abi Talib (a) and say: O Ali, he

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who loves us is the true Arab and he who hates us is the infidel. Our Shia are the masters, the highborn, the honorable, and the legitimate. Only are our Shia and we following the religion of Abraham (a). The remaining people are all out of it -i.e. the religion of Abraham-. Allah and His angels are surely destroying the evil deeds of our Shia in the same way as an axe destroys the building.16

(10) THE LOVE FOR ALI CONSUMES THE EVIL DEEDS

Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdul-Wahab narrated to us from Hemmad bin Yazid from Ayyoub from Attaa from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (s) said: ____________16. Refer to al-Amali; al-Mufid 169 H.4, al-Amali; at-Tusi 1:193-4, Keshf ul-Ghumma; 1:390, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 102, Ghayat ul-Maram; 588 H.1, Bihar ul-Anwar; 68:23 H.41

The love for Ali bin Abi Talib consumes the evil deeds in the same way as fire consumes wood.17

(11) THE SHIA WILL BE ON LUMINOUS STAGES

(The same previous series of relaters) ... from Mustafad bin Yahya from Zakariyya from Yahya bin Eban al-Qammat from Mohammed bin Ziyad that Aamir al-Juhani related: The Prophet (s) entered the mosque while we, including Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali, were sitting there. He sat next to Ali (a) and looked to the right and left. He (s) then spoke: There will be some men standing to the right and left of the Divine Throne on luminous stages. Their faces will be glittering.

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Abu Bakr stood up and said: I sacrifice my father and mother for you, Allah's Messenger. Will I be one of them? He (s) said: Sit down. ____________17. Refer to al-Manaqib; Ibn Shahrashoub 3:198, Maqssad ur-Raghib; 3 (manuscript), as-Sirat ul-Mustaqeem; 1:198, Taawil ul-Aayat; 827. In his kenz ul-Ummal; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi records a similar narration, which is also recorded in Thakhaair ul-Uqba; 91, Kifayat ul-Talib; 184-5. They all related the narration to Ibn Abbas and Meaath.

Omar, then, repeated the same question of Abu Bakr, and the Prophet (s) to these two men, Ibn Mas'oud stood up and said: O Allah's Messenger, describe them for us so that we will recognize them.

The Prophet (s) stroke the shoulder of Ali and said: They will be this man and his Shia. They will be the winners.18

(12) THE SHIA ARE NOT PUNISHED FOR THEIRLOYALTY TO THE IMAMS

Mohamed bin Musa bin al-Mutawakkil (r) narrated to us from Abdullah bin Ja'far al-Hiyari from Ahmed bin Mohammed from al-Hasan bin Mahboub from Husham bin Salem from Habib as-Sejistani from Abu Ja'far Imam al-Baqir that the Prophet (s) said: Allah said: ____________18. Refer to Ithbat ul-Hudat; 3:442 H.345, Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:178 H.15 & 68:66 H.120. Similar narration is recorded in Kifayat ul-Talib; 119, Kenz ul-Haqaaiq (in the margins of al-Jami ul-Saghir; 2:21), al-Manaqib; al-Khawarzmi 66, and ad-Durr ul-Manthour; 6:379. Al-

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Khawarzmi, in his al-Manaqib; 199, records the following narration: We were sitting with the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, when Fatima (a) came with al-Hasan and al-Hussein on her shoulders. She was weeping sobbingly. The Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, asked her, " O Fatima, what for are you weeping? Allah may never cause your eyes to weep." She said, " O Allah's Messenger, the Koreishite women are gibing at me. They said that my father has given me in marriage to a fourtuneless poor man. " " Do not weep, Fatima. " said the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, " It was not I who gave you in marriage. In fact, it was Allah. He gave you in marriage from above His seven heavens and called upon Gabriel, Michael and Israfeel (the angels) as witnesses on that marriage. As He looked at the earth, Allah (Powerful and Majestic is He) selected your father among all the creatures for the prophecy. As He looked another look at the earth, Allah selected Ali to whom He married you and took as the successor. Thus, Ali is from me and I am from him. O Fatima, your husband is the most courageous, the most knowledgeable, the most clement, the foremost Muslim, the most openhanded, and the most well-mannered. O Fatima, I will raise the pennon of Hamd and will have the keys of Paradise in my hand. I will then hand the pennon to Ali. Adam, as well as all his descendants, will be behind that pennon. O Fatima, I will-on the Day of Resurrection- appoint Ali as the guradian of my Divine pool. He will water only those whom he knows among the individuals of my umma.

Al-Hasan and al-Hussein; his sons, will be the masters of the early and the late youth of Paradise. Their names are mentioned in the Torah of Moses (the Prophet). They were written as Shubbar and Shubair. Allah gave them the names Hasan and Hussein for the special rank that Mohammed, as well as they,

23

enjoys in the sight of Allah. O Fatima, your father will dress two garments of Paradise and Ali, too, will dress two garments of Paradise and will have the pennon of Hamd in his hand. While my umma are gathering under my pennon, I will hand it to Ali for the special favor that he enjoys in the sight of Allah. Then, someone will call; O Mohammed, your grandfather Abraham is the best grandfather and your brother Ali is the best brother. When the Lord of the worlds will summon me, He summons Ali with me. When I will be resurrected, Ali will be resurrected with me. When I will be granted the right of intercession, Ali will be granted the same right. When my intercession will be accepted, Ali's intercession will be accepted with mine. He will be in the praiseworthy standing with me. He will help me hold the keys of Paradise. O Fatima, Ali and his shia will be the winners in the morrow. "

I will punish every Muslim group who recognized the leadership of any unjust ruler whom I do not select, even if the individuals of such a group are pious and God-fearing. I, likewise, will forgive every Muslim group that recognized (only) the leadership of the just imams whom I appointed, even if the individuals of such a group wrong (themselves) and commit bad deeds.19

(13) THE SHIA ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE PREFERENCE

AND MERCY OF ALLAH

Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin Ahmed bin al-Waleed (r) narrated to us from ... al-Mufaddhal from Abu Hamza that Abu Abdullah (a) said: You are the people of Allah's greeting and salutation. You are the people of Allah's preference and mercy, Allah's success and guard, and the advocacy and the obedience to Allah.

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No judgement will be maintained for you. No fear and no sadness will affect you.20 ____________19. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 94, al-Kafi; 1:376 H.4, Thawab ul-A'maal; 245 H.1, al-Ayyashi's Tafsir; 1:139, al-Ghaybah; an-Numani 132, Alikhtisas; 259, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 217, A'lam ud-Din; 247, Ghayat ul-Maram; 12 H.11, 27:193 H.51, 68:142 H.88.____________20. Refer to Bihar ul-Anwar; 68:142 H.89.

(14) THE SHIA ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE RECORD

Abu Hamza narrated that he heard Ja'far bin Mohammed (a) saying: By way of Allah's guard and protection, the Shia are not subject to the record (of the good and evil deeds).21

(15) THE SHIA OF ALI ARE THE PIOUS

Abu Hamza narrated that he heard Abu Abdullah (a) saying: "I know some people whom Allah has forgiven, accepted, guarded, compassioned, protected against any evil, supported, guided to every right matter, and taken them to the highest places."

Some asked: "Who are they, Abu Abdullah?" He (a) said: "These are our pious Shia: the adherents of Ali (a)."22 ____________21. Refer to Bihar ul-Anwar; 68:142 (the end of) H.89.22. Refer to Bihar ul-Anwar; 68:142 (the end of) H.89.

(16) THE SHIA ARE WITNESSES ON PEOPLE

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Abu Abdullah (a) said: We are witnesses on our Shia, and our Shia are witnesses on people. Due to the testimony of our Shia, people will be rewarded or punished.23

(17) THE RANK OF ALI'S ADORERS IN THE SIGHT OF ALLAH

My father (r) narrated from Sa'd bin Abdullah from Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Khalid from al-Qasim bin Yahya from his grandfather al-Hasan bin Rashid from Abu Bassir from Abu Abdullah (a) that the Prophet (s) said: O Ali, Allah has bestowed upon you with the love of the poor and the oppressed on this earth. You have accepted them as brothers and they have accepted you as their imam. ____________23. Refer to Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:325 H.19 and 68:142 (the end of) H.89.

Blessed are they who loved and believed you. Woe to them who hated and belied you.

O Ali, you are the most knowledgeable in this umma. He who loves you will win. Whoever hates you will perish.

O Ali, I am the city (of knowledge) and you are its door. How can a city be entered from anything other than its door?

O Ali, the people who love you are every repentant and keeper (of his promises) as well as every wearer of shabby clothes24 whose supplications are utterly answered by Allah.

O Ali, your brothers are the pure, chaste, and diligent ones who love and hate for your sake. They are humiliated in the sight of people, but they are high-ranking in the sight of Allah.

O Ali, the people who love you will be the 26

neighbors of Allah in the Abode of High Paradise. They do not feel sorry for what they had left in the world. ____________24. This refers to the individuals who possess nothing.

O Ali, I am the support of him whoever you support and the enemy of him whoever you antagonize.

O Ali, he who loves you loves me and whoever hates you hates me.

O Ali, your brothers are the dry-lipped ones. Reverence is identified in their faces.

O Ali, your brothers will be happy in three situations: When they go out of their graves while you and I will be their witnesses, when they encounter the tomb interrogation, and when they encounter the Presentation and the Path when the other people will not find answers as they will be asked about their faith.

O Ali, to fight you is to fight against me and to make peace with you is to make peace with me. To fight against me is to fight against Allah and to make peace with me is to make peace with Allah. He who makes peace with you is making peace with Allah.

O Ali, bear the good tidings to your brothers; Allah has been satisfied with them so long as He accepted you as their leader and they accepted you as their master.

O Ali, you are the commander of the faithful believers and the leader of the white-forheaded honorables.

O Ali, your Shia are the choice. Without you as well as your Shia, the religion of Allah would not have risen. If the earth is empty of you, the heavens will not cause its drops of rain to descend.

O Ali, you will have a treasure in Paradise. You are the two-horned25 of this nation. Your Shia are known as Hezbollah (the Party of Allah).

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O Ali, your Shia and you are the administrators of justice and the best creatures of Allah.

O Ali, I will be the first one who shakes off the dust from the head26 and you will be with me. Then the other creatures will do. ____________25. This means that you will be stricken on your head twice.

26. This is an indication to the Resurrection: the Prophet will be the first one who is resurrected from his tomb.

O Ali, your Shia and you will be the guardians of the Divine Pool. You will water whomever you like and prevent whomever you dislike. You are the saved on the Day of the Grand Horror. You will be under the shadow of the Divine Throne.

People will panic, but you will not panic. People will be sad, but you will not be sad. You are the only intendeds in Allah's saying: "But those to whom We have already promised blessings will be far away from Hell. They will not even hear the slightest sound from it while enjoying the best that they can wish for in their everlasting life. They will not be affected by the great terror. The angels will come to them with this glad news: 'This is your day which was promised to you.' (21:101-3)"

O Ali, your Shia and you will ask in the Situation (of the Judgment) and you will bask in the gardens (of Paradise).

O Ali, the angels and the doorkeepers (of Paradise) long for meeting you. The bearers of the Divine Throne and the intimate angels pray for you exclusively, implore to Allah by their love for you and become happy for the coming of anyone of you to them the same way as family members become

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happy for the return of the absent after a long period of being away.

O Ali, your Shia fear Allah secretly and advise people for His cause openly.

O Ali, your Shia compete with each other for gaining the ranks, because they will meet Allah without being burdened with any sin.

O Ali, the deeds of your Shia are presented before me every Friday. I become happy for their good deeds and implore to Allah to forgive their sins.

O Ali, in the Torah and the Gospel, your Shia and you are mentioned in a good reference before they were created. Ask the people of the Torah and the people of the Kitab27 to tell you about 'Eli'; yet, you are well versed in the Torah and the Gospel. The scripturalists honor Eli, but they do not know his Shia. They know him as much as that which is recorded in their books.

O Ali, the good reference to your companions in the heavens is greater than it is on the earth. Thus, they should be happy for so and should be more diligent.

O Ali, the spirits of your Shia ascend to the heavens during their sleep. There, the angels, out of their longing for them and the ranks that Allah has decided for them, look at the spirits of the Shia in the same way as people look at the crescent. ____________27. Kitab, among Muslims, is the sacred book of any of certain other revealed religions. Refer to Oxford Talking Dictionary.

O Ali, ask your companions who acknowledge you to be too great for committing the acts that their enemies commit. No single day and no single night pass without having the mercy of Allah overshadowed over them. Hence, they should avoid impurity.

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O Ali, the wrath of Allah is intense on anyone who hates the Shia, disavows them and you, chooses anyone else other than them and you, inclines to your enemy, leaves your Shia and you, opts for deviation, wages war against your Shia and you, hates us-the Prophet's family, and hates him who follows, supports, chooses, and offers his soul and wealth for your sake.

O Ali, send my greetings to them whom I will not see and they will not see me and tell them that they are my true brothers that I long for meeting. They should deliver my knowledge to the coming generations, hold fast and cling to the tie of Allah, and work diligently.

We will not take them out of the right guidance and will not lead them to deviation. Tell them that Allah is pleased with them, takes pride in them before the angels, looks at them every Friday with mercy, and orders the angels to seek forgiveness to them.

O Ali, do not turn away from supporting them who loved you because they had heard that I love you and took their love for you as a belief that takes them nearer to Allah, gave you their pure affection of their hearts, preferred you to their fathers, brothers, and sons, pursued your path, stood all the misfortunes for our sake, rejected everything for backing us, sacrificed their souls for us, and endured harm, insult, and bitterness for our sake. Therefore, be merciful to them and satisfy yourself with them, for Allah has chosen them for us out of His knowledge from among the creatures, created them from the same clay from which He created us, deposited with them our secret, bound their hearts to acknowledge our right, comforted their hearts, and made them cling to our tie.

They never prefer the dissidents to us even if this takes the worldly pleasures away from them and

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causes the Shaitan to inflict them with misfortunes. As Allah supported and led them to the right way, they have held fast to Him while people are plunging in the floods of deviation and perplexed in the midst of passions. They could not see the right path and that which has come from Allah; therefore, they begin and end their day with the wrath of Allah. On the other side, your Shia are on the course of right and straightforwardness. They do not like the company of those who dissented them. The world is not their concern and they are not its concern.

Those are surely the lanterns of gloom. Those are surely the lanterns of gloom. Those are surely the lanterns of gloom.28 ____________28. Refer to al-Amali; as-Saduq 451 (within) H.2, Furat's Tafsir; 95, Kifayat ul-Athar; 184, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 221, Keshf ul-Ghumma; 1:1662, Missbah ul-Anwar 164 & 201, Shawahid ut-Tanzil; 1:459, Nahj ul-Haqq; 245, Keshf ul-Yaqin; 85, Taawil ul-Aayat; 1:331 H.18, Ithbat ul-Hudat; 3:442 H.346, Bihar ul-Anwar; 8:28 H.32 and 68:45 H.91.

(18) ALLAH HONORS THE YOUNG SHIITES AND REVERENCES THEIR OLD MEN

Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin Ahmed bin al-Waleed (r) related to us from Mohammed bin al-Hasan as-Saffar from Ebbad bin Sulaiman from Mohammed bin Sulaiman that his father Sulaiman ad-Dailami (of Daylam) said: I was with Abu Abdullah (a) when Abu Bassir, who was out of breath, came in. When he took his seat, Abu Abdullah (a) asked him: "O Abu Mohammed, what for was your breathlessness?" He answered: "May Allah make me your sacrifice, son of Allah's Messenger. I grew old, my bones grew thin, and time of my death is about to fall. Still, I do not know what I will face in my life to come."

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Abu Abdullah (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, is it you who says such a thing?"

He answered: "May Allah make me your sacrifice, why should I not say it?" The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, have you not known that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, honors the youth among you and reverences the old ones?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice, how does Allah honor the youth and reverence the old ones?" The Imam (a) said: "Allah will not punish the youth out of His honoring them and will not settle an account with the old men out of His reverencing them." He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. Is this peculiarity granted (to us) exclusively or is it general for the community of Tawhid -believing in Allah's oneness-?" The Imam said: "No, by Allah. It is peculiar for you, not the general (Muslims)."29 He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. We have been called with a name due to which our backs have been broken, our hearts have been dead, and the governors have deemed lawful to kill us-all for a narration that their scholars have related." The Imam (a) said: "Do you mean Rafidah?"30 ____________29. It is related that Allah, Exalted is He, says: "The gray hairs of the believers is My light, and I am too modest to burn My light with My fire." Others said: "The gray hair is the jewel of the mind and the sign of dignity."

30. Rafidah: (Arabic: "Rejecters"), broadly, Shiite Muslims who reject (rafd) the caliphate of The Prophet Muhammad's, peace be upon him and his family, two successors Abu Bakr and 'Omar. Many Muslim scholars, however, have stated that the term Rafidah cannot be applied to the Shiites in general but only to those who condemn Abu Bakr and 'Omar as unlawful rulers of the Muslim community. To the majority of the Shiites, the term Rafidah is pejorative,

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coined by their opponents to cast the shadow of extremism on them. (Excerpted from ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA 2000)

He answered: "Yes, I do." The Imam (a) said: "No, by Allah. It was not they who named you so. It was, in fact, Allah Who chose this name for you. O Abu Mohammed, have you not known that there were seventy men among the Israelites who rejected the Pharaoh and his people when their deviation had been proved to them? Accordingly, they joined Moses (a) when they knew his having been the right party.

Because they rejected the Pharaoh, the party of Moses called them the Rafidah -the rejecters-. They were the best worshippers among the individuals of the party of Moses. Besides, they were the most affectionate of Moses, Aaron, and their descendants. Then, Allah, Powerful and Majestic is He, ordered Moses, by way of revelation, to record this name for those people in the Torah, for He has chosen it for them. Moses (a) did. Allah then saved this name so as to use it for you. O Abu Mohammed, the others rejected the good and you have rejected the evil and held fast on the good.

As people went in various directions and separated into different sects, you went in with the household of your Prophet Mohammed (s). You thus opted for what Allah has opted, chosen what Allah has chosen, and wanted what Allah has wanted. Enjoy the good tidings. Surely, enjoy the good tidings. You are, by Allah, the compassioned ones whose righteous deeds will be accepted and wrongdoings will be overlooked. For him whoever does not come to Allah, on the Day of Resurrection, with the same beliefs that you have, his good deeds will not be accepted and his wrongdoings will not be overlooked. O Abu Mohammed, have I made you happy?" He said: "May

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Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you." The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, there are definite angels of Allah, Powerful and Majestic is He, whose mission is to unload the sins that our Shia carry on their backs in the same way as wind causes the leaves of trees to fall down in the season of fall.

This is the meaning of Allah's saying: 'The angels glorify their Lord with His praise and seek forgiveness… (42:5)' for the believers. The angels, by Allah, seek forgiveness for you exclusively. O Abu Mohammed, have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you." The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, Allah has referred to you in His Book. He says: 'Among the believers, there are people who are true in their promise to Allah. Some of them have already passed away and some of them are waiting. They never yield to any change. (33:23)' You have fulfilled the pledge under which Allah put you concerning the loyalty to us. You have not substituted anything for us. If you had not done it, Allah would have rebuked you in the same way as He rebuked the others. He, Glorified is His mention, says:

'We did not find many among them keeping their promises. However, We did find many evildoers among them. (7:102)' O Abu Mohammed, have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, Allah has referred to you in His Book. He says: 'We shall remove all hatred from their breasts and make them as brothers reclining on thrones facing one another. (15:47)' By Allah I swear, no one other than you is intended in this Verse. O Abu Mohammed, have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

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The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, Allah has referred to you in His Book. He says: 'All intimate friends on that day will become each other's enemies except for the pious. (43:67)' By Allah, you are the 'pious' that are intended in this Verse. O Abu Mohammed, have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, in one the Verses of His Book, Allah refers to our enemies and us. He says: 'Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only the people of reason take heed? (39:9)' We are 'those who know', our enemies are 'those who do not know', and our Shia are 'the people of reason.' O Abu Mohammed, have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, Allah has not excluded any one among the successors of the prophets and their followers except Amir ul-Mu'minin (a) and his Shia. Allah Whose word is the right says in His Book: 'On this day, masters will be of no benefit to their followers, nor will they receive any help except for those to whom Allah grants mercy. (44:41-2)' This means Ali and his Shia. Have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, Allah has referred to you in His Book. He says: 'Tell My servants who have committed injustice to themselves: Do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is All-forgiving and All-merciful. (39:53)' This is, by Allah, an indication to you. Have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

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The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, Allah has referred to you in His Book. He says: 'And you -the Shaitan- have no authority over My servants. (15:42)' By Allah I swear, except the Imams (a) and their Shia, no one is intended in the previous Verse. Have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, Allah has referred to you in His Book. He says:

'(One who obeys Allah and the Messenger is) the friend of the prophets, saints, shahids, and the righteous ones to whom Allah has granted His favors. They are the best friends that one can have. (4:69)' The Prophet Mohammed (s) is one of the prophets, we -the Imams- are the saints and the shahids, and you are the righteous ones. Hence, you should be true righteous so as to meet the quality that Allah has ascribed to you. Have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, as He tells about your enemies while they are in Hell, Allah refers to you. He says: 'But why is it that we cannot see men whom we had considered as wicked and whom we mocked? Have they been rescued or can our eyes not find them? (38:62-3)' By Him I swear, Allah has only referred to you, not anyone else.

In the sight of the people of this world, you are regarded as the evilest ones. You, by Allah, will enjoy Paradise. You will be saved if you will be decided to be in Hell. Have I made you happy, Abu Mohammed?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

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The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, every single Verse that refers to Paradise and mentions its people is only speaking of us as well as our Shia. Likewise, every single Verse that censures some people and leads to Hell is only referring to our enemies as well as those who disagree with us. Have I made you happy?" He said: "May Allah make me your sacrifice. I seek more from you."

The Imam (a) said: "O Abu Mohammed, no one is following the religion of Abraham (a) except us and our Shia. All the others are away from it. Have I made you happy, Abu Mohammed?"31 ____________31. Refer to al-Kafi; 8:33 H.66, Furat's Tafsir; 225, Da'aayim ul-Islam; 1:76, Alikhtisas; 101, Taawil ul-Aayat; 2:507 H.8 & 9, Bihar ul-Anwar; 24:259 H.9 and 47:390 H.114.

(19) THE SHIA WILL ENTER INTO AQABA FOR THEIR LOYALTY

My father (r) narrated to me from Sa'd bin Abdullah from Ebbad bin Sulaiman from Mohammed bin Sulaiman from his father from Eban bin Taghlib that he asked Abu Abdullah (a): "May Allah make me your sacrifice. What it the meaning of 'Yet, he has not entered into Aqaba -obstacle-? (90:11)'" The Imam (a) answered: "Only he whom Allah grants favor through the loyalty to us will pass that Aqaba. We are that Aqaba. He who enters into that Aqaba will be saved." The Imam kept silent for a while, then said: May I tell you about another piece of knowledge that is better for you than the world along with all that which is in it? I said: "Yes, you may.

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Allah may make me your sacrifice." He said: "It is the setting free of a slave. (90:13)" All people are the slaves of this world except your acquaintances and you. Allah, Powerful and Majestic is He, will set you free from Hell because of your loyalty to us-the Prophet's household.32 ____________32. Refer to al-Kafi; 1:430 H.88, Furat's Tafsir; 558, al-Manaqib; Ibn Shahrashoub 2:155, A'lam ud-Din; 278 (with an addition), Shawahid ut-Tanzil; 2:431, Taawil ul-Aayat; 773, Ghayat ul-Maram; 226 H.3, al-Burhan; 4:465 H.5.

(20) THE SHIA ARE PALE-FACED BECAUSE OFTHE MENTION OF ALLAH

(The same previous series of relaters)… from Sulaiman ad-Dailami related from Abu Bassir from Abu Abdullah (a) that Amir ul-Mu'minin (a) said: "I am the shepherd-the shepherd of people. Is it acceptable that a shepherd does not identify his sheep?" Juwairiya stood up and asked: "O Amir ul-Mu'minin, who are your sheep?" He (a) answered: "My sheep are pale-faced and dry-lipped because of the mention of Allah."33

(21) ALLAH CREATED THE BELIEVERS FROM HIS LIGHT

(The same previous series of relaters)… from Sulaiman from Othman bin Aslam that Muawiya ad-Duhani said: I asked Abu Abdullah (a): "Allah may make me your sacrifice. What is the meaning of the saying that I have heard from you?" The Imam (a) asked: "Which one?"

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____________33. Refer to Bihar ul-Anwar; 68:176 H.32.

I said: "(It is your saying) the believer sees through the light of Allah." He said: "O Muawiya, Allah created the believers from His light, made them in His mercy, and put them under the obligation of being loyal to us when He introduced Himself to them and they acknowledged Him. Hence, the believers are the brothers of each other. Their father is the light and their mother is the mercy. They thus see through that light from which they were created."

(22) THE SHIA'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE IMMACULATE IMAMS

(The same previous series of relaters)… from Sulaiman that Dawoud bin Kuthair ar-Raqqi said: When I was before Abu Abdullah (a), I said to him: Allah may make me your sacrifice. Regarding the Holy saying of Allah, "I am All-forgiving to him who repented, believed, and did righteous acts then followed the right guidance, (20:82)" what is that right guidance, which comes after repentance, faith, and the righteous acts?

He (a) said: (This right guidance is) the acknowledgement of the Imams-one after the other.

(23) THE SHIITE WORSHIPS ALLAH WHILE STANDING OR SITTING

My father (r) narrated from Sa'd bin Abdullah from Ebbad bin Sulaiman that Sadir as-Sayrafi said:

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Abu Bassir, Maysara, and other individuals were with Abu Abdullah (a) when I visited him. As soon as I sat, he turned to me and said: O Sadir, our disciple worships Allah while he is standing, sitting, sleeping, alive, and dead.

I said: Allah may make me your sacrifice. We can understand how he worships Allah while he is standing, sitting, and alive. But how is it when he is asleep and dead?

He (a) said: When the time of the prayer comes while our disciple is asleep, two angels whom were created in the earth and had never ascended to the heavens or seen the kingdom there will offer prayers next to him so as to awaken him. Allah will record the reward of the prayers of these two angels for that disciple. A single rak'a that is offered by these angels is equal to one thousand prayers that are offered by people. When Allah seizes the soul of our disciple, his two angels ascend to the heavens and say: 'O our Lord, Your servant (so-and-so) has withdrawn from worship and taken in full his life. You, however, are more knowledgeable with this matter than we are. Allow us to worship you in the horizons of Your heavens and the extremes of Your lands.'

Allah, then, says to them -in a form of revelation-, 'In My heavens, there are many who worship Me while I am not in need for their worship. In fact, it is they who are in need for worshipping Me.

On My lands, likewise, there are many who worship me so properly; yet, I have not created anything that is needier for Me than they are. Hence, descend to the grave of my disciple.' They will say, 'O our Lord, who is that one who is enjoying Your love for him?' Allah will answer them -in a form of revelation-, 'That one is he who has put himself under the pledge of being loyal to Mohammed; My servant, his successor,

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and their descendants. Descend to the grave of My disciple (so-and-so) and offer prayers there until I resurrect him for the Day of Resurrection.' The angels then descend to offer prayers at the grave until Allah resurrects him. Allah will record the reward of the prayers of these two angels for that disciple. A single rak'a that is offered by these angels is equal to one thousand prayers that are offered by people.

I said: "Allah may make me your sacrifice, son of Allah's Messenger. In his sleep and death, your disciple worships Allah in a way better than it is in his life and waking."

He (a) said: No, Sadir. This is too far (from the truth). On the Day of Resurrection, our disciple will seek security -for others, probably- from Allah and Allah will grant him (that security)."34

(24) THE ANGEL OF DEATH PITIES FOR THE SHIITE

(The same previous series of relaters) Sadir said: I asked Abu Abdullah (a) whether the believer is coerced to be had his soul seized?

He said: No, by Allah. When the angel of death attends for seizing his soul, the believer shows impatience. There, the angel of death says to him: "O disciple of Allah, do not be worry. I swear by Him Who sent Mohammed (a) with the truth, I am more compassionate and kinder to you than a merciful father to his son. Open your eyes and look." ____________34. Refer to Ithbat ul-Hudat; 2:453 H.355, al-Burhan; 4:222 H.221, Bihar ul-Anwar; 5:327 H.23 and 68:67 H.121.

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In these moments, the believer will see the Messenger of Allah, Amir ul-Mu'minin, Fatima, al-Hasan, al-Hussein, and the Imams (a) in front of him. The angel will say to him: "Those are your companions." Then, a caller from the direction of the Divine Throne will call at his soul: "O soul that is serene -to Mohammed and his household-, return to your Lord well pleased -with the loyalty to the Prophet's household- and He will please you -by means of the reward-. Enter among My servants -who are Mohammed and his household- into My Paradise." (89:27-30) Then, nothing will be more preferable for that believer than the sneaking of his soul and joining the caller.35

(25) THE SHIA ON THE DAY OF RESURRECTION

My father (r) narrated to me from Sa'd bin Abdullah… from Muawiya bin Ammar from Ja'far bin Mohammed from his father from his grandfather that the Prophet (s) said: ____________35. Refer to al-Kafi; 3:127 H.2, Furat's Tafsir; 554, Taawil ul-Aayat; 2:797 H.9, al-Burhan; 4:460 H.2, Bihar ul-Anwar; 6:196 H.49, 24:94 H.7 and 61:48 H.24.

"On the Day of Resurrection, some people will come on stages of light with their faces glittering like the full moon. They will be envied by the past and the last generations."

The Prophet (s) kept silent for a while then added the statement three times.

Omar bin al-Khattab asked: "My father and mother be sacrificed for you. Are they the shahids?"

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The Prophet (s) said: "They are shahids, but not the shahids that you know." Omar asked: "Are they the prophets?" The Prophet (s) said: "They are prophets, but not the prophets that you know." Omar asked: "Are they the successors of the prophets?" The Prophet (s) said: "They are successors of the prophets, but not the successors that you know." Omar asked: "Are they from the heavens or the earth?" The Prophet (s) said: "They are from the earth?"

