3. Aal-i-Imraan

This world is a place of trial. Here, man is forever exposed to Satan’s evil temptations. So there is always the possibility of Satan’s succeeding in turning one from belief to unbelief. Then, while in this state—devoid of the true spirit of faith—one’s time of departure from this world might come, making it almost impossible for one to make amends. That is why it is always necessary for man to be cautious: he must become his own keeper. The actual mainspring of religion is fear of God (taqwa), that is, adopting till one’s dying day an unshakeable sense of accountability to God for all of one’s actions. This is the true and straight path. Any turning away from this path occurs when certain parts of the religion are modified in order to change the order of priorities, e.g. what is important is relegated to a secondary place, and vice versa. Such deviation mostly occurs when some secondary aspect is taken to be a fundamental part of religion and is stressed in a manner which should be reserved for the fear of God and concern for the Hereafter. Whenever such alterations are made in a religion, it necessarily results in differences which lead to serious schisms, with one group stressing one particular secondary aspect and another group stressing another particular secondary aspect—all of which culminates in the community splitting up into a number of sects. While an attitude inspired by the fear of God (taqwa) focuses all attention on the one and only God, in the absence of such fear, it is purely trivial matters which are thrust to the forefront. When peripheral issues are thus given importance, the upshot is disunity—and this is what brings on all the evils that push man to the brink of Hell. Disunity in a group must, therefore, be eschewed at all costs, for it will lead to calamity both in this world and in the Hereafter. It must be conceded that it is only when all of the emphasis is on taqwa that unity is a natural consequence.

This world is a place of trial. Here, man is forever exposed to Satan’s evil temptations. So there is always the possibility of Satan’s succeeding in turning one from belief to unbelief. Then, while in this state—devoid of the true spirit of faith—one’s time of departure from this world might come, making it almost impossible for one to make amends. That is why it is always necessary for man to be cautious: he must become his own keeper. The actual mainspring of religion is fear of God (taqwa), that is, adopting till one’s dying day an unshakeable sense of accountability to God for all of one’s actions. This is the true and straight path. Any turning away from this path occurs when certain parts of the religion are modified in order to change the order of priorities, e.g. what is important is relegated to a secondary place, and vice versa. Such deviation mostly occurs when some secondary aspect is taken to be a fundamental part of religion and is stressed in a manner which should be reserved for the fear of God and concern for the Hereafter. Whenever such alterations are made in a religion, it necessarily results in differences which lead to serious schisms, with one group stressing one particular secondary aspect and another group stressing another particular secondary aspect—all of which culminates in the community splitting up into a number of sects. While an attitude inspired by the fear of God (taqwa) focuses all attention on the one and only God, in the absence of such fear, it is purely trivial matters which are thrust to the forefront. When peripheral issues are thus given importance, the upshot is disunity—and this is what brings on all the evils that push man to the brink of Hell. Disunity in a group must, therefore, be eschewed at all costs, for it will lead to calamity both in this world and in the Hereafter. It must be conceded that it is only when all of the emphasis is on taqwa that unity is a natural consequence.

Before the advent of Islam there were two tribes, the Aws and Khazraj, inhabiting Madinah. Both were Arabs, but they continuously waged war against each other. Attacks and counter-attacks had considerably weakened them. When they accepted Islam, all hostilities ended: they became like brothers. The reason for this is that one who denies the truth is faithful only to his own self, while a believer gives his allegiance solely to God. In a society where individuals are faithful only to their own selves or to their groups, many allegiances naturally come into existence. The result is strife and dissension. On the contrary, in a society where all its members bow only to one God, everyone is directed towards a single focal point. All being bound by one and the same cord, mutual clashes and strife cease altogether.

This command pertains, on the one hand, to the common man and on the other to the intellectuals and the educated class. The educated should be strenuous in their efforts to enjoin goodness and forbid wrong in the community. Their keen awareness of the need for reform should ensure their continuing concern with the state of the people: they must encourage everyone to follow the path of goodness and shun the path of evil. However, for such an effort to succeed, the public must be submissive; they must be willing to listen to their elders. They must show respect for them, follow them as they are bid and stop where they are told to stop, thus surrendering themselves to their religious reformers. A Muslim community’s success thus depends respectively upon the attitudes of the religious elders and of the public. It is in an atmosphere of listening and obeying that society can be reformed, ensuring success both in this world as well as in the next. In short, elders motivated by the true religious spirit, should never shirk their responsibility towards their community of enjoining goodness upon them and forbidding evil.

