Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Lesson 23: Ijtihad, Taqlid & Ihtiyat

1. Introduction

As mentioned in the previous lessons, a Muslim must follow the shari’a in every aspect of his or her life. If Islam is a religion which is to stay till the end of time, then there must always be some people who can guide the Muslims in the changing circumstances of time and of place.

After the Prophet of Islam, the most ideal persons to guide the Muslims were the Imams of Ahlu 1-bayt.

However, the Present Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi (a.s.) has gone into the Occulation and will re-appear when Allah wishes him to appear. So what is to be done in the meantime? Are the Shi’as to suspend the shari’a? No, of course not! Islam is the religion for all times and places.

2. Ijtihad

The Imams of Ahlu 1-bayt had foreseen the time of the Occulation and had prepared their followers for the situation in which they will not be in direct contact with their Imam.

This preparation was done by training the Shi’as in the science of Islamic laws, or in other words, in ijtihad. (Ijtihad means “the process of deriving the laws of the shari’a from its sources.”) Ijtihad is an essential phenomenon for the survival of the Islamic shari’a during the Occultation of the Imam (a.s.).

Without the system of ijtihad, we would not be able to apply Islamic laws in the rapidly changing circumstances of human society.

Ijtihad is not only permissible, but essential from the Islamic point of view. It is an obligation in Islam to study everything that is necessary for the spiritual development and material wellbeing of the Muslim community.

However, this obligation is of the category which is known as wajib kifa’i.21 In the present instance, for example, Islamic society needs experts in the medical sciences, in physics and chemistry, in engineering, education; and as long as there is a lack of expertise in these areas, it is an obligation on the community as a whole to acquire it. This means that a group of Muslims must devote themselves to research so as to benefit the Muslim community.

Similarly, an Islamic society without experts in the shari’a cannot properly consider itself Islamic, and so it is an obligation for a group of persons from this society to devote themselves to the study of the religious sciences to provide proper guidance to all Muslims.

This is such an important obligation that Allah has exempted those who go to seek religious knowledge from the duty of jihad. He says:

“It is not (right) for the believers to go forth all together (for Jihad). So why should not a party from every section of them (i.e., the believers) go forth to become learned in the religion, and to ivarn their people when they return to them-so that haply they may beware.” (9:122)

It is clear from many narrations that the Imams of Ahlu ‘1-bayt (a.s.) used to be pleased whenever any of their companions taught religion or gave legal rulings (fatwa) to others. There are several documented cases of Shi’as who lived far from Medina asking the Imam of their time to appoint someone in their area to adjudicate between them in religious problems:

Zakariyyah ibn Adam al- Qummi and Yunus bin ‘Abdu ‘r-Rahman, for example, were named by Imam ‘Ali ar-Riza, to solve disputes in their own districts.

In a famous hadlth, ‘Umar ibn Hanzalah asked Imam Ja’far as- Sadiq (a.s.) about the legality of two Shi’as seeking a verdict from an illegitimate ruler in a dispute over a debt or a legacy. The Imam’s answer was that it was absolutely forbidden to do so.

Then Ibn Hanzalah asked what the two should do, and the Imam replied:

“They must seek out one of your own who narrates our traditions, who is versed in what is permissible and what is forbidden, who is well-acquainted with our laws and ordinances, and accept him as judge and arbiter, for I appoint him as judge over you...”

Besides these ahadith, we have quite a few sayings of the Imams that tell us what to do if we come across two ahadith which are contradictory or semi-contradictory-and solving the contradictory ahadith is one of the functions of ijtihad.

These types of ahadith are known as al-akhbdr al-’ilajiyyah, the ahadith which solve the problems in the studying of the hadith.

In conclusion, we can say that one way of following the shari’a is to study the science of shari’a, learn the process of ijtihad and become a mujtahid.

3. Taqlid

Although we have mentioned ijtihad as the first of the possible ways of following the shari’a, it is not something which every person can do.

To become a mujtahid means spending the major part of your life in studying the Islamic sciences in general and the Islamic legal system in particular. A person must, first of all, study the Arabic language (especially classical Arabic) since all the sources of the sharifa are in classical Arabic.

Then he must study and gain expertise in Usulu ‘1-Fiqh (the Principles of Jurisprudence) which involves the methodology of defining and using the sources of the shari’a.

One also has to study the Qur’anic verses on laws, the hadith literature, and also the conclusions reached by the past mujtahids. In studying the hadith literature, one has to also study ‘ilmu ‘r-rijal which deals with the narrators of hadith- otherwise he will not be able to distinguish the authentic hadith from the inauthentic ones. In short, ijtihad is not everyone’s cup of tea.

The social life of human beings is based on mutual cooperation: each one of us takes the duty of fulfilling one of the needs of the society, and, in return, each one of us expects to benefit from the expertise of the others.

Just as not everyone can become his or her own doctor, in an Islamic society, not everyone can become a mujtahid. Those who are not mujtahid will follow the shari’a by doing taqlid-following the opinions of a highranking and pious mujtahid.

(A) Is Taqlid Reasonable?

First of all, taqlid is not “blind following,” it is based on an informed decision taken by the individual Shi’a man or woman. Before you start following the opinions of a mujtahid in the shari’a laws, you have to ascertain that he has the required expertise and that he is of upright character.

Secondly, it is not always unreasonable to follow others and to hold uncritical faith in them. We can logically distinguish four possible forms of imitation:

1. an ignorant person imitating another ignorant person;

2. a more learned person imitating a less learned person;

3. a less learned person imitating an ignorant person;

4. a less learned person imitating a more learned person.

It is quite clear that the first three forms of imitations are unreasonable and can serve no purpose. However, the fourth kind of imitation is obviously not only reasonable, but also necessary and a matter of common sense;

in our everyday life we follow and imitate others in many things; we like to take the advice of experts in matters outside our own knowledge.

Someone who wishes to build a house, explains the basic idea of what he wants to the builder and then submits to his advice as to how he should go about the actual construction.

The patient follows the treatment advised by the doctor; a litigant consults a lawyer when drawing up his case for a court. The examples are abundant;

in most cases the advice is taken voluntarily, but sometimes the citizen may be required by law to seek expert advice and act upon it, before, for example, he is allowed to take some particularly dangerous drug. The clearest example is obviously a case of a legal dispute between two parties, when they are required to take their grievances before a judge and abide by his decision if they cannot settle their dispute amicably.

The practice of taqlid is an example of the same kind: the person who is not an expert in Islamic jurisprudence is legally required to follow the instructions of the expert, that is, the mujtahid.

(B) Support from the Qur’an & Sunnah

This sensible practice of following the mujtahid in shari’a laws has been endorsed by Islam.

As mentioned in a verse quoted earlier, the Qur’an strongly exhorts at least a group of Muslims to devote their time and energy in studying religion.

This obligation is of such importance that Allah has exempted such persons from the duty of jihad. More interesting is the reason and purpose of their knowledge: “...to warn their people...” (9:122) This verse divides the people into two groups: those who are learned in religious sciences and those who are not.

It is the duty of the learned to “warn” (a broad term which implies advice and guidance) the common people, and it is expected of the common people to “beware” (take heed of the learned persons’ advice and follow).

In shari’a matters, this process of guiding the common people is technically known as “ijtihad,” and the process of following the guidance by the common people is technically known as “taqlid”.

The Imams of Ahlu ‘1-bayt (a.s.) have endorsed this system in theory as well as in practice:

In Theory: In a famous hadith quoted earlier, ‘Umar ibn Hanzalah asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) about the legality of two Shi’as seeking a judgment from an illegitimate ruler or a judge appointed by such a ruler in a dispute over a debt or inheritance.

The Imam’s answer was that it was absolutely forbidden to do so; and then he read the following verse:“...(Yet in a dispute) they desire to summon one another to the judgment of the tdghut though they were commanded to reject and disbelieve in him.” (4:60)

Then ‘Umar ibn Hanzalah asked, “What should the two (Shi’as) do then?” The Imam replied, “They must seek out one of your own who narrates our traditions, who is versed in what is permissible and what is forbidden, who is well-acquainted with our laws and ordinances, and accept him as judge and arbiter for I appoint him as judge over you. If the ruling which he based on our laws is rejected, then this rejection will be tantamount to ignoring the order of Allah and rejecting us, and rejecting us is the same as rejecting Allah, and this is the same as polytheism.”

In another hadith, Abi Khadijah relates that Imam Ja’far as- Sadiq (a.s.) sent him to his companions with the following message: “If a dispute or a difference occurs among you about a property then take care not to seek judgment from those illegitimate [judges]; instead, you must seek a person who knows what is permissible and what, is forbidden by us, for I appoint him as a judge over you. And take care that you do not seek judgment against one another with an unjust ruler.”

The least that these two narrations prove is that Shi’as are not allowed to refer to unauthorized jurists for solutions to their problems instead they are advised to seek the guidance of those who are well-versed in the teachings of the Ahlu 1-bayt. In these ahadith, the practice of seeking the advice of experts in shari’a laws is taken for granted.

In Practice: There are several documented cases of Shi’as who asked the Imams of their time to appoint someone to adjudicate between them in religious problems. Such questions were raised by those who lived far from Medina or those who could not gain access to their Imam in Medina itself.

4.1htiyat

If a person is not a mujtahid and does not even want to do taqlid of any mujtahid, then according to the laws of shari’a he must do ihtiydt.

Doing ihtiydt means taking precaution. In the context of our present discussion, it means that one must adopt a line of precautionary action by which he or she can be sure of fulfilling the requirements of God’s commandment.

In practical terms, ihtiydt means that a person, in each and every problem, will have to study the views of mujtahids on that issue and act on the most precautionary of all views.

For example, if one mujtahid says that “it is disliked to smoke” and another says that “it is haram to smoke,” then one has to follow the second view. Or if one mujtahid says that “you must shave your head during the first pilgrimage to Mecca” while another says “you have a choice between shaving or just cutting a little of your hair,” then one has to follow the first view. This has to be done in each and every issue.

* * *

In short, during the Occultation (ghaybat) of the Present Imam (a.s.), there are three ways of following the sharī‘a: ijtihād, taqlīd and ihtiyāt.

This lesson is based on An Introduction to the Sharī‘a by Sayyid M. Rizvi

Question Paper on Lesson 23

Question 1: [15 points]

True or False:

(a) Ijtihād enables us to apply Islamic laws in the rapidly changing circumstances of human society.

(b) A Muslim society cannot be truly Islamic unless it also has mujtahids in its midst.

(c) Taqlīd of a mujtahid by a non-Mujtahid is unreasonable and illogical.

(d) Ihtiyāt is the easiest way of following the sharī‘a.

(e) A person can follow the sharī‘a by doing ijtihād, taqlīd or ihtiyāt.

Question 2: [20 points]

Explain what you understood from the hadith of ‘Umar ibn Hanzalah mentioned in this lesson.

Question 3: [15 points]

How would you defend the practice of taqlīd in the present time?

Lesson 24: More About The Shari‘a

The purpose of human life in this world is to successfully go through the trials and tribulations in order to achieve salvation in the hereafter. In the hereafter, life will have no end. God did not leave us without any means of guidance.

He sent prophets, messengers and books to guide mankind towards the right path. The last prophet and messenger was the Prophet of Islam, and the final revelation was the Qur’an.

Islam is the ultimate means of guidance for mankind through the tests and trials of this world. The Prophet was sent “to convey the revelation; to purify spiritually and to teach the Qur’an and wisdom.”

Islam seeks to guide its followers by the legal system known as “shari’a”. No aspect of our life is outside the jurisdiction of the shari’a: legal and moral, personal and social, economic and politics, all issues are directly or indirectly covered by the shari’a.

In this lesson you will learn more about the Islamic laws from different perspectives.

1. The Roots & Branches of Religion

To differentiate between the matters of belief and the laws of shari’a, the Shi’a scholars have coined two interesting terms: The matter of beliefs (monotheism justice of God, prophethood, imamat and resurrection) are described as “the Roots of Religion - Usul ad-Din” because they form the foundation of our faith. The Shi’a scholars have also coined the term “the Branches of Religion - Furu’ ad-Din” for the shari’a laws.

These terminologies actually reflect the connection between “belief and “practice”. If the roots are strong, they will generate healthy branches, green leaves, colourful flowers and delicious fruits; but if the roots are weak, the tree will be considered useless.

Similarly, if a Muslim’s beliefs are strong, then it should show in the practical life of that person. A non-practicing Muslim betrays the weakness in his religious roots which are in need of further nurturing through intellectual stimulation and spiritual guidance.

