This work is a testimony to the truth of Shahid...

This work is a testimony to the truth of Shahid Mutahhari’s[^1] remark that ‘irfan and ethics are both concerned with the improvement of character, but from different perspectives. In ethical works one finds a description of virtues and vices and moral prescriptions and proscriptions, while in ‘irfani works one finds a description of a process through which the soul moves toward Allah and acquires virtues corresponding to the divine attributes along the way.

The way of moral reform advocated by Imam Khomeini is a process of spiritual development in which the adept learns to conquer and then lose interest in his worldly desires and become totally devoted to God. This process is described as a journey toward Allah, a journey which holds a central place in ‘irfan , which may be considered the kernel of Islam.

This journey is described in different ways and from a variety of viewpoints in the poetry of the Sufis, in the transcendent philosophy of Mulla Sadra, [^2] and in the poetry and teachings of Imam Khomeini, as well. Although the present work consists of speeches delivered to the students at Najaf, the moral advice given is particularly pertinent for all Muslims in the contemporary situation of discord and confusion.

Imam Khomeini advises the seminarians to abandon their quarrelling, which only serve as an opportunity for mischief on the part of the enemies of Islam. In the Islamic world today, we also observe that the opponents of the Islamic movement take advantage of disputes among Muslims. Imam reminds the students that they do not possess sufficient wealth and power to make these things worth fighting over even according to the standards of materialism.

Parallel remarks are appropriate for the Muslim world as a whole, given the poverty and powerlessness which characterized the vast masses of the Islamic ummah . Imam sanctions the students that they should take heed of the fact that the major purpose of the prophets and the Imams has been spiritual progress and moral improvement, and that the students must not content themselves with learning a few terms of Islamic jurisprudence. The same warning should be heeded by contemporary Muslims.

We must not content ourselves with a handful of slogans and the performance of a few rituals, but must take steps for spiritual and moral growth.