Chapter 12: Miscellaneous Topics
Science of Hadith
672. What is the science of hadith (ʿilm al-ḥadīth)?
Answer: It is the same as fiqh al-ḥadīth (understanding of hadith), which is concerned with the signification of content (matn) and authenticity of transmission (sanad).
673. Would it be possible to study it without a teacher?
Answer: Yes, you can start without a teacher.
674. How?
Answer: If you start reading and comparing similar traditions, you will learn many new things.
675. Is a tradition with a single transmitter (khabar al-wāḥid) or one that is not mass-transmitted (mutawātir) authoritative in establishing religious beliefs?
Answer: A tradition with a single transmitter is only authoritative in substantiating practical rulings, but it isn’t authoritative in doctrinal matters, even though its transmission may be authentic. Such traditions must be either mass-transmitted or accompanied by indubitable evidence.
676. What is the difference between the Holy Qur’an and hadith?
Answer: The Holy Qur’an, in terms of form and meaning, is divine revelation, as God says: Thus We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an (); It is not [possible] for any human that Allah should speak to him except through revelation or from behind a curtain, or send a messenger who reveals by His permission whatever He wills (). The Holy Qur’an is an instance of or send a messenger who reveals by His permission (), where the Messenger of God received the divine revelation through Gabriel, the angel of revelation.
In contrast, hadith is regarded as divine revelation only in terms of meaning and content, but its form and wording are by the Messenger of God or the other Infallibles. It is to be noted that hadith is not uttered by the Infallibles out of their desires, but it is based on divine revelation, as reflected in these verses: Nor does he speak out of [his own] desire. It is just a revelation that is revealed [to him] ().
677. Consider a case where the lawfulness or purity of something is not certain, so one follows the Islamic legal ruling that such things should be treated as lawful and pure. If it so happens that in the fact of the matter the thing was unlawful or impure, would that have the cosmologically inevitable negative impact of using something unlawful and impure? Would it cause darkness of the heart?
Answer: When someone acts upon one’s religious duty and, for instance, partakes of some food which is regarded as pure and permissible to eat, the person will not be afflicted by any inward darkness or distance from God. The reason is that God—Who is the Wise Legislator of religion—would never make something permissible if it leads to inner darkness, deprives one of reward, results in punishment, or distances one from the Truth. The criterion for proximity to God and for the illumination of the heart is obedience, and obedience means acting upon one’s religious duty.
Knowledge and Scholars
678. There is a hadith which says: “Upon the emergence of innovations (sing. bidʿah), if a scholar is inquired and he fails to guide the inquirer, God’s curse shall be upon that scholar.” What is your opinion about this tradition?
Answer: There is no such qualification as “if a scholar is inquired.” Rather, God curses scholars who don’t reveal their knowledge upon the emergence of innovations.
679. What is intended by the [prophetic] tradition: “One who memorizes forty traditions, having at heart the best interest of my nation (ummah), God will raise him as a man of deep religious knowledge on the Day of Resurrection”?
Answer: Its apparent and literal meaning is intended.
680. What virtue is there in memorizing narrations like a tape recorder, while lacking knowledge and/or practice?
Answer: The point of this tradition is precisely to mention the virtue of memorization.
681. What about non-Muslims who memorize traditions? Is it regarded a virtue for them?
Answer: Such virtue is Muslims’ prerogative.
682. Are the rewards and virtues mentioned in such traditions dependent on the memorizer’s Godwariness (taqwá)?
Answer: No. Rather, doing such deeds [like memorizing forty traditions in the interest of the Muslim community] is itself a kind of Godwariness and constitutes one of its degrees.
Anthropomorphism
683. Are anthropomorphists (mujassimah) heretics?
Answer: One who utters the two testimonies of faith and doesn’t deny anything which is regarded by him as a basic principle of religion should be regarded a Muslim, not a disbeliever.
684. Are there any anthropomorphists among contemporary Sunni denominations?
Answer: The majority of Ḥanbalīs (Ḥanbalites) are anthropomorphists. Ibn Taymiyyah, the founder of Wahhabism, was also an anthropomorphist. It’s reported that once he was inquired on the pulpit, “Do you agree that God descends from the heaven to the world on Friday nights?” He replied, “He descends to the sky of the world like this”—and he descended from the steps of the pulpit one by one to demonstrate it.
