Ethics and Spirituality

Lady Maryam’s (SA) wish for death in the verse «يا ليتني مت قبل هذا وكنت نسيا منسيا» was a heartfelt cry for help and refuge, and a sorrowful plea for the Lord’s special grace. This expression of helplessness was a knocking at the door of divine mercy and a way of seeking His response and special attention—not a sign of weak trust in God or a contradiction of contentment with His decree.

Through prayer, the worshipper comes under God’s boundless mercy, and the angels surround them. To maintain presence of heart, prayer should be offered as an earnest expression of one’s inner state—that is, the heart should accord with the words spoken. Prayer is the highest means of drawing near to God and purifying the soul; its fruit is willing submission to the Beloved’s will and judgment.

Casting off the garment of piety means exposing one’s nakedness in body and soul, and opens the way to shamelessness. Whoever wears the garment of piety and does not let remembrance of God leave their heart will not have their nakedness exposed—even if they are unclothed in private.

Here, modesty means an uninformed sense of shame that keeps a person from seeking knowledge, speaking the truth, and enjoying lawful pleasures, thereby leading to deprivation. By contrast, wise modesty, which springs from faith, brings one closer to God. God is not shy about stating the truth.

The hadith, “Just as men like to see their women adorned and well-groomed, women too like to see men adorned and well-groomed,” means that men, like women, should guard their adornment from the eyes of unrelated members of the opposite sex and observe modesty, chastity, and decorum. Any form of grooming that puts a man on display before unrelated women is blameworthy and may give rise to sin in the heart.

Guarding the eyes against sin depends on the purity of the heart, because the actions of our limbs reflect what is within us. The eye is the heart’s spy and the intellect’s emissary; it must be shielded from whatever is unworthy of our faith and unacceptable to the heart and mind. A hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (AS) describes turning one’s gaze away from forbidden things as a great gain, while the Commander of the Faithful (AS) teaches that humility before God is the way to seek His help in doing so.

Spiritual veiling in the presence of women, whether at places of pilgrimage or elsewhere, means observing both outward and celestial proprieties. If a spiritual state arises involuntarily, celestial veiling takes place; but when it is brought about by one’s own choice, outward proprieties must also be observed.

An actress telling an unrelated man to think of her as his mother and touch her is a blatant mockery of divine law and a flagrant display of shamelessness. Divine laws are not something to joke about, nor should they be made a plaything of one’s desires. God upholds His laws, and those who violate them will face grave consequences and may even be transformed.

The freedom Imam Ali (AS) speaks of in the words «لا تکونن عبد غیرک و قد جعلک الله سبحانه حرا» means not being a slave to anyone else, for God has created human beings free. This freedom entails avoiding any unlawful dependence on others, whether for wealth, influence, status, or professional and intellectual ties.