Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Discourse 18: Characteristics of a True Believer– Part V

In our previous discussions, we had narrated a tradition from the Noble Prophet (S) which he spoke to 'Ali (as) in which he listed the characteristics of a true believer. Twenty-two of these characteristics have been explained, and now we go through four more of the one hundred and three characteristics.

أَحْلى مِنَ الشَّهَدِ وَ أَصْلَدَ مِنَ الصَّلَدِ، لاَ يَكْشِفُ سِرّاً ولاَ يَهْتِكُ سِتْراً …

”(The complete true believer is one who) is sweeter than honey; and is stronger than the outside of a rock; and who does not expose the secrets that people confide in him; and if he himself finds out something about other people, he does not expose this information.”

The twenty-third characteristic of a true believer is that he is sweeter than honey, meaning that interaction with him is something pleasant.

Looking at the lives of the A`immah, especially the life of 'Ali (as), it is commonly known that sitting in his presence and any sort of interaction that others had with him was always something pleasant, as he was a person who had a sense of humor and always spoke with grace.

Some people believe that the more holy or pious a person is, the more stern and harsh he must be, whereas we see that the things which actualyl make a person progress in various areas such as politics, society, culture, etc… and which also play a very important role in his life, is his pleasant interaction and demeanor with others.

Sometimes, the most difficult of tasks can be solved through pleasant interaction which is full of love and tenderness and carried through with a cheerful face. It is through such interaction that the knots of enmity can be loosened and in which displeasures are removed. In addition, the fire of anger can be put out and chaos and confusion between individuals can be controlled.

The Prophet (S) has stated:

أَكْثَرُ مَا تَلِجُ بِهِ أُمَّتِي الْجَنَّةَ تَقْوى اللٌّهِ وَ حُسْنُ الْخَلْقِ

“The most (important) of things which will bring my Ummah closer to Paradise are Taqwa of Allah and having a good disposition.”1

The twenty-fourth characteristic is that he is stronger than the outside covering of a rock. Seeing as how sometimes people go to one extreme and think that to be of good character means that a person must give up his rights in the face of his enemy, the Prophet (S) continued his speech by saying that although interaction with a true believer and indeed his character is sweeter than honey (very kind and loving), but at the same time he is not a push over. Rather, in the face of his enemies, he is harsher and harder than a rock (meaning that he does not give in).

It has been mentioned in the Noble Qur`an that a true believer is merciful amongst his friends and fellow believers while he is harsh against the enemies and that he is even stronger and more powerful than iron and even a mountain:

أَشَدُّ مِنْ زُبُرِ الْحَدِيدِ وَ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْجَبَلِ

”(The true believer) is firmer and stronger than iron and more powerful than a mountain.”

As we know, a mountain and even iron can be molded and cut through however a true believer can never be cut through, molded or changed. The true believer must be just as 'Ali (as) was. However there are some people who bring up the excuse that since by nature, Imam 'Ali (as) was a very joking person, thus, he was not able to be the leader of a society - however at the same time, we see that he was also powerful and harsh with others. Of course in those areas where the Islamic laws give permission, a person must not be harsh and unsympathetic and it has been mentioned that the person who is harsh with others in this world will be judged with harshness by Allah (SwT) on the Day of Judgement.

The twenty-fifth characteristic of a true believer is that he does not expose the secrets which others confide in him.

What does it truly mean that one does not expose the secrets of others?? We know that during the course of one's life, all of us have secrets which we do not like others to know, because if they were to be known, then this would make life very difficult. Thus, if a person was to relate thess secrets to other people and tell them that, “Whatever has been mentioned in this gathering is a trust that you must keep and no one else must know these secrets”, then this must be obeyed.

It has even been mentioned in the traditions that if a person was to tell you something and while telling you, kept looking around him to the left and right to make sure that no one else was listening to what he was telling you, then this is also a sign that what he is telling you is a secret, even though he may not have expressly told you that it was such.

A secret that another believer confides is sacred and must be respected just as the blood of a true believer is sacred. Therefore, the secrets that he keeps with you must be kept hidden from others.

The twenty-sixth characteristic of a true believer is that he does not expose thath which is hidden about another person. Exposing this is only possible when the person does not tell you the secret directly - rather, you yourself find out something about him and thus, you keep this thing to yourself and it is this thing which you must not expose to other people.

One of the forms of backbiting is when someone exposes the secrets of another person and spreads hidden information (about others) - things which have become common place in today's day and age. However we must be very careful that even if there is no danger to anyone else and the issue is only related to us but here too, we do not indulge in spreading hidden information.

