Again before he left, he put two one thousand toman bills on the mantel.

Again before he left, he put two one thousand toman bills on the mantel. That made it four thousand tomans. The job was forced upon me. At the time, they were registering people for Hajj in Safa’iah street. I took the four thousand tomans and signed up for Hajj . I do not remember where I got the rest of the money (five hundred tomans) that was needed for the pilgrimage. Anyway, that year I made a pilgrimage to the House of God.

After that also I succeeded in making a few more pilgrimages in the most desirable manner to Hajj . In two of my journeys I was able to visit the interior of the Ka‘bah and I do not see this as anything but the favor of the noble Zahra (‘a). It has been over 27 years from the first print of the book Banu-ye Nimunah-ye Islam . By the grace of Allah, the Almighty, the book was reprinted at least once almost every year.

The fact that in the recent prints it is written 14th or 15th print is because in the past they did not write the print number and it is much more than that. Every year it has been reprinted at least once and sometimes even twice. It has also been translated to some foreign languages. Even though 27 years has passed from its authorship, it is still considered a new book and this is due to nothing but the special favor and grace of the lauded Zahra (‘a).

I have continually tried to add on new content I found in Hadith or the Quran or things that came to my mind. Its file was always and still is open to amendment and improvement. Throughout these years I have made significant changes a few times and have added new content. This may have had influence in the continuing novelty and freshness of the book. • What are the criteria for a model woman? Can the passage of time influence such criteria?

Reply: Temporal transition and transformations in the circumstances of human life do not remold the substructures and fundamentals of human life. Only superstructures, lifestyle, and forms of human communication change. The nature and constitution of humans is uniform in all ages and generations. The Traditions of Allah (i.e. the laws of existence), which includes the laws governing human life, are all constant and immutable.

The relationships of humans with God, the society—including family—and nature are relationships that in their essence follow set principles and cannot change.