Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Truthfulness of life

And this truthfulness is a pledge of, and to, you, since it is the spirit of beauty and right, and the will of able, triumphant life!

Perhaps the most prominent of the aspects of cosmic justice, in the world of inanimate and animate, and in whatever relates to the nature of existence, and features of creatures, is the absolute pure truthfulness. Perhaps truthfulness is the pivot of the earth, the orbit, the night and day. With truthfulness alone the four seasons follow one another, rain falls, and the sun shines. With it as well, the earth keeps its word when it grows what is above it: each in its time: no advancement and no delay. With it the codes of nature and the laws of life are established. The wind does not flow except with truthfulness, bloods do not ran through veins except with truthfulness, and the living creatures are not born except by a faithful sincere law.

This absolute pure truthfulness on which the law of survival encircle is the first and greatest fountain from which the justice of the cosmos flows and to which it returns.

And since Ali Ibn Abi Talib was very keen on observation of the truthfulness of existence, highly interacted with it, he made his first concern with people is to purify them on the ground of what he conceives, senses and sees. Purification in its right meaning and remote significance is not but the deep sense of the value of life and character of existence. And since this meaning is the unique significance for the great purification, truthfulness to the self, and to every material and spiritual being, is the pivot on which purification encircles, as we have seen it to be the pivot of cosmic justice. Hence, many of the bases, over which people agreed without thinking over the great codes of existence, are renounced as apart of sound discipline, whereas people assume them as disciplinary bases due to their mere agreement upon them. Thus, too, whatever disagrees with the spirit of the right, the spirit of goodness, and that of beauty, is banished from sound discipline of purification. Disciple based on other than its great principles, is a superficial collusion over ugly lying. It is, in its remote principles, a deep sense of beautiful faithfulness, which makes it integrate honestly with the uprising of flowing victorious life.

Therefore, the pivot of purification to Ibn Abi Talib was man’s protection from lying, or say protecting him, when he is a live, from the coldness of death.

Man’s protection from lying requires in the first place glorifying truthfulness directly in every situation, showing it as a prominent living necessity before every living creature, and directing people towards it retired to themselves or in groups.

And in this topic, Ali bin Abi Talib appears as a giant who sees what others do not see, who refers to what they are unaware of, practices what others cannot now practice, and he wants them to be able to do it. Ali says:

“Beware of loosening your morals and changing them, maintain one tongue.” And destroying thing means breaking it, and changing it means overturning it from one state to another. He intends to remind true person of the danger which his truthfulness is subjected to if he lies even for one time. For if the truthful person lies once, his honesty is broken, like anything which breaks if it falls on the ground one time. So are hypocrisy and double standard which are two sorts of the kinds of lying He says too: “Be truthful people. Do things without dissemblance. Respect the right truthful person, and humiliate the wrong liar. Be truthful in speaking, give back the entrusted things, and keep the vow. He who wants a glory by falsity Allah inherit him humility in a right. If you were truthful we would reward you, and if you were a liar we would punish you. He who lacks truthfulness in his speech is afflicted of his most precious moral, sharp sword at the hand of a brave man doesn’t bring bring for himglory more than faithfulness these master pieces about truthfullness are but samples out for other hundreds by which bin Abi Talib constitutes the base of his great ethical law.

Then take this masterpiece where the share of penetrating conscious mind grows in its weare. He says: “Lying leads to degeneration”. We need not elaborate on showing what lies in this word of a fact that draws beyond it a series on unending facts. And we need not elaborate on portraying what this word refer out of a psychological fact which days do not increase it but firmness. And there are many like this masterpiece of them: “Lying is not suitable in seriousness and in joke, even that one promises his child, then he does not keep it!” As for the meaning to which the first half of this Allaywiyan masterpiece refer, it was the subject of much dispute among philosophers of ethics, especially the Europeans. In fact those agreed unanimously that truthfulness is a life, lying is a death. But they disputed about whether it is allowable to lie in case of necessity or not? Some of them agree, some others disagree. And every party has their evidence.

However, Ali bin Abi Talib takes a decisive position towards which his phrase arouses, a decisive position which is in harmony with his great code in morals, this faith which we recur to remind the reader that it is resulted from what Ali has sensed and realized, out of the comprehensive justice of the cosmos, so he says without hesitation: “The evidence of faith is you should prefer truth when it harms you to falsehood when it benefits you; and that your speech should not be more than your action.”

