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The Origin Of Shi'ite Islam And It's Principles (Asl ash-Shi'ah Wa Usuluha)

The Origin Of Shi'ite Islam And It's Principles (Asl ash-Shi'ah Wa Usuluha)

Author:
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

THE ORIGIN OF SHI'ITE ISLAM ANDIT'S PRINCIPLES

(Asl ash-Shi'ah Wa Usuluha)

By 'ALLAMAH SHAYKH MUHAMMAD HUSAYN AL KASHIFU 'LGHITA'

Published by Ansariyan Publications

www.alhassanain.org/english

Notice:

This workis published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english.

The typing errors are n’t corrected.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

PART I : The Origins of the Shi'ahs 17

PART II: The Fundamentals of the Religion 26

The Fundamental Beliefs 28

Tawhid (monotheism): 28

Prophethood: 29

The Imamate: 29

'Adl (Justice) 33

PART III: The Shi'ah - The Divine Code of Living 36

Fiqh (Jurisprudence) 39

1. Salat (prayer) 39

2. Sawm (Fasting) 41

3. Zakat (Taxation) 41

4. Khums 42

5. Hajj 43

6. Jihad 44

7. Amr Bi 'l-ma 'Ruf and Nahy 'ani 'l-munkar (The enjoining of good and the prevention of evil) 44

8. Mu'amalat (Mutual Dealings) 45

8. (a) The Marriage Agreement 45

8 (b) Talaq (Divorce) 52

9. Inheritance 55

10. Endowments (waqf); Gifts (nibah) and Charities (sadaqah): 56

11. Passing Judgement (qadawah) 57

12. Slaughtering and Hunting 58

13. The Nature of Foodstuffs 59

14. Penology (hudud) 60

Part IV: Allegations Against the Shi'a 66

The Problem of Bada' 66

Taqiyah (pious dissimulation or concealing one's faith in dangerous circumstances) 67

Endnotes 70

BISM - ILLAH - IR - RAHMAN - IR - RAHEEM

(In the name of God, the most Compassionate,the Merciful)

AL- HAMDU L'ILLAH

(All praise be to God)

Call unto the way of your Lord with wisdom and good exhortation,

and reason with them in the best way. Lo!your Lord best knows those

who go astray from His path, and He knows best those who are rightly guided.

(Qur'an, 16:125)

INTRODUCTION

It was about two years ago that I received a long letter from an Iraqi student in Egypt. Briefly speaking, the writer of the letter had had an exchange of views with some eminent scholars of al-Azhar. Perhaps they talked about Najaf al-Ashraf, the scholars of that seat of learning and their ways of studies and also about those devoted to the spiritual atmosphere at the mausoleum of Hazrat Ali (a.s.).

There is no doubt, of course, that the educated class of Cairo are all praise for the great seat of learning at Najaf and are also well impressed with the intellectual advancement of its scholars. In spite of all this they do not refrain from saying:“Oh! What a pity! They are Shi'as.”

The writer of the letter says that he was very astonished and often used to plead with them,“Gentlemen! The Shi'asare a Muslim sect and a part of the Muslim community.” But their reply was,“No, Sir! The Shi'asare not Muslims. What has Shi'ism to do with Islam? It is wrong to count it as a sect among the sects and a religion among the religions of the world; it was a plan devised by the Iranians and a political stunt to overthrow the Umayyad rule and bring about the 'Abbasid Caliphate. What has it to do with the ways prescribed by God?”

After this, this young man writes.“Respected Sir, at present I am young and have no knowledge of religions.

I know neither the philosophy of religious growth, nor do I know the history of its flourishing. Consequently I have entertained some doubts.”

After writing these words this student of the great college at Cairo desired that I should unveil the truth and rid him of that mental worry. In this connection he also wrote that if his request proved futile and he was misled from the right path, I would stand responsible for that.

Accordingly I considered the reply necessary and wrote to him in a letter answering him according to his intelligence. I must admit, however, that my own worries were more than the doubts of this youth.

I thought to myself: how is it credible that a cultured country like Egypt - the cradle of Islamic learning, the centre of the Arabs, nay, of all the Muslims in such a state of ignorance and hostility among its intelligentsia!

It was by chance that a book entitled“Farjru 'l-Islam” by the famous writer Ahmad Amin reached my hands. I started wading it but.when I reached the place where he wrote about the Shi'as, I felt that the learned author was not writing a book but building castles in the air. During the present age, even if a man from the distant regions of China had written such irresponsible things, he could not be easily forgiven.

Anyhow, I now felt satisfied that all that the Iraqi student had written was quite correct and instantly it struck me that if the people used to writing like Ahmad Amin have such a mentality, what can be the condition of the illiterate or half-literate masses; according to the spirit of the times, however, every Muslim of today supports unity and brotherhood among the Muslims and also believes that without such unity our life as well as death will be without meaning.

In truth, if our Muslim brothers were of the reality of the Shi'a religion and also proved to be just, such literature which lays the foundation of mutual enmity and satisfies the cravings of the Imperialist and irreligious forces would be done away with.

Let us study this passage of“Fajru 'l-Islam” and consider its repercussions:

“The truth is that Shi'aism was the refuge of the destroyers of Islam.” p. 330.

The writer is not innocent. He knew that the pen of the critics would pursue him and also knew that his aggressive tendency would injure the feelings of a nation which comprises tens of millions of people and is a very great power in the Islamic world.

It was thus quite a surprising event when last year (1349 A.H.), a cultural delegation from Egypt, comprising thirty members, came here and included Ahmad Amin himself. All the members of the delegation came to my residence. It was the month of Ramadan, night time, and the gathering was large. No sooner had I seen Ahmad Amin than“Fajru 'l-Islam” came to my mind, since this book had already been seen by a number of our scholars.

We raised objections, but with respect, in a very mild and soft tone, so that it might not hurt his feelings. On this occasion the strongest explanation that Ahmad Amin offered was a lack of information and a dearth of books. To this we said,“Sir, when someone starts writing on some topic, he first gathers relevant material and then he fully examines the matter, otherwise the writer has no right to touch upon the topic at all.”

Consider the libraries of the Shi'as. Row well stocked they are! Examine our own library. It contains about five thousand volumes and most of the books are written by Sunnis: this is the collection of books in a small city like Najaf; strange how Egypt with its many large libraries is devoid of Shi'a literature!

Of course, these people know nothing about the Shi'as, but never hesitate in writing anything about them that they wish.

It is even stranger that the fellow Sunni brothers of Iraq living in our neighborhood are unaware of the Shi'as!

Only a few months ago a promising Shi'a boy of Baghdad wrote in a letter that recently he happened to go to Dalyam (just adjacent to the Baghdad district). Most of the people there are Sunnis. The correspondent became intimate with them and attended their assemblies. Since the people of Dalyam were unusually impressed by the excellent behaviour and high morals of the stranger, they warmly welcomed him. But when they came to know that the person in whom they were taking so much interest was a Shi'a, their wonder had no bounds.“We were under the impression that the people of this sect were deprived of even the smallest light of civilisation and culture - quite wild, totally savage!” Such were their whims and speculations.

At the end of the letter this young boy appealed to my conscience that, through the endeavours of my pen, I should remove the misunderstanding in the minds of such people and introduce a true picture of Shi'aism.

After some time the same youth went to Syria to spend the summer there. From there he went to Egypt.

From Cairo he wrote another letter, telling me that the condition of Egypt was not different from that of Dalyam.

He wrote:“Here also the same views about the Shi'as are common. So, it is requested that you may perform your duty of informing them of the truth. Believe me, the views that the common people of Islam have formed about the Shi'as are intolerably obnoxious.”

And this is not all. The false imputations, which are being continuously published in the journals of Egypt, Syria,etc. are no less grievous; those under attack are as innocent as Joseph, but unfortunately ignorance and fanaticism have no remedy.

However, silence in the face of transgression is synonymous with the acceptance of injustice, so I had an obligation to speak out. But it should be made clear that I do not wish to reply to the slanderers of the Shi'as but rather to remove that veil of ignorance from the eyes of the rest of the Muslims so that the truth may be clearly visible to them; moreover it may serve as the last word to the elements hostile to Shi'as and as a true picture of Shi'aism. We hope it may also remove the mutual discord among the Muslims, so that writers like Ahmad Amin may never get another opportunity to indulge in destructive activities. The author of“Fajru 'l-Islam” writes“The truth is that Shi'ism was the refuge of those who wished to destroy Islam through enmity and baseless talk, and it was the place of shelter for those who wanted to introduce their ancestral teachings of Israelite, Christian and Zoroastrian religions into Islam” .

Again he writes:“Thus the faith in “raj'at” (the returning) is what the Isra'elites believe in. The Shi'asbelieve , moreover, that the fire (of hell) is“haram” (unlawful) for them.

The Israelites also say that the fire will not touch them except for a few counted days.

“Christianity's influence appeared likewise in the way in which some of the Shi'ashave given the same relationship for the Imam to God as is given for Christ to Him.

They also say that the Imam is the confluence of 'Lahut' and 'Nasut' (where divinity and earthly beings meet). Also, according to their faith the continuance of prophethood and risalat (messengership) is unbreakable. They hold the view that he who is absorbed in 'Lahut' is a prophet. Besides this, transmigration of souls, the physical body of God and 'hulul' (God's entering another body), which are the old beliefs of the Brahmins, philosophers and fireworshippers, appeared one by one in the Shi'a religion . .”

For fear of destroying the unity of the Muslim community and inciting hatred I will refrain from replying.

Otherwise it would be quite easy to show who those people were who introduced un-Islamic ways into Islam to undermind and divide the Muslim community'.

Of course I should like to ask the author of 'Fajru 'l Islam”: Respected Sir, which was that group of Shi'as which had decided to destroy Islam? Was it the first group, which includes the selected companions of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.)[ 1] , for instance.Salman Muhammadi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, al-Miqdad, 'Ammar, Khuzayma, Dhu sh Shahadatain, Abu Tihan, Hudhayfah Yamani, az-Zubayr, al-Fadl ibn al-'Abbas and his respectable brother 'Abdullah, Hashim ibn 'Utbah, al-Marqal, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Aban and also his brother Khalid, the sons of Sa'id ibn al-'As, Ibn Ka'b and Anas ibn al-Harith who had heard the Holy Prophet saying:“My son Husayn (a.s.) [2] will be martyred at the place known as Karbala'. So any one of you, present at the time of that tragedy must go to help him.” Accordingly Anas drank the cup of martyrdom on the 10th of Muharram, (see“al-Isabah fima'rifati' s -sahabah” and“al-Isti'ab fi ma'rifati' s-sahabah” . These two books on the lives of the Companions are the most authentic compilations of the Sunni community.)

If we were to attempt to compile a list of the Shi'a companions and begin to prove their Shi'ism, it would require a complete and volumionous book. And the fact is that the noble efforts of the Shi'a 'ulema have made it unnecessary to do so: the brilliant masterpiece,“ad-Darajat 'r rafi'h fi tabaqatu 'sh-Shi'a” written by Sayyid 'Ali Khan (the author of“as-Salafah” and the standard dictionary“Tarazu 'l-Lughan” describes the eminent personalities of the Banu Hashim family like Hamza and 'Aqil Sa'id Khudri, Qays ibn Sa'id ibn 'Ubadah, Burayda, Bura' ibn Malik, Khabab ibn al-Irth, Refa'a ibn Malik, Amir ibn Wa'ila, Hind ibn Abi Hala, Ju'da ibn Hubayra, Makhzumi and his mother Umm Hani Bint Abi Talib and Bilal ibn Riyah the mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) etc.

But I believe that, from the books on the lives of the Sahaba like“Isaba” ,“Asadu 'l-ghaba” and“Isti'ab” we have collected the names of about three hundred distinguished companions and it is possible some scholarly person may compile a longer list than this.

Were these persons desirous of ruining Islam? If the Imam of the Shi'as, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.), of whom the“Thaqalayn” (the book of God and the Ahle Bayt) are the witnesses, had not used his sharp-edged sword in the battles of“Badr” “Uhud” ,“Hunayn” and“ Ahzab” Islam would not have flourished or attained an imposing height. Abdu 'l-Hamid Mu'tazali begins his poem ofpraise : “lla innama al-Islam law la hisamahu…” (if his sword had not been there, Islam ...)

Yes, if“Zulfiqar” (Hazrat 'Ali's sword) had not been there, if the lion of God had not taken the lead, as he did before and after the hijrat, if there had been no sincere help from Hadrat Abu Talib the illustrious father of 'Ali (a.s.) and if Hazrat 'Ali Murtada (a.s.) had not offered extraordinary support in the holy lands of Mecca and Medina, the rebellious group of the Quraysh and the blood-thirsty wolves of Arabia would have nipped Islam in the bud.

