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[MOD NOTE: The project of adding PDF links for every book will continue.] (bismillah) (salam) People want to discuss and learn. Here is a list of books, in no particular order, that might be useful. Akhlaq e-A'imma, Morals & Manners of the Holy Imams AS. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/akhlaq-al-aimma-morals-manners-holy-imams-maulana-sayyid-zafar-hasan-amrohi Ethics and Spiritual Growth. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/ethics-and-spiritual-growth-sayyid-mujtaba-musawi-lari Jami' al-Sa'adat (The Collector of Felicities). Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/jami-al-saadat-the-collector-of-felicities-muhammad-mahdi-ibn-abi-dharr-al-naraqi Moral Values of Qur'an, a Commentary on Surah Hujurat. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/moral-values-of-quran-tafsir-hujurat-ayatullah-dastaghaib Code of Ethics for Muslim men and women. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/code-ethics-muslim-men-and-women-sayyid-masud-masumi Qalbe-Saleem, Immaculate Conscience. Get PDF https://www.al-islam.org/qalbe-saleem-immaculate-conscience-ayatullah-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi Adabus Salat, The Disciplines of the Prayer. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/adab-as-salat-disciplines-of-prayer-second-revised-edition-imam-khomeini Self Building, An Islamic guide for Spiritual Migration towards God. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/self-building-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini Spiritual Discourses. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/spiritual-discourses-murtadha-mutahhari al Siraj: The Lantern on the Path To Allah Almighty. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/al-siraj-the-lantern-on-the-path-to-Allah-almighty-husain-ibn-ali-ibn-sadiq-al-bahrani The Elixir of Love. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/the-elixir-of-love-muhammad-rayshahri Awsaf al Ashraf, The Attributes of the Noble. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/vol11-no3-no4/awsaf-al-ashraf-attributes-noble-shaykh-khwaja-nasir-al-din-al-tusi Concentration in Prayer. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/concentration-in-prayer-jameel-kermalli Last Will & Testament. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/wasiyatnama-last-will-testament-ayatullah-shaikh-abdulla-mamkani Diseases of the Soul. (No PDF link. Can download at the site.) https://www.al-islam.org/nutshell/diseases_soul/ Anecdotes of the Ahlul Bayt. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/anecdotes-ahlul-bayt-ayatullah-murtadha-mutahhari Jihad al-Akbar, The Greatest Jihad: Combat with the Self. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/jihad-al-akbar-the-greatest-jihad-combat-with-the-self-imam-khomeini Struggle against the Self (jihad al-nafs). [PDF only] https://www.al-islam.org/nutshell/files/jihad.pdf Du’a (Supplication). Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/dua-supplication-sayyid-zafar-hasan-amrohi Sexual Ethics in Islam and in the Western World. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/sexual-ethics-islam-and-western-world-ayatullah-murtadha-mutahhari Principles Of Marriage & Family Ethics. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/principles-marriage-family-ethics-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini Rafed.net Ethics articles: https://en.rafed.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=78&Itemid=843

