In the name of Allah the most Merciful Beneficent
Wilayat is the most important issue after Prophethood for Muslims. The righteous Wilaya is sine qua non for a true Islamic state. A lot of problems being faced by Muslims owe their origin to negligence of righteous, just successor of Prophet (SAW). Before we delve into some greater details of Wilaya of Ahle Bait (AS), we will cast a brief look at the concept of Wilaya.
Martyr Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari explains Wilaya in the following words: “The words, Wala, Walayat, Wilayat, Waly, Mawla, Awlaand the like have been derived from the same root, viz. Waly. The various forms of this root-word and its derivatives are the most oft-recurring words in the Holy Qur'an…The original meaning of this root-word as mentioned by Raghib in his lexicon "Mufradatul Qur'an" is one thing taking place by the side of another in such a way that there is no distance between them i.e. if two things are placed side by side in such a manner that there is no other thing between them the root-word 'Waly' is used… this root-word is naturally used for nearness and proximity also, both physical and figurative. And again for this very reason it has been used in the sense of friendship, love, patronage, guardianship, control etc., because all these conceptions involve some sort of contact and proximity.”
According to Syyed Muhammad Rizvi: “ ‘Wilayat’ derived from Wila means power, authority or a right of certain kind. In Shia’ theology, “Wilayat” is the authority invested in the Prophet (SAW) and the Ahle Bait (AS) as representatives of Al-mighty Allah on this earth.”
When we talk of Wilaya in its particular meaning of authority in Islamic context then Wilaya is faculty of legal and moral authority, which enables a person in whom this authority is invested to exact obedience to fulfill moral vision of Islamic revelation. The Islamic concept of Wilaya implies religious and political authorities are one and the same. Accordingly in the Quranic context of the divine guidance for humanity the Prophet (SAW)’s role should be considered as the head of a state and the founder of a religious order. The sense in which the holy Quran speaks about the Wilaya of the Prophet (SAW) is necessarily in the whole of human life, not just a limited segment of it. As the Muslim Ummah be organized by the context of religious devotion to Allah as explained by Prophet (SAW), but also that it acknowledges his political leadership as well. The Wilaya of the Prophet (SAW) establishes an authoritative precedent regarding the relationship between religion and political leadership in Islam. The Wilaya is concerned with whole life of Muslim Ummah.
In his famous book “The Master and Mastership” Martyr Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari has presented four dimensions of Wilaya.
1) Wala of love (Wila-e muhabbat) : All Muslims are obliged to love and respect Ahle Bait (AS). A number of verses of holy Quran makes this obligatory for Muslims, and there is no dispute on this kind of Wila of Ahle Bait(AS) between Shias and Sunnis. The Holy Qur'an says "Say: I ask you no reward for my preaching save love and affection toward my progeny" This love is a prelude to all kinds of Wala prescribed by Islam. It binds the people to the Holy Family and gives them an opportunity to be benefited by its teachings, practice and precepts.
Imam Shafi'i, one of the four Imams of the Sunni, in his famous verses says: "Let everybody know that if the love of Muhammad's descendants means to be a Rafizi, I am a Rafizi". Imam Shafi'i also says "O Ahl al-Bayt! Allah has made it obligatory in the Qur'an to love you. It is a matter of pride for you that without invoking blessing on you, prayer is not valid,". Again he says in his verses "After having seen that the people have chosen different ways which have led them to the Ocean of deviation and ignorance. I have, in the name of Allah, embarked the ship, which may lead me to safety. The Ahl al-Bayt of the Holy Prophet are that very ship We have been ordered to hold fast the rope of Allah, and that rope is their love".
Zamakhshari and Fakhruddin al-Razi, who bitterly oppose the Sh'iah on the question of succession to the Holy Prophet, quote him in their commentaries on the Qur'an as having said "He who dies adhering to the progeny of Muhammad dies the death of a martyr; his sins will be forgiven he dies the death of a repentant and his faith will be regarded as perfect".
2) Wala of Imamat (wila-e imamat): Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari says: “Wala of Imamate signifies religious authority, i.e. a position which makes the Imam a model for others who have to follow him and take instructions from him. Such a position automatically implies the infallibility of the Imam. It is the same position about which the Holy Qur'an, while referring to the Holy Prophet, says:
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيراً ً
"The Messenger of Allah is certainly a good example for those of you who have hope in Allah and believe in the Last Day and remember Allah very often". (al-Ahzab, 33: 21)
قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمْ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
" Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful ". (Ale Imran, 03: 31)
These verses of the Holy Qur'an put forward the Holy Prophet as a model for others who are required to mould their conduct according to his and to follow in his footsteps. This in itself is a proof of his infallibility, because if he were liable to commit mistakes and sins Allah would not have introduced him as the leader and the guide.”
This wala reflects the power and authority of the Ahle Bait (AS) in guiding their followers in spiritual matters. According to a very famous hadith Holy Prophet has said: "I am leaving behind among you two authorities, the Book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt. They shall not be separated from each other till they arrive at the Fountain of Kauthar. If you go ahead of them or fall short of expectations, you shall be misled. Do not try to teach them, for they know better than you''.
Hafiz Abu Na'im reports on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Holy Prophet said "Whoever desires to live like me and to die like me should select Ali after me as his Waly and should follow the Imams of my family who have been endowed with knowledge and intelligence. Unlucky are those who deny their excellence and disregard my kinship to them. Such people shall be deprived of my intercession on their behalf".
That kind of religious leadership, which makes every word and action of the leader authoritative, is called Imamate. It is a sort of wilayat in the sense that it implies a sort of control over the affairs of the people. This kind of Wala when used with reference to an Imam means religious authority and the right of leadership, and when used with reference to the Muslims means the acknowledgement of this right.
3) Wala of Leadership (wila-e ziamat): This kind of Wala is concerned with right of social and political leadership. According to Ayatullah Martyr Mutahhari: “Indeed a society must have a leader. The person qualified to take charge of the social affairs of the Muslims and to control their destinies is called Walyy-u Amr al-Muslimin (Administrator of the affairs of the Muslims). During his lifetime Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, held this position, which was granted to him by Allah. Following his death, it was attained by the Ahl al-Bayt. There exists undeniable evidence to prove this fact. Besides the Hadith of Ghadir, several verses of the Holy Qur'an point out this kind of Wala.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً
“O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end”. (al-Nisa, 04:59).
النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ
“The Prophet has more authority over the believers than that which they have over their selves”. (al-Ahzab, 33:06)
There is no dispute about the fact that the Prophet held this position which was a right given to him by Allah and not by the people. Our Sunni brethren also agree with us on this point. The only debatable question is regarding the person, who holds this position after him.”
Holy Prophet (SAW) was the Imam, religious leader and the law-giver. Whatever he said or did was authoritative. The Qur'an says:
“If the Messenger orders you to do something, obey it, and if he forbids something abstain from it”. (al-Hashr, 59:07)
His (SAW) decisions with regard to any internal disputes and any lawsuits were binding and valid.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an (Muhammad)
فَلا وَرَبِّكَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجاً مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيماً
“I swear by your Lord, they will not be true believers until they make you judge of what is in dispute between them and find in themselves no dislike of that which you decide, and submit with full submission ". (al-Nisa, 04:65)
He (SAW) held political and social Wilayat. Besides preaching and explaining the commands of Allah and adjudicating the disputes among the Muslims, he administered their social and political affairs. He was Walyy-u Amr al-Muslimin. The following verses envisage this aspect.
“Obey Allah, His Messenger and those of you who are in charge of your affairs”. (al-Nisa, 04:59)
“The Prophet has more authority over the believers than that which they have over their selves”. (al-Ahzab, 33:06)
This position of the Holy Prophet out of the three preceding position, constitutes the basis of the question of Caliphate, and his successor has the same rights and status.
4) Wala of Control (wila-e tasarruf): This dimension reflects universal power over the entire universe that the Prophet (SAW) and Ahle Bait (SAW) have been vested with by the grace of Almighty Allah. This is the highest stage of Wilayat of Ahle Bait (AS). Imama and Wilayat in this sense signify the same position though from different points of view.
This fourth dimension is the universal authority that the Prophet (SAW) and the Ahle Bait (AS) have been vested with by the Almighty Allah. It is an authority that makes it possible for the Wali to exercise his power over everything that exists. In the words of Ayatullah al-Khumeini: “It is a vicegerency pertaining to the whole of creation, by virtue of which all the atoms in the universe humble themselves before the holder of authority”
The authority and control of Ahle Bait (AS) is vertical with respect to that of Allah.
The Question of Wilayat in Islam
After Prophet (SAW)
The question of Wilayat or leadership of Ummah both in spiritual and temporal affairs after Prophet (SAW) is the cause for division between Shia’s and Sunnis. Both agree on the indispensable need of a Wali, but differ on the method and ways of its selection or appointment. Whether Prophet (SAW) left Muslims without appointing any leader as his successor after him? Whether Muslims have right to elect their own leader as successor of Prophet (SAW)? Whether the right of appointment of Wali or leader of Muslims rests with Allah? Such questions form the basic difference between the two sects of Islam. As regards the successor of Prophet (SAW) we have discussed the issue above under event of Ghadir due to lack of space we cannot delve into details of vicegerency after Prophet (SAW). We will only have a brief look over the issue here.
Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr has discussed three possibilities in his essay entitled “A Study on the Question of Al-Wilaya” namely firstly, Prophet (SAW) left Ummah with out any successor to replace his place as leader after him, secondly, Prophet (SAW) wanted Muslims to choose themselves their leader through as-Saqifa or consultation, and thirdly, Prophet (SAW) appointed Imam Ali (AS) his successor, and Imam of Ummah.
First Approach:
The Prophet (SAW) was assuming the leadership of a revolutionary faith, and inducing radical transformations of the customs, structures, and concepts of society. The path for such transformation was long and the faith which Prophet (SAW) practiced had to begin with the man belonging to the period of Jahiliyyah and raise him to new institutions, thus converting him into an Islamic man who could carry the new light, and uproot the trunk and roots of Jahiliyyah from his heart and mind. The Prophet (SAW) made astonishing headway in the task of transformation in a very short time, but it was necessary for this task of transformation to continue on its way even after the death of Prophet (SAW).
So now to think that Prophet (SAW) adopted a passive approach for leadership after him is to attribute to Prophet (SAW) the lack of insight. To think such a thing is a great sin, besides all logic and reason with many evidences refute such attribution. Prophet (SAW) was well aware with the maturity of faith of Muslims, these Muslims were just out from the dark alleys of pre-Islam jahiliyyah and they were certainly not in a condition to cope up with the vacuum of leadership. There were also many hypocrites present in the garb of Muslims and Prophet (SAW) also knew it well.
So, Prophet (SAW) was were aware with the dangers to Islam after him, and hence claims of any kind of passivity on his level for the Future of Islam is not acceptable. In fact both Shia’ and Sunnis have this tradition in their authentic works that Umar al-Khattab was amongst a group of men in the house when Prophet (SAW), before his death, said: “Bring me parchment and pen so that I may write something for you after which you shall never go astray”
In fact this act of Prophet (SAW) illustrates clearly that he was deeply concerned about the dangers which had to be faced in the future, and recognized the need to plan ahead as to protect the Ummah from deviation, and save it from inattentiveness and disintegration. It is thus totally impossible to substantiate any claim of passivity leveled against the Prophet (SAW).
