What is the philosophy behind the importance of Jihad and struggling with ego?

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In Islam, there are two kinds of “Jihad” and struggling or battling, one is with the external enemies and that is with those who are fighting with Islam, but it must be noted as an important point that Islam has never ordered its followers to kill every one that does not believe in Islam, because you know that nowadays some anti-Islam criticize Islam and accuse it of having some harsh rules and they bring as witness, some verses of the holy Quran in which Muslims were ordered to kill some infidels, but these verses do not mean what they say and those verses mean something else, like struggle with those who has started battling Muslims, so here is very important subject, but our subject in this essay refers to the second kind of Jihad and struggling which is with the internal enemy. Some people might ask do we have internal enemy? We answer: yes, and that is our ego. It must be described that we do not say that we are against ourselves and we must kill ourselves in ways like suicide, but we say that some internal wishes and eagerness of ourselves must be struggled with, for example in our inside there might be a sense of envy, so we must try to cure this illness, because in Islam, we do not have just physical illnesses like headache, but rather there are some spiritual illnesses too, like envy, backbiting, etc. and we believe that the dangers of such illnesses i.e. spiritual illnesses are so much more dangerous than the physical illnesses. Imagine a person that has cancer, it is possible for such a person to die after a short while, but let’s compare it with the illnesses that not only make people away from the spiritual perfection, but also if it does not get cured, the lives that we will have after our death which last forever, will be affected by that, and probably for very long time or even forever, we will be punished because of the consequences of that in the hereafter.

So it shows the importance of Jihad and struggling with negative attributes that we might have.

This very important jihad is called جهاد النفس”” or struggling with ego.

And the process of Jihad with ego is called “تزکیه النفس” which means the purification of the soul. So the question is how can we do it?

As the answer to this question, we say: the way of that can be derived from the verses of the holy Quran and the Narrations of the infallibles, because the purification of the soul was the main reason for sending the holy divine books and the prophets and the Imams, and of course the great Islamic scholars in the field of morality have written many useful and beneficial books in this regard.

The holy Prophet of Islam has a saying, he said: “your most hostile enemy is your ego which is inside you.”

If a person is really seeking the perfection and purification of the soul, definitely Allah will help him/her.

Allah said in chapter Ankabut verse 69:

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“Those who struggle in our cause, we will surely guide them to our ways; and Allah is with those who do good”.

By purification of our soul, we can get and obtain the pure heart. Allah said in chapter Shuara verses 88-89(about the Day of Judgment):

يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ

إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ

“The day when neither wealth nor sons shall benefit,

except him who comes before Allah with a pure heart”.

And the fruit of self-purification is this pure heart.

So let’s mention some of the benefits of this kind of Jihad:

-As we mentioned, by this Jihad we can reach to the pure heart, a heart which spiritually is healthy and if empty from every moral illness.

-We can reach to the welfare and prosperity. If you recite the beginning verses of chapter Shams, you see that after eleven oaths (that shows the importance of the thing for which Allah has sworn) Allah said:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا

وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا

“Prosperous is he who purified it (the soul).

And failed is he who buried it”

-By this kind of Jihad, we can reach to the blessings of this world and the hereafter.

Imam Riza peace be upon him said:

“A man asked me, what action causes the blessing of this world and the hereafter and I answered: be against your ego.”

-Imam Baqir peace be upon him said:

Allah the all mighty says: “I swear by my honor and dignity and greatness and grandeur and height of my position, a servant does not prefer my will on his/her will in a matter of the matters of this world, except I do some reactions to him/her, I give him/her an internal richness inside him/her, and I elevate his/her effort in his/her hereafter issues and I guarantee the heavens and the earth for his/her livelihood and I will be his/her supporter behind every business.”

-Imam Ali peace be upon him said:

“The essence of religion is the opposition to the ego.”

-It is a cause for making the life, tasty and pleasant.

Imam Ali peace be upon him said:

“I searched the (pleasant) life and I did not find it except by the means of leaving the selfish desire, so leave the desire of ego in order to have the pleasant life.”

 

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Source:

Gharaati.ir

 

What is the philosophy of emphasis on Pondering in Islam?

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In the religion of Islam i.e. in the holy Quran and the Narrations of the infallibles, there is so much emphasis on “pondering”. If you see in different parts of the holy Quran, you can find so much blaming on those who do not ponder, or those who have chosen their religion and belief out of only following their ancestors, and this shows the importance of pondering from Islamic perspective.

We have different Narrations that show the importance of pondering; some of them are in such words:

Pondering for a while is better that worshiping Allah for a year or in another Narration it is mentioned that it is better that seventy years of worship.

Of course the differences in expressions might be due to the matter and subject on which we ponder or due to the effects of our pondering.

