A Brief Biography

Mulla Sadra’s father, Khwajah Ibrahim Qawami, was a knowledgeable and extremely faithful politician. He was a rich man and held a high position, but had no children. However, after a lot of prayers and supplications to the Divine Portal, God gave him a son whom they named Muhammed (Sadr al-Din, 979 A.H/1571 A.D), but called Sadra. Later he was nicknamed as Mulla, that is, great scientist. In the years to come, the title of Mulla Sadra became more famous than his real name and replaced it on people’s tongues.

Sadr al-Din Muhammed (or Sadra) was the only child of the minister of the ruler of the vast Iranian region of Fars and enjoyed the highest standards of a noble life. It was a common tradition at that time for aristocrats’ children to be educated by private teachers in their own palace. Sadra was a very intelligent, strict, energetic, studious, and curious boy and mastered all the lessons related to Persian and Arabic literature, as well as the art of calligraphy, during a very short time.

After the Safavid Dynasty capital was moved to Isfahan (1006 A.H/1598 A.D) Mulla Sadra is believed to have resided there for some years before returning to his city of birth, Shiraz , in about 1010 A.H (1602 A.D). He had inherited a great fortune and many estates from his father, of which he had to take control. This might have been one of the reasons for his return to Shiraz.

He had an immense fortune, possessed an enormous ocean of knowledge, especially, of philosophy, and had presented a number of innovative ideas. Therefore, he started teaching in Shiraz, and a lot of students attended his classes from different parts of the country. However, his rivals, who, like many philosophers and theologians, blindly followed previous philosophers, and felt that their social status had been endangered, started ill-treating him, ridiculing his new ideas, and insulting him in order to defend their ideas or perhaps out of jealousy.

Such bad behavior and pressures were not compatible with Mulla Sadra’s delicate soul. On the other hand, his faith, religious beliefs, and piety did not allow him to react and deal with them in the same way. Thus he left Shiraz in resentment and went to Qum, which had not yet turned into an important scientific and philosophical center. This religious city is the burial place of the holy Ma’sumah, the daughter of the seventh Shi’ite Imam, Imam Musa Kazim (AS), one of the descendents of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), and the sister of Imam Reza (the eighth Shi’ites Imam). A number of great men and scholars have been buried in Qum. This city has a long history (more than 15 centuries), and is said to have been called Quriana before the advent of Islam.
Mulla Sadra did not stay in Qum itself and, because of its hot and bad weather, or perhaps because of the similarity between the social conditions there and those in Shiraz, he stayed in a village called Kahak in the suburbs. The remains of his magnificent house can still be seen in this village.

Mulla Sadra’s depression and spiritual breakdown made him put away with teaching and discussion for some time, and, as he has written in the introduction of his great book, al-Asfar, he started spending his life in worship, fasting, and ascetic practice. This chance, which had been in fact forced upon him by fate, aided him in going through the spiritual and mystic stages of spirituality and even sanctity.

This period is considered the golden time of his life from a spiritual point of view. In spite of being depressed and stricken sorrow, he managed to reach the stage of the unveiling and intuition of the hidden or unseen, and see philosophical realities with the hearts eye rather than that of the mind. It was this very accomplishment that contributed to the perfection of his school of philosophy. His seclusion and refusal to write and teach continued until, at the stations of unveiling and intuition of the unseen, he was ordered to return to the society and begin writing, teaching, disseminating and publicizing his school of thought and findings.

If we consider the length of his period of silence and seclusion to about 5 years, he stopped it in about 1015 A.H (1607 A.D). Once again he took his pen in hand and started the composition of some books, including his monumental book, al-Asfar, which is considered a philosophical encyclopedia, and wrote its first part on the issues related to existence.

He did not return to Shiraz until almost 1040 A.H (1632 A.D). He stayed in Qum, founded a philosophical center there, trained several students, and, during all this time, was busy either writing his famous book or composing treatises in response to contemporary philosophers. Two of his well-known students were called Fayyadh Lahiji and Faydh Kashani, who were both his son-in-laws and propagated his school of thought.

We will give an account of his books in the part related to his works.

Mulla Sadra returned to Shiraz in about 1039 or 1040 A.H (1632 A.D). Some believe that the reason for his return was the invitation he received from the ruler of Fars province, Allah Werdi Khan. This was because he had finished the construction of the school which his father, Imam Quli Khan, had started, and prepared it for teaching philosophy, and due to his previous devotion towards Mulla Sadra, he invited this great man to Shiraz to take its scientific supervision in hand.

Mulla Sadra was also involved in teaching philosophy, interpretation, and hadith in Shiraz, and trained some students there. We understand from his book of Si Asl (Three Principles), which was apparently written at that time in Shiraz in Persian, and which harshly attacked the scholars of that time, including philosophers, theologians, jurisprudents, and physicists, that in that period, like in his first period of residence in Shiraz, Mulla Sadra was under the pressure of the slanders and vicious conducts of the scientists of his town. This time, however, he had become stronger and decided to stand against their pressures and establish, introduce, and publicize his own school of philosophy.

One of the dimensions of Mulla Sadra’s eventful life was his frequent visitations to Ka’ba in Mecca. This worship and religious pilgrimage is called Haj and Umra (lesser pilgrimage). It has been written that Mulla Sadra went to seven (pay attention to the holy figure ‘7’) pilgrimages (apparently on foot). Nowadays, in spite of the comforts offered by traveling by plane, there are still some difficulties associated with going on this pilgrimage. Nevertheless, four hundred years ago, they made this journey on horse or camel and through the dry central desert of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the Haj pilgrimage was also considered a kind of ascetic practice.

On this journey, this was made in the form of big Caravans of hajjis (Mecca pilgrims) moving towards Mecca, several people died from heat, thirst, or exhaustion on the way. Thus, making such a journey, which meant traveling for some thousands of kilometers on foot, certainly involved much more hardships than it does today, and required a strong will and profound faith.

To add such an endeavor to his other ascetic practices, Mulla Sadra stepped on this way seven times, and eventually, on his seventh journey to Mecca for the visitation of Ka’ba, fell ill in the city of Basra in Iraq and passed away, leaving this world for those who were obsessed by it.

The route of his journey, if we consider its place of origin as Shiraz, was the waterway from the eastern coast of Persian Gulf towards its western coast, and to Basra port in Iraq, which was a part of Iran at that time.

It is commonly said that Mulla Sadra passed away in 1050 A.H/1640 A.D; however, we believe that a more exact date is 1045 A.H/1635 A.D, which his grandson, Ilm al-Huda, one of the stars of the sky of knowledge of his time and the son of ‘Allamah Faydh Kashani, has recorded in his notes. The sudden discontinuation of some of his compositions, such as Interpretation of Qu’ran and Sharh-i Usul Kafi (Muhadith Kulayni), in about 1044 A.H/1634 A.D are good pieces of evidence supporting this claim.

Mulla Sadra died in Basra, but according to the Shi’ite tradition, he was taken to Najaf (in Iraq), which houses the tomb of Imam Ali(A), the vicegerent, cousin, and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammed(S), and the first leader of Shi’ites, and, as his grandson, Ilm al-Huda, says, he was buried in the left side of the court of Imam Ali(A)’s haram (sacred shrine).

His Teachers

Mulla Sadra was a master of all sciences of his time; however, none of them were as important as philosophy in his eyes. As mentioned previously, due to the outstanding spiritual and economic facilities provided by his family, particularly by his father, he enjoyed the benefits of studying under the most knowledgeable teachers of that period.
In Qazwin, Mulla Sadra studied under his two prominent masters, Shaykh Baha al-Din and Mir Damad, and when the capital changed to Isfahan in 1006 A.H/1596 A.D, he moved there in company of his two masters, and in addition to completing his higher education, particularly in philosophy, started a profound line of research on contemporary philosophical issues. Due to his great talent, depth of thought, and vast knowledge of rational sciences, logic, and gnosis, Mulla Sadra succeeded in developing a series of unprecedented principles and basic rules. In this way, the young tree of Transcendental Philosophy, which is the name of his unique school of thought, gradually grew until it raised its head highly in the sky.

Mulla Sadra acquired most of his scholarly knowledge from the two above-mentioned masters. Thus it would be deserving to know a little more about these unparalleled thinkers.

1. Shaykh Baha al-Din ‘Ameli
   

   Shaykh Baha (953-1030 A.H) was not Mulla Sadra’s first teacher; however, it seems that from among all his teachers, he played the most significant role in developing Mulla Sadra’s personality, and exercised the greatest influence upon the formation of his spiritual, moral, and scientific character.

   He was the son of a Lebanese jurisprudent called Shaykh Hussayn, the son of Shaykh Abdul Samad Ameli. Jabal Amel is one of the northern cities of Syria, which is populated by Shi’ite Muslims. At that time, it was ruled by the cruel and tyrant Ottoman government. A lot of Shi’ite jurisprudents and scholars living in this city ran away from the cruelties of ottoman rulers and sought refuge in the Safavid Iran. Shaykh Baha al-Din was seven (or 13) years old when he came to Iran with his father, who was later appointed the religious leader of Muslims, which was a sublime and spiritual position, in Harat in Khorasan. Baha al-Din began to acquire the sciences of his time in Iran and soon became a very well-known scientist.

   Shaykh Baha’s vast knowledge of different areas, from jurisprudence, interpretation, hadith, and literature to mathematics, engineering, astronomy, and the like, as well as the stories narrated about the wonders of his life, have turned him into a fabulous and legendary character, unparalleled by any other scientist in the one thousand- year-old history of science after Islam. In fact, in terms of knowledge, he can be considered as an equal to Pythagoras or Hermes in the history of Greek science.

2. Mir Damad
   

   Mir Muhammad Baqir Hussayni, known as Mir Damad, was one of the most prominent scholars of his time and a great master of Peripatetic and Illuminationist schools of philosophy, gnosis, jurisprudence, and Islamic law. His father, too, was a jurisprudent and was originally from Astarabad (the present Gorgan). He spent his youth studying in Khorasan and was later honored by becoming the son-in-law of a famous Lebanese scientist called Shaykh Ali Karaki, who was known as the second researcher, the high counselor of the Safavid king. Because of this honor, the title of ‘Damad’ (Persian word for son-in-law) remained on Mir Muhammad Baqir Hussayni.

