Tradition

إنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ أَشَدُّ مِنْ زُبُرِ الْحَدِيْدِ إنَّ زُبُرَ الْحَدِيْدِ إِذْا أُدْخِلَ النّارَ تَغَيَّرَ وَ إنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ لَوْ قُتِلَ ثُمَّ نُشِرَ ثُمَّ قُتِلَ لَمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ قَلْبُهُ.

Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) is narrated to have said: “People with faith are stronger than pieces of iron for when iron is placed into a fire, it changes, but if the believers are killed, brought back to life, and then killed again, no change will be found in their hearts.”1

Brief Commentary

Life is composed of various difficulties and complicated issues. People who have low levels of resistance are quickly brought down to their knees in the face of these difficulties. Yet those who have strong faith are filled with a spirit of resistance and perseverance. Such people will never surrender in the face of difficulties and they will persevere until the very end.

People who possess faith understand that when one is walking on the path of obedience to God, away from all types of sins, then such a path will naturally have its share of problems and difficulties. Anything worthwhile in life has its own share of difficulties and cannot be easily reached. One must be prepared with a spirit of hard work, perseverance, and self-sacrifice in order to reach such high ranks. One must stand up against their own rebellious desires, and by standing firm against these desires, they will be certain to achieve a decisive victory.

• 1. From the book Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 1, p. 37.