Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Discourse 5: Nobility and Magnanimity of Spirit

Oh soul at peace return unto yourLord, well pleased, well-pleasing. Enter amongMy servants. EnterMy paradise. (89:28-30)

On the holy birthday anniversary of Imam Husain, peacebe upon him, last Monday I began a discourse saying that anyone who possessed a lofty spirit must suffer physical discomfort while only those who have loose spirits live in comfort, sleep soundly and enjoy delicious dishes and other benefits.

Tonight,I wish to discuss the greatness and nobility of the spirit and show the differences between the two. Greatness of spirit is one thing but nobility is a higher quality. In other words,every greatness is not nobility but every nobility is also greatness.

Determination is obviously a sign of greatness of the spirit and there are different levels of determination. One person is content to secure a diploma while another knows no limit to the pursuit of knowledge, and his aim is to make the utmost use of his life and gain as much knowledge as he can.

You may have heard the well-known story of AbuRayhan Biruni , a man whose true worth according to scholars,is not quite known . He was so extraordinary a mathematician, sociologists and historian that heis considered by some to be superior to Abu AliSina (Avicenna).

These two were contemporaries. AbuRayhan was in love with knowledge,research and discoveries. Sultan Mahmud summoned him to attend his court and he had to obey the call. He accompanied the King in his conquest of India and found a great treasure of knowledge in that country.But he did not know Sanskrit, so he began learning it.Inspite of his old age, he learned it to a very high degree and after many years of study, he produced a book calledTahqiq mal al-Hind minmaqulihi marzalah fi al-aql wa maqbulat , which is a very valuable source of reference for theIndianologists of the world.

He was on hisdeath bed when a jurisprudent neighbor of his, learning of his serious illness, went to visit him. AbuRayhan was still conscious and, in seeing the jurisprudent, asked him a question of jurisprudence concerning inheritance or some other issue. The jurisprudent was amazed that a dying man should show interest in such matters. AbuRayhan said, "I should like to ask youwhich is better, to die with knowledge or without it?" The man said, "Of course it is better to know and die." AbuRayhan said, "That is why I asked my first question." Shortly after the jurisprudent reached home, the cries of lamentation told him that AbuRayhan had died. This shows his determination even at the moments of death.

One person is great in gathering wealth, for example, while others show no such endeavors and are content with earning a simple livelihood by whatever means they can, whether it is by serving others or begging or submitting to abasement. Are those two types of effort equal?Not at all.

Sometimes you see the people who lack the resolution to get rich, simply because they are weak and others scorn and laugh at them. They recite verses of the Quran about asceticism, based on fallacious reasoning.But they are wrong. The person who pursues the amassing of wealth, with all his misery, with all his devotion to the world, is still better than those having a weak determination or no determination,who resemble beggars and thus, he has more character. This person is not blameworthy before him.

These persons can be considered blameworthy only before a real ascetic who himself is a man of determination. Like Ali, peacebe upon him, he can gather riches, not because of his own needs, but to spend on others and help the needy. He is in a position to reproach another for whom storing and hiding riches have become a goal, not a means.

Similarly, one may seek high rank and position. Alexander the Great was such a man who desired to rule the world. He is a superior to a man who lives in servility and has no determination for feelings of nobility. Nadir Shah is another example of high-mindedness. These men have great spirits but itcannot be said that they have noble spirits.

Alexander is an example of a great ambition, and his greatness has developed only in one direction, in ambition,fame and influence, in being the most powerful man in the world.

His spirit is noble only to that extent.But did he experience any ease and comfort? Could Nadir have had an easy life with his tyranny, and his building of minarets with the skulls of those he had killed, the man who pulled men's eyes out of their sockets,the man who was madly ambitious? He had no time sometimes to take off his boots for ten days. A storyis told about him that in a very severe winter night he reached a caravanserai by himself. The keeper was awakened by a loud knock, and when he opened thegate he saw a burly-looking man riding a big horse. He asked the keeper what food he had, and the latter said he only had eggs.

Hewas sharply ordered to fry the eggs and bring it with some bread for him and some fodder and barley for his horse. The keeper didso and the man rested there an hour or two and after grooming his horse, he threw some gold coins on to the keeper's lap and said, "Very soon a column of soldiers will reach here. Tell them Nadir has gone in that direction and they must follow at once." On hearing the name of Nadir, the keeper was so frightened that he let the coins fall down. Nadir ordered him to go on the roof and shout to the soldiers on their arrival not to linger a moment but to follow him speedily. The men grumbled when they heard the message but none of them dared to stay a minute to refreshhimself .

One may become a Nadir, but he can never enjoy a comfortable bed, fine food and hundreds of other luxuries. His body can never relax.And eventually he will die. Whoever has great determination, in whatever area it may be, will have no physical ease.But none of these men possessed noble souls. Their souls were great but were not noble. Suppose a man to be a great man of learning without any other good quality. He has lofty thoughts about human knowledge. Another is skillful in gathering wealth. Someone else is full ofrancour ,envy or ambition. All of them are extremely selfish but none of them is noble and magnanimous.

The point is that from a psychological and philosophical point of view, there is another kind of greatness which does not depend on selfishness and whichis called humanity.

I have not yet seen how materialists explain away this aspect of the human being. What makes the human being or, at least, some individuals have a feeling of honor in their spirits, somethingwhich is beyond and above selfishness? Such a human being wishes to be noble and great, but not at the expense of another. One's spirit does not allow one to tell a lie. Nobility is the opposite of baseness and a person avoids baseness completely.

Mussolini, the well-known Italian dictator,is reported to have said to a friend that he preferred to live like a lion for one year, rather than like a sheep for a hundred years. He insisted that his friend should not quote his words to anyone since his being a lion must mean that other people are sheep and if other people learned what Mussolini desired, they, too, would want to be lions in which case the dictator could no longer remain a lion. There is no nobleness in such an attitude.

But what is a noble person like? It is a person who wants all people to be lions rather than sheep in the world. The Prophet has said, "I was appointed to perfect the morality of nobility," not "I was appointed to perfect good morals." The latter is not the correct meaning. Every innovator of a school claims that what he teaches is right. EvenNietzche who believes in might and has no compassion for the weak, considers his school as one of the true ethics. His words mean nobleness not mastery over others.

Ali, peace be upon him, says to his son, Imam Husain, peace be upon him, "Uplift your spirit above every mean act and think that your spirit is worthier than to be polluted by meanness." He advises his son to think himself nobler than to demean himself by lies or by abasing himself before others. Ali, peace be upon him, says that an honorable person never commits adultery and this is irrespective of the fact that it is forbidden by the divine law and punishable in both worlds. In the epic of theNahj ul-balagha it is said that in the first encounter of Ali, peace be upon him, withMu'awiyah , in the Battle ofSiffin , the Imam had no desire to fight and wished to settle matters through letters and emissaries.But whenMu'awiyah seized the access to the waters of the Euphrates to prevent Ali's army from reaching it, hoping to inflict defeat on them through lack of water, he wrote a letter askingMu'awiyah to desist from such strategy since fighting had not begun yet and there was the possibility of reaching an agreement.

Mu'awiyah refused to forego his advantage and when Ali found that hisinsistance was of no avail, he gathered his men and delivered a discourse saying, "These people are seeking war like food. If so, do you know whatshould be done ? You are thirsty and there remains only one way, and that is to quench your swords with their blood in order to satisfy yourselves. If you die victoriously, you are alive but if you live in defeat, you are dead."

This is how Ali, peace be upon him, inspired the spirit of nobility and self-respect in his followers. Ali, peace be upon him, believes that all vices are caused by the baseness of character. For example, he thinks slandering is the act of a weak person. A brave person is so noble and magnanimous that he or she expresses the objections he or she feels for another to that person's face or at least keeps silent. One who is covetous towards others is making the self-contemptuous. One who laments one's misfortune before others is abasing the self.

Someone came before ImamSadiq , peace be upon him, lamenting his distress and poverty. The Imam asked an attendant to go and pay him a few dinars. The man said in apology to the Imam, "I did not intend to ask for anything." The Imam said, "I did not say that you did but my advice to you is to abstain from narrating your difficulties before others, for you lose your worth, and Islam does not wish a believer to be humbled before others."

Ali, peace be upon him, says, "He who describes his helplessness for others is destroying his self-respect and honor which are the dearest things for a true believer. And he who lets his carnal desires dominate him is abasing himself." Ali peacebe upon him, believes that all virtues are due to the nobleness of spirit. Being truthful, honest,perseverant and avoiding all vices are the result of that nobleness. Drinking, to give an example, causes drunkenness, even though temporarily robbing one of reason and reducing one to the level of a stupid animal.

