One of the things that concerns those who are trying to rise to Almighty God is that they see the weakness of the level of resistance within themselves. They find difficulty when they face forbidden things they already left behind owing to guilt. They pass away the springtime of their lives in a space between rebellion and repentance. Clearly this situation cannot go on forever: they have to either end up in addiction to forbidden things or true repentance!




We have to carefully study the causes of this dangerous situation. One of them is the weakness of the human soul in facing temptations. The human soul in this case is like a space capsule that comes close to the gravitational pull of the Earth, and so it loses control, falls downward, and crashes to the ground. In truth, the ! only way to go is to move in the orbit of safety, by not approaching the positions where he loses control over himself. One point to notice in this regard is that the Holy Qur'an forbids even getting close to fornication when it forbids fornication itself, including things that lead up to it like looking at women, being alone with them, and so forth.





Considering the fact that the human being by nature is influenced by the social atmosphere surrounding him, especially the family, he cannot ignore the effects of the behavior of those around him. We frequently hear complaints of those who want to improve their relationship with God. They feel that their relationship with a husband, wife, parents or other relatives might block them in this path. On the one hand, the individual cannot break ties with everyone around him, and on the other hand he cannot give up his condition of spiritual awareness because this condition may never come back to him again! He will end up in a condition worse than what he had before! Turning away after a moment of comm! union is extremely dangerous.


The one who seeks encouragement from others in changing his life for the better might be sadly disappointed. When in course of history have the majority of people been ! wise and reasonable? Almighty God describes the majority in negative terms like: mindless, ungracious, unable to follow the straight path. And He is the one who knows the inner secrets of human souls! How beautiful is the hadith of Imam Ali (A) which says, "O People! Don't feel lonely for the lack of fellow travelers on the path of guidance, because people gather around the banquet table (of the material world) even though it satisfies them for a short time while it leaves them hungry in the long term!"


The comprehensive solution to overcome all of these obstacles is for the individual to plan an independent course in life and to not bind his fate to others, even if they are very close to him. Human relationships are severed in the first moments after leaving this world. Likewise the human being should not take on the nature of the country he lives in. He should not take the fact that he lives with disobedient people or irreligious people as an excuse to take on their behavior. The ones who are firmly established upon the path of guidance in that country will be brought forth on the Day of Judgment. God Almighty will use them to confirm! His punishment upon those who took their living environment or time as an excuse.



Some other basic ! points in revolutionizing the life we live is to make the right decision at the right time before it is too late. The one who hesitates in moving along the path can never possibly reach his goal. When we say these kinds of things, we are not asking our fellow Muslims to do the impossible. The essence of what we are saying is this: human beings were created for a specific purpose, and that is eternal happiness. It is not possible for us to reach this goal but by spending these few years in this material world. Of course the longer a person lives, the weaker he gets and he loses the ability to make vital decisions. That's why we see that the people who have successfully turned around their lives have usually done so when they were young.



The person who has a weak will in facing forbidden things has to be careful not to despair over Almighty God's mercy. This is one of the gravest sins. Because God knows all about human weakness He is easily pleased, so it is easy for the human being to calm the waves of God's anger by a few simple tear dr! ops. Fortunately most of the disobedience of our youth today can be overcome by a few moments of regret and a commitment not to return to these sins because these sins are mainly offences against God rather than against other people. They say that the truly repentant person speeds up in the path of completion because he deeply wishes to make up for the days of neglect that have passed. You can see such a person making broad leaps instead of crawling along slowly!



The general method we suggest for those who want to return to their Lord in spite of their sins or neglect which none can escape: he should make a positive start by performing some tangible act of worship, by which the worshipper can show his good intentions. This takes the form of bathing as a sign of repentance (called ghusl al-taubah), then praying a heartfelt two-rakat prayer, then placing one's forehead on the ground and asking forgiveness seventy times. Let the disobedient people try this formula to experience the reality of this great power descending from Almighty God to w! ake up and view life in a completely new way. We should always bear in mind that our enemy, in spite of his long experience in tempting human beings is described like this in the Holy Qur'an: {Verily the devil's plan is weak}. Isn't that good news?



تحياتي
كربابادي

Je Vous remerice infiniment

Merci


au revoir