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.
Thirty-eighth sign of the pious:
وَ لَا يَشْمَتُ بِالْمَصَائِبِ،
And he does not blame the afflicted person,
“Blaming” literally means to feel joy in the enemy’s calamity. (Lesan al-Arab, volume 2, page 51) When Moses, peace upon him, returned from Mount Toor and saw the calf worship of the Israelis, he became very upset and accused his brother Aaron. Aaron said to Moses:
فَلا تُشْمِتْ بِيَ الْأَعْداءَ؛
So do not let the enemies gloat over me, (A’raf: 150) (When they see that you are accusing me, they get happy that I am in trouble.)
The pious people refrain from blaming their enemies, that is, they do not rejoice in the troubles of their enemies, and as a result, they never rejoice of sufferings of those who are not their enemies.
Several and severe trials of prophet Jacob, peace be upon him, and his patience against the trials of God are well known. When he overcame the trials of the Lord, the almighty God asked him what was the most difficult phase for him during the difficult time of the test, the prophet Jacob replied:
شَمَاتَةُ الْأَعْدَاءِ؛
Accusing from enemies was harder on me than anything else. (Qomi interpretation, volume 2, page 242)
Imam Sadiq, peace upon him, says:
لَا تُبْدِي الشَّمَاتَةَ لِأَخِيكَ فَيَرْحَمَهُ اللَّهُ وَ يُصَيِّرَهَا بِكَ؛
Do not reveal your disgrace to your brother (if you do), then God will have mercy on him (and save him from that calamity) and will return your disgrace to you. And he also says:
مَنْ شَمِتَ بِمُصِيبَةٍ نَزَلَتْ بِأَخِيهِ لَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى يُفْتَتَنَ؛
Whoever blames his brother because of the calamity he has encountered, he will not leave the world until he will be afflicted with it. (Kafi, volume 2, page 359)
So, first of all, the believer should not rejoice in the calamity of others, even if he has enmity with him; and secondly, even if there is an unintentional happiness in his heart, he would never reveal it and he would not be the cause of suffering and ache.
Imam Sajjad, peace upon him, who has tasted the bitter taste of the blaming in the story of captivity after the day of Ashura, whispers in his prayers with the almighty God:
نَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَمَاتَةِ الْأَعْدَاءِ؛
O God! I seek you from your enemies.
Thirty-ninth sign of the pious:
وَ لَا يَدْخُلُ فِي الْبَاطِلِ وَ لَا يَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْحَقِّ،
And he does not enter the false environment and does not leave the circle of truth,
The pious do not step on the wrong path and do not set their foot outside the bounds of truth. Many people, with wide differences in beliefs and behaviors, each consider the path they have chosen to be the right one, and therefore find it difficult to deviate from their path and choose another path. But it is certain that truth is unique and it cannot be accepted that all the professions and behaviors in the world are based on the truth; however at most it can be accepted that every profession and behavior might be a mixture of right and wrong. Therefore, the truth must be found without any stubbornness and prejudice; after getting acquainted with it (based on research and reasoning), one must strive for it.
The pious, with divine guidance and on the basis of reason and research, have realized the straight path and the truth of the world, and after that, they never consent leaving the truth and thus entering into falsehood. The holy Qur’an introduces the truth of the universe to humanity and the followers of the truth as follows:
ذلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَ أَنَّ ما يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ هُوَ الْباطِلُ وَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ؛
That He may make what Satan has thrown in a test for those in whose hearts is a sickness and those whose hearts have hardened. Indeed the wrongdoers are steeped in extreme defiance. (Haj: 53)
The almighty God is the axis of the truth and everything who calls God is attributed to the truth and takes on the color of truth and God; and facing everything that is in opposition to the almighty God is outside the circle of truth and is part of what is considered as false, Imam Sadegh, peace upon him, said:
الْبَاطِلُ فَهُوَ مَا يَقْطَعُكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ؛
Falsehood is anything that separates you from God. (Bahar al-Anvar, volume 67, page 295)