He also says, "I do not base my life on excess." The teachings of ourgnostics and Sufis have many exalted thoughts.But one of the problems that Islam suffered through the teachings of thegnostics andSuifis was that it was influenced by the teachings of Christianity, Buddhism andManicheanism . They lost hold of the correct balance in what they called forgetting the self and killing the self. If they had paid attention to Islam, they would have realized that Islam is in favor of annihilating one aspect of the self and reviving another aspect of it. It advises you to forget your animal self and strengthen your noble spirit.I have come across the same idea in the works of the poet-philosopher,Iqbal Lahouri .

Islam believes that one of the divine punishments is that the human being is brought to forget theself altogether . The Quran says,

Be not one of those who forgot God and so He caused them to forget their souls. (59:19)

Do you know of anyone like Ali who called people to renounce the world? Ali did this but at the sametime he emphasized self-respect and magnanimity. He says to his son,Hasan , peace be upon him, "Do not be the slave of another being. God has created you free." How is it that Ali, peacebe upon him, as the most humble man in the world, invites people to regard the self? This self that he respects is the noble side ofmankind.

We havein hand many sayings of this kind belonging to Ali, peace be upon him, but few quotations from his two sons, a result of the despotic conditions of their time. But in the books containing the words of Imam Husain, peace be upon him, the question of narrowness of the spirit is noticed abundantly, particularly his sayings in the last moments before his martyrdom, blaming those who had sold themselves to tyrants. He says, "If you are not religious and do not fear the Resurrection, at least be free men in your world." In his discourse in Mecca, he says that his spirit does not allow him to live and see such corrupt conditions, let alone be a part of it.Again he says, "Verily I consider death to be nothing but felicity and life with these tyrants to be anything but misery." Bythis he means that it is an honor for him not to be amongst such people who bring nothing but weariness and sorrow to his soul.

To those who advised him to abandon his fight against tyrants, he quoted the sentence of one of the Prophet's friends, said as an answer to his cousin who wished to prevent him from fighting. The sentence is, "No.I will go forth. Death is no disgrace but honor for a free man whose intention is to follow the right path and fight a holy war. Death in aiding the good and opposing the wicked is an honor." He continues saying," You who forbidme this humility is enough for you to live in abjection. Do you not see that they do not act according to what is right and no one forbids all this corruption?"Again he says, "A believer must seek death." When itwas reported to Ali thatMu'awiyah's army had plundered the town ofAmbar , and seized the earnings of a Muslim woman, he says, "By God, if a Muslim dies in sorrow for such a happening, he is not blameworthy."

On the day of his martyrdom (the 10th of Muharram), Imam Husain, peace be upon him, gives this answer to the messenger ofIbn Ziad who was demanding allegiance, "I will never offer my hand in humiliation nor confess like a slave (that I have been in error)." Even in his last moments of fighting when all his relatives and companions died and he himself, in facing death, and his household is in danger of capture, he continues to declare his exalted goal of nobility and freedom.

Thus we see that all great men are not noble but all noble ones are great.About Imam Husain, peace be upon him, we must say that he was great in his good deeds, his indifference to wealth, hisendeavours in enjoining to good and forbidding the wrong, in his lack of ambition and vengefulness, in his insistence on prayer and communion with God and in his revival of the noble self in fighting for (God and the truth. I pray God to grant us such spirits of nobleness and to give us the awareness of our destiny.

Discourse 6: Worship and Prayer 1

We sometimes notice points in our Islamic interpretations that raise questions for some of us in connection with worship. Forexample we are told in the case of prayer that either the Prophet or the Imams have said, "Prayer is the pillar of religion," or if we think of religion as a tent, 'prayer is the pole that keeps it standing." This remark is also quoted from the narrations attributed to the Prophet, "The requisite for the acceptance of other human deeds is the acceptance of prayer". In other words, the good deeds of the human being will benull and void if prayer is incorrect and thereby unacceptable.

Another Tradition says, "Prayer is the means of proximity of every virtuous being to God." Another Tradition says that the devil is always uneasy with a believer and shuns him who is devoted to his prayer. The Quran, too, shows the remarkable importance of prayer in many verses.

But sometimes it is stated by some persons that all these traditions about prayer must be forged and unreliable and uttered not by the Prophet and his successors but by some devotees in order to win more followers particularly in the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the hegira when the matter of worship had gone to such excess that it had more or less led to monasticism and Sufism.

