It should be known that the indescribability of God, the Exalted, mentioned in this tradition refers to the characteristics of God given by some victims of ignorance and disputation from among the theologians (mutakallimun) and others, whose statements implied finitude (tahdid) and anthropomorphism (tashbih) or rather the very denial of the Divine Attributes (tatil). That such is the case is indicated by this phrase in the noble ...
Goodness towards the parents is the expiation of various sins. It is related in a report that a man came to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and said, "O, Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.s.) there is not a single misdeed, that I have not committed. Is there repentance for me?" The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) told him, "Go and do goodness to your father in order that your sins may be expiated."
When the man left the assembly the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, "If ...
1. The notion of 'wahdat al-wujud' [Unity of Being] is a monistic understanding of tawheed, the doctrine of oneness of God. It is considered one of the most fundamental concepts in mysticism and in mystical schools especially that of Ibn Arabi. According to this principle, existence [wujud] is a single and eternal reality which is no one other than God. No one other God has real existence. Whatever comes to our sight are in reality various ...
In the Name of Allah the most Gracious the Most MercifulAnd We sent not before you any messenger, but surely they ate food, and went in the markets; and we have appointed some of you to be a trail for others. Will you endure? Your Lord is ever All-seeing.And those who look not for a meeting with Us, Say: Why have the angles not been sent down on us, or why see we not our Lord? Assuredly they think too highly of themselves and are scornful with ...
Impossibility of Knowing the Reality of the Names and the Attributes:
It should be noted that the knowledge of the reality of the Divine Attributes and their encompassment as well as their nature is something whose summits lie beyond the reach of metaphysical proof (burhan) and whose kernel is beyond access to the yearning of the gnostics. That which has been said from the viewpoint of metaphysical proof in the speculative thought of scholars ...
Some traditions are found in Sunni books to the effect that the Prophet (s.a.w.) on migrating to Medina found the Jews fasting on the 10th of Muharram. He asked them why, and was told: "It is an auspicious day; it is the day when God delivered the children of Israel from their enemy (i.e. Pharaoh); and, therefore, Moses fasted on that day." The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, "I am worthier of Moses than you are." Thereupon, he fasted on that day and ...
The above verse, numerous traditions and the rules promulgated by the Mujtahids indicate that every one of the false accusers of sodomy and fornication must be lashed eighty times (provided four just witnesses are not available simultaneously). However, the following conditions should be noted.
1) The sinner must be major and sane. A minor child or an insane person cannot be punished for false accusations. Also, the major and the sane ...
By: An Exposition of Hadith by Imam KhomeiniMuhammad ibn Ya’qub (al-Kulayni) (R) reports from al-Husayn ibn Muhammad, he from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad, from al-Washsha’, from ‘Asim ibn Humayd, he from Abu Hamzah, who narrates on the authority of Yahya ibn ‘Aqil that the latter reported that Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali (A) said, “I am apprehensive for you on account of two things: submission to desire and ...
Amirul Momineen Ali (a.s.) says, "Angels do not even enter a house that has wine, drum, tambourine or a flute. Even the prayers of the inhabitants of this house are unacceptable. They are deprived of barakat." (Wasaelush Shia)
Hazrat Imam Ali ar-Reza (a.s.) has said, "To listen to a musical instrument is one of the Greater Sins." (Mustadrakul Wasael)
The Blackened Face of the Musician
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) has stated, "A ...
It is an established fact that there are numerous Quranic verses and traditions which prohibit the breaking of a promise, and makes obligatory the fulfillment of promise. The following verses are sufficient to prove this point: \"Surely the vilest of animals in Allah\'s sight are those who disbelieve, then they would not believe. Those with whom you make an agreement, then they break their agreement every time and they do not guard (against ...
Self-judgment is to call oneself to account every day regarding the good deeds and wrongdoings. If the scale of acts of obedience overweighs that of acts of disobedience, we must thank God, lest we must discipline ourselves.
Self-control stands for protecting oneself against breach of the obligatory religious rites and the commitment of the forbidden.
It is necessary for the rational to train himself on self-judgment and self-control, since ...
The eighth among the Greater Sins is to usurp the property of an orphan who has not attained maturity.
This is categorized as a Greater sin by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.), Imam Ali (a.s.), Imam Reza (a.s.), Imam Kazim (a.s.) and Imam Taqi (a.s.). It is a sin, the punishment of which is fixed by Allah to be the fire of Hell.
The Quran says, "(As for) those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly, surely they only swallow fire into ...
Backbiting is to speak ill of a believer behind his back, including matters concerning his moralities, appearance, or personality. Not only is backbiting restricted to words, but also it includes every behavior and deed, whether suggestive or direct The Prophet (s) defined backbiting by saying:
“Do you know what is backbiting? … It is to mention things that your brother dislikes. … To mention things that are really found in the ...
In a previous discussion, although we considered the topic of Imam al-Husayn’s (as) divine knowledge about his martyrdom, it is possible that this question has not been fully answered as regards the other Imams.The question which remains is, “Why did the Imams take measures which they knew would finally lead to their own deaths? For example, if they knew that the food they were taking contained deadly poison which was meant to kill ...
Intellect or the faculty of reasoning is one of the greatest trusts that Allah has bestowed upon man and this trust demands that man continually honours it. We must not say or do anything that is against reason. If we allow our desire to conquer reason we would have committed a breach of trust with Allah (a.j.).
As regards the safekeeping of trust with reference to the rules of Shariat, Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) says: "Misappropriating the ...
The sixteenth Greater sin is singing songs. Traditions have graded it amongst the mortal sins. This fact is clear from the narration of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) as quoted by Amash. Muhammad Ibne Muslim relates that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) said, "Singing is that sin which has been promised a penalty of fire (Hell) by Allah."
It is evident from numerous reports, that whichever sin incurs Hell as its punishment, is a Greater Sin. ...
The Wahabi sect was founded by Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab ibn Suleiman al-Najdi (1111 - 1206 AH.). After obtaining fundamental religious training he developed a special interest in books on false Prophets such as Musailama al-Kathab, Sajah al-Aswad al-An'si and Tulaiha al- Assadi. In the early period of his scholarship his father and tutors became aware of his deviant thinking and this led them to warn people of him by saying: "This man will go ...
Hijrat is incumbent on two types of people. The first type are those who are absolutely ignorant of the rules of religion. If there is no religious scholar in the area of their residence, whom they can refer to for their religious problems, then, it is compulsory for them to shift to a place where they have access to religious scholars for the solution of their problems.
The second types are those Muslims who live in the midst of unbelievers, ...
1 So God either exists or He doesn’t. God is either personal or impersonal. God has revealed Himself at a certain time in history or He hasn’t. What a religion affirms is either true or it is not. Therefore, the most significant question we can ask of any religion is whether or not its fundamental claims are true. Religious belief may be more than mental agreement with truth claims, but it is never less. In believing, one ...
A Difficult Problem and its Solution
Some people raise the following objections regarding the subject of Greater Sins: -1. Why does the Quran not explain in detail such an important subject as the Greater Sins?
2. Why are there conflicting reports from Masomeen (a.s.) with regard to the Greater Sins? Some traditions mention that the Greater Sins are five, some give the figure as seven, nine, twenty one and thirty one. One of the traditions ...