Omar said: "Tell me, who are they?" The Prophet (s) pointed to Ali (a) and said: "They are this one and his Shia. No one from Koreish hates him except the bastard, no one of Ansar hates him except the Jew, no one from the Arabs hates him except the whoreson, and no one from the human beings hates him except the scoundrel. O Omar, he who claims he loves me while he hates Ali is surely lying."36

(26) THE PROPHETS, ANGELS, AND SHAHIDS WILL ENVY THE SHIA

Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin Ahmed bin al-Waleed (r) related to me from Mohammed bin al-Hasan as-Saffar… from Mohammed bin Qays and Aamir bin as-Simt that Abu Ja'far (a) related that the Prophet (s) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, some people dressing clothes of light with luminous faces whom will be identified by the signs of prostration will come. ____________36. Refer to Mishkat ul-Anwar; 97, al-Burhan; 4:293 H.13, Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:179 H.18. The last statement of this narration is recorded in many reference books, such as al-Amali; as-Saduq 125 H.8 & 268 H.17-8, al-

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Khissal; 577, at-Tahsin; 55, al-Manaqib; Ibn Shahrashoub 3:101, Keshf ul-Ghumma; 1:94, Rawdhat ul-Wa'idheen; 102, Irshad ul-Quloub; 93 & 259, at-Taraaif; 133 H.211, Kenz ul-Fawa'id; 2:55, Bisharat ush-Shia; 23, and A'lam ud-Din; 187.

They will overstep the rows until they stand in front of the Lord of the worlds. The prophets, angels, shahids, and righteous people will envy them." Omar bin al-Khattab asked: "O Allah's Messenger, who are they whom the prophets, angels, shahids, and righteous men will envy?" The Prophet (s) answered: "They will be our Shia, and Ali will be their imam."37

(27) WHEN HE COMES OUT OF THE GRAVE, THE SHIITE'S FACE IS LIKE FULL MOON

Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin Ahmed bin al-Waleed (r) narrated to me that Mohammed bin al-Hasan as-Saffar narrated to him from Mohammed bin al-Hussein from Abdullah bin Jibilla from Muawiya bin Ammar from Abu Abdullah (a) from his father from his grandfather that the Prophet (s) said to Ali (a): ____________37. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 181 H.175, Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:180 H.19 and 68:123.

"O Ali, all the souls of my people, including the children and the old, were shown before me before the creation of their bodies. I passed by you and your Shia, and sought Allah's forgiveness for you." Ali said: "O Allah's Prophet, tell me more about them." The Prophet (s) said: "Yes, Ali. When your Shia and you will come out from your graves, your faces will be as bright as the full moon, your hardships will be alleviated, your griefs will be taken away from you, and you will be in the shadow of the Divine Throne. People will be fearful, but you will not, and will be

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sad, but you will not. A dining table will be installed for you while people will be called to the judgment."38

(28) THE RELIEF, CONTENTMENT, AND GLAD TIDINGS

ARE FOR THE SHIA OF ALI

My father (r) said that Ahmed bin Idris narrated to them that Ya'qoub bin Yazid narrated to them… ____________38. Refer to Bassaair ud-Darajat; 84 H.5, Irshad ul-Quloub; 293, A'lam ud-Din; 282, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:180 H.20 and 68:27 H.50.

…from Mohammed bin Abi Umair that Mohammed al-Qibtti said that he heard Abu Abdullah (a) saying: People disregarded the Prophet's saying about Ali on that day in Ghadir Khumm and disregarded his saying on that day in the chamber of Ummu Ibrahim. The Prophet (s) felt pain in his leg and people came to visit him. Ali (a) as well, came to see him, but people did not give him an opportunity to see the Prophet (s) due to their crowds. When the Prophet (s) noticed this thing, he said:

O people, these are my household. You are disregarding them while I am alive among you. By Allah I swear, if I am no longer present among you, Allah shall never be absent. It is certainly that relief, rest, content, and glad tidings will be for him who follows, abide by, and submit to Ali as well as the successors who will come after him.

It is incumbent upon me to include such individuals with my (right of) intercession, because they are my followers. "He who follows me will belong to me." I repeat this statement of Abraham

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because I belong to Abraham and Abraham belongs to me. My religion is the same as Abraham's, my Sunna is the same as Abraham's, and Abraham's virtue is the same as mine. I, however, am preferable to him. This preference comes to support the saying of my Lord: "They were the offspring of one another. Allah is All-hearing and All-seeing. (3:34)"39

(29) THE LOVE FOR THE PROPHET'S HOUSEHOLD IS GOOD DEED

My father (r) said that Sa'd bin Abdullah narrated to them… from Abu Dawoud al-Aama (the blind) that Abu Abdullah al-Jadali said that Ali (a) said to him: ____________39. Refer to al-Amali; as-Saduq 111 H.10, Bassaair ud-Darajat; 53 H.1, Bisharat ul-Mustafa; 20, Ithbat ul-Hudat; 2:421 H.285 & 2:456 H.359, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 36:248 H.65 and 38:95 H.12.

"O Abu Abdullah, may I tell you about the good deed whose doer will be saved from the terror of the Day of Resurrection?" I said: "Yes, you may." He (a) said: "This good deed is the love for us. The evil deed is to hate us."40 ____________40. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 150 H.69, al-Umda; 75 H.91, al-Manaqib; Ibn Shahrashoub 3:100, Keshf ul-Ghumma; 1:345, A'lam ud-Din; 448, Keshf ul-Yaqin; 383, Shawahid ut-Tanzil; 1:548 H.582, and Nahj ul-Haqq; 201.

(30) THE IMAMS LOVE THEIR SHIA

(The same previous series of relaters) …from al-Hasan bin Ali from Aassim bin Hamid that Abu Ishaq an-Nahawi (the grammarian) said that he heard Abu

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Abdullah (a) saying: Allah educated His Prophet (s) as He liked for him. He says: "You have attained a high moral standard (68:4)." Allah then authorized him to represent Him. He says: "Take only what the Messenger gives to you and desist from what he forbids you (59:7)." "One who obeys the Messenger has certainly obeyed Allah (4:80)."

In the same manner, the Prophet (s) authorized Ali (a) to represent him and deposited with him (all the religious affairs). You submitted (to this authority) while the others denied. By Allah I swear, we do love you to say when we say and keep silent when we keep silent. We are the mediators between Allah and you. Allah has never made any goodness lie in the contradiction to His commandments.41

(31) THE SINS OF THE BELIEVERS ARE FORGIVEN

(The same previous series of relaters)… from al-Hasan in Mahboub from al-Alaa from Mohammed bin Muslim that Abu Ja'far (a) said:

The sins of the believers are already forgiven. Hence, a believer should put a new start. This is surely granted for the people of faith exclusively.42 ____________41. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 1:162 H.111, al-Kafi; 1:265, al-Ayyashi's Tafsir; 1:259 H.203, Bassaair ud-Darajat; 384 H.4 & 385 H.7, Alikhtisas; 330, al-Burhan; 4:314 H.1, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 2:95 H.37, 17:3 H.1, and 25:334 H.12.

42. Refer to al-Kafi; 2:434 H.6, al-Mu'min; 36 h.82, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 6:40 H.71.

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(32) ALLAH WILL GRANT THE BELIEVER WHATEVER HE ASKS

(The same previous series of relaters)… that Abu Ja'far (a) said: Allah, Powerful and Majestic is He, gives (the pleasures of) this world to anyone, whether He likes or dislikes, while He gives the world to come only to those whom He likes. It happens that Allah does not answer the believer who asks for a location that is as small as a place of a lash, and gives the world to the disbeliever before he asks for anything. But, if that disbeliever asks Allah for a location that is as small as a place of a lash in the world to come, Allah will not answer him.43

(33) THE SHIA ARE FOR PARADISE AND PARADISE IS THEIRS

(The same previous series of relaters)… from al-Hasan bin Ali bin Faddhal from Mohammed bin al-Fadhl from Abu Hamza that he heard Abu Abdullah (a) saying: ____________43. Refer to al-Mu'min; 27, at-Tamhees; 51, Mishkat ul-Anwar; 290, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 93:368 H.2.

You are for Paradise and Paradise is yours. To us, you are called the virtuous and the reformers. You are the people of the contentment with Allah, for He is pleased with you. The angels are your brothers in virtue if they work diligently.44

(34) THE SHIA'S HOUSES AND GRAVES ARE PARADISES

(The same previous series of relaters)… that Abu Abdullah (a) said: Your houses are your paradises.

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Your graves are your paradises. You were created for Paradise and you will be in Paradise.45

(35) THE WOMEN OF PARADISE LOOK AT THEBELIEVER IN PRAYERS

(The same previous series of relaters)… that Abu Abdullah (a) said: When a believer stands up for offering a prayer, Allah allows the women of Paradise to look at him. If he finishes his prayer without asking Allah to give him women of Paradise in marriage, they go back with astonishment.46 ____________44. Refer to A'lam ud-Din; 457 and Bihar ul-Anwar; 68:144 (the end of) H.90.

45. Refer to A'lam ud-Din; 457 and Bihar ul-Anwar; 8:360 H.26 and 68:144 (the end of) H.90.

46. Refer to Oddat ud-Da'ee; 58, A'lam ud-Din; 457, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 86:17 H.14.

(36) THE HIGHEST RANKS OF PARADISE ARE THE SHIA'S

Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin Ahmed bin al-Waleed narrated to me from Mohammed bin al-Hasan as-Saffar from Mohammed bin al-Hussein bin Abi al-Khattab from al-Hasan bin Ali bin an-Nu'man from al-Harith bin Mohammed al-Ahwal from Abu Abdullah (a) that he heard his father Abu Ja'far (a) saying:

After the Night Ascension, the Prophet (s) related to Ali (a): O Ali, in Paradise, I saw a river that was whiter than milk, sweeter than honey, and straighter than arrow. There were pitchers as many as the stars in it. On its shore, there stand the domes of ruby and

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white pearls. As Gabriel stroke the bank of that river with his wing, it was pure musk.

(He then added) I swear by Him Who prevails Mohammed's soul, there are trees in Paradise clapping with the praise (of Allah) and making sounds that no one among the early and the late generations has ever heard like them.

They bear fruits like pomegranates. The one on whom such fruits are thrown cuts it into ninety garments. There, the believer will be sitting on chairs of light. They are the white-forheaded honorables. On the Day of Resurrection, you will be their leader. Each one of them will put slippers whose laces are luminous to cast light upon the way he wants to take in Paradise. Meanwhile, a woman will look down upon him and say, 'All Glory be to Allah. O Allah's servant, do you not have anything with me?' He will ask her who she is. She will answer, 'I am one of those about whom Allah said: So, no soul knows what is hidden for them of that which will refresh the eyes; a reward for what they did.'

(The Prophet (s) then added) I swear by Him Who prevails Mohammed's soul, seventy thousand angels will visit that believer every day in Paradise and will call him by his name and his father's.47

(37) THE DEAD SHIITE IS AS THE SHAHID

Mohammed bin Musa bin al-Mutawakkil48 narrated to me… from Malik al-Juhani that Abu Abdullah (a) said: O Malik, do you not accept to offer the (obligatory) prayers, defray the zakat, and stop your aggressions so as to be in Paradise? (He then added) O Malik, as for any people who follow a leader in this world, that leader will curse them and they will curse him on the Day of Resurrection. Only your likes and you are excluded

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from this rule. (He then added) O Malik, anyone of you who dies while he keeps up these beliefs will enjoy the same rank of the shahids whose swords are engaged in fighting for the sake of Allah. ____________47. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 1:180 H.127, Taawil ul-Aayat; 58 H.1, al-Burhan; 3:285 H.7, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 8:138 H.5.

48. In al-Mahaasin; this narration is narrated by Mohammed bin Musa bin al-Mutawakkil who narrates it to al-Hasan bin Mahboub from Amr bin Abi al-Miqdam from Malik bin Aayun al-Juhani. The compiler added: "It is also narrated by my father who relates it from Ali bin an-Nu'man from Ibn Meskan.

(Malik said) One day, I was sitting before him -i.e. Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (a) - and talking to myself about some of the Imams' credits. He (a) said to me:

You are, by Allah, our Shia. Do not think that you are negligent in regard with our rights.

O Malik, no one can describe Allah exactly. In the same manner, no one can describe the Messenger (s) exactly, no one can describe us exactly, and no one can describe the believer exactly.

O Malik, as the believer shakes hands with his brother when they meet, Allah looks at them making their sins fall out until they leave. It is impossible to describe the bearers of such qualities.

My father (a) used to say: The fire (of Hell) will not consume him who describes this matter.49 ____________49. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 166 H.122, al-Kafi; 8:146

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H.122, Tanbih ul-Khawattir; 2:146, A'lam ud-Din; 234, and Taawil ul-Aayat; 641 and 679.

(38) FOR THE SHIA, THEIR DEEDS ARE ACCEPTED AND

THEIR SINS ARE FORGIVEN

Mohammed bin Ali bin Majilwayh narrated to me from his uncle Mohammed bin al-Qasim… from Omar bin Eban al-Kelbi that Abu Abdullah (a) said to him: "How numerous the human beings are!"

I said: "Yes, son of Allah's Messenger. How numerous the human beings are!"

He said: "By Allah I swear, no one performs the hajj for the sake of Allah, Powerful and Majestic is He, except you, no one offers the two prayers50 except you, and no one will be rewarded two-fold except you. You are certainly the guardians of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Your sins will be forgiven and your deeds will be accepted."51 ____________50. As a comment, Allama al-Majlisi says: "The two prayers may refer to the obligatory and the supererogatory prayers, the residential and the journey prayers, or the five prayers and the blessings of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family. Finally, it may refer to the separation between each two prayers, for the other sects decide a very long period between the two prayers.51. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 1:167 H.127, (In this reference book, this narration is narrated by Mohammed bin Ali bin Majilwayh from Ibn Faddhal from Ali bin Aqaba bin Amr bin Eban al-Kelbi.) and Bihar ul-Anwar; 27:184 H.40.

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(39) THE SHIITE AND THEIR HATERS

Ja'far bin Mohammed bin Masrour (r) narrated to us that al-Hussein bin Aamir narrated to him from his uncle Abdullah bin Aamir from al-Hasan bin Ali bin Faddhal from Thaalaba bin Omar from Omar bin Eban ar-Rifaee from as-Sabah bin Sayyaba that Abu Abdullah (a) said:

It happens that a man loves you -the Shia- but he does not know what you say. Accordingly, Allah will allow him to enter Paradise. It also happens that a man hates you but he does not know what you say. Accordingly, Allah will send him to Hell. Hence, a man may fill in his record with good deeds without being doing any of them. (I asked how, and the Imam answered:-) This occurs when he passes by some people while they are reviling at us. As they see him, some of them tell that he is one of the Shia. They then go on railing and reviling at him. Hence, Allah records for him good deeds because of so until his record of good deeds is filled.52 ____________52. Refer to al-Kafi; 2:126 H.10 and 8:315 H.495 and Bihar ul-Anwar; 69:246 H.21.

(40) THE SHIA EAT AND DRESS THE LEGAL

My father (r) said that Sa'd bin Abdullah narrated to him… that Mansour as-Sayqal said: I was with Abu Abdullah (a) in his pavilion in Mina (during the season of the hajj) when he looked at people and said:

They eat, dress, and marry illegally. But you eat, dress, and marry legally. By Allah, it is only you whose hajj is valid and whose deeds are accepted.53

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(41) THE SHIA ARE FOLLOWING THE RELIGION OF PROPHET MOHAMMED AND HIS

FOREFATHERS

(The same previous series of relaters)… from al-Hasan bin Ali from Aassim bin Hamid from Omar bin Hanzhala that Abu Abdullah (a) said: ____________53. Refer to Bihar ul-Anwar; 27:199 H.65 and Mustadrak ul-Wassail; 1:23 H.53.

O Omar, Allah surely grants the pleasures of this world to everyone whether He likes or dislikes, but He does not grant this matter except for His choice.

You, by Allah, are following my religion as well as the religion of my forefathers Abraham and Ishmael, not Ali bin al-Hussein or al-Baqir (a) although these are following the religion of those.54

(42) THE SHIA ARE ADDED TO THOSE WHOM THEY LIKE

(The same previous series of relaters)… from al-Hasan bin Ali from Ali bin Aqaba from Musa an-Numayri that Abu Abdullah (a) said: A man came to the Prophet (s) and said: "O Allah's Messenger, I do like you." He (s) asked: "Do you really like me?" The man said: "By Allah I swear, I love you." The Prophet (s) said: "You will be with whomever you like."55 ____________54. Refer to al-Mahaasin; 217 H.110-1, Tuhaf ul-Uqoul; 374, Mishkat ul-Anwar; 291, A'lam ud-Din; 449, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 27:133 H.107.

55. Refer to A'lam ud-Din; 449 and Bihar ul-Anwar; 27:137 H.137.

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(43) THE SHIITE WILL NOT SEE HELL

Mohammed bin Ali bin Majilwayh (r) said to us that Mohammed bin Yahya narrated to him… from Hanzhala that Maisar said that Abu al-Hasan ar-Ridha said: "No two of you will be seen in Hell. Furthermore, no single one of you will be seen in Hell." I said: "How can this be proved through the Book of Allah?" The Imam did not answer me for a whole year. On the Circumambulating day of the next year, he said to me: "O Maisar, only today I am permitted to answer your last question." I said: "Well, how can it be proved through the Book of Allah?" He (a) said: This is in sura of Arrahman. It is: "On that day, no mankind -among you- or jinn will be asked about his sin (55:39)." I said: "This Verse does not include 'among you' that you have said."

He (a) answered: "The first one who distorted the Verse56 was son of Arwa,57 because it was evidence against his acquaintances and him. Without the existence of 'among you' in the Verse, the sentence of the punishment of Allah, Powerful and Majestic is He, will cease to be valid for all the creatures. If Allah will not ask any man or jinn about his sin, whom will he punish on the Day of Resurrection, then?"58

(44) HONORING THE SHIA IN PARADISE

Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin al-Waleed (r) narrated to us that Mohammed bin al-Hasan as-Saffar related to him… that al-Abbas bin Yazid said:

One day, I said to Abu Abdullah (a): Allah may make me your sacrifice. What is the meaning of: "If you were to see it, you would find it to be a great

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kingdom with great bounty (76:20)"? ____________56. Muslims generally and Shia particularly believe that the Quran is only what is between the two covers of the current copies of the Holy Quran without any addition or imperfection. However, this point was a matter of disagreement and exchangeable accusation among the different sects of Muslims, because of many reasons some of which is the existence of many reports and narratives claiming the distortion of the Quran in addition to the existence of a number of different copies of the Holy Quran each is referred to one of the Prophet's companions, such as Ubay bin Ka'b, Abdullah bin Mas'oud and others. Anyhow, when a statement is reported to have been added to a Quranic Verse, this means that the statement is only an explanation of the Verse, not a part of it, but was deleted or distorted.

57. Al-Majlisi commented: Son of Arwa is Othman bin Affan.

58. It is clear that this narration refers to the distortion of the Holy Quran, and this matter is absolutely rejected. The proof of the narration is imperfect. Besides, many other narrations solve this misunderstanding of the Verse. No single exegesist of the Holy Quran has referred to such a meaning for the intended Verse. Accordingly, this narration seems to be fabricated. Anyhow, it is recorded in the following reference books: Furat's Tafsir; 177, Taawil ul-Aayat; 2:638 H.20, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 7:273 H.45, 8:353 H.3, 8:360 H.28, 24:275 H.61, 68:144 H.91 and 92:56 H.31.

He said to me: "After Allah allows the people of Paradise to enter there, he sends a messenger to one of His disciples. The messenger will find on the door

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of that disciple some doorkeepers who will ask him to wait until they obtain permission for him. Hence, even the messenger of Allah cannot attend before the disciples before they are permitted. This is the meaning of Allah's saying: "If you were to see it, you would find it to be a great kingdom with great bounty (67:20)"59

(45) THE IMAMS ARE THE INTERCESSORS OF PARADISE

Mohammed bin Musa bin al-Mutawakkil (r) narrated to us that Mohammed bin Yahya al-Attar narrated to him from Ahmed bin al-Ayes… that Ja'far bin Mohammed (a) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, we will intercede for the sinful individuals among our Shia. Allah will save the righteous ones."60 ____________59. Refer to Me'aani al-Akhbar; 210 H.1 (He relates it to his father from Sa'd bin Abdullah from al-Hasan bin Musa al-Khashab from Yazid bin Ishaq from Abbas bin Yazid), al-Burhan; 4:415 H.2, and Bihar ul-Anwar; 8:197 H.188.

60. Refer to Mishkat ul-Anwar; 328 and Bihar ul-Anwar; 8:59 H.77.

Wa In-nahu Wali-at Taufeeq

1. INDEX OF THE QURANIC TEXTS

VERSE NUMBER PAGEAll intimate friends on that day… 43:67 411

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Among the believers, there are people… 33:23 410And you -the Shaitan- have no… 15:42 414Are those who know equal to those… 39:9 412But those to whom We have already promised … 21:101 400But why is it that we cannot see… 38:62 414Eblis, what prevented you from… 38:75 385He has not entered into Aqaba… 90:11 416I am All-forgiving to him who repented… 20:82 418If you were to see it, you would find… 76:20 444O soul that is serene… 89:27 423On that day, no mankind or jinn… 55:39 442On this day, masters will be of no benefit… 44:41 412One who obeys the Messenger has… 4:80 430So, no soul knows what is hidden for them… 32:17 435Take only what the Messenger gives… 59:7 430Tell My servants who have committed injustice… 39:53 413The angels glorify their Lord with His… 42:5 410The friend of the prophets, saints, shahids… 4:69 456They were the offspring of one another… 3:34 475

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We did not find many among them keeping… 7:102 453We shall remove all hatred… 15:47 453You have attained a high moral standard… 68:4 430

2. INDEX OF THE NARRATIONS

After Allah allows the people of Paradise to…

Imam as-Sadiq 444

Allah educated His Prophet (a)…

Imam as-Sadiq 430

Allah gives (the pleasures of) this world to anyone…

Imam al-Baqir 432

Be happy and announce this good news…

Amir ul-Mu'minin 387

By way of Allah's guard and protection, the Shia…

Imam as-Sadiq 395

Do you really like me… The Prophet 441

For any believer who has the love for you fixed in…

The Prophet 382

For anyone who loves Ali in his lifetime and after…

The Prophet 383

I know some people whom Allah has forgiven…

Imam as-Sadiq 395

I will punish every Muslim group who recognized… Qudsi 394I, by Allah, love you as well as your smells and…

Imam al-Baqir 386

It happens that a man loves Imam as-439

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you -the Shia- but he… SadiqNo two of you will be seen in Hell. Furthermore, no…

Imam ar-Ridha 442

No, by Allah. When the angel of death attends…

Imam as-Sadiq 422

O Abu Abdullah, may I tell you about the good…

Amir ul-Mu'minin 440

O Ali, all the souls of my people, including the…

The Prophet 427

O Ali, Allah has bestowed upon you with the love…

The Prophet 396

O Ali, ask your companions who acknowledge you…

The Prophet 403

O Ali, bear the good tidings to your brothers; Allah…

The Prophet 399

O Ali, do not turn away from supporting them who…

The Prophet 405

O Ali, he who loves us is the true Arab and he who…

The Prophet 391

Ali, he who loves you loves me and whoever…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, I am the city (of knowledge) and you are its…

The Prophet 397

O Ali, I am the support of him whoever you…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, I will be the first one who shakes off the dust…

The Prophet 400

O Ali, in Paradise, I saw a river that was whiter…

The Prophet 442

O Ali, in the Torah and the Gospel, your Shia and you…

The Prophet 402

O Ali, send my greetings to them whom I will not…

The Prophet 403

O Ali, the angels and the doorkeepers…

The Prophet 401

O Ali, the deeds of your Shia are presented before…

The Prophet 402

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O Ali, the good reference to your companions in the…

The Prophet 403

O Ali, the people who love you are every repentant…

The Prophet 397

O Ali, the people who love you will be the…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, the spirits of your Shia ascend to the heavens…

The Prophet 403

O Ali, the wrath of Allah is intense on anyone who…

The Prophet 404

O Ali, to fight you is to fight against me and to…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, you are the commander of the faithful…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, you are the most knowledgeable in this…

The Prophet 397

O Ali, you will have a treasure in Paradise. You are…

The Prophet 399

O Ali, your brothers are the dry-lipped ones…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, your brothers are the pure, chaste, and…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, your brothers will be happy in three…

The Prophet 398

O Ali, your Shia and you are the administrators of…

The Prophet 399

O Ali, your Shia and you will ask in the Situation…

The Prophet

O Ali, your Shia and you will be the guardians of…

The Prophet 400

O Ali, your Shia are the choice. Without you as well…

The Prophet 399

O Ali, your Shia compete with each other for…

The Prophet 402

O Ali, your Shia fear Allah secretly and advise…

The Prophet 402

O Malik, do you not accept to Imam as-43661

offer the (obligatory)… SadiqO Muawiya, Allah created the believers…

Imam as-Sadiq 418

O Omar, Allah surely grants the pleasures of this…

Imam as-Sadiq 441

O people, these are my household. You are…

The Prophet 428

O Sadir, our disciple worships Allah…

Imam as-Sadiq 419

On the Day of Resurrection, a servant's feet will not…

The Prophet 384

On the Day of Resurrection, some people dressing…

The Prophet 425

On the Day of Resurrection, some people will…

The Prophet 424

On the Day of Resurrection, we will intercede for…

Imam al-Baqir 444

Only he whom Allah grants favor through the…

Imam as-Sadiq 416

People disregarded the Prophet's saying about Ali…

Imam as-Sadiq 428

The love for Ali bin Abi Talib consumes the evil…

The Prophet 392

The love for my household and me will help in…

The Prophet 381

The most sure-footed of you on the Path will be the…

The Prophet 381

The sins of the believers are already forgiven…

Imam al-Baqir 431

There will be some men standing to the right and…

The Prophet 392

They eat, dress, and marry illegally. But you eat…

Imam as-Sadiq 440

We are witnesses on our Shia, and our Shia are…

Imam as-Sadiq 396

When a believer stands up for offering a prayer…

Imam as-Sadiq 433

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You are for Paradise and Paradise is yours. To us…

Imam as-Sadiq 433

You are the people of Allah's greeting and…

Imam as-Sadiq 394

Your houses are your paradises. Your graves are…

Imam as-Sadiq

3. INDEX OF THE NAMES OF THE SINLESS (used in this book – Fadhaail-ush-

Shia’ )

Adam: 385.Abraham: 391, 415, 427, 441.Ishmael: 441.Moses: 408.The Prophet: 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 387, 391, 392, 393, 396, 414, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 431, 434, 436, 441.Amir ul-Mu'minin: 387, 390, 412, 417, 423.Fatima: 385, 423.Al-Hasan bin Ali: 385, 423.Al-Hussein bin Ali: 383, 423, 441.Ali bin al-Hussein as-Sejjad: 380, 383, 441.Abu Ja'far Mohammed bin Ali al-Baqir: 380, 382, 383, 393, 425, 431, 432, 434, 441.Abu Abdullah Ja'far bin Mohammed as-Sadiq: 381, 383, 386, 394, 395, 396, 406, 416, 417, 418, 419, 422, 423, 426, 428, 430, 432, 433, 434, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 443, 444.Abu al-Hasan Musa bin Ja'far al-Kadhim: 383.Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Musa ar-Ridha: 442.

4. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Aamir al-Juhani: 394Aamir bin As-Simt: 427

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Aassim bin Hamid: 432, 442Abdirrahman as-Sarraj: 376Abdul-Ghaffar bin Mohammed al-Kelabi: 380Abdullah bin Aamir: 382, 439Abdullah bin al-Hussein al-Mueddib: 376Abdullah bin al-Mugheera: 385Abdullah bin Imran: 387Abdullah bin Ja'far al-Himyari: 397Abdullah bin Jibilla: 430Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdul-Wahab: 398, 390, 395Abu Abdullah al-Jadali: 429 Abu Bakr: 392, 393Abu Bassir: 390, 396, 417, 419Abu Dawoud al-Aama: 427Abu Hamza: 392, 393, 430Abu Ishaq an-Nahawi: 430Abu Rajaa: 376, 380Abu Saeed al-Khidri: 384Abu Tharr: 491Ahmed bin al-Ayes: 444Ahmed bin Ali al-Isfahani: 376Ahmed bin Idris: 427Ahmed bin Mohammed: 393 Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Khalid: 396Ahmed bin Yahya: 382Al-Abbas bin Yazid: 443Al-Alaa: 431Al-Harith bin Mohammed al-Ahwal: 434Al-Hasan bin Abdullah bin Saeed: 380Al-Hasan bin Ali bin Faddhal: 432, 439Al-Hasan bin Mahboub: 393Al-Hasan bin Rashid: 396Al-Hussein bin al-Hasan bin Eban: 390Al-Hussein bin Ibrahim: 382Al-Hussein bin Saeed: 390Ali bin Abi Hamza: 390Ali bin al-Hakam: 382Ali bin Aqaba: 441

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Ali bin Mohammed bin al-Hasan al-Qizwini: 382Ali bin Zaid: 383Al-Mufaddhal: 394Al-Mugheera bin Mohammed bin al-Muhallab al-Azdi: 380Al-Qasim bin Yahya: 396Amr bin Sulaiman: 383As-Sabah bin Sayyaba: 439Bakr bin Abdullah: 382Dawoud bin Kuthair ar-Raqqi: 418Eban bin Taghlib: 416Ebbad bin Sulaiman: 406, 416, 419Eblis: 385Eli: 402Essam bin Yousuf: 382Habib as-Sejistani: 393Hanzhala: 442Hemmad bin Yazid: 391Hemmad bin Zaid: 376, 380Husham: 382Husham bin Salem: 393Ibn Abbas: 391Ibn Jurada al-Barda'i: 383Ibn Maqbara: 382Ibn Mas'oud: 393Ibn Omar: 376Ismaeel bin Muslim ash-Shuairi: 381Ismaeel bin Tawba: 384 Ja'far bin Ali bin al-Hasan bin Ali: 381Ja'far bin Mohammed bin Masrour: 439Jabir: 380Maisar: 442Malik al-Juhani: 436Mansour as-Sayqal: 440Mohammed al-Qibtti: 428Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Aamir: 382Mohammed bin Abi Umair: 390, 428Mohammed bin Ahmed al-Qawariri: 384Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Ali al-Asadi: 383

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Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Hamdan al-Qushairi: 380Mohammed bin al-Fadhl: 432Mohammed bin al-Hasan as-Saffar: 398, 425, 426, 434, 443 Mohammed bin al-Hasan bin al-Waleed: 390, 443Mohammed bin al-Hussein: 434Mohammed bin al-Hussein bin Abi al-Khattab: 434Mohammed bin Ammar: 384Mohammed bin Aslam at-Tusi: 376Mohammed bin Ayyoub al-Kelabi: 383Mohammed bin Hamran: 386Mohammed bin Musa bin al-Mutawakkil: 393, 436, 444ohammed bin Muslim: 431Mohammed bin Qays: 425Mohammed bin Sulaiman: 406, 416Mohammed bin Ubaidullah: 382Mohammed bin Yahya al-Attar: 444Mohammed bin Ziyad: 392Muawiya ad-Duhani: 417Muawiya bin Ammar: 426, 430Musa an-Numayri: 441Mustafad bin Yahya: 392Nafii: 376Omar bin al-Khattab: 424, 426Omar bin Eban al-Kelbi: 438Omar bin Eban ar-Rifaee: 439Omar bin Hanzhala: 440Othman bin Aslam: 421Qanbar: 387Ruqayya: 385Sa'd bin Abdullah: 398, 418, 421, 425, 432, 442Sadir as-Sayrafi: 419Saeed bin Al-Musayyab: 383 Sulaiman: 418Sulaiman ad-Dailami: 406, 417Sulaiman bin Al-Amish: 384Thaalaba bin Omar: 439The Pharaoh: 418

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Ummu Ibrahim: 428Ya'qoub bin Yazid: 427Yahya bin Eban al-Qammat: 392Zaid bin Thabit: 383Zakariyya: 392Ziyad bin Abdullah al-Bukaai: 384

ISLAMIC TERMS

Allah: Almighty God.Ansar: The supporters. The people of Medina who received, welcomed, and protected the Prophet (s) and the Muhajirs.Azan: Announcement. The Muslim call to ritual prayer.Caliph: The chief civil and religious ruler of the Muslim community.Eblis: The Devil.Eid ul-Adha: Feast of sacrifice. A festival marking the culmination of the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca.Eid ul-Fitr: Feast of breaking fast. A festival marking the end of Ramadan.Esha' Prayer: The obligatory four-rak'a prayer of evening.Fajr Prayer: The obligatory two-rak'a prayer of dawn.Ghaybah: The stage of invisibility of Imam Al-Mahdi (a).Hadith: The body of traditions concerning the sayings, doings, and confirmations of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family.Hajj: The pilgrimage to the Sacred Mosque at Mecca undertaken in the twelfth month of the Muslim year and constituting one of the religious duties of Islam.

