ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Characteristics of a Muslim The Characteristics of a Believer The Holy (s) describes the believer in his sermon: “Blessed is he who earns his living through lawful ways and he whose inward status is good, outward is decent; spends his surplus wealth in charity; abstains from excessive talking; people remain safe of (any) evil from him; he treats others with justice.

Surely whoever believes in Allah fears Him, and whoever fears Allah guards himself against the evils of this world.”[^1] Let us ponder on the meanings, thoughts, and instructions of these everlasting words of the Glorious Messenger of Allah (s) in order to understand and apply them in our daily life.

We can learn morals, good behaviour, laws, and a whole system of life from (s) who made clear the right path for us in order to guide us, so that we could purify ourselves and inform the rest of society. Surely, the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (s) wanted, through his sermon, to teach us various things.

Among them are: That congratulations are for the servant of Allah, who makes his living through lawful means and does righteous deeds; and, as the result, he leads a fulfilling and successful life both in this world and in the hereafter. The Messenger (s) certainly wants us to earn our living through lawful ways and avoid what is unlawful. That congratulations are for whoever improves his moral behaviour.

Indeed, happiness and a good life are found where there are good morals and other people are treated well. These are well-known attributes of a believer and of a praiseworthy character. Congratulations thus are for whoever improves his own character and thus improves his life. In the sermon, Holy (s) praises faithful men who are simple-hearted, i.e.

he who bears no evil in his heart towards anyone nor is hypocritical, hasty or deceitful, but whose heart is pure and his self is cleansed against any filth or evil. The believer of whom the Messenger (s) praises his character and attributes is also the one who spends whatever he can out of his own wealth in charitable and benevolent programmes, and deeds, seeking Allah's pleasure.

A believer is the one who strives to obtain his living through lawful means and not depend on others, dissatisfied with unemployment and squandering time. He uses his income thriftily on himself and provides for his family according to their needs, while he spends the rest in the cause of Allah.