Cover Page (Front) - Zahra Academyzahraacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/msg/rabiawwal1439.pdf · zation document from Hakim e Sharah. Q.4: Who is a Kasir al-Safar (frequent traveler)?

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1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Food for Thought: - Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.) 02

2 Your Daily-Life Questions Answered 03

3 A Glance at the Life of the Holy Prophet (S) 04

4 Martyrdom of Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) 22

5 Contribution of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (A.S.) To Science &

Philosophy 30

6 Relationship of Science and Faith 46

7 Who Was the Imam after Hasan `Askari? 56

8 Allergy 62

Kids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ Corner

9 Celebrating Eid Milad un Nabi (S.A.W.W.) & Wiladat of Imam

Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S.) 63

THE MESSAGE

Editor: Hujjat-ul-Islam Wal Muslimeen Sheikh Shabbir H. Lakhani (Maisami)

Editorial Board: Mr. Mazher Ali Jumani, Molana Sajjad Qaimi, Dr. Hussain Kanani,

Mr. Hasnain Nanjiani, Dr. Sana Muhammad Sadiq.

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Disclaimer: The Editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed in the matter published herein. The views and opinions presented in the Journal reflect the views of the authors

and not of the Journal or its Editorial Board or the Publisher.

Published by

Zahra (S.A.) Academy Institute of Islamic Education, Development & Relief

The Message Rabi-ul-Awwal 1439 AH

2

1. Whoever is good to his

parents, his child will be

good to him.

2. Self-sacrifice is a trait of the

virtuous and a quality of

the righteous.

3. No shield is more protec-

tive than the appointed

time of death.

4. One who is certain about

the everlasting is

uninterested in that which

perishes.

5. The one who assists [you]

in obeying [Allah] is the

best companion.

6. Indeed you are more in

need of acquiring good eti-

quette than you are of ac-

quiring silver and gold.

7. One who prevents himself

from harming [others] will

not be opposed [or hated]

by anyone.

8. One who restricts his eating,

his health improves and his

thoughts become righteous.

9. Allah, the Glorified, has not

created you in vain, and has

not abandoned you to

wander aimlessly, and He

has not left you alone in

misguidance and blindness.

10. Submit yourselves to good

and enjoin it; keep away

from evil and forbid it.

11. Verily I deem myself higher

than that I should forbid

people from that which I do

not forbid myself, or enjoin

them towards that which I

have not preceded them in

performing, or that I should

be pleased with their ac-

tions which my Lord is not

pleased with.

12. Reduce [your] hopes, for

verily life is short; and per-

form good actions, for veri-

ly little of it is plenty.

13. A leader needs a wise mind,

an eloquent tongue and a

heart that is steadfast in the

establishment of truth.

��

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.)

Rabi-ul-Awwal 1439 AH The Message

3

Q.1: Is it permissible to

consume food/medicine

(e.g. softgel capsules) that

contains gelatin?

Ans.: If you do not know

whether the gelatin in the

food comes from an animal or

from vegetable, you can eat

it. However, if it is known that

it was derived from an animal,

then it is not permissible to

eat without ascertaining that

the animal was slaughtered

according to shari’ah.

Q.2: Is it permissible to

eat lobster, in all its

varieties, by following the

pattern of shrimp?

Ans.: It is not permissible to

eat lobster.

Q.3: I want to pay my

religious dues, who should

I pay them to?

Ans.: Religious dues can be

given to anyone who is

authorized to collect and who

should be holding an authori-

zation document from Hakim

e Sharah.

Q.4: Who is a Kasir al-

Safar (frequent traveler)?

Ans.: One who travels for ten

days in a month and sixty

days in six months, he is

considered a frequent travel-

er. Therefore, he should offer

complete prayers and observe

fast.

Q.5: The earth is one of

the purifying agents.

Following the example of

a shoe's sole that can be

purified by walking on the

earth, would the same

rule apply to car tires?

Ans.: The earth cannot purify

the tires.

Q.6: What is the quantity

of the maintenance which

a husband should provide

his wife with?

Ans.: The amount of mainte-

nance, from the point of

clothing, food and shelter,

must be in accordance with

the wife's social status.

��

Your Daily-Life Questions Answered


4

Among all the Prophets, the

Holy Prophet (S) is the only

Prophet about whose life even

ordinary matters have been

recorded in history and this is

a great accomplishment of the

Muslim nation because the

biographical sketches of other

Prophets have been written

after a lapse of considerable

time with alterations and

incorrect accounts by some of

their followers. However on

the life and attributes of the

Holy Prophets many books

were written in Arabic lan-

guage some details of which

have been mentioned in our

discussions on the signs of the

Prophets. Thus it seems

pertinent to give a brief

account of the conduct and

character of our Holy Prophet.

It would be profitable for all

the Muslims to know the

details of the Prophet's

character, morals, and private

life. Whatever is written in the

following pages has been

derived from Biharul Anwar,

vol. 16; Sirah-i Ibn Hisham,

Kuhlul Basar, Tafsir al-Mizan,

vol. 6 and other authentic

books.

His Compassion and

Sympathy:

Before the advent of Islam, it

so happened that people were

worried about the appalling

conditions of famine. Abu

Talib, the uncle of the Holy

Prophet was also equally

perturbed because he had a

large family to support and his

resources were limited. The

Holy Prophet decided with his

uncle Abbas to go to Abu

Talib and in order to lessen

the burden of his daily ex-

penses, each one of them

should take one son of Abu

Talib. Thus Abbas took Ja'far

and the Holy Prophet brought

Imam Ali to his house and

became his guardian from his

very childhood. This was one

example of the compassionate

nature of the Prophet of

Islam.

A Glance at the Life of the Holy Prophet (S)

By: Ayatollah Mohsin Qara'ati


5

His Morals:

The Holy Prophet used to

sleep on the floor on a simple

mat. He cobbled his shoes

and patched his clothes

himself. He smiled away any

disgraceful remark. He would

go to buy things for himself.

Anas bin Malik says, "For

years I was in the service of

the Holy Prophet but never

even for once did he repri-

mand me on my fault. The

Holy Prophet milked the she-

goat himself, greeted the

children first and accepted the

invitation of his slaves. He

would never make a disparag-

ing remark about the food

which was not of his liking. He

was particular about cleansing

his teeth with Miswak, apply-

ing perfume and taking bath

on Fridays. While going out of

the house he put on white

dress. While taking his food,

he would never lean upon

anything so that there might

not be any sign of pride when

he was sitting before Allah's

bounties.

His Family Life:

Despite the fact that most of

the wives of the Holy Prophet

were of advanced age,

mothers of orphaned children,

and were of varying nature

and disposition, he treated

them nicely. Though some of

his wives treated him so badly

that his companions used to

advise him to leave them for

the good. But he used to say

that the shortcomings of a

woman should be weighed

with some of her good

qualities also. One should not

divorce one's wife on her

minor fault or slight unpleas-

ant behavior because women

possess some good qualities

and noble attributes also.

The Holy Prophet said:

"Anyone who is affluent with

regard to wealth and property

but still remains stingy with

his wife and children, is not

amongst us". (Mustadrak, vol.

2, p. 643)

After the passing away of his

beloved wife, Lady Khadija

the Holy Prophet treated all


6

those ladies who were her

intimate friends with high

esteem and favour.

The Holy Prophet used to say:

"I treat my family members

better than anyone else".

(Wasa'il, vol. 14, p. 122)

The Holy Prophet observed

justice with his wives so

strictly that even during his

serious illness his bed was

made each night by regular

turns in every wife's chamber.

His Feelings for the New-

born:

A newborn baby was brought

to the Holy Prophet for

blessings or for giving him a

name. The new-born passed

urine in the lap of the Holy

Prophet and the parents as

well as the people standing

around became very much

embarrassed. At this the Holy

Prophet said: "Don't mind.

The little one is getting

frightened of your making a

noise. I shall have my clothes

washed". (Kuhlul Basar)

His Initiative in Greeting

the Children:

The Holy Prophet used to call

the name of the boys and

girls with respect. He gave

special instructions about

respecting the girls. In his

code of conduct the injunction

for giving respect to the

females is present. This is the

view of the Holy Prophet. But

once when on the birth of a

female child the father of the

child became so furious that

his face turned black. Under

such ghastly condition of the

society, respect for the sons

and daughters particularly of

the daughter was a conspicu-

ous thing. The Holy Prophet

said: "The best of your

offsprings are the daughters,

and the sign of a woman's

auspiciousness is that her first-

born is a daughter". (Mus-

tadrak, vol. 2, p. 614-615)

A companion of the Holy

Prophet was sitting with him.

When he heard the news of

the birth of his daughter he

became displeased. The Holy

Prophet then said to him:

"When earth is her abode, the

sky is her shelter and her


7

livelihood is secure with Allah,

why have you become so

unhappy? She is like a flower

spreading its fragrance and

she will stand you in good

stead". (Wasa'il, vol. 15, p.

101)

A man told Holy Prophet that

he had never kissed his child.

The Holy Prophet said: "This

is the sign of your cold

bloodedness".

In the matter of giving equal

treatment to all the children,

the Holy Prophet said: "If you

kiss a child before another,

you should kiss the other one

also".

He Was Not an Opportun-

ist:

One of the sons of the Holy

Prophet was Ibrahim who

expired early in his infancy.

When after his death there

happened to be a solar

eclipse, people thought it was

as a consequence of the

demise of the son of the Holy

Prophet. At this the Holy

Prophet assembled the people

and said: "The occultation of

the sun was not due to the

sad demise of my son,

Ibrahim". Thus the Holy

Prophet got the people saved

from falling into ignorance,

superstition and undue love.

On such an occasion if there

had been a politician in place

of the Holy Prophet he would

have given a wrong interpreta-

tion of this incident and would

have aroused the people to

maintain undue love.

He Was Always on the

Lead:

In the Battle of Ahzab all the

enemies of Islam, including

the infidels, idolaters and

hypocrites decided to wipe

out Islam altogether and for

this purpose they prepared to

make a heavy attack on

Madina. The Holy Prophet

decided to fight against the

enemies and with the consul-

tation of his companions it

was decided that a trench

might be dug around the city

of Madina as a first measure

of defence. On this occasion

the Holy Prophet took the

lead in digging the trench and


8

he engaged himself in this

task until the trench was

ready while some of the

Muslims had taken leave and

some others had gone away

without taking permission.

His Hospitality:

Salman Farsi, the loyal

companion of the Holy

Prophet said: "I happened to

visit the Holy Prophet at his

house. He offered me the

same pillow which was the

only one in his own use".

Such a treatment of his

visitors was not particularly

shown to Salman Farsi but it

was for every Muslim.

One day each of the foster

brothers and sisters of the

Holy Prophet separately came

to the Holy Prophet. He

treated the sister with greater

respect than the brothers.

When the people inquired

about this distinction, the Holy

Prophet replied: "As this sister

used to respect her parents, I

have greater regard and love

for her". (Biharul Anwar, vol.

16, p. 281)

Sometimes the guests of the

Holy Prophet overstayed their

welcome even after finishing

with their meals and got

themselves busy in conversa-

tion but still he tolerated it. At

last a Qur'anic verse was

revealed saying: If you are

invited, you may enter, but be

punctual (so that you will not

be waiting while the meal is

being prepared). When you

have finished eating, leave his

home, and do not sit around

chatting among yourselves.

This will annoy the Prophet

and he will feel embarrassed

to tell you. (Surah Ahzab, 53)

His Extreme Dedication:

The Holy Prophet used to

wake up from his sleep after

midnight. After prostrating

himself before Allah, brushing

his teeth with Miswak, and

reciting a few verses of the

Holy Qur'an, he got himself

busy with the worship of

Allah. Some of his wives used

to say to him: "You are

innocent and infallible and yet

you do a lot of imploration!"

The Holy Prophet would


9

answer them by saying:

"Should I not try to be a

grateful servant of Allah".

During the month of Rama-

dan, the Holy Prophet used to

free his slaves. While offering

prayers he trembled with fear.

When he offered his prayers

alone he prolonged his

bowing and prostration but in

congregation he shortened

them.

His Insight and Sagacity:

While solving any problem,

the Holy Prophet used to

apply his foresight, and sense

of justice.

