As we see in the twenty first verse of the sacred surah of Ahzab (The Allies), the Great Prophet(s) of Islam is a good sample for humanity upto the Doom's Day.
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا.
“Certainly you have in the Apostle of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much. 33:21”
The most generous Prophet of Islam used to say:
مَنْ أحْيى سُنَّتِي فَقَدْ أحْياني، وَمَن أحْياني كانَ مَعِي فِي الجنّةِ.
“One who enlivens my ways of life has kept me alive and one who keeps me alive will enter the paradise with me.”
Imam Sadiq(s) has said: I do not like to see a Moslem leave this world having not carried out the Prophet's ways of life at least once.
We see in a narration:
خَيْرُ السُّنَنِ سُنَّةُ مُحَمَّدٍ صلّى اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَآلِهِ.
The best ways of life are those adopted by God's Prophet(s).
Why? This is because the Great Prophet(s) was directly and indirectly raised up in God's ways. God let His own names and attributes manifest in Mohammad(s). This was so evident that he mirrored God's traits and characteristics. He has declared:
أدَّبَني رَبّي فَأحْسَنَ تَأدِيبي.
“God educated me and it was a good education.”
There are many references in the Holy Quran to the Prophet's behavior:
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنْ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ.
“Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard-hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you. 3:159”
إنّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيم.
“And most surely you conform yourself to sublime morality. 68:4 »
قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمْ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ.
“Say: if you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults.3:31”
Sheikh Mofid reports from Imam Baqir(s) who has said that the Great Prophet(s), at the time of his demise, said:
لا نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي وَلا سُنَّةَ بَعْدَ سُنَّتي.
There will be no Prophet after me and there is no right ways of life after me, either.
The Prophet of God has said:
أكْرِمُوا أوْلادي وَحَسِّنُوا آدابي.
Respect my offsprings and carry out my ways of life well.
Imam Ali(s) has stated:
فَاقْتَدُوا بِهَدْي رَسُولِ الله4 فَإنَّهُ أفْضَلُ الهَدْي وَاسْتَنّوا بِسُنَّتِهِ فإنَّها أشْرَفُ السُّنَنِ.
Follow the ways and approaches of the Prophet in your life because they are the best ways of life. His methods in life are the most honorable ones.
Imam Ali(s) in his Nahjolbnalaqa has encouraged us to follow our honorable Prophet because he is a great man worthy of following those who follow him are lucky ones. The most beloved man for God is the one who closely follows his Prophet and imitates the ways which that great man has followed and has set for us to follow.
The Prophet(s) always begged God to lead him towards the righ mannerisms and to keep him away from the vices.
اللّهُمَّ حَسِّنْ خَلْقي وخُلْقي، اللّهُمَّ جَنِّبْني مُنْكَراتِ الأخْلاقِ.
And Allah accepted the Prophet's invocation and provided him with the sacred verses of the Holy Quran.
Saeed Ibn Hoshsham says: I asked the Prophet's wife about his behavior. She asked me: Don’t you recite the Holy Quran? I answered positively. She then added, “His manners are based on the Holy Quran.” The Prophet(s) carried out what the Holy Quran had taught him to do and he carried out the Quranic commands swifter, better and more sincerely than others.
خُذْ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ الْجَاهِلِينَ.
“Take to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn asid from the ignorant. 7:199”
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنْ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ.
“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good to others and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful.16:90”
وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ.
“And be patient and your patience is not but by the assistance of Allah. 16:127”
وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ.
“(O my son) and bear patiently that which befalls you; surely these acts require courage. 31:17”
مِنْهُمْ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاصْفَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ.
“So pardon them and turn away; surely Allah loves those who do good to others. 5:13”
ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ.
“Repel evil with what is best, when lo! He between whom and you was enmity would be as if he were a warm friend. 41:34”
It is upto the people to follow the great Prophet(s) closely and learn what the Holy Quran taught him. In this way people could arrive at the worldly prosperity and could benefit abundance in the Hereafter. In doing this, they could avoid going astray. God Has made our obligations clear. There is no excuse for anybody, however.
Concerning the Prophet's right mannerisms, generosity and pardoning, Imam Ali(s) has said:
Among the prisoners-of-war of the tribe called Tei who were brought into Medina there was a girl who told the Prophet(s): O Mohammad, what would happen if you made me free so that I could escape the reproaches of the Arab tribes. I say this because I am the tribal chief's daughter . My father used to protect and give shelter those who lacked it. He used to free the Prisoners-of-war. He used to supply the travelers with food; he would greet others and would never let any needy go without his need having been met. I am the daughter of Hatam Ta'ee.
The Great Prophet(s) replied: O girl, what you said are the characteristics of a true believer. If your father were a Moslem, I would ask God's blessings for him. Then the Prophet(s) added: let the girl be free because her father loved good mannerism and Allah loves good morals.
When the girl was being freed, Abu Bardat Ibn-e Dinar rose from his place and asked the Great Prophet(s). O, Messenger of God, Does God love good morals? The Great Prophet(s) replied: I swear to God, in Whose power lies my life, that only the possessors of good morals may enter the paradise.
Then the Prophet(s) added: Among the good morals that Islam recommends are the following: proper association with people, being generous towards them, being lenient to them, and treating them amicabley; spreading among people the right ways of living, and feeding them; being the first in greeting them; paying visits to the sick, whether the sick person is a well-wisher Moslem, or a sinner; taking part in the Moslem's funeral processions; treating the neighbors kindly, whether they are Moslems or not; paying respects to the senior citizens; accepting people's invitations and inviting them; pardoning people; reconciling two disagreeing persons, being honorable and magnanimous; making sacrifices; suppressing one's anger and rage and then pardoning the wrong-doer.
Islam has prohibited the following features and considers them among sins:
Performing useless actions; involving in music and songs of any sort; treason, hypocracy, and unfounded revenge; telling lies, back-biting, jealousy, greed, injustice, aggression, tricks, evesdropping, agitating people, lack of association with relatives, being bad-tempered, pride, selfishness, improper praise of others, cursing others, spite and animosity, theft and aggression.
Anas says: The Prophet(s) never refrained from giving us the right pieces of advice; he always recommended that we carry out the right things. A good sample of what the Prophet(s) believed in was the following sacred verse from the Holy Quran:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنْ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ.
“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good to others and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful. 16:90”
We should, however, be aware of the fact that the Prophet(s) possessed all the high standards of morals prior to teaching them to others; in the same way, he did not have the pernicious features that he advised people to avoid.
Moaz says: The Prophet(s) told me: I recommend to you that you be pious in all worldly affairs; that you get involved in honesty and decency; that you keep your promises; that you do not take part in treason; that you respect your neighbors; that you treat the orphans generously; that you be amicable in speech; that you volunteer to be the first in greeting people; that you take part in good deeds; that you curtail your wishes; and that you be faithful. The Prophet(s) recommended the following, as well: the understanding of the Quran, the love for the Hereafter; the fear of the Resurrection Day; being humble; avoiding cures; to avoid refuting the teller of the truth and confirming the liar; not obeying the sinner; to avoid disobeying the just leader; and to avoid performing sins and corruption. The Prophet(s) recommended that I repent secretly for any sin I have performed secretly.
This is how the Prophet(s) invited people to the proper mannerisms, piety, and good deeds.
The Prophet(s) was the most enduring, righteous, and pious of all men. He never touched any woman who was not his wife.
The Prophet(s) was the most generous of all. He never kept any money. Rather, he would stay out of his home at nights to give the money he had to a needy person.
From what Allah had given him, the Prophet(s) would spend some with contentment and would freely give away the rest to the needy.
The Prophet(s) used to make his own shoes; he would repair his clothes himself and would help the family members with their house chores.
The Prophet(s) was unique in modesty; he would not stare at people; he would accept the invitation of anybody and would compensate for any favor he would receive, even for a sip of milk.
He would not make use of alms; he would accept the invitation of the slave-girls as well as that of the needy. He would not get impatient for his own benefits, but he would get upset when he was faced with injustice. He would carry out benefits, but he would get upset when he was faced with in- justice. He would carry out justice even if it was not in his own interest. Even at the time of need, he would never ask a non-Moslem for assistance.
Once a friend of his was murdered by the Jews. The Prophet(s) did nothing but carry out the justice.
At times he would fasten a piece of rock on his stomach to struggle with hunger, but he would eat anything which was available.
He would avoid asking for anything and would eat any clean and lawful food.
The Prophet(s) liked to eat bread, dates, meat, sweet paste, honey, and melon.
Prior to his visiting God the Prophet(s) went on being hungry. He had not eaten wheat-bread for three consecutive days when he met with God. He had refrained from eating. Rather, he had preferred to give the food to the needy.
The Prophet(s) would accept people's invitation without delay. He would pay a visit to the sick. He would take part in the funeral processions. And he would walk among his foes without any body-guards.
The Prophet(s) was more silent than any body else. His gtood nature and affability was unique to him. His eloquence in speech was superior, as well. Worldly affairs did not frighten him. He would wear anything which he gained lawfully. He would sit next to the slaves and non-slaves alike.
The Prophet(s) would make use of any palfrey: Donkeys, mules, horses and camels made no difference for him.
He loved fragrance; he would refrain from bad smells. He would associate with the poor and would respect the scientists and scholars. Through his generosity he could attract the decent people. He would assist his relatives with no discrimination.
The Prophet(s) would accept the reason for any apology. When he engaged in humor he would say nothing but the truth. He would not engage in boisterous laugh. He would not condemn lawful plays and games. Some ignorant people might speak harshly with him, but the Prophet(s) was most patient. He used to have a camel and sheep on whose milk he and his family would feed. In the matter of food and clothes he and his slaves and family members were equal.
The Prophet(s) would not spend his time in getting involved in anything except for God. He would attend at his followers' gardens. He would never humiliate a poor man for his poverty. A king's glamour had no effect on him. He would invite both the king and the poor to the right path of the faith.
The Prophet(s) would not read or write. He was grown up in the deserts, grazing the flocks of the cattle. He was an orphan. But God had taught him all the standards of good mannerism and all the knowledge essential for this world and Hereafter.
During his life, the Prophet(s) never used curses. He avoided cursing any aggressor Moselem, either the servants or the slaves. In the Ohod Holy war, his companions asked him to curse his foes. He replied: My Prophethood was a favor offered to people by Allah. I was appointed as a Prophet to bless people, not to curse them.
Anas says: I served the Prophet(s) as a servant. Never did I hear reproachment from him. And if his family members rebuked me, he would say: let him alone. He never criticized his sleeping place. If there was a bed spread on the floor, he would rest on it, or else he would sleep on the floor with no bed or pillows.
The compassionate God Has described him in the Torah (The Old Testament) in the following words: Mohammad(s), my selected servant is neither quick-tempered, nor cruel, nor harsh in manner. He would not punish; rather he pardons. His birth place is Mecca. He is extremely knowledgeable.
In the Bible, God has described Mohammad(s) in the same manner: Mohammad(s) was the first to greet people. He patiently listened to people when they spoke to him about their miseries. When he shook hands with a person he would not draw back his hand first; rather he would let the other person draw back his hand.
The Prophet(s) would shorten his prayer if anybody entered his room while he was praying. He would then ask what the person needed. Upon satisfying the person's needs, he would then resume his praying.
The Prophet(s) had not specified any particular place for his staying. He would sit at any location which was available. He usually sat facing Mecca. He would spread his aba (cloak) on the ground for a visitor to sit on, even if the visitor was a stranger.
He would treat any visitor as if he were his closest relative. In his presence there were modesty, decency and respect.
To show respect and care towards others, the Prophet(s) would call people by their nicknames. If anybody lacked a nickname, he would creat one for him.
He was late to get angry and first to pardon and reconcile.
The Prophet(s) was the kindest of all and cared for people more than anybody else. He was the most helpful man for others. When he rose from his place, he would say:
سُبْحانَكَ اللّهُمّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أشْهَدُ أنْ لا إلهَ إلاّ أنْتَ، أسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأتُوبُ إلَيكَ.
He was the most eloquent. He spoke little but conveyed significant information when he talked. He would say: I use the most eloquent form of language. The paradise residents would speak like me.
The Prophet(s) was logical in his discourses. He used some pauses between two sentences to give time to his listener to comprehend his intentions. When he talked, his language was filled with melodies. He used to change his pitches a lot.
Most of the time, he was silent. He would not talk unless he had to. He always told the truth whether he was delighted or irritated. In his giving advice he was sincere. He considered himself one member of society and would not consider any privileges for his own.
He was the most sociable person among others. But he would contemplate and think deeply on those occasions when the holy verses were revealed to him: at those critical moments he would deliberate on the Doom's Day.
Under hard situations, he would ask God for His assistance and guidance and begged God: O God! Show me the right way so that I may follow it. Let me know the indecent actions so that I will avoid them.
Imam Hossein(s) says: I asked my father, Imam Ali(s) about the Prophet's morals. He answerd: Prior to entering the house, he would ask for permission. The Prophet(s) would divide his time in three portions: One Portion of time was spent on Praying; another part of his time was spent to associate with his family and the third part was spent for resting. However, during his rest, he would meet with his followers and with people in general. He would consider more prestige for those who were learned. Of course, this respect was proportional with their faith.
There were some individuals who needed something. The Prophet(s) would satisfy their needs. He would assign some jobs to people so that they might be useful to themselves and others. He would ask people to let him know if any person was in need of anything. In his estimation anybody who could give him such information would have a strong position on the Doom's Day.
The Prophet(s) avoided getting involved in argument, talkativeness or anything which was irrelevant to him. He would not do the following concerning people: he would not backbite; nor did he reproach anybody; nor did he try to find fault with others.
He would not embark on any discussion unless it brought him heavenly reward; and when he started a discussion, his audience were attentive.
The Prophet(s) showed extreme prudence in four things: he did the right thing so that others could follow him suit; he avoided performing viscious deeds so that people refrain from them; he tried to do what was in the interest of people; and performing those affairs which could bring forth the reward both here and in the Hereafter.
We will continue our discussion concerning the status of the Prophet(s) by referring to the Holy Quran:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ.
“And we have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds. 21:107”
The Great Prophet(s) got the position of Prophethood at a time when ignorance and superstition dominated over the world and tyranny, plunder, homicide, burying the girls alive were the rules of the day.
It was a time of disunion and hypocracy; when human thought was not functioning properly. It was a time when human conscience was dormant. The people in Iran and Rome and Saudi Arabia were suffering from tyranny and injustice. There was nobody for them to resort to. The oppressed ones were getting annihilated by the oppressors. Man was caught in the claws of corruption. There was no sign of monotheism, light, and mental health. It was a time when the scientists were made fun of. The free men were being taken as slaves. Man had shut down all the doors of prosperity. Men did not pay any attention to human dignity. And in the words of the Holy Quran in the sacred verse 103 of A'lay Imran (The Family of Imran): Men were on the brink of a pit of fire before the time of Prophethood.
وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنْ النَّارِ.
It was under such conditions that Mohammad(s) was appointed by Allah as a prominent Prophet to bring forth blessings for humanity and to save man from the quagmires of corruption, and to open the doors of prosperity to man.
The Great Prophet(s) used to frequently utter the following utterance for the people Mecca:
فَإنّي قَدْ جئتُكُم بِخَيرِ الدُّنيا وَالآخِرَةِ.
لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمْ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ.
“Certainly Allah conferred a benefit upon the believers when He raised among them an Apostle from among themselves, reciting to them His communications and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error. 3:164”
It is a fact that, prior to the prophethood of Mohammad(s), people were in mere corruption. Through the Prophet(s), God put forward three programs for the salvation of man from corruption.
1) The recitation of God's communications;
2) The purification of self from rascalities and vices;
3) The teaching of the Book and the wisdom.
Man's ignorance towards monotheism, faith, the resurrection, the Book, and the punishment on the Doom's Day and the domination of shaitan over him and his engagement in his numerous lusts had put him in a precarious and devastating situation.
To awaken people from pure corruption, the prophet of Islam read to them three types of verses:
1) The verses on creation
2) The verses on man
3) the verses on shariat
These verses attract our attention to the creator:
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى وَمَا خَلَقَ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنْثَى.
“I swear by the night when it draws a veil, and the day when it shines in brightness, And the creating of the male and the female. 92:1-3”
وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَاهَا وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَاهَا وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّاهَا وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَاهَا وَالسَّمَاءِ وَمَا بَنَاهَا وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا طَحَاهَا وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا.
“I swear by the sun and his heat, And the moon when she follows him, And the day when it shows it, And the night when it draws a veil over it, and the heaven and Him who made it, And the earth and Him who extended it, And the soul and Him who made it perfect. 91:1-7”
وَالْفَجْرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ.
“I swear by the daybreak, and the ten nights, And the even and the odd, and the night when it departs. 89:1-4”
أَفَلَا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ وَإِلَى السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ وَإِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ.