Second Approach:
The second approach says that Prophet (SAW) adopted a positive policy concerning the future of Ummah and Islam, and he advocated the appointment of a Shura or counsel, which would be entitled to select leader of Muslims.
Had the holy Prophet (SAW) adopted a positive attitude towards shura after him, he would have found it absolutely necessary to educate the Ummah and the faithful concerning the principles of shura with its rules and details, and to give it a form which reflected the divine and holy sanction, while also preparing the Islamic society both mentally and spiritually to accept this system.
But we can easily discover that holy Prophet (SAW) never sought to educate Ummah for any such plan for future. We do not find any ahadiths attributed to holy Prophet (SAW) giving details of principles, legal aspects or theoretical concepts of shura. Therefore, we can conclude that holy Prophet (SAW) did not seek shura for Ummah after his death.
The shura, which was formed after, holy Prophet (SAW) could not survive even a short time. First Caliph neglected it and appointed the second Caliph himself, while the second one formed a six-member group enshrining the right to elect leader amongst them. In this way as-Saqifa collapsed immediately after it was formed.
The first Caliph regretted the fact that he was elected too speedily, while the second one regretted the first one’s election saying it was a slip, he himself on many occasions confessed his inability in handling the affairs of Ummah.
Third Approach:
The third approach is the only possibility, which is consistent with the nature of facts and logical in light of the circumstances surrounding Islam, Muslims and the Prophet (SAW). The holy Prophet (SAW) adopted a positive stance towards the future of Islam after his death and as per the orders of Allah (SWT) chose Imam Ali (AS) who had deep involvement in the formation of Islam, and specifically prepared him religiously in the art of leadership so that he could exemplify the intellectual authority and political leadership of the experience, and maintain the leadership of Ummah and its ideological structure after the holy Prophet (SAW)’s death.
In fact the evidence from the lives of the holy Prophet (SAW) and the Imam (AS), which indicate that the holy Prophet (SAW) prepared the Imam (AS) specifically in religious matters is indeed substantial. For the holy Prophet (SAW) chose to explain the concept of Islam and its truths to him, and gave him intellectual answers and sought to cultivate the Imam (AS)’s awareness when he asked numerous questions while also spending long hours with during both the night and the day, opening his eyes to the concepts of Islam and to the problems to be faced during its progress, and to the management of the task until the last day of his noble life.
Imam Ali (AS) - the commander of the faithful himself describes his unique relationship with the holy Prophet (SAW):
“You know of my connection with the Messenger of Allah (SAW), my close kinship to him and my intimate position. He put me on his lap when I was a child, hugged me to his breast, embraced me in his bed, so that his body touched mine and so I smelled his scent, and would also chew things and give, them to me to eat. But he did not find me lying in my speech or pompous in my act. I used to follow him as the small camel follows its mother and every day he showed me part of his moral acts and ordered me to do likewise. Every year he used to take me to Hira and only I could see him, for at that period of time of Islam there was only the Messenger of Allah (SAW), Khadija and myself as the third, as nobody else lived in the house. So I saw the light of revelation and the message and smelled the fragrance of prophecy.”
Similarly, there are a great many indications from the lifetime of Imam Ali (AS) after the death of holy Prophet (SAW), which reveal the Prophet’s private ideological training of Imam Ali (AS) and reflect the effects and results of this private instruction. The Imam (AS) was the man to whom the ruling leadership resorted for consultation and authority when they wished to solve some difficult problems, which they could not solve themselves. But we cannot find a single instance in the history of the Islamic experience during the time of the four khulafah in which the Imam (AS) turned to someone else for an opinion as to the way in which a problem should be dealt with according to Islam, whereas there were tens of instances in which the ruling Islamic leadership felt it necessary to consult the Imam (AS), in spite of their reservations in this matter.
The above arguments along with the event of Ghadir establish fact that successor of Prophet (SAW) was none other than Imam Ali (AS). The holy Prophet (SAW) himself, on the instructions of Allah (SWT), appointed him his successor.
WILAYAT AL-FAQIH
(Supreme Jurist Leadership)
The guidance of Ummah is a continuous process, which is needed even during the occultation of Imam Mahdi (ATF), so who will take the responsibility of leading and guiding the Ummah during this time? The answer to this question lies in the rule of just, pious and virtuous jurists so that we may faithfully follow them and seek guidance in the affairs of life. Our divine religion Islam has rules for every walk of life. There are laws for economic, social, civil, and spiritual affairs. These laws have not been put in suspension during the occultation of Imam (ATF), nor can we be assigned to an ignorant and corrupt ruler for leadership, so naturally there is genuine need for just, pious and learned men to lead Ummah. The obedience to these jurists by the people is as obligatory as it is to the Holy Prophet (SAW) and the Infallible Imam (AS). We must also have in mind that adherence to full Islamic rules is not possible until there is an Islamic government. So the necessity of an Islamic government cannot be ruled out even during the occultation of Imam (ATF).
Now, there are a number of questions, which arise and must be answered:
Do the Muslims need some system of Government? Should an Islamic State be protected and defended or not? Should the lands be safeguarded? Should laws be promulgated in an Islamic State? Should the right of the oppressed be restored to him? Should or should not the voice of Islam reach every nook and corner of the world? Were the teachings of the Prophets and the Imams confined to their time only or were they applicable to all places and all times? If the answers to these, questions lie in affirmative. If we want to safeguard our land, resources, culture, faith from the onslaught of enemies of Islam. If the very structure and essence of Islam is to be protected, then surely we need an Islamic Government, which should be based on the lines of guidance from holy Quran and Sunna.
If the government is necessary then the ruler is also necessary, because the government cannot be run without a ruler. Therefore, since Islam needs a government for enforcing its laws, we should find out the qualifications of the ruler and know whether he has a deep understanding of the Divine commandments, is just and competent, and can appreciate and face difficulties. If it is necessary that the ruler should be a true Muslim, well informed, pious, virtuous and statesman, then that person must be a jurist, and his government will be called the government of the jurist.
Those, who do not believe in the concept of the guardianship of a jurist should study the following viewpoints and accept anyone of them:
(i) Islam is confined only to prayers, fasting, individual worship, moral values only and it does not envisage the solution of social problems, justice, political and economic problems.
(ii) Islam was only meant for the duration of the lifetime of the Holy Prophet only, and it was abandoned after him and now its important social problems are confined only in books.
(iii) Important social laws; should be enforced by the ignorant and wicked persons only.
If none of the above-quoted view-points is acceptable or appeals to reason, then we must accept the guardianship of the jurist, which means that the enforcement of Islamic laws and solution of difficult problems should be solved by eminent Muslim scholars and thus we must not think that the guardianship of the jurist is unjustifiable.
Is it not narrated from Imam Ja'far Sadiq (AS) that: "In the Holy Qur'an all the individual and collective needs of the society have been described".
Hence, are the government, ruler, administration and various fields of human activities not included among the important needs of the society?
The Holy Prophet said, "I am grateful to Allah that I have described all the requirements of the Ummah before my death".
Imam Ali Reza (AS) while dealing with the problem of guardianship says, "There is no nation which is without its leader and the social structure of a society is directly concerned with the leader and that people should manage the public treasury by keeping an account of its income and expenditure, organize the society, fight against the enemies and protect the society from internal dissensions and disunity. If there is not going to be any such leader, then the nation will break up into pieces and the Divine commandments and the teachings of the Holy Prophet will be tampered with at the command of despotic ruler".
You will note that the, question of leadership and the government has been stated to be the most important problem by Imam Ali Reza (AS). It is obvious that for the benefit of the poor masses management of the public treasury, equitable distribution of wealth, struggle against enemies, administration of social institutions are not such that they are only concerned with the time of the previous infallible Imams and that the Ummah should be left to itself during the occultation of our living Imam Mahdi (ATF) that is to say, there should be no need of a government or a ruler during the period of occultation.
Thus Islam acknowledges the existence of the society and the necessity of the government and its ruler, but what is important is that we should know the conditions and qualifications of the ruler, and what type of the government it should be and how it should carry on the administration.
According to common sense and keeping in view the various Islamic narrations, the responsibility of the government should be laid on the shoulders of the just jurist. We reproduce here excerpts from some narrations:
(i) The Holy Prophet considered the jurists as his caliph.
(ii) The living Imam Mahdi (ATF) with his own hand wrote in reply to a letter: "You should refer to our narrators about your problems and difficulties for they are our argument and proof on you just as we are the argument and proof of Allah".
(iii) When Imam Ja'far Sadiq (AS) was asked about the problems, which are referred to despotic administration for decision he said, "Referring to these departments is very bad because it is referring to the despot and if someone gets back his right from these despotic departments it becomes unlawful. On such occasions however, it is your duty to refer to those people who know our teachings and narrations fully well, because I declare them as the Qazi (Judge) for you. Thus you should remember that if this jurist has given you his decision and you consider it worthless it is as if you have considered the Divine command as worthless. If anyone disobeys these jurists, it is as if he has disobeyed us, and whosoever disobeys us, has in fact disobeyed Allah and this action amounts to polytheism".
(iv) The Holy Prophet (SAW) said, "Scholars are the successors of the Prophets". (Wasa'il, vol. XVIII, chapter 11)
(v) Imam Kazim (AS) said: "Jurists are the fortresses of Islam". (Kitabal Bai', Ayatullah Khumayni)
(vi) Allah (SWT) has taken an assurance from the scholars that they would not pass over the gluttony and oppression of the despots in silence and would not ignore the hunger of the poor. (Nahjul Balagha)
Naturally in a society supporting the oppressed and crushing the tyrant do need a government or its operative agency.
(vii) In the Holy Qur'an we have been taught that in a society we should stick to justice. Can justice in a society be maintained without the existence of a government or a ruler?
(viii) Imam Hussain (AS) says, "Discharging of the duties and the enforcement of laws should be in the hands of the scholars, God-fearing and pious persons. These are the people who do not make any changes in the Divine commands pertaining to lawful and unlawful things, and who are the custodians of trusts". (Tuhaful 'Uqul, p. 242)
(ix) Imam Ali (AS) says, "Scholars are the rulers of the people". (Ghurarul Hikam, quoted from al-Hayat, vol. II, p. 293)
Thus it is deduced that in an Islamic society the head of the government should be a just jurist with all the prescribed qualifications. These very jurists are the authorized representatives of the infallible Imams during the period of the occultation of our living Imam Mahdi (ATF). If the authority and guardianship of the jurist is terminated, the despots would raise their heads and the Divine commandments will be altered.
Now after the above discussion we would like to ask few questions about the intentions and objectives of the persons opposing the concept of government by a just and righteous jurist:
● Do they say that for Muslims no government and no administration are necessary?
● Do they say that some system is necessary but there is no necessity of an administrator, ruler or guardian?
● Do they say that guardians and the rulers of the people should be those who have no concern with Islam?
● Do they say that the ruler should be a jurist and Muslim but it is not necessary that he should be just and pious?
● Do they consider that guardianship of the jurist is some sort of a dominating force? Is the jurist a representative of a particular group or class of people?
● Does the selfishness of the jurist not nullify his sense of justice and fair play by which his guardianship in the society will automatically cease to exist?
