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Ansariyan Publications
P. O. Box: 187
22 Shohada Str. Qom ISBH 964-438-606-X
Islamic Republic Of Iran

Hill
Tel: 0098 251 7741744
Fax: 0098 251 7742647
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www.ansariyan.net
Graphic Designer E Akbari
Tel: 0098 251 7748406

GREATER
SINS
 V

GREATER SINS

Shaheede Mehraab Ayatollahul-Uzma

AHJaaj Sayed Abdul Husain Dastghaib Shirazi (r.a.)

Translated By:
Syed Athar Husain S.H. Rizvi
 Dastghib Shirazi, Abdul Husain,
Greater Sins/ by Abdul Husain Dastghaib Shirazi; Translated
by Athar Husain S.H. Rizvi.-Qum: Ansariyan, 2007.
822 P. I
ISBN: 978-964-438-606-0
INDEX: 818-822 P. I
i
Original Title: jjIaUS’
1. Deadly Sins. 2. Islamic Ethics. I. Title.
297.464 BP225.6D3G7

GREATER SINS
Author: Shaheede Mehraab Abdul Husain Dastghaib
Shirazi(r.a.)
Translator: Sayed Athar Husain S.H. Rizvi
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications - Qum
First Edition 2004 -1425 - 1383
Second Reprint 2007 -1428 - 1386
Neqeen Press
Quantity: 2000
No. of pages: 824
Size: 162 x 229 mm
ISBN: 978-964-438-606-0

ALL RIGHTS R€S€RV€D AND RGCORD€D FOR THE PUBLISHER

ISBN:964-438-606-X ANSARIYAN PUBLICATIONS

P.B. Box 187
22, Shohada Str. - Qum
Islamic Republic of Iran
Tel: 0098 251 7741744 Fax 7742647,
Email: ansarian@noornet.net
□ 783 64 4 386080
www.ansariyan.org & www.ansariyan.net
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH,
THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
 i

DEDICATION

Qur sins strike him tike arrows.

cWhen he examines the scrolls oj our (feed’s,
(He Weeps at our sins.
<We dedicate the hook
e)b this same infallible <Personafity.
y\Jfah hasten his Q^eappearence.
 CONTENTS
DEDICATION ...4
PREFACE..... 43

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE 44

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF AYATULLAH DASTAGHA1B 45

TAQWA 47

The Reality of Taqwa 47

Sin Obliterates the Good Deeds, 47
The Importance of Abstaining From the Prohibited.. 47
First Tradition........................................................................ 47
Second Tradition................................................................... 48
Third Tradition...................................................................... 48
Fourth Tradition................................................................... 48
Fifth Tradition....................................................................... 48
Ill-Gotten Wealth Burns Down The Acts of Worship 48
Sixth Tradition........................................................................................................... 48
Not Giving the Rights of the People - A Barrier for the Acceptance of
Good Deeds................................................................................................................... 49
Seventh Tradition...................................................................................................... 49
Eighth Tradition.........................................................................................................49
Good Deeds are Accepted Only if Accompanied by Piety. (Abstinence
From the Prohibited Things)....................................................................................49
Ninth Tradition . 49
Sin is a Barrier to the Acceptance of Invocation (Dua) 50
Tenth Tradition....................................................................... 50
Refraining From Sins is Genuine Worship.................... 50
Eleventh Tradition................................................................. 50
Avoidance of Sins is a Must:................................................ 50

Good Actions Could Be Blown Away Like Dust 51

A Large Number of Pious People Will Enter Paradise 51

GREATER SINS AND SMALLER SINS.......................... 52

5
 Abstaining From the Greater Sins Cause the Lesser Sins to be
Overlooked 52
The Gates of Paradise are Open for the Pious 52
Intercession 52
Intercession Should not Prompt one to Commit Sins 53
Suicide in the Hope of Salvation 53
Death is of Three Types ........................ 54
I am Concerned About You Regarding Barzakh 54
Tears of Blood 55
No Intercession for Those Who Regard Namaz Unimportant 55
Excessive Sins Destroy the Faith (Belief) 56
Sins Blacken the Heart 56
The Blackened Heart is Immune to Advice and Counsel 57
To Be Fearful of the Past Sins 57
Intercession Should Neither Raise False Hope, Nor be a Cause to be
Arrogant 57
The Fear and Dread of Sins is Still Necessary 58
The Shias of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) 58
Shia and Mohib................................................. 58
The True Shias are Those Who Follow (Obey) the Imams (a.s.) 59
Conversation of Ali (a.s.) With Some Shias 59
Mere Claim is not Sufficient 59
Wilayat 60
The Meaning of Wilayat 61
Wilayat of Ali (a.s.) is a Strong Fort of Allah 61
I
Verbal Claim Unaccompanied by Actions is Insufficient 62
Success is Through Actions Alone . 62
Types of Taqwa According to Allama Majlisi 62
Love . 63
Love Makes a Man Steadfast 63
The Testimony of Jabir Ibne Abdullah Ansari (r.a.) 63

6
The Angels Seek Forgiveness for the Partisans of Ali (a.s.).. 63
Devotion for Ali (a.s.) Consumes Our Sins 64
Difficulties and Calamities Nullify the Sins . 64
The Rewards are Proportionate to the Intensity of Love . 65
Evil Desires are a Barrier to Devotion . 66
A Persian Saying . 66
Do Not Use the Bounties for Committing Sins.... 66
The Gloom of Sins and the Glow of Repentance. 67
Greater Sin and Lesser Sin . 67
What is a Greater Sin?......................... 67
First Tradition 69
Second Tradition 73
Third Tradition 73
Fourth Tradition 74
A Difficult Problem and its Solution 75
Reply to the First Objection 76
To Persist in Lesser Sins is Equivalent to Committing a Greater Sin 76
Deprived of Divine Rewards (Sawaab) 77
It is Necessary to Refer to the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) 77
How the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) are the People of Remembrance (Able Zikr).. 78
Reply to the Second Objection 79
Some of the Greater Sins are Included in Others 79
1 ^POLYTHEISM 81
Shirk (Polytheism - To associate anyone or anything with Allah) 81
Tawheed in the Essence of Allah 82
Christians Are Polytheists Too 83
Idol Worship is Polytheism 83
Tawheed in the Attributes of Allah 83
All the good qualities of the creatures are from the Creator (Allah) 84
Praising Ourselves Unknowingly 84
The Pious Ones Dread Praise 85

7
 There is no Partner in the Divine Attributes 85
Explanations................................................... 85
A Saying of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) 86
Qaroon Became a Polythiest.......................... 86
Tawheed and Shirk in Acts of Allah............ 86
Myriad Colours From Colourless Water...... 87
Who Splits the Ovum and the Seed?............ 87
In Three Darknesses....................................... 88
Nutritious Milk From Dirty Blood................ 88
Bestows Sustenance - Accepts Deeds........... 88
Allah is the Cause of Every Phenomenon.... 89
No Limit to the Splendour of Allah's Might, 89
Human Strength.............................................. 89
Human Strength is Limited by Divine Will., 90
Fear of Allah.................................................... 91
Reliance Upon Allah.................................. 91
Thankfulness to the Provider of Bounties, 92
Thankfulness for Capability (or Means) is also Necessary, 92
Hidden Shirk in the Praise of the Creature......................... 93 i-

Hazrat Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) and the Thankful Beggar, 93

Tawheed and Tawakkul (Reliance)......................................... 94
Tawheed and Acceptance (Taslim)........................................... 94
Tawheed and Love...................................................................... 95
Tawheed and Shirk in Obedience 97
Authorities Whose Obedience is Commanded by Allah 97
Who are the "Ulil Amr"?..................................................... 98
Love of Ali (a.s.) Commanded by Allah, and Muawiya's Stance 98
The Term 'Ulil Amr' is not Restricted to a Particular Group...... 99
Are the Religious Scholars Ulil Amr?............................................ 99
The Twelve Imams are Ulil Amr..................................................... 99

8
What the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) Says Regarding Ulil Amr, 99
Obedience of the Just Mujtahid.............................................. 100
The Faqih Who Deserves to be Followed.............................. 101
Obeying Parents is Obeying Allah.............................................................. 101
Parents Cannot Restrain From Obligatory Acts Nor Can They Compel
You to Commit the Prohibited...................................................................... 101
Further Details Regarding Obedience to Parents.... 102
Obedience of the Husband is Wajib Upon the Wife 102
Dignity in the Marital Affairs...................................... 103
Non-Essential Expenses Should Have the Prior Sanction of the Husband
103
Referring to the Unjust Ruler is Not Allowed 103
The Religious Scholar Who Does Not Practise Piety is Not to Be
Followed............................................................................................................ 104
Religious Leaders Who Worship the World are Bandits on the Highway
to Allah.............................................................................................................. 104
A Faqih Should Only be For Allah.................................................. 104
The Common People are 'Deficient'................................................. 105
Tawheed and Shirk in Worship........................................................ 105
The Lord of the Worlds and the Lowly Man................................... 105
Purity of Intention................................................................................ 106
One Who "Shows-Off" is a Mushrik................................................ 106
Outward Piety (Riyah) is the Lesser Shirk...................................... 107
The Deceitful Person Deceives Himself Alone.............................. 107
The Fire of Hell Weeps Due to the Deceitful Ones (Riyakaar).... 108
Sometimes Worship Leads the Worshipper to the Fire (Of Hell) 108
The Merits of Pure Intentions and the Censure of Riyah............. 109
True Deeds are Surely Manifested................................................... 110
Outward Piety and the Legal Point of View................................... 110
Riyah in the Acts of Worship............................................................. 110
1) Bodily Riyah.................................................................................... 111
2) Riyah of Beauty and Dress............................................................ 111

9
 3) Riyah of Speech.......................... 111
4) Riyah of Actions.......................... 112
5) Riyah of the External Kind......... 112
Riyah is Associated With Intention 112
2.DESPAIR......................................... 114

