What is the philosophy behind the prohibition of drinking wine in Islam?

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drink-wineIn Islam drinking wine even a single drop of it is forbidden.

It is appropriate to mention at the beginning a verse from the holy Quran, Allah said in chapter Bagharah verse 219:

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَآ أَكْبَرُ مِن نَّفْعِهِمَا

“They ask you about intoxicating drink and gambling. Say: ‘there is great sin in both, although they have some benefit for people; but their sin is far greater than their benefit”.

Or in the verses 90-91 from chapter Al-Maaidah, Allah said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلاَمُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَن يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاء فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلاَةِ فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّنتَهُونَ

“Believers, wine and gambling, idols and divining arrows are abominations from the work of Satan. Avoid them, in order that you prosper,

Satan seeks to stir up enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and gambling, and to bar you from the remembrance of Allah and from praying. Will you not abstain from them?”

It can be understood from the above verse that it prevents the people from the remembrance of Allah and it is a cause for negligence and omission.

The harms of this liquid are so much and they have been proved by the recent scientific discoveries, and we can divide the harms of that into two categories:

1) The short period harms, likes: insomnia, increasing the heartbeat, the feeling of vomiting, the feeling of vertigo, the feeling of tiredness, the increasing of lust, losing the control of senses to the extent that he/she may do harms to others or say very bad things, losing the power of distinguishing etc.

2) The long period harms or the harms that will happen in the future, like: losing the power of memory, cancer of chest, cancer of larynx, harming to the liver and brain, reluctance in the sexual appeals, changing the personality, anemia, skin problems etc.

There are a lot of other harms mentioned in the medical websites that we do not mention them here.

All of these mentioned harms are physical, but let me talk a little about the spiritual consequences of drinking wine.

It removes the light of faith from the inside of the drinker.

It is mentioned in the Islamic Narrations that the prayer of the drinker of wine is not going to be accepted for forty days, of course it does not mean that such a person must leave performing prayer, because his/her prayer is valid but there is a difference between the validity of a kind of worship and being accepted. And his/her Islamic duty is to perform prayer.

As the last point it must be said that the drinker of wine must not get disappointed from the wide mercy of Allah, so he/she must repent and return to Him.

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Source:

Porseman.org

 

 

 

What is the philosophy behind the prohibition of Adultery in Islam?

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adultryCommitting adultery is one of the great sins in Islam.

The evilness of this very shameful sin is accepted in almost every religion, nation and group.

The holy Quran says about adultery in chapter Isra verse 32:

وَلاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الزِّنَى إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاء سَبِيلًا

“Do not draw near to fornication, for it is an indecency, and its way is evil”.

some points can be taken from this verse, the verse does not say, just do not commit this sin, but rather it says: do not also get near to it, and getting near to this sin can be done through its preliminaries like, looking at the scenes that are unlawful and make the sexual appeal to be turned on, or looking at the opposite sex with pleasure, or looking at the sexual movies or pictures or being alone with the opposite sex in a private place, or even some hardships which are created by the parents at the time of the marriage of their children can be a kind of the preliminaries of adultery.

Another point from this verse is that it is a bad path that can lead to other sins, for example the one who commits this sin, he/she usually wants to do this sin again and again with different persons and a lot of times for obtaining the situation of this sin,  might do dangerous acts, like attacking houses of people or even killing someone or if he/she cannot reach to that wanted person, he/she might commit suicide etc.

The bad consequences of adultery are so much, like the cutting of the generations, collapsing the foundation of the family, removing the purity and  Hayaa(modesty), being a cause for different illnesses and a way for transferring them like H.I.V, making the illegitimate children that in a lot of cases, they do not grow in a good upbringing, and in a lot of cases their  parents especially fathers leave their responsibilities towards them, the indefiniteness of the father of a child, creating the enmity and hatred among people etc.

At the end we mention a Narration from Imam Ali peace be upon him who has narrated it from the Prophet of Islam that he said:

“There are six bad consequences in the adultery,  three of them are in this world and three of them are in the hereafter, the three consequences of adultery in this world are these: it takes away the (spiritual) light of face, it cuts the aliment and sustenance, and it enhances the destruction of the human, and the three which are in the hereafter are these: it is a cause for the wrath of Allah and it is a cause for the hardship of the calculation( of the deeds on the day of judgment) and it is a cause for entering or immortality in the hellfire.”

