Hopelessness is Haraam

The third point to be noted is that the Almighty Allah has told the sinners, "Do not despair of the Divine Mercy." The use of a negative term signifies the prohibition of hopelessness. Also it means that to lose hope regarding salvation is Haraam.
The fourth point is that Allah did not stop at this, He further adds, "Surely Allah forgives the faults altogether," signifying that the statement covers all the sins.
Fifth Point: The addition of the word 'altogether' at the end signifies that the statement includes all sins without any exception.
Sixth Point: The last point is that at the end of the verse, Allah repeats, "Surely He is the forgiving, the merciful," to stress upon the fact that Allah desires and wishes to forgive those who repent.

Repentance of the Killer of a Prophet is also Acceptable
Jabir Ibn Abdullah Ansari (r.a.) relates that a woman came to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and asked, "If a woman kills her child can she seek pardon?" The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) replied, "By Allah in whose control is the life of Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) even if this woman has killed seventy Prophets and then feels remorse and repents and Allah is convinced of her sincerity and the truth of her statement, upon the condition that she does not repeat the sin, her repentance shall be accepted. And her sins would be pardoned. Surely Allah is oft forgiving and forgives, ever so beyond measure. Verily one who repents (sincerely) is; as if he has never committed that sin." (Liyali Akhbaar)

Despair in the Acceptance of Prayers is Also Improper
If we pray to Allah for some worldly benefits or the Hereafter and our prayer is not answered it raises two noteworthy points. Firstly, we must know that Allah has promised to accept all prayers and Allah never goes back on His word.
As it is mentioned in the Holy book, "And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me." (Surah Baqarah 2:186)
At another place Allah says, "And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you." (Surah Momin 40:60)
The second point is that due to His unlimited wisdom He may delay the acceptance of some prayer. So if we do not get immediate gratification we should not lose hope of having our prayers accepted.

Ref: Greater sins, Vol.1

Every Sin is Pardonable

According to the verse of the Holy Quran and Mutawatir (widely related) traditions all the sins which man commits are pardonable if he repents sincerely. It is wrong to say that such a sin can never be pardoned. The Almighty Allah says in the Glorious Quran, "And He it is who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the evil deeds and He knows what you do." (Surah Shura 42:25)

Allah has mentioned His names as:

1. Tawwabun (one who accepts Tawbah)
2. Gaffarun (one who pardons)
3. Ghafoorun (one who forgives totally)
4. Ghaaferuz Zanbe (Pardoner of sins)
5. Qaabelut Tawbah (one who accepts repentance)

Allah has given a general invitation to all the people to turn towards Him and seek forgiveness for their sins. If we study the meaning of the 54th verse of Surah Zumar we find that sinners have no cause to lose hope. This Ayat is also known as Ayat-e-Rehmat (The verse of Mercy).
"Say: O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls, do not despair of the Mercy of Allah ; Surely Allah forgives the faults altogether; surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful." (Surah Zumar 39:53).

Unlimited Grace
A few points must be noted from the above verse. Firstly, Allah says, 'O my servant' and not 'O sinners!' Even though he is addressing the sinners he addresses them as 'my servants'. So that the hopelessness of the servants may be transformed into hope in His Mercy.
Secondly, he says, "Who have acted extravagantly." This denotes a soft approach. Allah does not say 'O you who have acted blatantly,' So that the sinners may not lose hope of obtaining pardon.

Ref: Greater sins, Vol.1

An Atheist in the Woods!

An atheist was walking through the woods.

'What majestic trees!'

What powerful rivers!'

What beautiful animals!
He said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him.
He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell on the ground .He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him. At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!'

Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. 'You deny My existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.'

'Do you expect Me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?' The atheist looked directly into the light, 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Believer now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Believer'? 'Very Well,' said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke:

'Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty O our Lord, Amen’, and he ate the man.