Despair..................................... 114
The Greatest Sin After 'Shirk' 114
Cause is Not Independent................................................ 115
First Example...................................................................... 115
Fire Did Not Burn - Knife Did Not Cut........................... 115
Second Example................................................................. 116
Musa (a.s.) and Firon........................................................ 116
Third Example................................................................... 117
The Attack of Abraha on the Ka’ba................................. 117
Fourth Example.................................................................. 117
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and How His Life was Saved 117
Fifth Example..................................................................... 117
He Creates Without an Apparent Cause......................... 117
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) And His Knowledge.......... 118
Invocations are Answered Without the Presence of Apparent Means... 118
Love of Ali (a.s.)............................................................................................. 119
The Destiny of Man.................................. 119
Balam Baoor and his Eternal Damnation 119
A Warning................................. 120
Beauty of the Hereafter........... 120
The Magicians of Firon........... 120
Asiya was a Believing Woman, 121
People of the Cave.................... 121
Realisation Before Death........ 121
Immediate Death on Embracing Islam 122
Eternal Bliss............................................ 122
Wise People Never Lose Hope 122

10
 Hopelessness is a Great Sin 123
Hopelessness is a Sign of Disbelief and Lack of Knowledge 123
Hope is Embedded in Human Psychology 124
The Cure of Hopelessness ...................................... 124
1. Power of Allah . 124
2. Personal Experiences . 124
3.Outward Examples . 125
Hazrat Ibrahim (a.s.) and His Male Child . 125
Hazrat Zakaria (a.s.) and his Son Yahya (a.s.) . 125
Hazrat Ayyub (a.s.) and Tribulations....................................... 126
Hidden Wisdom in Poverty and Destitution 126
Wealth in the Empty Hands 127 .
Cure for Hopelessness in Difficult Times 128
A Reminder 129
Every Sin is Pardonable 129
Unlimited Grace 130
Hopelessness is Haraam 130
Repentance of the Killer of a Prophet is also Acceptable 131
Despair in the Acceptance of Prayers is Also Improper 131
Prayers May Not Be Accepted Due to Sins 132
Delay in the Acceptance of Prayers Causes Nearness to Allah .132
3. DESPONDENCE 134

Hopelessness in Dua is Yaas 134

Skepticism Invites Punishment 135
Hope For Forgiveness and the Acceptance of Dua 135
Hopelessness in the Affairs of This World and the Hereafter 135
Qunut is Worse Than Yaas 136
4. DISREGARD OF ALLAH'S PUNISHMENT ............... 137
Heedlessness to Allah's Anger and Retribution 137
'Imla'- Respite 138
Respite for the Wrong Doers 139

11
 Istedraaj (Drawing Near) 139
Istedraaj denotes failure to repent 140
Fearlessness of Allah's Plan 140
Fear and Hope Are the Signs of Marefat 141
Speech and Action Should Be Guarded By Divine Fear and Hope 142
One Must Fear the Acceptance of His Prayers 142
Separation is the Most Painful Experience 142
How Should We Remain Till the End of our Lives 142
Everyone Shall Be Tested 143
Hazrat Ibrahim (a.s.) and the Fire. 143
Successful When Tested . 143
Tawfeeq is From Allah................................................................... 144
Wise People Fear Allah................................................................... 144
The Prophet's (s.a.) Conversation With Umme Salma 144
The Prophets (a.s.) and the Imams (a.s.) Were the Most Fearful 145
A Believer Lives Between Fear and Hope 145
Hope Should Not Cause Arrogance 146
Action of Man Depicts Hope and Fear 146
A Lesson 147
Between Two Fears 147
One Must Strive for the Hereafter 148
Claim Must Be Substantiated By Action 148
Fear Allah As If You Can See Him 149
The Perfect Example 149
The Personality of Ali (a.s.) is a Model For Us, 150
An Excerpt From the Will of Ali (a.s.) . 150
We Shall Follow Ali (a.s.) . 151
Warning of the Leader . 151
The Chief of the Caravan is Terror-Stricken 152
Insulting a Believer Expels One From Wilayat. 152

12
5. MURDER 153

Permanent Chastisement is Exclusively For unbelievers...... 153

The Life and Property of a Muslim are Protected................... 154
One Murder is Equal to the Killing the Whole of Humanity 154
Suicide is Murder......................................................................... 154
Enlivening the People........................ 154
A Murderer Does Not Die a Muslim 155
One Who Instigates a Murder is the Actual Killer 155
Abortion is Haraam.................................................... 156
To Abort a Foetus Intentionally is Haraam 156
Repenting For Murder.................................. 157
Accidental and Intended Murder................ 157
6.DISOBEDIENCE TO PARENTS............... 158

Those Who Are Disobedient to Their Parents 158

Tradition Regarding Aaq-e-Waledain................................. 159
Aaq-e-Waledain is Not Eligible For Divine Forgiveness... 160
Prayer is Not Accepted........................................................... 160
A Young man is interceeded by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) 160
What is Aaq-e-Waledain?...................................................... 161
Benevolence to Parents is Wajib.......................................... 162
Service to Parents is Better Than Jehad............................... 163
Goodness to Parents is the Expiation of Sins..................... 163
Satisfaction of Parents is Satisfaction of Allah.................. 164
Angels Pray for Those Who do Good to Their Parents..... 164
The Material Effects of Aaq.................................................. 164
Aaq-e-Waledain Cause Poverty and Misfortune................ 165
Evil Consequences of Aaq-e-Waledain............................... 166
Prayers of the Parents Are Accepted Soon.......................... 166
The Mother Has More Rights Than the Father................... 166

13
 Rights of the Parents 166
A Young Man and His Invalid Mother 167
Be Good to Parents Even if They Are Kafirs 167
Dua For Sunni Parents 168
Momin and Kafir Are Equal Under Three Circumstances 168
Advice of Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) to Zakaria Ibne Ibrahim 169
Rights of Parents After Their Death 170
The Disobedient Children After the Death of Their Parents 170
Single Action, Multiple Rewards 170
Praying (Dua) For the Parents and Seeking Forgiveness On Their Belief
171
■ When is Obedience to the Parents Wajib? 171
Disagreement among the Parents 172
Permission of the Parents is Necessary 173
Journey of the Child and the Martyr's viewpoint 173
Refraining From Namaz-e-Jamat 173
Respect For Parents . 174
Rights of the Children Upon Their Parents , 175
Maintenance of Children 176
Arranging the Marriage 176
Religious Education and Training.... 177
Love and Affection For the Children 177
Kissing the Children 177
Daughters Are More Deserving of Kindness 177
Spiritual Fathers Are More Qualified For Kindness 1
High Rewards and More Punishment 178
The Uqooq of Spiritual Fathers .179
7.BREAKING UP RELATIONS 180
Breaking up relations 180
The Denouncement of "Cutting Off Kinship Ties" in the Traditions... 181

14

E
The Worst Deed in the Eyes of Allah 181
Goodness in Return of Ill-Treatment 181
Life is Shortened................................. 182
Death Due to Qat-e-Rahmi................. 183
Bereft of Divine Mercy........................ 183
Kindness to Relatives is Obligatory.......................................................... 184
Kindness to Relatives is Commanded in the Same Way as Namaz and
Zakat................................................................................................................ 185
Rights of the Relatives and the Ease in Reckoning.. 185
The Inimical Relative of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) 186
Traditions Regarding Kindness to Relatives............ 186
One Who is Kind to the Relatives Will be Able to Cross the Bridge of
Siraat Smoothly.............................................................................................. 186
The Worldly Benefits of Kindness to Relatives 187
'Sileh Rahmi' Prolongs Life................................ 187
The Benefits of Sileh Rahmi in the Hereafter... 188
Sileh Rahmi Causes All the Good Deeds to be Accepted 189
Extending Hand of Friendship Towards Those Who Want to Break the
Ties (Qat-e-Rahem)......................................................................................... 189
The Reward of Sileh Rahmi . 189
The Meaning of Sileh Rahmi and Qat-e-Rahmi............................. 190
No Discrimination Between the Affluent and the Poor Relatives 190
What is Sileh Rahmi?........................... 191
The Different Grades of Sileh Rahmi 191
The Difference Between Breaking Relations With Nearest Kin and With
Distant Relatives............................................................................................. 192
Arrogance Towards Poor Relatives is Qat-e-Rahmi.................... 192
What is the Least Amount of Sileh Rahmi That is Wajib........... 192
Sileh Rahmi With Certain Relatives is Mustahab if Not Wajib 193
Breaking Ties Even With Those Who Wish to Break Up Ties With us is
Haraam.............................................................................................................. 193
The Order of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) Regarding Qat-e-Rahmi 194

15
 Goodness in Return of Ill-Treatment 194
Breaking of Ties With the Muslim and the Kafir Relatives. 195
Dawood Raqqi the Companion of the Sixth Imam (a.s.) 195
The Behaviour of Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) Towards His Inimical Relatives
195
Conversation of Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) With Abdullah Hasani. 196
The Grief of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) on the Oppression upon the
Descendants of Imam Hasan (a.s.) 196
It Does Not Matter if We Are Kind to Certain Relatives Who Are Not
Muslim 196
Sileh Rahmi to Kafir Relatives Should Not Encourage Them in Their
Disbelief 197
Dissociating With the Enemies of Islam 197
Sileh Rahmi is Wajib if the Relative is not Overtly Inimical 198
Sileh Rahmi is Wajib Even if One Has to Travel Far to Perform it 198
Maintain Cordial Relations But Do Not Reside Close to Each Other 199
Sileh Rahmi With the Spiritual Father 199
The Advent of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) - A Fabulous Blessing.. 199
The Wilayat of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and the Worldly Comforts and Blessings
200
Who Are the Spiritual Fathers? 200
Rights of Sadaat 201
Does Anyone Have a Right Upon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)? 201
Goodness to Sadaat and Paradise 202
Rights of the Brothers in Faith 202
Sileh Rahmi with the Imam (a.s.) ..203
8.USURPING THE PROPERTY OF THE ORPHANS 204
Punishment for Usurping the Orphan's Property is Meted Out in This
World 206
This is not Against Divine Justice 207
Tradition that Denounces the Usurpation of Orphan's Property 208
The Death of a Creditor and His Minor Children 208