One of the Islamic scholars said: “pondering for a while in some cases can be better than thousands years of worship”, and we will mention the reason of such an emphasis in this essay.

It is true to say that the power of intellect is among the most important gifts of Allah and it is the main difference between Human and the animals, the animals are prior to us in different fields, like the power of body, the power of sight, etc. but they do not have the intellect, so you see that through intellect, Human can overcome even the most dangerous animals.

And another point is that the animals are not responsible for their deeds just like the human and that is just because they are not given the intellect.

Allah has created us in a way that we have freedom to choose our path, He has showed us the path of righteousness and the path of falsehood through the religions and intellect, and He has not forced us to accept one of these two ways.

In Islam there are some bases that we must believe in them out of intellectual discussions, like the existence of God. Of course, we can take help from the experts but the thing which gives the last answer and acceptance is our selection.

Yes, there are other minor issues that if we are not Mojtahid and expert to the extent that can derive the Islamic rules from its sources, we follow the Islamic experts called Maraji and it is something absolutely logical and prevalent in every issue in this world because you see those who are not expert in a field, they refer to an expert in that specific field.

Now let’s see some benefits of pondering:

-Through pondering we can have a better and deeper understanding from the existence of God, His attributes, and different religious issues and it is obvious that as much as our understanding gets deeper, we can have more certainty and be deeper in our beliefs (of course if we act according to what we understand, not just thinking and leaving the good deeds.)

-Through pondering, we can get more familiar with the bounties that Allah has given us and be more thankful to Him and as much as we get more thankful, as the holy Quran says, Allah will give us more. Of course it must be added here that the meaning of being thankful to Allah is not just repeating: “praise is due to Allah”, but rather it means that we obey the commands of Allah and do not use His bounties in the disobedience of Him.

-We can be observant of our deeds and do not let Satan to overcome us; there are a lot of very interesting and helpful discussions in this regard that if God wills, we will mention it in an independent essay.

-One of the matters on which we are recommended to think, is the matter of death, and to remind ourselves that we are not going to live here forever, so it helps us to be on the straight path.

At the end we mention that the importance and priority of pondering over other kinds of worship is that pondering can be a means that can change the way and the style of a sinner to righteousness and toward the perfection. You know that a person by the name of Hor, firstly was among the enemies of Imam Hussein peace be upon him on the tragic event of Karbala, but before starting the battle, he thought for a while about the end and destination of himself if he fights the infallible Imam.

It is narrated that Hor said: I saw myself between Paradise and Hell, so at the end, he repented and came to the tent of Imam Hussein and said to the Imam: is there any way for me to repent? And the Imam accepted him, so Hor fought against the enemies of the Imam and at last he got martyr.

Look at this story deeply, the person that till last night was among the cursed people, now has turned to one of the companions of the Master of the worlds, just because of pondering for a while.

On the opposite side, is Satan that it is mentioned in the Narration that he was worshiping Allah for six thousand years, but because he refused from obeying Allah, he got exiled from the Paradise and till the day of judgment he is cursed by the Allah and the infallibles and the people, he could think that why should we disobey such a wise being who has created me and is my Master?

So we understand that sometimes pondering for a while has an effect that worshiping for six thousand years does not have that effect, and it is the reason that I heard from one of the Islamic scholars that he was talking about the Narrations which for example say: pondering for a while is better that worshiping seventy years. That Islamic scholar said: Islam did not say pondering for a while is better than thousands of years of worship, because we may get confused and deny it, but the reality is that this great comparison is also completely true.

 

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Source:

Akhlagh.porsemani.ir

what is the philosophy behind the importance of Repentance in Islam?

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We have been ordered not to commit any sin, but we are not infallible and sinless, so if in a time we committed a sin, what should we do?

The most important and urgent act after committing a sin is to ask Allah to forgive us, just like what happens in the social wrongs and mistakes, when we commit a mistake against others, we ask them to forgive us.

This asking forgiveness from Allah is called “Tobah” which literally means returning.

So by Tobah we show to Allah that we are sorry for committing a sin, but does that mean to just say “I’m sorry” or the words that have the same meaning, or is there any reality for Tobah other that uttering its words? We will describe the real meaning of Tobah in this essay.

At first let me mention some verses of the holy Quran or some Narrations regarding Tobah and repentance.

In the holy Quran, in more than eighty cases, the word “توبه” (Tobah) and its similar words are used.

In some cases, the holy Quran talks about the position of Tobah before Allah.

In chapter Bagharah, verse 222, we read:

إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ

“Allah loves those who turn to him in repentance and He loves those who cleanse themselves”.

In a very hopeful verse, I mean the verse 53, in chapter Zomar, we read:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

“Say: O’ my worshipers, who have sinned excessively against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah, surely, Allah forgives all sins. He is the forgiver, the most merciful”.

