Jami al-sa'adat(11)
13. Rebelliousness

Generosity is necessary when carrying out such obligatory duties (wajibat) as paying khums and zakat, providing for one's wife and children, incurring expenditures for hajj (pilgrimage) and so on. It is also necessary in carrying out the recommended duties (mustahabbat), such as helping the poor, giving presents, giving parties in order to create or solidify ties of friendship or kinship, giving loans, giving more time to debtors in financial hardship, providing clothes and housing for the needy, spending what is necessary to safeguard one's honour or to alleviate injustice, and contributing to expenditures for such public facilities as mosques, bridges, etc.

7. Illegitimate earning

This vice consists of amassing wealth in an illegitimate manner without caring to avoid haram and forbidden means of earning. This vice is caused by greed and the love of the world, and results in moral deterioration and the loss of human dignity. Several verses of the Holy Quran and many traditions severely warn about approaching haram means of income and remind of the dire consequences of it.

It must be kept in mind that wealth is of three kinds: 1. That which is purely halal (legitimately acquired). 2. That which is totally haram (illegitimately earned). 3. That which is mixed up of both haram and halal earnings.

What is halal is usable and what is either haram or of doubtful origin (mushtabah) must be avoided. Haram things are of many kinds, such as pork or dog's flesh, alcoholic drinks, all those things whose consumption may harm the body, anything gained through force, injustice, or theft, earnings made through unlawful practices, such as cheating in weight or hours of work, hoarding, bribery, usury, and all other illegitimate means which have been described in detail in the books on Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence).

The opposite of earning through haram means is abstinence from all forms of haram practices (wara` an al-haram). This virtue can gradually become a habit in the individual through the exercise of self restraint, so that he will ultimately be able to abstain from even those things which are mushtabah (i.e. of doubtful legitimacy). A prophetic tradition says:

Whoever lives on halal earnings for forty days, God shall enlighten his heart and cause springs of wisdom to emanate from his heart flowing to his tongue.

8. Treachery (Khiyaniah)

Treachery is another type of the vices belonging to the Power of Passion. Treachery may occur in regard to money or as a violation of trust. It may occur in regard to honour, power, or position. The opposite of treachery is trustworthiness ('amanah), which also applies to all things mentioned about treachery; that is, one's property and possessions, which are Divine trusts; one's family, one's position, the authority and power one wields. One must always remember that all of the things mentioned are blessings of God, accompanied by specific responsibilities, violation of which amounts to treachery. The wise Luqman has been quoted as saying:

I did not attain my station of wisdom except through truthfulness and fulfillment of trust.

9. Licentiousness and Profligacy

These include such vicious practices as adultery, fornication, sodomy, intoxication, and all other forms of extravagance-all of which arise out of the Power of Passion, and drag man down into a beastly mode of life. There are numerous Quranic verses, traditions and narratives in condemnation of this sort of behaviour, mentioning of which is unnecessary since they are widely known.

10. Delving in Obscene and Haram Matters

This vice consists of discussing unlawful and haram actions, relishing such talk, and exchanging obscene jokes and stories not befitting human dignity and station. Since the haram and obscene is of many kinds, delving in them can also be classified variously.

In order to be freed of this vice, one must control and limit his talk, and speak only of such matters as would please God. The Holy Quran quotes the inmates of hell as saying:

And we used to plunge [in vain talk] with the plungers. (74:45)

And in another verse, it warns against organizing parties for such purposes:

...do not sit with them [who disbelieve and mock] until they plunge in some other talk ....(4:140)

One of the many forms this vice takes is delving in futile and frivolous matters-discussions which are of no benefit whatsoever either in this world or the next. Moreover, such talk involves waste of one's time and is an obstacle to useful contemplation and thought. This is why the virtue of silence has been upheld in opposition to this vice. And what is meant by `silence' here is not that one should be permanently taciturn, but rather that one should protect his tongue and ears from useless and nonsensical talk. In other words, one should be careful in speech, saying only those things that are beneficial to both our worldly existence and our Hereafter. The wise have said: "Two things can destroy a man: too much wealth and garrulousness. "The Prophet (S) said:

Blessed is he who is frugal in speech and generous with regard to his possessions.

Joint Diseases of the Powers of Intellect, Anger, and Passion

The fourth section of the book deals with vices relating to combinations of any two of the Powers, Intellect, Anger, and Passion, or all three of them, and the methods of treating them. There are thirty-one of such vices. This discussion, which deals with a large number of vices and virtues and which contributes to the subject matter of most books on ethics, covers half of the total length of the Jami` al-Sa`adat. In order to keep ourselves within limits appropriate to this summary, we shall confine ourselves to a brief discussion of the points raised in this section of the book.

