With my continuous chain of transmission reaching up to the Thiqat al- Islam 
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, may God's good pleasure be with him, from a 
group of our companions, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, from his father, 
from Harun ibn al-Jahm, from al-Mufaddal, from Sa'd, from Abu Ja'far, may peace 
be upon him, that he said: "Verily, the hearts are [of] four (kinds) the 
heart that has [both] faith and hypocrisy in it, the heart that is inverted and 
upside down, the heart that has been sealed and is darkened, the heart that is 
clear and luminous (al-azhar)." [Sa'd], the narrator, says: "I asked him, 
"What is meant by `al-azhar'?" He replied, "it is a heart that has the likeness 
of a lamp. As to the heart that has been sealed, it is the heart of a hypocrite. 
The heart that is luminous is that of the believer, who is thankful when God 
gives him and is patient when subjected to tribulation. As to the heart that is 
inverted, it is the heart of the polytheist." Then he recited this verse:
﴾What, is he who walks prone upon his /ace better guided or he who 
walks upright on a straight path? (67:22)﴿ 
[Then he added]; "As to the heart wherein is faith and hypocrisy-they were a 
people who lived in Ta'if; so if one of them should die in the state of 
hypocrisy, he would perish, and should he die in the state of faith he would 
attain salvation."1
Exposition:
Mankus means `inverted' (maqlub). [The lexicographers] explain: 
(i.e. `I inverted something' or `I put it means upside down'). According to al-Sihah, 
means a baby whose feet (at birth) come out before its head Closely associated 
is the meaning of in the noble verse cited by the Imam, for ikbab means falling 
on one's face, and therein is a figurative indication of the fact that the 
hearts of the polytheists (mushrikun) are inverted and their course of spiritual 
movement is other than the Straight Path, as will be elaborated later on, God 
willing.
Matbu` means `sealed' (makhtum), and tab` with sukun (of the ba'), means 
`sealing' (khatm), and with its harakah (i.e. taba`) means impurity (danas, 
wasakh). If it be taken in the sense of `sealed,' it would figuratively mean 
that the word of truth and Divine truths do not enter such a heart and it does 
not accept them-not that God, the Exalted, deprives it of His special grace, 
although this sense is also true. However the aforementioned sense is more 
appropriate.
'Azhar' means `white' (abyad) and `luminous' (mustanir), as mentioned in 
al-Nihayah.2 According to al-Sihah `azhar' means `bright' (nayyir), 
and the moon is called `azhar.' Ibn al-Sikkit says: `al-azharan' means the sun 
and the moon. `Azhar' [when spoken of a man] means a white man, of a bright 
face, and such a woman is zahra'. To sum up, azhar means luminous and white; 
hence the sun and moon are called azharan; a white and luminous man is called 
azhar and a white and luminous women is zahra'.
`Ajrad' is someone who has no hair on his body, and according to al-Sihah, al-jurd 
means a treeless (open) space. And this figuratively implies the absence of 
attachment to the world, or freedom from impurity and defilement. We shall 
expound that which needs explication in this noble tradition in the course of a 
preface and a few sections.
Preface: On Reforming the Heart:
It should be known that the term 'heart' has various meanings in the terminology 
of the Shari'ah, and that of philosophy and 'irfan. To discuss that and the 
related terminological differences, as well as the ranks and degrees of the 
hearts, is outside the scope of this discourse and is not very beneficial for 
us. Therefore, it would be better to take the matter in its unexplicated 
simplicity, as is done in the noble tradition, and discuss that which is 
important and essential for us.
