Islamic Teachings in Brief chapter2

 Islamic Teachings in Brief

Chapter2

Were the Policies of Al-'Imam Al-Hasan (as) and Al-'Imam Al-Husayn (as) Different?

Although these two great leaders are, according to the explicit statement of the Holy Prophet (S) , rightful Imams, their policies apparently seem different. Some have even said that the difference of opinions of these two brothers was so great that one of them, having 40 000 combatants, accepted the peace offer, while the other, with only 40 friends and companions (other than his relatives) fought the enemy and lost all of them including his suckling child for this cause.

However, close investigation proves the contrary, as we see that al-'Imam al-Hasan (as) lived for about nine and a half years during the reign of Mu'awiyah and did not oppose him overtly. After the martyrdom of his brother, al-'Imam al-Husayn (as) also lived for about nine and a half years during the reign of Mu'awiyah and never thought of rising in rebellion against him and did not challenge him.

Hence, the main cause of this superficial difference in the policies of the two Imams (as) lies in the difference of opinion

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between Mu'awiyah and Yazid, rather than the difference of opinion of these two great Imams (as). The policy of Mu'awiyah was not based on lack of discipline and restraint and he did not deride the religious precepts by its overt opposition.

Mu'awiyah called himself a "companion" of the Holy Prophet (S) and the "writer of Revelation". Through his sister (who was the wife of the Holy Prophet (S) and who was Umm al-Mu'minin (the mother of the believers) , Mu'awivah was called "Khal al-Mu'minin" (the maternal uncle of the believers) and was greatly favored by the Second Caliph in whom the common people had total confidence and special attachment.

Furthermore, Mu'awiyah, in a majority of cases, had appointed the Companions of the Holy Prophet (S) who were respected and honored by the people (such as Abu Hurayrah,' Amr al-'As, Samrah, Yusr, Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, and others) as governors of provinces and had put them in charge of the key positions of the country. These governors used to work for the favourable opinions of the people towards Mu'awiyah.

Many ahadith were fabricated and narrated among the people regarding the virtues and the religious immunity of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (S) and that they were not questionable for whatever they did. Thus whatever Mu'awiyah did, if corrigible and justifiable at all, it was rectified and justified by these authorities; otherwise, by giving a great deal of hush-money, he prevented his opponents from complaining.

Where these means and methods did not work, thousands of innocent people

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comprising of Shi'ahs (friends) of 'Ali (as) , other Muslims, and even a great number of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (S) were killed by these collaborators, partisans, and "companions" of Mu'awiyah.

Mu'awiyah pretended to be right in whatever he did and accomplished everything with a special patience and forbearance. With a particular gentleness and flexibility, he attracted the kindness and obedience of people. Sometimes, he even heard the curse of people on him and sensed their enmity, but he responded with cheerfulness and forgiveness and thus pursued his policy in this way.

Apparently, he paid respect to al-'Imam al-Hasan (as) and al-'Imam al-Husayn (as) and sent them valuable gifts and souvenirs. On the other hand, he publicly announced that whoever narrates a hadith concerning the virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) , will have no security of life, reputation, and property; but whoever narrates a hadith concerning the virtues. Prophet (S) will receive a of the Companions of the Holy reward.

He gave orders to the orators and preachers to curse al-'Imam 'Ali (as) from pulpits used for addressing Muslims. By the order of Mu'awiyah, his hirelings killed the supporters of al-'Imam 'Ali (as) wherever they could find them. They went along in this matter to such an extent that they killed a large number of people who were the enemies of al-'Imam 'Ali (as) , accusing them of having friendship with the Imam (as).

It becomes clear from the above description that the rise of al-'Imam al-Hasan (as) would only have ended to the

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detriment of Islam and would have had no effect other than the martyrdom of the Imam (as) and his supporters. And even it was not unlikely that, in this case, Mu'awiyah might have got killed al-'Imam al-Hasan (as) through the friends and relatives of the Imam (as) and then, in order to pacify public opinion, Mu'awivah would have rent (torn) his shirt and mourned for the Imam (as) and, in seeking vengeance (for this bloodshed) , he would have tried to take his revenge by killing the Shi'ahs, as he later did while dealing with the case of 'Uthman.

But the political trend of Yazid had no resemblance with that of his father. He was a self-admiring and undisciplined youth. He had no logic: other than force. He gave no importance to public opinion.

During his short-term rule, Yazid at once revealed the damages which were secretly inflicted on Islam. In the first year of his rule, Yazid put the family of the Holy Prophet (S) to the edge of the sword. In the second year of his rule, he ruined the city of Madinah and allowed his troops to transgress upon the honor, life, and property of the people for three days. In the third year of his rule, he destroyed Ka'bah.

Owing to the above reasons, the movement of al-'Imam al-Husayn (as) was imprinted on the minds of the people and its effect grew more profoundly and publicly day by day. In the beginning, this movement manifested itself in the form of

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bloody revolutions. Finally, it attracted a great number of Muslims as the supporters of truth and reality and as the supporters of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) of the Holy Prophet (S).

It was because of this reason that Mu'awiyah, in his will to Yazid, had strongly recommended that Yazid should leave al-'Imam al-Husayn (as) alone and not bother him; but would the drunkenness and self-admiration of Yazid permit him to differentiate between his benefit and his loss?

Al-'Imam 'Ali Al-Sajjad (as)

The policy of al-'Imam 'Ali al-Sajjad (as) , during his Imamate, is divided into two different parts which correspond as a whole to the general policies of other Imams (as) , for the Imam (as) was in the company of his great father in the tragic event of Karbala and took part in the movement of al-'Imam al-Husayn (as). After the martyrdom of his father, when the Imam (as) was taken captive and was taken to Kufah from Karbala and from Kufah to Damascus, he never used taqiyyah and asserted the truth and reality without any fear. Whenever the occasions suited, he informed the individuals and the public of the rightfulness of the Members of the Household of the Holy Prophet (S) and their glories and virtues through his lectures and statements. He brought the innocence of his great father and the cruel and oppressive atrocities of the Umayyads to the surface and aroused the outburst of the feelings and sentiments of the people.

But Imam (as) returned to Madinah after he was released from captivity and the

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atmosphere of self-sacrifice turned itself into the atmosphere of tranquillity. He sat in the seclusion of his house, closed the door on strangers, and engaged in worshipping Allah. He began to train and educate the individuals who were the followers of truth and reality. During the 35 years of his residence there, the Imam (as) , directly and indirectly, educated a great number of people and imprinted the Islamic culture on their hearts.

Only the prayers that the Imam (as) had indited in his divine tone and through which he silently prayed to Allah form a complete set of the sublime Islamic learnings and sciences. These prayers have been compiled in a form of book which is popularly known as "Al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah" (meaning a book of al-'Imam al- Sajjad).

Al-'Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as)

During the Imamate of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (as) , the way was somewhat paved for the dissemination of Islamic sciences. Owing to the oppression of Umayyads, the ahadith regarding Islamic jurisprudence by the Ahl al-Bayt (as) were lost. Although thousands Of ahadith are required for Islamic precepts, nevertheless, not even more than 500 ahadithof the Holy Prophet (S) had remained, that too, from among those which were narrated by the Companions of the Holy Prophet (S).

In short, during that period, because of the very tragic event of Karbala and as a result of the 35 years of efforts of al-'Imam al-Sajjad (as) , a great number of Muslims [supporters of Ahl al-Bayt (as) ] emerged but they had no Islamic jurisprudence based on the ahadith of the Ahl al-Bayt

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(AS).

Since the government of the Umayyads was weakened due to internal differences and the self-indulgence and inefficiency of government authorities and because the signs of weakness had grown in its governmental structure, the Fifth Imam (as) took advantage of this opportunity and began to disseminate the sciences of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and the Islamic jurisprudence and provided the society with many scholars of his school of thought.

Al-'Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (as)

During the time of the 6th Imam (as) the conditions were more apt and the circumstances were more favourable for the dissemination of Islamic sciences, because, on the one hand, as a result of the propagation of theahadith of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (as) and owing to the tablighatby those who were educated in his school, the people had realized their need for Islamic sciences and the Islamic knowledge of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and were more thirsty for obtaining the ahadith.

On the other hand, the government of the Umayyads was overthrown and the government, of the Abbasids had not yet been firmly established when, in order to fulfill their intentions and to undermine the government of the Umayyads, the Abbasids used the tyranny against the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and the blood of the martyrs of Karbala as a pretence and thus tried to be apparently good to the Ahl al-Bayt (as).

The Imam (as) embarked on teaching and disseminating different branches of knowledge. Scientists, 'ulama' and scholars rushed to the Imam's (as) house from every direction and were welcomed by the Imam (as). They

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asked many questions concerning various branches of Islamic sciences, the Islamic ethics and life-history of the prophets, the history of Ummahs, the wisdom, the tabligh, etc and received the answers accordingly.

The Imam (as) held discussions with people from different strata and held debates with various peoples and sects. He educated students in different Islamic sciences. Hundreds of books were compiled which recorded the ahadith and scientific lectures of the Imam (as) which are known as "fundamentals".

By taking advantage of this brief period, which came handy in the suffocating atmosphere of those days, al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) educated and trained thousands of learned scholars. As his memorial, the Imam (as) left many precious treasures of sciences and education in the field of Islamic culture. The number of scholars who had benefited from the Imam's (as) vast knowledge and wisdom exceeded 4 000.

Al-'Imam al-Sadiq (as) had ordered his students to write down his lessons and to preserve their books and writings. He stated: "A time will come when a chaos will prevail and many of these works will be destroyed. Then you will be in need of these books and writings and these books will serve as the only scientific and Islamic references of Muslims". For this reason, the students of the Imam (as) used to bring with them pen and inkpot and put down whatever they heard in his class.

Other than his necessary rest, the Imam (as) taught the people secretly and publicly round-the-clock and made the treasury of his infinite

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knowledge available to all.

In short, his sublime remarks and valuable guidances removed ignorance and illiteracy and re-established the true Islam of the Holy Prophet (S). Thus, he is known as the founder of "Shi'i Islamic jurisprudence". Shi'ah religion was later called as the "Ja'fari Jurisprudence" after his name.

Al-'Imam Musa Al-Kazim (as)

Having overthrown the Umayyads and having taken the position of khilafahin hand, the Abbasids turned to Sane Fatimah and tried to annihilate the Members of the Household of the Holy Prophet (S) with all their might. They beheaded a group, buried another alive, and placed yet another group of people under the foundations and in the walls of the buildings. They set the house of the 6th Imam (as) on fire and summoned the Imam (as) to Iraq several times. In this way, the taqiyyah was more intensely practiced during the last days of the life of the 6th Imam (as).

Since the Imam was under strict surveillance, he did not meet anyone except a few particular Shi'ahs. Finally, al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) was poisoned and martyred by al-Mansur, the Second Caliph of the Abbasids. Thus, during the'Imamah of the 7th Imam, al-'Imam Musa al-Kazim (as) , the oppression of the antagonists became more severe and intensified day by day.

In spite of an environment of intense taqiyyah, the 7th Imam (as) began to disseminate the Islamic knowledge and ma de a large number of ahadith available to the Shi'ahs. It can be said that the ahadith pertaining to Islamic jurisprudence by al-'Imam Musa al-Kazim (as)

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stand third in number after those by the 5th and the 6th Imams (as). Owing to prevailing conditions of intense taqiyyah, in most of the ahadith related by the Imam (as) , he has been referred to by the narrators as "an 'alim" or as "a righteous worshipper of Allah", or the like without an explicit mention of his name.

The Imam (as) was the contemporary of four Abbasid khulafa' al-Mansur, al-Hadi, al-Mahdi, and Harun, and was always the target of their oppression. Finally, under the order of Harun, he was imprisoned and was transferred from one prison to another for years. At last, al-'Imam Musa al-Kazim (as) was poisoned as well as martyred in the prison.

Al-Imam 'Ali Al-Ridha’ (as)

A consideration on the circumstances during that time makes it clear for every clear-sighted person that no matter how much the contemporary khulafa' and opponents of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) tried to torture and tyrannize the Imams (as) of Guidance and made the life difficult for their Shi'ahs, the number of the followers of Islam increased day by day and their faith in Islam became stauncher. The Institution of khilafah was a wicked and filthy system in their views.

And this matter was an internal conviction which constantly kept the khulafa' contemporary with the Imams (as) , in agony; and in fact rendered those khulafa' helpless and despicable.

After killing his brother al-Amin and becoming the khalifah, al-Ma'mun, the 7th 'Abbasid caliph, who was also the contemporary of al-'Imam al-Ridha’ (as) , decided to relieve himself of this internal distress

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and constant anxiety and put an end to Shi'ah faith by some means other than coercion and oppression.

The policy which al-Ma'mun adopted in order to carry out this plan was to offer his succession to al-'Imam al-Ridha’ (as) in order to defame the Imam (as) in the eyes of the Shi'ahs by accusing him of entering the corrupt system of khilafah and to wash away people's minds the faith in the eminence and the immaculateness of the Imam (as). In this way, he thought, no distinction would be left out for the position of Imamah which is the basis of Shi'i faith and the very foundation of this religion would be automatically collapsed.

The implementation of this policy would also bring another success, that is, it would stop the successive movements of Banu Fatimah which were pursued to overthrow the khilafah of the Abbasids; because when the Banu Fatimah would see the transfer of khilafah to themselves, they would naturally refrain from carrying out bloody uprisings. Certainly, after this plan was implemented, the killing of al-'Imam al-Ridha’ (as) would not be a difficult task for al-Ma'mun.

Al-Ma'mun, primarily, invited the Imam (as) to take over the khilafah and after that he invited him to accept the succession. After al-Ma'mun's accentuation, insistence, and finally threat, the Imam (as) accepted the succession conditionally, provided that he would have nothing to do with dismissals, appointments, and interference in high positions and matters.

In such a situation, the Imam (as) embarked on guiding the people and held

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discussions with men of different faiths and religions as far as he could. He also gave valuable statements and explanations concerning the Islamic sciences and the facts of religion (al-Ma'mun was also excessively interested in religious discussions. )

The speeches delivered by al-'Imam al-Ridha’ (as) on the principles of Islamic knowledge and sciences are equal in number to those delivered by the Amir al- Mu'minin 'Ali (as) and exceed the number of speeches delivered by all the other Imams (as) in these fields.

One of the blessings of the Imam (as) was that he was presented with a large number of ahadith by Shi'ahs, which had reached them through the Imam's reverend fathers (as) , and among these under the direction of the Imam (as) some of the "ahadith" which were forged and fabricated by wicked people, were identified and eliminated.

When the Imam (as) travelled from Madinah to Marw as the "successor of the khalifah" he aroused an amazing enthusiasm among the people all through his journey, particularly in Iran. The people rushed from everywhere to meet him, eagerly surrounded him, and learned the teachings and precepts of Islam.

By the unprecedented and surprising attention that the people paid to the Imam (as) , al-Ma'mun found out that his policy was erroneous. In order to make reparation for his political failure, al-Ma'mun poisoned and martyred al-'Imam al-Ridha’ (as). Afterwards, the old policy of the khulafa' towards the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and their Shi'ah followers was again pursued.

Al-'Imam Muhammad Al-Taqi (as) , Al-'Imam 'Ali Al-Naqi (as) , and Al-'Imam Al-Hasan Al-'Askari (as)

The environment in which these three honorable Imams (as) lived was

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identical. After the martyrdom of al-'Imam al-Ridha’ (as) , al-Ma'mun summoned al-'Imam Muhammad al-Taqi. (as) , who was the only son of al-'Imam al- Ridha’ (as) to Baghdah and treated him kindly and affectionately and allowed his daughter to marry the Imam (as) and kept the Imam (as) in his own house with full honour.

Although this conduct seemed friendly, but, through this policy, al-Ma'mun had actually placed the Imam (as) under his strict control in all respects.

Similar circumstances and living conditions continued for al-'Imam 'Ali al-Naqi (as) and al-'Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (as) in Samarra', which was the capital of khilafah during their Imamah; they were in fact in prison.

The period of Imamah of these three reverend Imams (as) is fifty-seven years altogether. The number of Shi'ahs, who were residing in Iran, Iraq, and Syria at the time, was considerably large and had reached hundreds of thousands, among whom there were thousands of scholars of Hadith. In spite of this, the ahadith related from these three Imams (as) are very few. Also, the lifetime of these three Imams (as) was short.

The ninth Imam (as) , the tenth Imam (as) , and the eleventh Imam (as) were martyred when they were twenty-five, forty, and twenty-seven years, respectively. All these points serve as a clear evidence that the control, surveillance, and sabotage of the antagonists was very strict during their period and that these great Imams (as) were unable to perform their duties freely. Nevertheless, valuable ahadith have reached us from these three great Imams (as) on the

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Usul al-Din (the fundamental principles of Islam for believing in) and the Furu' al-Din (the secondary principles of Islam for actions).

Imam Al-'Asr, Muhammad Al-Mahdi Al-Maw'ud (as)

During the time of al-'Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (as) , the institution of the khilafah had decided to kill the successor of the Imam (as) by all the ways and means possible in an effort to put an end to the subject of Imamah and consequently to Shi'ah faith. In addition to other aspects, al-Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (as) was also under surveillance from this point of view.

It was for this reason that the birth of al-'Imam al-Mahdi (as) was kept secret. Until he became six, till his honourable father was alive, al-'Imam al-Mahdi (as) was kept out of sight and no one could see him other than a few devoted and trustworthy Shi'ahs.

After the martyrdom of his father, al-'Imam al-Mahdi (as) had al-Ghaybat al-Sughra (the Short Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Ma'hdi [as]) by the order of Allah and answered the questions of the Shi'ahs and resolved their problems through Al-Nuwwab al-Arba'ah (the Four Deputies of Imam al-'Asr (as) who had successively attained the eminent position of being the Imam's (as) Deputy.

The Imam (as) then had al-Ghaybat al-Kubra (the Great Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi [as]) until the time when he will appear by the order of Allah to administer justice in the whole world after it gets overwhelmed with injustice and oppression.

A large number of ahadith of the Holy Prophet (S) and the Imams (as) have. been related by both Sunnis and

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Shi'ahs regarding al-'Imam al-Mahdi (as) and the characteristics of his absence and appearance. Also, a great number of Shi'ah dignitaries had met the Imam (as) during the lifetime of his honorable father and had seen his unique personality and had received the good tidings of his Imamah from his honorable father.

Furthermore, in the sections on Nubuwwah and Imamah we have arrived at this conclusion that the human world could never exist without the religion of Allah and an Imam who is the supporter and guardian of the religion of Allah.

The Moral Conclusion Derived From the Policy of the Leaders of Religion

In sum up, it becomes evident from the history of the prophets of Allah and the religious leaders that they were realists and followers of truth and used to invite the human world towards realism and adherence to truth. They did not refrain from any self-sacrifice and self-indulgence in this regard.

In other words, they tried that both individuals and human society be brought up and developed as ought to be. They also wanted to see the people adorned by a series of correct thoughts and beliefs without being governed by ignorance or a series of superstitious thoughts.

They wanted to see the people accustomed to the especial human disposition without blemishing human purity with an animalistic disposition and by thinking of nothing but devouring one another and filling their belly like beasts and grazing animals. They intended to make men apply the treasure of humanity to their lives in order to gain prosperity in favor of humanity.

Thus, they were the people who

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did not look for their own prosperity alone, rather they recognized no other duty for the cause of the prosperity of the society and for the world of humanity.

They saw their own welfare and prosperity (the man does not want anything other than this) in being benevolent to others and wanted other people to be so as well; that is, they wanted everybody to like for all whatever they liked for themselves and not to desire for others whatever they did not desire for themselves.