Muslims pay little respect for Abu Talib's (a.s .) services in that they do not seem prepared to call him a Muslim. On the contrary when they talk of Abu Sufyan, the root cause of all the troubles of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) they are prompt in endowing him with Islam, although everyone knows that he had very reluctantly and unwillingly aligned himself with the Muslims. When Hazrat 'Uthman got the Caliphate, it was Abu Sufyan, who cried out,“Sons of Umayyah! Just catch hold of the caliphate as you would a ball. I swear by him by whom Abu Sufyan can swear that there is neither heaven nor hell!”

In short, according tohe verdict of the Sunni majority, Abu Sufyan is a Muslim and as to Abu Talib the great supporter of Islam (whose beliefs are apparent from these lines:“In my knowledge the religion of Muhammad (s.a.w.) is the best of all religions in the world” ) he is labelled as a non-Muslim! Was Abu Talib (a.s.) either so helpless or of such a weak intellect that he knew that Muhammad's (s.a.w.) religion was the best of all religions and did not follow it for fear of the people? It should be clearly understood that he was at the center of all Mecca's forces and strengths.

Now let us again examine the story of the subversion of Islam. Now were these people (about whom we have just been talking) the persons who subverted Islam, or it was the later group, which is known as the“tabi'in” (the followers), in which are included Ahnaf ibn Qays, Suwayd ibn Ghuflah, Atiyah, Ufi, Hakam ibn Atibah, salim ibn Abi Ju'd, 'Ali Abi Ju'd, Hasan ibn Salah, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Sa'id ibn Musayab, Asbagh ibn Nabatah, Sulayman ibn Mohran, and Yahya ibn Ya'mar 'Adwani'? After them come the personalities of the“tab'inu 't-tabi'in” (the followers of the followers) who laid the foundation of Islamic teachings such as Abu 'l-Aswad Du'ali, the originator of syntax, Khalil ibn Ahmad, the founder of lexicography and the science of rhyme in poetry, Abu Muslim Ma'adh ibn Muslim Al-Hira', the founder of grammar, whose Shi'ism has been admitted even by Siyuti (Al-Muzhir, volume II) and as-Sakit Ya'qub ibn Is'haq, the master of Arabic literature. Also, in the group of commentators is the distinguished name of 'Abdullah ibne 'Abbas, who tops the list and whose Shi'ism is beyond doubt. Next come the names of Jabir ibn 'Abdullah al-Ansari, Abi' ibn Ka'b, Sa'id ibn Musayyab and Muhammad ibn 'Umar Waqidi, who was the first to collect and arrange the Qur'anic sciences. (Ibn Nadim and others have acknowIedged that they were Shi'as.“ar-Raghib” is the name of the commentary of Waqidi).

Among those who laid the foundations of the teaching of“Hadith” is Abu Rafi', who was the freed salve of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) and the author of the book,“al-Ahkamwa 's -sunan wa 'l-qadaya” . He had a special relationship with Amir al-mu'minin (a.s .); during the caliphate of the Holy Imam (a.s.) he was in charge of the Treasury at Kufa, his sons also were both remarkable personalities. 'Ali ibn Rafi' was the secretary of Amir al-Mu'minin (a.. s.) He was the first person after his father who began writing on“fiqh” (jurisprudence) and his brother, 'Abdullah ibn Rafi' took the lead in the writing of history and the recording of events in the Muslim community.

Abu Hashim ibn Muhammad ibn Hanafiya was the first to write about the nature of Islamic beliefs. Many fine books on this topic have been written by him. We may examine also the works of 'Isa ibn Rawzah who lived up to the time of Abu Ja'far (Imam Baqir). It should be noted that the above persons lived before Wasil ibn 'Ata and Abu Hanifah, and that Siyuti's opinion is correct that the latter were the earliest writers on the philosophy of Islamic beliefs.

Next we may reflect upon two eminent Shi'as, Qays an-Nasir and Muhammad ibn 'Ali Ahwal, (known as Mu'min at-Taq”), Hisham ibn al-Hakam and an-Nawbakht. The latter was an exalted family who continued serving the cause of Islam for more than a hundred years. Among their works,“Faslu 'l-yaqut” , is of extraordinary importance. Also among the pupils of Hisham Ahwal, and an-Nasir, the names of Abu Ja'far Sakak Baghdadi, Abu Malik Zuhak Khazrami, Hisham ibn Salim and Yunus ibn Ya'qub deserve special mention. These were the persons who undertook masterly debates with sages of other religions and provided irreputable arguments on topics like the unity of God and the Imamate.

If all their scholastic subjects of discussion, particularly the debates of Hisham ibn Hakam, were collected together, it would make an excellent book. Similarly, if we included all the Shi'a philosophers and scholars, a great number of voluminous compilations will be required.

I request therefore that the author of“fajru 'l-Islam” tell me whether these men wanted to ruin the religion of God, or whether they were so conscientious that they worked day and night to record historical facts and events and collect together reports of matters relating to the life, miracles, battles, and the purity of character of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.)

One of the finest scholars in this connection is Aban ibn 'Uthman al-Ahmar Tabi'i (died 140 A.H.). He was a pupil of Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.). After him Hisham ibn Muhammad, ibn sa'ib Kalbi, Muhammad ibn Is'haq Matalabi and Abu Makhnaf Azdi continued in this particular field of knowledge. All the writers of the later age depended upon them as source material in historical matters.

If we examine a list of historians, we will find that all the distinguished writers were Shi'as; for instance, the compiler of Kitab al-Mahasin, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid Barqi, Nasr ibn Muzahim Manqari, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'd Thaqafi, 'Abdu 'l-'Aziz Juludi Basri Imami, Ahmad ibn Ya'qub(whose book Tarikhu 'l-Ya'qubi has been published in Europe), Muhammad ibn Zakariya, Abu 'Abdillah Hakim, al-Ma'sudi, author of“Muruj adhdhahab” Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Taba'taba' the author of“Adabu 's-sultaniyah” and hundreds of other scholars like them, who cannot be included here.

Among the men of letters, the Shi'asare also in a majority. The literary men are of different groups. The first group is that of the companions. All the famous men of letters belonging to this class are attached to Shi'ism. Nabigha Ju'di, for instance, took part in the battle of Siffin on the side of 'Ali (a.s.) and the“Rajaz” (rousing verses) that he composed for the occasion are very well known; 'Urwah ibn Zayd al-Khayl was also with the Holy Imam (a.s.) in the battle of Siffin (see al-Aghani). some people acknowledge that Lubayd ibn Rabi'ah 'Amiri was of the Shi'a faith; Abu Tufayl 'Amir ibn Wa'ilah, Abu 'l-Aswad Du'uli, and Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, the author of“Banat Sa'id” are likewise but a few of the Shia' men of letters we have room to mention here.

The second group is contemporary with the Tabi'in. In this class al-Farazdaq, Kumayt, Kathir, Sayyid Humayri and Qays ibnDharih . have a very prominent place.

The third group belongs to the second century of the hijrah: Abu Nawas, Abu Tamam, Bahtari, Da'bil Khuza'i, Dik al-Jin, 'Abd as-Salam, Abu sh-Shaysh, Husayn ibn Duhak ibn Rumi, Mansur an-Namri, Ashja' asalmi, Muhammad ibn Wahib and Sari' al-Ghawani. Morevoer, during the reign of the 'Abbasid rulers all the prominent literary figures, excluding Marwan ibn Abi Hafsah and his progeny were Shi'as:

Similarly among the celebrated poets and men of letters of the fourth hijra century were many Shi'as : Mutanabbi Maghrib ibn Hani Andalusi, ibn at-Ta'awidhi, Husayn Hajjaj (the author of“al-Majnun” ), Mahyar Daylami, Abu Fads Hamdani, (about whom it has been said that poetry began and ended with him); we may cite also Kashajum, Nashi' saghir, Nashi' Kabir, Abu Bakr Khwarizmi, Badi' Hamadani, Tughrai, Ja'far Shams al-Khilafah, , Ammarah al-Yamani, Wida'i Zahi, ibn Basam Baghdadi, Sibt ibn Ta'awidhi, Salami, Nami who were all Shi'as.

The fact is that the Shi'as attained such an exalted rank in the field of literature that experts had to say: 'Is there any literary man who is not a Shi'a?' It is worth noting that in praising some piece of composition, there was a common saying that such and such a man writes like the Shi'as. Some people have written that Mutanabbi and Abu 'l-'ula' were also Shi'as (please refer to where some of their verses are quoted).

Shi'a poets of the Quraysh family such as Fadl ibn 'Abbas (whose life history is given in“al-Aghani” ), Abu Dihbai Jamhi, Wahib ibn Rabi'ah and the literary scholars such as Sharif Radi, Murtada, Sharif Abu'l Hasan , Ali 'Alawin Jumani son of Sharif Muhammad ibnja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) are also worthy of attention.

Sharif Jumani used to say“I am a poet; my father was a poet; my grandfather was a poet” . Muhammad ibn al-'Alawi was an eminent man of letters.Writing about him Abu 'l-Faraj Isfahani has made available to us the valuable pearls of wisdom that he left behind. For further details it is worth while studyingNasmatu 's -sahr min tashayyu' wa shi'r” . In this esteemed masterpiece of Sharif Yamani, there is not only a fair account of the 'Alawimen ofletters, but there is also an account of the Shi'a poets of the Amawi dynasty. Forinstance Zamakhshari writes in his book“Rabi 'al-abrar” about 'Abdu 'r-Rahman ibn Hakam, Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn 'As and Marwan ibn Muhammad Saruji Amwi; these verses -are quoted from the latter:

“Oh descendents of Hashim ibn 'Abd Munaf!

wherever I amy be I am yours.

“Youare ,God's chosen ones, and Ja'far Tayyar belongs

to your own family.

“Ali, the Lion of God, Hamzah the uncle of the Prophet and

al-Hasan and al-Husayn are the members of your own family.

“Yes, though I am of Amawi lineage, yet I have no

concern with Banu Umayyah.”

Similarly, the name of Abu Warda, the well-known author on Najdi and 'Iraqi schools of thought, is also worthy of mention. A part from these there are also many other notables of this lineage, but since this bookis being written without preparation it is difficult to give details of all of them.

When we study the history of great kings, distinguished politicians, statesmen and viziers, we find the Shi'as likewise in prominence also. Besides the Fatimid and Bawayhid rulers, other kings like the Al Hamdan, Banu Mazid, Banu Wasis, 'Imran ibn Shahid, Muqallid ibn Musayyab,'Aqili and Qarwash ibn Musayyab were all Shi'as. Also the faith in Shi'ism ofWajihu' d -dawlah Dhu 'l-qarnayn Taghlabi and Tamim ibn Mu'izin the ruler of Marakish is not a secret thing.

If we now consider the early Muslim viziers (ministers) we find that nearly all of them are Shi'as.

Ishaq Katib, for example, was perhaps the first person for whom the appellation of Vizier was formally used. Abu Salmah Khilal al-Kufi was the vizier of the first 'Abbasid Caliph. In view of his administrative capability Saffah entrusted him with all the affairs of the State.

Abu Salmah was known as the 'Wazir Al Muhammad and it was because of his love for Al Muhammad that he was martyred on the order of the same Saffah.

Abu 'Abdillah Ya'qub ibn Dawud was the Vizier of al-Mahdi al-'Abbasi; the Caliph confided the entire administration of the state to him.This verse,“Oh Banu Umayyah! Get up! And arise from your deep slumber! Ya'qub ibn Dawud is the Caliph” , refers to him. He too was to later suffer captivity for his Shi'a belief.

Al Nawbakht and Banu Sahl are well known as the families of the viziers. Fadl ibn Sahl and Hasan ibn Sahl were the viziers of Ma'mun ar-Rashid.Similarly from Banu al-Furat, Hasan ibn 'Ali was thrice made the vizier of the Caliph Muqtadar. Abu 'l-Fadl Ja'far, Abu 'l-Fath Fadl ibn Ja'farand , Amid Muhammad ibn Husayn and his eldest son Dhu'l-kifayatayn Abu'l-Fath 'Ali ibn Muhammad were the viziers of Rukn ad-dawlah.

Banu Tahir Khyza'i was likewise entrusted with minis tership by. Ma'mun. Other viziers were Mahlabi, Abu Dalf 'Ajalli, Sahib ibn 'Ibad, the great politician Maghribi and Abu 'Abdillah Husayn ibn Zakariya, who is known by the epithet“Shi'i” .