We would ask those who oppose the guardianship of the jurist as to whom they want to entrust the affairs of the Ummah? We ask whether the Muslims should not follow someone in their affairs or is their following restricted to worship of Allah only? Is there not the possibility of a lawful or an unlawful thing in matters of social problems such as strikes, rehabilitation, travels, disputes, agreements, pacts, appointments, dismissal etc.? Should we not follow some jurist in all those matters where there is a question of lawfulness and unlawfulness? Should the leadership of the Muslims be entrusted to an un-Islamic leader? Will it not be like handing over the administration of a medical college to a man who is not a physician himself?
Has the time not come when we should protect ourselves from false leadership, unscrupulous politicians and professional opportunists, we should come under the Islamic protection, and accept only that leadership, which is compatible with the standard laid down by Qur'anic revelations.
To run Islamic government we need the guardianship of Wilayat al-Faqih, Imam Khomeini in his book “Islamic Government” discusses the concept in details. According to him: “Wilayah means government, administration and leadership of the country… Wilayat al-faqih is a legal issue established by the Shari'ah. Just as the Shari'ah has made each one of us the guardian of his minor children, the duty of the guardian of the entire people does not differ from the guardianship of minors except in terms of quantity… Two qualifications must obtain in the Islamic ruler: he must be an expert of Islamic law and sciences and must be just. Without these two conditions no one may assume the office of the Imam of the Islamic State… It is not a system where the head of state enjoys absolute power, playing with the people's wealth and lives... It is a constitutional government, not in the ordinary known sense but in the sense that its functionaries adhere to a set of conditions and rules explained in the Qur'an and Sunnah, which make it imperative upon them to obey the system and apply the rules and laws of Islam. Hence the Islamic State is a realm of divine law. The difference between the Islamic government and the constitutional one, be it a monarchy or republic, lies in the fact that representatives of the people or the monarch legislate, while the authority of legislation (in the Islamic State) is confined to Allah alone… None, whosoever, is allowed to legislate and none has the right to govern with laws that do not enjoy Allah's sanction.”
A Brief Account of Imam Khomeini’s Argument on Wilayat-e Faqih
Imam Khomeini’s arguments on the issue are as follows:
- Islam is a comprehensive religion, providing laws on politics, society, economy, etc. It is admitted that the Divine commandments are applicable to all societies in all eras.
- Religious commandments are not useful unless they are applied to form a state on the basis of Divine guardianship.
- Moreover, in order to protect the Islamic system, control the borders of Muslims from any encroachment by the enemy, and prevent chaos in Islamic society, it is necessary to form an Islamic government. Therefore, the reasons underlining the role of an Imam in the society stand for the formation of a government in the absence of infallible Imams (a).
- The leadership of an Islamic government has been specifically entrusted on a particular person in the absence of Imam Mahdi (ATF). But since the government is an Islamic in nature, its ruler should possess at least the following two qualifications: command over religious laws (fiqh); and he should be a just person.
- The scholar must be a just individual, and must be also pure and pious. The Guardian has to be an outstanding candidate, and as a result the most learned of all other candidates in order to be elected to this post. This position makes Him the leader of all the Ummah, not only the Shia, and he has to make decisions and lead on behalf of the Ummah. Of course not all of the Ummah follow the Guardian, however that is what is intended to happen. This position was intended by Imam Khomeini (RA) to be one that can unite and lead the Ummah to glory, until the return of Imam Mahdi (ATF). In no way is this position more powerful than the leadership of Imam Mahdi (ATF), and is not intended to be so. it is simply a temporary position until His return, so that in the time of His occultation the Ummah is not divided and doesn't go astray, because the Muslims of the world always need strong leadership.
Ayatollah Hashemi's Discourse On Wilayat al-Faqih
Notice: This, important discussion was presented by Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroodi in his course of Khariji Fiqh (post advanced jurisprudence) in the holy city of Qom in the autumn, 1997. He is the head of the institute of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) Encyclopedia and the professor of Islamic sciences in the chief Islamic seminary in Qom and recently has been appointed as the head of Iranian Judiciary.
In the name of God and peace be upon our master & Prophet Muhammad…
…. I come to the main point which includes Wilayat al-Faqih (The authority of a leading jurist as the Leader of society) and Marjaiyyat (the authority of a leading jurist as the people's reference on Islamic practical laws), the latter “Marjaiyyat” was functioning before Islamic revolution but the second (Wilayat al-Faqih) did not function because Maraji (famous leading jurists) were not authorized and also were not on power for ruling and leadership, therefore the principle of Wilayat al-Faqih could not function and just Marjaiyyat which was a part of Wilayat al-Faqih worked.
This authorization as Wilayat al-Faqih started by Imam Komeinei’s great endeavour who made the governing of Fuqaha (leading Jurists) practical and possible. So nowadays we can see Wilayat al-Faqih, which is the most perfect form of Marjaiyyat is functioning. Wilayat al-Faqih not only includes referring to a leading jurist by people for the Islamic practical laws (Marjaiyyat) but also involves the leadership of the society by that leading jurist. This change in our society aims starting the realization of religion in whole society.
Now a Faqih (leading jurist) should not act just in very detailed cases such as managing the orphan’s properties and the matters like this. It is really unreasonable that a Faqih engages himself with very detailed matters and does not feel any responsibility in society for important social problems. What does this belief mean saying a Faqih should just function for the detailed and practical laws such as orphan’s affairs, and a Faqih is not deserved to come to power as Wilayat al-Faqih. This is my question, why is not it possible for a Faqih to have power to execute all Islamic laws in society as a ruler or authorized responsible?
The author of Javahir Al-Kalam says, "Whoever does not accept the principle of Wilayat al-Faqih will not taste the sweet taste of Fiqh". So it is clear that Wilayt al-Faqih is one of the most fundamental principles of Fiqh. The only disagreement comes back to the mentioned thought that a Faqih cannot govern. I think the root of this thought comes back to the periods and eras in which, the governing of a Faqih looked quite impossible, the thought, which was formed gradually.
However this principle “Wilayat al-Faqih” is a clarified and a settled point, which can be inferred from Quran and narrations and also by rational causes and understanding the spirit of Fiqh.
The author of, Javahir profit from his Fiqhi (Jurisprudential) talent and makes some interesting decision about important cases like Judgment. Some jurists doubts the important documents which indicate Wilayat al-Faqih such as Maqboulah or Abi-khadija narrations, even if we put this important document aside, we can infer by a rational method which says that a legislator surely would not be satisfied with not being a Judge, Shiite in a Shia society. So we can infer that there is a kind of appointment for a Shiite Judge who is a well-qualified jurist.
Here is a fundamental question, If we are not left in a simple point like appointing of a judge, in the case of appointing a deserved person as the Leader (Wali-e-Amr) this fact is very clear and this appointment and its conditions should be practiced in a society.
Another point, which I want to have a word on it, includes this fact that Wilayat al-Faqih is the continuation of Imamate (Leadership of Twelve Shia Imams). Today we see some spiteful ones who are instilling some doubts into people's mind that the legitimacy of Wilayat al-Faqih is given by people, these ideas are perfectly against the Quranic verses and famous narrations which explicitly express that Wilayat (Leadership) firstly belongs to God then his prophet next the Imams and finally the ones who are appointed by Imams so in this case there is no chance for the people to choose. In the narration, which indicated the appointing the judge it is been told that: "we choose for you a judge, not you".
In here, maybe someone rely on the theory of Al-Showra (Counsil) or the modern ideas such as direct election, which has come from the West. The point is, Shiism has not any background or any record about it. The best reason for not existing this point in Shia culture is that, there is not any narration of our Imams (peace be upon them) about Al-Showra or clarifying the condition of voters. This point “Al-Showra”can be applied nowadays for choosing the responsible of a state but for the case of Wilayat al-Faqih we see all the Quranic verses are against it and there is no way. Some Quran verses like “The ruling is for no one except God" or "There is no authority for them" or "Obey God and his prophet and those among you who have been authorized by the prophet to rule over you". If we care, we'll see there is no expression indicating the election of a ruler by people.
Among narrations we also see some such as “They are my deputies to you and I am God’s deputy“, which was told by the prophet Muhammad (SAW). As we see in the Islam history Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) when he was the head of the Islamic State chose all of his governors himself and did not say to people which one you like to choose.
I believe the matter of election has come completely from the West and there is nothing about it in Islamic documents. In sunni culture even the concept of Al-Showra (counsel) is quite different from its today’s concept because the appearance of Showra for sunni was based on political reasons. As we see in the period of Omayyads and Abbasids there is not any institution called Al-Showra and just is defined in the period of four caliphs.
There is another meaning for election and electing in the Fiqh of Shia’ in which the act of electing means knowing and introducing someone by people. This concept is highly different from its western concept, nevertheless in this concept there is a special role for the people to supervise the governors.
Nowadays we see some people who want to make the principle of Wilayat al-Faqih dependent on electing by people so that people can authorize or depose whenever they want. I believe the purpose of such an idea is sweeping Wilayat al-Faqih away and they want to deviate this important principle.
Hereby, I deeply request the young and the learned scholars to study on this case carefully and try not to be influenced by the deviating matters, which are exposed here and there.
The next point, which I want to discuss about, is "A’lamiyyat" (to be the most learned among the famous jurists). In old books on Fiqh this expression has not been mentioned and recently has been used in contemporary texts especially in the case of “Ijtihad” which includes referring to the jurist by people for their practical laws. The root for forming this idea comes back more to a rational cause. It means when there is a disagreement between two Faqihs (Jurist) in their opinion for a practical law, the people can refer to the more learned one (A'lim).
Some contemporary jurists believe in following the A'lim (the most learned jurist) as a obligatory precaution, meanwhile I have to mention some points about definition of A'lamiyyat. I believe the kind and the degree for A'lamiyyat, which can be considered as the base of preference between two learned Jurists is the difference, which is really highly deep and clear between them.
If the difference of two "Learned Jurist is" little but there is a lot of common points, in here we can not say which one is A'lim (more learned) because they have attended in the same seminary, the same school of thinking and also education and the methods are the same. When this differences is really deep so that they belong to two different periods, school or method, in here we can say the one who is more qualified and has attended more famous teachers and more advanced period can be considered as A'lim (more learned).
The other point concerning the concept of A'lamiyyat is that, the theory of A'lamiyyat does not consist of being dominant just on Usul-al-Fiqh (principles of Fiqh) or Rijal (the science of studying narrators' biography and their reliability). We consider these factors effective on A'lamiyyat when they have got a practical and applied use in Fiqh whereas we know these factors have not merely so much effective use in Fiqh by themselves.
So what are the other effective factors except above and also important aspects which are functioning in Fiqhi (Jurisprudential) inference that can make a jurist as the most Learned Jurist (A'lim).
In my opinion these factors can be as follows:
First, Having a deep understanding of the spirit of Islam, which can be very important for an inference. This kind of understanding not only needs having a good knowledge of Quran, traditions and narrations (Hadith), Fiqh and principles of Fiqh but also is in a great need of being familiar to the practice and manner of the Prophet (SAW) and the Imams (AS). It means a Faqih (leading jurist) should accurately know how the prophet and the Imams who had the control of society behaved facing different problems. How did they execute the Islamic laws in the society? I think for having a good knowledge on the prophet and the Imams practice and behaviour, first we should care that what kind of priorities they considered for the good of society paying attention to the circumstances of the society.
