Question No. 2961 31 August 2022 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

What Makes Someone Prickly and Scorpion-Like?

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Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei

Tracking code: #Q-2961

Dear teacher, in *The Wine of Wisdom* you said we should keep away from prickly, scorpion-like people. What traits or qualities make someone prickly and scorpion-like?

Subject category: Ethics and Spirituality Epistemological

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

A prickly, scorpion-like person is someone whose friends and enemies alike are never safe from harm. Their resentment and envy have reached a point of excess; they know nothing of friendship or affection, and are given to harsh speech, insults, backbiting, slander and opportunism. It is best to keep away from such people.

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

Someone from whom neither friend nor foe, the virtuous nor the wicked, is safe from harm! One whose malice and envy have reached their height; who knows nothing of friendship or love; sharp-tongued and given to mockery, backbiting, slander, and seizing every advantage.

لعنک الله لا برا تدعین و لا فاجرا
Al-Kāfī (Islamiyya edition), vol. 4, p. 363

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What Makes Someone Prickly and Scorpion-Like?

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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