I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like!

An Angel was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like?"
The Lord sent the Angel to two doors. The Angel opened one of the doors and looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the Angel's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The Angel shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, "You have seen Hell. Now go to the next door."
The Angel went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the Angel's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The Angel said, "I don't understand."
"It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to share by feeding each other, while the greedy think only of themselves."
Moral of the story: Its people's attitude that makes our place of work, a hell or heaven! 'Help and Seek Help' this makes all the difference to each individual's life and makes our lives hell or heaven. Success and happiness is all about effective team-work make it a great place to work.

Hezbollah defeats Zionist regime in 33 Days War

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
6 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, the illegal Zionist entity launched a brutal war on Lebanon on the pretext of capture of two Israeli soldiers by the legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah. The 33-day invasion, supported by the US and certain Arab reactionary regimes, was defeated by the Islamic Resistance, which shattered the myth of invincibility of Israel. The cowardly Zionist entity, however, attacked civilian areas, martyring a total of 1,200 men, women and children, in addition to destroying part of the infrastructure of southern Lebanon. Thanks to the people’s support for the Hezbollah, which retaliated with a steady barrage of rockets on Israel that took a heavy toll of life, and the Zionists were forced to halt the war and withdraw in a humiliating manner.
On July 16, 2008, Lebanon’s legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah, in another victory, in return for the handover of the bodies of two Zionist occupation soldiers, forced Israel to release five Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of nearly 200 Lebanese martyrs. The exchange of bodies and captives took place following indirect negotiations, with the mediation of Germany. It is worth noting that Zionist spy agencies did not know till the exchange that the two Zionist soldiers had been killed in the initial moments of Israel’s 33-day war on Hezbollah. Among the liberated Lebanese, were individuals from other groups, such as Samir Qantar, who spent almost thirty years in Zionist dungeons.
Following the issuance of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and its acceptance by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Zionist entity, Israel's 33-day war ended. The war was a US-Zionist plot, backed by reactionary Arab states, to destroy Lebanon's legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah. But people's resistance, coupled with the military prowess of the Hezbollah, shattered the myth of military invincibility of Israel with tanks, ships and aircraft reduced to junk. Over 4,000 missiles fired into occupied Palestine by the Hezbollah endeared the movement and its dynamic leader, Seyyed Hassan Nasrollah, to Arab and other Muslims worldwide, including conscientious thinkers in the West.

The prominent Iranian Islamic scholar, physician, mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer, Ibn Sina

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz

On 1st of the Islamic month of Ramadhan in 428 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic multisided genius, who was a physician, mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer, Abu Ali Hussain Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina, passed away at the age of 58 in the western Iranian city of Hamedan. He memorized the Holy Qur'an at a young age and later learned logic, astronomy, geometry, and medicine to the extent that at the age of 18, he was an authority in the sciences of his day. Due to medical treatment of the Samanid King, Nouh ibn Mansour, he was allowed to use the large royal library at Bukhara. He was a genius, who because of his political views and religious tendencies in favour of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, found himself persecuted by Sultan Mahmoud of Ghazna. Known as Avicenna to medieval Europe, his works were translated into Latin and for several centuries were taught at most western universities. Among his valuable books, mention could be made of the book: “Shafa” on philosophy; and “al-Qanoun fi't-Tibb” on medicine.

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.