Vol.

2 Issue 9
The Truth
A Weekly Bulletin Thu. Mar. 1st 2007

A nd when My servants questions you concerning Me, then surely I am

very near; I answer the prayer of the begging when he calls on Me, so
they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the
right way.
Holy Qur’an (2:186)

Word of Wisdom “A man who gives one piece of silver in alms in

his lifetime is better than giving one hundred pieces when he is
about to die.”
Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him and His Purified Progeny)

“Success is the result of foresight and resolution, foresight

depends upon deep thinking and planning and the most important
factor of planning is to keep your secrets to yourself.”
Imam Ali (AS)
Article The Brother of Ali
Aqeel arrived as a guest at the Government
House in the days of the Caliphate of his brother, Imam Ali (AS). Imam
Ali (AS) made a sign to his elder son Imam Hassan Al-Mujtaba (AS) to
offer a garment to his uncle. Imam Hassan (AS) presented to him a
robe and a cloak. The night came; the weather was warm. They were
sitting on roof-top having amiable talks. It was time for dinner. Aqeel
considered himself to be the guest of the Absolute ruler of the Muslim
world and expected an extraordinarily colorful and rich dinner. But to his
surprise it was the most ordinary and simple one. He said: “Is this all
the food?”
Imam Ali (AS): “Isn’t it God’s gift? I heartily thank God Almighty that
he has bestowed me with this gift”.
Cont’d on P.2
Rights in Islam RIGHT OF ACTS

A Selection from “The Treatise on Rights (Risalat Al-

Huquq)” by Imam Ali Al-Sajjad (AS)