It is clear that Ibn Abi Talib does not see in lying what benefits, and in truthfulness what may harm, so he speaks to people in a range of the scope of their conception so that his speech to them leaves on them an intelligent effect. To ascertain that he says: “Keep to truthfulness in all your concerns”. He too says: “Be on your guard against falsehood since a truthful person is on the edge of salvation and dignity, while the liar is on the edge of ignominy and degradation.” As for the meaning that the second half of the phrae mentions: “Nor one promises his child, then he does not keep it”, it is a great attention to an educational truth which life itself determines, as well as the psychological sources upon which man grows up and progress. It is sufficient that it refers that child is brought up by practical example not by advice, and this view is the pivot of Jean Jack Rousseau’s educational philosophy.

Truthfulness with life entails simplicity and detests from complexity, since every fact is simple as such as the sun is shining and the night dark as on indication of this warm simplicity, as it is a living, spontaneous outcome of truthfulness, we say that Ibn Abi Talib hates arrogance as it is not a true nature; rather dignity is truthfulness; then the arrogant person, in his view, is one who rises above his nature itself, and he says: “So not be like him who feels superiority to the son of his own mother.” He, at the same time, dislikes modesty if it is inten-tional, since it is not then a true nature; rather the feeling that man is equal to every man in his dignity is the truthfulness. Hence he addresses him whose modesty leads him to humiliate himself, saying to him: “Beware of humiliating yourself”. Then he follows that with a more wonderful saying: “Do not accom-pany, in a travel, him who does not see your superiority to him like what you see of his superiority to you!”

I do not know, in the principles of the protectors of man’s dignity as a man who is not arrogant or humilliated, rather is truthful only, that excels this word of Ibn Abi Talib or that equals it in value: “Man is man’s mirror!”

And from his sayings that indicates the necessity of taking life easy and simply are: “How bad it is to bend down at the time of need and to be harsh in sufficiency. To praise more than what is deserved is sycophancy; to do it less than, is either because of inability to express oneself or of envy. Do not say what you do not know. Do not do the good hypocritically, and do not leave it shyly. O’ son of Adam, whatever you earn beyond your basic needs you store it for others. “He does not keep silent for good so as to be proud of it, nor does he speak to tyrannize over others. He who overload himself more than he could, failed. There is no good in an ignoble helper. As though I saw Ibn Abi Talib not leaving a side, which his feeling and thinking have realized out of the concerns of life and man, unless he uttered for it a masterpiece that sums up acomplet law. This is what he did the hour he liked to direct people towards taking life truthfully and simply, so he said this word full of the warm of the spontaniety of life: “When your brothers visit you do not save up anything of what is at home and do not bother to bring what is beyond the door!”

When Ali concludes his long speech about the necessity of truthfulness with life directly, then about simplicity without which truthfulness could not exist, and it could not exist without truthfulness, he pursues his way in showing the concepts of discipline which correlate in his belief and connect as if they were a picture of all creatures of the cosmos, in which truthful-ness remains its first orbit, even though they speak of other aspects of morals. He advises man to disregard other’s shortcom-ings, for this contains a mercy from the over looker and an education to the wrong-doer by conduct and example which is more influential than correcting him through advice and hate. He says: “The most honorable work of a honest person is his over looking what he knows. Likewise he advises of forbearance and endurance as they are the result fo ambition, then an advance towards self’s noble-mindedness” Forbearance and endurance are twins brought about by high courage”. He hates backbiting as it is a way of hypocrisy, offence and evilness as a whole: “Avoid backbiting for it is the food of the dogs of people of Hell”. Cheating is like backbiting, both of which come of dirty natures: “Beware of cheating as it is the nature of sordid people”. And as he saw that one lie is not allowed, for truthfulness is broken by it, he sees that every sin, however slight and unimportant in his committer’s claim, is but so severe because it is a sin, rather it is more influential on man’s dignity if its committers belittled it, that a great sin which its committer repents at once: “The worst sin is that which its committer takes lightly”. And Ali forbids you from hastiness in saying and doing as it leads to fall, and a courteous man should not allow himself to have any short coming: “I forbid you from haste in saying and doing.” He likes you to apologize for every sin you have committed as a correction for one’s manners, but he awakens you in a genius observation and statement to the fact that man does not apologize for a good action, then he should not do what forces him to apologize: “You should avoid what you may have to apologize for it is not apologized for a good action. To prevent preoccupation with people’s defects, and negligence of one’s defects - which leads to bad manners and path negatively and positively - Ali says: “The greatest defect is to find fault with from which you suffer”. And “He who sees into his own defects abstains from looking into other’s defects.” If a bad thing comes to you from a source, you first have to disapprove it, and if you could not do that, you are to disapprove it lest you should be a partner in it: “He who approves a bad thing is a partner in it”. If kindness among people is a moral necessity since it is an existential necessity as we have stated in the former chapter, so the logic of mind and heart orders that your kindness, on Him who gave you the power to speak and gave charity to, is more and broader. In that Ali says: “Do not try the sharpness of your tongue against Him who has given you the power to speak, nor the eloquence of your speaking against Him who showed you the right path.” Then he says: “The reward of him who honoured you is not to humble him; the reward of him who pleases you is not to displease him.”

