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

Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills 

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

And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.

Twenty-eighth sign of the pious:

مَيِّتَةً شَهْوَتُهُ،

You see his lust dead,

Concupiscence is a general concept that includes all the desires and aspirations of the soul, and has been applied to “sexual desires”, as well. This desire of the soul in the world is of two kinds: 1- False desire 2- True desire.

True desire is something without which the body’s work is disrupted, like the desire to eating when the person is hungry. True desires must be answered and satisfied according to the norms and rules of the sharia and to the extent of necessity. For example, the desire and longing of the soul to eat food and drink water or get married, etc., must be met by eating water and halal food, and getting married and establishing a family. The principle of the existence of these desires in human beings is a gift that the almighty God has given to them for the continuation of human life and health.

However, the false desire and lust is something without which the work of the body is not disturbed, but sometimes the health of the human soul and body is avoided, and committing them leads to many mental illnesses. The pious have confronted these desires and have not tainted their inner spirit and piety with the filth of these lusts.

So Imam Ali, greeting to him, in the expression of the attributes of a pious man, says: “You see his lust dead” which is an allusion to the fact that the pious prevent the rebellion of the soul and do not get slave to its illegitimate desires.

The relationship between perfection of reasoning and lack of lust

The more the light of reasoning in the human heart, the more he realizes and becomes disgusted with the evils of lust; and on the other hand, the outburst of lust indicates the defect of the power of reasoning. Imam Ali, greetings upon him, says:

إِذَا كَمُلَ الْعَقْلُ نَقَصَتِ الشَّهْوَةُ؛

When the intellect reaches perfection, lust diminishes and decreases. (Ghorar al-Hekam va Dorar al-Kalam, page 52)

لا عقلَ معَ شَهوَةٍ؛

There will be no intellect, in the presence of lust. (Ghorar al-Hekam va Dorar al-Kalam, page 54)

قَرِينُ‏ الشَّهْوَةِ مَرِيضُ النَّفْسِ مَعْلُولُ الْعَقْلِ

One who is accompanied by lust has a sick and mentally ill soul. (Oyoon al-Hekam va al-Mava’eez (Lithi), page 372)

Twenty-ninth sign of the pious:

مَكْظُوماً غَيْظُهُ،

You see his fierce quenched,

“Fierce” means the intensity of anger and excitement for the received revenge and the oppression, and “quenched anger” is used for a determined person who suppresses his anger despite his strength and ability to revenge and do not seek avenge.

Anger is one of the most dangerous human states, which, if left unmanaged, manifests itself in a form of insanity. Many dangerous crimes and decisions that a person has to pay for atonement for a lifetime are committed in this way.

Mullah Mohsen Faiz Kashani writes in his book ‘al-Muhajja al-Bayda’:

إعلم أنَّ الحِلمَ أفضلُ من کظمِ الغیظِ، لِأنَّ کظمَ الغیظِ عبارةٌ عنِ التَّحَلُّمِ أی تکلّفِ الحِلمِ؛

Know that resentment is superior to suppressing the anger, because quenching the fierce is a kind of resentment, which means practicing resentment and making oneself resentful. (al-Muhajja al-Bayda, volume 5, page 310)

Quenching the anger is a desirable trait that can be achieved through perseverance. This attribute is so valuable in the sight of the almighty God that God mentions it in the holy Qur’an in expressing the attributes of the pious and says:

وَ سارِعُوا إِلى‏ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَ جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّماواتُ وَ الْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ * الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَ الضَّرَّاءِ وَ الْكاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَ الْعافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَ اللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ؛

Hasten towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the Godwary—those who spend in ease and adversity, and suppress their anger, and excuse [the faults of] the people and Allah loves the virtuous; (Al Omran: 133 – 134)

The effects of quenching the fierce

In the words of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace upon them, several effects have been mentioned for suppressing the anger:

1. The honor of this world and the hereafter

Imam Sadiq, greeting to him, says: 

مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ كَظَمَ غَيْظاً إِلَّا زَادَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ عِزّاً فِي الدُّنْيَا وَ الْآخِرَةِ وَ قَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ الْكاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَ الْعافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ‏ وَ اللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ‏ وَ أَثَابَهُ اللَّهُ مَكَانَ غَيْظِهِ ذَلِكَ؛

There is no servant who suppresses his anger unless the almighty God increases the glory of his world and his hereafter, and indeed God has said: And they quench their anger and forgive the mistakes of the people, and God loves the virtuous. And God will reward him with that honor instead of this anger and wrath. (Kafi, volume 2, page 110)

2. Satisfaction in the resurrection

Imam Sadiq, greetings upon him, says:

مَنْ كَظَمَ غَيْظاً وَ لَوْ شَاءَ أَنْ يُمْضِيَهُ أَمْضَاهُ أَمْلَأَ اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ رِضَاهُ؛

Whoever swallows his anger while he could express it, God will fill his heart with joy and contentment on the Day of Judgment. (Kafi, volume 2, page 110)

3. Faith and security in the resurrection

Imam Baqir, greetings to him, says:

مَنْ كَظَمَ غَيْظاً وَ هُوَ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى إِمْضَائِهِ حَشَا اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ أَمْناً وَ إِيمَاناً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ؛

Whoever swallows his anger while he could express it, God will fill his heart with security and faith on the Day of Judgment. (Kafi, volume 2, page 110)

One of the calamities of the Day of Judgment and the great doom is the fear that man is afflicted with in the court of divine justice. On that day, all their deeds will be present, the holy Quran says:

وَ وُضِعَ الْكِتابُ فَتَرَى الْمُجْرِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا فِيهِ وَ يَقُولُونَ يا وَيْلَتَنا ما لِهذَا الْكِتابِ لا يُغادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَ لا كَبِيرَةً إِلاَّ أَحْصاها وَ وَجَدُوا ما عَمِلُوا حاضِراً وَ لا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَداً؛  

The Book will be set up. Then you will see the guilty apprehensive of what is in it. They will say, ‘Woe to us! What a book is this! It omits nothing, big or small, without enumerating it.’ They will find present whatever they had done, and your Lord does not wrong anyone. (Kahf: 49)

This exact judgment of the Lord causes all human beings to be astonished and confused by the intensity of fear like madmen.

يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَها تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّا أَرْضَعَتْ وَ تَضَعُ كُلُّ ذاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَها وَ تَرَى النَّاسَ سُكارى‏ وَ ما هُمْ بِسُكارى‏ وَ لكِنَّ عَذابَ اللَّهِ شَدِيدٌ؛

The day that you will see it, every suckling female will be unmindful what she suckled, and every pregnant female will deliver her burden, and you will see the people drunk, yet they will not be drunken, but Allah’s punishment is severe. (Haj: 2)

What will happen to them at a time when everyone is confused, scared and anxious? There is a safe and secure group, and with their rich faith, they do not cause sorrow in their hearts; they move towards the levels of heaven with dignity and respect. Those who have not been deceived by the world and have prepared for the Day of Judgment, with suppressing their anger are the groups that God will expel to their paradise with the blessing of security and faith.

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