The Project: Shaheed al-Sadr's Trends of History in Qur'an Chapters 9-14

Context: These discussions are related to man's will to change history !n other words in many of the chapters ! am e"tracting from he is discussing the issue of forming an objective #ased on an ideal and then mo$ing toward that o$er-riding goal ! recommend that we all read chapters 9-11 of this #oo% as it discusses #asic elements of mo$ement &ll bold-ed portions are emphasis added #y me !deal' (ision These passages discuss the issue of the necessity of an ideal for human%ind Shaheed al-Sadr spends a good time discussing limited ideals and their effects ! will #e emphasi)ing the passages that refer to the construction of the proper ideal - *ow the +uestion is what this inner content of man is ,hat is the thing that forms the starting point in the construction of this inner content- How can that thing #e disco$ered!n fact it is man's ideal that performs this role !t is an ideal that forms man's inner content and mo$es the wheels of history !t is an ideal that guides the movement of history through a conception which e"ists in man's mind and is #lended with his will and thin%ing The o#.ecti$es which mo$e the wheels of history are organi)ed #y an ideal /p 1012 - Therefore a great ideal is the starting point of the internal reconstruction of human society The main ideal of a society depends on its conception of life and the world & great ideal is formed in the light of that conception' and society can mo$e to reali)e that ideal in consonance with the spirit of the ideal in +uestion and the conception that it holds of the world and life /p 1092 This particular paragraph points out the need for constructing a 3i$ine world$iew4 a conception of the world #ased on 3i$ine ideals The ideal is the starting point of the internal 5infrastructural6 reconstruction and thus the total social 5superstructural6 reconstruction - ,hen a nation loses its lin% with its ideal' it is afflicted soon with disunity' confusion and decay as the Qur'an says: Their adversity among themselves is very great. You think of them as a whole, whereas their hearts are diverse. That is because they are people who have no sense. /Surah al Hashr' 79:142 Their ad$ersity among themsel$es is great #ecause they ha$e no common ground for unity They are apparently close to each other' #ut they ha$e no common ideal 8ach one of them goes a different way Their hearts are disunited and their inclinations diverse Their spirits are incongruous' and their minds are stagnant !n such circumstances national unity can no longer e"ist &ll that remains is the apparition of a nation under the aegis of which each individual soon makes himself busy with his own personal affairs or some other petty affairs' for there e"ists no great ideal which may mo#ili)e all forces and attract all talents and a#ilities for which sacrifice may #e made When its ideal thus falls, the banner of the unity of the nation falls also 8$ery#ody #ecomes #usy with his limited affairs and personal interest and #egins to thin% only of his limited pro#lems' such as how to pass time' how to eat' how to drink and how to pro$ide means of comfort to himself and to his family mem#ers He %eeps himself engaged in esta#lishing himself' in the cheap sense' that is short-term esta#lishment which keeps man occupied with his material needs for ever and makes him a prisoner of his immediate needs and desires to the extent that he ceases to think of anything beyond them and all his efforts begin to revolve round them only, for he finds nothing else in his life. ,hen a nation loses its ideal' it may #e said that $irtually its ideal has fallen &s we ha$e already said' such a nation on account of its not ha$ing a superior ideal #ecomes a mere apparition without ha$ing a real e"istence /p 141-1492 ! thin% that these paragraphs pinpoint the pro#lems of our community and the ideas within them can #e the lead up to stating what our vision is 9ur $ision is de$eloped against its antithesis' at least in my mind ! thin% these are a portion of the pro#lems that we all see ,e can use the opposite descriptions to descri#e what we foresee our $ision creating /#eyond the stated dimensions2: unity' dynamism' a concrete community' spiritual de$elopment' long-term goals' inno$ati$e thin%ing' far-sightedness' a spirit of sacrifice - According to the classification of men mentioned #y !mam &li' the Commander of the faithful' these people form the third category He has said: :There are three categories of men: di$ine scholars' pupils see%ing sal$ation and aimlessly #u))ing flies following the cry of e$ery#ody : This third category creates difficulties for a decent society These difficulties will #e remo$ed and the way opened only in proportion to the success of a good society in doing away with this category and con$erting it into the second category mentioned #y !mam &li' that is those pupils see%ing sal$ation' or in the words of the Qur'an' that of the followers of goodness' or in the terminology of the .urists' that of the eager disciples /p 191-19;2