When the different tribes of

Arabia rebuilt the Holy Ka'ba,

the dispute arose as to which

tribe should install the sacred

Black Stone (Hajar ul aswad)

at its original place. This

dispute was going to create

an ugly situation. A man

suggested that whoever came

to the Masjidul Haram first of

all in the early morning should

be made to arbitrate between

them. The following morning

the Holy Prophet was the first

to come to the Holy Ka'ba and

hence he was accepted as an

arbiter in this dispute. The

Holy Prophet then ordered

them to bring a sheet of cloth.

When the cloth was brought

he placed the sacred Black

Stone in the middle of the

sheet of cloth and asked

every chief of the tribes to lift

it from each corner and carry

it near the Holy Ka'ba. There-

after, the Holy Prophet picked

up the sacred Black Stone and

placed it at its original place.

It was because of the Holy

Prophet's insight as well as

the sense of justice that the

dispute was settled amicably.

The Holy Prophet in the

Battlefield:

Imam Ali says: "The Holy

Prophet used to be always on

the forefront in the battlefield

to face the enemy. And in the

Battle of Trench when it was

decided to dig a trench

around the city of Madina, the

Holy Prophet was the first to

pick up the pickaxe for

digging the earth and he

continued digging the trench


10

along with his followers until

the trench was completely

ready". The Holy Imam

further says: "In the battle-

fields whenever we Muslims

were faced with some difficul-

ty, we took shelter of the Holy

Prophet and sought his help

and protection".

His Decisiveness:

The Holy Prophet was never

prepared to ignore his ideo-

logical program or any of its

principles for the sake of

increasing the number of his

followers. Some people from

Ta'if came to the Holy Prophet

and said: "We can profess

Islam provided that you give

us permission for idol-worship

and exempt us from offering

prayers".

The Holy Prophet rejected

their conditions straightaway.

He did not care to increase

the numerical strength of his

followers at the cost of the

fundamental principles of

Islam. The Holy Prophet was

not like those who would

compromise on principles.

His Piety and Devotion:

Once the Holy Prophet gave

twelve Dirhams to Imam Ali to

buy a dress for him (the

Prophet). The Holy Imam

went to the bazaar and

brought a dress costing the

same amount of money. The

Holy Prophet seeing the dress

said: "If the dress had been

more simple, it would have

been better. If the shopkeep-

er agrees to take back the

dress, return it to him". The

Holy Imam returned the dress

and brought back twelve

dirhams to the Holy Prophet.

This time the Holy Prophet

went along with Imam Ali to

the bazaar. On the way he

saw a slave-girl who was

crying. The Holy Prophet

asked her the cause of her

trouble. She said: "My master

gave me four dirhams to buy

things from the bazaar but I

lost that amount of money. I

am afraid of going back home

because of my master". The

Holy Prophet gave that girl

four dirhams and bought a

dress for himself for four


11

dirhams. On his way back

home he saw a man who was

without proper clothes. The

Holy Prophet gave his dress to

this man and came back to

the bazaar to buy another

dress for the remaining four

dirhams left with him. On his

way back again the Holy

Prophet saw the same slave-

girl still standing there. She

lamented that since she was

already late for home she was

scared of her master who

would beat her for this. The

Holy Prophet accompanied the

slave-girl to her master's

house. In deference to the

Holy Prophet's coming to his

house the master not only

excused the slave-girl but also

freed her. The Holy Prophet

then said: "Those twelve

dirhams were so auspicious

that they enabled two needy

ones to clothe themselves and

a slave-girl to become free".

(Biharul Anwar, v. 16. p. 215)

Indeed if we care to cut down

our personal expenditure we

can help the needy to procure

some of their basic needs.

The Holy Prophet owed a few

dirhams to a Jew. One day he

came to the Holy Prophet and

demanded his money but the

Holy Prophet had no money

with him to pay off his debt.

The Jew said: "I will not leave

this place until you give me my

money back". He stayed there

till it was the Zohr time. People

offered their Zohr prayers.

Then the time for evening,

dusk and night prayers came

and the Jew was still there to

pester the Holy Prophet. At

last the people became

annoyed. But the Holy Prophet

said: "We are not supposed to

be unjust to him". Conse-

quently the Jew who shad-

owed the Holy Prophet until

the following day embraced

Islam, and distributed his

money in charity in the name

of Allah. He said: 'I was not

actually meaning to harm the

Holy Prophet, for my intention

was to test the Holy Prophet's

high qualities of character".

His Loyalty:

Ammar Yasir, one of the

celebrated companions of the


12

Holy Prophet narrates:

"Before the announcement of

the Prophethood of the Holy

Prophet, he and I together

used to tend the cattle. One

day I suggested to the Holy

Prophet that a certain place

was most suited for tending

our cattle and we should go

over to that pasture. The Holy

Prophet agreed. On the

following day I found that the

Holy Prophet had already

reached there but he was

holding his sheep off and was

not allowing them to graze.

On my asking the reason for

this the Holy Prophet said:

"There was an agreement

between us that both of us

together would graze our

sheep and thus it was not

proper on my part to graze

my sheep without you doing

the same at the same time".

His Method of Teaching:

While teaching the people

Islamic faith and moral

conduct or answering ques-

tions, the Holy Prophet used

to repeat his instructions

three times so as to drive the

idea home.

His Sheltering the Enemy:

In the eight year of the

migration, when the Holy

Prophet left Madina at the

head of an army and con-

quered Makkah, he entered

the Holy Ka'ba and smashed

up all the idols in it. Safwan,

one of the chiefs of the

idolaters, who belonged to the

tribe of Umayya fled away to

Jeddah which was at a

distance of a few miles from

Makkah. Some people inter-

ceded with the Holy Prophet

for his pardon. The Holy

Prophet then sent his head-

gear to him so that he should

be under protection while

entering Makkah. Safwan

returned from Jeddah and

asked for a grace time of two

months until he could think of

embracing Islam. But the Holy

Prophet gave him the grace

period of four months instead

of two months. Safwan

remained with the Holy

Prophet on his many travels

and after finding himself


13

enchanted by the personality

of the Holy Prophet and move

by the powerful force of his

preachings, voluntarily pro-

fessed Islam as his religion.

The Holy Qur'an says:

If the pagans ask you to give

them refuge, give them

asylum so that they may hear

the words of Allah. Then let

them return to their towns for

they are ignorant people.

(Surah at-Taubah, 9:6)

According to Islamic jurispru-

dence in Jihad the giving of

shelter and asylum to infidels

have been stressed.

His Behavior with the

Enemies:

On the occasion of the

conquest of Makkah, the Holy

Prophet pardoned even his

blood-thirsty enemies and not

only that he even pardoned

the unbelieving woman who

had conspired to kill him by

cooking for him a poisoned

meal.

Once an enemy of Islam

happened to come to the Holy

Prophet and instead of

greeting him with the cele-

brated Islamic Greeting

"Assalam u Alayka" (Peace be

on you) he said "Assamu

Alayka" (Death be on you)

and insolently repeated these

words several times, but

despite possessing the means

for revenge, the Holy Prophet

replied back by saying "Wa

Alayka" (Same be to you).

Some of those who were

present there became very

furious at the insolent behav-

ior of the enemy. They said to

the Holy Prophet: "Why did

you not retaliate upon your

enemy?" The Holy Prophet

replied: "I reciprocated his

greeting in his own words that

is, "The same on you" which

he had wished for me".

Affectionate Treatment of

His Friends:

While on a journey people

used to divide work among

themselves and the Holy

Prophet, too, had his work to

do himself. He used to collect

the firewood for cooking food.

Despite his worthy compan-

ions desire not to let him


14

work, the Holy Prophet would

not agree to it. Once when

the Holy Prophet alighted

from the camel's back and

went to tether the animal to a

tree, some companions

rushed forward to do that

little job but the Holy Prophet

did not accept the help of the

companions and instead said"

"You too should not throw

yourself upon the help of

other".

Some Special Traits of the

Holy Prophet

* The Holy Prophet readily

accepted the invitation of the

slaves and he considered it

necessary to hold them in

high regard like other nota-

bles of the tribes. However he

would entrust their leadership

to those who were held in

respect by them.

* The Holy Prophet was not

mindless of good or bad

behavior. He used to encour-

age as well as admonish

people as the occasion

demanded. He was always

much concerned about the

proper guidance of the

people. In this context the

following Qur’anic verse was

revealed to him:

We have not revealed the

Qur'an on you that you should

be burdened, but as admoni-

tion for whom who fear. (Sura

Ta Ha, 20:2)

* In a gathering the Holy

Prophet gave so much indi-

vidual attention to each other

and every person that he

thought that he was the only

favorite of the Holy Prophet.

* Sometimes the companions

suggested to the Holy Prophet

to curse the enemies but he

never agreed and instead

prayed to Allah to show them

guidance.

* Whenever he shook hands

with somebody he would not

withdraw until the other

person withdrew his hand

first.

* Whenever he went on riding

he never allowed anybody to

follow him on foot and instead

he asked the people to go


15

separately until he met them

on the appointed place.

The Holy Prophet never

disappointed a beggar. A

woman sent his son to the

Holy Prophet and asked for

his dress. When the son came

to the Holy Prophet he gave

him his dress.

* Whenever he happened to

attend a gathering he always

seated himself at a lower

place. He would readily accept

a present howsoever humble

it was.

* Whenever he found any

Muslim or a companion

missing in a meeting, he would

immediately inquire after him.

If he happened to be on a

journey, he would pray for his

safe return and if he happened

to be sick he would pray for

his speedy recovery.

* He would ask the people to

sit in a circular seating ar-

rangement so as not to give

any distinction to anyone over

the other.

* In matters of enforcing

laws, he never showed special

favour to anybody. Once one

of his companions interceded

with him for a woman of a

famous tribe to excuse her

punishment, at this the Holy

Prophet said: "By Allah! I am

not the one to relax the

punishment ordained by

Divine commandment in

favour of anybody. If my own

daughter Fatima had commit-

ted a theft, I would have not

spared her even from the

punishment".

* The Holy Prophet paid

particular attention to the

captives and the slaves and

he himself married a captive

woman and thus by this

action of his the Muslims

started showing regard to the

captives and they freed many

of them. The Holy Prophet

asked the people to be kind to

the captives and to feed them

and clothe them like them-

selves and to call them by

their names so as not to give

them a feeling of inferiority.

* The Holy Prophet treated

the poor and the rich alike

and during the conversation


16

he never allowed irrelevant or

controversial things to be

discussed, besides he never

found fault with anybody nor

did he indulge in laughter.

His Concern of the Com-

mon Man:

Unlike those leaders who fled

away from the scene of

trouble and hardship or those

who left their friends in the

lurch and migrated from their

town or country, the Holy

Prophet stayed in Makkah all

the time and instead sent his

followers to migrate to

Abyssinia (Ethiopia). While

migrating to Madina, the Holy

Prophet first sent a batch of

the loyal followers to Madina.

His Consulting the People:

In all those matters where

there was no special com-

mand from Allah and they

were left to the people's

discretion, the Holy Prophet

very often used to consult

them before taking any

decision. As for example on

the occasion of the Battle of

Uhud, the Holy Prophet set up

an advisory council and

consulted the people as to

whether the believers should

fight the battle outside Madina

or they should remain within

the city of Madina. The Holy

Prophet himself and a few of

his companions were of the

opinion that the battle should

be fought in Madina and

accordingly defense should be

built up there, but most of the

young people gave their

opinion for fighting the battle

outside Madina. Here we see

that the Holy Prophet gave

preference to the opinion of

young and zealous fighters

over that of others including

his own, and as such they all

marched forward towards

Uhud to face the enemy.

What is more interesting is

that the verse 159 of Surah

Ale Imran was revealed after

the set-back of the Muslims in

the Battle of Uhud. (Tafsir-i

Namuna, vol. 3, p. 142)

The above-mentioned verse

was revealed despite the fact

that after accepting the

opinion of the companions,


17

Muslims had to suffer defeat.

Allah says in the same verse

as follows:

Forgive them and ask Allah to

forgive (their sins) and consult

with them in certain matters.

