In The Name Of The Almighty

(Truly , the religion with Allah is Islam) [1]

(Al-Imran: 19)

Religion, as a term and a concept  , is the system of beliefs, rules and ideas , and the manners and behavior stem from them , that man is committed to .  Every person  in this world must have a religion even the most backward and barbaric communities whether a divine religion  or a man made religion . Even the so-called non-religious have their own ideologies , beliefs and modes of life .

The above noble verse reveals this natural human desire ; it takes this fact for granted ; therefore , it does not mention the need to have or adopt  a religion .  It moves to the second question directly ,i.e., to know and apprehend religion which  man believes in and adopts . Allah , due to His grace and His compassion does not leave  man to be lost or to spend his life in experience and error to reach the right ; but He has decided to him the fact that leads to happiness and success  (Truly , the religion with Allah is Islam) . It is an exclusive verse  which denies the integrity and validity of any other religion however  people try hard to formulate its  provisions and rites .

Islam means the obedience and submission to God ;  it is a comprehensive framework specific to Islam revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) , the Seal of Prophets and religions . Islam is the most complete and precise religion in the realization of the meaning of the religion which covers all matters and affairs of individual and social life ; no any other religions can do that “ I have perfected your religion for you , complete My favor upon you , and have chosen for you Islam as your religion .”  (Al-Maa'idah , “ The Table “ : 3) . It maintains faith in the truthfulness of all the previous prophets and the validity of what they said and promised “ we make no distinction between any of them , and to Him we have submitted ( in Islam ) “  (Al-Baqarah “ The Cow “ : 136) ( Al-Imran :84) . However, worship and religiosity must be in accordance with this final law.

This is the fact that the human mind complies with , and instinct and natural disposition accept without the need for evidence ; only abusers will cast doubts and suspensions on “ And they belied them (those Ayat) wrongfully and arrogantly , though their ownselves were convinced thereof . “ ( An-naml ‘ The Ants ‘ : 14) . Allah is the creator of this man and knows his deep  notions , ideas , and conscience ; Allah know everything that is good for us therefore it is very natural to betake ourselves to Him to organizes our  lives and ensure our happiness and righteousness .

A verse in the same Sura ( Chapter )  adds another reason to adopt Islam : " Do they seek other than the religion of Allah , while to Him submitted all creatures in the heavens and in the earth , willingly or unwillingly . And to Him shall they all be returned “  (Al-Imran: 83) . The whole universe is subject to the will of Allah and it follows  the precise system that God has set for ; man is only a tiny atom in this universe , subject to its system ; man is born and comes to life without her/his will , grows , gets older and die ; his body organs work without his will ; hence , this constitutional ( genetic ) abidance must be accompanied by a legislative abidance so that human movement become in harmony with the whole universe “  and who can be better in religion than one who submits his face ( himself ) to Allah ; and he is a Muhsin ( a good-doer ) “  ( An-Nisaa “ The Women” : 125) ; otherwise, he will be exposed to problems and difficulties .

Modern science has turned to this fact , emphasizing that if a man keeps himself out of the natural universe rules , he will be exposed to destruction ; this fact is applied to societies and nations .

The question , raised by Quran  “ Do they seek other than the religion of Allah ? , ( Al-Imran : 83) , is a condemnation of man’s detachment of this cosmic system . The answer comes after two verses to describe the painful consequences of this detachment : “ And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam , it will never be accepted of him , and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers “ ( Al-Imran : 85 ) .Those who seek another religion , other than Islam , are losers because they will lose the great wealth which God Almighty has blessed them with and they will replace it with delusions spending their precious ages in fleeting pleasures and following their passions and selfishness . The Commander of the Believers (peace be upon him) says ( those who seek another religion will be miserable , weak and big losers and will end in a permanent sadness and sever torture “ {2} . Imam Ali ( peace be upon him ) , also , says “ Oh people :  stick to your religion , stick to your religion , cling to it, let nobody make you abandon it ; a sin may be forgiven in Islam , and a charity , outside Islam , may not be acceptable by Allah ) {3}.

Let us consider this fact as long as we are in this world and the opportunity to work is open to us ; let us consider it the most important thing for us . Otherwise, this truth will be revealed to the ignorant on the Day of Resurrection, where repentance will not help them “ and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers “ (Al-Imran : 85) ; there , irreligious people will know who wins happiness .