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Source:

Hoghogh.porsemani.ir

 

What is the philosophy behind sending “Salavat” or peace and Mercy on the Prophet of Islam and his immaculate family?

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اللهم-صل-علی-محمد-و-آل-محمدOne of the very much recommended acts in Islam is sending “Salavat” or sending peace and mercy on the Prophet of Islam and his immaculate progeny.

Sending Salavat, means to say:

اللهم صل علی محمد و ال محمد””

Or something similar to these words, which mean:

O’ Allah, send peace and mercy on Prophet Mohammed and the progeny of Prophet Mohamed.

Allah said in the holy Quran chapter Ahzab verse 56:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

“Allah and his angels praise and venerate the prophet. Believers, praise and venerate him and pronounce peace upon him in abundance”.

So from this verse we understand that Salavat is an act that is done by Allah and His angels, and we are ordered to do so.

Of course the meanings of Salavat of Allah and our Salavat are different, the first one, means that Allah sends peace and mercy, but in our Salavat, the meaning is that we ask from Allah to send peace and mercy.

At first let’s mention a question that may be posed by some people, and that is:

Do the holy Prophet of Islam and his infallible household really need our Salavat?

We answer: everyone except Allah, in not perfect to the extent that there is not any more elevation possible for him/her, of course they do not need our Salavat, but they need the mercy of Allah.

There are a lot of philosophies and benefits which are mentioned for sending Salavat in the Narrations, and we mention some of them here:

At the beginning we divide the benefits and consequences of Salavat in two major branches,

First: the benefits that happen in this world.

Second: the benefits that happens after death in the realm of Barzakh( the world after death and before hereafter) and the day of judgment.

1) The benefits that appears in this world.

-it is a cause for our Doa and wishes to be fulfilled. There is a Narration that says:

Every one that has a need, when he/she wants to ask from Allah for that need, he/she is better to send a Salavat at the beginning and then ask his/her need and then send a Salavat at the end, because Allah is more generous to accept two Doas at two sides and does not accept and fulfill a Doa and need in between, because Salavat definitely is an accepted Doa.

When we see the supplications and Doa of our infallibles, we see that there is a deep relation between the Salavat and fulfilling our Doa and needs and wishes. In a lot of Doa there is at least one Salavat at the beginning of Doa or at the middle or at the end.

-Allah asks us to bring an intercessor to Him; He said in chapter Maedah verse 35:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ

“Believers, have fear of Allah and seek the means by which you come to him”.

And one of the intercessors to Allah is the holy Prophet of Islam and his immaculate progeny.

-The next benefit of Salavat is that through sending Salavat, we can be included in the Doa of the angels.

The holy Prophet of Islam narrated from Allah in a divine Narration that Allah said (to the holy Prophet of Islam):

“If a servant sends Salavat on you, seventy thousand angels send Salavat on that servant and the one on whom, seventy thousand angels send Salavt, he/she will be among the inhabitants of Paradise.”

-Another benefit of sending Salavt is that it is a cause for removing hypocrisy, stinginess and sorrow.

In sending Salavat, there are other benefits like, obtaining blessing, wealth, being rich and out of need, etc.

By sending Salavat, our gatherings get spiritually pure and luminous.

2) The second kind of consequences and benefits of sending Salavat, is the consequences that are related to the worlds after death, like:

-The nearness to the holy Prophet of Islam on the Day of Judgment and being included in the Shafa’ah and intercession of the Prophet of Islam.

-It is a cause for compensation of the sins and a means for getting escaped form the punishments in the grave and the fire of Hell.

-It is a way for the heaviness of the balance of our deeds on the Day of Judgment.

It is narrated form Imam Sadiq peace be upon him that he said:

“The heaviest thing that is put in the balance of deeds on the Day of Judgment is sending Salavat on the holy Prophet of Islam and his progeny.”

Of course there are a lot of other benefits for sending Salavat that we do not mention them, and for more information you can refer to the books of Narrations and Hadith.

It is interesting to mention at the end, that some of the Islamic scholars in the field of morality, when they are asked about a way for fulfilling the important needs and wishes, they recommend holding ceremonies in which the Muslims gather in a place and they send Salavat for example every one 1000 Salavts ( with Ikhlas and sincerity and with the consideration to its meaning) and they give it as the gift to the Prophet of Islam and the 12 Imams and Lady Fatimah peace be upon them all, and it is something that a lot of Muslims have found it so effective.

