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CHAPTER
5
Advice regarding business
Son, May Allah improves all your
deeds, increase your life span and give you more Taufiq'. As far as
possible, reside at Najaf-e-Ashraf because you are in neighbourhood of Amirul
Momeneen (a.s) and Amirul Momeneen (a.s) takes special care of his nieghbours.
He saves his nieghbours from evil deeds. This has been experienced in this age (Hijri
1324). It is related about Najaf and Kufa that any cruel oppressor who tries to
destroy it, he himself will be destroyed.(May Allah punish the present
day tyrants for their cruel deeds and protect Najaf-e-Ashraf. Insha Allah, the
blood of Martyrs will not go in vain.)In Najaf, there is the Ziarat of
Amirul Momeneen (a.s). No sensible person can be unaware of the Fazila' of
Ziarat and praying namaz near the tomb.(Mustadrak 2, p.
195)Residing at Najaf will save you
from many sins. Here there are no allurements which, you find at other places
like Iran, etc.(Here, author has given the
example of Iran. However now Iran has become Markaz-e-Khair (center of virtues)
while rulers of Najaf-e-Ashraf have established centers to ruin the moral
character. May Allah punish these tyrants for their sins and destroying the
sanctity of the Shrine' - Jawadi).If, for some reason, it is not
possible to reside at Najaf-e-Ashraf, then stay at some other sacred place
expect karbala because it is Makruh' to stay at karbala. Residing at
karbala makes a man cruel. His attention towards the tragedy of karbala decrease
which is a very big loss.Son, if you can spend your life
at some sacred place then don't reside at any other place. If you are
helpless, then search for such a place where virtuous people and Alims are
residing. When staying at a sacred place, find some house near the shrine (Haram),
so that you can always have the good fortune of Ziarat. If you are residing some
where else, then reside in the central part of the city because central part is
more protected from calamities.Remember, if you can get a house
on ownership or Wakf', don't search for a rented house because your own
house or wakf house is better than a rented grand mansion.Before purchasing a house,
inquire about the neighbours. Whenever I have not paid attention to this aspect,
I have had bitter experience.If you want to construct a
house, don't construct the whole house at a stretch but do it in stages. Also
don't demolish the whole house without valid reasons but do the necessary
repair work so that there is no waste of money. Even if you have lots of wealth,
don't waste it on unnecessary
show and splendour. This world is not a place of permanent residence. Spend the
rest of your money on improving your status in the next world by giving
financial assistance to someone to repair his house, helping bachelors to get
married and helping the needy etc.If possible, stay in a spacious
house, the speciousness of the house is the cause of good luck and Barkat'
whether in this would or the hereafter.(Mustadrak-2, p.
534)Son, adopt the middle courses in
wearing clothes. Wear such clothes which can be worn both by the rich and the
poor. If you are poor then you will be spending within your means and it will
not be considered extravagance (Israf). If you are rich, then it will be
considered as zohad' and Taqwa', and it will give some consolation to
the poor. Remember, this world is a house of upheaval. It can turn upside down
anytime. So adopt such behaviour that changes do not create embarrassment for
you.Don't wear such clothes which
exhibit your poverty or affluence. Both these extremes have been criticized in
the tradition. Be careful about cleanliness
and purity in clothes. This is appreciated by Shari at'.Keep good friends. A man is know
by his friends. Beware, don't keep the company of men of bad faith, sinners
and bad character. Because man is influenced by his company. Amirul Momeneen (a.s)
has pointed at it in his Diwan-e-mash-hoor'. Lookman Hakim had also advised
his son to think before sitting in any company. Wherever you see discussion
about Allah, sit there. If you are an alim, then people will benefit from you
and if you are ignorant, then you will get the benefit of ilm'. If Allah
sends His blessings on them, you will also be included in His blessings.(Waselu-Shia-1, p.
442)Hazrat Imam Musa-e-Kazim (a.s)
has said that it is better to talk with an Alim' near a garbage heap than
talking with an illiterate man sitting on a soft carpet.The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has
said that Hawaris (companions) asked Hazrat Isa (a.s) : In whose company should
we sit? Hazrat Isa (a.s) replied : The company of those, whose presence remind
you of Allah, whose talk increase your knowledge and whose action remind you of
the hereafter.(Usual-e-Kafi-1, p.
39)The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has
said: Sitting in the company of a
trustworthy person is better than one years deeds.(Usual-e-Kafi-1, p.