“Will they not then consider the camels, who they are created? And the heaven, how it is reared aloft, And the mountains, how they are firmly fixed, And the earth, how it is made a vast expanse? 88:17-20”
Will they not think on the majestic castle above our heads which contends all the magnificent stars, galaxies, and clouds?
Will they not consider the mountains which lie on the earth and are firmly connected to its core and function as its protector so that it would not go apart in the face of storms and floods?
Would they not think about the expanse of the earth which stores all sorts of minerals and nourishments inside?
الَّذِي خَلَقَ فَسَوَّى وَالَّذِي قَدَّرَ فَهَدَى وَالَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الْمَرْعَى فَجَعَلَهُ غُثَاءً أَحْوَى.
“(Your Lord) Who creates, then makes complete, And who makes things according to a measure, then guides them to their goal, And who brings forth herbage, then makes it dried up, dust-colored. 87:2-5 »
وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ.
“I swear by the heaven and the comer by night; And what will make you know the comer by night is? The star of piercing brightness. 86:1-2”
أَأَنْتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمْ السَّمَاءُ بَنَاهَا رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَاهَا وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَاءَهَا وَمَرْعَاهَا وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَاهَا مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَامِكُمْ.
“Are you the harder to create or the heaven? He made it. He raised high its height, then put it into a right good state. And He made dark its night and brought out its light. And the earth, He expanded it after that. He brought forth from its water and its pasturage. And the mountains, He made them firm, A provision for you and for your cattle. 79:27-33”
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ الْأَرْضَ مِهَادًا وَالْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا وَخَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَكُمْ سُبَاتًا وَجَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا وَجَعَلْنَا النَّهَارَ مَعَاشًا وَبَنَيْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعًا شِدَادًا وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنْ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا لِنُخْرِجَ بِهِ حَبًّا وَنَبَاتًا وَجَنَّاتٍ أَلْفَافًا.
“Have we not made the earth an even expanse? And the mountains as projections thereon? And we created you in pairs, and we made your sleep to be rest to you, And we made the night to be a covering, And we made the day for seeking livelihood. And we made above you seven strong ones, And we made a shining lamp, And we send down from the clouds water pouring forth abundantly, that we may bring forth thereby corn and herbs, And gardens dense and luxuriant. 78:6-16”
When the Holy Quran, through the verses, enticed human reasoning and wisdom to think on the phenomenon of life and on the creation of so many differing kinds of things, plants, animals and invisible beings whose number is beyond our imagination, the scholars, philosophers and learned elite started to find out some of the secrets of the world and through their continual efforts tremendous amounts of information were collected. No doubt, all these feats took place due to the Holy Quran which encourages man to deliberate on the creation. Below you will read an article by professor Rezerford, most part of which is referred to in the Holy Quran. First read the article; then look at the verses of the Holy Quran. Then, you will observe the miracles of the Holy Quran.
At the outset, you would ask the following question: what is the relationship between the researches on the creation of the western scholars and the Holy Quran? To answer this question we should say that the west was deprived of books, libraries, sciences, and universities upto five centuries ago. The movement of the Islamic science and knowledge from East to west caused the renaissance and awakening of people and created knowledge and insight and centers of education. This fact is accepted by all western scholars. They have written books and articles on this issue. However, the reference to all those sources are beyond the scope of the present work. Thus, we will observe that the vigilance and enlightenment of the Western nations and their scientists are closely related to the Holy Quran and have been influenced by the Prophethood of the Prophet Mohammad(s).
“After centuries of vehement discussions over the appearance of life over the earth, there are now some researches which provide us with a more exciting and at times more horrifying answer than Darwin's Theory of evolution which considered man as an offspring of primates.
An observation of these researches reveals to man that life began in its earliest forms in the seas of the earth [Imam Ali(s) in his first sermon of Nahjolbalaqa refers to this same phenomenon as “Zabad”].
It is nearly three billion years sine the first stage of the Earth life has come to an end. At that time the heat on the surface of the earth depended on nothing else except on the sunshine.
The first layer of the earth was a barren desert covered with molten metals which was always made turbulent by continual earthquakes.
Steams and burning geysers were emited from the spores and holes of the first layer of the earth and scattered all around. Finally, the atmosphere of the earth was saturated with steams and the dark, thick clouds stopped the sun rays from penetrating into the earth atmosphere.
Then it was time to rain: the dense clouds poured down torrents of water. This lasted for centuries till all the holes on the earth were filled with water and great oceans and seas were created. Then the clouds dissipated and the sun began to shine on the earth. But the earth was still a life-less globe consisting of rocks, and water. Although the main agents of life such as Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen and especially oxygen existed on the earth, they were not free and would not create the conditions for life.
For instance, the oxygen in the atmosphere was mixed with water vapor (because the atmosphere was a mixture of water vapor, Amonia and methan). As a general rule, the oxygen of the earth atmosphere was found either mixed with hydrogen or in the iron mineral or with other earth minerals. Thus, the oxygen was not free.
The nitrogen supply was not free either. Carbon was contained in the atoms of the heavy metals (such as iron carbide) buried in the earth. Definitely everything was against the theory that at some time these elements might turn into life.
There were some terrifying events taking place on the life-less earth: The volcanoes began to erupt. The Ultra-violet rays were attacking the earth and the oceans. The tornadoes and violent and destructive windstorm had made the oceans turbulent. As a result of these turmoils the life-making elements were solved in the sea water.
The rain carried the chemical elements that were scattered in the atmosphere's vapors and the rivers started to cut valleys on their way to the seas. The chemical treasures, in this way, were being carried towards the seas. Thus, the sea became the cradle for life.
The oceans now had become a store for chemical elements. During the day the sun turned the surface of the shores into burning ovens but the surfaces of the seas, due to the currents of cold water, remained moderate in temperature.
Inside the seas, the chemical substances which were carried there by the torrential rains started to mix with the minerals contained in the rocks.
If we were present at the sea when life was appearing, we would observe the sea as it is to day: it looked wavy, blue in the clean weather and gray in the cloudy weather and foamy at the time of storms. But at that time the waves struck over rocks which were free from any contamination: there were no signs of snails or algae on the rocks. On the shores of the seas there were no mollusk or the dead fish bodies.
Now it was time to look for the carbohydrates since they were responsible for bringing forth the earliest chemical stages of life. The molecules comprising hydrogens and carbons created marvelous energy. Their growth reminded us of the living crratures. Carbohydrates did not stay idle; rather they multiplied tremendously, collecting different groups of atoms all around themselves, creating bigger units.
For decades, chemistis assumed that carbohydrates, like other organic materials, were formed only through the activities of live cells. But further investigations have revealed now that carbohydrates were created without the help of other living cells.
Upon the release of some of the agents of life there was something missing, and that was the body and outer form of life.
In order to find out how such a form and body is made let us observe what happens when a mass of organic particles are inside the ocean. These dangling particles are absorbed towards one another and make a jelly-like substance. The chemists call this state of the matter choloide: this is a state between liquid and solid (gelatin, ovi albumen or egg white, oil drops, are among choloides). If we pour choloides into water, they will not dissolve; rather, they will remain intact as drops inside water.
The life-less carbohydrates, too, were agitated inside water through the sea currents, forming slippery (mucous) drops. Recently the peculiar traits of these mucous drops have been researched with delicate scientific means.
These drops are assumed to possess a magnetic property which causes the surrounding water particles to come close to one another to build up concentrated layers. Thus, the jelly drop is covered with an amazing outer layer through which the soluble substances can pass. These jelly drops are independent entities despite the fact that they are related with the outer environment.
These drops were the physical manifestations of the cellular protoplasm. They had gathered together to build up larger entities through certain chemical activities.
At our time, the ozone which exists in the upper layers of the atmosphere, protects the protoplasme of the delicate living cells against the ultra-violet rays. But at the outset of the creation of life there was no ozone in the earth atmosphere to stop the passage of these rays into the oceans. Thus, these ultra violet rays prepared the life particle. The light from these ultra violet rays made the jelly drops ready for the start of life.
We are not aware how long it took the first manifestation of life to appear. With the passage of time the jelly drops were being “baked” in the warm seas and inside them numerous chemical compositions were being created. Now those drops or seeds which were strong enough survived and those which lacked stamina simply vanished.
Within the past millions of years drastic changes and improvements have taken place on the earth due to the functions of different catalysts, i.e., materials which make the chemical actions and reactions take place.
Most probably, the first catalysts were composed of small particles of clay which were brought into the seas. These sticky pieces of clay brought the particles together making easy the later chemical activities.
With the passage of time, the structure of the early jelly seeds became more complicated and formed larger clusters of molecules.
Finally, after a complicated series of chemical actions and reactions, and within an unlimited area of time there came into existence extremely complex particles called proteins.
The issue is now being presented in such a way that we could assume the appearance of this particle has been completely accidental. But the truth is that man has discovered the protein only after the passage of an unlimited amount of time. We simply do not know how the first protein came into being.
Inside the amazing structure of the particle of protein there are large degree of electric potentials and mutual interactions of acids and bases. There are also expansions and contractions inside this particle. This complex structure has got a huge chemical power. It can develop at all sides; it can expand and contract; it can lengthen, shorten and bend.
Both proteins and some molecules called Acid Nucleic, which develop in the seas, contain the secrets of life.
With the passage of thousands of years these substances produced protoplasms, enzymes, Insulines, and hemoglobines. They, too, produced the muscles, and organs and coordinated their mutual activities. They, subsequently, put the heart's pulses, the respiratory functions, and the functions of nerves in order.
The main step in the production of life, however, took place when proteins and acid nucleic miraculously combined together to produce protoplasm. It appears that a long string composed of acid nucleic which contained large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, was responsible for the creation of life. What a huge conception of the unlimited power of the Great Creator!”
Now let us observe some of the verses of the Holy Quran which deal with the creation of the earth and the sky and which refer to water as the origin of man:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ.
“Do not those who disbelieve see that the heavens and the earth were closed up, but we have opened them; and we have made of water everything living, will they not then believe? 21:30”
وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَابَّةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى بَطْنِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى رِجْلَيْنِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى أَرْبَعٍ يَخْلُقُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ.
“And Allah has created from water every living creature: so of them is that which walks upon its belly, and of them is that which walks up on two feet, and of them is that which walks upon four; Allah creates what He pleases; surely Allah has power over all things. 24:45”
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَثَّ فِيهِمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَهُوَ عَلَى جَمْعِهِمْ إِذَا يَشَاءُ قَدِيرٌ.
“And one of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and what He has spread forth in both of them of living beings; and when He pleases He is all-powerful to gather them together. 42:29”
إِنِّي تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ رَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ مَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا إِنَّ رَبِّي عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ.
“Surely I rely on Allah, my Lord and your Lord; there is no living creature but He holds it by its forelock; surely my Lord is on the right path. 11:56”
In fact, the first objective of the prophethood of the prophet Mohammad(s) was to read to people the verses from the Holy Quran so that through this means the ignorant ones might awaken and the wrong-doers might be led towards the right path and the foundation of mental growth might be laid and the world might be free from corruption, tyrany, filth, and aggression.
While living, the Prophet Mohammad(s), through the Holy Quran and what he had learned from the supernatural world, taught people the issues of creation. In this way, he could pave the way for human progress and growth. Thus, man could study the world and look for its mysteries. This made man establish schools and universities and publish books and articles on creation. Now let us return to those verses from the Holy Quran which deal with creation as such.
أَلَمْ تَرَوْا كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا وَاللَّهُ أَنْبَتَكُمْ مِنْ الْأَرْضِ نَبَاتًا ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ فِيهَا وَيُخْرِجُكُمْ إِخْرَاجًا وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًا لِتَسْلُكُوا مِنْهَا سُبُلًا فِجَاجًا.
“Do you not see how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, And made the moon therein a light, and made the sun a lamp? And Allah has made you grow out of the earth as a growth: Then He returns you to it, then will He bring you forth a new bringing forth: And Allah has made for you the earth a wide expanse, that you may go along therein in wide paths. 71:15-20”
The issue of seven heavens and some of the mysteries related to the earth, however, have not been solved yet. Regarding this, there is a vague perspective in front of our eyes and this has made us wonder a great deal. Now, let us observe some of these breath-taking issues:
The world which the astronomers depict for us consists of thousand millions galaxies and each galaxy houses thousand million stars.
Alongside one of these galaxies, the galaxy of the solar system, there is a star, which is hot and is of a medium size. Like other old stars, it has changed its color into yellow. This gold-plated star is our sun, which is the king of all stars.
At an indefinite time in the past, for some unknown reasons, some heavenly bodies were attracted by the sun and started to rotate it. The earth is one of those heavenly bodies.
The earth outer crust is only a dozen kilometers thick. Inside it, rocks and metals, are like a mass of dough with a melting heat; however, the layers of basalt and graphite over them, keep the earth from being hot on the outer crust.
Man and his companions, the animals, live between two sources of fire; one is the fire which is trapped inside the earth and the other one is the sun which sends its rays over the earth crust continually. A little change in the sun's radiation over the earth, either its increase or decrease is extremely hazardous to man's existence over the earth.
The astronomical physics teaches us that the clear, cloudless sky is a collection of innumerable suns whose rays are scattered in different directions.
Dividing the sky into several sections and taking photos from each section will make it possible to assign numbers to the stars of the blue dome above our head (here the first sky is meant). This is currently done at the observatories. At the college observatories there are some glass wards thirty five centimeters by forty centimeters, which depic more than two thousand galaxies. However, the number of the galaxies which make up the universe is more than five hundred millions.
How many stars are there in each galaxy? Some of the sections of the sky have already been studied by the astronomers. One young astronomer from the Harvard University has numbered two million stars in only one portion or section of the sky. According to the information gathered from these observatories each galaxy contains at least one hundred billion stars.
In order to grasp the great expansions of the universe, let us do a little research:
Let us assume that the volume of the earth is of the same size as the dot used at the end of this sentence. The diameter of this dot is nearly a half millimeter. Having in mind that the true diameter of the earth globe is 13,000 kilometers, we have reduced the true size of the earth globe 26,000,000,000 times. After reducing the other distances or diameters on the globe, we will get the following numbers:
- The distance between the earth and the moon is 16 milimeters;
- The distance between the earth and the sun is 6 meters;
- The distance between the earth to the nearest fixed star is 1617 kilometers;
- The diameter of our galaxy is nearly 37.600.000 kilometers.
Such are the relations and distances in the world in which we live.
الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ وَالنَّجْمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ فِيهَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَالنَّخْلُ ذَاتُ الْأَكْمَامِ وَالْحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ وَالرَّيْحَانُ.
“The sun and the moon follow a reckoning. And the herbs and the trees do adore Him. And the heaven, He raised it high, and He made the balance, that you may not be inordinate in respect of the measure. And keep up the balance with equity and do not make the measure deficient. And the earth, He has set it for living creatures; therein is fruit and palms having sheathed clusters, And the grain with its husk and fragrance. 55:5-12”
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْيدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ وَالْأَرْضَ فَرَشْنَاهَا فَنِعْمَ الْمَاهِدُونَ وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ.
“And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the markers of things ample. And the earth, We have made it a wide extent; how well have we then spread it out. And of everything We have created pairs pairs that you may be mindful. 51:47-49”
أَفَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَاهَا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِنْ فُرُوجٍ وَالْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَاهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ تَبْصِرَةً وَذِكْرَى لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مُنِيبٍ وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً مُبَارَكًا فَأَنْبَتْنَا بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ وَحَبَّ الْحَصِيدِ وَالنَّخْلَ بَاسِقَاتٍ لَهَا طَلْعٌ نَضِيدٌ رِزْقًا لِلْعِبَادِ وَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِ بَلْدَةً مَيْتًا كَذَلِكَ الْخُرُوجُ.
“Do they not then look up to heaven above them now, We have made it and adorned it and it has no gaps? And the earth, We have made it plain and cast in it mountains and We have made to grow therein of all beautiful kinds, to give sight and as a reminder to every servant who turns frequently to Allah. And we send down from the cloud water abounding in good, then we cause to grow thereby gardens and the grain that is reaped, And the tall palm-trees having spadices closely set one above another, A sustenance for the servants, and we give life thereby to a dead land; thus is the rising. 50:6-11”
إِنَّ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَفِي خَلْقِكُمْ وَمَا يَبُثُّ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ رِزْقٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ.
“Most surely in the heaves and the earth there are signs for the believers. And in your own creation and in what He spreads abroad of animals there are signs for a people that are sure; And in the variation of the night and the day, and in what Allah sends down of sustenance from the cloud, then gives life thereby to the earth after its death, and in the changing of the winds, there are signs for a people who understand. 45:3-5”
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا وَالسَّمَاءَ بِنَاءً وَأَنْزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنْ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ.
“Who made the earth a resting place for you and the heaven a canopy and Who sends down rain from the cloud, then brings forth with it subsistence for you of the fruits; therefore do not set up rivals to Allah while you know. 2:22”
بِِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيمِ. قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ. اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ. لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ. وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ.