The items normally listed as “the Branches of Religion” are as follows:

1. Prayers (salat).

2. Fasting in Ramadhan (sawm).

3. Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

4. Tax on Wealth (zakdt).

5. Tax on Money (khums).

6. Spiritual as well as Physical Struggle for sake of Allah (jihad).

7. Promoting good in the family and society (amr bil ma’ruf).

8. Preventing evil in the family and society (nahi ‘anil munkar).

9. Loving and following the Prophet & his family (tawalla).

10. Disassociating from the enemies of the Prophet & his family (tabarra). These ten teachings reflect the main framework of the Islamic shari’a; otherwise, the entire corpus of Islamic shari’a falls under the term ‘branches of religion’.

2. The Classification of Shari’a Laws

All the issues covered by the shari’a are traditionally classified into four main groups. The classification was put in the final form by one of the great Shi’a mujtahids of the 7th Islamic century, al- Muhaqqiq al-Hilli (d. 676 AH).

His famous work of jurisprudence, Sharaya’u ‘l-Islam, is still one of the main reference books for the scholars of Islamic laws. Al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli classified the laws into the following groups:

1. ‘Ibadat - the Acts of Worship like prayers, fasting, hajj, etc.

2. ‘Uqud - Mutual Contracts like business transaction, partnership, trusts, power of attorney issues, and marriage.

3. lyqa’at - Unilateral Instigations like divorce, confessions in legal matters, vows, etc.

4. Ahkam - Miscellaneous: anything which does not fit in the three groups above like rules of eating and drinking, agriculture, arbitration, testimony, etc.

Here I would like to present a modern classification of shari’a issues done by the late Sayyid Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr. Ayatullah as-Sadr of Najaf was a rising star among the new generation of mujtahids; unfortunately the Shi’a world was deprived of his knowledge and leadership when he was tortured and killed by Saddam’s regime in 1981.

Sadr also divides the shari’a laws into four groups but his classification makes the issues more clear for the modern man unused to classical texts.

1. ‘Ibadat - the Acts of Worship like prayers, fasting and hajj. 2. Financial Laws:

(a) On Social Level: issues like Islamic taxes of various kinds.

(b) On Individual Level:

i. the laws pertaining to the means of possessions.

ii. the laws pertaining to the utilization of one’s possessions.

3. Personal Laws: issues like marriage and divorce, eating and drinking, vows and oaths, hunting and slaughtering, bidding good and forbidding evil, etc.

4. Social Laws: issues like the political system, judiciary, penal code, jihad, etc.

3. The Five Types of Decrees

All Islamic injunctions fall within the five main categories of laws: wajib, mustahab, ja’iz, makruh, and haram. There are other sub-divisions within these five decrees.

1. Wajib: means obligatory, necessary, incumbent. An act which must be performed. One will be punished for neglecting a wajib act, e.g., the daily prayers.

Ihtiyat wajib: Sometimes you might see the term “ihtiyat wajib” in the decrees of the mujtahids. It means “precautionarily obligatory and its significance is the same as that of the wajib with one difference: wherever the mujtahid says that “it is precautionarily obligatory,” you have the option of leaving his opinion in that particular problem and following the opinion of the second best mujtahid provided the second mujtahid has a different opinion.

Wajib is also divided into two: ‘ayni and kifa’i:

Wajib ‘ayni means an obligation which is imposed on individual Muslims, e.g., the daily prayers. No one can do this duty for someone else.

Whereas wajib kifa’i means an obligation which is imposed on the Muslim community as a whole; and if it is fulfilled by one or more individuals, then the rest of the community is no longer required to do that.

For example, a dead Muslim must be buried in the proper Islamic way. This is a duty imposed on the Muslim community collectively; if some people do that, then others are not responsible; but if no one does that, then the entire community is answerable to God.

2. Mustahab, also known as sunnat, means recommended, desirable, better. It refers to the acts which are recommended but not wajib. If one neglects them, he will not be punished; however, if one performs them, he will be rewarded.

3. Ja’iz means permitted, allowed, lawful. An act which is permitted and lawful; there is no reward for performing it nor any punishment for neglecting it, e.g., drinking tea.

Halal & Mubah: There are other words which reflect the same meaning as ja’iz but with a different connotation: “Halal” also means permissible acts or things, but it is used mostly for permissible things rather than actions.

For example, the term “halal meat” is used for the meat whose consumption is permissible in Islam. Similarly, “mubah” means permissible, but it is exclusively used for things which are lawfully yours or under your control as opposed to “ghasbi- usurped”.

4. Makruh means reprehensible, disliked, discouraged. An act which is disliked by Islam but not haram. If one does a makruh act, he will not be punished; however, if he refrains from it, then he will be rewarded.

5. Haram means forbidden, prohibited. An act from which one must abstain. If someone performs a haram act, he will be punished either by the Islamic court or in the hereafter or both.

* * *

This lesson has been written by Sayyid M. Rizvi.

Some parts have been adopted from his An Introduction to the Islamic Sharī‘a.

Question Paper on Lesson 24

Question 1: [20 points]

Fill in the blanks by writing appropriate terms of the shari`ah:

(a) Salāt is a wājib _________ act.

(b) Drinking alcohol is a ________ act.

(c) _____________ means a recommended act in Islam.

(d) A usurped property is known as _________ .

(e) Drinking tea is _________ .

(f) ___________ means something that is lawfully yours.

(g) Sunnat act is also known as ______________ .

(h) Permissible acts and things are known as ____________ .

(i) A duty imposed upon the entire community is known as ________________________ .

(j) ___________________ means precautionarily obligatory.

Question 2: [10 points]

True or False:

(a) Shari`ah only deals with spiritual training.

(b) The book “Sharāya’u ’l-Islām” was written by al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli.

(c) ‘Uqūd means the acts of worship.

(d) Furū‘ ad-Dīn means the Roots of Religion.

(e) Ayatullah S. M. Bāqir as-Sadr lived in Najaf, Iraq.

Question 3: [20 points]

Explain in your own words the relationship between “beliefs” and “laws”.

Lesson 25: Islam’s Spirtual Program (1)

1. Introduction

Islam is concerned about the physical wellbeing of its followers as well as the spiritual wellbeing.

Spiritual training is an essential part of our life. While describing the mission of the Prophet of Islam, Allah says: “He is the one who has raised among the ignorant [Arabs] a messenger from among themselves who[1.] recites to them His revelations, [2.] purifies them, and [3.] teaches them the Book and wisdom.” (62:2) The second purpose for sending the Prophet is “spiritual purification”.

Spiritual purification or training is very strongly linked to the purpose of our creation.

2. Purpose of Creation

Allah is the Creator of human beings and the entire universe. In His capacity as the Creator, only He has the right to define the purpose of creation. He says in the Qur’an:

“...He is the one who has created death and life so that He may test you to see who among you does good deeds.” (67:2) “And I have not created the jinn and the humans except so that they may serve Me.” (51:56)

When you study these two verses (and many others on this subject), you will realize that according to Allah the purpose of life is: to successfully go through the trials and tribulations in this world in order to achieve salvation in the hereafter.

Unlike this worldly life, the life in the hereafter will have no end. The trials and tribulations can also be expressed as follows: to enter into the servitude of Allah by our own will and choice.

In order to understand the concept of trial and tribulation, it is important to understand the human being:

A human being is a very delicate creature. He has a physical aspect as well as a spiritual dimension. Our whole being revolves around two main powers: the soul and the emotions. 1. The soul (ruh) or the spirit is the king of our being.

The untainted intellect and the pure conscience are various aspects of our spiritual dimension. 2. The emotions and other physical faculties are also integral parts of our being. These emotions and faculties can be broadly classified under ‘anger’ and ‘passion’.

Our entire adult life is an arena of struggle between the soul and the emotions. And herein lies the trial and tribulation of mankind. A Muslim is expected to use the soul to control the emotions.

Islam does not promote the complete suppression of emotions and desires; it only wants the Muslims to use their reason to restrain their desires by fulfilling them within the dictates of the Divine laws.

Imam ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) has beautifully described this concept as follows:

Allah has blessed the angels with the power of reasoning but has deprived them of any desires; and He has blessed the animals with natural desires but has deprived them of the power of reasoning; and He has blessed the human beings with both the power of reasoning and also the desires.

Therefore, one who restrains his desires by the power of reasoning, he is superior to the angels (who do not have to deal with any desires and emotions).

But one who lets his desires control his reason, he is inferior to the animals (who have not been blessed with the power of reasoning).

In conclusion, we can say that the purpose of creation is to live in such a way that our soul, reason and conscience control and restrain our emotions and desires. If we can live such a life, then we have succeeded in the trials and tribulations of this world, and hope for the salvation in the hereafter.

3. Program for Spiritual Training

Islam seeks to train a person in such a way that he can be a balanced human being in the spiritual sense of the world. A morally healthy person is he who can use his reason to restrain his emotions.

Allah did not only send prophets, messengers, divine books and Imams to guide us spiritually, He has also placed certain rituals in the Islamic laws which serve as spiritual programs for Muslims. There are two main programs for spiritual training: 1. An intensive program on an annual basis. 2. A regular program on a daily basis.

(A) THE ANNUAL SPIRITUAL TRAINING

Fasting during the month of Ramadhan22 is the annual spiritual program for strengthening the soul and keeping the desires/emotions within the dictates of Divine laws. Allah has described the purpose of fasting as follows:

O You who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it had been prescribed for the nations before you - so that you may become God-fearing. (2:183)

God-fearing means taqwa. Taqwa, normally translated as “fearing God”, means the mind-set in which a person fears God’s displeasure because of the love that he has for God. In other words, taqwa is a frame of mind which prevents the person from committing sins that cause God’s displeasure with him.

How does fasting in Ramadhan help in acquiring such a mindset of taqwa? Fasting is a ritual which begins at dawn and ends at sunset; and during that entire time, a Muslim is expected to refrain from ten things as follows:

1. Food. 2. Drink. 3. Inhaling smoke or dust. 4. Vomiting intentionally. 5. Submerging the head into a body of water. 6. Liquid enema.

7. Sexual intercourse. 8. Masturbation. 9. Staying till dawn in the state of impurity caused by sexual discharge.

10. To ascribe a statement wrongfully to God or His divine representatives.

The above list includes the two strongest desires of a human being: food and sex. By abstaining from them during the daytime for the whole month of Ramadhan, a Muslim is trained to strengthen his willpower and control his desires. By the end of Ramadhan, a Muslim is expected to be a spiritually stronger person than what he was before Ramadhan.

A Muslim who goes through this annual spiritual training is expected to maintain the domination of his soul over his desires and emotions.

However, this is not always easy for everyone. The spiritual power is not a static commodity; it has the potential of increasing and decreasing. The more you protect it, the more it will protect you; but if you neglect it, soon the desires will gain control of your life.

Generally, people go through a cycle of spiritual strength and weakness. As the distance in time increases between the Muslim and the month of Ramadhan, the soul starts to lose its strength in the face of material temptations.

That is why Allah has legislated the fasting on an annual basis so that we may get the opportunity to re-energize our soul and spirit at least once every year.

One way of maintaining the domination of soul over desires is by fasting after the month of Ramadhan on the days which are highly recommended in our shari’a. These days are:

• first and last Thursdays of every lunar month;

• first Wednesday after the 10th of every lunar month;

• 13th, 14th and 15th of each lunar month;

• the entire month of Rajab and Sha’ban;

• 4th to 9th of Shawwal; 25th and 29th of Dhul Qa’dah;

• 1st to 9th of Dhul Hijja; 18th of Dhul Hijja; 24th of Dhul Hijja;

• 1st, 3rd and 7th of Muharram;

• 17th of Rabi al-Awwal; 15th of Jamadi al-Ula; 27th of Rajab.

Fasting on these days (especially the first three in the list) will surely help in maintaining the strength of the spiritual power and will go a long way in keeping the desires under control.

In short, the ritual of fasting is actually a spiritual training to strengthen the soul and control the desires - the very nature of the trial and tribulation faced by us in this life.

This lesson has been written by Sayyid M. Rizvi.

Question Paper on Lesson 25

Question 1: [20 points]

True or False:

(a) The created beings can define the purpose of their own creation.

(b) God created us to serve Him by submitting ourselves to His laws voluntarily.

(c) Islam expects its followers to completely suppress their desires.

(d) Ramadhān is the first month of the Muslim calendar.