However if a person has some knowledge of the government, general society, close family members, the youth, the faith of other people, etc… then in these issues, spreading hidden information (about others) is not a problem at all. This issue shares the same ruling of backbiting such that if backbiting a person is more important than the protection of the secrets of the people (backbiting would serve a higher and nobler goal), then it is not a problem. In addition, in the issue of covering the secrets of other people that you yourself are made aware of, this principle too must be put into practice (that sometimes it may be more important to expose such secrets as it would help in serving a higher and nobler goal).

We hope that Allah (SwT) gives us all the opportunity to act according to these guidelines!

Notes

1. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 68, pg. 375, Section: Having a Good Disposition

Discourse 19: Characteristics of The True Believer – Part VI

In our previous ethical discussions, we narrated a tradition from the Noble Prophet (S) to 'Ali (as) in which he listed one hundred and three characteristics of a true believer. We have covered twenty-six of these characteristics and in this lecture, we will cover another five of them.

… لَطِيفُ الْحَرَكَاتِ، حُلُّو الْمُشَاهِدَةِ، كَثِيرُ الْعِبَادَةِ، حُسْنُ الْوِقَارِ، لَيِِّنُ الْجَانِبِ …

”(The true believer is one whose) movements are with grace and elegance; seeing him is something that is sweet (pleasing); he performs a great amount of worship; he moves with eloquence and dignity; and he is gentle and loving.”

The twenty-seventh characteristic of a true believer is that his movement is with grace and elegance and when he deals or interacts with the creations of Allah (SwT), he does so with love, and gentleness.

The twenty-eighth characteristic is that seeing and meeting him is something sweet and pleasing and he is never harsh or bitter with others.

The twenty-ninth characteristic is that he performs a lot of worship (of Allah).

Is the meaning of this worship simply related to his Salat and Sawm or is it something else?

As we know, 'Ibadah (worship) is of two types:

1. 'Ibadah in the specific meaning: These are forms of worship which if not performed with the intention of seeking closeness to Allah (SwT) are rendered null and void.

2. 'Ibadah in the general meaning: Any action, which if done with the intention of seeking nearness to Allah (SwT) earns the person a reward, however the intention is not one of the conditions for the correctness of the act.

Thus we can include all actions that we perform in this section and thus when the traditions speak of 'Ibadah, they refer to this meaning.

The thirtieth characteristic of a true believer is that he moves with eloquence and dignity (the word وِقار and وَقار both come from the root word of وقر which is in the meaning of a weighty object).

The thirty-first characteristic is that he is gentle and has love and affection (for others).

Amongst these five characteristics which we just mentioned, there are four characteristics which are related to a person and his interaction with other people. We see that a pleasant interaction and good dealings with others is so important and has a great effect on people whom we are speaking to - whether they be people of the faith or people who are engrossed in this materialistic world.

The enemies of Islam are unyielding on placing the label of violence and aggression on the Muslims and we must show them that although we are:

أَشِدَّآءُ عَلَــى الْكُفَّارِ

“Harsh against the disbelievers.”

However at the same time, we are also:

رُحَـمَآءُ بَيْـنَهُمْ

“Merciful with one another.”

Looking at the lives of the A`immah, we see that they showed love and affection even with those who were not Muslims and who were not at war with the Muslims. For example, in the books of history it is mentioned that Imam 'Ali (as) was once traveling with a Jew and when they reached a place where they were going to separate on their own routes (to their own city), we see that the Imam went a partial way on the road with the Jew.

Upon seeing this, the Jew told him that he had taken the wrong road to which the Imam replied, “In order to follow the commandments of my religion and observe the rights of the person I am traveling with, I came a short distance on the path with you.” The Jewish man was very surprised at the conduct of the Imam and after a short period of time, he accepted Islam.

Acting according to such a simple injunction in the religion of Islam resulted in a great number of people becoming Muslims:

وَ رَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِـي دِينِ اللٌّهِ أَفْوَاجاً

“And you will see people entering into the religion of Allah in groups.”

With great regret though, some people who think themselves to be holy, pious people - are in reality just shallow minded individuals, whoi act in such ways that give an excuse to the enemies (to insult Islam) whereas the principles of our din are not based on aggression or hatred.

In the Qur`an, we have 114 chapters of which 113 of them all start with the words:

بِسْمِ اللٌّهِ الرَّحْمٌنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.”

Thus, a fraction of 1/114 of Islam deals with anger and harshness, whereas 113 parts of Islam deal with mercy and compassion.