“Say: He, Allah is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him.”
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ.
“He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth, and He directed Himself to the heaven, so He made them complete seven heavens, and He knows all things. 2:29”
وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ.
“And there is no animal that walks upon the earth nor a bird that flies with its two wings but they are genera like yourselves; we have not neglected anything in the Book, then to their Lord shall they be gathered. 6:38”
وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهُ خَضِرًا نُخْرِجُ مِنْهُ حَبًّا مُتَرَاكِبًا وَمِنْ النَّخْلِ مِنْ طَلْعِهَا قِنْوَانٌ دَانِيَةٌ وَجَنَّاتٍ مِنْ أَعْنَابٍ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُشْتَبِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ انظُرُوا إِلَى ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَيَنْعِهِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكُمْ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ.
“And He it is who sends down water from the cloud, then We bring forth with it buds of all plants, then We bring forth from it green foliage from which We produce grain plied up in the ear; and of the palm-tree, of the sheaths of it, come forth clusters of dates within reach, and gardens of grapes and olives and pomegranates, alike and unlike; behold the fruit of it when it yields the fruit and the ripening of it; most surely there are signs in this for a people who believe. 6:99”
هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ يُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ.
“He it is Who made the sun a shining brightness and the moon a light, and ordained for it mansions that you might know the computation of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create it but with truth; He makes the signs manifest for a people who know. 10:5”
هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمْ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَسْمَعُونَ.
“He it is Who made for you the night that you might rest in it, and the day giving light; most surely there are signs in it for a people who would hear. 10:67”
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنْ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ الْفُلْكَ لِتَجْرِيَ فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ الْأَنهَارَ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ دَائِبَيْنِ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ.
“Allah is He who created the heavens and the earth and sent down water from the clouds, then brought forth with it fruits as sustenance for you, and He has made the ships subservient to you, that they might run their course in the sea by His command, and He has made the rivers subservient to you. And He has made subservient to you the sun and the moon pursuing their courses, and He has made subservient to you the night and the day. 14:32-33”
وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ فَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ لَهُ بِخَازِنِينَ.
“And We send the winds fertilizing, then send down water from the cloud so we give it to you to drink of, nor is it you who store it up. 15:22”
These verses attract our attention towards man's internal and external creation. They as well, depict Allah's power and might:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ.
“He who created death and life that He may try you-which of you is best in deeds and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving. 67:2”
Death is the transition of this limited world into an unlimited arena to get the rewards for one's good deeds and get punished for his or her worng-doings.
The next world, whose gate is the death, is the world which the Holy Quran, one hundred and twenty four thousand prophets, the twelve Infallible Imams, the divine philosophers, the Gnostics and God-Lovers have told us about. The disbelivers of the next world do not have any valid reasons to present for their premises.
Let us not look at the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in which empirical and physical sciences (like behaviorism in psychology) dominated man's thinking. The rational man easily set aside those premises and started to accept the truth. Let us read the following article written by Norman Vincent pepl so that we may grasp the reality. It will show us that the disbeliever's reasoning is based on the lack of logic. The premises which are rooted in sound logical reasoning and are based on man's nature, logic, wisdom, the prophets' righteous proclamations and the Imam's insight can not be negated:
“When I learned of my mother's death, I went to the church so that I could deliberate in private in that spiritual environment. I wanted to feel her presence in the church because she had previously told me: “Any time you pray in this church, I will be with you.” I sat at my special desk. My eyes fell on the old and torn bible which was my loyal associate in my trips. I had a desire to find a means of comfort on that gloomy day. I laid my hand on the sacred book, gazing at a vague spot in the space. Suddenly, I felt two soft hands touching my head; I became extremely delighted.
I am a curious man by nature. In accidents of the world, I always look for the reasons and I carefully analyze the situation. I thought perhaps the sensation of those two hands was an illusion which was created due to my mother's death. However, I could not easily accept this explanation. From that day on, I have always believed that my mother is not dead and that she will always be alive.
Nothing has ever shaken my conviction that eternal life exists. I do believe on the eternality of life; this concept is irrevocable to me. I am positively certain that after death I will find my dear friends and nothing may separate me from them. And I firmly believe that everybody will preserve his or her specific personality in that huge, extended world. There is no pain there for any believer.
Man will improve and perfect himself there. This is due to the fact that life without spiritual betterment and progress is useless.
Years back I read the following sentence written by a scientist: 'At death man's life becomes extinct like a candle's flame'.
In those days when the emprisit philosophy was the rule of the day and was followed by most people, such claims looked fascinating since they could easily entice people to accept them. But nowadays, these philosophers are asked to present the rationale behind their ideology.
The truth is that such philosophizings are baseless and these philosophers could never prove their ideas.
In fact, human nature as such, which is the very foundation of our conviction, is the most reliable proof for our conviction, is the most reliable proof for our belief and faith.
When God wishes man to arrive at some truth, He will first plant the seed of this truth in man's conscience. Man's desire for eternal life is so widespread that nobody could ever deny it.
Man has not reached the supernatural truths through his mathematical reasoning. Rather, his internal belief, conviction, and revelation have helped him to arrive at these truths and facts.
Inspiration plays a crucial role in the understanding of scientific facts. As Burgeson, the French philosopher, puts it: It has frequently happened that a scientist grasps a scientific fact through revelation and inspiration. The reverse is also true in that the scientific researches have helped a scientist to believe in revelation.
The old conception of a materialistic scholar is not helpful any more. Sir James John has declared: Everything in this world is in turmoil. And Einstein's theory has revealed that energy and matter are interchangeable; both are the same thing.
When I was interviewing the wife of Edison, the great inventor, I asked her husband's opinion concerning the Hereafter. She said that her husband was of the belief that soul is a real entity which is separated from the body at death. When Edison was dying his physician heard him saying: Every thing is amazing and beautiful in the next world.
Now, let us listen to the statements of a nurse who has observed many people at their death. She said:
It seems most dying people see things at their moments of death. Most often they talk about light and good melodies. Some others seem to be looking at some familiar faces. An unexpected wonder is often observed in the looks of these dying persons. I was sitting next to the bed of my dying friend. At the last moments of his life prior to death, he addressed his son saying: I see beautiful mansions. In one of them there is light; it is for me. It is wonderful. Then he was silent forever.
This son was telling us: My father was a man of knowledge; he would never say anything without proof. What my father told us was true; I have no doubt about it.
Doctor Tesley Watz, a physician in London, once told me: I was sitting next to a dying patient of mine. His hands were in my hands. Then I started to hold his hands more firmly. But the patient said: let go of my hand; how magnificent is over there.
On his last moments of life, Rousseau uttered the following succinct expression: Be at your ease. Look how charming is the sky over there! I am going there.
أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنسَانُ أَنْ يُتْرَكَ سُدًى أَلَمْ يَكُ نُطْفَةً مِنْ مَنِيٍّ يُمْنَى ثُمَّ كَانَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقَ فَسَوَّى فَجَعَلَ مِنْهُ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَى.
“Does man think that he is to be left to wander without an aim? Was he not a small seed in the seminal elements, than he was a clot of blood, so He created him then made him perfect. Then He made of him two kinds, the male and the female. 75:35-39”
قُتِلَ الْإِنْسَانُ مَا أَكْفَرَهُ مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ ثُمَّ السَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُ ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُ فَأَقْبَرَهُ.
“Cursed be man! How ungrateful is he! Of what thing did He create him? Of a small seed; He created him, then He made him according to a measure, then as for the way: He has made it easy for him. Then He causes him to die, then assigns to him a grave. 80:17-21”
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ.
“Have we not given him two eyes, And a tongue and two lips? 90:8-9”
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ.
“Certainly we created man in the best make. 95:4.”
فَلْيَنظُرْ الْإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ خُلِقَ مِنْ مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ.
“So let man consider of what he is created: He is created of water pouring forth, coming from between the back and the ribs. 86:5-7”
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ سُلَالَةٍ مِنْ طِينٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ.
“Then we made him a small seed in a firm resting-place, then we made the seed a clot, then we made the clot a lump of flesh, then we clothed the bones with flesh, then we caused it to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators. 23:12-14”
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ مِنْ الْمَاءِ بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ قَدِيرًا.
“And He it is who has created man from the water, then He has made for him blood relationship and marriage relationship, and your Lord is powerful. 25:54”
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا.
“Surely We have created man from a small life-germ uniting itself: We mean to try him, so We have made him hearing, seeing. 76:2”
خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُبِينٌ.
“He created man from a small seed, and lo! He is an open contender. 16:4”
Man's story of creation is marvelous and breath-taking, indeed. So are those sacred verses of the Holy Quran which deal with the Allah's signs revealed to man. Nowadays every feature of man's creation is the topic of a specific science.
Not a man, not even a tribe of men, could possibly have access to all secrets of man's creation. For every limb and organ of men there are lots of researches available. We should read these to appreciate the complexities of creation.
The sacred verses of the Holy Quran and the narrations and the Islamic news have all had their crucial role to lead man toward his inner being. Such verses were introduced above. To grasp them fully one needs to study the interpretations on these verses, books on physiology, psychoanalysis and psychology since there are points in those verses which we could not understand except with the help of above-mentioned scientific books.
The great prophet of Islam reckoned it as his duty to read the Holy Quran to people so that they might get familiar with God's commands and wishes which cover all aspects of man's life.
He was obliged to read to people the verses from the Holy Quran, which had been righteously revealed to him so that people could find the ways which would lead them to prosperity.
The Prophet(s) of Islam during his twenty three years as the prophet read the verses of the Holy Quran whether he was on voyage or at home. He read the verses at the time of war or peace, at the mosque or at the market-place, on the street or crossroads, at day or nigh, directly or indirectly. He taught people the true meaning of those verses. He made people ready to act on those verses. He put forth tremendous amounts of energy. He spared nothing from his people upto the last moment of his blessed life.
In all aspects of life, the Prophet(s) performed his human and divine responsibilities and upto the Doom's Day people of the world owe him a lot.
In order to cure people's mental and spiritual disturbances, he presented a valuable, and curing prescription called the Holy Quran. With this monotheistic prescription he left no pain incurable.
Through the Holy Quran, the Prophet of Islam could teach people that it is God's speech. He led people to realize that this Holy book could take them to prosperity.
The Prophet(s) presented the Holy Quran to people to save their wisdoms and lives. Through this book, he could ignite people's insight.
By teaching the Holy Quran to people, he could let people realize that God is the very foundation of everything, that this world is only a planation and field to be sowed for the Hereafter.
Although the verses of the Holy Quran are based on man's nature, wisdom and conscience, the Qoreish's aggressors and tyrants, sometimes ridiculed the Great Prophet(s) and would ask him to present an act of miracle to prove his point. The Prophet(s) then would read some of the verses in order to answer their questions. He would tell them: My miracle is this Quran which is sent by God. He sometimes challenged them to bring forth a book like Quran if they ever could. The inability of the Qoreish in presenting a book similar to the Quran proved that this Holy Book was God's speech. He used to recite the following:
قُلْ لَئِنْ اجْتَمَعَتْ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا.
“Say: if men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Quran, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others. 17:88”
The Holy Quran invites people to believe in monotheism and to carry out Allah's commands in order to achieve prosperity both here and in the Hereafter. The Holy Quran prohibits people from engaging in idolatry and aggression and orders them to carry out justice and refrain from getting involved in injustice, transgression, prostitution and evil-doings.
The Holy Quran explicitly proclaims: Everybody is equal in front of God.
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ.
“Surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful of his duty. 49:13”
The Holy Quran warns those people who find an associate for God and who arrange their lives on the wrong premises of atheism and blasphemy and those who worship a life-less idol and those who get themselves involved in aggression. It promises them a severe chastisement and spreads the news that there is a judgment-day for people in the Hereafter.
As of the Doom's Day, the Holy Quran speaks so forcefully that the hearts of people tremble, saying: the judgment-day is near; it arrives at people quite unexpectedly. When it comes mothers would forget their children. Every person would forget everything except himself or herself. The world becomes turbulent; the sky becomes split; the stars get scattered; the seas become dry and the graves cloven. That is the day when people would see what they had sent there as provisions while they were alive.
On the Resurrection Day, people come face to face with a file on which every action of theirs is recorded. They would meet the paradise and the hell; the former is in its most desireable manifestation, and the latter in its most horrendous form and shape.
The Holy Quran says people's records will determine on the Doom's Day whether they belong to the paradise or to the hell.
On that day, when the infidels, the wicked, the polytheists, and the libertines look at their records they will become horrified and would shout:
يَا وَيْلَتَنَا مَالِ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرًا وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا.
“Ah! Woe to us! What a book is this! It does not omit a small one nor a great one, but numbers them all; and what they had done they shall find present there; and your Lord does not deal unjustly with anyone. 18:49”
The Holy Quran states: when people are judged justly, the well-doers will receive God's blessings and will stay in the paradise for ever. The wrong-doers will go to the hell and will stay there eternally. If some of these people have committed wrong after they had become believers, they would stay at the Barrier for some time, the length of which is determined by God's blessings.
Man listens to these facts. Those who accept them are salvaged and those who do not comply they will belong to the hell. This applies to Qoreish who heard all of these facts but strongly denied them. They showed their hatred toward the man who revealed these facts to them.
The Prophet(s), used to tell them: your atheist fathers are in eternal chastisement and you will soon meet the same fate if you persist in your adolatry. The only way available to you is for you to deny your fathers' customs and turn to and believe in God and become convinced that the Prophet Mohammad(s) is sent by God to guide you.
Then, upon accepting Islam, you will have to adapt your life with the Prophet's life standards and obey his commands. But if you disobey, God will punish you in the hell and that is where you will stay with your fathers.
Through the recitation of the Holy Quran, the Prophet(s) warned people of the Resurrection Day and made them fearful of the punishments they would encounter. He used to make them think and deliberate on what had happened to the previous nations. Those nations who considered their prophets as liars even if these prophets presented them with their miracles. They called the prophets the mad ones, the magic-stricken. They even murdered some of the prophets and threatened the rest. Then God arranged a severe punishment for them.
The Prophet Mohammad(s) read them the story of the storm, from the Holy Quran, in which the guilty nation of Noah (Nuh) were drowned. He told people of the wind which destroyed the Od nation when they disobeyed the Hud. He told them about the heavenly shout which annihilated the Thamud nation. He also told them about the stones which were poured on the heads of the Lut (Lot) nation. Finally, the Prophet(s) read to the world's nations what had happened to Firon (Pharaoh) and to his nation when they disobeyed the Musa's (Moses') invitation.
The Prophet Mohammad(s) reads to people those verses which order people to walk on the earth to observe what happened to the wrong-doers. He warns people to be prudent not to receive these inevitable punishments.
The Prophet(s), through reciting the sacred verses of the Holy Quran, used to advise people to care about their future prosperity. Those people whose hearts are fascinated by the manifestations of the Holy Quran will listen carefully to the Prophet(s). Those people will listen to him whose wisdoms are dominated with the rules of logic. There were many who listened to the Prophet(s) when he recited the verses from the Holy Quran, but never believed in his statements.
Ibn Abbas has been narrated to have said: Salman himself told me:
I am an Iranian and I was born in a village called Jey in Isphahan. My father was a farmer and was loved by his fellow-villagers. He loved me a lot. He loved me so much that he had imprisoned me at home like a girl. I was a Zoroastrian and was devoted to the Magian cult. I was so much absorbed in this conviction that I accepted the position of the special servants of the fire-temple. My father used to keep the fire burning, not letting it go off.
My father had a big garden. One day he was busy building something and could not attend to the garden. He told me: My dear son, today I am busy. I cannot go to the garden. You go there and let me know what is going on. He advised me to return quickly since he cared for me a great deal.
Salman continues to say: I set off toward the garden. I passed a Christian church where people were busy praying. I was not aware of these religious affairs before since my father always kept me at home.
Upon hearing the sounds from the church I entered the church to see what was going on. When I observed their prayer I told myself: I swear to God this religious ceremony is better than the one we observe. And I did not leave there till it was the sunset.
I left my father's field and garden. Instead, I asked those prayers at the church where I could find the origin and the spring of their religion. They told me it was in Damascus. I returned to my father and found out that he had sent people every where to look for me. When he saw me, he asked me: Where were you my son? Had I not asked you to attend to the garden?
I answered: My dear father: I was passing a group of people who were busy praying in a temple (church). I was fond of their religion and stayed with them until the sun-set. My father replied: My dear son, that religion does not have anything to offer. The religion of yours and of your fathers' is better than that. I replied: I swear to God their religion is better than ours.
Salman continues to report: My father got frightened; he put fetters on my feet and imprisoned me at home for some time. I sent somebody to the Christians asking them to let me know when their merchants' caravan would return from Damascus. I asked them to inform me of the exact time of their return to that city.
