But if you tell him that...

But if you tell him that, ‘As you have committed a sin you will be detained at the stage of accounting’, he is not afraid. It is mentioned in vol. 10 of Biharul Anwar that once the Holy Prophet (‘s) recited the following verses before the Muslims: And surely Hell is the promised place of them all: It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them. (15:43-44) *** *** On hearing these verses, Ali (‘a) began to tremble like a sparrow soaked in water on a freezing winter day.

If there is life, its signs are also present. If the heart is alive, glad tidings or warnings have effect on it. If the heart is dead, it won’t be affected even if you recite the whole Quran before it. Yet if there is even an iota of life in a heart it will be affected sooner or later. it is nothing but a reminder and a plain Quran, that it may warn him who would have life, (36:69-70) *** *** That is the Quran is only to admonish those who are alive in the hearts.

You can only warn him who follows the reminder and fears the Beneficent God in secret…(36:11) *** *** Also until one has a living heart in ones breast one cannot be affected by the Quran positively. Surely you do not make the dead to hear, and you do not make the deaf to hear the call when they go back retreating. (27:80) *** *** If it has any life there is hope that it would be affected by admonishments.

One’s (Human) nature must not have been destroyed, as one is naturally inclined towards the Quran. Most of the Meccans have dead souls and they will not believe. They run away even on hearing the word ‘Hereafter’. But those whose nature is existent they: fear the Beneficent God… *** *** Signs of the lowest degree of faith Sometimes man begins to think whether he has Faith or not. If death arrives will I die a believer or not?

A saying of Imam Baqir (‘a) says, “The first degree of Faith is in one whom every sin make him restless and whom every good deed gladdens. He indeed is a believer.” This shows that he believes in divine reward and punishment in the Hereafter, especially when admonished. It shows that he is receptive to admonitions and thus obviously there still is life in his heart. There are many examples where man is oblivious of imminent dangers.

The best one is quoted by Shaykh Sadooq (r.a.) from the religious authorities. Let us see what the parable says and apply it to ourselves. Temporal well and drinking delight with a thousand stings A man passing through a forest fell down in a well.