Provisions for the Journey (Mishkat), Volume 1

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

Author: Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi
Translator: Kelvin Lembani (Muhammad ‘Abd al-‘Aziz)
Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center
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Foreword
Lesson 1: The Quality of Servitude and the Path to Eternal Bliss
Worship and the perception of Allah
Worship And Adoration Of Allah Is A Means Of Ascending And Rising Through The Stations Of Perfection For The Believers
The stages of worship of Allah
a) Knowledge of Allah
b) Belief in the Prophet (S) and acknowledgement of his divine mission
c) Love for the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)
Likening the Ahl al-Bayt to Noah’s (‘a) vessel and the gate of repentance for the Children of Israel
Notes
Lesson 2: The Need for Deriving Correct Benefit from Allah’s Blessings
Health and leisure, two unknown favors
Youth is a period of Vitality And Liveliness
The Need For Appreciating Health And Ability
This World’s Life Is A Ground Of Choices, Growth And Spiritual Ascension
Notes
Lesson 3: Correct Perception of the Realities of Life and Making Optimum Use of [Man’s] Lifespan
Making Timely Use Of Opportunities And Keeping Protracted Hopes At Bay
The Stages Of Negligence
Asceticism And Wrong Interpretations
Asceticism and belief in the primacy of the hereafter
Discharging Religious Duties And Obligations Promptly
The Thought Of Death Terminates Protracted Hopes
The Intermediary Role Of The World
Notes
Lesson 4: The Prophet’s (S) Recommendation to Make Good Use of Present Abilities
The Role Of Meditation Upon Death And The Consequences Of Sin
The Need For Appreciating Life
Discharging Duties On Time And Not Being Anxious About The Following Day
Notes
Lesson 5: Castigating the Acquisition of Knowledge for Worldly Goals
The Consequences Of Not Acting Upon Knowledge And Attaining Social Rank By Means Of It
The Consequences Of Acquiring Knowledge For The Sake Of Deceiving Others
Admitting Ignorance is a Quality of the Divine Scholars
Man’s Biggest Regret On The Day Of Resurrection
The Categories Of Scholars In The Words Of ‘Ali (‘a)
Notes
Lesson 6: The Magnificence and Magnitude of the Rights of Allah’s Blessings and the Need for Attention to Obligations
The Greatness Of The Rights Of Allah And The Infiniteness Of His Blessings
The Shortness Of Life And The Immortality Of Good And Bad Works
a) The embodiment of man’s worldly works on the Day of Resurrection
b) The Suddenness of Death is A Cause of Vigilance and Wakefulness
The Pre-Ordination Of Man’s Sustenance And Its Inaccessibility To Others
The Unity Of Divine Actions And The Source Of Allah’s Beneficence
Notes
Lesson 7: The Vigilance and Alertness of a Believer
Companionship with the Pious and Religious Scholars, and the Difference of Sin in the Perception of a Believer and an Infidel
The Need For Choosing A Worthy Friend And Perceiving Sin As Great
The Danger Of Unrestrained Scholars And Unwise And Foolish Ignorant People
Paying Heed To Sin And Conceiving It As Great Is A Result Of Allah’s Grace And Favor
The Need For Paying Heed To The Greatness Of The One Who Is Being Disobeyed Not The Smallness Of Sin
Lesson 8: The Correspondence of Words with Actions and Guarding the Tongue
The Effects of the Correspondence and Lack of Correspondence of Words with Actions
The Role of Sin in Being Deprived of Subsistence
Sin in the Chain of Causes
Guarding the Tongue and Keeping Aloof from Vain Pursuits
Notes of Lessons 7 and 8
Lesson 9: The Value and Importance of Prayer and the Differences of Status of the Dwellers of Paradise
Subdividing Some of the Prophet’s (S) Advices
First section
Section two
Third section
Fourth section
The Station of Allah’s Devotees and Nocturnal Worshipers
The Differences in the Gratification Enjoyed by the Dwellers of the Different Stations of Paradise
The Prophet’s (S) Intense Love for Prayer
Prayer is the Key to Prosperity and Bliss
Perceiving the Sweetness of Prayer Is the Secret of Its Continuance
Notes
Lesson 10: The Leaders of Heaven and the Status of Some of the Duties and the Levels of Paradise
The Leaders of Paradise
Natural Disposition and the Search for Perfection
The Status and Rank of Some Duties
a) The Status and Rank of Prayer
b) The Status and Rank of Fasting
c) The Status and Rank of Jihad
The Differences of Believers in Their Enjoying the Different Levels of Paradise
Notes
Lesson 11: The Importance and Role of Fear and Sorrow (1)
Fear and Sorrow and Abstinence from Sin
Fear and Sorrow and the Spiritual Ascension and Growth of Man
The Difference between Fear and Sorrow
The World Is a Prison for a Believer and Paradise for an Infidel
Meditation about Hell Is a Cause of Fear and Sorrow for a Believer
Notes
Lesson 12: The Importance and Role of Fear and Sorrow (2)
Beneficial and Valuable Knowledge
Security and Peace in Paradise Are a Product of Fear and Dread of Allah in the World
The Forgiveness of Sins Is a Result of Fear of Allah
Criticizing Dependence on Good Works
The Role of Paying Heed to Sin in Shunning the Devil
A Study of the Nature of Fear and Sorrow and the Meaning of Fear of Allah