Some time later I was informed of their departure to Damascus. I took off my fetters and went to meet the caravan. We started for Damascus. Upon my arrival at that city I asked for the most learned man in the principles of Christianity.
They mentioned the name of a bishop in their church. I told him: I have become fond of your religion. I would like to stay with you and serve you and the church and learn from you and pray with you. He let me in. However, he turned out to be a dishonest man since he collected alms from the Christians for his own use and would not give away any of it to the needy. He had piled seven jars of gold and silver in this way. When I noticed his dishonesty, I hated him a lot.
When he died and the Christians gathered for his funeral ceremony, I told them: this man was a crook since he collected alms for his own benefit, refusing to give away any of it to the poor. They asked me: How do you know? I answered: I will take you to his treasure. They asked me to do so. They were led to the treasue. They then took out the seven jars of gold and silver. When they saw this treasure they said: we swear to God we will not bury him. They then hung his corpse, stoning it. They, then, appointed some one else as their bishop. Salman continues: this new bishop was a unique man. Nobody was like him. I had seen nobody so sincere in his prayers. He was not fond of this world; instead, he showed inclination towards the Hereafter. He spent all his time praying. I had loved nobody more than him.
I spent with him for a while. When he was going to die, I told him: I have been with you and I liked you more than anything else in this world. Now, you see that you are wanted by God. What would you order me to do?
He answered: My dear son. I swear to God that people have been going astray. They have forgotten decent habits. I do not see anybody who believes what I believe in, except for a man in Mousel who is of the same conviction as I am. Try to reach him.
The man continues: when the man died and the funeral was over I went to Mousel to meet the man. I told him: A certain man advised me to come and meet you prior to his death and told me you are of the same conviction as he is. He wanted me to stay with him. I carried out his demand and stayed. Gradually I found out he was the right person. But soon death came upto him, too. I told him: I was supposed to stay with you. Now you are departing me. Who would you recommend that I could meet. What would you recommend that I see? The man replied: My dear son! I swear to God I do not know of anybody who is of the same conviction as I am, except for a man who lives in Nathibein. I went to that location and found the man, telling him my story.
He asked me to stay with him and I did what I was told to. I found him of the same conviction but then it was his turn to pass away. When he was on the verge of dying, I asked him who he would recommend that I should see.
He answered: My dear son, I swear to God I do not know of anybody who is of the same conviction as I am except for a man who lives in Amurieh. Go and meet with him.
When the funeral procession was over, I arrived at Amurieh, found the man, telling him my story. He asked me to stay with him. He was of the same conviction as his associates.
Salman continues to report: I found a job over there and I could afford buying some female cows and several sheep. When his death was close, I told him I was recommended to come over to see you; now that you are departing me, what would you recommend that I do? This man, too, like others told me: I swear to God, I do not know of anybody who is of our conviction. But fortunately the day of the arrival of a prophet who is of the religion of Ibrahim(s) is near. He will get to the position of prophethood in the Arab land. His migration place is between two rough lands. There are date-palms over there and he has some observable signs. One of his traits is that he would not accept alms but accepts gifts. There is a prophethood seal between his shoulders. Go there to meet with this man.
Salman continues: He, like others died. The funeral was over and I stayed in Amurieh for some time. There came a group of Banikalb merchants. I asked them to take me to the Arab lands. I told them to accept my cows and sheep in lieu of the expenses. They accepted and they took me to the region of Al-Qora. But they very unhumanely sold me as a slave to a jew. I statyed with him, but looking at the date-palms, I realized that I was in the right location.
At that time, a relative of this Jew bought me from him and took me to Medina. I recognized the place from my earlier knowledge from this land.
At this time, Mohammad(s) had got the heavenly position of the prophethood and was staying in Mecca. Since I was a slave, I was not allowed to move around till the Prophet(s) migrated from Mecca to Medina.
I was on a date-palm, gathering dates for my master, who was sitting beneath the tree. One of his cousins came up to him, telling him: May God kill ous and khazraj who are now at Qoba with a man who came here today from Mecca. They think he is the Prophet(s).
Salman, then, continues: when I heard this, I became so perplexed that I thought I would fall on my master, who was beneath the tree. I climbed down the tree and asked the cousin: what did you say? My master became nervous and slapped me on the face, saying: It is none of your business, go, get on with your work. I replied I Just wanted to know what he says is right or wrong.
Salman says: I had some provision of food. At the evening I took it to Qoba to meet with God's Prophet(s). I met him, telling him: I have got the news that you are a well-wishing, and generous man. But there are some people with you who are strangers and in need of food. This food is alms. I assume you will need it more than they do. I took the food to him, then. The Prophet(s) asked his companions to eat it, but he refused to touch it. I told myself: this is one of his signs.
I went to the market place and purchased something. At that time the Prophet(s) had returned to Medina. I went to meet him and I told him: I have noticed you would not like to take alms. This food is a gift from me to you. Then, the prophet took some of it, asking his companions to take some as well. I told my self: this is the second sign of his prophethood.
At another occasion I met with the God's Prophet(s) at a place called Baqi'. He had come there to take part in the funeral procession of one of his friends. The Prophet(s) was sitting among his followers. I greeted him and went behind him to have a look at his shoulders, looking for the seal of the Prophethood. When the Prophet(s) noticed I was looking for something, he let his robe go away from his shoulders. I delightedly saw the seal of the prophethood there. I recognized it. I started kissing it, weeping.
The prophet(s) ordered me to turn back. I did so and sat at his front and told him my whole adventure. The Prophet(s) was delighted when his followers heard what I had to say.
Salman was still a slave and was not allowed to take part in the Holy wars of Badr.
The Prophet(s) told me: write a contract with your master. I did so. I promised to raise three hundred saplings of date-palm and irrigated them properly and pay him forty woggieh of gold.
Then the Prophet(s) told his followers: Help out your brother. They helped me through giving me the saplings of the date-palm. Some gave me thirty, some others twenty and some of them provided me with fifteen or ten saplings proportional to their capabilities. Finally, there were the three hundrd date-saplings ready.
Then the Prophet(s) said: O Salman, go and dig the ground for these saplings. When you are readg, come and see me; I will then plant them for you. I did what I was told to. Of course, my friends helped me a great deal. When I was through I went up to the Prophet(s) and told him what I had done The Prophet(s) planted all the saplings. I swear to God, who possesses Salman's life in His hands, none of those saplings became dry. In this way, I could pay to my owner what I owed him, except for the gold. By chance, people had brought the weight of one egg of gold to the Prophet(s). The Prophet(s) asked: what has that Iranian who wrote a contract for his freedom done so far? I was taken to him. He told me: Take this and pay to your master. I swear to God it was 40 woqqieh of gold. I paid it to my master and became a free man. I could, in this way, take part in the Holy war of Khandag with the Prophet(s). I was never absent from any war since then.
The Prophet Mohammad(s) diligently and among a storm of blasphemy recited to people those secret verses which presented the fundamental principles of the religion.
He mode it clear to people that the Creator of the Universe is Unique, with no associate. Assuming any associate for Allah would make man miserable, and will put him in the ever-lasting fire of the hell.
The Prophet(s) told men that he had been appointed as a Prophet(s) by Allah as He had previously assigned to man some other Prophets.
He recited to the people of the world that their faith would not be complete unless they confessed from the very bottom of their heart that God is unique and that His envoy, Mohammad(s) is genuine.
The Prophet(s) read to the people that in their engagement in affairs they should always remember God and what ever they do should be done sincerely.
The Prophet(s) recited to the people that Allah has ordered us to engage in justice, to assist the relatives, to be amicable towards the orphans, and to the miserable, to do good to our parents, and to obey them-except in the cases when they disobey God. He read to the people of the world that God prohibits them from getting involved in sins, from killing others, from killing children, from adultery, from unfounded pride, from deception, from saying nonsense and from going idle.
The Prophet(s) spread the good news of Allah's favors towards those who believe and perform the righteous things and obey Allah. He informed people of the chastisement which is in store for those who disobey Allah.
As it was mentioned earlier, the Great prophet(s) of Islam, remained a teacher from the time when he was raised to the position of the prophethood till the time when he joined Allah.
The Prophet(s) continually read the Holy Quran to the Moslems and interpreted for them those sections which needed interpretation and more explanations. In sum, he taught the Divine knowledge to people.
The Great Prophet(s) used to recite to people from the Holy Quran:
نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ وَأَنَّ عَذَابِي هُوَ الْعَذَابُ الْأَلِيمُ.
“Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful. 15:49-50”
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِي إِذَا دَعَانِي فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ.
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way. 2:186”
قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَدًا.
“Say: if the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would surely be consumed before the words of my Lord are exhausted. 18:109”
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ.
“The apostle believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers; they all believe in Allah and His Angels and His books and His apostles; we make no difference between any of His apostles; and they say: We hear and obey, Our Lord! Thy forgiveness do we crave, and to Thee is the eventual course. 2:285”
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ أُوْلَئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُفْلِحُونَ.
“Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them. And who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was believed before you and they are sure of the heareafter. These are on a right course from their Lord and these it is that shall be successful. 2:3-5”
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ.
“Surely the true religion with Allah is Islam. 3:19”
فَمَنْ يُرِدْ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَذَلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ.
“Therefore for whomever Allah intends that He would guide him aright, He expands his breast for Islam, and for whomsoever He intends that He should cause him to err, He makes his breast strait and narrow as though he were ascending upwards; thus does Allah lay uncleanness on those who do not believe. 6:125”
مَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ يَهُودِيًّا وَلَا نَصْرَانِيًّا وَلَكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُسْلِمًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ إِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ لَلَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ وَهَذَا النَّبِيُّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.
“Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian but he was an upright man, a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists. 3:67-68”
Those who believe in the Book think that anybody who wants to be on the right way should be a Jew or a Christian. But Allah in His Quran tells Mohammad(s) to talk in the following way:
بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ.
“Say: Nay! We follow the religion of Ibrahim, the Hanif (upright man), and he was not one of the polytheists. 2:135”
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ارْكَعُوا وَاسْجُدُوا وَاعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَافْعَلُوا الْخَيْرَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمْ الْمُسْلِمينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِي هَذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ.
“O you who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves and serve your Lord, and do good that you may succeed. And strive hard in the way of Allah, such a striving as is due to Him, He has chosen you and has not laid upon you any hardship in religion; the faith of your father Ibrahim; He named you Muslims before and in this, that the Apostle may be a bearer of witness to you, and you may be bearers of witness to the people; therefore keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and hold fast by Allah; He is your Guardian; how excellent the Guardian and how excellent the Helper! 22:77-78”
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ. الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ. إِلَّا عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ. فَمَنْ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْعَادُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ. أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْوَارِثُونَ. الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ.
“Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, And who keep aloof from what is vain, And who are givers of poor-rate, And Who guard their private parts, Except before their mates or those who their right hands possess, for they surely are not blameable, But whoever seeks to go beyond that, these are they that exceed the limits; And those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, And those who keep guard on their prayers; these are they who are the heirs, who shall inherit the Paradise; they shall abide therein. 23:1-11”
إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا.
“Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember-Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward. 33:35”
قَالَتْ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُلْ لَمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلْ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِنْ تُطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَا يَلِتْكُمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ.
“The dwellers of the desert say: We believe. Say: you do not believe but say, we submit; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts; and if you obey Allah and His Apostle, He will not diminish aught of your deeds; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. 49:14”
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آياتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ. الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا لَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ.
“Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His communications are recited to them they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust. Those who keep up prayer and spend benevolently out of what We have given them. These are the believers in truth; they shall have from their Lord exalted grades and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance. 8:2-4”
وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ. وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ. الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنْ النَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ. وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ. أُوْلَئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ.
“And obey Allah and the Apostle, that you may be shown mercy. And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord; and a garden, the extensiveness of which is as the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who guard against evil. Those who spend benevolently in ease as well as in straitness, and those who restrain their anger and pardon men; And Allah Loves the doers of good to others. And those who when they commit an indecency or do injustice to their souls remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their faults-and who forgives the faults but Allah, and who do not knowingly persist in what they have done. As for these-their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and excellent is the reward of the Laborers. 3:132-136”
In the above verses the expression يُحِبُّ المُحْسِنِينَ “Allah loves the doers of good to others” refers to the term “to give away abundantly”. The stem of this word is “Ehsan”.
By Ehsan “giving away abundantly” is meant to obey Allah as much as we can and not to get tired or bored in this regard, and not to be negligent of our duties towards Allah.
Three most used words in the Holy Quran are the words Iman (faith), Islam and Ehsan (giving away freely). These words are semantically related, however. The Prophet(s) of Islam endeavored to make the meanings of these words known with no ambiguity.
One day, the Prophet(s) was among his followers when a man asked him what Iman or faith meant. The Prophet(s) answered: By Faith (Iman) is meant believing in Allah, His Angels and and his prophets, and the Resurrection.
The man, then, asked: what is meant by Islam? The Prophet(s) replied: it means believing in Allah and not associating anybody with Him and keeping up prayers and paying the poor-rate and go on fasting during the month of Rmathan. Then the man asked: what is meant by Ehsan? The Prophet(s) replied: To worship Allah as if you saw him. This is because even if you will not see Him, He will see you anyhow. Then the man asked : when is the Doom's Day due? The Prophet(s) answered:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ.
“Surely Allah is He with whom is the knowledge of the hour. 31:34”
The Great Prophet(s) of Islam not only used the truth of faith, Islam and Ehsan in his teachings and instructions, but he practically showed the consequences of such a belief to people in his daily communications with people.
وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ إِذَا عَاهَدْتُمْ وَلَا تَنقُضُوا الْأَيْمَانَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمْ اللَّهَ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ. وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتْ غَزْلَهَا مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنكَاثًا تَتَّخِذُونَ أَيْمَانَكُمْ دَخَلًا بَيْنَكُمْ أَنْ تَكُونَ أُمَّةٌ هِيَ أَرْبَى مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِنَّمَا يَبْلُوكُمْ اللَّهُ بِهِ وَلَيُبَيِّنَنَّ لَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ.
“And fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have made a covenant, and do not break the oaths after making them fast, and you have indeed made Allah a surety for you; surely Allah knows what you do. And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly. You make your oaths to be means of deceit between you because one nation is more numerous than another nation. Allah only tries you by this; and He will most certainly make clear to you on the resurrection day that about which you differed. 16:91-92”
The Prophet(s) at any suitable situation read to people from the Holy Quran those verses which recommended the righous deeds and prohibited the wrong ones so that people could choose the right way:
وَذَرِ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا وَغَرَّتْهُمْ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَذَكِّرْ بِهِ أَنْ تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ وَإِنْ تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍ لَا يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَا أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا بِمَا كَسَبُوا لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ.
“And leave those who have taken their religion for a play and an idle sport, and whom this world's life has deceived, and remind them there by lest a soul should be given up to destruction for what it has earned; it shall not have besides Allah any guardian nor an intercessor, and if it should seek to give every compensation, it shall not be accepted from it; these are they who shall be given up to destruction for what they earned; they shall have a drink of boiling water and a painful chastisement because they disbelieved. 6:70”
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ وَيَوْمَ يَقُولُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ قَوْلُهُ الْحَقُّ وَلَهُ الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ.
“And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth with truth; and on the day He says: Be, it is. His word is the truth, and His is the kingdom on the day when the trumpet shall be blown; the knower of the unseen and the seen; and He is the Wise, the Aware. 6:73”
وَهَذَا كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ مُصَدِّقُ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَلِتُنذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَى وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَهُمْ عَلَى صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ.
“And this is a Book We have revealed, blessed, verifying that which is before it, and that you may warn the metropolis [Mecca] and those around her; and those who believe in the hereafter believe in it, and they attend to their prayers constantly. 6:92”
ذَلِكُمْ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بَصَائِرُ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَمَنْ أَبْصَرَ فَلِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ عَمِيَ فَعَلَيْهَا وَمَا أَنَا عَلَيْكُمْ بِحَفِيظٍ.
“That is Allah, your Lord, there is no God but He; the Creator of all things, therefore serve Him, and He has charge of all things. Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends all vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware. Indeed there have come to you clear proofs from your Lord; whoever will therefore see, it is for his own soul and whoever will be blind, it shall be against himself and I am not a keeper over you. 6:102-104”
اتَّبِعْ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ.
“Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; there is no God but He; and withdraw from the polytheists. 6:106”
وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ كَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ مَرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ.
“And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus have We made fair seeming to every people their deeds; then to their Lords shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they did. 6:108”
أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكُمْ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلًا وَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمْ الْكِتَابَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ مُنَزَّلٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنْ الْمُمْتَرِينَ.
“Shall I then seek a judge other than Allah? And He it is who has revealed to you the Book which is made plain; and those who We have given the Book know that it is revealed by your Lord with truth, therefore you should not be of the disputers. 6:114”
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجَا قَيِّمًا لِيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِنْ لَدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا مَاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا.