(e) Spiritual purification was part of the mission of the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.).

(f) Fasting was prescribed by God for dieting.

(g) A spiritually balanced person is superior than the angels.

(h) Imam ‘Ali said that one who lets his desires control his reason is equal to the animals.

(i) Fasting helps us in strengthening our willpower and controlling our desires.

(j) Taqwa is a reflection of man's love for God.

Question 2: [15 points]

Explain the concept of trial and tribulation that we face in this life.

Question 3: [15 points]

How does fasting help one in going through the trials of this life?

Lesson 26: Islam’s Spirtual Program (2)

(B) THE DAILY SPIRITUAL TRAINING

Islam has also provided its followers with a program for spiritual training on a daily basis. This program is known as salat. Salat is not a “prayer” in the sense of talking to God whenever, wherever and however you like.

Salat is an act of worship which must be done in a prescribed manner. Whenever we use the words “ritual prayer” it refers to salat and not to “prayer” in the sense explained above.

In appearance, salat is just an act of worship; but with further insight into the philosophy of salat, you will realize that it is also a program which trains the Muslims to spiritually strengthen themselves and to become the masters of their own lives rather than be slaves of their desires.

It is this aspect of salat which has made it the pillar of Islam. The Prophet says: “The salat is the pillar of religion.”

While describing the effect which salat should have on the lives of Muslims, Allah says: “Establish the salat; surely the salat prevents [the doer] from the indecencies and the forbidden facts].

And surely the remembrance of Allah is great.” (29:45) This verse clearly says that a true salat would help the doer in staying away from sins. It is in the light of this verse that the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.) said, “The first deed to be checked [on the Day of Judgment] will be the salat: if it is accepted, then other deeds will also be accepted; but if it is rejected, then other deeds will also be rejected.”

What the Prophet meant was that the salat plays a pivotal role in the life of a Muslim: if his salat was a true salat and had affected his behaviour then there is a great chance that his other deeds will also be good; but if his salat was just a ritual without any impact on his life, then there is a lesser chance that his other deeds would be good.

The five daily prayers, provided done with understanding, will not just be rituals but a program for spiritual upliftment of the Muslim. The salat will constantly remind him to keep the purpose of life in focus and work towards it.

That is why the Prophet once asked his companions, “If there is a stream outside your house and you wash yourself in it five time every day, then would any dirt remain on your body?” When the answer was negative, the Prophet said, “Indeed the example of salat is like that flowing stream - whenever one performs a salat, the sins between the two prayers are washed away.”23

In this lesson, we will look at just three aspects of salat which can help us in spiritual training.

(i) Wuzu: Reminder of Spiritual Purity

Every Muslim is required to do ritual ablution (wuzu) before salat. Even this simple ablution is a way of reminding us about spiritual purification. When we study the two verses of the Qur’an about ablutions, we see that there are two planes of purification: physical and spiritual.

Although wuzu and ghusl (the major ablution) are related to physical purification, there is a more sublime reason underlying these two ablutions - they serve as a reminder to and gateway of spiritual purification.

In the chapter al-Baqarah, after talking about one of the major ablutions, the Qur’an says:

“Surely Allah loves those who oftenly turn to Him, and He also loves those who cleanse themselves.” (2:222) In another verse, after talking about wuzu, the Qur’an says:

“Allah does not desire to make any impediment for you; but He desires to cleanse you, & that He may complete His blessings upon you;

haply you may be grateful” (5:6)

We find two different themes in these verses: First: Allah loves those who cleanse themselves, and that He desires to cleanse us. Second: He wants to complete His blessings upon us, and that He loves those who oftenly turn towards Him. The first theme is related to the physical cleanliness, while the second theme is related to the spiritual purity.

The words of the first theme are very clear; they refer to cleanliness. But what do the words of the second theme mean? What is the meaning of “oftenly turning to Allah?” Turning to Allah implies that the person had turned away from Allah. What does this mean? These are the questions which I will discuss below.

In the Islamic value system, the human soul is like a light bulb. If the bulb is protected from dust and dirt, it will enlighten the area around it; but if dust and dirt is allowed to accumulate on the bulb, then it will not be able to illuminate the area as much as before.

Similarly, the human soul has to be protected from spiritual ‘dirt’ and uncleanliness, otherwise it will not be able to guide the person as rightly as before.

After swearing by the most majestic signs of His creation, Allah says in chapter 91, verses 1-10 that the pure human soul has the ability to understand what is right and what is wrong provided it is purified and uncorrupted.

He makes it clear that the soul, just like the body, is capable of becoming spiritually impure and unclean. Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) has said, “The human soul is a precious jewel; whoever protects it, enhances its (effectiveness), and whosoever degrades it, decreases its (effectiveness).”

The impurities that can corrupt a human soul are collectively known as “sins”. Accumulation of sins can indeed render the human soul spiritually ineffective and, in Qur’anic expression, ‘seize the heart’.

Allah says, “Whatever (sins) they have committed has seized their heart.” (83:14) By committing sins, not only is the soul of a Muslim seized but he also spiritually turns away from Allah. Sins create a distance between God and man.

Can a person rescue his soul from the seizing of the sins? Can a sinner spiritually get closer to God? Yes, indeed, a sinful person can spiritually return to Allah. Returning to Allah means repenting and asking forgiveness for your sins. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) has explained this phenomenon as follows: “Each believer has a bright soul.

When he commits a sin, a dark dot appears on his bright soul. If he repents, the dark dot will disappear. But if he persists in his sins, the darkness will increase until it covers the entire soul-then the person would never return towards goodness.”24

Just as our bodies can become impure by the physical things, our souls can become impure by sins. To rid our bodies of the physical dirt, we use water; similarly, to rid our souls of the spiritual impurities, we use tawbah (repentance). In short, the human soul is corruptible; it is corrupted by sins; the corrupted soul can be purified by tawbah.

After talking about ritual ablutions which are done by water, Allah says that “He loves those who do tawbah”. By this He is drawing our attention to the spiritual purification. So with this insight into the Qur’anic verses, whenever a Muslim does the ritual ablution, he also remembers the spiritual purification which is even more important than the physical purification.

(ii) Salat Helps in Spiritual Training

The five daily prayers have different” numbers of cycles known as rak’ah. Each rak’ah consists of the act of standing while reciting two short chapters from the Qur’an, the act of bowing and two prostrations.

The fajr (dawn) prayer consists of 2 cycles.

The zu.hr (noon) prayer consists of 4 cycles.

The ‘asr (afternoon) prayer consists of 4 cycles.

The maghrib (evening) prayer consists of 3 cycles.

The ‘isha (night) prayer consists of 4 cycles. -

One wonders why Islam prescribed a different number of cycles for these prayers? Why could not they be the same for all ritual prayers?

Many people have attempted to explain it in different ways, but I have also looked at this question and came to the conclusion that there is no particular reason for this variety in the number of cycles. It seems that this difference in the number of cycles was introduced by Islam in order to create a sense of discipline among the Muslims and to create the spirit of absolute obedience to the Divine laws.

A Muslim is someone who voluntarily submits himself to Allah. This is not always easy keeping in mind the trials and tribulations which we are going through. Praying on a daily basis and following the number of cycles prescribed by the shari’a without questioning its merit is a way of instilling in us the spirit of obedience to the laws of Islam.

You must pray in the prescribed manner even if you do not understand the merit of some of its rules; you should pray with the thought in your mind that this is how Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, wants you to pray.

This will indeed help you in harnessing the power of desires and emotions within yourself, and help you in getting closer to the purpose of life - to totally submit ourselves to the will of Allah.

(iii) Sajdah: Daily Reminder of the Purpose of Life

Sajdah is the last part in each cycle of salat; it is the part where you prostrate in such a way that your forehead, both palms, both knees and the big toes of both feet are touching the ground. Sajdah is to be done twice in each cycle: one should go into the first sajdah, then sit upright for a moment, and then go into the second sajdah.

Imam ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) was once asked why we have two sajdahs in each cycle of salat. The reply that the Imam gave shows that sajdah (like many other parts of the ritual prayer) has a symbolic meaning also.

He said, “While you are in the first sajdah, you are saying [to God] ‘From it [the earth] You have created me.’

While getting up from the first sajdah, you are saying ‘From it You have taken me out.’

When you go into the second sajdah, you are saying To it You will return me.’

While getting up from the second sajdah, you are saying, ‘From it You will take me out again.”’

In this hadith, the holy Imam has actually applied the following verse to the sajdah: “From it We have created you, and to it We shall return you, and from it We shall take you out again.” (20:55) If you study this hadith carefully, you will realize that:

1. You have been created from the earth. Remembering your origin will not allow you to be arrogant and proud on the basis of race or wealth.

2. Getting up from the first sajdah is like our birth, going down into the second sajdah is like death and getting up from the second sajdah is like resurrection. This symbolic meaning will never let us forget the day of judgment and the life hereafter.

3. It also shows that this worldly life is symbolically nothing more than a few moments that you sit between the two sajdahs. This insight into the philosophy of sajdah will surely transform your salat from a mere ritual to a practical reminder about your origin, the transient nature of this world and your ultimate destination in the hereafter.

* * *

What you have read above are just three examples from the rules related to salāt which help the Muslims in focusing on the purpose of life and strengthening themselves spiritually. We thank Allah, subhanahu wa ta`ala, for providing such means of spiritual training in the daily rituals of an Islamic life.

This lesson has been written by Sayyid M. Rizvi.

Some sections have been summarized from his The Ritual & Spiritual Purity.

Question Paper on Lesson 26

Question 1: [20 points]

Fill in the blanks:

(a) Salāt is a __________ spiritual program.

(b) The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: “Salāt is the _________ of religion.”

(c) Muslims are required to say ________ ritual prayers in a day.

(d) Physical dirt can be cleansed by water; spiritual sins can be washed away by ___________ .

(e) The dawn prayer is known as __________ .

(f) The human heart can be ‘seized’ spiritually by _________ .

(g) There are ______ cycles in maghrib prayer.

(h) All cycles of the daily salāt have _____ sajdahs.

(i) In the light of Imam ‘Ali's saying, the sajdah is a symbolic reflection of verse ___:___ of the Qur'an.

(j) According to the Qur'an, the salāt prevents the doer from the ______________ and the ____________ acts.

Question 2: [15 points]

Expain how the salāt promotes the spirit of obedience in a Muslim.

Question 3: [15 points]

How does sajdah help us in focusing on the purpose of life?

The Ahlul Bayt are the natural continuity of the Mission of their grandfather

When we say ‘the Ahlul Bayt’, we mean the twelve Imams of the immaculate progeny of the Prophet (S) whom we have studied in full in the previous books. The Shia and the Sunni have agreed that the Messenger of Allah (S) said:

The Imams after me are twelve; all of them are from (the tribe of) Quraysh.

The tradition mentioned in the Sahih of al-Bukhari reads:

This matter (caliphate) shall remain in Quraysh even if (only) two people remain alive.1

We know necessarily that Allah the Almighty has chosen Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of Imran and preferred them - a progeny of one from the other - to the rest of mankind. The Prophet Muhammad (S) has taught and declared to us that Allah the Almighty chose him from among all the Hashimites, who were the choicest of choices. In the Sahih of Muslim - the book of ‘Virtues’, chapter of ‘The preferring of our Prophet to all Creation’ - it is mentioned that the Prophet (S) has said:

Allah has chosen Kinanah from the children of Ishmael, the Quraysh from Kinanah, the Hashimites from Quraysh and me (the Prophet) from the Hashimites.

The meaning of this tradition, as understood by every reasonable person, is that the Hashimites were a family that had been chosen and preferred among all mankind. Allah chose Muhammad (S) from the Hashimites to be the best of all mankind. This shows that the Hashimites came second after the Prophet Muhammad (S) in preference with no separation.

Likewise the Prophet Muhammad (S) chose Ali and his progeny from all of the Hashimites2 to be his successors by the command of the Revelation, and made it obligatory on all Muslims to pray to Allah to send His blessings on them. We have found that the most tafsirs (commentaries) mention their names and confirm that it is they who are referred to in the Qur’anic verses of ‘Purification 33:33’; ‘Love, mawaddah 42:23’; ‘Guardianship, wilayah 5:55’; ‘Choosing and bequeathing of the Book 35:32’; ‘The people of remembrance 16:43’; ‘Who are firmly rooted in knowledge 3:7’ and the Sura of al-Insan (or ‘hal ata’) 76.3

As for the Prophet’s traditions that have been agreed upon as true traditions by all Muslims and in which the Prophet (S) has referred to the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) with preference and virtues saying that they were the Imams of guidance, are too many. So, here we mention just two of them.

