Al-Risala (English), January 1988

Islamic Teachings

1988 1 January 14-20 Islamic Teachings (2881)

Anger

Of all the human emotions, the most destructive is anger. It tears apart human relationships, shatters the harmony of the environment and can destabilize whole communities. As such, it must be recognised as one of the greatest negative forces in society and be kept under strict control.

Alas, it is an emotion which affects all human beings at some time or another, and keeping it under tight rein is often a matter of the greatest difficulty. Fury can be so blinding that it causes a man to forget all norms of human decency - to the point of wishing to humiliate, injure or even kill an opponent. He descends to using vile, harsh language, even comes to blows, all in the attempt to beat his opponent either verbally or physically. His anger does not allow him to see that in so doing he degrades himself as much as the object of his rage. And it is not just the weak, the egoistic, or the ill-natured who fall a prey to such baneful impulses, but even the most morally upright and socially irreproachable members of the community.

Anger gives a momentary illusion of strength, but in actual fact it weakens, degrades and destroys. An otherwise excellent character is seriously marred by fits of rage, for that is what causes a man to forget all his moral precepts and throw his principles to the winds. It was not without good reason that the Prophet said, “A strong man is not one who overwhelms his opponent. A strong man is one who controls himself when he becomes angry.”

The advice which the Prophet gave to his companions is advice which we need to follow today: “When one of you becomes angry, he should keep quiet.”

But, truly, there is only one thing in this world which can prevent an irate person from going beyond the bounds of decency, and that is the fear of God. When an awareness of God’s greatness is truly lodged in an individual’s heart, this enables him to rein himself in so that he does not stray beyond the limits laid down for him by Almighty. His consciousness of the fact that God will call him to account for each and every one of his actions exercises a powerful restraint upon the anger surging within him. Such is the character of one who fears God, that when he is made angry by a human being, it is God who looms up before him, effectively quelling his anger.

The Quran makes it clear that any such strong, adverse, emotional reaction such as anger does not befit the true believer, and instead cites as a mark of excellence the quality of forgivingness: “When they become angry, they are forgiving” (42:37). The true believer must cultivate the capacity to rise above negative sentiments in his dealings with people so that his relationships with them remain on a positive basis. When anger and bitterness well up inside him, he should not give vent to these feelings but should, instead, contain and suppress them within his own self. He should live in the world in the way that the flowers do – giving off a sweet fragrance even to those who give nothing but abuse and remaining unruffled even in the face of violent attack.

After making a mistake

However upright one may be, one cannot help but err from time to time in one’s dealings with one’s fellow-men. There are bound to be occasions when one fails to give another his due or neglects some responsibility towards him. The Quran tells us that at such times we should right the wrongs we have done by immediately doing good. If we lose no time in doing so, we can effectively cancel out any harmful consequences of our wrong-doing. To this end the Prophet counselled: ”Fear God wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed. In so doing, you will right whatever wrong you have done.” This can take various forms. It can mean asking for forgiveness, praying for the one who has been wronged, giving him a present by way of making amends, speaking well of him to others or generally acting as his well-wisher.

The people of Paradise

According to the Quran, Paradise will be free of idle talk and sinful speech. There shall be no lying, no false accusations, and no denigration of others. There will be the most sublime feeling of peace and goodwill, for there will be no ridicule, no abuse, in short, no remarks which are even to the slightest degree inappropriate. For this to be a reality, it will be only those who are truly superior in character who will be ushered through its portals. Paradise is no place for the low in character. It is a place where only the noble shall reside.

It is of the greatest importance then to build up a good character while still in this world, for it is only those who are possessed of the highest qualities of character who will be eligible to take up their abode in Paradise. Those who fall below this high standard will be discarded like so much rubbish and cast into the pit of Hell, there to suffer eternal punishment for the wickedness of their ways.

Organization

Within even the tiniest of seeds, God has concealed the beginnings of a verdant plant: from one tiny kernel can spring forth the loftiest of trees. But this potentiality can be realized only when all of the conditions for its growth are just right – the season, the soil, the temperatures, the sunshine, the rainfall, all must be exactly what the plant needs and only then will our seed sprout and produce the most wonderful of foliage, blossoms and fruits. Suppose we just dropped our seed on a table top and left it to its own resources, there would be no question of its producing a plant, green or otherwise.

