Friday Prayer

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ

و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون

اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه

The twentieth sign of the righteous:

يَمْزُجُ الْحِلْمَ بِالْعِلْمِ وَ الْقَوْلَ بِالْعَمَلِ

It combines knowledge and patience and harmonizes speech with deed

amir al-mu’minin had previously said about knowledge and patience:

وَ أمَّا النَّهَار فَحُلَمَاءُ عُلَمَاءُ

And now again he emphasizes the accompaniment of these two parameters. The commentators of Nahj al-Balagha have used the phrase of Amir al-Mu’minin that the pious are the people of patience and tolerate, but the patience that is based on knowledge.

The patience  of righteous is not due to their weakness, it is  because that they are aware of the benefits and effects of patience. Some people remain silent and do not react to the oppressor’s oppression because of their weakness, and others remain silent and resist the mistake, despite that they have the power to take revenge from the one that harmed them. These people consider forgiveness and patience to be superior and more valuable than revenge and reaction. The righteous are from the second type. They are aware of results of patience and forbearance and these awareness causes them not to react harshly to the bad behavior of others and to stay silent. In fact, their pateince is based on wisdom, not weakness.

Righteous have combined their speech with deeds. If they enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, they themselves are the first to pay attention to this enjoining and forbidding. Holy Quran says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ* كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ(صف:2-3)»

O believers! Why do you say what you do not do?

How despicable it is in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do!

Amir al-Mo’menin, emphasizing the important issue of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil in social relations, says:

ظَهَرَ الفَسادُ فَلا مُنكِرٌ مُغَيِّرٌ وَ لا زاجِرٌ مُزدَجِرٌ. أ فَبِهذا تُريدُونَ أنْ تَجاوَرُوا اللّهَ فِي دارِ قُدْسِهِ وَ تَكُونُوا أعَزَّ أولِيائِهِ عِنْدَهُ هَيْهاتَ لا يُخْدَعُ اللّهُ عَنْ‏ جَنَّتِهِ وَ لا تُنالُ مَرْضاتُهُ إلّا بِطاعَتِهِ. لَعَنَ اللهُ الآمرينَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ التّارِكينَ لَهُ وَ النّاهينَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ العامِلينَ بِهِ

أَنَّ أَهْوَنَ مَا أَنَا صَانِعٌ بِعَالِمٍ غَيْرِ عَامِلٍ بِعِلْمِهِ أَشَدُّ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ عُقُوبَةً أَنْ أُخْرِجَ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ حَلَاوَةَ ذِكْرِي

and there is no one to oppose and change it, nor anyone to dissuade from it or desist from it. Do you, with these qualities, hope to secure abode in the purified neighbourhood of Allah and to be regarded His staunch lovers? Alas! Allah cannot be deceived about His paradise and His will cannot be secured save by His obedience. May Allah curse those who advise good but they themselves avoid it, and those who desist others from evil but they themselves act upon it.

Because of importance of the deeds of those who enjoin the good and forbid the evil, amir al-muminin says:

أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي وَ اللَّهِ مَا أَحُثُّكُمْ عَلَى طَاعَةٍ إِلَّا وَ أَسْبِقُكُمْ إِلَيْهَا وَ لَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ مَعْصِيَةٍ إِلَّا وَ أَتَنَاهَى قَبْلَكُمْ عَنْهَا

O people! I swear to God that I do not motivate you to obedience unless I have preceded you in that obedience, and I do not forbid you from sinning unless I have abandoned it before you.

Knowledge without deed causes the anger of God

Knowledge that is not accompanied by deed will not only not benefit its owner, but will also cause him trouble and brings divine wrath. Almighty God revealed to David (peace be upon him)

أَنَّ أَهْوَنَ مَا أَنَا صَانِعٌ بِعَالِمٍ غَيْرِ عَامِلٍ بِعِلْمِهِ أَشَدُّ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ عُقُوبَةً أَنْ أُخْرِجَ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ حَلَاوَةَ ذِكْرِي

It is true that the least thing I do with a scientist who does not act on his knowledge is more severe than seventy punishments, and that is that I take the sweetness of my remembrance out of his heart.

It is narrated from Jesus (pbuh) that he said:

رَأَيْتُ حَجَراً مَكْتُوباً عَلَيْهِ قَلِّبْنِي فَقَلَّبْتُهُ فَإِذَا عَلَى بَاطِنِهِ: مَنْ لَا يَعْمَلُ بِمَا يَعْلَمُ مَشُومٌ عَلَيْهِ طَلَبُ مَا لَا يَعْلَمُ وَ مَرْدُودٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَلِمَ

I saw a stone on which was written: turn me around, when I turned it I saw that it is written on it: Whoever does not do what he knows, asking for what he does not know will be bad for him and it is miserable. And what he knows is also rejected and unacceptable.

The Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said:

كُلُّ عِلْمٍ وَبَالٌ عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِلَّا مَنْ عَمِلَ بِهِ

knowledge will be hardness for its owner on the Day of Judgment unless he practices it.

knowledge that should become a light for man and bring him closer to paradise, if it is not practiced, will have the opposite effect and will cause man to fall from being close to God. A person came to Imam Sajjad (as) and asked him about some issues. And the Imam answered him, then he returned to ask the same questions, Imam said:

مَكْتُوبٌ فِي الْإِنْجِيلِ لَا تَطْلُبُوا عِلْمَ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ وَ لَمَّا تَعْمَلُوا بِمَا عَلِمْتُمْ فَإِنَّ الْعِلْمَ إِذَا لَمْ يُعْمَلْ بِهِ لَمْ يَزْدَدْ صَاحِبُهُ إِلَّا كُفْراً وَ لَمْ يَزْدَدْ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بُعْداً

It is written in the Bible that you should not seek to know what you do not know, while you have not yet practiced what you know, because when knowledge is not practiced, it will not add anything but disbelief to its owner, and nothing else but being far from God.

deeds without knowledge causes the destruction of man

Just as knowledge without deeds causes divine wrath, so deeds without knowledge causes the destruction of man. Knowledge and action are two wings for man, and when both are combined, they will take their owner to the peak of the sky of bliss and nearness to God. Amir al-muminin says:

فَإِنَّ الْعَامِلَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ كَالسَّائِرِ عَلَى غَيْرِ طَرِيقٍ فَلَا يَزِيدُهُ بُعْدُهُ عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ الْوَاضِحِ إِلَّا بُعْداً مِنْ حَاجَتِهِ وَ الْعَامِلُ بِالْعِلْمِ كَالسَّائِرِ عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ الْوَاضِحِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ نَاظِرٌ أَ سَائِرٌ هُوَ أَمْ رَاجِعٌ

Indeed, the one who acts without knowledge is like one who walks in the wrong path, so turning away from the clear path will only lead him to turning away from his needs, and one who acts with knowledge is like one who walks in a bright path. so everyone should see whether they are walking in the bright path (to the truth) or they are walking in the to the dark path(returning from the truth).

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