16
Severe Pain in the Eyes of Amirul Momineen (a.s.) 209
A Frightening Tradition............................................................... 209
Kindness Towards Orphans 209
Guardian of Minor Children 211
The Affairs of the Orphans Should be Conducted With Care 211
The Wealthy Guardian of the Orphans 212
The Impoverished Guardian of the the Orphans 213
The Property of the Orphan Must Be Guarded Till He Attains Maturity
213
Signs of Puberty . 213
What is the Meaning of Rasheed? ..213
9..USURY 215

Usury is Against Intellect and Shariat ... 216

Is Trading and Usury One and the Same? 217
Interest and Inequality of Classes in Society 217
Interest for Goodly Loans 218
The One Who Indulges in Usury is Deprived of Goodness.. 218
The Usurer Does Not Place Trust in Allah 218
The Reward of Giving a Loan is More than that of Sadaqah 219
The Fate of the Usurer 219
No Barakat in Interest 220
War With Allah and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) ... 220
Traditions Denouncing Interest 221
Interest is Denounced in the Holy Quran 221
The Sinner is Deprived of Religious Faith 222
The Belly of the Usurer Shall Be Filled With Fire
Punishment of Usurers in the Barzakh 222
Usurers Under the Feet of Firon 223
Usury is Worse Than Adultery 223
Loan On Interest 224

17
 Some Important Points.................. 224
Transaction Involving Interest..... 225 ■

Three Important Points................. 226

When taking interest is permitted ..227
228
j
10. FORNICATION ........................
The meaning of asaant (sin) and ghayyi (sexual desires)....... 228
An Evil Way to Fulfill the Sexual Urge..................................... 229
The Evil Effects of Adultery in this World and the Hereafter 231
Fornicator in the Barzakh............................................................ 231 ■

Fornicator on the Day of Judgement.......................................... 232

The stench of the Fornicator will be a nuisance for the people on the Day
of Judgement................................................................................................232
Unknown progeny................... 233
Fornication With Pure Women 233
Islam Views the Problem from Every Angle, 233
Reasonable Precautions................................. 240
1. The Order for Hijab in the Quran............. 240
2. Looking at the Namehram.......................... 241
The Poisonous Arrow of Satan...................... 241
Fornication of Organs................. 241
In the Chains of Fire with Iblees 242
Alone in the Company of Namehram............... 242
When Adultery is Proved According to Shariat 245
Two Important Points.......................................... 245
1 1. SODOMY......................................................... 248
Sodomy is Kufr (disbelief)........................ 248
!
Punishment Upon the People of Lut (a.s.) 249
The Slave Who Killed His Master............ 250
A Homosexual Shall be Counted Among the People of Lut (a.s.) 250
Sodomy is an Indecency..................................................................... 251
A Lustful Glance on a Young Boy.................................................... 251

18

1
The Sensual Kiss and the Rein of Hell 252
Sleeping Together of Two People of the Same Sex 252
The Punishment of Sodomy 253
Why is Sodomy Punishable With Death? 254
Fire Did Not Bum the Repentant! 256
Remarkable Points ..................... 257
The Mother, Sister and Daughter of the Sodomist 257
12. QAZF (To accuse a chaste man or woman of adultery or
homosexuality) 258

Organs of the Inhabitant of Hell 259

Penalty for Qazf - Rejection of Testimony and its Invalidation 259
Those Who Commits Qazf are not Believers 260
Penalty for Qazf . 260
Expiation of the Sin on the Day of Judgement . 262
Repenting for Qazf........................................................................... 262
Qazf and the Responsibility of Other Muslims 265
If Conditions for Qazf are Absent 267
The Association of the Kuffar With Adultery 267
Abusive Language is Haraam 268
Traditions that Denounce Abusive Language 269
Replying to the Abuse 269
If No Excess is Committed 270
Silence is better. 270
One Who Utters Abuses Will Himself be Humiliated
13. DRINKING LIQUOR 273

Effect of Liquor on the Brain 274

Effect of Liquor on the Limbs 274
Effect of Alcohol on the Stomach 274
Effect of Alcohol on the Liver 274
Effect of Alcohol on the Blood Circulation 274

19
 Effect of Alcohol on the Respiratory Organs 275
Effect of Alcohol on Kidneys 275
Effect of Alcohol on the Heart 275 1
Effect of Alcohol on Mental Faculties 275 5

Effect of Alcohol on the Offsprings 276 !

Excessive drinking causes sterility 276

Alcoholism According to the Traditions of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) 280
Liquor is the root of all evils. 281
Liquor is Absolutely Haraam 283
Intoxicant Liquids ........... 284
Giving Liquor to Children 284
Liquor at the Dinner Table.... 285
Wine and Medicine 285
Three Exceptions 285
Wine Contains No Cure 286
Drunkard on the Death-bed 286
Punishment for Drinking Liquor 288
Aloofness from the Drunkard 290
Do not Give your Daughter in Marriage to a Drunkard 291
Boycott of the Drunkard 291
Jehad Against Intoxicants ..292
14. GAMBLING . 294

What do 'Maesir7 and 'Azlam' Denote? 295

Gambling and Wine Cause Avarice and Enmity 296
Gambling Causes Voluptuousness and Sensuality 296
Forgetting Allah 297
Objects of Gambling and Laying of Bets 298
Playing Games of Chance Without Betting 299
Betting With Articles Not Normally Used For Gambling 300
Horse racing and Archery 300

20
 Game Without Wager ..301
15. MUSIC.................... 303
Music - According to the Traditions................ 303
Music Causes Shamelessness and Hypocrisy 304
Musician and the Song...................................... 305
Divine Bounties (Barakat) are Removed........ 305
The Blackened Face of the Musician.............. 306
A House Where Music is Played for Forty Days 306
Music and the Last Period of Time...................... 306
Effects of Music on the Nervous System ..307
16._SINGING................................................ 309

What is Singing?........................................................... 309

About Singing............................................................... 310
1. Singing is a Greater Sin.......................................... 310
2. “Frivolous discourse” implies Singing................... 310
3. The exegesis (Tafseer) of the term “False Words” 311
4. “False words” denote singing................................. 311
5. Singing and hypocrisy............................................ 312
6. Singing programme................................................. 312
7. Singing causes poverty............................................ 312
8: Punishment for Singing.......................................... ,312
Deprived of Divine Mercy.......................................... .313
Being a fan of a singer................................................. 313
Melodious sounds of Paradise................................... 313
Beautiful songs in Heaven......................... 313
Strict prohibition......................................... 314
Singing and fornication............................. 314
Prohibition regarding songs and singing 315
Reciting Quran in tune of songs............... 315
Reciting Quran in a melodious voice...... 315
Pleasant voice and singing........................ 316
Singing and music during weddings...... 316

21
 i

17. LYING 317 !

Lying is one of the greatest sins 317 I

Angels curse the liars 317 ?
Quranic verses denounce lying 318
1. Lying is transgression 319
2. Meaning of the term “false words” 319
3. The liar is not a believer 319
4. Lying is an evil and a sin 319
5. The Liar is accursed 320
6. The blackened face of the liar 320
7. Sin of lying is worse than drinking wine 321
8. The foul-smelling mouth of the liar 321
9. The Angels abhor the liars 321
10. Lying is disbelief (kufr) 321
11. The stench from the liar’s mouth reaches the skies 321
12. It is also recorded that the Angels of the sky curse the liars 321
13. Falsehood spoils faith 322
14. Falsehood deprives the liar from the taste of faith 322
15. According to traditional reports, lying causes animosity and hatred
between people 322
16. The vice of lying questions the character of the liar 322
17. The traditions from Masoomeen (a.s.) inform us that all the evils are
locked in a room and the key to that room is lying 322
18. Lying is a sin and a transgression 322
19. According to other reports, seventy thousand Angels curse the liar. ...322
21. The Islamic Shariat does not pay heed to a liar’s advice 323
22. Falsehood is the worst of the psychological ailments 323
23. Lying is an embellishment of the Satan’s hands 323
24. The worst earning of a man is falsehood 323
25. Lying makes the highest number of people the inmates of Hell 323
Lying causes forgetfulness 324
26. Allah makes the liar afflicted with forgetfulness 324
I
27. Falsehood is one of the doors of hypocrisy 324
Terrible punishment for the liars 324
28. A liar is inflicted with several kinds of punishments 324
30. The liar is deprived of Namaz-e-Shab 325
31. Falsehood deprives the liar from true guidance and causes him to
deviate 325
32. Politeness and civility are removed from the one who lies . 325
33. Falsehood is the most outrageous kind of evil and an abomination. 325
34. We have proved Falsehood to be a Greater sin . 325
35. Lying is poles apart from belief. . 325

22
 36. The greatest sinner is the one who has lied 325
37. The liar is doomed because of the lies that he utters 326
38. The liar does not deserve friendship and brotherhood 326
39. The liar is kept away from truth and reality 326
40. Inhuman form of the liar in Barzakh 326
Various grades of lying 326
Falsehood against Allah, the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and the Imams (a.s.) 327
Every type of falsehood 327
Interpreting the Quranic verses and Traditions to suit oneself 328
It is not an easy job 328
A kind of falsehood attributed to Allah (a.j.) 328
Falsehood against the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and Imams (a.s.) 329
Traditions must be quoted with the chain of narrators...................... 329
Relating the contents of the narrations ™..'............................ 330
2. False oath and avoiding testimony 331
3. The evil effects of falsehood . 331
4. Lying in jest and pleasantry..................... : .......... 331
Total abstinence from lying .. 332
Exaggeration is not falsehood 333
No falsehood should be regarded as insignificant 333
A False dream 334
Falsehood in examples 335
Imam Hasan (a.s.) mentions a simile 335
Listening to a lie is haraam 335
What is Toriya? (Concealment of truth without uttering a lie) 336
Toriya is commanded 337
First type 337
Second type 337
Third type 337
Circumstances when lying is permitted 338
False oath to save the Muslims 338
Monetary loss and falsehood 339

