Four Habits that Lead Us to Paradise

Most of us strive in life to find efficient ways to achieve our goals. Finding the proper efficient way to accomplish any task is often praised and encouraged. It seems to be part of our human nature to seek short-cuts to take us to our destinations.

              Many of us may apply the same approach towards religion, too.  We seek simple good deeds that would ultimately take us to paradise. 

              What is necessary to realize is that seeking efficiency is not the same as seeking ways to cheat.  Seeking an efficient way to study for an exam is not equivalent to seeking ways to cheat on that exam.  When we have an important exam or test coming up, we look for the best location, best time and best way to study.  Some people prefer and can study in a library, yet for others driving to the library is not a possibility and they can only study at home.  We are all different and we have different means at our possession, which we need to utilize efficiently to attain our goals.

              Religiously, love of God and reaching paradise are and should be our ultimate goals. To achieve these goals, we must pass tests and exams and ascend upwards step by step, stage after stage. However, what is the most efficient way to attain such goals? Which simple actions could take us to paradise?  What is an easy first step to take, which will guide us to paradise?

              In this post, I present a  Good tradition, in which our beloved prophet, peace be upon him, presents four options or four habits, each one of which will allow an individual to enter paradise.     

              It is important to notice the present flexibility in our teachings.  Islam is not a rigid religion.  Islam provides multiple routes and options to reach paradise for people with various means and abilities. Do not expect others to follow you in your deeds, and do not lose hope if you cannot perform what may seem like a grand deed to you.  For each one of us, there is a suitable route and a suitable step to take. 

              What is essential is that once we find a suitable step for ourselves, we must take that step, and once we take that first step, we must follow through. 

              When you read the following tradition, contemplate upon it.  If you haven’t taken any of the following steps towards paradise, pick one and follow through. Repeat your selected action frequently and make it a habit for yourself.

                      

              The simplest option amongst the four, according to the following tradition, seems to be keeping silence and speaking only when one has something good to say. Perhaps this would be a very good starting step for most of us.  Perhaps we could all take this step and make this a habit for ourselves, and speak only when we have something good to say.  

                      

              Lastly, take notice of the word “خَصْلَةٌ” or “habit/quality.” It is important to keep in mind that repeating a good deed leads to that deed becoming a habit.  Thus, it is crucial to understand that adopting one of the four options as a habit is what will leads us to paradise.

Arabic Text:

محمد بن يحيى ‏[تعليق‏] عن أحمد بن محمد بن عيسى‏ [ضمير] عن الهيثم بن أبي مسروق عن هشام بن سالم عن أبي عبد الله ع قال قال رسول الله ص‏  لِرَجُلٍ أَتَاهُ أَ لَا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى أَمْرٍ يُدْخِلُكَ اللَّهُ بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ قَالَ بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ أَنِلْ مِمَّا أَنَالَكَ اللَّهُ قَالَ فَإِنْ كُنْتُ أَحْوَجَ مِمَّنْ أُنِيلُهُ قَالَ فَانْصُرِ الْمَظْلُومَ قَالَ وَ إِنْ كُنْتُ أَضْعَفَ مِمَّنْ أَنْصُرُهُ قَالَ فَاصْنَعْ لِلْأَخْرَقِ يَعْنِي أَشِرْ عَلَيْهِ  قَالَ فَإِنْ كُنْتُ أَخْرَقَ مِمَّنْ أَصْنَعُ لَهُ قَالَ فَأَصْمِتْ لِسَانَكَ إِلَّا مِنْ خَيْرٍ أَ مَا يَسُرُّكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ فِيكَ خَصْلَةٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْخِصَالِ تَجُرُّكَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ

Farsi Translation:

رسول خدا (ص) به مردى كه نزدش آمده بود فرمود:

تو را به چيزى رهنمائى نكنم كه به بهشت برد خدا براى آن؟

فرمود: چرا يا رسول اللَّه. فرمود: از آنچه خدا به تو داده بده، گفت:

اگر خود نيازمندتر باشم از آنكه می‏خواهم به او بدهم؟ فرمود:

ستم ديده‏ اى را يارى كن، گفت: اگر ناتوان‏تر از آن ستمديده باشم؟

فرمود: كارى براى بدبخت بی‏خرد كن يعنى او را رهنمائى كن، گفت: اگر خود بدبخت و بیخردم بيش از آنكه بخواهم براى او كار كنم؟ فرمود: زبانت را جز از خوبى گفتن نگهدار، آيا شاد نيستى كه يكى از اين خصلتها در تو باشد و تو را به بهشت كشد.

English Translation:

… narrated from Al Haytham ibn Abi Masroq from Hisham ibn Salem from Abi Abdillah (peace be upon him) who has said:

"The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to a man who came to him:

Do you want me to guide you to do something for which Allah allows you to enter paradise?