It was due to this realism and adherence to truth that these great men found out the significance of this general human duty (benevolence) and other minor duties which are its ramifications and were endowed with the epithets of self-denial and self-sacrifice.

For this very reason, they did not hesitate to offer their lives and properties for the cause of truth. They cut the root of any attributes which resulted malevolence. They did not have stinginess for the lives and properties of others. They were disgusted with egotism and stinginess. They did not tell lies, nor did they slander other people. They did not transgress upon the honor and prestige of others.

The explanation of these epithets and their impact should be studied in more detail in the section on "Ethics".

Ma'ad (Resurrection)

point

Ma'ad is one of the three pillars of the holy religion of Islam and one of the essentials of this pure religion. Every man (without any exception) can tell the difference between good and evil deeds

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with his Allah-granted nature and considers "benevolence" (although he may not practice it) to be 'decent and essential act to perform and "evil deeds" (although he may be performing these) to be indecent and an act to essentially avoid.

Undoubtedly, goodness and badness, benevolence and malevolence are from the viewpoint of the results and rewards which these two qualities possess. Likewise, there is no doubt that not even a single day exists in this world when the rewards and retribution of good and bad deeds of benefactors and malefactors do not reach them; for we clearly observe that many benefactors spend their lives in extreme bitterness and misery, whereas many malefactors who are fully involved in committing crimes and misdemeanors, with their wicked behavior and disgraceful character, spend their lives with happiness and prosperity.

For this reason, if in the future and in a world other than this world, no day had been fixed when good and bad deeds would be judged and appropriate recompense would be given, such an attention and care (that benevolence is good and essential and malevolence is bad and to be avoided) would not have been placed in the nature of man.

It should not be imagined that the reward of benevolence, which the man considers good is this that it establishes order in the society and people gain prosperity in their lives and that consequently the benevolent person himself receives a portion of the benefits of his benevolence. In the like manner, it should also not be

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imagined that a malevolent person, with his indecent conduct and behavior, disrupts the order of the society and thus he himself finally gets entangled with its unpleasant effects.

Although this kind of thinking is to some extent applicable to disorganized and inefficient individuals; it does not apply to those people who have reached the peak of power and whose happiness and success are not at all influenced by the order and disorder of the society, on the contrary when disturbance and corruption prevail in the society and when the living conditions of the people become gloomy, these individuals get happier and more successful, thus there remains no reason for the nature of such people to consider benevolence as good and malevolence as bad.

In like manner, although these people are prosperous in their short lives, it should not be imagined that their names will be disgraceful and will bear the dislike of the public forever because of their wicked acts.

This is because the manifestation of their disgraceful names and the unpleasant judgment of the posterity about them occur at a time when these people have passed away and have no impact on their lives full of happiness, pleasure, and enjoyment.

On this account, there will be no reason for man to consider benevolence as good and to acquire it or to consider malevolence as bad and to refrain from it and tend towards the above-mentioned belief. Had there not been the Ma'ad, it would be a superstitious belief.

Therefore, through this pure and firm

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belief that the Creator of the world has placed in our nature, we should understand that the Almighty Allah will resurrect everyone after death and will look into their deeds. The Almighty Allah will give a good reward and an everlasting blessing to the benefactors for their deeds and will punish the malefactors for their deeds. And this day is called the Yawm al-Qiyamah (Day of Judgment).

Ma'ad, Religions and Faiths

All religions and faiths, which call men to the worship of the Almighty Allah and enjoin human beings to do good deeds and prohibit them from bad deeds, express belief in Ma'ad and in the life Hereafter. They have no doubt that benevolence is worthy only when it is followed by a good reward and since this reward is not seen in this world, inevitably it will be given to man in another life in the world Hereafter.

Besides, signs and vestiges, that are observed in the most ancient tombs discovered by the archaeologists, indicate that the early human beings believed in the other life in the world Hereafter and according to their beliefs they used to perform certain formalities and provide things so that the dead may have comforts in the Hereafter.

Ma'ad as in The Qur'an

The Holy Qur'an, through hundreds of Ayat reminds the people of the Ma'ad and negates any doubt regarding it. In many instances, the Qur'an reminds the people of Allah's absolute might in order to augment the knowledge of people and to eliminate the unlikelihood of the creation of primary things. The Holy Qur'an

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states:

"Does not man see that We have created him from the sperm? Then lo! he is an open disputant. And he strikes out a likeness for Us and forgets his own creation. Says he: Who will give life to the bones when they are rotten? Say: He will give life to them Who brought them into existence at first, and He is Cognizant of all creation (36: 77-79). "

And sometimes the Holy Qur'an draws the attention of people to Ma'ad and entrance into spring after the winter death and reminds men of the power of Allah, as it states:

"And among His signs is this, that you see the earth still, but when We send down on it the water, it stirs and swells: most surely He Who gives it life is the Giver of life to the dead; surely He has power over all things (41: 39). "

And sometimes, by using logical reasoning, the Holy Qur'an awakens man's Allah-given nature to admit this reality, as it states:

"And We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them in vain; that is the opinion of those who disbelieve; then woe to those who disbelieve on account of the Fire. Shall We treat those who believe and do good like the mischief-makers on the earth? Or shall We make those who guard (against evil) like the wicked (38: 27-28)? "

(This is because those who do good and the wicked will not receive their entire reward and recompense in this world. If no other world

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(Hereafter) existed in which each of these groups received their rewards and punishments in accordance with their behaviors and deeds, then both groups would be equal in front of Allah and this is inconsistent with the Divine Justice. )

From Death to The Yawm Al-Qiyamah

From the viewpoint of Islam, man is a creature made of body and soul (body and ruh). The body of man is one of the materialistic compositions and is subject to laws, i. e. , it has volume and weight, lives at a specific time and place, and becomes influenced by cold and heat and the like. Gradually, man's body gets old and worn out and finally gets destroyed in the same manner as it had come into existence some day by the will of the Almighty Allah.

But man's self is not materialistic and has none of the above-mentioned characteristics, rather the epithets of knowledge, perception, thought, will power, and other spiritual qualities such as affection, rancor, happiness, anguish, fear, hope, and the like are attributed to it. As the self or soul does not possess the above-mentioned materialistic characteristics, spiritual epithets are also far away from these characteristics; rather the heart, the brain, and all the parts of the body submit to the spirit and spiritual qualities in their own innumerable activities and none of the parts of the body can be specified as a centre of command.

The Almighty Allah states:

"And certainly We created man of an extract of clay, then We made him a sperm in a firm resting-place, then We made the

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sperm a clot, then We made the clot a lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We covered the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into another creation... (23: 12-14). "

The Meaning of Death from The Viewpoint of Islam

The meaning of death from the viewpoint of Islam is not that man becomes naught and vanishes, rather it means that the soul or self of man which is immortal cuts its attachment and relationship from the body and consequently, the body perishes while the soul continues its life without the body.

The Almighty Allah states:

"And they say: 'What! when we have become lost in the earth, shall we then certainly be in a new creation? ' Nay! they are disbelievers in the meeting of their Lord. Say: 'The angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die... ' (32: 10-11). "

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "You shall not be perished, but you shall be transferred from. one house to another".

The World of Barzakh

Islam believes that man remains alive in a special manner after death. He enjoys blessing and happiness if he is a benefactor and he will be punished if he is a malefactor. He will present himself for public reckoning on the Day of Judgment. The interval between the death of a man and the Ma'ad is called "Barzakh".

The Almighty Allah states:

"... And before them is Barzakh until the day they are raised (23: 100). "

The Almighty Allah also states:

"And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead: nay, they are alive (and) are

provided sustenance from their Lord (3: 169). "

Ethics

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All these innumerable means of living, that are now available to man and that we endeavor to acquire and use them day and night, were not available to man from the beginning of his life on the earth. They have, gradually, been brought into existence by man's efforts and have been utilized.

But in any case, from the primitive man to the civilized man of today, human beings have never ceased working and striving and through their Allah-given nature, they have tried to provide better means of living. This is because if a man loses his energy and the internal and external organs of h is body such as his eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, and also if his brain, heart, lungs, and liver fail to function properly, he will be nothing but a dead person.

For this reason, man works not only out of necessity, but also because he is a human being, he displays various activities. Since by his commonsense he realizes that he should arrange for the happiness and prosperity of his life in any way possible, he engages in work and effort and moves in the direction of his demands.

Therefore, living in any environment and in any manner, religious or non-religious, legal or despotic, urban or nomadic, man feels the necessity of a series of duties and obligations for himself (those things which are indispensable for living). If these duties and obligations are carried out, the reasonable desires of man will

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be fulfilled and he will lead a happy, comfortable, and prosperous life.

Certainly, the value of these duties and obligations, which are the only means of prosperity, is the humanity itself. We cannot perceive anything more precious and valuable than the humanity and which cannot be exchanged with any other commodity.

Therefore, 'dutifulness' and its implementation are the most important practical matters that man confronts in his life, for its value is exactly the same as that of man himself. Whoever refrains from performing his indisputable duties, or sometimes neglects them, he proportionately lapses in morality from the eminent position of humanity and naturally accepts his humility and worthlessness. With every violation of his human duty, such an individual inflicts blows after blows on the body of his society and indeed on his own body as well.

The Almighty Allah states in the Holy Qur'an:

"Most surely man is in loss, except those who believe and do good and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience (103: 2-3). "

The Almighty Allah also states:

"Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have wrought... (30: 41). "

Difference of Opinion in the Identification and Specification of Duties

The importance attached to the identification of duties and their implementations are indisputable obligations in the world of humanity. Never can a human being possessing human nature be found who would deny this reality.

Since human duties have an absolute relationship with man’s prosperity and life and because the religion differs with non-religious isms and practices as far as views regarding man's

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life are concerned, naturally religious duties will differ from the du ties of other non-religious isms and practices.

Religion believes that man has an infinite and endless life which does not terminate with death. The capital of pure and true beliefs, praiseworthy ethics, and good deeds that man has acquired in this world prior to his death, serves as the great investment for his infinite life in the Hereafter.

Therefore, in obligations and duties that religion has formulated for the individuals and the society, the life in the everlasting Hereafter is also taken into consideration.

Religion establishes its provisions in the sphere of theism and the worship and servitude of Allah, the obvious consequence of which will become manifest on the Day of Resurrection.

Non-religious isms and practices (whatever these may be) only take the short and transient life of this world into consideration and formulate duties through which man can benefit more from his materialistic life and material profits which are common between him and other animals.

Indeed with a reasoning which originates from feelings and sentiments of grazing animals and beasts, they draw up an animal life for man. They pay no attention to man's realism and his everlasting life full with intellectualities.

Therefore, the sublime human ethics (as definite experience indicates) gradually disappear from non-religious communities and the moral decadence of their members becomes clearer and more manifest day by day.

Some people argue that the base of religion is following and also the unquestionable acceptance of a series of duties and regulations; whereas,

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social policies can be justified by the current logic.

Those who have said so neglect the fact that the rules and regulations which are implemented in the society must be carried out indisputably. No one has ever heard or seen the people of a country following the prevalent laws after argument and scientific discourse or be exempted and free from following the laws whose philosophy they do not understand. Thus, in this respect, the religious and non-religious practices do not differ.

Indeed, through a study of the natural and social conditions of a country and on inquisitiveness in its general policies, one can find out the philosophy behind the generalities of the laws of that country and some of their details (not all).

This also holds true in the case of religious laws. By means of realism and inquisitiveness about creation and man's natural requirements, one can discover the generalities of the laws of religion which is an innate policy and some of their details.

The Holy Qur'an and many ahadith call the people to reasoning, reflection, and pondering and in some precepts refer to the brief expedience behind the commandments. There are many ahadith available to us from the Holy Prophet (S) and the Ahl al-Bayt (as) which state the reasons behind the precepts.

Dutifulness

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As mentioned in the beginning of this book, the holy religion of Islam is a general and permanent program that has been descended to the last Prophet, Muhammad (S) , from the Almighty Allah for human life in this world and

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the Hereafter to be carried out in the human society so as to pull the ship of humanity out of the whirlpool of ignorance and tribulation and carry it to the coast of salvation.

Since religion is a program of life, it has inevitably specified duties for man on things which are linked to his life and asks him to carry them out.

In general, our life is connected to:

(1) The Almighty Allah Who has created us. Our moral obligation towards His blessings is greater than any other duty and our dutifulness towards His Holy Presence is more obligatory than any other obligation.

(2) Ourselves.

(3) Our fellow creatures with whom we are obliged to live and perform our duties and tasks with their cooperation and assistance. Thus, according to the order, we have three general duties: duty towards Allah, duty towards ourselves, and duty towards others.

(1) The Duty of Man towards Allah (Cognizance of Allah)

point

Our duty towards the Almighty Allah is the most important duty of all and we must perform it with a pure heart and a sincere intention. It is the first and foremost duty of man to know his Creator. Since the Almighty Allah is the source of existence of every creature and the originator of every existing phenomenon, the cognizance and knowledge of His pure Entity also illuminates every realistic person. Being inattentive to this moral reality is total ignorance, lack of insight, and irresponsibility. Whoever pays no attention to cognizance of Allah, he consequently puts out the light of his own conscience and thus will have no

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way of attaining the real human happiness.

As we see, those who refrain from cognizance of Allah and pay no heed to this reality in their lives are completely away from the human spiritualities and have no logic other than the logic of grazing animals and beasts.

The Almighty Allah states in the Holy Qur'an:

"Therefore turn aside from him who turns his back upon Our reminder and does not desire anything but this world's life. That is their goal of knowledge... (53: 29-30). "

Certainly, it should be pinpointed that the cognizance of Allah is necessary and natural for man who is a realistic being endowed with the instinct of reasoning, for man, with his Allah-given commonsense, notices the signs of the Presence of Allah and His Knowledge and Might wherever he looks in the world of creation. Thus, the cognizance of Allah does not mean that man should bring it into existence for himself, rather it means that the man should not disregard this obvious reality which cannot be covered by any curtain, giving a positive response to his conscience which invites him to Allah and eliminating any doubt from his mind by following this philosophy.

The Worship of Allah

After cognizance of Allah, our second duty is the worship of Allah. This is because, while recognizing the truth, this reality becomes clear that happiness and prosperity, which are our only objectives, will be attained by implementing and executing the program which the Almighty Allah has specified for our lives and has communicated to us through His messengers. Therefore,

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obeying Allah's orders and serving him are the only duties of man compared to which other duties seem insignificant and trivial.

The Almighty Allah states:

"And your Lord has commanded that you shall not serve (any) but Him... (17: 23). "

The Almighty Allah also states:

"Did I not charge you, O children of Adam! that you should not serve the Shaytan? Surely he is your open enemy. And that you should serve Me; this is the right way (36: 60-61). "

Thus it is our duty to recognize the status of our servitude and needs and to keep in mind the infinite Grandeur and Greatness of Allah. We must consider that Allah knows and sees our deeds in every respect and we must obey His commands. It is our obligation not to serve any but Allah and not to obey anyone else except the Holy Prophet (S) and the A'immat al-Huda (infallible Imams of Guidance) whom we are commanded to obey by the order of Allah.

The Almighty Allah states:

"O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you... (4: 59). "

Surely, due to the obedience of Allah and the authorities of religion, we should actually maintain a great respect for anything attributed to Allah. We must respect the holy name of Allah and the names of the leaders of religion. We must endeavor for the honor of the Divine Book (the Holy Qur'an) , the honored Ka'bah, and the holy mosques and the holy shrines of the leaders of religion, as the Almighty Allah states:

"... and whoever

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respects the signs of Allah, this surely is (the outcome) of the piety of hearts (22: 32). "

(2) The Duty of Man towards Himself

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No matter what policy or course of action man pursues in his life, indeed he looks after nothing but his happiness and prosperity. The recognition of the happiness of something is of minor importance with regard to-the recognition of the thing itself; that is, unless we know ourselves, we will not know our actual needs whose fulfillment provides us with happiness. Therefore, the most essential duty of man is to know himself so as to perceive his happiness and prosperity and endeavor to fulfill his needs by the means that are at his disposal. He must not waste away his valuable life which is his only treasure.

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "whoever knows himself knows his Allah".

And Amir al-Mu'minin, 'Ali (as) , states: "whoever knows himself, attains the highest position of knowledge. "

After knowing himself, man realizes that his greatest duty is to value highly the essence of his humanity and not to trample upon such a valuable treasure. He also finds that he must strive for his physical and mental health so as to attain a prosperous and delightful eternal life.

Amir al-Mu'minin, 'Ali (as) states: "Carnal desires will be low and insignificant to whoever respects himself. "

The entity of man is comprised of two things: self or personality and body. It is man's responsibility to try to keep both these essential parts, i. e. , the self or soul and body healthy and stable. He is duty bound to

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endeavor for the health of his soul and body in accordance with the adequate and precise orders given on both of them by the holy religion of Islam.

Physical Health

Abstaining from Harmful Things: Through a series of rules and regulations, the holy religion of Islam has adequately safeguarded the physical health such as enjoining people not to eat corpse, blood, flesh of some animals, and poisonous food; prohibiting them from drinking alcoholic beverages and polluted water; over eating; causing harm to the body; and other directives which are beyond the scope of this chapter.

Keeping Clean: Cleanliness is one of the most important principles of health. For this reason, great importance has been attached to this principle in the holy Shari'ah of Islam. The importance given by Islam to cleanliness cannot be found in any other religion.

The Holy Prophet (S) has stated: "Cleanliness is a part and parcel of Islamic faith" and this, by itself, is the greatest praise for cleanliness.

Repeated recommendations have reached us from the leaders of Islam in regard to taking bath. Al-'Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (as) states: "Taking a bath every other day makes man healthy and stout. "

Al-'Imam 'Ali (as) states: "Bathroom is a very good place since it removes the dirtiness of man. "

In addition to giving general orders concerning cleanliness and neatness, Islam enjoins in particular for each and every cleanliness; for instance, it orders the people to pare the nails of their hands and feet, to shave arid remove the excess hair on their bodies and heads,

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to wash their hands before and after meals, to comb their hair, to gargle with water and inhale water, to sweep their homes, and to keep clean the roads, house doors, ground under the trees, etc.

Beside these orders, Islam has specified certain actions which are linked with permanent taharah and neatness such as for reciting salat and having sawm, removing the najasahs (impurities) from the body and the clothes, performing several times everyday the wudhu’ before reciting the salawat, and performing various ghusls (taking bath according to the specified Islamic manner).

From the fact that water should reach the surface of the body during wudhu’ before salat and ghusl and that the body should not be dirty and greasy, it becomes clear that the cleanliness of the body is implicitly essential.

The Neatness of Clothes: The Surat al-Muddaththir is one of the suwarwhich was revealed to the Holy Prophet (S) in the early stages of his prophetic mission. In the fourth verse of this surah,

Allah orders the people for taharah of their clothes:

"And do taharah of your garments (74: 4). "

The taharah of garments is wajib for salat according to specific Islamic jurisprudential order, but, in general, taharah from uncleanliness and dirtiness is always recommended. Many recommendations have reached us from each of the Fourteen Ma'sumin (as) in this regard. The Holy Prophet (S) states: "Whoever puts on clothes should clean them as well. " Amir al-Mu'minin, 'Ali (as) states: "Washing garments relieves one from grief and anxiety and neat clothes are a means for

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acceptance of his salat. "

It has been narrated from al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) and al-'Imam Musa al-Kazim (as) that possessing ten or twenty shirts and changing them is not extravagance.

In addition to the cleanliness and taharah of garments and body, a Muslim must also be well-dressed and must meet the people with the best possible appearance and looks. Al-'Imam 'Ali (as) states: "Put on beautiful clothes and dress yourself up, for Allah is good and likes the good things, but these should be religiously lawful. " Then, al-'Imam 'Ali (as) reads the following verse:

"Say: Who has prohibited the embellishment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants and the good provisions... (7: 32)? "

Gargling with Water and Brushing the Teeth: Being a channel for food, the mouth of man gets contaminated due to eating food. Food particles remain in the roots of the teeth, on the tongue, and in all other parts of the mouth thus rendering the mouth contaminated and malodorous.

