In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

A Different Perspective

Amidst the chaos of the everyday life, certain phrases like Brotherhood, Dignity, and Forbearance have lost their meaning.  One might think those phrases belonged to a previous age and to another period of time. The age that a father would ask his son while he did not need to ask; and the son would reply while he knew the father already knows the answer. It was all so a time would come, when some exhausted souls like me, you, and us, would ponder upon their dialog and break the barriers of ambiguity to these strange words.

Amir al-Mu'minin (PBUH) asked his son Hassan: "O my son, what is righteousness?"

Hassan Ibn Ali (PBUH) replied: "O father, righteousness is to replace the bad things with good deeds."

- What is Dignity?

- To be good with relatives, and to remain tolerant of their cruel deeds.

- What is Bravery?

- To be chaste

- What is Lowliness?

- To think of cheap things in life and to refuse giving even smallest belongings in charity.

- What is Generosity?

- To give away (in charity) before requested.

- What is Cheapness?

- To seek owns comfort and ignore one?s spouse.

- What is Mercy?

- To give and benefit others, whether we are in need and whether full.

- What is Stinginess?

- To consider your property as (your) honor, and what you have given away in charity as wealth that has been wasted.  

- What is Brotherhood?

- To have Devotion and loyalty in the time of hardship and peace.

- What is Fear?

- To act brave upon friends, and to run away from the enemy.

- What is Opportunity?

- To be pious in this world ?

- What is Forbearance?

- To control one?s anger and to keep resentment.

- What is Wealth?

- To be satisfied with what Allah has given, no matter how small ?

- What is Poverty?

- To greed for everything.

- What is Abjectness?

- To fear the truth ?

- What is Worthless Suffering?

- To talk about something that does not benefit you in any way.

- What is Greatness?

- To give away (in charity) in your time of need and to forgive the bad deeds of others.

- What is Wisely?

- To take good care of what is given to you ...

- What is Great status?

- To do what is beautiful and to refrain from what is ugly.

- What is Providence?

- To be very patient and to treat people with leniency.

- What is Silliness?

- To follow those who think cheap and interact with those who are not on the guided path.

- What is deprivation?

- To lose a benefit that had been granted to you.

- What is Foolishness?

- To rush in reaching opportunities before having them available, and to refrain from answering (to what you already know). Nonetheless, silence is a great companion in most cases, no matter how eloquent of a speaker you are. ⁽¹⁾

When we think about phrases we see:

As a matter of fact, it is possible to look at life through a different perspective, to experience a more pleasant taste of life, and to experience even more beauty in life:

A different perspective and a Life full of true colors.

(Selected from "The Words of Imam Hassan (PBUH)" by Sayyed Hassan Shirazi; translated to Farsi by Ali Reza Mirza Muhammadi, with minor changes)

On behalf of Roshd website, we congratulate you dear friends

On the auspicious occasion of

 Imam Hassan Ibn Ali's (PBUH) birth,

a generous leader from the Prophet's progeny.

Roshd Islamic Shia Website

Footnote:

1- This narration has been reported with minor differences in the following resources:

Shiite References:

Tuhaf al-'Uqool, p.225 & Kashf al-Ghummah & vol.1 , p.568, Ma'ani al-Akhbar, p.402

Sunni References:

Tarikh Madinah Dimashq & vol.13, p.254 & Al-Bidayah wa al-Nahayahvol.8, p.44 & Majma' al-Zawa'id, vol. 10, p.282