أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا مِنْهُمْ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْعَطَّارُ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنِ الْعَلاءِ بْنِ رَزِينٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ عَنْ ابي جعفر (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) قَالَ لَمَّا خَلَقَ الله الْعَقْلَ اسْتَنْطَقَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ أَقْبِلْ فَأَقْبَلَ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ أَدْبِرْ فَأَدْبَرَ ثُمَّ قَالَ وَعِزَّتِي وَجَلالِي مَا خَلَقْتُ خَلْقاً هُوَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْكَ وَلا أَكْمَلْتُكَ إِلا فِيمَنْ أُحِبُّ أَمَا إِنِّي إِيَّاكَ آمُرُ وَإِيَّاكَ أَنْهَى وَإِيَّاكَ أُعَاقِبُ وَإِيَّاكَ أُثِيبُ. "Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ya’qub has narrated from a number of our people of whom one is Muhammad ibn Yahya al-‘Attar who narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Hassan ibn Mahbub from 'Ala' ibn Razin from Muhammad ibn Muslim from abu Ja’far (as) who has said the following.'When God created Intelligence, He induced it to speak and said, 'Come forward.' Intelligence then came forward. He then said, 'Go back.' Intelligence then went back. Thereupon, God said, 'I swear by My Honor and Glory that I have not created any creature more beloved to Me than you. I will not perfect you in anyone except those whom I love. I, however, will command only you to do (certain) things and prohibit only you from committing certain others. I will grant blessings (rewards) to you only and will hold only you accountable for the consequences (of your acts)'" (Al Kafi, Vol. 1, Hadith 1) It's interesting that in al Kafi, the principle volumes of ahadith for the Shia, the first chapter explores the narrations pertaining to intellect. Furthermore, of the 16,000+ ahadith compiled by Sheikh al Kulayni (ra), this is the first one he presents: a hadith highlighting the unrivaled position of intellect in God's eyes, for action without consciousness and purpose has no valuable translation in the Unseen. While I cannot pretend to have an iota of Sheikh al Kulayni's (ra) knowledge nor an understanding of the organization of his work, I find it fitting that he establishes the importance of intellect (the predecessor of all action) before delving into subsequent topics of Islam. Why is this fitting? Islam, especially through Ja'afari teachings, is built upon logic and intelligence-- a feature that that drew me towards Ja'afari teachings when I truly began seeking my religious path. The significance of intellect, like every other core value of Islam, was exemplified and preserved by Imam al Hussain (as) on the day of Ashoura. Yazid (la) and his followers were implementing ignorance and foolishness throughout the land, but Imam al Hussain (as) refused to have intellect and wisdom wiped away from Islamic practice. When certain people-- modern day Yazids-- stand in the way of our knowledge and truth-seeking (such as hiding the history of Ashoura), we must remember the stand of Imam al Hussain (as) and never let them reduce our religion to illogical nonsense. They murder and imprison our scholars and burn our libraries, but we must remember the words of Prophet Mohammad (saw): "Wisdom is the lost property of the believer." Imam al Hussain (as) did not march with his 72 companions for us to abandon that property. With full knowledge of his situation, he stood against a tyrant. With full knowledge of Islamic moral code, he showed the world how a man of principles and wisdom should act. With full knowledge that his blood would preserve the ink of the scholars, he rode out to the plains of Karbala.