Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

.020: Modesty

Text of the Hadith:

و قال علي عليه السلام:ما المجاهد الشهيد في سبيل الله بأعظم أجرا ممن قدر فعف لكاد العفيف أن يكون ملكا من الملائكة

TRANSLATION:

It has been narrated from Amir al-Mominin `Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) that he said, The reward for the Mujahid who dies in the way of Allah is no less than the person who has the ability to perform a sin, however does not perform that sin. It is close (to being that) the person who has modesty is (actually) an Angel from amongst the Angels.(1)

Commentary of Hadith:

In Islam, the status of the martyrs (Shuhada) is something very high and there is no other status greater than this. The verses of the Quran present to us a message in relation to the Shuhada that is not presented for any other person, and we read:

و لا تحسبن الذين قتلوا في سبيل الله أمواتا بل أحياء عند ربهم يرزقون

Do not consider those who have been killed in the way of Allah as being dead, rather, they are alive in the presence of their Lord receiving sustenance.(2)

The one who is being spoken to in this verse is the Prophet (s.a.) and we see that the wording used has not been mentioned for any other person.

In the ahadith, the Shuhada have also been given great importance. The late Shaykh Kulayni has narrated that the Prophet (s.a.) has said:

فوق كل ذي بر بر حتي يقتل الرجل في سبيل الله فإذا قتل في سبيل الله فليس فوقه بر

Above every goodness is (another) goodness, until that time that a person is killed in the way of Allah. So then when he is killed in the way of Allah, there is no other goodness greater than this.(3)

There is even a statement given by Mawla `Ali (a.s.) in the letter which he wrote to Malik-e-Ashtar, in which he has stated:

و أنا أسئل الله بسعة رحمته و بعظيم قدرته أن يختم لي و لك بالسعادة و الشهادة

And I ask Allah by the great expanse of His Mercy and by the greatness of His power that he makes my end and your end that with felicity and martyrdom..

There are numerous other ayat and ahadith in relation to this topic which is a sign of the great status of the Shuhada.

From another point of view, the meaning of Shahadat or Martyrdom is something very wide and vast. The standard meaning of it is that a person dies in the way of Allah; in the arena of the battlefield he is killed. This person has a specific set of rules (Ahkam) related to him such that if he dies outside of the battlefield, some of these practical rules do not then apply to him, however he is still considered as a Shahid.

However there is another meaning to this term and according to this meaning, we get a much wider and general meaning. By this we mean that any person who dies on the path of fulfilling his responsibility is a Shahid. For example:

من قتل دون ماله فهو شهيد

The person who dies without his wealth is a Shahid.

من مات في طلب العلم مات شهيدا

The person who dies in the state of seeking knowledge dies a Shahid.

من مات علي فراشه و هو علي معرفة حق من ربه رسوله مات شهيدا

The person who dies upon his bed while having cognizance of the Truth which has come from his Lord and the Truth of His Messenger dies a Shahid.

Even in relation to women who are pregnant and who die while in the state of carrying their baby it has been mentioned that they:

ماتت شهيدة

die as a Shahidah.

The hadith also tell us that:

من مات علي حب آل محمد مات شهيدا

The person who dies on the love of the family of Muhammad (s.a.) dies as a Shahid.

This is the case since the person has died while on the path of fulfilling his responsibility meaning that his death is joined with action and thus, he is a Shahid.

Thus, the meaning of Shahadat is very wide and extended and therefore, martyrdom has a very comprehensive meaning to it.

Thus, according to this statement from Imam `Aliعليه السلام , he has told us that the person who dies in the way of Allah and who spills his blood, is not greater than the person who has the ability to perform sins however due to Allah he stops himself from doing so.

Modesty in this Hadith is not merely limited to covering and lowering one’s eyes from the sexual pleasures, rather, it has a very wide meaning and modesty is used to refer to preventing any sin from taking place. According to this explanation, a person is able to gain the reward of being a Shahid each and every single day!

