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Criticism of the Idea of Arab Nationalism

Author: Muhammad Yahya

Table of Contents

Al-Tawhid A Criticism of the Idea of Arab Nationalism3

The First Contradiction 5

The Second Contradiction 9

Consequent Contradictions13

Three Arab Nationalist Positions:13

1. The Attitude Towards Independence13

2. The Position on Palestine14

3. The Position Towards Islam 16

Three Arguments of Arab Nationalism19

1. The Argument of 'National Unity:'19

2. The Argument of 'Modernity 21

3. The Argument of 'Practicality 23

Al-Tawhid A Criticism of the Idea of Arab Nationalism

Dr. Muhammad Yahya Vol III No. 2, 1406 AH

This article was presented as a paper at the World Seminar on "The Impact of Nationalism on the Ummah," London, Dhu al-Qi'dah 13 - 16, 1405 (July 31 - August 3, 1985), held by the Muslim Institute. The author is a scholar from Cairo, Egypt. The Arab nationalist propaganda has been increasingly voiced in recent months from many organs in several Arab countries, particularly Egypt.

It was quite evident to observers of the Islamic movement that a re-vitalization of that idea was in order in view of the current hysterical building of defensive strategies in the Arab region against the famous danger of Islamic 'fundamentalism'.

It is only appropriate that an idea which originated at the hands of Christian Levantine writers to serve as a weapon of disintegration against the 'Uthmani State, should now be unearthed to be of service once more in the face of rising Islam.

In its latest form, Arab nationalism is put to a different use than its employment by Nasir or the Ba'thists as a means of masking personal or party ambitions. It is presented as a secular political creed that draws upon certain Western concepts as its frame of reference.These concepts (viz. modernity, progress, socialism, besides other minor ones) represent both its slogans of appeal and its intellectual categories of viewing Arab reality.

The leading feature in the renewed nationalist propaganda is the repeated emphasis on the term 'Arab' as opposed to that of ' Islamic'. The indubitable aim of this calculated shift is to substitute the former for the latter term as an inclusive and prime category for analysing and describing political and social facts. The limited 'Arab horizon' is designed to replace, and take precedence over, the Islamic horizon in the thinking and feelings of those toward whom the nationalist propaganda is directed.

The insistence on the category 'Arab' as an alternative for, or at least as a higher, more primary and inclusive mode than the category 'Islamic', gives the entire game away. It is clear that in the recent presentations of the idea of Arab nationalism, a confrontation with Islam is envisaged, not merely an 'innocent' revival of a century-old view.

Advocates of Arab nationalism do not hide the fact that it is Islam that they counter with their idea.They use that idea as a weapon of attack within a certain anti-Islamic climate that is now prevailing in many Arab countries notwithstanding the fact that its presentations are riddled with logical contradictions, which this paper proposes to expose. It seems that those who recalled the nationalist idea for use against Islam were hard pressed for a tool of intellectual confrontation.

The idea of Arab nationalism suffers from two main contradictions, which make its edifice of slogans shaky and which are reflected in its various presentations. The first is the exclusion of Islam as a defining and constitutive element of that nationalism; and the second, a related one, is the completely Westernized content of an avowedly 'Arab' movement that supposedly wants to revive 'Arab' values and culture.

The First Contradiction

The Arab nationalist message seems simple and consistent. The Arabs from the Gulf to the Atlantic are one people united by the ties of blood, history, language, and interests. They ought to be united in one political entity which is socially and culturally modern and progressive. This programme can be achieved by the Arab nationalists in the face of various imperialist and "reactionary' forces of whom the Islamic movement is the most prominent.

Now, the appeal to ties of blood or the argument from ethnography and race has been rather eclipsed by scientific discussions and has largely fallen into disrepute after Hitler. Still it is not quite clear how one can speak of a pure Arab race after the long process of mingling between the original Arabs of the Peninsula and such peoples as the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Berbers, or Negroes.

The Arabic phrase 'ties of blood' comes in conveniently to cover the weakness of the nationalist views on this matter by its double reference to both race and kinship. The latter is usually the meaning which is immediately suggested by normal usage and saves the nationalists from getting involved in a losing ethnographic debate.

The invocation of geographic facts is not of much help in advancing the nationalist argument. The Gulf-Atlantic axis is a rather arbitrary projection which overlooks other areas to which the original Arabs ventured. Moreover, it is the 'imperialist' view of the Arab-land which the nationalists now come to adopt, rather uncritically in the light of their high-flown anti-imperialist slogans. The crucial fact in this regard is that it was Islam that created this 'grand Arab homeland', as it is called, and which impelled the original Arabs to conquer that area and much more besides it to spread its teachings.

The Arab nationalists perform a sleight of hand in that they arbitrarily carve out of the grand Islamic homeland, which was made possible by the Arabs' spread of their own religion, a small area-the 'Arab homeland' - which is then separated from the larger body and made to stand against or to take priority of allegiance' vis-a-vis it.

If we adopt the same secularist stance, for the sake of argument, which the nationalists adhere to, we can say that Islam is an Arabic cultural and social phenomenon which has been propagated by the Arabs throughout a large part of the known world at the time. In this sense, the Muslims of the world can be said to have been 'Arabized' by the mere fact of embracing Islam.

The Arab nationalists play the trick of separating a section of the 'Arabized' (the Muslims) which happens to possess one added feature of 'Arabism', the language, and place it as an independent entity and identity against the rest of Muslims (the 'Arabized' in our sense). It is to be noted that they do not include in their nationalism some Arabic-speaking minorities while they ignore the vital role that Arabic - with its script - plays in the languages and culture of the other Muslims.

The nationalists are indicted of contradiction according to their own secular view of Islam as a social growth. For, if it is the 'religion of the Arabs', their prize acquisition as well as the main motive for issuing out of their limited homeland in Arabia, this religion should be the defining feature of Arab nationalism.

It is Islam, and not those cultural factors transformed by it beyond recognition, such as language or history, that should be set up as the emblem and sine qua non of Arab nationalism. Yet, the nationalists are out and out secularists who exclude Islam altogether or assign it a servile existence within their creed as a vaguely defined 'spiritual factor', a thing which negates Islam's own claims.

This same criticism applies to the nationalists' call about joint interests - presumably economic - as a unifying factor of the 'Arabs' so ambiguously defined. It is to be asked, why shouldn't common interests, of whatever sort, exist among the Muslims, as they have always done? Once again we meet with the same trick.

An arbitrary carving out of a certain section within the general Islamic context and its setting up as an independent entity. The keyword here is 'arbitrary', which strips nationalism from any rational claims and exposes its bare ideological bias, which it tries to mask under pretexts of modernity or by appeal to similar specious terms.

The major contradiction in Arab nationalist thinking is seen in its most flagrant form in the adoption of certain cultural elements as language, common history and heritage, and tradition as defining features of that nationalism, while ignoring Islam out of a deep-seated secularist bias. Before Islam, the Arabs were living in what may be called their pre-history. A warring collection of tribes with various dialects and with none or very little of cultural life, especially on the intellectual plane.Islam introduced such an unimaginable qualitative change into the life of the Arabs that it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that it ' created ' the Arab identity anew.

The Qurayshi dialect was turned into the richest language in the world and one of the most wide-spread. Islam won for that tongue adherents that came from non-Arab cultures and it was responsible for turning it into a tool of thought and expression in many fields of science and scholarship. It spread it far beyond its original home and speakers.

Similarly, the Arab society was totally transformed in its structures, customs, aims, and outlooks by Islam. This religion is a constitutive principle of Arab social and intellectual life for the past fourteen centuries, and the attempt to posit an 'Arab nationalism' without Islam or in confrontation with it is inconceivable if not utterly absurd.

At the same time, an Arab nationalism that tries to take account of Islam will find itself in an impossible position; for the universal claims of Islam and its insistence on full allegiance to its tenets, as well as its priority over other attachments, ensure that it rejects nationalism as a modern form of ancient tribalism or hamiyyat al-jahiliyyah (the fanatical clinging to pre-Islamic loyalties).

The Arabic language and culture have been made by and contained within Islam and not the reverse. Islam has not been a passing and limited stage occurring to an otherwise independent and developed history or tradition of Arab culture and society that had their own line of growth. The same view applies to Arab history, which is Islamic history along with the history of the many peoples that accepted Islam.

In fact, Islam is the common denominator that ties the life and history of a great mass of humanity together. As a total religion, Islam has shaped all the aspects of the societies that embraced it and linked them together in a vast entity which often found a political expression in the caliphate system. A non-clerical creed, Islam does not have a separate, isolated history within a church, for instance.

The strategy adopted by the propagandists of Arab nationalism in view of the above state of affairs is as follows: They take certain cultural, social, and historical facts or elements and cite them both as factors of 'Arab nationalism' and as reasons or arguments supporting that idea. They, however, ignore the decisive role played by Islam not only in shaping these elements but in bringing them into existence as well, as with regard to culture and history.

Islam is forgotten and deliberately banished from the consideration of the Arab nationalists. It is excluded according to the principle of secularism, which is, indeed, the real defining feature of that nationalism. Nevertheless, the cultural, social, and historical facts forged by Islam are wrested from it and made to stand as supports and features of an Arab nationalism.

Moreover, the same facts that can in all validity and legitimacy be adduced to substantiate the idea of Islamic 'nationalism', unity, or identity are arbitrarily 'stolen' from the Islamic framework and forced to become constituents of a secular idea that sets aside one group of Muslims--the so-called Arabs--and puts them in confrontation with or, at least, in contradiction with the rest of the Muslims who, still, share with this separated group the same cultural, social, and historical unifying elements.

