Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (a):
He says: Give the glad news to those of Our servants who listen to the words and only follow the best ones. Tell them that they are those whom God has guided. They are the people of understanding.
O Husham bin Al-Hakam, God the Majestic has certainly submitted His arguments to people perfectly through minds, explained everything completely to them, and led people to His godhead through the guides. He says: Your Lord is the only Lord. There is no God but He, the Beneficent and Merciful. The creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of nights and days, the ships that sail in the sea for the benefit of the people, the water that God sends from the sky to revive the dead earth where He has scattered all kinds of animals, the winds of all directions, and the clouds rendered for service between the sky and the earth are all evidence (of His existence) for those who use their reason. O Husaham, God the Majestic provides the people's having a Manager as the evidence on the acknowledgement of Him. He says: God has made the day and the night, the sun and the moon, and all the stars subservient to you by His command. In this there is evidence of the truth for people of understanding.
God says: Ha Mim. I swear by the illustrious Book. We have made it an Arabic reading text so that perhaps you may understand. God also says: Also, of the evidence of His existence are His showing you lightening which gives you fear and hope and His sending water down from the sky, which revives the earth after its death. In this there is evidence (of the truth) for the people of understanding. O Husham, God then preaches to the people of reason and makes them desirous to the world to come. He says: The worldly life is but useless amusement and sport (compared to) the life hereafter, which is far better and is only for the pious. Will you not then understand?
God also says: Whatever you (people) have been given are only the means for enjoyment and beauty of the worldly life, but the means of enjoyment (which you will receive from God) in the life to come will be better and everlasting. Will you then not take heed? O Husham, God then warns the unintelligent against His chastisement. He the Majestic says: Then We totally destroyed the others. You pass by (their ruined town) in the morning and at night. Will you then not understand? O Husham, God then expounds that mind is always favoring knowledge. He says: These are parables, which We tell to human being, but only the learned ones understand them. O Husham, God then dispraises those who are incapable of understanding. He says: When some people are asked to follow the revelations of God, they say, "We would rather follow what our fathers have followed," even though their fathers had no understanding and could not find the true guidance.
God says: The wickedest beasts in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb who have no understanding. God says: If you ask them, "Who has created the heavens and the earth," they will certainly say, "God has created them." Say, "It is only God who deserves all praise, but most of them do not know. God then dispraises the majority. He says: Most of the people in the land will lead you away from God's guidance if you follow them. …But many of them are ignorant. Hence, most of them have no feeling.
O Husham, God then praises minority. He says: Very few of My servants are grateful. … Except for the righteously striving believers who are very few. No one believed in him, except a few. O Husham, God then mentions the people of the reasonable understanding in the best way of praise and describes them in the best wording. He says: God gives wisdom to anyone whom He wants. Whoever is given wisdom, certainly, has received much good. Only people of reason can grasp this. God also says: This is a reminder for everyone who has a heart. 'Heart' in the previous Verse stands for the capability of understanding. God also says: We gave wisdom to Luqman.
'Wisdom' stands for understandability and intelligence.
O Husham, Luqman said to his son: "Show modesty before the right and you will be the most reasonable. O son, this world is a deep ocean in which many people have sunk. God-fearing should be your ship in this ocean, faith the cargo, depending upon God its sail, reason its captain, knowledge its guide, and patience the anchor." O Husham, everything has its evidence. The evidence of being intelligent is pondering (over things) and the evidence on pondering is silence. Likewise, everything has its pack animal, and modesty is the pack animal of the intelligent. It is sufficient ignorant to ride on that which you are told not to ride. O Husham, if people tell that you have a pearl in your hand while you are sure it is a nut, not pearl, this should not advantage you. If people tell that you have a nut in the hand while you are sure it is a pearl, not nut, this also should not harm you. O Husham, the main reason beyond God's sending prophets and apostles is that people will understand the commandments of God and His apostles. The best responsive people will be the most understanding, the most knowledgeable of God's commandments will be the most intelligent, and the most intelligent then will be the most high-ranking in this world and the world to come.