In addition, we have two different types of interaction with people:

1. Acts of showing off which are done to gain some material benefit in this world.

2. Acts which are done with sincerity and come straight from the heart.

The first type of act is quite common in the West - for example in order to gain the pleasure and satisfaction and attract more customers, the people show more care and love to their clientele. It is through this act that they can gain wealth because they know that if they have good interaction with their customers, then they will be able to attract more people to product.

The second type is one of the characteristics of a true believer and when we say that a true believer is one who is pleasant to interact with, it is not done to gain profit from this material world, rather, they do this to unite hearts and get spiritually closer to one another.

The story of Luqman, the Wise, and the advice that he gave to his son, it has been narrated in the Qur`an:

وَلاَ تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَحًا

“And swell not thy cheek (for pride) at peopke, nor walk with insolence through the Earth.”1

The word in this verse [تصعر ] comes from the root word of [صعر ] and its original meaning is a sickness that a camel becomes plagued with and due to this disease, his neck is contorted to the right or left side.

This verse speaks to people and tells them that they must not develop the same sickness that a camel develops which makes his neck contorted for this sort of spiritual sickness in a person can lead him to turn away from the people. Through the use of this phrase, it is clear that people who have bad etiquette actually possess a sickness. In the continuation and end of this verse we are told that we must not walk the road of pride and this is another characteristic which we must all keep in mind!

Notes

1. Surat Luqman (31), Verse 18

Discourse 20: Five Life Giving Lessons and Refraining from Doubtful Things

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللٌّهِ : أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ! لاَ تُعْطُوا الْحِكْمَةَ غَيْرَ أَهْلِها فَتَظْلِمُوهَا، وَلاَ تَمْنَعُوهَا أَهْلَهَا فَتَظْلِمُوهُمْ، وَ لاَ تُعَاقِـبُوا ظَالِماً فَيَبْطُلَ فَضْلُكُمْ، وَ لاَ تُرَاؤُوا النَّاسَ فَيَحْبَطَ عَمَلُكُمْ، وَ لاَ تَمْنَعُوا الْمَوْجُودَ فَيَقِلَّ خَيْرُكُمْ، اَيُّهَا النَّاسُ! إِنَّ الأَشْيَاءَ ثَلاثَةٌ: أَمْرٌ اسْـتَبَانَ رُشْدُهُ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ، وَ أَمْرٌ اسْـتَبَانَ غَـيُّهُ فَاجْـتَنِبُوهُ، وَ أَمْرٌ اخْتُلِفَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلـى اللٌّهِ

The Messenger of Allah (S) has said, “O' mankind! Do not convey wisdom to those people who are not worthy (of receiving such teachings), as you would have done oppression to the wisdom; and do not deprive those people who are worthy of receiving such teachings, as then you would have done oppression to them.

Do not seek revenge from the person who has oppressed you for if you do, you would make your worth and value null and void; and do not perform (good) acts for other people to see, for through this you would eliminate (the good) of such acts. Do not prevent yourselves from giving charity otherwise you will reduce the good that is to come to you.

O' Mankind! Verily things are of three types: (1) some of which whose correctness is apparent to you so then follow these (and perform them); (2) actions whose incorrectness is apparent to you so then avoid performing these acts; (3) actions whose performance is of doubt, so then refer the ruling on these to Allah…”1

This tradition consists of five sections. In the first section, the Prophet of Islam (S) has given us five commandments:

1. We must not convey wisdom and knowledge to those who are not worthy of such teachings, for then we will do oppression to knowledge.

2. We must not deprive those people who are worthy of gaining knowledge from our knowledge since if we do this, we will commit oppression to those people.

From the wordings of this part of the tradition we can deduce that there are specific conditions which must be met for a student of knowledge - the most important is that one must have the (spiritual) ability to accept such knowledge and if this is not within a person, then one is not worthy of acquiring knowledge - that knowledge whose acquisition has been promised a great reward.

The Prophet (S) has stated that, “If there is a person who is not worthy of gaining a (particular) knowledge, then you must not teach it to him since when knowledge falls into his hands, he will use it in the wrong way and will lead the world to destruction. A person who is ignorant and lacks knowledge neither has the power to destroy a land, nor to make it habitable.”

In the present time, those people who are leading the world into corruption are the ones who are at the head of the colonializing governments of the world through the guidance of their self-proclaimed “scholars” and “intellectuals”.

The Qur'an contains many different expressions such as:

هُدىً لِّمُتَّقِينَ

”A guidance for those who have consciousness (of Allah).”2

إِنَّ فِـي ذٌلِكَ لَأَيَاتٍ لِّقَومٍِ يَسْمَعُونَ

“Surely in that (the day and the night) are signs for a people who listen.”3

It is phrases such as these which clearly show us that knowledge without spiritual purification bears absolutely no (positive) results.