We see that all of the necessary requirements for sin were available to Prophet Yusuf (a.s.), however he renounced sins and in two sentences, said:

قال رب ألسجن أحب إلي مما يدعونني إليه و إلا تصرف عيني كيدهن أصب إليهن و أكن من الجاهلين

He said: My Lord! the prison house is dearer to me than that to which they invite me; and if Thou turn not away their device from me, I will yearn towards them and become (one) of the ignorant.(4)

1. I know that if I renounce sinning, I will be thrown into prison, however the prison is much better for me than that which these women are calling me to do.

2. My Allah! I resign myself to your will.

Asiyah, the wife of Firawn had all of the material needs at her disposal and she was able to become a polytheist and live along side her husband, Firawn. However she too renounced sinning:

قالت رب ابن لي عندك بيتا في الجنة و نجني من فرعون و عمله

My Lord! build for me a house with Thee in the garden and deliver me from Firon and his doing.

It is these people who have the status of a Shahid

The proof that these people have the ranking of a Shahid is clear since we say that the greatest Jihad is the Jihad with the soul and the person who is in the battlefield of the Major Jihad is just like the person who is in the battlefield of the Minor Jihad rather, he is greater than them !

The path of Allah and reaching to closeness to Allah and the ranks of the righteous people and the status of Witnessing (Shuhud) is clear, however the path is a very difficult one to traverse we must resign ourselves entirely to Allah especially us who are living in this day and age in which the ways to sinning are many and close within reach. We must strive to ensure that ourselves, our families and our society are protected from this evil.

Notes

1 Nahjul Balagha, Short Saying 474

2 Surat Ale `Imran (3), Verse 169

3 Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 348

4 Surat Yusuf (12), Verse 33

.021: Showing thanks for divine blessings

Text of the Hadith:

عن الصادق عليه السلام مكتوب في التوارة:لازوال للنعماء إذا شكرت و لا بقاء لها إذا كفرت

TRANSLATION:

It has been narrated from (Imam Ja`far ibne Muhammad) as-Sadiq (a.s.) that, It has been written in the Tawrah (thus, in reality this is what is known as a Hadith-e-Qudsi) that, There is no end to the Divine Blessings if thanks are given (for that blessing) and there is no longevity for it (that blessing) if thanks are not shown (for it).(1)

Commentary of Hadith:

Very many of the Divine bounties which a person has at his disposal actually go from hand to hand through a series of complex intermediaries and agents until it reaches the person, and in reality, we only see the outcome (of all of these agents and what part of the plan they are responsible for).

For example, the shirt which a person wears is a blessing from the many (combined) Divine Blessings of Allah and very many people and items have been put together hand in hand so that this blessing would reach the person. The person who plows the land and then grows the cotton; the person who harvests the cotton; the factory which processes the cotton and makes thread and yarn from it; the factory which takes the thread and from that, makes the cloth; and then the factory which extracts iron from the ground and makes the machinery needed to make the shirt and Thus, there are thousands and thousands of people who were responsible for the making of that one shirt. In addition to this, there is also the knowledge and experience which has gone in to making all of these factories which has come about through thousands of years of trial and experiment by humanity.

The Theological Seminaries (Hawzatul `Ilmiyyah) which we presently have access to is also the result of the struggles of countless people. Many people became Shahid (Martyrs) so that this blessing would be able to reach us. If we were to sit down and calculate the time it took those people who laid the foundation stones for the Hawzah and the great scholars who went through great difficulties to expand and develop the Hawzah to where it is today, we would definitely see that it is the outcome of more than a thousand years which has gone into making this blessing reach us today and those of us who wish to study in this system must have peace of mind and the respite which are also other blessings of Allah.

Here too we see the outcome of all of these struggles however we do not sit and think about how many struggles have been put through until today in this Hawzah to reach where it has gotten to.