It should be known that the endeavour to reform the 'heart,' on whose 
wholesomeness and corruption depends one's felicity and wretchedness, is more 
essential than an inquiry into its meanings and delving into the technical 
jargon.3 In fact, it often happens that intense attention to terms 
and preoccupation with words and that which relates to them make one totally 
oblivious of the heart and its reform. [As a result] one may acquire complete 
mastery in expounding the meaning and essence of the heart and the terminology 
of the metaphysicians (hukama') and the mystics ('urafa) while one's heart, 
na'udhubillah, is one that is either inverted or sealed, like someone who knows 
well the beneficial and harmful properties of medicines and is able to describe 
them with expertise without himself refraining from poisonous medicines or 
making use of the beneficial ones. Such a person perishes despite all his 
knowledge of pharmacology, which is unable to rescue him.
We said earlier4 that all the sciences are absolutely practical and 
even the transcendental sciences have a practical aspect in them. Here that 
which we have to say is that the science of the states of the heart and that 
which relates to their health and sickness, reform and corruption, is something 
which is purely a preliminary step to action and the way of its reform and 
remedy. Its mere knowledge and understanding is not considered a human 
perfection. Hence one's main attention and goal should be the reform and 
refinement of the heart so that one may attain to ultimate spiritual felicity 
and to the higher transcendent stations. And even if one were well adept in the 
sciences, the subtleties and the realities, during the course of his journey 
through 'the horizons and the souls', his main concern should be the discovery 
of his own spiritual states, so that if it were ruinous he should try to remedy 
it, and if oriented towards salvation, try to make it complete and perfect.
Section: The Basis for the Classification of the Hearts:
One should know that this classification of the hearts made in this noble 
tradition is one that is non-detailed and general. Every heart has a different 
rank and degree, whether it is from the viewpoint of shirk and hypocrisy or that 
of faith and perfection. Apparently, this classification of the hearts is 
subsequent to acquisition and spiritual conduct, not one based on the nature and 
constitution of different souls, so as to conflict with traditions concerning 
fitrah, which state that all people are born with the nature of tawhid and that 
shirk and hypocrisy are accidental [and not innate in human nature]. However, 
even if it were on the basis of nature, that would be correct in accordance with 
one explanation which removes the contradiction and does not lead to 
predestination, which is something impossible. Nevertheless, that which is 
closer to metaphysical proof and more conducive to education is the first 
probability. And we said earlier5 that as long as man remains in this 
world, which is the source of the tree of primal matter with its substantial, 
formal, and accidental changes and transformations, he can deliver himself from 
all levels of deficiency, wretchedness, shirk, and hypocrisy and attain to the 
higher levels of perfection and spiritual felicity. And this is not contrary to 
the famous hadith that states:
The wretched one is wretched in his mother's womb.6
for the meaning of the tradition is not that felicity and wretchedness are 
innate and incapable of change. Rather, this tradition accords with metaphysical 
proof, which has been set forth in clarity in its proper place, that 
wretchedness is derived from deficiency and non-being, and that felicity derives 
from being and its perfection. That which belongs to the immaculate tree of 
being is the sacred Divine Being in accordance with the ranks of causes and 
means-which is the way of the best of the latter generations and the most 
perfect of the early ones, the Nasir of the millah and din (i.e. Khwajah Nasir 
al-Din al-Tusi), may God sanctify his soul-or on the basis of manifesting and 
being manifested (zahiriyyah and mazhariyyah), unity and multiplicity-which is 
the way of the greatest of philosophers, Hadrat Sadr al-Muta'allihin. And that 
which derives from deficiency and non-being pertains to the vicious tree of 
quiddity, which is not the object of creation because of its being below 
creation (ja'l).
It may be said that when the noble tradition says that felicity and wretchedness 
accompany one in the `mother's womb' that which is meant is the world of 
corporeal nature ('alam-e tabiyyat) which is the absolute mother, the womb and 
the cradle wherein nature nurtures its offsprings. That is, the expression 
`mother's womb' is not to be taken in its ordinary sense, because felicity, 
being perfection and actuality, cannot belong to the primal souls (nafus-e 
hayuliyyah) except potentially. Since the literal import is that the felicitous 
are felicitous in act in the mother's womb, the contrary of the literal meaning 
has to be adopted. And since that which has been said is in accordance with 
metaphysical proofs, the noble tradition has to be interpreted solely in this 
sense or something equivalent to it. In any case any elaboration of this matter 
and discussion of its proof is outside the scope of this discourse, though at 
times the pen rebels and runs contrary to the set aim.