The first tradition was mentioned by Muslim in his Sahih, the book of Virtues, chapter of The Virtues of Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Prophet (S) said:

O people, I am but a human being. The messenger of my Lord (Death) is about to come and I shall respond. I am leaving among you two weighty things - the first of them is the Book of Allah in which there is guidance and light. So follow the Book of Allah and keep to it. The second is my Household. I remind you to obey Allah by being dutiful to my progeny, I remind you to obey Allah through my progeny, I remind you to obey Allah through my progeny.

The second tradition was mentioned by Muslim in the same book narrated by Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas from his father, that the Messenger of Allah (S) had said to Ali:

You are to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there shall be no prophet after me.4

For brevity, these two traditions are enough to prove that Imam Ali (a.s.) was the chief of the Prophet’s progeny and was the natural continuity to the Prophet Muhammad (S).

Did the Messenger of Allah (S) not say:

I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate?

Surely, this saying alone is enough to show that the whole of nation cannot enter this city of Muhammad’s knowledge except when entering through the gate of Ali (a.s.), because Allah the Almighty has ordered His people to enter houses through their doors.

Here, we must point out that Imam Ali (a.s.) had acquired his knowledge from the Prophet (S) who had brought him up since childhood. He accompanied the Prophet (S) all through his life. The Prophet (S) taught Imam Ali (a.s.) the knowledge of the past and the future where he said:

Gabriel did not pour anything into my chest except that which I poured it into the chest of Ali.

Imam Ali (a.s.) said about that:

If the rug was folded to me (to sit on),5 I would judge among the people of the Torah according to their Torah, among the people of the Gospel according to their Gospel and the people of the Qur'an according to their Qur'an.

He often said:

Ask me before you shall miss me.

All the companions and all Muslims throughout history witness that Imam Ali (a.s.) was the most knowledgeable of all people in the affairs of religion and the world, and that he was the most pious, most abstinent, most patient with calamities, the bravest in wars and the most forgiving.

For better understanding, we have to read what Imam Ali (a.s.) said about the relation between the Prophet (S) and his progeny. He said:

They are the place of his secret, the recourse in his affairs, the sack of his knowledge, the resort for his wisdom, the den of his books, and the mountains of his religion. By them he has made erect the bending of his back and driven away his fear.6

He said:

By Allah, I have been taught the knowledge about missions, carrying out of promises, and all words and there are doors of wisdom and light of all affairs with us the Ahlul Bayt …7

He said:

…where are those who claim that they are deep-rooted in knowledge other than us - claiming falsely and oppressively against us. Allah has exalted us and lowered them, given us and deprived them, included us and excluded them. Guidance is looked forward to through us and thereby blindness is recovered…the Imams from Quraysh have been sowed in this set of Hashim so that imamate does not fit other than them and chiefs from other than them shall not be fit.8

He said:

…surely the example of the progeny of Muhammad, may Allah have blessing and peace on them, are like the stars of the sky - when one star sets, another star shines. As if the virtues from Allah have been perfected in you (the Ahlul Bayt) and He has given you what you hoped for.9

He said:

…no one from this nation can be compared to the progeny of Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him and his progeny and no one on whom their favor has been bestowed can be equaled to them at all. They are the foundation of religion and the pillar of certainty. The oppressed resort to them and followers join them. The specialties of the right of guardianship are for them and among them is custodianship and inheritance…10

He said:

…and surely I am on the clear way that I picked up, picking it from between the ways of deviation and confusion. Observe the progeny of your prophet, cling to their way and follow trace of their footsteps for they will not take you away from guidance, nor will they take you back to be perished. If they keep silent, you have to keep silent and if they rise, you have to rise. Do not precede them lest you go astray and do not lag behind them lest you perish…11

He said:

They are the life of knowledge and death of ignorance. Their discernment informs you of their knowledge and their silence tells of the wisdom of their logic. They do not contradict the truth, nor do they disagree on it. They are the pillars of Islam and the associates of those who resort to them. Through them, the truth has come back to its rightful place and falsehood has been kept away from its position and its tongue has been severed from its root. They have understood the religion with reason and care, not with the understanding of hearing and narration because the narrators of knowledge are too many, but its caretakers are few.12

These passages quoted from Nahjul Balaghah and said by Imam Ali (a.s.) give us a real picture about the firm relation between the Prophet (S) and his progeny and make them the only continuity of his mission, and that they are the only ones who can inform of what he has announced for all mankind throughout ages and for all nations and cultures.

Imam Ali (a.s.) was not satisfied with showing of the high rank of the immaculate progeny and their position to Muslims only. He showed that he himself was the axis of the quern and chief of the immaculate progeny. He showed his role - that which he had been entrusted with by Allah and His messenger to manage people and not to let them go astray. He said:

…whereto do you go and how are you diverted while the banners are being raised, signs are clear and the light stands are set up? So to where do you go astray, or how are you blind when amongst you there are the progeny of your Prophet (S) who are the reins of truth, leaders of the religion, and the tongue of truthfulness? So observe them in the best positions of the Qur'an, and hasten to them as the hastening of extremely thirsty ones (to the drinking fountain).

O people take it from the Messenger of Allah (S), may Allah have blessing and peace on him and his progeny, he said that: ‘One of us dies, but he is not dead, and one of us is decomposing, but he is not decomposed.’ So, do not speak of what you do not know because most of the truth is in what you deny and excuse the one against whom you have no argument, and that person is me.

Did I not act among you according to the Major weighty thing (the Qur'an) and I left among you (after me) the Minor weighty thing (the Ahlul Bayt - at that time Imam al-Hasan and al-Husayn)? I fixed among you the banner of faith, showed you clearly the limits of the lawful and the unlawful, dressed you with soundness of my justice and spread to you the favor of my saying and doing. I showed to you the noblest of morals from myself. Therefore, do not use (your own) opinion in that whose insides cannot be perceived by the sight, nor can be penetrated by thinking.13

If you, dear reader, ponder on the saying of Imam Ali (a.s.), you shall find in it the interpretation of the tradition of Thaqalayn (the two weighty things) that has been narrated by the Sunni from the Messenger of Allah (S) who said:

I have left among you the two weighty things - the Book of Allah and my progeny. If you keep to them, you shall never go astray after me at all.

Imam Ali (a.s.) also said:

Did I not act among you according to the Major weighty thing (the Qur'an) and I left among you the Minor weighty thing (the Ahlul Bayt)?

This saying of Imam Ali (a.s.) is a clear proof that Imam Ali (a.s.) managed people according to the rulings of the Holy Qur'an, whose reality no one could understand except him. Also he left among them the Minor Weighty things, who were the infallible Imams from his progeny so that each one of them would carry out the same role that the Prophet (S) carried out in his nation.

If we ponder on the saying of the Prophet (S): “I am leaving among you the two weighty things” and the saying of Imam Ali (a.s.): “did I not act among you according to the Major weighty thing” - we understand that the role of the immaculate progeny is to explain and declare the Book of Allah to the nation lest they disagreed after the death of the Prophet (S).

What confirms this fact is this saying of the Prophet (S):

In every generation of my nation there are just men from my progeny who protect this religion from distortion of deviants, fabrication of liars, and misinterpretation of the ignorant. Surely, your Imams are your delegation to Allah, so be careful to whom you delegate.14

He also said:

Stars are security for the people of the earth from drowning and the people of my house are security for my nation from disagreement. If a tribe from the Arabs disagree with them (the Ahlul Bayt), they shall disagree among themselves and become the party of Iblis.15

He also said:

Surely, the example of my progeny among you is like the Ark of Noah; whoever rode on it would be rescued and whoever lagged behind it would drown.16

Through this brief study, the guidance becomes clearly distinguished from error to us, and we can say that the Twelver Shia is the true sect, because it is the only sect that has kept to the two weighty things, boarded the Ship of Rescue and clung to the Rope of Allah. The Shia neither precede the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) nor do they turn away from them, but they follow and imitate them. Therefore, they are guided by their guidance and they follow their path.

Imam Ali (a.s.) has said: “Here is the Qur'an that you can ask to speak out, and it shall not speak out but what I tell you about. It has the knowledge of what shall come; it speaks about the past, the healing of your ailments, and the managing of you.17

Keep to the Book of Allah, for it is a firm rope, clear light, advantageous cure, satiating drink, a resort for those who seek and a rescue for those who cling. It never bends to be set right, nor does it errs to be blamed. The much reciting and listening to it do not make it old. Whoever speaks with it is truthful, and whoever acts according to it wins.18

Prophet (S) left to you what other prophets had left for their nations so that they did not leave them to go astray without showing clear way or a raised banner.

The Book of your Lord is among you showing His lawful and unlawful things, obligations and favors, abrogating and abrogated things, permissions and necessities, special and general rulings, lessons and examples, absolutes and finites, clear and ambiguous things, interpreting its statements and explaining its obscurities.

There are some verses in Quran whose knowledge is obligatory and others whose ignorance by people is not forgivable. And there is that which is fixed as obligatory in the book, but its abrogation is known in the Prophet’s Sunna, or there are those which appear obligatory in the Sunna, but in the Book it is permitted to be given up.

And, there are other verses which were obligatory in its time but not so in future (with passing of its time). There are verses of His different prohibitions for major sins - for which He has threatened of His Fires, or minor - for which He has promised forgiveness, and there are those verses which are accepted in small portion (in reciting of the Qur'an) and permitted for leaving its big portion.”19

Notes

1. Sahih of al-Bukhari - Book of Rulings (Ahkam), Chapter of ‘The Emirs from Quraysh’; Sahih of Muslim - Book of Emirate, Chapter of ‘People are Followers of Quraysh and the Caliphate is in Quraysh’.

2. The Prophet (a.s.) meant a specific group of people from the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). The Qur’anic verses and prophet’s traditions on different occasions confirm this fact. Otherwise could the Prophet (a.s.) mean some people whom the nation did not know or could not be led to? Could the nation get to these people who were not known - whether in names, description, or place? The Hashimites were too many and they had spread everywhere in the land so that no country or town was empty of them.

So, those whom the Prophet (a.s.) meant were the nine imams after Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn (peace be on them) - they were the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) only on the basis of traditional and intellectual proofs. He declared them as the second weighty (important) thing beside the Qur’an, so that the nation would not miss a match to him in any age, and that the nation would not miss a guide with whom if they adhered, they would not go astray…

3. We have mentioned in brief some Qur’anic verses which the Sunni scholars acknowledge that they were revealed concerning the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), whereas ibn Abbas said that one third of the Qur'an had been revealed to talk about their virtues.

4. It has also been mentioned in al-Bukhari’s Sahih, the book of Maghazi (battles), the Battle of Tabuk.

5. If I was allowed to judge among people…

6. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 2.

7. Ibid, sermon 11.

8. Ibid, sermon 142.

9. Ibid, sermon 99.

10. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 2.

11. Ibid, sermon 96.

12. Ibid, sermon 236.

13. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 86.

14. As-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah by ibn Hajar ash-Shafi’iy, p. 90, 148.

15. Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 3 p. 149.

16. Ibid, vol. 3 p. 151, as-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah by ibn Hajar, p. 184.

17. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 156.

18. Ibid, sermon 154.

19. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 1.

Keeping to religion in the past and the present

It is well known that Islam, with which the Prophet Muhammad (S) had been sent by Allah, is the last of religions in the matter of Divine Legislation. Allah the Almighty says:

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah (S) and the Last of the prophets… Qur'an, 33:40

Since Muhammad (S) is the last of the prophets and messengers and his Book is the last of the Books revealed by Allah, so there shall be no Divine Book after the Holy Qur'an. Islam is the basic religion to which all the divine religions have been fused. Allah says:

He it is Who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the true religion so that He may make it prevail over all the religions; and Allah is enough for a witness. Qur'an, 48:28

After the advent of Muhammad (S) as prophet, it has become obligatory on all human beings to turn from the previous religions whether Judaism, Christianity, or any other religion and embrace Islam to worship Allah the Almighty according to the Sharia of Muhammad (S), because Allah will not accept any religion other than Islam since then. Allah says:

And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter, he shall be one of the losers. Qur'an, 3:85

We understand from this that the Jews and the Christians however much they claim that their laws and legislations are true and that they follow the Prophet Moses (S) or the Prophet Jesus Christ (S), the reality requires that they must follow the Prophet Muhammad (S) since the moment Allah sent him as a messenger. A Christian has no right to say that he wants to remain on his religion, nor does a Jew.