And let mention some Narrations in this regard.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

Allah gets happy for the repentance of His servant, more than the happiness of the one who was barren and could not reproduce a child, but now hears the news of having a child, and more than the happiness of the one who has lost something and now he/she has found it, and more than the happiness of a thirsty who has reached water.

Imam Sajjad peace be upon him, said to Allah in one of his supplications: “O’ my Lord, you have opened for your servants a gate toward your forgiveness and you have called it as Tobah”.

Tobah or repentance can be discussed from different angles:

-Form the moral perspective, because it is a kind or moral duties.

-From the theological perspective, because it is a way in which the wrath and discontent of Allah can be reduced or removed.

-And from the jurisprudential issues, because in some cases we must compensate some of our sins, for example if we have usurped something from some people, beside asking Allah to forgive us, we must pay back what we have usurped to its owner and make him/her pleasant, or if we had left our religious duties like prayer or fasting, we must perform them as a kind of compensation, etc.

So now we understand that the meaning of Tobah is not just saying to Allah “I’m sorry”.

In the holy Quran we are ordered to have special kind of Tobah. Allah ordered us in chapter Tahrim verse 8:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا

“Believers, turn to Allah in sincere repentance”

The meaning of  ” تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا ” is to decide really not to commit that sin any more, yes we know that it might happen after a while that we commit that sin again, but our intention in the time of Tobah must be not committing it anymore and if we commit it again, again we decide really not to commit it any longer.

In Islam, getting hopeless and disappointed from the mercy of Allah is considered as the greatest sin, so we have no right to get disappointed, this important note means that the sin of getting disappointed from the mercy and forgiveness of Allah is more and greater than committing other sins, because the plan of Satan is to make the servants of Allah to be hopeless, he says to them: you have committed Allah’s disobedience, you can never reach to eternal welfare, so leave the religion and religious issues, you are no longer going to be a good servant, but we must stand firmly against this very vicious plan and we must know that Allah is very generous and merciful to the extent that He said in chapter Forghan verse 70 (after talking about some bad doers and their punishment):

إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

“Except he who repents and believes and does good works those, Allah will change their evil deeds into good deeds; Allah is ever forgiving and merciful”.

Tobah has many benefits that we mention some of them very briefly:

-Returning to the real personality of the Human as the servant of Allah and His vicegerent on the earth.

-Being the beloved of Allah.

-Causing the sin to be forgiven.

-The eternal redemption.

-Enhancement of livelihood.

-Causing the problems in life to be solved, because as it is mentioned in the holy Quran and the Narrations, a lot of our problems are caused by our sins.

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Sources:

Maarefquran.org

Pasokhgoo.ir

what is the philosophy behind the prohibition of Backbiting in Islam?

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Backbiting is a prohibited act in Islam; this forbidden act is translated in the jurisprudential books as following:

To talk about your brother or sister in faith in words that if he/she hears that, he/she will be upset.

Backbiting can be committed through talking, painting, pointing, writing etc.

The holy Quran says about backbiting in chapter Hojorat verse 12:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“Believers, abstain from most suspicion, some suspicion is a sin. Neither spy nor backbite one another, would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Surely, you would loathe it. Fear Allah, without doubt Allah turns (in mercy) and He is the merciful”.

It is said while describing the resemblance between backbiting and eating the flesh of dead brother that in both cases the dead or backbitten person cannot defend from him/herself.

It is mentioned in Islamic sources that the one who backbites the other, in the reality is transferring the reward of him/herself to the backbitten person and if the backbiter does not have good deeds, the punishments of the sins of the backbitten will be transferred from him/her to the person who has committed backbiting.

Some people might ask, is it justly that we lose by a backbiting, the rewards of our good deeds that we have obtained them especially those deeds that we have paid so much money and affairs to do them?

As the answer to this question we say:

Yes. Because you ruin the reputation and honor and credit of the backbitten person; the reputation or honor that he/she might has obtained it through several years and you just ruined it in a second, so it is completely just for the same treatment to be done to you.

The holy Prophet of Islam had at least one elevation (in both physical and spiritual meaning) to the highest levels of paradise and this event is known as Miraj and it is mentioned in the Quran and the description of that in the Narrations and I advise my dear brothers and sisters to read it because it is full of lessons for both physical and spiritual perfections of mankind.

On that journey the Prophet of Islam saw very informative scenes.

One of these events is related to our topic.

He said I saw a group of people that were stretching their faces with their nails.

I asked Gabriel (the angel of revelation): who are they?

And he replied they are the people that were backbiting others and ruining their face.

Backbiting is considered as a kind of hypocrisy, because the one, who backbites others, usually does not do that in front of that person and it is a kind of paltriness and littleness of the backbiter.

