A significant difference lies between good traits of character and noble traits. Good traits are mainly about reciprocating goodness or not harming others. Noble traits are higher such that it requires a person to do good to those who have wronged him and in addition feel loving towards them. It requires time and a process of self-scrutiny to control ill feelings one may have towards others. Thus Imam Sadiq (as) said “Forgive the one who has wronged you. Grant to the one that denied you. Do good to one who has done evil to you”.

The Example of the Holy Prophet (s)

The Prophet himself was a Murabbi, somebody who teaches but also changes people’s Ethics. He also possessed a great character before he became a Prophet such that he was known as Mohamed the Trustworthy among the Arabs before the advent of Islam and Lady Khadijah gave his great character as the reason for her proposal to him. Thus Allah (swt) mentions in the Qur’an that “In the Apostle of Allah there is certainly for you a good exemplar” and that the Prophet possesses “A great character”. Therefore the Prophet is the best role model for us to imitate, somebody who’s greatness is acknowledged as great by Allah (swt) himself. He is the perfect model of human virtues.

The Aim of Ethics

The aim of Ethics is to take us towards perfection, to achieve our potential. The ultimate perfection is Allah (swt) and his virtuous attributes are perfections and as the Prophet (s) has said “Acquire the virtues of Allah”. Therefore our ultimate aim by improving our moral character is to become more perfect and achieve nearness in perfection to Allah.

Prioritisation of Ethics in relation to other subjects

In terms of practicality, the studying the Islamic ideology and laws must be prioritised above Ethics so that we are given our foundation of thought by ideology and by knowing the laws we do not transgress the limits set by Allah while we develop spiritually. However in theory, in human development, Ethics is more important as it teaches us how to be as good humans whereas Laws only inform us of limits. In ideology, belief in God and accepting Islam is a moral matter. There are many who study Islam yet they do not believe; partly due to arrogance and unjustness. This is evident in the Quran wherein Allah (swt) does not treat disbelief as an epistemological issue but rather a moral issue.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ethics is the foundation for a soul on which faith may be built and Ethics and faith assist each other in human development. If we look at some notable companions of the Prophet (s) such as Abu Dhar and Salman al-Farsi, they became Muslims due to their honesty, their search for truth and their humbleness to it. Therefore they became great Muslims and flourished spiritually because they were morally sound humans.

The subject matter of Akhlaq

Regarding how inclusive Khulq is; Miskawayh believes both natural disposition towards a virtue as well as virtues gained by effort and training are components of Khulq. Whereas Ayatollah Tabarsi only recognises the acquired virtues and hence the reason why it is called Khulq; because it is an addition to one’s being. Nonetheless, the acquired virtue is more valuable because it is earned.
However Sheikh Shomali believes that there is a 3rd type of Khulq; when virtues are generated by a person’s belief. Undoubtedly a person’s worldview will cause a change in his behaviour. Someone who views himself as a servant of God and everything else as a means to Him will undoubtedly act to please God. In many instances when people revert to Islam, they become different people; by a change of belief, they change in character. The Prophet (s) did not spend each day working to build into himself a virtue which he lacked before. By being perfectly positioned in his attitude regarding God, all virtues were inherent in him. Just as a city’s numerous petty issues can be solved by a change in governor, so can our many smaller ethical issues be solved by a change in our inner governance; if our inner governor becomes intellect over emotions and desires then many of our moral deficiencies would be solved.

Conclusion

In conclusion, contrary to western behaviourist scholars who opined Ethics as limited to actions, our Scholars believe that actions are manifestations of the soul. Therefore Ethics must deal with both actions and virtues. However Ethics can only discuss voluntary actions which are subject to the actor’s intentions. Therefore ‘being a human’ is not Ethics’ concern but rather ‘how to develop one’s humanity’ is.

Classification of Ethical Studies

There are 3 types of ethical studies:
1. Descriptive Ethics: This is an objective study of morals without judgement, it is pure factual descriptions.
2. Normative Ethics: This concerns ethical norms, with evaluation and judgement based on an underlying theory. It is then argued and defended rationally.
3. Meta Ethics/Analytical Ethics: This a deeper and philosophical study of Ethics that discusses the concepts of good and evil rather than what makes an action good or bad.
The first type isn’t philosophical but the second and third are. Hence the second and third are moral philosophies as they both require rationality. When trying to understand, with reference to religious texts, the view of a religion on a subject, there is no room for rational arguments. However when we wish to discuss objectively whether a subject matter is good or bad, we refer to rational arguments.
Muslims, especially followers of the Ahl al-Bayt believe in reason as an authority. Therefore any rational discourse is also religious and any rational judgement is also an Islamic judgement based on the rule of conformity between Islam and Reason. As a Hadith says “Whatsoever the intellect concludes, the Islamic Law also concludes”. Hence Meta Ethics is Islamic whereas it is not the same for other religions as they may view intellectual discussions as a threat to their beliefs.

Intellectual Discourse in Ethics

In Islamic Ethics, proving ethical arguments using rational discourse is more difficult than merely describing the Islamic position from Islamic texts. During the US civil war between north and south, a dilemma had emerged over the moral status of slavery. Those who needed it for cheap labour in the south argued in favour of slavery yet without need of it in the north argued against it. Their ethical standpoint had been relative to their interests. However if we equip ourselves with the common language that is philosophy, we can rationally argue without being limited to our interests or traditions. We should apply reason in what we believe so that we can present Islamic values as global values welcomed by non-Muslims as Allah says in the Quran “And they will say, had we listened or applied reason, we would not have been among inmates of the Blaze”¹ . Therefore Allah has given humans two authorities; Intellect and Revelation. If both are utilised then we will be utterly successful in our endeavours.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a Muslim ethicist can be of two types; either provide scholarly opinions based on religious texts or follow a rational path where he can argue for the good or evil of something based on reason, and hence be able to show the world the universality of Islamic values.

Islamic Moral Philosophy

For convincing Muslims it is sufficient to quote Islamic texts regarding the moral status of actions. However for non-Muslims it is necessary to provide rational arguments regarding Islamic moral position on actions.

Further Classification of Normative Ideas

Philosophers have classified ethical theories according to their meta-ethical and normative ideas. Here we wish to delve deeper into normative ideas. There are 3 major normative theories:
1. The teleological view: This view is purpose based and the judgement for an action is its outcome. Therefore a good act is one with a good outcome. However critics argue this is a circular definition because the condition and conditioned are the same; the condition of a good act being a good result. Whereas others argue it is not circular as the conditioned is different from the condition and the result can be empirically measured.
2. The deontological view: As believed by Emmanuel Kant, this view believes that a good act is a selfless one based on moral obligation. Completely contrary to the teleological view.
3. Virtue Ethics: This Aristotelian approach believes an action is good if it is based on virtue. Virtues are qualities of the soul and from these manifest good actions.

Criticism of Teleological view

1. Proponents of this view disagree on the definition of good outcome. Especially since two people’s good outcomes can be completely against each other’s.
2. Who must benefit by the good outcome; here there exists another 3 divisions:
3. Egoism: The actor acts for himself.
4. Altruism: The actor acts for others.
5. Universalism: The actor acts for everyone or the greatest number of people.

Conclusion

Selfishness has no place in Islam. Therefore Islam is against Egoism. Islam also doesn’t agree with Altruism as it deems personal interests important. Islam encourages its adherents to consider the short and long term effects of their actions, both for themselves and for others. In addition a good act of altruism in this world is not deemed useless for the actor because he would be rewarded in the hereafter.

Possessing a Good Nature

The Prophet Mohamed is narrated to have said “On the Day of Judgement nothing is put into the scale of deeds of a person that is weightier than possessing a good nature” ⁶ . This may be because a virtuous nature manifests into numerous good actions. Therefore Mullah Salih (ra) concludes that the Hadith shows the superiority of rewards for a good nature over good actions.

Islamic Laws and Ethics

Imam Khomeini (ra) mentions that in Hell the worst are people who suffer from corrupt ideologies followed by those with bad qualities and then those with bad actions. Human beings are formed by their fundamental beliefs and thereafter their moral virtues and vices and then their actions. As Muslims we must give due importance to following Islamic Laws for correcting our actions but more importantly we must also correct our moral deficiencies. As per Islamic Law, feeding a starving person with stale bread is sufficient whereas per Islamic Ethics we must feed them with what we would like for ourselves as Allah (swt) says “You will never attain piety until you spend out of what you hold dear, and whatever you may spend of anything, Allah indeed knows it.” ⁷
However Islamic Ethics are not obligatory like Islamic Laws because Islamic Laws are boundaries set for everyone’s capacity whereas Islamic Ethics encourages us further. Hence the Law obliges us to keep him alive but Islamic Ethics encourages us against our ego and selfishness. Similarly, in marriage there are legal rights but Islamic Ethics establishes affection, mercy & kindness as the fundamental principle of the family. Therefore, we must not limit Islam only to legal boundaries.

Exceptions

So far we have discussed that having virtues is more important than single good actions. However some exceptions exist. A Single act, such as the strike of Imam Ali (as) in the battle of Khandaq, can have a tremendous impact, possibly sending ripples through time, affecting generations across nations. An action’s value is relative to its effect whereas a virtue that does not manifest is useless. Therefore, we must not be negligent of acting righteously as righteous virtues are only valuable if it manifests. Vice versa, a single evil act may cause bitter consequences outweighing virtues such as a pious person erring once by slandering a chaste believer.

Conclusion

In Islamic Ethics, although gaining virtues is more important than single actions; both are still important. Hence our main emphasis is on acquiring virtues while being wary not to miss an opportunity to do good and avoid evil.

The concept of ethical balance

Islamic Ethics have introduced three faculties of the human soul:
1. Desires: This drives our physical needs. Depriving this need as well as overindulging in this need are both extremes. The soul which achieves a balance in between would acquire virtues such as Chastity.
2. Anger: Deficiency in this faculty results in cowardice and indifference to others’ sufferings and extremeness results into harshness and insensitivity to causing of suffering. A balance results in virtues such as bravery and championship for the weak, the oppressed and the needy. Such as Imam Ali (as) who was brave but not a brute, he stood for the oppressed and he showed utmost bravery when he restrained his anger after the demise of the Holy Prophet (s).
3. Intellect: This faculty is concerned with reason and the virtue that can be attained from this faculty is Wisdom. A wise person does not accept nor reject without reason, yet he is humble to compelling reason. A wise person does not simply follow a majority or minority but rather seeks the truth and the right step to take regardless of who else follows that path. He does not discriminate if something is old or new but rather gives it its due right of consideration.

Conclusion

A person who attains balance in all three faculties of the soul achieves the virtue of Justice. Therefore a just person is he who is wise, brave and chaste. Thus such a person is free of all deficiencies and extremes.

Judging an Action Directly from Itself

Contrary to Virtue Ethics, Islamic Ethics utilises the teleological approach. Thereby judging an action based on its results. However the ultimate end in Islam is nearness to Allah and reaching perfection. Therefore any action which contributes to achieving this is good and any action which hinders our progress to perfection and nearness to Allah is bad.
In cases where an action has both benefits as well as harms in regards to our ultimate aim of attaining perfection, Islamic Ethics’ position is that one must not perform the act if the bad outweighs the good. Therefore purely good actions are to be acted upon but questionable actions need further discussions.
Utilitarianism is the view that a good action is one which delivers the greatest good for the greatest number. According to this principle, a thief stealing from one person to help 10 others is doing a good act. Islam, however, opposes this because it deems it detrimental to its ultimate aim of human perfection/nearness to Allah. Therefore, in Islam, the end does not justify the means because true success is not based on worldly means.
Islam classifies actions into 5:
1. Forbidden actions (Haram): These are acts which are detrimental to our progress towards perfection. Therefore they must be avoided except in exceptional circumstances.
2. Obligatory actions (Wajib): These acts are necessary for our progress towards perfection and therefore abandoning these acts are detrimental and therefore forbidden.
3. Recommended actions (Mustahab): These acts are not essential but they are very beneficial in attaining nearness to Allah/perfection. These are not obligatory to perform, they are optional.
4. Discouraged actions (Makruh): These action are not detrimental but they are a hindrance that slows down our progress. They are not forbidden but avoiding these actions are recommended where possible.
5. Neutral actions (Mubah): These actions are said to be neither useful nor harmful. However from a spiritual and moral point of view, nothing can be Mubah because human lifetime and resources are limited and any time not spent doing good acts is time spent in wastefulness.
The exceptional circumstances in which forbidden acts are overlooked is when the necessity and goodness of the act far outweighs its harms. For example, it is forbidden to encroach over other people’s property but if we notice he is drowning in his own swimming pool, we can ignore the illegality of going onto his property due to the necessity of saving his life.
Therefore Islamic Ethics judges the goodness of an act based on its benefit or harm towards achieving perfection and nearness to Allah. Similarly, Islamic Laws also have philosophies behind them regarding why they rule actions into the 5 categories. It is now clear that in Islamic Ethics actions can be judged based on themselves.

Three Further Classifications

Sheikh Muzaffar says that some actions may not have any moral status but can acquire one. Consider these 3:
1. Walking: It is morally neutral on its own but once we consider to what end someone is walking we can judge it. E.g. walking to commit a sin is bad but walking towards a good end is good.
2. Honesty: Honesty is good in itself but in some circumstances it is bad e.g. honesty which endangers an innocent’s life, or ruins a family.
3. Justice: Justice is never bad and injustice can never be good; no contrary evidence can be found to this.
Sheikh Muzaffar therefore states that there are three relations between actions and moral judgements:
1. Necessary relation: When the entire cause is present for the effect.
2. Incomplete relation: When some of the cause is present but not all.
Muslims scholars have concluded that the only necessary relation to goodness is justice. In regards to honesty and goodness, there is an incomplete relation such that it is good to be honest as long as there isn’t an obstacle such as greater harm occurring due to honesty. Similarly with acts such as walking; it requires an external motive to it that would make it morally good or bad. Therefore an Islamic response to moral relativism is that there is a fixed standard for measuring morality which is explained in Islamic Ethics such as the end being justice and attaining perfection.

Conclusion

There are three ways of moral judgement. One is regarding actions with no moral status innately, but must be judged based on external motives. The second is actions which are innately good except when it is obstructed e.g. honesty being obstructed by its harm, therefore final judgement must be reserved until the context is understood. Lastly, actions which are necessarily good always such as justice. Therefore actions can be judged based on their outcomes, even innately neutral actions because any time not spent in goodness is time wasted.

A Reflection on Modern Time

Due to the rise of technology, people have lost the ability to spend their time wisely and more people are continuously looking to kill time. In the past people would be working and would be more physically active and the remaining time at home would have been quality time conversing and actually socialising with each other. Today, we have cut our real interactions with family and people and instead we seclude ourselves to use our gadgets. We are busy communicating with people far away when there are people around us. It is as if these gadgets dictate us and cause a social breakdown. We must therefore limit and control these gadgets by setting helpful guidelines on how, when and to what extent we should use them.

The Role of Intention
Intentions are only applicable to actions, not qualities because a virtue or a vice is innate, it does not intention to have. In many ethical theories, intentions are overlooked and actions are judged merely based on itself or its result. However intentions can render an action good or bad regardless of its innate moral status or its effect; for example, generosity must be judged with regards to the intention as generosity done with ostentatious intent is not good.

Intention in Action
The Islamic theory of Ethics states that a good action must also be accompanied by good intentions for it to be a good act. Such good acts are termed ‘noble’ in the Qur’an (al-Amal al-Salih). Thus contrary to Kantian Ethics, it considers an act noble only when the action is also good, whereas Kantian Ethics does not consider the knowledge or action of the actor. Meaning a person unknowingly giving poison to a thirsty person has not committed a noble act. Therefore actions are important yet judgement must also include the intention as the Prophet (s) said “Indeed, actions are judged according to their intentions”.
In addition, in Islamic Ethics, we believe that the intention behind an act also impacts the effectiveness of the act.
Therefore a noble act requires a good intention in order to be so. Therefore it is our responsibility to judge based on intention because a good act may be done in order to harm another or benefit may be gained by accident from a badly intended act.

Two Important Points
1. A genuine intention to do a good act is rewarded at least 10 times the amount. Whereas an evil intention is not punished unless acted upon. However good and evil intentions even without actions still effect the soul.
2. A good intention’s scope can affect the spiritual benefits for the soul. As long as a person genuinely intends to do a good act on a far greater scale, he benefits from the greatness of his intention.
In a supplication we say “O Allah with your grace allow me to grow my intention”. We must therefore not limit ourselves and strive to extend our goodness as far as we can, where we attempt to reach but cannot, we will be rewarded for it.

Important Points about Reward
1. An intention without implementation is lesser than an intention with implementation.
2. An intended action may be rewarded but the intender will not receive the spiritual benefits of the act until he has performed the act.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to consider intention while passing moral judgment for an action. In addition our intentions must be broadened and we must bear in mind that intending alone does not give us the benefits of acts but we will still benefit spiritually from good intentions and suffer spiritually from bad intentions.

Kantian Ethics and Islamic Ethics
In Kantian ethics, intention is regarded as the only essential component for a good action. His view is deontological, meaning it is duty based and without regard for outcomes. Therefore intrinsically good acts such as truthfulness must be done without regard for the consequences and the intention which the actor must have is a sense of moral responsibility.
In the Islamic theory, while duty and intentions are important, it still does not rule out the necessity of the act itself being good. Yet in addition the level of goodness of the actor is also considered by considering the following three qualities:
1. Intellect: An actor with a sharper intellect must abide better by Islamic Laws and ethics and so the standard is matched with his intellect.
2. Knowledge: The goodness or evil of an action is weighed against his knowledge. An evil act from someone who knows better is worse than someone without knowledge. Likewise, a good action done in knowledge is better than actions performed ignorantly.
3. Piety: Someone who performs good acts out of seeking God’s pleasure is doing better than someone who does so out of instinct. A sacrifice in piety is better than a sacrifice due to pressure or pretentious.
Therefore, where in other ethical theories, two people performing the same act with the same intention may be equal, in Islam they are further distinguished by other merits. As Allah (swt) has said “He who created death and life that He may test to see which of you is best in conduct”⁸ .
Regarding the verse Imam Sadiq explains that best in conduct means in terms of quality not quantity, the level of awareness about Allah, the goodness in intention, the persistence in that conduct, the sincerity of it being for Allah and that intentions themselves are actions. He then recited this verse “Say, everyone acts according to his character” ⁹. He further explained that character means intention here.
Therefore having good intentions are essential for us, although we must not allow ourselves to become to fixated by intentions, thereby allowing Satan to divert us from committing good actions due to being confused regarding our intentions. After considering qualities that are taken into account when judging an actor and action, it becomes clear that intentions and their goodness are parallel with the actor’s character. Therefore every agent’s intentions are a manifestation of his spiritual nature.

Reward and punishment being to the extent of intellect
In Usul al-Kafi it is reported “Allah said to intellect: “Come forward!” and it came forward. And “Go back!” and it went back. Allah said: “By you I will reward, and by you I will punish”.
According to this Hadith, intellect is obedient to God and reward or punishment is based on the intellect. Therefore mentally disabled Muslims are exempt from responsibilities if they do not have intellect. However those bestowed with better intellect are further scrutinised due to their better understanding. Therefore reward and punishment is equivalent to the actor’s level of intellect. As the Hadith says “Seventy sins of an ignorant person will be forgiven before one sin of a scholar is forgiven”. However those who have a higher intellect, thereby a bigger responsibility, also have more potential for reward once they carry out their responsibilities.
Therefore, in Islamic ethics when making a judgement a person’s knowledge, understanding, intellect and piety are taken into account. It is wrong to judge based on the exterior of the act.

Conclusion
In conclusion, contrary to deontological and teleological ethical theories, in Islamic ethics the moral value of an action is based on two elements; goodness of actor as well as goodness of act.

A Good Intention
What causes an intention to be regarded as ‘good’? Some scholars believe a good intention is one which is to please Allah and attain closeness to him and in addition if the action itself is good then it is a noble deed (al-Amal al-Salih). Therefore any action without this intention has no moral value.

Actions of Non-Believers
However a question arises, what about the actions of non-believers? Undoubtedly it has some value, although not equivalent to if they believed. As the Qur’an mentions in verse 2:62 that Jews, Christians and Sabaens shall have their reward; no mention of them changing their religion is made here. Therefore the verse suggests that someone submissive based on their own faith, to the best of their knowledge, shall have their good deeds rewarded.
A historical evidence from the Prophet (s) declared that Hatam Tai would not be punished in the hereafter despite being a polytheist due to his selfless generosity. Hence his daughter was treated with special respect and released after capture in battle. Other instances also exist of the Prophet (s) releasing his enemies due to their good qualities. What must be noted is that from the Islamic perspective, death of our enemies is not a victory. Any person who dies fighting the truth is in fact a victory for Satan for having misled one more of our brothers in humanity.
Therefore Allah (swt) loves good qualities within everyone, no matter who possesses them. This approach must make us more appreciative of others rather than becoming fault finders. If someone cannot see goodness in another, he must check himself because he cannot find goodness where it exists; as Prophet Isa (as) found goodness in a dead dog which his companions failed to see.
Likewise, in the battle of Uhud, the people of Mecca who knew the Prophet as the most trustworthy of people, fought against him and his Muslims, killing his uncle Hamza yet after all that, He (s) prays for them and excuses them by saying they are unaware. We must also try to have this unconditional love, not love with a slight selfish agenda. We must not label people as bad, just as the Prophet would not and would excuse the wrongdoing of others. Allah (swt) commands us to repel evil with what is best¹⁰ and thus an enemy will become a sympathetic friend. Therefore we must not reciprocate people, in all civil cases we must answer evil with the best and this requires patience. It is very difficult to do so, however nothing great is easy.
In conclusion, noble deeds from believers are higher yet actions with good intentions from non-believers are also rewarded even though it is not done for the sake of Allah.

Further Qur’anic Evidence
“‘So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”¹¹ . This verse also does not indicate to the agent’s faith but rather says “whoever” which is inclusive of all people.

Love of Parents
It seems as though Islam is essentially seeking to make people free from their ego and selfishness. This may be why mothers are so highly respected in Islam even if they be disbelievers; as they are selfless people and have unconditional love. Allah (swt) says “Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship anyone except Him, and [He has enjoined] kindness to parents. Should they reach old age at your side, one of them or both, do not say to them, Fie! And do not chide them, but speak to them noble words.”¹² Hence a condition for achieving heaven in Islam is respectfulness for our parents, even if they be disbelievers.

Our view
The Islamic view is that judgement cannot be passed so simply. We must consider the prerequisites of entering Heaven; which are Faith (Imān) and noble deeds (Al-Amal al-Salih). If one lacks faith they cannot enter heaven. However, every good deed done by anyone has a value and is appreciated by Allah (swt) and they gain the reward for it. Islam does not view a good non-believer the same as a bad one. As the verse says “Whoever does an atom’s weight or good will see it and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it”¹³ .This is evident in the case of Hatam Tai who would help people selflessly and thus according to some narrations he will not face the punishment of Hell despite being a disbeliever. Therefore, we must differentiate between what qualifies for heaven and what qualifies a person to be counted as morally good.

Faith and Action
The Qur’an in some cases mentions noble deeds before faith; “And whoever does righteous deeds … should he be faithful, such shall enter paradise” ¹⁴. The condition in the verse “Should he be faithful” suggests that faith is not essential to a noble deed because this clause is used as a condition for attaining heaven as an addition to righteous deeds. Similarly, verses also indicate to the same conclusion; that faith is not essential for a noble deed. It is the combination of faith and noble deeds that lead to heaven but noble deeds on its own is still valuable.

Intentions and actions of non-believers
As previously discussed, a noble deed is a combination of a good act with a good intention. Regarding non-Muslims, their good intention could be to benefit the world; either the actor, other people, animals or the environment. However, it must be done with good intent and purpose, without negative motives.
This makes logical sense since we cannot weigh an inactive believer equal to an active disbeliever who strives to do good always. From a moral point of view, they are not equal, one is concerned only of himself and the other is concerned about other people. Even two states, a selfish minded believer is not equal to a kind and helpful disbeliever.
In my opinion, acting due to a sense of moral responsibility or moral conscience also constitutes a good intention. Although the value and extent of this intention can be elevated if done for the sake of Allah alone. However, an intention which is not solely for Allah is still valuable. Therefore, e.g. parents must be respected even if they did not intend to become parents for the sake of Allah.

Freedom
In our narrations we find references to the notion of freedom in regards to our acts of worship. Imam Ali (as) differentiates believers into 3 groups:
1. The slave: He who obeys Allah out of fear of punishment.
2. The merchant: He who obeys Allah for a reward.
3. The free: He who obeys Allah out of love.
Imam Husayn said “If you do not have religion and you do not fear the Hereafter, then at least be free in your worldly life!”
A person may observe moral responsibilities due to their belief in God. A person with no faith can be motivated by a sense of humanity. The 3rd category which is the free people are those who do good because they find it to be good. For religious people this is a worthy target in worshipping Allah i.e. we worship him out of love, thankfulness and acknowledgement of his worthiness to be worshipped, without obligation by religion. This is a notion that is universal, we naturally love obeying those who bestow favours upon us and are kind and helpful to us, and as a result we are thankful. Similarly, Allah is He who is the source of all goodness in our lives, we should realise and thus we would fall in love with him and acknowledge his right to be worshipped.
To be free is to do good because of a sense of moral responsibility. If people have such awareness then they will undoubtedly be good. Such people will eventually become believers and if they had no means reaching guidance then at least Allah will be kind to them due to their good qualities.
Therefore, the Islamic view is that goodness of an action, actor and intention are all important. If it is done out of a moral responsibility then it is also done as a free person. Yet this intention can further be elevated if done for the sake of Allah (swt).

Intention and ego
Previously we discussed that there are 3 categories in the teleological view:
1. Egoism: a good outcome for the actor
2. Altruism: a good outcome for other than the actor
3. Universalism: a good outcome for the greater number.
In contrast, some scholars have introduced the Islamic view as a deontological one similar to Kantian ethics. Meaning we must perform what is our moral duty regardless of the outcome. Imam Khomeini used to say “We are responsible for discharging our duties, not for the outcomes”.
However, everything which is prohibited or obligatory in Islam is due to some real interest or harm. All good acts are so because they also have a good outcome. Allah (swt) considers all harms and interests in his legislation and He (swt) is the all wise and all-knowing therefore, He (swt) is aware of all harms and interests while our limited understanding is not inclusive of everything. Therefore, it is not for individuals to judge above God’s legislation because our knowledge and wisdom can never be above His (swt). In any viable legal system, there must be a general law and for special circumstances, special clauses are added. Hence in Islamic laws, we cannot comprehend the reasoning and wisdom behind the laws, it is for this reason we must follow the laws set by Allah (swt). Therefore, in the case of Imam Khomeini’s quote, defending against injustice requires determination and resilience; yet when he realised the war was no longer producing good results, he accepted a ceasefire. We can learn from this that Allah’s ruling does not change, but we have to be understanding of situation and context within which we’re applying the law as the context plays a role in the law’s judgment.