Spiritual <oundations Inner Change, Outer Movement The following passages are related to the issue of inner change and outer change Shaheed al-Sadr descri#es the inner #eing as the infrastructure and the outer de$elopment as the superstructure

-Se$eral of the Qur'anic $erses mentioned #y us earlier narrate the historical laws in the form of a conditional statement !n
this connection the following $erse may #e recalled: Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they change what is in their hearts . /Surah ar-=a'd' 10:112 Here a law of history has #een mentioned' and as we e"plained earlier and will further e"plain later' it has #een put forward in the form of a conditional statement' for the $erse says that there e"ists an insepara#le lin% #etween the two different changes' namely a change in man s inner content and a change in his external position Su#stantially this is a case of conditional statement The di$ine law mentioned here $irtually says if a people change internally, their material condition and social position are bound to change conse!uently Hence di$ine law has #een stated in the form of a conditional statement /p 1172 - "dea and will in fact form man's conscience' and in these two #asic elements man's inner content is seen !t is man's inner content that mo$es history and with the #lending of man's idea and his will it can reali)e his o#.ecti$es ,ith this e"planation it may #e said that it is man's inner content or his thin%ing and will which ma%e history mo$e The whole structure of society including all its relations' organi)ations and their characteristics stand on the foundation of man's inner content' and e$ery change and de$elopment of society depends on the change and de$elopment of this infrastructure of it !n other words' the structure of society changes with a change in man s ideas and his will !t is o#$ious that if this #ase is solid' the structure of society will #e strong The relation #etween man's inner content and the social and historical superstructure of society is that of a cause and its effect This relationship recalls the laws as e"plained earlier in connection with the following $erse: "Allah does not change the condition of a people unless the change that !hich is in their hearts." This $erse says that the social condition of a people is their superstructure &ny fundamental change must appear in the people themsel$es &ll other changes' such as changes in the +uality of life' historical condition or social condition spring from this #asic change & "change in that !hich is in their hearts" means a change in the inner content of society as a whole, that is as a community or a nation. Society should #e li%e a plant that always #ears new and fresh fruit & change in one or se$eral indi$iduals in a society cannot lay the foundation of the de$elopment of society as a whole & change in the conditions and the circumstances of a community or a nation is fostered only #y an inner change in that community or that nation which should li%e a tree that #ears new fruit e$ery day Hence only a change in the inner and psychological content of a nation which on the whole is represented #y the spiritual condition of the ma.ority of that nation' is capa#le of #ringing a#out any #asic changes in the historical character of a nation & change in the spirit of one' two or a few indi$iduals cannot do this /p 10>-10?2 This #it shows the importance of the stated $ision of this pro.ect - !slam and the Qur'an #elie$e that the process of inner and outer changes should proceed side by side so that man may reconstruct his inner faculties' that is his spirit' his thin%ing' his will and his inclinations This inner infrastructure should be in complete harmony with the outer superstructure &s no superstructure can #e $isuali)ed without an infrastructure and a superstructure without a strong #ase will #e sha%y and lia#le to disappear' !slam has called the proper reconstruction of the inner content' the ma.or .ihad /Spiritual purification2' and the reconstruction of its superstructure the minor .ihad /Holy war2 3rawing a comparison #etween the two' !slam says that the minor .ihad will ha$e no real significance nor will it #e a#le to #ring a#out any change in social and historical fields' if it is not accompanied #y ma.or .ihad Therefore these two processes should go on side by side ,hene$er they are separated from each other' they lose their real $alue !n order to lay stress on the significance of man's inner content and to ma%e clear that this inner content is the #asic thing' !slam has called its reconstruction the ma.or .ihad /p 10?2 This is all also related to our time line *ote the @side #y sideA statements - Ban cannot accept truth and act righteously so long as a desire for a change for the #etter does not ha$e a firm hold on his