Thus, it is clear that true guidance is specifically for those people who have already laid the groundwork (to accept knowledge and further guidance). Based on this, we see that in the past, the true scholars did not give permission to just any student to come and sit in their classes - rather, they tested them in relation to their ethical morals and from this, they would see what level of piety the students were at.

However this does not mean that one has the right to hoard his knowledge! Rather, one must only teach such knowledge to those who are worthy of receiving it and it is through the knowledge that one possesses that he must try to cure the ailments of the people. It does not make a difference if the ailments are in relation to their material life or their spiritual life, although we believe that spiritual ailments and diseases are much worse than the material or physical sicknesses. We believe this since we accept the fact that Allah (SwT) will hold a person responsible for his spiritual illnesses (and not his physical sicknesses), just as it has been mentioned in the traditions that:

مَا أَخَذَ اللٌّهُ عَلى أَهْلِ الْجَهْلِ أَنْ يَتَعَلَّمُوا، حَتّى أَخَذَ عَلى أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يُعَلِّمُوا

“Allah has not taken a covenant from the ignorant people to learn until he took a covenant from the scholars to teach (the ignorant people).”4

In the religion of Islam, learning as well as teaching are both obligatory (wajib) and these two acts are not separate from each other since they are the prerequisite and necessity of one another.

3. If an oppressor commits oppression upon you and you take revenge, then your spiritual worth will be removed because you would end up being just like him.

Of course forgiving the person who has oppressed you should only be carried out when you know that he will not take advantage of your forgiveness and that you forgiving him would not have a negative impact on the entire society (by him then committing other acts of aggression on others under the presumption that they too would forgive him).

4. You must perform all your actions sincerely for Allah (SwT) and must not entertain even the slightest amount of showing off in them.

This is a very difficult task to accomplish and as we know, showing off in one's actions is only one of the springs of corruption of one's good deeds. In this regards, there are many other things such as pride, one's own inner passions and desires, etc… that may come into play to corrupt one's good deeds, and spoil the good work that one performs.

For example, sometimes we perform the Salat so that we become pleased with our own selves and we do not think about other people - this in itself is a form of corrupting our good deeds. Or for example we perform the Salat out of habit, or we perform the Salatul Lail so that we can become better than other people or… and it is these and other things that can lead to the corruption of our good deeds.

5. If a person wants something from you, then do not be stingy in relation to it because if you do not give it to the person (yet you are able to) then Allah (SwT) will cut off the bounties that would come to you since:

كَمَالُ الْجُودِ بَذْلُ الْمَوْجُودِ

“The perfection of a person is that he gives what he has.”

If a host does not bring to his guests whatever he has at home (when guests come over to his house), then he has done oppression to them and in similar way, if the guests ask the host for an excess of things, then they would be counted as oppressors!

The second part of this tradition is divided up into three sections:

1. The actions whose correctness is apparent for all to see.

2. The actions in which the misguidedness and corruption is apparent for all to see.

3. The actions which are obscure from the point of view of:

a. The subject matter.

b. The Islamic ruling.

This tradition is in relation to the actions in which the Islamic ruling is one of doubt or obscurity and in some traditions, in place of the phrase:

رُدُّوهُ اِلَى اللٌّهِ …

“Return the (ruling of that particular act) back to Allah.”

it has been mentioned that in those types of actions where we have a doubt as to its ruling, we must exercise precaution, because the questionable actions are the precursor to the forbidden acts.

There are some people who have are habituated in saying:

كُلُّ مَكْرُوهٍ جَايِزٌ

“All the makruh (reprehensible) acts are permitted to be performed.”

To such people who state this, we say to them that yes it is true that we are permitted to act upon an apparent ruling on a particular issue, however when there is clearly a doubt on a particular ruling, then if a person pollutes himself with performing that doubtful action, then slowly the indecency of that particular act with become less in his estimation and thus, he will fall into performing the prohibited!

Allah (SwT) has told us, “Be careful of the evil footsteps of Shaitan” and as we know, one of the most clear examples of following the footsteps of the Shaitan is to perform the acts in which there is a doubt.

Shaitan even misleads the holy, Salatul Lail performing people in a special way. He does not come to them and tell them, “Go out and drink alcohol”. Rather, he starts out by saying, “Salatul Lail is not one of the obligatory Salat, so go ahead and stop performing it.” Once the person leaves this Salat, then slowly, Shaitan would approach him in relation to performing the obligatory Salat right when the time sets in and will say to him, “It is not a condition of the Salat that you perform it right when the time sets in…” and he would continue in this way until the person becomes completely detached from Allah (SwT).