Islam and the teleological view
It therefore seems that the Islamic view resembles the teleological view but which of the 3 categories does Islam agree with?
Some scholars have argued that human beings are egoists because everything they do is motivated by self-love. Even when a person worships Allah (swt) or strives for martyrdom, it is because he knows it is good for him.

Selfishness
The egoistic form of the teleological view suggests a grim picture of a selfish world. However, we dispute this because we differentiate between selfishness and egoism. The former is pure selfishness where I would refuse you water and drink it myself even if I am not that thirsty whereas egoism dictates that I give you water because you need it yet I also benefit, it is therefore looking after oneself without selfishness. Selfishness is short sighted, whereas egoism is far sighted; a selfish person would not take up loss in the short term for a greater benefit in the long term, whereas an egoistic person would. For believers, this long term planning extends far beyond death as the benefit may not materialise here but rather in multiples in the Hereafter.

Is egoism compatible with morality?
According to scholars for egoism, it is impossible for humans to completely disregard self-interest. As a result a question arises as to what is the purpose of morality in egoism? How could a science of voluntary actions be applicable in a view that believes all actions are dictated by self-interest?
An answer may be that while it is true that humans are motivated by self-love, ethics can teach us how to best secure our interests. As selfishness is harmful to our long term interests due to its role in undermining social relations. In ethics we are taught to think broadly in order to secure our short term and long term interests; in order to do so we must live in a way that minimises conflict and the only way to minimise conflicts of interests is by considering others’ interests. Thus, ethics prevents our egoism from committing injustice to others.
In a religious sense, somebody who is ethical, his ego will lead him to take himself along with others towards Allah. Such a person would not be indifferent to the vices and evils of others and would want to help them as well as himself for the sake of the benefit that would come to him from guiding others. Whereas, an egoistic person without ethics may secure his Hereafter without regard for others. Ethics therefore broadens our egoism and thus makes it beneficial to others as well. Perhaps ‘Do to others as you would like them to do to you’ is a perfect example of ethical egoism, as it is in our ultimate interest to live in a society in which goodness is performed so that the moral fabric of society can continue to be upheld and thus everyone initiates and reciprocates good out of egoism, ultimately leading to ever increasing benefit to all members.

Questions and rebuttals
We may question scholars for egoism as there are instances where people act without thinking of self-interest. Such as a mother acting for her child, surely she does not consider her own benefit when she suffers for her child.
Those scholars for egoism would respond arguing that the suffering of the child causes the mother to suffer and as a result she acts to alleviate the child’s suffering. Therefore, the mother is acting egoistically, albeit subconsciously.

Conclusion
Overall, my understanding is that we must distinguish between two matters. The first is acceptable but not the second:
1. I accept that humans do not act selflessly, we always consider interest or relevance before acting. E.g. I would not be concerned with people waiting outside a door, but if it’s my door then they’re my guests and thus I would act to respond to them. This is because once relevance and interest is establish I have reason to act.
2. I have difficulty accepting that for a person to act, he must have personal interest in it. Personal gain is not necessarily the only interest. It may be that Allah has placed a desire for our own good as well as the good of others. It is sufficient for the latter alone to be activated for us to act. We have a desire to do good to others; even at time when we know it won’t be appreciated by them.
Therefore, humans are motivated by self-interest but we are not limited to it, we have a drive to also do good without personal interest in it. E.g. a mother may identify a certain course of action as beneficial to her child, without which the child would not suffer, but the benefit of the mother’s actions will be for the child alone, she would still do it out of love; knowing she isn’t gaining anything.

Love for others and ourselves; two compatible desires
We love ourselves and we also love other humans, animals and nature. Allah (swt) has placed within us both self-love as well as love for others. Thus, people can do good to others out of love for them without entertaining thought of benefit for themselves. An act for others may be appreciated or it may not; if it is appreciated then it also serves personal interests of the actor but otherwise it serves the driver of love for others. Hence we may be happy for doing a good act for others or we may act altruistic causing bitterness for ourselves but securing the interest of another.

Desire for certain values
On a deeper level, Allah placed within us love for all that is good. He (swt) himself is the source of goodness thus, whatever good we love, it is ultimately love of Him as every goodness comes from Him (swt).
We also desire beauty, even if it does not benefit us; hearing of a village that is beautiful is interesting to us even if we never have nor will we ever visit it but simply hearing its beauty interests us.

Merits of knowledge
‘Say, “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” Only those who possess intellect take admonition.’¹⁵
Knowledge is valuable in itself and by its own merit, and when it is acted upon then it is even more valuable. However, we must prioritise useful knowledge above useless knowledge as our resources are limited and conflicts may arise from some knowledge.
‘O you who have faith! Do not ask about things which, if they are disclosed to you, will upset you. Yet if you ask about them while the Qur’an is being sent down, they shall be disclosed to you. Allah has excused it, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-forbearing.’¹⁶
Therefore, a person should not investigate every matter. However, we learn from this that we have an inherent curiosity to know even if that knowing does not secure an interest. Therefore, not all actions are motivated by self-interest.
I believe whenever we think of acting, we weigh the outcome and if it is beneficial then we are motivated to do it. However, with different people there are different drivers that motivate them; some are motivated for themselves, some for their families, some for their country but for a few, and anything which is related to human beings.

The Prophets
The Prophets of Allah (swt) were motivated by anything related to the creation of God; because they were the representatives of God. If Prophet Mohammed (s) would come to know of an orphan in a different part of the world suffering, he would suffer also. However, we are often representatives of Allah for our own family. This is not acceptable and we must try to reach the level of the Prophets.
There is a gap between us and the Hujjah (proof of Allah i.e. Imam Mahdi). If we wish to become closer to him, our attitude and mind set needs to become closer to him. He has a very broad vision and so should we. The more people we are concerned for, the closer we will be to him.

True worship and worshipfulness
I believe all humans have self-love and many scholars view this as the motivator for even selfless acts such as martyrdom, it is because martyrs sell their life for a greater success from God. A verse also mentions this;
‘Indeed Allah has bought from the faithful their souls and their possessions for paradise to be theirs: they fight in the way of Allah, kill, and are killed. A promise binding upon Him in the Torah and the Evangel and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his promise than Allah? So rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him, and that is the great success.’¹⁷
Imam Ali (as) also mentions the trade that happens between people and Allah;
‘They have accepted patiently sufferings and adversities in this mortal and transitory life for the sake of eternal bliss, which by the grace of God proved for them a very profitable transaction.’ ¹⁸
However, there are exceptions, those who do not make calculations about reward for their act. Such as Imam Husayn (as); he would not have thought about the reward of martyrdom. He knew who his Lord was. E.g. a child never worries about his food because he is certain his parents will provide, someone who recognises his Lord would also know that everything will be done in the best manner by his Lord. Therefore, it is possible to not be egoistic although it may be true only for a few people.
The meaning of being an ‘Abd (Slave) of Allah is that the slave is not concerned of what will happen to him because he is provided for by his master. His condition is completely reliant on his master. Likewise a slave of Allah (swt) knows that he has the best master that will provide him with the best, hence, he does not even need to consider or weigh rewards for motivation. An ‘Abd is completely defined by his master.

Conclusion
Therefore, we conclude that human beings can act and behave by being motivated by self-love, and love for other beings. They can also be motivated by good qualities and concepts such as beauty and knowledge.
Furthermore, all of these factors have their root in something even more fundamental. Whether we consider self-love, or the love for others and the love for qualities and concepts, we can trace the origin of each of these to our basic love for Khayr (goodness). Hence, an action can be good for one’s self, for another, or for goodness itself. And all of these are linked back to Khayr. This love for goodness is something placed in us by Allah (swt), and He is the source of absolute goodness (swt) is motivating him.

The teleological view, which is based on outcome, is not a circular argument because the spiritual goodness of the act is defined by the material or the ideological or religious goodness of the outcome. The outcome’s goodness is therefore defined outside morality by sciences such as philosophy, religion, ideology etc.
However there are different views regarding the definition of a good outcome:
1. Pleasure: Some teleological ethicists believe mere physical pleasure is a good outcome. This can possibly lead to hedonism.
Other scholars are more sophisticated. They believe a good outcome is a long term and spiritual pleasure such as that from knowledge, doing good to others, the life of the Hereafter etc. This view can have credibility because among our literature we have emphasis on Sa’adah (Felicity); a pleasure caused by knowledge of Allah and gaining nearness to him. Mullah Sadra being one great figure who emphasises on pleasure in his ethics, but the spiritual kind, not physical.
2. Welfare: Some teleological ethicists have argued that a good outcome is one which improves welfare; people’s living conditions. Therefore, the measure of goodness is based on the impact for welfare.
3. Self-realisation: Some argue that self-realisation is the good outcome. Every human has potentials, when an act causes us to develop towards actualising our potentials then that is a good act for a good outcome.
4. Nearness to Allah: Others define the goodness of an outcome based on the nearness to Allah (swt) it produces.

The complete human (Insan-e-kamil)
An important term in Islamic ethics is Insan-e-kamil (The complete human). This is sometimes translated as ‘the perfect human’ which causes confusion as humans cannot be absolutely perfect, that is only possible for Allah (swt). The complete human is one who has acquired all the virtues that are specific to humans and God and is free of moral vices.
Spiritually, those close to Allah (swt) have achieved these special virtues and as a result have experienced pleasures that few people experience. Some experiences we will never experience such as that of the Prophet (s). The complete human is therefore, one who has perfected his humanity. However, completion does not mean it’s the end of progress. It simply means that they have passed the line which would qualify them as such however, they may still improve. Much like a Mujtahid; he can also increase knowledge after Ijtihad but it just means he has achieved a renowned level of understanding. Similarly, a person who achieves a degree of complete humanity, he can be considered to be one of the complete humans.

Point of qualification as a complete human
What is the distinguisher between incompleteness and completeness? Once a person achieves all the good qualities that are unique to human beings, he is complete. Qualities that define humanity such as those that differentiates humans from animals. Hence if these qualities are made a part of him and it is active within him, such a person is complete.

Islamic view of humanity
Islam does not hold a negative view regarding humans, our nature and origin. E.g. whilst other religions see humans as a problematic and defective creation since the “fall” of Adam while Islam views humans as creations in the best of forms “We certainly created man in the best of forms”¹⁹ .
Islam explains that while there are issues in humans, it does not mean the design is faulty. In addition to honour humans Allah says he blew into them His spirit “So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of my spirit, then fall down in prostration before him.” ²⁰The value of humans are therefore of the utmost as Allah (swt) honours us by making us personal to him and in order to honour us he says “My spirit” and “I blew”. Then due to this honouring He (swt) commands the angels to prostrate to Adam. Therefore in Islam, the human origin is a blessed and honorary event, not one of shame and fault.
Therefore, since humanity is honorary in Islam and so is proximity to God, humans have no need to sacrifice one for the other. We can be both human and be close to God. In fact, these aren’t incompatible, rather both have the same meaning as it is only though being better humans that we can become closer to God. Therefore, when some philosophers of the west and their followers in the east claim that we must distance ourselves from God to improve our humanity, it is because they base their views on the Christian perspective. This means they are not applicable to Islam as in Islam everything is in harmony. Those that view humanity and attachment to God as incompatible neither serve humanity nor God; they are merely undermining our origin from goodness and our unique value that is there only because of our link to God.
A good simile of us is one of a radio. If it is disconnected and is unable to perform its essential function, it has not actualised its potential. Yes, we may take it to pieces and study its parts but ultimately the value of it is in its function. Similarly, humans are only able to actualise their humanity and their potential when connected to God, the source of our goodness. Our dead bodies may be studied and they are indeed a beautiful and intriguing creation, but our true value lies within our soul, who we really are; connected to God.
When we connect to Allah (swt), beautiful events occur, life becomes peaceful and sweet, revelations come down such as the Torah, the bible, the Quran. If only we based our views on God’s view, many conflicts wouldn’t occur as in God’s view, His creation is not faulty but rather it is all in harmony as He intends. In fact we humans are great signs of His love, mercy, goodness, wisdom and powers; through us some of His attributes become manifest. So when someone abuses humans or ridicules humanity, they are in reality at odds against God as we are His creation. If someone insults the best artwork of an artist, he has in fact insulted the artist. It is therefore, insulting to Allah to talk bad of people or to kill them. Those who preach that only Muslims are honourable are also insulting Allah as the Quran says “Certainly We have honoured the Children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, and provided them with all the good things, and given them an advantage over many of those We have created with a complete preference”²¹ . Similarly Imam Ali (as) said to Malik “Habituate your heart to mercy for the subjects and to affection and kindness for them. Do not stand over them like greedy beasts who feel it is enough to devour them, since they are of two kinds: either your brother in religion or one like you in creation.

Nearness to Allah
Undoubtedly qualities which make us more human also take us closer to Allah (swt). These qualities are loved by Allah and in fact many of the qualities Allah possesses can be shared with humans. We humans cannot however have some qualities that are exclusive to Allah such as Kibriyah (Greatness). If we try to seem great we will fall very low as we would be lowly creatures disputing with Allah over the robe of greatness; as a result we would only be arrogant. Therefore, the goodness of humans in only in humbleness. However, apart from such qualities we can share the others as a hadith also encourages us to “adopt the ethics of Allah”. Meaning we should strive to achieve qualities possessed by Allah to the extent that is possible. The more we achieve the closer we will be to him.
The Infallibles have told us “Do not claim lordship for us but other than that say about us whatever you wish”. We can never claim lordship for anyone. But when we speak about qualities such as generosity and wisdom then we believe that the Infallibles have these qualities, and that they derive them from Allah. Therefore, we cannot claim lordship for anyone however those who reflect the qualities of Allah the most, are the Infallibles, it is for this reason we can say whatever about them and it would be true except lordship as that is exclusive to Allah (swt).

Allah (swt) creates light, not darkness
Allah (swt) has never created anything that is totally dark. In fact, darkness is merely the absence of light. And everything created by Him has some degree of light, and He is the origin of this light.

‘Or like the manifold darkness in a deep sea, covered by billow upon billow, overcast by clouds, manifold [layers of] darkness, one on top of another: when he brings out his hand, he can hardly see it, and one whom Allah has not granted any light has no light.’ (Qur’an, 24:40)

The Infallibles are mirrors, and thus they are the signs of Allah as they reflect the light of Allah. Everything in the universe has the ability to reflect the light of Allah but according to their own capacities. Since it is humans who can best reflect the light of Allah, it is due to the birth of humans that Allah expresses himself as the best of creators. However, if the human progresses and becomes a complete human then it is something truly amazing and they will reflect Allah far more. Nevertheless they remain mirrors and do not have an independent value from God. This is why they do not become arrogant. They try to clear themselves of any dirt so they can continue to reflect His light, and polish themselves so they can perform what God wants of them, and speak as He wishes. They do not possess any kind of lordship, but they have amazing qualities and they reflect Allah. Hence, there is a very close relationship between the completion in one’s humanity and closeness to Allah (swt).

Nearness to Allah
There are two forms of nearness:
1. Arbitrary: Meaning nearness based on a subjective decision, not containing real changes or distinction. E.g. becoming closer to the President due to governmental position; no change in character is necessary with a change in closeness to a person in power.
2. Real: Meaning nearness based on a change in character. E.g. Nearness of a mother to her child; a special love exists within the mother making her emotionally connected to the child; a genuine change has occurred in a woman that she cares for her child, therefore she is emotionally close to him.
Regarding nearness to God; it is a real form of nearness, not an arbitrary one. It is not that Allah for no reason chooses to bestow a position upon someone. He chooses based on a distinction in character of the chosen. The Quran also states “Allah knows best where to place His apostleship” ²². Therefore, because the Quran says “Allah knows” it means knowledge is involved, if knowledge is involved in choosing His apostle, it means the appointment is not arbitrary but rather it is based on a real distinction.
In a philosophical view such as the transcendental philosophy of Mullah Sadra, nearness to Allah is a real nearness based on the principle of cause and effect. Since every effect is dependent on a cause to come into existence and continue existing. Therefore, Allah (swt) is close to us because He is the ultimate cause for existents existing.

Nearness to Allah in light of the Quran
Allah is the primary cause of everything and everything is dependent on Him for existing in every instance. This means that His connection to everything is utmost and therefore, He is closest to everything and Allah says in the Quran “Certainly We have created man and We know to what his soul tempts him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein”²³. He also says “O you who have faith! Answer Allah and the Apostle when he summons you to that which will give you life. Know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that toward Him you will be mustered.”²⁴ Also regarding death He says “So when it reaches the throat [of the dying person] and at that moment you are looking on, and We are nearer to him than you are, though you do not perceive.” ²⁵
This is because physical nearness, like that of onlookers around the dying person, isn’t real nearness in the sense that they do not know what goes through the person’s heart or mind but all his experiences originate from Allah and He knows He is the most aware and this is true closeness.
Now a question arises, how is it that we need to get closer to Allah but Allah is always closest to us? The answer is that closeness reciprocates in the physical realm, however the closeness which ethics is concerned with is a spiritual one. E.g. a teacher may be very close to a student because he has experienced what the student is going through, whereas the student has not experienced what the teacher has been through, therefore the teacher understands the student more; in this sense he is closer. Similarly, the love of a mother for the child is not always reciprocated by the child for the mother. Therefore, the love which ethics is concerned with is not a physical one which necessitates reciprocation of nearness, but rather a spiritual nearness based on love and knowledge. Therefore, in order to build the spiritual closeness to Allah (swt) we need to put effort in improving ourselves in whatever takes us closer to him.
It must be noted that nearness to Allah is possible but we cannot be with Allah. To say ‘with’ Allah implies greatness equalling him. Therefore, Allah can be with us, as a helper, but we cannot be with Allah because He is without equal; “The places of worship belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone along with Allah”²⁶ .
In conclusion, the nearness ethics is concerned with is not the physical or the philosophical nearness between cause and effect, rather it is the spiritual closeness.

Knowledge by presence (al-‘Ilm al-Hudhuri)
Another view regarding closeness to Allah (swt) is that it is based on knowledge and understanding of Him (Ma’rifah). Also what is meant by nearness here is the nearness of the soul with its main quality being knowledge. Therefore, our closeness to Him is determined by how much we know of Him. At the peak of knowledge of Him we can acquire knowledge by presence of Allah. At this point they do not require mental images or conceptions to understand Him, but rather they are aware of him directly and sense the presence of Allah; in addition they have immediate encounters due to their proximity to Him.

Our view
As an enhancement of the view ‘knowledge by presence’ we turn to the concept of nearness from the Quran. Firstly, we must understand that the Quran is utmost in precision and wisdom. Therefore, all of it is guidance, including the sequences of words, tones, repetition etc. Secondly, although stories of the Pharaoh of Egypt is narrated, we must bear in mind that it is Allah who is narrating and He does so in the best manner to guide us using the events. So the concept of closeness is nicely taught to us using the Pharaoh’s story:
When Pharaoh summoned the magicians to match them against Moses (as), prior to the meeting with Moses, the magicians approached the Pharaoh to negotiate a reward for their service: “And the magicians came to Pharaoh. They said, “’We shall indeed have a reward if we are to be the victors?’” ²⁷. By posing the question as if they were in doubt about winning by saying “If we are to be the victors” they either truly doubted winning or they were causing a panic in Pharaoh through doubt. As a result the Pharaoh replied “He said, ‘Yes, and, [moreover], you will be among those made near [to me]’”²⁸ . The Pharaoh offers them not only recompense for their service but in addition he offers them nearness to himself. Allah, by narrating in such a manner, shows us that the lower form of reward is recompense but the higher form of reward is closeness. This is because normal workers receive recompense for their services, but those who are near have a special position, they get access to all the resources without measure.
Hence a near one to Pharaoh has the following special benefits in addition to recompense:
1. He can meet the Pharaoh easily, almost as a right.
2. He can know the Pharaoh’s secrets and attend special meetings due to his proven loyalty.
3. He has a share in whatever the Pharaoh possesses. His needs are covered by the treasury and there’s accounting by fixed payments.
4. He can ask the Pharaoh for special favours.
5. Due to his nearness, he will have more powers bestowed from the Pharaoh and so people will respect his authority.
6. He will be known by people as someone near to the Pharaoh and so people will try to get close to him for intercession in front of the Pharaoh.

Similarly, a near one to Allah also has special benefits in addition to recompense, and Allah has no equals.
1. He can meet God easily, as soon as he seeks God he will find God with him.
2. He can know some secrets from God.
3. He will be given powers due to his trustworthiness.
4. His requests in supplications are heard they are not blocked.
5. He will have authority from Allah and the believers will respect that and will follow him.
6. He will be insured by Allah and be known among people as someone near to Allah. Thereby, he will not need to worry at all about himself but people will seek him for salvation and intercession in front of Allah.
These are the rewards of those who achieve nearness to Allah by proving their love and loyalty to him.

The narration regarding nearness to Allah through recommended acts (Hadith-e-Qurb-e-Nawafil)
“None of My servants attain nearness to Me with anything that I love, more than obligatory (Wajib) acts. Then My servant constantly comes closer and closer to me by doing recommended acts until I love him. Then when I love him I become his ears by which he hears, and his eyes by which he sees, and his tongue by which he articulates, and his hand by which he grasps; if he calls Me I answer him, and if he asks Me I give him”
By performing obligatory acts, a person builds a solid foundation for nearness and they may be closer to Allah but nearness is achieved only by acts which are recommended as these are totally voluntary. Therefore, only those who perform these recommended acts would continuously become closer and closer until they reach a point where Allah now loves them, at this point they have attained nearness. It is a point where the quantity of his acts result in an improvement of the quality in his character.
The narration says “Until I love him”. A question arises; does Allah not love everyone? Allah indeed loves everyone but He does not love the vice and unrighteous qualities within us. Therefore, while his love comes with reservation for many of us, for a few who attain nearness, they are loved wholly by Allah because they have rid themselves of all vice and are righteous. However, for the many, Allah’s love for us is reserved based on the amount of vice within us. However, for some very evil individuals who have become personifications of vice, they have more reservations than good traits; such as the son of Prophet Noah “Said He, “’O Noah! Indeed He is not of your family. Indeed he is [personification of] unrighteous conduct. So do not ask Me [something] of which you have no knowledge. I advise you lest you should be among the ignorant.’”²⁹

Nearness to Allah
We also discussed that nearness is not meant as a physical or a philosophical one in Islamic ethics. Rather it means the betterment of a person in his qualities; this is therefore different to arbitrary promotions as they do not require a certain change in a person’s ethical qualities. Whereas, to achieve nearness means a real change has occurred within the person.

Spiritual nearness
Of course, Allah is close to everyone in the philosophical sense; He is the cause and we are the effect, thereby we are always connected. However, in ethics, we are concerned about spiritual nearness only; not physical nor philosophical.
“And He is with you wherever you may be” ³⁰. Allah can be ‘with’ us but we cannot be with Allah. Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi relates the nearness of the human soul to Allah with the concept of ‘knowledge by presence’ (al-ilm al-hudhuri). He states that the main quality of the soul is knowledge, therefore, a person is near to Allah when he possesses knowledge by presence.
Knowledge by presence is when a person knows something without mental imagination or conception, there is no room for conception because everything is known. Contrary to the standard form of knowledge that is ‘gained knowledge’ (al-ilm al-husuli) through study and conception.

The notion of nearness in the Quran
The Quran uses the term ‘near ones’ several times and twice in the story of the magicians conversing with the Pharaoh “He said, ‘Of course! And indeed you shall be among those near [to me]’”³¹ . The Pharaoh promised them reward yet far greater to it, they were promised nearness to Pharaoh.

Advantage of near ones
We learnt from the story of Pharaoh and the magicians that the near ones have several exceptional benefits:
1. They are given freely, not paid in restricted wages; “Soon your Lord will give you [that with which] you will be pleased.”³²
2. They are rewarded for who they are, not what they have done.
3. They can easily access the Lord and speak with him. For a person of high position and fame, his time is more important than his money; hence he may generously distribute wealth among people, yet the wise ones would seek an audience with him.
4. Like the slave of Sultan Mahmood, a near one is more concerned with his Lord rather than wealth and reward. He does not love his Lord for reward, instead he loves his Lord for Himself.
Often we are misled by Satan against Allah (swt) because we feel entitled to reward and expect God’s love to only manifest in ease and rewards for us. Since we have this conditional love, Satan knows and so he uses it against us to make us rebellious against God because He may not have met our condition in our love that is material wealth and comfort.
5. A near one can intercede for others due to his special access. A wise person understands that the position of nearness to Allah is more important than rewards. He would hesitate to ask for himself but would ask for others. Yet Allah does not forget his near servants as He is aware of all beings.
6. A near one is trusted with secrets. Allah shares some special knowledge with near ones but not with common people.

How can we become a near one to Allah?
Every good that we do takes us closer to Allah. However, there must be a point at which we reach the distinct level of a ‘near’ one. Even then, being near does not signify the end of a journey because we can always get nearer and so it is said even about the Prophet in a supplication ‘[O Allah] accept his intercession and raise his rank.’ The other Prophets, they were all near to Allah yet some were higher in rank than others.
The significant point at which we would be distinguished as near to Allah is when we are loved by Allah unconditionally. Although He loves all human beings, He loves them but not their moral deficiencies; therefore we are not loved wholesome because we have moral problems that need fixing. However, because the near ones have no moral vice or deficiencies left, they are wholly good and therefore, there is nothing in them not to love and as a result Allah loves them fully. This is the position of a near one.
It is narrated from Imam Baqir (as): “Allah the Glorious and Majestic said: “My servant does not get close to me by anything that I love more than that which I have made obligatory on him. Thereafter, surely he continues to get closer to Me through recommended acts until I love him. And once I love him I become his ears by which he hears, and his vision by which he sees, and his tongue by which he articulates, and his hands by which he grasps. If he calls I answer him, and if he asks I grant him.”³³
The word used to denote recommended acts is ‘Nawafil’, which is the plural of ‘Nafilah’. Nafilah literally means ‘extra’. One cannot prove one’s love for Allah by the performance of Wajib duties. This is because those that are simply afraid of Allah’s punishments also perform their Wājibāt. Rather, something that is not obligatory proves a person’s love.
As a result Allah becomes his ears, vision, tongue and hands. This is to express the deep connection that is established and shows the complete servitude of the servant however, Allah becomes his eyes and ears etc. because Allah reciprocates our servitude and grants us what we ask of him because we have given what He asked of us.
Prophet Isa (AS) has been described as a near one in the Quran “[And mention] when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary – distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ].”³⁴ The Quran also says “Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah”³⁵ . Therefore, a near one would have no hesitation in being a servant of Allah. A servant (al-abd) is different from a worshipper (al-Abid). A servant has attained the quality of servitude to Allah whereas a worshipper is one who performs the act of worshipping. A servant has surpassed that stage and his entire living in service and worship of Allah.
Therefore, the way to achieve nearness is through a constant and sustained practice of goodness that would eventually result in our purification from moral vices and deficiencies and thereby take us near to Allah.

