Letter – dated 3 Safar 1378 (1958-08-19)

Letter from His Holiness Haj Sheikh Mohammad Hasan Bichareh Bidokhti Gonabadi, Saleh Ali Shah
to Mr. Hossein Qarache-Daghi

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I respectfully submit that your letter dated 5/19 has arrived. The questions you raised are valid, as they help clear doubts and confusions for yourself and others. It would be beneficial if this letter is read in a gathering. Answers to your questions can be found in Pand-e Saleh . A full response would require a book, but due to lack of time and the volume of correspondence and work, I briefly offer the following so that the questions are not left unanswered:

1. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), during his childhood, was under the care of his noble grandfather, and perhaps due to the general Arab disregard for literacy at the time and his grandfather’s limited means, he was not placed with a teacher. But spiritually, it was to show and make known that:

   My beloved, who neither went to school nor wrote a line,

   With a glance, taught a hundred teachers the lesson divine.

   — thus, «وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ» . But Ali (peace be upon him) could read and write and was one of the scribes of revelation.
2. Shari‘ah (Islamic law) and tariqah (spiritual path) are not two separate or parallel paths; rather, they are like the outward and inward, the word and its meaning. Darvishhood and faqr are not a separate religion or sect. The sacred religion of Islam and the true school of Shi‘ism do not suffice with the exterior but also seek the interior and truth. What others seek at the moment of death, the seeker of truth strives to attain through voluntary death—through obedience, worship, remembrance, and contemplation—so that they may know and perceive their position during life, purify the soul, refine the character, connect with the realities of the hereafter, and reach the station of gnosis and truth. Of course, none of this is possible without adherence to the rulings of the Shari‘ah, and there is no tariqah without Shari‘ah. حَلالُ مُحَمَّدٍ حَلالٌ اِلَی يَوْمِ القِيامَةِ وَ حَرامُ مُحَمَّدٍ حَرَامٌ اِلَی يَوْمِ القِيامَةِ (“The lawful of Muhammad is lawful until the Day of Resurrection, and the unlawful of Muhammad is unlawful until the Day of Resurrection.”). Drinking wine is strictly forbidden by the pure law of Islam, and also in the path of humanity and the perspective of reason. Even the use of opium, smoking of opium, hashish, and cannabis is also forbidden. May God, by His grace, protect everyone from them.
3. Mudarabah (profit-sharing contract) is permissible by the command of the Shari‘ah and the jurisprudential books—just like sale and purchase, conditional sales, lawful trades, and earning a living through permissible work, which is a service to all people, for “the tradesman is beloved to God.” But usury (riba)—which is devouring the blood and earnings of others without labor or service—is forbidden. According to the noble verse , it amounts to declaring war against God and His Messenger. The details are documented in jurisprudential books. No one’s wealth is permissible without the command of the sacred law—not even that of a harbi (enemy combatant) or dhimmi (protected non-Muslim)—except by permission of the Shari‘ah and the command of the Imam (peace be upon him). Even in times of power, when killing such a person may be lawful under the Imam’s command or his deputy, their wealth is not lawful except according to defined instructions. One must be careful: if someone errs in a specific case, one should not generalize it to the community. If possible, their action should be interpreted charitably, and the matter addressed privately. One should condemn the deed, not the person— «إِنِّي لِعَمَلِكُم مِّنَ الْقَالِينَ» . It may have been a joke, or the person may have repented later. A believer must not be disgraced or his fault publicized.

If you wish to read this note at a gathering, there is no objection. But read Pand-e Saleh carefully for yourself as well. If it is occasionally read in assemblies, it would be beneficial, reducing the need for such questions. There is nothing further to add. Please convey my greetings to all the fuqara, and I pray for your success in servitude with eagerness and devotion.