A 250 Years Old Person: Statements and Expressions of the Great Leader and Guardian On the Political Combats and Struggles of Infallible Imams (Peace Be Upon Them)

A 250 Years Old Person: Statements and Expressions of the Great Leader and Guardian  On the Political Combats and Struggles of Infallible Imams (Peace Be Upon Them)16%

A 250 Years Old Person: Statements and Expressions of the Great Leader and Guardian  On the Political Combats and Struggles of Infallible Imams (Peace Be Upon Them) Author:
Translator: Barkatullah Sinovi and Others
Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center
Category: Imamate

A 250 Years Old Person: Statements and Expressions of the Great Leader and Guardian On the Political Combats and Struggles of Infallible Imams (Peace Be Upon Them)
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A 250 Years Old Person: Statements and Expressions of the Great Leader and Guardian  On the Political Combats and Struggles of Infallible Imams (Peace Be Upon Them)

A 250 Years Old Person: Statements and Expressions of the Great Leader and Guardian On the Political Combats and Struggles of Infallible Imams (Peace Be Upon Them)

Author:
Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

The Sixth Chapter: Imam Hussein

The dangerous phenomena which was regarded as a biggest threat to Islam, either its occurrences or during its occurrences from Allah, was predicted and the measure to confront it also was taken into consideration. And in Islam and in all aspects measures was taken. Like a healthy body, in which Allah has put in itself defensive powers, or like a strong machine, the manufacture or engineer provide all services and spare parts for its maintenance. Islam is a phenomena like other phenomenal, there are dangers that threat Islam and Islam has a necessary means to resist it. Allah (s.w) has put these means and measures in Islam. But what are those dangers? There two majors, one is enemies from outside - non Muslims- , and another is internal enemies.

The outside enemy, means one from outside the boarder, looks at the presences of a system, its thoughts, mechanisms, infrastructural beliefs, laws and everything is his targets. From outside means what? Not from outside the country. From outside the system, even if it is inside the country. There are enemies who regard themselves as strangers from the system and opposed it. They are outside and aliens, they are working hard in other to destabilize the system,

With swords and inflammable weapons, newly materialistic weapon, propaganda, money and whatever is at their disposal. This is one kind of enemy.

This second type of enemy - internal and external pest - in every system, every associations and it is present in every phenomena.In other of confront these Islam has found solutions for them and calls for jihad. Jihad is not only to confront the external enemy. - (Fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites[73] ) - the hypocrite mingle himself in the system, so must fight with all of them. Jihad is against the enemy who do not believe the system and show enmity and inroad it. Also to confront and destabilize in other to tear it apart. There are valuable morals teaching, that make the world shows human being and understand that, - (Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children[74] ) till the end of the verse. It means these fineries, outlooks and these world enjoyment, even if they are necessary for you, and you must benefit from it, even if your lives are related to it, it is not doubtful, and you must look for it. But you must know that regarding it absolutely, focusing and going after it and forgetting about the aims and ambition if very dangerous.

The Believers' Leader and Chief(Amir al-Mumineen) (A.S), was lion in the battle field against the enemy. And he is speaking you will be expecting half of his speech to be about jihad, war and championship and heroism. But when we look in narrations and sermons of his Nahj al-balagha, we will seethat must of his speeches and advices is about fear of Allah, morals, rejecting and belittlement of the world, and rather count on spirituality values and the sublime of humanity.

The adventures of Imam Husain (A.S) is a compilation of these two parts. Meaning that striving against the enemy and self-purification was able to reach at that manifestation that was the incidence of Ashira. Allah (s.w) knows that this incidence will occur, and set as highest sample that will be presented as role module. Like heroes in every country in a particular subject. And this hero will be encouraging other to follow his footsteps in that game, though this a small example closer to our minds. The incidence of the Ashura, is termed as a greatest movement of jihad in two fronts, fighting against the internal and external enemy, the system of corrupt caliphate, who are after the world’s wealth, who grabbed this powerful system which prophet used to save people. They needed this power in other to move contrary to the path of Islam and the holy prophet- peace be upon him-. Also in the internal battle, those days the society in general have already taken the corrupt path.

The second point in my view is more important, a short period of time has passed, difficult period in the beginning of the work has passed, and conquest was already done, confiscation was achieved, the range of the country became wider, and external enemies here and there was conquered, few turned into nobles level, meaning that after Islam has removed and tined nobleness another level of nobles was created in Islamic world. Some element with the name of Islam, post and tittles - the son of so and so- the son of companions of the holy prophet, the son of certain friend of Prophet, - engaged in the unlawful and unfavorable deeds. Some of them their names are recorded in history, some were found about the dowry of their daughter, in place of traditional dowry which was four hundred and eighty dirhams that is chosen by the Holy prophet for Muslims at the beginning of Islam, was risen to one million dinar, one million grams of pure gold.

Who are those people? The sons of nobles, for example Mus’ab ibn Zubair and somebody like them.1371/11/6

These matters started less than one decade after the death of the holy prophet. From the beginning the record holders - that first to embraced Islam - in Islam - including the companions, follower and those who took part in wars during the time of the Holy prophet - they were accredited. One of their accreditation was to gain more money from the Islamic funds. These tittle was regarded as equality among them is inappropriate, and they cannot be equated with others, this was first blow. The movements that lead to deviations start in this small points then every step accelerates the next step. Deviation started from that point till it comes to the middle of the reign of Uthman. During the reign of the third caliph, the condition was in such a way that, the famous companions of the holy prophet were regarded among the biggest capital holders. Attention please: that is those high levels companions with famous names - Talha, Zubair, Sa’ad ibn abi Waqas and so on- this nobles, each of them had proud records in Badr and Hunein, they became the first list of capital holders in Islam. One of them when he died and they wanted to share his assets of gold among his inheritors, first the gold were in bars. Therefore they axe to break it into pieces, it was like woods that is being cut and divided with axe. Stones were used to measure the amount of gold, you imagine the number of gold gathered to use axe to divide them into pieces. These was recorded in history, there is no a topic that Shia will mention and it is not in their books. There are facts that everybody worked hard to record them. The amount of dinar and dirham they left behind is like legendary.1376/ 3/ 20

When we are saying that the system is internally corrupt, that is we mean. Some individuals appeared in the society who tries gradually to spread their moral sicknesses - ting to the world and lust - unfortunately this disease is deadly also. In this condition was someone hero and bold enough to exposed the system of Yazid ibn Mu’awiya?Was this possible? Who was thinking to fight with tyranny and corrupt system in those days of Yazid? In this condition the biggest uprising of Imam Husain occurred. He fought with the enemy and also to against

The enjoyment of corrupt that was commonly spreading among the Muslims, and this was very important.1371/11/6

The Purpose and Aim of Imam Hussein's Uprising

If you carefully consider this incidence, may it can be said that human being can take the few month of the movement of Imam Husain, from the day He left Medina and head towards Mecca, till the day he arrived at karbala and drink the water of martyrdom, we can count more than hundred lesions. We do not want to say thousands of lesions, but it can be said. It is possible that every point of this greatest man could be lesion. But if we are to say more than hundred lesion, as if we want to put it in brief. From that it is possible to extract hundreds of topics and sub topics, whereby everyone of it is a lesion for a nation, history and for a country. And can be used for upbringing, management closeness to Allah of our society. Is because of this Imam Husain (A.S) is like sun among the world holiest people, and this is how He (A.S) was brightening. You have a look to the prophets, holiest people, Imams, martyrs and reformer of Allah. If they brightens like moon then Imam (A.S) brightens like sun, but this is hundred lesion in just a portion. There is the root course of the movement and uprising of Imam Husain (A.S) and I will try to explain it for you. This is the root course and the rest are footnotes.Why did he rise up? This is lesion. Some were telling Imam Husain (A.S) that: you must stayed in Medina and Mecca, you are honored, and in Yemen all these places there are Shia. You must go and stayed in a corner and have nothing to do with Yazid and Yazid also will have nothing to do with you. All these Shia and all these followers find for yourself somewhere and live, propagate and worship your lord. Why do you rise up? What is the matter? This is the main question, this is the main lesion. We are not saying that nobody has treated this topic, why? Frankly in this topic a lot of effort and work has been done, and a lot has been said. Now are presenting the same topic and I think that new points and new concept will be made. Some people like to say that Imam Husain (A.S) wanted to overthrow the corrupt government of Yazid and form his own government, and this was the aims of the revolution of Imam Husain (A.S). This is partially true and we are not saying that it is wrong. If this words intend to mean that because he wanted to form a government that is why he rise up. When we look at it from this angle we cannot get to the conclusion, then we will say it is impossible so let go back.

This is wrong, yes. When who intend to form a government, he can work till where it is possible. The moment he sees the possibility of this work, or there no is logical probability, his responsibility is to withdraw from that ambition of forming a government. Man can only go to where is possible to go and where it is impossible to go he must come back. Those who are saying this, if they intend to say that Imam rise up to form divinely government they are making mistake, and this is not correct because the whole movement of Imam do not show something like that.

In contrary to that point, No, what kind of government? Imam was aware that He cannot form any government, he just came to be killed to be came a martyr. This words in sometimes ago was rumors on the tongues of the people. Some with beautiful terms and poems try to explain it. Even I have seen some of our big scholars said the same words. This words that Imam made the revolution just to be killed and became a martyr is not a new words. It was said: for him to live he cannot do anything therefore let go and became martyrs I can do something. We could not see these words and Islamic references that he should go and put himself in death, we could not witness such thing. The martyrdom we know in the holy sharia and narrations and verses from Quran and learn from it, it means mankind must go after big and holiest ambitions that is common and necessary, and through this path he will be killed and be a martyr, this is the right martyrdom of Islam. But for a man to go just because he wanted to be killed, or in a poetic terms that, my blood will be slippery for the legs of oppressor to fall them down. This are not things that are related to those greatest incidence, this also is some part of the facts. But this is not the ambition of Imam Husain (A.S), therefore in brief, we cannot say that Imam Husain (A.S) made a revolution to form a government and his ambition was form a government. We cannot also say that his ambition was to be a martyr that is why he rise up. No it was different thing, and this is my concept. Those who said (government or martyrdom) have mix between the result and the conclusion. It not these things, the ambitions of Imam Husain (A.S) were different things. Meanwhile getting to those ambition it needed a different movement.

That movement had one of these two conclusions either governance or martyrdom, and he was prepared for both. He (A.S) was preparing or either the steps towards governance or towards martyrdom. He also spiritually prepared for outcome for all of them, whatever will happened will be perfect with any questions. None of these were not his ambition but they were rather two results and the ambition is some different.

