Treachery of companions of Imam Hasan (a.s)

Treachery is defined as willful betrayal of trust. It includes deceit, back-stabbing and disloyalty. Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) and Ahlulbayt (a.s) underwent numerous hardships due to treacherous people. The oppression upon the Holy Imam (a.s.) has been of all kinds and included oppression by speech, action, emotions and pen. The oppression to the Holy Imams (a.s.) was due to wise enemies as well unwise comrades, clever and hypocritical enemies as well as timid, ignorant and foolish companions.

On the pretext of bringing into effect Islamic unity, Moawiyah gathered a huge army to fight Imam Hasan (a.s) in Iraq. When the news reached Iraq, Imam Hasan (a.s.) invited the people to the mosque. He climbed the pulpit and after praising Allah and sending salutation upon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, "Moawiyah has moved towards Iraq along with his army. It is your turn to get ready for the war and defend your honor and religion”. But those despicable, vanquished and comfort loving people did not give a response to Imam (a.s.). Adi Ibn-e-Hatim stood up from among the people and very sadly addressed them saying, "What kind of people are you? What does this dead silence mean? Why do you not reply to Imam Hasan (a.s.) and the son of your Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.)? Are you not afraid of subject and suffering? Be afraid of Allah's anger and torment and obey the order of your Imam (a.s.). Get up and take your weapon in your hands and defend your honor, respect and religion. So that Allah and Imam (a.s.) are pleased with you.

These words alerted a group so they announced their readiness to take part in the battle. Adi Ibn-e-Hatim told the Imam (a.s.), "We are ready and waiting for your order”. Imam Hasan (a.s.) said, "I am proceeding towards the Nakheela Camp and whosoever is prepared and willing may go to that place, although I know that you will not practice upon your promise and Moawiyah will deceive you”.

When Imam Hasan (a.s.) reached the camp, most of those who were shouting the slogans of "war" were absent and had gone back. This was expected because apart from a few Shias. the army of Imam (a.s.) comprised of people who did not consider this war as a religious obligation nor did they consider Imam (a.s.) as their divine leader.

These people were :

1. Khawarij who had come to fight against Moawiyah and not for the sake of obeying the command of Imam Hasan (a.s.).

2. Those materialist and greedy people who wanted war booty.

3. Those who had participated for the sake of following their tribal chiefs.

Hence, Imam Hasan (a.s) addressed them saying, "You betrayed me, like you had betrayed my father, who was your Imam before me. I don't know whether you will fight siding with Imam or someone who absolutely does not believe in Allah and His Prophet (s.a.w.a)”

Then he selected a man named Hakam as the commander of the army and put four thousand men under his command so that he moves to the city of Ambaar and stays there and applies restraint to the forces of Moawiyah till getting further orders. But, Moawiyah deceived him by giving him money and making false promises. And he joined his army along with his two hundred men.

Imam (a.s.) selected another man from the tribe of Bani Murad as his successor and said, "Although I do not have trust upon you. But this is a trial, you may also proceed."

When Moawiyah came to know about his arrival, he sent his delegates with five thousand dirhams for him and promised to give him a governorship. He was too deceived by Moawiyah and joined him.

When the news of the joining of tribal chiefs with Moawiyah reached the Imam Hasan (a.s.), he was shocked and grievous and said, "Did I not say several times that you do not have any faithfulness and trustworthiness, and your conduct with me is that of artifice, and cunningness? He then decided to gather an army himself and move. By the efforts of his friends nearly four thousand men gathered. Imam (a.s.) along with "Sabaat" went to Madayan and sent twelve thousand men under the command of Obaidullah bin Abbas and his helper Qais bin Saad, as a field leader and fore runner to meet and resist Moawiyah. Moawiyah sent his agents along with one million Dirhams among the forces of Imam Hasan (a.s.) to deceive Qais but Qais did not yield to his desire and answered them, "tell Moawiyah you cannot take my faith from me and I will not desert and leave Imam by any of your artifices and frauds."

The agents who got disappointed by Qais, went towards the real Commander Obaidullah bin Abbas and lured and deceived him and he along with a group of his followers joined Moawiyah at the night-time. When the army men of Imam Hasan (a.s.) became without a commander, Qais took over the command and lead the Jamaat prayers. Qais was fighting fiercely and ferociously and had made Moawiyah fearful. As a result, he sent a few spies among the army men of Qais, so that they may make this propaganda that Imam Hasan (a.s.) has entered into peace treaty with Moawiyah and you are fighting for no reason. By this, Moawiyah succeeded in separating and detaching the group of Khawarij from the Imam's forces and in deceiving them to attack the Imam Hasan (a.s.) and what he desired did materialize.

