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The Question of Affliction

By: Martyr Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari
The third issue that deserves attention in relation with the value of faith is the negative value of unbelief and obstinacy. That is, do unbelief and obstinacy cause a good deed to become null and void and lose its effect, making it go bad as an affliction does? In other words, if a person performs a good deed with all the conditions of action-related and actor-related goodness, and yet on the other hand that person shows obstinacy with respect to truth, especially a truth that is one of the principles of religion, in this situation, does this deed - which in and of itself is good, otherworldly, and luminous and free of defect from the Divine and celestial dimension - become null and void because of this stubbornness and obstinacy or other devious spiritual condition? Here the question of affliction comes about.
It is possible for an action to have both action-related and actor-related goodness, and in other words to have both the proper body and a sound soul and spirit, to be good both from the worldly and from the otherworldly point of view, but at the same time to be destroyed and become null from the otherworldly point of view through affliction, just like a sound seed that is planted in fertile ground and even gives fruit, but which falls prey to an affliction before it can be used, and is destroyed, for example, by locusts or lightening. The Qur'?n calls this affliction hab? or invalidation.
Such affliction is not exclusive to unbelievers; it can take place with respect to the good deeds of Muslims as well. It is possible that a believing Muslim may give alms to a deserving needy person for God's sake and for that deed to be accepted by God, but for him or her to later destroy that good deed and make it void by laying an obligation on the other person or some other form of mental torment.
The Qur'?n says:
"O you who have faith! Do not render your charities void by reproaches and affronts."[69]
Another of the afflictions of good deeds is jealousy, as has been said:
"Verily envy eats away good deeds just as fire destroys wood."[70]
Another affliction is juh?d or denial, or a condition of fighting with the truth. Denial means that a person perceives the truth but at the same time opposes it. In other words, denial is when one's mind has submitted through reason and logic and truth has become clear to one's intellect and power of thinking, but the spirit and its' selfish and arrogant feelings rebel and refuse to submit.
The essence of unbelief is opposition and resistance to truth while recognizing what it is. Previously, when we discussed the levels of submission, we gave some explanation regarding this condition. Here, we provide some further explanations relevant to the discussion of afflictions.
Im?m `Al? Ibn Ab? ?alib (as) says, defining Isl?m:
"Isl?m is submission."[71]
That is, when personal interest, prejudice, or habit conflicts with truth and reality, for a person to submit to truth and turn away from all that isn't truth is Isl?m.
Denial means a condition of wilful unbelief, the condition that Ab? Jahl possessed. He knew that the Noble Messenger (S) was truthful in his claim of being a Prophet, but because he had a condition of wilful unbelief, he didn't believe in him. Sometimes people can be heard to say things like, "We're willing to go to Hell, but not to do such-and-such a thing." That is, even if that action is the truth, we still are not willing to accept it. Other expressions, such as to be a mule, to be intractable, and such like all describe this quality of denial.
The Qur'?n has excellently described the presence of this quality in some people where it says:
"And when they said, O' God, if this be the truth from You, rain down upon us stones from heaven, or bring us to a painful punishment."[72]
What a picture the Qur'?n has painted! By narrating one sentence, it indicates the sick mentality of some people.
The obstinate person whose words have been quoted in this verse, instead of saying, "O' God, if this be the truth from You, then make my heart ready to accept it," says, "If this be the truth, send upon me a punishment and annihilate me, because I haven't the strength to remain alive and face the truth."
This condition is a very dangerous one, even if it be in small matters. And it may well be that many of us are suffering from it - God forbid!
Suppose that an eminent doctor, or mujtahid, or some other specialist who has a worldwide reputation makes a determination and expresses an opinion in an issue related to his or her specialization; then, some unknown, a doctor or a young student, expresses a conflicting opinion in the same issue and even presents definitive proofs which that eminent personality him or herself affirms in his or her heart the truth of what that person is saying, but other people remain unaware as they were before, and in view of the reputation of that eminent person, accept his or her view. In this situation, if that famous expert submits to the opinion of that young doctor or student, that is if he or she submits to reality and admits his or her own mistake, he or she is truly a "Muslim," because "Isl?m is submission," and in a way it can be said this is an example of the verse "Rather, one who submits himself to God."[73] Such a person is free of the impure trait of denial. But if he or she engages in denial and opposes the truth to save his or her standing and fame, he or she is wilfully seeking unbelief and is in a state of juhd.
If that doctor, for example, is not entirely unfair, he or she may not take back his or her words, but may change in practice; and if he or she is very unfair, he or she will not change in practice, either, and will give the same prescription and perhaps kill the patient, then say that the patient was beyond treatment - and the same goes for any other eminent intellectual. The opposite of this condition also occurs frequently. There is a tradition in Al-K?f? that sheds light on this reality.
Muhammad Ibn Muslim narrated that he heard Im?m Muhammad Ibn `Al? al-B?qir (as) say:
"Everything that results from confession and submission is faith, and everything that results from denial and rejection is unbelief."[74]
They say that the late ?yatull?h Sayyid ?usayn K?hkamar? who was one of the students of the author of Jaw?hirul Kal?m and a prominent and well-known Mujtahid and recognized teacher, would go daily at an appointed time, as was his pattern, to one of the Mas?jid of Najaf and teach.
As we know, the post of teaching the level of "Kh?rij" of jurisprudence and its principles is the grounds for leadership and religious authority. Leadership and religious authority for a seminary student mean to go suddenly from zero to infinity, since a student is nothing as long as he is not a religious authority (Marji`), and his opinion and belief are not given the least importance, and usually he lives a meagre life. But as soon as he becomes a religious authority, all of a sudden his view is obeyed and no one has anything to say in the face of his opinion. Financially as well as intellectually, he has full discretion without being held accountable to anyone. Thus, a scholar who has a chance of becoming a religious authority passes through a sensitive stage; the late Sayyid ?usayn K?hkamar? was in such a stage.