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Halal: The allowable according to the Islamic Sharia.Haram: The forbidden according to the Islamic Sharia.Imam: 1. One of the twelve immaculate Imams namely Ali bin Abi Talib, Al-Hasan bin Ali, Al-Hussein bin Ali, Ali bin Al-Hussein (As-Sejjad), Mohammed bin Ali (Al-Baqir), Ja'far bin Mohammed (As-Sadiq), Musa bin Ja'far (Al-Kadhim), Ali bin Musa (Ar-Ridha), Mohammed bin Ali (Al-Jawad), Ali bin Mohammed (Al-Hadi), Al-Hasan bin Ali (Al-Askari), and Mohammed bin Al-Hasan (Al-Mahdi) peace be upon them all. 2. A leader generally or of a collective prayer.Iqama: The prefatory statements of the ritual prayers.Jihad: Religious warfare or a war for the propagation or defense of Islam.Kaaba: The square-shaped building in the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca, in the direction of which Muslims must face in doing the obligatory prayer.Koreish: The tribe that inhabited Mecca in the time of The Prophet Muhammad (s) and to which he belonged. (Koreishite: one who belongs to Koreish)Maghrib Prayer: The obligatory three-rak'a prayer of sunset.Mahdi: For Shia, the twelfth Imam Mohammed bin Al-Hasan Al-Mahdi (a); the restorer of religion and justice who will rule before the end of the world.Masjid: Mosque.Mihrab: A niche in a mosque directing to the kiblah.Mimbar: The stage in a mosque from which sermons are delivered.Mosque: A place of worship.Muhajirs: The emigrants. The early Muslims of Mecca who had to flee their homeland to Medina.Mujahid: The performer of jihad.Munkar and Nakeer: The two angels whose mission is interrogating the dead in their graves.

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Quran (Koran): The Divine Book that was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (s).Rak'a: The unit of a prayer.Ramadan: The ninth month of the year in the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims observe strict fasting between dawn and sunset.Shahada: The Muslim profession of faith, La ilaha illa (A)llah, Muhammadun rasul Allah (There is no God but Allah, [and] Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).Shahid: The martyr in Islam.Shaitan: The Devil.Sharia: The Islamic code of religious law, based on the teachings of the Koran and the traditional sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).Sunna: The body of the Prophet Mohammed's words, deeds, and confirmations.Sura: Any of the sections of the Koran.Tahlil: Saying La ilaha illa (A)llah - There is no God but Allah:Taqiyah: (pious dissimulation). The belief of the concealment of the true beliefs in situations where harm or death will definitely be encountered if the true beliefs are declared.Tasbih: The saying of 'subhaanallah'-extolment of God.Umma: The Islamic community.Ummi: The inhabitant of Umm ul-Qura: Mecca.Umrah: A lesser pilgrimage to Mecca made independently of or at the same time as the hajj, and consisting of a number of devotional rituals performed within the city.

Zakat: The obligatory payment made annually under Islamic law on certain kinds of property and used for charitable and religious objects.

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NOTES

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BOOK 2

Pearls of WisdomStories of the Infallibles (a.s.)

and their noble companion

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Table of Contents

Pearls of Wisdom Stories of the Infallibles (a)

and their noble companions 

Are you asleep or awake? The Bedouin and the Prophet (s) 102The Caravan to Hajj In the Company of the Caliph Education in Islam The Fly The Gift The Guests 110A Letter to Abu Dharr (r.a.) 112On the Knowledge of God Neighbors First 115Not the Personalities 116The Pilgrimage Companion 117Poverty and Pomp 118

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Sacrifice of the Lamb 119The Shopkeeper 120The Stranger 122A Traveller in the Desert 124Tying the Camel Unfixed Labor 127The Use of Qur'an in Speech 128Wealth and Poverty 133

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Are you asleep or awake

Habbah 'Arni and Nawf Bakali were lying in the courtyard of Darul-Amarah (fort) of Kufah. After the midnight, they saw that the Leader of the Faithful, 'Ali (AS), was coming from the fort towards the coutyard. But his condition was bad; he was having extraordinary fear and was unable to keep the equilibrium of his body. Keeping his hands on the wall and having his body in bent position, he was walking slowly with the support of the wall. And he was reciting the last Ayahs of Surah Ali 'Imran as follows:

"Indeed in the creation of the heaven and the earth and alteration of the night and the day, there are signs for men of acumen. Those who extol Allah, standing, sitting and (lying) on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): 'Our Lord! You have not created this in vain! Glory is Yours; protect us against the torment of the Fire. Our Lord! indeed whomsoever You enter the Fire, You have surely disgraced him, and there shall be no helpers for the worngdoers. Our Lord! surely we have heard a caller calling to faith (saying): 'Believe in your

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Lord', so we did believe; Our Lord! forgive us, therefore, our sins and cover our evil deeds and recieve us with the righteous. Our Lord! grant uswhat You have promised us through Your messengers and do not disgrace us on the Resurrection Day; surely You do not break the promise (3: 190-194)."

As soon as he finished these Ayahs, his condition became bad; he then repeated these Ayahs again and again and his condition became bad to worse and he became almost unconscious.

Both Habbah and Nawf were witnessing this amazing scene, while lying on their beds. Habbah, while quite startled, was looking this astonishing scene.

But Nawf was unable to control his tears and he was continuously weeping. By this tim, 'Ali (AS) reached the bed of Habbah and said: "Are you awake or asleep?"

Habbah replied: "I am awake, O Leader of the Pious! If a person like you has such a condition with awe and fear of Allah, then what would heppen to we poor people."

The Leader of the Pious looked down and wept. He then said: "O Habbah! all of us will be presented before Allah one day. And no deed of ours is hidden from Him. He is very near to you and me. Nothing can act as an obstruction between us and Allah.

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Then he said to Nawf: "Are you asleep?" (Nawf replied:) "No, O Leader of the Pious! I am awake. It is for some time that I am shedding my tears."

'Ali (AS) said: "O Nawf! If today you shed your tears in fear of Allah, tomorrow your eyes will glitter.

"O Nawf! No one has more respect than that person who cries in the fear of Allah and that he likes to do it only for His sake.

"O Nawf! The one who loves Allah and that whatever he loves, he does it just for the sake of Allah, does not prefer anything over love of Allah. And the one who dislikes anything, and does it for the sake of Allah, he would receive nothing except virtue for his disliking. Whenever you reach such a stage, you have attained the truths of faith to their perfection."

After this, he preached and gave a peice of advice to Habbah and Nawf. His last sentence was: "I have told you that you should fear from Allah." Then he passed by both of them and got busy with his own work. He started his prayers and while doing so, he said: "O Allah! I wish I knew that when I am neglectful towards You, do You ignore me or do You still care for me? I wish I knew that in these long neglectful dreams of mine and in my shortcomings in thanking you, what is my position before You?'

Habbah and Nawf said: "By Allah! he kept on walking and he had the same condition continuously till dawn."

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Taken from: Anecdotes of Pious Men by Br. Mutahhari Contributed by Sister Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu

The Bedouin and the Prophet (s)

#11, v.1 from Anecdotes of Pious Ones, contributed by Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu.

The Bedouin entered Madina, and went directly to the Masjid, so that he may get some money or gold from the Prophet (pbuh&hf). When he arrived, he saw the Prophet (pbuh&hf) sitting among his companions. He asked his need. The Prophet (pbuh&hf) gave his something. He was not content, and moreover he used harsh and inappropriate language against the Prophet (pbuh&hf). The companions became very angry,

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and were ready to hurt him. But the Prophet (pbuh&hf) prevented them from haste.

The Prophet (pbuh&hf) took the Bedouin to his home, and gave him some more. The Bedouin saw that the residence of the Prophet (pbuh&hf) wasn't like those of the heads of governments, and there is no luxury in his home.

The Bedouin became content with the share, and thanked the Prophet. At this time, the Prophet (pbuh&hf) asked him: "You said a harsh word yesterday, which caused anger in my companions. I fear that they will hurt you. Would you be willing to show your appreciation in front of them, so that their anger be resolved, and they don't hurt you?" The Bedouin said: "Sure."

The next day, the Bedouin came to the Masjid. The Prophet (pbuh&hf) addressed his companions: "This man says, he is content with his share, is it true?" The Bedouin said: "That is true." Then he repeated the appreciation that he had shared with Prophet (pbuh&hf). The companions smiled.

The Prophet addressed the group: "The parable of me and these types of individuals is like that of the man whose camel was running away from him. With the [thought] they could help the owner, people were running after the camel. The camel was frightened and ran faster. The owner called on the people, please leave my camel alone, I know better how to calm it. When the people stopped chasing the camel, the owner followed it calmly, with a fistful of grass. Then

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without the need for running, yelling, he showed the grass to it.

The Caravan to Hajj

#7, v.1 from Anecdotes of Pious Ones, contributed by Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu.

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A caravan of Muslims was headed towards Mecca. As it arrived in Madina, it rested a few days, and continued on towards Mecca.

On their way from Madina to Mecca, a man joined the group. This man noticed one of them who had the appearance of a guided person. He was eagerly busy in service of the passengers. The man recognized him. With much surprise, he asked the pilgrims if they knew this man who was at their service.

"No, we don't know him. He joined us in Madina. He is a descent and pious man. We haven't asked him for help. But he has been eager in helping us."

"Obviously you don't know him. For if you did, you would never have allowed a man like him to be at your service."

"Who is this person?"

"This is 'Ali ibn al-Hussein, Zain al-'Abideen."

The group stood with shame and apologized to the Imam (as). Then complaining to him, they said:

"Why did you treat us as such? We may have gone beyond our bounds in our ignorance, and would have commited a big sin in being disrespectful to you."

Imam (as):

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"I intentionally joined your group, for you didn't know me. When I join a group, where people know me, for the sake of the Prophet (pbuh&hf), they are very kind to me. They don't allow me to be of some service. Thus I was eager to join a group where I will be anonymous, so that I may have the honor of being of some service to my brethren." (1) (1): Bihar, v.1 p.21

In the Company of the Caliph 82

#9, v.1 from Anecdotes of Pious Ones, contributed by Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu.

When 'Ali (as) was coming to Kufa, he entered the city of Anbar populated by Iranians. The Iranian farmers were very happy to see their beloved caliph passing through their town. They came to his visit. When it was time for 'Ali (as) to leave, they started running infront of his horse. 'Ali (as) inquired about this behaviour.

"This is one way that we extend respect to our leaders and respectful individuals. This is our custom that has been practiced for years."

"This behaviour puts you in discomfort in this world, and brings about humiliation in the next world. Always stay away from practices that humiliate you. After all what benifit is their in such a practice to the recipients?" (1)

(1): Nahj al Balagha. Kalamat-e Qhisar (Short words), # 37.

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The Prophet (S.A.W.) and Education

In the Name Of Allah the Beneficient The Merciful

The mosque of Medina was not only a place of worship. The believers assembled here to learn. When the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was present they heard his words of wisdom, his elucidation on the verses of the Holy Quran and benefitted from his counsel. And when he (S.A.W.) was not present, other faithful companions taught what they had heard from the Prophet of Allah.

Once the Prophet (S.A.W.) entered the Mosque before the prayer time. He found two groups in the Mosque. One group was busy with its own act of worship, some were reading the Quran while the others were supplicating. The other group was in a corner busy learning. They learnt how to read and write and discussed the teachings of Islam and their application to their daily lives.

Looking at both, the Prophet (S.A.W.) said: "They are both engaged in useful pursuits.

But I am a teacher. I shall join the group assembled to learn."

And so he (S.A.W.) sat with the group of students. References: Tuhaful Uqool - Abu Muhammad Al Harrani Biharul Anwar - Allamah Majlisi Al Amthalun Nabawiyyah - Muhammad Al Gharawi

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Dastan e Rastan - Allamah Murtaza Mutahheri A Compilation of some events in the book "Unto Thee I Grant ....."

Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas abbas@seas.gwu.edu

The Fly

It was an Abbasid court, with all the splendor. Mansoor was the King. Just as Mansoor was attending the business to state, a small fly sat on his nose. With a wave of his hand, he whisked it off. But the fly sat on his nose again. This continued till at last Mansoor felt greatly disturbed.

Turning to Imam Jafer as Sadiq, alayhis salaam, who was present that day, he said: O Son of the Prophet, peace be upon him, can you tell me why Allah created these lousy flies? "Yes", the Imam, said: "So that the mighty and the proud are rendered humble and helpless."

From Unto Thee I Grant...

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The Gift

Whenever they reaped their first harvest, they brought early, fresh fruits to the Prophet, peace be upon him. Then he would distribute them among those who sat around him. This morning, a poor man brought one fruit from his small farm and gave it to the Prophet, peace be upon him.

He accepted the gift, tasted it and then went on eating it alone while the companions watched. One of those present meekly said: O Prophet of Allah, you have over looked the right of those who watch while you eat?

The Prophet, peace be upon him, smiled and waited till the man who had brought the fruit had gone. He said:

I tasted the fruit and it was not yet ripe. Had I allowed you to have some of it, someone would have definitely shown his distaste, thus dissapointing the poor man who had brought the gift. Rather than make him feel bitter, my palate accepted the bitterness.

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From Unto Thee I Grant...

The Guests

A father and a son were once guests of Imam Ali (as). As they arrived, Imam received them warmly and arranged for their comfortable accommodation. In a room where they were seated, Imam sat opposite them, engaging them in a friendly conversation. And then it was time for the meal. After food had been served and eaten, Qambar, Imam's servant, brought a basin and a pitcher full of water for washing the guests' hands. Imam took the pitcher himself and asked the father to extend his hands so that he would pour the water.

"How is it possible that my Imam serves me? It should be otherwise," the guest said.

Imam Ali said: "Here is your brother in faith, eager to serve his brother and to earn the pleasure of Allah. Why do you prevent him?"

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But the guest hesitated. Finally Imam said: "As your Imam, I request that you allow me the honour of this service."

And when the guest complied, Imam said: "Let your hands be washed thoroughly. Do not hasten, thinking that I should be relieved of this duty early."

When it was the son's turn, Imam instructed his own son Muhammad b. Hanafiyyah, to hold the pitcher and wash the guest's hands. Looking at his son, Imam said:

I washed your father's hands. My son washed your hands. If your father had not been my guest today, I would have washed your hands myself. But Allah loves to see that when a father and a son are present in a place, the father enjoys a privilege and a priority.

Taken from: Pearls of WisdomA String of Incidents in the History of Islam Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas, abbas@seas.gwu.edu

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A Letter to Abu Dharr (r.a.)

He knew the Prophet, peace be upon him, loved and respected Abu Dharr Ghifari. But as he was stationed far away, it was not possible to benefit from the presence of Abu Dharr. So he wrote a letter. In this letter he sought from Abu Dharr, counsel and admonition which would guide him in his behaviuor.

Abu Dharr wrote back:

Do not be an enemy of whom you love most.

And as he went through the reply, he was disappointed. What did Abu Dharr mean? How would one ever act as an enemy to the most

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beloved? But on the other hand, he thought, Abu Dharr was no ordinary person. There must be a deeper meaning, so he wrote to him again seeking explanation.

'The meaning is quite simple', Abu Dharr wrote, 'To every living being the most beloved is its own self. To you, your self is the most beloved and when I admonished you not to act as an enemy, I meant do not be your own enemy. Remember when a man commits a sin, and acts contrary to the behests of Allah, he harms himself.'

Taken from Unto Thee We Grant...

On the Knowledge of God

A Bedouin approached Imam Ali (as) in the Battle of Camel and asked if he asserted that God was one. In answer, Imam Ali (as) said:

To say that God is one has four meanings; Two of these meanings are false and two correct. As for the two incorrect meanings, one is that one should say 'God is one' and be thinking of number and counting. This meaning is false because that which has no second cannot enter into the category of number. Do you not see that those who said that God is the third of trinity [i.e, the Christians] fell into infidelity? Another

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meaning is to say that so and so is one of this people, namely as a species of this genus or a member of this species. This meaning is also not correct when applied to God, for it implies likening something to God and God is above all likeness.

As for the two meanings that are correct when applied to God, one is that it should be said that God is one in the sense that there is no likeness unto Him among things. God possesses such uniqueness. And one is to say that God is one on the sense that there is no multiplicity or division conceiveable in Him, neither outwardly nor in the mind nor in the imagination. God possesses such unity.

Also Imam Ali (as) said:

To know God is to know His Oneness.

This means that to prove that the Being of God is unlimited and infinite suffices to prove His Oneness, for to conceive a second for the Infinite is impossible. Ref: Shi'ite Islam - Page 127-28Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn TabatabaiTranslated by Seyyed Hossein Nasr Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas, abbas@seas.gwu.edu

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Neighbors First

The child had made it a habit to rise regularly in the small hours of the night and join his mother in her nightly prayers called Tahajjud. He observed that his mother prayed for all Muslim men and women. She remembered them by name and prayer for their prosperity and well being.

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O Allah, pardon them their sins and let Your grace embrace them in all their dealings.

On this particular morning, he decided to ask. When the prayers were over, he asked:

Mother, you pray for all every day. Not a word for yourself or any one in the family?

Bibi Fatima, blessings and salutations to her, said: 'O Hasan, remember one thing. Neighbors first and then the house.'

From Unto Thee We Grant...

Not the Personalities

It was the famous or rather infamous battle of Jamal, where armies of Muslims arranged themselves against each other. On one side were Talha and Zubair, the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his cleansed progeny, at the head was Ummul Mu'mineen

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Aisha, the Prophet's wife. On the other side was an army led by Amir ul Mu'mineen, Imam Ali, peace be upon him.

The Imam, tried his best to avert the war, but the opposition remained adamant. They said they were out to avenge the blood of Uthman. As the battle raged on, a companion who had been watching in detachment slowly advanced to Imam Ali, peace be upon him, and said:

O Ali, is it possible to believe that men like Talha and Zubair and a lady like Aisha, the mother of the faithful have all joined hands on the wrong side?

The Imam, peace be upon him, replied:

You have tangled yourself in a misleading argument. Truth and untruth are not judged by the personalities. Discern the truth first and then know its followers. Recognise the untruth and then identify its adherents.

Taken from: Unto Thee We Grant...

The Pilgrimage Companion

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#5, v.1 from Anecdotes of Pious Ones, contributed by Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu.

A man had returned from Hajj. He was relating his adventures to Imaam Sadiq (as), and his companion. He was most impressed with one of his companions of Hajj, and was praising him. What a gracious man, we were so blessed to have him with us, he was busy praying and worshiping all the time. As we would stop somewhere, he would rush to a corner and start prayers.

Imam (as): "Then who was attending to his duties? Who was watering and feeding his animal (ride)?"

Man: "Of course, we had the honor of doing all that for him. He was busy in his sacred quest, and had nothing to do with such mundane things."

Imam(as): "Then indeed, you all are better than him."

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Poverty and Pomp

Behlool liked to visit the graveyards. "People here are good friends", he used to say, "They do not backbite." Once, he sat in a corner of a graveyard and with a long heavy stick started probing some of the old skulls which lay scattered about. Harun Rashid, the king passed by, and saw him. The he said: O Behlool, what are you doing?

Oh nothing very important, said Behlool. I am just trying to find out whether the skulls belong to kings or paupers. They are all the same.

And what is the stick for, Harun asked.

Well, I am measuring the earth, Behlool replied.

Measuring the earth? What are your findings? Harun joked!

It is equal and the same, O King! Behlool retorted. Three armlengths for me, inspite of my poverty and three armlengths for you, in spite your pomp and wealth.

From Unto Thee We Grant...

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Sacrifice of the Lamb

#6, v.1 from Anecdotes of Pious Ones, contributed by Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu.

Just as the Prophet (pbuh&hf), and his companions landed from their rides, and laid the loads down, it was decided that they would sacrifice a lamb for dinner.

One of the companions volunteered: "I will sacrifice the lamb."

Another: "I will skin it."

Third: "I will cook it."

Fourth: " I will...."

The Prophet (pbuh&hf): "I will gather the wood from the desert."

The group: "O Messenger of Allah, it is not becoming of you to discomfort yourself as such. You rest. We will be honored to do all this on our own."

The Prophet (pbuh&hf): "I know that you are eager to do it all, but Allah isn't pleased with the

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slave who disguinshes between himself and his companions, and considers himself better than others." (1)

Then he went to the desert, and gathered some wood, and brought it to the group. (2)

(2) Kahl al Basar, p. 68 The Shopkeeper

A heavy-built tall man was passing through the market of Kufa, his step firm and assured. He had fine figure and sun-burnt face; encounters of the battle-field had left their marks on him and the corner of one of his eyes was slit. A shop-keeper, to amuse his friends, threw a handful of sweepings onto the man. The man continued his walk in the same assured and firm manner, without raising an eye-brow or looking towards the shop-keeper. When he went away, a friend of the shop-keeper said: "Do you know who the man is whom you have insulted just now?"

"No, I don not recognise him. He was a passer-by like thousands of people passing this way everyday. But tell me who was this man."

"Strange! Didn't you recognise him?! He was Malik Ashtar, the renowned Commander-in-Chief of Ali (AS)."

"Strange! He was Malik Ashtar?! The same Malik whose bravery turns the heart of lion into water and mention of whose name makes his enemies tremble with fear?"

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"Yes, that was Malik himself"

"Woe to me! What did I do? Now he will give order to punish me severely. I must run to him immediately to apologise and pray him to forgive my misbehaviour."

He ran after Malik. He saw him turning towards a mosque. He followed him to the Mosque and saw that he had started praying. He waited till he finished his prayer. Humbly introducing himself he told him: "I am the man who had committed the silly prank and behaved disrespectfully to you" Malik said: "But, by Allah, I did not come in the mosque but for your sake; because I knew that you were a very ignorant and misguided man and that you give trouble to the people without any cause. I felt pity on you and came here to pray for you and ask Allah to lead you onto the right path. No, I did not have any such intentions as you were afraid of."

Taken from: Anecdotes of Pious Men by Br. Mutahhari Contributed by Sister Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu

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The Stranger

Taken from Anecdotes of Pious Men, Allama Murtaza Motahhari

Tired and exhausted with the water-skin on her back, she was gasping and going towards her house where innocent children, their eyes fixed at the door, were eagerly waiting for the arrival of their mother. On her way, an unknown man ap- proached her. He took the water-skin from her and placed it on his back. The door opened and the children saw their mother entering the house with a stranger. He placed the water-skin on the ground and said:

"Well,it seems you don't have anyone to fetch water for you; how come you are so forlorn?"

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"My husband was a soldier; Ali sent him to the frontier where he was killed. Now I am alone with these small children"

The stranger said no more. Bowing down his head he went away. But the thought of the help- less window and orphans remained in his mind. He could hardly sleep in the night. Early in the morn- ing he picked up a basket; put some meat, flour and dates in it; went straight to her house and knocked at the door.

"Who are you?"

"I am the man who brought your water yes- terday. Now I have brought some food for the children"

"May God bless you and judge between us and Ali"

She opened the door. Entering the house she said:

"I wish to do some good acts. Either let me knead the flour and bake the bread or allow me to look after the children"

"Very well, but I can do the job of kneading and cooking better than you. You take care of the children till I finish cooking"

She went to knead the flour Immediately he grilled some meat which he had brought and fed the children saying to each child while putting morsel in his mouth:

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"My son, forgive Ali if he has failed in his duty towards you"

The flour got ready; she called: "Gentlemen! put fire in the oven" He went and put fire in the oven. When flames rose up, he brought his face near the fire and said,

"Taste the heat of fire. It is the punishment for those who fail in their duty towards orphans and widows."

By chance, a woman from the neighbouring house came in. Recognizing the stranger, she cried: "Woe, don't you recognize the man who is helping you? He is Amirul-Muumineen (comman- der of the faithful) Ali bin Abi-Talib" The widow came forward and shame facedly cried:

"Curse and shame to me. I beg your pardon."

"No,I beg your pardon for I failed in my duty towards you."

Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas, abbas@seas.gwu.edu

A Traveller in the Desert

In the name of Allah the Beneficient the Merciful

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Kufa was now the seat of the Islamic rule. The entire Muslim world with the exception of Damascus looked towards Kufa for guidance. They travelled to Kufa often.

Two men were in each other's company on the road to Kufa. One was a Muslim and the other was a non-Muslim. As they progressed, the non-Muslim traveller asked his companion:

I am going further than Kufa, to a small village where I live.

Where are You going ?

His Muslim companion said:

I live in Kufa.

They proclaimed happily, discussing various things, helping each other, all in a spirit of cordiality. When they drew near to Kufa, the non-Muslim took a side road towards his village. Just as he was about to bid farewell, he observed that his Muslim companion was coming with him.

Didn't you tell me that you are going to Kufa where you lived?

The Muslim replied:

Yes, of course.

On this the non-Muslim inquired: Then why were you coming this way? That is the only road leading to Kufa?

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I know, said the Muslim, but we have long been companions. Our Prophet (S.A.W) said that when two are companions to each other on a journey they have obligations and duties towards each other. You gave me company and now it is my duty to follow you a few steps and then make a gentle departure.

No wonder that your Prophet (S.A.W.) managed to spread his faith so quickly. His teachings were indeed great.

And then it so happened that once the same non-Muslim entered Kufa. There he found that his Muslim companion had been none other but the Khalifa of his time, Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.). He soon became a Muslim and remained the most faithful of companion of the Imam.

Reference: Pearls Of Wisdom Assafina Publications The World Federation of K.S.I Muslim Communities London - 1985 Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas abbas@seas.gwu.edu

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Tying the Camel

#4, v.1 from Anecdotes of Pious Ones, contributed by Mahwash Hirmendi, mhirmend@opal.tufts.edu.

The caravan had been traveling for few hours now. Signs of fatigue were obvious on their faces. They arrived at a point and stopped. The Prophet (pbuh&hf) who was also in the caravan, stopped and camel, and landed. Prior to anything, they were in search of water to prepare for prayer.

The Prophet (pbuh&hf), also started searching for water. But soon, returned to his camel, without saying anything to anyone. The campanions were surprised that the Prophet had ordered stopping here, and now perhaps he would like to move again? Eyes and ears were awaiting his order. But the surprise of the group increased as they saw him approach his camel, and tied its knees, and returned back in search of water.

Noises were raised from every corner: " O Prophet of Allah! Why didn't you order us to do this for you, and instead you put yourself in discomfort? We would have proudly done that service for you."

The Prophet (pbuh&hf) responded: "Never seek others' help in your affairs, don't lean on others,

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even if it is a small peice of Miswak (the wood used for brushing teeth)." (1)

(1): Kahl al Basar, Muhaddith Qhummi, p. 69.

Unfixed Labor

Suleiman b. Ja'fer accompanied Imam Ali b. Musa ar-Ridha (AS) to work. It was late in the evening when they returned. Just as Suleiman wanted to part, Imam said: "Why don't you be my guest tonight?" Suleiman complied.

When they entered the house, a group of Imam's servants were busy in the garden. Imam looked at them and found a stranger among them working on a small patch. "Who is he?" Imam queried. "We have hired him to help us finish the work," the servants replied. "Very well," Imam said. "How much labour has been fixed for him?"

The servants said that nothing had been fixed but they would pay him something at the end. Immediately Imam (AS) showed his displeasure. His voice rose with anger and the servants were terrified.

How often have I told you that the labour must be fixed before hiring? If you exact labour from a worker without telling how much you would pay him, he would never be satisfied at the end. And I do not mind if you pay him more than what you

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promised him. But his wage must be fixed from the beginning. And remember, pay a worker before his sweat dries on his body.

From Unto Thee We Grant...

On Qur'anic Conversation

In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful.