Suddenly, a platoon attacked the tent of Imam Hasan (a.s.) and looted whatever they found, to the extent that they even pulled out the carpet of Imam Hasan (a.s.) from beneath him.

Imam Hasan (a.s.) was forced to leave that place and he rode upon a horse and a group of his friends were all around him. One of them (the attackers) rushed out of his hiding place and injured Imam Hasan (a.s.). Imam Hasan (a.s.) was carried to one of his friend's house and provided medical care and treatment. It came to that, most of his governors, secretly and confidentially, wrote letters to Moawiyah saying we are at your command and disposal as soon as possible come to Iraq, we will arrest  Imam Hasan (a.s.) and hand him over to you. Moawiyah sent all those letters to Imam Hasan (a.s.) along with a covering letter saying, "These people did not remain faithful to your father and they will not remain on your side either. I am ready to sign a pact with you and overlook the war.

Imam Hasan (a.s) said, the Messenger (s.a.w.a.) himself left his people and went to the Sheb-e-Abi Taalib while he was inviting the people towards Allah. If he had helpers and companions he (s.a.w.a.) would have never taken to the cave. Likewise, if I would have got helpers I would have never made peace with you.(Moawiyah)  (Sulaym Ibn Qais al-Hilaali).

May Allah curse the treacherous people and punish them with the most severe punishment. May Allah give us taufeeq to protect ourselves from disloyalty and disobedience towards Imam Zamana (a.t.f.s.) lest our names are also listed amongst the treacherous companions.

Marefat of Imam and Imamat

With the passing of month of Shabaan we heard many times the word Marefat of Imam. Specially the famous tradition of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)

 من مات ولم يعرف امام زمانه مات ميتة جاهلية 

This tradition is such repetitively narrated in our books that just Allama Majlisi (r.a.) in his book Behaar al Anwaar has brought it from 40 different sources and it is narrated in more than 80 different sources in the books of Ahle Sunnat. Thus, there remains not an iota of doubt for someone to object to this tradition. As for someone who is away from Imam e Zamana (a.t.f.s.), it is necessary to recognize him and become close to him as this is the aim of our lives for which Allah has created us, without his recognition our death will be that of disbelief, hypocrisy and deviation.

Let us today in this small article try and delve deeper on the meaning of the word معرفة. It is very clear to us that معرفة does not imply just knowing the name and lineage and place of birth and martyrdom of the Imams. Let us ask the Holy infallibles (a.s), what is معرفة?

In a tradition from Muawiya bin wahab from Imam Sadiq (a.s) it is narrated that

وأدنى معرفة الامام أنه عدل النبي إلا درجة النبوة، ووارثه، وأن طاعته طاعة الله وطاعة رسول الله، والتسليم له في كل أمر، والرد إليه، والاخذ بقوله، ويعلم أن الامام بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله علي ابن أبي طالب، وبعده الحسن، ثم الحسين، ثم علي بن الحسين، ثم محمد بن علي، ثم أنا، ثم بعدي موسى ابني، وبعده علي ابنه، وبعد علي محمد ابنه، وبعد محمد علي ابنه وبعد علي الحسن ابنه، والحجة من ولد الحسن 

"...and the minimum Marefat of Imam is that he is equal to Prophet (s.a.w.s.) except that he does not have the position of Prophethood, and that his obedience is the obedience of Allah and the obedience of the messenger of Allah and it is necessary to submit in front of him in all the affairs and to turn towards him and to take his words and to know that Imam after Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) is Ali ibne Abi Talib, and after him Hassan then Hussain then Ali ibne Hussain then Muhammad ibne Ali then I then after me Musa my son, and after him his son Ali and after Ali his son Muhammad and after Muhammad, Ali his son and after Ali, hassan his son, and The Hujjat from the son of Hassan…(peace be on all of them)"

From the above tradition we can conclude that to qualify with minimum معرفة of Imam e Zaman (a.t.f.s.) we should have the following attributes:

1.   Believe that he is equal to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) in status (Hujjat of Allah)

2.   Consider his obedience as the obedience of Allah & His messenger (whatever he says is Haq)

3.   Submit to his orders (without any excuse)

4.   To turn towards him (a slave has no place to turn except to of his master)

5.   To take (life instructions) from his words (traditions)

6.   And to know all the 12 Imams (a.s) who are from the progeny of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)