Personally I think there are so many problems with being a believer. When you say “I believe” you are fundamentally saying, “I am unwilling to admit that I do not know”. The seeker is willing to admit he doesn’t know! The believer is unwilling to make this admission. He draws conclusions about what is not yet within his experience. A believer may make assumptions about the day of the judgement! Further, the moment you believe something, you are in conflict with the opposing belief. You can postpone it with moderate talk. But conflict is inevitable. Isn't it that Abu Darda reported: Did Imam Ali (عليه السلام) not affirm in his last will, I do not see how one can attain ultimate bliss by believing in something that they do not know, by not having the courage nor commitment to seek what is true and just by wanting to assume something. The fundamental human nature is to seek, isn't it how we grow? But then why have faith in something? Well, personally, belief is a big no-no to me but faith is a big yes-yes! It is because faith is something that happens along the spiritual path. It is not something that is forced upon your mind. Belief is brainwashing; faith is a realization through experience. Faith is about recognizing that there is an intelligence in the universe that is beyond our limited logic, and seeking ways to access that. But right now, unfortunately, faith has been misunderstood to mean rigid dogma. How is Belief different from Faith? Even further, the word mistranslated into English as believer has the roots, hamza-meem-nun, meaning to have faith. Of course, "belief" is a synonym to "faith" in English, but languages like Arabic are fundamentally different from languages like English. Arabic is a language where a single word is capable of a multitude of meanings while English is a language where different words can have an exact same meaning! It must be understood that Classical Arabic is too accurately grammatized and too literal. However, the language was still very young at the time the Qur'an Sharif was written. The language of the sacred text carries no such smartness or cleverness as its Classical form because its propounder, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), was himself just too simple. That being said, with very less grammar and much sense of colloquialism there were naturally many different meanings of a single word but even so, inter-related. It is only the gift of the so-called 19th century western philosophers and translators that the essence of spiritual processes were corrupted. Now, I understand why Benjamin Franklin had said, "Give me twenty-six lead soldiers and I will conquer the world." Indeed, Edward Bulwer-Lytton agreed that "The pen is mightier than the sword." Today, along with the so called religious scholars of their own religion, the English translators since 17th century have harmed much of the philosophies of the world. English is a widespread language that has emerged out of the need to communicate and it has the least vocabulary to become a translated target-language. It lacks the vast memory and moods found in languages like Arabic. English is a language for materialistic purposes only! What Qur'an has to say about Islam? Qur'an itself refers to Islam as Din - While the word "religion" would again connect Islam with a certain form of theism, Din is an Arabic word with its root being d-y-n, meaning ‘to dissolve.’ Thus, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself is telling that Islam has nothing to do with any belief-system, rather it is about submission to the whole of the creation and becoming one with it and obviously it needs faith to walk such a truthful path and dissolve. This is why Allah has the name Al-Ahad - The Unifier. For me, Islam is not a Religion but a Way of Life and a Spiritual Quest and I am not a believer but indeed faithful to Islam. What are your views?

Your spiritual year! Take part in the one-year study of the Academy of Islamic Theology. See the flyer on: https://ibb.co/nzhFLYJ Limited places. Please share and earn Hassanat Further information on: https://theologie-akademie.de/kurzstudium/

I wish to share my thoughts on the concept of Unity. To do that, I have a perspective which is a cumulation of all the experiences of my life put together. My perspective may have a bias since it is a combination of the realities that I have lived and observed at different points in time. In order to explain my thoughts, I am compelled to make the best use of my language skills. I believe the English Language is one of the most, if not THE most spoken languages in contemporary times. I start off by introducing myself to the reader. I like to think of myself as a being that is subject to constant evolution. Evolution in the form of mind, body, brain, soul, spirit, etc. So in order to understand me, the reader should have a basic understanding of the concept of Unity, Duality, Multiplicity, and Infinity. Since only certain things can be explained at any one point in time (because time is relative), my goal here is to explain the concept of Unity. In Arabic (the language of the Arab people), Unity is analogous to the concept of 'Tawhid'. But in order to continue in English, I will have to proceed and due to my limitations to explain this concept, and the readers' limitations to understand this concept, I will have to improvise. Understanding Unity via Duality can be done in countless ways. The way I wish to do so is through the relativity of time. Basically, in order to explain Unity to you, I will keep time as a constant for a short period of time. It is at my discretion (at present) to pick a point in time to explain to you the concept as I am the speaker and you are the listener (presumably). The point of time that I pick is one from history. I have picked it because of its significance in countless ways, depending on the observer of time. The date I've picked is the 10th of October 680 C.E (Common Era). Since I am explaining Unity through Duality, I would now like to divide the recording of time in history via two methods already used. The Gregorian Calendar (the 12 months commonly used today, supposed to have marked the beginning of the Common Era, following the birth of Jesus Christ) and The Hijri Calendar (the 12 months commonly used by the Muslim population of the world, following the migration of Muhammad to Mecca). 10th of October in the Gregorian Calendar coincides with the 10th of Muharram in the Hijri Calendar. More specifically, 10th October 680 C.E = 10th Muharram 61 A.H. Since we are now keeping 'time' a 'constant', we have limited 'space' to keep making progress. So, in a few words, Unity explained via Duality means that at it's most basic, yet Absolute, Unity means two things (keeping in mind that time is NOT a constant). As we understand, Unity exists via space relative to time. I repeat, Duality of Unity is known in contemporary times as the Space-Time continuum. Do we understand the Space-Time continuum? Maybe, maybe not. I'd prefer to think that we do understand this continuum. You, me, we, all of us understand it in a different way. Coming back to time. To conclude this, on the 10th of October 680 C.E. (10th of Muharram 61 A.H.), an event took place. ONE event, best explained to be a combination of Infinite events, held at the same point in time for Existence to comprehend the Infinite potential of mankind in the form of Duality. The Duality of Right vs. Wrong. The Duality of Truth vs. Falsehood. The Duality of Being a Creation Vs. The Creator. As long as we can compel ourselves to observe all of history via the concept of Unity and applying Duality at it constantly, it will only be by a miracle that we don't/can't SEE the truth, HEAR the truth, FEEL the truth. Anything and Everything else is just pure coincidence. The End.

