Session Thirty-Nine, The Proofs of the Inherent Dignity of the Human Being
Session Thirty-Nine
The Proofs of the Inherent Dignity of the Human Being — The Second Proof: Traditions (Riwayāt) — The Third Group — The First, Second, and Third Traditions — The Fourth Group — The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Traditions
May 4, 2025
Summary of the Previous Session
We noted that several groups of traditions can be invoked to prove inherent dignity; we quoted two groups of these traditions in the previous session.
The third group consists of traditions that generally prohibit injustice (zulm) toward anyone. Based on numerous traditions, injustice, oppression, and inequity against all human beings, independent of belief, sect, race, and ethnicity, is forbidden and impermissible; particularly regarding the issue of injustice, this generality and comprehensiveness toward all human beings, even disbelievers, is completely clear and obvious, and can be derived from various traditions. I shall quote several traditions from this group.
The First Tradition
The first tradition relates to the story that occurred during the rule of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him), in one of the cities under the dominion of Ali’s government, wherein a Jewish woman was assaulted and her anklets and ornaments were forcibly taken. When the Imam heard of this incident, he stated: “And it has reached me that a man of them would enter upon the Muslim woman, and the other, the covenanted woman, and snatch her anklets, her bracelets, her necklaces, and her earrings… So if a Muslim man were to die after this out of grief, he would not be blamed; rather, in my view, he would be worthy of it” (وَ لَقَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ مِنْهُمْ كَانَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَى الْمَرْأَةِ الْمُسْلِمَةِ وَ الْأُخْرَى الْمُعَاهِدَةِ فَيَنْتَزِعُ حِجْلَهَا وَ قُلُبَهَا وَ قَلَائِدَهَا وَ رُعُثَهَا … فَلَوْ أَنَّ امْرَأً مُسْلِماً مَاتَ مِنْ بَعْدِ هَذَا أَسَفاً مَا كَانَ بِهِ مَلُوماً بَلْ كَانَ بِهِ عِنْدِي جَدِيراً).
According to this tradition, injustice, oppression, and inequity against a non-Muslim woman so greatly distressed the Imam. In the view of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), even a non-Muslim enjoys a minimum of security, respect, and ennoblement; for this reason, the Imam stated that if someone surrendered his life upon hearing this news, he would not be blamed, but rather it is fitting that it be so. It appears that this statement indicates this meaning; were it not for that human aspect, and were it not for the ennoblement and respect the Shariah establishes for human beings, there would be no meaning for the Imam to express such regret and state that if someone died upon hearing this news, he could not be blamed.
Objection
An objection may arise here, namely that this woman was a dhimmi (a non-Muslim citizen under protection) and was under the protection of the Islamic government, and what was done to her—the assault and the snatching of her ornaments—was contrary to the covenant of protection (dhimmah). The Imam’s distress was due to the fact that this law and agreement had been violated under the Islamic government. Consequently, this has no relation to the issue of human dignity, but is simply because of respecting the contract the government had with the disbelievers, according to which their lives, property, honor, and chastity were to be secure; it is obvious that when these are assaulted, the Imam would show such a reaction.
Response
The response to the objection is that the kind of rhetoric employed in this statement, and the fact that it resulted in this anger—with the Imam stating “in my view, he would be worthy of it”—meaning that a non-Muslim was assaulted, and if someone were to die of grief because of this matter, it is fitting and appropriate, and he cannot be blamed; this is not simply because of that agreement and that the woman was under the protection of the government. This is not only because this contract was violated and the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was distressed by it, but rather the intensity of the distress and the manner of expressing distress by the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) regarding this incident show that this in reality relates to the very aspect we mentioned.