But when you reach a deci-

sion trust Allah. Allah loves

those who trust Him. (Surah

Ale Imran, 3:159)

An Apology to the Holy

Prophet:

While writing on the merits of

the Holy Prophet I am feeling

helpless because of my limited

knowledge. As a matter of

fact an appreciation on the life

and attributes of the Holy

Prophet can only be under-

taken by a person of the

caliber of Imam Ali as it is the

Holy Prophet whose praise

has been done by Allah

Himself, whom Allah takes

him through the heavens and

by whose auspicious presence

the angels' abode becomes

blessed.

It is the Holy Prophet whom

the Divine carrier takes away

from the Holy Masjid (the

Ka'ba) in Makkah to Baytul

Muqaddas.

On the one hand these

exalted destinations are the

proof of the exalted personali-

ty of the Holy Prophet. On the

other hand we find his attrib-

utes and personal qualities of

love and affection and refined

thoughts and sympathetic

behavior towards all. "Once a

thirsty cat keeps an eye on

the water container meant for

the Prophet's ablution. The

Holy Prophet instead of using

that water for ablution places

it before the cat. The Holy

Prophet is harder than the

rock against the enemies and

is softer than snow toward his

friends. He foregoes his

personal rights against his

enemies also but in the

implementation of the laws he

is very strict, so much so that

he swears that he would not

forgive even his own daugh-

ter, if she ever committed any

wrong".

How dare we talk about the

attributes of the Holy Proph-

et? We read in Nahjul


18

Balaghah that when nobody

could read or write, the Holy

Prophet stressed the acquiring

of knowledge by saying that it

was obligatory for all the

Muslims. Now after the

passage of fourteen centuries

we see that everybody is

clamouring for acquiring

knowledge.

What can I write about the

highly exalted attributes of

the Holy Prophet whose birth

extinguished the leaping

flames of the Fireplace of

Persia, and whose being

installed as Prophet removed

all disturbances and chaotic

conditions from the land.

When he was born, the

foundation of the palace of

Kisra, the ancient monarchs of

Persia (Iran), were shaken.

When he was assigned to

Prophethood the entire

humanity got wonder-struck.

It was he, whom the Holy

Qur'an declared the "Mercy

for the whole Universe". Who

can write and how can we

write about such a unique

personality?

What can I say about him,

who reaches such a lofty

place of honour that he

becomes the guest of Allah on

the night of Ma'raj (ascen-

sion); and yet who, in his

humbleness, declares that he

would not turn down the

invitation of a slave and would

travel a far off distance in

order to share a simple food

with him?

For his journey to the heav-

ens, Buraq, a Divine carrier,

was provided to him, while at

his own, he never hesitated to

ride on a mule. The Archangel

Jibra'il who brings the Divine

revelation to him conveyes

him the greetings of Allah,

and he himself is so humble in

disposition that he first greets

the children.

In the state of prostrating

himself before Allah he

submits his forehead and

heart before Allah and when

his two grandsons (Imam

Hasan and Imam Husayn) find

him under that position and

ride on his back, he prolongs

his prostration so that their


19

feeling might not be hurt.

How to speak of him, who at

one and the same time is

dedicated to the worship and

remembrance of Allah and is

also mindful of the feelings of

the two children! The people

should take lesson from this in

the matter of upholding the

rights of children, men,

women and the labourers and

they should be ashamed of

raising empty slogans.

False Accusations:

Is it correct to make false

allegations against Islam

whose Prophet gives a grace

period of four months instead

of the two asked for, on the

day of the conquest of

Makkah; makes the house of

his arch-enemy as sanctuary

of peace; announces general

amnesty and pardons to all

his opponents and bears with

patience hardships for fifteen

years at the hands of the

infidels of Makkah, and if he

takes his sword in hand to

protect himself and his faith

and to defeat the nefarious

designs of his enemies and

asks the believers to wage

Jihad against them so as to

emancipate mankind from

treachery, savagery, oppres-

sion, and to liberate man from

all kinds of domination and

subjugation? Certainly not.

Sometimes the opponents find

fault with the Holy Prophet

that he married too many

wives and mislead the people

by insinuating, God forbid,

that he was lustful, although

the fact is that the Holy

Prophet passed the youthful

years of his marital life with

only wife, the revered Lady of

Islam, Khadija-tul Kubra up to

the age of fifty years, and his

wedding with her was solem-

nized at the initiation of Lady

Khadija when she was forty

and the Holy Prophet was

twenty five years old.

Lady Khadija had already

rejected the offer for marriage

of several other men who

wanted to marry her because

of her financial standing. But

Lady Khadija proposed to the

Holy Prophet because he was

found to be a trustworthy,


20

truthful and righteous person

enjoying high reputation in

the whole of the Arabian

Peninsula and besides, she

had already heard from her

uncle Warqa bin Nawfal the

prophecies of the preceding

Prophets about the appear-

ance of the Holy Prophet as

the Prophet of Allah and of

her marriage with him.

The Holy Prophet spent 25

years of his married life with

Lady Khadija and spent her

wealth in the preaching of

Islam and to relieve mankind

from ignorance and tyrannies

although there were some of

the choicest girls wanted to

marry him, but he always

refused their offer. The other

wives of the Holy Prophet

were married to him only after

the demise of his first wife

Lady Khadija and that too

when he had passed the age

of fifty. These women were of

elderly age and were widows

and had orphaned children

and hence he had to lead a

hard and strenuous life with

them instead of life of ease,

comfort, and indulgence.

These wives of the Holy

Prophet were of varying

temperament and dispositions

and as such it was not easy to

get along with them. The

husbands of some of these

wives were martyred while

fighting against the infidels

and as such they needed

protection for themselves and

the orphans. If they had not

been married to the Holy

Prophet they would have

reverted to infidelity. One

among them was Sauda

whose husband died after he

had migrated to Abyssinia and

she was left without any

patron and supporter. Umm

Salama was another such wife

who was of old age and was

mother of orphaned children.

Zaynab was also another wife

of the Holy Prophet who was

the daughter of his aunt from

the father's side. She was first

married to Zayd bin Harith,

the slave and adoptive son of

the Holy Prophet. Her mar-

riage with Zayd did not last

long and she was divorced by


21

him. Then she married the

Holy Prophet.

The Holy Prophet married

Zaynab at Allah's command so

that the very root and basis of

a wrong custom might be

abolished. According to this

custom of the Age of Igno-

rance nobody was allowed to

marry the wife of his adopted

son and in this case since

Zayd was the adopted son of

the Holy Prophet, the latter

could not marry Zaynab, the

divorced wife of the former.

But Allah ordered this mar-

riage in order to abolish this

custom at the hands of the

Holy Prophet himself.

Besides, with a view to

maintain cordial relations

among various influential

tribes, to prevent disruption

among them, and to promote

internal stability, the Holy

Prophet married such women

as Ayesha, Hafsa, Umm

Habiba, Safiya and Maymuna.

Safiya of course was the

daughter of the tribal chief of

a big Jewish tribe of Bani

Nuzayr. When she was taken

prisoner, the Holy Prophet

married her and established

relationship with a big tribe.

In short, many of the wives of

the Holy Prophet were those

who had passed the age of

youth and personal charm,

and most of them had been

married once or twice before,

and had orphaned children

with them, and whom the

Holy Prophet married when he

was past fifty, an age which

by no means can be regarded

as an age of youthful and

lustful desires and by that

time he had attained great

reputation already, and that

many a beautiful girl aspired

to marry him. This is the proof

of the fact that the purpose of

the Holy Prophet in contract-

ing various marriages was

based on pious and noble

cause only.

Besides keeping these wives,

the Holy Prophet most often

passed his nights in offering

prayers & remembering Allah

as he did in his youth also.

��


22

Imam Hasan Al-Askari (a)

spent his short life in

sufferings and distresses. The

Abbasid kings spared no effort

in oppressing him. They

moved him from one prison to

another. They subjected him

to confinement and imposed

on him an economical

blockade. They prevented him

from meeting with his

followers as they prevented

ulama and scholars from

contacting with him to take

from the fountains of his

sciences. They tried more

than one time to assassinate

him but Allah protected him

from their plots.

There were some reasons that

made the Abbasids bear a

grudge against Imam Hasan

Al-Askari (a). Here are some

of them:

First, the Abbasids feared the

Awaited Imam about whom

the Prophet (s) had brought

good news, and through

divine knowledge, foretold of

his coming as the greatest

reformer of whose like

mankind had never seen

throughout all stages of

history. The Prophet (s) had

said that the Awaited Imam

(a) would spread political,

social justice all over the

world; that he would do away

with all kinds of injustice and

oppression, and defeat all

tyrants and oppressive powers

in the world. He would do

away with polytheism and

atheism, and raise the banner

of faith and truth. He would

revive the annulled laws of

Allah. Therefore, the Abbasids

tried to kill Imam Hasan Al-

Askari (a) to be sure he would

not leave offspring.

Imam Hasan Al-Askari (a) said

about that, ‘They claimed that

they wanted to kill me in

order to cut off my offspring,

but Allah falsified their saying,

and praise be to Allah.’[1]

Second, the Abbasids bore

envy towards Imam Hasan Al-

Martyrdom of Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.)

Excerpts from the book, “The Life of Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a.s.)”

By: Allama Baqir Shareef Al-Qurashi


23

Askari (a) for his popularity

and the great respect that all

classes of society showed

him, whereas the authority

was in the hand of the

Abbasids who received

nothing of respect or honoring

from people. Therefore, they

plotted day and night to do

away with him.

Third, the Alawids rose in

many revolts against the

Abbasid rule since its

beginning aiming at achieving

the political justice of Islam

and applying its economical

and social programs in life.

Those revolts were supported

by great masses of people in

the different Muslim

communities that harmed the

stature of Abbasid rule and

shook its throne and were

about to overthrow it.

Those revolts filled the hearts

of the Abbasids with hatred

and grudge against the

Alawids, and so they ordered

their policemen to chase

every Alawid. It was natural

that Imam Hasan Al-Askari (a)

suffered the bitterest

distresses from the Abbasids

because he was the master

and chief of the Alawids and

the Imam of Muslims at that

time.

Now, let us come back to the

last days of Imam Hasan Al-

Askari (a).

Appointing Imam Al-

Mahdi as the Next Imam

Imam al-Mahdi (a) is the hope

not only for Muslims but for

all oppressed human beings

who suffer slavery,

oppression, and subjection.

He is the Savior who will free

the will of man and save

peoples and nations from the

oppression of the corruptive

regimes who have turned this

world into unbearable hell.

Imam al-Mahdi (a) was and is

a great miracle in Islam. Allah

concealed his birth, as he had

concealed the birth of Prophet

Moses (a), because the

Abbasid government looked

for him…and in his remaining

alive (in occultation)

throughout the long stages of

life is also a miracle for Islam,


24

and in his reappearance and

announcing the pure

principles of Islam is another

miracle too.

The following are some of the

traditions transmitted from


concerning the Imamate of

his son al-Mahdi (a).

1. Ahmad bin Isaaq bin Sa’eed

al-Ash’ari said, “Once, I went

to Abu Muhammad al-Hasan

bin Ali (a) intending to ask

him about the successor after

him. He said to me before I

asked him, ‘O Ahmad bin

Isaaq, Allah the Almighty did

not deprive the earth since He

created Adam and He does

not deprive it until the Day of

Resurrection of an authority

over His people. By him

distresses are pushed away

from the people of the earth,

by him rain falls down, and by

him the blessings of the earth

are emitted.’

I said to him, ‘O son of the

messenger of Allah, who is

the Imam and successor after

you?’ He got up hastily and

went in the house. Then, he

came out holding a three-

year-old boy, whose face was

like a full moon, on his

shoulder and said,

‘O Ahmad, were it not for your

honor near Allah the Almighty

and near His authorities, I

would not show you this, my

son. He was named and

surnamed like the messenger

of Allah (a). He will fill the

earth with justice and fairness

after it has been filled with

injustice and oppression. O

Ahmad, he, in this nation, is

like al-Khidhr (Elijah) and Thul

Qarnayn. By Allah, he will hide

in an occultation, during

which no one shall be saved

except one whom Allah fixes

on the believing in his

Imamate and supplicating

Allah to hasten his

deliverance.’ I said, ‘Is there

any sign so that I may be

sure?’ The young boy said, ‘I

am the representative of Allah

in His earth and the avenger

on His enemies. Do not look

for a sign after a proof!’

I left delightedly. On the

following day, I came back to


25

him and said, ‘O son of the

messenger of Allah, my

delight was so great for what

you favored me with.