There are others besides them, such as Ibrahim Suli, Talaya' ibn Zarik, Afdal, the commander-in-chief of Egypt and his son Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Fatit, Abu'l Mu'ali Habat-ullah, Vizier of Mustazhir and Mu'yad Muhammad ibn Abd al -Karim Qummi, who first became the vizier of Nasir and was later offered ministership by Mustazhir.

During the time of“Baramakah” Hasan ibn Sulayman was the Chief Secretary. He was also widely known as“Shi'i” .

Among other Shi'as entrusted with administrative posts we may mention the author of“al-Awraq” , (Suli) Yahya ibn Salamah Hasfaki and ibn Nadim (the author of“alFihrist” ), Abu Ja'far ibn Yusuf and his brother Abu Muhammad Qasim (whose panegyrics and elegies upon the Ahlu 'l-bayt have no parallel: see“al-Awraq” ) were“mu'tamad 'umumi (general secretaries) during the time of Ma'mun, and even for a considerable time after the latter's death. Similarly the names of Ibrahim Uysuf and his son, the master of the Arabic language and author of “al-Mu'jam” , Abu 'Abdillah Muhammad ibn 'Imran Marzbani, are also worth remembering, Sam'ani has made mention of their Shi'ism. Viewed in the same perspective there are hundreds of persons whose administrative abilities, political sagacity and national services would need volumes and volumes to be recorded.

My late father had tried to collect the life histories of different groups of Shi'as. He classified thirty groups into alphabetical order in ten volumes, under the titles“'Ulama (scholars), philosophers, kings, viziers, astronomers and physicians, etc.” The name of this collection is“al-Husun al-Mani'ah fi Tabaqat ash-Shi'a” . This voluminous book despite its nature is not complete.

At this stage we would also like to ask the author of“Fajru 'l-Islam” whether, in his opinion, these persons who had established the teachings of Islam and provided the basis for true knowledge and learning, wanted to ruin our sacred religion.

And again the question arises whether he and his teacher Dr. Taha Husayn are true supporters of the Islamic religion.

If that is the case, we can bid farewell to Islam, or rather we may quote the words of a poet, if one calls Hatim Ta'i a stingy person“it is better to die than to live oneself with such a narrow outlook on life.”

In fact it was not my aim to write at such length but the pen moved on regardless. We hope that the present-day or future writers might learn something from it and they may at least be careful in the manner of their writing and may express their thoughts only after researching into their subject.

Islam's greatest sage Hadrat 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s .) says:“A wise man's tongue is subordinate to his heart, and the heart of an ignorant person is obedient to his tongue.”

Ahmad Amin's opinion that“the belief in Raj'ah” (the return) came from Judaism among the Shi'as” is extremely deplorable. I wish they would make it clear whether“raj'ah” is the main element of Shi'ism, whether it is one of the fundamental beliefs of their religion, so that they may justify their criticism. If one's knowledge is of this nature, is it not proper for him to hold his tongue and preserve his dignity?

The fact is that faith in“raj'ah” is not one of the fundamentals of Shi'ism. Of course recognising its validity is considered necessary, just as in other Islamicgroups one should affirm the events of the unseen and the signs of doomsday: we may mention for instance, the coming of Christ and the appearance of the Dajjal, which all the sects believe in.These are not counted among the principles of Islam nor is their denial the cause of expulsion from Islam, nor belief in them proof of one's being a Muslim. The same argument view holds good for faith in“raj'ah” .

Indeed even if it is demonstrated that it relates to the roots of the faith of the Shi'as, we should ask whether concurrence with any Jewish belief is the result of Jewish influence. The Muslims believe in the oneness of God.

The Jews also worship one God. As a result of these shared views, can anyone have the courage to talk of the influence of Judaism? It would be interesting to see what these people who indulge in taunts and emotional slander have to say in this matter.

“God Almighty will give life to a group of people for the second time.” Is itan impossibility ? Has this story never been mentioned in the Book ofGod ? “Consider, oh Muhammad, Those of a past age who left their homes in their thousands, fearing death, and God Said to them: Die, and then be brought back to life.” (2:243) Has the following holy verse never been read by anybody?“And the day on whichWe shall raise a group from every “ummah” (27:83). If it means the day of judgement, then on that day not a group from every ummah but all the ummahs (peoples) will be restored to life.

This is not a new affair. The 'ulema of the majority community have been making this matter a target of attack since the very beginning. It has been noted, in this connection that when they do not find any grounds for criticising the veracity of an eminent Shi'a reporter of hadith, they begin taunting the Shi'as about“raj'ah” as if they were accusing someone of idol-worshipping or polytheism. Relative to this problem in question is the well known story of Mu'min at-Taq and Abu Hanifah. We believe,however , that this matter does not merit further argument.

We consider it sufficient to have established the moral perversion of certain misguided persons.

The author of“Fajru 'l-Islam” says:“The fire of gehennam will not be allowed to burn the Shi'as, except for a few among them and then only for a time.” Only God knows from which Shi'a book this view has been taken. I wish the learned writer had some better evidence and could provide the necessary proof for this view.

The Shi'abooks clearly says :“Paradise is the reward for the obedient servant of God even if he is an Abyssinian slave, and hell is for the wicked even if he is one of the Sayyids of Quraysh. Traditions on the above subject have been related by the Holy Imams (a.s .) and they are so many in number that they can hardly be counted. If theabove mentioned author is referring to the intercession of the Prophet (s.a.w.) or the Imams (a.s.) then of course the question of intercession is another matter which all the Muslims believe in. This matter will be dealt with in more detail in another book.

Suffice it to say that belief in such a matter is hardly a reason to say that Shi'ism has been taken from Judaism just because the latter shows this belief.

Abu Hanifah agrees in some questions of marriage (nikah) with the Zoroastrians, but would it be appropriate to say that the Imam of the Hanafis had based his 'fiqh' (jurisprudence) on Zoroastrianism? And for further proof, advantage could be taken of his being a man of Iranian descent. In short, these are all baseless ways and means through which the desires of certain Shi'ahs men for mutual confusion and discord among the various Muslim sects are fulfilled.

The allegedinfluences of Christianity in the Shi'a religion is another taunt, which is hardly less painful. Honesty should demand that Ahmad Amin research his material more carefully. he erroneously considered sects like the Khitabiyyah, the Gharabiyyah, the Alawiyyah, the Mukhmasah, the Bazi'iyyah and the Ghullat as Shi'as, although, like the Qaramitah, they are apostate groups having no real link with the Shi'as. The Imania Shi'as and their religious leaders are absolutely aloof from these schools of thought; the aforesaid sects are hardly like Christians, but they go so far as to believe that the Imam is himself god in the the form of an incarnation. Their faculty concepts have a striking resemblance to the faith and beliefs of mystics. It appears from the statements of well-known mystics like Hallaj, Gilani, Rafa'i and Badawi, etc. which they thought that they had reached a stage which was higher than divinity and godhead itselfThose who believe in 'wahdat al-wujud' (pantheism) also have the same conceptions.

But the Imamia Shi'as who number millions in Iraq, Iran and the subcontinent of India and Afghanistan are, as Shi'a, free from such beliefs, and regard these conceptions as infidelity and digression from the right path. Their religion is pure 'tawhid' (Oneness of God). Neither do they believe that God resembles any created being, nor do they tolerate that His perfect attributes be considered defective or comparable to creation's attributes; rather they consider anyconcept which is the negation of His eternal existence and attributes utterly wrong.

The metaphysical beliefs of the shi'as are carefully explained in numerous books. The smaller “at-Tajrid” of KhwajahNasiru 'd -dinn at-Tusi, or the monumental“Kitab al-Asfar” of Sadru 'd-din ash-Shirazi, both merit study in this subject. Thereare thousands of other books in which the theories of metempsychosis, divine union and re-incarnation are proved erroneous.

However the author of“Fajru 'l-Islam” , by levelling utterly false charges against the Shi'as, has not done any useful service to the religion of Islam and its ummat (nation). Since we have shown in some detail that the book“Fajru 'l-Islam” is full of false claims and accusations unsupported by evidence we will pass on to consider other areas- of misunderstanding. (We have mentioned this book and its author as an example, so that the world may know how ignorant the masses must be if the 'ulema' and authors of the majority community are as we have described.)

The difficulty is that those who write about theShi'as, take such unlikely authors as ibn Khaldun and Ahmad ibn 'Abdi Rabbih Andalusi as their source. Moreover the present day writers in their show of liberality regard Professor Wellhausen and Professor Dozy as authorities. But no one takes the trouble of referring to the scholarly works of the Shi'as. The result is that when a Shi'a goes through the books of these scholars he finds in them the same sort of absurdities about himself to which Raghib Isfahani has referred to in his book“al-Muhadirat” . The author writes:“In the court of Ja'far ibn Sulayman a Muslim was giving evidence about someone's infidelity. When he was asked what he knew about the defendant, he said, “This man is Mu'tazili.he is Nasibi; he is Harwari; he is Jabri; he is Rafzi; he rails at 'Ali ibn Khattab, 'Umar ibn Abi Qahafah, 'Uthman ibn Abi Talib, and Abu Bakr ibn 'Affan. Also he abuses Hajjaj, who pulled down Kufah on Abu Sufyan, and on the day of Qata'if (the day of Tafur 'Ashura') fought against Husayn ibn Mu'awiyah” . Hearing this Ja'far said,“Damn you! I do not know for which branch of learning I should envy you - historical, religious or geographical knowledge!”

As regards 'Abdullah ibn Saba, whose name has been associated with the Shi'as, if one studies any Shi'a book one will find that he is held in contempt; rather the mildest works about him that are to be found in the books written by Shi'a authors are:“'Abdullah ibn Saba - curses be upon him” . We should mention that some people hold the view that 'Abdullah ibn saba, like Majnun, 'Amiri, and Abu Hilal, were in fact only ficticious heroes of story and legend.

During the middle period of the Umayyah and 'Abbasid rule, self-indulgence, sport and play, had reached the middle period of the Umayyah and 'Abbasid rule, self-indulgence, sport and play, had reached such a height that story-telling had become a part of the life of the residents of the palace. It was in such an atmosphere that the stories were contrived.

Our original aim was to dwell on this subject. But considering the repeated attacks on the authors of the present age, we thought it necessary to introduce briefly the beliefs and faiths, important principles and the articles of practice of the Shi'as. It should be noted that in the Shi'a religion the door of“Ijtihad” (endeavor to arrive at a conclusion regarding any religious problem) is always open, and so long as there is no violation of“ijma” ' (consensus), the Book (the Holy Quran), sunnah, and intellectual reasoning, every“mujtahid” (religious scholar of exceptional merit) is free in his opinion; anyone who violates these limits and draws his own conclusion will be considered misguided; the opinion of such a man will be regarded as purely personal, individual and unfit to be followed.

In these pages it is not possible to deal with all matters in detail, so only those fundamentals of Shi'ism will be explained in which there is no room for disagreement.

Not much attention will be paid to arguments and proofs as this is appropriate only for larger volumes. Our only aim is that all the Muslims, individually and collectively, may know the real beliefs of the Shi'as and, by refraining from attributing false beliefs to their brothers, may not do injustice tothemselves . Rather than considering Shi'ahs as evil spirits, demons, jinn, beasts and monsters, they should regard them as a special branch of their society, since by the grace of God the Shi'as of Hadrat 'Ali (a.s.) are adorned with a true Islamic character, knowledge of and belief in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, blessings of faith, and kind manners, and live according to principles which are based on reasoning and certain proofs.

Muhammad Husayn Al-Kashifi 'l-Ghita'

Najaf al-Ashraf

Jamadi 'l-awwal 1350 A.H. (1931 A. D.)

Life, Rising Up

1- Human life is an immensely glorious phenomenon. Some people, however, have taken it for granted, considering it as a normal thing available to everyone. Those who have tried to interpret life materialistically and regard the source of life as unknown or arising from alien creatures from outer space, are incapable of seeing the supreme values of life.

2- Life is virtually respectable, and seeks its own activity and preservation under any circumstances. Man will never feel reluctant toward life unless mental disorder darkens his picture of life.

3- To discover the aim of life, man must step much higher than his unconscious, fatalistic nature. If man limits life to a purely natural one - feelings, actions and desires arising from animal instincts and reproduction - he will never find an elevated aim for his life. If man is to find the true meaning of life, he should go far beyond his natural life.

4- Life has two dimensions: physical and spiritual. Since the material aspect of human life is the grounds for man's mental and spiritual activity, any disorder in his physical aspect will affect the other, too. The mental and spiritual aspect of human life are essentially important, but should be activated by means of proper development and flourishing further.