The Second Tradition
The second tradition: “From Ja’far ibn Muhammad, from his fathers (peace be upon them), in the testament of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to Ali (peace be upon him), who said: ‘O Ali! The best jihad is for one to wake up in the morning while not intending injustice to anyone. O Ali! He whose tongue the people fear is of the people of the Fire. O Ali! The worst of people is he whom the people honor out of fear of his obscenity and harm. O Ali! The worst of people is he who sells his hereafter for his world, and worse than him is he who sells his hereafter for the world of another'” (عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ آبَائِهِ فِي وَصِيَّةِ النَّبِيِّ لِعَلِيٍّ قَالَ يَا عَلِيُّ أَفْضَلُ الْجِهَادِ مَنْ أَصْبَحَ لَا يَهُمُّ بِظُلْمِ أَحَدٍ يَا عَلِيُّ مَنْ خَافَ النَّاسُ لِسَانَهُ فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ يَا عَلِيُّ شَرُّ النَّاسِ مَنْ أَكْرَمَهُ النَّاسُ اتِّقَاءَ فُحْشِهِ وَ شَرِّهِ يَا عَلِيُّ شَرُّ النَّاسِ مَنْ بَاعَ آخِرَتَهُ بِدُنْيَاهُ وَ شَرٌّ مِنْهُ مَنْ بَاعَ آخِرَتَهُ بِدُنْيَا غَيْرِهِ).
Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) narrates from his fathers that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him): O Ali, the highest degree of jihad is for one to wake up in the morning while having no intention of injustice toward anyone; O Ali, he whose tongue the people fear is definitely of the people of the Fire; he whom the people honor and respect out of fear of his obscenity or harm is the worst of people; the worst of people is he who sells his hereafter for his world, and worse than him is he who sells his hereafter for the world of another.
Question:
Professor: Obscenity (fuhsh) is indeed immorality, ugliness, impudence, and recklessness, and in reality, it has a general meaning—meaning a person who has no reputation and pays no regard to anything.
Based on this tradition, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) says to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him): “O Ali! The best jihad is for one to wake up in the morning while not intending injustice to anyone.” “Anyone” (ahad) is like “thing” (shay); just as “thing” is an all-encompassing word and term that includes all things, “anyone” also includes all human beings, whether Muslim or disbeliever. Thereafter, it also contains: “the people fear,” “the worst of people,” “the people honor him”—these mean all human beings. Unless there is a contextual clue to the contrary, the word “people” (nas) indicates all people, without distinction between the disbeliever and the Muslim. Although, in view of “sells his hereafter for his world” and “sells his hereafter for the world of another,” we might say that this points to the community of religious people and believers who believe in the Resurrection, yet fall into negligence at times.
The Third Tradition
The third tradition: “From Abu Basir, from Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him), in a tradition wherein he said: ‘Indeed, he who wins by injustice does not win any good. Indeed, the oppressed person takes from the religion of the oppressor more than what the oppressor takes from the wealth of the oppressed.’ Then he said: ‘He who does evil to the people should not deny evil when it is done to him'” (عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فِي حَدِيثٍ قَالَ أَمَا إِنَّهُ مَا ظَفِرَ بِخَيْرٍ مَنْ ظَفِرَ بِالظُّلْمِ أَمَا إِنَّ الْمَظْلُمَ يَأْخُذُ مِنْ دِينِ الظَّالِمِ أَكْتَرَ مِمَّا يَأْخُذُ الظَّالِمُ مِنْ مَالِ الْمَظْلُومِ ثُمَّ قَالَ مَنْ يَفْعَلِ الشَّرَّ بِالنَّاسِ فَلَا يُنْكِرِ الشَّرَّ إِذَا فُعِلَ بِهِ).
No one has attained victory through injustice; he who has won through injustice, his victory is not in good. This is because the oppressed takes from the religion of the oppressor far more than what the oppressor takes from the wealth of the oppressed. There is no good in injustice; there may be an apparent victory in it, but there is no good in it. Here, too, he has not said “injustice to brothers in faith,” but states injustice in an absolute sense. We might even say it includes injustice to oneself, or encompasses injustice to God.