The Righteous (al-Salihin)
The righteous ones are a very lofty and select group that is accessible through doing good acts as we have in a supplication “[O Allah] join me with the righteous ones!” They are not known as righteous due to actions but rather because they embody righteousness. To reach this stage one must perform righteousness until it becomes our personality and this point when we embody righteousness, we would be considered beloved by Allah (swt).

Nearness produces substantial change
By performing good deeds, we become closer to Allah. This includes all good deeds including those such as worship or remembrance of Allah. This gradual change must continue until we notice differences.
For most people, they perform good actions but they lack consistency and so they may also sin besides doing good. Thereby, the progress is hampered by sins. However, if we do only good, steadily and gradually, we will notice some change after some time.
According to the narration on nearness by voluntary acts, this point of substantial change is termed as becoming the beloved of Allah, unconditionally. Although there is always room for improvement beyond this point. Indeed, a person who has kept piety for 50 years continuously is not equal to someone who has just began; the former’s soul has had more time to nourish than the latter.
Once this nearness is achieved, he is accompanied by Allah as his eyes and ears. In another narration Allah says “When he [My servant] loves me, I love him”³⁶ . In the previous narration regarding nearness, Allah’s love is conditional on performance of obligatory and recommended acts. Based on both of these narrations, a person who loves Allah and is beloved by Allah is one who performs obligatory and recommended acts; it does not make sense for someone to have love for Allah but disobey Him or not seek His pleasure. Regarding recommended acts, it may not be necessary to do all, but at least some acts must be performed.

Seeing the glory and beauty of Allah
The narration of nearness by recommended acts continues; “I open the eyes of his heart to My glory.” If a person sees the glory of Allah then they would become disinterested in everything else. This is what some mystics mean when they refer to this state as drunkenness. It is not a state like normal drunkenness where a person’s intellect is diminished, rather it simply makes the person humble, selfless and completely aware and intellectually sound.

Forgetting oneself and ones problems
Hence, someone overawed by the beauty of Allah would forget himself and his problems that originate from selfishness. “Love for Allah is a fire; it does not pass by anything except it scorches it.” When a thing is burnt, there remain no impurity. Feeling the love of Allah is so powerful that the person exposed would completely submit. This seeing not a physical one, hence it does not concern the eyes.

Allah’s secrets
The narration continues “I will not hide from Him that [secret] which is for the selected ones of my creation.” The beloved of Allah are so trustworthy that Allah entrusts them with knowledge that would otherwise be harmful for them and for others. However, the beloved has grown in capacity and trustworthiness that he can handle the secrets.

Allah’s special communication
The narration continues “And I whisper to him in the darkness of the night and the brightness of the day.” The word used is ‘Munajat’ meaning an intimate, personal and secretive communication. Allah whispers to His beloved day and night. The narration continues to say that this whispering continues “Until his conversations with others stops.” When the beloved speaks with Allah, all other conversations become dull and so he will lose interest in them. Also as a result “His interactions with others will stop.” No one else will be able to give him what he experiences with Allah, he will be so immersed that he will naturally keep his other interactions to a minimum.
The beloved would still be an active member of society, in fact all of his relationships will magnify in quality. Therefore, Islamic ethics nor Islam as a whole, does not encourage monasticism, in fact it encourages being socially active but in a moral way. Therefore, we can judge how near we are to Allah by our behaviour; by how quickly we want to leave Allah.
The narration continues “I make him hear my speech and the speech of my angels.” The angels speak to the believers as the Quran says “Indeed those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah!’ and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them, [saying,] ‘Do not fear, nor be grieved! Receive the good news of the paradise which you have been promised.’”³⁷ However, every believer does not hear it.
The narration continues “And I make known to him the secret that I have hidden from my other creatures. And I clothe him with awe until the creatures, all of them, feel overawed by him. And he walks on the ground whilst [in a state that] he is forgiven.” Two people walk on the earth yet the believer is welcomed by all beings even the floor he steps on whereas all beings become displeased at the sight of a disobedient rebel against Allah; he can even be cursed by what we deem as non-living beings.

Becoming seeing
The narration continues “And I will make his heart understanding and seeing (Basir) and I will not hide anything from him of heaven or hell.”³⁸ Such a servant will be able to see hell and heaven as the Quran also says “No indeed! Were you to know with certain knowledge, you would surely see hell.” This confirms the narration about nearness in regards to the near ones having special knowledge from Allah. A knowledge which is by presence, not acquired through mental conception.
Allah says in another narration “My servant! Obey me, and I will make you like me. I am ever-living and I will never die, I will make you live without dying. I am rich and never face poverty, I will make you rich and never poor. Whenever I want something I say “be” and it is, I will make you able to say “be” and it will become.” Allah grants these obedient servants characteristics and powers that Allah has; such that when they say ‘Be!’ a being will be so; among the qualities of those in heaven is this “Therein [heaven] will be whatever the souls desire and eyes delight in.”³⁹ However, this power is given to some believers even in this world. They do not use this gift to be lazy but they are people like Imam Ali (as) who would work the hardest but he could command anything he wanted to ‘be’ and it would have been. This strong will power is given to those whom Allah knows won’t misuse it.

A new life (Hayat Tayyibah)
The Quran tells us about a new life, which is the ideal end result if we follow Islamic ethics. “Whoever acts righteously, [whether] male or female, should he be faithful, We shall revive him with a good life and pay them their reward by the best of what they used to do.”⁴⁰ The conditions mentioned for achieving this new life are faith (Iman) and righteous acts. The verse uses a singular word for righteous deeds. This does not mean they only need to perform one righteous act, rather it means he is always in the state of performing only what is righteous. As a result they are rewarded by the best of what they did.
Allah invites, and the invitation is brought by Prophet Muhammad (S), and the invitation is towards life. This does not refer to a physical life, as we have already been given this without it being offered to us as a choice. If a person accepts the invitation then they qualify for this ‘life’, and if they reject the invitation then they deprive themselves and are ultimately responsible.

Conclusion
Those who reject the invitation towards spiritual vitality will have no experience of the new life and so they may not even realise the lack of it. They will feel they have problems, without knowing the root cause. They will have a lack of contentment in life with stress. Their thirst for money and pleasures will only deepen as they attempt to satiate it however, nothing will ever satisfy them.
However, a person that possesses the new life will not have fear or grief; “Look! The friends of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve.”⁴¹ He will have tranquillity and understand what others do not. If Allah is your senses then you would know the root cause of problems and you would know how people are, what they reveal and conceal. This way of life is the final objective of Islamic ethics and can be achieved in this world. It is not a fundamental quality of this world for us to suffer, if we follow Islamic ethics, we can build our heaven here which would extend into the hereafter.

A technical point
There are two forms of sentences:
1. Informative (Ikhbar): Where a sentence merely declares information that is susceptible to judgement. Such as “Prayers are good”.
2. Creative (Insha’): Where a sentence is not objectively declaring information but rather it creates a meaning such as commands; “Pray!”

Moral judgements; reality or arbitrary?
So, are moral judgements statements of information about a reality or are they creative sentences making labels of morality arbitrarily? Is morality a result of reality and hence moral statements are declarations of reality? Or is morality arbitrary and created by us?
Some scholars, including some western moral philosophers, believe that there is no absolute truth behind moral judgements and so we give moral labels arbitrarily. An example is emotivism; the idea that people express what they feel and so because they feel justice is good therefore, it is good and if they consider something evil, it is because that’s how they feel.

Another view
Other scholars believe there is a reality to ethical judgements. Even if we differ in the form of expressing the reality, what is being expressed is the same; for example, to say “Truthfulness is good” and “Say the truth” are different forms of sentences, the former being informative and susceptible to judgement whereas the latter is a command and hence creative. Either way, both are expressing the same reality that truthfulness is good and therefore, we must tell the truth.

Ethics is based on reality
Hence, commands and prohibitions are used interchangeably because they express fundamental realities, not because there is no reality behind it. Sometimes it is better to command rather than inform in order to further stress the importance of an action. E.g. if we tell a child “Politeness is good” they may not become more polite, however if we say “Be polite” it may have more of an effect.
Allah (swt) therefore uses informative and creative sentences to express different realities and there due importance. In some verses He directly forbids or enjoins; “Indeed Allah enjoins justice and kindness and generosity towards relatives, and He forbids indecency, wrong, and aggression. He advises you, so that you may take admonition”⁴²
. In other verses He simply states information such as “Allah loves those who act justly.”⁴³
Yet in both cases it means that we are commanded to be just and that justice is good.
I consider the difference in expression to be based upon how serious we are to take the message. When the message is serious, a command is used, because sometimes no matter how much gentle statements are employed, people may not take the message as it should be taken.

Allah’s statements are based on love
He issues commands out of His love for us. E.g. a beloved parent may try encouraging his/her child by saying “It is good to study” yet in case the child does not heed the enjoinment he may then command; “My beloved child, study!” the command is due to the love, because the parent knows what is good and he/she cares for the child and hence they will not be indifferent to the child’s wellbeing and future. If a person does not enjoin good nor forbids others from evil, it means either they are in doubt about the goodness of that matter or they do not love others; because loving others and knowing what is right necessitates we inform them or even command them if we have a special position in their hearts.Therefore, the enjoinment of good or forbidding from evil is a symbol of Allah’s love. He uses His special position to motivate us more to do what is good for us and avoid what is bad for us.
Therefore, the difference in expression means there is a reality based on which we are commanded or informed. Hence justice is good absolutely, even if humans do not exist.

Religion is the search for truth
Islamic ethics helps us to achieve nearness to Allah and the completion of our humanity. Through it we must identify which actions are good. This can be done using our own understanding and through our literature such as the Quran and narrations, in the forms of statements or commands; all of which are based on reality.
Religious teachings are not arbitrary, they are based on reality. We, mostly, know what is good and we do most of our duties naturally. However, religion is there to further teach and advise us thereby clarifying what we are naturally in agreement with. If we had the same knowledge as the doctor, we would conclude like the doctor; similarly, if we knew what Allah knows then we would be in complete submission. Our problems are therefore rooted in ignorance and injustice.
“Indeed We presented the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were apprehensive of it; but man undertook it. Indeed he is most unfair and senseless.”⁴⁴

Conclusion
When someone submits to truth, his problems vanish. The Prophet (s) did so and Allah gave him knowledge. This opportunity was available to all, but the Prophet was the one to take it and as a result he was elevated in knowledge and became the ambassador for Allah to guide other people by sharing the truth.
Now, the Prophet tells us that he can do for us what Allah did with him. He invites us to learn from his teachings and as a result become closer to Allah, Who will teach us what others do not know, and then we can guide others. “Be wary of Allah and Allah shall teach you.”⁴⁵ We cannot be prophets but we can become messengers for the Prophet. We must always be concerned with finding truth and reality as we do believe in an absolute truth and reality. However, if a person does not follow the path of truth then he will become confused, his problems will increase and he will never find tranquillity.
Islam as a whole is based on truth and reality. When we discover it and we love others then we must teach it to others. If we do not practice by it ourselves then we are cheating ourselves; “O you who have faith! Why do you say what you do not do?”⁴⁶ Those who do not share the truth, are either in doubt or they do not love others.
In order to guide others we must do it based on love; our motivation must be that we love them and so we want to guide them because we want what is best for them. When a person is beloved, the lover listens and is heavily influenced by the beloved. Friends who are a bad influence are so because they are seen as a caring friend, albeit mistakenly, as a result they can influence the other. If we wish to influence others, we must first show our love for them.

Islamic ethics
In Islamic ethics there exists several approaches:
1. Philosophical: Virtues and vices are listed according to the faculties of the soul i.e. reason, anger and appetites.
2. Mystical: virtues are hierarchal as stations which must be traversed one after the other. There are approximately 50 stations.
3. Other: virtues are listed but not in an organised structure.
In my opinion, Islamic ethics can be best presented in a structure of two major levels and their divisions into smaller sub-levels. One major level is compact and the other is expanded. The Quran describes itself as having such two levels; “Alif, Lam Ra. [This is] a Book, whose signs have been made definitive and then elaborated, from One [who is] all-wise, all-aware.” ⁴⁷Furthermore, there are two forms of Quranic revelation; a gradual one expanding over 23 years and a compact and instantaneous one.

One fundamental virtue
In my opinion, one virtue is the core of all Islamic virtues. All other virtues originate from it. Therefore, it would be easier to become virtuous by focusing on this core virtue that would cause the emergence of all other virtues within us.

The significance of truthfulness (Sidq) in Islamic narrations
“Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) was asked by Abi Malik ‘Inform me of all the rituals and practices of religion.’ The Imam responded “Speaking truth, judging according to justice, and keeping promises.’”⁴⁸
Abi Malik was seeking the totality of religion and from the answer we can understand that that if a person possesses these three virtues then they will naturally practice other virtues.
“Imam Sadiq said: ‘Allah has not appointed any prophet except so that [people should observe] truth in speech and deliver trusts.’”⁴⁹ These two qualities have been part of the fundamental teachings of the Prophets and their successors.
In another narration, Imam Sadiq states “Don’t be deceived by their prayers or by their fasting. Surely a person sometimes has prayed and fasted and it has become a habit, and therefore, if he does not do it he will feel bad. Rather, test them at the [challenging] time of telling the truth or delivering the trust.”⁵⁰ Although these rituals acts are important, if they do not originate from truth and trustworthiness then they are forms without content. The measure of actions is whether they are performed with truthfulness.
The Imam also said “Whoever possesses a truthful tongue, his actions are pure.” This means that truthfulness affects other actions and things that we do. A person who must always tell the truth would not want to truthfully report himself for a mischief nor be known as mischievous, as a result they will avoid mischief.
Other narrations report The Imam said “Surely, [Imam] Ali (as) did not get to that position with the Prophet of Allah except by speaking truth and delivering trusts”⁵¹ . Also, “Do not look at the lengthy Ruku’ or Sajdah of a person for this is something to which he is accustomed, if he stops doing that he will feel very lonely; but look at his truthfulness in his speech and his trustworthiness in discharging trusts”⁵²
.
Based on the aforementioned narrations, truthfulness and trustworthiness are presented as the utmost important virtue of a believer. To such an extent that the Prophets’ and their successors’ missions and positions are summarised by it; thereby making it the core of religion.

The significance of truthfulness (Sidq) in the Quran
“O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and be with the Truthful.”⁵³ It is expected of every believer to be truthful. Whereas the Quran here alludes that we cannot be of “the Truthful” thereby signalling that this group is special and we can only ‘be’ with them. Commentators say that “the Truthful” must be infallibles as Allah would not ask us to be with fallible humans. Therefore, the Truthful must be a group who are purely truthful; meaning infallible.
“Allah will say, ‘This day truthfulness shall benefit the truthful. For them there will be gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them forever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is the great success.’”⁵⁴
Here, when Allah is declaring the success of the truthful as ‘great’ then it is truly great.
The main and most fundamental virtue is truthfulness, and all other good deeds follow on as an effect of truthfulness. Such people remain steadfast on the path of truth and are rewarded with martyrdom simply because of how truthfully they lived.

Hypocrisy (Nifaq)
“That Allah may reward the true for their truthfulness, and punish the hypocrites, if He wishes, or accept their repentance. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.”⁵⁵ Hypocrisy is worse than disbelief because a disbeliever may not have found the truth but a hypocrite is knowingly dishonest with himself and hides his true nature. They are far more dangerous than apparent enemies because they pose as friends, near to believers whereas apparent enemies are clear and distant. The Prophet (s) suffered far more at the hands of hypocrites posing as Muslims in Medina than he did from the apparent enemies far away in Mecca. And so the Quran states “Indeed the hypocrites will be in the lowest reach of the Fire, and you will never find any helper for them.”⁵⁶
In the supplication of al-Iftitah we read “[O Allah! With the government of Imam Mahdi] you will degrade hypocrisy and the people of hypocrisy.” Therefore, contrary to truthfulness, hypocrisy is the main vice because when guidance comes, disbelief vanishes but hypocrisy becomes hidden.

Conclusion
These verses of the Quran are in conformation of the narrations regarding the importance of truthfulness. Therefore, in Islamic ethics, the main virtue of a believer, core to all else, is truthfulness. Whereas the main vice is the opposite of truthfulness; namely hypocrisy (Nifaq). A person’s honour is in commitment to the truth, but if he puts himself at a point where he prioritises himself above the truth then he will damage and deprive himself from that real source of virtues and honour; that is truthfulness.

Haqq
Haqq means absolute reality. Its opposite is Batil which means anything other than reality; a void. There is a confusion in regards to the translation of Haqq into English because it is a word which can be a noun or an adjective; therefore Haqq has several literal translations into English.
The Quran is a book like no other because all other books are based on human knowledge that is limited. Whereas the Quran is based on the wisdom of the all-wise. It is a book which cannot be finished nor fully researched, its teachings are never-ending. Haqq is a fundamental concept in the Quran as it describes God as ‘the reality’ (Al-Haqq) ⁵⁷. His authority is based on this concept as the Quran also says “That is because Allah is the Reality, and what they invoke besides Him is nullity, and because Allah is the All-exalted, the All-great”⁵⁸
. Allah says in the Quran, “what they invoke besides Him is nullity (Al-Batil)” to show that the reason for His authority is that He is the only reality and anything other than Him has no reality behind it; much like the pagan god made of dates among the pre-Islam Arabs.
Therefore, Allah is not to be worshipped arbitrarily, rather He is the reality that anyone must commit to because besides Him there is only void. No sane human would choose to commit to a mere imagination with no reality, whereas we all understand that it is only rational to commit to a reality. Therefore, worship is only possible for a reality that is existent and Allah is the only reality. Commitment and worship is only possible for something real, so it has no meaning to be committed to other than Allah because commitment to void is no commitment at all; in reality.

Avoiding commitment and sacrifice
If some people choose to ignore the truth, it does not necessarily mean they do not love the truth. It may mean they do not want commitment to the truth; where they have to live by laws and pay the costs of faith by foregoing some of their comforts or habits.
Commitment to Al-Haqq (The truth and reality) requires a person to be truthful. Telling the truth is harmful for some in their worldly life. In a world where communication is possible only due to most people being truthful, some cheaters take advantage and lie their way to worldly gains. Their worth is below what they lie for because their worth is equivalent to their commitment to the truth. If someone lies for £10, their worth is £9.99p because at £10, they sold the truth and their commitment to reality.
Imam Husayn (AS) said “people are slaves of this world, and religion is just something on their tongues. When they are exposed to some difficulty, the religious ones are very few”.
“That, then, is Allah, your true Lord. So what is there after the truth except error? Then where are you being led away?”⁵⁹

Guidance and misguidance
If we opt for other than Haqq (Reality), then the result is misguidance. Any diversion away from reality is a diversion towards Batil (Void) and those who are seeking void are upon the path of misguidance (Dhalalah). Whereas those seeking Haqq are on the path of guidance (Hidayah).
A person may be misguided due to ignorance, as they may not recognise Haqq (Reality). It is also possible that the reality (Haqq) may be unclear due to our spiritual condition and worldly distractions. All of which would vanish after death; “On that day Allah will pay them in full their due recompense, and they shall know that Allah is the Manifest Reality”⁶⁰
. At death the veils blurring reality for us would be lifted; “you were certainly oblivious of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today”⁶¹ .
However, for those who are near to Allah, the veils do not have an effect as their certainty is not affected by them due to their detachment from worldly life as Imam Ali (as) says “Were the veils to be removed [from me] it would not increase me in any certainty”. Similarly Imam Husayn (as) says in his Dua Arafah “Since when were you absent that you require a proof”. That is because such near ones have knowledge by presence whereas we are at the stage of gaining knowledge. Although they are an exception to the norm.
For the majority of us, Allah would be the “manifest” reality after death. However, believing in Allah in the next world, when it is obvious that is the reality has no merit because there is no other choice but to accept that which is manifest. It is the element of being tested and our exercising of our free will that is valuable upon success. This is why Allah does not make Himself fully clear nor directly manifest. This is why ambiguity has been incorporated in the Quran to show us which of us have problems in our hearts. Hence, in order to be distinguished as a believer there must be some sort of epistemological distance between us and the truth.

Allah has created bil-Haqq (According to Haqq)

“It is He who created the heavens and the earth with reason, and the day He says [to something], ‘Be!’ it is. His word is the truth, and to Him belongs all sovereignty on the day when the Trumpet will be blown. Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, He is the All-wise, the All-aware”⁶².
By creating everything “with reason” (Bil-Haqq) it means Haqq (Reality) is the condition in which it is created. This simile may help in explanation; a knowledgeable scholar writes a paper using his knowledge. He has therefore written with knowledge (Bil-Ilm); in a commitment to knowledge. Whereas, others may write by ignorance. Similarly, when Allah is the reality, what He creates must be in commitment to reality, it cannot be in vain or for void; hence nothing is made in commitment to falsehood.

Allah has created bil-Haqq
The Quran says that Allah is the reality (al-Haqq) and He creates according to the reality (bil-Haqq); “It is He who created the heavens and the earth with reason”⁶³ . As a result, there is no disorder in His creation because nothing is created based on a void as everything is created within reality; there is nothing arbitrary about the creation. Therefore, the meaning of being created according to the reality is that everything is perfect; the design, purpose and function of creation.

The religion of truth
Allah says “It is He who has sent His Apostle with the guidance and the religion of truth”. The term in Arabic is Din al-Haqq; meaning a path which leads to al-Haqq (the reality). It is also with “the guidance” because it guides towards the reality that is Allah. Therefore, Dhalal (misguided) is a term applicable only to someone who is actively searching, not a stationary person, but is lost.
The verse also says “That He may make it [the religion of truth] prevail over all religions”.⁶⁴ This shows that the religion of truth will overcome all other religions because everything else is Batil (hollow and based on void). Hence it is not that victory is for one religion over others, rather it means the end victory will be for the reality.
Someone who does not appreciate the superiority of Haqq over Batil, could become demoralised in his struggle or even change sides under pressure when faced against falsehood because Batil can be overwhelming in appearance but in reality it is hollow and based on void, it is bound to perish.

The nature of Batil
The Quran states that Batil cannot survive; Allah (SWT) compares Batil to the foam formed over flood water⁶⁵ , it can cover the water and seem overwhelming; however it eventually disappears and what is left is the water.
The verse also shows Batil is dependent on reality to exist although it is void and at odds with reality. Similarly, deviation follows guidance; where some people are guided and submit to the truth, others reject it and are opposed to it and hence they dispute over religion to safeguard their illegitimate interests. Even before guidance came to mankind, we disputed among each other. After guidance, we continued to dispute but now over the guidance.

Haqq is beneficial
A distinction of Haqq is that it is beneficial to people as the verse says “And that which profits the people remains in the earth”⁶⁶ . Therefore, Haqq intrinsically benefits people. Whether our efforts are Haqq is defined by how useful it is to people.
However, some people take a pragmatic approach to truth, to define it solely based on what works; we do not support this view as we believe that truth is an independent reality; a person achieves it when his statements are in accordance to reality. Hence in Islamic ethics, we must discover the truth and mould ourselves to it.

Wider implication of bil-Haqq
Bil-Haqq does not mean to boldly tell the truth. We must be considerate not to cause harm by it. Therefore, the method of delivery must also be bil-Haqq as it must be beneficial to people. This shows the immense love Allah has for mankind; by defining Haqq as something beneficial to us. Islam very much honours all people; “You are the best nation [ever] brought forth for mankind: you bid what is right and forbid what is wrong, and have faith in Allah. And if the People of the Book had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them [some] are faithful, but most of them are transgressors”⁶⁷ The verse does not promote the superiority of Muslims over non-Muslims. In Islam, there are no chosen groups of people above others. Rather the verse says “for mankind” not ‘over’ mankind. Meaning we are best for the benefit of other people.
Another verse concerning the establishment of truth⁶⁸
; why must truth be established? It must be established because truth can be distorted, covered, ignored or denied. Therefore, it is natural to propagate for truth and naturally no human can be opposed to it. Although “Though the guilty should be averse”⁶⁹ .
We often imagine Kuffar are those who wish to oppose the truth. Allamah Tabataba’i clarifies that the Quran mostly means al-Kufr al-Juhud by mentioning Kufr; meaning those who deliberately reject the truth. Therefore, it is not correct to say that every non-Muslim is a Kafir in this sense.

Conclusion
Batil cannot survive in this world as this world is created according to Haqq, making it intrinsically opposed to Batil. However, we can become attuned to Batil such that we would only feel comfortable in Batil. Our intellectual worship is therefore to find this truth and attune ourselves to it so, that we can reflect the truth and others are reminded of it by us.
In addition it is also important to maintain close ties with other servants of truth so that we can diversify and multiply our reflection of the truth in a larger scale; as a society. In fact some truths such as social ones can only be reflected in partnership with others. This is why it is important to form excellent communities dedicated to truth and Allah also says “O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and be with the Truthful”⁷⁰ . Whilst piety and God-consciousness is extremely important, Allah commands that in order to achieve proper Taqwa we must join the truthful ones, and thereby we will be able to form a collective conscience in service of truth.

Batil can never endure
The Quran says:
“And say, ‘The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed falsehood is bound to vanish.’”⁷¹
“Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes its head, and behold, falsehood vanishes! And woe to you for what you allege [about Allah].”⁷²
These verses show us that Batil (Falsehood) is bound to vanish, it cannot stay on the earth for long. Also, Allah uses truth to vanquish the heads of falsehood and that’s how it vanishes.
“It is He who has sent His Apostle with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may make it prevail over all religions, though the polytheists should be averse”⁷³
Remember, this verse indicates that religion is serving the truth, not “true religion” as it is sometimes mistakenly translated.

The entirety of religion is based on Haqq and reflects Haqq
The Quran says:
“Indeed We have sent you with the truth, as a bearer of good news and as a warner, and you will not be questioned concerning the inmates of hell”⁷⁴
“That is so because Allah has sent down the Book with the truth, and those who differ about the Book are surely in extreme defiance”⁷⁵
“He has sent down to you the Book with the truth confirming what was [revealed] before it”⁷⁶
“Say, the Holy Spirit has brought it down duly from your Lord to fortify those who have faith and as a guidance and good news for the Muslims”⁷⁷
“It is indeed the speech of a noble apostle, and it is not the speech of a poet. Little is the faith that you have! Nor is it the speech of a soothsayer. Little is the admonition that you take! Gradually sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. Had he faked any sayings in Our name, We would have surely seized him by the right hand and then cut off his aorta, and none of you could have held Us off from him”⁷⁸
All of these verses indicate that the Quran was revealed in a wholly truthful process, starting from Al-Haqq (the absolute truth) that is Allah (swt), down to the Holy spirit who is also bil-Haqq (with the truth) and then the noble Prophet (s) who was known as a noble and truthful person, also being infallible, but in addition Allah shows how strictly He protects the truth by threatening even His most beloved Prophet in such a strict manner by saying
“We would have surely seized him by the right hand and then cut off his aorta, and none of you could have held Us off from him”⁷⁹
If the Prophet had even faked anything in Allah’s name.
Allah also threatens those who would make up lies about Him with a “humiliating punishment”⁸⁰ . We must take heed and remember to not say anything untrue about Allah. If we don’t know, we must admit our ignorance; not try to bluff an answer.