The man said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah.

Prophet Muhammd (peace be upon him) said: Give the poor people from what Allah gave you.

The man said: But what if I need it more than the one who would take it?

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: then support the oppressed ones.

The man said: But what if I was weaker than those to be supported?  

The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Then advise the senseless.

The man said: But what if I was more senseless than the one I advise?

The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Then hold your tongue except to say good things.

Don't you like to have one of these habits to lead you to the Paradise?"

Source:

Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 113, Tradition #5

A Believer's Natural Disposition

In one of my previous posts, “unwilled offences,” I very briefly overviewed the formation of habits via frequent commitment to certain actions.  The reason and cause behind formation of habits is neurological, and it basically comes down to “neurons that fire together, wire together.”  What this means is that the more you commit a certain action, whether it is good or bad, certain neurons related to that action are stimulated to fire together and form connections.  These connections are called synapses. 

Your actions and experiences in life are directly linked to the internal structure of your brain.  In simple words, you are the architect of your brain.  The reason is that our human brains are very plastic. Our brains continuously change themselves to adapt to our actions, experiences and environments. 

            Once we learn about such neurological fact, we should become more aware and conscious about our environments and our actions.  Why? Because although we shape and construct our own neural networks, it is our neurons that will subsequently subconsciously enforce our actions via inclinations and desires.  It is a form of positive feedback.  In other words, when your brain realizes that you like a certain action or environment or experience, due to your frequent commitment to that action, your brain changes itself to make it easier for you to commit that action, and it promotes and causes desires in you to make you want to pursue that action. This mechanism is very helpful and is directly linked to our survival. Of course, how we train our brains is our responsibility.

            Needless to say, the underlying neuroscience behind habit formation is very complex.  However, if you would like to learn about the subconscious forces, feelings and inclinations that lead you to certain actions and behaviours, I would definitely recommend you pick up a book on neuroplasticity and read it.

Now, why did I say all that? The reason I stated what I did, was to set the context for the following two Good traditions.

            It is important for us to realize that our frequent actions lead us to form habits, and our habits form our characteristics, our natural disposition.  For example, an individual, who frequently cheats, forms the habit of cheating, and cheating becomes part of his characteristic.  He would be considered a cheater. 

            The following traditions, very concisely and clearly distinguish one’s characteristic from one’s actions.  It is important for us to notice and realize that believers may indeed commit some of the worst actions, such as adultery or lying, yet they are still considered believers because those actions are not in accordance with their characteristics or natural disposition. 

             One moral lesson we can learn from these traditions, in addition to noticing their accuracy about human natural disposition and modern brain science,  is that we must not be quick to judge others based on a few of their actions that we see. One’s actions do not always indicate or point to one’s characteristic. 

            Let us focus on forming the best characteristics for ourselves via putting ourselves in the right environments and via committing the right actions as often as possible.  In other words, let us use these traditions to motivate ourselves to follow the commands of Allah as closely as possible. 

           Now without any further ado, here are the traditions.

12) Good

Arabic Text:

عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْحَجَّاجِ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع الْكَذَّابُ هُوَ الَّذِي يَكْذِبُ فِي الشَّيْ‏ءِ قَالَ لَا مَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ وَ لَكِنَّ الْمَطْبُوعَ عَلَى الْكَذِبِ

Farsi Translation:

عبد الرحمن بن حجاج گويد: بحضرت صادق عليه السلام عرضكردم: كذاب آن كس است كه در چيزى دروغگويد؟ فرمود: نه، (زيرا) كسى نيست جز اينكه اين از او سر زند ولى مقصود آن كس است كه بدروغ عادت كرده است

English Translation:

Narrated by Ali Ibn Ibrahim from his father from Ibn Abu Omeir from Abdel Rahman Ibn Al-Hajjaj who said:

I said to Abu Abdullah regarding the liar; “Is the liar one who lies about a thing?” He [the Imam] said, “No; there is no man that does not do so. A liar is one whose nature is to lie.”