The fact is that Muhammad (S) was sent as a prophet to all mankind and as a mercy to all people with their different races and beliefs. This does not mean that we condemn the previous divine religions, but Allah the Almighty knew that His people had distorted His laws. They made lawful what was unlawful and unlawful what was lawful for the sake of their own desires. Therefore, they went astray and made those who came after them go astray.

So the advent of Muhammad (S) the last of the prophets was a mercy to all mankind in order to allow them to restore themselves again and go back to the truth so that they would win the Paradise. However, most of people detest the truth. Desires, fancies and fanaticisms play with them and devils occupy them so that they become excessive in their deviation.

Allah says in this concern:

Those who disbelieved from among the followers of the Book and the polytheists could not have separated (from the faithful) until there had come to them the clear evidence; a messenger from Allah, reciting pure pages, wherein are all the right ordinances. And those who were given the Book did not become divided except after clear evidence had come to them. Quran 98:1-4

It is also not sufficient that a Jew or a Christian says, ‘I believe in Muhammad, but I will remain on my religion’, as I myself have heard from some Arab Christians. We say to such people that Allah does not accept from them except when they actually follow him. Allah says in this concern:

Those who follow the Messenger-Prophet, who can neither read nor write, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel (who) enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them; so (as for) those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful. Quran 7:157

This invitation from Allah the Almighty was not limited to the Jews and the Christians, all of whom represented “the People of the Book”, but it included all human beings with no exception.

Allah the Almighty says:

Say: O people! surely I am the Messenger of Allah (S) to you all, of Him Whose is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, there is no god but He; He brings to life and causes to die; therefore believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet, who can neither read nor write, who believes in Allah and His words, and you follow him so that you may walk in the right way. Quran 7:158

The Holy Qur'an is too clear in stating the obligation of following the Prophet (S) and not just believing in his prophethood. This is the wisdom of Allah in sending the messengers. We have never heard in all the history of humankind that Allah has sent a messenger to say to people: remain on your religion which you have inherited from the messenger that had come before me.1

All of the prophets have called for belief in all the messengers of Allah, so that no one might harm their prophethood or be excessive about their real position and give them the position of a deity.

Allah the Almighty says:

The messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord and (so do) the believers; they all believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers; We make no difference between any of His messengers; and they say: We hear and obey, our Lord! Thy forgiveness (do we crave), and to Thee is the eventual course. Qur'an, 2:285

If we know that Islam is the last religion that Allah the Almighty has endowed His faithful people with, so its laws and rulings are valid for every time and every place, because there is no prophet to come after Prophet Muhammad (S) and no divine book to come after the Holy Qur'an according to this saying of Allah:

This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion. Qur'an, 5:3

However, some Muslims, if not most of them, do not abide by the laws and rulings of Islam. They claim that these are difficult to carry out and that most (ordinary) people are unable to carry them out.

Some others, who are learned people, say that it is necessary to develop the rulings according to the requirements of the modern life. They see ijtihad2 to be necessary in everything and claim that ijtihad is one of the virtues of Islam and one of its prides. These learned people may influence the minds of many young students, especially as they pretend that they love Islam too much and are too careful to apply its rulings.

These people justify the underdevelopment and deterioration of Muslims as they have not developed their religion from where it had been established fifteen centuries ago at a time where there was no means of transport except for mules and donkeys.

These people say that as for today we live in the age of rockets - whose speed exceeds the speed of sound, telephone, fax, and computer - through which man can contact with any place in the world within a few seconds. So we cannot remain looking at the Qur'an with that superficial sight where we judge against a thief by cutting his hand or a criminal by cutting his head by the sword…they often say so and have odd philosophies in this regard.

Once, I was talking with a university professor about this. In my talk with him, I said that the Messenger of Allah (S) has said:

There is no magnanimous young man except (like) Ali, and no sword except Dhul Faqar.”

He laughed at me and said, “O doctor, do not say like this again. It was valid at the time of the Prophet (S) when the sword had a role in winning the battles and it was the only weapon which the heroes had pride for in their poems. Now we are in the age of the machine guns that shoots seventy bullets in a second and the jet fighter that can destroy an entire city in few minutes. In fact, we are in the age of the atomic and nuclear bombs that can destroy a continent in some moments. Are you ignorant of all this and are you still talking about the sword and the courage of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib?”

I said, “This does not refute that or contradict it, and every occasion has its own context. Do you not see that when Allah talked about weapons, He included in one word all means of destruction when He said in brief:

And prepare against them what force you can and horses tied at the frontier. Qur'an, 8:60

Thus, the Qur'an connected what military means the people at the time of the Prophet (S) had to win battles with what the people of this time have. So, this statement of Qur’an -

‘And prepare against them what force you can.’,

can be understood by everyone according to the language of their time. The source and meaning of “force” is the same to the all, and this is like the saying of Allah:

…and We have made the iron, wherein is great violence and advantages to men… Qur'an, 57:25

Therefore, all weapons, whether the simple ones like the sword or spears or the developed ones like tanks, machine guns, and bombs are defined as means of “violence”. Similarly, all means of ease and comfort such as cars, airplanes, ships, televisions, and others are defined as “advantages to people”. Glory be to Allah Who has created iron and made it of use for people and taught them what they did not know.

Thus, the Holy Qur'an is in the hands of all kinds of people that every generation can understand it by the language of its age. And as for your saying “we cannot look at the Qur'an with a superficial view - that we judge against a thief by cutting his hand or a criminal by cutting his head by the sword”, if you try to replace the laws of Allah with manmade laws whose makers claim that they are more beneficent and merciful to people than their Creator is to them, then this can never be acceptable. It is undoubtedly clear disbelief.

And, if by “development” you mean the development of the means of execution against a criminal or the means of cutting a thief’s hand, this can be discussed, because these are minor things that the Islamic Legislation did not concentrate on. Rather it concentrated on abiding to laws by carrying out the sentences determined by Allah the Almighty concerning “retribution”. Allah says:

O you who believe! retaliation is prescribed for you…And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves against evil. Qur'an, 2:178-179

As for cutting the hand of a thief by a sword, a cleaver, or a modern tool, the legal ruler (judge) or the religious authority can give his opinion in the matter (by deriving it through the legal proofs).

What is important dear Sir, is that we do not replace the laws of Allah by the so-called positive laws that were agreed to by the European systems that have abrogated the death sentence against criminals however extreme their crimes were.

Allah says:

And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding… Qur'an, 2:178-179

The meaning of the saying of Allah here is that if we abrogate the laws of Allah and abolish the law of retaliation, our life shall be without safety and security and the criminals shall corrupt everything. Then, life shall become like hell with no goodness or peace.

This university professor debated saying, “Evil is not to be treated with evil. Statistics has proven that some of those who were sentenced to death for the accusation of a crime were innocent.”

I said, “With my respect to you professor, but by your saying “evil is not to be treated with evil” you have made yourself more aware than Allah the Creator of everything and this is not your right. And as for your saying that some of those, who were sentenced to death, were innocent, this is another matter. To your knowledge, I say that Islam does not punish just for suspicion or accusation, but after evidence, witnesses and confession.”

The debate came to no use, because each one of us clung to what we believed to be right.3

It would be better thus to end this section with what Imam Ali (a.s.) has said about the Prophet Muhammad (S) and about Islam. He said:

He (Allah) has sent him with the shining light, the clear proof, the right method, and the guiding Book. His family is the best of families and his tree is the best of trees; its branches are straight with its fruits hanging loose. His birth was in Mecca and his immigration was in the Good City where his mention was high and his call reached too far. He has sent him with a sufficient argument, curative breach and preventive invitation (that prevented every corruption of the pre-Islamic age).

He (Allah) has declared through him - the Prophet (S) - the unknown laws, suppressed through him the irrelevant heresies and explained through him the decisive judgments. So whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, his misery becomes certain, his firm hold is broken, his fall becomes great and his end comes to eternal sadness and severe torment…4

This is exactly as what has been declared by the Holy Qur'an:

And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers. Qur'an, 3:85

I think that after this explanation, no argument or excuse shall remain for those who flatter their Jewish and Christian friends and say to them: We and you are on the truth as long as we all believe in one God Who has sent Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad and if we are different as to the prophets, we have agreed on the One Who has sent them to us.

Allah says:

Say: Do you dispute with us about Allah, and He is our Lord and your Lord, and we shall have our deeds and you shall have your deed and we are sincere to Him. Nay! do you say that Abraham and Ishmael and Jacob and the Tribes were Jews or Christians? Say: Are you better knowing or Allah? And who is more unjust than he who conceals a testimony that he has from Allah? And Allah is not at all heedless of what you do. Qur'an, 2:139-140

Notes

1. Therefore, the Jews turned out to be racists by not accepting any as leader except those whose blood was Jewish. Thus, they gathered together their dispersed lot claiming that they were “the chosen people of Allah” and any other than them were not human. This was on the basis of Torah that was lost and ruined after the Babylonian Captivity at the hands of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar who occupied Jerusalem in the year 586 BC.

The Jews, who were not killed, remained captives in Babylon until the year 457 BC when they could go back to Palestine by the assistance of Cyrus the great king of Persia. After their returned to Palestine, a man called Ezra collected and reformed the books of the Old Testaments, which is the Torah of today.

From this, we know that between the loss of the Torah and its recollection, there were more than 125 years. During this period, most of the memorizers of the Torah had been killed or died in prison where they were forbidden to practice any religious activity. Therefore, the Torah had to have human interventions. So it is now full of fables, contradictions, untruths, distorted events and unrealities…etc.

The same thing happened to Christianity; the four Bibles were not written down at the time of Jesus Christ (a.s.). The oldest one, which is “The Gospel of Mark”, was written down forty years later in Rome. Therefore, it was subject to distortion like the Torah at the time of Augustine who mixed between idolatry and the statements of the Bible.

The idolatry on which the idolaters of India, China, and old Egypt agreed on such as, the belief in Trinity and the ascribing of vices to the prophets (a.s.) and even to Jesus Christ (a.s.) influenced this. Moreover, they annulled the main purpose of all religions, which is to guide the human beings, when they claimed that Jesus Christ (a.s.) had redeemed the criminals and sinners, so there was no necessity for any guidance after him or to send other prophets.

For more details, refer to “The School Journey” and “The Guidance to the Religion of al-Mustafa” by Sheikh Muhammad Jawad al-Balaghi.

2. Using of one’s (usually a mujtahid) effort to form a judgment on questions concerning the Sharia and religious affairs.

3. The likes of this professor are those who have westernized and live with the complex of the yielding before the masses of iron and bricks amassed even if by stealing and assassinating other people or even entire humankind.

The Nazis, for example, since they felt that they had some arms, adopted the slogan of “the Aryan race”. Under this banner of racism, they destroyed civilizations and killed tens and millions of people in two destructive wars within time frame of no more than a quarter of a century. And the allies were not better than them. They invaded the different nations as colonists and tore those nations into pieces in order to be able to rule them and control their treasures and resources. In this way, they built their false civilization on bloods, sweat, and efforts of the suppressed peoples.

In the same way as the Nazi model, the American tyranny succeeded in blackmailing different countries and adopting the illegitimate child “Israel”. It secretly and openly brought up and assisted it by all means until it became a pit of the worst criminals and blood-suckers in the world.

Whereas, Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) had come to enliven the humanity inside a man following the true Mohammedan Islam and saying, “A strong man is weak before me until I take the right from him, and the weak is strong to me until I take back the right for him.” He liberated man when he fought against the enemies of humanity. He said to Malik al-Ashtar when appointing him as the governor over Egypt, “…and do not be as predatory beast over them…for people are of two kinds; either your brother in religion or your equal in creation.” He also said, “Do not be a slave to another while Allah has created you free.”

So man whatever he is - black, poor, or weak - all walk under the banner of Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) that carries the high values of liberation and human rights. On the other hand some people become mean and weak before technology which is possessed by the traders of wars and the suckers of peoples’ bloods.

4. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 159.

Is Islam difficult so that people cannot comply with it?

This is a false claim that has no basis in truth at all. Anyone who says so is ignorant and knows nothing about Islam. Or, he is biased intending to alienate people from their religion to give up its laws and rulings. Or, he is an excessive puritan who has no regard except for the opinions of the puritan clergymen who forbid people to worship Allah in any way other than their own way and make themselves the guardians of Allah’s religion. Therefore, they regard things lawful or unlawful according to their own reasons or the only traditions that have reached them.

