Man’s deepest desire is a divine want...

Man’s deepest desire is a divine want, and if the veils of error were removed from his eyes and he were able to perceive his Beloved, he would have intimate acts of devotion, like ‘Ali ( ‘a ). Allah states in the Qur’an: ...

Of course, the Qur’an does not forbid attaining them, but it states that they do not set man’s heart at rest.[^3] It has been said that man yearns for ideal perfection and he makes use of every means and tools; one of the means of attaining spotless perfection is prayer as an intimate dialogue between an individual and his Lord and enlivening the mosques. The Prophet (S) states that happy are those who take precedence and leadership on the Day of Resurrection.

They lead men towards the Garden of eternal bliss and the others fall behind them in order to find their way to paradise. They are people who used to go to the mosques before everyone early in the morning and at other times of the day. In order to make this comprehensible to the mind, heed ought to be paid to this issue that one of the qualities of man’s soul is that he gets motivated once he sees the others trudging the course of goodness and welfare.

The axiom of yielding to patterns and looking up to role models has been accepted as an indisputable means of edification of personality. In truth, the model plays the most fundamental role in man’s way of life. If man takes precedence at performing good works, he attracts the attention of other people and as a result, the others too follow his lead. This matter (yielding to example) is an object of attention for youths.

The older the people grow, the more they desire to be role models for other human beings, and this feeling is manifested in their conduct and performance of responsibilities. As a result, the others too get inspired to do good works. It is natural that when one man in a community begins to do something, the others easily follow his lead. For instance, in a religious school, the others get encouraged by the conduct of a number of people who take the lead at going to the noon [ zuhr ] prayers.