To the Qadhi of Kufa

Shurayh bin Haarith had been holding an important post during the previous regimes. Imam Ali (a) had also appointed him as a Qadhi (Chief Judge) of Kufa. It was brought to the notice of Imam Ali (a) that he had purchased a house for himself in the city (rather a costly and expensive house, perhaps more expensive and luxurious than his status demanded and that too rather at a cheaper price).
Imam Ali (a) called him and asked of him: "I am given to understand that you have purchased this house for eighty dinars and a sales deed has also been completed regularizing it with signatures of witnesses".
Shurayh replied, "O Amir al-Mu'minin this is a fact". Hearing this Imam Ali (a) felt annoyed and said to him: 

"Shurayh be warned that a thing (death) will come to you; it will not take any notice of this sales deed nor will it accept the testimony of the witnesses but it will take you out of this house alone and unattended and will drag you to your grave.
And before such a thing happens, you must think well over the fact whether you have purchased this house with the money which does not belong to you but to somebody else and whether the purchase price was acquired with foul means or it was an ill-gotten wealth, which met its cost, if it was so, then remember that you will part (through death) with this house and in the bargain you will lose your place in Paradise.
If you had come to me prior to this transaction I would have drafted such a sales deed for you that you would not have cared to purchase this property even for a dirham. You know what the transfer deed would have been like, it would have been phrased in the following words:
A humble and powerless creature has purchased this house from another mortal being, its boundaries are as follows: On one side it is bounded by calamities and disasters, on the other side with disappointments and sorrows, on the third side its borders are covered with inordinate and excessive desires ending in failures and on the fourth side it adjoins the misleading and captivating allurements of Satan, and the door of this house opens towards this fourth side.
A man leading his life under the merciless grip of intemperate and disorderly desires has purchased this house from another person who is being relentlessly pursued by death. And for the purchase price he has bargained the glory of an honourably contented and respectable way of living against the detestable life of submitting to every form of humiliation for profits and pleasures. The buyer had not realized what sorrows and degradations he was purchasing and what he was paying in by way of the cost.
His delivery now lies in the hands of One Who throws the bodies of kings into dust and overthrows their empires, Who ends the lives of despots and Who has brought to an end the dominions of Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome and Himyars, kings of Yemen, Who had destroyed the wealth, power and glory of all those individuals who had amassed wealth, gathered property, built very strong and durable houses, furnished them with the choicest and most costly furniture and surrounded them with beautiful gardens. Those people were imagining that they and their descendants will enjoy the fruits of their labours, though in reality everyone of the house so built or the article so collected will have to be accounted for on the Day of Judgement, the day when people will be rewarded or punished according to their deeds, the day on which evil doers will suffer for their vicious and wicked ways. Your mind will corroborate and confirm this if it is kept free from intemperate ambitions, from lust for alluring things, from sensuality and from vicious affections and attachments."

Prayer in the Qur'an

Why are Gheebat and Tohmat Haraam?