He attacks greed pride and envy as they are a way to moral decline: “Greed, vanity and envy are incentives to falling into sins.” If the ancient moralists censured stinginess, it is as such in their view because of being a bad feature in itself. However, as for Ibn Abi Talib, who observes morals with a more compre-hensive insight and a deeper thought, stinginess is not bad in itself as much as it is bad for it includes all the defects, as it drives its doer to every evil in manners and behaviour. The miser is hypocritical, aggressors backbiting, gealous, lowly, forging, greedy, selfish and unjust. Ali says: “Miserliness contains all other evil vices.”

The speech lengthens and elaborates if we like to mention the details of Ibn Abi Talib’s code in morals and the self’s discipline; they are too many, they did not leave any activity of man’s activities except that they portrayed and directed it. If I say that such a task is long, wide, and tiresome, then I mean what I say.

The reader need not but to learn about the masterpieces which we took from Ibn Abi Talib’s literature in this book, so as to be certain that volumes may be narrow in studying his belief of morals and the self’s education as well as in what these chosen extracts entail of explanation and commentary. It is enough to refer to the matter that these Allawyiah masterpieces are one of the most honourable of man’s heritage, and of the greatest in capacity and depth.

However we have to refer to the masterpiece of masterpieces in the great discipline as it is a deep sense of the value of life, the self’s dignity, and the perfection of existence. Very few of the excellent persons like Budha, Christ, Bethoven, and their likes are those who realized that the mark of courtsy lies in the first place between man and himself. It does not exist between man and what is outside him except it is an obvious natural outcome of the first case. Ibn Abi Talib has realized this truth powerfully and clearly, with no ambiguity or vagueness. He expressent it in a comprehensive manner. Ali says of the necessity of man’s respect to himself and his works without the presence of an observer on him: “Beware of committing a sin in solitude.” And he says in the same sense: “Avoid every such action which is performed in secret and from which shame is felt in the open. Also avoid that action about which if the doer is questioned he renounces it.” And here is what he says of the relationship between one’s secret and overtness, or between what we called the masterpiece of courtesy and what we call ‘an outcome’ of it: “Whoever set right his inward self, Allah sets right his outward self.”

From the masterpieces of the chinese wiseman Confucius on the self’s courtsy is this word: “Eat at your dining table as if you eat at a king’s dining table.” It is clear he likes to respect yourself in an absolute way that is not connected with any situation or occasion, so that it is worth that you behave when you are alone as you behave while you are before a king. Such a meaning Ali says in a new shape: “You should adorn yourself to your brother like him who adorns himself for a stranger as he likes to see him in the best appearance.”

In every case he likes you to preach your brother so as to help him to convey from a good to a better stance in manners, taste, and path. But the true spirit of courtsy prevents you from injuring or hurting him by advising him publicly; rather this spirit requires that you should be soft and gentle, then you do not advise except stealthily, do not preach except secretly. Ali says: “Whoever preaches his brother secretly adorns him, and whoever preaches him publicly shames him.”

However situation you had, you have to be truthful with yourself, life and people. You live with this truthfulness, and without it you perish. You protect the safety of your soul, your heart, and your body with this truthfulness and without it you lose it. With truthfulness you love, is loved (by others), and is trusted in you without it you bring to yourself oversion, hatred, and all evil vices, and people see you as worthless and mean. And this truthfulness is a pledge from, and upon, you since it is the will of the able, victorious life - which is a will that ordain you to see your pledge every day. And Ibn Abi Talib says: “Every man has to think deeply over his covenant everyday.”

The goodness of Existence

and Revolutionary nature of life

Very often do we see him make the revolutionary nature of life entirely out of the goodness of existence, and the goodness of existence is the whole result of the revolutionary of life!