6) Good

Arabic Text:

عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ وَ عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ جَمِيعاً عَنِ ابْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنِ ابْنِ رِئَابٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ لَا يَكُونُ سَجِيَّتُهُ الْكَذِبَ وَ الْبُخْلَ وَ الْفُجُورَ وَ رُبَّمَا أَلَمَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئاً لَا يَدُومُ عَلَيْهِ قِيلَ فَيَزْنِي قَالَ نَعَمْ وَ لَكِنْ لَا يُولَدُ لَهُ مِنْ تِلْكَ النُّطْفَةِ

Farsi Translation:

از ابن رئاب، گويد: از امام صادق (ع) شنيدم می‏فرمود:

راستى كه سرشت مؤمن دروغ گفتن و بخل و هرزگى نيست، و بسا كه دستى بدانها آلايد ولى بر آن نپايد، به او عرض شد كه: زنا میكند؟

فرمود: آرى، ولى از آن نطفه فرزندى نيارد

English Translation:

Narrated by Ali Ibn Ibrahim from his father and a number of our companions from Sahl Ibn Ziyad and all of them from Ibn Mahboub from Ibn Re’ab who said:

I heard Abu Abdullah (pbuh) say: “The characteristic of a believer is not that of lying, miserliness or lewdness. He may fall into one of these but does not continue.”

Someone said, “Such as adultery?”

He [the Imam] said, “Yes, but nothing is born of that seed.”

Source:

Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 340, Tradition #12

Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 442, Tradition #6

  

Unwilled Offences

In this post I will present a very short yet insightful tradition.  This tradition is about a specific phrase inside a Quranic verse, “إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ.” 

           

            Just like other traditions, multiple lessons can be extracted from this tradition as well.   However, what caught my eyes, as an individual who is interested in cognitive sciences, was how our Imam, peace be upon him, concisely clarified that quitting habits cannot occur suddenly and overnight.  The frequency of committing the habit may decrease more and more over time, if the individual has decided to quit that habit, but it is almost impossible, if possible at all, to quit  a well-established habit overnight. 

           

            For those who are interested about the scientific reason behind such behaviour, “unwilled offences”, I recommend you study the phenomenon of Neuroplasticity, which investigates the formation and plasticity of connections amongst neurons in our brains.

            Very briefly speaking, every action we commit is directly related to specific neurons in our brains.  Our experiences and our actions form and change the neuron network in our brains.  If we commit an action frequently, that network, which is formed by that action, gains strength and stability, and hence a habit will be formed. Since our brain likes stability and homeostasis, once a network is strengthened and firm in our brains, disconnecting it and dismantling it would not be easy, and requires persistence and a strong will power. This is why quitting habits is not easy and takes time.

            This is of course an extremely brief overview of the neuroscience behind the formation of habits.  I like to emphasize the fact that this was an extremely brief overview, and if you are interested in the neuroscience behind habits, I suggest you examine the phenomenon of Neuroplasticity.

            Here’s an excellent book, which I strongly recommend on this topic.  Read and learn how you can use brain science to help yourself quit your negative habits.

The Brain That Changes Itself:

Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

 

            Initially, if this is the first time you hear about the neuroscience behind habits, you may not see the significance behind this tradition.  However, the more you study cognitive sciences, and the significance of our subconscious mind, you may appreciate this tradition more and more.

            Lastly, when you read this tradition, if you could think of any other lessons that could be extracted from it, please do share them by writing a comment and letting all the readers know about other possible lessons from this tradition.  

Without any further ado here’s the tradition. This tradition is graded as Good.

5)

Arabic Text:

عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ حَرِيزٍ عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ مَا مِنْ ذَنْبٍ إِلَّا وَ قَدْ طُبِعَ عَلَيْهِ عَبْدٌ مُؤْمِنٌ يَهْجُرُهُ الزَّمَانَ ثُمَّ يُلِمُّ بِهِ وَ هُوَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ الَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَ الْفَواحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ (53:32)  قَالَ اللَّمَّامُ الْعَبْدُ الَّذِي يُلِمُّ الذَّنْبَ بَعْدَ الذَّنْبِ لَيْسَ مِنْ سَلِيقَتِهِ أَيْ مِنْ

طَبِيعَتِهِ

Farsi Translation:

حضرت صادق عليه السّلام فرمود: هيچ گناهى نيست جز آنكه بنده مؤمنى بدان خو گرفته، مدتى آن را واگذارد سپس (دوباره) بآن دست زند، و آن است گفتار خداى عز و جل: «آنان كه دورى گزينند از گناهان بزرگ و ناشايسته‏ ها جز لمم» (53:32)  فرمود: امام: آن بنده‏ ايست كه بگناهى پس از گناهى دست زند كه موافق سليقه او يعنى از طبيعت او نيست

English Translation:

Narrated by Ali Ibn Ibrahim from his father from Hammad Ibn Eissa from Huraiz from Ishaaq Ibn Ammar from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) who said:

Every sin that becomes a habit and then is abandoned by a believing servant for a period of time, he repeats unwillingly. This is in the words of Allah the Most Exalted: “Those who avoid enormities of sin and abominations save the unwilled offences.” (53:32) The minor offender is a servant who commits sin after sin, which are not in line with his disposition, meaning his nature.

Source:

Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 442, Tradition #5