What is the aim? First I will explain that aims briefly in one sentence, then I will explain into details. If we want to explain the aims of Imam Husain (A.S), we must say that, the aim of that greatest man (A.S) is termed as practicing an obligation of the obligations of the religion. That biggest obligation was not practice by anybody before Imam Husain (A.S) - even the prophets - Neither prophet practice this obligation nor Imam Ali (A.S), and not Imam Hasan (A.S). It is an obligation that having an important position in the world’s general valuable system in Islam. But upon all that this obligations is very import and fundamental, till the time of Imam Husain (A.S) this was not practice, I will explain why it was not practice, and why it was already not practice. It was obligatory for Imam Husain (A.S) to practice it for it to be lesion in all history. Is like prophet to form a government, this will be government of lesion in all history of Muslims and mankind forever. This obligation also must be practice by Imam Husain (A.S) for it be practical lesion Muslims throughout history.

Now why should Imam Husain (A.S) do this work? Because the bases for practicing this obligatory work was occurred during the time of Imam Husain (A.S). If this basics could not occurred during the time of Imam Husain (A.S), for example it occurred during the time of Imam Naqi (A.S), He (Imam Naqi) would have done the same thing, and would have be the victim of this great incidence and greatslaughtered in the history of Islam. And if would been occurred during the time of Imam Hasan al Mujtaba or Imam Sadiq (A.S) they would have practice the same thing. These basics did not occurred before the period of Imam Husain (A.S) or after His period throughout the era of the Imams (A.S) till occultation.

Therefore the ambition is termed as: performing of an obligation, now we are to explain that, what is this obligation? That time

It was clear that doing this obligatory work will lead to one of this two results, either the result will be forming of government and taking the power, and this will be welcome because Imam Husain was ready for that, if he could have formed the government he would have rule and take the society back to the era of the holy prophet and Imam Ali (A.S) and governed like them. Or at time performing of this obligations will not lead to governance, rather leads to martyrdom, which Imam Husain (A.S) was ready for. Allah created Imam Husain and other Imam (A.S) in such a way that, they can be able to carry heavy loads like martyrdom that happened to them, and they endured it. Though the story of the great difficulties in Karbala is different story. Now I little explanation of the matter.

The holy prophet and any other prophets, when he is coming he along with rule to a certain society. This rule some of it are personal for a person to reform himself, and some are social for the people in the world to develop and to be ruled and make the society stable. These are the collections of law which is termed as Islamic Sharia. However Islam was descended into the holy heart of prophet (a/s), He (A.S) came with prayer, fasting, alms, daily bread, Hajj, family affairs, personal relations, jihad in the path of Allah, forming of government, Islamic economy, relationship between the ruler and his people, and the responsibilities of the people in the government. Islam has introduced all these collective laws to human being, and prophet has explained all these.(O people I swear by Allah, there is nothing that gets you closer to the heaven, and distance you from hell except I have verily commanded you with it[75] ). The holy prophet has explained all the things that can send human being or society to perfection. Not only explanation but he practiced and implemented them. Well, during the time of the holy Prophet Islamic government and society were formed, Islamic economy was practiced, Islamic jihad was install and alms was collected. A country with a system became Islamic. The architects and the leaders train in this rail was the holy Prophet and those who sit at their place. The line is clear and identified, the Islamic society and individual Muslims must move on this line and its direction. And if this movement is done, at that time human beings will get to the perfection. Mankind will be reformed and be like angle, and oppression will vanished within the society.

Badness, corruption, differences, poverty and ignorance will vanished, and mankind will arrived at prosperousperfect and be full servant of Allah. Islam brought this system through the holy Prophet and practiced it in the society of those days. At where? In a corner called Medina then spread to Mecca and other small towns. There remains a question and that is, if this train which the holy Prophet put on rail line is removed by someone or accidently what is our responsibility? If the Islamic society is deviated, and if this deviation will get to a point that we fear of total deviation of Islam and the Islamic sciences what is the responsibility?

We have two kinds of deviation, when the people becomes corrupt, this thing will have occurred long time ago but Islamic rules will never vanished. Sometimes is the people who becomes corrupt and the governments also became corrupt. Scholar and religious preachers become corrupt. The right religion will never practice by the corrupt people and they distort Quran and facts. They turn good into bad, abominated into recommended and vice versa. For example the line that Islam has drew to a certain direction they turn one hundred and eighty degree in another direction.If the society and the Islamic system is confronted with these what is the responsibility? Though the holy Prophet presented the means to the responsibilities. Quran also said: - O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him[76] -.So many other verses and narrations, the narration from Imam Husain (A.S) that I will quote for you. Imam Husain recited a narration from prophet to the people and said the hoy prophet said it. Was possible for the holy Prophet to practice this command of Allah? No because this command of Allah was not in a practicable time and condition, because the society was not corrupt. If the society is corrupt the actions must be taken and Allah has rule for that. Allah has command for the societies in which deviations will come at a level that, there is danger for deviation of Islam from its root. Allah did not leave human being in any matter without solution, prophet has presented this solutions, and Quran and narrations has mentioned them. But prophet who cannot practice this revolution and implement it. Why He could not? This obligatory responsibility can only be practiced when the society is deviated. Society during the time of the holy Prophet and Imam Ali (A.S) was not totally deviated as such.

In the era of Imam Hasan (A.S) Mu’awiya was on top of the government, though there were some phenomena about this deviations but it was not at the limit of fears of total destructions of Islam. May be it can be said that there was a short period of this phenomena, but those days was not the right timing for this revolution. This also is part of the Islamic rules, it importance is not less the government, because government means management of the society. If the society is gradually deviated from the rail line, derail, dissolute, corrupt and the rules of Allah change, that time if we do not have rule of revolution, how can this government benefits us? Then here is the importance of that law about bringing back the deviated society to main rail line. The importance of this law is not less than governance, or maybe we can say this law is important the jihad against unbelievers.

The timing must be accurate, that is man must know that this work will lead to effectiveness. It will send message to the people, and the people will understand and will not remain in mistake. This is that responsibility - uprising - one must do, during the time of Imam Husain such deviations were found, due to after Mu’awiya someone got to the presidency who even was not regarding the outlook of Islam, drinks alcohol and do bad things.

He was clearly practicing dissolute and sexually corrupt, speak against Quran. Speaking publicly slogans contrary to Quran and denounce religion, and publicly opposed Islam. Anyway his name was the leader of Muslims so he cannot do away with Islam. He was exploiting Islam and was not dedicated to it. With his deeds he is like a rancidsource of water that flows frequently to over flow its banks to fill every places.The rancid water flows from him to fill all the Islamic society, corrupt ruler is like that.because he is ruler he lives at the top of the peak and whatever over flows from him will not stay with him, in contrary to ordinary people, but for ruler it over flows and fill every place. As for ordinary people everyone has got his place. However whoever is on top and whoever have the higher post in the society, his corruption iseffectively higher. The corruption of ordinary people may remain with them, or affect some few people, but those who are on top post, if he is corrupt his corruption will fill every place, and if he is reformer, his reforms will fill every places on the ground. Such a person and that corrupt after Mu’awiya who became caliph of Muslims, caliph of the holy Prophet, with all these highest deviations?

The basic was ready, the basic is ready, and what does it mean? It means danger? Why! Of course there is danger. Is it possible for the one on top of power not to be dangerous for people who are opposing him? It is war because you want to over throw his from power and he should sit down and look at you? It is obvious that he will blow you, then there is dangers. When we are saying that the conditions was favorable, it means the atmosphere of Islamic society was in a form of being able to send the massage of Imam Husain (A.S) to the people of those days and throughout history. If Imam Husain wanted to rise up during the time of Mu’awiya his message would have been buried. Due to the condition of government during the time of Mu’awiya. The political conditions was in such a way that people would not have been able to listen to righteous speech. That is why this greatest man was Imam during the ten years period of Mu’awiya, he was Imam but he did not say anything, did nothing and did not rise up. Because the condition was not favorable. Before that was Imam Hasan, and he also did not rise up because the timing was good. Not that Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (A.S) was not having qualities for this work - revolution- There is no difference between Imam Hasan

Imam Husain (A.S). No difference between Imam Husain and Imam Sajjad (A.S). There is no differences between Imam Husain, Imam Ali Naqi and Imam Hasan Askari (A.S). Though when this greatest man did this jihad compared to who did not do it have a higher position. But all of them in terms of position there are the same. If this situation would have come for each of these greatest men they would have done the same - as Imam Husain did- and arrive at the same level. Okay Imam Husain (A.S) came across vis-a-vis such deviation, therefore He must practice that mission. And also the timing was referable so there were no any excuse. That is why Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Muhammad ibn Hanafiya and Abdullah ibn Abbas, they were not ignorance, all were religious scholars, they are mystics, scholars and understand something, when they weretelling Imam that, O man there is danger do not go. Their implications was when there is danger front of a divine mission, the mission must be abandon. They were not understanding that this is not a mission that can be taken away by danger. This mission always have danger with it. Is it possible that man can rise up against such an outlook powerful and capable ruler without any danger facing him? Is this thing possible? This mission always contain danger.

The work that was done during the time of Imam Husain (A.S), a small copy of it was done during the time of our Imam - Khomeini -. But at that place - Imam Husain - the outcome ended in martyrdom and here it ended and forming government, and they all the same no difference. The ambition of Imam Husain and the ambition of Imam Khomeini was one. This was the basics of sciences of Imam Husain (A.S), Husain’s sciences is portion of the Shia science. This is an important pillar and one of the pillars of Islam.

Therefore ambition is, termed as bring back the Islamic society to the right line. In which time? When the path is changed and, ignorance, suppression, autocracy and treason of those who course and lay foundation and conditions Muslims deviation. Though history has got different periods, sometimes conditions are favorable and sometimes not. During the time of Imam Husain (A.S) the conditions was favorable, but when man start to follow this path and want to rise up against the government and the center of false, just because he want Islam and Islamic society to be brought back to its right center. At times the uprising will end up to form a government, and other time this up rising

Will not end up forming a government. In this situation is it not obligatory? Why, to be a martyr is also obligation. To be a martyr in this situation will there not be importance for uprising? Why there is no difference. This and uprising and this mission both is important either to be a martyr or to form a government, though each one has got its kind of importance, and it must be done and it must move on.

This is the mission Imam Husain (A.S) accomplished and he was the first person to accomplish this mission. Before him this was not accomplished because before him during the time of the holy prophet and Imam Ali (A.S) this kind of deviation did not exist, and if it existed the timing of those was not favorable. During the time of Imam Husain (A.S) both was present - deviation and timing- In the chapter of revolution of Imam Husain (A.S) this was the main subject. So we can summarize that, Imam Husain (a/s) rise up for that biggest obligatory termed as, rebuilding of the system and the Islamic society. Or rise up against the biggest deviations in the Islamic society. This was done through uprising and commendation for good deeds and prevention from abomination. The mission itself is truly the biggest commendation for good deeds and prevention from abomination. Although this mission sometimes end up forming of government - Imam Husain was ready for this - and sometimes the result is martyrdom, for that also he was prepared. What is the reason for us to present this topic?

