Tag Archives: hadith

Prison

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I was with my master Abū ʿAbdillāh (peace be upon him) when a man complained to him of hardship. He said: “Be patient, for God (Majestic is His glory) will surely grant you relief.” Then he was silent for a while, and then he turned to the man and said: “Tell me about the prison of Kūfa—what is it like?” The man replied: “God keep you in goodness—it is cramped, foul-smelling, and its inmates are in the worst of conditions.” He (peace be upon him) said: “You are only (nothing else) in a prison, and you expect it to be spacious and comfortable? Do you not know that this world is the prison of the believer?”

night to dawn

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Abu Basir narrated from Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq (as) that He said: “Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, calls out every Thursday night, from above His Throne, from the beginning of the night until its end:

‘Is there not a believing servant who calls upon Me concerning his Hereafter and his worldly life before the break of dawn so that I may answer him?

Is there not a believing servant who repents to Me from his sins before the break of dawn so that I may accept his repentance?

Is there not a believing servant upon whom I have tightened his provision who asks Me for an increase in his provision before the break of dawn so that I may expand it for him?

Is there not a believing servant who is sick and asks Me to heal him before the break of dawn so that I may grant him health?

Is there not a believing servant who is imprisoned or in distress who asks Me to release him from his confinement so that I may free him?

Is there not a believing servant who is wronged and asks Me to avenge his oppression before the break of dawn so that I may grant him justice?’ The call continues until the break of dawn.”

hope and wish

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Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani (Spiritual Mysteries and Ethical Secrets – translation of Al Haqaiq fi Mahasin al-Akhlaq) suggests a distinction between hope and wish. Hope is based on effort towards attaining the goal – while a wish is devoid of such effort – and misplaced effort is more akin to self-delusion.

Spiritual Mysteries and Ethical Secrets pg. 313

The word ‘hope’ therefore, can be applied correctly to the anticipation of something positive and beloved, where all the necessary preliminary steps that are under one’s control have been put in place, and the only thing let is that which is not under one’s control, which is the Grace of Allah in averting calamities and disasters.

Hope is an essential quality that one may cultivate in one’s self – however for hope to be real and not a confused self-delusion or a mere wish – the preparatory work also needs completion.

Someone once came to Imam al-Sadiq (as) and told him,

‘A group of people who associate themselves with you are engaged in committing sins, but at the same time saying, ‘We hope in His mercy’.

He replied, ‘They are lying and are not our associates. These are people whose wishes swing them back and forth. one who truly hopes for something works for it, and one who fears something flees from it.’