In here I should fire to this point that one of the reasons, which made Imam Khomeini as the most learned jurist was this character, I mean understanding the priorities. The time he presented the theory of Wilayat al-Faqih really shows his genius of understanding the situations and priorities. He felt a kind of suitability for exposing this theory and finally succeeded. Before Imam Khomeini this theory “Wilayat al-Faqih” just consisted of supervision of a jurist on the matters like appointing the judge, caring orphan’s affairs and the subjects like these. If Imam Khomeini had not gained such a deep understanding of the reality of Islam, the Prophet’s and the Imams' practice and especially a good understanding of social situations, he could not infer the theory of Wilayat al-Fiqh through the Islamic laws and Fiqh.
Paying attention to this point shows the character of A'lamiyyat in Imam Khomeini made a practical and applied benefit for the society, not just trying fruitlessly doing some theoretical work without any effects.
There is a narration which Wilayat al-Faqih can be inferred from it which is called “Ibn Issac Correspandence”. Imam Khomeini with well-justified and persuading reasons inferred the theory of Wilayat al-Faqih from it. The mentioned reasons were literal and verbal or nonverbal.
Another factor which is effective on A'lamiyyat is having a good understanding of cultural, intellectual and legal matters which is very influential on inferring the new and old matters, some new subjects like banking and banking systems, economy and Islamic economy, Judgment and etc., although such matters like prayer and cleanness are basically important but are not very effective on governing a country as a leader.
The other point which is really necessary for a Leading Faqih is being dominant on Ahlulbait`s (the shia Imams) knowledge, theological matters, moral and historical points. If we suppose two Leading Faqih and the first one has limited himself just in a special Hadith book like Wasil al-Shia (one of the biggest hadith book of Shia) and the second Faqih has got a perfect knowledge of shia Imams' narrations, surely I consider the second one as a dominant person on public culture and Islamic knowledge. The mentioned skill can be very useful for understanding the Quran verses and narrations more deeply. In above example the first Faqih who lacks this knowledge is unable to infer perfectly and his reasoning are incomplete. We can conclude of what I told above, that it is not enough for a scholar to study just some years in a Islamic seminary studying only Fiqh or Usul al-Fiqh very well and then say now I am a Learned Faqih or the most Learned (A'lim). This is just a small point of A'lamiyyat as I enumerated some factors already.
The characteristics, which I told for being A'lim are really existing in Ayatollah Khamenei. He believes that Fiqh should be gotten from the Fiqh itself and it should not be influenced by outer factors. This advantage is one of his high characters. In the case of inferring and making jurisprudential (Fiqhi) decisions, his decisions are really close to the famous decisions. He respects the great scholars' ideas very much and tries to get all of the good point of them and then expose his own opinion. This character is also one of the brilliant characters of Ayatullah Khamenei for being A'lim.
To summarize what I told about the case of A'lamiyyat, I believe, for this case we should consider a full dimensional definition as I explained in details.
Now as the final subject I pay a little attention to Marjaiyyat (the state of being as a Leading Jurist as people’s reference for their practical Laws and needs). Here is a question, which expresses that A'lamiyyat is not the only condition for Marjaiyyat. If we care, we'll see Marjaiyyat is a kind of leadership of the people for their religious and practical laws needs in other words it is a kind of religious and legal legislation. For this reason there are some other conditions for Marjaiyyat such as justice, righteousness and legitimate birth. For some of these conditions we cannot find an important reason but we can just say because it is an important position in the society therefore, the owner of this responsibilities should qualify these conditions.
Ayatollah Sadr in his epistle of the practical laws called "Al-Fatawa Al-Waziha" enumerates another conditions as well as the other conditions mentioned by other jurists for the case of Marjaiyyat. Theses conditions are efficiency and adequacy of a jurist. I have not seen this point in other jurist’s epistles and books.
I think it is a good topic to be discussed and analyzed in Islamic studies centers and seminaries. Now the point is that, the justice and righteousness, which are necessary for Marjaiyyat, how should be their degree? I believe it should have a high degree, even higher than the righteousness and justice, which were mentioned through narrations and former jurists' tales. But on the whole, I believe among the conditions enumerated for Marjaiyyat the most important is efficiency and the merit, because lots of people follow a Jurist who has the title of "Marjayyat" and they practice his decisions.
It is nice to say that this institution I mean Marjaiyyat didn’t exist in Shia culture until Muhammad Ibn-Makki Al-Amili (13-14th century) known as Shahid-e-Awwal founded it, expressing that in a Shia society should exist a Leading Jurist for referring people to him for their religious needs and Islamic practical laws.
As I already mentioned the qualifications of A'lamiyyat, Muhammad Ibn-Makki as a brilliant Jurist and A'lim (the most learned) who had understood the spirit of Islam and Fiqh, founded one of the most important and fundamental principles of Fiqh which is Marjaiyyat and in our era the late Imam Khomeini as a unique jurist could expand the limits of Marjaiyyat having a perfect understanding of the spirit of Fiqh and Islam he presented the theory of "Wilayat al-Faqih" giving the persuading reasons and well justified causes and discussions so that, Marjaiyyat with all its importance is considered only as a part of Wilayat al-Faqih.
At the end, I thank God that our present leader Ayatollah Khamenei possesses the necessary qualifications for Marjaiyyat and Wilayat al-Faqih.
I pray the Almighty God for you all to be succeeded.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
TAZKIYA NAFS-Purifying the Soul
In the name of Allah the most Merciful Beneficent most Forgiving Mighty Wise!
TAZKIYA NAFS-Purifying the Soul.
“He indeed will be successful who purifies himself, and magnifies the name of his Lord and pray”(87:14-15) “ And the soul and Him Who made it perfect. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and what is wrong for it; He will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it.”(91:7-10) The above verses from the holy Quran-the book of wisdom and light explain the fundamentals of success and failures. In simple words success lies in purification of soul for His sake and the failure is destiny of those who make their souls corrupted and forget their Lord towards Whom we have to return very soon. The Nafs of man always incline towards base and perishing objects of desire. Its thirst never quenches , the more it drinks the material drinks of sins , the more it wants to drink. The who have spent their entire lives in the search pleasure of material objects could never be satisfied, after satiation of a desire they would want more , in this way the thirst of desires never let them arouse from their eternal sleep, they could never raise themselves above the temporal pleasures and could never understand and perceive the purity of souls and the pleasures derived from His remembrance and His affinity. The corruption of soul makes us forget Our Lord and that we have to very soon return to Him and that all our deeds will be presented before our eyes and we will be made to pay the price for our misdeeds. When we forget Him and the Last day, we further more and more on the path of our desires which takes us towards the destruction of life in this world and the next. Our Imam Ali Ibn Husain says in one of his prayers about the treacherous tendencies in our souls : “My Lord , to You I complain of a soul , commanding to evil, rushing to offenses , eager to disobey You, and exposing itself to Your anger. It takes me on the roads of disasters , it makes me the easiest of perishers before You; many its pretexts, drawn out its expectations; when evil touches it, it is anxious, when good touches it grudging; inclining to sport and diversion, full of heedlessness and inattention, it hurries me to misdeeds and makes me delay repentance…..My Lord , to You I complain of a heart that is hard, turned this way and that by tempting thoughts, clothed in rust and seal, and of an eyes too indifferent to weep in fear of You and eagerly seeking that which gladdens it..” The above Dua describes the reality of human Nafs which is always like treacherous enemy ready to deceive us and make us do sin against the commands of Our Lord. The basic cause for this is the domination of material desires on ourselves. If we could control these desires and make them confined in the bounds of Halaal and Haram of our deen , we can achieve the promised success. Our Imam Amirul Momeneen (AS) presents the way to salvation and contentment of soul in the following words: “the best riches is abandonment of desires” As human desires are unlimited and this material world makes us more and more trapped into the quagmire of desires, as a result we get more and more absorbed with this world and forget the ultimate purpose this life and birth on this earth. As the thirst for material goods has no end, we always feel short of resources to satisfy our ever-increasing desires. Our Imam says that if we control our lust for this material world and we abandon our desires we can be rich, as here being rich is not about having millions of rupees but it is about of a mental state when one feels contentment and GHANI in his heart. In the same vein his saying : “contentment is the wealth that does not diminish” explains the basic of human happiness. Tazkiya Nafs is about making our soul pure and free from the filth and dirt of Haraam desires. There are various stages of Nafs : Nafs-e-Ammara :commanding soul, the sate of the soul described in the prayer above which commands man for sins and misdeeds. Nafs-e-lawwama: self-accusing soul, this state of soul makes man repent after doing any sin. This the soul which makes him uncomfortable after any sin and compels him for Tawba. Nafs-e-Zakiya : the purified soul, this soul is pure and is not polluted by sins or evils. Nafs-e-Mutma'inna :satisfied soul, this soul is last stage of evolution of soul when one is fully satisfied with His Decree and commands, this is the highest level of soul. The purpose of Mesengers (S) of Allah has been to purify corrupted souls and make the people walk again on the path of Allah after deviation. Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini in his book on “Self Building” describes the purpose of prophet hood was to cleanse the evils in man’s moral character : ““God did confer a great favor on the believers when he sent among them an apostle from among themselves rehearsing unto them the signs of God, sanctifying them and instructing them in scripture and wisdom, while before that, they had been in manifest error.” -the Holy Quran (13: 164) Therefore, it is obvious that the subject of human education and training was of such vital importance that God-Almighty sent Divine Messengers especially for this purpose thus, conferring a great favor ul1on the believers. The individual as well as collective personality, prosperity or cruelty (of this world and Hereafter) of a human being depends upon how much efforts he had already made or is still making for self-building. It is from this consideration that self-building is regarded something of such vital importance because it determines ones eventual destiny. The Divine Messengers came to teach human beings regarding the path of self-building, nourishment, and perfection of self, as well as to accompany them as their guide and helper in this vital and determinant task. They came for cleansing and sanctifying human selves from their indecent moral characteristics and animal instincts, and bestowing upon them superior spiritual virtues. The prophets lectured human beings about the self-building program, acted as helper and knowledgeable guides in identifying the ugliness in their moral conducts, and showed them the ways and means for self-control against their selfish whims and passions. By timely issuance of warning and intimidating they succeeded in sanctifying the human selves from the moral obscenities and indecencies. They came for plantation of sapling of higher moral virtues within human souls, nurtured and protected it for its eventual blooming, and in doing so acted as guides, friends, and helpers of the people by encouraging and pursuing them towards the desired sublime' objectives. The Holy Prophet (S) has said: "I emphasize the importance of good morals for you because God-Almighty has sent me especially for this purpose.” -Bihar al-Anwar vol. 69, p-375” The human self is very much liable for training and education, if we educate ourselves and raise it above the level of animal passions we can really achieve the success and accomplish the purpose for which we have been sent in this world. The Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (A) about the self said: “Self is like a precious jewel, whoever strives for his protection, he will help him attaining exalted positions, and whoever acted negligently in his protection he shall pull him towards humiliation." "Whoever knows the worth of his self will never allow himself to be indulging into passing worldly amusements and shameful deeds.” "Whoever discovers the nobility of self shall guard him against lowness of passions and false desires." "Whoever possesses the nobility of self will become free from Wants." The above traditions from Imam Ali(as) shows that human self has great potential and great capacities for progress and success, what is required is self-control through Islamic means and abandonment of low desires which take us to destruction. Ayotollah Amini quoting above traditions in his book says : “From the above quoted verses and narrations whose examples are frequent, it can be derived that human self is a valuable and precious jewel which should be carefully guarded protected and nourished.” Again there are another aspect of our self, it is heedlessness and waywardness. This path is the path of desires and lusts, too much indulgence and thus making us forget the Remembrance of His and the purpose of life. This path is path of darkness and ignorance leading to destruction in the both worlds. Imam 'Ali (A) said: "Self commands you continuously to indulge into evil deeds, therefore, whoever trusted his self -he will deceit him, whoever believed his self -he will destroy him; and whoever is satisfied with his self –he will lead him to face worst kind of disasters.” Our Lord says in His book of guidance : “And if they answer thee not, then know that what they follow is their lusts. And who goes farther astray than he who followeth his lust without guidance from God? Lo! God guideth not wondering folk.” -the Holy Quran (28:50) “Already have we urged unto Hell many of the Jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle -nay but they are worse! These are the neglectful." -the Holy Quran (7: 179) The above tradition from Imam Ali(as) and the verses of the holy Quran talk of the people who have made fulfillment of their low desires their ultimate purpose and have forgotten the real purpose of life. The too much and unending indulgence makes us so hard that we deny the very message of Our Lord and refuse to accept all the calls of reason. The Holy Quran further says that Allah has left those in utter darkness and has sealed their hearts and hearing and sight. It because they have made their desires their god and have forgotten the Real Absolute Lord Who is Their Creator: "Hast thou seen him who maketh his desire his god, and God sendeth him astray purposely and sealeth up his hearing and his heart, and setteth on his sight a covering ? Than who will lead him after God (hath condemned him) ? Will you not then heed ?" -the Holy Quran (45: 23) The Commander of the Faithful Imam' Ali (A) said: "Whoever becomes involved into world's allurements, thus giving up his gains from his immortal life in the