heart and he does not re#uild himself from within Society cannot #e shaped in a #efitting manner unless man's heart is replete with human $alues representing truth 9therwise any tal% of truth will #e hollow and meaningless &s such' the most important +uestion is that of the change of heart' which accords meaning to the words and a dimension to the mottos' and determines the goal and the line of action to #e adopted to secure it So far we ha$e learnt that man s inner content is the basis of the movement of history !t fi"es the rules and laws /p 1012 "itfalls of the #ourne The ne"t set of passages e"plain two of the pitfalls that man%ind often falls into when creating an ideal ! thin% these relate to inner de$elopment and thus social de$elopment ! initially considered the dimension of @de$eloping our spiritual foundationsA as staying in the @ideologicalA framewor% of the time-line ! am +uic%ly reali)ing what a mista%e that thought was The two topics here relate to falling into the cycle of chasing material goals 5dunya6 and allowing one's social en$ironment and rulers the a#ility to control one's thoughts and social conceptions This section also illustrates the opposite of our $ision - The first reason is a sense of attachment to the existing conditions on account of one's #ecoming accustomed to them' and an a$ersion to any mo$ement #ecause of one's indolence /p 14C-1412 - #aterialism prevailed over their minds and hence they went after percepti#le o#.ects only Baterialism so much o$erwhelmed their feelings that instead of #eing the thin%ing men they #ecame material #eings of $ery limited thin%ing & man' who is engrossed in his daily needs' is always under the influence of material things and cannot see #eyond the daily happenings and the material affairs $e cannot rise above these things. See what the Qur'an says a#out such people: $he sa % &'e follo! that !herein !e found our fathers.( 'hat) *ven though their fathers !ere totall unintelligent and had no guidance. /Surah al-Da+arah' ;:1?C2 /p 1412 - !t e"plains that primarily #ecause of their materialistic $iews and intellectual $acuum' these societies were una#le to choose a #etter ideal and were contented with an inferior one /p 14;2 - That is why all o$er history it has #een in the interest of the tyrants to close the eyes of their people to the realities They wanted their people to regard the inferior condition of their life as an ideal and indispensa#le one' and to attach god-li%e and a#solute $alue to the existing condition The tyrants try to imprison the people within the framework of their own ideas They want the people to mould themsel$es according to their existing condition' not to ha$e any idea beyond that and not to thin% of changing their existing condition #y choosing a #etter ideal or ha$ing a higher ambition /p 14;-1402 - !t is pharaonic authority which ma%es an ideal imposed on a society appear to it to #e indispensa#le and a#solute' and forces society to accept it as such The pharaonic authority regards any change in this policy as a threat to its e"istence /p 1402 Thin% @freedomA' @li#ertyA' @e+ualityA' @li#eralismA These are all @indispensa#le and a#soluteA $alues that our society @offersA us Since our ideal goes a#o$e and #eyond that we are thus #rea%ing out of their mold and are inherently su#$ersi$e and re$olutionary - The Qur'an says: $hose !ho avoid the taghut lest the should !orship them, and turn to Allah in repentance, for them there are glad tidings. $herefore give glad tidings to M slaves !ho hear advice and follo! the best thereof. +uch are those !hom Allah guides and such are men of understanding. /Surah al &n%a#ut' ;9:1? -112 Here &llah mentions the most important characteristic of those who a$oid the &taghut(. He says: Give glad tidings to My slaves who hear advice and follow the best thereof. That means that those who avoid the taghut have a free and open mind They are not set in a mould from which they cannot escape To follow the truth is their only goal They hear what is said to them and follow the #est thereof They leave no stone unturned to find out and follow the truth Had they #een the worshippers of the taghut, they would ha$e done only that which the taghut would ha$e wanted them to do They could not ha$e heard what was said to them and could not ha$e selected the #est thereof They could follow only that which the taghut would ha$e told them /p 1442 - So far we ha$e e"plained the second cause of following the low +uality ideals

History passes through man's inner structure which determines his goals The #asis of man's goal is his ideals' and his ideals spring from his $ital o#.ecti$es 8$ery society has its own ideals which determine its course of action and provide milestones on its way of life There are three %inds of ideals ,e ha$e so far e"plained the first %ind of them' which springs from the existing conditions and circumstances of society Such ideals are always monotonous and #oring Ender their impact history always mo$es in a circular way' in the sense that it ta%es the existing condition and deri$es the a#solute for the future out of it The Qur'an holds that there are two causes which produce these ideals The first cause' which is psychological' is people's attachment to the old customs and ha#its and their indolence and sensuality The second cause is e"ternal !t is the domination of the despots and tyrants o$er society throughout history /p 144-1472 - !t is not enough to #rea% the chains <reedom from them only pro$ides a framewor% for the progress and de$elopment of humanity' #ut proper development of individuals re!uires an