The importance of these two virtues...

The importance of these two virtues, truthfulness and trustworthiness have been emphasized in hadith transmitted from the Holy Prophet and his pure progeny to the extent that one of the traditions relates that, “Every prophet sent by God was truthful in what he said and trustworthy in his dealings".1 Indeed an honest and trustworthy man is loved by others and by God and is successful in what he does, in contrast to a liar and one who cannot be trusted who wrecks his future even though he may benefit from some brief gain in the short term.

3-Courage: Man should be courageous and intrepid, and in his affairs should not let fear near him, for the coward is always at the end of the line. Every prophet and reformer possessed this quality and this is enough to show how desirable it is.

They could otherwise never have been able to change society from being a corrupt one to being righteous and lead it from decadence onto the path of upward development, since to confront people with what they do not want to hear even 1 See Usul al-Kafi, Muhammad b. Ya‘qub al-Kulayni (d. 329/940), Beirut, 1995, p.111, with the addition, “ ……with a pious man and an unrighteous one [alike]”. though it is for their own good requires the strongest kind of courage.

4-Generosity: In society there are always poor and needy people, and there are always schemes which need help. [Those who give generously] are the mainstays of society upon whom the disadvantaged pin their hopes. Therefore man should be generous and give liberally. If the generous person is rich, his generosity will not be a cause of loss for him, and if he should be of average means his smaller contribution will also be accepted.

According to the popular saying, “The best generosity is to give whatever you can”. The poet says: If the world has favoured you dispense of its bounty to others before it slips from your grasp, If this bounty is coming your way generosity will not destroy it and if this bounty is leaving you, miserliness will not hold it back.

5-A Sense of Honour: Honour is a condition in man by means of which he protects those things which should be protected and guarded like religion, country, reputation and so on and is one of the virtues. If an individual or community cease to have honour their very nature comes under threat.