5- Human life cannot be discovered without activating the spiritual dimension of life. As a general rule, when man drowns in some phenomenon, since he cannot control it, not only will he never understand it deeply, the phenomenon will be unable to show its true self, too. If man's life flourishes, his starting point and destination in life will also reveal themselves.

6- If the spiritual dimension is not activated, man's life will pass with baseless games, attractions and mockery. Sometimes man deceives himself with limited knowledge, and sometimes his natural instincts influence his reasoning and wisdom, making him move along the negative path of life, interpreting life with the pleasure he gets out of satisfying his natural instincts.

The selfishness and hedonism caused by man's indulging in his instincts makes him misinterpreting his life, and struggling along the wrong path for a whole lifetime. If man's spiritual aspect is activated, his tools of discovery will no longer be affected by desires and pleasures, but logically flourish, for the spiritual aspect of life casts a kind of light upon all of man's knowledge, preventing any deceit. Without activating the spiritual aspect of life, life loses its true form, and man will drown in the superficial prolific of life.

7- Human life has no value without the activation of the spiritual aspect. Respect toward man's nature is not possible unless the spiritual aspect of life is activated, and that happens only when all humans are considered as equal. As we read in the Holy Qur’an:

    من قتل نفسا بغير نفس او فساد فی الارض فکانما قتل الناس جميعا و من احياها فكانما احيا الناس جميعا

“Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a slain soul, nor for corruption done in the land, shall be as if he had slain mankind altogether; and whoso gives life to a soul, shall be as if he had given life to mankind altogether.”( 5:32)

When man becomes so evil that he insults God by killing another human being - and insulting the creator of the whole universe is in fact equal to insulting the whole universe itself, too, which man himself is also the most valuable and glorious part of - killing one human being is equal to killing all of mankind, and giving life to a human being is equivalent to giving all of humanity life. This is why the human disposition of a human being who has a deep understanding of truth is so heavily respected.

Throughout history, the human nature and disposition has been paid respect for various reasons, each of which calls for study and criticism. Some of them are:

a) Throughout history, all outstanding figures have generally advocated respect for the human disposition, and the public, influenced by them, have imitated them in doing so.

b) Crude, primitive emotions and feelings have also led to support for respecting the human disposition. However, this motive has no strong basis, so it cannot be regarded as a stable factor. It fades when cruelty and filth is done by man, or man's selfishness overflows.

c) The third reason is religion, for all religions see respect for the human disposition as their highest item of anthropological agenda. In divine religions, respect for the human disposition is based on God's will, which has created man's life as glorious and precious.

d) Deep feeling for the human disposition; recognizing and receiving man's disposition in the general harmony of the universe. Such a feeling is in fact the supreme religious feeling mentioned above. Of course, man's reaching this great and profound feeling - which regards each human being as a fundamental component of the general harmony of the universe - calls for development and perfection.

e) Some regard scientific, industrial and artistic advances and human cultures as the motive for respecting the human disposition, whereas such issues can only prove the greatness and importance of human potentials, not the necessity of respecting the human disposition. During the last few centuries, science has made a great deal of progress, but respect for the human disposition has waned.

f) Humanists also support the value of man, referring to the decree of wisdom and reason on the necessity of supporting mankind. Depending on reason and wisdom - theoretical wisdom and reason, at that, which does not concern supreme human values and principles - respect and value for the human disposition cannot be gained. Reason-based humanism, which has become hugely popular these days, has still not been successful in bringing human beings together in friendship and affection, or creating respect and love between them. The only motive that can make value and respect for the human disposition a reality is a religious one.

8- Concepts like character, ego, spirit and soul will only exist when the spiritual dimension of man's life is activated. Drowning in selfishness and

hedonism destroys the harmony in man's management of his life, inhibiting his character, ego and spirit - which are vital for the evolution of man's life - from flourishing. When man feels hedonism is all he needs, he will not seek spirit or character anymore.

The Factors that Can Elevate Man's Evolutionary Life

The human soul has the potential for development and perfection; in order to achieve them, we must figure out what factors or methods can lead man to an evolutionary life. Here, we will provide 21 principles for it:

1- Man's natural self cannot be the leader of man's soul. If the human soul drowns in selfishness - in other words, if it is degraded down to its “natural self” - it will be unable to evolve. The natural self (ego) manages the initial, compulsory life; it never undertakes activating supreme levels and aspects. Let us quote from Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) from Divan-e-shams:

    برگشاده ســوی بالا، بالهـــا زده انـدر زمين چنگـــالها

    خواجه می گريد که ماند از قافله خنده ها دارد از اين ماندن خرش

(The soul has spread its wings, heading for the heavens, but the body clings to the earth - this world - with its claws. The wealthy man weeps, for he has fallen behind his group; his donkey is laughing at this.)

2- God helps man with his spiritual evolution. As Imam Ali has said:

    عبادالله ان من احب عبادالله اليه عبدا اعانه الله علی نفسه

“O servants of God! God's most precious servants are those God has helped to crush their lusts and desires.”

God, of course helps man know and elevate his soul when man himself wants it. As Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi says:

    چون چنين خواهی، خدا خواهد چنين حــق بــــرآرد آرزوی متّقيــــن

(When you want it, God will do it: God grants what the pious ask for.)

The potential and grounds for the will and enthusiasm to do good deeds is hidden inside man; the best reason to prove it is the great, glorious group of developed righteousness-seeking humans that have existed throughout history.

If such a will and progress toward development and perfection does not flourish, several inhibiting factors can be named, which we can generally categorize into two groups:

a) Man's hallucinations and inductions to himself, implying that it is too difficult for him to gain mystic knowledge and elevate his soul.

b) External factors also sometimes inhibit man. Unsuitable social circumstances, the lack of constructive education and many others factors are what man must overcome and do his best to move toward development and perfection; he should not shrug off developing himself.

3- The most important form of justice is justice toward oneself, which is not possible without harnessing one's desires. Self-preservation is the most significant factor that makes life go on. When the human disposition is released from all laws or human principles, it will fall into its natural path.

Any activity aiming to preserve the natural self is destructive to man. If man proceeds toward elevating his soul - in other words, if he defies his desires and lusts - he has taken the first step toward making justice a reality. If man cannot do justice with regard to his own forces and potentials and save himself from drowning in lusts and desires, how can he ever provide others with justice?

4- One must not attempt to fulfill others' wishes and desires to the extent that one's own soul becomes corrupt. When governing people requires convincing them, and convincing them must be done by satisfying their desires and lusts, the result will be nothing but the corruption of the soul of the ruler and his helpers.

One who is sensitive about the improvement and refinement of his own soul, will never be ready to corrupt it in order to fulfill others' wishes; rather, the shining rays of his brilliant, good-deeded soul can cast light on others, too.

5- Make use of yourself for yourself. As Imam Ali says:

    فاخذ امرو من نفسه لنفسه

“Developed man makes use of himself to his own benefit.”

    خويش را تسليــم کن، بــردار مزد وانگه از خود بی ز خود چيزی بدزد

    چون به هر ميلی که دل خواهی سپرد از تو چيـزی در نهان خواهند برد

(Make me true, and take any reward you like from me; but if you give your soul to anyone you wish, they will steal your inside from you secretly.)

Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi

Man possesses potentials and talents that blossom on contact with the world outside. Some people make use of their potentials in order to achieve their natural goals; still others use them to gain human goals - these people make positive use of themselves. They activate their positive potentials, and enjoy perfection and development.

6- If you do not know yourself, you are doomed. Let us quote from Imam Ali:

    هلک امرؤ لم يعرف قدره

“If man does not recognize his own value and potential, he is doomed.”

We cannot make use of ourselves without knowing ourselves. Man cannot activate his talents and potentials if he does not discover them and know about them.

7- Nobody will pay any attention to one who pays no attention to his/her own self. If man does not care about himself, and does not activate his talents and potentials, he should never expect others to care about him, either.

As Imam Ali has said about this essential principle of evolutionary life:

    و اعلموا انه من لم يعن علی نفسه حتی يکون له منها واعظ و زاجر لم يکن له من غيرها لا زاجر و لا واعظ

“Lo and behold, he who does not care to be his own internal advisor and conscience, nothing and nobody else will do that for him.”

No one, not even God's prophets, can guide man toward perfection and development unless man himself attempts to progress. Man must have the will to construct and develop himself if he is to move toward evolutionary life.

8- If you know yourself, you will know your God. As the Holy Prophet of Islam Muhammad has said:

    من عرف نفسه فقد عرف ربه

“If you discover yourself, you have in fact discovered your Lord.”

Thus, if the human “self” - the human” soul”, in fact - is comprehensively known and discovered, the greatest step toward knowing God has been taken, for:

a) One of the aspects of the “self” is a monotheist nature which puts man in contact with God.

b) The human self can gain complete knowledge of the universe, and see the divine light shining on the universe.

c) Knowledge of the unity of the human disposition, with all its diverse qualities, is a sign of the conceptual multiplicity of God's qualities.

d) Abstracting the human soul - the human self - from material aspects and the dominance of such abstraction on the body without making physical contact with it.

e) All the activities of the human disposition without subtracting anything from it or analyzing it.

f) Creating works of art or mathematical operations is a sign of how God works.

g) The imaginations formed in the human mind are examples of creating facts with no physical background about them whatsoever.

9- Always calculate and balance yourself. Self-calculation and self-balance is a fundamental principle on the path to elevating evolutionary life. Some may think that in these days of machine-like life and people's hectic lifestyles, no one has the time to do self-calculations, whereas they would take serious steps toward doing so if educational systems and social leaders made them understand the crucial importance of having an original character. If man analyzes and calculates his own nature and character, life will have a different meaning to him; social leaders and those responsible for education must realize how necessary this is.

10- In evolutionary life, you must not degrade the value and glory of your own self by submitting to profanity and being prolific. Let us quote from Imam Ali:

    و اکرم نفسک عن کل دنية و ان ساقتک الی الرغايب فانک لن تعتاض بما تبذل من نفسک عوضا

“Consider your nature, your disposition, as too great to be traded with lowly, decadent affairs, even though your nature may encourage you toward them, for they are quite attractive and satisfying. But you will lose far more than you gain if you fall for them.”

Giving in to lowly affairs and decadence is the greatest barrier on the path to development and perfection. Not all means can guide one to the aim

of life. Man should not sell the elixir of his existence for a meager price. If the human ego is lost, nothing can ever replace it. The value of the “self” is higher than anything else. Countless human beings have sacrificed themselves for meager desires and lusts, thinking that they have gained something.

11- One of the most significant effects of evolutionary life is adjusting oneself with regard to others. The correct criterion for the relationship between human beings is a crucially important issue. Here, by relationships between human beings we do not refer merely to social life, for the main factor that makes social life is not making any disturbances in life and providing the grounds for people's talents and potentials to be harmonized and put to better use in order to make social life a reality.

The criterion necessary for the relationship between human beings on the path toward evolutionary intelligible life is far beyond the rules and criteria in social life. That criterion is nothing but the human ego - a purified human ego, of course, that moves on the path toward development and perfection.

12- Supreme effort is the strongest force of evolutionary life. As Imam Ali has said,

    قدر الرجل علی قدر همته

“A man's value and merit lies in his effort and endeavor.”

Extreme effort has some conditions:

a) Supreme aim and dissatisfaction about what the society imposes upon man.

b) Stepping beyond the waves of mortal desires and evaluating natural pleasures, which keep man busy and prevent him from development and elevation.

c) Logically interpreting the concepts of “possibility” and “impossible.” Some people who have enough power and will to accomplish things mistake the possible with the impossible; they imagine what they aim for is beyond their abilities.

d) Will power has a crucial role in making supreme effort fruitful, for man will accomplish nothing without will power.

With supreme effort, man will achieve:

● Patience: Supreme effort gives man firmness and tranquility against the negative consequences of pleasures and sorrow.

● Revealing the secrets of the soul: Pleasures and sorrows deprive man of the secrets in his soul. With supreme effort, man can put up a resistance against them.

● Social constructivism: Only human beings of supreme effort can construct the society.

● Freedom: Supreme effort can set man free.

● The highest level of freedom increases the heart's capacity for gaining goodwill and perfection.

13- One of the signs of entering evolutionary life is clearing the soul of all hatred and frustrations. If we hate another person intensely, to the extent that hatred fills our souls and affects our other mental activities, it will be a horrendous grudge. Grudges make man lose his ability to see things

righteously. Man ignores human values and will continue until he destroys the one he hates.

14- You cannot proceed on the path of evolutionary life unless you stop expecting rewards for your good deeds. If man's relationship with others becomes a form of trade, he will never make it to the path of evolutionary life. Some people never seem willing to give anything unless they gain something in return. Trade and reward and punishment are phenomena necessary to the natural ego, but man must step beyond them if he is to achieve development and evolution.