This may well be described as an exercise in deception and it continues the same misleading attitude noticed earlier of artificially defining and extracting an 'Arab' identity from within the Islamic matrix. If a separate Arab identity existed, there would not be any problem. But to take the unification and identification features forged by Islam and designed for all Muslims and then to separate them from Islam, their forming principle, and confine their applicability to an ambiguously and arbitrarily defined group of Muslims - this can rightly be called intellectual dishonesty.

In their much-vaunted slogans about the unity of culture, heritage, customs, feeling, outlooks, and hopes, the Arab nationalists use fruits from the tree of Islam while disowning the tree. This position, paradoxically enough, is their only logical move. For, to recognize the claims and priority of Islam is to negate their own existence, their own attempt at breaking Muslim ranks and at setting up a higher authority than religion. The Arab nationalists have to deny Islam even at the cost of devastating logical inconsistencies.

Accepting Islam demolishes their own raison d detre. Islam would not allow a higher, or even another, locus of allegiance, of authority, or of guidance. It would not tolerate a breach of unity among the believers or a limitation of its universal message and validity. Hence, it rejects nationalism and is in turn rejected by it.

The Second Contradiction

The term 'Arab nationalism' sets up a certain expectation which is violently contradicted by the content of the idea carrying that name. It should be reasonable to expect that such an idea will seek its content from peculiarly Arab intellectual and cultural premises and fundamentals, whatever those may be.

Yet, the plain fact is that apart from some superficial slogans about the glory of the Arabs, etc., the entire content of this idea is of Western origin; i.e. from the same source that is referred to in nationalist rhetoric as the imperialist West.It is not a question of borrowing certain ideas or terms.

It is, rather, a matter of wholesale adoption, assimilation, or 'internalization' of attitudes, weltanschauungen, methods of analysis, frames of reference, etc. Arab nationalism is, indeed, a Western phenomenon not just in the familiar sense of being induced by European sources but on the deeper level of being a mere extension of Western concerns and modes of thinking.

It should, however, be hastily added that presentations of Arab nationalism rarely, if ever, reach the degree of sophistication that may be suggested here. It remains a crude and immature rehearsal of certain set formulas designed primarily for mass consumption. What is attempted here is to sound the roots and backgrounds of these formulas.

The major Western "import" is the principle of secularism which Arab nationalists go out of their way to emphasize as their defining factor. Secularism is not an Islamic idea and it has not been invariably present in conjunction with nationalist thinking and its practice in Europe itself. One thinks, for instance, of the role played by Protestantism in west European nationalisms or that played by Eastern Orthodoxy in Serbian or Bulgarian ones.

The insistence of Arab nationalists on an indissoluble bond between secularism and nationalism highlights their premeditated intentions against Islam which were examined under our 'First Contradiction' and which betray that movement's nature as a weapon of attack against Islam. Secularism has been deliberately cultivated by Arab nationalists although it does not spring naturally from any ' Arab ' source, except, perhaps, that of the anti-Islamic Arabs of the Prophet's time.

This is not the place to discuss secularism, and it is only the first of a long chain of Western intellectual goods appropriated by the 'purist' Arab nationalists. The most outstanding of these is the idea of nationalism itself, not as the recognition of the existence of tribes or races or peoples, but as a call for the establishment of a secular political entity around a vaguely defined nation, which in the event turns out more often than not to be those people governed by a central authority that sets out to legitimize and mask its authority by fostering the 'national' myth of a historic, glorious past and a unique identity with a future-oriented mission.

Thus, a phenomenon which was deeply embedded in local European religious, cultural, and political conditions and which often came to reinforce certain power interests, is imported by the Arab nationalists, or rather, is purposely exported by the West to the Islamic world, after being abstracted from its distinctive and unique historical matrix and transformed into an abstract, prescriptive programme according to which certain entities are to be created and certain existing power interests are to be encouraged to repeat European experiments and Europe's historical developments.

With regard to this last point one thinks of the attribution, after the fact, of nationalist tendencies to some rulers in the Muslim world in the nineteenth century who sought independence from the 'Uthmani State, for example. Mere power-seeking was responsible for such 'famous' nationalist examples as the Muhammad 'Ali rule in Egypt.

The Arab nationalists usually forget that European nationalism which they so readily imitate dealt with individual entities or 'peoples' within the larger European entity. Applied to Arab conditions, this justifies the division of the so-called 'Arab world' into such constituent nationalisms as the Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, Sudanese, etc. This logical 'nationalist' move is, however, bitterly rejected by Arab nationalists, who choose, for no apparent reason, to halt their process of dividing the Muslim world at the 'Arab' frontier rather than carry the nationalist principle to the legitimate level of 'sub-nationalities'.

For sure, a true believer in nationalism would wish to see that principle carried to its logical conclusion, and the local peoples of the Middle East region have more unity and common identity factors than can be adduced for the nebulous 'Arab' variety of nationalism - if we exclude Islam, of course.

The secret behind the arbitrary halting at the Arab level is that the real concern behind this call is not the application of the nationalist principle as such but rather its employment as a tool to hit at the unity of the larger Islamic entity. It is a good tactic to hide the disintegrative aims of that tool by pretending that it is still a unity-seeking idea - among the 'Arab peoples', that is. Besides, an idea directed originally against the 'Uthmani State will have a better chance of success if it brought the combined weight, real or imaginary, of the 'Arabs' to bear, rather than an attempt to invoke heterogeneous local nationalisms.

It is clear that the Arab nationalists, both old and new, have not even been faithful to the principle of nationalism which they borrowed from Europe to plant in an Islamic environment, which owes allegiance to a more inclusive political expression than that of race or 'nation' defined in vague tribal terms.

Secularism and nationalism represent the outer frame which includes and determines the various other borrowings from the West by the Arab nationalists. Having rejected Islam and having posed themselves as the carriers of a certain cause, they found themselves obliged to fill the vacuum and boost their claims by a programme of action or a project,' as it is now fashionably called in their circles.Upon inspection this 'project' turns out in its various presentations and developments to be no more than a weaker version of the dominant Western ideologies also removed from their social matrix and imposed as abstract rules of action on the totally different Arab environment.

The strangely protean content of Arab nationalism has passed the entire gamut of Western ideologies from liberal to fascist to socialist to Quasi-Marxist to social-democrat. It has a tendency to be coloured by the ideology of the particular Western power that happens to be dominant in the Middle East at a certain time or that patronizes the Arab nationalist factions.

In the light of this view, incidentally, the emergence nowadays of a right-wing, capitalist-oriented, anti-Islamic brand of Arab nationalism based in certain "moderate" regimes can be explained in terms of American influence in the region.

The Western ideologies which came into being in response to certain social, political, and cultural conditions and challenges in Europe were successively adopted by Arab nationalist propagandists and uncritically presented as a 'project' for the renaissance of the 'Arab nation', which, according to their own claims, was passing through a different path of development and has not yet attained to a stage equalling that of the European Renaissance because of the retarding effects of Islam and the 'Uthmani State.

Aside from superficial or cosmetic modifications in phrasing and emphasis to suit political conditions and guard against charges of Westernization, the Arab nationalists kept the main body of the ideologies they imported intact. Frequently, two or more incompatible Western doctrines are to be found side by side in ignorant or uneasy contiguity in the thought of Arab nationalists. The socialist and liberal mix that is echoed in the present revival of the idea is a case in view.

Not only were the Western ideologies appropriated in the manner sketched above but their peculiar terms, frames of reference, and methods of examining facts were also whole-heartedly adopted. This attitude is seen most clearly in that Arab nationalists see Islam, for instance, with European eyes. They ignore the immense scholarship on Islam that exists in their own cultural environment and look at their own religion, in name at least, through Western spectacles.

In fact, Islam as well as all the other aspects of Arab reality are defined, examined, reinterpreted, and judged in terms of one Western ideology or another by the Arab nationalists. Favourite ideologies in this regard have been the secular-liberal, a diluted form of Marxism referred to as Arab socialism, and a collection of socio-political ideas of American origin. Thus, Islam is usually seen by Arab nationalist writers as a socio-economic projection from a certain base', or a flowering of the enlightened emancipatory spirit of the Arab nation, or as a human revolution' against, the reactionary and exploiting forces of the Quraysh.

The purpose here is not to study what Arab nationalism has adopted from the West. It is rather to expose one of its major contradictions. With its present content, terms, principles, and method of analysis it is neither Arab nor nationalist for that matter. It is, rather, Western and internationalist.

Looked at from its intellectual angle it is simply a tool for propagating and universalizing Western ideologies.The terms 'Arab' and 'nationalist' are convenient masks facilitating the acceptance of the surreptitiously smuggled Western contents among the suspicious Muslims. Arab nationalism is not condemned here for failing to completely adopt the ideas, directions and the general social and cultural heritage of the Arabs (the Muslims).

It would have been unreasonable to tax the nationalists for not using the old traditions of the Arabs as their guiding programmes of action just to make themselves deserving of the epithet 'Arab'. Nevertheless, a continuation, revival, and renewal of Arab heritage in all fields of life is certainly the natural attitude to expect from those who base their idea on Arabism and build a huge emotional aura around that term, putting it at the centre of their propaganda.Instead, they have abandoned the Arab heritage altogether and opted for a Westernized content for their idea.

The Arab (Islamic) heritage certainly offers a viable wealth of major values, premises, concepts, ideas, etc. for anyone who wishes to undertake a revival project for the 'Arab nation' even if he has reservations on what, may be called the purely "religious" part of that corpus.

Islamic jurisprudence, social and moral values, concepts or principles of government, and practical experience in running a flourishing civilization for many centuries are valid and fruitful bases that can be developed, modified, and enriched even by a secularly-bound Arab nationalism to yield a genuinely Arab project for renaissance and progress.

Yet, that Arab (Islamic) heritage is completely neglected by Arab nationalists, except for being mentioned in propaganda contexts, in favour of the Western doctrines. The only reason that can be advanced for this attitude is the inherent anti-Islamic nature of the idea of Arab nationalism and its being essentially foreign to the Islamic heritage and beliefs of the Arabs. This idea cannot envisage an Arab renaissance from within the Arabs' creed simply because that creed happens to be Islam and because the adherents of nationalism have set themselves from the outset against that religion and aligned themselves with the West.

Consequent Contradictions

The two major contradictions in the idea of Arab nationalism treated in the previous sections render this doctrine vacuous and, in fact, negate its claims both to Arabism and to nationalism, revealing its nature as an ideological tool for the spread of Western influence and for antagonizing Islam. These two contradictions have been reflected in many of the positions and arguments of Arab nationalism graphically illustrating its inadequacy.

I propose now to deal with several of these consequent inconsistencies beginning with an examination of three positions adopted by Arab nationalists and following that with a refutation of three of their most frequently repeated arguments.

Three Arab Nationalist Positions:

1. The Attitude Towards Independence

The Arab nationalist writings place a high value on their independence' slogan. This has been their battle cry against the Uthmani State and it has been raised against the occupying foreign powers in the Arab countries. It is the main element in their political outlook and a constant part of their propaganda. They even raise it against Islamic trends whom they accuse of hankering after the days of the 'Ottoman Yoke' and of scheming to dissolve the cherished Arab independence' in a universal Islamic State.

Arab nationalist definitions of independence are negative in that they consider it as freedom from external domination and influences. Independence does not have a positive content in that doctrine and this is understandable in the light of its use as an instrument of attack upon the Islamic caliphate. It is independence from something but for no alternative. It has no justification other than the mere love, it seems, for a sort of vague liberty. It is not impelled by a desire to institute Islam for instance, in place of the departing foreign influence.

Moreover, independence has always been defined in a superficial way by the Arab nationalist'. It was first defined in mere political terms as the evacuation of foreign armies and native rule. Later on, further elements were added such as non-alignment and the highest ceiling that these definitions have reached of late--and only in response to Western debates on the matter--was to make some noises about economic independence.

Independence with regard to world-view values, attitudes, ideologies, and frame of reference is hardly, if ever, broached in Arab nationalist circles. These circles that have been created by Western thought even in their way of seeing things cannot be expected to push their cherished slogan to its logical conclusion and to its only meaningful usage.The cause of this muddle is in the "First Contradiction" discussed above.

As doctrinaire secularists, the Arab nationalists have rejected Islam as the only possible content of and justification for the call for independence.

They had, or preferred, to fill their ideological vacuum with a Western content, while, at the same time, they had also to maintain the independence' slogan both as raison d'etre and as an element of appeal. This left them in a position in which they were forced to use only the negative, superficial meaning of the term independence', and to shun its deeper implications, which raise the spectre of Islam as the only independence-content for the Arabs.

The Arab nationalist position on this issue is reflected in the practice of those who ruled under the banner of this idea, such as Nasir or the Ba'thists. Their fervently advocated slogans did not prevent them from losing their independence to certain Western powers--including the Soviet Union--for which, some would say, they were no more than clients.

On another level, the nationalist' intellectuals, who call themselves 'Arab', are slavishly dependent on the cultural goods of the West - including the view and prescriptions of the Westerners about the Arab and Muslim conditions. Arab nationalism failed miserably both in theory and practice to live up to an idea which constituted its essence. The rejection of Islam and the adoption of secularism have been responsible for this.

2. The Position on Palestine

The Arab nationalists have recently coined a phrase which found currency in the Arab media to the effect that Palestine is the central cause of the Arab people'. Their propaganda pictures them as the only defenders of the Palestinian cause. I do not wish to dwell here on the sad and disastrous record of that 'championship' of their chosen cause.Their intellectual failure implied in this slogan is perhaps more interesting.

The establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine is unanimously explained by Arab nationalists as an imperialist plot against the Arab nation, designed to retard Arab unity and to fritter away Arab resources in the struggle with the Zionist enemy'. This explanation fails to account for so many aspects of the question that it can only be deemed of mere propaganda value.

The Arab nationalists cannot explain why the attempts at setting up Israel started when Palestine was still a part of the 'Uthmani State. Instead, it is Sultan 'Abd al-Hamid's rebuff of these attempts that can explain the encouragement given to the idea of Arab nationalism by anti-caliphate, foreign powers at the time (the French in Lebanon, for instance). There was no 'Arab nation' at that time to justify the fiendish imperialist plot but there was rather an 'Islamic nation' to be torn to pieces by the colonial and Zionist schemes in which Arab nationalism itself featured prominently. But this view is, of course, uncomfortable to the nationalists.

More importantly, they cannot explain, let alone come to grips with, the religious nature of the Jewish nationalism which has been planted by their secular Western mentors in Palestine. They have been taught by the West that nationalism is built on material and cultural ties that do not include religion.

In fact, nationalism replaces religion as a locus of allegiance and has priority over it in the life of an individual or a nation. This principle was shattered to pieces before the uncomprehending eyes of the Arab nationalists as they confronted the Israeli case. For here material considerations such as unity of race or original homeland did not exist and the Jewish religion is the constitutive element of the Israeli-'nationalism'. Religious observances and symbols play such a vital part in the state's affairs that it is impossible to deny the essential religious character of Israel.

The only response that the Arab nationalists could bring to this situation was to invent a famous dichotomy distinguishing the Jewish' from the Zionist'. Judaism, it was maintained, is an innocent religion which the secularist-nationalists respect just like any other creed.Zionism, however, was an imperialist movement within Judaism which should be fought in Palestine as the enemy of the Arab people, The massive support of the Jews all over the world for Israel gave the lie to this Arab nationalist argument and in spite of the waning of the Zionist trend inside Israel as time wore on, the state itself grew stronger.

The Zionists were not the only party to share in the setting up and building of Israel. Socialist, communist, and religious parties have enthusiastically joined in this process. The charge of imperialism directed against Israel and its backers rang hollow with the Arabs who saw the Soviet Union and the world communists as well as European leftists, who are the forces of good according to the nationalist propaganda, supporting the new state wholeheartedly, only turning to the Arab side to exploit its defeat in the 1967 war.

The Arab nationalists cannot explain why the imperialists chose to perpetuate their influence in the region through a Jewish state in the religiously significant Palestine rather than through military bases and client rulers or elites. They cannot also explain why Israel was being set up at a time when imperialist powers were already entrenched in the Arab areas that really mattered to them: the Gulf and the Maghrib.Finally, they fail to account for the fact that Israel was, and is, willing to live with all forms of secularist, nationalist regimes in the area but not with an Islamic regime or even a movement.

The establishment of Israel can only be fully understood in the light of designs of the West against the Muslims of the Middle East.The seizure of a land holy to Muslims (Jerusalem, al-Khalil) is an affront to Islam and the setting up of a Jewish entity described as nationalist' was calculated to serve as a Westernization agent and an encouraging example for the cluster of secular nationalisms that were being fostered around Palestine since the beginnings of the present century.

Israel is a phase in the long battle between Islam and Judaism, and if it serves any imperialist purposes it is in the context of the West's attack on Islam and not on an Arab nationalism that did not exist when Israel was first conceived and which itself shares the anti-Islamic nature of the Jewish state.

It is no wonder that the Arab nationalists, who themselves were part of the strategy of confronting Islam, should fail to explain the nature of Israel although it is their chief alleged cause. Both Israel and Arab nationalism have been tools used in the attempt to disintegrate Islam. But the two tools are so different that the theoretical bases of the first demolish those of the second and the second stands in bewilderment before the first. Ironically enough, it is Islam which is the cause of this paradox. Religion is allowed to be a basis of Jewish nationalism - indeed its only basis - but it is unnaturally excluded from Arab nationalism.

The nationalists' confusion in this connection was reflected in the scandalous failures with which they met in their management of the conflict with Israel, although they have been in complete control of the largest and strongest Arab countries. Having excluded the Islamic dimension of this conflict, they found themselves thrown back on appealing to the 'nationalist' sentiments of the Arab masses.

But the only sentiments that came out into the open were the 'local' nationalist tendencies, which were not enthusiastic about leaving their own homelands to defend that of the Palestinians. The real sentiments of solidarity that impelled the Arab masses to support the struggle for Palestine were Islamic. The Muslim Brothers, for instance, were the only group in Egypt to fight in Palestine against the Jews, and Islamic motives led the Egyptian people to sympathize with their jihad.

The Arab nationalists refused to draw upon the huge material and moral resources of the Muslim world in their conflict with Israel. This would have led to abandoning their secular principles and would have caused the very disaster their Western backers fear: an Islamic unity and a new caliphate.

They also deliberately isolated themselves from the other causes of the Muslim world. Despite their avowed nationalistic and independent tendencies, however, they found it quite acceptable to attach themselves to certain internationalist movements--the communist, for instance - to seek help in their predicament, rather than go to the Muslim world. The results are all too clear before our eyes at present as the nationalists are dragged in the mud by American diplomacy from which they expect only a humiliating solution for the crisis they brought about.