Why should this be so? It is because God has created the correct combination of conditions for growth to take place and has laid down a definite pattern for the functioning of every single thing and every single living creature on this earth. This divine pattern has been ordained for all time, and there is nothing which can exist without conforming to it. The slightest deviation from this pattern produces bad results, or no results at all, whereas acting in accordance with it causes all of God’s creations to thrive and flourish.

The same is true of our human communities. Once they are entrusted with the divine code of life, as enshrined in the Book of God, they need only adhere strictly to it, never deviating from the “right path”, as it is termed in the Quran, to be able to take root and flourish both in this world and the Hereafter.

The right path is that of adherence to a certain discipline in life according to which human beings should live as though bound by a contract made with God. The right path, in fact, will lead man straight to God.

It is written in the Quran:

“God made a covenant with the Children of Israel and raised among them twelve chieftains. He said: “I shall be with you. If you attend to your prayers and pay the poor-due; if you believe in My apostles and assist them and give God a goodly loan, I shall forgive you your sins and admit you to gardens watered by running streams. But he that hereafter denies Me shall stray from the right path” (5:12).

This contract – or covenant – stipulates several religious duties the first of which is prayer, a way of bowing to God and seeking to be close to Him. Next is Zakat, which obliges one to be good in giving to others, to behave, in fact, as if they had a basic right to a share in one’s earnings. Then there is the duty to spread the word of God. When one hears the call of truth, one is obliged to commit oneself unstintingly to its support and furtherance, and to give one’s whole-hearted assistance to those who call mankind to the truth. All of these religious duties taken together are what make up the contract according to which a Muslim must pattern his life. Those who live their lives in such a manner find themselves close to God, and become worthy of His divine assistance.

In order to preserve this God-fearing aspect of life in its true form, Muslims have been called upon to organize themselves, i.e. to set up a system in their society based upon what the Quran calls “hearing and obeying.” For this system to function effectively, it must be supervised by community leaders who, once appointed, have to be obeyed irrespective of personal likes or dislikes. Religious duties, such as regular attendance at prayers, broad-scale collection and distribution of Zakat, the systematic propagation of the message of true religion, can all be the more effectively carried out once a social order has been established in each Muslim Community, for it provides a framework within which devotees consider it their bounden duty to follow the lead of those appointed to its upkeep.

The task of organizing Muslim brethren need not fall to a governmental body, for this is a duty which ought to be undertaken by the people themselves. Irrespective of whether Muslims are in political power or not, and regardless of general circumstances. Such organization is, in itself an act of worship, but its aims will be fulfilled only if it is carried out without any external pressure being exerted on the individuals concerned: it will bear fruit only if people engage in it of their own free will.

From the Islamic viewpoint, the organization of society is symbolic of man’s submission to the word of God. Adherence to Islamic social order demonstrates not only man’s obedience to God, but his having passed the most crucial test in life. Those who refrain from subjecting themselves to such an order live in defiance of God’s commandments, thus failing in life’s greatest trial.

Political power, it should be emphasized, does not in itself ensure the effective organization of Islamic society. During the respective caliphates of Uthman and AIi, the Muslims wielded political power, yet their organization had become disoriented. Later-day Islamic history abounds in comparable examples. A social order, to be truly Islamic must evince itself in a spontaneous system of organization, such as we see in a mosque, with an Imam leading the faithful in the offering of their daily congregational prayers. Although this entails the restriction of personal freedom for the sake of God, one’s submission to such a system must be purely voluntary.

Indeed, an individual who subjects himself to an Islamic social order will be deemed worthy of divine reward only if he does so of his own free will. Organization which has been imposed upon people may yield certain worldly gains but it cannot in any religious sense benefit those who have undergone coercion. Nor will such organization itself receive God’s blessings, for that is reserved for such systems as have been established in a truly Islamic spirit.

A good example of such organization is to be found in the time of the Prophet, prior to the Muslims’ emigration to Medina, and, of course before an Islamic government had been established there. When seventy three men came from Medina to Mecca to swear their allegiance to the Prophet, the latter introduced a system of organization into their ranks by instructing them to elect twelve people from amongst themselves, who would then be responsible for conducting their affairs.