 In yet another tradition Hazrat Amir (a.s) indicates to the believers the right of their معرفة thus:

عن أمير المؤمنين (عليه السلام) في حديث معرفته بالنورانية ، مخاطباً سلمان وأبا ذرّ عليهما الرحمة ، فقال (عليه السلام) : إعلم يا أبا ذرّ أنا عبد اللّه عزّ وجلّ وخليفته على عباده ، لا تجعلونا أرباباً ، وقولوا في فضلنا ما شئتم ، فإنّكم لا تبلغوا كنه ما فينا ولا نهايته ، فإنّ اللّه عزّ وجلّ قد أعطانا أكبر وأعظم ممّا يصفه واصفكم أو يخطر على قلب أحدكم ، فإذا عرفتمونا هكذا فأنتم المؤمنون.

"Know oh Aba Zar! I am the servant of Allah and His Caliph upon His servants, do not appoint for us Divinity and then say in our praise whatever you wish, then for surely you shall not reach the essence of our reality and neither shall you reach to its peak. For surely Allah has certainly bestowed us with much greater and higher position than what you characterize us with or even think concerning us, If you recognize us in this manner, you would be considered as true believer."

We can conclude from this tradition following points:

1.   It is incorrect to ascribe Ahle Bayt (a.s) to Divinity

2.   Whatever praise we do for Ahlebayt (a.s) is less than what their position is

3.   It is not possible even for our thoughts to reach the essence and peak of the معرفة of Ahle Bayt (a.s.)

4.   To be qualified as believers, we should recognize Ahle Bayt (a.s) thus.

Thus, if it is said that the whole universe which includes seven heavens, whose first heaven comprises of more than 100 billion galaxies, each of which have more than 100 billion solar systems in it, is like a walnut in the hands of our master, one should not doubt in it.

أنّ الدنيا ممثّلة للإمام كفلقة الجوزة 

"...certainly this world for Imam is like one half of the walnut…"

 For surely their affairs are difficult to understand and they themselves have affirmed it thus:

ان أمرنا صعب مستصعب لا يحمله إلا عبد مؤمن امتحن الله قلبه للايمان

Surely our affairs (recongnition & marefat) are extremely difficult. None can understand it except a believing servant whose heart Allah has examined for faith…

At times even for the likes of Qambar it became difficult to comprehend the lofty status of Ahle Bait (a.s.), as marefat has different levels. Let us conclude our discussion on معرفة with this final incident of Janabe Qambar (a.r.) and Janabe Fizza (a.r.):

In a tradition from Marhoom Qazi Saeed Qummi in the book Share Arbaeen, narrates from Sayyed Murtaza that once Qambar who was the slave of Hazrat Amir (a.s) came to the house of Hazrat Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) and did not find Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) in the house, he enquired from Janabe Fizza (s.a.) about Ameerul Momineen (a.s.), she replied to Qambar that

 إن المولى عرَجَ إلى السماء ذات البروج لتقْسيم أرْزاق العباد 

Surely my master has gone to the heavens for distributing sustenance…

Janabe Qambar got astonished on hearing this and thought that Janabe Fizza was joking or had made a mistake, and he departed towards the palm groves. He saw Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) there and with a sigh of relief complained to him about the statement of Janabe Fizza (s.a.), upon which Imam replied:

                                                                           

مَهْ يا قَنْبرُ. ولعلّك لمْ تُؤْمِن بولايتنا حقَّ الإيمان 

"Keep quite oh Qambar as if you have not believed in our Wilayat as it aught to be believed"

Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) then passed his hand over the eyes of Janabe Qambar and asked, what do you see O Qambar?

He said:

رأيت السماوات والأرض كجوزة في يد المولى 

I see the heavens and the earth like a walnut in the hand of my master

(Sharhe Arbaeen page 566, narrated from Hablul Mateen of Ayatullah Ziyabadi volume 2 page 176)

We conclude from this incident that the marefat of Janabe Fizza (s.a.) was greater than the marefat of Janabe Qambar, and why would it not be as Janabe Fizza (s.a.) was the internal khadema of Ahle Bayt (inside the house) and Qambar was an external Khadim (outside the house), and thus Janabe Fizza (s.a.) benefitted from two sources of noor while Qambar was limited to just one. As Hazrat Amir (a.s.) made Qambar see the position of wilayat of the proof of Allah we request Allah that He also by His infinite Lutf make us see the position of wilayat of Hazrat Hujjat ibne Hassan (a.s) and enumerate us amongst his true servants.