Next World -has indeed been cheated." "What a bad trade it is that one exchanges his self for this world instead of trading it with whatever is available with God-Almighty (in the Next- World).” -Nahjul-Balagha, sermon 32. Therefore the result of all this discussion is to heed our life, its purpose and control our low desires. Any body who is able to do will get benefits in the both world: "But as far him who feared to stand before his lord and restrained his soul from lust, Lo ! The garden will be his home." -the Holy Quran (79:40-41) Imam Ali(as) says: "Self-consciousness is one of the most profitable assets of a person." This is self-consciousnesses which shows the path, it makes us realize our mistakes, it makes us confess our sins and it makes us understand His status. But this self-consciousness is not possible without purification of soul and with out avoidance of Haraam. Our Lord has given us mental faculties to choose the way, and so now it’s our responsblity to make our self choose the right path and avoid the wrong one: “Whoso doth right, it is for his soul. and whoso doth wrong, it is against it. And afterward unto your Lord ye will be brought back.” -the Holy Quran (45:15) "And whoso doth good an atom's weight will see it then, and whoso doth evil an atom's weight will see it then.” -the Holy Quran (99:7-8) "And that man hath only that for which he maketh effort and that his effort will be seen.” -the Holy Quran (53: 39-40) "And whatever of Good ye send before (you) for your souls, ye will find it with God." -the Holy Quran (2:110) “The day when wealth and sons avail not (any man). Save him who bringeth unto God a whole heart.” -the Holy Quran (26: 88-89) The Holy Prophet (S) said .to one of his companions: “Oh Qais! You will have no other choice except to live with a companion in your grave. He is alive and you will be buried with him. If he is good and honorable, will make you honorable, and if he is low and mean, you will become low and mean as well. After that on that on the Day of Resurrection you will be associated with him and will be reprimanded. Therefore, be careful and try to select a righteous companion for yourself; because if he is righteous -you will develop affection for him. If he is corrupt be assured that all the fear and punishment inflicted upon you will be through his existence. That companion is nothing but your actions and deeds in this life." Hence, what remains are good deeds done for His sake, His pleasure. So this must be the purpose of every living soul to be conscious of what is right and what is wrong and choose the right path as this life or ours is too short and too hasty but the Hereafter is for ever and will never end, the path to success in the both worlds lies in the purification of soul: “He indeed will be successful who purifies himself, and magnifies the name of his Lord and pray”(87:14-15) Be praised the holy name of Our Merciful Lord Creator Who gave us faculties to comprehends and judge and also arranged for our guidance the system of Devine Guidance through His prophets(S)! Our Salaam and His blessings be upon our Leader and Maula our Prophet Mohammad and his chaste Ahlebait who sacrificed everything but saved the purity of His message for our guidance!
TAZKIYA NAFS-Purifying the Soul.
“He indeed will be successful who purifies himself, and magnifies the name of his Lord and pray”(87:14-15) “ And the soul and Him Who made it perfect. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and what is wrong for it; He will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it.”(91:7-10) The above verses from the holy Quran-the book of wisdom and light explain the fundamentals of success and failures. In simple words success lies in purification of soul for His sake and the failure is destiny of those who make their souls corrupted and forget their Lord towards Whom we have to return very soon. The Nafs of man always incline towards base and perishing objects of desire. Its thirst never quenches , the more it drinks the material drinks of sins , the more it wants to drink. The who have spent their entire lives in the search pleasure of material objects could never be satisfied, after satiation of a desire they would want more , in this way the thirst of desires never let them arouse from their eternal sleep, they could never raise themselves above the temporal pleasures and could never understand and perceive the purity of souls and the pleasures derived from His remembrance and His affinity. The corruption of soul makes us forget Our Lord and that we have to very soon return to Him and that all our deeds will be presented before our eyes and we will be made to pay the price for our misdeeds. When we forget Him and the Last day, we further more and more on the path of our desires which takes us towards the destruction of life in this world and the next. Our Imam Ali Ibn Husain says in one of his prayers about the treacherous tendencies in our souls : “My Lord , to You I complain of a soul , commanding to evil, rushing to offenses , eager to disobey You, and exposing itself to Your anger. It takes me on the roads of disasters , it makes me the easiest of perishers before You; many its pretexts, drawn out its expectations; when evil touches it, it is anxious, when good touches it grudging; inclining to sport and diversion, full of heedlessness and inattention, it hurries me to misdeeds and makes me delay repentance…..My Lord , to You I complain of a heart that is hard, turned this way and that by tempting thoughts, clothed in rust and seal, and of an eyes too indifferent to weep in fear of You and eagerly seeking that which gladdens it..” The above Dua describes the reality of human Nafs which is always like treacherous enemy ready to deceive us and make us do sin against the commands of Our Lord. The basic cause for this is the domination of material desires on ourselves. If we could control these desires and make them confined in the bounds of Halaal and Haram of our deen , we can achieve the promised success. Our Imam Amirul Momeneen (AS) presents the way to salvation and contentment of soul in the following words: “the best riches is abandonment of desires” As human desires are unlimited and this material world makes us more and more trapped into the quagmire of desires, as a result we get more and more absorbed with this world and forget the ultimate purpose this life and birth on this earth. As the thirst for material goods has no end, we always feel short of resources to satisfy our ever-increasing desires. Our Imam says that if we control our lust for this material world and we abandon our desires we can be rich, as here being rich is not about having millions of rupees but it is about of a mental state when one feels contentment and GHANI in his heart. In the same vein his saying : “contentment is the wealth that does not diminish” explains the basic of human happiness. Tazkiya Nafs is about making our soul pure and free from the filth and dirt of Haraam desires. There are various stages of Nafs : Nafs-e-Ammara :commanding soul, the sate of the soul described in the prayer above which commands man for sins and misdeeds. Nafs-e-lawwama: self-accusing soul, this state of soul makes man repent after doing any sin. This the soul which makes him uncomfortable after any sin and compels him for Tawba. Nafs-e-Zakiya : the purified soul, this soul is pure and is not polluted by sins or evils. Nafs-e-Mutma'inna :satisfied soul, this soul is last stage of evolution of soul when one is fully satisfied with His Decree and commands, this is the highest level of soul. The purpose of Mesengers (S) of Allah has been to purify corrupted souls and make the people walk again on the path of Allah after deviation. Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini in his book on “Self Building” describes the purpose of prophet hood was to cleanse the evils in man’s moral character : ““God did confer a great favor on the believers when he sent among them an apostle from among themselves rehearsing unto them the signs of God, sanctifying them and instructing them in scripture and wisdom, while before that, they had been in manifest error.” -the Holy Quran (13: 164) Therefore, it is obvious that the subject of human education and training was of such vital importance that God-Almighty sent Divine Messengers especially for this purpose thus, conferring a great favor ul1on the believers. The individual as well as collective personality, prosperity or cruelty (of this world and Hereafter) of a human being depends upon how much efforts he had already made or is still making for self-building. It is from this consideration that self-building is regarded something of such vital importance because it determines ones eventual destiny. The Divine Messengers came to teach human beings regarding the path of self-building, nourishment, and perfection of self, as well as to accompany them as their guide and helper in this vital and determinant task. They came for cleansing and sanctifying human selves from their indecent moral characteristics and animal instincts, and bestowing upon them superior spiritual virtues. The prophets lectured human beings about the self-building program, acted as helper and knowledgeable guides in identifying the ugliness in their moral conducts, and showed them the ways and means for self-control against their selfish whims and passions. By timely issuance of warning and intimidating they succeeded in sanctifying the human selves from the moral obscenities and indecencies. They came for plantation of sapling of higher moral virtues within human souls, nurtured and protected it for its eventual blooming, and in doing so acted as guides, friends, and helpers of the people by encouraging and pursuing them towards the desired sublime' objectives. The Holy Prophet (S) has said: "I emphasize the importance of good morals for you because God-Almighty has sent me especially for this purpose.” -Bihar al-Anwar vol. 69, p-375” The human self is very much liable for training and education, if we educate ourselves and raise it above the level of animal passions we can really achieve the success and accomplish the purpose for which we have been sent in this world. The Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (A) about the self said: “Self is like a precious jewel, whoever strives for his protection, he will help him attaining exalted positions, and whoever acted negligently in his protection he shall pull him towards humiliation." "Whoever knows the worth of his self will never allow himself to be indulging into passing worldly amusements and shameful deeds.” "Whoever discovers the nobility of self shall guard him against lowness of passions and false desires." "Whoever possesses the nobility of self will become free from Wants." The above traditions from Imam Ali(as) shows that human self has great potential and great capacities for progress and success, what is required is self-control through Islamic means and abandonment of low desires which take us to destruction. Ayotollah Amini quoting above traditions in his book says : “From the above quoted verses and narrations whose examples are frequent, it can be derived that human self is a valuable and precious jewel which should be carefully guarded protected and nourished.” Again there are another aspect of our self, it is heedlessness and waywardness. This path is the path of desires and lusts, too much indulgence and thus making us forget the Remembrance of His and the purpose of life. This path is path of darkness and ignorance leading to destruction in the both worlds. Imam 'Ali (A) said: "Self commands you continuously to indulge into evil deeds, therefore, whoever trusted his self -he will deceit him, whoever believed his self -he will destroy him; and whoever is satisfied with his self –he will lead him to face worst kind of disasters.” Our Lord says in His book of guidance : “And if they answer thee not, then know that what they follow is their lusts. And who goes farther astray than he who followeth his lust without guidance from God? Lo! God guideth not wondering folk.” -the Holy Quran (28:50) “Already have we urged unto Hell many of the Jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle -nay but they are worse! These are the neglectful." -the Holy Quran (7: 179) The above tradition from Imam Ali(as) and the verses of the holy Quran talk of the people who have made fulfillment of their low desires their ultimate purpose and have forgotten the real purpose of life. The too much and unending indulgence makes us so hard that we deny the very message of Our Lord and refuse to accept all the calls of reason. The Holy Quran further says that Allah has left those in utter darkness and has sealed their hearts and hearing and sight. It because they have made their desires their god and have forgotten the Real Absolute Lord Who is Their Creator: "Hast thou seen him who maketh his desire his god, and God sendeth him astray purposely and sealeth up his hearing and his heart, and setteth on his sight a covering ? Than who will lead him after God (hath condemned him) ? Will you not then heed ?" -the Holy Quran (45: 23) The Commander of the Faithful Imam' Ali (A) said: "Whoever becomes involved into world's allurements, thus giving up his gains from his immortal life in the Next World -has indeed been cheated." "What a bad trade it is that one exchanges his self for this world instead of trading it with whatever is available with God-Almighty (in the Next- World).” -Nahjul-Balagha, sermon 32. Therefore the result of all this discussion is to heed our life, its purpose and control our low desires. Any body who is able to do will get benefits in the both world: "But as far him who feared to stand before his lord and restrained his soul from lust, Lo ! The garden will be his home." -the Holy Quran (79:40-41) Imam Ali(as) says: "Self-consciousness is one of the most profitable assets of a person." This is self-consciousnesses which shows the path, it makes us realize our mistakes, it makes us confess our sins and it makes us understand His status. But this self-consciousness is not possible without purification of soul and with out avoidance of Haraam. Our Lord has given us mental faculties to choose the way, and so now it’s our responsblity to make our self choose the right path and avoid the wrong one: “Whoso doth right, it is for his soul. and whoso doth wrong, it is against it. And afterward unto your Lord ye will be brought back.” -the Holy Quran (45:15) "And whoso doth good an atom's weight will see it then, and whoso doth evil an atom's weight will see it then.” -the Holy Quran (99:7-8) "And that man hath only that for which he maketh effort and that his effort will be seen.” -the Holy Quran (53: 39-40) "And whatever of Good ye send before (you) for your souls, ye will find it with God." -the Holy Quran (2:110) “The day when wealth and sons avail not (any man). Save him who bringeth unto God a whole heart.” -the Holy Quran (26: 88-89) The Holy Prophet (S) said .to one of his companions: “Oh Qais! You will have no other choice except to live with a companion in your grave. He is alive and you will be buried with him. If he is good and honorable, will make you honorable, and if he is low and mean, you will become low and mean as well. After that on that on the Day of Resurrection you will be associated with him and will be reprimanded. Therefore, be careful and try to select a righteous companion for yourself; because if he is righteous -you will develop affection for him. If he is corrupt be assured that all the fear and punishment inflicted upon you will be through his existence. That companion is nothing but your actions and deeds in this life." Hence, what remains are good deeds done for His sake, His pleasure. So this must be the purpose of every living soul to be conscious of what is right and what is wrong and choose the right path as this life or ours is too short and too hasty but the Hereafter is for ever and will never end, the path to success in the both worlds lies in the purification of soul: “He indeed will be successful who purifies himself, and magnifies the name of his Lord and pray”(87:14-15) Be praised the holy name of Our Merciful Lord Creator Who gave us faculties to comprehends and judge and also arranged for our guidance the system of Devine Guidance through His prophets(S)! Our Salaam and His blessings be upon our Leader and Maula our Prophet Mohammad and his chaste Ahlebait who sacrificed everything but saved the purity of His message for our guidance!