O Husham, for every servant (of God), there is an angel invested with full power over him. Whenever that servant shows modesty for the sake of God, the angel will elevate him, and whenever he shows arrogance, the angel will humiliate him. O Husham, God has two arguments against people-one is explicit and the other is implicit. The explicit arguments of God are the apostles, prophets, and imams. The implicit arguments are the minds.
O Husham, the true intelligent is he whose legal-gotten provisions do not divert him from thanking God and whose illegal-gotten provisions do not divert him from being tolerant. O Husham, as for those who extinguish the illumination of thinking with the long expectations, erase the novels of wisdom with the curious wording, and extinguish the lights of learning with the personal whims, they will back their whims to ruin their brains. Those who ruin their minds will surely devastate their worldly and religious affairs.
O Husham, how come do you expect that God will accept your deeds while you are involving your mind with matters that are away from God's commandments and you are complying with your whims and letting them overcome your mind?
O Husham, the steadfastness against seclusions is a proof on willpower. He who understands the commandments of God, the Blessed the Exalted, will surely withdraw from the people of the worldly pleasures. He will also be desirous for that which God has promised and will regard God as the sociable in seclusion, the companion in loneliness, the fortune in poverty, and the supporter instead of the clan. O Husham, the creatures have been formed for obeying God. No safety is obtained without obedience. The course of obedience is knowledgeability and the course of knowledgeability is learning. Learning is possible through mind. There should be a godly scholar who is the source of knowledge. Such scholars can be recognized through the mind.
O Husham, the few deeds of the intelligent will be accepted and doubled, while the many deeds of the followers of passions and the ignorant will be rejected. O Husham, the true intelligent is that who agrees to have minimum worldly needs with wisdom. He does not agree to have little wisdom with all of the worldly pleasures. Therefore, his trade has been profitable. O Husham, if you think it is fortunate for you to have only what suffices you then you will be sufficed with the least needs of this world. If you think it is not sufficient for you to have the minimum needs of this world then all the worldly pleasures will not suffice you. O Husham, the intelligent have left the pleasures of this world. How is it then for the sins? The abstinence from the worldly surplus pleasures is recommendable while the desistance from committing sins is obligatory.
O Husham, the intelligent have abstained from the worldly pleasures and desired for the world to come because they have known that world, as well as the world to come, is demanding and demanded . The world will surely trace the seeker of the world to come to give him his provisions perfectly. The world to come will trace the seeker of the worldly pleasures when death overcomes him to deprive him of the pleasures of this world and the world to come.
O Husham, as for those who desire for being rich without fortune, having peace of mind against envy, and enjoying safety of the religion, they are advised to beseech to God imploringly for granting them perfect intelligence, for the intelligent will surely satisfy themselves with only what is sufficient for them. Consequently, he who satisfies himself with only what is sufficient for him will be surely rich. Those who do not satisfy themselves with what is sufficient for them will never obtain richness.
O Husham, as describing the manners of virtuous people, God the Majestic mentions that they are used to saying:
Lord, do not cause our hearts to deviate from Your guidance, and grant us mercy. You are the Most Awarding One. This is because they realized that hearts might be deviated or might regain their blindness and ruination. He who does not understand God's commandments will not fear Him. Similarly, he who does not understand God's commandments will not have a mind that is founded on constant knowledge that he considers and finds its factuality. Except those whose words and implicit beliefs agree with their deeds and appearances, no one can enjoy the previous characters. God has referred to the implicit affairs of the mind only through indicative appearances. O Husham, Amirul Muminin used to say: "The most favorable way of worshipping God is the intelligentness" . Mind is not perfect for a man unless he enjoys many qualities: he should save people from his atheism and evil and make them expect his reason and good. His wealth should be offered and he should avoid useless wording. His food should be his share from the worldly pleasures. He should never stop seeking knowledge. He should prefer humility and modesty with God to credit and honor with others. He should regard any favor that he does as little and see all people better than him and he is the most vicious among them. The enjoyment of such qualities is surely the perfection of intelligence and the perfection of personality.