In short, there is no good in this victory, and injustice is censured and prohibited. The omission of the object indicates generality (hadhf al-muta’allaq yadullu ala al-umum); assuredly, generality is derived from this—not even restricted to human beings, but including any creature in this world, even animals.
The Fourth Group
The fourth group consists of traditions in which good conduct and commendable behavior toward the generality of human beings are commanded, even if they are disbelievers.
The First Tradition
The late Kulaynī recorded this tradition in al-Kāfī: “From Ammār ibn Abī al-Aḥwaṣ, who said: ‘I said to Abū Abdillāh (peace be upon him): Indeed, we have among us groups of people who declare their belief in the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and prefer him over all the people, but they do not describe what we describe of your virtue; should we associate with them? He said to me: Yes, in general'” (عَنْ عَمَّارِ بْنِ أَبِي الْأَحْوَصِ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ عِنْدَنَا أَقْوَاماً يَقُولُونَ بِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ يُفَضِّلُونَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ كُلِّهِمْ وَ لَيْسَ يَصِفُونَ مَا نَصِفُ مِنْ فَضْلِكُمْ أَ نَتَوَلَّاهُمْ فَقَالَ لِي نَعَمْ فِي الْجُمْلَةِ).
I said to Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) that we have among us groups and individuals who believe in the guardianship of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and prefer him over all the people; but they do not speak of your virtues and describe them as we do—meaning they do not possess the necessary, firm belief; should we love them and interact with them? He said to me: Yes, in general.
“Is there not with Allah what was not with the Messenger of Allah, and for the Messenger of Allah with Allah what is not with us, and with us what is not with you, and with you what is not with others?” (أَ لَيْسَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَا لَيْسَ لَنَا وَ عِنْدَنَا مَا لَيْسَ عِنْدَكُمْ وَ عِنْدَكُمْ مَا لَيْسَ عِنْدَ غَيْرِكُمْ). Is it not that God has things that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) does not have, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) has things that are not with us, and we have things that are not with you, and you have things that are not with others?
“Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, established Islam upon seven shares: upon patience, truthfulness, certainty, contentment, loyalty, knowledge, and forbearance. Then He distributed that among the people; so he in whom He placed these seven shares is complete in faith and resilient” (إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى وَضَعَ الْإِسْلَامَ عَلَى سَبْعَةِ أَسْهُمٍ عَلَى الصَّبْرِ وَ الصِّدْقِ وَ الْيَقِينِ وَ الرِّضَا وَ الْوَفَاءِ وَ الْعِلْمِ وَ الْحِلْمِ ثُمَّ قَسَمَ ذَلِكَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنْ جَعَلَ فِيهِ هَذِهِ السَّبْعَةَ الْأَسْهُمِ فَهُوَ كَامِلُ الْإِيمَانِ مُحْتَمِلٌ). God, Blessed and Exalted is He, established Islam upon seven shares: patience, truthfulness, certainty, contentment, loyalty, knowledge, and forbearance; then He distributed that among the people. He in whom all these seven shares exist is complete in faith.
“Then He distributed to some people one share, to some two shares, to some three shares, to some four shares, to some five shares, to some six shares, and to some seven shares. So do not impose two shares upon the possessor of one share, nor three shares upon the possessor of two shares, nor four shares upon the possessor of three shares, nor five shares upon the possessor of four shares, nor six shares upon the possessor of five shares, nor seven shares upon the possessor of six shares” (ثُمَّ قَسَمَ لِبَعْضِ النَّاسِ السَّهْمَ وَ لِبَعْضٍ السَّهْمَيْنِ وَ لِبَعْضٍ الثَّلَاثَةَ الْأَسْهُمِ وَ لِبَعْضٍ الْأَرَبَعَةَ الْأَسْهُمِ وَ لِبَعْضٍ الْخَمْسَةَ الْأَسْهُمِ وَ لِبَعْضٍ السِّتَّةَ الْأَسْهُمِ وَ لِبَعْضٍ السَّبْعَةَ الْأَسْهُمِ فَلَا تَحْمِلُوا عَلَى صَاحِبِ السَّهْمِ سَهْمَيْنِ وَ لَا عَلَى صَاحِبِ السَّهْمَيْنِ ثَلَاثَةَ أَسْهُمٍ وَ لَا عَلَى صَاحِبِ الثَّلَاثَةِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَسْهُمٍ وَ لَا عَلَى صَاحِبِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ خَمْسَةَ أَسْهُمٍ وَ لَا عَلَى صَاحِبِ الْخَمْسَةِ سِتَّةَ أَسْهُمِ وَ لَا عَلَى صَاحِبِ السِّتَّةِ سَبْعَةَ أَسْهُمِ).