15- Feeling that your purely natural life is insufficient can make you start moving on the path of evolutionary life. If man does not feel eager to become perfect, if he does not suffer from his shortcomings, he will never make any progress on the path to evolutionary life. Alas, many people do not feel the need for reaching perfection, so they take no action toward eliminating their shortcomings.

16- In an evolutionary life, rewards and punishments are based upon intentions. Intention consists of decision and objective action, the merit of which depends on one hand upon the value of man's effort in deciding to do so, and on the other hand upon man's mental motive. If man's decision is based on a negative motive, his character will deteriorate a positive motive will, in contrast, boost his personality. This is why we can say that reward and punishment - rise or fall - depends on our intentions.

17- The basic factor in man's evolutionary life is the fact that God watches man's every single word, action and even what goes on deep inside him. If man believes that God is aware of his every move - internally or externally - he will avoid evil. Such a man will not avoid wrongdoing for fear of social punishment, but rather due to his shame toward his creator. Belief that God is at all times observing every aspect of human life can elevate man's evolutionary life, for man now knows that God wishes the best for him, and has provided him with intelligible ways to get there, and the tools he needs to do so; obeying what God wants man to do is the path to perfection.

18- Man's evolutionary life cannot be elevated without activating the human intellect, which in turn cannot serve man without spiritual purification. If intelligence enjoys the advice and directions of a pure conscience and sound nature and disposition, it can guide man toward progress and perfection, for intelligence alone is unable to provide man with evolutionary advance. It should be accompanied with self-purification in order to remove all the inhibiting factors on its path.

19- The human ego requires natural flourish and expansion in order to proceed on the path of evolutionary life.

If the perfection-seeking human soul starts its climb toward supernatural progress without any chances for relaxation or rest, and constantly cuts its ego off from all its natural characteristics, forcing them to obey its furiously accelerating development, the ego will undoubtedly suffer, losing the management of its body, which serves as its steed. Thus, moderate dealing with the ego is necessary for elevation toward evolutionary life.

20- In evolutionary life, man's progress should be forward-looking at all times. Sometimes imitating one's predecessors' beliefs and traditions prevents man from logical activity and progress. This is why we must state that on his path toward evolutionary life, man must analyze the culture that dominates his society, and remove any sedimentary elements in it. Imitations are steel dams inhibiting man's advance toward evolution.

There are two kinds of future man must have in mind on the path to evolutionary life:

a) The future of this worldly life, for which thoughts and intelligence are a crucial necessity.

b) The future of man's other life, which if man ignores or defies, interpreting his worldly life will also become impossible.

21- Those who are the most obedient of God also have the best intentions about their own selves. As Imam Ali has said,

    عبادالله ان انصح الناس لنفسه اطوعهم لربه و ان اغشهم لنفسه اعصاهم لربه

“O servants of God, those people who are the most obedient are the kindest to themselves, and those who defy God are betraying themselves the worst of all.”

Man, in contact with God, sees Him supervising and dominating his ego. Such a feeling makes man believe that he is always in the realm of God, so he will not fall astray from God's path.

Intelligible Life, the Fundamental Domain

Human life can be divided into two kinds, purely natural life and intelligible life. In the former, which is a somewhat animal-like life, people are engaged in a battle for survival. Their sole aim is to fulfill their natural desires, and since their life is totally engulfed by worldly needs, the positive aspects of humanity are entirely forgotten. Man’s infatuation with purely natural ways of life has greatly influenced the history of mankind. Let us take a look at some of its effects:

1- Stupefaction replacing consciousness

2- The destruction of positive forms of love

3- Conflicts between power and righteousness

4- Self-bestrangedness

5- Selfishness and stubbornness

6- Misjudging the human character

7- Human relationships based on personal benefit

8- Various philosophizations tending to vouch for human corruptions

9- Considering oneself as the goal and others as one’s means to achieve it

10- Ruining the environment

11- Man’s conflict with his own self

12- The destruction of man’s highest emotions and unity

13- The waning of human affection and sympathy

14- Sacrificing the goal for its means

15- Aimless deconstructing and weakening original cultures

16- Losing one’s aim in life and falling into nihilism

17- Uncertainty and anxiety about one’s future

18- Self-alienation

19- The aimlessness and uselessness of the arts

20- Increasing suicide

21- Social maladjustment

22- Pitiful incompetence in explaining absolutes and relativities

The Definition of Intelligible Life

A conscious life which guides the compulsory and pseudo-compulsory forces and activities of man’s natural life in the path toward evolutionary goals by means of more freedom of choice; thus, the human character is gradually developed and guided toward the highest end of life - playing a role in the whole harmony of the universe dependent upon divine greatness.

Let us take a closer look at some of the most important aspects of this definition:

● A 'Conscious Life': Living an intelligible life, man is quite conscious of his life. His character is independent, and everything he does arises from his original personality, not imitating of others. In an intelligible life, man is totally aware of the principles and values of life, and follows them.

● 'Guiding the compulsory and pseudo-compulsory forces and activities of man’s natural life toward evolutionary goals by means of more freedom of choice': moving on the path of intelligible life, man is well aware of the fatalistic, compulsory causes and factors surrounding him, and tries to make the most of his freedom. For instance, if he wins a better position, he does not allow the factors around him that may lead to pride or arrogance make him fall astray from his progress toward perfection and commitment to great human values. In an intelligible life, man achieves the highest level of free will, and the more he makes use of his freedom in his will, the greater his intelligible life will be.

We should not neglect the critical role of environmental factors and social leaders in making intelligible life possible. In unsuitable social conditions, freedom of will - and subsequently intelligible life - will have no chance to flourish. Therefore, leaders of societies should encourage proper human virtues and values.

● 'Towards evolutionary goals': In an intelligible life, all of man’s actions, words, even his mental activities aim for perfection. He never feels that he has finally become perfect; he is constantly trying to raise himself to greater levels of perfection.

● 'Gradually developing the human character'. All of man’s positive potentials and talents flourish in an intelligible life, and he finds a life of happiness and prosperity. His naive, childish feelings fade away, and his petty interests are replaced by greater, more valuable ones. In an intelligible life, the human character uses internal and external realities correctly, for every aspect of his life is undergoing evolutionary metamorphosis.

● 'Being guided towards the highest end of life': Man cannot achieve the highest aims of life by drowning in the compulsory and pseudo-compulsory tendencies of his natural self. If he wants to accomplish the greatest ends in life, his actions must be logical and conscientious, and he should be determined enough to make use of the mental activities needed to interpret the highest aims of life.

The Role of Wisdom in an intelligible Life

Wisdom in an intelligible life is not confined to theoretical wisdom - although theoretical wisdom too is a necessary tool in an intelligible life - for anything useful to man's life cannot be ignored in an intelligible life. Both theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom - man's alert, active, motivating conscience - are employed in an intelligible life to elevate and develop the human character. They harmoniously provide the grounds for elevation to the level of perfect wisdom, which is of great mystic significance.

Here we must criticize schools of thought such as rationalism for overemphasizing the role of wisdom, and considering it dominant over man's life without any divine interference at all. Many rationalists ignore the fact that if man's opportunist, ambitious nature is guided toward divine aspects, it will move on the path to an intelligible life, where man can step out of his “self-orientated” nature and be attracted by his “real ego” to an intelligible life - and this is the only way man can abandon war, bloodshed, atrocity and all other evil, and change “the history of purely natural life” into “the history of mankind”.

The Feasibility of an intelligible Life

Some people believe that man is generally incapable of achieving an intelligible life, and only an exceptional few have been able to leave “purely natural life” for a “intelligible life”. In other words, most people are drowned in their “purely natural life”.

We must first say that man does possess the capacity for accepting an intelligible life, for when he feels a passion for something, he will aim for it, and bear any inconvenience he has to in order to achieve it. Those who love fame or wealth undergo a great deal of trouble, pain and insults in order to achieve success in acquiring them.

Second, when man moves on the path of an intelligible life, he feels that he is approaching something not impossible, but a truly original life, which he will find highly valuable.

Also, though the number of those who have developed themselves into an intelligible life is low, they are not totally exceptional people, for when man moves on the path of intelligible life, he feels that all of the necessary elements for perfection exist in him, and are in no conflict with his innate natural self.

Social leaders should try to help their people realize what a conscious life feels like. If leaders of societies make their people understand how necessary a life of consciousness is, they will never protest. If human beings become aware of the glory of justice, honesty and wisdom existing in actions and words and the glorious sense of duty and love for peers, they will easily accept it. By reinforcing and developing man's positive potentials, he can be made aware of the importance of understanding and adopting the necessity of endeavor toward an intelligible life.

This is the same mind that can so delicately gather wealth, fame and defeat his rivals by means of brilliant ideas, and high intelligence throughout his purely natural life; surely, can it not understand that its

wisdom and intellect can be employed toward higher goals, such as serving his peers, justice and upholding the right? Can it not realize that it is able to seriously calculate the mysteries of the universe, not merely act like on a stage?

When discussing the feasibility of intelligible life we must keep in mind that the human character can be developed, “built up.” Man can improve himself through calculations made in his intelligence and conscience. The important point is identifying the way to explore reaching intelligible life, and that is not impossible. If man steps beyond his “purely natural life,” he can enter “intelligible life,” where he will undergo eleven changes:

● his raw feelings change into elevated emotions;

● his scattered brainwaves turn into “specific thoughts about a certain topic;”

● his raw kindness becomes “intelligible affection;”

● his high expectations change into “motivating hopes;”

● his nominal likes and interests become perfection-creating ones;

● being content with worthless concepts of goodness and perfection give way to effort toward discovering the real truth about them;

● pure imitation and passiveness will disappear, and be replaced by original, direct thought and truth-finding;

● fractional, theoretical chess games in the mind will be replaced by harmony between sound wisdom and realistic conscience;

● elevated freedom will replace desires;

● seeing oneself as exceptional as and higher than others will change into understanding the highest human unity and equality among humans as being the means or the end.

● Being content with the milestones of life in this world as man’s main goal is replaced by always considering oneself as still on the way.

A Closer Look at the Aspects of Intelligible Life

When man moves toward intelligible life, every aspect of his life will undergo dramatic change. Let us take a closer look at some of them:

1- The human character in intelligible life: According to the following three principles, the human character is virtually valuable:

a) Man is a being who has various talents and is ready to step up to higher stages of perfection and greatness. Throughout history we see human beings who ascended to the pinnacles of humanity, showing the most brilliant human ideals.

b) Despite all the diversity people have in race, appearance or secondary qualities, they still have the same universal harmony. In other words, they can move along the ultimate path of life.

c) In spite of ethnical, social and other differences people have, they feel a kind of value-based unity regarding each other if they are in a well-balanced mental state. Such a feeling is deeply rooted in man's soul, and many of the heroic acts he has shown throughout history depict the unity men have in their common principles and values.

We cannot accept the three above-mentioned principles without believing in intelligible life. In other words, proving the value of human character is a result of accepting intelligible life. This cannot be done unless the “natural

self” is overcome. Having stepped beyond his natural self, man can accept the existence of others, understand his basic relationship with them, and regard the human character as valuable.

On the path of intelligible life, man sees great human beings from a vaster, more elevated horizon, as if they are mirrors reflecting divine beauty and glory. Those who obey natural life, on the other hand, are considered worthless, even if they are socially outstanding.

2- Ethics in an intelligible life: In order to understand how important ethics is in intelligible life, we should compare it with ethics in a purely natural life:

a) In purely natural life, ethics consists of accepting principles confirmed by the society, and the reason for obeying them is merely to avoid interference between individuals. But ethics in an intelligible life means considering oneself as part of the whole of human life, which has - as the Qur’an states - divinity breathed in it, and accepting the principle that all human beings come from the same origin. In such a system of moral ethics, man does not wish for others what he would not wish for himself. He does not blindly follow a set of socially established norms.

b) The favorable ethics in natural life consists of following emotional desires and whims, whether they are to the benefit of other human beings or not. Thus, each person does as he/she may please, whereas in intelligible life man's emotions are elevated to harmony with fixed human principles. In intelligible life, human emotions are based on justice considering other human beings as valuable.

c) The basis of moral ethics in purely natural life is accepting and obeying rules arising from choosing a lifestyle decreed by the social trends. In such ethics, great human moral virtues are ignored, and the only thing that matters is what desirable in social life; in intelligible life, on the other hand, principles such as free conscience representing goodness, perfection, and motivating human beings toward that are of significance.

d) In natural life, ethics serves as to enforce social laws and prevent crimes in the society. In intelligible life, however, it is not the servant of man's rights in a natural life or a reducer of crime - although if correctly used, it will have such results, too. The aim of ethics in intelligible life is to activate man's greatest potentials and elevate the members of the society.

