\u201cMany people get nothing out of their fasts but hunger and thirst; many\npeople get nothing out of their night prayers but exertions and sleepless\nnights. Bless be to the sleep and eating of the wise ones!\u201d(1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our religion, the acts of worship\nhave a body and a soul, just like human beings. In other words, they have an\nouter aspect and an inner aspect, or an appearance and a conscience. The\nappearance of the acts of worship is basically their rituals; however, their\nconscience is the training purposes which lead to nearness to Allah (SWT). In\norder to fulfill this purpose, the rituals do not suffice; rather one has to\nobserve its manners. For example, if a person performs the actions and saying\nof prayer yet his mind is occupied with worldly issues, he will certainly be\ndeprived of the training purposes of praying, namely refraining from sins(2),\nnearness to Allah (SWT)(3), and cleansing of soul from impurity of sin(4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, fasting has rituals (like\nrefraining from eating, drinking, and some other joys) as well as training\npurposes including strengthening of faith and will power, and fighting against\ndesires as well as Satan. If the training purposes are not fulfilled, their\nconsequence which is piety (5) will not be achieved, and such an act will not\nsave one from the Hell or act as a shield against hellfire (6). Therefore, in\nthe Islamic Hadiths, great emphasis has been put on observing the conscience of\nthe acts of worship such as praying and fasting. By doing so, one will not only\nfulfill his obligation through observing the rituals, but also his act of\nworship will reach the level of acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, inadmissible acts are\nbarriers against the acceptance of deeds. For example, backbiting (7), drinking\nintoxicants (8), using properties unlawfully (9) and similar acts would prevent\nthe good deeds from being accepted for a certain period of time. One of the\nmajor requirements for the acceptance of deeds is submitting to the\nguardianship of the Ahl al-Bait (PBUT) (10), without which the acts of worship\nare spiritless.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH) has referred\nto spiritless, ineffective acts of worship in a statement where he said, \u201cMany\npeople get nothing out of their fasts but hunger and thirst; many people get\nnothing out of their night prayers but exertions and sleepless nights. Bless be\nto the sleep and eating of the wise ones!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This deep statement refers to all the\nabove discussed barriers against acceptance of deeds. There are people who\nfast, yet they commit several types of sins; they oppress others, take their\nproperties unlawfully, disgrace other Muslims, and hurt innocent people by\nbackbiting or accusing them. Such people will definitely get nothing out of\ntheir fasting except hunger and thirst. Similarly, there are people who worship\nat nights yet gain nothing from their nightly worships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This statement is apparently taken\nfrom the third verse of Chapter 88 of the Holy Quran where Allah (SWT)\ndescribes the situation of the sinners by saying,” Laboring (hard), weary\n(with no gain)”. The reason for it is that they neither had sufficient\ninsight do perform the deeds, nor fulfilled its preconditions. They did not\nremove the barriers against the acceptance of their needs. Even if they had\ngained benefits from their previous deeds, they nullified them by committing\nsins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we study the history of the\nKhawarij, we realize the depth of this valuable statement of Amir al-Mu’minin\n(PBUH). According to the history, the Khawarij used to slain innocent people,\ncut the wombs of pregnant women, and even considered killing of Amir\nal-Mu’minin (PBUH) to be obligatory, even though the voice of their Quran\nrecitation and nightly supplications was continuously heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of this statement, Amir\nal-Mu’minin (PBUH) admires wise people who have understood the reality of\nworship; they are pious, learned people who observe the spirit of worship and\nits manners. They gain nearness to Allah (PBUH) even though they do not perform\nmany recommended acts and suffice to the mandatory acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from, “The Message of Imam Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH), a new,\ncomprehensive commentary on Nahj al-Balaghah”, by Ayatullah Makarim\nShirazi (with minor changes))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Webiste offers\ncongratulations to all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon the arrival of\nthe month of worship and obedience, the time of forgiveness and mercy, the Holy\nmonth of Ramadan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Nahj al-Balaghah,\nwisdom saying 145<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. \u201c\u2026Surely\nprayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil\u2026\u201d (The Holy Quran (29, 45))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Imam Reza\n(PBUH) said,” Prayer is (the cause of) nearness for every pious\nperson” (Usul Kafi, vol. 3, p.265)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. The Messenger\nof Allah (PBUH&HP) said,” If there was a river running outside the\nhouse of one of you, and he would wash his body in that river five times a day,\nwould there remain any impurity on his body?” We replied,” No”.\nHe (PBUH&HP) then said,” The example of prayer is like a running\nriver. Whenever a person offers prayers, the sins he has committed since the\nlast prayer would be wiped out”. (Tahzib al-Ahkam, vol. 2, p. 237)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. \u201cO you who\nbelieve! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before\nyou, so that you may guard (against evil)\u201d (The Holy Quran (2, 183))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. The Messenger\nof Allah (PBUH&HP) said,” Fasting is a shield against hellfire”.\n(Usul Kafi, vol. 2, p.19)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. The Messenger\nof Allah (PBUH&HP) said,” Whoever backbites a believer man or woman,\nAllah (SWT) will not accept his prayer and fasting for forty days unless that\nman or woman forgives him”. (Jami’ al-Akhbar, p. 146)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8. Amir\nal-Mu’minin (PBUH) said,” \u2026Whoever drinks an intoxicant, his prayer will\nnot be accepted for forty days and nights\u2026” (Khisal, vol. 2, p. 632)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9. The Messenger\nof Allah (PBUH&HP) said,” Whoever has an unlawful bite of food, his\nprayer will not be accepted for forty nights and supplication will not be\ngranted for forty days” (Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 63, p. 314)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10. Muhammad ibn\nMuslim narrates from Imam Sadiq (PBUH) who said,” Whoever offers an act of\nworship to Allah (SWT) and endeavors for it while he does not have an Imam, his\neffort will not be accepted”. (Usul Kafi, vol. 1, p.183)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cMany people get nothing out of their fasts but hunger and thirst; many people get nothing out of their night prayers but exertions and sleepless nights. Bless be to the sleep and eating of the wise ones!\u201d(1) In our religion, the acts of worship have a body and a soul, just like human beings. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248,28437],"tags":[25706,17778,17940,18418,17955,19725,18207,19566,25566,25705],"class_list":["post-4992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","category-the-holy-month-of-ramadan","tag-2013-07-05","tag-allah","tag-human","tag-occasion-letters","tag-people","tag-person","tag-prayer","tag-sleep","tag-the-holy-month-of-ramadan","tag-wise-worshipping"],"yoast_head":"\n