They are Haraam because they spoil people's names and characters. When you speak badly of someone, you make others think badly of them. Another reason why it is bad is because the people are not there to defend themselves. If you hear wicked things about others, you should give the others a chance to defend themselves by explaining, before you believe what you hear.
Gheebat and Tohmat are a result of Jealousy. If a person is respected, has done good, has helped others, there will always be people who are angry and bitter that such a person is respected by all. The result is to try and slander and destroy this reputation by sowing seed of venom in their character, by telling the world lies so that the respect turns to outrage and shame. Such people are cursed by Allah (SWT), and are referred to as the evil whispers of mankind.
Allegation is more severe sin than backbiting. It is clear from traditions that anyone who levels allegations against a believer is condemnable.
Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.s.) declared, If a person levels an allegation against a believing man or woman for an act, which he/she has not done, then on the Day of Judgment, Allah, the Almighty, shall put him on a piece of fire until he is chastised for leveling that allegation.
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) narrates, When a believer levels an allegation against another believer, his faith dissolves just as salt dissolves in water.
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said further, If a believer accuses another believer (while the latter is innocent), then the honour and dignity that exists between two believers will vanish.
That is why we have been instructed in traditions to restrain ourselves to the best of our ability from thinking evil of a believer.
Rely on the positive points of your believer brother's conduct until you don't get confirmed evidence which prevails upon your existing knowledge of the brother. Do not think evil about the words of a believer in whose defense you can find at least one good fact.
Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) exhorts, Consider the word or action of a believer brother to be good, even if you are offended, and always think optimistically (about him) to the utmost. Do not think bad about him. If you do not get excuse in good actions, search for it over and over again, until the number (of excuses) reaches 70, if you still cannot find it, then think that we ourselves cannot think good about him.
Many times we find that our conversation with somebody about another believer turns out to be completely false. A person asked Ameerul Momineen (a.s.), What is the distance between right and wrong? Imam Ali (a.s.) replied, 'Four fingers'. Imam Ali (a.s.) then placed his four fingers between the eye and ear and said, 'that which is seen by the eye is true and that which is heard by the ear is mostly wrong or false.'
That is why before accusing anybody we should ponder on this fact.
Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) reveals, Happy is that person who is busy in searching for his own defects and is unaware of the defects of others.
Make your intellect suspicious (accuse yourself) of your own defects, for in most cases, self-confidence and self-reliance are the chief causes of mistakes.
In another tradition it is narrated, One who calls himself bad, is saved from Satan's deception.
Just as leveling allegations against someone is prohibited, in the same way a person should refrain from going to places where he may become the target of accusation.
Imam Ali (a.s.) advises: Refrain from the assemblies of allegation and suspicion because the companion of bad people is often deceived by them.
Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.s.) said, He is more accused of Tohmat (allegation) who sits with the gathering of accusers.
Imam Ali (a.s.) revealed, He who sits in a place where Tohmat (allegations) are leveled, should not blame those who entertain bad ideas about him.
The one who is seen in the assembly of dubious and suspicious characters will find himself a target of accusations and allegations. These traditions highlight that even sitting or being seen with evil people can be harmful for our reputation (even if we don't participate in their evil).
Ridiculing others - a despicable trait: Satan rules when the hearts are constricted and thoughts are perverted. Then man tends to exaggerate even the smallest of matters. Under Satan's domination, he begins to humiliate and ridicule his friends and colleagues. He brands this ridiculing as bravery and courage and prides himself on it. As a matter of fact, he even expects praise and acclaim for this.
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) narrates on the authority of the Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.s.): O Ali, there is no poverty greater than ignorance and there is no wealth superior to intellect.
According to the prophetic tradition narrated above, the most ignorant of all people today are the Muslims because we have lagged the others in pursuit of knowledge. We have embraced this world as if earning money is the sole objective of life. To acquire money we are prepared to forego religion, faith, certainty and intellect, while the Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.s.) has made intellect the most superior wealth. Indeed we must reflect on the fact that with the wealth of intellect, the world will be at our feet and we will not have to chase the world.
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) relates from Ameerul Momineen (a.s.), Pride and egotism are signs of weak intellect.
It is a fact that arrogance, pride and egotism may apparently make a man seem very successful in this world, but these very traits are the root cause of his destruction. Pride and conceit are the best indicators of a weak intellect and a person with a weak intellect is capable of initiating a step that can prove ruinous for him socially and/or personally. This is the disease that afflicts most Muslims. We have been split into so many groups and sects because of these evil traits. The soul of Islam has been torn apart due to this and what little dignity and honour is left in it also seems to be waning fast. That is why it is important for us to maintain its (soul of Islam's) dignity and nobility.
The Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.s.) declared, The most humiliating of men is the one who ridicules others.
These words of the Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.s.) highlight the fact that there is no place for narrow-mindedness, prejudice and bias in Islam. On the one hand, Islam emphasises the Majesty and Glory of Allah and on the other hand highlights brotherhood and fraternity between the creatures. The level of ethics and morals in Islam can be gauged from the saying of the Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.s.) when he (s.a.w.s.) calls the ridiculing person as the most degraded of people. That is why as believers and Muslims, it is important for us to respect and uphold the dignity and honour of others around us.
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) exhorts the Shias: Fear Allah! Be a source of ornamentation for us and do not be a source of disgrace for us.
These words of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) not only are an invitation towards goodness and virtue, they are also an indication of the standard of love and Wilayat of Ahle Bait (a.s.). Being Shias of Ahle Bait (a.s.), it is important that we always keep these standards in mind.
The true Shia of Ahle Bait (a.s.) always abstains from sins and abominable acts (makroohat). At the same time, they always hasten towards the obligatory and recommended (mustahabbat) acts. That is why if we truly love the Ahle Bait (a.s.), we must observe the laws of Shariat at all times and try to be a source of pride and happiness for them. With this, even the people of the world will be able to appreciate the true greatness of the Ahle Bait (a.s.).