   Some people believe that Mir Damad was born in 969 A.H (1562 A.D), but there is no certain evidence for it. He was born in Khorasan and passed his adolescence in Mashad (the center of Khorasan province) and because of his genius, he reached high scientific levels in a very short time. When he arrived in Qazwin (Capital of the Safavid kings at that time) to complete his education, he became fast famous and reached the station of mastership.

   Mulla Sadra, who had most probably gone to Isfahan with his father in childhood, went to Mir Damad’s teaching classes hurriedly and passed the higher courses of philosophy, hadith, and other sciences once more under his supervision.

   With the change of the Safavid capital from Qazwin to Isfahan, Mir Damad moved his teaching center there, too. Mulla Sadra, during his years of residence in Isfahan, took the greatest advantage of his classes, and his scientific relation with this knowledgeable teacher was never disrupted. Mir Damad fell ill in 1041 A.H (1631 A.D) on his way to Iraq and passed away there.

3. Mir Fendereski
   

   Mir Fendereski has also been cited as one of Mulla Sadra’s teachers. His complete name is Mir Abulqasim Astarabadi, and he is famous as Fendereski. He lived for a while in Isfahan at the same time as Mir Damad, spent a great part of his life in India among yogis and Zoroastrians, and learnt certain things from them.

   In spite of what is commonly believed, there is no valid evidence indicating the existence of any student-teacher relation between Mir Fendereski and Mulla Sadra; moreover, the school of philosophy left by Fendereski and publicized by his students, such as Mulla Rajab Ali Tabrizi, is completely in contrast to that of Mulla Sadra.

His Children

Mulla Sadra’s date of marriage is not clearly known to us. He married most probably at the age of 40 and his first child was born in 1019 A.H (1609 A.D). He had five children, 3 daughters and two sons, as follows:

1. Um Kulthum, born in 1019 A.H (1609 A.D)
2. Ibrahim, born in 1021 A.H (1611 A.D)
3. Zubaydah, born in 1024 A.H (1614 A.D)
4. Nizam al-Din Ahmad, born in 1031 A.H (1621 A.D)
5. Ma’sumah, born in 1033 A.H (1623 A.D)

Mulla Sadra’s eldest child was his daughter, Um Kulthum, who was a poet and scientist and a woman of prayer and piety. She was married to Mulla Abdul Razzaq Lahiji, Mulla Sadra’s famous student.

His second daughter was called Zubaydah. She was married to Faydh Kashani (Mulla Sadra’s other student) and gave birth to some well-reputed children. She was also famous for having a vast knowledge of science and literature, and being a poet.

Ma’sumah, Mulla Sadra’s third daughter, was born in 1033 A.H (1623 A.D) in Shiraz and was famous for being a knowledgeable woman and a master of poetry and literature. She married one of Mulla Sadra’s other students, Qawam al-Din Muhammed Neyrizi. Some people believe that her husband was another person called Mulla Abdul Muhsin Kashani, who was also one of Mulla Sadra’s students.

Students

In spite of the long time that Mulla Sadra was involved in teaching philosophy, interpretation, and hadith, including the last 5 (or 10) years of his life in Shiraz (1040 till 1045 or 1050), and more than 20 years in middle of his lifetime in Qum (from about 1020 till 1040) or perhaps a few years before that in Shiraz or Isfahan, except for a few, there is no record of the names of his students in historical documents and writings.
Undoubtedly some prominent philosophers and scientists were trained in his classes; however, surprisingly enough, none of them became famous, or if they did, we have no knowledge of their names. This, of course, might have been due to the weak relation between their life and Malla Sadra’s life.

We know about 10 of Mulla Sadra’s well-known students, among whom Faydh Kashani and Fayyadh Lahiji are the most reputable ones.

1. Faydh Kashani
   

   This student of Mulla Sadra was called Muhammed Ibn al-Murtada, nicknamed Muhsen, but he was known as Faydh. He was mainly famous for being a master of jurisprudence, hadith, ethics, and gnosis. His father was one of the scholars of Kashan. Faydh went to Isfahan (the capital of the time) at the age of 20. Later he went to Shiraz and acquired the sciences of that time. Then he went to Qum, where Mulla Sadra had established a vast teaching center. After being acquainted with this great master, Faydh studied under him for about 10 years (till Mulla Sadra’s return to Shiraz) and was honored by being accepted as his son-in-law. He even went to Shiraz in Mulla Sadra’s company and stayed there for another two years; nevertheless, since at that time (about the age of forty) he had become a knowledgeable scholar and a master of all sciences, he returned to his town, Kashan, and established a teaching center there.

   During his lifetime, in addition to training a great number of students, he composed several books on jurisprudence, hadith, ethics, and gnosis. His method of treating the science of ethics was such that he was called the second Gazzali; however, he was much higher than Abu Hamid Gazzali Tusi in his gnostic taste and scientific depth of knowledge.

   He was also a poet. He has left a book of poems in Persian, mainly consisting of gnostic and moral poems, and mostly in the lyric form.

   The Safavid king (known as Shah Safi) invited him in the last years of life to Isfahan to serve as the leader of Friday prayer there, but he refused this invitation and returned to his own town. However, the insistence of the other Safavid king (Shah Abbas II) dragged him to Isfahan most probably in the years after 1052 A.H (1643 A.D).

   Faydh wrote more than 100 books, the most famous of which are Mafatih in jurisprudence, al-Wafi in hadith, al-Safi and al-Asfia on the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an, Usul al-Ma’arif in philosophy and gnosis, and al-Muhajj al-bayza’ in ethics. All these books are written in Arabic, and each is considered important in its own right.

   Faydh had six children. His son, Muhammed A’alam al-Huda, was a well-known scholar who composed a lot of works. According to the date written on his gravestone, Faydh deceased in 1091 A.H (1681 A.D), apparently at the age of 84.

2. Fayyadh Lahiji
   

   Mulla Sadra’s other student was Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji, the son of Ali, known as Fayyadh. He was mainly famous as a philosopher and theologian and was considered one of the distinguished poets of his time.

   He spent a part of his life in Mashad (the center of Khorasan province) studying and, then, in about 1030 A.H (1621 A.D), or a few years after that, he went to Qum, was acquainted with Mulla Sadra, attended his classes, and, later, became one of his most faithful students. Before Mulla Sadra’s return to Shiraz, Fayyadh was honored by being accepted as his son-in-law (probably in about 1035 A.H).
   Unlike his friend Faydh Kashani, Fayyadh did not go to Shiraz with Mulla Sadra. It is likely that Mulla Sadra left him in Qum as his substitute to continue his teaching work as a master.

   Fayyadh was a prominent philosopher who sometimes appeared in the role of a theologian following Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi (writer of Tajrid al-Kalam). He had a profound poetic and literary taste and, as one of the outstanding poets of that time, had a Diwan (collection of poems) consisting of a variety of 12000 couplets in ballad, lyric and quatrain (ruba’i) forms.

   He was one of the most reputable and distinguished figures of the Safavid period whom the Safavid Shah greatly admired and respected. He was also quite popular among ordinary people. He socialized with them and loved them so much and, in return, received their great respect and devotion. However, in reality, he was a God-fearing, pious, and secluded man who was heedless to worldly attractions (This judgment has been made by his contemporaries about him).

   Lahiji has a lot of works in philosophy and theology, the most famous of which are: Shawariq al-ilham (a commentary on Tajrid al-kalam), Gohar Murad (written in a simple language on theology, a commentary on Suhrawardi’s al-Nur, glosses on Sharh Isharat, and some other books, treatises, and a collection of poems.

   Fayyadh was the father of at least three sons, who were all among the scholars of their time. The name of his eldest son is Mulla Hasan Lahiji, who became a master and succeeded his father in Qum. Fayyadh is said to have lived for 70 years. He passed away in 1072 A.H (1662 A.D) in Qum and was buried in the same place.

3. Mulla Hussayn Tunekaboni

   One of the other famous students of Mulla Sadra is Mulla Hussayn Tunekaboni or Gilani. Tunekabon is a town in Mazandaran province in the north of Iran and on the shores of Caspian Sea. A great number of reputable philosophers and scientists have arisen from this town.

   There are a lot of ambiguous points in his life; nevertheless, what is certain is his expertise in Mulla Sadra’s school of thought, and teaching philosophy and gnosis. His decease or martyrdom was quite sad. On his Haj pilgrimage, when making his visitation to Ka’ba (in Mecca in Hijaz in Saudi Arabia), he was passionately holding the walls of the House of Ka’ba in his arms and rubbing his face to them in a mystic manner, but the laymen assumed that he was insulting the court of Ka’ba and, thus, hit him harshly. After this incident he suffered so much, so that he could not bear the depression anymore and passed away in Mecca in 1105 A.H (1695 A.D). He has also left some books in philosophy to his later generations.
   

4. Hakim Aqajani
   
   Hakim Mulla Muhammed Aqajani has been cited as one of Mulla Sadra’s students. His life is also full of ambiguous points. He is mainly famous for the commentary he wrote on Mir Damad’s (Mulla Sadra’s master) important and difficult book, al-Qabassat, in 1071 A.H (1661 A.D).

His Works

Mulla Sadra was a prolific writer. He did not write at all during his time of seclusion and asceticism and, after that, he was continually involved in teaching and training the students of philosophy who attended his classes from all over Iran; however, at all times, when traveling or at home, he seized all possible chances to write books and long or short treatises in philosophy. As a result, he created a varied, useful, and inferential philosophical collection of writings in different forms following different purposes.

Some of his books are textbooks and quite useful for gaining a preliminary or complementary acquaintance with philosophy and gnosis on the basis of his specific school of thought, Transcendent Philosophy. Some of his other books are on the explanation and demonstration of his own theories, and some others can be considered as being on human ethics and manners.

He has devoted an important part of his works to the interpretation of the Qu’ran, and although death did not allow him to provide a philosophical and gnostic commentary on the whole Qu’ran, what he wrote in this regard enjoys certain features which have made them unique among similar interpretations.

Mulla Sadra, who was a Muhaddith (an expert in hadith and traditions quoted from the Prophet(S) and his descendants(A)), has an important work on hadith. This is a commentary on a famous book of hadiths, called al-Kafi, written by Kulayni Razi. Mulla Sadra has commented on its chapter of ‘Usul’; however, perhaps due to his decease, it has remained incomplete. He also has two books in logic, called Tanquih al-Mantiq and Risalah fil Tasawwur wa Tasdiq.

