English
Arabic
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Hindi
Norwegian
Spanish
Swedish
Hebrew
Indonesian
Turkish
Persian
Swahili
Urdu
True Freedom - Lecture 7
10thJanuary 2011
1. One of the calls of Imam Husain (PBUH) on the day of Ashura to his attackers was, “If you do not have a religion, and you do not fear the day of judgement then at least be free in your world”. This is a very significant call, as it is possible that had the attackers of Imam been free in their world, they would have probably come back under the fold of true Islam, thereby showing us the importance of freedom.
2. When we look around the world, we tend to witnesses that the demands for freedom are for ‘physical freedom’, freedom to vote, for basic necessities, for a lower cost of living and so on. The example of the recent ‘Arab Spring’ is apt in order to visualise physical freedom. It united millions of people around the world under the banner of freedom. Yet, we find that the freedom which was sought for by those individuals was a freedom which we possess here in western countries, but despite this physical freedom, morality is still on the decline in our societies.
3. We also find through a tradition of Imam Ali (PBUH), that we were born free, and that if we are enslaved at present, then it is due to our own actions. He says, “O people, Adam never gave birth to a bondsman or a bondswoman, all people are free”.
4. In order to understand the underlying factor which is causing a barrier for us to reach freedom, we should look for the true definition of freedom and mirror it to our lives. When asking the Ahlulbayt for the true definition, we find that they define it as follows:
“One who leaves his base desires is free”
Imam Ali (PBUH)
5. Such eloquence! Have we ever thought to ourselves that we could be slaves to our own selves? That if I was to free myself from my own ‘self’ then I would truly be a subservient
creature to Allah. This is yet another proof that the root for all good in Islam is in working with one’s own self. Islam is about perfecting morality and struggling against the ‘self’.
6. One must control their anger, their desire for food, their desire for the opposite gender, ones thoughts, imagination, tongue, ears, eyes and so on, in order to become free from their base desires.
7. Of course, Satan will not allow for this transition to be easy. He will try his level best to beautify sins for us. We can cite here the example of how the physical aspect of hijab for a woman may be seen as enslavement and a barrier for progression in society. Satan may garb the sin of beautifying one’s self to other than the blood-relations, by presenting it as an act of freedom. Yet we find that a woman who allows for others to share her beauty has in actual fact lost her freedom and value. The same beauty which was to remain for her husband has been exposed to the public.
[2:208] O you who believe! Enter into submission one and all and do not follow the footsteps of Satan; surely he is your open enemy.
8. A few governments have recently been placing bans upon the physical hijab due to it being a barrier in society. Whereas, the physical and social aspects of hijab are meant to be just that, a barrier. Not a barrier for progression, but a barrier between a man and a woman to ensure that they both uphold chastity. Although the grass may seem greener on the other side today, a short time will reveal the realities of alienating religion from society. When people find no security, no morality, no values or respect in society, it is then that they will turn towards religion, but that may be a little too late.
9. A tradition from our 6th Imam, al-Sadiq (AS) states, “There are five attributes such that whoever does not even possess one of them does not have much to admire: Loyalty, organisation, modesty, good temper, and the last which brings together all these attributes is freedom.”
10. We have been gifted with free will; Allah has given us the tools and the direction in which to travel, now it is up to us to take action.
There is no force by Allah, and neither was our Prophet sent to control us. Rather Allah has shown us the truth and His messenger has reminded us of it.
10thJanuary 2011
1. One of the calls of Imam Husain (PBUH) on the day of Ashura to his attackers was, “If you do not have a religion, and you do not fear the day of judgement then at least be free in your world”. This is a very significant call, as it is possible that had the attackers of Imam been free in their world, they would have probably come back under the fold of true Islam, thereby showing us the importance of freedom.
2. When we look around the world, we tend to witnesses that the demands for freedom are for ‘physical freedom’, freedom to vote, for basic necessities, for a lower cost of living and so on. The example of the recent ‘Arab Spring’ is apt in order to visualise physical freedom. It united millions of people around the world under the banner of freedom. Yet, we find that the freedom which was sought for by those individuals was a freedom which we possess here in western countries, but despite this physical freedom, morality is still on the decline in our societies.
3. We also find through a tradition of Imam Ali (PBUH), that we were born free, and that if we are enslaved at present, then it is due to our own actions. He says, “O people, Adam never gave birth to a bondsman or a bondswoman, all people are free”.
4. In order to understand the underlying factor which is causing a barrier for us to reach freedom, we should look for the true definition of freedom and mirror it to our lives. When asking the Ahlulbayt for the true definition, we find that they define it as follows:
“One who leaves his base desires is free”
Imam Ali (PBUH)
5. Such eloquence! Have we ever thought to ourselves that we could be slaves to our own selves? That if I was to free myself from my own ‘self’ then I would truly be a subservient
creature to Allah. This is yet another proof that the root for all good in Islam is in working with one’s own self. Islam is about perfecting morality and struggling against the ‘self’.
6. One must control their anger, their desire for food, their desire for the opposite gender, ones thoughts, imagination, tongue, ears, eyes and so on, in order to become free from their base desires.
7. Of course, Satan will not allow for this transition to be easy. He will try his level best to beautify sins for us. We can cite here the example of how the physical aspect of hijab for a woman may be seen as enslavement and a barrier for progression in society. Satan may garb the sin of beautifying one’s self to other than the blood-relations, by presenting it as an act of freedom. Yet we find that a woman who allows for others to share her beauty has in actual fact lost her freedom and value. The same beauty which was to remain for her husband has been exposed to the public.
[2:208] O you who believe! Enter into submission one and all and do not follow the footsteps of Satan; surely he is your open enemy.
8. A few governments have recently been placing bans upon the physical hijab due to it being a barrier in society. Whereas, the physical and social aspects of hijab are meant to be just that, a barrier. Not a barrier for progression, but a barrier between a man and a woman to ensure that they both uphold chastity. Although the grass may seem greener on the other side today, a short time will reveal the realities of alienating religion from society. When people find no security, no morality, no values or respect in society, it is then that they will turn towards religion, but that may be a little too late.
9. A tradition from our 6th Imam, al-Sadiq (AS) states, “There are five attributes such that whoever does not even possess one of them does not have much to admire: Loyalty, organisation, modesty, good temper, and the last which brings together all these attributes is freedom.”
10. We have been gifted with free will; Allah has given us the tools and the direction in which to travel, now it is up to us to take action.
There is no force by Allah, and neither was our Prophet sent to control us. Rather Allah has shown us the truth and His messenger has reminded us of it.