23
 If one is compelled he must limit himself to Toriya 339
Reconcile two believing people by using falsehood 339
Conveying a message of ill will . 340
Reconciliation among people . 340
Kur water and the united hearts 341
Falsehood in the battle-field 342
Promise to a wife 342
Fear of retribution and good deeds 342
Your speech must conform to your thoughts 343
A show of submission 343
Falsehood in supplications 344
Confession of Belief in the Imams (a.s.) 344
Do you speak the truth? 344
Lying to the Imams (a.s.) 345
Then how should we pray? 345
Every person has a different position 346
Firm conviction and disobedience ..346
18. FALSE OATH 348
Punishment for a false oath. 348
The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) orders the taking of oath 348
Evil consequences of false oaths 349
Types of oaths 350
When does it become wajib (obligatory) to swear? 350
Mustahab oath 350
Imam Sajjad (a.s.) avoids swearing 351
Swearing for the sake of emphasis 352
Swearing is Makrooh 352
A Lesson from Hazrat Isa (a.s.) 353
Oath of respectable objects and personalities 354
The oath that is haraam under all circumstances 354

24
 Expiation for a haraam oath.................................... 355
Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) and Mansur Dawaniqi 355
Is it against a prohibited oath?............................... 356
Repenting for a false oath........................................ 357
When is the vow correct?......................................... 357
Useless Vow............................................................... 358
Types of Vows............... ..359
19. FALSE TESTIMONY 360
'False words' imply sin and false testimony...... 361
Punishment of hell for the false witness........... 361
One should testify only after knowing the facts 362
One who testifies falsely is soon exposed.......... 363
They do not qualify as a witness......................... 364
Compensation for the loss................................... ,.365
..365
Repentance for the sin.........................................
20. CONCEALING EVIDENCE........................... 366

Testify for the truth even if it harms you, 367

Justice for the enemy................................. 367
Those who conceal evidence.................... 368
Is it wajib to testify?...................................................... 368
People whose supplications are not accepted............. 370
Hazrat Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says:....................... 370
Testifying is wajib and concealing evidence, haraam 370
Testify only if you are certain....................................... 371
When a true testimony will oppress someone............ 371
A Tradition from Imam Musa al-Kazim (a.s.)............. 372
When testifying harms................................................... 373
Harm and being deprived of benefit............................ ..373
2 1. NON-FULFILLMENT OF A PROMISE................. 374

Types of Promises 376

25
 Allah has promised to answer every prayer 378
Verbal expression of a promise 378
Vow or oath for a useless thing . 378
Vow should be for a useful aim . 379
Conditional and absolute covenant 379
Three types of covenant with Allah 379
Expiation of a vow or a covenant 379
Breaking of promise and hypocrisy 380
Mutual covenants and agreements 382
Hypocrites do not keep their words 383
No concession ............................. 383
Treaties with the polytheists 384
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) respected the treaty with the Polytheists of
Mecca 384
Honouring the terms of the treaty with the Quraish 385
The Kafir father took away his son 385
I will stay here all my life 386
Janab-e-Ismail and the fulfillment of the vow 386
Violation of a promise is caused by disbelief 387
A Muslim is never deceitful 387
Violation of promise and falsehood 388
If there are some conditions 388
Fulfillment of promise is a must 388
To vow or pledge after saying Insha-Allah 389
Prophet Ayyub (a.s.) and his oath of beating his wife a hundred strokes
..390
’.2J<HIYANAT 391

The punishment of misappropriation according to the Holy Quran 391

Breach of trust denounced in the traditions 392
Misappropriation causes misfortune 393

26
 Anyone could be the owner of the entrusted property ....... ............... 394
The Satan instigates . ........ ............... 395
Ameen (Trustworthy) - A Title of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) 396
Types of misappropriations...................................................... 396
1. The trust of Allah................................................................... 396
The blessings of intellect and trustworthiness........................ 397
Propagating the laws of religion............................................... 398
2. Trust of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) ............... 398
Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) are the Trust of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)... 398
3. Trust of the people................................................................. 399
Trusts of Shariat.......................................................................... 399
Misappropriating other's property 400
Illegally using someone's property 400
Carelessness in guarding the trust 401
Delay in returning the trust 402
Transactions of hire, ariya (free loan), mortgage and partnership.. 403
Search for the owner - Sadaqah on his behalf 403
The one who entrusts and the trustee should be adults 403
Trustworthy people praised in the Quran 404
Recovery of damages from a property in trust 405
The burden of Khiyanat and the Day of Judgement 406
The guilty shall be recognised by their marks 407
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and his trustworthiness 407

Secrets are also trusts 408

Private discussion is also a trust 408

Divulging secrets is Khiyanat 409

Informing disbelievers about the military secrets of the Muslims 410
Divine mercy upon those who maintain trusts 411

Restrain from divulging your own secrets 411

An exemplary confidant ..413

23. STEALING 416

27

in
 Punishment for theft.............................................................. 417
Conditions when corporeal punishment is accorded......... 419 s

Protection of property and honour....................................... 424

How is the punishment awarded?........................................ 424
Diyat (penalty)....................................................................... ..425
24. SHORT-WEIGHING AND CHEATING (In Business) 426

Deed in Sijjin........................................................................... 426

A person who short-weighs is not a Momin.......................... 427
Five sins and their punishments............................................. 428
Advice of Amirul Momineen Ali (a.s.) for the businessmen 428
Between mountains of fire...................................................... 428
Short changing is also haraam.......................................... 429
The Seller who cheats is a debtor of the buyer............... 429
Defrauding is like selling short........................................ 429
Adulteration is haraam...................................................... 430
Giving less in the rights of Allah and Prophet (s.a.w.s.) 432
What you desire for yourself............................................. 433
Justice and equity is best.................................................. 433
The scales of justice........................................................... 433
Everything has a measure................................................. 434
Ali (a.s.) is the scale of deeds........................................... ..434
25. CONSUMPTION OF HARAAM................................ 436

Types of bribe.................................................... 438

Bribe in the name of khums and gift................ 439
Paying a bribe for obtaining ones rights......... 439
Accepting a bribe for doing something lawful, 440
Characteristics of those who eat haraam........... 441
Invocations are not accepted............................ 442
Hardening of the heart...................................... 442
A morsel of halaal food..................................... 444

28
 Allah does not provide unlawful livelihood................. 444
No one dies without receiving his decreed sustenance 445
Deprived of halaal food.............................................................................. 446
26. USURPING THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS OR NON-FULFILLMENT
OF RIGHTS.................................................................................................... 447

Demand for fulfillment of rights on the Day of Qiyamat.... 448

Actual poverty............................................................................. 449
Non-payments of debts and transgressing of rights.............. 449
Loan for a fixed period and loan without time limit............. 449
It is Compulsory to repay a Debt............................................. 450
Not repaying debts is Khiyanat to all...................................... 452
Method of lending and borrowing.......................................... 453
Rewards for lending-punishment for not lending................. 453
It is.obligatory to have the intention of repaying ones debt 454
The Incapable Debtor Must be given Respite....................... 454
Each Day of Respite Brings Rewards of Sadaqah................. 456
Allah will Forgive...................................................................... 456
The Debtor Whose Good Deeds are Given to the Creditor.. 457
Amount of Compensation................................................ 458
Haste in Repaying Debt is Mustahab (Recommended) 459
Fulfillment of the Rights of People................................ ..462
27. AVOIDING JEHAD (Holy War).............................. 465

Initiated Jehad and Jehad in defence............ ..465

28. BECOMING A'ARAAB AFTER HIJRAT 468

What does 'becoming A'araab after hijrat' mean?............................ 468

'Why don't you migrate?'...................................................................... 469
Becoming A'araab after the passing of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) 470
It is necessary to migrate towards the jurist....................................... 471
Order for migration is forever.............................................................. 471
'They could not migrate from Mecca'.................................................. 472

29
 Wajib, mustahab and mubah hijrat 472 I
Wajib hijrat
Recommended hijrat
No migration from areas of Ahle-Sunnat
472
472
473
I
*
Support of the Martyr's view 473 I
Propagating Wilayat in areas of Kuffar 474
Ii
■:

I
Quranic view of nomadism and apostasy 475
Ignorance of Islamic acts is a kind of nomadism 475
One who learns but does not act upon it is also a nomad 476
477
i
Desert of ignorance and negligence
i
Neglecting religious knowledge ..478
29. HELPING THE OPPRESSORS 479
Types of oppressors 481
Helping the oppressor in oppression .'............. 482 t

The Traditions of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) against helping the oppressors 483
Praising the oppressor is also haraam 484
i
We must not accept any honour from oppressors 485
1
When is it permitted to accept a position under rulership? 487
Accepting employment under a tyrant ruler becomes wajib in one
condition 490
Helping the oppressors in other matters 491
I
Assistance which is not haraam nor can be an encouragement 494
Imam Musa al-Kazim (a.s.) commands Safwan Jamaal . 495
Helping an oppressive person who is not an habitual oppressor, 496 I

<
Preventing oppression is necessary . 497
Helping a person who is not a professional oppressor . 497
i
We must not co-operate in sinful deeds . 498 |
i
Helping in Sin.................................................................................... 498
Helping a sinner in some other way 498
Preventing others from evil is most important 500

