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.

Defending hijab by explaining that it is God’s command and that valuable things are kept covered is a beautiful way to offer guidance and an honorable defense of the duty to enjoin what is right. What you said is praiseworthy; it places the proud medal of enjoining what is right around your neck.

Enjoining what is right and discouraging what is wrong in a kind yet firm manner is a form of striving in God’s cause. It brings joy to God and His saints, and places the family under divine care. What you did is commendable, and helps safeguard your family’s well-being and secure God’s special grace.

Girls who wear hijab for the sake of God and listen to His words will receive a great reward in Paradise. They will be companions of Lady Fatima (SA), brighter than red rubies and precious as jewels. Paradise will be spread beneath their feet, every wish that crosses their hearts will come true, and they will receive special blessings from God.

A man’s protective jealousy toward his wife is a feeling unique to men; women do not experience it in the same way. A woman’s concern when her husband behaves in ways contrary to religion or commits sins is of greater worth than protective jealousy: it springs from love of God. For a woman, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is both obligatory and commendable. By urging her husband to lower his gaze, she is defending God’s boundaries and striving to keep him from moral impurity.

The women cut their hands when they saw Joseph because they were overcome with intense admiration and awe, magnifying Joseph’s beauty while thinking little of themselves. Their rapture made them lose awareness and forget what they were doing; love for anything can be accompanied by a loss of reason.

If a believer becomes obsessed with women, he is stripped of the robe of faith and clothed in the garment of disbelief—in other words, he is no longer a believer. Such an obsession arises when a man takes a woman as his god, disobeys God in order to obey her, or incurs God’s anger in pursuit of her approval. A man’s love and respect for a woman, when in keeping with religious principles and good character, are among the beautiful expressions of his responsibility toward her. But excessive deference becomes undesirable when it prevents him from fulfilling his religious duties.

A wife’s willingness to put up with a bad-tempered husband and forgive her dowry is not an absolute duty; it depends on the husband’s character and conduct. Many hadiths emphasize that a man should treat his wife with honor. For a man of faith and piety, encouraging his wife to forgive her dowry is commendable, since the one who does so is promised a profitable bargain.