inner basis in the light of which progress may #e made Bere freedom to do whate$er one wants and to go where$er one wishes is not enough #an must know how and why he should take a particular step. /p 1702 !nner Fustice-9uter Fustice This last section' though $ery much towing the same line as the Inner Change, Outer Movement su#set of the Spiritual <oundations section' more specifically addresses the connection #etween man's inner situation and his capa#ility andGor inclination to e"ploit and oppress others This section is #ased on chapter 1; - ,hen a powerful #eing is una#le to resol$e his own contradiction' that is his inner conflict' his o#session will #efore long appear in the form of a social contradiction' which may ta%e any shape or form and may #e tagged with any law or cultural usage yet in the final analysis will #e some form of contradiction #etween the strong and the wea% /p 1?72 - !t does not ma%e any difference if sometimes the strong is an indi$idual #y the name of Hharaoh' sometimes a class and sometimes a community or a nation &ll these are $arious forms of contradiction and the ruling spirit in each case it that of conflict and e"ploitation !n each case there is a clash #etween a wea% indi$idual and a strong man whose inner conflict and contradiction has remained unresol$ed and who conse+uently tries to e"ploit a wea% indi$idual to satisfy his own $anity /p 1?>2 This is essentially the same message as the statement preceding it: the importance lies in the signification that this concept is not limited to manifesting itself in a single indi$idual <rom this statement that @sometimes a class and sometimes a community or a nationA will pro.ect their inner turmoil into social e"ploitation we can more accurately resol$e statesponsored terrorism' neo-colonialism' etc This points to how important de$eloping a holistic ideal is and how pressing this pro.ect is This is not .ust a#out rectifying isolated poc%ets of communitiesI it is ultimately a#out these communities doing the same wor% on a practical' consistent le$el This and the ne"t statement also precede Sadr's #rief analysis on theory of class conflict He raises these points to show that it is not tools that lead to social contradictions #ut rather man's ideals and inner states which lead them to use ad$anced technology /tools2 against others Baterialistic tendencies considered the solution to #e an e+ual distri#ution of industry and techni+ues Sadr shows that they are fooling themsel$es in that approach and that it is deeper ,e can draw on this #y applying the same argument to contemporary philosophies of @happinessA and @e+ualityAI the idea that glo#al democracy will sol$e all pro#lems' /atheistic2 humanism' etc - !slam #elie$es that if we lea$e the source of inner conflict unattended and try to resol$e outward social contradictions with the help of some laws and their interpretations' we will #e attending to only one half of the pro#lem The other half' that is the crystalli)ation of the inner conflict' if left unattended' will soon gi$e rise to some other forms of the same contradiction which we ha$e tried to e"terminate !nstead of confining our struggle to any one form of e"ploitation we should try to remo$e the root cause which is common to all acts of e"ploitation /p 1?>-1??2 9ur &udience This #riefly gi$es some +uotes from a section where Shaheed pro$ides a classification of oppressors and oppressed ! felt that some of his descriptions point to portions of our audience - !n an un.ust society the third group consists of those whom !mam &li has descri#ed as :automatons: They allow

themsel$es to #e the tools of others and do not reali)e that any wrong has #een done to them They are unconscious of any in.ustice Their actions are mechanical' in$oluntary and without any consciousness of their su#ser$ience and o#edience $he sa % &Our ,ord) 'e obe ed our chiefs and great men, and the misled us from the !a .( /Surah al-&h)a#' 00:>?2 /p 1912 - The fourth category consists of those who do not appro$e in.ustice' and ha$e not renounced their power of understanding in fa$our of the Hharaohs They do not li%e in.ustice' yet they accept it +uietly without any protest Conse+uently they always li$e in a state of perple"ity and restlessness This mental state is detrimental to new disco$eries in the de$elopment of relations #etween man and nature &ccording to the following Qur'anic $erse such persons are un.ust to themsel$es: 'hen the angels ta-e a!a the lives of those !ho have been unjust to themselves, the as- them% (In !hat circumstances !ere ou.( $he ans!er% &'e !ere helpless in our land.( $he angels sa % &'as not the earth of Allah vast enough for ou to emigrate.(/Surah an-*isa' 4:9?2 /p 19;-1902 - Bonastic life is #ad #ecause it has only a negati$e #asis "t implies the renunciation of man s responsibility as %llah s vicegerent on the earth' which is not permissi#le /p 190-1942 Though we pro#a#ly don't ha$e a lot of people who consider themsel$es @mon%sA and who renounce the world this could apply to immigrant communities who loo% inward and deal only with their own immediate /shortsighted2 concerns or those who are afflicted with apathy