His well-known books which have been published so far include the following:

1. al-Hikmat al-Muta’aliyah fi’l-Asfar al-Arba’ah
   

   The discussions in this book start with the issues of being and quiddity and continue with the issues of motion, time, perception, substance, and accident. A part of this book is devoted to proving the existence of God and his attributes, and, eventually, it comes to an end with a discussion of man’s soul and the subjects of death and resurrection.

   The novelty which he has exclusively employed in writing this interesting and important book is classifying the themes of the book in the mould of 4 stages of gnostics’ spiritual and mystic journeys, with each stage considered as one journey. Therefore, as a gnostic’s journey in the first stage is from his self and people towards God; in the second and third stages from God to God (from His Essence to His Attributes and Acts); and in the fourth stage from God to people; this book begins with existents and continues with the Hereafter, God, and the mustered people.

   The original book is in 4 big-sized volumes which have been published in nine small-sized volumes several times.

   This book is, in fact, a philosophical encyclopedia and a collection of important issues discussed in Islamic philosophy, enriched by the ideas of preceding philosophers, from Pythagoras to those living at the same time with Mulla Sadra, and containing the related responses on the basis of new and strong arguments. All these features have made it the book of choice for teaching at higher levels of philosophical education in scientific and religious centers.

   The composition of this book gradually started from about 1015 A.H (1605 A.D), and its completion took almost 25 years, till some years after 1040 A.H (1630 A.D).

2. al-Tafsir (A commentary upon the Qur’an)
   

   During his life, Mulla Sadra, at some times and in certain occasions, interpreted one of the chapters (Surahs) of the Qur’an. In the last decade of his life, he started his work from the beginning of this Holy Book in order to compile all his interpretations into a complete work, but death did not allow him to accomplish this task to the end.

   The names of the chapters he interpreted in an approximate chronological order is as follows:
   1. chapter 57: al-Hadid,
   2. commentary on Ayat al-Kursi (chapter 2: al-Baqarah),
   3. chapter 32: Sajda,
   4. chapter 99: al-Zilzal,
   5. verses al-Nur, al-Yasin, al-Tariq,
   6. chapter 87: al-A’la,
   7. chapter 56: al-waqui’ah,
   8. chapter 1: al-Fatiha,
   9. chapter 62: al-Jumu’ah, and
   10. chapter 2: al-Baqarah.

   In the bibliography of Mulla Sadra’s book, each of the above has appeared as an independent work, but we have cited them here all under the single title of Commentary upon the Qur’an. He has also two other books on the Qur’an, called Mafatih al-qayb and Asrar al-ayat, which are considered as introductions to the interpretation of the Qur’an, and represent the philosophy behind this task.

3. Sharh al-Hidayah
   
   This work is a commentary on a book called Hidayah which has been written on the basis of Peripatetic philosophy, and was previously used for giving a preliminary familiarity with philosophy to students. However, it is rarely used today.
   
4. al-Mabda’ wa’l-Ma’ad
   
   Also called al-Hikmat al-Muta’aliyyah, this book can be considered a summary of the second half of Asfar.

   It has been written away from all discussions that Mulla Sadra views as being useless and unnecessary. He called this book the Beginning and the End due to the fact that he believed it in heart that philosophy means the knowledge of the Origin and the Return.

   This book is mainly on issues related to theology and eschatology, and is considered one of Mulla Sadra’s important books.
   

5. al-Mazahir

   This book is similar to al-Mabda’ wa’l-ma’ad, but is shorter than that. It is, in fact, a handbook for familiarizing readers with Mulla Sadra’s philosophy.
   

6. Huduth al-‘Alam

   The issue of the origination of the world is a complicated and disputable problem for many philosophers.

   In this book, in addition to quoting the theories of philosophers before and after Socrates, and those of some Muslim philosophers, Mulla Sadra has proved his solid theory through the theory of the trans-substantial motion.
   

7. Iksir al-‘Arifin

   As the name suggests, this is a gnostic and educative book.
   

8. al-Hashr

   The central theme of this book is the quality of existents’ resurrection in the Hereafter. Here, Mulla Sadra has expressed the theory of the resurrection of animals and objects in the Hereafter.
   

9. al-Masha’ir

   This is a short but profound and rich book on existence and its related subjects. Professor Henry Corbin has translated it into French and written an introduction to it. This book has recently been translated into English, too.
   

10. al-Waridat al-Qalbiyyah
    
    Mulla Sadra has presented a brief account of important philosophical problems in this book, and it seems to be an inventory of the Divine inspirations and illuminations he had received all through his life.
    
11. Iqad al-Na’imin

    This book is on theoretical and actual gnosis, and on the science of monotheism. It presents some guidelines and instructional points to wake up the sleeping.
    

12. al-Masa’il al-Qudsiyyah

    This booklet deals mainly with issues such as existence in mind and epistemology. Here, Mulla Sadra has combined epistemology and ontology with each other.
    

13. ‘Arshiyyah

    Also called al-Hikmat al-‘Arshiyyah, this is another referential book about Mulla Sadra’s philosophy. Like in al-Mazahir, he has tried to demonstrate the Beginning and the End concisely but precisely.

    This book has been translated by professor James Winston Maurice into English. He has also written an informative introduction to it.
    

14. al-Shawadhid al-Rububiyyah

    This philosophical book has been mainly written in the Illuminationist style, and represents Mulla Sadra’s ideas during the early periods of his philosophical thoughts.
    

15. Sharh-i Shafa

    Mulla Sadra has written this book as a commentary upon some of the issues discussed in the part on theology (Ilahiyyat) in Ibn-Sina’s al-Shifa. Sharh-i Shafa has also been published in the form of glosses clearly expressing Mulla Sadra’s ideas in this regard.
    

16. Sharh-i Hikmat al-Ishraq
    
    This work is a useful and profound commentary or collection of glosses on Suhrawardi’s Hikmat al-ishraq and Qutb al-Din Shirazi’s commentary upon it.
    
17. Ittihad al-‘Aqil wa’l-Ma’qul

    This is a monographic treatise on the demonstration of a complicated philosophical theory, the Union of the Intellect and the Intelligible, which no one could prove and rationalize prior to Mulla Sadra.
    

18. Ajwibah al-Masa’il

    This book consists of at least three treatises in which Mulla Sadra responds to the philosophical questions posed by his contemporary philosophers.
    

19. Ittisaf al-Mahiyyah bi’l Wujud

    This treatise is a monographic treatise dealing with the problem of existence and its relation to quiddities.
    

20. al-Tashakhkhus

    In this book, Mulla Sadra has explained the problem of individuation and clarified its relation to existence and its principiality, which is one of the most fundamental principles he has propounded.
    

21. Sarayan nur Wujud

    This treatise deals with the quality of the descent or diffusion of existence from the True Source to existents (quiddities).
    

22. Limmi’yya Ikhtisas al-Mintaqah
    
    A treatise on logic, this work focuses on the cause of the specific form of the sphere.
    
23. Khalq al-A’mal

    This treatise is on man’s determinism and free will.
    

24. al-Qada’ wa’l-Qadar
    
    This treatise is on the problem of Divine Decree and Destiny.
    
25. Zad al-Musafir

    In this book (which is probably the same as Zad al-Salik), Mulla Sadra has tried to demonstrate resurrection and the Hereafter following a philosophical approach.
    

26. al-Shawahid al-Rububiyyah

    This treatise is not related to Mulla Sadra’s book of al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah. It is an inventory of his particular theories and opinions which he has been able to express in philosophical terms.
    

27. al-Mizaj

    Mulla Sadra has written this treatise on the reality of man’s temperament and its relation to the body and soul.
    

28. Mutashabihat al-Qur’an

    This treatise consists of Mulla Sadra’s interpretations of those Qura’nic verses which have secret and complicated meanings. It is considered as one of the chapters in Mafatih al-Qayb.
    

29. Isalat-i Ja’l-i Wujud

    This book is on existence and its principiality as opposed to quiddities.
    

30. al-Hashriyyah

    A treatise on resurrection and people’s presence in the Hereafter, it deals with man’s being rewarded in paradise and punished in hell.
    

31. al-Alfad al-Mufradah

    This book is used as an abridged dictionary for interpreting words in the Qur’an.
    

32. Radd-i Shubahat-i Iblis

    Here, Mulla Sadra has explained Satan’s seven paradoxes and provided the related answers.
    

33. Si Asl

    This is Mulla Sadra’s only book in Persian. Here, by resorting to the main three moral principles, he has dealt with moral and educative subjects related to scientists, and advised his contemporary philosophers.
    

34. Kasr al-Asnam al-Jahiliyyah

    The title of this book means demolishing the idols of the periods of barbarism and man’s ignorance. His intention here is to condemn and disgrace impious sophists.
    

35. al-Tanquih

    In this book, Mulla Sadra has concisely dealt with formal logic. It is a good book for instructional purposes.
    

36. al-Tasawwur wa’l-Tasdiq
    
    This treatise deals with issues of the philosophy of logic and inquires into concept and judgment.
    
37. Diwan Shi’r (Collection of Poems)

    Mulla Sadra has written a number of scholarly and mystic poems in Persian which have been compiled in this book.
    

38. A Collection of Scientific-Literary Notes

    In his youth, Mulla Sadra studied a lot of philosophical and gnostic books; moreover, due to his poetic taste, he had access to the poetry books written by different poets and was interested in them.

    Therefore, some short notes of his own poetry, the statements of philosophers and gnostics, and scientific issues have been left from his youth, which comprise a precious collection. It is said that this book can familiarize the readers with subtleties of Mulla Sadra’s nature.

    These notes have been compiled in two different collections, and it is likely that the smaller collection was compiled on one of his journeys.

39. Letters

    Except for a few letters exchanged between Mulla Sadra and his master, Mir Damad, nothing has been left from them.

    These letters have been presented at the beginning of the 3-volume book of Mulla Sadra’s Life, Character and School, which have been written in Persian. This book has also been translated into English.

If we consider the above 39 books along with his 12-volume books of interpretation, which we referred to as Tafasir in number 2, as well as with his Mafatih al-qayb and Asrar al-ayat, we have cited more than 50 of his works (exactly 53) so far. Some other books have also been attributed to him; however, we will not refer to their names, since they have either been discussed in other more comprehensive books, or their being written by Mulla Sadra has been denied.

One of the problems which has raised a lot of arguments concerning Mulla Sadra’s books is the place and time of their composition. Most of his books have no composition date, and, in order to know about this, one must refer to certain documents and evidences. For example, the composition dates of some of his books have been implied in his al-Mabda’ wa’l-Ma’ad, al-Hashr and interpretations of some of the surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an.

