Why do the springs of wisdom not flow from our hearts...

Why do the springs of wisdom not flow from our hearts although the sacred tradition determines that they must flow in forty days according to his statement, peace be with him, "One who is sincere to Allah for forty mornings, the springs of wisdom flow from his heart to his tongue"'?

And why is Satan playing games with us, interfering in all our affairs, although he had made a pledge to Allah Almighty not to tempt the sincere ones: "Then, by Your might, I will put them all in the wrong, except Your servants among them, the sincere and purified ones" (Qur'an, 38:82-83)? This is only the outcome of our deeds being conjoined with insincerity.

And I do not mean, when 1 mention sincerity being absent from our deeds, the high levels of sincerity that are among the characteristics of the friends of Allah, those who arc near to Him, for we have no share of such sincerity..., but I mean the lowest of its levels, that is, it contains no pretension which nullifies the deeds. If we sift through our deeds and rituals, we will find out that Satan has penetrated most of them and spoiled our deeds, as we will, God willing, explain.

Any deed undertaken in order to make a show is null and void according to the Shari'a and has no bearing, no impact, no effect.

We have to correct our deeds from this side and rid them of pretension for it is shirk in Allah Almighty in adoration according to his statement, peace be With him, "Every form of pretension is shirk (polytheism)." Since shirk has many branches, and since Satan and the nafs in this regard have hidden traps which nobody except a discerning critic can detect, this summary is written to seek benefit from statements by scholars of the hereafter and professors of ethics, especially the greatest professor, Imam al-Khomeini, may Allah preserve his shade, pleading to the Master, the most Great, to make it exclusively for the sake of pleasing Him and not to let Satan has any share in it so it may be a means for salvation and a tool for forgiveness; surely Allah grants success: surely He provides help.

Pretension In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful Praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, greetings unto Muhammad and his Progeny and the sincere servants of Allah. PRETENSION ACCORDING TO THE QUR'AN: So, woe unto the worshippers, who are neglectful of their prayers, those who (want only) to be seen (by men), but they refuse (to supply even) neighborly needs.