We get this from the words of Imam Husain (A.S) himself, I have choose some few words from the sayings of Imam Husain (A.S). Although more of this world give the same explanation. First in Medina, that night when Walid the governor of Medina sermons Imam Husain (A.S) and told him that Mu’awiya has died, and you must give voter of allegiance to Yazid. Imam told him that, okay till next morning - (and we shall see and you will be seeing which one of us deserved the vote of allegiance and the caliphate) -.Let go and think and see we must be the caliph or Yazid must be the caliph. The following day Murwan met Imam Husain (A.S) in one of the corners in Medina and Aba Abdullah, do you want to present for killing? Why won’t you give the vote of allegiance to the caliph? Come vote and do not present yourself for killing, do not boarder yourself. Imam in his answer He said: (Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return, and goodbye to Islam, if the Islamic nation is examine though a ruler like Yazid[77] ). Then one must say goodbye to Islam

When a governor like Yazid clinch to on top of power, and Islam is tempted with a ruler like Yazid, this is not the matter of yazid. Imam wanted to say that till today he compromise with whoever was caliph but person like Yazid too much. Now the victim is the root of religion and the Islamic system, and under the governance of a person like Yazid it will destroy, pointing to the serious deviation, the matter is about the danger facing the facing the roof of Islam.

Khadhrat Aba Abdullah (A.S) when going out of Medina and also when going out of Mecca, he had some conversation with Muhammad bun Hanafiya, I think this was a will about when he wanted to leave Mecca, in the month of Dhul-Hijja and Muhammad ibn Hanafiya also came to Mecca. He had some conversation with Imam Husain (A.S) and Imam wrote some as will to his brother. After martyrdom he will get to Allah alone and said: verily I did not come out as evildoer, corrupter and oppressor. -it means some should not make mistake and propagate something, they should not propagate that Imam Husain also was like those who rise up from this corner and that corner just fight and get power in their hands and selfishness, or because of love of live, corruption and oppression. Imam Husain said: - this is not our mission - (but I came out to seek for reforms in the nation of grandfather[78] ). The tittle of this mission is reform, I want to bring reform. This is the obligatory which was accomplished before Imam Husain (A.S). This reform is through transpiration, and transpiration means uprising. Imam mentioned this his will, and it was clear meaning that, first I want to rise up and this our uprising if for reform, and not purposely for governance and not purposely for me to become a martyr. I want to bring reform, though reform is not a small work. Sometimes the condition are in such a way that man can form government and become the one who governs. Sometime he cannot do it and he becomes a martyr. At the same time both are uprising for reform, then he (A.S) said: (I want to command for good deed and prevent for bad deed and move along the path of my grandfather[79] ). This reform, is truly the commendation of good deeds and prevention from bad deeds.

This is another explanation.

Imam Husain (A.S) wrote two letters in Mecca one for the leaders of Basra and the other for leaders of Kufa. In his letter to the leader of Basra, it came as: (I have send my messenger with this letter to you, and I am calling upon you to the Book of Allah and his prophet, verily the tradition (of prophet) is killed, and innovation (forbidden) is revived, if you respond to my call and follow my command I will show you the righteous path[80] ) I want to do away with fad and revive the tradition because Sunna is killed and fad is revived. If you will follow me, I have the right path and that means I want to accomplish that big mission which is revival of Islam and revival of the tradition of the holy Prophet and the Islamic system. Then in the letter to the people of the Kufa He said: (by my age there is no Imam except he rules with Book and implement justice, follows the right religion comport himself on that by Allah.[81] ) Imam and his predecessor and leader of Islamic society, they cannot be someone who is, corrupt, dissolute, betrayal and far from Allah and his prophets. He must someone who work with the Book of Allah that means to work in the society not to do it indoors and privately only praying. But working with the Book and revive it in the society, consider justice, equality and righteousness and law must installed (follower of right religion). That is ethnics, rules and regulations of the society must put in the right place and leave false aside. (Who comport themselves by Allah), the obvious meaning of this sentence is that, for one to comport himself in the right path at any condition, and should not be a satanic captive and materialistic. Due to this outline your ambition, goodbye.

Imam Husain (A.S) left Mecca, this greatest man at every stopover he had a speech with difference tone. In a stopover called Baida while Hurr bin Yazid was with him, anytime Imam is going he follows him till they arrived at Baida. May be before they rest or after they have rest for a while Imam Husain (A.S) stood up and gave a speech to the soldiers of the enemy and this is what he said: O you people, the holy Prophet (A.S) said, who sees a ruler that is unjust, permitting the forbidden of Allah, transgressing of covenant of Allah, opposing the tradition of the holy prophet (A.S), he does evils and transgressed deed to the servant of Allah, without changing him with words or actions, then Allah will be right to put him where he deserved). That is if someone sees a ruler in the society on top

Of government that oppresses and act cruelly, permit the forbidden of Allah, forbid what Allah has permitted, put aside the rules of Allah without following them and without committing others to follow it. It means among the people he act with evils, enmity and oppression. Yazid is truly corrupt, oppressor and transgressive ruler (without changing him with words -advice- or deeds) tongue and actions should be taken against him. (Allah has the right to put him where he deserved) Allah the Omnipotent, in the judgment day the one who chose to keep quiet without showing any difference and action, will faced with the same destination with the oppressor. That is they are going to be in the same path and group. Prophet already thought what must be done if the Islamic system is deviated, and Imam Husain (A.S) also follow the same command of the Holy Prophet (A.S).

Therefore what is the responsibility? Responsibility is, (to change with words or actions). If a person is in this condition - though when the timing is favorable - it is obligatory to stand and rise up against this attitude wherever it will be, to be killed, to be alive or even if appears like to be successful or not. Every Muslims must stand against this condition, this is the command prophet have said. Then Imam Husain (A.S) said: (and verily I deserve this - uprising), I among the Muslims is the most competent one to accomplish this mission, because I am the son of the holy prophet. If Prophet made this change or this mission obligatory to every Muslim, then it is obvious that Husain ibn Ali (A.S) the son of the holy Prophet, the inheritor of knowledge and sciences of the holy Prophet, is more competent obligated to accomplish this mission. (And I forwarded this mission because of this reason) therefore Imam is explaining his reason of uprising.

At the village of Uzaib four people joined Imam Husain, and he gave a speech again and said: (but I swear by Allah that, verily I hope that, good is what Allah wishes for us, either He kills us or helps us to victory[82] ). This is another position of Imam that is not different from what we said either to be killed or to be victorious. Assignment is an assignment and it must be accomplished. Imam said: I my hopes is that, what Allah the Omnipotent

Has chosen for us will be good, either to be killed or to be victorious there is no difference. We are only accomplishing our responsibility. After entering the land of Karbala Imam said: (verily what you see is what is descended from the command) then said: (Do you not see the truth that is not practiced, and the false that is not prevented, believer must have a desire to meet his truly Lord[83] ) till the end of his speech.

Then Imam Husain rise up for accomplishing an obligated mission. This obligatory is directed to every individual Muslims throughout history. This obligatory, is termed as any time one spotting that the social system of Islam is faced with constructive corruption, and it is to totally destroythe rules of Islam, every Muslim must rise up against it, Though in good condition and timing. That time this uprising will be effective and fruitful. Among the condition is nothing than, to be alive, killed, suppressed and oppressed, all these are among the condition. That is why Imam Husain (A.S) and practically accomplished this obligatory mission for it to be lesion of all. 1374/3/19.

Imam Husain did a job that waked up the conscience of the people that is why you see that after the killing of Imam Husain, Islamic uprisings started one after the other. Though these uprising were suppressed, but it is not important that this movement is suppressed by the enemy, though it is biter. The more biter than that is, a society to be at a point in front of enemy, and could not react, this is a big danger.

Imam Husain (A.S) did a work that in all the periods of oppressive governments, some people were found in the beginning of the era of Islam who were far away from Islam. Their will during the time of Imam Hasan Mujtaba was to fight against the corrupt rulers, all were suppressed. The uprising of the people of Medina known as - Harrah - , from here up to the subsequence uprisings, the repentance uprising - Tawabeen - and Mukhtar, till the periods of Umayyad and Abbasids, there were always uprisings. All these uprising who brought them? Husain ibn Ali (A.S). If Imam Husain could not rise up, could the spirit of laziness and fears of responsibility turned into the spirit of anti-oppression and responsibility? Why? Why are we saying the acceptance responsibility is death? The reason is Imam Husain (A.S) left Medina the capital of the birth place of big Muslims to Mecca,

The son of Abbas, the son of Zubair, the son of Umar and the son of the early caliph of Islam all were gathered in Medina and none of them was not present in that historical bloody uprising, they did not assist Imam Husain. Then before Imam Husain to rise up even those close to him did not take part, but with revival of this spirit they woke up and joined Imam Husain. This is a big lesion in the adventure of Ashura besides the other lesions, this is the greatness of this adventure.

(The one promised about his martyrdom before his inception and birth) that is before the birth of that greatest man - (the heavens and the one in it and the earth and the one living on it cried for him.[84] ) Imam Husain ibn Ali (A.S) was respected in this great mourning and honored. And in terms of this supplication was recited and cried over him. That is why today when you are look you will find that Islam is the survived through Imam Husain, and he is regarded as revival of Islam.1371/11/6

Lesson 2: The Signs of God in our Daily Life

1. Knowing God and the Progress of Science

Pretend that a friend has come from a trip and has brought a book as a present for you. He says that it is an excellent book, because the author of this book is full of information by a very great scholar, who is accurate, an expert and a genius in his own field.

You will most certainly not study this book carelessly. Rather you will concentrate on every sentence and even the choice of words made and if there be a sentence there that you do not understand, perhaps you will spend hours and even days, whenever you can, studying it until the meaning of it becomes clear to you.

Why? Because the author of this book is not a normal average person but rather a great scholar who considers every word he uses carefully.

But if the opposite were true and they had said to you, “This book may appear to be beautiful and pleasing on the outside, but the author is not very literate and he has no base in science and has not taken any care,” it is clear that you will only quickly glance at the book and wherever you found something unclear in it, you would say, “This is because the author was uninformed and it is a waste of time for a person to study this.”

The world of creation is like a great book in which every creature forms a word or sentence in that. From the point of view of a person who worships God, every atom of this universe is worthy of study.