People may not treat Islam as a truth
Although until the noble Prophet (s) the message has come down in truth; however once it is delivered to the masses, people react differently. While some accept the truth, others are averse to it in different ways:
1. They may knowingly reject the truth; “They impugned them, though they were convinced in their hearts, wrongfully and defiantly. So observe how the fate of the agents of corruption was!”⁸¹
2. People do not expressly reject the truth, but they use unnecessary doubts to keep aloof from the truth. This is a sign of not wanting to commit to the responsibilities that come with knowing the truth and accepting it. “This is the truth from your Lord; so do not be among the sceptics”⁸²
However, this is different to genuine doubts and criticism brought forth for the sake of learning; such doubts are justified. It is wrong when we know the truth, but to escape responsibility, we excuse our misdeeds by raising unnecessary doubts about the truth in order to avoid the feeling of guilt.
3. People mix the truth with falsehood. While Allah says “And do not mix the truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know.”⁸³
However, sometimes we are exempted from declaring the truth but we do not mix it with falsehood. This may be due to the great harm it could cause e.g. the death of someone or a mental breakdown due to shock. Or we may be exposing another’s sins. Or we may be publicizing a person’s secrets entrusted to us. These are instances where the stating of truth is withheld out of ethical considerations, not in denial of the truth.
4. People may exaggerate the truth; Allah says in response to the exaggeration of trinity “O People of the Book! Do not exceed the bounds in your religion, and do not attribute anything to Allah except the truth.”
We must not exaggerate, as we are adding to the truth what is false.

Allah’s promises are Haqq
The Quran states that on the Day of Judgment both the evildoers and good doers will find the promise of Allah to be true⁸⁴ . Hence the process of judgement will also be just as Allah has promised.⁸⁵
On that day, there will not be a two sided scale, where on each side good and evil are weighed against each other. Rather it will be a day where evil doesn’t exist, hence it will be a one sided scale and so, the one whose deeds weigh heavy means they have amassed that much goodness in them.

Conclusion
In conclusion, everything is done in truth by the absolute truth that is Allah (swt). The true religion is also the one that serves the truth, not a subjective selection of a group of people. This world is created by truth and so it is naturally deterrent to falsehood and hence falsehood is bound to ever perish in this world; it cannot have a permanent form; although it may come repeatedly in different forms.
May Allah (swt) enable us to understand the truth, commit to it and reflect it.Then in the end, definitely, the promise of the absolute truth is truthful.

Central value
Achieving an organised system by which we may prioritise different values above one another would have lots of practical benefits when faced with dilemmas. We decided on finding a quality which could be a root quality for other virtues; one that would enable us to solve our many ethical problems by fixing that one root cause. This is essential as we want to fix our moral problems as quickly and as efficiently as possible so that we can enjoy a new life (Hayyat Tayyibah) and a better relationship with God.

The significance of Al-Haqq (The truth and reality)
Haqq can mean ‘truth or ‘true’. Previously we presented a Quranic view on Haqq in which Allah (swt) presents Haqq as central to all of existence; Him being Al-Haqq (The absolute truth), Him creating by Haqq (Based on a reality, not arbitrarily nor based on void), Him judging by Haqq, sending prophets by Haqq, whom then delivered their messages by Haqq and lastly the response of the people to the message must be by Haqq. We will therefore continue to understand other issues in light of Haqq.
To summarise; we must all be truthful and humble before Haqq. I believe this will be the cause of other virtues developing within us. One must be Khadi’ and Khashi’ before the truth (this will be explained later).
One must seek the truth; a lover of truth would not be idle without knowing the truth. We must therefore search for it and follow it and then express it and act upon it unless the context needs Taqiyyah. However generally, a Muslim is one who expresses their faith and shares it with others. Therefore, one aspect is to acknowledge and express the truth, we will discuss other aspects gradually.

Different types of Sidq (Truthfulness)
For this session, we will discuss the different meanings of Sidq. To do this I will be using my teacher’s; Ayatollah Sayyid Kadhim al-Ha’iri, book; Tazkiyat al-Nafs chapter 26. His approach is based on spiritual stations that the wayfarer must traverse. It is not translated into English, which is why we need more learned people in English and Arabic.
Ayatollah Ha’iri says there are different meanings and usages of the term ‘Sidq’:
1. Sidq meaning truthfulness in speech; opposite of Kidhb (Lying).
Imam Sadiq (as) quotes the Prophet (s) “There are three things that if a person possesses them then he is a Munafiq (hypocrite), even though he may be fasting and praying and thinks he is a Muslim: When he is trusted he betrays, and when he speaks he lies, and when he promises he breaks it”⁸⁶
We can see these are all linked to truthfulness, one who lacks truthfulness is a Munafiq and hence lacks ‘Iman. Therefore, we can conclude that ‘Iman is truthfulness and a truthful/Mu’min person is one who keeps his promises and is truthful. For this reason, we must be very careful.
Regarding importance of truthfulness Allah (swt) says:
“And if you fear treachery from a people, break off [the treaty] with them in a like manner. Indeed Allah does not like the treacherous” .⁸⁷
In other words, we must be trustworthy.
“And a fifth [oath] that Allah’s wrath shall be upon him if he were lying”⁸⁸
“And mention in the Book Ishmael. Indeed he was true to his promise, and an apostle and a prophet.”⁸⁹
As a role model, the truthfulness of Ishmael is highlighted by Allah to show us its importance.
Imam Mohammed Baqir (as) said “Allah (swt) has made some locks (Aqfal) for evil, and has made keys to open these locks; one [of the keys] is drinking, and worse than drinking is lying.”
As a result by lying we open the doors for evil onto us, while remaining truthful we keep evil away from us.

Training children to be truthful
I think from childhood we must teach children to be truthful. Both by speech and by practice, we must set ourselves as good role models for them, especially in truthfulness. Since true ‘Iman lies only in truthfulness then we must first teach them truthfulness if we wish to raise them as real believers. Since this is the core of religion and faith, if we do not teach them truthfulness then we have not taught them religion. To further emphasise; remember we discussed that all Prophets and their successors were sent for promoting two traits; Sidq al-Hadith (truthfulness in speech) and ‘Ada ‘al-Amanah (Trustworthiness).
2. Sidq (Truthfulness) in keeping promises; opposite of Khulf.
“O you who have faith! Keep your agreements.”⁹⁰
If a Mu’min agrees to something, he must keep it. It is better to be hesitant in agreeing and checking beforehand than to promise and then break it. I wish that believers and Muslims had this quality such that everyone, both Muslim and non-Muslim, would know that all contracts with Muslims would always be honoured; if we had only this quality, then goodness would envelop the world.
Imam Sadiq (as) reports from the Prophet (s) that “Whoever believes in Allah and the Day of Judgement then when he promises, he must keep his promises.”
This shows that ‘Iman is connected to keeping promises.
3. Sidq in the sense of being firm upon and possessing the truth.
Sidq means strong and reliable. In Arabic, Rumhun Saduq translates to “firm spear”; Saduq is also used as a moral trait for people to signify their utmost truthfulness. Therefore, Sidq also means to be firm and reliable. Those who aren’t truthful are unreliable. Therefore a significant effect of truthfulness is to bring stability and tranquillity; to give people confidence in you due to your reliability. Life as individuals and as societies becomes sweeter when truthfulness is promoted as people can rely on one another due to trust. As individuals, a truthful person does not have to worry about his lies being exposed, whereas a liar constantly lives in fear of being exposed.
This is the most fundamental and comprehensive meaning of truthfulness because it means being firm on truth. It shows the beauty of Haqq because it gives peace (Sukun) to everyone.
“Allah draws an example: a man jointly owned by several contending masters, and a man belonging entirely to one man: are the two equal in comparison? All praise belongs to Allah! But most of them do not know” .⁹¹
Carrying out the requirements of one cause is clearly lesser than the requirements of several causes. If we are dedicated to one cause; the truth, then our life would be simpler and easier than if we were to try and please everyone and every different theory other than the truth. Therefore, he who is committed to the truth is committed to only one cause. Being distant from the truth causes us to be enslaved to many different causes such as our desires, greed, worries and fears.
In conclusion Sidq is what brings strength, reliability, firmness and tranquillity. It is what allows us to trust each other, work together and be helpful to each other.

Truthful Faith
Ayatollah Ha’iri believes a good description of truthful faith (‘Iman Sadiq) in this saying in Nahj al-Balaghah:
“The greatness of the Creator is seated in their heart, so everything else appears small in their eyes”⁹²
If we understand the greatness of Allah in our hearts then all else will seem insignificant in comparison. When a person is always dealing in trillions, a few pennies seem insignificant. Whereas, someone who has never had a thousand will never be able to imagine what it’s like to have a trillion. Yet Allah is beyond comparison. So true faith is to acknowledge Allah in our hearts, not just by our tongues:
“The Bedouins say, ‘We have faith.’ Say, ‘You do not have faith yet; rather say, “We have embraced Islam”, for faith has not yet entered into your hearts. Yet if you obey Allah and His Apostle, He will not stint anything of [the reward of] your works. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful”⁹³
Being a Bedouin isn’t bad at all, but at the time they were known for not possessing knowledge. Allah corrects their claim because our narrations define faith as “acknowledgment by the heart, attestation by the tongue and practice by the limbs”. Although, a mere attestation by the tongue is sufficient to become labelled as ‘Muslim’ but true faith is more than mere attestations. Therefore, in order to have true faith we must acknowledge and accept the truth, live by it and speak by it because neither mere attestation nor mere recognising is enough;
“They impugned them – though they were convinced in their hearts – wrongfully and defiantly. So observe how the fate of the agents of corruption was!”⁹⁴
Although some people knew the truth but did not accept it ‘though they were convinced in their hearts’ that it is the truth. So mere knowing isn’t enough because we can know the truth yet reject it knowingly.
Haqq is either the complete truth, which is Allah (swt), or a branch of truth that goes back to Allah (swt). There is no Haqq in this world that is neither of these. The selfish regard everything subservient to them, even Haqq. Whereas a Mu’min regards Haqq as greater. As a result, e.g. in a marital dispute, the Mu’min or Mu’minah would desist before passing judgement; his aim would be to find out who is right and hence they will have a good marriage due to his/her faith. Whereas the selfish person would look to twist the truth in his/her favour; just to win an argument but ultimately ruin the marriage. You must not behave in a way that you try and silence, deceive, or defeat the other party, as these are signs of not being Mu’min; Mu’min is one who tries to find the truth, if the spouse is right then Mu’min should accept it with all pleasure. If a person accepts it without pleasure then there is still a problem.
Now, I ask you, when was the last time you admitted you had made a mistake? Why is it we feel we are always right and that others are making mistakes? It is because we are not servants of Allah and we are worshipping ourselves. Even if we acknowledge a few mistakes, we are in reality overlooking thousands of other ones.
I always admire people who easily admit that they made mistakes. I have great love for them. It is a great quality to say: ‘I made a mistake’ or ‘I didn’t know’ or ‘That was my problem’. This is a great quality and a sign of being very close to Haqq and being Khashi’ (humble) before the truth.
May Allah (swt) make us all truthful and obedient and all praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The quality of Karamah (Honour, Dignity)
Ayatollah Mutahhari (ra) introduced Karamah as the central value in Islam. He said “the more research I do leads me to become more convinced that in Islam everything is done in order to achieve Karamah, or to strengthen or increase our Karamah”.
Initially, it may seem contradictory with our view that truthfulness is most fundamental. However, as we discuss it further we will see that in reality both are in confirmation of each other. We will therefore discuss the relationship between Karamah and truthfulness.
In a very famous hadith, Prophet Muhammad (s) said:
“I have been raised [as a prophet] only in order to complete noble traits of character.”
We can learn several points from this narration:
1. The mission of the holy Prophet was concerning morality; not just actions but virtues.
As educators, teachers, parents and scholars we must learn that simply teaching children to act goodly isn’t sufficient as we would not be developing virtues within them. Hence it is possible they hide their ill feelings but act nicely to please us or they become adept liars. We must help them develop a good base such as acquiring the virtue of truthfulness. Hence, they would do what is right without being dictated by anyone.
2. Prophet Mohammed (s) came to perfect noble ‘traits’. Therefore, his concern was qualities of character.
3. He came to show us a higher level of morality which is better than just being ‘good’. Because he says “Makarim” meaning noble not e.g. “Mahasin” i.e. good.
“Is the requital of goodness anything but goodness?”⁹⁵
Although being human means reciprocating goodness done to us. This is what good (Mahasin) traits would mean; e.g. to do good to those who are good to us. Any lesser would be inhumane. However, noble (Makarim) traits are concerned with doing good to those who wrong you; to teach them a better way by practice. Makarim al-Akhlaq is when we are good and honourable people, and we desire to give. A Karim person wishes to follow the example of Allah (swt); al-Karim. Consider how Allah (swt) helps people; is it because they have helped Him? Does He have to reciprocate? No; Allah (swt) gives without receiving anything from us.
4. The Prophet (s) improves us in character so that we may improve the world. By alleviating poverty, ignorance, injustice; at times we may need to mobilise militarily in order to uphold justice. Therefore, utmost effort must be made to make the world a better place.
However, under no circumstances is Islam trying to do this through military Jihad and war. Fighting only becomes necessary as a last resort against the heads of tyranny. A Mujahid is someone who does not enjoy killing; Jihad is not done out of choice, it is done out of necessity. It is bitter but it is made necessary upon us sometimes by the evil doers. Hence, everything is done to assist people with Taqwa and this is a spiritual purity; not a condition achieved by war.
5. The narrations also shows that Islam is heavily concerned about the relationship of people with each other. Noble traits of character is something that manifests in interactions with other people; it has no meaning for a hermit.
Islam is a way of fixing our social problems. It is a very socially-oriented religion. Whilst it does not ignore individuals, it emphasises social interaction to a great extent.
6. The narration says “to perfect”. This indicates that it is a process already begun by previous Prophets but Prophet Mohamed (s) came to perfect and finish it.
This narration supports Ayatollah Mutahhari’s view that Islam has come to establish Karamah because Karamah and Makarim share the same root and are linked.

Dignity in Islam
In Arabic, dignity is ‘Izzah’. Within the Quran it has been used 119 times in different forms. It has been used Allah (swt) mostly, but also for the wife of Pharaoh and Prophet Yusuf (as).
Meaning of Aziz (derived from Izzah)
Izzah means power, strength and ability to overcome, Aziz has been defined as something which refuses to be affected and nothing can overcome it.⁹⁶ Hence Aziz is something that is strong and resistant.
Izzah has also been defined as a condition which stops a person from becoming defeated⁹⁷ . Hence Aziz is someone who overcomes but is not overcome. Or a condition which brings with itself strength, the ability to overcome while not being overcome or defeated.

Izzah in the Quran
According to the Quran, Izzah comes only from Allah:
“Whoever seeks honour [should know that] honour entirely belongs to Allah. To Him ascends the good word, and He elevates righteous conduct”⁹⁸
This means Allah is the source of it and we can possess it if we follow Him. “The good word” means belief and this causes us to rise while “righteous conduct” elevates us further.
“Those who take the faithless for allies instead of the faithful. Do they seek honour with them? [If so,] indeed all honour belongs to Allah”⁹⁹
Kafir in this context means one who rejects the truth. Therefore, we must not take enemies of truth as allies, not non-Muslims. The prohibition is from joining a group which works against truth and justice.
Unfortunately, when people seek Izzah; they turn to the side which has more sophisticated weapons, money and numbers whereas time and again we see how a small group has overcome a larger one. E.g. The Prophet (s) and the Muslims were very poor and ill equipped compared to the Quraysh of Mecca, while the Meccans were also greater in numbers. As a result, their numbers only swelled because people thought Izzah was with Quraysh. However, time and again the victory from Allah came for the Muslims. Today, the same principals apply, however the party of Allah are no longer that weak. Hence this verse clarifies for us that Izzah comes only from Allah.
“Do not grieve at their remarks; indeed all might belongs to Allah; He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing”¹⁰⁰
Unfortunately, believers have and are having people ridicule them by calling them mad, fool hardy etc. Allah (swt) here comforts us by telling us that all Izzah belongs to Allah; so the believers would not be harmed by their ridicule and they will remain Aziz.
May Allah (swt) give us from His Izzah and dignity, in this world and the Hereafter and all Praise for Allah Lord of the worlds.

Tasbih
The above verses are helpful in relieving negativity after a pessimistic and negative conversation or argument.
دَعْوَاهُمْ فِيهَا سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَتَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلاَمٌ وَآخِرُ دَعْوَاهُمْ أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Their call therein will be, ‘O Allah! Immaculate are You!’ and their greeting therein will be, ‘Peace’ and their concluding call, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds’.¹⁰³
This verse shows that the people of heaven speak in this format;
1. They start with Tasbih; meaning to acknowledge His purity from what is attributed.
2. Their middle is ‘Salam’; to send peace upon others.
3. Their end is Tamhid; to praise and thank Allah (swt).
This is similar to the pervious verses’ structure. This is the format of Allah’s speech as well as those in heaven. We should also try and follow this beautiful manner of speech.
Although the verse says ‘clear is your lord from what they attribute’ there are a small number of utterly sincere believers who do not attribute wrongly to Allah (swt):
“Clear is Allah of whatever they allege [about Him], [all] except Allah’s exclusive servants.”¹⁰⁴

 Back to our discussion on Izzah (honour)
“They say, ‘When we return to the city, the honourable will surely expel the abased from it.’ Yet all honour belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and the faithful, but the hypocrites do not know.”¹⁰⁵
The hypocrites thought they had honour and could expel the believers from Medina. However, Allah is the possessor of honour and so the hypocrites failed and the believers succeeded in Medina. Honour is also hierarchal, it belongs to Allah then the Prophet (s) and then the believers.
As far as I know, honour is always mentioned besides another quality of Allah such as ‘the honourable, the all wise’¹⁰⁶

Etiquette of supplication
The verse 2:127-129 also shows us how to supplicate to Allah (swt) as Prophet Ibrahim (as) and Prophet Ismael (as), after laying the foundations of the Ka’ba, they pray to Allah and end their supplication by mentioning the relevant attribute of Allah.
We must also supplicate similarly by asking sincerely and then mentioning the relevant attribute of Allah (swt). This is to show that we are not just asking anyone, we know who we are asking and we know He is the one who is the right being to ask.
“Do not eat [anything] of that over which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned, and that is indeed transgression. Indeed the Satans inspire their friends to dispute with you; and if you obey them, you will indeed be polytheists”¹⁰⁷
Therefore, we must involve the name of Allah in all of our affairs, including supplication.

Al-Aziz
Al-Aziz is one of the most repeated names of Allah in the Quran such as:
“Indeed your Lord is the All-honourable, the All-merciful”¹⁰⁸
“[It is a scripture] sent down gradually from the All-honourable, the All-merciful”¹⁰⁹
In some instances, the honourable (al-Aziz) is mentioned alongside the name the all-mighty:
“Your Lord is indeed the All-mighty, the All-honourable”¹¹⁰
As far as I know, all-mighty (al-Qawee) is mentioned before all-honourable (al-Aziz). This may be because the source of honour is strength. A weak nation is less likely to be honourable however this strength which brings honour is not limited to brute power or money etc. although these help in being independent and strong, but knowledge too brings power and hence a scholar who lacks money may still be honourable.

Karamah (Dignity)
Karamah is as similar to Izzah as dignity is to honour in English. Although Izzah has been used more often than Karamah but Karamah is still used a few times in the Quran:
“So exalted is Allah, the True Sovereign, there is no god except Him, the Lord of the dignified Throne”¹¹¹
In this verse, Karim is used as a description of the throne to show that mischief has no place around Allah and so only good can happen.
It is also used for Allah (swt):
“O mankind! What has deceived you about your dignified Lord?”¹¹²
It is also used for the inmates of Hell, as a mockery of their arrogance and a punishment for their mockery of believers:
“Taste! Indeed you are the [self-styled] honourable and dignified!”¹¹³
“Read, and your Lord is the most dignified”¹¹⁴
“And as for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favours him, he says, ‘My Lord has dignified me.’”¹¹⁵
People judge Allah (swt) depending on what Allah gives them. They are thankful if they are granted their wishes but are ungrateful and unappreciative of all else when their desires aren’t met. If they are poor, they think Allah has humiliated them but in reality being poor is good for them yet they do not know.
For many of us, if someone is generous with us then we think of him greatly but if he does not favour us then we think badly of him.
“Whomever Allah humiliates will find no one who may bring him dignity.”¹¹⁶
This is because honour and dignity comes from Allah and if He humiliates someone then no one can help him.

Dignity of other beings
According to the Quran, other beings that are dignified are:
1. Angels:
“They say, ‘The All-beneficent has taken children.’ Immaculate is He! Rather they are [His] dignified servants. They do not venture to speak ahead of Him, and they act by His command.”¹¹⁸
The pagans thought that angels were the children of God, but Allah (swt) dismisses it saying angels are dignified servants.
1. People of heaven:
“They will be held dignified”¹¹⁹
For others, reward is based on actions however for the utterly sincere servants of Allah (swt), they are given a position from which they enjoy limitless bounties.
2. Prophets
“It is indeed the speech of a dignified apostle.”¹²⁰
“Certainly We tried the people of Pharaoh before them, when a dignified apostle came to them.”¹²¹

3. The pious
“Indeed the most dignified of you in the sight of Allah is the most God wary among you.”¹²²
4. Human beings
“Certainly We have honoured the Children of Adam.”¹²³
Similarly, the Quran narrates from Iblees that Allah (swt) honoured Adam (as) above him:
“He said ‘Shall I prostrate before someone whom You have created from clay?’ Said he, “Do You see this one whom You have dignified above me? If You respite me until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely destroy his progeny, [all] except a few.”¹²⁴
Some people, like Iblees, become jealous over the merits of others by which Allah dignifies them. Although Iblees is weak however:-
“Certainly Iblis had his conjecture come true about them. So they followed him—all except a part of the faithful.”
Therefore, human beings in general are dignified by Allah (swt) however this means that we cannot dishonour other humans. It does not mean we do not need to develop.

How to become dignified to a greater extent
How to become dignified to a greater extent
There are several qualities that makes a person dignified:
1. Loyalty; as Imam Ali (as) said:
“A sign of being dignified is that you fulfil a commitment.”
2. Forgiveness; as Imam Ali (as) said:
“A dignified person, when he promises he is loyal, and when he is in a position to punish, he forgives.”
A dignified person would never insist on punishing others. He does not satisfy his anger.
3. Forgiveness; as Imam Ali (as) said:
“One who does not repay evil with goodness, is not from among the dignified.”
In fact, it is better to sometimes ignore a wrong done, completely forget it or if possible not take any offence at all as Imam Ali (as) is reported to have said:
“I sometimes pass by a mean person, swearing at me; I pass by and say to myself: ‘He didn’t mean me.’”

Imam Ali (as) also said:
“To take the initiative to forgive very quickly [without the other party asking for forgiveness and embarrassing themselves] is from amongst the morals of the dignified. To proceed to revenge and retaliation quickly is of the quality of the mean.”
In conclusion, a faithful and dignified person is one who does not take offences too seriously unless there is something seriously wrong. Such a person is forgiving and overlooks the misdeeds of others.

Exception to forgiveness
However, there are some moments when we cannot forgive and it is not good to forgive. E.g. when someone has invaded a country; we cannot forgive invasions nor the rights of others such as murder or usurpation.

Honesty
Although it is a part of our innate nature (Fitrah) to be honest, we still learn to become liars from our surrounding. Our upbringing plays a significant role in making us liars as we do so to avoid punishment. Therefore a noble person is one who is honest.
Sinning is bad but what makes us love sinning is worse. If we lie and feel fine about it, this is more alarming than if we lie but regret it. A dignified and honourable person does not feel fine about lying as they are not compatible with his character as Imam Ali (as) said:
“Lying and betraying others are not characteristics of honourable people.”
Imam Husayn (as) said:
“Truthfulness is honour and dishonesty is incompetence.”
“A dignified person that has protective jealousy would never commit adultery.”
A dignified person who values the sanctity of their own family would never defile the sanctity of another family.

Good nature
A dignified person is good natured. It is easy to deal with him as we have a narration that says:
“A faithful person will pay you back, and it is a very easy process, and when he lends to you it is also very easy.”
Such a person is more observant of others’ rights than his own and so people find dealings with him very easy. A dignified person does not stare into people’s eyes especially when it comes to the opposite gender.

Imam Ali (as) said:
“The dignified person will cause himself to be heedless and allows people to deceive him.”
It is not that he is stupid and is actually heedless, it means that he knows everything and he is aware that the person is doing something wrong however he pretends he hasn’t noticed. If we want to correct people, we must not be harsh with them as we would lose them entirely. In order to be a dignified person we need to allow people to think they are cleverer than us. Our narrations mention that one of the key traits of good leadership is to have a big heart.

Inclination towards good
A dignified person does not need motivation to encourage him to do good as he is naturally inclined to do so.
“Someone that has a level of value for himself, then lower desires will become insignificant for him.”
He would refuse to do evil without hesitation just as he would do good without hesitation. Imam Ali (as) said:
“Dignify yourself away from every lowliness even if it leads you to your desires.”
Our self-respect must be such that it discourages us from committing sins and being lowly.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“When you do something good for any person, you have indeed honoured yourself by it, and you have beautified yourself and your reputation with it. So then do not seek people to thank you for what you have done for yourself.”
A dignified person does not wait for people to thank him. He beautifies himself by his good deeds and is thankful to Allah (swt) for being given the opportunity to help others. Therefore, a dignified person does not forget when someone shows kindness to him but he never expects people to thank him for his own good deeds, although it is human courtesy to thank those who are kind to us.

