Ethics and Spirituality

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.

Putting educational justice into practice is extremely challenging. When a school pressures teachers to raise pass rates and students and their families are facing difficult circumstances, teachers must weigh all the relevant considerations and act prudently, without wronging anyone.

To reflect on sin and guard against repeating it, we must revive our innate nature by pondering Quranic verses such as verse 179 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf and praying that faith be made beloved to us and disbelief and wrongdoing loathsome. If sin feels pleasurable, we should fear that the heart may have been turned upside down, and return to God through repentance and turning back to Him.

Income from employers who do not believe in the principles of religion and insult the sacred personages of the Imams (AS) is ill-omened and tainted, even if all the rules of business have been observed. Quranic verses stress the need to migrate in such circumstances.

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.

In passage 27 of the Commander of the Faithful’s (AS) prayer for forgiveness, he refers to various kinds of sin: sins of the tongue, such as misplaced praise; sins of the heart, involving what passes within it; sins of thought and feeling; and sins committed through what one has written by hand. The phrase «أتیته بفعالی» refers to sins committed through one’s actions, which are left unnamed because of their shameful nature. It includes conduct carried out through one’s deeds.

Lying to ward off harm is not right unless it amounts to an explicit disavowal of the other person’s act, and it drains one’s spiritual reserves. It is better to refuse the request outright than to lie, so the other person may recognize the wrongness of what they intend to do. If the car is broken, say so plainly, without implying that you would lend it if it were in working order.

Sleep quality can be improved by caring for both body and soul, following a balanced diet, avoiding unnecessary exertion, keeping a suitable bedtime (about three hours after sunset), adopting the right sleeping position (on the right side, facing the qibla), and calming the mind through supplication and repentance before sleep. Well-regulated sleep rejuvenates the brain and brings order to life, while needless sleeplessness ages the brain.

According to a saying of the Commander of the Faithful, taking on many different and scattered pursuits prevents one’s plans and efforts from bearing fruit. The priority should be to focus on a single line of work, while trusting in God and knowing that He is the Provider. Other work may be taken on only if it does not undermine the first undertaking and if one respects the mind’s limited capacity. Otherwise, one’s mental energy is divided, and all one’s efforts come to nothing.

The believer’s heart is called God’s Throne because it has the capacity to contain thought, reason, and spirit, just as the Divine Throne is the locus of God’s knowledge. The heart is a lamp niche for light and wisdom, the dwelling place of reason and channels of divine grace. If it does not stray, it becomes God’s house and a treasury of knowledge and wisdom.

Dormant arrogance is a form of pride whose seed has entered the heart but has not yet taken root because the power, opportunity or circumstances to bring it out are lacking. When any of these factors grows stronger, dormant arrogance becomes active. For example, someone may not yet have faced a situation that invites comparison, or been influenced by beauty, ability, status, wealth, knowledge or the attention of others.

Solitude means setting out to affirm one’s servanthood and become sincere for God, while seclusion is an effort to remove obstacles to the distinctness and wholeness of one’s being. It does not mean withdrawing from people unless they prevent one from being fully present with God. Enjoining what is right and praying in congregation are not incompatible with solitude.

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.

Wearing cotton garments is approved by the Ahl al-Bayt and carries no restrictions. Wearing wool, however, is conditional: it may be worn for night worship, to feel the hardship of the poor, to identify with ordinary people, in illness or cold, or temporarily to cultivate humility. At times, wool garments have also been a symbol of hypocrites.

To benefit from the blessing of our days, we must align ourselves with the divine will through obedience, sincere worship, and remembrance of God. Time is a sign of God, the Eternal without beginning or end, and through it we can attain knowledge of God and the meeting with Him.

Marriage, when entered into in accordance with the Prophet’s tradition and God’s rulings, with the intention of drawing closer to God, is blessed. But even a good deed becomes a cause of damnation if it is done with the intention of bringing about harm. True faith is demonstrated when someone accepts God’s rulings and decrees wholeheartedly, even when they go against personal desires—just as the Quran acknowledges that fighting may be something people dislike.

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.