The first thing that comes to mind in this concern is this saying of the Messenger of Allah (S):

Make it (the affairs of religion) easy and do not make it difficult! Bring good tidings and do not constrict (make people alienated) against yourselves, lest Allah constrict against you as He had done to the Children of Israel.

The Prophet (S) often said before his companions:

Allah has not sent me as a constrainer or obstinate, but He has sent me as a facilitating teacher.

It is well known that the Prophet (S) was not made to choose between two things, except that he chose the easier one.

The Prophet (S) was not a legislator as some people think incorrectly when they read this verse of Qur’an:

…and whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, abstain (from it). Qur'an, 59:7

The commanding and forbidding of the Prophet (S) does not come from him. He only conveys what was revealed to him by his Lord. He did not do anything except what Allah ordered him to do with not a bit more and not a bit less. Therefore, all the commands and prohibitions are from Allah the Almighty, though they are not recorded in the Holy Qur'an.

Allah says about the Prophet (S):

Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed. Qur'an, 53:3-4

Since it is so, let us come to the Qur'an to see if Islam is so difficult that people cannot comply with it - in order to see whether this claim is true or false, so that we can be on a clear proof as to our affairs.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

He has chosen you and has not laid upon you a hardship in religion. Qur'an, 22:78

Allah does not want to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may be grateful. Qur'an, 5:6

Allah wants ease for you and He does not want for you difficulty… Qur'an, 2:185

This concerns the Muslim nation that has embraced Islam and abides by its laws and rules in matters of worship and behaviors. Of course, the mercy of Allah has also included all His people with their different religions. Allah has been merciful to all of them imposing no any hardship on anyone.

Allah says:

Of a small seed; He created him, then He made him according to a measure. Then (as for) the way, He has made it easy (for him). Qur'an, 80:19-20

So, the way of Allah that man follows to return to his Lord is an easy way with no difficulties or hardships. Allah the Almighty has repeated this meaning five times in the Qur'an. He says:

Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability. Qur'an, 2:286

We do not impose on any soul a duty except to the extent of its ability. Qur'an, 6:152

And (as for) those who believe and do good We do not impose on any soul a duty except to the extent of its ability. Qur'an, 7:42

And We do not lay on any soul a burden except to the extent of its ability, and with Us is a book which speaks the truth and they shall not be dealt with unjustly. Qur'an, 23:62

From all this, we understand that Allah the Almighty has not imposed anything on any man except that which is within his capacity since the time of our father Adam (a.s.). If there has been any difficulty or hardship in any one of the divine religions, it would be a result of those who interpreted the purpose of religion according to their personal opinions, or that there might be some people torturing themselves hard because of their many sins, looking forward to the forgiveness of Allah or in order to be nearer to Him. Therefore, they invented some things that were not from the religion and bound themselves to them, but they failed in bearing them.1

Allah the Almighty says:

…and monasticism they innovated - We did not prescribe it to them - only to seek Allah's pleasure, but they did not observe it with its due observance… Qur'an, 57:27

On this basis, we interpret this tradition of the Messenger of Allah (S):

Do not be strict (in religious affairs) to yourselves, lest Allah be strict to you as He was to the children of Israel.

And in the same way, we interpret this Qur’anic Verse concerning the Prophet Muhammad (S):

…he enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them. Qur'an, 7:157

The burden and shackles, which were on them - were made and imposed by them, and they themselves had bound themselves.

We conclude from this analysis that Islam is a religion that has no difficulty, hardship, overburden or shackles. It is a religion of ease, mercy, and leniency where the weaknesses of man in all his psychological and bodily aspects are fully cared for. Allah says:

Allah wants that He should make light your burdens and man is created weak. Qur'an, 4:28

…this is alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. Qur'an, 2:178

We shall see inshallah, in the coming chapters that Islam, as known by the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), is the religion that is without the opinions of opinion mongers, the excessiveness of the excessive, or the falsehood of fabricators. Then, we shall know that the Muslims of the present age can abide to the Sharia without any difficulty or hardship.

Notes

1. Monasticism comes true in two ways: First is a serious monasticism that runs by itself in order not to be touched by any harm and be saved by itself (Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr, The Historical Traditions in the Holy Qur'an, p. 103) And this is from the view that “Stopping on the hill is more safe”. Consequently, the way is cleared before different claims and excuses that a ruler gives or the fabricated traditions that assist his creed and rule.

Second is a false monasticism where one pretends he is from the ulema to warn people against the injustice of a tyrant. And soon the falseness of these untrue claims and pretenses is uncovered for example, the justification that “it is not permissible to disobey the ruler or turn away from congregation”, as they did to Imam Husayn (a.s.) when he offered himself and family to save the true religion and in the same way to the Alawid and Talibid revolutions that followed him.

Similar to that in our present time is the falseness of the monks of churches who serve the rulers and noblemen. They become a cause for ordinary people to disbelieve and turn away from religion where it is hardly tried to separate it from politics. And we still see many rulers and their mercenary (clergymen) preachers encourage the state of ignorance and underdevelopment among Muslims with their fatwas. These keep the Muslims away from modernity and from meeting and uniting with other Muslims.

The Ahlul Bayt are the natural continuity of the Mission of their grandfather

When we say ‘the Ahlul Bayt’, we mean the twelve Imams of the immaculate progeny of the Prophet (S) whom we have studied in full in the previous books. The Shia and the Sunni have agreed that the Messenger of Allah (S) said:

The Imams after me are twelve; all of them are from (the tribe of) Quraysh.

The tradition mentioned in the Sahih of al-Bukhari reads:

This matter (caliphate) shall remain in Quraysh even if (only) two people remain alive.1

We know necessarily that Allah the Almighty has chosen Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of Imran and preferred them - a progeny of one from the other - to the rest of mankind. The Prophet Muhammad (S) has taught and declared to us that Allah the Almighty chose him from among all the Hashimites, who were the choicest of choices. In the Sahih of Muslim - the book of ‘Virtues’, chapter of ‘The preferring of our Prophet to all Creation’ - it is mentioned that the Prophet (S) has said:

Allah has chosen Kinanah from the children of Ishmael, the Quraysh from Kinanah, the Hashimites from Quraysh and me (the Prophet) from the Hashimites.

The meaning of this tradition, as understood by every reasonable person, is that the Hashimites were a family that had been chosen and preferred among all mankind. Allah chose Muhammad (S) from the Hashimites to be the best of all mankind. This shows that the Hashimites came second after the Prophet Muhammad (S) in preference with no separation.

Likewise the Prophet Muhammad (S) chose Ali and his progeny from all of the Hashimites2 to be his successors by the command of the Revelation, and made it obligatory on all Muslims to pray to Allah to send His blessings on them. We have found that the most tafsirs (commentaries) mention their names and confirm that it is they who are referred to in the Qur’anic verses of ‘Purification 33:33’; ‘Love, mawaddah 42:23’; ‘Guardianship, wilayah 5:55’; ‘Choosing and bequeathing of the Book 35:32’; ‘The people of remembrance 16:43’; ‘Who are firmly rooted in knowledge 3:7’ and the Sura of al-Insan (or ‘hal ata’) 76.3

As for the Prophet’s traditions that have been agreed upon as true traditions by all Muslims and in which the Prophet (S) has referred to the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) with preference and virtues saying that they were the Imams of guidance, are too many. So, here we mention just two of them.

The first tradition was mentioned by Muslim in his Sahih, the book of Virtues, chapter of The Virtues of Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Prophet (S) said:

O people, I am but a human being. The messenger of my Lord (Death) is about to come and I shall respond. I am leaving among you two weighty things - the first of them is the Book of Allah in which there is guidance and light. So follow the Book of Allah and keep to it. The second is my Household. I remind you to obey Allah by being dutiful to my progeny, I remind you to obey Allah through my progeny, I remind you to obey Allah through my progeny.

The second tradition was mentioned by Muslim in the same book narrated by Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas from his father, that the Messenger of Allah (S) had said to Ali:

You are to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there shall be no prophet after me.4

For brevity, these two traditions are enough to prove that Imam Ali (a.s.) was the chief of the Prophet’s progeny and was the natural continuity to the Prophet Muhammad (S).

Did the Messenger of Allah (S) not say:

I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate?

Surely, this saying alone is enough to show that the whole of nation cannot enter this city of Muhammad’s knowledge except when entering through the gate of Ali (a.s.), because Allah the Almighty has ordered His people to enter houses through their doors.

Here, we must point out that Imam Ali (a.s.) had acquired his knowledge from the Prophet (S) who had brought him up since childhood. He accompanied the Prophet (S) all through his life. The Prophet (S) taught Imam Ali (a.s.) the knowledge of the past and the future where he said:

Gabriel did not pour anything into my chest except that which I poured it into the chest of Ali.

Imam Ali (a.s.) said about that:

If the rug was folded to me (to sit on),5 I would judge among the people of the Torah according to their Torah, among the people of the Gospel according to their Gospel and the people of the Qur'an according to their Qur'an.

He often said:

Ask me before you shall miss me.

All the companions and all Muslims throughout history witness that Imam Ali (a.s.) was the most knowledgeable of all people in the affairs of religion and the world, and that he was the most pious, most abstinent, most patient with calamities, the bravest in wars and the most forgiving.

For better understanding, we have to read what Imam Ali (a.s.) said about the relation between the Prophet (S) and his progeny. He said:

They are the place of his secret, the recourse in his affairs, the sack of his knowledge, the resort for his wisdom, the den of his books, and the mountains of his religion. By them he has made erect the bending of his back and driven away his fear.6

He said:

By Allah, I have been taught the knowledge about missions, carrying out of promises, and all words and there are doors of wisdom and light of all affairs with us the Ahlul Bayt …7

He said:

…where are those who claim that they are deep-rooted in knowledge other than us - claiming falsely and oppressively against us. Allah has exalted us and lowered them, given us and deprived them, included us and excluded them. Guidance is looked forward to through us and thereby blindness is recovered…the Imams from Quraysh have been sowed in this set of Hashim so that imamate does not fit other than them and chiefs from other than them shall not be fit.8

He said:

…surely the example of the progeny of Muhammad, may Allah have blessing and peace on them, are like the stars of the sky - when one star sets, another star shines. As if the virtues from Allah have been perfected in you (the Ahlul Bayt) and He has given you what you hoped for.9

He said:

…no one from this nation can be compared to the progeny of Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him and his progeny and no one on whom their favor has been bestowed can be equaled to them at all. They are the foundation of religion and the pillar of certainty. The oppressed resort to them and followers join them. The specialties of the right of guardianship are for them and among them is custodianship and inheritance…10

He said:

…and surely I am on the clear way that I picked up, picking it from between the ways of deviation and confusion. Observe the progeny of your prophet, cling to their way and follow trace of their footsteps for they will not take you away from guidance, nor will they take you back to be perished. If they keep silent, you have to keep silent and if they rise, you have to rise. Do not precede them lest you go astray and do not lag behind them lest you perish…11

He said:

They are the life of knowledge and death of ignorance. Their discernment informs you of their knowledge and their silence tells of the wisdom of their logic. They do not contradict the truth, nor do they disagree on it. They are the pillars of Islam and the associates of those who resort to them. Through them, the truth has come back to its rightful place and falsehood has been kept away from its position and its tongue has been severed from its root. They have understood the religion with reason and care, not with the understanding of hearing and narration because the narrators of knowledge are too many, but its caretakers are few.12

These passages quoted from Nahjul Balaghah and said by Imam Ali (a.s.) give us a real picture about the firm relation between the Prophet (S) and his progeny and make them the only continuity of his mission, and that they are the only ones who can inform of what he has announced for all mankind throughout ages and for all nations and cultures.

Imam Ali (a.s.) was not satisfied with showing of the high rank of the immaculate progeny and their position to Muslims only. He showed that he himself was the axis of the quern and chief of the immaculate progeny. He showed his role - that which he had been entrusted with by Allah and His messenger to manage people and not to let them go astray. He said:

…whereto do you go and how are you diverted while the banners are being raised, signs are clear and the light stands are set up? So to where do you go astray, or how are you blind when amongst you there are the progeny of your Prophet (S) who are the reins of truth, leaders of the religion, and the tongue of truthfulness? So observe them in the best positions of the Qur'an, and hasten to them as the hastening of extremely thirsty ones (to the drinking fountain).