A person who has faith in the ray of the light of worshipping God, will make use of a special sense of curiosity in studying the secrets of creation and it is this very fact which helps science and human knowledge to progress - because he knows that the Creator of this universe has endless knowledge and power and everything He does is based on a wisdom and a philosophy. Thus, he studies with greater care, more profoundly in order to be able to understand the secrets better.

But a materialist has no reason to discover the secret of creation for he believes that nature is senseless. If we look at the work of a materialist scholar, it is in the same rank because he accepts God but calls him ‘nature’. Why? Because he accepts an order and a program in nature.

2. Knowing God, Endeavoring and Hope

Whenever a difficult and complicated event takes place in the life of a human being, whenever all doors are somehow closed, one senses weakness, hopelessness and loneliness, when confronted by these difficulties, a person with faith in God then seeks His help, which He gives.

A person who has faith in God does not see himself or herself as being alone or powerless. He or she does not despair. He or she does not sense weakness or inability, because God is above all difficulties and everything is easy for Him.

With hope in His kindness, support and help, he or she will struggle against the difficulty and will use all of his or her energies. With love and hope, one will continue his or her endeavors and efforts and will overcome the difficulty.

Yea. Faith in God is a great place of refuge for a human being. Faith in God is the substance of perseverance and steadfastness. Faith in God always keeps hope in hearts alive. Because of this, individuals with faith never attempt to commit suicide because attempts at suicide come from despair, a complete lack of hope and a feeling of having failed but individuals with faith neither lose hope nor do they sense failure.

3. Knowing God and the Sense of Responsibility

We know a doctor who, when poor people visit him, not only does he not get money from them for the visit, but he gives them money and drugs and if he senses a danger for that person, he will stay all night in his home. These are people who worship God and have faith.

But we also know a doctor who, until the money of the visit is not paid, he will not take the first step for the sick person because he does not have a strong faith. A person who has faith, no matter what his or her profession is, senses responsibility, knows his or her duties, does good, readily forgives and constantly sees a spiritual policeman within his or her soul who watches over one’s deeds.

But people who lack faith are selfish and dangerous people who have no sense of responsibility. Oppression, suppression and aggression against the rights of others is easy for them and they are less prepared to do good.

4. Knowing God and Peacefulness

Psychologists say that mental and psychological diseases are greater in our time than in any other. They say that one of the factors is anxiety over future events, anxiety over death, anxiety over war and anxiety of fear and failure.

They add, “Among the things which can take anxiety away from a person’s spirit is faith in god because whenever an anxiety wants to penetrate one’s spirit, faith in God pushes it away”.

A God who is kind, a God who helps one meet one’s needs, a God Who is aware of His servants’ condition and if they turn towards Him, He helps them and frees them from anxiety.

Because of this, a real believer always has a sense of peacefulness and no anxiety exists within his or her spirit. Whatever such a person does, is for God. Even if one suffers a loss, one seeks its replacement from Him. Such a person even enters the war front with a smile.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“It is those who believe and confuse not their beliefs with oppression - that are (truly) in peacefulness, for they are on (right) guidance.” (6:82)

Think and Answer

1. Do you recall the fate of the people in the past which the Qur’anic verse refers to?

2. Do you know why some individuals, who pretend to have faith in God, are morally corrupt and none of the four effects mentioned above can be found in them?

Lesson 3: Two Clear Ways of Knowing God

From the earliest of times until today, books have been written about coming to know God and a great deal has been said by scholars and non-scholars.

Each one chooses a way in order to come to understand this issue but from among all of the ways, there are two ways which can help us to grow near to this great Creator of the universe:

- First, an inward way (the closest way)

- Second, an outward way (the clearest way)

With the first way, we get in touch with our deep inner self and we hear the cry of monotheism from within the depths of ourselves.

With the second way, we explore the expansive created world, and we see the signs of the creator in all creatures and in the heart of every atom. Each one of these two ways requires a great deal of explanation, but what we will try to do is to briefly study each of these two ways.

The Inward Way

Let us think about the following:

1. Scholars say that every human being who thinks, from whatever class or race one be, if left alone, receives no special training, not even hears the words of people who worship God nor the words of materialists, that person will naturally become aware of a force or power which is above nature and which rules all of the world.

In the corners of one’s heart and spirit, one will sense a very subtle sound, which is full of kindness and, at the same time, clear and firm, which calls one towards the great Source of the universe and the power that we call God. This is that very pure, divinely-created human nature of people.

2. It is possible that one becomes occupied with the commotion in the material world and one’s daily life and the lights and attractions of life and one may temporarily neglect to hear this sound, but when one finds oneself facing problems and difficulties, whenever a natural catastrophe like a flood or an earthquake or a hurricane comes, yes, at this time, when one is curtailed from all means of material life, and when one finds no place of refuge, this inner sound gains strength.

One senses that within one’s self, a power is calling one, a power which is superior to all forces, a secret force and all difficulties and problems seem simple before it.

It is rare to find a person who in such difficulties does not automatically turn to God. It is this issue which shows how close we are to Him and how close He is to us.

He is in our spirit and our very soul. Of course, the cry of instinct (nature) is always within a person, but at times like this, it finds greater force.

3. Our history shows that even the powerful rulers who, at the time of peace and calm, refuse to even mention the Name of God, when the bases of their power begin to shake and they see that they are about to lose all of their power, they turn to God and they hear the voice of their Divinely-created nature.

History tells us that when Pharaoh saw that he was drowning in the waves of the sea, he said, “I confess that there is no god but the great God of Moses. “This cry came from his soul. Not only Pharaoh, but all people who are in a state or condition like he was, cry out the same thing he did.

4. If you study the real reasons for this, you will agree that a light shines from there which calls you to God. Perhaps there have been times when you have met with difficulties and problems and all of the usual ways of solving problems do not work. At that moment, most certainly, you have seen that there is a force in the world which can easily solve it.

At this moment, a hope mixed with love fills your spirit and soul and it removes the clouds of darkness from our soul. Yea. This is the closest way which a person can take to God.

Only one question:

We know that this question may arise for some of you. Does this possibility not exist that based upon what we have been taught by our environment, our father and mother, at sensitive moments, we begin to think that we should ask God for help?

We know you are right and correct in asking this question, but we have a very interesting answer which we give in the next lesson.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“Now, if they embark on a boat, they call on God, making their devotion sincerely (and exclusively) to Him; but when He has delivered them safely to (dry) land, behold, they give a Share (of their worship to others)!” (29:65)

Think and Answer

1. Try to memorize the surah number, verse number and meaning of word to word translation and gradually become familiar with the language of the Holy Qur’an.

2. Has a complicated problem ever arisen for you for which no solution seemed available to you except the kindness of God, the Almighty? (Write or tell about it briefly).

3. Why is this way called the closest way?

Lesson 4: An Answer to an Important Question

Question: In the previous lesson, we realized or recognized that we always hear the voice of monotheism (tawhid) and worship of God from within our souls and especially at times of difficulty, this voice becomes stronger and clearer and we naturally begin to think about God and we seek His help and kindness.

Here it is possible that this question arises that this inner voice which we call the voice of our ‘God-given nature’ (fitrat) is the result of things which we have heard from our environment and our mother and father have told us or from school and it has become very normal and common for us.

Answer: The answer to this requires a brief introduction. Customs change. We cannot find a custom which has not changed throughout history among all nations.

Thus, when we see that this is something which exists among all nations, has existed at all times and during all ages, without exception, we should realize that its roots are in fitrat and that it is woven into the spirit and soul of human beings.

For instance, the love of a mother for her child. This can in no way be said to come from propaganda or habit or custom because in no tribe or nation, or at any time or age, can you see that a mother does not love her child.

Of course, it is possible that a mother, because of a mental disturbance, do away with herself or a father during the Age of Ignorance in Arabia (the time before the appearance of Islam) buried his girl children alive because his thoughts were wrong and based on superstitions but these are very rare cases.

Looking at this introduction, recalling how people in the past and in the present worship God, we see (as this lesson is a little bit more difficult, please pay careful attention).

1. As stated by sociologists and historians, there has been no time in history when belief in God and faith did not exist among people. Rather, in every age and time and at all moments of this world, some form of belief existed and this, itself, is clear reason why the worship of God is from the depths of the spirit and its source is fitrat of human beings, not that it is a result of customs we have accepted because if it were the consequences of habit and custom, it would not be so extensive and eternal.

We even have rules which show that tribes who lived before written history began, had some kind of a belief system. Of course, there is no doubt that at times, when people had forgotten God as the Being Who is above nature, they searched for Him and looked for Him among creatures in nature and they made idols for themselves of things in nature.

But with the development of thought, human beings gradually were able to see the truth, stop worshipping idols which were material creatures and become familiar with the One God.

2. Some of the well-known psychologists clearly and directly say that the human spirit or soul has four senses:

First, the sense of knowledge which sends a person after science and knowledge and makes one’s spirit thirsty for knowledge whether or not this has any material benefit.

Second, the sense of goodness which is the source for moral and human issues in the world of humanity.

Third, the sense of beauty which is the source of poetry and literature and art in their real sense.

Fourth, the sense of belief which invites the human being to come to know God and to implement His Commands. In this way, we see that the sense of worship is one of the senses with the deepest roots of the spirit. That is, they are never separate from each other.

3. In our future lessons, we will see how most materialists even admit to the existence of God, even though they do not mention His Name and instead refer to nature or give Him other names but qualities are given to nature which are, in fact, qualities of God.

For instance, they say, if nature has given two kidneys to human beings, it was because it knew that if one of these failed, the other would continue life, etc.

Does this explanation hold for a nature which lacks awareness and consciousness? Or is this not a reference to the All-knowing and Infinite God but calling Him, nature?

We can conclude from what has been said that:

A love for God has always existed in us and will always continue.

Faith in God is an eternal flame which warms our heart and spirit.

In order to come to know God, we are not obliged to take a long and complicated way.

We quickly turn inward and see we have faith in Him. The Holy Qur’an says:

“We are closer to the human being than his jugular vein.” (50:16)

Think and Answer

1 Write several examples of customs and several examples of things which are part of our God-given nature (fitrat).

2 Why do ignorant people turn to idol worship?

3 Why do materialists refer to God as Nature?

Lesson 5: A True Story

We have said that in the depths of the spirit of those who deny God with their tongue, a faith in God exists.

There is no doubt that victories and successes - especially for individuals with few possibilities develop pride and this very pride becomes the source for forgetfulness, to the point where often a person even forgets his or her own opinions.

But the moment that a storm of difficulties throws their life into chaos and the strong wind of difficulties attacks that person from all sides, the curtains of pride and selfishness moves away from their eyes and divinely-created nature (fitrat) and monotheism (the belief that God is One) appears.