If we think upon this introduction which we have just mentioned, then the inner feeling of thanks shall definitely be stimulated within ourselves and we shall arrive to the station of being able to thank Him and at the same time, we also ask Allah for Divine Success to be conferred upon us (while in this Hawzah), however it must be noted that the preliminary steps to achieving Divine Success are in our hands.

Showing thanks is not merely a verbal declaration rather, we must, in our actions, show thanks and the way to do this is to make the correct use of the bounty which is given to us.

Since it is the beginning of the new year for our studies, we should make a serious resolution that we will study properly and that from the first day of classes, we will be attentive in our classes and this is the true meaning of showing gratitude for a blessing.

There are people who were not thankful for the blessings which they were given, who ended up wasting away their time and in the end, this Divine Blessing was taken away from them and they were plagued with problem and thus, there were not able to reach to any station (in life). We must show thanks for this Divine Blessing so that until the end of our life, we will be able to be amongst the soldiers of Imam al-Zaman (a.s.) and so that we can be defenders of Islam since the eyes of the Shia world are on this Hawzah.

It was imagined that with the removal of Saddam, the Theological Seminary of Najaf would be revitalized however unfortunately, with the situation which is currently ruling over Iraq, it Is not clear when this Theological Seminary shall be brought back to life again.

Note

1 Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 94

.022: Fulfilling the needs of your adversary

Text of the Hadith:

قال الصادق (ع): انی لاسارع الی حاجه عدوی خوفا ارده فیستغنی عنی

TRANSLATION:

as-Sadiq (Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad) (peace be upon him) has said, Surely I make haste in fulfilling the needs of my adversary since I fear that if I were to delay this, he would become needless of me (and this is something which would bring displeasure to me that my enemy becomes needless of me such that I am not able to fulfill his needs.(1)

Commentary of Hadith:

The sociologists have a differing opinion on the following issue which is: Whilst living within the society, is the human being geared towards societal life or an individual existence? In other words, are we individualistic or communal in spirit?

That which is clear is that from the point of view of the natural world, until various elements do not come into existence, one is not total or complete and thus, as long as there are no individuals, there can be no society just as long as there are no drops of water, there can not be a river. Thus, we see that a community is made up of individuals and thus, in origin, we are individuals however, this is not what the sociologists mean, rather, their premise is one of the two following things:

1- The Essential Nature of Society

The blessings and outcomes are reserved for the community and society where as the benefits and outcomes for an individual are insignificant. Therefore, we see that the benefits and outcomes of people who are independent from one another are not very important. Rather, any positive effects in the fields of knowledge, advancement (of the sciences) and the civilizations all stem from the community and society.

Thus, the meaning of the essential nature is that of a foundation full of blessings and this refers to the society.

2- The Essential nature of the individual

When there is a discrepancy between the benefits of the person and the benefits of the society, if we desire the benefits of the society, then this would mean that the individual must sacrifice himself and his desires. Those people who support the theory of the Essential Nature of the society would hold the benefits of the entire society above everything else.

The faith of Islam also sees and accepts and the Essential Nature of the Society and tells us that:

یدالله مع الجماعه

Or that The hand of Allah is with the Jama or the Congregation.

We are also told in Islam that:

عليك با سواد الاعظم و الشاذ من الغنم للذئب

Or that I advise you to stick with the majority as the stray sheep is for the wolf.

Thus, according to the wordings of these two statements, whatever exists does so within the community and congregational level and thus, in various areas, the person must be ready to sacrifice himself for the good of the society.

When the nation of Islam falls into dangers, people must step forth to sacrifice themselves and thus, the suicide missions are nothing more than martyrdom-seeking missions in origin meaning a person sacrifices himself for the religion of Islam.

The acts of worship are also societal and communal acts for example, the official prayers in Islam are the Salatul Jama’at or the congregational prayers; or the act of the Umrah which is an individual act however the important acts of the Hajj is one performed in groups and within an assembly of people.

Thus, Islam is in favour of the society and community and it is because of this fact that one of the things which Islam has given extra importance to is the help and assistance extended to other people. Thus, it has been mentioned in the ahadith that:

الناس كلهم عيال الله

All of mankind are the needy of Allah.