“All praise is due to Allah, Who revealed the Book to His servant and did not make in it any crookedness. Rightly directing, that he might give warning of severe punishment from Him and give good news to the believers who do good that they shall have a goodly reward, staying in it for ever. 18:1-3”
وَقُلْ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ نَارًا أَحَاطَ بِهِمْ سُرَادِقُهَا وَإِنْ يَسْتَغِيثُوا يُغَاثُوا بِمَاءٍ كَالْمُهْلِ يَشْوِي الْوُجُوهَ بِئْسَ الشَّرَابُ وَسَاءَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا.
“And say: The truth is from your Lord, so let him who please believe, and let him who please disbelieve; surely we have prepared for the iniquitous a fire, the curtains of which shall encompass them about; and if they cry for water, they shall be given water like molten brass which will scald their faces; evil the drink and ill the resting place. Surely as for those who believe and do good, we do not waste the reward of him who does a good work. 18:29-30”
الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا.
“Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world; and the ever-abiding the good works, are better with your Lord in reward and better in expectation. 18:46”
قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِالْأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالًا الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا ذَلِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَاتَّخَذُوا آيَاتِي وَرُسُلِي هُزُوًا إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا.
“Say: Shall we inform you of the greatest losers in their deeds? These are they whose labor is lost in this world's life and they think that they are well versed in skill of the work of hands. These are they who disbelieve in the communications of their Lord and His meeting, so their deeds become null, and therefore we will not set up a balance for them on the day of resurrection. Thus, it is that their recompense is hell, because they disbelieved and held My communications and My apostles in mockery. Surely as for those who believe and do good deeds, their place of entertainment shall be the gardens of paradise. Abiding therein; they shall not desire removal from them. 18:103-108”
وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صَادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَبِيًّا وَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ أَهْلَهُ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ وَكَانَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ مَرْضِيًّا.
“And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in his promise, and he was an apostle, a prophet. And he enjoined on his family prayer and almsgiving, and was one in whom his Lord was well pleased. 19:54-55”
لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ.
“Certainly we have revealed to you a Book in which is your good remembrance; what! Do you not then understand? 21:10”
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ.
“And we did not send before you any apostle but we revealed to him that there is no god but me, therfore serve Me. 21:25”
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذائِقَةُ المَوْتِ وَنَبْلُوَكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإلَينا تُرْجَعُونَ.
“Every soul must taste of death and we try you by evil and good by way of probation; and to us you shall be brought back. 21:35”
Now if we wished to represent all the Holy verses of the Holy Quran which the righteous Prophet(s) of Islam recited to the people, then we would have to bring all the verses here in this pamphelet, which would be an impossible task.
What we presented above were just samples from the Holy Quran which the Prophet(s) read to people to let them get familiar with heavenly truth. Those verses brought up the material, spiritual, individual, social, political, economic, emotional and ethical issues.
The second part of the sacred verse 164 from the Surah A'lay Imran (the Family of Imran) which we will start to describe shortly, deals with the purification of he self:
يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ.
“Reciting to them His communications and purifying them.”
By the use of “Self” (or soul), which the Great Prophet(s) was intended to purify through God's communication or verse from the Holy Quran, is the impetus for man's concupiscensce, lust, rage, instincts and his other wills and desires. If these drives are not properly taken care of and do not get purified they will turn into whims and caprices which will in turn send pernicious storms toward man's wisdom, heart, spirit and body; and this will ruin one's world and his hereafter.
The libertines, liars, crooks, wicked ones, oppressors, tyrants, criminals, wrong-doers, devils and ignorant ones, come to being because of engagement in whims and unrealistic desires.
Man's instincts, desires and lusts should be curbed and delimited by the Islamic educational codes; otherewise there would occur irrepairable damages to humanity as such.
If these whims and desires are controlled, however, then the manifestations of justice would be felt everywhere.
In his Madarejol Qods, Qazzali says:
يُطْلَقُ النَّفْسُ عَلَى الجامِعِ الصّفاتِ المّذْمُةمَةِ المُضادَّةِ لِلقُوَى العَقْلِيَّةِ.
“Self is the place in which all rascalities and vices are gathered to oppose the divine forces.”
If these rascalities are not cured in time , they will get momentum to the destruction of one's wisdom.
The control of instincts and lusts are among divine's and man's significant issues. This is so important that a struggle against lusts and wrong instincts are called a major holy war and the best of wars.
Sheikh Bahaee writes:
اِنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ 2 بَعَثَ سَرِيَّةً فَلَمّا رَجَعُوا قالَ: مَرْحَباً بِقَومٍ قَضَوُا الْجِهادَ الأصْغَرَ وَبَقِيَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْجِهَادُ الأكْبَرُ قَيْلَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَمَا الْجِهادُ الأكْبَرُ؟ قالَ: جِهادُ النَّفْسِ. ثُمَّ قالَ صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَآلِهِ: أفْضَلُ الْجِهادِ مَنْ جَاهَدَ نَفْسَهُ الَّتِي بَيْنَ جَنْبَيهِ.
The Great prophet of Islam(s) dispatched a group of men to the battle field. When they returned from the front, the Prophet(s) admired them, saying: you brave men took part in the minor holy war, but do not forget your major holy war. The men asked: O Prophet of Allah, what do you mean by major holy war? The Prophet(s) answered: a struggle against “Self”. Then he added: The best holy war is a war against one's lust.
The divine philosophers tell us: struggle against one's lusts should take place since these lusts take on beastly, brutal and satanic traits.
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يَتَمَتَّعُونَ وَيَأْكُلُونَ كَمَا تَأْكُلُ الْأَنْعَامُ وَالنَّارُ مَثْوًى لَهُمْ.
“And those who disbelieve enjoy themselves and eat as the beasts eat, and the fire is their abode. 47:12”
وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا فَانسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَكَانَ مِنْ الْغَاوِينَ. وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِنْ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَثْ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا فَاقْصُصْ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ.
“And recite to them the narrative of him to whom We give Our communications, but he withdraws himself from them, so the Shaitan overtakes him, so he is of those who go astray. And if We had pleased, We would certainly have exalted him thereby; but he clung to the earth and followed his low desire, so his parable is as the parable of the dog; if you attack him he holls out his tongue; and if you leave him alone he holls out his tongue; this is the parable of the people who reject our communications; therefore relate the narrative that they may reflect. 7:175-176”
كَمَثَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِذْ قَالَ لِلْإِنسَانِ اكْفُرْ فَلَمَّا كَفَرَ قَالَ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِنْكَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.
The hypocrites are like satan:
“Like the shaitan when he says to man: Disbelieve, but when he disbelieves, he says: I am surely clear of you; surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds. 69:16”
Or else, if we put aside the satanic traits of human nature, what we are left with is pure wisdom. Man will keep his divine characteristics if these acute lusts are taken away from him.
We should put forth a lot of energy to struggle against these beastly, tyranic and satanic traits of our lusts in order to put down turbulences in our spirits.
Saadi, the famous Iranian poet writes: Somebody was asked the meaninig of the following expression:
أعْدى عَدُوّكَ نَفْسُكَ الّتي بَيْنَ جَنْبَيْكَ.
He answered: This expression simply means the following: You will turn any foe into friend if you do him a favor; but this rule does not apply to the self because the more you do it favors, the more aggressive it will get.
How few are those who have engaged in struggling against their lusts through the instructions which the Great Prophet(s) have provided them with.
Once Bohlul was asked: Can you tell us the number of the insanes of the city? He answered: To count the lunatics in the City is difficult. Ask me how many wise ones there are.
We have got to get ourselves free from sins, wrong-doings, and lusts. We should add to our spiritual dimension. A ship which has got the essential loads and has got the sufficient weights would not get disturbed by the tornadoes or sea storms: rather, it will remain steady in the face of storms and turbulences. When man gets heavy with the major weight which is the Holy Quran, and the minor weight which are the Infallibe Ones, he will become assured of himself and will stay unbroken by any tempest or typhoon.
If you could get yourself free from any bodily and spiritual weight and if you could put aside lusts and whims by resorting to the Holy Quran and Prophethood and Imamate, you would ascend to the unseen Heavens.
The great and well-known philosopher, Allameh Tabatabaee, in his excellent work “Al-Mizan” writes: I was busy praying at Sahle Mosque, at the Edris position. After Hamad, I was reciting from the sacred surah Suad (Quran: 38) when I noticed my spirit rose high in the heaven but my body was still resting on the ground. From up I could easily see my body. After a while I came to myself.
Almighty Allah, in His Holy Quran, concerning the dignity of Edris says:
وَرَفَعْنَاهُ مَكَانًا عَلِيًّا.
“And we raised him high in the heaven.”
The Gnostics, divine lovers, the vigilants, based on the Quranic knowledge assert:
There are two types of trees in the unseen world:
1) The Tube tree.
2) The Zoqqum tree.
For each of these two trees there are certain branches. Any one of the ethical trait belongs to the Tuba tree and any aspect of vices belongs to one branch of the Zoqqum tree.
If man would not rise to struggle with his whims and unrealistic desires and let them remain active, each one of them will eventually turn into a pernicious babit.; They would penetrate into his soul and would permanently stay there. Then man would become one of the branches of the Zoqqum tree to furnish the necessary firewood of the hell. The story of the blessed works is the reverse of this. We will read in kafi:
السَّخاءُ شَجَرَةٌ فِي الجَنَّةِ، فَمَنْ كانَ سَخيّاً أخَذَ بِغُصْنٍ مِنْها، فَلَمْ يَتْرُكْهُ ذلِكَ الغُصْنُ حَتّى يُدْخِلَهُ الجَنَّةَ. وَالشُّحُّ شَجَرَةٌ فِي النّارِ، فَمَنْ كانَ شَحِيحاً أخَذَ بِغُصْنٍ مِنْها، فَلَم يَتْرُكْهُ حَتّى يُدْخِلَهُ النّارَ.
Generosity is a tree in the paradise, and a generous one has a branch of it in his hand. That branch will not let him go unless he enters the paradise. And stinginess is a tree in the hell and a stingy one is hanging from this tree. That tree will not let him go until he is in the hell.
One who suffers from lusts and rascalities not only destroys himself but he will as well endanger other people's rights. From here we will appreciate the Prophet's endeavors to help us extinguish the fire of lusts in ourselves.
The superficial pain of one's heart may kill him; but the hidden pain, which is brought about by getting involved in sins is even more devastating and destructive:
فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمْ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا.
“There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah added to their disease (and they shall have a painful chastisement because they lied). 2:10”
It is considered a great worship to think about one's past and to realize that the pleasure taken out of a sin is not eternal, but that its consequences remain for ever. It is also a worship to ponder on the fatal nature of this world and the eternal nature of the next world and to think about those who wished for some unrealistic items in life but never got them and it is a worship to consider the fate of the well-wishers and the ill-fate of the wrong-doers.
In the sixth volume of Beharol Anwar, Imam Baqir(s) reports from the Great Prophet(s) an important narration concering people's death.
قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ2: النَّاسُ اثْنانِ: واحِدٌ أراحَ، وآخَرُ اسْتَراحَ. فأمّا الَّذي اسْتَراحَ فَالمُؤمِنُ، إذا ماتَ اسْتَراحَ مِنَ الدُّنيا وَبَلائِها. وَأمّا الَّذي أراحَ فَالكافِرُ، إذا ماتَ أراحَ الشَّجَرَ وَالدَّوابَّ وَكَثِيراً مِنَ النّاسِ.
“Concerning death there are two sorts of people: Those who get rid of the world through their death, and those who through their death relieve others from misery. The first group consists of the believers who, through their death get rid of much troubles. The second group or the infidels are those who through their own death get people out of troubles. In fact, these will set free people, beasts and trees by their death.
Trees and animals in their own language tell us they would not like to serve the disbelievers. They say they will get rid of the disbelievers or infidels if these people would not exist any more.
There is a well-known narration reported from the Prophet of Islam(s):
دَخَلَ رَجُلٌ عَلى رَسُولِ اللهِ2 اسْمُهُ مُجاشِعٌ فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ كَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى مَعْرِفَةِ الحَقِّ؟ فَقالَ: مَعْرَفَةُ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ كَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى مُوافَقَةِ الحَقِّ؟ قالَ: مُخَالَفَةُ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ فَكَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى رِضَا الحَقِّ؟ قالَ: سَخَطُ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ فَكَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى وَصْلِ الحَقِّ؟ قالَ: هَجْرُ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ فَكَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى طَاعَةِ الحَقِّ؟ قالَ: عِصْيانُ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ فَكَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى قُرْبِ الحَقِّ؟ قالَ: التَّباعُدُ مِنَ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ فَكَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى ذِكْرِ الحَقِّ؟ قالَ: نِسْيانُ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ فَكَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى اُنْسِ الحَقِّ؟ قالَ: الوَحْشَةُ مِنَ النَّفْسِ.
فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ فَكَيْفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى ذلِكَ؟ قالَ: الاِسْتِعانَةُ بِالحَقِّ عَلَى النَّفْسِ.
A man named Mojashe' asked the Prophet(s):
How could we recognize Allah?
Prophet(s): By recognizing your self.
The man: How could we be in agreement with Allah?
Prophet(s): Through disagreeing with the self.
The Man: How could we get Allah's Satisfaction?
Prophet(s): By being angry with the self.
The Man: How could we meet with Allah?
Prophet(s): To distance from self.
The Man: How could we remember Allah?
Prophet(s): by forgetting your self.
The Man: How could we get all of these?
The Prophet(s): By asking God to let you fight against your self.
عَنْ أبي عَبْدِاللهِD قالَ: كُنْتُ مَعَ أبي حَتّى انْتَهَيْنا إلى القَبْرِ وَالمِنْبَرِ وَإذا اُناسٌ مِنْ أصْحَابِهِ، فَوَقَفَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَسَلَّمَ وَقالَ: وَاللهِ إنّي لَاُحِبُّكُمْ وَاُحِبُّ رِيحَكُمْ وَأرْوَاحَكُمْ، فَأعِينُونِي عَلى ذلِكَ بِوَرَعٍ وَاجْتِهادٍ، فَإنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَنالُوا وَلايَتَنا إلاّ بِالوَرَعِ وَالإجْتِهادِ.
Imam Sadiq(s) says: I was accompanying my father, Imam Baqir(s), to the Holy grave of the Great Prophet(s). There we found a group of my father's friends. Imam Baqir(s) stood near them, and greeted them. He then said, “I swear to God I love you, your odor, and your souls. Through your Friendship help me to arrive at our growth. It is only through your trials and devotion that you will understand us and be loved by us.
Staying on the right path is impossible except through your struggle against your self.
أَفَمَنْ شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ فَهُوَ عَلَى نُورٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فَوَيْلٌ لِلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أُوْلَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ.
“What! Is he whose heart Allah has opened for Islam so that he is in a light from his Lord (like the hard-hearted)? Nay, woe to those whose hearts are hard against the remembrance of Allah; those are in clear error. 39:22”
In Islam all that make our hearts glimmer are clearly referred to and all that make our hearts hurt are also mentioned. What make our hearts mirky are sins and letting our whims and desires free. Our struggle against our desires makes the Allah's light enter our souls.
The Purification of self was among the Prophet's duties. And the Prophet(s) put forth lots of effort concerning the carrying out of this task.
The Prophet(s) let people realize the good and bad things about the self and taught people how to equip themselves with the necessary means to fight the self. He could train great numbers of men and women believers. Not any school could have been more successful in this regard than the Prophet(s).
When the Prophet(s) was raised to the holy position of the Prophethood he was given a Book which was a healing for the pains of the heart, self and rational abilities. Allah describes that Book in the following words:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُمْ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاءٌ لِمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ.
“O men! There has come to you indeed an admonition from your Lord and a healing for what is in the breasts and a guidance and a mercy for the believers. 10:57”
قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنْ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ يَهْدِي بِهِ اللَّهُ مَنْ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلَامِ وَيُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنْ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ.
“Indeed, there has come to you light and a clear Book from Allah; with it Allah guides him who will follow His pleasure into the ways of safety and brings them out of utter darkness into light by His will and guides them to the right path. 5:15-16”
Through the Holy Quran, the Prophet(s) could make the hearts luminous and the self purified. He could train Balal out of the colored ones, Sohaib out of the slaves, Abuzar out of the desert-dwellers, Salman out of the non-Arabs, and Khadijeh, Zahra and Zeinab out of the class of women.
In the book “The Perfect Man” we will see the following topic: Man's ascension is only possible through four means:
1) Divine Knowledge: The Holy Quran, the statements of the Prophet, Imams and the Infallible ones(s);
2) Good speech;
3) Good deeds;
4) Good morality.
These four items, which are attainable only through the struggle against whims and desires, are so significant that the following judgements are made around them:
One who lacks these four is not a human being at all; one who has them all is a man and he who makes complete use of them is a perfect man.