Terrorism And Its Remedy
In the name of the Allah the most Merciful Beneficent
Terrorism And Its Remedy
The scourge of terrorism has engulfed the world and made almost all of us feel its impact in our daily life. Terrorism is a black, ugly, abhorring blot on the face of humanity. The origin of terrorism is as old as the man himself. When Qabil killed Hazarat Habil unjustly, the terrorism was born. The daily killings of civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan , Kashmir and recently serial bombings in Mumbai trains make us realize more and more the urgency to eliminate this menace for ever. The shocking scenes of bombed Mumbai trains where hundreds of people wounded and about 200 killed shows the merciless , ruthless , ugly face of terrorists who know no respect for human life, no distinction between innocents and guilty. The bombings of Masjids in Iraq , Pakistan reinforce the fact that these terrorists do not subscribe to any religious faiths. The daily killings of defenseless Palestinians , their homes are bombed at night when they are sleeping and they along with their women and children are made targets of powerful bombs dropped from air by Israel, their children lying in the pools of their innocent blood and their home changed into their graves—the credit of all this goes to them who are known as champions of democracy and human rights, they are behind every hidden or open face of terrorism, they are at the root of every evil form of terrorism. In the present scenario it has become like a cancer in the body of humanity. Terrorism has been defined by many in many in various ways: Ayatullah Shaykh Muhammad 'Ali Taskhiri , Director of the International Relations Department of the I.P.O., at the International Conference on Terrorism called by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Geneva, from June 22-26, 1987, defines terrorism as: “Terrorism is an act carried out to achieve an inhuman and corrupt (mufsid) objective, and involving threat to security of any kind, and violation of rights acknowledged by religion and mankind.” According to Wikipedia: “Terrorism refers to a strategy of using violence, or threat of violence to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately, to bring about compliance with specific political, religious, ideological, or personal demands. The targets of terrorist attacks typically are not the individuals who are killed, injured, or taken hostage, but rather the societies to which these individuals belong. Terrorism is a type of unconventional warfare designed to weaken or supplant existing political landscapes through capitulation or acquiescence, as opposed to subversion or direct military action.” According to RAND-MIPT(National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, USA),:” Terrorism is the use of violence or the threat of violence, calculated to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm. These acts are designed to coerce others into action that they would not otherwise take. Terrorist acts are considered crimes that may also fall under violations of the rules of war in cases where a state is involved. While the ultimate targets of terrorists are usually governments, terrorist violence is generally directed at civilians as part of an aim to produce maximum sensational publicity. Such shock is generated with the expectation that terrorist acts will yield effects beyond the immediate physical damage of the action and will have long-term psychological consequences on the target audience. The fear created by terrorists has the added effect of causing publics to exaggerate the strength of terrorists and the importance of their cause, provoke extreme government reaction, discourage dissent, or merely intimidate to the extent of forcing compliance with their demands. In contrast to perpetrators of common crimes, terrorists often claim responsibility for their actions.” Many working groups have been formed , comprising members from different countries, to examine the terrorism more closely and precisely, its pscychological, political , social and economic , religious and cultural aspects and dynamics. Interested readers may refer to “International summit On Democracy , Terrorism and Security , 8-11 March 2005, Madrid” . But understanding the nature and causes of terrorism is as difficult as coining a general system of political and social laws for the entire world. Every country tries to define the idea in its own respect with having in mind its own interests. One country may regard a group as terrorist while other may consider them to be compainers. Every act of violence cannot regarded as terrorism as we must need to distinguish between just or unjust cause of violence. Until and unless we take into consideration the motive and objective of the perpetrators of violence we can not reach any final conclusion about its being an terrorist act or not. So the best difinition of terrorism is that of Ayatullah Shaykh Muhammad 'Ali Taskhiri given above which takes into consideration the basic objective for the act of violence and regards unjust , corrupt and inhuman act of violence as terrorism. UNO On Terrorism: The CHAPTER VII “ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THREATS TO THE PEACE, BREACHES OF THE PEACE, AND ACTS OF AGGRESSION” from article 39 to 51 discusses the violent aggression and suggestions for actions. UNO through its various agencies and affiliated organizations has tried to curb and mitigate the threat of terrorism. Thirteen universal instruments have been developed and adopted at the United Nations that have criminalized specific acts of terrorism including hijacking, hostage-taking and nuclear terrorism. Together with the Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001), 1540 (2004), 1566 (2004) and 1624 (2005), those conventions provide a legal framework for multilateral actions against terrorism. The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate has received more than 630 reports from Member States on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001); identified the technical assistance needs of 90 Member States and conducted numerous field visits; and created a Directory of Assistance on standards, practices and sources of counter-terrorism assistance. UNO has tried to block the funding of the terrorist organizations. Under the Al-Qaida and Taliban sanctions regime, 34 States have frozen at least $93.4 million in assets as of January 2006 of individuals and groups whose names appear on the consolidated list of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999). The Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate have assessed the relevant financial legislation of all 191 Member States and provided recommendations for improvements. Besides many measures have been taken to denying chemical warfare, transport facility etc to terrorists to minimize their influence. Under the title “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism” the report of Sixth Committee discusses the concept of terrorism and tries to differentiate it from the armed struggle being waged for national liberation. 2005 World Summit Outcome laid emphasis on UNO’s role in combating terrorism, it stressed a need for comprehensive convention on terrorism , it called upon States to refrain from organizing, financing, encouraging, providing training for or otherwise supporting terrorist activities and to take appropriate measures to ensure that their territories are not used for such activities , besides it supported the aid for terrorism victims and it encouraged Security Council to consider ways to strengthen its monitoring and enforcement role in counter-terrorism, including by consolidating State reporting requirements, taking into account and respecting the different mandates of its counter-terrorism subsidiary bodies. A Critique of UNO Efforts on Terrorism: Despite all that said above UNO as a guarantor of global peace for all has fully failed. Bosnia, Palestine , Afghanistan , Iraq , Chechnya and now Lebanon are living examples where UNO has just remained as a mute spectator while the innocents were being mercilessly killed. In today’s world scenario the UNO has lost its relevance as guarantor of world peace rather it has just become the puppet of so called big powers. Many and many innocents Palestinians are killed daily by Israel while UN remains silent. In ongoing Lebanon war UNO called for immediate ceasefire only when its mission was targeted by rouge Israel killing four persons. State Sponsored Terrorism: The state sponsored terrorism is witnessed when a state as an instrument of its foreign policy harbors terrorism towards other states or individuals. Under such conditions the state does not show any regard or respect for any humanitarian values and laws. It goes on with its offensive irrespective of the fact that its victims are helpless, innocent people unable to save themselves against such ruthless aggression. USA and Israel both have been frontrunner in the lists of state sponsors of terrorism. USA can justly be regarded as “mother of international terrorism” as it has since long supported occupation of foreign lands by rouge regimes , it has been author of circumstances leading to oppression and subjugation of people , it has supported great oppressor dictatorial regimes to realize its narrow , sinful goals, its infamous prisons (Abu Ghraib , Guantanamo Bay etc) are the places where unimaginable inhuman crimes are done against the other human beings. Israel since its inception has been state sponsor of terrorism. Rather the origin and creation of Israel is itself based upon terrorism denying the original inhabitants of the region their rights and killing them and plundering their land and property. Israel since its illegitimate birth has wrecked worst crimes on the innocents. Israel has no respect for human rights, no respect for international conventions and humanitarian laws , no respect for any call to reason , it knows and speaks only one language and that’s the language of ruthless , barbaric violence against defenseless innocents. Israel is the biggest and ugliest state terrorist. Since 2000 it has martyred about 5000 Palestinians. In ongoing Lebanon war it has once again shown its true face-the visage of extreme disregard and indifference for any human values. So much so that UNO observer has accused Israel of violating humanitarian laws and UNO has called for immediate ceasefire after its mission was attacked by Israel. As the state of Israel has been illegitimately imposed upon the legitimate residents of the Palestine and Palestinians have been made to suffer the most inhuman crimes by this most cruel Zionist regime , the only solution to the problem is as Imam Khomeini enunciated that “Israel should be wiped of the map of the world.” Islamic View About Terrorism : Islam staunchly proscribes the killing of innocent's even during the war time. There is no place for terrorism in Islam. The holy Quran has severally criticized those who shed the innocents blood and make mischief in the earth. Islam the universal message of peace and brotherhood based upon the strong platform of Tauheed or monotheism makes respect for rights of others and avoidance of unjust bloodshed obligatory on its followers. The Glorious Quran declares : “…..whoever slays a soul , unless it be for the manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men….”(Holy Quran, 5:32) Here no distinction is made , all the souls are to be protected except those of criminals and oppressors making mischief and killing innocents. Islam attaches so much importance to human life that killing one soul unjustly is like killing the entire humanity and saving one soul is like saving all men. At another place in Glorious Quran , Allah the Just and Wise says: “And do not kill anyone whom Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause , and whoever is slain unjustly , We have indeed given his heir authority , so let him not exceed the just limits in slaying; surely he is aided.”