History gives many examples of individuals who were like this, whose lives were full of deceit:

There was a minister who was very strong and powerful in his age. He had taken control of most of the power and no one opposed him. One day he entered a meeting in which a group of religious scholars were present. He turned to them and said, “For how long will you continue to say that God exists? I have many reasons to prove otherwise.”

He said this with special pride. As the scholars who were present knew that he was not a reasonable or logical person and that power and strength had made him so proud that no words of truth would affect him, they ignored him and remained silent, a meaningful and humble silence.

This event passed. After a time, the minister insulted someone. The ruler of the time had him arrested and thrown into jail.

One of the scholars who were present at the gathering thought to himself that the time to awaken him had come.

Now that he has gotten off the horse of pride and the curtain of self-interest has moved away from his eyes, and the sense of accepting the truth was awakened in him, if he contacts him and gives him words of advice, it may produce good results. He received permission to visit him and he went to the prison.

As he neared him, he saw that he was in a room all alone, walking back and forth and thinking and he was recalling a poem which said, “We are all like drawings or paintings of a lion which are painted or drawn on a flag. When the wind blows, it moves and perhaps even attacks, but in reality it has nothing from itself. Its strength is the wind which gives it power. We, also, as we gain more power, have nothing from ourselves. It is God who has given this strength to us and whenever He wills, He can take it from us.”

The above-mentioned scholar saw that under these conditions, not only does he not deny the existence of God, but he has become ardently aware of God. After greeting him he said, “Do you recall how you said you have many reasons for the non-existence of God.

I have come to answer those many reasons with just one response, “God is He Who, with such ease, took your power away from you.” He hung his head in shame and did not answer because he knew that he had been wrong and he saw the light of God within himself.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“We took the Israeli tribes across the sea; Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in pride and insolence. At length, when overwhelmed with the flood, he said, ‘I believe that there is no god except Him whom the Israeli tribes believe in. I am of those who submit (muslimin)’ ” (10:90)

Think and Answer

l. Describe the consequences of the true story in several lines.

2. Why are the Israeli tribe called “Israeli tribe”?

3. Who was Pharaoh? Where did he live? What claims did he make?

Lesson 6: The Second Way of coming to Know God

The Outer Way

With a quick glance at the world that we live in, we realize that the world is not in chaos and disorder. Rather, all phenomena are in motion moving towards a clear and determined direction. The facilities of the world are like a great army which has been divided into well-organized units which move in a determined direction.

The following points will clarify any ambiguities:

1. In order to come into being and to remain, every living creature must be a part of a series of laws and special conditions. For instance, for a tree to be, water and suitable soil and a specific temperature are necessary for us to plant seeds and nourish them and each seed to become green and grow.

If these conditions do not exist, there is no possibility for growth and the choosing of these conditions and proving the necessary preliminaries requires an intellect and knowledge.

2. Every creature has a special effect which is exclusive to it. Water and fire each have their own particularities which do not separate from them and they constantly follow permanent laws.

3. All of the members (organs) of living creatures work and are coordinated with each other. As an example, this very human body, which is itself a world, all works together consciously and unconsciously in a special coordination. For instance, if a danger arises, all are mobilized for defense. This relationship and cooperation is another sign of the order in the universe.

4. One look at the world scene makes it clear that not only are all organs of one body of one living creature in coordination with each other, but all the various creatures of the world are also in special coordination with each other. For instance, for the nourishment of living creatures, the sun shines, clouds bring rain and the earth and resources of the earth also help. This all shows the existence of one clear system in the universe.

The Relationship of Order and Intellect

This truth is clear for everyone’s conscience that whenever order exists in a facility, this shows intellect, thought, a plan and a goal.

Because whenever a human being sees order, permanent laws and a reckoning of things, he or she knows that beside that source, knowledge and power must also be sought and in understanding this, in one’s conscience, he or she does not see need for reasoning.

He or she knows that a blind person or an illiterate person can never type a good essay or write a social or critical article, that a child of two years old can never paint beautiful and valuable painting by the drawing of lines on a piece of paper.

Rather, if we see a good essay or read a good article, we know that a person who is literate or if we have seen very beautiful paintings, we will have no doubt that an expert painted them even if we have never met or seen that painter.

Thus, wherever there is a sense of order, beside that, there has been an intellect and however much larger that system be, it is more accurate and more interesting, the knowledge which brings that into being in the same proportion is greater.

Sometimes, in order to prove this issue that every system needs a source of knowledge, the law of probabilities, which has been achieved in high mathematics is used to prove that, for instance, if an illiterate individual wants to type an article or an essay or a poem by randomly pressuring on the keys of the machine, according to the law of probabilities, this will take millions of years to attain for which one lifetime is not sufficient.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“Soon will We show them Our Signs upon the horizons and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that Thy Nourisher is aware of all things.” (41:53)

Think and Answer

1. Give a few examples (other than those presented in the story) about industrial units, the observation of which shows the existence of a Creator of the world Who is Aware.

2. What is the difference between ‘horizons’ and ‘souls’? Give examples of God in the ‘horizons’ and within one’s own ‘soul’.

Lesson 7: Examples From Creation

Throughout the world, ‘order’, ‘goal’ and ‘design’ are apparent. Now pay attention as we study some examples of this. We will present some large and small examples for you.

Fortunately, today, with the progress made in natural sciences, the discovery of the secrets and wonders of the world of nature, and the subtleties in the existence of human beings, animals and plants, the wonderful structure of a cell or an atom and the wonderful system of the stars, the doors of knowing God have been opened to us in such a way that one can clearly say that all books of natural science are books about the oneness and unity of God which teach us great lessons about the great Creator because these books remove the veils or curtains which cover the interesting order of the creatures of this world and show how important the Creator of this world is.

The center of administration of the country of your body

Our skull has been filled with grey matter called the brain. This brain forms the most accurate and exact system of our body because it commands all of the powers of our body and it manages all of the organs of our system.

In order to understand the importance of this great center, it would be a good idea for us to explain the following for you.

The newspapers had printed that a Shiraz university student in Khuzistan was in an automobile accident and his brain was damaged but it seemed that nothing at all had happened to him. All of his organs were healthy but strangely enough, he had forgotten all of his past life. His mind worked well.

He could study but if he saw his mother and father, he did not recognize them. When they said to him that this was his mother, he was surprised. They took him to his home in Shiraz. They showed him the handicraft work he had done and then hung on the walls of his room.

But he looked at it all in amazement and said that he was seeing these things for the first time.

It became clear that in the brain damage he suffered, cells which were, in reality, transitions between thought and his memory were no longer working and like a blown out fuse which cuts off the electricity and brings darkness, his memory of the past had been disconnected.

Perhaps the point which no longer works is no bigger than the size of the top of a pin but what an effect it has had upon his life and from this it becomes clear how complicated and how important our brain is.

Our brain consists of two separate parts: first, the part which is controlled by our voluntary which controls all of our voluntary motions like walking, looking, speaking.

Second, the involuntary part which controls the movement of our heart, stomach, etc. and if one part of this part of the brain does not function, the heart or another organ will no longer function.

One of the Most Wonderful Parts of the Brain

The cerebrum is the center of will power, consciousness and memory. In other words, it is one of the most sensitive areas of the brain and many of the reactions of the inner senses like anger, fear, etc. relate to it.

If we take out the cerebrum in an animal but we leave the other organs as they are, it will remain alive but its understanding and consciousness will be totally eliminated.

They have removed the brain of a pigeon. It remained alive for a while but it could not eat seeds that were placed in front of it. Even though it was hungry, it would not eat.

If it was allowed to fly, it flew until it hit a barrier and fell down.

Another Wonderful Part of the Brain is the Sense of Memory

Have you ever thought how wonderful our sense of memory is? If our sense of memory is taken from us for even one hour, what a difficult situation we will be placed in.

The center of memory which forms a small part of our brain is where all of our memories of our lifetime are stored. Whoever is related to us, the particularities of that person as to size, form, color, clothes and spirit, are kept in storage in their own area and a special file is formed for each one.

Thus the moment we confront that person, our mind removes him from the file and immediately, completely reviews what we know about him and then it commands us as to what reaction we should have.

If it is a friend, respect and if it is an enemy, the showing of hatred but all of this is done so quickly that there is more or less no lapse of time.

The wonder of this becomes more apparent when we try to recall what is stored and draw it or write it down or record it in a tape recorder.

Without any doubt, it will require a great deal of paper or a great number of tapes which can fill a large storage room.

Even more wonderful than this is when we want to find one drawing or one tape among them, a file clerk will be necessary but our sense of memory does all of this work very simply, easily and quickly.

How can an Unconscious nature create a conscious one?

Many books have been written about the wonders of the human brain. Can you believe that such an extraordinary system which is so subtle, accurate, complicated and mysterious be made from unconscious nature?

More wonderful than this is to believe that an unintelligent nature could create intelligence!

The Holy Qur’an says:

“On the earth are signs for those of assured faith as also in your own selves: will you not then see?’’(51:21)

Think and Answer

1. Do you have any other information about the wonders of the human brain?

2. What has God created in order to protect the human brain against accident?

Lesson 8: A World of Wonder in a Small Bird

In this lesson, we want to leave aside the large country of our body, which we have only very briefly touched upon, and turn to a look at the wonderful order of other creatures.

We look at the sky in the darkness of night. We see an exceptional bird which is searching for food with all of its energy. This bird is a bat. There are many wondrous things but flying at night is among the most wondrous.

The swift flight of bats in the darkness of the night without hitting anything is so wondrous that no matter how often one studies this, new mysteries of this are revealed.

This bird flies with the same speed and accuracy as a pigeon does in the day time. If it flies into a dark and narrow tunnel which is full of smoke and twists and turns, it will fly through all of the twists and turns without hitting any of the walls and not the smallest amount of smoke will be found on its wings.

This strange ability of the bat is proof of an effect within it which is similar to radar. We now need to know what radar is in order to be able to see it in a small bat.

In physics, in the discussion on forms, waves are discussed which are beyond sound waves. These waves are those same waves whose length and frequency are so great that the human ear cannot hear them. This is why they are called meta-sound waves.

When these waves are set off by means of a very strong transmitter, these waves move forward but whenever they meet up with any kind of a barrier in a point of space (like the aircraft of the enemy, etc), just like a ball when it hits a wall and bounces back, like our voice before a mountain or a high wall and based on an accurate record of how long it takes for the sound to return to us, we can measure the exact distance to the object.

Many aircrafts and ships are guided by means of radar and it takes them to whatever direction they want.

It is also used to find out the location of enemy ships and aircraft.

Scholars say that within this small creature, there is something similar to radar so that if the bat flies in a room which at that same moment a microphone is put to use to transform meta-sound waves into sound waves which can be heard, in each second (30 to 60 times) the meta-sound waves will be heard by the bat.

