Dr. Shomali is a manifestation of Imam Jafar Sadiq’s (a.s.) definition of a Mo’min, which he (a.s.) describes as one whose zaahir and batin are the same. Meaning that his inner qualities and his outer qualities mirror each other. It also means that such a person behaves the same way in public as they do in private, as there is no incongruity between their mind and their heart.
The best way to describe Shaykh Shomali is through the words of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saaw), who has delineated his qualities in the following manner:
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) has said, describing the believer, “He is subtle in his movements, sweet to look at… He seeks out the loftiest of matters, and has the most outstanding moral ethics… He is not prejudiced against he whom he does not like, nor biased in favor of one he loves… He is hardly a burden, and instead is very helpful… He perfects his actions as if he is being watched, lowers his gaze, is liberal in his giving, and never turns away a beggar… He considers his words carefully and guards his tongue… He neither accepts falsehood from a friend, nor rejects truth from an enemy… He only learns in order that he might know, and he only knows in order that he may act… When he travels with worldly people, he is the smartest of them, and when he travels with the people of the Hereafter, he is the most pious from among them.” (Bihar al-Anwar)
