The Qurān even says that man has been given only a little bit of knowledge.

The Qurān even says that man has been given only a little bit of knowledge.[^10] Obtaining Correct Ethical Traits Man, from childhood, begins to be attracted to certain things, for example milk and toys. Eventually, he becomes attracted to money and he finds a sense of self-love. A child struggles to get what he wants, delicious food or interesting toys, and shows a negative reaction when denied what he wants.

Purifying Comes Before Teaching The Qurān mentions two verses[^11] regarding the Prophet's duties. The word purifying has been mentioned before teaching in these two verses. The reason for this might be that one must build the foundation before he can fill the house with knowledge.

A person who has knowledge, but does not act upon it, is, as the Qurān says, like a dog.[^12] The Qurān also likens him to a donkey that carries books.[^13] Theoretical And Practical Ethics One can obtain good ethical traits by both theory and practice. One who wants to rid himself of bad ethical traits and obtain good ethical traits must know what good and bad characteristics are. After he knows the good and bad traits he should take advice from the best ethical teachers, (S) and the (a).

A point that must be mentioned is that Allah is the one who purifies people. So, one must ask Allah for help in obtaining these traits. Imām Sādiq (a) said: “Whoever has these great ethical traits should thank Allah, and whoever does not have them should ask Allah for them.”[^14] The Importance That Shahīd Dastghayb Gave To Lectures On Islamic Ethics The martyr had a special desire to help the seminary students purify themselves. He would teach Islamic ethics every Thursday.

He would tell them that they would have to be the role models of the Islamic ethical system in the society and that the more they worked on themselves, the more they worked on society. This is because one must guide people with their actions and manners before their words. After Imām Khomeini (r) talked about the importance of unity between the university and the religious seminary, Shahīd Dastghayb invited university students to his Thursday lectures as well.

Many young men and women accepted his invitation and took part in his lectures every week. Thirteen lectures were given and then the class was cancelled due to summer vacation. Shahīd Dastghayb wanted to continue them, but the hypocrites took him away from us. This book is a collection of these lectures.