God distributed these seven shares: for some seven shares, for some six shares, for some five shares, and so forth, until for some He established one share. Therefore, do not impose two shares upon the one who possesses a single share; let your expectation of the belief, doctrine, and action of human beings be proportionate to their capacity. This is a very remarkable thing; sometimes our expectation of the people is that they be like ourselves—and that, too, if we are indeed anything. If someone has a slight issue with his belief, we quickly become angry and say you have deviation, you are going astray. We think everyone must be Abu Dharr and Salman; whereas the method of the Household (peace be upon them) in propagating and attracting the people was not thus. He states: do not impose two shares upon the possessor of one share—this means everyone has a capacity. Do not impose three shares upon the possessor of two shares, and so on up to seven shares.
“For you would overburden them and alienate them; rather, be gentle with them and make the entry easy for them” (فَتُقِّلُوهُمْ وَ تُنَفِّرُوهُمْ وَ لَكِنْ تَرَفَّقُوا بِهِمْ وَ سَهِّلُوا لَهُمُ الْمَدْخَلَ). Treat the people with gentleness and leniency; make the entry easy for them. The people act only to the extent they know.
Then the Imam narrates this famous story: “And I shall strike for you an example by which you may take warning…” (وَسَأَضْرِبُ لَكَ مَثَلًا تَعْتَبِرُ بِهِ). There was a Muslim man who had a disbelieving neighbor; he befriended him and gradually invited him to Islam, and he showed interest. In the morning, he came for this person and took him to congregational prayer. After the prayer was finished, he told him let us sit in the mosque until sunrise and recite the Qur’an; after that, he also said let us pray and fast. In short, he kept this person engaged in prayer, fasting, and worship until night, and at last they went home. On the morrow, when he came for him, this person said: I do not want this religion. Truly, some are thus.
At the end of this tradition, the Imam states: “Did you not know that the rule of the Umayyads was by the sword, coercion, and injustice, while our rule is by gentleness, reconciliation, dignity, dissimulation, good companionship, piety, and diligence? So make the people desire your religion and what you are upon” (أَ مَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ إِمَارَةَ بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ كَانَتْ بِالسَّيْفِ وَ الْعَسْفِ وَ الْجَوْرِ وَ أَنَّ إِمَارَتَنَا بِالرِّفْقِ وَ التَّأَلُّفِ وَ الْوَقَارِ وَ التَّقِيَّةِ وَ حُسْنِ الْخُلْطَةِ وَ الْوَرَعِ وَ الِاجْتِهَادِ فَرَغِّبُوا النَّاسَ فِي دِينِكُمْ وَ فِيمَا أَنْتُمْ فِيهِ).
In my view, this is a charter we must place before our eyes to see how we must treat others. The people are of various kinds and classes, and they are not all identical; even the one who possesses one share out of the seven shares of religion must be expected of only to the extent of his capacity.