The Muslims in the life time of the Prophet (S.A.W.) were brought up to learn the Qur'an as Ibadat (Devotion), to recite it as Devotion, to write it down as Devotion, to teach their children and other people and make them learn it by heart and understand it as Devotion. They became so familiar with it that they used the verses of the Holy Quran in their daily conversation.

History records that Janab e Fidah, the noble Abysinian housemaid of Hazrat Fatima Az-Zahra, the Lady of Paradise, the daughter of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was in the habit of using the verses and words of the Quran in her conversation. Abul Qasim Qashiri relates the dialogue between Fidah and Abdullah bin Mubarak; I saw a woman passing through the desert who had fallen

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behind the caravan, and asked her "Who are you and where are you from ?"

She said : " Say Salaam!

.... Soon shall ye know it ." ( Chapter 6 Verse 67 )

I learned that she expected me to greet her and say Assalamu Alaikum first, before any question. I did as she reminded, and inquired why she was in this desert.

She answered :

" Whomesoever God guideth, then none shall beguille . " ( Chapter 39 Verse 37 )

I gathered that she was left behind and thus restless, so I asked again are you a human being or a jinn?

She returned :

" O children of Adam ! Be Ye adorned at every time of prostration .... " ( Chapter 7 Verse 31 )

I discovered that she was a human being, so I continued my enquiry, Where are you coming from?

She said : ".... Who are called to from a place far off. " ( Chapter 41 Verse 44 )

I found out that she was coming from a place far off and inquired her destination.

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She immediately responded :

" ........ And for God is incumbent upon mankind the Pilgrimage of the House..... " ( Chapter 3 Verse 97 )

I realized that she was going for Hajj ( Pilgrimage of the Kaaba ), and asked her how many days she had been travelling?

She told me:

" Indeed created We ( God ) the heavens and the earth and what is between them to in Six days . " ( Chapter 7 Verse 54 ) and ( Chapter 50 Verse 38 )

I concluded it was six days. I requested her to have food and water if she was so inclined.

She politely indicated : " We ( God ) made them not such bodies that do not eat food, and they will not abide ( in this world ) for ever. " ( Chapter 21 Verse 8 )

She accepted my refreshment. Then to catch the caravan, I suggested her to make haste.

She reminded me again :

" God tasks not any soul beyond ( individual ) ability...... " ( Chapter 2 Verse 286 )

I told her that if she could'nt do so, let her ride on the back of my camel behind me.

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She recited another Quranic Verse :

" If there were therein gods besides Allah, then verily both ( the heavens and the earth ) would have been disordered ...." ( Chapter 21 Verse 22 )

It was a reminder of piety that when a man was not a husband of a woman, it was un-lawful to ride together on the same animal. [ It is an Islamic Law concerning the relatives of persons of prohibited degree - Namahiram ].

Qashiri says that he got down and requested her to ride the camel.

She occupied the seat and recited :

" Hallowed is He who subjected this ( animal ) unto us ." ( Chapter 43 Verse 13 ).

She thanked Allah who brought the animal under her control. When we reached the caravan, I asked her do you know any one among them?

She recounted :

" O Dawud ( David ), We have appointed thee a vicegerent in the earth .........." ( Chapter 38 Verse 26 );

" And Muhammad is not but an Apostle ...... " ( Chapter 3 Verse 144 );

" O Yahya ( John the Baptist ) ! Hold thou the Book fast !......... . " ( Chapter 19 Verse 12 );

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" O Musa ( Moses ) ! Verily it is, I am God the All-Mighty ." ( Chapter 27 Verse 9 )

I understood that Dawud, Muhammad, Yahya and Musa were the names of her sons. When the boys appeared, I asked her who they were?

She said in her habitual manner :

" Wealth and Children are the adornment of this World ............... " ( Chapter 18 Verse 46 )

I recognized them as her sons. The woman looked at her sons with the feeling of contentment and uttered,

" ... O my father ! Employ him verily the best of those who canst employ is the strongman and trusted ones. " ( Chapter 28 Verse 26 )

In these words of the Quran, she informed the sons indicating towards me that

" ..... This man offered me a gift ( i.e help ), so verliy God giveth manifold increase to whomsoever He willeth . " ( Chapter 2 Verse 261 )

The sons grasped their mother's indications, and so they paid me twice as much as I ought to have been paid. To satisfy my curiosity I asked the sons, who is this honorable Lady that speaks nothing but the Qur'an? They responded that she was their mother, the housemaid of Hazrat Fatima Al Zahra (peace be upon her and her

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progeny), the daughter of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and the Wife of Amir Al Momineen (A.S.). She was raised under the shade of supreme knowledge and piety of the daughter of the Prophet (S.A.W.). Since 20 years she spoke nothing but the Quran in her daily conversations.

May Allah Bless her soul ( Amen ! ) ........

Reference: Essence Of The Holy Quran The Eternal Light by Ayatullah Agha Haji Mirza Mahdi Pooya Edited by Syed Muhammad Murtaza & Husain P Taylor ISBN 0-944880-02-9 ( Hard Back ) 03-7 ( Paper Back )

Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas abbas@seas.gwu.edu

Wealth and Poverty

In the name of Allah the Beneficient the Merciful

It was a usual meeting. The Prophet (S.A.W.) was in his place and his companions gathered around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance. Suddenly a poor man in rags appeared, saluted the assembly :

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"Salamun Alaikum" (Peace be on you)

and finding a vacant place, comfortably sat down.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) had taught them that all Muslims were brothers and in an assembly one should sit wherever one finds a place, regardless of any status. Now, it so happened that this poor man was seated next to a very rich man. The rich man felt very disturbed and tried to collect the edges of his dress around himself, so that the poor man didn't touch them. The Prophet (S.A.W.) observed this and addressing the rich man he said:

" Perhaps you are afraid that his poverty would affect you?"

" No, O Messenger of Allah," he said.

"Then perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your wealth flying away to him?"

" No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Or you feared that your clothes would become dirty if he touched them?"

" No, O Messenger of Allah."

" Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from him?"

The rich man said:

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"I admit that was the most undesirable thing to do. It was an error and I confess my guilt. Now to make amends for it I will give away half of my wealth to this Muslim brother so that I may be forgiven."

Just as he said this, the poor man rose and said,

" O Prophet of Allah, I do not accept this offer."

People present were taken by surprise, they thought that the poor man was a fool, but then he explained:

" O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept this offer because I fear that I might then become arrogant and illtreat my Muslim brothers the way he did to me."

Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas abbas@seas.gwu.edu

Wa In-nahu Wali-at Taufeeq

NOTES

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BOOK 3

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Lantern of the

Path

by  Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.)

   

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 Reproduced with permission by the Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project

team

Lantern Index

of the Pathby Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.)

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Title Introduction

Section 1-Bondage ('Ubudiyah)Section 2-More on BondageSection 3-On Lowering the GazeSection 4-On WalkingSection 5-On KnowledgeSection 6-Giving JudgementSection 7-Enjoining what is Good and Forbidding what is EvilSection 8-How the Men of Knowledge are RuinedSection 9-Guarding Oneself (Ri'ayah)Section 10-ThankfulnessSection 11-On Leaving your HomeSection 12-On Reciting the Qur'anSection 13-DressSection 14-Showing OffSection 15-TruthfulnessSection 16-SinceritySection 17-PrecautionSection 18-Fearing AllahSection 19-Social InteractionsSection 20-SleepSection 21-PilgrimageSection 22-CharitySection 23-IntentionSection 24-RemembranceSection 25-The Ruin of the RecitersSection 26-Clarification of Truth and FalsehoodSection 27-The Gnosis of the ProphetsSection 28-The Recognition of the ImamsSection 29-Recognition of the CompanionsSection 30-The Honour and Sanctity of the

Believers

Section 31-Dutifulness to ParentsSection 32-Humility

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286287288290292294296298300302304306308310312314317319320322324326328329331333335336337339341

Section 33-IgnoranceSection 34-EatingSection 35-Evil WhisperingSection 36-PrideSection 37-GenerositySection 38-Self-ReckoningSection 39-Opening the PrayerSection 40-Bowing in PrayerSection 41-Prostration in PrayerSection 42-The TashahhudSection 43-SalamSection 44-RepentanceSection 45-RetreatSection 46-SilenceSection 47-Intellect and Passion

Section 48-EnvySection 49-GreedSection 50-CorruptionSection 51-Well-beingSection 52-WorshipSection 53-ReflectionSection 54-RestSection 55-AvariceSection 56-ClarificationSection 57-JudgementsSection 58-SiwakSection 59-Using the LavatorySection 60-PurificationSection 61-Entering the MosqueSection 62-SupplicationSection 63-FastingSection 64-AbstinenceSection 65-A Description of this WorldSection 66-Reluctance to ActSection 67-DelusionSection 68-A Description of the Hypocrite

Section 69-Proper Social TransactionSection 70-Taking and GivingSection 71-BrotherhoodSection 72-Consultation

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Section 73-ForbearanceSection 74-Following Another's ExampleSection 75-PardonSection 76-ExhortationSection 77-Advice (wasiyah)Section 78-Trustful RelianceSection 79-Respect for One's BrothersSection 80-Striving and DisciplineSection 81-Contemplation of DeathSection 82-Good OpinionSection 83-Entrusting Oneself to AllahSection 84-CertaintySection 85-Fear and HopeSection 86-ContentmentSection 87-AfflictionSection 88-PatienceSection 89-SorrowSection 90-ModestySection 91-Gnosis (ma 'rifah)Section 92-Love of AllahSection 93-Love for the Sake of AllahSection 94-YearningSection 95-WisdomSection 96-Making ClaimsSection 97-Taking HeedSection 98-ContentednessSection 99-Slander

Introduction

 The path of Islam contains a most comprehensive and total system of conduct for the wayfarer. The

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outer behaviour of a true Muslim reflects what is deep in his inner consciousness.  As creation is based on unity, tawhid as it is called in Arabic, every aspect of human experience reflects an aspect of unity. The Muslim is he who has submitted and surrendered in peace and knowledge to this wholesome and naturally balanced ecology. The outer courtesy of behaviour emanates from an inner equilibrium. Outer certainty emanates from inner submission and contentment. Outer nobility and courage emanate from inner awareness of the immense mercy and compassion of the Creator. The outer behaviour, courtesies, practices and rituals of Islam are all manifestations of a subtler and finer inner conditioning, and the balanced fusion of the outer and the inner in the journey of this world. If there is an inner attribute there must be a corresponding outer expression, which is a symptom of an inner attribute. In his teachings, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq shows the way to equilibrium in a most inspired way of tawhid. As a man of insight and knowledge he sees the unified hand and demonstrates it to the sincere seeker. These teachings can be of benefit to anyone who has an interest in spiritual matters and is concerned with benefiting from the path of Islam. The Imam's explanations in 'The Lantern of the Path' contain many levels of understanding. Much depends upon the state of the seeker and the extent of his sincerity. Although this book is small, its meanings are vast. We pray to Allah to increase our knowledge and experience of His vast compassion and mercy.   Fadhlallah Haeri

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Bondage ('Ubudiyah)

 The roots of conduct have four aspects: conduct with Allah, conduct with the self, conduct with creation (i.e. people), and conduct with this world. Each of these aspects is based upon seven principles, just as there are seven principles of conduct with Allah: giving Him His due, keeping His limits, being thankful for His gift, being content with His decree, being patient with His trials, glorifying His sanctity, and yearning for Him. The seven principles of conduct with the self are fear, striving, enduring harm, spiritual discipline, seeking truthfulness and sincerity, withdrawing the self from what it loves, and binding it in poverty (faqr). The seven principles of conduct with creation are forbearance, forgiveness, humility, generosity, compassion, good counsel, justice and fairness. The seven principles of conduct with this world are being content with what is at hand, preferring what is available to what is not, abandoning the quest for the elusive, hating overabundance, choosing abstinence (zuhd), knowing the evils of this world and

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abandoning any desire for it, and negating its dominance. When all these qualities are found in one person, he is then one of Allah's elite, one of His close bondsman and friends (awliya')

More on Bondage

 Bondage is an essence, the inner nature of which is lordship (rububiyah). Whatever is missing in bondage is found in lordship, and whatever is veiled from lordship is found in bondage. As Allah said, ه الحق أولم ن لهم أن ى يتبي سنريهم آياتنا في اآلفاق وفي أنفسهم حته على كل شيء شهيد ك أن يكف برب  We will soon show them Our signs in the universe and in their own souls, until it will become quite clear

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to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things? (41:53) This means He exists both in your absence and in your presence. Bondage means ridding oneself of everything, and the way to obtain this is to deny the self what it desires and to make it bear what it dislikes. The key to this is abandoning rest, loving seclusion and following the path of recognition of the need for Allah.  The Holy Prophet [s] said, 'Worship Allah as if you see Him. Even if you do not see Him, He sees you.'  The letters of the Arabic word for 'bondsman' ('abd) are three; 'ayn, ba' and dal. The 'ayn is one's knowledge ('ilm) of Allah. The ba' is one's distance (bawn) from other than Him, and the dal is one's nearness (dunuw) to Allah with the restriction of neither contingent qualities nor veil.  The principles of conduct have four aspects, as we mentioned at the beginning of the first chapter.  

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On Lowering the Gaze

 There is nothing more gainful than lowering one's gaze, for the sight is not lowered from things, which Allah has forbidden unless the witnessing of majesty and glory has already come to the heart.  The Commander of the Faithful was asked what could help in lowering one's gaze. He said, 'Submission to the power of Him Who is aware of your secret. The eye is the spy of the hearts and the messenger of the intellect; therefore lower your gaze from whatever is not appropriate to your faith, from whatever your heart dislikes and from whatever your intellect finds repugnant.' The Holy Prophet said, 'Lower your eyes and you will see wonders.' Allah said, ��ك أزكى لهم لمؤمنين يغضوا من أبصارهم ويحفظوا فروجهم ذل قل له خبير بما يصنعون إن الل Say to the believing men that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts. (24:30) ‘Isa [a] said to the disciples, 'Beware of looking at forbidden things, for that is the seed of desire and leads to deviant behaviour.' Yahya [a] said, 'I would prefer death to a glance which is unnecessary.'  'Abdallah ibn Mas'ud said to a man who had visited a woman while she was ill, 'It would have been better

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for you to lose your eyes than to have visited your sick person.'  Whenever the eye looks at something forbidden, a knot of desire is tied in the person's heart, and that knot will only be untied by one of two conditions: either by weeping out of grief and regret in true repentance, or by taking possession of what one desired and looked at. And if a person takes possession unjustly, without repentance, then that will take him to the Fire.  As for the one who repents of it with grief and regret, his abode is the Garden and his destiny is Allah's favour.  

On Walking

 If you are intelligent, then you should be of firm resolution and sincere intention before you set out for any place, for surely the self's nature is to overstep the bounds and encroach on the forbidden. You should reflect when you walk, and take note of the wonders of Allah's work wherever you go. Do not be mocking, or strut when you walk; Allah said, ... وال تمش في األرض مرحا  Do not go about in the land exulting overmuch. (31:18) Lower your gaze from whatever is inappropriate to faith, and remember Allah frequently. There is a tradition which says that those places where, and in

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connection with which, Allah is mentioned will testify to that before Allah on the Day of Judgement and will ask forgiveness for those people so that Allah will let them enter the Garden. Do not speak excessively with people along the way, for that is bad manners. Most of the roads are the traps and markets of Satan, so do not feel safe from his tricks. Make your coming and your going in obedience to Allah, striving for His pleasure, for all your movements will be recorded in your book, as Allah said,  يوم تشهد عليهم ألسنتهم وأيديهم وأرجلهم بما كانوا يعملون On the day when their tongues and their hands and their feet shall bear witness against them regarding what they did, (24:24) and وكل إنسان ألزمناه طآئره في عنقه We have made every man's actions to cling to his neck. (17:13) 

On Knowledge

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 Knowledge is the basis of every sublime state and the culmination of every high station. That is why the Holy Prophet said, 'It is the duty of every Muslim, man and woman, to seek knowledge,' that is, the knowledge of precaution (taqwa) and certainty. Imam 'Ali [a] said, “Seek knowledge, though it be in China,” meaning the knowledge of gnosis of the self, in it is contained knowledge of the Lord. The Holy Prophet said, 'Whoever knows his own self knows his Lord; moreover, you should acquire that knowledge without which no action is correct, and that is sincerity ... We seek refuge with Allah from knowledge which has no benefit', that is, from knowledge which is contrary to actions performed with sincerity.  Know that a small amount of knowledge requires a great deal of action, because knowledge of the Hour requires the person who has such knowledge to act accordingly during his entire life. ‘Isa [a] said, 'I saw a stone on which was written, "Turn me over", so I turned it over. Written on the other side was "Whoever does not act by what he knows will be doomed by seeking what he does not know, and his own knowledge will be turned against him." ' Allah revealed to David, 'The least that I shall do to someone with knowledge who does not act by his knowledge is worse than the seventy inner punishments which result in My removing from his heart the sweetness of My remembrance.' There is no way to Allah except via knowledge. And knowledge is the adornment of man in this world and the next, his driver to Paradise, and by means of it he attains Allah's contentment with him. 

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He who truly knows is the one in whom sound actions, pure supplications, truthfulness and precaution speak out; not his tongue, his debates, his comparisons, assertions or claims. In times other than these, those who sought knowledge were those who had intellect, piety, wisdom, modesty and caution; but nowadays we see that those who seek it do not have any of these qualities. The man of knowledge needs intellect, kindness, compassion, good counsel, forbearance, patience, contentment and generosity; while anyone wishing to learn needs a desire for knowledge, will, devotion (of his time and energy), piety, caution, memory and resolution.  

Giving Judgement

 Giving judgement is not permissible for someone who has not been endowed by Allah with the qualities of inner purity, sincerity in both his hidden and visible actions, and a proof from his Lord in every state. This is because whoever has judged has decreed, and decree is only valid by the permission of Allah and by His proof. Whoever is liberal in his judgement, without having made a proper examination, is ignorant and will be taken to task for his ignorance and will be burdened with his judgement as the tradition indicates. Knowledge is a light, which Allah casts into the heart of whomsoever He wills.  The Holy Prophet said, 'Whoever is boldest among you in judging is also the most insolent to Allah'. Does not the judge know that he is the one who has come between Allah and His bondsmen, and that he is wavering between the Garden and the Fire? Sufyan

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ibn 'Uyaynah said, 'How can anyone else benefit from my knowledge if I have denied myself its benefit?' It is inappropriate for anyone to judge on what is permissible (halal) and what is forbidden (haram) among creation, except for one who causes the people of his time, his village, and his city to follow the truth through obedience to the Holy Prophet and who recognizes what is applicable of his judgement. The Holy Prophet said, 'It is because giving judgement is such a tremendous affair, in which there is no place for "hopefully", "perhaps" or "may be". The Commander of the Faithful said to a judge, 'Do you know the difference between those verses of the Qur'an which abrogate and those which are abrogated?' 'No'. 'Do you have a command of the intentions of Allah in the parables of the Qur'an?' 'No'. 'Then you have perished and caused others to perish,' the Commander of the Faithful replied. A judge needs to know the various meanings of the Qur'an, the truth of the Prophetic way, the inward indications, courtesies, consensus and disagreements, and to be familiar with the bases of what they agree upon and disagree about. Then he must have acute discrimination, sound action, wisdom, and precaution. If he has these things, then let him judge.

Enjoining what is Good and Forbidding what is Evil

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 Whoever has not thrown off his anxieties, been purified of the evils of his self and its appetites, defeated Satan, and entered under the guardianship of Allah and the security of His protection, cannot properly enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; and since he has not attained these aforementioned qualities, whatever affair he tackles in attempting to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil will be a proof against him, and people will not benefit from it.  ��اب أفال ��ون الكت كم وأنتم تتل ون أنفس�� ��البر وتنس�� اس ب ��أمرون الن أتتعقلون Allah said, What! Do you enjoin men to be good and neglect your own souls? (2:44) Anyone who does that is called upon thus: Oh- traitor! Do you demand from My creation that which you have rejected for yourself and have slackened the reins [in this regard] upon yourself? It is related that Tha'labah al-Asadi asked the Messenger of Allah about this verse: كم من ضل إذا اهتديتم ها الذين آمنوا عليكم أنفسكم ال يضر يا أي O you who believe! Take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way. (5:105) The Messenger of Allah said, 'Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and be forbearing in whatever afflicts you, until such time when you see meanness obeyed and passions followed, and when everyone will have conceit about their own opinion, then you should concern yourself only with yourself, and ignore the affairs of the common people.'

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 A person who enjoins what is good needs to be knowledgeable about what is permissible and what is forbidden; he must be free from his personal inclinations regarding what he enjoins and forbids, give good counsel to people, be merciful and compassionate to them, and call them with gentleness in a very clear manner, while recognizing their different characters so that he can put each in his proper place. He must see the intrigues of the self and the machinations of Satan. He must be patient in whatever befalls him, and must not seek compensation from people for that which he instructs them in, nor complain about them. He should not make use of vehemence or passion. He should not become angry for his own sake. He should make his intention purely for Allah, and seek His help and desire Him. But if people oppose him and are harsh to him, he must be patient; and if they agree with him and accept his verdict, he must be thankful, entrusting his affair to Allah and looking to his own faults. 

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How the Men of Knowledge are Ruined

 Caution and fear are the legacy of knowledge and its measure; knowledge is the ray of gnosis and the heart of belief. Whoever is denied caution is not a man of knowledge, even if he can split hairs in dealing with obscure items of knowledge. Allah said, ه من عباده العلماء... ما يخشى الل ....إن Only those of His servants who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah. (35:28) Men of knowledge are ruined by eight things: greed and miserliness, showing off and partisanship, love of praise, delving into things whose reality they cannot reach, affectation by taking excessive pains to beautify their speech with superfluous expressions, lack of modesty before Allah, boastfulness, and not acting upon what they know. ‘Isa [a] said, 'The most wretched of all people is he who is known for his knowledge, not for his actions.'  The Holy Prophet said, 'Do not sit with every presumptuous caller who summons you from certainty to doubt, from sincerity to showing off, from humility to pride, from good counsel to enmity, and from abstinence to desire. Draw near to the person with knowledge, who summons you from pride to humility, from showing off to sincerity, from doubt to

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certainty, from desire to abstinence, from enmity to good counsel.' None are fit to preach to creation except that person who has gone beyond these evils by his truthfulness. He sees the faults of speech and knows what is sound from what is unsound, the defectiveness of thoughts, and the temptations of the self and his fancies.  'Ali said, 'Be like the kind, compassionate doctor who places the remedy where it will be of benefit.' They asked ‘Isa [a], 'With whom shall we sit, O Spirit of Allah?' 'With one the sight of whom reminds you of Allah,' he replied, 'and whose speech increases you in knowledge, and whose actions make you desire the next world.' 

Guarding Oneself (Ri'ayah)

 Whoever guards his heart from heedlessness, protects his self from appetites, and guards his intellect from ignorance, will be admitted into the company of the vigilant. Then he who guards his knowledge from fancies, his faith from innovation, and his property from the forbidden is among the righteous.  The Messenger of Allah said, 'It is a duty for every Muslim, man and woman, to seek knowledge,' that is, knowledge of the self. Therefore it is necessary for the self to be in all states either expressing his

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gratitude or proffering his excuse for lack of gratitude. If this is acceptable to Allah it is a favour upon him, and if not it is justice upon him. For every self it is necessary to work that it may succeed in its acts of obedience, and for its protection in its efforts to abstain from doing harm.  The basis of all this is recognition of total need and dependence on Allah, caution and obedience. The key to it is in delegating your affair to Allah, cutting off expectation by always remembering death, and seeing that you are standing in the presence of the All compelling. This gives you rest from confinement, rescue from the enemy, and peace for the self. The means to sincerity in obedience is harmony, and the root of that rests upon considering life as being only as long as a day.  The Messenger of Allah said, 'This world lasts but an hour, so spend it in obedience to Allah.' The door to all of this is always to withdraw from the world by means of constant reflection. The means to this withdrawal is contentment, and abandoning such existential matters as do not concern you. The means to reflection is emptiness [desirelessness], and the buttress of emptiness is abstinence. The completion of abstinence is precaution, and the door to precaution is fear. The proof of fear is glorification of Allah, adherence to obeying His commands with sincerity, fear and caution, and holding back from the forbidden; and the guide to this is knowledge. Almighty Allah said, ه من عباده العلماء ما يخشى الل إنThose of His servants who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah.(35:28)

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Thankfulness

 With every breath you take, a thanksgiving is incumbent upon you, indeed, a thousand thanks or more. The lowest level of gratitude is to see that the blessing comes from Allah irrespective of the cause for it, and without the heart being attached to that cause. It consists of being satisfied with what is given; it means not disobeying Him with regard to His blessing, or opposing Him in any of His commands and prohibitions because of His blessing.  Be a grateful bondsman to Allah in every way, and you will find that Allah is a generous Lord in every way. If there were a way of worshipping Allah for His sincerest bondsman to follow more excellent than giving thanks at every instance, He would have ascribed to them the name of this worship above the rest of creation. Since there is no form of worship better than that, He has singled out this kind of worship from other kinds of worship, and has singled out those who practise this kind of worship, saying,  كور وقليل من عبادي الش Very few of my servants are grateful. (34:13) Complete thankfulness is to sincerely repent your inability to convey the least amount of gratitude, and expressing this by means of your sincere glorification of Allah. This is because fitting thanks is itself a blessing bestowed upon the bondsman for which he must also give thanks; it is of greater merit and of a higher state than the original blessing which caused him to respond with thanks in the first place.

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Therefore, every time one gives thanks one is obliged to give yet greater thanks, and so on ad infinitum, and this while absorbed in His blessings and unable to achieve the ultimate state of gratitude. For how can the bondsman match with gratitude the blessings of Allah, and when will he match his own action with Allah's while all along the bondsman is weak and has no power whatsoever, except from Allah? Allah is not in need of the obedience of His bondsmen, for He has the power to increase blessings forever. Therefore be a grateful bondsman to Allah, and in this manner you will see wonders.

On Leaving your Home

 When you leave your home, do it as if you will never return. Leave only for the sake of obedience to Allah or for the sake of the faith. Remain tranquil and dignified in your bearing, and remember Allah both secretly and openly.  One of the companions of Abu Dharr asked a member of Abu Dharr's household where he was and she said, 'He has gone out.' When the man asked when Abu Dharr would return, she replied, 'When he returns is in the hands of someone else,' for he has no power on his own. Learn from Allah's creation, both the pious and the deviants, wherever you go. Ask Allah to place you among His sincere and truthful bondsmen, and to join

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you to those of them who have passed on and to gather you in their company. Praise Him, and give thanks for the appetites He has made you avoid, and the ugly actions of the wrongdoers from which He has protected you. Lower your gaze from carnal appetites and forbidden things, and pursue the right course on your journey. Be vigilant, fearing Allah at every step, as if you were crossing the straight path. Do not be distracted. Offer a greeting to His people, both giving it first and answering with it. Give help to those who ask for it in a righteous cause, guide those who are lost and ignore the ignorant. When you return to your home, enter it as a corpse enters the grave, its only concern being to receive the mercy and forgiveness of Allah

On Reciting the Qur'an

 

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Whoever recites the Qur'an and does not humble himself before Allah, whose heart is not softened, nor regret and fear provoked within him, undervalues the immensity of Allah's affair and is in a clear state of loss. The person who recites the Qur'an needs three things: a fearful heart, a tranquil and receptive body, and an appropriate place to recite. When his heart fears Allah, then the accursed Satan flees from him. As Allah said,   جيم يطان الر فإذا قرأت القرآن فاستعذ بالله من الش When you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan. (16:98) When he frees himself of all attachments, then his heart is devoted to recitation, and nothing impedes him from obtaining the blessing of the light of the Qur'an and its benefits. When he finds an empty place and withdraws from people, having acquired the two qualities of humility of heart and tranquility of body, then his soul and his innermost being will feel communion with Allah, and he will discover the sweetness of how Allah speaks to His right-acting bondsmen, how He shows His gentleness, to them and singles them out for all the varieties of His marks of honour and wondrous signs. If he drinks a cup of this drink, he will never prefer any other state to this nor any other moment to this. He will prefer this to every act of obedience and devotion, since it contains intimate conversation with the Lord, without any intermediary. So beware of how you read the Book of your Lord, the guardian to whom you aspire, how you respond to His commands and avoid His prohibitions, and how you

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observe His limits, for it is a mighty Book: Falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind it,  تنزيل من حكيم حميد a revelation from the Wise, the Praised One. (41:42) Therefore recite it in an orderly manner and contemplatively and adhere to the limits of His promise and His threat. Reflect on its examples and warnings. Beware of paying undue respect to the recitation of its letters while failing to observe the legal limits contained therein.

Dress

 The best adornment of the believer's garment is precaution and the most blessed garment is belief. As Allah said,  قوى ذلك خير ولباس التAnd clothing that guards [against evil]; that is best. (7:26) Outward dress is a blessing from Allah in order to preserve the modesty of the sons of Adam; it is a mark of honour which Allah has given to the descendants of Adam. He did not give that honour to any other creature; it is given to the believers as a means of carrying out their obligations. Your best garments are those which do not distract you from Allah, those garments, in fact, which bring you closer to remembrance of Him, and gratitude and obedience to Him. They do not, however, move you to pride, conceit, pretence, boastfulness or arrogance: those

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things are the scourge of the faith, and their legacy is hardness of heart. When you put on your clothes, remember that Allah veils your wrong actions with His mercy. You should clothe your inward part as you clothe your outward part with your garment. Let your inward truth be veiled in awe of Allah, and let your outward truth be veiled in obedience. Take heed of the overflowing favour of Allah, since He created the means to make garments for covering physical immodesty and opened the gates for repentance, regret, and seeking succour, in order to veil the inward parts, and their wrong actions and bad character. Do not expose anyone's faults when Allah has concealed worse things in yourself. Occupy yourself with your own faults, and overlook matters and situations which do not concern you. Beware lest you exhaust your life in other people's actions and exchange your irreplaceable endowed wealth with someone else, thereby destroying yourself. Forgetting wrong actions brings about the greatest punishments of Allah in this world, and is the most ample cause for punishment in the next. So long as the bondsman occupies himself with obeying Allah, with recognizing his own faults and leaving alone whatever might devalue faith in Allah, he is spared ruin and is immersed in the sea of Allah's mercy, attaining the gems and the benefits of wisdom and clarity.  But as long as he forgets his own wrong actions, is ignorant of his own faults, and falls back on his power and strength, he will never be successful.Showing Off

 

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Do not show off your actions to someone who neither gives life nor causes death, and who cannot take away from you your burdens. Showing off is a tree whose only fruit is hidden association of other gods with Allah, and its root is hypocrisy. The vain one will be told on the Day of Judgement; 'Take what you consider to be the reward of your actions from those you took as your partners with Me. Look to those whom you worshipped and called on, from whom you entertained hopes and whom you feared. And know that you cannot conceal anything inside of you from Allah: you will be deceived by yourself.' Allah said,   أنفسهم وما يشعرون ذين آمنوا وما يخدعون إال يخادعون الله والThey desire to deceive Allah and those who believe, and they deceive only themselves and they do not perceive. (2:9) Showing off most frequently occurs in the way people glance at others, speak, eat, drink, arrive somewhere, sit with others, dress, laugh, and in the way they perform prayers, pilgrimage, jihad, recitation of the Qur'an, and all outward acts of devotion. However, he who is sincere towards Allah, who fears Him in his heart, and who sees himself as lacking even after he has exerted himself with every effort, will find that Allah is contented with him as a result, and he will be among those whom one expects to be free from showing off and hypocrisy, provided he continues to be in that state.

