4- Stopping violence

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What we shall do for our advices to be influential on the heart of others? 3- Replying vice with goodness

Resorting to violence in solving social problems, particularly global and international problems, is one of the most important causes of conflicts and hard struggles as well as dangerous and unpleasant events.

Resorting to violence excites the sense of malice in the hearts and lightens the fire of vengeance.

Resorting to violence not only does not have any effect in relieving crises and problems, but also it often intensifies the crises and increases the problems and a lot of problems of present world originate from it.

Resorting to violence is never advisable, and man shall always spend a high cost for it, and those who commit it, should pay a heavy indemnity for it.

However, this deed, despite of all of its ominous defects, risks and consequences is the first solution which sounds to everybody for solving the problems, because resorting to peaceful solutions and stopping violence has an intellectual aspect and applying violence has an emotional aspect, and we know that man's intellectual growth and development is the latest stage of his growth, while emotion's evolution period is earlier. Most people live in emotional stage and are affected by it.

Childhood is the period of training emotions, and it is clarified through a precise study in situation of present men and societies that people mostly live in childhood ages in intellectual and moral aspect, and for this reason, they often advocate violence and exertion.

Anyway, although in view of common studies, this way is the first one, which attracts the attention, but it is in the last stage in view of value, and resorting to it, is only advised when all other ways are closed.

A brave individual or nation less often resorts to this way for solving his social problems, because most of problems could be solved in peaceful ways and through the power of thinking and ethic.

Islam has put a strenuous emphasis on this critical issue and numerous traditions are narrated from Islamic great leaders about the role of tolerance(1) in man's life. Citing following traditions may be adequate for realizing Islam's logic in this respect.

عَنِ النَّبِیّ(صلى الله علیه وآله): «اِنَّ فِی الرِّفْقِ الزِّیادَةَ وَ الْبَرَکَةَ وَ مَنْ یُحْرَمُ الرِّفْقَ یُحْرَمُ الْخَیْرَ».

There is bounty and blessing in tolerance and forbearance, and one who is deprived from forbearance and amenity, will be deprived from goodness.(2)

In this tradition it is explicitly said that any goodness and blessing exists in tolerance and stopping violence, and those who resort to violence, are deprived from any goodness and blessing, and this logic clarifies the significance of the matter in men's life.

عَنِ النَّبِیِّ(صلى الله علیه وآله): «لَوْ کانَ الرِّفْقُ خَلْقاً یُرى ما کانَ مِمّا خَلَقَ اللهُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ شَىْء اَحْسَنَ مِنْهُ».

If tolerance was depicted, there was no creature better than it.(3)

In this tradition, stopping violence is called the most beautiful moral visages, and it means that violence is the ugliest visage that human's spirit may have.

قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ(صلى الله علیه وآله): «مَا اصْطَحَبَ اثْنانِ اِلاّ کانَ اَعْظَمُهُما اَجْراً وَ اَحَبُّهُما اِلَى اللهِ اَرْفَقَهُما بِصاحِبِهِ».

From two persons, one whose friendship and tolerance is more than the other, will have more reward and is more favorite before God.(4)

In this tradition, the greatest rewards and most favorite ranks before God belong to those who advocate tolerance and peacefulness and flexibility in life.

عَنْ اَبِی جَعْفَرِ الْباقِرِ(علیه السلام): «مَنْ قُسِمَ لَهُ الرِّفْقُ قُسِمَ لَهُ الاِْیمانُ».

One who is granted flexibility, belief is granted to him.(5)

The late Feise Kashani, in Vafi book, in one of the traditions of this chapter, interprets the relation of tolerance with belief as follows:

Resorting to violence makes man's authority and nervous system out of control, and such person may perform any mistake and even say blasphemous words.

We can also interpret this relation in another way, that is, violence is often the source of suspicion and mistrust on God's people, and thereby the Creator, and none of these are compatible with belief. In other words, harsh individuals will always have fewer friends, and they will be gradually led to social seclusion, and social seclusion is the source of suspicion on the creature and Creator, and this is not compatible with belief.

عَنْ اَبِی جَعْفَر(علیه السلام): قالَ: قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ(صلى الله علیه وآله): «اِنَّ الرِّفْقَ لَمْ یُضَعْ عَلى شَیْء اِلاّ زانَهُ وَ لا نُزِعَ مِنْ شَىْء اِلاّ شانَهُ».

Tolerance and flexibility embellish whatever they accompany with, and disfigure whatever they separate from.(6)

According to this wise utterance, tolerance and peacefulness adorns everything, and violence disfigures everything and any deed and person.

عَنْ اَبِی جَعْفَر(علیه السلام): «اِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ رَفِیقٌ یُحِبُّ الْرِّفْقَ وَ یُعْطِی عَلَى الرِّفْقِ ما لا یُعْطِی عَلَى الْعُنْفِ».

God has tolerance, and likes tolerance, and whatever He bestows for tolerance, does not bestow for violence and harshness.(7)

In this tradition, tolerance and peacefulness are called as divine attributes.

The important point which should be surely remarked herein is that most of Islam's enemies try to give a hostile appearance to Islam, and seek Islamic battles as a pretext, while only studying the procedure of Prophet S.A. in the same battles and his behavior with the enemies who were thirsty to his blood, and had established a dangerous barrier to his invitation, as well as his conduct with the prisoners of war and the defeated nations and the people injured in the battle field, are all of the most brilliant chapters in Islam's history as well as the most alive proofs for peace favoritism in Islam and stopping resort to violence.

And more important, some try to attribute violence to Islamic clergymen just like the Christian clergymen in the middle ages, and haply the immethodical deeds and severity of some of unknowable people whose social wisdom has not developed in parallel with their scientific wisdom have served as many pretexts for them.

These two aspects necessitate that we, in observance of such a lot of instructions about not resorting to violence, should be exactly careful for our actions in the society, and display the real face of Islam in this respect through our peaceful conduct and our flexibility, and wash out the deposits of poisonous propaganda of the enemies from the brains with our action. We shall explain the philosophy of Islamic battles and wars so that their defensive aspects and or in some cases their liberation challenge aspect are fully clarified.

Again, it should not be mistaken. Flexibility, mildness and not resorting to violence do not mean submission to injustices and violence of evil doers and the stubborn and bloody enemies and the imperialists. Rather, as Quran has explicitly specified in verse 29 of The Victory sura ()اَشِدّاءُ عَلَى الْکُفّارِ رُحَماءُ بَیْنَهُمْ( - Hard against the unbelievers, merciful one to another), we shall adopt a severe method against cruel enemies and be mild with the friends. Moreover, there should be mildness before the enemies who after victory over them, new strokes on their side is unlikely.


1- Tolerance is the opposite side of violence and harshness.
2- Majlessi, Beharol Anvar 60/75
3- Majlessi, Beharol Anvar 63/75
4- Majlessi, Beharol Anvar, 268/76
5- Kolini, Kafi, 118/2, narration 1
6- Kolini, Kafi, 119/2, tradition 6
7- The same document, tradition 5

 

 

What we shall do for our advices to be influential on the heart of others? 3- Replying vice with goodness
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