3- Law in intelligible life: The purpose of the law is basically to enforce social order and mutual coexistence among members of the society. In intelligible life, it not only does so, but also emphasizes on the rights of human lives. If social laws pay sufficient attention to advancing evolutionary morals and true human love for having a free character, “the natural history of life” would become “the human history.” Human laws can never be effective unless man's natural self is well-balanced and all human beings move on the path of intelligible life.

Intelligible life insists on having rights for human lives alongside the rights of purely natural life. It makes people realize each other's advantages and spiritual greatness, and enables them to use such qualities; this is what changes a normal living being into Abuzar Ghafari, a wanderer into Owais Qarni, a petty poet into Hakim Sanaee, and a criminal into Fuzayl Ayaz.

4- Social relationships in intelligible life: Human relationships in intelligible life is based upon humanity, not seeking advantage of one another. In purely natural life, however, man only considers his own benefit, and his relationships with others are only to serve that purpose. In intelligible life, the way a teacher behaves with his students goes way beyond his salary. The teacher relates to not only their senses and thoughts, but indeed to their souls. In intelligible life, therefore, careful attention to the highest aim of life is what makes the link among people and provides human unity.

5- Science in intelligible life: It is vital for man to gain knowledge. Intelligible life and purely natural life agree on this. The difference is whether science makes man's natural self inflate, or control it. In a purely natural life, man may fall into infatuation for science, and consider nature only superficially; in intelligible life, however, man makes use of science as a means to advance toward his evolutionary goals; wisdom and free conscience control human desires, and all of man's physical and spiritual activities are guided by God. Here, man sees science as a divine ray of light -shining on human societies by means of the human senses, brain, nature and laboratories.

6- Ideology in intelligible life: Merely seeing the world outside and the world inside - just “taking photos of it, in fact - is quite different from observing and gaining knowledge about the universe by means of precision tools and determining where man stands as the knower. Man is not a living being who merely reflects the facts about the world inside himself like a big mirror, without any awareness of his own role in discovering them. Man has the capability to know everything about the universe and his knowledge of the world is by no means limited to mere photographic observation.

Such mental effort, dominant knowledge and observation leads to a vital result, and that is the fact that there is an extremely high philosophy and wisdom guiding the universe toward a very elevated destination by means of certain laws; every particle in the universe, when considered in relation to other particles, confirms that

    قطــرهای کــــز جويبــاری میرود از پــی انجــام کـــاری میرود

(There is a cause behind even a drop of water going by in a stream.)

The ideological principles understood and accepted by means of these basics undoubtedly enter man's deepest levels of psyche, and influence and explain his life. Such a life, accounted for according to the highest destination of the universe is called an intelligible life.

7- Arts in an Intelligible Life: When an artist steps into intelligible life, he does not want art for the sake of art itself anymore; he wants art for the sake of humanity in an intelligible life. Here, the artist pictures facts as they are and as they should be by means of his finely elevated emotions. In an intelligible life, the artist pays careful attention to the aim of life, and attempts to use his art to guide the fatalistic activities of man's natural life toward freedom and development. When a work of art is created, motivated by the cause of making intelligible life come true, it is not only an appealing work relieving man's fatigue of natural life, but also a wave of “intelligible

life itself, “reinforcing this kind of life in other members of the society and letting them get a taste of it, too.” Art in an intelligible life aims to develop man's awareness, freedom and perfection, not his animal-like wishes and natural desires.

8- Politics in an Intelligible Life: Politics is managing people's lives on the path to achieving the highest of physical and spiritual goals. Throughout history, politicians drowned in purely natural life have degraded the life of human beings down to “things.” Machiavelli has written the most possibly logical account based on purely natural life. He did not even for a moment consider intelligible life and the prospect of making it a reality in human societies. Instead of taking man's immense range of potentials into consideration, Machiavelli expressed his own internal thoughts. He believed that managing the purely natural life of people arises from “self-love.” In an intelligible life, however, politics has a goal, and a starting point and a path. The goal of politics in an intelligible life is creating factors of awareness and adjusting the fatalistic forces and activities of natural life by providing the development of freedom. The starting point is relief from self-love, and the path is continual searching by the human character in an effort to reach the highest aim of life.

9- Economy in an Intelligible Life: As far as a purely natural life is concerned, self-love confirms man's freedom in claiming dominance and absolute possession of all creatures. In a purely natural life, man considers all natural and man-made blessings and facilities as his own, and thinks his possession of them is unlimited; in an intelligible life, however, man believes that since all human beings have the right to live, the results of human mental and physical endeavor must serve to safeguard and preserve the whole of human life, and be present in the total rhythm of the universe. Such a human being considers goods at the service of life, not life at their service. Man's wishes and desires are harnessed in order to achieve social coexistence in an intelligible life, and economy is also considered to be a factor serving to guarantee man's survival, not inflating his natural self. In brief, man should let others also be provided with the financial blessings he has, and attempt to make their life more comfortable; he should not selfishly want everything for himself, and trample all values and morals in his commercial activities.

10- Education in an Intelligible Life: In an intelligible life, education includes reinforcing and enhancing the factors that influence cognition and understanding the original facts about life, and motivating the children in a society to gradually move from purely natural life to an intelligible life. The primary duty of education in an intelligible life is to dramatically change the mental and spiritual system of the learner by teaching him/her the basic principles of education, so that the learner considers them as vitally necessary as food and water are essential to his/her survival. In an intelligible life, moral virtues like honesty and justice are necessary to man's nature, and the educators and teachers of the society should try to activate human virtues.

If education is anything other than what we mentioned above - i.e, if the facts taught as the basics of education are regarded as not a part of the

human nature or virtues - not only will the learners be deprived of progress toward development and perfection, but also be influenced by external factors.

Life, Rising Up

1- Human life is an immensely glorious phenomenon. Some people, however, have taken it for granted, considering it as a normal thing available to everyone. Those who have tried to interpret life materialistically and regard the source of life as unknown or arising from alien creatures from outer space, are incapable of seeing the supreme values of life.

2- Life is virtually respectable, and seeks its own activity and preservation under any circumstances. Man will never feel reluctant toward life unless mental disorder darkens his picture of life.

3- To discover the aim of life, man must step much higher than his unconscious, fatalistic nature. If man limits life to a purely natural one - feelings, actions and desires arising from animal instincts and reproduction - he will never find an elevated aim for his life. If man is to find the true meaning of life, he should go far beyond his natural life.

4- Life has two dimensions: physical and spiritual. Since the material aspect of human life is the grounds for man's mental and spiritual activity, any disorder in his physical aspect will affect the other, too. The mental and spiritual aspect of human life are essentially important, but should be activated by means of proper development and flourishing further.

5- Human life cannot be discovered without activating the spiritual dimension of life. As a general rule, when man drowns in some phenomenon, since he cannot control it, not only will he never understand it deeply, the phenomenon will be unable to show its true self, too. If man's life flourishes, his starting point and destination in life will also reveal themselves.

6- If the spiritual dimension is not activated, man's life will pass with baseless games, attractions and mockery. Sometimes man deceives himself with limited knowledge, and sometimes his natural instincts influence his reasoning and wisdom, making him move along the negative path of life, interpreting life with the pleasure he gets out of satisfying his natural instincts.

The selfishness and hedonism caused by man's indulging in his instincts makes him misinterpreting his life, and struggling along the wrong path for a whole lifetime. If man's spiritual aspect is activated, his tools of discovery will no longer be affected by desires and pleasures, but logically flourish, for the spiritual aspect of life casts a kind of light upon all of man's knowledge, preventing any deceit. Without activating the spiritual aspect of life, life loses its true form, and man will drown in the superficial prolific of life.

7- Human life has no value without the activation of the spiritual aspect. Respect toward man's nature is not possible unless the spiritual aspect of life is activated, and that happens only when all humans are considered as equal. As we read in the Holy Qur’an:

    من قتل نفسا بغير نفس او فساد فی الارض فکانما قتل الناس جميعا و من احياها فكانما احيا الناس جميعا

“Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a slain soul, nor for corruption done in the land, shall be as if he had slain mankind altogether; and whoso gives life to a soul, shall be as if he had given life to mankind altogether.”( 5:32)

When man becomes so evil that he insults God by killing another human being - and insulting the creator of the whole universe is in fact equal to insulting the whole universe itself, too, which man himself is also the most valuable and glorious part of - killing one human being is equal to killing all of mankind, and giving life to a human being is equivalent to giving all of humanity life. This is why the human disposition of a human being who has a deep understanding of truth is so heavily respected.

Throughout history, the human nature and disposition has been paid respect for various reasons, each of which calls for study and criticism. Some of them are:

a) Throughout history, all outstanding figures have generally advocated respect for the human disposition, and the public, influenced by them, have imitated them in doing so.

b) Crude, primitive emotions and feelings have also led to support for respecting the human disposition. However, this motive has no strong basis, so it cannot be regarded as a stable factor. It fades when cruelty and filth is done by man, or man's selfishness overflows.

c) The third reason is religion, for all religions see respect for the human disposition as their highest item of anthropological agenda. In divine religions, respect for the human disposition is based on God's will, which has created man's life as glorious and precious.

d) Deep feeling for the human disposition; recognizing and receiving man's disposition in the general harmony of the universe. Such a feeling is in fact the supreme religious feeling mentioned above. Of course, man's reaching this great and profound feeling - which regards each human being as a fundamental component of the general harmony of the universe - calls for development and perfection.

e) Some regard scientific, industrial and artistic advances and human cultures as the motive for respecting the human disposition, whereas such issues can only prove the greatness and importance of human potentials, not the necessity of respecting the human disposition. During the last few centuries, science has made a great deal of progress, but respect for the human disposition has waned.

f) Humanists also support the value of man, referring to the decree of wisdom and reason on the necessity of supporting mankind. Depending on reason and wisdom - theoretical wisdom and reason, at that, which does not concern supreme human values and principles - respect and value for the human disposition cannot be gained. Reason-based humanism, which has become hugely popular these days, has still not been successful in bringing human beings together in friendship and affection, or creating respect and love between them. The only motive that can make value and respect for the human disposition a reality is a religious one.

8- Concepts like character, ego, spirit and soul will only exist when the spiritual dimension of man's life is activated. Drowning in selfishness and

hedonism destroys the harmony in man's management of his life, inhibiting his character, ego and spirit - which are vital for the evolution of man's life - from flourishing. When man feels hedonism is all he needs, he will not seek spirit or character anymore.

The Factors that Can Elevate Man's Evolutionary Life

The human soul has the potential for development and perfection; in order to achieve them, we must figure out what factors or methods can lead man to an evolutionary life. Here, we will provide 21 principles for it:

1- Man's natural self cannot be the leader of man's soul. If the human soul drowns in selfishness - in other words, if it is degraded down to its “natural self” - it will be unable to evolve. The natural self (ego) manages the initial, compulsory life; it never undertakes activating supreme levels and aspects. Let us quote from Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi (Rumi) from Divan-e-shams:

    برگشاده ســوی بالا، بالهـــا زده انـدر زمين چنگـــالها

    خواجه می گريد که ماند از قافله خنده ها دارد از اين ماندن خرش

(The soul has spread its wings, heading for the heavens, but the body clings to the earth - this world - with its claws. The wealthy man weeps, for he has fallen behind his group; his donkey is laughing at this.)

2- God helps man with his spiritual evolution. As Imam Ali has said:

    عبادالله ان من احب عبادالله اليه عبدا اعانه الله علی نفسه

“O servants of God! God's most precious servants are those God has helped to crush their lusts and desires.”

God, of course helps man know and elevate his soul when man himself wants it. As Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi says:

    چون چنين خواهی، خدا خواهد چنين حــق بــــرآرد آرزوی متّقيــــن

(When you want it, God will do it: God grants what the pious ask for.)

The potential and grounds for the will and enthusiasm to do good deeds is hidden inside man; the best reason to prove it is the great, glorious group of developed righteousness-seeking humans that have existed throughout history.

If such a will and progress toward development and perfection does not flourish, several inhibiting factors can be named, which we can generally categorize into two groups:

a) Man's hallucinations and inductions to himself, implying that it is too difficult for him to gain mystic knowledge and elevate his soul.

b) External factors also sometimes inhibit man. Unsuitable social circumstances, the lack of constructive education and many others factors are what man must overcome and do his best to move toward development and perfection; he should not shrug off developing himself.

3- The most important form of justice is justice toward oneself, which is not possible without harnessing one's desires. Self-preservation is the most significant factor that makes life go on. When the human disposition is released from all laws or human principles, it will fall into its natural path.