39)Amirul Momeneen (a.s) has said :
Beware, don't keep the company of mean
people. There is no hope of goodness
from them.Shaikh Sadooq (a.s) has said
that: Mean' person means:-(1)
One who is not aware what he
is saying nor is he aware of what is being said about him. That man is
mean'.(2)
One who blows his own trumpet is called mean'.(3)
One who does not get happiness by good behaviour nor he feels sorry by
bad behaviour is called mean'.(4)
A mean' person is one who claims leadership even through he has no
qualifications.Of course, if there is hope of
their improvement by keeping company of such people and if their actions and
thoughts are not going to influence you, then surely there is no harm in keeping
their company. This is because it is not sufficient to control your Nafs'
and save yourself from hell but it is also necessary to guide others to the
right path. Therefore Amr-bil-maaruf and Nahi-aml-munkar' had been made
compulsory much emphasis has been laid on these, so that other could be guided
towards the obedience of Allah and saved from the fire of hell.Son, when you desire marriage,
find a girl from a noble family because it is through her that your family will
increase. She is like a model for your family. A child is always influenced by
model and milk. Look out for good qualities- Iman - Taqwa' and also at her
face and external appearance so that you are not attached towards some other
woman and mutual love and affection is maintained.The reason behind warning
against marrying only for beauty, is that it should not be made the only
criteria instead of religion and good character. This does not mean that you
should not consider beauty at all. The same thing applies to wealth and riches,
lest you place wealth in place of religion and character. If there is some rich
lady who is religious-minded also, then there is no harm in marrying her. On
the contrary, there is the additional advantage that her wealth will be
useful for your children. They can study religious ilm in peace and do all their
work without any financial worries, But that is only possible, if both
religion' and noble family' are their. Beware, don't marry a woman
who has recently acquired wealth. She will be proud of her wealth and she will
consider you inferior to her. In the tradition, it is Makruh' to take loan
from newly rich people. They have more ego and superiority complex. If however,
you have to choose between a newly rich woman, then marry the poor woman.Son, keep your wife, daughter
and other household women in the confine of your house. Don't allow them to go
out unless it is necessary. They have very little understanding of good and
evil. Therefore, they ruin both this world and hereafter by coming under the
spell of some other woman.Pay attention to the education
and upbringing of your children. Teach them Shariat' and good manners.
Don't think that still they are kids and they do not need any knowledge about Allah's order's. One, who has not
been brought up properly from
childhood, will be difficult to mould after he has grown up.Teach Deen's Ehkam' and
Shariat' to your children because impressions made during childhood cannot
be erased. After teaching them Quran-e-Majid, let them read and learn from the
books of Mojizats' (miracles),
so that they not only get their Aqida' (beliefs) from their parents but
they strengthen their beliefs with reason and logic.Take maximum care that children
do not go out of the house alone and they don't play with other children. If
they want to play, let them play in the house because they can be easily
influenced by other children. It should not happen that they came under the
influence of other. Even while studying, see to it, that your children do not
stay in the company of others more than necessary. Arrange religious discussions
at such a place where some third person is present so that he may not learn
mischief or Shaitaniyat' from his companion. I am writing all these from my
personal experience. During my childhood, I had a companion, who was very well
mannered and coming from a good family. Yet, because of him, I cultivated the
habit of cigarette smoking, as a result of which, I am suffering till today,
Whenever I decided to quit smoking, I suffered one illness or the other and till
today I have not been able to quit smoking. In other words, I am suffering from
the influence of companionship.Beware, don't spoil your
children by giving them money. There are many disadvantages in it. Their hearts
start loving wealth and afterwards craving for money cannot be erased from their
hearts. In future, they will try to obtain money by any means. This is a bad
example of character deficiency.Son, whether you have a son or a
daughter, don't inculcate the habit of wearing costly dresses and eating high
quality food, because, if circumstances are not helpful in future, they will be
greatly inconvenienced. If you make them follow middle-path' then they will
be happy in whatever they get. Also keep in mind to get them married as soon as
they become Baligh'. In this way, their religion' and respect'
can be safe guarded and character deficiency will not arise. By doing this,
don't think of
poverty or scarcity because Allah has already promised Rizq'.If you do not act on my orders,
then I will consider you Aaq'. My soul will be displeased with you.If you are extremely poor then
do Muta' so that you do not fall prey to sexual abuses.Son, the essence of all these
advices is that always think about religious and worldly problems. Do whatever
is better according to Shariat. Always keep an eye on results so that Allah
gives you Taufiq' to do good deeds and make your future better than your
past.
7th
Jamadi-ul-awwal 1324 Hijri -
