Directing the Energy of the Mind - Part 2

And He (A.S.) said: So take lesson from what the previous arrogant nations afflicted with of Allah’s agony, assaults, combats and examples ...” 61

Imam Ali (A.S.) went farther than that when he pointed out that the historic law is applied to all people, in every time and place and that it is not restricted to destroying infidels and the arrogant, rather it is applied to believers too, if they do not adhere-practically- to the Devin procedure in life and when they deviate from the right path when they disagree and dispute and controvers. In this concern he says:

“And reflect on the circumstances of the believers before you how were they in the state of examination and misfortune…so look in their circumstances when their wishes were unified and had the same aims; so look then their last circumstances when disagreement and dispute took place their wishes and hearts changed, they disputed and conflicted making war against one another, Allah has taken the cloth of His honor out of them and deprived them of His benevolence, there remains with you the stories of their narrations as lessons to their seekers” 62

Some of his golden will to his son AlHassan (A.S.) in which he urges him on thinking of the circumstances of ancient nations which is called today “the philosophy of history” it is stated: “O my son’ although I haven’t lived as long as those before me had lived, I pondered on their actions, thought of their narrations, walked in their ruins till I have become one of them rather I have become –because of what I knew of them…as if I lived with their first till their last ...” 63

Thirdly: Thinking about the wisdom of the legislation:

The aim of that is to affirm Moslem’s certainty of his legislation, its rightness and stating its applicability to every time and place in order that the clouds of suspicions, aroused by the enemy of Islam, fade away. If some of Islamic legislations are obligatory which call the Moslem to submit to them, and there is no benefit from pondering on them such as the worshipping matters; yet there are some legislations in Islam which have social dimensions, and the Qur’an has revealed to us the concealed wisdom of their legislations as there is social benefits related to the individual and the society as well such as His saying (be exalted): “And there is life for you in the law of retaliation, o men of understanding that you may guard yourselves.” 64

And His saying (be exalted) ‘Allah doesn’t want to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you” 65

The “Sunnah” also has uncovered so may sides of the wisdom of the legislation. For example, Imam Ali Ibna Moussa Alrezza (A.S.) wrote to Mohammad Ibna Sinaan answering some of his questions: “Allah Has prohibited killing the human being because it leads to corruption and perhaps their extinction and chaos of order…Allah Has prohibited adultery because it leads to many kinds of corruption such as killing others and intermixing of peoples’ decendence, leaving children without bringing –up, the corruption of heritage …and other sides of corruption like these” 66

Fourthly: directing the mind to consider, to be deliberate in one’s opinion and to be independent in thinking and determination:

The Prophet of Allah (S.W.A) said:

“Don’t be blind imitators who say: when people do good we do good and when people oppress we do so but strive to do good when people do good and not to oppress when people do so” 67

Allah Has said: “Do they not then reflect on the Qur’an? Nay there are locks on their hearts.” 68

Here is a serious call to consider and think by first disapproving those shallow -minded, absent –minded, and stubborn people firstly, then secondly through severe scolding of those kinds of people.

Allah Has also said: “Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful” 69

So there is no value of a claim without a proof, and if Al-Zamakhsharri had seen in that text the most destructive call for the course of imitators”. 70 It has what is more than that for the (word) maybe directed to those accustomed to imitations but this Qur’anic verses is applicable to the whole of human thinking with all of its parts and sides, as thinkers may fall in- and so often they had fallen in- serious errors because of their dependence on some general concepts which they thought to be axioms that do not need a proof while they had been no more than imaginations emanated from fantasies or falling short of mind.

This happens so many times with the errors of disputants, rather it sometimes happens with those engaged with practical sciences when they consider some deductions to be scientific affirmed laws while they are deductions based on incomplete notices.

Hence we feel a wider range of the Qur’anic call to advance the complete proof for every concept and case weather they are in the mental or practical sciences.

It is doubtless that the field of thinking and contempt acting is as wide as the wideness of knowledge and attitudes, and here we state two important effects:

One of them is general such as the generality of the mentioned Qur’anic text: although it aimed generally at the imitative mind like the people who are dominated with imitation in their faiths and attitudes.

The second effect, which was seen as a special kind of imitation, is the blind imitation of some people, who have gained an affirmed high positions in peoples’ hearts, whereas the role of mind and its function in thinking, viewing and criticism has vanished, as if those people had become in them-selves the measure for right, so it is not right to weight their speeches and actions or to be subjected to judgment and criticism.