Salam everyone, I saw this book named 'Spiritual Prescriptions' by Shaykh Azhar Nasser. I thought I would buy it but the price ($34.99) gave me a not so minor heart attack. Nevertheless, I think this would be a good buy for those interested in the topic. Maybe the brother will send me a free copy or else I will wait for a sale. Given his light hearted approach when giving advice, I believe this would be an easy fun read. https://www.amazon.com/dp/107255996X?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 The topic of Islamic spirituality has often faced the challenge of remaining comprehensible to a limited few who have been able to decipher the realm of the esoteric and theoretical. The book before you seeks to accessibilize spirituality by distilling difficult concepts into digestible nuggets of wisdom. Contained within these pages are 100 spiritual prescriptions which offer simple cognitive/and or behavioral instructions to help nurture and illuminate the soul. In keeping with the Prophet's (s) final testament of adhering to the Qur'an and his immaculate family, each spiritual prescription is rooted in the Qur'an and the prophetic legacy as transmitted to us through those who knew him best.

Salaam all, I thought it might be beneficial to have a thread where we can specifically post videos/clips. Whether you find them to be motivational, inspirational or spiritually uplifting and think they may benefit others. I was sent this clip the other day and thought it was beautiful and very spiritual.

Part II A Detailed Description of the Method and Way of Godward Wayfaring My notes on the book's content. I had to reformat and reduce the size of file to meet the specifications of the forum. Hopefully this image will be readable after zooming.

An insightful 1 hour video on Sufism by Syed Ammar.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Despite the repeated use of the phrase “there is no proof or evidence for the existence of God,” I would imagine most atheists, and indeed most people, are unaware that there is in fact a technical difference between evidence and proof. Fittingly, the distinction between proof and evidence was initially taught to me in an introductory evolutionary biology course by an ardent atheist professor during my first year of university. My professor used this distinction to justify why she would not be receiving objections to evolution in her class. (Literally, she said that we were not allowed to question evolution or present counter evidence during the lecture, and that she would not entertain it during her office hours.) It was the most bizarre and dogmatic moment I had in my entire education, and I say this as someone who was blessed to study theology in a seminary environment for a year. Contrary to popular opinion, the seminaries are far less dogmatic when it comes to foundational beliefs, as they permit questioning the existence of God and raising objections to the proofs offered. She argued that evolution was based upon good evidence, but could never attain the status of complete certainty. It was a probabilistic argument, like virtually all of science, rather than a demonstration, as in the case of mathematical proofs (and, as we shall see, metaphysical arguments.) I still vividly remember the slide used to showcase an example of rational certainty – it was that of a triangle with some lines and an accompanying trigonometric proof. Because evolution (along with all empirical science) could never attain 100% rational certainty, she argued that it was always possible to be a skeptic, to raise objections about inductive inferences which are probabilistic at best, or to posit alternative explanations that could explain the data, no matter how improbable. Oh the irony. If scientific atheists only applied their standards consistently, they would either deny science or accept God. We will see why more clearly later on when we explore the evidence for the existence of God. But there is neither here nor there. For now, what I want to do is just go over some basic concepts in reason in order to set the table for the coming arguments... This article was originally published on themuslimtheist.com. Click here to continue reading.

