Wara'

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Ethics

Moral Verses
Ifk Verses • Al-Ukhuwwa Verse • Al-It'am Verse • Al-Naba' Verse • Najwa Verse • Verse of Trusts • Al-Sulh Verse

Moral Hadiths
Hadith of qurb al-nawafil • Hadith Makarim al-akhlaq • Hadith of Mi'raj • Hadith Junud al-'Aql wa l-Jahl

Moral Virtues
Humility • Contentment • Generosity • Controlling Anger • Truthfulness • Hilm (forbearance) • Asceticism • Bravery • Chastity • Insaf (Equity) • Silat al-Rahim • Wara' • Islah dhat al-bayn

Moral Vices
Hubris • Greed • Envy • Lie • Backbiting • Namima (Talebearing) • Miserliness • Disobedience to Parents • 'Ujb (self-conceit) • Sum'a • Cutting blood relation • Spreading grave sins • Ingratitude • Hypocrisy • Tabdhir

Moral Terminologies
Jihad with the self • Self-critical soul • Commanding Soul • Soul at peace • Self-reckoning • Muraqaba • Musharata • Sin • Morality lessons • Istidraj

Scholars of Ethics
Muhammad Mahdi Naraqi • Ahmad al-Naraqi • Sayyid 'Ali Qadi Tabataba'i • Sayyid Rida Baha' al-Dini • Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Dastghayb • Muhammad Taqi Bahjat

References of Ethics

Qur'an • Nahj al-balagha • Misbah al-shari'a wa miftah al-haqiqa • Makarim al-Akhlaq • Al-Mahajjat al-bayda' • Tanbih al-khawatir wa nuzhat al-nawazir • Jami' al-sa'adat • Mi'raj al-sa'ada • Al-Muraqabat

Waraʿ (Arabic: وَرَع) means piety. It is a spiritual state which protects the soul and keeps it away from slipping. Wara' is a position higher than taqwa where a person avoids doubtful issues and even permissible actions which may lead to sins. Shi'a scholars have considered different levels for wara' including wara' of repenters, wara' of the righteous, wara' of the pious and wara' of spiritual wayfarers. In hadiths, different fruits are mentioned for wara' such as the reinforcement of faith, keeping the person from forbidden issues, assisting the Ahl al-Bayt (a) through wara' and to reach highest levels of certainty.

Meaning

Wara' has been defined as keeping the self from forbidden issues, avoiding sins,[1] piety[2] and avoiding doubtful issues in fear of engaging in forbidden issues.[3] In hadiths, wara' is considered as avoiding forbidden issues and doubtful issues.[4] Therefore, wara' can be defined as perfect protection of the soul and being fearful about slips, or self-discipline in order to revere the Truth.[5]

Difference between Taqwa and Wara'

Wara' and taqwa are mentioned as synonymous in dictionaries;[6] but, based on the definition of wara' in hadiths and the levels and degrees mentioned for it,[7] taqwa is considered the first level of wara' which is avoiding forbidden issues and performing obligations. In Bayan al-Ma'ani, wara' is introduced a position higher than taqwa to achieve which, one must not only avoid sins, but one must also keep away from doubtful issues and permissible actions which may provide the grounds for sinning.[8]

Levels of Wara'

Some Shi'a scholars have mentioned different levels for wara'. Al-Allama al-Majlisi mentioned four levels for wara' of repenters, wara' of the righteous, wara' of the God-wary and wara' of spiritual wayfarers or the truthful.

  • Wara' of repenters: is that relieves one from the burden of sins and makes one's testimony accepted.
  • Wara' of the righteous: is a level of wara' in which one keeps away from performing doubtful issues so that no context for one's sinning is made.
  • Wara' of the God-wary: is a state in which a person avoids performing permissible actions which may lead to forbidden issues; such as when one avoids speaking about people so that one does not commit back-biting.
  • Wara' of the wayfarers and the truthful: which is turning away from anything other than God for the fear of spending even a moment on an action which does not lead to closeness to God; while, he knows that it would not lead to committing a forbidden action.[9]

Imam Khomeini too considered some levels for wara'. He mentioned avoiding grave sins as wara' of ordinary people, avoiding doubtful issues in fear of engaging in forbidden issues as wara' of special ones, avoiding permissible issues in order to avoid higher spiritual positions as wara' of spiritual wayfarers, giving up positions in order to reach the presence of God and see the beauty of God as wara' of attracted ones and avoiding attention to the end as wara' of the friends of God.[10]

Fruits of Wara'

In hadiths, different fruits are mentioned for wara' such as protecting religion,[11] reinforcement of faith,[12] companionship of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and assisting them,[13] guarding the person from forbidden issues and sins,[14] achieving the highest type of worship[15] and achieving the greatest degree of certainty.[16]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, under the word "Wara'".
  2. ↑ Dehkhodā, Lughatnāma, under the word "Wara'".
  3. ↑ Anwarī, Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan, under the word "Wara'".
  4. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 5, p. 108; Āmidī, Ghurar al-ḥikam, p. 125.
  5. ↑ Mūsawī Khomeinī, Chihil ḥadīth, p. 206.
  6. ↑ Ṭurayḥī, Majmaʿ al-baḥrayn, under the word "Waqa"; Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān, under the word "Waqaya".
  7. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 67, p. 100
  8. ↑ Mullā Ḥuwaysh Āl Ghāzī, Bayān al-maʿānī, vol. 3, p. 55.
  9. ↑ Majlisī, Mirʾāt al-ʿuqūl fī sharḥ akhbar Āl al-Rasūl, vol. 8, p. 52-53; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 67, p. 100.
  10. ↑ Mūsawī Khomeinī, Chihil ḥadīth (Arbaʿīn ḥadīth), p. 474.
  11. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 76.
  12. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 320.
  13. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 78.
  14. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 285.
  15. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 77.
  16. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 62.

References

  • Anwarī, Ḥasan. Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Sukhan, 1381 Sh.
  • Dehkhodā, ʿAlī Akbar. Lughatnāma. Tehran: Dānishgāh-i Tehrān, 1377 Sh.
  • Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad b. Mukarram. Lisān al-ʿArab. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr li-ṭibaʿat wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzīʿ, 1414 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
  • Mūsawī Khomeinī, Sayyid Ruḥ Allāh. Chihil ḥadīth (Arbaʿīn ḥadīth). Tehran: Markaz-i Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khomeinī, 1378 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Mirʾāt al-ʿuqūl fī sharḥ akhbar Āl al-Rasūl. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1404 AH.
  • Mullā Ḥuwaysh Āl Ghāzī, ʿAbd al-Qādir. Bayān al-maʿānī. Damascus: Maṭbaʿat al-Taraqqī, 1382 AH.
  • Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad al-. Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān. Edited by Ṣafwān ʿAdnān Dāwūdī. Beirut: Dār al-Qalam, 1412 AH.
  • Tamīmī Āmidī, ʿAbd al-Wāhid. Ghurar al-ḥikam wa durar al-kalim. Edited by Sayyid Mahdī Rajāʾī. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1410 AH.
  • Ṭurayḥī, Fakhr al-Dīn b. Muḥammad al-. Majmaʿ al-baḥrayn. Tehran: Kitābfūrushī-yi Murtaḍawīyya, 1416 AH.
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