3. The Position Towards Islam

Various hints have already been made about the attitude of Arab nationalist writings towards Islam. That religion's claims to full allegiance to it from the Muslims are rejected. All aspects of Islam that contradict the secularist outlook, such as the Shari'ah, the concepts of jihad or the Islamic State, are interpreted away as mere historical growths that were attached to the body of Islam in 'ages of backwardness.'

Call for Islamic unity or revival are condemned as dangerous deviations from the nationalist path. Islam itself is subjected to various "interpretations" (i.e., revisions and distortions) to prove that it really approves of and even encourages nationalism.

In the process, Islam is turned into what the nationalists call turath (heritage).This turath is viewed by them as a cumbersome corpus of writings, beliefs, attitudes, etc., which has no place in the 'modern world' or in the project of Arab nationalism unless it is 'sifted,' 'purified' and 'reinterpreted' to be ready for use. From what point of view will the turath be sifted, by whom, for what purpose, under what conditions, and what will be left of it, are questions that the nationalists prefer to ignore.

The attitude of Arab nationalism to Islam can be summed up by saying that an intellectual violence is exercised against all aspects of that religion to make it amenable to their secular views of it and to justify its exclusion from the place of prominence in the Arabs' lives in favour of nationalism. Here once more the nationalists fall into contradiction. The natural course would have been for them first to find Islam inadequate or empty of content and then to set about building a social and political creed to replace it, or, at least, to compensate its deficiencies.

On the contrary, the strategy of Arab nationalism was to attack the fullness and validity of Islam and to deny or throw doubt on its programmes so that it can justify its own project or doctrine. This is more like putting the cart before the horse; but it seems that sound logic must give way if "

hitting at Islam is in question.This nationalist attitude towards Islam has revealed itself in yet another contradiction relating to political practice this time. The Arab nationalists show intense jealousy in guarding the 'Arab entity' they carved out of the body of Islam from re-uniting with or reverting once more back to that body.

All political movements that call even for lukewarm and formal cooperation between Muslim Nation-States are scoffed at by the Arab nationalists as reactionary steps which would only hinder the crystallization of the desired Arab entity. Even empty organizations run by some Arab regimes in the field of Islamic action are not acceptable to the Arab nationalists.

However, the nationalists do not show any reservations in linking or even incorporating that precious Arab entity into other international entities or movements not only in the political but in the cultural and economic spheres as well. The majority speak, in the current revival of their thought, about a unified front of all the progressive, freedom-loving forces of the world, which primarily include the Soviet Union and its satellites, in addition to the left in Europe and the other continents. Other Arab nationalists speak of close ties between the 'Arab entity' and western Europe as a cultural and political body that balances the two super-powers.

Some of these speak more specifically about a 'Mediterranean' entity which fuses the Arabs and the southern Europeans in a primarily cultural-economic system. This last variety is now adopted by wide sections of the Arab nationalists and it is flagrantly anti-Arab in its implications of merging the Arab identity into an essentially Western culture. The Egyptian writer Taha Husayn, who first suggested this idea in radical terms in the late thirties, was bitterly criticized by Muslim thinkers for proposing that servile form of Westernization.

On the political front, the Arab nationalists envisage merging their cherished entity into such world movements as that of the non-aligned, the Third World, and the 'South'. These movements are really Western-defined and inspired despite their high-sounding rhetoric about imperialism, a just economic order, etc.

The argument that I am trying to put across here is that while the Arab nationalists do not find any problem in cooperating with or even merging into internationalist movements of every kind, they completely stand against any form of Islamic action even if it were mere window-dressing that does not bear upon the existing nationalist entities.

The reason cannot be that Islamic action relates to a religion while the other world movements are of political or economic nature.The communist or the 'Mediterranean' ideals are redolent of 'belief' and cultural implications; and Islamic action includes 'worldly' fields in its purview. Once again, Arab nationalism faces us with a contradiction that can only be explained by its anti-Islamic stance.

The Realm of Privacy in Islam

Islam considers the safeguarding of people’s privacy as not only an individual duty of all people but also as the Islamic state and government’s obligation and regards any illegal interference and violation of people’s privacy (either from the side of other people or the government authorities) sin and illegal. Islam invites everybody to observe this sanctuary and avoiding from its breach and transgression and for those violating others’ privacy in addition to heavenly punishments considers worldly penalties.

Doubtlessly, if the area of people’s privacy in all dimensionswill not be defined and every one defines it according to his own taste and thoughts, it should not be expected that the safeguarding and protection of this sanctuary be actualized.

Islam by expressing the restrictions related to privacy defined the actions causing itsviolation and prohibits people from doing them and considers punishments for those committing such actions.

Some of such actions include: investigation into others privacy and about their secrets, entering to the privacy of people’s houses and homes without their permission, eavesdropping people’s conversations, suspicion and mistrust of others, illegal look in people’s privacy and correspondences, gossiping, sarcasm, cursing, telling tales, fault finding and offending people’s reputations.

Any of the above actionswill be survived here shortly and the ways to avoid them in lofty instructions of Islam will be expressed.

1. Prohibition of investigation and inspection

In dictionaries of Farsi for the word ‘investigation’ (tajassos ) in this language, there are many meaningslike: touching by hand, touch, look for, inspect, and checking with hands, gathering news and research. The root or the common image of all these meanings is the attempt to gain information about others.

The literal meaning of ‘investigation’ is that a person is after gaining news and becoming aware of affairs that the owner of them tries to keep the hidden or concealed ordoesn’t desire others to have access to them. A person attempting to gain such informationis called ‘spy’.

In Farsi, the term ‘tahassos ’ also means gaining news and becoming aware of others’ information.

Some consider (tajassos ) ‘investigation’ and (tahassos ) as synonyms and takes no difference in their connotations but some know the distinguishing aspects of these two terms in this that in the investigation the spy is after the information that are denied from him but (tahassos ) is gaining information about others without any denial.

It is also said that ‘investigation’ is searching and trying for gaining information from the information of internal affairs and not apparent and clear affairs of others bur (tahassos ) is about the news and information that people can with a little attempt and just by using his common sense.Sometimes these two terms are distinguished according to their aims and accordingly, ‘investigation’ is interpreted as searching in others’ news and information with a malevolent and malicious aims and with the intention of conveying them to others but the allocated connotation of (tahassos ) is becoming aware of the apparent affairs of others with benevolence and no malicious aim neither for oneself (nor others).

The fundamentals of investigation and inspection are:

A. Searching and looking for concealed affairs ofothers which are not desired by them to be at others’ access.

B. Being personal and private of those affairs in a way that access to those is just the right and within the authority of their own.

Prohibition of investigationis stated explicitly and emphasized in the Divine words . The great Quran addressed the believers in this way that:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا…………… .. وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا

Believers… do not spy. (Quran 49:12)

Meanwhile the respectful Prophet of Islam (S) stated explicitly: “I am not authorized to split people’s heart and become aware of their hidden and internal thoughts.” 1

Investigation and curiosity in others private affairs from one side are addictive for the spy and captivate him and from the other side its influence on the society is the creation of the sense of insecurity and causes the public security and trust that are the greatest assets of a society to be marred. Specially, if an illegal and unwanted investigationis managed by government in people’s private affairs that results in corruption among people and in the society, according to the Prophet of Islam2 .

Even in the heart of the family also if the parents take such actions about their children which more than the limits of required and conventional supervision, this will cause the sense ofsuspicion and distrusts pathetically and finally leads to making the family fundamentals shaky.

In Islam religion law, this rightis given to the house owner to hinder a person who attempts to investigate from inside his house. If the spy will not give up his disturbance and keep investigating, the house owner stops his illegal action by throwing gravels and even if this leads to injury or unintentional death of the spy, the house owner will not be responsible for the regulations and religion law.

Besides the physical investigation of people’s privacy, also inquisition is also of obvious instances of investigation and violation of the privacy of the opinion or idea owner andis forbidden by Islam sacred religion law.

It should be noted that the main reason of Islam sensitivity for forbidding the investigation in others’ personal affairs and privacy is this that inspection and investigation are one of the important and effective in destruction of relations within a society and many social vulnerabilities have roots in this. A campaign against this social destructive element can have a basic and instructive role in strengthening people’s relations in a society.

Distinguish between investigation in social affairs and in peoples’ privacy is necessary. Whatis forbidden by Islam religion law and introduced as an illegal and immoral act is the investigation into people’s private affairs since this is in contrast with the human honesty and greatness.While the investigation in social affairs for removal of corruption as a necessity and for the public expediency is required and is regarded the responsibility of Islamic government. Accordingly, there are differences between instances of investigation in the social area and area of people’s privacy.

Instances of investigation in social affairsare: continuous supervision and inspection in people’s social behavior in the society, keeping enemies’ actions and provocations and trying to gain information about influential incidents in society.

Instances of investigation in people’s privacy are: attempts to gain information about others’ private affairs by eavesdropping or listening into their private conversations, inspection in people’s personal and private things, interrogation and questioning about people’s private affairs and secrets, attempts to discover personal deficiencies, sins or personal moral corruptions of people such as private drinking of alcohol and any kind of unnecessary inspection and investigation that considering the stated decree ( do not inspect) is not within the absolute reverence of Islam religion law.

