Ethics and Spirituality

The ruling that closing one’s eyes during prayer is disliked can be reconciled with the benefits of focusing during contemplation. Juristic reasoning distinguishes between lowering the gaze out of humility and attentiveness and closing the eyes for other reasons. This difference in intention and purpose leads to different religious rulings.

When choosing a job or business, it is essential to observe religious obligations such as khums and zakat, respect workers’ rights, employ people of faith, and avoid sinful conduct in the workplace. One should also avoid hoarding wealth and becoming attached to worldly concerns, observe prayer times and perform the prayers, and regard the workplace as a setting for worship.

Reading a variety of books, especially questionable ones, is like consuming food contaminated with poison: it can set both this life and the next ablaze. To assess and critique such books, one must have a firm grounding in the principles and beliefs of the Two Weighty Things (the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household). With caution, trust in God, and seeking refuge in Him, one can guard against their harmful effects.

It can be difficult to discern the true intention behind our actions. Sometimes, things we do unintentionally—or words spoken without any intent to offend—hurt others. Unintentional mistakes vary in degree, from inadvertent slips to actions that pave the way for greater sins. Actions guided by reason are less likely to lead us into error.

The difference is that someone who sins inadvertently does not intend to sin, whereas a wrongdoer intends to commit the act of disobedience. A repentant sinner is like someone who has never sinned. But someone who persists in sin while seeking God’s forgiveness is like a person who mocks their own sin.

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.

In the Prophetic hadith, “ḥisān al-wujūh” refers to graciousness and a welcoming manner—the way good character shows itself outwardly—not simply physical beauty. A good inner character leaves its mark on the face, bringing joy and calm to those who see it. Other reports, too, emphasise the importance of inward beauty.

Beauty is found in both outward appearance and inward character, and every human being has an innate capacity to perceive its subtleties. The important point, however, is to understand them fully, which reveals deeper truths. Agreement among people about particular things does not establish what is truly beautiful; rather, it is the consensus of the wise, guided by their innate dispositions, that gives rise to the principles of beauty.

In the hadith «قم عن مجلسک لابیک و معلمک», a teacher means anyone who imparts beneficial knowledge. A wise teacher who guides people toward the truth holds a status like that of a father. But if a teacher’s instruction breeds ignorance or leads people astray, that person is not a true teacher and is not entitled to respect.

Invocations and talismans hold a rank comparable to the Qur’an, and their beneficial effects are granted only to the faithful. Just as the Qur’an increases the wrongdoers in nothing but loss, invocations and talismans recognise those who accompany them. The unworthy receive only a superficial, faint share of their benefit, for these effects are chiefly for the righteous: the better a person is, the greater their share.

In this world, one may behold God through sudden leaps in spiritual understanding, an outpouring of love, the joy of worship, spiritual retreats, intimate supplication, prayer, fasting, repentance, practices that cultivate oneness with God, and a connection with the Infallible and Pure Household. These encounters prepare the way for meeting the Lord in the Hereafter. Those who attain such stations in this world will also behold God in the Hereafter.

It is very difficult to guess someone’s true personality from their profile picture, since a single image can have many different meanings. Edited or unusual photos may point to perfectionism, deception, self-display, or idealism. Close-up photos might suggest warmth and affection, or a desire to be noticed—but without divine knowledge, no definitive judgment about someone’s character is possible.

Sharing photos online should serve a legitimate purpose; otherwise, it may point to questionable intentions. Posting a photo while knowing that it will be seen by someone of the opposite sex who is not a mahram can be regarded as promoting corruption and, at times, as a way of pursuing the opposite sex. Despite its seemingly permissible appearance, the digital world is a real arena with far-reaching influence, and it can open the door to wrongdoing. The spiritual vulnerability associated with this space is a serious matter.

The dog’s ritual impurity is said to reflect its altered inner nature and spirit: by choosing a path of corruption and ugliness, it came into this world in this form. The dog’s physical body is said to have been formed from Satan’s saliva, and it has a particular purpose in this world; in the hereafter, it will either be further transformed or become more beautiful. Impurity is associated with polytheism, while tawhid transforms it into purity.

Proper tawassul does not contradict divine unity. Rather, with the support of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), the very foundations of divine unity, we knock at the door of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Just as the growth of weeds in sunlight does not call the sun’s legitimacy into question, the conduct of hypocrites should not turn us away from the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household. Such efforts are among the schemes of those who seek to distance people from the sources of truth.

The hadith “Change your habits, and acts of obedience will become easier for you” means that changing harmful habits that get in the way can make acts of worship and obedience to God easier. By replacing unconscious habits with good, thoughtful ones, we make the path of obedience to God smoother and more rewarding, and strengthen our resolve to follow it.

To keep divine love alive in the heart, we must nurture it through obedience and devotion to God, and by following the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as our example in worship. Following the Messenger of God (PBUH) helps us become Muhammadan in character and connect with the vast current of divine love, allowing us to experience true love.

Wisdom is the key to attaining a transcendent, creative mind. Until the celestial intellect awakens, heavenly creativity cannot take flight. Certainty is the force that brings genius to fruition. The proposed remedy is a wise outlook and a path grounded in certainty—one that awakens inner intelligence and allows its effects to emerge in thought and action.

Mourning becomes excessive when it prevents people from fulfilling their religious obligations, leads them to neglect recommended acts, or distracts them from religious teachings. Mourning should encourage good deeds, deepen religious understanding, and help people fulfil their personal and social responsibilities. The concerns and sufferings of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) take precedence over personal matters; mourning cannot be described as purely personal.

The duration of mourning is a matter of custom and should neither prevent the fulfilment of obligatory duties nor lead to the neglect of recommended acts. Mourning gives expression to a heart consumed by grief and serves as a warning against injustice; it should not, however, distract us from divine teachings. Excess is blameworthy, while falling short is ingratitude. Yet those who mourn for the Prophet’s Household are among the happiest of people, and mourning is the most beautiful way to remember them and express our love.