And the revolution said: I am the puller down, the builder!

It is not the right of the just cosmos but to be compassionate good. It has no nature but to grant gifts. It does not take what it has given except to give it back good and new. The goodness of existence is an entity of its entity, and an essence of its essence. And Ali’s knowledge of it is this knowledge. And his sense of its good is his sense of its justice, no less, no more on that knowledge he spoke of this good, and increased the speech, and we have mentioned several things from his sayings about the good of existence. Perhaps what we have mentioned of these true masterpieces could be summarized now in a word he said as if he summed up his doctrine, which believes in the goodness of existence: Allah is not more generous about what He is asked than him about which He is not asked.” If we know that the word ‘Allah’ means in its maximum sense, for the ancients of the belief of spiritual and intellectual originality, the centre of existence and cosmic connections, we know what universal, comprehensive goodness is the good of existence which gives you beyond what you ask, then it increases!

And because man, who assumes himself a tiny body, is a representative of this greater world as Ibn Abi Talib says, so he must be as well a picture of existence with its good, as he is its picture with its justice. If existence gave you beyond what you ask of its blessings it so it takes the initiative for a need of its nature to be good. And if you were a picture of it, then you are more in need of making good to people than people of need for it. And this is what Ali ascertains in his saying: “doers of favour to its rendering are more in need than those to whom it is renderd. And this is what he ascetains too in a phrase he refers whenever he speaks about practicing good among people: “The better in that is the beginer”.

As we want to shift to reflect on the good and its significance on the level of relationships among people, we could classify Ibn Abi Talib’s views into the following lines:

First: the good among people lies in the idea that they cooperate and support one another, and that one should act for the sake of himself and the other equally; and that this act should not have a hypocrisy from this side nor compulsion from that side “motivated by desire, not by fright” as Ali says: then to sacrifice little and much so as to save others’ comfort and people’s trust on each other, and that this sacrifice comes as an initiative not after a request, nor after a compulsion or a force. And whatever serves or benefits, whether on the material or spiritual level, is a goodness.

Second: Ali sees that good does not come except as a practice at first, then as a saying, for man must be one like the one existence, and to support one another to fulfil this law; then if he said he would practice, and if he acted he would say. And from Ibn Abi Talib’s masterpieces is a word he said of a man who hopes Allah in a concern but he does not act for the sake of this hope: “he claims according to his own thinking that he hopes from Allah. By Allah, the Great, he speaks a lie. Why doesn’t his hope appear through his action although the hope of everyone who hopes is noticed in his action.” But if you practiced the good, it is your right then to say the good: “Say the good and act the good.”

Third: Ali expands the range before the powers of good to go ahead to the most far distant, thereby making the acceptance of repentance of evil a law to be acted on. Then if a man committed a sin offending others, the repentance has a door where he could enter once again into the world of good if he liked. Ali says: “Accept the excuse of him who apologizes to you, and delay evil as long as you can. “History know the amount of offence which Ali suffered from Abu Mosa Al-Ashary, and it too knows that Ali has not behaved except on his doctrine, whatever situations and difficulties have been, hence we see him send to Abu Mosa saying: “Know then, that you are a man ledastray by your desires, and tempted by self-conceit, so seek Allah’s pardon, and He forgives your stumbling, because he who seeks Allah’s pardon, He forgives him.”.

Forth: Ali believes that the powers of good in man summon and fasten one another in a powerful way. If a man had a side of good, it is certain that it is connected with other sides, and if it certain that it is connected with other sides, and if is certain that these sides would appear on occasions. And this insight has a frank reference to the idea that existence is one, balanced, just, and good whatever it is a universal, great existence or a particu-lar, small one manifested by the man: “If a man possesses a pure quality wait her sisters of him”

Fifth: And such a good contagion among the good qualities is a similar contagion that shfts from good to evil between people and people: “Associate with people of virtue; you will become one of them.” “seek good and its doers”.

Sixth: The deep belief that man’s power, whoever he is, is to follow the course of good, and that no one is worthier than another in this course: “No one of you should say that another person is more worthy than I in doing good.”

Seventh: One should not regard his much good acts as too much. Rather what he acts of the good remains little, however much it was, because the satisfaction with an amount of good is a denial of the great good of existence and is a denial of the power of man into whom the great world is enfolded: “They are not satisfied with their little good acts, and do not regard their plenty acts as great. They always blame themselves and are afraid of being neglectful in their actions”.