For instance,

• al-Mabda’ wa’l-Ma’ad was written in 1019 A.H (1609 A.D),
• Interpretation of Ayat al-Kursi in about 1023 A.H (1613 A.D);
• Kasr al-Asnam in 1027 A.H (1617 A.D);
• Iksir al-‘Arifin in 1031 A.H (1621 A.D);
• The treatise of al-Hashr in 1032 A.H (1622 A.D);
• the treatise of Ittihad al-‘Aqil wa’l-Ma’qul in about 1037 A.H (1627 A.D); and
• Mafatih al-Qayb in 1029 A.H (1619 A.D).

The dates of his other books could only be approximately reckoned.

In order to know about their place of composition, we must pay attention that Mulla Sadra moved from Qum to Shiraz in about 1040 A.H (1630 A.D), and before 1015 A.H (1605 A.D), he went to Qum and its suburbs from Shiraz or some other place.

Therefore, the books which he wrote before 1040 A.H must have been written in Qum or some place in its vicinity, unless he has written some of these books and treatises on his long journeys.

Reference: Sadra Islamic Philosphy Research Institute (SIPRIn)

Firstly, I’d like to thank Brother Ehsan, for his comment, on Shabbir’s Blog which pointed me towards this excellent - and Open Source - project - Zekr.

Zekr is, to put it simply, an Open Platform Quran Study Tool - meaning that it works on almost all operating systems, from Linux, to Windows, to MacOS - and since the source code is available, if required it can be ported to other less well known operating systems.

According to it’s official site, Zekr, was originally developed by Mohsen Saboorian (you can check out Mohsen’s Blog here - it is however, mainly in Farsi), a student at Tehran University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, which is part of the University’s overall Engineering Faculty. Mohsen is studying Software Engineering at an undergraduate level (BSc), the following people have also had a hand in helping with the language packs as well as providing Mohsen with useful feedback so as to enhance the project.  The following people have helped with the Zekr project:

• Ari R. Fikri (Indonesian language pack)
• Younes Moumen (Basic French and Arabic language packs)
• Riyad Preukschas (German language pack)
• Michael Kalinin (Russian language pack + Russian translations)
• Omar sm (Critical typo reports)
• Aydin Tarık Zengin (Turkish language pack + Turkish translation)
• H N Jafar (Malay language pack)
• Erik van Luxzenburg (Initial Dutch language pack)
• Muhammad Bashir Al-Noimi (Arabic language pack)
• Dangiislam.org (Kurdish language pack)
• Mohsin Shafeeque Hijazee (Urdu language pack)
• Nedim Hadžić (Bosnian language pack)
• Alma Aganović (Help on Bosnian language pack + Korkut translation)
• Johan Laenen (Dutch language pack)
• Zabeehkhan (Pashto language pack)
• Fareed A. Bashirov (Tatar language pack + Tatar translation)
• Mohammad Mehdi Saboorian (useful feedbacks)
• Ali Rastegar (Mac port + Mac maintainer)
• Mohammad Derakhshani (Ubuntu package maintainer)
• Hamid Zarrabi-Zadeh (Quran text automatic verification)

The software has been released under the GNU GPL License, and more information can be found on the software’s release notes.  The Zekr Project can also be found at sourceforge.

The most current (stable) version of Zekr that is available is Zekr 0.6.6 (Released on October 6, 2007), and it’s release notes can be found here.  There was however, a special Ramadhan Version, which can be downloaded from here.  The Ramadhan Version focused more on Quranic Recitation, and as a result it includes lightweight Flash MP3 play to Quranic recitation files (online or offline) according to the note on the website.  The release notes for the Ramadhan Version - which is really Zekr 0.6.5 - can be found here.

You can find a comprehensive series of screenshots, which effectively give you a walkthrough the application on the Zekr Website. 

The complete software development map for Zekr can be found here.

This is an awesome application, very stable, and it just works - just like Ehsan said:

In my opinion it is fast and works very smoothly. There are a bunch of translations to download (even Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi’s(HA) Farsi translation!) and best of all the search option works like a charm.

Completely spot on.

I would recommend this project to anyone, and incidentally, I wonder if it would be possible to add other books to the Zekr Engine, books such as Mafatih al-Jinan, Sahifa as-Sajjadiyyah, and others?  You could even incorporate various tafaseer (Exegeses) of the Quran, and even have books like Nahj ul-Balagha incorporated into it.  How awesome is that!! In theory, all it would require is the actual content of the books, in the appropriate format, hmm, this could be one to have a serious think about.

This really is an awesome project, and I ask that everyone spread the word about Zekr!

With Salaams and Dua’s

Shabbir

—
Shabbir R Hassanally, Co-Editor
islamicdigest.net

Lord! Grant brightness of sincerity to the mirror of the heart, Cleanse the rust of hypocrisy from the tablet of the heart, and show the path of virtue and salvation to the helpless wanderers in the mazes of the bewilderment and error and confusion.

Endow us with the nobleness and generosity of character. Reveal to us your glory and splendor, that you have reserved only for your chosen servants. Expel the legions of Satan and ignorance from the realms of our heart, implant the divine hosts of knowledge and wisdom in their stead.

Enrich our hearts with the profusion of your love and that of your Chosen in this transitory world, this ephemeral lodging place. And shower Your choicest blessing upon us at the time of death and thereafter.

Extend to us your mercy, and grant us proximity to the Highest Good.

PURPOSE OF WRITING THE BOOK:

I, a humble servant of God, was contemplating for some time, to select forty hadith from among the ahadith of the members of the Household of the Prophet (S) from the authentic books of the sahabah, and scholars, and was trying to compile them with an appropriate explanation of each of them that can be applied to the general conditions of the people.

I chose to write them in Persian, so that the Persian knowing people may also be benefited from them. God willing, this compilation would be an attempt to serve the command of the Prophet (S) who said:

From among my followers, one who shall preserve and protect my forty ahadith, so that my people may be benefited from them, God Almighty will treat him on the Day of Resurrection with great men of wisdom and learning (jurisprudence).

Verbal Translation:

Al-Sukuni relates on the authority of Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (A): `Verily on seeing the returning armies from the battlefront, the Prophet (S) of God said: Blessed are those who have performed the minor jihad, and have yet to perform the major one. When asked, what is the major jihad? the Prophet replied, “the jihad of the self” (struggle against self)

Exposition:

Sariyyah is the section (contingent) of a big army, and it has been said that four hundred is an optimum number for the best sariyyah. According to the wordings of the tradition this can be inferred that man is a marvel possessing two lives and two worlds within one existence.

That is, apparent life or the outward world, which is this worldly existence, and is associated with his body, and the other is `inner life’, the inward world, associated with the hidden, invisible, higher other world, his soul in short, which belongs to the realms of invisible and celestial world, and consists of several levels and grades.

These levels are generally divided sometimes into seven sections and sometimes into four. They are sometimes divided into three, and sometimes into just two sections. For each one of them is specified host of guardians.

The host related with the divine and intellectual powers attracts him towards the sublime, heavenly spheres, and summons him to the acts of virtue and goodness. The other host of guardians is the ignoble and satanic which attracts man towards the baser realms of darkness and shame, and invites him to the acts of villainy and destruction.

There is always a state of conflict and strive between these two forces, and human existence serves as the battleground of these two bands.

When the divine forces of good become successful, man emerges as a virtuous and blessed being, and attains the high station of angels, and is congregated under the category of prophets, saints and the pious. When the satanic forces of darkness dominate, man becomes a rebellious and vicious being, and is flocked with the fiendish group of the infidels and cursed.

Since this is not an occasion to discuss it here, I shall take up this issue of the crusade of the self whenever the self and causes of its deterioration and perfection would be discussed in the latter passages.

First Grade:

This grade itself consists of different stages (fusul). You have to know that the lowest of them is the worldly and outward human existence comprising the initial stages of the self and its apparent. manifestations.

The divine spark is blended with the physical to form man’s earthly existence. It is here in this body that the armies of good and evil are stationed, and the visible potentialities of body function as warring forces.

It has seven quarters. They are: ears, eyes, tongue, stomach, private parts, and arms and legs.

All these diffused faculties under the control of the self are employed by the self in seven spheres of life.

The seat of imagination also is an important faculty, as the thought and imagination are sovereign over all visible and invisible human faculties. If the faculty of thought resolves to employ all other faculties to move in the fiendish directions, all of them are converted into satanic forces and the whole territory (of existence) is turned into a satanic domain, and the forces of piety, rationality and good are weakened and subjugated by them.

As a result they wind up their business and leave off the scene, vacating the empire for the possession of Satan. If the faith and reason take possession of the mind, and they command all human faculties to work in their own direction, man acts according to the dictates of reason and faith (shar‘), thus making the empire (of his existence) a domain of divine and rational powers, and compel satanic forces to retreat with all its weaponry accepting defeat.

Thus the jihad of the self is the jihad of greater importance. This jihad is superior to being killed in the way of God, since this condition implies overpowering one’s own powers and faculties, and placing them under the yoke of God’s command, and purging the domain of our body of satanic elements and their forces.

Contemplation The First Step:

The first and foremost condition for one’s strife with his own self, and hence his movement towards God essentially means introspection and self-reflection. Some of the moral philosophers have given it the fifth position in priorities, which is also correct.

Here introspection is used in the sense of devoting some time, however insignificant it is, contemplating about our duties towards our Master and Creator, Who has brought us into this world, and Who has bestowed upon us all the means of pleasure and joys of life, Who has equipped us with a sound body and faultless faculties and senses, each of whom serves a specific purpose of its own, and whose functioning bewilders human intellect. In addition to all these endowments and graces, He has sent so many prophets and His Holy Book for our guidance and invited us to receive His blessings.

Whether all these things have been granted to us by the Master and Emperor of all kings merely to serve this animal existence and to satisfy our appetites and instincts, which we share with other animals, or whether there is some higher aim? Whether all the prophets of God, great sages, thinkers and scholars of every nation have invited the people to follow certain rational principles and Divine legislation, and asked the people to abstain from all animal tendencies and detach themselves from this mortal and perishable habitation were their enemies, or they had conceived an entirely different idea of salvation, which we ordinary human creatures, blindly obeying the dictates of lust, could not conceive?

If we reflect in a rational manner for a moment, we shall realize that the aim of imparting to us all these graces and endowments is something else, superior to and higher than what is visible.

This world is a stage of action and its aim is a higher and more sublime sphere of existence. This lower and animal existence is not an end in itself. A rational man should think of his own self introspectively and should feel pity for his state of helplessness. With a sense of pity he should address his own self saying;

“O callous self!
Thou has wasted precious years of thy short life in pursuance of hedonistic and sensuous propensities!
And nothing is gained except regret and sense of loss.
Thou should be regretful before God for thy past deeds, and commence a new journey in the direction of His prescribed goal, the journey that leads to the life of eternity and perpetual bliss.
Thou should not bargain short-lived transitory joys, which are hard to obtain for eternal bliss and felicity.
Think for a while,
O Callous self!
Thou should think over the conditions of the people from the dawn of civilization up to the present time that is witnessed by thee.
See and balance their hardships and torments with the comforts and pleasures they could attain, and thou shall see their pains and sufferings always overwhelmed and canceled their joys and pleasures.
Joys and pleasures are not for everyone in this life.
One who invites and induces thee to pursue the worldly joys and material gains, is evidently one of the satanic hosts in the human form, who undoubtedly is an emissary of the Satan.
‘He always induces other men to join him in his indulgence in sensualities, and declares his conviction in material life herewith.
At this juncture,
O self! thou should pause for a moment, and think whether he is satisfied with his own condition, or whether all this points to one who himself is inflicted, and wants to taint others’ poor life with the same vice.
O self! thou should entreatingly ask God’s approval of thine acts, and seek His pleasure.
Pray to Him that thine acts be approved by Him.
Between Him and thee there is always a spark of hope.
This hope is realized in thy thinking with firm resolution to fight against the Satan and thine own baser self.
This strife with the self leads thee to a higher stage, and try thy best to attain that through sincere struggle.”

Will and Resolution:

The next stage, after the stage of contemplation and pondering through which an individual striving to progress on the spiritual path has to pass, is the stage of resolution.

(This is a different thing from volition, which al-Shaykh al-Ra’is Ibn Sina, in `al-’Isharat’, alludes to as the initial stage of `irfan).

Some of our revered scholars (may God grant them longevity) also state that resolution is the essence of humanity and criterion of human freedom. The differences in human gradation are actually indicative of the discrepancy of the stages of human resolution. The resolution which is required for this particular stage is synonymous with laying the foundation of a good life, a resolution to purge life from sin, and to perform all obligatory (wajib) acts, and a resolution to compensate for the days lost (in sinfulness), and finally resolve to behave as a rational and religious person ought to.

That is, he should adopt a behavior that is in accordance with the codes of religious law, which would acknowledge him as a real human being, a rational man.

His gait and manner should be an imitation and copy of the Prophet’s life.

He must, in appearance, follow the Prophet (S) as a model in his manner and actions, in his abstinence’s and his choices.

This is quite possible, since it is in the powers of ordinary servants of God seemingly to act in the way of that great leader of human beings.

You should know that no path for the realization of divine existence can be undertaken unless one familiarizes himself with the apparent or overt form of Shari`ah. Unless a person fully acquaints himself with the knowledge of the Shari`ah laws and follows them faithfully, the higher values of morality cannot be attained by him.

Without adhering to the apparent teachings of Islam it is not possible that the light of the Divine Knowledge could descend upon his heart, and the wisdom of the invisible, and the mysteries of the holy law be revealed to him.

After attaining this stage, the truth unveiled for him and enlightenment bestowed upon his heart, a person would act with greater observance of the manifest forms of religion. This falsifies the claims of pseudo spiritualists, who say that the inner perfection can only be acquired by relinquishing outer accomplishments, or, that after acquiring inner excellences, necessity of observing outward forms does not remain obligatory.

This is a mistaken conception born of ignorance about the stages of worship and the different grades of human progress. We shall deal with this subject in the latter chapters, may God grant it so.

Effort and Struggle (Spiritual):

Dear friend: try to be a man of strong will-power and resolution, so that you may not go from this world as a person without resolution, and hence rise on the day of resurrection as a brainless-being, not in the form of human being.

For the other-world is the place where what is hidden is unveiled and secrets are exposed.

One’s audacity to commit sin, converts him little by little into a man devoid of will-power, and takes away the noble essence of humanity from him.

Our respected teacher used to say that more than anything else, giving the ears to the sounds of music and songs, steal from men their will-power and the power of resolution.

Hence, my brother, desist from transgression, resolve to return to God, and acquire a mien similar to that of true human being. Join the community of the men of religion and in seclusion pray to God, so that He may assist you in your mission, and pray that the Prophet (S) and the members of his Household (AS), intercede for you.

May God bestow His graces and favours upon you.

May He escort you in the coming dangers, since the path of life is full of great risks and hazards. On the way of life there are very deep crevices and it is possible that one may stumble and fall in them in such a manner that none of his efforts could save him from the coming catastrophe.

It is also probable that in some cases the interceding’s of an intercessor cannot save him either.

Self-Examination and Stipulation (musharatah):

Self-conditioning, contemplation and self-examination are essential pre-requisites for a seeker (mujahid) of truth who is battling with his self.

Self-conditioning or stipulation means binding oneself with the resolve not to do anything against God’s commands.

This is called musharatah, such as `I will not violate the Law of God today.‘

It is very easy to stick to such condition for one day.

Try to resolve, abide by your own resolve, and experiment, and you will see that how easy this task is. 

Satan, the cursed creature, and his legions may magnify the volume of the task in your eyes, but these are the guiles played by the cheat. Curse, and drive the Devil and evil thoughts from within the depths of the heart and the domain of your mind.

Experiment for one day and you will verify how easy this task is.

Guarding Against Evil (muraqabah):

After stipulating about his acts, man should enter this stage. It is essential that throughout the period of stipulation the mujahid struggling against his own self should constantly concentrate upon his actions.

If any time any idea of violating Divine commands occurs to him, he should know that this idea has been instilled into his mind by the Satan and his allies, who want to deter him from his good resolutions.

He ought to curse them, and seek God’s compassionate protection, and banish those villainous ideas from the realm of his heart, and tell the Satan that this day also he has to abide by the condition imposed upon his own self that he would not go against God’s commands, as He is the One Who has provided him with all the excellences and bounties.

It is He, Who has given him the riches of health, security and peace year after year in this world.

In recognition of all God’s graces it is not sufficient even if he serves Him till eternity, let alone a trivial thing like this. I hope, that Satan will be driven away, and the Divine forces will prevail.

I assure you that this practice of self-criticism and self-examination would not hinder your day-to-day activity.

I advise you to remain in the same state of mind till night - the time for introspection and inner deliberation-and evaluate your deeds of the whole day. This is the time to see whether you have been honest to the Giver of all, to whom everybody is accountable. If you have been faithful to Him, you should be thankful to Him, that He has made you successful in your intentions, and realize that you have gone a step forward in His direction and became an object of His attention. God willing, God will help you in performing all worldly and religious duties, and will diminish your pains for the next day.

If you repeat this many times, it is imminent that you will be accustomed to the acts of piety. You will see then that all this does not require you to make hard efforts. You will also notice that obedience to God gives ample pleasure.

Though this world is not where one is immediately rewarded, yet faithfulness to God and abstaining from sins is fruitful in this world also. God never entrusts His creatures with cumbersome and heavy tasks which are beyond their powers, but it is the Satan and his allies who magnify them in your view.

God forbid, if there are any lapses on your part, ask God’s forgiveness, and beseechingly implore Him that you will be more careful in future, so that the Almighty may throw open the doors of His grace and compassion to you, and may guide you in the straight path.

Remembrance (tadhakkur):

The factors, that fully assist man in his jihad with his self and the Satan, and to which a mujahid has to pay greater attention is constant remembrance of God.

Though there are many other important stages, I will be content to discuss this stage here.

Remembrance of God, remembering the graces bestowed by Him. You know that thankfulness is natural and man’s nature commands man to be grateful to his benefactor.

If one tries to read the book of his own heart, he will see that this law is written there. The sense of veneration and gratitude for the benefactors increases with the amount of benefaction, particularly if the benefactor’s generosity has no selfish motive. Greater the selfless generosity, greater is sense of gratitude.

For example, compare the extent of veneration for one who presents you a horse with a selfish motive, with the respect you have for a person, who grants you a village of several hectares, without any inkling of selfish motives.

If a doctor rescues you from the darkness of blindness, you naturally owe to him a lot of respect, and if someone saves you from the clutches of death, you owe him a lot more. You yourselves reflect and estimate the seen and unseen favours bestowed on us by the Almighty, even a small fraction of which all men and the jinn cannot even provide us with.

Take for instance the air we breathe day and night, upon which our existence as well as that of other living beings is dependent, nothing can remain alive even if it is taken off merely for a quarter of an hour.

What a marvelous gift it is! If all men and the jinn of the world labor hard to contrive such a thing, they cannot do that. In the same way, try to recall other gifts of God also, like external bodily senses viz. sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, etc., and inner faculties like thinking, imagination and reason, etc., each one of which carries unlimited benefits and which are granted to us by Our Lord.

Besides these valuable gifts, there are several other gifts also. Moreover, He has sent His messengers and prophets and His Books as well to show us which path is right and which one is wrong, which path leads us to Heaven or Hell. He fulfils all our needs in this world and the Hereafter, without having any need of our adoration.

Observance of His commands, or transgressing them does not make any difference to Him, it is for the sake of our own benefit that He has enjoined good and forbidden indecencies.

While remembering all these and various other favours, whose reckoning is beyond the powers of human beings, do we not see that respecting and obeying such a Benefactor is essential for us, or does our reason approve of the acts of violating His commands?

This is an evident fact that we respect great people and those older in age. This is also true that people respect the wealthy and powerful persons, and rulers and kings, since they are recognized as great. Can their greatness be matched with the grandeur and magnificence of that King of kings, in Whose kingdom this world of us is merely a particle of dust.

He is the Creator and King of this vast cosmos, whose infiniteness cannot be measured or even conceived by human intellect.

Human being, a creature crawling on one of the smallest planets miserably fails to grasp the extent of his own small world, whose sun cannot be compared with far greater suns of innumerable galaxies.

Our solar system is nothing as compared to lesser several other solar systems, which still elude the keen eyes (and refined telescopes) of great explorers and investigators of the world. Is that Greatest of the great, who can know and cover not only minute details of these known worlds, but of many more unknown worlds, in a twinkling of an eye, is not venerable according to the dictates of reason, as well as in the light of the great book of nature?

If any one fails to do this, he ought to be extra watchful and careful, since God Almighty is present everywhere, and no odd corner of the world can delude his Omnipresent sight.

Every living being is within the range of His view and all knowledge is in His infinite attendance, so never forget Him. A speck of penitence in one’s heart would not melt any person into water, and he would not fall to the ground.

Therefore, my dear friend, remember God and remember all His favours and graces, and stop disobeying Him. Overpower and subdue the satanic band in this great war, and convert the spheres of your mind into divine realm by driving out the satanic legions and inviting the divine hosts, so that God may succor and protect you in the dangers threatening to befall you in this battle.

The battlefield, which is more immense than this one, is the scene of the battle (jihad) against thine own self, the invisible world of within and the second stage of this jihad. We shall deal with this subject afterwards.

By the time, I remind you not to have any expectations from anyone but God. Except Him, the Almighty, nobody can help you. With all humility and with all the tears your eyes can offer (to wash your sins), pray to God and seek His assistance to emerge victorious in this crucial battle. wa innahu wali al-tawfiq.

The Second Stage:

The second stage also consists of several steps:

The human soul inhabits another realm and another territory also, which is the world of the hidden and the sphere of the sublime world. In that world, the role of the sensual forces assumes graver dimensions.

This is the place, where the struggle and conflict between the divine forces and the fiendish ones is more severe and also more significant. Everything that exists in the external or visible world drifts to this hidden world, and is manifested there.

Whichever of the forces whether godly or devilish, is victorious here is essentially triumphant there also.

So, the jihad al-nafs or the internal struggle is of great significance for all great religious thinkers, mystics and moralists. It can be rather considered as the origin and the source of all felicities or woes, and of promotion and sublimation or debasement and degradation of self.

One should be extremely self-conscious while undertaking this jihad, because, it is possible that, God forbid, due to the defeat of heavenly forces, the self is left vacant for the unholy occupation of the vicious and unworthy satanic legions, and hence causing an eternal loss to the human being that cannot be retrieved.

Even the intercession of an intercessor cannot save him from becoming an object of the wrath and indignation of the Most Merciful of the merciful.

It is also possible that man’s intercessor may become his adversary.

It is a pity that such a thing should happen to anyone that one who pleads for him should become his opponent. God alone knows that what misfortunes, what perils and what hardships are to follow Divine wrath and antagonism of God’s friends, compared to which all the infernal fires, plagues, evils, serpents and scorpions are insignificant and mild.

God forbid, whatever sufferings of hell have been described by saints, ascetics and mystics, compared to them all the imaginable pains and sufferings of this world are very mild.

All of the torments about which we have heard, are trifle and insignificant when compared to the miseries one has to undergo in the Hereafter. Heaven and hell whose account has been given in the Book and in the traditions of prophets of God are certainly the heaven and hell of wicked actions, and are prepared for rewarding or punishing good and bad human deeds.

There is a subtle allusion also to the heaven and hell of morality, which is more significant than even the Bihisht-e liqa, the heaven of beatific vision, and the Jahannam-e firaq, the hell of separation from Him.

This is considered to be of great significance but is hidden from our eyes and is opened to them alone who deserve it.

You and me who do not deserve it should not doubt it. We should have faith in it, since God and His friends have told us that this non-detailed (ijmali) faith also is beneficial for us.

Sometimes, it is also possible that unbelief arising out of ignorance, and unreasonable rejection, without any knowledge and understanding of the truth may bring great harm to us, the extent of which is unthinkable. In this world we cannot understand those harms.

If you hear something which has been reported from any thinker, mystic or ascetic, do not refute it or consider it invalid just because it is not in accordance with your taste, or does not fit in your mode of thinking.

This idea may have its origin in a higher source, inaccessible to you like the Quran, hadith or reason.

How strange it will be that a faqih issues a fatwa (a religious or legal opinion) regarding a certain ayah (a pecuniary compensation for any offence against a person) of which you are ignorant, and you reject it without checking the relevant evidences.

Or, when a holy person or a mystic speaks something concerning religious learning, or he refers to the conditions of heaven or hell, it is easy for you to refute him or even dare to insult him.

For it does not need much thinking or knowledge.

But do not forget that it is possible that the person, who is an authority on that subject and a master in that field, might have traced it back to the Holy Book, or has access to some traditions transmitted from infallible Imams (A), and you may not have come across it.

In that case, you would be guilty of rejecting God and His Prophet (S) without any plausible excuse.

You have no justification to say later that your judgement was not correct, your knowledge was limited, or that you had heard a certain person speaking otherwise on the minbar (pulpit); such excuses are unfounded, and in any case let not your objective be blurred.

Whatever has been related about the paradise of good morals and deeds and about the inferno of bad morals and deeds refers to the states, which we cannot experience here.

Thus, my friend ! take great care, search for remedy, and try to discover the ways and means of deliverance for yourself.

Seek refuge in God, the Most Merciful and Beneficent, and beseech His mercy with humble supplications and lamentation, so that He may help you in this holy war against your carnal self and you may be victorious and the domain of your heart may be liberated from evil influences.

The fiendish legions may be turned out of the place so that it may be given in the possession of its rightful Owner, and the felicities, honors and joys may be granted to you by God.

All the praises that you have heard of the Heaven, its houris and its mansions, are nothing compared to Divine Bliss, nothing can be estimated higher. That domain is absolutely a divine sphere, which has been described by the friends of God from this rightly guided luminous ummah (millat-e bayda). This is a world of pleasures which no ear has ever heard of, and no human heart has ever experienced.

Hidden or Inner Powers (Quwwa-e batini):

You should know that with His Wisdom and Authority, God Almighty has created certain powers and faculties in the invisible world of the inner self. They are of enormous benefits for us.

Here we shall mention three of them: they are:

1. al-quwwah al-wahmiyyah-the power of invention or imagination,
2. al-quwwah al-ghadabiyyah-the power of passion or anger, and
3. al-quwwah al-shahwiyyah-the power of lust or sensuality.

Each of these powers is of great benefit to the mankind, like the preservation of the human individual and species, advancement of human interests in this world as well as in the Hereafter, of which religious scholars have given elaborate accounts and I need not repeat them.

What is essential to state here is that these three powers are the source and origin of all virtuous and vicious deeds, and the source of all invisible and sublime forms.

Briefly speaking, as man possesses a physical and a terrestrial form in this world, which is devised and contrived by the Almighty in such a wonderful manner that all great philosophers and scientists are puzzled, and the science of anatomy is not fully equipped to discover and understand its functioning rightly even to this day. God has made man superior to other living beings by endowing him a superb constitution and a beautiful appearance.

Yet there is another form and a different face of him, which is heavenly and invisible, which is determined by the qualities of his soul and his inner nature. In the Hereafter, whether it is in the Barzakh (an interval of time between the death of man and his resurrection) or whether on the Last Day, if one’s inner nature, his deeds and his inner self are really human, his heavenly visage also will be man-like.

But if his deeds are inhuman, he will not possess human form; it will be rather subject to the state of his inner self and his psyche.

For instance, if his inner self is dominated by the power of lust or sensuality (al-quwwah al-shahwiyyah) and animality and brutality overwhelm and govern his inner self, his other-worldly visage will be of a brute and the reign of his inner world would be under the control of one of the beasts, corresponding to that quality of his soul.

If the power of passion or anger conquers one’s inner self and his psyche, his other-worldly appearance will resemble one of the bestial forms, corresponding to that attribute of his nature.

And if the power of imagination and invention is governed by fiendish forces and his inner self is made vicious, governed by the vices like deceit, dishonesty, slandering, backbiting, which are the attributes of Satan, he may undergo a metamorphosis and assume one of the forms of Satan.

Sometimes it is also possible that he would have an appearance that symbolizes two or several vices. In that case, a form which does not resemble any of the brutes, but an unusual and queer form, with which cannot be compared the most terrible and ugliest monster in the world, will be acquired by him.

It has been recorded from the Prophet (S) of God that some persons will be raised on the Last Day in such a mien that even monkeys and dog flies will appear better looking than that.

It is also possible that several forms may be prescribed for one individual in that world. Because that world is not like this world, where one individual cannot acquire more than one form.

This account itself is logical as well as self-evident. Because, the criterion of those different forms (of which human form is one) would be the state of soul at the time of death the state in which the soul departs from the body.

It is in this very state and form that man’s soul enters the realm of Barzakh. At the time of entering the other world, that is, the domain of the Hereafter, the first stage of which is Barzakh, in whichever state one’s soul departs from the body, it assumes a form suited to it in the next world also. It is the same form in which he is perceived by the inhabitants of Barzakh and by himself, when he first opens his eyes there, if he has not lost his sight to do so. Because, it is not necessary that man may enter the next world in the same physical state as he had in this world.

God Himself says that on the Last Day some of the persons will ask God that why has He raised them as blind while they possessed eyes in the world. God will answer them that as they disregarded His clear signs in the world, they are forgotten and disregarded by God today.

O poor fellow! You had only external sight and were blind inwardly. You are realizing your blindness now, while you were already blind from the very beginning. You did not possess the inner vision which could perceive His clear signs.

You, the poor creature, who was endowed with a perfect earthly body and proportionate form, alas you did not know that the measures of the hidden and sublime world are different from this world.

You should strive for inner uprightness, so that you may be upright on the Last Day. Your spirit should be a human spirit, so that your form in the Barzakh and the Hereafter may be a human form.

You are mistaken to consider the world of the hidden realities, where the secrets of this world are to be unveiled and your deeds are to be disclosed, as similar to this world of appearances, where one can deceive others and can create chaos, confusion and misjudgment.

Your eyes and ears, your hands and feet, and other parts of your body will bear witness against your deeds in this world with their supernatural tongues. Some of them may also appear in their celestial forms.

So, my friend, it is necessary to keep open the ears of your heart. Be brave, and have mercy on your own self, so that you may leave this world in a human form, and may be counted as redeemed and virtuous.

Mind you, these words repeatedly occur in the speeches and teachings of great thinkers, in the inspirations of mystics and in the transmissions of the truthful and infallible servants of God.

How to Regulate Human Instincts:

It is possible that wahm, the power of imagination and invention, ghadab-the power of passion and anger, and shahwah-the power of lust or sensuality, also possess divine aspect, and may bring about felicity and good luck to man, if these powers are subjected to the dictates of reason and good sense and the teachings of prophets of God. They may become satanic forces if they are unleashed and the power of invention and imagination is allowed to rule and lead other two powers.

