Our friends should also be religious and inclined to do good deeds.

Our friends should also be religious and inclined to do good deeds. They should also be polite and good-mannered. A wicked friend will draw one to ill-conduct. Also a friend should be personally inclined to be our friend, and be a real friend. We have been admonished against cheating or tricking our friends by Imam Sajjad . There is a chapter on this subject in Usul al-Kafi .

We read the following in the first tradition of this chapter: “The Commander of the Faithful said: لَولا أنَّ المَكْرَ وَالخَديعَةَ في النّارِ لَكُنتُ أمْكَرَ النّاسِ. “Were it not that guile and deceit resulted in the Fire (of Hell), I would have been the most guileful of people.” [^4] A deceitful person is not an intelligent one. Being deceitful implies acting opposite to what you are thinking.

In the third tradition in this chapter we read: Imam Sadiq quoted on the authority of God’s Prophet : لَيسَ مِنّا مَن ماكَرَ مُسْلِماً “One who is deceitful to a Muslim is not from us.” [^5] The Commander of the Faithful said the following regarding those who lie: يَنبَغِي للرَّجُلِ المُسلِمِ أنْ يجْتَنِبَ مُؤاخَاةَ الكَذّابِ، فإنَّهُ يَكْذِبُ حَتىّ يجِيءَ بالصِّدْقِ فَلا يُصَدَّقُ..

“A Muslim should avoid becoming friends with a liar, for he will lie until when he finally tells the truth, he will not be believed.” [^6] In short, a good friend is one of the best blessings of God. He has certain rights incumbent upon us. We should not oppress him by telling him lies, or cheating him. Each friend must honor the rights of his friends. [^1]: Bihar al-Anwar, v.74, p.185. [^2]: Ibid. p.188. [^3]: Sharh-i-Risalat al-Huquq, Ghopanchi, v.2, p.289. [^4]: Usul al-Kafi, v.2, p.336.

[^5]: Ibid. p.337. [^6]: Bihar al-Anwar, v.74, p.341. Previous…

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