Serious detriments of sins

Professor Hosein Ansarian as a great Islamic preacher and instructor of Ethics and Islamic issues has written many books and has given many lectures on different religious matters. He has always laid stress on not doing evil acts and advise men of bad worldly and other-world conseuences of it. In the present text , adopted from his lectures, he analyses this issue again and again but from a new point of view.

The first detriment of sin, attire the dishonor dress

Imam Sajjad (God bless him) “sins attire me the dishonor dress.”[1]Sin brings about to three serious detriments. At first, sin causes a man to be inferior, abject, insignificant and worthless in front of God’s presence. If this inferiority and insignificancy remain in man’s entity and he doesn’t restore to his honor and human’s personality, in here after, the deliverance way will be close for him.

Possibly we are asked about this utterance evidence. The answer is that the biggest evidence of this utterance is the ninth verse of Araf Chapter where God says “and one who underestimate (his sin)…, they are the people who oppress themselves because they oppress to our verses (signs).”[2] These people will see in here after that they have destroyed their entity assets by their sin and they haven’t any considerable thing which has value to be considered so that they will be given remuneration for that in hereafter. This verse means that detriment to the original entity, destruction to the original entity; it means that they become so insignificant and worthless that there is nothing to be counted for them. If these sins will be apparent and visible for their relationship and the people who know them, so their reputation and credit will be damage and hurt and they will have not any credit and respect among other. This is only a detriment of sin. “Sins attire me the dishonor dress.”[3]

The second detriment of sin, distantness from God’s nearness

But Imam Sajjad (God bless him) said about second detriment that “and my helplessness dress (dress of sin) make me too far away from you”

Gradually sin leads me to go away from you. This distantness can continues so much that it deprives me from every worships and services and wears me down. “Then the ultimate of the people who practiced sin and bad action was that they became unbeliever and denied Allah’s signs (the sin which Allah has banned them) and scorn them.”[4]

When the time of sin extended and become permanent and according to the holy Quran’s interpretation “what they have done”: it become sequential and constant, it will lead to destruction of all spiritual’s power of man till his moment of death and convert him to “they are like animals.”[5] In that condition he won’t be able to takes step for God’s worship and also he won’t be able to takes step for giving services to other. These kinds of sin disarm man.

The third detriment of sin, heart death

But the third detriment of sin which is most serious and Imam Sajjad (God bless him) has been sorrowful and begs and cries in God’s presence for that: “I killed my heart that is a big crime.”[6] Sin leads to heart death. When heart die, how God can appear in the lifeless person’s eyes? If God wants to appear with his attributes, his appearance will be for the living person. God will never appear for lifeless person. People of the all world say that bury the dead or burn it. All Hindu say that burn the dead. It doesn’t make any difference that he was Nehru or Gandhi or Rajio; because this corpse hasn’t any benefits any more except to be deleted. None Hindu say that it’s not important whose corpse it is, whether he is president of United State or lawyer or Senator or minister or best merchant, now, as soon as possible a hole should be dug and he should be put in that hole and its lid should be put on him and we have to go before this corpse putrefy and its stench disperse into the air.

How God can appear in the lifeless person’s eyes? “Allah that there isn’t any God except him and he is alive.”[7] Alive God has commanded to bury the dead; it means he hasn’t any benefit, and he commanded to put the corpse in a grave so that its bad smell won’t disturb people of that area after its putrefaction. To sum up, God has commanded us to discard the corpse, so how it can be possible that God appears his attributes for this corpse? The dead heart isn’t appropriate for God’s generosity or his kindness and even for his philosophy, affection, fondness and divinity.

Imam Ali (God bless him) has described the people whose heart have died as “the face is like human face and the heart is like animal heart.”[8] It means that this kinds of people heart is like the heart of camel, cow, donkey, dog and fox. The heart death is detriment of sin. Penitence means going toward honor. Penitence means going toward correction that had been lost. . Penitence means reviving the dead. This was magnificence of penitence and this penitence shows itself easier in the month of Ramadan than in the other eleven months.

Every one of man and woman, aged and youth, literate and illiterate should know that sin is pervasive and hasn’t any specific calmness and relaxation; it doesn’t settle in eye, ear, tongue, hand, stomach or in lust. The sin danger is heavy and pervasive danger; it means that as sin capture the conscience, it captures the thought and heart and contaminates the superego. It’s necessary to mention three points about sin contamination and the place it choose to contaminate in its way. Of course mentioning these points is for that a man should know that sin can penetrate to everywhere. The evidence of this word is holy Quran: “yes everyone who acquires bad deed and surround it with error, so this person is infernal and will stay there forever.”[9] We can understand from this verse that sin can surround all mankind’s entity and locate everywhere.