We see that some people concentrated all their efforts on acts of worship to such an extent that they ignored other religious duties. Forexample there was among Ali's companions a man called Rabi'ibn Husain, who was later known asKhajah Rabi' whose tomb is in Mashhad. Hewas known as one of the eight famous ascetics of the Islamic world and he went so far in asceticism and devotion that he had dug his own grave long before his death. (Itis said that for twenty years he never spoke a word about worldly matters). Sometimes he went and lay in it reminding himself that the grave was his home. The only words he was ever heard to say besides prayer wason the occasion of hearing of Imam Husain's martyrdom. He said, "Woe upon these people who murdered the dear descendant of their Prophet." Itis reported that afterwards he repented having uttered a sentence other than the invocation of God.

He was a warrior in the time of Ali, peace be upon him, and one day he came toHadrat Ali and said that they had doubts about that war they were fighting, as it seemed to them to be unlawful, for they were fighting against those who in their prayer turned their faces to Mecca and uttered the formulas of the Islamic creed. This man at the same time did not want to abandon Ali, peace be upon him, so he asked to be given a task in which there was no doubt.

Ali, peacebe upon him, agreed and sent him to a frontier again as a soldier so that in case of fighting he would face non-Muslims or idolaters. This man was a type of ascetic of the time but of what worth was his asceticism and worship? It is useless to be the follower of a man like Ali, peacebe upon him, and at the same time have doubts about the way shown by him in a holy war. Sometimes people use the phrase, "Why should one observe a fast based on doubt and uncertainty? It is worthless." Islam requires insight combined with practice butKhajah Rabi' had no insight. He lived in the time ofMu'awiyyah and his sonYazid . He had nothing to do with the social problems of the Islamic society and he used to retire to a corner praying day and night and uttering nothing but the Name of God and regretting his own remark about the martyrdom of Imam Husain, peacebe upon him.

This kind of thing does not accord with Islamic teachings and as the saying goes, "An ignorant person either goes too fast or too slowly." Some may say that the phrase, "Prayer is the pillar of religion," is not in harmony with Islamic teachings since Islam pays more attention to social matters than anyother . Islam says,

"God orders to do justice and benevolence. " (16:92)

We sent our prophets with manifestations and the Book and justice to make people do justice also." (57:25)

It commands people to direct others to goodness and forbid evil (3:110). Islam as a great religion is the creed of activity and work. If these matters are important in Islam, then acts of worship and devotion are not so significant. Thus, according to such people, one should follow social teachings and leave acts of devotion and prayer to idle people who have no other task to perform.

But such thoughts are wrong and very dangerous. Islamshould be recognized as it is.I emphasize this point since I feel that our society is suffering from a sickness.Unfortunately those who have religious ardor are two groups: One group follow the way of Rabi' and think of Islam only as a creed for prayers, hymns and pilgrimage and refer to certain standard books of theology to guide them. They have nothing to do with the world or social regulations or Islamic principles and education.

The reaction to the slowness of this group is the appearance ofa second group who go too fast and move on the path of excess. They pay all their attention to social matters, which in itself is a worthy attitude, but ignore acts of worship. I have met people who can well afford to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, an injunctionwhich is regarded as an important matter in Islam. They ignore prayers, and put aside the matter of imitating a religious leader. They believe that problems related to acts of worshipshould be solved by oneself, without the need of the guidance of others.Thus everyone is assumed to be a religious expert or a jurisprudent.

One is one's own physician and has no need of consulting a doctor or a specialist. There are some who are slack in fasting and its conditions in the case of permanent residence or on a journey and do not believe in making amends for failure to perform acts of worship in their proper time and place.

Both groups consider themselves Muslims but they are not wholly so. Islam does not agree with the phrase, "To believe in some things and disbelieve in other things." 79It cannot agree with the acceptance of worship coupled with the rejection of its moral and social questions, or vice versa. You notice that whenever the Quran says, "Perform your ritual prayer," itis followed by, "Pay your alms."

The first injunction concerns the relation between a creature and God and the second one shows the relation between one creature and others.Thus a true Muslim has a dual responsibility towards God and towards human beings and to their society in a permanent way. No Islamic societycan be built without worship and invocation of God and prayer and fasting. In the same way, no pious society can exist without directing to goodness and forbidding evils and without kindly relations between individuals, even though a person may be a pious individual.

We see Ali, peace be upon him, as the most exalted, pious man, so much so that his worship was proverbial,a worship full of terror and love and tears. After his death, a man calledZirar , who was a companion of his, metMu'awiyyah who asked him to describe Ali, peacebe upon him, for him.Zirar narrated something he had witnessed about Ali, peace be upon him. He said, "One night I saw him in his special worshipping place of worship.' He was twisting with the fear of God like a man bitten by a snake and weeping with deep sorrow and saying, 'Oh, for the fire of hell'";Mu'awiyyah wept on hearing this.

