Qum itself is considered such a holy city that they do not allow dogs inside it.
CHAPTER IX
SAVĀBS
There is a little Persian book, which many of the little boys learn to read, called “Sad Hikāyat” or “A Hundred Stories.” Some of the stories are very like Æsop’s Fables, and they are all supposed to teach the children something. One story tells them that at the end of the world God will take a great pair of scales, and as each person comes up for judgment God will put his good deeds in one scale and his evil deeds in the other. If the good deeds weigh heaviest he will go to Heaven, if his evil deeds weigh the balance down he will go to Hell.
These good deeds are called savābs, and every Persian, whether child or grown-up, hopes to get to Heaven by doing enough savābs to outweigh his sins.
So a little Persian boy or girl is not taught to try to always do right or to always try to please and serve God, but only to do enough right to outweigh the wrong he does, and if he feels he has done wrong instead of confessing his sin to God and asking His forgiveness he simply tries to balance it by a good deed.
And what a Persian boy or girl is taught of what is right and wrong is very different from all you have learnt. First there is a definite list of sins, which they can learn by heart, and nothing outside of this list is considered a “sin,” though other things which are not right may be called “errors,” which is a much less strong word.
As to good deeds there is more difference of opinion. One of the “Hundred Stories” deals with this point.
A man was travelling in the desert and came to a well. He dismounted, drove a stable-pin into the ground, and tied his horse to it while he ate his meal. When he resumed his journey he left the pin in the ground that other travellers coming there might tie their horses to it. Presently a man on foot came along, and, not seeing the pin, knocked his foot against it and hurt himself. He pulled up the pin and threw it into the well lest any one else should hurt himself in the same way. A discussion arose as to which of the two had done a savāb, the man who drove the nail in or the man who took it out, and finally a learned and holy man was consulted. After much thought he gave it as his opinion that both had done savābs.
Every little act of kindness is a savāb, and this encourages good nature and kindliness.