TRANSLATION:

It has been narrated from (Imam Ja`far ibne Muhammad) as-Sadiq (a.s.) that, �It has been written in the Tawrah (thus, in reality this is what is known as a Hadith-e-Qudsi) that, �There is no end to the Divine Blessings if thanks are given (for that blessing) and there is no longevity for it (that blessing) if thanks are not shown (for it).��1

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Commentary of Hadith:

Very many of the Divine bounties which a person has at his disposal actually go from hand to hand through a series of complex intermediaries and agents until it reaches the person, and in reality, we o�nly see the outcome (of all of these agents and what part of the plan they are responsible for).

For example, the shirt which a person wears is a blessing from the many (combined) Divine Blessings of Allah and very many people and items have been put together hand in hand so that this blessing would reach the person. The person who plows the land and then grows the cotton; the person who harvests the cotton; the factory which processes the cotton and makes thread and yarn from it; the factory which takes the thread and from that, makes the cloth; and then the factory which extracts iron from the ground and makes the machinery needed to make the shirt and� Thus, there are thousands and thousands of people who were responsible for the making of that o�ne shirt. In addition to this, there is also the knowledge and experience which has gone in to making all of these factories which has come about through thousands of years of trial and experiment by humanity.

The Theological Seminaries (Hawzatul `Ilmiyyah) which we presently have access to is also the result of the struggles of countless people. Many people became Shahid (Martyrs) so that this blessing would be able to reach us. If we were to sit down and calculate the time it took those people who laid the foundation stones for the Hawzah and the great scholars who went through great difficulties to expand and develop the Hawzah to where it is today, we would definitely see that it is the outcome of more than a thousand years which has gone into making this blessing reach us today and those of us who wish to study in this system must have peace of mind and the respite � which are also other blessings of Allah.

Here too we see the outcome of all of these struggles however we do not sit and think about how many struggles have been put through until today in this Hawzah to reach where it has gotten to.

If we think upon this introduction which we have just mentioned, then the inner feeling of thanks shall definitely be stimulated within ourselves and we shall arrive to the station of being able to thank Him and at the same time, we also ask Allah for Divine Success to be conferred upon us (while in this Hawzah), however it must be noted that the preliminary steps to achieving Divine Success are in our hands.

Showing thanks is not merely a verbal declaration � rather, we must, in our actions, show thanks and the way to do this is to make the correct use of the bounty which is given to us.

Since it is the beginning of the new year for our studies, we should make a serious resolution that we will study properly and that from the first day of classes, we will be attentive in our classes and this is the true meaning of showing gratitude for a blessing.

There are people who were not thankful for the blessings which they were given, who ended up wasting away their time and in the end, this Divine Blessing was taken away from them and they were plagued with problem and thus, there were not able to reach to any station (in life). We must show thanks for this Divine Blessing so that until the end of our life, we will be able to be amongst the soldiers of Imam al-Zaman (a.s.) and so that we can be defenders of Islam � since the eyes of the Shia world are o�n this Hawzah.

It was imagined that with the removal of Saddam, the Theological Seminary of Najaf would be revitalized however unfortunately, with the situation which is currently ruling over Iraq, it Is not clear when this Theological Seminary shall be brought back to life again.

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�and all praise belongs to Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him), o�nly the mistakes are mine

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1 Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 94