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Truthfulness

 Truthfulness is a light which radiates its reality in its own world: it is like the sun, from whose reality everything seeks light without any decrease occurring in this reality. A truthful person, in fact, is a man who believes every liar, due to the reality of his own truthfulness. It means that nothing which is opposed to truthfulness, nothing, even, which is not truthfulness, is permitted to coexist with it; just as happened with Adam, who believed Iblis when he lied because Iblis had sworn a false oath to him and there was no lying in Adam. Allah said,  ولم نجد له عزماWe did not find in him any determination. (20:115) because Iblis originated something previously unknown, both outwardly and inwardly. Iblis will be gathered with his lie, and he will never benefit from the truthfulness of Adam. 

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Yet it benefited Adam that he believed the lie of Iblis, as Allah testified for him when He said that he was not constant in what was contrary to his custom. This really means that his being chosen was not at all diminished by Satan's lies. Truthfulness is the attribute of the truthful. The reality of truthfulness demands that Allah purify His bondsman, as He mentioned regarding the truthfulness ‘Isa [a] on the Day of Reckoning. He indicated it by referring to the guiltlessness of the truthful men of the community of Muhammad, saying, هذا يوم ينفع الصادقين صدقهم This is the day when their truth shall benefit the truthful ones. (5:119) The Commander of the Faithful' said, 'Truthfulness is the sword of Allah in His heaven and earth: it cuts everything it touches.' If you want to know whether you are truthful or lying, then look into the truthfulness of what you mean and the conclusion of your claim. Then gauge them both according to a scale from Allah, as if you were present on the Day of Resurrection. Allah said,  والوزن يومئذ الحقAnd measuring out on that day will be just. (7:8) If there is balance and harmony in what you mean, then your claim is successful, and your truthfulness is in the fact that the tongue does not differ from the heart, nor the heart from the tongue. The truthful person with this description is like the angel who draws out his soul; if the soul is not drawn out, then what is it to do ?

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Sincerity

 Sincerity lies in all distinguished actions: it is a notion that starts with acceptance and ends with Allah's pleasure. Therefore he whose actions Allah accepts and with whom He is content is the sincere one, even if his actions are few. Whoever does not have his actions accepted is not sincere, even if his actions are many, as we can see when we consider what happened with Adam and Iblis, may he be cursed. The sign of acceptance is the existence of integrity and correctness, by expending all that is desirable with accurate awareness of every movement and stillness. In upholding what he has, the self of the

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sincere one is consumed, and his life is spent so as to put what he has in order, unifying knowledge and action, the doer and what is done by the action. For if he has attained that, he has attained all, and if he misses it he misses all; and that is brought about by purifying the meanings of disassociation (tanzih) in His unity. As the first Imam said, 'Those who act will perish, except for those who worship; those who worship will perish except for those who know; those who know will perish except for those who are truthful; those who are truthful will perish except for those are sincere; those who are sincere will perish except for those who have precaution; those who have precaution will perish except for those who have certainty, and those who have certainty are of exalted character.' As Allah said,  ى يأتيك اليقين ك حت واعبد ربAnd serve your Lord until there comes to you that which is certain. (15:99) The lowest level of sincerity is when the bondsman exerts himself as much as he can, and then does not consider his action to have any worth with Allah so that he does not make his Lord recompense him for his actions according to his knowledge, for if Allah asks him to fulfill the full duties of slave hood ('ubudiyah) he would be unable to do so. The lowest station of the sincere person in the world is safety from all wrong actions, to be rescued from the Fire and to win the Garden in the next world.

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Precaution

Precaution (taqwa) has three facets: 1. Precaution by dependence on Allah, which means leaving behind contradiction and going beyond any shade of doubt, and this is the precaution exercised by the highest. 2. The precaution of Allah, which means to abandon all doubtful matters and to leave the forbidden (haram) alone; this is the precaution of the elite. 3. The precaution of the Fire and Punishment, which results in leaving alone what is forbidden; this is the precaution of the general public. Precaution is like water flowing in a river. The three levels of precaution are like trees of every colour and variety planted on the bank of that river, each tree absorbing water from that river according to its essence, capacity, delicateness and thickness. Then the benefits, which creatures take from these trees and fruits, are according to their value and worth. Allah said,  ها ل بعض�� وزرع ونخيل صنوان وغير صنوان يسقى بم��اء واح��د ونفض��على بعض في األكل Palm trees having one root and [others] having distinct roots - they are watered with one water, and We make some of them excel others in fruit. (13:4) Precaution in acts of obedience to Allah is like water for the trees, and the natures of the trees and their fruits in their colours and tastes are like the measures of belief. Whoever has the highest degree

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in belief and the purest nature with respect to the soul has the greatest precaution. He who is precautious has the purer and more sincere worship: whoever is like that is nearer to Allah.  But every act of devotion that is founded on something other than precaution comes to nothing. Allah said,  س ��ر أم من أس�� وان خي أفمن أسس بنيانه على تقوى من الله ورض��م بنيانه على شفا جرف هار فانهار به في نار جهن Is he, therefore, better who laid his foundation on fear of Allah and [His] good pleasure, or he who laid his foundation on the edge of a cracking, hollowed bank, so it broke down with him into the fire of Hell? (9:109) The explanation of precaution is to avoid entering an affair which contains no harm simply out of fear of one which does. It is, in reality, obedience without rebellion, remembrance without forgetfulness, knowledge without ignorance, and it is accepted by Allah and not rejected.

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Fearing Allah

 Close the gates of your limbs and senses to all that will harm your heart, remove your standing with Allah, and bring in its wake grief and regret on the Day of Judgement and shame about the evil actions you committed. The scrupulous person must have three principles: he should overlook the faults of all people, he should avoid offending them, and he should balance censure with praise. The basis of fearing Allah is to constantly take the self to account, to be truthful in one's words and pure in one's transactions, to leave every doubtful thing, to abandon every defect and doubt, to separate oneself from all which does not concern you and not to open doors which you will not know how to close.  Do not sit with anyone who obscures what is clear for you, nor with someone who takes the faith lightly. Do not question knowledge which your heart has no capacity for, and which you will not understand, of whoever said it, and cut off anyone who cuts you off from Allah.

Social Interactions

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 Courteous social relations with Allah's creation while avoiding all acts of disobedience to Him is a sign of Allah's excessive generosity with His bondsman. Whoever is sincere and humble before Allah in his innermost being will have good social interaction externally. Keep company with people for the sake of Allah and do not keep company merely for your own share of worldly affairs, for seeking rank, showing off, or for reputation. Do not fall below the limits of the shari'ah for the sake of social intercourse, such as trying to keep up with others, or gaining a reputation, for these things cannot make up for you, and you will miss the next world, with no recourse. Treat someone who is older than you as you would your father, someone who is younger than you as you would a son. Treat your peer as you would a brother. Do not abandon what you know to be certain within yourself for something heard from other people which you doubt. Be gentle when you enjoin good, and compassionate when you forbid evil.  Never abandon good counsel in any circumstance. As Allah said,   اس حسنا وقولوا للن Speak to men good words. (2:83) Cut yourself off from what makes you forget to remember Allah, when temptation distracts you from obedience to Him, for that comes from the friends and helpers of Satan. Do not allow the sight of them to move you to dissimulation with the truth, for that would be a terrible loss indeed. We seek refuge with Almighty Allah.

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Sleep

 Sleep the sleep of the mindful, do not sleep the sleep of the heedless. For the mindful among the astute sleep only for rest, and do not purposely sleep through laziness. The Holy Prophet said, 'My eyes sleep, but my heart does not.' When you go to sleep, have the intention to lighten your burden on the angels and disengage the self from its appetites, and to examine yourself by your sleep; be aware of the fact that you are incapable and weak. You have no power over any of your movements and stillnesses, except by the judgement and measure of Allah. Know that sleep is the brother of death. Use it as a guide to death, for there is no way to wake up in death or to return to correct action once you have missed it. Whoever sleeps through an obligatory, recommended or supererogatory prayer is at fault, and his sleep is the sleep of the heedless and the path of the losers; he is at fault. Whoever sleeps after he has discharged his

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duties concerning obligatory and recommended prayers, and has carried out his responsibilities, sleeps a praiseworthy sleep. I do not know of anything that is safer than sleep for the people of our times who have attained these qualities: this is because people have ceased to guard their faith and to take care in observing their conduct. They have taken the left-hand path. When a sincere bondsman strives not to speak out of place, how can he avoid hearing that which would prevent him from not speaking unless there is a safeguard? Sleep is one such safeguard. As Allah said,  مع والبصر والفؤاد كل أول�ئك كان عنه مسؤوال إن الس Surely, the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of these shall be questioned about that. (17:36) In excess sleep there are many evils, even if it is done in the way we have mentioned. Too much sleep is brought about by excess drink, and excess drinking is brought about being excessively satiated. Both of these things weigh heavily on the self to keep it from obedience, and they harden the heart from reflection and humility. Make your sleep your last affair in this world; remember Allah with your heart and your tongue. Let your obedience to Allah overpower your wrong doings and seek help from Him while you sleep, fasting until the morning prayer, since if you are awakened at night, Satan whispers to you, 'Sleep again, you still have a long night,' for he wants you to miss the time of intimate contemplation and exposure of your state before your Lord. Do not be distracted in seeking forgiveness at dawn, for at that time there is much yearning for those in devoted supplication.

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Pilgrimage

 If you intend to go on pilgrimage, before resolving on it devote your heart to Allah, stripping it of every preoccupation and every barrier between you and Allah. Entrust all your affairs to your Creator; rely on Him in all your actions and moments of stillness. Surrender to His decree, decision and judgement. Abandon this world, repose, and all creation. Perform those duties which you are bound to fulfill for other people. Do not rely on your provisions, the animal you ride, your companions, your food, your youth nor your wealth, for fear that they will become your enemies and be harmful to you; in this way you will realize that there is no power, no strength, nor might

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except by the guardianship of Allah and His granting of success. Prepare for the pilgrimage as someone who does not hope to return. Keep good company, and be diligent in observing all your obligations to Allah and the prophetic practices. Take care to show courtesy, endurance, patience, thankfulness, compassion, and generosity, always putting others before yourself at all times, even those who reject you. Then perform an ablution with the water of sincere repentance for wrong actions; put on the robe of truthfulness, purity, humility and fear. By donning the garments of pilgrimage, withhold yourself from everything which hinders you from remembering Allah, or that will impede you from showing obedience to Him. Fulfill His call with an answer whose meaning is clear, pure and sincere when you call on Him, holding on firmly to your belief in Him. Circumambulate with your heart along with the angels who circumambulate the Throne, just as you circumambulate with the Muslims who go around the Ka’aba. Hasten as you run in flight from your passion, freeing yourself of all your personal assumptions of strength and power. Leave your heedlessness and errors behind when you go out to Mina; do not desire what is unlawful for you and what you do not deserve. Confess your errors at Arafat: set out your contract with Allah by His Oneness, draw near to Him and fear Him at Muzdalifah. Climb with your soul to the highest assembly when you climb the mountain of Arafat. Slit the throat of passion and greed in the sacrifice. Stone your appetites, baseness, vileness, and blameworthy actions when you stone the Pillar of Aqabah. Shave off your outward and inward faults when you shave your hair. Enter into the security of Allah, His protection, His veil, His shelter and His watchfulness and abandon the pursuit of your desires

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by entering the Sacred Precinct. Visit the House, and walk around it to glorify its Master, His wisdom, His majesty and His power. Embrace the Stone, being content with His decree and humble before His might. Leave everything that is other than Him in the valedictory circumambulation. Purify your soul and your innermost being for the meeting with Allah, on the day when you will meet Him when standing on Safa'.  Take on valour and courtesy from Allah by annihilating your attributes at Marwah. Be consistent in the conditions of your pilgrimage and fulfill the contract you have made with your Lord, by which you will have obliged yourself to Him on the Day of Judgement. Know that Allah made the pilgrimage obligatory, and singled it out from all the acts of worship in respect of Himself when He said,   اس حج البيت من استطاع إليه سبيال ولله على الن Pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah, and [upon] everyone who is able to undertake the journey to it. (3:97) The Holy Prophet established the organization of the rituals of pilgrimage as preparation for, and an indication of, death, the grave, the resurrection and the Day of Judgement. In this lesson for mankind he discriminates between those who will enter the Garden and those who will enter the Fire, through his demonstrating the pilgrimage rites from beginning to end to those with intelligence and prudence.

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Charity

 Obligatory charity for the sake of Allah is due from every single part of your body, even from every root of your hair. In fact, charity is due for every instant of your life. Charity of the eye means looking with consideration and averting the gaze from desires and things similar to them. Charity of the ear means listening to the best of sounds, such as wisdom, the Qur'an, the benefits of the faith contained in warnings and good counsel, and to that in which your salvation lies, and by avoiding their opposite, such as lies, slander, and similar things.  Charity of the tongue means to give good counsel to the Muslims, to awaken those who are heedless, and to give abundant glorification and remembrance (dhikr), and other, similar things.

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 Charity of the hand means spending money on others, to be generous with Allah's blessings to you, to use it in writing down knowledge and information by means of which other Muslims will benefit in obedience to Allah, and to restrain the hand from evil. Charity of the foot means to hasten to carry out one's duty to Allah by visiting virtuous people, assemblies of remembrance (dhikr), putting things right between people, maintaining ties of kinship, engaging in jihad, and doing things which will make your heart sound and your faith correct. We have mentioned here just some of the ways of zakat, namely, those understood by the heart and those the self can deal with; although there are others too numerous to mention, mastered by no one but His sincere and intimate bondsmen. Indeed, these latter are the lords of zakat and to them belongs its mark of distinction. Oh Allah, give me success in what You love and in what makes You content.

Intention

 

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The person who has a sincere intention is the one who has a sound heart; because a sound heart, free from thoughts about forbidden things, comes from making your intention purely for Allah in all matters.   ه بقلب سليم يوم ال ينفع مال وال بنون. إال من أتى الل The day on which neither property will avail, nor sons, except him who comes to Allah with a heart free [from evil]. (26:88-9) The Holy Prophet said, 'The intention of the believer is better than his action,' and also, 'Actions are by intentions, and every man will obtain what he had intended.' The slave of Allah must therefore have sincere intention in every moment of action and stillness because then he will not be heedless. Those who are heedless have been censured by Allah:  إن هم إال كاألنعام بل هم أضل سبيال They are nothing but as cattle; nay, they are straying farther off from the path. (25:44) أول�ئك هم الغافلونThese are the heedless ones. (7:179) Intention appears from the heart, according to the purity of knowledge. It varies as belief varies, at different moments in its strength and weakness. The selfishness and passion of those with sincere intention is subjugated to the power of the glorification of Allah and modesty before Him. He is by his nature, his appetites and his own desires, in a state of discomfort, and yet people find ease at his hand.

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Remembrance

 He who truly remembers Allah is the one who obeys Him: whoever forgets is disobedient. Obedience is the mark of guidance, disobedience the sign of misguidance. The root of both states lies in remembrance (dhikr) and forgetfulness. Make your heart the focal point of your tongue, which should not move unless the heart indicates, the intellect agrees and your tongue accords with belief. Almighty Allah knows what you conceal and what you reveal. Be like someone who has shed his soul from his body, or like someone who is attending the great parade on the Day of Reckoning, not distracting yourself from the obligations which your Lord has laid on you in His commands and prohibitions, His promise and His threat. Do not be occupied with yourself rather than with the duties laid down for you by your Lord. Wash your heart clean with the water of sorrow and fear; make remembrance of Allah part of His most glorious remembrance of you. He remembers you, but He does not need you. His remembrance of you is more glorious, more desirable, more praiseworthy, a more

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complete and more ancient than your remembrance of Him. The knowledge you obtain by His remembrance of you will beget you humility, modesty and contrition, which will in turn be the cause of your witnessing His nobility and previous, overflowing favour. The latter will then belittle your obedience in your own eyes, however copious it may be as a result of His favours; and you will be sincerely devoted to Him. But your consciousness and esteem of your own remembrance of Him will lead to showing off, pride, foolishness and coarseness in your character, for it means attaching too much importance to your obedience while forgetting His overflowing favour and generosity. It will only make you more distant from Him, and all that you will acquire with the passing of the days is alienation. There are two sorts of remembrance: sincere remembrance with which the heart is in harmony, and remembrance which arises through banishing any remembrance of other than Allah. As the Messenger of Allah said, 'I cannot do justice in properly praising You as You praise Yourself.' The Messenger of Allah did not set any limit on remembering Allah, since he knew the truth that Allah's remembrance of His bondsman was greater than the bondsman's remembrance of Him. Thus it is even more fitting that whoever comes after the Holy Prophet should not set any limits, and whoever wants to remember Allah should know that as long as Allah does not remember the bondsman by granting him success in remembering Him, that bondsman will not be able to remember Him.

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The Ruin of the Reciters

 Someone who recites without knowledge is like a vain man who has neither property nor wealth; for people do not hate someone for his lack of possessions, but they detest him for his vanity. He is always at odds with creation in that which is not obligatory upon him, and he who contests creation in what he is not commanded to do is contesting the process of creativity and absolute lordship. As Allah said,ه بغير علم وال هدى وال كتاب منير اس من يجادل في الل ومن الن Among men is he who disputes in respect of Allah though having no knowledge, nor guidance, nor a book giving light. (31:20) 

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None will have a harsher punishment than someone who claims a right to the mantle of knowledge without having either the truth or the meaning of it. Zayd ibn Thabit said to his son, 'My son, do not let Allah see your name in the register of the vain reciters.' And the Holy Prophet said, 'A time will come for my community in which hearing the name of the man who recites will be considered better than studying, and studying will be considered better than doing the thing with experience ... The greatest number of hypocrites in my community are among the reciters of the Qur'an.' Be where the faith recommends you to be, and where you are commanded to be. Conceal your inner state from other people as much as you can. Make your acts of obedience to Allah have the same relationship as your soul has to your body, so they become an indication of the state you have attained between yourself and your Originator. Seek Allah's help in all your affairs, and beseech Allah humbly at the end of the night and at the end of the day. Allah said,  ه ال يحب المعتدين عا وخفية إن كم تضر ادعوا رب Call on your Lord humbly and secretly; surely He does not love those who exceed the limits. (7:55) Transgressing is one of the attributes, indeed, one of the hallmarks, of the reciters of our time. Be fearful of Allah in all your affairs, so that you do not fall into the arena of desire and destroy yourself.

Clarification of Truth and Falsehood

 

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Fear Allah and be where you wish to be among any people you choose to be. There is no conflict for anyone in a state of precaution. Precaution is desirable for all parties; in it is gathered all goodness and maturity. It is the measure of all knowledge and wisdom, of every accepted act of obedience. Precaution is the water which gushes out from the spring of Allah's gnosis: every branch of knowledge is in need of it. It does not need any confirmation of knowing how to be still in awe of Allah and His power. Increase in precaution comes from Allah's acquainting His bondman's secret with His subtle mercy: this is the root of every truth. Falsehood is whatever cuts you off from Allah- every group agrees on this also. Therefore avoid falsehood, devoting your secret to Allah without any attachment. The Messenger of Allah said, 'The truest words that the Bedouins spoke are the words of Labid when he said, ‘Indeed everything but Allah is false And every blessing is most certainly ephemeral.' So cling to what is agreed upon by people of purity, piety and precaution in the roots of the faith, the realities of certainty, Allah's pleasure, and submission. Do not enter into disagreement and disputations among people, for then things will become difficult for you. The chosen community has agreed that Allah is One and that there is nothing like Him; and that He is just in His judgement, does whatever He wishes, and governs what He wills. One does not ask 'why?' about anything of His making. There has not been and will never be anything that is not according to His will and desire; He has the power to do what He wills, and He is true in His promise and His threat.  

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The Qur'an is His word, and it existed before phenomenal being, place and time. The creation of phenomenal beings and their annihilation are the same with Him: their creation did not increase His knowledge, nor will their passing decrease His kingdom. His power is mighty and He is majestic, glory be to Him.  If someone brings to you anything which falls short of this fundamental truth, do not accept it. Devote your inward being to that and you will see its blessings close at hand. You will be among the victors. 

The Gnosis of the Prophets

 Allah has provided His Prophets from the treasures of His subtlety, generosity, and mercy. He has taught them from the wealth of His knowledge, and He has singled them out for Himself from among all creation. No one from the entire creation possesses a state or character similar to theirs, for He has made them the means for all creatures to come to Him. He made obedience to and love for them the cause of His contentment, and opposition to them and rejection of them a cause for His wrath. He commanded all peoples and groups to follow the religion of their Messenger, rejecting any obedience other than by means of obedience to them, praise of them, recognition of their love, respect and veneration for them, esteem for them and deference to them, and rank with Allah.  Therefore glorify all the prophets of Allah, and do not place them in the same position as anyone inferior to

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them. Do not exercise your intellect regarding their stations, states, and character unless it is by a precise clarification from Allah, and a consensus of the people who have insight into the proofs which affirm their virtues and ranks. How can you arrive at the reality of what they have from Allah? If you compare their words and actions with any of the people below them, you will be a bad companion to them; you will have disclaimed their gnosis in ignorance of their being specially selected by Allah, and you will have dropped below the level of the truths of belief and gnosis. So take care, and take care again.

The Recognition of the Imams

 It is related with a sound chain of authority from Salman al- Farsi, 'I visited the Messenger of Allah who looked at me and said,

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 "O Salman, Allah does not send a prophet or messenger unless there are with him twelve chiefs."  “O Messenger of Allah, I know this from the people of the two books.” "O Salman, do you know my twelve chiefs, whom Allah has chosen to be leaders after me?" "Allah and His Messenger know best." "O Salman, Allah created me from the quintessence of light, and called me, so I obeyed Him. Then He created 'Ali from my light, and called him, and he obeyed. From my light and the light of 'Ali He created Fatimah: He called her and she obeyed. From me, 'Ali and Fatimah, He created al-Hasan and al-Husayn. He called them and they obeyed Him. Allah has named us with five of His names: Allah is al-Mahmud (the Praised) and I am Muhammad (worthy of praise); Allah is al-'Ali (the High), and this is 'Ali (the one of high rank); Allah is al-Fatir (Creator out of nothing), and this is Fatimah; Allah is the One with Hasan (beneficence), and this is Hasan; Allah is Muhassin (the Beautiful), and this is Husayn. He created nine Imams from the light of al-Husayn and called them and they obeyed Him, before Allah created either Heaven on high, the outstretched earth, the air, the angels or man. We were lights who glorified Him, listened to Him and obeyed Him." "O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be your ransom! What is there for the person who recognizes these men as they should be recognized?" "O Salman, whoever recognizes them as they should be recognized, and follows their example, befriends them and is free of their enemies, by Allah! he is one

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of us. He will return to where we return, and he will be where we are!" "O Messenger of Allah, is there belief without knowing their names and lineage?" "No, Salman." "Messenger of Allah, where will I find them?" "You already know al-Husayn; then there will be the master of the worshippers, 'Ali ibn Husayn (Zayn al-'Abidin); then his son Muhammad ibn 'Ali, the piercer of the knowledge of the early and the later prophets and messengers (al-Baqir); then Ja'far ibn Muhammad, the truthful tongue of Allah (al-Sadiq); then Musa ibn Ja'far, the one who kept his rage silent through patience in Allah (al-Kadhim); then 'Ali ibn Musa, pleased with the secret of Allah (al-Rida '); then Muhammad ibn 'Ali, the chosen one from the creatures of Allah (al-Mukatar); then 'Ali ibn Muhammad, the guide to Allah (al-Hadi); then al-Hasan, son of 'Ali, the silent, trustworthy guardian over the secret of Allah (al-'Askari); then mim ha' mim dal (Muhammad), called Ibn al-Hasan, the announcer who establishes the right of Allah."  Salman said, 'I wept. Then I continued, "O Messenger of Allah, let my life be deferred until their time! "’ 'He said, "O Salman, recite this:  وا نا أولي بأس شديد فجاس�� فإذا جاء وعد أوالهما بعثنا عليكم عبادا ل خالل الديار وكان وعدا مفعوال��ر ��اكم أكث ��أموال وبنين وجعلن ة عليهم وأم��ددناكم ب ثم رددنا لكم الكرنفيرا 

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When the promise for the first of the two came, We sent over you our servants of mighty prowess, so they went to and fro among the houses, and it was a promise to be accomplished. Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous band." ' (17:5-6) "I wept a lot," said Salman, "and my yearning became intense.” I said, "O Messenger of Allah, is it a pledge from you?" ' "Yes, by the One Who sent me and entrusted me with the Message; it is a pledge from me and from 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, and the nine Imams descended from the children of al-Husayn, to you and those who are with us, and those of us who are wronged. Whoever is truly sincere in his belief, then by Allah, Salman, let Iblis and his armies come. Whoever has pure disbelief will be punished by retaliation, torture and inheritance (i.e. by others rather than them). Your Lord will not wrong anyone. It is we who are indicated in this verse:  عفوا في األرض ونجعلهم أئمة من على الذين استض����� ونري�����د أن ن��ري فرع��ون وهام��ان ن لهم في األرض ون ونجعلهم ال��وارثين. ونمكوجنودهما منهم ما كانوا يحذرون We desired to bestow a favour upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the leaders, and to make them the heirs, and to grant them power in the land, and to make Pharoah, Haman and their armies see from them what they feared." ' (28:5-6) Salman said, “I took leave of the Messenger of Allah, completely unconcerned as to how Salman would meet death, or how death would meet him.”

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Recognition of the Companions

 Do not forsake certainty for doubt, and what is clear for what is hidden. Do not pass judgement on what you cannot see because of something you are told about it. Allah despises slander and bad opinion of your believing brothers. What then does He think of boldness in attributing a false statement, false belief or lie to the Companions of the Messenger of Allah? As He said, ���ه علم ���أفواهكم ما ليس لكم ب نتكم وتقول���ون ب ���ه بألس��� إذ تلقونه عظيم نا وهو عند الل وتحسبونه هي When you welcomed it with your tongues, and spoke with your mouths that which you had no knowledge of, and you deemed it an easy matter while with Allah it was grievous. (24:15) 

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As long as you can find a way to speak well and act well of people whether or not they are present. Do not do anything else. Allah said,   اس حسنا وقولوا للنSpeak to men good words. (2:83) Know that Allah chose companions for His Prophet, honoured them with the noblest mark of honour and robed them in the robe of support, victory and the correct keeping of his company in desirable and undesirable situations. He made the tongue of His Prophet speak about their virtues, excellent qualities and marks of honour; so believe in their love, mention their excellence, and beware of the company of people of innovation, for it will make disbelief and clear loss grow in the heart. If the excellence of some of them is not clear to you, then leave them to the Knower of the Unseen, and say, 'O Allah, I love anyone You and Your Messenger love, and I hate anyone You and Your Messenger hate.' There is no obligation beyond that.

The Honour and Sanctity of the Believers

 No one respects the honour of the believers except the person who respects the honour and sacred claim

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of Allah over the believers. The person who best fulfils this sacred claim with respect to Allah and His Messenger is he who is the most particular in his respect for the believers' claim to honour. Whoever thinks little of the believers' honour has rent apart the raiment of his belief.  The Holy Prophet said, 'Part of esteem for Allah is to respect those who are near to Allah in belief.' And again, 'Whoever is not merciful to a young person nor respectful to an old person is not one of us. Do not call a Muslim an unbeliever when repentance can make up for it, unless he is someone that Allah has mentioned in His Book.' Allah said,  ار ولن تجد لهم نصيرا إن المنافقين في الدرك األسفل من الن The hypocrites are in the lowest level of the Fire. (4:145) Occupy yourself with your business about which you will be questioned. Dutifulness to Parents

 Dutifulness to one's parents comes from the bondsman's correct knowledge of Allah, since there is no act of worship which will bring the person performing it more quickly to the pleasure of Allah than being dutiful to believing parents for the sake of Allah. This is because the right of the parents is derived from the right of Allah, as long as they are both on the path of the faith and the sunnah, and do not prevent a child from obeying Allah for the sake of obedience to them, or move him from certainty to doubt, or from abstinence to the desires of this world, or call him to anything which is in opposition to faith

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and the sunnah. If the situation is like that, then it is an act of obedience to rebel against them, and an act of rebellion to obey them. Allah said, ��ه علم فال تطعهم��ا ��ك ب رك بي م��ا ليس ل وإن جاه��داك على أن تش����اب إلي ثم إلي بيل من أن ��ع س�� ب احبهما في ال��دنيا معروف��ا وات وص��ئكم بما كنتم تعملون مرجعكم فأنبIf they contend with you that you should associate with Me what you have no knowledge of, do not obey them. Keep company with them kindly in this world, but follow the way of him who turns to Me, then to Me is your return! (31:15) As far as companionship is concerned, keep their company and be gentle with them. Endure their hardship just as they endured yours when you were young, and do not withhold from them that which Allah has made plentiful for you in the way of food and clothes. Do not turn your face away from them nor raise your voice above theirs. To respect them is part of Allah's command; speak to them in the best possible way and be kind to them. Allah will not let the reward of those who do good go to waste.