'The First War of Independence'

On May 10, 1857 AD, a major uprising occurred in India against the British. Although there was growing resentment over the years against the high-handed policies of the British, including replacement of Persian with English in order to severe the cultural bonds with Iran and Afghanistan, the incident that acted as the spark was the report that rifle cartridges were greased with pig and cow fat – the former unlawful for the Muslims and the latter sacred to the Hindus. This made the native soldiers, called Sepoys in English (corruption of the Persian word 'Sepahi'), revolt against their British officers at Meerut. The incident soon escalated into open rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region.
Other parts of British-controlled India, such as Bengal, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency, remained largely calm. In Punjab, the Sikhs backed the British by providing soldiers against fellow Indians. The large semi-independent states of Hyderabad-Deccan, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the uprising. In some areas, such as Oudh, with Lucknow as its capital the uprising took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against British presence, since a year earlier the Nishapouri Iranian-origin dynasty of Wajid Ali Shah had been removed from power.
The uprising, which the British called 'Mutiny' and which modern India calls 'The First War of Independence', ended a year later in June 1858, as the British resorted with untold atrocities. The prime casualty were the Muslims of northern India, including the last titular Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the figurehead of the uprising, who was exiled to Burma, but not before the British shot three of his sons in front of him, and later sadistically presented their decapitated heads, placed in trays as Nowrouz gift, for the aging father. With this, the more than three hundred-year-rule of the Timurid Dynasty ended, and India was directly placed under the British crown with Queen Victoria declared as Empress.
On 13th of the Islamic month of Shabaan in 1274 AH, the British formally deposed Bahador Shah Zafar from the Mughal throne of Delhi and exiled him to Rangoon, Burma, thus ending over three and a quarter centuries of the shrinking rule of the Timurid dynasty, founded by Zaheer od-Din Babur. The aging Bahador Shah was accused of helping the uprising against British rule the previous year, and his sons and grandsons were shot in cold-blood by the British, who sadistically send their heads to the Mughal king as gifts on the day of Nowrouz, or the Spring Equinox, when traditional celebrations were in progress at the court for the New solar hijri year. Bahador Shah Zafar was an accomplished poet in both Persian and Urdu.