2. Prohibition of illegal entrance to people’s privacy

Doubtlessly, home and house are of obvious and important instances of people’s privacy and entering them without permission is the breach of the owner of the house or home privacy and violation of his absolute right.

In the Great Quranverses and the Prophet's tradition and his eligible successors, determined ceremonies are considered for entering the house, home and privacy and Muslims are obliged to follow these ceremonies.

According to those customs, when a person wants to enter others’ home and privacy, he must act as follows:

A.Estinas : (An Arabicterm which literally means “asking for kindness.” Here it means presenting acquaintance with kindness): Entering others’ place of residency or privacy necessitates that the entering person firstly introduces himself to the home or privacy residents, the Great Quran states:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّىٰ تَسْتَأْنِسُوا …

Believers do not enter houses other than your houses until you first ask permission. (Quran, 24:27)

Estinas means the introducing and presenting acquaintance of the entering person with the host.

Considering this point is of importance that in the Great Quran the term ‘estinas ’ is used which its root is ‘ons ’ (familiarity). The connotation of this term is that the person who wants to enter the others’ home or house must introduce himself kindly, softly, politely and in a friendly manner.

B.Estizan (Asking for permission): Entering the most obvious instances of people’s privacy is due to this that firstly permission from the home or house residentsare asked .

Muslims’ conventions in the beginning of Islam following the ignorant Arabs was that they entered others’ homes or houses (even the Great Prophet’s home) without asking for permission. Therefore, to correct this false behavior, avoidance of offending the reverence of others’ homes and guarding people’s privacy, the Great Quran determined that Muslims in addition to ‘estinas ’ and before entering others’ private places, ask for permission from the home’s residents and till they are not given the permission avoid from entering others’ privacy:

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَجِدُوا فِيهَا أَحَدًا فَلَا تَدْخُلُوهَا حَتَّىٰ يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ

And if you do not find anyone there, do not enter it until permission is given to you. (Quran, 24:28)

The Prophet of Islam (S)’s manner was that even for entering his daughter’s home, her holiness, Fatima (a.s ), after saluting to the home’s residents, asked for her permission and the Prophet,himself , and his accompanying people never entered her home without asking for permission.

Naturally, people should not expect that the homeowner be ready for accepting them all the times and necessarily answer positively to their asking for entrance permission and let them in.The reverence of the home owner and his rights necessitate that if he is not ready to accept them and answers negatively to their asking for entrance permission, avoid from entering his home and leave there without any feeling of offence, unhappiness and sadness since sometimes people prefer to pass time in their privacy with their close relatives and away from any mind-engagements resulted from his presence in a society or others’ contacts or free from conventional and existing bounds and restrictions in his secure shelter pass the time in a lonely way and keep his distance from others in particular times and feel free.

This point in the instructions of the Great Quranis explicitly stated in this way:

وَإِنْ قِيلَ لَكُمُ ارْجِعُوا فَارْجِعُواۖ هُوَ أَزْكَىٰ لَكُمْۚ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ

And if you are told 'return', so return that is purer for you; and Allah knows the things you do. (Quran, 24:28)

The depth of Islamview point about privacy was manifested when the Prophet’s manner for asking for permission to enter another person’s place of residency was stipulated some ceremonies. One of such ceremonies is that at the time of ‘estizan ’, the person asking for permission must not stand before the door of the house.It is narrated that Islam Prophet (S) stated AbuSa'eed , one his companions, who was asking for permission before the Prophet’s house door that at the time of asking for permission not to stand in front the house door and stand on the left or right side of the door as when the door were opened, there would be no command for looking inside the house and causes no insecurity for the house’s residents.

C. Saluting the home or house’s residents: According to Islam’s sayings, the person entering another person’s home privacy after ‘estinas ’ (or introducing himself kindly, softly, politely), should salute the home’s residents and wait for their responses and never enter any homes without saluting.

The Great Quran regarding this point states that explicitly:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّىٰ تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا

Believers do not enter houses other than your houses until you first ask permission and greet with peace the people thereof... (Quran, 24:27)

D. Entering form conventional and common ways: After ‘estinas ’ and ‘estizan ’, it is expected that the entering person enters from the determined and conventional way to the host privacy and not from uncommon and unconventional ways.

The great Quran to emphasize this point states:

وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَنْ تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَىٰۗ وَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَاۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

..it is not righteousness that you should enter the houses at their backs, but righteousness is this that one should guard (against evil); and go into the houses by their doors and be careful (of your duty) to Allah, that you may be successful. (Quran 2:189)

This point even in legal investigations of people’s privacymust be observed and considered to result not in causes of disturbance in people’s security .

The Islamic human rights declaration is pointing to the reverence of people’s houses by saying that (People’s houses in any case have reverence and must not without the permission of their owners enter them illegally or destroy or confiscate them and make their residents evacuee.) 3

Obviously, state agents andlegislators also except in some cases legalized by law due to the public interests have no right to enter a person’s privacy without his satisfaction and threat his security.

3. Prohibition of revealing secrets and expansion of prostitution

Revealing secrets do not mean that people attempt to defame others and to reveal their concealed affairs and transgress or violate their privacy. The main feature of revealing one’s secret is the revealing of the kind of information of affairs that people avoid from revealing them or prefer denying themover revealing or publicizing of them.

Considering the term ‘kind of’ instead of the term ‘personal’ as a qualification for such information and affairs that their revealing is revealing of secrets is because a person is satisfied or even willing in revealing of some parts of his personal affairs that people usually try to deny them. However revealing of such secrets are taken as instances of ‘expansion of prostitution’ in society and in these cases even the satisfaction of the privacy owner cannot be the permission of revealing these secrets as by revealing the cases that are in contrast with the public morality, violation of the public rights is actualized. For example, that is why in Islam there are many emphases on covering thenakedness and accordingly displaying of the nakedness is illegal and the disclosing person of it is found guilty of prostitution expansion and this person deserves punishment and penalty.

The Prophet of Islam (S) about censuring prostitution expansion by revealing immoral secrets of others stated: “Rightly, a person who expands prostitution is like one causes prostitution.” 4

One of the God’s attributes is His “sin-covering” and The Creator covers people’s shameful acts and misbehaviors and He knows covering of people’s faults as a responsibility of all people and loves fault-covering people.

In Islamic instructions ‘the right of fault-covering’ is one of the Muslim’s rights to each other and Muslims are obliged to observe this right. On this basis, a Muslim has the responsibility to cover and conceal others’ faults and avoid from revealing and publicizing of them that causes Muslims’ disgracing or jeopardizing of the public chastity. However, in a concealed way, Muslimsare allowed to aware others of their faults and to ask them not to commit those immoral or wrong deeds to follow their responsibility of recommending doing good and enjoining not to commit what is illegal.

The main reason of sensitivity of Islam about prostitution expansion and revealing of others’ affairs, besides the rational necessity and legal obligation of denial of one’s faults from others and prevention of revealing of faults and secrets that their publicizing is not permitted and deserved, is the negative, social effects related to revealing of people’s secrets that results in expansion of prostitution and social corruption.

Meanwhile, keeping of human beings’ inborn greatness and reverence necessitates that besides banning others, the person himself also keeps away from the publicizing and revealing of his own secrets that causes his personality images damaging and faces his hidden secrets.

Thus, while Islam emphatically, prohibits state, legislators and their agents and others also from investigation and entering to people’s privacy and revealing their secrets such as their moral corruption, it does not permit the privacy owner to reveal and expand that type of his secrets that as they necessitate to be kept secret, they are classified as naked or allow others to reveal them.

While perhaps in many cases the privacy owners can allow others to have access and interfere within their own privacy, where the possibility of others’ access and entrance to people’s privacy cause expansion of prostitution in society, this right is not available for the privacy owner.

4. Prohibition of fault-finding from others

The meaning offault-finding is that human beings attempt to find out others faults and reveal their sins, deficiencies and faults that are hidden from others. It is obvious that the beginning and the necessity offault-finding characteristic are an attempt to enter and violate others’ privacy with the aim of becoming aware of their deficiencies and shortcomings.

One of the moral greatnesses in the instructions of Islam is the characteristic of covering others’ faults. The importance of this good characteristic is to that extent that the Prophet of Islam (S) states, “Anyone who notices an unfavorable and disgraceful deeds from his religious brother and keeps it covered, God covers his faults both in this world and the world hereafter.”

The Great Prophet of Islam (S) in expressing the importance of this characteristic, compared it with the value of human being’s life which is the highest possession of a human in this way that, “Anyone who covers a believed person’s disgracefulness is as though survived an alive-buried girl.5 ”

Keeping a person’s reputation by covering and not revealing his faults from others according the Islam’s perspective is the chivalry offault-covering the person.

Itis narrated that one day the Prophet (S) asked Imam Ali (a.s ) what he would do if he saw a man slept over a prostitute. Imam Ali (a.s ) said that he would cover her. The Prophet stated that if you saw that again, what he would do and he stated thattill three times he would cover her with his cloak.

Then the Prophet (S) praised Imam Ali’s (a.s ) chivalry and stated, “Cover the faults of your religious brothers.”

The importance of covering the faults is to that degree that it is going tobe considered even in dooms day besides in this world. And it is expressed in some narrations that in Dooms day the Prophet of Islam will request God to take his followers’ deeds into account away from the look of angles and other religions prophets not to let the Muslims’ faults become apparent and publicized and their reputations be kept. God accepts his Prophet’s request.

One of the vices, considered in Islam as the worst sins, isfault-finding .

