لطفا منتظر باشید ...
who performed successfully the minor jihad. Their mission now is to perform completely the major jihad The major jihad is self-control. The best form of jihad is to strive one's desires and whims." 332
Imam as-Sadiq (a) said: "If you want all your supplications to be answered, you should despair of people totally and hope for that which is in Allah's hands only. When Allah knows that a servant's intent is totally attached to Him, He will answer all his supplications. You therefore call yourselves to account before others call them. On the Day of Resurrection, there are fifty situations each of which takes one thousand years. This is the meaning of Allah's saying:
"On that Day (of Judgment), long as fifty thousand years, the angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him (70:4).
"You have been appointed as the physician of yourself; the malady has been shown to you, the signs of recovery have been shown to you, and you have been guided to the remedy; hence, you should consider how you will treat yourself."334
Imam al-Kadhim (a) said: "He who does not call himself to account everyday is not one of us. When he does so, he must ask Allah for more if he notices that he has done a good deed, and if he notices that he has committed an evildoing, he must seek Allah's forgiveness and must repent to Him." 335
Constitution of Self-Judgment
Ethicists have referred to the constitution of self-judgment in such a detailed method that it might be difficult for some to implement. I, however, can brief the matter in two precise and simplified points:
(1) First of all, to practice self-judgment properly, one must perform all the obligatory rites, such as the prayer, fasting, hajj, zakat, and the like. If such rites are performed properly, one must then thank God for so and hope for winning the great rewarding that He
( 176 )
set for the obedient. If one, on the other hand, neglects such rites, he must remember the painful punishment with which God threatens the disobedient. He must also exert all efforts for settling them.
(2) Self-judgment must then be practiced on the sins that one committed, by means of severe reproach and censure. Regret and true repentance must then be felt so that they will help in avoiding the commitment of such sins.
The Prophet (s) set the most excellent example of self-judgment:
The Prophet (s), once, resided in a desert during a journey. He asked his companions to fetch firewood. They apologized that they were in a desert, but the Prophet (s) asked them to search and fetch whatever they might find. Hence, they scattered in every direction. Afterwards, each one fetched a small quantity of wood and threw on each other. On that scene, the Prophet (s) commented: "In this very way, sins are gathered. Beware of the insignificant sins, for there is an interrogator for each sin. That interrogator records 'the deeds of human beings and their consequences. We keep everything recorded in an illustrious Book.'336 "337
Some disciples practiced appreciative styles in the field of self-judgment. For instance, it is related that Tawba ibn as-Summah used to call himself to account in most times of his life. One day, he counted his past age, and it was sixty years. As he counted the days, they were about 21500. He then shouted: "Woe unto me! I will meet Malik 338 with twenty-one thousand sins." Suddenly after that, he departed life. 339
Seizure of Life's Opportunity
If man compares all desires and pleasures of this life to his age, he will find that the latter is more precious. He will also discover that nothing at all can come to the value of his age, since the pleasures of this world can be
