In this part of the tradition...

In this part of the tradition, the Prophet (S) has mentioned that the first characteristic of a true believer is in relation to his thoughts - and this shows the importance of thought in Islam. The greatest act for a true believer is to continuously be in thought, and as it is said that the form of worship that Abu Dharr performed the most was thought and contemplation.

If we seriously think about the outcome of the events (before we perform them) then we would not fall into the difficulties that we are in today. The second characteristic that has been mentioned is the remembrance of Allah (SwT) out loud - in some versions of the tradition the word [جوهري] has been replaced with the word [جهوري] - however both mean out loud. In our opinion, both forms (of the tradition) relate to the fact that the remembrance of Allah (SwT) should be performed out loud.

It should be noted that by performing the remembrance of Allah (SwT) out loud, this does not go against the intention of doing this act simply for the pleasure of Allah (SwT), since in the Islamic legislation, we have been commanded to remember Allah (SwT) both out loud and also quietly. In addition, we have also been told to give the Sadaqah and Zakat both privately and also in the open and each of these has their own benefit and advantage.

When these acts are done in the open (for others to know about) it is a form of tabligh or propagation of the teachings of the religion; whereas when they are done in private and secrecy, it also brings about a special spiritual effect to the person. The third characteristic of the true believer is that he has abundant knowledge.

It has been mentioned in the traditions that the Divine reward that is given to a person (for one's acts of worship) is based on their level of knowledge and intelligence. Thus, it is possible that one person prays a two Rak'at Salat and another person performs one hundred Rak'at of Salat, however the person who performed two Rak'at may actually receive more Divine reward than the other person. In reality worship has a coefficient and the coefficient of worship is knowledge and intelligence.

The fourth characteristic of the true believer is that he has a graet deal of forbearance. By this we mean that just as his knowledge is vast, his forbearance too is great. A scholar interacts quite frequently with people within his society and if he does not possess forbearance, then he will definitely fall into troubles.