He said, “If I had the power to grant your wish I would surely have granted it.

He said, “If I had the power to grant your wish I would surely have granted it.” Allah (S.w.T.) revealed to Musa (a.s.) that, “Even if this man prostrates for Me till his head gets detached from his neck, I will not accept his deeds, till he abstains from that which I dislike and does that which pleases Me. Otherwise sin hinders the supplications from acceptance.”[^9] Refraining From Sins is Genuine Worship Eleventh Tradition “Abstaining from sins is the basis of religion.

Hence, refrain from sins in order to become the most pious worshipper. Adorn yourself with piety. Do not perform a single good deed without piety. Surely that deed is most acceptable by Allah which is accompanied by piety, even though it may be trifle. As Allah says, “Allah accepts the good deeds only from the pious people.” ^10 Hence if you succeed in remaining aloof from sins, then even if your good deeds are paltry, they would be accepted by the Lord.

And when the Lord of the Worlds accepts a deed it cannot be termed as trifle or paltry. Avoidance of Sins is a Must Considering the tradition quoted above one is compelled to conclude that it is necessary to dread sinful acts and to be ever cautious of the vices. Only then are the good actions of any consequences. The good deeds must also be performed in such a manner that we strive to emulate as closely as possible the examples set by the high ideals of our Ahl ul-Bayt (a.s.).

It should not be that good actions are rendered null and void due to sins. It is necessary to be careful of such an impending loss and disaster for which we ourselves would be responsible. Good Actions Could Be Blown Away Like Dust Sulaiman bin Khalid says; “ I asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) regarding the Qur’anic verse And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust.

(Surah al-Furqān 25:23) He said, “By Allah, even if their deeds are as white as Egyptian cotton, but if they find sin and lewdness they do not abstain from it.” ^11 In other words, their good deeds are scattered like dust due to the lack of piety, and hence are of no value at all.