SHAFAQNA (International Shia News Association)- “And they (those with reflection) join that which Allah has bidden to be joined and have fear of their Lord and fear evil reckoning (of the Day of Judgment)”.
(The Holy Quran (13:21))
When we hear a nice, logical statement from someone, we expect to see a harmony between his words and action. This harmony would increase that person’s credibility in our eyes. However, we rarely see this harmony between people’s words and actions. The same analogy applies for educating others; a person can be responsible for educating others only if he has trained himself first. Reviewing the behavior of the Infallible Imams (PBUT) reveals considerable points in this regard, a good example of which is the incident between Imam Sadiq (PBUH) and his cousin.
Imam Sadiq (PBUH) sent a pouch of money by Abu Ja’far Khuthami –one of his trusted narrators- to one of his cousins among Bani Hashim, and ordered Abu Ja’far not to reveal this secret.
When Abu Ja’far went to the cousin of the Imam (PBUH) and offered the money, he said to Abu Ja’far,” May Allah (SWT) reward the person who has sent this money! He sends this money to us every year, and it is sufficient for our annual expenses. But although Ja’far ibn Muhammad (Imam Sadiq (PBUH)) is wealthy, he does not send us even a single silver coin” (1)…
Another narration explains a similar behavior of Imam Sadiq (PBUH) upon his death:
When the death time of the Imam was close, he ordered that seventy gold coins be sent to Hassan Ibn Ali Aftas (a relative of the Imam (PBUH)). A person asked the Imam (PBUH):
“Are you offering money to someone who attacked you with a sword and wanted to kill you?!”
Imam Sadiq (PBUH) replied by saying:
“Woe onto you! Have you not read “And they (those with reflection) join that which Allah has bidden to be joined and have fear of their Lord and fear evil reckoning (of the Day of Judgment)”.(2)
Verily Allah (SWT) created the Paradise and gave a nice fragrance to it which can be smelled from a distance of a thousand years. However, those disobedient to their parents (3) or those who have disconnected from their relative will never smell the fragrance of Paradise (4)”.
These examples show that Imam Sadiq (PBUH) emphasizes the importance of connecting with relatives while his own relatives were extremely unkind to him; nevertheless, he still performed Allah’s (SWT) order regarding them. This behavior of Imam Sadiq (PBUH) along with his statement about the creating of the Paradise and people’s benefit from it manifest Allah’s (SWT) emphasis on the importance of connecting with relatives, and that neglecting this order would result in getting extremely distant from the mercy of Allah (SWT).
Footnotes:
1. Al-Imam al-Sadiq, by Allamah Muzaffar, pp. 251-255
2. The Holy Quran,(13:21)
3. Allamah Majlisi explains disobedience of the parents (Uqouq) as:”Refusing respect to them, annoying them with saying or behavior, or opposing them in anything that is logically or religiously lawful”.
4. Al-Imam al-Sadiq, by Allamah Muzaffar, pp. 251-255
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