Would you please tell me

what norm with al-Khidr and

Thul Qarnayn was?’ He said,

‘Long occultation.’ I said, ‘O

son of the messenger of Allah,

shall his occultation last long?’


said, ‘Yes, by my Lord, until

many of those, who believe in

this matter (occultation and

reappearance), shall aposta-

tize, and no one shall remain

(believing) except those

whom Allah has taken from

them a covenant on our

guardianship, fixed faith in

their hearts, and supported

them with a mercy from Him.

O Ahmad, this is a command

from Allah, a secret from the

secrets of Allah, and an

unseen matter from the

unseen of Allah. Take what I

told you, and be from the

grateful, you shall be with us

in Illiyin.[2]”[3]

2. Muhammad bin Uthman al-

Umari narrated that his father

said, “Once, I was with Abu

Muhammad al-Hasan bin Ali

(al-Askari) when he was

asked about the tradition

transmitted from his father

that the earth would not be

empty from an authority from

Allah over His people until the

Day of Resurrection, and that

whoever died without

knowing the Imam of his age

would die as an unbeliever.

He said, ‘This is true as day is

true.’

Someone asked him, ‘O son of

the messenger of Allah, then,

who shall be the authority and

Imam after you?’ He said, ‘My

son Muhammad is the Imam

and the authority after me.

Whoever dies without knowing

(acknowledging) him shall dies

as an unbeliever. He will be in

an occultation where the

ignorant will be confused,

deniers will perish, and

daters[4] will tell lies. Then, he

will reappear, and as if I see

white flags fluttering over his

head at the hill of Kufa.’”[5]

3. Imam Hasan Al-Askari (a)

said, ‘Praise be to Allah Who


26

did not take me out of this life

until He made me see the

successor after me. He is the

most similar in shape and

morals to the Messenger of

Allah (s). Allah will protect

him in his occultation and

make him reappear to fill the

earth with justice and fairness

after it will be filled with

injustice and oppression.’[6]

4. Musa bin Ja’far al-Baghdadi

narrated that he had heard

Imam Abu Muhammad al-

Hasan bin Ali al-Askari (a)

saying, ‘As if I see that you

will disagree after me on my

successor. Surely, he, who

believes in the Imams after

the Messenger of Allah (a) but

denies my son, is like one,

who believes in all prophets

and messengers of Allah but

denies the Prophethood of the

Messenger of Allah (s),

because the obedience of the

last of us is like the obedience

of the first of us, and one,

who denies the last of us, is

like one who denies the first

of us. My son will have an

occultation where people will

be in doubt about it except

those whom Allah

preserves.’[7]

The Imam Comforts

Himself


perceived from behind the

unseen that he would leave

this life and go near his Lord.

He said to his mother, ‘In the

year 260 I shall suffer bad

fever from which I shall be

afflicted…’

She was distressed, and

sorrow overcame her. She

began crying. Imam Hasan Al-

Askari (a) calmed her down

saying, ‘The fate of Allah must

take place. Do not worry…!’

In the year two hundred and

sixty, he died as he had

predicted.[8]

Assassinating The Imam

Al-Mu’tamid, the Abbasid

tyrant, could not bear Imam

Hasan Al-Askari (a) any

longer, for he saw and heard

people everywhere full of

praise for the Imam and

preferring him to all the


27

Alawids and the Abbasids.

Finally, he made his mind to

do away with the Imam. He

assassinated him by inserting

fatal poison to him.[9]

Poison reacted on his body,

and he began suffering bitter

and severe pains, while being

patient, resorting to Allah.

The Government’s

Confusion

The Abbasid government was

too confused when Imam

Hasan Al-Askari (a) became

seriously ill. Al-Mu’tamid

ordered five of his trusted

statesmen, among whom

Nahrir was, to remain in the

Imam’s house and report to

him about every new

happening. He also ordered a

committee of physicians to test

the Imam’s health day and

night. After two days, he

ordered the physicians not to

leave the Imam alone because

his state was too bad.[10]

To the Best of Abodes

The Imam’s health got worse,

and the physicians were

desperate of his recovery.

Death began approaching him

quickly. At those last

moments of his life, Imam

Hasan Al-Askari (a),

mentioned Allah, glorified

Him, and asked Him to take

him nearer to Him. His lips

were busy reciting verses

from the Holy Qur’an. He

turned towards the Qiblah,

and after no long, his pure

soul flew towards the Heaven

surrounded by the angels of

the Beneficent Lord.

It was the greatest loss

Muslims suffered in that age.

They lost their leader,

reformer, and instructor who

loved and helped their weak,

poor, and orphans.

The Imam’s body was

(ritually) washed, enshrouded,

put in the coffin, and carried

to be prayed on by Muslims.

Eesa son of al-Mutawakkil led

the prayer by al-Mu’tamid’s

order. After the prayer, he

uncovered the Imam’s face

before the Hashemites, the

Abbasids, army leaders,

government clerks, state

officials, judges, and


28

physicians and said to them,

‘This is al-Hasan bin Ali bin

Muhammad bin ar-Redha (a).

He died a natural death in his

bed. So-and-so of Ameerul

Mo’minin’s (al-Mu’tamid)

servants and trusted men, So-

and-so of judges, and So-and-

so of physicians were present

with him.’ Then he covered

his holy face.[11]

The painful news spread

everywhere in Samarra’. It

was a great shock for Muslims

who hurried up to the Imam’s

house while crying and

wailing. Government offices

and all markets were closed.

It was as if it was the Day of

Resurrection in Samarra’.[12]

Samarra’ did not witnessed

before a day of escorting like

that. Waves of human beings

and flowing masses of people

from all classes and trends

came to escort the holy corpse

of this pure Imam (a) while

mentioning his virtues and

favors and talking with great

sorrow and regret about the

great loss they were afflicted

with.

In his Last Abode

The pure corpse was brought

under a halo of takbir and

tahlil[13] towards the last

abode. Imam Hasan Al-Askari

(a) was buried in his house

beside the tomb of his father

Imam al-Hadi (a).

Samarra’ had two Imams from

the twelve imams and leaders

of Muslims, and it became at

the head of the holy places in

the Muslim world. It received

and still receives thousands of

visitors from everywhere in

the world who came to visit

the two holy shrines of Imam

al-Hadi and Imam al-Askari

(peace be on them).

Once, an-Nasir Lideenillah,

the Abbasid caliph, visited the

holy shrines of these two

infallible imams to be blessed

and close to Allah. His vizier

suggested to him that he

should also visit the tombs of

his fathers of the Abbasid

kings and he agreed. When

he reached there, he found

the graves dark and miserable

where sweepings had


29

accumulated and crows

gathered. The vizier asked the

king to take care & pay money

to rebuild these graves, but

the Abbasid king said, ‘How

far! That is of no use.’

The vizier asked, ‘why, O

Ameerul Mo’minin?’ He said,

‘Did you see the flourish of

the tombs of the pure

imams?’ The vizier said, ‘Yes.’

The king asked, ‘Do you know

the secret behind that?’ The

vizier answered, ‘No.’

An-Nasir Lideenillah said, ‘My

fathers associated with Satan,

and these masters associated

with Allah, and all that which

is for Allah remains, and all

that which is for Satan

perishes and disappears.’[14]

The Alawids, the Abbasids,

and Ja’far, Imam Hasan Al-

Askari’s brothers stood at the

tomb and the masses of

people began consoling them

for this painful affliction.

The Date Of His Death


departed from this world to

the better world on the eighth

of Rabi-ul-Awwal[15] in the

year two hundred and sixty of

Hijra,[16] while he was

twenty-eight years old and

still in the prime of youth.[17]

References:

1. Kifayat al-Athar.

2. Illiyin is the highest position

in the Paradise.

3. Ikmaluddeen by Sheikh as-

Saduq, p.216-217.

4. Those who defines certain

dates for the reappearance

of the awaited imam (a).


6. Ikmaluddeen, p.228.


8. Muhaj ad-Da’awat, p.274.

9. Al-Irshad, p.383.




13. Takbir is the saying “Allahu

Akbar-Allah is great” and

tahlil is the saying “la illaha

illallah-there is no god but

Allah”.

14. Kashf al-Ghummah.

15. Tareekh Baghdad, vol.7

p.366.

16. Mir’at al-Jinan, vol.2 p.462,

17. al-Wardi, vol.1 p.325.

18. Jami’ al-Akhbar, p.42, al-

Irshad, p.389.

��


30

The article is excerpts from the

book “Maghze Mutafakkir Jehan

Shia”, the famous Persian book,

which has been published four

times in Tehran, Iran. The Persian

book is itself a translation from a

French thesis published by The

Research Committee of Stras-

bourg, France, about the contri-

bution of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq

(a.s.) to science, philosophy,

literature etc. Kokab Ali Mirza did

the translation from Persian.

The article presents a lively

debate between Imam Jafar as-

Sadiq (a.s.) and an ignorant but

arrogant Abu Shakir. It shows

how ignorance and arrogance

clouds people’s spiritual percep-

tions and practical knowledge,

which can otherwise help them

live orderly and progressive lives.

Ja’far as-Sadiq (A.S.) and

Abu Shakir

Ja’far as-Sadiq was one of the

most patient and tolerant

teachers of his time. He used

to give his classes every day.

After his lectures he would

listen and reply to the objec-

tions of his critics. He had

asked his critics, who attend-

ed his classes, not to interrupt

him during his lectures. They

were quite free to ask him

any question or raise any

objection after the classes

were over.

Once Abu Shakir, one of his

opponents, said to him,

“Would you allow me to say

something and ask some

questions?” “Yes, you can”,

replied Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.).

Said Abu Shakir, “Is it not a

myth that there is Allah? You

want people to believe in a

thing which does not exist. If

there was Allah, we could

have felt his existence

through our senses. You may

say that we can feel His

presence by the help of our

inner senses, but our inner

senses also depend upon our

five outer senses. We cannot

conjure up an image of

Contribution of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq

(A.S.) To Science & Philosophy

By: Zabihullah Mansouri


31

anything in which some of our

senses were not involved. We

cannot conjure up the picture

of a person whom we have

not met; recall to our memory

his voice if we have not heard

him and feel the touch of his

hand by our inner senses if

we have never taken his hand

in our hand.

You may say that we can

perceive the presence of Allah

by our intelligence and not

through our inner or outer

senses. But our intelligence

also needs the assistance of

our five outer senses, without

which it cannot function. We

cannot make any reasoning or

come to any conclusion

without the help of our senses.

By your imagination you have

created a being, which is of

your own image. Since you

see, talk, hear, work and rest,

He also does exactly what you

do.

You do not show Him to

anyone. To maintain your

hold on the people you say

that He cannot be seen. You

also say that He was not born

from the womb of a woman.

He does not procreate and

that He would not die.

You say that the universe was

created by Allah, who did not

talk to anyone, except to the

Prophet of Islam. As a matter

of fact the universe came by

itself. Does anyone create the

grass, which grows in the

field? Does it not grow and

get green by itself? Does

anyone create the ants and

the mosquitoes? Do they not

come out by themselves?

I must tell you, who claims to

be a scholar and the succes-

sor of the Prophet, that

among all the stories, which

circulate among the people,

none is more absurd and

baseless than the story of

Allah, who cannot be seen.

There are many baseless

stories, but they, at least,

depict real life and present

before us the people and

personalities, who may

themselves be fictitious, but

their acts and deeds are like

those of real human beings.

We can see them. They eat,


32

they drink, they talk, they

sleep and they love. When we

read these fictitious stories,

we enjoy them. We know that

they are false, but we see in

them the faces of men and

women, who are like us. The

people mentioned in the

stories might not have exist-

ed, but our common sense

accepts the existence of such

people in the world. However,

when we cannot see, feel or

touch your Allah, our logic

and reasoning, which depend

upon our senses, do not

accept his existence.

I known that some people,

who have been deceived by

you, believe in your invisible

Allah, but you cannot deceive

me and make me believe in

Him. I worship God, who is

made of wood and stone.

Although my God does not

talk, but I can see him with

my eyes and touch him with

my hands.