 

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Sources:

Salavaat.com

Maaref.porsemani.ir

What is the philosophy behind the importance of connection with relatives from Islamic perspective?

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connection-with-relativesVisiting the relatives or “صله الرحم” is so much recommended in Islam

There are many Narrations which advise us to have such relations.

The word “رحم” which means relative, is defined as our relatives who have a specific relation and that relation has been described in this way: the relatives that our root and their root have been derived from one womb, because the literal meaning of the word “رحم” is womb, so some relatives like brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, their children etc. are included in this recommendation.

It must be said that it does not mean that having good relation with other people and Muslims is not recommended, but rather because these relatives are very near, we are more responsible about them.

The meaning of the word صله” ” which literally means connection, is described from different angles, sometimes we must help them financially (beside other kinds of good relations like visiting and being kind to them) and that is to help the parents that are in financial need and it is obligatory upon the children to give them “نفقه” or sustenance if the children are able to do so, and this is a jurisprudential rule in this regard.

And sometimes means to be aware of them and have relation with them although through just saying hello and giving greeting and at least it must be to the extent that if other people see the relatives, they don’t say that these relatives are like strangers to each other and are not aware of each other.

So let’s talk about the philosophy behind this rule:

In Islam, unity and empathy between Muslims are so much recommended, in the first level between the members of a family, in the second between the relatives and in the third between Muslims.

Good relation between the relatives (which is our subject) is so important and there are many Narrations in this regard, like:

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“Having good relation with the relatives, is a cause which makes the cities to be developed and reclaimed and enhances the lifetime, even though the doers of this relation are not good people.”

Imam Sadiq peace be upon him said:

“Good relation with the relatives makes the calculation on the Day of Judgment easy, and it enhances the lifetime and it prevents from the tragic death.”

The holy Prophet of Islam was asked: what is the most hated act before Allah?

He replied: Shirk (believing in others as god beside Allah), then the Prophet was asked: and what is after that?

And he replied: cutting the relation with relatives.

You know when the relatives visit each other and get aware of each other and have good contact, what a beneficial and joyful relation can be formed, they get aware of the problems that each one has, and they try to solve them financially or through other ways, you know many times when spouses are at the time of getting divorce, a lot of divorces can be prevented through the advice of an important member of their relatives, and apart from these benefits, they get happy and their heart get released from any hatred or animosity toward each other and this kind of pure and happy heart is definitely nearer to the health in its both spiritual and physical meanings.
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Source:Farsnews.com

 

What is the philosophy behind establishing the Religious Government?

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Religious-GovernmentIn this essay, we want to talk about the necessity and the philosophy behind establishing the “Religious Government” or

“الحکومه الاسلامیه”.

At the beginning, let’s describe the meaning of “الحکومه” or “government”. This word is translated as following:

Government is a coherent leadership that orders and forbids in a vast vicinity of a society.

Another component of our subject is the word of “دین” or “religion”.

“دین” has different meanings, like: nation, reward, God-fearing, etc.

But in terminology, this word is translated as following:

The belief in a creator for the universe and the practical orders which are suitable for such a belief, and we call it in English as “Religion”.

For this point, we call those that they don’t have such a belief, as unbelievers and we call those who have such a belief, (even though it might be mixed with superstitions) as believers.

So we realize that there are true religion and false religion.

The true religion is the one that its system of beliefs and practices is compatible to the reality. And the way for distinguishing the true religion, is mentioned in the theology that we do not talk about it here.

So let’s talk about these two words together i.e. religious government or Islamic government.

The relation between these two words can be understood from looking at the concept and content of religion, we see from the religious perspective that there is no any replacement for government in a lot of religious social and individual affairs, and government is a means and tool for a lot of religious goals.

We see that religion is not apart from the politics and government, because the religion is not just some personal and individual obligations or just some beliefs and advices, and religion has the political and social rulings as well.

Allah said in the Quran chapter Bagharah verse 213:

كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُواْ فِيهِ

“The people were one nation. Then Allah sent forth prophets to give them glad tidings and to warn them; and with them he sent down the book with the truth, that he might rule between the people in that which they differ”.

We realize from this verse that one of the missions of the prophets throughout the history was to solve the discords, by issuing decrees and Hokm, and these discords are something that in today’s time despite of the developments in technology and sciences, are here and need to be solved. And issuing the Hokm and decree (in vast vicinity) without the government is impossible. And it needs a government for implementing the criminal decrees of Islam, like the retaliations, financial punishments etc. because there is nothing other than government which can implement such criminal decrees.

