Why Did Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli Write This Book? | Episode 1 | Keys to Life by Sh. Azhar Nasser

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:06]Alhamdulillah.

[00:00:16]allayikum dear brothers and sisters and I'd like to welcome you to this new series called the keys to life based on the work of Jawadi uh and this uh new podcast is brought to you by Institute and the Lady Fatima Trust now this uh series will be uh an in-depth uh reflection on a book that was uh authored by about 15 years ago. And just a little bit about uh the author and why uh he is such an important uh personality in the Ha Jawad Amuli was born in 1933 in Amul which is a city in Iran. uh he comes from uh a scholarly family. His father uh was a prominent uh scholar and Jawadi uh is considered uh one of considered to be one of our greatest uh contemporary scholars. He's one of the the maraj in the holy city of and he had the the privilege of studying under some of the the greatest scholars of the shi tradition was a student of immeni.

[00:01:52]He was also a student of al- buji who was the great mer of his time. uh he also studied extensively under he studied with as well as uh and of course he had um other teachers.

[00:02:15]Nowadu what makes him uh unique is that he is considered one of the most uh prolific writers and authors in the he has authored over 100 volumes of books on a wide range of topics. So it's not that he's just a man of depth. He's also a man of great uh breadth. uh he's written uh extensively on the holy Quran. In fact, his taps is probably uh the most uh detailed that has ever been written on the Holy Quran. He's written on the the he's written on the topics of philosophy of he's written on theology, social issues, ethical issues as well as hadith sciences.

[00:03:21]Now Jawadi played a a major role in the uh the Islamic revolution in Iran. In fact, he was such u an important figure and a trusted figure that uh Imam Kummeni actually uh chose him and appointed him to deliver uh a historic uh letter to uh Gorbachov who was the the president of the the Soviet Union uh in Moscow. So Ayatah Jawadi was actually chosen to be uh the envoy uh to deliver uh this message and I would urge all of uh you my dear brothers and sisters uh to read uh Imam Kummeni's letter uh that he wrote uh to Gorbachoff and this was um back in in 1989 and I just want to share with you uh a an excerpt uh from this letter. Um it's a it's it's a relatively short letter.

[00:04:27]It's not a very long letter. Uh but among the things that uh Imam Kini said uh to Gorbachov, so now you have these uh these two global figures uh in communication in the letter uh Imam Humeni essentially invites Gorbachov to Islam. Uh you know many people uh they have uh an inferiority complex when it comes to their faith. However, here you have Imm Kumini inviting another uh global leader to to study Islam. And in the letter he says, "Let me call on you to study Islam earnestly.

[00:05:08]Not because Islam and the Muslims may need you." I mean, look at the confidence with which Imam Kummeni speaks. He says it's not because Islam needs you but because Islam has exalted universal values. Islam is a universal uh tradition which can bring comfort and salvation to all nations and remove the basic problems of mankind. So here I immeni highlights that this is a religion that can bring comfort and salvation not to just Shia, not to just the Muslims, not to just members of the Abrahamic faiths, but it has the ability to bring peace and prosperity to all people across all cultures and civilizations. and the challenges that we face as human beings. Islam has the solutions to address all of the problems that humanity uh is facing. So immeni chooses Jawadi to to be the one uh to deliver uh this letter uh to Gorbachov in in 1989.

[00:06:25]Now, the reason why um I've chosen this uh this particular book uh to be the the subject for this this ongoing uh podcast. It could perhaps um extend for you know 80 90 or 100 episodes depending on our on our pace.

[00:06:45]One of the things um about Jawadi that's that's very unique is that he is a man of practicality. He believes that Islam is a practical uh religion.

[00:06:59]And for many years uh he maintained that alongside which is a household uh book uh in in many Shir households. And of course this this was a book uh that was compiled by Sheh Abbasi the great uh scholar who died quite recently. He actually died uh in 1941.

[00:07:29]So he is considered a uh a contemporary uh scholar and his book is basically a book of dua a book of z. It's a devotional uh text with you know supplications and and prayers and it focuses heavily on the hereafter.

[00:07:51]But and and the literal translation of is you know the keys to paradise but as a book it doesn't directly address the the practical dimensions of daily life. It will give you duas. It will give you zat recommended prayers. But is it doesn't tell you how to live your life as as a Muslim. So had the idea that we need to have a book that essentially serves as a preface to Mafi.

