PartSeven
: The Role of Institutions
Who is Responsible?
In the logic of Islam: ' Each of you is a guardian and each of you are responsible for his guardianship'.
Each
person has a role and responsibility without which society has no basis. Since the family is the nucleus of society and the criterion for its advancement or decline rests with it, then it must have a great role in this guardianship.
Girls of marriageable age, divorcees, widows, marital disputes, and for that matter orphans are allsubjects which
require careful consideration so that wherever possible their problems may be solved. Thismay be achieved
through facilitating the marriage of single persons or through reconciling those parties who have separated.By taking care of orphans and meeting their material and spiritual needs and giving them a good practical and intellectual education.
In materialistic societies, which includes, in this age, Islamic societies, these problems are widespread
and individuals do not receive the attention they deserve.
Hence
all those who have faith and hope in Allah and the day of resurrection, and who contemplate the reform of society should concern themselves with assisting women and orphans. The emissary of Allah has said: 'Have
mercy on the weak, on women and on orphans’.
Is it not the case that any one of us could be susceptible to these problems? So if we do not have mercy on those less fortunate than ourselves we may not be shown mercy whenwe or our children
are in a similar position and in need. In theQur'anic
verse: ' Let those (disposing of an estate) have the same fear in their minds as they would have for their own if they had left a helpless family behind. Let them fear Allah and speak appropriately '.
In
the prophetic tradition: ' Have mercy upon those who are on the Earth and He who is in the heavens will have mercy upon you '
The parents are responsible for themselves and the welfare of their family. Society, including intellectuals and capitalists, is also responsible for supporting its elements and families. The greater responsibility falls on the government and the state.
Marriage Agency
Given that the lives of Muslims are beset by difficulties from every quarter, the foremost of which are related to the family and marriage, and since returning to the equilibrium of nature and Islam takes time before the status quo is changed and matters return to their rightful place, then it is imperative, as has been previously mentioned, that marital foundations be set up to facilitate the marriages of single men and women.
The sexual impulse and the impulse to start a family are present in both men and women and what stands in the way of this are the artificial problems like housing requirements, furniture, earning a living, mediation between the two parties, and expenses formedicaments
and educating the children etc. Primary institutionsare needed
for the root and basis of marriage and secondary ones for its branches and requirements. It is possible that committees for communal weddings be formed which could assist in the marriages of large numbers of youngsters and could provide a great deal of effort and financial support. 'The hand of Allah is with the group'
as is in the prophetic tradition. There is also a great deal of reward due to whoever works towards the marriage of single Muslims. The prophetic traditions are full of special mentions of motherhood, childhood and the ill, as well as the fact that it is a requirement of Allah's words to 'help one another in righteousness and piety'
, as well as that of nature and intellect.
Charitableorganisations
are among the best solutions to numerous problems relating to the family and society and indeed in any area of life in thatthey
:
a
). Stimulate the activities of individuals or similarorganisations
because they tend to be pluralistic and encourage the activities of others.
b
). Can be a source of support for people as the reliance upon a group is greater than that of an individual.
c).The
obstinate individual will find no room therein for megalomania.
d). Each individual will be heading in the right direction where there is consultation and a meeting of minds as the most intelligent person is he who combines his mind with those of others.
e). Wherever there is competition between a single group of individuals, each one strives to be 'bigger and better' so that things improve in quality and quantity in a way impossible for a single person working alone to achieve however perfect and sincere he was. The exception to this is only in the case of those 'restrained from error' by Allah.Hence
we find that the prophet, himself impeccable, saying: ' Oh people consult me in matters'
.and
before that in theQur'anic
verses: ' Consult them in affairs'
, and '. . those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation'
, and '. . by mutual consent and consultation '
, and so on.Therefore
there is a need for charitableorganisations
in all areas of life.
In Democratic States
It is true that in Democratic countries, charitableorganisations
are able to work to their full potential while this is not the case in dictatorships or one-party states where they might be banned or expelled or otherwise limited as was experienced in Iraq under the Republicans from the late 1950's at the time of the coup of 'Abd
-al-Karim
Qasim
until the present day.
Similarly in Iran under thePahlevis
.
Communal weddings in Democratic states are a simple matter. There, the government is an institution like other institutions but monitors other institutions in order to stop wrongdoing and to promote the advancement of the country and guard the public interest. The public interest is public in the full meaning of the word, where there are free political parties and proper elections, and not as dictators wish to interpret the public interest. They only see their own interests and hide behind dazzling rhetoric. Theorganisation
which works towards setting up projects for communal weddings
should take advantage of the possibilities open to it in a democratic country where suchorganisations
are able to operate in relative freedom, in the light of multi-party politics, ease of law and media and simplicity of obtaining donations etc.
In dictatorships such as Iraq, such matters are not at all simple and extreme cautionmust be exercised
.Probably it should not be communal as the regime bans or expels these kinds of groups.
