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Feeding the Muslim Brothers
Source: Ain-al-Hayat, By: Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi
The Prophet of Allah (S) said: Whoever feeds three Muslims, Allah will give him three meals in the Heaven! 1. The meal from Malakoot al Samawat in Jannat al Firdous. 2. The meal from Jannat al-Aden. 3. The meal from Tooba which is a tree in the Heaven. This tree has been planted by Allah in the Garden of Eden.
The acts that earn Allah’s forgiveness include feeding of the hungry Muslims to their satiation.
Whoever quenches the thirst of a Muslim in a place where water is scarce, against every gulp of water seventy thousand good deeds will be entered in his account of deeds. He will get reward equal to freeing ten persons from the progeny of Prophet Ismail (as). When a guest enters a home, he sends away the sins of the inmates of the house.
At one place the Prophet (S) said, “When guests come, they come with many hopes and when they depart they go as a cause of your Deliverence.”
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) says, “Whoever entertains a rich person over a meal, he will get reward equal to saving a progeny of Prophet Ismail (as) from getting executed. One who feeds a poor Mu’min, his reward will be equal to saving a hundred persons from the progeny of Prophet Ismail (as).”
Feeding a Mu’min once is better than releasing ten slaves and performing Haj ten times.
The Prophet of Islam (S) has prohibited people from accepting invitation of the hypocrites.
The Prophet (S) said, “O Abu Dharr! Refrain from irrelevent talk. It is enough for you to talk as much as it is necessary!”
He added, “O Abu Dharr! It is sufficient to make a person a liar if he keeps repeating to persons what he has heard from others!” Remember, there is none more deserving of locking up than the tongue. While repeating any talk it is better to reveal the name of the person who originally talked about it. If the narrater is pious and truthful, he will get the reward. If it is a falsehood, the original narrator will get the punishment.
The Prophet (S) said: O Abu Dharr! Respect the following types of persons: 1. The persons who follow the precepts of the Holy Qur’an. 2. Respecting the just and kind ruler.
Jabir Jaufi narrates that Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) said, “O Jabir! For a person who claims to be a Shi’a, it is sufficient only to proclaim his love for us, the Ahl-ul-Bayt? By Allah! Our Shi’a is only the person who is afraid and obedient of Allah. Our Shi’as are recognised by their hospitable natures and kind hearts, they are men of integrity and busy in the thoughts of Allah. They are regular at their prayers and fasting, they treat their parents well, they care for their neighbors, poor, needy and the orphans. They are truthful and regularly recite the Holy Qur’an. They keep their mouths shut about others except in the matters of Amr bil maroof nahi an il munkar (the matters of dos and don’ts according to Shariah), they are accepted as trustworthy in their family circles.”
Jabir Jaufi said, “These days I don’t find anyone fitting this description!” The Imam (as) replied, “O Jabir! Beware! Lest the different routes take you astray! People thought it sufficient to merely claim the love for Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) and to express acceptance his Wilaya (Supremacy) without trying to be righteous and practicing the precepts of Islam.
Therefore, if a person says that he has love for the Prophet of Islam (as) who is better than Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) and he does not follow the seerat (example) and the Sunna (the traditions) of the Prophet (S) then he will not get any benefit for his shallow expression of love for the Prophet (S). Therefore, have fear of Allah and participate in the good deeds prescribed by Him. Remember! There is no relationship between Allah and anyone else. The dearest person in the view of Allah is one who is pious and obedient to Him. O Jabir! Nearness of Allah is possible only for the person who is obedient to Him! We don’t have any permit for exclusion from the Hellfire! Whosoever is obedient to Allah, he is from ouir friends. Whoever is sinning against Allah, he is our enemy. Our Wilaya reaches only those who are practicing piety and good deeds.”
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) said, “Our Shi’a is one who guards against two things: One is the thing that lies between the two cheeks and the other that lies between the two loins.”
The Prophet of Islam (S) said, “Two persons will have the shade of the Firmament over their heads when even the virtuous would fend only for themselves: The first is the one: who prays and laments in loneliness and the second is one who is in company of a young and strange damsel but is not attracted towards her.”
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) said, “A perfect Mu’min is one who has ten qualities: 1. People expect good from him. 2. The people are not afraid of any harm from him. 3. Who considers his own good deeds as trivial. 4. Who considers his small mistakes as big sins. 5. He considers others’ small good deeds as big. 6. He considers others’ big sins as trivial. 7. He keeps himself busy in acquiring knowledge throughout his life. 8. He considers a poor person better than the rich. 9. He is contented with the sustenence he gets. 10. He rates every one he meets better than himself.”
One companion asked Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as), “O Maula! Please describe a Mu’min to me!” The Imam (as) pointed towards the wall in front of them and said, “A Mu’min is one who can order the wall to turn to gold and it would turn to gold! “When the companion looked towards the wall, he found that it had turned to gold! He was astonished and asked, “O Maula! You didn’t order the wall to turn to gold and had just told me as an example of the trait of a Mu’min. Even then the wall turned to gold!” The Imam (as) replied, “This is the difference between a Mu’min and the Amir al Mu’mineen!”
Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) said that charity (Sadaqa) is a big form of piety. What your right hand gives as charity, your left should not know about!
The Prophet of Islam (S) has said, “O Abu Dharr! Don’t seek the company of anyone other than a Mu’min. Share your fare with a Mu’min. O Abu Dharr! Invite one to the meal who is a friend of Allah and he befriends you because of Allah! Abstain from the company of bad people lest they turn you bad. A good person too appears bad in the company of the evil!”
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) said, “Four things are a waste: 1. Friendship of a disloyal person. 2. Doing a good turn to an ungrateful person. 3. Moralising an inattentive person. 4. Revealing one’s own secret to a foolish person.”
It is narrated that the Amir’ul-Mu’mineen (as) was coming out of the mosque one night. He went towards the wilderness of Najaf. He had gone some distance when he noticed some persons were coming behind him. When the persons came near him, he asked who they were. They said that they were his Shi’as. The Imam (as) looked cursorily at their faces and said, “I find that your foreheads are not those of my Shi’as!”
They asked, “O Amir’ul-Mu’mineen (as)! How are the foreheads of your Shi’as?” He replied, “Therir faces are yellow. Their eyes look like the eyes of blind persons due to spending late nights in prayer. They have hunched backs because of excess of prayers and their tummies almost touch their backs because of excessive fasting. Their lips are parched because of excessive supplication and they give the appearance of persons in fear.”
Husayn bin Naam narrates that Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) asked him if he loved a brother Mu’min? He affirmed that he did love Mu’mins. The Imam (as) asked did he ever share his meals with Mu’mins? He said that generally one or more guests are there to share his food. The Imam (as) said, “They are more generous to you in this act than you are in feeding them!” He asked, “How is it! It is I who shares the sumptuous fare with them?” The Imam (as) replied, “When they enter your threshold the sins of all the members of your family are pardoned. When they depart they take away all the sins of the inmates.”
The Prophet of Islam (S) said that repeating hearsay too is tantamount to lying.
Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) said, “If ever you repeat the hearsay, tell the name of the person who narrated the story to you. Then you will get rewarded if the matter is true and if it is a falsehood, the punishment will go to the one who told you the lie.”
The Prophet of Islam (S) said: O Abu Dharr! Respect the grey bearded Muslim. Respect those who follow the precepts set by the Holy Qur’an. Respect the just ruler. All these acts are akin to showing respect to Allah.
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