Imam Reza (PBUH) says in a narration:\n\u201cAn hour of thinking is worth more than a year of worship.\u201d He was asked about\nthe meaning of this narration. Imam replied: \u201cWhen you see ruined and abandoned\nhomes you might ask where your residents are? Why don\u2019t you speak?\u201d And then he\ncontinued: \u201cWorship is no high quantity of prayer and fasting; worship is\nthinking about the signs and commands of Allah (SWT).\u201d (1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We sometimes might have told\nourselves: Which is the ideal path in life that Allah (SWT) has requested us to\nmove along? How can we have an ideal life? What is our ideal case?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any principal that can answer every\nneed of an individual or society would be considered as an ideal principal for\nthat individual or society. For example, one whose ideal is to become wealthy\nconsiders everything in life as a means to become wealthy. Similarly, one whose\nultimate goal in life is to reach the highest scientific status will see human\nvirtue and everything else from a scientific perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nonetheless, history of mankind and\nwisdom have both proved that no ideal goal can satisfy an informed individual\nwithout explaining the individual\u2019s position with respect to the universe of\ncreation. Interpretation of such position is not possible by ignoring questions\nsuch as: \u201cWhere have I come from? Why did I come to this world? Where am I\ngoing to?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Answering these questions has a direct\nrelationship to our level of understanding and dept of wisdom. The more wisdom\nand virtue we have, greater the chance of not spending time for trivial and\ntemporary matters. Since there is a consistent feeling of eternity in human’s\nsouls, mortality does not satisfy mankind. Thus, one should find an infinite\nfact from the perfection point of view and submit to it. But what is this\ninfinity and how can one get to know it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we search with our wisdom for the\ninfinite entity, we can only find God with such capacity. This is exactly what\nthe divine religions have claimed in history. And this is where we can\nunderstand: If we want to understand the workshop of universe, have an ideal\nlife in it and in the end depart without any shock, then we should open our\nheart to the Lord of universe and choose Him as the one to depend upon in life.\nOtherwise, our life will be over one day and we will not even get close to even\nunderstand where we came from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, the most logical idea is\nthe one that can have answer in every aspect of our life; one of the ways to\nrecognize this idea is to use our conscious and wisdom that are always a judge\nupon our daily acts and can be used to analyze our deeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting back to the narration\nmentioned earlier, our master Imam Ali Ibn Musa al-Reza (PBUH) defines the\nimportance of thinking and learning a lesson from the life of those who\ndeparted; in this tradition, he wants to provoke our suspended conscious and\nbecome aware of out path in life by thinking. So that we ponder about signs of\nthe Creator and His commands and consider them as an ideal case for us to reach\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Selection taken\nfrom the book, \u201cConscious\u201d by Late Allamah Muhammad Taqi Ja\u2019fari, with little\nsummarization and additions)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd website congratulates all\nthe Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon the 11th of Dhi al-Qa’dah, the\nbirthday anniversary of the 8th Imam, the knowledgeable Imam from the progeny\nof Muahammad (PBUH&HP) and the light of guidance, Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Reza\n(PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Fiqh al-Reza\n(PBUH)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Imam Reza (PBUH) says in a narration: \u201cAn hour of thinking is worth more than a year of worship.\u201d He was asked about the meaning of this narration. Imam replied: \u201cWhen you see ruined and abandoned homes you might ask where your residents are? Why don\u2019t you speak?\u201d And then he continued: \u201cWorship is no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[22221,17778,22223,18914,22220,22163,17890,18418,18207,22222,21894,19695],"class_list":["post-4515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2008-11-10","tag-allah","tag-depend","tag-history","tag-ideal","tag-imam-reza","tag-life","tag-occasion-letters","tag-prayer","tag-universe","tag-wisdom","tag-worship"],"yoast_head":"\n