Salam, Here's a fantastic article/manifesto for a post-materialist sciences. http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307(14)00116-5/fulltext Read it carefully. Some of the scientific findings do not easily fit with Shia ideology or Islam. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

In His Name As an ethical expression, muhasaba al-nafs (literally, soul's accounting) plays a key role in spiritual and moral discussions. Commonly translated as spiritual accounting or inward accounting, muhasaba al-nafs has been paid much attention in Shi'ite narrations by the Infallibles and books by many scholars. To put it in a nutshell, muhasaba al-nafs requires one to appropriate a specific time (usually on a daily basis) and contemplate deeply on his deeds in the past (day, days, months or whatever the case may be) and thank Allah The Almighty for whatever good deeds that he has done and ask Him for forgiveness for all the sins he has committed and take on himself not to repeat them. In spiritual wayfaring, the process of muhasaba al-nafs, if followed properly, will lead, in the long term, to reducing one's sins and his progress in spiritual journey. Due to the great importance of muhasaba al-nafs, during the Islamic history, many scholars have dealt with this issue either by compiling independent books on this subject (mention should be made of Muhasaba Al-Nafs by Ibrahim ibn Ali Al-'Amili Al-Kaf'ami (840-905 AH), Shaykh Ibrahim Kashifi, Sayyid Muhammad Husain Shahrestani etc.) or appropriating a chapter of their books to this matter. In this regard, Muhasaba Al-Nafs by Sayyid ibn Tawus is a notable work. Inshallah, I will share some narrations from this book in this thread.

Greetings everyone, I hope you are doing well. Well I need to state that I'm a non-Muslim seeking my path of being a better human and in process of researching all sorts of things (religions, spirituality, occult, etc) I was always attracted to Arabic things, especially taweez (talismans), vefks and similar. What I noticed is that Sufism would fit me as I begun meditating on Allah's names as mantras and they really make my meditations better. I'm also attracted to out-of-body experiences and surfing the Internet I got a feeling that Shia community is far more accepting to personal development (one's path) to Allah and relationship with the Qur'an. Did I conclude wrongly or is this true? I feel absolutely as I said in love with mystical side of Arab/Islamic world that I can't help it but still have a need of having some belief and prayers to God so would you recommend me a Shia/Sufi mixture of self development or? Oh and just to be clear - taweez only and only in case of helping others overcome ill situations both physically, spiritually and morally (and I do believe that the power from them comes from God himself but I don't agree that God is long bearded guy somewhere in the cloud but more as an intelligent (supreme) energy (all attributes with the names of God apply). Any advice and help is appreciated!

Osiyo fellow humans. I thought, instead of posting in my greetings post more, I should start a topic in this place, as I have reviewed the guidelines and realized the rules suggest appropriate location of threads. Recently I have been writing something, I guess one could call it magic as it focuses intent and places investment in will. It is also an understanding I suppose. I apologize if this is difficult for some to see/focus on. It was written with a shiny ink and eagle feather. I call this Heaven's Gate, and it is positioned (the prayer or invocation) behind a grouping of minor sigils, which in terms for me, minor is like realm or reality or understanding. I will post when I have photograph of this. I promise, this is not profanity, and is not an attempt to challenge anyone's views. I have a key for the symbols but not photograph of it yet. The first line says, I stand with a lion's fist and pray send you understanding. I have already memorized the symbols, so translation is possible for me to do very quickly if requested/required. Anyways, I wanted to share this.

Salaamu alaykum all, I've decided to begin a new personal project in which I try to implement a new sunnah of the Prophet every day of the following week (and till the 40 days after such that it becomes a habit.) I will start with the duas of the Prophet SAWS. He had a unique one for nearly every action in his daily routine. This will help us remember Allah throughout the day, as a matter of course. My motivations behind starting this project are in this post entitled A Sunnah a Day Keeps the Devil Away. I invite you all to join me in this project which will begin July 15th inshaAllah (I decided to give it a week to get more people on board.) We will hold each other accountable and encourage one another to righteousness, inshaAllah. Make sure to subscribe to the email list for updates!