[00:08:37]and he decided to call this book the keys to life because he was of the belief that we need a a book that teaches us uh how to live. We need to look at the verses of the Quran. We need to examine the a hadith that teach us how to live an Islamic lifestyle.

[00:09:04]And this book would basically give us practical instructions on how to live and of course would be a supplement uh to this book. So what he did was he he gathered uh scholars. Uh there were a group of scholars who worked uh diligently for many many years under his supervision and they basically uh examined over 6,000 a hadith and they they went through these hadith. Uh they selected uh the most uh reliable of them. Um even if their uh their chains of transmission are not reliable, they chose uh uh narrations that are uh wellestablished that can be corroborated by uh by other a hadith and and hence this book uh basically came uh to fruition after a number of years. Now before we speak about um the the actual content of the book, I want to just provide a a general overview of the book just so uh our listeners and our viewers have um a general uh idea of what will be covered in these in these episodes.

[00:10:32]So this this podcast will essentially use by as kind of a template for our discussions. Um, so I know there are many charities out there that are worthy of of your support. One of my favorite uh charities is the the Lady Fatima Trust. This is an organization that that works around the world. Uh they have wonderful initiatives in in Europe, in the Middle East, places like uh Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen. They work in in Asia as well as East Africa. And what makes this organization unique is that it truly emphasizes the the concept of human dignity. You know, sometimes when we give, we might compromise the dignity of the recipient. But with the Lady Fatima Trust, their projects always take into consideration the dignity of the recipients. And more importantly, they provide services that allow its recipients to achieve sustainability.

[00:11:41]It's not just about, you know, as the saying goes, we don't want to just give a man a fish. We want to teach a man a fish so that they can provide for their families long term. I encourage all of you, my dear brothers and sisters, to check out uh Lady Fatima Trust. The the website is lady fatimatrust.org.

[00:11:58]I want you to check out all of their uh their projects and their initiatives and please make it a point to uh support their initiatives and their projects and try to make a monthly uh contribution.

[00:12:10]So the the book has five main sections.

[00:12:15]The first section of the book um is deals with uh the topic of the relationship with the self. [snorts] you know we have to first look inward and we have to develop certain qualities and certain virtues.

[00:12:35]So the first section of the book is uh you know the relationship of the human being with himself. And some of the topics that we will uh discuss and examine and reflect upon is the the virtue of and we'll be speaking about you know reflection and contemplation. uh the virtue of of seeking knowledge. We'll speak about uh physical health, cleanliness, you know, cleanliness is is a very important part of our faith.

[00:13:14]You know, cleanliness is actually an integral part of our faith. So, we'll look at some of the the hadith that speak about uh good hygiene. We'll speak about eating and drinking. You know what Islam says about the types of food that we should be consuming, how should we eat, what are some of the the mannerisms and the etiquets relating to eating and drinking and how how can we transform these mundane uh acts into rich uh spiritual experiences. Inshallah will speak uh extensively on the topic of sleep and you know what does the Islamic tradition tell us about sleep and and how much we we should sleep and you know when we should sleep and all of the various etiquets uh relating to sleep and rest and rejuvenation. Um under the the section of relationship with the self will also speak about recreation.

[00:14:10]you know what does Islam say about halal entertainment you know how much time should we devote to uh to recreational uh activities so that is the the first uh section of the book so we said that this the book has five sections the first section of the book is um our relationship with ourselves the second section of the book is relationships the relationship with others human beings, we are not um we were never meant to live in isolation. We were never meant to live as as hermits.

[00:14:48]You know, we have to interact with with others. And hence this section of the book deals with our relationship with with others, our relationship with our family members, our parents, our grandparents, our siblings. So what should be the guiding principles when it comes to interacting and developing relationships with our family members?

[00:15:19]We'll speak inshallah in this series about neighbors. You know unfortunately we live in a time where many of us we don't interact with our neighbors. We don't know anything about our neighbors and of course um Allah subhana wa ta'ala uh wants us to have healthy, rich, meaningful relationships with our neighbors. So we'll speak about what Islam says about how to be a good neighbor, right? And one of the ways in which we can make our communities more livable and more safe and more prosperous is that we have to kind of break out of our shells. It's it's not it is not sufficient for us to just focus on our nuclear families. We have moral and ethical obligations towards our neighbors. We'll also speak about what Islam says about how a Muslim should behave in society.