(17:33) “And if you take your turn, then retaliate with the like of that with which you were afflicted; but if you are patient, it will certainly be best for those who are patient”(16:126) In the above verses killing a soul has been forbidden except for a just cause, retaliation has been allowed with the conditions that the limits should not be transgressed. Islam takes so much care that in retaliation too one is not permitted to exceed limits , one at best can afflict other like the he himself was afflicted as the verses says “like of that with which you were afflicted”. It is a great pity and profoundly appalling that some terrorist organizations like Al Qaida , Sipahe Sahaba etc call themselves Muslims and have been cause of blackening Islam’s name with their black deeds of terror. In Iraq, Afghanistan and at other places we see Al Qaida’s ugly dance of killing innocents. Thousands of people have been killed in Iraq and still the slaughter of innocents is going on there, behind all these crimes the criminal hands of US , Israel and Al Qaida can be traced. The holy Quran says about those who kill innocents and spread corruption in the land: “This is the recompense of those who fight against God and His Messenger, and spread corruption in the land. they shall be put to death, or crucified, or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the next awaits them a mighty chastisement” (5:33) As may be noticed, the verse mentions the subject and the purpose, namely war against society and spreading of corruption in the land. It has also mentioned the severe punishment to be dealt out to the perpetrators, which points to Islam's concern for the subject. Furthermore, we have the requirements of the Islamic ethical system which consists of concepts unknown to positive law yet are deeply-rooted in this system. Lying may, for instance, reach the degree of a major sin and so may calumny. We thus find that Islam seeks earnestly to protect all kinds of true human freedoms, and to defend the dignity of the individual and society, as well as the cohesion of society and integrity of the family, considering any attack on them to be an atrocious crime liable to the sternest punishment which may go as far as execution, crucifixion and the like. Islam upholds the principle of personal responsibility and considers any attack on innocent people as a major crime. It focuses on the defense of the weak, the humble and the oppressed and enjoins jihad for their protection: “And why should you not fight for the cause of Allah, and for the helpless old men and women.... “(4:75) The Muslim is required to always stand up for the oppressed until they get their rights. Imam 'Ali (A) gave this advice to his two sons: “Be opponents of the oppressor and defenders of the oppressed.” He(as) also said: “To me the lowly are noble until I get their rights for them, and the powerful are weak until I get such rights from them.” Solution: Islam solves the problem from its very origin. It does not let develop a society in which terrorism could take birth. It has solution for all causes of terrorism through its panacea : Tauheed. The solution of terrorism like that of all other evils lies in complete submission before Him and acceptance of Tauheed as the right worldview and way of life. The terrorism is said to be based on many causes which comprise of economics , social , political etc. The Tauheed is Islamic remedy for all ailments. The economic exploitation, social and political discrimination , racial and ethnic apartheid all such evils are addressed by Tauheed from the very grassroots level. Tauheed is conducive to universal brotherhood , equality of opportunities , growth and development with social justice , and an environment for man’s complete spiritual and material development. So Tauheed erases all the causes which can lead a community to adopt the terrorist means to achieve its objectives. It lays a strong foundation of a society which is free from all ailments and all false parameters of high and low ranks , it recognizes only one parameter and that is the parameter of TAQWA or guarding against evil. Now the question can be raised about some terrorists like Al Qaida who declare themselves as Muslim. For such people , they need to understand the true message of Islam which is peace for all, they need to think over the legacy of Prophet(saw) preached and propagated by his Ahlebait(as), they need to see at Karbala where the enemies left no means of oppression to be adopted and extent of oppression to be transgressed but still Imam Husain(as)’s steadfastness could not be affected. It gives a great lesson that the Islam does not allow atrocities on enemies even during the war.
The Great Philosophy and Effects of Hajj
The Great Philosophy and Effects of Hajj
In the name of Allah the most Merciful Beneficent
Hajj is the life and blood of the concept of Tauheed. Hajj is the most vivid manifestation of belief in Tauheed. Hajj is the open and defying negation of all false gods. Hajj is refutation of all false parameters of greatness made and maintained by ignorance and arrogance. Hajj is the most evident and effective lesson of equality and brotherhood to mankind. Hajj is the foundation stone of unity in one belief and faith in One God. Hajj destroys racism, murders casteism, eradicates regionalism, eliminates nationalism, and systematically annihilates polytheism from the minds of worshipers gathered in His house, under His watch to submit before His will. Hajj is the most complete worship-ABADAT and most comprehensive act of submission before the Lord of worlds. Hajj is hope for humanity wounded by materialism and robbed by polytheism. Hajj disciplines man, teaches him Tauheed, purifies his soul, makes him unite with other fellow believers with out arrogance, prepares him for death, ushers in him the feeling of humbleness, and most importantly makes him a true believer in Him. Imam Ali (AS) says: “Allah has made obligatory upon you…the pilgrimage (Hajj), for it consolidates the faith” It would be most appropriate to quote Imam Khomeini (RA)’s statement at this place describing the philosophy of rites performed during Hajj: “While repeating “LABBEYK” say “NO” to all idols and cry out “NO” to all the princes of the devils and the prince kins of the devils; and while circumambulating Allah’s sanctuary which denotes your love to Allah, disengage your hearts from the rest, and purge your soul from phobia other than Allah, and along with your love to Allah, divulge your hatred of the little and big idols and the devils and their affiliates, as the Exalted Allah and His friends have expressed hatred of them, and all the liberated people of the world do hate them. And while touching the “Black Stone”, pledge to Allah to turn into an enemy against the enemies of Allah, His Messengers, the liberated and pious men and never yield to them, no matter who and where they might be, and wipe away phobia and inferiority from your hearts, for Allah’s enemies and above them all, the arch Satan, are themselves helpless, though being superior in committing homicide and suppression and the implementation of crimes. While perambulating between Safa and Marva, try, with all sincerity and righteousness to acquire the Beloved, as, by acquiring Him, all the worldly woven webs shall be ruptured and all the doubts and mistrusts collapsed, all the carnal aspirations and desires expired, all the material bonds turn up and liberalities flourished and all the ties and attachments to the Devil and the despot will be detached. Proceed to Mash’arel-Haram and Arafat with state of cognition and gnosis, and at each station add on your confidence in Allah’s promises of realization of the dominion of the deprived, and silently and serenely meditate on divine signs, determine to save the deprived and the dispossessed, from the grips of the world’s arrogant and pray to Al-mighty Allah, at these noble stations, to open up deliverance for all. Then proceed to Mina and perceive the righteous wishes, i.e. scarifying your most beloved thing for the Absolute Beloved’s sake, and know that unless you abandon these beloved things, above which, stands your self-love -- and worldliness is subject to it – you cannot gain accession to the Absolute Beloved. It is at this state that you must repel the devil and make him retreat. Observing divine decrees, repeat the act of repelling the devil and the devil kins and make them all retreat.” Social Philosophy of Hajj Hajj is the symbol of unity and universality. Of all rites of Islam Hajj is the greatest in manifestation of unity and Tauheed. This is because the concept of unity, as expressed in criterion, essentially involves the ideas of universality. Just as God, the One, is eternal, ubiquitous, and the sustaining Creator of mankind, His last word and final religion must rightfully be universal. Hence, Islam –the universal religion – is for all times, all places, and for all peoples. Hajj clearly portrays this truth and the Kaaba its focal point, symbolizes the same. إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكاً وَهُدًى لِلْعَالَمِينَ فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِناً وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنْ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنْ الْعَالَمِينَ “Indeed the first house to be set up for mankind is the one at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for all nations. In it are, manifest signs [and] Abraham’s Station, and whoever enters it shall be secure. And it is the duty of mankind toward God to make pilgrimage to the House - for those who can afford the journey to it - and should anyone renege [on his obligation], God is indeed without need of the creatures. (The holy Quran 03:96-97)” The word “Bakkah” means the place of confluence and congregation of throngs and it refers to the ground upon which the Ka’bah is built. God says that in the structure there was the first house to be set up for mankind and hence is as old as man himself. It is also the last point of convergence that man will have available to rally around during his spiritual epic and sojourn on this planet. Imam J’afar al-Sadiq (AS) said: “Religion will withstand so long as the Ka’bah stands” Islam is for all places. This is graphically symbolized in the Hajj by the influx of people from all different places on the earth towards Makkah. وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَنْ لا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئاً وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِي لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ وَأَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالاً وَعَلَى كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ “When We settled for Abraham the site of the House [saying], Do not ascribe any partners to Me, and purify My House for those who go around it, and those who stand [in it for prayer], and those who bow and prostrate. And proclaim the hajj to people: they shall come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path, that they may witness advantages for them and mention the Name of Allah during stated days (The holy Quran 22:26-27)” According to scholars the word ‘advantages’ includes all virtues, both physically and spiritually, of the world and the Hereafter. The great assembly of Muslim nations in a single forum is like a sea coming into existence as a result of joining of small and big rivers. As all Muslims believe on One God and acknowledge the prophethood of Mohammad (SAWA) it gives them unanimity and unity of opinion and a single rank, all facing Kiblah and go around the center with the single aim. This unity of ideology and act gives so much power that it can remove mountains, defeat the most formidable opposition powers, foil any treacherous plot, and generate a life full of happiness, dignity and supremacy by performing heavenly injunctions and consolidating the pillars of social justice. Hajj - Foundation of unity: The problems of life can be solved by social cooperation, which is dependent on the understanding among nations. The holy Prophet (SAW) said in the farewell Hajj on the mount Arafat: “O people, surely your Lord is One, the father of all of you is one, you all come from Adam and Adam from the earth. (Surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful of his duty) Arab has no advantage over non-Arab except for piety.” Also during the same Hajj at the Mina holy Prophet (SAW) said: “Believers are brethren. Their blood has equal value. They are a single hand and power against others. The promise of each of them is like that of all, hence binding.” The most important thing to do is to understand the true teachings of religion, which unite men and bridge the gaps between hearts. Islam recognizes only one standard of greatness and that is piety. All are equal as all have been born by a single father and mother and have been created by a single creator the only parameter of distinction is piety. And Hajj is the most vivid manifestation and lesson of this equality. All dressed in similar kind of clothes, all bowing before One Lord, all in the search of one Beloved, all seeking one Destination, all acknowledging One Power and all denying all false gods. جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيَاماً لِلنَّاسِ وَالشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ وَالْهَدْيَ وَالْقَلائِدَ ذَلِكَ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ “Allah has made the Kaaba, the sacred house, a maintenance for the people, and the sacred month and the offerings and the sacrificial animals with garlands; this is that you may know that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and that Allah is the Knower of all things. (The Holy Quran, 05:97)” The Kabba or Scared House guarantees the survival of Ummah. It is a shelter for oppressed and a source of tranquility for those who are in a state of panic. The Khiblah is the direction in which animals are slaughtered, prayers offered and dead buried. All such deeds are acceptable when they are done facing Khiblah. Besides even in the remotest place from the Kabba Muslims avoid to ease nature with their face or back towards it. Allah has granted Kabba the high respect and honour as He is aware with the fact