You say that the God whom I

have made from my own

hands is not worthy of being

worshipped, while you ask the

people to worship Allah,

Whom you have created by

your imagination.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) did not

say a word during the long

tirade of Abu Shakir. Some-

times his students, who were

present, wanted to intervene

but he asked them to remain

quiet. When Abu Shakir

stopped his lengthy discourse,

he asked him, if he had

anything more to say.

Retorted Abu Shakir, “By

introducing your invisible Allah

to the people, you want to

acquire wealth and position

and have a respectable,

comfortable and luxurious life.

These are my last words. I do

not want to say anything

more.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “I

would like to start with the

last part of your speech. Your

accusation that I want money,

position and a comfortable life

would have been justified if I

were living like a caliph. You

have seen today that I have

eaten a few morsels of bread

only and nothing else. I invite


33

you to my house to see for

yourself what I have for

dinner and how I live.

Abu Shakir, if I wanted to

acquire wealth and get rich I

would have earned money

and got rich by my knowledge

of chemistry. Another way to

get rich was to do business. I

have more knowledge about

foreign markets than any

merchant in Medina. I know

what goods are produced in

different countries and where

to sell them for profit. I also

know how to bring them here

to reduce the cost of

transport. Our merchants

import goods only from Syria,

Iraq, Egypt and some other

Arab countries. They do not

know what goods are availa-

ble in Isfahan, Rasht and

Rome; otherwise they would

have imported them and sold

them with profit.

Abu Shakir, you have said that

I ask the people to worship

Allah to deceive them and to

get rich. I must tell you that I

have never taken anything

from anyone, except some

fruits, as presents. One of my

friends sends to me every

year fresh dates from his

garden and another some

pomegranates from Taif. I

accept these presents so that

they may not get offended.

I have heard, O Abu Shakir,

that your father was a pearl

merchant. Perhaps you may

have some knowledge about

pearls. But I know all about

pearls and precious stones. I

can also appraise their market

value. If I wanted to get rich I

would have worked as a

jeweler. Can you test and

recognize a precious stone?

Do you know how many kinds

of rubies and emeralds are

there in the world?”

“I know nothing about them”,

replied Abu Shakir.

“Do you know how many

kinds of diamonds there are

and what colours they have?”

asked Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.).

“I do not know”, replied Abu

Shakir.

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “I

am not a jeweler, but I know


34

all about pearls and precious

stones. I also know where

they come from. All jewelers

know about gems, what I

know, but few of them know

their sources.”

“Do you know what makes a

diamond shine?” asked Ja’far

as-Sadiq (a.s.).

“I never was a diamond

merchant, nor was my father.

How can I know why dia-

monds shine?”, replied Abu

Shakir.

Said Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.),

“Diamonds are obtained from

the beds of rivers and

streams. Rough diamonds are

cut by experts. It is the cut of

a diamond, which gives it its

brilliance. Those who are

experts in cutting diamonds

are trained from childhood in

the profession of their forefa-

thers. Cutting a diamond is a

very delicate and difficult art.

A diamond is cut only by a

diamond.

Abu Shakir, I have said all this

simply to show to you that if I

wanted to accumulate wealth,

I could have done so by

making use of my knowledge

about jewels. I have replied to

your accusations and now I

shall deal with your objec-

tions.

Abu Shakir, you have said that

I have fabricated stories and

ask the people to worship

Allah, who cannot be seen.

You refuse to acknowledge

the existence of Allah because

He cannot be seen. Can you

see inside your own body?”

Replied Abu Shakir, “No, I

cannot.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “If

you could have seen what is

inside you, you would not

have said that you do not

believe in Allah, who cannot

be seen.”

Abu Shakir asked, “What is

the relationship between

seeing within one’s own body

and the existence of unseen

Allah?”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) replied,

“You have said just now that

a thing, which cannot be


35

seen, touched, tasted or

heard, does not exist.”

Abu Shakir said, “Yes, I have

said that and I believe it is

true.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) asked,

“Do you hear the sound of the

movement of blood in your

body?”

Said Abu Shakir, “No, I do

not. But does blood move in

the body?”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said,

“Yes, it does. It makes a full

circuit of your body. If the

circulation of blood stops for a

few minutes you will die.”

Abu Shakir said, “I cannot

believe that blood circulates in

the body.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “It

is your ignorance, which does

not let you believe that your

blood circulates in your body,

and the same ignorance does

not let you believe in the

existence of Allah, Who

cannot be seen.” Then he

asked Abu Shakir whether he

has seen the tiny living

beings, which Allah has

created in his body.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) contin-

ued, “It is because of these

small creatures and their

wonderful work that you are

kept alive. They are so small

that you cannot see them.

Since you are a slave of your

senses, you cannot know

about their existence. If you

increase your knowledge and

decrease your ignorance, you

will come to know that these

small beings in your body are

as large in number as the

particles of sand in the desert.

“These small creatures are

born in your body, multiply in

your body, work in your body

and die in your body. But you

never see them, touch them,

taste them or hear them in

your lifetime.”

“It is true that one who knows

himself knows Allah. If you

had known yourself and had

the knowledge of what is

going on inside your body,

you would not have said that

you do not believe in Allah,

without seeing Him.”


36

Pointing to a huge stone he

said, “Abu Shakir, do you see

the stone, which is at the foot

of that portico? To you it

seems lifeless and motionless,

because you do not see the

brisk motion, which is inside

the stone. Again it is lack of

knowledge or your ignorance,

which would not let you

believe that there is motion

inside the stone. The time will

come when the learned

people would see the motion

which is in the stone.”

Continued Ja’far as-Sadiq

(a.s.), “Abu Shakir, you have

said that everything in the

universe came by itself and

has no creator. You think that

the grass in the field grows

and gets green by itself. You

must know that the grass

cannot grow without seeds

and seeds would not germi-

nate without moisture in the

soil and there would be no

moisture without rain. The

rain does not fall by itself.

First the water vapour rises

and gathers above in the

atmosphere in the form of

clouds. The winds bring the

clouds. Then the water vapour

condenses and falls down as

rain. The rain must also fall at

the right time; otherwise no

grass will grow and become

green.

Take the seeds of ten kinds of

herbs and put them in a

closed jar, which has sufficient

water, but no air. Would they

germinate? No, in addition to

water, seeds also need air. It

is possible to grow grass,

herbs and fruits in hot houses,

when it is very cold, provided

there is sufficient air. Without

the presence of air no grass

will grow in the fields and get

green. If there is no air, all

plants and animals, including

human beings, would die.

Abu Shakir, do you see the

air, on which your very

existence depends. You only

feel it when it moves. Can you

refuse to believe in the

existence of air? Can you

deny that to grow and get

green the grass needs many

things, e.g. seeds, soil, water,

air, a suitable climate and


37

above all a strong managing

power, which may coordinate

the action of these different

elements. That Managing and

Coordinating Power is Allah.

You say that everything

comes by itself, because you

are not a scientist. No scien-

tist would ever say that. All

scientists and all scholars

believe in the existence of a

creator, albeit, they may call

Him by different names. Even

those, who do not believe in

Allah, believe in a Creative

Force.

Abu Shakir, it is not because

of one’s knowledge, but it is

due to his ignorance that he

does not believe in Allah.

When a wise man thinks of

himself, he finds that his own

body needs a controller so

that all its organs and systems

may function properly. He

then realizes that this vast

universe also needs a control-

ler or supervisor so that it

may run smoothly.

You said just now that both of

us create our own gods, you

by your hands and I by my

imagination. But there is a big

difference between your god

and my Allah. Your god did

not exist before you made

him out of wood or stone, but

my Allah was there before I

could think about Him. I do

not create my Allah by my

hands or by my brain. What I

do is to know Him better and

think of His Greatness. When

you see a mountain you try to

know more about it. It is not

creating the mountain by

imagination. That mountain

was there before you saw it

and it would be there when

you are gone.

You cannot know much about

the mountain because of your

limited knowledge. The more

your knowledge grows, the

more you will learn about it. It

is impossible for you to find

out when and how that

mountain came into being and

when it would disappear. You

cannot find out what minerals

are there inside or underneath

the mountain and what is

their benefit to mankind.


38

Do you know that the stones,

out of which you make your

idols, came into being thou-

sands of years ago and shall

exist for thousands of years

more? These stones have

come here from a distant

place. They could travel that

long journey because different

parts of the earth are always

moving, but this movement is

so slow that you do not feel it.

There is nothing in the

universe, which is not in

motion. Rest or motionless-

ness is meaningless. We are

not at rest even when we are

sleeping. We are in motion

because the earth is in

motion. Besides, we have a

motion inside our own bodies.

Abu Shakir, if you had any

knowledge about the piece of

stone, out of which you carve

an idol, you would not have

denied the existence of Allah

and said that I have created

him by my imagination. You

do not know what a stone is

and how it came into being.

Today you can handle it as

you like and cut it into any

shape or form, but there was

a time when it was in liquid

state. Gradually it cooled

down and Allah solidified it. In

the beginning it was quite

brittle and would have broken

into pieces in your hand like a

piece of glass.”

Asked Abu Shakir, “Was it in a

liquid condition before?”

“Yes, it was”, replied Ja’far as-

Sadiq (a.s.).

Abu Shakir burst out laughing.

One of the students of Ja’far

as-Sadiq (a.s.) got angry and

was about to say something

when he was stopped by his

teacher.

Abu Shakir said, “I am laugh-

ing because you say that

stones are made of water.”


“I did not say that the stones

are made of water. What I

had said was that in the

beginning they were in a

liquid state.”

Abu Shakir said, “What

difference does it make?

Liquid and water are one and

the same.”


39


“There are many liquids which

are not water. Milk and

vinegar are liquids which are

not water, although they have

water content in them. In the

beginning the stones were

liquid like water and they

flowed like water. Gradually

they cooled down and became

hard so that you could cut

and shape them. The same

hard stones will turn liquid if

heated.”

Said Abu Shakir, “When I go

home I will check the truth of

your statement. I will put the

stone in the fireplace and see

if it turns into liquid or not.”


“You cannot liquefy stone in

your fireplace. Can you liquefy

a piece of iron at home? A

very high temperature is

required to turn solid stone

into liquid.

Do you realize how you could

make idols out of stones? It

was Allah, who made the

stones. It was He Who

created you and gave you

hands with unique fingers,

which enabled you to handle

tools and chisel the idols from

stones. Again it was He who

gave you power and intelli-

gence, which you used for

making the idols.

Abu Shakir, do you think that

the mountains are only heaps

of stones? The Great Allah has

created them to serve some

very useful purpose. They

were not created so that you

may take stones and turn

them into idols. Wherever

there is a mountain there is

flowing water. Rain and snow

which fall on the mountain-

tops produce streams of fresh

water. These streams com-

bine together to form big

rivers, which irrigate farms

and fields. The people who

live in the valleys, through

which the rivers flow, are

assured of constant supply of

water.

People, who can afford it, go

to the mountain during the

summer season to escape the

heat of the plains.

The mountains work as a

great bulwark and protect


40

towns and villages, which are

in their valleys, from the

devastation and destruction of

hurricanes.

Green mountains provide

good grazing grounds for

sheep. When scorching heat

burns the pastures down in

the plains and no fodder is

left, the shepherds take their

flocks of sheep to the moun-

tains and stay there till the

end of summer.

Mountains are habitats of

birds and animals, some of

which are a good source of

food for those who live there.

Even the mountains, which

are not green, are not without

some use. If the people try,

they may discover in them

mines of metals and minerals

which are useful for mankind.

Abu Shakir, I am too small

and too weak to create Allah

with my brain. It is He, who

has created my brain, so that

I may think of Him and know

that He is my Creator. He was

there before I came into being

and He would be there when I

am no more. I do not mean

that I would be totally de-

stroyed. Nothing in the

universe is totally destroyed.

Everything is subject to

change. It is only Allah, Who

does not change.

Abu Shakir, please tell me

sincerely to whom will you

turn for help when you are in

trouble? Do you hope that the

idol you carve out of stone

can come to your rescue? Can

it cure you when you are sick;

save you from mishaps and

calamities; save you from

starvation and help you pay

your debts?”

Abu Shakir replied, “I have no

such expectations from stone,

but, I think there is something

inside the stone, which will

help me. Moreover, I cannot

help worshipping it.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) en-

quired, “What is inside the

stone? Is it also stone?”

“I do not know what it is. But

it cannot help me if it is also

stone”, replied Abu Shakir.