30
We must discriminate between different ranks and positions ..501
30. NOT HELPING THE OPPRESSED 502
It is not necessary that only those who request for help should be
assisted 505
Helping the oppressed is not only for believers 506
The worshipper sinks in the ground 508
The worldly and the heavenly rewards for those who help the believers
508
Letter of Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) to the ruler of Ahwaz
Imam Musa al-Kazim (a.s.) and Ali Ibne Yaqteen.... 512
His own needs are fulfilled .513
31. SORCERY 515

Sorcery is punishable by death 518

What is sorcery? . 519
A philosophical discussion . 520
Various Kinds of Magic...................................... .523
Divination or Kahanat-Soothsaying .525
Ignorance about future is better for the people 526
Sorcery and soothsaying are evil 526
Shoabada-illusion 527
The powers of the magician are limited 528
Taskheraat (controlling jinns etc.) 529
Qayafa (Guess) 529
Astronomy and Meteorology 530
Four types of beliefs 533
The prediction did not materialise 534
Magic and miracles are of two types 534
Countering magic ..535
32. ISRAAF (WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE) 538

The meaning of extravagance and its types

31
 Extravagance depends upon the capacity of every person 542
Abu Zar repels greed 543
Extravagance depends on prevailing conditions at different times 547
Extravagance that is haraam at all times 548
Eating or drinking harmful things is also a waste 549
Spending on haraam things is Israaf 550
Charity is never extravagance 550
We must always practise moderation 552
Reconciling the two types of verses 553
No extravagance in charitable acts 555
Israaf in belief and actions ....... ..558
33. PRIDE OR ARROGANCE 560
Pride and its Types 563
To Give up Dua due to Arrogance is Kufr. 566
Arrogance by Sacrilege 567
Arrogance causes degradation in this world as well as the Hereafter... 567
Arrogance toward the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and Imams (a.s.) 568
Arrogance with an Aalim is arrogance towards the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
.................................................. 569
The Arrogants are the inmates of Hell 569
Behaving arrogantly with the people 570
The Quranic view of arrogance with people 572
Show of wealth is also an act of pride 573
The Proud people are insane „..................................... 574
To show oneself to be absolutely purified is an act of pride too 574
Signs of Pride 575
Remedy for Pride in Theory and Practice 576
After death, What? 578
We should keep in view those who are greater than us 578
Humility of the Prophet (s.a.) 579

32
The basic causes of Pride must be removed 579
What applies to knowledge is also applicable to goodness 580
Pride on ones wealth is foolishness 581
Post, title and status are all Temporal 581
Superiority of Humility 582
Worship destroys Pride 583
The Meaning of Humility and its kinds 584
Humility with the Almighty Allah 584
Humility before the Prophet (s.a.) and the Imam (a.s.) 585
Humility with the People . 586
It is not correct to be humble before a disbeliever or a transgressor, 586
It is also improper to be humble towards an arrogant person . 587
There is a difference between not being humble and being Proud. 588
Pride and obedience are not compatible 588
Another point of caution 589
To honour a wealthy person for his wealth is a path to destruction 589
The Humility of the Rich and the Pride of the Beggar for the pleasure of
Allah 590
Humility shown differs from Person to Person.. 590
Signs of Humility 592
Our Imams (a.s.) were having utmost Humility 592
Pride must be completely rooted out ..593
34. TO WAR AGAINST MUSLIMS 594

Who is an attacker? 595

To war against Allah and Prophet (s.a.) 596
Punishment for a Moharib 596
Defending from robbers ..599
35. EATING OF CARRION, PORK, AND BLOOD 601

Carrion 601
Terrestrial Animals 602

33
 Birds 602
Aquatic Animals.......... 603
Purification of Animals 604
A Discussion regarding Non-vegetarianism...................... 604
1. Different beliefs regarding Non-vegetarianism............... 605
2. Is Killing a living thing against Mercy?........................... 606
3- Why has Islam prescribed slaughter?.............................. 608
Purification through the Prescribed method of Slaughter 609
Purification affected by slaughter....................................... 610
Why is Carrion Haraam?...................................................... 612
Blood...................................................................................... 613
Why is blood haraam? 614
Pork............................. 614
Details Regarding some harmful effects of Pork ..615
1. Spiritual and Moral harms.............................. ..615
2. Physical Harms................................................ ..616
Trichinosis............................................................ ..616
Dysentery............................................................. ..616
36. OMITTING PRAYER INTENTIONALLY....... 618

Misunderstanding of some stupid people 620

Promise of chastisement in the Quran...... 620
Fifteen terrible Consequences in the life and the Hereafter for those who
neglect prayer............................................................................................... 622
The Most Important Religious Obligations............... 623
Helping those who omit Prayer................................... 625
Different ways of Neglecting Prayer........................... 626
Emphasis on Reciting at the Earliest time.................. 628
Omitting an Obligatory ritual of Prayer..................... 629
There are other conditions for Acceptance of Prayers 630
What is concentration and attention of mind?............ 633
The Barriers Should be Removed 634
Obligatory Prayers 635

34
 Qaza Prayers (Prayers that are to be offered after its time has lapsed).. 636
Qaza of Invalid Prayers is very Important................................................. 636
37. NON-PAYMENT OF ZAKAT 639
One who does not pay Zakat is a Kafir....... 642
Why does Zakat become wajib?.................. 644
Zakat and Sadaqah Increases Wealth......... 645
Types of Zakat and its Quantity.................. 649
Nisab of three types of Quadrupeds:.......... 649
1. Five types of Nisabs apply to Sheep/goats 649
2. Two Nisabs of Cows................................. 650
3. Minimum Taxable Limit of Camels......... 650
Nisab (Minimum Taxable Limit) for Gold. 651
Taxable Limit of Silver................................. 652
Zakat of Fitra 652
Disposal of Zakat.......................... 653
Recommended (Mustahab) Zakat 654
Other Wajib Taxes.......................... 655
Widening of Sustenance - Purification of wealth - Savings for the future
......... ..................................................................................... 656
When does Khums become wajib - How is it spent?, 657
Dependant Members of the Family whose expenses are obligatory on us
.658
1. Recommended Charity................................................... .659
2. Hadiya (Gift)................................................................... .659
3. Hosting treats for Believers............................................ .659
4. Known rights and the rights of those who are deprived .659
5. Haqq-e-Hisad.................................................................. .660
6. A Goodly Loan - Qardul Hasana.................................. .661
7. Giving Respite to the Debtor or Condoning the Debt.... ,.661
Donating clothes and Shelter to the Needy..................... ..662
9. Protecting the honour and Self Respect......................... ..662
10. Continuing Charity....................................................... ..662
38. NOT GIVING IMPORTANCE TO HAJJ................... 664

Delay from the year of Capability is Haraam 664

35
I

Ayats that Imply the ones who Neglect Hajj 666

Worldly Consequences of Postponing Hajj 667
Neglecting Hajj causes poverty 667
Virtues of Hajj 669
=
When does Hajj become Wajib? 671
Conditions that make one capable 672
It is Mustahab to appoint Proxies for living and Deceased Persons 673
The Proxy of Imam should be Pious 673
Reasons why Hajj is made Obligatory 675
Servitude of Allah and Comparison with Angels ..676
39. TO NEGLECT ANY OBLIGATORY ACT 679

Corruption and a Terrible chastisement 680

What are'Wajibaat (Obligatory Acts)? 681
Fasting in the Month of Ramadhan 681
Jihad in the way of Allah ................................... 682
Amr bil Ma'roof and Nahy Anil Munkar 683
Amr bil Maroof and Nahy Anil Munkar in Traditions 685
Rules Regarding Amr bil Maroof and Nahy Anil Munkar 688
One should not worry about minor discomfort and must not act on doubt
689
Priorities in Practising Amr bil Maroof and Nahy Anil Munkar, 690
Grades of Nahy Anil Munkar 690
1- Forbidding by ones heart (Dislike) 690
2- Refraining by Tongue . 691
3- Refraining by Hand (Force) 691
A Corpse among the Living 692
Tawalla and Tabarra 692
Denying the Rights of the Able Bayt (a.s.) 694
40. PERSISTENCE IN MINOR SINS 696
One of the conditions of forgiveness is that the sin should not be
repeated again and again 697

36
 The Greatest Sin 697
What does Persistence Mean? 698
To consider a sin small 700
Being Pleased with a Sinful Act 701
Making it Public 702
Sin and Social position 702
Misdeed of an Aalim corrupts many worlds 703
Persistence is really a greater sin '..... . 703
Persistence is established by common parlance, 704
An Important Point . 704
Depriving in will................................................... 705
The poor heir must be kept in mind 705
The Heir Precedes others 706
Division of legacy according to Shariah
PART TWO 708

41. BACKBITING 710

Traditions on Gheebat 711

Meaning and Occasions of Gheebat 714
Types of Gheebat 715
Gheebat of Specified Persons and Gheebat of General People 716
Expiation and Repentance for Gheebat 717
Occasions when Gheebat is Permitted 717
Conclusive remarks from the foregone discussions: 719
Listening to Gheebat is also Haraam 720
Hell and the two Tongues 722
42. TALE-TELLING 723

There is no rain due to Tale-telling

What is Tale-Telling? 725
43. INSULTING A BELIEVER 729

A Believer is Deserving of Honour and Respect

37
 Making Fun 731
Abuse and Taunt 733
The Worst Death 733
Sometimes the Oppressed one Becomes an Oppressor 734
Exceeding the Limit in abusing 734
Paradise is not Allowed for the Sharp-tongued 735
Abusing Anyone 736
Prohibition of Retaliating to an Abuse with Abuse 736
Insulting and Degrading a Believer 737
Criticising and Exposing a Believer 738
Insulting a Momin in Prose or Poetry 740
Hurting the Feelings of a Believer .741
Terrible Punishment for Annoying the Neighbours 741
Rights of Neighbours 743
Troubling the spouse 744
Annoying a Beggar ....... ..745
44. INTRIGUE, DECEPTION AND BREAKING COVENANTS 746
Meanings of Intrigue, Cheating and Breaking Covenant. 747
Cheating and Tricking with Allah 747
False Claims of Spiritual Status 748
Cheating the Holy Personalities 748
Tricking the People 748
Double Crossing and Treason . 749
Bluffing . 749
What is the Meaning of Two tongued and Two faced?... 751
Adulteration is also a type of fraud 751
Selling at Exorbitant Rates is Also Fraud 753
45 HOARDING AND BLACK-MARKETING 755
46. DISRESPECT OF QURAN 757

