On the way they passed by the mosque and saw Imam Husain...

On the way they passed by the mosque and saw Imam Husain (‘a) offering his prayers. ‘How come you saw Husain ibn e Ali (‘a) and did not go to him?’ asked the Imam (‘a). ‘I was informed that he was in a state of ‘a’iteka’f’ , ‘worship in isolation’ . ‘But if Husain (‘a) had got the opportunity of solving your problem, it would have been worth more than a whole month of “worship in isolation” ’.

The Strongest Act of Faith One day the Holy Prophet (s) asked all the Muslims present: ‘According to Islam, which act of a believer denotes the strongest faith?’ ‘Prayer,’ said one. ‘No,’ was the answer. ‘Zakaat,’ said another. ‘No,’ was the answer. ‘Fasting,’ proffered a third. ‘No’ was the answer. ‘Hajj,’ volunteered a fourth. ‘No,’ was the answer. ‘Jihad,’ said a fifth. ‘No,’ was the answer.

The Holy Prophet (s) then said, ‘All the things that you have mentioned are great and important essentials of faith, but not the answer to my question.

The correct answer is: “Befriending for the pleasure of Allah and sundering relations for the approval of Allah.” Special Treatment The rules of life instituted by Islam were gradually being erased by the continuous rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid kings who loved splendour and glory, and expected undue respect and special treatment from other human beings.

The noble, fraternal and simple interactive lifestyle of the Holy Prophet (s) and his noble companions was a thing of the past, except for glimpses found in his noble Household (‘a). The most sorrowful part was that the people had become so used to the despotic attitude of the kings that they had begun to accept it as the rightful conduct of rulers. One day, Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (‘a) wished to bathe in the public bath.

He believes in treating human beings as equals, not masters or slaves.’ Live in the World or Renounce it After the Battle of Jamal, Imam Ali (‘a) entered the town of Basra.