ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Ethics Lecture 3: Prophets and Religious Laws Were Sent For Mankind Imām Khomeini repeated the following a few times this past week. He said that university students must be polished. The seminary students must also be polished, because if they are not polished they would be dangerous and corrupt. If they do not become polished they will not benefit the society at all.

The unpolished doctor, engineer or mujtahid is not only corrupt, but he makes others corrupt as well. The religion and laws that all of the prophets brought down is for man. The Qurān wants man to purify himself; to know himself and his evil traits. Then it wants man to correct them. Knowing One’s Self Will Help In Ridding One’s Self Of Animalistic Characteristics Polishing one's self means purifying one's self. What should a person purify himself from?

He should purify himself from animalistic characteristics, from animalistic habits. When he becomes purified from these characteristics he understands that he is nothing more than his soul as well as that he was made for another world. He must travel to the next world. He will feel a responsibility to remain pious. As long as one has animalistic characteristics he will consider himself to be an animal. In reality he is like an animal.

Greed, stinginess, hypocrisy, anger, and seeking power are some of the animalistic characteristics. It is impossible for one, with these characteristics, to know himself and know that he is made for another world. For example, the materialists and communists consider themselves to be one with the animals. They think that the end of life is death. Others are for you and you are for Allah People say, with certainty, that man must be free just like animals.

How little knowledge they have about themselves that they consider themselves one with the animals! Quadrupeds were created for man.[^1] Everything on this earth was created for man.[^2] Man's station of existence is higher than that of material things. Everything was created for man and man was created for Allah. One must be certain that he is something other than this material body in order to purify himself. How would one be able to realize his faults and their cures if he does not know this?

For this reason we will discuss the immateriality of the soul. Why Doesn’t A Dead Body Have Feelings? The soul is what feels; flesh, skin, veins, bones and organs are created for the soul.