He says: Give the glad news to those of Our servants who listen to the words and only follow the best ones. Tell them that they are those whom God has guided. They are the people of understanding.
O Husham bin Al-Hakam, God the Majestic has certainly submitted His arguments to people perfectly through minds, explained everything completely to them, and led people to His godhead through the guides. He says: Your Lord is the only Lord. There is no God but He, the Beneficent and Merciful. The creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of nights and days, the ships that sail in the sea for the benefit of the people, the water that God sends from the sky to revive the dead earth where He has scattered all kinds of animals, the winds of all directions, and the clouds rendered for service between the sky and the earth are all evidence (of His existence) for those who use their reason. O Husaham, God the Majestic provides the people's having a Manager as the evidence on the acknowledgement of Him. He says: God has made the day and the night, the sun and the moon, and all the stars subservient to you by His command. In this there is evidence of the truth for people of understanding.
God says: Ha Mim. I swear by the illustrious Book. We have made it an Arabic reading text so that perhaps you may understand. God also says: Also, of the evidence of His existence are His showing you lightening which gives you fear and hope and His sending water down from the sky, which revives the earth after its death. In this there is evidence (of the truth) for the people of understanding. O Husham, God then preaches to the people of reason and makes them desirous to the world to come. He says: The worldly life is but useless amusement and sport (compared to) the life hereafter, which is far better and is only for the pious. Will you not then understand?
God also says: Whatever you (people) have been given are only the means for enjoyment and beauty of the worldly life, but the means of enjoyment (which you will receive from God) in the life to come will be better and everlasting. Will you then not take heed? O Husham, God then warns the unintelligent against His chastisement. He the Majestic says: Then We totally destroyed the others. You pass by (their ruined town) in the morning and at night. Will you then not understand? O Husham, God then expounds that mind is always favoring knowledge. He says: These are parables, which We tell to human being, but only the learned ones understand them. O Husham, God then dispraises those who are incapable of understanding. He says: When some people are asked to follow the revelations of God, they say, "We would rather follow what our fathers have followed," even though their fathers had no understanding and could not find the true guidance.
God says: The wickedest beasts in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb who have no understanding. God says: If you ask them, "Who has created the heavens and the earth," they will certainly say, "God has created them." Say, "It is only God who deserves all praise, but most of them do not know. God then dispraises the majority. He says: Most of the people in the land will lead you away from God's guidance if you follow them. …But many of them are ignorant. Hence, most of them have no feeling.
O Husham, God then praises minority. He says: Very few of My servants are grateful. … Except for the righteously striving believers who are very few. No one believed in him, except a few. O Husham, God then mentions the people of the reasonable understanding in the best way of praise and describes them in the best wording. He says: God gives wisdom to anyone whom He wants. Whoever is given wisdom, certainly, has received much good. Only people of reason can grasp this. God also says: This is a reminder for everyone who has a heart. 'Heart' in the previous Verse stands for the capability of understanding. God also says: We gave wisdom to Luqman.
'Wisdom' stands for understandability and intelligence.
O Husham, Luqman said to his son: "Show modesty before the right and you will be the most reasonable. O son, this world is a deep ocean in which many people have sunk. God-fearing should be your ship in this ocean, faith the cargo, depending upon God its sail, reason its captain, knowledge its guide, and patience the anchor." O Husham, everything has its evidence. The evidence of being intelligent is pondering (over things) and the evidence on pondering is silence. Likewise, everything has its pack animal, and modesty is the pack animal of the intelligent. It is sufficient ignorant to ride on that which you are told not to ride. O Husham, if people tell that you have a pearl in your hand while you are sure it is a nut, not pearl, this should not advantage you. If people tell that you have a nut in the hand while you are sure it is a pearl, not nut, this also should not harm you. O Husham, the main reason beyond God's sending prophets and apostles is that people will understand the commandments of God and His apostles. The best responsive people will be the most understanding, the most knowledgeable of God's commandments will be the most intelligent, and the most intelligent then will be the most high-ranking in this world and the world to come.