If a person truly wishes to develop a deep spiritual insight and gain spiritual pleasure, then he must keep away from doubtful foods, gatherings, and speech and without doubt, in relation to all of the actions that he performs, the utmost of precaution must be exercised!

Notes

1. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 74, pg. 179

2. Surat al-Baqarah (2), Verse 2

3. Surat Yunus (10), Verse 67

4. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 2, pg. 80

Discourse 21: Characteristics of a True Believer – Part VII

The 25th of the lunar month of Dhul Qa'dah - according to some of our traditions - corresponds with the event known as Dahwul Ard (Earth Day). It is also the day when Imam 'Ali b. Musa al-Rida (as) proceeded on his journey from Madinah towards Tus (in present day Iran).

As for the first event, we know that the meaning of Dahw is to spread or stretch and it is from the following verse of the Noble Qur'an that we extract this meaning:

وَ الأَرْضِ بَعْدَ ذٌلِكَ دَحٌيهَا

“And after that He (Allah) spread forth the Earth.”1

What exactly does it mean to spread or stretch out the Earth and how do we rationalize this theory with today's science which states that the Earth has come from the Solar System (that we exist in) and is actually a piece of the Sun which broke off?

When the Earth was separated from the Sun, it was a ball of fire with molten liquid upon it. After this occurred, air pressure was formed around the Earth from the water which was being transformed into vapor and with this, a period of heavy rains started to fall upon the Earth. This rain took over the entire face of the Earth and after a bit of time, some of the water settled into the Earth and the dry ground that was covered by water began to show.

Thus, the term Dahwul Ard is in the meaning of that day when the dry Earth was brought forth from the rain and water which was upon the Earth, and according to the traditions, this event started from the House of Allah in Makkah.

Looking at the knowledge and science of today, this theory has not been proven wrong.

In reality, this day was a day of great blessing from Allah (SwT), since He brought forth the dry, barren Earth from under the water which led to this planet being suitable for habitation.

In addition, according to some of the books of history, Imam 'Ali b. Musa al-Rida (as) began his journey from Madinah towards Tus on this day and this is also a great Divine blessing from Allah (SwT) for the people of Iran. It is through his footsteps into that country that lead to the habitability, spirituality, sanctity and the blessings of Allah (SwT) being showered upon them, and if the sacred burial spot of the Imam (as) was not in this country, then the Iranians would have had no place for refuge.

Every year, close to 15,000,000 people perform his visitation (Ziyarat) in order to renew their pledge of allegiance to the Ahlul Bait. It is only through the spiritual shadow of the Imam (as) which covers the country which prevents calamities from befalling the Iranians

In any case, for various reasons, this is a very special day and we pray that Allah (SwT) grants everyone the ability to make use of the Divine Blessings that are accompanied with this day.

We have been narrating a tradition from the Prophet of Islam (S) to the Commander of the Faithful,'Ali b. Abi Talib (as) in which the Noble Prophet (S) listed one hundred and three characteristics of a true believer and of them, thirty-one have been discussed, and in today's discussion, we cover another four.

… حَلِيماً إِذَا جُهِلَ عَلَيْهِ، صَبُوراً عَلى مَنْ أَسَاءَ إِلَيْهِ، يُبَجَّلُ الْكَبِيرَ وَ يُرَحِّمُ الصَّغِيرَ …

”(the true believer is one who) when a person (says) something out of ignorance about him, is forbearing; patient when a person does something bad act to him; shows respect to his elders and shows mercy to the young ones…”2

The thirty-second characteristic of a true believer is that he shows forbearance when a person acts with ignorance in relation to him, and if the ignorant person says something bad to him, then he bears it with patience and he does not reply to the bad thing with something bad.

The thirty-third characteristic is that he bears with patience when a person intentionally commits something bad to him. The difference between this characteristic and the previous one is that the previous characteristic was in relation to when a person said something bad, whereas this second level, it is in relation to a person doing a bad action against him.

In Islam we have both what is known as the legislative law and the ethical law. The legislative law states that if a person does something bad to you, then you are permitted to do something bad to him in return but only to that limit which he has done to you. In these regards, the Qur`an states:

فَمَنِ اعْـتَدى عَلَيْكُمْ فَاعْتَدُوا عَلَيْهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا اعْـتَدى عَلَيْكُمْ

“So then if a person attacks you then you too attack him just as he attacked you.”3

These sorts of laws have been put into place so that those who wish to perform bad deeds would not go to an extreme (of performing bad acts because they know there would be some sort of accountability even in this world). However the ethical law (in relation to this) is that not only should we not retaliate with bad in the face of a bad deed, rather, we should repel the bad act with something nice! In this regards, the Qur`an states:

وَ إِذَا مَرُّا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَاماً

“And when they pass by vain and trivial acts, they pass by with dignity.”4

إِدْفَعْ بِاللَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ السَّيِّئَةَ

“Repel evil with that which is much better.”5

وَ إِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلاَماً

“And when the ignorant people address them, they (simply) say, 'Peace'.”6

This is the ethical law.