Before Ali's death,Mu'awiyyah metAdass binHatam and intended to provoke him against Ali, peacebe upon him, so he asked him about his three sons who had been killed fighting for Ali, peace be upon him. He wished to hearAdass blame Ali, peace be upon him and so he said, "Was it fair of him to deprive you of your three sons and save his own sons from death in the battlefield?"

Adass answered, "It was I who was unfair to him. I should not be alive while he is buried in the earth." WhenMu'awiyyah saw that he had failed in his purpose, he askedAdass to describe Ali, peacebe upon him, fully for him, which he did. When he ended his narration, he noticed tears flowing downMu'awiyyah's beard and wiping them with his sleeve, saying, "Alas! Time is too sterile to produce a man like Ali." You see how truth reveals itself.

But wasHadrat Ali only a pious man of the altar? No. We see him also as the most social being, well aware of the conditions ofthe poor and helpless and all who brought their complaints to him . Though he was a Caliph, he went among the people, dealing with their affairs. When he met merchants he shouted, "You should first go and learn Islamic questions of trade." In other words, before engaging in commerce, they should know divine injunctions about what is lawful and unlawful in every deal. Heis also reported to have used a phrase to a poor beggar who begged him for something. Ali, peacebe upon him, looked at him and saw that he was capable of working but had chosen begging as a trade. He gave him advice and said, "Follow your honor and dignity", a phrase that he addressed to every person. For work brings dignity and honor.

Ali, peace be upon him, is thus a true Muslim: Pious in worship, a just judge in the court, a brave soldier and commander on the battlefield, a fine orator at the pulpit, a remarkable teacher in his chair, and a wonderful and perfect example in every other accomplishment.

Islam can never approve of half-hearted acceptance of its injunctions or belief in some of them and not in others. This is a wrong way adopted by some ascetics who considered Islam to consist of praying, or those who ignored acts of devotion altogether.

The Quran says,

"Muhammad is the Prophet of God and those who are with him are hard against the unbelievers, compassionate among themselves.” (48:29)

In this sentence, the feature of an Islamic communityis portrayed . In the first part of it, the matter of following faith and the Prophetis expressed and in the latter part, the question of standing firmly against infidels is mentioned. Thusthese seeming devotees who make a mosque their home and say no word when they are driven on by a single soldier, are not Muslims. The most important quality of a Muslim according to the Quran is showing firmness and strength against an enemy.

The Quran says,

"Faint not, neithersorrow ; you shall be the upper ones if you are believers." (3:133)

Islam does not allow weakness in religion. Will Durantsays in his History of Civilization that no religion but Islam calls upon its followers to be so strong and steadfast.

To bend the neck with helplessness, to dress poorly and in a dirty way, to walk lazily and to pretend to be forlorn and indifferent to all aroundyou and sigh and groan are all contrary to Islam. The Quran says,

"And as for the favor of your Lord, announce (it)." (93:11)

God has given you blessings like health and strength. Why do you show yourself so helpless? This is ingratitude. Ali, peacebe upon him, was never such a man. He stood ably and strongly against enemies.

What about being kind toothers ? We sometimes meet devotees who are never kind and are usually glum and unsociable. They never laugh and seldom smile as if the whole of humanity is indebted to them and yet they suppose themselves tobe attached to Islam. Is it enough to stand firmly against enemies and be kind to Muslims? The answer is no. The Quran says,

"You will see them bowing down, prostrating themselves, seeking grace from God and good pleasure." (48:29)

This speaks of those who have the two above qualities of steadfastness and kindness and in their prayers and prostrations sink so deeply in their devotion that you can see in their faces all signs of chastity and godliness.

It is narrated from the Prophet that thedisciples of Christ asked him with whom they should associate and he answered, "Sit with someone whose sight reminds you of God, whose speech increases your knowledge and whose conduct persuades you into doing good." The verse continues,

"That is their description in the Old Testament and their description in the New Testament like a seed-produce that puts forth its sprout, then strengthens it so it becomes stout and stands firmly on its stem, delighting thesowers that He may enrage the unbelievers on account of them." (48:29).

