The Last Luminary and Ways to Delve Into the Light

Responsibility 77: Emulating the Imam in Manners

Another responsibility of the true believers is that they must follow the manners and etiquettes of their living Imam and seek to emulate him in all aspects of their life.

One must constantly be striving to follow the commandments which he has been given to help him improve his manners and act in the way that his Imam is known to act in. There are many manners and etiquette of the Imam which those who have a deep understanding of this issue are aware of, some of which include:

Performing the Salatul Lail and staying awake a portion of the night in worship. Continuously performing the supplications and whispered prayers (munajat) to Allah. Performing the daily Nawafil or additional recommended prayers (we must perform a minimum of 51 rak’at of Salat every day which are made up of the 17 obligatory Salat and the 34 recommended prayers in a 24 hour period).

We must cry and show our grief and sorrow every morning and evening upon the loss of Imam Husain b. ‘Ali (as).

We must perform the recommended actions and refrain from the discouraged act which is one of the specific qualities of the twelfth Imam (ajtf). We must seek to stay aloof from the material world and develop a desire and longing for the next life.