Sunni Islam
685. How many traditions have been narrated from the Messenger of God in Sunni sources?
Answer: Approximately 250 traditions have been narrated in Sunni exegetical sources, and 500 traditions have been transmitted in Sunni jurisprudential sources from the Noble Prophet. However, 100 traditions out of the 500 jurisprudential traditions are either unsound in terms of content and signification, or weak in terms of transmission. Only 400 traditions are acceptable. The rest of their narrations trace back to Companions (ṣaḥābah) or their Followers (tābiʿīn) without specifying whom they are narrating from.
686. Is the consensus of Muslims on the caliphate of the two Shaykhs (shaykhayn; that is, the first two caliphs) authoritative, as claimed by the Sunnis?
Answer: This is an argument favored by them, but how may consensus be of any significance when God and His Messenger have appointed a successor? Islam supports the truth, and consensus about untruth is of no significance. The Holy Qur’an has also been revealed with truth. Governance in Islam is not a matter of democracy to be authorized by majority vote. No divine injunction is like that.
687. Were the two Shaykhs Muslims?
Answer: Yes, they were Muslims in the apparent sense. Nonetheless, there are two traditions saying, “If someone imagines that they took [even] a single step in the cause of Islam, he will not benefit from our [imams’] intercession.”
688. Was their lip service beneficial to them?
Answer: If you mean any benefit in the way of God and His Messenger, the answer is negative. These individuals, however, were sometimes put into use in certain circumstances. For instance, Abū Bakr was reportedly among a group of people who guarded the Prophet’s tent in the Battle of Badr. Similarly, ʿUthmān funded the mobilization of some warriors in the Battle of Tabūk. Nevertheless, these acts were not beneficial to them in a way that would please God and His Messenger. It is not reported if they struck a single blow on the enemy or killed or injured any of them in the 84 battles [which occurred during the Prophet’s ten years in Medina].
689. What is your opinion about the following two books by Sayyid Murtaḍá ʿAskarī: ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Sabāʾ wa Khamsūn Māʾah Ṣaḥābī Mukhtalaq (ʿAbd-Allāh b. Sabāʾ and Five Hundred Fictitious Companions) and al-Ruwāt al-Mukhtalaqūn (Fabricated Transmitters)?
Answer: They are invaluable and unequalled books. For instance, he makes mention of one transmitter of hadith which the Sunni scholars have described as “a lying heretic” (zindīq kadhdhāb). Then he quotes the traditions were this man is one of its transmitters from the books of the very Sunnis. Not only that, but he also enumerates a number of traditions that are narrated exclusively from this man.
Abū Ṭālib
690. Abū Ṭālib is reportedly endowed with a very high rank. For example: “He will intercede with God for others, and his light will brighten the Day of Resurrection such that his luminosity will be distinguished from that of Muḥammad and his Ahl al-Bayt. His light is from that of the Ahl al-Bayt, and it was created two thousand years before the creation of Adam.” Are these things correct about him?
Answer: Overall there is a positive view about him in the narrations. That much we can say.
691. Are these narrations sound?
Answer: What shall I say?
Miqdād vs. Salmān
692. It is reported in a tradition that when Imam ʿAlī was taken to the mosque to pledge allegiance to the newly appointed caliph, something occurred to Salmān, but nothing occurred to Miqdād.287 Considering the report according to which Salmān excelled Miqdād in terms of faith, how may this account be justified? Could we say that Miqdād excelled Salmān in having faith?
Answer: There are traditions to this effect.
693. What is intended by this tradition?
Answer: It may be justified by Salmān’s love for Ahl al-Bayt, since he was called as one of them. God knows best.
Longitude and Latitude
694. What are longitude and latitude in geography?
Answer: Longitude was formerly considered as the standard for measuring the distance of any city from the Khālidāt Islands (which have now sunk into the sea). Presently, longitude is the distance of any city from Greenwich in England, and latitude is the distance of any city from the equator, northwards or southwards.
695. How is the Indian Circle (dāʾirah Hindiyyah) drawn, whereby one can calculate the qiblah (direction of Mecca) in any city?
Answer: A circle is drawn on the ground and a bar is vertically placed in the middle of the circle. When the sun rises from the east, the shadow of the bar appears on the west, extending beyond the circle.
