Ethics

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.

Footnotes :

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