One day he was returning from somewhere, perhaps from visiting someone, and no more than half an hour remained until his class. He thought to himself that if he were to return home in that short time, he wouldn't have time to accomplish anything, so it was better to go to the appointed place and wait for his students. He went and saw that none of his students had come yet, but he saw that in a corner of the Masjid a humble-looking Shaykh was seated and lecturing to a group of students. The late Sayyid listened to his words, and with great surprise he realized that the Shaykh's discourse was very scholarly. The next day, he was motivated to deliberately come early and listen to the words of that Shaykh. So he came and listened, and his conviction from the previous day became stronger. This was repeated for several days, and the late Sayyid ?usayn became sure that the Shaykh was more learned than he himself and that he could benefit from his lectures, and if his own students were to attend the Shaykh's lectures, they would benefit more.
Here it was that he saw himself as being offered a choice between submission and obstinacy, between faith and unbelief, between the hereafter and this world.
The next day when his students came and gathered, he said, "Friends, today I want to tell you something new. The Shaykh who is sitting in that corner with a few students is more deserving to teach than I am, and I myself benefit from his lectures, so let us all go together to his lecture." From that day, he joined the circle of students of that humble Shaykh who's eyes were slightly swollen and in whom the signs of poverty were visible.
This austere Shaykh was the same scholar who later became famous as Shaykh Murtadh? al-An??r? , earning the title "teacher of the latter-day scholars."
Shaykh An??r? at that time had just returned from a trip of several years to Mashhad, Isfah?n and K?sh?n and had acquired much knowledge from that trip, especially from the presence of the late ??jj Mull?h Ahmad Nar?q? in K?sh?n.
Whoever this condition is found in is an example of the verse "one who submits himself to God."
Thus, unbelief and denial mean to wilfully stand in the face of the truth and show obstinacy. Later, we will mention that in the view of the Qur'?n, the unbeliever has been called an unbeliever because he or she is in a state of denial and obstinacy while at the same time perceiving the truth; and it is this state that causes nullification and is considered an affliction of good deeds. This is why in relation to the actions of those who disbelieve in which they have been compared to ashes which a strong wind blows upon and destroys, God tells us:
"A parable of those who defy their Lord: their deeds are like ashes over which the wind blows hard on a tempestuous day…"[75]
Suppose that Pasteur performed his intellectual research which led to the discovery of bacteria for God and that his intention was to serve humanity and seek nearness to God, that is not sufficient for him to be rewarded by God in the end. If he possessed qualities like denial and the like and was prejudiced in favour of his own beliefs, then without doubt all his actions are null and void, since in this case he is in a state of denying the truth, and this state of opposing the truth destroys all of a person's efforts. This would be the case if, for example, it were said to him, "Christianity is a regional and an ancestral faith for you; have you researched whether there is a better and more complete religion than Christianity or not?" and he were to reject those words and - without being ready to study and search - say, "The best religion is Christianity." A person's actions, in such a case, are like ashes subject to ruin by a swift wind.
We only mentioned Pasteur as an example; we don't mean to say that Pasteur was like this. God alone knows that. If we, too, are obstinate towards to the truth, we fall into this general rule. O Lord! Protect us from the state of unbelief, obstinacy, and opposition to the truth.
Apart from what has been mentioned, there are also other afflictions that befall good deeds. Perhaps one of these afflictions is apathy and indifference in defending truth and righteousness. One must not only avoid denial and rejection of truth, but in addition, one must also not be neutral, and instead must defend the truth. The people of K?fah (`Ir?q) knew that truth was with ?usain Ibn `Al? (as), and they had even admitted this fact but they were neglectful in supporting and defending the truth. They didn't show resolve and perseverance. Not to support the truth is to deny the truth in practice.
Lady Zaynab bint `Al? (sa), in her famous address to the people of K?fah, rebukes them for their negligence in coming to the defence of the truth and for oppressing and sinning against it. She said:
"O' people of K?fah! O' people of deception treachery and disloyalty, do you weep? So let your tears not dry, and your cries not cease! Your parable is that of the woman who undid her weaving after having made it firm."[76]
Another of the afflictions that can befall actions is conceit and vanity. Boasting about one's deeds, like jealousy, conceit and denial, also destroys actions.
There is a tradition that says: "Sometimes a person performs a good and worthy deed, and his or her action finds a place in the `Illiyy?n, but later he or she mentions that action in public and boasts of it. This causes the action to descend. If he or she mentions it again, it descends further. When it is mentioned a third time, it is destroyed altogether, and sometimes is converted into an evil deed."
Im?m Muhammad Ibn `Al? al-B?qir (as) said:
"Preserving a deed is harder than the deed itself." The narrator asked what preserving a deed meant. The Im?m replied, "A person does a good deed and gives something in the way of God, and it is recorded for him as an act done in secret. Then he mentions it, so it is erased and recorded as an act done in public. Then he mentions it, so it is erased and recorded as an act done to show off."[77]
Notes:
[69] Al-Qur'?n, S?ratul Baqarah (2), Verse 264
[70] Bih?rul Anw?r, Volume 15, Part 3, Page 132-133 (?kh?nd? print)
[71] Nahjul Bal?gha, Saying 125
[72] Al-Qur'?n, S?ratul Anf?l (8), Verse 32
[73] Al-Qur'?n, S?ratul Baqarah (2), Verse 112
[74] Al-K?f?, Volume 2, Page 387
[75] Al-Qur'?n, S?rat Ibr?h?m (14), Verse 18
[76] Nafas al-Mahm?m, Page 339
[77] Was?'ilush Sh?`a, Volume 1, Page 55

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