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Humility

 Humility embraces every precious and noble rank and high position. If humility had a language which people understood, it would speak about the realities which are hidden in the outcomes of affairs. Humility is whatever is undertaken for Allah and in Allah, and anything other then that is trickery. Whoever is humble to Allah, Allah will honour over many of His bondsmen. The people of humility have recognizable signs. When one of them was asked about humility, he said, 'It means you are humble to the truth and follow it, even if you hear it from a child.' Many types of pride keep one from using, accepting and following knowledge. There are certain verses about this, denouncing the haughty. The people of humility have signs recognized by the angels in heaven and the gnostics on earth. Allah said,   بسيماهم وبينهما حجاب وعلى األعراف رجال يعرفون كال On the most elevated places there shall be men who know all by their marks. (7:46)  and elsewhere, ة ��ه أذل ون هم ويحب من يرتد منكم عن دينه فسوف يأتي الله بق��وم يحبة على الكافرين ...على المؤمنين أعز Whoever from among you turns back from his faith, then Allah will bring a people whom He loves and they shall love Him, humble towards the believers, mighty against the unbelievers. (5:54)  ه أتقاكم إن أكرمكم عند الل

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 Surely the most honourable of you with Allah is the one among you with the greatest precaution. (49:13) And وا أنفسكم ...فال تزك Do not attribute purity to your souls. (53:32) The root of humility comes from the majesty, awe, and immensity of Allah. Allah is not pleased with any act of worship, nor does He accept it unless it comes with humility. No one knows what is the true meaning of humility except those of His bondsmen who are close and connected with His unity. Allah said,  ���ا وإذا خ���اطبهم ون على األرض هون حمن الذين يمش��� ���اد ال���ر وعبالجاهلون قالوا سالماThe servants of the Merciful are they who walk on earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say; Peace. (25:63) He commanded the mightiest of His creation and the master of its people, Muhammad, to be humble, saying,  واخفض جناحك للمؤمنين Make yourself gentle to the believers. (15:88) From humility grow submission, humility, fear and modesty; it is only from within humility that these qualities appear. True and perfect nobility is only given to those who are humble in the essence of Allah.

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Ignorance

 Ignorance is a form whose composition is of this world. When it advances, there is darkness; when it retreats, there is light. The bondsman vacillates with it as shadows vacillate with the sun. Have you not looked at man? Sometimes you find that he is ignorant of his own qualities and praises them, while he recognizes their faults in others and criticizes them. At other times you find that a person knows his own nature and criticizes it, while praising the same in others. He vacillates between protection and disappointment. If he encounters integrity and protection, he is correct. If he encounters lack of assistance and desertion, he errs. The key to ignorance is being satisfied with the knowledge one possesses, and placing all one's trust in it. The key to knowledge is the desire to exchange one level of knowledge for a higher level, together with divine grace and guidance. The lowest quality of an ignorant man is that he lays claim to knowledge which he does not deserve; his most common characteristic is ignorance of his own ignorance, and the most extreme aspect of his ignorance is to reject knowledge. There is nothing whose affirmation is the reality of its negation other that worldly ignorance and greed. All ignorant people are alike.

Eating

 

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A little food is praiseworthy in every case and with all people, because it is salutory for the outer and the inner being. Eating is praiseworthy when done out of necessity, as a means and provision, at a time of plenty, or for nourishment. Eating out of necessity is for the pure; eating as a means and provision is a support for the precautious; eating at a time of plenty is for those who trust; and eating for nourishment is for believers. There is nothing more harmful to the believer's heart than having too much food, for it brings about two things; hardness of heart and arousal of desires. Hunger is a condiment for believers, nourishment for the spirit, food for the heart, and health for the body. The Holy Prophet said, 'The son of Adam fills no worse vessel than his belly.' David said, 'Leaving a morsel of food that I need is preferable to me than staying up for twenty nights.' The Messenger of Allah said, 'The believer eats to fill one stomach, and the hypocrite seven.' And elsewhere, 'Woe to people who are swollen in two places!' When he was asked what they were, he replied, 'The stomach and the genitals.' ‘Isa [a] said, 'The heart does not have any worse disease than hardness, and no soul has been more weakened than by lack of hunger. They are two halters of banishment and disappointment.'

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Evil Whispering

 Satan can get control over Allah's servants only by whispering to them when they have abandoned their remembrance of Allah, become disdainful, feel complacent when faced with His prohibition, and forget that Allah sees their secret. Whispering is what comes from outside the heart by tacit permission of the intellect, and is sustained by man's own nature; once it becomes established in the heart, there is error, misguidance, and disbelief. Allah called on His bondsmen with His subtle call and told them about the enmity of Iblis: خذوه عدوا يطان لكم عدو فات إن الشShaytan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. (35:6) Be with him like a man who, standing near the shepherd's dog, has recourse to the dog's master in order to keep the dog away from him. It is the same when Satan comes to whisper to you, to lead you off the true path and make you forget to remember Allah. Then seek refuge from him with your Lord and

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his Lord. He will defend the truth against falsehood, and help wronged ones, since He says, لون هم يتوك ه ليس له سلطان على الذين آمنوا وعلى رب إنSurely he has no authority over those who believe and who rely on their Lord. (16:99) Man will only be able to do this if he knows how he comes, and can recognize his methods of whispering, by constant watchfulness, sincerity in the arena of service, awe of the All-Aware, and increased remembrance of Him. However, anyone who neglects to spend his time in awareness must undoubtedly be the prey of Satan. He should draw a lesson from what Satan does with such a person's self: he leads it to misguidance, deception and haughtiness by duping the person into admiring his own actions, his worship, and his insight. Satan's insolent behaviour towards him causes a curse to descend on his knowledge, his gnosis and faculty of reasoning for all eternity; yet he has no power over those who are not negligent. Therefore hold to the firmest rope of Allah, which means seeking refuge with Allah, and having a sound need of Allah at every breath. Do not be deceived when Satan makes your acts of obedience appear beautiful in your eye: if he opens ninety-nine doors of goodness for you, it is only so that he may overcome you by opening the hundredth. So meet him with opposition, block his path and reject his charm.

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Pride

 The concept of pride embraces all those aspects of vanity found in those who are proud of their actions, little knowing what their end will be. Whoever is proud of himself and his actions has strayed off the path of right guidance and has claimed what is not his.  Anyone who claims something to which he has no right is a liar, even if he conceals his claim for a long time. The first thing which happens to the proud man is that he is stripped of his object of pride, so that he will know that he is contemptible and incapable, and will testify against himself; and that will be a firmer proof against him. This was the case with Iblis. Pride is a plant whose seed is disbelief, whose earth is hypocrisy, and whose water is transgression. Its branches are ignorance, its leaves are misguidance, and its fruit is being cursed to remain in the Fire forever. Whoever chooses pride has sowed disbelief

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and cultivated hypocrisy. It is inevitable that it must bear its fruit and he will end up in the Fire.

Generosity

 Generosity is part of the nature of the prophets, and the buttress of belief. A person cannot be a believer unless he is also generous; he must also have certainty and high aspiration (himmah), because generosity is a ray of the light of certainty. Effort is easy for him who knows his objective. The Holy Prophet said, 'The friend of Allah is but naturally disposed to generosity.' Generosity is bestowed upon everyone beloved of Allah who has little of this world. One of the signs of generosity is a lack of concern with the wealth of this world, and with whoever owns it, believing or unbelieving, obedient or rebellious, noble or low. The generous man feeds others while he himself is hungry; he clothes others while he is naked; he gives to others while he refuses to accept the gifts of others. He is favoured by that, and does not indebt others by his graciousness. If he were to possess the entire world, he would see himself merely as an alien in it. If he spent it all for Allah in a single hour, it would not be irksome for him. The Messenger of Allah said, 'The generous person is near to Allah, near to people, near to the Garden and far from the Fire. The miser, however, is far from Allah, far from people, far from the Garden and near to the Fire.' The only person who can be called generous is the one who expends himself to obey Allah and for the sake of Allah, even if it is only by a loaf of bread or a drink of water. 

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The Holy Prophet also said, 'The person who is generous is generous with what he owns, and through it desires the face of Allah. As for that person who pretends to be generous and rebels against Allah, he is the recipient of Allah's wrath and anger. He is the most miserly of people towards himself, so how must he be with other people, when he follows his own passion and opposes the command of Allah?' As Allah said, وليحملن أثقالهم وأثقاال مع أثقالهم Most certainly they shall carry their own burdens, and other burdens along with their own burdens. (29:13) The Holy Prophet said, 'The son of Adam cries out, "My property! My property! My wealth! My wealth!" O Wretch! Where were you when there was the Kingdom, and you were not? Is there anything more than what you eat and consume, or what you wear and wear out, or what you give in charity and what you make last?' Either you are shown mercy by it or you are punished for it; therefore use your intelligence, and understand that you should not love the property of others more than your own. The Commander of the Faithful said, 'What you have already given was destined for those who now own it; what you have held back is for those who will inherit it, and what you have now you have no power over, except to become arrogant by it. How much you strive to seek this world and to make claims! Do you wish to impoverish yourself and enrich others?'

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Self-Reckoning

 If there were nothing to make a person turn to self-reckoning (hisab) other than shame at being presented before Allah and the disgrace of having the veil torn away from his secrets, man would throw himself from the mountaintops and not seek refuge in a building, nor eat, nor drink, nor sleep, except when necessary for preserving his life. This is how a person behaves when he sees the Resurrection, with all its terrors and hardships, with every breath he takes. In his heart he looks at the time when he will stand before the Compelling One, and when he takes account of himself it is as if he were being summoned to that presentation before Allah, and is being questioned in his death-throes. Allah said,  ة من خردل أتينا بها وكفى بنا حاسبين وإن كان مثقال حب Even though there be the weight of a mustard seed, yet will We bring it and sufficient are We to take account. (21:47) One of the Imams said, 'Take reckoning from yourselves before you are called to reckoning. Weigh your actions with the scale of your own fear of shame, before they are weighed for you.' 

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Abu Dharr said, 'The mention of the Garden is death, and so is the mention of the Fire. What a wonder that a person's self lives between two deaths!' It is related that Yahya [a] used to reflect for the entire night on the Garden and the Fire, so that his night was spent in wakefulness and he did not sleep. Then in the morning he would say, 'O Allah; whither can one flee? Where can one stay? O Allah, one can only flee to You.'

Opening the Prayer

 When you face the qiblah, you should despair of this world, what it contains of creation and what others are occupied with. Empty your heart of every preoccupation which might distract you from Allah. See the immensity of Allah with your innermost being, and remember that you will stand before Him. For Allah has said, هنالك تبلو كل نفس ما أسلفت وردوا إلى الله موالهم الحق

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There shall every soul become acquainted with what it sent before, and they shall be brought back to Allah, their true Patron. (10:30) Stand at the foot of fear and hope. When you recite the takbir, you should belittle what is between the high heavens and the moist earth, which are all below His glory, for when Allah looks into the heart of His bondsman while he is saying the takbir, and sees in his heart something obstructing the truth of his declaring that Allah is great, He says, 'O liar! Do you try to deceive Me?  By My might and My majesty, I will deny you the sweetness of My remembrance, and I will veil you from My nearness and from joy in My intimate communion.' Know that Allah does not need your service. He is independent of you, your worship and your supplication. He summons you by His favour to show you mercy, to put you far from His punishment, to spread some of the blessings of His kindness over you, to guide you to the path of His pleasure, and to open to you the door of His forgiveness. If Allah had created what He created in the universe many times over, forever without end, it would still be the same to Allah whether they all rejected Him or united with Him. All that He has from the worship of creatures is the display of His generosity and power. Therefore make modesty your cloak and incapacity your shawl. Enter under the throne of the power of Allah, and you will capture the benefits of His lordship, seeking help in Him and asking for His succour.

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Bowing in Prayer

 The bondsman of Allah does not truly bow (in ruku') but that Allah adorns him with the light of His radiance, shades him in the shade of His greatness and clothes him in the garment of His purity. Bowing is first and prostration (sujud) is second: there is courtesy in bowing, and in prostration nearness to Allah. Whoever is not good in the courtesy is not fit for nearness; therefore bow with the ruku' of one who is humble to Allah, abased in his heart and fearful under His power, submitting his limbs to Allah like one who is fearful and sorrowful for what he might miss of the benefits of those who bow. It is related that Rabi' ibn Khuthaym used to stay awake all night until dawn, in a single ruku'. In the morning he would sigh and say, 'Oh! The sincere have gone ahead, and we are cut off!' Make your ruku' properly by keeping your back straight, coming down from your aspirations in standing to serve Him which comes only with His help. Let your heart flee from the whisperings, tricks and deceit of Satan. Allah will elevate His bondsmen according to their humility to Him, and will guide them to the roots of humility, submission and abasement according to how well their innermost being is acquainted with His immensity.Prostration in Prayer

 

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A person who performs true prostration (sujud) does not lose Allah at all, even if it is done only once in his entire life; but the man who deserts his Lord in that state does not prosper. He is like someone who deceives himself, neglecting and forgetting the immediate joy and the ease after this life which Allah has prepared for those who prostrate themselves. The person who does well in his prostration is never far from Allah; while the person who shows ill courtesy and neglects to honour Him because his heart is attached to something other than Allah in the state of prostration will never come near to Him. Therefore prostrate yourself with the prostration of some- one abased, who knows that he is created from the earth on which people tread, that he is fashioned from sperm which everyone finds impure, and that he was given being when he did not exist. Allah made prostration the occasion to draw near to Him in one's heart, innermost being and spirit. Whoever draws near to Him is far from all that is other than Him. Do you not see that in its outward appearance the state of prostrations is not complete except by disappearing from all things and being veiled from all that the eyes see? Thus does Allah want the inward being to be. If someone's heart is attached to something other than Allah in prayer, he is near to that thing, and far from the reality of what Allah desires in His prayer. For He has said, ه لرجل من قلبين في جوفه ما جعل اللAllah has not made for any man two hearts in his breast. (33:4) In the words of the Messenger of Allah: “Almighty Allah said, ‘When I look on the heart of a bondsman, I know if he has sincere love and obedience for My sake and seeks My pleasure in it. Then I take charge

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of him and draw near to him. Whoever is occupied with other than Me in his prayer is one of those who mocks himself, and his name is recorded in the register of the losers.’” 

The Tashahhud

 The tashahhud is praise of Allah. Be a slave to Him in your innermost being, fearful and humble to Him in action as you are His bondsman by word and claim. Join the truthfulness of your tongue to the pure truthfulness of your innermost being. He created you a slave and commanded you to worship Him with your heart, your tongue and your limbs. Realise your enslavement to Him by His lordship over you. Know that the forelocks of creation are all in His hand. Creatures possess neither breath nor sight except by His power and will: they are incapable of bringing forth the least thing in His kingdom, unless it is by His permission and will. Allah said, ه وتع��الى بحان الل ك يخلق ما يشاء ويختار ما كان لهم الخيرة س�� وربعما يشركونYour Lord creates and chooses whom he pleases; to choose is not theirs. Glory be to Allah, and exalted be He above what they associate [with Him]. (28:68) 

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Therefore be a slave to Allah, remembering Him by speech and proclamations, and join the truthfulness of your tongue to the purity of your innermost being, for He created you. He is too mighty and majestic for anyone to have will or volition except by His earlier will and volition. Fulfill the state of enslavement by being content with His wisdom, and by worshipping in order to carry out His commands.  He commanded you to send blessings upon His beloved Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace. Therefore join your prayer to Muhammad with your prayer to Allah, obedience to Muhammad to obedience to Allah, and your witnessing of Muhammad to your witnessing of Allah. Watch out that you do not miss the blessings of knowledge which are contained in one's respect for his sanctity, with the result that you are denied the benefits of the prayer on him. Allah commanded him to ask for forgiveness for you, and to intercede for you when you perform what is obligatory in the command and prohibition, and in the sunnah and courtesies (adab) demonstrated to man through the Holy Prophet. You should know the majesty of his rank with Allah.

Salam

 The meaning of the taslim (greeting of peace) at the end of the prayer means security, that is, anyone

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who carries out the command of Allah and the sunnah of His Prophet out of humility to Him and showing fear, has security from the tribulations of this world and freedom from the punishment of the next world. Al-Salam (peace) is one of the names of Allah, which He entrusted to His creation so that they would make use of it in their behaviour, trusts and contracts; in confirming their companies and assemblies; and for the soundness of their social relations.  If you want to establish this salam in its proper place, and to fulfill its meaning, then fear Allah; and make your faith, your heart, and your intellect sound. Do not sully them by the injustice of acts of rebellion. Let your guardians be safe from you; do not weary, or bore or alienate them through your bad behaviour towards them, nor with your friend, nor with your enemy. If those who are close to someone are not safe from him, then those furthest from him are safest. Anyone who does not establish salam on the occasions when it should be established has no peace and no submission: he is a liar in his salam, even if he uses it as a form of greeting among people. Know that man's existence lies between trials and afflictions in this world. Allah may test him with blessings, to see his thankfulness, or with hardship, to see if he will show steadfastness and nobility by obeying Him, or disgrace in rebelling against Him, although there is no way to reach His good pleasure and mercy except through His grace. The only means to obey Him is when he grants success: none can intercede with Him except with His permission and mercy.

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Repentance

 Repentance is the rope of Allah, and the mainstay of His concern for His servants, who must always show repentance, in every state. Each group of bondsmen has its own form of repentance: The repentance of the prophets is for the disquiet caused to their innermost being by any outward source of vexation, while the repentance of the awliya' (friends of Allah) arises from the subtle change of hue in their thoughts. The repentance of the pure lies in their calm abandonment of whatever oppresses them; the repentance of the elite is for being occupied with anything other than Allah, and the repentance of the common people is for wrong actions. Each of them recognizes and is aware of the cause of his repentance, and his intention therein, but it would take too long to explain all of these here. As for the repentance of the common man, he washes his inward being with the water of regret, in constant recognition of his wrong action, having regret for what he has done, and fear for what

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remains of his life. He does not think that his wrong actions are insignificant, for that would lead him to laziness; his continued weeping and regret for what he has missed is in itself an act of worship. He should restrain himself from his worldly appetites, and seek Allah's help in showing repentance, and to protect him from returning to what he did before. He trains himself in the arena of ignorance and worship. He makes up for obligations missed: he answers others' calls for help, withdraws from bad company, spends his night awake, thirsts during the day, constantly reflecting on his end and seeking help from Allah, asking Him to make him steady in his states of ease and difficulty, and constant in his trials and afflictions so that he will not fall from the ranks of the repentant. This will purify him of his wrong actions, increase his knowledge, and elevate his rank. As Allah has said,  ه الذين صدقوا وليعلمن الكاذبين فليعلمن اللThus Allah will certainly know those who are truthful, and Allah will certainly know the liars. (29:3)

Retreat

 Anyone who embarks on a retreat ('uzlah) from the world is fortified by Allah and protected by His guardianship. What joy there is for the person who has withdrawn with Him, secretly and openly! To do this, he must differentiate between truth and

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falsehood, love, poverty, chose hardship and abstinence, and seize every opportunity for retreat. He must contemplate the outcome of his actions, seeing his incapacity for worship while worshipping as much as possible, abandoning pride, and constantly engaging in remembrance without showing heedlessness, which is the hunting ground of Satan and the beginning of every affliction and the reason for all that is obscure. He should also rid his house of everything he has no immediate need for. ‘Isa [a] said, 'Guard your tongue in order to develop your heart, and make your abode be enough for you. Beware of showing off and of having excess provision. Be modest before your Lord and weep for your errors. Flee from people as you flee from the lion and the viper. They were a medicine and now they have become a disease. Then meet Allah wherever you will.' And Rabi' ibn Khuthaym said, 'If you can manage today to be in a place where you do not know anyone and where none knows you, then do so.' Retreat brings protection for the limbs, a free heart, a sound livelihood, the destruction of Satan's weapons, the avoidance of every evil and rest for the heart. There is no prophet nor regent (wasi) who has not chosen retreat in his lifetime, either at his beginning or at his end.

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Silence

 Silence is the mark of those who are certain of the realities which have already come to be, and about which the Pen has already written. It is the key to every rest in this world and the next: it brings Allah's pleasure, a lightening of the reckoning and a protection from errors and mistakes. Allah has made it a veil for the ignorant and an adornment for the man of knowledge. Through silence, passions can be set aside, and with it come self-discipline, the sweetness of worship, removal of hardheartedness, abstinence, virtuousness and resourcefulness. Therefore lock your tongue to speech which is not absolutely necessary, especially when you do not find anyone worth talking to; except, that is, when you are talking specifically about matters to do with Allah. Rabi' ibn Khuthaym used to place a parchment before him, upon which he would write down everything he said during the day. In the evening he would call himself to account while he was still alive, seeing what he had said both for and against himself. Then he would say, 'Oh! The silent have indeed been saved!' 

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One of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah used to put pebbles in his mouth. When he wanted to say something he knew was both to Allah, in Allah and for the sake of Allah, he would remove them from his mouth. Many of the Companions used to breathe like someone drowning, and speak like someone who was ill. People's destruction or salvation lies in speech and silence. Good fortune belongs to those who are given knowledge of what is incorrect and correct in speech, and the science of silence and its advantages, for it is one of the qualities of the prophets and one of the distinguishing marks of the select. Whoever knows the value of speech is an expert in the company of silence: once a person has been exposed to the subtleties of silence, and has been entrusted with its treasures, then both his speech and silence are worship. No one is privy to this worship of his except the King of all, the All-compelling.

Intellect and Passion

 The man of intellect submits to what is true and is just in his speech; he shrinks from what is false but opposes it in his speech. He leaves this world behind, but does not leave his faith. The proof of the man of intellect lies in two things: truthful words and correct actions. The man of intellect does not say something which the intellect

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rejects, neither does he expose himself to suspicion, nor abandon the help of those who have been tested. Knowledge guides him in his actions; gnosis is his certainty in the paths he treads, and forbearance is his companion at all times. Passion, however, is the enemy of the intellect, the opponent of truth and the companion of falsehood. The strength of passion comes from worldly appetites, and its initial manifestation is caused by doing what is forbidden, neglecting obligations, making light of the sunnah and engrossing oneself in amusements.

Envy

 An envious man harms himself before he harms the person he envies, as was the case with Iblis: by his envy he brought the curse upon himself, whereas to Adam he brought about his election, guidance, elevation to the true contract, and his being chosen. Therefore be envied rather than envious, because the punishment of the envious is always worse than that of the envied; thus is provision apportioned. So how does envying benefit the envious, and how does envy harm the envied? The root of envy lies in the blindness of the heart, and rejection of Allah's overflowing favour: they are two wings of disbelief. Through envy the son of Adam falls into endless grief and is utterly destroyed, and there is no way he can save himself. The envious does not really repent, for he continues to dwell upon and believe in his envy; indeed it is such an inherent part of his nature that it manifests itself unopposed and without apparent

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reason, causing him harm. A person's basic nature does not change, even with treatment.

Greed

 It is said that Ka'b al-Ahbar was questioned about what is soundest and what is most corrupt in faith. 'The soundest thing is scrupulousness and the most corrupt is greed,' he replied. Avarice is the wine of Satan, which he gives to his chosen ones with his own hand. Whoever becomes drunk upon it sobers up only in the pain of Allah's punishment in the proximity of the one who gave him the drink. If there were no other reason for Allah's wrath with respect to greed except man's preferring this world to faith, that would still be a sufficiently severe chastisement. Allah said,   ��انوا ج��ارتهم وم��ا ك أول�ئك الذين اشتروا الضاللة بالهدى فم��ا ربحت تمهتدين These are they who buy error for the price of right guidance, and chastisement for forgiveness. (2:16) The Commander of the Faithful said, 'Be gracious to whoever you wish and you are his prince. Seek help from whoever you like and you are his equal. Be in need of whoever you like and you are his prisoner.' He who is greedy is stripped of his belief without feeling it, for belief prevents the bondsman from being greedy in creation. He also says, 'My friend, the vaults of Allah are full of marks of honour, and He does not neglect to reward of someone who acts well.'

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 Whatever a person might possess is tarnished by defects. Belief makes him rely on trust, moderation, forsaking desire, clinging to the obedience of Allah, and despairing of people. If he does that, then he is keeping close to his belief and he has acted correctly. If he does not, belief parts company with him and leaves him to his bad nature.

 Corruption

 The corruption of the outward being comes from the corruption of the inward. If you put your innermost being in order, Allah will put your outward being in order; if you fear Allah inwardly, He will not rend the veil publicly. But he who betrays Allah inwardly, Allah will expose in the open. The greatest corruption is born of prolonged expectation, greed, and pride, as Allah told us in the story of Qarun when He said,  ه ال يحب المفسدين وال تبغ الفساد في األرض إن الل

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Do not seek to make mischief in the land; surely Allah does not love the corruptors. (28:77) Elsewhere He said,  ادا ��وا في األرض وال فس�� ذين ال يريدون عل تلك الدار اآلخرة نجعلها للقين والعاقبة للمت [As for] that Future Abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief; and the good end is for those who have precaution. (28:83) These defects come from what Qarun did and believed. The root of corruption lies in loving this world, amassing its wealth, following the self, elevating its appetites, loving praise, agreeing with Satan, and following his footsteps: all of these faults combine with a love of paying Allah no heed and forgetting His favours. Therefore you should flee from people, reject this world, interrupt your rest, break with your normal habits, cut off the source of worldly appetites at the root by constantly remembering Allah and clinging to obedience to Him, and enduring people's aversion, the over-dependence of a comrade, and hostile malice on the part of your family and relatives. If you do that, then the door of Allah's kindness will be opened to you, since He has good regard for you, as well as forgiveness and mercy. You will have left the company of the heedless and freed your heart from the captivity of Satan. You will come to the door of Allah in the company of those who come to Him, and you will travel a path on which you may hope to be permitted to come to the Noble, the Magnanimous, the Generous, the Merciful.

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Well-being

 Seek well being (salamah) from Allah wherever you are in every state you may be in, for your faith, your heart, and the ultimate outcome of your affairs. He who seeks it does not always find it. How then, is it that there are some who expose themselves to affliction, travel the opposite path to well-being and oppose its principles, seeing safety as destruction and destruction as safety? Well-being has been taken away from people in every age, especially this one; yet it can be rediscovered through enduring antipathy and even injury from other people, through patience in the face of disaster, making light of death, fleeing from whatever is reprehensible and being content with a minimum of material possessions. If you are not like that, then you must go into retreat. If you cannot do that then be silent, although silence is not the same as retreat. If you cannot be silent, then speak what will help you and not harm you; but that is not the same thing as silence. If you cannot find any way to do that, then move about by journeying from land to land, casting your self (nafs) into the uncharted territories with a pure intention, humble heart, and steadfast body. Allah said,  ا هم ق��الوا فيم كنتم ق��الوا كن إن الذين توفاهم المآلئكة ظالمي أنفس�� عة فته��اجروا عفين في األرض ق��الوا ألم تكن أرض الل��ه واس�� مستض��م وساءت مصيرا فيها فأول�ئك مأواهم جهن Surely, [as for] those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls, they shall say, "In what state were you?" They shall say, "We were

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oppressed in the land." They shall say, "Was not Allah's earth spacious so that you could have migrated therein?" (4:97) Take whatever belongs to the rightly acting bondsmen of Allah. Do not struggle with obscure matters, nor contend with contradictions. If anyone tells you, 'I', say 'you'. Do not claim knowledge in anything, even if you are an expert in it. Uncover your secret only to one who is nobler in the faith than you, and thus you will find nobility. If you do this you will obtain well being, and you will remain with Almighty without any connection to anything else.

Worship

 Persevere in performing the customs and obligations in worship ('ibadah), for they are the source: whoever obtains them and performs them properly has obtained everything. The best form of worship is that which comes nearest to security. This is the one most free of harm and the most consistent, be it ever so small. If you have performed your obligatory and supererogatory prayers, then you are a true worshipper. Beware of treading on the carpet of a king unless you do so with abasement, acknowledgement of need, fear, and respect. Make your movements free of showing off and your secret free of hardness.

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 The Holy Prophet said, 'The person who prays is conversing with his Lord.' So be embarrassed before the One Who is Cognizant of your secret, Who knows your conversation and what your conscience conceals. Be where He will see you doing what He wants you to do, and performing that to which He has summoned you. Those who have gone before us occupied themselves from the moment they completed one obligatory prayer to the moment they started another, so that they could perform both prayers sincerely and correctly. It seems that in our times it has become a virtue to leave the obligatory aside, which is like having a body without a soul. 'Ali ibn al-Husayn said, 'I wonder at a person who seeks something extra while he abandons an obligation; he only does so because he lacks recognition of the matter and respect for it. He does not see Allah's will in preparing people to obey His command and choosing that for them.'

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Reflection

 Reflect on what has passed of this world. Has any of it remained for anyone? Has anyone remained in it, be he noble or lowly, rich or poor, friend or enemy? Similarly, what has not yet happened of it resembles more closely that which has passed of it, than water resembles water. The Messenger of Allah said, 'Death is enough of a warner; the intellect is enough of a guide; precaution is enough of a provision; worship is enough of an occupation; Allah is sufficient as an intimate friend; the Qur'an is enough of a clarification.' And elsewhere, 'Only affliction and trial remain of this world. If a person is saved, it is only by sincerely seeking refuge.' And Noah said, 'I found this world to be like a house with two doors. I entered through one of them and went out through the other.' Such is the state of the one who was saved by Allah: so what is the state of one who feels at ease in this world, relies on it, wastes his life by cultivating it, and is full of worldly demands? Reflection is the mirror of good deeds and the expiation of bad deeds. It is the light of the heart, and guarantees ease to other people and success in obtaining betterment for the next abode; it allows one to foresee the outcome of one's actions, and causes an increase in knowledge. Worship of Allah is unparalleled when accompanied by this quality. The Messenger of Allah said, 'To reflect for an hour is better than worshipping for a year.'  The station of reflection is only obtained by him whom Allah has singled out for the light of gnosis (ma'rifah) and tawhid.