The thirty-fourth characteristic of a true believer is that one shows respect to the elders. The issue of showing respect to one's elders and old people of the community has been mentioned quite often in the traditions. The late Shaikh 'Abbas al-Qummi narrates the following tradition in his work Safinatul Bihar:

مَنْ وَقَّرَ ذَا شَيْبَةٍ لِشَيْبَتِهِ آمَنَهُ اللٌّهُ تَعَالـى مِنْ فَزَعٍ يَوْمُ الْقِيَمَةِ

“The person who shows humility to an old person due to his old age, Allah, the Most High, will protect that person from the evil on the Day of Judgement.”7

In another tradition it is mentioned:

إِنَّ مِنْ إِجْلاَلِ اللٌّهِ تَعَالـى إِكْرَامُ ذَى الشَّيْبَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ

“Surely one of the greatest things of Allah, the Most High, is the showing of respect to the older Muslims.”8

The thirty-fifth characteristic of a true believer is that he shows mercy and compassion to those younger than him.

It is well known that when a person meets a, old person, he shows respect simply for the fact that the person is of old age, and when someone meets a younger person he shows him honour and respect because he has committed less sins then him(since he has been on this Earth a shorter time)!

Notes

1. Surat al-Naziyat (79), Verse 30

2. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 64, pg. 311

3. Surat al-Baqarah (2), Verse 194

4. Surat al-Furqan (35), Verse 72

5. Surat al-Mu'minun (23), Verse 96

6. Surat al-Furqan (35), Verse 63

7. Safinat al-Bihar, under the word شيب

8. Ibid.

Discourse 22: Characteristics of a True Believer – Part VIII

Our ethical discussions have based on the tradition from the Noble Prophet (S) to Imam 'Ali (as) in which there are one hundred and three characteristics that a true believer must possess. Previously, we have covered thirty-five of these characteristics and in today's gathering, we will explain six more.

… أَمِيناً عَلى الأَمَانَاتِ، بَعِيداً مِنَ الْخِيَانَاتِ، إِلْفُهُ التُّقّى وَ حِلْفُهُ الْحَيَا، كَثِـيرُ الْحَذَرِ، قَلِيلُ الْزَلَلِ …

”(The true believer is one who) is trustworthy when given something to keep as a trust; is one who is far away from treachery or deceit; his close companion is piety; his associate is modesty; and in the face of dangers, he is always; alert and his misguidedness is little.”1

The thirty-sixth characteristic of a true believer is that when one is given a trust, he takes care of it. This trait plays a very important role in the teachings of the Prophets:

“Allah did not raise up a single Prophet except that he spoke the truth and gave back trusts (that were entrusted to him) to either the righteous person or to the wicked sinner.”2

The reason why the word “trust” has been mentioned in the plural form in this tradition could be due to the fact that it refers to various types of trusts that one is given to maintain.

The trusts of Allah (SwT) that are with us are many, such as: our life, the period of our youth, our health, faith, religion, children, the country we are living in, etc… and all of these are Divine trusts from Allah (SwT) that we must preserve.

If a person's child goes astray or we act in such a way that leads to irrelevancy of the religion of Islam or the teachings of the Ahlul Bait in the eyes of the people, then we have done treachery to the trusts that have been given to us.

Amongst all of the trusts that we have been given, the most important of them is the responsibility and accountability that all of the creations refused to accept and it was only mankind and humanity that accepted it. It is this trust that has such a great status which we must not be negligent of and it is because of this responsibility that when a boy or girl becomes physically mature (Baligh), that we hold programs to celebrate this special occasion. Such a program is completely appropriate and suitable to be held because at this age, the boy or girl is spoken to directly by Allah (SwT) - and this is not something to be taken as trivial!

The thirty-seventh characteristic of a true believer is that one keeps far away from treachery and deceit. By this we mean that the true believer keeps away from all forms of treachery - treachery in relation to wealth, knowledge (which he has been given which he is supposed to pass on to others), the spiritual heart (his emotions and sentiments), etc… The complete true believer is one who keeps away from all sorts of deceits and treacheries.

