If a sighted person goes blind, and then recovers, he/she would eagerly become thankful and would regard it as a blessing. However, if one never goes blind and remains sighted, it rarely happens that he/she thanks God. This stems from
Fear is an emotional response to a threat or a danger. The reason why, as a child, we used to be scared of darkness or insects was this feeling of danger. Even though this fear was unreasonable, we experienced it.
How far is the distance between “forgetting about yourself” and “forgetting God”? Questions like: “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Where am I now and where am I going?” “How should I be?” “What is my final goal?”
A person always has hopes for a better future. It is one of the main hopes of the human that one day this world will be clear of all oppression and injustices. It is from this hope that the thought
Bakr the son of Salih narrates the following story: My son in law wrote Imam Jawad (PBUH) a letter which included the following: “My father has great animosity with Prophet Muhammad’s progeny (PBUT). His belief is corrupted, and he mistreats
Ma3mun (1) had decided to have his daughter, Umm al-Fadl, marry Imam Abu Ja&far Muhammad ibn Ali (PBUH). The other Abbasids who became aware of his decision reproached him and considered his decision obscene. They feared that this act would
There were strenuous efforts on every occasion to hold the personality of Imam Jawad (PBUH) in contempt. This fact was so obvious that it is narrated that:” Ma’moon1 would touch upon all deceitful acts in order to belittle Aboo Ja’far’s
How do people who are truly close to Allah live? How should we live so that we are too considered among them? Imam Ali Ibn Mousa al-Reza (PBUH) was asked about the attributes of truly noble servants of Allah? Imam
Shiites are attached to their Imams not only by belief, but also by their strong emotional attachment. This is why in various situations, especially in times of hardship, Shiites turn to the Imams to pour out their hearts. But in
Unfortunately the dynasties, such as the Umayyads, Abbasids, the Ottomans in Turkey and today’s Wahhabis, which ruled under the pretext of Islam, showed a dark image of Islam and paved the way for others to blame Islam. These administrations, bearing
Abu Saalt Hirawi was one of the close companions of Imam Reza (PBUH). He narrates that one day when he was with Imam, the Imam started the following: The Almighty Allah (SWT) sent a revelation to one of his messengers
The bases of human life have been founded on “fondness and sociability”. There are some material and spiritual issues that make attractions and repulsions in human’s relationships. Immorality, greediness, malice, apathy, anger and etc. are some examples of moral and
“He was never verbally crude with anyone. He never interrupted anyone, and always waited for them to finish talking. He never refused to fulfill anyone’s needs that he was capable of fulfilling. He never stretched his legs out in front
Compassion and love for Ahl al-Bait (PBUT) (Prophet’s progeny) is without a doubt one of the gems that Shiites are proud of. But is it enough to simply love the Prophet’s progeny and consider ourselves as their followers? When we
We read in history books that Ma’mun, the Abbasid caliph, offered caliphate to Imam Reza (PBUH), but he did not accept it. Then, Ma’mun offered the Imam (PBUH) to become his successor, but Imam Reza (PBUH) again refused; so Ma’mun
Abu Qurrah was one of the Sunni narrators at the time of Imam Reza (PBUH). Safwan ibn Yahya, one of the students of Imam Reza (PBUH), says, ”Abu Qurrah asked me to take him to Imam Reza (PBUH). I asked
Imam Reza (PBUH) has said: “Wisdom is man’s friend, and ignorance is his enemy.” (Reference: Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 10) Ibn Sekkit, a great literary scholar of his era, once asked Imam Reza (PBUH): “Why did Allah appoint different miracles
Kuleini and a number of great narrators have narrated this story from Yasa’ ibn Hamzah – one of the companions of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (PBUH): I and many others were once present in the house of Imam Reza
When Ma’mun the Abbasid Caliph called upon Imam Ali Ibn Musa al-Reza (PBUH) to migrate from Medina to the city of Marv in the land of Persia, people gathered in the city of Nishapur to see the descent of the
What constitutes our beliefs as a Muslim? How well do we know our faith? During the lifetime of the eighth Imam, the Caliph, Ma’mun, summoned a written summary of Islam from Imam Reza (PBUH). In response, the Imam wrote: “Pure