41


“Abu Shakir, what is inside the

stone and is not stone and

can help when you are in

trouble is, Allah.”

Abu Shakir pondered over the

subject for a while and then

said, “Is Allah, who cannot be

seen inside the stone?”


“He is everywhere.”

Abu Shakir said, “I cannot

believe that a thing may be

everywhere but remain

unseen.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “Do

you know that air is every-

where but cannot be seen?”

Said Abu Shakir, “Although I

cannot see air, I can, at least,

feel it when it moves. But I

can neither see your Allah nor

feel His presence.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said,

“You do not feel the presence

of air when it is not moving.

The air is only a creation of

Allah. He is everywhere, but

you cannot see Him or feel

His presence by your senses.

You have admitted just now

that although you do not see

it, but your instinct or your

soul tells you that there is

something inside the stone,

and is not the stone, which

can help you. That something

is Allah. Your instinct also tells

you that you cannot live

without Allah and without

worshipping Him.”

Abu Shakir said, “It is true. I

cannot live without worship-

ping idols.”

Said Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.), “Do

not say idols. Say Allah. It is

He, Who is worthy of worship.

Just like you, everyone is

obliged to worship Him. One,

who does not worship Allah

has no guide and no guardian.

He is just like one, who

cannot see, cannot hear,

cannot feel and cannot think.

He does not know where to

go and on whom to depend

when in trouble.

Worshipping Allah is a part of

life. Every living being wor-

ships Him instinctively. Even

the animals cannot live


42

without worshipping Him. We

cannot ask them and they

cannot tell us that they

worship Allah, but their well-

regulated and orderly life is

sufficient proof that they

worship Him.

I do not say that animals

believe in Allah and worship

Him just as we do. But there

is no doubt that they obey the

laws made by their Creator

faithfully, which means they

worship Him. If they were not

obedient to their Creator, they

could not have such an

orderly and regulated life.

We see that just before the

advent of spring the lark (a

kind of small bird) always

comes at the same time and

sings, as if to give us the

tiding of the new season. The

itinerary of these migratory

birds is so regulated and their

schedule so fixed that even if

the last days of winter are still

cold, their arrival is not

delayed for more than a few

days. When the swallow (a

migratory bird) returns after

covering a distance of thou-

sands of miles, it builds its

nest at the same place, where

it had built it last spring. Was

it possible for these small

birds to have such a well-

organized life if they did not

obey the laws of Allah and

worship Him?”

Abu Shakir, even the plants

obey the laws made by Allah

faithfully and worship Him.

Out of 150 species of plants,

which are further divided into

hundreds of sub-species you

will not find even one plant,

which has a disorganized and

disorderly life.

Abu Shakir, just like us, the

plants also do not see their

Creator, but they worship Him

by obeying His laws instinc-

tively.

I know that you will not

accept, or perhaps, you do

not understand, what I say. A

man must have sufficient

knowledge to understand

complicated problems.

Abu Shakir, not only animals

by their animal instinct and

plants by their plant instinct


43

obey Allah and worship Him,

the lifeless and inanimate

objects also, with whatever

instinct they have, obey Allah

and worship Him. If they did

not worship Him, they would

not have followed the laws

made by Him. As a result,

their atoms would have

broken apart and they would

have been destroyed.

The light of the sun also

worships Allah by obeying His

laws, which are very stringent

and exact. It comes into being

by the combination of two

opposite forces. These forces

also obey the laws of Allah

and worship Him, otherwise

they cannot produce light.

Abu Shakir, if there was no

Allah there would have been

no universe and neither you

nor me. The sentence, “There

is no Allah’, is meaningless.

The existence of Allah is a

must. If attention of Allah is

diverted, even for a moment

from the affairs of the uni-

verse to something else, it

would break up. Everything in

the universe obeys His laws,

which are permanent and

eternal. Because of His

absolute wisdom and

knowledge, he could make

such wonderful laws, which

will last forever. Each and

every law, made by Him

serves some special and

useful purpose.”

When Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.)

concluded his discourse, Abu

Shakir fell into a deep reverie

as if he was greatly inspired.

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) asked,

“Do you now believe that

Allah, who cannot be seen,

does exist and what you

worship is the unseen Allah?”

Abu Shakir replied, “I am not

yet convinced. I am in a

quandary. I am full of doubts

and misgivings about my faith

and my convictions.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) re-

marked, “Doubt about idol

worship is the beginning of

the worship of Allah.”

Death, a Boon to Mankind

Continuing his discourse Ja’far

as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “Abu


44

Shakir, one of the laws of

Allah is death. Ignorant

people think that death does

not serve any useful purpose

or it is, rather, harmful to

human beings. Some people

have said that it is a cruel act

of Allah.

Death serves a very useful

purpose and is essential for

the survival of mankind. If

there were no death the

human race would have

become extinct. Scientists,

who tried in the past to do

away with natural death, were

making a big mistake. I would

appeal to the future genera-

tion of scientists that they

should not try to do away

with death.

If we suppose that nothing

would happen and that

human beings would live

happily and peacefully after

the conquest of death, they

would multiply so much that

every piece of land would be

occupied by them and nothing

would be left for agriculture

and farming. There would be

so much shortage of food that

the hungry people would first

eat all the animals and then

start eating one another.

Committing suicide is against

the Commandments of Allah.

He has ordered us to preserve

our lives and the only way to

keep us alive is not to indulge

in overeating and drinking.

Excessive eating and drinking

shortens life. It is for the

safety and preservation of life

that my grandfather, Prophet

Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), has

asked us not to eat too much

meat and make our stomachs

graveyards of animals.”

Abu Shakir asked, “What does

it mean?”


“It means that we should

abstain from eating too much

meat.”

Abu Shakir asked, “Please let

me know what is death?”


“Death is cessation of the

functions of different parts of

the human body, specially

stopping of heart beats and

breathing.”


45

Abu Shakir asked, “What

causes one to die.”


“One cause of death is

sickness, including the internal

sickness, which causes

sudden death. The other

cause of death is old age.

Even if a man is healthy he

will die someday due to old

age. The Greek philosopher,

Hippocrates, has said that old

age is also a kind of sickness.

No one will die when it is

known how to treat it and

cure it.”

Abu Shakir remarked, “But no

physician can cure the sick-

ness of old age.”

Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) added, “I

do not think that old age can

ever be cured. Allah has

created old age and death by

His Will and with a great

purpose. Whatever Allah has

ordained must happen. He

has said that everything

would die except He, the

Creator of Life and Death.

Death is the change of matter

from one form to another.

Nothing in nature remains in

one and the same condition

forever. Death is for the good

of mankind. It is essential for

the survival and continuation

of human race. If it was not

created by Allah, human

beings would have created it

themselves.”

��

Sayings of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (A.S.)

* Allah does not accept any act

without knowledge, there is no

knowledge without act, so

whoever knows, knowledge

leads him to act, and whoever

does not act gets no

knowledge, but belief is a little

of a little.

* Nothing is better than

silence, no enemy is more

harmful than ignorance, and no

illness is more dangerous than

telling lies.

* The best of men is he in

whom five traits have come

together: If he does well, he is

cheerful; if he does badly, he

asks forgiveness; if he is

afflicted, he is patient, and if he

is wronged, he forgives.

��


46

Now let us see what relation-

ship to each other these two

pillars or aspects of humanity

bear, or can bear.

In the Christian world, owing

to some textual corruptions in

the Old Testament (the

Torah), the idea of the

opposition of science and faith

has become widespread, an

idea that has cost both of

them dearly.

This idea has its roots chiefly

in the Book of Genesis. In

Genesis 2:16-17, we find,

regarding Adam, paradise,

and the forbidden tree: “[The

Lord God] told the man, 'You

may eat from every tree in

the garden, but not from the

tree of the knowledge of good

and evil; for on the day that

you eat from it, you will

certainly die.”

In Genesis 3:1-8, it is said:

The Serpent was more crafty

than any wild creature that

the Lord God had made. He

said to the woman, “Is it true

that God has forbidden you to

eat from any tree in the

garden?” The woman an-

swered the serpent, “We may

eat the fruit of any tree in the

garden, except for the tree in

the middle of the garden; God

has forbidden us either to eat

or to touch the fruit of that; if

we do, we shall die.”

The serpent said, “Of course

you will not die. God knows

that as soon as you eat it,

your eyes will be opened and

you will be like gods knowing

both good and evil.” When

the woman saw that the fruit

of the tree was good to eat,

and that it was pleasing to the

eye and tempting to contem-

plate, she took some and ate

it. She also gave her husband

some and he ate it. Then the

eyes of both of them were

opened and they discovered

that they were naked; so they

stitched fig leaves together

and made themselves loin-

cloths.

In Genesis 3:23, it is said:

[The LORD God] said, “The

Relationship of Science and Faith

By: Ayatollah Shaheed Murtaza Mutahhari


47

man has become like one of

us, knowing good and evil;

what if he now reaches out

his hand and takes fruit from

the tree of life also, eats it

and lives forever?”

According to this conception

of man and God, of con-

sciousness and rebellion,

God's command (din) is that

man must not know good and

evil, not grow conscious - the

forbidden tree is the tree of

consciousness. Man, in his

rebellion, his mutiny, against

God's command (his balking

at the teachings of the

revealed laws and prophets),

attains consciousness and

knowledge and so is driven

from God's paradise. Accord-

ing to this conception, all

satanic suggestions are the

suggestions of consciousness;

therefore, the suggestor,

Satan, is reason itself.

To us Muslims, who have

studied the Qur'an, God

taught Adam all the names

(realities) and then com-

manded the angels to pros-

trate themselves before him.

Satan was expelled from the

court for not prostrating

before this vicegerent of God,

conscious of realities. And the

Sunna has taught us that the

forbidden tree was that of

greed, avidity, something of

this sort, that is, something

connected with the animality

of Adam, not with his humani-

ty, that Satan the suggestor

always suggests things

contrary to reason but con-

forming to the passions of the

animal ego, and that what

manifests Satan within man's

being is the ego that incites to

evil, not the Adamic reason.

For us who are thus schooled,

what we see in Genesis is

quite astonishing.

It is this conception that

divides the last fifteen hun-

dred years of European

history into the Age of Faith

and the Age of Reason and

sets faith and science at odds.

But the history of Islamic

civilization is divisible into the

Age of Flowering, or the Age

of Science and Faith, and the

Age of Decline, in which


48

science and faith together

have declined. We Muslims

must eschew this wrong

conception that has inflicted

irreparable injuries on science

and on faith, indeed on

humanity; we must not take

this opposition of science and

faith for granted.

Let us now proceed analytical-

ly and ask in a scholarly

fashion whether these two

aspects or bases of humanity

actually each pertain to a

certain era. Is man con-

demned ever to remain half-

human, to have only half his

humanity in a given era? Is he

forever condemned to one of

these two species of misfor-

tune: the misfortunes arising

from ignorance and the

misfortunes arising from want

of faith?

Every faith is inevitably based

on a special mode of thought

and a special conception of

the universe and of being.

Many conceptions and inter-

pretations of the universe,

although they can serve as

bases for faith and devotion,

are inconsistent with logical

and scientific principles and so

necessarily deserve rejection.

But is there a mode of

thought, a kind of conception

and interpretation of the

universe and of being, that

both draws support from the

region of science, philosophy,

and logic and can be a firm

foundation for a felicitous

faith? If such a conception,

mode of thought, or worldview

exists, then it will be clear that

man is not condemned to the

misfortunes arising from either

ignorance or want of faith.

One can address the relation-

ship of science and faith from

either of two standpoints. One

standpoint is whether an

interpretation or conception

exists that is both productive

of faith and idealism and

supported by logic. Are all the

ideas that science and philos-

ophy impart to us contrary to

faith, devotion, hope, and

optimism? (This is a question

that I will take up later in

discussing the idea of a

worldview.)


49

The other standpoint is that of

the influences upon man of

science on the one hand and

faith on the other. Does

science call us to one thing

and faith to another, and

opposed, thing? Does science

seek to shape us one way and

faith another, opposed, way?

Does our science carry us in

one direction and faith in

another? Or do science and

faith fulfil and complement

one another? Does science

shape half of us and faith the

other half, harmoniously?

Science gives us enlighten-

ment and power; faith gives

us love, hope, and ardor.