Figure 1
[As the sun rises higher, the shadow of the bar starts shrinking.] When the length of the shadow is as long as the radius of the circle and inclines towards the center, we should mark the point where the end of the bar touches the circumference of the circle, such as point A in Figure 2.
Figure 2
As the sun rises, the shadow shrinks towards the center of the circle. When the shadow inclines eastwards beyond the circle in the afternoon, we should mark the point where the shadow and the circumference meet on the other side (east), such as point B in Figure 3
Figure 3
Then, the two meeting points on the circle are joined by a chord, such as line A-B in Figure 4.
Figure 4
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Finally, a line is drawn from the center perpendicular to the chord, such as line C-D in Figure 5. This line is the meridian of that center.
Figure 5
696. Since the points where the sun rises and sets vary throughout the year, doesn’t it result in different longitudes for the same place?
Answer: No, it results in no difference. All chords will be parallel, and the vertical line from the center of the circle would touch all of them. The same vertical line that touches all parallel lines is the longitude of that city. Nonetheless, a compass may point to inaccurate directions, because: (1) The magnetic pole in Canada is different from the geographical North Pole. Their distance is approximately one thousand miles. (2) According to modern science, the magnetic field changes in time. This second point has been discussed in al-Mīzān.
The longitudes can also be calculated through time differences and radio announcements. For instance, when it’s in Tehran, it’s 2:00 in London, which means that the sun takes 2.5 hours to travel this distance. The longitudes of cities may thus be calculated by considering the fact that the sun moves 4 farsakhs [about 21.5 km] per minute. They were formerly computed by calculating lunar and solar eclipses. For instance, the onset of a solar eclipse was measured in London and Tehran, then the time difference between the two eclipses was calculated, and thereby the distances of cities could be computed by the course of the sun.
Government and Society
697. Sometimes it’s argued that “Islamic rulings are appealing, but they lack executive authority because Islamic governance was diverted from its right course.” Is this a sound argument?
Answer: That’s right. The change in the course of Islamic governance led to the effacement of executive authority of Islamic rulings. God Almighty says: Muḥammad is but a messenger; [other] messengers preceded him [in sequence]. If he dies or is slain, will you turn back on your heels? Anyone who turns back on his heels will not harm Allah in the least, and soon Allah will reward the grateful (). This verse is saying that it’s incumbent on Muslims to maintain the Islamic governance after the demise of the Messenger of God.
698. Could we say that Islamic governance should provide Islamic laws and rulings with executive authority?
Answer: That’s right. Islamic rulings are supposed to be enforced by the Islamic government. The above verse [] states that it’s incumbent on Muslims to maintain the religion and laws of Islam following the demise of the Messenger of God.
This verse was revealed after the Battle of Uḥud, when the majority of Muslim warriors fled from the arena. Meanwhile, Imam ʿAlī entertained no fear in his heart nor did he retreat because he was not influenced by Satan. A limited number of Muslims followed him, whom are referred to in the last part of the verse: and soon Allah will reward the grateful (). It should also be noted that the other religions are stripped of executive authority because they have declined and withered away after their initial rise.
699. Is Islamic government based on election by society?
Answer: In case of the imams, they’re appointed by God.
700. Why does Imam ʿAlī say in Nahj al-Balāghah, “I was appointed by a council”?
Answer: He said that only in an apparent sense. Otherwise, he was appointed by God, as declared by the Noble Prophet on the Day of Ghadīr. He was one of “those vested with authority” (ulū al-amr), who are entitled to issue commands, and it is incumbent on the people to obey them. They have this position whether the people recognize their imamate and leadership or not, even though they happen to be a child, as it was the case with Imam al-Jawād.
701. How should Islamic government be in the absence of the Infallible Imams?
Answer: It should be based on public interest (maṣlaḥah).
702. Is slavery recognized by Islam?
Answer: People have fallen captives in wars ever since the beginning of creation. An enemy wages war to completely uproot the other side. Thus the rule of reason has been to captivate them when they’re defeated in order to limit their activities and plans. Islam also recognizes taking captives under such circumstances [as a consequence of war]. Islam did not abolish it, and it cannot be abolished either. However, there have also been two other forms of slavery: (1) In Africa, the man was entitled to sell his wife and children. (2) Kings could take anyone as captive. These two forms of slavery were abolished by Islam, unlike the enslavement of prisoners of war, which can’t be abolished. Further, slavery still exists in Europe. They pretend to be against it, but it exists in other forms. In his testament, the Noble Prophet emphatically bid his followers to care for women and slaves: “It is incumbent on you to care for these two weak groups.”