The Homeless Aunt

by Amina Bint Al Huda

Khadijah listened as her aunt tearfully complained to them about her miserable situation. She was saying, "So you see, I have received nothing for my trouble. Both of my children disregard all that I have suffered for their sake. I sold my last gold ornament to send my daughter abroad. I have mortgaged my house twice to enable my son to become a doctor.
I sold a valuable carpet so that I could buy a colour T .V. to please my daughter. Do they appreciate or even remember such sacrifices? No. My son wants me to stay away from his home since his wife can't tolerate my presence in the company of her aristocratic visitors. She says she wants to be free in my son's house, as if I deprived her of her freedom.”
“I thought that my daughter would be happy to have me live in her house. She is my only daughter. You remember how I helped her to live a life free from worry. Do you know how she treated me in return? Like a maid in her service who should clean her house for her and look after her child while she and her husband spent their time at theaters and clubs. Yesterday, she was out until one in the morning. Her child cried and cried and I couldn’t calm him. When she finally came home, I was tired and complained about her behavior. I wanted her to treat me like her mother, not like a servant or a baby sitter….”
“Can you guess what she said to me? Without any shame, she told me that since she gave me shelter and food, I had no cause to complain. She also told me that she valued her freedom and was not ready change for the sake of either her child or her mother."
She wept bitterly, unable to continue. Khadijah gave her something to drink and Khadijah's mother tried to comfort her sister. Khadijah told her aunt gently, “…It is a pity that you have taken so much trouble to raise your children. You have brought them up in such away that you yourself produced the present state of affairs.
You thought that your daughter's happiness could be found in unlimited freedom, and, as a result, she did not learn what her responsibilities were towards you. You helped her neglect her religious duties. Your methods have backfired. She enjoyed life to the utmost without the least concern for Allah, and she forgot the high position Allah the almighty has assigned to a mother. She forgot the Qur'anic verse:
“And your Lord has commanded that you shall not serve but Him, and goodness to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, reprimand them not, nor chide them, and speak to them a generous word. And make yourself submissively gentle to them with compassion and say: Oh, my Lord! Have compassion on them as they brought me up.” (Al Isra, 17:23, 24)
And the Qur'anic verse:
“...and keep up prayer, surely prayer is timed ordinance for the believers” (Al-Nisa, 4:103)
"You should have taught her the verse in the Holy Qur'an concerning hijab, " continued Khadijah,
“...and let them (women) wear their covering over their bosoms and not display of their ornaments...” (Al-Nisa, 4:31)
"The result of being raised with no regard to religious duties is always deviation from the right path. There is a great difference between one who spends long hours watching television and indecent films and a person who spends his nights reading religious books which tell him that caring for parents is equal to worshipping Allah, and that Paradise lies at the feet of mothers. You have sold your gold ornament," she continued, "and sent your daughter abroad, but you have forgotten that such travel can uproot all good instincts still buried within her conscience. She has returned to you a figure empty of compassion."
Her aunt sighed deeply and said, "You are quite right, Khadijah. It is my own fault, but I have realized this too late. I followed my husband's advice, which was to raise my children free of all complexes, and to allow them to have whatever they desired. Now, I see how mistaken I have been. Your parents, who brought you up with much attention to religious instructions, are quite happy with you." Khadijah replied, "They are happy as well with my husband and with my brother's wife. My husband encourages me to fulfill my duty towards my parents in order to please Almighty Allah."
Her aunt then said, "I wish I had chosen a righteous husband for my daughter to help her rid herself of all deviation. She should not have married a man who gambles and drinks."
Khadijah then asked, “Why did you agree to such a marriage?"
"It was his expensive car that attracted my daughter, and the high dowry impressed me and prompted me to accept him as a son-in-law," replied her aunt. Sorrowfully, Khadijah said, "Oh, how frank you are, dear aunt! It is a pity that you have realized the truth too late. May Allah save you from this loss, since you admit your fault."
The aunt spent a week in her sister's house, and during that time neither her daughter nor her son showed any concern for her well-being. Khadijah's mother wanted her sister to live with them, but their house was small. The aunt was seriously pressed for a place to live. One morning, Khadijah and her husband said to her, “Please come and stay with us. We really would like to have you. Don't disappoint us."
"Oh, I am a broken-hearted woman. What can I do for you?” her aunt replied. Then she accepted their kind offer gratefully. Khadijah mentioned a narration of the Prophet of Islam (SAWS) in this regard, which states: A Muslim believer came to the Prophet (SAWS) and asked what he could do to please Allah. The Prophet (SAWS) asked him if he had a mother, and the man said: “No". Then the Prophet (SAWS) asked if he had an aunt, and he answered: "Yes". The Prophet (SAWS) recommended that he should look after her and love her because she had the same position as mother. The aunt feared that she would be a burden to them.
But Khadijah's husband said, "Please do not say such a thing. I lost my mother too early in life to enjoy her love and care. Perhaps Allah has sent you to make up for that loss. You can live with us and you can receive your son and daughter here whenever you like."
Khadijah's mother, who was seated nearby, said, "They are quite serious about wanting you to live with them. I would be very happy to know that you are near my daughter."
The aunt moved to her new home and was comfortable and at ease for the first time in her life. She never felt like an intruder, and Khadijah accompanied her when she attended religious meetings. The aunt benefited very much from these meetings and enhanced her religious knowledge. She compared Khadijah's happy marriage to her daughter's. She could feel the harmony and spiritual understanding between Khadijah and her husband, and recalled her daughter's life, which was full of quarrels resulting from jealousy, selfishness and indifference. She could easily differentiate between the normal, healthy life of her niece and the disturbed, unnatural one of her daughter. She could do nothing but pray to Allah to guide her daughter and son to the right path.
Early one morning a few months later, the doorbell rang continuously, and Khadijah hurried to open it. She was surprised to see her cousin standing at the door, carrying her child in her arms. Her eye was black and she looked pale. Khadijah welcomed her cousin and took her to her mother's room. The mother was surprised to see her daughter, and she rushed towards her to take her in her arms. She thought that her daughter longed to see her and she had regretted her past behavior. But her daughter sat down on the nearest chair without the faintest idea of her mother's feelings.
The daughter said, “My husband has turned me out of our house, as if I were a piece of used furniture that could be replaced." Her mother's face grew pale and she said, “He turned you out? When? How?"
Her daughter replied, "Oh, mother. You know how he is. He returns home late every evening, quite drunk. He throws himself on the bed dead with sleep. When I object to his behavior, he reminds me of our deal that we should respect each other's freedom. I can do nothing but keep silent, since this idea of freedom was my wish from the beginning. But things have grown worse recently. He has started to help himself by my salary and deprived me of my rights in my house.
"Yesterday he said he would no longer tolerate the chains of marriage and made me leave my own home. I spent the night in the garden. I have nowhere to go! My only brother won't allow me to stay in his house. I have none to turn to but you."
Her mother did not know what to say. She thought her niece was kind enough to have her in her house. Could she bring someone else to live with her? It was too much a favor to ask. Khadijah, who had heard everything, knew of her aunt's hidden suffering. She decided to save her the trouble. She told her cousin, "You have done the correct thing by coming to your mother. She will be happy to have you with her until things get better."
The distraught young woman thanked her cousin for her kind help and said, "Oh, how grateful I am to you, Khadijah! You have been so kin d to my mother. Now you are doing me a great favor."
Khadijah smiled and said, "Oh, don't say such things. You should consider this house as your own." The aunt was so moved that she rushed to Khadijah and kissed her. She said, "How wonderful you are, my dear! What great faith you have."
Khadijah whispered into her ear, “Please, aunt ask your daughter to wear her hijab as long as she is in our house." The aunt answered immediately, "Oh, yes, I have already decided to do so."
She settled herself near her daughter and said "I have never felt such comfort in my life as I feel here. I have found in your cousin Khadijah and her husband love and care that I never found in you and your brother. You are my own children, but you showed ingratitude towards me, while my niece and her husband flood me with kind feelings. I wish you knew the reason." She was silent for a while. Then her daughter said, "Oh, mother, surely it is faith in Allah and His Pleasure that dominates their life, while we lack such faith."
"Praise is due to Allah the Almighty that you have realized the truth by yourself I" said her mother. "Therefore, you should start to show regret for the past and return to religion by first wearing your hijab." The daughter looked down at the floor and was silent. Then Khadijah said “..I think she has found out what happens when one neglects one's religion. She now feels the importance of Islamic ethics."
Her cousin looked up at her and said “You are right, Khadijah. I am tired of this life of pretence. I need someone to lead me and teach me true faith and real salvation with no submission to other's wishes and desires. But I can't help wondering what people will say about me."
Khadijah replied, “You always tried to please people in the past, which made you their slave. You have gained nothing from that but false happiness. You have wasted years, running the wrong way. Now, it is time for you to come back to your religion and understand Islamic values in order to gain happiness in this life and the Hereafter."
“Will Allah accept my repentance after years of deviation?" her cousin asked.
“Yes, of course, Allah loves those who repent and hates those who insist on doing wrong." Then Khadijah recited the Qur'anic verse:
“Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance from his servants and takes the alms, and that Allah is All Compassionate? Say: Work and Allah will see your (good) work and so will His Apostle and the believers ...” (At-Tawbah or Bara’at, 9:104, 105)
The cousin spent a few weeks with her mother. She was greatly affected by Khadijah's strong faith. Khadijah did her best to help her, and she gave her some Islamic books that she read and discussed later. Khadijah's cousin eventually became a good Muslim, and she knew she could no longer live with a man addicted to drinking and gambling. She filed for divorce. She gave up all her rights to her home in return for keeping her only child. She intended to raise him to be a good believer.