Science makes instruments;

faith constructs purposes.

Science gives speed; faith

gives direction. Science is

power; faith is benevolence.

Science shows what is; faith

inspires insight into what must

be done. Science is the outer

revolution; faith is the inner

revolution. Science makes the

universe the human universe;

faith makes the psyche the

psyche of humanity. Science

expands man's being horizon-

tally; faith conveys him

upward. Science shapes

nature; faith shapes man.

Both science and faith em-

power man, but science gives

a power of discrimination, and

faith gives a power of integra-

tion. Both science and faith

are beauty, but science is the

beauty of the reason, and

faith is the beauty of the

spirit. Science is the beauty of

thought, and faith is the

beauty of feeling. Both

science and faith give man

security, but science gives

outward security, and faith

gives inward security. Science

gives security against the

onslaught of illness, floods,

earthquakes, storms; faith,

against worry, loneliness,

feelings of helplessness,

feelings of futility. Science

brings the world into greater

harmony with man, and faith

brings man into greater

harmony with himself.

Man's need for science and

faith together has greatly

excited the interest of both


50

religious and nonreligious

thinkers. Allama Muhammad

Iqbal has said: “Humanity

needs three things today - a

spiritual interpretation of the

universe, spiritual emancipa-

tion of the individual and basic

principles of a universal

import directing the evolution

of human society on a spiritu-

al basis. Modern Europe has,

no doubt, built idealistic

systems on these lines, but

experience shows that truth

revealed through pure reason

is incapable of bringing that

fire of living conviction which

personal revelation alone can

bring.

This is the reason why pure

thought has so little influ-

enced men while religion has

always elevated individuals,

and transformed whole

societies. The idealism of

Europe never became a living

factor in her life and the result

is a perverted ego seeking

itself through mutually

intolerant democracies whose

sole function is to exploit the

poor in the interest of the

rich. Believe me, Europe today

is the greatest hindrance in

the way of man's ethical

achievement.

On the other hand the Muslim

is in possession of these

ultimate ideas on the basis of

a revelation, which, speaking

from the inmost depths of life,

internalizes its own apparent

externality. With him the

spiritual basis of life is a

matter of conviction for which

even the least enlightened

man among us can easily lay

down his life”.

Will Durant, author of the

History of Civilization, alt-

hough nonreligious, says:

“[Lucretius would suggest of

our progress in mechaniza-

tion] that this was a differ-

ence of means and not of

ends. …What if all our pro-

gress is an improvement in

methods, but not in purpos-

es?” He also says: “Our

wealth is a weariness, and our

wisdom is a little light that

chills; but love warms the

heart with unspeakable

solace, even more when it is


51

given than when it is re-

ceived.”

Today most people realise

that scientism and the unal-

loyed scientific education are

incapable of shaping the

whole human being. The

product of this education is

the raw material of humanity,

not the fully shaped humanity.

It shapes humanity with

capacity, not one with attain-

ment. It shapes a uniform

humanity, not a multiform

one. Today most people

realise that the age of sci-

ence-and-nothing-but has

come to an end.

A vacuum in ideals threatens

society. Some would fill it with

philosophy; others have

resorted to literature, the arts,

and the humanities. In Iran,

too, some propose to fill this

vacuum with a humanistic

culture, and especially with

the literature of 'irfan, includ-

ing such writings as those of

Rumi, Sa'di, and Hafiz. But

they forget that this literature

has derived its spirit and

attraction from religion. The

humanistic spirit of these

literatures is that selfsame

religious spirit of Islam.

Otherwise why are some

modern literatures so cold,

lifeless, and unattractive, for

all their humanist affecta-

tions? The humane content of

our literature of ‘irfan derives

from the kind of thought

concerning the universe and

man that is specifically

Islamic. If we take the spirit

of Islam from these literary

masterpieces, we are left with

nothing more than the dross,

or a dead form.

Will Durant feels this vacuum

and proposes that literature,

philosophy, and art fill it. He

says: “Our schools and

colleges have suffered severe-

ly from Spencer's conception

of education as the adjust-

ment of the individual to his

environment; it was a dead,

mechanical definition, drawn

from a mechanistic philoso-

phy, and distasteful to every

creative spirit. The result has

been the conquest of our

schools by mechanical and


52

theoretical science, to the

comparative exclusion of such

“useless” subjects as litera-

ture, history, philosophy, and

art…. An education that is

purely scientific makes a mere

tool of its product; it leaves

him a stranger to beauty, and

gives him powers that are

divorced from wisdom. It

would have been better for

the world if Spencer had

never written on education”.

It is remarkable that although

Durant acknowledges that the

existing vacuum is, in the first

place, a “vacuum of ideals,” a

vacuum in the area of objects,

ends, and aspirations, a

vacuum leading to nihilism,

although he affirms that it is a

vacuum of a kind of thought

for and a kind of belief in

humane objects and goals, he

nonetheless supposes it is

remediable through any sort

of ideal values, even though

they may not go beyond the

realm of imagination. He

supposes that busying oneself

with history, art, aesthetics,

poetry, and music can fill this

vacuum that arises from the

depths of man's aspiring and

idealistic nature.

Non-interchangeability of

Science and Faith

Science cannot replace faith

to give - besides illumination

and power - love and hope. It

cannot raise the level of our

desires. Although it can help

us attain objects and goals, to

follow the road to them, it

cannot take from us those

objects, aspirations, and

desires that by nature and

instinct turn on individuality

and self-interest and give us

in their place objects and

aspirations that turn on love

and on ideal and spiritual

bonds. Although it is a tool in

our hands, it cannot transform

our essence and identity.

Likewise, faith cannot replace

science, to enable us to

understand nature, discover

its laws, or learn about

ourselves.

Historical experiences have

shown that the separation of

science from faith has brought

about irremediable harm.


53

Faith must be known in the

light of science; faith must be

kept far from superstition in

the light of science. When

science is removed from faith,

faith is deformed into petrifac-

tion and blind fanaticism; it

turns on its own axis and goes

nowhere. When there is no

science and true knowledge,

the faith of an ignorant

believer becomes an instru-

ment in the hands of the

clever charlatans exemplified

in early Islam by the Kharijites

and seen in various forms in

later times.

Conversely, science without

faith is a sword in the hands

of a maniac, or else a lamp at

midnight in the hands of a

thief, so he can pick out the

choicest goods. Thus, the

scientifically informed person

of today without faith does

not differ in the least from the

ignoramus without faith of

yesterday in the nature and

essence of his behaviour.

What difference is there

between the Churchills,

Johnsons, Nixons, and Stalins

of today and the Ghengises

and Attilas of yesterday?

But, it might be said, is

science not both light and

power? Do the light and

power of science not only

apply to the external world,

but also illuminate and reveal

to us our inner world and so

empower us to change it? If

science can shape both the

world and man, it can perform

both its own function (world

shaping) and that of faith

(man shaping). The reply is,

this is all correct, but the

power of science is instrumen-

tal, that is, dependent upon

man's will and command. In

whatever area man wishes to

carry out something, he can

do it better with the tool of

science. Thus, science is

man's best aid in attaining the

objects he has chosen, in

traversing the roads he has

decided to follow.

But when man puts the

instrument to work, he

already has an object in view;

instruments are always

employed in pursuit of ob-


54

jects. Where has he found

these objects? Because man is

animal by nature and human

by acquisition, that is, be-

cause his human potentialities

must be gradually nurtured in

the light of faith, by nature he

moves toward his natural,

animal, individual, material,

self-interested objects and

employs his instruments

accordingly.

Therefore, man needs a

power not among his own

instruments and objects that

can impel man as an instru-

ment in its own direction.

Rather he needs a power that

can detonate him from within

and activate his hidden

potentialities. He needs a

power that can produce a

revolution in his heart and

give him a new direction.

This is not accomplished by

science, by discovery of the

laws governing nature and

man. It is born of the sanctifi-

cation and exaltation of

certain values in one's spirit,

which values in turn are born

of a range of elevated apti-

tudes in man, which result

further, from a particular

conception and way of

thinking about the universe

and man that one can acquire

neither in the laboratory nor

from syllogism and deduction.

History shows the conse-

quences of disjoining science

and faith. Where faith has

been, and science not,

individuals' humanitarian

efforts have produced no

great effect-at times, no good

effect. Sometimes they have

given rise to fanaticisms,

stagnations, and ruinous

conflicts. Human history is

filled with such events. Where

science has been, with the

place of faith left empty, as in

some contemporary societies,

all the power of science has

been expended on selfish-

ness, egoism, acquisitiveness,

ambition, exploitation, subju-

gation, deceit, and guile.

One can regard the past two

or three centuries as the age

of the worship of science and

the flight from faith. Many

thinkers came to believe that


55

science could solve all man's

problems, but experience has

proven the contrary. Today no

thinker would deny man's

need for some kind of faith-if

not religious faith, at least faith

in something beyond science.

Bertrand Russell, although he

had materialistic tendencies,

admits “Work of which the

motive is solely pecuniary

cannot have this value [of

bringing a man into fruitful

contact with the outer world],

but only work which embodies

some kind of devotion, wheth-

er to persons, to things, or

merely to a vision”.

Today materialists are driven

to claim they are materialists

in respect to philosophy but

idealists in respect to morals,

that is, they are materialists in

theory, but idealists in prac-

tice and aims. The question of

how it is possible to be a

materialist in theory and an

idealist in practice is for the

materialists themselves to

answer.

George Sarton describes the

inadequacy and incapacity of

science to humanize personal

relationships and man's

urgent need for the power of

faith: “Science has made

gigantic progress in certain

fields, but in others, e.g., in

politics, national and interna-

tional, we are still fooling

ourselves.” He admits that the

faith man needs is a religious

faith. He says this of man's

need for the triad of art,

religion, and science: “Art

reveals beauty; it is the joy of

life. Religion means love; it is

the music of life. Science

means truth and reason; it is

the conscience of mankind.

We need all of them - art and

religion as well as science.

Science is absolutely neces-

sary but it is never sufficient.”

��

Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) said:

If someone wants to know

what position he enjoys in the

eyes of God, he has only to

look at what place he gives to

God (in his heart and life).

��


56

On Friday evening the group

met at Engineer Madani's

house. The session formally

began with the question

raised by Dr. Jalali.

Dr. Jalali: I have heard that

Imam Hasan 'Askari had no

son at all!

Mr. Hoshyar: There are

several methods to prove that

Imam Hasan 'Askari did have

a son:

(a) In numerous traditions

reported on the authority of

the Prophet (S) and the

Imams it is related that Hasan

b. 'Ali b. Muhammad 'Askari

will have a son who will return

to launch a universal reform

movement after a long

absence and will fill the earth

with justice and equity. This

matter has been related in

various forms in the tradi-

tions. If you recall, we have

mentioned a list of hadith-

reports in the previous

discussion in which it is

affirmed that the Mahdi will

be the ninth descendant of

Imam Husayn; that the Mahdi

will be the sixth descendant of

Imam Sadiq; that he will be

the fifth descendant of Imam

Kazim; the fourth descendant

of Imam Rida; the third

descendant of Imam Muham-

mad Taqi; and so on.

(b) In several traditions it is

related that the Mahdi will be

the son of Imam Hasan

'Askari (a.s.). For example,

Saqr b. Abi Dalf relates that

he heard from Imam 'Ali Naqi

who said:

The Imam following me is my

son Hasan. After Hasan his

son is the Qa'im who will fill

the earth with justice and

equity just as it is filled with

injustice and tyranny.

(c) In a number of hadith-

reports Imam Hasan 'Askari

has informed that the Qa'im

and the Mahdi will be his son

and that the house of the

Imam and the Prophet is

protected from falsehood and

Who Was the Imam after Hasan `Askari?

Excerpts from the book, “Al-Imam al-Mahdi, The Just Leader of Humanity”

By: Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini


57

error. The following is the

tradition related by Muham-

mad b. 'Uthman, the second

deputy of the twelfth Imam

during the Short Occultation,

who received it from his

father, the first deputy: I was

in presence of Imam Hasan

'Askari when someone asked

him regarding the hadith that

was related from his forefa-

thers, namely: "The earth will

never be void of the hujjat

(God's proof), and anyone

who dies without acknowledg-

ing the Imam of the Age dies

the death of ignorance."