Sometimes, as a result of fermentations and chemical actions and reactions that take place in food particles, poisonous matters are formed which get mixed with the food and then enter the stomach. Moreover, the breath of such a person in a gathering pollutes the air and annoys other people.

Therefore, the holy religion of Islam has ordered the Muslims to brush their teeth everyday (especially before each wudhu’) gargle their mouth with pure water, and clean their mouth from contamination.

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "If it were not for the fear of hardship

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and indigence, I would have made brushing the teeth wajib upon Muslims. " Elsewhere, the Holy Prophet (S) states: "Jibril always recommended brushing the teeth to an extent that I even imagined it would become incumbent upon the Muslims later on. "

Breathing: Breathing is one of the essential needs of man in his life. Quite often, the current of air surrounding man's residential area is not without dust and dirt. Surely, breathing such an air is harmful for the respiratory system. To protect against this harm, the Compassionate Allah has provided hair inside man's nose. This hair prevents the entrance of dust and dirt into the lungs.

Nevertheless, sometimes the hair of the nose cannot fully perform its function because of the accumulation of dirt and dust in the nose. For this reason, Islam has issued orders for Muslims to inhale water several times a day while having wudhu’ so as to protect the health of their respiratory system by inhaling clean water through their nostrils.

Mental Health

Moral Refinement: With his Allah-given conscience, man perceives the value of praiseworthy ethics and realizes its significance from the individual and social viewpoints. Thus, there is no one in the human society who does not praise good ethics and who does not respect those who are endowed with praiseworthy ethics.

The value that man attaches for praiseworthy ethics needs no further explanation and the elaborate orders of Islam on ethics are thoroughly clear for everybody.

The Almighty Allah states:

"And the soul and Him Who made it pure, then He inspired

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it to understand what is right and wrong for it; he will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it (91: 7-10). "

While interpreting this verse, al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) has stated: "The Almighty Allah has revealed to man the things which are good for him and must be put into effect and the things which are bad for him and must be avoided. "

While describing about the high status and value of knowledge and the dignity of the learned men, the Holy Qur'an states:

"... Allah will exalt those of you who believe, and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees... (58: 11). "

The value of scholars is so great to the Prophet (S) of Islam that he stated: "The death of a tribe is easier and less detrimental than the death of a scholar. " Similarly, the Almighty Allah also states in another verse:

"... Are those who know and those who do not know alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful (39: 9). "

Thus the alim (Islamic scholar) and the ignorant are never alike. A learned and wise man has obvious superiority over anyone who lacks knowledge. The conclusion drawn

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from this Qur'anic verse indicates that in the view of the Qur'an the term 'knowledge' does not exclusively apply to Islamic knowledge, rather it covers anything which gives man insight and enlightenment and helps him in his worldly and heavenly affairs.

Regarding the superiority of scholars over the worshippers of Allah and the devout people, the following has been related from al-'Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (as): "A scholar who puts his knowledge into use is superior to seventy thousand worshippers and has preference over them. "

The Prophet (S) of Islam believes that the status of personality of a man is determined by his knowledge. The Holy Prophet (S) states: "The most learned man is one who adds to his own knowledge by deriving benefit from the knowledge of others. The value of man is determined by his knowledge. Thus, the more knowledgeable a man is, the more valuable he is, and also the less knowledgeable a man is, the less valuable he is. "

The Duties of Teachers and Students

The Holy Qur'an considers knowledge and learning as man's true life, because in the absence of knowledge, man would not have been different from an inanimate object and a deceased person.

Therefore, a student should consider his teacher as a focus of life from whom he gradually receives details of his actual life.

For this reason, he should owe his life to the teacher and should not fall short of respecting him. He must not show stubbornness in receiving lessons from the teacher even if they are accompanied with harshness. The student must

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respect his teacher in his presence or absence and during his lifetime and after his death.

Similarly, the teacher should also feel responsible for the life of his students. He must not be tired nor must he take rest as long as he has not led his students to the status of live and honorable men. The teacher should not get disappointed if at times the students do not exercise proper care to receiving his teachings. He must encourage and reward his students if they progress in their education. The teacher must never depress the morale of his students by his words and deeds.

Two Important Masterpieces in The Teachings Of Islam

Each of the social policies that is current in various human societies contains a series of secrets. If these secrets become manifest to the people, the status of the leaders of the society and their carnal desires will be jeopardized. For this reason, they always hide some realities from the public. The reason behind this is that most of the matters are the creations of their minds. Since these are against reason and the interest of the community and the individuals, they are afraid that they would face a flood of objections and the jeopardy of their interests if these secrets are discovered.

For this reason, Christian churches and the intellectual and spiritual centres of other religions do not allow the people to think freely, rather they reserve the right of changing and explaining the religious teachings and the contents of religious books for themselves. They say that it

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is the duty of the people to accept whatever they say indisputably and without any discussion and inquisitiveness. It is this very policy that h us marred many religious policies. The existing policy of Christianity is a veracious proof for this statement.

But since Islam has confidence in its rightfulness, unlike all other religious and non-religious policies, it sees no ambiguity or lack of clarity in its path.

(1) Islam does not conceal any rightful matter, nor does it allow its followers to keep any rightful matters as secrets. This is because the laws of this pure religion are formulated according to the laws of nature and creation, thus none of its truths and realities can be denied.

Concealing realities is one of the major sins. In His words, the Almighty Allah has cursed those who conceal the truth, where He states:

"Surely those who conceal the clear proofs and the guidance that We revealed after We made it clear in the Book for men, these it is whom Allah shall curse and those who curse shall curse them (too) (2: 159). "

(2) Islam has ordered its followers to think freely about the realities and the teachings and to stop moving along whenever they see the slightest ambiguity; so that their clear faiths may always remain intact from the harm of the darkness of any doubts and uncertainties. Islam also orders the people to try to remove any doubts and uncertainties in a just and truth-seeking manner and strive to solve them freely if they are

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faced with them. The Almighty Allah states:

"And follow not that of which you have not the knowledge... (17: 36). "

Abstaining from Free Thinking and Expression of Truth

The perception of the realities through thinking and reflection and their recognition are the most valuable virtues of man, the only feature of his superiority over other animals, and the basis of his dignity and honor. The feeling of love for humanity and the instinct of realism will never allow man to be deprived of the freedom of thought by the imposition of imitative thinking. Neither will they allow wisdom to be led astray by concealing the realities, so that divine thinking would cease.

This fact, however, should not be neglected that when man is unable to understand a reality or when, due to stubbornness and persistence of the other side, there is no hope for the establishment of reality and its expression will cause a loss to man's property, life, and, reputation, the instinct of realism and the love for humanity judge on the contrary. In order to respect the reality and to safeguard man from the danger of aberration and other dangers to his property, life, and honor, the instinct of realism and humanity call for the concealment of realities.

Through many ahadith, the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (as) have seriously prohibited the people from thinking on some of the realities which are beyond the level of understanding of man.

The Almighty Allah authorizes the concealment of reality in the case of taqiyyah (dissimulation) in two instances [1] .

Conclusion

In several cases, Islam considers the concealment of truths

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and realities not only harmless but also necessary:

(1) Taqiyyah is applied where there is no hope for the establishment of truth and when the expression of the truth will cause danger to one's property, life, and honor.

(2) When truth is not intelligible for someone and its expression may lead him astray or may cause disdain and insult towards the truth.

(3) When due to the lack of capability free thinking reveals the truth in an untrue way and leads to aberration.

Ijtihad and Taqlid

Ijtihad (Deduction of Commandments Based On Islamic Fundamentals) And Taqlid (Following A Mujtahid In Practising Islamic Laws)

The requirements of man in his environment and the measures that he must take to arrange them are so great that a common man cannot enumerate them let alone specializing in all of them and obtaining enough knowledge concerning them.

On the other hand, since man performs his tasks by means of thinking and will power, he should have sufficient information when he wants to take a decision. He will be unable to take decisions if he lacks sufficient information. He must either be fully qualified himself to take any course of action or he must ask someone who is endowed with qualifications and so perform his duties according to his instructions. For instance, we instinctively refer to a doctor for the treatment of our ailments, to a civil engineer for the plan of a building, to a mason for masonry work, and to a carpenter for making doors and windows.

Thus we always spend our lives

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by means of taqlid or following others even for insignificant matters.

Whoever says: "I do not follow another person in my life", either he does not understand the meaning of his words or is affected by a mental sickness. Islam, which has based its religious laws on the human nature, has also adopted the same policy.

Islam orders its followers to learn the religious teachings and precepts. The source of these teachings is nothing but the Divine Book, i. e. , Qur'an and the ahadith of the Holy Prophet (S) and the infallible Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (as).

It is obvious that obtaining all religious teachings from the Qur'an and the ahadith is not an easy task. Such a task is not possible for all Muslims and only a limited 

number of people can accomplish this task.

Therefore, this religious order naturally takes the form that a group of Muslims, who are not able to acquire the teachings and precepts through reasoning, should refer to those who have obtained the Islamic commandments through proofs and reasoning, and should then perform their duties.

A scholar who obtains Islamic commandments through proofs and reasoning is called "mujtahid" and his endeavour in this regard is called "ijtihad" One who refers to the mujtahid is called "muqallid" (one who follows a mujtahid's instructions for performing his deeds) and his referring to the mujtahid is called taqlid (following a mujtahid in practicing Islamic laws).

Surely, it should be known that taqlid holds true in worships, transactions, and other practical rules of Islam, but

in regard to Usul al-Din (the fundamental principles of Islam) which are matters of belief, one can never have confidence in the views of others and cannot content himself with following them. This is because in the case of the fundamental principles of Islam, faith and belief are desirable and not action. We can never consider the faith of others to be our own.

It cannot be said that Allah is One because our fathers or scholars say so or that the Hereafter is true since all Muslims believe in it.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon every Muslim to know the Usul al-Din of his religion through reasoning and proof even if it may be a very simple one.

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[1]: Holy Qur'an, Surah 3, Ayah 28 and Surah 16, Ayah 106

(3) The Duty of Man towards Others

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These duties can be described as follows:

The Duty of Man towards His Parents

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Parents are the means of the creation of a child and the imparters of his initial education and training; therefore, the holy religion of Islam has placed a great deal of emphasis on children's obeying to them and on their respect to an extent that the Almighty Allah has commanded the people to be kind and generous to their parents right after mentioning Tawhid (the Oneness of Allah) and states:

"And your Lord has commanded that you shall not serve (any) but Him and has commanded goodness to your parents... (17: 23). "

In ahadith enumerating mortal sins, misconduct towards parents ranks second to shirk (polytheism). The Almighty Allah states:

"... If either or both of them reach old age with you, say not to them (so much as) "ugh" nor chide them, and speak

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to them generous words. And make yourself submissively gentle to them with compassion, and say: 'O my Lord! have compassion on them, similar to what they had on me when they brought me up (when I was) little' (17: 23-24). "

How well did an old woman say to her child when she saw him powerful and bulky. If you recalled your childhood when you were helpless in my arm you would not treat me unkindly today as you are a brave man and I am an old woman.

In the holy religion of Islam, obedience of the parents is wajib except in the case when they order the children to give up one of the wajib deeds of religion or perform a religiously haram act. It has been proven by experience that those who tease their parents do not remain happy and prosperous in their lives and consequently they will not attain salvation.

The Rights of Parents

In a family circle, the relationship of parents to their children is like that of the roots of a tree to its branches because the continuity and survival of the branches of the tree depend upon its roots. Parents are also the founders of the children's life. Since the human society is comprised of the two categories, i. e. , parents and children, parents are the main roots of the human society.

Besides being an utmost ingratitude and cowardice, misbehavior towards the parents and annoying them also cause the decadence of humanity and the annihilation of the society. This is because the disrespect of children

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towards their parents will be reflected by the parents in the form of unkindness and disfavor towards them. On the other hand, if the children look towards their parents with disrespect and lowliness, they cannot expect anything better from their own children and will not depend upon the help of their children when they reach the age of debility and infirmity. Thus they naturally become disappointed to form a family, as is the case with many of the young people of the present age.

Generalization of this kind of thinking will definitely obstruct the path of regeneration and reproduction, because a wise man will never devote his valuable life to nurture a young tree from whose fruits he will not benefit, under whose shadow he will not sit, and that looking towards it will render him no benefit but grief and anguish. We might assume that the governments can encourage the people to set up families by giving them various rewards and incentives and thus eliminate the problems of regeneration and reproduction; but it should be noted that the social methods and customs that are devoid of natural backing (like parent-children affection) cannot last.

Besides this fact, not benefiting from one of the natural instincts will inevitably deprive man of a series of pure spiritual pleasures.

The Rights of Children on Parents

The works that a man must perform for someone who is the beneficiary are called huquq (rights) and the works that a person must perform are called duties, orders, and obligations. For instance, it is the duty

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of an employer to pay the wages of his employee and it is the right of the employee to receive it after performing a task for him. If the employer does not pay the wages, the employee can demand it and defend his right.

Since man is created in such a manner that his life is not everlasting in this world and because willingly or not he dies after some time, Allah has established the method of reproduction, has provided people with the means of reproduction, and has directed man's inner feelings towards it in order to safeguard the mankind from total annihilation.

It is because of this overall mobilization that man naturally considers his child to be an inherent part of himself and assumes his child's survival to be that of his own. For this very reason, man goes through all kinds of endeavors and makes efforts for the comfort and happiness of his children and endures various hardships, for he considers the annihilation of his child or his child's personality to be his own annihilation or the annihilation of his own personality.

Indeed, man obeys the order of the world of creation which demands the survival of mankind. Thus it is the duty of parents to implement the order enjoined by conscience and religious laws with regard to their children and to bring them up very well, so that they may grow into decent human beings. Parents are also duty bound to consider rightful for their children those things that they

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consider rightful for themselves from the viewpoint of humanity. Some of the duties of parents are as given below.

(1) Parents must establish and make firm the foundation of praiseworthy ethics and decent attributes in the natures of their children from the very first day that they begin to understand words and signs. They must not frighten their children with superstitious subjects as much as they can. They must prevent them from committing evil and unchaste acts.

The parents, too, must avoid lying, ill-speaking, and using bad language and obscene words in front of the children. The parents should perform decent deeds, so that the children might be brought up as chaste and magnanimous people.

Parents must endeavor and show motivation and justice, so as to transfer to their children the love for justice and humanity through the law of "the transfer of ethics" in order to keep their children away from oppression, meanness, and selfishness.

(2) Parents should patronize their children for their eating, sleeping, and other requirements for living until they attain the age of discernment. They must have consideration for the physical health of their children so that they may have a healthy body and a strong mind and temper ready to be educated and trained.

(3) Parents should put their children under the care of a teacher from the time they get aptitude for education (usually from seventh year of their age). Parents should make every effort to place their children under the care of a decent teacher, so that they

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may get good and desirable impressions from what they hear and so that such a teacher would become the source of inspiration and cause the refinement of their spirit, the purification of their soul, and the cultivation of their ethics.

4) Parents should take their children along with them to gatherings in order to familiarize them with social customs and praiseworthy etiquette when their age calls for participation in social gatherings or family visits.

Respect for the Elders

It is also required to respect the elders, as the Holy Prophet (S) states: "The glorification and respect for the elders is the glorification and respect for Allah. "

Man's Duty towards His Relatives

The paternal and maternal relatives, who have a consanguineous and near relationship, are the natural means for the formation of the society. Due to the similarity of blood and cells, man becomes part of a family. For the sake of this unity and natural relationship, Islam orders its followers to observe the kinship bonds with kindness. Strong recommendations have been made in the Qur'an and the ahadith of religious leaders in this respect.

The Almighty Allah states:

"... And be careful of (your duty to) Allah, by Whom you demand one of another (your rights) , and (to) the ties of relationship; surely Allah ever watches over you (4: 1). "

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "I enjoin my Ummah (people) to observe the kinship bonds with kindness. Even if the relatives are separated from one another by a year-long distance, they should not disconnect the kinship bonds of their relationship. "

Man's Duty towards His Neighbours

Since neighbors very often come in contact with

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one another due to the proximity of their residential area and naturally - as they constitute a larger family, the good behavior and the misbehavior of one of them will have more effect on other neighbors than that of all others.

He, who spends the night with clamor in his house, does not annoy anyone residing in the remote corner of the city, but he disturbs his neighbor’s peace. A wealthy man who spends his life in feasting and drinking in his beautiful palace is far away from the sight of the poor, but he burns the heart of his indigent neighbor living in a clay-hut. Surely, a day will come when this wealthy man will duly be punished. For this reason, taking care of the neighbors has been highly emphasized in the holy religion of Islam.

The Holy Prophet (S) stated: "Jibril recommended to me about the neighbors to such an extent that I thought the Almighty Allah would appoint one's neighbor as one of his heirs. " He also stated: "whoever believes in Allah and in Ma'ad, never does injustice to his neighbor, lends him money if he asks for it, and shares his grief and happiness. One should not annoy his neighbor even if he is an unbeliever. "

He also states: "He, who hurts his neighbor, will not smell the fragrance of Paradise and he, who disregards the rights of his neighbor, is not my follower. Whoever has had enough to eat and does not help his neighbor after knowing that

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he is hungry, is not a Muslim. "

Man's Duty towards the Inferior and The Poor

There is no doubt that the establishment of a society is to fulfill the needs of the individuals. The most important duty of the members of any society is to help the helpless and the weak and to eliminate in some way the needs of those who are unable to eliminate these by themselves.

It has been thoroughly clarified nowadays that the carelessness of the rich towards the difficulties of the poor is the greatest danger that can destroy a society and that the rich will be the first victim of this danger.

Taking this danger into consideration, fourteen centuries ago, Islam ordered the rich to distribute a portion of their wealth among the poor and the helpless annually. If the said amount is sufficient to eliminate the needs of the poor, it is recommended that the rich donate as much as they can for the cause of Allah so as to improve the living conditions of the poor.

The Almighty Allah states:

"By no means shall you attain to righteousness until you spend (benevolently) out of what you love... (3: 92). "

The ahadith on the subject of serving the humanity are innumerable. The Holy Prophet (S) stated: "The best of men is one who is more beneficial for the people. " He also stated: "In Ma'ad, a person who has taken greater steps towards charitable acts for the servants of Allah will be placed in a higher status before the Almighty Allah. "

Help friends at the time of calamity so that

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you may have favors of Allah. Somehow you will someday reap the seeds of goodness that you sow today.

Man's Duty towards the Society

As we know, human beings work with joint effort. They take advantage of each others' endeavors to eliminate the needs of their life. The society established by these individuals is similar to a "great man" and each individual is like an organ of this great man's body.

Each organ of the body performs its own specific function and makes up for its own weaknesses by benefiting from the functions of other organs; that is, in its sphere of activity, each organ provides its interests while providing the interests of other organs and continues its life in the light of the life of other organs.

If some organs acted selfishly and were of no use to other organs; for example, if while the hands or feet were functioning, the eyes did not cooperate with them or if the mouth only contented itself with chewing and enjoying the food without swallowing it to satisfy the needs of the stomach, man would die and, as a result, the same self-centered and self-seeking organ would also die.

The duty of the members of a society is exactly like the duty of the organs of a body, i. e. , man must look for his interests within the framework of the interests of the society. He must consider what benefits the society would derive from his efforts so that by his efforts all are benefited and he also gets benefited. He must

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defend the rights of others so that his own rights would not be violated.