If the society gets full of backbiting, no one trusts the others, the hidden faults of every one are revealed and it causes the remoteness of the hearts of the believers from each other and it is completely against the unity and sympathy between people that Islam has ordered us.

 

 

what is the philosophy behind Congregational Prayer?

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Performing Salat or prayer in congregation is so much recommended in Islam. There are some philosophies and benefits for such a prayer.

At the beginning we can divide them into two major branches:

1) The spiritual benefits like:

-The fulfillment of the needs and wishes. The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“When a servant performs the prayer in congregation and after that asks Allah for a need, Allah will get ashamed from that person if He rejects his/her need before returning(from prayer).”

-It works as a cure for hypocrisy.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“The one who performs the prayer in congregation for forty days regularly, he/she will be given two kinds of documents of release, release from the fire (of Hell) and release from hypocrisy.”

-It is a compensation for the sins.

Imam Baghir peace be upon him said:

“There are three things that compensate the sins;

1) Performing Wudo in cold weather.

2) Walking during day and night toward performing prayer.

3) Permanence on the congregational prayer.”

-It is as a companion in the grave.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“Be aware, the one who moves toward the mosque for congregational prayer, for every step that he/she takes, seventy thousands Hasanah(rewards) will be written for him/her( in the book of deeds) … and if he/she dies in this state, Allah will assign seventy thousands angels on him/her to visit him/her in his/her grave and to be companions for his/her privacy and ask repentance( from Allah) for him/her till the day that he/she will be resurrected.”

-It is a way for the elevation of the (spiritual) position.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

O’ Ali, there are three things that are the causes for the elevation of the position of a believer;

1) The perfect Wodu in the cold weather.

2) The expectation for (the next) prayer after a prayer.

3) The regular presence in congregational prayer.”

There are a lot of other spiritual benefits that we do not mention them here.

2) The second aspect of congregational prayer is its individual effects or the effects on the personal  issues.

The holy Prophet of Islam said about the mosque which is a place for congregational prayer:

“The one who constantly goes to the mosque, he/she gains (at least) one of these eight benefits:

A verse of the Quran, or a friend from whom he/she can get benefit, or learning new knowledge, or getting from the mercy that was expecting him/her, or hearing a saying that guides him/her to the (straight) path or prevents him/her from committing the sin, or (at least) leaving the sin because of shame or leaving the sin out the fear.”

3) The other aspect of congregational prayer is its social benefits, like:

-The strengthening the spirit of brotherhood.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“Order the line of congregational prayer, (if you do that), your hearts get balanced, and be in touch with each other (if you do that); you will be merciful and kind to each other.”

-The other social benefit of congregational prayer is that it is a cause for the good guess (being optimistic) toward the participants in that.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“Have the good guess of having every virtue and righteousness, toward the one who performs his/her five prayers in congregation.”

4) The other aspect of the congregational prayer is its political benefits.

It is a way that shows the majesty and glory of Muslims, and it has different benefits and consequences, like removing the disunity among Muslims or in another words, it is a way for the coherence between Muslims, it is a way for making the hypocrisy disappointed, and as Imam Riza peace be upon him said, it is a way for helping and spreading the cooperation for righteous deeds.

For example you have might seen that in many mosques, the Muslims try to solve the financial problems or family problems or other problems of the Muslims.

5) The fifth aspect of the congregational prayer can be its moral benefits, like:

It removes the sense of wrong priority that some people might have, because of their social position or differences in the levels of life, or wealth and health etc. you see that Muslims stands in lines that different people with different jobs, accents or prestige, are standing beside each other, and the spirit of isolation gets removed from the members of the society and as the last point in this regard, we can say that it is a symbol for order and discipline, the Muslims in such a prayer, perform the parts of prayer with each other in tidy lines and usually in its first time after call to prayer(Azaan).

 

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Source:

Porseman.org

 

Why is alcohol forbidden in Islam?

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Everyone knows, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, that drinking alcohol is considered a sin in Islam. Consuming alcohol is listed as one of the major sins; one of greater sins for which eternal punishment is promised. There are traditions by Imam Musa Kazim (a), Imam Rida (a), and Imam Muhammad Taqi (a) proving this.

Before presenting the verses of the Quran on this topic, it must be said that this law was legislated gradually. Allah didn’t reveal to the Prophet (s) in an instant and say: From this moment forward nobody can drink alcohol. Rather, he revealed this law in stages.

First the Quran states: “O you who have faith! Do not approach prayer when you are intoxicated.” (4:43).