The Reason why the Kinds of Hearts are Confined to the Four:
Some [scholars] have said that the reason for confining the kinds of hearts to 
four is that the hearts either possess faith or they don't. In the first case, 
the faith possessed pertains to all that the Messenger has brought or only to a 
part of that. The first is the heart of the believer (mu'min) and the second is 
a heart wherein faith and hypocrisy are both present. In the second case, there 
is either an outward confession of faith or there isn't. The first is the heart 
of the hypocrite and the second that of a polytheist (mushrik).
This interpretation does not accord with the noble tradition, which implies that 
at times there is real faith in all that the Prophet, may God bless him and his 
Household, has brought and at times there is hypocrisy. Hence, if one were 
forced to interpret, it would be better to say that the heart either has faith 
in all that the Prophet, may God bless him and his Household, has brought or it 
doesn't. In the second case, there is either a pretence of faith or there isn't. 
In the first case, the faith is either stable and established in it or [it is 
unstable], believing at one time and disbelieving at other times, making a 
pretense of belief in the state of disbelief also. The concluding part of the 
tradition shows that the repentance of those who apostatize after belief, to 
revert to unbelief and hypocrisy, is accepted, even if it should occur 
repeatedly.
In another tradition of the noble al-Kafi, Imam Baqir, may peace be upon him, 
divides the hearts into three kinds: (1) the inverted heart (qalb-e mankus), 
wherein there is no good; that is an unbeliever's heart; (2) the heart wherein 
there is a black spot, in which there is a conflict between good and evil, each 
of which seek to overcome the other; (3) the 'open heart' (qalb-e maftuh) 
wherein are lamps whose lights will not go out until the Day of Resurrection; 
that is the heart of the believer.7 This [division] does not conflict 
with the noble tradition [under exposition], for the first category mentioned in 
the above tradition includes the two kinds mentioned by the hadith, that is, the 
hearts of the polytheist and the hypocrite. That is because the hearts of all 
those three groups (i.e. unbelievers, polytheists and hypocrites) are inverted, 
and no inconsistency would be involved if inversion be [considered] the salient 
characteristic of the hearts of an unbeliever and polytheist and being seated 
the salient characteristic of the hypocrite's heart, and accordingly each of 
them is ascribed to either of them in the tradition.
Section: Concerning the States of the Hearts:
We shall begin with the believer's heart so that the state of the other hearts 
be known in contrast. It should be known that in the transcendental sciences and 
the true teachings it has been clearly established that the reality of `being' 
is the reality of 'light.' These two terms signify one simple reality without 
being attributable to any separate multiple aspects. It is also known that that 
which pertains to perfection and completion derives from being itself. This is 
one of the noble principles, and to anyone who has the honour to apprehend it 
the door to the higher teaching is opened. Our feeble spirits are unable to 
apprehend the reality of that Being without a help from the Hidden and a success 
predestined from eternity. It is also known that faith in God belongs to the 
category of knowledge and is one of the absolute perfections. Hence, being a 
perfection, it belongs to being itself and the reality of light and 
manifestation. And that which is other than faith and all that relates to it, is 
outside the category of the perfections of the human spirit, belonging to the 
darkness of non-being and quiddity.
