Sins Blacken the Heart
The first tradition is reported from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.): He said, "There is no man who does not have a white spot in his heart. When he commits a sin a black spot emerges from this spot. If he repents, the blackness goes away but if he sinks in sin and continues to sin the blackness keeps on increasing till it surrounds the whiteness of the heart completely. When the white spot is totally covered by the ...
1. Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrates from ‘Amir Shatibi, “I once accompanied ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib on a journey. He was traveling to Siffin. When he reached the valley of Naynawa, he shouted out, ‘O Aba ‘Abd Allah! Bear patiently near the River Euphrates.’ ‘Amir Shatibi says, ‘I asked him: why?’ ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) answered, ‘One day I went to visit the Holy Prophet and found him crying. ...
Dr. I. K. A. Howard Al-Serat, Vol. 2 (1976), No. 1
The Author
The author of al-Kafi was thiqat al-Islam, Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ya'qub b. Ishaq al-Kulaini al-Razi. He died in 328 A.H. or 329 A.H. (939 or 940 A.D.). Very little is known of his life and there is some dispute as to whether the nisba by which he is known is al-Kulaini or al-Kulini. However, it is agreed that it refers to a village in Iran, Kulain or Kulin; both were ...
St. Anselm's[1] famous ontological argument has been disputed by many Western Philosophers to our day. However, this discussion seemed to have been limited to Western Philosophy until I have recently come across the opinions of two great Ottoman Muslim scholars. Since they were raised with a strong traditional Islamic education which taught rich philosophical and theological heritage of Islam, their accounts for the ontological argument are ...
It should be noted that the knowledge of the reality of the Divine Attributes and their encompassment as well as their nature is something whose summits lie beyond the reach of metaphysical proof (burhan) and whose kernel is beyond access to the yearning of the gnostics. That which has been said from the viewpoint of metaphysical proof in the speculative thought of scholars of formal metaphysics or in the discussions of the adept in the ...
Do all Muslims pray the same way? No. There are many different denominations within Islam, and the mothod of offering prayers by certain denominations may differ from that of others. For example, the Ja'fery Shia method of offering prayers is different from that of Hanafi Sunnis.These differences arise because of lack of consistency in the reports that describe the praying style of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP). However, these ...
"Abstaining from sins is the basis of religion. Hence, refrain from sins in order to become the most pious worshipper. Adorn yourself with piety. Do not perform a single good deed without piety. Surely that deed is most acceptable by Allah which is accompanied by piety, even though it may be trifle. As Allah says, "Allah accepts the good deeds only from the pious people." (Iddatud-Dai)
Hence if you succeed in remaining aloof from sins, then ...
Rights of the Relatives and the Ease in Reckoning
The Creator of the Universe, Almighty Allah remarks in the Holy Quran:"Certainly Allah orders equity, kindness (to people) and the giving (of what they need) to the relatives." (Surah Nahl 16:90)
In Surah Raad is the following verse:"And those who join that which Allah has bidden to be joined and have awe of their Lord and fear the evil reckoning." (Surah Raad 13:21)
The expression ...
Seyyed Hossein Nasr Vol. IX, No. 1
And those who perform jihad for Us, We shall certainly guide them in Our ways, and God is surely with the doers of good. (Quran XXXIX; 69)
You have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad. (Hadith)
The Arabic term jihad, usually translated into European languages as holy war, more on the basis of its juridical usage in Islam rather than on its much more universal meaning in the Quran ...
The sixteenth Greater sin is singing songs. Traditions have graded it amongst the mortal sins. This fact is clear from the narration of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) as quoted by Amash. Muhammad Ibne Muslim relates that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) said, "Singing is that sin which has been promised a penalty of fire (Hell) by Allah."
It is evident from numerous reports, that whichever sin incurs Hell as its punishment, is a Greater Sin. ...
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 every mukallaf to have sawm in the month of Ramadan. 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 ...
The majority of Shi'ites are Twelvers. They were originally the same group of friends and supporters of 'Ali who, after the death of the Prophet, in order to defend the right of the Household of the Prophet in the question of the caliphate and religious authority, began to criticize and protest against prevalent views and separated from the majority of the people.During the caliphate of the "rightly-guided caliphs" (11/632-35/656), the Shi ites ...
By: An Exposition of Hadith by Imam KhomeiniWith my chain of transmission reaching up to the proof of the sect and its authority, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni (R) from ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, who reports in a marfu’ (i.e. without mentioning intermediary authorities) tradition from Abu ‘Abd Allah (A) that he said, “The seekers of (sacred) knowledge are of three kinds, so recognize them by their specific qualities and ...
Hardship, a Cause of Awakening
Those who are drunk on the arrogance of power and success and who have totally forgotten humane ethics because of the seduction of their soul and their senses will sometimes find, in various corners of the world, that the occurrence of unpleasant events makes them open to fundamental changes and developments that tear away from them the veils of forgetfulness. They may even be guided to a path leading to some ...
But people have cut off their affair (of unity), between them into sects: each party rejoices in that which is with itself. (Holy Qur’an, 23:53)The tumult of the Quraysh group could not leave the Muslim ummah unscathed. Although the popular viewpoint today is that Islam has maintained two sects—Sunni and Shi’a, but the fact of the matter is that virtually hundreds of Muslim religious sects came and went in the ...
IntroductionOne of the distinctive features of Islam is its emphasis on knowledge. The Quran and the Islamic tradition (sunnah) invite Muslims to seek and acquire knowledge and wisdom and to hold men of knowledge in high esteem. Some of the Quranic verses and relevant traditions will be mentioned in the course of our discussion.At the outset we may recall a famous hadith of the Holy Prophet upon whom be Allah's peace and benedictions that has ...
Opinions Concerning God's Justice
The problem of justice as one of God's attributes has had its own distinct history. Various schools of thought in Islam have held different views on the subject, interpreting it in accordance with their own distinctive principles.Some Sunnis who follow the views of the theologian Abu'l Hasan Ash'ari do not believe in God's justice as a matter of faith, and they deny that justice is accomplished by the divine ...
We are on the heels of the commemoration of the glorious event of 'Eidul Ghadir. May Allah (SwT) make this a graet day of celebration for all of the Shia, and grant us all the ability to follow in this school of thought which aims to make us true human beings. The ethical tradition and verse of the Qur`an on the occasion of 'Eidul Ghadir concerns the greatness of the Commander of the Faithful,'Ali b. Abi Talib (as).
هُوَ الَّذِي ...
By: Shaykh Nasir Makarim ShiraziQuestion: What is the reason that we pray Zuhr-Asr and Maghrib-Isha prayers together, whereas for every Prayer there is a special time and the great leaders of Islam used to pray on the particular times. That is they used to pray five prayers are five different times a day?Answer: There is no scope of argument in this matter that to establish Prayers five times a day and pray on the special times had been the ...