The thirty-eighth characteristic is that one is the true friend of a believer who possesses Allah consciousness (Taqwa).

As we know, Imam 'Ali (as) is the complete and most perfect example of this part of the tradition, and we see in history that when his brother (Aqil b. Abi Talib) asked him for something more than what was his right from the public treasury, Imam 'Ali (as) said to him that the relationship of being his brother was only up to that point of maintaining family ties and that he would not break the laws of Allah (SwT) even for his own brother.

The thirty-ninth characteristic is that one's close companion is modesty. The topic of modesty has many details associated with it but basically means that one turns away from anything that is a sin.

Today, the powers of influence are trying to pull the modesty away from the youth and if they are successful in breaking this shield that is around the youth, then without doubt, the youth will fall prey to many sins.

The enemies (of Islam) try to define modesty (Haya) as being a person possessing a weak soul, whereas this is not the case. We know that modesty in the face of the arrows of the enemies is like a rifle-pit (that protects the one who has this trait).

The fortieth characteristic is that when a true believer faces dangers, he pulls himself together; and when faced with the lower desires of his soul from within and the callings of Shaitan from outside, one is careful and attentive.

In many places in the Qur`an it is mentioned that when the lower desires of the soul and the Shaitan try to pull a person to perform a bad action then they (either the lower desires of the soul or the Shaitan) try and depict that act as being something beautiful and attractive.

For example, one of the the worst sins is to kill another person but even worse than this is when a person kills his own child, and even worse than these two is when a person kills his infant baby. The 'Arabs at the time of Ignorance used to bury their new-born daughters alive and in doing this, they thought that they were actually helping their wife! In reality, Shaitan had actually made their wicked deeds seem beautiful and fair-seeming to them!

The same things can be seen today however in different forms such as under the guise of human rights and fighting against terrorism we see that the United States of America acted out some of the worst forms of treachery around the world!

The forty-first characteristic of a true believer is that his misguidedness is very little. If he possesses any type of this in himself, then he definitely feels disappointed since he is able to see the true face of the actions which he is committing.

We pray that through the spiritual blessings of the Noble Messenger (S), who has spoken these words in this traditions, and through the spiritual blessings of the Commander of the Faithful,'Ali b. Abi Talib (as) who was the one being spoken to, that Allah (SwT) grants us all the success to implement these teachings within our own lives!

Notes

1. Ibid., vol. 64, pg. 311

2. Mustadrak Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 9, pg. 519

Discourse 23: On the Occasion of ‘Eidul Ghadir

We are on the heels of the commemoration of the glorious event of 'Eidul Ghadir. May Allah (SwT) make this a graet day of celebration for all of the Shia, and grant us all the ability to follow in this school of thought which aims to make us true human beings. The ethical tradition and verse of the Qur`an on the occasion of 'Eidul Ghadir concerns the greatness of the Commander of the Faithful,'Ali b. Abi Talib (as).

هُوَ الَّذِي أَيَّدَكَ بِنَصْرِهِ وَبِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ. وَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ لَوْ أَنْفَقْتَ مَا فِي الأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مَا أَلَّفْتَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَلٌكِنَّ اللٌّهَ أَلَّفَ بَيْنَهُمْ …

“He (Allah) it is who has strengthened you (Muhammad) with His aid and with (the company of) the believers. And (moreover) He has put affection between their hearts (the believers). Now if you had spent all that is in the Earth could you have produced that affection? But Allah (alone) has done it…”1

In this verse, the Noble Qur`an was speaking directly to Prophet Muhammad (S) and saying that one of the miracles of this great personality was his ability to bring the hearts of the true believers together; and in addition, they also rose up to assist the Prophet (S).

The word “بنصره ” translated as “with His aid” points to the Hidden help and assistance which was given (to the Prophet (S)) in various battles that he fought and even in other non-wartime events such as the event know as Laiatul Mabit (the night that the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah). If the help of the Divine was not present, then it is very difficult to say if the Prophet (S) would have been saved (on that night), or not.

Allah (SwT) assists the true believers - actually not all of the believers - rather, only those believers whose hearts are united with one another! In continuation, this verse tells us that the joining of the hearts was not something which the Prophet (S) did by himself, rather, this was brought about through the power of Allah (SwT).

We see that during the time of ignorance of the 'Arabs, there was a great deal of animosity for one another and this hostility was even inherited and passed down from one generation to the next and (even generations later), revenge would be taken against another tribe. Such a hatred and animosity that existed in this group of people could never be removed through the normal means at one's disposal. Thus, Allah (SwT) said that if all that was in the Earth would have been given in charity, still the hearts of the 'Arabs would not have been united - rather, it is through Allah (SwT) that the hearts of the believers were made into one.