Scholars in answer to this say, “These waves leave the larynx through the nose of the bat by means of strong organs and its ears, which are the receivers, receive these.

Thus, this bat, in its night travels, is obligated to its ears. A scholar, through experiment, has proven that if you remove the ears of a bat, it cannot fly avoiding things whereas if you completely remove its eyes, it will very expertly still be able to fly. That is, a bat sees with its ears! Not its eyes. And this is most strange.

Now think who created these two wondrous organs in this small creature and how was it taught how to use them? And how can it avoid the dangers which exist during its night flying? Who?

Is it possible that nature have the intelligence and consciousness to do this? and place these organs which scientists copy, at great expense, in its body?

Hadrat ‘Ali, peace be upon him, in the Nahj al-Balaghah, in a very long sermon about creation, mentions the bat, saying, “It is never prevented from the way because of the darkness of the night. Great and glorious is God Who, without a previous model, brought everything into being.

Think and Answer

1. What other interesting information do you have about the bat?

2. Did you know that the bat’s wings and how it bears children and that even its method of sleeping differs from other animals and that it is most exceptional?

Lesson 9: Love for Insects and Flowers

One spring day when the weather is, little by little, growing warmer, make a visit to a park or a farm. You will meet up with all sorts of small insects, honey bees, flies, butterflies and mosquitoes, who, without making a sound, fly from one flower to the next and from this branch to that branch of the trees.

They are so busy with their work that one could imagine an employer is overlooking their progress and continuously telling them what to do. Their wings and feet are colored yellow by the pollen of the flowers, giving them the look of workers who have put on their work clothes and with love and seriousness, they continue their work.

In truth, they have a very important assignment which is so great that Professor Leon Briton says, “Few people realize that without the work of insects, our fruit baskets would be empty.”

And we add this sentence, “The next year, our green gardens and pastures would be completely lost.” Thus, insects are, in reality, the real nourishers of fruit and providers of flower seeds.

You most probably ask why. Because the most sensitive act in the life of flowers is performed with their help. You have probably heard that flowers, like many animals, have two parts, masculine and feminine, and that reproduction takes place through their union, giving us seeds and fruit.

But have you ever thought how the two parts of flowers, which do not move, are attracted to each other? And how the male spermatozoa mix with the female ovary and provide the beginning of a marriage between the two?

This work is most often the work of insects and, in some cases; it is the work of the wind. But this is not as simple as we think it is. This fruitful marriage, in which insects act as the intermediates, has a history, formality and long adventure, only a small part of which we mention here with a short story.

Two old and close friends: Natural scientists, after study, have concluded that flowers and plants appeared in the second geological age and strangely enough, insects appeared at the same time. These two, throughout the eventful history of creation, were like two old and close friends who have remained loyal to each other and have been complements to one another.

Flowers have always stored sweet nectar within themselves in order to further attract and sweeten the relationship. At the time when insects enter the flower in order to transfer the masculine group, provide the preliminaries for the marriage and pregnancy, the flower freely gives of its sweetness to them. This sweet and valuable sugar is so good tasting to the insect that they are naturally pulled towards it.

Some botanists believe that the beautiful colors and good smelling perfume of flowers also play an important role in attracting the insects to them. Various experiments with honey bees have shown that they distinguish colors and the aroma of flowers.

In reality, it is these flowers which grow for insects and have a good-smelling aroma in such a way that a butterfly and honey bees are attracted to them. They accept the invitation with all of their being and quickly begin the preliminaries and eat of their sweetness.

This very sweetness is a special kind of sugar which is considered to be the best food for insects. When it is stored in one place, it makes honey because insects are attracted to flowers. It eats some of this sweetness and takes most of it with them to their honeycomb to store. This is a contract of friendship and love which is based on mutual interest, always existed and will continue to exist between flowers and insects.

A lesson about monotheism: when a human being studies these wondrous points in the lives of insects and flowers, he or she automatically asks, “Who established this pact of love and friendship between insects and flowers?”

Who gave this special sweetness and good tasting nectar to flowers? Who granted flowers these attractive colors, beauty and this sweet-smelling perfume? Who invited in sects towards it? What were the fat and tiny bodies of insects, butterflies, honey bees and golden bees given to make them prepared to collect the pollen of flowers?

Why do bees, for a certain period of time, move towards one kind of flower? Why did the life of flowers and insects begin at one time in the created world?

Can anyone - no matter how stubborn - accept the fact that all of these events were without any plan or pre-design? And the unconscious laws of nature automatically brought such wondrous scenes into being? Never!

“And thy Nourisher taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees and in habitations then to eat of all the produce (of the earth) and find with skill the spacious paths of its Nourisher…” (16:68-69)

Think and Answer

1. What use does the sweetness, color and perfume of flowers have?

2. What do you know about the amazing life of honey bees?

Lesson 2: The Signs of God in our Daily Life

1. Knowing God and the Progress of Science

Pretend that a friend has come from a trip and has brought a book as a present for you. He says that it is an excellent book, because the author of this book is full of information by a very great scholar, who is accurate, an expert and a genius in his own field.

You will most certainly not study this book carelessly. Rather you will concentrate on every sentence and even the choice of words made and if there be a sentence there that you do not understand, perhaps you will spend hours and even days, whenever you can, studying it until the meaning of it becomes clear to you.

Why? Because the author of this book is not a normal average person but rather a great scholar who considers every word he uses carefully.

But if the opposite were true and they had said to you, “This book may appear to be beautiful and pleasing on the outside, but the author is not very literate and he has no base in science and has not taken any care,” it is clear that you will only quickly glance at the book and wherever you found something unclear in it, you would say, “This is because the author was uninformed and it is a waste of time for a person to study this.”

The world of creation is like a great book in which every creature forms a word or sentence in that. From the point of view of a person who worships God, every atom of this universe is worthy of study.

A person who has faith in the ray of the light of worshipping God, will make use of a special sense of curiosity in studying the secrets of creation and it is this very fact which helps science and human knowledge to progress - because he knows that the Creator of this universe has endless knowledge and power and everything He does is based on a wisdom and a philosophy. Thus, he studies with greater care, more profoundly in order to be able to understand the secrets better.

But a materialist has no reason to discover the secret of creation for he believes that nature is senseless. If we look at the work of a materialist scholar, it is in the same rank because he accepts God but calls him ‘nature’. Why? Because he accepts an order and a program in nature.

2. Knowing God, Endeavoring and Hope

Whenever a difficult and complicated event takes place in the life of a human being, whenever all doors are somehow closed, one senses weakness, hopelessness and loneliness, when confronted by these difficulties, a person with faith in God then seeks His help, which He gives.

A person who has faith in God does not see himself or herself as being alone or powerless. He or she does not despair. He or she does not sense weakness or inability, because God is above all difficulties and everything is easy for Him.

With hope in His kindness, support and help, he or she will struggle against the difficulty and will use all of his or her energies. With love and hope, one will continue his or her endeavors and efforts and will overcome the difficulty.

Yea. Faith in God is a great place of refuge for a human being. Faith in God is the substance of perseverance and steadfastness. Faith in God always keeps hope in hearts alive. Because of this, individuals with faith never attempt to commit suicide because attempts at suicide come from despair, a complete lack of hope and a feeling of having failed but individuals with faith neither lose hope nor do they sense failure.

3. Knowing God and the Sense of Responsibility

We know a doctor who, when poor people visit him, not only does he not get money from them for the visit, but he gives them money and drugs and if he senses a danger for that person, he will stay all night in his home. These are people who worship God and have faith.

But we also know a doctor who, until the money of the visit is not paid, he will not take the first step for the sick person because he does not have a strong faith. A person who has faith, no matter what his or her profession is, senses responsibility, knows his or her duties, does good, readily forgives and constantly sees a spiritual policeman within his or her soul who watches over one’s deeds.

But people who lack faith are selfish and dangerous people who have no sense of responsibility. Oppression, suppression and aggression against the rights of others is easy for them and they are less prepared to do good.

4. Knowing God and Peacefulness

Psychologists say that mental and psychological diseases are greater in our time than in any other. They say that one of the factors is anxiety over future events, anxiety over death, anxiety over war and anxiety of fear and failure.

They add, “Among the things which can take anxiety away from a person’s spirit is faith in god because whenever an anxiety wants to penetrate one’s spirit, faith in God pushes it away”.

A God who is kind, a God who helps one meet one’s needs, a God Who is aware of His servants’ condition and if they turn towards Him, He helps them and frees them from anxiety.

Because of this, a real believer always has a sense of peacefulness and no anxiety exists within his or her spirit. Whatever such a person does, is for God. Even if one suffers a loss, one seeks its replacement from Him. Such a person even enters the war front with a smile.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“It is those who believe and confuse not their beliefs with oppression - that are (truly) in peacefulness, for they are on (right) guidance.” (6:82)

Think and Answer

1. Do you recall the fate of the people in the past which the Qur’anic verse refers to?

2. Do you know why some individuals, who pretend to have faith in God, are morally corrupt and none of the four effects mentioned above can be found in them?

Lesson 3: Two Clear Ways of Knowing God

From the earliest of times until today, books have been written about coming to know God and a great deal has been said by scholars and non-scholars.

Each one chooses a way in order to come to understand this issue but from among all of the ways, there are two ways which can help us to grow near to this great Creator of the universe:

- First, an inward way (the closest way)

- Second, an outward way (the clearest way)

With the first way, we get in touch with our deep inner self and we hear the cry of monotheism from within the depths of ourselves.

With the second way, we explore the expansive created world, and we see the signs of the creator in all creatures and in the heart of every atom. Each one of these two ways requires a great deal of explanation, but what we will try to do is to briefly study each of these two ways.

The Inward Way

Let us think about the following:

1. Scholars say that every human being who thinks, from whatever class or race one be, if left alone, receives no special training, not even hears the words of people who worship God nor the words of materialists, that person will naturally become aware of a force or power which is above nature and which rules all of the world.

In the corners of one’s heart and spirit, one will sense a very subtle sound, which is full of kindness and, at the same time, clear and firm, which calls one towards the great Source of the universe and the power that we call God. This is that very pure, divinely-created human nature of people.

2. It is possible that one becomes occupied with the commotion in the material world and one’s daily life and the lights and attractions of life and one may temporarily neglect to hear this sound, but when one finds oneself facing problems and difficulties, whenever a natural catastrophe like a flood or an earthquake or a hurricane comes, yes, at this time, when one is curtailed from all means of material life, and when one finds no place of refuge, this inner sound gains strength.

One senses that within one’s self, a power is calling one, a power which is superior to all forces, a secret force and all difficulties and problems seem simple before it.