Any activity aiming to preserve the natural self is destructive to man. If man proceeds toward elevating his soul - in other words, if he defies his desires and lusts - he has taken the first step toward making justice a reality. If man cannot do justice with regard to his own forces and potentials and save himself from drowning in lusts and desires, how can he ever provide others with justice?

4- One must not attempt to fulfill others' wishes and desires to the extent that one's own soul becomes corrupt. When governing people requires convincing them, and convincing them must be done by satisfying their desires and lusts, the result will be nothing but the corruption of the soul of the ruler and his helpers.

One who is sensitive about the improvement and refinement of his own soul, will never be ready to corrupt it in order to fulfill others' wishes; rather, the shining rays of his brilliant, good-deeded soul can cast light on others, too.

5- Make use of yourself for yourself. As Imam Ali says:

    فاخذ امرو من نفسه لنفسه

“Developed man makes use of himself to his own benefit.”

    خويش را تسليــم کن، بــردار مزد وانگه از خود بی ز خود چيزی بدزد

    چون به هر ميلی که دل خواهی سپرد از تو چيـزی در نهان خواهند برد

(Make me true, and take any reward you like from me; but if you give your soul to anyone you wish, they will steal your inside from you secretly.)

Jalal-addin Muhammad Molawi

Man possesses potentials and talents that blossom on contact with the world outside. Some people make use of their potentials in order to achieve their natural goals; still others use them to gain human goals - these people make positive use of themselves. They activate their positive potentials, and enjoy perfection and development.

6- If you do not know yourself, you are doomed. Let us quote from Imam Ali:

    هلک امرؤ لم يعرف قدره

“If man does not recognize his own value and potential, he is doomed.”

We cannot make use of ourselves without knowing ourselves. Man cannot activate his talents and potentials if he does not discover them and know about them.

7- Nobody will pay any attention to one who pays no attention to his/her own self. If man does not care about himself, and does not activate his talents and potentials, he should never expect others to care about him, either.

As Imam Ali has said about this essential principle of evolutionary life:

    و اعلموا انه من لم يعن علی نفسه حتی يکون له منها واعظ و زاجر لم يکن له من غيرها لا زاجر و لا واعظ

“Lo and behold, he who does not care to be his own internal advisor and conscience, nothing and nobody else will do that for him.”

No one, not even God's prophets, can guide man toward perfection and development unless man himself attempts to progress. Man must have the will to construct and develop himself if he is to move toward evolutionary life.

8- If you know yourself, you will know your God. As the Holy Prophet of Islam Muhammad has said:

    من عرف نفسه فقد عرف ربه

“If you discover yourself, you have in fact discovered your Lord.”

Thus, if the human “self” - the human” soul”, in fact - is comprehensively known and discovered, the greatest step toward knowing God has been taken, for:

a) One of the aspects of the “self” is a monotheist nature which puts man in contact with God.

b) The human self can gain complete knowledge of the universe, and see the divine light shining on the universe.

c) Knowledge of the unity of the human disposition, with all its diverse qualities, is a sign of the conceptual multiplicity of God's qualities.

d) Abstracting the human soul - the human self - from material aspects and the dominance of such abstraction on the body without making physical contact with it.

e) All the activities of the human disposition without subtracting anything from it or analyzing it.

f) Creating works of art or mathematical operations is a sign of how God works.

g) The imaginations formed in the human mind are examples of creating facts with no physical background about them whatsoever.

9- Always calculate and balance yourself. Self-calculation and self-balance is a fundamental principle on the path to elevating evolutionary life. Some may think that in these days of machine-like life and people's hectic lifestyles, no one has the time to do self-calculations, whereas they would take serious steps toward doing so if educational systems and social leaders made them understand the crucial importance of having an original character. If man analyzes and calculates his own nature and character, life will have a different meaning to him; social leaders and those responsible for education must realize how necessary this is.

10- In evolutionary life, you must not degrade the value and glory of your own self by submitting to profanity and being prolific. Let us quote from Imam Ali:

    و اکرم نفسک عن کل دنية و ان ساقتک الی الرغايب فانک لن تعتاض بما تبذل من نفسک عوضا

“Consider your nature, your disposition, as too great to be traded with lowly, decadent affairs, even though your nature may encourage you toward them, for they are quite attractive and satisfying. But you will lose far more than you gain if you fall for them.”

Giving in to lowly affairs and decadence is the greatest barrier on the path to development and perfection. Not all means can guide one to the aim

of life. Man should not sell the elixir of his existence for a meager price. If the human ego is lost, nothing can ever replace it. The value of the “self” is higher than anything else. Countless human beings have sacrificed themselves for meager desires and lusts, thinking that they have gained something.

11- One of the most significant effects of evolutionary life is adjusting oneself with regard to others. The correct criterion for the relationship between human beings is a crucially important issue. Here, by relationships between human beings we do not refer merely to social life, for the main factor that makes social life is not making any disturbances in life and providing the grounds for people's talents and potentials to be harmonized and put to better use in order to make social life a reality.

The criterion necessary for the relationship between human beings on the path toward evolutionary intelligible life is far beyond the rules and criteria in social life. That criterion is nothing but the human ego - a purified human ego, of course, that moves on the path toward development and perfection.

12- Supreme effort is the strongest force of evolutionary life. As Imam Ali has said,

    قدر الرجل علی قدر همته

“A man's value and merit lies in his effort and endeavor.”

Extreme effort has some conditions:

a) Supreme aim and dissatisfaction about what the society imposes upon man.

b) Stepping beyond the waves of mortal desires and evaluating natural pleasures, which keep man busy and prevent him from development and elevation.

c) Logically interpreting the concepts of “possibility” and “impossible.” Some people who have enough power and will to accomplish things mistake the possible with the impossible; they imagine what they aim for is beyond their abilities.

d) Will power has a crucial role in making supreme effort fruitful, for man will accomplish nothing without will power.

With supreme effort, man will achieve:

● Patience: Supreme effort gives man firmness and tranquility against the negative consequences of pleasures and sorrow.

● Revealing the secrets of the soul: Pleasures and sorrows deprive man of the secrets in his soul. With supreme effort, man can put up a resistance against them.

● Social constructivism: Only human beings of supreme effort can construct the society.

● Freedom: Supreme effort can set man free.

● The highest level of freedom increases the heart's capacity for gaining goodwill and perfection.

13- One of the signs of entering evolutionary life is clearing the soul of all hatred and frustrations. If we hate another person intensely, to the extent that hatred fills our souls and affects our other mental activities, it will be a horrendous grudge. Grudges make man lose his ability to see things

righteously. Man ignores human values and will continue until he destroys the one he hates.

14- You cannot proceed on the path of evolutionary life unless you stop expecting rewards for your good deeds. If man's relationship with others becomes a form of trade, he will never make it to the path of evolutionary life. Some people never seem willing to give anything unless they gain something in return. Trade and reward and punishment are phenomena necessary to the natural ego, but man must step beyond them if he is to achieve development and evolution.

15- Feeling that your purely natural life is insufficient can make you start moving on the path of evolutionary life. If man does not feel eager to become perfect, if he does not suffer from his shortcomings, he will never make any progress on the path to evolutionary life. Alas, many people do not feel the need for reaching perfection, so they take no action toward eliminating their shortcomings.

16- In an evolutionary life, rewards and punishments are based upon intentions. Intention consists of decision and objective action, the merit of which depends on one hand upon the value of man's effort in deciding to do so, and on the other hand upon man's mental motive. If man's decision is based on a negative motive, his character will deteriorate a positive motive will, in contrast, boost his personality. This is why we can say that reward and punishment - rise or fall - depends on our intentions.

17- The basic factor in man's evolutionary life is the fact that God watches man's every single word, action and even what goes on deep inside him. If man believes that God is aware of his every move - internally or externally - he will avoid evil. Such a man will not avoid wrongdoing for fear of social punishment, but rather due to his shame toward his creator. Belief that God is at all times observing every aspect of human life can elevate man's evolutionary life, for man now knows that God wishes the best for him, and has provided him with intelligible ways to get there, and the tools he needs to do so; obeying what God wants man to do is the path to perfection.

18- Man's evolutionary life cannot be elevated without activating the human intellect, which in turn cannot serve man without spiritual purification. If intelligence enjoys the advice and directions of a pure conscience and sound nature and disposition, it can guide man toward progress and perfection, for intelligence alone is unable to provide man with evolutionary advance. It should be accompanied with self-purification in order to remove all the inhibiting factors on its path.

19- The human ego requires natural flourish and expansion in order to proceed on the path of evolutionary life.

If the perfection-seeking human soul starts its climb toward supernatural progress without any chances for relaxation or rest, and constantly cuts its ego off from all its natural characteristics, forcing them to obey its furiously accelerating development, the ego will undoubtedly suffer, losing the management of its body, which serves as its steed. Thus, moderate dealing with the ego is necessary for elevation toward evolutionary life.

20- In evolutionary life, man's progress should be forward-looking at all times. Sometimes imitating one's predecessors' beliefs and traditions prevents man from logical activity and progress. This is why we must state that on his path toward evolutionary life, man must analyze the culture that dominates his society, and remove any sedimentary elements in it. Imitations are steel dams inhibiting man's advance toward evolution.

There are two kinds of future man must have in mind on the path to evolutionary life:

a) The future of this worldly life, for which thoughts and intelligence are a crucial necessity.

b) The future of man's other life, which if man ignores or defies, interpreting his worldly life will also become impossible.

21- Those who are the most obedient of God also have the best intentions about their own selves. As Imam Ali has said,

    عبادالله ان انصح الناس لنفسه اطوعهم لربه و ان اغشهم لنفسه اعصاهم لربه

“O servants of God, those people who are the most obedient are the kindest to themselves, and those who defy God are betraying themselves the worst of all.”

Man, in contact with God, sees Him supervising and dominating his ego. Such a feeling makes man believe that he is always in the realm of God, so he will not fall astray from God's path.

Intelligible Life, the Fundamental Domain

Human life can be divided into two kinds, purely natural life and intelligible life. In the former, which is a somewhat animal-like life, people are engaged in a battle for survival. Their sole aim is to fulfill their natural desires, and since their life is totally engulfed by worldly needs, the positive aspects of humanity are entirely forgotten. Man’s infatuation with purely natural ways of life has greatly influenced the history of mankind. Let us take a look at some of its effects:

1- Stupefaction replacing consciousness

2- The destruction of positive forms of love

3- Conflicts between power and righteousness

4- Self-bestrangedness

5- Selfishness and stubbornness

6- Misjudging the human character

7- Human relationships based on personal benefit

8- Various philosophizations tending to vouch for human corruptions

9- Considering oneself as the goal and others as one’s means to achieve it

10- Ruining the environment

11- Man’s conflict with his own self

12- The destruction of man’s highest emotions and unity

13- The waning of human affection and sympathy

14- Sacrificing the goal for its means

15- Aimless deconstructing and weakening original cultures

16- Losing one’s aim in life and falling into nihilism

17- Uncertainty and anxiety about one’s future

18- Self-alienation

19- The aimlessness and uselessness of the arts

20- Increasing suicide

21- Social maladjustment

22- Pitiful incompetence in explaining absolutes and relativities

The Definition of Intelligible Life

A conscious life which guides the compulsory and pseudo-compulsory forces and activities of man’s natural life in the path toward evolutionary goals by means of more freedom of choice; thus, the human character is gradually developed and guided toward the highest end of life - playing a role in the whole harmony of the universe dependent upon divine greatness.

Let us take a closer look at some of the most important aspects of this definition:

● A 'Conscious Life': Living an intelligible life, man is quite conscious of his life. His character is independent, and everything he does arises from his original personality, not imitating of others. In an intelligible life, man is totally aware of the principles and values of life, and follows them.

● 'Guiding the compulsory and pseudo-compulsory forces and activities of man’s natural life toward evolutionary goals by means of more freedom of choice': moving on the path of intelligible life, man is well aware of the fatalistic, compulsory causes and factors surrounding him, and tries to make the most of his freedom. For instance, if he wins a better position, he does not allow the factors around him that may lead to pride or arrogance make him fall astray from his progress toward perfection and commitment to great human values. In an intelligible life, man achieves the highest level of free will, and the more he makes use of his freedom in his will, the greater his intelligible life will be.

We should not neglect the critical role of environmental factors and social leaders in making intelligible life possible. In unsuitable social conditions, freedom of will - and subsequently intelligible life - will have no chance to flourish. Therefore, leaders of societies should encourage proper human virtues and values.

● 'Towards evolutionary goals': In an intelligible life, all of man’s actions, words, even his mental activities aim for perfection. He never feels that he has finally become perfect; he is constantly trying to raise himself to greater levels of perfection.