Only when you recognized the Quranic truth and the Divine knowledge and when you could spiritually benefit from the Holy Quran and the narrations, and when you put up worship, could you then set the stage for a thorough struggle against whims and desires and for the purification of your self. Remember the light which comes out of this endeavor will lighten all facets of your life. This was the light which the Great Prophet(s) was asking Allah for:
اللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ لي في قَلْبِي نُوراً، وَفي لِسانِي نُوراً، وَفي بَصَري نُوراً، وَفي سَمْعي نُوراً، وَعَنْ يَمِيني نُوراً، وَعَنْ يَساري نُوراً، وَمِنْ فَوْقي نُوراً، وَمِنْ تَحْتِي نُوراً، وَمِنْ أمَامي نُوراً، وَمِنْ خَلْفِي نُوراً، وَاجْعَل لي في نَفْسِي نُوراً، وَأعْظِم لي نُوراً.
O God! Let there be light in my heart, on my tongue, in my eyes, in my ears, on my right side, on my left, over my head, under my feet, in front of me, behind me and in my breath, and I beg you to magnify that light for me.”
The divine scholars inform us that by “light” here is meant the Holy Quran and Allah's special favor. The great Prophet(s) begs Allah to fill him with the truth contained in the Holy Quran. This wish of the Prophet(s) was fullfiled by Allah on his creation and this light was revealed to the Prophet through the descent of the Holy verses.
قالَ أميرُ المُؤْمِنينD: الْعارِفُ مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ فَأعْتَقَها وَنَزَّهَها عَنْ كُلِّ ما يُبْعِدُها.
A genuine Gnostic is the one who has recognized his own self and its potentials for good or evil and who has freed it of all rascalities and vices and has purified it so that it could not come between him and his God.
If you recognized your true self, you would get rid of your deceptive sefl-concept and would try to rectify it through the instructions of the Holy Quran, Prophethood and Imamate and would arrive at the conclusion that your self and spirit are God's assets given to you and that you should protect it against the evils and rascalities.
Our self-interest, haughtiness, pride, greed and jealousy are obstacles between the self and Allah and would hinder the radiation of God's rays of favor towards the self.
In his “Fath thaleth”, Meybody writes: Sheikh Sa'd Al-din Homovi arrived at a river while he was riding a horse. The horse could not cross the river. He ordered to make the water mirky and muddy. The horse, then, could cross the river. He said: At first he could not cross the river since he only saw himself. As soon as the self-worshipping is cured and man could distance himself from it, the movement of self towards Allah starts and would arrive at a place which Imam Sadiq(s) has predicted and this prediction is reported by Koleyni in kafi:
إنَّ رُوحَ المُؤْمِنِ لأشَدُّ اتّصالاً بِرُوحِ اللهِ مِنِ اتّصالِ شُعاعِ الشَّمْسِ بِها.
The connection of a believer's spirit to Allah is closer than the connection of the sun's rays to the sun itself.
Imam Ali(s), concerning the virtuous believers, says in his Nahjolbalaqa:
صَحِبُوا الدُّنْيا بِأبْدانٍ أرْواحُها مْعَلَّقَةٌ بِالمَحَلِّ الأعْلى.
“They are present here with their bodies, but their spirits belong to the heavens.”
These spirits are obedient towards Allah's commands and what He prohibits. Whatever engagement they have is for Him and they endeavor to meet with Him.
Imam Baqir(s) reports: Some people come up to the Prophet(s), telling him:
السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يا رَسُولَ اللهِ، فَقالَ2: مَنْ أنْتُم؟ قالُوا: مُؤْمِنُونَ، قالَ: فَما حَقيقَةُ إيمانِكُمْ؟ قالُوا: الرّضا بِقَضاءِ اللهِ، وَالتَفْويضُ إلى اللهِ، وَالتَسْلِيمُ لِأمْرِ اللهِ، قالَ: عُلَماءُ حُكِماءُ كادُوا أنْ يَكُونُوا مِنَ الْحِكْمَةِ أنْبياءَ، فَإنْ كُنْتُمْ صادِقِينَ فَلا تَبْنُوا مالا تَسْكُنُونَ، وَلا تَجْمَعُوا مالا تَأكُلُونَ، وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ الَّذي إلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ.
They greeted the Prophet(s). The Prophet(s) asked them who they were. They replied: we are believers. The Prophet(s) asked: what is the essence of your conviction? They answered: Our satisfaction with Allah's commands and our consent towards the fate which Allah has arranged for us. Then the Prophet(s) said: these are men of wisdom and knowledge. They want to be like the Prophets. If you are telling the truth, do not construct a building in which you are not willing to reside and do not pile up anything which you do not wish to eat and be frightened towards the God to whom you will return.
Amali Tusi narrates from Imam Baqir(s) who has said: When the great Prophet performed the religious service at Hajj, he said:
لا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ إلاّ مَنْ كانَ مْسْلِماً. قالَ أبُوذَرٍ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ، مَا الْإسلامُ؟ قالَ: الإسلامُ عُرْيانٌ، وَلِباسُهُ التَّقْوى، وَزِينَتُهُ الْحَياءُ، وَمِلاكُهُ الْوَرَعُ، وَكَمالُهُ الدِّينُ، وَثَمَرُهُ العَمَلُ الصَالِحُ، وَلِكُلِّ شَئٍ أساسٌ وَأساسُ الإسْلامِ حُبُّنا أهْلَ البَيْتِ.
Nobody will enter the paradise except for the Moslem. Abuzar asked the Prophet(s): O Messenger of Allah, what is Islam? He replied: Islam is naked; its dress is piety; its embellishment is modesty; its strength and perfection lie in religion and its fruit is good deeds. There is a base for everything and the base of Islam lies in one's love towards the Infallible(s).
Concerning the perfection of self and spirit, Abu Hamzeh Thamali reports the following statement from Imam Baqir(s):
أرْبَعٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فيهِ كَمُلَ إسْلامُهُ، وَاُعِينَ عَلى إيمانِهِ، وَمُحِقَتْ ذُنُوبُهُ، وَلَقِيَ رَبَّهُ وَهُوَ عَنْهُ راضٍ، وَلَو كانَ فيما بَيْنَ قَرْنِهِ إلى قَدَمِهِ ذُنُوبٌ حَطَّهَا اللهُ تَعالى عَنْهُ، وَهِيَ: الوَفاءُ بِما يَجْعَلُ للهِ عَلى نَفْسِهِ، وَصِدْقٌ اللِّسانِ مَعَ النّاسِ، وَالحَياءُ مِمّا يَقْبَحُ عِنْدَ اللهِ وَعِنْدَ النّاسِ، وَحُسْنُ الخُلْقِ مَعَ الأهْلِ وَالنّاسِ.
There are four traits in a Moslem which will make his Islam perfect: these traits will strenghen his faith, will obliterate his sins and will prepare him to meet Allah while Allah is satisfied with him: the fulfillment of what Allah has set for him, being honest with people; being shameful of doing the forbidden acts; and being amicable towards one's family and people.
The writer of Adeb Al-Nafs says: A good human being has got four characteristics: Chastity of self, piety, abstinence towards worldly possessions, and abstention from performing sins.
Do not ever associate with the internal untameable self and its wishes, whims and the external satan. Always be prepared to defy these two since both of them give you chances ninety nine times out of one hundred but they would catch you on the hundredth time.
If these two call you to depend on life, tell them this world is just fatal; If they entice you towards the wrong lusts, tell them they are the source of despair; if these two force you to engage in false pride, just see how you came into this world; Allah is the owner, and you are just His servant, nothing more.
One Gnostic says: I heard about the virtues of a religious individual. I decided to meet him. When I saw him, I started to talk to him. He was silent. I tried once more. He was still silent. I said: For God's sake look at me. He raised his face while his eyebrows were long enough to cover his eyes. I begged him: please give me a piece of advice. By body gesture he let me understand that he could not talk. He let me understand that talking leads us towards committing sins. I spent a day with him. He uttered only two sentences:
1) O God! One who knows You, why should he bother about somebody else?
2) O God! One who knows that the treasure of everything is with you, why should he rely on some body else?
I answered: These two sentences are enough for me. I returned to the village next. I asked people how long that man was living there. They answered: 90 years. I asked them why he did not talk to me. They informed me that for the previous fifty years he had said nothing except of God.
Harun came to Hajj together with his entourage with a lot of magnanimity and arrogance, displaying pompous behaviors. When he was going round the Kaaba, he kicked a grasshopper under his foot but did not know the consequences of this action of his or what kind of obligations this might incur on him.
Harun heard Fazil Ayyaz had been in Masjed Al-Haram. In order to find a religious solution for the crime he had committed at the House of God, Harun sent Ma'mun to invite Fazil to come to Harun. Ma'mun came up to Fazil and greeted him, saying: Harun asks you to come over. Fazil did not reply. Ma'mun returned telling Harun: you sent me to somebody who does not care about your words.
Harun moved furiously towards Fazil, while his entourage were frightened. When he saw Fazil, he told him: O fazil, you had to come and pay me a visit. Am I not your governor? While I was performing pilgrimage I accidentally killed a grasshopper. What should I do now? Fazil burst crying, telling him: what kind of shephered are you when you ask your sheep a question? It is upto the shepherd to secure the place and life conditions for his cattle, to supply them with proper grass and fresh, sweet water. Now that you are unable to solve a religion problem, how could you ever guide this cattle?
One of Followers of the Infallible Ones(s) says he had heard the sacred verse:
أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ.
“What! He who is obedient during hours of the night, 39:9” was revealed to the Prophet(s) describing Imam Ali's status. Then I decided to observe his worships and traits closely. At the dusk Imam Ali(s) prayed to gether with his followers. Then he performed his Asha (night) prayer. I got his permission, then, to attend his home. Most of the night he spent his time either praying or reciting the Holy Quran. Early in the morning he performed his morning prayer at the mosque. Then he got himself engaged in the people's affairs. Then it was time for his noon and afternoon prayers. After that he was busy communicating with people. I told him “You do not have any free time to spend on yourself.” He replied “If I rest during the day, I will spoil the affairs of the people. If I rest at night, my hereafter will be spoilt. Thus, during the day I am busy with people's affairs and at night I am busy with mine.”
Man's good works which are at issue in the Holy Quran and the Islamic knowledge lead to the heart's strength and glory and to the stability in one's faith. And evil-doings will bring about the heart's murkiness and weakness in one's conviction.
قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ2: وَجَدْتُ الحَسَنَةَ نُوراً في القَلْبِ وَزَيْناً في الوَجْهِ وَقُوَّةً فِي العَمَلِ. وَوَجَدْتُ الخَطِيئَةَ سَواداً في القَلْبِ وَوَهْناً في العَمَلِ وَشَيْناً في الوَجْهِ.
The Prophet(s) has said: “I found the performance of good actions as a light for one's heart, a grace and prestige for one's face and strength in one's action. I also found the performing of evil as a darkness in one's heart, a weakness in one's activities and a cause for one's disgrace.”
سَألَ رَجُلٌ رَسُولَ اللهِ2 فقالَ: أيُّ حَسَنَةٍ أفْضَلُ عِنْدَ اللهِ؟ قالَ: حُسْنُ الْخُلْقِ، وَالتَّواضُعُ، وَالصَّبْرُ عَلَى البَلِيَّةِ، وَالرِّضا بِالقَضاءِ. قالَ: أيُّ سَيِّئَةٍ أعْظَمُ عِنْدَ اللهِ؟ قالَ: سُوءُ الخُلْقِ، وَالشُّحُّ الْمُطاعُ.
A man asked the Prophet(s): which good thing is the best one in God's view? The Prophet(s) answered: good-temper, modesty, patience and perseverance at the time of calamity and contentment with what God sends on us. Then the man asked the Prophet(s): which evil doing is the worst in God's view? He answered: bad-temper and jealousy.
Good temper, modesty, and perseverance are among man's heavenly nature and bad-temper and jealousy stem from man's evil self. In order to equip our self with heavenly traits and to cleanse our self from the evil traits, we will need to put forth a lot of endeavors and as the Prophet(s) says, it will require a major struggle on our part.
Ibn Arabi reports: A prince accompanied by his entourage was passing a road when he met with a God's genuine believer. The prince asked the scholar: O sheikh, Is my prayer accepted by God in my present dress? The scholar burst in laughter. The prince asked for the reason for his laughter. The scholar said: I was laughing at your stupidity. O prince, you resemble a dog who has fed on a corpse and his body is covered with blood and excrement and now needs to pass urine but he is careful not to receive any excretion of urine so that he may stay clean.
Your stomach is filled with filth, you have done the believers a lot of injustices; you are not frightened of the mischiefs you have performed and now your only worry is for you to perform your prayer dressed in this costume?
The prince climbed down from his palfrey, sat humbly on the ground, crying. He abandoned his social position and accompanied the scholar. After three days the sheikh gave him a piece of a rope, telling him; now you are my guest no more; take this rope, go to the desert and collect some firewood and sell it for your sustenance. He went to the desert and gathered some firewood and started selling it. When people saw him, they were sorry for him and wept for him. Ibn Arabi says: that prince was my uncle. His case resembles the issue brought out in the following holy verse:
وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنْ الْهَوَى.
“And as for him who fears to stand in the presence of his Lord and forbids the soul from Low desires” (Then surely the garden will be his abode). 79:40”
In Musabih Al-qolub we see an account of Mahmud Qaznavi who had gone to the hunting with his entourage. Suddenly there appeared a phoenix (the fabulous bird of good omens) in the air. The troops decided to rest under the bird's shadow. All of them hurried to take shelter against heat under its feathers. The only one who refused to go under the bird's feather was Ayaz. Mahmud asked him: why didn’t you go there to shelter against the neat? He answered: which prosperity is greater for me than staying under the protection of a king like you?
This story is told so that you could be aware that anybody who abandons everything except Him, and walks on the road of His service will get the genuine prosperity and will receive God's favors in six stages:
1- وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ.
“And He is with you wherever you are. 57:4”
2- المُؤمِنُ يَمُرُّ عَلَى الصِراطِ كالبَرْقِ الخاطِفِ اللّامِعِ
A believer's passage from the Path is like a stunning and dazzling light.
3- حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا.
“Until when they come to the Garden and its doors shall be opened. 39:73”
4- وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ.
“And the keepers of it shall greet them warmly.39:71”
5- وَحُورٌ عِينٌ كَأَمْثَالِ اللُّؤْلُؤِ الْمَكْنُونِ.
“And pure, beautiful women, the like of the hidden pearls. 56:22-23”
6- وَرِضْوَانٌ مِنْ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ.
“And best of all is Allah's goodly pleasure which they will enjoy. 9:72”
قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ2: إنَّ اللهَ تعالى يُباهِي بِالشّابِّ الْعابِدِ المَلائِكَةَ، يَقُولُ: انْظُرُوا إلى عَبْدِي تَرَكَ شَهْوَتَهُ مِن أجْلِي.
The Prophet(s) said: when Allah observes a young believer, He takes pride in saying to the angles: O angels! Have a look at my young servant who has abandoned engaging in whims and desires for My sake.
وَقالَ2: إنَّ أحَبَّ الخَلائِقِ إلى اللهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ شابٌّ حَدَثُ السِنِّ في صُورَةٍ حَسَنَةٍ جَعَلَ شِبابَهُ وَجَمَالَهُ للهِ وَفي طاعَتِهِ، ذَلِكَ الَّذي يُباهي بِهِ الرَّحْمانُ مَلائِكَتَهُ، يَقُولُ: هذا عَبْدي حَقّاً.
The Great Prophet(s) has also said: The most beloved creature for the Almighty God is the beautiful Jouvenile who has spent his youth and beauty for God and has worshipped Him. He is the same person in whose case Allah takes pride in saying to the Angels: this is my true servant.
Imam Baqir(s) asked Soleymna Ibn Jaafar: Who is a generous one? He answered: In our view they are the young ones. Imam Baqir(s) replied: the kahf followers were old ones but Allah called them the youth:
يا سُلَيمَانُ، مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللهِ وَاتَّقى فَهوَ الفَتى.
O Solomon, He who believes in Allah and stays away from all sins, he is a generous one, no matter at what age he is.
Abuzar, the honorable and generous student of the Great Prophet(s), who had acquired his knowledge from the Prophet(s), used to give advice to people concerning the purification of self:
Let us assume that this world consists only of two sessions: then
1) One session is for the acquisition of legal sustenance;
2) One session is for the provision for the hereafter. The third session is hazardous.
Assume also that your speech consists of only two words:
1) One word is for the hereafter;
2) One word is for the acquisition of legal sustenance.
Assume, as well that your wealth consists of two portions:
1) One Derhame for your dependants.
2) One Derhame as the provisions for your hereafter. A third Derham is dangerous to keep.
Assume too that this world consists of two hours only.
1) One hour which has already passed, and you lack the power to return it.