The relationship of an honourable person to the world
For us, the greatness of this world for us is in correlation with our character. The greater we are the smaller the world would seem to us. Therefore, those who consider the world as great are in reality considering themselves small in comparison to it. As Imam Ali (as) said:
“I had a brother in the past and he was great in my view because the world was small in his view.”
And in the sermon of the Pious, Imam Ali (as) said:
“The greatness of the creator is seated in their hearts so everything else appears small in their eyes.”
Hence the dignified believers are those who do not regard the world great, rather the world seems insignificant for them as Imam Ali (as) said:
“Whoever possesses an honourable soul then this world is very insignificant for him.”
He also said:
“Is there not a free and noble person who is willing to leave this residue of food in the mouth for those that deserve it?”
Imam Ali compares this world to leftover food in between the teeth. So those that are dignified aren’t fooled by the image of this world. The dignified do not sell themselves for anything less than their worth as Imam Ali (as) said:
“Beware that there is no price for you except heaven, so do not sell yourselves except for that.”

Patience and persistence
Imam Husayn (as) said to Abu Dhar:
“Ask Allah for perseverance and assistance.”
“Seek refuge with respect to lamenting for losing something of this world. For surely patience is from religion and from honour.”
Being patient is a necessity in keeping our faith as another narration states:
“Patience to faith is like the head to the body.”
A dignified person can maintain self-control in hardships and overcome them. Imam Sadiq (as) also said:
“We are patient, but our Shias are more patient than us, because we are patient with respect to what we know, and they are patient without knowing.”
To know help is near or the reward is near, helps in keeping patient. Hence why for followers of Ahl ul-Bayt patience is harder because we must do it in ignorance.
“O Allah, I ask you for the patience of those who are thankful to you.”
Those who are thankful are appreciative and hence feel no attraction to sin. We must seek their type of patience where we not only act on temptations but we also do not become tempted. Those who have refined their souls feel no regret at avoiding sin but for others they may still see the avoidance of sins as an opportunity lost.

Freedom
Imam Ali (as) said:
“Do not be a servant to other than yourself, for surely Allah has appointed you free.”
Of course it is good to willingly help others whilst maintaining our dignity.

Asking others
Prophet Muhammad (s) has advised us to be careful about asking others for our needs. Some people may humiliate us if we ask help from them. Therefore, we must be careful. In addition, we must not seek to become a burden on others unnecessarily and avoid asking for things we can manage without. We must manage our lives so that our asking others is kept to the minimum.
We must seek our needs and work with others. However, there are some people who see their employer as their sustainer and are willing to compromise on Sharia for the sake of gaining money. This is wrong, we must maintain our faith and our honour while working with others.

Further characteristics of those with Karamah

Tama’
The possessors of honour & dignity do not have Tama’. This means they do not have unjust expectations of others. A need that would cause them to be lowered in dignity and honour. E.g. expecting charity from the wealthy.
Our narrations advise us not to expect much from others if we wish to have good relationships. Once upon a time in Najaf, the Ulema became very poor. A rich person wanted to donate but had bad intentions as he wanted to give the donation in public to receive praise or to perhaps degrade the honour & dignity of the scholars. The Marja was gathered with his students when the man offered it, straight away the Marja refused to take it and showed a complete lack of interest or need. The donor then asked if he could give it to the students; they all refused. Hence it is important for us to follow in their footsteps and not accept nor expect anything from others that would degrade us.
I am not saying we must never ask others for help. We must be careful not to lose our dignity and honour.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“Whoever starts developing tama has humiliated himself.”¹²⁵
It is due to Tama’ that we praise the unworthy of praise, many worthless people gather around corrupt, rich and powerful individuals simply because of Tama’ seeking money and power. Whereas a person possessing honour always depends on his own efforts.

Backbiting
A person who possesses honour cares about the honour of other people. Hence he would not ruin their honour by backbiting. Only those who are weak and miserable in character resort to backbiting because they are incapable for themselves. A narrations states:
“Backbiting is the strenuous effort of one who is incapable [of anything else].”
Such people cannot raise themselves by attracting others, instead they seek to raise themselves using fear and humiliation of others. A possessor of honour is needless of such pathetic means.
We previously said, moral issues are universal, not necessarily bound to any religion however religion helps in understanding and encouragement. Therefore, if a person has a good character; this is enough for him to avoid sins.
Unfortunately, some people are not brought up with a focus on character development. It is only by using the threats and rewards of religion that they stop doing immoral actions. E.g. many people do not backbite out of fear of losing their good deeds and acquiring the bad deeds of the backbitten; they refrain out of fear of punishment of sins. However if we raise children well, then they would not succumb to backbiting due to the goodness of their own nature.
Hence our focus in education and nurturing must be to develop the character of people so that they refrain from immorality due to their possession of honour.

Psychology
The mental state of a person is a mutual concern in both psychology and Islamic ethics. We will therefore discuss some psychological findings besides our narrations regarding people of honour & dignity.

Self-respect
According to Islamic ethics and psychologically, people who have honour have self-respect.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“Do not feel safe from the evil of one that has no respect for himself”
Self-respect is very important and it is different from self-admiration (‘Ujb) because they do not have an exaggerated idea about themselves.
Imam Ridha (as) said:
“If someone sees [in himself] that he feels he has privilege over or is better than another person, then he is form the arrogant ones”
However, they do not underestimate themselves either. They are humble without feeling useless. There is a difference between humbleness and feeling valueless. It is a very fine line but those who possess honour are humble yet they do not feel inferior nor useless.

Hope
The possessors of honour are always hopeful and optimistic. How could a person not be so if he believes in Allah (swt)? However the optimism is realistic; the possessors of honour do not rely on Allah without efforts and endeavours; as Imam Ali (as) said:
“Do not be of those who is hopeful of the Hereafter without having done any good actions”
We cannot become learned without studying. Hence a believer who possesses honour is hopeful and ambitious. As a person grows so does their ambition; for many people this ambition is limited to material wealth. However, for believers it is a growth in ambition regarding spirituality. Hence a believer must be realistically hopeful and very ambitious beyond our personal or societal needs, we must be ambitious for all people of all generations to come! Therefore, ask Allah (swt) to enable you to teach good things to all humanity from now until the end of the world; once this ambition is achieved, you would then realise how much you need to study.

Respecting others and being on good terms with them
According to our narrations as well as psychology, a person possessing honour also respects and honours others. Hence they are in good relation with others. If a person is lowly, suspicious and negative of others in himself, he will not be able to have good relationships with others. Such a person will either be aimlessly pessimistic and critical of others or he will imitate others very easily. It is difficult for such a person to maintain a balance and a control over himself.

Sympathy for others
Another quality of people with honour is that they sympathise with others’ pain and difficulties. They are not indifferent to others.

Patience and Perseverance
People who possess honour are patient and they persevere with hope. Imam Ali (as) said;
‘Karamah is to have good patience.’

The end does not justify the means
The possessors of honour do not justify the means based on the end. They do not succumb to lowly tricks and cheats to achieve what they want. Only lowly people would utilise immoral means in order to gain what they want.

Well being
Possessors of honour have a strong sense of responsibility for themselves and for others as well as for other societies.

Not afraid of being alone
People who have honour are not afraid of being alone. Yet those who are void within must distract themselves from their solitude to escape their fears and anxiety about themselves. The person who has self-respect and honour may even enjoy being alone. This is a good way to measure ourselves.

Free thinkers, working for freedom
People of honour are free thinkers and they strive for freedom because an important aspect of honour is to be free, not enslaved. They neither tolerate themselves being enslaved nor others.

Not feeling worried nor stressed
The possessors of honour do not worry or stress easily. They are confident in themselves and hence enjoy being put to use or even challenged. Therefore, an honourable student or a scholar would not become angry at being criticised nor fear being questioned.

Independence of character
Possessors of honour are independent in character. This does not mean they are arrogant nor rebellious. There is a fine line between being independent and refusing to learn from others. Some people who think they are independent are in reality rebellious against everyone. On the other hand, some who fear being rebellious commit excess and are blindly obedient.
We must try to be independent in the sense that we decide what to believe and whom to follow. Be positive in the face of criticism. Unfortunately, sometimes even religious people fall so much in love with a sheikh, or a teacher, or a spiritual guide, that for them it is as if Allah (swt) has created none other than that person. They then follow such a person without any kind of distinction or discerning.
Therefore, the correct form of independence of character is one that comes with humbleness and openness to other people’s opinions.

Developing honour and dignity
We will now discuss methods of developing ourselves to possess honour:
Change the inner world
It is not possible for most people to change the external world. However it is possible for all people to change themselves. Everyone must focus on improving themselves because it is inside where we have control. No one can force us to disbelieve or become immoral; in fact the more pressured we are the stronger and defiant we become for our faith and morality.
“The difficulties only increase their faith and submission”
Therefore, in order to change the world inside ourselves, the first thing that is required is to possess a proper understanding of ourselves (Ma’rifat al-Nafs).
Imam Ali (as) says:
“You think you are an insignificant germ, whereas inside you is summarised the larger universe”
The external world is the limited physical world but the world within us is linked the higher realm (Malakut). It is therefore foolish to ask for more! Some people complain why they have not been given more responsibility and ability. We would answer them by saying they are yet to use the 90% of what they have been given, let alone asking for more.
“Then, that day, you will surely be questioned concerning the blessing”¹²⁶
You will be asked about the blessing that Allah (swt) has given you so in one way it is a blessing for you that you were given less. The more a person actualises his potential, the more he is given;
“And excessive giving does not increase Him, except from the point of view of generosity and kindness”¹²⁷
Hence, a very important step of developing a balanced and sound understanding of ourselves (Ma’rifat al-Nafs). To know our potentials; despite Allah having many angels near to Him, He chose humans as his vicegerents despite some problems that were known to the angels;
“When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed I am going to set a viceroy on the earth,’ they said, ‘Will You set in it someone who will cause corruption in it, and shed blood, while we celebrate Your praise and proclaim Your sanctity?’”¹²⁸
Allah responded:
“He said, “Indeed I know what you do not know”¹²⁹
Allah (swt) pointed out that human beings have something that even the angels do not have. And this was not a matter confined to Adam, because if it was then the angels would not have referred to the human species when they said ‘they’ will shed blood.
Therefore, every human has the potential of being the vicegerent of Allah (swt). And if we knew ourselves and if we understood just how much Allah (swt) has granted us, then we will never have a negative image of ourselves, and we will never be easily pleased with the little that this world has to offer. So, the more a person knows about himself, the more successful he will be. This is why a hadith mentions that knowing one’s self (Ma’rifat al-Nafs) is the most beneficial knowledge, as it leads to knowing Allah (swt):
“Whoever knows himself, will come to know his Lord.”
In addition to this, we must understand our own strengths and specialties to develop onto. Many people who were seen as unintelligent later would become renowned scholars and scientists; only because they had a specialty they needed to identify and develop on, which they did.
Hence, sometimes you may not be successful due to different reasons, you must not give up. You must review the situation, may be try again or do something different. It could be that you need a guide to put you in the right direction. Therefore, knowing one’s self (Ma’rifat al-Nafs) is also about knowing our skills but also shortcomings.

Ma’rifat al-Nafs (Knowing oneself)
To know oneself is essential. Considering we spend our lives studying auxiliary subjects such as physics, maths etc. why do we neglect what is essential? We must spend at least the same if not more time on what is essential for us and that is knowing ourselves; Imam Ali (as) says:
“I am surprised how people go after a thing they have lost, and have no rest until they find it, but they do not go after themselves and do not try to discover themselves.”
In life, we search for what we lose of material wealth but never our own lost selves. We endeavour to find everything but never to know ourselves, our Imam (aj) and our Lord, Allah (swt).

Individual ethics and abilities
In addition to knowing ourselves and the greater world within us, we need to know our own specialties. Allah (swt) has not mass produced humans as copies of one another. Every person has been created uniquely and to Allah, each person is important as if no other humans exists but him. Therefore, Allah has the utmost care for every single person because there is no one identical to another. His love and care for us is similar to that of parents but far greater! Just as parents love all their children despite having many, and the multitude of their children do not cause them to love their children less, Allah (swt) also loves us all to the utmost. Our numbers do not affect his love for each and every individual.
Allah (swt) treats us as if there is no one besides us, however we treat Him as if there are other lords and sustainers for us besides Him even though in reality there are other humans besides us but there are no lords nor sustainers besides Allah (swt). At times, we may be unfair in our relationship with others if we feel needless of them but despite knowing our utter poverty to Allah; Allah encourages us to follow him with kindness and favours. Yet still, we disobey. If we treated the kindest person as we treat Allah, for sure they would not tolerate us, let alone showing mercy and kindness.
Therefore, in order to build an honourable and steadfast character, we must try to be fair in our relationships, including with Allah (swt). We must know ourselves and in addition know our specialties. Identifying what we are individually naturally attuned to would help us greatly in achieving success in this world. If we fail at something, it could be that we are naturally attuned for something else; what is a point of success for someone else may not be for me. What is best for me may not be best for someone else. We must therefore identify our individual talents as soon as possible to utilise it in achieving success.

Maintaining good relationships with others
Another essential factor for developing an honourable and strong (Aziz) is to maintain good relationships with other people. One who lacks social skills cannot maintain good relationships and this will manifest as a weakness in him. In addition, social success brings a feeling of confidence and internal strength (Izzah).
As teachers and parents we must teach people how to be successful in society, teach them how to make the right relationships with the right people and avoid becoming friends with bad influences. Thereby educating them about the good and evil of society realistically without frightening them. Hence they need to be taught how to engage in society especially our own community; we must become like family.
If due to lack of social skills and experience, a person encounters bitter experiences while growing up he will suffer in his social and personal life. He may develop a dark image of the world due to their bad experiences of it. Whereas if they have a good experience growing up then they will think the world as a heaven. A balanced view is required, neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic. Generally the world is more good than bad. Therefore a right view is to be more optimistic but to a realistic extent.
The positivity is because the world belongs to Allah. It is a world full of angels and light and darkness is weak here;
“Those who have faith fight in the way of Allah, and those who are faithless fight in the way of the Rebel. So fight the friends of Satan; indeed the stratagems of Satan are always flimsy.”¹³⁰
Since Satan is weak, we would only be strengthening him by overestimating him and thereby demoralising ourselves. Satan is often just an excuse we use for our failures.
Therefore, every person needs to develop good social skills and build good relationships in society in order to strengthen their internal strength and become honourable and confident. A confidence which is accompanied with humbleness to Allah (swt) and independence from people, not arrogance.

Importance of childhood
A person’s childhood is very important as it affects his entire life. Not that we are pre-determined by our childhood, but that damage done in our childhood is difficult to compensate for later in life. Good treatment of children increase the reserves of positivity within them for future hardships whereas bad experiences undermines their confidence and positivity. As a result a person may have to grow up with an emotional baggage.
Hence why Islam says that for the first seven years of a child’s life, they are to be treated as masters. Such that they must feel wanted, needed and loved; as a result they should be given everything they want so that they do not build a negative emotional baggage for later in life. Later than seven years a child becomes capable of understanding the love behind being denied something by their parents e.g. sugar. However until seven years, a child does not understand the love behind a parent’s denial of something. They only assume that his parents don’t love him hence why he is being denied. Therefore, we must not disappoint children and show them unconditional love at this age because they view parents as their Gods;
“When you promise your children you must keep your promise, because they see you as their lord and sustainer”
However, there are times when it is necessary to discipline them. This must be done in a nice and caring way when the child has grown and is able to understand the love behind the disciplining. Alhumdolillah Allah (swt) has filled the hearts of parents with love for their child and every child thinks their parents are the best due to the immense love of parents.
Therefore, to raise honourable children, they must be made optimistic, hopeful and positive by treating them with love and surrounding them with a loving and positive environment of friends, family and activities.

Goals and ambitions
For an honourable character we need to have goals in life. Someone without goals will be hopeless of success because he will never yield any sense of achievement. As a result he will never be hopeful or optimistic.
However goals that are set must be realistic, manageable and measured. Something we can measure ourselves against to see where our progress in life has reached. Seeing our small achievements accumulate would encourage us for further tasks and give us a sense of internal strength and increase our determination.
Hence achievements lead onto more achievements. It is therefore important we set achievable tasks for children and then reward them for completion to build their determination and self-confidence. Those who are arrogant are people who feel inadequate and inferior and in an attempt to cover their faults; they are arrogant. Whereas someone who feels confident, successful and has good social relationships with good social skills; such people become humble. It is the opposite of what we usually think; that the superior are arrogant and the humble are inferior. Rather it is that someone weak in personality is arrogant whereas a strong and honourable personality is humble.

Criticism
Imam Sadiq (as) says:
“The dearest friends/brothers of mine are those that gift me [information on] my faults.”
An honourable person is able to welcome and also encourage criticisms. Someone who is unaware of his faults can never improve against them, therefore only one who welcomes criticisms can be honourable in character. The faults of a person must also be told to him, not to others or else it would be backbiting. Therefore, in front of others, we must cover each other’s faults but we should inform one another of our faults in private. So if someone asks for consultation, you should give your most honest opinion, otherwise do not accept do be consulted because we must do what pleases Allah (swt).

Self-control over emotions
An honourable person is able to control his emotions especially anger and jealousy. We can never be happy by following our emotions because it can change quickly, without control and other people largely influence our emotions. We must not let emotions take over us, if we are upset by something then we must not let it affect others. Unfortunately some people think venting out our anger at others helps; in reality our emotions are not something we can pass to others by being bad to them.
A rational person is one whose emotions are under the control of his Intellect (Aql). Allah (swt) has given us a love for goodness, once we find something is good for us then we love it. Hence when a rational person realises that which is good for him, he will love it. Whereas an emotional person will do what he likes because he feels like it. Therefore, an intellectual and rational person (Aqil) is one whose feelings follow his understanding, he loves that which he has understood to be good.
Many people ruin their lives because they let their emotions lead them. Our emotions are our weakest point in the battle against Satan because it is easily influenced to action. What is worse is that some people only follow their emotions. They either hold Majalis (events & gatherings) for laughing or crying. There is no Ma’rifah (understanding) involved. They correctly vilify the Yazid of the past by their emotions but due to their lack of understanding, they are unable to identify the Yazid of their own time. However, people who are based on rationality would not be fooled by a modern day Yazid because rational people control their emotions. Therefore, we would be much stronger as a community if we became more rational.

How to control our emotions
1. Develop our intellectual capacity.
Everyone has been given intellect but only those who use it become known as “’Ul ul-Albab” (Possessors of intellect) and the way to develop our intellect and put it to good use is by gaining knowledge.
2. Practice.
“So many a scholar who was killed by his own ignorance”. Knowledge without practice is destructive whereas knowledge which is practiced not only increases but also benefits us and protects us from harm.
3. Thinking
“The thinking of an hour is better than the worship of one year/sixty years/seventy years”. Thinking here means the type which is useful regarding life decisions. Such as the thinking of Hurr on the day of Ashura. A plan for life without thinking is a useless plan. A good honourable person and a believer is someone who is full of useful thinking regarding problems and solutions in life.
4. Enjoinment
The Quran says that only those who enjoin each other are successful;
“By Time! Indeed man is in loss, except those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and enjoin one another to [follow] the truth, and enjoin one another to patience.”¹³¹
We can help each other control our emotions by encouraging patience among each other against our emotional urges.

Concern with people’s judgements
Some people are not bothered by what others think of him. They do whatever they want and behave however they want. Although this is bad, it does mean that those people do not have a need to show off and so they will show who they really are. However, in the more developed cultures such as eastern cultures mixed with Islam; there is a great sense of Haya’ (Shame). We tend to be careful about our reputation with others and hence there is also a greater chance of showing off (Riya). If we are not careful, an unbalanced approach will lead us away from virtuousness and into extremeness. It is therefore important to identify the Islamic approach for guidance.
An honourable person is one who has a balanced concern regarding people’s opinion of him. We must be concerned about our reputation and never sacrifice it nor our honour. Imam Ali (as) said:
“Be aware of going to the places of ill-repute where your reputation may be questioned.”
Therefore, in order to protect our reputation we must not go to every gathering with every type of people. Unless it is being done to guide them. However, there have been people who have gone with such intentions and have ended up being ruined themselves rather than guiding anyone. Hence, like a doctor dealing with an epidemic, we must be properly equipped before we go into an infected area or else we risk catching the disease.
Hence our concern is how far a person should go for other people’s happiness? Without a balance we may either become careless or oppressed. A person’s main motivator must not be people’s opinion because there are people who aren’t happy with what is right and some people are only critical. However, at the same time, we must care about people’s opinion because Islam greatly emphasises on enjoining good and forbidding evil. One who doesn’t care for people’s opinion has denied this aspect of Islam because he doesn’t care about people’s approval or disapproval. Although I cannot draw a definitive clear line; here are some points that can guide us:

1. The main concern of an honourable believer is Allah’s (swt) will.
“Does he not know that Allah sees?”¹³²
Whatever we do must be with attention to Allah (swt) as our observer. Someone who acts in a way that he secures Allah’s pleasure has achieved most of his objective. However, for a complete success, Allah (swt) would want us to also achieve the pleasure of His creation, as much as possible. Hence the main motivator is Allah; most importantly we must have a good reputation in front of Allah (swt).
2. The Prophet Muhammad (s) and the Ahl al-Bayt (as).
Although their will and Allah’s are the same, still it helps to know that our conduct is presented to the Prophet (s), Imams (as) and the Imam of our time (aj) and we must therefore have a good reputation in the eyes of these noble figures;
“And say, “Go on working: Allah will see your conduct, and His Apostle and the faithful [as well], and you will be returned to the Knower of the seen and the Unseen, and He will inform you concerning what you used to do”¹³³
3. The faithful believers
The believers are indirectly representatives of our Imam (aj) and hence Allah (swt). It must be noted that this does not include the Muslims who are ignorant of their religion’s teachings. It is in regards to the real believers who understand Islam and are rational and experienced. Their opinions are indications towards truth (Haqq). Therefore, if the faithful are pleased then it is a good sign that Allah (swt) is pleased.
4. Other people
Lastly, ordinary family and friends who do not have Taqwa nor an understanding of religion as well as the faithless. It is important that we receive their respect by our behaviour. Hence if alongside pleasing Allah (swt) we can also please these people then we must do so and this is a sign of success. In the past for some holy figures of Islam, even non-Muslims would mourn because they would uphold justice and fairness as well as lead respectful lives.

Conclusion
If we can please Allah (swt) as well the Prophet (s), Imams (as) and the believers as well as ordinary people of little or no faith then we have achieved success in maintaining a good reputation. It means we have acted righteously and hence people have a good opinion of us and we have taken people’s opinion in a correct proportion when correcting ourselves. This means that we do not base ourselves based on people’s opinion; No, our main motivator is Allah (swt). However, we have tried to accommodate for the opinion of others as much as possible. Therefore we would be pleased with our success even if there may be some people who are still critical of us because some people are only critics; they cannot be pleased or are unreasonable in their demands. Hence, we have not sacrificed Allah’s pleasure for people’s pleasure.
It is important we build in ourselves and those around us, a deep respect for others and a genuine concern about other people’s opinion of us, albeit according to the hierarchy we discussed. As a narration states:
“The worse people of people are those who do not bother about what is being said about them.”
We must therefore take the opinion of others seriously and teach our children and students the same.

Deep connection with the source of Izzah (Honour)
It is important to have a deep connection with Allah (swt) who can fill us with honour and dignity;
“Whoever seeks honour [should know that] honour entirely belongs to Allah.”¹³⁴
“Those who take the faithless for allies instead of the faithful. Do they seek honour with them? [If so] indeed all honour belongs to Allah.”
If a person can connect himself and others to Allah (swt) then he will have a life full of the remembrance of Allah (swt), then he would have reached the ultimate source of strength, power and honour. He would not feel alone even if he would be an orphan with no one.
When it comes to people of no faith, maybe we the faithful have no idea of how difficult life is for them. When we are in hardship, we have an ever present companion that is Allah (swt) and we know He is with us, all knowing, all powerful and all loving and hence none of our hardships are wasted. This alone gives us strength to carry on in hardships and against betrayals. We have a reason to trust others because we know betrayals and injustices are punished and hence we also would not betray nor be unjust. However, imagine someone without faith, in God or the Hereafter (Akhirah). If he is oppressed he feels weak and alone and his oppression; he feels it is not noted. He cannot trust others because he cannot identify a need in them to honour his trust. He is demoralised by every difficulty and so he is deprived of a great source of strength in life.
Therefore, if we connect to Allah (swt) by making his presence clear in our lives then He would have an active role in our lives. Then we would be able to be dignified and honoured by Allah. Although this does not mean a person of no faith cannot have dignity; it just means that without Allah it is more difficult but the expectation for people of no faith to be honourable is still there, as Imam Husayn (as) said:
“If you do not have a religion, and nor do you fear the Hereafter, then at least be free in your worldly life.”

The relationship between truthfulness and dignity
The Quran says;
“Indeed those who deny the Remembrance when it comes to them and indeed it is an honoured book. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it nor from behind it; gradually sent down from One all-wise and all-praiseworthy.”¹³⁵
Since the Quran is the word of the absolute truth (Al-Haqq) that is Allah (swt) and it is also a truth (Haqq) itself, therefore falsehood cannot effect it. This shows that where there is honour ¹³⁶ (Izzah) there can only be truth. Falsehood can only have a chance if there is a deficiency of honour. Therefore, in order to be committed to truth we must strive to be honourable in character.
Imam Hasan al-Askari (as) has said:
“An honourable person will not abandon the truth except if he loses his honour and a dishonourable person will not start holding onto truth except that he becomes honourable.”¹³⁷
Therefore, an honourable person does not become dishonourable except when he loses his commitment to truth and a dishonourable does not remain so if he commits himself to truth.
“Whoever seeks honour [should know that] honour entirely belongs to Allah”¹³⁸
Allah (swt) is the absolute truth, this is why honour can only be from Allah (swt) because other than Him there is only falsehood. Therefore, both of these qualities are essential to Him.
The acknowledgment of the Prophet’s (s) prophethood is also essential in our commitment to the truth as he has the utmost commitment to the truth. Hence, he does not reflect anything except that it is the truth from his Lord and as a result, Allah says that all might/honour (Izzah) belongs also to the Prophet (s) and the faithful¹³⁹ because they do not represent anything from themselves, they are sincerely mirroring only the truth.
Therefore, the Islamic value of truthfulness is fundamental. Ubudiyyah (servitude) means to search and submit oneself to the truth and any manifestations of the absolute truth (al-Haqq) that is Allah (swt) because besides Allah, the alternative can only be falsehood;
“One whom Allah has not granted any light has no light.”¹⁴⁰
As He is the only source of light, hence besides Him there can only be darkness.
“Ali is with the truth and the truth is with Ali”
If a person commits themselves completely to the truth, as Imam Ali (as) did then they become manifestations of the truth. If someone is 100% committed, nothing will appear from them except that it is the truth.