Question:
Professor: The edition is that we must strive for the level of the people’s awareness to rise—the people’s understanding of religion, their performance of rulings, and the depth of their beliefs must increase; there is no debate about this. Were all those who were with the Imams (peace be upon them) acquainted with the depth of the religion’s teachings from the very beginning? Were those who were with the Imams (peace be upon them) for many years identical? Abu Dharr and Salman were very different in their level of cognition. It is clear that everyone grows to the extent of his capacity; but when we encounter someone whose level of religious awareness is this… I am not presently discussing legal matters; indeed, many of those who do not observe the ruling of hijab on the street genuinely believe it is not a sin; their belief is that this is not a sin and is not prohibited. That is another discussion… what must we do with them? Are these methods and actions we perform in accordance with the command of the Household (peace be upon them)? Yes, there is the law; they must be acquainted with the law. But in general… is forbidding wrong such that anyone goes to the street and grabs people by the collar?
I wish to argue that, that in this tradition gentleness and leniency are generally commanded, and also the story of the disbeliever, is very expressive and indicates that when we treat a creature called the human being—even if he is a disbeliever—we must treat him with certain considerations. This human being possesses sanctity and respect; in this very tradition, he states that there must be no imposition. Why does the Imam state: “rather, be gentle with them and make the entry easy for them” (وَ لَكِنْ تَرَفَّقُوا بِهِمْ وَ سَهِّلُوا لَهُمُ الْمَدْخَلَ)?
I mentioned at the very beginning that the very fact that the human being possesses fitrah, will, choice, and the right to select—all by divine will—is nothing other than granting personality to the human being and respecting him. This means there must be no imposition; that he chooses himself, that he has freedom to choose (setting aside partial restrictions), what do these show? If we state that the human being possesses intellect, will, and the right to select, and these are divinely bestowed blessings granted to no creature other than the human being, is this considered respect or not? Is this inherent dignity or not? Is it other than that the human being qua human being possesses such characteristics that must be observed, and there is no difference between the disbeliever and the non-disbeliever?
Question:
Professor: This choice and will, in the sense of being able to resist one’s own desires… is not so; this power and capability of resistance does not exist with this intensity and force in non-humans. Here, the discussion is not about ennoblement (takrim) and preference (tafdil)… we are discussing this here regardless of ennoblement and preference, and we are not concerned at all with whether it is shared or not; rather, we say it is exclusive to the human being. That is, what the human being possesses, none of them possess. Even assuming that in its origin, the jinn share it with the human being, there is fundamentally an immense difference between the will, choice, and freedom that the human being possesses and those of the jinn.
The Second Tradition
The second tradition: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: ‘The peak of the intellect after faith is displaying affection toward the people and doing good to every righteous and wicked person'” (قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ رَأْسُ الْعَقْلِ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ التَّوَدُّدُ إِلَى النَّاسِ وَ اصْطِنَاعُ الْخَيْرِ إِلَى كُلِّ بَرٍّ وَ فَاجِرٍ).
The Third Tradition
The third tradition: “From Abū Jaʿfar (peace be upon him), who said concerning the words of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime: ‘And speak to people good words’—He said: ‘Speak to the people the best of what you would love to be said to you'” (عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ قُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْناً قَالَ قُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ أَحْسَنَ مَا تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يُقَالَ لَكُمْ). He says: “And speak to people good words”; speak to the people in a good manner. In the previous tradition, it contains: “every righteous and wicked person” and “displaying affection toward the people and doing good”—this clearly indicates all people, even those who do not possess faith, like the statement of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) who said: “either a brother of yours in religion, or a peer of yours in creation”—they are your peers in creation; “And infuse your heart with mercy for the subjects”—fill your heart with love for them; favor is thus.
The Fourth Tradition
The fourth tradition: “From Muʿāwiyah ibn ʿAmmār, who said: ‘Abū Abdillāh (peace be upon him) said: Do good to everyone; if he is worthy of it, then well and good, and if not, you are worthy of doing it'” (عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ اصْنَعُوا الْمَعْرُوفَ إِلَى كُلِّ أَحَدٍ فَإِنْ كَانَ أَهْلَهُ وَ إِلَّا فَأَنْتَ أَهْلُهُ). He says: “to everyone” (ila kulli ahad); this clearly encompasses everyone.