that human society needs a center full of respect and holiness for its unity and survival. Humans need a sanctuary or a forum where all people can join hands and solve their problems, and hence Allah the Al-Knowing Wise Lord has made Kabba as our center. Therefore the Kabba is the unity point of Muslims. Kabba - A Sanctuary for Peace: Our Lord further says: وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَأَمْناً ... “And when We made the House a pilgrimage for men and a (place of) security. (The Holy Quran, 02:125)” Human society is full of violations, conflicts, and different kinds of disputes. These problems arise due to different factors like ego, oppression, racism, casteism, nationalism, male chaunism, feminism etc. There are so many wars and conflicts at international level. An effort was made to resolve the issues of conflict and wars by forming UNO, but as we have witnessed that UN has failed miserably, and in fact it was destined to fail as it was founded upon inequality and oppression. UN speaks the language of might is right. VETO powers have made mockery of all democratic values, though they never tire of talking democracy. Allah Our Merciful Lord appointed Kabba as our forum where we all can assemble and feel at home with surety that no harm or oppression would be done to any creature of Allah. Kabba is security place for all human beings against the fear of oppression and injustice. Allah has made Kabba so sacred, as discussed above, that even in the remotest place of the earth Muslims show respect towards it and also so secure and a place full of justice that all differences of wealth, might, race, caste etc are made nullified by making all wear same clothes of same type, making all respect all creatures of Allah, making all follow the same course, and making all suffer or enjoy equally. So kabba is a place where the poor do not feel low before any wealthy except Allah, the weak do not bow out of fear before any might except that of Allah, all are equal here. So this is the most suitable place for resolution of all decisions concerning human society. Imam Khomeini (RA) says in his message: “No personality, tribe or government enjoys the privilege of priority in it. Desert dwellers, rustic people and the homeless are considered equal in status, to the city dwellers, the statesmen or to those secluded in Kaaba. This dignified house belongs to peoples and is appropriated for peoples’ uprisings and movements and for public benefits” and also at another place “…it is necessary to heed one of the major reasons for this tremendous congregation and look into the social and political conditions of the Islamic countries, learn about the entanglements of the coreligionists and to take efforts to help eliminate their problems, as much as one’s Islamic and moral duties require him to do. Diligence in the Muslims’ affairs is an important Islamic obligation.” Kabba - The Emblem of Islam: In traditions, holy Kaaba has been regarded as the emblem of Islam, Imam Ali (AS) says: “Allah the Glorified has made it (the Sacred House) an emblem for Islam” The Hajj pilgrimage represents the essence and spirit of Islam. Allah has made the Kaaba an emblem for Islam so that those who err in recognizing the truth of this religion and its deductive programs reflect on the Hajj rites and its spiritual effects on Muslims and find, the true nature of Islam-the religion of pure sincerity, away from polytheism and what is ungodly. Hajj reflects the essence of Islam: equality, no discrimination on the basis of colour, race, caste, wealth or might, complete devotion towards Him, self-sacrifice etc. Hajj - Solution of Poverty & Social Disobedience: Imam Ali (AS) says: “Hajj and Umrah remove poverty and cleanse sins.” Hajj brings about prosperity and piousness for Muslims making them independent and strong socially and economically. Hajj makes Muslims affairs independent of others’ assistance and create a society which is unpolluted by filth of sins. On the other hand traditions declare that forsaking of Hajj will lead to punishment and lack of respite: Imam Sadiq (AS) says: “If people quit Hajj, they will be given no respite from punishment” Imam Ali (AS) says addressing to Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Hussain (AS): “(Fear) Allah (and) keep Allah in mind in the matter of your Lord’s House; the Kabba. Do not forsake it so long as you live, because if it is abandoned, you will not be respited.” So forsaking Hajj is a cause for disasters and punishments. Spiritual Philosophy Of Hajj The external acts of Hajj symbolize the spiritual stages of the prophets and Imams. Hajj is the display of spiritual journey of the devotees and the stages of servitude. The essence of worship is journey towards Allah, and the external acts of Hajj devoid of presence of the heart, are not considered as worship. The holy Prophet (SAW) said: “The daily prayer, Hajj, circumambulation, and other rites are aimed at remembering Allah. But when there is no remembrance of Him in your heart, what value will your oral remembrance have?” The spiritual path or the spiritual enlightenment is reflected by the physical changes in the acts of the person. The effect and objective of Hajj and all forms of worship is the seeking of His pleasure and nearness. The result is increased love for Him, increased feeling of affinity with Him. Feeling love for Him is the litmus paper test of FAITH. Allah says to Holy Prophet (SAW) on the Miraaj: “Whoever tries to win My presence, I will commit him to three characteristics; I will acquaint him with an approach of gratitude that is free from ignorance, a form of (continuous) remembrance of Me that is free from oblivion, and a kind of love with which he will never prefer the love for any creature to Mine. When he loves Me, I will love him and open the eyes of his heart to My glory, making him so intimate to Me and I will confide him with supplication to Me in the hearts of nights and daylight to the degree that he will stop speaking and associating with people. I, too, will make him hear My own words and those of the angels and reveal to him the invisible facts that I hide from My creatures. I will garb him with the uniform of pudency (modesty) that all My creatures will act modestly towards him. He will walk on the earth guiltlessly, I will cause his heart to be cognizant and discerning, and he will be acquainted with all affairs of Paradise and Hell. I will reveal to him the hardships of the Day of Judgment, including the way, how I will settle accounts with the rich, poor, ignorant and scholars. I will light up his grave, ask Munkar and Nakeer - the two angels in the charge of the interrogation in graves to interrogate him, he will neither experience the agony of death nor the darkness of the grave until the Balance -of his deeds-will be deposited for him and the registry of his deeds- will be opened and the book of his deeds will be finally put into his right hand and he will read it peacefully and there will be no interpreter between Me and him. These are the characteristics of lovers of Allah.” Worship is the journey of the soul and a continued spiritual life in divine light. Since there is unity and interaction between man’s body and soul, the journey of the spirit will be naturally manifested in body, and physical acts in prayer too will influence the soul’s spiritual life. The external feature of the Hajj rites represents spiritual journey of a perfect man who has gone through different stages of servitude, detached from worldly ties and ornaments, and rescued from darkness and entered into the illuminated kingdom of Allah. Therefore, a true Hajj is evolution in soul. It is not a plaything or entertainment as some ignorant people think, for their performance is more like a game than worship. Malik ibn Anas says: One year, I accompanied Imam Sadiq (AS) in the Hajj pilgrimage. Being on the back of his horse and in the state of Ihram, the Imam (AS) was trying to utter ‘Labbayk’ but his voice struck in his throat. He therefore rode off his horse. I said: “O son of the messenger of Allah! Say ‘Labbayk’, you have to say it” He (A.S.) replied: “O son of Abi-Amir, how dare I say it? I fear that Allah will not answer me nor let me in.” The Imams’ sayings act was warning to the ignorant ones that Hajj is the journey of soul, not distance. If a man’s soul gets into the state of Ihram, reaches the House of Allah, touches the Black Stone with the hand of heart, stays on Mount Arafat with full heart, stops in al-Mash’ar al-Haram with full soul, sacrifices the sheep of carnal desires with knife of certitude and submission of (to the Lord), he has performed a true Hajj. The purpose of Hajj is purification of soul and refinement of Faith. The rites of Hajj are particularly not appealing to human mood, stay in open, bare foot walk, throwing of stones at Satan, facing sun and cold of night, and many other such rites which do not appeal so much to man, but the purpose behind all such rites is to make man humble and submit in entirety before His Lord. Imam Ali (AS) in Nahjul Balagha says: “Do you not see the Allah, the Glorified, has tried all the people among those who came before, beginning with Adam up to the last ones in this world with stones which yield neither benefit nor harm nor see nor hear. He made those stones into His sacred house, which He made a standby for the people. He placed it in the most rugged stony part of the earth and on a highland with least soil thereon, among the narrowest valleys between rough mountains, soft sandy plains, springs of scanty water, and scattered habitants, where neither camels nor horses, nor cows and sheep can prosper… If Allah the Glorified, had placed His Scared House and His great signs among plantations, streams, soft and level points, plenty of trees, and abundance of fruits, a thick population, close habitats, golden wheat, lush gardens green land, watered plains, thriving orchards, and crowded streets, the amount of recompense would have been decreased because of the lightness of the trial. If the foundation on which the House is borne and the stones with which it has been raised had been of green emerald and red rubies, and there had been brightness and effulgence, then this would have lessoned the action of doubts in the breasts, would have dismissed the effect of Satan’s activity from the hearts, and would have stopped the surging of misgivings by means of different troubles, wants them to render worship through hardships and involves them in distress, all in order to extract out vanity from their hearts, to settle down humbleness in their spirits , and to make all this an open door for His favours and an easy means for His forgiveness (for their sins).” The Hajj has deep and wonderful influence on spiritual life of Hajjis. It gives them a new life and a new direction; most of the Hajjis when return back after completing the Hajj they are full of determination. Now we must take care that once after doing determination we should not return to sins. Political Philosophy of Hajj Hajj is a grand international assembly and forum of Muslims. It has great political aspects. This is the season and right place for protest against the oppressors and arrogant of the world. This is the place where big haughty superpowers should be made to know that Muslims are no one’s servants except the Almighty Allah. In the words of Imam Khomeini (RA): “Regrettably, many Muslims, have become oblivious of the political dimension of this exalted worship, due to their own deviation, or, misunderstanding of some individuals or conspiracies by some self-seeking functionaries.” Also at another place: “The Hajj obligation which entails saying LABBEYK to Allah and departure from the ego towards the Supreme Being, by the blessed guidance of Abraham and Muhammad (SAW), in fact this is a station for negation of all idols and the tyrants of the time, and the devils and the devil breed, but which idol is graver than the archenemy, the plunderer America…” Indoctrinations and Enlightenments During Hajj: Hajj is time for indoctrinations and enlightenments of Muslims. Muslims coming from such far places must be made aware with the conspiracies and malicious designs being undertaken against Islam and Muslims by the big powers. Hajj - Focus of Strife Against Worlds’ Arrogant: At this sacred place the Tyranny must be opposed and struggle of Muslims against the arrogant super powers must be brought into focus. Imam Khomeini: “Sacrifice yourselves and your dear ones in order to enact and promote Allah’s religion and divine justice. He taught us all, that Mecca and Mina are alters of the attached devotees, and the sites for promoting monotheism and negating polytheism, as, attachment to one’s life and dear ones, is also counted polytheism.” The Disgust at the Pagans: Hajj the biggest manifestation of Tauheed must be an occasion for displaying hatred and disgust at the Pagans. Imam Khomeini: “Airing disgust at the pagans, being a pillar of monotheism and political necessity of Hajj, must be performed with as much grandeur and dignity as possible.”
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