1) Fear of Divine Retribution In Hell
2) Fear of Losing The Gifts Of Paradise
3) Fear Of Being Deprived Of The Beatific Presence And Vision Of Allah [Liqa’ Allah]
The Simultaneous Appearance of Opposing and Conflicting States
Notes
Lesson 13: The Insignificance and Minuteness of the World and the Importance of Perceiving the Hereafter
The Differences of Perception and Conduct between an Intelligent and an Unintelligent Person
Trustworthiness and Humility
a) The Function of Trustworthiness
b) The Function of Humility
A) In speech
B) In the eyes
C) In the face
D) In prostration
E) In supplication and prayer
F) In the heart
The Insignificance and Minuteness of the World in Allah’s View
Notes
Lesson 14: Extolling Pursuit of the Hereafter, Asceticism and Spiritual Discernment in Religion and Reproaching Materialism
Reproaching Materialism and Elucidating the Highness of Faith
The Need for Loving the Hereafter
Allah’s Benevolence and Awareness of Religion and Asceticism in the World
Notes
Lesson 15: Wisdom, Foresight and an Angle of the Prophet’s (S) Way of Life
Wisdom and Foresight Are the Products of Asceticism
Signs of the Most Ascetic People
1. Whoever does not Forget Graves And Decomposed Corpses
2. And Renounces The Adornments Of The World
3. He Prefers What Is Eternal Over What Is Ephemeral
4. And He Does Not Look Forward To Tomorrow
5. And Considers Himself Among The Dead
Protracted Hopes and Procrastination of Obligations Is a Sign of Weakness of Faith and Weakness of Confidence in Allah
An Angle of the Prophet’s (S) Way of Life
Notes
Lesson 16: The Danger of Loving Wealth and Position and Praising Contentment and Simple Living
The World, a Goal or a Means
The Reproached World
Poor Believers Are Light-burdened on the Day of Resurrection
Praising Contentment and Simple Living and Reproaching Covetousness
Recommending Detachment from the World and Disinclination to It
Notes
Lesson 17: The Effects of Crying for the Hereafter, the Broadness of a Believer’s Heart and Piousness
The Effects of Crying for the Hereafter
The Broadness of a Believer’s Heart and Its Signs
Piousness and Fleeing from Sanctimony and Hypocrisy
The Intention and Its Role in the Evaluation of Works
Notes
Lesson 18: Honoring the Divine Majesty and Splendor of Allah
The Status of Invocation of Allah in the Qur’an and the Hadiths
The Quantity and Quality of Invocation of Allah
The Relationship between Invocation with Words and Invocation with the Heart
Two Benefits of Invocation with Words
Notes
Lesson 19: The Greatness of Allah’s Status in the Viewpoint of the Angels
The Role of Arousing Hope and Fear
The Essence of Fear and Dread of Allah
The Benefit and Status of Fear of Allah
The Status of the Fear of the Leaders and Saints [Awliya’] of Allah
The Perfection of Man and the Feeling of Humility and Lowliness in Regard to Allah
Fear of Allah and Fleeing from Sin and Obsession with Popularity and Position
The Role of Perceiving the Status of the Fear of the Lovers of Allah and the Angels
Notes
Lesson 20: The Prophet’s (S) Description of Heaven and Hell
Meditation about the Greatness of Creatures
The Indescribable Greatness of the Resurrection
Describing a Section of the Tortures of Hell
The Reaction of People and Angels in Face of the Clamor and Roar of Hell
Heaven Is the Eternal Abode of the Believers and Righteous
Notes
Lesson 21: The Importance of Meditation and the Need for Preserving Factors which Ward off Negligence
The Three Recommendations of the Prophet (S)
A) Speaking Softly At The Time Of Escorting A Funeral
B) Speaking Softly At The Time Of War
C) Speaking Softly At The Time Of Reciting The Qur’an
The Consequences of Inattention to the Causes of Spiritual Wakefulness
Reproaching Laziness and Vain Laughing
The Role of Meditation in Worship
Notes
Lesson 22: The Realm of Right and Falsehood
Right and Falsehood and the Instances of Their Application
The Visible Appearance of Right and Falsehood
Man and His Free Will, Volition and Allah’s Temptations
Man and the Two Inclinations towards Right and Falsehood
The General Inclination to Sensual and Worldly Pleasures
Notes
Lesson 23: The Perfect Scholar and the Practical Appearance of Belief in the Unity of Divine Actions
Abraham and Belief in the Unity of Divine Actions
Reliance on Everything Else Other than Allah Is a Result of Lack of Belief in the Unity of Divine Actions
Shaykh Ansari and His Flight from the Devil’s Trap
Humility Is an Agent of Dignity and Honor
Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) and the Perception of Spiritual Deficiency and Poverty
The Fruits of True Faith in the Words of the Noble Prophet (S)
Notes
Lesson 24: The Importance of Self-examination, Comparing Works and Shame for Allah
Self-examination Is an Unavoidable Need
Preconditioning, Watching over the Soul and Self-examination
a) Preconditioning [musharitah]
b) Watching over the Soul [muraqibah]
c) Self-examination [muhasibah]
The Benefit of Self-examining the Soul
Shame as a Result of the Ugliness of Works
The Concept and Domain of Shame and Shyness
The Causes of Propagating Wrong Manners and False Customs
Notes

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