It is important to state that Islam does not mean merely the Muslim declaration of faith ( that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) and , at the same time , it is not enough to perform the obligatory acts of worship . Obedience is not associated with acts of worship alone , but with the comprehensive application of Shari'a ( Islamic religious law )  and adherence to religion in all life affairs . Islam is not appearances , formalities or distorted copies which are isolated models lurking in dark corners and caves ; religion should exist among people and for people and must be active . Imam Al-Baqir  (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There is no religion for those who do not worship Allaah by enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil." {4} The Commander of Believers Imam Ali ( peace be upon him ) dispraises those who are dilatory and laggard people who give priority to their material interests not to their religion ; he said : “ your religion has become just like a lick by tongue as if you have carried out your works and satisfied your master “ {5} . Imam Ali wanted to say that they paid little attention to their religion which suggested that they had accomplished their duties towards their Creator, and had achieved the satisfaction of Allah , Blessed and Exalted be He ; they were no more in need of work , and this was not so . He  (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said : "If you make your religion follow your personal interests , you will destroy yourself  and your religion, and you will be in the Hereafter among the losers ; but if you make your personal interests follow your religion , you will win both and you will be in the Hereafter among winners  .” { 6 }

Qur'an gives the great rank to religion and considers it the first priority . Allaah says : "And Alfitnah ( polytheism ) is worse than killing ." (Al-Baqarah: 191/217) . To sacrifice oneself is  better than Al-Fitnah or abandoning religion .  Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) in the interpretation of the verse : “ So Allah saved him from the evils they plotted ( against him ) “ (Ghafir “ the Forgiver “ : 45) says : “ It was the believer of Pharaoh’s folks ; they  cut him to pieces , but God protected him and guarded him against Fitnah “ { 7 }.

In this context there are some tradition said by some Infallible Imams (peace be upon them) : the Commander of the Believers (peace be upon him) said: "If you are exposed to an ordeal , make yourselves a shield to your religion, and know that those who perish are those who have lost their religion " {8} .

The believers , whom Allah is pleased with , have been aware of that fact therefore they stick to their religion and clink to it despite the temptations offered to them and the severe punishments they have threatened with . The Holy Quran tells us stories of some of those believers to be the example followed by people , like the story of “ Ashab Al-Ikhdood “ , the people of the Ditch who were thrown into a groove and a fire was set to it ; however , they did not submit to the oppressor  (Al-Burooj “ The Big Stars “ : 8) . The same thing happened with Pharaoh's  sorcerers who were threatened to cut off their hands and feet and then killed but they answered Pharaoh  " So decree whatever you desire to decree , for  you can only decree ( regarding ) this life of the world …Verily we have believed in our Lord , that He may forgive us our faults “   (Taha: 72-73) . Pharaoh’ woman had the same attitude  who did not bow under the brutal torture of Pharaoh, and she was looking to Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He : “ My Lord ! build for me a house with Thee in Paradise and deliver me from Pharaoh and his doing “ ( At-Tahreem “ The Prohibition “ : 11 ) . The Companions of the Cave were not tempted by their positions as princes in the Roman kingdoms, neither terrified by the oppression of the Roman Caesars ; they said : "Our Lord, the Lord of the heavens and the earth ; we will by no means call upon any god besides Him , for then indeed we should have said an extravagant thing “ ( Al-kahf “ The cave “ : 14 )

On the other hand, the losers who were seduced by the devil and tempted by this world were numerous like the chief judge of the Abbasid state - the highest religious authority in the state – who did his best to make the Caliph ( successor of the Prophet ) Al-Mu’tasim kill Imam al-Jawad (pbuh) because the Caliph followed the judgment of Imam Al-Jawad in the matter of the punishment of thieves . Hameed bin Quhtuba , the Abbasid governor and commander , reveals  in the following story the brutality of the Abbasid state , their hatred of the people of the House of Prophecy and the insistence of the tyrants and demons of mankind on evacuating religion . In his book “ Akhbar Al-Ridha “ ( The Life of Imam Al-Ridha ) Sheikh Sadouk reports what Obaid Allah Albzaz Nisaburi says : " There was a relationship between me and Hameed bin Quhtuba . One day I travelled to him ; he knew that I had arrived therefore he sent for me immediately . I went to him just as I arrived without even changing the travel clothes . It was in the month of Ramadan at the time of Zuhr ( noontime ) prayer When I entered his office . He gave his orders to bring water and washing apparatus ( a jug of water and washbasin )  ; he washed his hands and asked me to wash my hands and the dining table was set up , but I remembered that we were in Ramadan ( the month of fasting ) and did not eat . He asked me : “ why do not you eat ? “ I answered "O Amir, this is the month of Ramadaan, and I am not sick and there is no excuse which permits me to  break my fast . Perhaps , the prince is sick or has an excuse for doing that . He said I am neither sick nor  have no excuse for giving up fast ; then he shed some tears . After he finished his food I asked him : What makes the prince cry ? He said: one day the Caliph Harun sent for me to arrive and it was a bit late at night {9} , When I arrived I saw before him a candle in a ablaze and a green sword and there was a servant standing up . The Caliph , when I arrived ,  looked at me and asked : How do you obey the commander of the believers ?  I said: I am ready to sacrifice myself and my fortunes . He did not respond to me and asked me to leave . I returned to my house but sooner a messenger came form the Caliph asking me to arrive to meet the Caliph . I said to myself  Ina Lilah ( we are for Allah ) ,  he has determined to kill me but when he saw me he felt ashamed . When I was again before the Caliph he repeated the same question : How do you obey the commander of the believers ? I replied : I am ready to sacrifice myself, fortunes , family and children ; he smiled ( because he understood that Hameed bin Quhtuba had received the message which was giving more and more concessions ) and gave me the permission to leave .  When I returned home and no sooner had I entered my house than the  messenger came back to me and said: the commander of believers ask you to arrive before him  and I arrived before him . He looked at me and repeated the same question : How do you obey the commander of believers? I replied : By sacrificing myself, fortunes, family , children and religion . He laughed and said to me :  ‘Take this sword and obey what that servant tells you to do’ . The servant took the sword and gave it and to me ; then he took me to a house whose door is locked . He opened the door and we went in . There was a well in the middle, and there were three rooms whose doors were locked . The servant opened the door of one room where there were twenty persons with long hair ; they were old , young , and adults ; all of them were in chains . He told me: The commander of the believers order  you to kill them ; all of them were grandsons of Ali and Fatima ( peace be upon them ) and he started bringing them to me one after another  and I beheaded all of them  . Then , the servants threw their bodies and heads in that well .