Besides, slave owners are commanded in Islam to eat with their slaves, keep their company, consider them as members of their family, and never deprive them of the benefits of life. Once Imam ʿAlī bought two shirts, where he gave the better one to his slave Qanbar, and kept the other one for himself. Would Qanbar ever feel disgraced for being the slave of such a noble master? Would he ever wish to be freed?
703. In al-Mīzān you say, “Humans are not social by nature, but they are driven by necessity towards civilization and social life.” The Qur’an also says: O man! You are laboring towards your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter Him (). Based on this verse, could we say that while humans pursue absolute comfort, it is something that will be only actualized in the hereafter?
Answer: This verse has another meaning. It doesn’t prove that humans are not social by nature. Instead, the argument for that is based on the verse: Indeed man is most unfair and ungrateful (). That is, humans intend to subjugate all beings, including animals, plants, inanimate beings, and even other fellow humans. They would take advantage of all beings in order to meet their self-interest. All human beings are like that, but not everyone is able to subjugate the other beings. As a result, they have no choice but to succumb to social life, recognize the law, and respect the rights of other people.
Humans obey the law out of necessity, not out of willingness. The evidence for this is that whenever one is vested with power and authority, or when one is not being watched by others, he fails to abide by the law. Humans are in need of one another, as reflected in the verse: Is it they who dispense the mercy of your Lord? It is We who have dispensed among them their livelihood in the present life, and raised some of them above others in rank, so that some may take others into service (). It is narrated from Imam al-Hādī that social life may only be maintained when people are different in terms of degrees; “but if they were to become equal, they would perish.”
Hijab
704. Can we argue that hijab (Islamic dress code of modesty, especially for women) is obligatory (wājib) based on the Verse of Ḥijāb (veil, curtain): And when you ask anything of [his] womenfolk, ask it from them from behind a curtain. That is more chaste for your hearts and their hearts ()?
Answer: This verse’s expression does not convey obligation. Rather, it refers to the benefit and wisdom in hijab. It is similar in this sense to an expression about fasting: And to fast is better for you ().
705. Can we argue that hijab is obligatory based on this verse: O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw closely over themselves their veils (jalābīb) [when going out]. That makes it likely for them to be recognized and not be troubled ()?
Answer: Jalābīb is the plural form of jilbāb which indicates some piece of fabric, like chador, which thoroughly covers a woman’s body. To draw closely over themselves their veils implies that they are supposed to cover themselves with their chadors so that their womanly charms, like their breasts, would not be noticeable. Otherwise the delinquent oglers may take advantage of their appearance and harass them.
706. Given your answers above, is there any verse in the Qur’an which indicates that hijab is obligatory?
Answer: Here are the Qur’anic verses about hijab:
And they [Muslim women] should not display their charms (). “Their charms” implies attractive physical parts. This verse is saying that Muslim women are supposed to cover their charms and abstain from displaying them.
Tell the faithful men to cast down their looks and to guard their private parts (). This verse bids Muslim men to abstain from looking at what is unlawful, like the uncovered bodies of unrelated men and women, and to cover their private parts.
And tell the faithful women to cast down their looks and to guard their private parts (). Imam al-Ṣādiq said, “All Qur’anic verses regarding ‘guarding private parts’ imply adultery, except these verses [], which are about looking.” In other words, whenever the Qur’an makes mention of “guarding private parts” it means guarding them of adultery, except for the verse in question, which implies guarding private parts from being unlawfully looked at.
707. What is your opinion about hijab (Islamic dress code of modesty)?
Answer: Apparently what is intended is to be covered (satr).
708. Is covering intended in and of itself, or is it intended as a means of preventing the excitement of lusts, the ogling of wicked men, and the look of unrelated men at the beauties and charms of women?
Answer: Covering is intended in and of itself. It is obligatory for Muslim women to be covered when they leave their homes. It’s not merely intended as a means of preventing the stimulation of lusts, ogling, and the looks of unrelated men.