[10] The right of your ritual prayer (salat) is that you know that it is
an appearance before God and that through it you are standing before
Him. When you know that, then you will stand in the position of who is
lowly, vile, beseeching, trembling, hopeful, fearful, and abased, and you
will magnify the One who is before you through stillness and dignity. You
will approach the prayer with your heart and you will perform it [...]
Cont’d on P.3
 The Truth, Thursday, February 8th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 6
Cont’d from P. 1
Aqeel: “Then I should better tell you my needs at once, and be on
my way soon. I am in debt. Please order to pay off my debt as soon as
possible; and also help your poor brother as much as you can, so that I
can return to my place relieved of my burdens.”
“How much is your debt?”
“One hundred thousand Dirham.”
“Oh! One hundred thousand Dirham! So large? I am sorry, brother. I
don’t have so much money to give you, but wait till the time comes for
the disbursement of stipends. I shall withdraw from my personal share
and give some of it to you, thus fulfilling my duty of cooperation and
brotherhood towards you. If my family and children were not in need of
their own expenses, I would have given you my entire share.”
“What! Should I wait till the payment of stipends? You have the state-
treasury in your hand and you are asking me to wait till the time of
distribution, and then, only you will give me from your personal share!
You can withdraw any amount you want from the State Treasury. So,
why are you making me wait till then? Besides, what is your total share
from it? Even if you give me your entire share, how far will it relieve me
of my troubles?”
“I am surprised to hear your proposal. How does it affect you or me
whether there is money in the Treasury or not? We are just like any
other Muslims. True, you are my brother and I must help you as much as
possible, but from my personal money, not from the public treasury.”
The argument continued and Aqeel pleaded with Imam Ali (AS) in
various ways. He continued to insist that Imam Ali (AS) should give him
from the State Treasury. The place where they were sitting overlooked
the market of Kufa, and they could see the cash-boxes of some of the
shop-keepers. Imam Ali (AS) said, “If you still insist and are not ready
to listen to me, then I have got another proposal for you. If you follow
it you can repay your entire loan
and still have plenty of money
left.”
“What is that?”
“Down over there are cash-
boxes. As soon as the market is
closed and nobody is there, go
down and break open the boxes.
And take whatever you want.”
“Whose boxes are they?”
“They belong to the people of
this market. They keep their cash in them.”
“Strange! You are telling me to steal the money of poor people who
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 The Truth, Thursday, February 8th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 6
Cont’d from Previous Page
have earned it with their hard labor and have gone home leaving it
there, because they have faith in God?”
“Then why are you urging me to open the boxes of the State Treasury
for you? Whom does it belong to? This also belongs to the same [...]
[...] people who are asleep in their houses carefree and in comforts. All
right, I have another suggestion. Follow it if you like.”
“What’s that?”
“If you are ready then pick up your sword and so will I. The old city
of Hirah is not far from here. There are leading merchants and wealthy
people there. We make a surprise attack on one of them during the
night and bring out enormous wealth with us.”
“Brother, I haven’t come here for theft and robbery, that you are sug-
gesting these to me. I am only asking you to instruct the officials of the
treasury to give me the money, which is in your power, so that I may
repay my debt.”
“Suppose that we steal the property of an individual, isn’t it better
that stealing from the property of millions of Muslims? How is it that tak-
ing the property of an individual with sword is robbery and usurping the
property of the general public is not? You are under the impression that
robbery only means attacking some individual and taking his property
by force. The worst type of robbery is that which you are proposing me
to do right now.”
Perpared by: Mortada Hammodi
Cont’d from P. 1
[...] according to its bounds and its rights.
[11] The right of the hajj is that you know that you will be appearing
before your Lord and that it is a journey to Him from your sins; through
it your repentance is accepted and you perform an obligation made in-
cumbent upon you by God.
[12] The right of fasting is that you know it is a veil which God has set
up over your tongue, your hearing, your sight, your stomach, and your
private part to protect you from Hellfire. If you abandon the fast, you will
have torn God’s protective covering away from yourself.
[13] The right of charity (sadaqa) is that you know you are accumu-
lating a deposit with your Lord for which you will have no need of wit-
nesses. If you deposit it in secret, you will be more confident of it than
if you deposit it in public. You should know that it repels afflictions and
illnesses from you in this world and that it will repel Hellfire from you in
the next.
[14] The right of the offering (hady) is that through it you desire God
and that you do not desire His creation; through it you desire only the
exposure of your soul to God’s mercy and the deliverance of your spirit
on the day you’ll encounter Him.
Prepared by: fatima daher
 The Truth, Thursday, February 8th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 6
Article The Quran & Astronomy
An Amazing Hidden Calendar
As we read the Quran, we do not notice the number of times each
word gets repeated all over the Quran. But some scientists examined
and discovered that some words in the Quran get repeated in a very
interesting way.
For example, the word “day” (Yawm in Arabic), is repeated in the
Quran 365 times. The digit 365 does not only represent the number of
days in the calendar, but it is also the figure that shows the astronomic
relationship between our world and the sun. In other words, when the
earth completes its rotation around the sun, it has revolved 365 times.
Another astonishing occurrence is the plural of the word “day”, “days”
(Yawmain or Ayyam). It is repeated in the Quran 30 times. In the solar
calendar, the months have either 30 or 31 days and in the lunar calendar
the months have either 29 or 30 days. So, the number 30 is the median
for both calendars. In astronomical words, it takes 30 (29.53) days for
the moon, the planet in the sky, to form a month.
Afterwards, if we count the number of times “month” (Shahr) ap-
pears in the Quran, we obtain 12. It clearly represents the number of
months in a year. It also represents the number of times the moon re-
volves around the earth and itself.
Then there is the word “year(s)” (Sana or Sineen) which is mentioned
19 times. When the earth revolves around the sun 365 times, the moon
revolves around the earth and itself 12 times. This constitutes a year.
But, when the earth completes its rotation and arrives at the starting
point, the moon is behind the schedule. It takes the earth and the moon
19 years to meet at the same starting point. This cycle of 19 years is
called the Metonic cycle.
If we deeply study the Quran, we observe that the number of times
all the derivatives of the word “day(s)” is mentioned 475 times. This
means that the singular, plural and all the other derivatives totals up
to 475. If we divide the number 475 by 19 (number of times the word
“year(s)” is mentioned in the
Quran) this will equal to 25.
Surprisingly, 25 is the num-
ber of times the sun revolves
around itself within a year!
Also, the number 475 repre-
sents the number of times the
sun revolve around its own
axis in a Metonic cycle!
The Quran has strong and
powerful answers to our daily
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 The Truth, Thursday, February 8th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 6
Cont’d from Previous Page
scientific phenomenon, and, experts have not identified the entire se-
crets that the Quran is still preserving to the world of science and as-
tronomy.
Number of occurrence What does it repre-
The Word
in the Quran sent?
The number of the
days in which the earth
“Day” (Yawm) 365
completes its revolu-
tion around the sun.
“Days” (Yawmain or Number of days in a
30
Ayyam) month.
Number of months on
Month (Shahr) 12
a year
Year(s) (Sana or Number of years the
19
Sineen) Metonic cycle occurs.
Prepared By: Mohamad Al Khabaz
Conversation A Different Perspective
Amidst the chaos of everyday life, certain phras-
es like Brotherhood, Dignity, and Forbearance have lost their meanings.
One might think that those phrases belonged to a previous age and
to another period of time. These times were when a father would ask
his son while he did not need to ask; and the son would reply while he
knew the father already knew the answer. That was all for an age which
would come, when some exhausted souls like me, you, and us, would
ponder upon their dialogs and break the barriers of ambiguity to these
strange words.
Amir al-Mu’minin (AS) asked his son Hassan: “O my son, what is
righteousness?”
Imam Hassan Ibn Ali (AS) replied: “O father, righteousness is to re-
place the bad things with good deeds.”
- What is Dignity?
- To be good with relatives, and to remain tolerant of their cruel
deeds.
- What is Bravery?
- To be chaste
- What is Lowliness?
- To think of despicable things in life and to refuse giving even the
smallest belonging in charity.
- What is Generosity?
- To give away (in charity) before requested.
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 The Truth, Thursday, February 8th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 6
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- What is Cheapness?
- To seek your own comfort and ignore your spouse.
- What is Mercy?
- To give and benefit others, whether we are in need or in prosperity.
- What is Stinginess?
- To consider your property as (your) honor, and that what you have
given away in charity as wealth has been wasted.
- What is Brotherhood?
- To have Devotion and loyalty in times of hardship and peace.
- What is Fear?
- To act bravely between friends, and to run away from the enemy.
- What is Opportunity?
- To be pious in this world …
- What is Forbearance?
- To control one’s anger and to keep resentment.
- What is Wealth?
- To be satisfied with what Allah (SWT) has given, no matter how
small …
- What is Poverty?
- To greed for everything.
- What is Abjectness?
- To fear the truth …
- What is Worthless Suffering?
- To talk about something that does not benefit you in any way.
- What is Greatness?
- To give away (in charity) in your times of need and to forgive the
bad deeds of others.
- What is Wisely?
- To take good care of what is given to you...
- What is Great status?
- To do what is beautiful and to refrain from what is ugly.
- What is Providence?
- To be very patient and to treat people with leniency.
- What is Silliness?
- To follow those who think of shameful acts and interact with those
who are not on the guided path.
- What is deprivation?
- To lose a benefit that had been granted to you.
- What is Foolishness?
- To rush in attaining opportunities before having them available, and
to refrain from answering (to what you already know). Nonetheless, si-
lence is a great companion in most cases, no matter how eloquent of
[...] Cont’d on Next Page
 The Truth, Thursday, February 8th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 6
Cont’d from Previous Page
[...] a speaker you are. (1)
When we think about phrases we see:
As a matter of fact, it is possible to look at life through a different
perspective, to live a more pleasant taste of life, and to experience even
more beauty in life:
A different perspective and a Life full of true colors.
 This narration has been reported with minor differences in the following resources:
Shiite References:
Tuhaf al-’Uqool, p.225 & Kashf al-Ghummah & vol.1 , p.568, Ma’ani al-Akhbar, p.402
Sunni References:
Tarikh Madinah Dimashq & vol.13, p.254 & Al-Bidayah wa al-Nahayahvol.8, p.44 & Majma’ al-
Zawa’id, vol. 10, p.282

