Hawzah News Agency - A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Barqi from ’Isma’il ibn Mihran from abu Sa‘id al-Qammat from al-Halabi from abu ‘Abdallah who has said the following. “Imam Ali said,

أَ لا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِالْفَقِيهِ حَقِّ الْفَقِيهِ مَنْ لَمْ يُقَنِّطِ النَّاسَ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ الله وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْهُمْ مِنْ عَذَابِ الله وَلَمْ يُرَخِّصْ لَهُمْ فِي مَعَاصِي الله وَلَمْ يَتْرُكِ الْقُرْآنَ رَغْبَةً عَنْهُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ أَلا لا خَيْرَ فِي عِلْمٍ لَيْسَ فِيهِ تَفَهُّمٌ أَلا لا خَيْرَ فِي قِرَاءَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا تَدَبُّرٌ أَلا لا خَيْرَ فِي عِبَادَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا تَفَكُّرٌ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى أَلا لا خَيْرَ فِي عِلْمٍ لَيْسَ فِيهِ تَفَهُّمٌ أَلا لا خَيْرَ فِي قِرَاءَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا تَدَبُّرٌ أَلا لا خَيْرَ فِي عِبَادَةٍ لا فِقْهَ فِيهَا أَلا لا خَيْرَ فِي نُسُكٍ لا وَرَعَ فِيهِ.

‘Do you want me to describe to you the true Faqih, person who truly has a good understanding of religion? A true Faqih is one who does not cause people to despair from the mercy of Allah and does not make them to be unconcerned about the punishment of Allah, who does not allow them to consider disobedience to Allah as permissible and who do not abandon the holy Quran because of being attracted towards other matters. You must know that there is no goodness in knowledge without good understand (Fiqh). You must know that there is nothing good in a recitation without thinking about it. You must know that there is nothing good in worship without thoughtfulness. In another Hadith it says, “ You must know that there is nothing good in a knowledge without good understanding. You must know that there is nothing good in a recitation without thinking about it. You must know that there is nothing good in worship without having a good understanding of religion. You must know that there is nothing good in performing the acts of Hajj etc. without piety.’”

Al-Kāfi, v.1, Book 2, Chapter 5