38
 Respecting the Quran is one of the Necessities of Faith 757
The Best Reward 758
Disrespect of Quran and Quranic Laws
An Important Reminder ,.760
47. DISRESPECT OF KA BA 762

Emphasis on Respecting the Ka'ba . 762

Levels of Disrespect . 763
Defiling the Holy Sanctuary 763
The Sanctuary is an Area of Peace 764
Killing of Animals and Uprooting of Vegetation 765
Entering the sanctuary without Ihram 765
Relieving oneself facing the Qibla or with ones back towards it 766
48. DISRESPECT TO MASJIDS 767

Polluting a Masjid is Haraam 768

Purification of Masjid is Wajib 768
Staying in the Mosque in a state of Janabat, Haiz or Nifas 768
Recommended Actions 769
Detestable (Makrooh) Acts 769
Different Grades of Mosque 769
49. DISRESPECT OF THE TOMBS OF MASOOMEEN (A.S.)... ... 770

Disrespect of the Tombs of Masoomeen (a.s.) is Kufr 771

50. DISRESPECT TO THE SOIL OF IMAM HUSAIN'S GRAVE
(TURBAH)............................................................................................. 772

Merits of Turbah of Imam Husain (a.s.).... 772

Keeping Turbah with the corpse 775
Anointing the Corpse with Turbah 775
Turbah has the cure for every disease 775
Disrespect of Turbah Invites Destruction
True Dreams 777
A Question and its Reply. 778

39
TAWBAH (PARTONE) 780

Reality of Tawbah.......................................... 780

Repentance - The cause of giving up of sins 781

Perfect Repentance......................................... 782

What is Tawbah of Nasooh?.......................... 783

Merit of Tawbah................................................................ 784

1. It makes man a beloved of God..................................... 784
2. Evils are turned into good deed ................................... 785
3. Praiseworthy Prayer of Angels...................................... 785
4. The repentant will go to Paradise................................. 785
5. Tawbah gives happiness in life...................................... 785
6. Prayer are accepted by Tawbah................................... 786
7. Tawbah Brings good tidings from God......................... 786
8. Any number of sins will be pardoned through Tawbah 786
9. Breaking of Tawbah does not nullify repentance.......... 787
10. The Door of Tawbah is open forever........................... 788
Repentance should be Instant.......................................... 789
Black heart.............................. 790
Stages of Tawbah...................................................... 791
The Method and recommended rituals of Tawbah 792
Horrible Punishements 792
Repentance of Prophets, increase in remorse................................. 793
Perfection of Tawbah, Rozah, Ghusl and Namaz.......................... 793
Istighfar, Repeated Repentance and the Early Morning Worship 795
Repeated Repentance and Istighfar................................................. 795
Selecting Morning Hours for Repentance....................................... 796
TAWBAH (PART TWO).................................................................... 798
Ten Incidents to enlighten our minds................................................. 798
1- Wine changed into Vinegar............................................................. 798
2- Repentance is accepted till the last breath........................................ 799
3- A Perfect feeling of Allah’s fear is Tawbah...................................... 799
4- Refraining from sin brings forgiveness............................................ 800
5- Allah’s Mercy is Very Vast.............................................................. 802
6- One should remain between Hope and fear till the end of one’s life 805
7- Controlling ones carnal desires causes salvation............................. 807
8- Leaving Sins and respecting the Sayyids cause Salvation................ 808

40
 9- Do not Consider a Small thing, insignificant ..809
10- The Bounties of Allah cannot be computed ..810
GLOSSARY OF ISLAMIC TERMS.................... 812

41
-

I-

I
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Of him we may say justly: Here was one
Who knew of most things more than any other,—
Who loved all Learning underneath the sun,
And looked on every Learner as a brother.

Nor was this all. For those who knew him, knew,
However far his love’s domain extended,
It held its quiet “poet’s corner,” too,
Where Mirth, and Song, and Irony, were blended.

Autograph Poem by Austin Dobson

Garnett was a rare spirit, and the British Museum has never seemed the
same since he retired in 1899. Entrance to his private office was cleverly
concealed by a door made up of shelf-backs of books, but once within the
sanctum the genial host placed at the disposal of his guest, in a matter-of-fact
way, such consummate knowledge as to stagger comprehension. But, far
beyond this, the charm of his personality will always linger in the minds of
those who knew him, and genuine affection for the man will rival the
admiration for his scholarship.
 One afternoon at Ealing, after tennis on the lawn behind the Dobson
house, we gathered for tea. Our little party included Hugh Thomson, the artist
who so charmingly illustrated much of Dobson’s work, Mr. and Mrs. Dobson,
and one of his sons. The poet was in his most genial mood, and the
conversation led us into mutually confidential channels.
“I envy you your novel writing,” he said. “Fiction gives one so much wider
scope, and prose is so much more satisfactory as a medium than poetry. I have
always wanted to write a novel. Mrs. Dobson would never have it. But she is
always right,” he added; “had I persisted I should undoubtedly have lost what
little reputation I have.”
He was particularly impressed by the fact that I wrote novels as an
avocation. It seemed to him such a far cry from the executive responsibility of
a large business, and he persisted in questioning me as to my methods. I
explained that I devoted a great deal of time to creating mentally the characters
who would later demand my pen; that with the general outline of the plot I
intended to develop, I approached it exactly as a theatrical manager approaches
a play he is about to produce, spending much time in selecting my cast, adding,
discarding, changing, just so far as seemed to me necessary to secure the actors
best suited to the parts I planned to have them play. He expressed surprise
when I told him that I had long since discarded the idea of working out a
definite scenario, depending rather upon creating interesting characters, and
having them sufficiently alive so that when placed together under interesting
circumstances they are bound to produce interesting dialogue and action.
“Of course my problem, writing essays and poetry, is quite different from
yours as a novelist,” he said; “but I do try to assume a relation toward my work
that is objective and impersonal. In a way, I go farther than you do.”
Then he went on to say that not only did he plan the outline of what he
had to write, whether triolet or poem, wholly in his head, but (in the case of
the poetry) even composed the lines and made the necessary changes before
having recourse to pen and paper.
“When I actually begin to write,” he said, “I can see the lines clearly before
me, even to the interlinear corrections, and it is a simple matter for me to copy
them out in letter-perfect form.”
Dobson’s handwriting and his signature were absolutely dissimilar. Unless
one had actually seen him transcribe the text of a letter or the lines of a poem
in that beautiful designed script, he would think it the work of some one other
than the writer of the flowing autograph beneath.

Posterity is now deciding whether Mark Twain’s fame will rest upon his
humor or his philosophy, yet his continuing popularity would seem to have
settled this much-mooted question. Humor is fleeting unless based upon real
substance. In life the passing quip that produces a smile serves its purpose, but
to bring to the surface such human notes as dominate Mark Twain’s stories, a
writer must possess extraordinary powers of observation and a complete
understanding of his fellow-man. Neither Tom Sawyer nor Huckleberry Finn
is a fictional character, but is rather the personification of that leaven which
makes life worth living.
When an author has achieved the dignity of having written “works” rather
than books, he has placed himself in the hands of his friends in all his varying
moods. A single volume is but the fragment of any writer’s personality. I have
laughed over Innocents Abroad, and other volumes which helped to make Mark
Twain’s reputation, but when I seek a volume to recall the author as I knew
him best it is Joan of Arc that I always take down from the shelf. This book
really shows the side of Mark Twain, the man, as his friends knew him, yet it
was necessary to publish the volume anonymously in order to secure for it
consideration from the reading public as a serious story.
 MARK TWAIN, 1835–1910
At the Villa di Quarto, Florence
From a Snap-shot

“No one will ever accept it seriously, over my signature,” Mark Twain said.
“People always want to laugh over what I write. This is a serious book. It
means more to me than anything I have ever undertaken.”
Mark Twain was far more the humorist when off guard than when on
parade. The originality of what he did, combined with what he said, produced
the maximum expression of himself. At one time he and his family occupied
the Villa di Quarto in Florence (page 172), and while in Italy Mrs. Orcutt and I
were invited to have tea with them. The villa is located, as its name suggests, in
the four-mile radius from the center of the town. It was a large, unattractive
building, perhaps fifty feet wide and four times as long. The location was
superb, looking out over Florence toward Vallombrosa and the Chianti hills.
 AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM MARK TWAIN
With Snap-shot of Villa di Quarto