709. Is the Islamic law of hijab maintained by wearing close-fitting dresses that completely cover the body and are not sheer?
Answer: Dresses which delineate the body better and add to one’s beauty are not considered as Islamic covering and do not fulfill the Islamic law of hijab. According to Islamic law, if the shape of a woman’s body is visible in a dress, it’s not considered an acceptable covering.
710. If women use such close-fitting clothes to cover their physical parts where they wear their adornments (zīnah, lit. place of beauty), does it fulfill the verse: They [Muslim women] should not display their charms ()?
Answer: “A fair face needs no paint.” It’s not about adornment. The woman’s body is itself an adornment (lit. place of beauty). What the verse means is that Muslim women should not exhibit their beauty. Accordingly, wearing such close-fitting clothes—which make a display of charms and stimulates lustful desires even further—is not regarded as Islamic covering and hijab.
711. Is there something unique with chador (the veil) in fulfilling the law of hijab (Islamic dress code of modesty)?
Answer: What is meant by hijab is that women should not display the beauties and charms of their creation. There’s nothing special with wearing the chador; what matters is covering.
712. When you say, “There’s nothing special with wearing the chador,” could we say that covering is not meant per se, but it is meant as a means to prevent the excitement of lusts in men? We can support this by the fact that hijab is not obligatory for old women, exactly because they don’t arouse such desires.
Answer: It’s true that hijab is not obligatory for them. However, the stimulation of lusts is not the reason (ʿillah) for the legislation of this rule. Rather, it is one of the results or wisdoms (sing. ḥikmah) of this law.
Supernatural Acts and Special Times
713. Some Sunni Sufis regard themselves as following the truth while they perform extraordinary feats, like swallowing fire and glass shards. They claim that performing such feats proves the truth of their path. Do these things prove them right?
Answer: None of these things—like swallowing fire and glass shards, or thrusting a sword into one’s abdomen so that it sticks out of the back—proves the truth of one’s path. It’s reported that somebody used to swallow razor blades in France and the swallowed blades were seen in his digestive system by physicians. These acts are no sign of the truth.
A dervish once visited me on the Khākī Street near Gunbad-i Sabz in Mashhad. He said, “I haven’t come in contact with water for thirty years!” I asked him, “Don’t you make ablution (wuḍūʾ)?” He said, “We have long passed these stages!”
Is this the meaning of taqwá (piety, Godwariness)? Not every form of [apparent] disobedience can be counted as annihilation in God (fanāʾ). Such extraordinary acts can be achieved through devotion, but they can also be achieved through magic, occult sciences (ʿulūm gharībah), and self-mortification (riyāḍah). God’s prophets were also able to perform such feats. Meanwhile, falsehood can never resist the truth when it comes to confrontation. A certain Sunni Muslim made fire and passed through it [without being burned], and regarded it as a sign of truth of his denomination. In response, a tough free-spirited Shia—who had conviction about the truth of his way—followed the Sunni into the fire to show that his path was right. In that contest, the Shia came out whole, while the Sunni was burned by the fire.
714. What is intended by siḥr (sorcery, magic)?
Answer: God Almighty says: They bewitched the people’s eyes and overawed them, producing a tremendous magic (). This verse indicates that siḥr is a kind of illusory feat. Concerning Hārūt and Mārūt God says: But they [the Israelites] would learn from those two [Hārūt and Mārūt] that with which they would cause a split between man and his wife (). This verse shows that siḥr is a kind of psychic influence.
715. Is shaʿwadhah (conjuration, juggling) a kind of siḥr (sorcery, magic)?
Answer: No, it’s not.
716. Is exorcism a kind of siḥr?
Answer: No, it’s not.
717. Is hypnosis a kind of siḥr?
Answer: No, it’s not. It’s another form of psychic influence.
718. Are the extraordinary feats of dervishes and Sufis of Sanandaj who allege that the truth of their beliefs is proven by these acts (like swallowing glass shards and thrusting a sword into their abdomen so that it stick out from the back) instances of siḥr?
Answer: No, they’re not.
719. Once I inquired one of them, “How can you do these things?” He said, “Our shaykh in Sanandaj averts the harms of these acts from us.” Is this true?
