Way of The Seekers — Page 76
76 THE Briefly, tamaa means to expect the other person to give you something which you covet. Hirs is hankering after something regardless of the source from which it might be procured. One question is: Can the Wasiyyat (bequest) of a smoker (bequeathing at least 10% of his or her income and property to Islam) be formally accepted? It is a very complicated question and I do not want to give a perfunctory answer during my address. I would deal with this question later. 5. Using abusive language: Abusive language is another habit which is universally considered bad, unlike the Punjabi custom of inviting a child to use such language and then gloating over it when it complies, as if cursing were a virtue. I have witnessed such performances myself. 6. La’nat, or placing a curse on a person. 7. Bud-dua: To pray against someone. Placing a curse on a person is different from praying against him. The former implies a spiritual condition and the latter a physical condition. To pray for someone’s death is Bud-dua, and to place a curse or La’nat on someone is to invoke divine wrath upon him which means that he or she may perish spiritually. There is, however, an exception to this rule that is when a curse is invoked by a prophet. In such a case the curse ceases to be a curse but amounts to a statement of fact that the heart of the person concerned has been corrupted. 8. Dishonesty or breach of trust: For instance money placed in trust is either not returned or returned only in part. 9. Divulgence of secrets: It is a vice to divulge other peoples' secrets. But there are exceptions to the rule. For instance, saving the person concerned from harm. If X intends to murder Y, the vice shall consist not in disclosing but in hiding this secret. Similarly, secret attempts to conspire, damage or otherwise to bring an established Government into disrepute must be reported to the proper authorities. 10 Backbiting.