2) Another hour which you might not have the hope to enjoy it. Now that you are still living spend your time in worshipping God and spend it in doing good and refrain from committing sins; or else you would be destroyed.
In a significant narration, the Great Prophet(s) of Islam has stated:
زينَةُ الدُّنيا ثَلاثَةٌ: المَالُ، وَالوَلَدُ، وَالنِّساءُ.
وَزينَةُ الآخِرَةِ ثَلاثَةٌ: الْعِلْمُ وَالوَرَعُ وَالصَّدَقَةُ.
وَأمّا زينَةُ البَدَنِ: قِلَّةُ الأكْلِ وَقِلَّةُ النَّوْمِ وَقِلَّةُ الكَلامِ.
وَأمّا زينَةُ القَلْبِ: فَالصَّبْرُ وَالصَّمْتُ وَالشُّكْرُ.
We have three embellishments in this world: wealth, children, wife.
We have three ornaments for the other world: Knowledge, piety, poor-rate.
There are three embellishments for the body: eating, sleeping, and speaking meagerly. There are three embellishments for the heart: Patience, silence and thanking God.
From the Prophet(s) we should learn the principles of growth, education and the ways of combat against whims and unrealistic wishes. This is because the Prophet(s) was the messenger for blessings, the instructor for the Holy Quran and the Polisher of the hearts.
قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ2: أرْبَعَةُ جَواهِرَ تُزِيلُها أرْبَعَةٌ: أمَّا الْجَواهِرُ، فَالعَقْلُ وَالدِّينُ وَالحَياءُ وَالعَمَلُ الصّالِحُ. أمَّا الغَضَبُ فَيُزِيلُ العَقْلَ، وَأمَّا الحَسَدُ فَيُزِيلُ الدِّينَ، وَأمَّا الطَّمَعُ فَيُزِيلُ الحَياءَ، وَأمّا الْغِيبَةُ فَيُزِيلُ العَمَلَ الصَّالِحَ.
“The Prophet(s) has said: there are four precious jewels for which there are four destroyers. Those four priceless jewels are: wisdom, religion, modesty, and good deeds. The destroyer of wisdom is anger; the demolisher of religion and one's conviction is jealousy; the obliterator of modesty is greed and the remover of the good deeds is back-biting.”
It was revealed to Isa Ibn Imran: I have included six items within six other things but people look for them in six other locations, but each time they fail to find them.
1) I have set comfort and security in the paradise, but people look for them on the earth;
2) I have placed knowledge in hunger; but people look for them in satiety;
3) I have located honor in rising for prayer at night time, but people wish to get it from the statesmen;
4) I have put exaltation in meekness; but people look for it in their pride;
5) I hare stipulated the legally earned sustenance as the precondition for the suppliant's supplication to be answered; but people look for it in commotion;
6) I have put freedom from want (=wealth) in contentment; but people look for it in the multiplicity of possessions.
The sixth Imam(s), who had got his insight and knowledge from the Great Prophet(s), one day asked one of his students who had been purified by him: During your stay with me, what did you learn? The student answered: I learned eight issues from you. Imam(s) told him: tell me what you have learned. The student answered:
1) Every lover departs from his beloved one at the time of his death. But during my life I did my best to fall in love with something which could never leave me alone: That is the good actions.
وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ خَيْراً يُجْزَ بِهِ.
Imam replied: Well done!
2) I have seen some people who take pride in their genealogy; some others are proud of their wealth. But I have noticed that these do not deserve my full attention. Rather, a sign for great pride rests in the place where Allah has said:
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ.
“Surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful of his duty. 49:13”
I tried to do my duties so that I would be honored with Allah. Imam answered: well done.
3) I noticed some people indulge in pleasures and give way to their whims and desires, then I noticed what Allah says:
وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنْ الْهَوَى فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى.
“And as for him who fears to stand in the presence of his Lord and forbids the soul from low desires, then surely the garden-then is the abode.” I tried not to let my self be carried away with unrealistic desires. Imam(s) answered: well done. 79:40-41”
4) I have seen anybody who could put his hand on something valueable, he would not let it go. But I noticed what Allah has said:
مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ وَلَهُ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ.
“Who is there that will offer to Allah a good gift so He will double it for him, and he shall have an excellent reward? 57:11”
5) I saw some people show jealousy towards one another. Then I noticed what Allah has said:
نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِيشَتَهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا وَرَحْمَةُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ.
“We distribute among them their livelihood in the life of this world, and we have exalted some of them above others in degrees, that some of them may take others in subjection; and the mercy of your Lord is better than what they amass. 43:32”
I did not envy anybody and I did not regret for anything I had Lost. Imam then said: Well done.
6) I noticed some people show enemity towards one another over the worldly issues and I noticed what a calamity the hatred was. But I noticed what Allah has stated:
إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا.
“Surely the Shaitan is your enemy, so take him for an enemy. 35:6”
So I engaged myself in showing hatred towards Shaitan (Satan), and I did not leave any empty room in my heart for hatred towards the Moslems. Imam, hearing this, replied: well done.
7) I have noticed people do a lot of damage to others in their hard struggle to prepare their livelihood. To reach their financial interests, they would disregard lawful and legal ways of getting their sustenance. But I noticed what Allah has stated:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِي مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ.
“And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should serve Me. I do not desire from them any sustenance and I do not desire that they should feed Me. Surely Allah is the Bestower of sustenance, the Lord of Power, the Strong. 51:56-58”
I realized that His Promise is right and His statement is righteous. I became calm and became delighted upon hearing His promise. Therefore, I went after lawful subsistence and I was content in what He had given me and I spent my extra time worshipping Allah. Imam(s) replied: Well done.
8) I noticed some people depend on their health, some rely on their wealth and some have confidence in their peers. But I relied on what Allah has said:
وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ.
“And whoever is careful of his duty to Allah, He will make for him an outlet And give him sustenance from whence he thinks not; and whoever trusts in Allah, He is sufficient for him. 65:2-3”
Then I stopped depening on anybody except Allah. Imam(s) then said: All the heavenly Books: i.e. Old testament, New testament (Bible), Zobur, and Furqan all refer to these eight issues of yours.
Relying on the sacred verses of the Holy Quran and the Prophet's tradition and the knowledge of the Infallible ones(s), all the vigilant Gnostics, the watchful God-Lovers and those who are determined to purify their very selves have stated that the main roots of immoral actions rest on three things: lust, anger and whims and wishes.
And from these three vices there grow the seven off shoots of: greed, stinginess, self-interest, false pride, illegal innovations, blasphemy, and jealousy.
The treatment of these vices relies on the application of the sacred surah of Hamd. In the expression “بسم الله” there are three names: Allah, Rahman (The Beneficient) and Rahim (The Merciful). One who tries to recognize the knowledge related to Allah and who realizes That Allah is the merger of all good attributes and who is convinced that there is no beloved, and world and universe director except Him and that the whole existence relies on Him, will be free from worshipping wishes and whims and will engage in anything except Allah. This is a proven fact that giving way to wishes is being away from knowledge and is the result of disregarding the great Love.
يا مُوسى خَالِفْ هَواكَ فإنّي ما خَلَقْتُ خَلْقاً نازَعَنِي في مُلْكِي إلاّ الهَوى.
O Moses, struggle against your wishes since there is no opponent in the whole world except whims.
To cut from the truth results in the engagement of wishes and desires. When the whims dominate over your existence, they will create both iternal and external turbulences against which nothing may resist.
One who pays heed to the truth of the Beneficent Allah, his heart will be decorated with this attribute and his wisdom will be illuminated. His spirit, heart and soul will be safe against the satanic fire of whims and wishes.
One of the consequences of rage is wishing for superiority. If we consider the sacred verse:
الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ لِلرَّحْمَانِ.
“The kingdom on that day shall rightly belong to the Beneficient God, 25:26”
There will remain no place for wrath or rage.
One who realizes the truth of God's being Merciful, and tries to let his heart shine with this attribute will remain safe from others' injustices toward himself.
With a regard for the truth of اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ “All praises are due to Allah,” man will arrive at the position of praising Allah and thanking Him. This is because an asset, such as thanking , should be used in the proper position which Allah, the Giver, has stipulated. Only under such conditions will he stay away from wrong desires. And since an appreciater is not bound by his lusts, he will stay immune against jealousy, and greed. These two vices of man's lust.
With the assistance of الرحمن (The Beneficient), and الرحيم (The Merciful) and مالِكِ يَوْمِ الدّينِ (Master of the Day of Judgment) the rage will be rooted out and with the help of إيّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإيّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ (Thee do we serve and thee do we beseech for help) the two pernicious branches of self-conceipt and pride will be broken off, for ever.
When man is on the right path, he will get rid of his wishes and when wishes and whims are gone the plague of blasphemy and heresy will be demolished. By considering the hazardous conditions of those upon whom God's wrath is leveled and those who have gone astray, who have risen against godly truth due to their jealousy towards men of Allah, and who then have encountered Allah's wrath, the pernicious aliment of Jeasousy, like a bird, will fly away from the cage of our heart.
If we did not pay the due attention to our self and nature, they will then be at the mercy of all fouls and will be away from all virtues. At that time then all windows of deliverance and salvation will be closed on man and nothing is left of him except for evil and mischief and loss.
It is urgent that we privately try our self and examine it carefully.
Ibn Semak used to address his self everyday telling it:
يا نَفْسُ تَقولِينَ قَوْلَ الزّاهِدِينَ، وَتَعْمَلِينَ عَمَلَ المُنافِقِينَ، وَفي الْجَنَّةِ تَطْمَعِينَ! هَيْهاتَ، هَيْهاتَ، إنَّ لِلجَنَّةِ قََوْماً آخَرِينَ، وَلَهُمْ أعْمالٌ غَيْرُ ما تَعْمَلِينَ.
O Self, you talk like the pious ones, but act out like the hypocrites and mischief-makers. And then you wish to enter the paradise! How far away you are from the truth! The paradise is for those whose actions are different from yours.
If the man's self is not taken care of, it will fall prey to the external and interal satans and it will cause man to stay away from God and turn into firewood for the hell. The Holy Quran, in this regard, says:
قَالَ فَبِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ثُمَّ لَآتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَنْ شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ قَالَ اخْرُجْ مِنْهَا مَذْءُومًا مَدْحُورًا لَمَنْ تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنْكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ.
“The Sheitan told God: As thus hast caused me to remain disappointed I will certainly lie in wait for them [Your servants] in thy strait path. Then I will certainly come to them from before them and from behind them, and from their right-hand side and from their left-hand side; Until thou shalt not find most of them thankful. 7:16-18”
Then Sheitan was told: Get out of this state, despised, driven away; whoever of them will follow you, I will certainly fill hell with you all.”
Imam Baqir(s) has excellently interpreted the above sacred verse: in front (in adavance), behind you (behind), from right (from your right side), and left (From the left). Thus, the meaning of the above verse will be the following:
مِنْ بَيْنِ أيْدِيهِمْ، مَعْناهُ اُهَوِّنُ عَلَيْهِمْ أمرَ الآخِرَةِ.
“From the front”, means I will make the issue of hereafter seem so insignificant in their view that they would forget it altogether. And when they forgot it, then they would engage in all sort of vices.
مِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ: آمُرُهُمْ بِجَمْعِ الأمْوالِ وَالبُخْلِ بِها عَنِ الْحُقُوقِ لِتَبْقى لِوَرَثَتِهِمْ.
“From the behind” means I will encourage them to amass wealth and to be parsimonious so that all the wealth shall go to the heirs and they themselves shall be deprived of the spiritual benefits of their wealth.
عَنْ أيْمانِهِمْ: اُفْسِدُ عَلَيْهِمْ أمْرَ دِينِهِمْ بِتَزْيينِ الضَّلالَةِ وَتَحسينِ الشُّبْهَةِ.
“From the right” means I will adorn deception and perversion and admire doubt and dubiety so that the issue of faith and religion shall never be raised.
عَنْ شَمائِلِهِمْ: بِتَحْبِيبِ اللَّذّات إلَيْهِم وَتَغْلِيبِ الشَّهْواتِ عَلى قُلُوبِهِمْ.
By the expression “From the left” I mean I shall make them Love wrong wishes and unfounded lusts so that they get drowned in materialistic issues. That is the time when they will abandon thankfulness and will spend all their material and spiritual assets in wrong ways. Then if this is done, the family and society will perish.
If the self is not rectified and not educated with godly principles, it will undergo many devastating and strange conditions, which are sometimes hard to correct.
Those conditions make the self to befriend the Satan and go astray and do all sorts of mischiefs.
The Holy Quran has defined and divided those conditions and states of mind in seven stages:
1. The self commanding to do evil
2. The disillusioned self
3. The pledged self
4. the wishful self
5. The corruptible self
6. The stupefying self
7. The displayer self
إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي.
“Most surely man's self is wont to command him to do evil, except such as my Lord has had mercy on. 12:53”
وَاتَّبِعُوا أَحْسَنَ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمْ العَذَابُ بَغْتَةً وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ أَنْ تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يَا حَسْرَتَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْتُ فِي جَنْبِ اللَّهِ وَإِنْ كُنْتُ لَمِنْ السَّاخِرِينَ.
And Follow the best that has been revealed to you from your Lord before there comes to you the punishment all of a sudden while you do not even perceive; Lest a soul should say: O woe me! For what I fell short of my duty to Allah, and most surely I was of those who laughed to scorn. 39:55-56”
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ إِلَّا أَصْحَابَ الْيَمِينِ.
“Every soul is held in pledge for what it earns Except the people of the right hand. 74:38-39” who are the active students and followers of the prophets and Imams, who are immune in Day of Judgment against any pain and torture.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنْ الْهَوَى فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى.
“And as for him who fears to stand in the presence of his Lord and forbids the soul from Low desires, then surely the garden shall be his abode. 79:40-41”
وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا.
“And he will indeed fail who corrupts it. 91:10”
وَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ عَنْ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ.
“And who forsakes the religion of Ibrahim but (except for) he who makes himself a fool. 2:130”
قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ.
“[And they brought his shirt with false blood upon it] He said: Nay, your souls have made the matter light for you, but patience is good and Allah is He whose help is sought for against what you describe. 12:18”
Man's self, which is the center for wishes, whims, instincts and lusts, should be controlled by Divine rules. It is because only godly rules may restrict the refractory self. If those rules are not made use of, then storms like those of Adz and Thamud may be created inside man to the extent that man's spiritual, godly features may be demolished altogether.
One of the merchants of Hamadan [homeland of Baba Tahir, the Iranian well-knowen poet] came to visit Baba Taher. He said: God has made me affluent. Select this girl so that I may help you financially to marry her. Baba's age was not suitable for the young girl. He could have accepted. However, he thought his marriage might destroy the fate of another man who could enjoy the girl more emotionally. So he refused. Then, he told the merchant:
I have the Love for Ali(s) in my mind,
I have the dream to go to the garden;
I have cut with this world,
I dream of the other world, instead.
أوْحَى اللهُ تَعالى إلى عيسىD: يَا بْنَ مَرْيَمَ، عِظْ نَفْسَكَ، فَإنَّ اتَّعَظْتَ فَعِظِ النّاسَ وّإلا فَاسْتَحْي مِنّي.
Allah revealed onto Jesus(s): O son of Mary, preach your self. If you are ready to be preached, then preach to others, or else you should be ashamed of yourself.
Man's diseased self should be treated with the Holy Quran and the Prophet's tradition and we should be serious in this affair.
Woe be to those who humiliate God's and His Prophet's speech and refrain from accepting advice and preaches. How miserable is the one who takes people's material warnings, but forgets about God's spiritual warnings.
Feiz, the great philosopher and scholar says:
“If a Jewish physician warns you against taking a delicious food, you would accept his advice, but you would not believe the Prophet's statements which are safe and sound because they are miraculous and are approved by God.
“It is strange that you would take off all your clothes if a child tells you there is a scorpion in your clothes. You would accept his statement without asking for logical reasons. But the acceptance of the Prophet's statements are heavy on you. Are their statements less valid than a child's statements.
You would refrain from a burning match, but you are not afraid of the hell's fire?”
If a man would not accept God's statements easily and if he were to imitate the satanic affairs in place of taking lessons from logic and truth, he would not be allowed to say that he is a Moslem, neither may he claim that he is the Prophet's follower.
قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ2: سَيأتي زَمانٌ عَلى اُمَّتي يُحِبُّونَ خَمْساً، وَيَنْسَونَ خَمْساً: يُحِبُّونَ الْدُّنيا وَيَنْسَونَ الآخِرَةِ، وَيُحِبُّونَ الْمالَ وَيَنْسَوْنَ الْحِسابَ، وَيُحِبُّونَ النِّساءَ وَيَنْسَونَ الْحُورَ، وَيُحِبُّونَ القُصُورَ وَيَنْسَونَ القُبُورَ، وَيُحِبُّونَ النَّفْسَ وَيَنْسَونَ الرَّبَّ، اُولئِكَ بَرِيئُونَ مِنّي وَأنا بَرِئٌ مِنْهُمْ.
