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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Lessons from the Nahjul Balaghah Lesson Eight: The Believer' Status Before, After and at the Time of the Prophets' Appearance In another sermon of the Nahjul Balaghah known as „al-Khutbah al-Qasi'ah” (The Sermon of Disparagement),the Commander of the Faithful lays down and explains some of the matters which were quoted in previous from Sermon No.

1, concerning the status of the people during the Age of Ignorance, conditions of the time of the appearance of the Prophets and the situation of the people after the appointment of the Prophets to prophethood. He portrays, in effect, the conditions and circumstances, which had naturally cast shadows over the people’s lives in the Age of Ignorance as well as the victorious status, the people gained after the appearance of the Prophets under the light of their efforts, struggles and endeavors.

A study of some of the statements of this Sermon (al qasrah) which adds to our mind concerning what we learned about the background to prophethood, the Prophets' responsibilities, etc., in previous lessons, would bring us to a sound conclusion for this book. In a part of this Sermon we read: «think about the condition of people from among the believers who passed before you.

What distress and trials[^1] they underwent:»[^2] It means that we should look deep into the circumstances of the believers who lived before us, not treating them in a perfunctory manner because we cannot learn much from the formal appearance of the past events.

Only when one traces the causes of these events and contemplates them deeply will one perceive that the believers of the past have been under severe pressure' and that they have been subjected to such hardships as hunger, torture, imprisonment and so forth and greater hardships than those we suffer today, i.e. facing political problems and happenings and recognizing the true character of different groups and fronts and the stance they take.

The Commander of the Faithful continues with the following statements, „Were they the most over-burdened among all the people and in the most straightened circumstances in the whole world?” The true believers have always been the most overburdened, the most pain suffering and the poorest creatures of God before the advent of the Prophets and the realization of Islamic revolutions (all the revolutions led by the Prophets have been Islamic in the sense that they have all been primarily aimed at submission to God).

Why?