It is rare to find a person who in such difficulties does not automatically turn to God. It is this issue which shows how close we are to Him and how close He is to us.

He is in our spirit and our very soul. Of course, the cry of instinct (nature) is always within a person, but at times like this, it finds greater force.

3. Our history shows that even the powerful rulers who, at the time of peace and calm, refuse to even mention the Name of God, when the bases of their power begin to shake and they see that they are about to lose all of their power, they turn to God and they hear the voice of their Divinely-created nature.

History tells us that when Pharaoh saw that he was drowning in the waves of the sea, he said, “I confess that there is no god but the great God of Moses. “This cry came from his soul. Not only Pharaoh, but all people who are in a state or condition like he was, cry out the same thing he did.

4. If you study the real reasons for this, you will agree that a light shines from there which calls you to God. Perhaps there have been times when you have met with difficulties and problems and all of the usual ways of solving problems do not work. At that moment, most certainly, you have seen that there is a force in the world which can easily solve it.

At this moment, a hope mixed with love fills your spirit and soul and it removes the clouds of darkness from our soul. Yea. This is the closest way which a person can take to God.

Only one question:

We know that this question may arise for some of you. Does this possibility not exist that based upon what we have been taught by our environment, our father and mother, at sensitive moments, we begin to think that we should ask God for help?

We know you are right and correct in asking this question, but we have a very interesting answer which we give in the next lesson.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“Now, if they embark on a boat, they call on God, making their devotion sincerely (and exclusively) to Him; but when He has delivered them safely to (dry) land, behold, they give a Share (of their worship to others)!” (29:65)

Think and Answer

1. Try to memorize the surah number, verse number and meaning of word to word translation and gradually become familiar with the language of the Holy Qur’an.

2. Has a complicated problem ever arisen for you for which no solution seemed available to you except the kindness of God, the Almighty? (Write or tell about it briefly).

3. Why is this way called the closest way?

Lesson 4: An Answer to an Important Question

Question: In the previous lesson, we realized or recognized that we always hear the voice of monotheism (tawhid) and worship of God from within our souls and especially at times of difficulty, this voice becomes stronger and clearer and we naturally begin to think about God and we seek His help and kindness.

Here it is possible that this question arises that this inner voice which we call the voice of our ‘God-given nature’ (fitrat) is the result of things which we have heard from our environment and our mother and father have told us or from school and it has become very normal and common for us.

Answer: The answer to this requires a brief introduction. Customs change. We cannot find a custom which has not changed throughout history among all nations.

Thus, when we see that this is something which exists among all nations, has existed at all times and during all ages, without exception, we should realize that its roots are in fitrat and that it is woven into the spirit and soul of human beings.

For instance, the love of a mother for her child. This can in no way be said to come from propaganda or habit or custom because in no tribe or nation, or at any time or age, can you see that a mother does not love her child.

Of course, it is possible that a mother, because of a mental disturbance, do away with herself or a father during the Age of Ignorance in Arabia (the time before the appearance of Islam) buried his girl children alive because his thoughts were wrong and based on superstitions but these are very rare cases.

Looking at this introduction, recalling how people in the past and in the present worship God, we see (as this lesson is a little bit more difficult, please pay careful attention).

1. As stated by sociologists and historians, there has been no time in history when belief in God and faith did not exist among people. Rather, in every age and time and at all moments of this world, some form of belief existed and this, itself, is clear reason why the worship of God is from the depths of the spirit and its source is fitrat of human beings, not that it is a result of customs we have accepted because if it were the consequences of habit and custom, it would not be so extensive and eternal.

We even have rules which show that tribes who lived before written history began, had some kind of a belief system. Of course, there is no doubt that at times, when people had forgotten God as the Being Who is above nature, they searched for Him and looked for Him among creatures in nature and they made idols for themselves of things in nature.

But with the development of thought, human beings gradually were able to see the truth, stop worshipping idols which were material creatures and become familiar with the One God.

2. Some of the well-known psychologists clearly and directly say that the human spirit or soul has four senses:

First, the sense of knowledge which sends a person after science and knowledge and makes one’s spirit thirsty for knowledge whether or not this has any material benefit.

Second, the sense of goodness which is the source for moral and human issues in the world of humanity.

Third, the sense of beauty which is the source of poetry and literature and art in their real sense.

Fourth, the sense of belief which invites the human being to come to know God and to implement His Commands. In this way, we see that the sense of worship is one of the senses with the deepest roots of the spirit. That is, they are never separate from each other.

3. In our future lessons, we will see how most materialists even admit to the existence of God, even though they do not mention His Name and instead refer to nature or give Him other names but qualities are given to nature which are, in fact, qualities of God.

For instance, they say, if nature has given two kidneys to human beings, it was because it knew that if one of these failed, the other would continue life, etc.

Does this explanation hold for a nature which lacks awareness and consciousness? Or is this not a reference to the All-knowing and Infinite God but calling Him, nature?

We can conclude from what has been said that:

A love for God has always existed in us and will always continue.

Faith in God is an eternal flame which warms our heart and spirit.

In order to come to know God, we are not obliged to take a long and complicated way.

We quickly turn inward and see we have faith in Him. The Holy Qur’an says:

“We are closer to the human being than his jugular vein.” (50:16)

Think and Answer

1 Write several examples of customs and several examples of things which are part of our God-given nature (fitrat).

2 Why do ignorant people turn to idol worship?

3 Why do materialists refer to God as Nature?

Lesson 5: A True Story

We have said that in the depths of the spirit of those who deny God with their tongue, a faith in God exists.

There is no doubt that victories and successes - especially for individuals with few possibilities develop pride and this very pride becomes the source for forgetfulness, to the point where often a person even forgets his or her own opinions.

But the moment that a storm of difficulties throws their life into chaos and the strong wind of difficulties attacks that person from all sides, the curtains of pride and selfishness moves away from their eyes and divinely-created nature (fitrat) and monotheism (the belief that God is One) appears.

History gives many examples of individuals who were like this, whose lives were full of deceit:

There was a minister who was very strong and powerful in his age. He had taken control of most of the power and no one opposed him. One day he entered a meeting in which a group of religious scholars were present. He turned to them and said, “For how long will you continue to say that God exists? I have many reasons to prove otherwise.”

He said this with special pride. As the scholars who were present knew that he was not a reasonable or logical person and that power and strength had made him so proud that no words of truth would affect him, they ignored him and remained silent, a meaningful and humble silence.

This event passed. After a time, the minister insulted someone. The ruler of the time had him arrested and thrown into jail.

One of the scholars who were present at the gathering thought to himself that the time to awaken him had come.

Now that he has gotten off the horse of pride and the curtain of self-interest has moved away from his eyes, and the sense of accepting the truth was awakened in him, if he contacts him and gives him words of advice, it may produce good results. He received permission to visit him and he went to the prison.

As he neared him, he saw that he was in a room all alone, walking back and forth and thinking and he was recalling a poem which said, “We are all like drawings or paintings of a lion which are painted or drawn on a flag. When the wind blows, it moves and perhaps even attacks, but in reality it has nothing from itself. Its strength is the wind which gives it power. We, also, as we gain more power, have nothing from ourselves. It is God who has given this strength to us and whenever He wills, He can take it from us.”

The above-mentioned scholar saw that under these conditions, not only does he not deny the existence of God, but he has become ardently aware of God. After greeting him he said, “Do you recall how you said you have many reasons for the non-existence of God.

I have come to answer those many reasons with just one response, “God is He Who, with such ease, took your power away from you.” He hung his head in shame and did not answer because he knew that he had been wrong and he saw the light of God within himself.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“We took the Israeli tribes across the sea; Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in pride and insolence. At length, when overwhelmed with the flood, he said, ‘I believe that there is no god except Him whom the Israeli tribes believe in. I am of those who submit (muslimin)’ ” (10:90)

Think and Answer

l. Describe the consequences of the true story in several lines.

2. Why are the Israeli tribe called “Israeli tribe”?

3. Who was Pharaoh? Where did he live? What claims did he make?

Lesson 6: The Second Way of coming to Know God

The Outer Way

With a quick glance at the world that we live in, we realize that the world is not in chaos and disorder. Rather, all phenomena are in motion moving towards a clear and determined direction. The facilities of the world are like a great army which has been divided into well-organized units which move in a determined direction.

The following points will clarify any ambiguities:

1. In order to come into being and to remain, every living creature must be a part of a series of laws and special conditions. For instance, for a tree to be, water and suitable soil and a specific temperature are necessary for us to plant seeds and nourish them and each seed to become green and grow.

If these conditions do not exist, there is no possibility for growth and the choosing of these conditions and proving the necessary preliminaries requires an intellect and knowledge.

2. Every creature has a special effect which is exclusive to it. Water and fire each have their own particularities which do not separate from them and they constantly follow permanent laws.

3. All of the members (organs) of living creatures work and are coordinated with each other. As an example, this very human body, which is itself a world, all works together consciously and unconsciously in a special coordination. For instance, if a danger arises, all are mobilized for defense. This relationship and cooperation is another sign of the order in the universe.

4. One look at the world scene makes it clear that not only are all organs of one body of one living creature in coordination with each other, but all the various creatures of the world are also in special coordination with each other. For instance, for the nourishment of living creatures, the sun shines, clouds bring rain and the earth and resources of the earth also help. This all shows the existence of one clear system in the universe.

The Relationship of Order and Intellect

This truth is clear for everyone’s conscience that whenever order exists in a facility, this shows intellect, thought, a plan and a goal.

Because whenever a human being sees order, permanent laws and a reckoning of things, he or she knows that beside that source, knowledge and power must also be sought and in understanding this, in one’s conscience, he or she does not see need for reasoning.

He or she knows that a blind person or an illiterate person can never type a good essay or write a social or critical article, that a child of two years old can never paint beautiful and valuable painting by the drawing of lines on a piece of paper.

Rather, if we see a good essay or read a good article, we know that a person who is literate or if we have seen very beautiful paintings, we will have no doubt that an expert painted them even if we have never met or seen that painter.

Thus, wherever there is a sense of order, beside that, there has been an intellect and however much larger that system be, it is more accurate and more interesting, the knowledge which brings that into being in the same proportion is greater.

Sometimes, in order to prove this issue that every system needs a source of knowledge, the law of probabilities, which has been achieved in high mathematics is used to prove that, for instance, if an illiterate individual wants to type an article or an essay or a poem by randomly pressuring on the keys of the machine, according to the law of probabilities, this will take millions of years to attain for which one lifetime is not sufficient.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“Soon will We show them Our Signs upon the horizons and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that Thy Nourisher is aware of all things.” (41:53)

Think and Answer

1. Give a few examples (other than those presented in the story) about industrial units, the observation of which shows the existence of a Creator of the world Who is Aware.