In greeting us, Mark Twain gave the impression of having planned out
exactly what he was going to say. I had noticed the same thing on other
occasions. He knew that people expected him to say something humorous or
unusual, and he tried not to disappoint them.
“Welcome to the barracks,” he exclaimed. “Looks like a hotel, doesn’t it?
You’d think with twenty bedrooms on the top floor and only four in my family
there would be a chance to put up a friend or two, wouldn’t you? But there
isn’t any one I think so little of as to be willing to stuff him into one of those
cells.”
We had tea out of doors. Miss Clara Clemens, who later became Mrs.
Gabrilowitch, served as hostess, as Mrs. Clemens was confined to her bed by
the heart trouble that had brought the family to Italy. As we sipped our tea and
nibbled at the delicious Italian cakes, Mark Twain continued his comments on
the villa, explaining that it was alleged to have been built by the first Cosimo
de’ Medici (“If it was, he had a bum architect,” Mark Twain interjected); later it
was occupied by the King of Württemberg (“He was the genius who put in the
Pullman staircase”); and still later by a Russian Princess (“She is responsible
for that green majolica stove in the hall. When I first saw it I thought it was a
church for children”); and then it fell into the hands of his landlady (“Less said
about her the better. You never heard such profanity as is expressed by the
furniture and the carpets she put in to complete the misery. I’m always
thankful when darkness comes on to stop the swearing”).
The garden was beautiful, but oppressive,—due probably to the tall
cypresses (always funereal in their aspect), which kept out the sun, and
produced a mouldy luxuriance. The marble seats and statues were covered
with green moss, and the ivy ran riot over everything. One felt the antiquity
unpleasantly, and, in a way, it seemed an unfortunate atmosphere for an
invalid. But so far as the garden was concerned, it made little difference to
Mrs. Clemens,—the patient, long-suffering “Livy” of Mark Twain’s life,—for
she never left her sick chamber, and died three days later.
After tea, Mr. Clemens offered me a cigar and watched me while I lighted
it.
“Hard to get good cigars over here,” he remarked. “I’m curious to know
what you think of that one.”
I should have been sorry to tell him what my opinion really was, but I
continued to smoke it with as cheerful an expression as possible.
“What kind of cigars do you smoke while in Europe?” he inquired.
I told him that I was still smoking a brand I had brought over from
America, and at the same time I offered him one, which he promptly accepted,
throwing away the one he had just lighted. He puffed with considerable
satisfaction, and then asked,
“How do you like that cigar I gave you?”
It seemed a matter of courtesy to express more enthusiasm than I really
felt.
“Clara,” he called across to where the ladies were talking, “Mr. Orcutt likes
these cigars of mine, and he’s a judge of good cigars.”
Then turning to me he continued, “Clara says they’re rotten!”
He relapsed into silence for a moment.
 “How many of those cigars of yours have you on your person at the
present time?”
I opened my cigar case, and disclosed four.
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” he said suddenly. “You like my cigars and I like
yours. I’ll swap you even!”
In the course of the afternoon Mark Twain told of a dinner that Andrew
Carnegie had given in his New York home, at which Mr. Clemens had been a
guest. He related with much detail how the various speakers had stammered
and halted, and seemed to find themselves almost tongue-tied. His explanation
of this was their feeling of embarrassment because of the presence of only one
woman, Mrs. Carnegie.
Sir Sidney Lee, who was lecturing on Shakesperian subjects in America at
the time, was the guest of honor. When dinner was announced, Carnegie sent
for Archie, the piper, an important feature in the Carnegie ménage, who
appeared in full kilts, and led the procession into the dining-room, playing on
the pipes. Carnegie, holding Sir Sidney’s hand, followed directly after, giving an
imitation of a Scotch dance, while the other guests fell in behind, matching the
steps of their leader as closely as possible. Mark Twain gave John Burroughs
credit for being the most successful in this attempt.
Some weeks later, at a dinner which Sir Sidney Lee gave in our honor in
London, we heard an echo of this incident. Sir Sidney included the story of
Mark Twain’s speech on that occasion, which had been omitted in the earlier
narrative. When called upon, Mr. Clemens had said,
“I’m not going to make a speech,—I’m just going to reminisce. I’m going
to tell you something about our host here when he didn’t have as much money
as he has now. At that time I was the editor of a paper in a small town in
Connecticut, and one day, when I was sitting in the editorial sanctum, the door
opened and who should come in but Andrew Carnegie. Do you remember
that day, Andy?” he inquired, turning to his host; “wasn’t it a scorcher?”
Carnegie nodded, and said he remembered it perfectly.
“Well,” Mark Twain continued, “Andrew took off his hat, mopped his
brow, and sat down in a chair, looking most disconsolate.
“‘What’s the matter?’ I inquired. ‘What makes you so melancholy?’—Do
you remember that, Andy?” he again appealed to his host.
 “Oh, yes,” Carnegie replied, smiling broadly; “I remember it as if it were
yesterday.”
“‘I am so sad,’ Andy answered, ‘because I want to found some libraries,
and I haven’t any money. I came in to see if you could lend me a million or
two.’ I looked in the drawer and found that I could let him have the cash just
as well as not, so I gave him a couple of million.—Do you remember that,
Andy?”
“No!” Carnegie answered vehemently; “I don’t remember that at all!”
“That’s just the point,” Mark Twain continued, shaking his finger
emphatically. “I have never received one cent on that loan, interest or
principal!”
I wonder if so extraordinary an assemblage of literary personages was ever
before gathered together as at the seventieth anniversary birthday dinner given
to Mark Twain by Colonel George Harvey at Delmonico’s in New York!
Seated at the various tables were such celebrities as William Dean Howells,
George W. Cable, Brander Matthews, Richard Watson Gilder, Kate Douglas
Wiggin, F. Hopkinson Smith, Agnes Repplier, Andrew Carnegie, and Hamilton
W. Mabie.
It was a long dinner. Every one present would have been glad to express
his affection and admiration for America’s greatest man-of-letters, and those
who must be heard were so numerous that it was nearly two o’clock in the
morning before Mark Twain’s turn arrived to respond. As he rose, the entire
company rose with him, each standing on his chair and waving his napkin
enthusiastically. Mark Twain was visibly affected by the outburst of
enthusiasm. When the excitement subsided, I could see the tears streaming
down his cheeks, and all thought of the set speech he had prepared and sent to
the press for publication was entirely forgotten. Realizing that the following
quotation differs from the official report of the event, I venture to rely upon
the notes I personally made during the dinner. Regaining control of himself,
Mark Twain began his remarks with words to this effect:
When I think of my first birthday and compare it with this celebration,—just a
bare room; no one present but my mother and one other woman; no flowers, no wine,
no cigars, no enthusiasm,—I am filled with indignation!
 Charles Eliot Norton is a case in point in my contention that to secure the
maximum from a college course a man should take two years at eighteen and
the remaining two after he has reached forty. I was not unique among the
Harvard undergraduates flocking to attend his courses in Art who failed
utterly to understand or appreciate him. The ideals expressed in his lectures
were far over our heads. The estimate of Carlyle, Ruskin, and Matthew Arnold,
that Mr. Norton was foremost among American thinkers, scholars, and men of
culture, put us on the defensive, for to have writers such as these include
Norton as one of themselves placed him entirely outside the pale of our
undergraduate understanding. He seemed to us a link connecting our
generation with the distant past. As I look back upon it, this was not so much
because he appeared old as it was that what he said seemed to our untrained
minds the vagaries of age. Perhaps we were somewhat in awe of him, as we
knew him to be the intimate of Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell
Lowell, as he had been of Longfellow and George William Curtis, and thus the
last of the Cambridge Immortals. I have always wished that others might have
corrected their false impressions by learning to know Norton, the man, as I
came to know him, and have enjoyed the inspiring friendship that I was so
fortunate in having him, in later years, extend to me.
In the classroom, sitting on a small, raised platform, with as many students
gathered before him as the largest room in Massachusetts Hall could
accommodate, he took Art as a text and discussed every subject beneath the
sun. His voice, though low, had a musical quality which carried to the most
distant corner. As he spoke he leaned forward on his elbows with slouching
shoulders, with his keen eyes passing constantly from one part of the room to
another, seeking, no doubt, some gleam of understanding from his hearers. He
told me afterwards that it was not art he sought to teach, nor ethics, nor
philosophy, but that he would count it success if he instilled in the hearts of
even a limited number of his pupils a desire to seek the truth.
As I think of the Norton I came to know in the years that followed, he
seems to be a distinctly different personality, yet of course the difference was
in me. Even at the time when Senator Hoar made his terrific attack upon him
for his public utterances against the Spanish War, I knew that he was acting
true to his high convictions, even though at variance with public opinion. I
differed from him, but by that time I understood him.
“Shady Hill,” his home in Norton’s Woods on the outskirts of Cambridge,
Massachusetts, exuded the personality of its owner more than any house I was
ever in. There was a restful dignity and stately culture, a courtly hospitality that
reflected the individuality of the host. The library was the inner shrine. Each
volume was selected for its own special purpose, each picture was illustrative
of some special epoch, each piece of furniture performed its exact function.
Here, unconsciously, while discussing subjects far afield, I acquired from
Mr. Norton a love of Italy which later was fanned into flame by my Tuscan
friend, Doctor Guido Biagi, the accomplished librarian of the Laurenziana
Library, in Florence, to whom I have already frequently referred.
Our real friendship began when I returned from Italy in 1902, and told
him of my plans to design a type based upon the wonderful humanistic
volumes. As we went over the photographs and sketches I brought home with
me, and he realized that a fragment of the fifteenth century, during which
period hand lettering had reached its highest point of perfection, had actually
been overlooked by other type designers (see page 16), he displayed an
excitement I had never associated with his personality. I was somewhat
excited, too, in being able to tell him something which had not previously
come to his attention,—of the struggle of the Royal patrons, who tried to
thwart the newborn art of printing by showing what a miserable thing a
printed book was when compared with the beauty of the hand letters; and that
these humanistic volumes, whose pages I had photographed, were the actual
books which these patrons had ordered the scribes to produce, regardless of
expense, to accomplish their purpose.
The romance that surrounded the whole undertaking brought out from
him comments and discussion in which he demonstrated his many-sided
personality. The library at “Shady Hill” became a veritable Florentine rostrum.
Mr. Norton’s sage comments were expressed with the vigor and originality of
Politian; when he spoke of the tyranny of the old Florentine despots and
compared them with certain political characters in our own America, he might
have been Machiavelli uttering his famous diatribes against the State. Lorenzo
de’ Medici himself could not have thrilled me more with his fascinating
expression of the beautiful or the exhibition of his exquisite taste.
Each step in the development of the Humanistic type was followed by Mr.
Norton with the deepest interest. When the first copy of Petrarch’s Triumphs
came through the bindery I took it to “Shady Hill,” and we went over it page
by page, from cover to cover. As we closed the volume he looked up with that
smile his friends so loved,—that smile Ruskin called “the sweetest I ever saw
on any face (unless perhaps a nun’s when she has some grave kindness to
do),”—and then I knew that my goal had been attained (page 32).
While the Humanistic type was being cut, Doctor Biagi came to America
as the official representative from Italy to the St. Louis Exposition. Later,
when he visited me in Boston, I took him to “Shady Hill” to see Mr. Norton.
It was an historic meeting. The Italian had brought to America original,
unpublished letters of Michelangelo, and at my suggestion he took them with
him to Cambridge. Mr. Norton read several of these letters with the keenest
interest and urged their publication, but Biagi was too heavily engaged with his
manifold duties as librarian of the Laurenziana and Riccardi libraries, as
custodian of the Buonarroti and the da Vinci archives, and with his extensive
literary work, to keep the promise he made us that day.
The conversation naturally turned upon Dante, Biagi’s rank in his own
country as interpreter of the great poet being even greater than was Norton’s
in America. Beyond this they spoke of books, of art, of music, of history, of
science. Norton’s knowledge of Italy was profound and exact; Biagi had lived
what Norton had acquired. No matter what the subject, their comments,
although simply made, were expressions of prodigious study and absolute
knowledge; of complete familiarity, such as one ordinarily has in every-day
affairs, with subjects upon which even the well-educated man looks as
reserved for profound discussion. Norton and Biagi were the two most
cultured men I ever met. In listening to their conversation I discovered that a
perfectly trained mind under absolute control is the most beautiful thing in the
world.