Kindness with wife

Admonishing Strict Men

God's Prophet(MGB) said: مَن ضَرَبَ امْرَأةً بِغَيرِ حَقٍّ فأنا خَصْمُهُ يَومَ القِيامَةِ. لا تَضْرِبوا نِسائَكُم، فَمَنْ ضَرَبَها بِغَيرِ حَقٍّ فَقَد

عَصى اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ.

On the Resurrection Day I am the enemy of any man who unduly beats his wife. Do not beat your wives. Thus whoever unduly beats his wife has surely rebelled against God and His Prophet.[1]

God's Prophet (MGB) said:

لَيسَ مِنّا مَن وُسِعَ عَلَيهِ ثُمَّ قَتَرَ عَلى عِيالِهِ.

"Whoever is affluent but is stingy with his wife does not belong to our nation."[2]

Improving the Spouse's Living Conditions

It has been narrated that Imam Sajj¡d (MGB) said:

أرْضاكُم عِندَ اللهِ أوْسَعُكُم عَلى عِيالِهِ.

"Whoever makes the most improvements in his spouse's living conditions will be the most pleased one near God."[3]

Imam Reza (MGB) said:

يَنْبَغي لِلرَّجُلِ أنْ يُوسِعَ عَلى عِيالِهِ لِئَلاّ يَتَمَنَّوا مَوتَهُ.

"It is best for a man to make so many improvements in the living conditions of his wife that she never wishes him to die."[4]

REFRENCES:
[1] Irshad al-Quloob, v.1, p.175.

[2] Mustadrak al-Vasa'el, v.2, p.643.

[3] Mustadrak al-Vasa'el, v.2, p.643.

[4] Wasae`il al-Shi`ah, v.15, p.249.

Incident of H.Ali (a.s.) and a Jew

Declared Aba Abdillah Imam Ja'far ibn Mohammad al-Sadiq (a.s.):
"When Abu Bakr died and Umar took over, he returned to the mosque and sat down. A man came to him and said, "O Commander of the Faithful! I am one of the Jews. I am one of their scientists. I have several questions to ask you. If you answer them I will become a Muslim."
Umar said, "What are those questions?" He said, "Three, three and one. If you are ready I will ask them, but if there is someone more knowledgeable than you in your tribe direct me to him."
Then Umar said, "Go to that young man - that is Ali ibn Abi Talib (s)."

The man asked him (s) his questions. Ali (s) said, "Why did you say three, three and one? Why didn't you say seven?"
The Jew said, "Since then I would be ignorant. Should you not answer the first three, I will suffice and not ask the rest."

Ali (s) said, "Will you become a Muslim if I answer the first three questions?" The man said, "Yes." Then Ali (s) said, "Ask."
He said, "I want to ask you about the first stone placed on the Earth, the first spring gushed forth and the first tree grown."
Ali (s) said, "O Jew! You say that the first stone place on the Earth is the one in the Holy House of Bayt ul-Maqdis. But you lie. It is the stone that Adam brought down to Earth from Heaven." He said, "You are right! By God, Aaron wrote this down which was dictated to him by Moses (s)."

Ali (s) said, "You say that the first spring which gushed forth from the Earth was the one in the Holy House of Bayt ul-Maqdis. But you lie! It is the Spring of Life in which Yush'a ibn Noon washed that fish. It is the same spring from which al-Khizr drank. Whoever drinks from it will live forever." The Jew said, "You are right! By God, Aaron wrote this down which was dictated to him by Moses (s)."

Ali (s) added, "You say that the first tree grown on the Earth was an olive tree. But you lie! That tree was al-Ajwa which Adam brought down with him to the Earth from Heaven." He said, "You are right! By God, Aaron wrote this down which was dictated to him by Moses (s)."

The Jew said, "And now for the second three. How many Divine Leaders does this nation have to guide them who will not lose anything if all the people stop following them?" Ali (s) said, "Twelve Divine Leaders!" The Jew said, "You are right! By God, Aaron wrote this down which was dictated to him by Moses (s)."

The Jew asked, "Where does your Prophet reside in Paradise?" Ali (s) said, "In the highmost place and the noblest location in the Eternal Paradise." The Jew said, "You are right! By God, Aaron wrote this down which was dictated to him by Moses (s)."