This kind of imitation which had been and still the source of so many kinds of dangers in beliefs and attitudes… Ameeralmu’amineen uncovered the secret of the error in this imitation and showed the right way to learn knowledge, this happened when some people were astonitioned at seeing Talha, Zubair and A’aisha standing in one line against Ameeral mu’amineen, so he denied that people like those agree on some thing wrong,

so he mentioned that to Ameeralmu’amineen (A.S.), and he (A.S.) replied beginning his answer with the source of false imagination then shifting to give him the right method in knowledge, he (A.S.) said: “You are deceived, Allah’s religion is not known by men, rather by the evidence of rightness: so do know the right then you know its followers” 71

Fifthly: directing Man to attain science and knowledge:

It is indisputable that the Islamic religion urges on attaining science and knowledge. He who contemplates on the verses Qur’an finds that repeated clearly or by hint: “Say are those who know and those who do not know alike?

Only the men of understanding are mindful” 72.

“Allah will exalt those of you who believe, and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees, and Allah is aware of what you do” 73

“Say: O my Lord’ increase me in knowledge” 74

“Those of His servants only who are possessed of knowledge” 75

because of the importance of knowledge Allah Has taken the covenant of “Ahlilkitaab” to reveal it to people and not to monopolize it: “Allah Has made a covenant with those who were given the Book you should certainly made it known to people and don’t hide it” 76

After the verses of Qur’an there come the “hadeeths” of the prophet (S.W.A.) and his purified progeny (A.S.) as they lead to this direction, and state that knowledge is the pillar of religion and the life of Islam is in it.

They prompt to gain it, uncover its merit, so the ink of scholar is superior to the blood of martyrs, and the superiority of a scholar to a worshiper is such as the superiority of the moon to other stars. In this concern the prophet (S.W.A.) says:

“Seeking knowledge is prior-with Allah- to prayer fasting “hajj” and striving in the path of Allah” 77

it is enough to quote Ameeralmu’amineen’s (A.S.) saying:

“The value of every person is what good he does” 78; it gives evidence to Ahlilbait’s prompt to get science and knowledge.

Look closely at the excellent comparison which Imam Ali (A.S.) made for Kumail Ibn Zeyaad Alnekhaei about the superiority of knowledge to funds and money He (A.S.) says: “O Kumail’ knowledge is better than funds, knowledge guards you while you guard funds and money becomes less when you spend it while knowledge flourishes when you spend it and the favor done by wealth vanishes with its vanishing.

O Kumail bin Zeyaad’ attaining knowledge is a religion followed, with it one can achieve the course of Allah’s obedience in his life, and the good remembrance after his demise, knowledge is a governor while money is governed.

O Kumail, the treasurers of funds perished while they are alive, while Scholars are alive as long as there is time, their bodies are absent and their statues in the hearts are present.” 79

Because of this rich epistemic sustenance the Moslem set off, being released from the shackles of ignorance and retardation, to the wide horizons of knowledge so he began to contemplate the universal phenomenon discover the secrets of nature through the empirical manner to which his ideology had directed; and this is the procedure on which modern science has been built.

Gebb says in his book “The modern directions in Islam”: “I think that it is agreed on that the detailed precise observation which Moslem researchers practiced had helped to achieve the scientific development in the material field, and that through these notices the empirical procedure had reached Europe in the middle ages” 80

Man has the right to be astonished at the greatness of the Islamic ideology which had brought in that civilizational revolution in the souls of the desert inhabitants till they have become the pioneers of the whole world in science and knowledge and other sides of civilization and culture.

Notes:

61. Nehjiel balagha: Subhi Alsaalih: 290.

62. Nehjil balagha: 296-297.

63. Nehjil balaghah: 393-394.

64. Albakarrah 2: 179.

65. Almaeidah 5: 6.

66. Manlaayahzurahul fakeeh 3: 369.

67. Meezaanil hikmah 8:254 from Tergheeb and terheeb 3: 341.

68. Mohammad 47: 24.

69. Albagharah 2: 111, An-Naml: 27: 64.

70. Alkeshshaaf: 1: 178.

71. Amaali Altoosi: 625/ 1292, Alba’atha foundation, Behaarel anwaar 39: 239/ 28.

72. Alzumar : 9: 39.

73. Almijaadalah: 11: 58.

74. Taaha: 20: 114.

75. Faatir 35: 28.

76. Aalaumraan 3: 187.

77. Kanzel U’maal 10: 131/ 28655.

78. Nahjil balaagha, Subhi Al-Salih: 482/ saying 81.

79. Nehjilbalagha: 496/ saying 147.

80. Look up: Menhaj alterbeia Aleslaameia: Mohammad Kutub 119, Dar Damascus pub.2.

Adapted from: "The Role of Ideology in Constructing The Human Being" by: "Ar-Risaleh Center"