So until now we understood that in a religion which claims to be a means for perfection in this world and in the hereafter, there are individual and social rulings that a lot of them cannot be fulfilled and implemented without a government, otherwise there is no any guarantee for these rulings to be implemented and if everyone wants to implement it by him/herself, the society will turn into anarchy that probably is worse than not implementing the rulings.

Islam needs the government for establishing the justice in the society and in the world. This is the reason that the enemies of Islam try to promote the thought that religion is apart from the politics and they praise Islam without politics, because they want to disarm Islam from having the power.

So how the relation between religion and government should be formed?

Firstly we say that we believe that the main right for governing is only for the creator of the world and just those who are chosen by Allah directly or indirectly, can have the right to govern, and under this government, the people can be benefited from the rules of Allah, by the government that its regulations and laws are based on Allah’s obligations and prohibitions.

But because believing in the very beginning belief in Islam is not compulsory, establishing the government is like that, and it depends on the readiness and will of the members of the society.

The religious government does not say:  people have no role and just the rules of Allah must be implemented, and it is not so that just the wishes of the people will be implemented and there is no any role for Allah (like what happens in the liberal democratic governments).

At the end we say that because in Islam we believe that the main and the ultimate aim of the creation of human and sending the prophets, is the perfection of mankind, so by establishing the Islamic government, the human can promote the spiritual virtues for being the vicegerent of Allah on the earth and paving the way for establishing the utopia.

Of course we do not claim that we can establish the utopia completely, but we prepare the ground for the reappearance of the 12th Imam because in our idea he is the one that will fill the whole world full of justice after it is full of injustice and cruelty. But we try our best to be prepared and make the situation prepared for that holistic government as much as we can.

 

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Source:

Rasanews.ir

 

What is the philosophy behind the importance of Self-observance and self-calculation?

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12-13-2011When the Islamic scholars in the field of morality talk about the way to perfection or as the answer to the question that some Muslims who are seeking the moral perfection ask, the scholars reply by recommending two very important advices that are taken from the teachings of Islam, these tow precious and very beneficial advices are called Moraghabah and Mohasabah.

Let’s define them at the beginning.

Moraghabah means self-observance, and to be the observant of our deeds and thoughts, to control ourselves not to disobey Allah.

The second word is Mohasabah which means calculation and in our subject means to look deeply to our deeds once a while and see did we commit any wrong or did we do anything right?

The effects and benefits of these two acts are obvious, because if someone wants to reach to moral perfection, he/she cannot let him/herself to be free from any limitation and just by the wish of perfection or even by talking about that and about the lives of the very pure mystic Muslims, expects to be in the level in which the real mystics are.

Let’s see the root of these two effective advices in our religion.

The holy Quran says in chapter Infitar verses 10-11-12:

وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ

كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ

يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ

“Yet over you there are watchers.

Noble scribes,

Who know of all that you do.”

In another verse, verse 18 of chapter Qaf, Allah said:

مَا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ

“Whatever phrase he (human) utters, an observer is present.”

Or in verse 1 from chapter Nisa, Allah said:

إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا

“Allah is ever watching over you”.

Or in verse 14 from chapter Alaq we read:

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرَى

“Does he not know that Allah sees?”

And there are a lot of other verses and Narrations that talk about the dominant knowledge of Allah over everything that we do not mention them here.

So till now we understood that we are under the dominant look of Allah, so if we really reach to a level of morality that we feel ourselves in His presence, we do not commit any sin.

The second part of our subject was Mohasabah or calculation of our deeds by ourselves.

There is a Narration from Imam kazim peace be upon him who said:

“The one, who does not calculate his/herself every day, is not among us (among our real followers).” then the Imam describes the way of that by saying:

“If he/she has done a righteous act, he/she asks Allah to give him/her chance to do it more and if he/she has done a sin, asks Allah to forgive him/her.”

There are so benefits in this stage, for example we get aware of our faults and righteous deeds, and we can compensate the wrong deeds and enhance the good deeds. The scholars liken this important calculation of self to a businessman who once a while calculates his business and observes the interests and the shortages and detriments of his business, if he owes to others and has to pay something back, it makes him reminded to try to pay it or he can get aware from the dangers that threaten him and his business or the ways that he can get more legal interests etc.