This is a fact which we realize with our Allah-given nature. The holy religion of Islam, which is established on the basis of nature and creation, does not have the commandments and views other than these on this matter.

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "A Muslim is one from whose hand and tongue Muslims are safe. "

He further states: "Muslims are brothers and are like a single-hand, single-heart, and single-direction against aliens. "

He also states: "Whoever does not care about the affairs of the Muslims is not a Muslim. "

For the Battle of Tabuk when the Holy Prophet (S) set out with the army of Islam for the frontier of Rome, three Muslims did not participate in the battle. After the return of the army of Islam, when these three persons welcomed and greeted the Holy Prophet (S) , the Prophet (S) turned his face and did not answer their greetings. In the like manner, the Muslims also turned their faces from these three men. No one, in Madinah, not even their wives, talked to them. Consequently, they became helpless and sought refuge in the mountains of Madinah and engaged themselves in repentance and contrition until Allah accepted their repentance after several days and then they returned to the city.

Justice

point

In the Qur'an and the ahadith of the religious leaders, justice is of two kinds: individual and social. Both are highly regarded by the holy religion of Islam.

Individual Justice

The individual justice means that the

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man should abstain from falsehood, backbiting, and other major sins. He should not insist on committing other sins. He who is endowed with this quality is called 'Adil (just). According to the Islamic regulations, if such a man has educational ability as well, he can take charge of judicial and governmental positions, or he can become a religious authority or maintain other social positions. But the one who is deprived of this religious personality cannot enjoy these privileges even though he may be a scholar.

Social Justice

Social justice means that man should not trespass upon the rights of others. He should consider all the people equal by the divine laws. He should not exceed justice in implementing religious laws. He must not be influenced by feelings and sentiments. He must not deviate from the right path. The Almighty Allah states:

"Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice... (16: 90). "

Again He states:

"... And that when you judge between people you judge with justice... (4: 58). "

Orders have been issued in many Qur'anic verses and ahadith to consider justice in words and deeds. In several cases, the Almighty Allah has explicitly cursed the oppressors.

Tyranny and Oppression

The Almighty Allah has repeatedly mentioned about tyranny in His Divine Book and has reproached this indecent quality which is a characteristic of the beasts (in two-thirds of the number of Surahs of the Holy Qur'an, which are 114, there is a discussion on tyranny).

There is no one who has not felt the badness and unfairness of tyranny by his own nature or who more or less does

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not know what painful calamities have come upon human society, what bloodsheds have taken place, and what a large number of houses have been demolished due to tyranny and oppression.

It has been proven by experience that the palace of tyranny will not last long no matter how strong it may be and sooner or later, it will collapse on the heads of the oppressors. The Almighty Allah states:

"... Surely Allah does not guide the unjust people (6: 144). "

Religious authorities have also stated: "Monarchy and kingdom will last with blasphemy, but these will not stabilize with tyranny and oppression. "

Sociability

Being bound to live in a society, man has no escape from the company of people. Undoubtedly, man associates with other people to protect his own social status, to further h is material and spiritual advancement day by day, and to solve the difficulties of his life better and with greater ease.

Thus he must behave with other people in such a way so as to attain endearment, to augment his social honor day by day, and to add to the number of his friends. If people see unfriendliness or bitterness in the behavior of others, their hearts will be filled with abomination and anguish.

Finally, a day will come when everyone will escape from the company of such a person and he will be hated and disfavored by others. He must then live all alone and as a stranger in his native land. This is one of the most bitter and most unpleasant examples of man's

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misfortune.

This is what the holy religion of Islam has enjoined its followers to have good social behavior and has prescribed the best etiquettes and instructions in this respect. For example, Islam has ordered Muslims to greet when they meet one another and has considered the person who greets first to be superior to the other.

The Holy Prophet (S) took the lead in greeting others. He even greeted women and children. If someone greeted the Holy Prophet (S) , he would in turn greet him better.

The Almighty Allah states:

"And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet with a better (greeting) than it or return it... (4: 86). "

Allah has also stated that man should show humbleness and modesty in his association with people and should respect others commensurate with their social status.

The Almighty Allah states:

"And the servants of the Beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness... (25: 63). "

The point that should be mentioned is that humbleness and modesty do not mean that man should degrade himself before the people and thus hurt his personality, rather these mean that man should not show off his superiorities and honors to the people and should not associate with himself other extraordinary privileges. One must not consider the people degraded and insignificant.

Similarly, respect to the people does not mean that one should respect others to an extent bordering on flattery and buttering, rather it means that one must value everyone according to his religious and social status. One should respect the dignitaries commensurate with their rank

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and status. One must also respect the others according to their observation of human qualities.

Again paying respect to people does not mean that m an should keep mum and overlook the indecent acts of people. Neither it means that man should associate with the people in a gathering in which all act against human prestige or carry out an action against religious principles.

It doesn't mean that man should go with the stream for the fear of defamation either, for the people should, in fact, be respected on the basis of their human dignity and their religious and moral values, not because of their physique and stature. If a man loses his human dignity and religious value, there will be no reason for his being respected by the others.

The Holy Prophet (S) stated: "One should not commit a sin before Allah for the sake of obeying others. "

Teasing People and Mischievousness

These two attributes are closely linked together, for teasing people means annoying them and inflicting pain on them either by means of the tongue, such as cursing and using words which annoy others, or by means of the hands, such as performing an action to make the people unhappy. Mischievousness means doing things to cause evil for the people. At any rate, these two attributes are at the opposite pole of the dreams of comfort of life and peace of mind, for the sake of which, man has established the society.

Therefore, the religion of Islam, which gives the top priority to the interests of the

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society, has forbidden the people to tease others and to make mischief, as the Almighty Allah states:

"And those who speak evil things of the believing men and the believing women without their having earned (it) , they are guilty indeed of a false accusation and a manifest sin (33: 58). "

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "Whoever bothers a Muslim, has bothered me and bothering me is bothering Allah. Such a person has been cursed in the Tawrat, the Injil, and the Qur'an. " He also states: "One, who casts an angry glance on a Muslim and frightens him, will be frightened by Allah on the Day of Judgment. "

Association with the Good People

Although man associates with a large number of people, he is obliged to associate with some people more than others due to the exigency of his life. These are the people who are called "friends. "

Surely, the main cause for this friendship and relationship is a kind of similarity in ethics, manners, profession, and the like which exist between the two persons or among a group of individuals.

Since companionship gradually transfers the habits and character of one of the two companions to the other, a man must choose the company of good people, for in this case, the decent ethics of his friends will be transferred to him and he will benefit from their taintless and benevolent friendship and cooperation.

He will also be enthusiastic in the continuation of their friendship. Furthermore, he will improve his own social value and dignity among the people.

Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (as) states: "Your

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best friend is the one who leads you to do good deeds. "

He also states: "Man is evaluated on the basis of the friends he chooses. "

First let me know with whom you have associated, so that I can describe your identity. It is the value of your acquaintances that determines the value and worth of your life.

Companionship with the Bad People

Companionship with the bad people and the evil-doers is the source of all sorts of wretchedness and misfortune. To clarify this matter, it suffices to say that if we ask the criminals and the evil-doers such as thieves and bandits the cause of their aberration and deviation, they will undoubtedly reply that the companionship and association with bad people have put them in such a situation. From among a thousand wicked and defiled people, not even one can be found who has chosen an indecent course of action deliberately.

Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (as) , states: "Shun the companionship of bad people, for a bad friend makes you similar to himself. Unless he succeeds in this respect, he will not accept you as a friend. "

'Ali (as) also states: "Avoid the friendship of an evildoer, for he will sell you for a trivial thing. "

Associate less with bad people, for you will be distressed; since human nature is apt to acquire habits,

Truthfulness

The relationship of human beings with one another, which is the basis of human society, is established through speaking. Thus true words that reveal a concealed reality to man are one of the essential bases of the society. Great

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advantages, which are always necessary for a society, are acquired by means of telling the truth.

The advantages of truthfulness can be summarized in a few sentences as follows:

(1) A truthful person is trusted by his fellow-men and relieves them of determining the truthfulness of his remarks.

(2) A veracious person is honored by his conscience and is relieved of the pain of falsehood.

(3) A truthful person keeps his promise. He will not be disloyal to what he is entrusted with, for truthfulness in action is not different from truthfulness in words.

(4) Many differences of opinion and disputes will be eliminated as a result of truthfulness, for the main reason for most quarrels is the denial of truth and reality by either or both parties.

(5) As a result of truthfulness, a large part of moral imperfections and violations of laws and provisions is eliminated automatically, because most people lie in a bid to cover these kinds of deeds and actions.

Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (as) states: "A true Muslim is one who prefers truthfulness, although it may be to his detriment, over falsehood from which he may benefit; and gets internal satisfaction as a result of this preference. "

The Disadvantages of Falsehood

From the aforementioned statements, the disadvantages of falsehood also become clear. A liar is the wicked enemy of human society. He endeavors to ruin the society by his falsehood which is a big crime.

This is because falsehood resembles narcotics which kill the intelligence and commonsense of the society and hide the reality. Falsehood is also similar to

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alcoholic beverages which intoxicate the people and render them unable to distinguish between good and bad.

Therefore, Islam considers falsehood as one of the mortal sins and does not believe in any religious stature of a liar.

The Holy Prophet (S) has stated: "Three groups of people are munafiqin even if they recite salat and observe sawm. They are the liars, those who do not keep their promise, and those who are disloyal to what they are entrusted with. " Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (as) also states: "Man derives pleasure from his faith when he gives up falsehood; even he should give up his lying which may be for fun sake. "

Falsehood has not only been introduced as a sin and an indecent deed in Islam, but its indecency and unfairness is also clearly perceived by commonsense. The prevalence of this indecent deed in the society will soon shatter the confidence of the people towards one another which is the only basis in their social relationship. By the disruption of such a relationship, the people will, in effect, live in isolation because of having utmost anxiety from one another although they may apparently seem to be living in a knitted society.

Man always deals with external matters in his life. He keeps himself alive through his activities and by bringing about changes in matters and thus fulfils his desires. This creature who works by commonsense and will power has based his vast and extensive life on knowledge. His work is directly related to the knowledge available

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to him. He constantly adjusts his learnings and performs his external activities accordingly.

Therefore, receiving true information is essential for man and is of prime importance. If the correct outside news are not revealed to man, for instance, if he sees the ditch as a road and the road as a ditch, or if he sees the distant as the nearby and the nearby as the distant, or if he receives the news in an untrue way, he will not be able to continue his living. Thus it becomes clear that falsehood is a serious threat to social life and a liar is a person without any personality and dignity. He is the enemy of the society and his remarks are considered invalid and unreliable by the people. He himself is cursed by Allah.

Backbiting and Libel

Slandering others and backbiting them, if true, are called backbiting, and if wrong, are called libel and sometimes calumny.

Surely, the Almighty Allah has not created man (except the prophets and the Imams) free from sins. As a result of his shortcomings, man is fallible and all people live behind the curtain with which the Almighty Allah has covered their deeds by His Divine Wisdom.

If this divine covering is lifted from over the defects and shortcomings of the people, they will be repugnant from one another and will avoid the company of each other, thus leading to the destruction of the foundation of their society.

Therefore, the Almighty Allah has declared backbiting as haram, so that everyone may live in

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peace from backbiting by one another and the outwardly appearance of the environment of their lives would seem adorned until gradually the same outward beauty corrects the internal obscenity.

The Almighty Allah states:

"... Nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?.... (49: 12). "

The sin and obscenity of libel is definitely greater than backbiting and the wise are thoroughly aware of its obscenity. In His words, the Almighty Allah has made the badness and obscenity of libel quite clear and states:

"Only they forge the lie who do not believe... (16: 105). "

Damaging the Prestige of People

Damaging one's chastity is a mortal sin in Islam and, in different cases, severe punishments such as whipping, killing, and stoning to death have been laid down for it.

Allowing the commitment of this indecent deed, although it may have been agreed upon by both the parties, will shake the foundation of families which is of prime importance in Islam and will cease the proceeding of the precepts of inheritance and the like. Finally, it makes parent-child affection and relationship invalid and leads to the disappearance of the true guarantee of society which is the natural result of reproduction.

Self-Respect and Honesty

The world of creation, that has created man sociable and in need of cooperation, has prepared him in such a way as to be able to manage his own affairs in the society with his own capability and to handle his living from what he gains in his life.

With consideration of what has already been discussed above, there

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remains no doubt that the attribute of self-respect means that man should take advantage of Allah-given powers in his life and should utilize them for attaining his goals. He must not rely upon the powers of others and this, indeed, is one of the natural and praiseworthy qualities of man.

Self-respect is like a barrier which protects man from an inferior life and from many unjust acts and indecent deeds. Whoever is not endowed with self-respect and fixes his eyes on others, would easily sell his will power and personality to others and would offer whatever he is asked for, even if it may be his natural freedom, prestige, honor, and dignity.

Most crimes such as murder, banditry, theft, pick pocketing, the crime of lying, flattery, disloyalty to one's country, reliance on foreigners, and the like are the evil consequences of greed and reliance upon others.

But whoever wears the crown of honour of self-respect, does not submit himself to any splendor but the splendor of the Almighty Allah, does not yield to any authority and pomp, and always defends what he considers to be true. Self-respect is the best means by which one can acquire the attribute of honesty and safeguard it.

Benevolence and Helping the Needy

It is certain that in any society, the poor and the helpless deserve help. It is the duty of the rich to help the poor and not to trample upon this certain right. The holy religion of Islam has also set out strict rules concerning the observation of this right. It

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holds the rich responsible to help the weak and the poor.

In the Holy Qur'an, the Almighty Allah has introduced Himself as Benevolent, Beneficent, and Merciful. Allah has encouraged His servants to attain these praiseworthy attributes to the extent that He states: "Allah is with benefactors;" and He also states: "Whatever you spend in the way of Allah is to your own advantage. " Elsewhere, He states: "Whatever you spend in the way of Allah will be returned unto you and you will not sustain a loss. "

Study and investigation into the social conditions and also in the advantages of benevolence clarify the context of these verses, for, indeed, all forces of the society work for every individual.

In a society where a group of helpless people fail to make efforts due to insolvency, the acquisition of income diminishes proportionately and its evil consequences embrace all people. In such a society, a time will come when the rich become the poorest of all. But if the rich help the poor with their benevolence and generosity, they will gain the following outstanding results:

(1) By this action, they gain the affection of others and captivate the hearts of a group of people.

(2) They gain a great deal of respect with an insignificant amount of money.

(3) They attain people's support, because people take sides with the benefactors.

(4) They are safe from the danger of the accumulation of the vengeance and anger of the poor which harm the good and the bad together.

(5) The trivial money that they

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spend in the way of Allah will increase in amount and return unto them as a result of proper running of the economy.

There are innumerable Qur'anic verses and ahadith regarding the attribute of spending in the way of Allah and also in regard to the encouragement and persuasion for this noble deed.

Cooperation

Benevolence and beneficence, mentioned earlier, are one of the various branches of cooperation which forms the basis of human society, for the society exists when all individuals help one another by means of which all may enjoy good and sound living conditions and will meet their requirements of life.

It should not be imagined that the holy religion of Islam has demanded benevolence only in financial matters, rather it is one of the aims of Islam and also one of the demands of man's conscience to offer all kinds of help to every helpless, although he may not be in need of money.

To teach an illiterate, to help a blind, to guide a misled, to assist an oppressed person, and... are all the true acts of benevolence and beneficence and a part of the cooperation whose credibility we have approved and confirmed on the very first day of the establishment of the society.

It is self-evident that if man fails to perform a part of minor tasks, he will not perform principal tasks and if he disregards the insignificant minor duties, he will refuse to undertake general and important obligations.

Arranging Charities and Reliefs

Benevolence is praiseworthy when it renders good results. Of course, the more

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general and lasting the results, the more praiseworthy and better would be the benevolence. The treatment of a patient is an act of benevolence and beneficence, but construction and management of a hospital which treats hundreds of patients daily cannot be compared with this act.

Teaching a student is praiseworthy, but it can never reach the value of setting up an institution which turns out hundreds of graduating scholars annually. This is why general donations, public charities and reliefs are the acts of highest benevolence and beneficence.

In Islamic terminology, this public charity is interpreted as "standing charity". The Holy Prophet (S) states: "Two things provide man with honor: a righteous child and standing charity. " According to the Holy Book and the ahadith, as long as the standing charity exists the Almighty Allah considers its benefactions for the one who has established this charity.

Self-Sacrifice

There is no doubt that, in the human conscience, the genuine life and honest living are of equal importance. A life without honor and devoid of man's prosperity is not a life indeed, rather it is a death much bitter and more unpleasant than natural death. A man who maintains value for his honor and prosperity should escape from such a mean life resembling death.

In whatever environment a man lives and to whatever policies he may be inclined, he will understand with his Allah-given nature that death for the cause of sanctification is prosperity itself although this matter is clearer in the logic of religion than in any other

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logic and is far away from supposition and superstition.

This is because whoever defends his religious society and gives his life for this cause, is aware that he has not deprived himself of any privileges and that he will get a sweeter, more valuable, and everlasting life in return for giving his sweet and short-span life for the cause of Allah. Truly, his prosperity is immortal.

The Almighty Allah states in His words:

"And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead,. nay, they are alive (and) are provided sustenance from their Lord (3: 169). "

But in non-religious societies which consider human life confined to the short-span life of this world only, it can never be said that man will be again alive in the Hereafter or will attain happiness and prosperity, except that it is inculcated upon the people, through suppositions and superstitions, that if a man is, for example, killed for the cause of his country or for national sanctities, his name will be entered in the list of the devoted and self-sacrificing persons of the nation and will be inscribed in gold in the history book and thus he will remain alive forever.

The praise and sanctification for martyrdom and getting killed in the way of Allah have not been made in Islam so much for any other good deed.

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "There is always a good deed surpassing other good deeds. But no good deed can surpass martyrdom. " Muslims of the early period of Islam asked forgiveness

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from the Holy Prophet (S) and, as a result of the prayers of the Holy Prophet (S) , they attained the elevated rank of martyrdom. They never used to cry for those who were martyred, knowing that the martyrs were alive and not dead.

Generosity and Donation of Money

The role that wealth plays in regulation of life needs no explanation. Many people consider life the same as wealth and do not believe in any virtue and honor for man except property and wealth. They direct all their activities towards accumulating and saving money. As a result of this fascination and greed, they get entangled in stinginess.

Such people deprive others and sometimes degrade themselves further and submit to meanness and miserliness, thus depriving themselves of enjoying their own wealth as well. Neither they enjoy themselves nor do they give money to others. They only enjoy accumulating money.

Those who are entangled with the indecent attribute of miserliness (certainly, those who are involved in stinginess are even meaner than them) lose their human nature and become destitute in their lives because:

(1) They only look for their own happiness, prosperity, and comfort and believe in individual life, although human nature advocates social life for us and the individual life, led in any manner, is doomed to destruction.

(2) By showing off their authority to others, they attract towards themselves the poor and the needy due to their humility. Although they d o not relieve the sufferings of the afflicted, they try to make the needy pay respect to them. They take

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the poor as slaves and foster the spirit of idol-worshipping. Consequently, human courage, bravery, magnanimity, and pride will be eradicated from the society.

(3) Trampling upon the pure feelings of affection, friendship, philanthropy, compassion, and benevolence, they promote all kinds of felony, crime, meanness, and wickedness in the society. This is because the most powerful natural factor of crime and offence such as backbiting, incontinence, theft, banditry, murder, and poverty cannot be found among the needy.

These factors are the anger, rancor, and feeling of revenge which are implanted in the hearts of the afflicted and distressed by the wealthy people and which are aggravated by the stingy rich people. That is why a stingy person in a society is, in fact, the first enemy of that society and is always affected by the anger and severe punishment of Allah and the hatred of the inhabitants of the world.

