Tajdeed

Social Ethics from a Pro-Alid Zaydi perspective

Amīr al-Muʾminīn, ʿAlī, peace be upon him, said that the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him and his Ahl al-Bayt, said, “Faith stands on four pillars: patience, conviction, justice, and Jihād.” Then he elaborated on this until he mentioned Jihād, and then he said, “Beside these, there are four more duties: enjoining good, forbidding evil, being truthful in times of conflict (i.e., during war), and showing enmity towards the wicked.” Then he continued, “Whoever enjoins good strengthens the back of the believer, and whoever forbids evil weakens the nose of the hypocrite. Whoever is truthful in times of conflict fulfills his obligation, and whoever shows enmity towards the wicked for the sake of Allāh, Allāh will be wrathful for his sake. “

Reference: ‘A Treatise on the Fundamentals’ (Kitāb al-Uṣūl) – By al-Imām Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā b. al-Qāsim b. ʾIbrāhīm b. Ismail b. ʾIbrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abi Ṭālib (278 – 310 AH) ~ translated by Muḥammad al-Sharīfī, pp.19

Bismillah

As shown, the essence of Islam is truth and justice. We are ought to be truthful to our Lord, truthful to ourselves and truthful to others. We should follow truth, knowledge and certainty, not deception, lies and conjecture. We are dutybound as human beings due to the heart, mind, knowledge and consciousness we possess. And the most fundamental duty we are obligated with is to be just because knowing the rights of everyone will lead us to the correct path. We need to know and uphold the rights of God upon us, we are obliged to know our rights and we are required to take extra care of the rights of others.  

Unfortunately, we would see many Muslims content with the path of ritual-centrism. They would treat the ritual prayers, the fasts, and the pilgrimages as the end, not as a means for righteousness and self-purification. Instead, they will prioritise earning rewards & points through these rituals over well-being, righteousness and self-purification.

Qur’an: ‘O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous’ (Surah 2:183)

Do certain people really believe that God will reward them eternally for praying and fasting, when they lie, cheat and take the rights of others? Are these people deceptive or naïve?

And when one reminds them of this reality, they would suitably respond by saying “Islam is perfect but Muslims (I am not) are not perfect”. In reality, this is an easy way out, it pretends to look courageous, noble and truthful but in reality, it is deception. It is self-deception if a Muslim hinders and limits enjoining good and forbidding evil to calling people towards rituals, but he does not call people towards truth and justice against injustices and evil.

In order to truly be close to God, we need to maintain the greatest qualities such as mercy, kindness, honesty, and justice. Your prayers, fasts and rituals are given you to for you to fulfil these objectives, so Muslims should be careful not to confuse their prioritises and the aims of the ordained rituals and rulings. We need a rich, ethical, live and spiritual Islam, not a dry, dead, irrational and incoherent ritual centred, law-centric Islam. Laws and rituals are obligatory and necessary, but they are only beautiful and beneficial when they are the means to the end

By Abul Hasan al-Gabikani al-Shadi al-Shaddadi al-Hadhabani -al-Kurdi