Concerning the Luminosity of the Believer's Heart:
Hence it is known that the 'believer's heart is luminous. It is narrated in the 
noble al-Kafi from al-Imam al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him, that he said: "You 
see some people who are so perfect in eloquence that they don't err in [the use 
of a single letter like] lam or waw, while their hearts are darker than a gloomy 
night, and there are some people who cannot express what is in their hearts, yet 
their heart is radiant like a lamp."8 Further, the believer's heart 
is on the Straight Path and his spiritual movement is on the middle path of 
humanity. That is because, firstly, he has not deserted his primal divine 
nature, fashioned in forty days by God, the Exalted, with the hands of His 
Beauty and Glory. Thus he walks on the path of the nature of tawhid, oriented 
towards absolute perfection and consummate beauty. Inevitably, this spiritual 
movement from the plane of innate nature to the ultimate point of absolute 
perfection is without any crookedness, being as it is the path of spiritual 
rectitude and the middle inner way. However, all other hearts deviate from 
nature and the straight path. It is narrated of the Noblest Messenger, may God 
bless him and his Household, that he drew a straight line on the ground drawing 
other lines on its either side. Then he said, "This one, the straight and 
middlemost line, is my path."9
Explanation of the Believer's being on the Straight Path:
Secondly, the believer is the follower of the Perfect Man, and since the Perfect 
Man is the manifestation of all the Names and the Attributes and subject to the 
Lordship of the Truth, the Exalted, by virtue of the All inclusive Name (ism-e 
jami), his being is not monopolized by anyone of the Names. Like his Lord, he is 
an all-inclusive being and in him the manifestation of any of the Names is not 
overshadowed by that of any other Name. He possesses the station of middleness (maqam-e 
wasafiyyat) and the major mediation (barzakhiyyat-e kubra). Hence his movement 
is along the straight and middlemost path of the All-inclusive Name.
All other beings are dominated by one of the encompassing or non encompassing 
Names of which they are manifestations. Their origin and return is from and to 
that Name. The Name opposite to it is latent in it and plays no active role in 
it except from the aspect of the unity of all the Names-something whose 
explanation is not appropriate here. Hence God, the Exalted, at the station of 
the All-inclusive Name and the Lord of Man (rabb al-insan), is on the Straight 
Path, as He says:
﴾Verily my Lord is on the Straight Path. (11:56)﴿
That means the station of middleness and all-inclusiveness (jami'iyyat) without 
the predominance of an Attribute over another and without the manifestation of 
one Name rather than that of another. A being subject to the Lordship of that 
Sacred Being at this station is also on the Straight Path, without any station 
or aspect overshadowing another station or aspect. Hence [the believer] in the 
course of his real upward ascension [i.e. prayer] and the ultimate point of 
proximity [to the Divine], after making an admission of servitude, after 
referring every worship and service by every worshipper to that Sacred Essence 
and ascribing all help in all stations of expansiveness and straits (qabd wa 
bast) exclusively to that Sacred Being, by declaring:
﴾Thee only we worship and Thee only we ask for help, (1:5)﴿
says:
﴾Guide us to the Straight Path. (1:6)﴿
This is the same path as that of the Lord of the Perfect Man, the former from 
the [active] aspect of manifesting (zahirriyyat) and Lordship (rububiyyat) and 
the latter from the [passive] aspect of being manifested [mazhariyyat] and 
creaturehood [marbubiyyat]. None of the other existents and beings in movement 
towards Allah are on the Straight Path, but are deviant, inclining either 
towards (Divine) Grace and Beauty or towards Might and Glory. The faithful (mu'minin), 
since they are followers of the Perfect Man and walk in his footsteps, they 
journey by the light of his guidance and the lamp of his knowledge (ma'rifah) in 
submission to the sacred being of the Perfect Man. They don't take any step by 
themselves and do not allow their intellect to meddle with the character of the 
spiritual journey towards Allah. For this reason, their path is also straight, 
and in the company of the Perfect Man their fulfillment (wusal) is subordinate 
to the fulfillment of the Perfect Man, provided that they protect their clear 
hearts from the workings of the devils, the ego, and egoism, and submit 
themselves totally in the journey to the Perfect Man and the station of ultimate 
prophecy.