Eight: It is necessary to refer to the deep insight that Ali casts on the concepts of human tendency towards that which makes people, all people, be in a bliss.

If we think over the works of most of the thinkers who paid their attentions to people’s concerns, we find that the word ‘happiness’ is mentioned in these works, and that the signifi-cance of this word is itself the pivot of their researches and the goal of what they wanted. Yet, Ali replaces the word ‘happiness’ with what is longer in range, deeper in sense, wider in horizon, and grander in concern with which human nature should be characterized and long for.

He replaced this ‘happiness’ with the word ‘good’, then he was not directing hearts to that but to this. For happiness is restricted to a person’s limit, while good is not restricted in such a limit. So good is greater! Then good contains happiness, but it does not contain it the good, then it is more comprehensive! In Addition, some people may be happy with that which does not ennoble man; they may be happy with that which hurts others; they may be worthless and flabby and they think they are happy. Yet good is unlike happiness, since its metal is this metal. It is a happiness dependent on the happiness of all people. It is the contentedness with the conditions of the body, mind, and con-science! Hence Ali increased the use of this word in his hot call upon whatever may elevate man’s dignity.

I have not found, in Ibn Abi Talib’s works, the word ‘happiness’ except one time. But he does not deviate from its meaning which he means away from the concept of good by what he loads it of its limits and meanings. As for the phrase in which the word ‘happiness’ is mentioned, it is this: “of one’s happiness is to have a virtuous wife, faithful children, honou-rable brothers, righteous neighbours, and that his sustenance is in his country.” Look how he joins man’s happiness with that of his surrounding, his family, then his brothers’ and neighbours’ happiness as a whole. Afterwards he relates this man’s happiness to that of his country relying on that it is a country that produces sustenance for all its sons, and he is one of them.

Nineth: The good of existence and of man entails, by necessity, the trust in human conscience in a manner that makes it the last arbirtrator over what harms and benefits. And we have, in this subject, a view to be detailed, so we say:

From Ibn Abi Talib’s masterpieces is that which addresses mind alone some of them is that which addresses conscience. Most of them are directed towards mind and conscience, tog-ether. As for that which addresses the mind, then say it is the utmost in originality, and it is an inevitable outcome of the activity of the mind which has observed, scrutinized, and got used to the good and evil of time, has known of the experiences whatever that reveals and clarifies the truths for it, and so they are moulded on geometric bases with limits and dimensions because of the intensity in which they are connected with the truths, shown in the most wonderful artistic frame because of the intensity in which they are connected with expressionistic aestheticism, which makes it, in matter and form, of the origins of the classical Arabic literature.

And in this sort of wisdoms directed towards mind, we see Ali portrays, leaving people to determine what they see. They may take, or leave, if they like. Hence we do not see in this sort of maxims the forms of order. We see but maxims shaped in a pure statement form cleared out of all the forms of order and prevention as a whole.

They are maxims which crystallize the natures of the friend and the enemy, the noble and the evil behaviour, the silly and the reasonable, the miser and the generous, the truthful and the hypocrite, the oppressor and the oppressed, the needy and the satiated, the holder of right and the holder of wrong, the concept of sound manners and that of bad manners, the concerns of the ignorant and the knower, the speaker and the calm, the reckless and the forbearing, the features of the greedy and the contented, the conditions of poverty and wealth, the fluctuations of time and its effect on people’s manners, and the like which cannot be counted within a chapter or a topic.

As for that which addresses conscience, and the mind as well as conscience together, then take what is it on and what is about.

It is proved that those who saw in the systems and legis-lations alone the safety of man and the satisfaction of society can be achieved had committed a great mistake. For these systems and legislations, which declare man’s rights and order to consider and protect them, could not be verified in the end, just as they are not excelled honestly discover, and created, except by a sound mind, a refined spirit and a sublime conscience. For the whole of people’s world is connceted within certain limits, undoubtedly, with the manners of the supervisors of their laws and orders, and the extent of good which wide or narrow in their spirits, and the amount which is related to the conscience of the society which constitute the field of thses laws and systems and justify their existence. This is with the confession that modern social systems differ greatly in their allowance for their guard-ians to keep pace with, or violate them. That is due to their nature and the rate of what their origins contain of the capabilities of practice,. Yet, the old systems and laws were more influenced by the manners of their supervisors who supervise the action of what they require out of punishment. And that has reasons which are out of our speech.