Infact
the regime would probably exploit the reputation of these groups for propaganda purposes. This would be more detrimental to society than the benefit hoped for in marrying people. (There is no obedience to Allah through disobedience). In the case of dictatorial governments, people must cut them off and not cooperate with them even in the building of mosques.As Imam Al-Sadiq
said: ' Do not build them even a single mosque'
.
Facilitation and Substitution
In the words of the poet: 'Oh mysoulfulfil
your grief for that which you feared is now a reality.' The laws of Islam became hidden under the Ottoman andQajarite
rulers and before that under the rulers ofAndalucia
, theMoghuls
and Russia. Today Muslims live in an abyss of poverty, disease, ignorance,backwardness
and chaos. How then in the context of the family do we raise the economic level to eradicate poverty? How do we raise health standards to combat illness? How do we free ourselves from ignorance? How can we raise the family's status in society so that it can leave chaos behind?
Individual action is not enough, just as the family is not able to solve its problems alone. There is then a need in the Islamic community fororganisations
to provide facilities andorganisations
to institute change.
The first will provide facilities for families by opening schools and hospitals and creating opportunities for employment.Otherwise
the children of poor or low-income families will not be able to pay the high fees to enter the universities. Nor will they be able to pay the medical bills of those with chronic diseases. Many is the time that a person has sadly had to sell his house in order to pay to treat his heart disease, or those who do not have a house to sell have died of that or some other disease. At the same time, the rulers are embezzling billions in broad daylight, and anyone who speaks out faces prison, torture,accusations
and execution.
The poor can barely find a morsel to eat and some families live out their years on nothing more than bread and tea, some of them not tasting meat or fruit for years on end. The instances of this are beyond number and cover all aspects of life.I
have seen a scholar sell his personal library to cover the wedding expenses of his son. Facilitative committees are then to some degree useful according to the principle: 'The complexity of a task should not prevent attempting the achievable tasks.'
The root of the problem lies in the substitution by the West and its agent rulers of the laws of Islam which used to guarantee our vitality and progress in life.'He calls you to what will let you live'.
Therefore committees to institute change should be set up to bring back the vital laws of Islam. Otherwise our life will be nothing but strife and oppression, as in theQur'anic
verse: 'But whosoever turns away from the remembrance of me shall find a straitened existence'.
It is true that the man who says he does not believe in the law of gravity and throws himself from a high place will still find his bones broken.
Or
the man who says he does not believe in Archimedes principle and throws himself in the sea without knowing how to swim, will still drink water until he dies. The same goes for the laws of society, economics, politics, education and the family as Islam confirms.
In so
far as salvation lies in the return of these vital laws, then the remit of the committees for change should be to substitute, law by law, each of the false laws with the correct laws. In this way, Allah may look upon Muslims with compassion and rescue them from the backwardness and confusion they now experience.
Another way of supporting the policies of substitution and facilitation is to form groups to make use of free media and equal rights to implement the aforementioned two groups.Similarly
help must be sought from philanthropists and charitable bodies to collect funds to meet people's needs as far as possible. All of this is possible if the concern and efforts of reformists and committed individuals is combinedafter
which Allah may cause something to happen.
It is clearly possible to benefit from good Muslimbusinessmen
in the facilitation and substitution operation. Traders were previously the jewel in the crown in the change that took place infavour
of Islam and Muslims. It is capital, power, and knowledge that direct society towards the better or God forbid the worse.
It appears in the traditionsthat:
' Islam was built on three things; the wealth ofKhadijah
, the protection of AbuTalib
, and the morals of the Prophet'.It is these three that
helped to foment the rise of Islam.
In another tradition from the Prophet: ' There are two groups in my nation which if righteous so will my nation be righteous and if corrupt so will my nation be corrupt. They are the scholars and the leaders.'
If money is not mentioned in this then it is probablydue to the fact that
money is secondary to the two other things. As in when Imam Hussein was killed through the power ofZayad
, the edict ofShureih
, and the wealth of the publictreasury which had been directed by the powers that were
and the edict towards evil and tyranny.
Muslim traders have the ability to raise the status ofIslam and deepen it
and maintain it as a barrier against the vast currents over the ages. Islamic charitable institutionsbe
they schools, mosques, shrines, or libraries mostly come from Muslim businessmen. So if they enter the picture, God willing, the change and substitution will become easier.
The aforementioned committees should also take part in planning the development operation. Businesses like agriculture, industry,commerce
and heritage may also be able to create those committees in this way.Naturally
all arms, drugs, and trade in other forbidden articles should be at all costs avoided for Allah is not obeyed through disobedience.
The Public Treasury
One of the benefits of Islam is the provision of a place for gathering moneys and then spending them on necessary matters. This placeis known
as the public treasury. The policy of the public treasury is to gather money from the rich and to spend it on the poor. This is alluded to in the tradition of the prophet: ' I have been ordered to take from the rich among you and give to the poor among you'.
