It is said that Imam Ali (P) used to ask some one from...

It is said that Imam Ali (P) used to ask some one from amongst his companions to give him advice and he also said that hearing is more effective than knowing.

It is necessary that the person who possesses the capability and competence to perform this task should always exhort and advise the people, should make them remember Allah, should not allow them to become oblivious of death and should warn them against the consequences of sin, should speak about the grave and the Day of Judgment, and should invite the attention of the people to Divine Justice. These are necessary things and the society can never do without them.

In the past there have been some very good preachers amongst us and by the grace of Allah they are present even now. The more the competent and qualified preachers there are the better. This thing is necessary in connection with Khutba (oration) and the pulpit.

The second part of the duties of a Khateeb is that &bout which Imam Riza (P) has said: "It is the duty of a Khateeb to inform the people of the things which are in their interest from the religious and worldly points of view and to tell them as to what they should do in the prevailing circumstances and what their religious and worldly interests demand." Evidently this is a very huge task and is more difficult than admonition, exhortation and general preaching.

If a person is pious, righteous and sincere and if he knows a few sentences of preaching he can preach, and his preaching will also be useful to some extent. If a person pious, righteous and sincere, it' will be sufficient if he narrates a few sayings of the leaders of the faith. However, if a person wishes to narrate the large religious and worldly problems of the people and to inform them about all these things, it is a very difficult task. Two difficulties arise in this task.

Firstly it needs vast information and secondly sincerity is very necessary so that the speaker may inform others clearly about what he considers to be in their religious and worldly interest. As regards information the preacher should have sufficient knowledge of the principles and bases of faith and should be aware of the spirit of Islamic teachings.

He should also be competent to distinguish between the apparent and latent contents of Islamic teachings so that he may be able to understand the religious interests and to explain them. Only general religious information is not sufficient for this purpose.