And although these righteous systems and legislations direct people and impose on them what leads to their benefit suppo-sedly, then this direction and imposition remain outside the limits of humanitarian value unless they are accompanied by the action, stemming from the very emotion. In our belief, every act that man does is inevitably lacking humanitarian wormth - which is more valuable and greater in its harmony with the human deed, unless it carries the flame of conscience, the scent of spirit, and the will of gift without compulsion or force. The systems and legislations do not succeed in establishing human relations except within the amount that enables them to address the mind and conscience, and convince them of good; so they create the splendid harmony between giving the opportunity for useful act and the will of the doer in a unity which secures, for the individual and the group, the rise to advance in the route of civilization.

And what is true, in this respect, in the domain of individuals and groups, comes true as well in the history of thinkers, legislators, scientists, discoverers, and the like. You can see, if you surveyed the history of those who have served man and culture, that reason which guided them to the right path, in every field, hasn’t been alone in their history. For reason is cold, dry, and does not identify except numbers, parts and the aspects that have limits. Therefore it guides you to the way, but it does not inspire you to proceed through it and does not drive you in its plain and uneven parts. But the motive is the sound conscience and hot feeling. Then what prompted Marcony to endure hard solitude and gloomy, depressed seclusion, unless it had been the conscience which adorns to him the keeping away from the joys of life to the depression of solitude for the sake of civilization and man? And unless it was the emotion which fills up this sound conscience with heat and warmth, then it does not languish at all.

And what is said of Marcony is as well of pasteur, Gallilo, Gandi, Bethoven, Budha, Plato, Geity and others who have have attained the human compound which is close to perfection.

And the positive evidence of this fact involves a negative evidence to increase clearness. Here are Adolf Hitler, Jankeez Khan, Hollacko, Al-Hajjaj bin Yousif Al-Thakafi, Caesar of Borjia; the hero of the ominous book ‘The Prince’ by Machia-velly([3] ) and some contemporary scientists of atom who agree to experiment it on human beings, have not all of those been distinguished with storing minds and perception which other’s perceptions become little compared with these? Yet, they were not concerned except with killing destroying, and transgression on the sanctions of civilization, the outcomes of human efforts, on the dignity of life and creatures and the good of existence! For their minds were not gone along with sound conscience and compassionate feelings! Then, where is no conscience and no emotion there is no benefit from reason, rather say it is closer to harm.

Here, I do not want to detail for man’s different powers like emotion, conscience, reason and the like, then they are undoubtedly interacting and cooperating. But what I mean by reason is the power which realizes the concerns on a level that joins the cause with the result, and connect skillfully between cause and effect, so it turns around a frame of number and limits which are not influenced, in itself, by particular and general human environment. And I allowed this detail on this light.

So, the holder of a discovering mind has to possess con-science and emotion which drive him in the way of good. And what is applicable, in this respect, to the legislator is applicable to whom it is legislated. The individuals, whom are asked to keep pace with this good system or that one, must have an emotional persuasion in addition to the abstract intellectual persuation that drive them on the way of elevated human purifying discipline so as to establish a virtuous society. They have to get used to moral vitrues which surround the systems and legislations with refined immune fortresses. They have to be righteous.

Hence Ali has gone stirring in the individuals the feelings of good as we saw, awakening in them what days had hidden of their sound conscience, endeavouring to cultivate them, and advising to take care of them.

Ali has gone to consciences in his advices, sermons, pledges and sayings as a whole. For it has not passed him that the refining of manners has a concern in complying with the just systems, in spreading heat in the dealings among people. It has not passed him as well that the purification is demanded for itself as it is one of the human values, and is demanded to protect the social justice and its norms as it is a control for some inclinations and a directing for others. And what helped him in that is what he has got out of a penetrating ability through which he passes to people’s depths, individuals and groups; so he realizes their tendencies, their desires; he knows their natures and manners, then he weighs their good and evil, then he portrays develops, orders and prevents, on the light of his strick confidence in human conscience to which he addresses.

Ibn Abi Talib’s confidence in human conscience was the confidence of the great persons in whom the brilliant mind has harmonized with the heart full of human wormth, and pulsant with deep affection which does not know limits.

His confidence in this conscience was the confidence of Budha, Bethoven, Rousseau, Gandi, and all great men which their heart provided them with an illumination with which every light faints. And on the basis of this confidence Ibn Abi Talib established his maxims and proverbs, and on the basis of it, the ideas and instructions with which he addresses people’s emotions connect with each other.