A nation possessing all the above attributes must be a remarkably find nation. Now, tell me, why should Muslims be so decadent,docile and miserable? Which of those qualities mentioned before do we possess? What should we expect? Although we admit that Islam is a social creed, why should we scornworship and prayer and communion with God? Letme assure you that taking prayers lightly is a sin as ignoring them is a sin.

On the death of ImamJa'far Sadiq , peacebe upon him, as AbuBassir came to offer Ummul-Hanida his condolences, the latter wept and so did the former. Ummul-Hanida then narrated something that had happened in the last moments of the life of the Imam. She said that he sank into a trance and then opened his eyes and askedfor all his relatives to be present. After they had all gathered there, the Imam addressed them the following remark and then died. He said, "Those who take ritual prayers lightly will never gain our intercession." You see that he did not speak of those who ignore ritual prayers altogether, for, the consequence of that is obvious. What does 'taking the ritual prayers lightly' mean? It means that in spite of having time, an opportunity, one may postpone them and just before it is getting too late, perform the acts of devotion hastily and perfunctorily, without giving the mind and spirit the necessary tranquility before beginning to say the ritual prayer.

Experience has shown that in a household where ritual prayersare taken lightly, no interest is shown by its members to pray or to pray properly. One should choose a spot in the house allotted to acts of devotion, or, if possible, a separate room forthem and carry on with ablution without haste and spread a clean prayer-carpet and accompany all the preliminary acts with the convocation of God. Ali, peace be upon him, began with, "In the Name of God and with the help of God. Oh God place me among those who repent; place me among those who cleanse themselves."

Two nightsago I spoke about repentance and explained that repentance meant purifying oneself. Washing the body is the prelude to purifying the spirit; itrefreshens the face, but since the intention is to cleanse the spirit, too, it gives one a sacred aspect. Ali, peacebe upon him, in his ablution prayed to God to illuminate his face on the Day of the Resurrection where many faces are black with shame and sin. Then he said this prayer on washing his right hand, "Oh God, on the Day of Resurrection, put my book of deeds in my right hand," and on washing his left hand, he said, "Oh God, do not give me my book of deeds in my left hand nor from behind my back. Oh God, do not let it be shackled to my neck; I seek refuge fromYou from the fire of hell."

Then, on touching his forehead with water, he said, "Merge me into your grace and blessings." Then on touching his feet with water he said, "Oh God, direct my efforts towards such a path of your satisfaction."

Such an ablution which is accompanied by so many pleadings is of a different worth and merit than what most of us are accustomed to perform. We should not lightly disregard all these rites and confine ourselves only to theabsolutely obligatory parts.

Let us see what religious authorities say about this. Should we repeat the following sentence three times or only once, "Glorybe to God, praise be God, there is no god but God and God is great." An authority may say, "Once is enough, since it is obligatory but the second and third repetitions are recommended." Should we,on the basis of this verdict, confine ourselves to saying this prayer only once?

In the same way, fastingmay be taken lightly. I am saying this as a joke, but if I wereGod I would not accept such fasts.I know some people who stay awake at night in the month ofRamadhan , not to worship and pray, but to drink tea, smoke and eat fruit. In the morning, they say their ritual prayers and go to sleep. Some of them sleep allday and wake up near sunset to say their daily ritual prayers hastily before it is too late and get ready to break their fast. What kind of a fast is this? When you do not give yourself the chance of feeling the pain of abstemiousness?This is fasting lightly and is really an insult to a fast.

Again we go on a pilgrimage to Mecca but perform the rites lightly in the same way as our prayers and fasts.Similarly the matter of the call to prayer may be taken lightly; it is said that the call to prayer should be uttered melodiously to attract and invite people to prayer, in the same way that the Quran should be recited clearly, fluently and with a fine voice. Some people are gifted will a fine voice, but if you ask them to sing out the call to prayer, they consider it below their dignity tobe known as amuizzin .But it is really an honor to be one. Ali himself was one, even when he was a Caliph. There is no disgrace attached to this task and no nobility to forsake it.

Thus no act of worship should be taken lightly. The merit of Islam is in its comprehensiveness, not in being so absorbed in devotion as to ignore every other duty, nor to be so involved in social matters to forget acts of devotion. Although a prayer is for its own sake and for proximity to God, if we scorn worship, we are ignoring other duties, too. Worship is the executive and guarantor of other Islamic injunctions.

Here I end my discourse and pray God to make us true worshippers, to acquaint us with the comprehensiveness of Islam, to make us whole-hearted Muslims, grant us pure intentions, forgive our sins in these precious nights, and grant salvation to our deceased ones.