Sayings Sayings of Imam Al-Hassan

Al-Mujtaba (AS)
1. Relate with and treat people in a way that you would like to be related
and treated by them.
2. The one who continues his visits (going and coming) to the mosque
lays his hands upon one of eight benefits:
• (Getting to know) one of the decisive verses.
• Finding a beneficial brother.
• Fresh knowledge.
• A mercy waiting for him.
• A word leading to the guidance.
• An admonition averting from sin.
• Not committing sin out of scheme.
• Not committing sin out of fear of Allah.
3. When the desirable and commendable services damage and harm the
obligatory services, abandon them.
4. And know that indeed whoever fears Allah (adopts piety) Allah paves
his way to salvation out of inequities. And makes him firm in his mat-
ter. And provides him with (the path of) guidance. And makes his
proof and arguments successful and enlightens his face and grants
him what he desires. He is with those upon whom Allah has bestowed
His beneficences and boons from among the Prophets, the truthful,
the martyrs and pious ones.
5. The greatest forgiveness and pardon from Allah comes when the sin-
ner is not able to make a pretext for his wrong doings.
6. Allah provides everything to the one who worships Him.
7. Piety is the gateway to all repentance, and the principal of all wisdom,
and the distinction of all deeds.
8. Whoever relies on the excellence of Allah’s choices, does not wish to
be in any other situation than the one Allah has chosen for him.
9. The height of intelligence is associating with people amicably.
 The Truth, Thursday, February 8th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 6
Poetry
When I seek You!

When the world seems to fade;

and your value dissolves,
you seek Him.

When your back is lowered;

and your brow strained,
you seek Him.

When your tears are unrated;

and your power demolished,
you seek Him.

When you find rainwater scare;

and flowers unbloomed,
you seek Him.
By: Sahar Hussain

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