It is not a secret that none of the prophets of God ever tried to eradicate the powers of passion, sensuality or imagination completely. None of the messengers of God have ever demanded to completely kill sensuality and desire or to extinguish the fire of passion or anger and ignore the inventions of imagination. But they have rather advocated for controlling and bridling them and making them function under the command of reason and Divine Laws.

For each one of these powers struggles to dominate others and win its goal, whatever mischief, chaos and confusion may be stirred up.

For instance, the obstinate bestial self is determined to reach its goal even if it is resolved on committing adultery with married women in the Holy Ka’ bah.  Intractable power of passion arouses the self to win its objective even if it is contemplating to kill prophets and the friends of God. And the power of imagination, while devising satanic instruments, wants to go its own way, to cause corruption of the whole climate on earth, and to create chaos and disorder in the world.

The great prophets of God were sent to this world with the light of Divine Laws.

God revealed to them heavenly books, so that they may prevent people from indulging into extravagances and immoderations, and bring the human self under the control of reason and the law of Shari`ah.

To bridle the human self is essential so that it may not exceed the measures of reason and Shari’ ah.

Hence, every individual who subordinates himself to the Divine Laws and principles of good sense is fortunate, and it is he who attains salvation. He finds refuge in God, the Most Exalted and the Most High, from the dangers and misfortunes which might befall him, and thus is saved from the disgrace of assuming those beastly and hideous forms that may accompany him in the Barzakh, in the grave and on the Last Day, as the result of his vicious deeds and corrupt practices.

How to Bridle Fancy and Imagination:

The first condition for a mujahid in his struggle that he has to observe and abide by, at this juncture and at all other stages, is to control the flight of one’s imagination, so that he can subjugate the Devil and his armies. Imagination is like a bird restless to fly, and sit on any tree it reaches. This flight may bring about many great misfortunes. Fancy is one of the tools of the Devil, with which he enslaves man and renders him helpless. With the help of fancy, he entices men to committing villainies and indecencies.

A mujahid who is determined on self-rectification, and who has made up his mind to purify his inner self and banish satanic forces from there, should firmly hold the bridle of his imagination and let not it soar and wander about wherever it likes.

He should try to prevent his mind from nursing corrupt and sinful thoughts, and always divert it to high and noble ideals. In the beginning, it appears to be a little difficult, since Satan and his forces may glorify bad things in your eyes. But with little concentration and attention everything becomes easy.

It is possible that as an experiment you may just think for a while, and will not be able to concentrate upon an object.

Whenever you see that your thoughts are stooping to lowly and mean things, turn your attention aside from them and think about the worthier and nobler things. If you have been successful in your attempts, thank God Almighty for His help, and pursue these matters further. May God, out of His mercy, open the path of spiritual progress for you, and may you be invisibly guided in the straight path. May human deeds and right conduct be made easy for you.

Be careful that vicious thoughts and vain fancies are induced by Satan, who wishes to fortify its forces in the domain of your inner self.

You, who are at war with Satan and his legions, and want to make the realm of your inner self a heavenly domain, are expected to be on guard against the guiles of the cursed villain.

You should drive away those thoughts that counter Divine command. God willing, you will be able to recapture this significant fortification from the unholy occupation of Satan and his allies, in this internal war. This fortification serves as a boundary (between good and evil). If you are victorious here you may hope for greater and nobler victories.

My dear friend, seek for God’s help at every moment. Pray and beg humbly in the court of your Lord.

O God Almighty! Satan is a great enemy, who has enticed your great friends and prophets.

O God! help this weak and entrapped servant of yours, and guard him against these vain ideas and these infirm thoughts that inflict me, so that he may succeed in his war against this strong enemy, who is threatening to destroy my felicity and humanity.

O God! please accompany Thy servant and guide him so that he may drive the Satan’s armies from Your seat, and may clip the hands of this usurper.

Estimation and appraisal:

The thing which is to be strictly followed during this process is the estimation and evaluation (of vices and virtues).

An intelligent person should carefully examine the effects and demerits of each one of moral vices and bad deeds, which are the product of sensuality, passion and imagination, and are under the control of Satan.

He has to compare them with the benefits and blessings of good deeds and moral and spiritual excellences, which are under the guidance of reason and religious law (Shari`ah) and then decide which way is better to act.

For instance, the advantages of obeying the dictates of uninhibited sensuality that gets hold of the human soul and firmly takes its roots there, and gives rise to many vices to flourish, may be taken into consideration.

In the course of time the sensual aptitudes develop, and a person does not hesitate to commit any of the vices, and tries all means and ways to obtain the sensual pleasure at any cost, and does not fail to perpetrate any crime which he desires to commit, even if it results in something extremely vicious. As a result of letting loose one’s passions several other vices are born and become his second nature. And he is more than ready to maltreat and subdue everyone who comes in his way. Those who react against oppressive activities and try to defend themselves, or show any signs of disagreement or hostility are crushed and oppressed by him. He tries to repel all oppositions by all means, although it may lead to an outbreak of corruption in the world.

In the same way, the person, who has surrendered himself to the demonic power of imagination and lets it to be firmly rooted in his soul, does not hesitate to indulge in a fit of excessive passion and sensuality with all his satanic designs and treacheries and rule over the creatures of God by all kinds of unjust means, even if it is to dispossess a family of their belongings or stripping a city or a country of its resources.

These are the achievements of these faculties, while they are active under the ignoble supervision of Satan.

If we think about it, and examine the plight of such people, we shall notice that every one of them, despite the enormous strength they possess, and most of their wishes being fulfilled, they still nurture thousands of new desires that are yet to be fulfilled. It is not possible in this world that all the desires and ambitions that we cherish be fulfilled here, since this world is the abode of obstacles.

The elements of this world dispirit our wishes. Our desires are also not limited.

For instance, the power of sensuality and lust acts in man in such a way that if he is given one woman, he is attracted to other women. If he is given an empire, he will hanker after some other empire. Man always desires for what he does not possess. In spite of this vanity of imagination and futility of human desire, the kiln of sensuality is always hot, and its heat ever increasing, and our desires are never cooled down.

Similarly, the forces of passion are implanted in human nature in such a way that even if he is made an absolute monarch of a state, he will be attracted towards another state, which he cannot get, and he will try to pounce on it with all the force he can muster.

This power is also ever increasing. Anyone who has any doubt is advised to examine his own self and other human beings belonging to the classes of poor, rich and powerful; he will agree with me. It is obvious that man is always allured by something which he does not own.

This is the human nature as conceived by various great Islamic thinkers and holy men, especially one should refer to a great master of divinity, Mirza Muhammad `Ali Shahabadi.

Anyhow, even if man attains his goals, for how long can he be benefited from them? How long his youthful years are to continue? When the spring of youth fades out and the autumn of his life sets in, his heart has no more a zest for mirth and joy, his organs lose their vitality and those activities lose their relish. His eyes dim, his hearing is impaired, his sense of touch and other senses and faculties weaken. Ability to get pleasure declines or is completely lost. Then hosts of ailments make him an easy prey. His digestive, assimilative and excretory system fails, and his respiratory system cannot perform it: function properly.

Nothing but deep sighs, displeasure, regret and remorse are left to accompany him.

Thus, the duration of our exploitation of these bodily powers, from the days when one gains consciousness of good and bad till the process of decline sets in, is not more than thirty or forty years, even for a person of very strong constitution.

That too, if one does not happen to come across all sorts of diseases and afflictions, which we witness every day and forget about.

If, for the time being, we take it for granted (although it has no reality), that a man can attain the age of one hundred and fifty years, with all opportunities of involving oneself fully in all the three indulgences-sensuality, passion and imagination, excluding all the chances of coming across any adversities and misfortunes, even this period of time would prove short, and pass soon like the winds and what would be in store for you for the next world?

What benefit will you derive from all these treasures of amusements for your eternal life?

What will save you from the horrors of the day of doom, helplessness, desolation and loneliness?

What will you present on the Day of Judgement, and how would you face God, His angels, and His chosen servants and prophets?

Of course, nothing will accompany you except your wicked and sinful deeds, which will metamorphose you in such a form that would not be known to anybody except God.

Everything that you have heard and conceived about the infernal fire, torments of the grave and agonies of the Doomsday, etc., you measured them with the worldly fire and worldly pains.

What a gross error you committed.

Fire of this world is relatively an accident, and all the horrors are easy to bear.

Your estimation of the other world on the basis of this one is imperfect and faulty.

Even if the fire burning throughout the world is accumulated at one place, it will not be hot enough to burn the human soul.

In the next world, besides burning and roasting the body it will burn the soul and incinerate the heart also.

Whatever you have been listening about till now, is actually the hell of one’s actions, which you will see in the Hereafter as a reality, for God Almighty has said:

… And they find all that they did confronting them, ….
(Quran, Surah al-Kahf (#18), Verse #49)

You will have to face whatever you did in this world. If you thrived on the property of orphans, God alone knows in what state you will appear in hell and what comforts you will have to enjoy there as your reward.

If here your harsh words have injured the hearts of people, this pain and discomfort caused to the hearts of the creatures of God, God alone knows, what punishment it will incur upon you in the Hereafter.

You will know it only when you experience it what sort of pain and torture you have procured for yourselves. Because of your detractions, the other worldly and sublime form that was conceived for you is denied to you and you will. have to undergo the pains of chastisement.

This will be the hell of one’s actions, which is comparatively milder, cooler and tolerable, and is reserved for those who committed sins in this world. But for those who have acquired the viciousness of character and villainy of conduct like, greed, lust, hoarding, avarice, contentiousness, love of wealth, power and corporeal things, rapacity, ravenousness and other vices, the hell is their place, a place beyond human apprehension, a state and form which can never be anticipated by any stretch of the imagination, and emanates from within the soul itself.

The inhabitants of that hell will be so distressed that they will try to escape from it, (but in vain).

In some of the authentic narrations, it occurs that there is a valley in hell, which is reserved for the proud, and which is named as saqar once it complained to God about the intensity of its heat, and asked Almighty for a relief, so that it might take a breath. After the relief was granted, when it breathed, its breath filled the hell with fire.

Sometimes one’s vices may cause a human being to become a permanent dweller of hell. Because they take away from him his faith and belief. For instance, a vice like jealousy, according to authentic traditions, eats away faith as the fire consumes wood. Another example is that of the love of the world, worldly power and riches, which, according to authentic narrations, consume the faith of a believer more rapidly than two wolves let loose on a sheep herd without a shepherd, one attacking from the front and the other from the back.