There are many verses in the Holy Qur'an reproaching and blaming the mean quality of stinginess and greed on the one hand, and on praising the attribute of generosity, spending in the way of Allah, and helping the poor and needy on the other.

In His words, the Almighty Allah promises that He will return the property that is donated ten times and, in some instances, seventy and up to seven hundred times and more to the donor.

It has also been proved through experience that the wealth of those who are generous, who help the poor generously, and who cater for the shortcomings of the

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human society is increased day by day.

Those who resolve the difficulties of others will not face difficulties themselves. No one has ever seen any knot in the comb.

If they occasionally face difficulties, all people will sympathize with them. Whatever help they have extended to others will collectively return unto them.

Furthermore, like honorable men, they have set their conscience at peace by doing good deeds and have responded to the Divine call concerning the wajib and mustahabb obligations. They have used the pure feelings of humanity through kindness, compassion, philanthropy, and benevolence and have acquired popularity and an immaculate respect from the people. Finally, they have gained the satisfaction of the Almighty Allah and the everlasting prosperity at the lowest cost.

The Generalities of Jihad

Every creature defends his life as well as his interests. Like others, every creature is equipped with a defensive power that enables him to combat with his enemies. With his Allah-given instinct and nature, man believes that he must defend himself and destroy the enemy who wants to destroy him and who never gives up his animosity.

He also believes that he should defend his rights if someone transgresses upon his vital interests and that he should cut off the hands of the transgressor by any means possible.

This natural phenomenon, which is invariably present in the nature of an individual, is firm and stable in human societies as well, i. e. , an enemy who threatens the members of a society or its social independence is condemned to death by that society. This way

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of thinking has always been predominant in human societies that individuals and societies can make any decisions and can act harshly against their dangerous enemies.

Islam is also a social religion established on the basis of Tawhid. Islam considers those who refuse to abide by truth and justice as its vital enemies and as the ones who disturb the order of humanity. Islam does not believe in any human value and respect for them.

Since Islam is itself a universal religion and because it has not set any specific place as its homeland and frontiers for its followers, it fights with anyone who believes in shirk and who does not accept the truth and divine laws by clear logic and wise counsel in order to make him follow truth and justice.

The essence of the laws of Islam on jihad is only this and no more. It is exactly in accordance with the policies which are usually adopted by every human society against its vital enemies.

Contrary to the propaganda by the malicious enemies, Islam is not the "religion of sword", for Islam is not an imperial-plan which knows no logic but sword and political maneuvers, rather it is a religion whose founder is Allah Who, in His Divine Words, addresses the people through logic and reasoning and invites His creatures to a religion which corresponds to their creation.

A religion whose general initial greeting is salam (peace) and whose universal policy, according to the explicit wording of the Holy Qur'an, is: ('''') "... Reconciliation is

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better... (4: 128) " will never be a religion of sword and oppression.

During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (S) , when the divine light of Islam had illuminated the entire Arabian Peninsula and when Muslims were involved in important battles and severe wars, the casualties of the Muslims did not reach more than two hundred persons and the casualties of the unbelievers did not touch the figure of one thousand in number. (Among these one thousand people, seven hundred belonged to Banu-Qurayzah, who were killed by the order of the arbitration they had themselves chosen. ). Thus it is quite unfair to call such a religion, the "religion of sword".

The Instances of War In Islam

There are a few groups with whom Islam combats:

(1) Mushrikin: These are the ones who do not believe in Tawhid, Nubuwwah, and Ma'ad. This group should primarily be invited to embrace Islam. The facts of religion must be explained to them clearly in such a way that no ambiguity and excuse would remain. Then if they accept these truths, they will be considered as the brothers of other Muslims and equal to them in profits and losses. But if they refuse to accept the truth and reality after these are clearly explained to them, Islam will perform the religious duty of jihad against them.

(2) Ahl al-Kitab: These are the followers of the Divine Books [1] who have a religion and a divine book from the viewpoint of Islam and who believe in Tawhid, Nubuwwah, and Ma'ad. Islam gives its permission to these groups to live

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under its protection by paying jizyah (head tax charged from Ahl al-Kitab in lieu of their non-acceptance of Islam) , that is, - by accepting the guardianship of Islam, they must safeguard their own independence and perform their deeds according to their own religious regulations.

Their life, honour, and property will be respected like that of all other Muslims. In lieu of this, they must pay an insignificant sum as jizyah to the Muslim society. They must not, however, make evil propaganda, help the enemies of Islam, or perform anything else that is to the detriment of the Muslims.

(3) Those who do injustice and engage in corruption: This group of people includes those Muslims who engage in armed rebellion against Islam and the Muslims and embark on the massacre of other Muslims. The Islamic society combats with such people, so that they may surrender and give up corruption and revolt.

(4) The enemies of Islam who attack in order to destroy the very foundation of Islam or to overthrow the Islamic Government: In this case, it is wajib for all Muslims to defend Islam and to deal with them like kafir harbi (unbeliever to be fought against).

If it is deemed advisable in the interests of the Muslims and Islam, the Islamic society can temporarily enter into a non-aggression treaty with the enemies of Islam, but it does not have the right to establish friendly relations with them in a manner that their words and actions cause evil effects and corrupt the thoughts and deeds

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of Muslims.

Escaping From Jihad and Defence

Running away from the battlefield and escaping from the enemy means that the person who runs away considers his life as more valuable and dearer than the existence of the society. It is indeed the surrender of religious sanctities and the life, honor, and property of the society to an enemy who threatens their lives in all respects.

Therefore, escaping from jihad and defense is a mortal sin. The Almighty Allah has explicitly promised to put the person who escapes from jihad in hell as He states:

"And whoever shall turn his back to them on that day unless he shall turn aside for the sake of fighting or withdraws to a company - then he, indeed, becomes deserving of Allah's wrath, and his abode is hell... (8: 16). "

Defending the Islamic Domain

According to what has been discussed, defending the Islamic society and the territory of Muslims is one of the most important Islamic obligations. The Almighty Allah states:

"And do not speak of those who are killed in Allah's way as dead; nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive (2: 154) ".

The story of men who most heartily participated in bloody battles during early period of the advent of Islam and of martyrs who got weltered in their pure blood is extremely astonishing as well as exemplary. These were the ones who established and made firm foundation of this holy religion with their pure blood and severely injured bodies.

Fighting With the Internal Enemies of The Society

As according to natural logic, we ought to fight the foreign enemies and defend the society from damages, we

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should combat and fight the internal enemies of the society as well. The internal enemy of the society is one who breaches the general policies and the rules that are in force and thus disrupts and deranges the general order of the society. That is why security forces and various punishments to retribute the offenders are established in organized societies to safeguard the order and continuation of affairs.

In addition to setting up the executive power and various punishments, Islam has made incumbent upon all individuals to carry out the precept of al-amr bil-ma'ruf (enjoining the lawful acts) and al-nahy 'an al-munkar (forbidding the sinful acts) , thus making the campaign more general and more effective.

The main difference between Islam and other social policies is that other policies have only focused on the reformation of the actions and deeds of the people, but Islam 

has paid attention to both actions and ethics of the people and has fought against corruption in both the instances.

Sins which have been forbidden by Islam are the actions that have sinister effects and evil consequences in the society. Nevertheless, some of these sins directly corrupt the individual or individuals who commit them and somehow influence the society as local wounds and organic complications that appear in the human body. Most sins, such as not reciting salat and not observing sawm, disturb the status of worshipping Allah and deny the divine rights and so fall within this category.

Some of the sins directly threaten the social life and annihilate

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the whole structure of the society like diseases which directly affect human life and disrupt the affairs of man's life. Lying and slandering fall under this category. According to Islam, the rights of parents, backbiting, and attacking the honor of the people also fall under the same category.

--------------------

[1]: the Jews, the Christians, and the Magians

Defending the Truth

Another defense which is much more profound and enormous than defending territory is the defense of right which is the only objective of the holy religion of Islam. The most important aim of this divine policy is the revival of right and reality and hence this pure religion has been named as the religion of truth, i. e. , a religion that belongs to the truth, involves nothing but the truth, and aims at nothing but the truth.

While describing about His Book, which contains all the truths, the Almighty Allah states:

"... Guiding to the truth and to a right path (46: 30). "

That is why it is incumbent upon every Muslim to follow the truth, tell the truth, listen to the truth, and defend the truth with his utmost capacity and in any way possible.

Homicide

Another instance of injustice which is very indecent and reproachable in the holy religion of Islam is homicide and killing an innocent person.

Homicide is one of the mortal sins. In His words, the Almighty Allah equals the killing of a human being with massacre of all the human beings. This is because the killer of one person deals with humanity and humanity is the same in one person or in one thousand persons.

Infringing Upon The Property of Orphans

Just as

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benevolence towards people is logically and religiously praiseworthy, malevolence towards Allah's servants is unfair and blameworthy. Injustice and oppression are strongly prohibited by the holy religion of Islam in several instances, one of which is the infringement upon the property of orphans.

Misappropriating the property or money of an orphan is one of the mortal sins in Islam. It is specified in the Holy Qur'an that whoever misappropriates an orphan's property eats fire indeed and will soon be thrown in the blazing fire of hell. According to the statements of the infallible Imams (as) , the main reason for so much emphasis is that if an aged man (who is not an orphan) is oppressed, he may defend his rights, but an orphan is unable to do so.

Disappointment for The Blessings of Allah

In Islam, one of the most dangerous sins is being disappointed for Allah's blessings.

The Almighty Allah states:

"Say: O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah forgives the faults altogether. surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful (39: 53). "

At another place, the person who despairs of the blessings of Allah is considered to be an unbeliever. The reason behind this is that if a person despairs of the blessings and forgiveness of Allah, he will no longer have any internal stimulant to perform good and praiseworthy deeds in his life and to refrain from committing dhanb kabir (mortal sin) and dhanb saghir (venial sin) and indecent actions, because the main motivation for the two

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items mentioned above is "hope for Allah's blessings" and "deliverance from the punishment of Allah". This expectation does not exist in such a person. There is no difference between this person and the one who does not believe in any religion as far as mental and internal qualities are concerned.

Anger and Wrath

Anger is a condition that prompts man to take revenge and he gets internal satisfaction in taking revenge. If a man acts with laxity in controlling himself, his commonsense will be immediately subdued by anger and wrath and every indecent and unfair action will seem right to him to the point that he becomes more rapacious than any beast.

Strict orders have been issued by Islam for preventing the outburst of anger and severe reproachment has been set against following it. The Almighty Allah has shown great favors towards those who control their anger and remain patient when they are angry.

As the Almighty Allah states:

"... And those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men... (3: 134). "

In regard to the characteristics of believers, the Almighty Allah states:

"... And whenever they are angry they forgive (42: 37). "

Bribery

Receiving money or a gift in return for a judgment or for the accomplishment of a task which is the duty of the receiver is called bribery.

Bribery is a mortal sin in Islam. The person who commits this sin is deprived of many social privileges of religion (justice) and deserves Allah's punishment. This matter has been specified in the Holy Book and the ahadith.

The Holy Prophet (S) has cursed tile givers, receivers,

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and the mediators of bribe.

The sixth infallible Imam (as) also states: "Receiving bribe for administering justice equals blasphemy to Allah".

Surely, all these reproachments apply to the bribe taken for the judgment of truth or for administering justice. The sin of the bribe taken for the judgment contrary to truth and for unjust deeds is far greater and its retribution is much severer.

Theft

Theft is an unfair and indecent action that threatens the financial security of the society. It is self-evident that the fundamental source of human life is the property and wealth which man acquires at the expense of his life. Man protects h is wealth so that it can be safeguarded against any infringement by others so that it can consequently remain as the protection and backing of the society.

Surely, breaking through this protection and disrupting this order mean ruining man's life which has been spent to acquire such wealth. It results in disabling men to perform most of their activities and renders them inefficient.

That is why, in regard to the punishment of this repugnant action which is considered to be perfidious by the thief's self-conscience as well, Islam has ordered to cut the thief's hand (four fingers from the right hand). The Almighty Allah states:

"And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned. (5: 38). "

Selling Underweight

In Islam, selling underweight is a mortal sin. In His words, the Almighty Allah reproaches and threatens those who commit it

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and states:

"Woe to the defrauders.... Do not these think that they shall be raised again, for a mighty day (83: 1, 4, 5). "

Besides doing injustice to the people and stealing their money by way of theft, a person who sells underweight causes people to lose their confidence in him and gradually loses his customers and at last his own money.

The General Penalty of Sins in Islam

These indecent deeds are called mortal sins in Islam and the Almighty Allah has clearly promised to punish those who commit these sins.

In addition to establishing severe punishments for some of these sins, Allah has excluded those who commit these sins (even once) from the just, i. e. , He has taken away from them the honor of being a righteous member of the human society.

Whoever commits a mortal sin loses his justice and gets deprived of the privileges that a righteous member of the society can enjoy. He cannot be in charge of one of the various positions of the Islamic government; for example, he cannot become khalifah or imam al-jama'ah (the imam of congregational salat). His testimony to the benefit or detriment of others is not acceptable. He will remain in this state until he repents and develops the quality of justice in himself once again by constantly having taqwa (piety).

The Essentiality of Employment and The Importance of Trade And Industry

Endeavour and work are the base and foundation upon which the world of creation is established and these are the only guarantee for the survival of every creature. The Almighty Allah has equipped His creatures with suitable means with which they derive benefits

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and avoid losses.

Man, who is the most astonishing and sophisticated design of creation, has more requirements than any other creature. Thus he needs more endeavors with which he could meet his countless requirements and also maintain the family that he should naturally administer.

That is why Islam, which is a natural and social religion, considers working and earning as wajib for the people.

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "It is wajib upon every Muslim man and woman to earn halal money for his or her livelihood and subsistence [1] . "

Islam has not attached any importance to those who spend their lives idly. Whenever the Holy Prophet (S) saw a man whose strength and capability were surprising, he would ask: "Does he work? " If they said: "No, he is idle. ", the Holy Prophet (S) would state: "To me, he has no respect. ", meaning that an idle youth had no value to the Prophet (S) [2] .

In Islam, every individual should choose one of the many professions and industries towards which the Almighty Allah has guided him to choose according to his own aptitude and interest. He should earn his living in this way, carry one of the burdens of society on his back, and try to provide the people with comfort.

The Almighty Allah states:

"And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for (53: 39). "

In short, Islam has made the strongest recommendations about working and acquiring sustenance and has not disregarded the importance of economic activities even in the most critical moments so much so that

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Al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) said to his friend Hisham: "Even during the war, when soldiers array in line and when the fire of battle is fanned, do not neglect your economic duty and necessary activities for providing your subsistence and follow your financial efforts in such difficult situations [1] .

Thus idleness due to laziness is strictly forbidden in Islam.

Denouncement of Idleness

It is clear from what has been discussed earlier that working and making effort is a right path that creation has provided for man to attain his prosperity by following it. Surely, deviation from the path of creation and nature, no matter how minor it is, will only lead to the detriment of man. In this case, deviation from a matter upon which the very foundation of life is established will lead to nothing but misery in this world and in the Akhirah.

This is why the seventh infallible Imam Musa al-Kazim (as) states: "Do not show sluggishness and tiredness in your work or else you will lose in this world and in the Akhirah. "

The Holy Prophet (S) has cursed those who have got used to idleness and who put the burden of their life on the shoulders of others.

Today, psychological and social experiments have thoroughly clarified that most social corruptions are generated by idleness. It is idleness that disrupts the economic and cultural activities of the society and gives rise to all kinds of moral decadence and superstitions.

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[1]: Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 23, p 6

[2]: Al-Mustadrak, vol. 2, p 501

[1]: Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vol. 4, p 101

Agriculture and Its Advantages

Farming, which is the means for providing food for the society, is one of the most praiseworthy

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human professions due to its importance. Therefore, Islam has laid down great emphasis for choosing this profession.

The sixth infallible Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) states: "Farmers would enjoy more respectable positions than others on the Day of Qiyamah. "

The fifth infallible Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (as) states: "There is no job better than farming and there is no benefit better than the benefit of farming, because benevolent and malevolent grazing animals and birds benefit from it and pray for the farmer. "

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "A Muslim who plants a tree or cultivates a land from which people, birds, and grazing animals eat will have the reward of sadaqah (charity). "

Muslims are obliged to use their natural energy to the maximum, i. e. , to the point where one of the religious leaders states: "If at the time when the world is to come to an end and the solar system is to collapse any one of you has a small plant in hand, he should plant it if he has enough time to do so [1] . This means that the idea of the collapse of the world should not prevent you from performing this noble deed.

'Ali (as) states: "Curse and imprecation of Allah be upon one who has land and water, i. e. , one who has natural resources at his disposal but does not use his human skill to take advantage of them and consequently lives in poverty and beggary [2] . "

Self-Confidence

It has been repeatedly mentioned under the section on "Beliefs" that the general planning of Islam

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is that man should worship none except Allah and should not pay homage and bow down to anyone but He Who is the Creator of the world.

All are the creatures of Allah and receive their subsistence from Him. No one has privileges over others except in respect of those things which are done for the sake of Allah.

Every Muslim should have self-confidence and should take advantage of the blessing of independence given to him by the Almighty Allah. Man must use all the means that Allah has bestowed on him to pass his life. He should not rely upon others and consider a partner for Allah and worship a new idol each day.

The servant should realize that he eats his own bread and not of the master. He should know that he receives the reward of his labor, not the tip from his master or lord. Every employee should believe that he receives the wages of his hard work, not the gift and gratuity from his boss, his office, the government, or the society.

After all, a free man should not rely on and pay homage to any but Allah; otherwise, internally, he will have the same meanness and servitude of polytheism that the idol-worshippers have openly.

Finally, it should be noted that self-confidence means that man should use his intrinsic capability in his life and should not rely on others. It doesn't mean that he should dissociate from the Almighty Allah and consider himself to be really effective as the source

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of all hopes and desires.

The Disadvantages of Relying On Others

Relying on others, that is, living on the support of others, means giving up human pride, honor, independence, and freedom. It is the source of all kinds of offences and social misdeeds which originate from meanness and degradation.

Whoever relies on others and fixes his eyes upon this or that person, indeed offers his will and commonsense for sale, for he should commit flattery and should do whatever (right or wrong, decent or indecent) they demand of him or order him to do.

He should resign himself to any disdain and scorn. He must practice xenophilism, agree to do any injustice and oppression, and at last consider all the limits and human laws as naught.

Asking for help in unnecessary cases is haram in Islam. Financial contribution to the needy, which is a part of Islamic provisions, only applies to those needy people whose earning is less than their expenses or to those who are disabled.

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[1]: Al-Mustadrak, vol. 2, p 501

[2]: Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 23, p 19

Commandments

point

As mentioned in the beginning of this book, the precepts and teachings of Islam are divided into three parts: beliefs, ethics, and commandments. After knowing Allah, we must perform actions such as reciting salat and observing sawm which are the signs of the worship and obedience to Allah. Now, we would explain the precepts of salat which would be followed by the precepts of sawm.

Reciting Salat

The Almighty Allah states:

"What has brought you into Hell? They shall say: 'We were not of those who recited salat' (74: 42-43). "

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "Prayer is the

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pillar of faith. If it is accepted by Allah, the other worships will also be accepted and if it is not accepted, the other worships will not be accepted either. " Just like a man who removes dirt and uncleanliness from his body by washing himself five times a day in a river, he will also purify himself from sins by reciting salat five times a day.

Surely, it should be known that the one, who recites salat but attaches no significance to it, is like the one who does not recite salat.

