ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Ethical Discourses: Volume 1 Discourse 18: Characteristics of a True Believer– Part V In our previous discussions, we had narrated a tradition from the Noble Prophet (S) which he spoke to 'Ali (as) in which he listed the characteristics of a true believer. Twenty-two of these characteristics have been explained, and now we go through four more of the one hundred and three characteristics.

أَحْلى مِنَ الشَّهَدِ وَ أَصْلَدَ مِنَ الصَّلَدِ، لاَ يَكْشِفُ سِرّاً ولاَ يَهْتِكُ سِتْراً… ”(The complete true believer is one who) is sweeter than honey; and is stronger than the outside of a rock; and who does not expose the secrets that people confide in him; and if he himself finds out something about other people, he does not expose this information.” The twenty-third characteristic of a true believer is that he is sweeter than honey, meaning that interaction with him is something pleasant.

Looking at the lives of the A`immah, especially the life of 'Ali (as), it is commonly known that sitting in his presence and any sort of interaction that others had with him was always something pleasant, as he was a person who had a sense of humor and always spoke with grace.

Some people believe that the more holy or pious a person is, the more stern and harsh he must be, whereas we see that the things which actualyl make a person progress in various areas such as politics, society, culture, etc… and which also play a very important role in his life, is his pleasant interaction and demeanor with others. Sometimes, the most difficult of tasks can be solved through pleasant interaction which is full of love and tenderness and carried through with a cheerful face.

It is through such interaction that the knots of enmity can be loosened and in which displeasures are removed. In addition, the fire of anger can be put out and chaos and confusion between individuals can be controlled. The Prophet (S) has stated: أَكْثَرُ مَا تَلِجُ بِهِ أُمَّتِي الْجَنَّةَ تَقْوى اللٌّهِ وَ حُسْنُ الْخَلْقِ.

“The most (important) of things which will bring my Ummah closer to Paradise are Taqwa of Allah and having a good disposition.”[^1] The twenty-fourth characteristic is that he is stronger than the outside covering of a rock.

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