Concerning Some Stratagems of Satan:
One of the evil workings of Satan is to make man turn the face of his heart away 
from the Straight Path and towards some coquettish person (shukh) or guru (shaykh). 
One of the great masterpieces of Satan, who whispers into the hearts of men, is 
that he, with gay and nonchalant discourse and deceptive manipulations, makes 
some spiritual gurus (shuyukh) enamoured to some coquette, justifying this major 
sin, or an act of spiritual polytheism, on the pretext that if the heart were to 
have a singular attachment one can succeed faster in curtailing worldly 
attachments. At [other] times he turns some mindless coquette towards some 
demonic guru, one who seduces people or is rather a satanic highwayman. The 
pretext offered for this act of explicit polytheism (shirk-e jali) is that the 
guru is a Perfect Man and that only through the Perfect Man one can attain to 
the realm of absolute transcendence, which is not manifested except in the 
mirror of the guru. At the end of their lives, the two of them-that one with the 
memory of his favourite's cheek and this one with the inverted face of his 
guru-join the world of demons and satans, and neither the former gets rid of his 
bestial attachment nor the latter reaches the goal through this blind alley.
It should be known that since the believer's journey is on a Straight Path and 
his heart is upright, his orientation is towards Allah and his way is the middle 
path. As a result, in that world too his path is clear and straight, his posture 
upright, and his appearance and character, his inward and outward, have a human 
form and shape. One can understand the character of the heart of the polytheists 
in contrast to this. As his heart deviates from the Divine nature, and strays 
from the central point of perfection and the hub of light and beauty, departing 
from submission to the absolute Guide and Guardian (Wali) and preoccupied with 
its own ego and egoism, the world and its ornaments, consequently in the other 
worlds also it is not resurrected with the straight human character and form but 
in the form of an animal with a head turned about. That is so because, in that 
world, form and shape are subject to the character of the heart and the outward 
reflects the inward and the shell is the image of the kernel. The matter of that 
realm is not averse to accepting the inward malakuti forms as in this world, and 
this thesis has been established in its proper place. Hence the hearts which are 
averse to the Truth and Reality and deviate from straight nature, oriented and 
directed as they are towards the world, their image too, like themselves, 
deviates from straightness, being inverted, facing the world and physical nature 
(tabi`at), which is the lowest of the low. Perhaps, in that world some would 
walk on their faces with their feet upwards, some on their bellies, and some on 
their hands and feet, like animals, the way they in fact walked in this world:
﴾Is he who goes inverted on his face more rightly guided or he who 
walks upright on a straight path? (67:22)﴿
It is possible that this metaphor in the metaphoric world becomes a reality in 
the realm of reality and manifestation of spirituality. In some noble traditions 
relating to the exegesis of this noble verse, the `Straight Path' is interpreted 
as referring to Hadrat Amir al-Mu'minin and the Infallible Imams, may peace be 
upon them:
In al-Kafi (al-Kulayni reports) with his isnad from Abu al-Hasan al-Madi 
(al-Imam Musa al-Kazim) that (Muhammad b. al-Fudayl) says: [When asked 
concerning the meaning of the verse], "Is he who goes inverted on his face more 
rightly guided or he who walks upright on a straight path?" The Imam replied, 
'Verily, God has struck a similitude [in this verse]: one who deviates from the 
wilayah of 'Ali [may peace be upon him] is like one who walks on his face and is 
not guided, and He has made one who follows him as one who walks upright on a 
straight path, and 'the Straight Path' is Amir al-Mu'minin, may peace be upon 
him.' "10
In another tradition the `Straight Path' is explained as meaning 'Ali, may peace 
be upon him, and the rest of the Imams, may peace be upon them. 11
Also, it is narrated in the noble al-Kafi from Fudayl that he said: "I entered 
the Holy Mosque (of Makkah) with al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon him, and he 
was leaning upon me. Then he threw his blessed glance upon the people as we 
stood at the Door of Bani Shaybah. Then he said, `O Fudayl, they used to 
circumambulate in this manner [even] during the days of the Jahiliyyah! They 
neither recognized any truth nor followed any creed. O Fudayl, look at them, 
they walk inverted on their faces! May God damn them, they are a disfigured 
creation walking on their faces." Then he recited the noble verse, Is he who 
goes inverted on his face more rightly guided or he who walks upright on a 
straight path. Then he added, "By God, that means `Ali, may peace be upon him, 
and his awsiya', may peace be upon them."12
In the foregoing we have explained how the journey and the movement of the 
Perfect Man are on the Straight Path. However, the exposition of the matter that 
the Perfect Man is the Straight Path itself is beyond our purpose in this 
discourse.