Answer: In addition to that, sometimes the harmful effects of their acts are averted from them because of the person’s own soul and spiritual condition, or due to uttering lā ilāha illā Allāh (there is no god but Allah). Someone who had visited one of such sessions reported that as they were uttering this formula, someone arose and picked up the hot glass covering the oil lamp which was burning in the middle of the room, and then he chewed and swallowed it. After chewing and swallowing two more glass covers, he placed a sword vertically on the ground and threw his weight on it, and the sword blade passed through his abdomen and stuck out of his back. Then, he rose as if nothing had happened.
720. It is reported that once someone claimed to be a prophet during the time of Shaykh Bahāʾī. The Shaykh took him up some height and exercised magic, whereby a sea appeared to the man with a ship standing on its shore. The Shaykh asked the imposter to take the lead in embarking the ship. As he stepped into the illusory ship, he slipped off the cliff and died. Is there any truth in this story?
(ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī smiled with surprise and said) Where did you read this story?
(Then ʿAllāmah narrated the story of “the collyrium of invisibility” (surmah-yi khafāʾ) as follows)
Answer: One day when Shāh ʿAbbās was dining, he noticed that the food on the plate was being diminished despite the fact that he was alone. He notified Shaykh Bahāʾī of the strange happening, and the latter ordered some hay to be burned in that room. When the room was filled with smoke, someone appeared sitting there, rubbing his eyes!
721. Is it true that some people can stop the rain or shut the wolf’s mouth through supplication (duʿāʾ)?
Answer: About shutting the wolf’s mouth, it’s said that one can do so by reciting one of the small chapters of the Qur’an and blowing it at a pocket knife, and then folding its blade. It’s reported that once they did this, and then they saw a wolf came and rubbed its mouth against the sheep but could not hurt them because its mouth was shut.
722. Is there any grain of truth in the evil eye? Could someone or something be harmed by it?
Answer: Some narrations say, “The Evil eye is real.” However, its harm is contingent on God’s leave (idhn).
723. How does the evil eye work?
Answer: It’s the soul of the person, not the eye, which causes the harm. It is reported that once some people were digging a well, until they reached a huge rock that they couldn’t move. They sent for someone with such power [of the eye]. He cast a glance at the rock and said, “What a rock!” The rock shattered immediately.
(The inquirer quoted an antique dealer saying) I had an antique vessel which I had placed on a table in my shop. I noticed that someone passed by my shop and glanced at the vessel, which immediately fell off the table and shattered. The man came in right away, paid for the damage, and confessed, “I have an evil eye! It was because of my eye that the vessel dropped and broke.”
(ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī said) There were two eucalyptus trees at the house (of me or someone else). Once we had a guest who saw them and said in surprise, “Such wonderful trees!” But then both trees withered and died before long. However, the guest was a good man.
724. In truthful dreams when the soul observes imaginal forms, are these forms ascending or descending?
Answer: They are descending. The soul observes the [immaterial and transcendent] causes of events in the imaginal world (ʿālam al-mithāl) and the events appear to it through imaginal forms.
725. Is the belief in auspicious and inauspicious days consistent with religious beliefs?
Answer: It is narrated in reliable traditions that the days where Imam al-Ḥusayn and Prophet Muḥammad passed away are inauspicious, and the birth days of the Infallible Imams are auspicious. This pertains to the shariah, but a day itself—as a period of light between two periods of darkness—is neither auspicious nor inauspicious. It is to be noted that auguring ill (taṭayyur) is another issue which is also caused by the soul.
726. There are numerous traditions which say, “Whenever the moon is in Scorpio, that is an inauspicious time.” Does this inauspiciousness affect every act that takes place at that time?
Answer: Not necessarily. If one acts with God’s leave (idhn) and not on his own, his act may be exempt from such inauspiciousness. The impact of these events is not essential, inherent or independent [of God’s will].
727. Is there any credibility in what the astrologists say?
Answer: Some of what they say is invalid, like auspiciousness and inauspiciousness of days, which are not consistent with the apparent teachings of Islam. It is said in the Divan attributed to Imam ʿAlī that in his return from Ṣiffīn and en route to Nahrawān, an astrologer forbade him from departing on that day [based on his observations and calculations]. However, the Imam ignored the astrologer’s prognostication and replied to him through some lines of poetry. Meanwhile, some of what astrologists say is based on their experience, as found in some historical accounts.