You know many times we are negligent of our deeds and we might consider ourselves perfect, but at the time of precise calculation especially at the time that this calculation is done soon by soon like at the time of sleeping every night, we get aware of our faults and sins.

There are many verses of the holy Quran and the Narrations which mention that there will be calculation on our deeds on the Day of Judgment, like:

The holy Quran says in chapter Zelzal verses 7-8:

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

“Whosoever has done an atom’s weight of good, shall see it.

And whosoever has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it”.

In another verse, verse 284, chapter Bagharah, Allah said:

إِن تُبْدُواْ مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللّهُ

“Whether you reveal what is in your hearts or hide it, Allah will bring you to account for it”.

You know that one of the names of the Day of Judgment is the day of calculation.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“Calculate yourselves before the day that you will be calculated and weigh yourselves before the day that you will be weighed.”

 

We understand from this Narration, that through Mohasabah, we do somehow the same calculation that the angels of Allah will do on the Day of Judgment.

 

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Source:

Akhlagh.porsemani.ir

What is the philosophy behind Retaliation in Islam?

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courtroomOne of the criminal laws in Islam is the subject of Ghesaas or retaliation. In the dictionary, the Arabic word i.e. ” قصاص” has been translated as this:

“To follow up the trace of something”

And this word in Islamic culture means to follow up the trace of a crime and to retaliate the same crime to the committer of that crime.

The holy Quran talks about it in chapter Bagharah verse 179:

وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ يَاْ أُولِيْ الأَلْبَابِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O’ owners of minds, for you in retaliation, is life, in order that you be cautious”.

It has been mentioned in the history that the Arab before the emergence of Islam, were fighting with each other and sometimes they were killing tens of the members of a tribe,  just as the retaliation for a person that was killed, but when Islam emerged, this religion described the justly way of retaliation.

Islam forbade those barbaric acts of retaliation and brought it into the court, a place through which, the guilty person can be distinguished and his/her crime can be proved through lawful ways and the amount of crime can be defined and the amount of retaliation can be known.

The holy Quran says about the retaliation in chapter Maaidah verse 45:

وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالْعَيْنَ بِالْعَيْنِ وَالأَنفَ بِالأَنفِ وَالأُذُنَ بِالأُذُنِ وَالسِّنَّ بِالسِّنِّ وَالْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌ فَمَن تَصَدَّقَ بِهِ فَهُوَ كَفَّارَةٌ لَّهُ وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

“we have written for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds equal retaliation, but whosoever forgoes it as a freewill offering, it will be an expiation for him. Whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, such are wrong doers”.

You know nowadays some people around the world, blame Islam because of having retaliation approved, and they say it is against humanistic bases, but we say as the answer to this blaming and as the philosophy of retaliation:

Imagine a murderer that has murdered several persons, we can leave him and just advise him by some classes or books etc. and the other reaction is to kill and retaliate such a dangerous person, because if we leave him alone and let him be free, after a while he gets more saucy and continues his crimes, there is an interesting poem in Persian in this regard that says:

Being merciful to the wolf which has sharp teeth, it is the cruelty toward the sheep.

And by retaliation of that murderer, it can be a lesson for the others to abstain from committing such a crime.

And we realize from the first mentioned verse in this essay of the Quran (that expresses the retaliation as a means in which there is life), that our aim from retaliation is not just killing a single individual, but rather it is a means for keeping the life of the society members safe. So this rule is not against the humanistic emotions and in fact is it a kind of mercy to the members of the society.

And we say that Islam is a religion in between, and is out of any extreme, so we do not see this religion as the distorted Judaism that says: that just retaliation must be done to the committer of a crime and not  like the distorted Christianity that says: be merciful to all people. We see that in Islam we have been advised to forgive in some cases, for example in the deliberate murdering(not the murdering  which is committed out of mistake) there are three choices for  the family of the murdered, first is to ask from the court to retaliate the murderer, second is to receive blood money instead of retaliation and the third is to forgive without receiving any thing as blood money, but to sum up, we say: in the cases that if we leave the murderer free, it is considered as a way to make him saucy and he may continue to kill others, in this case, retaliation is better, but when the murderer is really regretful and he never wants to continue such a crime, it is better to forgive him and it is something that we can take from the above mentioned discussion.

 

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Source:

Islamquest.net

What is the philosophy behind Friday Prayer?

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friday prayer

One of the kinds of prayer in Islam is Friday prayer, a congregational prayer in which the Muslims gather on Friday and after listening to two sermons, perform two Rak’ats in congregation. This prayer is obligatory at the time of the presence of the infallibles, i.e. the Prophet of Islam and his infallible vicegerents i.e. 12 Imams, but now that is the time of occultation of the twelfth Imam, there is a difference in the decrees of the Maraji(Islamic experts) but most of them do not see it as obligatory, like the time of the presence of the infallibles.

Let’s see what are the philosophies behind such a prayer?

This prayer is a big gathering of the Muslims for a religious program and we can say that it is the biggest gathering after Hajj.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“Friday is the Hajj for those who are not able to perform Hajj”.

The imam of Friday prayer, before performing prayer, gives two sermons in which many useful and beneficial subjects are posed, the first sermon is for religious issues and the second is for politics and the events of Islamic society and the world.

So apart from the benefits that we can catch from participating in this prayer, as a worship, (just like every Ibadah and worship that has many benefits like getting close to Allah and growing spiritually, and cleaning the inside and removing the darkness of negligence), we get aware of the events of our society and the political analysis.

In the beginning of both sermons, the subject of Taqwa (which means God-fearing and feeling ourselves in the presence of Allah and observing His obligations and prohibitions) is advised and discussed.

In the first sermon, some of the imams of Friday prayer, present the exegesis of the holy Quran or the exegesis of Nahjol Balagha(which is a book in which the words and sermons and letters of Imam Ali peace be upon him have been compiled) or other beneficial religious subjects.

Through the second sermon, the imam of this prayer, talks about some political or social issues and analyzes them, like the situations of Islamic society and the world or descriptions of happening events or dangers that might threaten the Islamic society etc.

Because this prayer is performed in a place in which many Muslims gather, it is known as a public tribune, so there are different social programs which sometimes are held there, for example some times before starting the sermons of  the imam of prayer, some political individuals have speeches about different social and political issues.

Sometimes before this program or after the prayer, the Muslims participate in some demonstrations like what takes place in the day of Quds in which the Muslims show their protection for the oppressed people of Palestine or other places around the world, so it is another benefit of this important religious gathering.

This gathering can be a means for the unity among Muslims, because you see that in this prayer, the people that might not be present in the congregational prayer during the week, participate in Friday prayer.

Beside this program, you can see some places that are specified and prepared for the financial helps for the needy people in the society or in the other countries.

This gathering adds to the mobility of the Muslims, and it is a way for visiting and getting aware of each other.

So for all of these mentioned benefits, you see that the enemies of Islam are always afraid of this stronghold.

This prayer throughout the Islamic history has been used as a kind of powerful political stronghold for the governments, so we see that in the right governments like the government of the holy Prophet of Islam or Imam Ali peace be upon them, they were using this gathering in the best possible way and the wrong government also were using it, but as a misuse for achieving their wishes.

Sometimes the enemies of Islam design vicious plans against Muslims, but just one Friday prayer, removes and destroys those evil plans, because of the knowledge that Muslims get through this religious program.

In the hope that the twelfth Imam will come and the Friday prayer will be performed behind him.

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Source:Tebyan.net

What is the philosophy behind the importance of Silence in Islam?

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Silence and talking a little has been praised in Islam, of course it does not mean that always being silent is good, for example silence and being indifferent in the time of watching cruelty that is done to the oppressed, or in the time of listening to backbiting is not good, or if our words are good and religious it is better to talk, but we mean that in general it is better not to talk so much.

Imam Ali peace be upon him said:

“The one who talks so much, his/her faults are many, and the one who has many faults, his/her Haya and modesty is few and the one whose Haya and modesty is few, his/her Taqwa and God-fearing is few and the one whose Taqwa is few, his/her heart is dead and the one whose heart is dead, he/she will enter the fire (of Hell).”

The tongue is the easiest and most available thing that almost all people despite of their differences in culture, wealth, etc. have; and its speed of action is more than anything else. So we must be so careful about our tongue, we can liken it to an explosive substance, that in every time it is possible to be exploded.

A lot of sins are committed by tongue, like backbiting, vilification, telling lie, accusing others etc. and on the other hand, a lot of righteous deeds can be done by it, like reciting the holy Quran, performing prayer and the supplications, joining good and forbidding evil, etc.

Sadi, one of the Iranian poets, composed an interesting poem, he said:

There are two things that are the signs of having slight intellect, first is silence at the time in which must talk, and second is talking at the time that must be silent.