[00:16:20]How should you uh deal and interact with with people in society with members of what does Islam say about uh relationships with with Jews and Christians about members of other Abrahamic traditions? What does Islam say about non-Muslims? Are we allowed to have non-Muslims as as friends as as you know uh close acquaintances as close intimate friends? What does Islam say about relationships with people who don't share our values? What does Islam say about um you know sometimes we are forced to interact with people who have uh hypocritical tendencies.

[00:17:11]How does Islam guide us when it comes to relationships with hypocrites? How about the uh the oppressed? There are many people who are marginalized in our communities who are disadvantaged.

[00:17:26]what is our duty uh towards them? How should we deal with with tyrannical people with oppressors? So in the second section of the book, we'll delve deep into um the the guiding principles for these uh these various relationships.

[00:17:44]The third section of the of the book is relationship with the Islamic system.

[00:17:51]You see, Islam is not just a religion.

[00:17:55]It's not just a faith whereby we compartmentalize our rituals and our devotional acts and we dedicate, you know, a few hours uh a week to Islam. No, Islam is not just about building the self. Islam is also about building civilization.

[00:18:13]So, what is Islam's uh vision for governance? What does Islam say about economics?

[00:18:22]What is Islam's uh critique of of capitalism and all of the other uh economic systems that have been proposed uh by human beings? What does Islam say about about social justice? Uh and what does Islam say about about urban systems? So, inshallah, we're going to cover all of that. The fourth section of the of the book deals with our relationship with with animals. You know, sometimes we might forget that the earth is not just our home.

[00:19:02]The earth is the home for millions upon millions of other creatures.

[00:19:09]And hence we have many a hadith from the prophet. There are many verses in the Quran that give us important lessons and important teachings when it comes to dealing with animals. The fifth section of of the book deals with our relationship with the environment. It may come as a surprise to many that Islam actually teaches environmental responsibility.

[00:19:39]Allah subhana wa ta'ala has showered us with many blessings in the form of the the air that we breathe, the water that we drink.

[00:19:50]The Quran speaks about human beings as stewards of his creation.

[00:19:57]What does Islam say about, you know, the the conservation of of water, about ensuring that the air that we breathe is is clean and not polluted? What does Islam say about uh about trees and forests and how we can uh preserve these natural re resources? You know, how can we benefit from these resources without exploiting um the environment that we live in? and destroying uh the environment. So how do we live a life that is uh is more sustainable? So sustainability is a very important part of uh the discussion on Islam's vision of uh of environmentalism.

[00:20:45]Now so this this is basically kind of a quick overview of of the topics uh that we're going to uh cover. Now, one of the reasons why I decided uh to uh to cover this topic in particular is because I believe that, you know, we as Muslims, you know, sometimes we we fail to appreciate the fact that Islam is indeed a universal religion. Sometimes we get a bit too comfortable and we keep Islam to ourselves. um week after week we we preach uh to the choir and we don't realize that this is a religion that that that should and in fact needs to be shared with with non-Muslims.

[00:21:35]So for example, we have a a beautiful narration from Alam our our eighth im and the narrator alawi who is a companion and a student of Imam he says I heard one day Say, "May Allah have mercy upon a person who revives our affairs, who revives our teachings?"

[00:22:22]He asks the imam, "How does someone revive your affair?

[00:22:29]Um reviving the affairs of reviving their cause requires what that you first learn their teachings.

[00:22:45]So one step is that you have to learn.

[00:22:48]You have to understand what say what the prophet and his family have said about the purpose of life about our origin how we can live dignified lives what we need to do to prepare for the hereafter how we can have a relationship with Allah.

[00:23:10]You have to learn their teachings.

[00:23:17]After you learn Islam in a thorough way, after you gain a deeper understanding of Islam, you have another duty. And that duty is that you should teach other Shia. No, the imam doesn't say that. That you should teach other Muslims. The Imam says that you should teach this faith to people to all people and this includes non-Muslims. Why?

[00:24:00]If people knew, I im is saying that if people just knew the beauty of our words, if they were acquainted with the beauty of our traditions, they would surely follow us.