An instance of internal sin

Here, I want to mention an instance of internal sin for you:

This is adventure of Safavan-ebne-Mehran Kofi. Of course these instances are from the most credible books of Shiite. The purity’s of our books as Shiite is very much. Of course, none of Shiite’s religious experts have any claim that except holy Quran, Nahjol Albalagheh and Sahife Sajjadiyeh, the other books are completely pure and authentic. But they claim and prove that the books which has written by qualified religious experts from the time of Aeme-ye-Atehar (God bless him), not any other authors, are ninety five percent pure and authentic; it means that these books’ contents are consistent and correct. And the other five percent is objectionable. And none of religious experts got angry when their books were criticized in their lifetime, for example Excellency Koleiny wrote ten volumes of Kafi and Excellency Allame Majlesi has criticized some parts of them. Mr. Akhond-e-Khorasani wrote a scientifically book and his son, Mr. Agha Mohammad-e-Aghazadeh has criticized maybe one hundred of its contents. Also His criticisms are right.

 This matter shows that Shiite accept criticism, while Sunni experts have closed criticism way in their six main books and have said that criticizing these six book’s isn’t allowed forever. And according to their belief, these six books’ authenticity is the same as holy Quran, but Shiite experts has criticized these six books in a very knowledgeably and friendly way; because criticism is a scientifically matter and their work to ban these six books’ criticism isn’t fair and wise, and this is while we criticize our books, and the person whose book has been criticized become happy; because every writings’ criticism is good for its writer and makes him (or her) more experienced and sophisticated. Anyway the contents which will be expressed are from the most credible books and by attention to their five or four percentage of criticism, the ninety five percent of them are authentic.

Safavan-ebne-Mehran said that once I came to visit Imam Kazem (God bless him) and he said “Safavan! I sign the things I know about your deeds, works and behaviors and I accept them, just one of your work is unacceptable.” Safavan said “which work?” Imam Kazem (God bless him) said “leasing your camels to Haroon and his family.” Safavan said “O dear, I didn’t lease them for leisure, hunting, carrying wines and futile works; Haroon’s envoy came and told me that you have a lot of camels, so rent them out to me; because we want to go to Hajj. I accepted his suggestion and also I didn’t go with them so that I won’t be obligated to follow Haroon’s cruel commands; because one who carries out an oppressor’s commands will sent to hell with that oppressor.” Holy Quran doesn’t say that because this person was a king so he should goes to seventh story of hell and because this person was a simple servant, he should goes to the first story of hell, but it says “enter all pharahonics to the severe torment.”[10] Send all members of pharaoh’s government and him to the severe torment. God will not accept these pretexts that I was a guard, I was letter carrier and I was a writer in court and I hadn’t any authorities. One who carries out an oppressor’s commands is the same as him.

Safavan said that I didn’t go with him and I sent my workers. Imam Kazem (God bless him) said “are you sure that Haroon will pay your camel’s rent after he and his relationship come back from Mecca?” I said “yes.” Imam Kazem (God bless him) said “from their moving time to the time when they return to Mecca, this that you want them to stay, you are from them, and whoever be from them, will be sent to hell with them in hereafter.”[11]

This is sin that a person wants wellbeing’s of an oppressor. Wanting America’s prosperity, wanting Israel’s prosperity, wanting a cruel lawyer’s welfare, a cruel mayor, a governor, a boss or a chief who are despotic, wanting the safety and security of these people is sin. It’s possible that this question will arise for the people who are reading this adventure that, didn’t Imam Kazem (God bless him) go extreme? Isn’t it true? If we had asked Imam Kazem (God bless him), what is your criterion for this word? The good person whom your father liked him and also you like him too, so how can he go to hell with Haroon. Imam Kazem (God bless him) has answered this question in this way that my criterion is holy Quran “and you believers shouldn’t be friend with oppressors otherwise the fire of their penalty will surround you and then you won’t find any friend except Allah and no one will help you.”[12]

We shouldn’t love an oppressor wholeheartedly, because you will be tormented and the fire will burn you just for your that fondness even you didn’t do anything wrong. If we hope that our all religious centers and all these Islamic systems will destroy and demolish and America comes and rescue us, so what will God do with this desire?

Of course you are at the middle of this system as well! You should know that everyone of you in any job placement, from mayor to president, if you become oppressor, you and your entire workers and families who are satisfy with your oppression and cruelty, according to forty sixth verse of Momen Chapter, will involve in severe torment. It hasn’t any exception. This sin is a sin that will surround your heart.