The Almighty Allah states in the Holy Qur'an:

"So woe to the ones who recite salat but unmindful of their salawat (107: 4-5). "

One day, the Holy Prophet (S) entered the mosque and saw that a man was reciting salat but without performing proper ruku' (a part of the salat in which one bows down, genuflexion) and sujud (the acts of prostration in the salat or worship to Allah). The Holy Prophet (S) stated: "If this man dies in this condition, he will not die as a Muslim. "

Thus a man should recite salat with humility and respect. He should realize to whom he is talking while reciting salat. He should perform ruku', sujud, and all other actions correctly in order to be benefited by best results of reciting salat.

The Almighty Allah states in the Holy Qur'an:

"... Surely the salat keeps (one) away from indecency and evil... (29: 45). "

Surely, this is true, for the rules of reciting salat are such that, if observed, the person who

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recites salat will never be tempted to evil acts.

For example, one of the rules of reciting salat is that the place where one recites salat and the clothes with which one recites salat should not be usurped or unlawful. His salat is not accepted even if a single thread of his clothes is usurped. One, who shuns haram things to such an extent, will never use haram wealth and property at all and will never deny the rights of others.

Also the salat will be accepted provided that man keeps himself away from avarice, jealousy, and other indecent and bad qualities. It is certain that the source of all indecencies is these bad qualities. If one who recites salat keeps himself away from these qualities, he will definitely be free from all indecencies and evil acts.

If some people perform indecent deeds even though they recite salat, it is because they do not exactly follow the necessary rules of reciting salat. As a result, salawat are not accepted and they do not enjoy the excellent advantages of reciting salat.

The holy religion of Islam has attached such an importance to salat that it has made it wajib for every Muslim under all the circumstances, even at the point of death. If one cannot recite Surat al-Hamd and the other surah, and other dhikr (words for remembering Allah) of salat, he should pass these through his heart. If he is unable to recite salat in a standing posture, he should recite salat in a

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sitting position. If he is unable to recite salat even in sitting position, he should do so in lying down. In any case, under no circumstances a man is exempted from reciting salat.

If one who wants to recite salat cannot face the Qiblah (facing towards Ka'bah while recitingsalat) in the state of war, for the fear of the enemy, or in emergency cases, he can recite salat without facing the Qiblah and he should recite salat in whatever condition or direction he is.

Wajib Salaat

There are six wajib salaat:

(i) Al-salat al-yawmiyyah (the daily prayers) ;

(ii) Salat al-ayat (the prayer of the signs of Allah's creation) ;

(iii) Salat al-mayyit (the prayer for the dead person) ;

(iv) Salat of wajib tawaf (the ritual prayer of circumambulation around the Ka'bah) ;

(v) Qada' (settling the salawat which had not been performed in time) Salawat of the father which become wajib on the eldest son upon the death of the father; and

(vi) Salawat which become wajib upon a person due to: ijarah (receipt of money by him for their recitation) , nadhr (vow) , qasam (oath) , and 'ahd (promise).

Prerequisites of Salat

point

Reciting salat, i. e. standing before Allah, expressing servitude to Him, and worshipping Him, requires certain prerequisites. Salat is not valid unless these prerequisites are met. These essential requirements are: (i) taharah (specified Islamic way of purification) , (ii) time, (iii) dress, (iv) place, and (v) Qiblah.

These prerequisites have been explained in detail here.

(1) Taharah

point

One who recites salat should be tahir; that is, he should recite salat as per the requirements, viz: by having wudhu’ (statutory ablution according to

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Islamic Shari'ah) before salat, or by wajib ghusl (taking bath according to the Islamic Shari'ah) or by tayammum (statutory Islamic ablution with soil, sand, etc) and also his body and dress should not be polluted with najasah.

Najis Substances

There are several substances which are najis (inherently impure). They are as follows:

First and Second: The urine and faeces (The outlet of urination must be made tahir only by water, but the outlet of faeces can be washed with water or cleaned with three pieces of stone and the like provided the faeces have not exceeded the outlet of defecation; otherwise, it will not be cleaned by anything other than water.

It should be reminded that if faeces are not cleaned by three pieces of stone, more pieces of stone can be used to clean the outlet thoroughly) of animals whose meat is haram for eating and whose blood gushes out, meaning the animals whose blood will gush out if their blood vessels are cut, such as cats, foxes, rabbits, etc. If the flesh of chicken or birds or animals has become haram for eating due to their eating faeces, then the urine and faeces of such birds or animals are also najis.

Third: The carcass of an animal whose blood gushes out (if its blood vessels are cut) whether its flesh is halal or haram for eating. But some parts of the carcass, such as its wool, hair, and nails which are soulless, are tahir.

Fourth: The blood of an animal whose blood gushes out (if

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its blood vessels are cut) whether its meat is halal or haram for eating.

Fifth and Sixth: All parts of the body of wild dogs and pigs, even their hair, are najis.

Seventh: Wine and anything which intoxicates a man and is basically in liquid form.

Eighth: Beer.

Mutahhirat (Purifiers)

Anything which purifies (and makes tahir) najis substances is called amutahhir (purifier which purifies a najis). Mutahhirat are as follows:

(i) Water is a mutahhir which makes tahir all najis substances provided that the water is mutlaq (pure). Thus mudaf (mixed) water, such as the juice of watermelon and rose-water are not mutahhirat and do not maketahir the najasah. Wudhu’ and ghusl with mudaf water are not valid either (There are two kinds of water: kurr and qail (small quantity, i. e. , less thankurr). Kurr water is a certain quantity of water which can make tahir anynajis object as long as its colour, taste, and smell have not been altered.

It is 128 manns of Tabriz (Mann is a unit of weight of approximately 3 kg. ) minus 20 mithqal (unit of weight of about 4. 6 g) and is equal to 384 kg. Kurr water will not become najis if a najis object reaches it. Qalil water, i. e. , less than kurr is the water which becomes najis if a najis object reaches it. Its taharah is dependent upon its connection to the flowing water or rain or the addition of kurr water to it. ).

(ii) Ground: It makes tahir the sole of the shoes and the sole of the feet.

(iii) Sun: The

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najis ground and strawmats will become tahir by the direct rays of the sun.

(iv) Istihalah (The transformation or a chemical change of the state of an object): In this chemical process, the very commodity of the najis object transforms and becomes tahir, for example, a dog that falls in a salt lake and transforms into salt.

(v) Blood transfusion: It means the transfusion of a man's blood or the blood of an animal whose blood gushes out, into the body of an animal whose blood does not gush out, such as the transfusion of man's blood into the body of a mosquito, fly, etc.

(vi) The removal of the very najasah from the outer parts of an animal and the inner parts of a man, for example, if the back of an animal or the nostril of a man becomes najis with blood, it will be tahir after blood is removed, and there is no need for flowing water over it.

(vii) Following: It means that a najis becomes tahir as a result of becoming the najis the tahir, for example, if a kafir becomes Muslim, his child will also become tahir as a result of following him.

(viii) Diminishment, i. e. , loss of two-thirds of volume of grape-juice: If the grape-juice is boiled, it becomes najis. However, if it loses two-thirds of its volume as a result of boiling, the remainder becomes tahir.

Wudhu’ and Its Precepts

It is mustahabb for a man to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth with. clean water before performing wudhu’.. It

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is also mustahabb for a man to inhaletahir water up his nostrils.

The Instructions For Wudhu’

In performing wudhu’, the face must be rinsed first by taking water in the hand and wiping it over the face beginning from the place of growing hair of head (forehead) downward to the chin. Next, the right elbow should be rinsed by taking water in the left hand and wiping it from the elbow downward to the fingertips.

This procedure should also be exactly performed for the left elbow using the right hand. Then for mash (anointing) , the front portion of the head must be anointed. Then the right foot followed by the left foot must be anointed from the toe-tips to the upper part of both feet with the fingers. The following should be observed while performing wudhu’.

(1) The parts of body related to wudhu’ must be tahir while performing wudu,

(2) The water for wudhu’ must be tahir, mutlaq and mubah (permissible).

(3) Niyyah (intention) , i. e. , wudhu’ must be performed for the pleasure of Allah; and hence if someone performs wudhu’ with an intention of cooling and comforting himself or for any other purpose, his wudhu’ will not be right.

(4) Tartib (the order as prescribed by Islamic Shari'ah) , that is, wudhu’ must be performed in the prescribed order. The face must be washed first, next the right hand which should he followed by washing of the left hand. The head and the feet should be anointed afterwards.

(5) Muwalat (performing the parts of an Islamic act in succession without undue

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delay): It means that wudhu’ must be performed in succession without undue delay. One should not allow a time gap while washing or anointing the subsequent part to the extent that the previous part gets dried up. However, if wudhu’ is performed consecutively but the moisture gets dried up due to hot weather, the high temperature of the body, and the like, the wudhu’ will be valid.

Note: While performing mash, it is not necessary to anoint the scalp; rather it is also correct to anoint the hair of the front portion of the head. But if the hair of other parts of the head gather in the front portion of the head, then these should be pushed back. If the hair in the front portion of the head is very long, i. e. , if combed, these reach up to the face, then the root of the hair must be anointed or the hair should be parted and the scalp must be anointed.

Mubtilat of the Wudhu’

The things or acts which make the wudhu’ invalid are called the mubtilat (things or acts through which, the salat, the sawm, the wudhu’, etc become invalid). There are eight items which render the wudhu’ invalid:

(i) Urination;

(ii) Defecation;

(iii) Wind or flatus (wind in the stomach or intestines) this is when flatus comes out from the usual outlet or from an outlet that is changed due to illness and surgery;

(iv) Unconsciousness;

(v) Drunkenness;

(vi) Falling asleep when the eyes cannot see and the ears cannot hear; however, if the eyes are unable to

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see, but the ears can hear, the wudhu’ will not be batil (invalid) ;

(vii) Insanity; and

(viii) Janabah (major ritual impurity or al-hadath al-akbar caused by the sexual intercourse, or the like) resulting from sexual intercourse or by seminal ejaculation and other things for which one should perform ghusl. Also, istihadah (menstrual bleeding) , whenever noticed by women, makes the wudhu’ batil.

The Ghusl

The ghusl can be performed in two ways: ghusl tartibi (performing ghuslby washing the body part by part as specified in Islamic Shari'ah) and ghusl irtimasi (performing ghusl by the immersion of the whole body in water).

The ghusl tartibi should be performed in the prescribed order, i. e. , the head and the neck should be washed with water first, then the right side of the body, and finally the left side of the body.

For the ghusl irtimasi, one should completely immerse h is body into the water at once.

There are two types of ghusl: wajib and mustahabb.

The mustahabb ghusul are numerous in Islamic Shari'ah but the wajib ghusul are seven:

(i) Ghusl al-janabah;

(ii) Ghusl almayyit (bathing the dead body) ;

(iii) Ghusl mass al-mayyit (performing ghusl due to touching of the dead body) , i. e. , if one touches a dead body after it has become cold and before its ghusl al- mayyit, he must perform ghusl mass al-mayyit.

(iv) Performing ghusl for the fulfilment of a nadhr, 'ahd, or qasam;

(v) Ghusl al-hayd; (performingghusl after menstruation) ;

(vi) Ghusl al-nifas (performing ghusl after puerperal period) ; and

(vii) Ghusl al-istihadah. The first four ghusul are wajib both for men and women and the last three

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are wajib for only women.

While one is in the state of janabah, the following acts are haram for him:

(i) Touching the writing of the Holy Qur'an, the name of Allah, and the names of the Prophet (S) and the infallible Imams (as) ;

(ii) Entering al-Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid al-Nabi in Madinah;

(iii) Staying in other mosques and leaving something in them; and

(iv) Reciting any one of the four suwar of the Holy Qur'an which require wajib sajdah, viz, the suwar of al-Najm, Iqra' Alif-Lam-Mim Tanzil, and Ha-Mim Tanzil.

For the other precepts on janabah, hayd, nifas and istihadah one should refer to al-Risalah al-'Amaliyyah.

Note: Like in the case of wudhu’, niyyah is also required while performing ghusl. The body should be tahir before performing ghusl and there should be no obstacle for the water to reach the whole body.

The Tayammum

If a person is unable to perform wudhu’ or ghusl for reciting salat and the like due to the lack of time, illness, or non-availability of water and the like, he should perform tayammum (statutory Islamic ablution with soil, sand, etc).

Procedures for Tayammum

There are four obligatory factors in doing tayammum:

(i) Niyyah;

(ii) Simultaneous striking both palms on soil or on something upon which tayammum is valid;

(iii) Drawing both palms on the whole forehead starting from the hairline to the eyebrows and the top of the nose. It is better to draw the hands over the eyebrows as well.

(iv) Then drawing the left palm on the entire back of the right hand (from wrist to fingertips). Next, drawing

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the right palm on the entire back of the left hand: This much is sufficient when tayammum is performed instead of wudhu’ However, if the tayammum is being performed instead of ghusl, one should strike both palms on the soil, etc once again and draw the palms on the back of the hands, as mentioned above.

The Precepts Pertaining to Tayammum

(i) The tayammum should be performed on tahir soil. If soil is not available, the tayammum may be performed on sand or pebbles. In the absence of pebbles, it can be performed on stones. In the case of the non-availability of all of these, the tayammum can be performed on dust accumulated at a place.

(ii) The tayammum is not valid on lime and other minerals.

(iii) If water is sold at a high price and in case one can afford to buy it, he is not permitted to perform tayammum, rather he must purchase the water and perform wudhu’ and ghusl.

(2) Time

The next prerequisite for reciting salat is the time. The salawat must be recited in a sequence. Salat al- Zuhr (noon prayer) and Salat al-’Asr (afternoon prayer) each has a specific and common time. The specific time for Salat al-Zuhr is from beginning of zuhr (If a piece of wood or a similar object is erected on a flat ground, its shadow is cast towards the west when the sun begins to shine in the morning. The more the sun rises up, the smaller this shadow becomes.

The shadow becomes the smallest at zuhr or noon. As

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the zuhr passes, the shadow changes its direction and tends towards the east. The more the sun moves towards the west, the longer the shadow gets.

Thus, when the shadow reaches the smallest length and begins to get longer again, it indicates the zuhr. But it should be remembered that in some cities, like Makkah, the shadow disappears entirely at noon. In cities like this the time at which the shadow reappears indicates the zuhr. ) or noon until the time required to recite Salat al-Zuhr.

If a person recites the Salat al-'Asr even inadvertently at this time, it will be invalid. The specific time for the Salat al-'Asr is the time before the evening just enough to recite the Salat al-'Asr. If a person has not recited the Salat al-Zuhr until then, his Salat al-Zuhr has become qada'

And he should recite the Salat al-'Asr. Between the specific time of theSalat al-Zuhr and the specific time of the Salat al-'Asr' is the common time for reciting the both. If one inadvertently recites the Salat al-'Asr' before theSalat al-Zuhr during this entire common time, his salat is valid. And he should recite the Salat al-Zuhr afterwards.

The Salat al-Maghrib (evening prayer) and Salat al-'Isha' (night prayer) each has a specific and common time. The specific time for Salat al-Maghrib (The maghrib is approximately 15 minutes after the sunset. It is signified by the disappearance of the redness which appears in the east after the sunset. ) is from the evening until the time required for reciting

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the Salat al-Maghrib.

The specific time for Salat al-'Isha' is the time before the midnight (The midnight, from Islamic point of view, is eleven hours and fifteen minutes after zuhr. ) just enough to recite the Salat al-'Isha'. If a person has not recited the Salat al-Maghrib up to this time, he should first recite the Salat al-'Isha' and then the Salat al-Maghrib.

Between the specific time of the Salat al-Maghrib and the specific time of the Salat al-'Isha' is the common time for reciting the both. If during this common time, one inadvertently recites the Salat al-'Isha' before the Salat al-Maghrib, his salat is valid and he should recite the Salat al-Maghribafterwards.

The time for the Salat al-Subh (Morning Prayer) is from the beginning of true aurora or the first light of dawn (At dawn, whiteness in the sky moves upward from the east which is called the first or false aurora. When the whiteness is spread, it is the true aurora and the time for the Adhan (call) for the Salat al-Subh, and the beginning of the time of the Salat al-Subh. ) Till just before sunrise.

(3) Dress

The third prerequisite for reciting the salat is the dress of the person who recites salat. The dress should meet the following conditions:

(i) The dress should be mubah. It should be owned by the person reciting the salat. If it does not belong to him, its owner should be willing to let him recite salat with it.

(ii) It should not be najis.

(iii) It should not be made

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of the skin of carcass, irrespective of the carcass belonging to the animals whose meat is halal or haram to eat.

(iv) It should not be made of the wool, hair, and the fluff of an animal whose meat is haram to eat, but it is possible to recite salat with a fur dress.

(v) The dress of a male person who recites salat should not be made of silk and gold threads. He must also not wear ornaments or dress made of gold or silk while reciting the salat. Putting on silken dress and using ornaments made of gold are haram for men even while not reciting the salat.

(4) Place

A few conditions apply to the place where one recites salat:

(i) It must be mubah. , i. e. , it should not be usurped.

(ii) The place for reciting salat should be stationary. If one is compelled to recite salat in moving vehicles, such as automobiles or ships, he may do so provided he attempts to pray towards the Qiblah. If the direction of the vehicle changes during the salat, one must change his direction also accordingly so that he always faces the Qiblah.

(iii) If the place where one recites the salat is najis, it should not be so wet that the moisture permeates to his dress and body. But if the place where one puts his forehead on is najis, the salat is batil even though the place may be dry.

(iv) The place where one puts his forehead on should not be more than four closed

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fingers lower or higher than where one puts his knees and toes at the time of performing sujud.

(5) Qiblah

The Ka'bah, located in the holy city of Makkah, is the Qiblah of the Muslims and anyone who recites salat must always face the Qiblah. But if a person, who is far away from it, stands or sits in such a way that it is said he is reciting salat in the direction of Qiblah, his salat is valid. Similarly, other acts such as slaughtering of animals must be done while facing the Qiblah.

If it is not possible for a man to recite salat even in a sitting posture, he should lie down on his right side such that the front section of his body faces the Qiblah. If this is also not possible, he should lie down on his left side such that again the front section of his body faces the Qiblah. If this is not possible either, he should lie down on his back such that the soles of his feet face the Qiblah.

If one who wants to recite salat is unable to discover the direction of Qiblahafter a thorough investigation, he must go by the opinion which he has from the altars of the Muslims, or their graves, or other means available to him.

Mandatory Acts While Reciting The Salat

The following eleven acts are mandatory while one recites salat:

(i) Niyyah; (ii) Takbirat al-ihram (the first takbir, i. e. , Allahu Akbar -Allah is Great - said at the beginning of the salat just after the niyyah,) ; (iii) qiyam

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(the standing erect while reciting the salat; (iv) qira'ah (the recitation in the salat) , (v) ruku' (vi) sujud; (vii) tashahhud (testifying for Tawhid of Allah and prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (S) ]; (viii) salam; (ix) tartib. i. e. , recitation of salat in accordance with the prescribed sequence without changing the order of performance; (x) tuma'ninah; i. e. , recitation of salat with quietude and repose; and (xi) muwalat, i. e. , reciting all parts of salat in succession without undue delay.

Five out of the eleven items mentioned above are called the rukns (basic parts) of the salat. Deliberate or inadvertent additions or deletions of therukns will render the salat "batil" But the rest of the above-mentioned items are not rukns. It means that the addition or deletion of these items (other than rukns) will not render the salat "batil" unless they are done intentionally.

The Rukns of The Salat

point

The rukns of the salat consist of the following: (1) niyyah, (ii) takbirat al-ihram, (iii) qiyam, i. e. , standing erect while saying takbirat al-ihram and also the qiyam just before the ruku', and (iv) ruku', and (v) the two sujud.