In this noble verse of the Qur'an, the word “مؤمنين ” has appeared in the plural form and this can be done for two reasons: sometimes it is done to mean the actual, complete definition of the word (in the plural sense of the word), and sometimes it is done to show respect to one person. Thus, the plural is used, however it indicates only one person - and in this verse, both interpretations can be accepted.

In relation to this verse of the Qur'an, the late 'Allamah Amini in his work al-Ghadir2 narrated two tradition - one which has been mentioned from the work by Khatib al-Baghdadi who is one of the most well known scholars of the Ahlus Sunnah, and another tradition from al-Suyuti (another well known scholar of the Ahlus Sunnah). In addition, others have also related this tradition.

قَالَ النَّبِيُّ (صَلَّى اللٌّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ (وَسَلَّمَ)): لَمَا عُرِجَ بِي رَأَيْتُ عَلى سَاقِ الْعَرْشِ مَكْتُوباً: لاٌ إلٌهَ إِلاَّ اللٌّهُ، مُحَمَّدً رَسُولُ اللٌّهِ، أَيَّدْتُهُ بِعَلِيٍّ نُصْرَتُهُ بِعَلِيٍّ

The Prophet (S) said, “When I was taken up (into the heavens on the Me'raj), I saw the following written on the leg of the Throne (of Allah): 'There is no creature or entity worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and I have strengthened him (Muhammad) with 'Ali and I have assisted him (Muhammad) with 'Ali.”

عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ (صَلَّى اللٌّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ (وَسَلَّمَ)): مَكْتُوبٌ فِي بَابِ الْجَنَّةِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ اللٌّهُ السَّمٌّوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضِ بِأَلْفى سَنَّةٍ: لاٌ إِلٌهَ إِلاَّ اللٌّهُ مُحَمَّدً رَسُولُ اللٌّهِ أَيَّدْتُهُ بِعَلِيٍّ

Jabir narrated from the Prophet (S) that he said, “One thousand years before Allah created the heavens and the Earth, it was written on the Door of Paradise: ''There is no creature or entity worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and I have strengthened him (Muhammad) with 'Ali.”

The Divine Throne is the point where the beginning of creation took place and Jannah (Paradise) is the end of the path - meaning that from the beginning to the end (of this universe), the entire trail or pathway is emblazoned with the name of Allah (SwT), the Prophet Muhammad (S) and Imam 'Ali (as). This points to the fact that 'Ali (as) was trained and brought up as the helper, brother, assistant, supporter and protector of the Prophet (S), and in instances where everyone else ran away, it was only 'Ali (as) who stayed to defend the Prophet (S) and the best example of this was during the battle of Uhud.

What is the difference between assistance (نصرت ) and confirming (تأييد )? If these two words are used separate from one another (not in one sentence), then they carry the same meaning. However, when they are used together, then the meaning of confirming (تأييد ) is to help one in spiritual affairs while assistance (نصرت ) is in the meaning of the physical help one gives to another person.

This tradition quoted above has a message for everyone and it tells us that 'Ali (as) did not reach to the rank that he possessed for nothing. Rather, through his helping the religion of the Prophet (S), he reached to that grand status.

Helping the religion of the Prophet (S) is not achieved through holding gatherings (majalis) to commemorate joyous occasions in the Islamic calendar, nor is it achieved through simple recitation of poems, nor even going for Ziyarat. Rather, that person who claims to be of the Tashayya' (Shia), must traverse on the path of being a fighter for the religion, especially during our present time where various types of attacks are being leveled against the Shia, and those things which the Shia hold sacred.

Of course, this enmity against the Shia clearly shows that the spread of the teachings of the Ahlul Bait (as) and the Shia beliefs are on the increase and thus, the enemies have also risen up against us and our beliefs.

One of the proofs of the truthfulness of the Shia beliefs is the sources and references for all of our beliefs can also be found in the books of the Ahlus Sunnah. In addition, all of the spiritual greatness that have been recorded about the Ahlul Bait (as) in our books are also mentioned in their books!

When it comes to defending the issue of Wilayah and the teachings of the Ahlul Bait (as), we must do so with logic and related proofs and continue such discussions with a cool head and complete control of our entire presence.

It is our hope that Insha-Allah, we are able to be living examples of “أيده بنصره ” and that we too can assist the school of the Ahlul Bait (as)!

Notes

1. Surat al-Anfal (8), Verses 62 and 63

2. Mustadrak Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 2, pg. 50