There are four sources of funds for the public treasury: TheKhums
, TheZakat
, TheJizya
, TheKharraj
each of which are discussed in detail in the books of jurisprudence.
These sources canfulfil
the needs of the people and the state making the need for raising public taxes obsolete except in very rare occasions like earthquakes, flooding, famine or drought and this under the supervision of the council of jurists and scholars. The secret to the sufficiency of these four taxes is that Islam places matters in the hands of the people while the responsibility of the state is the supervision and direction of the finances through a small number ofspecialised
officials. This is dealt with ingreater detail
in other books on the subject. Use must be made of the great potentialenergies which
should be rallied to productive work instead of wasting them in needless bureaucracy where they may be dispensed with. The treasury undertakes tofulfil
the public's needs including the needs of those who wish to marry but are poor.
In the event of there being no public treasury as is the situation now in Islamic lands, then the principle of 'that which cannot be fullyrealised
should not be completely neglected' must be put into effect through charitable bodies setting up funds to collect donations and distribute them according to the needs of the public including youngsters who wish to marry.
Conclusion
It is truly sad that ignorance, despotism, and selfishness motivate many Muslims both rulers and ruled to such an extent that some Muslims cannot find even a morsel of food or an abode or a wife and other basic needs. Meanwhile, theyare surrounded
by the bounties of Allah - earth, sky, light, the riches of nature, and the finest principles known to humanity.But
they have neglected the laws of Allah and have been rewarded with these problems and crises which have destroyed their religion and way of life.
What has become of Allah Almighty's words: 'are those who know equal to those who do notknow'
,or
His words'. . do not take those outside your ranks into your intimacy: they will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire for you to suffer'.
or His words: ' . and consult them in the affairs of moment . .'
,
or His words: ' . so that (wealth) does not merely circulate amongst a rich few.
and so many other verses and traditions? So that now the Muslim stands between two points; 'bemoaning the state of his religion and his way oflife'
.
Whereas ImamKashif
Al-Ghata
when he visited Iran said in the prologue to his book 'I did not see one man or woman either weeping or complaining' (meaning here unnatural weeping or complaining)'. Similarly I do not recall any of that either in Iraq before the second world war where Muslims were not yet subject to Eastern and Western laws.
Today though after having chosen for themselves to be led by the Western agenda and have become a confirmation of Allah's words: 'But whosoever turns away from the remembrance of me shall find a straitened existence'
Calamity has struck even the righteous among them according to Allah Almighty's words: ' . .and fear a trial which may not only affect the wrongdoers amongst you '. .
I now offer some examples of the oppression and distress which have surrounded Afghanistan, Iraq and the Gulf.
These are by way of example only for every Islamic landhas been struck
by this plague.
A certain party in Afghanistan plants opium for export toneighbouring
countries and with the proceeds buys weapons with which to kill the people of the country. Inthis
there are at least five criminal acts:
1) Misuse of the blessings of Allah; good land thatshould be used
for good things is used for evil things.
2) The exploitation of workers and means of production for bad ends instead of for righteous ends.
3) Wastage of wealth on tools of destruction,bloodletting
and impoverishment instead of being used for building and construction and the needs of the people.
4) Causing pain to the people and theneighbouring
countries that should be safe from the calamities of aneighbour
falling into the trap of addiction and corruption.
5) Destruction of the country: the natural result of the aforementioned is the destruction of the country and the humiliation and impoverishment of the people. This though is only the natural result of the type of ignorance that we have mentioned and the abandonment of the laws of God.In theQur'anic
verse: '. . and be not like those who have forgotten God and He made them forget their own souls . .'
Then the West puts Saddam in place so he can embezzle more than 800 billion dollars worth of Muslim wealth and do with Iraq and itsneighbours
such murder,terrorising
, imprisonment, torture, war, famine, torment, and economic destruction as has not been witnessed in the whole of history.
The crimes of the Mongols, the Tartars and theHajaj
pale into insignificance compared to the crimes of Saddam and his party.
The West then makes the Iraqi regime into a tool forterrorising
and corrupting the Gulfstates
and their otherneighbours
so that they ask for military bases on their soil and buy from the West billions of dollars of arms
rather than serving the needs of the people and improving the lifestyle of the country. In this way the Islamic community is in the worst possible state of oppression and distress.
There is as we previously said no cure to this other than through a generalawareness which
is the prelude towards a return to the laws of Islam. For Islam is what will rescue humanity as that Muslim who went to conquer Persia said whenRustum
asked him 'What do you want' He said ' We have come to bring the people from obeying other people to obeying Allah and to rescue humanity from the narrowness of the earth to its wideness.
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Author: Ayatullah Seyyed Muhammad Redha Shirazi