Recently we have had a family member pass on. I have started to notice that flies will appear and linger around me for some reason. Well it is always only one fly, and prior to my family member passing on this would not happen, however since it has become very noticeable - and in different environments on different days (ex. at work, at the gym). For the jokers out there, I would note that I shower and change my clothes regularly at least once a day. This may just be coincidence but does anyone know if there would be any significance to this kind of stuff happening? If so, does anyone know of any references in ahadith or literature? I've been hearing things that lead me to believe there is some significance but I don't want to buy into rumours without having a basis for looking into them further. I thank you in advance for your time Was salaam

Salaamu Alaykum everyone, I wrote this post detailing how to re-establish a connection with God when you feel like you're in a state of spiritual recession. It includes a more detailed guide on repentance for new converts (which those more experienced can browse over) and then a golden tip which I think everybody should read. It's one of the great realizations of my spiritual journey. Make sure to like/share/comment/subscribe inshaAllah! http://themuslimtheist.com/how-to-escape-being-burried-in-your-sins/

Salaamu alaykum all, It's been a long while, but some of you may remember from my suggested Shiachat Wikipedia Project which did not take off due to a lack of participation. I've decided to do something more within my reach inshaAllah - so I've started a blog addressing more philosophical and mystical topics. I feel that it is essential for Muslims to be pushing the Divine mission into cyberspace. My aim in starting this blog is 3: 1. To create a forum for spirituality. The Islamosphere is seriously lacking in blogs that promote spiritual material that will help us grow in our journey towards Allah 2. To bring back a traditional Islamic worldview. Because we live in the modern world, we do not realize the extent to which we assimilate values that are antithetical to Tawheed. I wish to share what I've learned along this philosophical journey. 3. To refute atheism. Currently there are hundreds of atheist blogs attacking God and religion - we have barely given a response, let alone a serious one. I view this as a wajib kifaa'i which we are currently failing to fulfill. If this sounds interesting to you - see my first post Intentions to learn more. I'd also really appreciate any likes on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/themuslimtheist/ . You can also follow me on twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/TheMuslimTheist Setting up this blog was A LOT of work (there's still more to be done, but I wanted to get the ball rolling.) I'd really appreciate any comments or shares! JazakAllah Khayr

Salaam Brothers, I want to discuss something..Very Popular nowadays, Astral Projection I performed astral projection when I was 15 years old,(i'm 16 now) When i first time performed it,I had a very Beautiful experience, I just learnt a technique and did it.Just did it.Nothing about jinns or other beliefs, I just did it for ten minutes,I directly went to moon and then other places which i don't know either I just want to help you guys that there are no jinns or other [Edited Out] in astral plane that people believe to be there.if you keep your thoughts positive,you will experience beauty and no other scary things. If you are having trouble doing it,just clear your mind from all the negative thoughts and Just do it Best of luck to all the new projectors

Salam. Please read the article here: Spriitual Journeying.pdf

Ramadan: A Month of Quranic Education and Spirituality, by Syed Muhammad Hossein Fadlallah: http://english.bayynat.org/occasions/Ramadan_QuranicEducationSpirituality.htm

Salaam Alaikum my brothers and sisters! My topic is a particularly pertinent one, and one that is not about laws, jurisdictions, etc. I am a fairly recent convert (about a year now), and I came from atheism to Islam, an adventure that took a while and filled with reflection, and sometimes doubt. In college I was taught that religion was inherently "foolish," an idea that feeble-minded individuals hold unto; I was continuously bombarded with the message that religion was innately against human nature, and that God was supposedly "non-existent." So my story comes from doubt to faith and to the beautiful religion of Islam (hamdullilah). My path to Islam was not motivated by an external event, nothing particularly drastic happened in my life, rather my journey was a constant one of reflection and studying, a search for a religion that was the most logical, the most sound, and the most rewarding to the spirit and mind. Therefore, I consider myself a "rational" and usually a rather "logical" thinker; however, this is also a problem. My question today is a little more abstract and reflective than my other posts, and concerns how to achieve a more emotional relationship with Allah s.w.t. Because of my rationality, I struggle to express my emotions to an extent that I truly wish. I admire my husband who cries over Hussein (a.s.) and possesses a very close, spiritual relationship with Allah s.w.t. He has helped me a tremendous amount and has been there through my doubts, and has read the Qur'an to me on nights where I am my lowest. Hamduillah, he is a great spiritual partner. However, today I hope to have people both share their experiences and how they achieve a more emotional outlook with Islam. I would very much appreciate suggestions, passages that move you, stories that are powerful, and any other suggestions how to achieve this. ​I follow the religion to the best I can, I make it an effort to pray on time, observe fasting, wear and embody hijab, and act accordingly. I always have fear when my prayers are not on time or when I am in class during the prayer time. While I believe this fear is incredibly important, I would like to have a stronger emotional relationship with Allah s.w.t. I welcome all suggestions, and sorry if this is a rant. Salaam.