If imam Ali had such a confidence in the sides of good in people, despite the disaters and misfortunes he has suffered at their hands, then he refuses but to throw the seeds of this confidence in all of their hearts. He knows that “there is in the hands of people both right and wrong, true and false.” But it is more deserving for one to open his eyes and heart and notice these sides of good; perhaps they are those which develop not the sides of evil. Perhaps teaching by example and conduct is grander and more useful. So much has Ali repeated in his sermons the necessity of this confidence in human conscience, and of his sayings are: “If a person has a good idea about you, make his idea be true.” And he says in another place:

“Do not regard an expression uttered by any person as evil at the time you can find a good interpretation to it” and it is not just to destroy confilence by relying on assumption” and “At a time when virtue is dominant on time and people, if a person entertains an evil suspicion about another person of whom nothing evil has been noticed, then he has been unjuast” and “he leads the worst life among people who doesn’t trust in anyone due to his own evil will and no one trust in him due to his bad actions.

The researchers about Imam Ali made a mistake the hour they saw that he is pessimistic extremely about people, very much weary of them, and the hour they protested for their opinion by some syaings in which he attacks people of his time strongly and violently. But our opinion is completely to the contrary. Our opinion is that Ali has not abolished his confidence in man for one hour, although he cancelled it with regard to some people in some circumstances. Whoever knows Ibn Abi Talib’s ability to endure misfortunes which come from people, and his surprising patience is suffering the adversities resulting from betrayal, treasom and degeneration of the many of his opponents and supporters, then how he treated them when he deals with them with gentleness and kindness as much as he could; I say: whoever knows that realizes that Ali is greatly optimistic in man’s nature and his instinct which society led astray in some cases; he does not differ from his great brother Rousseau.

And if he had, in censuring people of treason, betrayal and oppression much speech it is as such because he admits implicitly that man is reformable even if it takes along time. The optimist alone is the one who scolds the wrong-doer as he rewards the benevolent person wishing to straighten crookedness in morals and behaviar. If it had not been for Ibn Abi Talib to have such a hope he would not have been able to bear what is unbearable of the misfortunes of time which the wrong-doers brought upon him, and he would not have endured what he dislikes. Even if he said of this world and its people that: “its inhabitants are howling dogs or preclatory beasts who growl at each other. The stronger of them eat away the weaker and the big of them trample on the small,” he but says that because he suffered from the treason of the traitors, and the offence of the harmful people what has pained and hurt him. He rebuked them this painful censure as his preference for the one who does not degenerate or betray, not be a growling dog or a predatory beast, not a strong one eating away the weak, or a big one trampling over the small one! He says that, then fights the devouring beast, the strong oppressor, the big tyrant, like the physician fights the germs as a preference from him to the safety of body and soul, rather as a preference of life to death, and optimistically strive for salvation!

So, Imam Ali, who respects life - the greatest thing Allah has created - and respect the living people - the most beautiful samples of this life -, is greatly confident in the human good, greatly optimistic of man, and wants him to be free as he must be!

And had it not been for this confidence, and this optimism, his concern with people would not be as such, and he would not say: “Do not regard an expression uttered by a person as evil if you can find a good explaination to it bearing some good. Then he would not turn toward the individual and collective con-science in his sermons which gather the depth of understanding, and the heat of emotion and the sublime purpose and the noble aim. He wanted these commandments to be an immune fortress for general morals, the human feeling, and the concentration of advantageous action on positive bases in mind and conseince. And relying on this confidence in human conscience and as a fortification the good noble act, we see him place on people guards from themselves and eyes from their limbs, so he addresses them saying:

“Know that your ownself is a watcher over you; your limbs are watchmen and truthful keepers who preseve the record of your actions and the number of your breaths!”

And relying on this confidence in the good and justice of existence, on the greatness of life and the living creatures, Ali bin Abi Talib addresses the people of his time with what awakens in them that life is free which does not endure the chains except what is a cause in its flow and a means of its continuity, a torch of its brightness and a norm of its norms. It does not like staying in the cradle of yesterday. People should not try to chain and restrain it, otherwise it stagnantes and change into an extermination. Life is nice, compassionate, free and good like existence; its father, which protects itself by its constant laws not by the laws that pessimists want for it.