2. What is the difference between ‘horizons’ and ‘souls’? Give examples of God in the ‘horizons’ and within one’s own ‘soul’.

Lesson 7: Examples From Creation

Throughout the world, ‘order’, ‘goal’ and ‘design’ are apparent. Now pay attention as we study some examples of this. We will present some large and small examples for you.

Fortunately, today, with the progress made in natural sciences, the discovery of the secrets and wonders of the world of nature, and the subtleties in the existence of human beings, animals and plants, the wonderful structure of a cell or an atom and the wonderful system of the stars, the doors of knowing God have been opened to us in such a way that one can clearly say that all books of natural science are books about the oneness and unity of God which teach us great lessons about the great Creator because these books remove the veils or curtains which cover the interesting order of the creatures of this world and show how important the Creator of this world is.

The center of administration of the country of your body

Our skull has been filled with grey matter called the brain. This brain forms the most accurate and exact system of our body because it commands all of the powers of our body and it manages all of the organs of our system.

In order to understand the importance of this great center, it would be a good idea for us to explain the following for you.

The newspapers had printed that a Shiraz university student in Khuzistan was in an automobile accident and his brain was damaged but it seemed that nothing at all had happened to him. All of his organs were healthy but strangely enough, he had forgotten all of his past life. His mind worked well.

He could study but if he saw his mother and father, he did not recognize them. When they said to him that this was his mother, he was surprised. They took him to his home in Shiraz. They showed him the handicraft work he had done and then hung on the walls of his room.

But he looked at it all in amazement and said that he was seeing these things for the first time.

It became clear that in the brain damage he suffered, cells which were, in reality, transitions between thought and his memory were no longer working and like a blown out fuse which cuts off the electricity and brings darkness, his memory of the past had been disconnected.

Perhaps the point which no longer works is no bigger than the size of the top of a pin but what an effect it has had upon his life and from this it becomes clear how complicated and how important our brain is.

Our brain consists of two separate parts: first, the part which is controlled by our voluntary which controls all of our voluntary motions like walking, looking, speaking.

Second, the involuntary part which controls the movement of our heart, stomach, etc. and if one part of this part of the brain does not function, the heart or another organ will no longer function.

One of the Most Wonderful Parts of the Brain

The cerebrum is the center of will power, consciousness and memory. In other words, it is one of the most sensitive areas of the brain and many of the reactions of the inner senses like anger, fear, etc. relate to it.

If we take out the cerebrum in an animal but we leave the other organs as they are, it will remain alive but its understanding and consciousness will be totally eliminated.

They have removed the brain of a pigeon. It remained alive for a while but it could not eat seeds that were placed in front of it. Even though it was hungry, it would not eat.

If it was allowed to fly, it flew until it hit a barrier and fell down.

Another Wonderful Part of the Brain is the Sense of Memory

Have you ever thought how wonderful our sense of memory is? If our sense of memory is taken from us for even one hour, what a difficult situation we will be placed in.

The center of memory which forms a small part of our brain is where all of our memories of our lifetime are stored. Whoever is related to us, the particularities of that person as to size, form, color, clothes and spirit, are kept in storage in their own area and a special file is formed for each one.

Thus the moment we confront that person, our mind removes him from the file and immediately, completely reviews what we know about him and then it commands us as to what reaction we should have.

If it is a friend, respect and if it is an enemy, the showing of hatred but all of this is done so quickly that there is more or less no lapse of time.

The wonder of this becomes more apparent when we try to recall what is stored and draw it or write it down or record it in a tape recorder.

Without any doubt, it will require a great deal of paper or a great number of tapes which can fill a large storage room.

Even more wonderful than this is when we want to find one drawing or one tape among them, a file clerk will be necessary but our sense of memory does all of this work very simply, easily and quickly.

How can an Unconscious nature create a conscious one?

Many books have been written about the wonders of the human brain. Can you believe that such an extraordinary system which is so subtle, accurate, complicated and mysterious be made from unconscious nature?

More wonderful than this is to believe that an unintelligent nature could create intelligence!

The Holy Qur’an says:

“On the earth are signs for those of assured faith as also in your own selves: will you not then see?’’(51:21)

Think and Answer

1. Do you have any other information about the wonders of the human brain?

2. What has God created in order to protect the human brain against accident?

Lesson 8: A World of Wonder in a Small Bird

In this lesson, we want to leave aside the large country of our body, which we have only very briefly touched upon, and turn to a look at the wonderful order of other creatures.

We look at the sky in the darkness of night. We see an exceptional bird which is searching for food with all of its energy. This bird is a bat. There are many wondrous things but flying at night is among the most wondrous.

The swift flight of bats in the darkness of the night without hitting anything is so wondrous that no matter how often one studies this, new mysteries of this are revealed.

This bird flies with the same speed and accuracy as a pigeon does in the day time. If it flies into a dark and narrow tunnel which is full of smoke and twists and turns, it will fly through all of the twists and turns without hitting any of the walls and not the smallest amount of smoke will be found on its wings.

This strange ability of the bat is proof of an effect within it which is similar to radar. We now need to know what radar is in order to be able to see it in a small bat.

In physics, in the discussion on forms, waves are discussed which are beyond sound waves. These waves are those same waves whose length and frequency are so great that the human ear cannot hear them. This is why they are called meta-sound waves.

When these waves are set off by means of a very strong transmitter, these waves move forward but whenever they meet up with any kind of a barrier in a point of space (like the aircraft of the enemy, etc), just like a ball when it hits a wall and bounces back, like our voice before a mountain or a high wall and based on an accurate record of how long it takes for the sound to return to us, we can measure the exact distance to the object.

Many aircrafts and ships are guided by means of radar and it takes them to whatever direction they want.

It is also used to find out the location of enemy ships and aircraft.

Scholars say that within this small creature, there is something similar to radar so that if the bat flies in a room which at that same moment a microphone is put to use to transform meta-sound waves into sound waves which can be heard, in each second (30 to 60 times) the meta-sound waves will be heard by the bat.

Scholars in answer to this say, “These waves leave the larynx through the nose of the bat by means of strong organs and its ears, which are the receivers, receive these.

Thus, this bat, in its night travels, is obligated to its ears. A scholar, through experiment, has proven that if you remove the ears of a bat, it cannot fly avoiding things whereas if you completely remove its eyes, it will very expertly still be able to fly. That is, a bat sees with its ears! Not its eyes. And this is most strange.

Now think who created these two wondrous organs in this small creature and how was it taught how to use them? And how can it avoid the dangers which exist during its night flying? Who?

Is it possible that nature have the intelligence and consciousness to do this? and place these organs which scientists copy, at great expense, in its body?

Hadrat ‘Ali, peace be upon him, in the Nahj al-Balaghah, in a very long sermon about creation, mentions the bat, saying, “It is never prevented from the way because of the darkness of the night. Great and glorious is God Who, without a previous model, brought everything into being.

Think and Answer

1. What other interesting information do you have about the bat?

2. Did you know that the bat’s wings and how it bears children and that even its method of sleeping differs from other animals and that it is most exceptional?

Lesson 9: Love for Insects and Flowers

One spring day when the weather is, little by little, growing warmer, make a visit to a park or a farm. You will meet up with all sorts of small insects, honey bees, flies, butterflies and mosquitoes, who, without making a sound, fly from one flower to the next and from this branch to that branch of the trees.

They are so busy with their work that one could imagine an employer is overlooking their progress and continuously telling them what to do. Their wings and feet are colored yellow by the pollen of the flowers, giving them the look of workers who have put on their work clothes and with love and seriousness, they continue their work.

In truth, they have a very important assignment which is so great that Professor Leon Briton says, “Few people realize that without the work of insects, our fruit baskets would be empty.”

And we add this sentence, “The next year, our green gardens and pastures would be completely lost.” Thus, insects are, in reality, the real nourishers of fruit and providers of flower seeds.

You most probably ask why. Because the most sensitive act in the life of flowers is performed with their help. You have probably heard that flowers, like many animals, have two parts, masculine and feminine, and that reproduction takes place through their union, giving us seeds and fruit.

But have you ever thought how the two parts of flowers, which do not move, are attracted to each other? And how the male spermatozoa mix with the female ovary and provide the beginning of a marriage between the two?

This work is most often the work of insects and, in some cases; it is the work of the wind. But this is not as simple as we think it is. This fruitful marriage, in which insects act as the intermediates, has a history, formality and long adventure, only a small part of which we mention here with a short story.

Two old and close friends: Natural scientists, after study, have concluded that flowers and plants appeared in the second geological age and strangely enough, insects appeared at the same time. These two, throughout the eventful history of creation, were like two old and close friends who have remained loyal to each other and have been complements to one another.

Flowers have always stored sweet nectar within themselves in order to further attract and sweeten the relationship. At the time when insects enter the flower in order to transfer the masculine group, provide the preliminaries for the marriage and pregnancy, the flower freely gives of its sweetness to them. This sweet and valuable sugar is so good tasting to the insect that they are naturally pulled towards it.

Some botanists believe that the beautiful colors and good smelling perfume of flowers also play an important role in attracting the insects to them. Various experiments with honey bees have shown that they distinguish colors and the aroma of flowers.

In reality, it is these flowers which grow for insects and have a good-smelling aroma in such a way that a butterfly and honey bees are attracted to them. They accept the invitation with all of their being and quickly begin the preliminaries and eat of their sweetness.

This very sweetness is a special kind of sugar which is considered to be the best food for insects. When it is stored in one place, it makes honey because insects are attracted to flowers. It eats some of this sweetness and takes most of it with them to their honeycomb to store. This is a contract of friendship and love which is based on mutual interest, always existed and will continue to exist between flowers and insects.

A lesson about monotheism: when a human being studies these wondrous points in the lives of insects and flowers, he or she automatically asks, “Who established this pact of love and friendship between insects and flowers?”

Who gave this special sweetness and good tasting nectar to flowers? Who granted flowers these attractive colors, beauty and this sweet-smelling perfume? Who invited in sects towards it? What were the fat and tiny bodies of insects, butterflies, honey bees and golden bees given to make them prepared to collect the pollen of flowers?

Why do bees, for a certain period of time, move towards one kind of flower? Why did the life of flowers and insects begin at one time in the created world?

Can anyone - no matter how stubborn - accept the fact that all of these events were without any plan or pre-design? And the unconscious laws of nature automatically brought such wondrous scenes into being? Never!

“And thy Nourisher taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees and in habitations then to eat of all the produce (of the earth) and find with skill the spacious paths of its Nourisher…” (16:68-69)

Think and Answer

1. What use does the sweetness, color and perfume of flowers have?

2. What do you know about the amazing life of honey bees?


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