O Husham, for every servant (of God), there is an angel invested with full power over him. Whenever that servant shows modesty for the sake of God, the angel will elevate him, and whenever he shows arrogance, the angel will humiliate him. O Husham, God has two arguments against people-one is explicit and the other is implicit. The explicit arguments of God are the apostles, prophets, and imams. The implicit arguments are the minds.
O Husham, the true intelligent is he whose legal-gotten provisions do not divert him from thanking God and whose illegal-gotten provisions do not divert him from being tolerant. O Husham, as for those who extinguish the illumination of thinking with the long expectations, erase the novels of wisdom with the curious wording, and extinguish the lights of learning with the personal whims, they will back their whims to ruin their brains. Those who ruin their minds will surely devastate their worldly and religious affairs.
O Husham, how come do you expect that God will accept your deeds while you are involving your mind with matters that are away from God's commandments and you are complying with your whims and letting them overcome your mind?
O Husham, the steadfastness against seclusions is a proof on willpower. He who understands the commandments of God, the Blessed the Exalted, will surely withdraw from the people of the worldly pleasures. He will also be desirous for that which God has promised and will regard God as the sociable in seclusion, the companion in loneliness, the fortune in poverty, and the supporter instead of the clan. O Husham, the creatures have been formed for obeying God. No safety is obtained without obedience. The course of obedience is knowledgeability and the course of knowledgeability is learning. Learning is possible through mind. There should be a godly scholar who is the source of knowledge. Such scholars can be recognized through the mind.
O Husham, the few deeds of the intelligent will be accepted and doubled, while the many deeds of the followers of passions and the ignorant will be rejected. O Husham, the true intelligent is that who agrees to have minimum worldly needs with wisdom. He does not agree to have little wisdom with all of the worldly pleasures. Therefore, his trade has been profitable. O Husham, if you think it is fortunate for you to have only what suffices you then you will be sufficed with the least needs of this world. If you think it is not sufficient for you to have the minimum needs of this world then all the worldly pleasures will not suffice you. O Husham, the intelligent have left the pleasures of this world. How is it then for the sins? The abstinence from the worldly surplus pleasures is recommendable while the desistance from committing sins is obligatory.
O Husham, the intelligent have abstained from the worldly pleasures and desired for the world to come because they have known that world, as well as the world to come, is demanding and demanded . The world will surely trace the seeker of the world to come to give him his provisions perfectly. The world to come will trace the seeker of the worldly pleasures when death overcomes him to deprive him of the pleasures of this world and the world to come.
O Husham, as for those who desire for being rich without fortune, having peace of mind against envy, and enjoying safety of the religion, they are advised to beseech to God imploringly for granting them perfect intelligence, for the intelligent will surely satisfy themselves with only what is sufficient for them. Consequently, he who satisfies himself with only what is sufficient for him will be surely rich. Those who do not satisfy themselves with what is sufficient for them will never obtain richness.
O Husham, as describing the manners of virtuous people, God the Majestic mentions that they are used to saying:
Lord, do not cause our hearts to deviate from Your guidance, and grant us mercy. You are the Most Awarding One. This is because they realized that hearts might be deviated or might regain their blindness and ruination. He who does not understand God's commandments will not fear Him. Similarly, he who does not understand God's commandments will not have a mind that is founded on constant knowledge that he considers and finds its factuality. Except those whose words and implicit beliefs agree with their deeds and appearances, no one can enjoy the previous characters. God has referred to the implicit affairs of the mind only through indicative appearances. O Husham, Amirul Muminin used to say: "The most favorable way of worshipping God is the intelligentness" . Mind is not perfect for a man unless he enjoys many qualities: he should save people from his atheism and evil and make them expect his reason and good. His wealth should be offered and he should avoid useless wording. His food should be his share from the worldly pleasures. He should never stop seeking knowledge. He should prefer humility and modesty with God to credit and honor with others. He should regard any favor that he does as little and see all people better than him and he is the most vicious among them. The enjoyment of such qualities is surely the perfection of intelligence and the perfection of personality.