Spending in the way of Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) is the same as spending on the servants of Allah (Glory and Greatness be to him) and we have also been told that:

لن تنالوا البر حتي تنفقوا مما تحبون

You shall never attain righteous people, we must spend our wealth in the way of Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him).

In the rewards given in Islam for various acts, there is no reward comparable to giving charity in the way of Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him). In some of the wordings mentioned, the reward for doing good deeds is ten fold and in some others, it is a seventy fold reward given back to the person. However in relation to spending in way of Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him), the minimum amount of reward which is given back is 700 times.

مثل الذین ینفقون اموالهم فی سبیل الله کمثل حبه انبتت سبع سنابل فی کل سنبله مئه حبه و الله یضاعف لمن یشاء

The similitude of those people who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is the similitude of a seed which grows seven ears and within each ear, there is 100 grains and Allah increases for those whom He pleases

It should be mentioned that the word "یضاعف " which is mentioned in this verse can not be translated as double the reward rather, it means a many-fold return.(2)

What is important to note here is that those who must be helped are not only the Muslims rather, we have been told that:

لكل كبد حراء

There is an emancipator for every person.

Thus, the reward for helping is even for helping animals and therefore, the extent of our help and spending in charity in the way of Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) would include our friends and enemies, Muslims and non-Muslims, humans and animals.

An example of this fact is the hadith from Imam Jafar ibne Muhammad Sadiq (peace be upon him) in which he has stated that if a person wanted something from the Imam (peace be upon him) and that person was his enemy, the Imam (peace be upon him) would actually work faster to provide it to that person since he does not want that his enemy would go to someone else, thus, the Imam (peace be upon him) he would have been deprived in helping his enemy !

Since we have such a teaching in our faith, thus, how is it possible that our religion can be accused as being one of anger? In which other nation can we find such a program or set of actions?

It is these sorts of teachings and programs which gives Islam its attractive nature and it is through revenge that enmity is perpetuated and if this form of life is sustained (one in which revenge is maintained), then we would definitely reach to a very dangerous situation however, that which would put an end to enmity is to not show hatred in the face of hatred.

If we wish for people to become lovers of Imam al-Zaman (may Allah hasten his return), the Aimmah (prayers be upon all of them) and the Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family), then we must follow these teachings.

Notes

1 Biharul Anwar, volume 75, page 207

2 Suratul Baqarah (2), verse 161

.023: Forgiveness and Pardon

Text of the Hadith:

بينا رسول الله (صلي الله عليه و آله و سلم)جالس،أذا رأيناه ضاحكا حتي بدت ثناياه فقلنا:يا رسول الله ،مما ضحكت؟فقال:رجلان من أمتي جيئا بين يدي ربي فقال أحدهما:يا رب خذلي بمظلمتي من آخر،فقال الله تعالي:أعط أخاك مظلمة.فقال:يا رب،لم يبق من حسناتي شيء.فقال:يا رب،فليحمل من أوزاري.ثم فاضت عينا رسول الله (صلي الله عليه و آله و سلم)و قال:إن ذلك اليوم ليوم تحتاج الناس فيه إلي من يحمل عنهم أوزارهم، ثم قال الله تعالي للطالب بحقه:إرفع بصرك إلي الجنة، فانظر ماذا تري؟ فرفع رأسه ،فرأي ما أعجبه من الخير و النعمة.فقال:يا رب لمن هذا؟ فقال:لمن اعطاني ثمنه.فقال:يا رب ، و من يملك ثمن ذلك؟ فقال: أنت، فقال: كيف بذلك؟فقال:بعفوك عن أخيك.فقال:قد عفوت.فقال الله تعالي:فخذ بيد أخيك، فادخلا الجنة.فقال رسول الله (صلي الله عليه وآله وسلم): فاتقو الله،و أصلحوا ذات بينكم

English translation:

One day the Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) was sitting down and we saw him laugh until you could see the whiteness of his front teeth. We said to him, O Messenger of Allah! Why are you laughing? The Prophet replied, Two men from my nation were in the presence of My Lord when one of the two men said, O Lord! Take my rights (that the other person owed me in the world) from the other person (and give them back to me). Allah the Most High said (to the other person), Give your brother back his rights (which you took from him in the world). Then the second man said, O Lord! There are no more good deeds remaining (for me to give him) in place of the oppression that I did to him. The first person (who had been wronged) then said, O Lord then place all of my sins on his back. At this point, the Prophet began to cry and said, That day is the day which the people will be in need of a person to place their sins upon. Allah the Most High then told the person who was trying to get his rights back, Lift your eyes up towards the Paradise and tell me what you see? So then the person lifted up his head and saw that which amazed him from amongst the goodness and blessings. The man then said, O Lord! Who is this for? Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) replied, This is for the person who gives his worth over to me. The person replied, O Lord! And who is the one whose worth is that (that he can give it over to you)? Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) said, You. The man then said, And how is that possible? Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) replied, By you forgiving your brother (you have given your worth over to me). The man then said, Surely I have forgiven him. At this time, Allah the Noble and High said, So then take your brother by your hand and both of you enter into the Paradise. The Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) then said, Have consciousness of Allah and sort out of the disagreements between yourselves.(1 and 2)

Commentary of Hadith:

In this hadith, there are two very important points which we must pay attention to:

1. In the next life, there is no other way to repay the debts which were left behind from the material world and there is no way to be absolved from any responsibilities that one was under (in this world) and thus, the material rights that are on a person in this world are transformed into spiritual rights (in the next life).

For example, if in this world a person does not pay back his loans, then according to this verse of the Quran which states:

(يوم لا ينفع مال و لا بنون )

On the day when neither wealth nor sons will profit anyone(3)

On this day (Day of Judgment), one must repay his debts through his good deeds. If the person does not have any good deeds, then he must accept the other person’s sins on his own record.

This is a very important issue that no matter how many good deeds a person possesses, when he enters into the field of the Day of Resurrection, he will be as a penniless beggar what else does he have to give to other people except his good deeds?

No matter how few sins a person has on his record, on that day and in that great location, his sins will be increased! How can a person possibly take on the responsibility of the sins of other people?

It is for this reason that while in this world, we must do an account of all of our acts and pay back any debts that we have on us since if for example Allah forbid we have insulted a person then we must seek his forgiveness and must repay that person since that which is even more important than the wealth of a Muslim is his honour and dignity.

It has been mentioned in Biharul Anwar that:

إن أربي الربا عرض الرجل المسلم

Surely the worst form of usury is the destruction of the dignity of a Muslim for no reason.(4)

If we destroy the honour and dignity of a person in this world and do not make amends for it in this world, then the amending of this sin will be taken from our good deeds (in the next world), and if we do not have any good deeds with us, then we will have to take their sins upon us. Thus, not only would we have to bear the weight of our own sins on our shoulders, but we will also have to bear the sins of others, just as it is mentioned in the Quran:

و ليحملن أثقالهم و أثقالا مع أثقالهم وليسئلن يوم القيمة عما كانوا يفترون

They will bear their own burdens and (other) burdens along with their own, and on the Day of Judgment they will be called to account for their falsehoods.(5)

2. The station of forgiveness - and what a great status it is for the one who forgives others! It has been mentioned in the ahadith that:

ثمن الجنة العفو

The price of Paradise is forgiveness

It is not an honour or distinction for a person that if he sees another person doing a bad deed that he keeps this act in his heart so that one day he can take revenge on that person, since this act of taking revenge is that of the animals.

There are some people who consider taking revenge as being a proof of their courage and bravery and are of the belief that if a person was to strike a blow to him, then he must strike an even harder blow to that person whereas the opposite of this is true. If a person strikes a blow upon you, and you forgive him, then this is a sign of your courage and that you have complete control over your soul and thus, a hostile and revenge-seeking person is not one who will ever be successful.