Etiquettes of praying for Imam Zamana (a.t.f.s.)

Imam Zamana (a.t.f.s.), our sympathetic and caring father is the most beloved person for us in this world. Our eyes and heart equally await his reappearance. Our forefathers have been praying for him and we too are praying for him. We wish to meet him, but it seems our prayers are not reaching the desired level of acceptance.

In this short treatise, let us re-look at some of the etiquettes of praying for Imam e Zamana (a.t.f.s.) and rejuvenate ourselves to pray for our master.

First - The very first thing essential in praying for Imam (a.s.) is excessiveness in praying. Imam (a.s.) has himself ordered us

 وَ أَكْثِرُوا الدُّعَاءَ بِتَعْجِيلِ الْفَرَجِ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ‏ فَرَجُكُم‏

‘And you pray excessively for my reappearance for certainly in it is your deliverance’ (Ref: Kamaluddin Vol 2 Pg. 485)

Second - Praying  for him (a.s.) before praying for ourselves and our family. This is another etiquette which we should observe while praying for Imam (a.s.). Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) is as follows: “Surely a person will not be a believer till he considers Allah’s Messenger (s.a.w.a.) dearer than his own life, and the progeny of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) more beloved than his own family….” 

We prioritize our duas based on our needs, urgency, etc. We need to realize that the most important, urgent and immediate requirement of the whole humanity is reappearance of Imam Zamana (a.t.f.s.) There is no doubt that reappearance of Hazrat Wali-e-Asr (a.t.f.s.) is among the most important affairs, through which hearts will gain peace and satisfaction.

Hence, it is proper for a believer that before he starts praying for himself and his family, he should pray for the reappearance, thereby observing the due right of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.).

Third - Namaz is defined as conversation between a slave and his Master, Allah (s.w.t.). The qunoot of the namaz is the best place for asking one’s need. There are many duas of qunoot, available in various books where our previous Imams (a.s.) have prayed for Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.). Let us have a look at some sentences to understand the intensity of their desire for the era of peace and justice i.e. golden era of Imam Zamana (a.t.f.s.).

Imam Zainul Abedeen (a) recites in his Qunoot: …Replace their leaders with the Shia Imam and replace them with just and fair Shia people in their place. Light the way for the fire of the truth, bring about the ones who are looking for justice and revenge of the

Imam’s blood. Strengthen the seeker of justice and fairness with Your Might…

(Muhajj ad-Dawaat, Pg. 49)

Imam Baqir (a) recites: …O Allah, make nearer what has come near and make us reach what is near and make our hopes realized and make the aspirations of believers true; and help Your religion. And make Your proof evident and take revenge from Your enemies making it fruitful… (Muhajj ad-Dawaat, Pg. 51)

These are long Qunoots and we may not be able to memorize them or read them regularly in our prayers. However, we realize that praying for Imam e Asr (a.t.f.s.) in Qunoot is Sunnat of Aimmah (a.s.), hence we can recite Allahumma Kun or any other Dua for his early reappearance in our qunoot daily.

Fourth - In Prostration - Another occasion in which it is emphasized to pray for early reappearance is the position of Sajdah for Allah. As per traditions, this is the most proximate position to Allah. Therefore the best thing is to mention the most important matter when one is in prostration and that one should pay special attention to it. Especially, the prostration of thanksgiving, when you should understand that all the bounties that Allah has given are only because of the blessing of our master - the Master of the Time (a.s.). We must also know that to pray for one, who is the cause of blessings reaching us and the medium thereof, is the best way to pay thanks to him (a.t.f.s.)

Fifth - Holy month of Ramazan - The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) in his famous sermon on welcoming the month of Ramazan, introduces this month in which prayers are accepted. In the month of Ramazan itself there are various special occasions when the prayers are accepted viz. at the time of Seher, Iftar and Lailatul  Qadr. We should pray for his Holy reappearance at these times

There is a special Dua for this month quoted in Iqbal and Zaadul Maad from the fourth Imam, Imam Zainul Abideen (a.s.) and his son, Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) which begins as follows:

O Allah, this is the month of Ramadan… I ask You to help the vicegerent of Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) and the successor of Muhammad and the one who will establish justice from the successors of Muhammad. Your blessings be upon him and them. Bestow Your help to them.