Humbleness
The third Islamic value in our discussion is humbleness. The Prophet (s) said:
“The best servants of Allah (swt) are those who are humble, but out of highness”
At times a person may be humble but due to his defects. Whereas real humbleness is not due to being inferior. It is humbleness alongside being equal or better than others as the Prophet (s) also said:
“Good tidings to those who are humble without any deficiency and who degrade themselves without being poor or needy”
Hence, humbleness is not to be weak and poor. It is from a position of strength and independence. Imam Ali (as) said:
“There is no social position like humbleness”
One may have the social position of a rich person or an Imam or leader in a society but their positions are nothing in comparison to the humble; if this humbleness is coupled with other social positions such as a humble Imam or a humble rich person then it is even better. However, to possess any social position without humbleness isn’t good, it is better to be humble yet lack social position because humbleness itself raises a person.
Imam Ali (as), regarding the pious, says:
“Their dress is moderate and their gait is humble”
Therefore, the pious are moderate and balanced. We must not have clothing which are excessive in price nor clothing which lowers our dignity. In addition the Imam says the pious are humble. We will discuss later how humbleness is linked to piety.
Imam Ali (as) also said:
“How beautiful is the humbleness of the rich in front of the poor because they seek what is with Allah but even more beautiful is the disregard of the poor towards the rich.”
We must always keep our honour intact. Hence why it is beautiful when a poor person does not succumb to greed and lower himself for the sake of gaining favours from the rich.
Imam Ridha (as) said:
“Humbleness is to give people what you would love to be given”
In my opinion, this means that a humble person is one who does not feel special. He desires for himself equal to that which other people have. A humble person will not consider himself to be more important than others. Whereas those who are arrogant consider themselves better and more valued than others. They expect a special privilege and admiration from others.
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Truly, one aspect of humbleness is that a person sits down in a place that may not be very special or high”
The arrogant want to sit where the elders, scholars and the respected of the community sit. Whereas the humble sits at places of no special value without hesitation even if he is deserving of that special seat; as the Imam also said:
“One aspect of humbleness is to be pleased with sitting in a place and not in another place, it may be lower than you deserve, but you do not want more; and to say ‘Salam’ to whoever you meet and to stop disputing even if you are right and to not expect any praise for your piety.”
Hence, those who are arrogant also hesitate to greet first and say ‘Salam’. The humble, however, try to say ‘Salam’ first and approach the other. Expecting others to greet us first before we reply is due to arrogance on account of feeling higher than them due to money, age or social position. In addition, the Imam says the humble stop disputing even if they are right; when the debate no longer serves the truth and is not productive; it simply becomes a battle of the egos. The humble are those who are willing to kindly, not with bitterness, put aside this conundrum after having made themselves clear, even if they are right.
Lastly, the humble do not expect praise for their piety. Praise is expected when we feel we are special and praiseworthy; whereas the humble do not feel especially valued above others. Hence they have no expectation of praise.

Outcomes of humbleness
1. Allah (swt) raises a humble person. As the Prophet (s) said:
“Indeed humbleness adds to the highness of its possessor. So be humble, Allah will raise you”
“One who is humble for the sake of Allah, Allah will raise him. So he will be weak in his own estimation but mighty in the eyes of others. And one who is arrogant, Allah will lower him. So he will be weak in the eyes of others and mighty in his own estimation, so much so that people will take him to be worse than pigs and dogs.”
Therefore, we have two choices: either we try to raise ourselves, and this will cause people to feel offended, or we try to be humble and let Allah (swt) raise us. However, when Allah raises us then no one can bring us down whereas if we raise ourselves then it is temporary and at the expense of vilifying ourselves in society. Therefore, we should never try to be great because only Allah (swt) is great; our attempt to seem great can only manifest as us trying to be what we are not and hence arrogant.
2. Love; Imam Ali (as) said:
“The fruit of humbleness is love. And the fruit of arrogance is [to face] words of abuse.”
A humble people is loved by people whereas everyone detests arrogance. Their reactions will therefore follow similarly and the arrogant will only face the anger and dislike of people towards them.
3. Solving problems; as Imam Ali (as) says:
“By bringing down the wing of humbleness affairs can be regulated”
Arrogance makes dilemmas and difficult situations worse. When someone is impatient, responding with impatience will only escalate the difficulty. Similarly, humbleness helps to solve problems whereas arrogant tendencies aren’t helpful at all.
4. Wisdom; Imam Kadhim (as) said:
“Indeed a plant can grow in a level ground. And this is wisdom. Wisdom cannot flourish in the heart of an arrogant person because Allah has made humbleness as instrument for the intellect and arrogance an instrument for ignorance.”
All good things in society, ultimately, reaches the humble. If a heart is humble then its wisdom can reach it and flourish in it. Hence if a person is humble, his intellect can function better.

How to become humble
Imam Kadhim (as) said:
“Allah has not raised the humble people in proportion to their humbleness but rather He has raised them proportionate to His own greatness.”
Imam Ali (as) said:
“You will not be helped with humbleness except with the good health of the chest”
By chest, the Imam is referring to our spiritual heart. A pure heart is required in order to achieve humbleness because humbleness is not a matter of the body but it is the heart.
In another narration Imam Ali (as) said:
“Humbleness is the fruit of knowledge. It is not befitting that a person who knows the greatness of Allah to try to be great and privileged. Those who know the greatness of Allah, their highness comes when are humble for Allah.”
Therefore, humbleness can only be achieved with a pure heart and knowledge. Someone who is actually knowledgeable is humble. Those who know Allah are humble because they see what greatness is and this humbleness is what raises them.

Imam Ridha (as) said:
“One rank [of humbleness] is that a person knows his own limit and measure with a pure heart, and that he would not love to go to anyone except in the manner that he would love them to come to him. If he is wronged he tries to turn it into good [and does not do bad in return], he suppresses anger, and he forgives people.”
From this narration we learn:
1. Do not overestimate your limit.
2. Do not treat others how you wouldn’t want to be treated.
People are careful when they are in danger. Hence they ignore any offence caused to them by e.g. a manager. Whereas they would not be so forgiving to those beneath them such as their wife and children. Therefore, humble people are kind to others even if there is no threat of harm or insecurity.
3. Forgive others.
Our lack of forgiveness is due to arrogance. We feel we are too great to be offended and therefore the offender doesn’t deserve forgiveness. Whereas a humble person sees himself as insignificant and hence would easily forego any wrong done to him. We must not take bad treatment of us too seriously from the believers. Through humbleness we would have inner strength to not allow ourselves to become easily offended.

The root of humbleness
Ghazali quoted from Fudhayl regarding humbleness:
“It is to be humble before the truth and obedient to it, even if you hear it from a child you accept it, and even if you hear it from the most ignorant of people you accept it.”
Normally we think humbleness is related to our behaviour with people such that a humble person will never be arrogant towards anyone. However, in reality humbleness is rooted on our devotion to the truth (al-Haqq) that is Allah (swt). That is why when Allah (swt) commands us to be arrogant against the arrogant; a humble person would do so since humbleness is not based on appearance; it is a condition of the heart which manifests into our behaviour. Hence, even when a humble person behaves arrogantly, he isn’t so out of arrogance; he detests it yet deems it necessary; similar to one who tells a lie to save another’s life, he is truthful in nature and so he does not like lying although he is forced to do it due to the circumstance.
Therefore, humbleness is ultimately to the absolute truth that is Allah (swt). Hence, a humble person does not have a choice but to be dedicated to the truth because any disobedience or denial of the truth is against the absolute truth, Allah (swt).

Analysis of humbleness
In order to understand humbleness we must understand the opposite that is arrogance (Kibr).
Ayatollah Ha’iri says it is a condition of the heart that makes a person feel lowly such that it influences his feelings towards Allah, the Prophet (s), the Imams and the faithful. The opposite of humbleness is arrogance (Takabbur). This is to think that you are too great to obey Allah (Ta’ali). It leads to disbelief and is therefore a great sin.
Since humbleness is a matter of the heart, one who appears humble may not be so because there are people who pretend to be humble but have an internal arrogance. In order to be truly humble, we need to have an acknowledgement of how insignificant our achievements are and how poor we are. Hence, when such a person remembers Allah, he is fully obedient. Therefore, although it is a condition of the heart, it manifests in our behaviour with other people.
We must therefore, as Ayatollah Ha’iri said, tie our hearts with humbleness just as we must tie our minds with proper beliefs. To think of ourselves as in utter poverty in front of Allah (swt); as the Prophet (s) said:
“Poverty is my honour”
Poverty (Faqr) has several usages, two of them being good and two of them being bad:
1. Poverty meaning an inability to generate wealth. Such as a lazy person or someone who is prevented from earning a living. This meaning is not good.
2. Poverty meaning one who has no good deeds on the day of judgement; when the only valid currency will be what good we did in the world. A poor person then is one who has no good deeds and has taken the rights of others which must be paid back. This meaning is also not good.
3. Poverty meaning voluntarily living a simple life despite being able to afford luxuries. Such as the life of Imam Ali (as) and the Prophet (s) whom worked hard and could afford to live extravagantly and they had at some points access to a lot of wealth yet chose to live a simple life. This is a good meaning.
4. Poverty meaning a sense of humbleness after knowing our utter dependency upon Allah (swt). This is good and this is where humbleness is from.

Takkabbur (Arrogance) and Kibr (Greatness)
Kibr (greatness) is when someone thinks they are great and high. This is an attribute only suitable for Allah (swt) because only He is great. When humans think themselves as great, it is an attribute not suited to us as we are in utter poverty and dependency to Allah; as a result this thought of greatness only manifests as arrogance (Takabbur). Although internal arrogance isn’t visible, it leaks out like a bad smell; the people around sense it yet the owner is used to it. Similarly if a person has humbleness, although it is hidden as an internal quality, it leaks out but like a good fragrance; the people around sense it but the owner is used to it.

Some verses regarding humbleness
“Do not walk exultantly on the earth. Indeed you will neither pierce the earth, nor reach the mountains in height”¹⁴¹
“The servants of the All-beneficent are those who walk humbly on the earth, and when the ignorant address them, say, ‘Peace!’”¹⁴²
‘Ujb
Ujb refers to when a person thinks he is better than someone else. Its difference with arrogance is that it is relative to others. It is a feeling of having something rare in relation to others and then such a person compares himself to others.

Some narrations
Imam Baqir (as) said:
“Kibr (Greatness) is the apparel of Allah, and a Mutakabbir (arrogant) is one who tries to remove the apparel from Him”
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Kibr is the apparel of Allah and whoever tries to remove from Him something that is His, will be put into the fire on his face”
This is when a person tries to put himself in the position of Allah, he blocks for himself all room for improvement and afterwards only degrades in character. He will have no value for others and their rights and this is destructive to himself and everyone around as a result he has problems with all creatures of Allah (swt).

Sins
We do not possess anything great except sins. We cannot be great in our knowledge, nor power nor wealth. We have been created weak and as Imam Ali (as) said in a supplication:
“O my Lord! Have mercy on my weak body.”
However, our sins are great because Allah is great. Since we are completely dependent on Him, receiving His favours and hence to turn around and insult Allah by sinning as a response to His kindness and mercy makes any sin truly great.
However, no matter how great our sins, Allah’s mercy is greater;
“If my sin is great in Your sight, your forgiveness is greater than my sin”

Potential
“And He taught Adam the Names, all of them; then presented them to the angels and said, “Tell me the names of these, if you are truthful”¹⁴³
Prophet Adam (as) was created and chosen as the representative on the earth because of the key difference between us and the angels; that being our potential. We have been given a great capacity to learn. However, we are also at risk of misusing our freedom and disregarding our potential for goodness and hence we can regress and reach a degraded position like no other being. Therefore, we have limitless potential to improve or to worsen.

Source of pride and honour
We cannot be proud just by having potential. This potential is also only achievable in servitude to Allah therefore, we can only be proud to be servants of Allah (swt) as this is what makes us special;
“My God, it is sufficient for me as honour that I am Your servant and it is sufficient for me as pride that You are my Lord”
When Prophet Isa (as) was born he said;
“Indeed I am a servant of Allah! He has given me the book and made me a prophet”¹⁴⁴
Also, regarding Prophet Mohammed (s) we declare he was Allah’s servant and messenger. For them and us it is a great achievement to be considered a servant of Allah (swt). Hence, to think we can be great without servitude to Allah (swt) is truly a failure.

The value of humbleness
Humbleness does not mean we lack honour and dignity. It means we do not seek honour nor dignity with people or places that do not yield honour nor dignity. The only way to reach honour is by humbling ourselves to the possessor of all honour and dignity and that is Allah. Therefore, it is meaningless to try and rise based on our comparison with other people. Honour is only in humbleness in servitude to Allah (swt).
Scholars have presented different methods of dealing with arrogance. Ayatollah Ha’iri says that arrogance is from a lack of honour in themselves. It is due to attempts at filling an inner void and hence they act very important to cover the feeling of poverty within. Similarly, the oppressive resort to oppression due to a weakness;
“Indeed it is only those who are weak that resort to oppression”
Such people fear a threat and to protect themselves they resort to oppression.
Regarding the arrogant, who feel a void within them, Allah says;
“When you see them, their bodies impress you, and if they speak, you listen to their speech. Yet they are like dry logs set reclining [against a wall]. They suppose every cry is directed against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah assail them, where do they stray?!”¹⁴⁵
Due to their weakness, they develop a paranoia. Any question directed at them without intending for their weakness, they will take as an attack on them. Hence why some arrogant teachers become annoyed at questions they cannot answer; feeling that the students are trying to harass his weakness. In reality it is due to a sense of inner insignificance and being valueless. Such a person must develop a better connection between him and Allah and consider the blessings of Allah. Only then will he realise that rather than lowering others, he should develop himself.
Another cause of arrogance is feeling humiliated. One who feels humiliated would want to gain back his honour. Some resort to arrogance as a means of gaining honour but in reality only through servitude to Allah can a person gain honour.
This loss of honour which may lead to arrogance could be due to sins. Therefore, the solution would be to stop sinning. When a person is not sinful, that in itself will give him an intrinsic value and he will feel good about himself.

Knowledge and worship
Ayatollah Ha’iri says some people become arrogant due to their knowledge and worship. They compare themselves to others and regard themselves better on account of their worship and knowledge. Whereas the godly scholars are those who are humbled by their increase in knowledge because with more understanding, comes more recognition of one’s own ignorance and insignificance compared to Allah (swt) and creation.
In the beginning when a person has only tasted some knowledge, it causes arrogance within them because they have just taken a step which distinguishes them from other people; at least in their own minds. However, once a person develops and truly becomes knowledgeable he comes to understand what little is actually known and how limited his knowledge is.
Similarly, a worshipper who does not understand may think his worshipping benefits Allah and thus Allah owes him something. Such a worship does not increase anyone. That is why two units of prayer of a learned person is said to be more valuable than seventy units of a worshipper alone because a learned person understands and is humbled in his heart.
In Islamic ethics the intention is essential in the judgement of an action. During the Prophet’s (s) time, people regarded a person as a martyr. However, the Prophet (s) told them that he became a martyr for the sake of a donkey because his intention was only to steal a donkey and was caught and killed. That person did not give his life to help the cause of Allah (swt) but rather he gave his life to loot a donkey. Therefore, the physical appearance of an act is not as important as the intention;
“He, who created death and life that He may test you [to see] which of you is best in conduct. And He is the All-mighty, the All-forgiving.”¹⁴⁶
By “best in conduct” this verse is indicating to the quality of actions not quantity. However, if quality is achieved then the quantitive multitude of actions help.

Reflection
Nothing is as effective as contemplation (Tafakkur) in achieving humbleness. If we are not humble, the first step towards improving would be to at least know that we are not humble. If a person doesn’t realise there is a problem, he can never fix it. By contemplating we can get rid of misconceptions about our value and social positions that lead to arrogance and thinking of ourselves as special above others.
Once we have identified a source of arrogance we can shed some lights on it:
1. The light of death: By contemplating about what we have whilst remembering our death; many things which we consider to be valuable now would be exposed and we would see how useless it is for us at the moment of death and after death. No amount of money, power nor fame can stop death nor help us in the afterlife.
2. The light of history: By contemplating about the past we can identify what truly matters in life. Thousands of generations have passed living all kinds of worldly lives of power, wealth and pleasures such as the pharaohs, kings, emperors and queens. However, none of it can help them now that they have passed on. Their possessions are of no use to them nor their honour. The Quran says;
“How many gardens and springs did they leave behind?! Fields and splendid places, and the bounties wherein they rejoiced! So it was; and We bequeathed them to another people”¹⁴⁷
Think of how many generations lived in our places. Therefore, if we shed the light of death and history on our lives, many of the veils that deceive us into valuing meaningless material wealth and pleasures are removed and our vision for our future becomes free of deceptions. Only through such contemplation can we achieve humbleness.

Fairness (Insaf)
The next value that can help solve many of our social problems is fairness. As Imam Ali (as) said;
“Fairness is the best trait of character”¹⁴⁸
Imam Ali (as) also said:
“Fairness brings hearts together.”
A person who is fair will not expect too much, he will not be too demanding of others and will also assess his own role and actions. As a result people will like him because he is fair.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“With fairness do relationships continue”
So fairness not only brings hearts together in initiating relationships but it also allows relationships to continue. Whenever there is a breakdown in relationships, we see that either one or both sides are unfair however none of them are willing to admit it nor accept it.
“With fairness, those who relate to you increase.”
Meaning a person who is fair will increase in friends as people’s love of fairness will attract them to him.
“The Zakat of power is fairness”
There is a Zakah for everything. For power it is fairness. One who possesses power is in a real position to do much good or much harm and so it is especially important for powerful people to observe fairness as powerless people are incapable of doing harm anyway. However, power here does not mean kings and politicians; it includes parents or anyone with power over anyone. Being unfair can always damage us and those we have power over. That is why we must be responsible with whatever power Allah (swt) has given us by observing fairness.
Imam Mohammed Baqir (as) said:
“There is no justice like fairness”
Fairness is therefore a quality that allows the practice of justice. One who isn’t fair cannot observe justice because fairness is the means to understanding it.

The sayings of Ahl al-Bayt
Alhumdolillah, we are a community that are blessed with leaders (Imams) whose sayings are able to teach us so much. No other people have this, their figures may have said a few things in the past and it has been recorded due to their fame but we have many books, compiled from the Imams’ sayings and all of them are very deep and helpful in our understanding. Hence in Ziyarat ul-Jami’ah we say to the Ahl ul-Bayt:
“Your names are with the names [of people], your speech is with the speech [of people], your graves are amongst the graves [of people], but somehow yours is different!”
Imam Ali (as) said:
“A faithful person observes fairness with respect to those who are not fair with him.”
Fairness is not optional, nor is it conditional. It is what we must strive to be even if someone else is not fair with us. Therefore, we cannot be unfair to others because we believe they are unfair to us. In addition, no one will ever accept that they are being unfair if they are unfair; therefore to base fairness on the condition that the receiver must be fair is to validate excuses for not being fair because those who are unfair always excuse themselves by accusing the other side.
However if someone is violating the rights of others, of course we can stand against him but this doesn’t mean we can oppress them because a faithful person is one who observes fairness even with wrongdoers. As Imam Ali (as) said:
“The most just person is one who is fair with respect to one who has wronged him.”
Therefore, if you can be fair to the one who has wronged you then you are the most just person. Even in punishment, to be fair is to apply the right amount of punishment deserved. We cannot be cruel to a person simply because he has committed a crime, punishment must be in proportion. Therefore, a fair victim would defend the offender if he were to be given a harsh sentence.
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Connect to those who disconnect with you, and if someone has been hostile with you, be fair to them.”
The Prophet (s) said:
“Whoever shares what he has with the poor and is fair with people then he is a truly faithful person”
One step is Muwasat; to share what you have with others. A higher step is ‘ithar; to prefer others over yourself. As the Quran states:
وَالَّذِينَ تَبَوَّؤُوا الدَّارَ وَالْإِيمَانَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِّمَّا أُوتُوا وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“[They are as well] for those who were settled in the land and [abided] in faith before them, who love those who migrate toward them, and do not find in their breasts any need for that which is given to them, but prefer [the Immigrants] over themselves, though poverty be their own lot. And those who are saved from their own greed—it is they who are the felicitous”
Therefore, Muwasat is to share a cup by drinking half and giving half whereas ‘ithar is to give all of the water to others. The Prophet (s) says that whoever shares their possessions with others and is fair is a truly faithful person.
Fairness is not to give to others what you have. Rather it is to decide on what is your right and the right of others. To then share your right with someone needy is more than fairness. This may be why the Prophet (s) added fairness on top of sharing with others.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“The most fair of people is one who observes fairness against himself without any judge or ruler standing over him.”
Many people do not break rules nor take the rights of others because they are afraid to be punished. Would everyone behave the same if there were no punishments for injustice? Would we observe fairness simply for the sake of being a good and faithful person?
Imam Ali (as) said:
“Beware, that indeed one who observes fairness with respect to his relationship with people, Allah will not increase him except in honour.”
This is the connection between fairness and honour we previously discussed.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“It is sufficient for a person for being intelligent that he is fair and a requirement of fairness is that he accepts the truth when it becomes clear for him.”
This is the connection between fairness and truthfulness. The narration says that unfairness is due to stupidity. One who has cultivated his intellect (‘Aql) would not be unfair. In addition, a fair person is concerned with the truth.
Imam Ali (as) said to his Shia; Malik Ashtar:
“Be fair with Allah.”
Sometimes we may not be fair with Allah. We think we are the centre of the universe and so Allah must alter everything according to my needs and wants, without realising all that we have been given already. If we knew how much we have been given, we would feel embarrassed to ask Allah for more. However, due to His kindness he urges us to keep asking. Although we must ask Allah with a better attitude and perhaps ask Him like this:

“O Allah, I cannot thank You enough for what You have given me, even after so many years of life I still cannot understand how much You have given me, let alone be grateful for it. But, if possible and if it does not conflict with the general plan You have for me, and for others and for the world, then could You please, if possible, give me, and I am completely happy if You do not give me.”
Therefore, we must be fair with Allah and be more considerate of the reasons why we may not have something.
Imam Ali (as) continued to say to Malik Ashtar:
“Be fair with Allah and be fair with people, and those who are very close and intimate to you.”
I think this means we that in addition to observing the rights of Allah (swt) and people, we must also not have unrealistic expectations from Allah (swt) nor from people in order to not misuse our position.
Imam Baqir (as) said:
“Indeed Allah has a garden in heaven, none may enter it except three… one who has judged about himself truthfully.”
I always say that I love people who admit their mistakes; this is a great quality.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“A good person should not expect fairness from a person who is bad and a knowledgeable person should not expect fairness from an ignorant.”
If we encounter an unfair person, before advising them to be fair we must see if that person has the capacity to be fair. Otherwise it is unrealistic to expect him to become fair. First we must raise that person’s capacity by improving him and changing him. And change is not possible except through taking him out of his ignorance. Therefore, we cannot expect anything from him until he is ignorant.
Imam Ali (as) explains:
“Three groups should not expect fairness from three others: an intelligent person from a stupid person. A good person from a bad person and an honourable person from a lowly person.”
Therefore, the only people who expect stupid people to be good, are the stupid people. Otherwise we should not waste our energy in pointless efforts.

Fairness (Insaf)
The term Insaf (fairness) has not been used for Allah (swt) in neither the Quran nor the narrations as far as I can recall. Even justice hasn’t been attributed directly, instead the Quran has negated injustice from Allah:
“Indeed Allah does not wrong [anyone] [even to the extent of] an atom’s weight, and if it be a good deed He doubles it[s reward], and gives from Himself a great reward.”¹⁴⁹
“That is because of what your hands have sent ahead, and because Allah is not tyrannical to the servants.”¹⁵⁰
However, regarding fairness; unfairness hasn’t even been negated from Allah. Although some narrations define justice as fairness. For example, regarding this verse:
“Indeed Allah enjoins justice and kindness and generosity towards relatives, and He forbids indecency, wrong, and aggression. He advises you, so that you may take admonition.”¹⁵¹
Imam Ali (as) says:
“Justice is fairness, and kindness is to confer favour [upon someone].”
However, this does not mean they are the same because we previously discussed how the most just person is fair to those who wrong him. Thereby, indicating that there are levels of justice that do not include fairness since only the most just are fair.

What is fairness?
To understand, we must examine the context in which fairness applies. That context is when there is a conflict between two sides, one close to us and the other strange to us. In normal circumstances, a person would take his own side, the side of his tribe or family i.e. the close ones. However, to be fair means to be objective in our judgement. It means to place oneself in the middle, at the same distance from both sides so that our egoistic emotions aren’t involved in our judgement.
If a person goes further than half way and shows extra compassion to the other side, this is called mercy (Rahmah). This is beyond fairness because the person is no longer in the middle to judge objectively, now he is slightly in favour of the other side out of altruism.

Comparison with justice
Justice is to simply give what is people’s right. It does not entail sacrificing one’s own right for others. Whereas fairness is to observe justice and in addition if needs be, sacrifice some of our rights because of the neediness of the other side. There is altruism involved in fairness. Justice is concerned with punishing wrongdoings but fairness tries to excuse a person’s wrong by using his context as an excuse. Therefore, to be fair is to consider what I would like others to do for me if I was in the situation of the other.

Conclusion
A fair person therefore, goes out of his way and treats others as he would like to be treated. He acts based on the truth of the other side but in addition is prepared to sacrifice his own right for the betterment of the other side.

Hamiyyah and Asabiyyah (bias)
The root cause of unfairness is bias. Regarding bias Imam Sadiq (as) says:
“If someone is biased or allows people to be biased in his favour, then he has removed the rope of faith from his neck.”¹⁵²
True faith (Iman) is based on obedience to the truth. Whereas those who are biased are in reality not promoting the truth. They only promote themselves or anything that they relate to. Those with bias would argue for the superiority of their side, not because they are upholding truth but because it is their side. Hence, such a person would not be considered a truly faithful person (Mu’min) because to be a believer is to be committed to truth, not our own egos.
Imam Sadiq also quotes the Prophet (s):
“Whosoever has even a very small particle [like dust] of mustard of asabiyyah, Allah will resurrect him on the Day of Judgement with the A’rab of the age of ignorance.”¹⁵³
A’rab means those ignorant and morally vicious Bedouins before the advent of Islam. The Quran refers to them as;
“The Bedouins are more obdurate in unfaith and hypocrisy, and more apt to be ignorant of the precepts that Allah has sent down to His Apostle, and Allah is all-knowing, all-wise”¹⁵⁴
They were stubborn and insistent on their false ideas. Hence those who have the slightest bias would be resurrected among such people.

Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) said:
“Asabiyyah is when a person considers bad people from his group better than good people from another group. And it is not asabiyyah when a person loves his own people. However, it is asabiyyah when such a person helps his own people do dhulm to others”
From this narration we understand the following:
1. Bias (Asabiyyah) is to consider your evil better than the goodness of others;
Those who value their own side over others are not judging based on truth and virtue of others, but rather based on their ego.
2. Bias is to help your own be cruel against a people who aren’t your own;
Indeed, our main consideration must be justice, truth, and the pleasure of Allah (swt). We should not ever support a person just because he is in any way closer to us. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:
“O you who have faith! Be maintainers of justice and witnesses for the sake of Allah, even if it should be against yourselves or [your] parents and near relatives, and whether it be [someone] rich or poor, for Allah has a greater right over them. So do not follow [your] desires, lest you should be unfair, and if you distort [the testimony] or disregard [it], Allah is indeed well aware of what you do”¹⁵⁵
3. However it is not bias to love one’s own if it does not entail the two other characteristics above.
Although this love must be genuine and educated. We must love them based on truth and a real value such as the pleasure of Allah (swt) because love which is based on selfish emotions such as tribalism or nationality would mean that we would not be fair to the same people if tomorrow they turn against us since fairness to them would no longer serve our own selves.
4. Bias does not allow one to see the truth;
Those who are biased, do not see the goodness of others or their own evils hence why they value themselves so much over others. Otherwise if a person was aware of the truth then no one in submission and awareness to the truth would ever be cruel and oppressive towards others.
Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) said:
“No hamiyyah will cause a person to enter heaven except the hamiyyah Hamza has for the Prophet Muhammad (s).”
Hamiyyah means a special attachment, positive or negative. It is because Hamza saw him as an oppressed person under the harsh bullying of the pagans in Mecca. If a person does not possess this inclination to help the oppressed then he isn’t a human. Therefore, the difference between a good bias and a bad bias is to see what it is based on. If a person is biased in service of truth and justice then it is good whereas a selfish bias is bad because it ignores truth and justice. Hence a good bias is the one that does not allow us to be indifferent to the sufferings of others.

The root cause
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Indeed the angels considered that Iblis was one of them, but Allah knew he was not.”
Allah (swt) knew what was hidden in Iblis, what would surface when he is tested by Adam (as). Similarly we humans often have great problems within us but due to ease and comfort we do not exhibit it. However, when difficulties fall upon people, they become vicious. Hence Imam Husayn (as) says;
“People are slaves of the world, and religion is a thing that remains on their tongues. When they are afflicted with calamity, the truly faithful become very few”
We display religiosity in ease and comfort but like a thing on our tongue, we are quick to spit it out when a difficulty tests us. As a result, those who are truly faithful in ease and in hardship are very few.

Conclusion
It is fine to have many friends with whom we laugh and enjoy our time. However, we must not rush in choosing close friends whom we share our secrets with. One way to discern the nature of a person is to journey with them due to the difficulties of travelling that tests everyone.
However we must not seek to expose others because the more sins are exposed the lower falls the society’s moral standards. If we see that everyone has the problems I have then it helps to normalise my problems and hence we would be barred from improving ourselves. Hence, if we do not maintain a good moral image of society, the morality of society as a whole and individual members will continuously become worse.
At the same time, if we do not acknowledge the problems of society and only focus on keeping up a fake image would only result in us deceiving ourselves without fixing any problems among us.

This narration reminds us:
1. Fairness is to distance yourself from your own side and see both conflicting sides equally.
2. Truthfulness and fairness are two factors in increasing one’s life and sustenance.
3. By being committed to truth and being fair; we benefit from our intellect (Aql).
Every human has been given intellect yet very few actually benefit from it. Those who listen to their intellect and follow the truth are actually encouraging their intellect’s influence. However, those who are not committed to truth would disregard the influence of their intellect that tells them the truth. After successive suppression of their intellect, eventually their intellect would overcome and they would therefore no longer benefit; as we recite in Dua al-Sabah:
“My Aql is overcome”.
4. At the time of questioning after death, he would know the answers. Not because it is arbitrarily given to him but because a fair and truthful person does not act in vain; as a hadith states:
“Take account of yourself before an account is taken of you.”
Hence he has an answer for everything since had taken account of himself in this world.

Saying of Imam Sadiq (as)
“Shall I inform you of three things that are the most difficult things that Allah has made obligatory for his creation?” Then he said “to be fair to people [by taking] from yourself, doing Muwasat with your brother, and to remember Allah in every condition.”

According to this narration three things are the most difficult duties upon us:
1. Fairness; to be objective in our behaviour during conflicts and judgement. This is more difficult than military struggle since millions of people can become Mujahedeen but very few can become fair.
2. Muwasat: to give to the needy what belongs to you. This selflessness can only apply to other believers but not your enemies. Whereas fairness must be for all including enemies.
3. To remember Allah (swt) is every condition is also very difficult as Imam Sadiq (as) continued;
“But I do not mean saying subhanallah wa al-hamdu lillah wa la ilaha illallah wallahu Akbar, even though that is also of remembrance. Rather, to remember Allah whenever you are faced with the choice between obedience and disobedience”
This remembrance is in reference to moments that would test our obedience to Allah; to observe obedience to Allah when we are tempted by disobedience.

How can we be fair?
In the beginning of our self-development, it is difficult to be fair because we are inclined to be egoistic. We therefore have to continuously pressure ourselves to be fair. We may be able to be fair in a few cases but we won’t be completely fair straight away. We may be fair selectively; so fair with friends but might not with enemies or fair with one group over another. However, we must continue to exercise fairness as much as we can until it becomes a part of our nature. When we become fair innately, only then can we claim to be servants of Allah (swt). Since servitude means serve Allah at all times, not selectively. One who serves his ego cannot be called a servant of Allah.
Often we may feel we are losing out by being fair. This is because we have built ourselves upon Batil whereas if we had built ourselves on Haqq, we would know that truthfulness and fairness adds nothing to us except honour.
Therefore, at our current state we may be selfish. However, at least we have a superficial obedience to Allah (swt), from here we can grow and evolve to become people who are only concerned about the truth and truthfulness.
“In the abode of truthfulness with an omnipotent King”¹⁵⁶
Such is the position of the truthful and it will benefit them with a great success;
“Allah will say, ‘This day truthfulness shall benefit the truthful. For them there will be gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them forever.’ Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is the great success”¹⁵⁷
May Allah (swt) make us be among the people of truthfulness and then we would not have any problems.

Loyalty (Wafa)
Loyalty is closely-knit with truthfulness and trustworthiness. It can manifest in several forms;
1. Loyalty to a covenant: this is regarding an agreement from 2 or more sides to deliver goods or services in return for something else. We must not question our commitment to an agreement after agreeing. Once we give our word, we must deliver on it as Allah (swt) commands us:
“And fulfil the covenants, indeed all covenants are accountable.”¹⁵⁸
Also, to be pious means to fulfil our covenants as Allah (swt);
“Piety is [personified by]… those who fulfil their covenants when they pledge themselves… they are the ones who are true to their covenant.”¹⁵⁹
Imam Zayn al-Abideen (as) said all religion is encompassed by these three values:
“Speaking the truth, judging according to justice and keeping promises.”
Therefore, believers are only those whom deliver on their agreements.
2. Loyalty to a promise; this is unilateral and the promisor doesn’t ask for anything in return. Although agreements are more serious than promises yet still the Prophet (s) said:
“A promise is a debt.”

Therefore, a believer is one who ensures they deliver on their promise and if unable to do so, they regard it as a debt because to break a promise is much worse as the Prophet (s) would repeatedly say;
“Woe to those who promise and then break it.”
He also said;
“The promise of a believer is like a debt and when a believer promises it is as if it’s grasped by the hand.”
This means that when someone secures a promise from a believer, it is as if he has already acquired that promised thing. This is how we must strive to become; to give such certainty and trust by our promises.
3. Loyalty in kindness; this is when you are indebted to a person due to their kindness towards you. We must be loyal and grateful to such people out of their kindness. To forget the favours of others on us is detrimental to the development of our social relationships with our family as well as friends and people in society. Therefore, we must be loyal in keeping our relationships and developing them by way of remembering and being grateful for others’ kindness; as Imam Ali (as) said:
“Whoever teaches me one letter has made me his servant.”
Furthermore, in addition to loyalty to teachers, we must be loyal to our organisations. If we are employed and entrusted with secrets, we must not spill their secrets even after resignation.
4. Loyalty to leaders
An important aspect is the loyalty of followers to their leaders; such as that of the companions of Imam Husayn (as) as he said;
“I do not know of any companions better and more loyal than my companions.”
We must not be like the people of Kufa whom were with Muslim ibn Aqeel when he was in ease and power but deserted him when he need them.
5. Loyalty to a trust; this means we must always deliver back to the trustors what they entrusted to us. Here there is no exception as Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“There are three things for which no one is excused: delivering the trust whether to a good person or a wrongdoer, to be kind to your parents whether they are good or bad.”
However, if necessary we may only delay delivery in order to prevent a serious harm e.g. we must not return a weapon to an angry person because out of anger he may kill someone. In such circumstances we must delay delivery to make sure it is then safe to return the property to its owner.

Exceptions
As we previously said, regarding qualities, there are no exceptions; we must always have all good qualities. However, there may be exceptions when we should not exercise good qualities. For example, if truthfulness will endanger an innocent person’s life then it’s best to not tell the truth but in nature we must be truthful.
Regarding loyalty, it must be rooted on truth and pleasure of Allah (swt). Hence if a group we are loyal to, a leader, a family member, a friend or anyone who has been kind to us, if they require disobedience to Allah from us then we cannot act on our loyalty; here we must remain loyal to Allah (swt) as He is the origin of all of our loyalties. Therefore, those to whom we owe loyalty, we only owe loyalty as long as they do not misuse our loyalty to command us to do evil.

Different types of loyalty
1. Loyalty to agreements (al-Ahd): This is when we agree to do something in return for something such as business contracts or any bilateral or multilateral contracts.
We must be loyal to all agreements we make with others and we must also remain loyal as some people tend to misunderstand and think that a change in prices or circumstances gives them the right to go against their agreement. The Prophet (s) before the advent of Islam, joined a treaty called Hilf al-Fudhul which was among some youths in Mecca to protect the rights of strangers in Mecca. After establishing Islam and becoming a middle aged man, he said he was still loyal to that agreement he made in his youth. Therefore, the Prophet (s) showed that a change in time, position, money, power or age does not invalidate past agreements. Hence, we must always remain loyal to our agreements.
2. Loyalty to promises (al-Wa’d): This is when we unilaterally agree to do something; in other words when we promise. Regarding the importance of this the Prophet (s) said:
“The promise of a believer is a debt and a promise is like actually taking it by the hand.”
The Prophet (s) says that a believer is so loyal to his promises that when he promises it as if you’ve got your hands around it. We must be loyal to our promises if we want to be believers. A promise can be in regards to family, friends, country and any place we have benefitted from. By becoming a citizen of a country, we take a vow of loyalty and we must remain loyal to it, the land where we are born deserves our loyalty. That which benefits us deserves our loyalty, we cannot say we owe nothing to those that benefitted us after sometime as this would not be gratitude. Gratitude is to maintain loyalty to whoever and whatever benefits us. Hence, we cannot be careless in regard to past workplaces, schools, teacher, colleagues, scholars or countries. Therefore, even when formalities stop, our relationships must continue.
This also applies to marriage, one of the best unions. We must not be careless towards our past spouses and we must feel responsible towards them because these are people we shared good times with. Hence, our loyalty must continue after divorce. Therefore, loyalty is very comprehensive.

The relationship between loyalty and truthfulness
Loyalty has a close relationship to truthfulness. If we sign an agreement or make a promise while having no intention of honouring our words then we are not being truthful. Likewise when we honestly agree but then we refuse to abide by the agreement later, we are also not being truthful because a part of being truthful is to fulfil what you say. Therefore, a believer must remain loyal to his words if he wants to be truthful.
In addition to general truthfulness, we must be in servitude of the absolute truth (al-Haqq) which is Allah (swt). Even though there may not be legal obligation on us to remain loyal to our promises or agreements, there is always a moral obligation. Hence, someone who wants to be truthful must be in servitude to Allah (swt), the absolute truth and reality. Being in servitude to Allah means that we must observe rights given to people by Allah (Haqq al-Nas). Rights of people on us include our loyalty to them after agreements or promises. Hence, it also includes loyalty to them after our formalities such as employment ends. Therefore, we have a god given right to fulfil by being loyal to them. This is the relationship between truthfulness, loyalty and the truth.

What are the causes of not observing loyalty?
Allah (swt) says:
“But humans desire to go on living viciously.”¹⁶⁰
When a person is not spiritually trained, they avoid anything which would restrict their desires because they want to do whatever they wish. The rights of people, loyalty and commitment to truth & Allah (swt) are factors that limit us from being vicious. This is another relation between truthfulness and loyalty; a truthful person is committed to truth, loyal to it. Hence, those who do not observe loyalty are reluctant of observing the truth because both these are restricting factors against vices.
The concept of the absolute truth (al-Haqq) and the observance of truth necessitates that humans stop living viciously and become virtues in living. Hence, either we must adhere to what is the reality because it is according to the absolute truth or if we are living viciously, change our living to what should be the reality i.e. one based on virtues not vices.

Closeness to the Prophet (s)
The noble Prophet (s) said:
“The nearest of you to me tomorrow when we all stand before Allah (swt) are those of you who are most truthful in speech, most careful as trustees, most loyal to covenants, best in their ethics (Akhlaq) and those who are nearest to people.”

From this we understand that the best people near Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s) are those who are:
1. Truthful in speech.
2. Most trustworthy as trustees.
Ada al-‘Amanah is more inclusive than being good trustees because it concerns all safeguarding such as supporting the most qualified person for a role. If we were to support a person for a position, knowing they are not most qualified then we are not fulfilling the requirement of ‘Amanah which seeks to bring security; here we would be doing Khiyanah (Betrayal) by betraying the trust of people and undermining the integrity of a community by positioning lesser people over better people.
3. Most loyal to agreements.
4. Ethically best in their character.
5. Near to people.
Therefore, in order to be closer to Allah (swt) and the Prophet (s) we must be close to people. This can only be done in humbleness towards people. The more a person becomes humble, the more he loves other people and understands them. If a person feels he is above others, he is becoming distant from people as well as from Allah (swt).
No one who claims greatness is great whereas those who are humble are great. What the Prophet (s) wants from us is truthfulness, loyalty, trustworthiness, being good natured and being close to people.

A narration for reflection
Imam Baqir (as) said:
“There are four things that whoever possesses them his Islam is complete, he would be assisted with respect to his faith, he would be cleansed from all his sins, and he would meet his Lord while He is pleased with him, and even if this person has sins from the top of his head up to his feet, these sins will be dropped by Allah (swt): to be loyal to what he undertakes to do for Allah (swt); to be truthful in speech with people; to have shame (Haya) from doing things which are considered as ugly by Allah (swt); and to have a good temperament with his family and with people”.¹⁶¹
Four qualities would give the following benefits:
1. Completion of the person’s Islam
2. Assistance in faith.
3. Cleansing of all sins.
4. Pleasure of Allah (swt).
The four qualities are:
1. To be loyal in regard to what he undertakes to do for Allah (swt).
2. To be truthful with people
3. To have shame from committing immoral acts that are seen as ugly by Allah (swt).
4. To have a good nature with his family and with people.
Then Imam (as) said:
“There are four things that if any faithful person has these then Allah (swt) will let him settle in the highest of positions, in a room above all other places, and in a place of honour which is perfect in being honourable: one who cares for an orphan, has concern for him, and acts as a father for him; one who shows kindness and mercy (Rahmah) to a person who is weak and helps him and provides him with what he needs; one who spends on his parents and is very kind and considerate with them, makes them happy, and does not make them sad; and one who helps a slave/maid/employee, and does not force him to do something that he cannot do.”
Four actions will allow a person to be in the highest of positions near Allah (swt) and to attain honour near Allah (swt):
1. Caring for an orphan; being a parent to him/her.
2. Showing kindness and mercy to the weak and helping him and providing for him.
3. Spending on one’s parents, making them happy and avoiding making them sad.
4. Helping a slave, maid or an employee in their tasks and not forcing them beyond their limit.
As we can see, the first of the four qualities is loyalty. This shows how important loyalty is. In addition the Quran also stresses upon loyalty:
“So long as they are steadfast with you, be steadfast with them. Indeed Allah loves the God-wary.”
The verse tells us that a requirement of god wariness (Taqwa) is being loyal to agreements. The context of the verse is that the pagans who were killing and torturing Muslims were granted amnesty by the Prophet (s) and then the Quran says you must be loyal to your agreement and not commit any hostile acts against them as long as they honour their side of the agreement.
In addition to being loyal to your former killers and torturers’ amnesty, Allah (swt) says you cannot even help Muslims if your help to them is against a faction with whom you have a treaty with:
“And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, except against a people with whom you have a treaty. And Allah is seeing of what you do.”¹⁶²
This shows how important it is to be loyal and the Prophet (s) said:
“The one who does not show loyalty to his treaty is not a believer.”
In another narration the Prophet (s) said:
“Whoever has faith in Allah and in the day of judgement must keep his promise when he promises.”
Islam wants a society full of trust. Otherwise if there is no trust then nothing works, you cannot trust anyone when it comes to business, family and everything else even the concept of language would not work if people say what they don’t mean; life without trust is hell on earth. For this reason loyalty is fundamental because it maintains a level of trust in society by which we can function.

Connection to other virtues
Hence loyalty is connected to truthfulness and justice because loyalty means to be true to one’s word and promises. When we agree to do something, we are giving the person a right over us, even if it’s unilateral. If we do not observe that right then we have committed injustice. To be truthful and honest means to do your best to carry out your promises. If it is not possible then it must be compensated and the damages must be prevented because you have misled someone to expect from you and plan based on your words.

Gratefulness
It is also important to be grateful for every good thing in our past and present. Even after commitments end e.g. graduation or divorce, we must be grateful for the good times we had with people in the past such as a former spouse, teacher, friend, employee and employer. Betrayal is never acceptable including to one’s country.

Conclusion
Ultimately, we must be in service of the truth (al-Haqq). Then we would not do anything which would reduce trust in society such as disregarding promises.
May Allah (swt) make us people of loyalty and let us be known by it.

Mubahathah (Discussion)
Shaheed Thani says regarding Mubahathah:
1. It is a reconstruction of the class.
2. It helps to memorise.
3. It improves our ability to communicate, express ourselves and ask questions.
4. It must be done straight after class.
5. It must be done with regular attendees.
6. It must be performed with a fresh memory, quickly after class.
7. We can verbalise what we have learned with ourselves if no one is available and this is helpful as we can hear ourselves speak.
8. Success is unlikely for a person who does not do Mubahathah.
9. It should not be done in the presences of the teacher unless the teacher asks.

Islamic studies
Traditional Islamic studies must be done in groups. Friends are very important to study and discuss with. Discussions must be done without assigning the speaker beforehand because it will cause laziness in others. If we do not do Mubahathah then we will later realise that what we had thought we understood, we cannot teach to another person because we haven’t developed our presentation skills.
In discussions it is important to avoid arguing unwisely (Mira’); an argument for the sake of arguing or ego.
“May Allah’s mercy be upon the person who stops Mira’ even though he is right.”
If we are right but we see that despite repeating ourselves clearly three times, the other side refuses to listen then we must leave it. It is may be due to a problem in you, the other or perhaps the time is not right. People’s egos become involved and hence discussions must stop as it may lead to bitter confliction. Just as countries have rounds of political talks, not one long talk, we must also try and approach an issue to discuss in several rounds. We must also bear in mind not to insist on our opinion, it is possible we are mistaken.

Study (Mutala’ah)
Although self-study is possible, but it will never be as effective as learning with a teacher. The best teacher will not forcefully make a person a learned person. We must control our own studies in order to become so. We must know what we want to learn and achieve and why we are studying a subject.
We must also check ourselves to see how much we have progressed every few months. If we don’t notice good advancements, then it is a point of concern. We must be doing something wrong. We must be conscious of our study plan and make sure to apply it.

Subject interests
We may have a particular interest in a subject. This is helpful in those subjects as it grants us more concentration however it may also cause a disinterest in us for other subjects. Hence it is important to know that Islamic studies is a holistic package and we must study all necessary subjects for becoming a well-rounded scholar and develop a holistic understanding of Islam. We cannot start specialising in one subject without having a basic understanding in all other necessary subjects. Specialisation comes later when we are learned in all the subjects of Islam.
We should also try to take extra classes in holidays because Hawza time is limited and we must utilise our free time for extra studies. If we do not study in our holidays, then it will cause us to lose our edge. Hence, studies must never stop because it will cause forgetfulness and it will take time to start studying again. There is a saying:
“If you do not give your whole self to knowledge then it will not give part of itself to you.”
Hence, we must dedicate all of our efforts and time for gaining knowledge.
“They question you concerning the Spirit. Say, “The Spirit is of the command of my Lord, and you have not been given of the knowledge except a little.”¹⁶³

Allah (swt) says:
“So, give glad tidings to my servants who listen to speech and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding.”¹⁶⁴
The rightly guided and rational people are those who listen to all speech and act on the best of it. This is for those who are able to discern. However, for those who struggle to discern between truth and falsehood, it is not good to listen to everything. On the other hand, for those who can discern, they must listen to religious and non-religious people as well as friends and enemies and then act on the best of all.

Reading
Reading is another important means of gaining knowledge; which rationality requires. We must seek to make reading a habit for ourselves. Have you considered how, generally, people who are habitual readers are more rational and serious than people who do not read? This is only due to their taking knowledge seriously.
Rationality also comes with challenging questions however, this is not necessary at a young age. Instead we must teach children to learn, listen, debate and read.
We must also try to read only that which is useful to read; any text which helps a person to increase their useful knowledge. Texts which are useful also tend to be less entertaining than other texts which may give quick and instant enjoyment. However, we must desist from laziness to read longer and more useful texts. For the sake of our mind, we must be involved in mentally stimulating and educational activities such as listening, discussing and reading.
For normal people, who work every day for a living, those who have little free time, must at least read an hour a day. However, for students, there is no limit. If they’re able to, students must spend 12 hours per day studying, reading, discussing and any shortcomings due to necessities of living such as shopping, travelling, family time are excused, but the point is that their main occupation must be gaining knowledge.
Therefore, we must make reading a habit and to read serious texts. Of course, for children, we can start by getting them attached to reading through entertaining story books.

Choosing what to read
Not every book is worth reading. What we read occupies our mind, especially subconsciously and hence shapes our behaviour. In this sense, it may be harmful to read some books that are encouraging a deviant mentality.
However, reading worthy books must be incorporated in our daily lives. Its importance is highlighted by Allah (swt) when he commands us in the Quran to read:
“Read! In the name of your Lord who created.”¹⁶⁵
Unfortunately, today we have a trend of reading little and quickly. This lacks depth and potential for development because by such reading we can never understand any topic properly. Which is why instant things being not necessarily good. To be instant in deciding is also not rational and hence why immoral marketing practices exist today where they give a limited time offer in order to make people rush into making quick and irrational decisions. Some other people rush into marriages and businesses that end up unsuccessful because due time was not taken for proper thinking and consultation before deciding.

Rational judgements
What differentiates humans from animals is our rationality. We take time to think and try to develop and change for the better. Whereas animals are reactionary and quick to respond to prey and predator. Therefore, we must be human by being rational and continuously seek to improve ourselves with consultation, learning from others’ experience and rationality.
However, we must not hesitate too much in the name of careful decision making. Those who are successful take small risks and those who don’t progress aren’t risk takers. We must take risks but in a measured way because nothing will ever give us complete certainty regarding its outcome e.g. marriage, we can never know if it will be successful or not and hence it is always a risk. However, those who don’t take that small measured risk remain unsuccessful and single for far too long; even in the end the possibility of divorce exists. Therefore, we must be rational in our judgement; timely and with consultation.
Rational people are also predictable, hence reliable. Whereas emotional people are reactionary to immediate situations. A rational human can be trusted to not act emotionally without thoughtful consideration. Whereas an emotional person just acts based on whatever is influencing his emotions.
It is essential to receive feedback for our works even if we are not going to act on it because simply knowing our performance is good for us. It is useful and necessary to see how much we are achieving our aims through feedback, even if it is done for the sake of Allah, we must ensure we are doing it properly.
Although, we must bear in mind that a rational person may struggle to benefit from feedbacks if he is able to find faults and disagree with the feedback. Therefore, we must not become closed minded to feedback even if we see that it is not wholly true.
As a result, in today’s culture, we must make further efforts to encourage everyone to develop a habit of reading, especially reading in depth and according to a useful structure.

Reading list
Every person should have a reading list. For students, the main component of their studies are the textbooks however, in addition they should have supplementary books to study in their free time. A list could be for 6 months or a year.
However, there are people who have a long list of books but people who put aside books without finishing them, such people would not succeed because they leave everything prematurely. We must try to study in an organised structure to better help with a certain area of learning. we must prioritise our reading list and this would vary for each person based on their background.
In Islamic studies, you can have three types of lists; one for teenagers, one for adults and one for those who wish to become experts and carry on in formal studies.
We must also be consciously picking what to read, not due to publicity or advertising. We must have control over what we read.

Making reading part of our lives
We need to have activities and tactics to make reading a habit. One suggestion is to maintain a strong connection to the Quran and the Ahl ul-Bayt by focusing on verses and narrations as a whole family, for some minutes on one narration each day for a week. Another suggestion is to have family and friends with whom to read something, this would make it more beneficial and interesting. In addition, in order to understand the Quran, we must read other texts in explanation of the Quran to have a proper understanding.

Time of reading
For students there isn’t a limitation on how much they should read as studying is their main occupation. However, times which are more suitable for reading must be used for reading difficult texts. Other times where there may be some noise, it is best to read other materials which are easier to understand.
For normal people, who have only an hour or two per day to study besides their main occupations, they must reserve the best time for reading. This is when the body is fresh and awake such as early morning. One must not try studying after eating as this causes tiredness especially a heavy meal.

Place of reading
We need to have a suitable place for reading. Although everyone has different preferences but normally a study room or the library is good. In such places our minds are aware that it is for study. Therefore, as much as possible we should reserve our place of study for only studying. It is not good to try and study in a place we normally sleep because our bodies would naturally feel sleepy there. If we need to speak to someone then it’s better to train ourselves to only speak when outside our study room.
In addition, we should hang some pictures of righteous scholars such as Ayatollah Mutahhari as role models to motivate us in our study room.

Setting of furniture
If possible, we should set our furniture in a way that it faces Qiblah because the studying is also worship.

Wudhu
We should be in Wudhu during studying and face Qiblah and start in the name of Allah because knowledge comes from Allah (swt).

Supplication before reading and studying
This short Dua is good to recite before studying:

أللهمّ أخرجني من ظلمات الوهم و أكرمني بنور الفهم
أللهمّ افتح علينا ابواب رحمتك و انشر علينا خزائن علومك
برحمتك يا ارحم الراحمين
“O Allah, take me out of the darkness of misunderstanding, and honour me with the light of understanding. O Allah, open for us the gates of Your mercy, and spread for us the treasures of Your knowledge. By Your mercy, O the Most Merciful of the merciful.”

