Ethics and Spirituality

That our hearing and sight be our heirs means asking that they remain sound and with us until the moment of death. It also means using these faculties in ways that please God, so that they produce nothing but beauty and goodness, and their worth and standing are elevated. This inheritance may also allude to the enduring good deeds one leaves behind, or to the faculties themselves bearing witness to our good deeds on the Day of Resurrection.

Worship is the manifestation and expression of servitude to God, while obedience is one of the means of worshipping Him. Obedience entails accepting and acting on God’s command, thereby demonstrating one’s servitude; in truth, obedience is a form of worship. Worship is a station in which the divine will alone is manifested, encompassing one’s inner state, words, actions, and more.

The traces released from the human body through exhalation and other bodily outlets, which take on various forms when mingled with other beings, can be seen and recognized. Such perception requires knowledge and understanding: the deeper one’s knowledge and understanding, the more clearly one can perceive these traces. Otherwise, one remains blind and deaf, with no perception of them at all.

Our role in managing body and soul is like that of an airplane pilot: we do not build or maintain the aircraft’s equipment; our task is to fly it skillfully and reach our destination. The “wise stewards of the human soul” manage the resources that enable us to worship and live, while our responsibility is to guide the journey well.

Sincerely holding fast to the Two Weighty Things and worshipping God with sincerity can be achieved by turning to the Sermon on the Pious, Letter 31 of Nahj al-Balagha, and Supplication 20 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. These sources beautifully outline the bounds of pure devotion to God and map the way of the sincere.

Anything that dims the remembrance of God in the heart and distracts a person with anything other than God is a sign of Satan’s presence. Outward or excessive acts of worship that lead to forgetting God or getting ahead of the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are also included. Forty days of sincere devotion and worship banish demons from the heart and make way for blessing.

The greatest theft and loss in the universe is for a person’s heart to forget the remembrance of God—even if only for a brief moment. This brings the greatest defeat and loss upon a person.

Through self-interpretation and self-exegesis, human beings come to solve the greatest mystery of existence. In a sense, the human being is like a map: by following its paths, we arrive at the solution. Solving this mystery—which may have many dimensions—is the beginning of a deeper exploration into the ocean of existence’s answers. As we solve it, we ascend to a higher level.

Forgetting a sin and, consequently, forgetting to repent of it is among the worst forms of forgetfulness and one of Satan’s strongest ways of gaining influence over the human heart. By bringing sins to mind, God creates the opportunity for seeking forgiveness, so that a person may leave this world purified—for Satan has no power over this matter.

The Greatest Veil is connected to the Greatest Names. The relationship of pure delight and beauty with the Creator transcends beauty and delight. At the beginning of creation, the Divine Will is the Greatest Name; because it is created, it serves as a veil. The Essence of Allah cannot be pointed to, and the Will is a veil that guides the servant toward knowledge of Allah.

Serving God’s creation is only a small part of what worship entails, not the whole of it. The essence of worship is the unique relationship between the worshipper and the One worshipped—a relationship in which no one else shares. We must not confuse the means and duties associated with worship with worship itself; doing so amounts to associating partners with God in worship.

A good word is a pure utterance that rises to God, and a righteous deed carries it upward. The best way to dispel passing thoughts and temptations is through faith in divine unity and the declaration of God’s oneness. Preparing oneself for the Hereafter means vividly recalling death, the grave, resurrection, the gathering, the reckoning, and the Scales. Training the will and the imaginative faculties might better be described as practical, intellectual, reflective, and spiritual-discipline training.

*Kazm al-ghayz* means controlling and suppressing anger. The word’s root conveys the idea of closing off the breath and holding back speech. A *kazim* is someone who has mastery over himself and preserves the order of his being. In the case of Imam Musa ibn Jaʿfar al-Kazim (AS), he is the one who governs the universe by the will of the Most Exalted, and is a source of divine security and peace.

The garments of the God-conscious command special respect because the wearer's piety leaves its mark on them. A garment’s distinction comes from the virtue of the person wearing it, just as Abraham’s Station attained its rank through his presence (AS). Clerical dress has no sanctity in itself. If a scholar does not live by what he knows, his garments become a uniform of hypocrisy and deceit.

Pleasures and beauties are not final destinations; they are paths and signposts leading to a higher plane. When we encounter beauty and pleasure, we should not stop there. Rather, we should recognize that they are means of reaching a nobler destination. This applies to every kind of pleasure and beauty, whatever its form or quality.

The veil is a covering that obscures knowledge and can lead to forgetfulness. Yet when the human will is aligned with the divine will, the human essence can overcome every veil. The veil is both a test and a contest, and a means of attaining knowledge beyond ordinary knowing. In encountering the veil, human growth is multiplied; ignorance and darkness become steps toward the greater reach of divine power.

To remain safe from Satan’s influence during the Occultation, especially as the time of the reappearance draws near, it is essential to recite Supplication 17 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya regularly and study its commentary, deepen one’s knowledge of Imam Mahdi (AJ), cultivate piety, flee from sin, and read the Quran and narrations reflectively.

Answering the call before the advent means being prepared and attentive with conscious, loving devotion. It is realized by performing our religious obligations with excellence—for example, offering our prayers and fasting with wholehearted devotion and spiritual awareness. True adherence to the Two Weighty Things and developing practical expertise in their teachings are also essential aspects of answering the call before the advent.

Reciting poetry in Islam—especially in mosques and during Ramadan—is generally discouraged unless it serves to defend the truth, remember God, and promote faith and righteous action. Poetry should embody truth and good character, and avoid promoting falsehood and deviation. The verses of Surah al-Shu‘ara show that misguided poets are distinguished by their followers’ misguidance, their words being at odds with their deeds, and their boastfulness. The exception is those who believe and do good works.

In a community of believers, trade should be grounded in forbearance and goodwill. It is not permissible to seek profit at another believer’s expense, especially when they are buying only what they need. This principle will reach its full expression in the age of the Appearance. A hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (AS) states that a believer’s profit from another believer is usury, except in certain cases—for instance, when the purchase exceeds one hundred dirhams or is made for trade. Even then, transactions should be conducted with kindness and forbearance.