Supporting this point also is the traditional report that Thiqatul Islam, Muhammad Ibne Yaqoob Kulaini has recorded in the chapter of fasting, in Usool e Kafi from Muhammad bin Isa through his own chain of narrators from the Holy Imam (a.s.) that they said:

Recite this Dua on the eve of 23rd of Ramadan in Sajdah (prostration), in sitting and standing, and go on repeating it as much as you can. So much so, that you learn it by heart for your life. Thus after praise and glorification of the Almighty Allah recite ALLAHUMMA KUN..

We have discussed about only five ways through which our duas may reach the final destination.

The sixth part in volume two of the reputed book Mikyalul Makarim Fee Fawaid ad Dua lil Qaem of Ayatullah Sayed Mohammed Taqi Musawai Isfahani is dedicated to this topic. The chapter is titled as ‘Times and conditions emphasized for supplicating.’ 

May Allah give us the taufeeq of praying for Hazrat e Wali e Asr (a.t.f.s.). May Allah also give us the taufeeq to adhere to the etiquettes of praying mentioned by Aimmah (a.s.), so that our duas are acceptance by Allah, the Almighty and the re-appearance of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) is hastened.

Tips on Self-Accounting

In numerous verses of the Holy Quran and traditions from Ahle Bait (a.s.) we have been constantly reminded that we have not been created for this world and the aim or goal of our creation is the Hereafter. Successful ones are those who will be successful in the Hereafter.

We are also fortunate that Allah, the Almighty has conveyed to us through Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and Ahle Bait (a.s.) on deeds and actions which will benefit us in the Hereafter and also warned us from actions, sins, deeds which will harm us in the Hereafter.

A wise person is one who has the end goal and objective always in mind and is constantly checking if he is on the right track or not to reach that final objective.

Similarly, for success in Hereafter, we need to constantly examine our actions and see whether the actions performed by us will benefit us in Hereafter or will they harm us in the Hereafter. Self examination or self accounting is also greatly emphasized and advised in the traditions of Ahle Bait (a.s.).

We present here, few traditions on ‘self-accounting’ to highlight its importance and necessity.

Accounting of Actions

Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, “Truly right now you live the day of action with no accounting therein, and very soon you will live the day of accounting with no action therein.” (A`alam al-Din, no. 345)

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s) said, 'Among the advices that Allah, Blessed and most High, gave to Jesus son of Mary (a.s) was, 'O Jesus, wherever you may be, scrutinize yourself on My behalf. (Bihar al-Anwar, v. 14, pp. 289 and 293, no. 14)

Imam Ali (a.s) said, ‘He who takes account of his self profits, he who neglects it is at a loss, and he who fears will be safe.’ (Bihar al-Anwar, v. 70, p. 73, no. 27)

Imam Ali al-Ridha (a.s) said,“He who reckons his own soul is successful; he who is heedless of it is unsuccessful.” (Al-Kafi v. 2, p. 111)

Imam Ali (a.s) said, 'Appoint your own self as a scrutinizer over yourself, and use this world to reserve your share in the Hereafter.’ (Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 2429)

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s) said, 'The man for whom each day passes exactly the same as another [where there is no change in his character or his deeds] is indeed a loser. And the man for whom the next day is always worse than the previous day is indeed cursed. And the man who never sees to improve himself day after day is indeed at a loss, and whoever passes his days in such loss, death is surely better for him than life.’ (Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 277, no. 113)

How wise are we?

Ameerul Momineen(a.s) said: I heard the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) address his companions: Do you want me to tell you who is the wisest man and who is the most foolish?

The companions replied: Yes, O Allah’s Messenger, please inform us.

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, “Most wise is one, who takes account of his own conscience and does only that which may help him after his death.

While the most unwise and foolish is one who obeys and submits to his desires and yet hopes that God would fulfill his wishes.

One from the audience asked: O Ameerul Momineen, how should one take account of his conscience?

Imam (a.s) replied: He may, every evening ask himself: O My heart! This day has passed away not to return ever. Whatever deeds you have done in this day will be questioned by Almighty Allah. Now tell me what deeds you performed today?

Did you remember God and praise Him?

Did you fulfill any need of a believer?

Did you remove his trouble?

Did you take care of his family members during his absence?

Did you do any good to his children after he died?

Did you with your public influence, help the family of a faithful man during his absence?

Did you assist any Muslim?