Unfortunately some of the quote un quote Islamic leaders during the baby stages of Islam, after the demise of the Prophet (s), didn’t listen to this verse. Anyhow, the Quran then states: “They ask you concerning wine and gambling. Say, There is a great sin in both of them, and some profits for the people, but their sinfulness outweighs their profit.” (2:219)

Finally, the Quran lays down the law and says: “O’ you who have faith! Indeed wine, gambling, idols and the divining arrows are abominations of Satan’s doing, so avoid them, so that you may be felicitous. Indeed Satan seeks to cast enmity and hatred among you through wine and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you, then, relinquish?” (5:90-91).

This verse clearly prohibits the consumption of alcohol. In it there are ten forms of emphasis: First, the verse addresses the believers. This means that faith and drinking alcohol are incongruent. A person who drinks alcohol is not a believer and a believer does not drink alcohol. Second, Alcohol is mentioned next to clear instances of prohibitions, such as gambling and idol-worship. Third, the term abomination is used to describe alcohol. Fourth, drinking alcohol is introduced as a satanic activity. Fifth, the phrase ‘so avoid them’ is clearly stating to refrain from drinking alcohol. Sixth, the phrase ‘so that you may be felicitous’ shows that one will be successful if he refrains from drinking alcohol. Seventh, Satan wants to create enmity amongst mankind through alcohol. The tools of Satan must surely be prohibited. Eighth, the phrase ‘to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah,’ is another emphasis of our claim. Whatever causes one to forget about Allah is impermissible. Ninth, Alcohol keeps one from praying. And tenth, the phrase ‘will you, then, relinquish’ is also a form of emphasis.

It is narrated that Imam Baqir (a) said: “Disobedience to the order of Allah is mostly due to alcoholism. The alcoholic abandons prayer. He can even commit incest under the influence of alcohol; he loses his senses.”

Imam Jafar Sadiq (a) is reported to have said: “Certainly even if a person swallows only a mouthful of wine, at that very moment, the angels, the Prophets, and the righteous believers send their curses upon him. And, when he drinks enough to make him intoxicated, the spirit of belief leaves his body, it is replaced by the dirty, accursed, devilish spirit.”

The Quran stated that the sin of drinking alcohol far outweighs any benefit that can be taken there from. Let’s take a glance at what alcohol abuse does to the body. First, alcohol damages the brain. Different parts of the brain are more sensitive to alcohol than others. Alcohol abuse manifests itself both physically and psychologically. Physically it is manifested through loss of balance, impotence, numbness of the feet and hands, tremor, and even blindness. Psychological manifestations include a loss of intellectual ability, impaired ability to learn, and mental confusion.

The liver is severely damaged as well. Alcohol abuse leads to cirrhosis which in turn leads to liver failure, liver cancer, and even death. It also causes one’s stomach to endure chronic inflammation which leads to pneumonia, kidney and urinary tract infections, and kidney failure.

Alcoholism also affects the heart because it leads to high blood pressure making one at risk of heart failure or stroke. It also causes sexual problems in men. Therefore, alcohol harms one’s brain, heart, liver, kidney, and reproductive organs. Google the physical effects of alcohol and you will be amazed at how harmful this drug is.

Islam is also against the consumption of alcohol. It is actually against more than just the consumption, it is against every single part of the alcohol trade. There is one tradition where the Prophet (s) curses ten people. Each one of these people have something to do with the alcohol trade. The list of these people are: 1. The person who plants the seed with the intention of producing wine. 2. One who cultivates the plant so that wine may be manufactured. 3. One who crushes the grapes. 4. One who drinks wine. 5. One who serves wine. 6. One who transports wine. 7. One who takes delivery from the supplier. 8. One who sells wine. 9. One who buys wine, and 10. One who uses the income that is earned by making or selling wine.

Therefore, a Muslim cannot have anything to do with alcohol; he can’t drink it, can’t sell it, can’t buy it for someone else, can’t make it, can’t deliver it, can’t transport it, and can’t use any proceeds produced from it.

In addition to the consumption of alcohol being haram, it is also considered a najis substance. There are some differences of opinion regarding this issue, so I thought it best to explain.

Why is it recommended to perform Prayer in its early time?

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There are Five Obligatory Prayers that we should perform every day and they each have a period of time, in which The prayer has more value or Thawab. We call that period “The Time of Merit”.
At the beginning let me mention a verse from the holy Quran, Allah said in chapter Bagharah verse 238:

حَافِظُواْ عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ والصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى
“Preserve the prayers and the middle prayer”

It is obvious that preserving the Prayer does not have just one dimension, but rather some things can be included in this meaning like: performing the Prayer in its Time of Merit or being in the state of remembering Allah and consideration while performing Prayer, etc.
There are some benefits and philosophies behind this recommendation that have been mentioned in the narrations, and we mention some of them:

1) Imam Sadiq peace be upon him:
Performing Prayer in its first time brings the satisfaction of Allah.