Complimentary Note: The Hypocrite's Heart and the Difference Between it and the 
Believer's Heart:
The states of the heart of the believer and the polytheist-and even that of the 
unbeliever-became known from the exposition in the foregoing section. A 
comparison also discloses the state of the hypocrite's heart. That is because 
the believer's heart has nor departed from its original innocent and clear 
nature and it naturally accepts any truths relating to faith and the true 
teaching. The harmony and compatibility between the nourishment-which consists 
of the truths and the teachings-and the nourished one-which is the heart in its 
state of original nature-is preserved. Hence in another tradition of the noble 
al-Kafi, the believer's heart has been said to be `open' (maftuh), and although 
this `opening' may refer to one of the `threefold openings' (futhat-e thalathah),13 
this meaning is also appropriate.
However, as the hypocrite's heart has obscurities and darkness formed in it 
contrary to the human nature, such as ignorant prejudices (ta'assubhaye 
jahiliyyat), blameworthy moral traits, vanity, ambition, and other qualities 
contrary to the [primal] nature, it is closed and sealed. It is not at all 
receptive to the word of truth and its tablet is like a page of paper that is 
totally blackened, on which nothing can be inscribed. Its pretense of 
religiosity, arising from its satanic character, is a means to secure worldly 
benefit and advancement in mundane matters.
It should be known that the hearts of the polytheist and the hypocrite are both 
inverted and sealed, as is clear and evident. But the attribution of one of 
these qualities to each of them in particular is for the reason that, as the 
hearts of the polytheists are turned in worship towards other than That which is 
Absolute Perfection, they have two properties and characteristics: one is 
sincere humility [in front of the object of worship] and another is the 
deficiency and obfuscation created by this humility, which is diverted towards 
imperfect beings and creatures. Hence their hearts are inverted and this is 
their predominant characteristic. As to the hypocrite, he is either a polytheist 
in reality-and in this respect he shares equally with the polytheists the 
quality of inversion of the heart-besides possessing an additional quality [i.e. 
hypocrisy], or he is an unbeliever in reality and possesses no religiosity. 
Although his heart too is inverted, it has another quality which is predominant. 
That additional quality is his outward pretense of following the truth. He 
enters the congregation of the followers of the Truth and hears all the truthful 
preaching that is heard by the believers. Yet, while the believer absorbs them 
due to his inner purity and open heart, the hypocrite fails to receive them due 
to the darkness and obscurities of his heart, which is closed and sealed.
The reason for singling out for mention from among the attributes of the 
believer the two characteristics, of gratitude on being favoured with gifts and 
patience in trials, is the salient character of these two among the believer's 
qualities. These are two of the major virtues from which other virtues branch 
out, and we have alluded to this in the exposition of some of the earlier 
traditions.14 Further, the tradition refers to two of the Divine 
Attributes, of Glory and Beauty, or Might and Grace, each of which is manifested 
in the condition of tribulation and the condition of being well provided. And 
although tribulation belongs to the Attributes of Grace, but since it manifests 
through Might, it is reckoned as belonging to it, as mentioned in the 
discussions on Divine Names and Attributes. The believer always observes the 
duties of servitude between the two manifestations.