O people take it from the Messenger of Allah (S), may Allah have blessing and peace on him and his progeny, he said that: ‘One of us dies, but he is not dead, and one of us is decomposing, but he is not decomposed.’ So, do not speak of what you do not know because most of the truth is in what you deny and excuse the one against whom you have no argument, and that person is me.

Did I not act among you according to the Major weighty thing (the Qur'an) and I left among you (after me) the Minor weighty thing (the Ahlul Bayt - at that time Imam al-Hasan and al-Husayn)? I fixed among you the banner of faith, showed you clearly the limits of the lawful and the unlawful, dressed you with soundness of my justice and spread to you the favor of my saying and doing. I showed to you the noblest of morals from myself. Therefore, do not use (your own) opinion in that whose insides cannot be perceived by the sight, nor can be penetrated by thinking.13

If you, dear reader, ponder on the saying of Imam Ali (a.s.), you shall find in it the interpretation of the tradition of Thaqalayn (the two weighty things) that has been narrated by the Sunni from the Messenger of Allah (S) who said:

I have left among you the two weighty things - the Book of Allah and my progeny. If you keep to them, you shall never go astray after me at all.

Imam Ali (a.s.) also said:

Did I not act among you according to the Major weighty thing (the Qur'an) and I left among you the Minor weighty thing (the Ahlul Bayt)?

This saying of Imam Ali (a.s.) is a clear proof that Imam Ali (a.s.) managed people according to the rulings of the Holy Qur'an, whose reality no one could understand except him. Also he left among them the Minor Weighty things, who were the infallible Imams from his progeny so that each one of them would carry out the same role that the Prophet (S) carried out in his nation.

If we ponder on the saying of the Prophet (S): “I am leaving among you the two weighty things” and the saying of Imam Ali (a.s.): “did I not act among you according to the Major weighty thing” - we understand that the role of the immaculate progeny is to explain and declare the Book of Allah to the nation lest they disagreed after the death of the Prophet (S).

What confirms this fact is this saying of the Prophet (S):

In every generation of my nation there are just men from my progeny who protect this religion from distortion of deviants, fabrication of liars, and misinterpretation of the ignorant. Surely, your Imams are your delegation to Allah, so be careful to whom you delegate.14

He also said:

Stars are security for the people of the earth from drowning and the people of my house are security for my nation from disagreement. If a tribe from the Arabs disagree with them (the Ahlul Bayt), they shall disagree among themselves and become the party of Iblis.15

He also said:

Surely, the example of my progeny among you is like the Ark of Noah; whoever rode on it would be rescued and whoever lagged behind it would drown.16

Through this brief study, the guidance becomes clearly distinguished from error to us, and we can say that the Twelver Shia is the true sect, because it is the only sect that has kept to the two weighty things, boarded the Ship of Rescue and clung to the Rope of Allah. The Shia neither precede the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) nor do they turn away from them, but they follow and imitate them. Therefore, they are guided by their guidance and they follow their path.

Imam Ali (a.s.) has said: “Here is the Qur'an that you can ask to speak out, and it shall not speak out but what I tell you about. It has the knowledge of what shall come; it speaks about the past, the healing of your ailments, and the managing of you.17

Keep to the Book of Allah, for it is a firm rope, clear light, advantageous cure, satiating drink, a resort for those who seek and a rescue for those who cling. It never bends to be set right, nor does it errs to be blamed. The much reciting and listening to it do not make it old. Whoever speaks with it is truthful, and whoever acts according to it wins.18

Prophet (S) left to you what other prophets had left for their nations so that they did not leave them to go astray without showing clear way or a raised banner.

The Book of your Lord is among you showing His lawful and unlawful things, obligations and favors, abrogating and abrogated things, permissions and necessities, special and general rulings, lessons and examples, absolutes and finites, clear and ambiguous things, interpreting its statements and explaining its obscurities.

There are some verses in Quran whose knowledge is obligatory and others whose ignorance by people is not forgivable. And there is that which is fixed as obligatory in the book, but its abrogation is known in the Prophet’s Sunna, or there are those which appear obligatory in the Sunna, but in the Book it is permitted to be given up.

And, there are other verses which were obligatory in its time but not so in future (with passing of its time). There are verses of His different prohibitions for major sins - for which He has threatened of His Fires, or minor - for which He has promised forgiveness, and there are those verses which are accepted in small portion (in reciting of the Qur'an) and permitted for leaving its big portion.”19

Notes

1. Sahih of al-Bukhari - Book of Rulings (Ahkam), Chapter of ‘The Emirs from Quraysh’; Sahih of Muslim - Book of Emirate, Chapter of ‘People are Followers of Quraysh and the Caliphate is in Quraysh’.

2. The Prophet (a.s.) meant a specific group of people from the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). The Qur’anic verses and prophet’s traditions on different occasions confirm this fact. Otherwise could the Prophet (a.s.) mean some people whom the nation did not know or could not be led to? Could the nation get to these people who were not known - whether in names, description, or place? The Hashimites were too many and they had spread everywhere in the land so that no country or town was empty of them.

So, those whom the Prophet (a.s.) meant were the nine imams after Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn (peace be on them) - they were the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) only on the basis of traditional and intellectual proofs. He declared them as the second weighty (important) thing beside the Qur’an, so that the nation would not miss a match to him in any age, and that the nation would not miss a guide with whom if they adhered, they would not go astray…

3. We have mentioned in brief some Qur’anic verses which the Sunni scholars acknowledge that they were revealed concerning the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), whereas ibn Abbas said that one third of the Qur'an had been revealed to talk about their virtues.

4. It has also been mentioned in al-Bukhari’s Sahih, the book of Maghazi (battles), the Battle of Tabuk.

5. If I was allowed to judge among people…

6. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 2.

7. Ibid, sermon 11.

8. Ibid, sermon 142.

9. Ibid, sermon 99.

10. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 2.

11. Ibid, sermon 96.

12. Ibid, sermon 236.

13. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 86.

14. As-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah by ibn Hajar ash-Shafi’iy, p. 90, 148.

15. Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 3 p. 149.

16. Ibid, vol. 3 p. 151, as-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah by ibn Hajar, p. 184.

17. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 156.

18. Ibid, sermon 154.

19. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 1.

Keeping to religion in the past and the present

It is well known that Islam, with which the Prophet Muhammad (S) had been sent by Allah, is the last of religions in the matter of Divine Legislation. Allah the Almighty says:

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah (S) and the Last of the prophets… Qur'an, 33:40

Since Muhammad (S) is the last of the prophets and messengers and his Book is the last of the Books revealed by Allah, so there shall be no Divine Book after the Holy Qur'an. Islam is the basic religion to which all the divine religions have been fused. Allah says:

He it is Who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the true religion so that He may make it prevail over all the religions; and Allah is enough for a witness. Qur'an, 48:28

After the advent of Muhammad (S) as prophet, it has become obligatory on all human beings to turn from the previous religions whether Judaism, Christianity, or any other religion and embrace Islam to worship Allah the Almighty according to the Sharia of Muhammad (S), because Allah will not accept any religion other than Islam since then. Allah says:

And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter, he shall be one of the losers. Qur'an, 3:85

We understand from this that the Jews and the Christians however much they claim that their laws and legislations are true and that they follow the Prophet Moses (S) or the Prophet Jesus Christ (S), the reality requires that they must follow the Prophet Muhammad (S) since the moment Allah sent him as a messenger. A Christian has no right to say that he wants to remain on his religion, nor does a Jew.

The fact is that Muhammad (S) was sent as a prophet to all mankind and as a mercy to all people with their different races and beliefs. This does not mean that we condemn the previous divine religions, but Allah the Almighty knew that His people had distorted His laws. They made lawful what was unlawful and unlawful what was lawful for the sake of their own desires. Therefore, they went astray and made those who came after them go astray.

So the advent of Muhammad (S) the last of the prophets was a mercy to all mankind in order to allow them to restore themselves again and go back to the truth so that they would win the Paradise. However, most of people detest the truth. Desires, fancies and fanaticisms play with them and devils occupy them so that they become excessive in their deviation.

Allah says in this concern:

Those who disbelieved from among the followers of the Book and the polytheists could not have separated (from the faithful) until there had come to them the clear evidence; a messenger from Allah, reciting pure pages, wherein are all the right ordinances. And those who were given the Book did not become divided except after clear evidence had come to them. Quran 98:1-4

It is also not sufficient that a Jew or a Christian says, ‘I believe in Muhammad, but I will remain on my religion’, as I myself have heard from some Arab Christians. We say to such people that Allah does not accept from them except when they actually follow him. Allah says in this concern:

Those who follow the Messenger-Prophet, who can neither read nor write, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel (who) enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them; so (as for) those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful. Quran 7:157

This invitation from Allah the Almighty was not limited to the Jews and the Christians, all of whom represented “the People of the Book”, but it included all human beings with no exception.

Allah the Almighty says:

Say: O people! surely I am the Messenger of Allah (S) to you all, of Him Whose is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, there is no god but He; He brings to life and causes to die; therefore believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet, who can neither read nor write, who believes in Allah and His words, and you follow him so that you may walk in the right way. Quran 7:158

The Holy Qur'an is too clear in stating the obligation of following the Prophet (S) and not just believing in his prophethood. This is the wisdom of Allah in sending the messengers. We have never heard in all the history of humankind that Allah has sent a messenger to say to people: remain on your religion which you have inherited from the messenger that had come before me.1

All of the prophets have called for belief in all the messengers of Allah, so that no one might harm their prophethood or be excessive about their real position and give them the position of a deity.

Allah the Almighty says:

The messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord and (so do) the believers; they all believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers; We make no difference between any of His messengers; and they say: We hear and obey, our Lord! Thy forgiveness (do we crave), and to Thee is the eventual course. Qur'an, 2:285

If we know that Islam is the last religion that Allah the Almighty has endowed His faithful people with, so its laws and rulings are valid for every time and every place, because there is no prophet to come after Prophet Muhammad (S) and no divine book to come after the Holy Qur'an according to this saying of Allah:

This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion. Qur'an, 5:3

However, some Muslims, if not most of them, do not abide by the laws and rulings of Islam. They claim that these are difficult to carry out and that most (ordinary) people are unable to carry them out.

Some others, who are learned people, say that it is necessary to develop the rulings according to the requirements of the modern life. They see ijtihad2 to be necessary in everything and claim that ijtihad is one of the virtues of Islam and one of its prides. These learned people may influence the minds of many young students, especially as they pretend that they love Islam too much and are too careful to apply its rulings.

These people justify the underdevelopment and deterioration of Muslims as they have not developed their religion from where it had been established fifteen centuries ago at a time where there was no means of transport except for mules and donkeys.

These people say that as for today we live in the age of rockets - whose speed exceeds the speed of sound, telephone, fax, and computer - through which man can contact with any place in the world within a few seconds. So we cannot remain looking at the Qur'an with that superficial sight where we judge against a thief by cutting his hand or a criminal by cutting his head by the sword…they often say so and have odd philosophies in this regard.

Once, I was talking with a university professor about this. In my talk with him, I said that the Messenger of Allah (S) has said:

There is no magnanimous young man except (like) Ali, and no sword except Dhul Faqar.”

He laughed at me and said, “O doctor, do not say like this again. It was valid at the time of the Prophet (S) when the sword had a role in winning the battles and it was the only weapon which the heroes had pride for in their poems. Now we are in the age of the machine guns that shoots seventy bullets in a second and the jet fighter that can destroy an entire city in few minutes. In fact, we are in the age of the atomic and nuclear bombs that can destroy a continent in some moments. Are you ignorant of all this and are you still talking about the sword and the courage of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib?”

I said, “This does not refute that or contradict it, and every occasion has its own context. Do you not see that when Allah talked about weapons, He included in one word all means of destruction when He said in brief:

And prepare against them what force you can and horses tied at the frontier. Qur'an, 8:60

Thus, the Qur'an connected what military means the people at the time of the Prophet (S) had to win battles with what the people of this time have. So, this statement of Qur’an -

‘And prepare against them what force you can.’,

can be understood by everyone according to the language of their time. The source and meaning of “force” is the same to the all, and this is like the saying of Allah:

…and We have made the iron, wherein is great violence and advantages to men… Qur'an, 57:25

Therefore, all weapons, whether the simple ones like the sword or spears or the developed ones like tanks, machine guns, and bombs are defined as means of “violence”. Similarly, all means of ease and comfort such as cars, airplanes, ships, televisions, and others are defined as “advantages to people”. Glory be to Allah Who has created iron and made it of use for people and taught them what they did not know.