2) It is a cause for removing the sorrow, the holy Prophet of Islam peace be upon him said:

If a servant of Allah gives importance to the times of the Prayer and the places of the sun (which shows the times of Prayer), I guarantee for him/her three things:
– removing the sorrows and problems.
– calmness and happiness at the time of Death.
– being released from the fire (of hell).

3) It is a way that shows how much the orders of Allah is important to us, you know we are the servants of Allah and He is our Master, and it is obvious that when a master orders his/her servant, he/she wants to see the servant to be obedient and Submissive to his/her commands, and the servant who is more obedient to the orders, is more beloved to the master than the servant who is not so much eager to obey the commands of the master.
Imagine a businessman who has two apprentices, one is lazy and the second is active, at the end, it might be that both of them, follow the orders of their boss, but one always delays them, and the other always follows ASAP, the difference between them is obvious.
Let me mention a very interesting and really practical tradition, as I heard from one of the Islamic moral scholars, a lot or let’s say most of the problems that we have, are related to this Narration, so let’s read it very deeply. Imam Sadiq peace be upon him said:

The one who performs his/her Prayer in its early time and performs it correctly, an angel brings it to the sky in a state of purity and light and that Prayer calls out: May Allah protect you just like you protected me. And if the servant, delays his/her Prayer without any excuse, and performs it carelessly, an angel brings it to the sky in the state of darkness and that Prayer calls out: May Allah ruin you, just like you ruined me.

And we know that the Doa and curse of angels and the deeds (that they are manifested in a face) are accepted, so it is a very important key point.

[divider]

Let me mention very interesting story, a young man came to Ayatullah Nokhodaki Isfahani (one of the greatest Islamic scholars in the field of morality) and asked him of a way in which his three problems gets solved. His wishes were as following:
He said: I want to get married and I cannot do that. Second, I want to have a blessing job and the third I want to have a good ending at the time of death.
That great scholar said to him, for the first wish, perform your Prayer in its early time, for your second wish perform your Prayer in its early time and for your third wish perform your Prayer in its early time.
The young man asked the scholar: One key for three locks? And that scholar replied: yes, because performing the Prayer in its early time is the Master key.

[divider]

At the end let me mention very briefly some reasons for being indifferent and reluctant to the performance of Prayer in its early time:

– Being ignorant of the benefits and blessings of the Prayer in the early time.
– Committing sins. because it is a way that makes us reluctant to worshiping Allah.
– Being extremely attached to the material world and its attractions.
– Having a weak willpower and getting disappointed quickly. (for example because of not seeing the effects of that after a few days)

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Sources:
akhlagh.porsemani.ir
tebyan.net
islamquest.net
tmubasij.ir

 

Philosophy of the Recommended acts

/in , /by

ikoi

The religion of Islam is a mixture of different types of decree, it is said in the jurisprudential books that every action of mankind falls under one of five types of decree; it is either must be done or must be left or better to be done or better to be left or neutral.

The purpose of this essay is to talk about the philosophy of the existence of recommended acts, First lets define the meaning of recommended acts, Mostahab or recommended act is the action that is good to be performed, but if the servant, does not do it, he/she will not be punished for that on the day of judgment, like some kinds of prayers or visiting the holy shrines of the holy prophet of Islam and the infallible Imams, etc.

These recommended acts can be so much helpful for our spiritual perfection, it is true that if a servant performs his/her obligations and leave the prohibited acts, can enter the paradise, but we know that there are different levels of the bounties on the day of judgment, and a lot of these bounties can be obtained through performing the recommended acts.

Apart from the hereafter benefits of the recommended acts, many benefits of these deeds, appear and manifest in this world, for example, some recommended acts regarding eating and drinking, are helpful for the health of the body, or some of them, have benefits regarding the increasing of the sustenance, like performing the Salat Al-Laiyl (night prayer)

It is proved in the theology that Allah is needless of anyone, so if He has decreed a rule, in fact the benefits of that will reach to us, so we believe that if Islam has made something obligatory or recommended, definitely it is useful for us. It is beneficial for our material life or for our hereafter or for both realms.

So let’s mention some of the philosophies of the recommended acts:

1) they compensate and remove the bad effects of the sins, it is mentioned in chapter Hud, verse 114 of the holy Quran:

إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ
“Good deeds will repel evil deeds”

2) They compensate the deficiency that may be in the obligatory deeds.
There is a narration from Imam Kazim peace be upon him that says:
[su_quote]Allah has completed the obligatory Salat with the recommended Salat and has completed the obligatory fast with the recommended fast.[/su_quote]

3) They are a cause for the nearness to Allah, because they are the acts that satisfy Allah and make Him pleased with us.