What do you think of this diagram?

(bismillah) Salam, everybody. I would like to immerse myself in Shi'i spirituality to draw nearer to Allah SWT. What are some of the sunnahs the irfani scholars highly recommend for initiates starting out? According to our Blessed Imams, are there any specific prayers recommended to attain zuhd or detachment? What are the du'as taught to us by the Holy Prophet and his family to prevent our hearts from latching on to the dunya? How important is Tahajjud? Is God nearest to the dunya during the last third of the night? Do I need a teacher? Are the disciplines similar to that of sufism(the kind that does not accept bidah)? I would appreciate any response to these questions. Take care. Mithrandir. ws.

Whispered Prayer - Munajaat Do you want the Creator to impress His Divine Light onto your soul? Do you want to have a strong inner connection with Infinity? Do you want to communicate with your Creator and be completely sure that He has heard you? Whispered Prayer (known as Munajaat in Arabic) is the key to this – it is a divine secret revealed to us by the infallible pure Imams. [...] Read more at: http://losthumanity.org/2015/01/01/whispered-prayer-munajaat/ -- Lost Humanity Blog (http://losthumanity.org)

Salam Alaikum, Inshaallah this writing will enlighten us all. With the prayer of success, FB/Sisters In Islam ________________________ Commentary on Nahjul Balagha Sermon 80 – The “Deficiencies” in Women by : Ayatullah al-Uzma Hajj Shaykh Nasir Makarim Shirazi In order for us to truly understand the status and character of women in Nahjul Balagha, we need to refer to the Qur’an and then understand the position of women in Nahjul Balagha vis-à-vis what is contained in the Qur’an. Without a doubt, historical events have a great deal of influence on one’s speech and if we don’t keep in mind the history behind the words of Imam Ali , then the message behind his words would be lost. Thus, the description and analysis of women he has given in his sermons must be read and understood in the light of specific historical events which were taking place that he was forced to speak about. As it has been mentioned in the discussion concerning the transmission of this sermon (as seen below), Imam Ali delivered this sermon after The Battle of the Camel (Al-Jamal) which took place in Basrah (Iraq) in the year 656 CE/35 AH and the subsequent defeat of the army of Ayesha b. Abu Bakr. In this sermon, he reproaches women, and of course the meaning of him ‘reproaching women’ are only those types of women who had launched (such calculated) attacks - those who were responsible for instigating The Battle of the Camel. Imam Ali referred to such women as having a “deficiency” and it was because of this shortcoming that they engaged in such detrimental activities. Therefore, he reprimanded them and warned the believers to steer clear of their inductions. There is no doubt that these three forms of ‘deficiency’ have their own understandings. If Allah has removed the responsibility of praying and fasting from women during their monthly menstruation period, then it is because during the time of their menstruation, they enter into an “almost-ill” period in which they require rest and they are not in a position to engage in acts of worship. If the testimony of two women is equivalent to one man than it is due to the fact that the sentiments and emotions of a woman often overpower them and they may give testimony in favour of one and to the determinant of another merely based on their emotions. A woman’s portion of the inheritance is half of that of a man only in certain circumstances when children and wives are inheriting from the man; whereas in relation to inheriting from a father and mother – in many instances – the inheritance (of a man and woman) are the same and also in regards to the inheritance of brothers and sisters and their children – their inheritance is also similar. In order words: a woman – as a mother or sister – in many instances, takes an equal share of inheritance as a man. Another reason why sometimes the man gets double the share of inheritance than the woman is due to the fact that the financial maintenance and all of the woman’s daily requirements are the responsibility of the men (in her life) and not only does the woman not have to spend her own money on the maintenance of her children, but in fact her husband must provide all of her requirements, even if a large amount of money comes to her by way of inheritance or anything else. Therefore, all of these differences (between the genders) which Islam has brought have been carefully calculated (and there are logical reasons behind each one of them). At the end of the sermon, the Imam brings a short conclusion and states that: "So beware of the evils of women. Be on your guard even from those of them who are (reportedly) good." He concludes his sermon and says: "Do not obey