The followers of the Imams should be attached one another. They should never allow to interest to affect their love for one another. They should always be ready to help one another at the time of need. The Prophet says “On the Day of Judgement an angel will shout, ‘Where are the men of self-discipline ? A group of them will come up and will be ordered to enter paradise. The angels will say to them ‘What kind of self- discipline did you exercise which has entitled you to enter into paradise? The men will say, ‘We disciplined ourselves in our devotion to God and in refraining ourselves from committing sins.’ The angels will say, ‘Enter the paradise. Excel- lent is the reward. Again the angel will shout, Where are the men of good actions?’ A group of men will stand in response and will be ordered to enter the paradise. The angels will say to them, What good actions have you done which have won you the entry in paradise?” They will say, ‘We forgave those who oppressed us, sought union with those who cut us off and we gave to those who refused to give us.’ The angels will say, ‘Get in.’ Excellent is the reward.’ Again the angel will shout, ‘Where are the neighbours of God in the abode of peace? A group of men will come up and will be ordered to enter the paradise. The angels will say to them, ‘What have you done to make yourselves deserving of your the neighbourhood of God in the abode of peace?, They will say, ‘We used to love one another for the sake of God. We used to show attachment to one another for the sake of God. We used to self-sacrifice our interests for one another for the sake of God. The angels will say, ‘Get in. Excellent is the reward.”
There is no reward which can be compared to the reward of these groups. There are very few men who can make themselves deserving of such rewards. There are very few men, who, when they love their brothers, love them for the sake of God; when they are attached to them their attachment is for the sake of God and when they sacrifice anything for them they do so for the sake of God. Such people belong to that group about which God says, “Excepting those who believe in God and do good deeds and there are very few men of this type’.”
Most of the people who love others or show attachment to them or sacrifice their interets for them, do so with a selfish motive. They either expect a return from them or do it for the sake of show and for the sake of being talked about as good men. The best way of doing these things is to do them for nothing but a reward from God. When one does them he should be actuat- ed by no other motive than his desire to please God and none else. But such people are very few
He who aspires to acquire these virtues should see that whatever he does, he does for the sake of God. His eyes should be turned to God and the reward from Him should be near his heart. He should be particularly careful when he does any thing of this kind for the Imams. When he does it he should do it with the best of his intentions and the utmost eagerness. For pious deeds of this type are more than doubled by God.
If a ‘momin’ loves his brother ‘momin’ and is attached to him, he is guaranteed by God to enjoy His neighbourhood in the abode of peace. But if he extends his affection and attachment to the Imam. he will be making himself deserving of a much greater reward. If he is sincere in his intentions and if he is influenced by no other motive than his love for the Imam then his reward from God will be beyond his imagination.
On similar lines when one pays from his earn- ings what is due to the Imam he is required to do so with the purest intention. He should do what he does for the sake of God and not for the sake of show or making a name for himself or for the fear that if he does not pay him he will be lowering himself in the estimation of the Imam and will thus be put to some trouble. For if he loves the Imam with some ulterior motive, his love will not be love for the sake of God. Similarly whatever he does, whether he takes part in the ‘jehad’ or serves him in any other form he should see that he is actuated by no other motive than doing things for the sake of God.
In this connection I am reminded of a piece of advice I got from an old man when I was very young. Although I neither believed in his reli- gion nor was I satisfied with what he said, his advice is worth mentioning.
One day when I was engrossed in reading and writing he said to me, “O boy, I would like to give you a piece of advice.” I said ‘It is welcome’. He said ‘Your engrossment in books will prevent you from doing good deeds. If you are over-attached to reading and writing you will not like to give it up and do something else. Hence, let your mo- tive for doing what you are doing, be to act in the name of God and for a reward from Him. This motive of yours in itself will constitute a good deed.”
Although he was not cent per cent right but there was some truth in what he said. If one acquires a right knowledge in the name of God, then his good intention is a good deed. But if one reads and writes and keeps himself engaged in the acquiring of a wrong knowledge and he does all this for the sake of God, his motive will not be recognised and he will not be rewarded for it. On the contrary, he will be punished for doing the wrong thing and his pursuit in this direction will be counted as a positive sin. Thus, if some one does a good deed and does it solely for the sake of God and for a reward from Him, he will be rewarded for it. But if he does it for the sake of show and acquiring a fame, his act will not be recognised as a pious deed. It will be an act of hypocracy. The Prophet says, “Whether a particular act is meritorious or not, depends upon the intention of the doer. Every man is judged by his intention.” If one leaves his coun- try for the sake of God and His Prophet, his migra- tion is certainly for God and His Prophet. But if he leaves the country for acquiring wealth or for the sake of a woman he wants to marry, then his migration is not for God but for the things which have prompted him to undertake the journey.
The word ‘act’ used in the above tradition stands for a good deed. If it is accompanied by a good intention it becomes meritorious. If the good intention is missing it ceases to be meritori- ous. But, if one does a wrong thing with the best of intention, his wrong will not become right
He will be punished for his wrong deed inspite of his good intention
Again the Prophet says, “The intention of a ‘momin’ is better than his action.” God and His Prophet know best. But in my opinion the tradition means that a good act without a good intention will meet with no recognition. For instance, if one refrains from eating and drinking for the whole day but he does not do this for the sake of fasting, he cannot be said to have fasted. Similarly if one visits Mecca during the pilgrimage season and performs all the rites of pilgrimage without intending to perform the pilgrimage he ceases to be a pilgrim. If one stands, bows down and prostrates himself like the one who offers prayers, without intending to perform prayers, he cannot be said to have performed the prayer. In short, every good act must be preceeded by a good intention. A good act without a good inten- tion will be of no avail and will not meet with recognition. A good act ceases to be a good act if the good intention is missing. On the other hand, a good intention minus the good act, is an act of piety and a profitable concern. The Pro- phet says, “If one intends to do a good deed, a good deed is recorded in his name. If he does what he has intended to do then ten good deeds will be recorded in his name.”
It is for these reasons that the intention of the momin’ is considered to be better than his good deed because it is helpful to him even if it is not translated into action. But a good deed without a good intention, does the doer no good. One of the ignorant fellows once said to one of the Imams ” Is it fair that the one who disobeys God or com- mits sins during the short span of his life in this world should be condemned in the next world to eternal punishment?” The Imam said, “Yes. It is because his intention was to continue the sinful course of life even if he had lived upto an indefinite period. Besides, he persisted in this course upto the time of his death without repenting for his sins.”
In short, evil intention plays as great a part in deciding the nature of punishment as a good in- tention does in bringing its reward. God says “With regard to those who think ill of God, their evil thoughts are directed against them. Wrath of God befalls them. He curses them and makes room for them in Hell. Their end is bad.” Evil thought in the above verses means an evil intention. Again God says, “You had all sorts of doubts in God. Here the ‘momins’ were put to the severest test and they became shaky in their faith to a startling extent 2.” God has, in these verses, taken the ‘momins’ to task for their evil thoughts.
O momins, acquire these good habits and practice them in your dealings with one another. Be sincere in your love for the Imams and your co-religionists. Love one another and be attach- ed to one another. Be steady in your loyalty to the Imams and in your love for them. See that you never entertain ill-will against one another. See that you are never cut off from one another. See that you never hate one another. Above all, see, that you do not become stingy in parting with the money which you have been enjoined upon by God to pay. May God help you and us to do good. May He make us successful in the discharge of His duties and may He. guide us in this direc. tion.