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Source:
Tebyan.net
Islamquest.net
Askdin.com
Askquran.ir

Why is it Necessary to Utter Allah’s Name at the Time of Slaughtering (Animals)?

/in , /by

Slaughtering

Does reciting the name of Allah (s.w.t.) or another entity while slaughtering an animal have an influence upon the meat of the animal as far as hygiene and sanitation is concerned?

In answer to this question it must be mentioned that it is not essential for the name of Allah (s.w.t.) or another entity to necessitate an impact on the substance and essence of the meat in terms of cleanliness. This is because, the prohibition imposed on certain things in Islam are dictated by several factors.

At times, the prohibition is for the purpose of hygiene and protection of the body, while at other times it is for the purification of the soul and on occasions it is for preserving the social order. In reality, the prohibition imposed upon consumption of meat of animals that have been slaughtered by reciting the names of idols has a spiritual, ethical and educative dimension associated with it.

Such acts distance man from Allah (s.w.t.) and possess undesirable psychological effects; this is so since this act belongs to the rites associated with polytheism and paganism, and serves to revive their memories.1

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1. Tafsir-e-Namuna, vol. 1, pg. 588

What is the philosophy for the prohibition of marriage with one’s ‘immediate relatives’?

/in , , /by

n00083829-b

In verse 23 of Suratul Nisa, we read:

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ وَ بَنَاتُكُمْ وَ أَخَوَاتُكُمْ وَ عَمَّاتُكُمْ وَ خَالاَتُكُمْ وَ بَنَاتُ الأََخِ وَ بَنَاتُ الأُُخْتِ وَ أُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللاَّتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَ أَخَوَاتُكُمْ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ وَ أُمَّهَاتُ نِسَائِكُمْ وَ رَبَائِـبُكُمُ اللاَّتِي فِي حُجُورِكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمُ اللاَّتِي دَخَلْـتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلاَ جُناحَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَ حَلاَئِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلاَبِكُمْ وَ أَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الأُُخْـتَيْنِ إِلاَّ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّ اللٌّهَ كَانَ غَفُوراً رَحِيماً

“Forbidden to you are your mothers and your daughters and your sisters and your paternal aunts and your maternal aunts and brothers’ daughters and sisters’ daughters and your mothers that have suckled you and your foster-sisters and mothers of your wives and your step-daughters who are in your guardianship, (born) of your wives to whom you have gone in, but if you have not gone in to them, there is no blame on you (in marrying them), and the wives of your sons who are of your own loins and that you should have two sisters together, except what has already passed; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

The question that arises here is: What is the philosophy behind the prohibition of marriage with one’s maharim?

In this verse allusion has been made towards the maharim – meaning the ladies with whom marriage is forbidden – and on the basis of it, we can conclude that there are three ways by which this relationship can come into existence:

1. By birth – This is referred to as ‘genealogical relationship’.
2. By matrimony – This is referred to as ‘causal relationship’
3. By suckling – This is referred to as ‘foster relationship’

Foremost, alluding to the maharim by birth, who constitute seven groups, the verse says:

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ وَ بَنَاتُكُمْ وَ أَخَوَاتُكُمْ وَ عَمَّاتُكُمْ وَ خَالاَتُكُمْ وَ بَنَاتُ الأََخِ وَ بَنَاتُ الأُُخْتِ

“Forbidden to you are your mothers and your daughters and your sisters and your paternal aunts and your maternal aunts and brothers’ daughters and sisters’ daughters.”

It should be noted that the term ‘mother’ does not intend only the lady, who directly gives birth to a person but also includes the paternal and maternal grand-mothers and great grand-mothers. Similarly, ‘daughter’ does not mean the direct daughter only, but also includes the grand-daughters and the great grand-daughters, and similarly so with the other five groups.

Even though unsaid, it is clear that all the people (except for a very few), experience a sense of revulsion and reprehension towards such a marriage, and even the Magi, who in their ancient books have permitted these marriages, today reject them.

Although there are some people who strive to present the issue as one having its origins in an ancient habit and custom, it should be borne in mind that a habit or a custom can never be eternal and universal, for we know that if a law is found to exist universally amongst all the individuals of the human species and all throughout the ages, it generally reveals that the law is in conformity and agreement with the innate nature of man.

Apart from this, today the reality has been established that marriage between consanguineous individuals entails numerous dangers such as manifestation and aggravation (not generation) of latent and hereditary diseases. There are some people who, apart from the maharim, do not even approve of marriages between relatively distant relations, such as first cousins, and are of the opinion that such alliances tend to accentuate the dangers of hereditary diseases.25 Nevertheless, if this issue does not create problems with respect to distant relatives (and usually it does not), it is surely bound to create problems with respect to the immediate relatives, amongst whom the ties of consanguinity are more intense.