In this relation, not only must we forgive the other person, rather even greater than this is that we must try and destroy the difference that exists amongst the believers and if we are able to do this, we should then seek to convert the entire society into one that is built upon forgiveness of others and not seeking revenge.

If this characteristic does not take shape within the society, the surely its opposite will, day by day, become more and more common in the society which will result in the entire population being in disharmony, disunion and dissension since such an issue will never come to an end and the only way that this can come to an end is through forgiveness of others.

Notes

1 Biharul Anwar, Volume 74, Page 180

2 In this hadith we see that the issue of the Day of Resurrection has been mentioned in the past tense and this may be done since the present tense verb is used to denote an event that will sure happen in the future or also it may have been done since it may be a form of revelation which came to the Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family).

3 Surah al-Shuara`, Verse 88

4 Biharul Anwar, Volume 72, Page 222

5 Surah al-`Ankabut, Verse 13

NOURISHMENT OF SOUL

.024: Al-Jihad Al-Akbar

Text of Hadith:

قال الصادق(ع): إهوائكم كما تحذرون أعدائكم فليس شيء أعدي للرجال من اتباع أهوائهم و حصائد ألسنتهم

Translation:

Imam Ja`far ibne Muhammad As-Sadiq (a.s.) has said: Be aware of your lower desires just as you keep aware of your enemies since there is nothing more of an enemy to a person than following his lower desires and that which the tongue reaps.(1)

Explanation of the Hadith:

The month of Ramadhan has very many specific programs contained within it one of which is the fasting of the month. There are some people who think that if they are sick or traveling and are not permitted to fast, then there is nothing left to the Month of Ramadhan - whereas the Month of Ramadhan has other programs in it other than just the aspect of fasting and one of these is the combat against the lower desires, and this responsibility shines greater than all other acts (contained within this month).

This hadith under discussion is in relation to this fact and it tells us that we must keep aware of our lower desires just as we keep aware and away from our enemies.

The greatest enemy of a human being is to follow and listen to his lower desires and to speak inappropriate things with his tongue and to follow his refractory desires and wishes.

The lower passions, the uncontrolled desires and the acts of rebellion are all what make up a person. If the lower passions are put under the control of the intellect, then there is no danger; however if they are left without control and parameters to work within and are at the whims of the desires of the heart, then without doubt the laws of Allah and the ethical conscience will not be recognized. The name of this rebellious character within a person is his lower passions and this is the greatest enemy a person has.

When a person recognizes the presence of his enemy, then he would definitely strive to make sure that he is not in the vicinity of his strike and would strive to ensure that he does not fall prey to his plans. Unfortunately however, there are many people who, in the face of their enemies, do not put up any fight and in the same way, they are actually friends of their lower passions and desires and even more than this, we see that there are also people who have taken their lower passions to be their leader and guide and there are many people who even take their lower passions to be the object of worship:

أرأيت من اتخذ إلهه هواه

Have you seen the person who takes his lower desires as his Lord?

Thus, sometimes it is possible that a person would prostrate and humble himself in front of his lower desires.

One of the branches of monotheism (Tawhid) is Tawhid in obedience to Allah. The person who is a Muwahhid is he who obeys none other than Allah (the obedience to the Prophet, the Imam (a s) one’s father and mother and the Marja Taqlid are all done through the command of Allah). Thus, if we become those who obey others along side Allah, then we have transformed our actions into polytheism (Shirk) in worship.

Sometimes, the lower desires actually transform our heart into the house of idol worship; the heart which must only be the place in which Allah is present; however sometimes the various idols such as the love of wealth, love of status, love for our children and other such things takes up the room in the heart:

بت ساخته اي در دل و خنديدي بر كيش بد بر همن و بودا را

The poet has stated that sometimes we sit and talk about those people who worship idols in the traditional houses of idol worship whereas we look within our own souls, we see that it itself is the house of idols and within it, are various types of gods and deities!