The Jew asked, "Who are the people who live with him in the same house?" Ali (s) said, "The twelve Divine Leaders." The Jew said, "You are right! By God, Aaron wrote this down which was dictated to him by Moses (s)."

Then the Jew said, "And now for the seventh question. For how many years will his successor live after him?" Ali (s) said, "For thirty years." The Jew asked, "What will happen next? Will he die or will he get killed?" Ali (s) said, "He will be killed. He will be struck on the crown of his head with a sword and his beard will be covered with blood." The Jew said, "You are right! By God, Aaron wrote this down which was dictated to him by Moses (s)."

Reference:
Uyun Akhbar Al-Reza, Volume 1, Tradition 6-19

How To Thank The Blessingof Ahl al-Bayt

In the Holy Qur’an, all human beings have been asked to offer thanks for all material and spiritual blessings that Allah has given to them and to avoid being ungrateful to these blessings. Based on narrations related by Ahl al-Bayt, offering thanks means to avoid using these blessings where Allah is not pleased and that blessings must be used in the same way Allah has ordered.There are two Qur’anic verses which make offering thanks obligatory on human beings:وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهْنًا عَلَى وَهْنٍ وَفِصَالُهُ فِي عَامَيْنِ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ إِلَيَّ الْمَصِيرُ (14) وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ عَلى أَن تُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (15)
And we have enjoined man in respect of his parents – his mother bears him with faintings upon faintings and his weaning takes two years, saying: Be grateful to Me and to both your parents; to Me is the eventual coming. And if they contend with you that you should associate with Me what you have no knowledge of, do not obey them, and keep company with them in this world kindly, and follow the way of him who turns to Me, then to me is your return, then will I inform you of what you did. (31:14-15)

This holy verse addresses all human beings, man and woman, young and old, scholar and layman and the part which reads, “Be grateful to Me and to both parents” is in imperative form that has to be complied with. Beyond doubt, disobeying such command is a grave sin about which Allah has promised a certain torment.In this holy verse, Allah has not provided any condition for being grateful to one’s parents. In this relation, Imam al-Sadiq is reported as saying: A man came to the Holy Prophet saying, “O Allah’s Messenger! Enjoin me.” The Holy Prophet said:
لاَ تُشْرِكْ بِاللهِ شَيْئاً وَإنْ حُرِّقْتَ بِالنَّارِ وَعُذِّبْتَ إلاَّ وَقَلْبُكَ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالإيمَانِ. وَوَالِدَيْكَ فَأطِعْهُمَا وَبِرَّهُمَا حَيَّيْنِ كَانَا أوْ مَيِّتَيْنِ وَإنْ أمَرَاكَ أنْ تَخْرُجَ مِنْ أهْلِكَ وَمَالِكَ فَافْعَلْ، فَإنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الإيمَانِ.
Do not associate anything with Allah and even if they burn or torment you as regards monotheism, endure it while you heart is sure of your faith; be kind to your parents both when they are living or dead and even if they asked you to give up your family and wealth, do so, for acceptance of this shows your faith.
[1]Out of four persons of fighting in the battlefield, Miqdad said to the Holy Prophet, “My father is in the front against us: he has entered battle against you; would you give me permission to attack and kill him?” The Holy Prophet replied, “Let someone else do it, for if you kill your father in the way of Allah, your life will become short!”

Thanking the Blessing of Ahl al-Bayt
When the position of parents—be they Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, or laic—is so high, how higher will be the position of Ahl al-Bayt who have a right of Imamate, loyalty and educational leadership on all human beings? They are Noah’s Ark in this world and the Hereafter and obedience to them will guarantee man’s happiness and prosperity.
To give Ahl al-Bayt’s their due right is to get to know them, to love them, to consider them as Noah’s Ark, and to obey their commands in all aspects of life. This is the way to offer our thanks for the blessing of Ahl al-Bayt.
Al Kafi 158/2 h 2http://www.maaref-foundation.com/english/index.htm