Besides, generally there does not exist a sexual attraction and appeal amongst the maharim, since they mostly grow up together and thus appear common and ordinary to each other – rare and exceptional cases cannot form the criterion for general and universal laws – and we know that the existence of sexual attraction is a condition for the consolidation of a matrimonial alliance. Thus, if marriage were to take place between the maharim this alliance would be weak and unstable.

Then the Qur`an mentions the maharim that come into existence by way of suckling, and says:

وَ أُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللاَّتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَ أَخَوَاتُكُمْ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ

“…And your mothers that have suckled you and your foster-sisters.”

Although the Qur`an, in this portion of the verse, has only mentioned two groups from this category – the mothers and the sisters -according to numerous traditions, those who become maharim as a result of suckling are not confined to these two groups only. The well-known tradition of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w) states:

يَحرَمُ مِنَ الرِّضاَعِ ماَ يحَرَمُ مِنَ النَّسَبِ.

“All those, who become prohibited by means of genealogy, also become prohibited by means of suckling.”

Of course, there are numerous details and particulars associated with the measure of milk-feed and the manner and conditions of feeding (the child) which bring about this relationship, and these have been mentioned in books of jurisprudence.

The philosophy behind prohibiting marriage with such maharim is that the bones and flesh of the child develop as a result of the milk of the person and subsequently, the child comes to develop a resemblance with the (actual) children of the person. For example, if a woman suckles a child in a measure that its body develops and grows as a result of her milk, a kind of resemblance comes into existence between this child and the other (real) children of the woman. In reality, each of them come to be regarded as a part of the woman and are like brothers who are related by birth.

In the final phase the Qur`an, alluding to the third kind of maharim, classifies them into three categories:

a) …and mothers of your wives. As soon as the formula of marriage is recited and a woman gets married to a man, her mother, grand mother etc, all become eternally prohibited for the man.

b) …and your step-daughters who are in your guardianship, (born) of your wives to whom you have gone in. Just a mere recitation of the marriage formula does not make the woman’s daughters, obtained from a previous husband, prohibited for the husband – rather, the condition is that in addition to the recitation of the formula, the marriage should also be consummated. The presence of this condition in this case endorses the fact that the ruling in the case of the wife’s mother, mentioned in the previous sentence, is not bound by this condition, and technically speaking, it strengthens the general nature of that ruling.

Although, apparently, the condition:

فِي حُجُورِكُمْ.

“…in your guardianship” gives the impression that if the woman’s daughter, borne from a previous husband, is not brought up by the husband, she is not forbidden for him, however, from the context of the traditions and the incontrovertibility of the ruling, it can be concluded that this condition is not, technically speaking, a precautionary condition but rather a pointer towards the reason for this prohibition.

This is because such daughters, whose mothers embark upon a new marriage, are usually young in age and are mostly brought up under the care of the new husbands as if they were their own daughters. The verse states: These are, in reality, similar to your own daughters. Does a person ever marry his own daughter? The selection of the word رَباَئِب which is the plural form of رَبِيبَة -meaning ‘the one brought up’ – is also for this very reason.

Pursuant to this part, the verse, for emphasizing the issue, adds: if you have not engaged in sexual intercourse (with the woman) her daughters are not forbidden for you:

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلاَ جُناحَ عَلَيْكُمْ

c) …and the wives of your sons who are of your own loins. In reality, the expression مِن اَصلاَبِکُم (of your own loins) has been employed so as to annul an incorrect custom of the Era of Ignorance. In those days it had been a common practice to select individuals and adopt them as one’s own sons; the people would adopt an individual, who was someone else’s son, as their own son and all the rulings that were associated with a real son would come to be associated with this adopted son. Accordingly they never married the wives of their adopted sons. In Islam, adoption and all the rulings (of the Age of Ignorance) associated with it have been regarded as totally baseless.

d) …and that you should have two sisters together i.e., marrying two sisters, at one time, is not permissible. Thus, there is no harm in marrying two or more sisters if the marriages were to take place at different times and after being separated from the previous sister.
Since it had been a common practice to take two sisters as wives at the same time and there were individuals, who had entered into such marriages, the Qur`an, after the abovementioned sentence, says:

إِلاَّ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ

…except what has already passed…; i.e. those, who have entered into such marriages before the revelation of this law shall not face chastisement, however they would now have to select and keep one of the two and leave the other.

The secret behind the prohibition of such marriages by Islam could be that two sisters, due to their genealogy and natural attachment, possess intense fondness for each other, however when they become rivals they are not able to preserve and maintain the former affection for each other and consequently, a kind of emotional conflict manifests within them, which is detrimental for them. This is because the impulse of ‘affection’ and that of ‘rivalry’ are in a state of perpetual conflict within them.