[00:24:16]So we have a duty, we have a moral responsibility to share these jewels of wisdom, these gems of wisdom with others because people are thirsty for spirituality. You know, if you look at for example the United States of America, you look at Canada, these are some of the most affluent countries in the world.

[00:24:40]But in these same countries, their populations suffer suffer from mental illnesses. They have mental health issues.

[00:24:51]There are many millions and millions of Canadians and and Americans who who take anti-depressants.

[00:25:00]So, human beings don't just need shelter and food and clothing.

[00:25:06]They need things that are going to nourish their souls.

[00:25:09]And this is uh precisely what Islam has to offer. Now, unfortunately, even when it comes to Muslims, many of us, we we stop at the foundation, right? We we practice Islam in an incomplete way.

[00:25:32]What do I mean by this?

[00:25:34]Many of us we pray, we fast, we recite the Quran. But the question is, has Islam reached our character?

[00:25:46]Yes, I I perform the Islamic prayer, but do I deal with people in an Islamic way? Has Islam reached my character, my relationships?

[00:26:02]Has Islam reached my financial dealings or have I just compartmentalized and limited Islam to my ritual acts? The question is that this is just the beginning. Islam needs to permeate deeper into our being so that Islam is reflected not just in the way that we pray, not just in the way that we fast or recite supplications or Quran, but Islam is reflected in the way that I interact with people. it's refle reflected in the way that I engage with the the wider society.

[00:26:38]And therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, I want to end with um a brief reflection on one of the the most beautiful verses that we find in the Quran. And this ayah is in surah surah 16 ay number 97. And in this ayah, Allah subhana wa ta'ala essentially explains to us why we should strive and endeavor to live our lives in accordance with divine values. What's the point of being religious? What do I gain from being a practicing Muslim?

[00:27:19]Allah subhana wa ta'ala, he says in Whoever does righteous deeds as prescribed by Islam, whether they are male or female, while being a believer, meaning that they believe in God and they believe in the hereafter, what will happen to such a person who practices Islam, who does righteous deeds? And righteous deeds are defined as what God what God has commanded us to do and what he has commanded us to refrain from.

[00:28:03]Allah says he makes a promise. He says we will surely grant them a goodly life a pure wholesome life.

[00:28:17]Now notice here Allah subhana wa ta'ala doesn't say that if you if you live a righteous life if you live a life in accordance with my commandments I will improve your life. Allah doesn't say I'll make your life better but rather Allah subhana wa ta'ala says that I will give you a new life.

[00:28:41]This is a type of a type of qualitative transformation of our existence. It's a total new mode of being. It's not that Allah says I will improve your your circumstances.

[00:28:55]We as human beings you know there are two levels of of human life. The first is right this kind of shared human life where we we all have this kind of biological life. We eat, we work, we survive. This is the life that is shared by believers and non-believers alike.

[00:29:20]And most people, they live at this life, this kind of basic biological life where they're simply surviving.

[00:29:32]Allah subhana wa ta'ala in this ayah he says that if you have faith if you live a life that is modeled after divine values you will have a different type of life a life that is known as a goodly life a life that is infused with meaning a life that is where your heart is connected to God whereby you have a soul that sees reality differently. So if Allah subhana wa ta'ala meant in this ayah that he's going to improve our lives, he would have said that we will um improve your life. But Allah subhana wa ta in this ayah from he doesn't say that I'm going to improve your life or I'm going to improve your circumstances. He says it's as if you were dead and Allah is giving you a new life. It's a creation of a new reality. It's not just the modification of of an old life. So what is the meaning of this new life? And inshallah as we go through this these episodes the goal is to develop this new life. What is the meaning of is a life whereby you live your life but you enjoy inner tranquility.

[00:31:06]Many people they suffer this internal turmoil.

[00:31:11]They're not happy. They feel empty. They feel this gaping hole in their hearts.

[00:31:19]is to have that inner peace, that tranquility, that serenity whereby even if the world around you is in chaos, you're at peace.

[00:31:30]You have clarity, clarity of purpose.

[00:31:33]You have spiritual awareness. You have this freedom from inner turmoil even if the outward hardships exist. So inshallah uh beginning with the the next episode we'll begin our discussion on the relationship with with oneself and inshallah the first topic that we will uh discuss is probably one of the most important topics which is the virtue of and inshallah we'll delve into that in our next episode.

[00:32:07]He will