(i) Niyyah: Niyyah means that the sole purpose of the person who recitessalat is to seek qurbah (pleasure of Allah) to Allah and to comply with His commands. It is not necessary to pass the niyyah through the heart or, for example, to mention: "I recite four raka'at (sections of salat) of Salat al-Zuhr with the intention of seeking pleasure of Allah. "

(ii) Takbirat Al-Ihram: The salat begins right after Adhan (the specified wordings called out at

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salat time) and Iqamah (the specified wordings, almost similar to the Adhan and recited after it, before commencing thesalat) , with niyyah and saying Allahu Akbar. Since at this point of time, several acts such as eating, drinking, laughing, and turning the back toQiblah become haram, this takbir (saying "Allahu Akbar" i. e. , Allah is Great) is called "takbirat al-ihram". It is mustahabb to raise both the hands while saying takbirat al-ihram. By this action, we take the Greatness of Allah into consideration and consider other than Allah insignificant and pay no attention to them.

(iii) Qiyam: The qiyam while saying takbirat al-ihram and also the qiyamjust before the ruku' is one of the rukns of the salat; but the qiyam or standing erect while reciting the Surat al-Hamd and the other surah and theqiyam after ruku' are not the rukns. Thus, if one forgets to perform ruku'and remembers it before reaching ground for performing sujud, he should stand erect and then perform ruku'. If he performs ruku' in a bent position, his salat is batil because he did not have qiyam as is required just before performing ruku'.

(iv) Ruku': After the qira'ah, one should bend his body in such a way that his palms reach his knees. This action is called ruku'. While in ruku', one who recites salat, must say once: "Subhana Rabbiyal-'Azimi wa bihamdih (all glory and praise is for my Lord, the Mighty) ", or he must say thrice: "Subhanallah (all glory is due to Allah) ". After the completion of ruku', one

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must always stand erect before performing sujud.

(v) Sujud: Performing sujud means that one should lay his forehead, palms, knees, and the tips of his toes on the ground. He should then say once: "Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la wa bihamdih (all glory and praise is for my Lord, the Most High) ';, or he must say thrice: "Subhanallah (all glory is due to Allah) ". After completing the first sajdah, he must sit before performing the second sajdah and repeating the previous recitation.

The forehead must be laid on the ground or on something growing from the ground. Sujud is not ja'iz (permissible) on foodstuffs, clothing materials, and minerals.

Tashahhud and Salam

If the salat consists of two raka’at one should stand up after performing two sujud and should recite the Surat al-Hamd and the other surah. One must then perform qunut [After the recitation of the Surat al-Hamd and the other surah in the second rak'ah of the salat, one holds his palms before his face and recites any dhikr and supplication that he wishes.

For example, he may say: "Rabbana atina fiddunya hasanah wa fil-Akhirati hasanah waqina 'adhabannar (O our Lord grant us goodness in this world and the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire). "] and recite tashahhud [The following should be recited in tashahhud: "Ashhadu an la ilaha illalah, wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh, allahumma salli 'ala Muhammadin wa ali Muhammad (I bear witness that there is no god except Allah; He is One, for Whom there is no

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partner; I bear witness that surely Muhammad (S) is His servant and His Prophet; O Allah shower Your blessings on Muhammad (S) and his progeny. ) "]

And salam [The following should be said in salam: "Assalamu 'alayka ayyuhan-Nabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh; assalamu 'alayna wa 'ala 'Ibadillahissalihin; assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh (May peace be upon you, O Prophet (S) , and mercy and blessings of Allah. May peace be upon us and on all servants of Allah who guard against evil. May peace be upon you all together with mercy and blessings of Allah. ) "]

After ruku' and both the sujud. If the salatis of three raka'at, one should stand up after reciting tashahhud and must recite the Surat al-Hamd only or must say: "Subhanallahi walhamdu lillahi wa la ilaha illallahu wallahu akbar (All glory and praise to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is Great. ) " three times, performruku' and two sujud and recite tashahhud and salam. If the salat consists of four raka'at, one must perform the fourth rak'ah like the third rak'ah and recite tashahhud and salam.

Salat Al-Ayat

point

The Salat al-Ayat (the salat of Allah's creation or signs) becomes wajibunder any one of the four following conditions: (i) solar eclipse; (ii) lunar eclipse, although it may be partially eclipsed and even though it may not create fear among the people; (iii) earthquake, although it may not create fear for anyone: (iv) thunder, lightning. Red and black winds or storms, and the like which create 'fear among most people.

The Procedure for Reciting The Salat Al-Ayat

The Salatal-Ayat

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consists of two raka'at There are five ruku' in eachrak'ah. The procedure for reciting Salat al-Ayat is as follows. After nuyyahand saying takbirat alihram, one should recite the Surat al-Hamd and another complete surah. He must then perform ruku'. Standing erect at this point, he should once again recite the Surat al-Hamd and another surahand perform ruku'. This procedure should be repeated five times. After the completion of the fifth ruku', he should stand erect and then perform twosujud. At this point, the first rak'ah is completed. He should then stand erect and perform the second rak'ah exactly as the first one. The Salat al-Ayat is completed after the recitation of tashahhud and salam.

In the Salat al-Ayat, after the niyyah, takbirat al-ihram, and reciting theSurat al-Hamd, it is possible for the one who is reciting the salat to divide the Ayahs of a surah into five parts and read one Ayah or more before performing ruku'. He should then stand up and recite the second part of the partially read surah without reciting the Surat al-Hammd. Then he should perform ruku'. He should exactly follow this procedure until the fifth ruku'and he must complete the surah by then. Afterwards, he must perform ruku'and two sujud. The second rak'ah of the salat is performed exactly in the same manner as the first one.

The Salat of A Traveller

A traveller must recite two raka'at instead of his four rak'ah salawat under the following six conditions:

(i) His journey must cover not less than eight farsakhs (each farsakh is

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of about 5. 6 kilometres). Alternatively, if his going covers four farsakhs and his returning equals to four farsakhs.

(ii) He must have the intention to travel eight farsakhs prior to the start of his journey.

(iii) He must not change his mind in the course of his travel.

(iv) His journey should not be undertaken with an intention of committing a sin.

(v) He must not be a traveller by profession. Thus, a person whose profession requires travelling (like a driver) must recite his salat completely. However, if he stays in his house for ten days, for his three journeys, he must recite his 4-rak'ah salawat as qasr (reciting two raka'at instead of 4-rak'ah salawat).

(vi) When he reaches the limit of the tarakhkhus (seeing off) , i. e. , he reaches a distance, from his hometown or from a place where he has intended to stay for ten days, from where he can neither see the walls of the city nor hear the Adhan of the city.

Salat Al-Jama'ah (Congregational Prayer)

point

It is mustahabb for all Muslims to recite al-salat alyawmiyyah in the form of salat al-jama'ah. The thawab (Allah's reward) for salat al-jama'ah is several thousand times more than the thawab for the salat recited individually.

Conditions Concerning Salat Al-Jama'ah

(i) Imam al-jama'ah (the leader or imam of congregational salat) must be a mukallaf (the one who reached the age of maturity and thus became responsible for performing the Islamic duties) believer, just, and born legitimately. He must recite the salat correctly. If the ma'mum (the follower who follows the imam in salat al- jama'ah) is a

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man, the imam of the salat al-jama'ah must also be a man.

(ii) There should be no curtain, barriers, or obstacles between the imam and his ma'mum, so that the ma'mum is unable to see the imam. But if thema'mum is a woman, a curtain and the like are permissible.

(iii) The place where the imam stands must not be higher than that of hisma'mum, but there is no objection if the place is slightly higher (about the height of four fingers or less) than that of the ma'mum.

(iv) The ma'mum must stand behind the imam or in his row (most of the'ulama' prefer that ma'mum should stand behind the imam).

The Precepts Concerning Salat Al-Jama'ah

(i) The Ma'mum Must Recite All Parts Of The Salat Himself, Except The Surat Al-Hamd And Another Surah After It. But If His First And Second Raka'atcorrespond To The Third And Fourth Raka'at Of The Imam's Salat, He Must Recite The Suratal-Hamd And Another Surah As Well. If As A Result Of Reading The Other Surah, He Feels That He Would Not Catch Up With The Imam In Ruku', He Should Only Read The Surat Al-Hamd And Perform The Ruku' With Theimam Simultaneously. If He Fails To Do So, He Should Complete His Salatindividually.

(ii) The ma'mum must perform ruku', sujud, and other parts of salatsimultaneously with the imam or shortly after the imam, but he must certainly say takbirat al-ihram and recite salam only after the imam has done so.

(iii) If one commences iqtida' or follows the imam while he is in

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the state ofruku' and catches up with the imam in ruku', his salat is correct and is counted as one rak'ah of salat.

The Sawm (Fasting)

point

The sawm is one of the Furu' al-Din (the duties to be performed according to Islamic Shari'ah) of the holy religion of Islam. It is wajib upon everymukallaf to have sawm in the month of Ramadhan. In order to obey the command of Allah, from the time of Salatal-Fajr to the time of Salat al-Maghrib one must refrain from muftirat (certain acts which break or invalidate the sawm) which make the sawm batil.

In Islam, much importance has been attached to sawm. Islam maintains a great deal of value for this holy act. The reward and recompense of sawm is so vital in Islam that the Almighty Allah without His prior specifying thethawab and the recompense of sawm, ascribes its reward to Himself.

The Holy Prophet (S) said that Allah stated:

"The sawm is for Me and I will give reward for it. "

With its specific characteristics, the sawm plays an exceptionally effective role in the liberation of man from the servitude of ambitions, carnal desires, voluptuousness as well as in the purification of the soul from involvement in sinful acts.

The Holy Prophet (S) told Jabir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari: "O Jabir, this is the month of Ramadhan and the one who has sawm during the day and stays awake at night to commune with Allah, abstains from eating haram food, and guards against evils and using abusive language, gets out of sins

as he leaves the month of Ramadhan behind. "

Jabir said: "O Prophet (S) of Allah, what a good news is it! " The Holy Prophet (S) stated: "O Jabir, how demanding and exacting are the conditions for the sawm! "

Al-'Imam al-Sadiq (as) has stated: "The sawm serves as a strong shield against the fire of the Hell. "

Ramadhan, The Month of Allah

In Islamic ahadith many praiseworthy and interesting names such as "the auspicious month" and "the best period for the recital of Qur'an" have been mentioned for the month of Ramadhan. But the name "the month of Allah" is the most outstanding name and the most beautiful title which has been used for the month of Ramadhan.

In spite of the fact that every month is "Allah's month", this month is specifically called "the month of Allah" due to its great importance. Thus this name has in itself endowed this month with a special superiority and a specific spirituality. In this month, the greatest Divine Book (the Holy Qur'an) has been revealed.

With the advent of the holy month of Ramadhan, Allah bestows His servants with His blessings. A special enlightenment and serenity generate in the spirit of man. For the worshipping of Allah, the purification of the soul, and moral reformation, a special preparedness becomes manifest in those who have sawm.

On the last Friday of the month of Sha'ban, the Holy Prophet (S) stated the following concerning the magnificence and value of "the month of Allah".

"O people, the month of Allah, along with its blessings and salvation, has revealed

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itself to you. It is a month which is regarded as the best of all the months by Allah. Its days, nights, and hours are the best of all. It is a month in which you are invited to be the guest of Allah and are entitled to His favour and generosity. "

"In this month, your breathing will have the thawab of tasbih saying"Subhanallah" (Glory be to Allah) and dhikr and your sleeping will have the thawab of the worship of Allah. "

"If you resort to Allah in this month and worship Him, Allah will grant your prayers. Therefore, with all your truthfulness and sincerity and with a pure heart pray to Allah to grant you His Divine dispensations for having sawmand reciting the Holy Qur'an, for one who remains deprived of the forgiveness and blessings of Allah in this bountiful and blessed month is indeed unfortunate. "

The Sawm Leads To Taqwa

The Almighty Allah states in the Holy Qur'an:

"O you who believe! the sawm is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may have taqwa (2: 183). "

Islam enjoins its followers to have sawm for a complete month (during the month of Ramadhan). By having sawm for one month, Muslims prepare themselves for the state of taqwa in its entirety, because when a man refrains from satisfying his natural physical desires, he can very well abstain from satisfying his carnal desires.

In order to attain such a degree of perfection, Islam surely does not consider only abstaining from eating and drinking to be

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sufficient for the sawm, rather it orders a person who has sawm to abstain from whatever causes indulgence in evils and the commitment of sins or leads him to satanic temptations and indulgence in his unruly carnal desires.

Muftirat Which Render the Sawm Batil

Several muftirat (certain acts which invalidate the sawm) render the sawm batil. These include the following:

(i) Eating and drinking, although these things may not be usual drinks or eatables such as soil or the gum of trees.

(ii) The sexual intercourse renders the sawm batil.

(iii) Masturbation, that is, engagement in any sexual activity which leads to seminal ejaculation.

(iv) Ascribing a lie to Allah, the Holy Prophet (S) , and the successors of the Holy Prophet (S).

(v) Allowing thick dust to reach one's throat.

(vi) Immersing the head entirely in water.

(vii) Remaining in the state of janabah, hayd and nifas up to the Adhan forSalat al-Subh.

(viii) Application of an enema with a liquid substance.

(ix) Vomiting, provided that it is done deliberately.

For further information, reference should be made to al-risalat al-'amaliyyah (Islamic treatises written by mujtahidin for use by theirmuqallidin for performing Islamic duties).

The Bay' (Selling)

point

What is bay'? The bay' (selling) means the sale and exchange of a property with another property in a way that the owner, who is ,called "the seller" of the merchandise transfers the ownership of his property to the other party in exchange for money, and the other party called "the buyer" pays the money to the seller in exchange for the merchandise.

As is evident, the bay' is considered as one of the 'uqud (contracts)

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and requires two parties (the seller and the buyer) for implementation. Thus those, who enter into the 'uqud, must fulfil the general conditions of the'uqud such as maturity, wisdom, niyyah, and authority.

The Irrevocability Of Bay'

The bay' is an irrevocable 'aqd, i. e. , it cannot be revoked by either of the contracting parties (seller or buyer) after the conclusion of the contract.

In view of the fact that sometimes the seller or the buyer is cheated due to his negligence or default and sustains a considerable loss and because in such instances the irrevocability of the contract is against the public interest, Islamic laws have enjoined the following two commands to take care of this sedition:

(i) Faskh al-'aqd (cancellation of contract): When one of the parties of the contract changes his decision and requests the revocation of the transaction, it is mustahabb for the other party to accept his request for the cancellation of the contract.

(ii) Khiyar al-'aqd (option for the contract). It is a special option or a right which the dealer can exercise to cancel the contract.

The important khiyarat (options) are as follows:

(i) Khiyar al-majlis (option during the meeting): Both parties reserve the right to cancel the transaction before they disperse.

(ii) Khiyar al-ghabn (option in the case of cheating): It means that when one of the parties to the contract is cheated and has suffered a loss in the transaction, for example, if the merchandise is sold at lower than its actual price or purchased at higher than its actual price, in this case

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the one who has been cheated has an option to cancel the contract.

(iii) Khiyar al-'ayb (option in the case of defect): If after the completion of the transaction, the buyer finds out that the merchandise is defective, he can either cancel the transaction or demand the difference in price (difference in price of defect less and of defective merchandise).

(iv) Khiyar al-hayawan (option in the case of animals): With respect to the option in the case of animals such as sheep and horses, the buyer has the option to cancel the contract within three days.

(v) Khiyar al-shart: (option of condition): If the seller or the buyer or both have agreed upon certain terms and conditions in their transaction, they can revoke the transaction if the previously stipulated terms have been violated.

The Bay’ on Cash, On Credit, And On Advance Payment

The bay' is of four kinds depending on the payment of money and the delivery of the goods:

(i) The bay' on cash: If the commodity and its price in money is exchanged right after the contract for transaction is finalized, it is called the bay' on cash.

(ii) The bay' on credit: In the credit transaction, the commodity is delivered to the buyer at the time of transaction, but the payment of the price of the commodity is deferred by the buyer.

(iii) The bay' on advance payment: In this type of transaction, unlike the second type, the money is paid in cash by the buyer, but the delivery of the commodity by the seller is postponed.

(iv) The bay' on deferred payment and

delivery. Unlike the bay' on cash, in this type of transaction, both the delivery of the commodity by the seller and the payment of money by the buyer are deferred to a later time.

The first three kinds of bay' are correct, but the fourth kind of bay' is batil.

Confession

The importance of confession: The role of confession in re-establishing people's rights which are being trampled upon and are not being taken care of in a society is self-evident, because an action - which is taken by the judicial organizations after a great deal of efforts and pains, collecting evidence, calling the people to witness as well as after depending on guess and conjectures - can be substituted by confession in the easiest and most clear way with only a few words.

In Islam, the confession has a great importance from a personal point of view as well, because it originates from an instinct which Islam has perfectly endeavored to revive and employ and that is the human instinct of admiring the right which is exactly the opposite of sensuality.

In His words, the Almighty Allah addresses those who believe in Islam:

"O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness for Allah's sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives... (4: 135). "

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "Tell the truth, though it may be against your own interests. "

The meaning and conditions of confession: In Islamic terms, the confession is a statement that substantiates the rights of others on

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the confessor, for example, one who confesses might say: "I owe one thousand Rials to such and such a person. "

The confessor must be mature and sane. He should confess out of his own free will. Thus the confessions of a child, an insane person, an intoxicated person, an unconscious person, a person who is asleep, and the one who is forced to confess are not correct and valid.

Eatables and Drinkables

point

In the holy religion of Islam, anything which could be eaten and drunk is known as "halal" except a few of them, some of which are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an and some others in the ahadith of the Holy Prophet (S).

The exceptional cases of haram eatables and drinkables are limited to two types: animate or animals and inanimate or soulless.

First Type: Animals

Animals are of three types: aquatic animals, land animals, and birds:

Aquatic animals: From among animals living in water only aquatic birds and fish with scales are halal to eat. The other aquatic animals such as eel, dogfish, tortoise, seal, porpoise, and the like are haram to eat.

Land animals: These animals are classified into two groups: domestic and wild.

The meat of domestic animals such as sheep, goat, cow, and camel is halalfor eating. The meat of horses, mules, and donkeys is also halal, but eating their meat is makruh. A part from these, other domestic animals' meat such as of dogs and cats is haram.

Among wild animals, cows, rams, wild goats, zebra, and dear are halal; however, the remaining wild animals that are beasts

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or that have talons such as lion, leopard, wolf, fox, jackal, and rabbits are haram to eat.

Birds: The meat of the birds that have maws and gizzards or that flap their wings while flying but do not have talons such as hens, pigeons or doves, turtledove, and francolin are halal to eat, but the meat of the rest of the birds is haram for eating. Some special species of locusts or grasshoppers are lawful (for further detail, one should refer to al-risalat al-'amaliyyah. ).

Note: The halal meat of the above-mentioned animals and birds depends upon their tadhkiyah (slaughtering animals according to Islamic Shari'ah) , i. e. , they should be slaughtered according to the Islamic method as explained in al-risalat al-'amaliyyah.

Second Type: Inanimate Objects

point

There are two kinds of soulless or inanimate objects: solids and liquids.

(1) Solids

(a) The carcass: The carcass of any animal, whether its meat is halal orharam, is haram for eating. Also najis objects such as the excreta of animals whose meat is haram to eat, as well as those eatables which have become najis through contact with najis objects, are haram to eat.

(b) Soil

(c) Fatal poisons

(d) Objects which are repugnant to man such as the excreta of animals whose meat is halal to eat, their nasal mucus, and anything found in their intestines are haram. Similarly, fifteen parts and organs of animals, whose meat is halal to eat, are haram for eating (for further details, one may refer to al-risalat al-'amaliyyah).