For instance, it is narrated that once the late Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī reached a watermill on a journey and stayed there for the night. Since it was a clear night, he ordered his bed to be placed outdoors. The miller told him, “It’s better to sleep inside because it’s going to rain.” The Khwājah inquired, “How do you know?” “On the nights that are rainy” the miller explained, “my dog sleeps inside. Tonight I noticed that it has chosen to sleep inside.” The Khwājah made astrological calculations and said, “No, not tonight! It’s not going to rain.” Thus he slept outside. Before long, clouds appeared in the sky and it rained. So the Khwājah got up and moved inside, saying, “Thank God that my knowledge is even less than a dog’s!”
The End
Our last invocation is that all praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds!
Muḥammad Ḥusayn Rukhshād
TR: In other words, darkness of the heart is not a result of anything beyond one’s compliance with one’s legal duty, which, in some cases, follows the appearance as opposed to the fact of the matter. ↩︎
See al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 54; Wasāʾil al-Shīʿah, vol. 16, p. 299; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 2, p. 72, tradition 35, vol. 57, p. 234, tradition 188, vol. 108, p. 15, pp. 85, 118. ↩︎
This is indeed what the narrations say, as cited in the previous footnote. ↩︎
See al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 49, tradition 7; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 2, p. 156, traditions 8-10. ↩︎
See Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 35, p. 110, tradition 39, narrated from Kanz al-Fawāʾid. ↩︎
Al-Mīzān, vol. 1, pp. 335-337. ↩︎
Nahj al-Balāghah, Letter 6. ↩︎
See verses and . ↩︎
The “two weak groups” have been interpreted as women and orphans. See Wasāʾil al-Shīʿah, vol. 2, p. 168, tradition 25325, p. 170, tradition 25331, p. 174, tradition 25349; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 79, p. 268, traditions 4-5, vol. 79, p. 268, tradition 6, vol. 103, p. 224, tradition 7, p. 225, tradition 8, p. 226, tradition 14, p. 254. ↩︎
See Mustadrak al-Wasāʾil, vol. 3, p. 262; Daʿāʾim al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 157. ↩︎
Al-Mīzān, vol. 2, p. 117. ↩︎
Al-Tawḥīd, p. 308, tradition 2. ↩︎
Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 98, p. 82, tradition 2. Also see ibid., vol. 94, p. 190, tradition 3, vol. 98, p. 39, tradition 2. ↩︎
Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 63, p. 9, p. 18, traditions 6, 10, p. 25, tradition 20, p. 26, tradition 23, p. 39, tradition 32, vol. 95, p. 127, tradition 76, p. 132, tradition 12, vol. 63, p. 6, p. 17, tradition 3, p. 25, traditions 19, 22, p. 26, tradition 24, vol. 95, p. 127, tradition 6, p. 128, tradition 9. ↩︎
TR: The uncertainty is on the part of the compiler, Mr. Rukhshād. ↩︎
That is, having such power has nothing to do with the person’s good or bad character. There could be a pious believer with an evil eye. ↩︎
TR: A truthful dream (ruʾyā ṣādiqah) is one that reflects a reality, such as a forecast of future events. An ascending form (mithāl ṣuʿūdī) means an image that the soul abstracts from the world of matter. A descending form (mithāl nuzūlī) is one that exists independently in the imaginal world and then descends to the imaginative faculty of the soul. ↩︎
See ibid., vol. 45, p. 94, tradition 39, vol. 100, p. 140, tradition 10. ↩︎
TR: In other words, auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are rather a matter of legislative classification, not cosmological or existential descriptions. They are applicable in terms of religious dos and don’ts. ↩︎
See Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 50, p. 98, tradition 9, vol. 58, p. 198, tradition 36, p. 254, traditions 42-43, p. 268, traditions 53, 55, vol. 94, p. 357, tradition 1, vol. 100, p. 102, tradition 3, vol. 103, p. 274, tradition 28, p. 276, tradition 38, p. 277, tradition 46. ↩︎
See Nahj al-Balāghah, Sermon 79; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 33, p. 362, tradition 596, vol. 58, p. 257, tradition 50. ↩︎