It has been related by the master of traditions, Abu Muhammad al-Hassan ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, in his monumental work, Tuhaf al-’Uqul (The Masterpieces of the Intellects) that the 7th Imam of the Prophet’s household (Ahl al-Bayt), Abu Ibrahim Musa ibn Ja’far al-Kazim said the folowing:

“Try to divide your time into four parts. The first part should be dedicated to (secret) supplication to Allah, the second to seeking livelihood, the third to associating with friends and trustworthy people who remind you of your faults and treat you sincerely, and the fourth to your lawful amusements. Through the last part, you can manage the other three parts.

Do not think of poverty and longevity of life. He who thinks of poverty will be stingy and he who thinks of longevity of life will be acquisitive. Offer a share of the worldly pleasures of this life to yourselves by moderately enjoying the lawful amusements that do not injure your personalities. Make such pleasures help you fulfill your religious duties perfectly. It is said that, ‘As for those who neglect the lawful worldly pleasures completely and adhere to the the religious duties or who neglect the religious duties and enjoy the worldly affairs, they are not from us.”

He also said, “Seek understanding of the religion, for understanding (fiqh) is the key to intelligence, the perfection of worship, and the means to high standing and respectful positions in this world and in the next world. The merit (fadhl) of the knowledgeable (faqih) over the worshipper is like the merit of the (visibility of the) sun over the stars (kawakib). Allah will not accept the deeds of those who do not seek understanding of the religion (din).”

Imam Abu Hanifah (founder of the Hanafi school) related, “After I had performed the Hajj, I went to Madinah to visit Abu ‘Abdullah as-Sadiq (peace be upon him). I entered his courtyard and sat in the entrance waiting for his permission. After a while, a male toddler went out. ‘O boy,” I said, ‘where should the stranger excrete in your country?’

“The boy asked for a moment, while he leaned against a wall and then spoke, ‘You should be away from riversides, places where fruits fall, yards of mosques, and roadbeds. You should also hide against a wall, lift up your garment, avoid turning your face or back to the Qiblah, and then you can excrete anywhere.’

“I highly admired the boy’s answer, so I asked him his name.

“He answered, ‘I am Musa ibn Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.’

“I then asked him about the source of acts of disobedience towards Allah. He answered, ‘The source of any sin is unquestionably one of three: either it is from Allah, from Allah and His servant, or entirely from the servant. If Allah is the source of sins, and He is not, then it is improper for Him to punish the servants for what they did not commit. If Allah and the servants are together in committing the sin, and this is also not accurate, then it is improper for the stronger partner to wrong the weaker partner. If, however, the servant is the source of the sins, and this is quite accurate, then the Lord may pardon out of His generosity or punish for the commitment of such a sin.’

“After I had heard this, I left before I had a chance to meet Abu ‘Abdullah, since that answer was sufficient for me.”

Once, Imam al-Kazim passed by an ugly villager, greeted him, sat with him, talked with him for a considerable time, and then asked him to settle his needs when he would be in need of him. Later, some people said to him, “O son of the Messenger of Allah, how can you sit with this one and ask him to settle your needs, while he is the one in need of you?”

The Imam answered, “He was one of Allah’s servants, a brother in the Book of Allah, and a neighbor in the land of Allah. He and we enjoy the same great father, Adam (peace be upon him), and the same great religion that is al-Islam. Perhaps, our needs will someday be in his hand, and we will have to sit modestly before him.”

Imam al-Kazim then recited a poetic verse: “We regard even those who do not deserve our regard so that we will not be friendless.”

And he (peace be upon him) said, “Only the sufferers of injustice can realize its intensity.”

The Beatnik Sufis have offered some much-needed advice on this perplexing topic.

Read the whole thing here.

I’ve decided to take a trip down memory lane. Over the years, OneUmmah.net has undergone numerous design changes. You can also take a look at how my style of designing has changed. I’ve always preferred more simplistic, accessible web site designs, but I’ve also tried to make them look reasonably good.

OneUmmah.net in 1999:

OneUmmah.net in 2001:

OneUmmah.net in 2002 or 2003:

OneUmmah.net in 2006:

The great companion Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

“While I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his family, he put al-Husayn (peace be upon him) on his lap and played with him, and then he, may Allah bless him and his family, said, ‘Jabir, a son will be born for him, and the son will be called ‘Ali. A caller will call out on the Day of Judgment: ‘Let Sayyid al-’Abidin (the chief of worshippers) stand up.’ So, his son will stand up. Then a son will be born for him, and the son will be named Muhammad. When you meet him, recite my greetings to him.’”(Wasilat al-Mal fi ‘Abd Manaqib al-Al, p. 7).

“Jabir proclaimed this tradition, and he also met Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him), and recited those greetings to him, and the latter was delighted about it.

“The historians have mentioned the Imam’s physical features and qualities as follows: “‘Ali ibn al-Husayn was brown, short, thin, and gentle. (Nur al-Abbsar, p. 36, Akbar al-Diwal, p. 109, Al-Sirat al-Sawi fi Manaqib Al al-Nabi, p. 192). When he became old, he became thin and weak. This is because he worshipped Allah constantly. Moreover, the tragedy of Karbala drowned him in sorrow and pain, for its terrors accompanied him until he met the Highest Comrade (i.e. Allah).”

Abu Ja’far Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said of his father, “When ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn mentioned Allah’s favor towards him, he prostrated himself in prayer. (When he) read a verse with the prostration of the Book of Allah, the Great and Almighty, he prostrated himself in prayer. When Allah drove away from him a misfortune which he was afraid of, he prostrated himself in prayer. The marks of prostration were prominent on the parts on which he prostrated, so he was called al-Sajjad.” (Wasa’il al-Shi’a, vol 4, p. 977)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said, “One day I happened to see my father, I saw him (completely) immersed and (thoroughly preoccupied) in the prayers and with all the attention towards God. His color was faded and his eyes were sore and red due to weeping, his feet were swollen by (prostration) and legs, and knees had developed corns. I said humbly “Oh father, why do you loose your self control during the prayers and put yourself in such an inconvenience and discomfort. My father wept and said, “Oh son however and whatsoever amount of prayers I perform even then it is meager and very little as compared to the prayers of your grandfather, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.”

Imam Zain-ul-Abidin (A.S.), like his grandfather, was busy in cultivating land and palm date orchards. He offered two Rakat of prayer near each palm date tree. During the prayers he would get himself so absorbed that he did not have any attention towards anything except God. He traveled to Mecca, on foot, twenty times. And continuously guided and conducted people through the attractive melody of the Qur’anic verses.

Excerpts from The Life of Imam Zayn al-’Abidin by Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi.