The Beauty of a Good Deed

The Eminent Lord of the Martyrs, Husain ibn Ali, peace be upon him, was the leader of his time. His task was to lead the caravan of humanity to virtue and goodness, to the ultimate limits of human growth, and eventually to transcend even those limits.

Imam Husain, peace be upon him, was an exemplar: he was the guiding light to follow. And, he also advised his followers, and the people of all time, on what path to take to achieve perfection.

“Oh people, take pride amongst yourselves for your praiseworthy traits and in the development of honorable morals. [In other words, don’t brag and boast on material and worldly achievements; achieve honor and respect through honorable traits and morals.]

Move quickly to achieve those results which have spiritual value. Don’t count on any good works which you do not hasten to complete. [Here the Imam is advising that we do not let any time lapse between the decision to do a good deed and the actual action. Just because we’ve thought about doing something good, doesn’t mean we’ve done it. We must begin, and begin swiftly]

Earn praise and commendation through the successful completion of your deeds. Don’t earn criticism and censure by being lazy and lethargic.

Know this: In some situations one person may do good toward another, and that person shows him no gratitude so he thinks he has no thanks. But Allah Himself is the reward. Allah’s generosity is greater and more abundant and his payment is the greatest.

And Know this: The requests that people ask of you are actually blessings for you from Allah. Thus, don’t face these blessings with weariness, lest they be transformed into adversity.

All good works carry praise and commendation and bring with them a good reward.

If you could see good deeds take human form before your eyes, you would find goodness to be like a lovely person with a beautiful face, pleasing to look act. Whoever looks upon that beautiful person would find joy and bliss.

If you would see bad and unscrupulous actions embodied in human form, you would see an ugly, repulsive person. Everyone would turn their hearts and eyes away from it.