Ethics and Spirituality

To protect yourself from envious, greedy people who stir others up and cause trouble, distressing the family, it is recommended that you turn to the remembrance of God and seek help through God and the Ahl al-Bayt (AS). You should also avoid behavior that provokes them.

Religion is the constitution of ethics and humanity, while ethics and humanity are the soul of the divinely revealed religions. Human nature inspires us to follow the path of truth, which remains ever present in the human heart. The geography of Palestine is not what makes someone Jewish, and every religion can be found throughout the world. If we study the Qur’an with sincere intent, we will find it bearing witness to this truth.

To remain steadfast and preserve one’s faith until the end of life, one should sincerely hold fast to the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household, entrust oneself to God, and persevere in self-examination. Staying close to the righteous and keeping away from the corrupt, avoiding settings where sin is rife, regularly reciting the Qur’an and Sūrat al-Kahf, and cultivating a close relationship with al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya are among the important ways to do so.

According to a narration from Imam Ali (AS), urinating in the bathroom is one of the factors associated with a lack of blessing and poverty in life. The narration also mentions other causes of poverty, such as leaving cobwebs in the home and eating while in a state of major ritual impurity. Other narrations, meanwhile, point to ways of increasing one’s provision, including maintaining family ties and seeking forgiveness.

Religious obligations are a means of drawing closer to God, and God does not impose on His servants anything beyond their capacity. The apparent difficulty of fulfilling these obligations is a test, one that reveals who truly loves God; if outward acts of worship were pleasant and easy, there would be no test. Satan and the lower self make even the lighter religious duties seem difficult and distasteful.

To understand a dream and free oneself from moral failings, one must seek God’s pleasure and turn to Him with one’s needs. A profound inner transformation—giving up hope in oneself and in anyone besides God, and placing one’s hope in Him alone—is the way forward.

The blessed verse encourages us to place our hope in God and avoid miserliness. The right balance is to put our hope in no one but God and ask only Him not to leave us to anyone else. We should not stop giving out of fear of poverty.

A child’s duty when faced with unreasonable demands from parents is not to obey them in disobedience to the Creator. While maintaining courtesy and respect, a child should refrain from joining their parents in sin and should encourage them to do what is right and discourage what is wrong.

A lie told for a good reason is permissible only when the person is knowledgeable and skilled in its use, and knows when to resort to it. If a lie is told to prevent a sin and there is no other way to do so, it is unobjectionable. Otherwise, resorting to it is not recommended.