Thus, the Holy Qur'an is in the hands of all kinds of people that every generation can understand it by the language of its age. And as for your saying “we cannot look at the Qur'an with a superficial view - that we judge against a thief by cutting his hand or a criminal by cutting his head by the sword”, if you try to replace the laws of Allah with manmade laws whose makers claim that they are more beneficent and merciful to people than their Creator is to them, then this can never be acceptable. It is undoubtedly clear disbelief.

And, if by “development” you mean the development of the means of execution against a criminal or the means of cutting a thief’s hand, this can be discussed, because these are minor things that the Islamic Legislation did not concentrate on. Rather it concentrated on abiding to laws by carrying out the sentences determined by Allah the Almighty concerning “retribution”. Allah says:

O you who believe! retaliation is prescribed for you…And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves against evil. Qur'an, 2:178-179

As for cutting the hand of a thief by a sword, a cleaver, or a modern tool, the legal ruler (judge) or the religious authority can give his opinion in the matter (by deriving it through the legal proofs).

What is important dear Sir, is that we do not replace the laws of Allah by the so-called positive laws that were agreed to by the European systems that have abrogated the death sentence against criminals however extreme their crimes were.

Allah says:

And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding… Qur'an, 2:178-179

The meaning of the saying of Allah here is that if we abrogate the laws of Allah and abolish the law of retaliation, our life shall be without safety and security and the criminals shall corrupt everything. Then, life shall become like hell with no goodness or peace.

This university professor debated saying, “Evil is not to be treated with evil. Statistics has proven that some of those who were sentenced to death for the accusation of a crime were innocent.”

I said, “With my respect to you professor, but by your saying “evil is not to be treated with evil” you have made yourself more aware than Allah the Creator of everything and this is not your right. And as for your saying that some of those, who were sentenced to death, were innocent, this is another matter. To your knowledge, I say that Islam does not punish just for suspicion or accusation, but after evidence, witnesses and confession.”

The debate came to no use, because each one of us clung to what we believed to be right.3

It would be better thus to end this section with what Imam Ali (a.s.) has said about the Prophet Muhammad (S) and about Islam. He said:

He (Allah) has sent him with the shining light, the clear proof, the right method, and the guiding Book. His family is the best of families and his tree is the best of trees; its branches are straight with its fruits hanging loose. His birth was in Mecca and his immigration was in the Good City where his mention was high and his call reached too far. He has sent him with a sufficient argument, curative breach and preventive invitation (that prevented every corruption of the pre-Islamic age).

He (Allah) has declared through him - the Prophet (S) - the unknown laws, suppressed through him the irrelevant heresies and explained through him the decisive judgments. So whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, his misery becomes certain, his firm hold is broken, his fall becomes great and his end comes to eternal sadness and severe torment…4

This is exactly as what has been declared by the Holy Qur'an:

And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers. Qur'an, 3:85

I think that after this explanation, no argument or excuse shall remain for those who flatter their Jewish and Christian friends and say to them: We and you are on the truth as long as we all believe in one God Who has sent Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad and if we are different as to the prophets, we have agreed on the One Who has sent them to us.

Allah says:

Say: Do you dispute with us about Allah, and He is our Lord and your Lord, and we shall have our deeds and you shall have your deed and we are sincere to Him. Nay! do you say that Abraham and Ishmael and Jacob and the Tribes were Jews or Christians? Say: Are you better knowing or Allah? And who is more unjust than he who conceals a testimony that he has from Allah? And Allah is not at all heedless of what you do. Qur'an, 2:139-140

Notes

1. Therefore, the Jews turned out to be racists by not accepting any as leader except those whose blood was Jewish. Thus, they gathered together their dispersed lot claiming that they were “the chosen people of Allah” and any other than them were not human. This was on the basis of Torah that was lost and ruined after the Babylonian Captivity at the hands of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar who occupied Jerusalem in the year 586 BC.

The Jews, who were not killed, remained captives in Babylon until the year 457 BC when they could go back to Palestine by the assistance of Cyrus the great king of Persia. After their returned to Palestine, a man called Ezra collected and reformed the books of the Old Testaments, which is the Torah of today.

From this, we know that between the loss of the Torah and its recollection, there were more than 125 years. During this period, most of the memorizers of the Torah had been killed or died in prison where they were forbidden to practice any religious activity. Therefore, the Torah had to have human interventions. So it is now full of fables, contradictions, untruths, distorted events and unrealities…etc.

The same thing happened to Christianity; the four Bibles were not written down at the time of Jesus Christ (a.s.). The oldest one, which is “The Gospel of Mark”, was written down forty years later in Rome. Therefore, it was subject to distortion like the Torah at the time of Augustine who mixed between idolatry and the statements of the Bible.

The idolatry on which the idolaters of India, China, and old Egypt agreed on such as, the belief in Trinity and the ascribing of vices to the prophets (a.s.) and even to Jesus Christ (a.s.) influenced this. Moreover, they annulled the main purpose of all religions, which is to guide the human beings, when they claimed that Jesus Christ (a.s.) had redeemed the criminals and sinners, so there was no necessity for any guidance after him or to send other prophets.

For more details, refer to “The School Journey” and “The Guidance to the Religion of al-Mustafa” by Sheikh Muhammad Jawad al-Balaghi.

2. Using of one’s (usually a mujtahid) effort to form a judgment on questions concerning the Sharia and religious affairs.

3. The likes of this professor are those who have westernized and live with the complex of the yielding before the masses of iron and bricks amassed even if by stealing and assassinating other people or even entire humankind.

The Nazis, for example, since they felt that they had some arms, adopted the slogan of “the Aryan race”. Under this banner of racism, they destroyed civilizations and killed tens and millions of people in two destructive wars within time frame of no more than a quarter of a century. And the allies were not better than them. They invaded the different nations as colonists and tore those nations into pieces in order to be able to rule them and control their treasures and resources. In this way, they built their false civilization on bloods, sweat, and efforts of the suppressed peoples.

In the same way as the Nazi model, the American tyranny succeeded in blackmailing different countries and adopting the illegitimate child “Israel”. It secretly and openly brought up and assisted it by all means until it became a pit of the worst criminals and blood-suckers in the world.

Whereas, Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) had come to enliven the humanity inside a man following the true Mohammedan Islam and saying, “A strong man is weak before me until I take the right from him, and the weak is strong to me until I take back the right for him.” He liberated man when he fought against the enemies of humanity. He said to Malik al-Ashtar when appointing him as the governor over Egypt, “…and do not be as predatory beast over them…for people are of two kinds; either your brother in religion or your equal in creation.” He also said, “Do not be a slave to another while Allah has created you free.”

So man whatever he is - black, poor, or weak - all walk under the banner of Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) that carries the high values of liberation and human rights. On the other hand some people become mean and weak before technology which is possessed by the traders of wars and the suckers of peoples’ bloods.

4. Nahjul Balaghah, sermon 159.

Is Islam difficult so that people cannot comply with it?

This is a false claim that has no basis in truth at all. Anyone who says so is ignorant and knows nothing about Islam. Or, he is biased intending to alienate people from their religion to give up its laws and rulings. Or, he is an excessive puritan who has no regard except for the opinions of the puritan clergymen who forbid people to worship Allah in any way other than their own way and make themselves the guardians of Allah’s religion. Therefore, they regard things lawful or unlawful according to their own reasons or the only traditions that have reached them.

The first thing that comes to mind in this concern is this saying of the Messenger of Allah (S):

Make it (the affairs of religion) easy and do not make it difficult! Bring good tidings and do not constrict (make people alienated) against yourselves, lest Allah constrict against you as He had done to the Children of Israel.

The Prophet (S) often said before his companions:

Allah has not sent me as a constrainer or obstinate, but He has sent me as a facilitating teacher.

It is well known that the Prophet (S) was not made to choose between two things, except that he chose the easier one.

The Prophet (S) was not a legislator as some people think incorrectly when they read this verse of Qur’an:

…and whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, abstain (from it). Qur'an, 59:7

The commanding and forbidding of the Prophet (S) does not come from him. He only conveys what was revealed to him by his Lord. He did not do anything except what Allah ordered him to do with not a bit more and not a bit less. Therefore, all the commands and prohibitions are from Allah the Almighty, though they are not recorded in the Holy Qur'an.

Allah says about the Prophet (S):

Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed. Qur'an, 53:3-4

Since it is so, let us come to the Qur'an to see if Islam is so difficult that people cannot comply with it - in order to see whether this claim is true or false, so that we can be on a clear proof as to our affairs.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

He has chosen you and has not laid upon you a hardship in religion. Qur'an, 22:78

Allah does not want to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may be grateful. Qur'an, 5:6

Allah wants ease for you and He does not want for you difficulty… Qur'an, 2:185

This concerns the Muslim nation that has embraced Islam and abides by its laws and rules in matters of worship and behaviors. Of course, the mercy of Allah has also included all His people with their different religions. Allah has been merciful to all of them imposing no any hardship on anyone.

Allah says:

Of a small seed; He created him, then He made him according to a measure. Then (as for) the way, He has made it easy (for him). Qur'an, 80:19-20

So, the way of Allah that man follows to return to his Lord is an easy way with no difficulties or hardships. Allah the Almighty has repeated this meaning five times in the Qur'an. He says:

Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability. Qur'an, 2:286

We do not impose on any soul a duty except to the extent of its ability. Qur'an, 6:152

And (as for) those who believe and do good We do not impose on any soul a duty except to the extent of its ability. Qur'an, 7:42

And We do not lay on any soul a burden except to the extent of its ability, and with Us is a book which speaks the truth and they shall not be dealt with unjustly. Qur'an, 23:62

From all this, we understand that Allah the Almighty has not imposed anything on any man except that which is within his capacity since the time of our father Adam (a.s.). If there has been any difficulty or hardship in any one of the divine religions, it would be a result of those who interpreted the purpose of religion according to their personal opinions, or that there might be some people torturing themselves hard because of their many sins, looking forward to the forgiveness of Allah or in order to be nearer to Him. Therefore, they invented some things that were not from the religion and bound themselves to them, but they failed in bearing them.1

Allah the Almighty says:

…and monasticism they innovated - We did not prescribe it to them - only to seek Allah's pleasure, but they did not observe it with its due observance… Qur'an, 57:27

On this basis, we interpret this tradition of the Messenger of Allah (S):

Do not be strict (in religious affairs) to yourselves, lest Allah be strict to you as He was to the children of Israel.

And in the same way, we interpret this Qur’anic Verse concerning the Prophet Muhammad (S):

…he enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them. Qur'an, 7:157

The burden and shackles, which were on them - were made and imposed by them, and they themselves had bound themselves.

We conclude from this analysis that Islam is a religion that has no difficulty, hardship, overburden or shackles. It is a religion of ease, mercy, and leniency where the weaknesses of man in all his psychological and bodily aspects are fully cared for. Allah says:

Allah wants that He should make light your burdens and man is created weak. Qur'an, 4:28

…this is alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. Qur'an, 2:178

We shall see inshallah, in the coming chapters that Islam, as known by the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), is the religion that is without the opinions of opinion mongers, the excessiveness of the excessive, or the falsehood of fabricators. Then, we shall know that the Muslims of the present age can abide to the Sharia without any difficulty or hardship.

Notes

1. Monasticism comes true in two ways: First is a serious monasticism that runs by itself in order not to be touched by any harm and be saved by itself (Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr, The Historical Traditions in the Holy Qur'an, p. 103) And this is from the view that “Stopping on the hill is more safe”. Consequently, the way is cleared before different claims and excuses that a ruler gives or the fabricated traditions that assist his creed and rule.

Second is a false monasticism where one pretends he is from the ulema to warn people against the injustice of a tyrant. And soon the falseness of these untrue claims and pretenses is uncovered for example, the justification that “it is not permissible to disobey the ruler or turn away from congregation”, as they did to Imam Husayn (a.s.) when he offered himself and family to save the true religion and in the same way to the Alawid and Talibid revolutions that followed him.

Similar to that in our present time is the falseness of the monks of churches who serve the rulers and noblemen. They become a cause for ordinary people to disbelieve and turn away from religion where it is hardly tried to separate it from politics. And we still see many rulers and their mercenary (clergymen) preachers encourage the state of ignorance and underdevelopment among Muslims with their fatwas. These keep the Muslims away from modernity and from meeting and uniting with other Muslims.