The Great Quran in different verses attempts to avoid people from this vice. Faultfindersare addressed in the great Quran in this way:

وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ

Woe to every backbiter, slanderer. (Quran, 104:1)

…وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ …

Do not find fault with one another. (Quran 49:11)

The Prophet of Islam (S) introduced those who are looking for finding others’ faults or deficiencies the worst people and states explicitly: “Do not be faultfinders, flatterers, tongue-lashing and aggressive.” 6

InIslam even keeping company with those who are after degrading others’ virtues and making their faults apparent is forbidden7

In Al-Miraj Tradition (Ascension to heaven) of the Holy Prophet (S), it is told from the Prophet, “When I ascended to the heavens by the command of the most high God, I have seen a group of people that their flesh where cut from their hips and forced them to eat. Theywere told 'eat!As you were eating your Muslim brothers’ flesh in the world.” I asked Gabriel that who they were and he answered that these were faultfinders and slanderers among your followers.” 8

Itshould be noted that faultfinding does not just result in defaming of a person. This disagreeable characteristic in addition to defaming the person having that thefault, causes the expansion of corruption or prostitution in society.And also the neglectfulness of the faultfinding person about his own weak points and faults and makes him blind to his faults and sharp-eyed to others’ faults.

In most cases, faultfinders start to investigate and inspect in people’s private affairs to gain information about others’ faults in those investigations and inspections. They concentrated on others’ negative and bad points and pay no attention topeople’s positive or correct points.

The vicious characteristic of fault-finding besides being a disease, rooted in personality weakness, is a physiological abnormality and a desire for materialism and wealth-gathering and it should be regarded a social abnormality. In fact and that in addition to its personal impression in disgracing and dishonoring people’s privacy, changes to be a serious impediment in the path of human beings perfection and elevation in the social area. Besides disturbing of personal security, causes divergence,disunion and disorder in social security and instability in social unity. It is also the cause of the expansion of pessimism.

The Great Quran while forbidding Muslims from following such vicious characteristics, states the roots of faultfinding as:

A. Weakness of faith and trust in most high God9 .

B. Dissembling and hypocrisy.10

C. Debauchery and libertinism11 .

D. Cruelty and oppression12 .

E. Contamination to sins and crimes13 .

Islam considers fault-finders as deserving of punishment and not only deprives them from divine guidance and blessing14 , but also promises them a painful torment both and the worldhereafter15 . Of course, the results of faultfinding are not limited to the heavenly punishments and its effect in this world for faultfinders is public disgracing and appearing of their faults.As the great Prophet of Islam (S) said, “O! Those who apparently turned to Islam but did not let it to overwhelm your hearts, be not after Muslim’s faults for disgracing them. Because the person who is seeking people’s faults, God reveals his faults and he will be disgraced and defamed.” 16

Somewhere else the Prophet said, “Anyone who reveals a vice or fault of his Muslim brother, God will reveal his viciousness to that degree that he will be disgraced and defamed in his own home.17 ”

Doubtlessly, faultfinders by being jealous about others and having the feeling of abjectness and humbleness before they do this disagreeable and indecent and cannot tolerate others’ success and promotion.

It should not be thought that Islam’s emphasis on covering others faults means that the denial and senselessness about others’ viciousness and faults and means not disgracing and publicizing others’ defects and keeping their reputations. Reminding people’s defects to them, on special conditions and with the aim of removing of these faults, are of human beings responsibilities. Denial of others’ faults and viciousness that just causes the continuation of their disgraceful and unfavorable behavior is like the vicious act of that faultfinder person andis considered as a betrayal to humanity.

Removing of faults in accordance with exercising the principle of the 'Promotion of good and prevention of evil.' is one of the merited characteristics of believed and faithful people (moreover is of his religious and humanistic responsibilities) that besides social purification and cleansing causes people’s perfection.

The difference between removing of faults andfault-finding is that removing of faults is exercised benevolently and with the aim of the purification and correction of the person having the fault.Whereas in faultfinding there is no motivation but others’ humiliation and degrading. Therefore, faultfinding result is not but people’sdefaming and disgracing and expansion of prostitution and viciousness.

The practice of removing of faults is always based on honest and hidden reminding, private and right criticisms by a respectful considering theperson’s , having the fault, individual position and personality.

It is as infault-finding people’s faults and deficiencies will be appeared and by a public and incorrect criticism people’s personalities will be assaulted and this will cause a reverse result.

The last point is this that in removing faults as in 'Promotion of good and prevention of evil.' this condition is made that firstly the person must start mentioning his own faults and then compassionately and in a reforming way criticize others’ defects as the treatment of the faultfinding as a disease.

5. Prohibition of suspicion to others

The meaning of suspicion is that a person to suspect others’ words and deeds distrustfully in the way that his suspicion and mistrust rely on an acceptable reason or actualized manifestation that prevents trust and certainty on the others’ apparent deeds and actions.

The roots of suspicion as one of the important behavior abnormalities are:

A. Disregarding others’ privacy and a desire to investigate in others’ personal affairs and gossiping.

B. Slandering about others that unwillingly results in the strengthening the sense of mistrust and suspicion to others.

The reason that a person suspects others is that he suffers from psychological unbalance and agitation.

C. Dominance and prevalence of the Satan over the human beings’ minds and thoughts that is the result of keeping distance from divine piety and causes temptation and the strength of negativism in the suspicious person.

In the verses of the Great Quran and the Prophet’s manner of living and other great people of Islam, suspicion to othersis considered as one of the main roots of investigation and inspection in others’ privacy and there are emphases on avoiding from and eradicating this faithful psychological disease.

The Great Quran forbids the believers from being suspicious about others and takes many suspicions as sin and states:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ

Believers, abstain from most suspicion, some suspicion are a sin, (Quran, 49:12)

The Almighty God regards suspicion an outstanding plague and the reason for the society corruption.

وَظَنَنْتُمْ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ وَكُنْتُمْ قَوْمًا بُورًا

So you harbored evil thoughts, and so you are a destroyed nation. (Quran, 48:12)

From the perspective of Quran, suspicion and mistrust do not make people needless about the truth.

وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا

Suspicion does not make people needless about the truth. (Quran, 53:28)

The Great Prophet of Islam (S) recommended people for avoiding from being suspicious and states, “Avoiding from suspicion be upon you as suspicion is the most form of lie.” 18

Doubtlessly, relying on suspicion and doubtcauses disturbance of the people’s personal and social relations and humiliation of people’s personalities and instability of trust among people of the society. This is in obvious contrast with the policies of Islam that are after the promotion of people of the society public unity and the stability of their relations. Islam’s great Prophet (S), expressing people’s privacy, considered avoidance of suspicions as divinecommands and stated, “Truly, the Great God takes a reverence for Muslims’ lives and possessions of being suspected.19 ”

The great Prophet of Islam (S) introduced suspicion to others as the cause of the faith destruction and states, “When you accused your Muslim brother, your faith will be eliminated like the dissolving of salt in water.”

Strategies recommended in the exalted Islamic teachings for avoidance from suspicion are:

A. Suspicion to oneself: If a Muslim has always suspected his own deeds and actions and finds his faults, he will never become suspicion to others and as in the statements of the great men of the religion,suspicions and doubt to one’s own self are the signs of being a believer.

B. Favor ideas about others: Favorable ideas about others and regarding oneselfnot higher than others and interpreting Muslim brothers’ behaviors as best as possible are of the rules of Islam.

Hence, where Muslims find an opportunity, they must interpret their brothers’ actions and deeds in the best waytill they find evidence against such interpretations that proves their opposites.

There is no doubt that having favorable ideas and mutual respects to others create public trust in stability of human beings’ relations.

C. The ignoring of suspicions to others: Considering the evil results of negativism and suspicion,till the malevolence behind the others’ deeds and words are not proved, their words and deeds must be trusted.

Thinking and thoughtfulness in cases of suspicion and surveying of the possibilities of truth and optimism about others’ deeds and words.

D. Avoidance of accompanying and company of those who are suffering of paranoia about others. Temptations of such people cause the provocation of evil sense of suspicion in human beings.

E. Noticing to some regulations in Islam such as 'Asalat al-Sehhah ' and'Sogh al-Muslimin ' that illustrates the necessity of interpreting of others’ deeds and words in a right and merited manner and not providing the opportunities for skepticism or doubt about others’ deeds and words. These favorable ideas cause that if we witness a man and a woman alone instead of suspicion and doubt by relying on these principles think of a proper relation between them.

F. Having control over perceptive ways: Human beings’ members and organs (as the means of his perception) have an important role in creation of suspicious about others. Attempting to violate people’s privacy by eavesdropping, peeping eye and gossiping are the most important elements of catching suspicion.

The Holy Quran by reminding the responsibilities of human main members and organs makes human being avoid from any interpretation that does not rely on any right knowledge and understanding and stated:

وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌۚ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا

Do not follow what you do not know. The hearing,sight and heart about all these you shall be questioned. (Quran, 17:36)

G. Not preparing the grounds of suspicion: Certainly, people’s not attempts to do actions resulting in others’ suspicion are of importance in decreasing of having such psychological abnormalities.

6. Prohibition of Gossiping about Others

‘Gossiping’ is of viciousness that Islam emphasizes a lot on quitting that.

The meaning of ‘gossip’ in Islamic culture is that a person talks about someone in the absence of him/her and this makes absentee unhappy and discontentment after becoming aware.