them even in good things so that they may not attract you to the evil things." It is clear that the meaning of ‘not obeying women even in good things’ does not mean that if they encourage towards good actions such as the prayers (salat), fasting, justice and goodness that we are to disobey them; rather it means that we must not unconditionally follow them. In other words, ‘goodness’ must be performed because it is good, and not because one’s spouse has commanded it to be done, such that onebecomes bold and they think that they now can order you to do bad things and that they will be obeyed. Even though the wordings in Nahjul BalÁgha in this section are not specifically directed to one’s wife and all women in general have been included in the discussion, however it is clear that such an issue would usually occur more so within the context of a husband and wife relationship. Therefore, what has been mentioned in this sermon - and also keeping in mind the verses of the Quran which speak on the obligation to enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and the necessity to accept that from others - applies TO MEN AND WOMEN ALIKE, and the meaning of this sermon is not that one needs to ignore the performance of good deeds! Rather, the meaning of this sermon is that one’s actions must not be done through unconditional obedience (of another person). In any case, those women with true faith, awareness, intellect and dedication (to the faith of Islam) are definitely exempt from this ruling; those women whose pleasure lies in Allah's pleasure; whose anger is the anger of Allah - such as Fatima al-Zahra - whose commands were nothing other than advising towards goodness and righteousness, and who constantly sought to attain the pleasure and closeness of the Creator. This point is also clear that when it is said: ‘be careful of even the good ones amongst them’ that “good” is a relative term and is not absolute, as one should not only not be on the lookout for those who possess ‘absolute goodness’, rather one must accept such a person’s advice and consider their council as being worth something. It is for this reason that in the history of Islam, we see men who gave great importance to the suggestions of their wives. In some of the verses of the Qurann we see that asking women for advice has actually been considered as a noble trait. For example in regards to weaning a child off of his mother’s milk, we read the following in Suratul Baqarah, verse 233: "Mothers shall suckle their children for two full years — that for such as desire to complete the suckling … And if the couple desire to wean, with mutual consent and consultation, there will be no sin upon them…" "Indeed the muslim men and the muslim women, the faithful men and the faithful women, the obedient men and the obedient women, the truthful men and the truthful women, the patient men and the patient women, the humble men and the humble women, the charitable men and the charitable women, the men who fast and the women who fast, the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, the men who remember God greatly and the women who remember [God greatly] —God holds in store for them forgiveness and a great reward. (Quran, 33:35) This well-known verse of the Quran also classifies the spiritual proximity which one can attain to Allah as being accessible by anyone regardless of their gender – male or female: ___________ In a hadith which the late Shaykh al-Kulayni quotes in his book Al-Kafi, we read the following: The sister, by way of suckling with the same wet-nurse who also took care of and fed the Prophet Muhammad , came to the Prophet and when she entered into his room and saw him, she became extremely elated and spread her own coverlet on the ground and made him sit on it. She then began to speak warm words with him and when she was about to leave the Prophet , her brother came (this sister and brother were two of the children of Halimatul Sadiyah who was the suckling mother of the Prophet ), however the Prophet did not treat his sister (by way of suckling) in the same way that he treated her brother (even though he treated them both with respect and love). Some people asked the Prophet of Allah , “The same level of respect which you displayed to your sister you did not extend to your brother (by way of suckling) – is it because he is a man?” The Prophet replied: “[This was because] she is much nicer to her mother and father than he (the brother) is.” It is interesting to note that the companions felt that how you treat a person should be based on their gender, however not only did the Prophet not consider that as being a means of distinction (in society), rather he placed a woman - his sister, due to her upholding the Divine values and morals, at a loftier position. Full text : http://library.compassionatefather.org/En/the-deficiencies-of-women-in-the-eyes-of-imam-ali-in-nahjul-balagha/