Climbing the circular stairway in the old, ramshackle Harper plant at

Franklin Square, New York, I used to find William Dean Howells in his
sanctum.
“Take this chair,” he said one day after a cordial greeting; “the only Easy
Chair we have is in the Magazine.”
Howells loved the smell of printer’s ink. “They are forever talking about
getting away from here,” he would say, referring to the long desire at
Harpers’—at last gratified—to divorce the printing from the publishing and to
move uptown. “Here things are so mixed up that you can’t tell whether you’re
a printer or a writer, and I like it.”
Our acquaintance began after the publication by the Harpers in 1906 of a
novel of mine entitled The Spell, the scene of which is laid in Florence. After
reading it, Howells wrote asking me to look him up the next time I was in the
Harper offices.
“We have three reasons to become friends,” he said smiling, after studying
me for a moment with eyes that seemed probably more piercing and intent
than they really were: “you live in Boston, you love Italy, and you are a printer.
Now we must make up for lost time.”
After this introduction I made it a habit to “drop up” to his sanctum
whenever I had occasion to go to Franklin Square to discuss printing or
publishing problems with Major Leigh or Mr. Duneka. Howells always seemed
to have time to discuss one of the three topics named in his original analysis,
yet curiously enough it was rarely that any mention of books came into our
conversation.
 Autograph Letter from William Dean Howells

Of Boston and Cambridge he was always happily reminiscent: of

entertaining Mr. and Mrs. John Hay while on their wedding journey, and later
Bret Harte, in the small reception room in the Berkeley Street house, where
the tiny “library” on the north side was without heat or sunlight when Howells
wrote his Venetian Days there in 1870; of early visits with Mark Twain before
the great fireplace in “the Cabin” at his Belmont home, over the door of
which was inscribed the quotation from The Merchant of Venice, “From Venice
as far as Belmont.”—“In these words,” Howells said, “lies the history of my
married life”;—of the move from Belmont to Boston as his material resources
increased.
“There was a time when people used to think I didn’t like Boston,” he
would chuckle, evidently enjoying the recollections that came to him; “but I
always loved it. The town did take itself seriously,” he added a moment later;
“but it had a right to. That was what made it Boston. Sometimes, when we
know a place or a person through and through, the fine characteristics may be
assumed, and we may chaff a little over the harmless foibles. That is what I did
to Boston.”
He chided me good-naturedly because I preferred Florence to Venice.
“Italy,” he quoted, “is the face of Europe, and Venice is the eye of Italy. But,
after all, what difference does it make?” he asked. “We are both talking of the
same wonderful country, and perhaps the intellectual atmosphere of antiquity
makes up for the glory of the Adriatic.”
Then he told me a story which I afterwards heard Hamilton Mabie repeat
at the seventy-fifth birthday anniversary banquet given Howells at Sherry’s by
Colonel George Harvey in 1912.
Two American women met in Florence on the Ponte Vecchio. One of
them said to the other, “Please tell me whether this is Florence or Venice.”
“What day of the week is it?” the other inquired.
“Wednesday.”
“Then,” said the second, looking at her itinerary, “this is Venice.”
“I was born a printer, you know,” Howells remarked during one of my
visits. “I can remember the time when I couldn’t write, but not the time when
I couldn’t set type.”
He referred to his boyhood experiences in the printing office at Hamilton,
Ohio. His father published there a Whig newspaper, which finally lost nearly
all its subscribers because its publisher had the unhappy genius of always
taking the unpopular side of every public question. Howells immortalized this
printing office in his essay The Country Printer,—where he recalls “the
compositors rhythmically swaying before their cases of type; the pressman
flinging himself back on the bar that made the impression, with a swirl of his
long hair; the apprentice rolling the forms; and the foreman bending over
them.”
The Lucullan banquet referred to outrivaled that given by Colonel Harvey
to Mark Twain. How Mark Twain would have loved to be there, and how
much the presence of this life-long friend would have meant to Howells! More
than four hundred men and women prominent in letters gathered to do honor
to the beloved author, and President Taft conveyed to him the gratitude of the
nation for the hours of pleasure afforded by his writings.
In the course of his remarks, Howells said:
 I knew Hawthorne and Emerson and Walt Whitman; I knew Longfellow and
Holmes and Whittier and Lowell; I knew Bryant and Bancroft and Motley; I knew
Harriet Beecher Stowe and Julia Ward Howe; I knew Artemus Ward and Stockton
and Mark Twain; I knew Parkman and Fiske.
As I listened to this recapitulation of contact with modern humanists, I
wondered what Howells had left to look forward to. No one could fail to envy
him his memories, nor could he fail to ask himself what twentieth-century
names would be written in place of those the nineteenth century had recorded
in the Hall of Fame

My library has taken on a different aspect during all these years. When I first
installed my books I looked upon it as a sanctuary, into which I could escape
from the world outside. Each book was a magic carpet which, at my bidding,
transported me from one country to another, from the present back to
centuries gone by, gratifying my slightest whim in response to the mere effort
of changing volumes. My library has lost none of that blissful peace as a
retreat, but in addition it has become a veritable meeting ground. The authors
I have known are always waiting for me there,—to disclose to me through
their works far more than they, in all modesty, would have admitted in our
personal conferences
CHAPTER VI

Triumphs of Typography
 VI
TRIUMPHS OF TYPOGRAPHY

In gathering together his book treasures, a collector naturally approaches

the adventure from a personal standpoint. First editions may particularly
appeal to him, or Americana, or his bibliomania may take the form of subject
collecting. I once had a friend who concentrated on whales and bees! My
hobby has been to acquire, so far as possible, volumes that represent the best
workmanship of each epoch, and from them I have learned much of
fascinating interest beyond the history of typography. A book in itself is always
something more than paper and type and binder’s boards. It possesses a subtle
friendliness that sets it apart from other inanimate objects about us, and
stamps it with an individuality which responds to our approach in proportion
to our interest. But aside from its contents, a typographical monument is a
barometer of civilization. If we discover what economic or political conditions
combined to make it stand out from other products of its period, we learn
contemporaneous history and become acquainted with the personalities of the
people and the manners and customs of the times.
No two countries, since Gutenberg first discovered the power of individual
types when joined together to form words down to the present day, have
stood pre-eminent in the same epoch in the art of printing. The curve of
supremacy, plotted from the brief triumph of Germany successively through
Italy, France, the Netherlands, England, France, and back again to England,
shows that the typographical monuments of the world are not accidental, but
rather the natural results of cause and effect. In some instances, the
production of fine books made the city of their origin the center of culture and
brought luster to the country; in others, the great master-printers were
attracted from one locality to another because of the literary atmosphere in a
certain city, and by their labors added to the reputation it had already attained.
The volumes themselves sometimes produced vitally significant effects;
sometimes their production was the result of conditions equally important.
 The first example I should like to own for my collection of typographical
triumphs is, of course, the Gutenberg Bible (opp. page); but with only forty-five
copies known to be in existence (of which twelve are on vellum), I must
content myself with photographic facsimile pages. The copy most recently
offered for sale brought $106,000 in New York in February, 1926, and was
later purchased by Mrs. Edward S. Harkness for $120,000, who presented it to
the Yale University Library. This makes the Gutenberg Bible the most valuable
printed book in the world,—six times as precious as a Shakespeare first folio.
Fortunately, the copies are well distributed, so that one need not deny himself
the pleasure of studying it. In America, there are two examples (one on
vellum) in the Pierpont Morgan Library, in New York; another in the New
York Public Library, and still another in the library of the General Theological
School; while the private collections of Henry E. Huntington and Joseph E.
Widener are also fortunate possessors. In England, one may find a copy at the
British Museum or the Bodleian Library; on the Continent, at the Bibliothèque
Nationale at Paris, at the Vatican Library in Rome, or in the libraries of Berlin,
Leipzig, Munich, or Vienna. Over twenty of the forty-five copies are
imperfect, and only four are still in private hands. Of these four, one is
imperfect, and two are already promised to libraries; so the copy sold in New
York may be the last ever offered.

Part of a Page from the Vellum Copy of the Gutenberg Bible, Mayence, 1455
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (Exact size)
 GUTENBERG BIBLE
And here is the end of the first part of
the Bible, that is to say, the Old
Testament, rubricated and bound for
Henry Cremer, in the year of our
Loard, one thousand four hundred and
fifty-six, on the feast of the Apostle
Bartholomew
Thanks be to God. Alleluia
Rubricator’s Mark at End of First Volume of a Defective Copy in the Bibliothèque
Nationale, Paris