The main elements for recognizing someone’s words as ‘gossip’ are:

A. Expressing a subject about a person in his absence.

B. Uncertainty about the rightness or wrongness of the gossip subject.

C. Sadness and discontentment of the person others gossipedabout .

In some statements of the religion great people, itis stated that gossip is that you say something about your Muslim brother that God covers that for him.

It should be noted that in the fulfillment of gossiping, awareness of the person gossiped about is not a criterion; however, the criterion is the person’s discontentment if what is said is expressed before him.

According to the saying of the prophet (S) , the difference between ‘gossip’ and ‘calumny’ is that ‘gossip’ is something real said about another person that God covers it from others but in ‘calumny’ what is expressed about others is not real.

Itshould not be thought that gossiping is exclusive in ‘talking’ in the absence of others. Gossipingcan also be realized in the form of actions or sarcasm.

According to the Holy Quran, the origins and causes of gossiping are: absence of piety, desire to inspect in others’ private affairs, suspicions and doubts (49:12), desire for wealth-gathering, excessive interest in the worldly matters, and world charming manifestations (104:1 & 2).

In the teachings of Islam, gossipingis recognized as one of the greatest sins and weak-minded actions and Muslims are forbidden from doing that.

The Great Quran forbids Muslims from gossiping in this way:

وَلَا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًاۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَحِيمٌ

Norbackbite one another would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Surely, you would loathe it. Fear Allah, without doubt Allah turns (in mercy) and he is the merciful. (Quran, 49:12)

The Holy Prophet (S) stated to AbuDharr , one of his followers, “O! AbuDharr avoids gossiping as it is worse than adultery.” 20

The Prophet of Islam (S) also regards gossiping a sign of people’s stimulator faith in Islam and not penetrating of this faith in their hearts and stated, “He who surmises that he is the child of a legal marriage is lying if he eats people’s flesh by gossiping.”

From the Holy Quran perspective, gossiping about others is in fact the violation of their privacy,dignity and reputation. Especially, if this wrong, disgraceful and unfavorable act is done in the absence of the people about whom are gossiped in a way that they would not have the opportunity of defending themselves about the violation of their personality and abstract privacy.

Gossiping besides the destruction of people’s personality and violation of theirpersonality, has destructive influences on people’s social lives. It causes the instability of the public trust that is the greatest investment and dynamic element of society.

Moreover, moral bases of society, due to the expansion of gossiping, gets instable and weakened and finally results in disunity and elimination of social safety and causes society disunity and dispersion. Hence, the prohibition of gossiping among people of society in addition to bringing security for society people’s privacy, reputation and prestige, is in fact the guarantee of social safety and promotion of public trust. The Great Prophet of Islam (S) said, “Anyone who gossips about a Muslim man or woman, God won’t accept his forty-day prays and fasting till the person about who has been gossiped forgives him/her.”

Noticing this point is of importance that one of the important elements of expansion of gossiping in society and encouraging elements for the gossiping person to follow this disgraceful act is the listener’s eagerness and willingness for listening to others’ gossip. Therefore, one of the effective ways to control the gossiping is preventing the gossiping person from doing such act with verbal reminding, in accordance with the principle of ‘Promotion of good and prevention of evil’; and showing reluctance for listening to gossips as a passive resistance against gossiping people; and banishing them from society and not keeping company with them. The Great Prophet (S) stated, “Be aware that anyone who is patient for not listening to a gossip about his believed brother and prevents gossiping about him, God closes one thousand doors of worldly and heavenly viciousness forhim . If he does not prevent from gossiping while having the power to do so the burden of seventy sins of the gossiping person will be on his shoulders.”

In the Holy Quran, three pointsare recommended for Muslims for quitting the unfavorable habit of gossiping:

A. Following Godly piety, as the most important preventive element of human being from committing all sins such as the sin of gossiping about others. (Quran, 49:12)

B. Considering and recognizing the reality of gossiping about others that in the Holy Quran itis interpreted as eating one’s own flesh.

C. Noticing the constant presence of God and his perfect and absolute knowledge and awareness about all human deeds, actions and even thoughts such as gossiping about others.21

Islamic precepts regard gossiping in some cases not only legal but also necessary and are exceptions of prohibition of gossiping about others.

Some of these exceptions are:

A. Gossiping about the cruel and expressing his cruelty, when people are in the stance of pleading for justice or litigation as the Prophet of Islam (S) said, “The right and one whose right is lost can gossip regardless how disturbing gossiping can be.”

B. Gossiping about a sinner with the aim of his correction and returning him from misleading way and his salvation provided its necessity.

C. Gossiping about a person who commits debauchery and libertinism andis known for such acts.

D. Gossiping about others in the stance of adduction of witnesses in a court and with the aim of claiming the right.

E. Gossiping about others with the aim of consulting and taking counsel when necessary.

F. Expressing ofsomething which is apparent in a person (like being hasty) and is obvious to others too in not taken as gossiping.

7. Prohibition of Any Assault against People’s Reputation

From the viewpoint of Islam, people’s reputation is the reason of the lifetime of their identities and personalities.

Believers have a special place before the almighty God to that degree that the Holy Quran states:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا

Allah will defend those who believe. (Quran, 22:38)

Hence, how people have such daring to tear up the curtain covering one’s reputation that the Unique God is his defender, to reveal his secret, to publicize his defects and to slander and to disrepute him?

Respect to a believer’s reputation and dignity is so important that the respected Prophet of Islam (S) considers that of more importance than respect toKabaa . Doubtlessly, keeping others’ reputation and respect as one of the most important teachings of the surviving school of Islam is of such emphasis that the glorious Prophet of Islam (S) in the last pilgrimage toKabaa (Hujjat al-Wida ’) sermon, presented in the last trip toKabaa in the temple of Mecca while addressing a great number of Muslims announced, “O! People as these days- time of Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) - and this city- the great Mecca - are respectful, your bloods and reputations are respectful too. You do not have the right of shedding your bloods and offending to your reputations till the time of visiting God.”

Before God, the importance of a person’s reputation who observes divine commands and restrictions is to that degree that God of all worlds conceals his faults even from His angels and makes him respectful before others.

It is stated in narrations that the respected Prophet of Islam (S) demands God’s court to bestow him the surveying of his followers’ deeds in the doomsday to him so that if they had any deficiency or fault, not to become disgraced before other prophets.

In response to the Prophet (S) comesthis answer that I [God] take the surveying of your followers’ deeds, myself, so that if they have a fault even you will not be aware of.

The religion of Islam respects a believer’s reputation in this way and for keeping humanistic personality and respect conceals his faults.

In Islamic lofty teachings, protecting of others’ reputations has a particular value before God and a person who rises to protect another person’s reputation is a neighbor of Him as respected Prophet of Islam (S) said, “Anyone who prevents his believed brother dishonor, God prevents his face from the hell fire.”

He also stated, “Anyone protecting his brother’s reputation while he is absent. It is upon God to keep him from hell.”

Imam Ali (a.s ), the successor of the respected Prophet of Islam in expressing the stage and position of a person who respects and safeguards others’ dignity by sacrificing his own reputation states, “Grant your possession to one who disregarded his reputation for you since nothing can be equal to keeping the reputation.”

Sacrificing lives for protecting of a Muslim’s reputationis allowed in Islam the Holy Prophet (S) said, “Everything of Muslims such as lives, reputations and bloods are illegal for other Muslims, even in some cases possessions and lives can be sacrificed for keeping a believer’s reputation and prestige.”

Considering this point is of importance that human beings besides their obligation to keep others reputation and dignity, must always attempt to keep their own reputation and honor. In other words, from the perspective of Islam, people not only do have the right of assaulting others’ reputations but also do not have the right of belittling his own personality and is upon him to shun any deed or action that causes his humanistic value and greatness before others.

Imam Ali (a.s ) about the necessity of keeping one’s own honor and reputation said, “Your reputation is on your forehead and your requests causes to drip that drop by drop [like drops of your sweet]. Hence, look before whom you let it fall.”

The Great God determined a heavenly remuneration for those people striving to keep their humanistic greatness as the Holy Prophet stated, “Instead of what people keep their reputation by that, alms and charity are considered for him.”

As mentioned before, human’s reputation and prestige as his identity and spiritual dimension are regarded an important part of people’s privacy. Violation of it from the perspective of Islam penal law are among the worst sins and even are taken worse than incest. One who did this act not only deserves worldly punishments but also as a person who proclaimed war against God by assaulting a Muslim’s reputationis promised of a divine painful torment.

The religion of Islam’s sensitivity for observing the privacy of people’s reputation is because the beginning of violation to others’ reputation is inspection and interference within their privacyarea which finally leads to the violating person’s error and misleading. According to some narrations from the religion’s great men the closest position of person to blasphemy is when he counts a person who is his religion brother's faults to blame him a day for these faults.

The Holy Prophet (S) about the evil influences of assaulting a Muslim’s reputation and prestige in offended person’s beliefs and faith said, “When a believer accesses his religion brother, his faith will be eliminated like the dissolving of salt in water.”

8. Prohibition of Tale-bearing

Tale-bearing is of moral viciousness that are the result of the revealing of people’s secrets and violation of their privacy and avoidance of committing such acts are emphasized in Islam.

The meaning of the term ‘tale-bearing’ here is expressing and revealing a subject about a person that results in making his faults or deficits become apparent in a way that if he becomes aware of this, he will be upset and sad about whatis said about him.

In fact, tale- bearer expresses a talk that another person said about the listener while he does not allow its revealing.

‘Tale-bearing' may happen orally or verbally or in a written form or even by other means such as signs or body language.