When the Muslims left Arabia, spreading out to various other lands, they formed organizations of this nature wherever they went and lived ordered lives within this framework. So long as this lasted, they lived in the shade of divine protection. It was only when they deliberately rejected such organization and the discipline it entails that they found themselves bereft of God’s protection. Despite their continuing to hold political power, they were eventually subjugated by other nations.

Those who enter this Islamic form of organization quite voluntarily – as required by Islam – give definite proof in doing so of their total selflessness. In this way, they show their capacity to suppress their own egos for the greater glory of God. And, indeed, there is no greater act of piety that one can perform. Those who show themselves ready to make such a sacrifice will have multiple blessings bestowed on them by the Almighty, and in this world, they will be granted honour and supremacy. In the hereafter their status will be far above that of the egoists and self-seekers.

When those who have been completely sub-servient of God – to the point of becoming selfless souls –are confronted with the truth, they never hesitate to acknowledge it to be so. Nor do they ever launch themselves on any course of action which might prove ruinous to themselves or to others, either in this world or in the next, for they are prevented from doing so by that very selflessness which makes them bow to God. Never indeed, would they be found to forsake the path of justice.

In truth, all goodness, both in this life and in the Hereafter, lies in selflessness; an individual’s self-lessness, or his lack of it, can be seen in his response to organization. The binding of oneself to an organized life can be achieved only by those who have raised themselves above the level of selfish motivation. One who has attained this superior moral status becomes indifferent to praise or blame, and, conversely, his opinion of others does not depend upon whether they agree or disagree with him. Personal likes or dislikes are in no way permitted to mould his behaviour. And whether he has been given his due or not, makes not the slightest difference to him, for, ethically, he is a self-sufficient being.

In the course of a religiously organized life, one has continual opportunities of proving one’s mettle in these aspects. But if mundane concerns have come in the way of accepting the discipline of such an organized life, one will remain perpetually enslaved by the dictates of one’s own ego, and will lose the opportunity to develop one’s moral potential. Those who believe in God, and subject themselves to Islamic discipline, can expect to have countless blessing bestowed upon them. Two of these stand out from the others in importance. The first enables a man to become deserving of divine succour, thus placing him in a position to overcome his opponents with the help of the Almighty, while the second saves him from hell-fire in the Afterlife, thus clearing the way for him to be admitted to the Gardens of Paradise. These blessings are reserved for those and those alone who have suppressed the ‘self’ for the sake of God, having bound themselves to a social order according to which all their religious and ethical activities are properly organized.

The greatest strength of any society is its unity, and what is most damaging to that unity is the relentless pursuit of personal ambition on the part of its members. It is only when people surrender their individuality to God – to the point of becoming totally absorbed in His Being – that they put an end to this pursuit. It is the society made up of such individuals that speaks with one voice and acts as one body. Where such unity exists, there can be no question of defeat.

Before the advent of Islam, tribalism prevailed in Arabia, each tribe living separately from the other. Barbaric customs were practised and the tribes were usually at war with one another. However, when the Prophet brought God’s message to them, they entered the fold of Islam, thus effectively terminating internecine warfare. From then onwards, they lived together as brothers. How could such a change have come about? The answer is to be found in the change of attitude engendered by their acceptance of Islam. Without Islam, a man owes allegiance to no one but himself, whereas, with Islam, a man forgets himself and owes allegiance to none but the Almighty. A whole society made up of truly Islamic individuals is consequently able to banish the confusion and disunity arising out of divided loyalties.

It is in owing allegiance to God alone that a people is blessed with unity. It is in bowing to him that they are imbued with a true sense of direction and purpose, and that their society will advance as if all its members were bound by one and the same rope. From such a society the causes of controversy and disunity will automatically vanish.

The lives of those who adopt religion on the level of individual sacrifice become truly oriented towards God. They proceed unswervingly along a path which will bring them close to the Almighty and to everlasting life with Him. They can never lose their way, and will never let themselves slip from that straight and narrow path, for it is their deepest conviction that it will take them straight to God, and to the Garden which he has prepared for them.