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Rest

 The believer only acquires true rest when he meets Allah, although rest may also be obtained by these four things: silence, by which you recognize the state of your heart and your self in your relations with your Creator; retreat, by which you are rescued from the evils of the age, outwardly and inwardly; hunger, which kills fleshly appetites and temptation; and wakefulness, which illuminates your heart, purifies your nature and cleanses your spirit. The Holy Prophet said, 'If a man finds himself in the morning tranquil in his heart, healthy in body and with food for the day, it is as if all of this world had been chosen for him'; and Wahb ibn Munabbih said: “In the first and the last Books it is written ‘O contentment, honour and riches are to be found with you. Whoever wins, wins through you!' 

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Abu al-Darda' said, 'What Allah has allotted to me will not pass me by, even if it were on the wing of a breeze'; and Abu Dharr said, 'The secret of a man who does not trust his Lord is always exposed, even if it is imprisoned in solid rock.' No one is in a greater state of loss, is viler, or lower than the person who does not believe what his Lord has guaranteed for him and allotted him before He created him. In spite of that, this person relies on his own strength, management, effort, and striving, and goes beyond the limits of his Lord by his seeking ways and means which Allah has caused him to have no need of.

Avarice

 Do not covet anything avariciously; for if you ignore it, it will come to you anyway, if it is destined to be

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yours. Then you would find ease in your heart with Allah, praise for leaving it; but you will be blamed for your haste in seeking it, for not trusting Him, and for not being content with the decree. Allah created this world the same as a shadow: when you chase it, it tires you out and you can never catch up with it. If you leave it alone, it follows you inexorably, and gives you no cause for fatigue. The Holy Prophet said, 'A covetous man is bereft; yet in spite of his deprivation, he is blamed wherever he is.' For how could he be other than bereft when he flees from the covenant of Allah, and opposes His words:  ه الذي خلقكم ثم رزقكم ثم يميتكم ثم يحييكم اللAllah is He Who created you, then gave you sustenance, then He causes you to die, then brings you life. (30:40) The covetous person is in the midst of seven difficult evils: thinking, which harms his body but brings it no help; anxiety, which has no end; weariness, from which he will find rest only in death, although he has the greatest weariness when at rest; fear, which only makes him fall into what he fears; sorrow, which makes his livelihood disturbed without any benefit to him; reckoning, which will not save him from the punishment of Allah unless He pardons him, and punishment, from which there is neither flight nor escape. The one who trusts in Allah spends morning and evening in His protection and well-being. Allah has hastened for him what suffices him, and prepared for him things which only Allah knows. Avarice is what flows out from Allah's anger. When the slave is not bereft of certainty, he is not covetous. Certainty is the earth of Islam and the heaven of iman.

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Clarification

 The intimate conversation of the gnostics possesses three roots: fear, hope and love. Fear is the branch of knowledge; hope is the branch of certainty, and love is the branch of gnosis (ma'rifah) . The proof of fear is flight; the proof of hope is quest, and the proof of love is preferring the Beloved over all others. When knowledge is confirmed in truthfulness, he fears. When fear is genuine, he flees. When he flees, he is saved. When he sees the light of certainty in the heart, he sees overflowing favour. When the vision of overflowing favour is firm, there is hope. When he feels the sweetness of belief in hope, he seeks. When he has success in the quest, he finds. When the light of gnosis is manifested in his heart, the breeze of love stirs, he settles in the shadow of the Beloved, prefers the Beloved over all others, follows His commands and avoids His prohibitions, and chooses them over everything else. When he perseveres towards intimacy with the Beloved while carrying out His commands and avoiding His prohibitions, he has

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reached the spirit of intimate communion and nearness. These three roots are like the sanctuary, the mosque, and the Ka'bah: whoever enters the Sacred Precinct is safe from people. If a person enters the mosque, his senses are safe from being used in disobedience, and if a person enters the Ka'bah, his heart is safe from being occupied with anything other than the remembrance of Allah. Take heed, O believer! If you are in a state in which you are content to meet death, then thank Allah for His grace and protection. If it is other than that, then move from it with sound resolution, and have regret for that part of your life which passed in heedlessness. Seek Allah's help in purifying your outward nature of wrong actions and cleanse your inward being from faults. Cut the shackles of heedlessness from your heart, and extinguish the fire of desires in your soul.

 Judgements

 The heart may be described as belonging to one of four types: uplifted, open, low, or stopped. The raf (uplifting) of the heart lies in remembrance of Allah; the fath (opening) of the heart lies in the pleasure of Allah; the khafd (lowering) of the heart lies in

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occupation with anything other than Allah, and the waqf (stopping) of the heart lies in paying heed to anything other than Allah . ' Do you not see that when a servant remembers Allah with sincere respect, every veil that was between him and Allah is removed? If the heart obeys the source of Allah's decree and is content with that, then how do happiness, joy and worldly rest open up to him? When the heart is occupied with some of the matters of this world and its means, how, then, can it find what Allah has mentioned? Then the heart becomes reduced and dark like an empty, ruined house which has neither prosperity nor occupant. When a person is distracted from remembering Allah, then you see that he is 'stopped' from advancing, and veiled. He has become obdurate and dark since leaving the light which issues from the servant's veneration of his Lord. The sign of raf' lies in agreement in every respect, lack of opposition, and constant yearning; the sign of fath lies in trustful dependence on Allah, truthfulness and certainty; the sign of khafd lies in pride, showing off, and greed; and the sign of waqf lies in the departure of the sweetness of obedience, lack of the bitterness of rebellion, and of confusion in the knowledge of what is permitted and what is forbidden.

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Siwak

 The Messenger of Allah said, 'Using the siwak' purifies the mouth and is pleasing to the Lord,' and he made it one of the confirmed practices. It has benefits for both the outward and the inward being which even men of intelligence cannot count. As you remove the stains caused by food and drink from your teeth with the siwak, so remove the impurity of your wrong actions by humble entreaty, humility, night prayers, and asking for forgiveness before dawn. Purify your outer being from impurities, and your inner being from the turbidity of acts of opposition and committing anything prohibited, all the while acting sincerely for Allah. The Holy Prophet made its use an example for people for alertness and attention, in that the siwak is a clean, soft plant and the twig of a blessed tree. The teeth are what Allah created in the mouth as a tool for eating, an implement for chewing, a reason for enjoying food and for keeping the intestines in order. The teeth are pure jewels, which become dirty because they are present when food is chewed, leading to a deterioration in the way the mouth smells, and decay in the gums. When the intelligent believer cleans with the soft plant and wipes it on these pure jewels, he removes the decay and adulteration from them and they then revert to their original state.

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 Similarly Allah created the heart pure and clean, and made its food remembrance, reflection, awe and respect. When the pure heart turns grey by being fed on heedlessness and vexation, it is polished by the burnish of repentance and cleaned by the water of regret, so that it reverts to its primal state and its basic essence. As Allah said, وابين ويحب المتطهرين إن الله يحب الت Surely Allah loves those who turn [in repentance] to Him, and He loves those who purify themselves. (2:222) In recommending the use of the siwak the Holy Prophet was advocating that it be used on the teeth themselves; but he also implied the meaning and example we have referred to above, that for anyone who empties his faculty of reflection for the purpose of drawing inward lessons from the outward examples, with respect to both the principle and roots of faith, Allah will open the springs of wisdom, and will give him still more of His overflowing favour, for Allah does not neglect the reward of those who act well.

Using the Lavatory

 The lavatory is called in Arabic 'the place of rest', because there people may find rest from the burden of impurities and empty themselves of grossness and filth. There the believer may reflect on how he is cleansing himself from the food and perishable matter of this world, and how his own death will come in like manner: therefore he should find ease in avoiding the world, leaving it aside and freeing

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himself and his heart from its distractions. He should be averse to taking and gathering this world just as he loathes impurity, the lavatory and filth, reflecting on how something good in one state becomes so base in another. He knows that holding onto contentment and precaution will bring him ease in the two abodes. Thus ease comes from considering this world to be insignificant, giving up one's enjoyment of it, and removing the impurity of what is forbidden or doubtful. A person closes the door of pride on himself once he recognizes this; he flees from wrong actions and opens the door of humility, regret, and modesty. He strives to carry out Allah's commands and to avoid His prohibitions, seeking a good end and excellent proximity to Allah. He locks himself in the prison of fear, steadfastness, and the restraint of his appetites until he reaches the safety of Allah in the world to come, and tastes the food of His good pleasure. If he intends that, everything else means nothing to him.

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Purification

 If you seek purification and ablution (wudu'), then go to water as you would go to the mercy of Allah, for He has made water the key to being near to Him in intimate conversation, and a guide to the domain of His service. Just as the mercy of Allah purifies the wrong actions of His bondsmen, so are outward impurities cleansed only by water. As Allah said, ماء ماء ياح بشرا بين يدي رحمته وأنزلنا من الس ذي أرسل الر وهو الطهوراIt is He Who sends the winds as good news before His mercy; and We send down pure water out of heaven! (25:48) and elsewhere, وجعلنا من الماء كل شيء حي أفال يؤمنونWe have made of water everything living. Will they not then believe? (21:30) As He gives life to every blessing in this world from water, so by His mercy and overflowing favour He gives life to the heart and to acts of obedience, and to reflection in the purity of water, its fineness, its cleanness, its blessing and the subtleness of how it mixes with everything; through water He also gives life to the heart, when you purify those limbs which you have been commanded by Allah to purify, and which you use to worship in your obligatory and customary prayers. 

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From each limb come many benefits. When you treat the limbs with respect, then their benefits will soon spring up for you. Deal with Allah's creation like water which mixes with things and gives everything its due, while not changing itself in essence. This is expressed by the words of the Messenger of Allah, 'The sincere believer is like water.' Let your purity with Allah in all your obedience be like the purity of water when He sent it down out of heaven and called it pure. Purify your heart with precaution and certainty when you purify your limbs with water.

Entering the Mosque

 When you reach the door of the mosque, know that you have come to the door of a mighty King. Only the purified tread on His carpet, and only the true are allowed to sit with Him. So be alert in your approach of the court of the awesome King, for you are in great danger if you are heedless. Know that He can do whatever He wishes in justice and overflowing favour with you and by you. If He inclines to you with His mercy and overflowing favour, He has accepted a small amount of your obedience and has given you a great reward for it. If He demands His due of truthfulness and sincerity by His justice towards you,

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He has veiled you and rejected your obedience, even if you have had obedience in abundance. He does what He wills. Acknowledge your incapacity, inadequacy, fragility, and poverty before Him, for you have turned yourself to worshipping Him and being close to Him. Turn to Him, and know that neither the secret nor the revealed part of any creature is hidden from Him. Be like the poorest of His servants before Him: strip your heart of every occupation which might veil you from your Lord, for He only accepts the purest and most sincere. Look to see in which register your name will be written. If you taste the sweetness of His intimate conversation and the pleasure of His addressing you, and drink the cup of His mercy, and those favours he has bestowed on you and those of your requests which He has accepted, then you have served Him properly, and may therefore enter the sphere of His permission and security. If not, then stand as one whose power and ability have been cut off, and whose term has come to an end. If Almighty Allah knows that in your heart you are sincerely seeking refuge with Him, He will regard you with compassion, mercy and kindness. He will cause you to succeed in that which He loves and which is pleasing to Him, for He is generous. He loves noble generosity and the worship of those who need Him, and who are burning up at His door seeking His good pleasure. Allah said, وء أمن يجيب المضطر إذا دعاه ويكشف السWho answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him, and removes the evil? (27:62)

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Supplication

 Observe the courtesy of supplication. Consider the One on whom you call, how you call on Him and why you call; affirm the immensity and magnificence of Allah. Look with your heart at how He knows what is in your conscience, how He sees your secret being and whatever has occurred and will occur in it, both true and false. Learn the paths to your salvation and destruction, so that you do not call upon Allah for something which perhaps contains your destruction, but which you suppose to contain your salvation. Allah said,   ر دعاءه بالخير وكان اإلنسان عجوال ويدع اإلنسان بالشMan prays for evil as he ought to pray for good, and man is ever hasty. (17:11) Reflect about what you ask for and why you are asking: supplication should be a total response to the Truth on your part, and a melting of the heart in contemplation of its Lord. It is to abandon all choices and to surrender all matters, both outward and inward, to Allah. If the preconditions of the supplication are not met, then do not look for fulfillment, for He knows what is secret and what is hidden; you might ask Him for something when He knows that you conceal the opposite of it. One of the companions said to the others, 'You are waiting for rain, and I am waiting for stones.' Know that if Allah had not commanded us to call on Him, He would nevertheless have favoured us with an answer immediately after we finished the prayer. How, then, is His favour, given the fact that He has

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guaranteed that answer to whoever fulfils the conditions of the prayer? The Messenger of Allah was asked about the most powerful name of Allah: he said, 'Every name of Allah is most powerful.' Free your heart from all that is other-than-Him, and call on Him by whatever name you like. In reality Allah does not have one name rather than another: He is Allah, the One, the Almighty. The Holy Prophet said, 'Allah does not answer the supplication of a heedless heart.' When one of you wants His Lord to give to him whatever he asks of Him, he should renounce all people, putting his hope in Allah alone. When Allah sees that in his heart, He will give him whatever he asks. When you have established the preconditions of supplication which I have mentioned, and have become sincere in your innermost being for His sake, then rejoice in the good news that one of three things will happen: either He will hasten to give you what you have asked for, or He will store up something better for you, or He will avert from you an affliction which would have destroyed you had He sent it. The Holy Prophet reported that Allah said, 'If anyone is distracted from asking Me by his own remembrance of Me, I will give him better than what I give to those who ask.' I called on Allah once and He answered me. I forgot the need because of the fact that when He answers a supplication, His bestowal is far greater and more sublime than what the bondsman desires from Him, even if it be the Garden and its eternal blessings. This is understood only by lovers who act, gnostics, the elite and the select of Allah.

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Fasting

 The Holy Prophet said, 'Fasting is a protection from the calamities of this world, and a veil from punishment of the next.' When you fast, intend thereby to restrain yourself from fleshly appetites and to cut off those worldly desires arising from the ideas of Satan and his kind. Put yourself in the position of a sick person who desires neither food nor drink; expect recovery at any moment from the sickness of wrong actions. Purify your inner being of every lie, turbidity, heedlessness and darkness, which might cut you off from the meaning of being sincere for the sake of Allah. Somebody said to one of the Companions, 'You are already weak; fasting will weaken you further.' 'I am preparing that fast for the evil of a long day,' he said. 'Patience in obeying Allah is easier than patience in His punishment.' And the Messenger of Allah once quoted Allah's words, 'Fasting is done for Me, and I am its reward.' Fasting kills the desire of the self and the appetite of greed, and from it comes purity of the heart, purification of the limbs, cultivation of the inner and the outer being, thankfulness for blessings, charity to the poor, increase of humble supplication, humility, weeping and most of the ways of seeking refuge in

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Allah; and it is the reason for the breaking of aspiration, the lightening of evil things, and the redoubling of good deeds. It contains benefits which cannot be counted. It is enough that we mention some of them to the person who understands and is given success in making use of fasting, if Allah wills.

Abstinence

 Abstinence is the key to the door of the next world and freedom from the Fire. It consists of leaving everything which could distract you from Allah without regret, nor feeling proud about leaving it, nor waiting for relief from your renunciation, nor seeking any praise for it. Indeed abstinence means a person considering such things to be of no avail to him: he deems their passing him by as a relief and comfort for him, and their presence as a misfortune for him; thus he always flees from misfortune and clings to

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what brings him ease and relief. The man of abstinence is the one who chooses the next world. He chooses abasement over might and this world, striving over rest, hunger over being full, the well-being of what is to come later over immediate trials, and remembrance over heedlessness. His self is in this world and his heart is in the next world. The Messenger of Allah said, 'Love of this world is the fount of every error;' and elsewhere, 'This world is a corpse; whoever seeks it is like a dog.' Do you not see how it loves what Allah hates? What error is a greater crime than this? One of the Holy Prophet's family said, 'If all of this world were a morsel in a child's mouth, we would have mercy on him. What then is the state of someone who throws the limits set by Allah behind his back, seeking and desiring this world? If the dwelling place of this world had been any good, it would not have shown you mercy, nor answered you, and would have bidden you farewell in departure.' The Messenger of Allah said, 'When Almighty Allah created this world, He commanded it to obey Him and it obeyed its Lord. He told it, "Oppose the one who seeks you and give success to the one who opposes you." ' It acts according to what Allah charged it to do, and what He impressed upon its nature.

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A Description of this World

 This world is like a body whose head is pride, whose eyes are avarice, whose ears are greed, whose tongue is dissimulation, whose hand is desire, whose legs are vanity, whose heart is heedlessness, whose being is annihilation, and whose product is extinction. It brings pride to whoever loves it, avarice to whoever prefers it, greed to whoever seeks it, and cloaks with hypocrisy whoever praises it. It gives vain power over whoever desires it; it leads to heedlessness in the person who relies on it. It seduces whoever admires its goods, but those goods do not last for him. It returns the person who gathers it and is miserly with it to its own abode, which is the Fire.

Reluctance to Act

 A person who feels reluctant to act falls short of what is correct, even if he does right; while a person who acts voluntarily is correct, even if he errs. The reluctant one obtains only contempt in the end, and

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weariness, toil and misery while he is carrying out the action. The outer being of a reluctant person is showing off, and his inner being is hypocrisy: they are the wings with which he flies. The reluctant person never has any of the qualities of the righteous nor any of the marks of the believers, wherever he is. As Allah said to His Prophet [s],  فين قل ما أسألكم عليه من أجر وما أنا من المتكلSay, I do not ask you for any reward for it; nor am I of those who affect [i.e. act with reluctance]. (38:87) The Holy Prophet said, 'we, the company of prophets, the fearfully aware, the trusty, we disavow the reluctant.' So, fear Allah and do away with reluctance, and it will mark you with the sign of belief. Do not be occupied with something whose garment is affliction, with food which in the end is emptiness, with an abode whose end is ruin, with wealth whose end is to be inherited by others, with comrades whom in the end one must take leave of, with glory which in the end is abasement, with loyalty which in the end is abandonment, or with a life whose end is grief.

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Delusion

 A person who is deluded is wretched in this world, and is duped in the next world because he has sold what is better for what is baser. Do not admire yourself. Sometimes you may be deceived by your property and your bodily health into supposing that you will last forever. Sometimes you are deceived by your long life, your children and your friends into thinking that you will be saved by them. Sometimes you are deceived by your beauty and the circumstances of your birth, which bring you your hopes and desires so easily that you think that you are truthful and successful in achieving your goal. Sometimes you are deceived by the regret you show people for your shortcoming in worship, but Allah knows the opposite of that is in your heart. Sometimes you make yourself worship in a spirit of reluctance; but Allah desires sincerity. Sometimes you imagine that you are calling on Allah when you are calling on another. Sometimes you imagine that you are giving good counsel to people, while your real desire is that they bow to you. Sometimes you blame yourself when you are really praising yourself. Know that you will only emerge from the darkness of delusion and desire by sincerely turning in repentance to Almighty Allah, and to whatever you know about Him, and to recognize the faults in your

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self which are not consistent with your intellect and knowledge, and which the faith, the law and the customary practices of the Holy Prophet and the Imams of guidance do not tolerate. If you are content with your present condition, there is no one more wretched than you in knowledge and action, nor anyone with a more wasted life. You will inherit grief on the Day of Resurrection.

A Description of the Hypocrite

 The hypocrite is content to be far from the mercy of Allah, because his outward actions appear to be in line with Islamic laws; and yet he is heedless and ineffective, mocking and transgressing its truthfulness in his heart. The mark of hypocrisy is disregard for lies, treachery, insolence, false claims, insincerity, foolishness, error and lack of modesty, making little of acts of disobedience, desiring believers to lose faith, and

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making light of misfortunes in the faith; pride, praise, praise of love, love of praise, envy, preferring this world to the next and evil to good, inciting slander, love of amusement, dealing with prevaricators, helping aggressive people avoiding good deeds, disparaging those who do good, considering good the evil done by the hypocrite and recognizing as odious whatever good another person does; and many other things like that.  Allah has described the hypocrites in more than one place. He said,  �ه وإن ه على حرف فإن أصابه خير اطم��أن ب اس من يعبد الل ومن الن أصابته فتنة انقلب على وجهه خسر الدنيا واآلخرة ذلك هو الخسرانالمبينAnd among men is he who serves Allah [standing] on the verge. So that if good befalls him he is satisfied therewith, but if a trial afflicts him he turns back headlong; he loses this world as well as the next; that is a manifest loss. (22:11) In describing them, Allah said,  ��اليوم اآلخ��ر وم��ا هم بم��ؤمنين. ��ه وب ا بالل اس من يق��ول آمن ومن النعرون. هم وم��ا يش�� أنفس�� ذين آمنوا وما يخدعون إال يخادعون الله وال��انوا ��وبهم مرض ف��زادهم الل��ه مرض��ا ولهم ع��ذاب أليم بم��ا ك في قليكذبونThere are some people who say, "We believe in Allah and the Last Day", but they are not at all believers. They desire to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive only themselves while they do not perceive. There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah added to their disease. (2:8-10) The Holy Prophet said, 'The hypocrite is he who, having made a promise, breaks it; when he acts, he does evil; when he speaks, he lies; when he is trusted, he betrays; when he is given provision, he is

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reckless; when it is withheld, he makes much of his life.' He also said, 'A person whose innermost being contradicts his public face is a hypocrite whoever he is, wherever he is, in whatever time he lives, and whatever rank he has.'

Proper Social Transaction

 Behaving correctly with Almighty Allah's creation without disobedience to Him comes from Allah's increased favour to His bondsmen. Whoever is humble to Allah in his heart behaves well openly. Keep company with people for the sake of Allah, not for your portion of something which belongs to this world or to seek position or for showing off or to increase your own reputation.  Do not cross the limits of the Law for the sake of eminence and fame: they will not profit you at all, and you will miss the next world without gaining any benefit.

Taking and Giving

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 A person who prefers taking to giving is deluded, because in his heedlessness he thinks that what is now is better than what is to come. It behooves the believer, when he takes something, that he should take it rightfully. If he gives, it should be for a right purpose, in a right way, and from his rightful possessions. How many a taker gives up his faith, but he is not aware of that! How many a giver brings down on himself the wrath of Allah! The matter is not just a question of taking and giving, however; rather he is saved who fears Allah when taking and giving, and who holds tight to the rope of righteousness. In this regard people are of two types: the elite and the common. The elite considers with painstaking caution and does not take until he is certain that it is permissible. If it is unclear to him, he will only take when it is absolutely necessary. The common man considers only the outward form: he takes whatever he does not find to be stolen or extorted, and says, 'There is no harm in this: it is permissible for me.' Here the matter is clear, and he takes it by the judgement of Almighty Allah and spends it in His pleasure.

Brotherhood

 Three things are rare in every age: brotherhood in Allah; a devout, affectionate wife who helps you in Allah's faith; and a rightly guided son. Whoever finds these three things has obtained the good of both abodes and the fullest portion of this world and the next. Beware of taking someone as a brother when you are moved by greed, fear, inclination, money, food or drink. Seek the fraternity of the Allah-fearing,

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even to the ends of the earth, and even if you spend your entire life seeking them. Allah has not left anyone better than them after the Prophets on the face of the earth, nor has He given a bondsman any blessing like that of success in finding their company. Allah has said,  قين ء يومئذ بعضهم لبعض عدو إال المت األخالThe friends shall on that day be enemies to one another except those who guard [against evil]. (43:67) I believe that anyone who looks for a friend without fault in these times will remain without a friend. Do you not see that the first mark of honour which Allah bestowed on His Prophets when their call to faith became known was a trusty friend or helper. Similarly, the most sublime gift which Allah bestowed on His friends, supporters (awliya'), pure friends and trustees was the company of His prophets. This is proof that, after knowledge of Allah, there is no blessing in either abode which is more sublime, more excellent or more pure than company in Allah and brotherhood for His sake.

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Consultation

 Take counsel in the matters faith demands of you with one who has the following five qualities: intellect, knowledge, experience, good counsel, and precaution. If you find these five things in a person, then make use of them, be resolute and rely on Allah. This will lead you to what is correct. As for matters of this world which do not pertain to faith, make decisions about them and then do not think about them further. If you do this, you will obtain the blessings of livelihood and the sweetness of obedience. Knowledge is obtained through consultation. The man of intellect is he who derives new knowledge from consultation, and that guides him to obtain his goal. Consulting a proper counsellor is like reflecting upon the creation of the heavens and the earth and the destruction of both, since the more intense a person's reflection upon these two things, the deeper he penetrates into the seas of the light of gnosis and the more he increases his understanding and certainty. Do not take counsel from someone when your intellect does not give him any credence, even if he is famous for his discernment and scrupulousness. When you take counsel from someone your heart trusts, do not disagree with what he advises even if it

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is contrary to what you want. Surely the self combines both acceptance of the truth with what is opposed to it - that is, on receiving other truths which are clearer to him. Allah has said,  وشاورهم في األمرTake counsel with them in the affair. (3:159) and again, وأمرهم شورى بينهمTheir rule is to take counsel among themselves. (42:38) that is, they consult each other about it.

Forbearance

 Forbearance is a lamp of Allah which leads the holder to His excellence; a person cannot be forbearing unless he is aided by the lights of gnosis and tawhid. Forbearance has five facets: when a man is exalted, but is then humbled; when he is truthful, he is accused of being a liar; when he calls people to the truth, he is scorned; when he is injured without having done any crime; and when he demands his rights and they oppose him.

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 When you have given each of these its due, you have achieved the goal. When you have countered the half-wit by turning away from him and not answering him, people will come to your aid, for he who wages war with a fool is like a man who puts wood on the fire. The Holy Prophet said, 'The believer is like the earth: people obtain benefits from it while they are on it.' Whoever cannot endure people's harsh rudeness will not reach Allah's good pleasure, because His pleasure is closely linked with people's antipathy.  It is related that a man said to Ahnaf ibn Qays, 'You are causing me to worry.' 'I will forbear with you,' he replied. The Messenger of Allah said, 'I was sent as a centre of forbearance, a mine of knowledge, and a home for patience.' He spoke the truth when he said, 'True forbearance is when you pardon a person who acts badly with you and opposes you, while you have the power to take revenge on him.' It is as the supplication says: 'My Allah, You are too vast in favour and forbearance to punish me for my action and abase me for my mistake.'

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Following Another's Example

 Following the example of another is nothing more than what has been bestowed upon the spirit at its origin, when the light of time was mixed with that of eternity. Following a model, however, does not consist of adopting the marks of outward actions and claiming descent from the awliya' of the faith from among the wise and the Imams. As Allah said,  يوم ندعو كل أناس بإمامهمThe day when We will call every people by their Imam. (17:71) that is, whoever follows someone with effacement is pure. And elsewhere,  فإذا نفخ في الصور فال أنساب بينهم يومئذ وال يتساءلونSo when the trumpet is blown, there will be no ties of relationship between them on that day, nor shall they ask of each other. (23:101) The Commander of the Faithful said, 'Souls are a drafted army. Those who know each other are intimate, and those who do not know each other differ from each other.' Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyah was asked who had taught him good manners, and he replied, 'My Lord taught me manners in myself. Whatever I find to be good in people of intelligence and insight I follow and use; whatever I find ugly in the ignorant I avoid and forsake forever. That has brought me to the path of knowledge. There is no sounder way for the astute believer than to follow the

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example of others, because it is the clearest path and soundest goal.' And Allah said to Muhammad, the greatest of His creation,  أول�ئك الذين هدى الله فبهداهم اقتدهThese are they whom Allah guided, therefore follow their guidance. (6:90) Elsewhere He said,  ة إبراهيم حنيفا وما كان من المشركين بع مل ثم أوحينا إليك أن اتThen We revealed to you: Follow the faith of Abraham, the upright one. (16:123) If the faith of Allah had had a path straighter than following a model, He would have recommended it to His prophets and His supporters . The Holy Prophet said, 'There is a light in the heart which is illuminated only by following the truth and intending towards the right path. It is a part of the light of the prophets which has been entrusted in the hearts of the believers.'

Pardon

 Pardoning someone when you have the power to punish is one of the customary practices of the messengers and the secrets of the Allah-fearing. Pardon is when you do not charge your companion for what he has done wrong outwardly, when you forget the cause by which there was inward affliction, and when you extend great charity in your choice despite having power over him. No one could find a way to that pardon except by the one whom Allah has pardoned and forgiven for the sins which he has committed and the deeds he has put off, and who

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has been adorned with His mark of honour and clothed in the light of His radiance.  This is because pardon and forgiveness are two of the attributes of Almighty Allah which He entrusted in the secrets of His pure friends, so that they adopt the manners of their Creator and Maker with creation. This is why He said,   حيم ه غفور ر ه لكم والل ون أن يغفر الل وليعفوا وليصفحوا أال تحبThey should pardon and turn away. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is forgiving, merciful. (24:22) If you do not pardon another mortal like yourself, how can you hope for the pardon of the Compelling King? The Holy Prophet said that his Lord commanded him to have these qualities, saying, 'Unite with whoever breaks with you, and pardon whoever wrongs you; give to whoever deprives you, and be good to whoever is bad to you.' He commanded us to follow him when Allah said,  سول فخذوه وما نهاكم عنه فانتهوا وما آتاكم الرWhatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, keep back. (59:7) Pardon is a secret of Allah in the heart of His select. Whoever is gladdened by it has made Him happy. The Messenger of Allah said, 'Is any of you capable of being like Abu Damdam?' 'O Messenger of Allah,' they said, 'Who is Abu Damdam?' The Holy Prophet replied, 'One of your ancestors who, when he woke up in the morning would say, "O Allah, I have forgiven the shattering of my honour by the common people." '

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Exhortation

 The best form of exhortation is when the words used do not go beyond the limits of truth, and the actions performed do not go beyond the limits of sincerity. The warner and the warned are like someone awake and someone asleep: whoever awakes from the slumber of his heedlessness, opposition and rebellion does good to awaken others from that sleep. Anyone who travels in the deserts of transgression and engrosses himself in the wilds of misguidance, abandons his modesty because of his love for reputation, showing off and fame, wasting his time with those who wear the garments of the righteous, his outward appearance divulging the substance, of what is inside of him. In reality he is devoid of any substance and his inner destitution is flooded with love of praise and enveloped in the darkness of greed. How seduced he is by his passion! How he leads people astray with his words! As Allah has said,  لبئس المولى ولبئس العشيرEvil certainly is the guardian and evil certainly is the associate. (22:13) But whoever Allah has protected by the light of tawhid, support, and excellent success, his heart is cleansed of impurity. He does not separate himself from gnosis and precaution; he listens to the words of the misguided while he ignores the speaker himself, whoever he is. The wise have said, 'Take wisdom, even if it comes from the mouths of madmen.' In the words of ‘Isa [a], 'Sit with anyone who reminds you of Allah when you see him and meet him, aside from

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when he talks. Do not sit with someone when your outer being accepts him but your inner being rejects him.' That is someone who lays claim to what he does not have; if you are sincere, then they will yield to you. When you find someone with these three qualities, then seize the opportunity to see him, meet with him, and sit with him, even if it is only for an hour: this will have an effect on your faith, your heart, and your worship, through his blessing. If someone's words do not go beyond his actions, whose actions do not go beyond his truthfulness, and whose truthfulness does not contend with his Lord, then sit with him with respect and wait for mercy and blessing. Beware of the proof against you, and make his time in your company pleasant, so that you do not reproach him and lose. Look at him with the eye of Allah's favour upon him, His selecting him and His honouring him.