(2) Liquids

(a) Any type of intoxicating drink is haram for drinking, even in a small quantity.

(b)

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The milk of animals, whose meats are haram to eat, such as of pigs, cats, and dogs is haram to drink.

(c) The blood of any animal whose blood gushes out (when its blood vessel is cut. ).

(d) Najis liquids such as the urine and semen of any animal whose blood gushes out (when its blood vessel is cut).

(e) Liquids in which one of the najis things is mixed.

Note: The haram eatables and drinkables are haram when there is noidtirar (emergency or compulsion). In cases of idtirar (such as the health conditions of a person who will die of hunger if he does not eat haram food, or one who is afraid of illness or its aggravation, or one who, due to the intensity of his weakness, would fall behind his fellow-travellers and would die) , one is authorized to have haram eatables and drinkables only as much as is necessary to remove his idtirar. This does not hold good in the case of a person who leaves his country for the purpose of robbery or rebellion against the Islamic government and faces an idtirar in the course of his journey.

Important Note

Personal hygiene is one of the primary duties of man. Every individual can easily realize its importance with his Allah-granted commonsense.

The effects of various kinds of eatables and drinkables in maintaining personal health are very clear and evident. Furthermore, these have noteworthy effects on the morale and ethics of man, as well as in his social associations. There is no doubt at all

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that the mental conditions of a drunken person are not like those of a sober one and that their social behaviours are not identical. Or for example, if someone becomes accustomed to eating and drinking disgusting things, he will naturally produce an effect on his personal and social life and this effect is intolerable for common men.

Therefore, with his Allah-granted nature, man realizes that he must observe certain limitations in eating food. He should not eat each eatable or drink each drinkable. The Almighty Allah Who, according to His explicit wording in the Holy Qur'an, has created everything that is on the earth for man, Who Himself is not in need of man and the means of his life, and Who is All-Knowing and All-Seeing than others concerning the good and the bad of His creatures has declared some of the eatables and drinkables halal and some others haram for the benefit and prosperity of man.

Al-'Imam 'Ali al-Ridha’ (as) has stated: "Allah has not declared any eatable or drinkable halal, unless it is to the benefit and for the welfare of man, neither has He declared any haram, unless it is the source of man's detriment, death, and corruption. "

The philosophy behind forbidding some of these haram eatables and drinkables is quite clear for those who have a pure understanding. The detriment caused by. Some of them and the reason for their being haramhave been gradually revealed to us through scientific investigations. Regarding haram eatables and drinkables whose philosophy for being

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haram has not yet become available to us, it cannot be said that these philosophies will never become clear to us.

Even if their philosophies do not become clear to us, it cannot be said that they are actually devoid of any wisdom and expediency. But since these policies originate from the Holy Presence of an Infinite Knowledge, it can positively be said that these contain the best and most effective wisdom and expediency, even though we may fall short of understanding them due to our narrowmindedness and the limitations of our scientific means and equipment.

The Ghasb (Usurpation)

point

Taking the property of another person and owning it without any legitimate reason of possession and forcibly occupying the property of another person in order to benefit from its profits without the intention of legally claiming it as one's own property is called ghasb (usurpation) according to Islamic Shari'ah.

Thus, the ghasb means exercising control over the property of others without having any legitimate means of control such as bay', rent, or permission.

It becomes quite clear that the ghasb is an indecent act which violates the very principle of ownership.. lust as the principle of ownership plays an effective role in t he establishment and survival of the society, the ghasb ruins and brings the society to a standstill.

Possession of a property and ownership will become invalid if the influential people of a society decide to gain control over the produce and output of the labor of the weak and the subordinates. Thus the idea of the

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transgression of the influential people over the personal rights of the helpless people would become predominant in the society. Consequently, in this situation, the subordinates and the weak will embark on any kind of submission, dishonor, and disrespect in order to benefit from the output of their efforts and endeavors. Thus the human society will be converted into a market in which the slaves are bought and sold and the laws and policies of the society will become entirely invalid and will be replaced by coercion and oppression.

This is why Islam has formulated strict policies for the usurper and considers usurpation a mortal sin.

According to the explicit wording of the Holy Qur'an and ahadith, any kind of sins other than shirk may be forgiven by Allah and any kind of sins including shirk may be forgiven after tawbah (repentance) , but whoever has a record of usurpation and infringement upon the rights of the people, will never have any hope for salvation from being called to account by Allah and from the remuneration of his deed without being forgiven by the persons who possessed these properties and rights.

Some of The Precepts Concerning Ghasb

(i) It is wajib for the usurper to immediately give back the usurped property to its original owner. If the owner is not alive, the usurper must deliver the usurped property to his heirs, even if doing so may be a heavy loss for the usurper. For instance, if one forcibly seizes the stones or pieces of iron belonging to someone else and uses

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them in the foundation of a building worth hundreds of thousand times more than the stones and the iron, he should excavate the foundation and pull out the usurped stones and iron to give them back to the original owner, unless the owner agrees to accept the price of the commodity. As another example, if one usurps ten manns (each mann is of three kilograms) of wheat and mixes it with ten kharvars (each kharvar consists of one hundred manns) of barley, he should pick out all the wheat from the barley and return it to its original owner, unless he accepts to take the price of wheat.

(ii) If any defect develops in the usurped property, the usurper must not only return it to its owner exactly as it was on his usurpation, but he must also indemnify for its losses.

(iii) If the usurped property is lost, the usurper must pay its price to the rightful owner.

(iv) If the usurper squanders a part of the profits of the usurped property without using it himself, he will be responsible for the said profit. For instance, if a person who usurps the rental car of another person and puts it out of commission for a few days, he would be responsible for the loss incurred.

If the usurper gains profit from the usurped property, for example, if he nourishes a usurped sheep with good fodder, so that it becomes fat, he will have no rightful claims over the profit rendered by the sale

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of the sheep. If the benefits accruing from the usurped property are separable, for instance, cultivating a usurped land, one should give the usurped property along with its rent back to the original owner of the land, but the crop belongs to the usurper.

The Shuf'ah (Preemption)

If two persons own a house or another landed property as a musha' (joint ownership) and one of the partners decides to sell his share to a third party, the other partner has the right to buy his partner's share by the same contract agreed upon and exactly at the same price set for the third party. This right is called the right of shuf'ah (preemption).

It is quite clear that the right of shuf'ah has been devised in Islam to adjust and to stabilize partnerships and to eliminate losses and other mischief resulting from partnership of properties, for in many cases, the possession of the property by the new partner inflicts losses on the partner having the right of shuf'ah or serves as the source of a series of conflicts and disagreements due to differences of opinion or it may be that freedom of ownership may have benefits for the one who has the right of shuf'ah without causing any loss for the partner who wants to sell his share. The right of shuf'ah holds good for lands, houses, gardens, and other immovable properties, but it does not apply to movable properties.

Re-Cultivation of Barren Lands

The term applies to the cultivation of a land which is not used (Whether it has

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never been cultivated before or it has been cultivated at a time, or it has become demolished and entirely fruitless due to the departure of its inhabitants or it may have become a meadow or bamboo-field. ). In any case, the re-cultivation or development of barren lands is considered as one of the good deeds in Islam. In addition to serving as a means of ownership, the re-cultivation of barren lands will also lead to thawab.

It is related from the Holy Prophet (S): "He who cultivates a barren land is entitled to the ownership of that land. " Al-'Imam al-Sadiq (as) is quoted as saying: "Any group of people who develop and cultivate a land will have the preference and that land will belong to them. "

In Islam, barren lands belong to Allah, the Prophet (S) and the Imams (as) (i. e. , they belong to the Islamic government) and are considered asanfal (spoils).

Waste lands and barren lands can be cultivated and owned under the following specific conditions. From among the people who cultivate a land, whoever takes the lead will have the priority of ownership. The conditions are as follows:

(i) Permission from the Imam (as) or his deputy.

(ii) The land must not have been fenced with stones, or demarcated, or the like by anyone else in advance.

(iii) The land must not be within the limits of the property of others, such as the borders of rivers, the soil under the wells, and the boundaries of plantations.

(iv) The land must not be a free land,

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such as demolished mosques and endowments, or it must not be designed for the use of all Muslims, such as streets and roads.

Note: The development and cultivation of lands is based on a general understanding. Thus if the general understanding admits that a certain person has developed such and such a land, then that person's ownership will be established. Certainly, the development of a land varies according to various objectives, for instance, in agriculture, the development of a land is made by ploughing and grooving it and in the case of construction, it is done by constructing walls around the land.

(v) It is permissible for everybody to derive a benefit from the open mines - which require no excavation and exploitation - to the extent which meets their personal needs. If benefiting from such mines requires excavation, drilling, exploitation, and other technical operations that are required for the excavation of gold mines, copper mines, and the like, the person who has taken pains in embarking on the excavation and exploitation of the mine will have the right of ownership.

(vi) Large rivers are jointly owned by the Muslims. In the utilization of streams and the water of snowfalls and rain, pouring down from mountains, whoever is closer and nearer to them will have priority over others.

Luqtah (Picked Up Article)

Any article which is found and whose owner is not known is called luqtah (picked up article).

(i) Any item which has been found and whose owner is not known and whose price is less than the

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price of one mithqal of silver, can be kept and possessed by the one who finds it. If the picked up item is worth more than one mithqal of silver in value, it should not be picked up. In case it is picked up, the finder should search for its owner through the normal channels for one year. If the owner is found, he should give the item to him but if the owner is not found, the finder should give the item to the poor on behalf of its owner as sadaqah.

(ii) If an item is found in ruined places having no inhabitants or if it is found in caves, or in barren lands having no owner, it will belong to the finder.

But if it is found in a landed property, the finder should make enquiries from the land's former owners. The found item should be given to the former owners upon their presentation of some sort of identification to indicate that they had hidden it there; otherwise, the item will belong to the finder.

(iii) If an animal is found whose owner is not known, it will be treated asluqtah.

(iv) If a baby is found whose guardian is not known, it would be wajib kifa'I (an obligatory duty of all Muslims but it suffices when performed by someone) for every Muslim to pick up and bring it up.

(v) If a stolen item is entrusted to a person, it will be considered as luqtah and it should be restored to

its original owner, but it cannot be returned to the thief.

Glossary of non-English Terms

Adhan the specified wordings called out at salat times, the call for salat

'adil just

'ahd promise

Ahl al-Bayt (as) Prophet Muhammad (S) , Hadrat Fatimah (as) and the Twelve infallible Imams (as)

Ahl al-Kitab the followers of the Divine Books (the Jews, the Christians and the Magians)

Akhirah the world Hereafter

'alim (pl. 'ulama') Islamic scholar

Amin may Allah it be so

Amir al-Mu'minin Commander of the Believers, al-'Imam 'Ali (as)

al-amr bil-ma'ruf enjoining the lawful acts

anbiya' (pl. of Nabi) prophets

anfal spoils

ansar helpers, friends

'aqd (pl. 'uqud) contract

'asr afternoon

Ayah (pl. Ayat) Qur'anic verse

Banu Hashim family of Hashim

Al-Bi'that al-Nabawiyyah appointment of prophethood

batil invalid, incorrect

bay' selling

dhanb kabir mortal sin

dhanb saghir venial sin

dhikr words for remembering Allah.

farsakh a measure of distance of about 5. 6 km

faskh al- 'aqd cancellation of contract

fiqh Islamic jurisprudence

Fir'awn Pharaoh

Furu' al-Din the duties to be performed according to Islamic Shari'ah.

ghadir pond

ghasb usurpation

Al-Ghaybat al-Kubra the Great Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (as)

Al-Ghaybat al-sughra the Short Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (as)

ghusl (pl. ghusul) taking bath according to the Islamic Shari'ah

ghusl irtimasi performing ghusl by the immersion of the whole body in water

ghusl mass al-mayyit performing ghusl due to touching of the dead body

ghusl al-mayyit bathing the dead body

ghusl tartibi performing ghusl by washing the body part by part as specified in Islamic Shari'ah

hadath condition requiring ghusl or wudhu’

al-hadath al-akbar condition requiring ghusl

al-hadath al-asghar condition requiring wudhu’

hadith (pl. ahadith) Tradition

Al-Hajar al-'Aswad the Black Stone

hajj pilgrimage to Makkah, obligatory once in lifetime for Muslims who can afford

hajj (pl. hujjaj) pilgrims

who perform hajj

halal Islamically permissible

haram sacred premises

haram Islamically prohibited

Harun Aaron

hawari (pl. hawariyyun) disciple

hayd menstruation

Hijjatul-Wada' the last hajj performed by Prophet Muhammad (S)

Hijrah migration of Prophet Muhammad (S) from Makkah to Madinah

Hud (as) Prophet Heber (as)

Ibrahim (as) Prophet Abraham (as)

idtirar compulsion, emergency, driven by necessity

ijarah receipt of money for reciting salawat and performing siyam.

ijtihad endeavouring for the deduction of commandments based on Islamic fundamentals

Imam (as) (pl. A'immah) infallible successor of Prophet Muhammad (S)

Imamah succession of Prophet Muhammad (S) by Twelve Infallible. Imams (as)

Imam al-'Asr (as) the 12th Infallible Imam of the present time, Muhammad al-Mahdi (as)

Imam al-Huda (as) (pl. A'mmat al-Huda [as]) the Infallible Imam of Guidance

imam al-jama'ah the imam of congregational salat

Injl The Bible

Iqamah the specified wordings, almost similar to the Adhan and recited after it, before commencing the salat

iqtida' following

'Isa (as) Jesus Christ

'isha' night

Ishaq (as) Prophet Isaac (as)

'ismah infallibility

Isma'il (as) Prophet Ishmael (as)

Isra'il (as) Prophet Israel (as)

istihadah menstrual bleeding

istihalah transformation or a chemical change of the state of an object

ja'iz permissible

janabah major ritual impurity or al-hadath al-akbar caused by the sexual intercourse, or the like

Jibril Gabriel

jihad Islamic war

jizyah head tax charged from Ahl al-Kitab in lieu of their non-acceptance of Islam

kafir (pl. kafirun) unbeliever

kafir harbi unbeliever to be fought against

khalifah (pl. khulafa') caliph

khilafah caliphate

khiyar (pl. khiyarat) option, right

khiyar al-'aqd option for the contract

khiyar al-'ayb option in the case of defect

khiyar al-ghabn option in the case of cheating

khiyar al-hayawan option in the case of animals

khiyar al-majlis option during the meeting

khiyar al-shart option of condition

kubra the great

kurr water weighing about 384

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kg which does not become najis if najasahreaches it

luqtah picked up article

Ma'ad Resurrection

Madinat al-Rasul The city of the Prophet (S) , Madinah

maghrib evening

makruh undesirable - though not unlawful but refraining from it is preferable

ma'mum the follower who follows the imam in salat al-jama'ah

manasik rituals

mann a measure of weight of about 3 kg

Maryam Mary

mash anointing

Al-Masjid al-Haram the Ka'bah

ma'sum (pl. ma'sumin) infallible

mithqal a measure of weight of about 4. 6 g

mubah permissible, allowable

Al-Mubahalah cursing

mubtil (pl. mubtilat) things or acts through which the salat, the sawm, thewudhu’, etc become invalid

mudaf mixed

muftir (pl. muftirat) certain act which breaks or invalidates the sawm

muhajir (pl. muhajirin) immigrant

mujtahid one who is capable of deduction of command that is based on Islamic Shari'ah

mukallaf the one who reached the age of maturity and thus became responsible for performing the Islamic duties

munafiq (pl. munafiqin) hypocrites

muqallid (pl. muqallidin) one who follows a mujtahid's instructions for performing his deeds

Musa (as) Prophet Moses (as)

musha' joint ownership, held in common

mushrik (pl. mushrikin) polytheists

mustahabb recommended, desirable

mutahhir (pl. mutahhirat) purifier which purifies a najis

mutlaq pure

muwalat performing the parts of an Islamic act in succession without undue delay

nadhr vow

al-nahy'an al-munkar forbidding the sinful acts

najasah impurity as per the Islamic laws

Al-Najashi King Negus of Ethiopia

najis inherently impure

nifas puerperal period

niyyah intention, decision

Nubuwwah prophethood

Nuh (as) Prophet Noah (as)

Al-Nuwwab al-Arba'ah the Four Deputies of Imam al-'Asr (as)

qada' settling the salawat or the siyam which had not been performed in time, not performed but due

qalil little in quantity less than kurr

qasam oath

qasr reciting two raka'at instead of 4-rak'ah salawat

Qiyamah The Last Day

Qaysar

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Caesar

Qiblah facing towards Ka'bah while reciting salat

qira'ah the recitation in the salat

qisas Islamic reprisal

qiyam the standing erect while reciting the salat

qunut supplication during salat in a specific manner

qurbah seeking Allah's pleasure

rak'ah (pl. raka'at) a section of salat

al-Risalah al-'Amaliyyah Islamic treatise written by a mujtahid for use by his muqallidin for performing Islamic duties

ruh soul, self, personality

Ruhulqudus Gabriel, Jibril

rukn (pl. arkan) a basic part of the salat

ruku' a part of the salat in which one bows down, genuflexion

sadaqah charity

salam greetings, peace, saying "as-salamu 'alaykum"

sajdah (pl. sajdahs) the act of prostration in the salat or worship to Allah

salat (pl. salawat) prayer

Salat al-Ayat the salat of Allah's creation or signs.

salat al-jama'ah the congregational prayer

salat al-mayyit the prayer for the dead person

salat al-tawaf al-wajib the prayer of circumambulation around Ka'bah

al-salat al-yawmiyyah the daily prayers

Salih (as) Prophet Salih sent to the tribe of Thamud

sawm statutory Islamic obligation of fasting

sawm al-wisal continuous fasting

Sayyidat Nisa' al-'Alamin the epithet of Fatimah (as) , the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (S) meaning the head of all the women of the worlds

Shari'ah Divine Islamic Law

shaytan satan

Shi'i Shi'ite

shirk polytheism

Shu'ayb (as) Prophet Jethro (as)

shuf'ah preemption

Al-Siddiqah al-Kubra the epithet of Fatimah (as) , the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (S) meaning the most strictly veracious

sirah Life-style, conduct, character

subh morning

surah (pl. suwar) Qur'anic chapter

tabligh (pl. tablighat) communication, propagation, dissemination

tadhkiyah slaughtering animal according to Islamic Shari'ah

taharah purity, specified Islamic way of purification

tahir pure as per Islamic Shari'ah

takbir saying "Allahu Akbar, i. e. , Allah is Great"

takbirat al-ihram the first takbir (saying Allahu Akbar) said at the beginning of the salat just

after the niyyah

taqiyyah concealing one's true beliefs when life is in danger

taqlid following a mujtahid in practising Islamic laws

taqwa piety, guarding against evil

tarakhkhus the limit of the tarakhkhus (seeing off) is a distance at which neither the walls of the town are visible nor Adhan is heard

tartib the order or sequence as prescribed by Islamic Shari'ah

tasbih to say "subhanallah, i. e. , Glory be to Allah" as a dhikr

tashahhud testifying for Tawhid of Allah and prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (S)

tawbah repentance

Tawhid Oneness of Allah, monotheism

Tawrat The Old Testament

tayammum statutory Islamic ablution with soil, sand, etc

thawab Allah's reward, spiritual reward

Ulul 'Azm Anbiya' arch-prophets

Ummah Islamic people, Islamic Nation

Ummi unschooled (by human beings) , untaught

Usul al-Din the fundamental principles of Islam

wahy divine revelation

wajib (pl. wajibat) obligatory, incumbent

wajib kifa'i an obligatory duty of all Muslims but it suffices when performed by someone

wilayah Islamic jurisprudential guardianship

wudhu’ statutory ablution according to the Islamic Shari'ah

zuhr noon