من أصغي إلي ناطق فقد عبده

It has been stated that the person who listens to one who tells him something has actually worshipped that person! Thus, when we see that we listen to what our lower desires tell us what to do, then in reality, we have actually accepted it (and worshipped it). If the person speaking, extols the words of Allah then in essence, we have ended up worshipping Allah however if the person speaking extols the words of Shaitan, then we have ended up worshipping Shaitan!

The actions during the Month of Ramadhan are just for this reason - that we are able to recognize the enemies which we have and then to purify the society. The statistics in relation to the number of sins which we commit should come down in great number during the Month of Ramadhan even if we do not perform the fast. Thus, the fasting of the Month of Ramadhan is only one way to fight against the lower passions and desires.

There are some points in the Hadith mentioned which must be noted:

1. The Hadith uses the phraseإحذروا or to be aware and does not say to not obey (the lower desires). When one is aware of something, it means that he is a person who is always alert and conscious (of what he is doing) so that he does not fall prey to the lower desires and this is a much higher level than just saying not to follow something.

2. The Hadith also uses the phraseأعدا للرجل or more of an enemy to a person and in our opinion this person refers to the one who possesses character and faith meaning for that person who is a true believer, the greatest enemy is his lower desires and passions and it is they who must fear this enemy (more than others). There is a very well known tradition which may also relate to this tradition which reads:

الناس كلهم هالكون إلا العالمون و العالمون كلهم هالكون إلا العاملون كلهم هالكون إلا المخلصون و المخلصون في خطر عظيم

All people are destroyed except for the scholars; and all scholars are destroyed except for the ones who act (according to their knowledge); and all of those who act according to their knowledge are also destroyed except the ones with sincerity and the ones who possess sincerity are in the greatest danger.

and it is possible that this refers to the following of the lower desires.

3. The word حصائد is the plural of the wordحصيدة and is in the meaning of a thing which is used to gain or reap something. The tongue has been compared to a sickle which is used to reap and gain something (from the farmer’s field). The sins which are performed by the tongue fall under the category of following the lower desires however why it is that they have been mentioned separately in our main Hadith under discussion?

The sins of the tongue are related to the following of the lower desires and the reason why they have been mentioned separately in this ahadith in the words of the Imam (a.s.) is to stress the importance of this issue.

By this we mean that the sins of the tongue are such sins that they do not require any special tool or mechanism to perform and they can be done night and day and in any state which a person is in. The danger of this sin is much greater and there are approximately thirty major sins which can be done by the tongue.

There is no sin like the sin of the tongue and there is no sin which in the eyes of the people is as great and important as the sins of the tongue and these are the most dangerous of all sins since it is this tongue which is always at the disposal of the person (ready to work) and is ready to show its indecency (when it is instructed to do so). Thus, this is the reason why Imam as-Sadiq (a s) has mentioned the sin of the tongue in this way.

It has been mentioned in the ahadith that the Noble Prophet had one spoken in regards to the tongue and the dangers associated with speaking and this was being conveyed to a general and common `Arab. The `Arab asked the Prophet:

أفنؤاخذ بما نقول؟

Shall we truly be taken to account for that which we say?

To this question, the Noble Prophet replied:

و هل تكب الناس علي مناخرهم في النار إلا حصائد السنتهم

Shall mankind be thrown into the hell fire except due to that which their tongues have earned them?

Therefore, the proof of the importance of the sins which are committed by the tongue can be summarized as the following three things:

1. The number of sins which can be committed with this part of the body is greater than with any other part of the body and there are approximately thirty major sins which the tongue can perform.

2. The most easy means to committing these sins is available to all people.

3. The despicability of the sins of the tongue is known to all.

The Month of Ramadhan is the month in which we should seek to reform all of our body parts, our lives and the soul and the society and we must truly struggle in these regards.

Note

1 Biharul Anwar, Volume 67, Page 82