Conclusion: Neglect of the Truth Results in the Inversion of the Heart:
From the foregoing discussion it is known that the souls, though they should 
have belief in God and Resurrection, become inverted if they are totally 
absorbed by attention towards the world and preoccupied with mundane 
advancements while being neglectful of God. The criterion in respect of the 
inversion of the heart is the neglect of God and attention to the world and its 
cultivation. Such belief is either not faith, as mentioned in the exposition of 
some of the earlier traditions,15 or is an insignificant and 
inadequate faith that is not inconsistent with the inversion of the heart. In 
fact, one who makes a pretense of belief in transcendence and Resurrection but 
has no trepidation arising from such a belief and whom this belief does not lead 
to act with his bodily members, such a one is to be considered as belonging to 
the hypocrites, not as one of the believers. Possibly this sort of apparent 
believers, like the people of Ta'if, who in the noble tradition are mentioned as 
being typical of those who are believers at one time and hypocrites at another 
time, may altogether lose this hollow faith which has no sovereignty in the 
realm of their physical, bodily existence (mulk). They might leave this world in 
a state of complete hypocrisy to be resurrected amongst the hypocrites. This is 
one of the crucial matters to which our weak spirits must attach great 
importance, taking care that the effects of faith become established in our 
manifest and hidden, inner and outer, being. In the same way as we claim to 
possess faith in the heart, we should make our outward being also subject to its 
authority, so that the roots of faith become established in our hearts, not to 
be destroyed by any kind of obstacle or hindrance, transformation and change, so 
that this Divine trust of a celestial and pure heart, fashioned with its Divine 
nature, is returned to the Sacred Being unaffected and unsoiled by the workings 
of Satan and hands of treachery. And to Allah belongs all praise, at every 
beginning and end. '
* Book: Forty Hadith (An Exposition on 40 ahadith narrated through the 
Prophet (pbuhh&hh) and his Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.)). By Imam Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khumayni. 
Translated by: Mahliqa Qara'i (late) and Ali Quli Qara'i.
1- Usul al-Kafi, 
vol. II, p. 422, "kitab al-Iman wa al-kufr" "bab fi Zulmah qalb al-munafiq" 
hadith 2.
2- Al-Nihayah, vol. ii, p. 321, under z.h.r.
3- Author's Note. It should be known that that which is meant here is not that 
the science of ethics and the things which lead to the salvation and damnation 
of the soul are not necessary. Rather, what is meant it that that science is to 
considered as a mere preliminary to action, not as something of independent 
worth is whose pursuit and in collecting whose technical jargon one should spend 
a lifetime and be kept from one's real goal. 
4- See under the exposition of Twenty-sixth Hadith.
5- See Seventeenth Hadith.
6- Bihar al-anwar, vol. v, p. 153, "kitab al adl wa al-ma'ad' "bab al-sa'adah wa 
al shaqawah" hadith 1, with a slight difference in wording. 
7- Usul al-Kafi, vol. ii, p. 423, "kitab al-iman wa al-kufr" "bab Zulmah qalb 
al-munafiq" hadith 3.
8- Ibid, vol. ii, p. 422, hadith 1.
9- Sadr al-Muta'allihin, Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim, vol. iv, p. 52, exegesis of 
2:256 (ayat al-Kursi); See also al-Majlisi, 'Ilm al-yaqin, vol. ii, p. 967.
10- Al-Kafi, vol. i, p. 432, "Kitab al-hujjah" "bab fihi nukat wa nutaf min al-tamzil 
fi al-Wilayah" hadith 91. 
11- Bihar al-anwar, vol. XXIV, p. 15, "kitab al-imamah" bab 24, hadith 17.
12- Rawdat al-Kafi, p. 288, hadith 434.
13- These are; al-fath al-qarib, al-fath al-mubin, and al-fath al-mutlaq.
14- See Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Twenty-first Hadith.
15- See Ninth, Twentieth and Twenty-sixth Hadith.