Then the servant opened the door of another room , and also there were twenty Alawi persons , grandsons of Imam Ali and Fatima ( peace be upon them ) , all in chains . He said to me: The commander of the believers order you to kill these people . Then he started to bring them to me one by one ; I beheaded them all and he threw them in that well . Then , he opened the  door of the third room and there were twenty Alawi persons , grandsons of Imam Ali and Fatima , all of them were in chains . He again repeated the order  saying  to me: the commander of the believers order you to kill them , and he brought them one by one to me ; I killed nineteen of them ; the last one was an old man with a long hair who said to me :  ‘Damn you, you ill-omened man , what excuses are you going to give to my grandfather the Messenger of Allah on the Day of Resurrection  for killing sixty men of his sons and the sons of Ali and Fatima ? ‘ . My hands and my body trembled . The servant looked at me angrily and impatiently ; hence ,  I also brought that old man and beheaded him and threw his body and head in that well . I have claimed sixty lives of the sons of  Messenger of Allah ; therefore no prayers or fasting may benefit me . No doubt I am going to be in hell endlessly “  {10}.

The battle of Karbala included important scenes . There was the attitude of Al-Hur Al-Riahi , a knight from Ibn Ziyad  army , who was trembling when he saw the army of Ibn Ziyad insisting on killing Imam Hussein and his family . When his friend asked him why he was trembling , he answered " I have two options : either paradise or hell and I will choose nothing but paradise “ .

The second attitude was that of the leader of the army who fought Imam Hussein , namely Omar bin Saad Ibn Abi Waqas, who was Qureshi , i.e. , relatives of Hussein (peace be upon him) and knew the status of Imam Hussein , but selfishness , greed and his longing to be the governor of  the state of Al-Ray and Jorjan led him to commit this heinous crime losing both this world and the Hereafter . He was reciting these lines of verse on the eve of making his decision :

Shall I leave the state  of  the Ray which is my aspiration

Or shall be sinned with the blood of  Hussein

Hussain is my cousin and the accidents are too many

1-     Given on Friday 12 , Rabeea Alawal 1439 AH , 1/12/2017 .

2-     Nahjul- Balagha (Path  of Eloquence ) , p. 161 , a speech which describe the Prophet  ( peace be upon him and his family ) , his House and his followers .

3-     Al-Kafi : volume 2 , p.464 .

4-     Bihar Al-Anwar ( Seas of Lights ) : 100/86 , volume  59 .

5-     Nahjul- Balagha : speech /113 .

6-     Ghurar Al-Hikam (Best Sayings ) : 3751/3750 .

7-     Bihar Al-Anwar : 13/ 162 , volume 6 .

8-     Alkafi : 2/216 , volume 2 .

9-     This may be a confusion or a misunderstanding because it was the Caliph Abu Ja’far Al-Mansoor and Haroon Al-Rasheed because Ibn Quhtuba died in the reign of Abu Ja’afar Al-mansoor .

10- Auon Akhbaar Al-Ridha peace be upon him ,volume 1 , p.108 / Bihar Al-Anwar : 48/178 .