We supplicate to Allah (swt) because the deposit of everything is with Allah (swt):
“And there is not a thing but that with Us are its depositories, and We do not send it down except according to a known measure.”¹⁶⁶
The Dua also teaches us to say ‘me’ when we are mentioning a fault and say ‘we’ when we are mentioning something good.

Choosing an appropriate book
We must choose books that are at our level and matches our interests. If they have prerequisites, then we must study them first. In order to find out whether a book is suitable we must ask other people who have studied it.
In Hawza, we consider a book from several aspects before approving it for studies such as its prerequisites, what it leads to, the author’s ability in presentation and the style of the book. If it still proves difficult for the reader it may be that it’s the best available choice but it’s not perfect.
We also want to train students. Sometimes books are picked despite being difficult to read in order to strengthen the students reading ability. This is the benefit of being under a structured program led by the expertise of others.
After choosing a book which is suitable, we must ensure to carry on with it until the end and not to leave a book unfinished. Unless we realise the book is actually bad. If we don’t finish anything then it will not allow our confidence to grow.

Methods of reading
Depending on the book, especially scholarly ones, it is not sufficient to read it once as this does not allow us to retain enough of the information. Therefore, we should have a first quick reading and then a second in depth reading so that we first build a frame for the book in our minds and then fill it with content afterwards.

Taking notes
1. Do not copy and paste from the book, instead read, understand and then write in your own words what you’ve understood.
2. Only write down two components; 1. The main flow of ideas for mental organisation and 2. The key points that are enlightening or references to other good books.
Overtime, as a person’s knowledge increases his note taking decreases because more becomes obvious to him. It is also necessary to review one’s notes or else it’s pointless.
The best way of learning is by having questions related to that subject. This creates a thirst and motivation for reading on the subject and hence allows for better concentration and understanding. Therefore, before reading a book, try and come up with questions that the book may be addressing.

Self-study and taught books
Not all books can be studied alone. Some books require a teacher otherwise we may misunderstand. While misunderstanding isn’t as serious in material sciences, in religious studies a misunderstanding in religion would cause a loss of faith, which would in turn ruin our lives in this world and the Hereafter. Hence, some books such as Asfar by Mullah Sadra need prerequisites and a teacher.
In Hawza we ensure we are studying a book properly by paying close attention to each line. Without finishing one book we do not move on unlike universities. Ours is not based on a number of modules. Alhumdolillah, we also do not have unhealthy differences in opinions because of the patience in studying as many people study for 15 to 20 years and in addition they discuss with others to ensure against mistakes.
Listening to the teacher and physically being present with them is also far better than online lectures. Recordings must only be used as substitutes when the teacher isn’t available.

Q & A
There is a theory for reading called the 80/20 rule because 20% of the book is the main content and 80% is explanation of the 20%. As previously said, reading quickly once and then reading against in detail helps to identify the 20% first and then examine the 80% in the latter reading.
Question: Is it good to highlight while reading?
Answer: Yes, that is one way of taking notes. However, it is better to summarise what we read in our own words and then examine how much we have taken in.
Question: What is the best time to read?
Answer: it is best to read before Fajr and if not possible then at least between Fajr and sunrise. Although this requires that you must have enough sleep so that you are fresh in those early hours. Other than these, any time is good opportunity, but we must select the right text for the right time.
Question: In England it is very difficult to be well rested before Fajr, what then?
Answer: Yes, it is difficult to organise due to the changes in the length of the night over the year. So as far as possible we can try but I don’t want to disturb your ordinary life.
Question: How many hours is ideal to sleep in 24 hours?
Answer: 6-8 hours depending on age and lifestyle.
Question: But Imam Khomeini only slept 3 hours per night.
Answer: I don’t know about that. However, I know he must have slept properly to be able to study.
Question: How long should each reading session be before taking a break?
Answer: About 40 minutes before taking a break, although some individuals may differ from the norm.
Question: Is it fine to spend a whole day with just one book?
Answer: It is acceptable if it’s done in preparation for an exam. However, normally we should have a selection of books for reading so that if we get tired of one book, we can switch to another.
Question: I sometimes read a whole book in 2 days but then end up not being able to read for a whole month, what do you suggest?
Answer: Imam Ali (as) says:
“The little you do that is continuous is better than the great amount that is then abandoned.”
Therefore, you should always keep at least the minimum one hour per day for reading but for students one hour is too little.

Gratitude
Gratitude is the key to success whether in this world or in the Hereafter, in gaining nearness to people and/or Allah. Whereas ingratitude is the key to failure and it will get us nowhere.
Gratitude (Shukr) is inclusive of thankfulness, love and humbleness. If one is not humble then he cannot be grateful.
Allah (swt) says:
“And when your Lord proclaimed, “If you are grateful, I will surely enhance you [in blessing], but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe.”¹⁶⁷
This verse suggests that the key to ever succeeding from a godly perspective is to be grateful whereas the end of ingratitude is a severe punishment.
Allah (swt) also says:
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ
“Remember Me, I will remember you and thank Me and do not be ungrateful to Me.”¹⁶⁸
This verse may also translate as:
“Remember Me, I will remember you and thank Me and do not disbelieve in me.”
Both translations are correct and complement each other’s meanings because the word ‘Kufr’ which is used can mean ‘ingratitude’, ‘disbelief’ or ‘denial’ of truth. Therefore, not accepting the truth is considered disbelief in the absolute truth (al-Haqq). This disbelief is one of denial of the truth but also of the multitude of blessings from Allah (swt). Hence, denying that we received anything is ingratitude because it is in denial of the truth which is that we are utterly dependent on Allah and everything which we have is from Him.
In addition, it is not that Allah (swt) has forgotten us and our thanks will cause him to remember us. Rather by ‘I will remember you’ it means Allah (swt) will remember our needs and will further favour us with blessings.
Then the opposite of this would be to forget Allah (swt) meaning deny the truth and disbelieve and as a result they will be forgotten, meaning they will not be favoured;
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind. He will say, ‘My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?’ [Allah] will say, ‘Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus, will you this Day be forgotten.”¹⁶⁹
Allah (swt) says:
“O House of David, observe thanksgiving, and only a few of My servants are very grateful.”¹⁷⁰
Regarding this verse Imam Sadiq (as) says:
“Had there existed any kind of worship in the eyes of Allah that those who are pure performed better than thanksgiving, Allah would have mentioned that in this verse. However, because there was nothing more important than thanksgiving, Allah only mentioned thanksgiving and the people who have are grateful.”¹⁷¹
Allah (swt) also says:
إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا
“Indeed We have guided him to the way, be he grateful or ungrateful.”¹⁷²
The term used for ‘grateful’ is not a superlative, but the term used for ingratitude is a superlative. This means that one cannot be fully grateful for everything however, our smallest ungratefulness is indeed great because we are so greatly blessed by Allah (swt) and so any ingratitude to Him is severe due to the denial being so vast and clearly erroneous.
To be ungrateful to Allah (swt) also causes disbelief in Allah (swt), disobedience to Allah (swt) and displeasing Him as well as all other bad outcomes. This is because a natural tendency of humans is to seek out the one who has favoured us and has gifted us something; we would naturally seek that person in order to thank him, if we are good humans. Therefore, one who acknowledges that he has been blessed by a being with existence and all else, would seek out that being, which is Allah (swt). However, one who denies being favoured and blessed would not feel any need to seek out the giver and hence he would not have any motivation to seek and thank Allah (swt). Therefore, thankfulness is the response of believers whereas ingratitude is the attitude of disbelievers.
So the verse is saying that after we have been created free and have been guided to the right path, we can either believe which is gratitude or disbelieve which is gross ingratitude.
Regarding Allah (swt), one of his attributes is that He is the ‘very grateful’. Whereas very few, special servants of Allah (swt) are able to achieve being ‘very thankful’ to Allah. This is because when we thank Allah (swt), we are never able to fully appreciate all of his blessings. However, when Allah is thankful to us for the good that we do, He is rather thanking us about something which Allah (swt) doesn’t even need, so since His appreciation for our acts are more than what we deserve He is being ‘very grateful’ and hence why His name is superlative; al-Shakur. His gratitude can be likened to that of parents from their one year old child who does something to help the parents, even though his help is more of a burden to the parents because now the parents have to leave everything to make sure the child doesn’t hurt himself. Yet parents still become so grateful and happy that their child cares about them and is wishing to help. Similarly, Allah (swt) is very appreciative and thankful for our good deeds even though it does not benefit him the least.
Allah (swt) says:
“Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned.”¹⁷³
Allah (swt) is the bestower of everything we have. Then He asks us to loan Him some of what He has given us, then He multiplies our loan several fold in return. This is why He is overly thankful, not just thankful because He is thankful to us for loaning Him a very small and insignificant amount of what He has bestowed upon us.
We should therefore be always thankful to Allah (swt) and this requires acknowledgement because you cannot be grateful without knowing what you have been given. Another requirement is humbleness because someone who is arrogant will not acknowledge that what he has is given to him, instead such people claim that they were capable and have what they have due to their own efforts like Qarun:
“Indeed, Qarun was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them. And We gave him of treasures whose keys would burden a band of strong men; thereupon his people said to him, ‘Do not exult. Indeed, Allah does not like the exultant. But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters. He said, ‘I was only given it because of knowledge I have.’”¹⁷⁴
Hence due to his arrogance he was ungrateful. He lost everything;
“And We caused the earth to swallow him and his home.”¹⁷⁵
Then people who wished to be him realised:
“’Oh, how Allah extends provision to whom He wills of His servants and restricts it! If not that Allah had conferred favour on us, He would have caused it to swallow us. Oh, how the disbelievers do not succeed!’”
Therefore, having more does not necessarily mean we have been favoured. As the verses show us that Allah restricts provision for His servants or else it can lead us to further harm ourselves. This is a mercy from our Lord when we are limited in our power and resources because everything comes with responsibility. Hence, the more we are given the more we would have to answer for. The worst is when a person becomes so corrupted and sinful that he rejects every message and warning, such a person is then given whatever he desires so that they continue increasing in sin:
“And let not those who disbelieve ever think that [because] We extend their time [of enjoyment] it is better for them. We only extend it for them so that they may increase in sin, and for them is a humiliating punishment.”¹⁷⁶
However, with gratefulness, when we receive more, it is due to our capacity and responsibility growing and hence we are capable of using what we have rightly.
“’Said Jesus, the son of Mary, ‘O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven to be for us a festival… and a sign from You… Allah said, ‘Indeed, I will sent it down to you, but whoever disbelieves afterwards from among you – then indeed will I punish him with a punishment by which I have not punished anyone among the worlds.’”¹⁷⁷
Those who disbelieve after Allah (swt) has become more manifest for them are more deserving of punishment than one who has received less. Hence, why those who receive more are answerable to more. If someone disbelieves after having the Quran and the Ahlul Bayt then they are worse than someone who disbelieves without any of them:
“Then, that day, you will surely be questioned concerning the blessing.”¹⁷⁸
Hadith
Imam Ali (as) said:
“The first thing that becomes obligatory upon you for the sake of Allah is to thank Him for His blessings and to seek His pleasures.”¹⁷⁹
Hence, why I mentioned gratitude as one of the most fundamental values in Islam; because Imam Ali (as) says the foremost duty of ours to thank Allah and seek whatever pleases Him.

Imam Hadi (as) said:
“One who is gives thanks is happier due to his thankfulness than that which makes him be thankful.”
If, for example, a thankful person is given wealth, and he thanks Allah, thanking Allah gives him more felicity than the wealth he is thanking for:
“Because the blessings are provisions; but gratefulness is a blessing and will last [for the Hereafter].”
Provisions are asked about but thankfulness is rewarded in the Hereafter.

A prayer
May Allah (swt) enable us to thank Him properly by understanding and humbleness and realise that we can never thank him enough. And all praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Further verses on gratitude
“Why would Allah cause you to suffer if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah appreciative and knowing.”¹⁸⁰
I believe the verse is saying “how is Allah going to punish you if you are grateful and believe?” Here gratefulness is mentioned before belief which confirms the relationship between faith and gratefulness:
“Indeed, We have guided him to the way, be he grateful or ungrateful.”¹⁸¹
This shows that we can either be grateful for the guidance by believing or we can be ungrateful and disregard the invitation to guidance, but of course we must be grateful and accept:
“O you who have faith, answer Allah and the messenger when he calls you calls you to that which gives you life and know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered.”¹⁸²
Therefore, a believer is one who is grateful, and this means he has acknowledged and accepted the call towards guidance. The acceptance here doesn’t mean only a verbal acceptance of Islam but rather it means a proper commitment to all requirements of true faith (‘Iman) such that he is faithful and righteous by nature. Since he does not act contrary to his faith, he has no way of ending up in Hell.

Narrations on gratitude
The Quran states:
“And when your Lord proclaimed, “If you are grateful I will surely increase you but if you are ungrateful, indeed My punishment is severe.”¹⁸³

In relation to this the Prophet (s) has said:“Never has Allah (swt) opened the gate of gratefulness to any servant but then closed the gate of increase.”
Therefore, whenever we are grateful, we will be increased.
Imam Ali (as) said:
“Allah (swt) has not blessed a servant a blessing which he has been thankful for by his heart except that it has entitled him to increase in that blessing before he declares his gratefulness on his tongue.”
There is a time between feeling grateful and verbally expressing it, Allah (swt) increases us for our gratefulness as soon as we feel it, before we even get the chance to express it verbally.

Being grateful requires gratefulness
Even the feeling of gratitude is a blessing that is granted by Allah (swt). Hence, we must be grateful for being granted this feeling; Imam Zayn al-Abideen (as) in his prayers said:
“How can I achieve gratitude while being grateful to You requires me to thank you again. So, whenever I say, ‘All praise is due to You’ then it is obligatory on me to repeat ‘All praise is due to You.’”
This shows that we can never do anything for Allah to show thankfulness, yet it also shows us that it is very easy to get closer to Allah (swt) because all we need to do is improve our understanding. It also shows that the fact that we are able to thank Allah is a blessing as there are many people who cannot thank Allah due to their arrogance.
In addition when we thank Allah (swt), we place ourselves among the thankful servants of Allah such as the prophet Muhammad (s), the Ahlul Bayt; hence by thanking Allah we are promoting and honouring ourselves as those who praise goodness are only able to because they are good natured as a bad person cannot be bad if he is an admirer of goodness just as a person who admires evilness cannot be good.

Imam Sadiq (as) has said:
“Allah (said) revealed to Musa (as) ’O Musa! Thank Me in the way that I deserve to be thanked.’ He asked: ‘O my Lord! And how can I thank You in the way that You deserve when every thanking is a blessing that You have blessed me with?’ [Allah (swt)] said: ‘Now that you have understood this [feeling of thanking Me] was from me you have thanked Me properly.’
Therefore, we must be thankful to Allah but in addition to truly thank Allah, we must acknowledge that the ability to be thankful to Him is also a blessing that deserves further gratitude.
It is wrong to think we are returning something to Allah by thanking Him as it will lead to arrogance. To be humble means to realise that we are not doing anything significant by thanking Him. Those who are arrogant find it difficult to accept that others have done them a favour. They lessen what is great whereas the humble magnify the good deeds of others. Hence, we must also consider our actions very little when done for others and be thankful for their kindness to us.
Since there are obstacles to being thankful it shows that the ability to be thankful is not granted arbitrarily. Rather something allows some to be grateful and others ungrateful.

Reality of gratitude
“Thankfulness for every blessing is to keep a distance from what Allah has forbid.”
Gratitude for blessings is what protects the blessed from sins. In addition, it is to keep a distance, to not even allow an opportunity for sinning.
“The most cautious [from sins] among people are those who do not even go near what is doubtful.”
“We said, ‘O Adam, dwell with your mate in paradise, and eat thereof freely whenever you wish; but do not approach this tree, lest you should be among the wrongdoers.’”¹⁸⁴
Therefore, in order to be truly grateful and not pretentious is to not misuse blessings for acts of disobedience or for harming others;
Imam Ali (as) said:
“If you gain power over you enemy, making pardoning him a means of gratitude for having been granted power over him.”
The fact that Allah (swt) has made you able to overpower him should make you feel that now, as a sign of gratitude to Allah (swt), you should forgive him. Power is also a blessing that must only be used to please Allah (swt). Therefore, if we gain power over our enemies, we must show mercy e.g. even if it’s gaining power over colleagues or employers, we must observe mercy as a means of gratitude to Allah (swt).

A prayer
May Allah (swt) makes us conscious of our utter dependence on Him and make us grateful to Him. May Allah (swt) increase us in knowledge, His acknowledgement and keep us away from temptations of Shaytan and our own egos, so that we may serve Allah (swt) day and night.

More narrations
Imam Baqir (as) said:
“Consider your small amount of sustenance from Allah (swt) as a lot, so that you reach a position of gratitude.”
Those who are grateful never underestimate what they have been given. Even when nothing is given, we still have a lot to be thankful for such as family, friends and other resources besides money. Hence, we must not only consider our wealth but rather we have many things to always be thankful for.
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Gratefulness for a blessing is to avoid committing a sin and the completion of gratitude is to say “Alhumdolillah Rabb al-‘alamin.”¹⁸⁵
Even if a person only acknowledges in his heart, without expressing his gratitude verbally, he has thanked Allah (swt). However, to also verbally thank Allah is an enhancement of his gratitude.
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Whenever Allah’s prophet (s) would encounter a matter that made him happy, he would say ‘All praise is due to Allah for this blessing.’ And when he would encounter a matter that made him sad, he would say ‘All praise is due to Allah upon every state.’”
Therefore, we must be grateful at all times, not just when we receive what we like. Just as when a doctor prescribes what we like or we don’t like, we are obedient and appreciative of his service even if we are not happy with it, we know he is prescribing for our good; so does Allah give us what is good for us, be it what we like or dislike, it is good for us whether we know it or not and we must be thankful. If we are only grateful when we get what we like, then we would be nothing better than dogs whom also appreciate being given food, but they don’t complain if left hungry; to be a human means we must be better than dogs. Hence, we must be grateful for what we have and what we don’t have. When we have, we should share with others and when we do not have, we must be grateful to Allah (swt).
Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“The lowest level of gratefulness is to see that the blessing you have received comes from Allah, without attributing it to any other than Allah. And to be pleased with what Allah has bestowed. And not to disobey Him with His favour. And not to disobey Him in what He has commanded or prohibited, because of these blessings.”
Hence the lowest level is to:
1. Acknowledge it is from Allah (swt) despite other people are involved as means.
This means we must also thank people, but we must not see them as independent from Allah.
2. Be pleased with what we are blessed with.
3. Not to use the blessing for disobeying Allah.
4. Due to gratitude for the blessings, we must be ashamed to disobey Allah in anything else.
Therefore, gratitude is a matter of understanding. In addition, it is to acknowledge it because sometimes we understand who the bestower is, but we do not have the decency to acknowledge it in our hearts. E.g. someone might advise us kindly, but we take it in a bad way, rather than being thankful. Hence, true gratitude is what causes love and respect to develop for the bestower; whether that is Allah (swt), our spouse, children, teachers or any other people. Once a person develops that love and respect then they would be restricted by that love from committing displeasing acts.

Grateful people
Imam Ali (as) said:
“The most thankful of people is the most content. And the most ungrateful of people towards bounties are the greediest.”
The thankful do not forget past blessings, as a result they are content because they remember what they have. Whereas those who are forgetful of blessings are ungrateful and hence there is no remembrance by which they can be content, as a result they are always greedy for more, always forgetting whatever they already have. Therefore, those who are grateful are content.
In addition, those who are content are also happier and as a result are more successful since they do not stress as much as if they were forgetful of the blessings. Hence, they do not become mentally tired as quickly as they would if they had been ungrateful and stressing for more.
Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) said:
“The most grateful to Allah are the most grateful to people.”
Although Allah (swt) is the source of all goodness, all praise is due to Him for everything but in order to be thankful to Allah, we must be thankful to people. This is the link between humbleness and gratefulness because a person cannot be humble while disregarding the efforts of people towards him as this is to view people as insignificant; hence arrogance. Whereas the humble people consider the kindness of others as something great.
People love those who are grateful. Hence, if we wish to test ourselves to find out whether we are grateful or not, we must see what people in the community think of us.
Sometimes people mistake honesty with ruining their gratefulness. They consider criticism along with gratitude something good whereas in reality they are ruining their thanksgiving. You cannot think it wise to thank your wife for the food and at the same time criticise her cooking. Therefore, flattery is sometimes good if it is done with a good intention such as raising their self-confidence for the sake of Allah (swt) as sometimes flattery is necessary to give your children, parents, spouse and friends, confidence in themselves. In fact, in the Duas of the Ahlul Bayt we recite statements which are true of ourselves such as “I thank you from the bottom of my heart, with all the cells of my body, all the hairs on my head…” However, it is allowed to say such as a way of setting an ideal and encouraging ourselves to work towards it, and in this sense, it is not dishonesty.
However, the problematic flattery is when it is done to deceive people as a means of achieving something unholy, not in order to improve.
May Allah (swt) make us grateful towards Himself and others and all praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

A prayer
Therefore, we ask Allah (swt) to enable us to serve Him as true servants at all times. If there is any impurity in us that would disqualify us, we ask Allah (swt) to remove it.
We ask Allah (swt) to make our community a submitted community to serve Allah (swt) as a community of sincere servants as submission can also be as a whole society:
“Our Lord and make us in submission to You and from our descendants a nation in submission to You. And show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, you are the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.”¹⁹⁰
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

A question asked to Allamah Tabataba’i
A 22-year-old young man wrote a letter to Allamah Tabataba’i regarding the difficulty that he was going through due to his lower desires. He felt it wasn’t allowing him to have peace and happiness nor allowing him to develop spiritually. He wanted something different, other than the usual advice from Allamah and so he said, “I need practical instructions, not someone who says, “Be good, be pious”. He was a very clever and very bright young man as can be seen by the way he requests help:
“I should also mention, that I think that you are not able to give an answer verbally to me, and I am also very embarrassed to take your valuable time, therefore I beg you as a father, that if you find it appropriate and if you find this request genuine, to help me. If the answer is “no”, please do not laugh at my incomplete thought, just privately tear my paper and leave me to myself, thank you very much.”
Hence, he showed the urgency of his need and with respect and a show of appreciation.

The answer
Allamah replied that in order to be successful in this matter you must:
1. Have determination.
This is not something we can gain easily, we must grow it within us.
2. Then Perform repentance.
3. Be very careful about observing self-monitoring and self-accounting.
This self-monitoring is constant throughout the day and self-accounting is to have a few minutes in the end to review your actions of the day.
4. Every morning, upon waking up, make a serious intention to observe the pleasure of Allah (swt) during the entire day.
This means to not do anything except that is pleases Allah.
5. Before every action, bear in mind the benefit of it for the afterlife. If it is not beneficial for the Hereafter, then do not do it. Keep this condition until bedtime.
6. Before sleeping, review your actions of the day.
7. Give thanks for the good you have done
8. Repent for any disobedience to Allah.
This is not limited to Fiqhi Haram. Rather Halal misuse that is immoral must also be repented for because it is not befitting of Allah’s servant.
9. Keep it up daily
“Although in the beginning this methodology may be difficult to the untrained soul but it is the key to salvation and success.”
10. Before sleeping, recite the chapters of the Quran which start with Tasbih (Praise) of Allah; namely: Hadid, Hashr, Saff, Jumu’ah and Taghabun.
As Tasbih is the food of angels and the language of the people of heaven.¹⁹¹ The reason why it is encouraged before sleep may be because Allah (swt) examines us during the day and rewards us when he takes our souls at night by our sleeping. Similar to when a child plays with the parents or helps them all day and then the parents express their love to the child when he/she sleeps.
11. After 20 days, inform me of your situation.
So, it is necessary to check our progress after keeping this up for 20 days, to see how it has helped us.
Let us all practice this and report back to Allah (swt) or the Imam (aj). In order to maintain this, we may need a constant reminder, hence it is good to place a reminder at our frequent places of sitting.

Another letter of Allamah Tabataba’i
The sender said in the letter to Allamah that he feels a spiritual lacking and wants to improve but doesn’t know where to begin or what to achieve so he asks, “Which ship should I board that will take me to the coast of salvation.” He asks Allamah to show him a way to love Allah (swt) so that he may become closer to Allah, the Prophet (s) and the friends of Allah.
He shows humbleness by admitting that he is ignorant of the Quran and the Ahlul Bayt. Allamah replies very politely that the method of achieving nearness to Allah, the methodology of being a servant and knowing Allah is the same with everyone; according to the Quran and Sunnah, it is to:
1. Remember Allah plenty and every morning make an intention to not forget Allah.
2. Implement Allah’s commands.
3. Do self-accounting at the end of the day
4. Do self-monitoring during the entire day after waking up.
5. Be in Wudhu, always.
6. Imagine yourself present before Allah.
7. Repent for any negligence of Allah’s will, ask forgiveness and scold yourself.
Sometimes it is good to give yourself a light slap to make the scolding serious.
8. Thank Allah if there had not been any negligence.
9. In order to strengthen your remembrance of Allah (swt), for 40 days, in the mornings, recite 1000 “La ilaha illallah” with concentration.
Similar to medicinal prescriptions for our body, we need spiritual prescriptions for our spirit. Just as a qualified doctor must prescribe medicine, a qualified scholar must prescribe different ways of remembering Allah. Hence, this prescription by Allamah may not be good for everyone. In spiritual prescriptions, the prescriber must also be good because who we choose as our teacher and role model affects us. We must have someone who we can proudly say is our teacher. Therefore, do not listen to anyone’s advice or the internet, find a qualified scholar and turn to him.
10. The condition of servitude that comes from this remembrance of Allah can be a measure by which to measure the conditions of life.
As we get used to remembrance, it would stay with us as a good habit throughout the year when we are busy doing other things.

Some other lessons from the letter
The sender of the letter to Allamah was not very polite as he called Allamah his ‘brother’. This is similar to calling your father ‘brother’. Although everyone is each other’s brother and sister, we must give due respect to everyone based on their position. Therefore, call a teacher a teacher and speak to him more politely than others and call your father ‘father’ and your brother ‘brother’.
Although he did not give due respect to Allamah, yet Allamah replies with the utmost respect that is suitable for a teacher by saying “I humbly mention to Your Excellency.”
In addition, if we read carefully we can understand a lot more from the texts than if we read quickly. For example, in these letters, the emotions and feelings of the writers are captured, these are only visible with careful reading. If we read carefully, it will become a habit and our reading would improve whereas if we read quickly then we would miss much of the meanings in texts and our reading would become less enjoyable.
May Allah (swt) bless the souls of all scholars especially Allamah Tabataba’i and include us among the sincere seekers of knowledge.
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.