But as we said at the beginning, in general and in the cases that talking is not good, it is better to be silent.

Silence is a kind of insurance and guarantee for being safe from committing mistakes and sins.

The wise Loghman said to his son: “O’ my son, it happened to me many times that I got regretful because of talking, but it never happened that I got regretful from being silent.”

It is obvious that usually those who are mostly silent, have more meaningful words than those who are so much talkative.

There is a Narration that says:

If you see someone who talks very few, get near to him/her because he/she sometimes has wise words.

There is a direct connection between the silence and pondering, the one who talks very few, usually is among those who ponder so much, and we mentioned in an independent essay about the benefits and consequences of pondering, so through silence we can obtain the benefits of pondering too.

 

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Sources:

Rasekhoon.net

Roshd.mihanblog.com

 

What is the philosophy behind the importance of night Prayer in Islam?

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islam-prayer

One of the most recommended worships and Ibadah is night prayer.

There are 11 Rak’ats for night prayer, five prayers which each have two Rak’ats and a single prayer which has one Rak’a.

There are so many benefits for the night prayer which appear in this world and the worlds after death, that we will mention some of them.

There are some recommended and Mostahab prayers that are called Nafilah which literally means, something that is additional and is not obligatory, among them and one of the most important one of them is night prayer. As it is clear from the name of this prayer, it is a prayer which its time is from the religious midnight till the time of morning Azan(call to prayer), and as much as it is performed nearer to the time of morning Azan, it causes more rewards and blessings.

There are some recommended Doa and rituals for this prayer, but just like the base of this prayer that is not obligatory, they are not obligatory too, and we can perform as much as we are jolly and ready and eager to perform, for example we can just perform last three Rak’ats of it or we can perform it in the state of sitting, because the recommended prayers (even though we are able to perform it at the state of standing) can be performed while siting or even while walking. And if we cannot perform it in its time, we are allowed to perform it out of its time and as Qaza prayer (out of its specific time) and all of these, show the importance of this prayer.

Waking up in the midnight or the time near to the morning Azan for worshiping Allah, is very praised by Islam. Allah said in the holy Quran chapter Isra verse 79:

وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ عَسَى أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُودًا

“As for the night there is a voluntary deed for you to keep vigil in part it. Perhaps your lord will raise you to a praiseworthy station”.

Imam Sadiq peace be upon him said:

“The one, who does not perform night prayer, is not among our (real and perfect) Shia and followers.”

There is an interesting Narration in which Imam Sadiq peace be upon him narrated for his father, and his father from his father till the holy Prophet of Islam, that he said:

“Allah prides of a servant who performs the night prayer as Qaza (it means that the servant could not perform night prayer in midnight, so he/she performs it during day instead of night) and Allah says: O’ my angels, my servant performs something that I did not make it obligatory upon him/her as Qaza(as compensation), be witness, I forgave him/her.”

Let me mention some of the benefits of night prayer which are derived from the holy Quran and the Narrations.

1) Fulfilling our Doa and wishes.

One of the companions of Imam Sadiq peace be upon him said: I asked the Imam: people say that the holy Prophet of Islam has said: there is a time in the night, that if a servant, asks Allah in that time, definitely his/her Doa and wish will be fulfilled, the Imam said: yes (it is true). I asked the Imam: when is that time? And the Imam replied: between the midnight till the last third of the night. I asked the Imam, is it something that is in a specific night or every night? And the Imam answered: it is for every night.

2) Friendship with Allah.

The holy Prophet of Islam said: “Allah did not adopt Prophet Abraham as His friend, except because of feeding people and performing night prayer while the people were asleep.”

3) Glory.

Imam Ali peace be upon him said: “Allah has put five things in five things (it means that these five things can be obtained through those five things), among them, the Imam said: and majesty and grandeur (can be obtained) in performing night prayer.”

4) It makes the face, good and loveable.

5) It makes the temper, good.

6) It removes the sorrow.

7) It compensates the sins which are committed during day.

8) It is a cause for making the heart, awake and alive.

And as the last point and as a summery to all of above mentioned benefits, let me bring a saying from Ayatullah Qazi, one of the most important Islamic scholars in the field of practical morality, he said to one of his students:

“O’ my son, if you seek the material and worldly matters, perform night prayer and if you seek the spiritual and hereafter positions, perform night prayer.”
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Source:
Akhlagh.porsemani.ir