In short, inform me about all of your activities during the day which has just passed away. Like this, one should recall his deeds.

If he recalls any good deed, he should say: God is Great and Praise Him for the inspiration given by Him.

If he recalls any misdeed or sin, he should repent and ask forgiveness from God and make intention never to repeat that mistake in future. He should thus remove that black dot from the slate of his heart by reciting benedictions afresh on the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) and his purified progeny. He should remember the allegiance given to Ameerul

Momineen (a.s) and present that scene before his heart. He should also curse afresh, the Imam’s (a.s) enemies.

When he does like this, Almighty Allah tells him: I will not ask you about any of your sins, because you love My friends and are the enemy of My enemies. (Tafseer Imam Hasan Askari (a.s))

Neglecting Self-Accounting

Imam al-Kazim (a.s) said, 'The one who does not take account of himself every single day is not one of us. And when he performs a good deed, he should ask Allah to enable him to do more, and when he commits an evil deed, he must seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent for it.’(al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 453, no. 2)

Things we should account for

The Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, ‘The first thing that man will be asked about is our love, the people of the Household (ahl al-bayt).’ (UyounAkhbar al-Ridha (a.s.), v. 2, p. 62, no. 258)

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s) said, ‘The first thing that man will be asked about when he stands before Allah, Exalted be His Grandeur, is the obligatory prayers, the obligatory alms-tax (Zakat), the obligatory fasting, the obligatory pilgrimage (Hajj), and our guardianship (wilaya), the people of the household. If he attests to our guardianship and dies believing that, his prayer, fasting, alms and pilgrimage will all be accepted.’ (Amali al-Saduq, p. 212, no. 10)

The Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, ‘On the Day of Resurrection, the feet of the servant will not slip until he is asked about four things: his years and how he spent them, his youth and how he wasted it, his wealth, whence he earned it and how he spent it, and our love, the people of the household (ahl al-bayt).’(al-Khisal, p. 253, no. 125)

Practical Tips

1)    Allocate  time for accounting

The Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, 'The scriptures of Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.) contain the following: ‘…the rational man, as long as he is of sound reason, must put aside several hours during the day – an hour for conversing with his Lord, an hour for [self-scrutiny and] accounting for himself, an hour to ponder over Allah's favors bestowed upon him, and an hour to spend on his own lawful pleasures, for this one hour will be an aid to him in fulfilling his other hours, as well as a time to recuperate and relax.’ (al-Khisal, p. 525, no. 13 and Ma`ani al-Akhbar, p. 334)

2)    Be strict with yourself

Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, “Oh Abu Dharr! A man cannot be among the pious until his accounting of himself is stronger than the accounting a (business) partner takes of his partner. So he knows from where his food comes from and from where his drink comes from and from where his cloths come from; from a lawful means or from a prohibited one.” [Makarim al Akhlaq: C.12, S.5, P.458]

3)    Search sins / defects within your-self

Imam Ali (a.s.) said, 'Allah has mercy on the servant who scrutinizes his sins carefully and fears his Lord.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5205]

Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘He who takes account of his soul will understand his defects and know his sins. He will repent for the sins and amend the defects.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 8927]

4)    Note down in diary or a book

Imam Ali (a.s.) said, 'The rational man must calculate his soul's misdeeds against religion, reason, ethical virtues and good moral conduct. He must gather this information within himself or write it down in a book and work at eradicating them.’

[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 6, no. 58]

5)    Control your ownself

Imam Ali (a.s.) said, 'Man must control and survey his own self, scrutinize his heart, and guard his tongue.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10947]

Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘Restrict your lower selves by holding them accountable and control them by opposing them.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 6794]

The Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, 'Shall I tell you who is the toughest and strongest from among you?’ They replied, ‘Yes, O Prophet of Allah, do tell us’, so the Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, ‘The strongest and toughest of you is he who, when he is happy, his happiness does not lead him to committing a sin or anything wrong, and when he gets angry, his anger does not prevent him from speaking the truth, and when he is empowered in any way, he does not take hold of that which is not lawfully his.’[Ma`ani al-Akhbar, p. 366, no. 1]

6)    Never give up

Imam Zayn al-`Aabidin (a.s.) said, ‘O son of Adam! You will continue to thrive as long as you are the admonisher of yourself, and as long as accounting for yourself is one of your concerns.’

[Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 280]

Thus, we pray to Allah (swt) to give us taufeeq to take account of our own self and prepare ourselves for his (a.t.f.s) rule of justice and peace.