Meanwhile, there is no difference between what the aims or purpose of the ‘tale-bearing’ is. Either with the aim of assaulting the personality of one, who is the victim of his secrets revealing, or with the aim of fun or sycophant and supererogatory service to the listener, or bearing tales for others or having an undue sense of curiosity.

The Great Prophet of Islam (S) introducestale-bearers as the worst people and emphasized that tale-bearers will not enter the paradise.22 (

From the viewpoint of the GloriousQuran the act of the talebearer is cutting what God commanded for its connection:

وَالَّذِينَ يَنْقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مِيثَاقِهِ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَنْ يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِۙ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمُ اللَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ

As for those who break the covenant of Allah after accepting it, who part what he has commanded to be united and worked corruption in the land, a curse shall be laid on them, and they shall have an evil abode. (Quran, 13:25)

The influence oftale-bearing is that it changes the kindness and intimacy among people to hatred and hostility and turns society people’s unity and unanimity to disunity and dispersion.

In the statements of the religion of Islam’s great men, tale-bearing is interpreted as sorcery which causes the separation between friends and relatives, planting the seeds of hostility and disharmony among people who have been unanimous and in agreement with each other and also blood-shedding and ruining of homes and revealing of people’s secrets. Therefore, the Holy Prophet of Islam stated, “one who occupies himself with telling others’ tales among people, the Great God will put a great fire over his grave.” 23

In fact, the main reason the Islamic religious law regards tale-bearing illegal and considers it as capital sin and pledges Godly punishments fortale-bearer is the destructive and irreparable influences of his act.

It is narrated from the great Prophet (S) that he stated, “I saw on the paradise door it wasengraved that “you are illegal to talebearers.24 ”

In Islamicteachings confronting with this inauspicious and destructive phenomenon is emphasized in this way that Muslims be ignorant to what tale-bearers tell and take their words either right or wrong as lie to make tale-bearers dissuaded by such passive resistance.

The Great Quran forbids following oftale-bearers by stating:

وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَهِينٍ هَمَّازٍ مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ

And do not obey every mean swear, the backbiter who goes about slandering. (Quran, 68:10-11)

The manner of the great Prophet of Islam (S) was also like that and itis narrated from him, “No one of my companions must tell me something about the other one as I like when coming to you my chest be free from the talks about people25 .”

Even in the prohibitions of the Holy Prophet (S), it is mentioned that the Prophet prohibits Muslims fromtale-bearing and listening to tales about others26 .

9. Prohibition of Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping that in Farsi is ‘esteraq esam ’. The first part of this term ‘esteraq ’ comes from the infinitive of ‘serqat ’ which literally means ‘stealing’ and idiomatically means ‘doing something in a hidden way’.

The meaning of ‘esteraq esam ’ is ‘listening to someone’s talk in a hidden way’ and includes unlawful and hidden listening to peoples’ conversations or controlling them by using instruments like environmental or phone conversations bugging or recording tools.

Today methods of bugginginclude: using technologies and listening to conversations by means of fixed or mobile phones, satellite, computer, internet or other developed instruments.

From Islamic religious law, bugging is illegal and one who attempts to control people’s conversations in a hidden way and becomes aware of their secrets in this way, committed inspections in others’ privacy and according to the explicit wording of the Quran his act is sin and illegal. (Quran, 49:12)

The Great Quran about the responsibility of human body organs states:

إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا

The hearing,sight and heart about all these you shall be questioned. (Quran, 17:36)

In the Great Prophet’s interpretation of eavesdropping it is stated, “There is a share of adultery for any member of human members and the adultery of the human ear is listening to some talks in a concealed way.”

In Islamic precepts while some punitive punishments are determined for those eavesdropping in this world, there are heavenly punishments for them too. As the Great Prophet (S) stated, “During dooms day, in the ears of anyone listening to others’ talks in a hidden way while they are dissatisfied or hears others talks and the speakers keep distance from him and hate him melted copper is poured.27 ”

10. Prohibition of eyes peeping

‘Eyes peeping’ means a concealed and illegal look at everything located in people’s privacy and the owner of the privacy has no desire and satisfaction if others look at that and because of that he did not expose it to others look publicly. This includes what is of people’s privacy automatically or a person, himself, puts it into his privacy.

In the percepts of Islamic religious law, ‘eyes dropping’ is known as a disgraceful act and one of the capital sins and Muslims are prohibited from converting of their eyes and having hidden look at others’ privacy and one doing them deserves punishment.

The Great Quran blames eyes betrayal and states:

يَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ الْأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُورُ

God knowstreacherous eyes and what concealed in the breasts . (Quran, 40:19)

Doubtlessly one of the obvious instances of eye betrayal is eyes peeping and without-permission looks to people’s privacy.

Meanwhile the Great Quran commands Muslims to control their eyes and looks:

قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ وَقُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَاۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ….

Say to the believers they should lower their gaze and guard their private part that is purer for them. Allah is aware of the things they do.And say to the believing women, that they lower their gaze cast down their eyes and guard their chastity, and do not reveal their adornment…. (Quran, 24:30 -31)

The great Prophet (S) regards looking at the way of misdemeanor a kind of adultery and states, “There is a share of adultery for any member of human members and the adultery of the eye is looking.”

The importance and role of looks in human beings’ spiritual health are to that degree that Imam Ali introduced eyes as the Satan ambushes that the eyes disobediences causes the grounds for human beings misdemeanor and Satan’s prevalence.

The Prophet of Islam states about hidden and without-permission looking at others’ correspondences said, “Whoever looks at his brother’s letters is like he is looking at his nakedness.28 ”

Considering the importance determined by the Islam for keeping others’ privacy, it is necessary that people attempt to recognize the preventive elements of this disease and moral and spiritual misdemeanor and try to eliminate the grounds and beginnings of having it. For instance, observing ‘estizan ’ ceremony and asking for permission from the house or privacy owners before entering there is one of the preventive elements of eyes dropping in people’s privacy.

11. Prohibition of Cursing and Swearing

‘Sabb ’ meaning cursing and swearing to others and in Islam not only Muslims but also non-Muslimsare prohibited from it explicitly.

The Great Quran about forbidding cursing to non-Muslims states:

وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍۗ كَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ مَرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

Do not say crude words to those who call upon other than Allah, lest they use crude words about Allah in revenge without knowledge. Assuch we have made the actions of each nation seem pleasing. To their Lord they shall return, and he will inform them of that they were doing. (Quran, 6:108)

The Holy Prophet (S) considers cursing and swearing as disobedience from God and debauchery and stated, “Cursing to a believer is disobedience from God and fighting with him is a blasphemy and eating his flesh-gossiping about Muslims is a sin against God and a respect to a believer’s possession is like a respect to his blood.” 29

When a person expresses a subject about another person in a way that listening it causes his sadness and offense, that person is committed the sin of gossiping, even if he does not mean to assault or curse him. In the case that the gossiping person had the aim of assaulting and cursing, besides the sin of gossiping, he committed the sin of assaulting and cursing him.

As mentioned before, from the Islamic perspective, the reverence of human beings’ reputation is equal to his life and soul. Cursing a person is a violation of his reputation and dignity and is an obvious instance of violation of people’s privacy.

The sin of cursingis known disgracing and defaming to that degree that is introduced as the cause of the death of cursing the person in narrations as the Great Prophet (S) said, “Cursing a believer puts people at the edge of perdition and destruction.30 ”

Moreover, cursing will have an irreparable evil impression of the cursing person such as creating disunity and hostility among the people. The great Prophet (S) said, “Do not curse at people as you will make them your enemies and foes.”

The Glorious Quran also states explicitly that cursing at others causes them to swear at the beliefs of the cursing person due to their ignorance and nescience.

It is narrated that the Holy Prophet (S) never was abusive and it was not exclusive toMuslims as he never cursed at non-Muslims too.

Notes

1.Mizan al-Hikma ,Reyshahri , P. 391.

2.Sunan Ibn Dawood , V.4, P.272.

3. Paragraph. C, Article. 18.

4.Tahrir al-Wasilah , Khomeini, P.94.

5.Mizan al-Hikmah , Vol.9, P. 422.

6.Makarem al-Akhlaq , P.467

7.Ghurar al-Hikam : 9565

8. Plague of the Tongue, Vol.1,P.251

9. See Quran, 49:11.

10. See Quran, 9:80 and 83:30 & 36.

11. See Quran, 9:80.

12. See Quran, 49:11.

13. See Quran, 83:30 & 29.

14. See Quran, 9:80.

15. See Quran, 9:79, 83:29 & 36 and 2:16.

16.Usul al-Kafi , Vol.3, P.355.

17. Al-Targhib va Al-Tarhib , Vol. 2, P.293, Tradition 9

18.Mizan al-Hikmah , P. 293.

19. Bihar al -Anwar, vol.72, P.201.

20.Wasa'il al-Shi'ah , Vol.8, P. 55.

21. See Quran, 4:148.

22. Al-Targhib , Vol. 3, P. 496 andSahih Muslim, Vol. 1, P. 101.

23.Wasail al -Shiah , Vol.11, P. 203.

24.Irshad al-Qulub , Tradition. 1391.

25.Riyaz al-Salehin , P.585.

26.Safinat al- Bihar, Vol. 2, P. 613.

27.Sajestani , Vol. 2, P. 883.

28.Safinat al-Bihar

29.Wasail al-Shi’ah , SheikhHurr Ameli

30.Wasail al-Shi’ah , SheikhHurr Ameli