Advice (wasiyah)

 The best of advice and the most necessary is that you do not forget your Lord, and that you remember Him always, and do not rebel against Him, and that you should worship Him whether sitting or standing. Do not be dazzled by His blessings and always be grateful to Him. Do not go out from under the protective cover of His mercy, immensity and majesty, lest you go astray and fall into the field of destruction, even if affliction and adversity touch you and the fires of trials burn you. Know that the afflictions He sends are filled with the eternal marks of His honour, and that the trials He inflicts bring about His pleasure and nearness, even though it may be after some time. What blessings there are for the person who has knowledge, and who is granted success therein!

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 It is related that when someone asked the Messenger of Allah for advice, he said, 'Never get angry, for anger contains opposition to your Lord. Beware of making excuses, for they contain hidden polytheism. Say your prayers like someone saying farewell, for it contains a link to Allah and nearness to Him. Be modest before Allah as you are modest before the righteous among your neighbours, for this contains increased certainty.' Allah has gathered up the advice of all our ancestors, both distant and near, into one single characteristic and that is Precaution (taqwa) In the words of Almighty Allah,  قوا الله اكم أن ات ولقد وصينا الذين أوتوا الكتاب من قبلكم وإيCertainly We enjoined those who were given the Book before you, and [We enjoin] you too that you should be careful of [your duty]. (4:131) This is the sum of every sound act of worship: it is by precaution that people reach the high degrees and highest ranks. It is by precaution that people lead a good life with constant companionship. 

ات ونهر قين في جن في مقعد صدق عند مليك مقتدر إن المت Surely those who guard [against evil] shall be in gardens and rivers, in the seat of honour with a most powerful King. (54:54-5)

Trustful Reliance

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 Trust (tawakkul) is a cup sealed with Allah: none may drink from it or break the seal save the trustful. It is as Allah said,  لون ل المتوك وعلى الله فليتوكOn Allah should the trustful rely, (14:12) and لوا إن كنتم مؤمنين وعلى الله فتوكOn Allah should you rely if you are believers. (5:23) Allah made trust the key of belief, and belief the lock of trust. The reality of trust is preferring others to oneself; the root of preferring others is to advance the other person's claim. He who trusts continues to affirm one of two preferences in his trust. If he prefers what is caused (i.e. phenomenal being), he is veiled by it. If he prefers the Causer of the cause of trust (i.e. the Creator, glory be to Him and may He be exalted!), he remains with Him. If you want to be a man of trust and not a man of causes, then say the takbir over your ruh five times, and bid farewell to all your hopes as death bids farewell to life. The lowest level of trust is nothing more than placing your highest aspiration before your own advancement; moreover, you should neither seek for your own portion nor look for what you lack, for either of those things would break the bond of your belief while you are unaware. If you are truly determined to live by one of the marks of the trusting one, and by His trust with respect to one of these two preferences, then cling to this story for support. It is related that one of the men of trust came to one of the Imams and said to him, 'Show me compassion by answering a question about trust.' The Imam knew the man to be of excellent trust and rare scrupulousness, and he saw his sincerity in what he was asking before the man actually put the question.

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'Stay where you are and wait with me for awhile,' he told him. While he was formulating his answer a poor man passed by. The Imam put his hand into his pocket and, taking something out, gave it to the poor man. Then he turned to the man who had asked the question and said, 'Come and ask about what you have seen.' 'O Imam,' the man said, 'I know that you could have given me the answer to my question before making me wait. Why then did you delay?' And the Imam replied, 'Belief means reflecting on the meaning before I speak. For how could I be negligent of my innermost being when my Lord perceives it? How could I discuss the science of trust while there is a coin in my pocket? It is not permitted for me to discuss that until after I had given it to him, so understand!' The questioner sighed deeply and swore that he would not seek shelter in a house nor rely on another mortal as long as he lived.Respect for One's Brothers

 The reason why brothers in the faith shake hands is Allah's love for them. The Messenger of Allah said, 'Whenever brethren shake hands in Allah, their wrong actions are dispersed so that they become as they were on the day their mothers bore them.' No two brothers' love and respect for each other increases without there being increase for each of them also. It is obligatory for the one having most knowledge of Allah's faith among the two to stimulate his friend to perform the obligatory functions which Allah has made necessary, and to guide him in going straight, in contentment and moderation, to give him the good news of Allah's mercy and to make him fear His punishment. The other brother must seek the blessing of his guidance and hold to what he calls him to, adhere to his admonition, and be guided by him, all the while seeking protection in Allah and seeking His help and success.

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 ‘Isa [a] was once asked, 'How are you this morning?' To which he replied, 'I do not possess the benefit which I hope for, nor can I repel what I am on my guard against, while I am commanded to obey and forbidden to rebel. I do not think that any pauper is poorer than I am.' And when Uways al-Qarani was asked the same question, he said, 'How is a man in the morning when he does not know if he will be alive in the evening, and in the evening he does not know if he will be alive in the morning?'  Abu Dharr said, 'In the morning I thank my Lord and I thank myself.' The Holy Prophet said, 'Whoever wakes up in the morning aspiring for something other than Allah has become among the losers and transgressors.'

Striving and Discipline

 

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Bliss belongs to the bondsman who strives for Allah against his own nature and passions: he who then defeats his passion wins Allah's pleasure, and the one whose intellect leaves behind the self which commands evil through his striving jihad, submission and humility in the service of Allah has won a great victory. There is no veil between the bondsman and Allah which is darker or more desolate than that of self and passion; there is no better weapon to fight and destroy them than total need of Allah, glory be to Him, fear, hunger, thirst in the day and wakefulness at night.  When a person possessing these traits dies, he dies a martyr. If he lives according to the straight path, his end will take him to the greatest pleasure of Allah. Allah said,  ه لمع المحسنين هم سبلنا وإن الل ذين جاهدوا فينا لنهدين والAnd [as for] those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in our ways, and Allah is most surely with the doers of good. (29:69) When you see someone striving harder than you, upbraid yourself, and reproach yourself in order to encourage yourself to do more. Put a halter of command and rein of prohibition on the self, and carry on as if you were a trainer who does not let his mount take a step unless it is completely correct. The Messenger of Allah used to pray until his feet were swollen. He would say, 'How can I not be a thankful slave?' The Holy Prophet wanted to make his community consider this so that they would not neglect striving, toil, and discipline in any state. If you were to experience the sweetness of worshipping Allah, to see it’s blessing and be illuminated by its light, you would not be patient without it for a single

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hour, even if you were to be cut to pieces. No one turns away from it without being denied such benefits of protection and success from Allah as were attained by his forefathers. Rabi' ibn Khuthaym was asked why he did not sleep at night. 'Because I fear to spend the night in sleep,' he replied.

Contemplation of Death

 Contemplating death kills desire, cuts off the roots of heedlessness and strengthens the heart with Allah's promise of life hereafter. It refines nature, breaks the signs of passion, extinguishes the fire of greed and renders this world vile; this is the meaning of the Holy Prophet's words: 'To reflect for an hour is better than a year of worship.' That hour of reflecting is the moment when you unite the ropes binding you to this world and fasten them to the next. The descent of mercy from Heaven never ceases when death is remembered in this way. If a person does not reflect on death, and on his own lack of any means to escape it, on his great incapacity, on the length of time he will spend in the grave and his bewilderment at the Resurrection, there is no good in him. The Holy Prophet said, 'Remember the destroyer of pleasures.' When asked what that was, he replied, 'Death. Whenever one of Allah's servants remembers this when he is wealthy, this world is constricted for

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him. Whenever he remembers it in hardship, it is expanded for him.' Death is the first station of the next world and the last station of this world. Blessed is he who shows himself generous and benefits at the beginning, and blessed is he who has done his best at the end. Death is the closest thing to accompany the son of Adam, although he deems it to be the furthest away. How much man inflicts on himself? What weaker creature is there? In death lies the rescue of the sincere and the destruction of the wrongdoers.  That is why some yearn for death while others hate it. The Holy Prophet said, 'If a person loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him; and if a person hates to meet Allah, the Allah hates to meet him.'

Good Opinion

 The root of good opinion is a man's belief and the soundness of his heart; the sign of good opinion is that whenever he looks, he sees with the eye of purity and virtue wherever he goes, and modesty, trustworthiness, protection and truthfulness are cast into his heart. The Holy Prophet said, 'Have a good

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opinion of your brothers: through that you will gain purity of heart and firmness of nature.' And Ubayy ibn Ka'b said, 'When you see a quality which you disapprove of in one of your brothers, then give it seventy interpretations and see if your heart can be at peace with one of them. If it is not, then blame yourself if you cannot excuse him. If you yourself have a quality which will easily make for seventy interpretations, then you should disapprove of yourself more than you do of him.' As Allah revealed to David, 'Remind My slaves of My blessings and My favours. They have only seen exquisite goodness from Me so they should only expect that what remains will be like what they have already had from Me.' Good opinion invites good worship. A person who is deluded continues to remain in rebellion even while he hopes for forgiveness. The best opinion in Allah's creation is reserved for those who obey Him, hope for His reward and fear His punishment.  The Messenger of Allah said, relating from his Lord, 'I am with My slave's good opinion of Me, O Muhammad.' Whoever fails to live up to the reality of the gifts which come from his opinion of his Lord has intensified the proof against himself, and is among those who are deceived by the shackles of his passion.

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Entrusting Oneself to Allah

 The one who entrusts his affair to Allah is in eternal rest and constant carefree ease of life; he is above caring about anything except Allah, as the Commander of the Faithful said, I was content with what Allah allotted me, and I entrusted my affair to my Creator. As Allah was good in what has passed, so He will be good in what remains. As Allah said, in the words of a believer among the people of Pharaoh, ئات م�ا ي ه س� �اد. فوق�اه الل ه بصير بالعب ه إن الل وأفوض أمري إلى اللمكروا وحاق بآل فرعون سوء العذاب "I entrust my affair to Allah, surely Allah sees the servants". So Allah protected him from the evil consequences of what they planned and the most evil punishment overtook Pharaoh's people. (40:44-5) The Arabic word for entrustment (tafwid) consists of five letters, each letter having an injunction. He who heeds their commands brings the ta of his abandoning (tark) plans in this world; the fa of the annihilation (fana) of every aspiration other than Allah; the waw of fulfilling (wafa) the contract and confirming the promise; the ya of despairing (ya's) of yourself, and certainty (yaqin) in your Lord; and the dad of a conscience (damir) which is purely for Allah,

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and of the need (darurah) for Him. He who entrusts everything to Allah wakes up in the morning free of all evils, and at night sleeps protected in his faith.

Certainty

 Certainty will take the bondsman to every sublime state and every wondrous station; thus did the Messenger of Allah make known the immensity of certainty when he mentioned that ‘Isa [a] walked on water. He said, 'If he had had more certainty, he could have walked on air.' By this he indicated that in spite of the majesty of the place which the prophets have with Allah, they also have different ranks according to their certainty. Certainty is ever increasing, and remains so throughout eternity. Believers also vary in the strength and weakness of their certainty. A person whose certainty is strong

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may be recognised by the fact that he finds himself stripped of all ability and power other than what Allah has given him, and by his keeping to Allah's command and worship both outwardly and inwardly. He considers the states of having and not having, increase and decrease, praise and blame, might and abasement, all to be the same because he considers them all on an equal level. However, a person who weakens his certainty attaches himself to external matters, and allows his self free rein therein. He follows the customs and sayings of people without substantiating them, and strives in the affairs of this world, accumulating its wealth and holding on to it, acknowledging and affirming it with his tongue.  There is no withholder or giver except Allah, and the slave can only obtain what he is provided with and allotted. Effort will not increase provision, but he disavows that by his action and his heart. In Allah's words,   يقولون بأفواههم ما ليس في قلوبهم والله أعلم بما يكتمونThey say with their mouths what is not in their hearts; and Allah best knows what they conceal. (3:167) Allah was compassionate to His bondsmen when He gave them permission to earn money however they might as long as they do not exceed the limits of Allah or abandon their obligations to Him and the behaviour of His Prophet in any of their actions, or abandon the spirit of trust or become caught in the field of greed. But when they forget this, attaching themselves to the opposite of what has been delineated for them, they are counted among the destroyed, who at the end have nothing but false claims. Not everyone who earns is necessarily trustful: from his earnings he brings for himself only

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what is forbidden or doubtful. He may be recognized by the effect his gains have upon him, by his insatiable hunger, and how he spends for this world without let. He who is given permission to earn is one whose self gains while his heart trusts in Allah. If he has a lot of money, he is like a trustee who knows that having property and not having it is the same thing. If he withholds it, he withholds for Allah; and if he spends it, he does so in the way Allah has commanded. Both are for Allah.

Fear and Hope

 Fear is the custodian of the heart, and hope is the intercessor of the self; whoever knows Allah fears Him and sets his hopes in Him. They are the wings of belief with which the true servant flies to Allah's

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pleasure. They are the eyes of his intellect, with which he sees Allah's promise and threat; fear contemplates the justice of Allah through careful awareness of that threat. Hope calls for Allah's overflowing favour and gives life to the heart, while fear kills the self. The Messenger of Allah said, 'The believer has two kinds of fear: fear of what has passed and fear of what is to come.' In the death of the self lies the life of the heart, which leads to firmness in practice. Whoever worships Allah with a balance of fear and hope will not be misguided, and will obtain what he hopes for. How can a slave be anything other than fearful when he does not know at what action his record will be closed, while he has to his credit no deed capable of helping him, no power to do anything, nor any place to fly to? How can he fail to hope when he knows that despite his incapacity he is drowned in the seas of Allah's blessings and favours, which cannot be counted or numbered? The lover worships his Lord with hope by contemplating his own state with the eye of wakefulness; and the abstinent worships with fear. Uways al-Qarani said to Haram ibn Hayyan, 'People act in hope.' 'But you act in fear,' Haram replied. There are two types of fear: permanent and changing. Permanent fear brings about hope, while changing fear brings about permanent fear. Similarly, there are two types of hopes: concealed and open. Concealed hope brings about permanent fear, which strengthens the connection of love; while open hope fulfils a man's expectations regarding his incapacity and shortcomings in the things he has done during his life.

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Contentment

 Contentment is when a person is content with what he loves and what he hates; it is a ray of the light of gnosis. He who is content is annihilated to all his choices; he is really the one with whom Allah is content. Contentment is a name which contains the meanings of servitude, and maybe described as the joy of the heart. I heard my father, Muhammad al-Baqir, say, 'To attach the heart to what is present is association (shirk), and to what is not there is disbelief (kufr): these are the wings of heedlessness.' I am amazed at anyone who claims to be a slave to Allah and then contends with Him over His decrees. Content gnostics ('arifin) are far from being like that.'

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Affliction

 Affliction is an adornment for the believer and a mark of honour for the man of intellect, because facing it directly needs steadfastness and firm-footedness, both of which confirm belief. The Holy Prophet said, 'We, the company of the prophets, are the people who have the hardest trials, then after us come the believers, then the others like them.' Whoever tastes the food of affliction while under Allah's protection enjoys it more than he enjoys Allah's blessing. He yearns for it when it is not there, because the lights of blessing lie under the balance of affliction and trial, and the balance of affliction and trial lies under the lights of blessing. Many are delivered from affliction and then destroyed in blessing. Allah praised none of His bondsmen, from Adam up to Muhammad, until He had tested him and seen how he fulfilled the duty of worship while in affliction. Allah's marks of honour come, in fact, at the last stage, but the afflictions themselves come in the beginning. Whoever leaves the path of affliction is ignoring the lamp of the believers, the beacon of those near to Allah, and the guide for those on the right path. There is no good in a slave who complains of a single trial preceded by thousands of blessings and followed by thousands of comforts. Whoever does not show the patience required in affliction is deprived of thankfulness in the blessings he receives. Similarly, whoever does not give the thankfulness owed for blessings is denied the patience owed in affliction. Whoever is denied both of them is an outcast. 

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Ayyub said in his supplication, 'O Allah, verily seventy comforts and ease did not come to me until You sent me seventy afflictions.'  And Wahb ibn Munabbih said, 'Affliction to a believer is like a bit to a horse and a halter to a camel.' Ali said, 'Steadfastness in relation to belief is like the head to the body. The head of steadfastness is afflictions but only those who act righteously understand that.'

Patience

 Patience reveals whatever light and purity there is in the innermost being of Allah's servants, while anxiety shows up the darkness and bereftness inside them. Everyone claims to be patient, but only the humble are firm in it. Everyone denies his anxiety, although it is quite obvious in a hypocrite because the onset of trials and afflictions tells you who is truthful and who is a liar. Patience is a sensation that continuously prevails in one's consciousness, but what occurs upon a sudden upset cannot be called patience. Anxiety is what disturbs the heart and brings the person sorrow, changing his complexion and his state. Every event whose beginnings are without humility, repentance, and humble supplication to Allah comes from

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someone who is anxious, not someone who is patient. The beginning of patience is bitter, but its end is sweet for some people; but for others both its beginning and end are bitter. Whoever enters it at its end has entered it. Whoever enters it from its beginning has left it. A person who knows the value of patience cannot bear to be without it. In the story of Moses and Khidr Allah said,  وكيف تصبر على ما لم تحط به خبراHow can you have patience in that of which you have no comprehensive knowledge? (18:68) Whoever is unwillingly patient, who does not complain to people and does not become anxious when his veil is rent, is counted among the common people. His share is as Allah said,  ر الصابرين وبشGive good news to the patient, (2:155) That is, good news of the Garden and forgiveness. Whoever meets affliction with an open heart, showing patience with tranquility and dignity, is counted among the elite and his portion is as Allah said,  إن الله مع الصابرينSurely Allah is with the patient. (8:46)

Sorrow

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 Sorrow is one of the marks of the gnostics, through the magnitude of what comes to them of the Unseen when they are in seclusion, and the intensity of their glorification of Allah. The outer being of the sorrowful is contraction and his inner being is expansion. He lives with men contentedly, in a life of nearness to Allah. The sorrowful person is not a man of reflection, because he who reflects is forced to do so, while a sorrowful person is so by nature. Sorrow comes from within, and reflection begins by seeing phenomena—there is a difference between them. Allah said in the story of Jacob,  ي وحزني إلى الله وأعلم من الله ما ال تعلمون ما أشكو بث إنI only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah, and I know [from Allah] what you do not know. (12:86) This is because the knowledge gained in the state of sorrow is particular to him, and Allah has singled him out for it and left the rest of the world deprived. When Rabi' ibn Khuthaym was asked why he was sorrowful, he replied, 'Because I have demands made on me. At the right of sorrow stands contrition, and at the left of it stands silence. Sorrow is a mark of the gnostics of Allah .' Reflection is shared by both the elite and the common folk. If sorrow were to be veiled from the hearts of the gnostics for an hour, they would have to seek help; but if it were to be placed in the hearts of others, they would dislike it. Sorrow is first, while second comes security and good news. Reflection comes second, following the establishment of one's belief in and utter need of Allah by one's seeking rescue with Him. The sorrowful person reflects, and

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he who reflects takes note. Each of them has a state, a science, a path, forbearance and honour.

Modesty

 Modesty is a light whose essence is the heart of belief, meaning careful consideration in everything which is denounced by tawhid and gnosis. The Holy Prophet said, 'Modesty is part of belief.' That is to say, modesty is accepted through belief, and belief is accepted through modesty. The modest person is all good. Whoever is denied modesty is all evil, even if he worships and is scrupulous. One step taken with modesty in the courtyards of Allah's awe is better than seventy years of worship. Insolence, however, is the beginning of hypocrisy, schism and disbelief. The Messenger of Allah said, 'If you have no shame, then do as you like.’ This means that when modesty leaves you, then you are punished for all the good or evil that you do. The strength of modesty comes from sorrow and fear, and modesty is the home of fear. The beginning of modesty is awe, and its end is clear vision. A modest person is occupied with his own affairs, withdrawn from people, and distant from what they are doing, even if they all forsake completely person with modesty.

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 The Messenger of Allah said, 'When Allah desires good for a bondsman, he makes him forget his good qualities, putting his evil qualities before his eyes and making him dislike sitting with those who turn away from the remembrance of Allah.' Modesty is of five kinds: shame for a wrong action; shame for one's incapacity; modesty in the face of a noble equality; the modesty of love, and the modesty of awe. Each of these has its adherents, who are ranked according to these categories of modesty.

Gnosis (ma 'rifah)

 The person of the gnostic ('arif) is with the people, while his heart is with Allah. If his heart were to forget Allah for the time it takes to blink an eye, he would die of yearning for Him. The gnostic is the trustee over the happenings of Allah, the treasury of His secrets, the repository of his lights, the proof of

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His mercy to creation, the instrument of His sciences and the measure of His favour and justice. He needs neither people, nor a goal, or nor this world. He has no intimate except Allah, nor any speech, gesture or breath except by Allah, with Allah, and from Allah, for he frequents the garden of His sanctity and is enriched by His subtlest favours to him. Gnosis is a root whose branch is belief.

Love of Allah

 When love of Allah takes possession of the innermost being of Allah's bondsman, it empties him of every preoccupation except remembrance of Allah. The lover is the most inwardly sincere of all people for Allah. He is the most truthful in his words, the most faithful in his pledge, the most astute in his actions, the purest in remembrance, and the greatest in devoting his self in worship.  The angels compete with each other to converse with him, and boast of having seen him. Through him Allah makes His lands flourish, and by His regard, Allah honours His slaves. Allah gives to people when they ask Him by his right, and removes afflictions from them by His mercy. If people knew how they stand with Allah, they would not try to draw near to Allah save by the dust of his feet.

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 The Commander of the Faithful said, 'Love of Allah is a fire which does not pass by anything without burning it up; the light of Allah does not come over something without illuminating it. The skies of Allah do not cause a cloud to appear without it covering whatever is beneath it; the wind of Allah does not blow on something without it moving. Allah's water gives life to everything, and from Allah's earth everything grows. Whoever loves Allah is given every possession and authority.' The Holy Prophet said, 'When Allah loves a slave in my community, He casts love of him into the hearts of His friends, the spirits of the angels and the keepers of His throne, so that they love him.’  That lover truly has an abundance of bliss, and will be able to intercede with Allah on the Day of Resurrection.'

Love for the Sake of Allah

 

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He who loves for the sake of Allah is beloved of Allah, and he who is loved for the sake of Allah is also beloved of Allah, since each loves the other for the sake of Allah. The Messenger of Allah said, 'Man is with whom he loves. Whoever loves a bondsman in Allah, loves Allah. No one loves Allah except he whom Allah loves.' And again, 'The best of people after the prophets in this world and the next are those who love each other for Allah.' Every love based on some cause other than Allah brings about enmity except for these two, for they come from the same source. Theirs always increases and never decreases. As Allah said,  قين ء يومئذ بعضهم لبعض عدو إال المت األخالThe friends shall on that day be enemies to one another except for those who guard against evil, (43:67) because the root of love is being free of everything except the Beloved. The Commander of the Faithful said, 'The best thing in the Garden and the sweetest is love of Allah, love in Allah, and praise for Allah.' And Allah has said,  وآخر دعواهم أن الحمد لله رب العالمينThe last of their supplication shall be "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds", (10:10)  because when they see the blessings that exist in the Garden, love is aroused in their hearts and then they call out, 'Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.'

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Yearning

 He who yearns neither desires food, nor finds pleasure in drink, nor is he quickly excitable, nor is he intimate even with his close friends, nor does he seek refuge in a house, nor does he dwell in a city, nor wear a garment nor take rest enough for his need.  He worships Allah night and day, hoping to reach the object of his yearning. He speaks to Him with the tongue of yearning, declaring what is in his innermost being. This is as Allah said of Moses when he met his Lord: وعجلت إليك رب لترضىI hastened to thee, my Lord, that Thou mightest be pleased. (20:84) The Holy Prophet explained his state as follows: 'He neither ate, drank, slept nor desired any of that in his coming or going for forty days, out of his yearning for his Lord.' When you enter the arena of yearning, then say takbir for yourself and your desires in this world. Bid

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farewell to all familiar things, and turn from all except the One you desire most. Say the word Labbayk ('At Your service') between your life and your death: 'At Your service, O Allah, at Your service!' Then Allah will make your reward great. A person who yearns is like a drowning man: he is only concerned with being saved, and forgets every thing else.

Wisdom

 Wisdom is the light of gnosis, the measure of fearful awareness and the fruit of truthfulness. Allah has not given any of his servants a greater, more favourable, generous, lofty or more splendid blessing than wisdom for the heart. In Allah's words, 

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يؤتي الحكمة من يشاء ومن يؤت الحكمة فقد أوتي خيرا كثيراHe grants wisdom to whom He pleases and whoever is granted wisdom, he indeed is given a great good and none but the men of understanding remember. (2:269) That is, only the one whom I have singled out for My sake and whom I have designated for it knows what wisdom I have reserved and prepared. Wisdom is rescue, steadiness at the beginning of the affair and a firm stance at the end. It makes Allah's creatures aspire to Him. And the Messenger of Allah said to 'Ali, 'That Allah should guide one of His slaves at your hands is better for you than everything the sun shines upon, from east to west.'

Making Claims

 In reality the claim belongs to the prophets, the Imams and the truthful, and a man who makes a claim improperly is like the accursed Iblis. He lays claim to devoutness while in reality he contends with his Lord and opposes His command. Whoever makes such claims reveals his lie, and the liar is not trustworthy; whoever claims what is not lawful for him has the gates of affliction opened for him. Anyone who makes a claim will doubtless be asked for clear proof, upon which he is shown to be bankrupt and disgraced. The truthful person is not asked the reason for his actions; as 'Ali said, 'No one sees a truthful person without being in awe of him.'

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Taking Heed

 The Messenger of Allah said, 'He who learns his lessons in this world lives in it like a man asleep: he sees it but does not touch it. Abhorrence is increased in his heart and in his self by the behaviour of those who are deceived by this world, which can only bring the reckoning and punishment. He exchanges that world for what will bring him near to Allah's pleasure and pardon. He washes himself free of those things to which the world invites him, and of its worldly adornments, with the water of the world's extinction. Taking heed brings three things to the person who does so: knowledge of what he does, acting by what he knows, and knowledge of what he does not know. The root of taking heed lies in one's fear of its outcome, when he sees that he has fully realized abstinence at the beginning. Taking heed is only successful for those who have purity and insight. Allah said,  فاعتبروا يا أولي األبصارTake a lesson, O you who have eyes! (59:2) and again, تي في الصدور ها ال تعمى األبصار ولكن تعمى القلوب ال فإنFor surely it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts which are in the breasts. (22:46)

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 When Allah opens the eye of someone's heart and insight by means of consideration, then He has given him a high station and an immense fortune.

Contentedness

 If a man of contentedness were to swear that he would eventually be in charge of his two abodes, Allah would confirm him in that, realizing his hope through the immensity of his contentment. How can Allah's servant not be content with what He has allotted him when He says, نحن قسمنا بينهم معيشتهم في الحياة الدنياWe distribute among them their livelihood between them in the life of this world. (43:32) Whoever yields to Allah, and is not heedless in affirming Him in what He wishes and whenever He

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wishes, whoever has certainty of His lordship ascribes of necessity the allotment of each man's provision directly to Himself, and does not recognize the reality of causes. Whoever is content with what is allotted is relieved of care, grief and fatigue. Whenever he decreases in contentment, he increases in desire. Greed for this world is the root of every evil; the person who has it is not saved from the Fire unless he repents. That is why the Holy Prophet said, 'Contentment is a kingdom which does not vanish.' It is the ship of Allah's pleasure, bearing whoever is on board it to His House. Have excellent trust in what you have not been given, and pleasure in what you have been given. Be patient in what befalls you, for this indeed is one of the greatest tasks.

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Slander

 Slander is forbidden to all Muslims, and he who slanders has sinned in every instance. Slander is when you mention something about a person which is not a fault in Allah's eyes, or when you censure what the people of knowledge praise. As for discussing someone who is not present with regard to something which Allah censures, when that person is guilty of it, then this does not amount to slander, even if he dislikes it when he hears it; and you are free of any slight of that person. This is in order to make the truth clear from the false by the clarification of Allah and His Messenger. However, this has a precondition, in that the person who says it must seek only to clarify what is true and false, in the faith of Allah. If he means to deprecate the person of whom he talks without meaning to make things clear, then he is taken to task for his corrupt goal, even if he is correct in what he says. If you really slander someone, then seek pardon from that person. If you do not go that far nor reach that point, then ask Allah's forgiveness for that. Slander eats up good deeds as fire eats up wood. As Allah revealed to Moses, 'The slanderer will be the last to enter the Garden, if he repents. If he does not repent, then he will be the first to enter the Fire.' As He said,  أيحب أحدكم أن يأكل لحم أخيه ميتا فكرهتموهDoes one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it. (49:12) 

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The various aspects of slander occur when you mention a fault in someone's character, intellect, action, behaviour, belief, ignorance and so on. The origin of slander may be one of ten types: venting one's anger, pleasing other people, suspicion, believing a report without investigating it, having a bad opinion, envy, mockery, astonishment at some action in another which one does not comprehend, dissatisfaction or impatience with others, and embellishment of oneself at the expense of others. If you seek Islam, then remember the Creator and not the created; then the circumstances of slander will be a lesson for you, and a wrong action will be replaced by a reward.

Wa In-nahu Wali-at Taufeeq

NOTES

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