1. Jealousy (Hasad)

Hasad consists of a desire to see someone's advantage or blessing taken away from him. If one simply aspires to have the same advantage as someone else, this would be ghibtah (envy), and if one has the desire to see someone continue enjoying an advantage or a blessing, which he deserves, this would be nasihah. That which is a vice amongst all these states, is hasad, which makes man deserve chastisement both in this world and the next. The jealous person knows no peace, and is always burning in the fire of jealousy. Moreover his jealousy destroys the value of all of his good works, as mentioned in a prophetic tradition:

Jealousy consumes virtues as fire consumes wood. However, both ghibtah and nasihah are virtues, which must be nourished by cleansing the soul from the vice of hasad. The fatal disease of hasad may proceed either from the Power of Passion or the Power of Anger, or both of them, depending on what motivates it. Thus, in order to cure it, we must concentrate our attention on these two Powers, and what we have already said about various diseases associated with these Powers also applies to the disease of jealousy.

What can best help the individual to cure himself of this disease is to contemplate the negative psychological and spiritual effects of jealousy, which affect only the jealous person himself, not him who is the object of jealousy. Moreover, the jealous individual should try to create within himself the virtue of nasihah (wishing the welfare of others), which is the opposite of jealousy. At the beginning, it may be necessary for him to impose upon himself the attitude necessitated by this virtue, notwithstanding his inner inclination to the contrary, until jealousy is overcome and nasthah becomes an established trait of his character.

2. Harassing and Insulting Others

This kind of behaviour is usually caused by jealousy and enmity, although it may also be rooted in greed (hasad), avarice (tama'), pride (takabbur), etc. Thus, its source is either the Power of Anger or the Power of Passion, or both. In any case, harassment and. insulting of other Muslims is a major sin, and has been repeatedly condemned both in Quranic verses and traditions:

And those who hurt believing men and believing women, without that they have earned it, they bear the guilt of slander and manifest sin. (33:58)

And in a tradition attributed to the Prophet (S) we read:

Whoever hurts a believer, hurts me; whoever hurts me, hurts God: and whoever hurts God is the accursed of Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Quran. (from Jami' al-akhbar)

On the other hand, stopping someone from harassing and insulting others is a worthy act praised in several traditions, of which the following prophetic hadith is an example.

Whoever removes an annoying hurdle from the path of Muslims, God shall write for him a virtue, whose reward is Paradise. (Ihya`ulum al-din, vol. II, p. 172)

3. Frightening and Bothering Muslims

This kind of behaviour is a branch of the above-mentioned vice, and is caused by either anger, ill-temperedness, or avarice. Its opposite is making others happy and removing their cause of sorrow or anxiety. There are numerous traditions in praise of this virtue, such as the following from the Prophet (S):

Indeed the most beloved action near God, the Almighty, is to make the believers happy.

4. Indifference to the Affairs of Muslims

Being indifferent to the affairs of Muslims is a moral vice caused by lethargy, spiritual weakness, or miserliness. This vice is condemned in numerous traditions, an example of which is the following wellknown statement of the Prophet (S):

He who wakes up without any concern for the affairs of Muslims, is not a Muslim; and he who hears the cry, `O Muslims!' without responding is not a Muslim.

On the contrary, to meet the needs of the Muslims and to solve their problems is considered as one of the noblest forms of worship. The Prophet is reported to have said:

An hour covered on foot, at night or during day, in the effort to help one's brother meet his need, is better than two months of i`tikaf (spiritual retirement), regardless of whether or not one succeeds in one's effort.

5. Negligence in Carrying Out the Duty of "Al-amr bil ma'ruf wal nahy 'an al-munhar"

Failure to carry out the duty of al- amr bil-ma`ruf wal-nahy `an il munkar is an unforgivable sin caused either by moral weakness or lack of attention to one's religious duties, and results in the spread of immorality, corruption, injustice, and other forms of indecency throughout society.

"Commanding others to do their Divine duties and forbidding them from committing illegitimate deeds" is an obligatory duty of every Muslim, and has stages and conditions which have been explained in detail in books dealing with Islamic fiqh.

Since what we are concerned with here are the individual's duties with regard to his relationship with others, this brief mention of this duty is sufficient.

6. Unsociableness

This vice is caused either by hostility, vengefulness, jealousy, or miserliness, and, therefore, it belongs either to the Power of Passion, or the Power of Anger. It has been condemned in numerous traditions.

The opposite of this vice is the virtue of sociability, hospitality and friendliness, which is conductive to expansion of warm, brotherly relations throughout the community. This virtue is highly recommended by Islam.

7. Breaking Ties with One's Family and Kin

This vice is a branch of unsociableness, but is far uglier and more harmful. The opposite of this vice is the virtue of maintaining close cordial family ties. A large number of traditions which can be found in the books on hadith deal with this subject.

8. Being undutiful to Parents

This is the worst form that the vice of breaking off ties with one's family can take, and according to severely worded traditions, it is the cause of severe chastisement both in this world and the next. As opposed to this, kind and loving behaviour towards one's family is considered to be one of the highest of human virtues. It is reported that Imam al-Sadiq (A) was asked: "What action has the greatest value before God?" And he reportedly answered: "Prayer at the very beginning of its appointed time, kindness to one's parents, and jihad in the way of God." This mention of kindness to parents by the side of prayer and jihad, which are two of the most important pillars of Islam, clearly demonstrates its importance.

Here it is also necessary to emphasize one's duties to neighbours and the neighbours' rights, since it also belongs to the category of interpersonal relations briefly discussed above, and there are many traditions condemning harassment of one's neighbours and undesirable behaviour towards them.