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Nour Tessie Jørgensen,
Nour Tessie Jørgensen has an MA in Islamic studies from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and a degree in Philosophy of Ethics at Al Mustafa International University in Qum, Iran. She works as an Islamic Studies teacher and a counselor in spiritual and female-related issues. 18 Answers
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Hamid Waqar,
Shaykh Hamid Waqar was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and converted to Islam at the age of sixteen. He started his Islamic studies in the year 2001 in Beirut and, a year later, moved to Qum where he has been studying since. He currently studies at the highest levels of Islamic jurisprudence, translates many books and runs the Muntazar website. 2 Answers
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Faiyaz Jaffer,
Shaykh Faiyaz Jaffer is the Associate Chaplain and Research Scholar at the Islamic Center at New York University. He attained an MA degree in Islamic Studies (UK), with a concentration on early Islamic history, after his undergraduate degree from SUNY Stony Brook University in Political Science and Religious Studies. In pursuing the classical course of Islamic education, Faiyaz has studied in the Seminary of Karbala, Iraq. 1 Answer
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Jerrmein Abu Shahba,
Jerrmein Abu Shahba is originally from Egypt and has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a masters in Chemistry from Rutgers State University in the US. She is actively involved in many Islamic projects that include organizing annual youth camps, teaching Islamic subjects, writing articles and translating texts from Arabic. 2 Answers
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Zoheir Ali Esmail,
Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD from the University of Exeter in the philosophical and mystical readings of Mulla Sadra in the context of the schools of Tehran and Qum. 357 Answers
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Mateen Charbonneau,
Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi Howza since 2017. He has compiled and published several books, has filmed several documentaries on Islamic subjects and has also promoted Islamic propagation in US jails. 39 Answers
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Greed is described by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the imams (peace be upon them) as a disgrace, like mentioned in the narration of Imam al-Baqir (a.s.): 'There is no disgrace worse than that of greed.’[Tuhaf al-’Uqul, no. 286]. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) described it as ‘an evil characteristic.’[al-Durra al-Bahira, p. 42], and the Prophet (s) furthermore concluded that ‘Greed takes away wisdom from the hearts of the knowledgeable men.’[Kanz al-’Ummal, no. 7576].
It is described as a form of poverty because you are never satisfied with what you have: The Prophet (S) said, ‘Beware of greed for it is ready poverty.’[Kanz al-’Ummal, no. 8852], and a form of slavery because you are a slave to your lower self and its desires: Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘Greed is an eternal slavery.’[Nahjul Balaghah, Saying 180].
Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘The servant of Allah is free so far as he remains content. The free man is a slave as long as he is greedy.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 413]
Imam al-Hasan (a.s.), when his father asked him about greed, said, ‘[It is] when you count what is in your hands as a source of honour, while you count what you have given away as a waste.’[Bihar al- Anwar, v. 73, p. 305, no. 23]
A greedy person is a person who cannot be satisfied and won’t look at all the blessing bestowed upon him. That is why he’s always in a state of poverty because he can’t make use of what he already has, as he is always looking for more, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘Greed is worse than miserliness because a miser is parsimonious in spending what he has, whilst a greedy man covets that which others possess in addition to what he himself possesses, such that whatever he sees in the hands of others he wishes to be his – lawfully or unlawfully. He cannot be satiated, and nor does he derive any benefit from what Allah has granted him.’[Tuhaf al-’Uqul, no. 371, 372].
In reality it is a neglecting of your soul, and despite the greedy person thinks he “deserves” more, and that is the reason why he always wants more, he is neglecting his true being. Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘The person most neglectful of his own soul is the one who is full of greed.’[Sharh Nahjul Balaghah li Ibn Abi al-Hadid, v. 18, p. 84]
So where does greed comes from? Imam Ali (a.s.) wrote in his letter to al-Ashtar when he appointed him governor of Egypt, ‘Verily miserliness, cowardice and greed are all evil impulses brought together by entertaining a low opinion of Allah.’[Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 53], he further explained that ‘Cowardice, greed, and miserliness are vile traits that come together as a result of distrust in Allah.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 1837].
Luqman (a.s.) said to his son, exhorting him, ‘If you want to attract Honor in this world, then cut off your greed of drawing advantage from what other people have in their possession; for verily the prophets and the veracious ones achieved what they did by cutting off their greed.’[Qasas al-Anbiya’, p. 195, p. ].