YOUTH AND MORALS Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi Lari YOUTH AND MORALS Translated by Odeh A. Muhawesh In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful TO DATE THIS BOOK HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH, FRENCH, ARABIC, URDU, BENGALI, SWAHILI, HAUSA, RUSSIAN, SINHALA, MALAY, THAI AND BULGARIAN. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter/Title Page FOREWORD ............................................................................... 15 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 19 1. ILL-NATURE The Value of Friendship ................................................................ 27 Ill-Natured Individuals are Resentful ............................................ 29 The Prophet of Islam, the Perfect Exemplar .................................. 32 2. OPTIMISM Trust and Peace of Mind ................................................................ 39 The Effects of Optimism ............................................................... 41 Islam Calls for Optimism and Trust .............................................. 43 How to Win Friends ...................................................................... 45 3. PESSIMISM The Bright and Dark Points of Life ............................................... 51 The Negative Effects of Pessimism ............................................... 53 Islam Verses on Pessimism ........................................................... 55 4. LYING The Position of Manners in Society .............................................. 63 The Disadvantages of Lying .......................................................... 65 Lying is Prohibited by Religion..................................................... 68 5. HYPOCRISY Endeavor to Cherish Your Personality .......................................... 75 Hypocrisy: The Ugliest Trait ......................................................... 76 Burn Down the Dwellings of Hypocrisy ....................................... 79 6. SLANDER A Society Polluted with Sins ......................................................... 87 The Disadvantages of Slander ....................................................... 88 What Causes Slander to Spread ..................................................... 89 Religion Verses ill Manners .......................................................... 91 7. FAULT-FINDING Ignorance of One’s Own Faults ..................................................... 97 The Sarcastic and the Insulters ...................................................... 98 Religious Teachings Verses Sarcasm .......................................... 100 8. ENVY An Enigmatic and Corrupt Desire! .............................................. 107 The Envious Burn in the Fire of Failure and Deprivation ........... 108 Religion Versus Envy .................................................................. 110 9. CONCEIT The Light of Love in the Horizon of Life .................................... 117 Conceit Leads to People’s Resentment ....................................... 119 Our Leaders and Modesty ........................................................... 121 10. OPPRESSION The Role of Justice in Society ..................................................... 127 The Destructive Flames of Oppression ....................................... 128 The Role of Religion in Fighting Oppression and the Oppressors ..................................................................................................... 130 11. ENMITY AND HATRED Why Should We Not Forgive? .................................................... 135 Setbacks Caused by Enmity ........................................................ 137