● 'Gradually developing the human character'. All of man’s positive potentials and talents flourish in an intelligible life, and he finds a life of happiness and prosperity. His naive, childish feelings fade away, and his petty interests are replaced by greater, more valuable ones. In an intelligible life, the human character uses internal and external realities correctly, for every aspect of his life is undergoing evolutionary metamorphosis.

● 'Being guided towards the highest end of life': Man cannot achieve the highest aims of life by drowning in the compulsory and pseudo-compulsory tendencies of his natural self. If he wants to accomplish the greatest ends in life, his actions must be logical and conscientious, and he should be determined enough to make use of the mental activities needed to interpret the highest aims of life.

The Role of Wisdom in an intelligible Life

Wisdom in an intelligible life is not confined to theoretical wisdom - although theoretical wisdom too is a necessary tool in an intelligible life - for anything useful to man's life cannot be ignored in an intelligible life. Both theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom - man's alert, active, motivating conscience - are employed in an intelligible life to elevate and develop the human character. They harmoniously provide the grounds for elevation to the level of perfect wisdom, which is of great mystic significance.

Here we must criticize schools of thought such as rationalism for overemphasizing the role of wisdom, and considering it dominant over man's life without any divine interference at all. Many rationalists ignore the fact that if man's opportunist, ambitious nature is guided toward divine aspects, it will move on the path to an intelligible life, where man can step out of his “self-orientated” nature and be attracted by his “real ego” to an intelligible life - and this is the only way man can abandon war, bloodshed, atrocity and all other evil, and change “the history of purely natural life” into “the history of mankind”.

The Feasibility of an intelligible Life

Some people believe that man is generally incapable of achieving an intelligible life, and only an exceptional few have been able to leave “purely natural life” for a “intelligible life”. In other words, most people are drowned in their “purely natural life”.

We must first say that man does possess the capacity for accepting an intelligible life, for when he feels a passion for something, he will aim for it, and bear any inconvenience he has to in order to achieve it. Those who love fame or wealth undergo a great deal of trouble, pain and insults in order to achieve success in acquiring them.

Second, when man moves on the path of an intelligible life, he feels that he is approaching something not impossible, but a truly original life, which he will find highly valuable.

Also, though the number of those who have developed themselves into an intelligible life is low, they are not totally exceptional people, for when man moves on the path of intelligible life, he feels that all of the necessary elements for perfection exist in him, and are in no conflict with his innate natural self.

Social leaders should try to help their people realize what a conscious life feels like. If leaders of societies make their people understand how necessary a life of consciousness is, they will never protest. If human beings become aware of the glory of justice, honesty and wisdom existing in actions and words and the glorious sense of duty and love for peers, they will easily accept it. By reinforcing and developing man's positive potentials, he can be made aware of the importance of understanding and adopting the necessity of endeavor toward an intelligible life.

This is the same mind that can so delicately gather wealth, fame and defeat his rivals by means of brilliant ideas, and high intelligence throughout his purely natural life; surely, can it not understand that its

wisdom and intellect can be employed toward higher goals, such as serving his peers, justice and upholding the right? Can it not realize that it is able to seriously calculate the mysteries of the universe, not merely act like on a stage?

When discussing the feasibility of intelligible life we must keep in mind that the human character can be developed, “built up.” Man can improve himself through calculations made in his intelligence and conscience. The important point is identifying the way to explore reaching intelligible life, and that is not impossible. If man steps beyond his “purely natural life,” he can enter “intelligible life,” where he will undergo eleven changes:

● his raw feelings change into elevated emotions;

● his scattered brainwaves turn into “specific thoughts about a certain topic;”

● his raw kindness becomes “intelligible affection;”

● his high expectations change into “motivating hopes;”

● his nominal likes and interests become perfection-creating ones;

● being content with worthless concepts of goodness and perfection give way to effort toward discovering the real truth about them;

● pure imitation and passiveness will disappear, and be replaced by original, direct thought and truth-finding;

● fractional, theoretical chess games in the mind will be replaced by harmony between sound wisdom and realistic conscience;

● elevated freedom will replace desires;

● seeing oneself as exceptional as and higher than others will change into understanding the highest human unity and equality among humans as being the means or the end.

● Being content with the milestones of life in this world as man’s main goal is replaced by always considering oneself as still on the way.

A Closer Look at the Aspects of Intelligible Life

When man moves toward intelligible life, every aspect of his life will undergo dramatic change. Let us take a closer look at some of them:

1- The human character in intelligible life: According to the following three principles, the human character is virtually valuable:

a) Man is a being who has various talents and is ready to step up to higher stages of perfection and greatness. Throughout history we see human beings who ascended to the pinnacles of humanity, showing the most brilliant human ideals.

b) Despite all the diversity people have in race, appearance or secondary qualities, they still have the same universal harmony. In other words, they can move along the ultimate path of life.

c) In spite of ethnical, social and other differences people have, they feel a kind of value-based unity regarding each other if they are in a well-balanced mental state. Such a feeling is deeply rooted in man's soul, and many of the heroic acts he has shown throughout history depict the unity men have in their common principles and values.

We cannot accept the three above-mentioned principles without believing in intelligible life. In other words, proving the value of human character is a result of accepting intelligible life. This cannot be done unless the “natural

self” is overcome. Having stepped beyond his natural self, man can accept the existence of others, understand his basic relationship with them, and regard the human character as valuable.

On the path of intelligible life, man sees great human beings from a vaster, more elevated horizon, as if they are mirrors reflecting divine beauty and glory. Those who obey natural life, on the other hand, are considered worthless, even if they are socially outstanding.

2- Ethics in an intelligible life: In order to understand how important ethics is in intelligible life, we should compare it with ethics in a purely natural life:

a) In purely natural life, ethics consists of accepting principles confirmed by the society, and the reason for obeying them is merely to avoid interference between individuals. But ethics in an intelligible life means considering oneself as part of the whole of human life, which has - as the Qur’an states - divinity breathed in it, and accepting the principle that all human beings come from the same origin. In such a system of moral ethics, man does not wish for others what he would not wish for himself. He does not blindly follow a set of socially established norms.

b) The favorable ethics in natural life consists of following emotional desires and whims, whether they are to the benefit of other human beings or not. Thus, each person does as he/she may please, whereas in intelligible life man's emotions are elevated to harmony with fixed human principles. In intelligible life, human emotions are based on justice considering other human beings as valuable.

c) The basis of moral ethics in purely natural life is accepting and obeying rules arising from choosing a lifestyle decreed by the social trends. In such ethics, great human moral virtues are ignored, and the only thing that matters is what desirable in social life; in intelligible life, on the other hand, principles such as free conscience representing goodness, perfection, and motivating human beings toward that are of significance.

d) In natural life, ethics serves as to enforce social laws and prevent crimes in the society. In intelligible life, however, it is not the servant of man's rights in a natural life or a reducer of crime - although if correctly used, it will have such results, too. The aim of ethics in intelligible life is to activate man's greatest potentials and elevate the members of the society.

3- Law in intelligible life: The purpose of the law is basically to enforce social order and mutual coexistence among members of the society. In intelligible life, it not only does so, but also emphasizes on the rights of human lives. If social laws pay sufficient attention to advancing evolutionary morals and true human love for having a free character, “the natural history of life” would become “the human history.” Human laws can never be effective unless man's natural self is well-balanced and all human beings move on the path of intelligible life.

Intelligible life insists on having rights for human lives alongside the rights of purely natural life. It makes people realize each other's advantages and spiritual greatness, and enables them to use such qualities; this is what changes a normal living being into Abuzar Ghafari, a wanderer into Owais Qarni, a petty poet into Hakim Sanaee, and a criminal into Fuzayl Ayaz.

4- Social relationships in intelligible life: Human relationships in intelligible life is based upon humanity, not seeking advantage of one another. In purely natural life, however, man only considers his own benefit, and his relationships with others are only to serve that purpose. In intelligible life, the way a teacher behaves with his students goes way beyond his salary. The teacher relates to not only their senses and thoughts, but indeed to their souls. In intelligible life, therefore, careful attention to the highest aim of life is what makes the link among people and provides human unity.

5- Science in intelligible life: It is vital for man to gain knowledge. Intelligible life and purely natural life agree on this. The difference is whether science makes man's natural self inflate, or control it. In a purely natural life, man may fall into infatuation for science, and consider nature only superficially; in intelligible life, however, man makes use of science as a means to advance toward his evolutionary goals; wisdom and free conscience control human desires, and all of man's physical and spiritual activities are guided by God. Here, man sees science as a divine ray of light -shining on human societies by means of the human senses, brain, nature and laboratories.

6- Ideology in intelligible life: Merely seeing the world outside and the world inside - just “taking photos of it, in fact - is quite different from observing and gaining knowledge about the universe by means of precision tools and determining where man stands as the knower. Man is not a living being who merely reflects the facts about the world inside himself like a big mirror, without any awareness of his own role in discovering them. Man has the capability to know everything about the universe and his knowledge of the world is by no means limited to mere photographic observation.

Such mental effort, dominant knowledge and observation leads to a vital result, and that is the fact that there is an extremely high philosophy and wisdom guiding the universe toward a very elevated destination by means of certain laws; every particle in the universe, when considered in relation to other particles, confirms that

    قطــرهای کــــز جويبــاری میرود از پــی انجــام کـــاری میرود

(There is a cause behind even a drop of water going by in a stream.)

The ideological principles understood and accepted by means of these basics undoubtedly enter man's deepest levels of psyche, and influence and explain his life. Such a life, accounted for according to the highest destination of the universe is called an intelligible life.

7- Arts in an Intelligible Life: When an artist steps into intelligible life, he does not want art for the sake of art itself anymore; he wants art for the sake of humanity in an intelligible life. Here, the artist pictures facts as they are and as they should be by means of his finely elevated emotions. In an intelligible life, the artist pays careful attention to the aim of life, and attempts to use his art to guide the fatalistic activities of man's natural life toward freedom and development. When a work of art is created, motivated by the cause of making intelligible life come true, it is not only an appealing work relieving man's fatigue of natural life, but also a wave of “intelligible

life itself, “reinforcing this kind of life in other members of the society and letting them get a taste of it, too.” Art in an intelligible life aims to develop man's awareness, freedom and perfection, not his animal-like wishes and natural desires.

8- Politics in an Intelligible Life: Politics is managing people's lives on the path to achieving the highest of physical and spiritual goals. Throughout history, politicians drowned in purely natural life have degraded the life of human beings down to “things.” Machiavelli has written the most possibly logical account based on purely natural life. He did not even for a moment consider intelligible life and the prospect of making it a reality in human societies. Instead of taking man's immense range of potentials into consideration, Machiavelli expressed his own internal thoughts. He believed that managing the purely natural life of people arises from “self-love.” In an intelligible life, however, politics has a goal, and a starting point and a path. The goal of politics in an intelligible life is creating factors of awareness and adjusting the fatalistic forces and activities of natural life by providing the development of freedom. The starting point is relief from self-love, and the path is continual searching by the human character in an effort to reach the highest aim of life.

9- Economy in an Intelligible Life: As far as a purely natural life is concerned, self-love confirms man's freedom in claiming dominance and absolute possession of all creatures. In a purely natural life, man considers all natural and man-made blessings and facilities as his own, and thinks his possession of them is unlimited; in an intelligible life, however, man believes that since all human beings have the right to live, the results of human mental and physical endeavor must serve to safeguard and preserve the whole of human life, and be present in the total rhythm of the universe. Such a human being considers goods at the service of life, not life at their service. Man's wishes and desires are harnessed in order to achieve social coexistence in an intelligible life, and economy is also considered to be a factor serving to guarantee man's survival, not inflating his natural self. In brief, man should let others also be provided with the financial blessings he has, and attempt to make their life more comfortable; he should not selfishly want everything for himself, and trample all values and morals in his commercial activities.

10- Education in an Intelligible Life: In an intelligible life, education includes reinforcing and enhancing the factors that influence cognition and understanding the original facts about life, and motivating the children in a society to gradually move from purely natural life to an intelligible life. The primary duty of education in an intelligible life is to dramatically change the mental and spiritual system of the learner by teaching him/her the basic principles of education, so that the learner considers them as vitally necessary as food and water are essential to his/her survival. In an intelligible life, moral virtues like honesty and justice are necessary to man's nature, and the educators and teachers of the society should try to activate human virtues.

If education is anything other than what we mentioned above - i.e, if the facts taught as the basics of education are regarded as not a part of the

human nature or virtues - not only will the learners be deprived of progress toward development and perfection, but also be influenced by external factors.


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