The Prophet(s) has said: A time will come that my followers will fall in love with five things and will forget five other things: They would love the world but would forget the Hereafter; they would be fond of gathering wealth but would forget that they would be asked to account for it later; they would fall in love with women but would forget the angels (Hura); they would like to possess strong constructions, but would forget the graves; and finally they would love their selves but would forget Allah. They hate me and I hate them.
Sadr Al-Mote'lehin in his book called Hedayat Al-Talebin says: Man's self is:
1. Either honorable, which is opposed to miser,
2. Or is strong, as opposed to being weak
3. Or it is a mixture of these two: man's self is both honorable and strong.
The honorable self, which is earned only through his owner's hard attempts and trials is trained by God's knowledge and is both wise and free.
Opposed to it is the miserable self which is deprived of wisdom and freedom and virtues, and as a whole is deprived of God's favors.
Man's strong self is the one which yields to truth and facts and is an agent in carrying out God's truth; opposed to it is man's weak self which is at satan's services.
The mixed self belongs to the Prophets and Imam and the infallible ones(s).
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ.
“Certainly you have in the Apostle of Allah an excellent exemplar. 33:21”
قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ2: اللّهُمَّ إنّي أعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لا يَنْفَعُ، وَقَلْبٍ لا يَخْشَعْ، وَعَمَلٍ لا يُرْفَعُ، وَدُعاءٍ لا يُسْمَعُ، وَنَفْسٍ لا تَشْبَعُ.
The Prophet(s) has said: O God please protect me against a knowledge which can not be applicable and would not result in any benefit; protect me against a heart which is not humble before you; protect me, too, against an action which is not acceptable by you; protect me against a supplication which would not be answered by you; And finally protect me against a self which is insatiable regarding the worldly wishes and whims.
Sahl Ibn Abdollah has said: There are three attributes for man's self: Either it is inflicted by blasphemy, or hyocricy, or discord. These attributes would not let the self be free except when man is engaged in self-discipline, carrying out the obligations and abandoning the illegal actions.
Observing the truths has a tremendous effect on man's vigilance, growth and movement.
There was a Jew, named Mokhayariq. He used to deliberate on the Prophet(s). When the Ohod Holy War was going to occur, he went to see the Jewish wise men, asking them: Is this the man who Moses has foreseen to arrive? They replied: No, he resembles him. He asked: What do you mean by resemblance? He is the one, but you cowards deny the truth. He came up to the Prophet(s) and accepted Islam and devoted his immense wealth onto the Prophet(s). His wealth helped the Prophet(s) a lot. Later, to defend the truth, he took part in Ohod's holy war and got martyrd.
When man's self is not properly educated, his possessor would be tyrant if he is a governor, would be a miser if he is wealthy, and he would be a hypocrite if he is a scientist.
It is reported in narrations: At the resurrection The Hell's Fire would speak to three kinds of people:
1) It will tell the politicians: You are the ones who got power from Allah, but you refused to use justice and the tyrant went unpunished. Then the fire swallows them, as the birds do with seeds.
2) It will tell the rich: You were the ones who were affluent but did not give away from what you had. Then it will swallow them up, too.
3) It will tell the scholars: you sere the ones who were tidy outside, but guilty inside. And then it swallows them up.
These regulations are mentined regarding self-discipline.
الأوَّلُ تَرْكُ الْمَعاصي، وَهذا هُوَ الَّذي بُنِيَ عَلَيْهِ قِوامُ التَّقْوى وَاُسِّسَ عَلَيْهِ أساسُ الآخِرَةِ وَالأوْلى. وَما تَقَرَّبَ المُتَقَرِّبُونَ بِشّئٍ أعْلى وَأفْضَلَ مِنْهُ.
The first thing you are supposed to carry out is to abandon your sins. Being virtuous relies heavily on it. It is the root of the world actions and the Hereafter. Those who are loved by God did not find anything better than abandoning the sins.
Moses asked the man whose story is mentioned in the holy surah of kahf (The cave: Quran:18): What have you done so that I am supposed to learn from you? How did you arrive at this stage? He answered: I abandoned engaging in sins.
الْثّاني الاِشْتِغالُ بِالطاعاتِ مَعَ حُضُورِ الْقَلْبِ.
الثَالِثُ عَدَمُ الْغَفْلَةِ.
الرّابِعُ الْحُزْنُ الدّائِمُ، قالَ: إنّي لا أسْكُنُ إلا في قَلْبٍ مَحْزُونٍ.
In self-discipline, the second stage is to be honest when you perform your prayers; the third stage is to abandon negligence; the fourth stage is the deep sorrow in you heart for what you have done wrong. God says: I am only in the worried hearts.
Sheikh Bahaee in his book “Arba'in,” narrates from the Prophet(s) the following ten programs for the ethics of the right-doers, i.e., those who have adorned their selves with prudence. Sheikh adds: If you delve into these ten programs, you will find the most significant attributes of the infallible and the Gnostics. The most advanced God's servants and worshippers enjoy these attributes:
1) Silence in those occasions when truth is not the issue;
2) Eathing little;
3) Forcing one's self to worship;
4) Delibrating on life
5) Supplication: by tongue, by heart and in action;
6) Taking lessons from your past;
7) Speaking logic;
8) Satisfying people's needs;
9) Fear from sins and their punishment;
10) Hope in God.
As soon as man Is qualified with these traits, he is ready to Join the heavenly positions.
يا عَليُّ، سَبْعَةٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ فَقَدْ اسْتَكْمَلَ حَقيقَةَ الْإيمانِ وَأبْوابُ الْجَنَّةِ مُفَتَّحَةٌ لَهُ: مَنْ أسْبَغَ وُضُوءَهُ، وَأحْسَنَ صَلاتَهُ، وَأدّى زَكاةَ مالِهِ، وَكَفَّ غَضَبَهُ، وَسَجَنَ لِسانَهُ، وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لِذَنْبِهِ، وَأدّى النَّصيحَةَ لِأهْلِ بَيْتِ نَبِنِّهِ.
The Prophet(s) told Imam Ali(s): Any body who carries the following seven programs, has reached to the root of faith and the doors of heaven are open to him: One who (1) performs ablution in the right manner; (2) carries out the prayer peroperly; (3) pays the alms as prescribed by Islam; (4) does not engage in rage; (5) keeps his tongue from non-truth; (6) repents for his guilts; and (7) rises to preach in favor of the Infallible(s) and the prophet(s).
عَنْ أميرِ المؤمِنينD: طْوبى لِمَنْ عَصى فِرْعَوْنَ هَواهُ وَأطاعَ مُوسى تَقْواهُ، طُوبى لِمَنْ ذَكَرَ الْمَعادَ وَاسْتَكْثَرَ مِنَ الزّادِ، طُوبي لِمَنْ راقَبَ رَبَّهُ وَخافَ ذّنْبَهُ، طُوبى لِمَنْ أشْعَرَ التَّقْوى قَلْبَهُ، طُوبى لِمَنْ حافَظَ عَلى طاعَةِ رَبِّهِ، طُوبى لِمَنْ خَلا مِنَ الْغِلِّ صّدْرُهُ وَسَلِمَ مِنَ الْغِشِّ قَلْبُهُ.
It is narrated from Imam Ali(s): How lucky is the person who rises against his Faraoh of whims and obeys his Moses of virtues; how prosperpous is the one who remembers the resurrection and adds up to his provisions; how lucky is the one who cares for God and fears his sins; how happy is the one who makes his self appreciate virtue and how prosperous is the one who cares for his obedience towards his God; and how lucky is the one whose breast is free form deception and his heart is void of spite.
The Gnostics have said:
مَنْ أماتَ نَفْسَهُ يُلَفُّ في كَفَنِ الرَّحْمَةِ وَيُدْفَنُ في أرْضِ الْكَرامَةِ، وَمَنْ أماتَ قَلْبَهُ يُلَفُّ في كَفَنِ اللّعْنَةِ وَيُدْفَنُ في أرْضِ العُقُوبَةِ.
Any body who kills lusts and whims and wishes in his self, will be wrapped up in the shrouding of blessing and will be buried in the ground of magnanimity; and anybody who makes his heart empty of God's life and terminates his spiritual and heavenly life, will be wrapped up in the shrouding of curses and will be buried in the tomb of torture and chastisement.
The Honorable Prophet(s) was asked:
Are you more handsome than Joseph (Yusef)?
The Prophet(s) replied:
هُوَ أصْبَحُ مِنّي وَأنا أمْلَحُ مِنْهُ.
From the viewpoint of face, he was more handsome than I am, but I am more charming [I have more salt] and witty than he was.
The use of salt in this expression is based on two points:
1) salt melts itself in other materials so that those materials can stay fresh and tasty. The Prophet(s), too, melted himself in all sorts of had-ships and sufferings so that men could stay away from vices, and injustices.
2) Dogs are among filthy and unclean beasts. They would not come out clean even if they are washed in seven seas: rather, they would become more unclean. But if they stay in the salty land, they will change their nature and will become clean.
If this dog of our commanding self stayed in the salty land of Shariat of the Prophet(s), which is a mixture of opinions, ethics and action, it would come out clean.
The accounts of those individuals who rose, due to the blessings of the Prophet(s) and his blessed traditions, to struggle with their self, and reached to the highest ranks of austerity, patience, reliance on Allah, being content with God, and monotheism, are worth reading.
The following story depicts some exemplars of the struggles of God's men under the guidance of the Prophet(s) against wishes and whims.
One day, Fazi Ayyaz came up to the door of Davoud Ta'ee. He heard Davoud's mourning and lamentation. He shouted: O Davoud, If you had heard the Prophet's statement:
لا يَدْخُلُ النّارَ مَنْ بَكى مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللهِ.
“One who seeps from God's fear shall never enter the hell-fire,” and had known that one drop of such tears would extinguish the fire of torture, you would never have weeped to this extent. What is the matter with you? Open the door because I have come to meet you.
Davoud answered: My fear of God stops me from talking to people. Now I am busy cleansing my spirit and rectifying my heart.
A woman from Davoud's neighborhood came up to the door, telling Fazil: be patient till the prayer time arrives. He will go to the mosque then. Meet him there since he will not spend his time talking to people.
Now it was the prayer time. Davoud attended the mosque and Fazil followed him. Then he asked Davoud to attend his house. He saw a broken jar full of water, under the sun. The man lived in a small room, with meager furniture.
Fazil told Davoud: Put this jar in a cool place so that its water becomes cool. Davoud answered: I am not confident of my self; the cold water might lead me towards satisfying my other wishes.
Fazil then advised him: Davoud, why don’t' you make your house more attractive? He replied: The elegance of a house depends the elegance of your self. It is enough for me. I would not need any elegant residence.
Fazil says: Prior to this visit, Davoud was very handsome. There was nobody as handsome as he was. But this time I found him pale, thin, and wretched. I asked him: what is the matter? He replied: O Fazil: there are eight sorrows which would not let me live properly and have put me under these conditions:
1) The time of death: we read in the Holy Quran:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ.
“Every soul shall taste of death. 3:185”
أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكُّمْ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُشَيَّدَةٍ.
“Wherever you are, death will over-take you, although you are in lofty towers. 4:78”
كَلَّا إِذَا بَلَغَتْ التَّرَاقِي وَقِيلَ مَنْ رَاقٍ وَظَنَّ أَنَّهُ الْفِرَاقُ وَالْتَفَّتْ السَّاقُ بِالسَّاقِ إِلَى رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمَسَاقُ.
“Nay! When it comes up to the throat, And it is said: Who will be a magician? And he is sure that it is the hour of parting, And affliction is combined with affliction; To your Lord on that day shall be the driving. 75:26-30”
فَلَوْلَا إِذَا بَلَغَتْ الْحُلْقُومَ وَأَنْتُمْ حِينَئِذٍ تَنظُرُونَ.
“Why is it not then that when the soul comes up to the throat, And you at that time look on? 56:83-84”
2) To stay in the tomb: it is a house with no doors, a narrow, and dark place, a place of terror, a house where your pillow is a piece of rock, where your dress is a shrouding; it is a place from which you may not escape. I do not know which of the two following signs will be assigned to me:
1- رَوْضَةٌ مِنْ رِياضِ الْجَنَّةِ.
2- حُفْرَةٌ مِنْ حُفراتِ النّيران.
A garden from the paradise or a well of the hell-fires.
3) The voice of the two angels who will ask: “Who is your God?”
مَنْ رَبُّكَ؟
I wonder if I could ever answer. To answer this question properly, one needs to know whether he has irrigated the sapling of monotheism with his conviction, ethics and proper action or not. If I have already wasted my time, what answer should I supply?
4) The sorrow of being exposed to the blowing of the trumpet:
وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُمْ مِنْ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَانُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ.
“And the trumpet shall be blown, when lo! From their graves they shall hasten on to their Lord. They shall say: O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping-place? This is what the Beneficient God promised and the apostles told the truth. 36:51-52”
O Fazil: at that time my body shall be returned to me and they will make me ready in the tomb to attend the resurrection ritual. But I wonder in what shape and form I will attend there because there are two verses concerning this in the Holy Quran
يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ابْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فَفِي رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ.
“On that day when some faces shall turn white and some faces shall turn black; then as to those whose faces turn black: Did you disbelieve after your believing? Taste therefore the chastisement because you disbelieved. And as to those whose faces turn white, they shall be in Allah's mercy; in it they shall abide. 3:106-107”
5) When I attend the doomsday (the day of judgment), I do not yet know if they would assign me to the fire attendant or to the angel of blessings, who will announce:
ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ آمِنِينَ.
“Enter them in peace, secure. 15: 46”
6) The accountability makes me tremble:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِنْ تَكُنْ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِنْ لَدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا.
“Surely Allah does not do injustice to the weight of an atom, and if it is a good deed He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward. 4:40”
فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَه وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَه.
“So, he who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it. And he who has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it. 99:7-8”
7) My sorrow is for the moment when my actions and deeds will be weighed, and measured:
وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَظْلِمُونَ.
“And the measuring out on that day will be just; then as for him whose measure of good deeds is heavy, those are they who shall be successful. And as for him whose measure of good deeds is light, those are they who have made their souls suffer loss because they disbelieved in Our communications. 7:7-8”
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَيَقُولُ هَاؤُمْ اقْرَءُوا كِتَابِيه.
“Then as for him who is given his book in his right hand, he will say: Lo! Read my book. 69:19”
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِشِمَالِهِ فَيَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أُوتَ كِتَابِيه.
“And as for him who is given his book in his left hand he shall say: O would that my book had never been given me. 69:25”
8) Allah uses both mercy and anger. The realization of His mercy in this world are the Holy Quran, Prophethood, our duties; and his mercy is manifested in the other world as the heaven and the paradise. The realization of Allah's anger and rage in the other world is the severe chastisement and the eternal hell. And this is the final stage of which I know nothing.
قالَ عَلِيٌّD: أكْثَرُ مَصارِع الْعُقُولِ تَحْتَ بُرُوقِ الْمَطْامِعِ.
Imam Ali(s) has stated: the main factor behind the failure of the wisdoms is the thunder of lusts, wishes and whims.
The Prophet(s) has said:
لَولا أنَّ الشَّياطينَ يَحُومُونَ عَلى قُلُوبِ بَني آدَمَ لَنَظَرُوا إلى مَلَكُوتِ السَّماءِ.
If the devils of wishes and whims did not surround the hearts of Adam's children, then they would look upward towards the secrets of the heavens.
The Prophet(s) was passing a grave yard when he pointed to a grave, saying: the residents of these two graves are now under torture for the sins they had committed. They, he added:
لَولا تَكْثيرٌ في كَلامِكُمْ وَتَمريجٌ في قُلُوبِكُمْ لَرَأيْتُمْ ما أرى وَلَسَمِعْتُمْ ما أسْمَعُ.
If you did not speak but the truth, and if your hearts were not replete with improper traits, then you could see what I can see and you would hear what I hear.
Imam Ali(s) has stated:
فَاعْمَلُوا وَالعَمَلُ يُرْفَعُ، وَالتَّوْبَةُ تَنْفَعُ، وَالدُّعاءُ يُسْمَعُ، وَالْحالُ هادِيَةٌ، وَالأقْلامُ جارِيَةٌ، وَبادِرُوا بِالأعْمالِ عُمُراً ناكِساً، أو مَرَضاً حابِساً، أوْ مَوْتاً خالِساً.
Now that you are healthy and capable, do what is good. Now repentance is in your favor and your supplications are answered to; now it is the quiet time. Your deeds are being recorded by God's agents. Do whatever is good prior to the time when you are bed-ridden and would not be able to rise, since the death would arrive at any moment.
source : THE LAND OF THE LOVERS /BY Shaykh Husayn Ansariyan