Mother's Curse

In the tribe of Bani Israel, there lived a pious person by the name of Jareeh, who used to engage himself in Allah's (SWT) worship, in his monastery. One day, his mother approached him while he was busy in prayer and, as a result, he did not respond to her. She approached him for a second time, but again, Jareeh did not answer to his mother.
When this happened for the third time, she became angry and cursed him saying, "I pray to Allah (SWT) that He does not help you!"
The next day a prostitute came up to his monastery and giving birth to a child there, declared: "This is Jareeh's child whom I have given birth to."
This created uproar among the people, who thought: "The very person, who used to rebuke us for fornication, has committed it himself." The king ordered him to be sent to the gallows.
When Jareeh's mother came to know of this, she began beating her face in distress whereupon he said to her, "Keep quiet, for it is due to your curse that I find myself in this predicament."
The people asked him, "O' Jareeh! How can we know that you speak the truth?"
Jareeh told them to bring the child to him. When the child was brought, he prayed and then questioned the child, "Who is your father?" The child, with divine power and permission, said, "My father is such and such a shepherd belonging to such and such a tribe."
This incident saved Jareeh's life after which he vowed never to separate from his mother and to serve her throughout her life.

Does God Exist?

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair and his beard cut as always. He started to have a good conversation with the barber who attended him. They talked about so many things on various subjects.
Suddenly, they touched the subject of God. The barber said: "Look man, I don't believe that God exists as you say so."
"Why do you say that?" Asked the client
Well, it's so easy; you just have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. "I can't think of a God who permits all of these things." The client stopped for a moment thinking but he didn't want to respond so as to prevent an argument.
The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with a long hair and beard (it seems that it had been a long time since he had his cut and he looked so untidy). Then the client again entered the barbershop and he said to the barber: know what? Barbers do not exist.
"How come they don't exist?" asked the barber. "Well I am here and I am a barber."
"No!" - The client exclaimed. "They don't exist because if they did there would be no people with long hair and beard like that man who walks in the street."
"Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" - Affirmed the client. "That's the point. God does exist, what happens is people don't go to Him and do not look for Him that's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."