It is ever renovating, ever developing, it does not accept a substitute for its renovation and development; and they are a means it uses in its victories which intend more good and better survival continuity. Ibn Abi Talib’s accurate and deep obser-vation of life and its norms - as it is the greatest being of the good existence, consolidated in himself the belief in the revolutionary of life ever looking forward to the front, ever moving towards much more good. And the revolutionary of life is the origin of its moving, and the reason of its development from good to better. Hence life was free, unrestrained except with the conditions of its existence. And the revolutionary of life is the origin of the movement of human society and the reason of its development. And had it not been for this speciality life would be a thing of death, and the living creatures are inanimate.

Ibn Abi Talib believed in the revolutionary nature of life in a way like to a knowledge or say a knowledge itself. Then what follows from that is a great belief that living creatures can reform themselves thereby keeping pace with the laws of life. They can be the masters of their fates thereby being subjected to the genius of life. We have said in a former speech that the revolutionary nature of life is the closest of its features to it, and the greatest in significance regarding its great capabilities. It entails on the believers in it to act on the basis of a perfect confidence in the inevitable progress, and to awaken the thoughts to it, and to make use of evidence and proof in preventing conservative from every silly action whose practicers assume that they can stand against the revolting life which is developed by its revolution.

By this confidence and this belief, Ibn Abi Talib addressed man by saying: “For when you were first created you were born ignorant. Thereafter, you has been taught and how much you ignore, in so many matters and in your sight first wonders and your eyes wanders then after this you see it.” There is a confession in this saying that life is developing, and that learning is the getting benefit of what life stores of its genius within its sons’ chests, as we have previously said. And it contains a belief in the great human capability for development or say for good. And his hot call to knowledge, which reveals everyday a new thing and establishes everyday a new thing is but an evidence of the belief in the revolutionary virtuous life and the capabilities of the living creatures. Knowledge to him is a revelation and victory that do not calm down.

With this belief and this confidence he addresses the people of his time saying: “Do not compel your sons to your manners, for they have been created for a time other than yours. And had it not been for his great optimism that life contains beauty, and that people have the capability of development towards the good, he would not had uttered this saying which sums up his knowledge of the revolutionary nature of life, it also sums up his optimism in the capabilities of the developing man with life, and sums up the spirit of sound eduction, and release every generation of people from the chains of tradition and custom with which a former generation was satisfied.

And Ibn Abi Talib in this sense has much speech, of which these masterpieces are in which he glorifies the work as it is a truth, a revolution and a virtue: “Whomever his action slackens him, his lineage cannot put him forward.” And “The worth of every man is what he does of good. And “Know that, people are the son of what good they do.” And “Every man has the consequences of what he has earned. Ie. Their behaviour is the result of the good thing they do.”

And of his sayings is what drives man to demand progress in work, and not to refrain or retreat in case he fails much or little, for the benevolent existence does not deprive its sons of what they deserve. And if it deprives them it is some deprivation not all of it. And the matter may be settled in a second payment of the demand by work. And from his saying is this masterpiece: “One who is in search of something will obtain it, or at least apart of it”, I think that the reader recognizes the spirit of this phrase which glitters as if it were an emanation from Christ’s famous word: “You should knock and knock, and it will be opened for you.”

Perhaps the most beautiful in Allawiy belief in this respect is that its holder (Ali) unified the revolutionary nature of life and good of existence in letter and in spirit and in meaning. So many time we see him unify the meaning of progress, or the revolu-tionary of life, with the meaning of good of existence in a unity that does not make this a thing of that, or that of this; rather it makes the revolutionary nature of life entirely out of the good of existence, and the good of existence entirely of the revolutionary nature of life. And these masterpieces contain a compassionate proof for the trueness of what we say, so that they don’t need an explanation or a commentary. Here is a sample of them: “The rational man is one whose present day is better than his yesterday”. And He whose tomorrow is worse than his present day is deprived.” And “He whose two days are equal is aggrieved.” And lastly take this masterpiece which includes the whole of what we are now speaking about, besides the warmth of deep sympathy, besides the beauty of true art, besides making the days participate in people’s sensations: “No day passes over a human being except it tells him: I am a new day, and I am a witness upon you; so say the good and act the good since you will not see me again at all!”

We will mention in this book masterpieces by Ibn Abi Talib which will remain as long as good man remains. They are a group that constitute a procedure in compassionate manners, great dreams and sublim human refining which he wanted it to an emanation from the revolutionary nature of life and the good of existence!

Beirut

George Gerdak