Characteristic of righteous (29)
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
ثم الصلاه و السلام علی محمد عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون
اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
The first sign of the believers:
فَمِنْ عَلَامَةِ أَحَدِهِمْ أَنَّكَ تَرَى لَهُ قُوَّةً فِي دِينٍ
The sign of one of the righteous is that you see that he is capable in the issue of religion.
So far, Amir al-Mu’minin has listed twenty-five attributes of righetous, of which they are innate and spiritual, and invisible, and from now on he expresses the outward and visible signs of the people of righteous.
Those twenty-five attributes cannot be clearly seen. Nightly prayer and midnight worship, Putting yourself in the position of being accused, not being proud of yourself, etc. these are not things that pious let others see them and people find out about, but the signs mentioned by the amir al-muminin from now on. are things that are visible and people can see them.
The first sign of pious with amir al-muminin expresses is “strength in religiosity”, which is not only expressed in faith but in practice. Statement of being Muslim puts the person in the circle of Islam and is backed by Muslim jurisprudence, but true religiosity goes far beyond these statement.
The apparent power in religion
If a person declares a Muslim but does not pray or fast or fail to practice other religious beliefs, although not outside the Muslim context, his religiousness is undoubtedly a hindrance, because acting on religious orders is not just a product of religion but part of religion. It is part of the human religion. Imam Sadegh says:
الإيمَانُ لايَكُونُ إلّا بِعَمَلٍ، وَالْعَمَلُ مِنْهُ، وَلَا يَثْبُتُ الإيمَانُ إلّا بِعَمَلٍ (کافی، ج2، ص38، حدیث3)
Faith cannot be realized without action, action is part of faith, and it cannot be proved without action.
The strength of religion is in the power of taking action. The meaning of Amir al-Mu’minin’s statement about the power in religion from the virtues of the pious is that the virtuous people are in fact strong in doing religious actions. Because faith has degrees and strengths and weaknesses, and religion becomes defective or overwhelming. Amir al-muminin urges the community to protect their religion, and considers religion as the brother of man, whose protection of the is necessary and should be treated with caution. Amir al-muminin says:
أخوكَ دِينُكَ، فاحْتَطْ لدِينِكَ بم شِئتَ (أمالي شیخ طوسي : 110/168)
Your religion is your brother, so be careful about it as much as you can
Rumi says ordinary people should protect their faith as a mother cares for her child so that their faith will not be harmed and weakened.
There are, of course, those whose faith is realy high and nothing can shake their faith, and according to the word of the Amir al-Mu’minin, pious are in such a state. They have a strong religion, and a strong religion and a strong faith shows its self in actions of an individual. So pious are very strong and firm in their precepts of Islam.
The Quran’s criterion in proving people’s religion
The Holy Quran also recognizes the religious symbolism of individuals in their actions. It is through action that the belief is proven. It is the confirmation of faith by beliefs, and the proof of faith is by practicing the principles of religion. The most important practical criterion that the Holy Quran considers to prove one’s religion is his attention to the needy and the weak. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ؛ فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ؛ وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ ﴿ماعون:1-۳
Have you considered him who denies the religion? It is he who mistreats the orphan. And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.
In the logic of the Quran, one who does not care about the needy and oppressed people of society is corrupted in his religion. Someone may look very attractive. Make himself a religious person. Others regard him as a person who has religious perfection, but when it comes to spend of his property for the sake of God and the living and religious needs of individuals in the community, he does not go a step further.
Losing Religion is the result of inaction
Not only is action a part of faith and a sign of religiosity, but it is also an inactivity that makes one unbelieving. The glorified God considers the root cause of people’s departure from the religion, their infidelity, and their sinfulness. One who is just happy with his strong religious beliefs and has no doubts about believing in God, the Prophet, Imams, the Qur’an, Islam, etc., but either out of laziness or pleasures, Failure to do what is right and forbidding acts will unconsciously shake his beliefs, cast doubt on what he firmly believed, and ultimately deny everything. The Holy Quran says:
ثُمَّ كَانَ عَاقِبَةَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُوا السُّوأَى أَنْ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُوا بِهَا يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ﴿روم:۱۰﴾
Then, evil was the end of those who committed evil. That is because they rejected God’s revelations, and used to ridicule them.