معرفت

In the other part of his sermon on “the Pious”, narrated by Nawf al-Bikali, Imam Ali refers to three other signs and characteristics of a true Shi'a: “a true Shi’a, does not do anything unknowingly and does not stray off the right way because of helplessness. When silent, it does not tire him out, when he speaks, his saying is free from mistakes, when he laughs, he does not laugh aloud.” From the point of view of Imam Ali, a person who is a true believer and a pious Shia does not anything without knowledge and awareness, and does not do things out of ignorance. He is an eager seeker after the truth, and nothing prevents him from being truthful. When he is on the right path, he is firm and does not feel helpless, because he acts consciously, constructively and reasonably. When he sees that he should remain silent and finds that silence is useful and right, he does not feel tired of being silent. Contrarily, whenever he regards that speaking is necessary, he speaks and his speech does not tire him out.