The Imam responded: "Yes,

indeed the matter is as clear

and real as daylight."

The person went on to ask:

"Who is the hujjat and the

Imam after you?" He said:

"After me the hujjat and the

Imam will be my son Mu-

hammad. Anyone who dies

without acknowledging him

will die a death of ignorance.

Be aware that my son will go

into occultation. The people,

because of that, will experi-

ence confusion. Those who

are unfaithful will perish,

whereas those who fix the

time of his appearance will be

uttering falsehood. When the

period of his occultation

comes to an end he will

launch a revolution. I see the

white flags waving over his

head in Najaf."

All these traditions provide the

necessary evidence that there

was a son born to Imam

Hasan 'Askari (a).

Those Who Saw the Imam

of the Age When He Was

Small

Dr. Jalali: How can it be

possible that a person could

have a son and no one in the

world would know about him?

Moreover, how can it be so

that five years would pass and

he would remain unknown?

Did not Imam 'Askari live in

Samarra? Was not he visited

by anyone? Could one believe

the only report on the pres-

ence of the infant son of the

Imam coming from Abu 'Amr

'Uthman b. Sa'id?

Mr. Hoshyar: Although it was

clear from the very beginning


58

that, under the circumstances

which prevailed in Samarra

under the 'Abbasids, the birth

of Imam 'Askari's son would

be kept secret, there were

those trustworthy associates

and relatives who had seen

the child and had testified to

his presence.

Why Was the 12th Imam

Not Mentioned in the Will

of Imam Hasan 'Askari?

Engineer Madani: It is said

that in his last days when

Imam Hasan 'Askari was ill he

appointed his mother as the

executer of his will so that she

could manage his affairs after

his death. This matter was

officially approved by the

court. In this will there was no

mention of his son. Moreover,

his estate was divided be-

tween his mother and his

brother. Had he had a son

then he would have certainly

mentioned him in his last will

so that he would not be

deprived of his share of

inheritance.

Mr. Hoshyar: Imam Hasan

'Askari intentionally kept his

son's name off his last will so

that he would remain immune

from all the danger that could

come to him from the ruler of

the time. In fact, he was so

careful in this matter and was

so fearful about his son's birth

being uncovered that at times,

out of necessity, he would

employ precautionary dissimu-

lation in the matter of his son

with his close associates to

obscure the situation for them.

One of the companions of

Imam Hasan 'Askari by the

name of Ibrahim b. Idris

relates that the Imam sent

him a sheep with a message

that he should sacrifice it for

the latter's having performed

the ceremony of shaving off

his son's birth hair ('aqiqa),

and share the meat with his

family. Ibrahim carried out the

Imam's order. But when he

came to see him the Imam

said: "Our child has died."

However, once again he sent

Ibrahim two sheep with a

letter in which the Imam

instructed Ibrahim: In the

name of God, the Merciful,


59

the Compassionate. Sacrifice

these sheep for your master's

ceremony of 'aqiqa and eat

the meat with your family.

Ibrahim carried out the order.

But when he came to see the

Imam the latter did not

mention anything about it.

Imam Sadiq had also taken

similar precautions in his last

will. He had appointed five

persons as executors of his

will, including the 'Abbasid

caliph Mansur, Muhammad b.

Sulayman, the governor of

Madina, his two sons, 'Abd

Allah and Musa, and his wife

Hamida, Musa's mother. By

doing so he saved the life of

his son Musa from imminent

danger, because he knew that

if his Imamate and legateship

became known to the caliph,

Mansur would have tried to

get rid of his son. As a matter

of fact events did happen

exactly as Imam Sadiq had

thought, because the caliph

ordered that if the legatee of

the Imam Sadiq was a specific

person, then he should be

killed.

Why Did Others Not Know

about the Twelfth Imam's

Birth?

Dr. Fahimi: The custom is that

when a child is born to

anyone, then relatives,

neighbors, and friends come

to know about it. This is true

in the case of a person who is

well respected. As such no

one disputes the existence of

a child for that person. How

can one believe that the

people would have no infor-

mation about a son born to

Imam Hasan 'Askari in spite of

the respect that he held

among them and that they

would have doubts about that

and dispute with each other

about it?

Mr. Hoshyar: You are correct

that normally the situation is

exactly the way you have

described. However, Imam

Hasan 'Askari from the very

beginning had decided that he

would not divulge any infor-

mation about the birth of a

son to him. Rather, such a

decision was made when the

Prophet was alive and when


60

other Imams were faced with

a situation where secrecy

about the birth was among

the signs of the last Imam.

Thus we have a report which

says that Imam Zayn al-

'Abidin predicted that: "The

birth of our Qa'im will be

concealed from the people

and that will cause the people

to say that he is not born at

all, so that when he takes the

command no one's allegiance

will be on his neck."

In another tradition 'Abd Allah

b. 'Ata relates:

I said to Imam Baqir: "Your

followers in Iraq are numer-

ous. By God, no one in your

family has the status that you

have. Why don't you rise?"

The Imam said: "O 'Abd Allah,

you have allowed nonsensical

talk to enter your mind. By

God, I am not the promised

commander of the affairs." I

asked: "Then who is the

commander of the affairs?"

He said: "Look out for some-

one whose birth will be

concealed from the people.

He will be your commander."

Dr. Fahimi: Why did Imam

Hasan 'Askari conceal the

birth of his son from the

people so that they would fall

into doubt and perplexity and

would be led astray in the

matter of Imamate?

Mr. Hoshyar: As I have said

earlier, the story of the

promised Mahdi was wide-

spread among Muslims from

the very early days of Islam.

The traditions and the hadith-

reports about the subject that

were related by the Prophet

and the further confirmation

of these reports by the Imams

had circulated among the

people. The rulers of the time

were also well aware of these

hadith-reports which an-

nounced that the promised

Mahdi will be among the

descendants of Fatima and

Husayn. Moreover, these

traditions announced the

destruction of unjust govern-

ments by the Mahdi, who will

establish the rule of justice

and equity all over the world.

Consequently, they were in

fear of the birth and emer-


61

gence of the promised Mahdi

and were determined to rid

themselves of the danger of

the revolution of the Mahdi. It

was for this reason that the

homes of the family members

of the Prophet, that is, the

Hashimites, and more particu-

larly Imam Hasan 'Askari's

home, were under constant

surveillance and under the

watchful eyes of secret agents

of the 'Abbasid state.

Mu'tamid, the 'Abbasid caliph,

had assigned a number of

midwives to conduct espio-

nage missions in the Hash-

imite families to collect

information about pregnancies

and child births. When the

caliph got the news about

Imam Hasan 'Askari's illness,

he instructed his agents to

keep a constant watch over

the house of the Imam. When

he heard that the Imam had

died, he ordered a search of

the Imam's house to find the

whereabouts of his son. In

addition, he sent some of

these midwives to examine

the slave girls of the Imam to

determine if they were

pregnant. If a woman was

found pregnant she was

detained and imprisoned.

The midwives suspected one

of the women to be pregnant

and reported her to the

caliph. The caliph ordered her

to be confined to one of the

rooms and commissioned

Tahrir, his servant, to watch

over her. He did not set her

free until he was sure that she

did not carry the Imam's

child. He did not stop with the

household of Imam Hasan

'Askari. Rather, as soon as the

funeral was over he ordered

all the houses to be searched

and kept under watch.

Now you can appreciate that

Imam Hasan 'Askari, living

under those dangerous

circumstances, could not do

anything other than conceal

his son's birth from the people

so that he would remain

immune from their evil

designs.

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Nasal allergy is state of

hypersensitivity of linning

mucosa (covering of inner

side) of the nose to any

inhaled allergen, makes it

inflamed and produces

different symptoms which may

include, itching inside the

nose, eyes and / or back of

the throat, nasal discharge

and/ or blockage, watery eyes,

sneezing and / or cough.

Allergen is a substance which

causes allergy, it may include

dust, animal dander, food

spices, plant pollens, toiletry

or make up products, fibers in

rugs or heavy curtains, fungi

inhabiting air conditioners etc.

Acidity or heart burn may

enhance the symptoms of

nasal allergy. Chemicals at

work places like flour at

bakery, chemicals at

labortaries, wood dust at

furniture industry etc may

lead to symptoms during

working days and patient is

usually fine during holidays.

Primary step in management

of allergy is avoidance of

exposure to allergen. It is

usually identified by the

patient itself. There are few

labortary tests as well to

confirm the identity of specific

allergen, but if someone is

allergen to multiple products

then it is usually difficult and

obviously expensive to

investigate it on lab level.

The primary step of

management of nasal allergy

is to avoid the exposure of

allergen. Doctors prescribe

medications to reduce the

symptomatology of allergy,

including antihistamine tablets

to reduce symptoms of itching

or sneezing, nasal sprays to

reduce hypersensitivity of

mucosal linning of nose or

improve blockage symptoms

etc.

Immunotherapy is tried in this

modern era as well. But it is

necessary that patient should

be allergic to only one or two

known substances and willing

to continue treatment for up

to 2 to 5 years.

��

Allergy

By: Dr. Sana Hasnain Nanjiani


63

Kids

Corner

Celebrating Eid Milad un Nabi (S.A.W.W.) &

Wiladat of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S.)

Eid means festival and

Milad, which originates from

Wiladah in Arabic, is in

reference to the birth of

Prophet Muhammad (saww).

There are a lot of argu-

ments going on about cele-

brating Eid-e-Milad. Some

Muslims Scholars particular-

ly those of Wahhabi School

of Thought have condemn

this openly and have de-

clared it as Bid’ah meaning

innovation; whereas others,

who are in majority, and

popularly referred to as

Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaah

insist that there is nothing

wrong in celebrating this

great day. The Shias believe

and support the celebration

of Eid-e-Milad too.

It is proven in the Holy

Quran that celebration of

Milad of noble and God-

fearing personalities is a

praise-worthy act. Allah

(SWT) says: Certainly We

sent Moses with Our signs:

Bring your people out from

darkness into light and

remind them of Allah’s (holy)

days. There are indeed signs

in that for every patient and

grateful (servant). (14:5)

In this verse Allah (SWT)

orders Prophet Musa (as) to

remind his nation about the

days of Allah, the Almighty.

"The days of Allah" are

those days in which great

events took place or Allah;

the Almighty bestowed His

great favours and rewards

to His creatures.

The birthday of Prophet

Muhammad (saww) is also,

without any doubt, a day of

Allah, because Prophet

Muhammad (saww) emanci-


64

pated the whole world from

the darkness of ignorance

and brought them to the

light of guidance. Allah

certainly favoured the

faithful when He raised up

among them an apostle from

among themselves to recite

to them His signs and to

purify them, and to teach

them the Book and wisdom,

and earlier they had indeed

been in manifest error.

(3:164)

The Holy Prophet Muham-

mad (saww) celebrated his

own Milad by way of fasting.

When the Prophet of Allah

(saww) was asked about the

fast of Monday, he (saww)

said: "I took birth and the

Quran was revealed upon me

in this day." (Mishkat Sha-

rif, Page 179)

This narration proves that to

celebrate Milad al-Nabi is a

tradition of the Holy Prophet

(saww). Secondly it is an act

of Sunnah to worship (fast)

whilst celebrating Milad-un-

Nabi (saww).

Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) the

Sixth Holy Imam of the

Shi'a Muslims has also the

same birth date as that of

our Holy Prophet (saww). He

was born on 17th Rabi al-

Awwal 83 A.H. in the holy

city of Madinah. In the

grand university founded by

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as) in

the holy city of Madinah the

Holy Imam (as) taught

various branches of sciences

and more than four thousand

students were attracted

towards him from far-off

places. Imam Jafar Sadiq

(as) is also considered as

"The Founder of the Imamia

School of Jurisprudence".

On the auspicious, happy and

joyous occasion of Eid Milad

un-Nabi (saww) and the

Birth Anniversary of Imam

Jafar Sadiq (sa) we extend

our happy and heartiest

greetings and felicitations

to Imam al-Hujjah (AJ) & to

all the Muslims in the world.

EID-E-MILAD MUBARAK.

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Documents

Cover Page (Front) - Zahra Academyzahraacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/msg/rabiawwal1439.pdf · zation document from Hakim e Sharah. Q.4: Who is a Kasir al-Safar (frequent traveler)?