Adoration for the worldly things and lust for power deprives a believer of his belief, and God forbid, this sinfulness results in dark and ugly deeds, which finally leads to the loss of faith and one’s end as an infidel, and the hell of the false beliefs and erroneous faith is severer, hotter and darker than those two other hells, mentioned above.

My friend, the higher knowledge has proved that the grades of intensity are infinite. The punishment is severer than what you imagine or what others imagine.

If you do not believe in the arguments advanced by philosophers, or the revelations made to mystics, thanks to God, being a true believer, you have faith in the teachings of the prophets of God, and you consider all the reports recorded in the authentic books of the traditions which are accepted by all the Imamiyyah scholars as true and authentic.

I hope that you believe in the prayers of infallible Imams, and have read the prayers and sermons uttered by Imam `Ali (A), and the invocation by Imam Sayyid al-Sajidin (A) uttered in the prayer of Abu Hamzah al-Thumali.

My friend, reflect a little upon their subject matter and think for a while on their wordings.

It is nowhere required to make a rapid reading of the lengthy prayer in a hurry without pondering over its meaning.

You and I are not blessed with the spiritual state of al-Imam al-Sayyid al-Sajidin (A) to recite that lengthy prayer in a state of sustained ecstasy at one time.

Try to read one third or one fourth of it every night with feeling, and meditate upon its words.

You may feel ecstatic while reading it.

Apart from this, pay a little more attention to the meaning of Quranic verses, and see what punishment has been prescribed for the inhabitants of hell, to escape which they will pray to the Lord for death, and alas death also will not help, as God Almighty says:

…Alas, my grief that I was unmindful of Allah, and I was indeed among the scoffers!
(Quran, Surah az-Zumar (#39), Verse #56)

What kind of regret it will be, of which Almighty is making an emphatic mention. Do not pass quickly, without pausing and meditating upon such verses of the Qur’an:

On the day when ye behold it, every nursing mother will forget her nursling and every pregnant will be delivered of her burden, and thou (Muhammad) will see mankind as drunken, yet they will not be drunken, but the Doom of Allah will be strong (upon them).
(Quran, Surah al-Hajj (#22), Verse #2)

Here God Almighty is depicting the Doomsday.

My friend, think yourself that, God forbid (na’udhu billah), the Quran is neither a story book, nor is it making jokes with you.

What sort of condemnation it will be that will make people abandon their dear ones, and relieve pregnant women of their burden?

What a great calamity it will be about which God Almighty, Whose greatness knows no extent, Whose supremacy and authority has no limits and bounds, is commenting upon in such solemn terms.

What is going to happen God alone knows.

Our intellect is insufficient to measure the extent of its magnanimity.

If we study the transmissions and writings of the infallible Members of the Holy Household, and think over them, we shall see that the sight of misery and agony in that world will be quite different from this world, and cannot be equated with the misfortunes of this world.

Here I would like to quote a tradition from the great Shaykh of the Imamiyyah, al-Saduq, for you to demonstrate the meaning and extent of the misery, mentioned above.

Nevertheless, this tradition narrated by him refers to the hell of the evil deeds and is comparatively a cooler place than other severer hells.

I consider it essential to point out that al-Shaykh al-Saduq is the person who is held in great esteem and respect by all great religious scholars of rijal. He was born as the result of the prayer of the Imam (A), and was the object of great favour of Imam Mahdi (AJ), and was among great writers of Shiite religious books.

I quote this tradition with reference to a chain of great Imamiyyah scholars, all of whom are considered as authentic narrators of hadith.

Hence, if you are a true believer, you should have faith in the following tradition. The gist of the hadith is as follows:

One day the Prophet (S) of God was seated when Gabriel came into his presence, with a sad face and changed complexion.

The Prophet (S) asked as to why he was looking so sad and grieved. Gabriel answered,

`O Muhammad (S), why should I be not grieved, while today I saw the bellows of hell being set in.

The Prophet (S) asked him what the bellows of hell were.

Gabriel told him that it referred to the hell-fire which according to the Commandments of God Almighty was ablaze for one thousand years. After it became red hot He ordered it to burn for another one thousand years till it was white-hot. Then He commanded it to burn for one thousand years more till it turned black.

Now that it was black and dark, if a slice of seventy cubits of it was to drop on this world, verily its heat would be sufficient to melt the whole world into fluid.

If a single drop of its Zaqqum (an infernal tree, mentioned in the Quran proverbial for its extreme bitterness) and dari (something in hell more bitter than aloe, more fetid than carrion, and hotter than fire, which will be the food of the condemned) trickles down in the water reservoirs of the earth, everybody therein would die due to its stench.

Thereupon the Prophet (S) wept and Gabriel also wept with him.

On seeing this, God sent His angel, who came to them and said that God sent salams to them along with the message that He exempted them both from the committing of sins and the consequent punishments.

My friend, there are a number of ahadith in this regard. Existence of hell and its horrible chastisements are among the essentials of all the religions of the world, which bring forward many arguments in favour of their necessity. And the great, mystics and saints have envisioned it even in this world.

Try to imagine sincerely and contemplate the disheartening account of hell given in the tradition.

If you consider it as probable only, even then should it not be sufficient to drive us to woods like the mad?

What is the reason for our complacence and ignorance?

Have the angels of God given us the tidings of being exempted from this punishment as they had given one to the Prophet (S) and Gabriel?

Whereas the Prophet (S) and the friends of God could not be oblivious of the fear of God till the ends of their lives. T

hey could not eat and sleep properly because of that fear.

Look at the life of Imam ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (A), whose weeping and moaning’s, lamentations and supplications melted human hearts.

What is wrong with us that we do not feel ashamed?

Even in our supplications to God, we so much violate and insult Divine principles, that a thousand pities on our thoughtlessness!

Have pity on yourself and the extremity of the pangs of death.

Again a thousand pities on our condition in Barzakh, the agonies of the Hereafter, and the Doomsday and its darkness!

How pitiable are we who have to face the horrors of hell and its chastisement!

How to Cure Moral Maladies:

My friend! arise, awake from the slumber, be aware of your negligence and make an effort till there is time to repent.

Consider this opportunity as valuable, until you are alive, your faculties and your powers are still under control, and you are young.

Think about a cure before it is too late, and before moral maladies overpower your existence, and evils take deep roots in your existence and take you in the grips of their tentacles.

Drive them away, find out a way of extinguishing the fire of your sensuality and passion.

The best remedy prescribed by mystics and moralists is to concentrate upon each one of the evil habits that you detect in yourself, and offer an effective resistance against them. Fight bravely against your carnal self. Act unceasingly all the time against those vicious yearnings. Pray Almighty to assist you in this battle.

Undoubtedly after sometime hideous habits would leave you, and Satan and his legions would vacate the fortress, and the battalions of heavenly armies would be installed in their stead.

One of the moral maladies, which may destroy one, cause torment of the grave, and plague man in this world, is the maltreatment of the people of his household, his neighbors, his colleagues and others around him. It is the product of passion and sensuality.

If the mujahid is determined on correcting himself, he can counter those impulses of indignation, resentment and vituperation with gentleness and kindness, remembering the Hereafter and the chastisements therein. He should curse the Devil in his heart and take refuge in God.

I give you word that if you behave persistently like this, after some time you will realize that your nature is totally transformed and good habits have taken the place of the bad ones.

But if you behave according to the propensities of your nature, it is possible that they consume you in this world itself.

I seek refuge in God from the anger, which when present in an individual destroys him in both the worlds. At the same time it kills his spirit also, because possibly one may use some indecent words against Divine principles in a fit of anger, as so many times we hear people uttering words of heresy and being guilty of apostasy thus.

Philosophers say that the chances of being saved in a ship without a captain from the stormy waves of ocean are brighter than those of a man being saved in an outburst of wild passion. God forbid, that we should ever belong to that category of people who become aggressive during academic discussions, as some of our students suffer from this intemperance.

You have to resist against this bad tendency.

Act against it, especially on the occasions of formal functions, which are attended by a great number of scholars and common men.

During the discussions, if you see that the other party is justified in its argument, you are expected to admit your fault and confirm what opponents say.

God willing, these meannesses will be eliminated in a short time.

God forbid, that the words of some scholars, who claimed to be divinely inspired and said that it was revealed that the quarrel among the inhabitants of hell, mentioned by God, is that of the scholars and transmitters of ahadith, should ever be true.

Even if you do not believe in the authenticity of this tradition, even then you should carefully try to get rid of this habit.

See the following account:

It is narrated from many companions of the Prophet (S) that once as the Prophet (S) came to them they were engaged in wrangling over a religious issue.

The Prophet (S) of Islam was greatly displeased and was indignant to this extent that they had never seen him before in such an anger.

The Prophet (S) told them it was because of this habit of wrangling that their precursors were destroyed, and he added that a true believer would never wrangle.

The Prophet (S) asked them to stop wrangling and told them that he would not act as an intercessor to any wrangler.

Wrangling occupies the second place after idolatry among the things forbidden by God Almighty.

The Prophet (S) is reported to have also said that unless a believer refrains from wrangling and altercation he cannot know the truth, in spite of his position being correct.

There are various traditions in this regard. How abominable it will be if we deprive ourselves of the intercession of the Prophet (S) for the sake of merely a trivial thing which has no value, no merit whatsoever. Intellectual discussions, which would otherwise be the highest order of service and worship if undertaken with sincere motives, end in such a catastrophe and wipe out all his good deeds and acts of worship.

In all circumstances, man should focus his attention on each of his vices individually, and eradicate them from the domain of his soul by restraining his carnal self. Once the trespasser is driven out, the rightful owner of the house can readily come to take possession.

Conclusion:

Since the struggle of the self concludes here and man succeeds in driving off the legions of satanic armies from the empire of his soul, this land becomes the abode of angels of God and a place of worship of truthful servants of God.

Thus the task of pursuing the journey towards God becomes easier, and the road to humanism is illuminated. The doors of blessings from heaven and their ascending steps are opened to him, and the doors of hell and the descending steps thereof are closed on him. God Almighty views him with mercy and benevolence and unites him with His faithful and His blessed servants.

The path to divine knowledge, which is the ultimate purpose of creation of mankind and jinn, is opened to him. God Almighty guards him through this hazardous path.

I wished to refer to the third stage of self (nafs), wherein another struggle against the deceptions and temptations of Satan takes place. But, on later thought, this description seems to be out of place here, so I left it undiscussed.