The benefit the intellectuals have of being imbued with this spirit is that all their attention remains focussed on goodness, that is, on the basics of religion. They have thus no time for hair-splitting arguments about secondary aspects of religion. Those who become the heralds of God’s greatness and arise both as warners and as harbingers of glad tidings have not the time to waste their expertise on matters of no significance. In this way, the task of exhorting people to lead a life of righteousness and forbidding evil engages them in finding solutions to real problems. Verbal jousting over supposed problems seems to them meaningless and futile, just as a farmer finds the game of chess a futile exercise, a waste of time. In showing willingness to be obedient to well-intentioned religious elders, the people are saved from schism and strife. Submitting to an authority unites all of them. Unity becomes a common attribute of believers, and unity, without doubt is the greatest of all powers in this world.

The benefit the intellectuals have of being imbued with this spirit is that all their attention remains focussed on goodness, that is, on the basics of religion. They have thus no time for hair-splitting arguments about secondary aspects of religion. Those who become the heralds of God’s greatness and arise both as warners and as harbingers of glad tidings have not the time to waste their expertise on matters of no significance. In this way, the task of exhorting people to lead a life of righteousness and forbidding evil engages them in finding solutions to real problems. Verbal jousting over supposed problems seems to them meaningless and futile, just as a farmer finds the game of chess a futile exercise, a waste of time. In showing willingness to be obedient to well-intentioned religious elders, the people are saved from schism and strife. Submitting to an authority unites all of them. Unity becomes a common attribute of believers, and unity, without doubt is the greatest of all powers in this world.

The benefit the intellectuals have of being imbued with this spirit is that all their attention remains focussed on goodness, that is, on the basics of religion. They have thus no time for hair-splitting arguments about secondary aspects of religion. Those who become the heralds of God’s greatness and arise both as warners and as harbingers of glad tidings have not the time to waste their expertise on matters of no significance. In this way, the task of exhorting people to lead a life of righteousness and forbidding evil engages them in finding solutions to real problems. Verbal jousting over supposed problems seems to them meaningless and futile, just as a farmer finds the game of chess a futile exercise, a waste of time. In showing willingness to be obedient to well-intentioned religious elders, the people are saved from schism and strife. Submitting to an authority unites all of them. Unity becomes a common attribute of believers, and unity, without doubt is the greatest of all powers in this world.

The benefit the intellectuals have of being imbued with this spirit is that all their attention remains focussed on goodness, that is, on the basics of religion. They have thus no time for hair-splitting arguments about secondary aspects of religion. Those who become the heralds of God’s greatness and arise both as warners and as harbingers of glad tidings have not the time to waste their expertise on matters of no significance. In this way, the task of exhorting people to lead a life of righteousness and forbidding evil engages them in finding solutions to real problems. Verbal jousting over supposed problems seems to them meaningless and futile, just as a farmer finds the game of chess a futile exercise, a waste of time. In showing willingness to be obedient to well-intentioned religious elders, the people are saved from schism and strife. Submitting to an authority unites all of them. Unity becomes a common attribute of believers, and unity, without doubt is the greatest of all powers in this world.

The benefit the intellectuals have of being imbued with this spirit is that all their attention remains focussed on goodness, that is, on the basics of religion. They have thus no time for hair-splitting arguments about secondary aspects of religion. Those who become the heralds of God’s greatness and arise both as warners and as harbingers of glad tidings have not the time to waste their expertise on matters of no significance. In this way, the task of exhorting people to lead a life of righteousness and forbidding evil engages them in finding solutions to real problems. Verbal jousting over supposed problems seems to them meaningless and futile, just as a farmer finds the game of chess a futile exercise, a waste of time. In showing willingness to be obedient to well-intentioned religious elders, the people are saved from schism and strife. Submitting to an authority unites all of them. Unity becomes a common attribute of believers, and unity, without doubt is the greatest of all powers in this world.